It was still dark, yet warm and humid. The roosters hadn’t even made a sound yet but I was getting ready to board a boat heading to Monad Shoal; one of the best (and very few) places on earth to dive with the beautiful Thresher sharks. Normally found only in very deep water, the sharks have chosen Monad Shoal (about 20 minutes boat ride from Malapascua island) as their daily cleaning station. Your chances of seeing them here are quite good, at about 75%.

During the stay, I did the 5:30am Monad Shoal trip twice and witnessed these breathtaking creatures on both occasions. The second time however, proved to be my favorite! Upon descending off the anchor-line and hitting just 12m of depth, we knealed down on the flat bottom and were visited promptly by three large thresher sharks who circled in front of us for close to 20 minutes. Awe-struck by their prehistoric beauty, I had to remember to keep breathing as I found myself trying to breath less so the air bubbles wouldn’t distort my grand view. I wanted to soak up the moment as much as possible.

What a truly special moment. I can’t find enough words to express the feelings of being able to swim right next to such a magnificent creature. To have them swim within meters and stare at us with curiosity. I had no fear whatsoever. Just pure excitement and graciousness for having this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And as if the Thresher sharks aren’t special enough to warrant a trip to the tropical island of Malapascua, many other dive sights offered a world-class experience as well. With the exception of witnessing the onslaught of dynamite fishing on one of the days, Gato Island provided an amazing cave dive complete with white-tip reef sharks. The best part is approaching the end of the cave and seeing the sharks circling their silhouettes around the “entrance” with only the blue ocean in the background. A very good picture for those with a great camera. Although it was a little busy with divers, when my trainer and I left to go around a different corner, we were greeted with two big sharks who circled just 1m in front of us. Absolutely amazing!

Kallangaman island stole the show though for it’s overall beauty and stunning wall dive. Besides being an accommodation-free island (this means unspoiled), it featured a stunning strip of pearly white sand stretching itself a couple hundred feet out into the ocean, causing a double-beach effect and a feeling like your walking on water. The wall dive was my favorite dive ever and I’ll never forget the feeling of coming off the wall facing the blue abyss and seeing the unique array of colorful corals, schools of bright neon fish, and plenty of macro life such as the adorable pygmy seahorse. Even the 1.5 hour boat ride home over the teal-green waters was amazing as we had dolphins racing the boat part way home.

Malapascua really is a beautiful dive mecca. Even a visit to the somewhat-boring house reef gave me a glimpse into the life of the goby-shrimp relationship, a look at some baby lion-fish, and a chance to practice my navigation skills which I nailed!

I came out of Malapascua with a new appreciation for scuba diving and my advanced PADI dive certification. Every time I seem to enter the water, life under the sea inspires me to all new levels. The relationships of unique species, the dazzling array of colors presented in jaw-dropping fashion by corals and plants, and even the gentle swim of a Thresher shark are all reasons to continue sinking into the depths of the sea. If your looking for something truly inspirational and an adventure you’ll never forget, I highly recommend giving scuba diving a try. It’s truly an “out-of-this-world” experience and a whole new look at nature that a picture could never provide.

As I write this article, It’s hard to say what I’ll miss more about Malapascua. Staring at Thresher sharks swimming in front of us, running out onto a slimming strip of white sand surrounded by blue and green sea, dropping off a beautiful wall of coral gardens, swimming through a cave of white-tip sharks, or standing on the edge of the boat watching dolphins show us how fast they are…

I guess in the end, I can say I’ll miss everything. I’m truly happy to have been given the opportunity to see such a beautiful place and I definitely hope to return some time in the future.

What are some tropical islands that have inspired you?

**

Some of the pictures featured here were provided by Eric and Sheila (two divers who joined us at Malapascua). They have extremely awesome cameras so if you want to see some mesmerizing pictures, visit their blog here.

We can honestly say that zoos had never really appealed to us before. We love seeing animals in their natural habitat but just wasn’t as comfortable seeing them in a zoo with hordes of other tourists beside us. But since the Singapore Zoo is among the world’s best, we had to check it out when we visited the bustling Southeast Asian city.

Situated in the beautiful Singapore nature reserve, the zoo provides a beautiful backdrop for both visitors and animals alike. We instantly felt like we were entering a magnificent zoo before making it to the entrance. After walking through the turnstiles, we was greeted by a nice wooden bridge taking us over a swamp filled with False Ghavials (something like a alligator) which enhanced the rainforest mood.

