Embarking on the Journey of my Life
In and around Australia
So after months of getting everything ready for my trip of a life time, it finally seems so real. Saying goodbyes, meeting with friends having farewell dinners and drinks. I mean it didn't even seem real when I organised my 1 Year Working Holiday Visa, it didn't seem real when I was selling my car and my bike, it didn't even seem real when I handed in my resignation. But now it seems so real, having my farewell party to farewell my mates that I have known for years in one place, Melbourne. Then now typing up this first journal entry in Sydney International airport. I am doing it, going to experience a trip of a lifetime.
You know, I have to admit I have mixed feelings at the moment, feeling a bit anxious about what lies ahead, who I'll meet, problems I may encounter, and also have only the support from family and friends that are half way across the globe. But also at the same time I feel excited, stoked that I am finally doing what I wanted to do for so long. Getting inspired by so many people who have done the same thing and the travel bug has finally imploded in my body to give me the crazy idea of selling of everything and head over to the coldest livable region of Earth with one backpack.
Anyway enough of my assessment on this trip. Back to my farewell party, I gotta say it was one hell of a night with all the people I know back home, I will go over and represent us aussies. You guys rock. Also need I say the people who wanted to get my drunk and through up. You guys did an amazing job, lets just say you succeeded. What time though? I'll be lucky to remember. So just a quick first journal, to everyone that will be following it, I will try and make it as adventurous and suspensful as I can but until my next one. Take care and love you heaps :)
Route taken and entries by Real Traveler Howe
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1
Six Aussies and a Golf Course in the sticks
So touchdown on Taiwanese soil after 9 hours, body clock was wound back by 2 hours only which isn't so bad. As I was walking off the plane and foll... Continue reading »
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2
What a booked tour?
Okay so I touched down in Vancouver and suddenly it is morning again, I was so dazed out drunk and fatigued that when I got to my Cousin's house(My... Continue reading »
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3
The pension excursion
So me and Jenny(The girl renting one of the rooms at my cousin's house) got up at 7:10am to catch the tour bus which was going to pick us up at twe... Continue reading »
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4
So is Vancouver like Melbourne?
So the question is: "Is Vancouver really like Melbourne?"
Well at a first glance "Yes it is" the postcards pictures of the city at night, the... Continue reading »
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5
I've touched down in Cowboy City
So after saying good bye to my relo's and Jenny from Vancouver and getting dumped off I was on the move again to my home city for the next 5 months... Continue reading »
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6
Moving out and moving in
So after 2 nights at a dingy hostel that was in the povo town of Calgary where you see so people selling dope in the frozen parks and backstreets a... Continue reading »
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7
Grocery Shopping and more Grocery Shopping
I woke up this morning compiling a list of things to buy and it was a long list, there was a market across the road called Farmers Market, it was k... Continue reading »
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8
First day at work
It was my first day at work today, even though my contract start date was on November the 6th. So anyway I got up at 6.30am today made a coupl... Continue reading »
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9
The Starving African Experience
So I'll try not to write a monster entry this time as I notice that I've been trying to fit a whole weeks worth into one page. But here goes.
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10
Nurses Ball all the way
Okay I finally went up to the hill for a snowboarding session on Wednesday and before working on Thursday. It feels great to get back into it.... Continue reading »
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11
You ask "What's a Shooter Girl?"
Well I've finally received my camera so I am stoked that I can finally take some pictures and all. 2G memory card a spare battery and a case. I thi... Continue reading »
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12
Why you don't host house parties
So it's been a while since I wrote my last entry about half a month ago, well the main reason is I've been waiting for something exciting to happen... Continue reading »
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13
The trip to Sunshine Village
Today before work I finally got the chance to take photo's of the museum and especially the Jamaican bobsleigh. The shuttle times for work is so ri... Continue reading »
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14
Calgary Zoo - one of the top 10 Zoos in the world
So it's been a couple weeks since my blog entry which pretty much is the last time I went snowboarding. Yes I have been lazy. But I'm back into the... Continue reading »
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15
Xmas in Calgary
Today was Xmas Eve, I got woken up by a strange 61 number on my mobile, it was Nghi. Someone who I could call my Cousin they were having a house pa... Continue reading »
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16
New Years Eve at Amsterdam Rhino
Today was new years eve, it was very exciting. A couple of days ago all of the Aussies and Kiwi's had organised to get tickets to go to Amsterdam R... Continue reading »
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17
My First What Canadian Experience?
