footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog

[footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog]

If anyone knows me, they know that I am a very budget traveller, I have slept many nights at the airport just to save on that final night of accommodations, skipped many meals, and usually take the most inconvenient forms of transportation, if it means saving a buck or two, and I think that’s why my trip to LA was so special, because for once, I did the complete opposite.

We had intentions of having a very slow first night in LA, check into our AIRBNB and then head to the iconic Santa Monica Pier to watch a sunset before turning in early, but those plans quickly changed when we hopped into a share Uber and had the absolute pleasure of meeting a local woman named Veronica. Veronica is aspiring to become a travel guide for the area, so we couldn’t have had better luck, she emailed me a very detailed itinerary of what we should try and see during our 4 night adventure.

Kyle and I hopped out at the pier and excitement took over, I am like a child in such a way that when I am excited I just take off, immediately immersing myself into the chaos of the pier with my eyes glued to the sunset that was unfolding in front of us, we took pictures and splashed around until our toes were cold and the sky was dark. We wanted to take Veronica’s advice and head to Cha Cha Chicken, but decided to hop on a bar stool at Bubba Gump Shrimp first, and man oh man am I glad we did. We started with the idea that we were just going to grab some cocktails, but the smells quickly forced our brains to be distracted by the original plan. We needed shrimp and we needed it now, we ended up ordering a half pound of shrimp, half classic garlic and half cajun spiced - a bit spicy, resulting in extra fast cocktail inhalation and a bit of a buzz after settling our bill.

We made our way just down the road toward Venice and hopped out at Cha Cha Chicken, a menu was posted up on the board, and we ordered through a window, I got vegetarian empanadas based on the workers recommendation, and since Cha Cha Chicken doesn’t serve booze, Kyle ran to the liquor store to take advantage of the BYOB rule. Thank goodness for the tall Heineken he brought back because my empanada was so spicy I was sweating, but the food was so good and the atmosphere was so fun, I felt like I was ocean side in Tulum, Mexico, not in busy Los Angeles.

Next on the list was a 100 year old bar called The Townhouse, it was highly recommended due to the history, so we were a little surprised upon arrival as it was very small, a large bar taking up most the space and just one pool table, there was staircase at the back that led to the basement but security told us we weren’t permitted. We gave the place a chance and ordered up at the bar, Kyle getting himself a nice cocktail and myself a tall can of PBR, and started chatting with the bartender. Turns out, The Townhouse was operated as a grocery store upstairs, but an elevator away was a hidden speakeasy and a brothel, and we were in luck, because that night hosted in the basement, was a Burlesque show that everyone was welcome to attend. The show being later in the evening, we had some time to kill before hand so we drank and played pool, and met a cute local girl who was self celebrating her success.

Midnight struck and we moved to the basement, still dark, but much more spacious, you could see the history in the walls and the decor, it’s a beautiful place, and we were so glad we decided to check it out. The show was a highlight for me as I loved watching Christina Aguilera’s Burlesque movie growing up. The host came out dressed like Jabba The Hut and really set the mood for a comical and fun show to watch, we stuck around until around 2 a.m. but I was so tired from the days travel and adventure it was time to head home.

The next day was very food and drink orientated, in order to fulfill Kyle’s nerdy needs, we started with a trip to the California Science Center so we could see The Endeavor - the fifth and final orbiter build for NASA’s Space Shuttle program. It was interesting to see the detail put into building and designing the space shuttle, each tile has been numbered, and every part serving a purpose on it’s 25 missions through space until it officially retired June 1, 2011. The Center was packed with children and school groups so after a quick and hilariously fun flight simulation that Kyle and I went on, we headed toward downtown LA.

Our first stop was Little Tokyo, the largest of only 3 official Japantowns located throughout the United States, Little Tokyo is a Japanese American district filled with shopping, culture, and best of all, my favorite food, sushi. We enjoyed a California crunch roll, and walked around and checked out the funky shops and unique statues and structures.

Next, we headed to Upstairs at Ace Hotel for very expensive, but delicious cocktails, - this is one complaint I would have against this trip, is that our Canadian Dollar is so bad right now, we were paying up to $20 CAD a drink; I didn’t care though. The hotel and rooftop bar were very spectacular, like something you would see on the show Gossip Girl, we were spoiled with wonderful views, a pool and hot-tub that anyone is welcome to enjoy, and very cozy and comfortable seating scattered around the roof for both group, or more private occasions. If it weren’t for our grumbling stomachs, we could have stayed all night.

We decided to let our guts point our hearts in the direction of our next stop, at Clayton’s Public House, it was just a few blocks from The Ace Hotel, and it was another pub with beautiful decor, amazing cocktails, and an amazing ambiance. We had a few beer and ate an Impossible Burger - America’s popular vegetarian patty, and it was to die for; except nothing died to make it so delicious, so I guess that’s not the right term! Basically, we had came here just to kill time until we went to Clifton’s - another stop recommended by Veronica - but I ended up loving Clayton’s Public house so much and would definitely recommend it for the food, drinks and service!

Our final stop of the night made our jaws drop, a beautiful, huge space filled with fake cedar trees rising up to the 5 floors, taxidermy forest animals such as lions and buffalo, and a casual 250 pound meteorite used as decor at one of the many bars filling Clifton’s Cafeteria. Being that Clifton’s Cafeteria is the largest public cafeteria in the world, there was so much to see, our eyes were trying to look everywhere at once and our smiles beaming as we turned every corner. Our best find of the night, was when we pushed against a mirror, and it opened, revealing a dark staircase, and at the top was a Tiki bar!

In the Tiki bar, most of the seats were taken, but we found an empty table that was close to a party of three, since they looked friendly, we popped down beside them, and as it turned out, we had the best seat in the house. The three strangers, Val, Taylor and Mac, were literally tiki experts, they knew everything about the decor, how to dress, and most importantly - what to drink. We spent the duration of the evening trying their recommendations that included typical things like coconut and pineapple cocktails, and some wild ones that included flaming shot glasses and edible flowers. We could have stayed at Clifton’s Cafeteria with the trio all night, but we needed our beauty sleep for our big day to follow.

