Thank you!

When my cousin Megan met up with us in Vietnam to travel together for a while, she pointed out a curious fact. Something that we did not notice, and had to laugh at.

Before we met up, we would make the effort of learning a few words in the language spoken of the country we were visiting if we did not already know. When Megan arrived, the first word I taught her was "Cảm ơn", or "thank you" in Vietnamese. She laughed as that was something she was going to ask me then pointed out to us, just how Canadian we were because one of the most important words we felt the need to learn was "thank you", not "help", " where is the bathroom" or such.

Arabic

It is one of the most important words you can learn because those little words will often put a smile on the face of someone helping you in another country. Not only because you are showing them a little gratitude or appreciation but because you took the effort to learn something about them. Yes it is small but we have gotten more than a few smiles from people because of it, no matter how terrible we sound!

How to say "Thank you":
Japanese - arigatou
Malay - Terima kasih
Mandarin - xie xie
Cantonese - M̀h'gōi
Korean - gomawo
Vietnamese -  Cảm ơn
Cambodian - aw khun
Thai - Kob Khun Ka (female), Kob Khun Krap (male)
Burmese (Myanmar) - cè-zù-bèh 
Portuguese - obrigada/o (female/male)
Spanish - gracias
Icelandic - Takk fyrir  

Portuguese

And thanks to you for following our journey :)

~ Christine 

Travel by Numbers

Reflecting on our journey to date, we came up with a list...

1 Journal (Christine)

12 Pens (Christine)

110 Blog posts

580 Tweets

3 Continents:
   Asia
   North America
   Europe

18 Countries traveled:

    Canada
    USA
    Japan x2
    Singapore
    Malaysia
    China & Hong Kong
    South Korea (North Korea via Panmunjom/DMZ)
    Hong Kong
    Vietnam
    Cambodia
    Thailand x2
    Myanmar
    Taiwan
    UAE
    Portugal
    Spain
    UK
    Iceland

40 Cities/Towns/Villages:

    Vancouver, BC
    San Francisco, CA
    Los Angeles, CA
    Tokyo x2, Japan
    Singapore
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Georgetown, Malaysia
    Chengdu, China
    Xian, China
    Beijing, China
    Shanghai, China
    Nanjing, China
    Seoul, South Korea
    Hong Kong, China
    Da Nang, Vietnam

    Hoi An, Vietnam
    Hue, Vietnam
    Hanoi, Vietnam
    Siem Reap, Cambodia
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Yangon, Myanmar
    Bagan, Myanmar
    Mandalay, Myanmar
    Hua Hin, Thailand
    Taipei, Taiwan
    Dubai, UAE
    Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal
    Sintra, Portugal
    Madrid, Spain
    Seville, Spain

    Granada, Spain
    Barcelona, Spain
    London, UK
    Reykjavik, Iceland
    Selfoss, Iceland
    Vik, Iceland
    Hofn, Iceland
    Eglisstadir, Iceland
    Myvatn, Iceland
    Akranes, Iceland

1 Earthquake experienced (Tokyo)

1 Riverboat:
    Bagan to Mandalay, Myanmar

1 Cruise Ship:
    Vancouver to LA

18 Airplanes/Flights To:

    Vancouver, BC
    Tokyo, Japan
    Singapore
    Chengdu, China
    Seoul, South Korea
    Hong Kong, China
    Da Nang, Vietnam
    Hanoi, Vietnam
    Siem Reap, Cambodia
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Yangon, Myanmar
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Taipei, Taiwan
    Tokyo, Japan
    Dubai, UAE
    Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal
    Reykjavik, Iceland
    Edmonton, AB

1 Hot air balloon (Christine):
  Bagan, Myanmar

9 Airlines:
    Westjet
    Singapore Airlines
    Air Asia
    Scoot
    Emirates
    Eva Air
    Wow
    Iceland Air
    Vietnam Air

14 Trains (inter-city):
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    Xian, China

    Beijing, China
    Shanghai, China
    Nanjing, China
    Shanghai, China
    Maglev - Shanghai, China
    Bagan, Myanmar
    Madrid, Spain
    Seville, Spain
    Granada, Spain
    Barcelona, Spain
    Paris, France
    London, UK

4 Buses (inter-city):
    Georgetown, Malaysia
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    JSA/Panmunjom
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia

4 Scooters - (only one scooter was harmed in the making of this adventure):
    Da Nang x2, Vietnam
    Mandalay, Myanmar
    Barcelona, Spain

2 Segways:
    Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal
    Granada, Spain

1 Car Rented (Iceland)

17 Currencies:

    USD
    Yen - Japan
    SIN - Singapore
    RIN - Malaysia
    Yuan - China
    Won - South Korea
    HK$ - Hong Kong, China
    Dong - Vietnam
    USD - Cambodia
    Baht x2 - Thailand
    USD/Khat - Myanmar
    NTW - Taiwan
    Yen - Japan
    Dirham - Dubai
    Euro - Europe
    Pound - London, UK
    ISK - Iceland

16 Time Zone Transitions:
    Vancouver/Pacific
    Tokyo
    Singapore
    China
    Seoul
    HK
    Vietnam/Cambodia/Thailand
    Myanmar
    Thailand
    Taipei
    Tokyo
    Dubai
    Lisbon (Lisboa)
    Spain
    London
    Iceland

14 Languages:
    Malay
    Japanese x2
    Mandarin
    Korean
    Cantonese
    Vietnamese
    Cambodian
    Thai
    Burmese
    Taiwanese
    Arabic
    Portuguese
    Spanish
    Icelandic

280 plus days on the road (outside of Canada)

