The Travelling Nomad

A Simple Gift to Africa for the Children of the Slum

2012-01-14T14:09:00.000-08:00

A TRIP TO NAIROBBERY By Kevin Francis

I recently had the opportunity to spend some time in one of Africa’s most dangerous cities, Nairobi, Kenya. It has been given the nickname ‘Nairobbery’ for its terrible reputation of robbery and malicious acts of crime, in the cities core, especially towards tourists. After having a life changing volunteer experience in India (2010), I decided to start a volunteer company to call my own. I set out to spend most of this year in Africa and have made an attempt on this trip to tie in travel with work and build my company while still getting to see the world.

As I was travelling my way through Rwanda, and into Uganda, I was contacted by several NGO’s in Kenya that claimed to be in desperate need of a volunteer placement company such as my own. I must have received at least a dozen emails all from needy NGOs and it was a difficult decision for me who was worthy of such a partnership. One of the most important aspects to ensure I can offer others worthwhile volunteering opportunities is in the selection process. Thousands of NGOs are set up all over world and while some serve their purpose, others seem to have various problems in raising funds and allocating them in the manner they promise. Since February of 2010, I have met with over 50 non-governmental organizations along my travels and have seen some great projects but also some doomed for failure. Selecting legitimate and genuine NGO’s is always on the top of my priority list. Before getting to Kenya, I began corresponding with a few small organizations out of Nairobi that seemed to be in desire need of my help. I was almost immediately drawn to one of the organizations in particular, which was created and directed by a man named Victor Ochieng. His organization was fairly new, small and in need of all the help they could get. I liked what he had started in Kenya and also his vision for helping those in desperate need. I could feel that he had a big heart, a big vision and was devoted to ensure the people who were suffering from malnutrition, HIV/Aids, orphaned, or given no means to education would all be helped. After conversing back and forth through emails, we made arrangements to meet and discuss the possibility of partnering once I made my way to his home in Nairobi. I expected very little from him but was pleased to be on the receiving end of his generosity before we even arrived. He put my girlfriend and I up in a home stay with a priest friend of his in the city at no cost. It was more than I could have ever expected and was looking forward to working together with his dreams and vision for the people of Kenya in the future.

I spent close to a week in Nairobi visiting his projects, his office, learning about his contributions to society, his vision and also his financial problems. He was younger than I and it wasn’t long before he revealed to me the story of his struggles as how he was orphaned at a young age. He spoke of hard times growing up and the fact that he wanted nothing more that to get involved in humanitarian work and to start his very own NGO which was inspiring to me. Unfortunately, Victor’s story was not the first one of his kind that I had heard on my journey across Africa. Sadly enough, I can’t even count on two hands the number of young Africans I have met with no parents. Because of such a high presence of HIV/Aids, malaria, malnutrition and suffering, the life expectancy of many countries in Africa has dipped below an astonishing 40 years. With such a low life expectancy in African countries, parents often parish before their children even become adults. Quite often other family members such as aunts, uncles, brothers, or sisters or even grandparents are called upon to continue caring for the child. If a child has no other family member to care for him or her, THEY HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GO INTO THE COLD HARD WORLD ON THEIR OWN. In many cases not just in Africa, but also in other poor countries in the world, these children often are picked up by a boss like figure and forced into child labor, trafficking, drug trade or begin working on the streets begging, stealing, or finding any means to ensure their own survival.

So many people in Africa have never been given the chance to go to school, have no access to family planning or contraceptives, and don’t see the harm in having large families. The typical African family can have as many as 6 -10 children in the hopes that they may help contribute to their families income once they grow of age. Being HIV+ in Africa is still deeply misunderstood and frowned upon by most of the continent. In a lot of cases, both men and women refuse to get tested. With them testing positive, this usually means them losing their jobs and maybe their only source of income to feed their family. EVERYDAY LIFE FOR MOST IN AFRICA.. IS A STRUGGLE. HIV/Aids is a growing epidemic that has been affecting Africans at an alarming rate and even though the numbers are decreasing in some countries, the problem still lingers in others. If Africans refuse to get tested, and keep having many children, there often will come a time in their lives where they can’t afford to feed their families or care for their young. It is not all that uncommon for children like Victor to continue on their own. And so, this is just one of the many problems that have and still continue to affect Africa even today.

One of the projects we visited was deep inside the heart of one of the major slum areas in Nairobi. The biggest slum of Africa is in Nairobi known as Kibera. The name of the area we went to is called Kwangware and is a prime example of the deep dark side of the African slum life that exists across the continent. Most people living in these environments, not just in Africa, but worldwide have no access to running water, no electricity, no radios or televisions, no stoves, or even utensils or plates to eat with. The slums are areas where no sanitation exists and most of the shanty tin homes are built on garbage dumps or forgotten waste sewage lands of the city. To try and paint a vivid picture, these people literally live on a never-ending mound of garbage and the only water that runs through their areas is often a yellowish brown color, filled with urine or feces and reeks of an unbearable smell. The only garbage collection program they have in the slums consists of sweeping it into a large pile every evening and burning it when it gets too large. During the day, the domesticated animals that roam Africa such as dogs, cats, sheep, and goats spend most of their days sifting through heaps of garbage in hopes of finding leftovers that might partially fill the empty void in their stomachs. Somehow, someway, when you wander through these neighborhoods the people still seem as full of life as any civilized wealthy individual living in a luxurious home. Smiles and welcoming gestures are easy to come by here and giving a child an empty water bottle or an old t-shirt off your back could very well be the best present they’ve ever been given in their lives. Life here is as hard for these people as any foreigner could imagine living in a developed world. Life for these people is just not fair and even their own government has left them starving and given no rights or even citizenship.

We took one step off the main road of civilization, dipped into a small alley way and we had entered the Kwangware slums. It doesn’t take much time before you walk up and down the muddy and slippery paths that you begin to realize how little these people really do have. As we wandered deeper and deeper into the slum, Victor assured us that this ‘special school’ was just ahead. We approached a building not much larger than any of the homes that was beside a massive mound of garbage. The building was a make shift school primarily composed of spare scraps of tin for the walls and roof, mangled pieces of decayed wood for the tables, and gravel for the floor. The walls looked to be pieced together by hundreds of small sections of tin attached to pillars of wood (that stood as the structure) by a few rusty nails and string. The first thing I noticed once we entered the building is that there was no sign of electricity within miles of where we were. AN OLDER LOOKING LADY GREETED US BY SHAKING OUR HANDS AND WELCOMED US WITH A SMALL SMILE AND SINCERE LOOK OF THANKFULNESS. As we entered the rather dark space, we quickly drew the attention of the children and they set their little beady gaze upon us. I suddenly felt overwhelmed with a feeling of sorrow and empathy for these children. Victor introduced us to the class and I greeted the children with as much of my open heart as I could. Right away, I saw the desperation on their faces and saw the smallest glimmer of hope in their eyes that life might just get better for them someday. Inside this small tin building were three other teachers but unfortunately none of them spoke a word of English, which made communication very difficult. By using Victor as a translator, the teacher told us this was the only school these children went to and the school was doing everything they could to distribute at least one meal a day for them as it could easily be their only one. The head teacher pointed to a table in the corner of the room. On top of it were a dozen or so plastic cups or varying colors and some bowls. She went on to tell us that there were not enough cups for every child so they had to take turns using the glasses and bowls to eat their food. I could tell that their school was in desperate need of help and only a few of the children in the room were wearing anything that might have resembled a school uniform.

Before I was about to leave, I asked our translator to ask the children if there was anything else they wanted to ask me before I went and one little girl quickly raised her arm and said in the sweetest and most gentle voice imaginable "can you help to get us uniforms?" Her plea stunned me and instantly struck a soft chord in my heart. Right then and there I knew I had to do something for them. My reply back to her was "I’ll do the best I can to help you." I’m sure my reply was seen as an empty promise as the people in the slums are the forgotten part of society and not used to handouts from anyone. Once we left, a little voice in my head began brainstorming ways that I could contribute. The soft and gentle plea of the little girl kept playing in my head over and over again. That evening, I phoned Victor and told him I had some great news. MY ANNOUNCEMENT WAS THAT ON BEHALF OF PROJECT VOLUNTEER ABROAD, I WANTED TO MAKE A DONATION TO HIS PROJECT BY BUYING EVERY CHILD AT THE SCHOOL A NICE NEW UNIFORM.

The moment brought me back to when I was volunteering on a project in India at an outdoor school that was set up in a park for children from the slum areas and kids from the streets. The director had gone into slum areas like these and devoted her life to create the school to ensure the children there received some sort of education in hopes it will break the cycle of poverty. Working with this lady was an absolute privilege and sometimes she spoke to me of how difficult it can be to convince the parents to allow her to take her children away to provide education for them. Most of the time she would have no other choice but to beg and plea with the parents and explain that school was the future for their success. At first, most of the parents would oppose to the idea as they often use their children to help with tasks at the home or in the village. If she took their children away for the day then she would be taking away their workers and the parents would have to do everything on their own. She explained this harsh reality that not all the children stay in school because their parents often demand they stay at home to help them. It is the cycle of poverty that continues to happen all over the world and it seems that the best way to break the cycle is to educate these children so that they can discover a skill that will help break them free from the slums. If so many of these so called ‘slum kids’ are not given the right to education or have it swept right out from under them, then they will go on living un-educated, have many kids of their own, and their kids wont receive any education. If their children are not educated, they will have more kids and the cycle will continue on as it has been for so many years in so many poor areas of our world.

The uniforms that were donated to this slum school on behalf of Project Volunteer Abroad was done so not for a pat on the back or any recognition, but more to help these children feel like they really belong. By having a uniform to call their very own, it will give them a place and purpose in continuing to be educated. My hope is that it will prove to their parents that they are privileged, have been invested in, and are obligated to continue to go to school everyday. My wish is that they can walk through the slums or the cities and wear them proudly.

A few of the local women from the slums were employed to make the uniforms and it took about one week after my phone call to finish them. I was notified upon completion, and so I returned back to the school and presented each child with his or her very own uniform. It was a beautiful experience to deliver their gifts and the majority of the kids had a look of astonishment on their face closely resembling that of surprise and seemed a bit stunned as to why they were receiving such a gift. A few of the children dawned a little smile and that was enough for me to see they appreciated finding a new found place in our world. Before leaving, I encouraged Victor to explain to the children that these uniforms are a gift. By receiving them, it meant that they had to come to school every day and tell their parents it was no longer a choice, but a new found obligation.

If you wish to volunteer and give back to a country in the world that needs you, please visit our website at: www.volunteerswithoutborders.ca to find out how you can help. As the President and Founder of Project Volunteer Abroad, I am happy to announce that we now offer various placements in 15 different countries and we encourage you to tell others about the opportunity and to share this article with them. To get involved, it does not require any skill or previous experience and is available to anyone. Please join the movement and volunteer with us today!

2011-10-18T15:13:00.000-07:00

Ethiopia:

The land of people with extreme egos and who refused to be colonized

If you ever decide to come to Ethiopia, you will most likely spend a few days in the Capital city of Addis Ababa. It is the only place where you can fly into or out of on an international flight and it is a typical yet very interesting African city to say the least. Addis Ababa is a sprawling high altitude settlement resembling a vast rusty roofed village scattered over many hills. It is over 100 years old but has a look of timeless decay. Good from far but far from good, Addis is unsuspecting from a distance, but up close it is dirty, dusty and falling apart in more ways than one. Stinking horribly of unwashed homeless people, sick animals, creepy people everywhere, walls reeking of urine, and every alley blocked with garbage. Overwhelming to say the least, we found it hard to find any reason to recommend this city to others as it lacks any serious charm. Loud music, car horns, diesel fumes, and pestering urchins yelling “farangi” (white man) with sad stories and insinuating fingers and dire warnings such as “Be careful where you go as there are bad people here”.

One of the things that you will most likely encounter on your journey to Ethiopia is a run in with their national food. For the typical Ethiopian, Injera is a staple food that is consumed everyday from childbirth till the day they die. Most of the people in this country are very religious and have great pride. They believe that they are the soul of religion in Africa and the originators of African existence. During certain times of the year, most Ethiopians take part in a month long fast to show their devotion to their religion. During this time, Ethiopians drink no milk, consume no meat or fish and they eat only “fasting food”. In short, this consists of mashed vegetables mounded on injera, which is a layer of grey spongy bread made from fermented grain and spread over a large platter. “Like a crepe or a pancake”, people say but no: it is a cool, moist, and rubbery, less like a crepe than an old damp bathmat. Spicy sauces called wot are placed on the injera at intervals, with pulped beans, lentils, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, tomatoes, or, in non fasting months, fish or meat. Every traveler who comes here must experience the wonder of such local food as injera, but will be reassured that pasta and sauce or other western foods are also usually available in most restaurants in the country.

Another unique aspect of Ethiopian culture is their music and their juice and coffee. The music is a high-pitched shriek like squeal of clapping, dancing, and accordion like sounds. The dancing has to be some of the most bizarre moves on our planet and the most common movements you will see is the man spastically vibrating their shoulders while dancing on one leg as if they are having a seizure, and the women dancers are often seen wearing a garment like a bath rob and jumping up and down while thrusting their chest in the air and twitching their necks. We thought it would be a nice souvenir to bring back a music video DVD just to show others back home just how wild and wooly an African dance can get. On the other hand, Ethiopian coffee is the heart or focal point of this country. Renouned as having the worlds best coffee, once you drink a cup, it will leave you begging for more. Part of the reason it is so good is that coffee production originated right here in Ethiopia. They are the master minds behind the ever so delicious roasted coffee beans that people all over the world take time to enjoy. To add to the specialty, during the late 19^th century the country was run over by Italians and they left a legacy with their own twist. Whither its Traditional coffee made fresh for you in a coffee ceremony, or a macchiato brewed fresh from an espresso machine, you might quickly find your taste buds craving for more with each passing day. To come to Ethiopia and not get to experience “the juice” would be a shameful disappointment. The juice is often available at cafes and comes mostly in the flavors of orange, mango, guava, avocado, or pineapple. What you will find is most locals or people in these cafes are ordering a “mix” of all the flavors available and it is a total mouth watering spectacle that is an absolute must.

So there you have it! The bare bones of Ethiopia in a nutshell. I would never discourage anyone from coming here but I would only recommend it to experienced travelers who want to get a taste of the real, the raw, and the gritty side of the struggle within the African way of life and their culture. The harshness and overbearing characteristic of many of the local people here in this country will most likely leave the inexperienced travelers pleading to jump back on a plane back to their home country. For the majority of travelers that want to experience Africa I’d probably recommend the other 12 countries I’ve spent time in before recommending this one, as they are a lot less overbearing and more rewarding.

2011-08-30T11:54:00.000-07:00

Kilimanjaro: Piece of Cake

TREKKING TO THE ROOF OF AFRICA

WITH KELVIN FRANCIS AND TELLA TEMPLETON

Most seasoned trekkers would agree that Kilimanjaro is one of the most famous mountain hikes you could do on our planet. Standing tall at an impressive 5,895 m Kilimanjaro earns the title as being the official Roof of Africa. It is the highest peak in Africa, and one of the highest volcanoes in the world. It is also one of the few summits in the world, which can be reached without ropes, or any kind of technical assistance. To make it to the summit requires you to be in the best physical shape possible, even then there is no guarantee that you will have what it takes to make it to the top. In the past, even some extremely fit individuals have succumbed to the effects of altitude, and were unable to achieve their goal, and were forced to turn back. For us, we did very little preparation and were not nearly as fit as we would have liked to have been. With that being said, we realized that making it to Uhuru Peak (the summit) doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be in the best physical shape. For us, it became more of a test of willpower and we were rewarded tenfold!

We arranged our hike thru a local guide named Joseph who called Moshi, Tanzania his home. The arrangement was for a 6-day trek that would begin on July 8^th2011, which is one of the busiest times of the year to trek. There are advantages and disadvantages to hiking during this time of the year:

Advantages:

This time of the season allows for the best visibility,
· It’s the dry season which means the trails are in the best condition,
· Because of dry season the chance of encountering bad weather is highly unlikely

Disadvantages:

It is winter in Tanzania so temperatures drop below 0 in the evenings,
July and August are peak season, which means the trails, and camping areas are jam packed full of muzungus (foreigners).

We left Dar es Salaam, the capital city of Tanzania, on route to Moshi on a early bus that took approximately 8 hours. Once we arrived in Moshi we checked into the Backpackers Hostel, which was located near the city centre. After settling in we contacted our guide Joseph and arranged to meet at our place that evening. We spent the next hour or so talking about the trek, planning our route, and negotiating a fair price with Joseph. If you’re planning to trek up to the summit anytime in the future, you will quickly realize that there are hundreds of guides eager to take you up the mountain as well as dozens of different trekking companies to choose from. The reason we picked our guide is primarily because he was a referral from another traveler and because the price was the cheapest we had come across or had ever heard of. Because Kilimanjaro has such a competitive market, prices range from $850 - $3,000 USD depending on which company or guide you pick from and what your budget is.

After everything was negotiated and agreed upon, we arranged for Joseph to meet us in town to show us where we could hire gear. The following morning he took us to one of the few rental shops in town where we were able to pick out everything required. We were amazed to see the shop had virtually everything and anything you could ever dream of renting for a trek. From used water bottles, long underwear, second hand socks, to -30C sleeping bags, snow pants, and North Face down jackets. Each item was priced out per trip and we ended up spending approximately $115 on equip for both of us. After the hire and everything was confirmed for the trek, we prepared our bags to leave the next morning.

Day 1 began on a Friday morning and after a brief stop at the market to buy snacks, we headed towards the park headquarters to finalize park fees and begin the day’s hike. If you have not heard Kilimanjaro National Park has hefty park fees and you are required to pay approximately $131 USD/ per person / day. Most trekkers either choose a 6 or 7-day trek so if you choose the latter it means you will be forced to pay another days fees.

Arriving at the gate of the Machame route, we picked up 6 porters, and started the ascent. Before we officially began walking the trail, our guide Joseph said he had some paperwork to take care of and that he would catch up with us on trail. It was a bit of a surprise that our guide abandoned us before the trek even began and little did we know this would not be the first or last time this happened to us. One of the porters who were part of our team said he would guide us up the trail and we ended up walking the entire first day solely with him and no guide.

Day one was straightforward and proved to be a fairly gradual 18 km walk up to Machame camp. The trail was a gravel path and surprisingly wide enough that any vehicle could drive on. 4 hours later up a fairly steady incline the whole way, we arrived at our first campsite drenched in sweat and relieved to have made it through the first day unharmed. Upon arrival, we helped two of the porters set up our tent, and got ourselves settled. A small snack of popcorn, and tea were brought to us, which curbed our hunger until supper. Dinner was surprisingly tasty, and portions were huge, in fact that we could barely finish everything on our plates. We went to sleep early as our wake-up call, at 7am, the next morning was quickly approaching.

On day two, we continued our climb, which brought us through 4 to 5 quite visibly different microclimates. What started as a very lush and tropical montane rainforest on day one, changed to more of a drier sub tropical forest where numerous shrubs replaced the massive trees. The second day was 9 km, and 6 hours of endless hills that you gradually went up followed by a quick descent before the next hill. As we approached the top of one of the hills, we broke through the cloud line, and had to stop to take some much-needed photos, as the view was absolutely breathtaking. There were several times during the day when Joseph told us that we were close to camp, yet we soon realized that was far from the truth. At the top of each peak we would ask how far it was to camp, and he would say “Just over there”… That turned out to be 5 huge hills, and 3 hours, later. We camped this night at Shira Camp, which was at an altitude of 3837 m, which is well above the height where altitude sickness begins.

One of the most important factors to a successful climb is to stay well hydrated. Dehydration is a concept misunderstood by most. If you allow yourself to become dehydrated, your body will become weak, and will be more susceptible to high altitude sickness. Once dehydrated it is already too late to make up for the loss of water. Most guides will tell you to drink at least 4-5 liters per day to maintain a healthy level of hydration. Keeping yourself hydrated before this hike is essential!

Day three was the real acclimatization day, as we hiked up to approximately 4637 m to Lava Tower Camp, then back down to 3976 m at Barranco camp where we spent the night. As we began walking on trail, we realized that we were out of water. We asked if there was water further up the trail (to fill our bottles), and the reply from Joseph was “Why didn’t you tell the porters to get you water”. We were a little taken aback as we didn’t know that we had to inform the porters of this. Joseph was upset, took our bottles, and went back towards camp to get water for us. This ended up being yet another day that we hiked completely solo, and didn’t meet up with Joseph until we stopped for lunch at Lava Tower. The view of the peak from Lava Tower was amazing, and we were able to take some amazing photos as we were well above the cloud line. From there, we were able to see the Western Breach, which is a very technical climb and not recommended unless you are a very experienced. Currently, this route is even more technical since part of the mountain gave way, and a rockslide buried one of the camps. It is now viewed as “High Risk” to the summit. We noticed the landscape transformed from a very dry area with lots of shrubs, to an alpine desert with fairytale-like setting. Closer to camp, we came across huge trees that resembled giant pineapples. This area is known for its intense radiation, and huge temperature fluctuations. Daytime temperatures can rise above 35 degrees, and drop to below freezing at night. Due to the lack of water, and the thinning soil it becomes an unfavorable condition to plant life.

Most people are aware that there are pills you can take to avoid getting Altitude Sickness. This ended up being an overly debated subject, and everyone had his or her own opinions on it. Some of the effects of altitude sickness include prolonged headaches, nausea, insomnia, dizziness, and loss of appetite. If the symptoms worsen it can result in pulmonary, or cerebral oedema, which can often result in a fatal outcome. We were well stocked with Diamox, which was to prevent getting the sickness, but Joseph strongly discouraged us taking it. He told us that it works as a diuretic, and puts more pressure on the kidneys, which makes you urinate more. By urinating more frequently, it puts you at a higher risk of dehydration. His argument against Diamox was that if we kept ourselves properly hydrated, it would be enough of a defense against altitude sickness that we would not need to take the pills. Oddly enough, we met another team who all were on Diamox and only 2 of the 4 girls reached the summit. If you do decide to take Diamox, you have to start taking it before you begin the trek because if you don’t, they are useless. They are no help to you if you wait to take them, and are already experiencing the effects of high altitude.

