Home

Well I've been home now for 2 days, and am still a little bit on edge. After doing something new almost everyday, never staying in the same place for more than 2 nights (usually) and constantly meeting new people, London has already put me back into my old routines. It feels good to be home, to drink safe water, shower in your own shower, and sleep in your old bed. But I do miss everyone I've met along the way, I hope you're all doing well and for those that are still traveling, staying safe. I uploaded the last of photos, unpacked all my bags, and life resumes the way I left it, thanks for reading!

The end is near, unfortunately

Well today was the last free day of my long vacation. Tomorrow I take the overnight train back Bangkok, then fly out that night. Today we went snorkelling around Koh Tao and it was amazing, crystal clear waters, lots of fish and coral, even some sharks. Anyways this is my last post, thanks for reading, and I'll be home on the night of March 24th. See you all soon!

Koh Samui

Well it's been a hot few days, still haven't had a day of rain yet. We just came from a beautiful national park called Khao Sok, which was a "man-made" river. They flooded this mountainous area and created a 90m deep river that has clear water, and great scenery. We went rock jumping, kayaking, swimming, had a slack-line contest on bamboo, and so on. Our home for the evening was covered in geckos and praying mantis' which made for some interesting dinner guests. We then left this morning and arrived by ferry to an island called Koh Samui. It's fairly large and we're only here for one night, so we can't see much, just some beach bumming and relaxing. I uploaded more photo's so I hope you get a chance to check them out and see some of the things we've been up to. Theres hundreds of more photos, I just quickly selected a few!

See you all soon and happy belated St. Patricks Day. (it's not big in Thailand)

Thailand - full of surprises

Well I'm finally back on a computer after 8 days. The keyboard doesn't work, it's 35 degrees, and there are army men patrolling the streets to protect against riots. That's the bad news, the good news is that Thailand is freaking awesome and more than I expected! The first big news is that my roommate is some weird blond girl who surprised me at 2:00am on the first night. Turns out she's from Canada too! She even claims to be my girlfriend named Carling Doubt! Phew I thought it was a crazy dream from my Malaria pills perhaps, but nope, she came to Thailand and didn't even tell me. So it started off really well, we had a great group of 13 people, a family from Australia, a few UK, one Scot, one American, one Denmark and one from Belgium. We went to the tiger kingdom, which for 9 dollars you got to go into the tiger cage with 3 full grown tigers who aren't chained or anything and pet them. I was pretty nervous because as soon as you touch them it looks at you and could easily take an arm off in a second if it wanted to. However the guide was a thai man who had a bamboo stick for his and my safety... Anyways it all worked out, I even lied down on the tigers back. Next we went to an Elephant camp, and watched them play around in a big yard, kick soccer balls, play the harmonica, and play with tourists. That night we went to Chiang Mai on the sleeper train, which was kinda nice actually. In Chiang Mai we had a 3 day trek through the jungle, stopping at a waterfall and for water breaks occasionally. The two tribes we stayed with had nothing but cattle and bamboo. No electricity, no fresh water, no stores, nothing but farms and motor bikes. You washed in this bamboo shower they made, and slept on a thin mattress. We traveled from one village to another by elephant, an experience I'll never forget. We got to eat lunch with them before hand, and there was a baby who wanted to play but it was too strong and was dangerously running into people. Carling and I hopped on this 19 year old elephant named Samboo, and tiptoed through this hillside track and was literally only 2 feet wide at points. It was an amazing experience, we even ended it with a 4 hour bamboo rafting trip. Back in Chiang Mai I took a Thai cooking class, made 4 dishes and got a cookbook to take home (in english). Carling and I went to the spa after, I had an authentic thai massage, and she had an aroma therapy oil massage.I felt an inch taller after all that stretching and back cracking that went on, and she came out smelling like lavender and with soft skin. We're back in Bangkok now, the riot isn't too extreme, there are just a few changes. Our train couldn't come back to Bangkok because of the riot, so we hopped off early and took a cab. Barb wire was put up around a few places, a few streets are closed, and there are packs of 8 or 10 army men constantly patrolling the streets or standing guard. When we got back into Bangkok they told us to be careful, don't walk to certain areas, and that protesters are all wearing red. Of course I just happended to have my bright red shirt on that day....

Off to Khao Sok National park and the islands for a beach paradise! Hope you're all doing well at home! oh I started uploading photo's but it takes forever so I could only get 5 photo's up unfortunately. But as soon as I have more time I'll upload more.

Thailand!

