Back to 514

My backpacking journey has finally come to an end. Arriving in Montreal was a strange realization. In many ways my ending is bitter sweet. On the one hand you have everybody at home just waiting to catch up. On the other hand my heart is bleeding knowing that my travel experiences are over. There is no adventure waiting for me at my next destination just the real world.

So what have I learned from my trip?

Important Life Lessons Learned along the way:


1. There are good people in this world and there are shitty people. But overall, there are way more good people then bad people.

2. Traveling can make you appreciate exactly how spoiled we are in Canada. Simply having food to eat or being able to drink out of the tap is HUGE.

3. The world has absolutely stunning experiences, scenery's and cultures to offer that you will never EVER be able to appreciate from your own backyard.

Memorable experiences:

1. The annapurna circuit trek in Nepal wins my bet for the best scenery of anywhere I've ever been.

2. Biggest shock value is New Delhi, India. No way to describe it, definitely the place to be if you want to go somewhere completely different from any western country.

3. Best overall humbling experience would be the Camino de Santiago. 31 days with nothing but your thoughts, a backpack, and the wonderful people along the journey.

4. Best Beach: Fish Creek in South Western Australia

I have grown leaps and bounds from where I first began. I have learned some very important lessons along the way that will surely serve me well throughout my life.

Well I guess this concludes my trip and blog. Feel free to email me if I can help out in any way possible.

My Return Upon Cold Canadian Soil

Take care and so long
-Jonathan

Northern Territory: Darwin, Kakadu, Litchfield, & Katherine

Anybody who has been to the Northern Territory would say it is much different then anywhere else in Australia. But I am sure most of you are wondering how is it really different? One of the most obvious differences is the weather. Let me tell you about the kind of wild weather your likely to expect in Darwin. It tends to rain about twice a day and the rain is literally just a complete downpour. The temperature hovers around 30 degrees Celsius and is wet and sticky humid ALL the time (notice the capitalization).

I have met up with an old friend from my McGill days. Catherine and I have met up in Darwin, and with the help of another backpacker we rented a camper van to check out the well surrounding national parks. The advantage to renting a camper van is being able to cook your own food in the back with a gas stove. Also, you can sleep in it for cheap accommodation.

The bonus is that they are nicely decorated and look super cool. The fun part is that you have a lot of flexibility in deciding where and what you want to do. You can spend as much or as little time in each site as you like. Plus you don't have 50 other tourists hovering over you which is pretty nice. However, driving on the opposite side of the road was so strange. I constantly had Cat who was my safety in making sure I was on the proper side of the road.

We decided that with the time we had we would spend a total of 3 days. I would recommend spending at least 2-3 days in each if possible. We felt slightly rushed during our trip because you cover so much distance in such a short amount of time. We spent a day in each Kakado & Litchfield National Park and Katherine. Kakado was wonderful but a lot of popular sites were closed for the wet season. They get so much rain it floods the roads. We saw tons of wildlife such as Kangaroos, snakes, wild boars(Pumba), frogs, and lizards. Litchfield had more sites opened which included some great waterfalls
where you can and just swim around.

Litchfield Waterfall

This is actually really rare because most bodies of water are filled with crocodiles.



Me & a Croc Warning

Last was Katherine which had this awesome gorge. The whole trip gives you an awesome feeling of having nature around your every turn. 
Now we are all back in Darwin safe and sound. In just two days I will be off to Melbourne to meet some old friends from when I was in Egypt. Annette & Chris, I'll see you soon.

Until next time wonderful world.
-Jonathan   

The Bibbulmun Track



My Trusty Guidebook

 What is the Bibbulmun track? In short, its a trail hike that goes from Perth all the way to Albany that goes for a daunting 963km. Clearly I don't time to do the whole thing but I decided I owed it to myself to do a chunk. So last Friday I took a Bus to North Bannister which is 137km out and started my trek. Approximately every 10km you have a campsite that is set up in order to help trekkers along.

 As you can see from the sunset video below rain water is collected from the roof of each campsite building in huge tanks. The days are so incredible hot that you need to drink insane amounts of water. Everyday I would drink about 8 litres of water (That's a lot even for me). To top it off, your location is so remote there are no grocery stores so I had to carry all my food for 6 days. The cuisine was bland and consisted of powder milk, muesli, instant noodles, pita bread, and sardines. Of course, you have no garbage cans along the way so you also have to carry your waste along the way. Finally, because water is so scarce showers are just not possible. Let's just say that first shower when I got back was a long wonderful experience.

