We finally got ourselves a laptop! Our main concern about a laptop was the weight - 7 lbs may not seem like much, but try carrying it around for a year! Our initial idea was to get an Asus eee, which is an ultra-portable and very light. But when we played with it at the store, the screen was very small and so was the keyboard.
After some research on line, we decided to get the Dell XPS M1330. It weighs under 5 lbs, has a 13" screen and is quite powerful. We also got a pretty good deal, because the Dell website had a sale and Future Shop had to beat it - so we got $220 off the price. Woohoo! That covered part of the cost of software and anti-virus, etc. Not bad. Yasmin and Roya now want to use the laptop and the desktop to play games at the same time! We'll see about that!
We even have a webcam, speakers, headphones, etc. Now all we have to do is figure out how to use them and Skype together. Then we might be able to talk to people back home while are away.
NM
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Thursday, May 8, 2008
No more shots! Woohoo!!
We had the last of our shots at the travel clinic, and are pretty excited about no more needles. The last batch that we had to get were the rabies shots. We needed 3 shots at set intervals, and the vaccine was a bright pink colour. So Yasmin and Roya were teasing, saying Daddy is getting a girlie vaccine!
We still have to take malaria pills. We opted for the daily pills rather than the weekly ones because the weekly ones have some nasty side effects. We have heard of people halluciating and having nightmares, scary visions, etc. So we decided against those! The doctor prescribed a test dose that we are going to take for a week to see how our bodies will handle it. If all is okay, we will fill the full prescription and start popping the pills when we get to India.
We also got some doses of Dukorol, which protects against cholera and traveller's diahrrea. That will come in handy when we are in India - reduce the risk of Delhi belly!
So there you have it - no more shots. We are all happy about that.
We still have to take malaria pills. We opted for the daily pills rather than the weekly ones because the weekly ones have some nasty side effects. We have heard of people halluciating and having nightmares, scary visions, etc. So we decided against those! The doctor prescribed a test dose that we are going to take for a week to see how our bodies will handle it. If all is okay, we will fill the full prescription and start popping the pills when we get to India.
We also got some doses of Dukorol, which protects against cholera and traveller's diahrrea. That will come in handy when we are in India - reduce the risk of Delhi belly!
So there you have it - no more shots. We are all happy about that.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Figuring out Thailand stay
After the disussion with Bruce and friends, we talked some more about what we want to do in Thailand. Going back to our guiding principles, we want to get in touch with the culture and people of the different countries that we are visiting, while at the same time partaking of the sights and attractions. With this in mind, we did a little more research into the Baha'i community in Thailand and found out that there is a Baha'i school in the north-east (Yasothon), and a socio-economic development project in the north (near ChiangMai).
We got the phone number of our Baha'i contact, Vaughan, in Bangkok and gave him a call. He was quite helpful and agreed that we would be happier spending more time in the north and north-east. He said he would give us the contact info for the director of the Baha'i school in Yasothon, and the project near ChiangMai.
So now, the plan is to start in Nonthaburi (outskirts of Bangkok) and see the sights of Bangkok for about a week - Vaughan has offered us a place to stay at their home during that time (thanks Vaughan!) - and then go up to Yasothon for 5-6 weeks to volunteer at the Baha'i school. Then we will go to the ChiangMai area to participate in the development project for a couple of weeks, and work our way down to Central Thailand (Kanchanaburi area). The next and last stop will be Phuket and Krabi area to relax at the heavenly beaches, befre heading off to India.
NM
We got the phone number of our Baha'i contact, Vaughan, in Bangkok and gave him a call. He was quite helpful and agreed that we would be happier spending more time in the north and north-east. He said he would give us the contact info for the director of the Baha'i school in Yasothon, and the project near ChiangMai.
So now, the plan is to start in Nonthaburi (outskirts of Bangkok) and see the sights of Bangkok for about a week - Vaughan has offered us a place to stay at their home during that time (thanks Vaughan!) - and then go up to Yasothon for 5-6 weeks to volunteer at the Baha'i school. Then we will go to the ChiangMai area to participate in the development project for a couple of weeks, and work our way down to Central Thailand (Kanchanaburi area). The next and last stop will be Phuket and Krabi area to relax at the heavenly beaches, befre heading off to India.
NM
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Bangkok concerns
Nadim and I recently visited with a friend of mine from work, Bruce, who is very good friends with a couple, Bruce and Ple, who just moved to Canada from Thailand. Bruce had invited Bruce and Ple as well so that we could gather some info from the souce. Bruce is Canadian, but has travelled extensively, and his wife Ple is Thai, and also seems to have done a fair bit of traveling. My friend's wife Karen recently went to Thailand with Ple so it was great to get her perspective on Thailand as well.
We had a great chat about Thailand and Southeast Asia in general. We really enjoyed our afternoon visit. Of course with many of these visits it raises as many questions as it answers. It's a good thing we exchanged e-mail for follow-up questions!
