Blogs from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, North America - page 93

Hey there! Just a quick note because I know that some of you are wondering where the hell we are..... We are home. Well, not really at "home". We got back to Ontario on June 28th, but we've spent so little time in our apartment in Toronto that we haven't even bothered to reconnect our phone! Are currently doing the visit the parents/spend time at the cottage tour. It's too hot in the city and as usual, I would rather spend as much time "up north" as possible before going back to work. Steven (Mick's son) is here for the month, so that's another reason to spend quality time out of the city. Had an amazing month in British Columbia. Travelled all around, did some great mountain biking (Whistler rules!!) and some terrible mountain biking (curses ... read more

So who are we? Nathan and I (Anne-Marie) met in high school when we were 14 and in grade 9. We've been best friends ever since. That's about it. When I decided to spend two months this summer traveling in southeast Asia, I naturally invited my best bud to come along. This blog belongs to both me and Nathan but the first month or so of updates will be solely from me as I am taking on part of Thailand and all of Vietnam by myself. Nathan and I are meeting in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam on August 7 for the latter half of the trip during which we will visit Cambodia, Laos and southern Thailand. I'm both nervous and excited about traveling alone. I've never really done it before on this level and ... read more

An early and rainy start sees us walking from our hostel to Union Street train station. We take loads of photos of the oversized engines. An even pulling match would see one of these engines against about 20 of Southern Trains' best efforts. And our train this morning has 3 engines. Hard to know what to write about this kind of a day. Basically we spend all of it on board, apart from 'cigarette breaks' every 10 hours or so. It's comfortable with plenty of leg room, and the food they serve is surprisingly good. Proper meals in a kind of restaurant car. An observation 'dome' car, where you climb a few steps and sit in this area that sticks out above the rest of the train and has a glass roof so you can ... read more

Where to begin the blog? Tonight as the time passes midnight and I try not to think off all the items on the checklist I forgot to check off and the 8 books that do not seem to fit in my bag, I try only to keep myself from jumping up and down with excitement. Tomorrow is my departure to well a number of stops (London, Dubai, Accra.. and than Tamale). For the next 11 months I will be working NORPREP (Northern Poverty Reduction Programme) in Tamale through an Engineers Without Borders (www.ewb.ca) internship. My position within the organization is still dynamic and I will meet with NORPREP later this month to discuss the projects. NORPREP works to improve the living conditions of poor rural communities, with emphasis on women and other vulnerable groups. From the ... read more

Hello world, My day of stairs consisted of: 1. Climbing up and down a very narrow and scary winding staircase at Casa Loma (a mansion aka "castle" built in the early 1900's) to reach the top tower with a great view... but I went weak in the knees about halfway up when I realized how many flights there were and how small the steps are. 2. Walking down the stairs from the CN Tower revolving restaurant to the observatory deck and experiencing the glass floor... you can look about 50 stories down through the glass beneath your feet... AHHHHH!!! 3. Walking up (well, elevatoring up) three floors to find a vending machine that isn't out of water or broken. I finally called housekeeping for a toothbrush for my Mom and asked where I could buy water ... read more