Travel Life

Xiao Nian and The Chinese New Year The first year in China makes for a lot of questions that are sometimes hard or difficult to find the answers to. With the new year swiftly approaching, it is appropriate that guests in this country are accustomed or informed on the traditions and interesting practices that people revolve this month long holiday around. “ Xiao Nian ”, or “Small Year“ in English, is the week or so before the actually Lunar Calendar New Year. It is probably just as important and significant as the New Year itself in a way, this usually occurs in late January or early February. Firstly it is important to recognize that although China follows both the Lunar Calendar year and the Georgian Calendar year. The Lunar Calendar year is traditionally the Calendar year followed more closely due to its practicality in farming and the country’s crop production. The Lunar Calendar year follows the earth’s rotation around the sun where ad the Georgian Calendar is a Solar calendar

Dunnville-X Leaving this afternoon? Waiting for something in the mail and we can't leave without it apparently. My Ma originally planned on doing this trip by plan with the whole family. She wanted our family to go visit our dear relatives who live in Austin Texas, I haven't seen them in five years and they are having their furst child's 3rd birthday, not to mention we still haven't met their kids, my cousins at all yet really.  I was down there five years ago with my parents for the wedding which was pretty fun to say the least. The last time we did the trip, we drove down to Nashville, then stayed in Austin for a day, after which we went to Fredericksburg just south of Austin for the two day wedding ceremony and reception. A grand time to say the least.  After the wedding my parents and I made our way to San Antonio where we learned about the Alamo and its heroes. We then headed through Louisiana to New Orleans where we stayed for a day-had fun in the night

UPDATE: 2021/12/09 Its been awhile since I have seen a wild sea turtle, even longer while since the one in Dandong that kinda sparked this post. To be fair-I haven't seen the captured and prepped for sale sea turtle market, nor have I heard about it-recently I was in Huizhou and we discussed the Huidong Sea Turtle Base. It was said that a lot of people would turn sea turtles into soup..that musta be a bloody feast, cause sea turtles ain't small and I can't imagine a lot of folk interested in a tiny one. Then again-who knows. My wife, son and I were considering going there to see the research base and learn a bit about sea turtles-also hoping to see some up close...maybe on the beachor whatever. Although the base is interesting and actually has a sea turtle there at the base that they keep, my son is only 3 years old. Its more of a trip for someone who is actually planning on spending some time there learning about the turtles/is specifically in GD province for that particul

If you have ever gotten drunk in China it was a first time of either Beer or Bei Jiu. When in Rome, or in this case...Beijing, right? If you haven't heard or researched it yet, you will be reading about in this article about the chances and drawbacks to the formaldehyde content of Chinese beers in China. Many foreign beers (foreign to the west) don't make it to the west for a number of reasons, and formaldehyde content is one of them. In the past formaldehyde was used in beer to fasten the the filtration of impurities. It also turns out that allegedly formaldehyde appears naturally in the brewing process when methanol is involved. Basically, when methanol is metabolized it creates a very tiny amount of formaldehyde as a byproduct. This means there are a possible 2 sources of the formaldehyde in beer, one is intentional and the other is inevitable. The intentional use CAN be eliminated however companies were trying to make a buck or two, I am not sure what the current situat

The idea of this travel bingo is not so much to create inside running jokes as it is to be as social as possible and meet as many people as possible when on the road. Hostels are by far the easiest places to meet people; hotels being a little more difficult and well...other than that, I don't know where else you would meet would aside from walking around and what not. The purpose of this game is to try and. Connect as many pictures of yourself with people from other countries as possible. Not that a person can have 100 photos of them with Germans, but they need to try and get a picture with a German, an English fella and so on and so forth. Who is playing? This Can be with people you just meet; people in your travel group and or even friends elsewhere travelling. Wicked cool little game, think it's a hundred percent worth it. All the best fellow travellers! Keep safe and stay adventurous, check out my blog and don't forget to say hello! -CB

