Category Archives: Travel

A travel blog from my trip across Russia in Winter 2008.

Outdoor Fun, Travel

Meet Your Newest Sambassador: Me!

Posted by on August 2, 2011 at 5:46 pm.

I met up with my buddy Kevin for coffee last week and one of the first things he said was “I think you’ve worn that shirt every time we’ve met” (at least in the past year). It was my grey tee with a cartoon sketch of a camera captioned with the words “i’ll shoot you.” He was probably right. I have seven tank tops and tees that I rotate, as if on a weekly schedule. And now you know one of my secret reasons for not wanting to make videos for so long.

It’s not that I don’t like new clothes. But given a choice between a closet full of nice shirts or one amazing experience, I’ll always choose the latter. I’m fairly confident that I’m not the only one who thinks this way either. So when Sheryl from Samba Days sent me an invitation to become a Sambassador who gets to try out three experiences of choice this fall, I was uber-excited!

Samba Days is a Canadian company that essentially offers experiences packaged in gift-boxes which range from gourmet meals to action-packed weekends in whitewater rafts, hot-air balloons and down subterranean caves (something I’m really looking forward to).

From the list of available adventures, each Sambassador was asked to select six of our top choices, three of which will be booked for us based on availability.

My Top 6 West Coast Sambassador Adventures

Samba Days Gift Boxes

Image from www.sambadays.com

#1. Caving Multi-Activity — Qualicum Beach

Synopsis: Five hours of extreme rappelling down five vertical rope stations into subterranean caverns filled with crystals and time to explore the clear waters on canoe before indulging in campfire marshmallows (they don’t supply the marshmallows but I’m definitely bringing some!).*

There was no doubt in my mind that this would be numero uno! I’ve wanted to try caving and rappelling for a long time now.

*Edit: There is an alternative package to spend two nights in a teepee, with a 3-hour guided cave tour, 2-hour rappel session and 2-hour canoe rental.

#2. Sword Fighting — Vancouver

Synopsis: Two hours of private instruction on how to wield a sword and a video of you in combat.

Me and a sword. This should be good for a laugh!

#3. Beekeeping Workshop — Vancouver

Synopsis: Harvesting honey by scraping wax cappings off honey frames, extracting honey and filtering it.

The activities vary by season, and there’s a possibility of processing bee venom. BEE VENOM! I didn’t even know bees had venom! Curiosity got the better of me.

#4. Scenic Glider Flight — Pemberton

Synopsis: Flight over local iced-capped mountain tops with aerobatic maneuvers and a souvenir tee to add to the collection.

I love that we have local iced-capped mountain tops to soar over. It seems wrong not to.

#5. Discover SCUBA — Vancouver

Synopsis: Four-hour introductory class to scuba diving and in-pool training.

It’s one of those must-do things that’s on just about every traveller’s check-list. Social media “guru“s get a badge on foursquare. Travellers get a PADI Open Water Scuba certification.

#6. 17ft Boat Rental — Vancouver

Synopsis: LMFAO

I had no idea what to add as a sixth option and the idea of renting a 17ft was just too funny. I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be one of my three arranged adventures. If it is, I’m going to have to find a friend with a boating license to help me out with this one!

 

Random Thoughts, Travel

A Day in the Life of an American

Posted by on July 28, 2011 at 3:13 pm.

I found out last week that I’m a US citizen. What the heck, right?

I’ve never lived or worked in the states, but according to the US Consulate anyone born within American borders is automatically a US citizen who must pay taxes. Oops! :P

To confirm whether this indeed is the case, I drove down to the Social Security Administration office in Bellingham yesterday to see if I could get a Social Security Number. I figured, if I am actually a US citizen I should be able to get a number and work in the states without issue. It was pretty easy to file for a number and I have to wait a few days to get a confirmation that everything went through alright.

I asked the woman at the counter whether she had any information on how to file taxes for dual citizens living outside of the states. She recommended that I visit the IRS office downtown. Well, they weren’t much help. They’re not trained to handle questions for dual citizens so the representative just gave me a bunch of reading material and a help line phone number.

Since I was already across the border, I decided I’d go a little further to Seattle and tour the underground (been meaning to try this for a while now). Here’s a little video of the trip.

Travel

Vegas is for Girls

Posted by on May 18, 2011 at 6:26 pm.

