Nov. 30 to Dec. 2 "Hal-lo" from Reykjavik, Iceland, where we have spent the final 2 days of our journey. Don't know why we thought this was going to be such a "hot spot". You could say that there is a lot of "night" life here, literally. Night is much longer here this time of year as we near the winter solstice. (we had barely 6 hours of daylight today). So--the nighttime "partying " must begin that much earlier'. (Actually, Reykjavik really is a "hot" young city, filled with night clubs, high end shopping and fun. ) If you plan on [View Full Entry]

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Nov 28 to Nov 30 "Ahoj" from Praha (Prague), Czech Republic. Arrived in this beautiful "City of Spires" to a good hotel with crisp linen. This makes us, City Gals that we are, very happy. Since we have both been to Prague before, instead of re-visiting the famous sights of the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, St. Vitus Cathedral, and the Old Town area, etc., we decide to strike out on our own to enjoy this charming and civilized city. We love wandering along the cobblestone laneways, and meandering through the hidden courtyards of this compact medieval centre. The brightly coloured [View Full Entry]

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Nov 25 to Nov 27 In DE-NILE "Marhaba" (Hello) from Luxor, Egypt. Leaving Africa took almost as long as our arrival, but after waiting (a definite plus there, as you may remember from our last blog) we were finally allowed to begin our flight to Luxor. On our flight from Nairobi to Luxor, we again cross the Equator and our very cute pilot Johann celebrates in his usual way with a slight mid-air "bump", followed by champagne toast. What a way to travel....it will be hard to go back to regular flights after being so spoiled this way. We arrive at [View Full Entry]

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Out of Africa (what else would we call it?) Nov 22 to Nov 25 ‘Jambo’ (Hello in Swahili) from Darkest Africa. No internet service for the last 3 days, hence the silence. We leave Dubai on a pleasant flight with the our crew dressed in mid-east headwear. (By the way, did we say how much we love our plane?) We enjoyed an exciting in-flight event. At exactly 4:38 p.m., our pilot announced our crossing of the Equator, just prior to our landing in Nairobi. We celebrate with another champagne countdown, accompanied by a humorous and deliberate little “bump” in mid-air. That [View Full Entry]

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HOW TO DO DUBAI or DUBAI, DO BUY...... Nov 19 to Nov 22 “Saba ‘a Alkair” (Good Morning in Arabic) After another great flight, this time over the Makran mountain range in Pakistan (which we viewed from the cockpit with our friendly pilots) we land in Dubai to sun, sand and lots of white robed, bearded and turbaned men. Strange to be here in Dubai where the only currency not legally traded is the Israeli shekel. Driving to the hotel, one cannot help but be impressed by the soaring skyscrapers and modernistic buildings. “Arabesque’ and “Disneyesque” are apt descriptions of Dubai. [View Full Entry]

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Nov 17 to Nov 19 From Agra India "Namaste" (again in Hindi) To live in India, the world’s largest democracy, one must have both patience and a sense of humour. That might be why we feel like we’re in the middle of a Peter Sellers’ movie (or in downtown Toronto). Agra, with a population of two and a half million, is considered just a small town by Indian standards in this country of one and a half billion. Tourism is the mainstay of the city of Agra's economy. The ancient trades plied here (since the 11th century) of leather shoe making, [View Full Entry]

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Monday, Nov 19 It is now exactly 2 weeks since we have left home, mid way through our whirlwind tour of 11 countries in 28 days. So here is a “time out report” full of statistics, random photos of the adventure, unusual events and other useless information. We have travelled 11,357 miles to this point and have seen 6 countries. We have enjoyed every minute of our flying time of 27 and a half hours in the comfort of our private jet. We’ve spent many dollars, yen, dong, riels, and rupees along the way for long distance calls, blackberry and email [View Full Entry]

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Nov. 14 to Nov 17 NAMASTE from SIEM REAP, Cambodia We arrived in Siem Reap to a beautiful pagoda styled terminal. Greeted by Cambodian girls in traditional dress, they draped colourful scarves around our necks. These scarves ( also called “Krama”---a.k.a. Shmatas) are more than just pretty decoration. The history of this scarf is important to Cambodia. The Krama, our guide informed us, is multi-purpose. It may be used to wipe one’s brow of sweat and dirt, to offer protection from the sun, shield one’s mouth and nose against pollution, smoke and smells, and finally, to offer a degree of modesty [View Full Entry]

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Monday Nov 12 to Wednesday Nov. 14th “Good Mornin’ Vietnam! We’ve always wanted to say that. (thank you Robin Williams) Very hot here, about 33 degrees, and humid (so a very bad hair place, but great for things such as an $18 massage and $6 french manicure---that’s U.S dollars, so even cheaper in loonies)..Note to Michael and Harvey: see how much money we are saving?) Our base, Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) is in terrible disrepair. The French colonial influences are present, but the heart of the city lies not in it’s architecture, but in the Vietnamese people. They are [View Full Entry]

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Sat Nov 10 to Mon. Nov 12 (Weekend in HK) “Nihao” from Hong Kong! (that’s Cantonese for 'Hello') We boarded from Osaka to the comfort of our private jet. This plane has become our own living room, (but with better wine) Our lovely Icelandic Air hostesses dressed in Kimonos today to welcome us with the usual champagne. (I guess they got the kimono idea from us). Hong Kong has an energy and spirit unlike anywhere else. Those of you who have been here know it is a unique, glittering, glitzy city of contrasts. One is constantly overwhelmed by the sights, sounds [View Full Entry]

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