My First IA as Crew Leader!

I finally have some days off so I'm posting  a few blogs.

As I mentioned in my last blog, my crew leader was offered a new job in Fort Frances that she had been hoping for so she left in the middle of July. Since I did my crew leader course (SP300) this spring I was asked if I wanted to take over her position. I was a little reluctant because I really enjoy the crew boss position- I like cutting and the amount of responsibility I have. I ended up accepting the position, one of my crew members was also promoted to crew boss and we picked up a new crew member. It is definitely a different feeling, being the person in charge, having to make all the decisions. It helps that I have a strong crew of guys with me that I can rely on.
After our set of days off we were on Red Alert a few times before we finally ended up getting an IA. Red Alert means that the helicopter is packed, you are in full nomex and you are supposed to be dispatched within 5 minutes of the alarm. We were all doing jobs around the retrieval area, and I wasn't feeling confident that we'd get a fire that day. It had been a slow last few days so I was expecting another slow day.

WRONG!

When the alarm when off I swear my legs went numb... it took me a few seconds to process what was happening. Everyone in retrieval and the warehouse was wishing me good luck but I couldn't even hear them. I was so nervous! My guys were at the chopper within 2 minutes and the pilot was close behind. There is always an IC3 on the chopper along with the red alert crew (I am an IC5 which is the lowest level, the lower number means you have more experience). This was comforting, especially because it was one of my favorite tech's named Jamie. He helped me a lot, told me I was going to do fine and that I'll always remember my first IA and how awesome it is.
When we lifted off we were originally dispatched to fire in the Kenora district, but were quickly re-routed to a fire in the Red Lake district that had been called in by a fishing lodge. From 15 miles back we could see a little white smoke. The closer we got the more comfortable I started to feel. It wasn't a massive black column, I knew it was a manageable size for us. When we got overhead we were circling to check out the fire and look for a place we could land to unload. The fire was burning on an island, and there were trees all along the shoreline which made landing impossible. We noticed a boat a few miles away and flew over to them, a group of American fishermen. We flagged them down the siren on the chopper and waved them over to the shore. We dropped off our cutter and a person to help him on a shore and the boat of fishermen came over and drove them to the island. Our cutter cut enough trees that we were able to just put our nose on a little rock outcrop. The shoreline was steep so the pilot had to hold power the whole time we were unloading. We were a good 10 feet off the ground, passing our bags and equipment down to our 2 guys on the ground. Jamie (the IC3) got out with us (they always get the IC3 to get off for a crew leaders first IA to help out. Once we were on the ground the fire was easy, it was a quick hose lay to the fire and we tied off to the lake on both sides. Jamie was picked up within half an hour and left us to the fire. We set up a cool camp for the night, and got POURED on. There were massive storms all night with loud thunder and lightning. We got 12mm of rain on our fire so it was pretty quiet the next day. We worked on it all day and were picked up that night.

Jamie during our hover exit

My first IA- RED59

The Holman Crew
Shawn, Greg, Scott, Me!

It was such a great experience and I got good feedback from Jamie and the managers when I get back. They said I had a good scouting report, and I sounded confident on the radio. After the feeling came back to my legs and I realized that we were actually being dispatched I felt pretty confident. It was the perfect fire for my first IA, good size, still good fire behavior but nothing too crazy (and no blow down or waist deep swamps!) I'm back in Red Lake now with 2 days off (my 3rd day off since my July 1st). I'm tired from the whole month of July and excited for the time off. Things have been quiet the last few days because we got a lot of rain. It's supposed to be nice for the next week though so things may pick up again.
I would love to get at least one more IA before the end of the summer- put all the things I learned from the last one to use.
Other provinces are also getting hot and have been asking for crews- Quebec, Northwest Territories and Manitoba. I'd love to get an out of province tour if we stay with our low hazard here.
Taking time on these days off to figure somethings out for school in September as well. This summer has flown by I can't believe there is only one more month till I'm starting my Masters!

Fire Season 2013

It had been a pretty quiet summer for Red Lake. On July 1st we were at 12 fires. By the end of the day on July 2nd (my birthday!) we were at over 40. Probably couldn't have asked for a better birthday present than that. We were dispatched to RED013, but it was one of the lower priorities due to it's size/ fire behavior so we didn't leave until the morning of July 3rd. The plan was to drive to Bak Lake (our forward attack base) and then get flipped into the fire from there. The fire was only 3km from Bak Lake. Well, in typical MNR style we ended up waiting at Bak Lake for several hours before we were able to get into our fire. It was a VERY busy morning for helicopters because a lot of the fires were showing intense fire behavior, between putting new crews on fires and re positioning crews to safer spots they hardly set down at all. Two choppers came in to refuel while we were waiting in Bak Lake and asked us if anyone was on the fire just over the ridge because it was putting pretty good smoke. That was Red13, and we told them that we would be on it as soon as there was a free chopper.
When we finally got to the fire it was called in at 2 ha... that was short lived. The head of our fire was going pretty good when we got there and we had our helicopter stay and bucket on it while we started laying house. Eventually the buckets weren't of any help because the head was so intense, so my crew leader called air attack (water bombers) and they came and started bombing on the fire. By that time our fire now had a spot fire a couple hundred feet ahead which was the priority for the bombers. The bombers stayed on the spot fire and the head of the fire until they were out of gas and had to return back to the airport. The bombers left our fire pretty quiet, but it still had a lot of smokes on it. It ended up being about 14 ha, and the spot fire was about 2 ha. We had 3 other crews on it with us, 1 on the main fire and 2 on the spot fire.

Watching the bombers on our fire

The helipad we originally were dropped off at was a "floating" bog (I would hardly call it floating because we were up to our knees at the best places, and past our waist at the worst). After we crossed the bog to the fire we were in complete blow down, at some points over my head. And if it wasn't blow down, we were scaling the side of a rock cliff. It was a pretty crappy place for a fire, there was no easy walking and we had to do A LOT of cutting. That part I don't mind though because I love cutting- especially in blow down.

