The Great Ontario Road Trip

I spent the last week in Ontario, visiting my bestest friend, Dawn. It was my first time to Ontario, so it was a busy sightseeing week... and it was fantastic!! We had so much fun touring Toronto and Niagra Falls, then we headed north to Sudbury and hilarity ensued.

In Toronto we walked around downtown and ate in cool restaurants, we even went to a show at The Second City called 'Facebook of Revelations', which ended with a song containing the line "Jesus has added you as a friend. Will you accept the request?" So funny.

We went to Casa Loma and were surprised to see the castle all Hollywood-ed up. ET Canada had rented it every night that week for celebrity parties because the Toronto Film Festival was going on. We had fun posing on the red carpet and pretended to be much more important than we are.

We also went to the CN Tower and ate lunch at the cafe overlooking the city. I had a really hard time stepping onto the glass floor, I only did it long enough to get one picture of my shoes over the city, then I jumped back.

Another day we drove to Niagra Falls. I think TV has ruined me. I was expecting it to be huge and incredible, so it was quite underwhelming. We did the 'Journey Behind the Falls', also a let-down. In hind-sight we should have done the Maid of the Mist, but we though going behind the falls sounded cooler. We put on yellow ponchos and walked down a concret hallway with 2 windows/sewer grates where you could see a wall of water. Thats it. There was one lookout area where you were standing right at the base of the falls, so that was ok... and wet.

While in the Niagra area that infamous commercial jingle from our childhoods kept playing over and over in our heads so we headed to MarineLand. Turns out its more 'Land' than 'Marine'. But, visiting an amusement park on a weekday in September is a great idea. We didn't wait in a single line and we could go on most rides as many times as we wanted. For dinner we drove into Niagra-On-The-Lake and ate and bought fudge. Mmmm... fudge.

The next day we got back in the car and headed north. Sudbury is about 4 hours from Toronto so we took a little side trip to Parry Sound. We played around taking pictures and being stared at by all the old people who had just got off a ferry. In Sudbury we visited the World's Largest Nickel, went down in a mine, went to the best science center ever and attended Dawn's baseball banquet. Fun. At the science center I held a snake and rode a Segway. Cool. And I got to visit with an old friend from Grande Cache and her family who I hadn't seen in years. It was hard to leave, but I'm back in Calgary to relax and enjoy my last 10 days in Canada before I ship out again.

To see more pictures from the adventure you can click the link to my facebook albums:

Part 1:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53786&l=04e6a&id=798630540

Part 2:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=53792&l=2d527&id=798630540

An Epidemic of Fugly

I had no idea how much of a problem you in Canada were having. I mean, yes, I've seen it in Asia, too, but not to the extent that it is here. I'm talking about Crocs.

Since I got here about a month ago for my vacation I have seen every size and color imaginable. I understand the function of Crocs for gardening or mowing the lawn, but they are not formal footwear,. And if you think the 'MaryJane' style ones are dressy, you are wrong. And then to see fur lined winter Crocs... ridiculous.

The ugliness alone was enough for me to stay far, far away, but then I saw the price. Why would anyone in their right mind pay that much for styrofoam shoes!?!

Cambodia: The Trip

As you all know, I spent my summer vacation in Cambodia this year. I flew into Phnom Penh and took the boat to Siem Reap early the next morning. The boat trip was cool. I travelled up the Tonle Sap river and saw small villages and fishing boats, and little kids would wave. When we arrived in Siem Reap we went through a floating village. Everyone lives in floating houses and they're transportation is boats. One house had a floating pig sty. About 4 pigs were in this wooden, floating cage. There were also floating ducks and chickens.

My three days in Siem Reap were spent being a tourist. I visited about 1000 temples in varying degrees of ruin. The highlights were Angkor Wat (of course) and Ta Prohm. Ta Prohm is famous for huge trees that grow out of the ruins. The temple itself is about 800 years old, so the trees are only slightly younger. Also, parts of 'Tombraider' were filmed there. Bayon was amazing as well. It has 216 huge carved faces all over the temple. They're supposed to be various Gods and the King. I also took in a traditional dance performance, did some shopping, and visited the landmine museum and a waterfall.


My last night there I went for dinner at a place called Dead Fish. The food was awesome and the place was really great. The second floor was made up of floating floors at different levels where you sat on big cushions on the floor. Then came the entertainment. They were Cambodia's Sunny and Cher I think. He had a fabulous mullet and she wore spandex and had a 80's poodle perm. They rocked out with an electric keyboard to some pop classics. It was like a bad SNL skit. The same place also had duckling waddling around and a pit of crocodiles. The two were kept at a distance. I fed the crocodiles frozen fish, you can see the video below.

I took the bus back to Phnom Penh the next morning. After I arrived I went to visit the Royal Palace and then Wat Phnom. Its the highest point in Phnom Penh, but really its a small hill. The main draw to going there was that my guidebook said there were monkeys....and boy was it right! On one side of the hill is a whole group of monkeys. Old monkeys, baby monkeys....a barrel of monkeys! As anyone who knows me well knows, I have an unnatural fondness for monkeys, so being so close and interacting with them was a highlight of the trip for me. I got to feed them and pet them. These were very tame monkeys, and well fed. Some of those monkeys could use to lose a few pounds!

The last day of sightseeing was dedicated to Cambodia's more recent, terrible past. I had met some others travelling alone so we hired a driver and went out the Killing Fields at Cheoung Ek. This was the biggest of the 350 killing fields scattered around Cambodia used by Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge. There was a memorial filled with remains found at the site, but many bones and clothes still remain in the dirt. We had a guide, which was great, because it really gave perspective on what we were seeing. He told some really gruesome stories about how they killed. The Khmer Rouge killed more people than the holocaust, yet most of the world has no idea.

Next, we visited the Tuol Sleng Museum. Before the revolution it was a high school and then was turned into a prison where people were taken for interrogation before going to the Killing Field. The Khmer Rouge took and killed everyone who was educated and everyone who wore glasses because it meant they could read. They also took all the members of their families because they wanted to wipe out all of their genes.

For a country that was at war until 1990 they've come along way. I had a great time. People I met were really friendly and quick to tell you their stories from the war. My moto got a flat tire in the middle of nowhere and the man who fixed it was a former soldier who had lost a leg to a landmine. It really made me realize how privileged I am when he asked if Canada had a war right now.

Cambodia: Videos

My First Tuk-Tuk ride...it was very, very bumpy!



Feeding the crocodiles at the Dead Fish Guesthouse and Restaurant.


A view from the top of Angkor Wat.


Virtual tour of the Bayon ruins at Angkor Thom.


Traditional Khmer dance. This one is about a monkey and a fish. To see more go to my YouTube channel (cwilson4).

Cambodia Pictures

Well, I survived my week in Cambodia alone, and had a fantastic time!

I'm pretty tired though, but thanks to a nice hot shower, I think I got all the dirt out of my ears and eyebrows.

It may take me a day or two to sit down and write about my vacation, so to appease you (by you I mean mom) until then here are links to my facebook albums. I'll try to get you some videos, too. Enjoy.

Siem Reap 1:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39849&l=e6353&id=798630540

Siem Reap 2:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39864&l=93479&id=798630540

Phnom Penh:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39874&l=b45df&id=798630540