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Trip Start Feb 01, 2004 Previous
Entry Trip End Jun 01, 2004

  Hanoi, Vietnam
Monday, May 31, 2004

They say that travelling in the company of those we love is "home in motion." This was definitely true for us being able to travel the world together, but there is still no place like home!

Now that we are back I would like to say that travelling with the best husband in the world was truly great.

And it's Paul typing now...I have to thank Kate for the hours of planning, organizing and orchestrating. At times I really did feel like I was just along for the ride. There were times we would not have gotten to the next country, or home for that matter, without her negotiating, language skills and expertise. She really is a world traveller extraordinaire!

We really were a good team: when one of us was down, the other was up, when one of us was frustrated, the other was positive. Having been together in some tough situations for virtually every minute of every hour of every day for a third of a year (with no major spats or running away and no talk of separation or divorce)is achievement of which we are justifiably proud!

Please know that we are relishing our first few days back with family and friends eventhough it has been hectic to say the least. Thanks to everyone for everything!

We definitely have lots of stories but here are just a few highlights to answer the most frequent questions:

Most memorable moments: Sunrise at Bantereay Srei (Angkor, Cambodia), Elephant Camp and Bamboo rafting (N. Thailand) and Trekking (Sapa, Vietnam)
Worst moments: Overland from Siem Reap to Poipet, Cambodia and the flights home
Biggest hurdle: Stuff back here (finances, home/yard care)
Biggest surprise: Availability of some western goods and various narcotics
Favourite gear: SE Asia phrasebook and sarongs
Least used gear: Mosquito nets
Still a mystery: Cayboks
Favourite country overall: Laos
Favourite things eaten: Thai curries, Vietnamese pho bo, Laotian laap sin,Cambodian amok
Weirdest thing eaten: Bee larvae for dessert on a trek in Thailand
Best beer: BeerLao
Cheapest beer: Bia hoi (draft)in Hanoi for 10 cents CAD a mug
Recommended Guesthouses: Pham Lam, Dragon Lodge, and Rattana
Most amazing traffic: Hanoi and Saigon
Most valuable thing learned: Mark Twain was right...
Advice for others: GO!

People ask us most why we went so far and for so long in the first place...and there are lots of answers. First of all, one of our favourite things is to go where we have never been. We chose SE Asia because we did not want to go abroad and feel at home...and it was surely different! Secondly, life is short and the world is wide. Thirdly, I have always remembered a couple of Mark Twain quotes about travel and life...

The first is "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many people need it sorely on these accounts. It is true that broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth in all one's lifetime." So...we choose to travel. We trust that we have been the beneficiaries in these respects and that perhaps we are not quite the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.

The other Twain quote that I have always held on to is this, " Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than by those you did do. So throw off the bowline, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, dream, discover."

We went travelling in the first place in search of people, of adventure, of experience...and we are bringing back a vision of a very wide world, remembered laughter, new friends and new understanding.

And it is wonderful to be able to share all of it with all of you. Thanks for coming along for a wonderful ride. Our next "sabbatical" begins February 1, 2006, so until then, remember, "The trail is the thing."

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