Kara's update from Savary after Laos

The following was an email sent by Kara to family & friends after returning from Laos after Dad's death:

Hi all,

So my brother Jeff and I are back in Canada after a very short and surreal trip to Laos. We learned the news of Dad's death (still hard to write but I'm trying to make it sink in) about 2 weeks ago. Jeff's first instinct was that he had to go to Laos "to bring dad home". My instinct was to stick with Jeff, wherever he went, and to go to Savary Island. So off we went to Laos and now we are at Savary. 

 

Nepal and the Bus Ride from Heck

Note the Smashed Windshield

It was 1:40 in the morning and as dark outside as I imagine it to be deep down in a coal mine. There were about 40 of us on the bus, some 10 odd travelers, the rest Nepalese heading home from India for the Holi celebration, the festival that mirrors the water festivities in Myanmar and Thailand. We all sat in hushed silence, like little mice, not knowing what to expect next. It had taken us five hours to reach this point, only about 20 kilometers into Nepal and it had been a bit of an adventure so far. More was to come.

Rajasthan – Jai Ho!

March 2009

Dear Family and Friends,

Jai Ho! 

As you would expect, Slum Dog Millionaire has hit India like a tsunami. The signature song by A. R. Rahman can be heard playing everywhere, and around the time of the Oscars, newspapers were full of stories praising Director Danny Boyle and the cast which featured real residents of Mumbai’s slums.

Kama Sutra for Dummies

Dear Family and Friends,

Khajuraho is said to be on the road from nowhere. To nowhere. But for tourists going to India, a trip to this remote area to see the village’s many famous temples has become as big a draw as has been the mandatory trek to Agra, to view the Taj Mahal, and to Varanasi, to visit the spiritual home of Hinduism.

My Bus From Gwalior to Jhansi

Incredible India

Dear Family and Friends,

Incredible India! This is the motto Tourism India has chosen to entice visitors to this amazing country. More than one billion people toil and roil in this, the second most populous, and seventh largest in geographic area, country in the world.

India is a country of considerable beauty ranging from the snow capped Himalayan Mountains to western deserts, to beautiful beaches, to forest lands and to the dazzling green paddies of rice in the south. It has 5,000 years of recorded, often glorious, history and it is the birthplace of four of the world's major religions, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. As well, India has a generally working democracy forged from a culturally, linguistically and genetically diverse population.

Incredible it is for sure. But also in ways not intended by Tourism India. It is simply not possible to ignore the incredible squalor. Arriving in India is an assault on the senses more stupefying than anywhere else I have been. For the third time I have now come to visit, and each arrival takes my breath away, nothing seems to prepare one for the chaos one confronts, not even previous visits.

Me & My Rickshaw, Delhi

Bali Ha'i

Lorraine with Hindu God, Bali

Dear Family and Friends,

Bali Ha'i. South Pacific. That exotic and romantic story, play, and movie of interracial love popularized an unattainable place of innocence and happiness, the island of Bali Ha'i somewhere in the South Pacific. In the movie the song Bali Ha'i, as sung by Bloody Mary, was a haunting, enticing call of enchantment, but it was also a tantalizing call to anyone who had travel thoughts. As did I, in 1958, when the movie was released.

Bali Ha'i May Call You,
any Night, Any Day,
in Your Heart, You'll Hear It Call You:
"Come Away...Come Away."

No Worries

Dear Family and Friends, 

“Jelena’s Dream Over” screamed the front page headline of the Melbourne Herald Sun. Jelena Dokic, ex Serbian now Australian, had just lost her match in the round of sixteen at the Australian Open Tennis Championship, and with it Australia lost its hope for a ‘home grown’ champ in this year’s event. Jelena bowed out to Russian Diana Safina, who in turn, lost in the final to Serena-does-my-ass-look-big-in-this-outfit Williams. Oops.

Australia is the only place I know where the prime space in newspapers is reserved for sporting news. Not just some days, but pretty much every day The Australian, The Age, and other national newspapers reserve space on their first page for sports, whether it be ‘footy’, Australian rules, cricket, golf or any other sport followed by sports mad Australians. News of lesser import, turmoil in the mid-East, the global economic meltdown, domestic woes, and national politics etc. find space on inside pages.

Well, g'day folks, I'm traveling again. 

Japan - Photos & Notes

Dad visited Japan in April 2008 and did not put together a trip report. He sent this email to close family. I didn't correct the typos as they were evidence of the trouble he had with strange Japanese keyboards! 

Dear Family,

This will be a very short not.  Internet is very hard
to find here and when you do, one has to cope with
Japanese characters and strange keyboards.  This one
only types uppercase unless the shift key is held
down.

Anyway, I am here in Kyoto but will probably have to
leave tomorrow and go to Osaka as all hotels are full
with people here to view the cherry blossoms.  All is
well but I am looking forward to getting home on the
10th.  Much love to all.

Dad/Merv/Poppy.

Here then are some photos he selected from his visit to Tokyo. And some of his notes from his travel journal, no doubt intended for a travel report that just never got finished and sent out. 

...Kara 

The details of my life are quite inconsequential

Back to Burma - unpublished & unfinished report

“Hey! You faaat!” 

In the early morning light, the small man at the Hlaing Thar Yar Bus Terminal in Yangon (Rangoon) looked at me with obvious envy and couldn’t resist treating me with what is considered a great compliment in Myanmar (Burma). In this country, few people are fat and those that are, are almost always either the military or the police. Fat police and a skinny populace is never a good sign.