We knew as soon as we planned the trip, that we wanted to go to an amusement park, a Disney park was the first, and obvious choice, but we had so many questions, were we too old, was it worth the money, are the rides even fun for an adult? We tried to google the answers but we didn’t have much luck, and felt very unsure about what park to choose, we decided that since all the locals were so helpful, we would ask them; unanimously, Disneyland was the place to be.

We were excited -uncertain, but really childishly excited, I tried to imagine what the park would be like, I pictured roller-coasters, a drop of doom, ferris wheels, - that sort of stuff, so when we got on our very first ride, we were in for a shock; It’s A Small World, the ride I vow to never go on again. The song still rings in my ears sometimes, the creepy dolls that were swaying back and forth are now imbedded in my brain, “what have we gotten ourselves into?” It crushed our spirits a little, we were worried that all the other attractions would be slow and weird too, but faith was quickly restored as we started going on other rides, like Hyperspace Mountain, my favourite ride of the day, a rollercoaster that races through the complete darkness, engulfed with green screen visuals that made it appear we were flying through the solar system. Although not fast and scary, like Hyperspace Mountain, Pirates of the Caribbean and Indiana Jones Adventure were amazing as well,  they were interactive and exciting rides, very elaborate and visual, making you feel like you were part of the film, my head was on a swivel the entire time, and Kyle thought we were going to run into a boulder during the Indiana Jones ride, giving us a good laugh. The highlight of Disneyland was the shows they put on once the sun goes down, fireworks and lasers filled the night sky and bounded off buildings as characters danced, acted, and swung off the side of pirate ships, mimicking stories and films, it was beyond our expectations, and I would go back again just to watch the two performances.

Our last day in LA was a bit slower since we were up till 3 am stuffing our faces with pizza and beer after walking 40,000 steps around Disneyland. We went to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, The Griffith Observatory, and to relax at the beach before heading to Grain Whisky bar to meet up with Taylor, our new friend from the Tiki Bar, we ate a 70 dollar charcuterie board and tried some of Taylor’s delicious cocktail creations, before heading home to pack, and rest up for our flight home.

I cannot emphasize enough how amazing it was visiting Los Angeles, it was exhilarating to have the “screw it” mentality when it came to spending, we did everything we wanted and more without checking our bank accounts once, we ate everything delicious, and tried new and exciting cocktails, and made new friends.

Money comes and goes, but the memories from this trip will last a lifetime.

[footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog]

finished. 

My last adventure of my trip is definitely my biggest accomplishment yet; Everest Base Camp. I flew into Kathmandu, I landed very late, got to my hotel and had to sprint to catch the stores on time to buy gear, and the next morning we were off. We were meant to fly into Lukla but the weather wasn’t cooperating, and after waiting half a day, we ended up taking a helicopter - but I was so tired, I fell asleep in it!

We landed in Lukla, had a bite to eat and started off to our first stop of the night, Phakding. (2610 meters) I remember thinking, “this is hard, but I got this,” it was only a 3 hour hike, and I enjoyed myself. The people we trekked with that day were lovely, Greg, from New Zealand, carried around gifts to give to the Nepalese children! We arrived at our teahouse and had to dry out our stuff since it had got wet from the rain earlier that morning. I went to bed early, and woke up feeling ready for the trek to Namche Bazaar (3440 meters) - I knew it was going to be one of the hardest days of our adventure, but I completely underestimated the difficulty.

The first part, was beautiful and relaxed, but soon our path went from flat to direct uphill for the duration of the day, we crossed many suspension bridges, went through dirt, trees, and rocks, it was so bad, I nearly turned around right then, but with my head hanging, my feet hardly leaving the ground, I did finally make it! I was nearly in tears as I arrived, my abs and legs in pain, and my spirits gone, I didn’t want to ever walk again, but was convinced to check out the village and was happy I did, because the purchase of a cute headband from a local shop (see the photo) and some warm hot chocolate made me feel alot better - and also knowing the next day was a “rest day.”

Again, wrong! Our rest day consisted of a steep hour walk to the Everest Base Camp Hotel to get acclimatized. Yet again, I nearly died, it was a very steep, rocky, uphill hike, it was so difficult I had imagined throwing myself off the side of the cliff, thinking it would be less painful than continuing on. Just as that crossed my mind I stopped and looked up, and the view of the sun shinning down on the Himalayan Mountain range that surrounded me was more than enough to make me keep going.

A cheeky cloud covered our sight of Mount Everest, but we still enjoyed the view and heaps of tea before heading back down to Namche. We reached the bottom and I was exhausted, my legs were shaking, but another opportunity to see Everest was available so Sarah (group member my age) and I hiked back up to Sagarmatha National Park - the cloud covered Everest yet again, but was still a great experience!

The next day we headed to Tenbouche (3860m) and the day started off really well, we finally got views of Everest and it was mostly flat and down hill hiking, but then it took a turn for the worst - an uphill turn. We walked up for what seemed like forever along this rocky dusty ridge, the sun was beating down on me and I was cooking. I had never missed home as much as I did in that moment, I just wanted my friends and family, to be wrapped up in bed watching Netflix, and to have a shower. I felt greedy for even thinking those things, when people here were living in such poor conditions, but I was more broken than I had ever been, and I let negatively take over. I felt crazy for thinking I could tackle Everest Base Camp.

Things were different the following day on my hike from Tenbouche to Dingbouche. (4400m) It was actually quite pleasant, although still challenging, I felt strong and energized! Here, the terrain and topography was completely different as we were above the treeline, It was colder, but I was still warm enough to hike in my tanktop, although, Rob (San Diego) was in a scarf, beanie, and winter parka as he trekked. The day ended even better than it started when we ran into friends we had made along the way at our teahouse, we all came together to help Rob celebrate his birthday! It was really a beautiful night, our guide Dip, and porter Lakpa, gave Rob a scarf as a sign as respect, we ate cake, played cards, and really got to know each other! We even found out that one of our fellow trekkers Kali, had previously dated the character Finnik from the Hunger Games (you would be excited to, he is sexy)

We were about half way done, and thanks to the support, I knew I would make it.

