Hello From Ottawa, August 6, 2022

 Yes I am back in Canada, and am sorry that I could not post any stories while in Thailand. My last blog where I reported my arrival in Bangkok was an alert to the Thai government and as a result, they banned my entrance to my blog...that's a fact. In January, after working with techies and attempting to obtain a Thailand Pass, I quit in disgust, and wrote a letter to the Bangkok Post Newspaper...titled...Its Time For a Change....the letter was published. Some background...when the army took over about eight years ago, as I understand the situation, they...(army) insisted that if certain internet companies wanted to operate in Thailand, the army ... or government, would need to have control.....within Thailand. Next came a law that sets prison terms or fines for people who may criticize the government....within Thailand.

A friend in a high position in the Bangkok Tourism Office had informed me, prior to my letter to the newspaper, that over 90 thousand people had complained about the same issues that I raised. I did not know that such information was not public, and I guess the brass got excited. I was able to use my computer all the time I was away, but was not able to get onto my blog page.....my Thai friends were able, and had lots of comments about the issue. I will say no more.

My trip went  mostly as planned, no other travel problems with the exception of the time that Canada was undergoing the internet outages. I had four dental appointments set for my time there, and had all the dental work I needed completed with a smile. When Booking.com, the company I use to book hotels tried to clear my credit card for my next hotel, it was rejected and my reservation was cancelled. I contacted the hotel and they reinstated my reservation without any problem. 

During my travels, I met some new friends and at all times was treated to the great hospitality that Thailand is known for. I had a taxi reserved to pick me up at my Bangkok hotel on August 4 at three A.M. At Midnight, the power went off on my floor, but stayed on in the rest of the hotel. I went to the lobby and with others stayed there until the taxi came. After returning home, I received an email from a  counter staff member expressing her regrets of the incident....that's Thai hospitality.

I will end here for tonight, and will have more travel information in a few days as I get back to speed here at home.   

Hello from Bangkok, Thailand.......July 6, 2022

 I arrived here at midnight on July 4, Bangkok time , after a six hour flight from Tokyo. My departure from Ottawa was on July 2, at 0745, and five hours to Vancouver where I had to stay overnight. We could not get connecting flights for my westbound to Vancouver. The hotel prices in Vancouver are very high for anything within 50 miles of the airport. I was told by people at the airport that they paid 110 dollars for a taxi to the cruise ship terminal from the airport. My hotel cost for the one night was more than I will be paying here in Thailand for a ten day stay at any  of the hotels  all rated at four star. 

After a days rest, I had my first visit to my Bangkok Smile dentist this morning. After almost two hours, most of the fillings have been done, and one root to be removed....we will discuss that tomorrow. When I am finished the dental, and on July 11, I and some of my Thai friends will go two hours south of here to Pattaya for ten days. It will be seaside activities and I will also visit the Orphanage where I have worked in the past. This will be a social visit  with the staff , and I will have some time with the kids, and I will have a story about that later.  

This trip to date has gone as planned with no problems, as I did my research, and had all the papers for vaccinations, etc. From the plane to baggage pickup here was about ten minutes with the Customs/Immigration officer welcoming me back after he saw all the Thai Visas in my Passport. I do not have a Visa for this trip as I will be here only 30 days. I will update from Pattaya..                                                                    

Ottawa, June 28, 2022

 Hello all; It has been some time since my last report, but there are several reasons for that. The most important, as many of you may know, was a statement by the authorities in Bangkok that their borders would open on July 1 to all foreign visitors. That happened in the third week of June. After three days of late hours and assorted travel issues, I now have confirmed travel dates for my first trip to Thailand in two and a half years.

