Turnbull Family Pacific Tour 2015

We went to the night market last evening. On our way out the door we saw two orange lights in the sky, as if Mars and his new-found twin decided to visit Earth and oversee our night out. Or maybe it was a couple of airplanes, but the lights weren't moving. I later learned that these orange dots in the black sky were floating lanterns being lit and released from the beach. When we first arrived at the market we were welcomed by the aroma emanating from closely packed food stalls, presenting all manner of homemade foodstuffs for sale. The area was packed with tourists mainly. While listening to the guitarist sing Bob Marley and Paul Simon tunes, we ordered a few appetizers for our stroll. I do enjoy Thai food which offers a lot of variety, but I do crave other foods now and then. Tonight I went for the pizza while Catheleen stayed traditional and had the Pad Thai One lady I met was selling varieties of insects, and I suppose I must have stayed at her stall too long since she asked me...

We all slept in late this morning after a long travel day yesterday. I woke up to find the kids trying to manage an adolescent grey tabby that tried desperately to enter our condo. This was the same cat that visited us last evening and did make it into our living room briefly before I laid down the law - the cat stays outside and no feeding him. The kids seemed to comply, at least when I'm around. Perhaps it was the couches, cushions and indoor-meets-outdoor feel that lured us in, but we did enjoy the Fisherman's House restaurant on the tourist strip. They made great banana pancakes, which seems to be a favourite here, and the coffee menu ran on for pages. We'll be back. I noticed a small sign at the restaurant that said "You look even more beautiful when you smile." I think that sums up the tone here in this tourist haven. People from around the world come here, partly I'm sure because the locals are genuinely friendly and accommodating. The only thing left ...

Our train from Bangkok last night ran south along Thailand's peninsula en route to the coast, across from Koh Samui, which was our final destination on this leg of our journey. We could have taken the plane but we wanted to re-live the overnight train experience we had on our first visit to Thailand. On the train we had a couple of small private cabins where we were served a good meal and where the steward later converted our seating area into bunk beds. While an interesting experience, I'm not sure anyone had a truly restful sleep as the train bumped and clattered along from stop to stop throughout the night. I was almost fooled again as I was on this same train trip years ago when I thought there was only a squat toilet on the car - Thai-style. The kids were kind enough to inform me that there was also a western style toilet around the corner. A squat style toilet is not your friend on a moving train. We arrived in Suratthani before dawn where we had to wait a few hours bef...

Another wake up call by the local wildlife on this early morning. I don't know what the creature was, but it sounded off at dawn like a whiffle ball being whipped around at increasing speed, followed by brief silence and a squeak. Repeat three or four times. The first time it happened it startled me out of bed - I thought something was happening in our room. But I think it was outside and just very loud. Nobody else had heard it - they all thought I was crazy. We don't let the kids pet the dogs for the most part, many of which are languishing about to stay cool from the heat of the day. John and Elizabeth are more interested in the cats, which are harder to spot, and the kids always seem to be on the lookout for felines. Some of them are missing parts of tails, maybe because there are so many motorcycles zooming about on the street and sidewalks, and sometimes the kids spot mother with kittens. But for the most part they appear to be reasonably well taken care of, as we see mos...

Yesterday evening Catheleen took the kids for a massage - Thai-style. I've never been a big fan of massages and I find the Thai version is my least favourite, based on the torture I received at the hands and feet of a masseuse many years ago. These massages involve a lot of stretching, pummelling, and cracking. Think chiropractor meets personal trainer. Catheleen's plan was to just get a foot or a head massage for the kids while she enjoyed the full body treatment. But something was lost in translation and while she started her massage on a table she looked over to see Elizabeth and John getting their full treatments next to her. Elizabeth seemed to be ticklish, John needed to take a break half way through to go to the bathroom, and only Catheleen was stood upon. But otherwise the kids and Catheleen claimed to have enjoyed the massage. I was suspect though when Catheleen said post-massage that she could be sore tomorrow.  In the early morning I tried a new coffee stand, and t...

Thailand is part of the developing world so it's easy to focus on the negatives - too crowded, too disorganized, too poor. But we've been to Bangkok a couple of times before so we know what to expect, and we wouldn't have come back if we were focused on the down side. Rather I think Thailand is just too special to avoid if travelling to this part of the world. The food is on par with the best cuisines, the people are friendly and welcoming, and it's just a unique place so different from the West. The kids seem to be focusing on the positive too for the most part. Case in point, John and Elizabeth ordered green curry and rice for breakfast. Way too hard core for me but they seemed to enjoy it. The first thing I always notice when I come here is the Thai's reverence for their King and royal family. There are pictures of the royal family everywhere - some covering whole sides of skyscrapers. The monks in orange robes are also a striking site which always remind me we a...

