Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Yukon part 2
The Yukon has a way of making you feel like you can do anything. I climbed my first mountain there under the midnight sun. We laughed the whole way. We started our trek around 8pm laughing about how the warnings always say you should head back from mountain climbing before dark. When we did head back down at about 11pm the sun was still shinning on us.
The constant daylight became one of my favourite things. I got so accustomed to taking naps in the full sun like a cat. Everyone told me it was going to be a struggle to adjust to the light but I had the opposit problem. We went down to Skagway, Alaska for a couple of days and found the town surrounded on all sides by mountains. I experienced full darkness at night again and became so disoriented that I had to fall asleep with a light on or I felt like I was falling out of bed.
Back on the farm, after about 4 days, the woman we were working for asked me to stay on as the farm intern and help her run things for the rest of the summer. The pay would just about cover my flight home! I accepted. I fixed eavestroughs and a few other things around the house, I did some weeding and harvesting of the gardens and helping out wherever I was needed, but mostly it was tending animals (lots of chickens and 2 small pigs).
We went to weekly farmers markets where I met more organic farmers from the area and was invited to see some of their operations. I went out a couple of days to a goat farm that made their own cheese. Learned to milk some goats which was a lot of fun after I got over my initial feelings of unease at having those alien goat eyes watching me. Went to another farm that focused on turkeys and some 400 pound pigs. Everyone really cared about their animals and shared stories of how they protect their farms from the grizzly bears in the area.
I took some time to go to Dawson City during the Dawson City Music Festival. By this time Estelle was wwoofing elsewhere but we met up with all the thousands of people who had come for the big party. With my first impression of the place being so packed with people it was intriguing to watch the numbers trickle away back to the regular population. After the crowds had left I went on several tours of the famous town and for one I happened to be in the same tour group as Audrey McLaughlin. It was a huge thrill to meet her. She was humble and charming. At one point our guide left us in Mrs McLaughlin's care who promised to not let the power go to her head.
On that same tour I met a gold prospector and inventor, from Northern Ontario. We chatted a good while and it felt like I had met a kindred spirit. I felt like he would have been my uncle had my family been from Ontario. It worked out that after getting back from my run to Chicken, Alaska (on the Top of the World Highway) I met up with him again. We went panning for gold together. I now have a small speck of gold to call my own. The Saskatchewan northern lakes trained me well for wadding into the icey creek water to dig up dirt to pan. I gave him a ride back to Whitehorse, we talked about his inventions and swapped crazy stories the whole way.
He gave me some of the best advice for how to deal with the little black flies! Skin so soft lotion from Avon. Use it. Love it. Flies will avoid you and you'll have soft skin, best of both worlds.
I went back to work on the farm. When I got back there was a new addition to the farm. Another wwoofer, this time from Germany. The hay was harvested, the chickens were slaughtered and I watched as the Fireweeds slowly opened all the way, signaling the end of summer. I loved my time there. I got to meet so many wonderful people, learned so much, and really left feeling like my 12 year old self could very happily put a check mark next to that dream.
I am really looking forward to going North again. Next time I am definitely going to make it all the way to Inuvik!
Friday, January 24, 2014
Yukon part 1: The start of the journey
So I talked about in my last post how I looked after some pigs. That could have done with some explanation but I felt it needed to have a lot more space. I'm going to write a series of experiences I had around looking after those delightful pigs. I'll be writing in chunks every day for the next few days.
In the summer of 2012 I went to the Yukon with my friend Estelle and volunteered on an organic farm with the wwoofing program (The World Wide Opportunity on Organic Farms) Essentially you work in exchange for a place to live and food to eat. It is a really good deal for the people volunteering. As I learned from my host if the volunteers actually do some work then it's great for the farmers involved as well. I had wanted to try out the wwoofing program for several years. What I had heard was it was a great chance to learn and see new places, but I had been hesitant about going alone (As a side note I've also been really interested in the Yukon since I was about 12 and read White Fang by Jack London for the first time). So when Estelle sent me a text asking if I wanted to join her on a trip to do both I jumped at the chance. It really did feel like a dream combination.
The Yukon for me up to that point was nothing but vague ideas. Books by Jack London, the song Long Gone to the Yukon by Stompin' Tom and Google Maps street view of the Top of the World Highway. That's all I really knew but I with each new tidbit I also knew I wanted to go there badly.
I had experienced some bad luck the summer before when trying to get to England so I was owed a fair bit of money through an airline. My reward was getting a $40 ticket to Whitehorse - unheard of!
Suddenly I found myself boarding a plane to a wonderful place where people of such diverse backgrounds come to make it their home that it is hard to find someone who is originally from there. First day there I my cab driver was originally from my province and the first person I met had driven there from Ontario with his cat. The Yukon seems to have a way of catching the people who visit. Everyone I talked to about going North demanded that I promised to come back.
