2014… All of it!
2014 was my first full calendar year of Travel. In some ways it flew by, in others there’s never been a longer year in my life. Honestly when I look back through all my adventures it seems enough to fill five years, yet they remain fresh in my mind as if they happened just the other day.
Before getting into each country I’ll just say this, if 2015 is anywhere near as good as 2014, I’ll be damn happy.
India:
India was where I started 2014 and the joy and spirit of adventure I found in that country is something I will always hold dear. The new year came and went in Varanasi, one of my favourite cities in all the world. I met friends there I still keep in touch with and was exposed to the heartbeat of the hindu religion. The ancient winding alleys of the old town, The endless cows and their leavings, the beautiful holy dirtiness of the Ganges River, the long meaningful talks up on the rooftop of the Kautilya Society’s, the delicious dosa’s, and everything else made this city somewhere I know I will come back to again and again.
I stayed way longer than I meant to in Varanasi and that combined with a 24 hour train delay saw me with only a half day to see Kolkata before hopping on an Air Asia flight to Bangkok. Though brief, Kolkata was fascinating, including a long midnight to 6 am spent in the train station watching the vendors bring their products to the city. I certainly hope to go back one day before too long. In the mean time. Here’s some of my favourite photos of Varanasi.
Thailand:
I spent almost a month and a half in Thailand in 2014. It’s a truly beautiful country, even if it is swamped with tourists, and oddly enough, it provided my largest moment of culture shock of the year. Going from India to the incredibly modern city of Bangkok left me shaken. I still remember standing in the fanciest mall I’ve ever seen: The Siam Paragon, and shaking at the sight of it. a Rolls Royce Dealership, A movie Theatre, Designer stores, and protesters camped on the streets just outside. Crazy.
Bangkok was a wonderful if overwhelming city and the two Islands I managed to visit Koh Chang and Koh Maak we’re both beautiful. Koh Chang’s southern tip was only slightly over touristed and provided some lovely snorkelling and a great place to record a rap album. Koh Maak will always stay in my mind for it’s endless golden beaches which ribbon the entire island.
To be honest though I only really fell in love with Northern Thailand. Chiang Mai, and Chiang Rai specifically were my two favourite places in the country and I’ll never forget both the baffling holiness of the white temple and the incredible feeling of listening to a tiger’s beating heart and playing with a collection of tiger cubs as if they were only a litter of kittens. Here’s some select photos from Thailand.
Laos:
Part of the reason Thailand never became a favourite country was because it was unfairly sandwiched between India and Laos, two of my favourite countries I’ve ever visited. I met incredible people in Laos, locals and travellers a like, and even got a chance to give something back to this incredible country. In Laos I saw amazing history and landscapes including some truly incredible waterfalls like Kuang Si Falls and Khone Phapeng Falls, but it was the people that made Laos truly special.
I spent three days sleeping with locals on the concrete floor of a public school at an elephant festival where each morning we got to play with six elephants in a non tourist setting. I managed to partner with a wonderful charity called Big Brother Mouse both to teach a little English and too bring a book party to a rural Laotian school, bringing over 100 children a chance to own their very first book and establishing 5 classroom libraries while also spending a day playing reading games with the kids. Check out Big Brother Mouse Here.
By the time I left Laos temperature were in the 40s celcius and I was constantly a sweaty mess. But whenever I think back to this wondrous country which has been through a lot across recent history a laugh and a smile cuts across the entirety of my face.
You get the pattern yet? Here’s some of my favourite photo’s from Laos.
Cambodia:
My stay in Cambodia was all too brief. Little more than ten days in fact. While I only visited two different places in this incredible country I left having appreciated a vast variety of experiences. Having felt awe, wonder,extreme happiness, and also extreme sadness.
Phnom Penh is a beautiful city, but as Cambodia’s capital it also has a dark history full of despair and tragedy. I’ll never forget the feeling of utter panic and discomfort inside the S-21 torture prison. It’s the only time I’ve ever felt claustrophobic and actually ended up running out of the converted high school. Meeting one of the only seven survivors was also a surreal experience, and something that will inspire a piece of writing someday.
