LindaGN

After our first 9 day rotation at Sepilok, a group of five of us made plans to use our 3 days off to go on an adventure. And as one of the must-sees of Borneo is the diving at Sipadan, that is where we headed. Our plans we too last minute to find beds at Sipadan, so we went for the next best thing and stayed on nearby Mabul Island. The entire trip was absolutely awesome. The hostel/hotel we were staying at had rooms sitting on the water and everyone there was really cool. We spent our days diving and snorkeling, and the evenings chilling out by the water. It was a perfect little getaway and the girls I was travelling with all agreed. We all felt a little more balanced after the trip. Obviously, the ... read more

There is a little known fact about me and fish: they scare me. A lot. I try not to let people find out about this, as those who do know (including my mother) tease me mercilessly about it when the opportunity arises. Fish freak me out. Not pretty, little colourful fish, but anything larger than my foot generally has me running away in swim form. Despite this fear, I continue to go snorkeling as I'm determined not to miss out on seeing the coral reefs and some stunning (little) fish. With this determination in mind, I pulled up my big-girl pants (also known as a bathing suit) while in Langkawi and headed out to Pulau Payar, and island nearby that has a natural marine park. What was failed to be advertised to me was that not ... read more

So anyone who knows me knows I am a city girl. I love cities, and believe the bigger the better. While I have visited many a city over the years and don't love every city I visit, at the least I like them. I never thought I would come across a city that I disliked. But I have to admit, there is something about Bangkok that just doesn't gel with me. At first I was worried that my time travelling around Asia had turned me off cities (as I own a home in the heart of Toronto's downtown core, this had me very troubled). But after subsequently visiting KL and Singapore and loving them, I realized it really was Bangkok that didn't do it for me. The question became why? Now, no one can deny that ... read more

There are some things you don't plan in your travels. Participating in 3 seperate new year celebrations (western, Chinese, and SE Asia) was never something I anticipated. But my 3rd, surprise new years party is probably one of the most fun times I have ever had. Not just on this trip, but in my life. So, a quick primer for those at home who have no idea what SE Asian New year is (I was one of your masses until recently. I'm going with the Thai New Year (Songkran) explanation, as that where this blog takes place: Per Wikipedia: The Songkran festival (Thai: สงกรานต์, Khmer: សង្រ្កាន្ត; from the Sanskrit word saṃkrānti, or literally "astrological passage") is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. It coincides with the New Year ... read more

Long before getting to Vang Vieng, I was hearing stories about Vang Vieng. I had heard stories about other places too, but the Vang Vieng stories were unique as they revolved around the (in)famous tubing pub crawl. I was excited to experience it, although I never planned to go all out as I'm a firm believer that drunkennes and water are a recipe for disaster, especially if you are as accident prone as I am. So when I arrived in Vang Vieng and learned that there was so much more to do that tubing I was pleasantly surprised. While the tubing was fun, and I will never forget it, I think that the other experiences that I had while in Vang Vieng are what made the town so memorable. Everything in Vang Vieng is about the ... read more