Number 28

Our trip is finally coming to a close... sad but excitng times, for now we get to come home and see everyone again! We fly home in a week, on Septemebr 11th and hopefully we can see anyone who takes the time to read this soon after that.

For our last country, the 28th in the past year and a half, we visited Slovenia. Our good friend Matt hails from this beautiful and under-rated land. Off of most travel itineraries, the small country offers so much! We have enjoyed the vibrant life of Ljubljana (the main city) and the more relaxed life at Lake Bled. The lake is just gorgeous, complete with a mountainous backdrop, crystal clear water and a picturesque church situated on a tiny island in the middle. Rope swings and overhanging trees to jump from were everywhere!


We believe this will be the final post of our world adventures! We´ll see you all very soon!

A River Runs Through It...or two or three...

We were told by many people that Venice is a city in Europe not to be missed. It is unlike any place you will ever see. The crumbling brick and peeling paint is something most locals find to be a drawback about the city, but as a visitor these things give it so much character. The maze of canals running through the city are so unique and create such beautiful photographs! (Jill, we couldn't help but think what an amazing place this would be for you to visit. You and your camera would LOVE this city!)
We ate pizza, pizza, and more pizza. You can buy what they call "draught wine" at the restaurants for a few Euros per litre!
This is a city in which to almost completely ditch the map, head out into the labyrinth of streets and just get lost. And get lost we did. Many times. Per hour.

The Austrian Alps

We had seen most of Austria and so decided that we should take a glimpse at the mountains. Our plan was to go to Innsbruck for 3 days before heading south to Venice. On arriving, we decided to try out the free hiking program they offered there. They gave us boots, drove us into the most beautiful valley and guided us on a 5 hour hike... all free! We fell in love with the Alpine scenery and could not pass up the free hikes... so we stayed 16 days! We went on 10 guided hikes (enough to get a gold medal in the prgoram!) before we felt confident enough to take on a mountain. On our last day, we climbed to die Hafelekar Spitze. It took 5 hours to climb and another 4 to decend, although we stopped for beer, strudel and espresso!

Pilsen, Prague, Budapest and Bratislava....

We need to try and keep up here...our pictures are running away with us. We have now decided to do blog-combo deals. Four cities for the price of one!
We had ten days in these cities and they were quite beautiful. We went to Pilsen for one reason only...the Pilsen Urquell brewery. This is where the beer we all enjoy and love, the Pils, was born and raised. We did the obligatory tour and were quite impressed with it!
Prague was gorgeous. The main square was probably one of the prettiest we've seen. I think all of those tourism dollars have done the city well!
Budapest was also quite spectacular! Not as busy with tourists and as a result not as restored. However, still some of the most amazing buildings we've seen. We're beginning to get a little 'catherdraled out' so to speak. Every city has dozens of them, and after a while they all begin to look the same. But, St. Stephen's Basilica in Budapest was our absolute favourite. Just stunning. We also found a hostel here for six euros each a night! We had to share the room with ten other people, but still...can't beat a twelve euro sleep! Too bad Mike's pocket was picked at the train station. Bye bye wallet! That was a sad moment for us.
And finally, Bratislava. The weekend getaway for all the Viennese. It is a quaint, small city with lots of little cafes, laneways and cute shops. We only spent one night in the city but, if we had a little more money, would have liked to spend more time. Next day, we hopped on a express boat back to Vienna, back to Eggendorf and straight to the local 'gasthaus' for some schnitzel and beer!

Early July in Brussels and Paris

We are definately falling a bit behind with these blog entries. Here´s one from early July: Brussels and Paris! We had a great time in Brussels enjoying all that is Belgian... Waffles, Chocolates and Good Beer! What an underated country! The scenery was pretty nice too!

Paris lived up to our expectations, which was really hard to do. Maybe we were just hoping for romance and so we found it, but the city has a magical feel. A highlight was definately enjoying a picnic of wine, cheese, meat and bagguettes on the eiffel tower lawn! We also enjoyed numerous cafes and bought the most expensive espresso of our lives (4.5 euros!).

