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The Travel Blog of Bryan and Miranda

Miranda and I have kept a travel log since 1986. Our journal has many, many entries. Therefore, we edited our Travel Blog down to 57 postings. Although our most popular blog has been Entry 56, we believe that our three best blogs are:

The Departure-Entry One

Entry Two: Cat Ass Trophy - The Journey Continues

Entry Three -The Cyclades

We also posted a very old travel journal in India written around 1920. An excerpt can be seen in Entry Eight.

Due to "identity theft" and privacy concerns we have changed some of the names of the people and "other" aspects of our Travel Blog. Therefore, please do not make comments correcting certain details! If you find your name changed and don't mind having your real name posted, please e-mail us.

Thank you, Travel Blog, for this great service.

Miranda and Bryan Porter

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Joined on: September 11th 2005
Last Login: July 19th 2008

Blog Entries: 57
Photos: 357
Recommended by 1, Recommends 1

TB Code: [blogger=6772]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by Bryan, order by Date newest first.

By Bryan
March 1st 2008

Entry 57 - The Ugly American

Asia » Thailand » Central » Bangkok

"Class, wai the nice guest"
Miranda and her class "wai" the photographer as she teaches KG2 at a Bilingual School in Bangkok.

Entry 57 - The Ugly American Every tourist feels it -- anti-Americanism! When I am traveling, I always let people know "I am Canadian". Like many of my fellow travelers, I have Canada's flag sewn onto my luggage and let everyone know I am not from the States. It was not always like this. When I was growing up in Canada during the 1960s we loved America. Indeed, we were proud to be associated with the United States. We talked of "us" landing a man on the moon. Canadians knew that JFK and Dr. King were not from Canada ... but [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
September 30th 2007

Entry 56 - Bangkok: More Violence

Asia » Thailand » Central » Bangkok

Bryan at Thammasat
This is an interesting time to teach Political Science in Thailand!

Entry 56 - Bangkok: More Violence During the past year Miranda and I have seen increasing problems in this beautiful country. Today's bomb blast targeting the military dictatorship has just escalated the events. The bomb exploded outside the Thai military headquarters in the capital on Sunday (September 30, 8 PM GMT), with at least two casualties. The "Government" seems to have been alerted to more trouble as security throughout Bangkok has been increased. Some think that this is just the opening round in a cycle of pre-election intimidation and bombings! Political Instability Thailand has been rocked by political instability following [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
August 20th 2007

Entry 55 - Thailand Constitution

Asia » Thailand » North » Phetchabun

Kosit Hill Dining Hall
Miranda, James and Jai after dinner.

Entry 55 - Thailand Constitution Living and working in Bangkok, Miranda and I know Thailand to be a beautiful country, with a wonderful people and a wise king. Indeed, the King has saved the nation many times in the past. However, it must also be said that Thailand has been the victim of corrupt, greedy governments that have tried to oppress the people. This has caused Thailand great loss of face. From the "new airport" scandal to former Prime Minister Thaksin's criminal activities, this country has been the scene of one fiasco after another. Thammasat University has a tradition of [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
January 1st 2007

Entry 54 - Bangkok Bombs

Asia » Thailand » Central » Bangkok

New Year
Bryan at Thammasat before the New Year's Holiday.

Entry 54 - Bangkok Bombs Miranda and I went out for dinner at about 7:00 pm on New Year's Eve to a small restaurant about five minutes from Wendy House. As we were ordering our meal, a young Thai man asked me if he could take the remote control off my table and change the television station from "New Year's celebrations" to a news program. When I asked why, he said that some bombs had gone off in Bangkok in four different areas and he wanted to follow the story. By the time we had finished supper, six bombs had reportedly [View Full Entry]

Government calls off New Years festivities

By Bryan
September 20th 2006

Entry 53 - Thailand Coup

Asia » Thailand » Central » Bangkok

Do you need a yellow shirt?
Miranda shopping at a shirt stand near the Asia Hotel.

