travel

Queenstown, New Zealand

Posted August 26, 2019

Queenstown: the final destination of my trip, known for its winter and extreme sports. I arrived in the evening and checked into Haka Lodge Queenstown (yes, the same chain as the one from Auckland), and headed out to grab a bite to eat at the famous Fergburger. Supposedly Fergburger serves the best burgers in the world. I can’t speak for the meat variant, but while the falafel burger I had was very tasty, it certainly doesn’t hold up to that standard! Read more…

Christchurch, New Zealand

Posted August 26, 2019

Christchurch ended up being a sort of last minute booking for me. I hadn’t really thought out what I wanted to do there, and my main motivator for visiting was the tour bus that I was planning on taking from Christchurch to Queenstown (you can read about that further down this post). There isn’t quite as much to do in Christchurch as there is in other cities, thanks to the massive earthquake that devastated the city in 2011 and reduced around 80% of the downtown core to rubble. But, I was able to make my short time there worth it! Read more…

Wellington, New Zealand

Posted August 25, 2019

As I mentioned in my Auckland post, I decided to travel from Auckland by way of the Northern Explorer, a train that runs through the North Island countryside over the course of about 10 hours. The seats were comfortable, the food available on board was tasty (albeit not cheap), and the views were spectacular! Read more…

Auckland, New Zealand

Posted August 25, 2019

It was so, so refreshing to step off the plane and out into the cool, New Zealand evening air after a month straight of roasting hot weather. I was greeted at the airport by Terry, a friend of my aunt. He and I had coordinated him picking me up, but he graciously offered me dinner and a night’s stay at his home in the Auckland suburbs, which I accepted. Sure, I’d arrive at my hostel one night late, no big deal. We had a wonderful Indian meal and then I more or less went right to bed for the night. Read more…

New Zealand - 100% Pure New Zealand

Posted August 22, 2019

New Zealand was actually the second country I selected for this trip, despite it being the last one I ended up visiting. For a while, I even considered skipping it because I’d be there during the winter, and I wouldn’t be able to do anything like swimming or surfing! It also meant packing extra warm clothing that I’d be carrying around with me for a month in Japan and Vietnam. But I decided to do it, even just to check out some of the skiing on the South Island. And damn, was it worth it. Read more…

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Posted August 22, 2019

By the time I arrived in Ho Chi Minh City from Da Nang, I only had a couple of days time to explore. And being a city with a population of 10 million, I definitely didn’t get the chance to see everything I wanted! But I had to make due with the time I had.

I checked into my hostel, The Like Hostel, after a quick bus ride from the airport. It was pretty nice - tucked into an alley in District 1, it offered relatively quick access to many of the places I wanted to visit. It also featured a fun rooftop bar that provided free breakfast in the mornings. Read more…

Da Nang and Hoi An, Vietnam

Posted August 20, 2019

I took a short haul flight from Hanoi to Da Nang, arriving fairly late in the evening at my hostel (Christina’s Da Nang - Seahorse Hostel). At this point it was really starting to sink in that I had not given myself enough time for Vietnam - I only gave myself two days in the Da Nang / Hoi An region, which was definitely not sufficient. I’ll have to come back some day! Read more…

Cat Ba Island, Vietnam

Posted August 19, 2019

We arrived on Cat Ba Island after a 9 hour overnight bus trip from Sapa. With no charging ports on board the bus, I only had about 15% battery on my phone, so I kept it off for most of the day, and had to source my pictures from other people. Read more…

Hanoi, Vietnam

Posted August 17, 2019

Due to some visa shenanigans (i.e. I’m an idiot who didn’t read the steps for acquiring a visa properly), I didn’t end up arriving in Hanoi until a day later than I had originally planned. No big deal - I still had an open schedule with zero plans, so I could stay in Hanoi as long as I wanted or needed. Or so I thought. Read more…

Sapa, Vietnam

Posted August 17, 2019

The bus ride from Hanoi was long, and i didn’t sleep particularly well. Not that it mattered to the bus operators - we were kicked off the bus upon arrival in Sapa at 5:30am! At about 6:00am, we were picked up on a bus and driven from the main town to the villages in the valley below. I can’t say I knew what we were in for until we got our first glimpses of the valley. By the time we reached the tiny village in which we were staying that night, the sun had risen bright above the surrounding hills and was shining through the clouds, decorating the green grass and the rice fields with a magical glow. Read more…