Our next day, was another one of those so called “rest days.” Although, I was feeling very anxious about the hike, I really enjoyed it, I wore my running shoes rather than my hiking boots, and I felt so light and quick on my feet. Rob was unfortunetly not feeling well, so he stayed behind, which was probably for the best as it was chilly up top after the steep 45 minute hike up. Sarah and I took a lot of pictures up at the top, while sitting and enjoying our view of Dingbouche below. I was feeling pretty proud of myself once I made it back to the tea-house that i actually bought myself a hot chocolate-yes, I actually spent money-after my nap. I spent the rest of my evening playing 31 and eating warm apple pie with Ryan and his Aunt.

We finally hit 5000 metres above sea level on June 6, and our excitement really showed. I had woke up very miserable due to dreams about altitude sickness, I had dreamt that it gave me a crooked jaw and bald spots - enough to make anyone feel uneasy when they awake, but breakfast and a lemon/honey/ginger/ tea put me at ease. I’m sure I keep repeating this, but the hike today was so so beautiful, the smiles wouldn’t leave our faces, we sang songs for a part of the hike, the new and improved lyrics to Adele’s song Hello are now - “Hello from the mountain side, I must have trekked 1000 miles, to go to base camp, and Everest, but now i’m tired, and I need a rest.”  Our porter, Lakpa thought we were terrible, but we made up for it later by teaching him how to do the “Macarena.” The day was finished with some jams by the wood stove, and watching rock/falls and avalanches out our window.

June 7 was the day we had all been waiting for! We left Labuche and made it to Gorakshep by around 10 a.m. this is the last village before base camp. We stopped and had a cup of tea and prepared for the final stretch, I actually wasn’t to nervous about it as Dip told us it was flat, but turns out he lied to us, it was bouldering at some points of the hike, it was so steep and rocky and the air was so thin that I felt like I was drunk, each step took concentration, and focus, but we made it!! We threw our day packs on the ground and shot-gunned a beer that Rob had been carrying with him for a few days, a heads up for anyone, high-altitudes make getting drunk reaaallllyyyy easy. I had to eat a whole bunch of crackers to sober myself up enough to walk back down to Labuche. Many photos were taken, and a couple tears were shed - we felt pretty proud. Exhausted, and cold from the snowfall we experienced at basecamp, we went for a nap that was interrupted by Lakpa to tell us it was time to hike a mountain called Kaliptar, a great spot to get views of Mount Everest itself, a very long, emotional day, but it was worth it. 

It was time to head home, we did 25 km on our first day back to Lukla, I felt great the whole time, regardless of the distance travelled and the blisters I accumulated on my feet. Unfortunately, I slept terribly that night, as a rat decided it needed my chocolate more than I did, it tried to steal it in the middle of the night, the little shit made a lot of ruckus and didn’t let us have the rest we needed for our next days 18 km hike. 

The first section went smoothly, we went Debuche to Tengbuche and our guide said he had never had a group make it as fast as we did, we even had time to visit a monastery but I opted out and sat in the shade and enjoyed some nature instead. We had met an Aussie named Poppy the evening before at our tea-house and ran into her on the trail so we enjoyed the ridge walk in the sun with her, until our halfway point of Namche, where we split up and I did some shopping for my mom before heading back out onto the trail. The rest of the trail was very difficult for me, it was very steep downhill and I was wearing my running shoes instead of my boots, which was a terrible decision, the terrain was so rugged and slippery and I fell so many times, my knees and ankles were hurting so bad that each step was a struggle, but Dip managed to keep me smiling with his goofy singing and dancing. We departed at 8 that morning and didn’t make it to our destination until 5, I was sore, could hardly walk, and went straight to bed. 

“Sleep in” they said..Ya, okay, we have been getting up at 5am for 10 days at this point - it didn’t happen. Breakfast wasn’t great, but the toast came with butter so that was a nice little surprise. Sarah woke up at the same time as me, and we got all packed and ready to go, we were impatient and ready to go so we convinced Lakpa to leave the with us early. We walked at a nice pace and enjoyed the sunshine and the flowers now that we were back at a reasonable elevation, but once Rob caught up, him and Sarah took off, full speed ahead. I enjoy hiking alone and in the peace and quiet so I didn’t mind one bit, the walk was around 2 and a half hours, there was lots of uphill climbs but I felt great and confident knowing it was my last day of trekking. I can’t actually explain the feeling of satisfaction I got once I made it back to Lukla, it was unreal. I was so proud of myself - I completed the 12 day Everest Base Camp Trek!! We hit a bar for some celebratory drinks and wifi to let the families know we were alive.

[footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog]

