3,415 ft Above Sea Level

Day 65 - This morning, Jay and his sisters went to visit a relative they've not seen in decades. I guess it was complicated getting there although their place isn't far from here. I held down the fort.

We're going back tomorrow to Minuwangoda primarily so we can get up early on Monday. Jay is keen on doing more local trips and decided that time is running out for this stay. We will leave on an overnight trip to the city of Ratnapura and the town of Ella. We've seen most parts of the island on past trips but never as a group. Heading up to the tea estates and into the mountains is always a treat. It's colder up there, another exciting change. It could get down to 16°C in the evening if we stay in the town of Ella.

Tricks of the International Date Line

*** THIS IS AN AUTOMATED POSTING ***

Day 155 - This is going to be a very long day. We got up at about 7:30 AM and started out by eating our last leisurely breakfast in Kuala Lumpur. Around 10:30, I used my Grab phone app and arranged for a car to KUL, Kuala Lumpur's main international airport.


My photo from aboard a 777 flight five years ago.
We checked in and had time for a quick lunch. Our first plane boarded at 4:00 and we travelled nearly five hours to Taipei, Taiwan. We had to wait around for our connecting flight for nearly three and a half hours. We didn't need to buy dinner because we ate on the previous flight and will again soon on the net. As all went well, we finally got on the Vancouver bound at 11:55 PM today.

The interesting part is that after ten and a half more hours in the air we landed at YVR at approximately 7:30 PM. This means the second flight took minus 4 hours and 30 minutes. Flights arriving before they leave have always prompted me to think we were somehow involved in time-travelling science fiction.

Anyway, we plan to go to bed in New Westminster at a normal-sounding time on the same day we got up. Somehow the 15 hours in the air and transfers didn't take as long as they actually did. As I rest my head on my own pillow, I will think we've won a tiny lottery and have managed cheat time by living little longer than was predetermined.

(My blog will resume tomorrow completely on New Westminster, BC time and in New Westminster, BC space.)

Nothing's Really Final Yet

A Hindu Temple beside our hotel had special comemorations.
Day 154 - Today is a new month and the beginning of a new year in many parts of South Asia and Indochina. Well, it's April 14th everywhere, of course, but today marks an annual beginning point in many ancient religious and agricultural calendars. From today, Sri Lankans celebrate several days called the Sinhalese or Tamil New Year, but in Thailand, these days are called Songkran. Wherever you are, and whether currently celebrating or not, I hope you are having a safe and prosperous day.




Today also marks our last full day in Kuala Lumpur in 2019. We did some packing yesterday but continued getting everything ready for smooth exit tomorrow morning. We will take a Grab car to the airport in the late morning. Our initial flight to Taipei takes off at 3:30 PM. This afternoon, we walked around our part of the city a bit. I wanted to buy a local, batiq-design shirt but couldn't find anything that'd fit. Their XXL would have been about an M in Canadian clothes sizes!

Jay ended up buying a new shirt though! That guy also insists on leaving our studio apartment spotlessly clean. I think he's leaving it better than it was when we arrived. I told him he's being selfish and not thinking of the bored staff who will come after we leave and have nothing to do.

Canada, here we come! Almost. Well soon, anyways.

Annual Seasonal Migration

Day 153 - Okay, it is time to start packing!



Hey, I've heard that birds do it but bees do not. I know we have been doing it since 2015. We are readying for our annual spring return to Canada. We've started throwing odds and ends into our suitcases in preparation for Monday's flights home.

In Kuala Lumpur at the moment, it's 3:30 PM and it's getting strangely very dark outside. I'm going to switch on the kitchen lights now, in fact. We have now heard thunder and seen an occasional flash from bolts of lightning. The storm's audio bass is turned up and even the windows are shuddering. This is going to be a big one! They're not unusual at this time of year. SE Asian thunderstorms are not kids' play. We've noticed that rain on Saturday evenings isn't unusual. As a huge, Asian-style night-market occurs in our neighbourhood on Saturdays, perhaps we simply notice the threat and occurrence of rain more.

I uploaded the following three pictures to Facebook this morning. These will become the very first photos of our car, ever. Sid at Lougheed Hyundai was kind enough to email them to me. Of course, as you can tell, the dealer hasn't finished prepping the 2019 KONA Electric yet. However, they will have the EV locked and loaded for us on our first full day back in British Columbia.