Our helipad 

The bridge we built so we didn't have to wade through the swamp to get to our helipad

Deciding what to do with all this blowdown

We stayed on fire in total for 10 days, the last 3 days my crew leader had to go to Dryden for training for her new job (resource technician position in Fort Frances) so I was left in charge of the fire. At that point the fire was pretty dead, but we had a big furry friend visit a few times. We got to our helipad one morning and a bear had eaten almost everything on it. Jerry cans of gas, 4 gallons of chainsaw bar oil, dry powder fire extinguishers, bug spray- and then all our food. The only thing it really left was a Big Turk chocolate bar... which we found funny because everyone always says how they're the worst chocolate bars but I love them- guess the bear didn't. In the midst of cleaning  up all the garbage, the bear reappeared on the ridge. We scared him away with the chainsaw but he came back 20 minutes later. The helicopter came over and scared him away for the rest of the day. He was just a little guy, probably curious about what we were doing and enticed by all the food. He came back that night and ate more bar oil and gas, we scared him away a few more times with the chainsaw and then eventually he just stopped coming back. I think the bar oil and gas may have got the best of him...
While all of this was going on we were getting more new starts and Red31 was going for multiple km runs every day. The final size of that fire was about 20 000 ha and took up most resources in the province. Bak Lake became the hub for the incident management team and logistics for the fire...

HOME! Trip Highlights.

What an unbelievable trip... I am so lucky for everything I was able to experience, and everyone I was so fortunate to meet, and reunite with. The trip home was loooong, but pretty uneventful. I had a pretty scary bus ride from the Cambodia border to Bangkok- the driver was going at least 190km/hr on a 2 lane, which he turned into 4 lanes. He was FLYING- I've never been so scared in a car. We asked him several times to slow down but with the language barrier I'm not sure if he understood... or maybe he just didn't care because I think he went even faster. I'm doing a lot of reminiscing, looking at my pictures and remembering all the good times so I decided to do a highlights blog. I know I'll forget something, but this is what I can remember.

Highlights of South East Asia 2013! 

(Thailand) Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, (Laos) Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng, Vientiane ,(Thailand) Koh Phangnan, Koh Tao, Tonsai Beach (Indonesia) Ubud Bali, Kuta Lombok, (Cambodia) Phnom Penh, Siem Reap.

- sky bar with the boys (insanely overpriced Mojitos)

- epic Jenga games that led to meeting Jorgen from Sweden!

- 3 people and our bags in a tuk tuk, Burge's sandal holding on for dear life

- Matt's reaction when he found out our servers were lady boys

- detours leading us to the Chiang Rai night market (and the boys eating maggots)

- Karen long neck tribe

- first day of the slowboat rocking ear plugs the whole time

- meeting Renee and Aaron from Guelph

- meeting Francois and Mischa from Montreal

- the after hours bowling alley in Luang Prabang

- teaching English by candlelight to our trekking guide

- riding an elephant

- VIP night bus from Luang Prabang to Vang Vieng, switchbacks the WHOLE way

- tubing!! amazing.

 - night one at Lalaland with Burge, playing the hand game

- discovering the world's best sandwich (man) and then watching everyone's reactions when they tried it.. and being assured it was in fact the best sandwich in the world

- my chain falling off 20 times on the bumpiest road in Laos

 - 3am private bus rides.. probably the worst plan of the trip

- pedicures with the boys :)

- meeting up with Red Lake!!!!!!
- BUCKETS!

- fire skipping (Koh Phangnan and Tao) 

- full moon <3 nbsp="" p="">
- Marcus Yolo

-meeting Dustin and Karmen



- bonding with Lou and Cait <3 nbsp="" p="">

 

- our sandbox bed in Koh Phangnan

 - the wig that still made me laugh after weeks

- diving for the first time!

 - my crazy Swedish diving friends

- deep water soloing

- toffee's magic tricks at Sunset Bar in Tonsai

- the death hill in Ton Sai... sooo sweaty

 - Caitlin violently puking and asking me to kill her

 - 3 to a "bed" (boxspring)

- Mama's chicken!

- out of business airlines

 - missing my bus

 - "public transportation"

- motorbike rides from nice strangers


- the hotttesssttt ferry ride to Lombok

- Deo, my Indonesian surf teacher

- Surfing!! (and the terrible sunburn on the back of my legs)


- Gado Gado (most delicious Indonesian food)

- power yoga in Ubud

- Indonesian dancers

- meeting with Rolf and Violeta


- 3 on a scooter in the rain

 - homemade dinner from Violeta

- trying to find dinner in Bangkok w no English and getting a cold bag of noodles

 - the Killing fields

- meeting Keira (Germany) again a month later

- Bob from Australia!

- Massive bike rides and sore bums

- Sunrise at Angkor Wat
Thanks to everyone for the amazing memories, will not be forgotten.

Siem Reap, Cambodia

I've been in Siem Reap for three days now. The bus ride wasn't too bad- it was a typical Asian bus, not a foreigners one. The difference is the local buses stop 100 times from point A to point B, where foreign buses would only stop once. The locals just hop on and off at their leisure which usually makes the trip a bit longer- but it's ok. Siem Reap is a busy city! It's a lot smaller than Phnom Penh but because everything is so condensed it seems just as, maybe ever busier! I got to my hostel and found that I was sharing a dorm with a girl who I had previously met in Laos a month ago! I couldn't believe it! It was normal to run into the same people throughout Thailand and Laos because often tourists do similar routes but I wasn't expecting to see anyone I knew anymore. I also made a friend from Australia who I did all the temples with. I was happy to meet someone to share a tuk tuk with because it majorly cuts down on cost- and he was a lot of fun so it made it a good time. The first day we took a tuk tuk to Bantaey Srei which was one of the farther temples, and on the way home we went to the Landmine Museum, and a collection of other temples (Banteay Samre, Pre Rup, East Mebon, Ta Som, Neak Pean and Preah Khan. I must say, I'm not much for the temples... they are certainly magnificant but that tour took us 9 hours... and it was HOT, and DUSTY.. and the tuk tuk is veryy bumpy. The landmine museum was my favorite part of the day. I didn't know much history or the current situation of landmines so I was happy to learn. The center also houses 40 at risk kids that they teach, feed and help them find work. The second day my friend and I were feeling energetic so we decided we were going to bike to the rest of the temples. We woke up for sunrise at Angkor Wat (530am), but it was too cloudy/ overcast to see the sunrise which was too bad. Then we spent the rest of the day biking to the rest of the temples. The Bayon (temple of many faces), Takeo (my favorite one, on a mountain with amazing views and no one else up there!), Ta Prohm which was also another cool one because it had MASSIVE trees growing through the bricks. I may have missed some because it really was difficult to keep them straight. I was exhausted after the day, I think the ride was 30 km, and it was HOT! Today I've just been relaxing and making the final plans for my trip. I have a bus back to Bangkok in two days, and I will head straight to the airport from the bus station. Tomorrow I am going to get up for sunrise again, I'm hoping it isn't overcast this time, and then I will bike the route again without stopping at any temples. The scenery is beautiful but I'm tempeled out! I've lucked out in Siem Reap, I met a lot of great people to hang out with for my last few days of traveling. <3