Day four arrived very early and it proved to be the biggest test yet. As we were getting geared up and eating breakfast, we noticed some trekkers that had already began shimmying along the rock face. They looked to be moving very slowly and the trail looked extremely steep. We knew that it was going to be a tough morning and a long day of 6-8 hours depending on our pace. The first few hours was a very slow go and a few points along the trail required some technical bouldering. We passed a couple that had the look of fear in their eyes and were just watching the others continue on. We never saw them from that point on and it is not known if they made it to the next camp or perhaps turned back. Once we got about halfway up the wall there was a risky transition called the ‘kissing rock’. It was a cliffhanger and you literally had to clench both your arms around a massive boulder and shuffle your feet over the ledge to continue on. Before we set off this day, our guide warned us that the ascent was challenging and to expect the worst. After we made it to the top of the wall, we were treated to another spectacular view of the surrounding area as well as the summit. We took a well-deserved rest, along with some photos, and then proceeded for another 2-hour hike down into a gorge and back up to our next stop where we were treated to a hot lunch.

After lunch we still had another 3-4 hours to go before reaching our final resting point at Barafu Hut 4,673 m. Once we got to the camp, it was our final night before attempting the summit, which was a steep climb of almost 1,300 m.

5:00 pm: We arrived at our campsite after another grueling 8-hour day. At this point, we met some Americans who stayed at Barranco Camp, and we started to wish that we had chosen the 7-day hike rather than the 6 (to give our tired bodies a good days rest before summiting).

6:30 pm: Served another delicious dinner and feeling no problems with the altitude.Before we settled in for a few hours sleep, I dissembled our water bladders and drained out the water as we were told the temperatures at this altitude would surely drop below freezing. Starting the hike with a frozen bag of water was not anything we wanted to experience and were very grateful we did so come morning.

7:30 pm: Went to bed with 5 layers of pants, 7 layers of tops, toque, mittens and 2 pairs of socks (Tara, not Kevin), and was still freezing cold all night.

12:15 pm: “Woke up” (15 minutes late, in despair as our guide didn’t wake us up…. We had to go and shake their tent to get everyone moving) to begin the 8-hour hike of steady incline, in the dark, over large rocks and loose gravel, to the summit. Despite all of the layers worn, and high altitude, we didn’t manage to sleep at all. We woke up feeling exhausted, and realizing that this is what it must feel like to be 90 years old.

12:30 am: “Breakfast of Champions” was served, consisting of one cup of tea, and 3 baby biscuits each. Obviously, this would prove to not nearly enough food and our energy stores were depleted within a few hours of starting the hike.

12:45 am: We left Barafu Hut on our way up to the summit.

2:30 am: The water in the tubes had in fact began to freeze and I spent the next 20 minutes de-thawing the tubes just enough to get a few sips of water to quench our thirst.Tara’s tubing was frozen solid so I decided to tuck my tube in my shirt to keep it from freezing for the rest of the hike.

3:00 am: Start to lose feeling in my toes and fingers.

3:30 am: Onset of frostbite, and fingers and toes in terrible pain!

3:31 am: Am forced to remove my 2^nd pair of socks, and have my hands warmed by one of the porters.

6:00 am: We began to see the sky lighting up, and our pace has decreased to no more than a crawl.

6:15 am: The sensation of hunger had now become excruciatingly painful.

6:45 am: Feeling relieved after witnessing one of the most incredible sunrises our planet could offer. Watching the sunrise at this elevation is something that made this hike extra special. What is usually a 10-minute process; this sunrise lasted close to 30 minutes due to how high we were! Our pace had now become so slow at this point that we had to take a rest every 10 steps ahead.

6:50 am: Joseph, our guide, informed us that we were about 200 m from the summit, and for the rest of the way to the summit we kept being told that this hike was merely a “Piece of Cake”, by the lead porter. Classifying this hike as a piece of cake would be considered insanity to most.

6:51 am: Were too cold and exhausted to care; the onset of pounding headaches began to set in.

7:01 am: Could feel our hearts in a race to catch up with the lack of oxygen. At this point we were nearing Stella Point which is a sign informing you that you’ve reached the top of the mountain…. Little did we know that this was in fact NOT the top. From this point, there is still 150 meters to go to reach Uhuru Peak, and it literally takes every last bit of energy you have to drag yourself there, and if you are lucky you will reach the sign that congratulates you for making it to the Roof Of Africa.

8:30 am: Arrive at summit, literally on Cloud 9!! Took some pictures, and started to descend about 10 minutes later due to increased intensity of head pain along with a severe case of lightheadedness.

We spent 8 hours hiking up, and three hours back down to the campsite. Thankfully enough, we took a different route down and literally skied on loose gravel back to camp. It was a cross between monkey walking, and snow shoeing in powder. For those who are not into skiing, you could find this part quite challenging and little did I know this gravel-skiing would leave my feet very uncomfortable, coated in blisters, and barely able to finish the hike the following day.

Once we got back to camp, we were greeted and congratulated by the other groups who were waiting for their turn to summit, and they were eager to know if we had made it to the top. We gave them a few tips of advice, and ducked out for a quick nap before heading down to the next camp for the final leg of the days hike. 4 hours later and on basically no sleep for almost 2 days, we arrived at the final campsite. Dinner was quick and quiet, and bedtime shortly followed. We slept like babies.

One the last day, it took us 4 hours to reach the finish line, and just like that we had finished our Kilimanjaro experience. What should have taken 2-3 hours to reach the bottom, took us 4 as I (Tara) could barely walk. My feet were so badly blistered, knees aching, and were literally being hounded and drug to the end by Kev and our guide Joseph who had also developed a bit of a limp.

So if you think you have what it takes to summit Kilimanjaro, here are a few of the things that you will have to look forward to that we both experienced along our 6 days on the adventure:

Pounding headaches
Shortness of breath
Feet covered in blisters
Aching knees
Dry cracked noses
Nausea
Burnt bleeding lips
Sore muscles
Complete exhaustion
Racing heart rate
Restless sleeps
Freezing cold

One thing you will indeed realize once you start your hike is that mountains are big, they all range in size but most take a while to get to the top. Kilimanjaro in particular is massive. A mountain that takes you 5 days just to get the top is no easy challenge especially when you’re dealing with high altitude and its potentially fatal effects. Many lives have been lost on this mountain mainly because of altitude and not taking proper care or understanding prevention. In the earlier days of trekking many porters would never make it back to the bottom nor get the chance to say goodbye to their family. This was mainly because of a lack of understanding or education of what altitude sickness is and not knowing how harmful and potentially fatal it can be if you start to experience the symptoms and continue climbing elevation. There will be many times along the trek that you may feel tired or a bit fatigued from the power of Kilimanjaro but the best advice we can give you is if you are to fall down, pretend you need a second to recover, and consider it a bonus rest. And best of all Goodluck! As even the fittest athletes have failed to make it to the top and instead rushed back down to safety.

© Copyright August 2011 Kilimanjaro Publications

GREAT ZIMBABWE: Land Of Friendly & Gentle People

2011-07-21T07:24:00.000-07:00

The Border Crossing: Johannesburg to Zimbabwe

March 3, 2010

We set out from Johannesburg en route to Bulawayo, which is the second largest city and situated in the Southern part of Zimbabwe approximately 300 km north of the border. The journey we were about to embark on would begin in Johannesburg, South Africa all the way to Zimbabwe and was approximately 1000 km. I was relieved because it was going to provide me with the opportunity to let go of the ever-present lingering tension of South Africa and welcome a new country with open arms. I had spent the past 5 weeks in South Africa and was ready for something new.

I stayed at a cozy hostel in Johannesburg called Diamond Diggers in the not as popular eastside of the city. This is where I first met the owner of the hostel whose name was Harry. He was a friendly and pleasant man, who was born is South Africa, and upon graduation moved with his family to Florida in the USA. I could tell from the moment I met him that he had a very unique charm to him but his motive was strictly business. Once I arrived at the hostel and he lead me into the reception area/office, he asked how I made it to the hostel and when I explained that I had been to the MTN taxi rand in the city center and wandered the streets of Johannesburg with all my gear on until I eventually caught a local mini bus to get there, my explanation shocked him. His reply was: “Wow, you’re a real Maverick!” He then went on to tell me that the MTN taxi rand is a dangerous area of the city that most locals don’t even venture to because so many people have been robbed. I had no real idea that I had just potentially put my life in danger by using local transport, which is the typical way I usually get around countries. Right then and there Harry realized my ‘Maverick’ style of travel and I remember him telling me that he was disappointed, as he knew selling me any kind of tour was purely out of the question. We had a good chat until I was interrupted by a phone call from my mother. She was calling from Canada and had worked herself up into a frantic worry and just wanted to make sure I was okay. If you are familiar with Apartheid or any of the 20^th century history of South Africa, you will know that Johannesburg was the heart of the government and the birthplace of Apartheid. It was also the most concentrated of anti-apartheid protests that went on during those times. The Apartheid left a huge scar on South Africa during those decades that took thousands of lives. Because of all of the above, Johannesburg has a reputation for being one of the most, if not the most dangerous, city in all of Africa. After I got off the phone and reassured my mother that everything was ok, I explained to Harry that my next destination was Zimbabwe, Botswana, or Namibia and I was looking for a unique travel experience preferably with a local. Just then, Harry’s eyes lit up and he went on to tell me that he understood my type of travel and had just the man to ensure I could experience a few of these countries in the most unique way possible. Harry contacted his friend Keith, who was Zimbabwean, and before I knew it he arrived at the hostel in rather high and jolly spirits. After we introduced ourselves, we began to talk travel and eventually negotiated a price and budget costs for the trip. The plan was to head off towards Zimbabwe the following morning. It was around 330pm when Keith picked me up in his small 4-door fiat Uno Italian made car and we headed out of Jozi. The plan was to leave a lot earlier but he had a few minor complications to take care of first. Leaving a city of 11 million people around this time was not the best idea as rush hour traffic was now something we would have to contend with. In Jozi, the local transport union was on strike and so if you don’t have your own car, it can be very challenging or expensive to get around. In times like these, everyone and anyone who has a license to drive a car does so and you can imagine how busy the road systems were. I was lucky Keith knew Jozi pretty well and we managed to take some back routes out of the city so that we didn’t have to wait in bumper-to-bumper traffic all afternoon.

Along the journey we were treated to a spectacular sunset and no delays. It was approximately 600 kms to the border and it took us around 10 hrs to get there, which included a few short stops to refuel along the way. The border crossing we were set to pass is a 24-hour crossing and one of the busiest in all of South Africa. I was fortunate that I was going through such a crossing with a local African like Keith because if I were on my own it would have been a big headache. Things on the South African side went quite smoothly and everything seemed to be rather organized. The only dodgy part was that the tents where the immigration officials looked over passports and gave exit stamps was outdoors. Luckily enough, the lineup was quite small and the line moved at a steady rate so before we knew it, our passports were handed back to us and we were on our way. I have read that Zimbabwe is a very unique country and doesn’t have the most stable political or economic conditions at the moment. Not too long ago, Zims was booming and one of the fastest growing economies in Africa. Now, it has been rated as one of the slowest growing economies and has actually gone backwards in stability in comparison to earlier years. Even with this shocking economic situation, I found the Zim people to be some of the friendliest and most welcoming people I’d met so far in Africa. Once we parked our car at the border control on the Zim side, I immediately could tell things weren’t all that organized and the idea of queuing in a lineup was not that easy of a concept for some people to grasp. 3 hrs later, we finally passed all the stages to enter into Zimbabwe and were relieved that we had no hookups or major delays with any of the necessary documents we had to provide or fill out. Passing a border between 2-5 am is probably not the best time to be doing this, as it seems all the bad people and criminals in this world usually come out to show themselves once darkness arrives. I was approached by a few people during the border crossing and Keith said if it wasn’t for him, I would have been hassled a lot more and might have ended up being robbed or having things stolen so I am very grateful he was there to show me the way and make sure nothing major happened. Throughout South Africa, I could not believe the amount of police out on the highways pulling people over and doing speed checks. Even in Zimbabwe, it seemed like we passed security/police checkpoints every 20 kms or so. We must have had luck on our side as we never got searched, fined or any tickets throughout the entire 17-hour journey so I was very relieved at this and quickly realized I was travelling with a man who had the necessary experience to ensure everything went smoothly.

We finally arrived at our intended destination at around 9am the following day. Once we arrived in the city, we stopped at a friend of Keith’s (that he grew up with) named Solomon. He was a short, stocky, and gentle looking man who welcomed me with a smile and told me he was happy to find out Keith and I had made it to Bulawayo unharmed. He took me on a brief tour of his well-lived in home and as he pushed open the drapes of the back door, he looked at me with a big grin on his face and said “this is our pool”. I was impressed; it was a big pool and did not expect that in a country with such a staggering economic situation, that people would be well off enough to afford to have a pool in their backyard. I guess my understanding of Zims was way off and I knew this was just the beginning of an eye opening experience that I was about to encounter in this country. Solomon’s wife generously cooked up some eggs and we had egg sandwiches before we headed off to our final destination: Keith’s bachelor pad. In South Africa, most homes are guarded with a large wall, barbed wire fencing and home security as home invasions have become all too common, especially during the devastating times of the apartheid. I was surprised to see that even in Zimbabwe, most homes have similar high security as in South Africa. Most of the houses throughout South Africa and Zimbabwe had 2 m gated fences, lined with barb wire or broken glass along the top of the wall to ensure nobody could climb over the wall to get into the property. There seemed to be a large police presence in Zimbabwe and it was difficult to drive more than 50 km without being stopped at a checkpoint by the police. Luckily enough Keith showed them the required permits and driver’s license and we were free to pass through. The high presence of police checkpoints somewhat frightened me and led me to wonder why all the extra security was necessary but what Keith explained to me is the crime rate in Zimbabwe is very low and the checkpoints are put in place to maintain the low occurrence and keep the country as safe as possible. I guess when you work hard for something in this world you don’t want to give anyone the opportunity to take it away from you so the heightened level of security is a necessary thing.

I was very relieved to finally reach the first leg of our journey and spent the remainder of the afternoon catching up on some well-deserved sleep. From the moment we crossed the South African border into Zimbabwe, I could tell that I was in a different country. I felt as though there was still a lingering tension present in South Africa and the way the black african people looked at me was far from inviting. I couldn’t help but be on guard most the time I went anywhere in South Africa and always had to be certain I was ready for the next move. The way the local people in Zimbabwe looked at me was quite different. I didn’t feel threatened or any tension when their curious gaze was set upon me. Their stare brought me back to my time in India but the ‘stare’ was far from confrontational and came across with more of a gentle, warm and welcoming manner. That evening, Keith took me to one of his favorite restaurants called “Dickie’s” and we filled our bellies full of isitshwala (almost known as pap in south Africa), chicken stew and this spinach like vegetable. If you’ve never tried isitshwala, it is a white maize meal porridge that most locals are raised on and the best way to describe its texture is halfway between rice and mashed potatoes. Its consistency is very thick and it is one of the staple diets for most Africans as it is quite cheap and extremely filling.

That evening, Keith took me to his favorite parking lot drinking spot where there is a bar called the “Watering Hole”. This was not your typical bar and was more like an alcohol mini-mart. In the bar there was loud music blaring and behind the bar, there was about a dozen refrigerators full of varying kinds of alcoholic beverages. To order something you had to catch the attention of one of the many men behind the counter by shouting and telling him what it was that you wanted. To ensure people couldn’t just jump over the counter and help them selves, steel bars like in a prison were in place that separated you from the men behind the bar. Keith explained to me that he has spent many evenings in this parking lot growing up and has had a lot of good memories here with friends. Most Africans really enjoy ending the day watching the sun set over the horizon and it is usually celebrated by having a few drinks. This parking lot was a popular spot for sundowners for the local people here in Bulawayo. Having a little party in the parking lot seemed like a bit of a joke to me but I soon came to realize this is a big part of the culture in Africa. The ‘Watering Hole’ is a cheap place to have a few drinks before going out to a bar or another more expensive venue.

After we downed a few drinks, we headed to one of the local favorite spots called “Mojo’s”. The bar was packed full of local Zims people and I was officially the whitest person in the club. We were treated to some lovely live music and drank and danced the night away. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and didn’t end up making it back home till about 4:30 in the morning. Once we got back, I was so relieved to crawl into bed and sleep off a rather extensive consumption of alcohol we endured throughout the evening.

After a weekend of meeting some of Keith’s friendly and welcoming friends and getting to experience some of the nightlife in Bulawayo, we set off to Matobo National Park which is the oldest National Park in Zimbabwe. It is said to be home to black and white rhino’s, giraffes, zebras, hippos, crocodiles, and leopards. Before Zimbabwe’s Independence, this land was known as Rhodesia and was first explored by a European known as John Cecil Rhodes. He and his team of explorers came to Rhodesia and he built a home and fell in love with the area called Matobo. Before his time was up, he arranged to have his body buried on a lookout point in the park that was referred to him as ‘the top of the world’. We spent the afternoon driving through the park and managed to find an area called Rhino Cave. Ancient bushman that used to reside in these areas left a legacy of rock art/paintings and this was one of the areas where they were discovered. It was a short 5-minute walk, down a barely recognizable trail, that eventually led us to this cave. On the rocks were paintings of running men with shields and spears that seemed to have an entourage of wildebeests with them. The paintings depicted several men running towards the silhouette of a white rhino. The atmosphere was spiritual and I let my mind wander into the past and I envisioned what it would have been like to be standing there watching these paintings being created and wondered how long ago it was. Although we didn’t get to see much wildlife, one of the most impressive parts of the park were the rock formations. Randomly scattered throughout the park, the massive boulders stood on top of each other and has become one of the most intriguing and unknown understandings of how they came to be. During my travels through Zimbabwe, I asked a young guy who had just graduated how these are explained and he went on to tell me a story of how they used to be large rocks, that slowly became separated through erosion and earthquakes. The composition of the rocks have been worn away with the wind and rain and have formed individual boulders of thousands of years.

Even though this park didn’t seem to have an abundance of wildlife, I was there during the end of the rainy season, which means animals are often harder to spot because of the dense growth of bush and grasses. Also, if there is plenty of water in the area the animals will be more dispersed throughout the park, which means you have to drive longer distances to see any of the animals. My experience going to this park wouldn’t fit into the top 10 of the things I’ve seen during my travels, but I would still recommend spending a few days here driving the park to see these impressive rock formations and maybe you will encounter more luck with the wildlife than I did.

One of the most unexpected things I could have imagined seeing in Zimbabwe was that there were loads of donkeys in every corner of the country. When never drove more than a few kilometers out of the city before we’d see them grazing the fields or just lazing the day away on the sides of the highways. I didn’t manage to find out their main purpose but they seemed to belong to farmers. From my knowledge I know donkeys are bred to carry heavy loads but oddly enough every single donkey I saw was not carrying anything at all. Another interesting thing about Zimbabwe and most of the other African countries I’ve been in is that hitchhiking is commonplace. Young kids from all the way up to elders can be seen standing on the side of highways attempting to flag passing cars by in hopes they can get a ride to their intended destination. The more time I spent in Africa, the more I realized it was the acceptable thing to do and not frowned upon like it is in the west. I saw loads of people getting picked up along the way and put into jam-packed pick up trucks or work trucks. Even private cars would pick up hitchhikers, if they had the room. When I saw so many locals doing it I thought it would be a shame not to. The quote: “When in Rome…” started playing over and over in my head and so I too can say I hitched a few times in Zimbabwe and it wasn’t long before I got picked up and dropped off safely at my point of destination unharmed.

A surprising fact about Zimbabwe that you may or may not know is that their currency no longer has any market value. Zimbabwe’s’ economy used to be seen as one of the fastest growing countries in Africa but after a new government came into place and changed everything, their booming economy quickly came to a halt and instead of improving, it went backwards and foreign investments withdrew which caused their currency to lose it’s value. Any money that was in the banks could no longer be taken out and all that the banks could do is issue bearer cheques of the value that you had in your account at that time. The bearers’ cheques from the banks were just monetary value that served no real purpose until the Zimbabwe dollar would eventually gain value again. Even at this current time of writing, the situation has not improved and they are using USD or South African Rand as the only acceptable currency. To make matters even more interesting, Local Zimbabwean people have begun selling their old bills to foreigners as ‘souvenirs’ in places such as Victoria Falls or other highly populated areas with tourists. Not only has the economy pretty much collapsed in a backward direction. The unemployment rate in Zimbabwe is amongst the highest in Africa at a whopping 90% rate. This statistic is incredibly high for a country but it is for official jobs, but that doesn’t cover most of the local people who are doing business and making their earning unofficially.

Despite the problems in the country, the education provided in Zimbabwe remains one of the best in Africa and has some of the highest academic scores throughout the continent. While travelling around Zimbabwe and realizing this statistic alone, it became quite obvious that there is a lot of potential in Zimbabwe. The locals there seemed to portray an enormous amount of hope for the future and were brainstorming ways in which they could one day achieve a secure financial future. It was wonderful to see most children provided with education but unfortunate that transportation for them seemed to be non-existent. It was not uncommon at all to see young children, all the way up to teenagers, walking along the highways sporting their school uniforms on their way to school. Keith told me that the majority of children in Zimbabwe have to walk 5-10 kms to school everyday.

Along with all the school kids using the highway as their main route to school, hundreds of adults and even elders are also walking along the roads. Most of the people that I saw, that weren’t students, were either carrying buckets on their heads or had babies wrapped on their backs with a sarong.

