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• South Island Road Trip — Horse Trekking in the Marlborough Sounds: 3 comments
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The photos coming out of Louisiana break my heart. The size of the “spill” is staggering, and its effects just astounding. I found a website last week that using the Google Maps API, superimposed the size of the leak over whatever city you wanted. When I placed it over Toronto, it spread from Bracebridge to Peterborough, to Buffalo New York, to Port Hope Michigan. This is not a trivial matter, yet for the most part, this just seems to be happening to someone else. Not to us. I feel as though there really is nothing that can happen to our planet that will ever truly unite us, to make us see that what happens to one country happens to us all. Its a very depressing thought.

The Deepwater Horizon oil leak, superimposed over my hometown

I read today that attempts to stop the leak continue to fail (perhaps giving new meaning to the term “epic fail”), and that a new possible solution would be to DRILL ANOTHER WELL in hopes of being able to control the flow of oil. While that boggles my mind (and admittedly, I am not exactly an engineer so these things go far beyond my mortal mind), this solution wont even be viable for another 2 months, as that is how long it will take to make the new well.

It’s a hard thing, trying to reconcile self-anger at your own dependance on the petroleum industry with the life that you want to lead. My biggest hurdle is how to travel. Now that I have a healthy dose of wanderlust that isn’t going anywhere, how do I get from Point A to Point B as greenly and simply as possible? Carbon offsetting seems like it could be a good thing, but to be perfectly honest Ive not looked into it yet. I will though, as I am planning to fly to British Columbia this autumn and I want to make sure I do it right. Being wise about who I travel with (which has a better environmental track record: Air Canada or West Jet?), taking the train instead of renting a car and driving around Vancouver Island, and who knows what other green possibilities has to happen otherwise Im just as guilty as the people who have me in a cranky mood today. I came across as website that claims to help “climate conscious travellers” find low fares online and provide free carbon offsets. Seems promising, but Im wary of being greenwashed – will let you know how they stack up.

Closer to home, I need to look at what I can do as well. Already, I dont own a car and use my bike as my primary means of transportation. I rent my home (or will be, once I move in a little under two weeks) so it isnt as though I can do renovations. There are things I can control though, like using fans instead of air conditioning (which also keeps my bills down), using petroleum-free products and shopping as locally as possible (locavore? who me?).

I wish I knew what else I could do. Im not an activist. Marching on Queens Park with placards and bullhorns just isnt my style (plus Id rather not be blasted with a sound cannon any time soon), but there has got to be something the average, everyday citizen can do to force our governments to sharpen the fuck up. I just wish I knew what that was.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Lanterns and cherry blossoms at Yonggungsa (Busan, South Korea)

It’s been one day over a month since I returned home to Toronto. In that time I have landed a super sweet job, an even sweeter apartment (although I cant move in for another month yet), and reconnected with my friends and family. Im slowly rediscovering my hometown and while I miss New Zealand on a daily basis (mostly its just the little things), for the most part Im really happy to be home.

Im sorry I havent written in a while; I was surprised to see I’d not written one word on my Korean travels. I think that by the time I got to Seoul I was burnt out from a) travelling and b) writing about it. I did take a lot of fantastic photos, which I will include at the bottom. Sorry for the cop out, I hope you will still enjoy them.

Im not sure what direction I want to take this blog now. I often find myself wishing I had a place to write about my repatriation and rediscovery of home, but I also want to create a gallery site for my photography. I dont think the two can live happily for me on one site, and neither will really jive with the travelblog Ive maintained for the last two years. To that end I think I will port all of the marmalade.ca entries to a new domain (or maybe just a subdomain of this one), and start a fresh blog with a different look and feel. The photography will live on another domain Ive had for a while, but havent done anything with. Maybe.

