What Are You??

A friend of mine is working 50 miles south of the Arctic Circle and saw this on his helicopter flight!

Any thoughts about what it could be? I'm assuming its a gossan.  Iron from possible sulphides seem to be leaching out.  Keep in mind the scale, he's a fair distance above the ground.

Lessons from a Backpack

It's amazing what we can achieve when we let go of material things. Travelers know this best, armed with nothing but a backpack and unwavering determination.  I was fortunate to experience the backpacker lifestyle for most of my travels across Australia.

I had come to Oz with a suitcase and was lucky enough to stay at my cousins house for the beginning of my travels,but I soon transitioned to hostel life.  It was an excellent choice as I found a sense of belonging and companionship there that is only rivaled by my family and close friends.  I downsized to a smaller suitcase to keep with me in the hostel, and got used to living in a room full of bunks and shennanigans.

From my fourteen months of travel, I learned many things and I wish to share a few of them with you here.

1. Stay in Hostels: Like I previously stated, there is a great social environment here.  There are so many travelers making their way around, and hostels are a great place to meet like minded people.  You sacrifice your comfort and privacy but you gain a sense of belonging that is unparalleled.  

2. Get a Hostel Discount Card: Many hostels have a membership program that equates to awesome discounts for you.  I have both a YHA and MAD (Nomad) membership card and these have saved me hundreds of dollars when staying at these hostels.  You also get coupons associated with these memberships and they can save you a bundle.

3. Get a Smartphone: I don't know how I would have survived if I did not purchase my iPhone in Australia.  It was perfect for helping me find my way in the city, for keeping in contact with friends back home, and for checking my email for work opportunities.  Modest cell phone plans are around $30-$40/month and free wireless access can be found at most community parks and libraries.

4. Get a Transit Card: Public transit can get quite expensive in Australia.  In Brisbane I was paying about $40 a week just to get around!  If you get one of their smart cards, you will save actual money as the price of cash tickets is more and in certain cities your weekly cost gets capped.

5. Get a Proof of Age Card: So many backpackers lose their passports! Most bars will only accept Australian identification or a foreign passport, so the cheapest option is to apply for a Proof of Age card at the nearest main post office.  This card notifies readers that you are of age and only costs about $10!  Be smart, don't lose your passport.

6. A Bungee Cord is a Backpackers Best Friend: I have used bungee cords for so many things its ridiculous!  And I still have people scoff at me when I bring this up.  They are so useful.  Examples include: using them as a rack for curtains in your cars, for securing items in/on top of your vehicle, for strapping things to your backpack, as a clothing rack, and as a curtain rack for your bunkbed!  Privacy is key to a backpacker so take advantage of this cheap option and do it up!

7. Carry a Power Bar: Everybody wants to charge their electronics, and there just isn't enough outlets to go around.  So be the smart one and carry a power bar.

8. Trust Gumtree: Gumtree is a brilliant website, not only for jobs and used items to buy/sell, but also for finding travel partners.  Everyone on there is in the same boat as you, looking for travel buddies to make the trip more fun/cheap.  So use the site for a meet up and get traveling.


9. Buy Goon: We all like to drink alcohol, but it certainly isn't cheap in Australia.  I've always been a fan of drinking beer and my Captain Morgan Rum and Cokes, but this habit was burning a hole in my wallet.  So eight months into my travels I was persuaded to go on the goon diet.  Goon is cheap casked wine.  It comes in a box, usually around four litres for $15-20 and will get you where you want to go.  Its a cheap alternative for predrinks and will save you dollars, like hundreds of them!

10. Cook in Groups: Food was always the cheapest when I cooked in a group.  It was also much more enjoyable to cook for other people rather than just myself, and I got to enjoy some great meals that way.

11. Secure your Food: Most backpackers are pretty respectful about your property in your room.  Ive only had one experience where someone stole from me.  But the kitchen is a different story.  If your food is not sealed properly, it will be gone in no time.  I found that people were more likely to steal food if it was easy to see in plastic bags and just hanging around.  I always kept my food in reusable tote bags which provided cover.  Later on I decided to use a zipper tote bag in order to keep it more secure.  I figured that backpackers had to cross a moral line when it came to stealing food.  If they could see the food, it was fair game.  However, if the bag was knotted or had a zipper, it took an extra step and they were not willing to go that far.


13. Buy your own Washing Powder: Hostels ridiculously mark up the washing powder they sell.  A small packet for one wash would cost $2, whereas buying a small box from a discount store for over ten washes would cost the same!  I found it was better to do the washing with aty least one other person, that way you could split the washing/dryer costs.

14. Buy an external Hard-drive: Everyone has data that they are willing to give away!  I came to Australia with a 500GB hard drive but had to buy a separate 1 Terra-byte drive just to fit in all the movies, music and TV shows that I was receiving.

15. Buy Ear plugs and a Sleep Mask: Hostels are not for the feint of heart.  Things go boom in the night everyday of the week and you may wake to find your bed is a rocking.  Be aware of what you're getting into.  People come in at all times of the night and some even put the lights on.  I always found that ear plugs and a sleep mask kept me sound asleep.

16. Check the Free Item Box: I picked up so many free things from hostels!  Sleeping bags, tents, sleeping mats, shorts, etc....  Look daily and you may just find something useful.

17. Keep a Blog: It's been great to write about my travels and to share them with friends back home.  I thoroughly enjoy reading over my travels and if I did not keep a log of everything I did then this blog would not be possible.  Do yourself a favor and start writing!