(Yeah, sure. Okay I'm fat. Thanks Pal. Now bugger off with your compliments.)

Hotel Atlanta, Haven in Bangkok

Dear Family and Friends,

When my multi-millionaire friend Nathan Maltz goes to Bangkok he stays at the Grand Millennium Suhkumvit, one of Bangkok's newest luxury hotels.  The Grand Millennium defines opulence, billing itself as 'Bangkok's newest and hippest five star hotel'.  It has four restaurants featuring Thai and International cuisine and two lounges.  Room rates range from $150 to $600 per night.

Often when I am in Bangkok I stay at the Hotel Atlanta.  The Atlanta has only one restaurant, room rates start at just over $16, and the 'suites' top out at just over $50. 

Hotel Atlanta Foyer - from hotel's website

England Swings

Merv and Lorraine visited the UK in December 2007 to visit Jeff, Adele and the Wee Ones who were living near Warwick at the time. They also toured around and tracked down the towns Lorraine's ancestors had come from before moving to Canada. Although Merv didn't send out a travel report, here are some notes, thoughts and photos from this trip.

Castles and Family with Rosy Cheeked Children

The Dark Continent - Safari Part 5 - on to Tanzania

East African Safaris continue...
 
From the Mara we traveled to Nairobi where I was to say goodbye to the Dragoman group. Several were staying with the truck as it continued on its way towards Cape Town. Others were heading home, and still others, like me, were heading off to join different safaris.

The Dark Continent - Safari Part 4 - Balloon Ride in the Mara

East African Safaris continue... still in the Maasai Mara

The night before we were to leave the Maasai Mara I signed up for a balloon flight. I had been thinking about it, but it’s not cheap, about $500 for one hour. But then again, how many times am I going to be in Africa? Along with five others in my group I was picked up at 5:00AM to be taken to the launch site. When we arrived two of those huge bags, partially filled with hot air, were lying on the ground like brightly painted whales. Still in darkness, the morning quietness was shattered with the roar of the hot air being pumped in and soon the balloons were hanging in the breaking light. Just as the sun was about to peak over the horizon, we lifted off. Within moments the sun rose and the African savannah spread out below, a magical sight. Mara means ‘dappled’ in Maasai and it refers to the dappled appearance acacia trees give to the savannah, perfectly named as I could see from my perch in the basket below the balloon.

The Dark Continent - Safari Part 3 - Maasai People

East African Safaris continued... the Maasai People & Village

The Zulu peoples may have been the true warriors of Africa, but the Maasai are the ones which now best represent tribal Africa. Although they only account for less than 5% of the population in Kenya and Tanzania, the Maasai have a very high visibility with the men wearing their red plaid blankets, carrying a club and spear, and with bright plate like necklaces, and considerable body decorations including burn scars and tattooing, as well as ear lobe cutting, sometimes twisting and contorting them into near knots. Descendents from Nilotic people who 1,000 years ago migrated from the Sudan south to the Serengeti, these tall, slim, striking, nomadic herdsmen, to this day, tenaciously maintain their traditional life style.

The Dark Continent - Safari Part 2 - Kenya

East African Safaris continued... on to Kenya

The Dark Continent - Safari Part 1 - Uganda

Relaxing at Mweya Safari Lodge, Queen Elizabeth Park

 Dear Family and Friends,

“Jambo.”

“Jambo, mambo?”

“Hatujambo”.

I’m not sure of the spelling, but that is about how all conversations start in East Africa. “Hello.” (How are you, really.) “I’m fine, how are you?” “I’m fine”.

The Dark Continent - Muzungas in the Mist

Dear family and friends,

Spike Jones:  “Doodles!  Hey Doodles!  Did you hear about the owl that married a goat?”

Doodles Weaver:  “Yeah, they had a hootnanny!”

I know.  It’s not funny.  Not even in the least.  But here in Rwanda, not much is. 

Rwandan Kids at Mt. Bisoke

Vietnam Redux Redux

Dear family and friends,

I sent this letter a few days ago but for various reasons I don't think it went through to your addresses. Mainly, I think I had too many photos attached for your inboxes, so I am sending this without them. I have tried without success to establish a Yahoo Photo link, but again without success. Sorry. Anyway...

Cupping on the Street, Ho Chi Minh City

Bhutan - Flying with Royalty

“Good morning Your Royal Highness, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking, and I would like to welcome you on board Druk Air flight blah, blah…” 

I seldom fly with Royalty, but there I was, flying out of Paro, Bhutan, with the Bhutanese Queen.  Well, one of them anyway.

A cuppa tea in Darjeeling

Mt. Kanchenjunga backdrop of Darjeeling

Dear Family and Friends,

The chaos of Kolkata can be wearying, and I think it is probably best experienced in small doses. So after two days, I headed to the very northeast corner of India and the famous Himalayan destination of Darjeeling, known as The Queen of Hill Stations. I caught a taxi from Sudder Street to Sealdah Train Station for an overnight journey to Siliguri, the commercial capital of North Bengal (or more accurately, to nearby New Jalpaijuri, where the train station is). I was told by the travel agent at the Astoria Hotel that Sealdah is the busiest train station in the world, and that at any time between 6:00AM and midnight there are 75,000 people on its many platforms. I thought that was a bit of a stretch until I actually got to the station. I arrived at about 8:30PM, and met such a mass of humanity, vendors, coolies, passengers, pushing, surging, shoving, all apparently going in the opposite direction from me, I was almost overwhelmed.