Obituary for Richard John Hurd

September 18, 1932 to April 5, 2019
(Age 86)

Richard (Dick) Hurd passed away after a short stay at the Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, New Hampshire. He had been an active resident at the McCoy Home for the Elderly in Newport, New Hampshire for the past seven years.

Richard was born in Newport, NH on September 18, 1932.  He was an only son to Burt and Ina Hurd. He attended training at the Vocational Tech College majoring in Auto Mechanics and specializing in Auto-Body repair. After completing school, he served in the US Army in Ft. Benning, GA. Upon returning from his Enlistment, he used his training in auto-body repair working with his father, Burt, at Sunapee Auto until obtaining a different position at Avery's Auto-Body in Newport in the mid-1960s. However, the majority of his working career was as a set-up machinist at Sturm, Ruger & Co. He retired at 55 years of age, to enjoy his time both travelling and volunteering as a missionary worker at different locations across the United States.

Richard married Martha Ann Osgood of Sunapee, NH in 1959 and was a devoted husband and quickly became the proud father of a son and daughter. Richard loved the outdoors spending many weekends camping in the White Mountains of NH with his family and friends. He also liked to slip into the wilderness with one of his muzzleloaders during deer season.  He was successful only a few times but said he liked being in the woods and his time spent there.

Richard Hurd was self-reliant, practical, and a bit of a collector.  Even after selling the Wendell home, he kept property with a large, old shed he called, "his barn". For many years it contained either entire or parts for snowmobiles, Volkswagens, tools and test equipment, campers, motorcycles, wind generators, and antique engines. Occasionally he would find something or other which surprised even him!  He enjoyed, as he put it, "tinkering on different projects."

As a consequence of his automotive and mechanical knowledge, he was able to keep dozens and dozens of different vehicles on the road throughout the years in New England’s fickle weather. Some were also used on a few long-distance road trips to locations such as Nova Scotia, Alaska, California, and Florida. Dick was interested in the diversity and variety of the United States and felt as though there were always new places in our country worthy of seeing. Though, he remained an ardent New Hampshirite in thought and spirit.

Richard (Dick) Hurd is survived by his son, Dennis S. Hurd of New Westminster, BC, and daughter, Laurie Wilcox, Le Claire Iowa, along with his grandchildren, Christopher and Elizabeth, and great-grandchild, Tyler, all of Le Claire, Iowa

He was preceded in death by his parents, Burt Hurd and Ina Hurd and his wife of 23 years, Martha Osgood Hurd.

Honoring Richard's wishes, there will not be any calling hours. The family will gather at a later time to privately scatter his ashes.

So Long, Soursop!

Day 151 - Our time in Malaysia feels limited now. We have just tomorrow, the weekend and then we're off. We have been slowly wrapping things up. There are many little details to consider such as ensuring our refrigerator will be empty by next Monday. We have completed most of our last minute shopping. We've been saying goodbye to some things which have become familar over the course of our winter.


We'll say so-long to soursop until next winter!
Being away for five months a year is nearly perfect. We can now anxiously anticipiate our return home. I'm quite excited by the prospects for a fun summer and fall in British Columbia. Having a new set of wheels will probably mean we put on more miles than we've been doing in recent years. As they'll be powered by electricity rather than fossil fuels, the cost of driving will be much less and the impact much greener.

We can take dozens of picnic and day trips to places such as Whistler, the Fraser Valley, or in northern Washington State. An immediate example comes to mind, Jay and I have lived in New Westminster, BC for 23 years but we've never been to Point Roberts, WA, a pene-exclave of the US. It is surrounded by water and Canada and we've no excuse for such lethargy, really. There are so many cool and interesting places within three or four hours of our home in Beautiful BC.

Do It Yourself

Day 150 - When I was in college that term, DIY, would have been used to describe a business selling home improvement and hardware supplies. I was thinking just how much more we do ourselves today.

For example today, I used the Internet from Malaysia to complete a number of tasks which simply would have been inconceivable 40 years ago. Of course, things such as blog posts weren't possible at all. However, my purpose today is to point out how the Net has simplified things which other people used to have to do for us. Here are four things I easily accomplished via a PC today:

1) We moved money between a few bank accounts in sums that are rather astonishing. We didn't have to visit a branch, speak to a teller, or fill out any forms. Of course, the transactions didn't involve physical cash but the funds were instantly in their respective accounts.