Well I arrived safe and sound. Barely safe though, the driving in Bangkok is absolutely innnnnsane. There are no rules, no lanes, just cars and bikes jamming into wherever they can get. I'd hate to drive here, even walking is a little scary because cars have the right of way, and don't stop even when the walk sign is on for pedestrians (instead they honk and swerve around you going 60km still). But it's a much different world over here. I went out to dinner with about 10 other people, walked down a main shopping road called Ko San rd. People come up to you all the time selling stuff, or telling you you need a suit or to come to a ping pong show. I had a big dinner and drink for less than $3, and am thinking about doing some shopping tomorrow, everythings about $3 - $4 and is nice. Tomorrow I head to Chiang Mai in the evening on the overnight train, then do a 3 day trek in the jungle. I don't think I'll be on a computer for a few days, so this is it for a while. I'll let you know how everything goes, sounds like I have a lot on my agenda. Playing with elephants and tigers, cooking classes, bamboo rafting, trekking. Hope everyone in Canada is doing well and staying warm! It's 34 degrees here, so I think I've sweat enough for everyone.

the long wait

I'm just waiting around killing time before heading to the airport. My flight is at 5:05am from Auckland airport, then I land in Brunei for a transfer, then from Brunei to Bangkok. I walked around Auckland tonight, checked out a festival at the park with live bands and carnival rides, much like the concerts put on in Harris park (for those in London). I am now heading to the bus stop to go to the airport. Hope everyones okay, and next time I write I'll be in Thailand!

Oh and I almost forgot! I wanted to write a fun fact about New Zealand everytime I did an entery, but forgot the first one, then ran out of time the second chance, so I decided I would just wait until the end and put up a few. So here are a few NZ facts I thought were interesting:

1) New Zealanders drive on the other side of the road. As well, their bicycle brakes are opposite (I found out the hard way)

2) New Zealanders say "sweet as", and "choice," just as North Americans say "sweet" and "cool." Everything is in "heaps" as well, heaps of energy, heaps of rainfall, heaps of fun, etc.

3) There is no tax, so the price you see is the price you pay. Also, the lowest coin denomination is 10 cents, so they round your purchase up or down to the nearest .10th. You also don't tip. (this fact had 3 facts in 1)

4) It's legal to drink on the streets unless otherwise posted. Also, passengers in cars can drink legally. There were many people not obeying the no drinking signs, and very few policemen on the streets.

5) New Zealanders take any chance they can to make fun of Australians, and wish to not be associated with them in any way.

6) Most New Zealanders say that New Zealand does not belong to any continent, especially one associated with Australia

7) Their breakfast cereals are the same, with the same boxes, but with slightly different names. Frosted Flakes are Frosties, Rice Krispies are Rice Bubbles, and so on.

8) New Zealanders are usually always in a good mood and joke around a lot. Especially the ones dealing with tourists. ex: The bungee guys dangling you over the edge, then pulling you back, or the skydive guy you're attached to telling you it's his first day on the job right before you jump. 

9) New Zealand loves their pies and kebabs. I now also love their pies, whether its mince, or steak, they're always delicious. However I had a bad experience with my kebab (it was from a store called abraKEBABra)

10) The total population for New Zealand is over 4 million people. There are over 40 million sheep, which is why New Zealand is known for sheep farms. However, there are over 70 million possums, they are a pest that are destroying the forests  (believed to be brought over by Australians)

11) There is a lot of different slang used. For example, before leaving the bus our driver told us to "put on heaps of cream, wear our sunnies, and beware of mozzies, alright? sweet as." sun cream - sun screen, mozzies - mosquitoes, sunnies - sunglasses

Wellington

I just arrived back on the North island and am staying in Wellington for 3 nights before heading to Auckland and flying to Bangkok. My trip in New Zealand is coming to a quick end, and it has been an absolutely amazing time. These past 3 weeks I have been the most jammed packed 3 weeks of my life. I've been caving, surfing, boating, skydiving, bungee jumping, climbed mountains and the list goes on! See you all soon

Sweet as bro, choice.

