July 14, 2009

The Maritimes

After five weeks in Montreal studying French, it was definitely time for a less academic, more “fun-in-the-sun” vacation, so last week me and my best friend Clio set off for an 8 day road trip through the Maritimes. We started in Montreal on a 14 hour car journey through Quebec and New Brunswick all the way to Halifax, Nova Scotia, right on the Atlantic coast. We got there with a random stranger who posted on craigslist rideshare for only $100 each, a bargain compared to the $200+ bus or $250 flight. Unfortunately for us, he liked to talk, and talk a lot, and mostly about himself. He was a mid-twenties, Italian high school teacher (also hairy and chubby with greasy curly hair) who boasted about the grade 11 girls who had crushes on him and boys who aspired to be him. Once in a while he would bring up his ex girlfriends and how he only dated or had interest in gorgeous women. Oh ignorance, but entertaining at the very least.

the boats in Alma resting on the sea bottom in low tide

After taking turns fighting for the backseat (where we could pretend we were sleeping and not engage in conversation), we made it safely to Halifax where a peer student that I met from the French program lived. Our host was Tim, one of the most friendly, positive, and energetic people I’ve ever met. He lives in a residence called Trinity House, run by members from the adjacent church, complete with a guest bedroom for two where we stayed. The times that Tim walked with us, he knew every person that was in anyway involved with King’s College, the oldest university in Canada where he studied. We spent most of our days doing the touristic clichés, and even though we were there from Monday to Thursday, we hit the town every night for some drinking and dancing festivities. East coast Canadians were super nice, and the food was great since we managed to feast on a $10 lobster meal each, sucker our way into some free street sausages, and indulge in the local brews. On our last night there, we saw a cover band called Mellotones play at the Seahorse, and they rocked out to some of the best songs with a 9 piece soul/funk band whose blonde curly-haired lead singer who could mimic Michael Jackson pretty convincingly inbetween playing his saxophone.

After Halifax, we took this door to door shuttle service to get to Prince Edward Island; it was about a 5 hour drive in an 11 passenger packed like a sardine can that started at 6:45 am, so, not very comfortable. Once we arrived in Charlottetown, PEI’s capital, we had the first, true summer day with 26 degree heat and no clouds in the sky. We grabbed fried scallop lunch at Peake’s, a restaurant right on the wharf, and made friends with a lonely guy at the table beside us. We chatted with him a bit, and when he realized we were out of towners looking for a nice beach to camp, he offered us a ride to Tea Hill. We spent most of the afternoon there sunbathing and relaxing, and then our rideshare that we had organized for the following morning from PEI to New Brunswick called to make arrangements for another early morning pick up.

He sounded really nice on the phone, but again, another random stranger from craigslist. He offered to pick us up then and take us to a beach closer to where he was staying so that the following morning it would be easier to accept, so we accepted. We moved to Bedford, to some secluded beach with more sand and calmer water. Chris, the rideshare guy, ended up being super strange and talking all sorts of contradictory information on the short ride over, so when he asked to come hang out with us on the beach, we quickly denied with some lame excuse. Then, being 2 paranoid female backpackers on a lonely beach, we decided to be stealth about our camping location by walking a few hundred meters over to this deserted mansion, which ended up being inhabited by an elderly couple with 13 Porches and 1 Mercedes. We camped on their lawn and told them about our safety concerns, so they made us feel nice and cozy on their perfectly groomed lawn and woke us up with bottled water and an offer to use their porcelain toilet. Since we had almost no other choice, we still met Chris in the morning to catch our ride to New Brunswick, and we were a lot calmer to share the car with his 60 year old aunty for the three hour drive.

