Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom

Surprise! Made it to another unplanned, strange destination and the reason is rather bizarre. Every time I told my Granny that I was traveling around the world, she would ask if I was going to Wales. I always said no and never expected that I would get there on this trip. Then when I sidetracked to London, wore myself out in the big city, and realized it was only a two hour train ride, I figured I would finally go see what she's been talking about all these years.

That's all it takes to get me motivated for a day trip.

On my iPod

London, England, United Kingdom

My journey around the world has taken me to yet another city and country I didn't expect to see. I decided back in July that I would have enough time and money to take a detour through London, and its definitely been worth it. I've spent the last 2.5 days walking around seeing as many of the sights as humanly (or unhumanly) possible. I've walked across the city, riden almost every subway line, ran 15km and done everything I wanted to do within the first 48 hours. Needless to say I'm a little tired. While resting, I've selected some of my favorite photos from my 800+ that I've taken so far in London. Enjoy.












Still reading? There will be a surprise destination appearing on this blog tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany

Just a thought I'd leave you a quick note from Germany. I have a 16 hour stop in Frankfurt before leaving again in the morning. I made it through another epic flight from Bangkok and a train ride here where nothing is written in English.

First impressions are that I am really glad it's no longer above 30 degrees and that the cars are once again driving on the right side of the road (well at least until tomorrow). The best part about tonight is that I'm staying in a hotel, with my own bed, and my own washroom, and my own desk, and my own TV. I'm pretty excited.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Bangkok, Thailand

I am once again back in Bangkok for the 4th and final time. Not a whole lot of news to report on my end, but I did have an interesting experience on the way into the city. Seems as though they have recently opened up the rain link to the airport. I decided to give it a shot, for nothing else than to avoid another ride in a taxi. The train itself runs on an elevated track for the entire 28km length into the city. It's completely brand new and gets you to your destination in about 30 minutes (as opposed to 25 minutes driving). At first I was a little skeptical at first considering this was the schedule that I found online, which happens to be a a photo of a partially hand-written timetable (yes, this is a muti-billion dollar project). But I decided to give it a try anyways, and it turns out wonderfully. The best part was the price. A one-way trip cost me B15 which converts to CD$0.51. Gotta love Thailand.

Anyways, my biggest dilemma at the moment is whether or not I should cut my hair prior to my return to Canada, as I previously vowed. It's been nearly 10 months since the last haircut. I am long since past the point of needing a haircut, and it's starting to create some practical problems for me such as:
1. Causes me to be too warm and sweat more than normal.
2. Severe vision impairment. This causes many other problems, like compromised safety, irritable eyes, etc.
3. I look absolutely ridiculous.
4. Costs me money. I had to buy a pair of glasses to wear which help keep my hair out of my face.
5. If the wind blows the wrong direction, I can unknowingly look a lot like a pedophile.

Although there are some bonuses to having long hair such as:
1. I can always tell which way the wind is blowing because my hair doubles as a wind sock.
2. I don't have to worry about a sunburn on my neck, ears or face.
3. Occasionally I get compliments from girls on my long, glorious hair (thank you Herbal Essences).

So the internal debate shall rage on as I've got another 43 days before I return to Canada.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Macau, Special Administrative Region, China

I am back in Macau and as promised, I've got a whole new bunch of photos to show off. Please enjoy my favorites from Hong Kong and the past day in Macau.


Hong Kong









Macau



The whirlwind tour continues tomorrow with a return to Bangkok.