Thailand

        It being my 65th birthday this month, Ian’s 60th in January, and also the start of the 40th year we have know each other, we have decided on a new mega trip, via Thailand to New Zealand and the Cook Islands. It's now 10 years since my big round the world tour that took in part of NZ* so it seems like a good time to further explore there.

        But first off we broke our journey in Thailand, and after flying to Phuket via Bangkok, we caught a motor boat to the little island of Koh Yao Noi.  This crossing gave us some early views of the thrilling limestone karst country of Phang Nga Bay, under a steel grey sky that marked the fag end of the rainy season.  The tender zipped around the coves and mangrove fringes to our hotel, its villas stacked on a densely wooded hill above a little sandy beach.  Just 56 villas are arranged here, with views to the islets of the bay, or in our case to the jungle.  

        The hotel has a kampung-chic vibe, all thatched houses, gamelan lounge music and coconut ‘wellness’ water.  I could do without the crystals and Tibetan prayer bowls, but it is really well done, and we immediately felt very comfortable.  We tried several of the restaurants on the first few evenings and had reserved a special meal at the Hilltop restaurant for my birthday.  This has perhaps the most famous view in Thailand, across the bay to the rusty white stack islands and grey mountains beyond.  Unfortunately, Ian fell badly in the shower during the day, gashing his arm, and getting badly bruised, so we ended up eating in the villa, but the staff came up trumps with a cake and champagne.  They are rightly proud of their food, much of it based on local produce.  Some they grow themselves, and a wide range of cuisines is tackled with aplomb. The breakfasts are spectacular. Our villa is huge, with a small pool and outdoor Lana style living area, and a bathroom that goes on for miles.

        Altogether, apart from Ian's fall, a great relaxing way to start the trip, just gentle walks on the beach or to nearby headlands. I had a ‘healing’ massage as a birthday treat and my ‘wellness’ is doing very well thank you, even if Ian's isn't!  With luck he will recover quickly for the next leg of our trip.  Some great people too, including Kuhn May, our always charming staff member who looked after us; the nurse who came and dressed Ian’s elbow every day, even on her day off, always with a big smile; the local people who always said sawatdee kah/krup as they passed in a genuinely friendly way; and some of the other guests, especially a retired Australian couple who seemed very much on our wavelength.  

*See http://k-e-i-t-h-m.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html

Ireland

Ian and I were on a tour of Ireland recently, crossing by try, via Gower in Wales, to Rosslare, and taking in Wexford, Cork, Kerry, Dingle and Connemara, then back via Dublin.  Here is a link to photos with some captions: https://flickr.com/photos/?07/sets/72157672632927841

Pacific NW 12 - Banff

     So we were now nearing the end of our marvellous trip.  Banff was a short drive from Lake Louise, and after all the wild open spaces it seemed a complete metropolis, with the tourist throngs filling all the streets.  We stayed well up the hill from the town, in the busy but comfortable Rimrock Resort.  Gail and I ventured up the cable car to the top of the peak above, where there is a network of boardwalks over a kilometre long, giving amazing views of the valleys and mountains all around.
     By the time we were ready to go down, the clouds were closing in until there was nothing to see at all, and the weather continued to deteriorate.
     We arranged a late dinner and were put into a private room, just the four of us, and worked our way through a tasting menu with wines for each course, served by a slightly eccentric crew of waiters, who seemed eager to talk and crack jokes.  A really fantastic way to end this trip, as we gazed out into the valley below, siwrling with clouds and now sleet flurries.
    Next day, we struggled through a near blizzard, back to Calgary and finally split up, Gail direct to London, Kathleen to California for more travel, and Ian and I to Seattle for our return flight.  We had an overnight there in what must be the best airport hotel anywhere, Cedarbook Lodge, with extensive gardens and even a little wood in the grounds, and a very decent restaurant.

    So what will we remember from this trip?  The wildest, remotest places: the rainforest and the deserted beaches of Oregon; bear country in the Rockies; snow drifts above the clouds and vast mountain ranges; swollen rivers and waterfalls.  Also, surprisingly good food, with an emphasis on local produce, from the grandest set dinners to the home-baked goods in coffee shops in remote towns; and great beer and wine from the local craft breweries and wineries.  Our favourite spots were Yachats and Revelstoke, and the remote wilderness of Alpine Meadows.  All in all, it seemed as if the best places were the least visited, and these are the places we would likely return to. 

Pacific NW 11 - Jasper and Lake Louise

    

     Now we started to turn east on our loop, over the mountains and back into Alberta, to Jasper National Park.  We were leaving behind the remoter corners of BC and getting more into mainstream tourism.  Jasper, the town, though small and picturesque, with a boulder strewn mountain stream, is a tourist haunt.
    We stayed in a very comfortable park lodge established in the 1920s.  Oddly, it has an excellent upscale restaurant, with some of the best food we had on the trip (and a vast wine list), but also a pub where the food was absolutely dire.
    Next day, with the weather turning distinctly moody, we travelled to Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake, nearby.  The first was surrounded with the blackened remains of pines - a forest fire had swept through here the year before - but even this did little to diminish the beauty of the mountains and lake.  Nearby we were able to see a bald eagle nesting, its white head peeking out above the massive nest at the extreme high pint of one of the less damaged trees.
     We walked around part of Maligne Lake, soon well away from other people, and sat to contemplate the mountains and the silence.
     We next followed the Icefields Parkway south, calling in at the Athabasca Falls, deeply incised canyons filled with massive torrents; then to the Columbia ice field, a rather heavily exploited tourist spot that was largely clouded (and crowded) out, spotting more eagles along the way, as well as a moose on a leisurely stroll across the road.
     Lake Louise itself has a few impressive buildings from the early 20th century, notably the station. 
We stayed in a rather odd Best Western with split level rooms that smelled strongly of bacon.  The famous old Fairmont hotel, well out of town on the shore of the lake, is a bit of a disappointment, full of Asian tour groups and expensive handbag outlets so that it feels like an airport departure lounge.  If you walk along the edge of the lake you can quickley get away from the crowds and enjoy the deep aquamarines of the lake and the encompassing mountains beyond.

