Ottawa, December 6, 2021......30 centimeters ( about one foot), of snow on the ground, and raining.

 Hello All. With that kind of weather, and more freezing, snow and maybe rain, in the weeks ahead, it is time to find another climate. I will be departing here late this evening and going out to the airport; I depart at seven in the morning for Vancouver. Travelling is becoming quite complicated to what is was nine years ago when I started this blog. For this trip, in addition to the ticket and my Passport, I now need..my QR code for Ontario/Canada certifying I have had both Covid-19 vaccinations and now the Booster shot. All were with the Pfizer vaccine; I also have my Turkish Visa, which is authority to enter Turkey, and, the Turkish HES code, which is similar to our QR code. At this time, no need to have any tests. I made the day for the Nurse that gave me the booster shot on Saturday; As I went to her table and sat down, she asked me..."Sir, which arm would you like to receive this vaccine",...my reply..."Your right arm would be just fine"!. She had not heard that before. As an after thought, it probably is not wise to get the person with the needle excited before they do their work.

I am all packed and ready to depart, with one exception...A five year old  special friend of mine in Istanbul sent me a message last week that requested some Tim Bits, (which is the holes from donuts at one of our coffee houses here.). I have them in the freezer, and will pack them just before I go out the door.

I may do a short update tomorrow from Vancouver airport. That will depend on the internet, and other issues. If not from Vancouver, I will report after my arrival in Turkey. Take Care; 

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.

September 28, 2021 Update

 Hello all; It has been about 90 days since I last appeared on this site, and a lot has changed in this world since then. The Covid-19 virus, vaccinations, more people working from home, and so on.

I am now planning to depart Ottawa about 30 November and be away in Thailand until the first week of January . The Thai Cabinet is soon expected to approve a plan whereby most provinces, including Bangkok...the province and the city, will reopen to fully vaccinated foreigners without restrictions and quarantines. The expectation is for the reopening to be approved effective November 1. As soon as that announcement is made, I will be having my travel agent book my flights, and I will then book dental work with my Thai dentists at Bangkok Smile. 

Here in Ottawa, we are now experiencing some very cool nights with lows down to 5 and 6 degrees Celsius. I hope to get away before the ground turns white.

There will be a further update once my flights and other details are completed.

Ottawa June14, 2021

 Hello All;

There have certainly been a lot of mixed signals from our leaders on the virus situation and the vaccinations. I use the word "leaders", loosely, because in my view, leadership has been lacking at all levels.

I had my first Pfizer vaccination on May 24, and the second on June 7. This is a total of 75 days between shots, while most manufacturers recommended 21 to 28 days between needles. I was fortunate to have both needles relatively close to home.

In my view, the travel situation is far from what I would use, and as a result, I will not be travelling out of Canada until at least October 1. I have personal needs to go to Bangkok, including for dental work, and that will be done later than I had planned. Bangkok and 76 other provinces in Thailand are closed to foreign travelers, even those with full vaccinations. In addition, because of slow progress in their vaccination roll out for the non tourist provinces, my friends in the north must wait until September or later for their needles, and cannot travel to Phuket as we had planned for July.

It was announced today that my province of Ontario will open its borders with Manitoba to the west and Quebec to the east on Wednesday, June 16. 

We will wait a few weeks for things to get back to normal for trans-border visits, then may do some day trips returning home each evening. Later, a trip to Niagara Falls or Quebec City may be if the works.

Stay Safe, and enjoy the summer as best you can. 

Ottawa, April 5, 2121

Hello all. I hope that you are all doing as well as can be expected during these unusual times.

To date, I do not know anyone who has got, or had the virus. I only know of one person who knows anyone with the Covid-19 virus, and that is in Poland.

While we all are well aware that situations change day by day, and there is a lot of confusion out there, I am looking forward to my next adventure. Some provinces in Thailand will open to foreign tourists on July 1, if they have had both needles. I had the first of my two vaccinations with the Pfizer-Biontech Covid-19 Vaccine on March 24, and the second is presently scheduled for July 14. Here in Canada the politicians and so called, "health experts" believe they know better than the drug manufacturers. It is recommended by the drug makers that this vaccine be given 21-28 days after the first injection. There is a possibility, and I do hope that the second needle is available long before July 14. This may happen if we in Canada get a good supply of the Vaccines.

The Island province of Phuket will open on July 1, without need for quarantine to those tourists with proof of both vaccinations. It would seem at this time that such tourists could then visit any of five other provinces that are scheduled to open without quarantine on October 1. This situation could very well change at any time.

If this situation remains unchanged, it is my intention to fly out of Canada around the 21 of July and be away for 40 days. If possible, I will avoid doing a transfer at any airport in the United States. At this time there are not many options, however more countries are opening up, and airlines are returning to their long haul routes. One possibility is to take Qatar Airlines from Montreal to Doha, then another flight to Bangkok, change planes and fly one hour down to Phuket. At thistime, the stopover in Doha is about 14 hours, which I would prefer to avoid.

I will keep you updated as we move ahead. If I can get the second needle earlier than July, I would head out around the first of that month. Stay Safe. 

Ottawa, January 25, 2121

 Hello All

Here we are, almost one year since I returned from Thailand, at the start of this virus that has the world in its grip. At this time, I do not know when tourists will be permitted to travel freely, and under what conditions. Many questions remain unanswered...for example....can a person who has received the two vaccinations against the virus travel without quarantine when they go to another country....and upon arrival back to Canada. At this time, no country can answer that question.

I have been doing some work with the Thai Tourism Office in Toronto, (TAT), and, I wrote a letter that was published in The Bangkok Post Newspaper on December 9, 2020. The conditions that existed at that time, in my view, without much thought, were illegal in Canada. For example one needed in effect, two Visas , and in order to get those, one had to provide a recent Bank Statement showing a minimum of funds in that account. This requirement was soon withdrawn. Such requests are illegal in most countries and Canada is one. The Thai requirement to isolate for 14 days in a hotel of the government choice is also being somewhat relaxed.

It is not known when Thailand can open for world tourists as they have recent outbreaks involving thousands, mostly spread by illegal workers from neighboring countries, who are working in Thailand.

On the plus side, my "Thai Family", who reside in the village of So Phisai, (about two hours east of Udon Thani), in north east Thailand have opened a Noodle Shop, which is a common site in Thailand. I sent some funds to get it off the ground, and now it is doing a great business. It is called, Papa Don's Number 1 Noodle Shop.

Looking ahead, it would seem that it will be several months before anyone can plan travel back to Thailand, or elsewhere. I hope to get the two shots for the virus by April, then we will see what the situation is like. With my Thai friends, we will take a two week trip into the province of Kanchanaburi, which has many National Parks, and the site of the famous movie....The Bridge On The River Kwai. We will use the train that now runs the length of that restored railway to the Burma, (Myanmar) border.

Take Care, and staysafe.