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Sean Plamondon
Sean Plamondon

Sean Plamondon

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon
    Raw maho mahi and also grilled mahi mahiRaw marlinOctopus

    Siargao - Day 2

    6 августа 2025 г., Филиппины ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Left on my scooter around 930am for my plan to circumnavigate the island. Its not that big, but i had a ton of stops with activities in mind. Most people hang out near the southeast surf towns and ignore the north. But i noticed some tours focused entirely on the north. So i took a snapshot of their itinerary and figured I'd steal some ideas and self guide with my scooter

    First stop was maasin river. Hired a guide to paddle me through a really beautiful winding river amongst the thick palms and vegetarian. Incredibly enjoyable. Finishing at a small blue lagoon where one of the local guys did a crazy photoshoot atop a tree haha

    Maybe 10 minutes further uproad was a cave tour plus gorgeous blue pool of water at the end. Donned my headlight and off we went. Carefully navigated chest deep water through a cave, amazed by 1000 bats sleeping on the ceiling and weaving carefully through the underground canyon. And culminating at an amazing blueish deep pool of water for swimming, and swing ropes etc. Fantastic.

    Then drove maybe 20 minutes to magpopongko which is some natural pools off an ocean reef. This was really pretty, but less wow factor than the others. Swam there for a bit and back on the road. I think if i arrived earlier at low tide, it would have made a huge difference.

    Quick stop at pacifico beach. Total hippy surf town. Looked fun but i wanted a nice restaurant for seafood looking over a beach. Found something far beyond my expectations between pacifico and Alegria beaches. Amazing spot. Brand new restaurant and ordered grilled mahi mahi and also raw mahi mahi. Both phenomenal with the most amazing backdrop.

    Then about 30 minutes by scooter to taktak waterfall. Really nice waterfall into a big pool. Can climb the rocks at the base and even get behind it. I was pressed for time and pretty exhausted. Asked another tourist to take some shots of me under the waterfall and back on the road

    Then the really long drive home to the hotel. Almost 2 hours. Broke my rule of never driving at night but only by a bit. Then some yummy seafood next to my hotel and to bed. I think i got sunstroke. Not feeling 100%. But amazing day.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon

    Siargao - Day 1

    5 августа 2025 г., Филиппины ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C

    Up at 530am to get a 6am taxi to the airport and fly to the small island of Siargao.

    Despite the very early 10am arrival, fortunately the hotel owner let me check into my room. Right across the street was a laundry service. And my hotel also rents scooters. Perfect all around.

    I've never driven a scooter but decided to give it a shot. Its not that hard but definitely something that took me a while to feel comfortable with. Drove up to famous Cloud 9 surf village.. had a quick meal there. Then drove to the southwest corner and found Hidden Beach and Hidden Lagoon. Really pretty area. Water is ridiculously warm. Like too warm. But incredibly enjoyable to spend an hour there.

    Back to the hotel in the island's main beach town General Luna for a quick snooze and then walked around town trying to find a cozy spot for food and beer by the ocean.. i think i succeeded :) This town really comes alive at night wow. Live bands everywhere, busy restaurants and bars line the oceanfront. Very nice place to spend a few days. Tomorrow, gonna try to navigate the whole island on my scooter. Tons of stuff to explore along the way    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon

    Davao - Day 3

    4 августа 2025 г., Филиппины ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

    Wanted to go white rafting today but i found out that it stopped operating in davao about 5 years ago :( So i ended up going to a local crocodile zoo with other animals. And then tried crocodile meat just outside the zoo. Pretty good and definitely better than this clam seafood thing I also tried. Yuck. In the zoo, i ended up holding a python for some pics. No matter what position i held it, the snake kept coming right back at my face and trying to lick me with its long tongue. Over and over. I don't know why all animals are trying to lick my lips everywhere haha. And yet, my dating life sucks 😁

    My filipino family took me out for this bizarre fruit they wanted me to try. I dont know how to describe it. Like a cross between milk, melon and cheese. Soo weird. I'm definitely not in love with it. But i appreciate their effort. It came up because in bangkok at my hotel there were signs saying "no cigarettes, no Marijuana, no durian". I was so perplexed when i found out durian is a fruit. But it definitely has a really strong smell. They were kind enough to make that happen.