And that is my list of my lessons I've learned from backpacking (besides the obvious get an Australian bank account and cellphone plan). I'm sure I've forgotten quite a few other points, but I think you can discover them for yourself!  If life is all about doing what makes you happy, then what can cause more joy than an adventure!  So get out there and begin your journey.

Bummin' in Burma! Pt 2

The Isle of Fog!

We awoke to our first morning in Banmauk camp and opened the doors of our lodge to the crisp dawn air. Stepping outside we saw the valleys filled with fog, creating the illusion of a giant lake with the mountain tops as islands.  With grumbling stomachs, we decided to see what we could make for breakfast.  Our common area featured a fridge full of apples, a few cans of beans and other assorted vegetables.  The table next to it had a small stove cooker, microwave and toaster.  There were also some boxes and we opened them to find several loaves of bread!  I had been told by Cheyenne to bring snacks with me from Canada, and along with a load of Nature Valley granola bars, I had brought a jar of Nutella.  So our first breakfast consisted of Nutella-spread bread, definitely a throwback to my travels on the roads of Australia!

Jerry decided our first order of business should be obtaining the GPS coordinates of the shafts and adits for a project map.  So we set out with the team and travelled to each of the adits we had visited the day before.  Again we saw the wooden beam supported entrances of the adits, and the piles of rocks blasted and brought from within.  It seemed that no geophysics had been done on the area, meaning that the areas that the company had blasted into were just guesswork or had been historical sightings.  They had blasted into the hillside until they hit a quartz vein (the host of the gold they sought), and then went about following the quartz vein until it petered out. 

Each adit was seen to by a team of labourers who stayed in the villages around the mine, and a mining engineer who would live right next to the adit, often with his family, in what I can only describe as a shanty house.  It was scaffolding on a wooden frame, with tarps strung up to covers the holes.  I was not impressed at the standard of living here for the Burmese workers.

Dyno-mite!!

Even more disconcerting was the safety conditions around hazardous material.  One of the first adits was being supervised by two labourers who were busy smoking out of bamboo bongs when we arrived, sitting next to an oil drum filled with cyanide that was being used to leach out the gold from the rock.  At a separate adit, a worker was packing and stacking dynamite while sitting next to a fire!

We returned to the camp for lunch, a daily occurrence and a luxury I had not enjoyed previously at an exploration camp.  We sat down and were treated to more rice!  It seemed that the Asian diet was centred around this important grain, and that our meals would all look very much alike.  Quite a change from sandwiches and snacks!

After a full day of surveying, we returned again to the camp.  Jerry set about transferring the GPS data, giving Cheyenne and myself a chance to watch the sunset and talk.  It turns out Cheyenne had been working for Eternal for the past 6 months at one of their other sites, Whet Thay.  Surprisingly, she (and Jerry) had previously worked with Victoria Stinson, my friend and TA from Lakehead University!

The next day we decided that it would be best to enter the adits to see what had been mined.  We strolled over to the first adit, hardhats on and flashlights in hand.  We were joined by a team of Burmese, led by Puew Buu Wynn (a young geologist) and three students, one of which was studying to be a lawyer!

The sound of chanting could be heard as we approached the adit entrance, and we paused to see a laptop playing a video of Burmese monks leading a chorus of chants.  It was an eerie start to the morning. 

We entered the drift, our lights piercing the darkness of the adit.  The walls were damp and dirtied from the blasting, but we were able to make out certain quartz veins as we made our way along the 650 ft drift.  We were not very impressed with this certain adit, so we asked them to lead us to the one with the best results.

Quartz Vein!

This next adit was definitely more impressive.  About thirty metres along the drift we came upon a huge quartz vein, at least two to three metres thick!  It dipped at angle and had been mined out accordingly with opposing drifts leading up and down from the main one.  We continued through the down dip direction of the vein till we reached its end, punctured by a vertical shaft from the surface above.  Water flowed down from the wooden beams of the shafts, and as Cheyenne walked towards it, a beam fell in front of her, the force of which would have easily knocked her out.  We were all understandably rattled.

Dan Tai playing Corners!

As we drove towards the camp, Ouu La Myien Sou recommended going to the tea shop.  We took another road and ended up at a roadside shop attended by a family.  They ushered us towards our seats and brought us a complementary pot of Yeay Nuay, as well as taking our orders for coffee or tea, which turned out to come in premixed packets that were poured into hot water.  We indulged in our hot drinks as our team of junior geos played a table game that I thought was similar to corners.  Ouu La Myien Sou was quite a character and shared stories of his time working for Newmont and of all the foreign geologists he had met.  He was always smiling and full of jokes, definitely reminding me of a kid at heart.

Back at the camp we poured over our available resources, which were not much.  We were starting from scratch for this project so we thought we would start by mapping the adits. At this point I should probably mention that underground mapping was not what I was hired to do.  I had signed on to the project with the understanding that I would be surface mapping.  Well, there weren’t many visible outcrops above ground, as a thick overburden covered the bedrock in the project area.  I had never mapped underground before and the experience was unsettling to say the least.

The Team!

Cheyenne and I set off the next day to get a handle on the geology of the adit while the juniors went about mapping the outline of the drifts.  Cheyenne was an excellent geologist and an excellent partner to have while in the adits.  She was full of stories and laughs, and I enjoyed her company.  We spent the day familiarizing ourselves with the various drifts and marking samples to take later.  We gathered our juniors, and as we exited the drift, an air pipe burst beside us, releasing a loud burst that sent us all running for the exit!

