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Lettre de Jan Smyth en date du 13 janvier 2007 (anglais seulement) |
Letter from Jan Smyth dated January 13,2007 |
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Dear Family and Friends,
I wrote this letter in December….but then Stephanie and family arrived and some things just didn’t get done…like sending out Christmas / News Year’s Greetings…so it’s coming to you late. I’m sorry it’s late but I know you will understand. Hope to see you in the New Year……Have a Happy 2007!!
….. Greetings from Kelowna, British Columbia. It’s been four years since we celebrated a Christmas in Canada…so we’ve decided to make this a Christmas to remember. Stephanie, Russ and Joshua arrived on December 13 and we’ve got plans. I think we might have to make up a newsletter for the daily activities!!
Winter has arrived here in the Okanagan. We’ve had days of falling snow. The mountains are covered and even the valley (although they say that won’t last long). Gord and I purchased ski passes for “Big White” and we’ve already been out four times. Yes we were a little sore, but that will get better as time goes on.
We’ve got Stephanie, Russ and Joshua outfitted with winter wear, skis, poles, boots etc. so we’re looking forward to some family time on the hills. We even bought a ski pass for Joshua so he can come and go as he pleases.
Since our arrival in Kelowna it seems we’ve done nothing but shop and spend money. (I’d forgotten that it’s one of those things you do when you move into a new place.) We have a “to do” list on post it notes covering the cupboards in the laundry room. It’s so rewarding to peel them off when the task is completed. Soon we’ll be able to see all the cupboards in the laundry room!!
Gordon is working up at UBC these days helping out with some research work. He spent over three weeks up in the mountains in October with a student from China. Gord said it was like running a kids camp. He even had to take him shopping to help get him outfitted for the mountains. Jeans, running shoes and T-Shirt don’t quite cut it. He gave lessons on how to put on hipwaders (sp?). Now he’s back in town doing some translation from Chinese English to Canadian English on some of the scientific papers being done and helping to compile the reports.
While he was away I kept busy doing some casual work (that’s short term). First I worked at Quails Gate Winery. They gave me a gift of wine and an employee discount on wine (that’s dangerous). Next I worked at Scholastic Books. When I left there they gave me 50% on any books I wanted to buy. I got some great Christmas gifts. Then I worked for Northern Airborne Technologies….they make communication equipment for airplanes. (I kept wondering what kind of gift????) Anyway they came up big with a membership to Costco. Everyplace I’ve been the people are great and they are always so grateful that I am there to help out. I just spent another week at Quails’ Gate. I think working at a winery is my ideal job!! The have just finished the ice wine harvest.
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Our plan right now is to stay in Canada for the winter. We’ll get in some visiting with family and some skiing and then we’ll have to get some work…maybe in Japan or China, about April or later. Of course all depends on what kind of jobs we can get and where….and how cold we get in the meantime.
So this past year has been very interesting. We started off 2006 in Bangkok with a visit from our Canadian friends Stephanie Beatty and Barb Estabrooks. They took Thailand by storm…..that would be a “shopping” storm. I had a great time shopping and bargaining with them and I was very proud how well they did at bargaining when left on their own. It was a whirlwind trip to Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Siem Reap in Cambodia. Of course the tour guides from Asia fell in love with these two…I’m sure they are getting many e-mails begging them to come back.
Winter has arrived here in the Okanagan. We’ve had days of falling snow. The mountains are covered and even the valley (although they say that won’t last long). Gord and I purchased ski passes for “Big White” and we’ve already been out four times. Yes we were a little sore, but that will get better as time goes on.
When they left, Gordon and I needed a holiday so we headed off to South Vietnam for a week. We had been to North Vietnam and Central Vietnam so this was our opportunity to explore the south…and of course the Mekong Delta was fabulous. Watching the life on the river was very enjoyable.
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And who could go to S Vietnam without seeing the tunnels and the American Embassy and imagining the chaos in the last days of the war. The countryside scenery was delightful and again I really enjoyed the Chinese influence in the architecture, temples etc. Of course one place stood out and that was the Cao Dai Temple. It’s a combination of five religions and the temple / church /cathedral is spectacular. It just seems that everyone from Confucius to Sun Yet-sen is involved in this religion and the regalia worn by the priests and congregation is quite interesting. Gord and I spent a lot of time touring on motorcycles. It’s my favourite way to sightsee in Vietnam because you can see everything and I have direct control over the driver!! There were more cars in South Vietnam than in the north and it was obvious that there were more commercial interests and more money.
We went back to work February and March and then Deb and Bill (Gordon’s brother and sister-in-law) arrived from Kelowna April 1st. Yippee…we had one month to show them the sights but it was still very busy. They started off in Thailand…of course Bangkok and Chiang Mai. Then we all took off for Hanoi, Vietnam. Our first trip to North Vietnam was one year before and it was still as fabulous as the first time. The weather was a bit wetter in Sapa, but I guess that’s what happens in the mountains. However we still got some great pictures and got to visit our best market yet at Bac Ha. After the mountains we toured Hanoi, the Red River Delta and of course Halong Bay where we did some kayaking and lots of relaxing.
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We were so thrilled to share one of our favourite destinations with Deb and Bill and we know they enjoyed their time in Vietnam. After Vietnam, Deb and Bill went to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) for a couple of days and we went on to visit Phnom Phen….a depressing city with the killing fields and lots of poverty…but some great restaurants and the old palace is very nice.
After Deb and Bill left Bangkok we started the process of getting ready for our return to Canada. Lots of packing and getting rid of a lot of stuff we had accumulated over the past few years…and of course the long good byes to all our friends.
