Manila

Manila is a city that people told me to leave as soon as I arrived. The city has the largest population in Asia. Many of its inhabitants come from all over the country and end up living on the street and under bridges.

It is difficult to go out in the city because locals told me that by taking a simple taxi ride I run the risk of getting kidnapped. I have tried to spend the least amount of time possible in Manila. But it's the hub of the country and spending a couple of nights there is unavoidable. However I ended end up having a good time in the city.

While I was there I went pearl shopping at Greenhills. There were just stalls after stalls and strings of pearls hanging from every one. My eyes hurt from examining them trying to find ones that match. If I couldn't find matching ones the vendor would pull out trays of pearls to find a mate and then make the earrings right in front of me.

Pearls everywhere

My last night abroad I met three students at a restaurant near my hostel. We ended up going to a nearby bar for drinks and karaoke - a popular pastime in the Philippines. We ate traditional Filipino pub food which includes Sisig, deep fried pork innards.

Karoke is a Filipino's favourite pastime

It was a great ending to a great trip.

Puerto Galera

For my last couple days abroad I headed to the beaches of Puerto Galera, on the island of Mindoro. From Manilla it was three hours by bus and then a really rocky boat ride. On the boat I ran into travellers I had met in Sagada and ended up sharing a room on Small Laguna Beach.

Puerto Galera at low tide

My first day there I decided to try diving. I did a fun dive since I didn't have a license. First I needed to learn how to breathe under water. The dive master took care of the boring things like inflating and deflating the vest and checking oxygen levels.

Learning to dive in the pool

After about an hour of that I was ready to go out into the Philippine Sea. Puerto Galera is known for it's diving and there are a lot of shipwrecks to see. However, that was beyond my level.

Resurfacing after jumping over the side of the boat oxygen tank first

Once underwater I saw coral, tropical fish and clams that opened and closed as you went near. It felt like discovering a completely different world. I had such a hard time moving around under water with all the gear on, especially with the flippers. I was afraid to kick too much because I thought I would hit the coral. We dived 10 meters and stayed under for 40 minutes, the longest amount of time possible before the oxygen ran out.

The nightlife in Puerto Galera consisted of mostly girly bars. Good for all the older men that go there for that reason, but so much for 20 something year old females. In many places the bar girls outnumbered actual patrons.

On my last day I soaked up as much sun as I could before I going back to Canada.

Mt. Pinatubo

I'm reaching the end of my trip and I've been trying to do and see as much as possible. After I left Sagada I went to Mt Pinatubo. Mt Pinatubo is a volcano that erupted in 1991. When it erupted the top blew off and is now a crater filled with water. It's located outside the town of Santa Juliana. When I arrived in the town I was dropped off at the travel agency that organizes the trip up the volcano. From there the president of the company picked me up and took me to a place to stay that night. When I asked about an Internet cafe he took me in a tricycle (a motorbike with a sidecar) to someone's home to use their personal computer. Later the restaurant I went to was in someone's garage. I guess the town doesn't have too many overnight guests.
The gorgeous view of crater lake at the top of Mt. Pinatubo

The next day I went up the volcano. First there was an hour long 4x4 ride where I was able to see a desert terrain covered in ash and rivers that were orange from sulfur.

Water stained with sulfur

I had to hike to the top to reach crater lake. It's not recommended to go swimming because the water is so deep the depth has never been measured. Nevertheless I went swimming with a life jacket. Afterwards I was able to get a massage at the spa that ran the trips up Mt. Pinatubo. I'm the one swimming in the middle of the crater

After a tricycle ride, Jeepney, bus and taxi ride I arrived back in Manila. The next morning I headed to Puerto Galera for a couple days on the beach.

one week left

Hanging coffins

It's been a while since I've written. Truth is, once I got here I just sort of got settled into a routine. It was nice for a while after traveling straight for so many weeks. But now I'm starting to get antsy and want to move on. I've been working on the video for the hospital for the past few weeks. It's a definitely an ambitious project and I wouldn't be able to finish it during my stay. I've been editing using Studio Plus and got some more experience using Adobe Photoshop. The video is starting to take shape. The section I've been working on is about toxins in the environment, and their adverse effect on human health. I've become pretty interested in the topic. It's easy to be concerned about health when you're in the mountains away from the pollution the cities. All the fruit and vegetables are grown locally, and there's no fast food anywhere. I wish there was more to work on with the video. I was looking forward hearing some of the testimonials when they were shot filmed. But that's the way things go. In the Philippines it takes a long time to get anything done.

