Remember the 1980s video game "Frogger?" I felt exactly like that frog trying to cross Silon Road tonight. It took us exactly four months, but we have finally received the dose of culture shock we set out to find on this trip. I love the chaos that Southeast Asia offers up. And no city that I've experienced does it better than Bangkok. Our flight from Auckland took us over eastern Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Vietnam and Cambodia, all of which we could...

I've not been inspired to write for some time. I think it's because we have done about as much of New Zealand as we can do. We love this country and don't regret coming one bit. Despite the incredible scenery, friendly people and great weather, it is so much like Canada that we are now thirsty for something new and strange - the whole point of this adventure. We have been gone for nearly four months and have still not stepped foot in a country with a first la...

Well here we are back in Christchurch after three weeks. Believe it or not, that is barely enough time to do this island justice. There are some places we didn't see and others we could have bided in longer. All in all we are satisfied with what we saw and are ready to move on. Anyone visiting the South Island with less time than this would want to concentrate on a few areas and get to know them well. We felt like we were on the move a little too much and...

Here's a philosophical question. Are the positive events of our life more richly experienced as they occur, or in our memories? I've thought about this often. Sometimes, in the moment, I have found it difficult placing myself there and savoring it for all that it is. In memory, however, this difficulty fades and only the positive remains. I recall thinking about this when driving across western Canada and Alaska at the beginning of this trip. I know for fact ...

The campground we are staying at has been playing a great classic rock station in the washrooms since we arrived last night. While brushing my teeth before bed, they played "No Sugar Tonight," by the Guess Who. Cool, I thought, as I wondered whether any of the Germans or Japanese on each side of me knew this was a Canadian band. This morning, I walked in to a Neil Young tune. After breakfast it was Tom Cochrane's "Life is a Highway," and before heading out fo...