The big thing that we came away with is rethinking the amount of time that we want to stay in Bangkok area. It is a very big city with some serious traffic and pollution issues. We had initially thought to make it our base for the duration of our Thailand trip and make a couple of side trips to the north and the south while there, but now we are re-considering. We've decided to do a little more reading, and get in touch with our Baha'i friends to seek out the network of other Baha'is in Thailand.
The other big question we had for ourselves was "Do we want to see the Thai attractions, or the Thai people?" The answer is of course, a bit of both. Although Bangkok is close to many of the attractions, it doesn't seem the most likly place to see the real Thai people.
Hmmm..... more thinking required on this one.
CM
We had a great chat about Thailand and Southeast Asia in general. We really enjoyed our afternoon visit. Of course with many of these visits it raises as many questions as it answers. It's a good thing we exchanged e-mail for follow-up questions!
The big thing that we came away with is rethinking the amount of time that we want to stay in Bangkok area. It is a very big city with some serious traffic and pollution issues. We had initially thought to make it our base for the duration of our Thailand trip and make a couple of side trips to the north and the south while there, but now we are re-considering. We've decided to do a little more reading, and get in touch with our Baha'i friends to seek out the network of other Baha'is in Thailand.
The other big question we had for ourselves was "Do we want to see the Thai attractions, or the Thai people?" The answer is of course, a bit of both. Although Bangkok is close to many of the attractions, it doesn't seem the most likly place to see the real Thai people.
Hmmm..... more thinking required on this one.
CM
Travel Clinic again
After having been told that our travel health clinic was closing, we found another doctor through our travel agent. He was very good. It's Dr. Weiner (pronounced, like the term for hotdog). I kind of felt like I was insulting him if I called him by name! He was very easy to talk to and pretty good with the needles. Usually my arm hurts the next day, but not this time.
We discussed our travel plans and the shots we had already taken, and came away with a few more shots, and more planned. The whole family now has our boosters for both Hep A and B. The girls also got Meningitis, but he didn't have enough in stock for Nadim and I too, so we'll have to get it on the next trip. He checked some of his books and determined that when we're in India, it isn't going to be the season for Japanese Encephylitis, so we don't need those shots, but he did suggest Rabies shots. It's low risk, but since we'll be gone so long it's better to be safe than sorry.
Next visit we still have to talk about Malaria pills too. It's not an issue in most of the areas we are going to, but if we go to rural areas we may want to take something. We'll get more info on that later.
CM
We discussed our travel plans and the shots we had already taken, and came away with a few more shots, and more planned. The whole family now has our boosters for both Hep A and B. The girls also got Meningitis, but he didn't have enough in stock for Nadim and I too, so we'll have to get it on the next trip. He checked some of his books and determined that when we're in India, it isn't going to be the season for Japanese Encephylitis, so we don't need those shots, but he did suggest Rabies shots. It's low risk, but since we'll be gone so long it's better to be safe than sorry.
Next visit we still have to talk about Malaria pills too. It's not an issue in most of the areas we are going to, but if we go to rural areas we may want to take something. We'll get more info on that later.
CM
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Travel Clinic - Ahhh
We had an appointment scheduled with our travel clinic in early April. We recently got a voice message saying our appointment had been cancelled. The reason? -- The clinic is closing! Ahhh
Well it's good that we have our vaccination cards updated! Luckily we met with the travel agent just after we got the message and in our discussion it came up. He suggested another clinic, so we are going to try that one.
On another health note, I was reading through our work health care plan and found that our insurance will only cover us for the first 40 days that we are away. So... something else to look into - getting insurance for the whole duration of our travel.
An apple a day?
CM
Well it's good that we have our vaccination cards updated! Luckily we met with the travel agent just after we got the message and in our discussion it came up. He suggested another clinic, so we are going to try that one.
On another health note, I was reading through our work health care plan and found that our insurance will only cover us for the first 40 days that we are away. So... something else to look into - getting insurance for the whole duration of our travel.
An apple a day?
CM
Making contacts
We have been trying to get some contacts in various countries we will be visiting through our friends here in Ottawa. We've recently had some success.
A friend of ours has a brother near Beijing, and we just got his e-mail address. We have some other friends from the Beijing area who have said they can see what they can do to set us up with an appartment. I'm not sure if that will work out, but if it does, it would be great. The travel agent is also looking at sme options for us.
We made contact with a fellow from Nonthaburi (just north of Bangkok) who is an active Baha'i in the area. We've been e-mailing with him and have an offer to stay with his family until we can find a place there. I also have another friend who is good friends with a couple who just moved back to Canada from Thailand. We are planning a visit with them to get ideas on what to see and I'm hoping they can provide us some contacts as well.
We've also finally got in touch with some Baha'is in India. We don't have an e-mail address yet, but we do have a cell phone number which Nadim plans to try in the near future. Nadim remembers a Baha'i center in Mysore that had sleeping quarters. If worse comes to worse we figure we could crash there until we find a place.