49 times we unpacked/packed - Accommodations stayed (Apartment, Hotel, Train, Ship):
    Vancouver, BC
    Cruise

    Los Angeles, CA x2
    Tokyo, Japan x2
    Singapore
    Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia x2
    Georgetown, Malaysia
    Chengdu, China
    Xian, China
    Beijing, China
    Shanghai, China
    Seoul, South Korea
    Hong Kong, China
    Da Nang, Vietnam x3
    Hanoi, Vietnam
    Siem Reap, Cambodia
    Phnom Penh, Cambodia
    Bangkok, Thailand x3
    Yangon, Myanmar
    Train -Myanmar
    Bagan, Myanmar
    Mandalay, Myanmar
    Hua Hin, Thailand
    Taipei, Taiwan
    Dubai, UAE
    Lisbon (Lisboa), Portugal
    Train - Spain x2
    Madrid, Spain

    Seville, Spain
    Granada, Spain
    Barcelona, Spain
    London, UK
    Reykjavik, Iceland
    Selfoss, Iceland
    Vik, Iceland
    Hofn, Iceland
    Eglisstadir, Iceland
    Myvatn, Iceland
    Akranes, Iceland
    Reykjavik, Iceland
    Edmonton, AB

5100 plus pictures taken

1 Panda hugged

$$$ PRICELESS $$$

~ Christine & Jason

Blue Lagoon, Iceland

Last day in Iceland, last day of our adventure and it's my birthday. To celebrate we went to the Blue Lagoon.

Yes it is touristy, yes it is expensive, but it is worth a visit. Even Jason, who is not a spa person enjoyed it. It is not cheap if you only visit for an hour or two, so we stayed for five!

It is not a swimming pool but you can do a little. Most people are just hanging out and taking it all in. You walk around (carefully) to find the little pockets of cold, warm and hot water. You apply silica mud to your face, visit the sauna, or such. The time flew by and then we had dinner at the on-site restaurant Lava.

The history of the Blue Lagoon is very interesting, a lot of people think it just happened in nature and Iceland is capitalizing on it. If you visit the Blue Lagoon website, they tell you that it "was accidentally formed in 1976 during operation at the nearby geothermal power plant. In the years that followed, people began bathe in the unique water and apply the silica mud to their skin. Those with psoriasis noticed an incredible improvement in their condition." As such, people kept going! What an interesting history!

Of course, we had to check it out and see what it could do for our skin. It was a wonderful day.

The only lifeguards you will find in winter wear!

~ Christine

Day 6 & 7 - Myvatn to Akranes to Reykjavik, Iceland

We did a big push for the drive along the north side of the island. We probably should have given it more of a look, but for us, we did not find much that interested us so we did a drive of 450km to Akranes. The land scape on this side of the island is different from the south and east but still beautiful in its own right. It rained most of the way which also deterred us from stopping anywhere. As such, few pictures were taken.

We did stay in a wonderful guesthouse in Akranes though, so if you are ever in the area, we would highly recommend: Teigur Guesthouse, the owners are wonderful people, and the accommodations are very comfortable.

On day 7 we drove the short 50 min to Reykjavik where we went on a boat to see puffins! Too cute! They are much smaller than we expected and fly very fast so it was hard to capture in a picture. We also cannot get too close to them as they are wild and need their space.

It was not too rushed of a trip around the island but it was pushing it. Iceland is an amazing country and needs to be seen from the road! Visit Reykjavik, but don't limit yourself to just this one place. There is so much to see and do in Iceland and a lot of it is easy to get to by car. Just be sure to watch a video about driving in Iceland before going. A few helpful tips :)

Lava mound

puffins

~ Christine

Day 5 - Eglisstadir to Myvatn, Iceland

Going further north along the Ring Road, we headed to Myvatn. The only thing we planned to see along the way was Dettifoss (most powerful waterfall in Europe). It required a 25km detour off the Ring Road, then a 1km walk through snow, mud, etc. The hike was not difficult but it was a little messy (and wet). When we got to the falls it was beautiful but not as much as the ones we had previously seen.

The highlight of the day was the geological wonders of Hverir. We also hiked up Hverfjall (tuff ring volcano) but the size (too big), and color (black) did not work in my pictures so you will have to look it up :)

Another amazing day along Iceland's Highway 1 (Ring Road).

Hverir - see pictures below! Soooo cool!

Mud pot - bubbling acid mud!

Possible location for the next Star Wars?

~ Christine

Day 4 - Hofn to Egilsstadir, Iceland

Continuing east along the Ring Road, we had a short drive ahead of us, only 186km but once again, it took us hours to complete. We stopped a few times but it took so long because this part of the Ring Road winds around the coast. This makes the drive fun, but it is also a little exhausting being on high alert. To top it off, the roads here have NO shoulder, so there is little (no) room for error. And if you make that mistake there is often a good ditch (or worse) you will encounter. So if you see oncoming traffic (in good or bad weather), it is best to slow down a bit.

In the end, it was a good thing that we had a plan of where to stop driving for the day because although fun, it was a little exhausting. But with all things that require a little extra effort, we were rewarded with more stunning views. Some of the most awe-inspiring which is impossible to capture on camera, it is also feeling.

Whopper Swans - now I understand Bjork's dress!

~ Christine

Day 3 - Vik to Hofn, Iceland

Continuing along the Ring Road in Iceland, we came across more stunning scenery. Sometimes you see things just on the side of the road, other times you need to take a turn off to see what's hidden around the corner. Pictures cannot describe what we are seeing. This really is a place you have to see for yourself...

Largest lava flow in human history

Single lane bridge

Village destroyed by lava, this is a cemetery now

Trolls?!

~ Christine