Leaving the PCT was one of the hardest decisions we have made but we both believe that it was the right choice. Paul’s knee was getting worse, my feet were constantly sore and neither of us was feeling right. We called our parents from our last camp spot to discuss options. All of them were so supportive and encouraging about our decision. It helped us to feel more comfortable about the decision to return.

In January of 2019, while we were chilling in Kampot, Cambodia, we were trying to figure out what we would for the summer of 2019. Eventually we decided that we wanted to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) from the Canadian border in Washington to the Mexican border near San Diego. So using our phones at 3AM in Cambodia we jumped online for the second permit lottery and got 2 permits for northbound PCT hikes.

We flew back to Canada to get organized to hit the PCT. John and Rita were kind enough to let us stay with them in Creston while we got ready. When we applied for permits we were not able to get the same dates. There was a 2 weeks difference in our start dates and the work around for that is not deemed legal by the PCTA, if stopped you can get in trouble.

In all the years we had been coming to Lipe, we had never arrived on the ferry from Langkawi before and in all likelihood never will again. The ferry was great, getting off the ferry was the usual chaos but waiting to get stamped through customs was nasty. It was hot, not much shade, we weren’t supposed to leave and there was a tonne of people. The local Thai customs will check your passport, call you up in groups per country and give you a form to complete then you go through to another line to get stamped in.

We had decided to head to Malaysia next, giving ourselves about a month before heading to Lipe. We went from Phnom Penh to Kuala Lumpur on Air Asia, it was a short flight. The airport in KL is massive but modern and we moved through everything quickly. We got sims and a Grab Taxi to downtown KL. We booked a suite at Mercu Summer Suites, which are 99% AirBnb’s. It was a great location, close enough to get places by walking or Grab.

So we arranged to get to Cambodia by ferry to the Vietnamese mainland through Andy at Oasis Bar. They arrange you to be met at the ferry, taken to the bar then off to the border. Mr. Chen helps you at the border and gets you in a taxi to your final destination on the Cambodian side. It was great. And everything went smoothly, no delays at either border and we were at the guesthouse by lunchtime

Our next stop was Vietnam… well, with a stop in Bangkok to get our Vietnamese visas. We decided to stay at the Vie again, partly because it was central to everywhere we needed to go and we deserved to be spoiled after Nepal! We were also able to spend an evening with Ben since he lived close enough to come into the area. Ben Hanoi We arrived in Hanoi on a Friday evening.

On our way to Nepal, yes we are going back to hike the Annapurna Circuit again, we decided to take a couple of days and spoil ourselves in Bangkok. We stayed at our favorite hotel, the Vie, pigged out on breakfast buffets, sushi and curries, did some shopping and slept. Breakfast at The Vie We arrived in Kathmandu and headed back to Hotel Yala Peak for two nights. We went and got our permits and got organized.

Sri Lanka! It wasn’t originally on our radar but our friends, Judy and Carl, had raved about their experience there so we thought hmmm… why not? Plus the photos they had sent made it look really good and they were able to give us some great ideas on places to go… so why not? The Flights John and Rita dropped us off at the Cranbrook Airport so we could start our journey to Sri Lanka.