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Exploring the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica
Finally getting my butt out of Jaco, I spent my last weekend in Costa Rica exploring Marque Manuel Antonio and doing a hike to a waterfall not too far from Jaco. Together with two other students, we had originally planned to take the bus from Jaco centre to Quepos, then take another bus or a cab to Manuel Antonio. At the very last minute, Colin, a Texan with a big personality, decided to rent a car since he had to drive to the airport early the next morning anyway. Perfecto, this gives us much more flexibility. The drive was 1.5 hours to Manuel Antonio from Jaco and a few tips…
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Spanish, Surf, and un poquito Sun!
Wrapped up my two weeks of learning at the Escuela del Mundo today. It’s been fantastic, and I’m a little bit sad to leave this little oasis in Jaco. This past week, I switched my photography class to surfing. The school’s main focus is really on surfing. The teachers are chill but professional and they really make sure to teach you at your level. On Monday, my first surf class here, I was with C & K, a German couple, and J, another German. The four of us were with Estanban, one of the instuctors. It was a rough day at sea, with light rain coming down and fast choppy…
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Primero semana en Jaco (First week in Jaco)
Hola muchachos! It’s Friday and I’ve just completed my first week of school at Escuela del Mundo in Jaco. A few stories to share, to help paint a picture of what life at the school here is like. First class on Monday, I meet Lyda, mi professor de Español, and my fellow beginner class classmate, H. H is German, just finished high school and on a gap year…as the Germans tend to do. Oh to be so young again! We start slow and the pace is generally kept slow or slower, for the rest of the week. I can’t say I’ve learned that much Spanish so far, but the…
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Packing for Costa Rica
I’m going to be gone for at least a month, maybe more, so my backpack is stuffed pretty full of clothes and toiletries. Here’s what’s in my carry on and in my backpack. Amazing I managed to get it all to fit into the 50 litre backpack! This is an old Macpac Pegasus I bought in 2012 when I did my ‘Round the World trip. It originally came with a little 15L daypack attachment, which I’ve since left behind in Singapore as it was getting way too dirty and worn out. That little gem had been with me through a lot and it was time to let it get some…
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Tao Philippines Adventure
Maja and I were both leaving Singapore for good in a couple months and both wanted to get a couple more adventures in as a last hurrah. We tossed some ideas around and agreed to do the Tao Philippines Palawan adventure boat. Several friends had told me over the years how amazing this experience is. Tao Philippines is an adventure travel operator; their signature trip is week long island-hopping adventure from El Nido to Coron (or vice versa) on a souped-up bangka boat. My friend PL loved the trip so much that when her boat sailed into the last stop in Coron, she promptly got right back on to do…
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Long weekend in Pondicherry
Easter long weekend, a sense of adventure, and a hankering for some good dahl — what more reason do you need to book a trip to India? I must admit, I’d always been apprehensive about going to India. It’s a huge, diverse, intense country, a place that can initially seem daunting to even think about planning a trip for. But more than anything else, I always had a fear of catching food poisoning in India. Horror stories abound amongst travellers about being horrifically ill in India. After my personal experience with food poisoning in Myanmar, I was very very wary of this risk. But my old flatmate Lisa adores India…
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Cooking classes abroad
I LOVE taking cooking classes whilst I’m travelling abroad. To-date, I’ve tried cooking classes in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Bali, and Vietnam. So much fun, and if you’re a foodie like me, it’s fascinating to see how some of your favourite exotic foods are made. Next time you’re on vacation, try one out. For inspiration, here are some info and links to the ones that I’ve done in the past. Vietnam: I did the Hoi An Eco Cooking class (in you guessed it, Hoi An). It’s a super cute family run course and the bonus is you get to ride a little round bamboo boat to the facility where the…
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Hiking up the original Great Wall of China
My first visit to the Great Wall was when I was a wee little five year old lass. My mom, grandma, and I were in Beijing to get our visas/passports to move to Canada. Evidently, you had to personally go to Beijing to get these things, back then. My memories of that trip are extremely fuzzy, but I do remember desperately wanting to climb “to the top” of the Great Wall. Whatever that meant. And I remember being disappointed, when my mom, wearing incredibly impractical shoes, refused to go with me. Fast forward to 2015 and I was in Beijing again, with my Dad and Mom, for medical reasons…
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London 2012
Sitting on a little patch of grass, surrounded by tall office towers in the centre of London, I am ready to watch the London 2012 Opening Ceremonies. As we get closer to the 9pm start time, the crowds gather and soon there are hundreds of us sitting around the square eagerly anticipating the show. Even the short spurt of rain can’t dampen our spirits. At 9pm, we chant down the last 10 seconds and kick start over three hours of a tremendous show. My favourite is watching and listening as individuals and small groups within the large crowd stand up to cheer their own country’s athletes on when their national…
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Shakespeare’s Globe
There are hollywood actors — pretty faces and gorgeous bodies, and then there are real actors — talented individuals who can memorize and execute hundreds of lines of script, on cue, with passion and conviction. The latter are the truly talented ones, but little recognised thanks to our modern society’s obsession with glamour and celebrity. In London, I had a chance to watch at play at the Globe Theatre in London’s Southbank recently. Along with three other friends, we stood amongst dozens of others in the centre of the traditional round theatre and watched a group of actors perform Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew, a comedy about a wild and fiery…
