a gypsy's diaries

rice rice rice

2010-11-02T05:00:00.006+07:00

So I was prepared for the worst but I’ve been enjoying the food, as long as I am selective. I am provided with lunch everyday at the museum and eat in a nearby Muslim restaurant with the staff, and eat with Nui Nui and friends on weekends. These meals are eaten family style with shared dishes, but unlike back home where you serve your individual plates you pretty much eat off the platters. Each person has a small bowl of rice and cup of tea (or hot water), with your chopsticks you take one or two mouthfuls at a time to your bowl/or mouth.

Because I don’t eat red meat I’ve kind of lucked out and am pretty much eating as a vegetarian here. The meat usually hangs outside the restaurants (so you have to not breathe as you walk in to avoid the smells) and is cleaved into pieces which usually consist of bone with skin and fat. And don’t forget, you eat these with chopsticks – some people opt for the seemingly easier option of just eating the entire piece, bone and all. Avoidances also excludes the insects, chicken feet, jellied meat and unidentifiable meats.

Lijiang’s local cuisine is incredibly spicy. The dishes that don’t have fresh chili peppers in them have dried chilies. For example, today with my rice I had baked cauliflower with dried chilies, beans with fresh chilies (and pepper), kale, spinach and chilies, and steamed pear. The local specialties include baba (a pancake like bread made out of rice usually eaten with chilies, but the honey braised is quite good), and chicken bean jelly (a grey jell-o like slab seen frying in oil at street vendors).

Unfortunately my sugar cravings are left totally unsatisfied here. Candy here comes mostly in jellied form, and even nice sugary Canadian jell-o has kind of always freaked me out. So, always unsatisfied I continue the search, and usually end up eating anything that’s slightly familiar. Today I found Lays potato chips! Unfortunately the flavours included lime, cucumber, hot and spicy fish soup and numb and spicy hot pot. Popular popsicle flavours include corn and peas. But popcorn is slightly sweet here and I’ve now found two stores in the city that sell snickers bars.

Working like an ant while living like a butterfly

2010-11-01T04:53:00.001+07:00

I’m here in Lijiang working at the Dongba Culture Museum which highlights the regions Naxi people, their culture and religion: Dongba. An ethnic minority group they have lived in this area since the nomadic tribes began settling in 100AD. A main hub along the Tea Horse Caravan Route it became a major city of the western China. The Mu family ruled as chieftain of lijiang for 800 years until the emperor sent a Han governor in 1382.

The Dongba (priests of the Naxi’s religion) are the only ones who can read and write the Naxi pictographic language (the last one still in use). They also excel in chanting, dancing, divination, and the arts, including painting, sculpting and calligraphy. Although they work as farmers they are invited by communities and families in times of need to conduct sacrificial rituals. The major rituals include Worshipping the Heavens, Worshipping of Shu, the Nature God, and Worshiping the Wind Demons/rituals for suicides. These were once commonly performed after love suicides – when the feudal system was adopted and arranged marriages introduced many young couples chose to commit suicide together instead. It is believed that their souls were left wondering the earth and so this five day ritual is carried out to help them move on.

There were once nine brothers, who opened the sky and seven sisters, who opened the earth but the world was chaotic and there was a great flood. Only one brother survived but he had no was to repopulate the world, and so he went to the heavens to find a wife. He married the most beautiful goddess who had three eyes but she gave birth only to animals. And so it was he went back to the heavens to find another bride. This time his wife gave birth to three sons, a Tibetan, a Bai and a Naxi. They gave one the sky, one the earth, and the Naxi were left with the middle – and so they have always had to work hard, to build everything for themselves.

Still today you can see the hardworkingness of the Naxi people. The women do a lot of the manual labour and you see them in the fields or hunched over carrying corn stalks or wood on their backs. And yet they are some of the happiest people you will ever see! On a Friday afternoon you’ll always see them in the parks – playing tile games like mahjong, cards or just chatting. They love flowers and gardening, singing and dancing and picnicking. And so their neigbourhoods are always full of flowers and the sounds of music and laughter.

Playing tile games in Black Dragon Pool Park

Welcome to China

2010-10-20T05:00:00.001+07:00

And now i live in Lijiang....

If only everyone could make a series of choices that led them to Cambodia

2010-10-10T17:46:00.001+07:00

Or to working in a beach bar here, or eating fun & delicious Pandaland biscuits or hanging out with people who just hand out their business cards willy nilly. Yes you. the point of the Yeses is not to say yes to everything, but to let them bring opportunity and change into your life. Like how one day you can be sitting in your flat in London wondering what is there for you and less than a month later you can be in Cambodia wearing a necklace from Malaysia that prompts everyone to call you Turtle Girl. Danny Wallace is one wise guy, even if he undertook a strange and long project to learn these lessons. But who knows if this is where I am meant to be, London may have become really exciting as it does in October. A month ago I was working 9-5, being productive, (and miserable) and now I'm just sitting on a beach not doing anything constructive. Except for working at C.U.B., as one does...

My first day was quiet as quite a storm has come up, we even had to disassemble our dance floor when a large section of the beach washed away. The customers there at the time couldn't leave since the dirt road uphill to the main road had become a strong river, so we all went swimming instead, which meant I was wet for the rest of the night and had a few huge gashes on my feet from getting thrown onto some rocks. But I met many more excellent people and got to know my new coworkers.

I have finished reading Yes Man and I strongly recommend it to all of you. It is not only funny and full of true adventure but inspiring and at parts very emotional. It changed my life. I got to a point where I knew it was time to start saying no (it helps when you are in the dirty kitchen of a club with two naked guys holding a knife) but I don't regret a thing, I've learned a lot and I'm going to continue welcoming opportunity and new experiences :)

Also, wherever I next find myself living I am going to need to buy a scooter or bike of some kind. I am ashamed to say i'd never been on any sort of motorized bike before, let alone a motorcycle. I need to look into this further
Sent from my iPod

Tic tac toe

2010-10-09T09:00:00.002+07:00

Tic tac toe

My first full day on the beach got off to a slow start with switching rooms but the Afternoon had so many unexpected pleasures in store.

The general consensus is that this would be the perfect beach (serendipity beach) if it weren't for the near constant offers of bracelets, manicures, fruit and everything else the young locals are selling. If you are nice to them, they are really friendly and I have learned a lot from the friends I made today. There are however those who seem to think the best tactic is provoking the desire to pay them to go away. Although my yeses don't apply to them I did agree to some when they used indirect approaches. As soon as I'd made my way down to the beach I met Mi (who is 17, from Vietnam and has been here for the past ten years with her family of 5 younger siblings). She gave me the general briefing of how things work at the beach, where to sit, what to look out for, how to make the most of my time, etc. I spent my first couple hours sitting with her and her friends, drawing flowers and making friendship bracelets (I have three now! From Nii, KaKa and Sam). During this time I Also agreed to buy two personalized bracelets and leg threading... As we got to know each other I started getting better tips on how to avoid - a simple no thankyou isn't going to do it, and if you say maybe later or I'll think about it they Will remember you and make you promise to buy it from them alone. To illustrate, when I bought the bracelets from Nii a girl came up and said that she had offered me bracelets first (possibly as Mi and I had passed her not paying attention?). Despite any apologies you can make they insist you buy from them as well (they aren't cheap) And so this girl started crying! but you can't afford to buy from everyone who cries! They'd catch on. I don't want to become the girl who ilicits crying as she walks down the beach!

The remainder of the afternoon I whiled away reading and enjoying the sun and peace having Learned that all I needed to say was that I'd already promised someone else. Also of note here - supposedly I have a look alike on the beach because some crazy lady started yelling at Mi and KaKa since I had been promised to her. Eventually she discovered her mistake and returned to ask me when I had arrived and apologize, but she really ought to have apologized to Mi.

