Way back in April The Pirate nominated our blog for the ABC Award.
Firstly The Pirate never, never accepts awards. But he accepted this one. And then to find our blog on the list of nominations: delighted and completely surprised. Thank you Managua.

I really like The Pirate. He’s been around. He’s seen a lot. He’s done a lot. He knows a lot of stuff. And he’s a terrific writer. It makes for a pretty interesting blog: opinion pieces, short stories, poetry, haiku, memories, rants. Go check it out.







The recipient must come up with a word for each letter of the alphabet and write about something relevant to that individual – an A to Z acceptance speech of sorts, and then pass on the chain-mail.

A joint effort from Don and me, here’s our alphabet:

A: Adventure! Australia – I still call Australia home . . . . Authenticity – probably the most important thing for both of us. Ashram – for discovering Authenticity. Arunachala – Ramana Maharshi’s sacred mountain. Adyashanti, our favourite teacher. ALISON.

B: Breath – we wouldn’t be here without it. Beauty – what we try to focus on. Bears! (Don’s power animal). Places we’ve loved – Bagan, Burma, Byron Bay, Bali, Barcelona, Bharatpur Bird Park, Benares.

C: Canberra – my Aussie hometown: a great city. Favourite places – Cinque Terra, The Cook Islands. Canada – our adopted country.

D: Daring – what we both become more and more. Places we’ve loved – Delhi. DON!

E: Energy – We almost always have lots for all the Excitement in our life.

F: Focus – plenty when I’m committed. Don has plenty when it’s something important. Fierce – me Fairly Frequently. Don – rarely but watch out! Freedom. Fun.

G: What we strive for – Generosity, Gratitude, Grace. Special place – the Great Barrier Reef absolutely Gorgeous.

H: What we strive for – Happiness. What we love – seeing others Happy. Special places – Hanoi and Ha Long Bay, Vietnam! Hola- we’re in Mexico. Hugs.

I: Intense – well we both are at times, fortunately rarely at the same time. India! Italy! Inle Lake, Burma! Inspiration – we always ask for it when we don’t know what to do next, or feeling confused.

J: The Journey we’re on brings us Joy: not Joking 🙂

K: What we strive for – Kindness. Don is better at it than I am. Special place – Koh Samui, Thailand.

L: Love Love Love. Special places – Luang Prabang, Laos, La Manzanilla where we are at the moment. Love. Listening – very important. Love.

M: Meditation – we’ve both practiced for years. Also Mindfulness. Special places –Myanmar, (Buddhist) Monastries everywhere, Maha Muni Buddha in Mandalay.

N: Namaste – I bow to you. Special place – Nerja, Costa del Sol, Spain. NOMADS!

O: Om Namah Shivaya – I bow to the Absolute.

P: What we both strive for – Presence. Special Place – Pushkar for the camel fair! Photography!

Q: Queen Yuna! Those who know me well know I’m a huge fan of the sport of figure skating. Queen Yuna, as she is known in her native Korea, is one of the best ever. Her skating makes me melt. She has liquid arms and jumps like a man.

R: Resiliance – we are both developing more of this on our journey. Resistance – what gets in the way, and creates suffering – every time! Ramana Maharshi – our favourite Indian teacher.

S: Aaaahhh Silence. Inner Silence. It comes it goes. Swimming pool where we are staying in Mexico – we are in it every day: heaven. Special places – Sapa, Vietnam and Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma – go see this place!

T: Terrible Temper – but much better that I used to be. Tiruvannamalai in Tamil Nadu – the town at the foot of the sacred Mount Arunachala where we lived for three months to sit in the energy of Ramana Maharshi. Temples of all kinds invite us. Tigers! (Alison’s power animal)

U: Unique – both of us, and everyone else. Two favourite places – Ubud, Bali, and Uluru, Australia – both also Unique.

V: Vanity – not so much these days though it still can be triggered. Special places – Venice, Italy, Varanasi, India, Vang Vieng, Laos, and of course our home town, Vancouver, Canada.

W: What we strive for – Willingness to surrender to presence, and Wisdom. We’re both better than we used to be.

X: The eXtraordinary lives that we’ve been given. Enormous gratitude.

Y: Yuna Kim (see Q above). Special place: Yangon, Burma.

Z: Zippity doo dah: full of it for all the extraordinary experiences we’re having.

It is our pleasure to pass this award on to the following bloggers:

Whiskeytangofoxtrot – Exquisite photography, imaginative writing.

Lakshmi loves to shop – And Lakshmi loves India.

j m khapra – superb paintings and stories.

feckthisshit – Oh the poverty! Oh the hilarity! His RTW trip.

twoscamps – poetry from the desert.

Indira – Poetry, Haiku, photographs.

serenityspell – exploring Florida’s ecosystems and wildlife.

Kelly Kuhn – Becoming, one breath at a time.

Flaneur Abroad – Travels in Peru, and a big move to Thailand.

aNadventures – German with Colombian roots living in Turkey – a wonderful cultural soup.

Claurodi at Squeeeze – Art! Amazing images.

James at Plus Ultra – Beautifully written travel tales.

Curt and Peggy – adventurers par excellence!

Kozo at everydaygurus
– ‘everyday, everywhere we are guided towards happiness’. And Kozo’s blog makes me very happy.

I hope you all enjoy checking out all these wonderful blogs. Go take a quick look – maybe you’ll find something that speaks directly to you.




Photo of the day: Home-made hammock – near Angkor Wat, Cambodia. Very Inventive!






© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – not just a travel blog, 2010-2013.