G'Day Australia!

Australia! What a breath of literal and metaphorical fresh air. After a seemingly inexplicable (but nonetheless legit) bout of stress in the Fall spurring on intense pangs of homesickness, Australia was exactly the douse of Western culture we needed. Cue the entertaining English, seriously breath-taking vistas, endless open-road and the notable infatuation with bacon, we felt right at home--all whiffs of former anxiety flying out the window to the open sea!

So as per our very loosely made plan, we flew in and out of Sydney, and beyond that all we wanted to do was drive as far North as our little van would take us in the next three weeks (which turned out to be way less than we had first envisioned--We seriously underestimated the size of Australia!). With Tyler's ambidextrous driving skills raging, we put the pedal to metal in our new rolling home. As we headed out of Sydney we kept thinking 'Huh, this is kinda like Canada'-- Big open roads carved out of huge rocks, a river or lake around every corner...but then we hit the coast, and WOW! Australia! Because it was all pretty sweet-as, let me give you the highlights...

The Aussies: Ahhhhh the Aussies; the endearing, amazingly friendly, mildly racist, ultra spirited, unapologetic Aussies. Can't say enough great things about them. If they weren't friendly (which they are), they were at the very least entertaining--Between the bikies, bogans and the sweet ladies running the Driver-Revivers (free coffee stands on the highway to wake-up the roadtrippers--Genius) there was always someone to chat with. Always up for a chat, to the point where we had to wonder if anyone had anywhere to be. Now, Canadians have a reputation for being friendly, but Aussies take having a yarn to a whole new level. Asking an idol question at the gas station would often turn into a full-on round table debate over the merits of block ice vs cubes, and leave Tyler in the parking lot wondering what was going on and where I've been. Oh, and if the birds didn't wake you up at the crackers, the Aussies would. The first morning we woke up in a beach parking lot I was super confused to find people everywhere exercising at 5:30am..jeeeeze. I guess that's how they manage all those steak pies!

The Van: We picked up our sweet little Mystery Machine on Day One and reluctantly gave her back on Day 22 of our adventure. To say we adored her was an understatement; the van life and all its close, cozy campiness is certainly for us. Upon making her acquaintance we quickly dubbed her Sheila (for all our 65+ Aussie ladies at the Bowling Club) and Sheils for short (...we had recently binge watched Shameless and who can't help but love looney-tooney Shiels?!). After spending last Christmas in India-- which lacked a certain je ne sais quoi  in the cheerful department, dammit, we were hellbent on feeling the spirit this year. Once the stockings were hung with care, twinkle lights were strewn and the interior (and inevitably our faces) was covered in glitter, we truly felt that home is where the heart is. And what's Christmas without a hiccup er two? Sooo when you rent a van with 500,000Km one could expect a breakdown. Do you really need a clutch tho? With Australia's obsession with roundabouts, one might say yes. A big shout-out to Carl the Mechanic for fixing us up during Christmas, and for his hospitality!...When your van is broken, so is your home. (Again, those Aussies!)

The Camping: When we were looking for a hot shower we booked into a legit campground. Otherwise, we spent some nights parked in beach-side parking lots (always with the risk of being moved along in the night, but waking up to the most beautiful scenes was worth it). A major thumbs up for Australia is that most beach parking lots have a shower and toilets which are cleaned daily and always fully stocked with toilet paper (it's the small things you miss after living in Asia). The public facilities are so good that we ended up parked in a day-park for three days over New Years, not even bothering to pretend we were packing up when it got dark. We spent another night at a beautiful and peaceful fairground in the hills. We spent another night at the Bowls Club parking lot-- Much like the Legions in Canada, there seemed to be a Bowls Club in every small town. Bowls Clubs are lawn bowling clubs with a restaurant, pokies (VLTs) and a bar. Essentially, the Legion with one catch--You can pay to park and camp in the parking lot. Yupp, no need to drink and drive when you can stay four nights for the mere cost of $5--Although we only camped out one night, we were totally sold!

Not a bad view in the morning!

