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Last week when I went to Bath, I recreated one of my all time favourite pictures of my mom. I've adored this photo ever since I found it, and I have carried it with me pretty much everywhere, tucked into my journals and books. I miss my mom dearly and this picture gives me some comfort when all I want is to talk to her again. ~ ~ Thanks to @_pointblankography for the lovely photos! ~ ~ #romanbaths #bath #unitedkingdom (at The Roman Baths) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bw9MZ9TgIT5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=11bajhkm4udbf

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Seoul, the Light of my Life

Seoul doesn’t mess around with lights.

Light shows. Lantern Festivals. Lantern parades for Buddha’s birthday. You name it, there’s a light themed activity for it.

Last night, I went to the Seoul Lantern Festival. The lanterns filled the Cheonggyecheon Stream, one of my favourite areas in Seoul. The stream had lots of big lanterns in it and around it, depicting different scenes from around Seoul and important images of Korea.

Lantern version of Namsan Tower

Around the middle of the stream, you could buy a wish lantern and set it adrift on the stream. I’m a sucker for that soft-tea-light-in-the-dark-night aesthetic, so I basically threw my money at the people selling the lanterns. We too a minute to write our wishes for 2019 on the lantern before putting it together. (Some assembly, and an engineering degree, required.)

Then we went to the launch point, a volunteer lit the candle and we sent our wishes off into the night. It was pretty whimsy watching them float away. You could walk along the stream and see where they all collected, carpeting the river completely. 

Here’s hoping that everyone’s dreams come true for 2019, wish lantern or no. :)

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I just learned that some websites use cookies to adjust prices. That is, if you visit a certain website a lot the price will increase.

You can tell if that’s the case by checking the same web page on a different browser if you have a different number of stored cookies for that site. I checked something on Chegg and it was $14.95 on Chrome, $19.95 on Firefox, and $16.95 on Safari.

The fix? Clear your cookies for that website.

Reblog, save a wallet.

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Just finished a five day vacation and I have reached a new level of basic

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...it’s hard to realize that even if I don’t have a job that ignites the fire in my soul, or moves the mountains of my mind, I can still have a passionate life.

https://medium.com/@Lizzeann/in-search-of-passion-753eb5922375?source=linkShare-3d5357b6d916-1530430765

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Home grown alligator, see you later: A year in South Korea

I still can’t believe that I’ve been here for a year. I can remember riding a bus in Cambodia next to a girl who was telling me about her experiences teaching in South Korea. When I told her I didn’t see myself ever staying in South Korea more than a year, she replied, “I thought so too, but suddenly I had been there for three years. Korea time is a real thing.” And yeah, she was right. I thought after a year I would be done with South Korea, thinking it would be lots of time to see and do many different things. But I am not even close. And even after having decided to extend my contract, I know I’m still not going to see and do it all.

Teaching is a hard, long process, and when the weekend rolls along, I am really only interested in sleeping and catching up on reading. But the sun has been shining more and the air has been (mostly) good, so I have been feeling a bit more adventurous.

The city where I’m living isn’t far from Seoul, so it’s easy to hop on the subway and explore for a few hours. The first place I ever visited in Seoul was Hongdae, which is considered the young, hip district. There is a university nearby, so many of the students who need to fulfill performance credits can be found singing, dancing and even doing magic shows on the streets. There is a long street full of shops, bars and restaurants. It is entertaining enough to just walk along and try to see everything. Hongdae Station is a big subway station too, so most often trips to Seoul involve a pass through Hongdae. 

[Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea]

Another area of Seoul I like is Itaweon. Itaweon is the foreigner district of Seoul, mostly due to the presence of a US military base, and it elicits a mixed response from people; some like it, while others have a hatred of it that burns like the fires of hell (that is a direct quote from an Itaweon-hater). But for me, Itaweon is home to two of my favourite things: books and poutine. There are two great bookstores, Itaweon Foreign Bookstore and WhatTheBook. To the dismay of my future self who will have to again pack my life into two suitcases, I have added more books to my collection. And located between the two bookstores is a little poutine shop called Oh!Poutine. Going to one bookstore, then stopping for a bite to eat before heading to the other bookstore makes for a pretty enjoyable afternoon.

Another personal favourite is the Cheonggyecheon stream. This is a 10 km long artificial stream in downtown Seoul. During the celebrations for Buddha’s birthday in May, the stream was strung with glowing lanterns. Recently, in the weeks before an upcoming election, it was covered by posters of the various candidates. Every time I’ve seen the stream, its something new. People stroll along it or sit and soak their feet in the water. There is art work handing in an alcove under one of the bridges, and there is a small waterfall where the stream begins.

Seoul has something for everyone. And between the shopping, all the neat cafes, and different events and festivals, I don’t know if it would be possible to get tired of the city. Early in April, a group of us went to Yeuido to take in the cherry blossoms. In the Yeuido park, there is a long street lined with cherry trees that are 30 to 40 years old. The day wasn’t the best weather wise, but the flowers were gorgeous in a soft, gentle way. We wandered along the streets, watched a bit of the performances and just took in the day.

To me, that day was a real marker of the end of winter. Ever since, I have noticed the beautiful greens of the trees, the vibrant colours of the flowers. It didn’t seem gradual, like it always did at home. It was grey and then all at once, the country woke up.