In the summer of 2012 I went to the Yukon with my friend Estelle and volunteered on an organic farm with the wwoofing program (The World Wide Opportunity on Organic Farms) Essentially you work in exchange for a place to live and food to eat. It is a really good deal for the people volunteering. As I learned from my host if the volunteers actually do some work then it's great for the farmers involved as well. I had wanted to try out the wwoofing program for several years. What I had heard was it was a great chance to learn and see new places, but I had been hesitant about going alone (As a side note I've also been really interested in the Yukon since I was about 12 and read White Fang by Jack London for the first time). So when Estelle sent me a text asking if I wanted to join her on a trip to do both I jumped at the chance. It really did feel like a dream combination.
The Yukon for me up to that point was nothing but vague ideas. Books by Jack London, the song Long Gone to the Yukon by Stompin' Tom and Google Maps street view of the Top of the World Highway. That's all I really knew but I with each new tidbit I also knew I wanted to go there badly.
I had experienced some bad luck the summer before when trying to get to England so I was owed a fair bit of money through an airline. My reward was getting a $40 ticket to Whitehorse - unheard of!
Suddenly I found myself boarding a plane to a wonderful place where people of such diverse backgrounds come to make it their home that it is hard to find someone who is originally from there. First day there I my cab driver was originally from my province and the first person I met had driven there from Ontario with his cat. The Yukon seems to have a way of catching the people who visit. Everyone I talked to about going North demanded that I promised to come back.
Friday, January 10, 2014
The best new years resolution I could come up with
Not paying for any of my resolutions.
I don't really go in for New Years change because I find that my time of transition and setting solid goals for myself usually comes in the spring. This year is a bit different, with having the decision of change taken out of my hands I have taken charge and am running with it. I was a bit worried about making very hasty revisions to my life. I figured I could benefit from planning to not spend any more money than I needed to.
For instance I've said I want to get fit and see more of my friends. I'm not going to join a gym but I am going to start pushing myself in running more. I will have people over for dinner and chats at my place rather than going out for dinner or coffee. And if my semi thought of a wardrobe update comes to fruition I will work on modifying what I already have and looking for some nice things on sale.
This gives me a much needed boost when it comes to the things that I want to do that require some serious cash. A few nights ago I sat down with my friend Alyssa and we got talking about the sense of liberation I had from being relieved of my obligations to my apartment. I have finally understood the sentiment that things you own start owning you. So riding on this wave of feeling free I started talking and writing down what I wanted from this year... it was packed!
Places I want to go and the people I want to visit when I get there. This list of dreams for 2014 will probably spill over into the next few years too. A great weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I look forward to the coming months.
What were your resolutions?
I don't really go in for New Years change because I find that my time of transition and setting solid goals for myself usually comes in the spring. This year is a bit different, with having the decision of change taken out of my hands I have taken charge and am running with it. I was a bit worried about making very hasty revisions to my life. I figured I could benefit from planning to not spend any more money than I needed to.
For instance I've said I want to get fit and see more of my friends. I'm not going to join a gym but I am going to start pushing myself in running more. I will have people over for dinner and chats at my place rather than going out for dinner or coffee. And if my semi thought of a wardrobe update comes to fruition I will work on modifying what I already have and looking for some nice things on sale.
This gives me a much needed boost when it comes to the things that I want to do that require some serious cash. A few nights ago I sat down with my friend Alyssa and we got talking about the sense of liberation I had from being relieved of my obligations to my apartment. I have finally understood the sentiment that things you own start owning you. So riding on this wave of feeling free I started talking and writing down what I wanted from this year... it was packed!
Places I want to go and the people I want to visit when I get there. This list of dreams for 2014 will probably spill over into the next few years too. A great weight has been lifted from my shoulders and I look forward to the coming months.
What were your resolutions?
Friday, December 20, 2013
Spiders
As fair warning this one is probably not
going to be something that everyone will want to read (this next section
particularly). Odds are that the people most afraid of spiders skipped
this week based on the title alone but if you were just brave enough to
get this far and want a cute story about a spider then I suggest you
skip the italicized paragraph.
I have very limited experience with spiders but I
like them. They keep bugs under control and I love seeing the detail
and variety in their webs. I'm fine when I don't need to be near them
but if there is even the slightest possibility that they could bite me I
get away as quick as possible.
When I was in elementary school I was sitting in
class and noticed that my hand was feeling like it was burning in one
section and up my arm. I looked down to find that my skin on the back
of my hand was bubbling. Yes it was as terrifying as it sounds. I got
checked over at the doctor's and they found two bite marks on the same
arm as my hand. They diagnosed me as having an allergic reaction to
spider bites that I would just have to wait till it went away.
Eventually it did fade but even with being more than 15 years ago the
scars are still there.
The happiest story I have about a spider is from
when I was working as a school photographer. I was driving all around
the province going for a day or a week to different towns and putting a
lot of time in on the road. I began to notice a spider web that was
always in pristine condition on the passenger side rear view mirror of
my car. It was in the perfect position that the wind was broken by the
mirror causing the web to sway just slightly in the draft rather than
being ripped up. I assumed that it was catching the odd bug but it
never seemed dirty so I left it in the interest of seeing what it would
do over time. I didn't really think about it all that much for the
next couple of trips.
