Found this while wandering around in #narita #japan (at 大本山 成田山 新勝寺 (Naritasan Shinshoji Temple))
we're not kids anymore.
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Love Begins
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I'd rather be in outer space 🛸

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@maxsasianadventures
Found this while wandering around in #narita #japan (at 大本山 成田山 新勝寺 (Naritasan Shinshoji Temple))
Dear Japan: I shall miss you dearly (at 成田市 Narita,Japan)
Mad about the #mekong #laos
Biking along the main strip in #luangprabang #laos
Monks for miles #luangprabang #laos #530am
Miles away from the ordinary #fairtrek #laos #homestay
A quick wakeboard in #singapore at #ski360
Found myself an organic, vegetarian place in Chinatown #singapore #hippietime
I would be broke if I lived here #singapore
June 7-11: Bangkok
Arrival in Kunming was a bit of a blur. I bid farewell to my new friend and then walked around in search of a place to eat. After about fifteen minutes of unsuccessful searching, I opted to instead look for a bus to the airport. Before I knew it, I had found a bus and was on my way out of there and then boarded yet another airplane. My first thought in Bangkok was, "Wow, it is seriously humid here." I guess it is something to get used to for the next month or so though. Southeast Asia is entering the wet season, so the humidity is here to stay. I made my way via transit to Silom, the area near Smile Society Hostel. I was hoping I'd find a room here, as this was where my friends Andrew and David would be staying. Thanks to Thailand's bizarre system of naming streets (which consists of a main street name followed by a number of 'Soi's', which are sidestreets off of the main one), it took me awhile to find the spot, but I made it. Luckily, Andrew and David walked in about five minutes later, and we were able to convince the hostel to put an extra bed in their room (after the operator had told me that the place was full). The next morning, Jenn, a friend from David and Andrew's section at Ivey, joined our group. Over the next two days, we took a tour of the famous floating markets and saw the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The markets ended up being over two hours away, and were quite possibly one of the most touristy things that I've seen in Asia. They certainly weren't a must-see. The palace was quite nice, and despite the blistering heat and abundance of tourists, I think it was worth it. Shortly after Andrew and David left Bangkok, I met a Danish girl named Stine (pronounced Steen-a) at the hostel and noticed her Lonely Planet book. We quickly started talking about travels and she told me about her recent trip to Nepal that was part of a seven-month backpacking journey which will take her straight through December. We decided to grab lunch together and had a really nice time exchanging stories. She was really cool. She dies work in Zimbabwe focusing on sexual health education and wants to study journalism so that she can help better tell the story of nations outside of the Western media bubble. I'm sure she will go far. Just after we got back to the hostel, Tom, his sister Mary, and Robyn (another friend from Western) arrived. It was great to see them, as I hadn't seen Robyn or Mary since I left London and it had been about a month since I saw Tom (a lot for someone you're used to seeing every day for about five months). I was certainly looking forward to our adventure. With my stomach still quite bad, I wasn't super fun for the first couple of days, but I did my best. We made a point of seeing Wat (meaning temple) Po, which housed perhaps the largest Buddha I've ever seen. We then took a canal boat cruise, stopping at another wat before heading home via a boat along the river. As it was Mary's birthday, we decided to treat ourselves to an excellent view atop the Bangkok skybar, which is perhaps best known for being features in the movie The Hangover 2. The place was unbelievable. The view was amazing and it was a super classy place. They must have had staff for everything, as they were practically ready to tie my shoes for me. We stayed until we had enjoyed the view at both day and night (sunset is the popular time to go) and had collected adequate evidence from our numerous cameras. We were all really glad to have seen it, and we made sure to get our fill of the complimentary cashews to get our money's worth. We ended up meeting tons of fun people at our hostel including American, Spanish, Colombian, and Irish travelers. The group went out for Mary's birthday, but I decided to stay in with my 7-eleven prune yogurts and get a good night's sleep. God I felt like a grandpa. It did turn out to pay off though, as I finally began to feel like myself again when I woke up the next morning. Our last major sight to see in Bangkok was Jim Thompson's House. He was an American credited with bringing Thai silk to the West, and though he disappeared many years ago, his house remains a popular attraction for tourists and silk buyers. It was a nice house, however the compulsory 40 minute tour was a bit excessive, with most facts sounding something like, "As you can see by the blue and white plates, Mr. Thompson liked blue and white." We ended up making a swift getaway about halfway through once we had seen what we wanted to. It may be a tad overrated, at least in my book. Despite having had four nights in Bangkok, my time was already up, and it was time to catch the night train. We had a bit of stress getting our laundry and curry dinner in time (in a hurry seems to mean little around these parts), we made it with ten minutes to spare. Off to Chiang Mai we go.