Drama aside, there were tons of things to say yes to on the beach today including invitations to two more parties (yes and yes) and a request to kiss me from two guys (yes, I suppose) passionately (yes? Both of you? yes), invitation to watch the sunset, a restaurant recommendation and a game of tic tac toe with very high stakes... If I won, I got a free bracelet and a boyfriend ( the networking of Mi and her friends, in this case Sam has found me a handsome Canadian, who's tan is supposedly coming along very nicely.) If I lost, I would have to buy an anklet but would gain a lifelong friend in Sam. I lost. but she made me an additional friendship bracelet - I think this is the start of a wonderful relationship.

And now, no tic tac toe rookie, I refused the next time a small boy asked to play a game - which would have led to me buying a fish. And I'm not quite sure I understand his tactics but he followed me all the way along the beach cursing. As well as throwing in some creative stuff like 'you should go back to your f****** own country and on the way I hope your f****** plane crashes and burns'... *€&@*... *%$@£... 'if you survive find a husband and have a f****** baby. I hope your baby dies because your a ******* ****** ******'
Did I deserve this in my week of positivity and yeses? I think not. Jason suggests you pick these small ones up and throw them into the sea, I met him when he sat down next to me and offered me a manicure. oh the things that will bring travelers together.

Last night yes saw me accepting a job offer at C.U.B. Where I report today at 2. I then sought refuge by moving along to the second party with someone I'd just met, isn't it nice how yeses can overlap? Here I found my awesome friend Argentinian Marianna from the night before who soon suggested I get really drunk (yes). Which was helped along by several free drink offers which unfortunately encouraged the attentions of some incredibly creepy people, including some very drunk girls who knew no such thing as personal space or unfriendly touching. But yes is positive and my meeting and avoidance of dozens of people led me to accept a lesson in French kissing (apparently only genuine with a French man), give my email out to who knows who, accept offers of accommodation in sseveral cities I will probably never visit, drink More, drink things i am allergic to, meet the 'soul assassin', a dj, a tree hugger, a Canadian expert (not Canadian himself), someone who followed a girl here, someone selling Viagra (thank goodness he didn't present me with any yes moments), a diver, someone who Had thrown a child into the sea today as well as people from every continent. And I finally accepted the suggestion of going to sleep (thankyou) at 4. Luckily, since I have work to get to.

And for those of you who I've given my email to, or my card (as one does when one is this hip) and have eventually found your way to this page, where all my contact details ultimately lead - I didn't say yes to you because I had to, I said yes because you were awesome and I got to say it to You. (unless your name is ed, mark, johnny, molly, or tom). there were still choices involved and even if I said 'Yes, I will stay until closing so we can make out on the bar' or 'yes I will leave with you right now' or 'yes I only have eyes for you, funny that you knew to ask, you're right we probably Should go home together' I obviously didn't follow through. Not to worry folks! And to those who kept telling me to follow them I did try, but there were so many friends along the way and distractions to say yes to.

Yes had made me popular but I just can't be everywhere at once. Especially when I am sleeping.

Sent from my iPod

Yes. If you say so...

2010-10-08T20:56:00.000+07:00

Sihanoukville was just what I was looking for - beach, relaxation, and company before I finally make my way to China where I'm starting to fear that I will either need to learn Chinese very quickly or face potential loneliness. But who knows what it will bring! My lesson for the week is positivity and openness! YES. I am even reading Yes Man (loving Danny Wallace) and have tasked myself to say yes to everything while in Sihanoukville. With obvious exceptions of tuktuks, street sellers/vendors, and proposals (you wouldn't have thought the last one necessary but the last two days had presented me with an offer each.)

As I started this task as I read on my way to pnom penh, I spent a very interesting day in transit - and I thought I'd have nothing to blog about! The 6 hour bus ride sitting over the wheel with no leg room and a sleeping man slouched against me had seemed bad, but the company decided to refund me as the second bus, pnom penh to sihanoukville, was suddenly full. They suggested trying the other bus depots around the central market. So bright eyed and bushytailed with my backpack and purse I met moto-duk driver Han... Han and his bold faced lies.
Not that seeing the sites on the back of a bike with my backpack and clutching my purse wasn't enjoyable but Han had agreed to tAke me to the central market and I am quite confident I never made it there. Although he was very talkative He was also very persistent, after he brought me by another bus depot where I took his word that they were also full, he ignored my pleas to continue on to the central market because I'd reLlg prefer a bus. But he insisted that a taxi was the cheaper (triple the price) and faster (twice the time) with the Added bonus that I had absolutely no idea what was going on. He dropped me on the side of he road leaving the city where I van with 20 people already in it pulled over and somewhere mysteriously tucked my bag away inside, so it was either stand on the side of the road luggageless or follow my bag. Despite everyone in the van shaking their heads And smiling at me when I said sihanoukville I got in, and for the next two hours provided them with endless entertainment as if every time they saw me sharing the seat with five others they'd forgotten I was there. In the beginning we drove with the door open so that we wouldn't have to stop when we payed off all the policemen we passed, after that we stopped periodically along the route to let people on or off. And finally we arrived. In a town I still don't know the name of, and everyone piled out and my bag reappeared and I was ushered into a new an where I got to share the front seat with a sullen man. A least for this half of the journey there was no pointing and laughing, I was even entrusted with a baby for a short while. And from my new view at the front I could watch for road signs that confirmed I was headed in the right direction. I could also see now that the speculated was broken, along with the windows and doors and lights. Also fun was discerning the general patterns of Cambodian traffic - yellow lines and oncoming traffic be damned, overtaking is always allowed, ne, encouraged, and if you feel like holding down the horn the entire time so much the better. Needless to say I arrived in Sihanoukville over 12 hours after leaving Siem Reap. Said yes to the first room I was offered despite it being available for one night only and invitations to parties at two separate beachside bars.
And relax, everything from here on out will go wondefully. I'm meeting lots of people, seeing fire throwing shows and regaining my sense of adventure. YES

Sent from my iPod

Cambodia

2010-10-03T20:23:00.001+07:00

My second day in siem reap I spent nine hours exploring the Angkor temples. With my friendly tuk tuk driver bringing me to all of his favourite sites I started at the more isolated sites Banteay Srey and PPP. At this site my driver parked the tuk tuk handed me an umbrella and simple said 'that way and Up 2km'. I realized about 500m in as I climbed up over massive rocks and loose sand holding my camera in one hand and the unexplained umbrella in the other in my dress and flip-flops that I had absolutely no idea what was at the end of this climb. But, totally worth it, there was a waterfall and river running over ancient carvings in the rock. And the trek back didn't take as long as I could simply jump down, luckily never hurting myself, and the umbrella even came in handy to use as a brace when lowering myself off the higher rocks.

Although the temples are breath taking, magnificent, awe inspiring, etc, etc, it was the journey in between that i really enjoyed, passing through small villages, seeing kids walking to school when we started out at 8, everyone cooking lunch on the fire at midday, and farmers or fishermen at work.
In the afternoon I went to the much busier central sites including Tah Prohm, known for its massive trees and routes curving around the temple. Next was Angkor Thom, including Bayoun, the terrace of the elephants, the terrace of the leper king and... . Finally we made it to Angkor Wat, full of tourists and lines that after 8 hours I was hesitant to wait in. The relief carvings around the outside were as impressive as they say, and it's big enough to get lost in.

Siem reap itself is worth spending time in. The old market is similar to the central market except for the smell... The central cross section is full of people sitting on the floor or tables selling produce - meat and fruit & veg although this is very inclusive... So if you ever need some chicken feet, a specific type of shellfish or some crickets this is the place.
Nearby pub street is lined with restaurants full of tourists where you can always meet some interesting people and this whole central area is full of people yelling 'lady! Lady!' with promises of tuktuks, cheap drinks, the best food and any and every type of massage. worth checking out are the fish massages, I paid the whole dollar for ten minutes after hearing Chris talk about it rntusiastically in Malaysia and it was money well spent. You sit on a bench with your feet in a tank where the dry skin is devoured by dozens of little fish, ticklish but enjoyable.

