Ottawa, October 18, 2025

 

I did not expect to be writing so soon, however, the situation has changed , and I wish to update you.

I will not be travelling to Thailand until into the new year. The country is into a massive Influenza crisis and it is not a place I want to be, knowing the situation. The government is calling the problem an Influenza, doctors are calling it Covid. The word Covid is not good for tourism. I contacted the family there that I support, and two of them have the virus. Their doctor calls it Covid.

The latest information that I received, from the Bangkok Post Newspaper, states that over 700,000 people have had or now have it.  To date, 61 people have passed away with the illness.

 At this time, I have no idea when I might be able to go there safely.

I will do an update later in December with the situation at that time. 

I have now had time to update my log book, and can report that I have 2484 flying hours, and have crossed the Atlantic ocean 33times.....32 by air and one by ship.

Take care;

Ottawa October 14, 2025

 Hello all. I returned to Ottawa at ten in the evening of October 12. I was off line for the duration of my travel to Turkiye because of a technicality. Upon my arrival in Istanbul, I attempted to sign in to my email account. A security confirmation was sent by the system to my home in Ottawa, on landline. It of course was no help. Upon my return, I saw the call information.

My eldest daughter, Marina travelled with me, and  on October 7, our friend from Warsaw came over for a visit. She departed on October 12, earlier in the day than our flight. Both flights were on time, and very smooth. The weather in Istanbul was in the high teens to mid twenties most of the time. We had several days with a few rain showers, but nothing that cancelled travel plans.

Major tourist areas always have the shops where one can spend lots of time, and money if they wish to do so. Here, it is The Grand Bazaar, Egyptian Market and the Spice Market. Hundreds of shops and stands where thousands of items are available....NOT ONE item has a price tag...its haggle time here, which I refuse to do. Of course, the ladies had a different view. I only purchased one item....Mango tea. It is made from dried Mangos which are turned into a pink powder. 

The Bosporus waterway separates Europe from Asia here. It is the waterway from the Black sea on the north side of Turkiye, into the Sea of Marmara, then into the Mediterranean. Those who enjoy watching ocean going vessels can enjoy a coffee or tea and watch everything from oil tankers, freighters and pleasure craft up to battle ships and aircraft carriers. The ladies took a ferry over to the Asian side and enjoyed two days of exploring there and on the Bosporus. It was their first time in Asia. I have travelled the area several times, so I did not go to Asia this trip. I visited with my friend and her son, both of whom are Canadian Citizens, living in Istanbul with permanent Turkish Residence documents.

On our outward travel, we took the VIA train from Ottawa to Dorval, where there is a shuttle that meets all trains. The shuttle is free for anyone wishing to go to the Dorval Airport, ten minutes away....depending on traffic .  On return to Montreal, the Turkish airline flights are too late for the last VIA train to Ottawa. My son-in-law, Greg, met us at the airport and drove back to Ottawa with a lunch break near the Ontario -Quebec border.

This is a summary of the Turkish adventure. Sometime in the next week, I hope to have the information for my next adventure....to Bangkok Thailand. I am working on-line  with a doctor there, where I expect to go for Hernia Surgery. I have been waiting here in Ottawa since March for such surgery, and have been informed that it could be two years before that is possible. Once I have confirmation of dates, wait times before flying, (after surgery), etc, I will book flights and update this site. It is just one stop to fly from Ottawa to Bangkok...via Vancouver with Air Canada. Take care/Don 

 

                                                       Ottawa, September 15, 2025

Hello all; Well, summer is over, so it is time for Bedier to travel again. I have not yet had the surgery, and they tell me it could be two years before I could get it here in Ontario. I have looked elsewhere, and my best opportunity seems to be Thailand. More about that later in this update.

On  Thursday September 26, I and my eldest daughter Marina, will be going to Istanbul Turkiye for just over two weeks. (That is now the official way to write the country). We will take VIA Rail from Ottawa to Montreal, (Dorval), and fly to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines. As I have noted before, they are the oldest continuously operated airline in the world.....started in 1933. The plan is to visit our friends there who now have permanent residency . My friend from Warsaw will attempt to come over to Istanbul for a few days. We will return to Montreal with the same airline on October 12. 

Around the first week of November, I will fly via Vancouver to Bangkok Thailand for a visit of 4 to 6 weeks. I will book that flight soon after my return from Turkiye. I have been working with a hospital at Udon Thani which is about an hour flight north of Bangkok. We will finalize details in October. At this time, it is looking very positive that they will be willing to do the hernia surgery soon after I arrive and, at a reasonable price. A number of places that I have checked with want around six thousand U.S. Dollars and up.

