So from Malaysia we hopped on an over night train to Thailand. This train was quite comfortable, but slow. It took about 11 hours or so before we reached Hat Yai (Southern Thailand) From there, we squished into a hot, stuffy mini van where we spent the next 5 or 6 hours traveling north. We spent the night in Surat Thani, ready to head out to the beautiful islands the following day. Bright an early, we were ready to get to our resort destination where we had friends awaiting us. After a couple more hours drive and a 5 hour [View Full Entry]

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Chris and I were very happy to arrive in Borneo, Malaysia, knowing that there were many adventures coming our way. Kota Kinabalu is a nice little city which makes getting around very easy. Our favorite part about Malaysia, and maybe even the highlight of our whole trip was discovering the new word under water! We managed to get our 'Open Water Diving' certificate upon arrival in Borneo. During the 3 days that it took to get certified, we experienced a wonderful world of beautiful corals and amazing sea life! I think we probably saw about 5 or 6 sting rays, 1 [View Full Entry]

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THE PHILIPPINES! We flew from Dalian to Shanghai, then from Shanghai to Manila, then Manila to the beautiful island of Boracay. This is where we spent the next 8 days of weeks to come in our travels in South East Asia. What a feeling of excitement and disbelief filled us as we saw the turquoise waters and felt the hot sun beating down upon us during our boat ride to the island of 'paradise'. You can imagine what if feels like to come from the cold winter winds of Dalian (especially for those living in Manitoba:)) to a warm [View Full Entry]

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Hello everyone! Guess I'm not the best at giving 'frequent' updates of our travels here in China as our previous trips take us all the way back to New Years. We spent New Years in Beijing as we had four days off together, and had not been anywhere since October. Finally the long stretch of the year was over. New Years was very quiet as we arrived to our hotel at 12:05 Jan, 1. It was just a regular Wednesday in China, outside there was no noise, no parties and no fireworks, which allowed for a good sleep for both of [View Full Entry]

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It's been a while since we have given an update. Not much has happened since our last entry. Chris has been busy teaching, and I have been busy around the house and tutoring here and there. The longest stretch of classes is over for us. We have enjoyed a nice Christmas with each other, and we are looking forward to New Years as we are off to Beijing today! (Dec,31). Here are just a few pictures of our Christmas in China, I must say, a little lonely without family around. Happy New Year to everyone! [View Full Entry]

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It's great to be home after a week of traveling in China. It is amazing how much you can do in a week, espically in China. Not so much of a typical vacation, but a wonderful learning experience. We traveled with three other couples who know a lot more about China then we do, so that was much to our advantage. We first flew from Dalian to Shanghai, then by train to Suzhou for a couple of days, then again by train to Hangzhou. Each city was amazing in its own way. In Shanghai we did a few touristy events, [View Full Entry]

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Here are pictures of our new appartment in Kaifaqu, Dalian. We are setteled in our new place and enjoying it very much, the move was well worth it. I, Abigail am working on the homey touches, as you will notice the appartment does look a little bare right now. More pictures to come of our past week of traveling to Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou. [View Full Entry]

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Here are some pictures of our apartment in Jinshitan and the famous Golden Pebble Beach. Our camera seems to be having some troubles, so pictures aren't clear, which soon, hopefully, we will have a new one to capture the bountiful experiences we have been a part of. Look for more in the near future!! [View Full Entry]

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Our first weeks have been pretty crazy here!! With moving into our apartment at the school and trying to find ways to survive out here really took a toll on us. I have got through the first couple weeks of teaching, and Abigial has been keeping herself busy as well. Recent happenings have us in a new apartment in the city of Kaifaqu, not far from Dalian. The school that I team at (Maple Leaf School) is actually in a place called Jinshitan, or Manjitan. Which is about 20 min from Kaifaqu and 40-60 min from Dalian. So we haven't ventured [View Full Entry]

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