2) Jay and I purchased airline tickets to visit the US for a few days during the beginning of May. We are working with my sister, who's not on the east coast, to plan the logistics of spreading our recently deceased father's ashes. We didn't have to go to a travel agency, sit with an agent for options or wait to complete the transaction. We are all set to travel on May 3rd.

3) I applied to start receiving my Canadian Pension Plan this summer because I turn 60 years old in July. I am opting to receive about half the benefit I'd get if I waited, but will have an extra five years to collect it. I didn't have to find a government office, fill out paperwork, and hand to a civil servant. I'll be kept up-to-date on the process via email.

4) Lastly, moments ago, I photographed our 'travel computer' to post in this entry. I didn't need to take a roll of film to a store, wait for chemical developing, and eventually receive a paper photograph. Instead, I can share it with you right now, wherever in the world you are viewing this from.


Our 'travel PC' has a sold-state drive and fits in my backpack. There are times when a phone or tablet is just not sufficient.

Best to Buy Tickets 11 Months Ahead

Day 147 - Next Sunday will be the last day of our winter vacation. I am sure I will miss our Sunday morning walks around the Kuala Lumpur city center. Sunday is the main free day for many workers and many come to shop, transfer money home, and just enjoy themselves. Jay and I enjoy being downtown on Sundays too.











But hey, I am not sad. I guess we can continue to enjoy Sundays here in the future. In fact, we very well may include a few months in KL as our base next winter. First though, I'm pretty sure we have chosen to kick things off by staying in Sri Lanka for the months of November, December and January.

It is a bit too early to buy air tickets for next winter. First, we have seven, entire months based in our favourite summer location in the whole world: British Columbia. Yet, it is never too early to start working through plans. If recent years are any indication, November will arrive lickety-split.

This Was Our First Time on EVA

Day 146 - We've still some time remaining in Kuala Lumpur as our return flight is a week from the upcoming Monday. Jay and I are currently fifteen hours ahead of Vancouver but we'll be in the air for fifteen and a half hours plus an additional three-hours in Taipei during a transfer. No matter how much or often we fly, the size of the Pacific Ocean never fails to impress, especially when sitting by the toilets a tiny, economy seat.



There is no possible way in which we could calculate how many flights we've taken nor the number of air miles travelled during our lives. I'm sure it's many many times the average.

Thankfully for us, aviation is a cut-throat industry with players which come and go. Deregulation and competition have kept ticket prices nearly the same as they were in the 80s. In fact, due to rise of Asian economies, the cost of flying over the Pacific Ocean is cheaper than it has ever been.

"The captain has requested you fasten your seatbelts as this turbulence will likely continue."

Rest in Peace, Dad.

Day 145 - I received a message today from my sister. She informed me that our father passed away last night at the Valley Regional Hospital in Claremont, New Hampshire.

Richard John Hurd taught me a lot about being a good person. Perhaps most importantly he demonstrated, in true Yankee tradition, the importance of becoming an independent person. He also encouraged me to remain curious and adventurous. These prove most true as it's physically impossible for me to return from Malaysia in time to help with his final affairs.

Dad, I will miss our telephone calls and hearing your many stories. I will miss being able to tell you about my life.

My sister will provide more information to me as it becomes available. I want to thank her for her expertise and amazing abilities to ensure his final wishes come to be.


October 1987 - After teaching at the Saudi Army Ordnance School in the city of Taif and a short stay in Sri Lanka, I flew to NH. Dad drove with me to Seattle in my station wagon. He flew home after the short stay.

Shearing Time: Call Me Ragnor.

Day 144 - Since retiring, my trips to a barber have been few and far between. Oh, my hair is not thinning much; I just don't bother. My philosophy is if a guy gets close to 60 years old and still has hair, then it should be worshipped more often than trimmed.


The haircut was $US 2.45 but I tipped the guy an equal amount.
However, when one's hair gets to the point of being annoying, it's a different matter. Last night in bed I got tangled and was nearly strangled by it. So, I'm going for a basic Viking-look from today.

Global Citizens

Day 143 - Most of the laundry from our trip is dried and folded. We did a little shopping today. We're picking up things like shoes and a few new clothes to bring back to Canada. Even cheap Walmart-quality items sell for half the price we'd pay in Canada and there is no tacked-on sales tax in Malaysia. I needed some black dress shoes and bought an additional pair as some were around $CA 10. Jay has finally bought some dress pants for the first time since we lived in Bahrain. We left that country in 1991. Okay, I might be exaggerating a little.