Also within easy distance are the floating villages. I visited the village on T
As it was the wet season the river covered the road and a lot of the village and fishing boats had moved into the river from the lake. All by slightly unwelcome very personalized tour with my guide Som I saw the floating school, shops, police station, fish farm and church (both for tourists). it's a poorer side of life but an amazing site to see.
"Thankyou, you ought to give me a tip (of course thats up to you though). If you are happy, I am happy! And I will be waiting here for you " <3

Sent from my iPod

Monsoon season

2010-10-03T20:22:00.000+07:00

As the season winds down the resort is getting much quieter. Those who have been here for the summer and are starting to look forward to going home and those who will be staying through the monsoon season are trying to make the most of the time they have with people here. Basically this week had much more of a holiday feel, and as I also did my PADI Open water the only volunteer tasks I was still involved in were turtle And poacher watch. This meant I had the nights to study and was still getting up at nine to be at the dive shop. needless to say I got through the course pretty quickly with the help of my awesome instructor Kat (who back in the real world is in finance and property investment). You can really appreciate the merits of becoming a dive instructor when you're in a place like this.
On Thursday I was able to go along to the village for the last Turtles Need Trees club of the season. Having already been there last week when we finished painting a mural we got right into things. After a short lesson on Marine parks we drew pictures and played some games. The kids fought over who got to hold your hand or sit next to you, and when they are prying your fringers in different directions and pulling you along it's hard to maintain control or suggest they take turns. They were also fond of a game that consisted of running around me in circles holding. My hands until we got so dizzy we'd fall down. Whatever the game though we all had a lot of fun (possibly with the exception of the resorts resident kid who came along although he didn't talk to the kids and kept on getting run over by the spinning kids when he'd walk right up to me and suggest I fall down. Thanks tips. The other volunteers were convinced he had a crush on me since he'd started using soap and was around a lot more, much totheir chagrin, but I think he just wanted the movies I had on my computer). As Malay timing isn't something you could set your watch by I had to take a water taxi in order to get back for diving, although it wad no where near as exciting as the small boar we'd taken back from long beach Sunday night in the dark with the driver shining a flashlight on his face...

My last full day I got two fun dives in as a newly certified diver. Somehow they just weren't the same as being one on one with kat who always spotted the eels, rays or prettiest fish. Although the sites were great there were other people above and below and a strong current that put the pressure to really practice everything I'd learned about bouyancy and control. Saturday night we got out the Monkey Juice we'd picked up in Long Beach and together Garth, Mike and I managed to get through it while we played tonka and UNO.
And our luck hadn't run out either. With a turtle on our first night and hatchlings on our second we got to see the hatchlings journey down to the sea on our last night as well. Cheesy, but this is something I will never forget - it's been like living in a segment Planet Earth. Whether swimming amongst 20 massive bumphead parrotfish, watching the goby fish and shrimp work together, seeing blue-spotted ribbontail rays selecting their mate or the dangerous triggerfish doing the same, or swimming with turtles, thousands of fish, and seeing a green turtle nest and 115 baby hatchlings crawling up out of the sand to make it down to the sea it's been surreal and simply epic.

As it got nearer to my leaving dollah gradually lowered his price for me to stay another week, From 1000 to 500, 1, 0... I would have loved another week of sunshine and diving but there are always other adventures and experiences and sometimes it's just time to move on.

Sent from my iPod

Saving the planet one turtle at a time

2010-09-26T15:00:00.003+07:00

Bubbles Dive Centre and Resort - the nicest beach I saw while on the Islands. Its super clean and by keeping the resort behind the tree line the beach is darker at night encouraging turtles to come up to nest

Not my usual gig I've found myself suddenly in Malaysia doing what I can to improve the presence of sea turtles here. Through Help our Penyu/HOPE (penyu means turtle in Malay) I've ended up on a paradisal beach on the Perhentian Islands. Part working, part relaxation it is just what I needed after 12 months studying.
Over the past 60 years the Green Turtle which was once abundant in Malaysian waters have suffered an 80% population decrease. Besides doing chores and different projects during the day we take shifts doing Turtle Watch (8-3am)and Poacher Watch (3-sunrise) every night. This involves patroling the beach to check for turtles that have come up to nest and protecting these from poachers who will use the eggs to make some quick cash.
We were lucky enough on our very first night to see a turtle come up onto the beach, although she didn't stay long enough to nest. Tuesday night a nest hatched and we helped guide 75 turtles down towards the water.The bright lights of the resort confuse them and they don't know which way to go. I think we all considered picking one up and tucking it into our pocket to take home - they are incredibly cute. But there was something really satisfying about seeing them make it to the sea and start swimming. They will eventually find some floating algae or seagrasses to latch onto to feed on. No one really knows what they do for the first years of their life. They don't reach maturity until 15-20 years when they will migrate every year back to the beach that they hatched on to lay their own eggs. one turtle can lay 1-7 times in a single season, laying 90-120eggs in each nest. Yet only 1 in 10 000 of the hatchlings will make it to adulthood.

Hatchlings! Two of the stragglers; I was to busy experiencing to photograph the rush

There were six other volunteers here my first week, although two have left today. Besides the chores and we've gone to a local village where they have started the Turtles Need Trees club with the local kids in the school to teach them about the importance of preserving the turtle population, hoping to decrease poaching and local threats to turtles. We spent Thursday afternoon finishing a mural there that the volunteers in April started and hanging out with the kids. In between all of this we have plenty of time to read on the beach, snorkel and enjoy the sunshine. Wednesday morning we went on a snorkel tour, although just out front of the resort I've already seen two sharks, a blue-spotted ray, a green turtle, and numerous types of colour fish and corals (which I'm learning to identify as we've gone out to record the numbers and types of fish and coral so they can track this environment).
Every afternoon I swim out to a pontoon and do my yoga so that I may be able to start teaching when I get home - its been incredibly relaxing and amazing to be away from the hustle and bustle of London. I'm not sure where I'll be next, or what I'll do in the new year when I return to canada. But for now, I'm eating great food, enjoying good company, soaking up the sunshine and reading and writing more than I've had time for lately.

For better or worse

2010-08-16T01:49:00.008+07:00

An 18 hour delay with the car, bad traffic, getting lost and a flat tire... but now, now I live in London.
Exciting Right? I'm halfway through completing an 8 week placement at a small independent museum, I'm living with Tania in a small flat in whitechapel - right around the corner from trendy brick lane which is full of markets and just a stone throw further is the columbia road flower market, my favourite way to spend a Sunday. There are so many museums that I haven't even made a dent and I'll never manage to see them all. The weather is great, the city is loud and bustling, the people are very, British.

Overall... City life has been a bit of an adjustment. Before this year the biggest city I'd ever lived in had a population of 100,000. The majority of my life has been spent in Tavistock, population 2,000, home of the world crokinole championship, the Tavistock Braves and the cheese factory. But here there are rats, smells and odd habits that I've just never encountered before. On the other hand there is culture and art and food. Great food. And out flat is clean and in a beautiful old building, although there is a pack of boys who sit directly outside my window every night. Sometimes they even blow up glass bottles.
I'm working 9-5 for the first time ever, commuting and my free time is mostly spent filling out job applications... We're all so busy we rarely have time to see our friends anymore. So its Tania and I against the city. Ok to be fair we had a pretty crazy flat warming when my brother visited and next week we're hosting a stache and balderdash party - we need help to create a Candyland Mural on the brick wall of our courtyard to cheer the place up.