The Barbecues: You cannot go to Australia without noticing and partaking in a sizzle or two. 'When in Rome' doesn't even touch how wholeheartedly  we entered into the scene. Breakfast, lunch and dinner happened on either a public flattop or our own little grill out the back of the van, either way, we were up for a barbie. Not only are the bbq's awesome and free, they seem to attract company. Everyone wants to know where ya from, what ya doing, and what ya grilling. We got the best travel tips, local secrets and advice just hanging around the bbq. Oh, and the meat in Australia is certainly a thing....And damn it's tasty! To the point where we were driving by a field of cows and I involuntarily uttered 'mmmmmm'. (I know, vegans shield your eyes.) But that's not the only thing we grilled--To some suspicious eyes, the french toast, fajitas, and stir-frys were perhaps not the traditional Aussie cook-out, but whatevvvvs.

Whether we were in a park or on the streets of Sydney, there was always a need to sizzle!

The Animals: Australia is home to some pretty weird and wild stuff. Being suckers for a viral video we had seen and heard cautionary tales of the deadly spiders, snakes, sharks, crocodiles, and jellyfish lurking around every corner. After having seen a couple snakes we were much more interested in the cute stuff-- Koala and Kangaroo hunting was high on our agenda. After driving for two weeks and watching kangaroos casually chill under trees, we had seen them do little else but laze and lick their forearms (a great trick to cool down). We were dying to see a kangaroo actually bounce. On our way to Sydney for our final days we drove past a troop of kangaroos just chilling and decided enough was enough-- we were out to have a closer look. To our surprise kangaroos are the most chilled animals ever ---No wonder we hadn't seen them bouncing beforehand. Some 'roos were curious, some were super friendly, and some could careless that we were there. All had a doe-eyed, semi-stunned sweetness about them. We pet them, shook their paws and got our fill of these truly unique animals moving about. So cute when the little ones bounded on by....a bit intimidating when the papa 'roos made their move. Nonetheless, all adorable animals!

In search of a bona fide koala sighting, we spent a few mornings checking out Noosa National Park hoping to see a koala in the wild. Although we enjoyed some great nature walks which culminated in a beauty of a beach, koalas were just not happening. So we headed to Daisy Hill Koala Centre where there were a couple koalas in their interpretive centre, and perhaps in the huge eucalyptus forest...but who the hell knows!? If
they were out there, they weren't revealing themselves. The koalas in the centre were hilariously docile (to the point where we initially thought we were looking at a stuffed animal). Total stoner marsupials.

Finally, the birds. The bloody birds. There is really no need for an alarm clock anywhere in Australia. Between the kookaburra cackling and the rainbow parrots squawking, sleeping in beyond sparrow's fart was nearly impossible.

The Towns&Beaches: As mentioned before, we had planned on covering a lot more ground in Australia, but we didn't for two main reasons; Australia is a mammoth, and we would get way too comfortable in one place. The beaches and the seaside towns were a perfect recipe for a holiday. I was not prepared for the vastness of the beaches. At every turn there was an equally stunning stretch of beach with endless sand, beautiful water and virtually no people. Despite the shark, jellyfish, current warnings, we took every opportunity we could to check out a beach--which was not hard. Most of the beaches we stopped at was edging or smack dab in the middle of a great little beachside town. Byron Bay, Numbucca Heads, Rainbow Beach, Kingscliffe, Booreen Point, Lennox Head, Nelson Bay, Nimbin (Albeit, not a beach-side town, but this little metropolis has is its own unique allurements)

The Cities: As overnight parking or 'camping' as we'd like to refer to it was nearly impossible in the cities, we really only hit up Sydney and Brisbane. Brisbane is a beautiful city, but the true highlight was catching up with our friends Jo and Ahmed. Being with Jo, our first Aussie friend whom we met in KL in her home country was a treat. Jo and Ahmed were full of travel advice, new Aussie expressions and answers to all our burning Aussie questions- 'If a sanger is a sandwich, what do you call a sausage?! and 'What is Macca's?'. It was great to spent time together, meet her family and laugh. Thanks for the driveway bed&breakfast, ya'll!