After checking out the rare proboscis monkey getting frisky on it’s neighbor, we made way to the famous free ranging orangutan exhibit where their daily feeding was about to take place. The cute little “men of the jungle” were climbing their way down tree vines to reach the platform where their keeper would stuff their mouths full of food and drink. This is also where they would stay for people to have pictures with them. One of the orangutans actually fell off the platform and although it looked and sounded painful, he quickly climbed back up and acted like nothing happened. Next, we looked at the mystical white tiger who paced back and forth protecting his other half. Interestingly, all white tigers have the same ancestor, a white tiger named Mohan who was captured in India many years ago.

And as if that’s not enough, the zoo also had Malaysian tigers, lions, cougars, and jaguars for us to gawk at. We managed to catch the jaguar feeding as well which was pretty entertaining. Being good divers, their enclosure has a little pond for them to swim in. As the food was tossed into the den, some would fall into the water. The male jaguar was not interested in getting wet so he remained on land while the less-lazy female dove right in and ate everything she could. She must have been hungrier. Other great feeding sessions we managed to see were the Komodo Dragon, the King Cobra, the Chimpanzees, and the Giraffes.

The Komodo dragon fiercely tackled a giant steak while the cobra lunged at his prepared ball of mice and snake. The chimps on the other hand were waving their hands as if to tell their keepers to throw the food to them while the giraffes used their goofy tongue to catch their daily feed of fruit and vegetables.

All of the exhibits were beautifully laid out, letting you feel closer to the animals while still keeping you safe. The animals were much more lively than at any other zoo I have been to and the feeding sessions were a great way to see some action. Different monkeys would “play” with us from their dens by tilting their heads at us and following us as we walked by. Pygmy hippos would swim along fish and turtles while the orchard garden provide a beautiful respite for those looking to take a break.

The shows are not to be missed either. The elephant show showcases some amazing talent both for shear power and gentle creativeness. The elephants were so graceful and fun to watch as they acted out plays and moved trees with their powerful legs. The splash safari featured a very special sea lion who not only enjoyed splashing his guests but also catching flying discs thrown by yours truly. That’s right, I had waived my hand to go on stage and once there, was given a flying disc that they made me toss from more than a hundred feet away. Thanks to my mad skills , I made it on the first attempt and didn’t have to embarrass myself by throwing again. Karla luckily had an IPhone to capture the quick video.

Not all the creatures at the zoo were big either. We didn’t even know that Naked Mole Rats existed before the visit but watching the little pink sharp-toothed mice pile on top of each other was almost as interesting as the Lions den. And although they are tiny, we wouldn’t want to put our fingers in as the little critters are capable of chewing through concrete.

Besides melting away under the hot Singapore sun, the visit was highly entertaining and enjoyable. It’s definitely something we highly recommend one do on a visit to Singapore. Young or old, the Singapore Zoo is sure to satisfy your desire to see an amazing array of wildlife from all over the world.

At just $20 SGD, it’s a tremendous value for what you get and something you’ll always remember. And if you dig the zoo, we can also recommend the Night Safari which is located right next door. If you spend an entire day at the zoo however, you might want to choose a seperate night for the Night Safari as the sun can really drain the energy quickly during the day.

For more information on the Singapore Zoo, check out their fabulous website here.

Roosters crowing, birds chirping, and little pigs rushing about to get first dibs on their pot of grub were all part of the daily ritual upon waking up to a beautiful morning in Batad.

Batad is a small village situated in the northern cordillera region of the Philippines as part of the UNESCO World Heritage listed Ifugao rice terraces. To get here, one must take a 10-hour bus north from Manila, a 1-hour jeepney from Banaue to the saddle, and then a 1-hour hike before reaching the beautiful little village.

The travel grind of buses, jeeps, planes, ferries, and tricycles were getting to me at this point but Batad provided the perfect relax for my tired soul. We stayed 3 nights in a charming guesthouse called Rita’s. By day, we had jaw-dropping views of the Batad rice terraces and the mystical mountains that surrounded them. By night, we had soothing jungle sounds as well as multiple insects paying a visit as we sat around Rita’s deck. Baby scorpions, praying mantas, humungous butterflies, and other strange creatures would land all around us, attracted by our headlamps glowing into the darkness. In our bedroom, we were lucky to have a firefly squeeze in and circle the room like Peter Pan’s Tinkerbell, magically creating a LED effect across the ceiling.

