Twenty-eleven, in Review

Another year has passed by, so it's time for another annual review! Here's a look back at what I've done over the last twelve months, or rather where I've travelled to, 'cause I've spent a lot of time up in the air since January 1st, 2011!

January was rather uneventful, but I managed to finish up my most recent tattoo. Soon after I blogged about a sort of realization I came to, about my self esteem and self perception. Not really heavy stuff, but personal stuff. Suffice to say I'm at a much better place now than I was a year or two back.

February marked the beginning of my worldly travels for the year, with a quick jaunt down to Mexico for reading week with a few friends. We may have only been down there a scant three days, but we stretched those hours to the maximum extent and had an absolute blast. Some people thought we were foolish for spending so much on so short a trip, but I can't say I have any regrets about going - even the unscheduled stay in Texas! I can still remember those buffalo hot wings. Mmmm.

A few weeks into March I participated in the Cut for the Cure, a UBCO fundraising initiative (started by some friends of mine a few years back) for the purpose of cancer research. This time around I actually shaved my head, which wasn't as terrible as I imagined it would be. In fact, I think I managed to pull off the look and since my fear of having an odd-shaped skull didn't materialize. Huzzah! I may or may not shave the ol' noggin again this year.

Nothing happened in April, apparently. No blog posts, no trips: only one exam and a few papers.

After moving back to Victoria in May, I barely had enough time to unpack before jumping a plane to Turkey. I was there for two weeks with my family, and had an absolutely amazing time. I still miss Turkish food (especially Turkish breakfast, those Mediterraneans know what's what) and long to go back one day.

June was my only full month at home for the summer, and for the most part it was fairly laid back. I met up with lots of friends for coffee, put in some time at the Gap, and celebrated a very low-key 22nd birthday.

However, I also went to Vancouver for a big concert, Janelle Monáe and Bruno Mars. Mars was good, but I was there for Janelle. Boy, did she deliver! Easily one of the highlights of my concert-going experiences.
 
July took me and two bags across the Pacific Ocean to Singapore, my new home for the next five-ish months. I had been to the city state ten years earlier, but I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Nevertheless, I fell in love with the city almost immediately, and count the journey as one of the most important parts of my university education. 

I met a tonne of rad people out in the tropics, some of whom I hope to see again soon. Despite being so far away from home, I still managed to fall in with a Vancouver crowd (figures), so I know I'll be seeing them again in the near future.

In August I did the first bit of my Southeast Asia travelling, a short ferry from Singapore to Indonesia. It's one of those trips that, while it was difficult to enjoy it at the time, will always be remembered with much laughing and inside jokes. Like, "We are just so cool."

The month also marked the beginning of my classes at NUS, my first Singaporean club experience, National Day celebrations, and a music festival. Not bad, eh?

September took me to the island of Borneo, to Sarawk province and Brunei Darussalam. Although I went alone, I joined up with some other backpackers to see the various sights in Miri, Mulu, and Bandar Seri Begawan. The jungles and mountains were a welcome change from urban Singapore (even though the meaning of "urban" in Singapore is a whole lot more green than in North America). 

When I came back from Borneo I attended the F1 Grand Prix and saw Linkin Park in concert. Another full month.

Compared to other months, October was a little more quiet. I took a relaxing vacation to the tropical island of Tioman in Malaysia, where I took full advantage of the sun to get my tan on. Long story short I fell asleep near the equator and got a sunburn. Surprise, surprise.

I also checked off one of the big Singapore Bucket List items: swimming in the Marina Bay Sands infinity pool. It was rad. Mad rad, even. 

By the time November rolled around I still wasn't tired of flying around the world, so I went to Macau and Hong Kong. Macau exceeded my expectations, Hong Kong didn't live up to them. I ate lots of food, sometimes good, sometimes bad, sometimes downright strange; went to a few theme parks; toured each city by foot to a point that I forgot what exhaustion was; and took far too many pictures in Disneyland.
 
Well, by December I really was tired of all the travel, but I still needed to see so much. Somehow I managed to fit a week in the Philippines, two days in Siem Reap, an afternoon in Kuala Lumpur, a day in Singapore, and countless hours in airports and airplanes into the sixteen days before I went back to Canada. It was quite the whirlwind, and I'm still not quite sure how I survived it. A fine end to a great year, I must say.


photos by: vcateyesv, me, me, kanikey, Janelle Monáe, me, me, me, me, Ed Coyle, Ezyan Y.

Seven Days in Borneo

This past week I have been in Borneo, wandering around Malaysia and Brunei with my backpack. I left Singapore alone, but met so many people while away.Here's what I got up to those seven days away.
I spent my first full day at the Niah caves outside Miri.They have huge archeological importance because of the cave paintings and burial grounds found in one of them, which changed the migration and settlement theories for this part of the world. Also one of the sites for harvesting birds' nests to be used in soup.

After only a day in Malaysia I hopped a bus to Brunei Darussalam, literally Brunei the Abode of Peace. It is certainly a peaceful country, with not much going on and little in the way of tourism.
Thankfully the Buddhist temple down the road from my hostel was holding a Chinese opera the night I was visiting, which I was able to watch free of charge. The costumes were stunning, and the acting was well done, too. That said, it was all in Chinese so I'm not quite sure of the details of the story. It was the highlight of my trip into Brunei, though.

I left Brunei the following afternoon, so I had a little time to explore the city some more, or rather revisit everything I had already seen. The capital is very small, and there are really only a few things to actually see.
The Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin Mosque is the sole attraction, and every single tourism guide or article has a photo of it at the front. I have the obligatory photos both at night and day. So, check mark for the photos, check mark for the passport stamps.

The fourth day saw me back in Miri, where I was finally able to take a look around the city. I met an Aussie, who I ended up sticking with for the next few days, and we grabbed Japanese buffet for lunch between city walks. One such walk took us up Canada Hill (not lying, no-one could tell me why it was called as such) to the Grand Old Lady, the very first oil well drilled in Borneo and Shell's first ever.
We also hit some of the city parks, toured the wet markets, and poked through the handicraft centre. When all was said and done we joined a Brit and a Fin for beers on the roof.

In the morning all four of us (Canadian, Aussie, Brit, and Fin) boarded a flight to Mulu National Park. There we checked into a longhouse homestay, a sort of plywood shack on stilts with electricity only from 6pm-9pm. It was quite the, erm, cultural experience to say the least!
In the park we did some more caving, this time in one of the largest cave chambers in the world. They claim it's the largest, but apparently the same claim has been made by a park in Thailand or Vietnam or somewhere. Whatever. Suffice to say it was huge. Also, swimming in the river!

For the second day in Mulu I broke off from the group and did a canopy tour. In another big claim, the suspended pathways and platforms of the sky walk make up what is apparently the longest tree-supported path system in the world. Sure, whatever you say.
It was cool, but there isn't much to see up in the canopy besides the tops of trees, pygmy squirrels, and the occasional stick bug. Being 25m in the air on a wood and rope bridge is rad, though; great view of the jungle and the river.

My last day in Borneo was rather abrupt, as I had to catch a flight to Singapore in the morning. The night before was fun, though, and played through like almost all my previous nights in Miri: dinner at Ming's, the restaurant and bar across the street from the hostel, World Cup rugby with whoever was watching at the time, and beers on the roof with whoever wanted to join.
So although I went for the adventures I was able to fit in plenty of relaxation as well. That, and I remembered to pick up chewing gum before leaving the country. Score!

all photos by me