Category: Travel

Hong Kong, Our Port in a Storm

Often, not the Storm but the Fear of Storm beats us.

Day 72: My alarm has never endured so many pre-sunrise wake-up calls as in the last two months. Especially those crucial mornings when you have a flight to catch are heavily protected with five to ten alarms and snooze opportunities. We depart Hanoi in the early morning and arrive two hours later in the metropolis of Hong Kong. The Airport Express brings us from the airport to Kowloon, the neighborhood where we spend our next couple of days.

Our hostel is located inside the Chungking Mansion on Nathan Road, the busiest and most known street in the district of Kowloon. The Chungking Mansion, a 17-story building spread over five blocks, once was a notorious place for prostitution and drug deals but now traded its bad reputation for little restaurants, hairdressers, and other commercial businesses but also tons of guesthouses which entices a lot of backpackers due to the cheap rates. The cheap rate comes mostly with minimal space. Don’t be surprised if you have to crawl over each other to get out of the bed. The toilet is also installed in the shower, just in case you want to speed things up during your morning routine and privacy is limited.

We nestle our backpacks in the room and go out to discover what this city has to offer. During our stroll through Tsim Tsa Shui, the southernmost area of the district of Kowloon, we notice how the Pokemon Go frenzy has won over the world. We move through the herds of teenagers who are glued to their phones and end up at the pier overlooking Hong Kong Island. For a moment, it felt like we were undertaking a little western city trip weekend getaway during our eastern backpacker voyage.    Continue reading Hong Kong, Our Port in a Storm

From the Delta to the Mountains

Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river.

Day 60: Another day, another bus ride, another country. We leave Cambodia behind us and head east towards Vietnam, a country full of beautiful gems. From the mighty massive Mekong Delta in the south to the mysterious misty mountaintops in the north. We enter Vietnam at the popular Moc Bai border. From there it is a hectic ride into the biggest city of Vietnam, Saigon (officially called Ho Chi Minh City). Crazy to think this city has over 7 million motorbikes that fill the thousands of little streets. From the bus station, it is a short walk to our hotel. Luckily we have the perfect guide for our visit, my dear friend Vo. She meets us at the hotel and takes us for an introductory walk around Saigon. We get to see the Notre Dame Cathedral of Saigon and French-built Central Post Office which were both built by French Colonialists back in the days when Vietnam was still part of French Indochina. Vo tells us about the Vietnam War and what her own parents had to go endure. We also make a stop at a local restaurant where I have never had so many veggies in one meal, tasty nonetheless. We end our first successful day in Vietnam with a visit to the Saigon Sky Deck. This place offers great views of the city. Continue reading From the Delta to the Mountains

Cambodian Daydreams and Night Terrors

There are no wrong turning. Only paths we had not known we were meant to walk. 

Day 52: After a quick layover in Bangkok where Luke kissed his Mary goodbye, we set foot on already the sixth country of our whirlwind trip through Southeast Asia, Cambodia. Our stay in Phnom Penh is short-lived as we decide to hop on the night bus with direction to Siem Reap, which entails a 6-hour ride up north.

Day 54: Another brutal early morning but we have a great reason for this. Today we have one of the World Wonders on our travel menu. My alarm wakes me at 4 am. I try to be as quiet as possible in our 30-bed dorm and notice other shadows moving around in the room who are getting ready for the same adventure, visiting the Angkor Archaeological Park. The best time to visit is very early in the morning for several reasons. It is less crowded, it is less hot and you can see the sunrise over Angkor Wat. Continue reading Cambodian Daydreams and Night Terrors