As I’ve been travelling around Africa, I’ve realized that each country is different and has its own unique appeal or iconic symbols but the way of life for the local people remains relatively the same, regardless of what country you may find yourself in. As in most countries in the world, urban life is usually bustling with people, traffic, touts, and are highly polluted. Most people living in the cities reside in big concrete buildings or office towers, work office jobs, and live a fairly busy lifestyle. In Africa, it’s much different in the rural areas where life is a lot more relaxed, easy going, quiet, and most live in small huts. These huts are often circular and made from a mixture of cow dung, soil, and wood or bricks. In Zimbabwe these huts are called Dagas and are seen all over the country. The roofs have a cone shape and are made with a strong straw that even protects the inside from leaks during rainstorms. The Dagas are quite small in comparison to western style homes and the cooking is done inside the home usually using coal and once the food is prepared, the coals are removed and cow hide sheets or blankets are laid down on the hard soil to sleep on. The hide does not give any real cushioning like a bed would but it helps give a bit of warmth and keep their bodies off the cold hard soil.

My understanding of Zimbabwe has been greatly enhanced by travelling around the country for a few weeks and I would encourage others to go there. I felt as safe there as any other African country I’ve been to and the only thing to make sure of if you do venture here is to resist the urge of speaking about the government. It is forbidden to do so and it could get you in a lot of trouble if you spark up a conversation about it with the wrong person. So, if you ever get the chance to come to Zimbabwe you will immediately feel welcomed by the locals and I can assure you it will be a worthwhile trip and it is eye opening to meet such happy and hopeful people that are living in a country during a time of such uncertainty and poor economic stability.

Makalali Private Game Reserve: NE South Africa

2011-03-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Makalali Private Game Reserve : February 15 – 28^th, 2011

I recently had the opportunity to volunteer on a wildlife private game reserve in South Africa. The name of the reserve is called Makalali Private Game Reserve and is situated in the NE corner of South Africa. Makalali is within an hours drive from the well-known Kruger National Park, which is one of the largest and most well known game parks in all of Africa. The National park spans over 300 kilometers from the North to the south. Makalali is a private wildlife reserve that opened not all that long ago back in 1996. Makalali is made up of 7 different landowners and the total area of the park is 26,000 SQ Hectares. To the average person this may sound like a large space, but it is actually relatively small in comparison to a lot of other game parks or reserves. Most of the private reserve parks across Africa are either set up for conservation or trophy hunting. An example of trophy hunting is in Zimbabwe, where there was a very large Elephant population and in 2009, the government welcomed people from all over the world to come into their parks and shoot and elephant for a mere $20,000 USD. If there are people mad enough in this world to pay such a price to kill a prized animal like this, you can probably imagine how easily the governments or private game reserves could cash in on this and allow this sort of barbaric activity to go on. Here at Makalali, the reserve is all about wildlife conservation and the 2010 game count inside of this reserve found there to be approximately 74 Elephants, 1373 Impalas, 37 Bushbuck, 527 Zebras, 594 Wildebeests, 116 Waterbuck, 151 Giraffes, 92 Warthogs, 15 resident Leopards, 23 Lions, 7 Cheetahs, 42 Nyala, 275 Kudu, 13 Water Buffalo, 12 Rhinos, 11 Crocodiles, 25 Hippos and approximately 40-50 Hyenas. When keeping animals in a reserve such as this one, it not only helps to ensure their safety but also creates opportunities where researchers and rangers can get close to these animals and track their behaviors over time. The potential problem of having too many animals in one confined space is that a lot of animals are territorial and so you have to be careful not to overload the park with too many of one kind. In areas such as this, you find the animals begin killing off one another in a struggle for power and territory. In this particular reserve, 2 brothers of a lion pride have already killed 2 out of the 5 lions from another pride. In a desperate attempt for survival, the other 3 lions managed to escape from the park approximately 1 week before I arrived. There was fear that these fugitives could end up finding a farm and begin killing the animals there for food like most lions rightfully would. By doing so, farmers would lose their stock and money and would most likely erupt and shoot these trouble lions dead.

Makalali has a magnificent volunteer program set up and relies heavily on volunteers to help in locating and observing the animals and recording findings and sightings each and every day. The data collected is then entered into a large database that is used by organizations and researchers from all over the world. One thing I noticed very quickly was that this particular volunteer project was going to be very involved and quite demanding which would result in very long days. I thought it would be fitting to record the agenda for my first 4 days on the project to help give you; the reader, a better understanding of everything involved in a days work here at Makalali.

Day 1:

Every week the rangers here at Makalali set up a daily schedule, which also includes afternoon lectures. The best time to view the animals is at dawn and dusk and so each morning, most the volunteers will awake at 5am, have a quick shower, grab some cereal and an apple or banana for a late morning snack and be ready to officially start the day at 5:30 am. It is a 6 day schedule here on the reserve and each morning, we set out of camp with a mission or objective which is posted on the schedule and usually spend the majority of the morning out on game drives, bush walks, or searching high and low for a specific kind of animal. On this day, our first objective was to locate the black rhino. Along the drive, we saw giraffes (including 1 baby), quite a few zebras and wildebeest, 2 elephants, but unfortunately had no luck with the rhinos. As it is the tail end of the rainy season, I was anticipating to receive some downpour during our work and we were treated to just that on this day. Around 10am, the clouds darken and the sky opened up and unleashed a steady flow of rain upon us. It wasn’t long before Barry; our Scottish ranger on the drive, decided to called it a morning and we arrived back at camp around 10:30 and were soaked from head to toe.

Although days are quite long here on the reserve, one fortunate thing that helps break up the day is that we usually will get a 2-3 hour-long lunch break. The reason for this is that the heat becomes too intense during the early afternoon. At 30C+, the heat often sucks the energy out of you and forces you to hide for the shade. Coincidently enough, animals work the same way and will often take a break under some shade during these hours or have a lay down in the grass, which makes them extremely difficult to locate. Even the most feared predators like the lions, cheetahs, and leopards do not hunt in the afternoon, as the heat is just far too intense. On this day, we had free time until 2pm. From 2 -4 pm, we had back-to-back lessons. First one was an introduction lecture to explain conservation and the purpose and benefits of data recording. The second was an introduction into the history and background of Makalali along with some detailed explanation as to what typically goes on in a days work and why its essential for reserves such as this one to be managed.

Our lectures finished right on time and at 4:15 we left camp to search for the lost lion pride that keeps escaping and we received confirmation that they have in fact begun killing farmers cows outside of the reserve. The first 2 hours, we saw large groups of Impalas, zebras, wildebeests, and followed traced a lion’s call and found a male and female couple, which appeared to be in a very relaxed state on the Goronga airport strip. We watched them in amazement for about 30 minutes and got a phone call that the missing lion pack had been spotted but was quite far away and so a plan was made to awake very early and locate the pride. The reason we had to wait until the morning to act is because the veterinarians on call will not tranquilize any animal in the dark, as it is an increased risk of security for himself as well as for others. If we were able to find them the following morning, the plan would be to tranquilize them, bring them back to a more secure area of Makalali that would ensure they could not escape again, and trade them with another reserve as they have been causing far too much disturbance by escaping through the fence. As you can begin to imagine, it was quite an eventful day 1 here on the reserve and am really looking forward to see what tomorrow brings and hopeful that we can relocate the missing lion pride!

Day 2:

The day started once again at 5:30am. If you think that’s early, we were actually the lucky ones as the first group left at 4:45am in hopes of giving themselves some extra time to ensure they would be able to locate the pride of lions. Claudia was our guide for the day and we set off on a bushwalking journey along the riverside. She is the volunteer coordinator as well as a park ranger so she has a lot of knowledge as well as responsibility. She is originally from Germany and her story is inspiring as just over 3 years ago, she too came to Makalali as a volunteer and became so involved with everything that she decided to do the 6 month intensive ranger course shortly after her experience and has been working at Makalai ever since. There was no point to send two groups to search for the missing lions so our objective for the morning was to be led on a walk through the bush, learn about survival and the plant and tree species, and hopefully run into some interesting animals along the way. We brought a big garbage bag with us as the past to clean up any of the garbage we would find along the way. Over the past few months, there has been a tremendous amount of rains, which often results in disposed garbage being dispersed along the riverbanks. 5:30am was upon us so we loaded up in the Land Rover and drove to our intended destination. Along the way we didn’t see much wildlife but did get to see a few zebras, and a large family of Impalas. Impalas are the most frequented animals in the game reserve and make for a tasty meal for a lot of the animals living here in Makalali or any other Game reserve area. The trick is to catch them and it’s a difficult task at hand as they are extremely fast and coordinated animals. Our bush-walking mission was successful, along with a half garbage bag full of containers and milk cartons. Along the walk, we managed to locate the hippos by following they loud and extremely deep calls. As we got closer to their possible location, I noticed my heart rate begin to speed up and we were advised by Claudia not to speak near them or give them any reason to want to provoke a possible attack on us. We managed to find their local watering hole along the river and watched in awe as 6 full-grown hippos played in the water and as they did so, they kept a very close eye on us. A few times it looked as though they were going to rise out from the water and run towards us but thankfully we kept a safe enough distance from them that they did not feel threatened and that we did not provoke a potential life threatening attack. You may have not heard but hundreds of people die each every year from Hippo attacks and they are one of the most dangerous animals you could ever run into in wilds of Africa.

Once we made it back to our rover, Claudia noticed that one of the tires were getting quite flat and so we had to jack up the car and change the tire before we could continue on our way back to camp. The tire changing went smoothly and we managed to see some more Zebras and Giraffes on the way back to camp. By the time we arrived back at camp, it was noon. We gratefully took the opportunity to make ourselves some lunch and start to prepare dinner so that once we got back from our evening drive; we didn’t have to slave in the kitchen for hours before we got to eat.

That afternoon around 3pm, our group and the other group both set off to try and locate the escaped lions, as the morning attempts were unsuccessful. By this point, the lions had travelled quite a far distance from the park boundaries and the longer they are wandering around, the less likely chance we will ever find them. The other concern of course is that poachers or angry farmers may end up trying to kill them if they see them on their land and have no idea who they belong to.

Once we arrived at our meeting point, we met Ross who is the head warden for the Makalali Reserve and in the back of his truck he had an Impala that was killed with the intention to be used as fresh bait to try and bring the lions in. We drove around for hours that afternoon and searched high and low in the area where the lions were last seen and all we managed to find were fresh tracks. There were 3 vehicles searching for the pride of lions and 1 bushman on foot who was making his best attempt to keep track of them all day. To our disappointment, the sun began to move closer and closer to the horizon, which meant that sundown was lingering upon us. Any hopes of finding the lions before dark were fading quickly and once it starts getting dark out here, there is nothing we can do to capture the lions. Neither the vet who is supposed to tranquilize them nor us could continue once sundown hits as it becomes too dangerous to continue on.

We arrived back home at 8pm, which made for a really long day and all the fresh air and sunshine has made me feel exhausted and ready to crawl into bed. I can only hope that tomorrow will bring us better luck with the lions and some other exciting wildlife sightings along the way.

Day 3:

My alarm went off at 5 am and I hit the snooze button for a much needed 5 minutes more. Once I forced myself out of bed, I quickly jumped into the shower, packed all my belongings, made coffee and grabbed cereal to ensure I was ready by when I need to be. I’m starting to realize that this is in fact just another typical day on the Makalali Game Reserve. 5:30am came all too early today and I could tell the disappointment and frustration of not being able to save the lions had sunken in deep into everyone here at camp. Today, our teams’ duty was to spend the morning clearing bush and shrubs along the trail. Because of all the rain in the past few months, there has been a lot of growth on the reserve and a lot of the bushes and trees have grown quickly which adds obstacles to look out for during the drives. One very interesting thing I’ve been told is that Elephants actually eat some of the bark on certain trees and if they consume all the bark in a ring around the tree, that particular tree will stop growing and eventually die off. To make matters even worse, elephants are so powerful that they often push over trees to display their strength to others around them or push the trees over to be able to get to the leaves at the top. It has become quite a commonplace already to see a lot of the trees along the paths have been pushed over and in most cases, block the road so that it becomes impassable unless the vehicle is able to detour around. Fortunately, our job was not to remove these massive trees, more to trim the bushes and shrubs 2 ft from the edge of the roads along either side. By doing so, it helps eliminate obstruction and allows the rangers and volunteers to be able to locate and view the wildlife a lot better. After about 3 hrs, we finished clearing tracks and Barry went on a drive around the park and we managed to see some wildebeests, zebras, a few giraffe, and the most impressive find was coming across 2 males and 1 female lion that put on quite a show for us and it provided us with an incredible opportunity to make some spectacular photographs.

We arrived back at camp around noon and had about a 2 hr break to grab lunch or get whatever else done that I needed to do. At 2pm, we had a lecture on snakes, spiders, and scorpions, which was really informative. Claudia; who was the presenter, told us bit of unsettling news. It was that scorpions have been known to live in the walls in between the rooms where we sleep and the other room around camp. I guess this information was relevant as now I can keep my eye out a bit more for possible attacks from these small but lethal critters during my stay. After the talk was over, I managed to have a quick 20-minute power nap to help recharge my batteries to ensure I was ready for the remainder of the day.

At 4pm, we were ready to go again and our teams’ duties were to locate, monitor and observe the activity of a particular mother rhinoceros and her daughter. The search lasted for about 2 hours but once again the evening outing left us empty handed. Along the search though, we did come across a large group of giraffes that included a young one and there were 13 in total. Not far away from the group of Giraffes we ended up passing 1 lone Giraffe who was kneeling in the tall grass. Our driver explained to us that it was a very rare thing to see so we stopped and watched in awe for a few minutes before we drove off. After our hopes of finding the rhino had diminished, our driver Barry drove around the park area and we got to see a handful of more zebras, wildebeests, hundreds of impalas, 2 Jackals, a few gazelle, a family of bathing hippos, and best of all we found a group of hyenas just hanging out in front of their den and spent at least 45 minutes parked in front just watching them play fighting, feeding, and just being hyenas. It wasn’t long before I realized that they were in fact not near as ferocious as I would have expected them to be. To our amusement, one particular hyena came close enough to our car that we could literally reach out and touch him. It was a very unique experience to see hyenas in the wild and my perception of them as animals has changed completely and is nothing what I intended expected them to be like!

Once we got our fix, we drove back and arrived back at camp around 8:30 so it made for a really long day. I’m hoping tomorrow will be a bit more relaxed and allow me some time to catch up on some sleep as these 3 days have been very long and quite demanding but so worth it!

Day 4:

At this point the mornings seem to come early but my body was definitely beginning to get into routine by now. I decided to wake up at 4:50am instead of 5 so that I had a few more minutes in the morning to get all my belongings ready, drink a hot cup of coffee and eat my 2 pieces of toast. Claudia was our driver for the morning’s trip and our objective was to search and locate the elephant family if we could and observe their behavior. Just as we were pulling out to start the drive, a voice came over the radio and stated that the elephants had been spotted close to the Gorongo airstrip which is where we found the 2 lions on the first day. Claudia is probably one of the most cautious drivers I’ve ever ridden with and tends to take the drives quite slow so it was almost an hour before we arrived in the area which would probably take other drivers 20 or so minutes to get to. Along the way, we saw several giraffe, a couple of Zebras, and some very curious wildebeests that ended up coming right close to our vehicle. The fact that these wildebeests didn’t feel the need to keep their distance surprised Claudia because these animals usually run away and don’t usually approach the vehicles. Once we got closer to the area, Claudia showed us how to do telemetry. A few of the animals here on the reserve are tagged and by using telemetry, it enables us to pick up the frequency of the animals by the tags and helps us to locate their approximate location. In Makalali, there are 4 different herds of Elephants and each of them use their own unique sounds and calls to communicate with one another and to ensure they all keep in a close group. 3 of the herds have been tagged and by using telemetry, we can tune into a specific channel to listen for the frequency. Unfortunately, 1 of the herds have not yet been tagged. We tried using the 3 known herds frequency in hopes of tracking them but we had bad luck and the herd we were hoping to locate was the only heard that had not been categorized by their frequency yet. An hour had passed that we had been driving around the area and to our luck; we ended up getting some strong signals on the telemetry apparatus as we flipped through the unknown channels. It was the elephants that we had in fact tracked and just as we drove around the corner, 1 large female was standing in the middle of the road feeding on the grass and shrubs. We managed to get quite close to the family of 5 and this opportunity made for some more splendid photo opportunities. Claudia got a bit excited and started the car and crept slightly closer to the massive female and as we did so, she became skittish and then fake charged the vehicle to let us know we were getting too close and she and the others quickly took off back into the bushes. One very fascinating thing about such a large animal is how quickly and quietly they can move. As massive as these animals are, they can disappear into the bush and out of sight in a matter of a few seconds if you are not watching carefully. We were all quite excited to see them but it was only a matter of a few minutes before they marched back into the bush and we lost sight of them. We drove around for a while hoping to cross paths with these gorgeous animals again but had no luck. On our way back to camp, we saw dozens of Vultures circling an area in the sky and the closer we paid attention, the more birds we saw. Along with the ones in the air circling, there were dozens more sitting in the trees and even walking down the road path all in the same area. We stopped the vehicle to find out what all the fuss was about and it wasn’t long before we got rift of a very terrible smell and as we peered into the bush, we could see the vultures were in fact indulging on a carcass of a waterfowl that must have just been killed a few hours ago. Whatever predator had made the kill, they had taken all the meat their bellies could handle and left the rest for scavengers like the vultures to clean up the last bit of meat on the bones.

We had an extended afternoon break and because a full moon would grace us with its presence later that evening, we decided to leave a bit later in the afternoon to try to accomplish our objective at hand and also do a night drive. That evening, we made a nice dinner and we headed out at 7:30. Our mission was to locate the Hyenas and monitor their activity. If your not aware, Hyenas are nocturnal predators so the best time to view these animals in the wild is once nightfall arrives. We must have drove around the expected area for at least a few hours and didn’t manage to locate them. The more days I’ve been here, the more I’ve come to realize that the daily goals or objectives are simply just that. In most cases, what we set out to do and what we accomplish in a days work happen to be two very different things. Along our drive we stopped to view some Owls, 2 Chameleons, and managed to see a young porcupine moving in the short grass but besides this, the night safari proved to be not as exciting as one might expect!

Next week I am headed into a bush camp, which is a more remote area in Makalali, and we set up camp in the wild and we will be working with Bethwell, who is one of the best trackers known to the area. He will explain more to us about surviving in the wild, what to eat and not eat, using foot prints and stools to help track the animals on foot and anything else that may be associated with living amongst these majestic wild animals in their domain.

South Africa In A Nut Shell

2011-02-12T08:27:00.000-08:00

As I sit here in this small fishing village called Gansbaai, I finally found some time to collect my thoughts and attempt to write about my experience in Africa thus far. Gansbaai is a very small town located approximately 2 hours east along the coastline from the major port city Cape Town, which is in South Africa. It is still in the early stages of my travels and to make any significant judgments of an entire country when I’ve only been to 2 places would be rather unfair, but what I will do is make an attempt to capture what I’ve seen so far and let you, the reader, make the decision.

The volunteer house where I stayed for 2 weeks in Gansbaai

The Bay area in Gansbaai

South Africa is one of the more developed countries on the continent and is probably one of the most intense countries you could venture to history-wise. From what I can see, apartheid will always have a lasting impact across the country. Even though it seems people here have learned to adapt to live on the same soil with one another, there still lingers some major separations between the blacks and the non-black communities. For those of you who do not have a solid understanding of apartheid like myself, don’t feel bad. I will give you a quick overview. Apartheid was a system of legal racial segregation enforced across South Africa by the National Party government during 1948 – 1993. During this time, ‘non-white’ inhabitants (whom were the majority) were given no rights and minority rule was taken over by ‘white people’. Residential areas were segregated often resulting in forced removals. By 1958, black people were deprived their citizenship, their right to vote and basically denied their existence. The government segregated education, medical care and public services and blacks were provided with inferior services in comparison to white people. As one could imagine, this created massive resistance and violence amongst the black communities. Anti-apartheid leaders such as the former president Nelson Mandela and Jacob Zuma (the current South African President) were among thousands who were banned of their rise to power and exiled to Robben Island. If you have not read the biography ‘A long walk to freedom’ by Nelson Mandela, I highly recommend it. Nelson Mandela has devoted his whole life to bringing back equality across South Africa and spent 27 years of his life imprisoned on Robben Island before he was released and elected the President of South Africa.

I do want to make it very clear that it is NOT as dangerous as the rest of the world makes it out to be. There are NOT people running around the streets cutting each other up with machetes or any other crazy stories you might have heard in the news, read in the newspaper, or heard from people you met in your life.

Part of being human, is that we are the creators of our own fears and to conquer your own fears, you need to let go of comforts, open your mind, and being willing to prove yourself wrong.

To put it best, a local journalist in Cape Town wrote that to enjoy your experience in Africa, it is necessary to let go on any pre-convinced notions and come here with an open mind. I don’t think I could have put it better myself.

A the trapeze of electrical wires that is connected into each shanti in most townships

The communities seem to still be quite segregated and majority of black Africans are still living together in townships, which are often poverty stricken areas either on the outskirts of the cities or out in rural areas. I had the opportunity to go and visit several of the townships outside of Cape Town. They brought me back to memories of the slum areas I would often see in India. Almost everyone in these township communities live in small little shanties that are held together with a few screws, some bits of tin and a relatively sturdy 2 X 4. The roofs are also made of tin and often have large rocks on top of them to help keep them from blowing off in the wind or heavy rainstorms. Along the horizon of tin roofs, its easy to notice one large telephone poll being used as the central power line and from that pole is a trapeze of electrical wires running down to each individual tin home. The townships are small communities that appear to be one tightly knit family where everyone knows one another. Jobs are created inside the townships and they all share the same resources and walk the same streets. From what I can see, these people have no other choice but to get used to living in close proximity as life in the townships are pretty much as close as it can get.

The population of South Africa is an estimated 50 million people with 5 million of these people living in the country illegally. It is believed a majority of these illegal immigrants have come from neighboring countries such as Zimbabwe, Congo, and Nigeria.