Check back soon to find out whats up next. Employment isn't looking too plausible right now so it may be a trip to Malaysia to save turtles, an internship in Lijiang China or a much needed vacation in Croatia...

Persuasive People

2010-08-16T01:45:00.005+07:00

Some poeple you just can't seem to say no to. And when Tania returned from her long stay at home and it was really crunch time for completing our dissertations, I ended up flying up to Edinburgh for the weekend.
Tania still managed to bring her work along and find some time but I was out everyday seeing as much as I could. Albeit I had to stop in the pub between every museum or site for Pedro to refuel. But two days in Edinburgh, very little sleep and a day in Glasgow during the World Cup is just what one needs to really get motivated to finish writing their dissertation!

Yes, I have been neglecting England

2010-06-06T09:34:00.001+07:00

So it seems you can live here without seeing any of the country. Study visits for school got me to London, Sheffield, Coventry and York. But that just doesn't cut it. Justine and Nik and I rented a car and saw Lincoln, but still. The only visit that made me feel better was spending a weekend with Tess and Tania in Bath. Which felt much like tagging along on someone else's romantic getaway... a beautiful city, but very bad timing. My dissertation research got me to Liverpool and I'm more often in London now to spend time with a guy I was seeing but as a tourist I wasn't doing very well.

It took until Steph came to visit to really see this country I've been living in. From Leicester we made day trips and for the first time I really saw the area I'd been living in, Nottingham with its castle and dedication to Robin Hood, Lincoln with its steep steep hills, boutique shops and very impressive cathedral and not so impressive castle. We made it to Cambridge which was exactly what one wants of Cambridge, the busy and bustling little university town with museums and people still punting along the river (One may expect this of Oxford as well but Nik and I were sorely disappointed). We also spent a night in Hereford so that we could cross into Wales to see Hay-on-wye - The town of books! And yes, it was everything we'd hoped and imagined it to be...
We spent more time in London at one go then I'd yet had the chance to and we attended the Opera and the Ballet at the Royal Opera House, saw Wicked and Avenue Q in the West End, visited museums, parks, gardens, the zoo, the best restaurants, the worst hostels, and anything else we felt like!
And of course we made it back to Bath, from which we saw Stone Henge, Avebury and Lacock. We saw some of the white horses, places where Harry Potter was filmed, century old sites and well - Harry Potter. come on!
And there is still so much more to see in this country. Who knows whether I'll stay longer or ever come back...

Even for those who dislike Guinness

2010-02-16T00:29:00.000+07:00

A weekend in Dublin is what any busy student needs in the middle of term. Vigilant as always Tess and I checked out the museums and libraries of Dublin as well as sampling the local brew. (Nothing seems capable of making me like beer). It was a rainy weekend but Dublin is a beautiful city and chalk full of museums.

Never say No to Amsterdam

2009-12-01T02:18:00.001+07:00

If asked to join a friend in Amsterdam, there is only one logical reply. Which led to two days jam-packed with as many museums as we could fit in (yes, we were still conscientious students on that point). We unfortunately didn't see two of our friends who partook of alternative thrills the city has to offer but enjoyed the sights and sounds of a vibrant city. Including, the Van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank House, the Rijksmuseum, the Hermitage Amsterdam and the rain.
Tess, aka Kate, and I stayed in one hostel where our roommate were quite taken with us and did all they could to creep into my bed at night. They sang to us in the morning, brought us presents in the evening and wanted to hear all about life on the farm (my life, aka Lucy's life... ). This being the case, we stayed out dancing til the early hours of the morning and spent as much time awake and enjoying Amsterdam as we could. I only used my real name once the entire weekend, when one guy - seemingly no different from the rest - asked me for my number. And where that went is a much longer story for another blog...

You busy this weekend?

2009-11-02T02:15:00.000+07:00

My year in england is meant for studying, getting my masters in only twelve months instead of the years it would take in North America. So of course, after lectures I impulsively try to escape however I can. This weekend I escaped to Spain for a day in Alicante and another in Barcelona with my friend Tania.
October isn't particularly warm, but its warmer than England and we had sun and we had wind, strong winds. We stayed in barely put together little hostels and saw as much of each city as we could.

Although a good weekend, the memories we'll have of this weekend consist of five men stealing my purse and Tania having to sell her brand new camera in the bus station in order to get us to the airport and back to Leicester, with about 17pence to spare.

Just a hop, skip & a jump...

2009-10-16T00:52:00.001+07:00

...across the Ocean.
So lately it's been a lot of little roadtrips and random mishaps. And now I have moved to England. Leicester, England, where I will be attending the School of Museum studies at the University of Leicester to get my masters.

English life - tea and gardens, TV, nosy neighbours, local pubs, royal families, gossip and ADIDAS. It was all available to me. Fine, to be fair, my neighbours aren't nosy - they're just loud and obnoxious, I don't have a TV, and I zone out whenever anyone talks royalty or celebrity because I just don't know any of the names. I also don't drink tea. But in the time I've been here I have met two British people who don't partake and this has reassured me, although I still hide the fact and politely refuse an offer of a cuppa.

Leicester is not a favourite among anyone in our program buts it's the biggest city I've ever lived in and holds it own few treasures. Its full of trees, used book shops and the novelty of always being within eye distance of a pub calms those who really dislike its commercial feel. The next year is sure to bring surprises as I have no idea where I may end up...

Big Skies and Cotton Candy

2009-08-16T01:12:00.001+07:00

So I didn't make it all the way to the west coast... but why go all the way when you can stop in Montana, Big Sky Country and home to countless amounts of fairs. State fairs, county fairs, local fairs...

On the Road - Exploring America

2009-06-01T23:28:00.000+07:00

Over the past six months I have been keeping it low key - roadtripping it around north america! In December Sarah and I drove to Quebec city, then slowly worked our way back through Montreal and Ottawa. In January we drove down to Boston for a weekend, with Zach and Jeff. Finally in April we aimed for Florida, exploring New York, Pennsylvania, Virgina, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio and Michigan. I just recently returned from Cuba as well where I spent a week on the beach with Joanne.

In Quebec, sarah's motto was "whats the worst that could happen"... somehow this led to a lot of random adventures for which I could find no excuse. From sneaking into hotels for the rooftop views and hot tubs, truly getting our moneys worth from every hostel we stayed in (as well as the hotels we didn't stay in), going to the Lets Rock 70s revival concert, frolicking in the snow, or playing strip poker. But really, we spent days walking through the snow exploring each city. We saw the sights, the biodome, art galleries, and restaurants.

In Boston Jeff and Zach made all the difference - we saw none of the sites but all of Boston! In order to save money we spent Friday night at the frat house at North Eastern, and although we saw Harvard on Saturday we spend the next night in a frat house at MIT. A long drive for two days in the city was still very worth it!

After exams we had five days, our goal to spend an afternoon at the beach, preferably in Florida. First night we were still only in Pennsylvania but the next day we made it through the Virginia's and Carolinas so the next day we started off early exploring Charleston, still had the afternoon in Savannah and made it to Florida by nightfall. We actually spent two nights in Florida - one camping on the Atlantic coast between sand dunes and the next camping in a rose garden on the gulf. We'd already seen so much mroe than we expected - dolphins, historic cities, plantations, Daytona, nascar, half a dozen beaches and lighthouses, and many a small American town. We spent the next few days in Alabama and Tennessee. When we found out that our fifth day was the opening of the Kentucky Derby Festival - with Thunder over Louisville, the biggest fireworks show in North America - we had to stay!! So we had an entire afternoon in Nashville, and a morning at the Cincinnati flower festival in Ohio. Louisville is absolutely amazing! Old houses, huge flowering trees, the friendliest of people, and lots of Derby festival buzz. The energy and the fireworks made for a night to remember, helped by the long drive home afterwards that lasted til 9 the next morning!

