What a great trip this has been. We have had a wonderful time, met great people and have seen some awesome sites. The grunge and opulence of Bangkok, the peacefulness of the eco lodge, turtles laying eggs at night,  the clear aqua green waters of Ko Phi Phi, the rowdiness of Phuket and the inside of more airports and airplanes than I ever imagined I would see.  We found Malaysia and Thailand both had some great qualities. If asked we can't say we liked one over the other. Malaysians seem to be more time conscience than the Thai were if I had to point out a difference. Leaving at 2:00 in Malaysia is a prompt departure. In Thailand you might still be wondering when and if you are leaving at 2:30. We have been cheap about downloading photos the last few weeks as the internet was expensive and slow where we were in Thailand.  Here are some  facts I had time to jot down as I spent the last 34 hours in transit

We were in Hong Kong Airport at 21:30 on August 21 2008, We were also in the Vancouver Airport at 21:30 on August 21, 2008

We travelled 30 days to 5 countries - China, Malaysia, Borneo, Brunei and Thailand (China and Brunei were transfer points)

We ate 39 buffets meals - mostly breakfasts

Sweat runs down your back at a pretty quick pace while standing in the sun at 35 degrees.

 Temple clothes are hot and make you look frumpy in photos

We slept in 9 hotel rooms

We travelled on 12 planes - gotta’ plant trees to make up some environmental costs

We ate watermelon for breakfast for 28 days - yum

We took 15 boat trips, 12 taxi rides, 1 tuk tuk and 27 buses/minivans or private cars

Sue consumed 36 ginger gravol and 7 real gravol ..too many buses, boats and planes

We watched the Olympic coverage in 5 languages, Malaysian, Russian, Thai, Chinese and English

There is too much garbage floating in the seas!

Thanks again for following our progress and sending us your messages. We appreciate everyone’s support.  Truly an experience of a lifetime

Sue and Andy

Well it is our last complete day of holiday before we begin the long trek home tomorrow. We are now in downtown Phuket and after our 5 days on the peaceful Ko Phi Phi, Phuket is a shock to our system. Wow!! I'm happy we did not plan to stay any longer than this one night! From a couple of people on the beach on Ko Phi Phi to a beach packed full of sales people and party seekers...I guess I'm old. This is really a short entry as we haven't much good to say about this place...so we won't say much at all. Can't wait to see the family as we miss them sooo much!

Andy and Sue

  Ko Phi Phi is beautiful, though we arrived in steerage class on a 3.5 hour boat ride!!! Thank goodness for Gravol! Sue claims she could have jogged here faster, and we all know Sue's claims to being able to walk on water...The resort here has made up for the trip. It is peaceful (Musak is currently playing in the Internet / lobby) and we are at the north end of the island, away from the tourist focus, backpackers (we are soooo elitist in our old age). We plan to read, snorkel, eat, and kayak a bit (that is all, AJ) along with a handfull of other tourists from around the world. That's all for now!!

Andy and Sooz

Day whatever…we have made it to Bangkok…in the taxi from the airport we knew things would be different here as the driver couldn’t figure out which hotel we wanted even with the map. It seems the nice tour guide at the airport in the tourism booth misinformed us as she was trying to sell us something. Every where I go some one wants to sell us something. We spent our first day, which was the first rainy day we have had since leaving Canada in the biggest mall I have ever been in. It is so big and posh they have a Lamborghini store…no Andy did not buy one. We didn’t buy much but couldn’t believe the stores we went through. Totally amazing. The next day we took our own personal tour. Us the chauffer the tour guide and our own private Mecedes..not bad. We went to the Floating market which is advertised as farmers in small boats trading their flowers and veggies. It couldn’t be more wrong. I saw no flowers, a few fruit but mostly stall upon stall of tourist handy craps (that’s how they pronounce the word craft here. They got it right) it was something to see. Sorry I don’t have my camera to download photos today. Too bad, so many colors. Afterwards, we went to a teak carving place, a coconut plantation and Thai village for a cultural show and a Ruby and Sapphire Jewelry shop which blew our minds. Guards with guns and jewelry you could not believe. Of course after every tour you had to go through the boutiques. Boy did they have the wrong couple at the jewelry store. It was a full day and our guide was so helpful and informative. The chauffer never drove less than 120 km except when we where in grid lock traffic. We have learnt to just sit back and relax..they know what they are doing here. Yesterday we went to Wat Po and the Grand Palace. We tried to walk around and figure it out by ourselves but had no idea what we were looking at. We found a friendly guide and spent the day with him. He was awesome. It seems they will go out of their way to help you if you spend money. He was worth every cent. Actually both tour guides were. There is so much history all mixed up with religion it is impossible to understand without someone., well at least the middle age tourist that we are need the extra help. We ended up on Kho San Road...backpacker haven...which is a very popular market. Again, we were targetted as we did not fit the 'back-packer" demographic which meant we had $$ (or so they thought).

