BAD LUCK CHUCK

Well, this whole vancouver thing is not starting out all so well... You imagine when you first move to a new place, country, it not going to be easy. Finding a job, friends, a place to live. But when you add bad luck into the guacamole dip, you get a whole new circle of wonderful issues to content with.

So the job hunt has reaped one job to date, and still waiting on the second job.. yes.. still waiting... But I expect that now I have heard other peoples stories with the job hunting. Okay so the job at this point is great. I love it, worknig the bar making new friends dressing suave.. 'lovin it'. But there is a downside to my new found enjoyment at this point at least. As I mentioned earlier in my bloggy life I live outside of the city right!! okay so I made the decision to move in to the city. So that is exactly what I am doing.. moving into the city. I gave notice to my roommate and as expected he wasn't joyous of my decision after only a couple of weeks, but I have to look out for number one right... Its selfish but being kind doesn't pay the bills... Therefore that night, he invited me to his brothers' place for beers and to watch the hockey. After an interesting train ride we arrive to his brothers apartment... (The brother who he's caught sleeping with his ex girlfriend not 2 weeks prior) Sat down and had some beers during the game. Night progressed then out of nowhere, he sparks up at me, mild in the beginning, then he started getting aggressive. Long story short, he was punching on fisty cuff style in the hallway with his brother, who is obviously still the villain in this dudes demented world right now. He left and went home but was punched by a transport cop for obviously being a complete shiny tool. I at that point, then realized that I had been living wit the guy that on the outside seems cool, but has some major fundamental issues, especially when it comes to alcohol.

I didn't feel comfortable coming home, thinking he may try and start with me, and I'm not that kind of person, I use my words, but words don't work with someone of this personality. Believe me, i've tried. I then concluded I need to get out of here ASAP. Making a dash for the proverbial door I made some calls to get a place downtown so I don't have to be around this while I am working and until the ends of the month. I have found a place in downtown with a great guy, and looking forward to living there, but in the meantime it is a case of finding a place momentarily until the 1st if January. It could not come quick enough.

The story doesn't end there though, as I have had to stay downtown the past few days due to lack of transport after I finish work out to burnaby, I only have seen my roommate a couple of times in the past week or so... Getting home today ready to just pack my belongings and head to the city, he (the jerk) roommate tells me he entered my room yesterday without my permission, stole my ipod and it was in turn conveniently stolen from him on a train last night. I know you have intuition, and I felt it last night that I needed to take my ipod... But I didn't and now its gone. Thing is, this guy then has the hide to tell me that because I am leaving without giving 30 days he has to keep my deposit... Cool,, keep it... but then he says I need to pay further for the next month to cover me leaving earlier... Now I am no expert, but I think at the point you enter a persons private space and steal from them, you surrender all rights of leverage with a situation like this... Agree or disagree.. tell me what you think... But a nice welcoming to Vancouver... bring on the good luck.. hard and fast like a shot of absinth on fire...

1 down, 1 more to go!!

Rain, snow, couch-surfing meetings and depleting funds... Oh the joys of starting fresh in a new country. I have been spending so long in the local cafes and finally they remember what I drink. Sad I know, it took them 2 weeks of solid harassment to remember my very simple order.

The light is shining with 1 job secured and now just waiting on the main job. Starting thursday night I will be a bartender again at a nice little lounge bar on Granville ave. Not the exact place I was hoping for but it will be much needed money for me. I am also in the search of a new apartment, well kind of. I have already found an apartment in the city centre, but I now need to look with my new roommate for a 2 brm in the city. Which at htis time of the year will be easier said then done. Searching for a 2 brm in Yaletown, downtown or westend is going to be crazy let alone on the budget we hope to find. But these are the joys of renting right.

At least the locale at this point is much better for job hunting, working etc. I am excited to start socializing again and having some what of a life here in Vancouver. The first social event I have attended in a while was last night. A couch-surfing meeting where I was able to talk with like minded people about.. well you guest it.. travel... I am always talking about travel.. But I do need to remember that I am here for long term now, so I can't get wound up in the travel world too much, otherwise I will want to plan holidays before I even have accumulated them. Never fear though... the path is clearer, beside the rain and snow and homeless people... its looking brighter for life in the great white north... I love life... haha

Job Hunt Day 10

Who told me that Job hunting in Vancouver was going to be easy, they should be slapped with a rubber thong. I am into my 10th day of job searching today, and still awaiting the results of my previous job interview at the Fairmont. I really want this position, because it will give me an opportunity to redeem myself in a directed job role with career prospects.

The weather is getting colder, and I feel that it will snow soon. It looks pretty grey outside, and I could probably do with some snow for something different, but it would be better if I was on a hill and had a snowboard attached to my feet. The feeling of the frigid air rushing past my face, cheeks numb and eyes watering with the chilled current passing under my goggles. Yes, I do miss that feeling, but I can assure myself It will happen when I finally get a job.

I think the Starbucks staff must know me by now as a regular cheap ass, who comes in everyday to spend hours just checking emails, and sipping slowing on my $2.00 coffee... Dark roast drip coffee. Probably the point in which I ask myself, 'what am I doing'?. drinking this rubbish, I think I may be better off drinking nescafè instead. But I put myself through this torture for the sake of free wi-fi as my house doesn't have it.

I think the biggest problem I have is this ego of mine when it comes to job hunting, what I feel I could and could not do. I am such a snob at times, thinking I am too good to do medial jobs. Well, i think I have to kick that attitude to the curb and realise that it's any money that pays the bills, and at this point, beggars can't be choosers.

This is my quote for the day, therefore I will start to apply for jobs that are available, not the ones I necessarily want to do. Is this the right attitude? I have to be confident and believe in my own potential, but its hard when you can't see that as the only thing getting you through. Man... I just need this position at the Fairmont then I will be happier... Believe young Jedi and it will happen...

AND THE JOB HUNT CONTINUES!!!

The conclusion... This is my noted diary from my facebook...

Well its that time again in the traveling Life of Tim Leyshan to write some form of semi-conclusion to this chapter before my next journey.

I want to apologise to anyone that is reading this and have already been overfilled with my journey so far, your more than welcome to ditch the wagon at this point But I hope you can read on... The story thus far... 104 days, 18 countries $10,000 3245 photos later, I have finally arrived back to sunny Canada.

This journey has taken me from the derelict streets of Phnom Penh to the brilliant cliffs of the norwegian fjords. The mystical marshlands of estonia to the majestic dunes of the western Sahara. I have met more people in 4 months than I have in 4 years. I have camped on more couches, walked more distances, witnessed more sunsets and eaten more food than I could have ever wished. My photos are just an introduction to the fulfillment I have gained from having done this trip this time in my life.

My life leading up to this point was... well what you could say.. 'very complicated' to put it in the simplest form. Having had mixed feelings of my previous traveling to finally have the freedom, motivation and open minded attitude to embrace and explore the world in a whole new way.

I began traveling through a network of like minded people called Couchsurfing which opened my eyes to the world of hospitality, and kind people everywhere, in hopes I could not only save some money, but bring down some of those pre conceived stereotypes between cultures. This was definitely a success, as I have made good friends I look forward to joining again in the future and continue our friendships. I spent a total of 15 days in Hostels throughout the entire 104 days. I cooked and mingled and immersed myself into the local culture by just hanging with my hosts and their friends, attempting to learn the languages and understanding the diverse ways of living.

