skirmish

Welcome to the world of Bali. Approximately 13 years ago I was very fortunate to visit this beautiful Island. Much has changed.......Starbucks at the Denpasar Airport, A&W, Kentucky Fried Chicken, paved roads, tons of vendors and 5star hotels dotted along the coast. What hasn't changed is the people, they are still a very gracious, hospitable and welcoming. Our group of 15 ladies are staying at the beautiful Grand Mirage Hotel in Benoa. The Badung Strait offers a gentle breeze, lots of sun and tons of walking vendors. The majority of the Balinese are Hindu, with a Muslim and Christian minority. The spirits are honoured almost everywhere with offerings made of flowers, incense, fruit and many other items. These offerings are found in Balinese public temples (pura), places of business, restaurants and on the streets. Thousands of ... read more

Good Morning: Thank goodness we rolled the clocks back last night because I am still packing, charging batteries and checking my list for the very last time. The weather in Kitimat is overcast and raining like crazy. Many of us leave for Vancouver today. Our journey is long, 15 hours to Hong Kong and an additional 5 hours to Bali. Next stop Bali................ read more

Our journey home on Sunday, March 13th was very long and for some exhausting. Sunday, March 13th was our last day in Vietnam and I was up at he crack of dawn with the hopes of making the last entry to our travel blog. The business centre at the Windsor Hotel was very kind in letting me use a desk so that I could sit in comfort to write my thoughts. The internet cafe (wireless internet access) just outside the hotel knew exactly what I wanted to drink while I added some photos and published our blog. A few of the ladies headed for the market to do a bit of last minute shopping while Susan had breakfast with Stacey Smith a long time Kitimat family friend. (Stacey is teaching English in Ho Chi Minh City ... read more

Yesterday was March 8th and it was International Women's Day. This special day is celebrated in a wonderful way, whereby special greetings are expressed to all women everywhere you go. Street vendors, vegetable sellers, merchants, hotel clerks, gardeners and even "Women with Wings". Our tour guide greeted us with flowers first thing in the morning. Flowers are exchanged and special meals are prepared, some of the shops in Hoi An even closed their doors early in order to celebrate the contributions women have made in the world. In celebration of this special day we boarded our touring bikes (in great need of a tune up) for a trip through the country. I didn't even get by butt on the seat before I was flat on the ground. Some hadn't been on a bike for 50 years ... read more

Hello everyone!! We have done a lot of travelling these past two day with our journey to Halong Bay. The journey took over 3 hours with a stopover at an arts & crafts shop supporting peoples with disabilities. Temperature about 18 degrees and overcast. A World Heritage Site, Halong Bay covers almost 600 sq. miles with more than 2000 pinnacle shaped limestone and dolomite outcrops scattered through out the area. According to legend, he was formed when a gigantic dragon - ba log meaning descending dragon plunged into the Gulf of Tonkin and created the myriad islets by lashing its tail. So this morning we boarded the Baithru 36, a wooden junket approximately 80 feet in length. Interesting that Halong Bay services about 4000 people per day with 1200 taking overnight sailings. There are 460 vessels ... read more