Hi 👋🏼 I'm Sophia
I am constantly travelling, changing, creating and learning. On The Scenic Route I will share stories and photos of my journey through this planet and write about how to travel ethically and live sustainably.
Some say to never judge a book by its cover, but I say to never judge a banana by its peel. Nepali bananas always looked old, ugly and bruised, but inside that peel was always a perfect and sweet banana. These cannot even begin to compare to our picture perfect American bananas that I have since realized lack any true flavour.
The 5:00 am morning air smells like lychees in Siem Reap.
I think noticing this is what made me realize Cambodia was magic. But I fell in love with this place as I ate mini bananas and warm French bread on our sun rise tuk tuk to Angkor Wat. The way your senses perceived things were just different here; the colours of the sunrise reflected in the water, the flavour of the fruit, the feeling of the air on your skin, the sound of the soft but bustling city and the ubiquitous aroma of sweet lychees and contrasting durian.
It was just magic, I’m not sure how else to explain it.
Chills traveled down my spine to my fingertips like lightning bolts as I realized I was about to sit on a plane for the next 24 hours. Rewind back to October 25, 2016 and I was sitting in a room on the 5th floor of the SLC with a group of strangers. Fast forward to May 2, 2017 and we are a family of 12 Ryerson students about to begin our journey to Kathmandu, Nepal.
Walking into the Kathmandu airport was a surreal experience. I carried the next month of my life in a 65L bags on my back out of the airport and was immediately faced with what seemed to be an infinite amount of Nepali people asking if we wanted a taxi. We found our in-country representative, Dinesh, who took us to “Hotel Premium,” our temporary accommodation in the Thamel district of Kathmandu. After 24 hours of airplane food we were starving. Even though it was late at night, the hotel staff brought us up to the dark rooftop patio and made us steaming plates of chow mein before we tucked into bed for the night.
The next morning we were woken up by the crows of a few nearby roosters and the crisp, dusty Nepali air seeping through our windows. We quickly dressed and rushed to the rooftop to watch the sun rise over the mountains surrounding the city. Mary Anne Radmacher once said, “I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” This became true for us with the sun, and little did we know that our first morning in Nepal would foreshadow a month of magnificent sunrises.
After a few days exploring the main city, we hopped into cabs and made our way up through the mountains into our home for the next month: the village of Tinpiple, Jitpurphedi. After about an hour of winding, bumpy dirt roads, we arrived at our host family’s mountainside farmhouse. It was a dusty pale pink with a large blue tarp over the outdoor living room area. Our host family had cows and yaks as well as their dog Saru.
Our accommodations were basic; we slept on mattresses on the floor underneath flowing white mosquito nets. Our meals were made by our host mother Chandra and consisted mostly of daal bhat, a traditional nepali dish of lentils and rice.
Our typical day would consist of getting up around sunrise, which was around 5:00 to 6:00 am. If we were feeling up to it, we would walk in our pyjamas into the junction and watch the sun peek out from above the mountains from the roadside. After breakfast we would grab our lunch tiffins and put on some tunes to walk up the mountain to one of two work sites. Most days we would walk about 45 minutes to the school where we would play with the school children and help with the construction of a new school building. During our month there we did a lot of foundational work and ground levelling with the help of the local workers. On other days we would walk over an hour up to a local family’s home, where we helped take down the remnants of their house, which was destroyed by the earthquake. After salvaging as much as we could, we began doing foundational work there as well.
The second weekend we were there we embarked on our weekend excursion to Chitwan National Park. The drive there can best be described with a quote from our coordinator Alana Ferguson, “it was like putting 12 people in a box and shaking it for eight hours straight.” The bumpy dirt roads in Nepal do not make for any smooth rides, but this did not dampen our spirits by any means. We stopped a few times on our way there to grab snacks, and spent our time in the car chatting, listening to music and napping. Once we arrived, we checked into our beautiful safari lodge situated in the middle of the town there. We unpacked and were immediately taken on a mini walking and canoe tour of the area and had time to hang out with the elephants near our lodge. The next day we headed out on a full day safari where we had the chance to view many species of birds, elephants and a wild rhino!
