Ottawa November 25, 2021........Major Change In Plans.

 Hello everyone.

 Because my friends in Thailand have yet to receive their second needle for the Corona Virus, and will not have them until the third week of January....if it happens then, we will not be able to travel there. My friends had been assured they would have the full vaccinations by the end of October. They cannot go from their town. Also, I have yet to receive a Visa which is now required for travel to Thailand. The application is very complicated, and, to give an indication of what lies ahead...you have 14 days to complete the application. It took a friend and I six hours over three days to complete the online form. One must scan many documents into the system, and some of the information is actually illegal to request in Canada...such as your last Bank Statement. I blacked out all reference to account numbers and sent it, because you would not get to the next item unless you did so. Another odd request...after sending the picture and data page of your Passport.. A photo of you (the applicant), holding the Passport in one hand and a recent photo of you in the other!!!. You also must send credit card for the 65 dollar Visa fee....it is Non-refundable.

Two weeks ago, I went online, requested and received my Turkish Visa in seven Minutes.

 So I am soon off to Turkey for six weeks. I will depart Ottawa December 7 in the morning and fly to Vancouver with Air Canada. After about 8 hours in Vancouver, I fly with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul, where I will remain until January 12. This may seem like a strange route, however the flying time from Vancouver to Istanbul over Northern Canada, Greenland, Sweden and on to Turkey is only two hours more than from Toronto. Seats for the time frame I had were not available from Toronto with the Turkish Carrier, and I have credits with them for the previously cancelled flights. Stay safe.  

A New Adventure Will Soon Begin

 Hello Everyone.   I now have confirmed flights to travel from Ottawa, via Toronto to Istanbul Turkey, then on to Bangkok, Thailand. I will depart here mid afternoon on December 5, and arrive in Bangkok 36 hours later. I have a nine hour flight from Toronto to Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, a ten hour layover between flights at Istanbul , then another nine hour flight to Bangkok. On the return, I will depart from Bangkok on January 5, fly Turkish airlines to Istanbul and spend one week in Turkey. I return to Canada on Turkish Airlines January 12.

It is my plan to spend about eight days in Bangkok, then with my Thai friends, we will go to Phuket for a week or so, then decide the next destination. In Bangkok, I have appointments for dental work at my favorite dental office...Bangkok Smile. Since Optometrists in Ontario are on strike, and have been for a number of months, I will have eye examinations, etc done in Bangkok also. The strike only applies to certain groups here in Ontario where the Government Health Plan is in effect. They are on strike against the government. With the patient backup due to Covid-19, the Optometrists in Quebec are booked full until January.... that option is therefor not available to me.

I will do frequent updates as my trip unfolds. Stay safe, and enjoy life.