I contemplated whether I should write this blog or not, in the end I decided to go for it. I am sorry if it comes across as insensitive or selfish to some of my readers- I don’t want to give that impression and in the end the decision to document my travels outweighed my moral dilemma. I suppose when you travel for an extended period of time, things come up and this is what my travel blog is about.
Dan and I are beginning to come close to the half way point of our journey. I am going to be completely honest in that I am starting to miss some superficial comforts of home (stay tuned for my Xmas list!) but at the end of the day, I am neither ready nor am I wanting to go home. I am immersed in this life now. I love being a gypsy, making decisions every day that could mean going to new countries, meeting new people or just relaxing and enjoying our time together. Our decisions mean so much more to me than the ones that I would be making back home. It is difficult to explain. So when we received some bad news from home and had to make flight arrangements to return for a week or so to be with family in Calgary, I wasn’t prepared for the feelings that came to the surface. Obviously, we are going for personal reasons and the situation in itself has occupied my mind but I have been utterly surprised by my reaction to the news of my short stopover in my home country. I am scared…..there you go, I said it. For reasons I cannot even begin to explain, I am afraid to go back home. I am nervous to see my family again (weird, I know), and on top of that I am very much not looking forward to entering the western world again. My bubble has been popped.
I could go on and on about how I feel, but this isn’t a journal, it is a travel blog so instead I will tell you about our journey home. It has been a long one to say the least- not bad but long. As always, a person should purchase travel insurance before embarking on a trip, and I can say that our company in particular has been fabulous. It all started when Dan and I arrived in Luang Nam Tha, which is a 6 hour bus ride from the boarder town of Huay Xai. After spending only one night we had decided to move on and continue South (Laos only grants a 28 day Visa). We made our way back on the same bus, stayed overnight in Huay Xai before boarding a two day slow boat to Luang Prabang. I do have one comment about the slow boat that I have to make; take it, it is a beautiful way to meet friends and see the Mekong River. That being said, the trip takes two days and in hindsight I would have only taken the boat the first day, then a bus the rest of the way. Two days is a long time, it is uncomfortable and the pace becomes tiresome after so many hours- just my opinion. After checking into our guesthouse, meeting new friends and spending one night in Luang Prabang, we woke early the next morning to board a 10 hour bus ride to the Laos capital- Vientiene. It doesn’t stop there, but I don’t want to bore you with the details, but if our math is correct, Dan and I have been travelling for more than 2 1/2 days out of 5- that’s too much!! Vientiene to Bangkok, Bangkok to Tokyo, Tokyo to Calgary. My legs are swollen like sausages and I can no longer feel my ass, but at the end of the day I am still happy that we are living the life we are. I have realized something great that we have learned along the way- stress control. After all these stressful days, full of exhausting travel at no time did either of us lose our cool. We remained relatively calm through the whole ordeal, and it all worked out in the end (oops, knock on wood…I’m still on an Air Canada flight as I write this). Not only that, but I am on a plane with a bunch of Japanese school kids, I am assuming they are making their way to Toronto for the first time. When the plane took off, all the girlies started squealing and giggling, like nothing I have ever heard before and it reminded me just why I am doing what I do everyday. Ha- it was like I was in a real life anime :)
So there you go- I guess what I have learned is that there is always a bright side if you take the time to notice. Hmmmm, or maybe I am just brain dead from all the travel time. I’m gonna go with the former.
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