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Sean Plamondon
Sean Plamondon

Sean Plamondon

traveled in 90 countries Read more🇨🇦Ottawa
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  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1

    Heading Home

    January 30, 2020 in Canada ⋅ ☁️ -3 °C

    Contacted my driver Edgar from my initial visit to Quito who brought me to the airport again. Such a sweet guy. He was so happy to see me and wants me to keep in touch. Hope to see him again someday.

    Just about every asian at the Quito airport was wearing protective face masks from the coronavirus outbreak, plus some of the airport staff.

    ......

    The following is a complete transcript of my interaction with Toronto customs:
    Me: Hi !! 😁
    Customs: Have you been to China in the past 14 days?😐
    Me: No.😬
    Customs: Welcome back.😶    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Quito - Swan song

    January 29, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    Took a 3.5 hour bus ride from Banos to Quito and booked the same hotel from my arrival. Rained all day which is too bad as i was hoping to get some good shots of massive, snow-capped Cotopaxi Mtn on the way.

    The couple i met in Cuenca (but live in quito) were very kind to invite me out for dinner, but are quite far from where i am staying (Cumbaya), so i opted to stay close by my hotel and keep it an early night. Splurged a bit at a large nearby market and then hit up a few microbrew locations that my american friend David in banos recommended, which was a nice finale. Bandidos brewery was pretty impressive.

    In 17 days, I saw so much of Ecuador but i really want to come back to see and do so many other things. Galapagos islands, Quilotoa crater, the amazon jungle, more Banos adventures, northern coast of esmeralda, Cotopaxi, and even peak one of towering mountains surrounding Quito. Would probably need at least another 17 days to do half of that. For a tiny country, it remarkably has a lot to offer.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1
    Bottom right of image is the cliff ledge i had to cling to before descending. Freaky!

    Banos - Day 3

    January 28, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Canyoning is what i signed up for today. Which in pictures at the tour operator showed images of rappelling down a waterfall with ropes.

    It was a bit more involved than that heh. The entire excursion was making our way through a narrow canyon with fast moving waters gushing through it. Sometimes it involved swimming through sections, hopping over huge rocks amongst the whitewater, jumping off the top of small waterfalls into the pools below, shimmying across rock walls with ropes and of course rappelling down huge cliff walls alongside the waterfalls.

    One of the jumps was pretty intimidating. A 30 foot drop into the pool in front of where the waterfall splashed down with sheer rock walls on both sides and then needing to grab a rescue line that the tour guide would toss and hauling yourself in against a strong swirling current.

    We all had wetsuits for the cold waters, life jackets to not drown, and harnesses to rope ourselves in for all the shimmying and rappelling. Plus helmets.

    For the first rappelling, we had to climb up a rock wall and wait on a small ledge over top of a large waterfall while the guides set up the rope system. This really unnerved me. I was harnessed in, but i felt so exposed at the same time. And then to rappel down, you have to lean yourself backwards over the cliff and have your body perpendicular to the cliff, facing upwards to the sky. But its a lot easier than it sounds once you get past the initial fear of dying that your brain screams at you repeatedly haha.

    The rope goes through some tight loops in your harness, making it very easy to control your speed. You can slowly walk your way backwards down the cliff wall, or push off the rock wall with your feet and release a bit of rope at the same time to drop yourself downward in a hopping motion. Once i got past the first waterfall, i was excited to do the rest of them.

    Started at 9am and didn't finish until 4pm. Which was immediately followed by some survival celebration beers. What a day. Capped off the night at another brewpub i stumbled upon with some new friends.

    I couldn't bring my phone into the canyon today so i got a few images off the internet of the same falls we rappelled.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Banos - Day 2

    January 27, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

    The plan was double the adventure today. Whitewater rafting in the morning and repelling down a waterfall in the afternoon.

