8 Months This Once

Maya’s Entry #1 (Dec. 29, 2016) It all started on Dec. 25th in Bangkok, Thailand, when we attempted to get a taxi. It was really confusing for both the taxi driver and us to find out where we were going because the driver spoke little English, but after about 15 minutes we got it. Once we got to what my parents like to call “home’’ we listened to some tips from the people who were staying at the house before us. After, we went and explored around the main street closest to our “house’’, where we got some smoothies, groceries for breakfast and dinner and found out that the driving rules are nowhere near the same as Canada’s. For example, scooters rule the streets. Scooters weave in and out of traffic as they please and vehicles have the right of way - when you want to cross the road, you wait for a space between two cars and make a run for it. There is no standard for the cars; open sides and no seatbelts are a normal. It was a little tricky finding our way back to the house...

Hello friends and family.  We finally got on the road to Vancouver on the 22nd, only 4 hours later than planned.  It was fitting that as we drove away at dusk it began to lightly snow, reminding us that we are leaving behind winter to spend most of the next 8 months in warmth and sun. After an amazing traditional Christmas Eve Polish dinner with the Nowotny clan in Langley we headed for the airport.  Halfway there, Lucas scared himself thinking he'd forgotten his iPod on the counter at his cousin's house.  But after a couple minutes of fretting and calming words from his mom, he realized it was in the deep pocket of his new pants.  Phew!!! On arrival at the airport, we learned that our flight, originally scheduled to leave at 12:50 a.m., had been delayed 2 1/2 hours.  This would have us arriving into Taipei after the departure of our connecting flight that was to take us to our first destination, Bangkok.  So we m...