    Finished the night at an irish bar with a great local belgian white beer brewed properly with coriander. I was very impressed!

    Off to Siargao island tomorrow!    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon
    Some of my new friends and family

    Davao - Day 2

    3 августа 2025 г., Филиппины ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Nice lazy start to the day. Friends and family of the people I met the evening prior were going to a nearby island Samal for the day and they invited me to join them. Once on the island, we went for some food and i got to try some local seafood dishes which great

    Then we went to two different beaches and had a relaxing day lounging about. The water here is incredibly warm. Almost like a hot bath. Definitely not the water temperature my brain is expecting when i step into the ocean.

    Drove back in the evening and met up again with everyone at a nice restaurant/lounge for food and drinks to finish the night.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon

    Davao - Day 1

    2 августа 2025 г., Филиппины ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    A second travel day. My flight to davao was only two hours but didn't arrive until 6pm. Which is already night time in Philippines. Davao is one of the Philippines most southern cities. Figured i would start here and slowly make my way north.

    Since i didn't get to see any of manila, and i had a few hours before my flight, i decided to seek out a nice place for lunch and try some local craft beer before going to the airport.

    In davao my taxi and i had a bit of a hard time finding my condo rental. Being dark didn't help. And then i had some difficulties connecting with the condo manager. Finally settled in and then out to find some food. Ended up meeting some locals who brought me to a few different nightlife establishments with them. Was a fun night.

    I need to take more pictures :)    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon

    Manila

    1 августа 2025 г., Филиппины ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Mostly a travel day. It was a 4 hour flight from bangkok to manila plus lost an hour in the time zone change, and by the time i cleared immigration and taxi'd to my hotel, it was after 6pm. I briefly lay down on the bed and then woke up at 8pm. Guess I'm still catching up on sleep. I was tired!

    Manila is just a quick stopover to get to the islands. There wasn't anything specific i wanted to do here. So, i just ate a traditional filipino meal at my hotel restaurant and grabbed two beers across the street and called it a day. Off to the islands finally tomorrow!

    Also, manila got hit with two typhoons last week and i figured i didn't want to linger around and be part of the next one    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon

    Bangkok - Day 2

    31 июля 2025 г., Таиланд ⋅ ☁️ 32 °C

    Joined a tour that goes to the ancient city of Ayutthaya, which is an hour drive north of bangkok. My pickup was at 11 and it took an hour to get us to another rally point where i was put on a different bus.

    Just before the ancient city, we were brought to a pretty spot by the water for a paid lunch buffet. And then off to 4 different sites, all about 5 minutes drive apart from eachother.

    Really impressive structures and each site was more impressive than the previous. Two different martial arts movies were filmed at these locations too, and i can see why. Fantastic setting for it. Kickboxer. And Mortal Kombat. Befriended a really nice russian guy on the tour but didn't get his contact info.

    On the ride back, we got dropped off at a huge centre that seemed to have a bit of everything. Much closer to my hotel than that rally point so i was feeling pretty happy about it. Especially because the skytrain that starts at that centre goes right to my hotel.

    As soon as i got on the platform, a train arrived and i quickly squeezed on. Shortly after leaving the station i noticed there were 2 different skytrain lines that my train could be on and one was definitely not going to my hotel. And of course, thats the train i was on unfortunately. I got off as soon as i could to minimize the distance away from my hotel and from there i could see i was a 30 minute walk to my hotel... so i decided to walk a pretty nice part of the city instead of hiring a tuk tuk. I came across 2 Tim Hortons stores much to my surprise. Weird!!

