Another step closer to our return trip to South East Asia was completed with a round of handshakes after completing my open water diving course. The water wasn't all that cold but then I was too excited to notice. Four of us descended and when we came back up after 4 dives, we were PADI certified Open Water Divers. I would love to say everything was awesome but there was a little mishap which ended up with me not equalizing my mask. In some circles, this is important. Ummmmm.... diving being one of those circles. I didn't [View Full Entry]

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My son Quincy called me at work the other day. He had caught the tail end of the story on the news that there was a man driving across Canada in a Tuk Tuk! Q couldn't give me any more info and although I thought it would be cool to show the kids what a real Tuk Tuk looks like, I dismissed the idea as it was highly unlikely we would be able to find the guy! The next day I read a brief article in the paper that the Tuk Tuk had come through Winnipeg. Missed a little bit of [View Full Entry]

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Summer seems to be almost done although there is still a month left. The weather in Manitoba has been less than ideal for hitting the beach and our brand new pool has not seen that much use. Both Payton and Quincy are off for Summer vacation and they both seemed okay with not doing a large vacation out west to Alberta or British Columbia this year. Instead we have tried to keep them busy with various activities including trips to Birds Hill Park, Winnipeg Beach and different things around town. Candace and the kids are planning to head to South Dakota [View Full Entry]

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Another day of trying to figure out the route that will be the most workable for us! Our itinerary consists of the following: BKK to Koh Tao or Similan to BKK - Diving 7 days BKK to Siem Reap - Angkor Wat (2 - 3 days) Siem Reap to Phnom Phen - Killing Fields, Land mine Museum, S 21 (1 - 2 days) Phnom Phen to Luang Prabang - (3 - 4 days) Luang Prabang to Luang Nam Tha - trekking (3 - 4 days) Luang Nam Tha to Huay Xai - Gibbons experience (3 - 4 days) Huay Xai to [View Full Entry]

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Well it looks like we have decided to travel again this year. This time it's going to be for only 3 weeks! Candace and I discussed the idea and both feel that we want to see some more of S.E. Asia. At this point, we figure that we will shoot for February and will make Laos and Cambodia the focus of our travels. Lots of details need to be worked out and I'm also flirting with the idea of going over a week before and doing a dive trip. Candace seems to be warming up to the idea although she does [View Full Entry]

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Our first trip to South East Asia has been amazing. We wanted to share some of the best and worst things we experienced. Candace's List Migraines on Planes - There is no getting away from anyone. I got one and it lasted the entire flight. Airline Food - Tasteless mushy or rubbery substances. "Is that even real food?" Late Night Hotel Hunting - Only a fool would not pre-book a place for the first night in BKK, right Jason? Raw Bacon - It's not beef so please cook it. Coffee In the Morning - The only way to start m [View Full Entry]

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Taxi Ride to MBK Today, we wanted to take the time to head to MBK to do some souvenir shopping as we heard the prices could not be beat. We scooped a taxi and quickly got tangled in the early morning traffic in BKK. It was very understandable why they don't suggest driving in this city. Although the flow of traffic seemed very inefficient, I couldn't help but be in awe of the number of scooters zipping in and out of traffic along with Tuk Tuks, buses, Hi-Lux's and the infamous Camry taxis, and everyone seemed to get where they were [View Full Entry]

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Final Morning On Samui This morning we woke up and rushed to make sure we didn't miss our ride to the airport. Surprisingly, we were early and ended up sitting out beside the road with a stray dog. It was pitch black out and with every set of head lights approaching we were sure it was our taxi. None stopped and we were starting to think we may need to start walking. Finally at ten after 5:00, a taxi pulled over and asked us if we wanted a ride. Seemed odd that a taxi we ordered would ask us that. [View Full Entry]

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After our gut busting howl late last night and one heck of a great sleep, we were up early as we had signed up for a snorkeling tour. Funny enough, no movement next door. Guess they were tired from all that work last night. The minibus dropped us off at a restaurant on the beach where we had breakfast (included in the tour price) and then boarded a speed boat which would take us to Koh Tao. The ride across was very rough and as luck would have it, we were sitting in the front again with a couple that worked [View Full Entry]

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In case some of you didn't notice, 2 days ago was Valentines day. We didn't mention it but we did celebrate it. I think somewhere in between the ferry ride and the bus we were able to slip in a few I love yous and kisses. Hey when you're in paradise, its hard to pick only one day to be all lovey dovey. This morning we decided that we wanted to move to the other side of the island to be nearer the airport as we were planning on flying back up to Bangkok soon. We had planned on doing some [View Full Entry]

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