Vietnam - Timeless Charm

Posted August 15, 2019

When choosing the countries for this trip, I wanted to end up with three countries that were as culturally distinct as possible. Japan I already knew would be on my list, so I figured I would choose New Zealand (since I wanted to see the beautiful landscapes), and a country in Southeast Asia. It ended up being a tossup between Vietnam and Thailand. In the end, I’m not sure why I chose Vietnam, but I’m very glad I did! I had an absolutely incredible time doing everything from navigating the busy streets of Hanoi’s Old Quarter to trekking through the mountains in Sapa. Read more…

Osaka, Japan

Posted August 15, 2019

To conclude my stay in Japan, I visited Osaka! Since Kyoto and Osaka are quite close, it didn’t take me long to get into town and check into my first hostel, Nine Hours Namba Station. The hostel was well situated near Namba Station (duh), meaning I had no trouble getting around the city by subway. I took the opportunity on my first day to visit one of the shopping streets, Shinsekai. Right at the end of the street is an observation tower called Tsutenkaku. Read more…

Nara, Japan

Posted August 14, 2019

While I was in Kyoto, I decided that I wanted to take a day trip to Nara, as I had heard about their famous “Deer Park”. Knowing next to nothing about it before going, I hopped on a JR Line train that took me about an hour south of Kyoto.

Turns out that there aren’t just deer in one spot. There are deer absolutely everywhere. Read more…

Kyoto, Japan

Posted August 13, 2019

I really looked forward to my trip to Kyoto, especially because it started off with a ride on Japan’s Shinkansen, or bullet train. Expensive as hell, but totally worth the experience and the speed. The trip took about two hour, with the train reaching speeds of hundreds of kilometres per hour as we blasted through the Japanese countryside. Read more…

Hakone and Lake Ashi, Japan

Posted August 11, 2019

Totally rain-soaked, but still mildly pleased with myself, I left Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko for Hakone. Hakone is a small, somewhat mountainous area about two hours from Fuji by bus, known for its many hot springs (or onsen). I got dropped off at Gora Station, which happens to be the place where both the train and the local cable car begin. Just like with Lake Kawaguchiko, it felt very picturesque, what with the abundance of nature and the quaint train tracks running alongside the road. Read more…

Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchiko, Japan

Posted August 8, 2019

It was almost a relief to leave Tokyo for the quiet countryside of Lake Kawaguchiko, at the base of Mt. Fuji. As I walked from the bus stop to K’s House Mt. Fuji, it honestly felt like one of those picturesque towns out of a movie. It was so refreshing to see some countryside, with hills rising up around the village and small winding roads passing lazily between the houses. Read more…

Japan - Land of the Rising Sun

Posted August 7, 2019

I’d always wanted to visit Japan. It has a certain cultural appeal to me, one that is just so different from any other country in the world. Unfortunately, living in North America makes it difficult to even get to the other side of the world, a problem that is compounded as a student with expenses. But after getting extremely fortunate with my working opportunities (i.e. TripAdvisor), in combination with some lucky timing, I ended up with the means and the time to take a whole six weeks to travel the world! So naturally, Japan was first up on my list. Read more…

Tokyo, Japan

Posted August 7, 2019

I landed in Tokyo in the evening, after an excruciatingly long 22 hours of travel - plus the time change - and checked into my hostel for the next few days, Grids Nihombashi. Since it was already 10pm at that point, my first true experience with Japan was the following morning, when I did a free tour with Tokyo Localized. We began in the famous Akihabara district, some of which is known as “Electric Town” due to being Japan’s centre of anime, technology, video games, and entertainment. Almost immediately, I felt that many of the stereotypes I had heard about modern Japan were validated; flashing signs and posters plastered across skyscrapers, anime merchandise shops and manga shops at every corner, music and noise coming from all directions, and hundreds of people of milling about. Read more…

A New Chapter

Posted January 6, 2019

Since I moved to the city at the age of four, I have never spent more than two weeks at a time away from Ottawa. On January 2nd, 2019, I moved to Boston to begin a four month internship with TripAdvisor at their headquarters. Needless to say, this is a pretty big step for me, and writing about my impressions and experiences in depth will give me the opportunity to reflect on the changes I will have gone through, both as a person and as a developer. Read more…