Ottawa, Ontario March 13, 2022 - A New Adventure Is Set to Begin April 20

 Hello all; Yes, I am all set to depart on another long range tour, and I would expect some excitement along the way. I will depart here on the evening of April 20 and take a short 30 minute  hop over to Montreal. After four and a half hours there, I will be on Turkish Airlines for the nine hour flight to  Istanbul. I am scheduled to arrive in Istanbul at 3;25 in the afternoon of April 21.  By coincidence, that happens to be my birthday. My little friend Hussian and his mother will come out to the airport and join me for dinner.

 At 2;00 in the morning of April 22, I will again board a Turkish Airlines flight for the ten hour flight to Bangkok. It is my plan to take two days to rest and relax from the long trip, and have a Thai Massage. On the morning of the 25th, I have an appointment with my Dental friends at Bangkok Smile.  I will be in Thailand until May 9.  I do not have any plans yet for the remaining time in Thailand, as my dental consultations may require that I need more than one appointment.

Now that the Virus situation is easing up, the rules for Canadians and 47 other nationalities are as they were before the Pandemic. That means that we can go to Thailand as Tourists for up to 30 days without the need for a Visa. Work is not allowed.

I will be returning to Istanbul on May 9, and returning to Canada from there on May 29. Our plans for my time in Turkey will be finalized when I get there. I expect that it will be a leisure time, and the only "Must Do", is to complete a promise to Hussian...Take him to Disney Istanbul. The only rule I have made it that we will NOT do the Roller-Coaster ride. It is the highest and has the steepest runs that I have ever seen. 

I will have an update before I depart. 

Thai Tourism has suggested to me that I not travel to the north, which is where my Thai family friends reside, and, not to travel to Phuket, as these areas are still in recovery from being unable to get vaccinated with a good vaccine.

In addition to the above, I am now aware of a major situation where my Thai friends live; I have not heard from them in nearly two weeks. This is very unusual, and we had  chat conferences scheduled, to plan activities, and make plans for them to come south.  

Take Care!    

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.

Istanbul, January 28, 2022---One Needs A sense of Humor To Travel These days.

 Hello All;  Today, a few lines of recent events in my travel here. At Ottawa, when I first checked in my  Boarding Pass had me at the back of the plane; (I never pay for an assigned seat...usually 25 dollars per flight.) Later at the boarding gate, I was issued a new Boarding Pass, very near the front. The lady ahead of me was very large, but the Agent stated to me, "we are moving you to the front of the aircraft as we need more weight up front. In fact, I was moved to Business Class, and she did not want others to know. At Montreal, five minutes before the first Boarding call, they announced that everyone needed to fill out two forms, one to be handed to a flight attendant as we neared Paris, the other to French Customs officers. One was in French on both sides, the one for France was English, declaring you had no virus, and had not been near anyone with the virus. Air Canada collected the forms as they had said, but the French Customs did not know what we were talking about and would not take the forms.....I still have mine.

Here in Istanbul, I found out that there at least two large Lost and Found Companies at the airport...no wonder it took several days for them to find my luggage that they took.                  

When I went back to the airport the morning after my arrival, the taxi drove at about 40 all the way....45 minutes, and on his cell phone all the way talking to different people. On my way back to the hotel, in the sloppy and at times icy conditions, the driver stood at 137 KPM....even police cars passed us, and when I asked what the rules were, this driver told me that only people with no license drive under 100.

Some Turkish words for the traveler;  Bay=men, Bayan-women...for washrooms/kahve...coffee/Taksi is taxi/ Polis...police....thats all for this , and maybe the last of my Turkish lessons.

Tomorrow, we will go looking at several condos for my friends sister from London. After our last work, she came here and did all the paper work, and made the down payment...then was advised that the place she had bought was so tied up in legal matters with the previous owner that it would be a long time before the matter was settled. The Real Estate company returned all funds to her.

That's it for today. 

  

 the speed is posted at 90.  