    Grabbed a quick meal just across from my hotel and i think all the jetlag caught up to me. Was in bed around 9pm and that was it until the morning.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon

    Bangkok - Day 1

    30 июля 2025 г., Таиланд ⋅ ☁️ 31 °C

    Arrived in bangkok a bit after 5am. By the time i cleared customs and took the subway and hiked 30 mins to my hotel, it was 7am. My god it was hot that day. Sun was barely up and i was really struggling in the heat

    Slept for a few hours and then got myself mobile. Took the very crowded subway to the old part of the city. Found a one hour canal boat tour which was very cool.

    Then after grabbing some lunch, i went to the grand palaces. What an understatement! Dozens of incredibly intricate temples and palaces. My jaw must have been opened the whole time. To get in, i had to buy a pair of pajama like pants from across the street as no shorts were allowed and they strictly enforced it.

    Couldn't bear the heat any longer and flagged the first taxi i spotted. Took another nap until about 6 and then found an authentic Thai restaurant for a really good fish meal.

    Yet another nap and then back out for a stroll. Extremely lively neighborhood full of restaurants and bars. Finished up playing pool vs a guy from france for a few hours before ending a great but sweaty first day.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonPhilippinesSean Plamondon

    Delhi

    29 июля 2025 г., Индия ⋅ ☁️ 28 °C

    Quick layover in india en route to bangkok. 14 hours to get here from Toronto. 4 hour layover and then 5 more hours to reach bangkok

    But I'm flying business class the whole way. Such an awesome way to travelЧитать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonMexico, Puebla, TaxcoSean Plamondon
    1

    Last day in the capital

    16 ноября 2024 г., Мексика ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    Started the day with a steep hike up the high mountain cliffs looming over tepotzlan. Took over an hour. And at the top, was a small pyramid and fantastic views of the town and valley. Beautiful and rewwarding.

    On returning to the car, there was a ticket on the windshield for blocking traffic - which is untrue. And our front licence plate was gone. Pretty sure those same cops took it on us. Anyways, no choice but to continue on to mexico city, so off we went.

    Took a nap and then met up again later at my favourite brewery for good beers and amazing food. I'm going to miss all the staff there who always remember me and take such good care of me.

    The next morning, when i returned the rental car, they noticed the missing license plate and charged me $355 for it. I've been talking with my credit card insurance and it seems like i will be reimbursed. Fingers crossed.

    Awesome trip. Shorter but lots of new beautiful locations.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonMexico, Puebla, TaxcoSean Plamondon

    Tepotzlan

    15 ноября 2024 г., Мексика ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Got a very late start because Kris was extremely ill from something he ate and he needed extra recovery time. Originally planned to visit a cave in the morning, but stayed at the hotel until noon and then back on the road to tepotzlan.

    Took an hour to find our hotel because google sent us to the wrong street and while driving around trying to find it, a cop pulled me over and gave me an infraction for using my phone. I said fine, how much? He said he was going to remove my license plate until monday until i paid city hall the ticket. Which would mean i would miss my flight home. This was definitely a shakedown and it cost me 2000 pesos for the cop to let me go. Which most certainly went into his pocket.

    After finding the hotel, kris lay down for a while and i wandered around town and found a few really nice places for food and cold beverages overlooking the huge cliff wall looming over tepotzlan. Spent the evening with some Mexicans and off to bed at a reasonable hour because i am hoping to hike to the top of that cliff wall in the morning    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonMexico, Puebla, TaxcoSean Plamondon

    Taxco

    14 ноября 2024 г., Мексика ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Drove west 3 hours to reach the beautiful town of Taxco, built vertically down the side of a mountain. Navigating to the hotel required driving up and down quaint narrow maze like streets, trying to avoid pedestrians on both sides of the car. All the buildings are built with similar styles and similar wood accents, and everything is white. Really charming place.

    From the very nice hotel we booked, walked back to the historical center up and up and up :) Reached the main cathedral which was quite striking. Had lunch in the main square across from the cathedral. After our late lunch, we took the gondola to the top of the adjacent mountain and hung out there for quite a while admiring the view.

    Came back down the gondola, and found a great little brewery tucked into the narrow streets. Chatted away with the nice bartender Sarah for a few hours before going to a restaurant that she recommended. I had a fantastic octopus meal there. I've been getting super spoiled with all these amazing meals so far.

    Kris wasn't feeling well, so he taxi'd back to the hotel and i relaxed with a beer before returning a little while later too.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonMexico, Puebla, TaxcoSean Plamondon

    Puebla - Day 2

    13 ноября 2024 г., Мексика ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Started the day with a side trip to nearby Cholula, which has the widest pyramid in the world but is mostly covered in dirt and grass now. This pyramid has a very interesting network of tunnels and multiple layers and levels below the surface. And the spanish built a church on top of it to convert the native folks to Christianity.

    Unfortunately the tunnels were closed because one of them collapsed a year ago, so we checked out the museum and walked around all sites and eventually to the church on top. We also walked around the pretty historical center before returning to puebla.

    Mike found a great restaurant where i had the best seafood stew ever. It was so good, i ordered it twice haha. Capped the evening at a very loud mexican bar and then said our farewell to mike because the next morning he was taking a bus south to oaxaca while we were heading west to taxco.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonMexico, Puebla, TaxcoSean Plamondon

    Puebla - Day 1

    12 ноября 2024 г., Мексика ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    To retrieve our 5 day rental SUV, we had to uber back to the airport first to get it. Then we set off to the pyramids which was an hour drive. Walked maybe 10km to see all the temples, two major pyramids and tour the amazing murals amazingly still in tact. Unfortunately, most structures are no longer climbable, but still are incredibly impressive.

    After the pyramids, we found a wild nearby place for lunch literally in a cave. My food was great but unfortunately kris and mike couldn't say quite the same.

    From there, we drove another 2 hours to the charming city of puebla. Arrived at sundown, so didn't get to see a lot but still a very beautiful historical downtown area.

    Kris and i rented an insanely huge modern 2 bedroom apartment with en suite bathrooms, kitchen, bar and big living room. We didn't want to leave haha.

    Made our way into town and had beverages at a local brewery, followed by food and drinks at a place called Kingstons before calling it a night.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonMexico, Puebla, TaxcoSean Plamondon

    Mexico City - Day 2

    11 ноября 2024 г., Мексика ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Mike and i met at a traditional yucatan restaurant near the zocalo for lunch. I unwittingly ordered a massive turkey leg that was smothered in awesome mole sauce. Yummy but kinda weird on its own. No way could i dream of finishing this massive plate!

    Then met up with kris in front of the cathedral for the walking tour we signed up for. I had already seen most of the locations but our tour guide warryor was quite a character with lots of fun anecdotes tying everything together.

    After the tour, i promised the guys i would show them a few of my favorite beer spots. Unfortunately i misremembered and brought them to the wrong first spot. Still, we had some decent beers.

    Then i took them to yeccan which is my home away from canada. The staff and owner always recognize me and treat me like long lost family. And the craft beers are always great. A little out of stock this time but a good time :)    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonMexico, Puebla, TaxcoSean Plamondon

    Mexico City - Day 1

    10 ноября 2024 г., Мексика ⋅ ☀️ 26 °C

    Arrived late Saturday night and had a couple of quick beers before getting to bed.

    The next day, i slept in and in the afternoon found a sportsbar about 10 minutes walk from the hotel. Reunited with Kris from Ottawa, and Mike from belgium. Mike is traveling mexico for a month and kris and i are tagging along for a week.

    Spent the evening at a nearby jazz club which also served tasty food and then got to bed at a respectable hour.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    1

    Edinburgh

    30 июля 2024 г., Шотландия ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Arrived about 15 minutes before the canada v Australia olympic basketball game. Tried a few sports pubs close to my haymarket area hotel but neither had the game. So decided i would hike 30+ minutes with my backpack to the cowgate area to the Oz bar. Figured they must have the Australia game on. And i was right, phew. I was surprisingly the only one watching it but was an impressive canada victory nonetheless.

    Hiked all the way back to haymarket, checked in and lay down for a few hours. Charlie and i were up late chatting away the night before. Took a lot of effort but convinced myself to get going and took the tram to the Leith port area. Unfortunately the seafood restaurant i wanted was completely booked for the evening but i found a really nice spot on the water instead. The only table i found available on their massive multi level deck was a table for 6. So i wasn't very surprised when a foursome asked if they could join my table 10 minutes after i sat down. 3 from belgium and 1 american. Chatted with them for a few hours and then left early cuz the temperature dropped to 15C. I congratulated them for outlasting the canadian and hopped back on the tram :)

    Had a few beers at a nearby pub to my hotel and chatted with super friendly guy from london sitting next to me for quite a while. One last pint at the sport pub and off to bed. Had to be up at 6am for the flight back to canada.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    1
    1

    Bruges

    29 июля 2024 г., Бельгия ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Train ride from Luxembourg was 4 hours, connecting through brussels but missed my connection. Fortunately there was another connection 20 minutes later to Bruges, arriving at 3pm.

    On arrival, Charlie greeted me at the train station and off we went into the old town of Bruges. What a fantastic place to wander aimlessly with all its beautiful old buildings, quaint streets and canals. "Venice of the north".

    Charlie and i stopped at a small beer place where we met lovely sofie and oliver from denmark. Chatted with them for about an hour and then made our way to the main plaza, which is just spectacular. Had some snacks there until Mike found us and took us to a really nice interior courtyard place for some beers. Followed by another Mike hand picked spot for supper where i ate an awesome fish stew. And one more spot chosen by mike for late evening beverages before he had to train back to Ghent.

    Charlie and i then drove to his house a block from the seaside in blankenberge. Walked the beach enough to dip our toes in the ocean and then found a nice beachside place for a beverage before heading back to Charlie's apartment to cap the night.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Luxembourg

    28 июля 2024 г., Люксембург ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    Today Alexandra and i took the train to Luxembourg. Unfortunately our train to Brussels got delayed by an hour "because of terrorism" according to the overhead speaker announcement. So arrived a bit later than originally planned, but otherwise all went well.

    Walked around the immaculately clean old town for a bit. Alexandra being the basketball fanatic that she is, really wanted to find a place to watch the usa v serbia match - which sounded great to me as well. Found a sportsbar with a lot of Americans wanting to watch it too. After a while, it became apparent the sportsbar didn't have that channel despite all their frantic efforts. But i remembered i installed a streaming service on my phone before the trip. And with permission from the bar manager, i was able to broadcast the game from my phone to the bar's big screen. Everyone was so happy haha.

    After many thank you's from the manager and all the americans, we left and found a nearby microbrewery and did some beer samplings. Followed by trying some local wine at another establishment and a game of rummy 500. I am slowly teaching the world how to play that game haha.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Lille

    27 июля 2024 г., Франция ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C

    Walked about 30 minutes to the Ghent train station, which was a bit laboured because i sprained my ankle a bit trying to exit the craziness of the festival the night prior. 30 minute train back to brussels and another 30 minutes to reach Lille, France. I was here to attend the Canada v Greece olympic men's basketball game

    Walked from the train station into the old town with all my gear and sat down for a small break and then continued to my hotel. About 30 minutes total. The old town is really beautiful.

    I wasn't able to checkin until 4, so i dropped off my bags and walked back to the old town to get some food and check out the quaint streets and sights. Wearing my canada shirt, i got heckled by many greek fans and surprisingly i didn't see any other canadians. But it was fun to interact in good natured ribbing.