    Took an hour to drive to the rafting location, 30 minutes of wet suit integration plus safety instructions on what to do if anyone should per chance get tossed from the raft. In the oft chance, but longshot of course 😉

    These rafts were much smaller than my previous experience and i immediately thought how we are going to get tossed around like rag dolls. I was sitting in the "captain" position in the front with an Irishman and we were taking class IV rapids head on. Total tidal wave experience lol.

    A huge frenchman decided he wanted to sit in the front with us and sure enough, we nearly capsized from the weight on the first major rapid, tossing both the irishman and the frechman. Our raft nearly folded in two and i somehow held on and kept the front from getting completely sucked down into the rapid. I hauled the huge Irishman back into the raft thanks to the pre launch lessons and the Frenchman got hauled in by the second raft in our group. A third raft nearby completely flipped. And a bit later, 5 people got tossed from the second raft. My eyes were wide open haha. This was new territory for me.

    We got better at it as a team, with no one else getting tossed and hit huge rapids head on for sport the rest of the way. Hilarious fun. Unfortunately i couldn't bring my camera for pics and i wont receive pics from the tour company for two more days.. so all i have is a wetsuit pic for now.

    Didn't get back until 2:30pm, so walked over to the tour company and re-booked my waterfall repelling for the next morning. Took a nap from exhaustion, checked out the basilica, a market and some more brew pubs, an awesome supper, plus a cool bar/club with a huge bonfire in the middle. Sweet day. I love this town!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    3 blocks from my hotel
    Back porch and garden behind my room11Volcano we drove around over an hour of the bus ride1

    Banos - Day 1

    January 26, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    The day started officially at 8:45 when the bus from Cuenca to Banos departed. Seven hours of following winding roads across mountain tops with spectacular views and hollywood movies dubbed with spanish voiceovers. And the odd local briefly hopping on the bus selling bags of fruits, peanuts and other stuff i cannot begin to identify.

    After finally descending the mountain tops into banos, i could see what the fuss was about. There's mountains on all sides of this tight valley and a massive volcano looming over the town. And a large waterfall literally 3 blocks from my hotel. Its a town that consists almost entirely of restaurants, hotels, shops and tour operators. I have 3 days booked here, but i think a week would have been ideal. There's so much to do.

    Booked my adventure for tomorrow, and then tracked down the town's brewpub as a well deserved reward from the very long, but picturesque bus ride. Really looking forward to tomorrow.. stay tuned :)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1

    Cuenca - Day 3

    January 25, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Until today, i had really good fortune with weather. It only rained while i was sleeping or while in transit. But it rained pretty much all day today. I also felt like i was coming down with a cold so it was the perfect day to be lazy in bed and catch up on some zzz's.

    But i did get to check out a really nice restaurant called el mercado that had been recommended to me. The food here in cuenca has been amazingly good.

    Otherwise, it was early to bed to rest up for a big travel day tomorrow. A 7 hour bus ride to banos.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Cuenca - Day 2

    January 24, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    Last night ended up being a bit late and i got up today feeling tired and non social. Figured today would be a nice quiet one to myself. Wrong :)

    I had been recommended Los Tiestos for a meal in cuenca so i wandered around the cute colonial streets until i found it. The head chef Juan took my order so of course i asked him what he recommends. It was the best steak ever!!! When the waiter delivered it, he demonstrated how he could cut it with a spoon, and easily. Wow! Amazing.

    I asked the girl at the table behind me to take my picture and that snowballed into her and her husband (Lino and Vero) asking me to join their table, drink some of their wine bottle, eat some of their food, plus dessert. And as we chatted they offered to also take me some places when i return to Quito. So sweet. I was very quick to insist they stay with me if they visit Canada. Every single food item was incredible. This place is an absolute must-visit for any foodie. I told lino how ouzo turns cloudy white after adding water and he became obsessed ordering different anise type alcohols to reproduce the affect. Yikes, we were feeling good when we left

    I also got to know Juan the chef and another local, Ben who took me to his partially constructed food venue at the main plaza. I was being treated like long lost family. Even the couple, Lino and Vero invited me to a private function for later tonight. So touching how they all made me part of their circle. I am hugely touched.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Cuenca - Day 1

    January 23, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    Today was mostly a travel day. Drove the rental car back to guayaquil in 2.5 hours. Then got in a commuter van for 3.5 hours to cuenca. That was a pretty crazy drive through the mountains on super windy roads. I slept through most of it, but at one point i opened my eyes to see we were driving through a cloud and the driver had maybe 20 feet of visibility! I decided this was an experience i didn't need to witness and went back to sleep.