When I'm not editing I hike, there's a lot of trails around Sagada. It's getting cold here. At night it drops to about 10 C - nothing compared to what it is in Canada. Except there's no heating here so I'm never really warm. My favourite restaurant here is the Yogurt House, which is famous for its homemade yogurt. The owner jokes that I'm there everyday. I'm almost, but no quite.

My favourite meal in Sagada - Yogurt House

Anyways soon I'll be moving on and discovering more of the Philippines, and then home. I'll keep you updated.

volunteering

I've been volunteering for about two weeks now. The juice fasting program at the hospital is on a bit of hiatus right now as Tom is doing some more research. Also soon there should be a similar program set up in Baguio (another town 6 hours away) and maybe eventually a couple of other hospitals in the Philippines. The program has run in Sagada for a year and it seems like many people in the town have tried it. As well people come from neighbouring towns and even abroad to participate. It has had success treating all sorts ailments including those with terminal cancer (however it has yet to be determined how effective it is in the long term.)

Sagada Hospital where I'm volunteering

The plan is to shoot a video, edit it (that's what I'm doing), and send it to networks in the Philippines, and other news networks in Asia. According to Tom it's a public relation dream here because most networks are so desperate for anything that if you give them a video they will run it. He has working with a network in the Philippines before and has a contact in India who owns a major network. Also the video will be posted on his website www.fasting.ws and YouTube.

For the first couple days you could say I participate in story meetings. Tom, the videographer, David, and I discussed some of the issues: who the target audience is, an Asia market so English is not their first language; where to shoot, mostly outside using the scenery of Sagada; lighting which are still be worked out after one day of shooting, the sun is really bright in the mountains; and how to make a video about fasting interesting. These discussions took place while Tom and David tore down a kitchen ceiling.

I have edited some b-roll of scenes in Sagada that was shot before I arrived. I have helped with some of the research for the video. I had gone to Baguio to renew my visa and while I was there I picked up some supplies that could refract the sunlight. There's only so much you can by in Sagada. I still have work to do put most of the project is on hold until the lighting is sorted out. Everyone else involved in the project is working on renovations around Tom's house.

Only 3 more weeks until I'm home.

Bontoc

I'm playing catch up on blogs right now. The day before my caving experience I had gone to Bontoc. Compared to Sagada this is a metropolis. I can do things like take out money. There's only one ATM in Sagada that's open from Tuesday to Thursday and it's unreliable.

Bontoc is an hour long, and once again, very bumpy trip. First I went to go see the Bontoc Museum. Some tribes in Northern Luzon still practice headhunting. At the museum there's some gruesome photos of the headhunters with their prize. At the back of the museum a village has been recreated and you can explore inside the traditional grass covered huts. They are so small you have to crouch down to get inside.

Riding on top of a Jeepney

After I ended up going to the rice terraces in Maligcong. The rice terraces are considered by some to be the 8th wonder of the world. Some mountains were terraced for rice fields over 2000 years ago. These plots have been passed down through generations. When I went they had already been harvested so it was mostly pools of muddy water. But you could still learn about growing rice which is a staple of the diet. A lot of the culture revolves around the harvesting and planting.

Rice terraces everywhere

The nightlife is thriving compared to Sagada. You can stay out until 10 pm. The plan was to do some karaoke, the national past time. Instead at the first two places bands were playing and at the last bar there was a lady boy show. By 10 pm the ladies brigade in their matching jackets was out to make sure that we left the bar. The next morning I was tired from my late night out.

Sagada

I've been in Sagada for over a week now; the longest place I've stayed since I started my journey. I've started some of the editing for the video. However since the shooting there's not much to do. Instead I've spent the weekend exploring the area.

Sagada is a small mountain village. It's supposed to be a backpackers haven and at certain times of year tourists outnumber locals. Although slowly more tourists are filtering in, I still don't believe that. However the typhoons have had caused a decline in tourism.

It's nearing the end of the rainy season, but it hasn't rained since I've arrived. Apparently after typhoons there's really nice weather. It cools down very quickly at nights. This is the first place I need to carry a sweater with me. The sun sets around 6 pm, and gets very dark since there's no street lights, so I also have to carry a flashlight when I go out for dinner.

