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July 23, 2012
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Experiences, Oceania
Stranger and strangers Sometimes on an airplane, you get seated beside such fascinating people that you actually enjoy flight delays. The Captain came over the PA, and my awesome seatmate Jacqui and I interrupted our conversation—which had already continued across two airplanes—to listen. He began (with a
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May 27, 2012
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Europe, Experiences
Butterflies and Carnivorous Plants I left you in the last update with a spiel about the airport in Bali, so let’s start in another airport: Changi in Singapore. I posit that it’s the best airport in the world. What other airport has crayons, stencils and drawing paper? Free wifi, free massage chairs, and a
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May 2, 2012
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Asia, Experiences
Full Moon It wasn’t hard to spot the little man in the big crowd outside the airport. He was holding an A4 piece of paper penned boldly with “FULLER”. The man was distracted on his mobile phone, but I called his name and he smiled widely and welcomed me to Bali. He apologised sincerely for …
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February 20, 2012
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Asia, Experiences
Shhhhh During the ten years beginning in the mid 1960’s—while the world was watching the Vietnam war unfold—an unpublicized and illegal ‘secret war’, denied by the USA until 1994, was being fought in Laos. Despite both America and Vietnam maintaining official acknowledgement of Laos’
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January 30, 2012
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Asia, Experiences
In The Tubing Twelve years ago, Vang Vieng was a quiet riverside town surrounded by stunning karst peaks on the dusty, rough, winding road between two of Laos’ major destinations. A quirky old Lao man named “Mr T” had an organic mulberry farm a few kilometers outside of town, where travelers would
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January 16, 2012
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Asia, Experiences
Elephant-sized The Thais worship elephants (called ‘chaang’ in Thai; also the name of a delicious beer) as gods, and it’s not hard to see why: They’re amazing animals, intelligent and calm, many tamed as workers by their lifelong keeper, the mahout. But since Thailand’s ban on logging,
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January 8, 2012
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Asia, Experiences
As the tuktuk crossed the bridge, coming towards me, two plastic bottles flew out and landed in the river. I gave the two backpacker passengers my best look of disappointment. The locals litter enough without us farang (foreigners) contributing. After this, and some other encounters with the touts and tourists in the
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November 15, 2011
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Experiences, Oceania
The trip was off to a good start before I even left Perth, as my taxi driver enjoyed my company enough to invite me to his wedding next year in India! Nice island, Eliza, but sorry about your husband Groggy after four hours of airplane sleep, I headed directly into Brisbane to meet my tour, …
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September 25, 2011
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Experiences, Oceania
I have not engaged on any overseas epics since my last trip report in July (aboot Canada, eh!) But recently I flew over to Queensland to see my friend’s band play at an intimate three-day folk music festival held at a bush camp outside of Woodford. Note this isn’t the Woodford folk music festival, which
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July 26, 2011
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Americas, Europe, Experiences
When left off in the first update, I had been through Copenhagen and Ontario, and was heading to Vancouver for my third leg.
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June 23, 2011
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Americas, Europe, Experiences
The trip wasn’t off to a great start, when I had already counted 3 forgotten items before I made it through exiting Australian customs.
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January 27, 2011
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Experiences, Oceania
Pretty Good Walks Christmas was quite unlike any other I’ve experienced. Until two years ago, when I spent it working nightshift as an underground miner in the summer heat of the central desert of Western Australia, I’d spent every Christmas in Toronto, in the snow, with my extended family. This year, I
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