This post is sponsored by Jet Abroad, a website that offers cheap flights and hotel bookings. I checked them out and their prices are pretty decent. I especially like that they include the final cost including taxes and any applicable fees. :)

Las Vegas

On my last trip to Vegas

If I told you there was a place you could get hammered with a dollar (or perhaps even make money doing it), fire an UZI (legally) without a license, sit in the cockpit of a working plane right before take-off (and get your own mini lesson if you’re nice), watch a show where the stage is made of several different moving parts over a 1.5 million gallon pool, and take an afternoon trip to one of the world’s seven natural wonders of the world, I bet there’s only one answer you could think of: Las Vegas.

It’s no wonder that Vegas is such a popular destination for bachelor / bachelorette parties. It’s not just the strip clubs and overflowing cocktails that attract party-goers looking for a good time. Vegas is simply the only place in the world you can do everything and anything for an affordable price.

“So how do you get the best deals and how the hell did you get to sit in the cockpit” is what you’re probably wondering. Those are the two most commonly asked questions I get when I post pictures about Vegas.

The Best Deals

Packages. Yup, that’s right. Book the hotel with your flights to Las Vegas and you’re guaranteed to get a better deal than by booking the two separately. In fact, if you can’t find a hotel on the strip for under $45 per night (based on 2-person occupancy), look harder. It’s no secret that Vegas didn’t take the recession very well and it’s better to sell off a room for the cost of cleaning and hydro than to leave it vacant for the night. At least with pre-booked rooms, the hotels can count on future business.

$1 drinks. How does that work? Simple answer: it’s Vegas. Longer answer: if you’re thirsty but don’t have much in your pocket, take a dollar to the slot machines and sit near the aisles where the servers walk past. Even if you’re with a friend and only one person is gambling, both of you will be offered free alcoholic beverages. Sidenote: if you don’t like your drinks to be too strong, let them know because I suspect they automatically make everything a double.

Free cover. How do you get it? If you’re female, it’s easy: just walk past the clubs during the day and pick up free admission passes. If you’re male? Ask a female friend to pick one up for you.

For more tips, check out the post from my last visit to Vegas (tips are on the bottom).

Sit in a Cockpit

Las Vegas Flight Cockpit

I know it’s not the most flattering photo, but it’s the only one I have of the both of us in the cockpit.

No, I didn’t tell them it was my birthday. The story is better than that! ;) Several years ago, my friend and I went on a girls’ getaway. We booked our flights to Las Vegas through a travel agency that found a cheap flight and hotel package departing from Bellevue WA. As we were entering the plane on our way home, my friend was sneaking a glance at the cockpit and when she saw that one of the attendants was looking at her she said “just wanted to look at the cockpit”. It may not be that funny, but it got the staff laughing.

Once again, being a girl has it’s advantages in Vegas. The pilots were male and we happened to have seats close to the front of the plane. So, one of them came over to our seats after everyone boarded and started making conversation about my friend’s earlier remark. I asked if we could take pictures of the controls (I was just as trigger happy back then as I am now), and the guy responded by saying he could do one better and let us sit in the seats! :O It was pretty exciting. The two of us sat in the two pilot chairs for a couple minutes and took a few photos before we scurried back to our seats just in time for takeoff.

Travel

Sponsorship? Yes please.

Posted by on May 13, 2011 at 2:34 pm.

Boarding PassesA few weeks ago, I received a message through my Contact Page from a chap in the UK. He asked whether I’d be interested in having my blog posts sponsored by companies in the travel and tourism industry. What a silly question. Who wouldn’t be interested? But you know me, I like to know the details (sidenote: I spent so much time going over one insurance plan with my broker last week that halfway through the two and a half hour meeting she remarked that I should go into law. Ha!).

We exchanged a few e-mails and I found out that I can write about anything I want without any editorial influence from the sponsor. In exchange for adding a link to my post about a travel destination that’s related to their products and / or services, they would sponsor my post. And of course, I get to check the link beforehand to make sure it’s not spam, porn, or anything else you wouldn’t want your granny to see.

I have this folder on my computer titled ‘Bloggable’ with hundreds of photos from places I never got around to writing about. I was hoping there would be a sponsor interested in these places. But alas, Vegas and New York are a lot more popular than Pigeon Forge, Montreal, Williamsburg, Cuzco, and Asheville combined. :P

If you’re interested in sponsoring a post on this blog, send me a message with the details through my Contact Page. Thanks!

 

Random Thoughts, Travel

Yesterday’s Rain

Posted by on August 1, 2010 at 4:53 pm.

Baby Seal in North Vancouver

Oh Vancouver, how fickle you are with your weather!

My yesterday began with a lovely clear blue sky and the warmth of the summer sun while a friend and I walked along a beach in North Vancouver and spotted the cutest baby seal trying (unsuccessfully) to hide from onlookers among the rocks. “These are the moments that make Vancouver feel like the best place on earth” I thought.