There's not much of a nightlife in the town, since there's a curfew at 9 pm. All the restaurants and stores close by this time. And the ladies brigade (who are the older women in the community) makes the rounds to ensure everyone gets home. I've only been out late enough to witness this in the neighbouring town where curfew was at 10 pm.

Instead I've been taking in the nature while I'm here. There's a lot of hiking and caving to do in Sagada. I opted to the cave connection which is the most difficult option. I wanted to get the full cave experience. I spent four hours underground crawling though bat poop and clinging to rocks for dear life. There were a couple of times I wanted to give up although there was no going back only through. Every time I started to feel comfortable and couldn't imagine how it could get any more challenging, it did. At one time I had to climb along the side of a rock and could barely see where I was supposed to put my feet. Luckily my guide was amazing, and many times would act as a ladder, telling me to step on his knee or shoulder so that I could get to the next foothold. My guide described my caving skills as like teaching a two year old to climb stairs. I guess he wasn't too impressed.

Me and my caving buddy in front of limestone rock that looked like curtains.

The limestone formations were amazing to see and well worth the effort. But it will be awhile before I recover and go into a cave again.

finally the Philippines

So after a couple of weeks delay I finally arrived in the Philippines. I spent five nights in a row in a different city. First I had to back track from Siem Reap to Bangkok in order to catch my flight to Manila. I spent one night in Manila and left right away. There's not much to do in Manila except go shopping. I'll save shopping for the end of my trip when I don't have to carry everything around. During a taxi ride the driver was pointing out areas that a just a couple weeks before had been under water.

The next city I stayed in was Baguio. It's clear they do not get many tourists in the city. I attracted some attention. Many people just wanted to say hi and most were actually pretty helpful. English is a national language here and so most people speak English well. It's a relief after struggling through Bangkok trying to find my way around and I couldn't communicate with a lot of people.

After a six hour, bone-rattling bumpy ride I arrived in Sagada where I'll be volunteering for the next month. I met Tom who has designed a juice fasting program to treat terminal cancer patients. I'll be helping putting videos together that promote and explain how the diet works. I'll keep you updated on the work.

beach days

It's been a couple of days since I've left Sihanoukville, Cambodia. It was a good time, everything I needed, a chance to relax and try some snorkeling. For the first couple of days I didn't do too much, except swim, sleep and eat. Sihanoukville had some amazing BBQs at the beach front restaurants and I took advantage it. It was quite nice watching the sunset while enjoying fresh fish. The coast had been effected by the recent typhoons. The beach had been flooded and the water came right up to the steps of the bars.

dinner on the beach, except no beach just water

One night a friend and I went to a music festival on the beach. It was the first year for this festival so it was small, yet it attracted a lot of locals. The music was mostly top 40 djs. We had fun dancing with the local girls who seemed shy at first but really got into the music. The boys really know how to dance and loved showing off.

The last day I went on a boat tour. I spent the extra money to be on a boat with cover (last time I was on a boat I got really sunburnt.) This boat also had an exclusive license to go to a white sand beach where the prime minister owned a house. I was able to do some snorkeling, although it's not as good as what's in Thailand. It was pretty freaky looking below and seeing all these creatures and coral right below you. I was so afraid that I would kick too hard and end up cutting my foot on one of the sea urchins or coral.

on the boat

That night I left for Siem Reap, and today I said goodbye to Cambodia and it's insane driving and crazy children that stop at nothing to make money; including putting live tarantulas and won't take them off until you give them money (yes this does happen, but luckily not to me)

It was an interesting country and there's so much to tell that hasn't made it into this blog.

Now I'm in Bangkok and will be flying to Manila tomorrow.

Khmer Cuisine

Since I've arrived in Siem Reap I've had a chance to sample some different food.

A couple of days ago a group of us went with a tuk tuk driver to try snake soup. The snake was cut up, still with the skin on and served in a broth with onions, herbs and spices. To eat snake you have to pull out the spine, and after you're left with very little meat. It had a texture and taste similar to chicken. But it was a lot of of work for very little food.

Snake soup, and yes I did eat it - there's proof.

The next night we had Cambodian BBQ, it was similar to Korean BBQ where you cook the meat yourself. We chose from chicken, beef, kangaroo, ostrich or crocodile. Crocodile was my surprise favourite.