I will proceed to the Ottawa airport late on July 1, and at 07;00 in the morning of July 2, I will fly with WestJet to Vancouver. I must stay overnight in Vancouver, as connecting flight space was not available. This is the first time that has happened  to me in all my travels. At noon on July 3, I will fly with All Nippon airlines to Tokyo Narita airport, and after a change of planes, will fly on to Bangkok, my final destination. I will arrive there at midnight on the 4th. Remember, when we cross the International Date line at approximately 180 degrees west, we pass into the next day. On my return flights, which are the same carriers and routing, we go back a day. That will be August 4, which I will live twice.

While the "Rules of Rome", will apply to some of the activities in Thailand, I can say that I have dental appointments at my Bangkok Smile dental office on July 6, and then one or two other dates to be determined. After a week in Bangkok, I will go with Thai friends to Pattaya, which is a beach city, and while there, I will also visit my friends at the Pattaya Orphanage where I sometimes do volunteer work. For this trip, the visit is social only, as I did not get a work Visa. In Thailand, one must pay 80 dollars for a work Visa even to do volunteer work. The last ten days or so will be spent at a resort just north of Bangkok  (sixty miles or so), called Baan Dala.

 Because of medical Insurance rules, I can only be out of Canada for 40 days at a time without having to pay extremely expensive additional days. I will be doing updates as my trip unfolds.  

  

Ottawa, June 5, 2022

 Hello all; I arrived home Monday May 30, and have been extremely busy since then, so now have time to do an update. My last ten days or so in Istanbul were very relaxed and the most exciting time was on May 27 when we celebrated Hussian's birthday. His actual birthday is in the third week of June, but we had it early so that I could be present. His mother had made arrangements for a dinner party for the three of us at a famous Lebanese restaurant in Istanbul called Arada. We went by the Metro lines to this place in a busy tourist location. The restaurant staff were not busy that evening, so they went all out. They had a small cake with candles and this was on a nice tray, with Happy Birthday Hussian  in icing on the tray. At two times during our time at the table they came with bowls containing dry ice, so it set a very unique scene. The second time was when they brought the cake to the table.

 Hussian's mother and I had bought him a nice blue scooter which I had assembled in my hotel room. We returned to my hotel by taxi, and while they waited, I went and brought the scooter down...he went wild...the best thing we could have got for him.

 On May 29, I flew with Turkish Airlines to Montreal and stayed overnight at a hotel near the airport. The flight was on time, and as with all my travels with this carrier, the service on board was the best one could ask for. My Travel Agent had tried to get me connections from Ottawa to Montreal for my departure and to return here upon my return to Montreal, however they wanted 900 dollars for that, and I opted to take VIA both ways instead...at a cost of 90 dollars.

One hour after my arrival home, I had a call from Elections Ontario to go the next morning for refresher update so I could work the election on June 2. I then worked the assigned poll the next day. I worked in a Seniors Retirement home. Upon arrival there, we were told that none of the residents had received a Voter Identification card. This caused many problems for the poll staff. Upon complaining to the Riding Headquarters, I was told that no one in the province in care homes or assisted living centers and so on were issued VICs . 

I had a dental problem just two days before returning to Canada, so will have that looked at on Tuesday. I need the roots of two teeth removed. 

At this time, it is my intention to go to Thailand in July if they return to normal travel rules by then as is expected . I will do an update when I know what is happening in Thailand.  

Istanbul Turkey May 21, 2022

 Hello All. There have been no great events since my last update, (remember....what happens in Rome......) We have interviewed schools and now have one where Hussian can start grade one in September. It is an English school with two sessions of Turkish a week....just what we wanted.

I have some observations as to what tourists will see when they visit this country. First is that pedestrians must give way to cars, motorcycles, scooters, and anything else that is motorised. This applies even if there is a green walk signal. There appears to be no laws for motorcycles. There are thousands of them, and they run on roads, sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, everywhere. If one were to buy a car here, the signal lights and brakes would be unused...the horn would be worn out.

the city of Istanbul has an excellent bus and Metro train system and it runs on time. There is a bus service that covers the area beyond the rail system, but there is one major problem for tourists, and some locals not familiar with the routes. While there are Bus Stops every two blocks or so, not one stop has the number of the buses that stop there.