Long time no update, I am sorry! Once Whitewater closed for the season - the best season of my life by the way - I headed down the the states once again for a ski trip with two guys from work. We rented a SUV and rode Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Schweizer Mountain, Montana. The snow was absolutely unreal, we got over 40 cm over the weekend, and we had lots of fun, even if we had to sleep in the trunk in the cold. I then left my cozy little home and Nelson, and went to Big White to pick up Ashleigh, we had two nights of partying and I had a great day riding, I met up with Annie and Robbie from Panorama, and we had a rad, sunny park day before Ash and I packed up to start our summer job at Stoney Lake Lodge. We got lost along the way and it took us 7 hours to find, when it should have been a 3 hour drive - we can't adult. I have since fallen in love with fly fishing, I try and get out as much as possible, especially when we have little guests. This season has been quiet apparently; we have had plenty of time off, especially in april/may. We managed to take 3 ski trips, first to Vancouver to shop and ride Grouse, then to Whistler, with Nick as well, and then to Lake Louise - one of the best days of the season. It was so warm out and we had a park day with Milko and Kyle, it was so great to be able to have a night in Nelson aswell; I miss it there very much. Just this last couple of weeks we have also had time off, Kyle and I went up to Wasley Lake to stay in a yurt and fish for two nights, it was so great to get away from the lodge, and the yurt was so cozy, it was definitely the happiest I had been since our day at Lake Louise back in May. I caught only 4 fish the whole entire trip - but it was 4 more than Kyle at least. (Sorry Kyle) Than we headed to the Island where I stayed a night in Victoria with Kyle before meeting up with Ashleigh and heading to Sooke to see Kat from Nelson. The 3 of us spent the afternoon at the potholes having beers and then went out for supper, before gossiping the night away at her place. We finished our time off in Tofino, where we spent the night on Meares Island and hiked lone cone (see picture) it was seriously the hardest day hike of my life - very steep but the view was worth it. We spent the 2nd night in the car and then finished the visit off with a cold surf and some shopping before heading to Victoria for one final night. I am back at Stoney Lake now, and only have 2 more weeks of work before my mom comes to visit me! Then in August I have the month off and I am off to Chile to participate in an 8 day camp with The Progression Sessions - the same camp I snowboarded in Utah with. I am very excited and will try to remember to blog while I am there!

[footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog]

Life has a really interesting way of working out sometimes and so many crazy things have been happening to me lately and I feel like it's time to give you an update. For starters, I have been absolutely in love with life, I have never felt so content living somewhere before, and even though I don't have much, I always fall asleep with a smile. I have a trip planned to Utah, I leave in 5 days! I was looking into a women's park camp a few months back, but it seemed like an expensive trip for just 2 days of snowboarding so I had decided against it. Not long after I made that decision, I met two Australians on the chairlift, and became instant friends with them, we partied hard and shredded harder for a few days until they moved on to their next destination. We keep in touch, and realized they are going to be in Utah the same time the camp is, so I changed my mind and booked it! I'm so excited. I was in the clouds, I was sure nothing could ever go wrong - until it did. I was informed that my childhood best friend had passed away, I was completely devastated and for the first time in months I just wanted to go home; but with all my money just spent on my trip - I figured it was impossible. I woke up Thursday morning and realized I needed to be there, so I left. I got a ride share to the ferry, and on the ferry I asked people for rides to Calgary and ended up getting a ride with a couple to Banff. The roads were so bad, the drive was sketchy, but they were great company! I arrived right on time to catch the greyhound home. On the greyhound I met a guy name Dragos, we instantly hit it off, and his company made the ride way more enjoyable. We shared music, stories, and snacks and I'll never forget his generosity. I made it home around 1 in the morning on Saturday had a few beer with friends, had a couple hours of sleep then went skiing with a mate before Tyson's funeral. The funeral was hard and emotional, it's not easy seeing people you have grown up beside brokenhearted and suffering such a huge loss, but we were all there for each other, and reminiscing and laughing really helped us all get through it. We had a big party at his house for a final send off and I stayed up way to late, and basically had to start making my way back to Nelson on a few hours of sleep. I landed a ride to Canmore with a friend, he let me stay the night and fed me breakfast and then I hitched the rest of the way, I ended up getting a ride with 5 other people before getting home. Everyone was so kind and generous and didn't ask me for anything but company - which is lucky for me as I have nothing to give. I had even forgotten my mitts in someone's car, and they returned it to the hill today. I just can't wrap my head around how lucky I am. The kindness from strangers and the compassion of my friends here that I've only known for a few months is more then I deserve. Even in my darkest moments I feel loved.

[footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog]

"People make other people sick" It's a line frequently used in a book I'm currently reading. It's not used in the context you might be thinking, such as the flu or a cold. It's worse. Have you ever heard someone's name and immediately rolled your eyes, bitten your nails, or shook your head? Maybe you can't get out of bed because of that person, they put you on edge and maybe you take it out on the ones you care about, maybe you cry at night because this person has wronged you so bad. This is the type of sick I'm talking about. If a person has wronged you, humiliated you, made you feel as if you had no say over your body, then I know how you feel. I've been hurt before by friends, we have fought and went our separate ways, but as you grow older you learn that sometimes it was just pety, just youth, just an accident. These are the types of issues you can get over, you will still smile at them in the street, maybe even stop and chat, some of my friends that I fell out with, i've now reconnected with, and actually enjoy their company; some scars heal. Sometimes you can't get over it though, what if it wasn't an accident, and after the first time it happened again, and then again? That's when you become sick. It's that moment when you realize what's going on isn't right, you stop and revaluate the situation you are in, I even had to ask a friend - "is this right." The fact you have to ask should be an answer in it's self. The thing about this sickness is that it's not always there, you can feel healthy and beautiful for months at a time, but then something reminds you and you feel all the symptoms return. Some times people don't even think you are sick, some times the people who are meant to heal you, make the disease even stronger by being on their side. The beauty in this all though is that life is full of choices and although there may not be a way to make your body strong enough to be healthy 100% of the time, you can build your immune system. You can heal yourself almost completely. Eventually, you will hear this persons name, and you won't be bed ridden for a week, you won't shake as he passes by in a restaurant, you won't cry when your drunk. One day they won't make you ill - because you will be too sick of them.

[footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog]

As you all know, I seem to be constantly on the move, since June, Nelson is my 4th ‘home’ of my country Canada. I have enjoyed each place for a variety of reasons, for example Treherne, Manitoba - where I was born - is a lovely place to call home as I get to be surrounded by my oldest friends and my family. Playing cards with my 90 year old Grandma and reading books to my 6 year old niece are two things I can never get sick of. I know the area like the back of my hand, and all my belongings I have acquired over my 21 years on earth are there; I am comfortable. Grande Prairie was an experience in itself, living in a city, I got to try out the bar scene, and basically had the wildest month of my life, I grew more confident in myself, not just physically, but mentally as well. Grande Prairie taught me not to be afraid of being myself, and sing and dance like nobody was watching - even when people were. Tofino was an amazing place to call home for 7 weeks, I bought a surf board and found a new passion, I was taught affection, and how a simple hug can seriously brighten a day, I learnt to embrace the weird in everybody, and how to play dodge beer. (very important)

All those places are lovely, but I have to say, there is no place like Nelson. Now, I know I might be getting ahead of myself as I have only been here a week, but I seem to keep finding myself smiling without realizing it. The town is beautiful, built up on a mountain side, along a lake, with a large variety of old heritage buildings to check out, along with so many unique shops, local art work, and restaurants, to keep you well-dressed, inspired, and full!

