Photo Recap.

Too much has happened since Erik and I parted ways at the beginning of June. Well not too much, but more than I have the desire to recount here. Instead of using words I am going to post a few photos to summarize a bit of what I have been up to. So here we go.

Lynn was working the first week I was in Australia so I had plenty of time to walk and enjoy the nearby seaside. It was blissful.

Above is a photo of my favourite place in Port Stephens. We whale watched here and I grew incredibly fond of the area. 

Train ride en route to Kuranda. 

A cute Kangaroo. 

We attended the Good Food and Wine Show in Sydney. Hello Chef Stone!

Of course, the Opera House. 

Cuddles on my return home. 

Miss Avery Sharlene. Such a sweet face. 

Camping in Clearwater. We went for my nephew's baseball tournament. 

And I still have many photos on my camera to upload. My time home has been spent with family and friends and I have been perfectly busy.

being home.

I am snuggled in bed in the beautiful home of some even more beautiful friends. They are more than generous and are allowing me to stay with them for a while.

I feel overwhelmed at the thought of trying to catch up on this here blog. I think two months of my life will just be skipped as it is too much to try to recall the happenings. Maybe an update entirely of photos is in order.

I am home. It has been ten days and it feels as though I never left. The only strange thing about coming home was how natural it felt. It was uneventful (aside from reuniting with the people I know and love). Life just continued on while I was gone. I spent 200 days traveling the world, but my friends and family spent 200 days continuing their normal lives and I just melted right back in. It is both comforting and disconcerting.

I remember when Lindsey had her twins... I went to the grocery store the morning after meeting my beautiful nieces and picked up a few things. I distinctly remember watching everyone else going about their every day and felt an intense urge to loudly announce that my sister had just delivered two babies from her nether regions. The people I was watching looked bored and uninspired and I wanted them to know that a miracle had taken place. But that day was just another ordinary day for most people.

And it is similar being home. I got to experience all these incredible things, but they mean nothing to anyone else.

I locked my keys in the car the first time I drove to the grocery store and felt the need to announce that I hadn't driven in seven months because I was busy hiking in Colca Canyon, or seeing Machu Picchu, or strolling through the hills in Scotland, or riding a dirt bike to the equator, or eating larva, or snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef, or visiting Angkor Wat. I had an excuse for being so silly -- I hadn't driven a car in seven months because I off gallivanting. I felt that it was important for people to know as I saw a few customers roll their eyes at me. I sheepishly had to ask to use a phone to call my Dad to come help me. Now that I have written this I'm not entirely sure how it ties in...

I'm not expecting people to be amazed at my trip or anything -- it isn't that at all -- but life went on while I was off on my adventure. And that is awesome.

It feels like a dream, our trip. I have looked through a few pictures of our travels and it is surreal to think of the miles we covered over the last seven months. I feel as though it should have more of an impact on my life. I feel as though it should have changed me. I should be more compassionate, more thoughtful, more thankful, more intentional, more educated, more empathetic, more generous, and more inspired. And maybe I am. Maybe I'm not. I guess we will have to wait and see.

I am tangenting off so far I have no idea where I am going with this thing.

I am curious to see the impact this last chapter in our lives has on us. I wonder if it has changed us and how. Was it just a vacation? What did we learn? How will we be inspired? How will it affect our daily life? Will it be an isolated event that we experienced with no lasting effects?

I cannot wait for Erik to come home from Alaska so we can sit with these questions and the many others that have been rolling around in our minds. I am interested to debrief with him and to see what we learned.

For now, it is nice to be home. It is comforting that life just went on for everyone else. It is easy to pick up where we left off. It's true, there is no place like home.

Not pretty.

We made or way from Kuala Lumpur to the Cameron Highlands in what was undoubtedly my least favourite trip.

The ride was only four and a half hours, which happens to be one of our shortest trips, but I was miserable. We were on a bus and the driver seemed to have something to prove because he was flying around corners (of which there were many).

I spent the second half of the trip with my face in a plastic bag. I don't know if my nearly empty stomach made things worse or if it saved me from some misery, but my poor tummy made a valiant effort to rid itself of whatever it could.

At one point I was ready to jump off the bus and walk the rest of the way because I felt so awful. I have terrible flashbacks of choking on vomit or on that stupid plastic bag as I desperately tried to breathe between heaves.

I am not looking forward to the ride out of here. And if anyone knows how to puke into a little plastic bag without getting vomit all over your face then please share -- I want to be fully prepared when I board our next bus.