Hello From A White Istanbul, January 27, 2022

I arrived here just before midnight on the 26, after a rather unusual journey. I departed my home in Ottawa at 11;00 on Tuesday morning, taking a bus, train, and another bus to the airport. Two years ago, this one bus route was the nom. Now, with high technology, and modern thinking, and to save the environment,(as some would say)three vehicles are required....for the same trip. At the screening point for bag checks, etc, I was asked to open my only bag, my carry-on....something was different. In there was a Paw Patrol Fire engine about 23 inches long, on it's side. The Agent looked in, then stated, "I did not know they made Paw Patrol toys for seniors".  To this I replied, "it is for my son, over in Paris who will be three years old on Sunday". He had no further comment and I was on my way to the departure lounge. Everything went very well in Montreal, and continued until we arrived in Paris at the Charles De Gaulle airport. It was supposed to be a three hour wait until my next flight to here in Istanbul on Turkish Airlines. The departure gate, (A-43), was rather quiet, and the Board stated that TK 1822, my flight, was delayed. Upon further checking, we were told that Istanbul airport was closed due to a heavy snow storm. Nine hours later, we were on our way, about seven hours late. Upon arrival, three hours and a bit later, we parked at a corner of the airport about two miles from the Terminal, and the Captain told us that due to the severe storm, there were no gates available and we would be some time in getting to one. We waited an hour before moving verrrrry slow to the Terminal. Passport control took most another hour, then I went to Lost and Found, where I retrieved one of my lost bags. The other two were in a different room, some distance away, and the staff had gone home. I got to my hotel at 01;00 A.M. I went back this morning and retrieved the two Items and all were in excellent condition and everything was accounted for. My trip was well worth while.

Ottawa, January 23, 2022 Decisions Have Beed Made

Hello All;  I will be returning to Istanbul, with a departure from here on Tuesday, January 25, and returning February 4. After consulting with Courier companies, and looking at my options, I decided to go back, stay nine days and bring my luggage home. By doing this, I save over one thousand U.S. Dollars, and get a trip in also. My round trip airfare is under 1200 dollars Canadian.

I will be travelling light, although I do have a gift for my little friend, Hussian. He wanted a Marshall Fire truck with all the gadgets,(from the kids cartoons and the movie called Paw-Patrol.) But we could not find it in Istanbul before Christmas, so got him clothes instead...It's nice to be considered a kid's hero, even if it's right up there with a cartoon dog!!.

Today in Istanbul they had snow and one degree, so there will be no trips to the beach.

My trip will be about 16 hours from the time I depart here until I get to Istanbul . My route is Ottawa- Montreal with Air Canada, and after about three hours, on to Paris, (Charles De Gaulle airport), another three hours in Paris, then a three hour flight with Turkish Airlines to Istanbul. For those who do not get to travel much, airlines have a system called "Code Share". That is where an airline, in this case Air Canada, buy seats on Turkish Airlines, all part of the 30 plus carriers of Star Alliance. My ticket indicates AC-6690 which is on Turkish flight TK-1822. I will return on February 4th same route in reverse. 

In closing, I should note that it took one Courier company three days to express my new Credit Card to me from Toronto. This was one of the companies I contacted to price the return of my luggage from Istanbul. At that same speed, my luggage would have got here in about three years; Stay Safe.

January 17, 2022 The Unbelievable Part Two

 Since I carry a duplicate credit card in my luggage, I went to my bank and had the card frozen so that it could not be used. I carry two cards when out of Canada because I have had a card break in an ATM machine. This morning, I spent two hours attempting to get an estimate on the cost to have my luggage brought to Ottawa from Istanbul. I will not name the companies, but, the first one contacted had an Agent in Canada, she would not say where, but she had not heard of Istanbul, and I ended up terminating the discussion. Another company had their Agent in Asia, she knew her job, and gave me a quote based on the estimated size and weight of the three pieces of luggage. I will not be using a courier company to return my luggage. It would cost me between 1600 and two thousand U.S. dollars to do so.

For the cost of a courier, I can fly to Istanbul, claim my luggage, and spend a week or ten days in a hotel, which is what I am considering at this time. I already have my Turkish Visa, good for multiple entries until June 3. I also have my Turkish HES Code, which is equivalent to our QR code here in Ontario. I cannot book a flight or hotel until the mail brings my new Credit Card.

I will do an update when I get my card, and make some serious decisions./Stay safe, and watch out for those over zealous security types with the big egos!.