Update: Netherlands

Visiting the Netherlands was a real treat! The majority of my time was spent in Amsterdam visiting Maddie and Karlijn my best friends from my exchange to Singapore. I also go to see other friends from exchange which was fantastic. I also saw my good friend Linda who was with Karlijn and I for the majority of our wanderings in South East Asia. On the weekend in Holland I drove with a rented car around the the country and even to Belgium to visit family and my friend Madavine.

I don't like to just write out exactly what I did like this. I find that stories about individual events are much more interesting than a synopsis of places visited. However, it gives context for what I was doing I suppose. My trip to Holland seems like ages ago now and I am having trouble recalling any interesting stories. Here are the ones I can remember:

In Turnhout my great uncle, Heeroom, tried using my i-pod. He put one ear bud in his ear and then the i-pod to the other ear, sort of like how one would use an old fashioned telephone. I have a great picture of this. I cant get to it because my camera is broken, incidentally my i-pod is now broken too.

One night in Amsterdam we stayed on a one hundred year old sail boat that used to be used to ship spices or some other good. Now it is the house of Karlijn's friend. This isn't really a story so much as a cool fact.

After returning from vising my family I went to try and find Karlijn at her work because our plan for me to email them had fallen through because the computer was broken. I really thought I knew my way around the subway system. I went to four different stops and walked our of each exit at each stop. I couldn't find the cafe where Karlijn worked at. Every exit I walked out did not look familiar to me. I was seriously lost. All the while the security guards would stare at me suspiciously. I'm sure I ended up on a large number of security cameras. I became nervous some huge investigation be started to discover the identity of this young male scoping out the Amsterdam subway system carrying a mysterious red package (my rain coat). To clear myself of any suspicion I asked a security guard where the cafe was, and he was so incredibly helpful!! I found the cafe with no more problems after that. Unfortunately Karlijn wasn't there. She wasn't even working that night. I returned home after that having spent over two hours on the subways.

Catch-up: India

My trip has been split into two parts. I initially went to the Netherlands and visited friends and family there for about eight days. After I flew to India to begin the two and half months of wandering around with my sister Laura.

This is to catch you up to speed on India since I am now starting this blog in the middle of the trip. I will write about Amsterdam and Holland in another catch up post. So far I have been in India for about ten or eleven days.

(Some of this might look familiar to some of you because I just copied some parts out of facebook and email messages)

Only been to three cities so far. Laura and I made a loop starting in Delhi, then to Varanasi, Agra and now back in Delhi.

Delhi was my first experience of India. It is busy and crowded, I was super overwhelmed at first. On my first day we got in a small fender bender (which is uncommon, Indians are great drivers).

Varanasi was a good change of pace, relatively laid back compared to Delhi. It has so much incredible/perplexing religious ceremonies and happenings. This is the city where many Hindus come to be cremated on the Ganges river. Seeing it gave me mixed feelings, it was super interesting but it also broke my heart when I saw a young boy sobbing and I was reminded that this is someones funeral.

Agra is quite touristy, people are very persistent when trying to sell things to you here. The Taj Mahal is here it was very impressive, and even though it was quite expensive we had to see it because it is one of the things in India that everyone sees. If you don't see them I expect people will say: you went to India and you didnt see 'X'? Then they will laugh at you. I dont want that. The evening before seeing the Taj I ate dinner with my sister and a Belgian we met on a rooftop cafe where you could see the Taj Mahal. It reminded me of Aladdin where he can see the Sultans castle from the window of his hideout. In India it is quite common for kids to fly kites, they even do battle in the air by trying to cut the other kite's strings. On the rooftop we made friends with a kid, and he let me fly his kite for a bit. So it was more like a mix between the Kite Runner and Aladdin. And someone cut our friends kite out of the sky. Too bad.

Back in Delhi now. Resting. More to come soon.

Start at the beginning

After a very long talk until 2 am, the three of us all decided that we will probably never understand this place and accepted our state of discombobulation (thanks thesaurus.com).

I've really debated with myself about writing a blog about being in India. For the most part I have been very confused about what's going on in this place. A lot of times I say "What's going on in this place?" I figured, since I was so confused that writing about my travels might not be very interesting. It could even be confusing for the reader. Obviously I decided to write something about India in the end. I wont be making sense of it, I think I will never really understand this place.