Those 10 Days in Austria...

In all our travels, all the beautiful countries we've seen, all the people we've met, never have we enjoyed ourselves as much as in Austria. To begin with, it had been ten months since seeing the Head family, so the reunion was so full of joy and excitment. Our hosts, Bruno and Hedi Murkl, are probably the most hospitable people in the world! There was never a shortage of food, wine, Gosser or conversation! And who, may I ask, actually has room to house six people comfortably? Um...Bruno and Hedi.
We also must mention Bruno's son, Christian, his wife Suzie and their daughters Laura and Melissa. Christian, the chef and grill master of the house, kept us well fed and well entertained with his fabulous voice. Suzie always had time for coffe and conversation. We learned so very much from her about Austria, as she is a history and language professor. I knew upon first meeting her that I would like her very much. Our nightlife expert, Laura, took us to some very hip bars in Weiner Neustadt. She is probably the most well-spoken, mature sixteen year-old we have ever met! And Melissa definately won our hearts as well!
We also met with Tante Elizabeth and her son Rudy in Graz. We were, again, blown away by the Austrian hospitality. Graz was a very special city to visit as this was the city my grandparents lived in before coming to Canada. All the landmarks were so familiar to my sister and I. It was a little emotional to see it all in person.

I could write a book about this trip we took together. There isn't enough time to get all our thoughts down. I will say one thing to my family, who I know is waiting in great anticipation for this entry. The time we spent together in Austria was so special to us. It is not often that a family can share something like that and we are so grateful that you four came. It will never be forgotten. Danke.

Another day in London

I know that there are a few people waiting patiently for an Austria update... and it is coming soon! We are experiencing some delays uploading our photos...

After flying in on an overnight flight from Singapore, we landed at 5 am London time. With an overnight bus already booked to Belgium (what a tiring few days!), we had our sightseeing work cut out for us. This was our second day in London in the past year, so we were able to skip Buckingham Palace, Big Ben and a few others. This time we headed down to St. Pauls Cathedral and took in a Mass (we really are budget... Mass is free but admission to the Cathedral is 10 pounds otherwise!) We cruised around Old London Town before grabbing some fish and chips (just like last time). One of our favourite sights was the free pianos they had located in public parks... anyone was allowed to go up and play! It was a great day, followed by a terrible overnight bus to Brussels...

Done in Asia

We left the coast of Malaysia for some hiking in the Cameron Highlands. After walking for 4 hours through the jungle and a tea plantation, we stopped to sample the local drink. That´s when the rain started and we realized we had to walk all the way back to our hotel! So wqe tried our hand at hitchhiking... with a sign and all! A wonderful family picked us up and took us all the way home, on the way realizing that the father and I have had the same shoulder injury... hence the shirtless pic!

After a couple days in Kuala Lumpur, I left for a week in Australia and Miranda moved into a gorgeous hotel (see pictures!). She moved on her own to Melaka, where I met up with her. It was nice to be reuinted!

Singapore was a bit of a bur in which we mostly stayed inside, as we weren´t feeling all that well. That picture of Miranda and her luggage is the best photo we have!

Soon.... Europe! (and for anyone that is interested... I finally got a new passport!)

Seperation

It's been a long time since we've posted on here... and so much has happened! We've been through Malaysia, Singapore, London, Brussels, Paris and Austria! However, we're having some trouble uploading new photos, so all that will have to wait. Here's some pictures of My second visit to Brad and Byron Bay. I left my beautiful wife stranded in Kuala Lumpur and went off to the surf and sand for a week (her idea, I swear!). I had an amazing time with Brad, surfing twice a day and enjoying the BBQ... I even tried Kangaroo! Miranda survived as well, stayed in a fancy hotel and even managed to do a bit of shopping.

