Opportunities!!

Even though my current situation of being jobless and travelling without a set itinerary may seem quite crazy to a lot of people, I can still take comfort in knowing that there are some strong opportunities on the horizon for me.
The most immediate opportunity for me right now is a possible microfinance internship with the Grameen Foundation. They are an international organization founded by Muhammad Yunus, who first developed the idea of microfinance – lending small amounts of money to impoverished people who have tangible skills and crafts, but lack the capital to grow their business – and he won the Nobel Peace Prize for it. The idea of this really interests me, and I really want to give it a try and see what I can do in this area. It’s all in the works right now, and could change at any time, but right now they are talking about having me start off in their Hong Kong office September 1st. After some initial hands-on learning and training, they are exploring possibilities for sending me to Indonesia (Jakarta) and/or the Philippines (Manila) to continue the work. The internship will be 6 months long. I’m really hoping this works out.
My other opportunity is to be a pilot with the Canadian Air Force. I’d have to say that other than family and friends, my number one passion in life is flying, and my dream job would be flying Search and Rescue airplanes or helicopters on the west or east coast of Canada. As some of you may know (assuming people are actually reading this!), I started the application process for this back in August 2008. Before then, I never even had a chance for this, as you needed perfect vision – uncorrected – for them to even consider you. It was only in 2008 that they started to allow laser eye surgery. Maybe it was the fact that even NASA had approved laser eye surgery for their astronauts that they finally decided to allow it. I got the surgery in August, and within a month I had 20/10 vision (better than 20/20 – just call me hawk-eye). After going through interviews, cognitive testing, and fighting through some snafu’s in the preliminary medical testing, I was invited out to Trenton, Ontario in May 2009 for Aircrew Selection, where you have to fly their simulator for 4 one hour flights, over the course of 3 days, with each flight test getting more complex. Man that simulator had the most sensitive controls you could imagine! After battling through the tests with severely sweaty palms, I got the great news that I had passed the testing. There were 14 candidates in total, and only 5 of us passed. Needless to say the 5 of us had some beers after that at the Officer’s Mess. We had Air Force pilots coming up to us and congratulating us, and telling us all the cool stories they’ve built up over their careers to-date. The 5 of us were then shipped over to Toronto for a long day of the most intensive medical testing I’ve ever experienced – it was the same tests they put the astronauts through. We lost one more guy at this stage, which really sucked because we were really starting to become a team, and a good group of friends. After making it through all that, it was definitely time to celebrate. Unfortunately, the one sobering part of this was that the Air Force had recently put a freeze on their pilot intake, due to some big training backlogs in Moose Jaw on the Harvard. So although I’ve passed everything, my application is in limbo until they resume their pilot hiring, which they say will most likely not start again until April 2010 (the new fiscal year for the Canadian Forces). The one thing I’ve taken away from this is that Pilot is an extremely competitive trade – it’s probably still the “Top Gun Effect” that draws so many people to the job – but I’m willing to wait it out, especially now that I’ve made it through all those hurdles. Whenever I need some motivation, I watch this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI3JqFkXXSE
On the plus side, it gives me the opportunity to travel and try out the microfinance world…who knows maybe I’ll find myself in a position where I’ve found my new passion.