One challenge in South Korea is the air quality. In recent years, the air pollution here has gotten worse. More and more people are donning face masks and there are apps that alert you to poor air quality. At the time of writing this, the air quality index here is 105 (which is unhealthy for sensitive groups) and the AQI in my hometown is 40 (well within the good range). I’ve never had to think about if the air I was breathing was clean or not and it took me a while to realize just how much the air can affect you. I’m actually just getting over a sinus infection that the doctor related to the yellow dust in the air. I’ve never been opposed to rain per se, but now I look forward to rainy days with an almost religious zeal, since it means the air the following day or two will be good.

Other than the air, there isn’t much to perturb me here in South Korea. Even the language barrier isn’t too much of an issue. I have been trying (and failing) to study the language. I can say hello, goodbye, thank you, yes and no. But most Korean’s don’t really expect foreigners to speak or understand Korean. Most people here have at least the basics of English (at least as much Korean as I have) and with pictures and gestures, it’s usually possible to express your meaning. In restaurants and markets, pointing and throwing up your fingers gets the job done. The subways, buses and taxis are straight forward (with the use of apps) and even then most of the transit signs have English on them. Even going to the doctor and the dentist has proven to be relatively easy. It definitely helps that my Korean coworkers are absolute gems who are willing to help me by writing out notes in Korean and translating messages or mail.

I’ve had some pretty neat experiences this past year. I went to the Olympics in February, walked around the Royal Palace, explored Seoul with a best friend, tried deep fried milk, drank coffee at a flower cafe, filled up on street food, watched a lantern parade in honour of Buddha’s birthday, drank rice wine (makgeolli) at an all-you-can-drink restaurant and gone to a Korean wedding. And the area where I’m living is considered a relatively new city, so it is growing as more and more businesses are opening. I think it would take me many years to just try all the cafes in this area. There are three movie theatres, two giant grocery stores, a spa, karaoke rooms, bars, a canal and a big park that surrounds a lake.

(Photo on the bottom left is my face as I almost dropped all of the fried milk onto the street. In hindsight, I should have just let it fall. Fried milk is... not good.) 

Simply put, South Korea is proving to be a pretty charming place to spend almost two years of my life.

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onism

n. the frustration of being stuck in just one body, that inhabits only one place at a time, which is like standing in front of the departures screen at an airport, flickering over with strange place names like other people’s passwords, each representing one more thing you’ll never get to see before you die—and all because, as the arrow on the map helpfully points out, you are here.

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A Post in Which My ‘Nerd Fury’ is Unleashed

I recently came across an article titled “All the Things You’re Doing Wrong When You Travel, According to Anthony Bourdain.” (http://time.com/money/5191759/anthony-bourdain-advice-great-travel/)

I think I had read maybe 3 paragraphs before I was in a good ol’ fashioned rage.

In the interview with Money (a magazine published by Time Inc.), Anthony Bourdain tells us all that the way most of us travel is wrong wrong wrong. Apparently, when Mr. Bourdain travels, he’s “not worrying about where to eat or which museums to hit up” (1). No, he’s too busy spending 250 days of a year “getting a sense of the rhythms and smells and flavours” (1) of his destinations. He skips the tourist traps, opting instead for more off the path locals, often “going rouge” (1). He says that people are “overconcerned with safety” and that we are trying to push too much into our vacations (1).

In short, Bourdain‘s advice is to “get real when you travel” (1).

Well, gee, wouldn’t it be nice to just travel the world at your own leisurely pace, 250 days out of a year? Wouldn’t it be nice to be a retired chef after a successful career, with time and resources on your hands? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a team behind you, people documenting your days? Wouldn’t it be nice to be a 6’8” white male who can go anywhere with little thought to your personal safety?

Don’t get me wrong: the way Anthony Bourdain travels sure sounds nice. But it’s not the only way to travel, and I think that is what Mr. Bourdain misses completely in this holier-than-thou interview.

The reasons why and how we travel are very personal. Some people may not be comfortable trying to manage public transit, so they take taxis. Some others wouldn’t dream in staying in anything less than a 5 star hotel. Some don’t want the stress of trying to plan their days and would much rather pay for someone else to look after it all. And others like to show up in a foreign city without any plan or accommodation and just let their feet guide them.

Also, people who don’t make it their life to travel the globe have more restrictions, mainly time. We don’t all have the ability to exercise “[...] patience and a willingness to explore” (1) when we have one, maybe two weeks vacation. When people have a limited time (and even when they don’t), the big sights become priorities because they are amazing. They’re top sights for a reason! The apparently soul killing action of standing atop the Eiffel Tower might in reality be someone’s dream vacation. Seeing the pyramids of Giza has been on my travel list ever since watching “The Mummy” as a kid. And if someone wants to stand in line and pay money to go and see the Louvre, then good for them!

I’ve been fortunate enough to have experience in many different types of travel. I did a planned tour in high school to France and Spain. I also showed up in Kampot, Cambodia and didn’t have a bed to sleep in that night. I’ve had planned itineraries; I’ve had no idea what I was doing the next day. Yet, no way was especially better or especially worse. All of the ways I have travelled have given me amazing experiences, and life long memories. They all had ups and downs, but most importantly, each time, I’ve learned more about myself, and about the world.