I have learned a lot about myself, respect for other people in new ways and enabled myself to let go of those inhabitions that restrict you from being yourself and just being me. I can't even begin to describe the diverse array of activities I have had the privilege to take part in over the past few months... I recommend viewing my facebook profile pics and you will get an idea.

You are probably wanting to know what country I thought was the best I have visited, now that is more complicated that you think. I have now visited 40 countries and counting (I thought it was more lol...), but this trip was definitely on the highlight list of best countries visited in my life. One of the stand outs was definitely Morocco followed by the east coast of Norway, Eastern Baltics and Portugal. I had missed some of the places I planned to visit this trip in sacrifice to see other places and to stay longer in some of the destinations I visited. I think I made the right choices. I also had a first on this trip for me, having touched down in northern africa, I have now completed all main civilized continents on earth excluding the polar ice caps.

I still have a dream of visiting 100 countries before I am 30, but I am going to base myself here in Canada from here on in. Now there are some of you who are thinking, and who know of my past few years story, and no... is the answer, I no longer have reasons to have to stay in Australia beside family (they invented planes for a good reason), hence the reason why I am traveling and will be basing myself in Canada for a more prolonged period of time now.

My next journey will hopefully be to Alaska in the summer of 2010 with hopes to cross the Arctic circle and mingle with the local fauna.. i.e. Polar bears and reindeer, then I hope to complete another of my dreams in the summer of 2011 which will be taking a rather extensive bike ride from one side of canada to the other in hopes to raise money and awareness of impoverish countries in need of support, education, housing and basic emergency needs focused around children in Africa, Asia and Central America therefore I hope to get foundation support through UNICEF. This will be a huge task, but I would greatly appreciate any support in organization and sponsorship assistance etc in the buildup to Summer 2011. It seems like a long way away, but I know best at how quickly time flies when you are busy and working toward something you enjoy. This is the first time I have made an official announcement regarding this project but in order to make it a reality I need to make it vocal and known to people, therefore I am more than happy and open to suggestions, ideas support etc to make this happen. I would have ideally liked to do the ride this summer but I wont be ready with sponsorship and I need to get set up here in vancouver first.

So that is an update on my life thus far, I am looking forward to hearing back from you soon regarding how you are, families, jobs, travel stories anything really... And I will continue to update my profile and soon be configuring a blog in anticipation to raise enough attention to help with getting my fundraising project off the ground... Inshallah (God willing)... Arabic.. This is the only word I remember in Arabic... haha

In conclusion, if anyone has any need for advice on travel, organizing of holidays, not sure of places to visit, feel free to shoot me an email for free advice, I am more than happy to provide you with some secret squirrel info to help you out.

Until the next time the jet fuel flows and the wheels are turning... Keep safe, take care and Hope you all have a fantastic christmas.

Adios

Your local Nomad Tim

euro 2009

Morocco... I found you beneath that dusty sandy and exoticly smelling carpet of the south... This was the beginning of one adventure that will come to close being ONE of the best adventures of my traveling life so far. Touchdown marrakech on the morning of the 9th. First noticable thing I loved... The warm weather and clear skys... First step... explaination of the trip so far... Ok I board the plan in Seville... stuck up an unusual conversation with this hippy/surfy Quebecer... Seems cool.... but he stunk... aside from that... I figured it was nice to chat, and we talked the entire 1hour flight to marrakech, he was telling me of his travls so far, and asking me about mine.. great happy chappy... We then traded off ideas of places we were traveling to... for me.. I had no idea.. I had done no research and my lonely planet guide was too unhealthy to help me out... So I just rambled off some random places I thought I might visit. Not really understanding of the geographical locations of these places combined with my anorexic timeframe... But hell I didn't think he would notice... thankfully I think he was stoned so he didn't notice. Touch down morocco and it felt like a rush of emotion came over me.. I coould have cried.. ah well not really but for me htis was a special day touching down in africa now having offically been to every main continent on earht except for the polar ice caps... And yes.. I am considering.. but uncertain...

I actually knelt down and kissed the ground.. i was surprised they let me in the country for doing that.. people have been arrested for doing much less... On route to clear customs and I was continuing my fruitless convo with frenchy and I passed though immigration from the churpy immigration offer... and no that was sarcasim... the only place in the world they are churpy is in singapore... Gathered my bag and waited for hippy dude... I just wanted to say goodbye as a courtesy for filling in time as my IPOD has died before the lfight.. and I had no other entertainment.. Nah that sounds horrible.. but it was kinda true. So I continued to wait... 45 minutes later no hippy...?? Where was he, he was right behind me in line... I never saw him again.. Maybe they thought he was me, kissing the tarmack... Who knows... but what ever... I is probably in a better place now.. or in a moroccan prision...!! poor guy... if i could remember his name I would contact his family.. but.. he was just inflight entertainment... so anyways... moving on...
Marrakech... what a sensory overload... I caught my first taxi to the main plaza and the name strangley escapes me much like most of place places in morocco. Found a cheap hotel and camped for a few hours as I was so tired from the night before and that lengthy 1 hour flight...

But then after about 4 hours of kitty napping, it was time to put on my tether leash and walk around the vaciniity of the market square, not really wanting to venture past the tourist lines incase someone spoke to me.. And honestly I didnt want to talk... I stand out like a sore thumb already being blonde... I tried to do my best inconspicuious discuise which consisted of a cap, a hoody and a grumpy look, but I think it was the billabong boardshorts that still gave it away that I was Austrlalian... These people are good... I wish I could tell by just looking at someone where they were from and their shoe size... I was much impressed.. But still.. no sale for me.. I was not dooped into that.. no way.. not the master of south east asian markets.. i knew exactly how to hold my own... until I came to the food parlours.. I crumbled like a cheap cooky... I went for the first person that dragged me by the arm and pushed me into his restaurant...

Admitely the food was nice.. But I was in for some gastronomical orgasims in the near future so I had no idea was I was in for... I just assumed that if it was made by a moroccan it must be moroccan.. Ha.. little did I know right!!
I was impressed by the crazy hussle and bussle of city.. It felt so alive and the smells, sights and people just made htis place scary and exciting in the same breath. I loved it... But I was soon to be overloaded with much more the very next day. Emailed my Host from Lisbon who too was in Morocco and we met up along with her boyfriend and decided in about an hour over a nice glass or fresh squeezed orange juice that we would hire a car and travel south eastern morocco together... And we did... We found a cheap car, stocked up on beer and wine and some food and headed east... Across the mountains we roamed like true travellers stopping in remote towns and villages on route to some amazing destinations like the cascades, ait bin hassou kasba.. which by the way.. we 'ROCKED'... never mind if that joke went over your head... We met awesome locals who took us to some amazing places, and experienced some local lifestyles which otherwise would have been impossible... We drank tea... ate bread, nibbled on cans of sardines... eh.. yeah i know but when i rome right!!! Slpet in Berber tents, learnt some french and arabic... Got ripped off my our friendly neighbourhood mechanic, got hassled but many beggers for food, money and other valuables... Ripped off a local kid which I think Karma will have something in stall for me when i least expect it... But i honestly has no other money...!!
Drank more tea... and watched a million lights in the sky, a thousand sunsets and 2 sunrises... ok it was only about 3 sunsets okay.. it sounded more romantic... Road camels through a perfect sand storm and wrecked my camera... But I admit I was very brown before the sandvblasting.. so thats why I am very white again... eh... well the kid who spoke no english believed me...! Witnessed a monkey in a dress, a snake dance and made some great friends along the way... The magic of morocco begins when you take that step out of the city and head for the hills orl ike we did for toumbuktou... Yeah its a place apparently. Word of advice, forget all your modern connections at home, forget internet, cell fones and ipods... appreciate ever little thing you see... Learn and appreciate the culture even if you don't agree with or understand completely and love the simplicity of the true moroccan culture. This is where you truely finds yourself immursed... There is so much I could say about this place... A nine day trip climbing mountains in tommy hilfiger shoes, exploring gorges in thongs and appreciating the silence of the desert when I stopped talking... All I can tell you is if there is a place on earth that will challenge and evoke your senses, beliefs, thoughts and emotions, morocco is got to be high up on that list of things to do and see. But as soon as it began, it was over... back to the hussle of marrakech, technology and reality as what I know... I was ready for my trip to conclude.. with one last stop before finally getting to my new home... I felt that this destination was and is the coolest place to visit... And learn some french... it helps... A LOT!!!

