The Travelonians

Once you have decided which countries you are visiting, it's time to see what VISA requirements you need to enter each country. This is very important, and even points of entry can change requirements. Entering at an airport can be different than an overland border crossing.   More research.   I will not get into the intricacies of visas, but the government of Canada's travel website has information on the visiting countries and provides information for each as do the countries themselves.   It is also a good idea to register with the Canadian government under "Travelling Abroad" to let them know you will be in those countries in case of an emergency. Next step, do you need vaccinations to enter these countries?   I recommend that you visit a doctor/nurse specializing in travel. They will be able to assess vaccines you may require depending on where and what kind of trip you will be making.   For instance, if you are spending 3 months in the jungle, yo...

The obvious question…where do we go? We spent many summer evenings drinking some cold sangrias discussing destinations. There are many factors which come into play but let's just say follow your heart and budget. For us, South East Asia was the choice, we haven't been there, the weather is good, and it is relatively inexpensive. South America was another possibility, and we will likely revisit it next year. Our original thought was to spend a month in each country, concentration on beaches and comfortable living but as usual, the lure of hard travelling always seems to prevail. So, we decided on Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. The first step was to start monitoring air travel websites for alerts and special offers on flights to Bangkok. We soon received an email that Air China had flights for $850 round trip going through Beijing (with a long layover). We decided that this would probably be the best deal we would see, so we booked. We were right, flights...

Okay, let’s take care of some necessary business-like introductions and a little background. We are Johanne and Ed , a Canadian retired couple in their ‘60s who are not quite ready for rocking chairs and safe food.  In our previous working lives, we did some extensive travelling, visiting 20 or so countries on trips that usually, like most people, lasted up to three weeks. But the urge to travel like hippies never left us, and now that we have some time and energy, well, we’re heading down the highway and looking for adventure (apologies to Steppenwolf). We’re not talking backpacking and hostels, more like “flashpacking” and two or three-star hotels and guesthouses, travelling for at least three months and having a very loose itinerary. We plan to pick a destination and make most of the trip up as we go, staying longer (or less) at places and changing itineraries on the fly. The thing is, we travel well as a couple. We complement each other under the pressure of a cris...