This photo was taken of 2 boys living in one of the black townships

South Africa is rather developed and seems very modern and actually reminds me a lot of Australia. Even though the blacks and whites have learned to get along with one another, I can sense some rivalry walking the city streets in Cape Town. I've been trying to figure out how to look like a local and NOT a tourist. The locals very rarely get robbed and are mostly left alone. During my short stay of 6 days in Cape Town at a backpackers, I heard half a dozen stories of people getting a knife pulled on the streets and told they must give money or things could get out of hand. More often than not, they were tourists. The people lurking on the streets look for the easy prey, so I don't want to appear as easy prey anywhere along my travels. This was my first indicator that I was in a country I needed to learn more about. Realizing that I’ll be travelling through many countries in Africa, I'm having to adjust and always be cautious what I’m wearing and how I am acting. I have been advised by the locals to keep eye contact as a means of intimidation to those who may think of trying to rob or steal anything from me!

Travelling through Africa is going to be a challenge and lots of the local South African people have been really impressed when I tell them that I’m planning to travel through 14 countries all the way up to Egypt. They all tell me it is possible to do and have friends that have done it. But even in the wealthiest country here, there is little opportunity to travel, as it’s hard to earn enough money!

As for my own personal experiences here in this country, I have climbed some of the mountains and had splendid views overlooking the city and coastal areas. I took a day tour out to Robben Island and got to see the individual maximum security prison cell where Nelson Mandela lived during his time there. In the jail complex, there are communal rooms where most of the inmates were kept. There were approximately 30 inmates per room and each person slept in a single dormitory style bed. The guards monitored the conversations and several small speakers were mounted on the walls to ensure the talk was kept to a minimum. There was one washroom per area, which was to be shared by all inmates for that particular room. They were given just enough food to ensure survival, and their white inmate’s received more nutritious meals than the non-white inmates. Nearby the prison was a limestone mine where prisoners were forced to work by breaking the large pieces of limestone rocks off the cliff side and breaking them down into smaller pieces. This job was physically demanding and to make matters worse it was often carried out in the blistering heat and the light off the limestone was so intense it caused permanent eye damage in some of the prisoners.

This photo was taken of Nelson Mandela and he looks on from his prison cell on Robben Island

In the city area of Cape Town is the famous Table Mountain. It can be seen from miles away and it stands at an impressive 1,086m (3,563 ft). This mountain creates a very unique phenomenon. On most days, early in the afternoon, winds arrive from the southeast and are pushed up the mountain slope towards the top, which creates a pocket of cold air. Because of this cloud formation, the cloud expands and begins to form a tablecloth-like cloud over the mountain. Once at the edge of the cliffs, the winds then proceed to speed up on the decent down and this creates treacherous outland winds that are powerful enough to push boats way out to sea and inexperienced sailors often have to call to be rescued as their only hope for survival.

The clouds rolling over the ridge on the table mountain in Cape Town

During my time in Cape Town, I’ve found the locals extremely welcoming and almost always up for a conversation. Africa has a different outlook on time and appear to take a lot more relaxed approach on life, so the pace is slow and steady. Cape Town is known for having an exceptional nightlife and I ended up meeting a good group of friends at the backpackers to test it out with. We ended up going out pretty late and didn’t take long for us to realize the reputation was true. As enjoyable as it is to meet fellow travelers from all countries of the world, I do enjoy spending as much time with the locals as possible. I often found myself wandering around the city and sparking up as much conversations as I could to help give me a better understanding of the area I was in. I would start my nights going out with my backpacker friends and would often run into friendly locals, spark up a good chat and continuing the rest of the evening partying with them and being introduced to all the friends as: He’s from Canada! I didn’t mind having this as an introduction as it seemed to stir up a lot of interest and excitement amongst their peers. There are not many days that I don’t thank the almighty that I grew up where I did and that Canada has such a good worldwide reputation.

If you ever get the chance to visit Cape Town, as I mentioned in the beginning, make to let go of any pre-conceived notions or fears before you arrive, as this tends to be your worst enemy. In my mind, Cape Town is a city full of historic events, great beaches, restaurants that cater to your every need, friendly locals, superb nightlife, and safe as ever just as long as you don’t walk around on your own at night. It’s hard to imagine people coming here and not enjoying themselves and it’s easy to see why Cape Town ranks as one of the top cities in the world to live in.

Stay tuned for the next article:

Getting up close and personal with Great White Sharks.

AN OUT OF THIS WORLD EXPERIENCE IN INDIA

2011-02-03T08:57:00.000-08:00

My name is Kevin and I am a 27 year old Canadian traveler who was born and raised in a big city called Calgary, Alberta. The population there is approximately one million people and is located just east of the Rocky Mountains. Calgary is less than a 45 minute drive away from the mountains which makes it an ideal location for those who enjoy the outdoors. Whether it’s hiking or camping in the summer or world-class skiing/snowboarding in the winter this "majestic" mountain area is a haven for all those who like to enjoy the outdoors all year round. I was fortunate enough to come into this world to outreached hands of
two very caring and loving parents as well as a sister who was there to help me in whatever way she could. As far back as I can remember, my parents have always made an effort to ensure they put their own lives on hold to help those who were less fortunate. At a young age, my parents volunteered to look after a mentally challenged girl named Yannick every other weekend just to help give her parents a bit of a break, as looking after her was a 24 hour job for the parents. Growing up, both my Mom and Dad taught me to always treat others with respect no matter how different one may act or look. As I grew up, volunteering became a big part of my life and have volunteered for the police for 2 ½ years, volunteered for Global Fest (which is a cultural festival held annually) twice, was an assistant coach for a boys ice hockey team, and also volunteered for the victim services unit for 2 years while I was studying for my BSc Kinesiology degree. I can remember looking at a world map when I was a small boy and wondering what it would be like to travel to these far away countries and what life must be like for people in other areas of our world. It seemed that the older I got, the more fascinating the world map was to me. As I got older, I became more and more curious and I was determined to someday find out what it would be like to travel all over the Globe. After graduating university, I worked for awhile and managed to save some money and was preparing myself to let go of every comfort I knew of. Once I had enough money saved up that I thought would last me for at least 6 months, I bought my first one-way ticket to New Zealand. In doing so, I had no real idea how, if, or when I would return home. It was pretty much the first time I had left the country alone so I remember being a bit nervous while I waited in the boarding room at the airport and doubting if I was cut out for this so called backpacking way of life. The wonderful thing about it is, once I got over there and met a few people who had left everything back home and were on their way to see the world, just like me, I knew I no longer was alone and I never looked back since my first trip. If you’re a traveler like me, you would probably agree that you get amazing opportunities to meet all walks of life in each country you go to. While travelling in Myanmar, I met a French traveler who was in his late 40’s and it was hard not to notice that the backpack he was carrying was covered in flags of where he had been. So without any hesitation, I approached him on the street and remember him telling me he had been to over 70 countries. I was absolutely blown away by how devoted to travelling he really was and just when you think you’ve ventured as far away from home as one could imagine, there are always people out there who have gone just a little bit further. He told me that to be considered an "official globetrotter" you must have travelled to more countries than your age. I have just begun my 3rd extended trip away and getting close to being able to call myself a globetrotter as I am currently volunteering and travelling in South Africa, which is the 25th country, I’ve travelled to.

Last year during my travels in India, I decided to switch it up a bit and found an amazing opportunity to volunteer where I would live at an orphanage and work at a school that was created specifically for street kids and children from the slum areas in and around New Delhi. I must admit, the experience changed my life and what was only supposed to be a 4 week project quickly turned into 6 weeks and would have been extended even longer had time allowed me to continue being part of the volunteer project. After one month on the project, I approached Dr. Bhandu, who was the director and asked him if it was okay to extended the help another 2 weeks and he generously welcomed the idea. He was a bit taken back by my devotion to his projects and I remember him pulling me aside and telling me that he could see a burning desire in me that was much greater than in most of the other volunteers he had met. He told me there was something different about me and that I portrayed the qualities of an individual who could take charge had the ability to inspire others. He suggested that I should use my leadership to help other people in our world. In short, Dr. Bhandu challenged me to start my own company and build it so that I could someday send more volunteers to him or similar projects across India or other countries that would need all the help they can get. I never planned to start my own company nor had I any idea it would become an international project. Those 6 weeks of volunteering in India were nothing shy of incredible and made for one of the most memorable and rewarding experiences I have ever had in my life. It opened my eyes in so many ways I never would have anticipated or even imagined. After my work was complete, saying goodbye to those children was the hardest thing I had ever had to do during any of my travels. After such a moving experience, helping out became more of an obligation to me than an option. As a result of my experiences and with some help from friends and family, I’ve created my own company called Project Volunteer Abroad, which is designed to open the door to others and be able to provide similar opportunities like the one I had. It is set up for people that really want to get involved and gain a valuable experience in their life that will change them for the better. Helping someone is an incredible feeling to, whether at home or abroad to better their lives. In my travels, I have met so many people who live in an environment, not by their own choosing, who really need help, as they have nothing and struggle each day to survive. Together, we can all make a difference!! If you think you might be interested in volunteering in the future and are up for the challenge or know other people that may be, I encourage you to please explore our website and be sure to become a member of the Project Volunteer Abroad group on Facebook and pass the link or invite others to be part of this global movement.

The countries that are currently available to volunteer in are:

Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia.

It is believed that as a volunteer, you will take more away then you can really give back and it will open you to a whole new world of self exploration, inner fulfillment, and allow you to dig deeper and begin to understand the real life of the people to those countries that you decide to travel to.

Company website address: www.projectvolunteerabroad.org

DUBAI

2011-01-20T13:47:00.000-08:00

A GLIMPSE OF THE EMPIRE CITY IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

From visiting the most spectacular 'prehistoric monument of the world' in the UK known as STONEHENGE to a birds eye view from the tallest building ever built on this planet in Dubai, I guess you could say my travels have begun in a full swing. Dubai is offically the busiest, bustling, and the most touristy city you could venture to in the whole of the United Arab Emirates. From the moment my plane landed at the main International Airport I could sense the intense levels of humidity and the air smelled very sweet like candy and gave me the feeling that I had just entered into an area full of wealth and opportunity. Its said that 6 million people either live in this urban cosmopolitan city or just outside of it and its doesn't take long to notice that there is more money fueling this city than one could have ever expected. From the extensive looking buildings to the crazy amounts of rich vehicles, it's easy to conclude that most people residing in this area must be pretty well off. I imagined that everybody would be dressed in their typical Arabic clothing which includes a thobe (long robe) worn by the men with a ghutra (head scarf) over there heads and an egal (rope band which is usually black) but I was a bit disappointed to see very little of this as most people seemed to be dressed in very western style clothing and it seems a lot of western influence must have sunk in here pretty deep since the boom.

I arrived late in the evening the night before and so today was my first opportunity to set off and explore dubai and get my first taste of this rich city. I began my adventure by walking endlessly around with no real direction or idea of where at all I was going. This reminded me of a wonderful quote I've heard that: "If there's no planned outcome or destination, then you can't really ever get lost!" My tenative plan was to make my way to the coastline and walk along the beach till my legs couldn't take anymore and end up where ever the wind would blow me. Along the way, I was a bit thrown off my usual laid back carefree wandering because most of the beach access areas were closed off and the security guards would allow no entrance through the gates and seemed to have no reliable options as to where to go next! I swear none of the so called 'locals' here have the slightest clue of how to get anywhere around this city. To give you an example, I was at the marina and walking towards Burj al Arab and this hotel security guard told me it was atleast 30 minutes to walk there. I didn't really believe it was that far away as the shrunken map of the city made the distance from where I was and where I intended to go, look like it was merely just a hop, skip, and a jump away. So I questioned him on it and he then went on to tell me that it was in fact about 10 km away.. my only response was to let out a loud laugh and I told him if I ran the whole way at a marathon pace 10km would take me atleast 50 minutes which is almost double of his initial estimate. I came to the conclusion that most the people living in Dubai, or atleast the dozens of ones I talked to asking for help must really have a poor understanding of either time or distance, or perhaps both! Along my wandering, I did manage to see some cool sights and got a few incredible photos of the iconic Brug al Arab with the sun setting in the background.

In the afternoon I was just chilling on the main beach area called Jumeriah when I met two Arab guys that I offered to take a picture for them. After a brief chat and me telling them I was just a foreigner on a short stopover in Dubai, they offered to drive me to see one of the famous buildings Atlantis which was super cool and this building and many other gigantic hotels are all built on one of the many man made islands all over the coastline of the city area. After taking in Atlantis, they took me out for a nice Kabob-ji dinner and we had some sheesha and so it turned out to be a wonderful day and made some new friends along the way!

With all my previous travels, I was surprised to come to the realization that it taken me a good week and a half to get comfortable with the idea of being a backpacker again and get used to this helter skelter way of life. One thing I've noticed right away is this nomadic style of backpacking all over the world is such a far away dream world that when your back at home I think your mind plays tricks on you and is incredible how quickly you seem to forgot just how really amazing it is to get away and be free again!

Before my time expires in Dubai, I'm planning to do a big bus tour which takes you all over the city and you can buy a day pass to get on or off anywhere you would like and also book an elevator ride up Burj khalifa tower as my one expensive tourist thing to do here! This tower stands tall at over 800m and earns its recognition as the World's tallest building.

**Stay tuned for my blog next month once I get to my next destination: South Africa!

INDIA: Travel recommendations

2010-10-12T19:50:00.000-07:00

India is said to be the most culturally diverse country on our planet and its easy to see why it has the ability to offer one of the most remarkable travel experiences you could ever imagine. If you have never travelled here or planning a trip in the future, one thing you must realize is India is a truly massive country that offers a rich and diverse travelling experience in every single corner of the country. India has the ability to shock, surprise, excite, and disgust you all in the same moment. For me, this was my favourite country I have ever been to and took my travels to a whole new level. They say there are two types of travellers; those who have been to india, and those who have NOT. I am pleased to be able to say that I now fit into the group of 'haves' instead of 'have nots'.

I spent 3 months in India and to begin my journey, I started on the far east in Varanasi and eventually made my way by train across to New Delhi in the west. I Volunteered working with street kids and children from the slums for a month and a half in a smaller city 30 km south of New Delhi. After that I Went up north for a week and then continued west to the Pakistan border and then travelled down south into the Thar Desert. From there I continued down south to Bombay and then eventually made it all the way down to Kerala in the south.

VARANASI:

This is by far one of the most holy and sacred places to visit in India. Its a densely populated city which lies along the Ganges river just before it flows out into the Bay of Bengal on the east coast. Varanasi is the city where almost all Hindus go to when they die and get cremated by their family along the river banks in hopes of breaking the life cycle and sending their spirit to freely roam in the heavens among the gods. If you plan to go to India, you need to put this city high on your priority list of things to do.

KHAJURAHO TEMPLES:

Is an amazing fortress of ancient erotic temples and best known as the Kama sutra temples. If you've been to Cambodia and seen Angkor Wat, its actually comparable on many levels! Although often overlooked by most travellers that venture to this foreign land; it is a must see in my books. For some strange reason that I never understood, the accommodation cost is a bit higher than most places in India so make sure you barter for the lowest rate possible and never take the first price they throw at you. I would recommend to hire a guide to drive you around and tell you all about the area and the history as the perimeter of the area that encases all the temples. The entire area is massive and would require days of walking to see everything. It is best to visit the main temples in the morning when the gates open before all the tourists pile in and ruin the ambience of the area.

AGRA:

Has to be on the the most famous places to visit in India. It is the busy bustling and grungy city that ironically enough, encases the most beautiful building ever built on our planet. The almighty Taj Mahal. If you go to India and don't see the Taj; to be very blunt, you are a fool. I had heard that the best time to see the Taj was during a full moon or right at sunrise if you can time it right. Since it was not a full moon when I was there, I decided to do the next best thing and see it at sunrise and make sure that I was one of the first into the compound. By doing so, it ensured me that I could be one of the few that got a first glimpse and photo of the Taj Mahal before the masses of tourists flooded in. The entrance gates open at varying times during the year depending on the actual time of the sunrise so be sure to ask at your guest house upon check-in. If you have to wake up early and looking for a great place to get breakfast and fill your belly before the gates open, I highly recommend a little corner side restuarant named: Joney's Cafe. This restaurant is quite small and doesn't have the most appealing appearance to it from the outside but rest assured, it has some of the best breakfast food and Lassi shakes I tasted in all of India. To top it off this little cafe is open early far before most of the other restaurants.

FATEPHUR SKIRI:

This is a smaller city in Indian standards that is approximately 20 km or a 45 minute bus ride from Agra. This not so well known city is full of amazing temples and buidling structures and is often overlooked by most travellers or tourists that flock to Agra just to see the Taj and then continue on back to Delhi or other busy areas of India. Its a bit off the beaten trail but a must see and the best part of all is its easy to get to using local transport from the main bus station in Agra.

NEW DELHI:

Is officially the most intense and full on city I have ever encountered along my travels. 'Full power 24 hrs' is the best way to explain this place. Most backpackers stick together in a busy section of the city called Pahar Ganj. New Delhi is full of amazing sights and people waiting to get your money lurk around every street corner so you always have to be on your toes anywhere you go here and be ready for what lies for you around each corner you turn. You also need to be very cautious who you trust and make sure you barter, barter, barter for everything and anything you purchase or when you use the rickshaw drivers for transport.

Things to Do in Delhi:

Akshardam Temple - This incredible state of the art temple was built in 2005. Its a huge maze of buildings so give yourself 3-4 hours here to visit all the temples and watch a few of the various shows throughout the temple grounds.
Jama Masid - Holds the title for the largest mosque in India.
Kareems Restuarant - This restuarant is famous for its delicious mouth watering dishes and is located only 1/2 a block away from Jama Masid.
Mandir Birla Temple - This is one of the most colourful and creative temples you might ever see.
Red Fort - A massive fortress built to guard areas of the city against incoming invaders back in the day.
Pahar Ganj (main bizzare) - this is the most popular place where most backpackers stay and there are loads of budget hotels or guest houses to stay at.
Conaught Place - The trendy upscale shopping area of New Delhi. Only a 10 minute walk from Pahar Ganj and the main railway station.
Deli Haat - A marketplace which offers the most genuwine and affordable pashmina and Kashmire scarves you will find.

FARIDABAD:

Is typically not a place to visit for most travellers but this small city is located approx. 40 km south of New Delhi and where I spent 1 1/2 months volunteering here. If your interested, I highly recommend it and have even started my own company for international volunteering after I was involved in this project.

*If your at all interested to VOLUNTEER in India or any other country you may be planning to go to, please take a few minutes and have a look at my website:

www.projectvolunteerabroad.org

RANTHAMBORE NATIONAL PARK::

**If your feeling adventurous and looking for an out of this world experience than hire motorcycles and drive around New Delhi or other areas in India. My good friend Tom and I hired motorcycles and drove 1,200km over 8 days on Indian roads leaving from New Delhi up to the India/Pakistan border which was an intense week of driving. PLEASE KEEP IN MIND: its very dangerous and you must exercise extreme caution while driving as it is nothing out of the ordinary for tourists to hire motorcycles in foreign countries and get killed by getting hit.

For YOGA you'll want to check out Rishikesh, which is said to be the Yoga capital of the world. I did go here and took a few meditation classes and have a very good friend who has been doing yoga for 19 years that I would love to connect you to so please make sure you let me know when your serious about going here and I’ll get in touch with him. There is another peaceful place close by that I did not get to visit called Haridwar but heard its really cool too.

CHANDIGARH:

Is the most developed city in India. Probably the least favorite place I visited. It was pretty cool to see a different side of India but reminded me a lot of back home so if you find yourself running low on time, you can probably give this place a miss as the only thing here to see is the recycled gardens that aren't all that impressive.

AMRITSAR:

This magnificent area lies in the state of Punjab and is where the dazzling Golden temple is located and the pilgrimage site for all Sikhs. (Indians that wear the turbins). Amritsar is highly recommend as the energy of this place will blow your mind and surrounding area is like something I've never felt before. If you want to experience Amritsar to the fullest, you can even stay in the temple for 2-3 nights max if you want. Just make sure you contact them before your arrival so they hold a bed for you. Visit the temple both during the day and night and the mood and atmosphere changes dramatically. Also try to ensure you get to experience the final prayer at the end of the day and take your turn lining up to get inside the Harmandir Sahib (golden temple) to witness the spectacular devotees as the scriptures from the holy book are sung and the energy in this temple will ease your mind and any tension that may be lingering from your body. This is the holiest shrine in Sikhism and is said to be coated in over 100 Kg of gold. The water surrounding the temple is a sacred pool known as Amrit Sarovar (pool of nectar).

Every night after the closing prayer, they march the Granth Sahib (their holy book similar to the bible) out of the Hari Mandir (divine temple), along the marble causeway called Guru's Bridge (which symbolizes the journey of the soul after death) and into a secure room. To be part of the whole session will leave your body tingling and gasping for more.

ATTRI:

This city sits strong on the border on India/Pakistan. It is only about 30 km from Amritsar and worth checking out as everyday around 4:30pm there is a border closing ceremony and the guards have a march off and is a MUST SEE if you have the time.

JAIPUR:

Is the first big city worth checking out once you cross into my favorite state of Rajahstan. I suggest to spend as much time travelling around this state of India as possible. There is a lot of famous sights to see here and pretty touristy but definitely worth spending a few days taking everything in that this special place has to offer!

A few of the recommendations things I did was the Jaipur Fort, Hawa Mahal, City centre Palace, and Jantar Mantar (Astronomy Museum).

JAISALMER:

Is known as the fort city and is the farthest west city you could go to before you head into the vast openness of the Thar Desert. This is one of my favorite places to be in India and with a bit of planning and a lot of luck, I was there during the annual Desert festival in February which had several different events such as; Mr. and Mrs. Desert, as well as the best moustache of Rajahstan, and spanned over 3 days. Jaisalmeir is a famous spot to arrange a 1-3 day camel safari in the desert. I did a 3 day safari and it was definitely one of my favorite experiences in India. Marching far into the open desert with just you, your camel and a guide suddenly makes you feel like your a long way away from home and soon realize you don't have a care in the world . There are loads of different companies that eagerly await your arrival and will do just about anything to get your business! BE CAREFUL!!: It is quite easy to get ripped off anywhere in India and especially here if your not careful! Every company will tell you they can offer you the best price but please take my advice and go to 2 or 3 different companies to make sure your money goes as far as possible instead of signing up with the first one and soon realize you got ripped off and paid twice the price that anyone else did!