Apart from the various insects, the village also provided an amazing 3-hour hike. The popular trail brings you across the rice terraces and up to a viewpoint for a completely different look at the masterpiece below. It then links itself to another trail that brings you down to an absolutely gorgeous waterfall called Tappiya. At roughly 43m in height, it’s dazzling to look at and bone-chilling to enter. Just don’t go to close to the fall as it has claimed victims in the past. Besides meeting good people, going on marvelous treks, and taking in the great views with coffee in hand, I simply fell in love with the charm of the village guesthouse atmosphere.

Rather than waking to loud motorcycles and horns, I woke to roosters, dogs, and singing birds. I would get up, look off the deck and see hens walking by with chicks in tow, or dogs looking for mates to play with. I would walk over to see Rita’s traditional hut and see pigs and piglets running around waiting for their morning feed. Little Filipino kids would say hello and run around playing games with their siblings. It all added to the charm of the village and made us feel welcome.

The 3 days were magical and provided the much needed mental relaxation I needed after 3 weeks of constant movement. And although it was hard to say bye to this mountain paradise, something tells me I just might be back.

I’m usually hesitant about posting anything to do with purchasing products on this site but since many friends rave about the great deals they get using Only72, I thought “Why not”?

Basically, a couple good guys round up $1000 worth of business products/courses/ebooks online and sell it all for just $100. The deal is available for just 72 hours but if you buy it and don’t like it, you get a full refund.

This latest sale coming up tomorrow is special because it also includes a hard copy of Chris Guillebeau’s latest book “the $100 startup”. I’m sure it will provide much needed inspiration for those wanting to start a business on a shoestring.

So if the thought of starting a business online appeals to you or even starting one offline at a low cost, this might be a deal worth looking at. Take a look at all the products and figure out if its a good deal for you. If many are of interest, then now is probably the time to make the leap since your getting them at 90% off.

If not, don’t get caught up in the hype and just buy them because it looks cool. Save the money for something better. The book definitely looks great though and since its shipped right to your door, it makes sense to buy the whole package if everything else looks like it can truly help you in some sort of way.

I’m gonna be honest to. If you buy through me, I do get a cut of the sale. I’ve read a lot of this type of material over the years and it’s helped me a lot, so if you do buy through me, and have questions about what you read – simply send me an email and I’d love to help you out.

Interested to see what’s available for 90% off? Check it out!

“Welcome to the Perhentian islands”…

I thought to myself as we stepped off the ferry, tired from an all-night bus we took from Penang. However, the arrival of crystal clear turquoise waters mixed with the sound of rolling waves eased the tired brain.

The first task was an easy stroll through the jungle to reach long beach, the main backpacker area with a few guesthouses, dive shops, and a couple jungle bars.

The sea was stunning to say the least. Different shades of blue and turquoise colors clashed with clear water and sun-ray reflections. We quickly found a cheap but not-very-well maintained chalet called chempaka to drop our bags off and quickly make way for the ocean. The soft sand was perfect for splashing around in the ensuing waves. The day was filled with ocean, Frisbee, and plenty of sun bathing .

The next day, we organized a snorkeling trip for 18 of the international students who joined us on the island. After checking out a few places, we ended up going with a fancy hotel on Coral Bay because they offered a free morning buffet which included eggs, toast, fish, curry, rice, noodles, veggies, fruit, and cereal; easily our best breakfast of the trip.

For $12USD, breakfast and a 5 hour snorkeling trip is not to bad a deal. Due to the large amount of people however, the shop ran out of gear, leaving a couple of us to rent some nearby. Eventually though, after many delays, we made way to the boat and our first destination called fish point. This was probably the best spot of the day since it had a variety of life including clown fish, barracuda, and a few other colorful tropical swimmers.

Our second spot was shark point which unfortunately had no sharks for us to stare at. The corals were pretty though and we enjoyed the variety of fish here as well. The third stop was called turtle point and although we noticed a turtle swimming by, it was quickly scared away when 25 people rushed to jump in the water. Half of us missed him and I really question this being safe for the turtles as they must get very scared with the frantic splashing from snorkelers jumping in the water.

The next stops are barely worth mentioning but had some cool merits of their own. But first, we stopped for lunch at fisherman’s village. This was practically useless since the staff were not prepared to take after all their guests. Some of us waited 1.5 hours before getting fed while others, like me, never got the meal at all. In fact, some were told 2 hours later that the meal they ordered was no longer available. Fail.

The rest of us cancelled our meal and made way for the boat. Our next stop was the lighthouse. Stationed out in the China Sea, this place had cool corals but a very strong current that no one could comfortably swim in. So instead, I walked up to the top of the lighthouse, roughly 8m above the ocean, and jumped off. It reminded me of the first “jump” I did in Cancun 6 years ago. It was that jump that awakened the adventurous soul within me and kicked off the incredible adventures I’ve been having over the last few years.