Back at the camp, I began to structure my nights.  I came up with an exercise routine that I followed everyday.  Might as well keep fit!  I also had my laptop with me so I began a new TV series, picking up Sons of Anarchy as I had heard great things about the show.  I also had bought a Kobo eReader before leaving home and had packed it full of interesting books. 

We continued our daily routines of mapping and sampling for most of the next week.  The office had been completed and internet was installed, although it was incredibly slow!  It was great to contact our families though after so long, I’m sure my mum was fretting!  Cheyenne and I would venture into the field every day while Jerry remained at camp to compile the data and work on building a map with his GIS software.  He had also managed to obtain the help of one of the Burmese office workers who spoke decent English.  This workers name was difficult to grasp for Jerry, but it sounded like T9 (the trusty cell phone word-generator of the past) so the name stuck.  The juniors had become skilled at their tasks and we were all churning out results.  Rice was still our main course at lunch and dinner but the varied side dishes made it work. 

It was then that Tom came to the camp to visit.  He brought several more maps with him, along with another senior geologist from Eternal, and spent two days surveying the adits and our work.  He also changed our rotations so that we would be staggered here at camp.  Instead of working six weeks before returning to Canada for my two-week break, my first rotation would be five weeks, and Cheyenne’s would be four.  We also went on an extended tour with them, driving through several small villages.  While passing one such village, we waved to a group of young children playing in their yard.  They all stopped, mouths open wide in astonishment at the sight of two white people and a black man driving with several Burmese.  One kid almost fell out of a tree he was playing in!

And so the work continued.  Jerry, Cheyenne and I would wake and share breakfast together cooking eggs and toast (the Nutella only lasted a week, but luckily they bought peanut butter for us!), and then Cheyenne and I would go mapping and sampling in the adits.  What at first was a weird and eerie experience, transitioned into an everyday sort of life for me down in the adits.  It helped that I had chatty Cheyenne to keep me company!  I also got to know the juniors a bit better and we started learning words from eachother. For instance, ‘Minglabba’ meant hello but could be used as a greeting for whenever, ‘Chayzu ting matay’ meant thank you, ‘Sa day’ meant I’m hungry, and ‘Ya’ meant stop.  Down in the adits, I learned how to ask for certain items like rulers and pencils, and command actions like go and wait (‘thwa’ and ‘ca na ley’), and locations like here and over there (‘deema’ and ‘ohma’).  

Cheyenne, the crew, and I!

The juniors would often refer to me as their big brother (‘Ako gee’) and Cheyenne would call the girls in the kitchen little sisters (‘Nee ma ley’), which would send them into fits of glee and laughter.  Both the women and younger men would often wear a make-up known as Thanaka made from the wood of several trees.  They would smear this beige cream over their face in swirls or lines in order to increase attractiveness, much like the make-up women use here in the Western world.  They also had a strange snack that consisted of folding a leaf around a paste and crushed beetle nuts, and sticking it under your lip, much like tobacco dip.  Unfortunately, it had the side effect of staining their teeth blood red!

Beetle Nut Snack!

While we had limited interaction with the females at camp, we were completely immersed with the juniors.  One of whom (Soe Thu) had become quite attached to me, especially in the underground caverns where we made laser sounds to pass the time and bridge the language barrier.  The juniors also pointed out many scary insects underground and we were fortunate to see a baby bat fluttering around in the darkness!

It was going on four weeks when we learned that the Chairman of Eternal was coming to visit the camp.  We did not learn this through a verbal explanation however, but by observation.  We sat outside our lodge one night, lounging on bamboo deck chairs and looking up at Orion our protector in the night sky, when the camp sprung into motion.  Trucks began to go back and forth from the kitchen to the Chairman’s house, carrying items and construction crews.  Many of the kitchen girls were up at the house cleaning away and the TV that had been in the eating hall was moved up to the Chairman’s house.  Someone important was on their way.

Jerry, the Chairman, and Myself!

The Chairman arrived the next day and was treated by everyone at camp with an intense respect and reverence.  He was of short stature and did not speak any English, but we were told that he was very rich and very well connected with the current Myanmar government.  We were introduced to him, but did not have the chance to interact with him much until dinner. 

The tables had been covered in a royal red table cloth and rearranged, with the Chairman sitting at a head table to himself and two tables arranged perpendicular to his seating the mining engineers and the exploration crew.  I got the impression that it was like sitting at a royal banquet of sorts. It was here that I had my first beer in Burmas, aptly named ‘Myanmar’.  It had a strong taste and was quite enjoyable, enough so that they forced two large bottles on me!

Many jokes were shared over dinner, some more serious and awkward than others, and the Chairman talked to each of us, outlining what his hopes were for the project.  Pointed questions were asked at times and we struggled to answer them when addressed to us.

Cheyenne left the next day, leaving Jerry and I to fend for ourselves.  She had been an instrumental member of the team, not just because of her geological experience but because of her ability to speak the Myanmar language (or at least understand it much better than Jerry and myself!).  She was to spend a week in Thailand before coming back to camp, but we would miss each other as I would be out on my break as she was returning.

Jerry and the Rice!

The next week went by fast as Jerry and I compiled the data and whipped our maps into shape.  We were also invited to take part in a small festival where we helped the villagers stir large bowls of rice over a fire in order to create sticky rice!

