Bangkok >Taipei > Vancouver > Madeira Park….

We are good to go, nice breakfast, taxi guy is 20 minutes early no problem you can never have too much time at an airport. Very chatty driver and hopeful of upcoming elections to get rid of the military rule currently in place ….good luck to him and the country, they could use some decent government without the oppressive corruption which seems to pervade the three countries we have visited…..

Get rid of our remaining THB…

….and China Airlines departs on schedule and our almost 5 hour flight lands in Taipei 16:00 local time. Although our luggage is checked through to Vancouver, we do not have boarding passes for the next leg…..Air Canada (our airline for the next leg) does not have personnel on the ground and we waste some time tracking down the right counter….they issue boarding passes but we cannot sit together.. “no, we cannot seat you together the plane is full”…time for some good old-fashioned shit disturbing….as it happened as we got to the gate the Air Canada Captain saw us and joked about snow in Vancouver, then asked how we were >>> my answer was simple …. PISSED….somehow the fully booked flight was suddenly able to accommodate Annie & I sitting together > simple lesson, never, ever accept the drivel client service personnel give you!!

We just managed to have enough time to race back to duty free and pick-up some bottles…..the tax bite in Canada never ceases to amaze me… 

Our ride, a Boeing 787 aka “Dreamliner” is actually a really nice plane, comfortable (to the extent you can be comfortable in peasant class), acceptable food with copious wine and a deplorable breakfast which  I wouldn’t serve to my pet rat! Safe and sound albeit tuckered we arrive in Vancouver some 10 hours later..

……where we learn that my backpack never made it on  the flight….the only real glitch of the entire trip….if you have to have a glitch this was the perfect timing for it to happen… 

Ella our daughter, baby Alex and Andre scooped us up…short visit at their condo and off to the ferry…got lucky as we got on without delay. A 45 minute sailing and another hour drive to our home…….whew, done and done !!!

For all of you who followed our adventures thanks and hope you enjoyed it…..now it is time to rest, bring in the New Year and slowly begin to think about our next footsteps !!!!