Living The Dream

14/02/2020

Peloponnese Peninsula, Greece, 2012.

02/10/2019

Bayfield Volkfest, Bayfield, Ontario, Canada. Buses: Oceano, Soluna (Laura Scott), and Lucy (Lisa Shiels).
https://www.facebook.com/100000459589572/posts/3255668087791812?sfns=mo

(Photo by Bill Oldroyd)

20/08/2019

Oceano.
1968 Volkswagen Bus, purchased in Calgary AB, August 2018. 7 days to drive back to Ontario including losing 2 days to a seized wheel bearing on route. Originally a California bus but spent most of it's life in Alberta. On frame restoration.
If you want to see some before and after pics PM your email to me or I can send through msgr.
Peace and Love.

04/04/2019

“You need to be in hospital man!” It was the grey colour of my skin that prompted this from the proprietor of my hotel at Kep Beach, Cambodia, where the view from my room overlooking the infinity pool, beach, and Gulf of Thailand, was in the paradise spectrum.
It hit me like a ton of bricks and within a few hours I was a freakin’ mess. The 40 minute taxi to the hospital in Kampot wasn’t pleasant, I was completely dehydrated and approaching delirium.
Tested for typhoid, dengue, and who knows what else, it was deemed to be a severe Gastric Bacterial Infection that had virtually shut my kidneys down. 2 days of IV for fluids and antibiotics and I had recovered well. Albeit eating a little more cautiously!
Not that I had any reason to question the ability of the doctors and nurses who all looked fresh out of high school, I felt fortunate there were 2 seasoned expat doctors teaching at the hospital. But when you’re laying there your mind goes on day trips..... Of course all the professionals are young, their predecessors and would be mentors were all killed in the Pol Pot Khmer Rouge ‘Killing Fields’ era 1975-79, the genocide that targeted Professionals and Intellectuals, and killed more than 1.8 million, a quarter of the population at that time. What I didn’t know: the Khmer Rouge, specifically Pol Pot, held a seat in the UN until 1991 in deference to the real government, the Cambodian Peoples Republic. How does s**t like that happen?
The country is still trying to recover from those atrocities. 50% of the population are under 20 years of age, in contrast that’s 40 years in Canada. Further, life expectancy for men is just 60 and here I am well past that and wondering if these young ‘uns figure I’ve lived a full life already, so .... why worry?
Other than beaches and sun, the reason we go to Cambodia is Angkor Wat, at Siem Reap the so called 7th wonder of the world. It is amazing to see the ruins of not just a Hindu temple but a huge city from the early 12th century. There are numerous structures but this is where I have to confess, I’m a ‘Power Tourist’. Unlike many that spend days studying every site and artefact, my retention is apparently limited! I can only handle a full day and then the ruins all start to look the same. Pretty superficial of me, but the truth!
There are several ‘Killing Fields’ throughout Cambodia, reminding us of the Genocide, the main one being just south of Phnom Penh where mass graves were discovered and with passing seasons bone fragments still surface from the sandy soil.
Near the end of my trip, hanging for a few days in Phnom Penh with highs pushing 40 deg C, and very humid. I’ll top up the tan by the pool, while I wish ‘gone’ the snow and cold back home, and .... find safe eating options!
Peace and love, .... now, ... next winter?

26/03/2019

I’d have welcomed a couple more weeks in Northern Vietnam trekking through the mountains on centuries old trails tramped into the mountains by farmers and their families living in this almost inaccessible terrain, and working every last piece of fertile land between the craggy karst limestone rocks.
But with time slipping away, better make the leap to Laos with its marketing slogan very appropriately, ‘Laos. Simply Beautiful’.
Most evident was the pace of life. In stark contrast to the frenetic Vietnamese cities, the capital Vientiane and the better known Luang Prabang were layback, organized, clean, and the largely devout Buddhist Lao people, unassuming, respectful, speaking in softer tones and rarely using the horn on their moto’s or cars or driving on the sidewalks. They actually follow the rules of the road, and a red traffic light isn’t just a suggestion, they actually stop! It’s the only place in Asia I’ve walked through night markets and not been propositioned to buy!
Shout out to the startlingly interesting Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) visitors centre in LP, cataloguing ‘The Secret War’ 1964 to 1973. 2 million tons of bombs were dropped on Laos in an attempt to stifle the supply chain from North to South Vietnam. Vehemently denied it was happening at the time, over 40 years later, 300 Lao each year, mostly children, are killed or maimed by unexploded ordnance. It’s estimated that it could be 100 years before the laborious work of clearing or exploding this ordnance is completed.
Enjoy the images!
Peace and love... and in Laos, chill man!