Cutest. Kids. Ever. #huayxai #laos
June 5-6th: The Tiger Leaping Gorge
We spent several hours on the bus on the morning of June 5th, drifting in and out of sleep. We were lucky enough to have sunny weather for our trek, which we set out on around 10:30 am. The start of the trek was quite easy, beginning along a road fairly low in the mountains. We ended up picking the wrong dirt pathway to go down, only to have a hunchbacked old Chinese man try to explain to us the right way to go. Unfortunately, the language barrier made it quite difficult, and it was awhile before we could make any sense of his kind gesture. We eventually made our way to a magnificent viewpoint, where we found an old Chinese woman who claimed that we had to pay to take photos. Typical. We bought some bananas from her instead (though she seemed much more interested in selling her marijuana), and took advantage of the nice rest stop before what appeared to be a long climb ahead. At this point, my stomach was no longer just a bit unhappy. In fact, I happen to have been graced with what some may call 'the runs' just as we had made our way into what was essentially the middle of nowhere. There were very few toilets along the trek, and those that were present were simply a hole in the ground - something I had already become far too familiar with in China. I must say, despite having been toughened up over the semester by various washroom standards, going from Japan to China is a rough adjustment. For those of you who have not experienced Japanese and Chinese toilets, allow me to explain. In Japan, what you're sitting on feels less like a toilet and more like a spaceship. It's got a whole panel of options, with everything from fake flushing noises to deodorizers to heated seats and oscillating dryers. They quite simply put the traditional Western toilet to shame. In China however, one remembers why the Western toilet provides such an enjoyable experience in the first place. Chinese toilets generally come in the form of a 'squatter', which consists of a hole in the ground that, if lucky, flushes. They are an extra treat to use when the stalls aren't separated, but rather everyone simply lines up along one giant trough and does their business right beside everyone else. Along the first day of our trek however, I was lucky to see any designated toilet area, and I was quickly brought back to my camping days. Thankfully, my stomach held up for most of the day, as the first day was quite intense. Once we left the banana lady's rest spot, we set up a very steep and narrow path that snaked along the mountainside. I can recall thinking numerous times in the hot sun to keep hydrated, as fainting could result in a very long tumble. Despite my stomach not liking the water, I forced it down. We had read online about the Gorge trek beforehand, and the consensus seemed to be that the most difficult part was to come in the late afternoon during a portion known as The 28 Bends, which was a series of switchbacks that was a favorite hangout for donkey owners, waiting to charge exorbitant fees for the use of their animals to make it the rest of the way. We were determined not to succumb to such offers, despite how tempting they may be. We trekked for several hours, and as we got higher and higher, the scenery got more and more amazing. What started out as a distant mountain range high above our point of departure became a much closer sight. The mountains were unbelievable, with clouds surrounding their peaks and snow scattered along the slopes. They made for great views and made the trek well worth the challenge. We stopped for lunch at the usual spot for Trekkers, where I struggled to stomach to noodles. I felt little to no hunger, but there was no denying that our bodies were expending serious calories and fluids, so I did my best to replenish my stocks. We were told that the 28 bends started soon after lunch, and soon enough, they were upon us. Except they weren't, because on what we had counted to be bend seven, we arrived at a rest stop where the words "prepare yourself for the 28 bends" were spray painted on the wall. It was almost comical. After running to