Hanoi Gate is the “hostel” we stayed at. There were not many cheap reasonable selections left and this was the most promising for the price all of us agreed on. We were beginning to feel the financial squeeze this far into the trip, certainly surpassing a reasonable budget by all means. After experiencing this trip though, it was all worth it, especially Hanoi. There were places on the trip that had me shaking my head and others that brought a legitimate peace of mind to light, but Hanoi was certainly the cherry atop the crazy flavoured cake. Hanoi was not just a hub, it was a party hub, a historical hub an architectural hub, it had everything. Some of Mandarin I knew was even useful in small shops. We tried more wonderful coffees, beers, and foods (including jellyfish salad). We tried staying hydrated and “healthy” with fresh fruit smoothies created before your eyes in the homes/business that littered sidewalks.             We spent a solid 3 days in Hanoi, which gave us time to se

Sunrise appeared as though someone just turned the lights on, clouds cleared out and the sun began to glisten on the beach’s water before us. Pretty amazing to just have a warm yet crisp morning, sparkling beach water before you and just silence aside from the odd gull call. After waiting for his cab to pick us up, we were beginning to get excited for the resort. He had mentioned it was secluded but we were so far from a real town that the ATM close to the resort only had money in it every couple weeks and well, it meant we got to take a trip into to town every so often. Jungle Beach was an amazing 4 days, everything from the food to the nearby hiking. Syl can’t offer a whole bunch of activities but he does like company and very much enjoys hearing about folks talk about how much they enjoy their time there as well what nearby things they may have discovered while wandering around. For instance, the waterfalls he told us to check out were maybe a 5 minute or less walk up from the re

In Vietnam now, able to rest, yet we don’t. This lifestyle is becoming all too familiar in the best kind of way. Ho Chi Minh was talked down pretty consistently by travellers but really it seemed like a place that just needed folks to be a little more realistic when travelling there. No, Ho Chi Minh was not the average crazy little town with obscene hustle and bustle on each street corner but there were the places to go for a good time, historical sights and just right calming parts of town that you really couldn’t find anywhere else because of how unique small aspects of things are in Vietnam. We stayed at a place called the “Hideout” it was a last minute discovery and the only decent looking hostel with a great location. There is a lot of history to take in but certainly still interested in seeing Ho Chi Minh in Hanoi. We spent about a day in Ho Chi Minh as our next stop was the real destination we wanted to arrive at. Prepare snacks and water for the bus ride because it is long

The next day in Siem Reap was a blur, we needed to switch hotels, go to Siem Reap War Museum and then go see as much of Angkor Wat as we could before it closed. We only had an hour or so at Angkor Wat but nonetheless it was quite spectacular. Nature and history literally intertwined into many ancient sculptures that were created by nature’s own willingness to thrive on. Although Cambodia did not have an observation tower that we were able to add to our list, we were more than satisfied with walking through and appreciate the beautiful carvings on literally every surface of Angkor Wat’s stone structures. Our next day was the beginning of the boat trip down the Mekong River to Phnom Penh. Ho Chi Minh was our next destination from Phnom Penh. We had a couple days here as none of us were too enthused by the “city” life of Siem Reap, but we were pleasantly surprised after we learned of how much friendlier Phnom Penh was. Yes, obviously there were still tourist trappers and folks looking

After Bangkok we got on Angkor Airlines which dropped us off in Siem Reap mid-day at which point we ended up getting our visa there. It was around thirty bucks, and this would be the place to exchange money for USD which was the preferred currency in Cambodia. Locals seemed nice for the most part when in restaurants and what not, however we ran into some individuals who sincerely just wanted to best us and take the cash from our hands. One of us wanted a jack fruit to snack while walking and was digging up the money but didn’t seem to have enough. Another one of us offered to pay instead and took out the money to hand to the vendor. The vendor was busy cutting away at the fruit and kind of ignored the money in front of them when a man standing beside them reached out for the money. My friend thought that the hand held out was insert money here for fruit. After being given the money, man walked behind the vendor as they were still cutting. I remarked “watch that not be the person we ha