One day I was sitting in my parked car having my
lunch and rather large spider came out from behind the side mirror and
inspected the webbing. It wandered about eating what it had caught on
the drive down. I was amused to have a lunch companion. That evening
on the way back to the city I could only assume it was back behind the
mirror. I was hopeful that it hadn't wandered away. Nothing like
stepping out for a walk and your home having driven off. The next day a
fresh new web was ready for the drive out of town.
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Art
I've always wondered where I draw the line on calling something art. When I go into a gallery I look and think about what someone was trying to do, the effort, the ideas. Some titles really make the work better, they give some context to a story that I'm unaware of. And sometimes it just explains to me what I'm looking at in the first place. "Oh, that's a girl in a tree playing with shoes... wait, what?" (don't bother trying to figure out what painting I'm thinking of, if it does exist I haven't seen it)
I like art in a lot of forms. Slam poetry, graffiti, paintings, murals, music, pottery and ceramics, stain glass, welded sculptures, classic marble carvings... I have a very broad definition of what I like.
In the past few years I've had the great chance to see a lot of really great art all around the world. But I think the things that have had the most impact on me where full room art installations.
The first was an installation by the artist Yayoi Kusama. There were a lot of her works on display at the time (2009, Wellington New Zealand) twisting red columns were really striking and I got to see some of her famous mirror balls. But there was one room they were only let a few people into at a time. It was completely black with tinny lights hanging from the ceiling. You stand on a platform in the middle of a room made of mirrors with the floor around you holding an inch or two of water. Light reflects off everywhere around you but not enough to see. It was amazing. A room that made me feel like I was suspended in space. I wanted to some how make my own room like that to live there. How can I make my whole house like this?!
The second time was a twisting maze of doors and rooms in the British Tate museum. This maze was so fantastic because of the detail that went into replicating a room. I got to feel like I had actually experienced something magical. Physical shock at finding myself in a place I had not expected to be. You enter through a room from the museum and wander through doors and corridors, backtracking and loosing yourself. And you find yourself back at the start. So you open the door... only instead of walking out into the gallery again you're in work room. The two rooms at opposite ends of the maze were almost identical. The only things that were different were the order of burned out light bulbs in the large scale christmas lights
In both of these works I got to loose myself in their idea, in one case literally. I think I can really appreciate the hours that go into a room installation. While a phrase or a brush stroke can be just as agonizingly long I can more tangibly understand the effort and mechanics of a large scale art work that has obviously taken days to dream and put together.
So I don't really know what is and isn't art to me. But I think a bit of what art is comes from stepping outside yourself and getting a fresh look at things. Disorienting yourself from your everyday. I spend so much of my life knowing exactly where I am that any chance to stop that for a moment is refreshingly new.
Edit: Found a link that has pictures of the first room installment
http://gatsbylives.tumblr.com/post/13473547992
I like art in a lot of forms. Slam poetry, graffiti, paintings, murals, music, pottery and ceramics, stain glass, welded sculptures, classic marble carvings... I have a very broad definition of what I like.
In the past few years I've had the great chance to see a lot of really great art all around the world. But I think the things that have had the most impact on me where full room art installations.
The first was an installation by the artist Yayoi Kusama. There were a lot of her works on display at the time (2009, Wellington New Zealand) twisting red columns were really striking and I got to see some of her famous mirror balls. But there was one room they were only let a few people into at a time. It was completely black with tinny lights hanging from the ceiling. You stand on a platform in the middle of a room made of mirrors with the floor around you holding an inch or two of water. Light reflects off everywhere around you but not enough to see. It was amazing. A room that made me feel like I was suspended in space. I wanted to some how make my own room like that to live there. How can I make my whole house like this?!
The second time was a twisting maze of doors and rooms in the British Tate museum. This maze was so fantastic because of the detail that went into replicating a room. I got to feel like I had actually experienced something magical. Physical shock at finding myself in a place I had not expected to be. You enter through a room from the museum and wander through doors and corridors, backtracking and loosing yourself. And you find yourself back at the start. So you open the door... only instead of walking out into the gallery again you're in work room. The two rooms at opposite ends of the maze were almost identical. The only things that were different were the order of burned out light bulbs in the large scale christmas lights
In both of these works I got to loose myself in their idea, in one case literally. I think I can really appreciate the hours that go into a room installation. While a phrase or a brush stroke can be just as agonizingly long I can more tangibly understand the effort and mechanics of a large scale art work that has obviously taken days to dream and put together.
So I don't really know what is and isn't art to me. But I think a bit of what art is comes from stepping outside yourself and getting a fresh look at things. Disorienting yourself from your everyday. I spend so much of my life knowing exactly where I am that any chance to stop that for a moment is refreshingly new.