Malaysia... stop 1

After leaving our new found friends, we headed south to Malaysia. We were hoping to take a train to the east coast... but strong warnings and recent murders convinced us to skip that area of Thailand. So instead we crossed over on a ferry to the Island of Langkawi, where we lounged on our final south east Asian beach. Oh well... it's been fun. The highlight of the Island was definitely the night food market, where we sampled all kinds of Malay dishes and rolled home so stuffed! Leaving the island was very disappointing, as our sandals and board shorts were stolen on the last night...

West Coast Thailand

After having such a great time in Koh Pha Ngan, our group could not bear to go our separate ways... so we didn't. We travelled en mass to the west coast and Railay Beach. It had to be one of the most stunning places we have seen to date and was the classic Thailand postcard. For 3 more days, we lazed around the beaches, got stung by jellyfish (Monica), and hung out at nights.
With us all about to disperse across the country in the morning, the last night seemed destined to be one to remember... and it did not disappoint. After most of the town shut down, our little party was just getting started. In fact, the Norwegians really raised the bar when they "treated" us to a few bottles of Moet and Chandon. For those of you that want to know the rest of the details, remember to ask us next time we see you. It's a doozy!

Norway, USA and East Coast Thailand

We ended up spending most of our time on the beaches of Thailand with an amazing group of people! We checked into our little bungalow on Bottle Beach (aka. THE BEST BEACH EVER!) located on Koh Pha Ngan. Flanking our place were two Norwegian girls on the right (Monica and Therese) and two American boys on the left (Tim and Brian). For a fun-filled ten days we bathed in the sun. Well, Brian from New York, lurked in the shadows after a mean sunburn. Poor Guy. In the meantime the Norwegians were baring enough skin to make up for our missing American. We shared meals, drinks and swam in some GORGEOUS phosphorescense in the early hours of the morning. We also experienced the debauchery that is the FULL MOON PARTY. That's Tim and Miranda in the picture with the bucket. That's what we drank out of...buckets. Good to experience, but never again.
We miss our new friends...but not to worry. More adventures with the group in the next post!

26 in Bangkok

What a great place to have a birthday! My lovely wife got me up at 6:30 am and rushed me off to an internet cafe first thing. When I got there, there was a whole party waiting for me via skype. As I was talking with our Toronto friends, Miranda snuck off to get what I assumed would be coffee. Nope. A large beer at 7 am. The party was followed by a delicious American breakfast. The cafe just opened, and they were so great, giving me a homemade candle as a present! (That's the owner and cook in the picture) We then checked into a nice hotel for a change but left our camera in the cab! That brought the mood of the day down for awhile and is the reason we have very few pictures! I ran out later to buy some custom leather shoes to match my vietnamese made suit and we hit the town for the evening. English pubs, rooftop patios, and super trendy clubs were on the ticket.

I've included some shots of the train south since we had no pictures in bangkok...

Saigon

What is officially Ho Chi Minh City, but still known to the people as Saigon, is full of mopeds, sketchy wiring, and history. We spent 5 days in the area and thouroughly enjoyed having Air-con and a TV. The vietnam war is still a vivid memory for the locals and we spent a day visiting the war museum and Cu Chi Tunnel system. The tunnels were insane... consisting of a 200 km network of crawlspaces, kitchen rooms, air vents and boobytraps. We crawled through one of the original tunnels for about 50 m and almost panicked from the claustrophobia. During the war, people lived in them!

DISASTER!

Our beautiful little camera spent the day sightseeing around bangkok on its own yesterday. Left in the back of a cab... #$&*

We spent just under a week in Cambodia. After an overnight, 22 hour journey from Northern Thailand we made it to Siem Reap, home to Angkor Wat. The temples were stunning and we thoroughly enjoyed bicycling though the vast complex.