For the last leg of the journey, we have a friend whose family is still in Croatia. They have offered us a place to stay, but we have to get more details. Another friend is from Romania and thinks he may be able to help us with renting a chalet through a friend.
It's starting to feel like we have a bit of a safety net.
CM
A friend of ours has a brother near Beijing, and we just got his e-mail address. We have some other friends from the Beijing area who have said they can see what they can do to set us up with an appartment. I'm not sure if that will work out, but if it does, it would be great. The travel agent is also looking at sme options for us.
We made contact with a fellow from Nonthaburi (just north of Bangkok) who is an active Baha'i in the area. We've been e-mailing with him and have an offer to stay with his family until we can find a place there. I also have another friend who is good friends with a couple who just moved back to Canada from Thailand. We are planning a visit with them to get ideas on what to see and I'm hoping they can provide us some contacts as well.
We've also finally got in touch with some Baha'is in India. We don't have an e-mail address yet, but we do have a cell phone number which Nadim plans to try in the near future. Nadim remembers a Baha'i center in Mysore that had sleeping quarters. If worse comes to worse we figure we could crash there until we find a place.
For the last leg of the journey, we have a friend whose family is still in Croatia. They have offered us a place to stay, but we have to get more details. Another friend is from Romania and thinks he may be able to help us with renting a chalet through a friend.
It's starting to feel like we have a bit of a safety net.
CM
Travel agent tips.
We talked to the travel agent a week or so ago. It turns out that we will flip our itinerary and do the north of India (the golden triangle) first and end in the south because flights from Thailand to the south of India go through Delhi and we can have a stop-over for free!
The other thing we decided to do is take the train from Beijing to Hong Kong, and then on to Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a two day train ride, but with sleeper rooms it should be kind of an adventure.
We also asked about accomodations, particularly in Beijing, Bangkok, and Mysore. Most travel agents specialize only in hotels, not appartments or condos. He did have some contacts so I'm hoping we will get something out of that.
CM
The other thing we decided to do is take the train from Beijing to Hong Kong, and then on to Hanoi, Vietnam. It is a two day train ride, but with sleeper rooms it should be kind of an adventure.
We also asked about accomodations, particularly in Beijing, Bangkok, and Mysore. Most travel agents specialize only in hotels, not appartments or condos. He did have some contacts so I'm hoping we will get something out of that.
CM
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Eastern Europe
We are planning to start by leasing a car in Munich in early May, 2009. The leases are much, much cheaper than renting. Our overall plan is to tour various countries for a week or two and then stop and relax for a week or two so that we aren't constantly on the move.
From Munich we will take a trip, perhaps stopping along the way, to Hungary. We will spend about a week in Hungary.
Then we will go to Romania for 3-4 weeks. We will spend a couple of weeks touring around Romania and then find a place to relax for two weeks. By that time, I'm sure we will need a break.
After Romania, we will go to Croatia and spend a week touring the country before finding a nice island or sea side village to settle in for a week or so. We will be in Croatia in June so hopefully the water will be warm enough for swimming.
From Croatia we will head up through Czech Republic. We will only spend about a week there visiting Prague and Cesky (where there is a famous castle).
Then we move on to Poland where we will spend 2-3 weeks. Again the first couple of weeks will be spent touring around the country and visiting the major cities. We plan to end up along the north shore of Poland where there are some beautiful beaches. We will be mid-Summer at this point so it should be good timing.
We can drop the car across the boarder in Germany, and probably fly back to London from Berlin, and from there we head back to home sweet home. Unless we decide to head to Holland or France to visit some relatives.
CM
From Munich we will take a trip, perhaps stopping along the way, to Hungary. We will spend about a week in Hungary.
Then we will go to Romania for 3-4 weeks. We will spend a couple of weeks touring around Romania and then find a place to relax for two weeks. By that time, I'm sure we will need a break.
After Romania, we will go to Croatia and spend a week touring the country before finding a nice island or sea side village to settle in for a week or so. We will be in Croatia in June so hopefully the water will be warm enough for swimming.
From Croatia we will head up through Czech Republic. We will only spend about a week there visiting Prague and Cesky (where there is a famous castle).
Then we move on to Poland where we will spend 2-3 weeks. Again the first couple of weeks will be spent touring around the country and visiting the major cities. We plan to end up along the north shore of Poland where there are some beautiful beaches. We will be mid-Summer at this point so it should be good timing.
We can drop the car across the boarder in Germany, and probably fly back to London from Berlin, and from there we head back to home sweet home. Unless we decide to head to Holland or France to visit some relatives.
CM
Ireland now too!
The major flights will be booked through British Airways. You get free stopovers along the way,and since they stop in London, we thought it would be a great opportunity to visit my Aunt and her family who live in Limerick!
I was e-mailing with her last week and I think we are both very excited about that part of the trip. She will put us up, which will be great after being on our own in India. She has two little girls, one of which is just a year younger than our girls. It will be a lot of fun to see them play together.
I've never been to Ireland, but have always thought it would be great to go. I've not been to London either, other than the airport on stopovers to France or Holland. So we may also try to spend a couple of days there as well before we head off on the eastern European leg of our trip.