The long and the short of it is this: It’s your vacation. You can see what your dying to see, you can check off the bucket list, you can eat whatever the heck you want, and pose for that Instagram shot. And you shouldn’t let the Anthony Bourdains of the world make you feel guilty about it. Because after all, isn’t travel about appreciating the differences of people in the world, including their travel styles?  

Even Mr. Bourdain has a (few) pictures like this on his Instagram.

(1) http://time.com/money/5191759/anthony-bourdain-advice-great-travel/

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Some Advice from a Questionably Qualified Source.

One year ago today, I was sitting in the Toronto airport waiting for my flight to Bangkok (I was only slightly hyperventilating). What followed was a year of firsts: first solo travel, first time in Asia, first time teaching.

(Lol, bye.)

Perhaps the biggest first, though, was being alone. Not alone in a grand cosmic sense, like I have no friends and family, no one to call, no one to reach out to. However, I was alone in the sense that all I had with me in my immediate surroundings was myself and a 45L backpack. I can still remember the feeling I had when I left my hotel room for the first time to look for food: What the hell have I done?

I remember thinking that travel wasn’t supposed to be like that. We all see Instagram posts and Facebook updates from this beach or that resort or that mountaintop, and you think “Travel is so cool. These people are living the good life.” Travel is supposed to be illuminating, you’re supposed to feel amazing, become more cultured, change your instagram bio to include words like “worldly” and “wanderlust”. We see it time and time again in the media: Go travel, leave all your problems behind.

So, when I was in Bangkok for all of 7 seconds and didn’t immediately feel that way, I found myself panicking a bit. I didn’t feel the way I had expected. I didn’t know what I was doing, I didn’t know what I was going to do next, I was uncomfortable, and I had this fake smile plastered to my face, trying vainly to find what I thought I was missing. I had an intense craving for familiar spaces. The first 30 or so pages of my journal was just me arguing with myself about whether or not to go home.  

It was words from my mother, remembered from so many conversations in the past, that saved me. “You have to give it a chance.” Whether it was a new skating coach, or when I went away to university, my mom was always ready with that advice. And even though I can’t call her on the phone and hear her say those words anymore, I could hear her saying them to me all over again. So, I stayed. I left my hotel, I ordered that pad thai from the food cart outside, and I guess the rest is history.

I think this disillusionment is the part of travel that isn’t talked about much. It’s natural to focus on all the good, shiny things about travel, like all the interesting food and awesome Instagram photos you can get, because travel is amazing. But it’s so much more. It’s like an iceberg - the 10% that is showing is grand and glorious. But the 90% under the surface is daunting and intimidating. That part is missed buses, and food poisoning. It’s that guy who is snoring in the hostel. It’s taxi drivers yelling at you, and waking up one day to realize you have absolutely no clean clothes. 

But exploring this part of the iceberg* is so worth it. These experiences are what shaped me into a more confident and able person. And there is something liberating about realizing you don’t need a closet full of clothes, and that you are capable of getting yourself out of a jam.    

So, if you’re debating about traveling, I say do it. Book that flight, pack that bag. It might take a few days, or even weeks, but you will find that moment where you realize you are strong and capable. 

Travel isn’t just for the brave and bold. It’s travel that makes us brave and bold. 

*Yikes, sorry for this extended metaphor.

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Another Friday, another photo for #photofriday . This time it’s the beautiful doorway of Zupnijska cerkev sc. Martina church in Bled, Slovenia. I’m thinking I should start a “Beautiful Doorways of Europe” collection, because I couldn’t seem to pass by a doorway without taking a picture of it. . . . . #bledslovenia #travel #traveleurope

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Today’s #photofriday is City Hall in Vienna, Austria. This shot was taken on #newyearseve2017 - it was a perfect night for ringing in the new year!

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My love letter to teachers everywhere.

Dudes, teaching is hard. I knew this, of course. One of my best friends is a teacher and I see how hard she works. But I knew it in a naive, abstract way. The way you know that quantum mechanics is hard, because you’ve always been told it is, but you don’t really know because you’ve never done it. And now that I’ve done it, even just for 3 short months, I feel the need to say: go hug a teacher today and thank them for putting up with you. Even if you were a good kid, your past and/or current teachers are probably more tired than you know. For every flash card in the classroom, there was a carpel tunnel inducing use of scissors, and for every game played there was a careful risk vs benefit analysis done. And there are times that they just wished you would go away, just for a minute, and oh, god, just stop tilting back in your chair, you’re going to fall on your head, *CRASH*, why didn’t you just listen, yeah, I bet your head hurts, the floor is hard, I haven’t had enough coffee yet today to handle this, BE BE BE QUIET. So, how’s the teaching going you ask?

