Hawaii part 1

A quick and chilly goodbye and we were off to 11.5 hours in the air. (Toronto airport has some iPads to play with?!) By the time we were at the Vancouver airport, we didn't have much time to spare, we ate and boarded our next flight to Hawaii. Becky however got really sick on the plane with flu like symptoms.

 

Hawaii - Oahu

We got on a shuttle to our first "Polynesian Beach hostel" in Honolulu at what felt like 3am for us. Needless to say we slept in. Our first walk for groceries was much to long.

We've gotten pretty good at buying the exact amount of groceries so we don't have to travel with food. Becky was still not feeling well. After we were rewarded with our first afternoon at the Waikiki beach and a bbq at the hostel.

We went on a North shore tour of the island with our hostel. It included watching a practice for a surfing competition (Volcom Pro Championship)

Yea Aaron took it (the picture, that is)

eating at a shrimp farm, (but not Becky), some beautiful mountains including the set of Jurassic park

and (to Becky's delight) the Lost TV series,

The ocean and its beauty

including the "China man’s hat", one of the locations for "50 First Dates" (among others)

 

Through out our time we've enjoyed meeting some really nice people at the Hostels, and sharing advice about the places we're gonna go to.

(modern) "Buddhist" temple

We spend most of a day at Pearl Harbour, saw a submarine and a couple museums, and the war memorial.

We used the city bus to get around Honolulu a lot. Waikiki is very commercialized and touristy area with its many tourist and designer stores. Everywhere else we went to was small local shops.

Also went on a West coast tour. We drove past the beach where surfing was invented. Went on  a bird reserve hike, did some whale watch along the coast. Went to the Disney resort and swam and snorkeled there. We saw tiny little yellow and black striped fish. That night we watched the weekly fireworks from the end of the pier.

Western point of Oahu

Aaron has been working in between and during travels, and has sort of been able to keep up. Still working on it. Aaron's long time cracked-screen cell phone (from his brother Adrian), broke a few days into the trip, so he bought a used smart phone off off craigslist (without cracks!) and bused across the city to get it.

We rented some leisure bikes and biked to the Diamond Head Mountain and then climbed up. Gorgeous ocean and volcanic crater view, with an army outpost carved into the top of the mountain.

 

That night we saw a free hula show around the area on the beach.

On Sunday we extended our bike rental and biked early to Manoa Falls,

with a nice walk through a jungle kind of forest.

 

It was a very long bike ride. On the way back Rebecca was riding on the road and was switching to the curb (at Aaron's suggestion) when she caught a small edge and went flying off the bike onto the curb. Luckily she was wearing a helmet. Someone called in Emergency services who came in full force (5 police cars, ambulance and firetruck). Becky was limping for a while but did not need a trip to the hospital, but resulted in us missing church.

February 2 we packed up, stored our suitcases in Honolulu, spend a few hours at Magic Island Beach (We also saw wedding pictures taken there. It's common for lots of weddings to take place in Hawaii).

Goodbye, Waikiki

Maui

Then we bused to the airport and flew to Maui and bused to our second hostel. Aaron installed a new door lock for the hostel owner and worked a bit. Our first day was a bit rainy so just went for a walk to a nearby beach.

The owner of the hostel took us to Maalaea. There they had crafts that we looked around at, then went for icecream and walked a few kms down the beach.

When we rested Becky went for a walk around the area and stepped on thorn twigs that pierced through her flip flops!

We went to Kihei onwards to a nice beach in Wailea where we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset.

Becky gets asked a lot to be a photographer

We also went to Lahaina and went whale watching on a big boat.

We saw a lot more of their bodies then that...they're just elusive!

Also checked out a museum, historical prison and the black rock beach.

Snorkeling with Gopro at Black rock beach

Aaron bought shave ice (Hawaiian specialty) which is basically like a slushy but...shaved ice.

Our best day in Maui was a Roberts Hawaii tour bus on the Road to Hana, following it all the way around the lower part of the island.

