Brent’s ABCs of Travel

It’s been a while! After leaving Korea on March 3rd I spent four months travelling through South East Asia, spending time in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. Stripped of nearly all of my personal belongings, I set out with just my pack, an iPod, a copy of Lonely Planet’s Southeast Asia on a Shoestring, and a couple of Hostel World booking receipts. I had the time of my life before coming back to Canada just in time for the summer. It’s been fantastic reuniting with friends and family these past few months.

I was unsure of what to do with this blog once I left Korea. Since it is geared towards living in Korea, it seemed redundant to continue posting in it once I returned to Canada. However, the urge to continue writing brought me back. I’ll post here from time to time about travel or news pertaining to Korea, and will of course keep the domain name registered. I hope the site can be used as a resource for those considering the move to South Korea. If nothing else, it serves as a great memento from my time spent abroad.

To get back on track, I borrowed an idea from Tom at Waegook-Tom.com. Basically, you go through the alphabet, answering questions for each letter about your travels. Tom’s list can be found here. I enjoyed reading his list almost as much as I enjoyed writing my own! So, without further ado, here are my ABCs of Travel.

A – Age you went on your first international trip

I was five the first time my mom took myself, my older cousin and my little brother down to Florida to visit my grandparents, who used to flee south every year to avoid the cold Canadian winters. My first big trip outside of North America was when I was 17 for our high school graduation trip. We visited France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland. The travel bug bit me hard and deep on that trip.

B – Best (foreign) beer you’ve had, and where

I’ve drank a lot of different beers over the years, and I can confidently state that South Korea has the most generic tasting beer in the entire world. Even North Korea makes better beer than their more developed neighbours to the south! But for the best foreign beer I’ve tasted? That might have to go to bia hoi in Vietnam. Although not a specific brand of beer, bia hoi is fresh beer made daily with no preservatives and sold at street side vendors. At a price of about 15 cents a glass, you really can’t go wrong.

C – Cuisine (favourite)

A bit of a toss up. I’ll always be partial to Korean food, seeing as how I lived there for two years. Nothing hits the spot like a Korean BBQ or a big serving of dalk galbi. Thai food also really gets me. Healthy, spicy, and delicious. I’ve never had a Thai dish I didn’t like.

Mmmmm…. kimchi…

D – Destinations: Favourite, least favourite, and why

This is a tough one! For my favourite destination, I’d have to go with the Indonesian islands of Bali, Lombok and Flores. The islands and surrounding beaches really are the most beautiful places I’ve ever been in my life. From pristine corals to white sand beaches, sun kissed volcanoes to charming little villages, Indonesia has it all. I’m truly convinced that Indonesia may be one of the last great adventures on Earth.

The distinction of my least favourite destination, and I’ll probably take some heat for this, goes to Berlin. I was there for a few days when I backpacked through Europe after my first year of university, and there just wasn’t anything about it that made me want to go back. It was a pretty typical city, as far as I was concerned. It’s very possible that I missed out on some of the sights, seeing as how it was my first big trip, I was travelling with a large group, and we were on a tight timeframe. But for now, Berlin gets the dubious distinction.

E – Event you experienced abroad that made you go “wow!”

Hands down, this one goes to Lao New Year (known in Laos at Pbeemai). I was fortunate enough to be in the northern Lao city of Luang Prabang for Lao New Year this year. For Laotians, New Years is a time of cleansing. Historically, this meant that the three day holiday was devoted to cleansing the home and all of its various Buddha images. Over the years, however, the “cleansing” aspect of it has evolved into an enormous water fight! In the days leading up to Pbeemai, you will find progressively more people in the streets armed with hoses, buckets of water, and super soakers, ready to drench anyone they see. In Luang Prabang, it was literally three full days of water fights. I’d recommend NOT bringing your camera out, should you choose to visit Laos during Lao New Year…

F – Favourite mode of transportation

Easy. The tuk-tuk. For me there was really no feeling greater than cramming 5 or 6 people in a tuk-tuk armed only with my pack, a few dollars, a map, and a sense of adventure.

Thai transportation at its finest

G – Greatest feeling while travelling

As mentioned above! A close second would have to be not knowing or caring what day of the week it is. That’s a pretty fantastic feeling.

H – Hottest place you’ve travelled to

I guess technically Indonesia would be the hottest place I’ve visited. However, the hottest day I can remember was while I was in the Vietnamese city of Hoi An. We rented scooters for the day to visit the ancient Hindu temples of Mỹ Sơn. Even flying down the road on a scooter with the wind in my face, I could feel the sweat pouring out of me. I think I drank, like, 12 bottles of water that day. It was insane.

I – Incredible service you’ve experienced, and where

Honestly, the hospitality in most of the parts of Asia I visited was second-to-none. In any homestay, hostel, or pension that I stayed in, I was (almost) always treated to the best service one could ask for. If I have to pick one thing, though, I’ll have to go with the service in Korean restaurants. I know, I know, I’m probably biased, but seriously, the Koreans have it figured out when it comes to restaurant service. You push a button on your table when you want something, there’s someone at your table in seconds, they bring you whatever you want in no time at all. And the best part of all? THEY DON’T EVEN EXPECT A TIP!

J – Journey that took the longest

That would have to be the 4 day / 4 night boat ride from Lombok to Flores. To be fair, we were stopping along the way to swim, snorkel, and hike Komodo and Rinca Islands, but it’s still a looong journey. Honorable mentions go to the “5 hour” boat ride from Coron to El Nido in Palawan that turned into a 47 hour journey due to our getting caught in a tropical storm, and the day train from Bangkok to Chiang Mai (which took 14 hours, if memory serves me correctly).

