Only been in NYC for 2 days and already joined a cult! Haha (Rooftop bar at 230 5th Avenue)

New York is a different beast. This much is true.

I’ve started this post and deleted it, only to start again, and delete again. New York is a difficult place to write about because it’s always different. I’ve been here for six days now, and I’ve had incredible highs and crummy lows, captivating conversations with heaps of interesting people, and solitary afternoons spent walking along the boardwalk. I’ve felt like the luckiest person in the entire world looking down on the city from a rooftop bar surrounded by amazing people, and as if I’m too small to matter in the grand scheme of things while talking to a stranger over brunch. The city is made of an eclectic mix of people and you never know if you’re going to be sitting next to an opera singer at a juice bar, or end up dancing next to a rocket engineer from Italy at a cute bar / nail salon, going to a haunted house with a Jersey boy, having lunch with a partner of an asset management firm who just flew back from Bermuda, getting to know a lawyer / UN intern over drinks, or even making random street conversation with a Russian speaking African-American bouncer who is in the midst of writing a book about the city. You can’t even begin to expect any of these things, but I’ve found myself in all of these surprising situations, and more! So where do I begin?

Coney Island boardwalk

I tried recapping just my first three days in my journal and it took me eight pages! I don’t think you want to read all of that, so I’ll give you a quick rundown of the highlights:

Landed on Monday night.

On Tuesday I got a new phone and made new friends by making random conversation during lunch at a deli, in the waiting room before a meeting, and at a mingler event. I also did a bit of walking around Times Square and Central Park, and stayed up until 3am doing some work.

I spent most of Wednesday writing, took a walk along the boardwalk to Coney Island in the afternoon, and went to another event where I met someone in the lineup who introduced me to all of his friends (who are all amazing and loads of fun). After that, we all went to another event at the swankiest bar I’ve ever been to and then had a late night snack at a diner. I think I got back around 3am.

Terri Romeo, Fashion Consultant and Personal Shopper at Macy’s

Thursday was a rainy bum day. After spending the morning writing, I was supposed to tour NYU and then grab a drink with a friend but both were cancelled last minute. I wandered around the city and did some shopping before heading back.

On Friday I met up with Terri, who I met on Tuesday. In case you haven’t noticed, I haven’t mentioned any other names so far because I’ve found that New Yorkers tend to be more private about their personal information (I found this out when I wrote my full name on an event name tag and eventually tore off the last half because everyone was telling me it wasn’t safe). I’ll mention Terri’s name though because she’s a personal shopper at Macy’s and if you ever want to book a free appointment to go shopping (and get a staff discount), she’s the one you want to ask for; Terri Romeo. After shopping, I was supposed to go for coffee with another friend from Tuesday but we ended up ditching that idea for a horror / magic show (Times Scared) and dinner at Carmine’s (HUGE portions!). Fun times!

Saturday’s original plans were cancelled due to the weather (winter fair), but luckily someone I met at Wednesday’s second event was back in town so we went out for lunch at Gravy and he gave me a tour of the surrounding areas. In the evening, I met up with the group of friends from Wednesday and we went dancing at Beauty Bar. Loved the music and the dancing! I didn’t get back until about 4am and pretty much crashed after that.

This morning, Terri and I had brunch at Harefield Road in East Williamsburg and snooped around the area. I spent the rest of the day catching up on errands and recharging my batteries (literally and figuratively — I’ve been running on about 5 hours of sleep each night and my cell phones both had to be recharged).

Looking forward to what this week brings!

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Where in the world am I? (hint: it’s not Vancouver)

I’ve had a roller coaster of a ride today meeting lots of new people and walking all around this big city. It’s such a huge place that I doubt it’s possible to see everything! According to the locals, it’s a pointless to try because the entire city is constantly changing. And for the record, all of the people I’ve met today have broken the stereotypes of this popular destination by being really friendly and helpful. Guess where I am?

