With the opening of Asia from Covid lock-down in the last half of 2022 we knew 2023 would be our opportunity to spend quality time exploring the region. We spent 7 months there, then another 2.5 months in Europe before heading back to North America on a transatlantic cruise staying a couple of weeks in…
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After 38 days of fairly quick travel through Northern Europe and the Baltic states we finished our time in Europe this year with a quiet month on the coast of Spain, capped by a few nights in Barcelona. We quite like Spain, particularly in autumn, and have spent a bit of time in that country…
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Andorra wasn’t a country I knew much about other than seeing their small group of athletes near the start of the Winter Olympics parade of nations. It always sounded mysterious and vaguely magical, and was originally in our plans for a visit last year at this time when we were doing a road-trip from Italy…
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We’ve finished our five week trip through northern Europe that began in Sweden and ends here in Lithuania, the southern-most of the Baltic states. It’s been very interesting learning about the history and influences that have shaped this corner of the world. Whitney would normally be writing this blog post, while I (Howard) handle the…
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We continue to wend our way through Northern Europe, moving south from Estonia into Latvia to explore its capital city, Riga. Despite its close proximity to Estonia, the people of Latvia belong to a different ethnic group, the Balts. In antiquity there were roughly eleven Baltic tribes, who survived as farmers and amber gatherers; today…
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Winding cobblestone streets, pastel-coloured houses, fortified walls with gates and turrets – walking through the Old Quarter of Tallinn feels like you’ve been transported directly into the pages of a fairy tale. We loved Tallinn, though I have to say if we thought the people of Helsinki were stoic, the Estonians border on surly. I…
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For the sixth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report, Finland is the happiest country in the world. Their joy must be internal because, to the casual observer, they are amongst the most stoic people we’ve ever met. Although the Finnish tribes traded extensively with their neighbours to the west, they were…
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We had originally planned to spend all of 2023 in Asia, primarily SE Asia. By early May we realized that our Canadian bodies, particularly my well-insulated physique, were not designed for heat and humidity; we were finding the temperatures quite unbearable. There were still places we wanted to see in the region, but decided to…
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After seven months in Asia we decided to make central Thailand our final destination, with stops in Bangkok and Hua Hin (Wha Hen), in particular because Bangkok is an airline hub, plus who doesn’t like a bit of beach time! Bangkok and Hua Hin are located in the area that was once part of the…
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Similar to neighbouring Laos, the area of northern Thailand was settled by Tai immigrants from China. In the mid-13th century CE several smaller kingdoms, scattered throughout the region that would later become Burma (Myanmar), Laos and the Thai highlands, were unified as the Kingdom of a Million Rice Fields, the Lan Na Kingdom. The royal…
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