It’s not just the place though, it’s the people, I have yet to meet someone who didn’t have a story to tell - everyone seems to be inspiring, intellectual, and genuine. I was picked up in Kelowna by a lovely girl who told me all the tales of her latest travels, I have been living with a kind gentleman who lives an adventurous life of volunteering with Search and Rescue while still managing to be the coolest dad ever, taking his daughter skiing and hiking, and, I have been working with a crew who are full of laughter and positivity; how could I not be smiling!?

For once I have unpacked my bag and thought to myself “maybe this is the one” and I might be wrong, but I know for now, Nelson is home.

[footstepsofaprairiegirl-blog]

My last adventure of my trip is definitely my biggest accomplishment yet; Everest Base Camp. I flew into Kathmandu, I landed very late, got to my hotel and had to sprint to catch the stores on time to buy gear, and the next morning we were off. We were meant to fly into Lukla but the weather wasn’t cooperating, and after waiting half a day, we ended up taking a helicopter - but I was so tired, I fell asleep in it!

We landed in Lukla, had a bite to eat and started off to our first stop of the night, Phakding. (2610 meters) I remember thinking, “this is hard, but I got this,” it was only a 3 hour hike, and I enjoyed myself. The people we trekked with that day were lovely, Greg, from New Zealand, carried around gifts to give to the Nepalese children! We arrived at our teahouse and had to dry out our stuff since it had got wet from the rain earlier that morning. I went to bed early, and woke up feeling ready for the trek to Namche Bazaar (3440 meters) - I knew it was going to be one of the hardest days of our adventure, but I completely underestimated the difficulty.

The first part, was beautiful and relaxed, but soon our path went from flat to direct uphill for the duration of the day, we crossed many suspension bridges, went through dirt, trees, and rocks, it was so bad, I nearly turned around right then, but with my head hanging, my feet hardly leaving the ground, I did finally make it! I was nearly in tears as I arrived, my abs and legs in pain, and my spirits gone, I didn’t want to ever walk again, but was convinced to check out the village and was happy I did, because the purchase of a cute headband from a local shop (see the photo) and some warm hot chocolate made me feel alot better - and also knowing the next day was a “rest day.”

Again, wrong! Our rest day consisted of a steep hour walk to the Everest Base Camp Hotel to get acclimatized. Yet again, I nearly died, it was a very steep, rocky, uphill hike, it was so difficult I had imagined throwing myself off the side of the cliff, thinking it would be less painful than continuing on. Just as that crossed my mind I stopped and looked up, and the view of the sun shinning down on the Himalayan Mountain range that surrounded me was more than enough to make me keep going.

A cheeky cloud covered our sight of Mount Everest, but we still enjoyed the view and heaps of tea before heading back down to Namche. We reached the bottom and I was exhausted, my legs were shaking, but another opportunity to see Everest was available so Sarah (group member my age) and I hiked back up to Sagarmatha National Park - the cloud covered Everest yet again, but was still a great experience!

The next day we headed to Tenbouche (3860m) and the day started off really well, we finally got views of Everest and it was mostly flat and down hill hiking, but then it took a turn for the worst - an uphill turn. We walked up for what seemed like forever along this rocky dusty ridge, the sun was beating down on me and I was cooking. I had never missed home as much as I did in that moment, I just wanted my friends and family, to be wrapped up in bed watching Netflix, and to have a shower. I felt greedy for even thinking those things, when people here were living in such poor conditions, but I was more broken than I had ever been, and I let negatively take over. I felt crazy for thinking I could tackle Everest Base Camp.

Things were different the following day on my hike from Tenbouche to Dingbouche. (4400m) It was actually quite pleasant, although still challenging, I felt strong and energized! Here, the terrain and topography was completely different as we were above the treeline, It was colder, but I was still warm enough to hike in my tanktop, although, Rob (San Diego) was in a scarf, beanie, and winter parka as he trekked. The day ended even better than it started when we ran into friends we had made along the way at our teahouse, we all came together to help Rob celebrate his birthday! It was really a beautiful night, our guide Dip, and porter Lakpa, gave Rob a scarf as a sign as respect, we ate cake, played cards, and really got to know each other! We even found out that one of our fellow trekkers Kali, had previously dated the character Finnik from the Hunger Games (you would be excited to, he is sexy)

We were about half way done, and thanks to the support, I knew I would make it.

Our next day, was another one of those so called “rest days.” Although, I was feeling very anxious about the hike, I really enjoyed it, I wore my running shoes rather than my hiking boots, and I felt so light and quick on my feet. Rob was unfortunetly not feeling well, so he stayed behind, which was probably for the best as it was chilly up top after the steep 45 minute hike up. Sarah and I took a lot of pictures up at the top, while sitting and enjoying our view of Dingbouche below. I was feeling pretty proud of myself once I made it back to the tea-house that i actually bought myself a hot chocolate-yes, I actually spent money-after my nap. I spent the rest of my evening playing 31 and eating warm apple pie with Ryan and his Aunt.