06/03/2019

Mountain splendour...N. Vietnam.
Two ‘big city’ nights testing the thriving Hanoi night life, couldn’t wait to get back to the real Vietnam. Everyone says Sa Pa in the mountains with its terraced rice fields is a must see. Would have been nice, but I was cursed with 2 days of thick cloud, at times reducing the visibility to nada! So perhaps my perspective is, excuse the pun... ‘clouded’? But apart from that I wasn’t impressed with the commercialization, and crowds, and the development of hotels overwhelming anything that was once cute. But in particular local indigenous peoples using their small children in traditional garb to solicit hand outs for photos. (Warning: had the sun appeared my reactions could have been different. 🙂 )
Only a couple of weeks earlier I had learned about the Ha Giang loop, and had my mind set firmly on the experience. A highlight of my journey! Ha Giang province bordering China is the most northerly in Vietnam. It is beautifully mountainous. Not your snow peaked variety but equally spectacular with awesome passes, deep valleys, small villages perched on the slopes, and local indigenous families eking out an existence from every last bit of soil between the craggy rocks, working in traditional clothing, not simply for tourist consumption, the way they have dressed for centuries.
Extremely rare for me I hired a guide for a 3 day motorbike trek. What a great decision, he knew the area like the back of his hand and showed me much more than I would have seen without him. Dinh (Zin), himself Hmong, the predominant ethnic group in the area, lives in a village with no road to it, or in it, high in the mountains just a kilometre from the border. There are only 37 families in the community, children are expected to be working in the fields by 8 years old and have been performing serious chores for several years earlier.
We parked our motorbikes at the end of a trail and headed down the road to a small village on the the border with China. The intent was to take a trek over a mountain to Dinh’s village and then hike back to the bikes. From out of nowhere a uniformed bloke approached us and began to admonish Dinh for bringing an alien to the border, one that was carrying no passport! The thing that struck me most was Dinh’s respect for his position of authority. One cop out in the middle of nowhere watching who was crossing the border! I did visit Dinh’s home and village by an alternate route, and met his 3 month old baby strapped to his aunts back while she shucked dried corn to be ground into flour.
Hotels are few in this region but home-stays and hostels are popping up as the area becomes known. It’s been years since I dormed, and back then I could get through the night without needing a p*e! What made things worse I was more than a little inebriated on Happy Water, corn wine, after a drunken karaoke evening in the hostel. I’m going to blame my new Ozzie friends for being the instigators. They drank me under the table!
Peace and love..... and,
Dô / Vô / Một hai ba, yo (Vietnamese Cheers: one two three, go!)

25/02/2019

Xin chào. (Hello) Rural Vietnam
A 12 hour overnight train to Ninh Binh province, the inland version of Halong bay, the sight of many movie sets where limestone rock protrudes hugely and awkwardly out of the ground, and erosion has created spectacular gorges and cave formations. Getting a few pictures without tourists in them was a challenge. Spattered with a few foreigners were hordes of Vietnamese nationals that flock to this area which also boasts the largest pagoda in SE Asia.
A few tranquil nights in a rustic bamboo bungalow amidst rice fields and limestone formations, adventuring on motorcycle into the countryside cruising through small villages and endless rice fields was inspiring. This is the Vietnam we imagine, the real people with character, peace, warmth and friendliness, toiling in the fields from morning to night. And children rushing to meet you to practice how to say ‘hello, it’s nice to meet you’.
My hotel host introduced me to rice moonshine he stills himself, around 40% proof I’m told but who’s measuring? Quality control is pretty lax out back of his property!!
Then further inland to Mai Châu with its Tai indigenous peoples perpetuating centuries old ways and crafts. Mountains and lush cultivated valleys quickly becoming a destination with the inevitable explosion of hotels and tourism amenities. Hotels are few, hostels and home stays with local families are easier to find. Most people travel there via Hanoi but the most efficient route for me was across country via ‘chicken bus’ laden with sacks and boxes inside and on top. The driver determined the easiest way to get my backpack in the bus was through the window at the back, while I the only non-national on the bus, climbed over the freight piled thigh high down the centre aisle. 4 hour journey with no p*e breaks!!! Wish I hadn’t drank that coffee at breakfast!
Escaping to the mountains.... Inspired!
Peace and love.... and let’s get high. Tạm biệt. (Goodbye)

