Ottawa, Ontario February 12, 2022

 Hello All;  I returned to Canada on 4 February without any excitement. No storms and all three flights were basically on time, but due to icing conditions the flight from Montreal to my home here in Ottawa was one hour late. The aircraft had to be de-iced before departure. I got to my home at eleven in the evening. For those not familiar with this situation, when weather conditions are around the freezing point, and precipitation is falling at the departure airport, aircraft are deiced. This entails the aircraft, (after all passengers, luggage and fright is on board), being moved to the deice pad. There, a large spray unit similar to a fire truck with a boom, moves up to the aircraft and sprays the top of all surfaces of the plane with a green anti-freeze. This action allows for a smooth air flow over and under the wings and permits the aircraft to become air born.

The arrival procedures at Montreal were upgraded from my first arrival two weeks earlier, and I was from Plane to Tim Hortons coffee shop in ten minutes. When I checked in to Turkish Airlines at Istanbul with my luggage, it was tagged to Ottawa, and I was rather pleased to see it all upon arrival here. 

We are now into that time of year when we must complete the ritual of filing Income Tax. I also have some routine medical appointments, eyes, etc, and then I will be ready to get into another adventure. At this point in time, my plan is to visit Thailand again after a two year lockdown, and while there, I will have major dental work done at my usual stop...Bangkok Smile!.

Because of the political situation in the Hong Kong area, I will try not to go the Pacific Route, but rather via Europe. My expectation is to go from here to London, then non stop to Bangkok with Thai Airways. I will return via Istanbul where I will visit my friends again for two weeks.

I expect to do a further update around mid March when I have my next trip booked.  

Istanbul Turkey, February 1, 2022------- The last report from here for this trip

 Hello All; We have not done any new exploring of the sites because of time limits for other activities. For example, my little friend Hussian, has day care from eight to one each day. At one, his mother must pick him up at the facility. We did two more days of house Inspections for my friend's sister in London. Both ended up being a waste of time, however, considering we went about 100 miles each day, we did get to see new areas of Istanbul. The first house we were shown on Sunday was beyond description. I will do it justice and tell you only that it had been abandoned, or so it seemed, for over a year. It was left with a balcony door and a window open. The floor was covered in piles of Pidgeon feces, in every room. The second apartment was small, cold and in a very dark building. The last was occupied, but not suited for a long term investment.

Monday afternoon, we were taken to a different area. The first place was very small, poor layout and very cold. The floors here are mostly marble, and the snow had not been shovelled...no shovels, so one just waded over the snow. or slipped on a packed trail. The second place......ooops, Agent forgot the key. The third was very small, two bedrooms and a small kitchen...and maybe a table for two.                    

This afternoon, I had my PCR test for return to Canada on Friday. I depart the airport at 08;00, and have a three hour stop again in Paris, then onto Air Canada for the flight to Montreal and then home. I expect to be home around nine Ottawa time, Friday evening.

I will do a follow up to this trip sometime next week. At this time, I expect to be off to Thailand in third week of April for some much needed dental work. Due to the situation in Hong Kong, China, and area, I hope to travel via Europe. My preferred route is Air Canada to London, Thai Airways to Bangkok, if available.