Hotel Mahendra Prakash – Udaipur, India
Sometimes in India, a traveler needs a refuge. If you’re lucky, you may find Mahendra Prakash. The hotel was just another cheap booking.com find, no special recommendation has brought us here. We’ve just finished two days of wedding celebrations near Delhi followed by a flight and it is 39 degrees in the shade when Mr. […]
The Indian Wedding
”Please hurry, the wedding has started!” I cried to the taxi driver. I couldn’t believe we have traveled all the way from Canada, and now we were late for the wedding. We started with our taxi 18 kms and 3 hours ago, and were still looking for our hotel. We needn’t have worried. We were […]
Delhi – Day 2, Oh Yeah India
The shock of India is wearing off already, and I remember why I love this country and wanted so badly to come back. We woke early today after a solid zombie-like sleep. Our hotel has breakfast included and this morning the restaurant is full of tourists. The breakfast includes some recognizable foods, like an egg […]
Delhi, India
When the invitation arrived it was not unexpected. We had, in fact, been anticipating it for years. “I’ve heard Indian weddings are amazing,” I mentioned to Gunjan one wet day in the flooded Amazon jungle lodge, where we first met. “When I get married I will definitely invite you.” And here we are. We arrived […]
Victoria Discovered
City lights and ocean walks, craft beer, fine dining and endless dog parks, winter clothing as a fashion statement – Victoria discovered. Ray and I became snowbirds of the Canadian variety this past winter. We decided to start trying on Vancouver Island, more as a second home, then some time in the future our only […]
Our Victoria Condo
The woman walking across the street at 7 AM this Sunday morning leaves the sidewalk and walks on the road. I wonder why? I stand up for a closer look. There is a man sitting in front of Ming’s Variety Store, brown paper bag in hand, enjoying a smoke. Somehow this man has found himself […]
Van Life
Be careful what you wish for. If you’re life seems a little boring and you’re yearning for adventure, follow me but be prepared. It’s not always fun and games. We were still east of Regina when Westie broke down for the first time. The problem was overheating, but the cause was not completely obvious. I […]
An Unfamiliar Place
An Unfamiliar Place is a story I wrote for a contest several years ago. I am republishing it here for my Creative Writing class and requesting feedback from my Professor. Some of my readers may already have read a version of this story. An Unfamiliar Place Day 23: The guidebook advertises three alburgues in this […]
Portraits of the North – Meeting Gerald Kuehl
The portrait of Betsy Anderson that I stared at while waiting for Gerald to take the floor is mesmerizing. Her toothless smile, deeply lined skin and worn kerchief tell a story I know I want to hear, and Gerald Kuehl tells it. Betsy is 101 years old in this photo, and will go on to […]
Writer’s Block!
Or maybe I should call it pure intimidation. I’ve started school this week – a creative writing course at the University of Winnipeg. It’s a second year English class, and please don’t tell my prof but this is my first ever post-secondary English course ever. Hopefully he’s too busy to read student blogs. My classmates […]
Our Victoria Condo
The woman walking across the street at 7 AM this Sunday morning leaves the sidewalk and walks on the road. I wonder why? I stand up for a closer look. There is a man sitting in front of Ming’s Variety Store, brown paper bag in hand, enjoying a smoke. Somehow this man has found himself […]