euro 2009

I finally arrived in Portugal, ahead of my prediction and glad I did, itr was beautiful in Lisbon. The culture, history and landscape is so historical and beautiful. I Met some amazing people including the belgians and my amazing CS host Nanda. I had the opportunity to hango ut with locals at a traditional dance night and music, one which luckily I didnt partake in as I may have not been welcomed back to portugal again as my dancing is not exactly what you call what I do... Its more like the loser 2 lefdt feet shuffle... Popular in most small towns and sports bars with people over hte age of 40 and given up on caring what they look like to themselves andd others... Yeah that describes my technique in a nutshell.
It was a great night though and thankfully they had beer there so I made up for the lack of participation by keeping the barperson busy.

I spent most of my days in Lisbon wlaking the streets getting lost and trying to imagine life here in various stages of history. I know, what your thinking, but its actually enjoyable.. well at least to me it is. You feel when you stand infront a 700 year old monument, very insignificant to anything.. How many other tourists visited this same spot, and why is it significant now, what was it like in the hay day of this area. Europe is like this, where you can forget where you are and invision being a part of this society in its past form.

The places to eat and the things to see in portugal are unique to portugal, and it has a nice flavor about culture. Compared with the likes of spainish culture I have found.. the portugese are a little more outgoing and dont mind if a tourist trys to hang out with them for the day... But all in all enough of the poetic dribble i have just delt you with as I am trying to impress with my lack of knowledge for creative writings, Portugal is worth the time, and defiently worth the extra it costs to get there. But my time was shoort and I was having to then make my way to morocco via seville. Easier said than done, I can assure you. 8 hours later I arrive in seville in the dark and it was once again like every other time on this trip a mission to find my hostel.. I really should invest in a GPS system, but in some ways its nice when you get lost, because you feel like you discover knew things you may not have seen otherwise. Just not soo great when you are tired and carrying 30kgs of junk around. AKA my life... Seville was a short stay, but definely a worthy stay. Gave me a nice intro into the life of mid southern spain and its kind of archetecture which like most spainish places I have visited is much the same. But it was nice to see and I have to say seville is one of the cleanest cities I have ever seen. Much like Vienna if I was to compare another euro city... They bascially have street cleaners working 24/7. But the architecture is so well preserved in Seville that its almost too good and you forget that some of the buildings are actually relaly old. I felt it kind of detracts from the character, but it was a very nice city to visit. I recommend heading there if so just for a couple of days, and you can see bascially what you need to see there. But the next mission was to get to Morocco.. I wanted to stay in seville for about 3 days but the flights to marrakech would not allow that. I had to either leave after 2 days or 5 days so i couldnt afford 5 days in a city like seville.. although great.. its a seen once kinda place.. I had to have a change from europe and get to the great unknown of Morocco and face my new nemisis of entering the last great continent on my agenda... I panic all the time, but I think i rushed this one for a good reason.. 129 euros later, I booked my flight 6 hours before I flew to marrakech and just went with it... It was that or stay in seville on the euro for 3 more days and be over it and less time in morocco... So my little voice in my head said.. just do it... So i booked the flight and headed the very next morning to marrakech. LOOK OUT AFRICA...