It's our first day in Bangkok and we're settling into our new surroundings at a privately owned condo. I'm relatively adventurous when it comes to lunch and dinner, but not so much for breakfast. I was disheartened as I made my way to the street early this morning with John and first spied a street vendor cooking whole fish - for the breakfast crowd presumably. I next went into the local convenience store to find that the coffee on offer consisted of hot water with packs of instant Nescafé. This wouldn't do. But I felt better later on when Catheleen and I strolled a while down the street to find a bakery serving banana bread and coconut flavoured treats, and a street vendor who made us fresh coffee with her espresso machine. Problem solved for breakfast. We enjoyed the morning pool-side along the Chao Phraya river. The kids skipped their Woboba balls across the pool, and Catheleen and I watched the boats pass to and fro along this slow moving river. In the afternoon w...

On yesterday's bullet train back to Tokyo the train was nearly full, so we needed to split up to get seats. John sat between two business men with Elizabeth sitting one row back. Catheleen and I were further back. I guess John and Elizabeth made an impression since the business men struck up a conversation with John, much to his embarrassment, with Elizabeth piping in to correct his responses. They fed him chips and wanted to know where he was from and his age, etc. One man showed him pictures of his daughter and said John's sister is pretty too, no? John's response was "Meh" which got a good laugh from them. On our way back via the subway from the train station, we needed to cross paths with a seemingly endless sea of commuters at least ten people abreast, all packed in like a parade. We just walked directly across this traffic without so much as a break in stride, all without bumping into anyone. It's amazing to me, in this largest city in the world, that s...

I'm not a big fan of organized tours in general. You're always being shuttled and corralled along on tight intervals, and this tour was no exception. However I was encouraged as the elderly and heavy-set tourists started to slowly lumber onto our bus - clearly there would be no hiking or undue walking today. After a few days of strolling around Tokyo streets and riding the subway standing much of the time, I would enjoy the relative rest and relaxation of this sightseeing tour. As the guide started the trip by singing the praises of the driver in a heavy accent while the air conditioning kicked in, I readied myself for the day ahead with WIFI on the bus and tour ads on the monitor above. Our guide even attempted to sing a song that presumably all Japanese know - I'm glad this didn't lead to Karaoke for all comers. Actually the guide was very good and provided some interesting information along the way. She even had us make miniature origami warrior helmets along one str...

I'm told there are more vending machines here than anywhere else. At one vending machine I meant to purchase water but purchased Pocari Sweat instead. The bottle says this is a "healthy beverage that smoothly supplements the lost water and electrolytes during perspiration." I'm not making this up - somebody in the marketing department needs to be fired or I'm missing something. It tasted pretty good by the way so I bought some more for me and the kids.  This is one orderly country. The trains run like clockwork and everything is very efficient and uniform. Kind of gets on your nerves after a while. Like when you need to shift to the left every time you go up an escalator to let others pass, or when you see the business men all off to work wearing the same white short-sleeved dress shirt. I do appreciate the architecture and infrastructure though as we get around. Makes the journey part of the fun. We took a mono-rail through the city and across the Rainbow Bri...

This morning we visited the Tsukiji Fish Market , which is reportedly the largest fish market in the world. We missed the early morning rush when the catch comes in and is sold off, but we did walk through the market and saw hundreds of varieties of fish and seafood, some being cut up and packaged for transport to who knows where. I learned it was not a good idea to get too close while fish heads were being lopped off lest some spray comes your way. Definitely not the place to wear your best clothes. On the street along the way I ate what we dubbed an eggcycle, which was an omelet on a stick, and then Catheleen and I tried these large scallops which were shucked and fried up for us on the spot with blow torches, and then served with soya sauce in the half shell. Yummy. Later in the morning we visited the Sony building . We started off in a theatre watching the Foo Fighters sing a few songs on an ultra high definition TV which must have been a 15 foot by 10 foot screen. I would need...

Here's some impressions on our second day in Tokyo on another hot humid day on a work day - yesterday was a holiday here. It seemed strangely quiet as we headed on our way to a local café while the locals made their way to work. People here seem to be soft spoken, at least in public. Most of the ladies were walking with sun umbrellas, and some were wearing masks to either protect themselves or others from colds I'm told. There is almost no smoking around and smoking is prohibited on the street - I would like to see that in Canada. I haven't seen many foreigners here. I'm told foreigners come in the spring for the cherry blossoms and the fall for the autumn leaves. The city streets are clean with no litter yet it's rare to spot any garbage cans. Apparently people bring their garbage home with them. The subway is the best way to get around, as is often the case in large cities. We have yet to be on a packed train with the official pushers cramming us on. However we d...