And then came the day for me to leave camp.

My driver came for me at 7:15am and I tossed my small pack into the back, leaving most of my equipment in my room.  It was a long and bumpy ride back to Mandalay, filled with bewildered gazes from the local people.  I wondered how many other white people were in Myanmar!

Mandalay Hill!

It was 3pm when we reached Mandalay and I got my first view of the city.  Mandalay contained no skyscrapers and no gleaming glass buildings, and was more a large town than a city.  Its streets were populated by vendors of all sorts and filled with a steady stream of cars, bikes and motorcycles.  After checking in at my hotel, the driver took me up to Mandalay Hill, a natural high in the area that featured the large ‘Su Taung Pyi’ pagoda, which translated to ‘Pagoda of Wish Granting’.  It was constructed in the year 1052 by King Anawratha and has been used as a watchtower as well as a place of worship. 

The Chinthe!

As we drove up, we were greeted by the Chinthe, two immense Dragon-Lion statues guarding the windy and precarious path ahead.  Upon entering the temple, we removed our shoes and made our way up to the viewing platform.  Stepping out into the open air of the top floor of the pagoda, I was treated to a spectacular view of Mandalay city and the surrounding area.  I could see the walled fortress and Royal palace, as well as the distant Shan Hills.  I began my walk around the platform, taking in the various gold-plated statues and tile murals that adorned the walls within.  I was told by my Burmese companion that Buddha himself had climbed Mandalay Hill in the days before the tower.  He prophesied that a great city would be founded below the hill, pointing to the location where Mandalay now sits. 

Su Taung Pyi Pagoda!

Once back at my hotel, I decided that I needed to go explore the city!  I spent my evening walking around the streets and checking out the various vendors.  I still received looks from the locals, but there were a few other white people around so I was not as alien as I had been before.

The next day I was to leave for Thailand, and my companion came to pick me up.  Since we had a few hours before my flight, he took me to the Mahamuni pagoda.   

Mahamuni Pagoda

This temple (meaning ‘Great Sage’) holds a large statue of Buddha made during his lifetime.  It is said that there are only five such likenesses of Buddha; two in India, two in paradise and the Mahamuni in Mandalay.  The temple itself was both beautiful and large, with a fountain pool and garden just outside.  It featured several prayer rooms and historical artifacts, and of course the Mahamuni was at the centre.  Lines of Burmese knelt before the gold statue of the Buddha and I was invited to do the same.  I was then led up to the statue itself and was allowed to press several stickers of gold paint onto it.  

Da Buddha!

It was quite a transcending experience pressing the paint onto the Buddha along with several other locals as I knew that I was entering a tradition that was both ancient and a sign of respect.  It left me with the impression of being part of something bigger, and that we are all to play a part in this physical plane with responsibilities and honours that we should embrace.

After touring the pagoda and being the smiling white man in the photos of several excited Burmese, we returned to the car and made it to the airport where I said my goodbyes.  I would hopefully be returning to Myanmar for my next rotation in two weeks time.

It was short flight to Bangkok, and I quickly jumped in a taxi to my hotel, the Crystal Palace Suites.  I had been recommended to check out several markets in the city but I was located near the airport and the drive would have taken up much of my afternoon so I explored around my area.  I happened upon a market near a local mall and browsed the stalls.  Talking to the vendors, I learned a bit about the revolution that was happening in the capital.  There was a clash between classes occurring, and an effort to oust the current prime minister.  I was shown several videos uploaded on facebook of these riots and the violence that had occurred.

The next morning I embarked on my journey home, connecting through Tokyo and Toronto before arriving safely in Thunder Bay and the cold embrace of winter.  I began my two week break but was severely exhausted due to the time change.  It was a few days later when I received the bad news from Tom and the company. 

The Chairman had decided to shut down Eternal’s exploration operations and send the expats packing.  It came as a surprise as nothing had been said to us before my departure, and I still had all my equipment there!  Cheyenne had just arrived back at camp, but she too left with Jerry.  However, she decided to stay in Asia and travel.  I would have liked to do the same if I had been given the opportunity as I had high hopes of visiting my friend Nick in Chang Mai!

And so ends my chapter as a geologist in Burma.  I look back fondly at my time there but to be honest, there was a lot about the conditions of the job that worried me. I would have liked to see more of Burma, perhaps one day I will visit the country again. Two months later I received my suitcase from the company, which I am definitely grateful for.

I am now embarking on another geological journey, but one much closer to home.  Perhaps I will fill you in at a later time!

Back to Bummin' in Burma Part 1!

Bummin' in Burma! Pt 1

Look to the East, as that is where the day begins with the warmth and brilliance of the rising sun.  And it is also where you will find me, in a small country called Myanmar, but quite commonly referred to as Burma.

If you had told me a year ago that I would be working in South-east Asia I would have laughed in disbelief.  I owe this opportunity to a dear mentor and former professor, and I thank her dearly for her recommendation.  I have just finished my first rotation here in Myanmar, so allow me to start from the beginning of this journey.

I left Thunder Bay on January 15th, sad to be leaving my friends and family after such a short reunion, but excited for what was to come.  I spent the night in Toronto, catching up with some amazing friends who were generous enough to have me for the night.

And then the real travel began.

I would be flying from Toronto to Vancouver, connect to Hong Kong, and then once again to Bangkok!  I had a long day ahead of me.

