After a five hour bus ride through the Andes we arrived at the Huasquila Amazon Jungle Lodge (check it out online). We have very limited internet access here so we will update you when we can. Today we trekked through the jungle on a 4 hour hike. Left in the rain with ponchos & rainboots, came home covered in mud, wearing only bathing suits & rainboots (a very attractive site... we will post pictures when we can). We got to experience the primary & secondary rainforest and swam in a natural pool in the middle of the jungle. Everyone is doing well. Love to all. The Lohners + Coulton.... read more
Hi all, Hope everyone is doing well. We arrived in the capital city of Ecuador just after midnight yesterday. It was a long day of traveling considering we were up at 3 am for our 6:45 am flight to Houston (with a six hour layover) and then onto Quito. The total flight time was just over 10 hours. Upon arrival we found a taxi van to bring us to our bed and breakfast. Coulton wasn't too sure about it when I started bartering for a better rate - but that's what the guide book said to do! It's always a little nerve racking when you arrive in a foreign city when it's dark out - you never feel certain about where you are or where they are taking you! The bed and breakfast is older - ... read more
Hi Friends and Family, We are off on an adventure. We will be leaving early Saturday morning for Ecuador. We fly from Edmonton to Houston, where we have a 6 hour lay over. and then on to Quito, the capital of Ecuador. We will spend 2 nights in Quito before heading off into the Amazon rain forest. Stay tuned for more updates. Love, Brad, Kathy, Alysia, Brian, Kirsten, and Coulton (Alysia's boyfriend).... read more
We arrived safely in Bangkok yesterday afternoon. We experienced some confusion at the airport as we were unsure as to whether or not we needed to have entry visas. It turned out they let Canadians in for free. We found a place to stay in the tourist/backpacker area of Bangkok. It is fairly close to tourist things. Today we took a boat ride along the canals but no one told us in advance that the floating markets are only out in the early morning so we didn't see them. We also check out another temple. Tomorrow we are off to the Grand palace. Bye ... read more
Hello all, We journeyed the 315km (5.5hours on the bus) from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh this morning. We spent an hour or so wandering the market place....not much we wanted to buy. Everyone was complaining of the heat... I'm finally warm enough not to wear a sweater though I do take it with me when going to air conditioned buildings. Tomorrow will be an early day as we need to be at the airport by 8am. Our plane to Bangkok is scheduled to leave at 10am. We will spend a couple of days in Bangkok and check out the sights. Bob and Brad are planning on getting tailor made suits. The girls are thinking about dresses. Not sure what to expect. Everyone we have talked to says how busy and chaotic the city is. From ... read more
Today was spent walking and climbing the ruins of the ancient temple sights of Angkor Wat. It is located 7km from Siem Reap. The town where we are currently staying. The weather was very hot today. So far no rain today unlike yesterday when the down pour flooded the streets. Brad ended up sunburn and the rest of us had a touch of sun stroke after 7 hours in the sun. The temples are amazing. It's incredible to see the work that was done almost a thousand years ago. Tomorrow we take another trip to the temple sights but probably only do a half day unless the weather is cooler. We arrived in Siem Reap by bus...a five and a half hour ride. Thank goodness for the air conditioning. We found a clean place to stay ... read more
We arrived in Cambodia yesterday afternoon. Our first impression of the city was that it was very clean and less crowded than Ho Chi Minh...that is until we reached the downtown core. Our taxi driver at the airport talked us out of going to the area of town that we had first intended on staying. He said he knew a really nice place that was cheap....our first mistake. We ended up staying at the Asia hotel. It was alright but not as clean as I would have liked. The windows were filthy. The beds were clean. The carpet was bright green indoor /outdoor carpeting. The sign by the phone listed the prices of massages and the number to call for beautiful women for sleep". Needless to say, we have moved on. We found a very nice, ... read more
It's been a busy few days. On Thursday we took a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels. It was very interesting to see the tunnels that were used during the war. They were hot and humid but Brian, being small, had no problem making his way through the 100m stretch of tunnels - 3 times. The rest of us bailed out at the 30 m exit. The tunnels have been widened out for the tourists so I can't imagine what they were really like. My legs still hurt from shuffling along. Brad had to crawl through on his hands and knees. The kids and Brad also took a turn firing a AK-47 in the shoot range. Yesterday was spent wandering around the city. The kids weren't too happy with me as I made them hike ... read more
Hi all, Yesterday was a busy day exploring the city of Ho Chi Minh. We took a tour of the war museum (very depressing to see the effect of the war on the Vietnamese people as well as all the others that lost their lives). From there we visited the Reunification Palace (the former presidental residence) and took a rickshaw ride it the pouring rain. It was fun but Brian and Brad got dumped out of their rickshaw when the driver failed to navigate a stop. No injuries! Today we took a day trip to the Cu Chi tunnels. It is an underground tunnel network built during the war. There is a 100 m section you can crawl through that has been made wider for the tourists. Couldn't imagine what the tunnels were like before. Tomorrow ... read more
After having a somewhat restful sleep and catching up from the lack of sleep due to time changes, etc. we set out to explore the city. Our first adventure of the day was crossing the busy streets with scooters zooming all around. Following the directions from the Lonely Planet, we carefully stepped out into the street (where ever we felt like crossing) and slowly made our way across, hoping and praying we didn't get hit by the speeding scooters. All went well. We survived crossing the streets. We found the Ben Thanh Market Place a 10 minute walk from the guesthouse. The girls were in their glory with designer knock offs all around. Our quick browse through the market turned into several hours. After not adhering to my/our rule..."never buy anything on the first day"...we left ... read more