On the Road to Mandalay

Build Bridges, not Walls

Day 42: After crossing Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand by land, we decide to fly into Myanmar. It takes us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to fly from Bangkok to Yangon with AirAsia. As we arranged our visa beforehand, the arrival and immigration process is smooth and quick and soon enough we are in a taxi on our way to our hostel in Yangon. At the hostel, we meet with Mary and Luke who got there a few hours before we did. We check-in and decide to explore the city. The receptionist recommends us to jump on the Yangon Circular Train at the Lanmadaw Train station to get a great first glimpse of this beautiful country. For us, it is already hard figuring out the entrance to the small train station but trying to actually figure out which track our train is stopping at is like a real gamble. Luckily there are only two tracks. Tracks as in some overgrown pavements next to the railroad, without any signage or direction. A train is approaching and we take our chances. We get on the train and pray for the best. Unfortunately, we soon realize we are on a different route which takes us a bit out of the city. Nonetheless, this train ride is really interesting as well with locals passing by and try to sell food. At the end of the line of this route we get off at a bigger train station and figure out the next train back leaves in about an hour. Upon arrival back at the hostel, we reunite with Alice, a feisty girl from the Netherlands who we met in the Ko Phi Phi Islands. She just arrived in Yangon as well with her travel buddy Thomas from the UK and decide to join our group for our travels through Myanmar. With the six of us, we go for dinner and have some beers in the lobby before calling it a night. Continue reading On the Road to Mandalay

Say Wat ?

Day 37: Last night we arrived in the ‘Venice of the East’ after an eight-hour bus ride from Chumpon. We found a great place to rest our heads at the Bed Station Hotel in Ratchathewi, one of the neighborhoods in Bangkok. This trendy hostel has spacious rooms, clean bathrooms, A/C, and free wifi. It is also located in a convenient location close to the Ratchathewi BTS (Bangkok Transit System) Station which helps us greatly to get around the city.

The guy above my bunk bed in the room brought home his newest catch into the dorm room last night which kept some of us from having a peaceful night. I was pretty exhausted from traveling all day and apparently added my snoring capabilities to the mix, I am sure it led to a beautiful crescendo. Continue reading Say Wat ?

Southern Comfort Blackout

Day 29: On our way from Georgetown to Hat Yai, we are due for another passport stamp. The fourth one on our adventure in Southeast Asia already. Collecting these stamps has been one of my favorite things on this trip as we are always curious about how the stamps will look like. We have been on a whirlwind trip so far but our journey suddenly comes to an unexpected halt at the border between Malaysia and Thailand. Sebastian encounters visa problems and is not allowed into Thailand. Although I pass without any problems with my European passport, he needs to provide certain sufficient funds (the equivalent of 10,000 baht) in order to be able to pass with his passport from Chile. But with little cash in both our pockets, they are being stubborn and do not let him pass. Sebastian has to return to Malaysia and get to the nearest ATM to get some cash. He asks one of the locals if he can hop on his motorbike to be dropped at the first ATM. The local guy nods and Sebastian jumps on. In the meantime, I have to convince the driver and the passengers to wait for us (and our luggage) until things get sorted. Every minute waiting next to the van feels like an hour and the looks of the other passengers become more and more sourly but luckily Sebastian finally shows up with the necessary cash and not much later we can continue our drive to Hat Yai. Continue reading Southern Comfort Blackout

Malaysia, My Cup of Tea

Day 23 – Our first couple of hours in Malaysia are hectic. This also must be one of the first (of many) times where we are trying to find our way through a non-touristy area which means there are fewer communication techniques available and lots of locals around you who do not speak or understand much English. We must have looked really clueless and ‘easy targets’ upon our arrival at the bus terminal when a few local guys approached us and tried to sell us bus tickets. I admit, my very pale complexion tends to stand out like an approaching headlight so it is sometimes hard to lay low. A little overwhelmed, we followed one of the guys to the little bus ticket office where we purchased our bus tickets. Luckily, we checked the price of how much a bus ticket would go for so we wouldn’t end up being scammed but the price seems to be accurate. With our bus ticket in hand, we get on the long haul bus that departs from the busy Larkin Sentral and will take us 330 kilometers further up north to Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia.  Continue reading Malaysia, My Cup of Tea

Island in the Sin

Day 14 – Another blue sky morning and the little shuttle service is filled with backpackers on their way from the one paradise (Bali) to the next (the Gili Islands). Although it is still early in the morning, some of us already having a drink to celebrate the new day. Or maybe they are still drinking from the night before… I am sure some of them won’t remember how they got to the island. The Ferry ride from Padang Bai to Gili Trawangan (or Gili T as most travelers call it) takes about 1 hour 15 minutes before we have to take off our shoes and wet our ankles in the tropical shores since the island doesn’t have a dock, what a beautiful way to arrive at our next destination. Continue reading Island in the Sin

Rise and Shine

It is Easter. Sun is shining and kids are collecting the bunny eggs in their backyard over here. For a moment it looks like the normal daily life has restored. Soon enough I am reminded we are now keeping friends and foes at bay on the streets and going for groceries now has become a real chore. I try to shift my mind to happy thoughts and reminisce about greater days where the world was free to roam and we took all this for granted.