Here we are on our first day in Japan. We've found the food here is tasty enough - we're just not always sure what we're eating. Adds to the surprise. I often get up first in the morning while everyone else is still sleeping - usually because I'm hungry and am looking for a snack. As John and I exited a shop early this morning I passed three teenage boys dressed similarly in muscle shirts, shorts and sandals - they were each fanning themselves with large black fans. Not exactly a cool apparel perhaps for teenage boys in Canada but who knows what the fashion is here. We did a walking tour this morning around some parts of Tokyo, including a Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple. The guide noted that most Japanese are fairly flexible when it comes to religion and subscribe to both Shinto and Buddhist traditions. Shrines are often used for happy occasions and temples for somber occasions. As many Japanese brides like to marry in western-style wedding dresses in churches, t...

I don't want to spend a lot of time talking about washrooms, but I do want to mention one I visited this morning in Nelson Park on our last morning in Vancouver. The facility opened a metal door that seemed to belong on a sci-fi movie set, and greeted me with a one person bathroom that had gone though some kind of wash cycle from floor to ceiling. Even the sink was automated as it provided my hands a soap, water and a dryer sequence like they were travelling through a car wash. You can't make this stuff up. So as we land in Tokyo and make our way to our hotel in the Shinjuku district through brightly lit neighbourhoods, I wonder what we'll experience abroad over the coming months. I don't know, but I'm sure it will be a hoot.

As we passed another weed shop this morning after breakfast on our way to Granville Island, I was finding the west coast lifestyle noticeably different from the rest of Canada. Perhaps quirky would be a fitting description. In the Granville Island Market , I sipped lychee bubble tea while listening to Ralph the former physics major play '40 tunes on his ukulele. I spied a skull and crossbones flag flying on a sailboat nearby in the harbour - is that even allowed? We next spotted an intriguing poster, but sadly we didn't have time to take in a Zen workshop with Martin entitled "Rolling Down A Grassy Hill". Rather than going Zen, we spent the afternoon with my Uncle Robert, who's been living here in West Vancouver since the '60's. When I visit Robert we always seem to walk through Stanley Park and then go for dinner at our favorite Singapore restaurant. It was a nice last evening spent with family. By the way, here is Elizabeth showing off her muscle man m...

I often see things in the early morning that I don't see any other time. As I ran around the corner in Stocking Creek Trail this morning, I came face to face with an owl, sitting on the railing of a bridge spanning a creek. I must have come within five feet of this majestic bird as it took off with its wide wing span flapping, staring directly at me with its big eyes. I wonder how a mouse must feel with this harbinger of doom swooping down from above. We took the ferry back to Vancouver and we're now staying at a downtown hotel for a couple nights before we head for Japan. John is the driver behind the geocaching we've been doing lately. The kids search for stuff and Catheleen and I get some walks in, often in some scenic places off the beaten track - win-win. Today we went to a few sights including a stroll along Canada Place , where we watched the float planes come and go. Here John found a cache in red that was hard to spot, hiding in plain sight.

What a beautiful backyard with various apple trees, flower gardens and vegetable gardens. The place requires a lot of upkeep but on a day like today it must seem worth it. Here Elizabeth is picking  apples with Catheleen's help The tide is always a consideration when doing activities along the shore. It's also just fun to pay attention to the tide tables. Catheleen and the kids went for a hike along the shore at low tide and walked for some distance while watching the fishermen bring in the crab catch. Maybe we'll get out for another walk tomorrow, around noon in concert with the low tide again.

If you like looking at trees, mountains, and the ocean then Vancouver Island is a good place to go. Besides the logging industry, it does seem to run at a slower pace, at least around where we are staying near Ladysmith . Our hosts Barb and Jim kept us busy today as we travelled along logging roads with trips to old growth forests along the way to  Port Renfrew .  There we spent the afternoon climbing along the rocky shoreline, peering in tidal pools looking for unusual sea life on an ebbing tide. We did see some brightly coloured sea urchins and anemones. Jim was a good source of info since he's from the area. He was kind enough to point out the edible berries along the way which were new to us - salmon berries and huckleberries. We also drove along a dry riverbed. I understand that there was so little snow last winter and rain this spring that the rivers and creeks are running very low. It will be hard going for the salmon this year as they try to make their way up th...

I do like all the gadgets we brought on our trip - they let us work and play just about anywhere. This morning we hung around a Starbucks in Abbotsford for a while - Catheleen did some on-line booking, the kids went off looking for a geocache, and I read a news site. It does have its downside though as we followed Siri's directions to three different George streets before we found the right place to drop off the car rental in downtown Vancouver. Made for a tight rendezvous with the ferry nearby in Horseshoe Bay with minutes to spare. Here's a picture of Elizabeth feeling the breeze on the crossing on the first sunny day in the area in a while. Reminds me of running for the ferry heading for Victoria a few times in the late 80's after visiting with a friend and his family in North Vancouver on the weekend. Woe to he who missed the last ferry Sunday night and didn't make it back for roll call and Monday morning classes. We always seemed to make it though. So we've ma...