Pacific NW 10 - Alpine meadows

     So with some reluctance we left behind the charms of Revelstoke, continuing along the Trans Canada Highway through deep forested valleys and beside deeper, darker lakes, the road always playing footsie with the railway. We made a few stops en route, enjoying ice creams under blistering mid day sun at the end of a lake jetty at Salmon Arm,  coming by late afternoon to Little Shuswap Lake. This is First Nations land and the Little Shuswap Lake Indian Band or Secwepemc have built a succesful business here - hotel, golf course and well regarded restaurant, with all benefits being polughed back for the benefit of the whole nation.  We walked along the shore of the lake and then enjoyed an excellent meal here, before travelling on next morning.
     A long drive, avoiding Kamloops, a large industrial town, and then we were up on quiet back roads, mostly just dirt, into Alpine country: high valleys, with forests coming down to hidden lakes, and the odd farm with a German name and a herd of dairy cattle.
     We stayed in a big three bedroomed lodge in a little resort called Alpine Meadows, just a cluster of swiss style log houses with steep roofs and stone fireplaces, by a perfectly still lake.  Lots of wild life to be seen, with fish leaping to ripple the surface, families of ducks and geese, woodpeckers and many others.  Later we found out a bear had tried to get into our lodge while we were away, and we saw several black bears in the vicinity.   
     The nearest town, at the entrance to Wells Gray Provincial Park, had a surprisingly well stocked supermarket and the obligatory liquor store, so we were well supplied for a couple of days of home cooking, making the most of this little idyll.  We rowed out on to the lake, rather gingerly, and enjoyed the sense of calm.  The blue hole was still with us.

Pacific NW 9: Revelstoke

 

Our favourite town on this leg turned out to be Revelstoke. The weather miraculously improved and we arrived there in brilliant afternoon sunshine. The Coast Hillcrest hotel was delightful – very welcoming with comfortable, spacious rooms. Their balconies had a magnificent view across to the jagged profile of the Monashee Mountains at sunset. The staff were very friendly, especially a waitress who had moved there a few years ago from suburban Toronto and loved it – even when the bears got into town and rooted up her vegetable garden. 

We went on several good walks in the area – along the river banks where the Illecillewaet meets our old friend the Columbia, with lots of wildlife to see on the way. It was here that we saw a group of crows in a state of agitation and then in a sudden explosion of motion and feathers, a golden eagle burst out of the tree just yards ahead, to be mobbed by the crows. It flew out over the river then around the trees on the opposite bank for several minutes, perhaps looking for a nest site. On another occasion Kathleen and I heard what sounded very like the howling of wolves from the distant shore. It's possible: wolves are nearby, in very low numbers, and through most of the province. 

We also walked into the Mount Revelstoke NP, which features the Meadows in the Sky parkway – also closed! But we were able to do a good circuit of woodland near the entrance, through moss laden trees and by fast moving mountain streams - a little remnant of rainforest away from the coast - managing to get a bit lost but somehow ending back where we started. 

Revelstoke seems like a real town, not dominated by tourism, and we found yet another fantastic and extremely popular coffee shop/bakery. The staff were efficient and there was a vast and scrmptious range of baked goods and dishes and coffees. We also saw the weekly farmers and craft market, a lively meeting place for locals, and bought a few things there (homemade jams and candles).

Pacific NW 8 - emerald lake

Next, to Golden, where I had booked a rather spooky ski resort hotel, way up on the mountain miles from the town. When we arrived, there were no staff there, just written instructions on how to find the rooms. Still, we were able to make some good meals as one of the units we were in had a full kitchen. Poor Gail was exiled to the other block which seemed to be completely empty otherwise, except for an occasionally seen odd jobs man (who seemed frindly enough). Golden doesn't have a lot to recommend it: a very small historic area beside the railway, and a rather wonderful, but modern, covered bridge. But we did at least find (another) very good cafe, with good coffee and cakes, which we visited several times. Long live these independent cafes – there always seems to be one in each town – and let's hope the dead hand of Starbucks never makes it to places like this. 
From Golden we entered Yoho National Park, where the jewel is Emerald Lake. A glorious place, with tree lined shores and completely surrounded by mountains. We walked all around the lake and after a short distance you get away from the tourist buzz at the lodge into complete tranquillity, the views from every angle magnificent. We also visited the pretty little town of Field, in the centre of the park. It seemed almost deserted, as we waited for the freight train to pass at a level crossing, several kilometres of double stacked containers, passing slowly by. 
You never seem to wait long before you hear the evocative sounds of an American train whistle or the clanging crossing bells. This is a feature it seems of every Rockies valley, parlt because in many cases the railways came before the settlements. Field seems to have been a watering stop for Rockies trains crossing between Calgary and the west, and some of the original houses were built out of box cars. One still survives there. (We later met the rather handsome Fire Chief for Field, at Calgary airport. The permanent population is about 200 and you have to have a reason to go and live there as it's heavily protected by the national park management. He seemed very content with his life there.)

From Golden we visited Glacier National Park, but the blue hole had deserted us, the mists coming in and hiding the mountains almost completely and trails were all closed. In fact, the visitor centre was still stacked up with big snowdrifts.