We hadn't heard the most rave reviews about Sydney from Aussies we met on the road (but I'm from Ontario, I get it---People love to hate 😉). But Sydney! What a great city! We stayed with super hospitable friends of friends (Thank you so much Erin and Carmel! You guys are absolute stars!) off trendy Oxford Street. The location was perfect for exploring the city on foot (definitely got our 10,000 steps!). We spent four days in Sydney, and it was just not enough. We took a peek at the groovy neighborhood at Bondi Beach, people watching, eating fish and chips and checking out the beautiful coastal walk to Coogee Beach. (All was lovely but honestly, the famous city beach was a bit anti-climatic after three weeks of stunning deserted coastlines). We spent a day rambling around The Rocks, the tourist-cladden, convict settled neighborhood which edges the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Circular Quay. With several pubs (hotels) claiming to be the oldest in Australia and some pretty iconic landmarks on hand, we had no trouble filling our time. And finally, we spent a day riding the ferries to Watson's Bay and Manly Beach. What an amazing city to have bays and beaches around every corner! Loved our day of icecream, more fish and chips and city-beaching at some quieter spots.

Altho our time in Australia was too short, it was absolutely amazing (have I mentioned that already?)! We returned back to KL rejuvenated for 2017 and with heaps of memories that make us smile-- and that's truly what a holiday should be about. Although we have no immediate plans to head back to the land down under, we are totally going to take a page out of the Aussies' book and embrace the roadtrippin' way of travel. Our next big purchase will be a van, and whenever possible, we will be hitting the open road. And during those long hours on the road, we'll inevitably reminisce about beautiful Australia. All I can say is, Good onya, Australia! 

Myanmore Myanmar, Cè-Zù-Bèh!

The internet, man.

J. Peterman can probably be thanked for my initial introduction to Myanmar... and I've been dreaming of visiting ever since those magical '90's. Oh wait, no. Maybe the country piqued my interest while pursuing a Geography degree?...Although I honestly haven't retained much from those years, so that can't be it either. So, maybe I've been following the evolving political situation for years and finally felt like it was time to check it out firsthand. But that's not true either.
The truth is, I didn't even know where or what a Myanmar was (Geography can really mean so many different things -_-) until we moved to Asia. Since then (and only then) secondhand travel stories, pictures and a growing buzz have made us want to check out this beautiful corner of the world, and after 5 years of casually checking on flights, we were itching to go! So after a terrifyingly sudden change in altitude and feeling like we had lived through our aviation nightmares, we happily landed in tact in lovely, lovely Yangon. Checking into our cheap n' cheerful hotel, featuring basement karaoke and $3 massages, we ventured out for a peek, pretty void of any preconceived notions.

So a very brief, breezy and incomplete note about Myanmar's recent history. They've had some growing pains (but who hasn't?); In the 1960's the army took over the government creating a single-party state called 'the Socialist Programme Party', after ensuring corruption was rife and society was stifled, a slew of other ill-appointed 'leaders' took the reins until things started to boil over. Currency was devalued, riots and protests started, martial law was implemented....aaannnd groups started to advocate for democracy. Among
these groups was the National League for Democracy lead by humanitarian Aung San Suu Kyi. Despite topping the polls in the 1990's, election results were ignored, and Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest by the state law intermittently for the next 20 years. For the decades to follow, Myanmar rode the wave of ongoing negotiations, demonstrations, further corruption, natural disasters, violence and international outcry. Upon Aung San Suu Kyi's release, she advocated (among many things) for a democratic election and greater transparency, and in 2015 the National League for Democracy won control of the government in Myanmar. And although Aung San Suu Kyi is not eligible to be president, as her children and husband are foreign born, her influences and values based on peace and democracy have not been lost. So is Myanmar resembling a family that has just emerged from a multi-generational restorative hug? -No. However, despite civil unrest continuing to wage on in areas of the country, things are moving in the right direction. As for the tourist side of things, we are permitted to travel in particular areas of the country only, and in those areas the best sides of the country are highlighted (in our humble opinion).