From there, we made our way to the capitol city of Phnom Phen. We met up with a Canadian we had met in Bangkok and he introduced us to a little community of expats (mostly teaching english). At the killing fields and S-21 museum, we were shocked to learn what the country had been through in the late 1970's. The picture of the tower-like structure is a monument to all the Cambodians who were killed during the genocide and it is actually full of 8000 skulls. We ate omelette's on baguettes with Cambodian coffee (we loved the french influence!) every morning at Veasna's litte restaurant near our hotel. He enlightened us more on life in Cambodia and we had a great time talking to him. He is definitely one of the nicest people we have met.

ELEPHANTS!!

WE RODE ON ELEPHANTS! THEY WERE BIG!! IT WAS AMAZING!! BEST THING WE'VE EVER DONE!!

We are now Thai Chefs

Well... sort of. We took a day-long cooking class at least! Hopefully you can catch us before we find jobs in the fall and we'll have time to cook for you! We make a mean curry or Pad-thai with homemade spring rolls.

Hong Kong

Flying into to a new Country at night is never very comforting, so as we landed at 9 pm in Hong Kong, we decided to book a room in advance. We chose the Maple Leaf Guesthouse, mostly because of the name (it turns out, that other than stealing the maple leaf meats logo, it had nothing to do with Canada). The directions to our new home were long and confusing but we succeeded in the first step: finding the right bus at the airport. The Maple Leaf was located in a converted office building that now housed hundreds of hostels and guesthouses, so our search really began once we reached the right address.

Getting off the bus in a new country, especially in an area known for cheap accommodation, is always fairly stressful. People are always hassling you to get you to choose their hotel or to get in their cab. We are more or less used to this routine now, but nothing prepared us for the Tsim Sha Tsui region of Hong Kong. People were literally coming into the bus so they could be the first to yell at us: "you need accommodation!?!" We did our best to ignore everyone and march off in any direction, just to get away. As business cards were repeatedly shoved towards us, I plowed through the crowd with Miranda close behind. Just as I started to see some space open up through the crowd a very persistent man blocked my way and shoved a full page within inches of my face. In frustration and anger, I pushed away the mans hands and shuffled by him only to realize half a second later that the paper had my name on it. My name! Mike Donald! This guy was our host at the Maple Leaf and he was waiting outside for us... that has never happened! He had our flight number, but he didn't even really know if we would take the bus, subway or a cab! After a lot of apologizing, we learned his name was John and he showed us the way through the maze to our room. It was definitely the smallest and most efficient room we have had, complete with 2 custom made beds that fit exactly into the nooks and crannies. We had about 4 square feet of floor space and a tiny bathroom with the shower over the toilet. Real estate is valuable in Hong Kong!

Tom, Gwen and Gili Air

We met a fabulous couple during our roadtrip around Bali. Tom is a software engineer (who also bears a striking resemblence to James Taylor) and Gwen has had lots of experience working for different organisations like CIDA and VSO. She's been everywhere, man! They are both from San Fransisco, but Gwen is originally from the Guelph area in Ontario. I guess it is a small world after all.
Okay, so the point is, is that they were the catalysts for us taking a boat trip from Bali to a tiny little island called Gili Air. They had just visited and sold us on how small and quiet it is. After bombing around Bali and crashing through the Kuta chaos, this island sounded like just what we needed.
And it truly was. There is absolutely no traffic except for the tinkling of horse-drawn buggys and squeeking of rusty old bicycles. The obligatory snorkelling, sunning and cocktail drinking were on the itinerary for sure but attending a local wedding was not something we expected to be doing. I've never crashed a wedding before, but people seemed to be happy to have us there. Well, everyone except the bride and groom who, if you take a look at the picture, are looking bored at best.

Bali

Bali is a relaively small island... you can drive around it in a day they say! So, starting in Kuta, we decided to take them up on the offer and rented a litle Jimmy. Wow! Driving over here is insane! I swear we were passed by 1000 scooters with families of 4 on them in laneways that were actually smaller than our car! After geting lost many times trying to leave our town, we decided one day around the island was unlikely. We eventually got into the open (relatively, still a whole lot of scooters!) and saw some of the countryside, and it was gorgeous. Terraced rice patties lined the volcanic mountains as far as we could see. And, like the stupid tourists we are, we decided to go see the biggest temple in Bali, during the biggest festival of the year! We didn't even get close the traffic (or parking lot) was so heavy.
Nothing a little kicking back, surfing and $5 massages won't fix though!

