Bangkok and Beyond

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When we arrived in Bangkok a couple of weeks ago our bodies believed it was past bedtime, and the calendar told us it was getting close to winter. But local time was just past noon. And the climate… aside for the rare air-conditioned respite, I don’t think we’ve stopped sweating since. Temperatures are in the mid to upper 80s, with humidity about the same. As SE Asia transitions to what passes for winter here next month the humidity should go down quite a bit, and the temperatures will plunge to the low 80s. It is hard to describe Bangkok to … Continue reading →

A Foot Out the Door

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We’ve got our bags packed, we’ve got bus tickets, plane tickets, and reservations for the first few nights in Bangkok. If all goes according to plan, a couple weeks from now we’ll be on the first leg of a four-month trip, first to Southeast Asia, then to Guatemala. (When I say that we are packed, that is not strictly true. Faye has a ways to go yet. But, for reasons probably best discussed with a therapist, I am pretty much always packed. So it averages out.) We’ll be covering some of the same ground In SE Asia we did a … Continue reading →

Road Trip to the Oregon Country Fair

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Here’s something from the sorta travel related department– I did a road trip in the new (to us) Delica down to the Oregon Country Fair, near Eugene (unfortunately Faye had to stay home and work). It was a test of the vehicle (ran fine) and the camper modification I did to it (needs some fine tuning). And, of course, it was a chance to immerse myself in three days of altered reality, the kind that reconnects me with various parts of my past. For those not familiar with the Oregon Country Fair, its roots go back to the counter-culture 60s. … Continue reading →

Yearly Update

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Obviously the blogging between trips didn’t work out–it has been one year since the last post. “Normal” life, whatever that is–when we’re not traveling, I guess–just has not seemed interesting enough to write about. And for a few reasons, we didn’t get away this winter. So that accounts for the absence of blog posts between now and this time last year. Not that there haven’t been some interesting developments. The last post was just before the election here in Canada. From my perspective, things did not go well. The Conservatives won a majority–by a slim margin, but it was enough. … Continue reading →

Regime Change! (or not…)

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There seems to be a political restlessness sweeping the globe. Uprisings in the Middle East and Northern Africa have captured headlines and left analysts scratching their heads. What’s going on? Now yet another poorly organized opposition in an oil-rich country has risen up demanding a change of leadership, this time closer to home. Well, to be exact, it is home…Canada. That’s right, a rag-tag coalition with a mixed agenda, led by a scrappy Liberal intellectual, Michael Ignatieff, is demanding that the Conservative government of Stephen Harper submit itself to the judgement of the Canadian people. (And by “scrappy” I mean … Continue reading →