Back from a month in Burma, I’m missing sunshine, tropical fruit, and the world’s most hospitable people. But I’m equally enjoying first-world plumbing, tap water, and my copious Canadian personal space.

We went to Burma, in Min’s words, “to show the kids why they’re beige.” It was a great trip — relative dinners mixed with beach days, temple visits with market haggles. All went miraculously smoothly. Especially considering my pre-trip list of worries…

Plane disappearances
Dengue fever
Malaria
Cyclones
Snake bites
Tsunamis
Earthquakes
Gecko poo

The gecko poo wasn’t one I’d actually thought of, before the trip. But the hotel staff told us that gecko poo is so toxic, “if you eat it, you cannot be saved.” Kind of like last time we visited and people told us the hospital was an hour away, but not to worry… most snake-bite victims took four hours to die.

Thankfully, we have returned to Canada un-poisoned and intact. The kids were shockingly flexible. They ate everything, swam in the ocean, were polite to the dozens of people who pinched their cheeks. There was one toilet which my daughter flatly refused to use, but once I saw it, I refused, too. We completed the rest of that day’s six-hour drive with our legs crossed.

We’re now shedding the last of our jet lag, enjoying our quickly-fading tans, and missing the friends we made on our travels.