My flight to Hong Kong was of course the longest and I took advantage of the time to watch some movies. I also happened to be sitting next to an elderly man who had once been a geologist in the oil sector, working all around the world.  It was nice to hear about his experiences and his advice for Asia.  The view from my window seat was a highlight, as I was privy to sights of the “Sea to Sky” Highway along the BC coast, tons of mountains and rivers, and the Berring Strait.

We landed in Hong Kong to a city shrouded in smog, living under the simmering gaze of the setting sun. 

 

Montri!!

It was in the Hong Kong airport that I met Jerry, a fellow Canadian geologist who would be my project leader in Myanamar.  Arriving in Bangkok airport, we collected our bags and grabbed a taxi to our hotel where we relaxed for the night.  Our hotel, Montri Hotel and Resort was only $36 for the night but took us forty minutes to get to.  We had arrived at Suvubarmi airport, and would be flying out the next morning from Don Mueang Airport.  Montri was only a five minute drive from Don Mueang, but seemed to be located in a slum of sorts.  It was an interesting walk to the local Seven-Eleven; I think I asked a street prostitute for directions!

And then it was off to Myanmar.  We arrived in Mandalay, stepping off the Air Asia plane to a wave of heat.  Yup, It was to be a warm winter again.

Myanmar had just recently opened its borders to the outside world, so it is a country out of time.  The airport was simple, and the customs counters not that secure.  I looked around me at the other passengers in line and saw the tale-tell signs of backpackers.  I’m sure they will enjoy their travels in Burma.

Jerry and I were greeted by a small crew from our company Eternal.  One of whom claimed to be our interpreter, but he had great difficulty stringing together sentences in English and couldn’t understand a lot of what we were saying.  It was interesting to note that he was a senior Geologist and we would be working with him!  However, it was much harder for Jerry to communicate with the Burmese as he was originally from Nigeria!  He spoke English fluently (as that is the official language in Nigeria) but with a thick African accent.  I’m sure the experience was incredibly frustrating for him, however it was quite funny to see the disconnect play out. 

We were soon joined by Tom who was our Project Manager and the man who had hired us all.  He spoke to Jerry about the Banmauk project we would be working at before leaving to another exploration camp where Eternal was mining.

It turned out that our group was one short.  We were waiting on another Canadian geologist, Cheyenne, who had been working for Eternal previously and would be joining us at Banmauk.  She arrived shortly after and we left the airport at 3:30pm on a very long drive to the camp. 

We passed through many towns and villages on our way North through the Sagaing region, and were lucky enough to see many a Pagoda (temple) with their gold-plated tops.  An aspect of our travel that I was surprised to see was that the Burmese were atrocious litterers!  The roads were lined with discarded garbage, left to decay in the fields that were otherwise so beautiful. 

Oh Hi!!

We ended up stopping in Shwebo, a highway town that was just like you’d expect to see in a Asian movie.  Storefronts lined both sides of the road with pedestrians and motorcyclists streaming back and forth. We picked up a few items and were then on our way. The two lane highway had given way to a one-lane road and it was chock-o-block driving along it. We passed tons of motorcycles (evidently the preferred choice of travel for the Burmese), and many wagons pulled by oxen.  We even saw a truck hauling an elephant!

It was 11pm when we arrived at Kyauk Pahtoe (pronounced Japituur) which was a mine owned by Eternal and where we would be staying the night.   

Our Lodge!!

It was another two hours the next morning before we made it to Banmauk.  The road was no longer paved or gravel, just the dirt floor of the jungle.  Our truck brushed aside giant leaves as it rumbled up hillsides and down ravines, until it brought us to our destination. 

My Bed!!

The camp was situated on top of a peak, overlooking several of the adits that were currently being mined and kept safe by a fence and guard, limiting the flow of traffic through the camp.  We drove on through, passing bamboo buildings and the mystified faces of Burmese villagers until we rolled up to our accommodations. The workers there had built us a three-bedroom lodge equipped with bathrooms and a common area which would act as our kitchen.  It had a front porch lined with a fence and featuring an impressive trim along the roof.  We quickly went about emptying the truck and dumping our equipment in our rooms.  Each was equipped with a wooden bed frame whose banisters rose up to support a top frame that held a bundle of soft mesh (I later learned that this was to keep off the mosquitos during the wet season).  The room also featured a table and a clothes hanger.

Das Shower!!

Jerry and Cheyenne had the same set up but their bathrooms were a little more luxurious.  They actually had sit down toilets while I was left with a ceramic-bordered hole in the ground!  Their bathrooms were also only accessible via their rooms while mine was also accessible through the common room, making my ensuite a community endeavour.   Also included were a sink, wall mirror, and a shower.  Well, you certainly wouldn’t recognize it as a shower.  I stared down at the large bucket elevated on a stool, water tap perched above it, and a thermal heat conductor within it.  It reminded me of a giant kettle.  It seemed that in order to have a shower I would fill this bucket up, turn on the heater, wait till the water was nice and warm, and then scoop it out with a basin and pour it over my body and all over the floor below.  An eloquent solution to a lack of a hot water tank.

Next door to our lodge was the office.  It was still under construction when we arrived but it featured a large open room, and another bedroom with an ensuite.  I peeked inside and saw a sit-down toilet.  I had found a solution to my predicament!

Further up the hill was the Chairman’s house.  This was a very large building much like our own lodge, but featured more bedrooms and a larger common area.  It was to be kept empty especially for when the chairman was to visit, which was considered unlikely and quite secretive.

