Our Slight Change in Plans

Surprise!  We're in London, England.

Yes, there has been a slight change in plans.  After two months, we decided to take a break from Asia. As you know, we've been to Hong Kong, the Philippines, Borneo, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia.  Lately, though, Europe was calling to us.  When we found a cheap Air Asia flight to London, we thought, well, why not?  Following our noses is a huge part of the beauty of independent long-term travel.  And we figured that after 2+ months on the road, we've hopefully amassed enough backpacking skills to take on the more expensive European trail.  Now that we're in the UK, we need to get to mainland Europe and start heading south.  That way, we just might be able to stay one or two steps ahead of the blustery weather. But we're having a little trouble leaving, because we've fallen in love with London.  

Though it's considerably colder than what we're used to, most of the trees are still green.  There are roses in bloom just outside our bed & breakfast.  We're constantly in awe of the architecture; humble buildings such as the King's Cross St Pancras underground station (for the "tube") are almost castle-like.  There is a scholarly, cultured energy here; on the Tube commuters have their noses buried in the newspaper or a book.  Living here would be a little like living in New York for the endless opportunities to take in world-renowned theatre or opera, or visiting museums and art galleries.  Not to mention the history...  A couple things we've learned:  the chill is somehow more intense than that of Calgary, even though the temperature doesn't get nearly as low.  And London's streets and train systems are labrynthine:  we have to stop and orient ourselves frequently, and we've been turned around a couple of times, even with Aron's good sense of direction.  

So, at this point, the rest of our itinerary remains the same, with one other idea we're batting about:  Egypt.  If we decide to head there, it would be in conjunction with India, which we're still planning to visit in early January.  Then it's back to Europe for March/April before heading home in Spring of 2011.  

Despite our excitement to get to Europe, leaving S.E. Asia was still hard.  We realize that we've left with most of it unexplored... Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and much more. But we like the idea that we're leaving these far-flung destinations to be discovered on another trip, some other time.   It will be good to look forward to these future adventures down the road.  

I will do my best to update you (despite the fact that I think I've found a piano to play for the first time since I've left home).  Stay tuned for a post and our photos of various sights such as the Tower of London!