Up next - the west coast?

Poetry is a way of taking life by the throat. (Robert Frost)

2008-07-25T15:53:00.005+07:00

Well the week in Spain turned out to be an interesting part of the trip. With the low point being the massive amounts of train travel and unbearable heat the high point was Sunday night in Madrid, bullfights and typical Spanish fare...

After two days in Barcelona - one of which was spent climbing a mountain multiple times until I found the correct route - I took the night train to Bilbao and then immediately got on the next train to A Coruna. But by 22:00 I was just plain tired of trains - so I got off. I ended up in Santiago de Compostela, the most beautiful city in Spain. The town was packed with pilgrims and tourists but I managed to get the very last bed in a hostel and I spent two days in town exploring and photographing the old city.

Once again the train schedule screwed me over and I spent another 12 hours during the day on a train to get to Madrid. On the upside I used this time to read 8 books, catch up in my journal and I also started writing poetry. (Which I've always thought I'd hate, but it was on my To do list from Dara and I seem to have kept a lot of poetry in my head that needed the be written down and Spain was definitely an inspirational place.) From the capital I intended to do a number of day trips, but after a rather unsuccessful one to Sevilla, the unbearable heat this far south and my diminished bank account I ended up spending three days in Madrid.

Sevilla was beautiful - I got lost in the old city and wandered the deserted narrow alleyways. By the time I found the touristy area it was 40 degrees and I had to stop for lunch just to take advantage of the air conditioning. The tourist area was not quite the same as the back alleys so I walked along the river and through the shopping streets back to the train station - a 3km walk in 40 degree weather. Needless to say, watching Alvin and the Chipmunks in Spanish on the air conditioned train was a highpoint...

I had had to upgrade to first class in order to get back to Madrid and that combined with booking the 50 euro ticket to Switzerland for Tuesday was my funds for the week and so I spent my time in Madrid on strict budget. I went to the art museum, explored the city, saw the major plazas and sites, found a used book store, and even went to the movies to get out of the sun one afternoon - Sexo en Neuva York...

Sunday night I went to Las Ventas to see the Bullfight. Three matadors fought 2 bulls each while the crowd whistled and booed and chose a final winner of each round. The third matador -who was only 17!! - was definitely the best and won the first round. In the second round the bull flipped him over his head and knocked him out - he had to be carried away and the first matador finished the fight. (another man was trampled and the other matadors both had their own embarrassing moments as well).
After the fight I met up with two American guys I had met at the hostel and we went to see the major sights by night and then found a little bar near the hostel for a very late dinner. Ordering a variety of Tapas - small portions of food - are a typical Spanish meal, and the guys ordered a lot. We had calamari, deep fried shrimp, coquettas, stuffed peppers, olives, spicy potatoes and a pitcher of Sangria. We stayed until the bar closed and then I fell asleep exhausted while they waited for their taxi to take them to the airport.

Next update will be of Switzerland and my journey home... I can't believe it's almost over and yet I'm counting down the days!

How to sweep a a girl off her feet

2008-07-17T04:18:00.001+07:00

France again was definitely a good decision. I almost skipped out on visiting an old friend, thinking I’d be saving time by getting to Spain and possibly avoiding some awkwardness. But, as it turned out things worked out great. Immediately we hit it off after ending things quite oddly four years ago. We have both changed in drastic and not all that differently of ways. We spent hours talking and then three days exploring Bordeaux and the nearby beach town of Arcachon. Once kind of dating – ‘getting to know one another better’ back in our super pious days we were now picking out attractive guys together – ok so he has changed more than I have.
We were staying with a French friend of his and her mother in their apartment in the outer part of the city. Besides spending lazy days wandering the city we also spent lots of time lazing around her place, I finally got to shower! And sleep in a bed again! This time I felt I was truly experiencing France – the long drawn out meals which each included Rose, bread and cheeses and chocolates for desert whether it was our picnic on the beach or a huge dinner of leftovers from a work party of goose pate and cold meats and cheeses with raspberry cake for desert.

For the first time ever I also had someone to see me off at a train station. We took photos in the photomaton and they waved as the train departed. It was while here that I also decided it was time to come home and changed my plane ticket. However I still have two weeks to go. Since leaving things have been much less pleasant. With lots of trains, getting stuck in odd places, cancelations and rude people. Being on my own again doesn’t seem as ideal now that I spent time with such wonderful people in France and it doesn’t help that my newly learned French seems to have replaced all the Spanish vocabulary in my memory. As I write this I am on a train in Spain that I had no intention of being on but the man at the train station was really rude and I got so frustrated I left Bilbao without seeing a thing. Meaning, I’ve now been on a train (or series thereof) for the past 22 hours… and counting. Hopefully when I finally get off I’ll be able to find a place to sleep for the night and don’t end up on a night train for the mere convenience of it…

Love is an exploding cigar we willingly smoke (anon)

2008-07-17T02:59:00.004+07:00

Roskilde Festival... The most wonderful musical week. We arrived Sunday afternoon and set up our tent – the first few nights were freezing and the last few were too hot to sleep-in in the mornings.

From Sunday to Wednesday were the ‘warm up’ where it was all about the ‘more than music’ part of the festival. Every camping area had a theme and activities at the agora. "When thousands of festive festival guests move into their tents in a matter of days outside of Roskilde, an intoxicated confusion of crashed festival colours, bright banners and pavilions ready to drop is created - a unique patchwork of tent pegs, heads-on approaches and miles of duct tape."
We were staying in “Quiet and Clean” although really – maybe that was just in comparison to the other Agoras… Things to keep one entertained at the other agora’s were a plastic skating rink (really! It actually works – you can ice skate on plastic), a lake (it was freezing but it kept me clean), a cinema (where we saw I’m not there and then also saw the Rocky Horror Picture Show – everyone was dressed up and dancing in the aisles and they gave us survival kits complete with stuff to throw at the screen). At other places were a skate park, video games, fishing lake, and more. Everywhere was lots of food stalls and people lounging around, drinking and partying. A small part of the festival ground was also open and on the smallest stage they showed up and coming Scandinavian bands. Of the three I saw – two were good.

Thursday to Sunday was the music festival with dozens of awesome bands. With 6 stages there was almost always more than one band playing at a time.
Cat power, radiohead, duffy, kate nash, jose gonzalez, neil young, girltalk, black mountain, black seeds, band of horses, chemical brothers, solomon burke, goldfrapp, judas priest, babylove and the van dangoes, juan formell y los van van, tokyo police club, lupe fiasco, the raveonettes, cadence weapon, nicole atkins and the sea, Digitalism, swollen members, holy fuck, when saints go machine, Jay-z, the streets, tina dico, Hot Chip,
and a couple dozen more...

Duffy was the first on Thursday afternoon. I fell in love during the Radiohead concert Thursday night - a miraculous performance. And the next three days were exhausting - dancing to every type of music, walking through the festival grounds going from one concert to another. Sometimes I'd wait and be there front and center when they started sometimes I'd be laying on the grass outside the tents listening and enjoying the music. (the grass which by Sunday was just dusty packed dirt).
Saturday I discovered the wonders of dance music - teh Ting Tings and Girltalk were both amazingly fun. I also supported all the Canadian Bands present then and even met Josh Hook - the guitarist of Tokyo Police Club - after their performance.
Sunday night was Hot Chip - where I was right up front dancing my heart out, trying to avoid the naked guy about two people away... Afterwards it was pouring out - the first time in 8 days. Just in time for Jay-z. The only concert when there was nothing else going on simultaneously, he didn't really fit with the rest of the music and it was the first time that the field in front of the main stage wasn't full. But not to miss an opportunity I was determined to dance - if anything the mud just made it slippery and more fun. Soaked in my new hoodie i left half way through and waited for Digitalism to end the weekend off properly.