Finally Sydney

(working on getting a few more photos added!)

After our whirlwind tour from corner to corner of the Island Continent, we finally landed in Sydney. For about $7 a night, we found a bed in the smallest 6 person dorm we have seen yet. We have learned that the "cool and hip" areas where backpackers generally find a room are also the "grungy and sketchy" red light districts (known as Kings Cross in Sydney). After sleeping (or trying to sleep at least) we headed off for the Sydney harbour. Miranda described the first glimpse of the Sydney Opera House the best: "It's like meeting a celebrity!" After seeing so many photos, we were finally able to see the building in person... which led to us taking way too many photos ourselves. We did get to see a ballet at the Opera House, and spent the rest of our time searching out some of Sydney's beach districts.

Cairns (aka. "Cans")

I have no idea why they spell the city with an 'r'...no one pronounces it! I guess with that logic we should spell Toronto, "Trono".
But I digress...

So, Cans...its hot, its rainy, the ocean is murky...not much going for it. Take a boat about two hours away from the coast and "ahhhh". You have mostly sunny skies, beautiful clear water and, really, the only reason to go to Cairns, The Great Barrier Reef! We went for a dive/snorkel on our last day there and it was really...well ...great!

We spent Easter weekend just relaxing at a place called (now get this) Nimrod Resort Apartments. Yes, Nimrod.
I think one of our favourite moments was when the shuttle bus dropped us off at the hotel. He's going, "Nimrod? Nimrod?" and we reluctantly respond "Yeah, that's us."

Kiri and Doug

Our first stop after leaving Melbourne was on the far west coast. We flew in to Perth to visit my cousin Kiri and her new Fiance, Doug. They treated us so great and we had such a good time. We even had the chance to represent the Donald Clan at their engagement party... good thing too, Doug managed to get a brother there as well! Over the weekend they took us down to Margaret River and I will list all the things we did, just on the Sunday!

Woke up camping in a National Park.
Got some coffee and breakfast.
Went to watch a Pro Surf Contest.
Went to the beach for some swimming and lazing.
Went to 2 different wineries for some tastings.
Back to another beach for an afternoon jog up a sand dune.
Into the car for the 3 hour drive home.

Needless to say, we were tired when we left!

Sleepover in the Airport

We left Perth at 7:30 pm (we'll post some photos from there soon!) and arrived back in Melbourne at 1:00 in the morning. Our next flight to Cairns was scheduled to depart at 9:40 am so we decided to not to worry about a hotel that night. A whole night in the airport is quite an experience! We searched for a place to sleep for awhile, wandering in between terminals. One guy beat us to some nice leather couches, so we settled for a carpeted floor in the deserted international terminal. We woke up at 5 am to a busy airport and never felt more like backpackers!
We waited around until 9 and boarded our next flight, only to sit on the Tarmac for 2hours before getting off again... something wrong with the fuel filter, so it was good we didn't fly. So we finally got a replacement plane and were herded through the airport to a different gate.

Needless to say, we made it to Cairns eventually and slept from 9:30 at night until 12:30 the next day!

Our Melbourne Friends

So, it may come as a surprise to you but, we did manage to make friends while in Melbourne! I'll sum it up quickly as to say, most of the guys are Mike's friends and most of the girls are Miranda's friends. (What can I say? Mike grew up with brothers, and my household was mostly female dominated...we stick with our kind!)
I do want to make special mention of the cute blonde sitting in between Mike and I in one of the photos. Her name is Alyssa Gourlay and she was our flatmate for 4 months! She was a whole lotta fun, and we really did create a wonderful friendship with her!
We miss all our friends back in Melbourne so much, and want everyone to know that if they're ever in Toronto in the future, look us up! You'll always have a place to stay! (Moms? You don't mind right?)