The eery calm of the killing fields more than a million prisoners were butchered seemed somehow wrong. The frantic energy and tension in the main square just outside my hostel, where a thousand riot police marched in formation towards a garment workers protest before thankfully being called off, shook me a little. How much do we take for granted back in Canada?
That was Phnom Penh, Siem Reap was a definite contrast. Wandering through thick jungles and stumbling onto ruin after ruin in the world class Angkor Wat temple complex was enough to make your jaw hang. In fact, the ruins were almost enough to make you forget the unrelenting heat as you wandered through the remnants of an ancient and undoubtedly advanced civilization. Sure it was touristy as anything, but that didn’t make it any less incredible. Do I still need to introduce them?
Burma:
Burma, or Myanmar, was not in my travel plan. But things change and as everyone I met told me how amazing it was I decided I couldn’t give it a miss, especially since it is a country which is changing at an incredible pace. Truth be told I feel like I got there just in time.
From the Northern City of Mandalay where I found the best street food in all my life, to the huge and unique Inle Lake full of floating villages and friendly fisherman, to the Burmese vacation getaway of Chaung Tha beach, the thing that made me further change my place to stay in Burma another week was the people.
Every where I looked people smiled at me, inviting photos and interacting with me despite not speaking a word of english. I’ll never forget my first day in Mandalay I was walking along a canal which runs around a huge military complex when a Burmese woman came running at me, did a little dance, kissed both my cheeks and blessed me before continuing on her way. It was almost scary and thoroughly lovely.
Nor can I forget getting dropped off on the wrong side of Yangon due to a typo in my recording of my hostel’s address. Lost and weighed down in the sweltering heat a man who barely spoke five words of English took it upon himself to lead me on a 90 minute trek across town asking everyone he met where to find my hostel. He finally dropped me off there and when I tried to offer him some money, he only smiled, touched my chest, then touched his own chest and shook his head. “Friends.” He said.
Singapore Airport:
Okay it’s just an airport but I spent about 48 hours here and it’s not just any other airport. Singapore’s air travel mecca includes a sunflower garden, a pool, several movie theatres, and countless other features.
Sadly my first layover here was spent lying on the floor next to the bathroom violently ill on my way to Indonesia. Still if there’s an airport in the world to spend some time it’s this one. And my second stay on the way to Vietnam was endlessly more pleasant. Hell the 7/11 there even sells vanilla coke, and the apple store plays Avril Lavigne. Can’t beat that right?
Indonesia:
If you’re violently ill in a country for ten full days, unable to eat or drink much of anything. If you’re given drugs at the hospital that will almost surely kill you when combined with your necessary blood thinners, you certainly shouldn’t emerge loving the country and aching to go back. But that’s what happened to me in Indonesia.
I got sick eating bad Indian street food in Burma and the bug stayed with me my entire time in Yogyajakarta and half my time in Bali. That said, even from those difficult times I have some pleasant memories of travellers who went above and beyond to help out their ailing compatriat. I was given rehydration salts, food, drink, and hours of company despite rarely leaving my bed, and I’m thankful for that.
Of course that wasn’t all that Indonesia was. Because I did get well eventually and enjoyed the tourist Yoga paradise of Ubud on Bali island. It only got better as I moved on to Gili Air, a tiny sand bar in the sea clearly set up for tourists but in the most pleasant of ways. The beaches were lovely the Indonesian food delectable, and the snorkelling amazing. Gili Air was a writer’s paradise and also my first time swimming with sea turtles, so yes, I’m eager to get back to Indonesia.
Vietnam:
Much like Cambodia my stay in Vietnam was most certainly all too brief. I blame my friend Eric who refused to move his wedding at the last minute so I could explore more than one norther crescent of this wondrous country. That said, my roughly ten days in Vietnam we’re action packed. Between Hanoi and Halong Bay I’ve been left with countless good memories of Vietnam.