Overall, I come down on the side of great. Now that I’m 3 months into this endeavour, I’ve passed the sort of grace period and I feel more confident in saying that I have a handle(ish) on the classes. I understand all the random codes and acronyms that the school employs (for example, I teach SAP 1-1 in the second block, M-F, and this month we are doing WonderWorks 1.5 Week 2, which lasts a month, and don’t forget about the NHK writing days, plus I have to do the S2B series of Disney English lessons every Thursday). I know my students names finally (although I still seem to have issues with mixing up the names Mason and Jack. They’re not even close, so don’t ask me why). I haven’t quite gotten used to the American spelling of some words. I actually feel my brain trip whenever I’m writing “colour” or “favourite” on the board, because somehow taking out the “u” is a huge challenge. I’ve also made more Lord Of The Rings references in my kindergarten class that I ever imagined I would. I guess I never honestly thought I would, but when I was asked what a potato was, I couldn’t resist saying “Potatoes, boil ‘em, mash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew.” It didn’t help them understand, but I laughed a lot.

In the mornings, I teach kindergarten. My class is Purple class, which is 7 kids, 7 years old in Korea, in their first year of English language school. And I’ve got to say, if Korea does anything right, its cute kids and caramel popcorn.

(Seriously, caramel popcorn is super delicious here.)

In the afternoons, I have various elementary classes, from a class of 6 grade 1 boys (who are a handful and a half, pictured below) to a class of grade 3 students.

For the most part, the kids are hardworking and polite. Emphasis on hardworking. The work ethic of Korea has definitely not been exaggerated. If anything, it’s even more intense than I was expecting. Some kindergarten kids are in school from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. That’s a full time job! None of this half day kindergarten here. The elementary students go to elementary school, then go to this academy or that, then SLP (the school program I teach at) and then sometimes even another academy after. They go to ballet, swimming, art academy, computer classes, piano lessons. Basically any kind of skill you can think of, there’s an academy for it. And then these kids go home and they’ve got homework. They get homework from SLP classes, in addition to whatever homework they have from regular school and other academies. These little troopers are my heroes. They work so hard. And even though it’s a little frustrating when they don’t do the homework for my class, I understand. They make my childhood look like a party.

Add to it that Korea has a late night culture and its not all that shocking that students sometimes fall asleep in class or that I have kindergarteners telling me they’re too tired to play. Sometimes, it’ll be 9 p.m. and I’m walking down the canal, past restaurants and arcades and there are tons of children whizzing by on light up scooters or segways, mothers and fathers trailing behind. Restaurants are open late, supermarkets are open until 10 or 11 p.m. and still the children are out. Even my own work schedule has me up later than I am used to on work/school nights. I sometimes don’t eat dinner until 9 at night, pushing my bed time to 12 or later. Adjusting to this later schedule has probably been one of the biggest challenges I’ve had here.

And the process of adjusting has made sight seeing and exploring hard. On the weekends, I just want to crash and relax, so that come Monday I have energy for the week. So, up to this point, I haven’t done a lot of touristy things in Korea. I’ve been to Seoul a few times, which is great. Seoul is a pretty cool city (but that’s a topic for another post, because to include it now makes it too long for the Tumblr servers). But next weekend I’m headed to Japan with a couple of the other teachers for holiday! (We’re going to Harry Potter world *squeals excitedly*)

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Two month blog hiatus...

Its been two months full of visiting family and friends and eating all my favourite foods (read: poutine). Being away from home for a handful of months really made me realize how beautiful Canada is. I’ve always known, but it was more a knowing through instruction - I’d always been told about Canada’s virtues. But this was the first time in my life that I truly had my own experiences to draw on to make comparisons. Guys, Canada is pretty rad. My first Tim Hortons when I got back was a boarderline religious experience. As soon as the pilot told us that we were preparing to land in Vancouver, I smiled and didn’t stop. It’s almost like there is something in the air, something familiar about the ground under my feet that made the feeling of home run in my body.

But there is still a lot of world out there to see. And starting tomorrow, I’m going to find more of it. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

For the second leg of #lizgoesinternational I’m heading to South Korea. I’m finally living up to the whole teach English abroad plan I set into motion 7ish months ago. 

Everything about getting ready for this has been different than my preparation for Thailand. This time someone is meeting me at the airport. This time I have an apartment. This time I have a job. This time I have to pack for multiple seasons. This time I packed books!

I’m not as nervous as I was last time, either. It’s not that traveling is old hat - this is after all a completely different experience. But it’s more that I know I can handle travel and all it entails. My months in Thailand have made me more confident in my abilities to get me from point a to point b all in one piece, my passport still safely in my possession. This time, I don’t see all the things that can go wrong when I close my eyes. Instead, I see all the things I can explore, the food I’m going to try, the people I’ll meet. This is probably the most important thing that my previous travels have taught me. 

That, and you can never have enough snacks for long bus trips. 

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Touring Thailand’s waterfalls, one motorbike rental at a time.

Looking back on my trip so far, I realize that it has become something of a waterfall tour, with some other (amazing) pit stops (I'm looking at you, Cambodia). In the last two weeks, I saw another two of Thailand's many waterfalls, bringing my total to four. I think I've seen more waterfalls in Thailand than at home. There is something about waterfalls that makes me feel hella whimsical. I feel like no matter which way I look at them, I'm always just seeing it the first time - even if I've been there for hours. Every crevice in the rock face, every time the leaves shift in the breeze, every time I disturb the water with my feet or hands, the scene changes and there's more to take in. I've been lucky enough to visit two amazing waterfalls that the public is allowed to swim in as well. To say its been magical is a bit of an understatement.

