Musings on Midlife's Misadventures

You can be prepared all you want, but $&@! can still happen.

We have masks, gloves, all kinds of wipes, disinfectant, hand sanitizer... you name it. We saw no masks in Toronto, more Asians wearing them in Mumbai and decidedly many moreso in Bangkok. My foot masseuse wasn’t wearing a mask yesterday, but her colleague who was Rose’s masseuse, wore one. Interesting... Rose is of Chinese ethnicity. Hum?

We are young and healthy and are so pumped up for our twelve day hiking tour in the Himalayan Mountains of Bhutan, set to start Monday. Bhutan is a small zen-like nation of 740,000 people, nestled between the behemoth China to the north and India to the south. Thimphu, the capital, is the only capital city in the world with NO traffic lights. Druk Air, with its 15 pilots, has the ONLY pilots in the ENTIRE world, who are certified to land at the very dangerous Paro airport, because it is surrounded by the Himalayan mountains. I may have to pop a Valium or two before getting on that flight.

Oh wait!!! With less than forty eight hours to our departure for Bhutan, a phone call from our agent in Canada early this morning, advised us that our trek has been CANCELLED! An American who traveled from India into Bhutan, has brought Bhutan its first case of the Coronavirus, so the government has closed its borders, effectively for the entire time we would have been there.

Are we disappointed? HELL yes! Upset? NO, because it is what it is. It is out of our control. What are we looking at doing? GoWay Travel, our agents, are looking for other options for us. We will stay put in Bangkok for now. Are we coming home? No way! We didn’t come this far to run home with our tail between our legs. Stay tuned! The adventures continue!

GOOD NEWS? Our luggage should arrive this morning. 😃

PS: For any naysayers out there, we had no option of cancelling our trip before leaving Canada. Our insurance did NOT cover changing our minds, nor the threat of a pandemic. So we had no choice but to set out on this adventure. No regrets here! YOLO! Qui ne risque rien, n’a rien!

JET LAG... NO LUGGAGE... MAD DASH...

but we landed in Bangkok almost twenty four hours after we left Canada. Of course, I cannot travel without my usual adventures! I landed in Toronto late March 2nd, with less than 48 hours to departure and what happens? At 3:00 am I am up the rest of the night, with vomiting and you guessed it! I spent the entire day in bed, well nursed by Rose, aka The Princess Traveler. As usual, my timing was bad, but it could have been worse. By departure time I was right as rain. Some kind of twenty-four hour stomach flu I guess. At my weakest moment I thought, “OMG, they will take my temperature in Bangkok and put me in QUARANTINE!” I think stupid thoughts when I am sick!

We made our connection in Mumbai by the skin of our teeth. The maintenance crew clapped when
we rounded the corner of the embarkment bridge. We were escorted from immigration, but no courtesy cart. We hoofed it! Our luggage has yet to follow, twelve hours later, but we are hopeful of delivery tomorrow. What do I remember of my first steps on Indian soil? The airport terminal was mainly carpeted.

I am OVERWHELMED by Bangkok. By EVERYTHING... the sights, the sounds, the smells, the crushing contrast between excessive opulence and deep poverty, the language, the heat (34 degrees with the humidity, at 9:00 pm) and just the size of the city itself, population 10.5 million! I have never seen so many skyscrapers of assorted sizes, shapes and colours, along with pitiful hovels.

Out and about in Bangkok...

Our Air BNB condo view, from one end.

A school for monks. See them in orange?

This little Eileen entertained us while we treated ourselves to an hour long foot and leg massage for the princely sum of 13$ Canadian, tip included.

I am going back tomorrow for a pedicure, and I will leave a bigger tip. The average monthly income in Bangkok? $150. 😔

We will soon be on our way to Mumbai, India!

What the hell? That destination wasn't even ON our radar, NOR on my Bucket List! However, right now, if our ticketing doesn't change, Mumbai is our best chance of getting to Bangkok, Thailand, and from there, experiencing our great adventure, which involves a twelve day trek in the Himalayas, and some R & R on the shores of the South China sea in Vietnam. All our exploring has been in the works since last spring, (Thailand, Bhutan and Vietnam) and will hereby be referred to as the TBV TOUR. It almost sounds like a disease!

You know how you have these feelings of great anticipation, and sometimes a little trepidation, when you are about to embark on a big trip or vacation, especially if you are going far, far away?

W...E...L...L, how about TONS of trepidation, and ZILTCH of anticipation, because every day in the news, for the last month or more, there has been talk of nothing but Covid 19, and its spread worldwide. Each day the news gets worse! However, our countries are not on the A list. Bhutan has no cases of the virus. Knock on wood!