Hillside

Three weeks ago I headed up the 401 to Guelph, Ontario where I usually spend my time from September to April for a music festival known as hillside. After being away for the winter semester at school seeing all my friends was a blast, and the festival was amazing, Saturday and Sunday night were particualrily incredible.

Saturday Night: The main band I wanted to see in Guelph was Tokyo Police Club who were going to play at the main stage, however I had made my way to the very front of a different stage, the island stage, while watching a different band Library Voices. I was torn, there was so much energy at the island stage, I didn't know if I should stay to see this band I barely knew called Woodhands, plus I would have good seats for the final band The Arkell's. In the end we stayed, and Woodhands blew me away. It was the craziest concert I have ever been to. At the end the lead singer/keytarist, attempting to crowd surf, jumped onto my friend Jess and covered her in his sweat. At the very climax of the show a girl beside me fainted. It was insane. And the Arkell's were great too.

Sunday Night: Storm clouds rolled in and it rained for most of Sunday. I was at the main stage to see Final Fantasy, and it had been clearing up but as he started to perform storm clouds could be seen coming our way. In the middle of the show the winds picked up and it started to pour. It seamed the faster Owen Pallatt played the more the wind howled. Thunder and lightning began and the stage manager pleaded with the performer to stop playing. But, Owen Pallatt just screamed back "GIVE ME ONE MORE MINUTE!!" I had a terrible thought that those would be funny last words. The crows was going wild and they finally cut him off with a bit of his song left, but for the time he played the crowd was going wild.

That was hillside for me. Pretty good time.

A New Direction

I've been home for a while now, five weeks I think. I miss blogging a little bit. I'm thinking about continuing with this. Changing from 'travel blog' to 'everyday average life blog', not so exciting I guess. Anyway, here goes.

One Great City/Homeward Bound

Coming back to Singapore was one of my favourite parts of this trip. Often I used to complain about all the things in Singapore that bothered me. However, upon coming back it was as if all the negative things about Singapore were invisible to me. Doing some last minute sight-seeing (after four months I had never been to see the Merlion) and visiting my friends, all the amazing things in Singapore were more apparent to me. I love that city. It sort of reminds me of a song by the Weakerthans, One Great City, which is about Winnipeg but to me the song is very much like how I feel about Singapore. The song describes citizens of Winnipeg lamenting their city's flaws, but the title to me indicates that regardless of that they still love it there.

Quick thanks to the people that made Singapore so special to me:

Karlijn and Maddy; my best friends in the country, my Swiss room mates; Adrian, Flavio and Simon, The Muddy Grass Ultimate Team at NUS, Kang; who got me hooked on wakeboarding, and Vicki; who took care of me when I was sick recently. Did I use those semi-colons properly?


Now I am in the airport in Hong Kong, one more flight then I am back in Canada and this is all over. That hasn't really sunk in yet for me. I won't be back in Singapore for some time. Strange to write that. Now, as I write this I'm starting to feel slight depression setting in, it feels like a weight in my stomach (or maybe that's H1N1).

Taking Off to Singapore (sorta)

Today, I woke up early to catch my flight to Singapore. At the ticket counter they said they couldn't find my reservation. I was getting really nervous that somehow my registration got lost, then they told me my flight was on July 2. FML.

DOUBLE POST!! Hue to Mui Ne (That Rhymes)

Lucky lucky, two posts to read in one day.

Hue is a great city and after having my knees in my nostrils for twenty hours on the red bull express I was excited to do some exploring. I broke out my skateboard and went to check out the citadel which houses the purple forbidden city. I was there for about an hour and it's huge, I think one could spend five hours there, but I was feeling a bit sick. That was the end of my sight seeing in Hue, I stayed in my hotel room the rest of the time and punished my toilet. I just want to say that although being sick was a bummer (I've been really lucky not to be so far), it was nice to be sick in a hotel that had satellite TV (the glass is half full!).

When I was feeling better I took a bus to Mui Ne a beach in the south of Vietnam which is close to Saigon so I can catch my flight to Singapore on June 30th, but I was mostly excited for the possibility of surfing. Surf is not up. And this is one of the saddest beaches in the world I think. The water at the horizon is a deep blue, then about fifteen meters from shore turns that nice green colour of tripical waters. Unfortunately the beach is spoiled by the first five meters of water which is a brownish-blackish colour, and the beach is covered in trash.