17/02/2019

Hue’ is the home of the palace or citadel for the last Vietnamese royal dynasty that ended in 1945. Major restoration is ongoing since the 90’s, restoring the splendour in which the royals lived in the very expansive property central in the city, a must see!
There are several royal tombs from that dynasty just south of the city, so after hard negotiations with a dragon boat operator on the Perfume River, myself and a fellow traveller set out on a cruise that was supposed to take us to see the best!
Just over an hour into the cruise the dragon boat turned to the shoreline and we were given instructions to follow this very poor trail through the forest for 1 1/2 Kms, then find a motorbike that would take us a further distance to the tomb. How this was supposed to end well I’ll never know. The chance of the boat still being there, even if we backtracked perfectly through the forest, or weren’t stranded by an unknown motorcyclist taking off, seemed very doubtful. Discretion beat out valour on this occasion and the tombs were just not going to happen. The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, the cream of tombs, awaits in Hanoi.
Hue’ seemed more sophisticated than any place I’ve been in Vietnam. It has a nice vibe, with lots of good restaurants and bars and upscale shopping. Even saw a new Rolls Royce in this socialist republic, vying for position with the multitude of motorcycles which is a constant in Vietnam, as are pedestrians that to cross a road, even on a crosswalk, literally put their heads down and trust that the motorcycles will simply weave around them. Funny thing is... it seems to work.
But it’s past due to get more rural and sidestep some big cities so densely populated by the 97 million people squeezed into the space between its mountains and ocean.
Peace And Love.... and let’s get spaced out man!

12/02/2019

Chuc mung nam moi. 2019 from Hoi An. (Happy New Year!)
Possibly not a better place in Vietnam to celebrate the start of the new year. Hoi An historic old town, with its Unesco World Heritage status, apparently appears architecturally much as it did a few hundred years ago, and that’s believable. You just need to look past the traffic and tourist businesses. None the less the buildings have been maintained beautifully in a historic traditional style with both Japanese and Chinese influence. I would have been happy to just sit out the Canadian winter right there.
After a 10 hour overnight bus ride arriving at 5.30 a.m. Monday morning just in time to roll into a sports bar to watch the Super Bowl. Remember I’m 12 hours ahead of North American EST.
Not really sure what differentiates a Buddhist temple, pagoda, or sanctuary from each other, they all seem to look the same to me. As this was New Year all the historic sites in town, including temples and so on, were free to enter, some normally requiring a historic building pass for a very small fee.
Wandering in to yet another amazing temple, immediately the presence of nuns made this quite different. For what ever reason I was adopted by a nun that ushered me around the facility. She sat me down with several other nuns and placed dried fruit and nuts and a green tea in front of me, and the group and I tried to communicate as best we could. I was invited to kneel before Buddha and instructed as to how this is done, ensuring my forehead touched the ground. I have no idea why I received special treatment, didn’t appear to me like anyone else had been singled out.
An excursion to My Son (Mey Song), Vietnam’s answer to Angkor Wat in Cambodia, a rental motorcycle ride to Marble Mountain and An Bang beach with fellow traveller Sophie from Montreal, ongoing festivities for the week, and a very nice hotel for a mere $30/night made Hoi An a highlight on my journey.
Peace and love... in the year of the pig!