In the mean time, let me show you my Korea:

Seoul

Busan

Passing Koh Samui, on the way to Koh Phangan

After a wonderful week in Pai, I knew the time had come to head south and spend some time on the islands in the Gulf of Thailand. The decision of which islands in particular was a frustrating 2-day process where I weighed pros and cons as well as the affordability of plane, train and bus tickets. Koh Lanta and Koh Phi Phi on the west coast came highly recommended, but I really had a good vibe about Koh Tao and wanted to check that out. So, that finally decided I boarded a minibus from Pai, drove to Chiang Mai, flew to Bangkok then rode the train south to Surat Thani, at which point I took an hour long busride followed by a 2.5 hour ferry trip to Koh Phangan. Needless to say that after 30+ hours of travel I was KNACKERED and just wanted to check in somewhere and check out.

I’d befriended a French girl, Eve, on the train and she decided to come with me to KPN. This was great as it meant we could split the accommodation and each save about 300TBH a night. I feel kind of bad about how things went with us: Somewhere along the way to KPN, I developed what I can only assume was some kind of food poisoning. My right side hurt like a bitch, both on my front and back. I was popping painkillers like TicTacs, and once we were at the resort, I realized that not only did I have a headache, but I think I had a mild fever as well. I was insanely antisocial and had very little patience for trying to speak simple Franglais. I just wanted to be alone and chill. It didnt help that neither of us really liked the beach we were at, Haad Yao.

Sunset @ Haad Yao, Koh Phangan

The resort itself, Ibiza Bungalows, was simple and clean with a lovely beachfront that Ive yet to find matched anywhere else. The trouble is that there was nowhere to chill. The bar at the hotel was never open, and the only ambient noise was from a giant 40+” screen tv in the dining room. If you wandered down the beach things got a little better: your choices were Barry Manilow and Celine Dion type offerings, or a really bad Thai karaoke. A friend had highly recommended this place in particular, and I just cant help but think that during the Full Moon Party time, this beach goes off, but otherwise? Its all old people in Speedos and young couples with even younger (screaming) children. I left after three days (I would have left after 2, but I was trying to recuperate and make the Best Of Things).

Koh Tao came to my rescue. From the moment I set foot on the ferry I knew it was going to be different. I was able to spend the journey between islands sitting on the edge of the boat with my feet dangling over the edge. Seasickness? Bah! What seasickness?

When we got to KT I could tell the island was made for me: where KPN had a gauntlet of taxi touts yelling “taxi, miss!” in your face, here I was able to get a free ride from Mae Haad to Sairee Beach with the Big Blue Diving School (Id hoped to be able to dive, even though I knew my asthma would be problematic. In fairness, I told them of this and they sent me off in search of a clinic to be tested at which I never found, which worked out well as I just wanted to chill and not have the routine of dive classes, studying and homework. Next time!).

My Koh Tao condo, top left.

Id arrived on the last night of a weekend-long Underwater Festival, a fundraiser for the Save Koh Tao campaign. Id also made the mistake of taking the afternoon ferry in. These two things meant that nearly every single accommodation on the island was booked solid; I was really happy with myself for calling ahead that morning and booking a fall-back room at the Blue Wind Resort — it ended up being where I stayed for six nights!

Sairee Beach

The beach itself wasnt that great; longtail boats cluttered up the beach and holiday-makers had the really bad habit of treating the beach like one gigantic ashtray. Boo! But, everything else about the place was fantastic: loads of backpackers, great food, nice beachfront bars, good touristy shopping. Everything that I expected to have on KPN but didnt was there. It made me very happy.

Giant, glowy jellyfish. Awesome!

The first night I was there I made friends with the women in the bungalows next to my room: Katerina from Sweden (by way of Holland) and Paula from the Canary Islands (by way of the UK). We were all of a similar age and personality, and it made for a lot of laughs and nice dinner companionship! Katerina and I checked out the all night festival that went on the first night together. The dancefloor was decked out with massive blacklight jellyfish (yep, was totally obsessed with them), seahorses and pufferfish. The music was ok (mostly trance and techno; Ive heard better) but a couple of Songerm and Coke buckets and we were out until at least 4am. Good times!