Edit: Found a link that has pictures of the first room installment
http://gatsbylives.tumblr.com/post/13473547992
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
On the road with books
I've just closed the cover on my 18th book of the trip. I always keep a record of what I'm reading but there is some satisfaction that comes from having a start to a limited amount of time and making the effort to fit in what you find important.
The problem is that books get heavy in a bag. And while I always say that I'm not going to pick any up... They keep making their way into my bag. By the time I get back home I have no idea how many books I will have picked up, but right now I have 6 that need to be carried around.
The last 2 additions have been from people I'm staying with.
One saying: "Take it home, get it back to me when I come to town at Christmas"
Another with something like: Take it! It will be leaving my house in some way.
I obviously didn't keep all the books that I read with me. A lot of them I borrowed from people and read from the hostel library or from the local library, a few pdfs helped things a lot too. But there have been a few book purchases along the way.
One in Cardiff (the Dark Philosophers) that I read... well struggled to read through as I wanted to smack most of the characters, finished and then promptly abandoned it in Aberdeen. I was lead to believe it was going to be funny, the introduction said he was funny and had a great quote that actually made me laugh out loud in the store... maybe my humour just doesn't line up right with his when it isn't pointed out to me. I switched it in the hostel library for Tess of the d'Urbervilles but I'm not sure I came out on top with that one. I kept thinking I should leave it at another hostel but I figure I should read it before leaving it... but that could be my book addiction talking.
While I was in Edinburgh I wandered into an old book shop and spent a good deal of time looking at all the old bound copies of books and fighting the urge to take home 7 volume sets or even 3 volume sets because they looked so damn beautiful. I did end up finding a book about the life of Madame de Pompadour. I read a few pages and I'm really looking forward to having some good solid time to read it and let the creativity flow from reading about that era.
I picked up 2 books that I'd really wanted to read for some time in recently-rioted-in Manchester at a student sale. Midnight in the Gardern of Good and Evil and Oranges are not the only fruit. I was so excited to find both of them.
I started reading Oranges right away as I walked down the street. It had such a great introduction that I wanted to keep reading and reading for days. She had such a great style and voice telling how the book came about... and then the actual story started. It was frustrating, unsettling and saddening. I don't know what happened... Life, circumstances, maybe seeing the huge divide between her life and mine small town UK vs small city Canada. I might never really be able to explain to someone why it got to me in such a negative way when so many people seem to find humour in it. I left that one in Edinburgh. But I kept the other book from the sale. Again I've only read the first few pages but I'm looking forward to it. Plus it now holds a great bookmark that I made out of a show announcement for the Edinburgh Fringe
"Keep Calm and Carry on Barefoot"
I love it.
I bought a book of poetry from the poet Young Dawkins after his last performance at the Edinburgh Free Fringe. He was amazing. I had got there early and boy was I glad of that. People just kept coming in and ended up filling the place and out into the hall. At one point he asked "Where have you people been all Fringe?!"
It was a great hour, he had 2 guys playing instruments along with him and it was simply perfect. His words mixed well with the guy who had been playing with him for a while and the new guy added some more contrast. I couldn't imagine it sounding better. He really made every word count. What I especially respected was him giving the stage to a young woman to do one of her poems. He had such a bigger audience and pull that she was exposed to more ears that might otherwise have missed her amid the hundreds of other shows. And she was really good too so it fit smoothly in with his other poems.
It was one of those days that reminds me why I love slam poetry and how I love words. It also made me want to attend many MANY more poetry readings. I settled for buying his book and being able to hear where he paused and lifted his voice as I read the print, really hearing him read the poems again in my memories. Also he signed it "Thanks for your joy" which just filled me with more joy.
I think those might be all the books I have kept with me. I get the feeling there is another that will make itself known to me when I get to the next stage of my trip.
Edit*
Turns out I completely missed 2 other books I have on me.
A book of comic verse that I got in Oxford and The Deeper Meaning of Liff that I got in Morecambe. Both bought from second hand book stores. I also resisted the urge to buy a new one today.
The problem is that books get heavy in a bag. And while I always say that I'm not going to pick any up... They keep making their way into my bag. By the time I get back home I have no idea how many books I will have picked up, but right now I have 6 that need to be carried around.
The last 2 additions have been from people I'm staying with.
One saying: "Take it home, get it back to me when I come to town at Christmas"
Another with something like: Take it! It will be leaving my house in some way.
I obviously didn't keep all the books that I read with me. A lot of them I borrowed from people and read from the hostel library or from the local library, a few pdfs helped things a lot too. But there have been a few book purchases along the way.
One in Cardiff (the Dark Philosophers) that I read... well struggled to read through as I wanted to smack most of the characters, finished and then promptly abandoned it in Aberdeen. I was lead to believe it was going to be funny, the introduction said he was funny and had a great quote that actually made me laugh out loud in the store... maybe my humour just doesn't line up right with his when it isn't pointed out to me. I switched it in the hostel library for Tess of the d'Urbervilles but I'm not sure I came out on top with that one. I kept thinking I should leave it at another hostel but I figure I should read it before leaving it... but that could be my book addiction talking.