In Fredericton, the capital of NB, we stayed with my roommate from Montreal. Matthew, or, more affectionately, Turbo, is a burly faced, lumberjack shirt wearing teddybear who is always singing or strumming his guitar. As you can imagine, he was also great company and a wonderful host, and we took a day trip down to Alma in the Bay of Fundy where they have the highest tides in the world. They say that their 10 meter tide differences make their harbor only accessible during high tide, and all other times, the boats rest on the ocean floor. Alma is a tiny village with a huge lobster industry, so for lunch, we feasted on more fresh lobster (and some snow crab) for about $6 – $9 each, and further indulged with the most amazing sticky buns I’ve ever had, complete with hot chocolate to drink. It was a chilly, misty day, so hot chocolate could not have been more appropriate as we walked along the incoming tide. On the way home we somehow got lost in Fundy national park, but since its only 20km around, it didn’t cost us much time, just a lot of confusion since there’s only one road through it and getting lost on the way out is quite an accomplishment. From Fredericton, we came back to montreal late last night, and tonight I’ll regretfully be parting Montreal and Clio. Tomorrow morning I’ll be waking up in New York after an overnight bus. Hopefully there will be no more Italians or Chris to share the long drive with…

July 6, 2009

Budget traveling a blast even in big cities

I’ve always thought of budget traveling being something that only happens in places like Southeast Asia or South America, because things are cheap there and their currency is usually valued less, but traveling Canada for 6 weeks on a Southeast Asia budget seems to be working out for me. I love the $0.99 pizza kiosks, dollar stores that sell virtually anything for a dollar, couchsurfing and rideshare networks.

Most people know what couchsurfing is, and rideshare is basically another way for roadtrip travelers to save money: If you have room in your car and want to split gas cost, you offer backpackers or other commuters a spot in your car, or if you are looking for a ride somewhere, you can go on web sites like craigslist and say you need a lift and then people taking that route can offer you a spot for a lot less than even major bus companies like Greyhound.

I took such a rideshare to Quebec City for St. Jean Babtiste day, otherwise known and celebrated as the Quebec national holiday, and also to Ottawa to celebrate Canada day in the country’s capital. Tomorrow I embark on a 1000km trek to Halifax, and of course rideshare pulled through and a ride has been arranged for 60% cheaper than a bus, and a lot less expensive than flying. And besides, the trip is about the journey and not the destination, so driving there seems like more fun. Slow travel is also better for the environment, no use emitting all that carbon on a plane when you can take the scenic route.

Anyway, back to budget travel surprises… I have never had so much free and consistent entertainment anywhere else before Montreal. I’ve seen so many free concerts, including Sarah Maclachlan and Stevie Wonder to name a few, and I’m just missing  Ben Harper by a few days. Canadians are also really nice people, they stand by their reputation of being friendly with all the free bbq’s and parties I’ve happily attended. I walked past a restaurant one day last week called Globe, and the manager wanted to commend me for my quebecoise patriotism ( I was wearing a Quebec flag in my hair) by inviting me in for some sangria that turned into a few more drinks and another similar visit the next day. All in all, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the $10 a day I’ve managed to get away with spending, excpet for on special occassions when I feel like splurging and spend a full 10$ on an amazing meal of mussles!

But, to put things in perspective, its difficult to be traveling with the issue of currency exchange, especially if your base currency is Icelandic kroner (now, not accepted anywhere for exchange), and everytime I swipe my Icelandic credit card, I think “imagine if the currency was still worth double that of the dollar?” Things would be a lot cheaper, or I would just live like a queen off double my budget.

Photo from www.bloomberg.com

June 25, 2009

Montréal: City of random where anything is possible

I’m living in Montréal for a little over a month, nestled downtown where the latin quarter and gay quarter meet, not too far from Chinatown or the old harbour, and every day something interesting is bound to happen. Montréal is a city where french, festivals, sex stores and drag-queens reign, and has been affectionately nicknamed the cultural capital of Canada. Just this month in Montréal, there has been the Fashion & Design festival (think outdoor runway show with a free concert by K-os), L’off Festival of Jazz, the world acclaimed International Jazz Festival of Montréal,  a White Night Festival (a night time, outdoor street-art festival), the World Beer festival, and the infamous Fringe Festival where people from the “fringe” of society from all different parts of the world come to perform an art, theatre or music shows that differ slightly from the norm. I went to one such show last night, entitled Perverts!, and it mostly consisted of completely nude performers jiggling around on stage and acting out various forms of sexual affection that would push the comfort limits of any spectator. There wasn`t much dialogue, dance, or decipherable message, but the shock factor alone entertains.