    My friend Alexandra was en route from Paris to join me for the game but her train endured massive delays because of numerous sabotages to the tracks. Many people here are thinking its russians doing it. Eventually i realized Alexandra wasn't going to make it on time for the game, so i contacted Charlie who lives an hour away in Bruges to see if he wanted to come to the game with me. 90 minutes later he arrived and off to the stadium we went.

    The crowd was mostly greek supporters and they were really loud. But canada led the game from start to finish. Definitely a nail biting finish but canada prevailed, yay!!!

    In the meantime, poor Alexandra still hadn't arrived in Lille. This whole game was her idea and she was so discouraged to not be able to attend. Took Charlie and i two hours to get back to the hotel around 1:30am and Alexandra arrived at the same time. Poor her. We all walked to the old town for a beverage and then charlie drove back to bruges and we crashed out too.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    1

    Ghent

    26 июля 2024 г., Бельгия ⋅ ☁️ 24 °C

    Late morning start, Charlie and i walked to european part of brussels and had a good italian lunch right outside the european union buildings. Relaxed there until Raquel found us and charlie gave us a small tour of all the European headquarters in brussels. Then onto some nice parks. Ubered to his car and he drove us to Ghent to Mike's house for some pre festival drinks and snacks.

    The Ghent festival is insane. 200,000+ people a day attending. Its a 10 day, 24/7 party. It literally never stops going until the final hour on the 10th day. 12 atages, djs, street parties, its all just so beyond what i can describe.

    And Ghent might now be my favourite medieval city. Its soooo amazing. Towers, castles, cathedrals and canals all over. I had no idea. Constantly picking my jaw off the ground.

    Mike gave us a tour of ghent and then we ate at a very traditional belgian restaurant. Wim also made the drive down to join us. He's such a nice guy too.

    After supper, we found a fun concert area where we hung out for a few hours. Then wandered through the crowds and different party areas. Eventually Raquel decided she should get back to Brussels because she's going to Amsterdam in the morning. And Wim was super sweet to wait until she wanted to leave and then drove her all the way back to brussels. I think they departed at 2am.

    Charlie and Mike took me to a small packed bar in the middle of the chaos and we danced there until i had to get out of there. I think it was 430am. My 20 minute walk to my apartment turned into an hour walk because i got stuck in a crazy massive party crowd and could barely move. Annoying but definitely a unique experience too.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    Charlie first to meet up with me in brussels
    Mike showed up nextRaquel eventually found us

    Brussels

    25 июля 2024 г., Бельгия ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    During my trip in the amazon last November, i met two awesome guys from belgium who told me i gotta swing by and visit them sometime. So i dedicated a few days of this trip to doing just that.

    After a few hours of sleep after my red eye flight, Charlie met me at my hotel at noon. He was nice enough to drive from bruges to brussels to meet up with me and give me a great walking tour of central brussels. Its a much nicer city than i realized. Tons of beautiful old architecture throughout.

    Mike had to work, so he showed up around 6pm after taking the train from Ghent. And their friend Wim joined us too, as we all reunited on a rooftop restaurant overlooking the city.

    A couple hours later, Raquel arrived from moldova and we all had supper at a traditional belgian restaurant. Followed by bouncing around to some fun bars and sampling world renowned belgian beers. Mike had to take the midnight train back to Ghent because he had to work the next morning, but Charlie stayed the night and shared my hotel room with me.

    Super fun day and night. So glad i splurged to get here from Armenia after the FlyOne debacle.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    In Limbo

    24 июля 2024 г., Армения ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    This was a messed up day.

    Loaded up the car and drove to see the blue mosque and the very impressive cathedral before heading to the airport.

    Raquel and i had both done our online checkin the day before and had our digital boarding passes. But once at the airport, Raquel was allowed onto the flight to Moldova but i had been re-booked for a flight there two days later. Which was fairly disastrous for all my pre-booked plans and reservations. Apparently there was a problem with the plane so they switched it to a smaller aircraft with less seats and i was unfortunately one of the people that drew a short straw.