We finally hit 5000 metres above sea level on June 6, and our excitement really showed. I had woke up very miserable due to dreams about altitude sickness, I had dreamt that it gave me a crooked jaw and bald spots - enough to make anyone feel uneasy when they awake, but breakfast and a lemon/honey/ginger/ tea put me at ease. I’m sure I keep repeating this, but the hike today was so so beautiful, the smiles wouldn’t leave our faces, we sang songs for a part of the hike, the new and improved lyrics to Adele’s song Hello are now - “Hello from the mountain side, I must have trekked 1000 miles, to go to base camp, and Everest, but now i’m tired, and I need a rest.”  Our porter, Lakpa thought we were terrible, but we made up for it later by teaching him how to do the “Macarena.” The day was finished with some jams by the wood stove, and watching rock/falls and avalanches out our window.

June 7 was the day we had all been waiting for! We left Labuche and made it to Gorakshep by around 10 a.m. this is the last village before base camp. We stopped and had a cup of tea and prepared for the final stretch, I actually wasn’t to nervous about it as Dip told us it was flat, but turns out he lied to us, it was bouldering at some points of the hike, it was so steep and rocky and the air was so thin that I felt like I was drunk, each step took concentration, and focus, but we made it!! We threw our day packs on the ground and shot-gunned a beer that Rob had been carrying with him for a few days, a heads up for anyone, high-altitudes make getting drunk reaaallllyyyy easy. I had to eat a whole bunch of crackers to sober myself up enough to walk back down to Labuche. Many photos were taken, and a couple tears were shed - we felt pretty proud. Exhausted, and cold from the snowfall we experienced at basecamp, we went for a nap that was interrupted by Lakpa to tell us it was time to hike a mountain called Kaliptar, a great spot to get views of Mount Everest itself, a very long, emotional day, but it was worth it. 

It was time to head home, we did 25 km on our first day back to Lukla, I felt great the whole time, regardless of the distance travelled and the blisters I accumulated on my feet. Unfortunately, I slept terribly that night, as a rat decided it needed my chocolate more than I did, it tried to steal it in the middle of the night, the little shit made a lot of ruckus and didn’t let us have the rest we needed for our next days 18 km hike. 

The first section went smoothly, we went Debuche to Tengbuche and our guide said he had never had a group make it as fast as we did, we even had time to visit a monastery but I opted out and sat in the shade and enjoyed some nature instead. We had met an Aussie named Poppy the evening before at our tea-house and ran into her on the trail so we enjoyed the ridge walk in the sun with her, until our halfway point of Namche, where we split up and I did some shopping for my mom before heading back out onto the trail. The rest of the trail was very difficult for me, it was very steep downhill and I was wearing my running shoes instead of my boots, which was a terrible decision, the terrain was so rugged and slippery and I fell so many times, my knees and ankles were hurting so bad that each step was a struggle, but Dip managed to keep me smiling with his goofy singing and dancing. We departed at 8 that morning and didn’t make it to our destination until 5, I was sore, could hardly walk, and went straight to bed. 

“Sleep in” they said..Ya, okay, we have been getting up at 5am for 10 days at this point - it didn’t happen. Breakfast wasn’t great, but the toast came with butter so that was a nice little surprise. Sarah woke up at the same time as me, and we got all packed and ready to go, we were impatient and ready to go so we convinced Lakpa to leave the with us early. We walked at a nice pace and enjoyed the sunshine and the flowers now that we were back at a reasonable elevation, but once Rob caught up, him and Sarah took off, full speed ahead. I enjoy hiking alone and in the peace and quiet so I didn't mind one bit, the walk was around 2 and a half hours, there was lots of uphill climbs but I felt great and confident knowing it was my last day of trekking. I can’t actually explain the feeling of satisfaction I got once I made it back to Lukla, it was unreal. I was so proud of myself - I completed the 12 day Everest Base Camp Trek!! We hit a bar for some celebratory drinks and wifi to let the families know we were alive.

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Home tomorrow night! Then i will blog again :)

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Sorry followers! I'm in Nicaragua, but will finish my nepal post once i'm home ☉🌍😚

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Silly me, I had wanted to fly to Krabi but apparently booked it to Phuket- minor hiccup - a bus ride later and I was in Krabi. My original plan was to explore all the islands, and go to a full-moon party, but with how hectic the Philippines was, I just needed to relax and stay in one spot. My hostel was great, I stayed eight days, I went to night markets, rock climbing, white water rafting, kayaking, hikes, temples, and to yoga classes, I kept busy even through the rain. I met up with my friend Jon, we ate burritos, put a hammock up in the park, reminisced about our time we spent in Hua Hin then went out for the night where we played Jenga with a French traveller and did our best to pet every stray cat we could find.

I then had to bus back to Phuket to catch my next flight, I was going to stay at a hostel, but was feeling cheap so spent another night at the airport. (Yay) You would think that being at the airport 20 hours prior to the flight would mean things would go smooth but nope, still almost missed my flight. (I’m an adult.) ‘Almost’ being a key word, I made it, I was on the way to my final destination in Asia.

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El Nido was the most beautiful of all my stops, but also the most touristy, I had a bit of trouble finding a hostel, but once I did I hit the jackpot with it. It was a very interesting  city to explore, I ate a big crepe for dinner, did some shopping, and read a book in a hammock, there ended up being a town wide power outage, so I went to bed early. The following day I started my overnight boat trip which basically consisted of stopping at hidden beaches, lagoons and caves to snorkle and explore. It was a fun day in the sun and I met a lovely Danish man named Dennis, who was full of great conversation, two Israeli ladies who kept the whole boat on their toes, and Rutger, who made me laugh and took beautiful photos! We stopped at a beach for the night, we stayed in tents, had a big fire, unlimited alcohol,  skinny dipped, and only lost one person! (Later found, safe, sound, and drunk in the bush.) The next day we made a few more stops before heading back to mainland.

