One of the crazy things they have for tourists here is the opportunity to see and be right beside a tiger. At first I was not too thrilled, all I could picture was the freak accident that involved one of us. However, these animals have lived their whole lives in captivity and are remarkably tame. It doesn’t hurt either that they are mostly nocturnal and we are visiting them in the heat of the day. The little cubs are the absolute cutest!


The girls even got to feed the baby tigers, they are about 3 months old.


After that Simon and I got to sit with the adult tigers, there were 3 of them. Each male weighed from 150-200 kg. When you are sitting next to one, they are huge! It was a pretty cool experience!

We are spending the holiday week in Chiang Mai with our Revelstoke friends who are living here for a year and a half. Our kids are similar ages so the house is full of action.
We visited the zoo one day.

We also went on a nice hike to a national park to see a set of 10 waterfalls.

It is always more fun for kids to hike together, it keeps the motivation going. Here we are at the top having a break:

Christmas this year was spent in the tropics of Thailand visiting with our friends from Revelstoke; Gary, Gabriella, Bence and Lutza. It was a little strange getting into the Christmas spirit amidst palm trees wearing shorts and t-shirts. There are several Christmas decorations on the nearby houses though. On Christmas eve we went carolling with 3 Americans and their Thai families. Carols were sung in both Thai and English. It was fun.
Santa did manage to find our kids and it was a happy Christmas morning for the kids.

Happy Holidays to all!

We spent the last week at a Marriott resort at Surin Beach, Phuket. We decided to treat ourselves and more-importantly, our kids, after 5 months in China with limited playmates for them. This resort had a kids club and two waterslides, which the girls absolutely loved.
The beach was also very beautiful.


Directly after breakfast each day they ditched us in favour of playing with the other children at the kids club.


Another reason this was a special week was that Simon’s mom joined us from Australia. Emily and Maddie certainly enjoyed the company of their Nanny Kirsty, who lets them wear bright red or pink lipstick when we dress up for dinner.

One night we did a very Thai thing, lightng these lanterns and letting them go on the beach, watching them sail away on the ocean breeze.

We had some great highlights together. Firstly we took a boat trip to Koh Phi Phi and a few other surrounding islands.


Maya Beach, on Koh Phi Phi Leh; although slightly altered for the film, “The Beach”, is definitely one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever seen.




The film added a waterfall and a sense of a different entry, but the beach is essentially the same. Emily lost her first tooth on this day as well.

Another day we took a trip to visit the elephant safari. We all took a ride on top of an elephant and the girls had a blast feeding them.



The elephant that the girls and I rode on was a youngster, only 16, and he liked grabbing branches along the way for a snack then running to catch up to the group. Being on a running elephant is an experience like no other!

We met a lovely family from the US, who were also living in China. We were able to share our funny Chinese experiences together. We took a trip to a neighbouring beach one day.

After Kuala Lumpur we flew into Krabi for the beginning of our Thai vacation. Since we had a spare week before Phuket we decided to go to the remote island of Koh Jum. We took a 40 minute longboat ferry to the island which was a new adventure for the girls.

We stayed at the Oon-Lee Resort, a beautiful place owned by a Thai/French couple Oon and Valerie. It was recommended by our friends Richard and Kim and we pass on the high praises to anyone else. They have built 9 bungalows set in the jungle with beautiful gardens throughout.



With a Thai chef and French influences the food there was also amazing; a step above.

Our bartender, Enda from Ireland, was always good for a chat and a cold beverage.


We had many days on the beach with turquoise waters and white sand. We hiked to ‘Magic Beach’ and had the whole place to ourselves one afternoon. Maddie loves being buried in the sand, as you can see.


Simon went deep sea fishing with Oon one day, no big fish but lots of smaller ones were caught. The kitchen staff made a wonderful fish ceviche appetizer for all with some of the catch that night.
We both had our first Thai massage which was very luxurious, and only $12 for 80 minutes. I needed it because our bungalow was up the equivalent of 6 flights of stairs.

I really enjoyed our week ‘unplugged’ from society, relaxing in a hammock or playing in the sand on the beach. It hardly gets any better than that…

We had a great visit with our friends, Fong and Elaine, in Kuala Lumpur. Simon and Fong played in a band together in Fort Smith, when we lived there 4 years ago.

Our first outing was to a Hindu temple set inside a huge cave. It was quite impressive as were the long flight of steps leading to the cave entrance.


Also up there were a few hawkers with their Burmese pythons, available for photographic opportunities. Maddie was instantly interested; Emily needed a little more coaxing, but eventually both sat with a snake on their lap or around their shoulders.




Fong knew all the hotspots for eating to take us to, they were all amazing! Malaysia is a country filled with a huge variety of peoples; Indian, Chinese, Thai, Indonesian and other southeast Asians, as well as the local Malaysians. A result of this is a huge fusion of foods with many enticing flavours. We ate Malaysian chicken ayan goreng rempah, which is fried chicken with coconut rice; Indian parathas with wonderful curries, served on a banana leaf; Japanese sushi, Chinese dim sum and even more. Our tastebuds were overjoyed!

We went on a Sunday outing down to Malacca, a old Portuguese port. The girls enjoyed climbing around in an authentic ship just like little pirates and going up a scenic ride high in the sky.

At the downtown Central Market we found some pretty dresses for the girls, henna for their hands and the oddest exfoliation method I have ever experienced. As I submerged my feet and lower legs into this pool, hundreds of small fish suckered themselves onto me and ate away all my dead skin and increased the circulation. It was the strangest feeling!