Koh Phi Phi was indeed a beautiful island, right from the moment we stepped off  the boat  till the second we got back on to leave. Again, everyone seems to be asking for a dollar here, a dollar there. It becomes regular yet annoying. The island itself is very small but so incredibly easy to get lost on. Every back alley takes you to the same main bays but how far down the bays you are is the tricky part of figuring out your location. We stayed at a shady looking guesthouse called “Oasis Guesthouse” which was not too expensive but certainly didn’t seem all that secure considering the windows were just glass panes and there seemed to be a gecko or two which were always running around. Kyle and I roomed together while Jesse and Krista were sharing a room. I mostly remember from the time spent in that room, Kyle telling me again and again “rather have geckos than anything else…” I looked at him as if he was getting ill. He continued to explain that geckos are two things, faster than scor

We went to Phuket Old Town as a stopover out of the god forsaken area and because it was a bit closer to the ferry for Koh Phi Phi. We stayed at “The Beehive” in Old Town close to “Wat Kao Rang” which has an extensive amount of beautiful lookouts along with passing by primates. The people in Old Town and “The Beehive” Hostel are so incredibly friendly. It also seems like the less formal a restaurant is around here, the better the food is.

In Thailand we arrived in Phuket late at night which made things a bit nerving for us. We had no idea what to expect or what to do when we arrived. We were warned about traps and getting ripped off while here, especially in Phuket (Southern Thailand). People seemed nice but, we certainly felt like we had been instantly picked out as the wealthy foolish foreigners once we got out of the airport terminal. We found a cab who gave us a better deal than others, it was still a ridiculous amount but we were going quite the distance (Patong Beach). When originally planning the trip, Thailand was split into three parts we’d visit, Phuket/Patong Beach, Koh Phi Phi and Bangkok. From the airport we took the cab into Southern Phuket, Patong Beach. Before booking we only knew that one of the travellers we were with wanted Phuket, beaches and relaxing atmosphere. The research emphasized Patong Beach as a nice beach area with lots to see and do. Our research neglected to forwardly disclose that it

The train was a metal line of cars that looked like they were fairly well equipped for travel, until we stepped onto one. The seats are bearable but not sleep worthy. You do not want to leave your bag behind because well, there is not much security. I highly recommend taking a book and your bags then setting up shop in the dining cart. It was fairly pleasant in there compared to the seating cars. The train’s dining cart would pick up a few sets of meals at every other stop. We usually bought one for 7 Ringgit each time the car was restocked. After the second stop, we learned that the guards would leave the door on the cars unlocked so they could open while they smoked. Clever, but also silly of them to show foreigners like ourselves that the doors are unlocked during travel. We felt as though we were in a western film as we would open the door and stick our head out of the door as well as take some of the nicest pictures. After the exhilarating train ride, we took a cab to The Fernlof

We took a cab to the hostel on Hong Kong Rd. Jesse had booked the hostels for the beginning of the trip as I had booked our flights for most of the trip. The hostel was great, it was the second trip that I had stayed in one and certainly not going to be the last. We enjoyed our stay and found ourselves ready for a late night snack. Really, the best thing open was the only thing open in this area, a Singaporean Fish Ball Soup restaurant court. It was small, looked sketchy (especially for Singapore) but had bumping clubs and well dressed individuals hanging out sucking back Tiger Beers. A couple things we did before the trip was research and plan. Among the research we realized we had to be on our best behaviour in Singapore because of the strict reputation it is believed to have regarding its laws (caning, fines, jail time and the scariest of all, executions). Although we came innocently and without intent to create any mischief, we were worried. Three friends running around Asia, no

  We were all leaving within the same day or two but after almost of week of spending each waking moment with each other, the couples were hoping to get some time to enjoy the company of just each other. Before breaking up in factions though, we all attended and thoroughly enjoyed chicken and beer at Doosan Bears Baseball game at Jamsil Stadium. It really is as spectacular as people let you believe. The crazy part is, cheap tickets are 10$ (CAD) and the most expensive being 30$ (CAD). You cannot buy the tickets online and if you are buying for a larger group of people who want to sit together, I recommend getting there earlier, getting some food outside and bringing some beers inside by tucking them in a waist belt or jacket.    The beer is cheap everywhere in Korea but obviously a tad bit more expensive in sanctioned sporting events (as everywhere else in the world). The seats are worth the money as you also have a table in front of you to put your food and drinks on during the game,

  After a great three days on Jeju-Do, we were ready for Mokpo. When arranging the transportation and itinerary for this trip, we knew that holiday time meant tickets and modes of transportation were crippled with over bookings and what not so we also decided to book ahead. When booking we did not anticipate the possibility of missing the Hallasan Hike, so we needed to rebook in the next 24 hours. Aferry.com is currently the only English speaking booking agency for foreigners. They are also located in England with no after hour service. All interactions with Aferry.com were extremely late Skype calls or delayed emails.    However easy and simple the site is to manage through it is not very equipped for travelers going to countries where language barriers exist. We needed to exchange our tickets (within our right as customers) but the company told us to go check if we can simply do it ourselves at the ferry port. The management office didn’t speak English and was not clear on everythin

  Mt. Hallasan was a hike for an individual who was experienced. My girlfriend and I had hiked many mountains and trails before but Hallasan proved difficult, especially if hikers travelling together are not on the same level. It was certainly a full day experience for a regular average paced hiker. An experienced hiker finds the hike easy with proper footwear and decent amounts of water. The park opens very early but the path to the summits (Gwaneumsa Trail and Seongpanak Trail) do not fully open until there is substantial light in the sky. Hikers must hike to the Samgakbong Shelter or Jindallaebet Shelter before 12:30pm which was about 3-4 hours from the parking lot. We arrived later in the day to attempt Hallasan due to the fact that people were unable to make it out before 7am. We had hoped that the online schedules and recommended times of visit wouldn’t lead us astray, alas we ended up at Hallasan late with ideas of how to arrive to the campgrounds and what not as well. The orig

  Beginning the trip in Jeju was ideal for a few reasons one of which being Mountain Halla (a.k.a Hallasan). This mountain was not your average hiking to the peak for the sake of getting to the peak. This was a mountain that had a volcanic crater lake that could be looked in from the top. Minimal research (on our part) revealed that Jeju was known for a number of specialty foods which included Live Octopus; Horse; Jeju Oranges; and BBQ Black Pork. Jeju also had some wonderful hostels and villas available and open for travelers which were located throughout the city near some terrific sights. Our first night in Jeju-Do was spent finding chicken and beer with some pub street searching followed by a much needed rest in our villa “Pinetree House” which was located in Jeju-Si near many restaurants and other activities. The rest we had would prove necessary as the day after the next we needed to complete our trek to the peak of Hallasan.   The next day led us to breakfast at a coffee sho

February in North America is a week of student reading, and a couple short holidays. However, after moving to China, February got a whole lot more interesting. As an overseas teacher a lot of the time spent during the school year is simultaneous tasking and back-to-back late nights planning and changing curriculum. When holidays arrive though, a traveller really learns how to make the most even out of a week. In the first year as a teacher I had realized that the end game is to return to Canada at some point for the white picket fence and tire swing dream. I also realized though, until I return home permanently, I should make the most of every holiday. I flew to China with a few other teachers who had also never been to China. We became good friends for the most part as the year progressed. Three of us were a bit closer though and this friendship turned into an ability to balance each other when travelling around Southeast Asia together for the long holiday. Singapore, Malaysia,

  For a week in October, China celebrates its National Holiday. There are many people who get time off a little bit earlier but most people have that specific week off. Many of the Chinese use this time to visit family, friends, go to Beijing or other Central cities for celebrations. One select group of individuals (usually ones closer to the coast) will travel to South Korea.   In Donbei China there are many ethnicities scattered about (like most other places in China) however, one of these minorities are the Koreans. As many Koreans as there are emigrated from Korea to China there are more who are born and raised Chinese Koreans. This holiday my friends and I thought we should travel to South Korea starting south (in Jeju) and work our way to the North (stopping in Seoul) where we could have a short fight back over to Dalian, Liaoning.   The trip itinerary was specifically set to start in Jeju City (Jeju Si) and then we were going to ferry to Mokpo then train to Seoul. We began