One of the beautiful coves I snorkelled in on Koh Tao

The rest of the week was pretty chill. I spent one day on an around-the-island snorkelling trip (where I completely burned my back, oops), the rest of the time I spent with my nose buried deep within Stieg Larsson’s Millenium Trilogy (you were right, Bex — it’s like literary crack!) while working on tanning my belly to match my now well-coloured back. I was so chilled and relaxed by the time I left Koh Tao, it was almost as hard to leave there as it was Pai.

What made my leaving even harder was the lovely morning rainstorm that blew into town the night before my ferry was to leave. It hadnt rained the previous week Id been in the islands, and Mother Nature made up for this oversight with considerable aplomb. Roads were overflowing, my room leaked, I wondered how on earth could the ferries possibly be running? But running they were. I was told that the Lomprayah Catamaran, aka the Barf Boat, was “unsinkable” and so they were never, ever, not in a million years cancelled. And so they werent. I boarded the ferry, took a seat in back, put on my headphones (to block out the inevitable yakking of other passengers) and held my menthol inhaler (like Vicks, but cheaper) at the quick and closed my eyes. Id taken a SeaLegs the night before, and a Dramamine 30 minutes before boarding so I was well medicated… and thank god, as it was the LONGEST two hours of my life. People were seriously sick, and it was relentless. The sea was rough; at times the catamaran was going sideways to the shore. Just sheer insanity. I couldnt get off that boat fast enough. But I did it, I made it to Chomporn ferry landing in one piece, my breakfast firmly seated at the bottom of my stomach. After that, the 8 hour bus ride to Bangkok was a walk in the park.

Mary, Laura and me (aka Charlie's Angels!)

Not a lot happened in Pai, which was just the way I wanted it! While in Chiang Mai, Laura and I decided to go north to Pai and chill for a while. We were both Activitied Out, and just wanted somewhere to sit, have some drinks, read a few books. Just be calm and enjoy the moment. Lonely Planet mistakenly calls this town the Khao San Road of the north, and while I can see what they were trying to convey, they fail miserably. Yes, it’s overrun with tourists (both farang and Thai, depending on the time of the year), and there are more guesthouses than such a small town really should warrant, and there are hippies EVERYWHERE YOU LOOK, but its hardly the debauched madness of KSR.

Laura and I had made a reservation at one guesthouse, but when we arrived we realized that while it was amazing, there was onsite construction. Hardly ideal. So, we picked up our bags and went off in search of our perfect temporary home. After about 6 tries, we found it in Baan Pai Village. Here Lonely Planet got it right; the hotel is one of their “picks” and it was simply lovely.

The view from our bungalow

Our bungalow was down a stone pathway, alongside a creek with the largest Koi known to man. It was so sweet that we immediately took to calling it our Honeymoon Suite. For 600THB, we had two twin beds with Out of Africa-style mozzie netting, a private ensuite washroom with hot/cold water and a front porch complete with axe pillows and a low table. Paradise!

At the waterfall

We spent our days in luxury: eating cheap but awesome meals (not a single one sucked), having massages, riding scooters out to waterfalls and deluxe hot spring spas (ok, Laura drive, I rode in back). We met a lot of really amazing people, including Mary, a wonderful Japanese girl who just might come visit me in Toronto this September if the fates allow.

Laura, Marc and the Bucket Of Doom

Pai has a lot of neat little bars and live music venues, as well as massive nightclubs on the outskirts of town. My favourite was right across from the hotel, Poppies, where I fell in love with Singapore Slings. The owner/manager was this crazy Thai with a massive afro with a penchant for really good psytrance and techno. HEAVEN. Laura preferred a bar called Dont Cry, which was about a ten minute walk away. It was here that Bucket Night did us in, and where we met Mary (along with Marc and Jorge from Spain). GOOD TIMES.

No dogs here, but awesome ice cream frappes.
This place was seriously cute.

So yes, Pai. You should go. I planned on staying three nights, and ended up there for six. It’s THAT good.

There are more Pai pictures, but I dont have enough battery left to upload them to Flickr. Soon come!

I am obsessed with these ball lights, first encountered in Chiang Mai.
I have since bought THREE sets.