There were only 4 other people, and the tour bus took us through cliffs, the ocean side, lots of waterfalls

Really really cold water!

lava tubes, irrigation tunnels and to a sampling winery.

There are 600+ turns, 50+ one way bridges on the Road to Hana

...and a few celebrity homes such as Oprah Winfrey and Tom Hanks. That night we went to a block party that was up the street from our hostel and we listened to the bands play their music.

And that concludes the first 2 weeks of Hawaii. We've been having a blast! Subscribe for more.

And then there were Two

A lot has happened since the last post on this blog. Aaron has completed his undergrad and been working in his field for a year and half, in addition to getting married his lovely wife Rebecca. After taking it easy for a year and a half, we're setting off on the adventure of our lifetimes (so far). The plans so far include a few weeks in each of Hawaii, New Zealand and Australia, with the remainder of the trip yet to be planned!

The last weeks have been very busy with with Aaron getting ahead on work, in addition to getting our accommodations and travels in order. Aaron will be continuing to work reduced hours while abroad, which is a huge blessing. Rebecca has been riveted on booking accommodations, as this is her first experience with backpacking or hosteling. Visas, international calling, paperwork and all kinds of odds and ends have all been coming together in the last week before departing. Rebecca is done packing (so she thinks), and Aaron has yet to start. Aaron's experiences travelling have made him very exacting with what will come and what will not, so that will make for an interesting final rush.

Rebecca finishes her babysitting the night before we head down to spend a day with Aaron's family. Rebecca's parents are treating us to a Marriage Retreat in Muskoka at Muskoka Bible Centre, as a time to rest and have some family time before we leave. They have a lot of fun things planned for us for the weekend, including riding in a horse drawn sleigh and visiting a sugar bush. The next day we will be heading over to the airport and saying Goodbye to Canada (and the snow!) on Janurary 26th until the end of April. And we will be on our way to the sunny Hawaiian Islands for 3 weeks.

We will be visiting Oahu (Honolulu), Maui and the Big Island. That's all for now until we write more on our adventures in Hawaii.

The Last Post

Well the trip is over, and I am safely back in Canada. And Canada is cold. It was nice for about the first few hours, especially to see the beautiful snow falling on the ground. But after that...brrrr. At least I had some time in Europe to transition to the colder temperatures.

Dusk in Paris

My experiences in Africa and even Europe seem so surreal now. Looking at pictures, it seems so far away, and it seems like I am starting to compartmentalise my time abroad into a box that I don't think about normally. But I am trying not to do that, and instead integrate my experiences and new ideas into the rest of my life, whether new music, ideas or friends.

It has been great to spend time with my family and friends at home. It strangely feels like I haven't really left, everything seems more or less the same, which I was not expecting. But I guess that's because I was not actually gone for that long.

I have to admit that over the course of this blog, I have discovered that blogging is not really my thing. And you may have noticed that by my rather brief and facts-emphasising style of writing. So you probably won't hear from me here for a while, as you probably guessed from this post's title. If you haven't seen the rest of the blog, please check it out, because I poured much of my not-enjoying-bogging sweat into it.

Farewell!
-Aaron

Atlantic Ocean on the coast of Cape Town

Europe

On Monday December 12^th I left for my Europe trip. I bought a train pass and made good use of Europe's excellent train network, which I was very impressed by. First stop was Berlin, in eastern Germany. Berlin has a fascinating history, and it was interesting to hear of everything that went on there and see the remains of the Berlin wall. I did a free walking tour of the city, which was very informative. I also went to the Pergamon museum, which has some amazing big artifacts, including the Pergamon Altar.

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin

On Tuesday I took a night train to Cologne, in western Germany. Cologne has an incredible cathedral which started construction in 1248. It is incredibly gothic and was absolutely stunning to look at. I spent a long time walking around, and also went up one of the towers. Its incredible to think of the resources to build such a structure during that time, and it took over 600 years to complete. 

Cologne at night with the 'High Cathedral of Sts. Peter and Mary'

I also visited the 4711 Cologne house, home of the perfume by the same name of course. I also visited Aachen for an afternoon, which is very close to the Dutch Belgian border.

On Friday I left for Brussels, capital of Belgium. Brussels is a very nice city. I visited the Magritte museum, which is an art gallery, along with a museum on Automobiles and one on Comics. Brussels is famous for the birthplace of the cartoon character Tintin. And I visited the peeing boy statue, 'Mannekin Pis', a famous statue in the city.

Manneken Pis, Brussels

On Saturday afternoon I went to Antwerp, which is known for its diamond sector. (I didn't buy any)

That evening I went to Paris. Paris felt so much bigger then the other cities, I think primarly because of the grand design of the city. I spent more time than the other cities there, particularly because of all of the interesting sights too see. I first visited the Notre Dame du Paris, and did another free walking tour, which was again very informative. Paris has an incredible history. I also did a tour of Montmartre, and visited the Basilica of the Sacré Cœur. That evening I visited the Eiffel tower, and went all the way to the top. Although it is perhaps somewhat over hyped, it really is a quite amazing structure.

some tower I found in Paris...forget what its called

The following day I went to the Louvre, which is one of the largest museums in the world with over 35,000 artifacts and works of art. I am not too much into visual arts, but the paintings and artifacts in that place were truly amazing. And there really was something special about looking at the Mona Lisa...

I also visited the Arc de Triomphe, which was commisioned by Napolean in the 1800's. The following day I visited the Palace at Versailles, which was the royal palace in the 16 and 1700's. It is also an incredibly beautiful place. That afternoon I went into the Catacombs, which are abaondoned stone mines running under Paris for several kilometers. Part of the tunnels were used as a burial place for human bones from Paris' overflowing cemeteries in the 18^th century. There are piles and piles of human bones and skulls piled along the sides of the caves, organized into different patterns. It was really creepy, but a unique place to see.

My final destination was Luxembourg. Luxembourg is a tiny country and with only 500 000 inhabitants, it is almost the smallest country in the European Union. But I think the city was the most beautiful city I visited in all of Europe. It is in very hilly countryside, and was a fort built on a large hill. Everything is very quaint and matches what I think of as stereotypical Europe. The country is so small that the walking tour I did sometimes gets to chat with the from the prime minister if he happens to be going for lunch when they're outside his office. No such luck this time though. I hung out with some fellow backpackers from Brazil and Germany in the evening, and spent my last day there seeing the beautiful city and surrounding countryside, before my long train ride back to Holland.

Luxembourg City

Backpacking is definitely not a relaxing experience. At this point along my whole trip, I am definitely looking forward to being back to a normal, routine life. But it is an experience that is worth it and that I will remember for a long time. The adventure and the sights, along with the people I met along the way. The small piece of Europe that I saw was amazing and interesting and definitely worth while.

Holland

I am spending December in Holland and Europe with my Dutch family. I have not been for something like 7 or 8 years, so it has been quite nice to spend some time with my family. I really like the country, and have spent some time biking on their excellent biking paths. I spent a day and half biking to my aunt's. The weather has been less than ideal, especially compared to Africa. But that is to be expected for a European winter I think.

Biking in Holland

I did a tour of Rotterdam with Eric, a family friend. The port is amazingly huge. We also went to see the dams in zeeland, used to hold back the sea from areas of land that have been created. The north sea was incredibly windy. I also went up to the Northwest of Holland, where there is an island on the sea, and to a castle called Muiderslot near Amsterdam.

Muiderslot

The that night I stayed in Amsterdam and did a tour the next day with some of my family and friends. Amsterdam is a very interesting city with many canal's and streets together and old buildings, making it very beautiful. 

Streets and Canals in Amsterdam

The end of Africa

I spent my last week in Africa in Zambia, at Victoria Falls. We took the bus overnight to get there. The exchange rate in Zambia is $1 for 5000 kwachas, so I felt rich walking out of the bureau de change with 1.5 million in my rather fat wallet. But it was rather annoying dealing with all these large numbers all of the time.
In my first evening I did a river cruise on the Zambezi above the falls. Isaw an elephant and some hippos having a bath, along with some crocodiles. But there were much more animals to come. The next day we went to Victoria Falls (traditionally known as 'the Smoke that Thunders'). Vic Falls is the biggest in the world, at a height of 108 meters its more than twice as tall the Niagara falls. Although neither the tallest nor the widest (1.7 km wide) in the world, the combination of the large width and height makes it the largest waterfall in the world.

Vic Falls - not much water here in the dry season (you can't see the whole falls from here)

It was the dry season so we were able to do a walking tour of the top of the falls where there was not as much water falling as usual. We also went swimming near the top of the falls, at a place called the Devil's pool. This is a natural pool of water formed at the edge of the fall, separated from the edge by a rock wall. Although this sounds rather scary, it was a very controlled situation, and an incredibly beautiful place to swim.

Devil's Pool (which has a wide stone wall between the edge of the falls)

The following day I did a small safari on jeep and boat of the Chobe National Park, known for having the highest concentration of elephants in the world.

There are over 50,000 elephants at Chobe

We also saw hippos, buffalo and a pride of lions. It was an incredible experience to be so close to so many huge and wild animals.

Pride of Lions

The following day I went for a day of white water rafting down the Zambezi river, starting from just below the falls going through 25 rapids. I'm not much of a water person so it was quite intense particularly when my raft flipped twice. But it was a lot of fun.

Rafting on the Zambezi

On Saturday I took a plane to Johannesburg. I was supposed to catch my flight from there to Amsterdam, but unfortunately this was not allowed because my flight was originally supposed to leave from Gaborone. So I spent Sunday in Johannesburg, where I did a tour of the Soweto township and went to the Apartheid museum.

The spot where Hector Pieterson was killed in the Soweto uprising during Apartheid times

Then I took a bus to Gaborone, and the following day took my flight from Gaborone back to Johannesburg and finally to Amsterdam. While I was back in Gaborone I found out that an interview I did about a month ago was finally published in The Voice, a national newspaper in Botswana. I was pleasantly surprised that I received almost a page in the newspaper. You can read the online version at http://www.thevoicebw.com/2011/11/25/culture-matters/. I think its the perfect finish to a great student exchange.

On the Zambezi

And that was all of Africa for this time. What an amazing place, and what an amazing experience there. So many great people and so many amazing things done and seen. I now look forward to being with family and a different continent of experiences...

The end of the exchange.

Schoolwork  has rapidly accelerated during the last month of my time in Botswana. What a strange way to spend the reminder of my time here. But I still had enough time to spend with my friends before I left, along with a few other interesting things I did including helping at a Chairty fundraiser for the charity group that I am a part of, finally swimming on the pool that everyone has seen from Google, and going to a Lecrae concert! I also got interviewed for the National newspaper for one of the regular columns about people. (see the end of this post for the article!) I also had the chance to see part of a Setswana wedding, which was very cool. They are generally all day events and the whole community shows up to show their support. It was nice to interact with a normal local community one final time.

Young Adults group I was apart of

Goodbye party with some of my friends

Examinations here are shorter, 2 hours, meaning that you are tested more on your ability to work quickly. Not always my forte in exams, but I got better at it. My last week consisted of a significant amount of studying mixed with packing because I had 2 exams on my last day, and then took the bus in the evening to Zambia. It was a strange feeling leaving the place. Although it was sad to be saying goodbye to a lot of my friends, I did not feel particularly said to be leaving in general...It was more just feeling that I had a nice adventure, it was good times with the people I met there, and now its time to move on to the next adventure. But perhaps once I am back in Canada I will begin to miss the people and the lifestyle more, once life finally settles back down to normal. I think that is one of the reasons why i feel this way, I have gotten used to being in a perpetual state of not normal, almost always experiencing change and travelling a lot. But thats all just theory. For now, I will continue to look forward to adventure, because although the exchange may be over, the trip sure isn’t...so stay tuned!

After my first needle ever! (in preparation for Zambia)