CM
I was e-mailing with her last week and I think we are both very excited about that part of the trip. She will put us up, which will be great after being on our own in India. She has two little girls, one of which is just a year younger than our girls. It will be a lot of fun to see them play together.
I've never been to Ireland, but have always thought it would be great to go. I've not been to London either, other than the airport on stopovers to France or Holland. So we may also try to spend a couple of days there as well before we head off on the eastern European leg of our trip.
CM
Sunday, March 2, 2008
India - Details
After Thailand, it's on to India! When Nadim was young he lived in India for about 10 years. His time there was spent between Goa and Mysore (Southwestern India). As Baha'is we are interested in visiting Delhi and the Baha'i house of worship that is shaped like a lotus flower. This is particularly interesting to Nadim because he is an engineer and finds the structure very interesting as well.
When we first talked about visiting India we thought about staying in Delhi and volunteering at the house of worship there, but as we started to do our research we decided that we might be more comfortable in Mysore. It's a smaller city that Nadim will be familiar with, even though it has been 20 years, and he's lost touch with the people he once knew there. I'm sure he will remember many people once we get there.
So once again, we pulled out our Lonely Planet guide. We were drawn to the western half of India because it seemed to have more to offer in the way of things to see and less risk of malaria and other nasty diseases. Even with ruling out half the country it is still so big with so much to see that we had difficulty settling on a game plan. But after much reading we decided that we would first make Mysore our home base. We plan to arrive there in late January 2009. We will stay there and make some side trips to Hampi which boasts an interesting market, some ruins and boulders that seem to defy gravity. In Mysore itself there is the Maharaja's Palace, and temples. We also thought about a side trip to Ooty which is known as a retreat for the locals to get away from the ciy heat. Chamundi Hills is also near Mysore and should be interesting. We thought we would take a longer side trip, perhaps a week or 10 days, through Kerala. Apparently the houseboat tours are really cool. There is an elephant sanctuary, and tea and spice plantations that would also be interesting to see, not to mention the quiet beaches.
After Mysore we plan to go to Goa for about a week. Goa is known for its beaches, markets, and churches. After Goa we are debating a trip to Ajanta where there are some caves with cave drawings in them. It is a bit difficult to get to that area, so we may end up skipping it if we feel that we are tired of traveling.
After Goa we plan to hit the "Golden Triangle", Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Delhi is known for the old markets, forts and for us the house of worship. Agra is of course known for the Taj Mahal, and Jaipur is known for its colourful bazaar and shopping. There is a ghost town, Fatehpur, along the way that I think would be neat to see as well.
We debated about going to the northwest part of India (Gujarat), but thought we might be in for too much travel. We'll see how the kids are doing and how the home school classes are going and decide if we might want to add it back in. Of course the longer distances in India are part of the problem. Plane tickets are not as cheap as they are in Thailand, but our travel book is a couple years out of date and there was hope that domestic air travel would be coming down in price. We'll check it out with our travel agent before we finalize our plans.
CM
When we first talked about visiting India we thought about staying in Delhi and volunteering at the house of worship there, but as we started to do our research we decided that we might be more comfortable in Mysore. It's a smaller city that Nadim will be familiar with, even though it has been 20 years, and he's lost touch with the people he once knew there. I'm sure he will remember many people once we get there.
So once again, we pulled out our Lonely Planet guide. We were drawn to the western half of India because it seemed to have more to offer in the way of things to see and less risk of malaria and other nasty diseases. Even with ruling out half the country it is still so big with so much to see that we had difficulty settling on a game plan. But after much reading we decided that we would first make Mysore our home base. We plan to arrive there in late January 2009. We will stay there and make some side trips to Hampi which boasts an interesting market, some ruins and boulders that seem to defy gravity. In Mysore itself there is the Maharaja's Palace, and temples. We also thought about a side trip to Ooty which is known as a retreat for the locals to get away from the ciy heat. Chamundi Hills is also near Mysore and should be interesting. We thought we would take a longer side trip, perhaps a week or 10 days, through Kerala. Apparently the houseboat tours are really cool. There is an elephant sanctuary, and tea and spice plantations that would also be interesting to see, not to mention the quiet beaches.
After Mysore we plan to go to Goa for about a week. Goa is known for its beaches, markets, and churches. After Goa we are debating a trip to Ajanta where there are some caves with cave drawings in them. It is a bit difficult to get to that area, so we may end up skipping it if we feel that we are tired of traveling.
After Goa we plan to hit the "Golden Triangle", Delhi, Agra and Jaipur. Delhi is known for the old markets, forts and for us the house of worship. Agra is of course known for the Taj Mahal, and Jaipur is known for its colourful bazaar and shopping. There is a ghost town, Fatehpur, along the way that I think would be neat to see as well.