Just like Jesus Christ resurrected, I am bringing my blog back to life today. Although it took Jesus only three days to come back with a good story, it has been over two years since I have been sharing any life experiences on this platform. The reasons for the delay might be several. A backlog of my travels in Asia that I kept procrastinating, a big move from Belgium to Canada and finding myself in a committed loving relationship might be a few of those. The bottom line is, I am still as clumsy, adventurous and hungry for travel and the outdoors as before, with now the Pacific Northwest as my new backyard.

Now my passport is tucked far away, collecting dust rather than stamps, I will try to give you a few travel stories from those ink prints I collected. I see it as a way to escape from this grim 2020 travel season and look back on experiences to cherish even more than before now we are have to stay put in our tombs.

Why blogging? I believe this platform is still a great way to engage and connect with people across the globe, especially now when we are all asked to stay at home. It also gives my family and friends an update on how I am doing 5000 miles away from the place I grew up. And last but not least, it is a great pocket diary for later when you browse through these memories. Because that is what traveling is all about; pushing your boundaries, connections, and experiences. 

Stay tuned and stay safe,

Wim

 

Live A Life Worth Living

“Not that way ! That’s a jump for snowboarders” I heard my friend scream while I was concentrating on how to come down properly down a green slope for the very first time. My friend James told me a couple moments prior that I could use the whole slope to practice my skiing a bit. Everything except that part apparently.

After numerous face plants, cursing and going backwards I tried to finish the night with the bit of grace I had left in my body. Thankfully I wasn’t going to fast and could crawl back out of that lane to come down the ‘normal’ way.

Not bad for my first Monday in my new hometown. It’s been a turbulent week so far with the inevitable ups and downs.

A week ago I was still packing and sorting out what luggage to take with me while squeezing in my last goodbyes with friends and families. Those things are definitely the least fun part of the whole journey. Even though I promised not to tear up I couldn’t contain myself any longer when my little niece hugged me goodbye. Like she knewI went on a long big journey. The idea of seeing her again in a couple months comforts me.

Now the hardest part was behind me I stepped on the train towards Paris with my travel companion Kim. In Paris we would embark on our direct flight to Vancouver. With three bags and a heavy heart I got on board the plane that would bring me to my new life. Permanently this time. No fixed return date. That’s a bit of new concept for me. A million questions and some doubts race through my mind but deep inside I know I’m making a good decision and following my dreams.

After a few movies and chats with my neighbours and a sore bum we start our touchdown. With that touchdown starts an awful migraine. The exhaustion, last-minute stress and lack of sleep is getting the best of me.

The immigration procedure is going very smoothly and before we know it we are on our way to our hotel in North Vancouver where we are residing for the first week of our journey. An Advil and a hot shower later we are ready to meet up with Kim’s sister and brother in law in Coquitlam for a quick hello.

The next day is set aside for all the necessary paper work.

Getting a SIN number so I can get a job here in BC, opening my bank account, getting a phone plan and gathering information about exchanging my drivers license to a BC license. Make sure you book off enough for these things, they are quite time consuming but all worked out smoothly.

The next couple days consisted of getting used to the new time zone and going on new hikes in the area. Breathing in the old familiar fresh air while staring at waterfalls in the snow definitely feels like a warm welcome, although we were soaking wet and shivering on our way back.

Today, it’s job hunting day, a bit later than expected but more motivated and focused than a couple days ago.

As for now, this is were I will leave you, sitting in a Starbucks near English Bay and with a dozen job ads open on my computer. Back to work, looking for a living for a life that’s worth living or something like that.

Until the next update !

Oh, and just so you know, in Canada you should park at least five meters away from a fire hydrant…

Cheers