Times Square

All the TV shows are back on air and I’ve begun to notice a common theme: New York. It’s the city where two broke girls are now living together, where Pan Am takes flight for the first time (this season anyway), where a guy tells a long-winded story of how [he] met your mother, the place that Glee members dream of moving to, where six friends found each other, and home to a diner that Seinfeld frequents just about every day. It’s also the place where Spiderman had his first kiss, the Devil wears Prada, a shopaholic can’t get enough green scarves, you can have breakfast at Tiffany’s, a girl meets Santa at Macy’s on 34th street, and four women find sex [in] the city. It’s no wonder everyone searches for flights to New York at least once in their lives — both the big screens and the smaller ones in our living rooms have programmed it into our minds to go!

After receiving my social security card in the mail I’ve found myself especially drawn to the bright lights of New York because now I have an opportunity to actually see everything the city has to offer — something that takes much more time than a single visit. After seeing photos from one friend’s trip to MoMA, hearing another friend’s story about a chill underground jazz club, listening to another friend’s adventures trying to find the best clubs in NY, yet another friend’s trip to East New York for cool sneakers at a discount, and another friend’s research on graffiti in NY, and then even another friend’s vacation in Manhattan, well I’ve realized two things: 1. I have lots of really cool friends who have been to New York at least once in the past year, and 2. I have to go back to New York because I obviously didn’t spend enough time there on my first visit.

The first time I visited New York, I was with Ang and Morten on our circumnavigating trip around the USA and we were all still sick from having caught Morten’s bug way back in the southern states. We arrived at night and took the train to Times Square for dinner at a pizza shop with really rude servers (so rude in fact that I almost walked back over to them to tell them off). The next day, I had originally made plans to meet BJITW Angie Orth but felt so craptastic that I bailed (which I regret because I haven’t been able to catch up with her since). Ang, Morten and I spent the day walking around the city, Central Park, and ended up back in Manhattan with my old high school friend Dani who took us on a tour of his office right next to Times Square and we had dinner at a little vegetarian curry place in the Village. We left the next morning, but not before visiting New Jersey for cupcakes. Our little tour of the city felt rushed and now I feel like I’ve missed out on a lot. So friends, I’m compiling a list of “Must-Do!” things for the next time I go to New York and would really appreciate your feedback: What do I have to do the next time I go to New York?

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Day four on the Inca Trail: Not showered yet, but still smiling for the camera

I walked past a GAP Adventures guide telling his group in a slightly louder voice that tourists should never leave their group while on the Inca Trail and could feel multiple sets of eyes following me as I continued walking alone. Our group of 15 was spread out with the front and tail ends about an hour apart and I was somewhere in the middle enjoying some peaceful time away from a slower group that included two women determined to let me know how much better other tour groups were. The tour I was on was organized by the company I was working for at the time and my boss had sent me along for the ride.

It’s been over a year since I left for Peru on a 10-day tour that included the famed Inca Trail multi-day hike, horseback riding and whitewater rafting. I never wrote about it because it was my least favourite trip to date. Most of the time, I was running around trying to see what I could help with, or what I could do to make things easier for the other guests, or trying to avoid the main tour guide who had managed to make me very uncomfortable during an impromptu night time walk. I didn’t have much success with that last one.

I took hundreds of photos and too many unusable videos (the quality was terrible) on the trip not to do something with them though, so here’s a selection of them for your perusal. Maybe one day I’ll fill you in over coffee about the rock creeper, tarantula and twisted knee, or the sad candy kid.

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Call me crazy, but doesn’t that sound like speed walking? Or belly crawling? But you know, to music?

Inside the Caves

I went on my first Samba Days adventure at Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park on Vancouver Island this week and did my own version of the Samba no pé (or what I like to call “the caterpillar crawl”) in the underbelly of the area’s most popular underground caverns. This is technically the third cave tour I’ve been on (first in Queensland Australia and then in Oregon USA) but while the caves at this park aren’t the biggest or the most stunning, this tour definitely beat the other two hands down!

O quê, you ask? Sim! It’s unfair competition really, because how can you compete with a tour that includes five underground rope stations, rappelling 70ft down into a damp cave with mutant larvae swimming around, and belly crawling through four crevices? Though it’s technically a tourist-friendly adventure, it’s not your typical stand-behind-the-ropes-while-I-educate-you type tour. And for that, it’s a hundred times better!