We spent our first night in Yangon typically eating (what I think was a fried bat) and drinking copious amounts of Myanmar beer. The city was bustling on a micro-scale with street food and markets. We rambled around, hitting the 'backpacker area', 19th Street. As the tourism industry is continuing to develop, 19th Street in Myanmar resembles what you would expect Jalan Alor in KL, or Khoa San Rd in Bangkok to look like years ago when things were just getting rolling. More or less the same, just on a smaller, less florescent scale.
We wandered around the next day checking out pagodas, peeking on kanoodling teens in the park, marveling at the gigantic fruit and veg everywhere and noting the colonial buildings nearly as impressive as the Burmese sights. By the time the sun was setting, we were ready to board the overnighter bus bound for Bagan, armed with neckpillows and a mini cooler full of Bailey's and Baby Bells...always a winning combo! Paired with a 3am truck-stop insect-fried rice...Now we're livin'!

Rolling up to our Bagan hotel at 5am wondering if they do early check-in was a bit of a stretch...and I think we knew that. However, while waiting for a room we wandered up to the roof and took in our first of the infamous sunrises over the Pagodas of Bagan. After the Bailey's made its final appearance and we polished off a couple omelets we were ready for a sleep.

When we woke up later that morning we were ready to hit the pagodas and temples hard, and that we did...as hard as an e-bike riding through sand with two healthy Canadians on the back could hit anything. We had a blast spinning down serpentine pathways, stopping off to have a peak at whatever pagoda came next. With some 2200 pagodas, the trail was endless. Many of the big pagodas are the 'must-sees', but there are seriously pagodas everywhere. Some of the coolest ones were the tiny, supposedly haunted, bat-filled edifices with the dark passageways up to the top...being more spooked by creepy-crawlies, we were constantly on the look-out for sun-baking snakes!

Total posers!...Altho some of us more enthusiastically than others.

By the next morning we were poppin' wheelies and racing our comically gutless, mute mini bikes through the moonlit trails to catch the sunrise over the Bagan Valley. We made it to watch the hot air balloons take off and billow past us over the misty pagodas below. Truly, one of the most beautiful scenes we've ever seen. And to cap it off , nothing starts a day off better than holding your breath for a ballooner-eclipse, and then collectively high-fiving and cheering with your new sunrise BFFs when that cheeky little guy gets it just right. Well done, Balloonie, you've made us all very proud.

So we're obviously super experienced travelers who do their research and generally just have it all figured out....and THAT'S why we very cleverly arrived at the famous Buledi pagoda pre-sunset. We rolled up around 4pm and noted that the views were pretty spectacular. We also noticed it was getting later in the day, and thought we'd better stick around to see where this setting sun was going to take us. Having our choice of spots, we sat down front and centre and congratulated ourselves on our impeccable timing and general lot in life (still riding that sunrise high). We were very quickly confronted with the crashing realization that we were so, so wrong. It turned out that a very large contingent of over-zealous camera-clad tourists decided that unless you had multiple tripods, insanely sized lens, camera gloves(?) and a snappy hiking ensemble, there was no need for you to be there. To their utter and obvious dismay, our measly camera-phones left us painfully under-qualified to enjoy the sunset. I mean, come on, how are you even going to know you saw the sunset, let alone enjoyed it if you don't take 500, 1000...ONE BILLION photos!? So after all kinds of Kindergarten rules about personal space had been broken and I thought the sun might actually set, I looked down to see a man crouching between my legs to get that perfect shot. Through my legs. It was as if I was birthing a child documenting their own emergence into the world. So yes, the sunset was beautiful, and we got A great pic BUT what was even better was the next evening finding a smaller pagoda to perch on, having a laugh with a few local ladies with the perfect amount of sass and soaking up the final rays of the day. Just.Us.Two.
...And then the e-bike ran out of battery, c'est la vie!