I will have more information either from Istanbul, or on my return home.

Take care, enjoy the Autumn.

Ottawa, August 4, 2025

 Hello All.

This is just a short note to let you know that I am still waiting for surgery, so not much exciting to report.

I was called , and we did  the X-rays two weeks ago, so that is one step closer to the main event.

Any day now, I hope to get called for a consultation, and that will be soon before the operation.

 If the surgery is soon, I will still be grounded for a further six weeks.

 My eldest daughter, Marina and I, are planning to do an approximate three week trip to Western Europe this fall, before winter sets in over there. We are considering Holland, Germany, Poland, and Paris. There will be some adjustments when we get to know just when this will be.....if at all.

Take care

                   

                                               STILL W A I T I NG    June 11, 2025                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Hello all. Here we are, a few months later, and not much to report on my situation. I am now on the Waiting List for surgery, but no idea when that may be. Some events have happened, which will have me changing my travels a bit when I am able to do so.                       

Firstly, my friend's Hanan and her son  Hussian now  living in Istanbul have been advised that  they are no longer able to remain in Turkiye as Residents. They must be out of there by the end of June. Her parents are refugees living in Denmark, so they will go there to visit for a while, then visit with other family members in England. During those visits, they will decide with family what is best for them. As Canadians, they have many options. Turkiye is now accomodating over one million people seeking a better life, and those on Residence cards are being encouraged to return to their safe home countries. This will mean that I will drop Istanbul from my future travel plans....and perhaps go to Europe instead. If they return to Canada, then there will be no foreign travel involved to visit them.

My friends in Thailand have suggested that they would like to come here to Canada for a visit. We have discussed the idea that with direct flights  between Vancouver and Bangkok, I would meet them in Vancouver when I am able to fly again. We would tour the Banff, Jasper , Icefields area. If I am unable to travel until the winter months, it would be me travelling to Bangkok. I would not like to expose them to our winters.

Take care as you travel, and I will update when I have something to report.

 

Grounded Again March 27, 2025

 Hello all;  As I indicated in my last posting, I had developed what appeared to be a hernia. This has now been confirmed, and the w a i t i n g starts again. I have another medical with a doctor next week, however it will be months before I have the surgery....unless there is a cancellation, and I can get in. As I understand the system, there are several factors in play when operating room time is allotted. One is the hours required for specific types of surgery. For example, if a hernia surgery is allotted three hours, then it would need to be a three hour  type surgery cancellation for them to schedule a hernia surgery.

My granddaughter and her boyfriend that live in Calgary recently cancelled their wedding, so that is off the table. 

As many know, Canada is now into a General Election for April 28. I have been asked by Elections Canada to apply to work for them, as I have done election work many times before. I had actually applied almost three months ago when they opened a site for applications. I received an acknowledgement at the time, however, that application appears to have been lost, as I  received a new  request two days ago. I sent in a new application. I have left messages at the local Riding office here on Draper avenue, but so far, no calls with a job offer.

Take care, and I will update you when I have an idea of when I will be able to travel again.

Ottawa, February 10, 2025

 Hello All; This update is about a month late from my plan.  The reason is the fact that I may be grounded again this spring and, thus unable to fly. For several weeks, I have had pain from time to time on my lower left side, similar to what I had on the right side last spring. This could be the forerunner to another hernia...just like last year. This side it is called..a  femal hernia. I am waiting to see what happens.

If is does not develop, I plan to attend my second eldest granddaughter's wedding in Calgary on May 17. It is my plan to travel to Turkiye in late June. My little friend, Hussian will be nine on June 24, and I would like to be there for that. By mid April, I hope to be able to make final decisions on both trips...go, or, no go.

Here is an interesting, and true story about myself. Just before my friend Hanan and her son Hussian returned to Turkiye in October 2021, we visited a store here in Ottawa called Canada's Four Corners. In that shop, she found a sweater with 12 lines of Canadiana on the back. She asked my permission to take a photo of me reading those 12 lines so she could send the clip to her family in Europe.(All are refugees from the mid-east). I had no problem with that, so she made the clip on Snapchat. I only remember the first three lines....I am a Canadian/ I do not live in an Igloo/I do not travel to work in a dog sled. Some where along the line as family passed that along, someone put it on Facebook, and translated into Arabic at the bottom. 

Two times in the last ten days, I have been approached by ladies I did not know...saying....YOU ARE THE CANADIAN ON FACEBOOK.! They tell me it has been viewed over three million times in the mid-east. Thursday, I went to the 4 Corners shop to buy one, but the store did not continue that item.

Take care, I will update in a month or so, as soon as I have some answers