We debated about going to the northwest part of India (Gujarat), but thought we might be in for too much travel. We'll see how the kids are doing and how the home school classes are going and decide if we might want to add it back in. Of course the longer distances in India are part of the problem. Plane tickets are not as cheap as they are in Thailand, but our travel book is a couple years out of date and there was hope that domestic air travel would be coming down in price. We'll check it out with our travel agent before we finalize our plans.
CM
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Thailand: details
In early November 2008 we plan to leave Vietnam and head for Thailand for about three months. When we had started our research on Thailand we initially thought we would stay in Chiang Mai. We thought that it was still a relatively large city but not as intimidating as Bangkok. But... after some more reading and talking with some Thai aquantences we decided that it might be better to stay somewhere more central. So we are now looking at the Bangkok area. Ayuthaya (85 km north of Bangkok) was recommended to us, but we think it might be a bit far from the city and from public transit to other areas that we would like to see. The other area we are considering is Nonthaburi (about 20 km northwest of Bangkok). We are told Nonthaburi has a strong Baha'i community which would be helpful for us. We've got an e-mail out to some people in Nonthaburi for their advice, and we'll probably ask a travel agent for advice as well.
We would still like to visit the north of Thailand and will likely take a one week trip to the Chiang Mai area at some point during our stay. We will also take a trip to the south of Thailand and see the Krabi and Phuket areas which are known for their amazing beaches. The rest of the time we will stay in the central area.
While in Thailand we plan to see palaces, and temples (there are a ton of those) and a reclining Buddha that is 15 m high by 46 m long! I'm sure we will also take in some boat rides along rivers and canals. There will also be some interesting markets to visit, monkeys to see, and elephant rides. We also want to see a famous 7 tiered waterfall and the Death Railway (bridge over the river Kwai). I'm sure their will be lots more to see, and of course we'll have to make time for home-schooling work too!
Hopefully we will have some friends come visit us while we are there. If they can make it we would try to do the trip to the south with them and have them stay with us in the Bangkok area for a little while as well.
CM
We would still like to visit the north of Thailand and will likely take a one week trip to the Chiang Mai area at some point during our stay. We will also take a trip to the south of Thailand and see the Krabi and Phuket areas which are known for their amazing beaches. The rest of the time we will stay in the central area.
While in Thailand we plan to see palaces, and temples (there are a ton of those) and a reclining Buddha that is 15 m high by 46 m long! I'm sure we will also take in some boat rides along rivers and canals. There will also be some interesting markets to visit, monkeys to see, and elephant rides. We also want to see a famous 7 tiered waterfall and the Death Railway (bridge over the river Kwai). I'm sure their will be lots more to see, and of course we'll have to make time for home-schooling work too!
Hopefully we will have some friends come visit us while we are there. If they can make it we would try to do the trip to the south with them and have them stay with us in the Bangkok area for a little while as well.
CM
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Vietnam: details
After China, we plan to go to Vietnam for a couple of weeks. So how much could we fit into a two week trip?
The country can be divided into three areas, the north, central and south regions. We are very interested in the north because of the natural beauty, particularly along the coast where there are thousands of limestone islands and caves. We plan to spend about a week in the north. We will stay at the city of Hanoi (known for it's history and architecture) for a few days and go for a few days to Halong Bay as well.
Then we will go to the central area for a week. Our trusty Lonely Planet guide tells us that Hue and Danang are the two main cities in the central region, but they are not highly recommended. Instead we plan to go to Hoi-An which is a little quieter, but has beaches nearby and natural attractions, mountain tours, etc.
We've decided to skip Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south. It would have been an interesting city for Nadim and I to see, but we felt that it would not be a great choice for the whole family. Instead we will travel to Thailand after visiting the north and central regions of Vietnam.
CM
The country can be divided into three areas, the north, central and south regions. We are very interested in the north because of the natural beauty, particularly along the coast where there are thousands of limestone islands and caves. We plan to spend about a week in the north. We will stay at the city of Hanoi (known for it's history and architecture) for a few days and go for a few days to Halong Bay as well.
Then we will go to the central area for a week. Our trusty Lonely Planet guide tells us that Hue and Danang are the two main cities in the central region, but they are not highly recommended. Instead we plan to go to Hoi-An which is a little quieter, but has beaches nearby and natural attractions, mountain tours, etc.
We've decided to skip Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south. It would have been an interesting city for Nadim and I to see, but we felt that it would not be a great choice for the whole family. Instead we will travel to Thailand after visiting the north and central regions of Vietnam.
CM
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Beijing: What to see
So we had already decided to start our trip in Beijing and we had given ourselves a month. So I started to think about how much is there to see in one city. I got out lonely planet guide out and started to leaf through the Beijing area. I knew we would want to do some everyday type things like visit the library (for homeschooling purposes), find out where the health clinic, grocery stores and things were, but I was astounded at the number of site seeing opportunities that were available in just one city!