Since its off season I actually didn't run into anybody along the trail for 6 days. It actually felt very strange to talk to another person once I was done. You begin to to feel quite comfortable with your own thoughts and being alone (can anyone say Cast Away?lol). All jokes aside, its a great way to clear your mind.

The animal life is literally all around you. Everything from lizards, spiders, snakes and even kangaroos. You really do feels closer to your roots. Once upon a time, we were hunting those Kangaroos to survive.


Tiny Lizard in the Middle of the Picture

Spider



Snake Trail



Sap on a tree that definitely looks like Blood

I would definitely recommend the Bibbulmun Trail to anybody willing to get off the beaten track in order to see a wonderful secluded part of WA. But traveller beware, you need to be willing to rough it (as you can tell by my filthy feet, ahah).

My Filthy Feet



Rain in the distance on my last night

 

A Wonderful Sunset on my Last Night

Me at the Finish Line


Until next time wonderful world,
Jonathan

Australia: Perth and the Southern West Coast



The Reid's

Hello world,

I have been in Western Australia (WA) just under two weeks and it has been so jam packed that I haven't had the chance to blog. To your right is a picture of the wonderful family I have been staying with. This pictures is from last night just before a costume party we all attended. I met the parents (Susan and Phil) on the Camino de Santiago 7 months ago when I had just started my trip.

Here is a list of just a few fun expressions your likely to hear in WA:

sweatshirt = jumper
sunglasses = sunnies
barbecue = barbie
bathing suit = swimmers/bathers
...and my personal favourite... speedo = buggy smuggler..Ha!

Fisk Creek

Fish Creek

Here are two pictures from Fish Creek, likely one of the most beautiful places I will ever see. The area is extremely remote and only accessible with a four wheel drive. Absolutely beautiful.



Fish Creek has some good fishing. Here is our catch...We even cooked them up on the barbie, Yum!





A Kangaroo with her Joey on the side of the road

Australian Football League(AFL) is the sport of choice in WA. It has to be one of the quickest and most explosive games around. The West Coast Eagles (dark) ended up beating Hawthorn (light). It was good fun and very entertaining.

March 6th I will be flying to Darwin.
I feel like I have been living like a true Australian. It's official, WA is officially my favorite coast.
-Jonathan

Thailand: Chiang Mai & Ayutthaya

Chiang Mai, the wonderful north of Thailand gives a completely different vibe from it's southern counterpart. Our first day Dom & I decided to go for an authentic Thai cooking course. We learned how to prepare everything from pad Thai, fried noodles, and even made our own green, red and yellow curry from scratch. Needless to say we ate way to much and even left with dogie bags, yum! Thankfully, you also leave with little cookbooks so that you don't have to remember everything they show you. For the next three days we followed it up with some light trekking. After all, I think everything seems light after Nepal,lol. Our last day in town we visited CrossFit Chiang Mai. It was great, we did Helen and even got T-shirts to boot.

Helen (Here is what it looks like, but I'm way slower,lol) 
3 Rounds for time:
-400m run
-21 Kettlebell Swings
-12 Pullups

For our last stop, Dom & I stayed in Ayutthaya for a day. This small quaint town was much more enjoyable then I would have thought. The temple ruins in this town are absolutely wonderful. There are 3 major temples that are worth seeing. The audio guides make this completely worth it. It does an excellent job of painting a picture of what those temples used to look like. Based on the history it really seems like the city should be the capital of Thailand. The dynasty came to crashing end due to the Burmese army who dismantled everything. Overall, It was a perfect end to a wonderful Thai trip.

Now I am just killing a couple days in Bangkok until I leave for Perth Australia. I will be meeting up with some great friends (Su and Phil) that I met on the Camino. Onto the land down under.

-Jonathan

Thai Islands: Ko Lanta & Ko Phi Phi

After a painful 20 hour bus journey from Bangkok the first thing you ask yourself is what's so special about this place? You arrive in the afternoon when the tide is low making the beach hideous. Once the next morning rolls around you find yourself in paradise. A great way to explore the island is by motorbike. You can easily drive around the whole island stopping only at the most secluded beaches. The thing I loved most about Ko Lanta is that it remains a friendly local island which doesn't give you that big resort feel. Rumour has it that Leonardo DiCaprio has a house somewhere on Ko Lanta. He must have enjoyed his taste of the islands when he filmed The Beach on Ko Phi Phi.