Fabric Obsession

I cannot stop buying cloth souvenirs. It is awesome and terrible. I make it sound like I have bought a lot, which I haven't, but what I have purchased has been cloth of some sort.

I was hoping to buy a painting for our home, some carvings, and maybe some other interesting things, but I haven't. 

Cloth packs well and it is nice to have things that pack well when you are carrying everything on your back. 

Another factor is that African artwork is my favourite. I am not a huge fan of the paintings I have seen in both South America and South East Asia -- they just aren't my style. And I haven't loved any of the wood carvings we have happened upon. 

In Peru I purchased a tablecloth. Same with Ecuador where I also picked up some yarn, a hammock, and a Christmas ornament. In Scotland I bought a blanket. In Laos I got a small cloth ornament. In Cambodia a scarf. And I have now bought a blanket and a scarf in Indonesia. Oh, and I finally found some fabric!

All fabric! 

We saw this awesome mirror I wanted to buy, but who wants to carry a mirror around the world with them? Same goes for pottery etc. 

It is true, we have sent boxes of things home on two separate occasions, but they were when we left South America and when we arrived in Bangkok so we had been carrying whatever we sent home for a while. 

We have three weeks left and then I have three in Australia. Here is to hoping I find something out of the fabric family to take home with me. 

PS. Friends and family back home -- I haven't bought gifts for anybody. Sorry! I was thinking about it but it got way too stressful. 

In the Quiet.

I wake up early most days. My internal alarm clock goes off between 04:30 and 05:00 giving me a couple hours before Erik thinks it is an appropriate time to get out of bed.

Most mornings I lay and think, savouring my husband's arms wrapped around me and listening to his even breathing. 

Some mornings I read. I try to keep these mornings few as the light disturbs Erik's sleep. 

Some mornings I just listen - it is amazing what you hear when you are actually listening.

And often I pray.

This morning I headed to our porch and read from Isaiah. 

That is where I sit as I write this. 

The sky has gone from nearly black to a deep blue.

The roosters are increasing the intensity with which they are begging the sun to rise.

The birds are chirping.

Bugs are cricking, twitching, clacking, whistling, and buzzing.

And my heart is still. 

Amidst all the noise (for it is down right loud) I have been quieted, stilled. 

It is strange how a verse can speak to you one day and hold no personal meaning the next. I regularly happen upon verses I have underlined in the past and I question the significance they once held. In one moment they speak deeply to the heart, in another they have less impact, but they are always truth. 

Today, and I hope everyday, this verse filled me with hope and peace. 

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;

He rises to show you compassion.

For the Lord is a God of justice.

Blessed are all who wait for him!"

Isaiah 30:18

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a splendid weekend!

A list.

• Erik boards a homeward bound plane in a one month. He gets to wrap his arms around everyone I love so dearly three weeks sooner than I do. I am partly jealous, but mainly just sad that he will be leaving me. I am excited to go on an adventure on my own! At least I will be onmy own  until Lynn picks me up at the airport.
• I think I am going to go through some pretty intense Erik-withdrawal when he leaves. We have spent every moment of every day together and I have loved it!! 
• I am looking forward to Australia -- so looking forward to it. I cannot wait to see Lynn and to be in a home!!! She was gracious enough to not say no when I told her I was coming for three weeks. That is an exceptionally long time for a houseguest. I will have to be on my best behaviour. 
• We are in Lobmok, Indonesia. I have to admit that Indonesia is my favourite country in South East Asia (of the one's we have visited, obviously). They have all been wonderful, but there is something about this place that gives me the warm fuzzies. 
• We went for a scooter ride around part of the island yesterday and it was breath-taking!! So green and lush with rolling hills, rice patties and a stunning ocean view. Amazing.
• Erik and I will have two new babies in our family by the end of the month, one Jansen and one Olson (...kind of). Erik's sister, Shawna, and my sister-in-law, Courtney, are due at the end of the month, just one day apart from each other. I cannot wait to "meet" the little ones. And I cannot wait to hear the birth stories. I am a sucker for birth stories.
• I love rice. I love eating rice with every meal. I need to eat less of it when I come home, but it is delicious. I like it plain, fried, with or without sauce, hot, cold, any which way. It is so good.
• I love the availability of vegetables in South East Asia! Veggies were scarce is South America, but they are plentiful in these parts! How can people survive without eating vegetables? 
• And that is all I have to say this morning. It is shaping up to be another beautiful day in paradise! 

