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Published: November 8th 2008
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How many movies can you watch during a 28 hour travel day?
Jodi writing.........
Dan and I arrived home late Saturday night. We arrived at Pearson airport, much to our embarassment, sporting flips flops and shorts (well only Dan was foolish enough to wear shorts). The truth is you are not really keen to pack warm November wear in mid July...so there we were. It was really cold. Our first stop inside the domestic terminal was Tim Hortons. Dan was actually able to stomach two large coffees while waiting for our flight to Ottawa. It did help with the cold. Thankfully my parents met us at the Ottawa airport with shoes, socks and sweaters... and pizza - Dan's favourite picked up in Almonte on the way to the airport. The owner of the local pizza shop stayed open late just to make his Spicy Mamma's pizza. Spicy pizza is just what you need after eating airplane food for the last 28 hours.
We spent our last week of holidays in Thailand. First we stayed in Nong Khai (just across the Mekong from Laos) for several nights soaking in the peacefulness of the river, exploring the local sculpture park, and
waxing nostalgic about how great and cheap it is to eat street food in Thailand. Nong Khai was truly fantastic. Most people race through on their way to, or from, Lao. We had time to spare and it was well worth it to hang out for a couple of days. The weather was hot and relentless (as the rains had retreated) and the people were so friendly.
Dan writing......
With about 6 days left on our trip, we were down to decision time. What to do with our remaining days likely staying close to Bangkok (cause you never know when the next coup will arrive and then what?). Ayuthaya here we come. This place/region is known for it's amazing temples and Angkor like ancient temples. We arrived from Nong Khai, after another 12 hour train ride, looking for a place to stay. We took the initiative of reserving a place in advance this time, so instead of wandering around aimlessly, we were able to just get there and check in.
After the first night, and another hefty dose of crowing roosters we decided to check out, primarily in favour of cheaper lodgings. You'll be happy to know that
there were no crowing roosters at the next place....instead substitute some of the most unbehaved French children! Nice! All is good when travelling and we were getting anxious to see some stuff. Rented a moto, for another day of touring. If you ever get over to Asia, renting a moto is the easiest way to see what you want and move around. So after another massive day of Templing, filling the void of time before our train ride to Bangkok, we started naming all the things we were looking forward to in Canada: Tim Horton's, Pizza (Mama's in particular), Hockey, Wine, Alexander Keith's (drool) and above all, bed's with sheets!
What can I say about the last 4 nights in Thailand? I think Jodi and I wasted these days gloriously, doing almost absolutely nothing. We went shopping, where I could not find anything that my mother would have even considered decorating her place with! Sorry mom. Jodi bought some t shirts, contemplated some jewellry and I drooled over street food. More of our time was wasted in the tourist district (Khoasan), walking to and fro (cause we are cheap), and dreaming about our future endeavours. The plane ride could
not come early enough. Jodi was getting excited about starting her new job, and I was desperately seeking answers to the Senators lineup issues!
It seemed like eternity waiting at the airport for our first leg of the return trip home. The time seemed to stand still while teasing you with the occasional anouncement. It is funny how you just want to get things back to normal, when normalcy is something you (Jodi and I) haven't achieved yet! We have only had glimpses of other peoples regular schedules, regular meals and the only thing we were thinking about now was how we were going to hold onto this.
Plane rides make you realize how inpatient a person you actually are. Me, I was just so happy to have english tv again I could not be phased. Jodi slept, and described in detail my/our next weeks schedule! Cathay Pacific is a great airline, very courteous, friendly staff and seemingly has good planes, but all this does not detract from your desire to build your own Star Trek Teleporter to get you there quicker. Damn you scottie!!!!
When we finally arrived in Toronto, our three hour wait began, but
with a Timmy's coffee in my hand! Two in fact. All the people we spoke to in Canada during our initial entry made us feel very happy to be back. We both were extremely patriotic walking through terminal 2 at Pearson. Planes here.....
Dougal and Rita met us at the airport in Ottawa (shoes, socks and pizza in hand), knowing Jodi was going to talk their ear off until early morning (it was 2330 when we got to Ottawa). She did!!!!! I slept.
We both want to express our thanks to everyone who wrote us while we were gone. It is very comforting knowing someone is thinking of you while you are away. We are very lucky people to have been able to go on this once in a lifetime trip, and experience a portion of this big world with whoever chose to read our blog. Being home you really get a sense of how truly blessed we are being in Canada/North America. The stable governments, diversified communities and ever adapting people really do stick with you while you are away. So many people told us how they wanted to move to Canada and that we had the
best country.....I agree.
Take Care.
Ps: Jon enjoy Australia!
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