I had a weird gut feeling so I called my mom to double check she had sent me the money gram I needed, and go-figure, she forgot. Dennis was kind enough to give me 500 pesos to catch my bus, but once I got to Puerto Princessa to catch my flight, the airport was shut for the night, and I couldn’t afford a hostel, so I had to sleep on the street.  Tired, eaten alive by mosquitos, and broke, I did finally catch my flight to Manila, where I was then meant to catch my return flight to Thailand. My bad luck continued and a delayed flight made me miss my onward flight, so I was yet again, stuck in Manila. I was so discouraged that I made a nest in the corner of the airport and spent the night. After 30 hours at the airport and still no insentive to book a new flight, I decided to give Manila a second chance. I went to the Mall of Asia, then back to the Pink Manila hostel where it all began.

I must have looked like a trainwreck when I walked in, because I instantly had the attention of Stefan, one of my favorite people I met in the Philippines. He sat me down and asked for my story, I told him, and he was so kind about my troubles, he hooked me up with the biggest towel ever, the best shower in the hostel and a beer. He flipped my whole mood around and even got me drunk enough to spend my money on a new flight I should have already booked.

The next morning I was Thailand bound again - but not to where I had expected…

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Dumagete was lovely, my hostel was clean, cozy, and had a roof top terrace filled with plants, had a great view, and a great vibe. It was called Harold's. (You go Harold!) My first night in Dumagete I met four American guys, we were drinking, playing music and singing all night long, it was heaps of fun, but my hangover sucked pretty bad during the first part of my daytrip to Apo Island the following day. Apo Island did not disappoint, I got to spend all day snorkeling with huge sea turtles and exploring underwater caves, the only hiccup in my whole day was dropping my gopro at the bottom of the ocean, which, I managed to get back thanks to the help of a mutant Filipino man who held his breath underwater for longer than I can count up to. My last full day in Dumagete I took it super easy, I walked around the city, watched local children play soccer in the streets, went to a yoga class, and ate ice cream (life is all about balance, right?) In the morning I started the familiar process of tricycle rides, to ferry, to bus, to hostel trek -always fun, and hot, and did I mention I had to share my seat with a chicken, an alive one. I managed to survive the chicken and made it to Cebu Island alive, well, hardly. The bus dropped me off in Moalboal, and I took a 30 peso motorcycle taxi to my hostel - almost. My driver didn't believe in brakes and when a dog ran out in front of us, we hit it causing us to tip over and slide across the concrete. I know what you are thinking, "was the dog okay" and yes, it was fine, I checked,  but I was pretty scraped up and upset. A family had witnessed the accident and helped me by picking gravel out of my thigh and dumping vodka on my sores, or was it gin? My driver was in rough shape and needed to go to the hospital, so I just walked the rest of the way to my hostel, no way was I getting back on a motorcycle anytime soon. Feeling sorry for myself I bought tea and cookies and just chilled in my room until dinner, where I met two Quebec ladies who invited me to go canyoneering with them the following day, we ended up getting a solid group of people and even got the price discounted. The canyoneering was great, and although I wasn't happy about having to get back on a motorbike so soon, I enjoyed myself.  We slid down rocks, jumped down waterfalls, and I conquered my largest cliff jump at 18 meters, and the day was topped off with a delicious meal with the group then a night out with Rasmus who I ended up getting to run into again! The group I canyoneered with enjoyed my company so much they decided to follow me to Palawan. (Honestly, for all I know they hated me, all they spoke was french.) We shuttled to the Cebu City airport, slept on the floor, then I headed to my final destination - El Nido!

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Once I got the hell out of Manila, things really turned around, I landed at the Cebu City Airport and decided to ask a girl if she was going to the ferry - lucky for me she was! We got to the port and she was kind enough to pay the whole cab fare. On the ferry I met a local who gave me tips on the best place to stay on the Island of Bohol. I didn’t pre-book my hostel, so I had to spend over an hour walking around in the dark asking people for a cheap suggestion and eventually found one.

The next morning in my hostel I overheard a group talking about renting scooters for the day, so I asked to join in. The four of us took two scooters, first stop being the Chocolate Hills, the view was so different than a typical view point, and it actually made me quite hungry. We then stopped at the Tarziere Sanctuary to check out the world’s smallest primates. They are so cute with the biggest eyes! We had lots of laughs throughout the day. The girls on the other scooter were tired so they headed back to the hostel, but Rasmus and I kept the adventure going. We were going to check out a river cruise, but passed by a zipline and hit that up instead, it was so spur of the moment and fun, the view over the hills and rainforest was amazing. We spent the last hour of daylight hanging out beside the river and taking turns on the rope swing, then met the two girls for drinks by the beach and dinner.

The next morning I said my goodbyes to the group and I headed to the ferry terminal - but silly me didn’t check the timetable and was late. I was lucky and found a group of people who also had missed that same ferry, and we ended up getting our own private boat to the island of Siquijor. The boat ride was hot and sunny, execpt it kept breaking down and I honestly thought I was going to die in the middle of the ocean, with faith and hard work of the crew, we got close enough to shore to wade the rest of the way. We then had a steep long walk uphill to get to the mainroad where we waited for public transportation, I got on the bus and started talking to a couple who invited me to join them at the hostel they were staying at. We ended up renting scooters again and toured the entire island. We stopped at a park that had cliff jumping and a waterslide into the ocean, and also checked out some waterfalls! The day trip was super sucessful even though Maggie blew a tire on her scooter. Siquijor was my favorite Island in the Philippines, I ended up staying a day longer then planned in a tent on the beach, soaking up the sun and eating mango cake (if you haven’t tried mango cake I highly suggest it!)

I felt really at peace there, even with the chaos of the current Presidential election going on, where the locals were under a 48 hour liqour ban, and armed men walked the streets. To be safe, Jack, Maggie and I went to the port together, but then went our separate ways - them to Palawan, myself to Dumagete!