Other staple purchases include my Thai Snake Brand powder. I'd not be able to make it through a BC summer without some. Oh, and I found this whitening soap which I really like. I do not need to bleach my face with beauty products designed for such purposes, but I like how well these mango scented bars last and the amount of lather they create.



I wish I'd taken pictures of ordinary consumer products we've used over the years. Although many of the companies like Unilever or SC Johnson sell consumer items in North America, their products differ immensely in many local markets. Once in a while, I notice this fact as Jay and I use a brand name unknown in Canada.

Getting outside one's cocoon is important for many reasons. Importantly, if the world were full of more 'global citizens' it'd be less likely an entire nation could be manipulated politically.

Getting-Home-for-the-Summer Business

Day 142 - We realized, when we were at the airport yesterday, that we have exactly two weeks left in Kuala Lumpur. That means our winter is rapidly coming to a close. (Pretty soon, when I create an entry from British Columbia, I will stop prefixing each entry with a day number and winter 2018-19 will be complete.)

Seeing we've less than two weeks remaining, I have allowed myself to start thinking about the logistics involved in our return to New Westminster. Today, I wrote an email to our Internet / TV guys at surfinternet.ca. I want our snowbird account to be reactivated before our arrival, so when we switch on the power to the apartment, everything comes back to life. It's been a long time since I asked a Google Mini any questions!

I also allowed myself to get excited about our new vehicle. A shiny, new Hyundai KONA Electric is waiting for me at a Coquitlam dealership. I wrote an email indicating when we will be back in the province and that I'd like to complete the purchase within a few days of arriving. I asked if there were any details about the process I should know.

On both situations, I received responses. The Internet will be on when we get there. On my other query, I was informed I could make the online application for British Columbia's Scrap-It program. I will be letting the old Ranger go. As we are buying an all-electric vehicle, a provincial incentive program will provide $6,000 cash to get the old gas vehicle off the road. This is in addition to the standard $5000 EV incentive. 6K is quite a bit more than the Ford is worth, so it is with little trepidation that I'll let them crush the pickup which has been so good to us for 23 years!

HKT --> KUL

Day 141 - Our hotel included breakfast, so I had the full option again. The coffee and the toast came first and then a plate like the one above. We then went to the room to put everything into the backpacks. Our ticket said our pickup would be between 10:00 and 10:10 AM. Our 12-passenger van did come before 10:15. From Patong Beach, one needs to plan about an hour to get to the airport on the north of the island.



Everything about getting back here went smoothly and without interruption. I cannot emphasize how easy air travel is within SE Asia. People queue up without pushing and getting on and off the planes is quick and easy. Our flight arrived a half hour before departure and we boarded a bit early. We'd not chosen seats on this segment and were given Air Asia's hot seats in the front. We were in row 2 and therefore got out quickly at Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2.

The flight lasted an hour and a half but we had to change to the earlier Malaysian time zone. That is just enough time to get and eat lunch on the plane. The Bukhara chicken biryani was just right. We'd added the meals when booking the flight and although it cost several bucks, it was worth every penny.

Upon arrival at KIA2, we ordered a Grab Car via the app and had to wait about 5 minutes at Door 2. Then, we effortlessly rode downtown to the Maytower, our home for another two weeks.

A Final Day in Phuket

Day 140 - It was wise to make this a four-night trip rather than a three. The extra night makes this a relaxing experience and provided a day of relative rest.







We do enjoy beach vacations but do not generally spend much time on the sand. It's more the atmosphere and busy urban beach environment we enjoy. However, our hotel offered towels and mats so we spent a bit of morning on Patong's sand. Lunch was an easy walk across the road from the water here. In fact, we liked the relatively unobstructed view of the surf while walking the length of Patong.

In the evening we walked the twenty minutes to return to the Jungceylon Shopping Center. A contest was selecting Miss Queen Andaman Power, the transgender beauty contest of Phuket.



Our flight to Kuala Lumpur doesn't depart until 1:35 PM tomorrow. That means we needn't get up early and we have already arranged for a 200 Thai Bhat bus to the airport which will pick us up at around 10:15 AM.