At the top of the list of course is the Great Wall of China, Tianamen Square, and the Forbidden City, but there are also all kinds of gardens, an aquarium, a zoo, science museums, temples and places, bike tours, Chinese puppet theatre, Ming Tombs, and "Le Cool Ice Rink". I've listed about 20 different things that we need to see or do while in Beijing. I hope we can fit them all in. We are also thinking about day trips to Tianjin, a coastal town about 1.5 hours away, and to Chengde which is about 250 km away and boasts the largest regal gardens.
We are still debating about how to get from Beijing to Vietnam. We could take a lengthy train ride, and get off for quick stops in one or more of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macau, or we could take the much quicker method of flying, but then we do miss out on the other places.
CM
At the top of the list of course is the Great Wall of China, Tianamen Square, and the Forbidden City, but there are also all kinds of gardens, an aquarium, a zoo, science museums, temples and places, bike tours, Chinese puppet theatre, Ming Tombs, and "Le Cool Ice Rink". I've listed about 20 different things that we need to see or do while in Beijing. I hope we can fit them all in. We are also thinking about day trips to Tianjin, a coastal town about 1.5 hours away, and to Chengde which is about 250 km away and boasts the largest regal gardens.
We are still debating about how to get from Beijing to Vietnam. We could take a lengthy train ride, and get off for quick stops in one or more of Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macau, or we could take the much quicker method of flying, but then we do miss out on the other places.
CM
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Home Sweet Home
We have a beautiful house, a large backyard, great neighbours, and a nice location. So, giving all that up for a year will be difficult, but giving it up permanently was not an option that we wanted to consider.
Our extended family was our first thought, but there was really nobody in a situation where they would want to move to Ottawa and stay in our house for a year. So we thought about renting and didn't much like the idea of having someone we didn't know in our house, especially if we didn't know if we could trust them. Then as luck would have it, we heard about a couple though my sister-in-law. They were interested in renting our house! Someone we could trust and our mortgage covered, yay!
A few weeks back we met with Krista and Pat. We enticed them with a cup of coffee and some home-made pumpkin bread, and before you know it we were talking like old friends. We came away with our house rented to friends we could trust and no hastle of changing bills out of our names and they came away with a pretty good deal for such a beautiful house. I think everyone is feeling very good about it.
We still need to figure out what needs to be packed and what doesn't, but all in all I think it will work out really well. This is a big load off our minds!
Christina
Our extended family was our first thought, but there was really nobody in a situation where they would want to move to Ottawa and stay in our house for a year. So we thought about renting and didn't much like the idea of having someone we didn't know in our house, especially if we didn't know if we could trust them. Then as luck would have it, we heard about a couple though my sister-in-law. They were interested in renting our house! Someone we could trust and our mortgage covered, yay!
A few weeks back we met with Krista and Pat. We enticed them with a cup of coffee and some home-made pumpkin bread, and before you know it we were talking like old friends. We came away with our house rented to friends we could trust and no hastle of changing bills out of our names and they came away with a pretty good deal for such a beautiful house. I think everyone is feeling very good about it.
We still need to figure out what needs to be packed and what doesn't, but all in all I think it will work out really well. This is a big load off our minds!
Christina
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Are you smarter than a third grader?!
We have now received all the home schooling materials that we ordered. We are going to concentrate on language kills, world history and math. The math books are very cool. They have exercises in making fractions, using sets, etc. I am not sure who is more excited about this, us or the kids!
The books on history are also very interesting. The one that we will be studying is called "The Story of The World - Ancient Times", and goes through the ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, China, Greece, Persia, etc. The book is written more as a narrative than a text book, so it is more intresting reading as well.
The English books have a lot of grammar execises, sentence structure, vocabulary, etc. It should be fun to have the kids do research on historic places that we will be visiting and write reports on their visits. That way, they can learn their history and practise their writing skills. We will also encourage them to stay in touch with family and friends through e-mail and snail mail.
The books on history are also very interesting. The one that we will be studying is called "The Story of The World - Ancient Times", and goes through the ancient civilizations of Egypt, India, China, Greece, Persia, etc. The book is written more as a narrative than a text book, so it is more intresting reading as well.
The English books have a lot of grammar execises, sentence structure, vocabulary, etc. It should be fun to have the kids do research on historic places that we will be visiting and write reports on their visits. That way, they can learn their history and practise their writing skills. We will also encourage them to stay in touch with family and friends through e-mail and snail mail.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Travel medicine (2)
Back to the travel clinic for booster shots... The girls knew what to expect this time, but they were brave and didn't make a fuss. So we got our booster shots for Hep A and B. It was combined into one needle so the girls were happy. This time we came away with the cool Shrek band aids. The not so cool ones went back in the box for the doctor's next victim!
We have one more booster for Hep A and B, but that isn't for another few months. We also need Japanese Encephalitis, but rather than pay $115/shot and we would each need three shots we think we may get it in China and pay only $5/shot. Amazing what happens when you mass produce something! We got the e-mail address of a clinic and will see what we can arrange.
We also need Malaria pills. It's not likely that we would get it, but better be safe than sorry. Those can wait until we are closer to our departure date.
