Around The World

I am back after a LONG break.  Sorry for not keeping up with it during my second year in Korea.  I stopped traveling as much, and things were not as exciting as my first year. However in the past few months I have done a fair bit of traveling, so I thought I should update everyone, and allow you to see some photos from my journey.

2012 started off with a trip to Cambodia.  Angkor Wat was on my to do list, and living in Korea it is too close not to go.  Angkor Wat was unbelievable, but I think the country impressed me more than the temples.  The people in Cambodia have been through so much with flooding, and struggles of every day life.  It is a noticeably poor country, but the people are so thankful for everything. I got a sense of true appreciation for small things in life, I also didn't feel like I was being scammed or ripped off which is always a nice feeling.  The weather was amazing while we were there in February, and we had a great time relaxing by the pool and seeing the sights.  We hit up the major temples, the floating market, and took a boat from Phnom Phen to Siem Reap.  It is very cheap to travel within Cambodia, drinks, food, lodging, and transportation are all unbelievably cheap.  Cambodia was a bonus trip for me, but I highly recommend visiting.             

I left Korea in April, on a milk route home to Canada. My first stop was Bali, Indonesia. It has always been on my Asian bucket list, and when I left I thought I might be done my Asian experience forever.  Needless to say I was not disappointed by this country or the people I met.  I landed in Bali, the same day as an earthquake and tsunami warning.  I asked while in a taxi what we should do in the event of a tsunami or earthquake, and I was told to just go to a temple.  I am a bit of a skeptic when it comes to things like that, but each to their own. It was my first time traveling solo for any length of time, which had me a bit hesitant at first.  I decided because I was traveling alone I would stay in hostels which would give me the chance to meet other young people traveling.  I had done a fair bit of research and decided on staying at the "Big Pineapple".  I was instantly greeted with a warm welcome, and ended up being in the same boat as a lot of other people at the hostel.  Many of us were traveling alone, all similar in age which worked out perfect. We all made the most of it, planned day trips together, hung out at the beach, and partied hard at night. I also got a chance to see and speak to the fortune teller from the book/movie "Eat Pray Love."  It has defiantly turned into a tourist attraction since the movie release, but it was worth the photo opportunity, and good for a laugh.  In the week I was there we all manged to have a great time together.  While traveling the people you come across from all over the world are really interesting, and can provide so much education about culture and language.  I feel I have learned more in the past few years about cultures, history, and language than I have from any textbook or lecture.

From Bali, I hopped over to Singapore. One great thing about South East Asia is that all countries are relatively close, and cheap to fly to.  Everyone has great things to say about Singapore, maybe because it is very developed and clean compared to other South East Asian countries.  I will say the cleanliness and the level of English speaking people was very nice, however it is also much more expensive than other countries. One thing I did find missing in Singapore was culture.  Most Asian countries are very rich in culture, but Singapore is a major business hub, and has a large population of foreigners which noticeably takes away from the traditional culture.  In Singapore I did not have as much luck in finding a good group to travel with, but I managed to do what I wanted.  Hop on Hop Off tours in any city are a great way to cover a lot of ground in a day or two, so I did a day of that, and a day trip to Sentosa to enjoy the made made beach.  The weather while I was there wasn't great, so I didn't soak up as much sun as I usually would.  I did enjoy a few Singapore Slings during my short stay. If I had to sum up Singapore in a few words I would say shopping malls, office buildings and strange laws (ie: no chewing gum).

My last stop before home was Malaysia. It was a very quick stop, with just one thing on my list of things to see in Kuala Lumpur.  I wanted to see the Pentrona Towers, and catch a few more rays of sun before heading home to Canada.  I arrived in the middle of a huge thunder and lightening storm, so the sun tanning was crossed off the list, but the towers are impressive, especially at night.    

I continued my travels home to the east coast, I had a bit of a nightmare getting home with missed flights, an over night stay in Hong Kong, and no luggage for a couple days. After all that was sorted out I managed to spend two lovely months relaxing, working a little bit, and traveling between Halifax, Miramichi, Wolfville, and a couple shopping trips to USA.  The things you miss while traveling are always a treat when you reach home soil.  Tim Horton's coffee, poutine, garlic fingers, cesars, clothes in multiple sizes, driving a car, television shows, fresh dried clothes, and English seems like such a treat after being away. It is also very nice to unpack your suitcase, and have a permanent address. Although I guess once you have the travel bug it stays for awhile.  I was not very entertained while I was home, and found myself soon searching for flights. The lifestyle in Korea is really catered towards post university students, who are keen on adventures.  I missed that after coming home to find friends talking about weddings, and babies.  So I decided to continue my travels again in July starting with Germany.


One of my dear travel buddies in Korea, was going to be in Europe for a school conference, and asked me to join her for a short lag of her journey in Berlin.  I have never been to Germany, and it is always nice to reunite with an old friend in a new country.  Berlin is a city with a very cool vibe, very artsy, while still managing to keep a lot of history.  Of course the major sight seeing attraction for us was the Berlin Wall, which sections still stand throughout the city.  We had no itinerary while traveling, so it was a very relaxed trip with lots of sausage, apple strudel, beer and schnitzel.  One thing I was impressed with, was the ability Caitlin and I had to decipher the German language.  With our combined knowledge in French and Afrikaans we managed to do very well in restaurants, subways, and shops. It is funny the stereotypes we create for cultures, but for me I see all Germans as very tall and big built, I will admit this is not true, although while shopping at the Birkenstock store I did notice all the shoes on display were size 40+ which fits my vision.   
 
My cousin had recently moved to Poland, so I figured I should check it out while she was there.  I must say it is a very underrated country. I have never thought much about traveling there until she moved there, but the food is good, traveling is cheap, the people are friendly, the weather was nice, and there are lots of things to see.  Auschwitz and Birkenau were the highlights of this trip by far.  We did a day tour to the concentration camps, the weather was about 40*C, and the atmosphere still manged to give me chills.   It is really amazing the history that place holds.  I was in Krakow, which is home of John Paul II, so the city is full of religion, massive churches, and priest and nuns all over the streets. It is a very pretty city with a lot of old buildings, horse and buggies, and cobble streets.

From Poland I took a bit of a detour to South Africa.  It was also a major check off my 2012 bucket list, and with two good friends getting married, it seemed to be perfect timing.  In Korea I met many South Africans, so it was very nice to visit with some of them in their home country.  I spent most of my time in Durban, which is on the coast.  Although it was 'winter' when I was there the weather was beautiful.  Every day felt like a sunny fall day.  My South African trip was more for visiting people, but we did manage to fit in a few cultural things.  We did a tour of a Zulu traditional village, as well as a safari and hippo/ crocodile boat cruise.  The safari was amazing, to see the animals in their natural habit, and close up is mind blowing.  The only thing we didn't get to see were lions.  This was a bit disappointing see as we all had the Lion King theme song running through our heads the whole trip. South Africans are very warm and welcoming, and love to BBQ and feed you. I was able to have a lovely braai, while watching rugby, and snacking on billtong. The country is also a lot safer than I had expected, you do see poor parts of town, and small children on the streets, but I generally felt very safe.

I have now made it back to Korea, I didn't think I would see the day of teacher Andrea again, but i'm back.  Same city, new school.  I don't think this run will be as long lasting as the previous, but let the adventure begin. My 2012 bucket list of seeing 3 new countries is well on its way. As of July I had visited 12 countries, and 6 of those were new. There are no travel plans for the near future, but living here and having many countries close by I am sure I will check one or two more off the list.