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

I arrived yesterday after a quick flight from Bangkok. I know I keep mentioning it, but my sinuses!! They're crazy, with 3 flights in less than 24 hours I was hurting. Especially a quick 1 hour flight, my ears were just settling and then we were starting our descent. I could hardly hear anything when I got off the plane, multiplied by the language issue I was struggling.
First impression of Cambodia... it's a different place. Firstly, they take US dollars more than their currency (riel) which I find bizarre. They'll give your change in US as well, but anything less than 1$ is in riels. Also, if there is even a tiny rip in a bill they won't take it. I've got an old, ripped 20$ bill that I can't get rid of (thanks a lot airport). But worse case I'll bring it home- I actually paid with a bill that was in 2 pieces once, we clearly don't have the same standards.
The hostel I'm staying at is pretty cool, I have air conditioning so it really can't lose! The day I got here I spent the day around town. I saw the pagodas, the palace, Wat Phnom and the central and Russian markets. I have been to a lot of Asian markets but these were for sure the most extensive ones I've ever seen! It had everything; clothes mad shoes for anyone, any size, housewares, jewelry, electronics, beauty products, bags, purses, car parts, tools, cooked food, raw groceries (meat, seafood, veg, fruit), fresh baked buns, clothes tailors, hair dressers, nail shops. It was crazy... and I didn't even buy anything haha. The other stuff was pretty standard, temples and grand places. Theyre nice, but not my favorite.
Today was Cambodian history day. I started at the Tuol Sleng genocide museum, also known as S21 jail. It was the largest jail during the Khmer Rouge rule, it was formerly a high school. You can walk through all the buildings and see the cells some of the victims were kept in. There were hundreds of pictures of the people who went through the jail, an estimated 20 000 people, most who were moved to the killing fields to be killed. There were pictures of what they found when the jail was liberated in 1979. They are very graphic, showing dead people all over the rooms. When they arrived there were 7 people remaining, most who had used their skills like painting or small machine repair, to get in good with the soldiers to have their lives spared. It's really hard to imagine this was so recent, and the trial for the leaders of the Khmer Rouge even more recent.
After S 21 I went to Choueng Ek killing fields which is 15 km outside Phnom Penh. It was formerly a Chinese cemetery before Pol Pot turned it into a massacre sight. The buildings from the original sight were torn down shortly after the liberation because the local people needed building supplies. There is an audio guide as you walk around, it was very informative and there were stories from people who had found the mass graves. All through the place there are large depressions where the mass graves were dug up. Even still after a hard rain, bones and clothes will surface from them. It was a very chilling place to know what had gone on there. In 1988 there was a large memorial built in the center of the killing fields. It's 17 levels of all the bones and clothes from the graves. So many skulls and jaw bones- you can see the damage on a lot of the skulls. The Khmer Rouge didnt want to "waste bullets" so most people died from being hit in the head with various tools.The idea of these museums is to preserve that part of history, despite how terrible it was, in hopes that it will prevent something like this again. A day I definitely won't forget.
<3

The Home Stretch

The last few days in Ubud have been great! This has been my favorite place on my trip so far. I somehow still have a sinus infection so I've been keeping my activities pretty low key. I did yoga every day, a bunch of different kinds of classes. I did a power yoga class which is my favorite kind, but after sitting on the beach for the last month and a half it was a lot harder than it should have been- I still loved it though. It was so nice seeing 2 of my friends who I met in India. Violeta and Rolf. Violeta had us to her house one night for dinner which I really appreciated. After traveling for so long itb felt good to be in a home.
Since Violeta lived a little out of town she suggested I get a mototaxi. The plan was to follow Rolf and Karen on their motorbike because I didn't know where to go. Rolf was sure we could just all fit on his bike. I can say now I feel like I've been christened into Asia. 3 grown people crammed onto one little scooter. Similar to 2 adults and 2 kids plusThere wasn't anywhere to put my legs because I was on the back. I just held them up the whole way. It rivaled power yoga for a leg and core workout. To make it even funnier, it started pourrrring! I couldn't see anything I was just holding up and my legs and hoping the plastic bag full of water wouldn't break open or my flip flops fly off. I wouldn't have said anything if it happened because turning around would have been out of the question. We made it though, big smile on my face and soaked!
One of the "main attractions" in central Ubud is the monkey forest. It's a walled in forest with monkeys everywhere. It's not completely enclosed so the monkeys roam even outside the walls. I was torn about whether to go or not- I've heard lots of people say he monkeys are crazy, aggressive, try and rob you, might bite you... and I read a bunch of trip advisor reviews about it. There were all these warnings- don't bring a bag, dont bring food, don't tease the monkeys, don't scare them, and whatever you do- don't reach into your pockets... I decided not to go- the last thing I wanted to deal with was beige accosted by a gang of rabid monkeys tryin to bite and rob me... sounds like a nightmare haha. And I saw my share of monkeys just roaming around town eating garbage and playing with things they probably shouldn't, like aerosol cans. It was actually sad, and I don't support the idea of feeding wild animals. Now these monkeys are all obese, greedy (apparently crazy) and dependent on humans for food. Anyways, I'm sure it would have been an experience to write about but I got a whole blog out of NOT going!
I'm on my way to Cambodia now, there was no direct or easy way of getting from Bali to Phnom Penh so I'm spending a few hours tonight in Bangkok then fly to P.P. early tomorrow morning. I only have 10 more days which, given how long I've been away, feels like nothing. I've got a lot I hope to see in these last few days though.
As usual when I near the end of my trips I start looking forward to being back home, being in Asia always makes me thankful for little things- like free public toilets, hot water and English!
<3

Ubud!