Where to stay: There is a huge fort that overlooks the city and there are guest houses or hotels inside the fort where you can stay. I recommend: HOTEL V VILAS which is located inside the fort just behind Laxminath Ji Temple and has a gorgeous roof top restaurant. If you stay here ask for Amin Jamin and tell him I sent you there and he will take good care of you. If you use couchsurfing and plan ahead Amin is on there and you can stay there for no cost if you get in contact with him before you arrive!

MT. ABU:

UDAIPUR:

If you go here, you will be pleased to know that there are lots to see and do. It is said to be the romance city of India. Its easy to see why once you visit here and take a tour of the city where high sandstone white buildings stand tall all along the rivers edge. There is lots to do and see here so 2-3 days would be the minimum amount of time you'd want to spend here.

MUMBAI/BOMBAY:

Is probably the most unbalanced yet booming city I've ever come across besides Phenom Penn in Cambodia. The idea of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is all too commonplace here. It is like the New York of India and one of the most bustling and growing cities in India. Although there is a lot of wealth and business here, a huge chunk of the city still lives below the poverty line. In the middle of this city is the Dharavi Slums, which is the biggest slum area in all of Asia (42 sq km is the area). If you visit here I have a friend who would be more then happy to take you thru the slums and you get to see first hand what it means to have very little and most of the people living in this area live off $1 a day or less.

GOA:

I decided to give this place a miss but most people have heard about this place. It used to be a haven for hippies back in the day but from what I heard the magic here is lost and not as exciting as it once was. Goa is one of the most touristy areas to visit in India.

FORT COCHIN:

This is a small peaceful city in the tropical state of Kerala which is in the south. In the state of Kerala you can hire a houseboat and float the backwaters for as long as time will allow you and is why most travellers are drawn to this more of a relaxed and laid back area state in India.

**One thing I must mention is there is a big separation and difference between the North part and the South part of India. The north is mainly composed of Hindu, Muslim, and Buddhists where as the south is mostly Christian. The North can be very intense and full on and the real raw part of India where as the south is a lot more relaxed, peaceful, and tropical. India is such a massive country so if you only have a month or two to spend here then you must decide which part of India you want to focus on. To do both requires at least 3 months or more.

My experience of living in JAPAN

2010-08-22T17:55:00.000-07:00

My parents have been doing an international homestay at their place in Calgary, AB so we have had students living at our family home since I was in high school from Japan, Korea, China, Taiwan, and Mexico. After realizing the struggle most of the students went thru in their attempt to get settled in Canada, I guess you could say it drove my curiousity and caused a deep desire within for me to want to go over to their country and see for myself what it would be like. I had quite a few friends who were doing their education degree at the University of Lethbridge during my years there and most of them talked quite highly of their degree and how much they enjoyed teaching. With my desire to live abroad in Asia and their positive feedback about teaching I figured that once I spent all the money I had on my 9 month journey backpacking, That Japan would be a good place to call home for a bit and a good part of the world to work and earn a decent amount of money.

As I was running out of funds I was in Austrailia backpacking the east coast at the time and realized I was not at all ready to return back home. My money was fading quickly because Australia is quite expensive to travel in so I booked a ticket to Bali, Indonesia and would spend the rest of my savings travelling around Indonesia where the cost of living was much much lower than in Australia. I applied for about 13 different teaching jobs in Japan and basically took the first job offer that was given to me. It was for a 1 year contract teaching at a Junior High School in a small rural city called Ashikaga which was located in the prefecture called Tochigi. It was about a 60 km train ride north of Tokyo but I was pleased that I was still close enough to Tokyo that I could jump on a train whenever I wanted to see what the city had in store for me. Once I got settled in I was dropped off at my school with little to no material or preparation and just expected to start teaching. I quickly realized that all the horrosr stories I had heard about working for Agencies were turning out to be exactly true. So for me, I had no teaching experience and was basically just dropped into a deep tank of water in hopes that I knew how to swim, or atleast that's exactly what it felt like! After weeks had gone by, I started to realize that teaching was a pretty chilled out job for me but I really don't think I could ever do it as a career as its a bit of a boring job and don't really get to talk much to the kids as the English learning system is pretty shifty here in Japan. The grade 9's who are in their 3rd year of English just look at me like I am talking a different language or from a different planet so the language barrier has definitely caused me a bit or grief at times. Since I was 14 I wanted to become a Police officer, and even after going thru university and now traveling and seeing a whole different part of life, I still feel like this is my calling in life.. I need a fast paced, changing job that keeps me going or else I get bored really quickly and lose interest. I noticed this even with girls too, I've had 2 amazing long relationship but a fading sense of interest was one of the major causes why they didn't continue to work out.. oh well! guess that's a sign i"m just not ready to settle down yet! still got a lot of living to do! lol.. as you know, you meet beautiful people from all parts of the world and its great to travel as it makes you realize there's no reason to feel you have to settle cause there's beautiful talented women or men all over this world..

So as for me and Japan, In my free time I helped train the girls volleyball team and they are really good. The head coach is a hard core guy who has the girls up in a sweat from the time practice starts till it ends 2 hrs later. They train 5 days a week 2 1/2 hrs after school everyday and usually do an hour in the morning too! I think a lot of success in sports has a lot to do with coaching and these girls are really amazing. We had a tournament on the weekend and ended up losing in the finals for the league champs so they were pretty torn and devastated that they only got 2nd place!! In Japan, sports take priority in life and they train hard like Olympic athletes. If you look at a sport like Judo and watch how tough the Japanese guys are, you'll begin to get an idea the talent over here.

The sad part is that once they get out of high school there is immense pressure for them to get real jobs and careers and all of a sudden all this training and talent they've gotten over training so hard during their youth is just pushed out the back door and suddenly they become so busy with work or university they have no time for sports and very few students will pick the professional athlete path in life as its more or less frowned upon..

I feel as if I've already learned a bit about this country after living here for just a short period of time. I figure if I'm only here for a year I might as well take in everything i can get from my experience here and anything to do with sports is always a keen interest for me to learn about.

The food is actually really good here and a huge bonus as to why one would choose to live in this country. I love sushi, I could eat it everyday for the rest of my life so that's always a tasty treat. its pretty cheap too, 2 pieces of sushi for $1 CDN.. you can get pretty full for like $7-8 dollars so a lot cheaper that back home... and the yakatori (kabobs) are pretty amazing too. all in all the food is great, lots of rice and noodles are common here too. Ive been cooking a lot of pasta and hamburgers and all the western food cause i didn't get to eat it for 10 months now so its a nice change..

Japan is a really humid climate here and rains alot, the people are pretty serious most the time as its a 1st world country but the girls are very beautiful. I think Japanese girls are the best looking girls of Asia for sure!

as for teaching: I'm really enjoying it now and its pretty cool!I teach around 18 classes a week to junior high kids and after school I'm helping as much as possible to train the girls volleyball team and we had a big tournament a couple weeks ago and kicked ass, won 5 of 6 games and lost in the league finals. still trying to figure out if the girls have that much talent or I'm just a wicked coach.. ha..!!

I have been keeping pretty busy with the kids so i can save money so its worked out quite well! The kids had a bit or a hard shell to break through and it didn't make it any easier coming into the school year half way through. But like most things in life, a bit of work and effort and now they have warmed up to me quite a bit and yell across the hall or classrooms as i walk by " Hi KEVINNNN!!!" its pretty adorable!

AUSTRALIA: Travel Recommendations

2010-07-30T21:48:00.000-07:00

PERTH:

This is the biggest city on the west coast of Australia. Most travellers that venture to Australia tend to stick to the east coast but if your curiousity overwhelms you and you get the urge to head to the less populated west coast of Australia, I promise that it won't dissapoint you. Perth is a magnificiently green and clean city that lies right on the coastline. It has more of a business feel to the city than most places you pass by on the east coast but there is alot to do and several different backpackers that you could stay at that should suit your budget ($25 AUD/ Night). Where I stayed and recommend is Billabong backpackers. A rather busy place with very friendly staff and to top it all off they have an outdoor poor that could consume more of your time than you might have initially plan on. This is a great starting point if your planning to find others to team up with to make a trek up the west coast. When I was there I met loads of fellow travellers eagerly looking for people who they could team up with to do a trip. I would recommend atleast 6-7 days in Perth. The things I did that I highly recommend would be:

~ Venture downtown to the main city centre area and take a ride up the Swan Bells Tower to get a great view of the city below.
~ Catch a bus up to Kings Park and get lost walking the maze of trails and be sure to check out the War memorial area.
~ Spend a night or two on Rottsnest Island and be sure to hire a bicycle to ride around as transport is very limited.
~ Hire a car and take the 3-4 hour drive north to check out the Pinnacles
~ Wake up really early, Hire a car and drive south down to Bunbury and if your lucky you could get to swim with Dolphins.
~ Spend a day or two kicking back and relaxing on the marvelous beaches of Cottesloe or Freemantle.

MELBOURNE:

This place is by far the centre of the music hub of Australia. A backpackers heaven indeed and I have failed to meet a fellow traveller who did not thoroughly enjoy their melbourne experience. If you go here in search of an exciting nightlife, well you've come to the right place. You can walk down and lose yourself in some of the most random of alley ways in the city and almost always stumble upon a rocking bar that just seems to pop up out of nowhere.

If you are craving a more relaxing beach day to kick back and gaze endlessly into that vast openness of the seaside than St. Kilda is just the place for you. Melbourne to me, was a city that seemed to have alot to offer. Not to mention their is a massive stadium too called the MCG where your just a number and 1 of 80,000+ spectators rally together to cheer on their favourite clubs in this spectacular australian game of footy A.K.A. AFL.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD:

This drive is said to be one of the most beautiful drives you can take on our planet. Without a doubt this stunning coastline will surely leave anyone who ventures here breathless and screaming for more. This stretch of road is 243 km (151 miles) of pavement that winds all along the southern coastline of Australia. It is alot of ground to cover and I highly recommend taking your time during the drive and make as many scenic stops at all the lookout points as possible. If you happen to be here at the right time of the year its quite common to see the massive humpback whales passing by just off the coastline during their migration path away or back towards Antartica. I had the luxury of doing the road trip with a few Australian girls I had met in NZ and we took 3 days to do the drive and there are plenty of budget accommodations to stay at any of the towns/small cities along the way.

SYDNEY:

This is probably one of my top 5 favorite cities I've ever been to. Once arriving in Sydney I recommend to stay downtown central in a hostel called: Wake UP!. It is a very busy hostel but usually full of fellow backpackers eagerly waiting to begin carving their path up the east coast and there is an info booth in the hostel which has a wicked assortment of useful information for Sydney and area. If you decide not to stay in grand central I recommend staying in an area close by sydney called COOGE BEACH. There are several different hostels to stay there but I stayed at the Wizard of OZ and it was pretty cool and just a short 2 minute walk from the beach. There's nothing cheap about Sydney so be prepared!! There is a really nice walk you can talk from Cooge beach to Bondi beach. It takes about an hour and a half but unleashes splendid views of the coastline and if you time it right, you may see humpback whales out in the waters migrating their way up the east coast. BONDI BEACH is a must see for various reasons but I will warn you, its usually quite crowded and a little disappointing if you have your expectations set high. If you go down the coast a little ways, there are much nicer and quiter beaches along the sydney coastline. I never went but heard that Manly beach or Maroubra beach are nice spots, just watch out for the Surfer Gangs there. If animals are your thing, I suggest heading to the Taronga Zoo which is quite decent and you can get a ferry out of Circular Quay to it quite easily which is a great opportunity to take some photos of the ever so famous opera house and harbour bridge.

BLUE MOUNTAINS:

This is a National park that is situated just 2 hours by train from Sydney and a place I highly recommend going to. There are tons of great hikes you can do in the mountain park area and is the place to go to see the famous cliffside statues commonly called the 3 sisters. If have the time to stay overnight or for a few days, there is a hostel in the town area called flying fox and its a really cozy place to stay!

PORT MAQUARIE:

NEW CASTLE:

PORT STEPHENS:

COFFS HARBOUR:

BYRON BAY:

NIMBIN:

Is a small village that is approximately 70 Km west of Byron Bay. This place is probably one of the most bizarre yet memorable places you could visit in Australia along the east coast. With is bustling population of 352 people (2006 survey) its possible to spot most of the locals in just a few hours here. I can assure you that if you go here, this village is sure to rate high on the wow factor. It is a magical place that seems to be stuck in time full of pot smoking hippies and if you have the appetite for marijuana cookies or any other paraphernalia, this is your place to be. A writer Austin pick explained it perfectly: "It is as if a smoky avenue of amsterdam has been placed in the middle of the mountains behind frontier-styly building facades... Nimbin is a strange place indeed".

SURFERS PARADISE:

Is quite a popular stop for backpackers flocking along the ever so busy east coast but seemed to be a bit touristy for my liking so i didn't not spend any time here. I do have a good friend who did spend a considerable amount of time here so this is his recommendation for places to stay. Some good hostels include: The Islander (a bit pricey but great location), Surf and Sun, and Sleeping in Surfers. They are all decent so go with whatever is cheapest. He got a great opportunity to sell pub crawl tickets to travellers or other party goers along the beaches here and make a good amount of cash doing it so if this interests you and looking to earn some extra cash along your travels, Definitely let me know and I can get in contact with him for you.

SOUTHPORT:

This is a small town outside of Surfers, probably cheaper accomodation if you're looking to stay for a while and is only a 20 minute bus ride away. Accommodation near the University is probably your best bet.

FRASER ISLAND:

BRISBANE:

Not a whole lot there but did a walk thru the city along the river which was nice. Make sure you get to the Steve Irwin Autralia zoo about an hour north of brisbane, its wicked cool and they still have all the worlds deadliest snakes that steve irwin caught himself. When you arrive find out what time the crocidile show is at! its definitly worth seeing forsure.

NOOSA:

Is a really chilled out spot. I got up early to watch the sunrise and it was incredible! definitly worth it! We rented a catarmaran and sailed out into the open waters so if you or rich or someone ur with knows how to use them, definitly rent for a few hours and do your own cruise and keep a look out for dolphins. we ended up sailing with them and they were jumping all around our boat and close enough i reached into the water and touched the fin on one of them.. Amazing!!

1770:

There's not a whole lot of options of places to stay but if you book ahead there's 1 really cool hostel that was full but ask around and other travellers will know which one it is.
In this town you can hire chopper motorcycles (they train you how to ride one) and you have got to do the Chopper Tour its an all day ride with a big group and a must Do forsure

** Please be careful when you book whitsundays trip, there's lots of different boats you can take and the nicer the boat is the more expensive its gonna be so just don't book the first deal you find and shop around. We did the 'Freight train' and it was quite affordable and had a blast. you can even set up a fun dive when you get out there on it! if you take this boat and your host is Tane, tell him your my cousin. (i'm not sure if he's still on the boat but he may be!!

One thing i recommend doing if it fits your budget is doing the Yongala ship wreck Dive, it's in a small town called AYER. google it and find out if you can do it with open water i think you might need advanced cert. Its a bit pricey but worth every penny and you see more fish on 1 dive than any dive you could ever do on the reef!

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF:

If you have not heard already 70% or more of the dives done on the reef is out of Cairns.. Don't DO IT! i heard the reef is damaged bad from all the traffic and stupid tourists stepping on the reefs. Its better to wait to dive the reef till you get up to port douglas or cape trib cause its way more untouched and much more marine life there!

MAGNETIC ISLAND:

Stay at base backpackers and doing a hike up to the north tip of the island to the viewpoint, its gorgeous.

CAIRNS:

Stay at Calypso backpackers! its by far the best one and a great atmosphere!! Another great hostel is Mulligans ( i think thats the name ) it's basically a hotel/hostel but rumor has it, you gotta try it out for atleast a night. While in Cairns, make sure you go out one night to one of the two popular bars called the Woolshed or the Rhino Bar! its such a riot, there's no way you can't have fun there!!

PORT DOUGLAS:

I went to port douglas and there's a few hostels to stay at. If you have the courage go down to the harbour and rent out a tin motor boat and crusie up the crocidile infested river and have your own crocidile hunt! that's what we did! The beach is lovely in port douglas and i highly recommend doing the trail up to the lookout point over the coastline! its stunning

CAPE TRIBULATION:

I did not go here but wished I had the time as I heard alot of good things about it.

Have you experienced the goon bags yet? (boxed 4L of wine for 10 dollars) its dirt cheap and gets your pretty tipsy! If you travel in Austrailia and don't get to experience the wonders of the GOON, you will have missed out for certain!

The most beautiful VIDEO I've seen in my life

2010-05-16T16:43:00.000-07:00

I encourage you to take the time to check out this video:

http://vimeo.com/1250929

LAOS: My Story and Travel recommendations

2010-05-02T14:57:00.000-07:00

After the long awaited wait to head into Laos, It finally happened and our plane touched down in Vientiane around noon. Before we took off from Kuala Lumpur, I had the opportunity to meet a couple that was traveling for 10 weeks on their way around the world and they too were heading to Laos. To say you have traveled around the world in 10 weeks is something I would consider impossible as you that only allows you to spend 2-3 days in a city and just as you start to get a taste of your surroundings, your on your way back to the airport and waiting in line to catch a flight to the next country. Definitely not something I would ever be interested in doing but hey, different strokes for different folks I guess. It is extremely difficult to have the best of both worlds in life but I guess this is the closet thing to that so.. why not? Their names were Anne and Mos. Annie was born in Hong Kong but lived most her life in Melbourne, Australia. Mos was born in Laos and shared an incredible story with me about how his parents fled Laos when he was created and escaped down the Mekong river holding onto the edge of a small boat as they clung to their life and hid from the armed military guards on the banks watching over the river. This story was a real eye opener and can’t even begin to imagine having to put my life on the line like his parents did not too long ago. After running away from their home country, Moses parents ended up in Australia so that is where he has been raised his whole life. Anne and Mos was a couple and had been together for a while. I cannot remember what Anne did for work but I do remember that Mos graduated from Chef School and worked as a Cook in Melbourne, Australia.

Once our plane touched down in Vientiane, we were told the visa to enter Laos costs $30US and had to be paid in US dollar at the customs counter. I can honestly say I never carried US money so both Mos, Anne, and I had to get special permission to pass through customs and head out of the airport as there was an ATM located at the front entrance beside a convenience shop that allowed you to withdraw US Dollars. I was quite surprised as other travelers told me Laos was one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world and so I did not expect any part of traveling in Laos to be convenient. Once we withdrew the money we headed back through the gates at customs and paid the officers so we would be granted our 30 day visa and would be permitted to entry the country. Once we were through customs Mos was eager to practice his lao speaking to real lao people so he got us set up and we hired a cab that brought us into the main city centre.

Anne and Mos were traveling on a very comfortable budget so they could afford a fairly nice place to stay in. Me on the other hand, I was used to always trying to find the cheapest place in the city where I could stay in a dorm and I pillow and mattress was the only luxury I ever looked for. Anne and Mos stayed in a fairly expensive lodge and I ended up wandering along the streets and found a hostel with 6 beds per room for 20,000 Kip or $3 US a night. The place was quite run down and the lady between the counter seemed like a miserable bitch that had no desire to make you feel welcome but I took a bed as the price was right. When I began traveling; and considered a place to stay, I would look for a nice, clean, new, busy hostel to stay in. After four months of traveling, I have changed my ways and could really care less about the appearance or cleanliness of the hostel. All I care about is if it’s cheap and comes with a mattress and a pillow to rest my head on. I have already noticed changes in myself and have found it much easier to adapt and be grateful for anything instead of being so damn picky like I was in the beginning. Once I threw my valuables in the locker in my dorm room, I met Mos and Anne and we walked around the streets and found a street side market where you could order local food and we feasted on Lao sausage, salad and sticky rice. The sausage was amazing and has a popular reputation in Laos and we quickly found out why.

In the afternoon we bargained with a Tuk Tuk driver for what we considered was a reasonable price for him to take us to Xieng Khuan and then back as well. This is a park that is mostly called Buddha Park and it is a remote located about 25 kilometers south of the Lao capital Vientiane. The park contains an amazing variety of Buddhist and Hindu sculptures constructed in 1958 by a holy man known as Laung Pu. It is a truly fascinating place full of ambience and tranquility. After walking around in the park and taking many photos we all agreed that the park was beyond what any of us expected. At the front of the park, there is a massive round bowl and the entrance appeared to a very tribal looking face and had a small opening for a mouth that had its tongue hanging out of it. This structure was large enough that you could climb inside of the dark space inside and once we crawled in, we could make out that there was a staircase made of cement that took you up three levels. On the third level was a narrow set of stairs that led to a very small opening which was onto the top of the bowl. Once we crawled through the opening, we found ourselves on a roof like balcony and it gave way to an amazing bird’s eye view of the park and all of the strategically placed cement statues below. Very impressive and what made it even more amazing was that Mos could speak Lao and we met 2 monks walking around in the park that told us about the area and some stories behind some of the statues. They even agreed to take a picture with me on the arch of a 80 foot Buddha statue. The statue portrayed a man leaned over on the side of his body with his arm supporting his head and the monks explained to us that this is the famous position of the Buddha when he died. The monks also explained to us that the giant statue we climbed in and walked around the different levels in almost complete darkness was meant to represent hell on earth. This was a very spiritual statue but made complete sense of how the structure was designed. Inside the statue was a little room in the middle that had religious statues inside a closed off area and the expressions on their face seemed as if they were stuck in an eternal hell with no way out. After looking at all the different statues, we tracked down our driver and jumped back in the Tuk Tuk and headed into the city. Once back, we ate at a nice restaurant along the Mekong River and drank some BeerLao until we became tired and then headed off to bed.