Friends!

When we were planning our trip we left an open invite for friends saying anyone could join us at anytime. Matt and Elaina (a nursing friend from school) called us the day after Thanksgiving to inform us that they would be joining us at the end of April. They happened to want to see Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia and the dates they were coming happened to match the time we would be in that area.

Now here we are in Malaysia with Matt and Elaina. They have been with us for a week and we have been to Bangkok, Koh Tao, and now Langkawi. We are going to Penang tomorrow... I think that is a province, but I can't tell you the city we are heading to because I don't actually know where we are going.

We spent a couple days in Koh Tao. We rented scooters, went snorkeling, swam in the warm ocean, and enjoyed the stunning views the island had to offer. I have never been to a beach as beautiful as the one we went to in Koh Tao. The water was crystal clear and there were thousands of incredible fish swimming in the coral just below the surface around the edges of the bay.

It is great to have travel companions. It is nice to have someone else make decisions and to be able to tag along. The first few days took a bit of adjusting, but we have found a comfortable stride.

The rest of my trip can be measured in thirds. We have three more weeks with Matt and Elaina, then three weeks with just the two of us before Erik heads home and I have three weeks in Australia.

I am very excited to see Lynn in Australia. I think I would want to go home soon if it weren't for that. Well, if my ticket home were booked for tomorrow I wouldn't be too disappointed. If I have only learned one thing traveling (and I have learned many more than that) it would be that there is no place quite as wonderful as home. I love Canada.

A Storm's Brewing.

I am waiting for the heavens to open and for a torrential downpour to begin! A storm is brewing - the sky is dark, the wind is blowing, and the humidity has increased. I cannot wait!

We are sitting on our "patio" in Langkawi, Malaysia.

And here it is!! The sky is thundering, the rain is pounding on our tin roof, and Matty is dancing. Oh, life is good.

We had a lovely beach day yesterday. We spent most of our time sweating in the shade, but we ran for short dips in the ocean. The ever-present fear of a sunburn was enough to keep us under cover. The sun is intense and the amount of sweat we produce makes it impossible to keep ourselves properly sun screened.

The rain is a welcome change, though I hope it doesn't last too long. We had rented scooters moments before the storm rolled in, but we quickly brought them back as a rainstorm isn't conducive to scooting around town.

We are settling in for a day of cards and reminiscing about lightning storms of old. I have a great story to tell you about the last time the four of us were together during a lightning storm, but that will have to wait for another day.

Genocide

*Warning: This post is disturbing.*

I am ashamed to admit that I have absolutely no idea there was a genocide in Cambodia in the 1970's. Please tell me someone else was unaware. How could I not know? We decided to visit Phnom Penh solely because of Erik's interest in this particular bit of history. During our brief stay in Phnom Penh we visited two sites, Choeung Ek and Toule Sleng.

Choeung Ek was used as a killing field during Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge's reign in Cambodia. An audio tour was provided and we silently walked around the mass graves that littered the landscape. We heard about the brutal murders that occurred on the site.

There were two things I found especially disturbing. The first was that of the estimated 20,000 people murdered, none were killed with bullets. Bullets were too loud and too expensive so victims were bludgeoned to death using whatever materials the Khmer Rouge had on hand. Bamboo sticks, shovels, palm knives, garden hoes, chains, and hammers were among the weapons used to end the lives of the innocent. I know murder is always inhumane, but the brutality of these murders seems even more evil.

The second thing that broke my heart was the Killing Tree. In the center of the killing field there was a particularly large grave and a large tree. When the grave was exhumed over one hundred naked women and children were discovered. Bones, blood, and brains were found clinging to the bark and at the base of the nearby tree. The Khmer Rouge forced women to watch as they beat their children's heads against the tree. They would toss the battered child into the grave before murdering the mothers and throwing them in after.

Choeung Ek, the Killing Field, was certainly eye-opening and horrifying and our second destination was equally so.

Toul Sleng was a primary and a high school prior to the Pol Pot coming into power. When he gained control in 1975 he ordered Phnom Penh to be evacuated and within three days the capital of Cambodia was completely deserted. At some point he converted the school into a secret prison that was used for interrogations, torture, and murder. When an individual was arrested his/her entire family was brought to prison along with him/her. Pol Pot did this so there would be no one to seek revenge or to revolt against the Khmer Rouge.

Prisoners were subject to various kinds of torture until they were forced to confess to crimes they did not commit before being tortured some more or being taken to Choeung Ek and murdered. Pol Pot targeted intellectuals, doctors, professors, and anyone who could possibly stand in his way.