Standing 20-odd feet above the ocean was still a little scary at first but as I’ve learned in the past, the best thing to do is just jump without thinking about it too much. Plus, other locals were doing it so I felt safe about not hitting the coral below. The jump was great and became one of my highlights for the day.

Our last stop was very disappointing to say the least. The place was called Romantic beach and although it has the potential to be magnificent, the garbage floating around ruins the effect. The waters were quite clear but snorkeling into plastic bags, cans, and other gross things made for an unattractive visit.

Its really the main problem I’ve noticed with most of Asia so far. There seems to be a lot of trash everywhere. In Cambodia, people would throw garbage bags right onto the highway. Unfortunate for such beautiful destinations.

Besides beach Frisbee, swimming, hanging out at beach bars,and  getting burned to a crisp, I was craving a scuba dive. It had been three years since my last coean dive and I was a little nervous. I wanted to do a wreck dive but since most warned me about the dangers in place or were just trying to sell me a “refresher” course, I opted for something else.

I found a quiet not-so-little dive shop on the upper part of the beach called Turtle Bay Divers. They seemed very chilled and best of all, offered to bring me to the Temple of the Sea, the best dive site in the Perhentian Islands. Since I didn’t have to take a refresher course, I was eager to go. Due to the small group, I had my very own divemaster who gave me a quick rundown of everything I had forgotten over the years. Before I knew it, I was rolling backwards off the boat and into the dark blue ocean.

It was strange and exciting to be back in the ocean after such a long time. Suddenly, I found myself releasing the air in my vest and sinking slowly into the depths of the sea. It felt funny at first but after a few minutes, I remembered most of my prior training. At a maximum depth of 18m, we glided weightlessly through the water passing by clown fish, barracuda, puffer fish, trigger fish, blue-spotted sting rays, moray eels, box fish, schools of trevally, and beautiful coral gardens. I was quickly gaining back my scuba confidence and was really happy I woke up so early to make this fantastic adventure a memory.

They call it Temple of the Sea because almost every fish species around the Perhentians can be found at this one location. After 38 minutes of circling the amazing ocean (We’ll, technically a sea) pinnacle, and my divemaster getting a few nibbles on his head, we started or ascend back to the surface. I took off my vest, threw it onto the boat, and then flapped my fins to launch myself into the vessel. My divemaster told me I didn’t need a refresher dive (which was good news to me) and after waiting for the others to join us, headed back to land.

It was a great way to end the visit to the Perhentian Islands and it quickly restored my scuba diving confidence. This will come in handy for our 3-week Philippine trip coming up.

It was hard to say bye to the Crusoe-esque beaches but as I seem to say often… “the adventure must continue”. We boarded the ferry and made way to our midnight bus that would bring us back to Penang.

When you visit the Perhentian Islands, I recommend…

• Staying at Chempaka if you need to save money OR staying at Panorama if a little more money isn’t a big deal. It’s nicer and has great social life and restaurant.
• Doing a snorkeling trip but organizing it on Coral Bay. The fancy hotel off the pier includes a hearty breakfast worth more than the trip (if booked separately).
• Do a dive. I went with Turtle Bay Divers located on Long beach besides Panorama. They were chill and the groups were small. I’m sure any of the dive ops are great though.
• Be prepared for pricier food than the rest of Malaysia. If on a budget, bring snacks with you such as tuna, bread, crackers, and what not.
• The hikes in the area are kind of cool but are not very easy so to be safe, bring some shoes.
• Jump of the lighthouse if you can!

As mentioned in the last post, we decided to find a new hostel for our last 2 nights in Siem Reap. Mostly just for a change of scenery, to satisfy some curiosity, and to be closer to town. I found a great little place called Angkor Wonder, located right next to downtown Siem Reap, and just $8 per night. When we arrived though, the owner told us he had no rooms left even though we had already booked online and paid a deposit. To our luck though, the owner put us up across the street at a 3-star hotel for the same price! It was a “friend’s” hotel, and now we had a fancy room, an elevator, and a complete shower for just $8! Awesome way to spend the last 2 nights in the temple capital.

Our new room!

After a short day visiting smaller temples, a relaxing massage by blind people, and an awesome dance performance at Temple Bar and Restaurant, we booked our bus tickets for Battambang. We had spent 8 night in Siem Reap, and while it was fun, we  needed to check another city out. Battambang was about a 4-hour drive away and although the boat trip is popular, we eventually decided the longer 8-hour more expensive journey wasn’t worth it.