March 30th, 2008: En route to Thakek, Central LAOS
The excitement of finally being in Laos wore off a bit over night and this day did not bring too much excitement for me. I met up with Anne and Mos in the morning and we got breakfast at a café. We found out from a worker there that all the banks and ATM machines were not working and all the banks in Laos closed for the weekends. Once I ate the breakfast bagel I ordered I told Anne and Mos to wait for me while I went up the street to see if I could get anymore money out. I managed to come across an exchange booth that allowed me to take money out on my master card. I knew this would eventually create a service charge to my card but I was grateful to find such a place that allowed me to do this transaction. I was not at all experiencing any sort of difficulties in Laos like I had been warned by fellow travelers. I am not sure if I was just lucky to get all my troubles sorted out but I am sure there will be other difficulties to come during my travels in Laos. I would almost even go as far as expecting things to go wrong realizing it is a considered as a third to fourth world country. Yesterday, Mos invited me to travel with him and Anne for a few days to visit his relatives in a small town called Thakek in Central Laos. I heard that most people who travel in Laos stay in the south or the north part of the country and that the central is mostly unheard of to travelers headed to Laos. Not sure if it because there is nothing there to see or people are just afraid of getting off the beaten track but his invitation sounded like a worthwhile adventure to me so I told him I would be honored to join them for the trip. Later that day we caught a bus for 5 hours and got picked up at the bus stop in Thakek by his brother and we rode in the back of a truck and met his sister and cousins and some of his other relatives. It was a short visit and his uncle gave us a ride to a guest house close by so we got settled in and then had a feast at a local restaurant which served Lao food only. My excitement was growing as Mos told us that we would meet his uncle in the morning and would drive to meet his Grandpa who lived in a small and very remote village about 20 minutes outside of Thakek. He also told us that his family is planning to spend the day showing us around the countryside and a few cool places around where they live. Should be a unique experience for all of us as Mos has not seen or even met most of these people since he was a baby just before his parents fled Laos.

March 31st, 2008: Thakek, Central LAOS
The next morning we got up around 7am and were ready to meet his uncle for 8pm. We waited around our guest house for close to an hour speaking with some locals that were eating, drinking coffee, talking and smoking at a table near by. By the time his Uncle arrived it was around 9am and an hour later than when he told us he would meet up. I guess this would explain the term called “Lao Time” that I was told about before coming to this country. Mos told us that being late for an appointment in common place in this country and the term “Lao time” is a simple phrase that is an explanation for the lack of urgency the people of Laos have. I found out that if you ask a person here how long it will be, if they tell you 5 minutes; in actuality or “Lao time” this would be closer to 20 or 30 minutes. And 10 minutes can mean up to 1 hour. I’ve also found that there distances are very far off. 1 kilometer to them is about 5 kilometers and a 20 minutes drive is more like an hour taking into account the time you wait for your transport driver to arrive. We left our guesthouse with his uncle and we took a really nice scenic drive along a dirt road to a remote village where his Grandpa and other relatives lived. The village was so remote that I was the first white man that they had ever seen for most of them. I will never forget the expression on excitement on their faces as I walked by their huts and said hello to them and waved as they stepped out of their dark corners of their huts into the light and waved back. We stayed in this village for a while and a young boy walked up to me and followed me like shadow for the rest of the time there. I believe he was not scared at all of me and his curiosity of something brand new over took him and he did not want me to leave. I did not see one white person the whole time I was in Thakek and this is probably a good explanation as to why this little boy and the rest of the village was so intrigued by my presence. After we met his old and frail Grandfather he walked down the dirt road to a house where his brother lived. We drank some BeerLao with his family and feasted on sticky rice, salad, meat, and I actually tried a piece of smoked squirrel for my very first time that they grilled up for the special occasion of our visit. I never imagined I would end up eating squirrel along my travels but I did and it surprisingly tasted very delicious. After eating and drinking beers, we took a long drive to see a sacred Buddha cave that had only been discovered four years ago. It was so sacred that you had to remove your hat before entering and no cameras or photos were allowed to be taken in the cave. Everyone who entered the cave was asked to say a prayer to the Buddha so I took part in this as tried to fit in with the family as much as I could without looking too out of place. Once I said a prayer and made a wish, I took in the pure essence of the surroundings inside this majestic and magical cave and the temptation to take a picture began to overwhelm my body but I resisted the temptation as I couldn’t bare to think of what would happen if the flash of my camera accidentally went off. We picked a message off a tree that was meant to for tail your future and tell you how long of a life you will live. The problem was it was written in Lao so I really had no idea what it said. Mos’ sister translated it for us and it did not say anything positive about my life but I decided to keep it anyway and slid it away into my pocket. Surprisingly, most of the messages were very negative and did not say many good or positives things about ones future. I’m starting to think that maybe Buddhism is such a positive belief as I originally though and this proved to me how extremely complex and confusing a lot of religions can be. Once we left the cave, we walked down the steep staircase to the entrance and Mos, Anne and I made a donation and had a local guy take us into the lower half of the cave which seemed to disappear into an eternal darkness. The boat was extremely sketchy and I was surprised it could stay afloat. We loaded onto the boat somehow without it flipping over and the boat man paddled his hand made paddle slowly along the water and we entered into the darkness of the cave. Luckily he had a headlamp that he turned on once we got inside as it was pitch black and couldn’t see a thing without the light. This cave amazed me and I was in awe as we slowly coasted inside it and the walls seemed to close shut around us. The inside was so narrow that we had to duck our heads in some parts as the roof of the cave was only about 2 feet high. We shone the light in the water and watched as there were hundreds of big sucker fish swimming beneath the surface and just seemed to be following us deeper into the cave. It was Anne suggestion that we had gone for enough inside for her liking so we stopped going any further and slowly coasted back out to the entrance to where the family was waiting for our return. We managed to unload out of the boat without falling in and we loaded into the back of his Uncles pickup truck and headed back to Thaket. We were not happy with the guesthouse we stayed at the night before so we found a different one that we all liked and the 3 of us got a room for $4 US each a night. We did not do much that evening as we planned to get up early the next morning to meet his family and drive 4 hours to a sacred place called Phun Lo cave.

From the moment I descended from the staircase of our plane at the airport in the Capital city Vientiane, in Laos; and took the first breath of the warm air, I instantly fell in love with this country. If you picture what it would be like to jump into a time machine and go back in time 100-200 years ago. One of the best places in the world to get a real perspective of what this would be like is in Laos. It is one of the most under developed countries on planet Earth and it was devastated and ran over by the American, Cambodian, and Vietnamese military during the years of war. For thousands of years, Laos has been a neutral country that has been occupied by foreign military and used as an escape route or a surprise attack entry into a country. The people are very timid and just want to make peace with the world after such a long history of killing and destruction in their country. Tourism is a very big growing industry in a lot of countries and it can be very difficult to get off the beaten track in a lot of countries, for example: like the eastern coast of Australia. In Laos, it is particularly easy to get away from the tourists things as there is not much in this country. Once you get away from the tourist tours or trips or sights, you get to see a lot of the real country and get opportunities to visit remote villages like I had the opportunity to do.

April 1st, 2008: Thakek, Central LAOS
We awoke very early and got ready in a rush as we slept past our alarms and ordered breakfast at our guesthouse to ensure we got a good feed for the long drive. To our surprise, his Uncle and brother were only 15 minutes late and once we finished eating we packed into their truck and set out on the long 4 hour journey on a memorable road trip through the countryside while passing numerous villages along the way. It was about 5 hours by the time we arrived at Phun Lo cave and weren’t at all disappointed with the drive as there was gorgeous scenery and beautiful villages to see and take photos of along the drive. The area was very scenic and made for some great pictures. The entrance of the cave was quite large, fairly impressive and full of water. We had lunch at the cave entrance and then jumped into the water and watched as many others around us were doing it too. There were some massive rocks at the edge of the entrance that little kids had climbed up on and were leaping of them into the water like school children playing at a park on a jungle gym. The cave was an impressive 7 kilometers long and you could hire a boat and a driver to take you in all the way. Unfortunately for us, it was getting mid afternoon and it took about 2 hours for these drivers to go all the way to the back of the cave and then return. We tried to barter with them and ask to pay for them to go in part of the way but they would not budge and told us it was either all or none. We had a long drive back home and Mos’ family preferred to do the majority of it in daylight as the roads were not secure and anything could be lying on the roads, and became quite dangerous especially at night. We had a blast riding in the back of the pickup the way back and watched the mountains pass by as the sun began to set behind them. The nightfall brought us an amazingly clear sky and the stairs light up the dark sky like nothing I have ever seen before in my life. The drive to Phun Lo caves was an unforgettable experience for me and the night sky was an absolute beautiful sight that I will always remember for as long as I live.

April 2nd, 2008: En route back to Vientiane, N. LAOS
The next morning came early as the three of us had to get to the bus station and catch the so called ‘VIP’ bus back to Vientiane. If it was my choice, I would have liked to spend a week at this village with Mos’ family and see how remote this part of the world really is. Unfortunately, this was not an option as Mos and Anne had to get back to Vientiane to the airport later that day to catch their flight and head to a new country. It’s hard to imagine they only gave themselves four days to experience Laos and meet most of his family for the first time. I have met a few other people along my travels that are also doing this ten week race around the world thing and the race part of it is a perfect word for what it must be really like. There is no way you could arrive in a country you have never been to, take in the surroundings, get grounded with the unique culture, people, rules, and traditions, see incredible sights, relax, and immerse yourself fully in the country and take in all there is to offer in four days. It is impossible to do and this is why I would never consider such a race in such a short amount of time.

Mos’ family offered to give us a lift back to the bus station. We caught the bus at the bus terminal that looked more like a big open dirt field with an ample amount of Tuk Tuk drivers just lurking around the area waiting to snatch the next tourist that rolled in, there were few small shops selling snacks and a few large buses parked in front of a small concrete building. The building had no signs just a concrete structure with a ticket window just inside where you bought your ticket and that was about it. We had a bit of time to kill before our bus left so we decided it would be fitting to have a Beerlao in celebration of an amazing journey and experience in Thakek. The beer went down like water as it was really hot and humid out and the temptation to drink more set in but we figured would not be the best idea for a long bus ride back to Vientiane. The bus ride was uneventful besides the drivers decision to play karaoke and he made sure to play it loud enough that everyone was able to hear it as well as the vehicles we passed by and the small villages along the way. We arrived back in Vientiane around 1 pm. Since it was the afternoon and we had nothing planned. I checked back into the same hostel I stayed at before, and then I set out to find a airplane ticket shop so I could book a ticket from Laurang Prabang to Siem reap in Cambodia where I planned to meet my parents there in 10 days time. Having my parents come all the way over to the other side of the world to meet me and travel a bit together was definitely one of the most flattering things that have ever happened to me. It was a godsend that they could both get the time of work and were eager to take the opportunity to leave home and travel with me for 3 weeks and experience my life. This sort of life I have chosen to live is something that so few people in this world get the opportunity or would even take the opportunity to do. It seems everyone back home is entirely envious of my travels but in actuality, a very small percentage of people I know or even in the world would actually leave the comfort of their home country and set out on a mission to experience the world on their own like I have. I am so grateful that I will get to share some experiences together with 2 people so close to me as my Mom and Bob. Its such a pleasing thought to know that we will be able to talk about our times together and cherish the memories for the rest of our lives. It should be a life changing experience for my mother as she has never been to a 2nd, let alone 3rd world country before. In the afternoon we just walked around the city and didn’t get much accomplished. We had a late lunch at the local market down by the river and just hung out under the sun and watched as the locals were preparing for an upcoming carnival. There were street kids all over the area with their hands clenched around a good 100 or so strings that were tied to balloons and they were trying to sell these balloons to anyone and everyone in the area. We had a young girl about 10 years old approach our table and begin speaking to us in English. We were thrown back at the fact that her English was so good and she seemed completely fluent in it. In Laos, it is very rare to meet any locals that speak really good English, so to come across this young girl who could carry on a conversation in English with us was a pretty rare thing. We talked with her for a little while and she made many desperate attempts to convince us to buy a balloon from her. Neither Mos nor I even entertained the idea so Anne took it upon herself and bought a balloon from our little friend. After she left, another little girl approached our table and Anne then tied the string from the balloon she bought onto the wrist of this little girl and told her it was a gift for her. It was a heartfelt gesture and made me smile knowing Anne had just done such a beautiful thing for these poor street kids.

Anne and Mos had to catch their plane that evening so we went out for a nice dinner at a restaurant by a riverside to celebrate our last meal together. We ordered a tower of BeerLao with our meals. This is quite a common thing for tourists to order in Laos as well as in Thailand. It is basically a mini keg of about 3-4 L of beer that is in a glass casing and mounted on a stand so it can easily be stored at your table and easily consumed at your own pace. It would be a very messy night if you were to attempt to drink all this beer by yourself, so it’s usually bought when you are drinking with a group of people. During the dinner, we reminisced about our past days together and exchanged feelings of gratitude that we were able to meet each other and spend these memorable days together. To go to this village was an experience that you could not buy at a store or pay to go on our tour. The mere shock of how surprised Mos’ family were to have a white man visit there village made me realize how precious the opportunity I had experienced really was. Later that evening, we said our goodbyes at the restaurant and displayed our sorrow to each other as we had no choice but to face the reality that our time was up and had to head on separate paths and might never meet again.

I went back to the hostel and met up with my friends who were traveling from Sweden. There were 3 of them. Two of them were quite friendly while the other one was very reserved. I noticed they all had matching coy fish tattoos on their foot so I commented on the authenticity of the design and knew they had to have been very close friends for many years to actually go out together and get the same tattoo. I had a chat with the one guy who seemed to be the most outgoing and more of the leader of their crew and he invited me to join them that evening as they planned to head to a nightclub called Lunar 36 which was a club that is in basically the only high rise building in Vientiane and this hotel is where most tourists stay that visit this city. We had a short chat and he went on to tell me that he really enjoyed traveling in Asia because the girls were so easy. He would go out almost every night to a club or a bar and would either pick up a local girl or allow the local girls to pick him up and would go back to their home with them and sleep with them. By the sounds of it, he had already done this several times and the idea that there would be another this evening brought a huge grin to his face. I was not sure how to take his work as this sort of behavior can often lead to trouble in poor countries like Laos and all over the rest of SE Asia. The people of these countries are extremely poor and they will often approach foreigners asking them for money or the girls will ask the guys if they would enjoy sexual favors from the girl in exchange for some money. Like my Swedish friend, there are many guys that will take advantage of opportunities like this but as for me, I have not allowed myself to sleep with any Asian girl at his point let alone pay money to spend the night with her. After he was finished his story, I questioned his motives and began to share with him some stories I had heard from other travelers along my trip about these so called ‘easy girls’ and what can often happen to you once you fall asleep. I don’t think you even need to be a backpacker to know what drives the girls into doing these sorts of things and what the consequences for males that hook up with them might be. Most women do not work so they don’t have money and if they can perform sexual favors or just simply give a guy 100% percent of their undivided attention in exchange for money, you might ask yourself, why wouldn’t they? I continued on to tell my friend how I had heard a few stories from fellow travelers how these girls steal from you, once you fall asleep, they may easily take your passport, money, credit cards, cell phone or whatever else you might have in your pockets and then leave unnoticed. To your surprise, they are not beside you when you wake up in the morning and you realize what they did when you lean over the bed and proceed to slip your pants on and find all your pockets are empty and no wallet. I cautioned him that he too would probably fall prey to one of these girls and that it was just a matter of time. He assured me that this had not happened to him yet and that he didn’t think something like this ever would. It is unfortunate I don’t remember his name or that we didn’t exchange email because I would love to get in contact with him now and ask about his encounters with the girls of SE Asia and see if he eventually fell prey to their work.

The nightclub we went to that evening was a very westernized style bar. There was a $10 dollar US cover charge to get inside the doors which we were surprised about and is very rare because most drinking establishments in SE Asia don’t charge a cover and are just happy to have you in their bar drinking beer with the locals. Once we got inside, we noticed there was very little lighting and the bar was filled with local girls and many white foreigners drinking and dancing the night away. Everywhere I looked in this bar was a white male dancing or talking with a local girl. It wasn’t long before I realized there was a good reason why my Swedish friend was so excited to come to this bar. We mostly just stood around a table by the dance floor and watched in awe as the girls would do their thing on the dance floor while most of the guys joined in with them or just watched them move their hips up and down, back and forth in an effortlessly fashion. Later on that night it had become obvious that the bar would be closing soon and right around this time, I realized my Swedish friend had accomplished his mission and was making out with a fairly attractive local girl on the dance floor. It very obvious that this was the girl he planned to spend the night with and just after my realization that he had this girl on lock down, a local girl walked up towards me, turned her back to me and began rubbing her back up against my chest. She began dancing in an erotic fashion and quickly become very flirtatious with me. It was more or less an awkward way to be picked up by a women and I just did my best to play it cool as she literally forced her self on me. Come to think of it, I don’t think she even bothered to say hello to me or even ask my name, I didn’t really even get an option to be with her at the bar, it just kind of happened without any hesitation on her part and before I knew it she whispered in my ear that she wanted to come home with me. As we were leaving the bar, I tried to let her down as softly as possible by explaining to her that I did not have a house, I did not have a hotel room, I did not even have a place that entertained the idea of bringing girls back with you. I explained to her that I was staying in a hostel in a dormitory room where 8 other people would also be sleeping on this night. She went on to show a little bit more desperation and started to get a bit more forceful of the idea that she could return back to my place with me. I told her I had to go and there was no possible way she could come back there with me. She did not take this idea lightly and it took only a matter of seconds to see her frustration and disappoint in me shine through. She let out a big sigh and told me her friend would come to pick her up on his motorcycle and that she did not need me to accompany her any longer. Just then my Swedish friend approached me, said goodbye, slipped on a motorcycle helmet and jumped onto the back of his girls motorcycle and told me that he would see me in the morning. One thing that is worth knowing about when traveling in Laos is that you can get in some serious trouble if you are seen with a local girl. I’m not sure if it is the police who patrol this sort of thing or the local men who don’t like the idea of these white foreigners taking away all their girls. So hooking up with a Lao girl might be done quite easily but is one of the most risky things you can do while traveling in this country.

April 3rd, 2008: Vientiane, N. LAOS
This day will go down as one of the more memorable days during my stay in this country. Once morning arrived, I hired a bicycle for the day from one of the many rental shops in the city area and took a ride to the famous Patu xay archway which is a monument in the center of Vientiane, and was built in the early 1960’s. In English it can be referred to as the “Victory Gate or Gate of Triumph”. It is dedicated to those who fought in the struggle for independence from France and actually has a close resemblance to the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. The Patu xay was built using American funds. The US had given Laos money to build a new airport, but instead the Laotian government used the money to build the monument instead. Because of this, the archway can also be referred to as the “vertical runway”. Inside the structure was a staircase which allowed you entrance onto the roof. There was a small fee which I paid at the counter and quickly made my way to the roof about 4 stories high up. On this floor there were separate towers built in each corner of the archway that held their own unique appeal of impressiveness. The roof unleashed a terrific view of the surrounding area and before I thought of taking my camera out to capture the moment, I took a few minutes to take in everything there was to offer and then soak it all in. I noticed that you could see the Wat Pha That Luang temple in the distance with its pointed roof glimmering a yellowish glow that just seemed to beam out into the sky like a rocket taking off into space. I spent about an hour or so at Patu xay and there was a large area inside the structure that was like an open market area where dozens of small shops were set up with tourist type souvenirs and I ended up speaking to a pleasant lady about Canada and purchased a few flags from her shop of other countries where I had already been or was planning to go on my trip. I left Patu Xay feeling refreshed and biked along the main road till I stumbled upon the area which is known as Wat Pha That Luang. I read that this area is a national symbol in Laos. It was somewhat of a memorial area with many golden stupas lined up in rows which seemed to go on forever all around the gates of the area. Each stupa had a golden color top which made a beautiful contrast against the clear blue sky above. In the compound, I met two monks that allowed me into one of the temples and felt honored as it was an area of the Wat where most tourists would never be allowed to venture into. I was quite surprised to find out from them that most monks speak a bit of English. They are such gentle people and their generosity seemed to give me the impression that they would roll out the carpet for you to walk on if you asked them to. The temple was loaded with many Buddha statues inside and other statues that look very sacred and untouchable. I asked them if they minded me taking a few photos and they generously granted me my wish. Some temples you go into don’t allow you to take photos so if you ever travel in SE Asia its always a good idea to be aware of these things because you were never know what could happen to you if you are caught taking a photo in an area that didn’t allow you to. I thanked them for inviting me in and was quickly on my way as I still had a few things on my agenda I wanted to finish. I left the area and bicycled down the main road away from Patu xay until I came upon a busy market. I parked my bike beside a vendor and asked him if he would please look after it and make sure no one took off with it using little English and mostly hang signals and gestures. I walked around all the little shops and marveled as I passed hundreds of kiosks that seemed to display an endless amount of cell phones for sale. I was hoping to find a pair of sunglasses as I had now gone through about 3 or 4 pairs of glasses already since I began my trip. I either broke the ones I had or the lenses seemed to get scratched as they slid back and forth in my bag to the point I could not wear them anymore. I found a nice pair of Ray ban aviator knock offs for $25 US. This was quite a bit of money to spend on a pair of sun glasses but I was sick of always buying ones that just broke so I hopeful that maybe these ones would last the trip.

