As I type this, I am currently on a solo mission on the way to Banff, Alberta via the Greyhound bus with hopes of finding a place to live, a car and to carve up some Canadian snow. My dear travel partner has decided to hit up Vancouver as her next stop due to the lack of good employment opportunities in  Banff, the unattractive blistering temperatures to  be seen in the near future and the fact that Banff has a high cost of living. Fortunately for myself, none of those things have swayed my decision to check out the beautiful rockies.

Before arriving in Calgary, I spent 8 nights in Tokyo seeing the sights and had an absolute blast. We stayed in Ikebukuro and Shibuya which made all the main hot spots quite accessible via train. In Ikebukuro, due to a tight budget, we decided to stay at the Flexstay Inn which was small but cosy. Aside from the scent of cigarettes, the tiny rooms and the annoyingly impatient elevator, it was a decent choice for the price.

From Cat Cafe’s to the stand-up restaurants in Ebisu, Tokyo is a thriving place of absolute enormity with one of the most confusing (but reliable) train-systems in the world. If it’s your first time, be warned, the Tokyo train map is reminiscent of a spider-web. This time around I made sure to hit up the spots that I didn’t get to see last time that were at the top of my list (minus a few). I missed out on seeing Tokyo Dome and the Tsukiji fish market, but it leaves me with something to look forward to when I visit next.

This time around I got to visit Fuji-Q Highlands theme park which gives you a view of Mt. Fuji and access to some of the wildest rollercoasters in the world. The coasters at this park top any other coasters I’ve been on in my time, with some boasting record-breaking Guiness Records. Be warned, the lines, even on a Monday, are annoyingly long and limited me to 4 coaster rides.

Fuji-Q

The famous crossing in Shibuya is definitely a sight to be seen, the sheer amount of people that cross the street at any given time is simply mind-boggling.

Shibuya Crossing

Of course, no trip escapes a moment of embarrassment which makes for a good story. We decided to check out Mori tower in Roppongi which has an observation deck and with great views of Tokyo and an art-gallery consisting mostly of intricately built-to-scale models of Japan’s most innovative structures. The urbanisation project was called “Metabolism”.

Here’s where my clumsiness comes into play. The model structures are placed on blocks, surrounded by a wooden step with plastic signs warning people to watch their step and not to touch the structure stuck to them. Whilst admiring one of the structures, I leant forward as if to say “oooh, how pretty” and subsequently crushed one of the signs with my right foot which ironically stated “watch your step”. Now, the initial loud noise of a breaking sign made my literally shit-a-brick thinking I’d broken some expensive artwork, and I believe the staff at the art gallery initially thought the same. Thankfully it was only a measly plastic sign and not a 60,000 Yen model structure! Phew..

Moving on from Japan and flying into Calgary via Vancouver, I experienced some of the worst ear congestion from a flight in quite a while. I guess it didn’t help that I was quite sick from Japan with a nasty cough that lasted quite a few days and is still lingering.

Nevertheless, we checked into the HI hostel in Calgary which was my first experience staying at a hostel (but not dorm-beds, which I first experienced in Fiji at Beachcomber Island). The location isn’t too bad but it seems that it was quite a mission to do simple things like get groceries or food, but it forces you to venture out into town at least. Things I had to arrange that were crucial whilst arriving were a bank-account (Bank of Montreal offered us a sweet deal), my SIN number (get there early!) and a SIM card for my mobile phone (Virgin mobile does a good post-paid deal which is month to month and you can cancel with 30 days notice, free of charge).

HI Calgary

The one place I had to visit quite often was Chinook mall as it seemed to be the best for clothes and other bits and pieces. It’s also where we arranged our SIM cards and where I picked up a down-filled coat to get me through the blistering cold weather. When someone says Canada is cold, they are not lying. Alberta in particular is FREEZING and I haven’t experienced the worst yet. So far the coldest I’ve experienced was about -12c but I’ve been told that it is going to be one of the coldest winters ever and last year they had temperatures as low as -42c!!

I met quite a lot of great people whilst staying at the hostel and I’m glad I had the opportunity to do so. I had a lot of fun and I do plan to head back to Calgary, especially to witness an Ice Hockey game and perhaps to see the annual stampede (I’ll make sure to get my plaid-shirt, cowboy boots and hat to match!). Til then, I’m off to the “STD” capital of Canada, Banff, which should be interesting!

Until then, I’ll continue my journey on the Greyhound bus towards Banff, but I probably won’t be getting any sleep after reading the disgusting horror story of Tim McClean who was innocently murdered and mutilated whilst on a Greyhound bus. Eeeek!

-Andrew

My second stay in Patong, Phuket, was not much different from the first in 2009.  The place is live every day of the week with flocks of horny expats, desperate old men, ladyboys, working-girls, promoters and a bunch of locals, mostly looking to make a buck off gullible tourists.

Nearly every night consisted of being a total booze-hound, frequenting the most popular clubs (such as Hollywood, Tiger and Seductions) as well as some random bars down Bangla road. If you’re new to this side of the world, I warn you, it’s not for the feint-hearted. It can get a little crazy in Patong, and if you’re not careful, you may find yourself watching an overweight, older lady shooting ping-pong balls as well as other various objects (or magic tricks!) from their vaginas. During my last stay, we made the mentally scarring decision to view a ping-pong show after rejecting 100s of offers earlier on in the week. It was unpleasant to see, to say the least, but the snake show at the end was scary-entertaining!