BBQ-ing

Also in Cambodia you can get happy pizza. Guess what makes it happy ;) And no I haven't eaten any dog.

Tomorrow I'll be heading to Sihanoukville, Cambodia for some snorkeling and relaxation.

Angkor temples

Ta Prohm

It's been awhile since I posted. I've since left Penom Penh by boat and now I'm in Siem Reap, home to the infamous Angkor temples. It's incredible, just look at the photo above.


Angkor Wat, the largest temple in Angkor, is the largest religious building in the world. It is a Hindu Temple dedicated to the god Vishnu. Very few parts of the temple are sectioned off so I was able to explore at my own leisure. When waking through it's amazing the detail and the effort it would have taken to construct these buildings. When I walk through them it feels like exploring ancient ruins.

Ankgor Wat at sunrise

There's several temples to see. Some attract a lot of tourists and then it's difficult to move around and take photos. But many are smaller and I'm there alone to explore the ancient ruins on your own. Me, a little sunburnt

Inevitably the town attracts a lot of tourists and everyone tries to cash in. When I arrive at each temple a swarm of children approaches me and tries to sell me scarves, books, whistles, and cold drinks. A swarm will follow me right up to the entrance. Sometimes it's fun because these kids are smart and know the capital city for every country, but there's only so much I can take.

reign of terror

I've flew Phnom Penh, Cambodia two days ago. Yesterday I went to the Tuol Sleng Museum. It was a high school that was transformed into a prison S-21 by Pol Pot in the late 1970s. The brick walls that formed the tiny cells where prisoners lived still remain. There's scarcely enough room to lay down. The devices used for torture are displayed in the cells. There's also a museum where prisoners photographs are posted on the walls. Engineers, teachers, anyone with an education, Vietnamese, women and children were all imprisoned here. The last 14 bodies found at S-21 are buried in the courtyard.

After I went to the Killing Fields of Choeung Ek where many prisoners from S-21 were taken to be killed. Here mass graves, the largest holding 450 bodies, were uncovered shortly after the Khmer Rouge reign. So far over 8,000 bodies have been uncovered, and there's many more graves that have been left alone. In the centre there's a tower of human skulls. The tower was designed by a monk in accordance with Buddist beliefs regarding death.

It was depressing and eerily walking around both these grounds. But on the ride back it gave a new appreciation for the Khmer people. They are working hard to recover, but it was been quite difficult. The genocide that killed 1/4 of the people is so recent. Even looking around the city, it's such a young population. There's no elderly here.

This city is very vibrant. When I was flying into the city I could see the roofs of the buildings, all sorts of bright colours. And the city is so busy, even more than Bangkok. There's very few pedestrians. Almost everyone is on a motorcycle. I get approached a lot by children selling books, sunglasses and water. It's certainly not Thailand, a lot fewer travellers, and there's not Internet cafes and travel agency's lining the streets.

what's next

I'm leaving Chiang Mai in a couple of hours. I'll be heading to Bangkok and then taking a plane to Cambodia.

Even though it's more expensive I decided flying into the country would be best. There's a lot of hassle getting the visa when crossing the border by land, and apparently the tourist buses I would be taking are sketchy. I had heard that they tend to leave people at the boarder, leaving them to take a taxi to their destination.

I'm still recovering from the trek, my legs hurt so much. I've been in Chiang Mai for about a week now, The longest I've stayed in any place since I arrived in Asia.

It's a medium sized town, so it's not as crazy as Bangkok. The central part of town is surrounded by a moat. It's a backpackers haven. Lots of activities to do, guesthouses and opportunities to meet other travelers.

Here's some more photos from Chiang Mai.
Daffy Duck eating noodle soup in front of a temple

Waterfalls

trekking

Sorry for not posting anything for awhile. I'm still in Chiang Mai and I've been really busy. Since I arrived here I've taken a cooking course, rode on a motorcycle outside of the town to see some waterfalls and then went on a two day trek up into the mountains.

I just got back from the trek tonight. I was in a group of nine people and we trekked to the top of a mountain and stayed with a hill tribe who lived at the top. I wasn't expecting the hiking part to be so intense. We walked almost straight up a mountain for hours on end. The path was so steep and rough. I've never sweated so much in my life.

My trekking group outside the bamboo cabin

We spent the night in a sort of cabin located within the hill tribe. The floors of the cabin were made of bamboo, which didn't seem very strong, as it would bend and rattle as we walked over it. But it supported us throughout the night. We didn't see too many tribes people only the few that cooked us an amazing curry dinner.