    Woke up as we were being dropped off in some outskirt area of town. No hotel booked yet. I needed to find a restaurant to get wifi and figure things out, but nothing like that around. So i asked a taxi to take me to the cathedral... and from there parked my backpack in a cool restaurant, ordered a beer and started figuring out where to stay.

    Got in a bit late, so haven't seen much yet, but the little I've seen is gorgeous. Cobblestone streets and pretty much every single building is deserving of its own photography moment.

    Found my way down towards the lively area near the river and a very popular micro brewery where i met matias from Uruguay. Interesting guy who travels all over south America selling plumbing pieces he buys in china.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    Nicolas and David

    Montanita -Day 4

    January 22, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Last night i went back to the place with the pool table and played against a bunch of locals for hours, including David who i hung out on the beach with the night before and also became buddies with Nicolas originally from Peru. Starting to get to know the staff at certain restaurants here and a bunch of locals. Its nice to walk around town and hear my name called out or being greeted with huge smiles and fist bumps. A bit sad its my last day here. And i am casually curious about looking into properties here too.

    Woke up today incredibly sore all over. This surfing experience is having a serious physical impact. I actually feel 48 for a change haha. And no matter how much sun screen i put on, my nose gets redder and redder. I was very close to not surfing today but i don't know when my next opportunity will be, so it was time to suck it up and get back out there and enjoy the moment.

    Today went worse than yesterday. My timing was awful. Balance sucked. I read the waves poorly. And my pop ups were lazy, often going to one knee before standing up. I'm worn out and it shows. I really should go back to the 12 foot board until i get better.

    Three hour drive tomorrow morning to get the rental car back to guayaquil, so made it an early night. One thing i won't miss is all the mosquitos. My legs are covered in bites. Chao montanita.

    Edit: surfing pics are me    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1

    Montanita - Day 3

    January 21, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C

    Lets start with last night. I *wanted* to sleep, but there was a loud private party of 10 at the establishment next door, so I figured it made more sense to check out montanita's nightlife than be annoyed in my room.

    Found a club that has a permanent resident cat on the bar every night. Then destroyed some local guys in a game of pool. And then some beer on the beach out with one of them. Got in at 4am and the private party next door was still going strong argh! Now i know why there are earplugs in my bathroom.

    Next morning i took my second stab at surfing. Dear diary, surfing is hard! The end. Lol

    I can't pinpoint exactly what went wrong.. i had an 8 foot board today instead of a 12 foot board.. which was less forgiving. But when i caught a wave, i was able to zigzag all over with it. Felt amazing. The downside is not being as easy to get up. Plus all my muscles were tight and sore.. so i felt less energetic and a bit lazy with my pop ups. Timing was poor too. So hard. I can do better.

    After surfing, tried a bunch of awesome craft beers at the place next door to the surf school. Paul from alaska eventually joined me and we did our best to provide the restaurant with some valuable empties for the recycling depot. IPAs were an endangered species by the time we left haha. Off now to see if that club cat is still sleeping on the bar.........    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    My hotel on the left
    Not meLove the surf culture hereSome hard earned beers were consumed afterwards1My surf instructor, ricky

    Montanita - Day 2

    January 20, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Okay I'm being dramatic but lets just say my first crack at surfing was amazing.