While I was in Edinburgh I wandered into an old book shop and spent a good deal of time looking at all the old bound copies of books and fighting the urge to take home 7 volume sets or even 3 volume sets because they looked so damn beautiful. I did end up finding a book about the life of Madame de Pompadour. I read a few pages and I'm really looking forward to having some good solid time to read it and let the creativity flow from reading about that era.
I picked up 2 books that I'd really wanted to read for some time in recently-rioted-in Manchester at a student sale. Midnight in the Gardern of Good and Evil and Oranges are not the only fruit. I was so excited to find both of them.
I started reading Oranges right away as I walked down the street. It had such a great introduction that I wanted to keep reading and reading for days. She had such a great style and voice telling how the book came about... and then the actual story started. It was frustrating, unsettling and saddening. I don't know what happened... Life, circumstances, maybe seeing the huge divide between her life and mine small town UK vs small city Canada. I might never really be able to explain to someone why it got to me in such a negative way when so many people seem to find humour in it. I left that one in Edinburgh. But I kept the other book from the sale. Again I've only read the first few pages but I'm looking forward to it. Plus it now holds a great bookmark that I made out of a show announcement for the Edinburgh Fringe
"Keep Calm and Carry on Barefoot"
I love it.
I bought a book of poetry from the poet Young Dawkins after his last performance at the Edinburgh Free Fringe. He was amazing. I had got there early and boy was I glad of that. People just kept coming in and ended up filling the place and out into the hall. At one point he asked "Where have you people been all Fringe?!"
It was a great hour, he had 2 guys playing instruments along with him and it was simply perfect. His words mixed well with the guy who had been playing with him for a while and the new guy added some more contrast. I couldn't imagine it sounding better. He really made every word count. What I especially respected was him giving the stage to a young woman to do one of her poems. He had such a bigger audience and pull that she was exposed to more ears that might otherwise have missed her amid the hundreds of other shows. And she was really good too so it fit smoothly in with his other poems.
It was one of those days that reminds me why I love slam poetry and how I love words. It also made me want to attend many MANY more poetry readings. I settled for buying his book and being able to hear where he paused and lifted his voice as I read the print, really hearing him read the poems again in my memories. Also he signed it "Thanks for your joy" which just filled me with more joy.
I think those might be all the books I have kept with me. I get the feeling there is another that will make itself known to me when I get to the next stage of my trip.
Edit*
Turns out I completely missed 2 other books I have on me.
A book of comic verse that I got in Oxford and The Deeper Meaning of Liff that I got in Morecambe. Both bought from second hand book stores. I also resisted the urge to buy a new one today.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
What should I pack?
I've heard on numerous occasions that the best time to pack for your next big trip is when you're back from your last one.
So I'm going to run through my bag and sort out all the stuff I needed and didn't really need to bring.
HAVE A RETURN TICKET IF YOU ARE GOING TO THE UK.
Just make your life easier and have the ticket and info ready to present to customs to let them know that you aren't planning to stay forever.
I've got a large bag, 70 Liters... I still have no idea what this means, but it might mean something to someone out there. I saw a bunch of girls walking around with bags bigger than mine and with a huge duffel bag on top of that, this would have killed me on this trip. But I know that lots of those girls were probably moving to the UK while I was just running around for fun. I like my bag because I could put my clothes in it and still had room for the little things that start adding up as you travel around.
Bottoms
Need:
Long pants/trousers (depending on your region)
a pair of capri pants (generally these can be cooling or warming depending on what you pair them with)
A pair of shorts
Suggestions:
I'd heard that leggings under jeans make for really warm leg wear if you find yourself in a much cooler place than you were expecting.
On the fence:
I had a light pair of capri that I used a couple of cooler nights but I think I could have gotten away without them... then again they were generally what I wore to do laundry in. So I might have to reconsider as I did wear them a fair number of times.
Could have done without:
I had a skort (skirt-shorts) with me that only served as wrapping for breakables.
Tops
I had a variety of light tops. The more you have the more time you have between washes and it makes a load of laundry actually worth the money.
Need:
1 tank top (I don't get overly warm but on the days when the heat got too much it was good to have)
7 Shirts... I might even take this higher on my next trip. They were mostly light shirts, I had one that I considered my more fancy one that I had planned to go out for the evening in, but generally I just ended up wearing a regular shirt when I went out. So I had my fancy one for laundry day! Snazzy! (my motto is: Different colours and styles so you don't start hating everything you wear.)
A light warm sweater
A baggy light 3/4 sleeve shirt. It was perfect for letting air in or keeping me a little warmer
Rain jacket/wind breaker
On the fence:
I brought a cardigan along and it really helped me feel dressed up on some nights when I didn't want to feel like a tourist but I did only wear it a couple of times.