euro 2009

Hello again, and i do apologise for the late replies if you are one of my devoted readers... Which by the way if you are a devoted weekly reader... (get a f@#$ing life) haha no just kidding but its pretty sad if you can't find anything else interesting to look at or read in the world... SO ENOUGH OF THAT THEN!!! I have been having soo much fun in the past 2 WEEKS... where do i start.. lets turn back the clock and remember the date of 12th October 2009.. it was a cold brisk evening on the rocky shores of the latvian coastline when, a spark of light glistened like a beacon through the fogs of the harbour... eh... ok thats just something i made up.. that didn't really happen.. but it was actually really freaking cold in Riga... ok so after getting dropped to riga from my friend Maarja which is the greatest girl in the world for doing so after I missed my bus.. you may have read in the past episode... Well now i was planning to meet with a Russian friend 'NATASHA' from Moscow and hang out for a week while still heading south in the Baltic's. Long story short, met natasha and her friend in cuba a few years ago, and i said if i am ever in this part of the world i will come and visit... well i didn't go to russia but she did come to riga.. so it worked out... We walked the streets of riga, looked at some cool churches in old town... watched a 3d movie.. you know the usual things you do when u have a week of travel with someone.. haha Ok so I introduced Natasha to my world of Couchsufing.. which I kinda though was an absolute riot... lol... I completely didnt think that if someone only get a short amount o holidays per year they generally want to lux it up a bit and stay in nice hotels and eat at nice restaurants.. etc... ah... well I hope you had as much fun as I did Natasha but the last couple of nights where luxury... haha. This experiement went well as we met this amazing girl and her family by the name of agne... I wont even try to attempt her surname... just google it or something.. haha we met her and stayed the first night at her house with her 2 other flat-mates.. we had a nice evening, then the next day we headed to trakù to Agne's family home which is beautiful by the way out in the country. I originally believed Agne lived in a castle, but I just misinterpreted everything about her email.. which was in perfect english... ah yeah so agne decided to take us for a hike into the 'wilderness' of lithuania (yeah i was scared) and waiting for someone too come up and abduct us, but Agne assured us it was gong to be perfectly fine... The 'tour' was to take about 30 minutes... turned into about 2 hours... we watched a beautiful sunset... just after the snow stopped and rain prevailed.. and eh... then we had to get back... hence the sun already setting... we only had my pathetic little light on my cell phone so it was time to hurry. I could hear the packs of hungry wolves closing in and wanting to feast on our icicle bodies... Well ok there were no wolves, but there were definitely some crazy ass dogs somewhere. As we were freezing, wet and hungry we made our way for the end of the path, along the way agne was explaining that if we were lost and had to stay the night we could feed on these little plants called Rabbit Cabbage... Ah i think she got mistaken with clover.. it just looked like little clovers.. haha And you would need about 50 000 to make a snack... mmm tasty.. So luckily we didn't get stuck in the forrest, we made it out eventually but it was black as black when we arrived to the house. Next day we explored trakù. Now, you can't get lost in this little town there is literally one street.. and we nearly got lost... don't ask me how.. otherwise I wouldn't have got lost would I... hmmm the castle was amazing.. and very well maintained. The town was quiet, but the people are very friendly there. It has a lot of history too which was nice to learn about, just don't ask me to repeat any history... eh... I need time to remember.. huh!! Time was coming to a close before Natasha was to be deported back to mother russia and i was heading to warsaw to stay with an australian guy.. yes thats right... I know what your thinking... (Deported) ok she was just catching a train ok... oh and yeah 16000kms to hang out with another australian.. so why am I moving to vancouver again...??? We spend the remaining nights at a cool hotel in vilnius old town near the gates of dawn... or what immature people like myself like to refer to as the crack of dawn... haha... please don't all laugh at once... The eve of our departures, I decided to cook some food for everyone, natasha, agne and their roomates as a thank you for having us... I hope it was ok... I think the potato bake was more like an insult... It took about a week to cook the damn thing, then i burnt it... and eh well... The girls happily ate it, but I think they were wishing they had a dog to feed it too under the table haha. On the other hand.. the creamy mushroom and whitewine fench country chicken went well... Just wish i could have matched with the damn potatos. Never mind next time... The evening was a hoot with laughter, laughter and more laugher about nothing in particular.. I think I used regular mushrooms... eh... I picked them myself from the forrest walk little did anyone know, haha.. eh just kidding I wouldn't have thought if that quick enough... Good bye, fair well.. ill see again in the future, where the words used when departing from natasha, agne and vilnius en route to Poland. Now poland is part of the EU, they are an emerging progressive society and they are proud people. I like the thought of this. Well at least before I entered the country. WARNING!!! be very careful when traveling on a train on your own across country boarders. This is what happened.. I was tired and I have a gimp knee (and no not like pulp fiction kinda gimp) more like ex footballer too old, should have looked after his injuries better kinda gimp. Yeah so I have had problems with it, since I am walking a lot and usually upto 3-4 kms per day with about 25-30 kgs depending on what animals decide to hide in my bags at any time. So my feet where on the edge of the seat in a cabin.. on my own and yes i should not have had my feet on the seats... I know this, but I did it and there was no signs saying not to do it. well at least no pictures.. so hear is a lame joke for you... Guess which part relates to me... Ok so 2 polish boarder police officers walk into a cabin and abuse (verbally) this young australian guy for having is feet on the seat. In polish of course.. The australian was embarrassed and obviously sorry removed his feet from the seats. This made the police angrier.. but continued to ask for his passport. He hands it to them and the second police officer walks up, not more than 3 minutes after the first, fat officer has told this aussie to take his feet off the seat, and continues to yell at him again for having had them there.. Ok so if he didn't get it in polish he needed to hear it again in broken english.. Ok, so he gets it.. NO FEET ON SEATS.. finished... there was awkward silence for a moment, then the police wrote some things on a piece of paper and asked the man for polish money. 'do you polish'... ah.. yeah thats exactly what I thought when i first heard that... Ah sorry come again miastro... DO U HAVE POLISH MONEY... oh thank god.. it was money he wanted... but no said the australian...He explained he had just come from lithuania, he had no polish money yet... YOU PAY 50ZL NOW!!! Now the aussie knew you didn't need to pay, but what would they do... arrest him...? ahh... no they yell at him AGAIN.... for the 4th time about having feet on seats and walk away... Now this is not actually a joke as you can tell this shit happened to a friend of a friend of mine... huh!! But the drama of my adventures did not expire there in the train on the boarder... Because they were destined to follow me all the way to warsaw... not the police, just my string of bad luck... Because next I was told to get off the train at the wrong stop. It is difficult to find the names of the stations when you are on the opposite side of the train, and the only sign is about 200 meters away.. I had to get off the train to check, double check and by the time I finally found the sign.. the train was leaving.. and I was ofcourse at the wrong stop... It was warsaw, but I was about 3 stops or 10 kms from where I needed to be. Now remember I have no money in polish so I need a bank... This station is a bit derelict.. the atm convientently has no money and the information person doesn't speak english.. Maybe there will be a bank on the outer building. Ah no just an old man about 60-70 getting beaten up by police. The police seem real nice in this part of the world.. Hha... So I walked back inside, it was currnetly about -1 C. and I was hungry and just wanted to go to sleep at this point, which i considered doing in a quiet, out-of-the-way area just away from the crowds... But I knew i'd get woken by police, beaten and asked for money again.. so that wasn't a good idea.. I figured I needed to try again with my crap little map in hand I showed the ticket women where I wanted to go, but she was of no help... Luckily an old polish man standing right next to me offered to help.. But he kinda looked like the man from Hostel... Luckily he wasn't eating chicken salad at the time, but he offered to take me to get a ticket... I told him i have no money as the atm won't work, and I can only pay by credit... He said he would pay for me to travel there to the city, direct me to the train track and see me on my way... And thats exactly what he did. This man was a godsend, i was already late for meeting with my cs host Paulina. So they told me I needed to meet them at 'the palm tree' oh so easy, the palm tree... Im thinking a restaurant or bar called the palm tree... No literally there is a big plastic palm tree in warsaw where i had to catch a tram to, but I just thought it was a tree and didn't recognise the connection. I waited and finally met with Paulina, and as normal... we where in town already. i had 2 bags and a pet rabbit (ok so there wasn't a rabbit, but it would be pretty cool traveling with a rabbit don't you think?) so why not go to a bar and drink with all my bags... it turned out to be just the right thing I needed.. oh and some zaepikanka... i have no idea if thats close or not... but when you are hungry these things are cheap... and huge... like a long bread roll halved and topped with cheese, sauce and some other things.. probably best not to know... but it was good... Made it back safe and sound to Paulina's home with the other couchsurfer staying there from dublin and sat up talking for a few hours before finally heading to bed to then get up about 6 hours later to head back into the city and meet my new host raymond (from australia). But first I had to catch a bus in the rain... the bus driver short changed me.. but what ever...!! and then i woke up raymond 1/2 hour early and i don't think he was too happy... But we ended up having fun, walking around the city.. Sitting in cafes and people watching, eating street vendor foods and talking... I actually have finally met someone in the world that talks as much if not more than I do... I even talk in my sleep but Raymond... wow he is like the talker of all talkers... I feel very inadequate and slightly lost for words in his presence... But we had loads of fun, he gave me loads of useful information about the city and history before parting ways for me to head to krakow.. But thats for another story.. So i will leave you with this word of advice.... TAKE YOUR F@#$ING FEET OF THE GOD FOR SAKEN SEAT DAMMIT!!!!!! adios until next time shushu shushuk

euro 2009

When I landed on shore of Estonia, I had little information guiding my decisions of things to do or see in this country. Making my way to my CS's house about 20 kms out of the city, this was my first challenge. Having just left Finland and only just grasped enough words to say goodbye and thank you, I was now completely thrown by the new language again and decided I would just see how far english would get me before I would need to resort to body and sign language oh and public humiliation that goes along with that.

I arrived at Laura's home, which is set in a forested area on the outskirts of the city with my ever growing backpack and stumbled up to meet her. We hit off straight away and from there on in the 'WELCOME TO ESTONIA' was about to begin... Now hold on to your seats because estonia, although a small nation, they have a lot of heart, passion and pride (well, mostly haha) and they really know how to show a kangaroo a good time.

First night was a house party/cocktail party, I forgot my cocktail dress so instead resorted for my eskimo suit instead... as prior to the party, Laura and her family invited me to their grandfathers birthday and anniversary. Which I might add was a fantastic opportunity to listen to some interesting stories...eh in estonian... im sure they were good... oh and the food was great.. I love estonian food... All fed and ready to go, we ventured to the party in the Old town of the city. Drinking, socialising and making new friends was just the beginning for this young joey... as the party lead to more than just drinking and laughing... The next part of the adventure was the recovery.. oh and heading to Tartu for traditional country style estonian life... And ah picking apples... Now I am kind of use to doing some form of manual labour... but eh... Im on holidays.. and I think i definetly worked my fair share in the picking department of tartu apple factory on the 'Saks' family farm. I even learned to juggle... Yep.. well ok I didnt learn to juggle... i was just... ahh practicing... right paul... Anyways... The traditional food and new flavor sensations such as smoked chicken now my new addiction we had more partying to come and more people to befriend in order to make my stay in Estonia complete.

