There was something exciting and adventurous about traveling to Cairo. The world watched Egypt’s Arab Spring live from Tahrir Square as the revolution unfolded. A revolution that was successful in ousting President Mubarak. But the honeymoon is over and Egyptians grow more frustrated each day with President Morsi. There’s exciting and adventurous and there’s ‘what…
Inconspicuous In Istanbul
It’s nice to blend in for a change. In India and Thailand if my DNA didn’t give me away, my camera, backpack and gaggle of travel companions certainly did. Clearly on the radar of every vendor, beggar, and scam artist, it becomes a bit much at times. Dark hair, one day’s beard, and sporting a…
Rajistani Retreat
Bumping along a rural road in Rajistan, we notice a fort on top of a hill. In the blur that is adventure travel – five hours on a public bus from Agra that morning and rising at 4 a.m. the day before to catch the train from Delhi to Agra – it had not registered…
Honk If You’re In Delhi
Crazy commuters, terrifying traffic, drivers with a death wish – I’ve seen them in Cairo, Cape Town, Dubai and Doha. But Delhi’s traffic trumps them all. I ask each taxi or tuk tuk driver what they think of Delhi: “Too much traffic,” they say. About half the population of Canada is crammed into Delhi –…
The Elegance of Elephants
Lumbering and languid, but certainly not lazy, elephants have had an important and honoured role in Thailand for thousands of years. They have been used to help fight wars, carry kings, build temples, and most recently in a sad irony, they have been used to clear their own habitat for the logging industry. At the…
Bangkok by Boat
One sees a place differently by water. I first discovered this sailing down the Nile. There are no vendors vying for your attention to make a sale. No mad drivers to mow you down mid-stride. No children tugging at your trousers or heartstrings. It’s a slower pace. A pace that allows you to absorb and…
In Good Company
In an exercise to exorcise my inner introvert, I accepted an invitation to spend New Year’s Eve with ten strangers in Sydney. One degree separated me from my host, Pauline, who is the sister of the mom at the farm I stayed at in Wingham a few weeks ago. With representatives from Italy, Switzerland, Lebanon…
Lost in Translation
As I lug my Arabic grammar books and dictionary from country to country in anticipation of my time in the Middle East, it never occurred to me that I should have packed similar tools to help me with the Australian language. Sitting at the dinner table at the farm in Wingham, we often joked how…
These Are the Creatures in My Neighbourhood
This past summer I scoffed at tourists stopping to take photos of foxes in the Prince Edward Island National Park. Their idling car convoys lining the side of the road, I asked myself, “Haven’t they seen foxes before? What’s the big deal?” Now, as I scan the eucalyptus trees for the elusive koala or roadsides…
Horse Dentists and Runaway Chickens
I have left the suburbs. I enjoyed my time living in the outskirts of Sydney and Brisbane, but I am now on a farm in Wingham, New South Wales, four hours north of Sydney. It’s not a large farm, but a lovely one with a cow and calf, and many chooks (chickens), as well as…
Turn Left at the Mosque
It happens in almost every city I visit. I am asked for directions – and I often know where to direct the lost souls. I was in Sydney less than twenty-four hours and was asked in a train station where was Platform 7. Up the stairs to the left. I had a flock of tourists…
Out and About in Brisbane
With the temperature forecast to hit 37 Celsius, I was loathe to venture from the suburbs into the city, but most of my four days spent in downtown Brisbane were rainy and I wanted to explore more of this great city. Brisbane is a smaller, more laid back city than Sydney at about half its…
Twenty Years From Now... 