I thought the second day would be easier becuase we were walking down hill. I was wrong. It was so steep and slippery. I was so scared of falling because it was a long drop. It required a lot of balance to keep me from falling as I steeped over the roots and rocks while trying not to slip in the mud. Luckily I only had a couple of slips.

Also during the trek we rode elephants, and I able to sit right on the elephants head with my knees tucked behind its ears. It was a bumpy ride and the elephants liked to spray us with snot from its trunk.

On the second day we did two types of rafting, whitewater and bamboo. The whitewater rafting was pretty tame, but we did go through some rapids. The bamboo rafting was even tamer, so our guide livened it up by throwing me off the raft into the river - twice.

Regarding the Philippines, I've deferred my flight until November 4th. I had an email from my contact at the hospital who told me that due to a huge landslide in Baguio the town of Sagada had been cut off and there was no electricity. But it sounds like they are doing okay even without. So until then I'm debating between going to Cambodia or Laos. Budget is a bit of an issue and Laos sounds cheaper, and many people come back from Laos saying they loved the country. But I would love to see Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

Chiang Mai Here I Come

I arrived in Chiang Mai this morning. I took a government bus, which meant less tourists, more Thais. Travelling in Thailand just seems disorganizated. I was at the bus terminal trying to find the landing where I was to catch the bus. I walk outside, and there landings up and down, but not mine. There was an arrow that was directing me forward, but it just rows and rows buses. I asked someone and he pointed me in the same direction as the arrow. Turns out after I walked through the maze of buses, there was a chainlink fence, with a hole. And that's where I saw people cutting through to get to the other side, where there were the rest of landings. Anyways so far I've always arrived where I intended, so the system seems to be working.

Chiang Mai is the capital city of the North, yet it's pretty small, the population is 150,000. Where I'm staying seems really touristy, lots of guest houses and Internet cafes. It's a lot cheaper than both Ko Phanghan and Bangkok, a lot. My private room, with a shared bathroom is 120 baht, about $4 Canadian.

There seems like no shortage of things to do. Tomorrow I'll be taking a cooking class and learning how to make some sort of Thai Curry - yum. I hope to do a one day trek that involves and elephant ride and some rafting. I'll let you know it goes.

And now some more photos from Bangkok, because I like you.

Bangkok!

So it's my last night in Bangkok. I've enjoyed my time here, although I haven't found it as crazy people say. It may have to do with the fact that I'm not staying downtown. But part of the fun of Bangkok has been getting around. My favourite part has been taking the ferry. It's the fast, cheapest and most fun! It's a great way to see the city and the boat is so rudimentary. I get on to the boat by jumping off of the pier. The sides are made of plastic which can be easily stepped over.

After I recovered from the crazy trip up to Bangkok I went to see the Grand Palace. The buildings are all so ornate. I couldn't get over the attention to detail of all the buildings. I don't even know if the photos can do this place justice. After I went to dinner on Khao San Road, the backpackers paradise.

The next day I went to the Siam Centre, sort of the yorkville of Bangkok. After I toured around Lumphini Park, where many Thais go to work out. It's a huge greenspace in the middle of the city. It even has outdoor weight machines.

After I went to the night market and participated in some bargining. It's a really difficult way to shop, and proved to be exhausting.

My final day here was a bit of a bust since there's a storm. I had planned on going to the zoo. Tomorrow I will go to the weekend market, it's the biggest market in the world. And then to Chiang Mai.

Travel to Bangkok

I've just made it to my hostel in Bangkok. I'm staying at a place called REFILL NOW! So far it looks good, clean and accessible to all the sights by subway.

It was quite a journey to get here. I left Ko Phangan at noon yesterday. A taxi picked me up and took to the pier and then I took a ferry to get to the mainland. After that everyone from the ferry piled onto a bus that dropped us off at some point along the side of the road. At the ferry we were given stickers written in Thai to wear, this was to divide us into groups based on what travel agency we had booked the trip through. There were only 3 people in my group and I later switched to another. We travelled by Tuk Tuk, which is a motorbike with a trailer attached, where the passengers sit. We were dropped off at a restaurant for dinner. The bus was late by over an hour so the person in charge decided to drive us to the bus in his pickup truck. Eleven of us piled into the back. It wasn't covered, it was nighttime, dark and raining. What an adventure. We finally got to the bus and it was pretty full. We drove overnight and arrived in Bangkok at 6 am.