On the road again!

Tomorrow we leave Melbourne and begin our long journey home!

Here's a few pictures of our stay and a list of where we will be headed in the near future:

April 1 - Off to Perth to Visit Kiri and Doug!
April 7 - A trip to Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef
April 14 - Sydney!
April 17 - Off to bali for 3 weeks of sun and surf!

More to come, hope you can keep up (moms)!

One.

This is going to sound incredibley cliche, but I cannot believe how fast our first year has gone! Looking back, we can both say with confidence it has been our favourite year of marriage...EVER! haha...
We went out for a lovely dinner at Big Mouth, which is the place I work. We reserved a table in the dining room and were treated so amazingly by all my friends there! (And, not to mention, we got HOOKED UP when the bill came!)
Afterwards, we went down the street to one of the famed cake shops on Acland Street and enjoyed a cappuccino with our decadent desserts.
Thanks to everyone for wishing us a happy anniversary!

Brad: part 2

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This time Brad flew down to Melbourne for a trip down the Great Ocean Road. Two tents, all of our clothes, a stove and cooler, and 2 surf boards all jammed into a tiny Hyudai Getz! You can see in the photos how well surfing went for Mike... that's me being spit out of the ocean onto the sand!

We finally saw some Kangaroos and Koalas! Trust me, koalas aren't that exciting... they simply don't move at all. And the views were incredible all along the coast. Combine all that with Cappachinos, cooking on a portable stove and a little berry picking and you get a great little trip!

Blog 'Bout Buff, Bronzed Brad and Byron Bay

So, in case any of you have been reading the "International News" section of your papers, you may have read about the bush fires that have raveged a lot of Victoria in South Australia. To ease the minds of anyone who may not have heard news from us the past few weeks, we are fine and central Melbourne hasn't experienced any of what the media is calling a "national disaster".
While Victoria is experiencing a major drought, New South Wales (the State Byron Bay is located in) happens to be getting more rainfall than ever before. In fact, some of the northern parts of the state are flooded and are experiencing the complete opposite of Victoria. Hence, while in Byron Bay, it rained and rained and then was sunny for a while and then rained some more.
Having said that, we did have a fantastic time visiting with Brad and his super chill posse at 2D Pacific Vista. Being the bad reporters we are, we have no photos of the actual house Brad lives in. (Sorry to our moms who are the only ones who care about looking pictures like that!) We spent lots of time on the beach, playing in the surf and visited what is officially considered "the eastern most point of mainland Australia"!

The Tennis and the Heat Wave

We are getting pretty settled here in Melbourne now and so the posts have slowed down. I thought I would post a few pics of January though. The Australian Open Tennis took over the town for 2 weeks, and we went to the Tennis twice! For 20 bucks we get front row seats on world-class matches and get to join the party all day! Although... it did take place over the hottoest week Melbourne has seen in a hundred years! I know we won't get much sympathy from home, but 3 straight days over 43 degrees without AC or even a fan is hard to handle! Never thought we'd look forward to a cool change of 36!

Our Mini-Trip to Phillip Island

Before Christmas, Mike and I were talking about feeling a bit of the travel itch. It's been almost two months since we firmly planted ourselves in Melbourne! So, the week before Christmas we booked some cheap accomodations, rented a car and drove the two hours it takes to get to Phillip Island. I have to say, I got a little excited packing my backpack again! The poor thing has been cooped up in the closet for so long.
The main attraction on the island is the PENGUINS! Every single night the penguins swim to shore and get in these packs and they cross the beach together! There are literally hundreds and hundreds of them. The penguins are so scared of crossing the beach that if something freaks them out, the whole group will turn around and make a b-line back to the ocean until they feel brave enough to try again. It is the cutest thing I have ever seen.
Unfortunately, you will only get to imagine what this looks like because the stupid rangers don't let you take photos! The silly penguins are apparently scared of that too. But please, enjoy the other photos we took!