Afternoon Phuket Tour

Day 139 - As we walked to the beach we bought tour tickets for our afternoon. We had talked between ourselves about whether it'd be better to take a tour of Phuket or rent a taxi to visit our main interest, the Big Buddha. Although we had no desire to see the 'shopping' part of any tour we found the prices much better than trying to just see the newer Phuket attraction. You'll not see photos of our time spent at the cashew factory, honey manufacturing, or precious gem sales. However, those were nice breaks from the activity and we are very happy we chose to go on the tour which started at 1:15 with a hotel pickup and lasted for seven hours!




The pictures above are from the Karon View Point. Many buses filled the tiny parking lot but as we got out we could see the reason. It was stunning to look back from the south and see the main three beaches we'd just passed.





From there we headed to the mountain with the Big Buddha. We passed lots of small tourist attractions and stopped to see a baby elephant. Asian elephants are familiar to us and of course respected. They are amazing beasts who are self-aware and can even remember clan members who have passed on as witnessed by displays at remains in wild locations. The baby today did not have a hard life but it seemed a bit weird as it performed for the prize of some bananas to eat.

The Buddha is still under construction and covered with marble from Burma (Myanmar). What a massive construction and what amazing views from the second highest-peak on Phuket!




After we spent a half hour at Chalong Temple in Phuket old town. There were Sri Lankan relics found inside but we do have to look up more details for ourselves online.




After the factories, we went to the Weekend Night Market because it is Saturday. The tours go to watch the sunset on regular days of the week. It was indeed fun to walk around the market for one hour as day turned to night.

We got back to our hotel at 8:15 PM after dropping off most of the other twelve passengers in our van. We went for dinner fully pleased with how our day had gone.

Walking and Walking

Day 138 - We have a few plans for things to see on the trip but today, we ended up deciding at breakfast just to walk the Patong area to learn it more accurately.







Getting from our end up to the Patong Beach sign takes a solid 45 minutes if one hikes directly. We didn't. We stopped along various parts of the beach to view, sit, and watch.

Eventually, we walked on the inland road to the Jungcelyon area. There are a number of retail malls and supermarket buildings connected with an inner water feature. We noticed a large free show will take place on Sunday evening under the enormous umbrella-shaped cover. We may try to show up.

We wandered around the Big-C, a familiar hypermarket brand name in Thailand. I'm wondering if we are checking out things on this trip in order to decide if we will spend a month or two here next winter. Perhaps.



We had already walked more than a normal day but decided to practically do the loop again in reverse direction. After dark is when Walking Street really rocks. There are all kinds of over-the-top entertainment. I'll leave it up to you to look up what the girls can do with all those ping pong balls.

Oh, Thailand!





My Mi Band shows 14938 steps and tells me that was 9.64 kilometers. These two guys have tired legs tonight.

The Trip to Patong Beach Begins

Day 137 - We didn't need to get up early for our 12:25 PM flight to Phuket. We took a Grab car right to KLIA2. Next to the international airport in Kuala Lumpur, a second was primarily designed and built for Air Asia. It is a low-cost carrier which had the slogan which suggested that it provided flights cheap enough so that everyday people could fly. It's true and the aviation industry growth in SE Asia has been phenomenal.



These flights were provided as a refund that Jay got back from them after two years of dogged determination. The flight time going to the island of Phuket was just one and a half hours. However, there is a time zone difference of one hour which chopped the hour part off. The inflight chicken biryani cost extra but was tasty.

Thailand has been doing bulk tourism for, well, as long as we've been travellers. However, we were last in Phuket directly at the end of the first Gulf War. As these things occurred before blogging, we had to piece together a lot of facts to come up with the year of 1991. I blog about things in order to have an external memory as we travel a lot and our brains are not good at keeping track of such things without help. This is an eJournal but I'm pleased if anyone has the inclination to read it.



It took about one hour to get to Patong Beach from the airport. We bought the standard shuttle bus tickets for ฿180 each. A US dollar is around 31 Thai Baht these days. Every passenger for the vans were able to verify the hotel and were delivered directly.

We are staying four nights at the Club Seven One Hotel. It's about a five-minute walk from the beach and around a 15-minute walk to JungCeylon Mall.



We used the whole evening just to walk up to the main part of Patong Beach and around the tourist areas. We chose this, the oldest, beach area. Phuket is a series of beaches each with different characteristics. I savour the old-school, over-developed scene of with many bars even if I use none.





Daylight ended as the sun slipped into the Andaman Sea. Nowadays that happens at around 6:30 PM here.