We finished our teaching jobs on June 2nd and our friend Elva arrived that evening from Botswana. Now we were free all day to do some more exploring of Bangkok day and night. June 2006: the celebration of the King’s 60 year on the throne. And what a spectacular celebration is was. Everyone in Thailand was wearing a yellow shirt. The Procession of the Royal Barges was practicing on the river. They were having full dress rehearsals, music and all. The amazing thing was they just closed down all the river traffic for about 8 hours. We were very fortunate to get tickets to one of the dress rehearsals. We left the house about 2:00 pm and we were on a boat by 3:30 pm which took us across the river to a mooring for a perfect view of the Royal Barge Procession. We didn’t get home until about 9:00 pm that night. YES, we have a thousand pictures….movies also and we’ve recorded the music.
One wonders what we could do next that would top that??? Well maybe not top that but certainly come close …we left a couple of days later for Burma. First we traveled up to Chiang Mai to give Elva a taste of Northern Thailand and of course the Elephants…then from Chiang Mai we flew to Mandalay. We spent most of our time touring Mandalay on bicycle rickshaws…and when we weren’t with our trusty drivers…we were with their cousin who drove us to all the out of town sights.
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One afternoon in the market Elva and I entertained the crowds by having special makeup applied to our faces. It’s made of mashed up tree bark. (apparently it’s to protect you from the sun??) On the way home on the rickshaws people from the street kept telling us how beautiful we looked….oh well it was fun! Traveling in Burma has a few challenges. The hotels may have air conditioning but no electricity…which means no air conditioning or lights. And if you’re staying on the 7th floor you may want to ask what time the elevators work. Most hotels have generators but they don’t always use them for the elevators or the air conditioners…so best to ask before you check in. We had a great time in Mandalay…however you have to watch out for the English students that hang around the tourist sites in hopes of practicing their English. Sometimes you would be surrounded by 15 students…all wanting to chat and ask questions. They were delightful and I would have liked to spend more time with them…but then we would be missing our sightseeing.
From Mandalay we traveled by boat down to Bagan. So what’s in Bagan you ask? Well not many people but there are thousands of temples…more temples per square kilometer than any other place in the world. All in various states of repair…some of them are brand new but built in the old traditional ways. It was fascinating to say the least and again we got some fabulous pictures.
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Our transportation in Bagan was by horse and cart. Elva sat up front with the driver (and the hard seat)…Gord and I in the back hanging on for dear life. Gordon was in a constant state of wheeze (allergy to horses)…I think he missed some of the sights because he couldn’t see.
Elva and I were stopping and shopping at all the craft stalls (and there were thousands). Sometimes the vendors would get on their bicycles and follow us around from sight to sight….now that’s salesmanship!!
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After Bagan we took a car to Inle Lake. On the map it looks a short distance, but it doesn’t show the poor state of the roads…and for the last half of the trip we were competing with huge logging trucks for a little bit of the road. Add mountains and switchbacks to this story and you might consider taking a plane next time. We ended up staying in a temple in Inle Lake…at least it was built in the style of the temples that we had just left behind in Bagan. Here the sightseeing is on the lake and the edges of the lake. Meeting the indigenous people, going to the markets, shopping at all of the craft shops and of course visiting the temples (the temples are everywhere in Burma!)
Next stop Yagoon or Rangoon as it used to be called. A very large city and lots of people. We took a taxi around to most of the sights in two days…don’t think I’d want to spend more time here. We noticed more people here were dressed in Western style whereas in the other places everyone wore sarongs. Ladies wore blouses with their sarongs and men wore shirts and you could tell the casual sarongs from business sarongs. It was delightful. The largest temple here is Shweddgon…and it is fabulous. You can spend an afternoon here easily..and we did. The views from inside the temple are wonderful but also at a distance. One night we ate dinner in a park a few miles away and everything was lit up…great site.
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We arrived home in Bangkok and Elva had enough time to pack her luggage (which by now is overflowing with purchases) and she left the next morning for home in Australia.
Gordon and I spent the next little while finalizing the packing and getting rid of our prized possessions….only four days left and we were off to Japan on our way home to Canada (eventually).
Next stop Japan. Our guides Elisabeth and Armand were great. We had a short time and with their guidance we were able to pack in a lot of sightseeing. The Shin (bullet train) was fabulous and made it easy to visit nearby historical sites.
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Temples (of course) were on the list, along with a historical Samurai Village, and we were also fortunate to get to Hiroshima for a day. Oh yes…and the Salsa Dancing. (there’s a story here) Armand is well versed in antiques and their home is a showcase of Japanese culture. I loved being surrounded by the beauty of Japan. The architecture, the temples, the textiles, even the rice fields. Of course Japan is a big country so we are looking forward to a return trip.
Finally Canada.
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We stopped in Vancouver long enough to have dinner with Doris and drop off some of our luggage. Then we flew on to Toronto and had a short visit with family and friends. If was a very short visit because we had to pick up our new used car and drive back to Vancouver to be there in time for our shipment that was arriving from Bangkok. All that to say….we’re sorry if we didn’t get to visit all our friends in TO. We’ll make it up to you next time.
Well this has been an epic letter. Looking back we have had a great year. Lots of travel, visiting lots of friends and family. What could be better than that? We won’t be able to enjoy this idle life in Kelowna for very long. Looks like we’ll be off to Japan the end of April for some short term teaching work. We have to find some way to pay the bills!
Hope you had a Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season. May all your dreams come true in 2007.
Love, Jan and Gord 217-2300 Benvoulin Road Kelowna, BC V1W 2C6 Telephone: 250-717-3351
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