As the day was coming to a close, I went to Spanish Banks to meet some friends for the last Celebration of Light fireworks of the summer. Quite suddenly, the skies turned grey, the fog rolled in to obstruct our view of English Bay, and we heard a threatening rumble. We understood the warning and began to pack up our beach belongings. Still, we weren’t fast enough to avoid the sharp attack of Vancouver rain.

The clouds spat large splotches of cold wet rain that patterned the beach like chickenpox. At first all I could think was “ow, ow, ow, ow geeezus OW!” as a scrambled to my car in highly inefficient flip flops. In the process of getting completely soaked, I remembered how different it was to walk through the rain in Montréal.

Two of my favourite things in Montreal: the rain, and BIXI bikes

Ahh, Montréal <3

I’ve always wanted to take a walk through pouring rain. You could blame it on movies like The Notebook, La Spectatrice or even The Princess and the Warrior or Spiderman. Most love stories include some form of rain.

The rain in Montréal was the kind you want to walk in. It was warm and complete, would drench you in a second, and it felt like you were being given the biggest hug by the whole sky. The great big dollops fell gently, and walking through it was more like wading through a pool; you would hardly even notice when you walked through a puddle. I couldn’t help but smile the whole way from the Mont Royal Metro to the little room I was renting on Rue St-Urbain. If only Vancouver’s skies could borrow its clouds from Montréal…

Travel

Coast Coal Harbour Hotel Grand Opening

Posted by on June 23, 2010 at 1:33 am.
Coast Hotels

The Coast Hotels Ice Martini Fountain / Sculpture

I received an invitation for Coast Coal Harbour Hotel’s Grand Opening event tonight, and went expecting a meet and greet style event in one of Coast Hotels’ clean and classic conference rooms. I obviously didn’t read the press release closely enough!

Coast Hotels are nice, but if I had to choose only one word to describe their new $60 million four-star Coal Harbour location it wouldn’t be “nice,” it’d be SWANKY! *makes a whistling noise*

The event took up four floors and a couple of guest rooms on the fifth floor for touring. Each floor was themed and served perfectly bite-sized portions of delectable eats and alcoholic beverages (the dangerous kind that don’t taste like alcohol but would pack a wicked punch if you didn’t bother to count how many you were having). Each floor, and even the spaces between the floors, had entertainment from a DJ to an orchestra, to a contortionist! Yeah, the contortionist was a little out of place, but entertaining nonetheless.

I met up with Elisa and Danny at the event, sampled some of the eats (delish!), and took a tour of the accommodations. The tour of the rooms felt more like an open house event at a staged apartment than a walk-through of a hotel. We went through an Executive Suite, and one of their Comfort Rooms — both of which had private balconies and those signature comfy Coast Hotel beds that Ang loved so much on our trip to Victoria last year when we stayed at Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel & Marina. The bathrooms had both showers and baths, and the kitchen area really did look like one out of a staged apartment right down to the squared-off cabinet handles. All very modern and clean. My favourite features of the rooms were the balconies, high ceilings, comfy beds, and wallpaper (yes, I notice hotel wallpaper).

If you ever have guests flying into Vancouver and you want to impress them, book a room at Coast Coal Harbour Hotel! Or better yet, throw a swanky event like this one in their ginormous ballroom (5,000 square feet) that will really knock their socks off. ;) You bought your Lotto Max ticket right? haha

Pictures From the Grand Opening Event

Travel

Working on the Other Side

Posted by on June 18, 2010 at 11:17 pm.
Tasmania Goody Bag

Tourism Tasmania goody bag and prizes that I won at the event. I love prizes that are alcoholic — especially when they’re illegal (it’s illegal to sell Moorilla Wine in Canada)!

I’ve been working in Marketing & PR for an adventure travel company for about six months now, but I don’t think I’ve fully adjusted to being on the other side of the Client / Operator and Freelancer / Employee  lines just yet.