Today, we toured Ayutthaya, an ancient capital for previous dynasties. This city is a world Heritage site and it offers much to see. The key landmarks are ruins of the former monarchs that ruled the land....you felt like you were part of the history.

It has been very interesting and the constant selling doesn’t tarnish the color and activity. We are however anxious to get to the beach and relax this weekend. We really aren’t big city folk! Love you all

Days...?..I'm afraid we have lost track

We are just back from our tours in Borneo. From Penang we flew to Kota Kinabalu (KK) on the Borneo coast. We took a boat trip to an island off KK for a day of relaxation, snorkeling, and swimming. It was well deserved for Sue and it provided a break from the stress / intensity of the race week so we could ease into our vacation mode.

From KK, we flew with Paul and Judy Mason to Sandakan (from where I compose this update) where we started our Rainforest tour. The first leg of this tour was to the Sepilok Orangutan rehabilitation centre where the Government has set up a safe environment for these primates to learn how to be reintegrated into their natural environment (I guess they were busted for B&Es or something...). Seriously though, they take abandonned or orphaned baby orangutans and prepare them for the wild). From here, it was off on a two hour boat trip up the Kinabatagan river into the rainforest lodge. What an amazing place! The lodge is on stilts as it is on the river plain and we take several tours a day on small boats along the river and up small tributaries (keep your arms in the boats and watch for snakes that may be in the branches you are ducking through) to see the local wildlife. We saw meercats, exotic birds, several species of monkeys (Proboscis, Leaf Monkeys, Orangutans and others), crocodiles, and the pygmy elephants. WOW! This was spectacular! We also trecked through the jungle one morning and it was funny to see all of us keeping our arms tight to our sides as we try to avoid touching anything as it seems that any given plan or insect could leave your arm paralysed for a day or you dead (buffalo leaches not only suck your blood, but they lay their eggs in your system which is slowly taken over by leaches growing internally...aka Alien). We were less up tight by the end of the hike as we realized that it really wasn't that bad, but now I know how people feel about bears and such when they come to visit us in Chelsea.

From the Sakau rainforest, we travelled to the Gomantang caves where several species of bats and birds co-exist; the bats inhabit the cave between 6AM to 6PM and the birds from 6PM to 6AM. The cave also provides nourishment to many, many insects that feed off the the bird droppings and the guano. The smell was pretty intense as we entered the 100 metre high caves as there was at least a 10 metre deep layer of Guano carpeting the cave (make sure your mouth is closed when you look up at the bats!). As we entered and walked along the boardwalk constructed for us tourists, we were advised not to hold on to the railing unless you need to catch your fall into the guano. I figured this was because it was also covered in crap...which was true, but it also moved. When we applied some light we realized that the whole base of the cave and boardwalk was moving....cockroaches, lost of 'em and big ones! The walls were covered with cockroaches and centipedes (don't touch the centipedes as they will sting and it does paralyse the limb that is stung). This cave provides a local industry as the Chinese find the birds nests (made from the birds saliva) as a delicacy (bird nest soup). The locals are crazy as they climb the 100 metres on these rickety rope and bamboo ladders and use a type of one-pole, bamboo scafolding to sit on (they are suppored by steps of the afore mentioned ladders that are nearby). The harvest is strictly controlled so that it does not affect the birds or the bats. They can get ~$1500 / kilo but the risk is enourmous. They use to also excavate the guano as a fertilizer, but this was stopped as it provided the only means of security if any of the climbers fell. As it is a significant amount of money, the State has guards posted at ALL entrances and guards are assigned to sleep in the caves at night (with all the creep-crawlies)!