We started off our day with a visit to Bridal Falls .   The waterfall was nice but what I liked the most was the short hike through the forest. It's not like anywhere else I've been with its huge cedar trees covered in moss - reminds me of some kind of a cold jungle. We poked at the big slugs along the way and the kids made their way back and forth across the creek along fallen trees. In the afternoon we headed for White Rock for lunch with relatives and some time along the ocean front- the kids made a geocache find near the beachfront, which they were quite excited about. Later we had a farewell dinner in Abbotsford with my parents. I like this picture with Catheleen and Elizabeth walking ahead while the train whizzes by along the White Rock shoreline. There's been talk for years about moving the tracks elsewhere which would be good, but for today we felt the rush of the train rolling by at close quarters. We packed in a lot of activities for one day. We're goin...

After breakfast we decided to go for a constitutional around Mill Lake . I  keep coming back to this pond - it's a nice oasis in the city, although you might think the geese aren't too happy that we keep getting in the way as they cross in packs here and there. Here's my first attempt using a selfie stick. Everyone had a good laugh as I asked which button to press to take the picture - turns out there is only one. You never know what you're going to find along the way. Today was Car Rally day at the park. This car is one of my favorites - thanks to Elizabeth for modelling it. I wonder why there are so many enthusiasts out there devoting their time and money to one hobby or another. I have to say though as hobbies go, this one is pretty cool.

It's been great spending some time with my extended family. They are mostly in western Canada and I don't get out here to visit as often as I should. I went for a run this morning with my sister Bonnie and her husband John - middle two in the shot below. It was good to get out to help shake off the jet lag along with a lingering cold that's finally on the wane. We even managed to re-live some sibling rivalry over who could do the most push-ups - sadly I didn't prevail. In the afternoon the kids went with their Grandfather for an activity while we visited a winery near Hope called Kermode Wild Berry Wines near Mission. The berries are picked by locals throughout B.C. After much taste testing we settled on the Himalayan Blackberry Merlot and a few others. Afterwards we went to the Blackberry Kitchen in the Fraser Valley Heritage Park. A nice afternoon spent with my sisters Bonnie and Christine, John and Catheleen reminiscing and enjoying the day.

We just arrived in a hot and dry Fraser Valley with some lingering smoke in the sky from all the forest fires in the province. We are here primarily to visit my family and do some sight seeing around Vancouver island. Besides me breaking a luggage handle en route, the flights here were uneventful. Last time we were in town a couple of years ago our car rental was upgraded to a muscle car, unbeknownst to me. The kids would call it "one sweet hot ride" and I have to admit I did like it with its roaring engine. Just a regular sedan for us this time round though. For the next few days we'll be staying in Abbotsford on the outskirts of Vancouver. Brings back memories of childhood when I lived nearby in Chilliwack and visited Abbotsford on occasion to go to the movies or to attend the annual air show. The place is much more built up now. The place does still smell the same though with huge lush trees and blackberry bushes growing everywhere. These bushes have big blackberrie...

I have to admit I wasn't the driving force behind this trip - that would be Catheleen, the intrepid traveler. I was more the reluctant heal dragger at first. I am truly looking forward to the adventures we'll have on this trip, but on this last day in Ottawa I'm thinking about all the comforts we'll be leaving behind. So while the kids are having a visit with relatives I took Catheleen out for lunch today to our favorite Vietnamese restaurant. Catheleen suggested somewhere else since we'll be in Vietnam soon enough. But I insisted - I need some of my last comforts of Ottawa. I mean, where am I going to get #327 vermicelli with pork, beef and spring rolls like I do every time we go to the New Mee Fung? You might argue Vietnam would be a good place to look, but what if the vermicelli bowls there are all filled with chicken feet and who knows what? What are you supposed to do with chicken feet anyway - suck them or chew? Anyway, lunch is over, I have happy...

The number one reaction I get from people when I explain ours plans is what a great experience it will be for the kids. I agree, but I can't say that was the main or only reason to go - it should be a great experience and break for all of us. As we leave Canada at the best time of the year, I wonder what could be better than here. Perhaps nowhere, but I doesn't hurt to take some time to confirm that. Reminds me of a saying every time we come back from a trip - it's nice to go away but it's nice to come home.

At least we're near the gelato place for a post shot treat. The kids are making fun of how slow I'm typing this. Six months of this?