The next party was a house warming party where I met some new great people, and thankfully to this point nearly everyone was estonian so it made for a great, authentic experience. After leaving this party and taking our glasses with us (sorry kadri) we headed back to the farm for a new day and a new adventure. It was time to explore a little of the town and country, lakes and parks before heading back to Tallinn which was about 300 kms away. We finally made it back and just in time for some sleep before planning to then head into town to stay with Paul in old town. Pauls apartment is located right in the middle of all the action, a huge space and cool amenities like a huge spa and sauna. I was made feel very welcome and this was to be my home for the next week.

While staying in Estonia, I was ordered to experience a traditional sauna, one in which smoke is good and clothes are forbidden... Ah yeah so I hear its common to be beaten with spiky tree branches and shit... But as they say... when in rome.. right!! After 100 lashings and a cold shower.. the parties weren't over... From here on in it was time to start seeing Tallinn... I met progressively each a new challenge and experience which was fantastic. From walks around the old town at night, to home cooked meals, drinking cider dressed as a gothic femme fatale or just relaxing in a huge garden filled with Candles and live music. The memories of Estonia will be ones I will remember forever...

Estonia has had a black history, one which as risen from the ashes and shone like a newly polished diamond. From a seemingly endless battle for freedom to the devastation of a nation much like, if not worse than that of the Holocaust. If you don't understand what I am talking about, please research estonian history and learn this for yourselves. I have seen people with an obvious distrust for outside existence, but once you crack that firm stern exterior, you will find the most kind hearted and passionate people on this planet. My experience with such a culture has made me more aware of what I have and had, and although all things relative, I could never understand the devastation and hardship which has faced this beautiful country for so long. Yet like all that history has shown us, these issues, events and chapters only carve the face of that country and their people. Estonia is a country not to be missed... to all my good friends I have made on my travels here I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you again somewhere in the world... Until next time...

euro 2009

When I landed on shore of Estonia, I had little information guiding my decisions of things to do or see in this country. Making my way to my CS's house about 20 kms out of the city, this was my first challenge. Having just left Finland and only just grasped enough words to say goodbye and thank you, I was now completely thrown by the new language again and decided I would just see how far english would get me before I would need to resort to body and sign language oh and public humiliation that goes along with that.

I arrived at Laura's home, which is set in a forested area on the outskirts of the city with my ever growing backpack and stumbled up to meet her. We hit off straight away and from there on in the 'WELCOME TO ESTONIA' was about to begin... Now hold on to your seats because estonia, although a small nation, they have a lot of heart, passion and pride (well, mostly haha) and they really know how to show a kangaroo a good time.

First night was a house party/cocktail party, I forgot my cocktail dress so instead resorted for my eskimo suit instead... as prior to the party, Laura and her family invited me to their grandfathers birthday and anniversary. Which I might add was a fantastic opportunity to listen to some interesting stories...eh in estonian... im sure they were good... oh and the food was great.. I love estonian food... All fed and ready to go, we ventured to the party in the Old town of the city. Drinking, socialising and making new friends was just the beginning for this young joey... as the party lead to more than just drinking and laughing... The next part of the adventure was the recovery.. oh and heading to Tartu for traditional country style estonian life... And ah picking apples... Now I am kind of use to doing some form of manual labour... but eh... Im on holidays.. and I think i definetly worked my fair share in the picking department of tartu apple factory on the 'Saks' family farm. I even learned to juggle... Yep.. well ok I didnt learn to juggle... i was just... ahh practicing... right paul... Anyways... The traditional food and new flavor sensations such as smoked chicken now my new addiction we had more partying to come and more people to befriend in order to make my stay in Estonia complete.

The next party was a house warming party where I met some new great people, and thankfully to this point nearly everyone was estonian so it made for a great, authentic experience. After leaving this party and taking our glasses with us (sorry kadri) we headed back to the farm for a new day and a new adventure. It was time to explore a little of the town and country, lakes and parks before heading back to Tallinn which was about 300 kms away. We finally made it back and just in time for some sleep before planning to then head into town to stay with Paul in old town. Pauls apartment is located right in the middle of all the action, a huge space and cool amenities like a huge spa and sauna. I was made feel very welcome and this was to be my home for the next week.

While staying in Estonia, I was ordered to experience a traditional sauna, one in which smoke is good and clothes are forbidden... Ah yeah so I hear its common to be beaten with spiky tree branches and shit... But as they say... when in rome.. right!! After 100 lashings and a cold shower.. the parties weren't over... From here on in it was time to start seeing Tallinn... I met progressively each a new challenge and experience which was fantastic. From walks around the old town at night, to home cooked meals, drinking cider dressed as a gothic femme fatale or just relaxing in a huge garden filled with Candles and live music. The memories of Estonia will be ones I will remember forever...

Estonia has had a black history, one which as risen from the ashes and shone like a newly polished diamond. From a seemingly endless battle for freedom to the devastation of a nation much like, if not worse than that of the Holocaust. If you don't understand what I am talking about, please research estonian history and learn this for yourselves. I have seen people with an obvious distrust for outside existence, but once you crack that firm stern exterior, you will find the most kind hearted and passionate people on this planet. My experience with such a culture has made me more aware of what I have and had, and although all things relative, I could never understand the devastation and hardship which has faced this beautiful country for so long. Yet like all that history has shown us, these issues, events and chapters only carve the face of that country and their people. Estonia is a country not to be missed... to all my good friends I have made on my travels here I wish you all the best and look forward to seeing you again somewhere in the world... Until next time...

euro 2009

Hello and welcome back, another glorious week of adventures to enthraw you with... After arriving into Helsinki at 10am I was ready for some relaxing finnish culture. Sauna... maybe... I met with Harri my CS host at the ferry terminal and we headed to his apartment in the centre of helsinki. Was a long walk, or atleast when you are extremely hung over it feels like very long walk and also when you are carrying about 30kgs of weight... Why did I shop for heavy winter gear so early.. haha But apart from that.. We made it to his apartment and I felt the need to sleep the first day away. I met the other cs'er there who was from israel... I refer to her as the quintessential example of a sloth... in the kindest way possible.. haha Won't bore with her details.. Lets just say she has no money and shouldn't have been traveling beacause I was sick of her eatin my food... hmmm yeah that about does it. Anyways, Harri.. I hope she left eventually... Ok.. moving on.. I spent about 3 days in helsinki walking the streets and immersing myself into this very different culture. I was at first unsure about what the finnish would be like... I felt they would be much like the other scandinavian countries.. But no way... they are very different.. they sound very different and they act... well they act kinda the same.. but they are so much different culturally. I learnt a lot about the finnish in the short time I was there.. I never even knew they were occupied by both Sweden and Russia at periods.. Hence the reasoning behind their very russian sounding accents... But don't tell the Finnish that..They hate when you say that... I found out the hard way... hmm lol.

So I spent a few days exploring, hanging out with my host harri and just tlaking as per usual... I think thats pretty much all I do these days is talk... and talk and talk... blaaaahhh blaaahhh blaahhh... i even get tired of me talking... But when you have a story.. you gotta tell it right... hmm maybe... So I visited the zoo on my of my days through the city.. i walked about 15 klm for that day trying to find it... but i found it.. it was on a small island in the harbour.. and I was under the impression it would have Moose... its finland.. ofcourse they have moose... Ah no... no moose.. everything else.. even kangaroos but no flamin moose... I love moose.. but then when i witnessed a reindeer nearly climb a fence.. i figured maybe that why they don't have moose..because they just cant get high enough fences... These animals are smart and they will find a way out... Lucky they live on an island... But yeah it was a nice day.. It only rained well... ok the sun only came out for about 10 minutes but it was nice when it did... So once my journey was complete in helsinki... it was time to head to Tampere.. Tampere is located about 2 hours north west of Helsinki and is situated on a strip of lands between 2 beautiful lakes... Rather splendid... hmm Yeah its a nice city in other words... Lots of old factories originally owned by a scottish dude names finlayson who started the cotton industry amongst other factories in the area.. which till operate today... They have very distinct Chimney stacks towering over tampere which are unique to the area. The first night I stayed with Mario... Now Mario is not Finnish.. he is a student from Portugal.. but he hosted me anyways and we had a great time together.. We hung out with his friend Salla (i think) and a weird Chinese/Singaporean/Australian migrant to sweden who now lives in Finland...I know try explaining that one when your hungova... We visited salla's house first for uncooked carrot cake and coffee.. and salla's house is really cool.. it is very old and has secret rooms within it hidden behind cupboards used during world war 2 to hide jews from the Gestapo. I have never seen one of those before, and it was very interesting. The next day, Mario and I walked around the city looking for a pirate costume as he was doing the turku to stockholm cruise, similar to mine and they were traveling with 80 other students from their uni... They had a pirate them onboard one of the nights so they needed to dress up... Needless to say we didn't find anything.. But I am sure Mario got something eventually. I only stayed with Mario the one night then stayed with Miina and her Family for the second night I was in Tampere... And what a great family she has... We met in the City first and headed out to her home... When I first met Miina, I was thrown by her eccentric clothing... She is a great person and right from the beginning we got along great... Miina is a little quiet but I made up for that by just talking... and.. well talking some more.. think she was looking for the mute button after a few hours... Miina is unique in the way that she has a range of talents... she is a singer, plays musical instruments, and is part of a circus... Now this is what made my expeirence in tampere unique... How many people get to say they have been to a circus school... although I didn't do a lot there except watch everyone else... I did attempt juggling.. which i must admit.. i am getting much better at since I had loads of practice with apples in estonia... There was tightrope walking, aerial rope climbing, juggling and i have never been so impressed by jugglers... it was amazing to see this... While I was in awe of these people... Miina and her friend where practicing a balancing trick as you do when you are part of a circus.. And one slip... Miina came crashing down and injured her wrist.. I felt horrible because she said that never happens.. she has been doing this for about 5 years... So yeah, I think I cursed her.. But she was ok after that.. Well I hope so at least... Miina and her family live in one of the old cotton mill homes... with views over the lakes and tampere.. the house has been renovated and has such an amazing character to it... With low ceilings... angled walls and narrow staircases.. this place was unique... Photos don't really do justice. Although my time in Tampere was very short... My memories of that place, the people, Mario and Miina they made it a place to remember for life... I left tampere headed for Helsinki again in order to catch my cruise to Tallinn in estonia.. With the baltics on the horizon... I was closing one adventure and preparing my liver for another...

Euro 2009

A relatively short bus ride from oslo to gothenburg in sweden, a student town and very beautiful.. Full of life. I spent 2 days exploring the cobbled streets of gothenburg and had the chance to meet some great people namely my host Marie, and her friends linda and Kristina, they were really greta people and i took great pleasure in preparing dinner for them all one night when we were planning on a big night out after that. I also had the pleasure of meeting a couple of cool Couchsurfers Jaqcueline and nathan whom were great people to spend the day with and I met up on the first day with Karin who is a great guide nad we had fun walking the streets and talking randomly about anything and everything. The entire experience was a blast and I can't wait to visit this beautiful city again, the highlights were pdefinelty the company, and the cnalas of gothenburg, very dutch... From gothenburg I headed south to Copenhagen, where i stayed with 2 amazing people for my duration of 1 week in denmark. I had such an amazing time riding my bike around the city and hanging out with Maria's family and both peter and Maria's friends. They are such a careing and intelligent couple of people and they hadve very similar aspirations as I do, so we clicked from the beginning which was great. Maria loves to cook as do I so I learned a few things about danish cooking, especially desserts... Which I never make normally... Travelling to the country to meet maria's family and hang with them for about three days was a HIGHLIGHT.. we had soo much fun and her father erlos and jesper (brother are fantastic) Maria's mother doesn't speak english so I didn't get to communicate very well with her, so instead I communicated with food and prepaared a roast meal on my second last night in hopes she would be impressed.. I think it worked because they invitied me to spend xmas with them which was hugely kind of them. I didnt get to spend as much time with peter as he was working most of the time, but of the time we did spend together was great. We both had so much to talk about and I learned a lot from him, he is such an intelligent guy. I missed leaving Denmark, and I look forward to returning again sometime very soon to see everyone again. And I hope they will visit me in Canada one day too. After departing Copenhagen bound for stockholm for the final time on this trip, I decided to take the fast track xs2000 train which travels over 200km an hour and reached stockholm in just over 5 hours... which was fine for me... The train ride was very smooth too... it glides around corners... on suspension so you won't spill your drinks... Back in stockholm I met up with a couple of people from my hostel for the first night and headed out for a drink and partying.. Which seems to be the norm for me in stockholm now. I then couchsurfed the following days in an appartment which the host was in gothenburg so i had the house to myself... Was a nice location and I enjoyed my time. Made my final supper with Jonas, Therese and Pernilla, met for lunch with sussy at her cafe in a beautiful park about 40 minutes walk from Therese's home and it just happened to be a fantastic day weather wise so we walked with Little maxamillion and I think he liked it.. he slept most of the way... Once again, leaving close friends I have made along the way is hard, but it was time for a new journey afar... I was headed to Helsinki in finland... I was taking the cruise from Stockholm... This jounrey was definely one to remember.. or in my case.. too much alcohol to actually rmember but the ship was great... I had a load of fun, and met some great finnish guys.. the ape patrol... lol... long story.. but good guys had loads of fun... saunaä's,spas and nightclubbing all make a great mix for a great cruise... Not a great start to the morning in helsinki, when i was tired and still drunk... haha But it was time to start the next chapter of my scandinavian dream holiday...

Euro 2009

The beautiful journey from Oslo to Bergen is a must done by train. It takes about 7 hours but it is worth every bit of it.. passing through towns such as geilo and finse, this pictureque travel is worth the time. Glaciers, countryside nad long rushing rivers, challenging the best of rafters to tame it. The feeling of my first minutes in Bergen aside from the rain was... i am really in norway now. Bergen is so beautiful, nestled amongst the mountains and fjord at one end... this place is so alive but still has a small town feel about it. The people here are really friendly and they make you feel comfortable... I stayed in a hostel YMCA for the first 2 nights.. met some couchsurfers in town during the week and inturn stayed with one of them Jermyn for 2 days which was fantastic.. Jermyn is from the philippines and has lived in bergen for 4 years. He works for a shipping organisation which obviously is big in norways. I was lucky enough to spend time with him for a few days, we hung out and went to a lake for lunch on the only good day in bergen haha... Seems it rains about 270 days a year... The city itself is rather compact and the outer suburbs spread around to little villages on the outer of teh city... Amongst pretty fjords and islands... I had the chance to meet a number of people such as Tash from russia, who we spent th day walking the streets of Bergen in the rain but had fun and enjoyed fantastic sushi that night, home made... Roger, Tine, Marcos, and heaps others... but spent most of my time with jermyn and Roger. Roger was the only real norwegian who took me to his salmon farm in the fjords, where we fished with david a latvian couchsurfer host. It turned out to be an awesome experience, something you don;t get to do everyday... To sum it all up... bergen is on my hit list for another big journey and then to travel north of norways... This concluded my travels in norways before i headed south east toward gothenburg via Oslo again.

Euro 2009

September 1st-7th 2009

So as I said we are working backward now, and this part of my travels begun on the 1st September 2009. Having left Singapore on the Long haul to London flying British airways, I had high hope it was going to be a great flight, perhaps an upgrade.... or atleast just a comfortable exit row seat... I don't ask for much... im not terribly fussy. But the least I could have hoped for was an entertainment system that worked... Does anyone realize how painful it is to listen to 2 babies cry for 12 hours while you have no means of distraction.. Unless you ask the flight attendant who all they can do is offer you a newspaper... (For 12 freaking hours) It would want to have the review on peace and war inside to keep me occupied for that long. But no... sadly I just endured the pain... Hahha it is funny when I think this out loud because I previously spent a week in cambodia... so ok the plane was perfect and the service was fantastic and I really didn't mind that I didn't have a tv...(the only one on the plane) But thats not important... The important thing is I got to london ok... And it was time to begin draining my bank account.. starting with breakfast... Yep.. For those of you who never thought they could spend 12 dollars on a sandwich and a coffee... you have never been the england... Although the time I was there was very very short.. I still managed to make my card very very hot... So word of advice.. stay hungry until you get someplace cheaper... Haha.. That for me will be in 1 months time.. maybe I will just live off air and water.. oh no I wont.. water is more expensive then petrol here.. God damn... lol... So I headed for Stockholm straight after I arrived in London, and began my tour of scandanvia... Meeting me at the airport was my old friend Therese, who as usual even after having a lil monster, still looks stunning. It was like there was no time between visits.. We began catching up on old times and feeling comfortable in an instant. Arriving back in stockholm after 6 years was a little weird at first but it was great, we had lunch at Therese;s mums home and then headed to my bachelor flat where I would be staying for the week I was in stockholm. The apartment was kindly donated by Marcus, who is Therese's oldest brother and I was then on my own to relax and sightsee at my own leisure. For me... visiting stockholm for the second time round, I wanted to really spend time with therese and her family and friends which is what we did. I got the typical updated photos of the places I visited, but I really just wanted to make this entire trip about meeting local people making new friends and embracing the culture. So that is what I did, spending my days strolling through the backstreets of stockholm looking for interesting places to sit and people watch, have a nice coffee or simply just lay down on the cool grass and watch the world go by. Now some people may think that's just wasting time and money, you could do that at home. And it is true, you could do that at home, but the feeling of being completely surrounded by a foreign culture is surreal... The sounds, the smells and the events which take place. I was privileged enough to witness the world's longest petition which was set up along the stockholm foreshore to protest against the election of the knew iranian president. 2 km's long and completely filled out from one end to the other with an average width of about a meter.. this is huge and very impressive... I felt compelled to run into it and rip it... just for a giggle.. but i restrained myself.. that would be very unaustralian... lol Meeting Max, Therese's little baby was so amazing, he is tiny and so cute... It made me clucky... but only for an instant... It took him a little while to warm to me, but before long we were walking around the park and having a great time... Provided his little booties stayed on his feet.. and I kept moving he was fine... Strapped to my chest like a baby joey... they little guy just chilled out and slept all the way until we got him home. The moment I walked in the door... he awoke and Jonas, Therese's Fiance was there to take over from my.. Thank god for that.. because it is actually really hard work to get those little critters to fall asleep... i was tempted to assist the process with some valium.. but i figured the valium would be better used on me... Sharing stories both old and new, meeting friends, hanging out with Madeleine, freddie, jonas and Max, hopefully next time I don't fall asleep during an important football match so I could spend more time hanging with marcus.. ha-ha and socializing with the elite of stockholm... (Matthew Maconahagh) ok... it was freddie (another of Therese's brothers) idea for me to pretend I was a famous actor from LA... The only one we could think of that we both kind of agreed I could get away with was mathew.. But I think the bouncers seen right through it.. Mind you they still let us in... But only after a fair bit of convincing.. and I think a few notes for bribes where passed to just to get into the infamous 'spy' bar. But really it was all hype and no cigars... We paid about 30 euros to get into this place.. even celebrities have to pay.. 'i know im shocked'... and it was over rated... But we still had fun... strolling home at about 5am... it was worth the funny stories in the morning. To sum it up... stockholm is a place of beauty, fashion, fast cars and volvo's. You could love it.. or you could hate it.. But me, I loved it... the old town, soda... Djursholm... they are all beautiful places... And it was great to catch up with an old friend and see her new creation into this world...

the europetrip 2009

September 9 2009

Where do u begin when you start your story mid life... I guess you begin where u remember. Thats probably the best place to start. Well im going to quentin Tarantino the shit out of this story so hold on and I hope who reads it, understands what i'm saying. So currently I am in Norway, Land of the vikings and home to some of the most beautiful people on earth.. Yes it is true, scandinavia is a great place and has so much to offer. I have been in Oslo (the capital) for about 3 days now and I am heading to bergen tomorrow the 10th September 2009. But I will account to you what I have been doing so far.

My trip in oslo began with a relatively nice bus coming from stockholm to oslo 7hrs with internet on board.. I was really surprised... I have never seen that before it was great. Arrived in Olso and had prearranged to meet with my Couch surfing guide, Annett who was kind enough to provide me with some useful information about Oslo and norway in general. Annett is from Sweden originally and was transfered to oslo about a year prior, so she too is just learning about the area. She had loads of uesful information for me to utilise and then put into practice the next day when I decided to tackle oslo head on... balls and all... It is a beautiful city, but it was kind of a shock to see so much graffiti and homeless here. I don't know why but I just assumed because you here norway has the best living conditions in the world, you expect to see no one homeless.. But I was wrong... Not to deter from the sights though, the city itself is a mix of most types of cities with its ethnic quarter, city hub and uptown societies which usually never blend. But once you take a step away from the hussle of the central oslo, and look from afar you soon realize that oslo has more to offer than just a large harbor and knitted sweaters... The scenery across the harbor, the old buildings and the cobbled streets make for just a fascinating stroll.. Forgetting where you are in the world and just embracing the moment and enjoying this friendly yet reserved race of people. Don't expect to have people smile and wave to you in the streets.. well at least not in the main city... people seem to have a thing about looking at the ground, or looking into the distance in order to evade prying eyes from grasping their attention. But once you get to meet the locals, they are warm, friendly and inviting people. Just ignore that stern outer case. Highlights of Oslo where definitely meeting up with Annett and taking walks around the streets and dining at a fantastic chinese restaurant which I will definitely be returning the favor when Annett visits canada. Having begun traveling on my own for the first time, I have learned a few things already, its not just about rushing around to see everything you can do in a city you visit, anyone can do that. But traveling to a city, meeting people of that culture and embracing their hospitality is the key to enjoying the most from your trip. I could think nothing better that to just stroll the streets or sitting having a drink with people of the same views, dreams and aspirations as mine. Without the 'entourage' so to speak of other opinions decisions or views conflicting with your travel. I admit, it does get a little lonely not having people to talk to everyday, I have had 3 days of not even talking to anyone... But enabling myself to think, listen and learn, this is something I never did before and that is what traveling is about.