Hanoi provided probably the best food in all of South East Asia, mostly at a little whole in the wall Bo Bun shop were a huge bowl of noodles and meat was roughly a dollar fifty. I also remember Hanoi for the odd mix of restraint and fearlessness of the local people. Countless times I took a seat in one park or another and people would soon be sitting beside me asking for permission to practice their English. As a teacher I appreciate the desire to learn and so this was a pleasure, not a nuisance.
Outside of the city, Halong Bay is truly an incredible place despite extensive tourism in the area. The caves, islands, and animals of the bay of descending dragons were awe inspiring, and terribly picturesque. In fact the current header image from the blog coms from there on Cat Ba Island. There, we trekked through dense jungle, explored massive cave systems, and kayaked through the countless pillars of stone erupting up out of the water sharply all around us. A truly unique and special landscape of this wide world.
United States of America:
Okay, really this should read New York State, with most of the time being spent in the Big Apple. Surprisingly the culture shock of coming from Vietnam to New York City was significantly less intense than arriving in Thailand from India. Of course the price differences did hit home. After a little over a week spent in the city that never sleeps I flew away immensely impressed, more than I ever suspected I would be.
New York has a bit of everything, and I did my best to experience all I could in the week before the idyllic wedding of one of my best friends. I saw a broadway show, (Of Mice and Men with James Franco and Chris O’Dowd which was amazing), visited Yankee stadium, ate cuisines from around the world, visited times square, wall street, the statue of liberty and central park, and spent a lot of time in Spanish harlem.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about New York was the incredible diversity. Well that and the Vanilla Coke.
Perhaps the most amusing thing during my week as a tourist in NYC was that, after Vietnam, i found it calm, empty and anything but overwhelming. Very opposite to my visit back when I was 18.. Hell even Times Square didn’t seem crowded to me.
My Time in America was capped off by my friend Eric marrying the love of his life Charlotte. It was a lovely ceremony in Central Park and some great parties followed. A perfect way to end the first leg of my trip.
![Homer: This next song is dedicated to a very special lady. She's 100 years old and weighs over 200... tons. Panicking Man: This enormous lady will devour us all! [Screams and jumps into the ocean] Homer: I meant the statue!](https://i0.wp.com/www.awearoundtheearth.com/wp-content/uploads/DSCN06681.jpg?w=225&h=169 "DSCN0668")
Canada:
Home again. After almost a year on the road it was an almost welcome rest. I’m sure that feeling would have changed had I not already had my flight to Colombia reserved towards the end of the summer.
But my several months in my home country wasn’t just rest and relaxation. I caught up with friends, designed new shoes, recorded a rap album, saw some incredible concerts, went to the zoo to see the pandas, and visited my extended family up in Muskoka, among other things.
One of the past times I miss most while travelling is playing sports, and for this reason the summer was filled with tennis, golf and soccer. It was nice to be home. Nice to see everyone. And nice to leave again. Strange to think I won’t be back in 2015, and even 2016 is a little iffy.
Colombia:
By the time I climbed aboard my Jet Blue flight from Syracuse – to NYC -to Cartagena (250 dollars) I was more than ready to be back on the road. I worried a lot in that last week though, worried that South America might not be my cup of tea. Worried that I would have lost the love of travel. Worried that I’d regret leaving. All those worries were the thoughts of a fool and from the moment I touched down in the vibrant Caribbean coastal city of Cartagena, I knew South America was going to be another incredible adventure.
Truth be told the original plan was to spend about 4 weeks in Colombia. But plans always change. I enjoyed the hell out of 11 weeks in this wonderful country and even then only left because I’d made myself book a flight to the Galapagos Islands. Every where I went in Colombia the people were welcoming, helpful, and outgoing, not to mention incredibly beautiful. They seemed very eager to rip out any remnants of Colombia’s old reputation of a dangerous country run by drugs and drug lords and show you the truth of the Nation. A country flourishing, full of beautiful people, landscapes and history.