Thailand

Wow so it’s already been more than 2 weeks since my last entry on here. I guess after awhile, I kind of just got in the zone of travelling, and you kind of just forget all about things like updating blogs, checking emails, etc etc.
Thailand was great. Maybe it was the 6 glasses of wine I had on the flight to Bangkok, but I found the whole airport and customs experience pretty easy. I got a “legitimate” taxi from the airport, which apparently represent only a small fraction of the potential drivers, who are practically pulling at your arms trying to convince you that they are giving you the best deal into town. My fare turned out to be 400 Baht, which is a little higher than usual, but that was because we spent 30 mins stuck in traffic jams. Still, around $14 Canadian is pretty cheap for one hour in a taxi. I got dropped off on Khao San Rd, and immediately realized I wouldn’t be getting any sleep if I stayed there. There were masses of tourists everywhere, and everywhere you turn, someone is trying to sell you something, with the most common opening line “Hey my friend!” I found a nice hotel close by Khao San, but far enough that I could still sleep.
That night, I decided to head back to Khao San Rd, and I came across a bar with some good live acoustic music. They were local guys playing, and man they were awesome. My favorite song they did was “Think Twice” by Phil Collins. I never pictured that song being played acoustically before, but they nailed it with the singer handling the rhythm, and the other guy playing the main melody of the song, which sounded really cool on the acoustic. I met a Scottish guy there, and after watching the rest of their set, we went to another bar, where I was issued a challenge by a local to play him in some pool. Good thing I didn’t put any money on it! I quickly remembered how much I suck at pool. I decided to sit the rest of the games out, and got to talking with a local girl, who was kind enough to offer me some insect “snacks”. I looked into her bag, and she had a nice assortment of deep fried grasshoppers, beetles, and maggots. Yummmm. At first I said no, but after a while, I could see she was genuinely upset that I would turn her offering down, so I elected to try out the maggot. Very tasty, by maggot standards at least. I gagged a little, but managed to get it down. I can’t say I’ll be eating any more insects….
The next day, I met up with Meghan, and we went up to Lopburi, which is a little town a couple hours north of Bangkok. Meghan used to teach English up there, but now she works at a local bar/guesthouse there. It was great because the owner was kind enough to hook me up with my own room, meals, and all the beer I wanted – all at no charge! So I found myself hanging out with some other English teachers, and Annette, who is a freelance travel writer. We had some great conversations that night. Sadly one of the teachers decided to play the role of ignorant and obnoxious American, so we had to diffuse her rather strong and uneducated opinions, all while trying to convince her that we are not “anti-American.” Other than that, it was a great night.
The next day, I went back to Bangkok, determined to have a nice and relaxed evening, especially because I was flying to Koh Phangan the next morning. My hopes of relaxation were quickly dashed when I checked into my hotel and met Kerry, who was sitting just outside her room, sipping some whiskey. She offered me some, and of course I accepted – it was Canada Day afterall! We met up with some other people (and some other Canadians celebrating Canada Day), and had another great night. The next morning, I woke up and realized I needed to be at the airport in 30 minutes, so I packed my stuff up faster than I’ve ever done, and hailed the first cab I saw. After a quick 30 minute nap in the back of the cab, I was at the airport. I was pretty hungry by the time I boarded the plane, but luckily I was smart enough to pre-order a chicken and rice meal to be served to me on the flight. What they didn’t tell me was that they like to throw in some random minnows into the mix….not what I wanted to see considering the state I was in. I managed to dodge the minnows and ate most of it. Luckily the flight was less than an hour.
Koh Phangan
Koh Phangan is an island of beauty and tranquility, or chaos and all-night partying, depending on where on the island you’re staying. On the ferry over to Koh Phangan, I met a really cool couple from Ottawa, and spent my first 3 days partying with them on the beach. The nightlife in Haad Rin, where all the partying happens, consists of a mass of people flocking to the beach around 11pm to commence the downing of whiskey buckets. The whiskey bucket is really a disgusting mix of red bull, a mickey of whiskey, and a can of coke. The first time I tried it, I nearly threw up. But after a few sips, you just get used to the taste. Every night, it’s the same idea, you have a DJ playing the same songs from the previous night, and fire dancers doing their well-practiced routines. After 3 nights of that, I managed to escape from Haad Rin on a scooter, and cruised all over the island. Cruising along the west coast with the sunset coming down over the beach, listening to tunes on my mp3 player, was absolutely fantastic. I had a couple chilled out nights, and then I was rejuvenated. I checked out some Muay Thai Boxing, which was really intense, and I met some Norwegian guys – apparently Norwegians are really fond of the drink, and we had a good night partying it up on the beach. On my last day in Koh Phangan, I signed up for the Snoop Dogg Boat Trip, which involved some island hopping, and snorkeling. It was a good day, even though the snorkeling was pretty weak (they didn’t even supply fins, and there wasn’t too much action where they dropped us off to snorkel). I met some other friends on the boat, and spent my last night hanging out with them on the beach. Koh Phangan was a cool place, but by then I was ready to move on. I like the party scene as much as the next guy, but after awhile it gets played out and I found myself looking for something more meaningful. I also realized that at 27, I’m quite a bit older than the average tourist there – mostly consisting of early 20’s British people. I’m getting old!
When I got back to Bangkok, I came down with a horrible fever from the deepest realms of hell. Not sure what I ate that spurred it, but I’m thinking it was from the various I food stalls that I ate from, where the food is sitting outside for hours at a time – but it tasted sooo good! I didn’t really sleep at all that night, between the constant sweating and shivering, and violent stomach pains. It took a couple days before I was over it, and by then it was time for Bali. But on my last night, I met up with my friend Annette who I’d met in Lopburi, and we spent the night at the Hard Rock Café Bangkok watching a really cool band. I went straight to the airport from there.