After weeks of hearing the rumors and bitching and moaning about the catering staff having to work the COP Staff Xmas Party, Wayne made the decisio... Continue reading »
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18
Hitman Vs Broncos
It was only a 3 hour shift today. I finished work at 3pm and the next work shuttle bus to leave COP was at 5:30pm. I did not want to wait around fo... Continue reading »
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19
Australia Day
Five Thirty came and it was time to knock off shift. It was pretty exciting as I had been looking forward to this all day. It was Australia Day, al... Continue reading »
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20
Let's go Kicking Horse
"I love it” “Unreal” “Epic” “The Best” “Awesome” are only the very few words everyone has repeated to describe their trip from the newly owned moun... Continue reading »
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21
My little update
I’ve been pretty bad lately. I’ve been on a 6 day drinking binge and I can feel my body beat up and tired and my mind running off to its own little... Continue reading »
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22
What was it like in Lake Louise?
It’s a Saturday afternoon at work and I was heading to Lake Louise with Steele once I get off work. I checked my phone and there were 15 missed cal... Continue reading »
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23
Viva Las Vegas Baby
We touched down in Las Vegas, NEVADA. A trip that was planned just after Xmas 06 by six guys. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I walked out of the a... Continue reading »
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24
End of Season
The Season is over
The love for so many Aussies and Kiwi’s who have come over to Canada to live their dreams of skiing and riding big mountai... Continue reading »
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25
Moving in then Moving Out
So, it’s been a while since I updated my blog about what is going on in my life, well the truth is for the last month I’ve been working at COP no m... Continue reading »
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26
They're NOT water Balloons
I didn’t get the opportunity to really tell you much about my new job so I decided to write an entry on a few exciting things that have happened si... Continue reading »
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27
A Random Thought
I’m writing this entry as I sit down at work on my $9.82 foldable camping chair that I bought from Walmart. As I look up into the sky, half of it i... Continue reading »
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28
Homeless Hobo update!
Now continuing on from my previous entry, I was still a homeless hobo the last time I reported. I would now like to announce that my status has cha... Continue reading »
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29
Stampede Day#1 - What's it about?
In many respects they say Stampede is a time of the year where everyone just gets wild and lets loose. In a way I have found that to be very true,... Continue reading »
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30
Lets go Skydiving!
Today was the sixth day of Stampede and it was also Deco’s (company I work for) outing day. We’re going skydiving today then down to the Stampede g... Continue reading »
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31
Day #3 at the Stampede: In then out again.
Today was seventh day of the Stampede, after work I rushed home to get changed as Jesse, Matt and I had planned to go to the Stampede grounds to wa... Continue reading »
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32
Stampede Final Day: Rodeo and Is It The Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth?
Final day of the Calgary Stampede and I had a list of things I wanted to see in the Rodeo and it was granted to me. A couple days prior, I was repa... Continue reading »
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33
What is Cheaper than a night out?
It’s been 2 months since I moved in with Matt and Yestyn and I have been quite simply amazed at the amount of money I have saved on accommodation e... Continue reading »
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34
Hiking at Moraine Lake
Lake Louise – Moraine Lake
After Jimmy called to bear the bad news that our hiking trip up at Moraine Lake was cancelled I was determined to... Continue reading »
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35
Heading down South....
So this time, Jimmy and I packed a change of clothes along with a few other things and headed south to a national park that unfortunately has been... Continue reading »
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36
I'm 27 and My Cousin's in town!
It was the night of my Birthday and it was also the night that my cousins Yin, David and their parents were flying down from Toronto. They were her... Continue reading »
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37
It's time to go......Howe
I woke up today feeling pretty sad because it was my last day in Calgary, a place where I’ve settled in so comfortably like home. Random thoughts o... Continue reading »
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38
Vancouver....I made cookies
I woke up after 3 hours of sleep, feeling lethargic, to top it off my stomach was churning as though butterflies were flying around in my stomach.... Continue reading »
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39
Howe's guide to what you can achieve in Vancouver in 1 day
Today I deiced to wander around downtown, I got out my Lonely Planet guide book and read through the Vancouver section, I then searched the Vancouv... Continue reading »
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40
Meeting Chris in Seattle
Yet the tradition continues, with only a few hours of sleep, packing my bags in the middle of night, ready for the next stop. It was 4am in the mor... Continue reading »
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41
My Road Trip with 2 Stranger Chics to San Fran
Time to leave, Monday morning 15th October onto my next leg of the trip, down to San Francisco, plans were partially cemented with a str... Continue reading »
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42
Family I never new existed...
