RCS

Welcome to Halifax! Let us take you back to a time when life was simpler - think university residence where we spent three nights at Mount Saint Vincent. In case you don't remember - think hard, rubbery mattresses and lovely ladies (this is genuine) serving up breakfast / grub in the caf'. We had a nice wander along the waterfront followed by an early dinner. Day two our partly sunny day was mostly raining so we took refuge at Pier 21 Immigration museum. Bill got in trouble starting a disco party with the lighted displays (there is some dispute around whether Rob 'assisted'). Meanwhile, in the research area - our distracted parents were learning about their ancestors. We now have a copy of Anna Fors (Bob's grandmother) immigration information. It seems women could not travel solo ... read more

Dear interested readers, Our winged chariot carried us from Montreal to St. John's where we picked up our black loaded Town and Country minivan. We then proceeded to the Franklin Hotel where we met some friends of Jen, Dawn and John. They took us to the Gypsy Tea Room where we all enjoyed some delicious cad fish. Notice we are developing a Newfoundland accent. You'll hardly be able to understand us when we return. Dawn is returning to her "Newfie Light" accent, which Jen noticed was absent in Calgary. We enjoyed meeting Dawn and John, and they gave us a list of things to see and do while were in St. Johns. Thanks guys! We then proceeded to the Duke and watched Boston win yet another game. Only Bill stayed to the bitter end. Unlike in ... read more

Well, here we are writing our last blog of the trip. We have all enjoyed travelling through Vietnam. Part of the pleasure was sharing it with all of you. We hope we have been able to convey some of the flavor of the different parts of the country. We fully endorse travelling to Vietnam, as it is a diverse and beautiful country. Even though things are not as strict here as they are at home, we all felt very safe. There is something to be said for taking responsibility for yourself, like crossing the streets!! Most of our peace of mind was from the fact that we had the greatest tour guides anyone could ever ask for. Thank you Bill and Linh for making our experience comfortable and easy. You have taught us well, grasshopper. We ... read more

On the afternoon of March 1, well fortified with bruskies, the oldsters struck out on our own!! Roger, again, used his negotiating skills to obtain a boat trip on the river, but lost his edge when he called the 30 year old woman, Mama. We enjoyed a beautiful, cool boat ride and had many opportunities to purchase wood carvings. For the first time, we resisted. Lack of space dictated NO PURCHASES, however we did enjoy watching a large river boat being built by hand. It was made of gumwood, which they bent to shape over a charcoal fire. At the conclusion of the boat ride, the boys thought they arrived in heaven. Ice cold pints of local beer were only 4000 Dong per glass. (40 cents). We returned to the old town for a very reasonable ... read more

Our 8:45am flight eliminated our breakfast so Roger procured individual french loaves from the bakery down the street. We hopped on to our turbo prop plane and 45 minutes later (instead of a 10 hour bus ride) we arrived at Saigon (HCMC) to a wall of heat and humidity. The guys were keen to see the Chu Chi Tunnels and the girls, not so much. These tunnels were used in the Vietnam war by the Viet Cong. The highlight of the tour was when Bill purchased 20 rounds of ammunition for us to shoot an AK47 - What a blast! The girls opted for a short hot shopping trip in the market, and then on to a museum where we saw a mummy and a huge stone carving, where people prayed for fertility, that dated back ... read more