Made it safe and sound to Ubud, Bali. I looooove it here! It's artsy city- there are local crafts and vendors everywhere, lots of shopping and walking, and SO many amazing places to eat! I could probably be here for a month and eat at a new place every meal. Indonesian food is so delcious and a lot of it is vegetarian! I did a lot of browsing today (and a bit of shopping...) and then I went to a yoga class. It was great, the classroom was open air and the teacher was a local- he reminded me of Jackie Chan he just did all these crazy transitions, I don't think his feet ever touched the ground.
I was told I couldn't come here and not see a traditional Balinese dance and music show. I went tonight mad it was pretty cool. It was called a "Legong Dance". The orchestra were about 10 guys playing drums and ,metal instruments with mallets, and the dancers  were girls with beautiful makeup, dresses and head pieces. We got q little outline about the dances, their meanings and stuff but I still didn't really understand. It was still a cool experience, adds to the cultural/ artsy vibe of Ubud.
Happy Valentines Day also!
<3

Laundry service

I'm not sure if it was officially on my bucket list but I'll still check off Surfing in Indonesia! Just had a great day with a local named Deo who took me to some "beginner" waves. Australian and Indonesian beginner seems to be a bit different. Unlike Aus, there wasn't a beach. They drive you out in a longtail boat to the waves and then the boat waits for you. Surfing is already really tiring, it's a full body workout that takes everything out of you. And since we were just in the middle of the ocean I couldn't even rest on a beach. Its like toboggoning- the going down part is amazing, but then you're at the bottom and have to walk up, or with surfing you have to paddle. I got a lot of good waves though! I even caught some green, unbroken ones which I left off trying to do in Australia. Deo helped a lot, giving an extra push into the big ones if I couldn't paddle hard enough. He picked out the good ones for me too. He made me laugh because his English was really good so he could actually joke around. Usually it's hard to joke with someone who's first language isn't English. One of my favorites was when I paddled back after a good wipeout he asked me if I had laundry service. At first I thought it was a weird place to be marketing his laundry business but Asians never miss out on a chance to advertise. But then I realized he was talking about me in the waves. When you get crushed by a wave spins you around- I thought that was pretty clever. Despite my liberal application of sunscreen I still got burnt. It's hard to avoid because you usually sweat it off the minute you apply it, and then add ocean water and you might as well just skip it.
I was trying to decide if I should stay here one more day or head on to Ubud and I've decided to head to Ubud tomorrow morning. I would love to surf again tomorrow but I dont think I can take the sun again. I've been on a beach for almost a month which has been great but now it's time to head inland again. I'm looking forward to Ubud, I plan to do a lot of yoga and relax. Although I've really been relaxing for this entire trip! I've been trying to book my flight but it's frustrating because everytime I get close the internet goes down or some error happens. Maybe they make it hard so you never leave. Which wouldn't be terrible, everyone here is so nice! They'll offer to bring you anywhere on their scooters. been after dinner I saw one of the surf teachers and he offered me a ride.
<3

Rain and 100 degree ferries

Well Asia finally caught up with me. I was supposed to go diving yesterday but woke up feeling really sick. Typical Asia symptoms, stomach feels uneasy, headache, body aches, zero energy. Luckily I didnt have anything to do or anywhere to go so I slept all day. The place I was staying didn't have A.C. but it did have really comfy mattress so it wasn't bad.
Woke up this morning feeling a lot better!! (Woo hoo) Also woke up to RAIN! First time ive seen it in Asia. It didnt last long but it was actually nice. Now its just 100% humidity.
I was up early so I went to the morning market where there is EVERYTHING! I wish canada had markets like this. It's every morning and they have fresh fruit, vegetables, fish, chicken, eggs, spices... and then anything else you can imagine. I got something for lunch that looks amazing but I don't know what it is. Looks like rice, some sort of dumplings, some black stuff some goopy brown stuff and then it's sprinkled with coconut, and brown glaze. YUM!
Currently I'm on a ferry to Kuta, Lombok which is an island beside Bali. I was planning to go to the Gili Islands but Kuta is known for surfing and beautiful beaches and Gilis are just a party- so the beach won. I also hope to do some surfing if I'm feeling up to it.
It is HOT on this ferry... wow! Gotta be 100 degrees. There doesn't seem to be any windows. There are people selling nasi (rice), coffee, lychee, rambutan, chips, sunglasses, sarongs, peanuts, water- it's like a superstore in here. The guy in front of me is chain smoking which just adds to the ambiance. One redeeming factor is that they're playing The Eagles, Hell Freezes Over tour DVD on the speakers haha... so random.  I'm glad it's that and not the usual Asian soap operas.
I think I might move upstairs but it's also outside so sun will be an issue. Only 5 more hours to go! Kuta Lombok here I come!