We have one more booster for Hep A and B, but that isn't for another few months. We also need Japanese Encephalitis, but rather than pay $115/shot and we would each need three shots we think we may get it in China and pay only $5/shot. Amazing what happens when you mass produce something! We got the e-mail address of a clinic and will see what we can arrange.
We also need Malaria pills. It's not likely that we would get it, but better be safe than sorry. Those can wait until we are closer to our departure date.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Home schooling
When we decided we would live somewhat more like nomads and not just have one place as a home base for the year, our ideas of enrolling the girls in a foriegn school were given up and in thier place home schooling ideas began to grow. At first I thought how difficult could it be? So I started quite confidently looking at the Ontario curriculum guides online. No issues there. Then I started to look for lesson plans. That seemed a little harder. There were so many lesson plans! The free ones seemed like a lot of work to put them into a program that would flow and there were so many choices for the ones that you could purchase. I didn't really know where to start. So I was starting to get a little more nervous about pulling together the program... luckily I spoke with some friends about it and they put me in contact with a mom in the neighbourhood who was homeschooling her children. This was her first year doing it and she was very excited to share a ton of information. She had just finished grade three with one of her daughters so it was good timing.
We sat down and talked for a few hours and I came away with a much better idea of how she had structured her approach to home schooling and once again it didn't seem too bad. She lent me a book "The Well Trained Mind - A Guide to Classical Education at Home" by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. I flipped through her copy and ended up getting my own copy. It helped me figure out what materials I wanted to purchase and how to structure my home schooling program. After reading it, I was totally pumped up. It's going to be so much fun to teach the girls. It will be hard work too, but I hope it will be very rewarding.
As I was reading I made notes on what workbooks and things I would need and also on how I would do the various subjects. I recently went online and tracked down all the items that I wanted and some of the things have already arrived! Yay.
I think we will be able to manage the various subjects Monday-Thursday mornings and leave Friday for spelling tests and projects. Mostly I am going to focus on English and Math. I've got the Rod & Staff, English 3 Beginning Wisely lesson plans and workbooks and the MCP Spelling workbooks. I have ordered the Saxon Math program, but they haven't come in yet. We will also be doing world history. The Ontario program calls for Ontario history in grade three, but forget that when we will be seeing things like the Great Wall of China! I also thought I would add in a religion class where the girls can study prayers, writings and the history of the Baha'i faith.
I wonder how I'll feel when we come back. Will I be glad to send them back to the public system or will I want to continue home schooling? One thing at a time I guess.
We sat down and talked for a few hours and I came away with a much better idea of how she had structured her approach to home schooling and once again it didn't seem too bad. She lent me a book "The Well Trained Mind - A Guide to Classical Education at Home" by Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise. I flipped through her copy and ended up getting my own copy. It helped me figure out what materials I wanted to purchase and how to structure my home schooling program. After reading it, I was totally pumped up. It's going to be so much fun to teach the girls. It will be hard work too, but I hope it will be very rewarding.
As I was reading I made notes on what workbooks and things I would need and also on how I would do the various subjects. I recently went online and tracked down all the items that I wanted and some of the things have already arrived! Yay.
I think we will be able to manage the various subjects Monday-Thursday mornings and leave Friday for spelling tests and projects. Mostly I am going to focus on English and Math. I've got the Rod & Staff, English 3 Beginning Wisely lesson plans and workbooks and the MCP Spelling workbooks. I have ordered the Saxon Math program, but they haven't come in yet. We will also be doing world history. The Ontario program calls for Ontario history in grade three, but forget that when we will be seeing things like the Great Wall of China! I also thought I would add in a religion class where the girls can study prayers, writings and the history of the Baha'i faith.
I wonder how I'll feel when we come back. Will I be glad to send them back to the public system or will I want to continue home schooling? One thing at a time I guess.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Tickets, get your tickets!
So apparently you need to buy tickets to go anywhere! We had budgeted approximately $20k for airline tickets for the 4 of us. That was the estimate we had arrived at based on our review of various websites, including some "world traveller" sites. It was now time to meet with a travel agent to discuss airline tickets. It was very exciting to actually sit down with a travel agent and talk about the trip - it made it more real somehow, because all our rsearch until then was done at home on the internet! Also, the fact that they had a huge map of the world on their wall was very cool - we got up and mapped out the trip on the big map!
The agent said the world travel tickets start at approximately $4k per person, not including taxes. You get 26,000 miles of air travel with that type of ticket. Then he suggested we look at one of the major airlines to map out a basic route and then plan side trips. To make a long story short, this is the plan we came up with:
We could fly British Airways from Montreal to Beijing (through London), and return from Delhi to Montreal (again through London). This would be the main trip. We then book flights from Beijing to Hanoi, Hanoi to Bangkok and Bangkok to Bangalore (India), using regional airlines. Flights from Hanoi to Bangkok are $40 per person! You can't even get a bus ticket for that here. Then, once we fly from Delhi to London, we make another side trip to Bucharest, and return from Warsaw. We will probably rent a car in Bucharest and return it in Warsaw. That way we can do the eastern european leg of the trip by car. This scenario ends up costing us approximately $3,000 each, including taxes! Now that is great news! We get to save some money on flights - woohoo! And we can book all our flights right here in Ottawa, with the flexibility to change dates if we have to. We'll have to wait until late January or February 2008 for next year's ticket schedules to be released though.