By the end of the month we had many new Nepali friends, both young and old. We got to know the names of all the school children and enjoyed taking work breaks to play Stella-Ella-Ola with them in their classrooms. On our final day in the school, we were given butterfly shaped paper badges that read, “you are special” as thanks for our month of work there. The children adorned us with flowers and lots of goodbye hugs, and the workers and school faculty extended their gratitude and gave us many hugs as well. We thanked them for allowing us to live in their village and spend our month there. Although they thanked us for our work we did there, what we were thanking them for was not any sort of tangible thing. They gave us a month of pure happiness, an incomparably immersive cultural experience and life lessons and memories to last a lifetime.
As we were leaving our host family’s dusty, pink mountainside home, our host father Saaila Dai held our hands and said to us, “when you come back to Nepal, you come home.”
Sixty seven days. That’s 1,608 hours, 96,480 minutes, or 5788800 seconds until I step on that plane.
Just a few months ago, I was an overwhelmed first year sitting in a room filled with complete strangers. I remember sitting in that bright orange classroom on the fifth floor of the SLC staring at my hands folded in my lap. All I could think was how in just less than half a year, I’d be trekking through Asia with these strangers.
Revisiting these thoughts today, it is funny how much my perspective on this has changed. These unfamiliar faces have become my second family and have made my transition from high school to university a breeze. I love coming into our weekly Tuesday meetings and knowing I can sit beside anybody and not have to suffer through awkward small talk or the social distance you often experience with new friends. Though we have two separate destinations among us, we have become one single team working to achieve our fundraising goals together.
On February 11, we had our family vacation themed fundraising party at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. Decked out in Hawaiian shirts, socks and sandals and baseball hats, we looked like a bunch of dads who were definitely ready to party Island style! We all signed up for a shift to help work the party and keep it running smoothly, and rotated at the two hour mark so we could still have a bit of fun ourselves. Jobs varied from working the bar, manning the stairs and taking IDs at the front door. We were surprised to hear from the Frat brothers that they were shocked at how well we organized everything, some even saying we executed this party better than they have in the past! Overall it was a huge success, and we want to give a big shoutout to team member (and frat bro) Naveed Lail for helping us organize the event, and to the Beta Theta Pi frat brothers for letting us take over for a night! Their donation was more than generous and we are very grateful for all of their help with the event, they were such a vital part in making it the success that it was!
On the topic of successes, we also recently had another bake sale that took place on Valentines Day. Though it started off a little rocky with major baked good competition and a change of location, we ended up making a big profit off our pink and red goodies. We were definitely feeling the love that day!
As the weeks go on, we are continuing to prepare for the ever fast approaching date of our fundraising silent auction. Our silent auction subgroup is working hard at composing the baskets and securing goodies for the day of, and our team members keep bringing in amazing things that we will auction off. March 27th may be a month away, but it will definitely creep up on us. Though its overwhelming at times, I know we will be ready to raise a ton of money when the date arrives.
In addition to this, during our weekly Tuesday meetings we continue to focus on a new lesson each day. Ranging from cultural appropriation vs. appreciation to dealing with culture shock upon arrival, I definitely am feeling more and more prepared as we get closer to the departure date, which is only sixty seven day away.
No, not with a young, hot Spanish-speaking man. Today I fell in love with a place, Isla Mujeres– the Island of Women, to be specific.
The perimeter of this bohemian island off the coast of Playa Mujeres, Cancun could be traveled within an hour by your choice of either motor bike or golf cart– my family and I chose the latter option. My mother happily drove us around on the roads with the most ridiculous speed bumps we've ever encountered. The most endearing part about these roads were not their “small town” feel or miniature size. Instead, it was the hand painted signs on the sides of crabs with the word “ALTO!” beside them, meaning stop if a family of crabs starts running across the street in front of you (how adorable!!).
The island consists of many different communities, ranging from makeshift shacks in the city centre to enormous white mansions on the west coast. We frequently parked our golf cart on the side of the road to further investigate these varying municipalities.