I made it back to where I had left my bike and thankfully it was still there. I went on my way back on track and made my next stop at the Wat si Saket Temple which was the only Wat in Laos to survive the invasion from Thailand in 1827. Its beauty was stunning and I spoke with some more monks walking around inside the temple and asked them about the history behind Wat si Saket and asked them about the best place to be for the Lao new years. They told me there were going to be big celebrations held in Laung Prabang and this would definitely be the best place to be for the new year. Inside the Wat was a small shrine that housed an ancient cabinet and was once a holding place for some of the most sacred Buddha texts ever found. The scripture was so ancient that most of the writing was written on palm leaves. It was a remarkable sight and I began to realize the authenticity of such a religion as Buddha. In the center of the Wat was a large fortress like area and the doors to the entrance were closed. On it, read a sign that said the temple was closed at 4:00 and when I glanced down at my watch, it read 4:10 and realized I was too late. I decided to knock on the doors in hopes there would still be someone inside. A voice spoke and said the area was now closed for the day. I pleaded with the voice and asked if I could look inside just for a brief moment. A few seconds later, the door slightly opened and a man who looked well dressed and in his 50’s stood in the opening. After a few minutes of bartering, the lady allowed me to enter in with the agreement to look quickly and leave right away. I was relieved I made the attempt because once I walked through the doors, the area opened up into a courtyard. Along the walls were hundreds of Buddha statues that stood about 2 feet tall and just seemed to be placed there like a guardian over the area. Behind these large statues were thousands of little Buddha statues that were placed in the openings all along the walls of the entire courtyard. I found out later that there are over 10,100 Buddha statues and small figurines inside this building and I quickly realized how truly lucky I was to see such a unique sight and was so grateful that the little voice in my head ordered me to knock on the doors and gain entrance into such an impressive area. After I left feeling totally satisfied with my experience in Wat si Saket, I headed out and rode 2 km to a place just beyond the city centre to a less visited temple grounds. It was here where I read in the travel guide I had that there was an amazing building where you could soak in a herbal sauna and get an exhilarating massage that was sure to leave your spine tingling. I found the place and a nice lady who was overly friendly and flirtatious welcomed me with a big smile and told me to take off everything I had and put on a sarong and head into the sauna for a deep cleanse with steam and herbs. The sauna was incredibly hot to the point where I didn’t think I could stand the heat for another second without collapsing on the floor. I waited in the waiting area and the lady of the place served me a chi tea and it was delicious. After downing the tea I headed back into the sauna for another cleanse as they were not quite ready to give me a massage. After 2 times in the sauna and a nice massage I paid them the fee of $5 US and was certain it was money well spent. Once I finished there, it was already dark outside so I biked the 2 or 3 km back to the hostel and ended up meeting a French Canadian guy who had been a tree planter for many years and we went out for supper together. During our meal, 2 other travelers that I had already met along my trip ended up walking by so I welcomed them to join us for something to eat. Afterwards, we set out to find a bar that was recommended to us. We eventually found the place on the main street along the Mekong River which was a very clean and funky roof top lounge with everything made of either wood or bamboo. We drank some BeerLao and I had a good chat with a fellow Canadian lady who had been working as an English teacher in Korea for the several years and had also worked some years as a volunteer for Victim services in Ontario.

April 4th, 2008: En route to Vien Vieng, N. LAOS
The morning brought yet another hot, humid and sunny day to this lovely country of Laos. Once I awoke, I packed up all my things and checked out of the hostel and was excited that today was the day that my times in Vientiane would become memories as I was headed on to the next destination called Vien Vieng. I had heard dozens of stories about this place from fellow travelers as it is known as the party spot of Laos and is located right along the almighty Mekong River. Vien Vieng is a small town that is located in the Northern part of the country and it takes about 5-6 hours on a bus to get there from Vientiane. It is quite a famous place because it is here, where you can enjoy river tubing during the day while stopping off at numerous bars alongside the river and grab a tall BeerLao and slam it back and then go on to launch your body into mid air and slam back into the river on the many swing bars that are located all along the river. I got some breakfast at a bakery close by to where I had stayed. After that, I headed off and stopped in at one of the many internet cafes in the city and did my best to catch up on emails that had now began to pile up since internet was nothing of a necessity and often hard to come by in this part of the world. After about an hour or so, I threw my pack on my back and headed out the doors and made my way along the hot and sticky streets of Vientiane towards the local bus station. I had heard it was possible to catch an air-conditioned, luxury style coach bus to Vien vieng from a few different locations throughout the city but I quickly crossed this off as an option when I realized the price was about 3-4 times what you would pay to take a local bus there. I can remember the walk seemed to take ages as the humidity hit you like a tsunami wave rolling onto a beach. The intense heat and humidity made my backpack feel like it was 100 pounds and was dragging me down to the point to where I felt like getting on my hands and knees and crawling the rest of the way. I had made it about half the way to the bus station when my body felt as though it was about to melt. I used all the energy I had left and dashed onto the street and jumped into the back of a Tuk Tuk and begged for the driver to drop me off at the station on his way. It was a short ride there and only would have been about another 10-15 minutes walk but the heat was unbearable and the little money I spent for the ride was worth every penny spent in my mind. The driver dropped me off at the side of the road next to the station and wished me luck on my travels ahead. The station did not really look like a station at all and was just a few rows of buses and a little tiny square building which was the counter to buy your tickets from. The buses look so old and fragile that they looked as if they would fall apart in a million pieces the moment it began moving. I shouted: “Vien Vieng” out loud as I walked by the different buses that were jam packed full of locals waiting to leave the area. It didn’t take long before I guy waved me down and told me to jump on this bus because it was about to leave right away. There were far too many people already on the bus and the guy who flagged me down told me the luggage compartment was already full and that I would have to bring my backpack on the bus with me. I agreed to do so as I didn’t want to leave my bag alone with so many people just lurking around the area. When I stepped in, the bus was covered in dust and it looked like it hadn’t been cleaned for a good century or two. I had heard that these buses did not have air-conditioning and could get quite warm on the ride so I had already prepared myself for a sweaty time. I was pleased to see that there were about 6 fans on the roof but quickly took notice that only 2 of them seemed to be working. I managed to find a small area of bench at the very back of the bus that I was able to rest my body on and I remember that I really hoped that the bus would make it the whole way without breaking down or my life ending. Just before we were about to take off, a grubby looking white guy jumped on the bus with a young looking Laos guy who looked to be in his late teens. My curiosity created an instant desire for me to spark up a conversation and so I did. I was pleased to realize that there were other travelers who weren’t afraid to get down and dirty for a long bus trip just to save a few bucks and enjoy the experience. I quickly introduced myself and found out he had been living in Laos for a few months and came from the glorious state of California. He explained to me that he was working at a bar on the river in Vien Vieng and had come to Laos but didn’t have any real way of leaving because he had no money or flight ticket back home. He worked at this bar doing promotions and helping trying to get fellow travelers to party at his particular bar. He introduced me to his friend he was with named Phon from Laung Prabang and explained to me that he knew very little English but they were in the business together. I had no real plans for the next 10 days in Laos so he suggested I stick with them and could work at the bar for free food and beer and stay in a hut close by for a fairly cheap rate if I wanted to. I jumped on the idea and told him I would love to get in on the experience.

The bus ride was a lot better than my expectations had led me to believe. The two fans that were working seemed to just cycle the warm air around the bus but managed to still cool the air a little bit that we didn’t all feel like suffocating. Along the way, we passed numerous small little villages where women were outside washing their clothes in small buckets of water and the kids were running around chasing each other or playing games to pass the time and most were half dressed or fully nude. As we passed through each new village, the women and children would stop what they were doing and wave at us as we passed. This sort of thing can be seen all over this country and is a huge reason why almost every traveler I met would agree that one of the friendliest and welcoming countries in our world is Laos. The road way was very poor and often barely wide enough for our vehicle and another passing vehicle to fit on. The roads winded along the edges of the mountain sides and gave the driver no choice but to drive very slowly to avoid the possibility of veering off the edge and having us plunge hundreds of meters to our death or smashing into an oncoming vehicle. Once we finally arrived in the small town area of Vien vieng, I followed Justin and Phon to where they were staying and we passed by some rather attractive girls that looked to be about our age and approached them to talk with them. They told us they just got into the area earlier that day and were planning to stick around for a few days so Justin and Phon gave them a few flyers which explained where the bar was located and told them it would be in their best interest to come out to the bar later on that evening. Justin and Phon led me thru the town area and then showed me the bar where they worked and where I could stay in the grass huts just beside the bar area. Upon our arrival, Justin spoke to the owner of the area and got me my very own hut which even came with a mosquito net which would hopefully help to prevent catching Malaria, which was fairly prevalent around the area where I was in. After I dropped off my belongs, he showed me the bar where he worked called Bucket Bar, and this would be my home base for the next week during my stay in the popular well known area. That first night, we got lucky and the American girls that we spoke to earlier on showed up at the bar and we tried not to hound all over them or look too eager like most guys would at the opportunity to speak with 2 very attractive girls at a drinking establishment. 1 of the girls had the most amazing blue eyes and helped create my attraction to her with her shimmering blond hair. We had a very good conversation and ended up speaking a little bit of Spanish to each other to practice our ability to speak in a foreign language. It turns out she was born in Russia and had a very rough life there and so she moved away with her mother in her teenage years to America. We found out that we shared something very unique in common. We had both been door to door salesman for American companies and worked in the states. Because of that, we had a lot to talk about and had many stories to share with each other. We also seemed to click on an intellectual level and talked about life in general and making dreams become reality. We shared many of the same beliefs in life and I was so grateful to meet such an attractive girl that had so many similar qualities and characteristics as I did. We spent the entire night talking and Justin became the perfect wingman and chatted with her other friend all night. The four of us ended up laying in hammocks together under a hut in the bar and I started to fantasize how amazing it would be to hook up with a girl as hot as she was. She didn’t make any sort of advances but was probably so used to guys hitting on her all the time that she figured she never had to. I was getting a vibe that she had to be somewhat interested considering she spent the whole evening in a conversation with me and probably did more talking than I did which is a pretty rare thing when you’re as outgoing and as big of a blabber mouth as I have become. Later that evening, my night came to a very disappointing close because Justin and the girls decided it would be a great idea to smoke a joint and about an hour later, the girls could barely keep their eyes open and ending up telling us their night was finished and needed to head back to their place and get some rest. After they left, we didn’t let our sorrows get too down on us and partied till around 2:30 meeting other fellow travelers and sharing stories around the massive campfire that was located in the middle of the bar area.

April 5th, 2008: Vien Vieng, N. LAOS
As I was feeling on top of the world and fully aware of my growing love for such an interesting country my world was rocked as I sat in an internet café and logged onto my email. Something terrible had happened back home in Lethbridge, AB where I went to University for 2 and a half years. I had opened my account only to find an email from my ex girlfriend Deejay back home. As I began to read her message, I realized she had taken it upon herself to make sure she passed on the news that one of my good friends had gone out partying the night before and never awoke up in the morning. The news slammed into me like the Titanic hitting an iceberg. As soon as I realized it was my good friend Elliot Wheeler who I had spent many nights partying with and had gone tree planting in Northern BC. The tears started to fill up in my eyes like a flowing river. He was 25 years old and had just graduated from University, had a $30,000 car, had his own condo in Lethbridge and was planning to someday become a helicopter pilot and start his own company on some med terrain or tropical island someday. I had never felt so far away from home as I did on this day. It was such a reality check and the feeling of helplessness started to linger in my mind. There was nothing I could really do but try to make a few phone calls to my good friends back home reassure them that such a tragedy has happened but we must hang out heads high and know he lived a damn good life. It was tough for me to think that all his good friends and family would be left grieving for the loss back home and I could not offer any support to them as I was stuck in a third world country on the other side of the world. He will be remembered as a guy who lived a short life but lived everyday to the fullest and enjoyed partying till all hours of the night. Rest in Peace sir Elliot Wheeler, you will be dearly missed by all who were so thankful you were part of their life. There is a saying that my good traveling friend Tom from Belgium told me about that is a perfect motto for Elliot’s life. It went something like: “I’m not afraid of dying, I’m afraid of not living!”

April 6th, 2008: Vien Vieng, N. LAOS
I got a phone call early the next morning and was absolutely ecstatic when my sister told me over the phone the news that she had become pregnant and will deliver a truly lucky child to this world come the time in December. “What perfect news!” I can remember thinking to myself after such a terrible tragedy the day before. As a dear friend is lost, a new blessed soul is created and brought into this world. God Bless such a beautiful and amazing world to which we all live in.

By the time I escaped vien Vieng I was suffereing from a four day bender that took all day and a 6 hours bus ride to Lauang Prabang before I felt better. Justin invited me to work with him at one at one of the bars called Bucket bar for my stay in Vien vieng. I glady took him up on the offer to work not for money but for free beer and food. Although the food and drinks are very cheap in Laos, I had to take advantage of the free drinks every night. Our job was to hang out on the river and pass out flyers to everyone in hopes they would come to our bar for a few drinks. Doing this was a unique experience that I will never forget about in my life. I met so many fellow travelers during my stay here and I would jump all over the opportunity to work at another bar if it came across my path in the future. In Laos, they are so poor that all you need is 1 million kip ($96 US) to open up a bar.

On or about the second or third day in Laos, I met a really cool Swedish guy named Philip who was also helping out at the bucket bar and we became really close over the next 7 or 8 days that we traveled together. He told me stories about his homeland and how he lived in a remote part in northern Sweden. He explained to me that if you live in the Northern part of Scandinavia; or anywhere else in the world close to the North Pole, there are certain times in the year when the sun is not at all consistent. The earth is on a 23.5 degree slope and the sun rotates around our planet on the same plane which creates different amount of sunlight in different areas of the world. During the winter, the earth is tilted away from the sun and there is about a month to a month and a half where the sun does not rise over the horizon in the north part of Sweden, Norway, Finland, or other areas around this latitude. This means these countries get no daylight or sunlight. My jaw dropped as he explained that the consequence of no sunlight for this length of time will often drive people to commit suicide because they just can cope with a month or more of no daylight. It literally drives them crazy and they end their life. He went on to tell me that in the summer, the earth is tilted towards the sun and the sun will begin to fall down towards the horizon and simply move back up towards the sky which causes a month or so of continual daylight. His story fascinated me and created an instant desire for me to travel to Sweden to experience such a phenomenon such as this.

The reason you look forward to coming to Vien Vieng is for the wild river tubing enjoyment. This river is one big shit show of a party and seems to be known as the hub of Laos. Vien vieng is arguably one of the most happening party spots during the day this world has ever seen. Before you can begin floating down and experiencing the party on the river, you must head to the rental shop which is in the town of Vien vieng and rent a bright yellow tube there. Once you wait in the line up of a few dozens other travelers rearing to go and pay for your rental, there is almost always tuk tuks near by waiting and ready for you to load your tube on the roof of the vehicle and then they drive you and your friends about 20 minutes up some back roads to where they eventually drop you off at the beginning of the track. Once you arrive at the start, you make sure all your belonging are in a dry sack and securely attached to your tube. Sunglasses, sunscreen, or camera are usually the items that most people decide to carry in these bags. Once you jump in your tube, you’re officially on your way to one wild and entertaining afternoon of fun in the sun and BeerLao if that is your preferred choice of beverage. The beer itself is quite tasty and you can buy a tall 1L bottle of it for about $1 US dollar. Its prices like this that make Laos such an incredible and irresistible country to travel to. How could you not love a country that sells a good tasting for $1 a liter. Once you start floating down the river, it doesn’t take long to notice that the river itself is quite shallow in most parts but also really depends on what season you plan to travel here. As you float further down the river, you realize there were some parts of the river that were deep enough that you could not touch the floor and these areas were where all the swing bars were located along the river. During the day, there is plenty of opportunity to meet many other foreigners and travelers as you cruise along whom also are floating along at their own steady pace. After a short conversation with them, you quickly realize that you all have one very special thing in common. Almost every single person I spoke to was backpacking through the country and living the beautiful dream of traveling the world just I was. It was an amazing experience to meet so many beautiful people and get to experience something so unique and something so special that tops the charts of every travelers must do list.

April 10th, 2008: En route to Laung Prabang, N. LAOS
My five days in Vien Vieng was filled with excitement and gave me the opportunity to meet so many incredible people and allowed me to make some amazing relationships that I had to let go of when I finally decide to head to my next Destination: Laung Prabang. Saying goodbye to good friends is something that starts not to even phase you after you have traveled on your own for several months. I don’t think there are many people in this world that actually enjoy saying goodbye to good friends and not knowing when or if you will ever get the opportunity in your life to see them again. I would often say to people I met along my journey that it is not “Goodbye”, it’s simply: “See you later”. Just a simple statement like that was perfect as it didn’t really seem like you were saying goodbye for good and it helped ease the pain knowing you were departing on a positive note and leaving the possibility to meet again open as I really had no idea what the future would bring my way.

Laos is a country that you can go to and be assured that you will have an absolute magical experience there. My times in Laos have included some of my most favorite memories and highlights along my travels. I have had so many unique experiences in such a short span of time in this country that writing in a journal and recording the path I’ve taken has taken me quite some time to record.

I managed to convince my friend Philip and the other three Norwegian girls that we had met that it would be in our best interest to head out of Vien Vieng and go to Laung Prabang since It was the first day of the Laos New years and I had heard that the streets erupted with water fights all over the city and there was sure to be big celebrations and festivals going on for 3 days straight during this very unique time of the year for the people of Laos.

UPCOMING LAOS NEW YEAR:

It wasn’t hard for me to convince Philip, the 3 Norwegian girls that Laung Prabang was the place to be so we all decide to head there together and made a plan to leave the next morning at around 9 am. It’s pretty tough not to party or have a late night when you are traveling is such a happening area of the world. The temptation to go out late night after night quickly takes over your frame of thinking and even if you are feeling terrible and have little to no energy left in your body from all the previous nights of partying, somehow, someway you still muster up enough courage and find yourself back out doing the same thing that you swore to yourself you would not be able to do it again. To make a long story short, we ended up partying that night at the smile bar, which is the hotspot bar where every traveler in Laos seems to end up for the simple reason because it is the most recommended bar from the travel guide book in the Lonely Planet. There are several bars in this small area so having your bar published in the guide book that every traveler seems to think they cant live without is a very big accomplishment and great for business. Our original plan to leave at 9am was delayed but about 3 hours as we ended up sleeping in till around 11 o’clock. After we got a quick lunch and iced coffee at a café close by, we grabbed our gear and rushed it to the bus station as I didn’t want to miss a day of the partying for the New Year in Laung Prabang. We ended up waiting at the bus station for 2 hours in the early afternoon heat and watched as the humidity caused the sweat to bead on our skin and made it seem like there was an ever ending flow seeping to the surface from inside our bones. The guy at the bus station spoke hardly any English and tried to explain to us in everyway possible that we would have to wait these 2 hours for a bus to arrive to take us to Laung Prabang. I proceed to barter with him and found it very hard to believe that we had to wait so long for a bus when we were in such a popular area with so many other travelers coming and going everyday. He went on to suggest we could take a transport van with all our gear but it would cost us about 4 times the price to do so. We all agreed that the wait was better than paying such a high price for transport so we kicked back like champions and just sweat it out for the next few hours. The bus finally arrived and the ride seemed to go on forever. I was pretty tired so I tried to sleep but can remember that it seemed like an impossible task as the bus veered around each corner we passed like a racecar speeding up to be the first to pass the finish line. Once we got to Laung Prabang, we walked around for a bit and then ended up jumping in the back of a tuk tuk and the driver dropped us off at a guest house called Kuda Suvan where we planned to stay there for the next few nights. We were surprised to find out that they did have accommodation as we had heard most guest houses were fully booked during this time of the year.

Getting opportunities such as the one I’ve shared is not easy especially when you visit countries that are big into tourism. For me, this experience was magical and one of my favorite memories during my 5 months of travel through SE Asia. Laos has been a highlight of my travels and I never imagined taking so many photos in such a short amount of time. Everything is very different and very few similarities to what life is like for most of us in the sugar coated 1st world countries.

For me, Laos is a country that glimmers with beauty. From the towering slopes in Vein Vieng, to the Jaw dropping endless markets and remote villages and towns scattered all over the countryside, There is so much culture and beauty in Laos. Being one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world, it teems with remarkable sights and the people here are so beautiful. One very disappointing part about this country is that slash and burn agriculture and smoke that looms over some of the area and makes breathing fresh air virtually impossible.

“Being free, having no obligations and living your own life is what lots of people wish for - but, finally having that kind of life, it appears that it is not that satisfying. Your mind wanders into strange, deep places and you can get confused. It is difficult trying to control your straying thoughts.  "

"I have had a lot of alone time, I traveled alone but never really felt alone, I had friends to travel with or people to meet up with in every country I went to so I never really experienced any feelings of loneliness or isolation."

MY CLOSING THOUGHTS:
You need to realize that Traveling is something so precious that you cannot share it with many people back home, that’s what makes it so special to meet other travelers in different countries cause you all are on the same page in life and can talk about your travels and feelings about life. You’ll have lots of people tell you your pictures are amazing and they wish they could join you but really, they just talk, and have no real intentions in life to do what I did or what you may set out to do. I think its amazing when i find out that people I know from back home have finally decided to get away and find out what else this world has to offer. After the travels, its really easy to fall back on the rollercoaster of life, get sucked in and forget how amazing travel is, ive seen it happen to many of my good friends. Your family may not agree with you and tell you your nuts but if you didn’t leave to travel and would have listened to them, think of the opportunity you would have missed out on!!

VIETNAM: Travel Recommendations

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 WARNING: Be extremly weary of vietnemese people as you cannot trust them, Most of them lie to you as they just want your money. I would recommend to interrogate them when you are signing up for tours as we signed up for trips and didnt do half the things they promised we would do!!! Also each time your purchasing food or anything, be sure to count your change because it is not out of the norm for the locals to try to pull a quick one on you and short change you if your not on your toes. Besides this, I had a good experience here in the country.

You must visit the WAR REMENANTS museum in HO CHI MINH (SAIGON) in south vietnam. it is a reminder of the complete devastation that America left upon this poor beaten country! you do not visit this museum for pleasure more for a real life look at the vietnam war and what people are capable of doing to each other during this terrible time in the world!! There is a WATER PUPPET SHOW also in this city we went to that i would recommend to see! We signed about for a tour to the MEKONG DELTA in Ho Chi Minh and stayed with a vietnemese family and visited the FLOATING MARKETS in the mekong delta; south of Saigon city! worth doing this if you have the time! this is a 2 day trip. In this city also there is a really good water park that you should check out while your there. If you ask any of the hotels or tour desks I'm sure they will be able to point you in the right direction.

NHA TRANG BEACH on the coast is supposed to be lovely and heard great stories about its beauty but didnt go there!

