Thailand is everything I thought it would be: hot, humid, insane traffic, friendly people, amazing temples, scam artists, tiny streets, unfamiliar tastes and smells, long train rides, cheap food, hard beds, unbelievable sunsets, and best of all: an adventure every day.
I arrived in Bangkok, a little shell-shocked, five days ago following an 11 hour flight from Auckland. I stayed at Shanti Lodge Guesthouse in Thewet, and I highly recommend it.
After a somewhat ambitious walk to Khao San Road and back, I crashed hard and woke 12 hours …

Sorry for leaving you all on such a down note, the last few weeks have FLOWN by and I am now in Thailand. A quick recap:
My friend Amy flew over from Australia (where she was visiting from the US) and came with me up to the Northland. We went to Whangarei and Tutukaka (on The Perfect Day boat trip to the Poor Knights Islands — fantastic!) and Paihia (where I took the highly recommended AwesomeNZ Cape Reinga day trip) together before going separate ways.
Whangarei & Poor Knights Islands day trip
Paihia …

I’ve been back from Australia for a few weeks now, but have been finding it really hard to sit down and write my thoughts and experiences on the things I’m doing. I guess that is a sure sign that I’m having a good time!
Before Kiwiburn, there was Rainbow Serpent. I had gone last year with Stephanie, Alex and Tim. This year, Steph and I had a new and fantastic crew to run with. Our experience this year could not have been more different than last years — where in 2009 …

Woah. How did I get so far behind on my posts? I must be out having too much fun, I’ll tell you what! I’m currently in Rotorua, one week into my North Island Tiki Tour. Ive been to Oz and Rainbow Serpent and back, and to Kiwiburn, NZ’s regional Burning Man event. I have lots of stories to tell, so sit tight. I’ll try and get them written up for you soon! I have lots of exciting and interesting plans in the works, 2010 is shaping up to be my …

That’s right, this time last year I was sitting pretty on a 15-hour Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong. Not having left Toronto by plane in over a decade this was pretty spectacular. Sure, my flight left at midnight, but wow there was no way in hell I was going to fall asleep. I was so excited! Even though it was the dead of night, I think my nose left marks on the window from being pressed against it for at least the first hour of the journey as I stared …

I’ve finally reached the point where I am close enough to exciting travels that I feel like I can touch them. It’s been a long haul, these last six months, and I’m super excited that in about six weeks I will  FINALLY be playing tourist in the country that has been my home for the last year. It’s taken a few weeks to sort everything out to a place where Im confident sharing my plans, but I think I’ve everything in order. Now all I need is money to pay …

My flight from Toronto to Auckland took me through Hong Kong. With my friend Alex living in nearby Taiwan, it made sense that I break up my travel time with a quick visit over to Kaohsiung. I’d never been to Asia before, so even leaving the airport in Hong Kong on my own was a HUGE deal for me. Looking back I laugh at myself for feeling uncertain and nervous about it, as HK is a very efficient city with a fantastic public transport system and more importantly for this …