    After finding the FlyOne office to complain, and calling their head office, the best i could do is cancel completely and receive a refund. Poor Raquel now had to fly to moldova herself. And i had to figure out how to get out of this mess.

    Spent about 90 minutes talking with the airport information girl for every flight that day departing from armenia to western europe and hope i can find a way to belgium via train once there. Discouragingly, every single flight was full. Started to become a very stressful moment because of how much the rest of my trip was going to ruined. People expecting me in belgium, and olympics were in jeopardy. So i had to start looking at the next day. Semi luckily i found a direct flight to brussels.. the unlucky part was the cost: $930. And it was 1:45am, arriving at 5am. But it would save the rest of my trip, so i had to bite the bullet.

    Spent the rest of the afternoon back in yerevan killing time at sidewalk cafes, and arguing with FlyOne airways people about compensation for making me lose 2 flights, one hotel reservation in moldova and the costly flight i had to purchase. They did give me about $400 back, so thats a semi victory. And decided time to just move forward.

    Booked an extra night in brussels so when i arrived i could go to bed right away. Got there at 6am and passed out. Lets not do that again.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Yerevan

    23 июля 2024 г., Армения ⋅ ☀️ 33 °C

    Drove about 2 hours to Saghmosavank and visited another ancient monestary. This one was situated on the edge of a huge, striking gorge. Took some time to marvel at both the ancient church and the incredible scenery. Then got back in the car and traveled another 15 minutes to another ancient church Hovhannavank on the side of the same Kasagh gorge. These are the oldest churches in the world.. so amazing they are standing and look to have very little restoration work done.

    Was another 45 minute drive to get to downtown Yerevan, the capital. Very hot day again, so while walking around to see the different sites, also ducked into various places for cold beverages. Yerevan is a really nice city. Full of parks and sidewalk terraces throughout. Its a bit short on monuments but definitely a place i could enjoy living in.

    Found some good beer places but nothing too amazing either. German wheat-style weizen was the best i could find, but a lot better than many cities on this trip. And ate lamb at local favourite Yerevan tavern. Finished the night at a hip little lounge bar below the hotel and respectably in bed by midnight :)    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon

    Haghpat

    22 июля 2024 г., Армения ⋅ ☀️ 27 °C

    Very big drive from the furthest northern point of Georgia into Armenia. Left around 9am, stopped for food around 11am, got stuck for an hour trying to get through tbilisi and took a good hour to get through the border crossing. Didn't arrive at our hotel until 7pm.

    The border crossing was a bit more involved than i thought. Raquel had to exit the car and go through the customs buildings on foot while i drove the car through both the georgia exit and the armenia entry. Tons of paperwork involved and car searches. And i was forced to purchase car insurance on the armenian side but that was a fun experience too with locals and their curiosity of me.

    Beautiful drive into the huge mountains very shortly after entering Armenia and all the way to Haghpat - which is an ancient monestary atop a mountain. After checking out the monestary, drove another 30 minutes to our hotel in the middle of tight mountains and a river. Definitely the nicest stay of the trip. Had a multi course meal and great wine sitting by the river. Just as we were finishing up, we got invited to join a table of 8 armenians who were having a huge feast, so we joined them. Hilarious, nice group of guys.    Читать далее

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  • Sean PlamondonCentral Asia and CaucasusSean Plamondon
    11

    Kazbegi

    21 июля 2024 г., Грузия ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Taxi'd back to the airport to pick up our rental car and headed due north high up into the caucasus mountains. Stopping several times to take in the beautiful scenery and lakes and high lookout points. Much colder in this part of the country and a tshirt definitely wouldn't be enough.

    Finally arrived in Kazbegi, and drove up to picture perfect Gregeti Trinity church and its amazing panoramic views. It was really hard to leave. But i was getting super hungry. So we drove down the mountain and to the town for food. Super yummy stew type meal. And then found a small hotel to crash at for the night. Early to bed to recharge our batteries.    Читать далее

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