K – Keepsake from your travels

My first and only (at least for now) tattoo, which I got in Puerto Princesa following our harrowing 47 hour journey from Coron to El Nido in the Filipino province of Palawan. The situation was dire enough that the coast guard was in constant contact with our boat to ensure that we were still alive. We ran out of food, forcing the crew members to dive overboard to catch fish so that we could eat. If we had been out there any longer, our fresh water supply would also have run out. Thankfully, we had a fantastic captain and crew that were looking out for our safety first and foremost.

Our souvenirs from 47 hours stranded at sea.

L – Let-down sight: Why and where

The Temple of Heaven in Beijing. It’s not that it’s a terrible place, I just thought that everything else I saw in Beijing was much more impressive and worthy of my time on a tight schedule.

M – Moment where you fell in love with travel

As mentioned above, it was during my high school graduation trip to Europe in 2004. I promised myself after that trip that I’d do more extensive travelling before I became tied down with responsibility and obligations. Mission accomplished.

N – Nicest hotel you’ve stayed in

I normally travel on a shoestring budget, meaning “nice” often isn’t an adjective I use when considering accommodation. Other adjectives that have, at times, not come into the equation when selecting a room: “clean”, “spacious”, “insect-free”, “dry”, and “indoor”. If I have to give an answer, I guess I’d say the fully furnished condo I stayed in in Prague, offered to my friends and I from a sketchy guy at the train station.

O – Obsession: What are you obsessed with taking pictures of while travelling?

Anyone who has travelled with me knows that I take an insane number of photos. Scenery is probably my number one photographic interest.

P – Passport stamps: How many and from where?

52 stamps in total from USA, France, the Netherlands, Germany, England, the Dominican Republic, Czech Republic, China, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos, Cambodia and Indonesia.

Q – Quirkiest attraction you’ve visited and where

It has to be Loveland on Jeju Island in South Korea. Loveland is filled with sculptures, paintings and statues dedicated to sex education and illustrating – without leaving much to the imagination – various sexual positions. I wrote briefly about Loveland here as part of Project365. There’s nothing quite as entertaining as seeing a group of senior Korean women smiling and flashing peace signs in front of a statue of a naked woman or a giant stone labia.

R – Recommended event, sight or experience

It would be impossible for me to pick just one. Whether it’s ziplining through the jungle in northern Thailand, scuba diving in the corals of Indonesia, sipping coffee in a cafe on the streets of Paris, or eating stuff you had no idea was even edible in China, there’s something out there for everyone. Regardless of your budget, interests, or timeframe, the best recommendation I can make is to just get up and go.

S – Splurge: Something you have no problem forking money over for while travelling

Food and beer. I have zero issue with forking over cash for the chance to taste something that I may not be able to get once I leave. Even if you find a restaurant at home that serves it, it won’t be as good as the real thing!

Our first beers of the trip…at 3:30 am

Honourable mention: TRAVEL INSURANCE. It saved my life (and my bank account) after I was bit by a monkey in Indonesia and had to be treated for rabies. I would have been stung with the $2400 bill had I not heeded my mother’s advice and invested in travel insurance!

T – Touristy thing you’ve done

I typically don’t avoid doing the touristy stuff. Angkor Wat, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China – these are all tourist attractions for a reason. Basically everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve been sure to check out the touristy stuff (as well as lots of other things that aren’t quite as touristy!).

U – Unforgettable travel memory

Hands down, my surprise trip home to Canada for Christmas in 2011. I hadn’t been home in close to two years. The only people who knew I was coming home were my brother and a handful of my friends. Since my flight was delayed and it was late when I landed in Toronto, my brother picked me up and we went straight to the local pub, where my friends were gathered under the guise of the night being an ugly Christmas sweater party. The next morning, Christmas Eve, I surprised my parents (who thought that I was in Japan for the holidays). And then finally, on Christmas Day, I surprised my grandma, who actually fainted when she saw me! That, for me, is easily the most unforgettable travel memory.

V – Visas: How many and for where?

6 – My working visa for South Korea, plus 5 travel visas from China, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Indonesia.

W – Wine: Best class of wine whilst travelling, and from where?

I’m not really much of a wine drinker. It more or less all tastes the same to me. I’ll go with France – drinking wine with my friends from university while sitting in front of the Eiffel Tower. It was French wine, so it must have been good… right?

X – EXcellent view, and from where?

The view from the top of Mt. Seoraksan during the autumn in South Korean, the view from the summit of Mt. Rinjani on Lombok in Indonesia, or having a birds eye view of hundreds of islands while flying from Labuanbajo on Flores to Bali, again in Indonesia.

At the summit of Mt. Rinjani – Lombok, Indonesia

Y – Years spent travelling

Including the time I spent living in Korea, my backpacking trip through South East Asia, two trips to Europe, and a few holidays in Cuba and the Dominican Republic, just shy of 30 months.

Z – Zealous sports fans and where?

I was in Korea for World Cup 2010 and Europe during EuroCup 2004, and I can honestly say that the most insane sporting event I ever saw…was the Men’s Olympic Hockey Gold Medal game during the Vancouver 2010 Olympics. It was my fifth day in Korea and, along with my room mate and a few new friends, I went to the foreigner district of Itaewon in Seoul to watch the game at a Canadian bar. The bar was crammed to far over capacity and the ratio of Canadian fans to American fans was fairly equal. The anticipation when Canada was up 2-1 with less than a minute remaining, the heartbreak when USA tied it up, and the jubilation following Sidney Crosby’s now famous goal – all of it while surrounded by fellow Canadians just after I had moved to a place about as far from home as one can go.