Going through London is also exciting because we will have a chance to stop over for a few days and do some sight seeing. We may even get to visit some relatives in the area. Maybe drop in on the Queen if she's in town, and have some tea!
The agent said the world travel tickets start at approximately $4k per person, not including taxes. You get 26,000 miles of air travel with that type of ticket. Then he suggested we look at one of the major airlines to map out a basic route and then plan side trips. To make a long story short, this is the plan we came up with:
We could fly British Airways from Montreal to Beijing (through London), and return from Delhi to Montreal (again through London). This would be the main trip. We then book flights from Beijing to Hanoi, Hanoi to Bangkok and Bangkok to Bangalore (India), using regional airlines. Flights from Hanoi to Bangkok are $40 per person! You can't even get a bus ticket for that here. Then, once we fly from Delhi to London, we make another side trip to Bucharest, and return from Warsaw. We will probably rent a car in Bucharest and return it in Warsaw. That way we can do the eastern european leg of the trip by car. This scenario ends up costing us approximately $3,000 each, including taxes! Now that is great news! We get to save some money on flights - woohoo! And we can book all our flights right here in Ottawa, with the flexibility to change dates if we have to. We'll have to wait until late January or February 2008 for next year's ticket schedules to be released though.
Going through London is also exciting because we will have a chance to stop over for a few days and do some sight seeing. We may even get to visit some relatives in the area. Maybe drop in on the Queen if she's in town, and have some tea!
The Travel Clinic
So Nadim and I told the girls that we were going to the travel clinic and that we were going to just get some advise on the type of shots and medication we would need. Roya asked us, in that shy worried voice that kids sometimes have... 'are we going to have to get a needle?'. So first we told her that she would get a needle that was about a foot long and it would go right through her arm if she moved. Luckily she knows we are a bunch of jokers, so she didn't believe us. We then told the kids that we would get shots, but not at this visit. So off we went!
We had to wait a little while, but got in fairly quickly. I didn't notice it, but Nadim and Roya brought it to our attention afterwards - the doctor provided information in the form of questions. He would ask something like "So you could get Hep A, how bad is it?" then he would answer his own question. There were all sorts of questions "So will it kill you? No, but you could have symptoms like...." So we were asked lots of funny questions that thankfully we didn't have to answer, and we got all sorts of good info. We also were told that we needed Hep A and B shots and Typhoid, along with a bunch of others that would need to be ordered. He said he could give us the first shot of Hep A/B and Typhoid today if we wanted. Nadim and I looked at each other, shrugged and said why not!
The doctor said that he had one combo shot of Hep A/B for a child, but that the other girl would have to get separate needles since he only had one combo. Who was the braver of the two. We volunteered Yasmin. So the sleeves were rolled up and Roya went first. There were a few crocodile tears, but she survived with her Barbie Band-aid. Yasmin got her shots and also got a special Band-aid. It had Dora on it. Of course with the girls getting special Band-aids Nadim had to have one too. His was a Surfer Barbie. I was lucky enough to get one with My Little Pony on it.
So we have to go back and get a booster and then we are good for life for Hep A/B and for ten years for Typhoid. We also have to go back for Japanese Encephalitis shots and Malaria pills and whatever other good advise the doctor can give us. I hope I don't start laughing when the rhetorical questions start!
We had to wait a little while, but got in fairly quickly. I didn't notice it, but Nadim and Roya brought it to our attention afterwards - the doctor provided information in the form of questions. He would ask something like "So you could get Hep A, how bad is it?" then he would answer his own question. There were all sorts of questions "So will it kill you? No, but you could have symptoms like...." So we were asked lots of funny questions that thankfully we didn't have to answer, and we got all sorts of good info. We also were told that we needed Hep A and B shots and Typhoid, along with a bunch of others that would need to be ordered. He said he could give us the first shot of Hep A/B and Typhoid today if we wanted. Nadim and I looked at each other, shrugged and said why not!
The doctor said that he had one combo shot of Hep A/B for a child, but that the other girl would have to get separate needles since he only had one combo. Who was the braver of the two. We volunteered Yasmin. So the sleeves were rolled up and Roya went first. There were a few crocodile tears, but she survived with her Barbie Band-aid. Yasmin got her shots and also got a special Band-aid. It had Dora on it. Of course with the girls getting special Band-aids Nadim had to have one too. His was a Surfer Barbie. I was lucky enough to get one with My Little Pony on it.
So we have to go back and get a booster and then we are good for life for Hep A/B and for ten years for Typhoid. We also have to go back for Japanese Encephalitis shots and Malaria pills and whatever other good advise the doctor can give us. I hope I don't start laughing when the rhetorical questions start!
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