Selena Liss and her partner Hélène are ditching the frozen eyelid winters of Montreal for the warmer climes of India, South East Asia and Australia. They leave from Montreal on August 1st, 2002. After three weeks in B.C. visiting family and friends they will fly to New Delhi. After that, who knows?
Selena's previous travels have been within North America, Western Europe and Australia - mostly alone. Hélène has traveled and worked in Europe, Sri Lanka, India and Africa. Last year they took a "test trip" together and headed to Europe for six weeks. There were constant fights over where to eat and sleep. Selena accused Hélène of being rude and Hélène accused Selena of being a soft touch. Hélène had food poisoning twice, and they were robbed once.
All in all, it was a tremendous success. On to bigger and better things!
Latest Update
14: Indonesia (Bali and Java)
A lot of people asked Selena if she was worried about traveling in Indonesia - friends, other travelers and, most surprisingly, Indonesians.
Catch Up On The Journey
13: Laos
By the time Selena had reached Laos, she'd had just about enough. By the time she left, she was in a completely different frame of mind.
12: Vietnam
Against the backdrop of a new war, Selena learned more about an older war, in Vietnam.
11: Cambodia
Despite their country's infrastructure, the Cambodians were by far the most welcoming people Selena had met so far. She only hopes their future is less painful than their past.
10: Thailand
Thailand is expert at delivering what the western tourist wants, with a minimum of fuss. Selena just wishes she'd saved more money.
9: India & Bangladesh
Bangladesh was not an easy country to get into but, as Selena found, at least she had somewhere to go when she got there and somewhere to go when she left, unlike the refugees in the camp she visited.
8: Sri Lanka
Selena has learned a couple of things on this trip. One is that bargaining too much can be a mistake. The other is not to trust her guidebook.
7: Madagon-Palolem Beach-Hampi-Gokarn
India has some of the world's most glorious temples, sacred art and fascinating historic sites. But you won't hear about them here. This installment of MMGFFF is all about the beach.
6: Jaisalmer-Udaipur-Mumbai-Aurangabad-Ellora-Ajanta
After two months of warnings and advice, the moment Selena had been waiting for arrived: a man grabbed her ass.
5: Khajuraho-Jaipur-Pushkar-Jaisalmer
After battling a dose of Delhi belly, Selena then had to take on the rickshaw drivers, shopkeepers and Brahmin priests of India.
4: Delhi-Simla-Manali-Chandigarh-Agra-Khajuraho
Selena knew India would be different. What she didn't expect was for her and Hélène to be found in photo albums all over the Indian subcontinent.
3: Our British Columbia Interlude
Selena and Hélène spent some time in BC to visit family, yell at politicians, be attacked by geese and look for a giant lake monster called Ogopogo.
2: Preparation
After much thought, several round table panel discussions, an emergency meeting, and consultation with the Prime Minister, Selena decided not to sew Canadian flags on the outside of her pack. But maybe on the inside...
1: Introduction
If Selena has to spend one more winter in Montreal, she might not make it. The solution is a trip to India, South East Asia and Australia.