Our next stop once we exited the rainforest, was back to Sandakan so we could tour the island. This is a small city, but at one time was the hub of North Borneo. It was a British colony and though completely destroyed during WW 2 by the Japanese and Allied fighting, the influece is still prevalent. The city was also a large POW camp during the war for 200+ Australian, British, Malay, and other local soldiers. They were brutalized by the occupation forces and, in fact, only 6 survived the war and this only because they escaped and where protected by the local population...the visit to the Australian memorial was very moving. We also visited the house of Agnes Keith the author of several famous books including "Three Came Home"...yeah, well....interesting in that it should the typical British approach to "the colonies". When then where brought to our hotel for an overnight in Sandakan...and what a contrast to our rainforest experience! We were put up a the Sabah Hotel for the night. This place is a luxury resort. It was like coming out of a canoe camping trip from La Verendrye in the morning and staying at a Cuban resort in the afternoon. The brain was overwhelmed...

After our stay at the Sabah Hotel, we caught another boat to the island of Seligan which is also a National Park. This and the adjacent two islands are protected areas for sea-turtles. We spent the afternoon on the beach snorkeling over the coral reef as the turtles only arrive on shore to lay their eggs at night. The snorkeling was awesome as the tide was out and it seemed like your belly was going to scrape the top of the coral. We saw many, many species, including a metre long sea-snake that swam right up to us. I think it was just as startled as we were as it quickly swam away. Just before dinner, we watched a beautiful sunset and then prepared for our turtle watching that night. Through July to September, the turtles return to the island where they were born (like Salmon) to lay eggs. These turtles only start to breed and lay eggs when they reach 20 or 30 years old. The turtles we saw laying eggs where born here at least 20 years ago if not earlier as turtles live until 100+! We say a metre long turtle lay her eggs and before she could bury them, a park ranger carefully put them in a bucket so they could be brought to the hatchery where they will have a better chance of surviving. We then watched a baby turtles that hatched that day/night were released into the ocean. Again, this is done at night in order to maximize their chance of survival as less than 1% will survive to breeding. After an interesting sleep (lots of noises) we prepared for our morning departure back to Sandakan....and here I am updating the blog!

OK what day is it really? As I write we are in Borne We just came back from Manuakan Island where we sat in the sun and read books all day on the beach. Wonderful to finally relax.

Sunday was 500 meter race day. We started off with a heat at 10:00 in the morning. The team was pumped but a little nervous. The race was an important one , we wanted to win to place ourselves for the Semi finals but we knew it was going to be a long day and no one was looking forward to it

The heat was up the wind was down and the resevoir felt like a microwave. The race was slow and painfull as the waterand air were sluggish. People got out of the boat spent. We won easily and now we had a 5 hour wait until the semi finals at 3:30. Julie called the bus back and told us we were going to a beach resort for the 5 hours to relax. EXCELLENT idea. We walked in and took over the place.

 We sat in the air conditioned lounge we walked on the beach and watched women in birkas water ski and drive ATVs (weird) and we stayed out of the sun and napped. By the time we returned for the Semi finals we were a different team, refreshed and ready to kick butt. The wind had returned so it cooled us off and we even had some clouds for a bit of sun cover. We were so relaxed and in control we paddled a perfect race and at the end instead of a finish Julied called us down to 80 % as we were a boat length ahead. Funny to be called down in a Semi final. Our time positioned us well for the finals. We linded up in lane 2 beside China with Montreal on the other side. Australia, Outerharbour (Toronto) and Three Rivers made up the rest of the field. As the gun went China shot off the line with their crazy stroke rate and we were close behind. They quickly gained ground and it was us against Montreal for the silver. They were slightly ahead by the 250 mark and we were gaining. In the end Montreal had us by the nose of the dragon and we had our third bronze medal. All 3 races end up with the same results. We had a wonderful time on the podium with the 2 other teams , lots of photo opps, the paperatizzi (?) were funny to look at everyone was taking pictuers. IT was a BLAST!!