Business Class To Bangkok

Right now I’m sitting in Business Class on Thai Airways, en route to Bangkok, Thailand. This is my 1st time sitting in the business class section of an airplane, and I gotta say, I love it! (Thanks mom for hooking me up!) The whole process, from waiting for the flight while sipping on fine Japanese beers, to the flight, where the flight attendants are all over you to make sure you are 100% happy, and more importantly, that your glass of wine never finds the bottom (I just finished my 4th glass of wine), is so relaxing and spoiling. It’s a welcomed change from the usual scrambling and struggling in the heat and/or rain to find your destination in an insane city like Tokyo.
After getting back from Nikko, the last part of my time in Japan really flew by. The two items of note were staying with a Kosuke (local guy I met on Couchsuring.com) and of course climbing Mt Fuji (see post). Staying with Kosuke allowed me to get a better glimpse into the everyday life of the Japanese. He was an extremely nice and hospitable guy, and we enjoyed many beers together. After our first dinner of sushi (raw tuna fish – I actually liked it, which is good b/c I’m not normally a fan of sushi at all), he was kind enough to take me to Jonathan’s Restaurant, which is a Japanese chain restaurant, offering many options for the North American palette. In true North American fashion, I decided to gorge myself with a nice fatty dish of hamburger, chicken, sausage, potatoes, veggies and rice. Good way to build up the calories after climbing Mt Fuji. Kosuke also took me to a traditional Japanese bathhouse. That was really cool as well. You start off by finding a mini-shower and tap to crouch down beside, and cleanse yourself (brushing your teeth, soap, shampoo), and finish off by getting into a ridiculously hot bath with jets. I’m a guy who likes his hot tubs hotter than most, but this was the hottest I’ve ever experienced. My skin was beet-red after getting out. There were bubbles everywhere, and I’m pretty sure it was due to the fact that the water was actually boiling. The water also had a purple hue to it, which Kosuke told me is owing to the fact that the water contains numerous medicinal chemicals in it which are supposed to be really good for the skin. All around a great traditional Japanese experience, and my muscles and joints were much happier for it, especially after the grueling Fuji climb.
Overall, I had a great time in Japan, and even though I saw only a small portion of the country, I liked what I saw, and the people are some of the most friendly and helpful people I’ve ever met.

Mount Fuji

Climbing Mount Fuji was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done. The official climbing season does not begin until July 1st, but since I was leaving Japan on June 29th, I had no choice but to climb it before that. After lots of research on the internet, I quickly came to the conclusion that climbing by myself in the off-season would not be the smartest move. So while surfing the net, I came across a website where I found a post by another traveler looking to climb Mount Fuji with others on June 27th. So I quickly replied to her message indicating my interest. A few back and forth emails later, and I was having dinner and drinks in Tokyo with my new found climbing friends – Esstee and Rene. It’s really nuts how much the internet has made things for the solo traveler. Between the dinner and the actual climb date, two more climbers were added to the group.
After taking the bus to the 5th station (the base camp), we had some coffee and pancakes, and starting climbing just after 4pm. Now, our goal was to reach the summit for sunrise, which occurs around 4:30am, and the climb itself was supposed to take only 6 hours. So we had a huge buffer time for lots of rest at all of the different stations and huts. It was a good thing we had all that time, b/c given the conditions, there’s no way you could comfortably make it to the summit in 6 hours. Once we reached 8th station (the 2nd last station before the summit) at around 1am, the wind and cold was almost unbearable, and we finally hit the snow that we were able to see way up there while looking up at Mount Fuji from the base camp. Up until this point, I had taken all of the warnings and worry expressed by the locals and other travelers about the perils of climbing Fuji in the off-season as exaggeration – warnings that were more suited for the weak and elderly. But after the 8th station, it was clear that climbing Fuji really is an intense ordeal. It probably also didn’t help that I didn’t dress appropriately for the conditions. The continuous gusty winds carried with it a numbing cold that I’ve seldom felt, even in Winnipeg in the dead of winter. After getting to about 3000 metres, I had sporadic feelings of dizziness and headaches (due to the decreasing levels of oxygen – common symptoms of altitude sickness), but luckily it didn’t last long. Climbing in the dark, in inclement freezing temperatures, was a mental and physical battle, but well worth it when we finally made it to the summit. The view of the sunrise, above the scattered clouds, with all of the smaller mountains that appeared to be floating on top of clouds, was something really amazing to see. Immediately upon reaching the summit, I was chugging champagne and beer, and even decided to go shirtless pose, which didn’t help much for keeping my body temperature up.
The summit was really cool to hang out on, but the weather was so shitty that we didn’t stay long. We did a half circle around the crater of Fuji, and decided to start our descent. The descent was much faster, but also much more painful on the knees, since you’re continuously stomping your way down.
I’m so glad I climbed Fuji, but honestly, I don’t think I’ll be doing that again. Too much work!!