    My teacher is a ridiculously fit guy and i can see why. All my upper body muscles are killing me right now. We started with lots of stretches on the beach, then some practicing in the sand going from a pushup and popping up with *arm strength only* into a sideways standing position. Add a tipsy board and the ocean and you can imagine its not easy. Plus your feet need to wind up in the right spots or it all goes sideways fast. Sometimes literally.

    Shockingly i got up on my very first try (and bailed hard seconds later). My teacher was impressed. On my 4th try i rode the wave all the way in. Once my teacher stopped holding the board for me before the wave arrived and not giving me instructions on when to paddle and when to pop up, it got a lot harder. Reading the waves is an acquired skill in itself. And timing is huge. So is stamina. A number of times my pop ups were a bit lazy and didn't work out so great.

    Eventually he left me to take what he taught me and to fend for myself. Sometimes i would be too far back on the board and the front would pop out of the water and I'd fall backward into the ocean. Other times i would be too on top of the wave and the front tip would dive as i went down the wave and it would go under the water like a submarine and I'd go barrelling forward over the board.

    And of course every now and then i would do everything just right and ride it until the end. I imagine my smile was ear to ear in those moments. Spent a few hours afterwards over a few beers thinking about every attempt and what i did wrong, what i did right and what the result was. Like golf, you need to be doing 20 different things correctly at once. I can't wait to try again. Is it tomorrow yet?    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon

    Montanita - Day 1

    January 19, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 27 °C

    Decided to rent a car and cruise through all the western coastal towns to montanita. Far more expensive but the flexibility was very appealing. I was told there are so many awesome beach towns, i felt it hopefully was an investment worth making.

    But driving out of guayaquil had me worried. People in the city drive like they are being chased by hitmen. Despite most roads having marked lanes, everyone drives like its a nascar track. And seem completely unaware there is a blindspot. Stop signs are optional. Pedestrians are collateral damage. And cutting off others is sport.

    Anyways it went fine, probably aided greatly by being a sunday. Once i hit the western coast, it was one gorgeous beach town after another. So amazing. I very quickly felt that the 4 days i earmarked for the rental was too short. Its flexibility suddenly felt like a handicap. Ironic.

    On arrival to montanita, i had three goals. Find accomodations, sign up with a surfing school, and find a place to watch the nfl playoffs. The latter became priority number 1.. by a lot heh.

    Montanita has a gorgeous beach and amazing vibe in the streets. Endless restaurants and quaint thatch hut accomodations and other nightlife spots. Plus street craft vendors everywhere. Charm oozing all over.

    I found a place for the football games, then walked across the street and paid for a tiki hut room and booked my surf school for the morning - all without moving more than 30 meters. Oh yes, ceviche for both lunch and supper :) life is good.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    Something to my left distracted me lol

    Playas

    January 18, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    The temperatures here are ridiculous. 35C at 9am.. and rising fast! Decided a beach day was in order and headed to the closest beach about an hour away to a verrrrry aptly named town called "playas" which translates to "beaches". Surely it had sun and sand!

    Had an awesome day kicking back in my lounging chair and hopping over some pretty big waves. There were no surfers here, so am excited to see what kind of waves world-renowned surf towns montanita and olon have in store. I will hopefully find out in the coming days.

    Feasted on some delicious ceviche. I had an amazing stew type shrimp and crab ceviche in quito that was perhaps the best thing i have ever tasted. This one was shrimp and octopus. More soupy and far less creamy, but very yummy too. I am not sure why ceviche back home is so different, all i know is we are doing it wrong! Really wrong. I might eat this everyday :)    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    The old town is that hill of colorful houses in the background

    Guayaquil

    January 17, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Edgar picked me up a bit after 8am to bring me to the airport. While saying good bye, he made it very clear to contact him for *anything* if i run into problems on the rest of my trip and passed on warm regards from his wife too. Sweet guy.

    Flight was only an hour to guayaquil which is about an hour drive from the ocean, so wanted to spend a day here before exploring the coast. Being close to sea level makes a world of difference. Its stinking hot and humid, but I'm not complaining - bring on the heat! But i have to be careful. The sun is ridiculous here. 15 mins without sunscreen will scorch the skin.