I have been admonished for being so far behind in my writing; So much has happened over the last few weeks that Ive wanted time to chill and absorb everything, think about what I wanted to write.

Chiang Mai was fantastic. I really liked it; it’s so much more approachable than Bangkok which is completely in-your-face. I stayed five nights at the Libra Guesthouse in the Old City (the construction I mentioned earlier ended up not being an issue), which worked out perfectly. It was a 10 minute walk to the Sunday Walking Market, the main tourist centre, and multiple restaurants, cafes and bars.

While primarily a guesthouse, the also arrange treks, tours and activities — something I took complete advantage of. Over the few days I was there, I took a cooking class, went ziplining through the jungle, and even spent a day learning about elephants at a mahout training course.

Fresh Thai ingredients @ Asia Scenic

The cooking course was first. There are about 20 different cooking schools in Chiang Mai, and I went with Asia Scenic after reading all of the positive reviews on Trip Advisor and other travel sites online. I did the full day course (which cost 700THB), which included a walk through their organic garden and a market tour. Then we learned how to make our choice of seven dishes. I picked Papaya Salad, Pad Thai, Green Curry Paste & Green Curry, Tom Yum soup, Sticky Rice with Mango and a vegetable stirfry. All were incredibly simple and totally tasty, I was shocked at how easy it all was! They gave us a cookbook that contained all recipes (even the ones we didn’t choose) to take home; already I am planning a serious shopping trip to Chinatown when I get home to stock up my pantry!

You see this expression? This is how I felt for ohhh an hour and a half. Insanity.

The second thing I did was perhaps the most foolhardy: ziplining through the jungle with Jungle Flight. While I was in Ayutthaya I met a Dutch girl, Laura, on the train platform. We were both headed for Chiang Mai, so we exchanged phone numbers and planned to hang out while there. We realized that we had a number of things in common, one being that we were both scared to do adventure-y stuff, and that maybe we could be scared together. So, off we went at 630 one morning. Let me say first, that this was completely crazy. While the course was perfectly safe, we were trusting our lives to a bunch of hyperactive strangers at oh-my-buddha-o’clock in the morning.

Laura and me, the epitome of Jungle Chic!

Laura had little problem stepping off of the platforms (there were 22!), but I was terrified and asked that one of the guides go tandem with me for the first several goes. I felt that they considered this a bit ridiculous, and that I was being overly-scared. However I’ve come to learn that I have serious trust issues (in this case: trust in the equipment, in the guides, in myself) and that it was a Really Big Deal for me to do this even in tandem. I found the guides to be a little pushy (I literally had to ask one fellow to stop pressing on my back), and that they didnt take my very real fear seriously.

That said, the experience was very interesting. I admit, I spent a good amount of time with my eyes clenched shut, but I did manage to relax a wee bit towards the end and open them (although I never, ever looked down — we were 40m in the air!) and look up at the beautiful scenery around us.

Merkabah, my 4-tonne friend

The final activity I did was spend a day at Patara Elephant Farm. While I was in Ayutthaya I had seen several elephants carrying tourists around in massive benches on their backs. When not in service, they were tightly chained to a railing. It was very hard to see and I felt just terrible for the animals. Id always known that when I came to Chiang Mai I would go see the elephants, but I had planned to go to the Elephant Nature Park, and not Patara. What changed my mind? Well, after much investigating online, I found that Patara was insanely high regarded and that they treated their elephants impeccably. They focused on elephant conservation and breeding, running a very successful programme that has increased the elephant population in Thailand. Plus, instead of going and having a nominal introduction to the animals, at Patara you were given the opportunity to be a mahout for a day (although they kept saying “owner”, which really didnt work right in my mind).

Thirty seconds before a full-fledged freak out

After learning how to care for your elephant, the plan was to then ride said animal for 40 minutes to a nearby waterfall. Unfortunately, after climbing onto the neck of my girl, I was so freaked out by how tall she was (she was the largest elephant at the farm) and how uncertainly I was perched on top of her (we were riding bareback). Minutes away from bursting into tears, I had them get me off of her, as it was just too much for me. Getting out of my comfort zone? Done WAY too much that week. Feeling like a complete loser, I then walked behind the elephants to the waterfall (which was pretty much empty as it was the height of the dry season).