The bus ended up being on time which is amazing for Cambodia. We even met a couple of swedes on board who were the only non-Cambodians on the bus. We became friends after sharing fried grasshoppers at one of the stops and made way to the same hotel in Battambang. On arrival, our Toronto Maple Leaf Jersey-wearing tuk-tuk driver was there to pick us up.

Baby crocs

He cheerfully brought us to our hotel which was the cheapest in the city. At just $5 per night, you can’t complain about a line of ants marching up and down the wall. After sadly performing mass genocide on the marching ants, we heard about a local circus that is actually supposed to be pretty amazing. So good in fact, that 2 of the kid performers (most are about 12-16 years old) were given scholarships to study with Cirque Du Soleil in Montreal, Canada.

The Swedes tagged along and to our surprise, it actually was very good. These young kids showed great strength, balance, and other tricks I certainly am not able to do. For $8, it was a solid deal and is the TOP thing I recommend if you make it to Battambang. It’s the last place I expected a quality circus but that’s what makes it extra special.

The next day was also pretty cool. We grabbed the Swedes again and did a day-long tour of a crocodile farm, a small winery, a bamboo train, and the killing caves and bat show. Our first stop was the crocodile farm and besides the chance to hold a baby croc, the place was kind of sad. It was pretty much 600-1800 crocodiles in a little green crap-infested pool piled on top of each other without anywhere to really walk or swim. Some were newly born while others were going on 70 years old. Not a great life, that’s for sure.

Cambodian Bamboo Train

The winery was pretty much nothing so I’ll skip ahead to the bamboo train. This popular attraction is pretty much the most famous thing in Battambang which is pretty sad considering the circus is much better. For $5, I suppose it’s hard to complain about the bamboo train even though this is crazy expensive by Cambodian standards. The ride pretty much consists of sitting down on a flat piece of bamboo which guns down an abandoned train track by way of a old “Scooter” engine.  The history of the train is amazing since Cambodians came up with the idea in order to transport livestock and other things quicker and more efficiently. The trains no longer use the track because it’s in such bad shape but these local people put it to great use. As a ride, it’s nothing to special. You simply speed down the track at maybe 20 mph drifting past bushes, farmland, and more bush. After 20 minute or so, you stop at a little “store” in the middle of nowhere where you can buy soda, or small meals. We chatted with the shopkeeper for another 20 minutes or so before heading back down the track.

Budda would be proud

The funny part is that the tracks are only one-way. This means that when you confront another bamboo train headed your way, both of you must stop. Then, the bigger one (who carries more people) gets the right-of-way and the smaller train has to disassemble and let the bigger one go by. They then reassemble back on the track and carry on. This takes about 2 minutes as there isn’t much to the train. All in all, it was a cool experience to do if your in Battambang but definitely not worth the trip alone.

Once we left the bamboo train, we made way for the killing fields, another  area where innocent people were slayed. The cave is on a mountain with amazing views of the land beneath it. The best part of the trip though happens at the bottom of the mountain around 6:15pm when millions of bats fly out in formation to look for food. This is amazing to watch as millions of bats form a black ribbon across the sky lasting roughly 45 minutes. You can then drive a little bit south and see them dancing through the sky. This is another must-see when in Battambang or anywhere else in the world where this happens.

Black Ribbons of Bats

The next night was our last in Cambodia so we took a bus to Phnom Penh. This bus, although just 5-hours, was incredibly annoying. It had a ear-piercing horn that seemed to go off about every 5 minutes when the bus would pass motorcycles or other things on the road. We did arrive though, and funny enough, ran into the Swedes who had also left to Phnom Penh that day. We seemed to run into them at the perfect time to0, since I had just noticed a lady selling all kinds of fried insects on the side of the main road.

I quickly grabbed them and since we met over fried grasshoppers, we had to say bye to each other by sharing in the delight of fried tarantula. I had wanted to do this while in Cambodia, and although I hesitated once holding the furry black creature in my hand, I knew I had to do it. The 4 of us munched down, catching spider legs as they fell off the crisp body. It actually wasn’t as bad as it looked. The body pretty much tasted like a fried chicken wing while the bum was a little odd. Maybe the venom gave it an off taste or maybe it was all in my imagination.

Yummy Spider

So with fried tarantula in belly, I knew I had completed my trip to Cambodia. I’m real happy I found the insect food stall, as well as our new Swedish friends, our British pal from Siem Reap, our incredible trip to all the temples, and our wonderful time around Battambang and Phnom Penh.

