Lauralee

This country seems to have it all. History, des(s)erts, seas and an extremely close proximity to other middle eastern nations. Most memorable seems to be their sense of ingrained hospitality and honesty that runs true to the Middle Eastern and Bedouin traditions of the Jordanian people. However, the Jordanian market sellers and touts are extremely creative with their advertisements. To our amusement, donkey rides in the 40 degree heat of Petra were advertised as "taxi rides", "Ferraris" or "air conditioned Ferraris". Some Jordanians also use flattery in their attempts to convince. One middle-aged postcard seller in Jerash was particularly enamoured with me. Our conversation went something like this: Seller: Where are you from? Korea? China? Japan? Me: No, no and no. Seller: Australia? United States? Me: How about Canada. Seller: Canada is beautiful. I want to ... read more

I was immediately curious when my friend Ariela wanted to take me to a new Manhattan park she described as cool and trendy. I had never heard of the High Line Park before and it actually opened only a few weeks earlier. I was immediately envious of people who worked in the Chelsea area who were able to take advantage of the food shops and bakeries at Chelsea Market and enjoy their lunches outside at this park. The park even had lounge chaises that were movable on the railroad tracks! Brooklyn and Manhattan were the perfect places to finish off my travels. As much as I loved the adventures of China, I just craved a comfortable bed to sleep on (the boxspring like mattresses just don't count!) and the variety of food was endless! I spent ... read more

Most of you (including myself) would be surprised that I ended up back in China since my last visit didn't leave me with a burning desire to go back (it may have had to do with the 40 degree heat and the all city tours). I wanted remote China and this trip through Guangxi (southern China) gave me just that. No other foreigners in sight for days and it was delightful to be able to stare blankly at touts when they tried to talk to me only in Mandarin. Highlights: Hua Shan: Checking out the remote Hua Shan area a few hours away from the Vietnamese-China border and visiting the Zhuang minority villages. We were able to visit the Unesco world heritage Hua Shan Bihua cliff art site likely painted by the Zhuang minority 2000 years ... read more

Any money earmarked for museums and tourist attractions in Ho Chi Minh went to eating instead. Not out of any sense of traveller poverty but because I could eat, and eat well. I delighted in eating breakfast, second breakfast, lunch, mid-afternoon snacking, and dinner. There is a wide variety of food choices - ranging from the plastic chair street food stalls, french-influenced bakeries and western-style restaurants favoured by ex-pats. The time in between eating could easily be filled by sipping a cool Vietnamese iced coffee while watching the world pass by (incidentally, they taste just like Tim Horton's iced cappucinos but use all real ingredients!). It has also been great relaxing with Kevin & Lori - a couple originally from Calgary but now living and working in Vietnam. They may have sold me on the working ... read more

Having fallen for the the "so sorry temple closed... you will like nice gem shop" Bangkok delight last time around, I was determined not to believe any person that came up to me on the street. This would seem obvious but your guard is lowered when everyone around you is friendly and appears genuine or helpful + the intense heat + profuse amount of sweating. As a result, I got a nice farmer's tan while wandering around randomly lost until I eventually found my way. I was pleased find my way back to the hotel in four hours via river ferry, skytrain and local bus. The best intro into the gem shop trick I heard today was "So sorry... ferry not working today because the water level is too high. Tomorrow is better. You take tuk-tuk". ... read more

It was like the prodigal son had come home when the Ms Eurodam sailed into Rotterdam. Although the headquarters of Holland America are now in Seattle, there is still a strong tie with Rotterdam and the cruise. The cruise terminal we docked at was located on Holland America Avenue/Street and the old headquarters of the company were located nearby (now turned into an upscale hotel). As we sailed off into the sunset, crowds of passerbys stopped to cheer and wave from the waterfront parks. I think the warm welcome and send off had something to do with fact that the cruise (with its 2000+ passenger capacity) was currently Holland America's largest and the ship had been away touring the Caribbean since the fall. My last visit involved walking out of the central train station, looking around ... read more