    Spent my day popping in and out of all the downtown cathedrals and strolling along the massive waterfront boardwalk (malecon) which is littered with amusement park rides, restaurants and kids play areas.

    The old town is a really cute hilltop area next to downtown with narrow cobblestone lanes and restaurants and tiny hotels around every corner. Reminds me tons of a hilly greek island village but with vibrant colours instead of white and blue. There are 444 steps to reach the top. I started counting, but then noticed around step #20 that each step had an engraved plaque.

    The heat and humidity here is on another level. All you do here is sweat. I could have used an ocean to jump into. Hopefully Tomorrow!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1
    11At global positioning 0" 0" 0"

    Quito / Mindo

    January 16, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    Today i decided to get out of the bustle of Quito and check out Mindo, which is in the middle of a jungle / rain forest. Getting there is a bit of a pain, so i opted to get a 3 hour Uber there for $50, saving me the trouble of getting to the far away bus station and potentionally sitting around there for hours waiting to leave.

    My driver, Edgar, didn't speak any english but we were able to communicate with the incredibly useful offline translator apps we both had on our phones. A few minutes into our drive he asked me if i minded if we picked up his wife for the drive to mindo. I said "sure!", and now we were three. I thought it was adorable he wanted to capitalize on his forced trip to mindo and make it a nice day excursion as a couple (plus one very smiley canadian).

    On the way to Mindo, we stopped at La Mitad Del Mundo which is at the equator, "middle of the earth".. so i took a quick picture with myself at the global positioning of 0" 0" 0" ! I am told toilets flush different directions on the two sides of the equator. But i didn't need to evacuate anything from my body, and we were running late so i didn't test the theory.

    Upon arrival in mindo, i told edgar i needed 3 hours for the waterfalls hike i planned to do, which starts with a very rustic, open air cable car ride across the huge cloud forest valley. I told edgar he and his wife had come all this way, they should take the cable car ride with me, and i happily paid their way. Surprisingly, they even hiked down to the first waterfall with me - down the muddy, steep trail in their street shoes.

    They left me to hike the next two hours alone to 5 more waterfalls while they headed back to the cantina, exhausted. The trail to the other waterfalls was in dense, wet jungle. It put such a smile on my face to be scrambling up and down steep trails and being rewarded with a series of gorgeous waterfalls and swimming holes.

    FYI, Mindo is especially famous for its birds. It typically has over 400 different species of birds, capturing the title for most on the planet 6 times in the last 20 years. Yes, there is a competition for everything.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1
    1

    Quito - Day 1

    January 15, 2020 in Ecuador ⋅ ⛅ 21 °C

    Today i went full tourist. My lonely planet book had a self guided walking tour route, so i followed to a 't' all through quito's gorgeous old town snapping pictures with map always in hand.

    I wandered in and out of countless cathedrals, monestaries and palaces, shuffling across pretty plazas with ornately restored colonial buildings on all sides. Ambling down narrow cobblestone streets enjoying all the warm, smiling ecuadorian faces. A police officer approached me, and my guard went up.. uh oh! And then she handed me a map of quito and smiled. That pretty much sums up how people here are. Very warm and eager to help.

    The highlight of my afternoon was at the massive basilica. In addition to its impressive size and architecture, there are steps (and i use that term generously!) to the top of the bell tower and its not for the faint of heart. I got to the top but I admit it was scary!! Haha. Gave me a lot of second thoughts about my plans to repel a waterfall in banos later this trip. Yikes.

    And its possible i enjoyed a few craft beers between cathedrals too....    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonEcuadorSean Plamondon
    1

    In Transit

    January 14, 2020 in Panama ⋅ ☀️ 30 °C

    Nothing like a 14 hour travel day to suck out the excitement of a new adventure. Doesn't help that i was out the night before until midnight for a friend's birthday and still hadn't packed yet when i got home :)

    But my day was pretty fun. On my flight to washington, the lady next to me is the mother-in-law of former Senators goalie Mike Bales (?) and she had some interesting stories.