Each individual imprisoned at Toul Sleng (also known as Office 21 or S.21) was documented with a photo. Copies of these photos were displayed around the Toul Sleng Genocide Museum. It was heart-breaking to look at the photos, into the eyes of these individuals, and to know the end they faced. Some had the hint of a smile left, some looked like ghosts already, some held sleeping children, some looked crippled with fear, and some looked defiant.

We quickly walked past some of the devices used for torture, barely stopping long enough to discern how such device was utilized. We walked through the rooms that held so many against their will. Some cells, poorly constructed from brick and wood, were barely large enough to house a human being.  Some were larger, reserved for Khmer Rouge who Pol Pot no longer trusted.

When the Khmer Rouge fled the site, the liberaters found seven adults and a handful of children still alive. There were 14 individuals found tortured and murdered chained to their beds in the larger cells. The bodies were so mutilated and battered that they were unable to identify the individuals. As we walked through the cells, photos of how these people were found were hung on the walls. These were truly disturbing and humiliating to see. It was an impossible situation as I neither wanted to look at or look away from the photos.

I was reminded yet again of the terrible potential of human beings. Our ability to do truly evil things. It was disgusting. It is disgusting. I couldn't believe that anything like this would ever happen again and then there were bombings at the Boston Marathon.

We live in a broken world. In a world where it is difficult to have hope. But there is hope. There is hope in Jesus Christ who is gracious, merciful, forgiving, just, and loving. And we are given the task to be like Christ; to learn from Him and to reach out to our neighbours.  We are called to play an active role in human history. Figuring out what that looks like in each of our lives is the tough part, but we are part of this broken and beautiful world.

Cravings.

I love food. In my journal I sometimes keep track of what I am craving. At the beginning of the trip I didn't crave too much (mainly just veggies) but now that I haven't been able to prepare my own food for four months I am starting to develop some fierce and constant cravings. I may have just wasted some time drooling over recipes I was browsing on Pinterest.

Don't get me wrong, the food here is yummy, but nothing beats a good home-cooked meal. Or eating what you are craving when you are craving it.

What I have been craving most often? A juicy home-made burger... And we rarely eat them! I must be low on iron. Also dairy -- yogurt and cheese mainly. Yummmmmm.

Siem Reap

I have fallen off the blogging wagon again. It happens. I am back, if only for a moment, to play a little catch up. We will start with our visit to Siem Reap.

We intended to stay in Siem Reap for four days, though we were hoping to be ready to move on in three. We enjoyed the city more than we thought we would and ended up staying for an entire week! The number one reason for this was not, in fact, the Angkor Archealogical Site, beautiful as it was, but we stayed for the food.

Food is usually the number one thing that makes or breaks a town. Food or hammocks really. Across from our hostel was another hostel with an awesome restaurant. It was cheap and delicious -- two things we adore. We had plenty of traditional Khmer food. The interesting thing about Khmer food is that we can't find the same meals in different restaurants... they all seem to serve different "traditional' Khmer food. how does that work?

Aside from the food, which was excellent, we also enjoyed the Ankgor Archealogical Site. We purchased a three day pass as there was much to see and we wanted to take our time seeing it. The only thing that disappointed me in the park was the lack of information given at each site. There were billboards that explained the conservation of the sites, but nothing to tell of the history or significance of the massive temples. I think that would have helped me connect a bit more. Instead I was just in awe of how beautiful they were, but I would have appreciated and enjoyed reading about the people who lived there and what they were used for. Some of the sites held entire cities!

On our first day in the park we decided to bicycle from our hostel to Angkor Wat. Angkor Wat was about 5 km from our hostel and we ended up leaving later than we anticipated, at 09:30. It was already hot and humid, but we made it. We spent a few hours walking around and appreciating the sites and sounds. We watched monkeys playing in the forest while we had a snack and we climbed many many stairs. The Wat was beautiful! Stunning in fact, especially when one considers the time in which it was built. The heat and humidity wiped us out and at 14:00 we decided to head home rather than continue on to other temples. After all, we still have two more days of exploration ahead of us.

We hired tuk tuk drivers and did a full day tour and a half day tour on the following days. All the temples were amazing, but they start looking the same after a while. We were pretty templed out by the end of the third day so it is a good thing that the last temple we visited, Ta Prohm, was our favourite.