Indones... uhhh

First of all, I am the new (slightly disgruntled) owner of a Galaxy Tablet. It's really cool but I hate that I had to buy it because my cellphone was stolen. Either way, I'm back online and I've made it to Indonesia- a few snags though. Of course my trip has been pretty much flawless and my first day alone I have allthese issues.
First my plane from Phuket to Jakarta was delayed but that wasn't a big deal it just meant I had less time to sleep in the airport waiting for my flight to Bali which was supposed to be at 6am. Since I didnt have my phone I only had my confirmation number- which turns out is pretty useless when the airline I booked with is now out of business. So I had to pay for another flight this morning! I haven't gotten the strength or motivation to do anything yet but I'll call the credit card company tomorrow.
So I arrived in Bali at 830am and went to Kuta which is the main tourist beach. I didn't want to stay I was just using it for the bus to Padangbai which is a town on the east coast. I was told the bus left at 9pm and got to the coast at 1230. That's when I went and bought my tablet- I figured I had all day. I just happened to look at a pamphlet/ map from the bus company that said the bus left at 130pm.. and it was 135. I went back to he bus station and the guy told me he meant 10am and that I just missed the last bus. I had aleady booked a hostel here and I didn't want to stay in Kuta so I was determined to leave.
There was a public transport bus I was told went to Padangbai as well so I went with it. I was walking downnthe street asking where the bus stop was when some man pointed to a decrepit old blue van and told me that was the bus. It reminded me of the old truck we used to drive at work. Yeah right buddy I'm not that dumb, I'm not getting in your van. Next person I asked said hed drive me on his motorbike- also declined that. The next thing I know the man and his old van drive up behind me and honked- there's other people in the van now. He says he's going where Im going. I figured if other people where in it maybe it was the bus! We had to transfer to another bus and the driver told me the public bus was going to take a long time because the route was very out of the way. Next thing know I'm on the back of a motorbike on my way to padangbai. I told the man I was very special so he should drive carefully- he even gave me a helmet! It was a beautiful ride salon he coast and I'm happy to have arrived. I was planning to head straight to Gili islands tomorrow but I'm going to dive here tomorrow instead. I may go to Lombok instead, I hear it has more to offer. For now I'm here, it's beautiful and quiet- I need a good rest after last night. There are a lot of cool people here, lots of Canadians.
Can't wait to play around with my new tablet.
♡

Flying Solo

I left Ton Sai this morning, I'm at Phuket airport right now, flying to Jakarta, Indonesia tonight and then from Jakarta to Bali in the morning. I'm really looking forward to Indonesia to do some diving, yoga and maybe surfing. I've parted from all of my friends and I'm traveling on my own. I'm excited to be alone, but have also enjoyed the comfort of traveling with other people. It's a lot harder to make decisions with 5 other people, but on a long bus ride or 2 hour delay on the boat having people there is nice. I've been lucky to been traveling with some great people, and I've met a lot of great people as well! Can't wait for the rest of my South East Asia Adventure. Missing everyone from home, especially now because I don't get to communicate as much as I'd like, will keep everyone posted if I get a new phone. <3

Ton Sai

From Krabi we got a boat to Ton Sai beach which is by far the most beautiful place I've been on this trip. It's surrounded by Limestone cliffs and the ocean. The town itself is so tiny- mostly inhabited by rock climbers and hippies. (Just my scene). The first day there we rented sea kayaks and kayaked to near by caves and the next beach over Railay Beach. It was similar to Ton Sai but more expensive and busy. We floated around on the ocean and watched the sunset even though it was a cloudy night so we didn't see much. The next day we went deep water soloing which has been on my bucket list for a while. We got boated out to a cliff along the ocean where we bouldered (rock climbed without ropes)and when you fell, you fell into the ocean. It was SO cool!!! One of the girls there said it right though, you could be really good at climbing but make sure you're equally good at jumping. I think my top height was 30ft- not the highest I've ever jumped from but it's still high enough! I'm pretty rusty because I haven't climbed in a while but I still had a lot of fun. There were some pretty great climbers in the group, some getting as high as 60/70 feet. The next day Louise and I did some top rope climbing (traditional climbing with a rope and someone belaying you). It was a lot of fun, but REALLYYYY hot!! That time out was a good combination of fun and challenge. It made me want to come home and get back into climbing. We were staying in a little rustic bungalow- we had 3 girls in one double bed, our "mattress" felt more like a box spring, it had no cushion.. and we had a little bathroom in a cement room with no sink. The power was only on from 6pm- 3am, which powered our single fan. It was nice having it to fall asleep at least. I really loved Ton Sai, I didn't want to leave- it was so relaxed and easy. <3

Diving in Koh Tao

I am a certified Open Water Diver now- which means I can dive (with a buddy) up to 18m. My week of diving was really great. I thought I'd be scared of breathing underwater, like it might feel claustrophobic but it didn't at all. It's hard to be scared when everything looks so cool! The first day was just theory, watching silly movies and then doing an "exam" which I got 100% on. Then we got 4 dives, each dive was about 45 minutes and they got deeper each time. I saw tons of fish; angel fish, banner fish, groupers, bat fish, clown fish (NEMO!!!), parrot fish, barracudas and a puffer fish. I'm not sure which one was cooler, the barracuda because I played for that hockey team for years, or the puffer fish because he was so big and had a funny looking mouth. Being underwater felt so cool, laying on your back looking up and seeing the sun through the water- it felt like being in a dream. Unfortunately I was just getting over a sinus infection which isn't good for diving and I got the WORST sinus/ pressure headaches. The air in my head compressed as I descended which felt fine but then when I was ascending it was expanding and since my sinuses were still blocked it had nowhere to go. Terrible. The diving itself was so cool it made up for the terrible headaches though. A few days into my stay in Koh Tao I lost my cellphone... I think I put it down for a second and someone picked it up and walked away with it. It makes staying in touch really difficult because now I have to find internet cafes (which on the islands cost a decent amount of $$). On top of the communication factor I'm also now missing my alarm clock, music, flashlight, notepad, one of my cameras... a shame. I'll look into getting a cheap one here so I can at least stay in touch. After Koh Tao we took a night ferry which was pretty cool. It was a big open boat with one big mattress all the way down each side. It was like a huge slumber party (with 200 strangers). Despite all the people, the ocean swaying and the heat I actually had a pretty good sleep. We took the ferry to Surat Thani and then got a bus to Krabi. We had a few epic waits for transfers between the ferry and the bus. "Soon" here means more than an hour. (I'm catching up on blogs now that I've got internet for a bit so see the next one for more adventures) <3

Koh Tao!

Left Koh Phangnan yesterday by ferry- in typical Asian fashion it showed up an hour late so I didn't get in until about 8pm. My friends were on the earlier ferry (which was sold out when I went to go book) so they met me and already had a place to stay which I appreciated.


They're doing they're diving course through a different company but we're really close to each other. My course starts tonite with a little intro and then we start the practical part tomorrow! I'm really looking forward to it. I've only done a little snorkelling before when I was in Australia so it'll be completely new.


