Day 14 - Oh Canada! We Are More

I had one of those sleeps where you wake up every 30 minutes and check the time, in this case pawing around for my cell phone/alarm clock which was tossed carelessly amongst the crap pile beside the bed 30 minutes earlier. Each time I woke up it took me moment to figure out where I was and what the rhythmic knocking of the fan/air conditioner combo was. I guess I was nervous that I might sleep in and miss my flight, after having stayed up past 1:00 am booking more summer adventure flights between Bogota, Cartagena, Panama City, and Bocas Del Torro. By 7:20 am we were checked out of the Insadong love motel and waiting for an airport limousine bus.  On time.

It was a grey and hazy day in Seoul. So much of this holiday to South Korea was drizzly and cloudy. This will most likely be my last trip to South Korea and while it has become like a second home to me because of the Cahurphy clan, I don’t feel any degree of sadness about maybe never going back. Of course, I will miss the food! I need to find a city fix for Korean food in Hong Kong, of which I know there are some great spots, I’ve just never checked them out.

I landed in Hong Kong to amazingly sunny blue skies, vibrant green hills and clear air (for Hong Kong, anyways). I had the same feeling that I always have when I return to HK after any duration of time away, a feeling of attachment and goodness about being in a place that feels comfortably like home. I love that feeling and, generally in my life, I so rarely get to experience it.

I scrambled to re-check my bags with Air Canada and then took the airport express into Central with one mission: find 6 different coloured Dragon Ball wigs in the costume alley to send to Aaron in Vancouver. This was a special request that I agreed to a few days ago, because luckily I knew exactly where to get these and I figured a trip to Central would be a better way to spend the lay over than cooped up in the airport, especially once I saw the glorious day I had arrived to. Little did I know that July 1^st isn’t just Canada’s birthday, it’s also Hong Kong’s (handover) birthday. The streets were jam packed and the temperature + humidity was high and all the stores were closed! I had no idea. So instead I just enjoyed the view and the sunshine and the feeling of home.

After my 11 hour flight to Vancouver, Aaron met me at the airport where we picked up a rental car and headed immediately for the ferry. It was great to be in Canada, seeing Aaron for the first time in 2 years and off on an adventure right away. We stayed right on Vitoria’s waterfront and enjoyed a bottle of champagne right before the fireworks were set off from the front lawn of our hotel. Then we went out in the partying streets for dinner.

What a great way to celebrate both special holidays with a flight over the pacific, going against the time difference, allowing me to enjoy a super-extended 36 hour July 1st!

I landed in Vancouver on Canada's birthday listening to A Pretty Decent Cape In My Closet, by my very own super hero slam poet, Shane Koyczan, who millions watched in complete awe during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics, when he performed We Are More.