I truly recommend a trip to Cambodia, and if you have time for more than just temples, I’m sure a visit to any other city will be great. The people are friendly, the food is pretty good, and the Asian hospitality is splendid.

As mentioned in the previous post, the temples around Angkor Wat are beautiful. I had no idea how many temples there were around the Angkor area and how impressive each of them are. After having some fun with little monkeys, and taking pictures of many others, we took a ride around Bayon, marveling the magnificent faces that stare at you throughout the visit. Bayon was probably my favorite temple although Bapuon (another favorite) has a very beautiful walkway along with a pyramid like structure that offered grand vistas of it’s surroundings.

All the temples as you can imagine, have many people trying to sell you things which can get on a persons nerves after awhile. However, sometimes I find it quite sad and wish I could buy from everyone. One lady determined to get me to visit “her” little restaurant ran along-side my bike as I repeatedly told her I already had a restaurant I was going to. I felt bad that she worked that hard to earn a sale but I already had a “familiar” spot I wanted to return to.

After a great meal at Angkor Thom stall #30, we took our rented peddle bikes and tried watching another sunset take place but once we realized the clouds weren’t willing to budge, we made the 1-hour trek back to our guesthouse.

Once back at the guest house, I knew I needed to figure out a way to get to Prasat Preah Vihear, another UNESCO site located far north on the border of Thailand and almost the border of Laos. I found out that a car and driver would cost me $120 USD which I didn’t want to take on myself. Determined to make this work, I found another guest nearby and told him about the temple that awaited us. The British guy was in and became a friend for the remainder of our trip to Cambodia. We agreed to take one day off and then take the car 4-hours north the day after.

But of course, a day off is rare for me so instead, my fiancee and I went along with a guest house worker to a nearby fishing village on the Tonle Sap. His name was Visnay and was the only reason we decided to make this trek. I had heard many bad things about this “tourist trap” but considering our guide was from there and who’s family still lived there, we had to do it.

A short tuk-tuk ride later (actually not that short because it broke down and we had to wait for another), we arrived at the river passage that leads to the Tonle Sap fishing village. We jumped in our boat which is kind of ridiculous considering it could hold about 15-20 people and headed out into the village. The fishing village looks pretty awesome and I can imagine how cool it must look when the water levels are high. We saw many houses on stilts, people getting around with little wooden boats, and pig pens floating around in the water. I snapped some great photos and then stopped to visit Visnay’s parents as well as a short stop at a local school.

The school was full of adorable children all eager to learn new things. They stopped to greet us and one of the teachers had us tell the class about ourselves. We then asked the kids to ask us questions, but since we could tell they were shy, we bribed them with “Canadian” pencils we had bought in Vancouver. Now we could tell they really wanted to ask questions and some did. It was cute to see how much they struggled to think of something to ask. We answered some easy questions, gave out some pencils, and said our goodbyes. We then went back to the boat and headed into the Tonle Sap, a big filthy lake where most of the fish and shrimp come from in Cambodia. After another quick pass by the floating forest, we went back to the river, got back in the tuk-tuk, and headed home.

The next day, we departed at 4:30am to make way to Prasat Preah Vihear, a UNESCO World Heritage Site 4-hours north of Siem Reap. The ride was dark and uneventful but after 4 boring hours, we arrived near our site. We then paid $20 USD to take a short ride in a 4×4 up the mountain to see the temple. This was a steap climb and a steap fee as well but since most of it goes to the poorly paid army, I figured it was okay.

About 20 minutes later, we arrived to the top, pleasantly greeted by much of the army who are present there to protect the site from Thailand. In fact, it was just 1 year before we arrived that Thailand shot missiles, blowing up the temple in some parts and killing many people. The army has lived at this temple for many years and it was now closed to anyone wanting to visit from Thailand. It’s a shame that anyone would cause mass destruction to a temple so important and so beautiful.

The most special thing about the temple to the naked eye is that fact that it sits high on a mountain overlooking Cambodia, Thailand, and Laos. The view is breathtaking as is the view we took in the military binoculars as we watched the Thailand side for any mishaps. The military were surprisingly friendly, often asking us questions and telling us much about there home in the temple.

It wasn’t just military either. It was also their families. We had 4 cute kids that kept following us around saying “hello” over and over again. When we stopped for a quick bite to eat, we shared with them our bread and jam, and also gave them some pencils. They graciously said thank you and ran off laughing.