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I had my last day at Rescue Paws in Thailand, so Hanli, my boss thought that it would be great to go on one last feeding run. It ended up being a disaster. We had so much trouble finding the pack to feed, it was hot, and Andy, Tyson, and I got stung by some crazy insect. It hurt like hell but was honestly so funny. We all took off running toward the van as soon as we realized what was happening, we got into the van and we were freaking out and trying to remove the stingers, when I looked up and pointed out that we were all sweating so profusely. We ended up having a total laugh attack at how messed up the whole situation was. It was a great final memory of my time in Hua Hin before leaving to backpack the Philippines. My first stop, was Manila. Such an intimidating city to arrive to late at night. I had heard lots of reviews that it can be dangerous, so my plan was to immediately catch the over night bus to a different town, but a delayed flight brought me in late so I needed to find a hostel. The cabs right outside the airport were expensive, and I remember reading to walk to the road, so I did. This man approached me and said he had a cab, offered me a low fare, and I agreed. As I was in the vehicle with him and the driver, I felt uncomfortable, they began saying things to me such as "if you want to go to the beach, call me tomorrow and I will protect you." I honestly thought they were never going to bring me to my hostel, but they did. I invited the man upstairs so I could give him change, my hostel manager asked to see his taxi I.D. and the man took off running. I quickly learned my lesson and was lucky that they even took me to my destination. Never get in an unmarked cab. The next day I took it pretty easy, I pretty much stayed at the hostel all day, I met a very kind man named Tom, who made my experience in Manila worth all the trouble, and met two people I was to catch the overnight bus with later in the evening. Unfortunately, catching the overnight bus was yet again a fail; I was at the bus station going through my bags one last time to check and make sure I had everything when I realized my wallet was missing. I'm not exactly sure what happened to it, whether I lost it or it was stolen, but I thought I was screwed I was crying on the side of the road, I had no idea how I was supposed to get somewhere safe, or even find a place to stay, as I had no money. Security was trying to help, but didn't suggest any options that didn't involve needing money so my last option was the neighbour's security cameras. I went over to their little restaurant and explained what happened, and they tried to check the footage but we couldn't see anything useful. I had ultimately given up all hope, when the family told me they would have me stay for the night. I went over to their place and called my mom to tell her what had happened, they fed me, gave me a couch to sleep on, and we even had a ukuelele jam session, a terrible experience was made into a good one thanks to the kindess of strangers. My mom immediately sent me a money gram and the next morning one of the family members went with me to the bank to ensure my safety, I got money, and went back to the hostel to relax and recuperate from the havic of the previous night. Lucky for me, Tom was still there to have a chat with and make me feel a bit better before heading out on my next stop in the Philippines - Cebu! I had never been more excited to leave somewhere in my whole life.

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When you travel you meet heaps of people, some you connect with, and some, you don't, even though we might all be physically in the same place, mentally, we are all at different stages in our lives. When you meet someone for the first time, you will form an opinion of them, and that's okay, its human nature, but remembering to have compassion is vital. Everyone has things going on in their life, we all have bones in our closets, we have regrets, wishes, memories, wants and needs that can be so different to the next person. We feel things differently, some of us hurt from the past, some for the future. We have no idea what is running through a person's mind at any given time unless we ask, and they choose too share. People's personal lives will effect how they act towards you or a certain situation, sometimes we react in ways we normally wouldn't, we are human, we make mistakes. Eventually, someone will see you at your worst, and you are going to be around when someone else hits rock bottom. In my opinion affection makes a world of difference, a hand up, a hug, or even a smile can make you feel like you aren't alone. You aren't alone, you are surrounded by people who are also questioning themselves, talk to them, communicate, show compassion, be the change you want to see because love can be spread like wildfire once it starts.

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Basically, my job was to play with puppies on the beach, I was living the dream! Don’t get me wrong, parts of the job were messy, we cleaned up more poop than you could ever imagine, saw sick animals we could do nothing for, had clothes that might as well been made from dog hair, and even had to bury a dog, but the good times out weighed the bad. I helped dogs find their forever homes, I was taught how to give needles, I got to watch sterilizations, and I saved a cat’s life (Later named Quinn) after she had been hit by a car. I would hands down reccommend going to volunteer with Rescue paws, we made a huge difference to all the stray dogs in Hua Hin- all you need is food to share and love to give!

When we weren’t volunteering we kept busy, we had a few really crazy nights out, from singing karaoke to getting tattoos and skinny dipping, and lots of chill nights from putting our beds together in the den to watch movies or beer and ice cream on the beach. Andy and I joined the XploreAsia group on a hike to go see a temple in a cave, we checked out markets, got sketchy haircuts and became Rescue Paws’ “most crazy volunteers.”

I’ll never forget my fellow volunteers, the short and long term ones. We bonded over hangovers, beach frisbee, monk blessings and watching a storm after the drought. My best memory being Songkran, a three day, country wide water fight to celebrate the Thai New Year, we joined up with Xplore Asia and had food and water fights all day long! I’ll also never forget my Thai friends Boy and Egk, the most generous people I have had the pleasure of meeting, they spoiled us with free drinks, their songs, and family dinners.

So much love from locals, my bosses, friends and the dogs, Hua Hin will always make my heart feel full.

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My first night in Bangkok we went for a few beer and dinner; I had shrimp noodle salad-my first Thai experience. "A few" turned into a lot, and I ended up falling asleep outside my hostel....good start. The next day Alan and I went exploring Bangkok, we got offered a tour around the city in a tuk tuk for 40 baht. First, we went on a boat ride through the canal, it was an eye-opener that's for sure; the living conditions were terrible. It was a lot of fun though, even when we hit a post. Then we went to Mount Goldie to check out the amazing view; the climb was great! Our tuk tuk driver took us to a shop to try and make us buy a suit, Alan and I acted like a couple and it was hilarious! I ended up getting an email from Rescue paws asking if I could come early, and I jumped on that opportunity as I was already over Bangkok - two days was enough! Rescue Paws organized transportation and I left Bangkok the next morning. The volunteer experience costed me a LOT of money, yet I got dropped off at the wrong office and then later dropped off and left on a beach. I ended up having to call my mom and get her to call Rescue Paws to come find me, I was so scared that I was ripped off, but Hanli my new boss, rescued me! She took me to the clinic and I started my first day of work in Hua Hin, Thailand!