Disconcerting...

We were then met by several of the managers at the exploration camp.  Cy Mien (Simon) was the head manager there and son-in-law to the Chairman and President of Eternal Mining.  He was joined by Ouu La Myien Sou and Ouu Myien Sou (senior geologist and senior mining engineer respectively).  All three spoke decent English and were very welcoming towards us.  Jerry decided that it would be wise to spend our first day taking a tour of the property.  We piled into two trucks, along with a team of young Burmese geologists and students.  We hit the dirt road again, weaving through the jungle.  The adits we surveyed all had the appearance that you would expect from a film about the conditions in the third world.  The entrances were propped up by lumber and wooden frames, with a track for the carriage full of rock and ore pushed by labourers with dirt laden faces.  It was all rather disconcerting. 

Spectacular!

We wrapped up our tour and headed back to camp early as we were all exhausted from our journey.  I hit my bed as soon as I got back to camp, ignoring the stiffness of the mattress and the lack of give from the pillow.  I was awoken a short time later by Cheyenne for dinner, forcing myself out of bed and towards the kitchen.  Our lodge faced towards the west, and I was stunned by the sunset as I stepped outside.  The sun sank behind a mountain range that dominated our own, its orange rays flaring into the crisp sky above.

To the Kitchen!

Jerry, Cheyenne and I lumbered up to the eating hall, slipping off our shoes (a very important gesture when entering a room) and joining the managers for dinner.  Also in our party was Ouu Shway, the interpreter we met at the airport who happened to be a senior geologist.  Shway, it turned out, meant gold in the Myanmar language, so he was literally called Mr. Gold!

We were attended to by several young Burmese women, who busily filled our bowls with rice and laid out several side dishes.  Everyone at the camp showed us quite a bit of respect and reverence, it was both an interesting and weird feeling.  To complete the Fung Shui of the room, a Buddha sat in an elevated shrine and a small dish of rice was offered to him at every meal.

Our dinner was fantastic, with the main plate consisting of rice, complemented by dishes of pork, beef, and vegetables laid out in a neat manner that added to the enjoyment of the meal.  The food was purchased from a market a few hours away and the meat cooked over a large fire pit.  It was at dinner that I learned my first Burmese words.  The water I was drinking was referred to as ‘Yeay’, and the tea that would accompany every meal was ‘Yeay Nuay’, essentially meaning hot water! 

We talked for quite a while with our hosts and amongst ourselves until we felt the weight of tiredness descend upon us.  We walked back to our lodge in the dark, staring up at the stars forming the night sky.  Burma was still in the Northern Hemisphere, and Orion and his belt gleamed down on us, appearing as our guard in this foreign land.  And a guard we were in need of, as we did not have any internet access and no means with which to contact our families back home.  All we had was a phone in the company office opposite the kitchen that could only call within Burma. 

This was going to be quite the experience!

East Coast Escapades!!

It was a warm afternoon the day I arrived back in Brisbane.  My sister Laura and her friend Stephanie were due to arrive the next morning, and I had booked us all into Bunk Backpackers.  We were about to undertake a furious month of travel from Brisbane down the coast to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and then finally up to Cairns.

I met them at the Fortitude Valley train station, heavy suitcases in hands and all smiles.  They had made it to Australia!  To tell the truth, it was surreal to see them in front of me.  It had been thirteen months since I had physically seen either of them, just keeping in touch via Skype and Facebook.  And now here they were!  It was rather cool!

I whipped them over to Bunk, as they marvelled at the heat of the beating sun and the beauty of the city that I had spent a fair amount of time in.  Their awe quickly turned to astonishment as I showed them the room they would be staying in.  They were not impressed with the hostel lifestyle.  To be fair, it was their first time experiencing this type of living.  I had been used to similar and worse situations prior to arriving in Australia as I had lived in bush camps for many weeks at a time.

But I promised them that they would get used to it and would even come to love the backpacker way of life.

We quickly dumped their belongings in the room and made our way to the most logical place in the city: the lagoon!  I guided them down to the river where we caught a ferry over to Southbank.  It was the perfect way to travel as it gave the girls an amazing view of the city.

Laura and Steph wasted no time donning bikinis and appreciating the warmth of the sun and the comfort of the sand. 

The next day I decided that the girls needed to see some wildlife.  We took a tour to the summit of Mt. Cootha (offering a spectacular view of Brisbane) and then on to the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary!  It was here that they had the opportunity see the docile creatures and even got to hold one! And then it was over to the kangaroo pen where we got to feed them as they lounged in the shade.  We even caught a bird show where Laura was fortunate enough to interact with a Snowy Owl.  They certainly got a fair introduction to Australian wildlife that day as we continued on, seeing dingo’s, crocodiles, lizards, snakes, and even a Cassowary!

Sup Joey!

We awoke the next morning at 6am to the sound of the war siren fire alarm.  No, it was a fire alarm but it seriously felt like we were being warned of an impending blitzkrieg!  We filed out, all of us in sleep wear, where we awaited the fire brigade.  It was here that I spotted Dan from New Zealand.  It seems he had arrived last night and would be embarking to Sydney over the next few days, just in time to catch Stereosonic.  It seemed we were on the same path so we agreed to catch up in the city.

So after the alarm was declared to be of no concern, (some backpacker had unwittingly set it off ) we returned  to our rooms.  The girls and I were due to catch a Greyhound bus before noon to the Gold Coast, so instead of sleeping, we took the chance to take one last look at Brisbane and ready ourselves for the trip.

