scenes from the everyday from around the world

This woman in Bangkok made the best Banana Roti

When we first started traveling I didn't feel very comfortable taking pictures of people. In fact, in most of my photos I would wait until people moved out of my shot. Sometimes I would even get frustrated that they were 'ruining' a perfectly good photo. Somewhere along the line I realized that photos of empty streets and building facades no matter how good the lighting didn't necessary make an interesting photo. Memories of a place are so much more than the architecture or beautiful sunsets. It's the people that give a place it's identity. Here is a sampling (in no particular order) of what you might see on an average day, in an average place somewhere around the world.

 Hanging out on the back of a pick up truck (aka. a shared taxi) in Chiang Mai

 A young Thai boy testing the temperature of his hot dogs on a stick in Chiang Mai

 View from the train as we leave Bangkok

 

 

 

Feeling the heat on 6 hour trip from Bangkok to Cambodia via the local train (cost = $1.60 CDN).

 My first photos of people seemed to be of people wearing odd clothing. This guy was about to enter the Plitvice Lakes National Park. Seems to me his pants are better suited for a walk on the moon.

 Walking through this market in Izmir, Turkey you are surrounded by people and hawkers yelling out the specials of the day.

 Turkish taffy guy

 Cruising down the river towards Tonle Sap Lake with 2 kids as our guides

 Siem Reap, Cambodia street scene

 A family showing off their goat (aka. dinner) as Eid celebrations begin in Dubai

 Local Vietnamese cater to the tourists lounging under the umbrellas offering massages, manicures and threading (hair removal) rather insistently in Sihanoukville.

 A street in the Kowloon neighbourhood of Hong Kong.

 One of the cleanest subways, although one of the busiest, was in Singapore

 Traffic jams were common place during the floating markets near Can Tho, Vietnam

 Need a letter typed up? Head to the streets of Melaka, Malaysia.

These ain't no ordinary cabs in Melaka, Malaysia

 This guy made the best Banana Roti...of Malaysia

 An outdoor food court in Pulau Penang, Malaysia. You'll see locals and tourists mingling here.

 Bangkok's street food. We ate some. It was good.

 If you don't hurry, the ferry in Bangkok will leave without you even if you are mid-stride onto the deck.

 Scooters maneuver through the crowds of the Dalat, Vietnam night market.

 A Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam sidewalk cafe.

 The cleansing station before you enter the temple in Toyko.

 The fish market in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has restaurants upstairs that will prepare your fish for you while you drink lots of beer.

 The quaint cobbled streets of Paraty, Brazil

 A pedestrian friendly street in Santiago, Chile

 A street corner in Lima, Peru

 The oasis of Huacachina, Peru

 Ah, yes...this is where I started photographing people on the streets. Maybe before we got to Barcelona there weren't any interesting ones...

 Harem pants were EVERYWHERE in Barcelona.

 Harem pants AND matching tails? Seriously?

 Hong Kong

 Ho Chi Minh on the eve of Tet (the Vietnamese version of New Years except it lasts 4 days)

Shopping in the streets of Cusco, Peru

I haven't spend much time perusing our photos lately but when I do I always feel this sense of "I did that?"... 

Thanks for stopping by,

Corina

sunrise, sunset

Day breaks as we arrive in Dubrovnik, Croatia by ferry.

The first colours of light over the island of Anafi, Greece.

A few moments later the sun peaks out over the horizon.

The much acclaimed sunset view from Oia, Santorini, Greece.

Watching the sunset while fishing from the boardwalk is a part of daily life in Izmir, Turkey.

Making the most of living ocean-side in Pulau Penang, Malaysia.

 Ahhh, Koh Chang, Thailand. I miss this.

The nightly view from our ocean-side hut on Bamboo Island, Cambodia.

Did you ever think that Vietnam could be quite so idyllic? It is on the island of Phu Quoc.

Now that we are home...

We came home to the most beautiful spring in Manitoba. Unlike other years on record, our end of April arrival meant no snow, plus 20 degree Celsius temperatures, budding trees and blooming flowers. Ahhh, our perpetual summer continues...

We made it home just in time to walk in the MS Walk, which is near and dear to our hearts because our friend Emily lives with MS.

Then there was my experimentation with becoming a baker of vegan whoopie pies. I decided that was too involved and I had to jump through too many hoops to become a licensed bakery for just one product. However, I can still whip up a batch for any of you who might want them for a special occasion and be willing to pay $3.50 per cookie :) They are worth it...for reals! Just don't expect to want to walk anywhere until the next day.

We spent a couple of nights at Dorothy Lake in the Whiteshell Provincial Park with the BFFs. We explored Rainbow Falls and Bannock Point, swam in the hotel pool and generally had a grand time.

I became the 'official' photographer for emmsgems. I've been taking lots of photos of Emily's amazing collection and we even had a live model session with my cousin Janell one afternoon. It's been exciting to see some of the pieces that Em has been making with the Karen Hill-tribe silver that we picked up for her in Thailand and the seed and nut beads from Peru.

We've spent time at Jay's parents' lake-front cabin at Royal Lake, Ontario. This is one of my favourite summertime activities, getting out of the city and hanging out on the dock.

I drove to Vancouver with my brother Mark in his band's van leaving late Monday afternoon and arriving just after midnight on Tuesday. We picked up some hitchhikers which was a first for both of us. At one point we had a couple from Quebec, a guy from Saskatchewan and a girl from Germany along for the ride. There would have been room for Jay in the van (it seats 15) but he decided to be responsible and look for a job. 

While I was in Vancouver I spent some time with my brother Michael who was without his family (they joined him earlier this month - you can read about their adventure over the next year). I also had a great time visiting with Jay's brother and family, Craig, Mathy and little Coco (Yohan).

The last six weeks have been a blur. We spent a week at Jay's brother's place stripping wall paper and painting the kitchen among other things. We said goodbye to Michael and Karla and my nieces for a year. Jay found a job similar to the one he had before we left as a Showroom Salesperson for an upscale plumbing company. I've been dabbling with getting a new blog started and experimenting with making fine silver jewelry with Emily. Jay and I have been apartment hunting now that one of us is employed. While living with my parents has been virtually painless and very easy on the budget it is time for us to be our own family unit with our two kitties again. I'm sure my parents will be relieved to finally see us go after 4 months of us living in their guest room.

So that's what we've been up to since we got home. As for how this trip has changed us...I'm still struggling to figure that out. Our RTW traveling friend Ali wrote a post recently that I felt summed it up perfectly. Maybe one day I'll find my own words to express it but for now I'll just know in my heart that this trip was the right thing for me/us at the time that we did it. I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

Corina