Khun Si Waterfall, Koh Samui

After my stop in Cambodia, I made my way back to Thailand for a much anticipated two weeks - Niki's visit! It got off to a bit of a rocky start, as I had my dates mixed up and Niki was patiently waiting for me in Chiang Mai while I leisurely wandered around the airport in Bangkok, thinking I wasn't expected until the next morning. Whoopsie! But after a flight change and an almost complete I'm-exhausted-and-stressed breakdown after airport security took my unopened bottle of sunscreen which I stupidly left in my carry-on, I made it back to Chiang Mai!

Niki and I didn't waste anytime getting down to the business of sight seeing. We woke up early on day 1 and saw the elephants! We used a different company than the one I had used back in February, which was nice as it gave me a chance to compare and contrast. This tour had fewer people, which was a plus. There were fewer elephants than last time though, so it balanced out. Everything else was pretty much the same. What I liked about this one was the mini-hike we did, even though the elephants couldn't really tag along for that. After the mud bath and a water fight in the river, we walked for about 10 minutes to this cave-waterfall hide out. Being the dry season, the river was a little weak, but it was perfect because we could stand under the falls. Also, there were little sucker fish in the water which attacked your feet if you stood still too long (like a free fish spa!).

The next day was the (official) beginning of Songkran, which is the Thai New Year. Traditionally, this is the time when families gather and pay respects to elders and temples, through pray and offerings. It's a time for cleansing (Songkran means to pass or move into) and the Thai people will pour water mixed with fragrance on Buddha images, which is believed to bring good luck.

But that's just the beginning. They take the cleansing part very literally and the entire city, the entire country, becomes one big water fight. It varies depending on where you go, but most places do at least one day of full on water fun. Chiang Mai does three! Participating in this festival, specifically in Chiang Mai, was one of my top must sees for my entire trip and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!

Niki and I grabbed water guns (#teamdisney) the night before and hit the ground running. You just walk down the street and as you pass by houses and businesses, they throw buckets of water on, at, and around you. Within seconds we were both soaked. I don't think I've laughed so much in such a short span of time. It was pointed out to me that I was even making pew-pew noises as I sprayed people with water. I just couldn't get over the fact that an entire city and all of its inhabitants were in on this - and everyone was loving it! So many smiles, from devilish little grins from little kids as they targeted you coming down the street, to big, warm smiles of older women as they gently poured water on your shoulders. People piled into the back of pick-up trucks with garbage cans full of water and drove around the streets, businesses filled coolers full, people swam in the river water passing buckets back up to people on the sidewalks - it was mayhem, but so joyous.  

The water itself was a mixed bag. One wave of water was lukewarm, nasty smelly river water, the next was ice cold water from coolers. The best was when you got a shot of both, on either side at the same time. I did briefly worry about getting an eye infection or stomach bug or something from the water, but after walking face first, mouth wide open from laughing, into a tsunami of water and nearly drowning while standing upright, I figured it would all balance out in the end.

Near the end of the first day, Niki and I found ourselves at Wat Phra Singh, one of the temples in Chiang Mai. We wandered around the complex a bit, watching the Thai people perform their New Year rituals. Beside one of the temples there was a line of Buddha statues and we watched as people poured the fragrance water over them all. We also caught one of the parades throughout the city. This one was a succession of Buddha statues in trucks which ended at Wat Phra Singh. People in the crowd would rush forward as the trucks drove by and throw water on their Buddha of choice. There was also some traditional Lanna dancing, which was really cool to see.

After two days of water fighting, we headed down south. I was pretty excited for this, as I had put this area of Thailand off, knowing Niki was coming and she wanted (and deserved) a nice relaxing beach vacay. And these beaches did not disappoint. I've never been down south anywhere, whether its Cuba or the Dominican, so this was my first time seeing tropical beaches. We stopped first at the island of Koh Samui. The sand on Chaweng beach, which was less than five minutes from our hostel, was like butter between my toes, soft and squishy. I don't know if that simile sounds gross to some, but it was amazing. We spent a whole day just sitting in beach chairs, eating fruit, crackers and corn on the cob.

Wow, some pretty cool things happen while I’m normally sleeping (sunrise on Chaweng Beach, Koh Samui).

After two days on Koh Samui, we grabbed the high speed ferry to Koh Tao, the island I was most excited to see. I've been told that Koh Tao (pronounced like Ko Tell) was amazing for snorkelling, sight seeing, beach lounging and night life, all of which sounds like the perfect combination to me! I was most excited for the snorkelling, as I've never done anything like it (using my brothers snorkel mask when I was a kid to look at the murky Lake Ontario water does not even come close to counting).  

We spent four nights on Koh Tao and I was pretty sad to leave it. We hiked to two different view points during our stay, Koh Nang Yuan, a small island just off of Koh Tao's coast (Niki said its classified as one of the most beautiful islands in the world) and the John-Suwan on Koh Tao. Climbing to these points was really awesome, even though it was SO. HOT.

Looking like this (^) is a small price to pay for views like this (v).

John-Suwan viewpoint, Koh Tao.