The Princess Traveler and I refuse to be cowed. I am an Intrepid Traveler. Despite four itinerary changes by Air Canada, Asiana Airlines and Thai Airlines, we remain undaunted. Asia or be damned - Coronavirus be damned too!

We are ready! The Princess Traveler is a health and food safety inspector and next to a doctor/nurse, she KNOWS germs. We are very, VERY well prepared in every way. So I am positively relaxed about this virus thing. I am almost comatose. Check me for a pulse why don't you? :)

Now, once it comes time to return to Canada in a month... I may be feeling a little differently, if this Covid 19 has been declared a worldwide pandemic. For now, it is all systems go!! I must admit though... our timing was NOT the best!

STAY TUNED!

This old lady is heading EAS*T...

TO the far, far East. At least, that is the plan, s..t...i...l...l. It will be the furthest east I have ever been in my life, on what may well turn out to be the BIGGEST adventure of my life (other than being a mom and grandmother!).

Well, as you know, the Coronavirus (aka Covid 19) is in the news daily, and although we are NOT traveling to China per se, we will be in the vicinity. While I am NOT worried, I must admit the steady barrage of depressing news from China, kind of puts a damper on things. How many people have to worry about a possible world wide pandemic when traveling? As usual, my timing is impeccable, don't you agree? J'entends déjà de mes cousines dire "This could only happen to you cousin!"

This trip has been in the works for almost a year. When my former Toronto neighbour, and old friend, asked me if I wanted to join her on a trek to Asia, I jumped at the chance. Paying a single supplement to travel really limits your ability to be intrepid, so we are both very fortunate to be able to do this together. Have other single girlfriends... WILL travel. :)

I shall call her the Princess Traveler, as that is what she calls herself. She has been to Asia quite a few times, is Canadian, and of Chinese ethnicity. We are NOT going with a tour group, but we did have help planning our itinerary. If you surmised that she likes to travel well, by her traveling moniker "Princess Traveler", then you HAVE surmised correctly. Suffice to say, we will NOT be slumming our way through Thailand, Bhutan (I didn't know where that country was either. I had to look it up on a map!) and Vietnam for four weeks, starting March 4th. It shall henceforth be referred to as my Asian Adventure! More details on that subject will follow in my blogs.

For those of you who enjoy reading my travel blogs, and have told me that they travel with me from the comfort of their home...all I can say is HOP ON for the ride then! I will try to blog as often as the availability of technology will allow. I will also attempt to post a map of where we will be traveling. I am not too savvy with technology though, so that may not happen.

As I inquired about top-up medical insurance recently, the agent with whom I chatted, wished me a good vacation in Florida. Funny eh? She assumed that I was a snowbird. No, not me! Not yet!! Nor am I a 3G RETIREE - Golf, Gardening and Grandchildren. I golf now and then, do NOT garden any more than I absolutely have to, and while I adore my one and only granddaughter, I am living my life right now, as I want to live it; that involves traveling the world as much as time, my health and my bank account will permit. YOLO!!!!

Our final destination in Bhutan, will be this monastery, in the Himalayas, called

TIGER'S NEST. Sharp eh?

LOVE...L'AMOUR... EL AMOR...

So now that the CRASS COMMERCIALISM of Valentine's Day is over once again, how was it for you? Were you left feeling alone, unloved, neglected? Unfortunately, I think that many do feel that way when February 14th rolls around.

I know couples who choose their own LOVE DAY, and celebrate their union that day. I think that is a great idea! However, love 💗is NOT just about loving💕our partner, our children, our families, our friends and our pets, and showing that love even moreso on that day. WHOM we love makes us happy, but doing the things we LOVE 💓 can make us happy as well.

Here is my 💖 list: too long I know, but you get the idea? What's on your love list?

The town plow not leaving a mess at the bottom of my driveway.

A warmed up plate of good leftovers, after a busy work day.

Peace and quiet on a Sunday morning, with my Spanish list playing on my Spotify, while I savour a cup of java.

A quick eight kilometre bike ride around the basin, where you can glimpse water almost everywhere.

A phone call from an old friend, my son or my daughter, just to see how I am doing.

An invitation out to supper, or lunch or breakfast (not so much breakfast though, as I like to sleep in if I can!)

A visit from a friend for the weekend.

A really awesome book I can sink my teeth into on a cold, Friday night.

A big cup of hot chocolate and marshmellows after a hike (with the odd shot of Bailey's thrown in!)

HUGS, HUGS, AND MORE HUGS!