I did find a area with little trash (but there was a dead rat) and nearly no mucky water to swim. I was just dissapointed on arrival to find a beach in this state after being on buses (in total from Laos) for nearly fourty-eight hours. Tomorrow I continue on to Saigon.

Riding the Bull to Vietnam

The last place I visited in Laos was an area called the Bolaven plateau. It was secluded and beautiful, the area has many waterfalls and nearby to the village I was staying there is an Elephant Sanctuary. Since I haven't done any elephant riding while in Asia (or ever for that matter) it was really excited to see the elephants. The best part was watching them bathe with the trainers. It's almost like a dance, the elephant leads - dunking it's head then its lower back - and the trainer follows the elephant's movements trying not to get dunked in the water, all the while scurbbing the elephant (even behind there paper ears) with a flip-flop (whattaya know flip-flop do have a use after all).

Then after spending a little longer than I would have liked in a town called Pak Se I hopped on a bus to Hue, Vietnam. This bus ride, as I mentioned to my friends, 'is one for the blogs', nearly comparing with my long trip with my deaf/dumb/gay pal to Bangkok.

The only problem on this bus was leg room, these seats were not 'Westerner-sized'. My legs were literally being pressed against from the seat in front of me and my own seat from behind. My knees still hurt now.

We got off the bus for a few hours at the border to Vietnam to wait for the border to open. I slept the whole time because I was having some difficulties sleeping on the bus. I was surprised when I got on the bus and the floor had risen thirty centimeters everywhere, including the place where my feet used to go. The floor was level to some peoples seats! They had shoved cases of Red Bull everywhere on the bus, taking up seats, precious leg room, the cargo space under the bus, and (as I discovered when we were delayed while crossing the border while the border guard counted the number of red bull cases) inside the air vents for the engine.

This bus ride was 20 hours. I'm getting sick of buses.

Vientiane; Bombies and Skateboards

Today was a great day. Blog worthy? Maybe.

In the morning I visited COPE, a NGO in Laos which provides Laotians injured by unexploded ordinances (landmines, mortars, rockets, etc... from Laos' unfortunate past) with prosthetic limbs. COPE has a great exhibit with lots of great information where you can watch documentaries whenever you like. I saw a great documentary called Bomb Harvest which shows how Laos is affected by the UXO today and details how the Laotians are trained to disarm the bombs (and I unfortunately didn't get to see a Canadian one called Bombies which is supposed to be great, anyone wanna watch that when I get back?).

Before coming to Laos I was completely unaware of how many parts of Laos suffered nine years of sustained bombing missions by the United States. The war was widely unknown which is why it was called the Secret War. During the secret war the US dropped in excess of 260 million cluster bombs (or bombies), and keep in mind these are cluster bombs, they have no way of controlling where these things land and who they kill as a result many innocent people were killed. The US legacy in Laos continues today because an estimated 78 million bombs never detonated, and Laos efforts to clean up the mess has only removed 387 645 bombs (0.49%), so even today many people are killed by UXOs.


In the afternoon, I took out my skateboard for a spin to take a look at the city of Vientiane. Sometimes I kick my self, saying: 'why the heck did you bring a skateboard to south east Asia in the first place?'. But, it is days like these that totally justify having one. The roads in Vientiane are smooth which make riding great, and the weather today was hot and sunny (which is lucky because it is the rainy season right now) but not too humid. I rode around to some monuments and really enjoyed myself. One neat thing about a skateboard is it really draws a lot of attention from locals, many want to try and ride it for a bit (or at least spin the wheel with their finger), but from that you get to talk to people who otherwise wouldn't really give you a second glance.

I met a few English people (because of the skateboard) at one monument which was particularly amazing. I joined them for a trip to market where I ate bugs for my first time ever. The cockroaches were the best, satisfyingly crunchy and seasoned really well. It's like eating a really big pop corn kernel but not so hard (but they do get stuck in your teeth the same way pop corn does).

For not knowing if I should write about anything today I really wrote a lot. Sorry.

False Alarm

I am staying! It all worked out.