Standard white girl viewpoint pose, check. (Koh Nang Yuan)

We stayed at Goodtime Hostel, right on Sairee Beach. It was a nice beach, but my favourite beach was Freedom Beach. It was small, had fewer people and a hammock that I fell asleep in (hammocks might be my kryptonite).

Sadly, our time on the islands came to an end and we made our way to Bangkok via a ferry/bus combination. Then, even more sadly, the two weeks were up and Niki had to head home. I'm approximately 12 hours behind her, as I am currently sitting in the Manila airport waiting for my flight back to Toronto. It's back home for now, to get some documents sorted out for teaching, then I'll hopefully be heading to South Korea by the end of June to teach some English (Oh, yeah, remember that plan?)

[until-the-there-is-back-again]

To Cambodia, with love

When I last posted, I was heading to Cambodia. I was there for three weeks exactly and I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. Maybe that was because up until a week before I left for Cambodia, I didn't have any plans on stepping foot there. But the people were so friendly, and the cities were interesting. After a miscommunication with my volunteering position, I found myself in Phnom Penh, the capital city. Contrary to most opinions I came across, I really liked Phnom Penh. It has a bad rap... I mean yes, it's a big city Southeast Asia, with all the sights and smells and noises that entails, and yes, there is crime and yes, people are going to try and scam you. But even so, I found myself really enjoying the city. It's a busy hub, there's lots to do and I just found the hustle and bustle so amazing. Cambodia's recent past is horrendous, but you wouldn't know that from walking around the city. There are green spaces, tons of new buildings being built, people laughing and joking - it's just so full of life.

After Phnom Penh, I made my way up to Siem Reap. I mostly just went here for it to act as a base for my trip to Angkor Wat, which is hands down my favourite temple visiting experience so far. Angkor Wat is a UNESCO World Heritage site and you can get a variety of different passes. I opted for a one day pass, because I was doing a tour with my hostel and there were already a number of temples on our to-see list. I figured anything more would have been overkill (temple fatigue is a real thing). I woke up at 4am in order to take part in the sunrise tour option. It was pretty awesome, even though the sunrise was a tad anticlimactic. One second it was still pre-dawn, I blinked, then it was post-dawn. But after standing outside for a bit, we got to go in and explore and that's when the fun began.

I love wandering through old ruins and imagining what it looked like before, when it was new, when the people were living there when it was the seat of the Khmer Empire in the 9th - 15th century. You can almost put the building back together in your mind, like a flashback scene in a movie. We got to see Angkor Wat, Angkor Tom (including Bayon Temple), Ta-Keo, Ta-Prohm and Banteay Kdie.

After Siem Reap, I spent 13 hours on a bus and arrived in Kampot! It's a small, almost sleepy, little town in the south of Cambodia. It's located right on the Mekong River, the longest river in Southeast Asia. It was a very chill week I spent here. I actually booked into a hotel for most of it. My anti-social nature and the fact that I was battling a stomach bug won out and I decided to treat myself for a night... which turned into five. It rained everyday, one day for 5 minutes, one day for the entire afternoon. I went and watched Rouge One in a little movie house and ate pasta at an adorable Italian restaurant. I went everyday to a cafe called Epic Arts Cafe. This cafe is an organization that raises money for disabled persons in Cambodia. Most of the staff at the cafe were actually deaf. The food was fantastic (the giant chocolate chip cookies were A-MAZING).

Kampot, on the banks of the Mekong River, featuring some dark rain clouds.

A picture from one of the many alleys I wandered down in Kampot.

The food in Cambodia is what really stuck out to me. And that's because it was so Western. I don't know if it was the sudden return of Western influences after the Khmer Rouge occupation, my own laziness or a combination of the two, but I ate pizza, burgers, bagels, burritos, and Oreos. So many Oreos. I don't know why, I'm not even a huge fan of Oreos, but there is something exciting about getting such an everyday snack in a foreign land that makes it 100% more delicious. Not to say that I just ate Western style food. There was a street cart around the corner from my hostel and the lady there made amazing noodles, for the bargain price of $1 USD.

Also, I found Cambodia expensive, overall. I mean, sure, beer was 0.75 cents, and by the standards in Canada, everything is a bargain. But I just found I was spending money left and right, $6 here, $4 here and suddenly before I knew it, I had to go back to the ATM and face those dreaded transaction fees. Another factor that might have affected my perception was Cambodia's system of dual currency. You give vendors American, often times you are given Cambodian riel back, or a combination of the two. 4000 riel equals approximately 1 USD, so you can imagine the amount of paper cash that comes your way, even for just a few dollars change. And since most prices are listed in USD, it was hard to do the conversion sometimes on the spot (I tend to panic when I get to a check out counter, and always, always my mind blanks). So, every couple of days, I had to purge my purse and would find myself with a wad of riel, all of which all look similar, which makes trying to do conversions and find the correct notations difficult.  

I know I didn't see all there was to see in Cambodia. I didn't even attempt to go to Koh Rong (I knew I was going to be at the beach in Thailand, so I wanted to save up all my beach excitement for that). There are tons of national parks and day trips and activities I didn't do. Unfortunately, I think I just used Cambodia as a pit stop, an extended visa run before my re-entry into Thailand. And I couldn't really get out of that mindset, so I let myself miss things. Next time though, there will be lots for me to do!

