Barnston Island birthday cruise

Who says no money has to cramp your style. Since my pocketbook was looking a bit flat, I had to get a bit creative to celebrate my birthday this year...after some serious thought I decided on turning a ferry ride into a cruise! Now, if you live in the Greater Vancouver area, you have a plethora of options: Vancouver Island, Bowen Island, the Sunshine coast, Lonsdale Quay, etc. However, if you really want to embrace your lack of funds, I reccomend the last remaining free ferry in the area: the Barnston Island ferry...

I was so excited about going on a cruise that I insisted to my friends that we arrive early. However, we didn't quite manage--instead we pulled into the parking lot just as the cruise ship was docking. I was too excited to be upset, though--I was going on a cruise!! The ship was magnificent--it was so big it was almost like there were two ships instead of one. I can't believe they make ships that big. We got on board and the first thing I did was stretch out on deck in my bathing suit! It was grand. Soon people came around with drinks and snacks, which just added to the decadence of the whole experience!

Half-way through the cruise we docked at a local island. It was exciting to get off the ship and walk on dry ground again! The scenary was stunning: greens and browns blending in with the blue of the water. The ship docked right next to a sandy beach, but we decided to walk down the island to a local park to see if we could catch sight of some of the island's famed flora and fauna. Amazingly enough, we did spot some of the island's elusive animals on our walk! We were amazed at the exotic black and white coloring!

The park also had a decent beach and after having a snack (we brought food from the ship) we enjoyed the beach and the amazing views over the water. It was a true island paradise: birds calling in the trees, the sun beating down on the water, the wind blowing through the trees...who could ask for more.

Soon it was time to head back to the pier--we didn't want to miss the boat! The island was nice, but if we had to wait for the next boat we'd be there a bit long--we didn't pack for that! Luckily we made it back in plenty of time and even had the chance to make sandcastles on the beach as we waited for it to dock. It was a magnificent view! Our huge majestic ship gliding gracefully up to the pier...I'm glad we weren't too late to miss watching it come in.

The second half of the cruise was spent much like the first half: on the deck in my bathing suit working on my tan! Very relaxing. I also took time to snap some shots of the fabulous scenary on the way. We finally docked back in Surrey and we were the last ones off the boat. I wanted a picture with the deck hand who we had seen the most, but he wouldn't allow any pictures. For some reason, I think I scared him...

Happy Birthday to me! It was a dandy celebration this year!

Doing nothing...

It was great being back in Thailand for a few weeks. Great to see old friends, great to eat at my favourite restaurants, great to enjoy the warm weather...and great to sit and do nothing! :) Okay, not absolutely nothing...but a lot of nothing. THe non-nothing bits are below.

This first one is sort of a "doing nothing" note, but it was doing nothing on a beach instead of in Bangkok! I managed to hitch a ride as far as Hua Hin (beach town) and then met Libby, an old friend who now runs the Juniper Tree: a Christian retreat/resort area on Dolphin Bay. I spent a very relaxing four days there. Relaxing on the beach was interspersed with kayaking, motorbiking, walking next to the motorbike after it got a flat, building sandcastles, and swimming. Very nice! (More info on the Juniper Tree here: http://www.juniper-tree.org/dolphin-bay.html.)

The next big adventure was actually a big adventure! :) Though I suppose I didn't really "do" much...mostly just observed. When I got to Bangkok in February, I found out that my friend Opas was getting married in early March. Since it didn't cost anything to change my ticket (thank you Air China), I decided to extend my ticket so I could attend. It didn't quite take planes, trains, and automobiles to get to his home village, but it did take a skytrain, minibus, back of a pickup, and a motorcycle.

I arrived Friday afternoon for a Saturday wedding only to find out the wedding was postponed to Monday. No, I'm not kidding! Things are a bit more casual there. No save-the-date cards or months of planning here! Well, some people do plan more than Opas and Gif... these two didn't even bother with invitations! It was a nice wedding, though! (And, no, it's not rude for guests to wear white to a wedding there. As a single female, I was expected to wear white!)

I got back to Bangkok just in time for another party: a pancake party! It is traditional to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday (the day before the beginning of Lent). Historically this was to use up any sugar or eggs or whatever wasn't going to be used during the 40-day Lenten fast. The party was at the vicarage--so I didn't have far to go. :) It was fun. We started by eating pancakes and ended by throwing them. They tasted great--though they were crepes, not pancakes--and we all ate too much. After eating we had pancake races and then pancake flipping contests. It was this last contest that turned into a food fight...and I think it was the vicar that started it! :)

The rest of my time in Thailand was spent doing lots of nothing and it was really great. I should do more of that more often.