Ta Phrom was absolutely stunning! I enjoyed it because it was an engaging juxtaposition of tree and stone, organic and inorganic, thriving and ruin. It was breathtaking and mysterious and awesome!  This temple was unique; you never knew what would be around the next corner or through the next doorway. It wasn't necessarily the temple itself that created this mystery, but the unexpected dominance of nature. It was amazing to see giant trees growing over, between, and through the stone structure. Even so, the trees didn't appear to bring destruction, they only added to the beauty. As I said, it was absolutely stunning.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

*** *** ***

On To Cambodia

It took a long and exhausting 32 hours, but we have made it to Siem Reap, Cambodia. In South America I didn't mind the 31 hour bus ride we took from Guayaquil to Lima, but this adventure was quite unpleasant. For starters, we weren't on the incredible Cruz Del Sur (you can read about Erik's love affair with said bus company here) and we had to change vehicles seven times. The buses we were on were of varying comfort levels. They ranged from sleeper buses (essentially beds) to uncomfortable, non-reclining buses (much like you would expect when traveling in this part of the world). Needless to say, we didn't sleep much and were beat when we arrived at 0200.

I haven't posted in a while. Woops. After our jaunt to Northern Laos we spent a couple days in Luang Prabang before heading to Vientiane (the capital of Laos). We stayed with a friend of a friend and it was awesome! They were lovely. They had air conditioning, which was obviously lovely. And we had a lovely time.

We lazed around. We played with their one-year-old son. We painted some furniture for them. We cleaned. We helped them organize. We cooked. We went to the gym. We got massages. We toured the city. And we had plenty of delightful conversations.

Cambodia has been lovely and humid so far. We sweat from the time we start moving in the morning until after we have fallen asleep at night. It's something.

We went to a circus/performing arts show last night. Erik knows more about it than I do so you should head over to our travel blog to read about that... when he gets around to writing about it. It was held outdoors, which shouldn't have surprised me, and was fun to see. I wish I could do acrobatics or tumbles or the splits even, but instead I sat with my mouth gaping as I watched the performers.

And we have plans to explore Angkor Wat today. By bicycle. It's going to be awesome.

For Your Viewing Pleasure.

I know that I appreciate and enjoy looking at peoples photos. I feel as though my posts have just been words, words, words lately so I uploaded a few pictures to share with you.
Cruising down the Mekong in a river boat. I think this was actually crossing the border from Thailand into Laos. What life is like along the Mekong. I am sadly not a fan of temples. It's not that I don't like them, but I am not really interested in them. And I am in South East Asia, what's my problem? We stopped by this one on a walk around Luang Prabang. This was our little bungalow in Muang Noi. It overlooked the river and we had a decent view when it wasn't smokey or hazy. This is where I spent four hours each morning wrapped in a duvet and lounging in a hammock. And this last one is Erik playing cards with a few of the girls from the village who were brave enough to venture onto our porch. The game involved holding cards in your hand and randomly laying various amounts of the cards on a pile and then giggling furiously.

A Trip Further North

We spent just over a week in two villages in northern Laos -- Nong Khiaw and Muang Noi.

In Nong Khiaw our days were spent eating yummy food, reading, exploring the river and a cave, talking, and siting on the front porch of our bungalow. Our evenings were spent at a delightful little restaurant in town that played nightly movies, the two most notable being Forrest Gump and Good Morning, Vietnam. We had a nice rhythm in Nong Khiaw with three restaurants we ate at daily. We discovered a new dish that we enjoyed -- a sticky rice patty wrapped in an egg omelet.
Surprisingly delicious with a sweet chilli sauce. Two new dishes actually; Erik really loved this crushed olive sauce that we dipped sticky rice in. The dish was a bit sour for my liking, but it was alright.

In Muang Noi, a town an hour north of Nong Khiaw by river boat, we could be found lounging in hammocks, venturing through rice patties to a smaller town, swimming in a cave, reading, playing cards (cribbage and rummy), swimming in the river, eating at buffets and swatting bugs. It was surprisingly cool in the mornings and I would drag the duvet into the hammock with me until 11:00am because I was chilly.

Muang Noi was literally a street -- a single dirt road riddled with children, puppies, and chickens. The roosters made it impossible to sleep past 06:00, though I usually didn't manage beyond 05:30.

I have been a sleeping champion lately. I usually go to bed around 20:00 and wake up around 06:00. And, I nap most days. I don't know what my deal is, but I am so glad I am on vacation because sleeping feels oh-so-good. I am dreading going back to work and needing to be awake and functioning for twelve hours straight! Ugh.