As a travel blogger, I worked my way through destinations writing my own contracts, creating my own itineraries, and making pitches for sponsorship deals. Suddenly I’m the one being presented with pitches from companies, journalists and bloggers, marketing trip itineraries created by my boss, and working with pre-existing contracts. While at one point I had to convince tour operators to provide me with trips, I’m suddenly exposed to all sorts of “FAM” opportunities available for just about any travel operator without any distinction. It’s all a bit weird. You know what the sucky part of it is though? I can’t go on any of these trips because I have a 9 — 5! What a catch-22. LOL :P

I took on this position because the job description essentially outlined what I had been doing for myself the previous year, except for a company that would provide a regular paycheck. I spend most of my days on the computer writing, pitching, blogging, brainstorming, creating newsletters, interacting with past, current and potential clients, organizing events, keeping up to date with the latest industry trends, and analyzing a bunch of graphs, numbers etc. Once in a while I get to go on a trip to see what it’s all about, and check that things are operating smoothly in our destination. Most of the time, I don’t notice a huge difference in the actual work (except maybe when I’m working on ad campaigns). But I do occasionally have those “huh.” moments. Tonight was one big “huh.” moment.

Taste of Tasmania

Tourism Tasmania has been travelling around North America for about a week putting on events which showcase a handful of suppliers from wineries to accommodation services to wildlife boating and fishing tours. I attended their Vancouver Taste of Tasmania function tonight as a representative from my company.

This isn’t the first tourism-related function I’ve attended, but it’s the first one where I didn’t have time to put down my bag or sample the wine before being introduced to the Director of Marketing and Commercial Operations for an entire state and the Director of Fishing Tasmania in the same breath. Suddenly as a potential client rather than a freelance media junkie, I was someone worth introducing at an event.

Tasmanian Cheese and Appy Spread

At the same time though, the other travel company and agency representatives that I would normally be able to strike up an easy conversation with about travel services seemed automatically turned off by my presence (presumably because they thought our companies were competitors? *shrugs*). It was a strange role shift for me. I wondered at one point whether I was doing anything differently at this function compared to other events, but concluded that I was still the same ol’ me right down to my shirt (a favourite of mine that I bought three years ago at a sample sale). I took my notes on the presentations, chatted with a potential operations partner about new activities that will be available in 2011, sampled the cheeses and wine that were flown in from Tasmania (both of which were excellent — especially the smoked cheddar), and nibbled on chicken skewers, smoked tuna, and ridiculously tender lamb chops.

Working on the other side definitely has its perks, but I have to wonder how much of the attention is deserved? I’m not about to look into the measurement of return between a blogger’s word and an operator’s contract because I have enough stats to look at each week. But I like to think that if I can be a travel blogger one day and the head of marketing for an award-winning adventure travel company the next, both bloggers and company representatives should be treated equally. It’s not as if I changed, so why should you?

Please Note: This is in no way a post specifically about the people from Tourism Tasmania (which by the way are all very personable), but rather my personal insights on the tourism industry in general in regards to new media. If anything, the Taste of Tasmania event highlighted how well the team put together an event which made its guests feel very appreciated.

Thank you Tourism Tasmania for a wonderful event!

Travel

Book Review: The Art of Solo Travel

Posted by on May 29, 2010 at 8:44 pm.

I’ve been back from Peru for  12 days and they’ve been a particularly miserable 12 days (health-wise). I’m still suffering through a cold from hell. If this damned virus were personified, I’d be punching him in the gonads.

Since I’m not planning on venturing out into the world tonight and unleashing this evil bug onto a group of unsuspecting shoppers at the supermarket or coffee shop, I decided to open up the pdf version of The Art of Solo Travel by Stephanie Lee that Craig Martin from Indie Travel Podcast sent to me for review. I figured I might as well spend the evening reading about the adventures of others if I can’t go out on adventures of my own.

The Art of Solo Travel

This is probably the easiest book review I will ever write. Why? It’s the shortest travel book I’ve ever read! Seriously. I’m not even the fastest reader and I finished it in 20 minutes! It’s only 48 pages. The Introduction begins on page 5 and the Author Bio starts on page 46. There are six parts to the book, each of which gets a dedicated title page, four check-lists that each get a page, and a page of travel resource links. In the end, there are only 30 pages of text, most of which consists of lists (ex. Ten Easy Ways to Save Money, reasons why Google is Your Best Friend, and reasons to Quit Your Life (and Get a New One)).

I can sort of understand why Stephanie might have chosen to print short lists for the space conscientious traveller that already has a few travel guidebooks to lug around. But with all the handy gadgets she outlines (ex. E-book Readers), this really isn’t an issue anymore. I would’ve preferred to read more about her travel experiences meeting new people who helped her out (ex. about the guy in Switzerland who helped her buy a half-price ticket in Zurich — how did he get a half-price ticket? How did she meet him? Is this what she was referring to when she wrote that “travelling alone increases the possibility of romance”?) — which only got a measly half a page — than view the istock photos used for all the title pages.