Could have done without:
I had an extra tank top that didn't really make it out that often. Spent most of the trip keeping my skort company.
I had also packed a bathing suit... I could have maybe used it once, but I just didn't feel like swimming.
Sleeping shirt, I had brought along some pjs but most nights I just slept in the shirt I'd been walking around in all day.
Underwear/socks:
Girls, I'd bring along an extra bra to however many you would normally take. I tried this out for the first time this trip and I was really happy. I usually go with 2 but over the course of my trip one was wrecked so it worked out really well
Underwear - Bring at least 3 or 4 more than the shirts you have.
Socks will depend on if you're going for a wet place. If wet, go with the same rule of the underwear. If hot and dry you might want to cut back if you're going to wear sandals. But if you're going for hot with hiking you'll want the extra pairs to keep your feet from stinking.
NEED
Passport (goes without saying but some things still need to be said)
Shower sandals
Good walking shoes
Towel
Soap/shampoo/comb
toothbrush and paste
deodorant (if you're going to use spray GET OUT of the hostel dorm room before you use it!)
Suction cup hook for the walls of shower bathroom and a canvas bag to hang my clothes in - Saved me from wet clothes soooo many times.
A necklace money pouch
Ear plugs and eye-mask (there are some places where this will be essential)
Teck that made my life easier:
Power adapter
Camera, power cord
regional pay as you go phone
small laptop and cord (most places have wifi but no computers for use, so unless you have your own laptop or smart phone you're out of luck)
ipod and headphones
travel alarm clock
Helpful things but not essential:
A hard sided case like a Tupperware container really helped with keeping small things together and protecting some small breakables.
Needle and thread
Permanent marker (for labeling your food for hostel fridges)
scissors
collapsible fork/spoon/knife
compass (even in big cities this is really helpful as most locals say "Go North" to start directions)
Plastic protection for documents
Little gifts from your country (I handed out a bunch of random things with the Canadian flag on it, the best thing I got in return was some stickers from a girl from South Korea. I always feel self conscious about packing them but I'm always happy that I have them when I meet people)
pens and a small note book
This is where I have some thoughts. Keeping track of your journey will be really helpful later for contacting people, train tickets, hostel bookings, events you want to get to and even just remembering what you did from day to day. I had a few note books with me but I would have been happy with just the one little moleskin that has a section with perforated pages VERY helpful.
Additionally -I had a pocket size sudoku book that made for bits of scrap paper and a mini note pad for jotting down directions and emails from people. Really helpful and I always knew where everyone's information was and some entertainment when waiting in lines for things.
So I'm going to run through my bag and sort out all the stuff I needed and didn't really need to bring.
HAVE A RETURN TICKET IF YOU ARE GOING TO THE UK.
Just make your life easier and have the ticket and info ready to present to customs to let them know that you aren't planning to stay forever.
I've got a large bag, 70 Liters... I still have no idea what this means, but it might mean something to someone out there. I saw a bunch of girls walking around with bags bigger than mine and with a huge duffel bag on top of that, this would have killed me on this trip. But I know that lots of those girls were probably moving to the UK while I was just running around for fun. I like my bag because I could put my clothes in it and still had room for the little things that start adding up as you travel around.
Bottoms
Need:
Long pants/trousers (depending on your region)
a pair of capri pants (generally these can be cooling or warming depending on what you pair them with)
A pair of shorts
Suggestions:
I'd heard that leggings under jeans make for really warm leg wear if you find yourself in a much cooler place than you were expecting.
On the fence:
I had a light pair of capri that I used a couple of cooler nights but I think I could have gotten away without them... then again they were generally what I wore to do laundry in. So I might have to reconsider as I did wear them a fair number of times.
Could have done without:
I had a skort (skirt-shorts) with me that only served as wrapping for breakables.
Tops
I had a variety of light tops. The more you have the more time you have between washes and it makes a load of laundry actually worth the money.
Need:
1 tank top (I don't get overly warm but on the days when the heat got too much it was good to have)
7 Shirts... I might even take this higher on my next trip. They were mostly light shirts, I had one that I considered my more fancy one that I had planned to go out for the evening in, but generally I just ended up wearing a regular shirt when I went out. So I had my fancy one for laundry day! Snazzy! (my motto is: Different colours and styles so you don't start hating everything you wear.)
A light warm sweater
A baggy light 3/4 sleeve shirt. It was perfect for letting air in or keeping me a little warmer
Rain jacket/wind breaker
On the fence:
I brought a cardigan along and it really helped me feel dressed up on some nights when I didn't want to feel like a tourist but I did only wear it a couple of times.
Could have done without:
I had an extra tank top that didn't really make it out that often. Spent most of the trip keeping my skort company.
I had also packed a bathing suit... I could have maybe used it once, but I just didn't feel like swimming.
Sleeping shirt, I had brought along some pjs but most nights I just slept in the shirt I'd been walking around in all day.