The races are over our  luggage is heavier , bronze is not a light metal...yesterday was a sureal travel day as we had no one to guide us on to buses and no team meetings. Not sure I can deal with free time. we arrived in Kota Kinabalu walked the streets tok in the night market and started our real vacation. Glad Andy is in charge..he is the best Sherpa I know!

Sorry can't down load pictures from this cafe..(very low tech here) we leave for our eco tour tomorrow so will most likely update again when in Bangkok.

thanks for all the guestbook remarks, it makes us feel like we are being hugged from afar!

A 200 meter race doesn't give you time to think let alone breath and we have to do both and paddle in less than a minute. Yesterday we started our Day at around 1:00 with our first heat. If we won the heat we would move straight into the semifinals. That was our goal, win the heat. There were 4 heats of 5 boats, we had a pretty easy heat, We got our nervous tension out, we won but it wasn't as controlled as we like it. Montreal, China and 3 Rivers were all in seperate heats and they won easily as well. Julie gave us some focus points to work on for the Semi-finals. The Semi's were at 3:00 with 3 heats of 6. The winners and the next  fastest 3 boats would go to the finals. China and Montreal had the heat before us and they came first and second, Three rivers had moved on as well. We were up against Outer Harbour (a team from Toronto and other teams but they are the boat we understood) we squeeked out a win. Julie was not pleased! We were not paddling our best we had lost our focus. We had some mental work to do as the paddling work has already been done, we need to believe we can do it and paddle like we can.

Today we had an early morning team meeting and we went through our race plan. Julie was inspirational and really brought us together. Once we arrived at the race site we were so focused it was spooky. Everyone sat around reading and rereading the race palns and trying to stay cool. It is amazingly hot here, it sucks the energy out of you. Just before the race we came together as a teams and she called a race we closed our eyes and we all raced it in our minds. At boat loading it was amazing, the focus was there everyone was pumped. The race had 4 Canadian Boats, Us Montreal, 3 rivers and Outer Harbour. China and Australia made up the 6. They have held starts here. That means we have to back the boat in to a floating dock and the steers person holds a rope thrown by a guy on the dock. The paddlers are listenting to Julie call out instructions to draw, pry back stroke what ever it takes to keep the boat straight. Once the starter feels everyone is in position he calls attention please GO! The rope is dropped and off we go. We shot out front and had the lead in the first 6 strokee, it was our best start of the weekend. China quickly made up distance, their stroke race is too fast to count. Montreal also shot up and we ended in 3rd. It was a repeat of the 2K. I can't give you a blow by blow of this race as it starts and is over before you know what has happended. We paddled a great race, the focus was back and we are proud. Best of all Julie was happy again! we need a happy coach! we paddled a great race and have another medal to show for it!

Tomorrow is the 500 meter races. This is our favorite..we are going for Gold!

Andy is surprisingly nervous for us as we race, let's hope he can handle the pressure tomorrow! Sorry no photos today will update tomorrow night!