The company I'm diving with offers free accommodation with the course which is great for a thrifty traveler like myself. The description of the room on he website painted a pretty grim picture about what the room was like, and they weren't lying- but it's free and I really won't be spending much time in there. It's hoootttt and with 6 beds, the single fan doesn't really do anything. It actually feels like it just blows hot air haha.


Koh Tao is beautiful! It's small, only 21km squared. In Thai "koh" means island, and "Tao" means turtle- so turtle island! The vibe is a lot more relaxed here, Koh Phangnan was so much of everything, 24 hour techno music blasting didn't really allow you to relax. I could spend a lot of time here and like a lot of the other places I've been, there are all types of people. There are a couple high end hotels/ bungalows all the way to free dorm beds.


Throughout the next week or so our group will slowly start diminishing. Dan has already left because he wanted to fish on Koh Samui instead of dive.. And then after diving everyone seems to have different agendas. Ill be off to Krabi to climb, and then Indonesia and Cambodia! So much to look forward to.

<3

R&R in Koh Phangnan

I flew from Vientiane, Laos to Bangkok and then to Koh Samui, Thailand. Then I took a 45minute ferry to Koh Phangnan to meet up with my friends from fire. We have a bungalow right on the ocean it's really great. After a hectic last few weeks traveling it's been good to hang out with friends on the beach. Our bungalow also has a pool and a water slide which we spent most of today at. The island itself is pretty commercialized, especially around full moons because it's notorious for their full moon partys. It was last night- the whole beach was PACKED with people. Every bar up and down the beach was blasting different music, there were fire dancers, games... It was pretty cool. I've booked a 4 day diving course on Koh Tao- another island just north of here. A few of my friends are going to join me which is fun. I'm having a great time, really not doing much just enjoying the beach and having my friends here! <3

Final words from Laos

Our last day in Vang Vieng I relaxed in the morning, read my book and went for a run. And then Dan and I hiked to Lusi cave which was 2km from town. It was a smaller version of the Poukham cave we went to the day before. The owner of the hostel we were staying at had a wife who owned a restaurant right beside. She offered to cook us a Laos dinner our last night! It was so nice. She bbq'd fish, made veggie stir fry and a salad. It was so delicious (Sai Lai in Laos) and even though we really couldn't understand each other it was cool to interact the little we could. The hostel was called Nana Guesthouse, I'd recommend it to anyone in Vang Vieng the owner and his wife are amazing.


Tonight is our last night in Laos, we're in the capital, Vientiane. I left the decision making to the boys for a few days... to get from Vang Vieng to here we hired a minibus at 3am. We didn't have a place to stay in either city so we layed in the lobby in Vang Vieng until 3am, drove 2.5 to Vientiane and then layed in the lobby here until 8am when we got our room. The whole time I was questioning the decision making skills of the boys... Never again haha. Needless to say we had a good long nap yesterday, walked around for a bit, splurged on an amazing dinner (splurged by Laos standards it was really only $15). And then got to bed early.
Today we stumbled across a Laos food festival which was fun. They were having some sort of cooking competition- whatever they were cooking looked REALLY spicy! We roamed around a really cool night market on the Mekong river tonight, I bought a cool dress.


We fly back to Thailand tomorrow morning. Through Bangkok to Ko Samui (an island beside Koh Phangnan) and then we'll take a quick ferry to Koh Phangnan. My two girlfriends from fire got to Bangkok 2 days ago and I'll get to see them tomorrow! We said goodbye to 2 guys we'd been travelling Laos with from Montreal. They headed back to Hanoi, Vietnam and then back to Canada. I hear it's record low temperatures at home. It is hooootttt here! So hot. I've really enjoyed Laos, it is beautiful and the people are so nice. Looking forward to meeting up with friends and relaxing on the beach!

<3

The Invitation

A poem I've come across that i really like.

The Invitation- Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.

I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.

I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.

I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes.'

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.

It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.

I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
<3

Vang Vieng

We took a sleeper bus from Luang Prabang. We'd been traveling 2nd class so the sleeper bus was a big step up. Each person had their own little cubby that you could lay in. It's a great alternative to the sitting seats that I can never seem to get comfortable in. Our first day we went tubing in the river. It used to be vang viengs' claim to fame- but for some reason (I've heard many different sides), the tubing has become a lot less common. We still had an amazing day. Laos is the most beautiful country! The river we were floating in is surrounded by mountains and greenery. It's amazing... Laos is also home to the most delicious sandwiches! I could eat them for every meal. Today we rented bikes to go to some caves. We told the place we rented where we were going but they failed to mention that an old school road bike would make it a tough go. The lonely planet said it was 7km on flat terrain.. The terrain was definitely flat- but the whole road was rocks. Big rocks. It was a BUMPY ride!! 14 km. And I got the short straw and had the worst bike. My chain fell off 12 times haha. The cave (Poukham) was huge! Caves kind of scare me, the idea of not being able to get out, but I still explored inside. We didn't realize the cave was so treacherous so we didn't bring runners. Between our road bikes and flip flops we were unprepared for the day. But we still had a great day. After the caves we had a swim in the blue lagoon. The water was so refreshing. We have 3 more days in Laos and then back to Thailand to meet up with our other friends from fire. Still having an AMAZING time, Southeast Asia is the best. <3

