Adventure of the month

 There are plenty of things that come to mind when one thinks of Vegas: the non-stop jingling of slot machines, tourists sipping daiquiris from novelty cups the size of toddlers, oppressive summer temperatures so hot that I believe it is legally permissible to bitchslap anyone who uses the term "dry heat". Then there are things that one couldn't possibly be prepared for, things like texts telling you to be ready and outside your hotel at 4:45am. Yet, this was my reality.  Why? Because I had signed up for a tour to Zion National Park, which sits a little over 2 hrs from Vegas.  I had been wanting to visit this park for ages, I finally had a chance to do so and let's be honest, my National Parks passport needed some stamps.  The drive was captivating enough that I abandoned all plans to nap my way to Zion. That, combined with the lively narration from Jason, co-owner and guide extraordinaire for Mohave Wave , caused the time to fly by.  As soon as we arrived,...

Public transportation rocks. I love me a subway, bus or train ride. You don't have to worry about driving, you are free to read or knit or do whatever it is you enjoy doing on your free time and at the end, assuming you got on the correct conveyance, you are at your destination. If said mode of transportation is world famous for its scenic properties, all the better.  In this case, I am referring to the journey between Ella and Kandy, considered one of the  world's most beautiful train trips . While researching things to do in Sri Lanka, you could be forgiven for thinking that this ride is the only thing the country has to offer. That's how often it comes up, along with a myriad of articles about how to get tickets on the oft sold out train. If you have seen an IG pic of some some lithe young thing hanging out the side of an old locomotive that is barreling through lush green countrysides (note: you have seen some version of this pic, I assure you), you have seen the Ella-K...

So, let's say that in the past week, you've already been diving in the Indian Ocean, seen a mama turtle burying her eggs on the beach, encountered monkeys and monitor lizards at every turn, made good on your goal of seeing a leopard in the wild and had multiple surprise elephant encounters whilst just going about your day. What next? If you are following my itinerary, you leave behind the sweltering heat and head inwards and upwards (as in 3,415 ft above sea level). My next stop was Ella, an ultra-chill mountain town where I could have happily stayed for weeks. I was initially a bit wary about this stop since a lot of the activities revolve around hiking and I was still limping around after an unprovoked run-in with a coral reef. But as I was quickly learning, there are no ugly parts of Sri Lanka so even if I just chilled in town, I was sure it would be fine. Who needs scenic hikes and waterfalls?

Getting from one Sri Lankan beach town to another had been wonderfully easy. There were cheap public buses, which would normally be my first choice but there was also the Pickme app (aka Sri Lankan Uber) that offered a choice of taxis or tuktuks. For a couple of dollars, you could go town to town, door to door without ever having to worry if you had gotten on the wrong bus. I was getting spoiled. I was getting soft. All of it came to an end when I left the beaches and headed towards the southeast coast and its crazy abundance of wildlife. The further you go from the major towns and the beach area, the less likely you are to get a Pickme. I now had a choice: to pay full price for a taxi or figure out the bus system. Anyone that has ever traveled with me knows this is not a real choice. I tend to have more time than money and will almost always opt for public transportation. I could rhapsodize that this is about getting the local feel and becoming one with the people but let's...

In an earlier post, I wrote about my unexpected road to Fiji. In short, I had used a voucher to buy a ticket to Nadi only to learn a month later that I would soon be moving to Fiji for four months. I was able to cancel my ticket and best example of a first world problem aside, now found myself with a voucher on my voucher. In deciding how to use voucher 2.0, I was applying my usual criteria in finding a new destination. It had to be a new country. Since I was going in December, it would have to either be in the southern hemisphere or have a very mild winter. It couldn't be too expensive to get there/ stay/ get around. And of course, there had to be fun stuff to do. The answer to the last part came to me not so much in a dream as in a dive bar happy hour. I was sitting at the bar, absentmindedly playing with my phone when the tv caught my eye. They were showing a nature program of some kind that featured amongst other things wild leopards, elephants and monkeys. I tried to fi...