Besides the pagodas, Bagan was a lovely little spot! Good food, good vibe, good people, can't really ask for anything more. We whizzed around the old town on our battery jet packs, checking out the river front, palatial buildings, handicrafts and playing poker poolside at the flashest hotel in town (where we weren't staying). We spent our evenings eating a healthy mix Burmese curries and pizzas (...I know, pizza in Myanmar? But com'on, we live in Asia). After another overnight bus ride back to Yangon, we checked into the Vintage Luxury Yacht Hotel (that's the real name) for a few more days of Burmese charm while staying on a perma-docked cruise ship that was seriously committed to the its  treasure island theme.

Yangon was a big walking city for us; it felt great wandering through alley after alley, playing arcade games and eating little bits of mystery along the way. The highlight was probably the impressive Shwedagon Pagoda. After being swaddled in our newly acquired, ill-fitting traditional dress, having a reasonable photo-shoot with locals, we set off for a wander. Shwedagon Pagoda is a 99 meter golden structure, studded with thousands of diamonds and rubies - tipped with a 76 carrot diamond...Ohh la la! Legend has it, there are strands of hair, bits of robes and other relics from previous Buddhas installed in the original Pagoda. The whole complex has oodles of amazing statues and art work, and is an all round pretty awesome symbol of devotion!

After ten days of city and country, luxury and all-nighter buses, cruising and moving we left Myanmar finally having our curiosity satisfied, and (more importantly) a massive appreciation for all the beauty its landscapes have to offer...Cè-Zù-Bèh, Burma!

Last but Not Least: Varanasi with a Touch of the Taj

Varanasi, India's holy city lying on the Ganges River was the end of the spice road for us. After one final 15 hour train ride, we rolled into my most anticipated stop of the trip. Varanasi has been a place I've seen pictures of and always wondered about, so it was time to find out. Leaving the train station and striking off across the insane chaotic traffic, things looked a bit grimmer than I had imagined. I guess I had conjured up images of serene holy men bathing in the Ganges, gurus floating around in robes spouting philosophy, cows adorned with

Errm...Nope!

flower garlands and The Beatles playing the sitar. After checking into our hotel and vowing that I'd taken my last cold shower in India, we struck out to eat. This is where morale hit an all-time low as I hastily ordered vegetable lasagna....In India -_- In hopes of bouncing back, Ty and I headed for the main attraction, the Ghats along the Ganges.

Annnnnddd, WoW! The energy on the river banks was impressive. It was quiet, bright, unimposing...all words I would not use to generally describe India. We stood in awe. While in Varanasi we became obsessed with what was going in the river, on the banks of the river and in the name of the river: The River Ganga is personified and worshiped as the Hindu goddess Mother Ganga and is considered the river of life. Besides being one of the most polluted, contaminated rivers in the world, there was life happening everywhere (ironic?..I will never know). People were bathing, doing their laundry and drinking the water, animals were grazing, snake charmers and Holy Men were dancing, and as death and a funeral in the Holy City means salvation, people were cremated and laid to rest in the river. As spiritually curious and open-minded people, Tyler and I were lapping it up. Lining the banks of the river are ghats, tall, once-grand bath houses, temples and private residences stacked on top of long sets of stairs that lead into the river. Ideal spots for a hot chai, intense people watching and some inner reflection-- With life and death literally all around you, it's hard not to gaze into the sunset and get a bit introspective.

As it is often the case, it's recommended that watching the sunrise on the ghats is the cat's pyjamas. As we rolled out in our Rajastani toques we were a bit disappointed to see the cool air had brought heaps of heavy fog and no hint of the sun at all. Although we didn't see the sunrise, we watched shadows of boats and ghosts of people wade through the morning mist and into the river. It was beautiful and eerie all the same.

Besides the constant hum of activity on the banks of the river, the old laneways, shops and buildings were an easy way to get lost. Varanasi is considered one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world (although I have heard this claim about numerous cities..) with a serious puzzle of narrow passageways and alleys. We spent hours haggling over jingle jangles, eating dosai, skirting cows and evading clingy salesmen.

Oh, and on the way to Varanasi we also hit up the ol' Taj in Agra, ordering an indulgent amount of room service on Christmas Day. Followed by days of rambling around the insane and intricate laneways of Old Delhi with butter chicken  perma-stained lips and nails...wasn't a bland moment!

A final homage to the best food on Earth!