Luang Prabang

Our first day here we really just wanted to chill out with no public Transport so we rented bikes and drove around with no real purpose. It was great! We first climbed down the river bank, crossed a very sketchy bamboo bridge and then back up the river bank. It was a hot day for a bike ride but we got out of the city and into more rural towns whic was nice. We had a pretty good group of us. Myself and the 2 guys I'm wih, 2 Canadians from Guelph who we met at the Laos immigration. I really like them we spent a lot of time with them. An American girl who is still with us and a German guy who we also think is on our bus tonight to Vang Vieng. We've also picked up 2 friends of Matt hat he knows from Canada. They'll be with us for the rest of Laos and then they head back home. I also booked a 2 day trek which I've been doing for the last 2 days. Yesterday we hiked for about 6 hours. I didn't think it would that intense but it was straight up for more than 1/2. It felt good to do activity again... All that walking in the jungle reminded me of all the walking in the bush we do for fire. We stopped at 3 villages. All under 400, one had only 25! 2 of them were of the Hmong tribe and the other I'm not sure, I couldn't really understand. We stayed over in the last village at a homestay. They cooked us meals and we stayed in their house which was really neat. Everything was very basic, had a delicious noodle soup dinner and in the morning they made us eggs. The accommodation was bamboo huts with a hard sleeping bad and some pretty gross blankets. But they kept me warm, the nights get pretty chilly because we're in the north of Laos, and we were at a higher elevation. This morning we did an hour hike down to an elephant village. I wasn't sold on whether I wanted to ride an elephant because I know that some are treated very poorly but this place saves elephants who were working in logging. The way it was explained was that having an elephant is very expensive- they eat up to 1000 lbs of food a day!!! So in order to have an elephant it needs to bring in some sort of income- like logging. But as logging becomes more uncommon ( more laws making it more regulated) the elephants won't have homes. So this sanctuary rescues them and creates revenue with tourism. People can ride them, feed and bathe them. And it's a lot better (easier) work for them. Having them explain this made me feel better about riding them. It really was great! I got to sit on his neck and we walked through the water and the jungle for about 45 minutes. The mahout (elephant guide) told me the elephants name but it was in laos so I can't spell it, or pronounce it! But I know he was 32 years old. After that we kayaked 3 hours back to town. There were a few little rapids which was fun. A really great trip- tiring though! And I was really impressed with the company- Tiger Trails. They give a % of our fees to the villages we visit as well as to the elephants. Eco tourism seems to be a big thing in Laos which I love. When I left our plan was to head to Vang Vieng on Saturday morning but when I got back to our hostel the guys had booked us buses and hostels so I'm on the night bus there now! The bus is pretty cool- it's my first experience on a 1st class bus. We've been doing 2nd class. This bus has individual pod beds for each person- much more comfortable than sitting. This bus is only 6 hours though... Although 6 hours on Asian transport is usually closer to 8. I'm having an amazing time! It's been quite a whirlwind since I got here. The second half of my trip will be much more relaxing. We have 5 days in Koh Phangnan where 3 other friends from fire are meeting us. I am planning a dive certification course for 4 days in Koh Tao and then hopefully do some surfing and yoga somewhere (maybe Indonesia?) and then to Cambodia for the last week! Plans are slowly materializing but will most likely change many times! <3

The slow boat

We managed to get to the slow boat with no problems. From chiang mai we were planning to take a bus to chiang khong where the Laos immigration is but we missed it so we had to go to chiang rai, spend the night there and get a 6am bus to chiang khong in the morning. Chiang khong ended up being a pleasant surprise! We found a huge night food market with live music. We got a hot pot that was boiled in a clay pot with charcoal and then a big basket with vegetables and some prawns- then we made our own little soup! The boys tried maggots - I did not. They said it tasted like feet and had the consistency of sand. The morning bus to chiang khong was funny- it was a legit Asian bus not a tourist one. There were 2 other people from France- one of them who hit his head really hard getting onto the bus- great way to start his day I'm sure. I've been hitting my head a lot too- everything is 2 feet shorter here because thai/Laos people are so short. We got to chiang khong, got our Laos visa on arrival and got to the slow pat which we were told let at 1030am. Noon rolled around and we finally were on our way. The boat was pretty hilarious. We had seat numbers but of course no one follows them so we had the last row- right beside the engine. I wore earplugs the whole time and conversation was out of the question. The first day was about 7 hours. We stopped for the night in Pakbeng which was a little town really only for these boats. It was a little dodgy- before we even got off the boat we had 2 guys asking if we wanted a guest room... Or some opium! Haha. Opium is pretty big around here because there used to be a piece of land in the golden triangle called "no mans land" where the river connects Laos, Thailand and the old Burma. Since no one owned it opium trading was legal. Its not anymore but still floats around. A little history fact I learned on my tour! The second day was 8 hours, we got into Luang Prabang around 8pm. We were much smarter the 2nd day and we got seats at the front. We met some great guys from Holland, and american and a handful of others. We were turned away from about 10 guesthouses that were full before we found one. We went to the night market and had a huge dinner- I got a whole fish that I ate with chopsticks. It was so delicious!! I htink that's my favourite thing to eat so far. <3

Chiang Mai

I've been in Chiang Mai for almost 3 days now. Our 10 hour bus trip was long, but uneventful. We arrived here at 130am and got a tuk tuk (scooter cab) to the hostel. I wasn't sure of we were going to make it. The three of us and our bags was a tiiiiggghhhttt squeeze! The first day we explored the city. We all love it here. A lot smaller than Bangkok, but still a good energy. There's a fun night bazaar where you can find anything in the world. New Nike shoes, purses, clothes, food, backpacks, toys... We also booked tours- Dan went catfish fishing, Matt went to the highest point in Thailand and I went to the Golden Triangle (where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet at the Mekong river) and then we visited the Karen long neck tribe which is near the Myanmar border. They're refugees from the old Burma. It was crazy to see their neck rings. I got to feel them and they are HEAVY! The rings don't actually make their necks longer it pushes their shoulders down which makes more sense. If they take off their rings their neck will go back to size in 5 years! Today we're going to relax around here and then take the night bus to Chiang Khong which is where the slow boat to Laos starts (the Laos border). The boat stops for the night in Pakbeng and ends in Luang Prabang. I'm looking forward to Laos, a lot of my friends who have been to Southeast Asia says it was their high light! <3