An amazing lunch was served before returning back to the farm. I was given another chance to ride a much smaller elephant named Kwan. I managed to stay on top of her for about 10 minutes before the whole thing just got to me and I instead elected to walk back. By this point I was ok with my decision, and while I still felt kind of lame, I felt that I had pushed myself as far as I was going to go.

Instead of riding an elephant back to the farm, I got to walk though rice paddies instead (which made me very happy).

So, after spending 5 action packed days in Chiang Mai, I was ready to sit back, chill, and do not a whole lot of anything. Enter Pai, my happy place.

Wat Phra Kaew, Bangkok

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.

My birthday breakfast

After a somewhat ambitious walk to Khao San Road and back, I crashed hard and woke 12 hours later on my 37th birthday (yaay me!). I decided that I would find a way to see Wat Pho, even though travel in this city of 12 million people scared the crap out of me. I managed to get kinda/sorta lost on the way to the river taxi pier, but this was a good thing as I met a lovely Argentinian couple along the way, and we ended up spending the day together visiting not only Wat Pho but the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaew as well.

Martin, Mayra and me

Bangkok’s heat is unbelievable. It is so hot and muggy, your sweat sweats. A lot. Spending our first day in Thailand wandering from wat to wat may have been a bit foolhardy, but we saw some of the most incredible things. Thai architecture is very ornate and opulent. No expense seems to be spared on temples or palaces, something that is a little jarring when you see how poor the countryside is.

The next day I travelled solo to Ayutthaya, the ruined former capital of Siam. Id been wanting to go there for ages, ever since I started looking into coming to Thailand. I stayed at Cheung Lumni Village, which was beautiful but sort of isolated for my tastes. I dont think there was ever more than 10 people staying there, which was meant it was nice and quiet. It also meant that it was difficult to meet people to do things with. I ended up renting a bicycle for the day and riding around town to see the ruins.

Wat Phra Mahathat

The ruins did not disappoint. They were incredible, and it was very easy to imagine how the ancient city would have looked before it was destroyed by the Burmese almost 500 years ago. I spent a full day sightseeing, and only made it to two locations: Wat Phra Mahathat (home of the lovely nestled Buddha head above, and Wat Phra Si San Phet. The Historical Park is HUGE.

I had originally intended to go to Sukkothai after Ayutthaya, but the relative loneliness changed my mind. I took the morning train to Chiang Mai, and arrived in that northern city twelve hours later. Im staying at Libra Guesthouse in the Old City, and its lovely, however there is morning construction near by that does not endear itself to me. I will stay here at least one more night though, as I like the convenience of already being in a place (I hate my luggage and am loathed to move it again any time soon).

Taking Flight at 90 Mile Beach

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 and Cape Reinga/90 Mile Beach day trip

After Paihia, I headed back south and went to Raglan, to the most amazing backpackers in all of New Zealand. Karioi Lodge is an eco-retreat about 10k from town, and is also the home of the Raglan Surf School. I spent 4 days there and FINALLY learned how to stand up and surf, go me!

After Raglan, I headed back up to Auckland for my friends Ash and Elisa’s wedding. It was held on Ash’s parents farm about an hour out of Auckland and was a simply magical day. I took a few photos, but Elisa has asked that I not post any online so Im honouring that request.

I really should have left NZ the day after the wedding, as I ended up just faffing about Auckland for two days before leaving for good. I really enjoyed my time there though, so it wasnt too bad. I stayed at Oaklands Lodge in Mt Eden (where I watched Team Canada win Olympic Gold, w00t!), and wished that Id chosen that suburb to live in when Id first arrived. It was so lovely, with great brunch spots, markets and shops. Oh well!

I thought I would be more emotional about leaving New Zealand, after having been there for so very long. I love the country, but I think deep in my heart I always knew I would be leaving and so didn’t become as attached to it as others I know. So much has happened in the last few weeks, and I really would like to sit down and reflect on how I think my time there affected me (because it definitely has!), but that may not happen for a few weeks yet as Ive landed in Bangkok now and am kind of reeling from being here. Entry on BKK coming soon though!

