Hilarious Travel Planning Memories with a side of Budget Travel Tips

A lot of people ask me how I afford such a pricey (MYTH!) travel endeavor. Listen folks, travel isn’t that expensive. Trust me! In fact, I definitely spend more money living in Canada for three months than traveling for the same amount of time in a faraway destination. You do need money upfront, which involves some saving, but it doesn’t have to stop you from doing fun things with friends or forcing you to live in a cardboard box. Long term travel is quite affordable. You just need to reflect on a few unnecessary items and lifestyle choices. For example, I decided to sell my car to fund my South East Asia trip. It might sound a little ridiculous to some people, but I was moving to the big city after traveling and I didn’t need a car anymore. Cars are luxury money holes. Reflecting on how to fund travel helps put life into perspective and your priorities in check.

Long term travel is a bit different. It requires you to cut a few strings. One way I can afford going on a 6 month adventure is by giving up my lovely studio apartment in Toronto. I’m moving out of my humble abode and moving back in with my family (cringe…..). But hey, every budget traveller needs to make sacrifices, even if they are a tad embarrassing. I could have found a subletter, but I wanted to be free from the shackles of my modern, cosmopolitan life. Sounds a little dramatic, eh? I simply didn’t want to worry about an apartment back home and a stranger doing unmentionable activities on my bed. You get the drift.

There’s a point to this little story….

While rummaging through my book shelf, I found an old notebook my travel partner/best friend and I used to jot down travel ideas and inspirations. Between the pages, I stumbled upon a hilarious doodle from over two years ago. Check it out!

To and Fro

Well, well, well.

I’ve been thinking about a lot of things lately, mostly about where I am in life, where I was a year ago and where I’m heading now. This inevitably led me to share some thoughts about how I came up with the name of my blog. It’s a simple story really.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Summer

I’ve decided to participate in the wordpress weekly photo challenge *crowd cheers!

Here’s how it works…
Each week, wordpress provides a theme for creative inspiration. You take photographs based on your interpretation of the theme, and post them on your blog anytime before the following Friday when the next photo theme will be announced.

The intent is to take a new photograph, but I’m going to do things a little differently and instead post old photos from my travels (Canada and international) as well. This summer is lacking in travel trips because of a future jaunt in the fall. More on that to come, but it rhymes with ‘regalia’. ha! This means, however, that I have some space to fill in my travel blog and reliving some of my favourite travel memories sounds like the perfect thing to do!

So here it is …. SUMMER

Exciting Writing News

Miami Beach, Florida

I’ve been a bit quiet because I was waiting to share some fun travel writing news. I recently wrote a guest blog post about South Beach, Miami nightlife for Hostelbookers, an online travel agency and community based in the UK. I’ve been using Hostelbookers to book hostels and read reviews since I started backpacking in 2009, so I’m really excited about the opportunity to write for them.

Click HERE to read the post.

It would be super, duper wonderful if you could comment and share it!

Do you have any extra tips on how to party in the city where the heat is on, without breaking the bank?

South Beach, Miami (Encore!)

So, I’m officially finished my grad school courses for the Master of Professional Communication program at Ryerson University! Phew. To celebrate this fine moment and before I start writing my thesis (my prime summer activity), I’ll be heading to Miami, Florida with two lovely ladies.

And, lucky for me, I’ll be in sun-kissed SoBe for my 24th birthday! Last June, my friend and I took a road trip all the way from Toronto to Miami for two weeks in the sunshine state. We couchsurfed along the way, picked up a Dutch backpacker and partied in Miami until the break of dawn, or until a cockroach ran over my friend’s foot.

Funny enough, I thought I would hate Miami, but it surprised me. I love the Latin flavour and easy lifestyle. Miami natives have good beats, a great beach and wild friends. I really enjoyed hearing Spanish again and trying to figure out what everyone was talking about! I’m so rusty, it made me realize that I need to start practicing again.

I’ll be writing a few posts when I return about the nightlife, the eats, the sand, the scuba and the boys (ha!). Happy reading.

Internship blogging

Ryerson University‘s Master of Professional Communication requires all candidates to complete an industry internship. It’s one of the main components that persuaded me to apply for the program. I feel really lucky to have such a great internship position. Since early January, I’ve been interning with Siren Communications, public relations agency extraordinaire. Most of Siren’s clients fall into the ‘travel & tourism’ sector, which is ideal for yours truly. One of my many tasks is blogging and I thought I’d share two of my recent travel tips/advice posts:

Interested in learning the ‘highs and lows’ of Thailand’s crazy capital? Check out: Citified: Bangkok

Need travel advice about Peru’s Inca capital? Check out: Vacation Notes: Cuzco

Have any of your own tips about Bangkok or Cuzco? Leave a comment! =)

Sharpening my travel senses

Hmmm…. road trip through Vermont? Camping in Algonquin? Hiking the Bruce Trail? Clubbing in Montreal? Eating hotdogs in NYC? Suntanning in Cuba?

You’ve guessed it. I am in the midst of travel planning – once again! Jessie and I have decided to do a little travel dance at the end of June. I haven’t gotten the time off yet, so nothing is set in stone. Actually, we haven’t even decided where we want to go. We are just searching the best travel deals on the web. If all else fails, we are going camping. Go Canada!

