sourdough

My love/hate relationship with travel planning finally came to a head about a week and a half ago when it became clear that perhaps a little forethought might be necessary in order to ensure that A) I didn't miss out anything that I really wanted to do and B) I didn't find myself halfway across the continent the night before I was due to fly home. Atop the to-do list was a jungle trek which I had thus far been stymied by crappy weather (Myanmar) or washed out roads (Cambodia). Why I let inclement weather stop me, I'll never know. I'm from Vancouver after all. Along the way I'd heard glowing reviews regarding the Gibbons Experience, a blend of ecotourism and adrenaline. Sounds like it should be right up my alley. Furthermore, it is based out ... read more

Hurriedly. Five and a half weeks seem like a ton of time when sitting at home with a Lonely Planet and highlighter in hand. Actually, five and half weeks still felt like a long time when I was sitting beachside in Cambodia barely over a week ago. Then suddenly, you begin to count the destinations circled on your map, then counting down the days remaining on your trip. Shit. That fateful day came on my first day in Laos and it's been a sprint since. As a seasoned traveler, you'd think I'd have learned by now, but no. My ambitions tend to overmatch such practical concerns such as time. Sigh. Though Laos has been a bit (very) hurried, I've definitely managed to make the best of my time in spite of the torturously tedious bus rides ... read more

... and it's back to the beaten track, but not for trying. After a brilliant time in remote Myanmar and a grueling day and a half of buses, planes, more buses and taxis with a bit of curb-side napping, we finally reached Siem Reap in Cambodia but not without the obligatory border scam. We had been warned ahead of time but I'd like to think that even if we hadn't, this scam was insultingly amateur. Our bus actually dropped us off at the Thai border town a few kilometers away from the border and we took a tuk tuk the rest of the way. Rather than proceeding right to the border itself, our driver took us off to a side road and parked in front of a small roadside shack where we were greeted by a ... read more

Actually it won't. I've stubbornly clung to "Burma" as a rather lazy protest against the military junta that runs this joint who renamed the country "Myanmar", but have since learned that renaming the country might have been one of the few sensible things that they have done. The people here don't seem to like "Burma" nor do they refer to their country, language or culture as "Burmese" so hence, I'll give in and refer to it by it's proper name. The name of the country is only one of the many things I've learned about this amazing country. For instance, I learned that the vast majority of men wear "longhi" instead of pants. Envision a sarong for dudes. It looks quite comfortable and I'm sure the draft is nice but man, do they really need to ... read more

Sawatdii from Thailand! After a long and arduous journey and a few very sweaty days I’m gonna try and get the ball rolling :) I’m not entirely sure of our route or destinations along this Southeast Asian adventure, instead my travel partner Jenn and I will probably end up improvising for the most part. Random adventures are the best kind. The flight itself was a 23 hour tedious reminder of my inability to sleep on planes. In spite of all my practice, I'm reconciling myself to the fact that it just cannot be done. Zero coffee consumed, a restless pre-flight sleep, 3 glasses of god awful Chinese wine and a healthy does of melatonin culminated in a lousy 20 minutes of sleep or so. Brutal. We arrived in Bangkok at 1am, exhausted and disoriented but we ... read more

Back in the safety and familiarity of Kigali, we only stayed long enough to grab ridiculously tasty Indian food for dinner with the local Indian ex-pat community, which felt more like a social club who drank and laughed through the night while telling politically incorrect but hilarious jokes about Pakistan. I suppose is what any country with a rival should do while overseas and in the company of your comrades :). The next morning it was off to Burundi where we would fly out of Bujumbura but now without first spending some time relaxing beachside. Only 2 hours after leaving Rwanda we were in Burundi and back into a less than friendly territory. En route to Bujumbura were several provinces marked by the Canadian embassy with red flags. Thankfully, no problems. We found a cheap hotel ... read more

A day in Dubai. That is about all I think I'm good for in this weird city. It is often said that if Saudi Arabia and Las Vegas had a child, it would be Dubai. Though I have not been to either Saudi Arabia OR Las Vegas, I'd say this observation is apt. The city borders on the ridiculous while attempting to be spectacular. Okay, to be fair, there is a lot to be impressed by with Dubai. For example, I stood in one of the world's largest shopping malls complete with an NHL sized ice rink and the world's largest indoor aquarium in the shadow of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower. The Burj Khalifa sure is impressive. Standing at 828m in height, it dwarfs the CN Tower. To me the Burj Khalifa makes ... read more

Hey guys! Welcome to the first installment of Ryan's droning travel blab! I've been a spoiled little shit over the past few years so this is probably getting a bit mundane and probably a bit obnoxious by now so I'll send a fewer of these but it does give me a fun way to ramble about my random (mis)adventures :) I'm sitting in a stuffy and poorly ventilated internet cafe in the heart of Kolkata and still trying to figure out how and why I'm here only a week and half removed from freezing my hands while trudging in snowshoes up Mount Seymour only a week and half ago. The last few days have blown by and already those rainy Vancouver days are drifting off into memory. India has been amazing and after a long series ... read more