Yesterday was the 2000 metre race, the Team was very nervous! The 2k is the hardest race we paddle. It's basically 4 x 500 metre races one after another. There are 3 turns in the race and it's considered the chuck wagon race of dragon boating. Boats flip and crash, steers people fall off the back, it's always a crowd pleaser. We arrived at the site to find the wind wipping white caps off the water. The race before our was loading boats and it looked crazy. During this race we saw 2 steers pepole fall off, and 1 boat sink at the dock beacuse they had taken on so much water. The organizer marshalled us and got us ready to load boats and at the last second they told us there would be a 30 minute dely to see if the wind died down as it was becoming dangerous. We sat under the canopy on the loading platform with a wicked wind cooling us off. It was the best palce to wait. After 30 minutes they decided to start the races but with only 18 paddlers per boat instead of 20. We fought this as the weight of 2 female paddlers was not going to make a difference but they said no, only 18. At the last minute Julie pulled Bellsa and Laura out of the line up. It was a hard thing to have happen for them and for us, lot's of tears as we loaded but it was soon forgtten as we were down to business. The start was crazy with 10 boats trying to line up, waiting for their start in the wind and a very tight space. For the 2k, each boat has a running start at 12 second intervals so you are trying to catch and pass the boats in front. We started in 6th position. The wind was wicked on the first stretch yet we over took our first boat on the straight-away. The first turn was amazing, Joce was Mario Anderretti passing the 2nd boat in front of us on the turn and keeping to the inside in a nice tight turn. Going back out was better as we had the wind behind us and Julie called a bunch of series to use it to our benefit (1 series is 10  harder strokes to incerase speed). The second turn was another beauty and we were back into the wind trying to make time. after the third turn we had another boat close enough to reel in and pass and it gave us insentive to paddle our hardest on the last stretch towards the finish line. We finshed hard and spent. Julie said we could not have paddled better. What a blast. Montreal and China were in the heat after us and all we could do was wait to see how they did before we could find out where we stood as the best time from each race determined the Medals. The wind died down a bit for the next heat and it was hard to tell from the shore what might have happened. Montreal started in 3rd and finished 1st in their heat by a lot of open water. China started in 10th and made up lot of water and finshed 6th or 7th in the heat. There was alot of waiting around afterwards for the results.  In the end China had the gold, Montreal the Silver and Jaymour Cascade the Bronze. It was a weird feeling as there wasn't alot of jumping around rejoicing. The western boats aren't used to having another team beat us, but it was a good reality check for the rest of the weekend as we realized we are in a World Championships and it's not just Us against Montreal. I could not be more happy!

Today is race day again as we have a 200 metre race (really a sprint). Just heats and hopefully a semi-final today as the final will be tomorrow.

Another practice day and the Team is trying to establish a routine in order to ready for race weekend. The first thing to contend with is the bus ride to the race site (the Penang resevoir, see pictures)...switchbacks galore. There is lots of Gravol being consumed! Once at the race site, it is a matter of staying out of the sun until you have to be in a boat. The site is beautiful, but as always, it is hot. Thankfully there is a nice breeze blowing down the resevoir.

Yesterday, we stopped at the Butterfly Farm to tour. Pretty cool, particularly the other species that were on display; scorpions, huge centipedes, snakes, etc. The other key element to Penang (it seems) is the endless shopping. Sue has done well in this regards with several key purchases...Andy has avoided this component.

Again, we have been pretty low-key as the Team does not want to expend too much energy (and money) before the race. Exitement is building as more and more teams arrive at the hotel and the games site. No pictures yet, but the Australian men cut a fine line with their one-piece suits. These guys walked behind Julie as she was talking to the Team and Julie totally lost everyone...Andy and Greg curled up into a corner... Other teams arriving at the hotel include the Chinese Tapei team and the Islamic Republic of Iran Team (men and women). The IR Iran women will be paddling in their adapted 'sports' full hajib....stylish, but it must still be very warm. Pin trading has already started.

That's all for now...

Well...we will try again....our first effort didn't save, must remember to save often! Photos are finally up...check 'em out.

Yesterday was a "down" day to climatize to our surroundings. We toured the areas around our Hotel in Georgetown including Chinatown and Little India. Georgetown and the State of Penang are very culturally diverse areas. The smells were very interesting! We preferred the curry and incense smell in Little India to the open sewer smell just about everywhere else. That being said, the colours of the buildings and the British colonial architecture mixed with the Indian, Chinese, and Arabic buildings is really eye candy. Walking around town is an adventure as there are no sidewalks (and of course, the afore mentioned open sewers/ditches of stagnant water), but it does keep you on your toes. Food is really tasty between the "hawker stalls" and the hole in the wall cafe/restaurants, there is lots of exotic foods. We had a curry in Little India and Chinese dumplings and rice.

First team meeting was last night where Julie laid down the law for the team, "Don't tire yourselves out! No more than 1.5 hours of touring per day as we are here to win not sightsee!!" OK...more beer for Andy....Today was the first time out on the water and it was an experience as the temperature was 35+ and the sun was hot...Andy was drinking beer...The Team got a feel for the race sight and the kinds of conditions that will be faced. The setting is quite pretty on the resevoir with green hills all around.

Well...that's it for now. Check in again