    Then met Tyler from Atlanta at a Dulles airport pub who i shared a few drinks with.

    Longest leg was to Panama. Upon arrival, I found my gate and then grabbed a beer at a nearby magazine stand and started to catch up on my messages, when i hear my name announced over the intercom to urgently come to the gate. It was still 45 minutes to departure. So i ran to the gate and the attendant said i was the last to board. I was really puzzled but when i got on board, it made a bit more sense... as there are only 10 other people on this huge plane. Weird! I can't help but think about the opening scenes of "Knight and Day"... hopefully this is will involve less hand-to-hand combat :) Next stop, Quito!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Hong Kong

    July 29, 2019 in Hong Kong ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    I was able to side step immigration and go straight to my gate at Hong Kong airport which is a relief. Was concerned my passport might trigger an issue. 15 hour flight to Toronto coming up..

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Crocodile street meat!
    Lovely buffets here

    Bangkok

    July 28, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 33 °C

    Got into Bangkok late afternoon and checked into hotel with a concerning forewarning from reception... "the music will stop at 2am and you paid for a standard room, here are your earplugs". Lol. Uh oh. More on that later..

    Grabbed my last noodle dish of trip on bustling Khaosan Road and bought a few tshirts - as souvenirs but also because i really needed something to wear haha. Then did a walk through a bunch of markets and gorged on more gelato - this heat really brings out my ice cream sweet tooth. Found the craft beer place i was looking for, but it was disappointing.

    Back to hotel around 7 and napped until 9:30 off and on but the music was ramping up pretty good now and it felt like the speakers were in my room. Never, ever, get a hotel right on Khaosan Road. That was ill advised.

    Feeling refreshed and with the bass pretty much bouncing me out of my bed, i decided to have one last adventure and seek out a popular nightlife area of bangkok, and away from khaosan road, which was too touristy. Hopped in the back of a tuk tuk and hung on tight as he raced through the streets. Right away met 4 guys from Singapore and hopped in and out of a few places with them before heading back.

    Got back around 1am and things were 10x busier on my street and volumes were ridiculous. I had to be up at 4am so i wasn't even sure if i should bother trying. Lay down anyways and made the best of it.

    ...And that pretty much wraps up an amazingly fun romp through southeast asia.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Patong (Phuket)

    July 27, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Took a late morning ferry to island of Phuket and headed to the city of Patong. There didnt seem to be any dramatic mountains or cliffs like everywhere else i have been in Thailand, but it did have a massive beautiful beach. So i got myself a lounging chair and had a relaxing afternoon in and out of water and kicking back.

    Then found a couple of gelato places and really gorged myself on ice cream. Oh boy i didn't feel so great for a while haha.. all self inflicted. But sooo good.

    Then went off to see what the hype is all about on the bar pedestrian street in patong. Its completely bananas. Gogo dancers at almost every establishment, even just normal pubs have them too, and a verrrry bizarre range of live shows you can take in. To be (sorta) clear, I'm not talking broadway stuff lol.. more like Amsterdam crazy stuff. And beyond. And every place has female hosts that come sit with you to keep you company.

    I didnt take in any shows but sat at a few gogo bars just to see what it was all about. Wasn't feeling terribly social today or making the effort to meet new people so was kinda just right to have hosts chat with me instead.

    I think the combination of end of trip being near and being on the move so much has worn me down a bit. Feeling a bit lethargic and content to just people watch. Which in this city is extremely entertaining!    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    One of the thai fighters after his match
    Liam from england1Another dutch familyGirl who challenged me to fight. I would have gotten destroyed

    Phi Phi - Day 2

    July 26, 2019, Strait of Malacca ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    Spent the morning and afternoon lounging at a beach restaurant with feet in sand, sipping on beer and chatting with everyone unfortunate enough to sit at the table next to me haha. I decided my plan today was to do as little as possible. I think i executed it perfectly.

