I’m writing this entry from home, because the last few days of my trip passed in a blur. During the wedding ceremony, the temperature hit about 41 degrees C. I got a pretty nasty case of heat stroke and passed out. Yikes. That was embarrassing. Fortunately, I didn’t cause a major disruption, and only my friends around me really noticed. I recovered enough to be able to participate in all of the parts of the ceremony I was supposed to, but felt pretty abysmal by the time I got back to the hotel. I missed the reception, which by all accounts was spectacular, and slept for the majority of the next day and a half. Note to self: tuxedos and tropical weather are a bad combination.

I’d given my camera to my good friend Culver to take some photos during the ceremony. He did a great job joining the scrum of photographers surrounding the happy couple, and got some excellent shots. The first eight photos in the gallery below are his. There are a couple of snaps from our dinner at Prime, the steakhouse at the Hilton. The rest of the photos show the Loy Krathong festival in Bangkok, in which you release a floating vegetable and flower sculpture into the river, symbolizing the release of negative energy. It was a beautiful experience, and it was a lot of fun to be able to participate. I took a hair-raising tuk-tuk ride back to the hotel after the festival celebrations. The tuk-tuk actually did a wheelie at one point because of the acceleration, and the wind had my face plastered into a grin. Awesome.

I left for the airport at about 4am the following morning, which was way too early for my 6:30am flight. But, you never know what traffic will be like in Bangkok, and the last thing I’d want to do is to watch my flight take off from the back seat of a taxi. I got to Hong Kong right on schedule, and decided to take a train ride into the city to kill off a bit of my six-hour layover. Hong Kong was as lovely as ever. I spent most of my short visit sitting on the public pier at the Central ferry terminal, enjoying the breeze off the harbour and watching the boats. Hong Kong, like many places in Asia, is undergoing constant and rapid redevelopment. Hong Kong is perpetually reinventing its glistening skyline, with office and condominium towers reaching ever higher.

My final flight home was long and uneventful. The gluten-free meal on the return leg was approximately thirty-five million times better than the one on the way over. This one contained delicious portions of steamed fish, salad, vegetables of many colors, and tropical fruit. Thank you, Hong Kong caterers. You’ve outdone yourself.

Things here in Hamilton seem exactly the same as they were when I left. The stability of Canada is comforting after a month of continuous change. As I sit here now, breathing crisp, clean Canadian air and sipping cold water poured straight from the tap, I can truly say that it’s great to go away, but even better to come home.