So I met my mum’s older sister for the first time and boy does she ever look as good as my mum. HAHA. No really, I literally thought my mum was let... Continue reading »
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43
Where am I in LA?
I got dropped off at 6am by Tuyet and boarded a mini bus that will be driving me to San Jose where we will then be transferred onto a coach and fro... Continue reading »
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44
Los Angeles .... WHAT you need a CAR?
It is true about what they say about LA. Everything is so spread out that if you don’t have access to car then you can’t go anywhere. We lived in O... Continue reading »
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45
Old Town what in San Diego?
So the original plan was to spend a night in San Diego but my Grandma wasn’t back from her 4 day trip until the day I was leaving so I decided... Continue reading »
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46
Travelling to New York without sleep
I managed an hour sleep on the 4.5 hour plane ride to the East but all of a sudden rather than being 2am in the morning, the 3 hour time differen... Continue reading »
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47
Frankinstein's, Vampires, Spiderman - It's Halloween in New York City
Crowned ‘The City That Never Sleeps’. It really does live up to its reputation. You can be catching a train 12.30am at night and you’ll still be... Continue reading »
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48
Christine I'm there...Meet you in Washington DC
On the Greyhound bus yet once again, this time headed south to the capital of the United States, Washington DC. This part of the trip wasn’t plan... Continue reading »
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49
A thought: How plans change from the very beginning
You know when I first planned to come to Canada, it was planned that I would only work in Calgary for the ski season and then make my way out East... Continue reading »
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50
Niagara Falls: is it the real deal?
So today David, Yin and Cacing(Yin’s Bf) took me on a short hike to a waterfall called Balls Falls and then to the Niagara Falls. We drove for abou... Continue reading »
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51
Boston and Back with more than what we wanted
So two weeks of settling into Toronto, I’m off again on another road trip to Boston with Yin and Dave for 4 days. We hired a white Dodge car and pi... Continue reading »
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52
What are the chances of getting hit again?
After a few days to sort out a new rental car, Dave came home with an awesome Chrysler Sebring with leather seats and everything, although it was st... Continue reading » -
53
It's all about the Kitchen Parties or "Ceilidhs"
So how was the drive to Halifax? The road conditions started out pretty good with only wet patches on the road, then they transformed into slush... Continue reading »
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54
We are insane doing this....
With much hesitation the next morning, we forced ourselves to wake up at the break of dawn to do something that no sane person would do this time... Continue reading »
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55
Closed....Closed...Closed
After 3 days in Halifax, it was time to slowly make our way back to Toronto, with our first stop off in Moncton. About 3 hours away in the provi... Continue reading »
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56
PEI Mussels it's all about the seafood here
Waking up about 9.30am, just in time to indulge ourselves with the free continental breakfast, we filled our stomachs before checking out and dro... Continue reading »
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57
A taste of Europe...
Once we got to Quebec City we checked into a motel called Motel Le Lucerne that we booked over the phone. It took us a while to check in as the... Continue reading »
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58
TKO MMA Fight in Montreal....sweet!
About a 3 hour drive and we made it back into Montreal, it only seemed like yesterday we were here again as we checked into the hostel we stayed... Continue reading »
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59
Time to leave before the snow storm hits
So in the morning the plan was to spend our final night in Ottawa but as nature calls for a huge snow storm to pass through Toronto late tonight... Continue reading »
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60
Another place close to my Heart.....Toronto
So Toronto? Whoa where do I even begin to start? It’s hard to believe that I have been in Toronto for over 2 months already. When I left home I t... Continue reading »
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61
The Final Chapter
Well I never thought I’d be winding up my Canadian trip. But here I am not ready to go home but ready to go to London. I said goodbye to Yin the... Continue reading »
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