Booking flights… but not for myself (how depressing!)

I just want to cry when I log onto Orbitz or Expedia.

Lately, I’ve been back to my ol’ researching self, trying to find a decent flight from London(UK) to Toronto. Unfortunately, the flight is NOT for me – although I wouldn’t mind a Spring tour of England. The flight is for Stefanie. You may recall our final days in Bangkok when Stefanie’s passport and wallet were stolen, so as the rules of best friendship prescribe: I need to book Stef’s flight back to the homeland using my credit card. yay.

Don’t rain on my parade

It’s my BIRTHDAY!! I’m sitting in a coffee shop (not the kind in Amsterdam, although that would be a story) and enjoying a delicious Americano while writing this overdue blog. Despite the dull, rainy weather, today is going to be a fantastic day! Last year, I was in Toronto for my birthday a mere week before backpacking Europe with my best friends. I’ve come full circle. My nomadic lifestyle has finally come to an end, for now.

I want SUMMER

I want a backpack strapped to me
and a plane ticket in my back pocket.

Losing Everything

So, as I mentioned in my last post, when Stefanie and I checked into our Bangkok hostel, we realized something was missing…

Stef lost her notebook. The infamous notebook had her ENTIRE life in it – travel life that is. She lost her passport, money, cards, etc. We called the hostel in Chiang Mai, who contacted the bus company. Our reception talked some guy on the phone who said they found a Canadian girl’s passport on the bus and some other stuff – perfect!!!! They gave Stef the address and she went to pick it up, while I waited at the hostel.

After two hours, I knew something was wrong. The reception called the travel office where Stef was supposed to pick up her stuff and now they were denying finding anything. Strange….

Running out of time

My last week in South East Asia was jam packed. I tried to fit in as many activities as possible, as I realized we hardly did a thing. To some of you, that may seem absurd. I mean, yes I did loads but in comparison to South America, Stefanie and I pretty much chilled the entire time in Asia.

So, in Luang Prabang, Laos – we visited a waterfall and hiked up a hill. Yes, hiking!! It was a lousy 10 minute hike, but ridiculously steep. I realized how out of shape I am. Then, it was back to Thailand. We had only had a few short days before heading back to Canada.

Stefanie and I met up with Adam, the Canadian and Scott, from Manchester. It’s funny how you see the same people again – we really need to pick a road less traveled next time. We stayed at this dingy, but friendly hostel. We had 4 single beds, all aligned with each other along the one wall. You could roll from one bed to the other in one swift action. We were that close – but thankfully, we’re all friends.

Saigon – Da Lat – Nha Trang

Chaos in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

As I mentioned in my last post, we stayed in Ho Chi Minh City during the Vietnamese New Year called Tet. Because there were so many places closed, we decided to spend our last day in HCMC at the waterpark. We expected the park to be busy – but when we arrived I couldn’t believe the swarms of people! Thousands! Hundreds of thousands and we were the only foreigners. haha. I experienced more culture shock here than in downtown Saigon. Families picnic-ing on any manageable surface, grandmothers hanging their hammocks on trees, children racing each other, dads smoking cigarettes in the pools, etc. It was bizarre.

Good Morning Vietnam!

We are heading north through Vietnam– stopping at cities and towns along the way. Leaving Cambodia was a struggle – as are most in-transit days. Our last day in Cambodia started off just right – beach bumming and working on our tan. We visited Otres Beach, which was much more relaxed than the main beach and only a short motor-taxi ride away. At first, I wasn’t so keen on taking a motorcycle, but now I really enjoy the ride. It’s an authentic way to travel, especially when the driver is balancing your giant backpacking in-between his legs.

Otres Beach, Cambodia

We booked an overnight bus out of Sihanoukville, but had already checked out early in the morning. I was desperate for a shower, so the front desk said I could rinse off using the tap and bucket in the bathroom. I walked into the dingy stall with a squat toilet. I realized that the bucket and tap were used to wash your business down the porcelain hole in the ground. UGH, but what can you do? I washed the bucket with soap and used the fresh water from the tap and ‘showered’. haha! I was first to go and then Stefanie. At least, she was warned and could prepare herself.

Cambodia’s Capital and Back to the Beach

Royal Palace & Temples, Cambodia

Anyways, the following the day – we took it easy (mentally and physically). It was over 34C in the capital. We visited the Royal Temple, which has a 9,000 diamond encrusted Buddha statue and a Silver tile Pagoda, which was less than impressive. Each tile is made from pure silver and weighs 1kg each, but they covered the entire floor in cheap carpet and had display cases of knick knacks that all looked the same. Why not polish the floor and show it off! Kind of lame. The royal palace and temples in Bangkok were a lot more dramatic and better maintained. Still, the gardens were beautiful and the architecture was very inspiring.

Royal Temples, Cambodia

Stefanie’s coworker’s brother lives in PP, so we arranged to have dinner with him and his boyfriend. He’s 65 years old and has been living in Cambodia for 3 years, working as a principal and a teacher. Before Cambodia, he lived in Japan for 28 years teaching at a university. He brought us to this restaurant called Friends, which trains underprivileged youth for careers in the restaurant industry. Stefanie and I arrived early and we were curious to meet his boyfriend. Was he Canadian, American, European, Cambodian, young, old? Well, weren’t we were surprised!