In all it was an amazing week of hyperactivity, music, dancing, highstrung nerves, dancing, dust, music, tents, and tall danish people. It was absolutely wonderful!

I don't want to harm ya, i am not your armour, i am your friend

2008-07-04T02:55:00.000+07:00

Scandinavia...
To get from Germany to Denmark the train enters a ferry and while we cross it is required that all passengers disembark – as if we mind! The ferry ride wasn’t long and I ate as I sat at the very front of the boat and watched the far shore approach. And only a few more hours to Kobenhavn…

Yet again I spent one afternoon in a capital city and seem to have exhausted things to do here. Granted I didn’t make it far enough along the coast to see the royal families palaces and gardens, and I didn’t go to any museums or galleries – so I’m sure I could enjoy the city if I cam back but I had no qualms with going to be at about 8. Don’t get me wrong – the city was great, lots of pedestrian streets and people walking about and the river and canals just lined with ships and colourful sails.
But off again and we were in Sweden by the end of the next day!
Stockholm was one of my favourite cities. Full stop. It had the atmosphere of the kind of city you could live in, the vibrancy and beauty of a city both steeped in history and a very up and coming place.
Immediately decided to stay longer and I spent the next three days exploring. The city is actually on a bunch of islands all connected by huge bridges. First explored was the old city on Gamla Stan for its photographic opportunities. South of there was a more bohemian neighborhood which I still didn’t even manage to pass the border of (I guess I’ll need to come back!) To the north of gamla stan was the city centre where we explored and bought a tent for the Roskilde Music fest. To the north east was the un-identifiable area where I stayed. To the west was a little island with the Modern Art Museum (amazing!) and the architecture museum (not so amazing…) Further west still was the huge island of – all parkland where we set up our tent – just to practice. Mostly I walked around the city with my camera photographing people, old buildings and alleyways. The art museum was up there with the Guggenheim in Venice and the Louvre and L’Orangerie as my favourite museums yet.

We decided to skip Helsinki and stopped in Gothenburg on the way back towards Denmark. We got there late afternoon and explored the park outside the hostel where there was a blues festival starting up. We headed back early to do laundry but stopped first for sushi. Although it was vegetarian sushi it was the first sushi I’d ever had – and it was partially good, partially I could do withoutish.

And continuing on in Scandinavia we returned to Denmark to go to the music festival at Roskilde… (also, Roskilde is a very nice old town. A medieval Viking town with the old ships in the river and very busy along the main street with the festival goers)!

Never mistake motion for action (hemingway)

2008-06-28T02:49:00.000+07:00

Another night train (they just get better and better) and half a day of traveling and we’re back in Germany. First stop – Frankfurt.

Two nights in Frankfurt allowed us an evening to explore the city, and see the major squares and monuments. The next day we took a train and bus and walk out to the Baha’i House of Worship (there’s one per continent so this was not to be missed and is now the third I’ve visited)
Once we got back to the city we visited the Museum of Modern Art and the OTHER ART MUSEUM. Both fantastic and not to be missed.

Nest was Hamburg – although, I’ll admit now - I didn’t really see it. Chandra’s sister Penny lives in Othmarschen outside of the suburb of Altona outside of Hamburg. So we headed straight there, and although the intention was to kick back for the weekend as well as going back in to see the city, it didn’t happen. I had a cold and spent the first few days recovering and getting caught up on some much needed sleep. I did however find the time to explore Altona and Othmarschen. Mostly though I listened to my audio book of Harry Potter and discovered the wonders of television – specifically Veronica Mars and Doctor Who which they had the complete seasons of. (How had I lived without seeing these previously? In blissful ignorance). We also celebrate Luke’s’ first birthday on the Sunday afternoon and I got my own birthday cake as well.
Monday we made a day trip from Penny’ and David’s to see Berlin. I walked the entire city, seeing the various monuments, churches, squares, plazas, and museums. I also went to the museum at the site of the original Gestapo headquarters. I met up with Chandra later in the afternoon, explored a little of the other side of the river where the TV tower and an older quarter are and then caught the train back to Hamburg.

The next morning we headed off for Copenhagen… But Munich is yet to come. (Hopefully!)

"I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome . . . "

2008-06-20T01:39:00.005+07:00

"We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things."

Transylvania and the search for vampires in Romania led to no long awaited fulfillment of dreams but to some interesting discoveries nonetheless.
From Paris we took a night train to Munich and then continued on to spend an afternoon in Vienna Austria. After a few hours exploring the downtown and the ‘Fan zone’ set up for the UEFA EURO 2008 championship it was another night train to Bucharest, the capital of Romania. Sunday morning we awoke on the train and had another half day to go through the country before we made it there.

Bucharest, only recently escaped from communist rule is a city showing signs of a rough passing. The ancient architecture is mixed with the high-rises and tenements of the 60s concrete convenient building style. The parliament building is the second largest building in the world (after the Pentagon) and the road leading up to it was constructed to be another Champs D’Elysees – it’s obviously failed. The opposite end of this road is a little times square of traffic and billboards although everything else seems to be missing to give it any energy. And just behind those billboards and the endless arrays of parked cars (anywhere and everywhere is a parking space in Bucharest) is the Old City. Ripped up for materials and political statement it is in complete disarray. The dirt roads have piles of cobblestones sporadically around the planks laid down as make shift sidewalks. Bars lay out additional planks in the dirt to create patio space since the roads are not usable. Only the first floor of the majority of the buildings is still usable – the upper floors hollowed out or missing. No remaining surface is clean of graffiti and yet it has more charm than the remainder of the city.

The region north of the capital, crossing the mountains is known as Transylvania. Dracula – once known as Prince Vlad or Vlad the Impaler – was born in the city of Sighasora. I took the train up to Sinaia on a day trip from Bucharest where there was meant to be an old castle. But, alas, I got lost and hiked up the mountain alongside a narrow highway. Still it was interesting to see the people living there and the variety of houses and architecture out in these more peasant towns.
Tuesday – my birthday, although no one knew it (or remembered) – we left Bucharest for the university town of Brasov. From here we took a bus out to Bran. This area of Transylvania felt like being in the center, dry hot areas of Honduras – similar people, vendors and public transportation as well as scenery. In bran we easily found the castle and discovered it to be that of Queen Maria of Romania who was a Baha’i. (I was traveling at this point with a Baha’i from Australia and a Scottish girl from the hostel). The castle was far from the intimidating medieval castles of vampires and gothic stories but a real fairytale home complete with the flapper fashions of the queen and her daughter. So in conclusion – I still want to be a vampire, I also want to wear vintage clothing and live in a little white castle in the mountains and eat Romanian pastries (tiny bite size little pastries, each a surprise in variety of flavours – from apricot or chocolate to potato, or sesame)

No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be.