I found myself lost in the beaches compiled of golden sand and salmon coloured rocks covered in a layer of deep army green seaweed. These colours combined with the perfectly cerulean blue waters continued to bring me in with each crashing wave. If I could have stood there with my eyes closed and hair blowing in the salty wind forever, I don't think I would mind at all.
We wandered down the road from the shoreline to a cluster of road side markets built out of the vendors homes. In them they were selling a mixture of shells, Mexican candy skulls and handwoven blankets. The shop keepers and their children all greeted us with warm smiles as they invited us into their homes to see their goods.
After an hour of seashell hunting we had worked up an appetite and decided to make our way into the village to find a place to eat. And boy, did we ever eat. We stopped at a funky little restaurant colloquially known as Mangos, where we had fish tacos, veggie quesadillas, to-die-for mango margaritas and the spiciest nachos, guac and pico de gallo I've ever had (so, so good). If you ever find yourself in Isla Mujeres, this is an absolute must do!
To finish off our day, we strolled through the artisanal market to do a little souvenir shopping for our friends and family back home. Most shops were typical souvenir shops, but amidst all the tourist hubs was a quaint little house turned art installation. The two women who inhabited this place had hand tiled the whole front, and adorned the doorway with a sign that read “my aquarian age, feminine rising.” The artists here made their living doing tile art workshops as well as palm readings. Needless to say this brought me further into admiration for this place. Unfortunately I didn't have time to get my palm read, but I will definitely be back one day for a longer visit. Considering their project was entitled their Feminine Rising, or Feminina Sube in Spanish, it was only fitting they chose the “Island of Women” as their destination.
From the sound of clinking seashells dangling from mobiles in the wind, to the soft yet vibrant colours that adorned every paintable surface, to the salty blue Gulf of Mexico to the abundance of flavour in every taco bite I took, I truly fell in love with this island. Theres no doubt in my mind that I will be back one day.
Reporting live from Playa Mujeres, Mexico! Right now its cloudy and windy, but this morning my family and I enjoyed the beautiful sunny weather along the pool deck. Though I wish the weather was a little nicer right now, rain or shine tequila makes everything better! As I'm sitting in my outdoor bed thinking about all my favourite things about traveling, I also was thinking about some of my least favourites. Top of my list is packing (and even worse– unpacking). I am truly terrible when it comes to packing, because I most often pack way too much and then forget some of the most important things at home. As of recent, I decided to create a general packing list as a guideline for most of my trips so I always remember the essentials. Since I haven't posted in a while, I thought I’d share it with everybody to make packing for your next trip even easier.
General Packing List
Clothing
T-shirts
Tank tops
Long sleeves/sweaters/hoodies/cardigans
Coat/raincoat/windbreaker
Pants
Shorts
Skirts
Dress
Bathing suit and cover up
Underwear/bras
Socks
Pyjamas
Shoes
Flip flops
Dress shoes/heels
Runners/sneakers
Walking shoes
Toiletries
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Floss
Hairbrush
Hair elastics/bobby pins
Sunscreen
After sun
Lotion
Deodorant
Razor
Shaving cream
Soap
Clothes/towels
Band-aids
Tweezers
Nail clippers
Makeup
Makeup wipes/remover
Female sanitation products
Various medication (gravol, tylenol, benadryl, etc.)
Shampoo
Conditioner
Electronics and misc.
Camera
Camera charger
Phone
Phone charger
Laptop
Laptop charger
Books
Money
Money belt/wallet
Passport (this one is important!!)
Identification
Necessary documents (booking info, tickets, etc.)
Headphones
Journal
Pens/pencils/tape
Sunglasses
Hope this helps you on your next trip. Reply if theres any travel essentials you bring that I missed!
“Isn’t it dangerous there?”
“I heard you can't drink the water.”
“Isn't it really dirty?”
“Are you sure you want to go there?”
If you’ve traveled to or spoke about travelling to anywhere outside of an all inclusive resort, this probably sounds all too familiar. The topic of going somewhere more undeveloped is always slightly controversial, but even more so with the passing events of this year in particular.