Clio and I at Cirque du Soleil´s Ovo

Montréal is also a place there it doesn´t matter if your male, female, transitioning from one to the other or both, and homosexuals, bisexuals and heterosexuals can all thrive since anything goes.In a lot of newspaper classifieds, the “Escort Services” section is bigger than the employment, housing and cars-for-sale sections combined. Sex shops, strip joints, peep shows, and “bath houses” are everywhere along my section of St. Catherine, the main street through the gay village. Sunday night I went to a bar entitled Mado`s where dragqueens and hopeful transvestites put on an amazing lip sync/dance performance, and if I wasn`t enjoying myself enough watching dressed-to-kill males more beautiful than myself prance around on stage, I was even more pleasantly surprised when the last performer came out and performed Bjork`s “It`s Oh So Quiet.” Iceland represent! The nightlife in general is always entertaining, since I went to the most impressive gay bar I`ve been to yet called “Sky” which consists of 5 different dance floors with their own separate dj`s and bars, complete with a rooftop terrace, a swimming pool and a jacuzzi hot tub that stays open til the wee hours of the morning.

one of Montreals many festivals, Fringe

During the day there is also a bustling underground world, where the subway system and an entire shopping mall of 200+ stores lay underground downtown Montréal. The architecture of Montréal is a melange of old French and English colonial buildings, with more modern glass and concrete sky scrapers around, dwarfing them. There are a lot of old, beautiful cathedrals also scattered throughout, and when I spotted one such church tower in typical gothic style, I walked in through the massive wooden doors only to realize I`d walked into a university building that was built on the site of this church, but kept the tower as its entrance.  Very confusing.

rooftop bar with my roomies

Its noticeable how many students this town caters to, with 4 major universities speckled throughout the centre of the city and an extremely friendly student nightlife. From all the parts of Canada I`ve visited, Montréal has by far the cheapest and most accessible alcohol, with every cornerstone selling cheap beer and wine and the province regulated liquor store still boasting comparatively low taxes, great selection and long opening hours. There are a bunch of restaurants which allow you to bring your own wine without paying a corking fee, and last Monday I polished off a bottle of pinot grigio with a kilo of steamed mussels at a white-table cloth restaurant for less than $20 with tax and tip. And when I want to eat a budget meal, poutine is easily and cheaply available 24 hrs of the day within a few blocks from wherever you end up after a night of drinking with the drunk munchies.

Montréal is of course the birthplace of Cirque du Soleil, which is in my opinion the most random but amazing spectacle I`ve ever seen. Even though I`ve been to it in Vancouver and Vegas, seeing it here at their home stage seemed like a necessary thing to do, so me and my best friend Clio went on Tuesday night, their 25th anniversary show. Then, by random chance, a guy asked us for directions to the show tent on our way there, quickly followed by “I have 2 free tickets, are you two going?” We said yes, but that we would take them anyway and called 2 of my roommates who got to come for free. On Sunday afternoon, we went to the base of Mount Royal (a huge park in the middle of town) where hundreds of people come together to play percussion instruments, practice tight-rope walking, or reenact medieval battle grounds complete with middle age wardrobe and plastic weapons. Other random occurrences include  a man riding a bicycle with a cat standing on his head, another guy riding past with an iguana on his shoulder, a police horse trying (and almost succeeding) to eat my Guyanese-gold bangle off my arm, and the current top male model in the world staying at my place for almost a week since he just happens to be my roommates best friend. Very, very random.