Anyone smiling at me!

Shared laughter!

A FaceTime chat with my daughter and granddaughter.

The small water view from my balcony.

A hike with Vimy through my Enchanted Forest, or Daly Point Nature Reserve, or The Mi'gMiq trail, in all seasons.

Travel outside my province, and my country.

A card in a the mail, or even better, a handwritten letter.

The CBC - Listen, Gem, and Music plus Michael Enright on Sunday morning.

So cheers to those we love, and cheers to what we 💓💓💓 having, doing, giving and receiving.

Rants are good for what ails you... SOMETIMES

I have been so busy ranting about this and that lately, that I haven't had time to blog. Whether it was about rising medical insurance rates, or the town plow filling my driveway, I seem to be on a complaining kick these days. Seeing as we are surrounded by nothing but negativity, it is easy to see how negativity begets MORE negativity.

Recently, I started thinking about ALL the misadventures that I have had, that I haven't blogged about... and there have been some doozies. I never blogged about my neighbour going ballistic and blaming me for her broken window pane, which I did NOT break. Nor did I blog about a guy I dated, only to found out he had just gotten out of a rather nasty place! Nor did I blog about the police calling me because the owner of the Husky who tried to kill Vimy a year ago, was upset with me. I had told his neighbours, who are dog owners, that HIS dog was DANGEROUS. Monsieur did NOT like that. He has his NERVE, and all I can say about the police, is that it must have been a slow day at work that day? Nor did I blog about the time I lost my dental appliance, spent a week turning my house upside down, only to accept that it probably ended up hooked on an article of clothing in a bag of clothing I donated to the SPCA for a fundraiser. That misadventure cost me $1200 big ones!! I could go on and on... but I can't remember all the more upsetting misadventures.

I did not blog about the New York City marketing firm that contacted me, wanting to use my review of Vimy's harness, as PR on their website, to help build their client's brand. Vimy was wearing that PUG harness when the Husky viciously attacked him. I am convinced that harness saved his life. Mind you, this is a positive outcome, albeit from a negative incident. Plus I received another wonderful PUG harness, FREE!

It all goes to show that IF I don't think about the really negative misadventures that I have had, they fade away. When I do think back, I realize that most of the details have faded as well, which is a good thing. Plus, you LEARN from adversity. However, when I remember positive misadventures, I can go back, reread my blogs, and smile every time. Smile... and the whole world smiles with you, right?

There is BURIED treasure to be found....

in my Enchanted Forest. I know, because I found ONE! I went hiking with a friend, one late November day. I introduce as many people as possible to this magical place, and she had never been. We had had a bad wind and snowstorm earlier in the week. There at the end of the trail where the gazebo looks out on Peter's River, we came upon a huge fallen tree... TWO fallen trees actually. The kind owner of this beautiful acreage that he shares with the general public, had put up an orange cone, by way of warning.

As we hiked on by we looked back, and both noticed a green, disk shaped object in the stump of the smaller tree that had also fallen, and lay almost perpendicular to the larger, fallen one. We both remarked upon it, and immediately leaned in to take a closer look. My hiking companion mused as to whether it was a "geocache", as we opened the container. Lo and behold, it was!!!

The old Kraft peanut butter jar held all kinds of goodies, i.e. pens, little toys, stickers, just various small objects. There were even peanuts. Well, we weren't about to eat THEM! There was also a piece of paper with the information on "geocaching" and the rules, so to speak. One of the rules is that if you take something, you replace it with something else. We decided to add what we had that wasn't perishable, which were Ricolo losanges that my friend had. We didn't take anything out.

However, what was MOST interesting, and THE real find, was the list of people who had found this geocache. Believe it or not, the last ones had added their names and date, in July of 2015...almost four and a half years ago!! We added our names and date, but I have blued them out to protect my friend's privacy.

I am NOT savvy enough to figure anything out about geocaching. I don't even know how a GPS works, and I can b*a*r*e*l*y navigate Google Maps. However, this little adventure left me wondering where this jar had been hidden before the tree fell. Had it been put in a hole in the base of the tree, covered by moss and dirt, and NOT been visible to the human eye, before the tree fell?

Just another one of those unanswered questions in my life. Like who left those BBQ lighters in my mailbox last fall! Unless of course, you are a geocacher, and can elucidate me? Do you know any geocachers in the Chaleur area? Share this blog with them. Maybe their name is on the sheet? There is a conundrum in a peanut butter jar, deep in the Enchanted Forest...

By the way, my Fallopian Tubes Christmas lights are still twinkling merrily and making we smile every morning and evening!