Not many people come this far to see one temple that is guarded by the military but I’m really happy we did. The temple is great, massive, and has a very impressive view from the top. The fact that the military lives there makes it extra interesting and if you have a chance to go see, please do.

It was a long day and it was great to finally hit the bed. The next day however, just for curiosity, we decided to switch hostels and create some new adventures.

To be continued in Part 3.

Why not read part 1?

Angkor Wat

Friendly people, tuk-tuks, floating villages, ancient temples, military, and fried tarantulas are all wonderful images that come to mind when I think back to our two weeks in Cambodia.

We arrived late on January 21st after roughly 17 hours of flying from Canada to China, and finally our destination. It was dark and humid, but luckily we had already arranged a taxi through our guesthouse to pick us up at the airport. The plan was to relax for a day before planning the next couple of weeks.

After waking up, we decided on spending only one more night in Phnom Penh before heading out to Siem Reap. With a full day ahead of us, we grabbed a tuk-tuk and made way to the S-21 Genocide museum and the gruesome Khem Rouge killing fields.

As great as it was to learn about these tragedies, it’s also painful to imagine the torture three million Cambodians went through just 30+ years ago. In Hitler-esque style, Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge gang ruthlessly murdered millions of helpless men, women, children, and even babies in just 3 short but long years. When one person was ordered to be killed, he would have the entire family murdered right down to the dog.

It’s truly insane that people like this exist today and although horrible, it’s great that places like the killing fields and the genocide museum exist to remind us of such hatred and cruelty. After walking through the killing fields complete with audio guide (which is highly recommended), looking at the temples of real human skulls, and seeing bones that have been surfacing due to rainfall, we decided it was time to move on.

Our fearless tuk-tuk driver

After another stop at the national museum, we booked our bus ticket to Siem Reap. Instead of booking the $7 big bus for the 6-hour journey, we got sold on the “VIP” mini-bus which gets you there in 5 hours for $11. We’ll, let me be the one to tell you that the mini-bus is a bad idea. First off, there is nothing VIP about it. You get a little 25 cent bottle of water and since it’s a min-van, it feels more cramped than a bus. There is also no bathroom, although this is common on many buses here. The worst part is watching the road every minute unsure of when your going to get in a head-on collision. People in Cambodia tend to drive a little crazy, swerving in and out of lanes into oncoming traffic and dodging motorbikes by just Cm’s. With a bus, your more of a “king” on the road with more padding and metal to aid in a collision but in a min-van, it’s going to get messy.

Anyways, our 5-hour journey turned into 11 hours because of a religious festival occuring just after Phnom Phen on the way to Siem Reap. Pilgrims, truck-loads of munks, and even elephants were walking towards one of the temples blocking the highway for everyone else. After roughly 5 hours at crawling speed, we finally hit the open now-dark highway and made way for Siem Reap.

After 5 hours of feeling my eyes glued to the windshield as I desperately prayed for not hitting oncoming traffic, we finally arrived in Siem Reap at about midnight. We had arranged for a tuk-tuk to meet us and we were at our new guesthouse within about 15 minutes.

The Bun Kao Guesthouse was welcoming and spacious with a large foyer and very friendly staff. We had a booked a double room with en-suite bathroom for 2 nights but ended up staying for 6. At $14 per night, it wasn’t cheap by Siem Reap standards, but with free breakfast and some good people, we stayed put.

Siem Reap is a touristy town with a nice riverside (except for the brown water), some great restaurants, and really good fish massage parlors. $1 for a beer and 15-minutes of fish nibbling away at your dead skin is a solid deal. After a day of looking around town, we bought a 3-day Angkor pass and started our first temple day off with a sunrise at Angkor Wat. The sunrise wasn’t to grand considering the chaos of hundreds of people sitting around the moat with so many camera flashes going off, you’d think you were in a club dancing to a strobe light.

However, the real benefit to sunrise at Angkor Wat is when it is over and everyone goes back into town to eat breakfast. This is the only time of day to see Angkor Wat with barely a soul in sight and we took full advantage of it. Angkor Wat is of course, remarkable. Were not big into little details and deep history but the building is stunning and it’s a fun atmosphere to imagine what life must have been like thousands of years ago. We walk around taking pictures and even snap one of a monk  before heading out to see other temples in the area.

On our way out of Angkor Wat, we noticed some monkeys playing in trees and went closer to get a look. Little ones scurried around us chasing after each other and playing games. It was all fun and games until a bigger one approached Karla and grabbed a hold of her pink shiny water bottle. As she opened her mouth revealing her fangs, we weren’t to sure if she was wanting to play or kill us, so we just walked away.