Only one hour away by ferry is the widely known island of Ko Phi Phi. The island is known for its narrow strip which is bordered by beaches on both sides. Ko Phi Phi is exactly what you expect out of an island, beautiful beaches and fantastic mountain tops. The scenery is breathtaking. Moreover, the party scene is all there and then some. Many people will argue that the partying on Ko Phi Phi rivals the famous full moon parties.

Last night I arrived in Chiang Mai which is in the north of Thailand. Already I get a very different vibe from the islands.

I can't wait to see what's in store

-Jonathan

Cambodia: Battambang

I am now in Battambang. I have noticed some pretty big differences
from Siem Reap. On the first day I arrived I noticed how much more
layed back it was. Yesterday, I got a ride to one of the nearby
temples. The temple resembles those that I saw in Angkor but to a much
smaller scale. It is said that this temple is supposedly older (about 100 years) then Angkor Wat.  The center of Battambang itself has a market where all the action happens. But once night falls, the city dies except for a few street stands.




For all the CrossFitters:

Yesterday, I met a local Cambodian who invited me to workout at a

local gym. For the pure experience I said "Why not?". I got a couple
of pictures of the inside. All I really wanted was a pull up bar
Olympic barbell to get a decent workout. Instead I was greeted by a room absolutely packed with equipment (Picture 2). Of course I was stuck doing
bicep curls (Boring!). Also, if you check out one of the pictures carefully, you'll see a Cambodian girl on those archaic fat shaking machines (Picture 1). I couldn't believe my eyes. I felt walking up to one of the girls and saying "So you know those things don't actually work?". You
have maybe six machines with these women having their asses shaken repeatedly. It was like a room full of Shakira's. Needless to say I had to pinch myself a couple of times to stop from cracking up.


One thing I can't complain about is the food. Right near the market is
a great little place that serves up some local food. Here is what you
get for 1$ CDN, Some chicken, rice, soup and a small salad garnish.
Can't beat that...yum yum yum!




Today I am on my way back to Bangkok to meet Dominique and then it's off to those famous Thai islands. I can't wait to see what's in store...

Until next time Montreal & World,
-Jonathan

Cambodia: Siem Reap & Angkor Wat

Guess who is officially certified to dive in the open ocean? That's right, your truly...here is an under water pic from one of my practice dives. The sea life and water (28 degrees) was absolutely amazing.

I arrived in Cambodia only two days ago. After a whole day of travel from Ko Chang I was officially in another country. Siem Reap is the city which is closest to the city of Angkor. As soon as I got here I was floored by the amount of tourism that exists (i.e. the huge hotel resorts that probably cost a billion dollars to stay in). For the rest of us backpackers, you can find a place for about 4$/night. For those who aren't history majors the city of Angkor can be seen in both the Mortal Kombat and Tomb Raider movies. It's a reminder of an ancient city which remains incredible impressive to this day. After spending two days visiting a variety of different temples you realize how big the area is. Here is a couple of photos to jog your memories. I got a three day pass which leaves me with one more day to explore on my own. I plan on renting a bike and leisurely strolling around the area in complete aw of the whole thing. 

Next I head south for a day or two and then it's off to Bangkok to meet Dominique.
See you later Montreal,

-Jonathan

Thailand: Bangkok & Ko Chang

Fresh into the new year it was time to move right along. Sergio and I made such great friends in Kathmandu which made leaving super hard.  I have to say it's rare that I have made such amazing friends when on the road. I have nothing but great memories of Nepal.

I arrived in Bangkok ready for a different part of Asia. Holy cow Thailand is on a completely different playing field. When a city has huge high rises, it a fail safe sign of development.

After a couple of days in Bangkok I decided to get out of the city and head east. I got to the island of Ko Chang 3 days ago. I took a quick walk around and ended up I'm a dive school. Next thing you know I'm signed up for my PADI open water dive course. So fast forward, I have one more day left and I'll be certified to dive anywhere around the world for life. The diving here is awesome, I can't wait to get to the other islands.

Weather wise were looking at beautiful beaches mixed with sun and about 34 degrees. So how's that January weather Montreal? Here it's looking like flip flops and tank tops. Or as the Australians say thongs and singlets. Don't hate me :)

Your Thai Traveller,
-Jonathan