There is a kiwi bird somewhere in there. Seriously.

So. To itemize the things making me feel frustrated:

1. My weight. Yep, still at #1. I saw a photo of me from Rainbow Serpent and boy did I look terrible. They say pictures never lie, but they do represent a moment in time. And at that particular moment, I looked like a house. The image has been with me since I saw it yesterday and Im unable to shake it.
2. I wasnt able to go dolphin swimming today because of rough seas. The boat still went out, and Amy went with it, but because of the choppiness of the water I chose to back out and get a refund. I was absolutely miserable on the 2 hour Kaikoura trip, I can just imagine how a 6 hour one would be. Ive been taking an anti-motion sickness pill called Sea Legs for some time now, but I dont think it could have handled these waves. As I only have one week left in NZ, I wont be in Paihia long enough for the waves to die down (they said it would be ok by Sunday or Monday) and do the other things I want and need to do before leaving on March 2. Id been looking forward to this trip for a year, and Im feeling a little frustrated and betrayed by my body. I had to cancel doing the Tongariro Crossing because Id twisted my ankle, and now this. I know a huge part of having an enjoyable travel is to be flexible with your plans, but again, Im just feeling like Im getting in my own way and it makes me sad.
3. Im itchy. Something bit me on Friday night in Auckland, on my leg, and the welts still wont go down. Id assumed it was mozzie bites, but Amy thinks that I should have it looked at as a week later they are still red, sore and well, welty. *sigh* I also have bites on my chest, arms and tummy and with the crazy humidity we’re having, I itch all the time. Ive been putting a topical cream on them, and taking an antihistamine, but its not really working. I really would rather to not see a doctor, as visits are around $50-80 depending where in the country you go. I’ll pop by the chemists tomorrow and see if they cant help me any
4. Things are breaking. My point and shoot camera broke (the lens wont retract), leaving me with only my very heavy and obvious DSLR. One of my two pairs of pants ripped today, and as I took the belt off, I noticed thats falling apart too.
5. My bags are still way to freaking heavy, and I dont know what else I can send home or toss out. The carry on bag that I impulsively bought in Melbourne weighs a tonne and Im thinking that it may have to be left behind as when I have my camera and laptop in it, it weighs at least 8-10kg. I feel like a pack mule

So there you have it, my whinge of the day.

Me and my new friend Megs at Market Stage

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 we camped in tents in the back of beyond (aka Boganville), and ate food cooked on the hood of the car (no joke), this year Stephanie was one of the Brain Children behind RS’s very first dedicated theme camp.

Nargile Lounge sign and head table

The Nargile Lounge was a Middle Eastern hookah and bellydance venue. A US Army tent was bought and transformed via billowing fabric, beautiful lanterns and hand made and painted tables. Cushions were strewn about the tent, and all who wandered by were invited in to sit for a spell and enjoy something a little different than the doof that the festival so amply provided.

Kat and Amy dancing at sunset

There were about a dozen of us in total, including my good friend Katherine from Christchurch who flew over for this adventure with me. We arrived in Melbourne a few days before the festival and helped with a bit of the final preparations on the tables. We headed up to the festival site a few days before it officially opened to put the camp together. It was a lot of hard work, but in the end, completely worth it.

Me, in a tutu, at Rainbow Serpent!

Before the festival, Kat and I had a few days to spare so we took a mini road trip along the Great Ocean Road. The weather was lovely (for the most part), and we saw some incredibly gobsmacking scenery. On the way back to Melbourne we stopped off at a park and managed to find a tree with not one, but FIVE koalas living in it. Sa-weet.

To be perfectly frank, Im finding it really difficult for me to recap everything now, as I feel like anything I write now will not do the time I spent in Australia justice. I had an amazing time, and met some wonderful new people (most of whom are for keeps!) So, here are a few photos, I hope you will forgive this complete and utter cop out of a post :P