topas ecolodge

When I went to Vietnam I travelled up north to Sa Pa. I wanted to do a trekking tour so upon doing some research I found the Topas EcoLodge. They have all kinds of tours through the lodge that you can choose from. I chose the hiking package. I thought I was going to be with a group of people but it ended up just being myself with the guide. I wasn’t sure if that’s because no one else signed up or if that’s just how it is. It was a lot of fun and I’ve never swat so much in my life.

The lodge was beautiful and it was great for a solo traveller as well if you’re into that.

hanoi

I briefly stayed in Hanoi and I loved it.

where to stay

I stayed at the La Siesta Premium Hang Be and it was absolutely magical. I still can’t get over the kindness of the staff working at the hotel. The lady who checked me in even gave me her personal cell phone number in case I needed help or just restaurant ideas.

Apart from all of that, the hotel was clean, beautiful and in a perfect location.

takayama

Takayama is where I learned how to “vacation”. I seem to be a rather restless person, and, though I avoid crowds, lineups, and touristy things, I seem to somehow always be on the go. I don’t like having nothing to do as this is when my mind races and I start feeling anxious.

Anyway, Takayama is a sleepy city tucked away in the mountains and there’s not a whole lot going on. Once the sun sets everything is closed, and nothing reopens again until around 11am the next morning. So I spent a lot of time aimlessly wandering being lost in thought. I also spent a lot of time eating pudding from Family Mart in my hotel room for breakfast every morning as breakfast doesn't seem to make any sense in Japan. My mom thinks Japan is a weird place that is the total opposite of everything we know at home. That’s not really the case. Japan’s got houses, cars, buildings, cats, trees… it’s the same as the rest of the world, just without breakfast.

As I was wandering one day looking for lunch I found a vegan restaurant in a little suburb area. I walked in and the man looked at me in surprise and said “how did you find me”. I told him “Happy Cow” and he got very excited that I was vegetarian. He made me a dish of vegetable curry and rice. As I ate he told me the story of every vegetable in my dish. He showed me pictures of him on his farm and his animals, and how he grows the vegetables. He also told me that the rice I was eating had won some rice competition in Japan. It was actually one of my favourite meals. He wouldn’t take my plate until it was all finished. Think I gained 10 pounds just in Takayama alone.

I sat here one morning for coffee and toast. It was snowing out and I was the only customer. The owner stood behind the counter putting away dishes. He had a comb-over and a moustache. We didn’t speak much, I don’t think he knew any English. There was an illustration of him on the shelf behind the counter. It looked exactly like him but with more hair on his head.

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previous mishaps

nagano

After Tokyo I took a train to the Nagano area. I should have packed proper winter boots and a coat as it was freezing and the ground was all slippery. Nagano is where they have the monkey park that bathe in the onsens. It was quite the walk to find them and I slipped three times. There were lots a wild monkeys in the park, none of them were in cages or anything like that. Nothing was really fenced off.

In Nagano I stayed at a fancy hotel. I walked there from the station right after my monkey hike. I was wearing muddy converse, my luggage wheels were all scummy, and my back was aching from carrying my backpack all day. It wasn’t a long walk. It had just snowed, however, and I guess they don’t have sidewalk salt like I’m used to. These roads were more slippery than the monkey path.

Anyway, as I walked up the the doors a sweet old Japanese lady came running out to me. She was apologizing for some reason and she bowed twice. She then carried all of my things into the lobby and made me a tea. She didn't just pour it though, it was a whole ceremony with a little sweet treat after. It was very nice.

Anyway, my room had its own private Onsen.

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previous mishaps

my second time in tokyo

I only spent a few days in Tokyo with a carefully planned out itinerary. If I leave myself with anything unplanned I end up anxiously twiddling my thumbs over a coffee and feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Anyway, one of the places I visited was the Asakusa area. It had snowed a bit overnight and everyone was looking at the snow on the ground like it was their first time seeing it and it was beautiful.

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previous mishaps

venice, florence & rome

I once went to Italy. Venice was alright. Except for the part where the sewers started flooding as it was raining and all the water started coming up and my feet got all wet. It also made for a tipsy and terrifying gondola ride which I very much did not enjoy. We all had to duck every time we went under a bridge.

Florence was nice.

Rome was alright as well. Except for those crazy crickets that woke me up at 6am going at it every morning. There was also some bloke playing a trumpet outside my hotel window. I never really found out what was going on there.

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previous mishaps

tofino

In November I travelled to Tofino, British Columbia. I was sent there with Nathalie (woahstyle.com) to photograph Lincoln cars. It was brilliant. We stayed at the Wickaninnish Inn and I still can’t pronounce it properly. I think that may have been, without a doubt, the nicest hotel I’ve ever stayed at. No really, it had a bathtub overlooking the ocean and came with your very own slippers.

I spent a lot of time driving around taking photographs of Nathalie driving all the fancy Lincoln cars. We were in our element in the mountains and by the ocean. I loved every minute of it. We drove all over the area, up and down the winding roads through the mountains and along the coast.

And that’s how I learned I get car sick.

where to stay

Wickaninnish Inn

three days in hiroshima

When I found out I was spending three days in Hiroshima I wasn’t sure what to make of it. I didn’t know much about the city, other than its history in WWII and its stance as a peace memorial to the negative side of humanity. I had already spent about two weeks in Japan and had a good grasp of the warm, friendly, conservative culture and had already learned the hard way to never ever wear the toilet slippers in the bedroom or the bedroom slippers to the toilet. 

Anyway, pulling into the Hiroshima train station we passed a giant baseball stadium which looked pretty full - a sea of fans all wearing red. I soon learned the baseball team here was the Hiroshima Carps and they were pretty big deal. No, really, Hiroshima loves their baseball team. I’d walk past bars on the streets with a television tuned into the baseball games. The Carps would be playing seemingly every day and everyone would be huddled around the TV, beer in hand, and cheering at every play even if they were down 4-0.

Hiroshima was the fun, hip part of Japan that I hadn’t been expecting. It seemed to have a certain grunge while keeping the warmth and friendliness of Japanese culture. Hiroshima will forever be a reminder for what had happened to the city and it’s people in WWII, which is prevalent throughout its parks and streets. But what stuck with me about this city is how much of it the world doesn’t see. Before going to Hiroshima I hadn't known how built up its become, or about the energy of the city, or how lush its parks have grown every spring or how normal people just live normal lives.

It also had an abundance of vegan restaurants - which was good for me as I’m quite the picky eater and don't really fancy seafood; so up until Hiroshima I hadn’t had a good, satisfying meal without having to question whether or not I’d just eaten a squid.