It's been another few days since my last post, and a lot has happened! The glacier climb was pretty cool in Franz Josef, but I think it would have been a lot cooler for people who aren't from cold countries. Some of the people in my group were excited to use a pick axe to scrape away at the ice, while that sounds like something I would do for work at home. It was a beautiful climb though. We then left Franz Josef and headed further south to a small town called Makarora. There we just relaxed and took in some amazing sights, jumped off more rocks (it seems to be a New Zealand pasttime) and sang kareoke. The following day we headed into Queenstown, the adventure capital of the world! This city has everything, bungee, paragliding, sailing, kayaking, mountain biking, skydiving, quad biking, hiking, canyon swinging, and mini golf. A few of the guys stopped and we did the Kawarau bridge bungee jump. It's the home of bungee, and is the first comercial bungee site in the world. AJ Hackett, the man who started it all, was there for the day, and actually tied my bungee to my legs, so that's pretty cool. The funny thing about bungee, is that they just use a towel and wrap it around your ankles, then wrap a strap around the towel and attach a bungee cord, then away you go. The towel in my backpack was just as good... But it was a pretty amazing rush, especially at the bridge because you have the option of being dunked into the river below. I'll upload photos for your viewing pleasure. After the bungee we came into Queenstown and relaxed for the night. The following morning was my first real sleep in of the entire trip, waking up at 10:30 am! haha, but it was followed by a quick lunch and then off to hike Ben Lomen mountain range. It was a 6 - 8 hour free hike, that a guy from the UK named Matt and I decided to tackle. He didn't tell me, but he's an avid hiker and just finished hiking around Asia often doing multiple day treks. He basically ran up the entire mountain, so as you can imagine I was deeeead tired. We completed the entire thing in just under 4 hours, but I'm really glad I went with him, I would have probably turned around if he hadn't pushed me to the top. On the way back down though we went off the beaten path, and ended up climbing over rocks on the edge of the mountain, and carefully steping around the edges of the cliff and got some amazing views. The funny thing was we ended up at a chalet, and walked into it not realizing it was a wedding reception with people dressed up sipping wine, and 2 scraggly hikers walked through. This morning I woke up early to watch the Canada vs. USA finals at a sports pub. The game started at 9am, and the pub was packed full of Canadians, some Americans, and a few Kiwi's who I had to explain hockey to. Tonight is our last night here in Queenstown, so we're making a big dinner for 17 of us, then relaxing with some friends. Hope everyone's doing well back in Canada! I bet the streets are crazy and alive with celebration from the hockey game!

It's been a while.

Hey everyone, it's been a while since I last wrote, but it's because I've been doing tons of stuff and just caught a break now! Wellington was my last stop on the North island, and it was a beautiful city. I decided to go to the rugby game with a few people and we watched the Wellington Hurricanes play the Perth Western Force. Not knowing the rules of rugby didn't really matter, since they're pretty easy to pick up and you just cheer when everyone else cheers. The Wellington Hurricanes easily beat Perth, and everyone was happy. The next morning we took the 3 hour ferry across to the South Island. We got picked up in Picton and stopped in Abel Tasman. Our hostel was called "Old McDonalds Farm" which is surprisingly a farmed owned by an old guy named McDonald. He had cows, sheep, lama's, chickens, and about 50 backpackers on his property, freely roaming around. The weather was absolutely perfect, so I did what any normal person does on a good day, GO SKYDIVING! It was more than I expected, and defintely one of the coolest/most extreme things I've ever done. I have some photo's so check them out in the photo's section. I also got a free t-shirt and a DVD of the skydive, so I can show anyone once I get back home. We left sunny Abel Tasman for Barrytown, a small little town with a population of 600. The bar/hostel was called Bas Vegas, and it was a costume night. The theme was pirates and hookers, so surprisingly most of the guys dressed up as girls, and the girls as pirates. The next morning we did bone carving, and got to make cool necklaces out of bone (it was said to be the bone of backpackers who didn't pay, but turned out to be cow). I designed my own sort of, I took inspiration from a few designs, but they had templates for those who just wanted a stock design. Anyways, that brings us to today, where I am in Franz Josef, and climbing the glacier tomorrow rain or shine. We've stopped for quick activites along the way, including jumping off rocks into the river, checking out seal colonies, and taking in some wicked sights of the coast. You can see all of these in the photo's section. Well that's all for now, I can't believe Febuary is almost over, time flies when you're having fun.

Pictures

Hey everyone, I just spent an hour uploading some photo's so check them out by clicking the "photos" button on the right hand side. A few things I forgot to mention, one was Waitomo Caves. We got into wetsuits and descended into these caves. Our guide would take us through narrow passages, often times we'd have to crawl through little holes or hold our breath as we'd crawl through a crack that had rushing water right below our faces. We repelled down 2 waterfalls, and one biiiig hole. It was probably the most exciting thing I've done here so far, definitely the most amazing experience. Glow worms live in the cave, so at point we turned off our head lamps and you'd see a ton of glowing little worms on the top of the cave walls. Unfortunately we couldn't bring cameras with me, so I only had one photo, of a photo. The hike yesterday was a success as well, but walking 18km was not easy, haha. Some spectacular views though, and some amazing photos. Now we're in Wellington, a pretty cool city with a lot going on right now. There's a festival called "home grown" featuring only Kiwi bands, as well a rugby game, and the streets are alive, so time to check them out! hope everyones well at home, and see you all soon, my trips 1/4 over!