06/02/2019

Party Central.
Further north on the coast is the larger and very lively Nha Trang. Plenty of night life and restaurants to complement a stunning beach with a wide, well cared for esplanade for running or walking the 12 kilometre length of the bay. The high rise 5 star chain hotels, restaurants, and shopping concourses are nicely set back from the beach distanced by the esplanade. Good piece of urban planning.
Not an abundance of sights for a cultural experience, it’s really a vacation destination, again Russian tourists by the thousands. There are 2 impressive Buddhist temples, the Po Nagar Cham Temple dated between the 9th and 12 century and still in use by worshipers today, with hundreds of historic artefacts around the property. And a 19th century pagoda, impressive by its location high atop a hill where the Buddha overlooks the city.
Awoken at 3 a.m. by a commotion, the 18 storey hotel across the street was on fire. 3 fire trucks were on scene and guests were pouring out onto the street. Well some of them! From my 8th floor vantage it was very apparent that some people did not plan to evacuate for one second. What they didn’t see on the other side of the building was guests being rescued by the arial ladder which clearly was only able to reach the 11th floor. That was a seaside ride they weren’t expecting! Well, they were able to bring things under control, no injuries and damage isolated.
A few days in busy, noisy, Nha Trang was more than enough for me and as the Vietnamese New Year was fast approaching I booked a hotel in my next destination Hoi An, where I was sure the festivities were going to be a treat. Turns out it was a bit of good planning but more about Hoi An later.
Peace and love... and party hard in Nha Trang.

01/02/2019

Mui Ne... not for me!
4 to 5 hours north on the coast is what used to be a small fishing village, well actually a few villages, that in recent years have expanded into each other to become known as Mui Ne. The only thing this area has going for it is the beach, and even that is under extreme stress because of erosion necessitating the construction of some very unattractive schemes to hold the force of the ocean at bay.
Unless of course you happen to be a kite surfer, or wind sailor, and in the right season a surfer, then this would be the place you’d aim to be in Vietnam.
The fishing still survives in traditional fashion and techniques, but with a new market in the numerous restaurants, alongside the younger crowd into the water sports, and the huge influx of Russian tourists making this known to some as the Russian Riviera. I was the only non-Russian in the hotel I stayed.
So this turned into a week of lazing around tanning, swimming in the South China Sea, and walking the beach and main street that simply follows the 12 kilometre bay but very inconveniently separated from the beach by hotels, homes and restaurants. So unless I suddenly become a young dude hanging ten and carving a wave, I’m not likely to visit again.
I’ll just post some images for your pleasure.
Next stop after another 5 hour bus ride is Nha Trang. Hoping to find a few English speaking travellers to spend a little time with.
Peace and love... from little Moscow!

25/01/2019

5 days in chaotic super charged Ho Chi Minh City was enough! Official population, 9 million, unofficially between 12 and 15 million ... constantly on the move. And 4 million motorcycles that ‘rule’. The traffic jams are huge!
Sights in the city: markets, buddhist temples, historic buildings, and the War Remnants Museum with artifacts, historic presentations of the painful journey from French colonialism to independence, and an amazing collection of photos by journalists that died during the ‘Civil War’, that westerners call the Vietnam War. .
2 group excursions:
Cu Chi Tunnels, a 200 Km labyrinth underground NW of HCMC used by the liberation army and local population to evade capture and avoid bombings and chemical weapons. Strategic for its access to then the Souther Capital. I’m a little too tall to be navigating the tunnels, and after crouching to negotiate just 100 metres, my quad muscles were screaming at me, and still are! I was often on hands and knees to get through. Good thing was... no claustrophobia! 😅Interesting tour but the 1967 propaganda movie that came with it needs to be updated and the rhetoric toned down. I’ll probably be arrested for making that suggestion in this communist country, albeit seemingly quite capitalist and progressive.
Then the Mekong Delta tour visiting villages and island hopping in various boat types, rural life, rice fields in abundance. Vietnam is the second largest exporter of rice behind Thailand. The Mekong River meanders through 6 countries before emptying into the South China Sea from Vietnam.
Next, on to Mui Ne on the coast for a week of beach and sun and not too much else. 😌
Peace and love... and lots of rice and noodles! 😏
Instagram:

19/01/2019

One view of a 360 degree vista of Ho Chi Minh City from the 52nd floor of the Bitexco financial tower. Population of HCMC 9 million. Makes for very congested roads full of motorcycles. Organized chaos that nobody gets excited about. When the roads get filled there’s an easy answer, ...drive on the sidewalks!
Vietnam population over 90 million!