[until-the-there-is-back-again]

Mango rains and sheep

When I started writing this, I was sitting on a patio, watching the rain come down. I'm told those quick afternoon showers are the mango rains - without them, the mango crop usually ends up being poor. I must say, it's an awfully romantic name. Add to it that these brief periods of rain are pretty much the only thing cutting the intense heat and it's more than enough to make me fall in love with them.

It's getting on to be summertime in Thailand. I know everyone back home is now saying "Lucky you, I'm freezing over here!" I know - you've all told me as much. But, allow me a moment to complain because, goodness, it is hot here. Just when I think, "Okay this is it, it literally cannot get any hotter," it does. Maybe it feels so much hotter than in the other places I've been so far, because I have left the land air conditioners and 7-11's, well-stocked in cool drinks.

For two weeks, I was volunteering on a sheep farm in rural Thailand. If you'd told me a year ago that'd I'd be rising at 5:45 am to herd sheep in Thailand, I would have laughed and tried to ensure you understood how crazy you were being. But I did it! Here's some proof:

After my time in Chiang Mai, I headed to Pai, the hippie capital of Thailand. It was really nice, and I think it was a welcome break from the cities I'd been in. The climate was better - still hot, but cool enough in the evenings for a sweater. I was even (gasp) cold one night, without the aid of an air conditioner. Pai had an assortment of nice stuff to see. We went canyon walking and rode motorbikes around. We saw the land split (which is literally exactly how it sounds...). My personal favourite was the Pam Bok Waterfall.

I have no idea how, or where the water comes from, but it was the coldest water I've ever been in. I could feel my heart sputtering and gasping in my chest as it tried to keep up with the abrupt temperature change. It was intense - but fantastic. In these last few intensely hot days, I've been dreaming about it.

After a few days relaxing in Pai, I was ready to leave. Most people I had encountered had said we would end up extending our stay but I honestly didn't want to and wouldn't have, even if I'd had the time. I got the sense that this place exists solely for tourists. Hostels, cafes and tourist offices exist in abundance. And many people who go to Pai are more than willing to embrace the hippie vibes Pai is known for - including not wear shoes in the street and walking around in crop tops and bralettes. I'm all for beating the heat, but honestly, just read one blog about a traveling to Thailand and you'll know that that kind of attire is not really appreciated by most of the Thai. They are a fairly modest people. I was keenly aware of my tourist status when I was in Pai and it was annoying me.  

After leaving Pai, I made a brief stop in Chiang Mai before preparing to head out to my first volunteer position. Due to some lack of planning and an assumption of train schedules, I ended up having to take a night bus back to Bangkok before I could catch a train to get to the farm. As much as I didn't want to go back to the capital, I made my way there, getting dropped off at Khao San Road around 6 am, as the street cleaners were busy beginning the process of putting the street back together again.

A four hour train ride later and I found myself standing in Pak Chong. But my travel, which had started at 8 pm the night before, wasn't over. After finding the right bus, I was on my way to the village of Wung Si Sote, a village that makes Bloomfield look like a metropolis. After an hour, and a bus change into the back of a pick up truck, myself and three other people were finally at Homtel Farmstay, the farm where we were volunteering.

The family running the Homtel are fantastic. They are so welcoming and right away I felt comfortable being there. Tosh and Dawn, the owners, have lived on the land for 28 years, and for the majority of that time, it was a bible school. They didn't actually start farming until about 4 years ago, when they first started hosting volunteers. They didn't even have electricity until 10 years ago... and they have 10 children, the youngest of which is 11. So, they raised a family in rural Thailand with no power, on wild lands, with Dawn homeschooling all of them. When I asked if they were ever discouraged, Dawn said that they were so dedicated to the dream they had for the land, that it never really even occurred to her to be discouraged. They were always working and looking towards that goal, that 28 years has flown by, she said. I was in awe of the passion and dedication.

It wasn't hard at all to want to help them, and soon I felt like I was a part of the farm. One day I was on the team herding the 60 sheep around, making sure they had lots of green grass (man, sheep can really eat!). The next few days, I was in the kitchen, helping Dawn prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner. For a few days, we worked in the gardens, weeding the land and clearing trees so that more coffee plants could be planted in the future. It was hard work, especially in the heat, but I enjoyed it. Especially when its balanced with the lazy and carefree afternoons.

We would stop work at 11 am, before it got too hot. Then the rest of the day was ours, and I spent most of it swimming in the pond. Sometimes, we would go into the village and get some snacks, like ice cream and chips. Most of the time it was too hot for that, so I would end up napping. I had thought that I would have lots of time to read and write and plan more of the travels, but there is something about doing nothing that just makes you want to keep doing nothing. Most days, I didn't even look at my guide book.

Two weeks really flew by in a rush of really great home cooked Thai food, sheep watching and hammocks. But all things must end, and although I was comfortable and enjoying my time at the farm, I was ready to move on. So, I made my way back to Bangkok and tomorrow I’m off to Cambodia, where I'll be volunteering at a local community English school. This is definitely a change in plans - after all, I had no intention at all of stepping foot in Cambodia. But I’m really excited about it. I guess travel can make sudden changing plans seem totally normal, even for over thinkers such as myself!  