Many people have the mindset that all travelling outside of a typically Westernized destination will result in illness, injury or even death. This stems from the ideology that because countries in North America and most of Europe are more developed, we are automatically safer and deemed okay to travel to. The fear mongering that major news platforms engage in also adds to this.
While terrible things do happen and should not be denounced, it is unfair to suggest that if you travel there you have a 100% chance of running into extreme danger. Of course one must be more cautious when going through Cairo than Vancouver, but what I have learned is that in this day and age we must even be cautious even when exiting our own homes. With the increase of violent crimes involving weapons in North America, we cannot depict ourselves as a perfect nation where nothing ever goes wrong. In 2015 it was reported that crime levels in the USA were 3x higher than in China, and in 2014 violent crimes involving guns were 15x higher than Columbia. In 2014, Canada also had seven times more gun and violent crimes than India. Even Europe has been experiencing a dramatic increase in terrorist attacks within the past year. The issues involving the threat of ISIS and murders of innocent black individuals in the US are seemingly insurmountable, (but that in itself is for an entirely different post).
With any sort of travelling, one must do the research and planning beforehand in order to take the proper precautions to ensure your safety throughout your time there. You must educate yourself on the laws, culture, societal norms and expectations, food quality, proper dress, and safe areas, as well as reputable agencies and companies to book your flights, tours and accommodation with. You will attract the wrong people by wearing short shorts and a crop top in Yemen, and if you don’t do your research on drug laws in Thailand you may find yourself on a 30 year sentence just for lighting up that joint. But all of this is preventable so as long as you do proper research.
Safe travelling is not automatically guaranteed regardless of where you choose to go, but the false perception that all non-Westernized countries are filled with immediate danger is ultimately ignorant within itself. I strongly believe that educating yourself by reading about and travelling to other countries decreases xenophobic ideologies. You should never let fear stop you from seeing this awe-inspiring world we live in, because when you properly prepare and educate yourself, there is a better chance you will only see the beauty in this world and avoid the ugly. So next time somebody speaks to you of thinking twice about going on that South East Asian trip, you can rebut them with your thorough research and proof that travelling can be adventurous, yet still safe.
As much as I love Instagram and blogging and social media in general, I still have great appreciation for more old school ways of documenting things. The process of writing something down on actual paper and taping photos into a journal is os satisfying, and when you actually fill up that book and finish it, the gratification you feel is even greater. That’s why I carry my black moleskin journal with me everywhere, along with a little pack of fine tip markers, tape and my polaroid. Whether I’m downtown Toronto at a cafe or on a beach in Cannes, I want to be able to snap a quick photo, save any receipts, flyers or other items and write about it right away. So far I have finished one book and am halfway through another, but someday I hope to have a library filled with black moleskins that document every moment of my life.
Since most of my journal pages are about my travels, I decided it be fitting to share some photos of them on here. I’ll shut up now and let the photos do the talking since, you know, they're worth 1000 words and all.
So as you all know, I am a vegetarian. Two days ago I decided to go vegan though! I chose to do this because 1. I saw a sad video about eggs, 2. I want to make healthier food choices and 3. I want to reduce my carbon footprint (because the meat and animal products industry is terrible on the environment). But I'm not here to convince you all to go vegan (although it has been a great two days so far). Instead I want to help debunk the myth that vegan food is gross and only consisting of vegetables!
So to celebrate my recent dietary switch, my friend Sydney and I went to Bloomers Vegan Cafe on Bloor and Ossington. This area of Toronto is super cute and filled with little coffee shops and boutiques, so Bloomers fits in perfectly with its vintage furniture and cozy vibe. Their menu is 100% vegan and ranges from soy milk lattes, to (a-ma-zing) bagels and tofu cream cheese, to sunflower cheese poutine! Their freshly baked goods are also to die for; my personal favourite is the ginger molasses cookie sandwich, but you definitely wont be able to resist trying one of their super unique donuts (like rose pistachio!!).
This is a great place to drop in for a quick bite or to go coffee, but even better to sit for a few hours to chat or work over a delicious meal. So make sure to try it out if you're in Toronto!