Kia Ora (it means "hello" in Maori)

Hey everyone, Im writing from a hostel in Taupo, home of the cheapest skydiving in the world! Thats the good news, but the bad news is that there was poor weather today and no planes were able to take off, so looks like I wont be able to skydive here. There is still another city called Franz Josef that is in the south island and has great mountains and glaciers, that also offers skydiving, so hopefully I can go while I am there. Ive been having a really good time, and everyday seems to have another story to go with it (Yesterday 3 of the girls got lost on the mountain and we had to call in a rescue team, one of the girls had her hand caught in a possum trap) Haha but New Zealand is a beautiful country with roaming green hillsides, tons of sheep and cows, and a lot of cultural history from the Maori people. The olympics arent that big a deal here, but it is definitely interesting watching them in the hostels since there are so many people here from different countries, so every athlete shown has some homeland fans. Tomorrow I am doing a 6 hours hike up Mount Tongariro, which is Mount Doom from the Lord of the Rings. Hope it goes well!

yeeAAH!

I gotta make this quick, internet is EXPENSIVE here and I have a minute to type. I had a wicked weekend in Paihia, but didn't get to swim with dolphins. However I did manage to burn my finger tips on the hostel oven, and get a nice red sunburn while sandboarding on giant sand dunes. I left Paihia on Sunday and arrived in Hahei yesterday, we did some trekking around, then headed to Raglan today. This place is realllllly cool. It's like in the jungle, and has a sweet black sand beach. I went surfing for the first time and did alright. Jack Johnson and Ben Harper both have houses here, so I techincally surfed the same beach as those guys. Anyways I gotta jet! Hope everyones doing well at home, I wish you alll the best

New Zealand, better than Old Zealand

I just arrived on the northern most of New Zealand called Paihia. It's a lot like Grand Bend with mountains, dolphins, sting rays, and sand dunes to go sand boarding. Tomorrow I'm swimming with Dolphins, then going sand boarding! The town has a reallllllly cool vibe, with a lot of cafe/bars with open walls facing the beach. I've also actually found quite a few Canadians, mostly from Calgary or Vancouver, but one guy from Toronto. Our bus driver is "far out" (that's a popular term here), we drove by a very nice golf course on the coast line, and he would wait until a golfers mid-back swing then lay on the horn. Even earlier than that we went to Goat Island and drove around on a glass bottom boat, checking out caves and some giant fish. Unfortunately we didn't see anything but fish, although the driver said in his 18 years of driving the boat, he's only seen one Great White Shark. It's been a packed day, and I'm lounging around Paihia until Sunday! Hope everyone at home is doing well!

New Zealand from the Future!

I'm alive! And even better I've just arrived at my first hostel and begun my touring around New Zealand! The flights were long, and the food was dirt, but it wasn't too bad. I was greeted by roaming green hillsides, and tons of cows just outside the airport. I had to fly Toronto - Vancouver - Sydney Aus - Auckland New Zealand. On the way from Vancouver to Sydney, the plane was packed with beach ready Australians. I had jeans and a coat on, and everyone else shorts, sandals, and bronzed skin. Luckily I got the seat beside the Star Wars nerd who ended up telling me all about the specially released comics he got that explain even MORE stuff that the movie doesn't. Anyways I watched enough movies to kill the time and now it's all paid off. I'll be walking around downtown Auckland tonight and leaving for the first leg of my bus tour tomorrow. So far I have to guess half the things the people are saying here because I have a tough time understanding New Zealand accents, and I'm getting the same stares back as I mumble and slur my words. Anyways, I'm wearing shorts and t-shirt and off to see what the city has to offer. We're 16 hours ahead, so I'm currently writing from the future, and the future is friendly!

Off to New Zealand!

Today's the day, my bags are packed, I'm finishing up some last minute things, I took a long last shower, shaved, and have some fresh clothes on. Feels kind of like the first day of school. Except for you have to fly 22 hours to get to school, and stay for 45 days before you can come back...

I'll hopefully be able to write again once I've settled into my first hostel in New Zealand. It's called NOMAD'S FUSION/FAT CAMEL, and it's supposedly backpackers paradise for downtown New Zealand. So with that, I just want to say "Good bye everybody!" Thanks for reading, I'll keep this baby updated as frequently as I can, see everyone at the end of March!!!

One Week Away!

Well this is the first post of hopefully many. I'm still in Canada just setting up the site. I think I have everything I need for this trip, I just need to pack my bag and off we go!