Underwear/socks:
Girls, I'd bring along an extra bra to however many you would normally take. I tried this out for the first time this trip and I was really happy. I usually go with 2 but over the course of my trip one was wrecked so it worked out really well
Underwear - Bring at least 3 or 4 more than the shirts you have.
Socks will depend on if you're going for a wet place. If wet, go with the same rule of the underwear. If hot and dry you might want to cut back if you're going to wear sandals. But if you're going for hot with hiking you'll want the extra pairs to keep your feet from stinking.
NEED
Passport (goes without saying but some things still need to be said)
Shower sandals
Good walking shoes
Towel
Soap/shampoo/comb
toothbrush and paste
deodorant (if you're going to use spray GET OUT of the hostel dorm room before you use it!)
Suction cup hook for the walls of shower bathroom and a canvas bag to hang my clothes in - Saved me from wet clothes soooo many times.
A necklace money pouch
Ear plugs and eye-mask (there are some places where this will be essential)
Teck that made my life easier:
Power adapter
Camera, power cord
regional pay as you go phone
small laptop and cord (most places have wifi but no computers for use, so unless you have your own laptop or smart phone you're out of luck)
ipod and headphones
travel alarm clock
Helpful things but not essential:
A hard sided case like a Tupperware container really helped with keeping small things together and protecting some small breakables.
Needle and thread
Permanent marker (for labeling your food for hostel fridges)
scissors
collapsible fork/spoon/knife
compass (even in big cities this is really helpful as most locals say "Go North" to start directions)
Plastic protection for documents
Little gifts from your country (I handed out a bunch of random things with the Canadian flag on it, the best thing I got in return was some stickers from a girl from South Korea. I always feel self conscious about packing them but I'm always happy that I have them when I meet people)
pens and a small note book
This is where I have some thoughts. Keeping track of your journey will be really helpful later for contacting people, train tickets, hostel bookings, events you want to get to and even just remembering what you did from day to day. I had a few note books with me but I would have been happy with just the one little moleskin that has a section with perforated pages VERY helpful.
Additionally -I had a pocket size sudoku book that made for bits of scrap paper and a mini note pad for jotting down directions and emails from people. Really helpful and I always knew where everyone's information was and some entertainment when waiting in lines for things.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Back to life.
Well, that title doesn't really work as I was always alive. I am however back in Canada, back to my city and back in my own home. I've taken to reading as much as I can while I have this uninterrupted time. With no responsibilities of school or work I've been getting through a huge pile of books to read. I've just about finished my 5th book of the month (not counting audio books and manga/comics). But my trip count included audio books so maybe I should count those too. Alright revision. I'm about to finish my 9th book of the month. I want to keep up the level of reading that I had on the trip, if not go further with it. In the almost six months I was away I finished 28 books...
The bulk of my reading took place in the four months I was in New Zealand and Australia. Singapore, Korea, and Japan were too packed to get much done. I did borrow a book while I was in Korea, I was staying with my lifelong friend, but I felt more down than inspired. Sitting at home while I could be out exploring? I don't think so. It was different when I was driving around the outback and along the mountains of middle earth with my parents. We would spend maybe 3-5 hours in the morning driving, explore for the rest of the day and have an evening of reading and rest. Wake up the next day and repeat.
"The Asia portion of [my] trip", as most people I met were calling it, was all me planning what to do next and how to get the most out of my time. Hoping trains and buses and finding hostels (or anywhere) to stay in.
I'm thinking of getting all my notes from the trip transferred from my journals into a typed format so I can edit easier, but I also plan on uploading photos. And I have yet to do either. It feels like the trip is entirely an incident in my life that is cut off. I went away and have returned. I don't want to be the person who looks back and says "Those were my glory years." and can't have any conversation that doesn't include "When I was in (insert country name here) I.. Blah blah blah"
But it was a huge part of my life and feels like a starting or jump point. For now I'm just going to focus on getting back to having adventures at home and thinking about what job I want and where I'm going to live to start this "adult" portion of my life.
Goal for today is to finish the next 50 pages of my book, return it to the library, and make some butter tart slice.
The bulk of my reading took place in the four months I was in New Zealand and Australia. Singapore, Korea, and Japan were too packed to get much done. I did borrow a book while I was in Korea, I was staying with my lifelong friend, but I felt more down than inspired. Sitting at home while I could be out exploring? I don't think so. It was different when I was driving around the outback and along the mountains of middle earth with my parents. We would spend maybe 3-5 hours in the morning driving, explore for the rest of the day and have an evening of reading and rest. Wake up the next day and repeat.
"The Asia portion of [my] trip", as most people I met were calling it, was all me planning what to do next and how to get the most out of my time. Hoping trains and buses and finding hostels (or anywhere) to stay in.