Getting There

Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park is located about an hour north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. To get there from Vancouver, take the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo ($63.15 each way for one passenger in one car). You could take the ferry from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo instead, but it’s a longer journey and the price is the same.

Once you get on the island, toss your GPS because it’s pretty much useless when it comes to finding the park. Mine for example decided that it was in the middle of the Georgia Straight, and most others want to take you to the other side of the lake. To get there, follow the directions on the park’s website.

Chris showing us the equipment

Arrival

I had my concerns when I first arrived at the little portable office to check in for the morning Rappel Clinic (mandatory if you haven’t gone outdoor rappelling). This was my guide’s first season on the job and I had to sign a form releasing the staff from any liabilities due to negligence on their part if something happened to me (gulp). My worries were completely unfounded though, because my guide Chris is awesome! Not only is he trained to be uber-safe, but he’s also well versed in all those names for creepy crawlies and weird cave formations that you would only ever find in textbooks, and he’s eager to share the knowledge!

My next concern was about the equipment — in particular, the hygiene of the equipment. The helmets looked like they could use a few scrub downs and the staff admitted that they’re not disinfected after each use (Eew!). But safety comes first right? At the end of the day, I got so dirty in the caves that the darkened straps of the unwashed helmet was the last thing on my mind.

Rappel Clinic

Once the forms were signed and the helmets and harnesses were on, the four other participants for the morning Rappel Clinic and I followed Chris up the road by car (about 1km), up a mountain trail by foot, and down a ladder onto the rappelling platform. We saw a small garden snake trying unsuccessfully to avoid our stares as he slithered next to the ladder we were descending.

As I stood clipped to the safety rope watching Chris demonstrate what we would be doing during the Rappel Clinic, I started to get nervous. I had seen the cliff we would be descending from below, and it really isn’t that high. But it’s been a few years since I went rock climbing so that initial fear began to creep back up. I volunteered to go first and looked spectacularly daft inching backwards towards the edge like a fawn that was trying to balance on her legs for the first time. Once I let go though, it was easier than riding a bike. Step. Waddle. Step. Step. Step. Wheeee! And land. The rope (and Chris) did most of the work.

5-hour Underground Extreme Tour (aka Extreme Rappel Cave Tour)

The Buddha

After lunch, I gathered in the portable office again to meet with the other two tour participants (Sean and his son Julian) and we headed off on a 20 minute hike to the cave entrance. When we arrived, I began to doubt my physical fitness since I was already very warm from the short hike up. The receptionist hadn’t asked for my weight or athletic abilities when I signed up for the trip. I had asked whether there’s a weight restriction since the tour involves a fair amount of rappelling; there isn’t. As we began our first crawl through the caves though, I began to think there should be because if I were triple the size I am right now I would definitely not feel comfortable crawling through those spaces! Chris said that larger participants are able to dig a path for themselves to get through. But as you can see from the video below, it would be a big blow to the ego for larger tummies to try and squeeze through there.

Between each crawl, Chris would explain how the different calcite structures were formed over the years. The names for most of the deposits are pretty self-explanatory: bacon strips, straws, chili peppers. We tried our best not to touch any of the calcite deposits because as Chris explained, the oils and dirt on our skin stain them and they look a lot nicer when they’re pearly white and nearly transparent.

Wonderbread Room

Our first rappel was down 17ft into what’s known as the Wonderbread Room for its dough-like calcite deposits. The other side of the room is covered in man-made rock art that makes for some pretty nifty decoration. The room was dripping everywhere so it was like being in cheap hotel shower (the kind that drips and drips but never has a steady flow). We then took a detour to view Achilles Pot (a very steep drop) and navigated on our rope line to get back onto the main route.

We took a circus ladder down the path, winding through uneven walls of rock and calcite, and arrived at our final rappel. The big 70ft drop into the China Shop. In comparison to the rooms at Oregon Caves, the China Shop isn’t as impressive as I had expected. Granted, the only light we had was on our helmets so there was probably a lot more that we couldn’t see.

Once we were all on solid ground again, we continued just a little further to a small pond and the end of our passage. Chris looked around for a while to see if there was any creatures in the water that he could show us, but there was nothing there that day. We ended up seeing an albino mutant larvae on our way back out though which was pretty cool. Before we headed back out, we turned out our headlamps and sat in the dark to listen to the caves. All we could hear was the water dripping down. It was cool and calm down there. Surprisingly fresh actually! After a while, we started our journey back out.

Sean Rappelling

I had wondered after our first rappel how we were going to get back up. I thought there would be some kind of pulley-system but Chris told us that we were meant to climb back up (while clipped to the rope of course). For those that experience some sort of melt-down while in the caves (it happens), the only way out is to go the way you came so the guides are able to pull people up using the ropes if necessary. The climbs up the rock walls turned out to be my favourite part of the tour (go figure!).

When we got to the first crawl, Chris asked if we would be interested in crawling through the dark. The vote was unanimous: YEAH! We turned off the lamps and started crawling. At one point I couldn’t figure out how anyone could fit through because I was digging and squirming but was just too big for the small crack. It took me about two whole seconds before I realized that the route had an s-curve and I had been digging below a rock wall!

Once we were out into the open we joined in a Family Tour (the other tours go into the same cave but don’t go as far) for an interpretation of the different formations on the wall, and then made our exit.

I normally think of summer forest air as reasonably fresh and airy, but after being in the caves the outside world felt humid and suffocating. Could it be that the caves have fresher air? Haha

The End

I had a fabulous time at Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park and would definitely recommend the 5-hour Underground Extreme Tour (also known as the Extreme Rappel Cave Tour). You can purchase the tour online or in store with Samba Days, but you must call ahead to make your reservation(s). There is a maximum of five participants on each 5-hour Underground Extreme Tour and the tours only run from June through October.

Getting to the island isn’t cheap so unless money isn’t an issue, this is more of an add-on adventure to your stay on the island. Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park has campground spaces available for rent, but check with the staff before you dive into the lake (people are getting Swimmer’s Itch from the lake right now).

 Tips for Travellers

1. If you want to view the Rappel Clinic or explore the self-guided caves, you *must* rent a helmet ($8.50 for the day).
2. Make sure you go to the bathroom before heading out on a cave tour! The dripping and streaming water will drive you mad if you don’t.
3. If you go on the 5-hour Underground Extreme Tour, bring knee pads. My knees are literally covered in bruises right now because I didn’t.
4. Don’t wear anything you wouldn’t want to get dirty and / or torn up on the 5-hour Underground Extreme Tour. There’s lots of belly crawling and jagged edges involved.
5. Bring gloves on the 5-hour Underground Extreme Tour. It’s not too cold down there (about 8° C) but without them your fingers will freeze while climbing the aluminum ladders.
6. Bring a bottle of water with you so you can have something to drink during the hike up to the cave entrance. You can leave the bottle at the start of the first rappel and pick it up when you make your way back out.
7. If you have long hair, try to keep it tied in a bun or braid it below your helmet. Pigtails and ponytails have a tendency to get caught in the ropes.
8. There are no food stands at Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park, so bring a lunch with you if you decide to spend the day there.
9. There is no running water at Horne Lake Caves Provincial Park, so bring hand wipes with you (there are porta-potties).
10. Bring bug repellent because there are mosquitoes.

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Book Review: The Lost Girls

www.lostgirlsworld.com

It might not have a spot beside On the Road on the shelves, but The Lost Girls still manages to convey that something that every traveller looking for themselves tries desperately to capture in a photo, journal or souvenir. I have to give them praise for writing this novel because exposing oneself and all the fears and imperfections that make a person who they are is quite possibly the bravest and batshit scary thing to do. They do it well.

The three principle vagabonds (Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett and Amanda Pressner) travel through Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Kenya, India, Laos, Thai Islands, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, New Zealand and Australia on this yearlong adventure together. Rather than getting caught up in the facts and figures of every location they visit (that’s what guidebooks — not novels — are for), they include the right amount of detail to shed light on some universal truths about friendship, self-discovery and not necessarily needing to be found.

There were definitely some sections that I liked more than others and was particularly moved by their experiences in Kenya befriending a class of young girls who shine with real happiness while simultaneously appreciating the value of their first cutlery sets over any trinkets or candy they receive. The chapters on Laos also awakened the travel bug in me with depictions of paradise, while the descriptions of the kindness of strangers in Australia put me in a state of nostalgia. In contrast though, I found myself drifting through the portion in India and willing myself to get past Chapter 18 knowing that there must be something good on the other side. It’s not perfect yet, but the proofed version has probably gone through a few more revisions since hitting the shelves and there was certainly something that kept the pages turning.

It’s not that I don’t like new clothes. But given a choice between a closet full of nice shirts or one amazing experience, I’ll always choose the latter. I’m fairly confident that I’m not the only one who thinks this way either. So when Sheryl from Samba Days sent me an invitation to become a Sambassador who gets to try out three experiences of choice this fall, I was uber-excited!

Samba Days is a Canadian company that essentially offers experiences packaged in gift-boxes which range from gourmet meals to action-packed weekends in whitewater rafts, hot-air balloons and down subterranean caves (something I’m really looking forward to).

From the list of available adventures, each Sambassador was asked to select six of our top choices, three of which will be booked for us based on availability.

My Top 6 West Coast Sambassador Adventures

Image from www.sambadays.com

#1. Caving Multi-Activity — Qualicum Beach

Synopsis: Five hours of extreme rappelling down five vertical rope stations into subterranean caverns filled with crystals and time to explore the clear waters on canoe before indulging in campfire marshmallows (they don’t supply the marshmallows but I’m definitely bringing some!).*

There was no doubt in my mind that this would be numero uno! I’ve wanted to try caving and rappelling for a long time now.

*Edit: There is an alternative package to spend two nights in a teepee, with a 3-hour guided cave tour, 2-hour rappel session and 2-hour canoe rental.

#2. Sword Fighting — Vancouver

Synopsis: Two hours of private instruction on how to wield a sword and a video of you in combat.

Me and a sword. This should be good for a laugh!

#3. Beekeeping Workshop — Vancouver

Synopsis: Harvesting honey by scraping wax cappings off honey frames, extracting honey and filtering it.

The activities vary by season, and there’s a possibility of processing bee venom. BEE VENOM! I didn’t even know bees had venom! Curiosity got the better of me.

#4. Scenic Glider Flight — Pemberton

Synopsis: Flight over local iced-capped mountain tops with aerobatic maneuvers and a souvenir tee to add to the collection.

I love that we have local iced-capped mountain tops to soar over. It seems wrong not to.

#5. Discover SCUBA — Vancouver

Synopsis: Four-hour introductory class to scuba diving and in-pool training.

It’s one of those must-do things that’s on just about every traveller’s check-list. Social media “guru“s get a badge on foursquare. Travellers get a PADI Open Water Scuba certification.

#6. 17ft Boat Rental — Vancouver

Synopsis: LMFAO

I had no idea what to add as a sixth option and the idea of renting a 17ft was just too funny. I’m pretty sure this isn’t going to be one of my three arranged adventures. If it is, I’m going to have to find a friend with a boating license to help me out with this one!

I’ve never lived or worked in the states, but according to the US Consulate anyone born within American borders is automatically a US citizen who must pay taxes. Oops!

To confirm whether this indeed is the case, I drove down to the Social Security Administration office in Bellingham yesterday to see if I could get a Social Security Number. I figured, if I am actually a US citizen I should be able to get a number and work in the states without issue. It was pretty easy to file for a number and I have to wait a few days to get a confirmation that everything went through alright.

I asked the woman at the counter whether she had any information on how to file taxes for dual citizens living outside of the states. She recommended that I visit the IRS office downtown. Well, they weren’t much help. They’re not trained to handle questions for dual citizens so the representative just gave me a bunch of reading material and a help line phone number.

Since I was already across the border, I decided I’d go a little further to Seattle and tour the underground (been meaning to try this for a while now). Here’s a little video of the trip.

This post is sponsored by Jet Abroad, a website that offers cheap flights and hotel bookings. I checked them out and their prices are pretty decent. I especially like that they include the final cost including taxes and any applicable fees.

On my last trip to Vegas

If I told you there was a place you could get hammered with a dollar (or perhaps even make money doing it), fire an UZI (legally) without a license, sit in the cockpit of a working plane right before take-off (and get your own mini lesson if you’re nice), watch a show where the stage is made of several different moving parts over a 1.5 million gallon pool, and take an afternoon trip to one of the world’s seven natural wonders of the world, I bet there’s only one answer you could think of: Las Vegas.

It’s no wonder that Vegas is such a popular destination for bachelor / bachelorette parties. It’s not just the strip clubs and overflowing cocktails that attract party-goers looking for a good time. Vegas is simply the only place in the world you can do everything and anything for an affordable price.

“So how do you get the best deals and how the hell did you get to sit in the cockpit” is what you’re probably wondering. Those are the two most commonly asked questions I get when I post pictures about Vegas.

The Best Deals

Packages. Yup, that’s right. Book the hotel with your flights to Las Vegas and you’re guaranteed to get a better deal than by booking the two separately. In fact, if you can’t find a hotel on the strip for under $45 per night (based on 2-person occupancy), look harder. It’s no secret that Vegas didn’t take the recession very well and it’s better to sell off a room for the cost of cleaning and hydro than to leave it vacant for the night. At least with pre-booked rooms, the hotels can count on future business.

$1 drinks. How does that work? Simple answer: it’s Vegas. Longer answer: if you’re thirsty but don’t have much in your pocket, take a dollar to the slot machines and sit near the aisles where the servers walk past. Even if you’re with a friend and only one person is gambling, both of you will be offered free alcoholic beverages. Sidenote: if you don’t like your drinks to be too strong, let them know because I suspect they automatically make everything a double.

Free cover. How do you get it? If you’re female, it’s easy: just walk past the clubs during the day and pick up free admission passes. If you’re male? Ask a female friend to pick one up for you.

For more tips, check out the post from my last visit to Vegas (tips are on the bottom).

Sit in a Cockpit

I know it’s not the most flattering photo, but it’s the only one I have of the both of us in the cockpit.

No, I didn’t tell them it was my birthday. The story is better than that! Several years ago, my friend and I went on a girls’ getaway. We booked our flights to Las Vegas through a travel agency that found a cheap flight and hotel package departing from Bellevue WA. As we were entering the plane on our way home, my friend was sneaking a glance at the cockpit and when she saw that one of the attendants was looking at her she said “just wanted to look at the cockpit”. It may not be that funny, but it got the staff laughing.

Once again, being a girl has it’s advantages in Vegas. The pilots were male and we happened to have seats close to the front of the plane. So, one of them came over to our seats after everyone boarded and started making conversation about my friend’s earlier remark. I asked if we could take pictures of the controls (I was just as trigger happy back then as I am now), and the guy responded by saying he could do one better and let us sit in the seats! :O It was pretty exciting. The two of us sat in the two pilot chairs for a couple minutes and took a few photos before we scurried back to our seats just in time for takeoff.

We exchanged a few e-mails and I found out that I can write about anything I want without any editorial influence from the sponsor. In exchange for adding a link to my post about a travel destination that’s related to their products and / or services, they would sponsor my post. And of course, I get to check the link beforehand to make sure it’s not spam, porn, or anything else you wouldn’t want your granny to see.

I have this folder on my computer titled ‘Bloggable’ with hundreds of photos from places I never got around to writing about. I was hoping there would be a sponsor interested in these places. But alas, Vegas and New York are a lot more popular than Pigeon Forge, Montreal, Williamsburg, Cuzco, and Asheville combined.

If you’re interested in sponsoring a post on this blog, send me a message with the details through my Contact Page. Thanks!