18/01/2019

First night in Ho Chi Minh City, or as many people here still call it, Saigon.
Nice to be back in the characteristic humid climate that hits you as you leave an a/c’d airport
I’m tired so other than going for a short walk to pick up some water and fruit it’s going to be an early night. But a small chance to explore the immediate hood, and find I’m steps from a Street Food market. Lots of choices for eats for the next week.
Guess I’m going to need another pair of shorts with day time temps at 34 deg C. I love winter at those temps!
Next door to the hotel a Salon: 60 minute foot massage for 60,000 VNDong, that’s less than $C4.00. Pedicure $C12.00. Or how about a full body massage for an hour at 240,000 VNDong, roughly $C15.
Peace and love, ... and pampering!

11/01/2019

I’m about to embark on another journey, this time to Asia, and this time alone. Most of the over 1500 followers of ‘Living The Dream’ will not be aware that my best friend and wife of almost 38 years passed away in June 2018. Her memorialized fb page ‘Wendi Robbins’ can be viewed by all.
In 2009 after Wendi had been diagnosed with Lupus, we chose to retire early to travel and experience the world while she was still able, this turned out to be the best decision we could have made. Travelling around in our VW bus Pumper through 45 countries, and a few others without the bus, we made so many memories and met thousands of wonderful people of diverse backgrounds and cultures that so positively affected our lives and helped shape our perspectives of the world and humanity. I thank you all for that.
Two of Wendi’s final wishes were that: 1) I buy another bus, and 2) I continue to do the thing that brought us so much pleasure, ... travel.
So I’m heading for Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia for 10 weeks and as I no longer maintain our website ’rweethereyet.com’, I will be sharing my experiences on fb once again.
I sincerely hope you’ll remain friends and will enjoy the journey with me wherever it leads me. As in life, it isn’t the destination that is most important, it’s the journey.
Peace and love as always and …
…

28/12/2018

Introducing ‘Ocean’, 68 Bay, my new project for 2019. Found it in Calgary and drove back to Ontario. Work has begun but the inside is gutted. $2000 of new parts to be installed when the weather gets warmer. Seat cushions are out and being reupholstered over the winter. Paint is pretty good, just some spot body work needed.
Engine performed well on the trip back east in blistering hot weather, couple of small oil leaks I’ve repaired.

27/12/2018

Pumper without the stickers after her Mexican paint job in Zihuatanejo. 2013

22/07/2017

Same M.O. ... Different wheels. Time to hit the road again.

26/04/2017

Blast from the past, 2012. Joshua Tree National Park, CA

14/02/2017

I don't think we shared our latest project. Picked this up as pretty much a wreck about a year ago and spent all last spring and summer restoring this 1963 Boler, Inside and out. We had our maiden voyage in September, a 4 day roadtrip up the beautiful Bruce Peninsula to Tobermorey in Ontario, on Lake Huron. Boondocking in a few marinas, just like with Pumper.
bigger plans for 2017!

29/12/2016

What did we do over Christmas? with the help of our kids and their spouses we had a wonderful Lego time. All 1344 pieces.

23/11/2016

Beach bums for ever. Om... In India.

04/11/2016

Somewhere in Mississipi

07/02/2016

Just to let you know... we have shut down our Living The Dream website /blog. We hadn't been moved to post much recently because we always vowed that anything we posted must be 'blog worthy'! Of course we have the amazing book Simone and Tyler produced for us to recall our odyssey.
So pumper is now living in Florida with good friends, and we are moving on to our next project, stay tuned!

14/01/2016

Looks like a good resource for the nomadic type. Fellow travellers you might want to share.

A collaborative Overlanding community, providing inspiration, help, and advice to Overland Travelers.

11/01/2016

Not sure if I'm happy or sad... My legs are still shaking. Pumper is moving to the sunshine state permanently. If she is not a part of our family then I can't think of a better family than our very good friends in Kissimmee, Florida. I know she will be cared for and used the way she was made to be. Not a show car but a Campmobile giving a young family good times and lifelong memories. And Wendi and I can live vicariously through them.
now about that sticker...