I'm thinking of getting all my notes from the trip transferred from my journals into a typed format so I can edit easier, but I also plan on uploading photos. And I have yet to do either. It feels like the trip is entirely an incident in my life that is cut off. I went away and have returned. I don't want to be the person who looks back and says "Those were my glory years." and can't have any conversation that doesn't include "When I was in (insert country name here) I.. Blah blah blah"
But it was a huge part of my life and feels like a starting or jump point. For now I'm just going to focus on getting back to having adventures at home and thinking about what job I want and where I'm going to live to start this "adult" portion of my life.
Goal for today is to finish the next 50 pages of my book, return it to the library, and make some butter tart slice.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Well shoot
I'm in Aukland New Zealand at the moment and I hadn't anticipated how difficult it was going to be to keep a blog going. Internet being a premium and time of the essence.
13 hour flight, amazingly great flight because I was flighing first class (seriously if you can, do it!) the people who were just inbetween coach and first class must have hated sitting there. We had really cool chairs that converted into beds. Pod flight was fantastic. I read about Darwin and his theory of evolution on Audio book read by the author and started reading The Road. Creepy. I'll have to look for it while I'm here stopping in at the random libraries along our rout.
I had an interesting experience with some people in the Aukland Library - I heard one guy kidding another one and joined in. Had an good chat with a librarian named Chris who really liked my accent. "Very soft" and found it hilarious to hear me say Aukland as AWKland instead of Ookland.
There is too much to talk about at these sporatic intervals. I'll have to figure out a better system.
I was thrilled to see Emily in Vancouver before we left Canada and she'll be happy to make it into another post. Hugs dear!
13 hour flight, amazingly great flight because I was flighing first class (seriously if you can, do it!) the people who were just inbetween coach and first class must have hated sitting there. We had really cool chairs that converted into beds. Pod flight was fantastic. I read about Darwin and his theory of evolution on Audio book read by the author and started reading The Road. Creepy. I'll have to look for it while I'm here stopping in at the random libraries along our rout.
I had an interesting experience with some people in the Aukland Library - I heard one guy kidding another one and joined in. Had an good chat with a librarian named Chris who really liked my accent. "Very soft" and found it hilarious to hear me say Aukland as AWKland instead of Ookland.
There is too much to talk about at these sporatic intervals. I'll have to figure out a better system.
I was thrilled to see Emily in Vancouver before we left Canada and she'll be happy to make it into another post. Hugs dear!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Packing and preparing mentally
I'm going away soon and I feel both overly prepared and under prepared... I think it has something to do with getting things done but not being able to just go do the things I need to do. Parents. Mentally you think I'll get done this that and the other things... in reality you get pulled off to do three other jobs and then a reprimand for not taking your trip seriously... But who cares right? Oh how I wish I could stop caring.
I feel the urge to simply list off all the items I've set aside for packing to see if I've missed anything. But no, I'm going to take everyone's advice and just do what I need to do and if I forget something then just pick it up there.
Still to do:
Finish packing, read guide books, read emails of advice so I can act on them before leaving, check on restrictions and vaccines that might be needed, mow lawns... I thought I was done with that job???, send a thank you note, buy extra batteries and tech stuff, find my compass, return a whack load (technical term) of books I've borrowed over the year(s).
Best get back to it!
I feel the urge to simply list off all the items I've set aside for packing to see if I've missed anything. But no, I'm going to take everyone's advice and just do what I need to do and if I forget something then just pick it up there.
Still to do:
Finish packing, read guide books, read emails of advice so I can act on them before leaving, check on restrictions and vaccines that might be needed, mow lawns... I thought I was done with that job???, send a thank you note, buy extra batteries and tech stuff, find my compass, return a whack load (technical term) of books I've borrowed over the year(s).
Best get back to it!
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Heading home on this beautiful day.
Sarah might have said something profoundly interesting this morning when she came in to wake me but I have no memory of anything before being suddenly aware that I was playing Sudoku. I find that in the morning, as I have no inclination to drink coffee, that a number puzzle wakes me up faster. I sat thinking and letting my brain catch up with the time when I heard the rest of the house singing their morning prayers. It was wonderful and comforting. If I were in anyway a believer this house would be perfect for me to spend a year here as a volunteer. As it is, I feel very welcome whenever I make a visit and am very sad when I've left them.
I packed my bag and loaded my car feeling like I was sneaking out. Thankfully the rest of the house joined me shortly in the kitchen. We shared breakfast and a lot of laughs. I said my goodbyes and headed out on my 6 hour drive home. The only things of interest was my lunch on the side of the road where I ate my sandwich looking at some cows who were over at their fence looking at me. One had its hair up in a sort of mohawk and I was pleased to have them as my company.
I packed my bag and loaded my car feeling like I was sneaking out. Thankfully the rest of the house joined me shortly in the kitchen. We shared breakfast and a lot of laughs. I said my goodbyes and headed out on my 6 hour drive home. The only things of interest was my lunch on the side of the road where I ate my sandwich looking at some cows who were over at their fence looking at me. One had its hair up in a sort of mohawk and I was pleased to have them as my company.
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