June 15, 2009

You know you’re travelling when…

Where am I? You know that question you ask yourself when you wake up totally lost and in a moment of total and utter confusion you try to remember whose house and what country you are currently in? That question has frantically entered my mind one too many times ever since school got out mid May.

Its not the same kind of “where am I” that you ask yourself after a night of too much drinking or too little sleep, but the kind of lost feeling when you’ve been moving to too many different places without enough time to readjust to any of them. I’m not complaining by any means, since I’ve been dreaming of the summer and all the travel to be had since last September, and actually, I’m certainly getting used to waking up in Montréal after 10 consecutive nights in the same place.

Before I got here, there was Boston, and before that, any and every city with more than 30 inhabitants in Iceland since me and my best friend took 2 weeks to drive 3700kms around Iceland, including the west fjords and any part of the highland we managed to drag his Toyota corolla into, neglecting the many “impassable” signs we later learned were always posted for a reason.

bathing in the wild – 38°c hottub in the westfjords

Sleeping in an assortment of tents, hostels, couches, floors and even a hammock over the past 3 and a half weeks has taught me to appreciate the single bed I now have in downtown Montréal. Even more gratifying is the fact that my dorm residence is totally free, thanks to an amazing Canadian scholarship that covers your living expenses, tuition, AND food costs for an entire 5 weeks to learn french in Quebec! At least those tax dollars are being put to good use…

I have to admit the “travelling” feeling is slowly phasing out, since 10 days in the same place starts to make things feel like home. Although, the efficiency of student housing at the University of Quebec at Montréal somehow justifies having 8 people living in one apartment, and lucky me – sharing the kitchen and bathrooms with only guys, so getting totally comfortable in my temporary house won’t be possible. My best friend lives in Montréal, so she’s my go-to person when the testosterone gets too much too handle, and the perfect tour guide of the city and all its local charms as I try my best to fit in as a “local.”

Even so, the travel bug still reigns, since summertime is the epitome of perfect travel climate. I got my first tan back in Iceland after lazing in the many natural, outdoor hot pots spotting the countryside, and reconfirmed another brown layer lazing on a friends yacht off the coast of Boston 2 weekends ago. There is a park for beach volleyball players in the centre of Montréal city, so that excuse to wear a bikini in-town has also done great things for my summer bod.

You also know you’re travelling when you get the first pangs of home sickness. Iceland is great, and its even nicer in the summer, but of course I lasted the 8 darkest, coldest months, cursing the ice I walked on daily, and left just when things started to get green, warm, and bright. I got a tease of the Icelandic summer before leaving, as the trees bloomed and around-the-clock daylight was almost in full force mid May.

The sun is different here in Canada, cool in the mornings and evenings, cooking you at midday, and setting a lot earlier. The city scene here really dwarfs Reykjavik, but the Icelandic nature is what I miss most. I love bathing in geothermal pools, drinking water straight from a free-flowing river, and having enough free, open space to drive for hours in any direction without seeing a soul… except for maybe a few sheep. Homesickness aside, it’s been an amazing start to the summer, and it’s true what they say, you don´t truly appreciate something until it’s taken away from you, so Iceland, I’m sorry for cursing your winters, I miss you and I’ll love you unconditionally when I return.

June 1, 2009

Welcome to My Blog

I’m going to share my travel diary with all you wonderful good folk so you can know what I’ve been up to, where I am, learn about new places, or just pretend you’re interested to make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. Please comment when you have anything to share, as I want feedback from readers so I also have a reason to snoop into your travel-thoughts 🙂 If you have any travel or place-specific questions, also don’t hesitate to ask, and for all your travel planning, check out dohop.com for the cheapest flights.

Oh, and 200 before 30… well, thats the goal, so long as 50 countries don’t disappear, or 50 new countries don’t show up, because that could maybe take a little more than 7 years.