We now have continuous warm weather, into the mid twenties, and so far just one day of rain since I came here.

This afternoon, we will again go over to the park known as Miniaturk and spend some time there. It has miniature scale models of dozens of sights within Turkey.

This will probably be my last posting until after I return to Ottawa, which will happen a week from tomorrow. I actually go to Montreal on 29 of May, and to Ottawa by rail the next day, Take Care.

Istanbul Turkey Monday, May 9, 2022

 To continue from where I left off last week, we finally received a copy of the Police Report for my friend's stolen wallet. One week later, and after two visits she went to the police station with a lady friend of hers from Morocco. This lady speaks Turkish and Arabic. The ladies were treated with the greatest of respect, and had the report and translated it in no time. People at the station all of a sudden could speak English, Arabic and Turkish. The issue, believe it or not was the fact that all along, the police thought that my friend was from Syria, when in fact she was born and raised in Iraq. Two days later, the president here announced that Turkey would soon start to send a million Syrian refugees back to their home country.

Yesterday was a time for exploring, so we went by subway into the main part of this old city to the world famous Grand Bazaar. This is the largest covered market in the world, with over four thousand shops, and more than 66 streets. It covers over 330,500 square feet, and in addition to the shops, has banks,Post Office,Restaurants, police station, and its own Mosque. We walked and walked, but did not buy.  At no time did I see a price on anything. Thousands of handbags and such with world famous names, but probably all made in Asia. We were here briefly in January, and the only change is the fact that tourist season is in full swing here.

The weather is forecast to be  sunny and in the mid twenties until the weekend so we will pick a day and do a one day tour of Prince's Island. This is actually a group of ten small islands a little over an hour by boat from a dock here on what is known as the Golden Horn. The islands are in the Sea of Marmara. For about the equivalent of twenty five Canadian dollars per person, we get picked up here at my hotel, the round trip boat ride, tours on the larger islands and lunch. I will report on this adventure in my next update.

Istanbul May 2, 2022

 Today is the end of Ramadan for this year, so almost everything is closed. Tomorrow, everyone will be back to a normal routine. For the Muslim faithful, the last month required that they not eat, drink or smoke during the period from Sun up...about 05;30 to sun set now about 8;25 in the evening. Their days are spent in prayer and at their work sites. After dark, they have a large meal with family and friends, and attend band concerts, playgrounds  parades and even night markets which are open for this month only. Yesterday was set aside for shopping. The custom is to go out and buy yourself new clothes,for being good, and if you have family, new clothes for the kids also. We took the Istanbul Metro two stops to the Isfanbul Mall, which was a madhouse. Since Hussian's mother had already purchased her new outfits, it was a day of shopping for Hussian.

On the evening of April 29, (last Friday), we attended events at a nearby park with the night markets, bands and the whole nine yards. There were massive crowds. About ten thirty that evening, someone stole a wallet from my friend's purse. There were police everywhere, but these characters are very bold. We had about nine police officers asking questions and had a problem with that because not one of them could speak Arabic or English...just Turkish. My friend speaks English and Arabic. Two boys about 14 came by and offered to translate from Arabic to Turkish...this went on for an hour. The officers offered phones and any help but their phones would not work outside of Turkey.

The stolen items were a few Lira, but also a Canadian based bank debit card, Hussian's Turkish Residency card  and two store cards. Our first action was to call the bank and freeze the card from use. We had help from the Canadian Consulate office here, but had to wait for one hour on hold to speak to the bank people. We got the account frozen, and no charges had been yet made on the card. Last evening, we went to the local police station to get a Police Report but no one there could speak Arabic or English. Tonight, we will try again. This was the highlights of the trip so far....the type we do not need. I must say that everyone was doing what they could, and were most polite. Take Care