There is no love sincerer than the love of food. - shaw

2008-06-17T00:00:00.003+07:00

Two weeks in France was amazing, as well as being more than enough time.
My first week was spent sharing a small apartment in Paris with Chandra, and her sister Penny and family (Partner David, 11 month old son Luke, and crazy mother-in-law Katie). As much as they yelled to make up for my annoying quietness and pushed me to be bold I learned to appreciate the amounts of free food they forced on me and the amount they taught me about fine foods. Plus the conveniently located flat near the Bastille put everything within walking distance.
More than anything, I have learned to appreciate food in this country. I know the difference between a loaf of French bread that looks much like a baguette and a real baguette. Am learning about cheeses - having doubled the amount of types of cheeses I'd previously experience. Am a connoisseur of Parisian pastries. And have never had so many different types of chocolate as Penny has bought for a single week in Paris.
There was so much to do here as well that I didn't make it to the Louvre until our very last day. Before that was days filled with sites (the Arc de Triomph, Eiffel Tower, Champs d'Elysees, and everything in between was one day) and days dedicated to exploring smaller areas (the catacombs, a cemetery, or some markets and gardens) On the sunday all the museums were free and after returning from Versaille I made it to the Musee d'Orsay and the L'Orangerie where I saw the most wonderful of Monet's masterpieces.
After Paris, France went quickly. The day we left Paris we saw his gardens in Giverny and then spent the night in the wonderful little town of Orleans. And whether or not this is how one may want to spend time in France we then saw Jackpot at the local cinema. a guilty pleasure. And still funny in French. The next day was Amboise and its chateaux and a night in a local community center on an island. Then a long train trip to get to La Rochelle -the white city - on the Atlantic Coast. A quite touristy, but still pleasant quaint town on the Atlantic coast. Centered around an old harbor with medieval towers and turreted walls the city has a couple small beaches and lots of expensive restaurants. We had a small ‘studio’ – a room with a bed, a desk and a stove – which was right in the centre and provided us with the means of cooking our own dinners. In the morning we rented bicycles and followed the coast past the yacht club, the beach, through the park and along the fields and increasingly rock coastline. Eventually we turned in to come back into town and realized we were completely lost and seemed to be in a different suburb or town all together. But we managed to find our way back, and worn out spent the rest of the day on the windy beach.
Although hoping to leave La Rochelle early in the morning and making good time… we spent an entire day getting from there to our next stop – Biarritz – mostly waiting in train stations.
Biarritz is a surfing town further along the coast in Basque country where French and Spanish culture mixes. From there we also took the bus to St-Jean-de-Luz, a small fishing town.
Traveling next along the south, the Mediterranean coast we went through Arles, Marseille and from Toulon –Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, and Nice. Arles, my favorite place in France, was poor and dirty. The streets were largely empty, with locals wandering and biking through the narrow streets. Knowing that Van Gogh had lived there, although the house is gone and he did most of his paintings in the countryside, added to the mystery and splendor of the town.
From Toulon we did a series of day trips, and spent the time in Toulon exploring at night, and doing laundry in the morning. We were meant to go to Chamonix next, and when we made reservations the only train we could take left at 4:30 in the morning, but we found upon arriving then that there was a strike and the first train to leave the station would be at 5:30 –for Paris. So we got on the train for lack of anything else to do and figure things out from there. We had to spend a day in Paris, and then we took a night train to Munich, another train to Vienna where we spent an afternoon, and then another night train to Bucharest Romania…

a perpindicular expression of a horizontal desire. - shaw (of dancing)

2008-05-22T15:07:00.003+07:00

Imagine the perfect little english town - a sleepy place, at the very end of the underground line - as far from London as you can be without being inaccessible. The narrow laneways all lined with small brick houses, overflowing gardens both out front and back. Neighbours talking along the high street where the children address their school teacher as miss and are visibly stealing from the local market. People sit reading the local paper, others pass walking the dog, all with a friendly hello. You catch snippets of conversation - all including the latest soap, the royal family, gardening, and neighbouring villages.
But then you realize that you must be playing into some sort of stereotype and can English towns really be That different from Canadian ones? And if anything - there can't be that much to say about the royal family!
But then you come to Chesham - indeed the end of the metro line, settled snuggly on the hill between Amersham and Berhamstead - the perfect little sleepy English town. Where the neighbours do have you over for dinner, and I eating more than I've eaten in the past week sleepily listened to conversation about Gardening, their family and neighbours, the best markets and restaurants in the dozen surrounding villages and of course the Royal Family (And the weight they have lost!).

And not far from London, its made for a good weekend. Two days to catch up on sleeping and journaling in Chesham, and a weekend of royal gardens, art museums (the tate was Amazing!) and theatre in the city. Saturday was Havana Rakatan - a night of Cuban dancing, and Monday will be the matine of the ballet of Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Opera House and for the evening we are going to see Wicked! Plus tonight we are going to "Shake your booty" at the local pub George and Dragon for the bank holiday. All the pubs here have two names - george & dragon, the booth & slipper, and rabbit & hare.... but I'll be getting my true English pub experience!

Detour to Hungary

2008-05-20T02:46:00.006+07:00

I met a girl from Halifax in Venice last Saturday who was staying in the same hostel, which hasn't technically opened, and due to a series of odd coincidences and mishaps we ended up spending the Saturday together. Someone gave us a bottle of wine that night and we had a very entertaining walk home across Venice convinced that we'd most likely fall into a canal and die - but since it was the ideal way to go, we ventured out and eventually did make it through the winding streets to our hostel where for the first time ever we managed to get the old door open (we were staying in a little apartment above a pharmacy).

Venice - the city of winding narrow cobblestone streets and criss crossing canals is the most beautiful city in the world. The narrow streets are either full of tourists, or completely empty with only rare sightings of locals. Never knowing what your going to come across around the next corner - a canal, dead end, small courtyard, running water pump, streets filled with hanging laundry or bustling market - it was the perfect city to just wander and get lost in. In the outer districts, the melancholic streets are even narrower, often reaching dead ends at a canal. With no grassy area the only plant life is the abundance of flowers and ivy spilling over the walls or the wrought iron balconies and window boxes. There's definitely no lack of colour and life. The buildings, packed together, are all deep colours and the ground floors filled with small gelaterias, snack bars and cafe's. The islands nearby that I visited - Burano and Mozzorpo are reminisce of small retirement/fishing villages. Every building is brightly painted - pinks, purples, red, green, blues, orange, or yellow. The little old couples sit outside their front doors, and people stroll along the shoreline.

After Venice we decided that since we were both worried about whether we are going to get to Hungary later on in our travels we would just go there on Tuesday. so we took an overnight train to Budapest. Which was really incredibly fun. Except for the border crossings at Slovenia and Croatia where they woke us up at 4 in the morning to check our passports. My favourite thing about Budapest is the surprising find that it is made up of two main districts - Buda and Pest! (as well as a third called Obuda, the hilly suburbs). I spent the two days here just wandering and coming across the monuments interspersed throughout the large city. Also exciting here was our lunch on the first day - we actually sat down in a restaurant and ordered food which was quite different from the usual panini or pizza on the street. Parts of Budapest look like any commercial city, parts are filled with old medieval lanes and Gothic architecture wonderful for wandering through. From the high castle hill I watched the sun set over Buda and had a wonderful view of the light reflecting off the commercial district of Pest across the river.
Since Budapest I've been traveling a lot, and spending less time in places, we came back to Italy on another overnight train, spent one night in Verona - the city of Romeo and Juliet, then went to Bologna, Pisa, and spent a disastrous night in Sienna.

Only Me

2008-05-16T01:32:00.002+07:00

OK, I'm ready to blog - For finally the anxiety has subsided and slowly been replaced by the adventurous spirit. That said there was definitely cause for anxiety. Upon arrival in Paris I had a complete panic attack in the airport because I mistakingly thought that I had left my eurail pass at home. It took me well over an hour to make it into Paris, and the series of mishaps continued... the trains were full for the next couple days so I was stranded in Paris and wouldn't make it to Italy. The hostel was on the sketchiest of corners and I picked up a stalker who found me every time I left the place and refused to leave my side. When not with me - he sold Marlborough's on the street corner. (in all fairness - after wandering Paris the next day I did decide I enjoy the city)
I spent all of Tuesday on a train to Florence Italy. Upon arriving I was lost, misdirected by the police officer and about five others. Eventually I found my hostel and for once relaxed being able to speak english when I met girls from Vancouver. My last day in Florence, after getting up early to go to the Uffizi so I could skip the long lines I was kicked out of my hostel. Luckily I did find another hostel for my last night, but it was far from the Florence train station, and because of my late start i ended up waiting for 3 hours to get into the gallery.
Once I reached Venice I needed to be anxiety free, so I planned on staying there for quite a while. Luckily things worked out surprisingly well and it is here that the anxiety began to subside. Although the Sospiri hostel was under construction and not technically opened, I managed to get checked in when someone met me at the hostel. When another girl showed up no one met her but I happened to be walking by and together we got a drunken man to figure out how to use my key to get in and called the main hostel - a venice fish.
And besides our difficulties getting into the hostel (every time) and the shower that was held together with masking tape, Venice was the most amazing city I've ever visited...