    First i met Aiesh who works for a business management group in dubai and is interested in investing in my web project codevscode. Made me a tempting offer. Then jasmine and yvonne helped book my hotels in phuket and bangkok because they live in thailand and know it well. Chatted with liam for an hour or two before realizing he's the best friend of the wildling i met the night before. Who incidentally is not going to fight in ring tonight. Boooooo. And finally Chris and his family from holland until sunset.

    Made my way to the reggae bar where the muay thai fighting ring is, and watched a bunch of amateur kickboxers. People were literally getting out of their seats in stands and putting on boxing gloves and into the ring. Very entertaining. A girl challenged me to a fight in ring but i declined lol.. of course.

    Hung out at an irish bar for a bit and then made my way to the beach and chatted with some canadians while sitting in the sand, watching the waves roll in under the moonlight. Next up.. phuket...    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Phi Phi - Day 1

    July 25, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 29 °C

    Took an early ferry to the island of Phi Phi. Hard decision because Krabi was so awesome but gotta see more before heading home. I've completely changed my rough plan and decided to make my way to phuket to witness the insanity i keep hearing about and fly to bangkok from there. Phi Phi is half way to Phuket. Sorta.

    Spent my entire two hour boat ride chatting with friendly Emily from Oregon, then made my way thru the pedestrian streets to hotel. There's no cars or scooters or even golf carts on this island. Foot power or boats.. thats it. Checked into hotel and they handed me ear plugs "in case"... uh oh lol

    After yesterday's hiking adventure in Krabi i looked at my map and looked for more hiking in phi phi. Found a trail that goes to other side of island to some different beaches. Yay.. giddyup. Immediately realized it went to top of mountain and back down other side. Thats ok could use more exercise. Half way up the people took left fork in road so i went right and found more monkeys!! ... suckers! Haha. My instincts are so fine tuned ha.

    Got to top and then descended down other side thru really dense jungle. I admit, it was a bit spooky. Lots of noises i have never heard before and really narrow trail which was hardly recognizable as one. And no one else was doing this part of trail. Hmmm.. lol. I got to the bottom to a nice beach but there was no charm to the eateries.. big buffet setups for chinese tourists. Asked about boats back to other side of island and i would have to wait two hours. Forget that. They asked how i got there and their jaws dropped when i told them i came via the jungle trail and said i was crazy haha. And i was sadly resigned to saving my day and re doing the jungle trail back up. Bleh. Could hear monkeys above me everywhere in trees moving about but needed to keep moving to stay ahead of bugs all over me.

    Finally got back to phi phi beach and ran into the water to cool off and met three really cool israeli girls who took me to the pool party of all pool parties. It was insane... to be brief. Also made a new friend helga from spain there who took me to a bunch of wild beach parties. And finished up a weird helium balloon party place and met a guy right out of game of thrones who is supposed to fight in a ring at the reggae bar on friday.. so stay tuned for that haha. Ridiculous day. So many new and fun friends.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    Ton Sai beach
    David and I finally reaching Railay beachPhra Nang beachView from unsuccessful jungle pass to phra nang beach

    Krabi - Day 3

    July 24, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 30 °C

    Third day in one place. Nice to put down some roots for a change and relax a bit. Days are getting numbered so its appealing to stay in such a beautiful spot for a few days. Especially with my amazing hotel.

    Off to Railay beach today which is not accessible any other way but by boat because tall cliff rock walls create a huge natural barrier. Met a nice korean-american named david going to the same place. Our boat pulled into a beach and we got off but then quickly realized we were the only ones who got off and the boat was already gone. Wrong beach. Ton Sai beach. Pulled out my map and could see if we traipsed through some jungle we could hike to Railay beach, which we did.