[until-the-there-is-back-again]

Ch-Ch-Changes in Chiang Mai

After the most hellish bus ride I’ve ever been on, I made it to Chiang Mai! Hurray, huzzah, time to find a job!

Well, maybe not.

I find that now that I’ve been traveling, I’m really liking it. I no longer feel a big rush to find a job and get settled in one place. The more I travel, the more I meet other people, the more I hear about other places, the more I just want to keep on seeing it all. So, time for a new plan.

In the meantime, I’ve been exploring the northern city of Chiang Mai. Chiang Mai is the old capital of the Lanna Kingdom, which was around until 1558. This city is full of history and all around the Old City you can still see evidence of previous city gates.

Chiang Mai is also the stepping stone for many adventures and experiences, ranging from cooking classes to mountain biking. You can’t walk three feet in this city without seeing advertisements for tours of all kinds, all geared towards tourists. In this way, I almost feel more of a tourist presence here than in Bangkok. The vibe is definitely more relaxed, despite still being a busy, bustling city. I keep catching glimpses of the mountains in between building as I wander and it almost shocks me every time. 

So far, I’ve done a cooking class:

Chicken cashew stir fry, pad thai, massaman curry, and hot and sour soup; anyone who knows me knows that it can be a challenge for me to make a grilled cheese without burning it, so I was feeling hella accomplished after this!

With a group of friends, we rented scooters one day and made the trek out to Bua Tong Waterall, also known as the sticky waterfall. There is something or another going on with the minerals on the rocks that makes them literally sticky. This allows one to confidently walk up the waterfall, against the current. We made our way to the top and took in the sun and surrounding wildlife. It was well worth the hour and half drive (and the brief run in with the Thai police).

In keeping with the water adventure theme, we also went to Grand Canyon. This is a man made canyon (made I believe from mining) that has been filled with water. There are different areas to go: one to chill, and float around while watching braver people than you cliff jump and another that looks like the set of Wipeout. Based on the amount of time I spent falling off the inflatable structures  into the water, I would have done very badly on that show.

But, perhaps my favourite thing I’ve done in Chiang Mai so far has been the elephant sanctuary (the motion sickness inducing ride in the back of a truck included). We went to the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary, based on positive reviews from other travelers and for the fact that they are known for ethical treatment. I was impressed; I didn’t see any of the caregivers raising anything, switch or hand, to the elephants. In fact, we spent a lot of the time wandering after the elephants as they walked through their jungle area. 

Us, wandering along with our elephant friends. [Photo credit: Elephant Jungle Sanctuary]

We got to meet 7 elephants, one of which was pregnant! (Only one more year to go, you go girl). We fed them bananas and sugar cane. We also had a chance in the afternoon to make them a rice-banana-bark ball treat, which was equal parts gross and fun to make for them. We also gave the elephants a mud bath, which was more an opportunity for the staff to cover us poor tourists in mud. 

Imagine all the sand you get in your bathing suit after a day at the beach and then multiple it by 1000. [Photo credit: Elephant Jungle Sanctuary]

It was awesome to be so close to these gentle giants and to see them playing and interacting with one another. They were definitely intimidating at first but by the end of the day, I felt much more comfortable petting them.

Chiang Mai definitely has a lot to offer. There seems to be a decent night life scene even though everything pretty much ends exactly at midnight (which is definitely a night life schedule this girl could get on board with). I’ve been to a local jazz bar twice, and it was amazing each time. There are a few touristy bars as well, but most nights I’m so tuckered out from the day excursions that it’s all I can do to keep from yawning through dinner. 

This city is FULL of markets. There is a huge night bazaar every night, and then every Saturday and Sunday they have special walking night markets. The Sunday market is crazy - everything you could possibly want all in one place, if you can reach it through the throngs of people. 

And all of this is surrounded by mountains and lush jungles. We spent one day touring around Doi Inthanon National Park. Doi Inthanon is the highest mountain in Thailand and is also known as “The Roof of Thailand.” It’s part of the Himalayan mountain range and, along with our tour group, we made our way to the very top. 

We also had the chance to visit a hill tribe that is within the park. Honestly, I felt pretty weird about just wandering into their village and disrupting their lives with our pictures and questions. 

The park is also home to two stupas, Phra Mahathat Naphamethanidon and Nophamethanidon, which were built to honour the King and Queen’s 60th birthdays, respectively. The views offered from this area of the park were pretty breathtaking.

The Queen’s stupa, Naphaphonumisiri.

Panoramic of the area, with the King’s stupa, Naphamethinidon, in the left background. 

This park really has something for everyone, as there were two really cool waterfalls that we visited as well. 

After a short walk on a fairly slick fallen log, I was able to get this picture:

Worth the potential slipping hazard, I’d say. 

In a few days time, I’ll be heading to Pai. I’m not looking forward to the drive (as with many of the mountain drives in this area, it is said to be very motion sickness inducing. I’m very thankful I overpacked on the gravol front). I’m excited to see more of Thailand, but I think I’ll miss Chiang Mai. I could definitely see myself staying here for a bit and teaching, but right now, the call of travel is stronger.