NancyDennis

A solo trip.... I traveled to northern Thailand for two reasons. First, to volunteer at the annual English Camp weekend in Udon Thani, organized by the American Women's Club (AWC) of Thailand for its' high school girll's Scholarship program. Secondly, I needed to get a new visa from a Thai consulate outside of Thailand. I took the one hour flight from Bangkok to Udon Thani, and then planned to take the International Bus to Vientiane, Laos which is another 70 kms north. Once at the Udon Thani bus station, I noticed that the guy I sat next to on the flight up was also taking the international bus. We started chatting along the route. It turns out that he's originally from Laos and is now an American citizen living in San Diego. He worked with the ... read more

Holiday greetings everyone! We're sending our wishes for a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all. Especially at this time of year we miss sharing time with friends and family back in the States. We feel comfortable with our new city and enjoy living here and learning the subtleties of Thai culture. The people are so kind and considerate. We're settled in a one bedroom furnished condo. It's centrally located and a short walk to the skytrain or the subway. We're really enjoying the food. From restaurants, to food courts to the noodle guy on the street, it's all really very good. We're pretty good at getting around the city and we're always finding something to entertain us. Nancy joined the American Women's Club and met some really nice people including one woman who invited ... read more

Following our travels from Hoi An, Vietnam, we took the 3 hour train north to the city of Hue. Not only was it originally the imperial city of ancient Vietnam, it was a city under siege for one solid month during the Vietnam War (or, the American War, as it's called here!) The train followed the coastline north winding over a mountain pass to the city. We stayed in a guesthouse run by a local family. The elderly uncle we met one night was previously a language professor at the local university. He thought we were French at first and started conversing with us in French and then switched to English. Among the sites tourists see here are the royal tombs along the Perfume River, a visit to the Citadel, and a trip north to visit ... read more

We returned from our trip up north to Chiang Mai and arrived just in time to witness the festivities for the King's birthday on December 5th. He's just turned 80 years old. We were out and about and got caught up in the crowd waiting for the motorcade to pass. The crowds were deep on each side of the boulevard waiting for a glimpse of the King and Queen to drive by. We happened to be in the right spot and caught his car drive by. It was genuinely a crush of people on foot and in vehicles out to honor the King. This week we also got our travel shots at the Bangkok hospital. We had a very good consult with a travel medicine doctor. We're on our way to Hanoi tomorrow, and will eventually ... read more

A few observations from our stay here on the island of Vieques, just off the east coast of Puerto Rico You know you're on an island when: *A horse stampede runs wild through your property *We're going to the beach...again. *Taking a nap is easy *Catching up on our reading; books and blogs. *Watching the horse, or chicken cross the road while driving *We can pick fresh limes and papayas on our property *A power outage can follow a heavy rainstorm *and is the reason we unplug the phone and laptop during a storm and monitor hurricane weather sites *Interesting dining options *Another day, something else breaks down, and Dennis repairs it (today, it's our landline!) ... read more