Malaysians are also big fans of shopping malls. We visited several, to get supplies for the trip ahead of us and some exercise at the numerous kids playgrounds. I was amazed at the amount of Christmas decorations in a largely Muslim country. I guess commerce is commerce, and Christmas at a mall is all about the shopping enticements.

Here are the famed twin towers of Kuala Lumpur, and Emily striking a ‘fashion girl’ pose in her new dress, as she would call it. Kate Moss look out!

Our stay in China has come to an end after 5 months. It has been an interesting and valuable experience. Medically speaking, I feel that the treatments have had some benefits. I did not get the miracle cure that I once may have hoped for, but I found other things. I found out how to better manage my condition; what makes it better and what makes it worse. I found out that I get results when I stick to my regular strengthening exercises, and that when I slack off it shows. I have learned that daily meditation is my greatest ally and that my brain needs to be ‘turned off’ for a while every day. Most importantly, though, is something that I already knew was confirmed; a positive mindset goes a long way to healing and feeling better. When doubt or anger or impatience clouded my mind, I did not show any progressive results. When my thoughts were positive I did. So I am happy to be at more or less a similar state as I was 5 months ago, which in my opinion is a positive when all I have been promised in the West is a steady decline of health. I am continuing my daily herbal tea (or capsules) and hope to continue on this path of positive progression.
Also, it is always worth it. The things that my family and I have experienced, seen, tasted, touched and lived were like no other in our lives. As always, life is an adventure…!

Some of the final images of our lives in China before we set upon our next set of adventures.
Tai chi in the main entrance of the hospital

Our girls love a party!

Such great artists!

Emily and Madeline having their daily ‘tea party’ with Lutz and Martina from Berlin. We look forward to visiting them in January.

Simon watched interestedly as this person’s house got closer and closer to being buried by roadside construction…was it saved or not? We may never know.

A garden at a lovely dim sum restaurant in Guangzhou, our last stop in China.

Guangzhou night scenes:


Good bye China from the Guangzhou airport with the mascots of the Asian games 2010 which were happening while we were there.

Next stop, tropical paradise…?

After leaving Nepal, we flew up to Beijing. We were pretty tired from all of the month’s previous sightseeing, so we only had two things on our itinerary; climb the Great Wall and sample some Peking duck. I found us a fabulous suite in a downtown hotel (Expedia rocks!) for $1000 less than the rack rate, so we had ample room to chill out.

The first day we went to one of the sections of the Great Wall, Juyongguan Pass, an important military stronghold. It is a steep climb up but Emily and Maddie BOTH made it all the way, unassisted.

All it took was one oreo at each guard’s tower! They are super climber/hikers, we are so proud of our mountain girls!!


We put Madeline in the backpack carrier for the way down, not because she was tired, it was too steep.

We went down a different section than we came up and it just got steeper….

and steeper…

And really, really steep…

Simon’s dad bought the girls medals at the bottom, commemorating their achievement. They were very excited about this and have since showed them to all people that may be nearby.
The next day we went to a restaurant in the Hyatt Grand Hotel named ‘Made in China’. It was recommended that they may have the BEST Peking duck in all of Beijing. We tried it out, the skin, dipped in sugar, literally melted in our mouths. The meat was tender and juicy, you wrap it in a pancake of sorts, with sauce and a few accompanying condiments; fabulous! This restaurant definitely gets our vote! Although we didn’t sit in the ‘wine room’, these pic’s are for you, Cam!

Kathmandu is a feast for the senses. We stayed in the typical backpacker area called Thamel. It is full of places ready to part you and your money. T-shirts, knock-off versions of expensive outerwear, trekking tours, books, teas & spices, incense; whatever you are looking for, it is here.

Thamel at night:

What a crazy place:

There are many, many restaurants to choose from in Kathmandu. We had delicious Thai, Italian, Nepalese, Indian and Mexican food. The desserts weren’t half bad either…

We went to see Nepal’s largest Buddhist Stupa, Boudhanath. A stupa is a mound-like structure containing Buddhist relics, typically the remains of a Buddha or saint. Who is entombed underneath this one has been historically a topic of much debate. It is one of the most holy sites for Buddhists nonetheless. It is surrounded by over 1000 prayer wheels that religious devotees circumnavigate in a clockwise direction rotating each one.

A close-up of the ‘wise eyes’, as Emily calls them (from the book, Ping):

After that we went to a Hindu holy site, Pashupatinath Temple. It is the one of the largest Hindu temples of Lord Shiva in the world located on the banks of the Bagmati River. This river is considered very holy since it flows into the Ganges in India. There is a cremation site on the banks of the river and the deceased are floated down to the awaiting fires on their final journey.

Hindu holy men, or Sadhu:

This one was very flexible:

Hindu widows that did not have children in their marriage end up as Holy ladies:

The next day we visited the ancient city of Bodhnaranth. This was a stop on the old spice and tea trading route between Tibet and India. There is a palace built by King Jitamitra Malla, and various Temples. This king was very vain and jealous. The following beautiful stone carving was so beautiful that the king ordered the artisan’s hands cut off so that he could not create another masterpiece for anyone else. Talk about ingratitude!

The cobras surrounding the king’s outdoor bathing pool, to protect him from evil spirits:

Here are a few of the beautiful buildings: