Greetings,

Was on my way to The Shack for a beer and game of chess when I ran into this whole scene. Looks like “Alphonso the Magician” has pulled another sea creature in the form a monster king fish from his hat. In all fairness, the gent to the side of him is “the man” and gets the credit. Also, he looks basically what a character I go fishing with could at some point in the future.

While writing this, senses overloaded with a group’s first lobster experience.

Have booked  a trip with Elvis on Saturday.

Someone just asked if I’m in for going with Alphonso tomorrow – said yes.

Developing…

Good day,

Supposedly the fishing around Little Corn Island is great, why wouldn’t it be? If there aren’t a wealth of large feisty fish 50 miles offshore in the Caribbean Sea, where would they be? This fish is supposedly a “small barracuda” and they get considerably larger. Rumor has it the gent in a few blog posts ago riding the horse aka the guy from the Peace Love Farm has the island record. It was so big they had to bring the boat into shore, a fish story or truth!?

The gent above is named Alphonso and has signs all over, now we know he is legit. I saw Captain Elvis leaving today with some people at about 7am. On the topic of fishing, also met a gent on the beach who said he went and it was very worthwhile. All this said, bigger barracuda have been fished from the dock of Little Corn which supposedly dwarf this one. Let’s not forget about the rumored “resident nurse shark”.

Maybe I’m sheltered but that’s a big fish, I held it up and can’t imagine pulling it on a hand line.  So you know, the people who use hand lines for fishing aren’t super human for the most part, they wrap their hands in old rubber from tires so it doesn’t burn. Supposedly the “thrill” of hooking a large fish with your hands then pulling it in is incomparable.

Heard there is also king fish and tarpon around these parts, another rumor is that tarpon is delicous.

Straight to business here, went fishing in the Rideau Canal with friends…

Lots of fish in the Rideau Canal such as monster carp, bass, pike, muskie, sunfish (ha) and whatever else is lurking. The Rideau Canal stretches forever and connects several major bodies of water, as  a result it is prime time. The fish we pulled looked really clean as though they were just “passing through” as the canal is not known as being a natural spring.

We shall discuss “reverse culture shock” tomorrow, perhaps.

Made friends with the gentlemen below, we posed egregiously with our trophy.

Greetings,

I write this to you from a quaint guest house, about ~50 meters from the Mekong. A day or so ago I had the great pleasure of going fishing with some guys who live around here. The deal was this, I buy a 24 of beer and they take care of the rest. Sounded like a good deal to me, it most certainly was.

We left the guest house / tourist area and ventured off the beaten path. Picked up a 24 of beer, some fishing line. Went to a gents house and got some rods before going to the Mekong and digging our own worms. The crew was myself, a guy my age and one his friends.

After getting the worms, we went to this fish farm that is owned by a friend of one of the guys where most of the fish you buy in the market comes from. Granted fishing in a fish farm isn’t that tough but it’s fun. Especially when you eat them as you catch them. We eat about 2 kilos of fish and brought back another 2 kilos. Typically they sell 20,000kip for 1 fish, not bad!? When we came back one of the gents wives cooked us Tom Yum Fish or something like that, it was delicious.

The fish farm was a series of ponds with different types of fish. This was one of the more “off the beaten path” experiences I’ve had and arguably one of the best days of the trip. We just hung out for hours on this farm with the owners just chilling, chatting and enjoying life. The place had so many critters running around as well. Dogs, puppies, cats, kittens, chickens, chicks, ducks and more. Also had a “crazy” dog attached on a short chain. Supposedly the owner and his wife are the only people it won’t bite. They let it off the chain each night and it “runs game”. Nobody will try and steal fish because “Crazy Carl” will be there and he doesn’t bark, just goes in for it.

I made a video compilation in that “new style” I’m trying to that I’ll mashup and upload when I’m in a major city. The internet connection here is sketchy at best and frankly, I have better things to do.

The other night I hit up basically the whole club area and MORE. The night clubs here are out of this world regarding setting / style, just not that packed.  The bowling alley is the only place that serves liquor late night so most travelers end up there at some point. I went, it was fun, won’t be back though.

Luang Prabang is very relaxed and the majority of the travelers here are French. You can also really see the French influence on the builings and cuisine here. This place also has some out of this world restaurants on the Mekong. I’m talking places you’d pay ~$100US for a meal for two but you can get it for ~$8-$16. Also a plethora of selections at the night market.

The people here are very nice and unfortunately this place is quite poor. You hear horror stories of mainly French and British travelers staying 3-5 nights then leaving at 4am, leaving the staff to carry the bill. That bill is usually more than half their monthly salary and they work 24 hours a day 7 days a week. They go to bed last and wake up first sleeping near the door in case a traveler comes home late, past curfew.

I did my best to give them an idea of how business is done in the west and made them promise me that they’d make people pay daily, if they want 3-5 days + at a discount, fine but have them pay up front. It’s also often long haired hippies and shockingly middle aged couples(mainly French) that are the biggest culprits. They told me they have never heard of a Canadian doing something like this, of course not, it’s shameful and down right pathetic. Also if you are at a really nice restaurant, leave a small tip. I did and the guy came up to me afterward shaking my hand and thanking me, I didn’t know why then he said the money with a smile.

What is most unique about Laos is the scenery, it’s breath taking really. The endless unspoiled terrain is something I’ve never seen before. Also, I would recommend this town to retirees looking for a great experience. Since there is a curfew and many other laws, it’s quite safe here. Also Luang Prabang is the most touristy area in all of Laos, plenty to do, places to eat and places to stay for all budgets. You can get a dorm room for ~30,000kip a night and a single or double room for ~70,000-130,000 kip. Also hotels that are ~300,000kip+. I will note, that my 70,000kip a night room has a bed like back home, it’s quite nice.

Today, I will hang out, sample some local cuisine and I plan on leaving tomorrow, perhaps. Then again this is me we’re talking about so who knows really?

Tips hat,

WOW,

Laos is totally out of this world. You realize that Thailand is like the west but in the East. Laos is a communist country above it that is very different but totally remarkable.

Tomorrow, I will send a big update with photos, maybe even a video blog compilation as I have made one. Suffice to say I woke up early after going to bed late and breaking curfew, ooops.

Laos is great, it’s totally undiscovered and guided tours are for geeks. Be the man / woman you were destined to be when you travel. Voyage with the spirit of an explorer, finding your own way, doing your own thing. Avoid all tourist attractions and befriend good people in foreign lands and you will enrich your life. If you just go take photos of things that there are already 10000000X copies on flikr, what’s the point?

Needless to say, every decision you ever make, leads to new junctions in the road. Had I took slow boat, I’d be with a bunch of  planned tour wusses talking about nothing… Instead I went fast boat, got here, alone. Met some awesome people and had the best day of my trip.

Raises glass….

Tips hat,

Went deep sea fishing in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand today. It was good times and the price was right. We opted for the 1/2 day as most of the large predators feast at dusk and dawn. It was from 1:30-6:30 and cost 2500 baht for the boat. The boat was one of the longtail boats, used for fishing, water taxi etc… Our guide was great and the fishing was decent.

Let’s get serious, if you fish often, you know it’s called “fishing” not “catching” so you can’t have high expectations but should always hope for the best. To begin we just used heavily weighted lines with ~5 hooks that we’d attach some mackerel or the like. We caught plenty of snappers, clown fish and multiple other types that names elude me. It was some good fun.

After that, it began raining, no pouring. It came down like there was no tomorrow for about 30 minutes and then it was gone. It was kinda surreal being in the middle of the ocean, in this tiny boat in the middle of a rain storm.

Later in the evening (at dusk) we did some trolling, we had a barracuda on the line but I didn’t manage to get it in. I’m not sure if it was my fault(very well could of been, not the first time this has happened) or the hook was just never set properly. That said I did get a bit “excited” but it’s hard not too. The guide said it was almost in the boat and he was guessing it was ~5KG which is a decent size.

After that we had the kitchen / restaurant near the fishing guides cook up our fish. They did it for 100 baht, which was a great deal. If you’re cooking small fish, always BBQ them, the fried / steamed ones tasted horrible but I could not get enough of the BBQ ones. I have to say, it’s different picking meat off a small fish compared to the juicy steaks we got from our catch in Koh Tao.

We took about 9 fish and left the rest for the guide. Our guide was “Rob’s Sports Fishing & Tour” he does fishing and multiple other types of tours, his number is 084-0572311 or 080-1488030. He gets my stamp of approval, whatever that’s worth.

All this said, sucks we didn’t catch any lunkers, I’ve seen some of the photos and there are some mammoth fish floating around the waters of Koh Phi Phi.

Would I do it again? Absolutely. Had I pulled something big in, I’d of probaly gone the next day. Also fishing from a longtail is an experience in itself. Also, I got to see most of the island which people typically pay 1000 baht for. Sure I didn’t do any cliff jumping or play with monkey’s but I’m a fisherman so I did what floats my boat, so to speak. One cool thing was we passed some cliffs where they used to get the nests for “bird’s nest soup”. They have bamboo shoots along the sides of precarious cliffs, props to those who used to navigate those jagged cliffs, it’s truly something else.

Deep sea fishing was awesome in retrospect, I wish I caught more but it was definitely “worth it”. The one fish I caught was a good size and it tasted delicious, delicious. Left at 9:45, got back at 4:30.  Hit up a shoal a few miles off the island. If you want more action, I’d recommend you go on the night fishing trips, I’ve heard you catch more and it makes sense, most fish feed at dawn and dusk, yes?

After fishing, we brought our catch to our favorite restaurant, for 300 baht, they cooked it all, in many different styles. Something about having a shore lunch or dinner that is truly majestic.

Considering fishing was only $50 US or ~1600baht, which is cheap for deep sea, I highly recommend it. They take you out on a large boat, not some little long tail, everyone gets a rod and you use squid as bait.

The food is alright, I could of used more so buy some sandwiches at 7/11 and while you’re at it, buy a few beers, they are much pricier on the boat but then again, when in the middle of the ocean….

If I were back on Koh Tao an someone said “Want to go Deep Sea Fishing?” I’d say “sure”. Finally, our “captain” was one of the coolest, most energetic and happiest guys I have ever met.

Good day,

Luckily, this is a rare update from an internet cafe, where they *could* log your password and definitely make you retype everything with their beaten down keyboards. Not the most inspiring of places when all too often the booths beside you has vagabonds begging for money from their parents on skype, ha.

Happy Halloween.

Life is good, dare I say grand, despite feeling like crap again from treating my body like a three ring circus.

Here’s an analogy for you, let’s assume you’re a boxer and your performance in the ring is say, your health. If you get knocked out and get back up, you’re statistically easier to knock out again as you’re on the rebound. Same with your health, when you recover from something that totally kicked your a$$, you gotta watch your back.

Enough of that, I’m off to go fishing in Elk lake with a buddy, then practice my short game and hopefully rest up.

That’s it, that’s all.

Was looking into flights. Was considering going from Vancouver -> LA -> Zanzibar but that ticket was priced out @ $4400 when an around the world ticket costs ~$5100+ taxes. Needless to say it’s time for me to get serious and start really looking into this. I can get a ticket from Vancouver -> Shanghai for ~$665. If that’s the case I may do that but from Manila -> Zanzibar it’s ~$1000+ so I will quickly surpass the around the world ticket. Wasn’t this about laundry, fishing and lounging? Ok back to the point of this post.

Went to a buddies parents house who live on the Ocean to basically just lounge, do laundry and fish. That’s all I did all day. One thing that was cool was while we were there a family friend who had been taking care of the place showed up and guess what, he’s traveled the world. I picked his brain and ran my mouth for hours discussing different countries, what to expect, what’s good, what’s not. He’s from Africa (born) but lived his whole life here with parents from the UK. He also suggested the around the world ticket. On the topic of tickets, I’m going to meet Gary from “Everything Everywhere” which is basically the world’s best travel blog in my opinion. He’s been traveling the globe endlessly since March, 2007 and is a pretty interesting guy. I met him in 2007 online in my blog forum and we’ve kept in touch since. He’s in Victoria so we’re meeting downtown and going to grab some lunch. Crazy how things work out, yes?

Back to the day, here are some photo’s and whatnot. All and all a very relaxing day. Dare I say that since resigning I’m finally starting to realize the definition of the word “relaxation”. I’m learning it despite fighting trench throat which I’m glad to report is basically gone. Sure I’m still weak and have a week left of antibiotics but I feel human and have basic swallowing functions.

Cool shot of the bay from my friends parents. Was hard to pick a photo, the place was beautiful.

This weight is one you’d maybe regret losing $52. However it’s also great to tie to a rope and use as a “morning star” to scare off anyone crazy enough to pull a road rage fit in your direction. Hmmmm

This is the gear I ended up buying, the rod is my friends  ocean casting rod ~8-10 feet, which I’m borrowing. It may even be *too heavy duty* for the type of fishing I’m doing.

Fishing in the Pacific Ocean at dusk. The water is FREEZING. I only fished for about ~15-20 minutes. I did get some significant bites but no catches. It’s called fishing, not catching afterall.

That’s about all I got up to yesterday. Now I’m taking it easy, meeting Gary for a late breakfast, early lunch, brunch or whatever the h3ll you want to call it. Supposedly going up to that cabin today but we always seem to get sidetracked.

One thing I will note, I’m genuinely thrilled that Monday isn’t “Monday” anymore. It’s just a day, the way it should be.