One thing that has surprised me about traveling, though I suppose it shouldn't, is how important food is. I cannot tell you how much food affects our days. We are grumpy when we can't find good cheap food and are elated when it is plentiful. We have noticed that we sometimes enjoy a town solely because we found wonderful places to eat. These establishments range from the delicious Thai restaurant in Nong Khiaw (where we had Pad Prik Gaeng every night) to my little noodle soup lady on the street in Luang Prabang. We are on an increasingly tight budget so we are always on the look out for cheap, delicious, nutritious food that is preferably big enough to share. Or I am looking for Pad Thai -- that is always delicious.

We are going south tonight. On a night bus that gets into Vientiane around 05:00. We are being picked up at the fountain in the town center at 10:00 by friends of a friend. After I posted a few photos on facebook a friend emailed me saying that he has friends living in Laos and they happen to live in the city we are headed to next. They graciously offered to host us and we gladly took them up on the offer. So, that is where we are staying tomorrow night.

I believe we are making our way to Cambodia the day after that, though I could be wrong. There is a bus from Vientiane to Phnom Penh that takes 24 hours and we are thinking of taking it. Or we may stop in Pakse, a town in southern Laos where another friend of a friend lives. We need to be back in Bangkok on the 22nd to meet some friends (real life friends) so we have to figure out how long we want to spend in Cambodia.

But that is where we are at right now. If we do head to Cambodia right away then I am assuming you won't hear from me for a bit.

Hope you are well.

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a hopeful weekend!

*** *** ***

On the Move.

We are on the move again. We are leaving Nong Khiaw and heading about an hour north, by river boat, to Muang Noi. I don't think there is anything to do up there, which we are both excited about.

I think we have come to a point in our travels where we are exceptionally conscious of our budget (friends are meeting us in about a month and we will want a little extra cash while they are here) and, as I said earlier, we are tired. We have just been using our time to mosey around, take walks, and do whatever we want. We are investing in ourselves and in each other and it is w.o.n.d.e.r.f.u.l! We have endless amounts of time to do whatever we please and it we are taking advantage of it.

How often do people get a chance to live without responsibility, time constraints, or appointments? How often are we able to "do nothing" all day long? That is exactly what we are doing and it is refreshing. Days that we "do nothing" are sometimes the most full and memorable days.

I am sure we will get back to being adventurous and being busy, but this is exactly what we need right now and we are savouring every moment.

Muang Noi has no internet and we are told it only has power from 19:00-22:00. That's why I felt the need to squeeze in this little post -- to update you and let you know you won't be hearing from us for at least a few days. We have no plans beyond getting on the boat so we could be back tomorrow or we could be back next week... who knows?

I hope you are all enjoying spring! It's one of my four favourite seasons. It even holds the number one spot for a quarter of the year.

Love from Laos!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday Ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

Wishing you a peaceful weekend!

*** *** ***

Northern Laos, Reading, and Whatever Else Comes Out.

We have made our way up to Nong Khiaw in Northern Laos today.

I had a bit of a rough night, I was feeling nauseated and a wee bit poopy so I was up quite often. My nausea sadly hadn't subsided when we boarded the bus so I had a bit of an unpleasant trip. At one point I thought I was going to vomit all over, but it passed as Erik was trying to communicate to the driver that he needed to pull over. His panic almost equalled mine as I sat there desperate to either puke or have the nausea subside. I was thankfully able to swallow the bit of vomit that made its way to my mouth and then the nausea was held at bay until we arrived at our destination. I promptly fell asleep on a bench while Erik went in search of a hostel.

And now I sit in our little bungalow thing. Erik went to a restaurant that is playing the King's Speech tonight, but we decided it may be better for me to stay in and get some actual rest.

I finished my book today. I was reading Cider House Rules by John Irving. It is the first "good book" I have read on our travels. The rest have been entertaining at most, but I would not go as far as to callany of them good. Erik read the book last week so it was fun to be able to chat with him about what I was reading and what we both thought about it. The book is character driven rather than plot driven and I found that refreshing. I enjoyed Irving's writing; it was fluid, entertaining and engaging. Erik and I are both looking forward to watching the movie sometime. Has anyone seen it? Is it any good?

My sister and brother-in-law just had their 20th anniversary! I cannot believe they have been married for 20 years already. They spent the day in Disneyland with their boys -- what a treat!

I thought I had more to say, but this is apparently all my weary brain can muster. Goodnight!