Travelling is hella expensive, but I mean you already knew that. If you’re anything like me, you probably have an extensive list of countries and cities in the notes app on your phone you’d love to visit. Maybe you even stay up a little too late some nights looking at Google images of exotic beaches and big cities and awe-inspiring mountains. While all this is really fun and exciting, it gets dangerous too. Your mood will go from 100 to 0 as soon as you search up the flight price from your city to Tokyo, or the nightly rate of that beachfront villa with the private infinity pool. Suddenly your dreams of shopping on the Champs Elysée come crashing to a halt, because even if you can afford to get yourself to Paris, the cost of living alone will leave your bank account in tears. While you’ll still be forking out a bit to see the world, there are a lot of resources you can check out to seriously cut costs.
1. Flights
Flights can easily be the most expensive part of your trip. This is pretty annoying because you’re often paying to be cramped in a small space for multiple hours or days while eating bad food. The only good thing about it is that it gets you from point A to point B and allows you to see the world! To avoid spending half your budget on flights, check out websites like Cheap Flights and Secret Flying.
Cheap Flights works on an algorithm that searches through every plane company that travels with your selected destinations and dates and finds the cheapest, fastest and smartest (combo of both cheapest and fastest) flight for you.
Secret Flights is a website where you can find dirt cheap plane tickets that are often last minute and have very specific flight paths and travel dates. While there isn’t much versatility with this site, it’s still a great resource to go through to see if you find that hidden gem of a deal.
2. Accommodation
As dreamy as it would be to stay in the Four Seasons Resort in Maui, let’s get real. We’re broke as hell and can barely afford to be going on this trip in the first place. No worries though, because there are tons of more affordable and often more fun and authentic places to stay that are in some ways better than that fancy all inclusive.
The most affordable accommodation option when travelling is staying in hostels, which are not only inexpensive but often in the most action packed or reclusive areas of the city, allowing you to easily choose what kind of experience you’re looking for. They’re also great if you’re looking to meet people on your trip as most rooms are dorm style with bunk beds. Hostelworld is a great website to use if you’re looking into this option as it lists all reputable hostels with a description of location, amenities and reviews by travellers who have stayed there before.
If you’re looking to still keep the price low but maybe amp up the “luxury” aspect of your stay, Airbnb is a great website to check out. You’re able to search up where you’d like to go and when, and it will show you listings of other people’s homes/properties in that area. You can select your desired price range and if you’d like to share the home with others and stay in a private room or have the whole place to yourself. Unless you’re looking for a mansion, most times homes will be modest and very reasonably priced in comparison to a hotel, and sometimes offer free breakfast! So if free breakfast doesn’t sell you on that one, I’m not too sure what will.
Pictured: Best Western Apollo Museumhotel in Amsterdam
3. Food
Just the aforementioned breakfast made my stomach grumble, and gets me super pumped to talk about food here. This is inarguably one of the best aspects of travelling– being able to try foreign and often strange foods from other cultures. Food often ends up being pretty expensive, whether its authentic thin crust pizza in Naples or the delicacy of eating a snake’s heart in Hanoi (this may be foreshadowing a future post!!!). In order to still have that delicious, authentic meal while not breaking the bank, theres a few things you can do. Firstly, grocery shop, grocery shop, grocery shop. If you’re staying somewhere with access to a fridge, your best bet is to stock up on snackable foods and easy-to-make meal ingredients. You don’t need a fancy dinner out every night, so compromise and decide to cook your own meal before going out one night. This also applies to alcohol! Especially in Europe, buying a decent bottle of wine at the grocery store will only cost you two to five euros max, whereas cocktails can get pretty expensive. Pre-ing at home before going out will end up saving you tons of money, or just get you super wasted and lead to you spending more money (hopefully the latter option though, stay safe kids!!).
You can also ask locals where to go. Most likely their favourite restaurant won’t be the local Hard Rock Cafe, or whatever the most touristy and high priced option in the area is. Locals will know where to go for good food at low prices, and often times you’ll be able to find more authentic options this way.
If you have any tips for budget travelling, I’d love to hear them! Reply to this post with any resources you use to save money while seeing the world :)
While I’m in Toronto and not travelling abroad, I’m going to be writing a lot about my adventures within my home city as well. Even though I’ve grown up here for 18 years, I still make time to wander through different areas and try new restaurants or go in different stores or galleries I’ve yet to see.