the squatter at the rest stop and buying some more water, we set off again, and this time were told we'd get to the bends in 15 minutes or so. When we finally reached the bends, it felt like we'd been on them for the last two hours. A glance up the mountain would reveal fellow trekkers not so far away but many many meters above, so it quickly became better simply not to look up. Once we did finally reach the bends however, they seemed to go by rather quickly (speaking in relative terms, of course). Making it past this crucial step made us feel invincible, but thankfully for the remaining few hours of the hike, we were mostly on flat or downhill terrain, and didn't have to test this feeling. We had done it - nothing would stand in our way now. We we did arrive to the Halfway Houde (the hostel where Trekkers typically spend the night, we were ecstatic. The view from the rooftop patio was incredible, and there were a bunch of people from all over the place enjoying beers and each other's company after a long seven hours of hiking. We met a couple of girls from the UK who had joined up with a Canadian girl from Regina along the hike. We spent the evening with them, playing cards and trading stories about exchange (the British girls had been on exchange near Shanghai while the Canadian was in Hong Kong at CUHK). It felt like we had just joined an exclusive club of climbers, like we had just climbed Everest or something. It was cool. Next morning was an early start as we had to make it down to the pick up point for the bus by 3:30 pm as only one bus went back to Lijiang per day. Unfortunately, my stomach was not nearly as happy this time, and I was having to stop every ten minutes or so either to find a bush or to wait for the pain to subside. It was not ideal. Despite this unfortunate reality, the views were as nice or even better than the ones from the day before. We passed by waterfalls, natural clay formations, and the mountains that seemed so distant when we set out the day before looked like you could practically touch them today. Thankfully, the hike today was mostly downhill and only a couple of hours' walk, so we had plenty of time, despite my sluggish pace. A highlight was when we were not far from our destination and I decided that I needed to find another bush, only to almost get attacked by a snake. I quickly crab-walked to another much more open area, and as luck would have it, a group of trekkers created a hill nearby, just in time to catch me in mid-squat. Perfect. We did make it down to the pick-up point, where we enjoyed some card games and chatted for a few hours before the bus was scheduled to arrive. We had the option to climb down to the base of the gorge, but I did not have it in me this time. When we boarded the bus, there was one seat left next to me, and an extremely large man ended up tripping down the aisle and effectively fell on top of me. It was quite hilarious after the initial shock, despite the fact that it resulted in a rather uncomfortable ride home. After arriving back at Panba Hostel in Lijiang, it was time to say goodbye to Millie and Amrita, who were off to Laos for the next five days. I had such a great time traveling with them, but now it was time for me to catch the night train to Kunming before flying to Bangkok the next day. The hostel staff arranged for a Chinese guy who was also catching the train to help me find my way, and we ended up having quite the conversation via his translation app on his phone. It was quite amazing actually, because he had virtually no English knowledge, and my Mandarin is quite poor. Despite these facts, we discussed school, our homes, where we were going, and made other small talk. I do love technology - especially while traveling. You never feel lost, you can book things as you go, verify prices to avoid scams, and talk to people that five years ago, you simply couldn't (unless you happen to carry a Mandarin-English dictionary in that backpack, of course). So cool. After boarding the train, I did my best to go to bed early, and although I rolled around for quite some time, I eventually drifted off as we chugged along towards Kunming.
