galmc report presents: Top 10 airlines

1. Qatar Airways- Comfortable seats, TVs, wide selection of movies for the American,German,french,Arabic, etc.. We also had a 14 hour layover and they put us in this 5 star hotel free of charge.
2. Aero Gal- For a 1 hour flight they had TVs.
3. LAN-We had our first long, long flight with them and it was a good experience.
4. Emirates- On our plane we had flight attendant's from all over.
5. South African Airways-Very, very comfortable seats.
6. Jet Star- Good seats and they rented IPAD's for entertainment.
7. Turkish Airlines-We had a 1 hour domestic flight and they fed us.
8. 1time- It's really, really good for a budget Airline.
9. Air Asia-We flew Air Asia a few times in and around southeast Asia and it's good for the 1-5 hour flights.
10. Spice Jet- Really fast last minute booking.

On the Road (again)

We are nothing but obliging so, as requested by my brother we will attempt to give you a glimpse into a day that does not involve bathing suits, sandy beaches, cultural enrichment or sporting activities.

Travel days are a big part of our lives these days. They occur generally every 3-5 days and can take any variety of forms:

Ferry:

Ferry between Krabi and Ko Lanta, Thailand after
an overnight bus from Bangkok. We were pretty
tired at this point and it was HOT!

Truck:

We travelled by kayak and truck from Vang Vieng to
Vientiane in Laos. The truck portion of the journey was
much longer, bumpier and dustier than advertised!

Plane:

Travelling from Siem Reap, Campodia to Pakse,
Laos - very last minute decision but Lao Airlines
was absolutely fantastic! .

Train:

Our first overnight train ride took us from
Chiang Mai to Bangkok. Paul didn't have much
leg room to start but once the seats were folded
down and the beds made,.. roomy!!

Bus:

Sleeper bus from Pakse to Veintiane, Laos. Paul
was thankful that we booked 2 "seats" for him.

In an attempt to use our time and money wisely, we often travel at night for the longer journeys. When we first started we would spend the whole of the next day catching up on sleep which we quickly realized wasn't very wise! With a little more experience we have found that arriving in a new city at 6:00 a.m. means you have extra time in the day to explore, get a hair wash or enjoy a relaxing massage.

Hair washing in Laos is an art - and we even went for the
blow dry this time. What a treat!!

On the road again:

All packed up ready to go. Paul and I
usually roll our pack but have, on only a few
occasions, used the backpack option. Chloe is
proud to be the only true backpacker in the family.

Hopefully this post has managed to fulfill the curiosity of my family and entertained others. Good-night all!

In answer to your questions

We have had several people e-mail and ask us questions such as:  How are you enjoying traveling?  Are there things you miss from home?  Are you sick of living out of a suitcase?  The quick response is along the lines of, "we're having an amazing time" or "family and friends" or "not yet".

Tomorrow we will have been on the road for six-months so as a way of answering your questions and marking our milestone, following are a few things we have learned to really appreciate (when we get them).  These are in no particular order but as they popped into our heads.

1. Warm showers with good water pressure

One of our fancier bathrooms (Bali)

2. Drinkable tap water

3.  Transfers ( having someone waiting for us at our destination holding a little sign with one of our names on it, or a close representation of said name)

Our most unique (and bumpiest) transfer to date - Cidomo on Gili Air

4.  Comfortable mattresses with clean sheets

5.  Air conditioned vehicles 

6.  Menus translated into english &/or menus with pictures of the dishes

7.  Reliable WIFI

8.  Hostels

Dongara  Backpackers Hostel - one of our favourites so far.

9.  Motion sickness medication

10. Clean clothes

Idle Thoughts on Gili Air

Little things that have crossed my mind during our stay on Gili Air:

- there's a large group of Russian travellers at the place where we are staying. Listening to actual Russian being spoken is surprisingly interesting. Thought about bragging about Olympic hockey gold but then the World Juniors happened.

- Gili Air is now my default destination for hiding out immediately after winning the lottery to get my head together. No cars and you can still get internet. Interesting mash-up between the new school and the old

- I have gone cold turkey on my chocolate milk addiction. Sadly I was up to 2-3 containers a day in Australia.

- finished Keith Richards "Life." Good read.

- can't believe I have gone the whole trip without losing or breaking my crappy pair of sunglasses. I'm sure I have jinxed it now.

- People say Chinese food in China is completely different than the Chinese food we get at home. I wonder if it's the same with Thai food?

- we have come across many signs here advertising places with magic mushrooms for sale in various forms. Just another example of how I know I am no longer in Canada.

- nice to see the Canucks playing better. Big statement game coming up in Beantown. Sadly I will be on a plane to Phuket and will have to catch the score later (must resist urge to insert happy face icon).

- RIP Life is Good beach towel. You were a valued companion on this journey. I'm a little jealous that you get to stay behind on Gili Air.