Conclusion

I’m impressed that Stephanie was able to travel throughout 18 countries in six months with only $13,000 AU and I’m sure that she’s got heaps of great travel stories to share, but her first book hasn’t given me much insight into how she was able to do it or what she really got out of it, other than that she cooked a lot and was able to land a book deal with Indie Travel. I’m hoping this is her stepping stone to another more comprehensive book about her experiences travelling abroad.

–

The Art of Solo Travel is a brief introduction to travel for the girl who’s never ventured outside her hometown. I’d recommend it as a Christmas stocking stuffer, or a quick read at the doctor’s office (which I might have to go visit if this bug doesn’t let up soon). To purchase The Art of Solo Travel, visit http://indietravelpodcast.com/girlsguide.

Official Book Release: June 1, 2010
Price: $12.95 US
Publisher: Indie Travel Media Ltd.

Travel

Travelling with Bonica

Posted by on May 5, 2010 at 11:53 pm.

Bonica Snapper 1080P HD Video System

Nearly a year ago, Tim from Bonica Precision Inc. contacted me and asked whether I would be interested in borrowing some underwater camera equipment in exchange for video footage of my adventures. “Damn,” I thought “if only he had e-mailed a few months ago — this would’ve been perfect for my kayaking trips” (I had used a disposable Kodak camera and the pictures are teeeerrrrribble). And then of course I left for Australia! :P

A couple of weeks ago while Trish was in Panama, some sneaky dribbles of water snuck into her camera and wreaked havoc on its techy innards. That got me thinking… What if my camera goes bust on my Peru trip? Come to think of it, there’s no way I’ll be able to film even half of the footage I want on this trip with my little Canon (bless it’s little wired soul) even if I avoid water like the plague. I don’t have enough memory cards and the batteries will probably be shot before the end of the four day Inca Trail hike. And there’s a whole day of whitewater rafting that I won’t be able to take pictures of with the little guy. And no, the suggestion to carry it in a zip-lock is not an option.

What to do, what to do… And then I remembered Tim’s offer! I didn’t know if he’d still remember me since it’s been so long, but I figured I might as well write him and see. He remembered me!! :D Thanks Tim!

Tim totally came through in a spectacular way. He came by to Burnaby tonight with all the gear you see in the picture above and spent a good hour teaching me how to use the Bonica Snapper 1080P HD Video System and all its accessories.

The camera is uber-light and comes with a watertight inner silicon skin. It’s even easier to use than my Canon point and shoot digital camera, and its accessories include a bar mount that can be attached to a bike, a surfing handle (I didn’t even know these existed — it makes the camera look like a gun), a suction mount for use on a kayak or in a car, a super heavy duty polycarbonate outer case for dives down to 180 ft, and a REMOTE CONTROL! LOL I thought the remote control was a bit of an overkill, but Tim explained that it can be used to replace the control within the polycarbonate shell if it runs out of battery. He also provided not one, not two, but THREE batteries (THANK YOU!!), camera case, wires for anything I could possibly think of hooking up to this thing, charger, a clip handle, and an extra 2 GB SD card. I walked home with a big geeky smile on my face! I can’t wait to try it out! :D

~ Thank you Tim! ~

Random Pictures, Travel

Random Picture of the Day: When Was the Last Time You Tried Indian Dancing Lessons?

Posted by on January 7, 2010 at 8:56 pm.
Indian Dancing Night at UQ

The UQ Indian Student Society’s Garba Night 2009

During my last week in Brisbane, I met up with my pals from work one last time for lunch. Sara asked me what I was doing that night, and I told her I was going to Indian dancing lessons with my friend Sarah. She noted that I was always doing something fun and exciting while I was in Oz and said it was probably because I was travelling.

You know what? She was totally right.

When was the last time you said ‘no’ to something in your city (coffee / movie / whatever) when you could’ve said ‘yes’? I know I sound a little bit like I belong on the set of ‘Yes Man’ but whatever. The point is still good and valid!

If you’re living the role of a traveller, don’t you find yourself so much more receptive to new experiences than when you’re living your regular life at home? Don’t you ever wonder if that boredom you feel on your living room couch has something to do with that ‘I’ve seen everything there is to see and done everything there is to do in this town’ or ‘I’m too tired to go out’ mentality?

Well, if you want to shed that skin of negativity you might be pleasantly surprised. Go Indian dancing! :)

By the way, that last part was a metaphor — don’t ask me where they have Indian dancing lessons in Vancouver because I really don’t know. Today’s picture was taken at the University of Queensland campus where the Indian Student Society had their annual Garba night. We got to dance with sticks!

Switch to our mobile site