Back and Better than Ever!

I apologize for my long absence from posting but I was highly enjoying some travelling. I spent a month rock climbing in Thailand, and a week enjoying my BC coastline on a sailboat. There is something very enlightening about travelling; expanding your awareness and experiencing new stimuli. Both of my trips were very different yet both offered me one common feeling: appreciation. Appreciation for what I have, appreciation for where I live, appreciation for good friends... it would seem that the feeling of appreciation overpowered any negative emotion and still continues to.

People travel for different reasons, whether it's for business, for vacation, or for the pure joy of exploring the world. The one problem people tend to face is usually they either have the money to travel, but no time, or they have the time, but no money. My advice... say screw it and just do it! I met someone recently who has lived in the city of Vancouver their whole life, only to leave the concrete jungle to go snowboarding on the local mountains. This person, although highly successful in life, has never travelled further than the lower mainland, never to see the beautiful holiday destinations in the Okanagan, or the world renowned BC sunshine coast, or even visited our neighbours only 45 minutes to the south. Yes, he is smart and is going to earn a high paying, satisfying career, but has he really lived? By never exploring outside the bubble that is a city, are you ever truly going to understand communications, economics and trade, history, or feel harmonious with our natural world? BC is a province built off of harvesting resources, filled with booming or busting communities, all sending their efforts to the big cities of Vancouver and Victoria. If you live in the heartland you will never understand the hinterlands. It reminds me disturbingly of The Hunger Games trilogy where the Capitol controls the poor surrounding districts that supply the food and fuel for the its greedy needs.

So what am I trying to say here? Get out there and travel! See the world. Meet the people. It would be a pity to live an entire life blinded by sky scrapers and local media. Travel for a reason and expand yourself in ways you never thought possible. You don't need to go far though. You can take a walk near your home and notice all the beautiful things that tourists see but you typically overlook. You can jump in your car and drive an hour to a lake, a mountain, a park, a museum, or a statue. And when you do have the time and the money to do something spectacular, plan a trip worthy of your bucket list and cross it off.

I went to Thailand with my brother purely with the intention of spending time with him in a strange environment. We experienced complete culture shock, found ourselves in unusual places, and met incredible people who I hope to be friends with for the rest of my life. Our trip definitely did not happen the way we expected it to, but it was perfect none the less. I'm happy to report that we didn't just go to famous monuments and towns just to take a picture and say we were there, but we stumbled upon a personal paradise and stayed there. We took a 12 hour overnight bus south out of Bangkok, a 3 hour bus from there, and a longboat ride over to Ton Sai Beach. This nearly empty, low rated beach, became our home for a few weeks, and I couldn't have asked for anything better. We met like-minded travellers, enjoyed local food and culture, and rock climbed nearly every day! This may not be your idea of paradise, so all I have to say to you is... go out and find Your paradise.

My brother rappeling down a route overlooking Ton Sai Beach