Today, my friend Sydney and I went out for lunch to this Californian and Hawaiian inspired healthy eats place on King and Blue Jays Way called Calii Love. This adorable place has it’s walls adorned with hand painted art, shelves of fruit and a woven 3D wall installation bearing their slogan: “Oh Baby I Like It Raw.” The menu consists of ELIXR juices, coffee, smoothies, smoothie bowls and pre made or DIY poké bowls (which are to die for by the way). They’re a great place if you have any dietary restrictions, as they have vegan, gluten free, vegetarian and dairy free options. Whether you’re looking to sit down for a few hours to enjoy a healthy meal and study or grab a quick coffee and go, this is definitely a place to check out if you’re in the downtown area. Today I ordered the Loved smoothie bowl which was made with açai, mango, blueberry and banana, topped with granola, strawberries, blueberries and drizzled with fresh honey. Syd got the same one, but with coconut flakes and no honey on it. Together we sat at the window and talked about home, veganism, our future travels and sustainable fashion (if you're interested in this, go check out her blog curiouslybeing.com).
Both of us belong to a student group at Ryerson called ASB, which is an abroad volunteer initiative program. This year, Syd is going to India to build latrines in Southern India and I’ll be in Nepal in Kathmandu Valley doing earthquake relief construction. Needless to say, we’re both really excited. We’re both planning on extending our travels after our month of volunteering as well. I’m going to spend the next two to three weeks hiking to the Mount Everest Base Camp (!!!) and possibly going to visit my cousin in China afterwards. Nothing is booked yet, but hopefully within the next while my plans will be set in stone and I can begin to plan out the details.
So over the summer my friend Chloe and I (you’ll be hearing a lot about Chloe in this blog) went to Europe for a month, stopping in Amsterdam, Paris, Cannes, Zurich and Berlin. Now, one thing I’ve mentioned before is my issue with food while travelling. Most often this is a tricky area for me since I’m a vegetarian, but when abroad I tend to go more vegan. Not strictly, but for some reason I just don’t trust milk or eggs or tofu in Europe. Don’t ask me why, I just feel iffy about it. But basically what happens is due to my 1. European food trust issues and 2. student budget, I end up not getting enough protein in my diet all trip. Although not great for my health, I’ve never had any serious issues with this… that is until this summer.
So it was probably around 11 pm on a weeknight and Chloe and I decided to end our night with a McDonalds run. We walked in and I was immediately over the moon because as it turns out, German McDonalds have veggie burgers on their menu! I immediately start listing off all the things I’m going to order and amp myself up for how great this is going to be. We were in line for about 10-15 minutes, but the closer we got to the front the less hungry I became, and the more sick I started to feel. I brushed this off initially but by the time we got to the front I turned to Chloe and said, “Chloe, can you order me fries? I’m going to sit down.” Now Chloe, bless her heart, was unaware of how sick I suddenly felt. She became slightly confused and annoyed how I waited all that time in line and then last minute told her to order me fries, because it seemed like I had just conned her into paying for me. Nonetheless, she’s a good friend so she did (love you Chlo). She turned around to see which table I went to, but instead saw me laying face down on the floor of the German McDonalds with about five strangers crowded around me. Now I don’t remember anything past asking her to order me fries, but I guess my lack of protein finally caught up to me and lead to me fainting inside this McDonalds. These kind strangers carried me over to a bench and laid me on the floor, where I woke up but immediately passed out again. I finally woke up again a few minutes later to the sight of five strangers speaking very harshly to me and each other in German, while an old man held my feet in the air. My first question upon waking was, “where are my shoes?” Poor Chloe looked like she was going to pass out herself because she was so freaked out.
Once I realized I had fainted, I began dying of laughter imagining how wild the whole ordeal must have been for everybody else. After a quick assessment from the paramedics, I was cleared to leave and my uncle was waiting for me in an uber outside. But obviously before I left I made sure to get my fries, I wasn’t going to go through all that for nothing.
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