Visit the WAR TUNNELS! there are 2, one near Ho chi Minh called CHU CHI tunnels that are redug and bigger than the real thing! It was redug to allow more tourists to enter and not feel clostraphobic in them. The other is called VINH MOC tunnels! we crawled thru these, there a must see if in vietnam, its on the coast in central vietnam near a city called Hue!

HOI AN is a beautiful city along the coast and my favorite place in vietnam! great restuarants by the river and the best place to get any clothes or suits custom made in vietnam! I'm not 100% certain its still going on but if your in Hoi Ann on a saturday, there is a big beach party at one of the resorts and it is heaps of fun.

HANOI is the biggest city in North Vietnam, if you go walk around the main water/lake area, its really cool and many shops around this area! I didn't get to it but apparently there is a really cool museum in the city and they have preserved Ho Chi Minh's body in a casing so it would definitly be worth a look. North of Hanoi, you can sign up for a 3-4 day mountain trek visiting native hill side tribes that we missed out on but heard is a must do in vietnam!

HALONG BAY is east of Hanoi on the coast and is a 2-3 day sailing trip around the beautiful islands there, it was alot of fun and well worth the 3 hour ride to the coast from hanoi. If you have the time, definitely do it!

CAMBODIA: Travel Recommendations

2010-05-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

Don't worry about buying lonely planet travel guides for Cambodia or Laos before you arrive. The kids sell ripped off copies of them to you on the streets all over Cambodia so instead of paying $40 US for them, you can buy almost any country you want for about $5 US. If the kids don't have the country you want then find a bookstore and surely they will!

Spend at least 3 days in SIEM REAP. the temples of ANGKOR WAT are the main reason people visit Cambodia and there are millions of land mines all over Cambodia and Vietnam from the war there by America dropping them but just stay on the paths and you'll be fine! Angkor Wat is a temple that was lost for about 800 years and is one of the few absolute wonders of the world. By far the most amazing temples i visited in 5 months of travelling around SE Asia!! To visit it you must find transportation to the area from Siem reap. You pay to get into the park either $20US per day or $60 US for a 3 day pass. There are tons of temples to see and lose yourself in so 2 days is what i would suggest or 3 if you are not templed out after 2 days!. you can hire a bicycle which many people do but when we went it was +35C and humid as hell so we hired a tuk tuk to take us around the park for about $12US for the whole day and they know the best temples to see! At night there are great street vendors to eat at and if you fancy a drink or two, head to the Angkor Bar. If your not sure of where it is just ask the locals and they will point you in the right direction. At this bar the walls are covered with travellers quotes and stories so take some time to read through some of them over a few beers or glasses of wine.

After soaking up all there is to see in Siem Reap, I highly recommend going to PHENOM PENN. This city is rich in history and if you can pick up a book about the KHMER ROUGE and have an idea of everything that went on there, then it will just make your experience that much better. You can arrange a bus from Siem Reap to Phenom Penn and I believe its about a 5-6 hour journey but definitely worth your while. I'd suggest to spend 2-3 days there walking around the city, shopping in the Russian markets, finding the elephant that creates a huge traffic jam on one of the main road walking down every day around 5pm by the river!! Visiting the KILLING FIELDS and the S21 TORTURE MUSEUM is an absolute must if you go there! Did I mention Cambodia is extremely rich in history. The Khmer rouge was an extreme government that killed 1/4 of the entire Cambodian population. ( Unlike the Nazi's they killed their own people!!) I you also can buy a book about the killing fields or S21!! i did and it enlightened my times there by a lot and felt i understood the country that much more!! The more time you can give yourself in Cambodia, the better. These are just 2 of the many amazing places you can go to in Cambodia.

For a more in depth article on Cambodia please click the following link below:
href="http://www.edwebproject.org/susanne/phnompenh.html">http://www.edwebproject.org/susanne/phnompenh.html

Shake hands with the Devil

2010-01-19T06:02:00.002-08:00

This is the powerful closing statements made by the Lieutenant-General Roméo Dallaires’in his award-winning book Shake hands with the devil. This Brave man led the UN peace keeping mission during the Genocide in Rwanda. His statement explains what drives brutal slayings and terrorism and how world peace is a dream that will never occur on our planet if we don’t pull together and make some major changes in this world.

At the Canadian Forces Peace Support Training Centre, teachers use a slide to explain to Canadian Soldiers the nature of our world. If the entire population of the planet is represented by one hundred people, fifty-seven live in Asia, twenty-one in Europe, fourteen in North and South America, and eight in Africa. The numbers of Asians and Africans are increasing every year while the number of Europeans and North Americans is decreasing. Seventy people are unable to read or write. Fifty suffer from malnutrition due to insufficient nutrition. Thirty five do not have access to safe drinking water. Eighty live in sub-standard housing. Only one has a university or college education. Fifty percent of the wealth of the world is in the hands of six people, all of whom are American. Most of the population of the globe live in substantially different circumstances than those we in the First World take for granted.

Many signs point to the fact that the youth of the Third World will no longer tolerate living in circumstances that give them no hope for the future. From the young boys I met in the demobilization camps in Sierra Leone to the suicide bombers of Palestine and Chechnya, to the young terrorists who fly planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we can no longer afford to ignore them. We have to take concrete steps to remove the causes of their rage, or we have to be prepared to suffer the consequences.

The global village is deteriorating at a rapid pace, and in the children of the world the result is rage. It is the rage I saw in the eyes of the teenage Interhamwe militiamen in Rwanda, it is the rage I sensed in the hearts of the children of Sierra Leone, it is the rage I felt in the crowds of ordinary civilians in Rwanda, and it is the rage that resulted in September 11th. Human beings who have no rights, no security, no future, no hope and no means to survive are a desperate group who will do desperate things to take what they believe they need and deserve.

If September 11 taught us that we have to fight to win the “war on terrorism,” it should also have taught us that if we do not immediately address the underlying (even if misguided) causes of those young terrorists’ rage, we will not win the war. For every al-Qaeda bomber that we kill there will be a thousand more volunteers from all over the earth to take his place. In the next decade, terrorists will acquire weapons of mass destruction. It is only a matter of time until a brilliant young chemist or smuggler obtains a nuclear, biological or chemical weapon and uses it to satisfy his personal rage against us.

Where does this rage come from? This book has demonstrated some of the causes. A heightened tribalism, the absence of human rights, economic collapses, brutal and corrupt military dictatorships, the AIDS pandemic, the effect of debt on nations, environmental degradation, overpopulation, poverty, hunger: the list goes on and on. Each of these and so many other reasons can lead directly to people having no hope for the future and being forced in their poverty and despair to resort to violence just to survive. This lack of hope in the future is the root cause of rage. If we cannot provide hope for the untold masses of the world, then the future will be nothing but a repeat of Rwanda, Sierra Leone, the Congo and September 11.

Several times in this book I have asked the question, “Are we all human, or are some more human than others?” Certainly we in the developed world act in a way that suggests we believe that our lives are worth more than the lives of other citizens of the planet. An American officer felt no shame as he informed me that the lives of 800,000 Rwandans were only worth the risking the lives of ten American troops; the Belgians, after losing ten soldiers, insisted that the lives of Rwandans were not worth risking another single Belgian soldier. The only conclusion I can reach is that we are in a desperate need of a transfusion of humanity. If we believe that all humans are human, then how are we going to prove it? It can only be proven through our actions. Through the dollars we are prepared to spend to improve conditions in the Third World, though the time and energy we devote to solving devastating problems like AIDS, through the lives of our soldiers, which we are prepared to sacrifice for the sake of humanity.

As soldiers we have been used to moving mountains to protect our own sovereignty or risks to our way of life. In the future, we must be prepared to move beyond national self interest to spend our resources and spill our blood for humanity. We have lived through centuries of enlightenment, reason, revolution, industrialization, and globalization. No matter how idealistic the aim sounds, this new century must become the Century of Humanity, when we as human beings rise above race, creed, color, religion and national self-interest and put the good of humanity above the good of our own tribe. For the sake of the children and of our future, we must make this priority and save our world.

Into the wild

2010-01-19T05:51:00.000-08:00

We all shall Live a Helter Skelter Kind of life

" I think you really should make a radical change in your lifestyle and begin to boldly do things which you may previously never have thought of doing, or been too hesitant to attempt. So many people live their lives within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change that situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism. All of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit, within a man than a secure future. The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter - skelter style of life that will first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty. In short you really need to challenge yourself and get out and hit the road. I guarantee you will be very glad you did. For some reason, most people just want to bolt back home as quickly as possible, right back to the same situation which they encounter on a daily basis day after day after day. I fear that majority of people will follow this same inclination in the future and thus fail to discover all the wonderful things that God has placed around us to discover. Don't settle down and sit in one place. Move around, be nomadic, make each day a new horizon. Most of us are going to live a long time, it would be a shame if you did not take the opportunity to revolutionize your life and move into an entirely new realm of experience.

My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around you to bring this new kind of light into your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it. The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances. Once you travel you will get the most amazing opportunities to meet people from all over the world and there is so much to learn from them. Don't hesitate or allow yourself to make excuses. Just get out and do it. You will be very glad that you did. "
~ Jon Krauker - Into the wild

Malaysia: Travel Recommendations

2010-01-18T03:40:00.000-08:00

Kuala Lumpur:
This is a rather busy city which can be quite expensive for Malaysia standards! Its definity worth a few days as the petronas towers are incredible to see. Many people go see them and pay to ride up to a high level to get a view of the city. I went to see the towers but recommend going up to the KL tower nearby instead as its much higher up and give you a really nice view of the city area and you can seejust how the towers stick out of the buildings like a shuttle taking off into space. Its far better to do it this way! Instead of being inside of them. If you stay for a few nights the cheapest place to stay is in china town. The night life can be quite pricey so be cautious where you choose to go. Near the city is a place called Batu caves where you should really go check out. There's a huge climb up the stairs to get there and is a rather holy temple with all sorts offerings inside the caves, including monkeys that will snatch anything they can get their hands on if you tempt them so keep all your belongs secure. 3-4 days is all you would need here.

Penang:
This island lies on the west coast in the north. The main city there is georgetown which does not have much to offer and is full of purse snatching thieves. So PLEASE be careful there.. Trust me! The island itself is quit large and there is one nice beach area called Batu Ferringhi. Its really nice and you can stay there for a bit more money but I do recommend you do this if possible instead. We hired motorcycles and drove to other sights on the island which were cool so if can brave the city traffic than do this as well. 3 days on this island would be more than enough.

Langkawi:
This is another large island on the west coast just north of penang. It is much better and unless you desire to go to penang than I'd probably give it a miss and go here in stead. Its possible to catch a ferry from penang to here or along the main land in malaysia. I also heard travelers coming and going to thailand from this island too so I know there is ferries there to. Its white sand beaches are picture perfect and its crystal clear waters wash your every worry away. The accommodation is quite affordable and this island is also quite massive so I would again hire a motorcycle and drive around the island as there is lots to see and some more gorgeous beaches on the northpart of the island too that you should check out for sure. There is a really nice waterfall too on this island. I'd suggest nothing less than 4 days here to soak it all in as the beaches here are as gorgeous as SE asia beaches get.

Alor star:
I can remember there is something nice to see around here but not worth staying any more than 1 night. This place is a good city to catch a ferry to or from langkawi and that's about it. From here I boarded a night bus to Kota Bharu which is on the east coast. I do remember not sleeping at all on this night bus as the roads across are crazy small and windy and our driver scared the hell out of me the whole time. So if your planning a night trip I wish you luck and a driver who is not in a race to get somewhere as fast as possible.. Yikes!

Kota Bharu:
I recommend going here as there are some amazingly wondrous markets to check out and the building offers endless floors of items being sold in the most lively fashion you could ever imagine. This city is located in the NE corner close to the border of thailand. It can be reached most easily by bus or the jungle train. We spent 2 nights here which was enough and then took a bus to kuala besut which is a small town where you can board a ferry and head over to the almighty Perhentian Islands.

Perhentian Island:
These islands are perfectly placed and contain some of the nicest beaches this world could ever offer. There are two separate islands and the smaller island Kecil is where you must go! The other island is larger and full of tourist and family resorts so no need to stay there as there are plenty of budget accommodations on Kecil on long beach. Ahhh! Do I ever miss this little piece of paradise. If you can afford to spend a week on this island just to kick back, relax, and enjoy the
feeling of being on one the best places on earth then Please do so. Everything about this island is stunning and will leave the most satisfying feeling in your body you surely won't forget. Monitor
lizards can be found searching for prey all over this island There is tons to do to pass the time If laying on the white sand beaches just isn't your thing including diving, taking your diving course (I did), snorkelling with black tip reef sharks, chasing enormous sea turtles around on a snorkel trip, or just relaxing and socializing, the world is your oyster and so dive right in. If you decide to explore these islands more I know the island directly south called Redang has really good diving but it is a lot more expensive to dive and stay here.

Jungle train:
Taking the train through the jungle was quite exciting and a journey I would recommend indeed but take it in the daytime if possible so you won't miss out on the endless scenery passing you by.

Taman Negra National park:
If trekking through the jungle in search of wild tigers, elephants, monkeys or anything else you might encounter along the trek then this is something you won't want to miss. I did a 4 day/3 night trek through the heart of the jungle and it left an unforgettable taste in my mouth. The first night we stayed in bat and cobra infested cave, the second night we stayed in a hut looking over a stunning jungle area and staked out the area below which frolicked with wild boars and massive tapier that use the small lake as their local watering hole. The third night we were invited into a small colony of nomads living in a number of tiny straw huts. After our arrival they taught us how to successfully use their blow darts and cleared out one of their huts for us to sleep in. It was an all around remarkable experience to get up close and personal with the jungle and once you hear the sounds! It will just add to the wow factor! I highly recommend you put the jungle at the top of your to do list.

Cameron highlands:
A really cool mountain side city area which lies in the central part in the north. Its known for its chilly weather at night which must add to create some of the most delicious teas and fruits you've ever tasted. Most of the fruits farms and tea plantations are in this area spaced out along the hillsides. I would recommend to visit the BO/BOH/BHO tea plantation there and take a tour. If your really driven, wander out into the fields like I did and volunteer yourself to pick tea leaves for the day with one of the many crews working. It was a great experience here and wished I spent more than just 2 days in this region as it seemed there was quite a lot to do. Also this area is home to the largest flower in the world which is high up hiding in the hillsides called Raffelsia. You can take a tour to go see it which is quite expensive or just meet a local and arrange for
them to take you to see one. If you do so, just make sure you promise them you will keep it a secret as they can get in some serious trouble for doing so from the tour agencies!

Melecca:
The only place I didn't get to but I heard was really cool is Melacca. It lies in the SW part of Malaysia and I suggest looking into it and if you can fit it in your travel itinerary.

Pulau Tioman:
The last place of honorable mention is the Tioman islands or aka Pulau Tioman. Its also a great place for diving, tons of different beaches where you can hire a hut near the beach for a rather affordable price. Massive monitor lizards are easily found roaming all over this island. I think you could probably spend a good week on this island if time permits just beach hoping and staying in different guest houses along the way. If you catch a ferry to this island be sure you know which beach your going to assthey drop off at different points along the island and its often 2-3 hours before another will arrive and it comes at a hefty price too to relocate. If you enjoy my recommendations I'd suggest staying on Tekek beach at some budget huts that are on the end of the beach near the hammocks.Easiet way to locate is to turn right after the ferry docks and walk down to the end! Also there are some big guest houses along the edge of the nearby cliff side and if you scramble up the rocks to them! It makes for a spectacular snap shot down onto the white sand beaches below.

Also there is a small island just beyond the beach and makes for a spectacular snorkel experience if you make a lap around it! If you want to stay at a different place try salang beach. Its the beach as far north as you could go and a bit less busy and touristy!

New Zealand: Travel Recomendations

2010-01-07T23:14:00.000-08:00

NORTH ISLAND:

Tongariro crossing:
This is surely one of the Top 3 Treks to do in this country. This is one of the most famous and of course amazing hiking treks you can do in New Zealand. Unfortunately I cannot claim I did it as our group waited around for 3 days for the weather to clear up enough to do this trek but the area showed no remorse on us and we were rained out. I met a few dozen other travelers who did it and every one of them raved about how incredibly remarkable this hike is and I can say the whole 2 months I was traveling here, I didn't meet one person who didn't enjoy it!

Mt Taranaki:
If you have the time you should try to get over to the Edgemont national park near the west coast. There you will find Mt. Taranaki and you can trek up to the top and the views are absolutely breath taking.

Taihipe:
This is the home of the Flying fox which has the biggest zip line in the world! Around 200m in height you are strapped to a canvass and plunge into a canyon at an extremely fast pace that you feel as if you could be ejected out of our worlds atmosphere. This ride is a once in a lifetime opportunity and so amazing you won't wanna miss out on!!

Wellington:
This is quite a cool city with wicked night clubs, nice beaches and a whole lot more to do.

SOUTH ISLAND:

Nelson:
This is one of most favorite spots I went to on this island. It is a rather small city by New Zealand standards but is an amazingly beautiful hippie town with lots to see and do and great beaches to kick back and relax on.

Abel Tasman National Park:
This National park lies in the Northwest corner on the south island. It is quite close to Nelson and is arguably the best National park in NZ. Many travelers go here hire kayaks and cruise along the waterside as far as they can bare to go. It is also very well know for its 100's of km of trails to trek on in this massive park area. In Marahau; which is the main point of entry into the park, you can organize a water/transport taxi that will take you to any point along the coast inside the national park as far as you would like to venture. Once your dropped off, you trek your way back to Marahau. When I went our group took a water taxi to Bark Bay where we got dropped off with our camping and trekking gear and walked till we got to Torrent bay village where we set up camp for the night. The following day we spent most of the hours trekking back to Marahau all along the trails which unleashed magnificent coast line view all along the way.

Westport:
If you are planning a trip from Nelson or Abel Tasman down the west coast to see the glaciers, you might as well stop here. There is a local seal colony here which you can actually get quite close to and makes for some amazing photographs. Its pretty sweet to see and is a great spot to hang out for a few hours to break up a drive. There is a campground here also that I stayed at and if that is your thing then I would recommend it.

Franz Joseph and Fox Glacier:
If Glaciers are your thing, then these area near the west coast should be placed high on your to do list! They are relatively close together in distance and the glaciers themselves are strikingly gorgeous. There are several amazing hiking trails around both these areas and can even hike up quite high to the glacier itself if you choose. If you do not have the time to see both, I would suggest to go to Franz Joesph as that is where I spent most of my time. In the town of Franz Joseph there is also an Indoor ice climbing wall that didn't fit into my budget but seemed like a really cool thing to do if you go here.

Arthurs Pass:
This is a gorgeous mountain pass that connects the west coast to the east coast. It begins from Grey mouth and passes over a mountain range before you end up just north of Christchurch. Its full of gorgeous mountain views and the small roads wind around them and can cause you to be nauseous if you are traveling with a weak stomach. If you are driving, hitch hiking or taking a train I highly recommend taking this pass and your camera will surely thank you for it.

Queenstown:
Is by far the most happening place you can find in New Zealand. Heaps of travelers flourish their colors here in this rather small city and it seems to be bustling with night life any night of the week. There are many different venues to have drinks and go out to party at, and during the day you can find several tour shops where most visitors book tours,skydiving, paragliding, bungy jumping, or any other death deifying stunt they might offer.Its located beside a rather pleasant lake and you can gaze up into the sky from anywhere in the city and see the remarkables standing tall high above. The remarkables got their name because they are the only mountain range in the whole southern hemisphere that run perfectly from north to south. The city itself has a real beauty appeal to it and its no wonder its attracts loads of travelers from all over the globe.

Lake Tekapo:
This area lies in the center of the south island close to the highest mountain in New Zealand; Mt. Cook. In my mind, it is definitly one of the hidden gems of the south island. Its a small town around a stunning neon blue lake and there lies a famous church that is one of the most highly photographed buildings in new zealand. Around the lake is a great 2 hour hike you can do to a large hill overlooking the lake below and surrounding area and makes for some spectacular photos.

Mt. Cook:
Aoraki/Mount Cook is the highest mountain in New Zealand. It stands tall at an impressive height of 3,754 metres (12,316 ft). It lies in the Southern Alps, the mountain range which runs the length of the South Island. This mountain was the training grounds for Sir Hiliary Edmund who become the first man in the world to summit Mt. Everest which is located in Nepal. There is a very well done museum in this area devoted to him and has loads of pictures and information about the area and what it takes to successfully reach the top of the world. This area is a trekking haven with loads of trails all through the region and vary in difficulty. If your looking for a real adventure I would suggest to camp in a tent overnight in the campgrounds and try to get a sound sleep as the howling intense winds pass by and shake your tent like you would not believe! I can honestly say the night I spent here was the craziest sleep I've ever had and the wind was so intense building up through the valley that I felt as if my tent was gonna be picked up and tossed to the next mountain range.

Milford Sound:
The sound is probably one of the most picturesq, magical places you could ever find in New Zealand. It is a busy area for travellers who come here to witness the spectacular scenery and you can pay an afforadable price to take a cruise around the area which i highly recommend you do. If your a big trekker and can plan your travels 6 months ahead of time, you can spend the $200-250 CDN and book yourself in to trek the Milford Trek which is said to be one of the best our world has to offer.

Trekking:
New Zealand was the first country I backpacked in so it will always have a special place for me. Alot of people come to New Zealand for the great outdoors and what better way to immerse yourself in the country than to get into trekking. While I was there I did 3 big treks but there are many more I could have done if I had the time. The top 6 most popular treks to do in NZ are as follows:

Tongario Crossing 19 kms - North Island (1-2 days)
Copeland Trail - South Island (3-5 days)
Routeburn Trail 35 kms - South Island (2-4 days)
Kepler Trek 65 kms - South Island (2-4 days)
Milford Track 53 kms - South Island (3-6 days)
Abel Tasman Coast Trek 51 kms - South Island (2-5 days)

For more information on these treks or any others in New Zealand click this link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_tramping_tracks