Entry 53 - Thailand Coup Life in Bangkok, exotic, exciting and sometimes nerve wracking when we first arrived, had actually become pretty complacent. We were therefore astounded this morning (September 20th) to get a very unusual wake up call. As Miranda answered the phone, I could hear from her voice that something out of the ordinary was happening. Miss Nuyy, the night receptionist, told Miranda she might as well go back to bed because we didn't have to go to work that day. "There has been a revolution," she reported. "What?" I heard Miranda ask from my place in the shower. [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
October 31st 2005

Entry 52 - THE QUAKE

Asia » Thailand » Central » Bangkok

Bryan at Thammasat
The proud professor at the entrance to his university.

Entry 52 - THE QUAKE While finishing up our travels in India we began to realize that our quest of circumnavigating the globe would be helped by paid employment. I kept my ears open and looked for jobs. Both Miranda and I agreed that we were ready to work overseas once more. While sitting and talking to a nice young couple in Calcutta one day, they chanced to mention they had worked as teachers in Bangkok, Thailand. They asked if we had ever considered teaching. As I looked into it and considered our educational background and experience working in schools in [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
June 1st 2004

ENTRY 51 - Return to the Valley

Asia » India » West Bengal » Mirik

ENTRY 51 - Return to "Shangri-la" After 9/11 Miranda and I were most interested in returning to the Valley. As those who are reading our travelblog probably realize, some of our most exciting times have been while traveling. When it was possible once again to be 'on the road', we took the opportunity. Our trip was pretty much uneventful until we arrived in Amman, Jordan. As we entered the airport, we were told that our connecting flight to New Delhi had already left. Fortunately we were flying Royal Jordanian Airlines, and they put us up in a very nice hotel, feeding [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
September 11th 2001

Entry 50 - 9/11

North America » Canada » British Columbia » Peachland

Mini-church
Bryan and friends at the "mini-church" held in the home of Christian friends John and Lee in our new community of Peachland.

Entry 50 - 9/11 Peachland has vineyards, beautiful hiking trails and wonderful people. Summer lasts from the beginning of March to the middle of October. This is quite remarkable when you think that it is several miles north of the 49th parallel. The people are friendly but laid back, as they sip their vintage wine and mingle with the tourists. However, towards the end of 1999, we did notice a disturbing aspect -- attitude might be a better word -- filter through the community, particularly among our evangelical Christian friends. There was a sense that something terrible was going to [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
August 2nd 1998

ENTRY 49 -- The Cup

North America » Canada » British Columbia » Peachland

On the road again
Miranda and Bryan pose in front of our new car, "Tuffy" Tercel, as we leave Miranda's parent's home and head to Peachland, British Columbia, our new parish.

ENTRY 49 -- The Cup As we entered Peachland, the Okanagan was shrouded in smoke, a black haze enveloping the green paradise I had been promising my lovely wife. With temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius and unbreathable air, it was proving to be more like the nether regions of Hell. With a waver in her normally firm voice, Miranda asked, "Did we take the correct turn at Kelowna? This can't be Peachland can it??" I was shocked by the change since I had been in Peachland for my job interview only one month earlier. It was obvious to me that [View Full Entry]

By Bryan
February 3rd 1994

Entry 48 -- Revolutionaries

Africa » South Africa » Eastern Cape » Butterworth

Miranda and the Eiffel Tower
En route-A pleased Miranda finally gets to visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

Entry 48 -- Revolutionaries Neither, Miranda nor I thought of ourselves as "revolutionaries" or "freedom -fighters" as we arrived in Butterworth, Transkei (a South African homeland) in 1990. Yet events would unfold in a dramtic way! Republic of Transkei To understand how we got ourselves into the situation in which we eventually found ourselves, it is important to understand South Africa's racial system of Apartheid. In 1976 when the Transkei became "independent", the practise of restricting black South African's legal place of residence to homelands or reserves, was already entrenched in the apartheid system. Blacks would continue to be a [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » Bryan

Bryan | Bryan and Miranda | Travel Blog

Bryan - Bryan and Miranda

Places visited

Blogs & Travel Journals

Entry 57 - The Ugly American

Entry 56 - Bangkok: More Violence

Entry 55 - Thailand Constitution

Entry 54 - Bangkok Bombs

Entry 53 - Thailand Coup

Entry 52 - THE QUAKE

ENTRY 51 - Return to the Valley

Entry 50 - 9/11

ENTRY 49 -- The Cup

Entry 48 -- Revolutionaries