I took the subway to the hostel. The subway is pretty simple to use and the workers were very helpful directing me to where I was going.

I plan on staying in Bangkok for four nights before I head to Chiang Mai.

Full Moon Party

It's my last night in Koh Phangan, after the full moon party it gets pretty quiet on the beach and most people leave.

The Full Moon party takes place on Haadrin Beach, the southern tip of Koh Phangan the night of the full moon. Pretty much it's a giant beach rave, that attracts 10, 000 to 30,000 young people from all over the world to party under the full moon.

Each of the beachfront bars have their own DJ and different attractions to lure partyers to their bars. Most of the entertainment was providing by fire, skipping through ropes lit on fire, fireworks and fire eaters. Bucket stands were lined across the beach, each stand tried to attract people with jewellery made from straws, beads and flowers.

I did some filming at the party because the craziness is so hard to describe.

As the night wore on, I stayed awake to watch the sun rise from the Gulf of Thailand.

Anyways I'm on my way to Bangkok tomorrow and will be there until the weekend.

Buckets!!

I've been in Ko Phangan now for 3 days. It's clearly a party island. The nightlife goes until 5 am and nothing opens in town until around noon. It's very touristy, everything is expensive relative to what things cost in the rest of the country. It's mostly stores as well, as opposed to markets, so there's very little barginning. There's not much to do on Haadrin except lay on the beach, shop, walk around, and of course party!

Every night there's been a party on the beach in preparation for the full moon party that's happening tomorrow.


Currently I'm staying at Venus Resort. It's a little down the beach from the party area. It's situated up a hill. It took me a while to find because no taxis can drive up there. And I kept getting different directions, I finally made it, after taking the long way up a very steep hill, with my backpack. Good times.

Still not sure about what's going on in the Philippines. My contact said the town I'm staying in is fine, but he was vague on the travel situation to Sagada. Here's what he had to say.

"It is ok here just lots of rain, but it is best not to take a bus from Baguio to Sagada during a storm. The planes may not be flying. You airline is the best choice on the number they gave you for flight info."

So at the moment I can fly into the country, yet there's no where to go, once I'm there.

Anyone have suggestions on what to do?

I'm working on getting a bus ticket to Chiang Mai and see some temples then travelling to Bangkok.

Flooding in Manila

Uh oh...

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=30113165&keyword=manila

Not sure how flooding in the Philippines will affect my trip. I've emailed my contact at the hospital and waiting to hear back if Sagada has been flooded as well. Even still I doubt at this time I could even fly into Manila. My flight isn't for another 2 weeks so a lot could change. And another storm could still hit the Philippines.

I made it to Ko Samui. After one very long flight, and 2 short ones. I wasn't sure if I could make the second flight since I only had half and hour from the time I got off the first plane to get to the next, which was on the other side of the Hong Kong airport (the largest airport in the world.) But the staff escorted the 2 of us who had to catch the next flight by taking us on the subway in the airport.

My first night here I stayed at quite a nice place called Shambala Resort on Big Buddah Beach. The room was quite clean and cost 500 baht ( about $15) and I ate breakfast on the beach. The sky is overcast right now and it's windy. But it makes the temperature comfortable, not too hot or humid.

Today will be taking a ferry over to Ko Phangan where the full moon party will be and I'll be meeting a friend there as well.

two weeks... two weeks... two weeks

In two weeks, I'll be sitting on a plane heading on one of the biggest adventures of my life. I'll be spending two and half months traveling and volunteering in Southeast Asia. When I get back it will be like starting my life over again in Toronto. I'll need to find a new job and new apartment.

Two weeks is not a lot of time, and I feel like I have so much to do, and at the same time so little. I've taken care of the big things, shots, banking, plane tickets, etc. All that's left is packing up my whole apartment, and then packing for the trip. I'm not sure how long packing for the trip will take since I plan on buying a lot of stuff there. But I am going to have to be very selective about what goes in the backpack.

I'm still planning on which places I want to visit. If anyone has ideas let me know, I'd love to hear them.

Anyways I hope to have chance to update this while I'm away and I'll try to keep it interesting for you.
Thanks for visiting!

Cheers

Jillian