The squat toliet

One week into my trip to thailand and I can officially say I have conquered the squat toliet! If you dont know what this is, please google it and think of me. There are two pads for your feet and a porceline hole, thats about it folks. Although, thanks to tourists it is not everywhere it certainly does exist and I have used it more than a handfull of times by now. When you do find a normal toliet, toliet paper is out of the question because for some reason thailand hasnt figured out what to do with the stuff in their sewage system. So there is always a paper basket beside the toliet for the used stuff, yum yum!
PS- for your viewing pleasure I have now uploaded photos to my blog, although not one of me on the squat toliet sorry.

Tuk Tuk

We left the choatic streets of Bangkok to search for peace and quiet in Kanchanarubi. I was amazing that a short taxi ride to the bus station allowed us to catch a bus within 5 minutes and we were on our way! Not to mention the fact is cost us about $3 to travel the whole way!!! wtf. Upon our arrival we caught the first Tuk Tuk that grabbed our bags and put them on a little pole on that back of his bike. To make this image more clear I think I need to describe exactly what a tuk tuk is... well its a little man on a bike with a chair/small bench on the back. So with our packs on the back, the thing already weighs double what this little man does. Then we hop in... this thing is meant for one. We barely fit on, we are sitting on top of each other and are moving at a snails pace. The poor man is dripping in sweat and we are laughing so hard, half from embarrasment, half from emphathy and the hilarity of the situation. We arrive to our guest house, check in and it was all that easy... despite the poor mans effort of course. Priceless!

Sweaty Betty- Destination Thailand

I arrived to Thailand safe and sound and immediately was relieved to ditch my wool sweater and winter toque. I feel as if I have flown into another dimension, after spending a month and a half in Europe. Hot and sticky I arrive in the streets of Bangkok at Koh San Rd. The smell of food fills the air and the streets are so crowded and narrow with shops that I barely squeeze though without knocking down everything in the marketplace. I find my hostel located in a small alley behind a clothing shop and am thankful to enjoy a cold beer while I read my book. I am sitting beside a sleeping kitten, sprawled out in the heat and I can hear the cooking of street vendors from all angles. I wait for Laura who went for a Thai massage (smart cookie) before we check in. I would have never believed in a million years I would be here in Thailand. I have been fighting my own expectations and the western mentality of the mainstream career obsession. The minute I let go of these societal norms I was blessed to end up in this very spot. Here is some food for thought:
"Life isn't about finding yourself, its about creating yourself".

German yoga

My flight out to Thailand brought me back to Berlin for a day and a half, just enough time to get my stuff together for a much warmer climate and take in a yoga class in Berlin. I had hopes that the language barrier wouldn't be an issue and my eyes would guide me smoothly through the class. Germans are notoriously known as efficient, passionate and 'by the book' type of people. However, in yoga those characteristics do not lead to the ideal type of practice. Perhaps it was the particular instructor I had or the studio I randomly walked into but it was the worst yoga class I have taken in my life. It was like a yoga to do list, moving from one pose to another without flow, moving the mat and blankets constantly and no breathing. I was almost stressed out during this practice, as I was told that my blanket was facing the wrong way and everyones blanket must be the same. Toes must be on the floor but heels on the mat and if you are not doing that correctly there is a girl that walks around the room and corrects you immediately. I understand tough love but it has never been a positive reinforcement for me. It does the opposite and I fail miserably. Perhaps the Buddhist monks and Yogis could teach the Germans (yes I am generalizing) a thing or two about the true practice and teachings of yoga. The zen was lost completely, along with my 12 Euros.
Off to Thailand and a sunnier outlook!
Much love,
Hillary

Happy Thanksgiving from Budapest, Hungary

I arrived in Budapest, home to my ancestry and immediately fell head over heels. This has been easily the most beautiful city in Europe, yes surpassing Paris with great ease. The architeture, everything from the turkish influence to neoclassical and art nouveau. Then turn a corner and you are suddenly sitting beside a glorious castle overlooking the Duna river. And yet this poor country has been tormented and survived both Hitler and Stalin, having its people torn at every which angle. Even though every bridge has been distroyed by WWII, today they stand glorious. I could not believe how large the city was that it is broken into two parts, Buda and Pest. It is very similar to Manhattan and New York City. I feel like I could easily spend months here and am very thankful that we were able to spend 5 nights here attempting to soak in the immense beauty. We biked, walked, bused, boated and subwayed Buda as well as Pest. Today we rewarded ourselves by soaking our aching bodies in the Turkish-era thermal baths. I could not imagine a more beautiful place to spend my Canadian Thanksgiving. xoxo

Lvov, Ukraine

We arrived to Lvov, Ukraine at 6am tired and exhausted after an overnight bus ride in order to save money and time. Although, money was saved, the ordeal was not worth it and after stepping in a spilled beer (yes on a bus) and having a seat reclined by our neighbour up to the point of complete discomfort, we will stick to trains in the future! We arrived in a different world, a form of soviet existance in a city that is trying to reclaim its reputation and standard of living. Lvov was the only city that was able to survive WWII without any damage and the buildings, although not all up kept, reflect architectural genuis. The city is beautiful but there is an underlining sense of poverty and a people who are just trying to get by. There was not a tourist in sight, which I hoped had something to do with the low season and then there was the fact that no one spoke any english. When we found our hostel, it was aparent we needed to find other accomodation- and quick! It was in a rundown alley and up a winding staircase right out of the movie hostel, no thank you! We left our bags claiming to be in search of 'a bank' and opened up the Lonely Planet guidebook for any other options. We managed to find Hotel George, located in an old historic building with character but in a much safer location. You need to realize this is the first time I have stayed in a hotel the entire trip and we felt quite posh. Nonetheless, when you do the conversion to the Canadian dollar, the price was about $15 each per night **in a hotel!!
However, the language barrier did not end throughout our experience in Lvov. At the train station on our way out we had the same problem trying to get anyone to helps us to buy a train ticket OUT of the Ukraine.
I often feel ignorant for only speaking English and try my best in each new country to speak the native tongue, but in an information center, let alone a major and only train station in the city, the absence of other languages was very frustrating. Thankfully and wonderful young man helped us out, when he asked us where we were from and we replied, 'Canadian' he was ecstatic! I don't think we would have survived or left the Ukraine without him! *thank you!* When we asked him where he was from, he replied in a strong Ukrainian accent, "I'm a Ukrainian guy!" and laughed. He told us how jobs are hard to come by and his mother works in Italy in order to send the family over Euros. For twenty euros sent by his mother, he can "live like a king." He told us of his dream to live and work in Canada after he finishes his studies, a masters in Electrical Engineering. He went on to say that there is no bad news on television about Canada. To quote him, "In the USA you always see somebody killed another (insert the N bomb here)". Me in Nick stared at each other in disbelief! Did he just drop the N bomb? Nonetheless, with his help we left the Ukraine and took the overnight train to Budapest, Hungary. Phew!

Eastern Europe- revenge of the bottled water

It has become apparent that an individual is supposed to avoid drinking tap water in Eastern Europe due to some weird water treatment system. So, naturally I curse the bottled water and the waste it creates on our eco-system, but in this situation I have little to no choice. Day 1- in Poland we decide to buy the cheap water... it turns out to be strawberry water! Yuck! Whomever created flavored, aspartame water should be outright punished! Day 4- Ukraine, I buy a 2 L water that is in fact carbonated. How do I discover this? While opening it on the overnight train and it explodes all over me and the train window, sleeper and carpet. Perhaps that is why we were held up for 3 hours at customs in the Hungarian boarder.
I curse you bottled water!