Moving on, in summary, the things I would definitely recommend you do whilst there:

• Eating at the “Wine Connection” at Jungceylon, (Korean BBQ is pretty good also)
• Checking out Fantasea (be warned, get a decent transfer, ours had no air-con and locked windows!)
• Hiring a moped and scooting around town as well as down to Kata or Surin beach
• Getting drunk at club “Hollywood”
• Eating a Nutella and cinnamon crepe from one of the street vendors on Patong Beach road
• Having a quiet lunch at the Sandwhich Shoppe (a little hard to find, but worth it)

And I’d advise you to be careful of:

• Cheats – you will get ripped off quite a lot, always negotiate down to something you’re comfortable paying, but if you have options and they don’t play nice, go elsewhere
• Ladyboys – some look extremely convincing, and having a female friend who convinces even the most ugly of ladyboys that they’re beautiful, whilst funny, may land you with an uninviting kiss on the cheek from a man-lady with a moustache (true story)
• Working girls – If you’re go out with the intention to pay, then that’s fine, but so many men unknowingly go home with a working girl only to realize she wants money and leave disappointed (I met of people on the way back from a night out who had just walked away from a girl asking for money, haha!)

Where I stayed: FunDee Boutique. The owner is a total champion, the place is very affordable, and the location is a prime. You can’t go wrong with this place.

I’ve just arrived in Tokyo, staying at a “Weekly Mansion” in Ikebukuro. It was quite affordable the room we’re staying in but it’s a bit of a let-down in terms of room quality. Not to worry, we shall make the most of this experience as Japan is always a great place to be.

Today marks the beginning of a journey with a one-way ticket overseas, embarking on an adventure of a lifetime. A long awaited trip, the idea sparked from an after-thought coming home from a 2-week holiday in Japan, with the decision that I wanted an adventure. I wanted the culture, the food, the people, more than I wanted my boring menial day-to-day grind.

The idea was to travel to Japan and become an English teacher, living like the Japanese for a while as it was something I thought I could do and something that I would enjoy. During a gym-session, I bumped into a close friend whom I’ve known for over 10 years and we discussed the idea of a working holiday, to which my friend Estelle mentioned Canada as a popular place for Australian Expats.

Canada Eh? Hell yeah. I’m an avid snowboarder, albeit, a beginner in my eyes, this was definitely something I could see myself doing for a while. Just imagine, the beauty of Canada, some of the world’s best ski resorts, wildlife and blue-lakes, not to mention friendly people and wild parties (so I’ve heard). From there, the plan was to get a job at a ski-resort, something to the likes of Whistler, Lake  Louise or Fernie, however after applying to several mountains, it wasn’t going to be as easy as we originally thought.

Luckily for myself, I rediscovered affiliate marketing 3 months prior to my departure and have been somewhat successful to date. I resigned from my day job 3 weeks before my flight and spent most my days working on campaigns in the hopes to build something sustainable and semi-auto pilot to last me the 3-weeks I would be in Thailand and Japan, or at least help me ride it out til I am settled in at the final destination.

Amongst the madness, getting prepared, building a business, planning and booking flights, hotels, insurance, applying for jobs, packing, buying  the required travel gear, I still managed to organise and host a going-away party & BBQ to farewell friends and family which was filled with booze food and music. The turn-out was great, the food was amazing (thanks Mum), my friends were all there and sure enough, one of them got drunk enough to break a chair!

Moving forward to the big day, myself and Estelle met at Tullamarine Airport for our flight out of the country, amped and excited, Estelle wisely bought a small bottle of creamy-beige Baileys (I’m Old’ Greg!) and I managed to scoop up a good deal on Armani Acqua Di Gio and some DOPE Carerra sunglasses from the Duty Free store.

On the flight over from Melbourne to BKK

The day before I was close to getting business class seats at an upgrade of $199 each as it was a special offer from an outbound call-centre. Unfortunately we missed out on the deal but we were happily surprised to see the seat we got on our first flight had extra leg-room! Win!

On the flight over, I reminisced about Thailand and Lebanon showing off my travel pics and it just made me realize how much I am going to enjoy the trip!

The first stop Bangkok Thailand. The crazy nightlife, food and culture of Thailand.

Post Thailand is back to Japan for some early-morning Sushi, Fuji-Q Highlands and the nightlife and shopping of Shibuya.

After that we’re headed to Calgary airport and we hope to find a place to rent around Banff for the winter to engage in some winter sports, amazing surroundings and party like it’s 2007 (I was much more of a partier that year).

- Signing Off

Andrew

Here’s a quick and dirty fix for that annoying issue/bug where the menu appears below the screen where it’s not accessible..I’m yet to submit this suggestion to Sitecore myself – actually, I am not sure this is even an issue on 6.4 – I do know 6.3 and earlier have this problem, so here’s a quick fix that I discovered.

=====================================================================

Go to Website\sitecore\shell\Controls\InternetExplorer.js

Around line 333, Change:

case "right":

x = ctl.offsetWidth - 3;

y = 0

break;

TO

case "right":

x = ctl.offsetWidth - 3;

y = -height + 33;

break;

You then get this:

Much Nicer