The sun was still blazing and high in the sky when we rolled into Surfer’s Paradise, checking in at the Nomad’s Islander Hotel.  It seemed like a great hostel, aside from the emergency stairway that smelled of piss, booze and poor life choices. 

Surfers Paradise!

Chucking our luggage inside, we quickly made it to the beach!  It was the first real Australian beach the girls got to experience and it did not disappoint.  Surfer’s Paradise was one of many cities along the Gold Coast and it was a spectacular sight.  Towering skyscrapers lined the coastline, giving the city a Miami-like feeling.  The beach itself was superb.  The sand was golden and the water was warm and welcoming. 

We spent three days on the beach of Surfer’s Paradise.  We decided to go out our last night with a few Canadians who I was rooming with.   SP offered a variety of bars and clubs to check out, but there was just one drawback.  We had arrived smack-dab in the middle of Schoolies.  This was the equivalent of our Spring Break, where teenagers finishing high school would flock to the Gold Coast to party and get ridiculously wasted.

The clubs were littered with them.  I couldn’t step two feet without bumping into an underage girl grinding away at the nearest available guy who had two hands and a mouth.  We jumped around to a few clubs, before I called it a night and the girls stayed up to catch their first Australian sun rise.

We bussed it further south the next day, arriving in Byron Bay.  This place was Hippie central!  Laura and Steph were perplexed by the vans that littered the streets, home to many a traveler.  It seemed pretty normal to me, seeing as it wasn’t too long ago when I had driven the West coast and centre of Australia, sleeping in vans and tents.

The hostel we stayed at was called the Arts Factory, a hippie experiment of sorts that expanded to be one of the most well-known and interesting hostels on the East coast.  We explored the beach the next day, kicking over beached jellyfish and making our way to a spectacular lookout.  We retreated to the comfort of our hostel pool where we met a few English travelers, who we hung out with that night.

Laura and Steph decided to go bead shopping the next day, leaving me to the comfort of our room and the joy of some new Breaking Bad episodes!  I had pinched the last season of another backpacker and chipped away at the episodes, until I had arrived at the final one only to realize that I was one short!  I would have to catch the finale of Breaking Bad another day.  We ended our last day in Byron Bay with a Bush Tucker walk, where our guide showed us how to survive in the wilderness by knowing what was good to eat, and what you could make from the plants and trees.

The Greyhound bus rolled up at 9pm, and we boarded it ready for a fifteen hour drive to Sydney!  At least it was a night bus and we could sleep through it.

We arrived in Sydney the next morning at 10am and walked the short distance to our hostel, Maze Backpackers.  We began our day in the city with a walk around the markets and to Darling Harbour.  The city was alive with people.  Everyone was walking or biking, and the harbour was decorated in accordance with the holiday season.  Sydney was huge, and I mean huge!  It was a beautiful city, but the skyscrapers felt domineering and foreboding.  The city was built up upon itself, feeling like they had swept several cities into one, pushing building on top of building.

After a wonderful taco dinner prepared by Laura and Steph, we went next door to Maloney’s bar for a few drinks.  I had learned that Laura from New Zealand was in Sydney at the hostel right next door, so she came and joined us.

The next day we travelled to a natural landmark of the Sydney area, Bondi Beach (Bon-dye).  We disembarked the bus and walked over to the edge of the railing, where we were greeted by a stunning sight.  Bondi lay before us, its sand beach forming a perfect crescent with the water lapping at its edges.  The waves rolled forward as blue and white swells, carrying surfers along their crests.  In the background were rows of townhouses, villas, and condominiums that gave off a Mediterranean vibe, surrounding the natural cliff side.

We descended upon the beach and lounged in the sun for most of the day.

Bondi Baby!!

It was later when I caught up with two other travelers from my New Zealand experience, Freya and Sarah! We chilled over drinks, promising to meet up again after the weekend.

And then it was Stereosonic!  The big weekend had arrived.  I had caught the concert back in Perth the year prior, but this time would be drastically different.  First of all, we were in Sydney, the most populous city in Australia.  Also, the festival was now a two day event and would run all the way till 11pm.  Sixty thousand people were expected to attend.  This was going to be insane!

Laura, Steph and I caught a packed and energized train and made our way towards the Olympic Stadium where Stereosonic was set to unfold.  We arrived in the afternoon, surrounded by throngs of EDM fans, and quickly made our way to the main stage.  This was where the nights entertainment was to impress.  We danced through a few sets, including Zedd’s who looked like he was having an amazing time rocking the main stage as he was on a smaller one the previous year.  We then explored the rest of the showground and that’s where we ran into the English crowd from Byron!  We stuck with them for the rest of the night, taking in the sights and sounds of Calvin Harris and David Guetta.  Calvin Harris set the crowd on fire, providing pure EDM gold to the masses.

And after a good nights sleep, it was Stereosonic day two!  But before we left, I met up with Cliona from Brisbane!  She had just wrapped up a tour of the Northern Territory and Cairns and was now in Sydney to begin work at the Biosolar chapter down there.  It was good to catch up with her and we decided to chill more the next night.

We caught the same train again for Stereosonic, sneaking in a few of our own beverages to make sure we were appropriately energized for the concert.  It was a great line up and we enjoyed the sounds of Above and Beyond and Empire of the Sun.  We decided to go out that night to Kings Cross with a few of our hostel friends.  Kings Cross is known as the party and bar scene of Sydney but it also has an infamous reputation of being a drug and murder hotspot.  So maybe we were fortunate that our night only consisted of an impromptu visit to a strip club with non-alcoholic beer and substandard dancers.