I am not copying Julie/Julia

Hey there, now beginning this blog I will admit straight off the block I have been wanting to start properly for some time, hence the previous postings, but I just didn't get around, there is always something more important. But now is a better time than ever to begin something I have wanted to do for a long time. Then I watched an inspirational movie Julie/Julia and I thought... 'Damn you., why did you do that, now it appears I am copying you in some small way...' I am actually wanting to do something more substantial then that. Like no one 'hasn't' done before. (Please forgive the incorrect grammar) I am writing about the past, present and future of Tim Leyshan and why it is important for me to send out a message to the world, like a beacon of light shining from a local starbucks cafe in Burnaby, Vancouver. NOT strange at all...

So to give you a briefing about how the story unfolds upto htis point I will fill you in, so buckle up you cyber geeks (kidding), hold onto your mice and read on....

It all began on a fresh morning of March 29th 1985, in a hospital not too far from most of you... Okay a long way from anywhere a small boy, perhaps forgiven for being thought a girl, or actually requested to be a girl.. but definitely a boy was brought into the world. Once clarified, he was named Timothy as in Timothy.. but only spelt Tim... NOT.. Timothy... This boy spent his childhood years growing up in a low socioeconomic household for which latter in life am much appreciative for. Life was simple as a child, I had a favorite doll... Yes a doll... a barbie doll and she was naked... I was three years old... I was also at that point scared of the Gobble Docks... Who still haunts my dreams... Google him, you will know who I am talking about and you may very well be scared of him too... As a child, this boy moved a lot... First away from Family, then away from debt, and then... and then.. and then away from friends... I guess you could say we were like gypsies. Only my mum didn't want to think like that... We were middle class, poor folk in her eyes. Toe-mato, tumato right!!...

This boy was good at sport, running, rugby and yeah... okay maybe that was about it.. Therefore he played a lot of sport, and wasn't the most academic in his class. Here and there would receive the odd ribbon for coming a place in an athletic event but rarely get an academic achievement. You know the type... That was me... I use to be mildly teased about being poor, about having freckles and whatever else middle class kids can think of to demoralize another child... Although attending public education my entire life, there were always the same kinds of kids that thought they were better because of the car they drove, the clothes they wore and the house they lived in. Where are those kids now right!! Probably successful, pretentious and superficial. But I don't blame them, because this is a world of dog-eat-dog and you wont get ahead in life letting other people walk all over you... So I guess teach the young infidels the true meaning to life early and they too will carry on the family legacy. Please don't really take that as advice, I am just demonstrating my freedom of speech like a true cyber writer with no fear of the confrontational face to face conflict you would get speaking your mind in person or public. It really does make us all quiet pathetic doesn't it. That we can't have a healthy disagreement in fear of people offending people.

Okay so I am off the track... whooo sally... back to the story... So I was saying about the growth period, and what a time that was. It was fast, furious and over in a flash... One minute I was 16 years old, drinking illegally with friends at house parties then I was getting my first speeding ticket to waking up one morning and still thinking I am 16 years old 8 years later. Where did that go??

For most of my adult life I have been traveling. I started when I turned 18y.o and that was when I put on the travel boots. Gained the itch and it wasn't tinier, although... Okay that is just gross, I tried to settle back in the 'normal' life after the first trip, but that didn't happen. I nearly had a breakdown in 2005 after the pressures of my work, private life and well, all the things you think are not happening right in your life, and everything happens to you yada yada yada... Selfish, immature and blinded... Well... I like to think things have changed, but only time will tell... My travels have taken me across the globe to some of the most spectacular places there is to see. I have circles the globe 3 times and have been to 40 countries over 160 cities and have n regrets with my presumed procrastination. I have learned a lot, and the world is my living, breathing university. It's what I like to refer to as the University of life. But as I am finding now, it doesn't help when you use it for work... It actually makes it harder and harder to get work.

At what point in your life do you say enough is enough... Settle down and grow up...? When do you begin to tell yourself you have traveled too much...? I thought there was never such a thing. But as I am finding more increasingly, the difficulty in securing a decent job. Maybe I appear flakey, under-qualified at everything, over qualified in anything... But what I do know, is that I am ready to take on my future, elude myself from the grasp of stereotype generation Y and become a part of society. I also seen myself as reliable, honest and hardworking. But When that doesn't cut the cheese so to speak... It's time to turn up the volume, put down the backpack and focus on something more substantial. As a wise man once told me, 'there is time to play and then there is time to play after you have finished your dinner...' The metaphor to this story has rung true to me only in the most recent of time, after all my failures, mistakes and screw-ups. I am one who makes mistakes in order to learn from them. But as the past few years have spelt out clearly, I have still got a long way to go before I can say I have learnt from my mistakes.

Failed relationships, failed friendships and not to mention the mess left behind that has effected close friends and family. I feel like.. looking back, I was like a human tornado on a path of destruction, lies and deceit. There is nothing admirable about holding in your feelings, thoughts and secrets if they ultimately hurt other people.

Getting back to my travels... As you will read on will my most recent documented experiences, I have had a new exposure to travel life, a new beginning and a positive outlook on life. In the past 11 months, I have broken free from what I assumed being on a downward spiral to finally coming upward in the jet-stream to being a fresh look and hopefully make some positive differences in my life, and others around me.

In the most recent journey I met some amazing, inspiring people who have lead me to feel more comfortable with me being me. I have learnt a lot about myself, and its time to stop making everything about me and start realizing there is more to life then self absorption. In the most recent year I have had a number of family members diagnosed with cancer, past relatives pass on from cancer and close friends having been affected by the outcomes of this tragic disease. Cancer as everyone knows, comes in all shapes, sizes and is caused by so many things. My family and extended family, personally have faces bow cancer, bladder cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer. This has made me think about my position in this world, how or when could this happen to me. It seems to be more common these days and there is an increase of younger people contracting cancer throughout the world, previously perceived an elderly disease.

This will never happen to me, I am healthy, active and I don't smoke or do drugs not to say I haven't but I don't practice it anymore. Neither did millions of cancer patients, it seems to have just been something chemically inbalanced, hereditary or freakish. But it is that unknown that I am millions of other people want to know. Why, how and how do we stop it... Therefore I am on a quest to raise money for cancer. Like millions of other people have done in the past. But I am just like millions of people out there that have been effected directly or indirectly by cancer who do want to see an answer.

I am challenging my personal sanity, endurance, courage and dedication to take a bike and ride from Vancouver to Halifax in Canada in the Summer of 2011. I am wanting to build a support network of business, associates, private fundraisers and anyone who wants to be a part of this project. This is something that affects everyone, therefore everyone is welcome to take part in some way too... Follow this blog, read my road to a cure and find out for yourself that you too can be a part of changing someone's life for the positive.

In the great words of Oskar Schindler ' Who ever saves one life, save the world entire'.

I feel that you if you make a positive change in one persons life you could change their world. Our perceptions on life are all individual, I see life differently to how the guy next to me sipping the mochachoca latte sees the world. Therefore If I change one persons life, haven't I in-turn changed the world?

Keep reading on, and help follow my cause...

Till next time...