Just zippin back to our home in #laos #swissfamilyrobinsonstyle #iliveinatreehouse (at Gibbon Experience)
June 2-4: Dali and Lijiang
We woke up on June 2nd at the Lily Pad Inn, which was a very authentically Chinese building turned backpackers' hostel. We had discussed the night before about how grim and uninviting new places can feel when arriving at night, but the daylight painted Dali in a much different light. The town was full of old Chinese architecture surrounded by mountains and a vast lake. It was beautiful. We chose to take the cable car up the mountain and then hike the Cloudpass Trail across. The cable car made me miss skiing - I have to get out to BC again soon. The trail turned out to be a paved walkway that snaked through the mountains which made for a very leisurely walk. The scenery was amazing though, and given the rainy weather, it was probably better not to be on trails. We stopped at some small huts along the way for lunch, where some local women whipped us up some rice and noodles (surprise, surprise) for 30 yuan (no doubt the foreigners' price). We were certainly thankful for the recharge however, and were now set to continue on our walk. For one reason or another, much of the day's conversation seemed to revolve around work, our futures, and where we could see ourselves living ten years down the road - oh, and Indian weddings (Amrita is Indian). It was great to hear Amrita's perspective on jobs as she will be graduating from a law program next year and is trying to decide whether or not she really wants to practice in the field. Law sounds intense. I will say though that London (UK) sounds like it would be an awesome place to work or study and I would love to get the chance to do either at some point. We also talked about Teach for America and Teach First (the UK equivalent), which are programs that send university grads into some of the roughest schools in the country to teach for two years. It sounds like an amazing program, and many alumni have gone on to take roles in educational policy or in other political areas. I think it sounds really rewarding. What I took away from our day's chat is that the future is exciting. And scary. We finished our hike with staircases down the mountain - all the way down. We finished off by treating ourselves to a nice meal by our hostel (Italian, surprisingly) which was quite enjoyable. Next morning we set off on bikes to explore the lake and old city. Despite the woman at the bike rental place being far too preoccupied to rent us bikes, we eventually got through to her. We cycled alongside rice paddies while challenging ourselves to ride without handlebars - don't try this at home. It was a great ride, and gave us a chance to explore some of the more village-like areas of Dali. At one point, we passed two old Chinese men who appeared to be fixing a shoe at the side of the road with what resembled an old Singer sewing machine. It was quite impressive to see. On our way back into town, we realized just how strong the sun was and despite having only been out for two hours, we had been seriously drained. Having run out of water and not thought to wear sunscreen, we were in desperate need for some shade and a meal. We ate along the touristy strip in Dali (a street nearby was actually called Tourist Street or something like that) as we didn't have much time left before our bus to Lijiang. Unfortunately, there was little we could do about our sun exposure, and Millie especially was already looking quite red. After waiting an extra 45 minutes for our bus, we were en route to Lijiang, along which we snaked through a series of mountain roads surrounded by cliff-like drop offs. The few guardrails we saw must have strictly for show, as they were certainly no match for our bus should it have veered outside of its narrow lane. We felt safe. We spent our first night in Lijiang exploring its winding streets in search of a meal. This place was full of options, but the steamed veggie dumplings and stir-fried cabbage caught my eye. We approached the restaurant only to find it closed, however a Chinese girl poked her head out and began opening the whole place up again once she saw us. Once we had ordered, Amrita worked a bit of her Chinese magic and began conversing with the girl who turned out to be super friendly. She appreciated Amrita's Chinese (unlike most people we had come across) and it was fun to try follow the conversation. I really need to learn Chinese. The next day we decided to rest up - something we haven't done at all since we left Hong Kong. Laundry, journals, and trip planning consumed most of our day, which were all quite necessary. After having met a girl from Queen's and two Americans the night before and hearing about their experience, we decided to do the Tiger Leaping Gorge trek. It is a rigorous two-day trek through the mountains a few hours' drive from Lijiang. We booked the bus to take us the next morning, and though my stomach was a bit upset during the afternoon, I was really looking forward to the journey. That evening, the girls and I wandered the streets while they decided how much they would settle on to buy numerous items that wouldn't fit in their backpacks. I decided to go off on my own for a bit and wander, only to end up lost and wandering for what felt like hours before finally making it back to our hostel. To my surprise, the girls weren't back yet when I arrived, and once they arrived about ten minutes later, they explained that the exact same thing had happened to them. I guess Lijiang really can feel like a maze.
Crossing the border into #Laos at #chiangkhong
Made our own curry powder in #chiangmai (at Asia Scenic Thai Cookery School)
Afternoon swim #chiangmai (at Elephant Nature Park)