Im Coming Home

Well, I have had an amazing time in South East Asia. I had a lot of fun planned for my last few weeks, unfortunately I'm not able to extend my travels like I planned. So now I am heading home June 30th. I am in Ventienne the capital of Laos right now and I will be heading to Ho Chi Min City quickly to hop on a plane to Singapore to see some pals before I go home.

I am a bit depressed that my time in South East Asia is finishing up. There is so much I haven't experienced, but I am thankful for the things I was able to do.

Traveling in South East Asia has gotten me really excited about future travels. I've contemplated coming back here as soon as possible and for longer to see some things I missed. Or traveling within Canada, being away from Canada has made me realize how big my country is and how much of it is unknown to me.

Well, I don't know if I will post again before I'm back in Canada. I hope to see you folks soon, and keep checking here for when I put up pictures.

(Oh, and Happy 19th Birthday to my little sister Emily!)

Rope Swing Paradise

Vang Vieng puts all other rope swings to shame. There must be eight or so wings, the tallest of which is so high that when I stood on the platform my knees were shaking and I thought I would vomit. I was pleased when I conquered my fear and dropped from the platform, swung through the air, and plunged into the Nam Song River.

I left Vang Vieng briefly to visit the Plain of Jars in Phonsavan. The jars were a cool site to see with lots of rolling hills around but I'm questioning if it was worth the amount of money I had to spend and the seven hour bus ride each way to get here.

The buses in Laos are amazing for their views as long as you don't get car sick (thank goodness for Gravol). The roads bend and turn as they attempt to cling to the impossibly steep mountains, and the bus itself has to always be ready to weave around a water buffalo or a stray dog, tourists sit with their noses pressed to the glass in awe of the scenery.

Last night the gentleman in the seat in front of me was carrying some interesting cargo on the bus; an AK-47. I noticed it when I was getting back on the bus after eating dinner and he got on behind me, as I was sitting down I saw him lay the weapon against the wall. I wasn't scared because I read that it's fairly common here but it was startling at first to see the barrel of that gun. Though I was surprised that later on he got off the bus for a smoke break and left his weapon unattended.

Tonight I brave the buses again back to Vang Vieng.

Not Much to Report Here

Just and update here, not much to tell.

Chiang Mai was really nice, but there was a sudden decision made to leave Thailand all together and go to Laos. I was nervous I was going to miss some great things in Thailand, but excited to see the things Laos has to offer.

So far, Laos has yet to disappoint me. We (Karlijn, Linda and I) took a two day boat ride from Thailand to Luang Prabang, a city with a strong French influence. I've been enjoying several french baguettes each day from stalls in the streets, where in Thailand or Singapore any bread at all is uncommon. Yesterday I biked with my two travel buddies to a waterfall where we went swimming and played hon a rope swing (jackpot!). I played on the swing for over an hour (my arms are killing me today), but I have to say that although the scenery was beautiful the swing itself doesn't compare to the massive swings at Sharon's Creek in Dorchester, Ontario.

From here I will head off to Vang Vieng for tubing (and hopefully more rope swings) then Vientienne, the capital, for some visa sort of stuff.

Burma, Burma, Bur--CHIANG MAI

OK, so I lied! I am not going to Burma, I should actually already be there right now.

I've heard many mixed feelings from travellers who went there and had conflicting advice from the internet. Some claim that it is difficult to travel anywhere without supporting the government financially, which I really am against doing. I'm also concerned that by going the Burmese government will view this as some kind of acceptance from 'the West' (not that I have so much political sway, but if all travellers boycott the government it sends a message).

The country sounds absolutely beautiful, and the people are supposed to be some of the most friendly around. It would be quite an experience to go there and hear about their stories and perceptions of their situation.

Burma will always be there and I can go back some other time when the authoritarian regime is removed from power (hopefully in the not to distant future), I just wish I didn't already buy my plane ticket and visa.

Instead I'll be leaving Bangkok tonight and heading towards Chiang Mai in the north.

On an un-travel related note; I really suggest more people read about the government's actions in Burma. Human Rights Watch has many reports on Burma's use of child soldiers, it's marginalization of minorities, and of the government's crackdown onpro-democratic protests.


I've only partially read one report called 'CRACKDOWN'. It's over 100 pages long but you should definately check out the sections called The Monks Join the Protests and The Crackdown. The report contrasts the actions taken by the two sides in the fight for democracy in Burma, it also really made me so angry at all the injustices of the world!