The hangover 2

Yesterday we did a lot of walking!! We took the sky train and ferry down the river again and then walked to khao san road which is a popular place for tourists. It was also where some scenes from The Hangover 2 movie were filmed. they like telling people that. The walk there was my favourite part, all the streets are covered in people selling things. It's the nice kind of selling though, people aren't bombarding you to buy they're just happy for you to look. I bought a really cool pair of handmade sandals. We had lunch at an amazing food stall by the river. It cost $1 for a huge plate of pad Thai. I am loving the food here. At night we went to the Sky Bar which was another scene from the Hangover 2 movie. It was amAzing. It's the highest building in Bangkok, 64 floors and you can see everything. Bangkok is an expansive city, it looks like it never ends. We were up there for sunset, although it was smoggy so it wasn't that great. I thought it looked the best once the sun was down. We found another little food stall for dinner. I had rice vegetables and prawns. I don't even know how far we walked but I was early to bed last night. Today were headed to Chiang Mai, hopefully on a bus. We have to go to the bus station and book our tickets. Its 10 hours which I imagine in thai world is more like 12 or 13. Its air conditioned and the seats recline a bit. I'm hoping to get some decent sleep. Originally we were going to take the train but it's full- something that I didn't think even happened! Will hopefully have Internet when we get to chiang mai (will hopefully get to chiang mai) so will update when I'm there. <3

Good Morning :)

It's my second morning in Bangkok, my other friend Dan arrived last night. Yesterday Matt and our new friend Rob from England explored the city. We took the Skytrain to Central Pier where we caught a boat down the river. Boat seems to be a very common mode of transportation. The river was SO busy, it was like rush hour. We were on the public transport boat, the biggest on the river which I was glad for. All the smaller boats seemed to be yielding to us which was probably in their best interest. The river was VERY polluted, I don't think anyone should be swimming in there. I can't imagine there are any fish in there either, and if there are I don't think anyone would be able to eat them. I'm pretty sure we saw a dead cow floating along the river (Matt checked it out with his binoculars haha). I have never traveled with someone who had binoculars before but I guess they come in handy for situations like that... if you really have to know if the floating thing in the river is a dead animal, or just a piece of wood. We started out at Wat Po, the highlight there was the Reclining Buddha. It was a huge (HUGE!) gold Buddha laying on it's side in a room. Also on the grounds were other temples and little statues of Buddha. After that we walked through a market to get to The Grand Palace. I often feel that once you've seen one palace/ temple, you've seen them all. They're very beautiful, detailed, ornate, sparkly, golden... but without knowing some history about the temple it could be anywhere. The Grand Palace was created in 1792- I like imagining how it was built back then, how long it must have taken. I also like to imagine what the palace was like when it was still in use. There are paintings all over the walls of these buildings that portray what it could have been like. A lot of Buddhists still come to these temples and statues of Buddhas to pray. We saw a lot of monks there saying prayers and bowing. You're not allowed to face your feet towards the Buddha so you have to sit on your knees, otherwise a Thai security guard comes over and blows his whistle at you... luckily that didn't happen to us. My general feeling of Thailand so far is a good one. Everyone I've interacted with so far seems genuinely interested in helping you. Unlike India where I felt like everyone just wanted to get money out of you. I haven't been bombarded with people trying to sell you things or take you in their cabs. We'll see if that holds up for the rest of my trip- it'd be awesome if it did because people in your face all the time gets exhausting. I think today is our last day in Bangkok, tomorrow we'll head out- either to Chiang Mai (Northern Thailand) or Vientiane (Laos). We're going to explore some more today and make our plans for tomorrow. I don't want to jinx anything but I'm feeling good- I haven't been sick yet and I haven't been super jet lagged. <3

BANGKOK!

I've arrived in Bangkok! It's so nice and warm here. I traveled the whole way in flip flops getting weird looks from people in Detroit, but it's worth it now haha. My flights were pretty standard. Detroit to Tokyo was 13 hours- epic journey. I can never get comfortable enough in airplanes to sleep well. I dosed off a bit on each flight but never felt well rested. I've never minded airplane food, I always thought it was edible but not amazing. Delta airplane food though, it's bad. I ordered a special vegetarian meal before I left, which I did get but it was so weird. My dinner was some unidentified mush.. it was brown and salty, and it came with something green, maybe spinach. Instead of a brownie for desert like everyone else, I got honeydew melon... and no butter for my bun. And then breakfast I got couscous and mandarin oranges- the weirdest combination. It was so bland but I was hungry so I ate it. Lunch was a little more typical, rice and some stirfry veggies. I got some delish Udon noodles with tofu in Tokyo to make up for it though. I got through customs and got my bag without any trouble and I found the bag carousel where my friend's flight was and met him without any trouble too! It was cool to see someone I know halfway across the world. Our other friend gets here tonight. AND one of our other friends from fire, Caitlin, sent me a message last night- she's coming to Thailand at the end of the month!!! Amazing, she's going to come to the Full Moon Party with us in Koh Phangnan, and maybe continue on with us after. I'm just waiting for Matt to get up and then we'll go get some breakfast, and explore Bangkok. Maybe the Royal Palace, Kohsoan road, and the skytower? We met people last night who had just been to the Skytower, it's in the Hangover 2 movie and apparently the views are amazing. They suggested we go at night, so we'll see how we're feeling tonight. The hostel we're at right now is called WE Bangkok, it's great. Clean, friendly, free wifi, lots of people. We're here again tonight, and then from there not sure. So excited to be in Thailand! :D <3

I'm off again!

I leave Sunday morning for a 2 month trip to Southeast Asia. I am very excited!!! I keep telling people it feels a lot different than my trip to India because I was so nervous about traveling by myself that I never really got excited.. just anxious. I've got 2 travelling buddies this time, friends I met while fighting fire in Red Lake- Matt and Dan. Dan will be there for a month, Matt for a month and a half, so I'll have the last 2 weeks of my trip by myself. I figure by then I will feel settled in the culture and will enjoy some time to myself. We have loose plans; what we know for sure is that we're flying into Bangkok, going to Laos, Northern Thailand, then heading down to the Southern Thailand islands (koh Phangan and Ko Samui) for the full moon party. After that I think we're going to Malaysia, then maybe Cambodia or Indonesia. We're going to play it by ear, if we find somewhere we love we'll stay there a bit, if not we'll keep moving.

I've really been enjoying this snow, I got out to Holiday Valley last week. It's ALMOST enough to keep me here for a winter, but it's 35 degrees in Bangkok... and that sounds amazing. I'll be keeping my blog updated with my whereabouts and my adventures. Of course internet is sporadic so I'll do my best!