After two days of EDM and partying, we thought it would be nice to hit up the beach!  So we decided to catch a ferry over to Manly!  And along for the ride came Freya and Sarah, and then Dan later on.  Manly was a nice beach to spend the day on, and we enjoyed a meal of fish and chips before catching a ferry back. 

The next day, Laura, Steph and I had booked a Blue Mountain tour.  It took about an hour of travel from Sydney, but we were transported for the day to a beautiful region, full of trees and marvellous mountain heights. 

We met up with Erica Tropea later that night, a fellow T-Bay’er who had been in Australia for school.  We made our way across the city to the Sydney Opera House, the crown jewel of the city.  It cut an impressive figure against the backdrop of the river and the Harbour Bridge.  The building itself is assuredly an architectural wonder, and its aesthetics are validated from every angle.

And so our time in Sydney came to an end.  Next stop was Melbourne!

Our first view of Melbourne as we flew in was a city drenched by rain, plagued by the shrouds of grey cloud hovering above.  Needless to say, it was a good day to relax in our hostel, Melbourne City Backpackers.

The next day, Laura and Steph embarked on a Great Ocean Road tour.  I had previously taken this tour during my visit to Melbourne in February so I remained in the city.

Eureka!

The girls enjoyed their day trip down the GOR, and the next day I led them into the city for a tour of all the beautiful sights Melbourne had to offer, including the Eureka Tower.  This skyscraper is the tallest structure in the southern hemisphere and we decided to ascend its height. 

We took an incredibly fast elevator ride to the eighty-eighth floor where we were treated to an unparalleled view of the city.  Laura was terrified!  But we managed to convince her to come with us on the Edge, a glass box that suspended us three metres out from the building.  It was an incredible view.

Later that night, I received word that Dan was in the city along with the two Australian girls that I had gone to Hobbiton with in NZ.  We embarked on a quest to find them and spent a fair amount of the night dancing away.

We spent our last day in Melbourne at St Kilda beach.  While not being the most visually inspiring beach, it was still nice to lay out in the sun. 

And then it was off to Adelaide! 

We were to meet up with our family here, the same ones that I had visited this past June.  Jim picked us up at the airport and we returned to his home where Laura and Steph got to meet the rest of the family, Jim’s wife Maree, daughter Jamie and son Martin.  It was great for me to reconnect with the Byrnes, and even greater for Laura and Steph to meet them for the first time. 

We spent two days in the city and thoroughly enjoyed our time with Jim and the family!

And just like my last visit to Adelaide, I flew once again to Cairns!  The three of us stayed at a hostel called Global Central, and after dumping all of our gear we headed straight to the lagoon.

It was in Cairns that a previous travel mate, Kate, was staying.  We had spent a great deal of time in Darwin and Kakadu together and it was great to see my friend again.  We lounged at the lagoon, catching up on the last six months.

Laura and Steph took their last week in Australia to do some amazing activities.  They went white water rafting, took a trip to the Daintree Rainforest and went skydiving over the Great Barrier Reef.  The three of us and Kate also took off on a GBR tour where we spent the day snorkelling and diving around the magnificent natural wonder, marvelling at its corals and fish.

And before we knew it, the month had come and gone.  We left Cairns for Brisbane, where we shared in some last-night drinks with a few mates that were still in the city.

And then it was off on a flight home.  The past fourteen months had been an amazing experience.  I have shared many of my stories and adventures on this blog, but truth be told, there were far too many experiences for me to include them all, and there are some stories that are better not told, at least not here. 

I left Brisbane international airport exhausted, not just because of the early flight, but because Australia itself was the most stimulating “event” I have ever experienced and I was now leaving it all behind. 

In retrospect, it seems like a dream.  It feels like a distant memory that makes me wonder if it all truly happened.  It only takes a quick look at my photos and blog posts to remind myself of how real this past year was. I often wonder if I appreciated my time over there as much as I should have. 

I can tell you that I absolutely did. 

I remember breathing it all in; every experience, the highs, the lows, every road trip, every night out, every sunrise, and every sunset.  I will be back to visit Australia again, and that is a promise. 

I met many people over my travels, and claim a great deal of them as friends.  It would be amazing to see them again one day and catch up on our diverging lives.

Being home again was certainly a weird experience, but what was great was finally having my friends and family with me.  It was like picking up right where we left off and I love them all for that. 

However, the Northern-Ontario winter killed me!

I didn’t have much time to relax in Thunder Bay as another adventure was about to unfold.  I had accepted a role as a geologist in Myanmar and I was to start January 15th!

I am currently on the job site and cannot wait to share my experience with you.  

Check out:

 Australia Adventure: Phase I!
Australia Adventure: Phase II!
Australia Adventure: Phase III!
Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 1
Australia Adventure: West Coast Story Pt 2
Australia Adventure: Darwin and Kakadu National Park
Australia Adventure: Down the Track and to the Rock!
Australia Adventure: Onwards to Adelaide! 
Australia Adventure: Once Upon a Time in Adelaide 
Australia Adventure: Crazy in Cairns!!

Australia Adventure: Down the Queensland Coast!!

Australia Adventure: Good Ol' Brizzy!!
New Zealand: North Island!!
New Zealand: South Island!!

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