I also found a video, (it has a few bloody pictures so beware) I can't tell if it has sound (no speakers on this computer) but it has pictures of the day of the crackdown.

Burma, Burma, Burma

At the advice of my traveling mates I've done more reading on Burma, all urging travelers not to go. I'm starting to question going, I just wish I didn't already have my ticket and visa paid for.

Crocs Eat Flip-flops for Breakfast

Today I went to Bangkok's weekend market, Chatuchak. I wandered around the maze-esque bazaar for hours in fourty degrees and gave into my consumeristic side a wee bit.

At the end of a long day, I realized something; I hate flip-flops. I've owned Crocs for a long time, and I wore them nearly everyday in Singapore, unfortunately I lost them on Ko Tao. When I got to Bangkok I decided to buy flip-flops instead of Crocs, big mistake. I don't understand how people can tolerate flip-flops, the bottoms of my feet are very sore and I have blisters between my toes and on the tops of my feet. Here are my thoughts on the flip-flop/Croc debate:

Firstly, and undeniably, Crocs are more comfortable that the thongs.

Crocs also look ridiculous, which I think is a bonus. I feel like I am sticking it to 'the man' or 'fashion police' when I stroll down the road in my Crocs. I actually had someone say upon meeting me 'are you actually wearing those in plublic?!'. Score one for the fashion criminals!


(I've found the effect is greatly increased on fashionistas when I wear Crocs with socks.)

The Best Things in Life Are Free...

Woooooot! I've struck gold in Bangkok! FREE INTERNET!

Thoughts on Travelling

Nothing to report really, just thought my blog was being neglected. Here are some random thoughts, and a bit about what I've been up to and what I plan to do.

After grumbling on Ko Tao about not being able to dive and then picking up a new travel partner, we (for those keeping track: Karlijn and I, plus newcomer Linda) headed to Ko Phayam on the west coast. The island was very secluded, and since it was off season we were only sharing the beach and the waves with about fifteen other people, which is quite a contrast from the city-like Ko Tao and Ko Pahangan.

My initial thoughts on travelling: I love it. It's very busy and I don't have much time to think of home so I don't miss it too much (sorry everyone!), except for when I have the occasional bout of home sickness. I also feel like I learn a lot about myself, some travellers are very open and you discuss everything and through that I have questioned myself (in a good way), and learned a lot. I'm learning to be more positive and outgoing and not to judge people right away.

I am currently still in Thailand, been around Bangkok and Pattaya lately, and on the twenty-seventh of this month I will be flying with my two pals to Yangon, Myanmar (if we can get a visa). At first, Myanmar sounded a bit dangerous to me, which is why I was attracted to it I think. On doing some reading it doesn't sound any more dangerous than any other SE Asian country. Most travellers avoid it because it is difficult to get a visa or because they are boycotting the government due to their violent crackdowns on pro-democratic protesters or other human rights abuses. I also considered not going because of the government's actions on peaceful protestors and monks, luckily there are ways to avoid giving the government your money while there.

OK, so I guess I had more to say than I thought.

Bandaged and Bruised Under a Full Moon

The full moon party is a huge party which occurs once a month (surprise, during a full moon) and covers all of Ko Phangan's Hat Rin Beach. I met up with friends, from my exchange program in Singapore, there for one last party to say good-bye. Walking around the day after the full moon party there were several people with bandaged up legs or arms from nasty spills they took falling off a stage or playing hopscotch (with jump ropes on fire), I was one of the bandaged folk.

During the party two of my friends and I were having a splashing fight in the water, and I 'fell' (I still say they pushed me!) onto a rock. I knew my foot was cut instantly, there was pain and with my hand I felt a small piece of skin which was nearly severed from my foot but clung on to my foot. I don't remember who saw my arm first, but when examining my foot it was noted that there was a stream of blood which was flowing from my elbow off of the tips of my fingers and into the Ocean.

A note to my mother; no cause for alarm, I am fine, I got the cuts cleaned at a clinic so no chance of infection. I am changing the bandages everyday. In a few more days, I am told, I don't need bandages anymore.

I am now on Ko Tao (Turtle Island) which unfortunately seems to be the scuba diving capitol of the world, its not really but it seams that way when everyone else gets to dive except you.