I am leaving Toronto on a train on Oct 1, and returning on Oct 12 – so off by 1 day! but I suspect that’s part of God’s plan too.

I will share my plans!

I’m riding in the Ontario Ride to Conquer Cancer in June 2011 – and will try to fundraise $2500 for cancer research.

If that goes well, and if I can save enough money, I will take off in 2012 and join the world’s longest guided bicycle expedition – Tour d’Afrique from Cairo to Cape Town – 12,000 km over 4 months of cycling.

I’m not entirely certain that I will join the tour – but I can imagine it – and I’m getting closer to making a decision on it day by day. There are no certainties in life and maybe I’ll get sick or discouraged or broke and don’t end up going – but that doesn’t prevent me from putting things into action.

So Martin, go and do what you need to do – and perhaps you’ll learn what you need to learn – and become a better person and Christan. It’s up to what you do.

Antarctica doesn’t look so far away, does it?

Hey you’ll always have friends around the globe – don’t worry – just go and live and travel and wander. Friends will still be there if you keep in touch with them once in a while – and with your blog it’s super easy to keep in touch!

When I travelled in Taipei, I often saw the same beggar at various locations that they can’t possibly be at if they were in actuality poor – ie from Taipei train station to the high tourist hotspot of Taipei 101.

I think the better way to help these people is to help / volunteer and put your talents and smarts toward international aid agencies that actually help people – to educate them, to provide medicine for the needy, and to stop abuse toward women and children. If you are able to “become humble” enough to help those really in need, then you will have a more peaceful time coming to terms with the great diversity in wealth between the poor and the rich.

of course these are just opinions, and I’m not judging, nor I don’t have the right to judge anyone – but just some thoughts.

For photos, I sometimes take them as a memory of what I experienced, but they’re by no means the purpose of the trip. Once I traveled very far, and under very difficult circumstances to a city in rural Ontario, only to find out that I’ve forgotten the batteries for my camera. Instead of getting new batteries, I just figured – why not just go for a few days without it and worry about other things instead?

The trip worked out wonderfully in the end, and I didn’t really miss the photos that were never taken.