    Railay was striking with more karst rock formations and loads of restaurants on the beach. Had lunch there and then i found another jungle trail to try to reach another beach. This trail was a lot less defined and rough terrain and david only had flipflops and had to abort. I kept going only to find out the other beach was accessible on this trail by going through a cave to the other side but you needed ropes to get up to it. So i had to head back too but got some nice shots from high up.

    David decided to call it a day and head back on next boat but i was more determined and found another path that lead me to Phra Nang Beach through some low level caves and was rewarded with more stunning views and monkeys everywhere! The whole reason david and i hiked that rough terrain was to find monkeys. Poor guy lol.

    From there caught a boat back to Ao Nang where i was staying, to avoid the big storm clouds rolling in. Walking down the road, i was cat called by a bunch of thai ladies having drinks on a patio, so i wandered over and joined them for a beer. Destroyed one of them in 4 games of pool haha and then headed off my hotel pool swim up bar to relax for a while.

    Went back out and had an amazing red snapper main, with green mango salad, and prawns for 10 dollars for supper, a few beers and off to bed to get up early for ferry trip to phi phi island in morning. Pretty sure i will return to Krabi some day. It was a gamble coming here because people i met in cambodia said it rained all day here for a few weeks straight. Its rainy season in all four countries but I haven't had a single day rained out so far. I have a sun-finding gift. And a monkey finding gift too apparently haha.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon

    Krabi - Day 2

    July 23, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    Today did a hike in jungle to some rivers with aqua marine colours, swam in one for a while and then found a beautiful isolated beach outside the main town with almost no one there. Relaxed there for a few hours enjoying a few beers, and hopping in and out of the water to cool off. But not really because the water is warmer than my hotel shower. Incredibly tranquile

    Headed back to town and got a seaside table for some more amazing thai food and people watching while writing my blog entry :) My welsh friend Marianne eventually came and joined me and we set off to find a more happening spot. The nightlife never took off that night but we had fun playing jenga and connect 4 lol over several beers to wind down a very chill day. The northern ireland couple really overdid it the night prior and weren't able to come meet us but probably for the best as they were off to phi phi island the next morning and Marianne was off to some other island, which i completely forget now.

    Some fun facts about thailand. They drive on the left side of the road; they dont use chopsticks; and there's a pretty sizeable muslim population here that i wasn't expecting. There's also a bit of a dictatorship military government going on and all the elections are rigged in their favour. Protesting doesn't seem to be permitted so its a very hard road in Thailand to push forward change. Feel bad for them especially because they're all so friendly and nice.    Read more

  • Sean PlamondonSoutheast AsiaSean Plamondon
    My resort hotel

    Krabi - Day 1

    July 22, 2019 in Thailand ⋅ ⛅ 32 °C

    Woke up lazily at 8am, when it dawned on me that i have a flight this morning! At 9:45. And my backpack contents were all over the hotel room. Scrambled everything together frantically and ran outside and hopped into a tuk tuk to the airport. When i arrived, the airline knew who i was before telling them haha.. last person. Mid flight i realized i didn't even brush my teeth or look in the mirror before leaving haha. And yes they laughed at my passport when i handed it to them.

    Arrived in krabi many hours later and drive from airport to my resort was amazing. Same karst mountains i saw in halong bay but inland. And yes, i said resort. This place is 30 dollars a night and gorgeous. I think it might be the most I've paid all trip, but still cheap and amazing value.

    Walked down to Ao Nang beach and took in the beautiful bay views and walked around the boardwalk scoping out establishments for later. Its really geared for big tourist numbers.. but its down season now.

    Back to hotel pool bar and met another solo traveller from Wales who has been travelling since November, sold everything, created a finance managing freelance company, and works remotely while travelling. And she has no plans to stop this lifestyle. Incredible concept. I dont think its for me but very interesting.

    Welch girl and i wandered down to the beach bars and met a fun couple from northern ireland and spent the rest of the night sharing travel stories, beers and lots of laughs. This town is a really fun place to be. I think i might stay a while..    Read more

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