High School Days: London, East Coast, NY, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic & the Bahamas

2006-03-27T01:48:00.000+07:00

Leaving behind the family vacations, or at least mixing them with more travel opportunities, began when I entered high school. I traveled a lot, now that I think of it.
Grade nine - Dad and I went for a six day theatre tour in London England - we stayed in Picadilly Circus (the same hotel he stayed in in the 70's when he was rescued from Serbia by the British general who smuggled him back to London). We explored, enjoyed the rain and went to the theatre. We saw 'An Inspector Calls', Blood Brothers, The Lion King, ok and one other which I forget.

I also spent a week in Quebec performing with my high schools dance theatre workshop.
That same summer we took a family roadtrip out to PEI. We spent a night in Montreal, a couple days in old Quebec city and then New Brunswick and PEI. (yes I saw Anne of Green Gables House - yes, all my dreams came true).

Grade 10 - Family vacation to the Dominican Republic - a change in our traveling style, but for my first time at a resort I rather enjoyed it. Different when you're only 15 - more playing board games by the pool, eating fries and getting sun burned. (how unappreciative).
Plus yet another week performing with the dance workshop - this time in New York. Although we performed right downtown Manhattan, we stayed in Queens and we didn't really see any of the tourist attractions. And so... in

Grade 11 - we went back. Shayda, Mom and I spent Thanksgiving Weekend in New York City. Mostly this involved shopping. I also returned to Costa Rica this year with the grade 11 world citizenship class. We spent two weeks working in a tiny village, revamping their community center and spending time with the locals.

Grade 12 - As the teaching assistant for the grade 11 class I got to go on the service trip again - this time to the Bahamas. We spent one week working in an AIDS hospice, and the next doing a literacy and moral education program in a primary school.

Photo Submission: Costa Rica and Belize

2006-03-27T01:25:00.000+07:00

Costa Rica - the next family trip after Mexico was a one-week family fun filled vacation through Costa Rica. We made it through the rain forests down to the pacific coast. The highlights probably being our construction of crab zoos on the beach and zip lining through the rain forest canopy.

Belize - one of my favourite places that I've visited, Belize was beautiful and jam packed with adventures. Starting on Ambergris Cay we spent Christmas snorkeling and swimming and exploring the island via golf cart (which I crashed). Next we settled down in a lodge in the rain forests where dad and I went on a rafting trip. The highlight though was our next stop at Cave's Branch - spending nights in small cabins in the jungle and the days going caving. One day we entered on inner tubes, the next by repelling. We also spent the millennium here listening to a mariachi band on the deck with other guests, including some crazies our parents befriended and had us refer to as uncles. After a day on the coast to the south we decided to return for more caving (encouraged by the escape of a rapist in the area that had our mother a little on edge). Finally we found time for a day trip to Guatemala to see Tikal - the largest ancient mayan ruins. We saw the view of the opening scene of Star Wars here. And Ben and I took this awesome photo - check it out - you need to enlarge it to truly appreciate the timeliness of this shot, and the moral dilemma that went into capturing it.

Arizona, Mexico and Iceland

2006-03-26T01:15:00.000+07:00

While I was home this weekend cleaning out my room I found the journals I wrote on every family trip. I hate journaling, but seem to have been quite a clever kid :P
Here's a few excerts:

Arizona 1997 ... obviously an exciting adventure for me... I kept track of our daily actions, horses names, and the things I learned. I also kept an incredibly detailed inventory of everything I bought and how much it cost. like i said - clever.

Mexico ... when I really want to emphasize something - I add diagrams.
The sentence that is incomplete at the top was: "We met 2 people working for Kellogs. They asked us our favourite cereal, I said fruit loops because I know thats kellogs and I like it"
me @ 10 years = clever

Iceland ... thats my writing - I was 8. nough said

(Ben and I at the Grand Canyon)

the beginnings of my thrill seeking

2006-02-26T04:01:00.000+07:00

So I'm revamping this travel blog - hence the disappearance of all postings. But maybe I'll find a way to fill in the gaps.

Over the break my family was enjoying another silence over dinner when my brother suggested we share our favourite family moments. After another lull, I asked if anyone remembered when my mother had fallen out of the car (approximately three days previously) - this of course was immediately overshadowed by the time she had fallen out of a restaurant booth. It troubled them that they couldn't remember the exact details - luckily I could help out, since dad had called me the next day to relay the incident to me. In Australia. Moving around the table, my mother copped with a reference to all of our trips. And so we began reminiscing about Iceland.

My parents have attributed my 'traveling bug' to the mistake they made taking me along - starting with three early trips to Florida. Where I started off sleeping in the drawer and was gradually promoted to sleeping on grandpa's porch with him over the years. Promoted, or banished, as I later found out he was quite the snorer. Although I don't remember Walt Disney World, I do remember climbing Grandpa's orange tree and riding big old bicycles around the trailer park.

Iceland was our first real family trip - complete with new backpacks, cameras and a pep bar for each of us. From Reykjavik we rented a car and drove the perimeter of the island - staying in youth hostels and grass huts or camping along the road, learning to speak Icelandic/islenka, and pulling off the road whenever we felt like it, from the mountains, volcanoes and smoking lava fields to the dry deserts, black beaches with icebergs and the numerous waterfalls and glaciers. As we drove there were vast expanses of dark moss, dry soils or windy fields until you'd come upon high rising mountains or rocky outcroppings with waterfalls. We'd drink from the ice cold streams, we all bought sweaters of itchy Icelandic fleece and collected rocks and geodes.

(picture)
Iceland is also where I got my start at thrill seeking, learning to love living on the edge. My dad would often pull over and send us off running around fields or climbing over rocks to expel our energy before getting back in the car. The best of these was when we came across a field of tall, overly buoyant, moss - a field reminiscent of a never-ending trampoline. And so we ran, bouncing and jumping with glee until i fell, my leg disappearing into a crevice. At this opportune moment my dad chose to share that under this moss were crevices so deep they had never been fully explored, the depths of which were still unknown.

Another day my dad we stopped on the shore alongside a row of fish drying racks. My sent us running into the field, but keeping my brother close to his side with the video camera ready. As we soon discovered this field contained the nests of flocks of terns.

Something that reminded me of both Iceland and a blatant disregard...
http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=13
http://www.asofterworld.com/index.php?id=18

to clarify:

2005-03-04T13:07:00.000+07:00

gypsy: (lowercase) a person held to resemble a gypsy, esp. in physical characteristics or in a traditionally ascribed freedom or inclination to move from place to place.
+ (lowercase) Informal. an independent, usually nonunion trucker, hauler, operator, etc.
(lowercase) Slang. a chorus dancer, esp. in the Broadway theater. (maybe one day...)

A Gypsy's Diaries...

2005-03-04T08:37:00.000+07:00

I've created this blog to keep track of the changes in my life at the moment, to start recording my past stories and in anticipation of my summer adventures.

“What a gulf between impression and expression! That’s our ironic fate—to have Shakespearean feelings and (unless by some billion-to-one chance we happen to be Shakespeare) to talk about them like automobile salesmen or teen-agers or college professors. We practice alchemy in reverse – touch gold and it turns to lead; touch the pure lyrics of experience, and they turn into the verbal equivalents of tripe and hogwash.”

The Genius and The Goddess. Aldous Huxley