Enchanting Ta Prohm

Next, we hit the roads  and went to see Ta Phrom, the amazing temple that was made famous by Tomb Raider. Ta Prohm had a very magical feel to it. We walked around the outside of the temples first, taking pictures of the ancient structure while beautiful yellow leaves fell from the trees. The backdrop of the misty bird-singing jungle and the scorpion sitting on the rocks enhanced the feel of a once-remote jungle paradise. Huge trees sprung their roots throughout the temple causing massive damage to the stone walls. They grew inside, outside, and even on top of the magical structure. This really gave it that Indiana Jones “ruins” type of look.

Ta Prohm is also a photographers dream. We snapped many incredible photos inside the temple and even ran into a Mexican television actor while trying to take the picture that National Geographic had made famous in many magazines.

Afterwards, we headed back to our trusty tuk-tuk and headed to other beautiful temples in the Angkor Park area.

To be continued….More temples, floating villages, military, and fried tarantulas coming up!

In the meantime, read about my quest to visit every UNESCO World Heritage site in the world.

View from Xochicalco, Mexico

A few months back, I was livin’ the life with my fiancée in Mexico City. Blessed with some of the world’s best food, drinks, colonial towns, and a large number of UNESCO sites, Mexico was a great place to be.

After visiting UNESCO sites such as Teotihuacan, as well as many other sites throughout Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and the United States, I began to remember how inspiring, interesting, and just plain awesome these sites were.

Then, I bought a book about all the UNESCO sites in the world and dived right into it. Places like the Canadian Rocky Mountains, Chichen Itza, the Great Barrier Reef, and Angkor Wat gleemed the pages. There were so many that it blew me away. Some were in places I have always wanted to visit while others were completely new to me.

Each sight is different. Some are absolutely stunning to look at while other’s are more interesting for their history and cultural impact.

But one thing is for sure; Each had to earn their spot on the UNESCO list, a prestigious award for those fortunate enough to be considered.

I have so many travel plans over the next few years that I began to consider how cool it would be to have some kind of an awesome, mind-blowing “roadmap” to follow.

Then it dawned on me…

I am going to visit every UNESCO site in the world!

Yup, all 936 of em’. It’s one hell of a challenge but I’m quite convinced I can make it work. I’ve already visited 33 (which is barely a dent in that list) of them and loved everyone of them in different ways. Some were just really rich in history while others were totally mesmerizing to look at. Others were exciting while some were simply educational.

reflecting back on Angkor Wat

Some of my favorite UNESCO sites I have been to include the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru National Park, Fraser Island, Angkor, Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, Gros Morne National Park, Hiroshima Peace Park, Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, Historic Centre of Mexico City and Xochimilco, Historic Centre of Puebla, Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan, Historic town of Guanajuato, Xochicalco, Tongariro National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Redwood National and State Parks, and Yosemite National Park.

I don’t intend on limiting myself to just countries with UNESCO sites or focusing solely on that when in each country. I intend to just use the UNESCO sites as a roadmap and then dive into any other adventures I come by. My biggest passion while travelling is finding amazing sites like those of UNESCO, and adventure activities like hiking, scuba diving, sky diving, or anything else that get’s the heart pumping and the sweat glands working.

I’m going to start creating a page now with all the UNESCO sites I need to visit as well as those I have been to. This is going to be a long, fun, and amazing journey. I think all of us have been to atleast one UNESCO World Heritage site before and most likely, were inspired in some shape or form.

What’s your favorite UNESCO site you’ve been to?

If you want to see the whopping 936 site list, go here.

The other day while riding the subway through Mexico City, a man walked by selling math dictionaries. That’s right, mathematic dictionaries being sold on the subway for $2. Then another man walked by selling gum. Then someone walked by with a stereo strapped to their chest playing music from a pirated CD they were selling.

It’s truly endless, both in products, and the amount of people selling things. Of course, I began to think of “sales” and the many platforms available to distribute products.

This sort of stuff is very common in Mexico. Everywhere you go, someone is trying to sell you something. Even when your stopped at a red light, people walk in-between the cars selling everything including cigarettes, gum, candy, and much bigger items like coffee tables and crafts. It really is endless. Some may find this annoying while others, like me, actually find it very convenient.

The point is, the world is your platform. Maybe your products can be sold online. Or maybe in a store. Or maybe in a market. Or in the street. Maybe in a subway, outside at a ball game, or maybe at a trade show. Maybe all of the above.

There are many platforms available out there. Whether for selling something or expressing something.

Which ones are you using?