The Carribbean coast alone kept me enthralled for over 5 weeks. From the bustling musical city of Cartegena, to the northern most point of South America, Punta Gallinas in the remote and spectacular Guajira desert. The Caribbean was like a country unto itself, and whether I was living in a hippy-esque commune high in the cloud forests of Minca, or strolling along the endless beaches of Palomino I will always think back on my time there with a smile on my face.
When I left the Caribbean I fell even more in love with Colombia, which is more vast and varied than I’d ever imagined. The wild and untamed Pacific coast, more African in heritage than any where I’ve ever been provided another incredible off the beaten path adventure.
But even the tourist hot spots of Colombia were incredible. From the little town of Guatape two hours outside of Medellin, to Salento in the heart of coffee country, to Colombia’s adventure sports capital, San Gil. All of them left me with lasting memories. Hell even the big cities like Bogota and Medellin had more to offer than I ever could have expected including Bogota’s two special day tripts to a Salt Cathedral, and Colombia’s tallest waterfall. In fact the only way I managed to leave Colombia, was with the knowledge that I’d be back towards the end of 2015 or, more likely, the first half of 2016 before heading onwards into Central America. If you have a chance to go to this country, and if you live anywhere close to New York State it’s damn cheap using jet blue or spirit airlines, just go. I promise you will not regret it. Even the nondescript border town of Ipiales has something truly out of another world! Too many photos I know, but I couldn’t choose fewer.
Ecuador:
I was pretty damn sad to be leaving Colombia, but an immediate flight to the Galapagos Islands proved the perfect remedy. The Galapagos was a place I’d been dreaming of going to since I’d been young. My parents pictures and stories had filled my young mind with legends of an incredible place unlike anything else in this vast earth. To be honest, as I got older I assumed they’d been exaggerating. They weren’t. If anything they undersold it.
My 8 day cruise took me to distant Islands like Genovese full of insane looking birds, to Fernandinha, the youngest island full of thousands of Marine iguanas among countless other things. I’ll never forget falling and cutting myself all too hell on Santiago Island’s lava flows and subsequently playing alone with a Sea Lion as I left the group to wash my wounds in the Pacific. The of course there was snorkelling on an individual day trip at Kicker Rock, seeing hammerheads and so much more. The Galapagos was two weeks of impossible fun, unlike anything else I’ve ever done. It left me in love with Ecuador though I’d barely even seen any of the actual country at that point. The Galapagos also helped me to move past the wonders of Colombia and embrace yet another gem of South America.
Since the Galapagos I have fallen in love with the rest of Ecuador. Or at least all of what I’ve seen so far, starting with the second highest Capitol in the world: Quito. I found an excellent Spanish teacher and spent two weeks learning the language here. I explored Quito’s culinary side and spent a lot of time just wandering in this city which is far too friendly for one of it’s size. It doesn’t feel like a capital city, it feels like a collection of small towns all put together in harmony. I love it in Quito and keep coming back, again and again.
Much like Colombia, Ecuador is holding me much longer than I’ve expected. Christmas with my brother in Otavalo was amazing, hiking around a volcanic crater lake, and getting some at an amazing waterfall on christmas day. Mindo just brought more cascades and soon I’m setting off towards the amazon hitting some of the countries biggest waterfalls along the way.
And then of Course there’s my experience with the traditional Ecuadorian New years eve a few days back. I Danced a lot and even made some money. Plus I learned something, If I ever do need to become a women, I’ll be a damn sexy one.
Each day now I find myself wondering by the time I leave Ecuador if it will rank on par with Colombia and India as my favourite countries so far.
2014: Final Thoughts
This year has been undoubtedly the best year of my life. Full of wonder and awe. New places, new people, new everything. I’m going to work hard to match or eclipse it in 2015. If I even come close, it will be a vast success.
The rest of South America is laid out before me. Countries I’m hoping to get to in 2015 include: Peru, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil, Suriname, Guyana, French Guyana, and Venezuela. I might not fit them all in to 12 months, but either way 2015 is looking bright.
I love my life.
