Bamboo forests, monkey parks, and Shinto shrines

An early morning train ride took us to the outskirts of Kyoto.

The old capital, Kyoto

Another early morning, and another ride on the Shinkansen.

The road to nowhere

The trail to town

Our first morning in Iqaluit started off slow and easy; a breakfast with the B&B supplies later, I had some time to kill before noon.

A walk in the park

I've been sick. I feel like I've written this sentence way too many times this year, but I have caught a nasty cold during the heatwave, and I've reluctantly dipped into the world of nasal sprays and cough syrup.

Eldred King Woodlands

I rarely take Tofu on walks outside of the neighbourhood; we just got used to our usual routine, and I felt it was a perfect time to go on an little adventure together.

Seaton Trail

There aren't many things that sound more pleasant than a Sunday morning hike. Our morning devolved into noon, but nevertheless, we were on the road to Seaton Hiking Trail.

Fox Glacier to Wanaka

Sunsets are always romanticized, but I personally have always been a lover of sunrises. However, I realized why people like sunsets - you're already awake, and often in a place where the sunset is accessible. For sunrises, you have to wake up when its still dark and chilly outside, bundle up and wait amid the mosquitoes for the sun to peek over the horizon.

Franz Josef Glacier

We started the morning off with a jaunt around Okarito Trig Walk.

Through Arthur's Pass into Hokitika

A gloomy sky greeted us in Christchurch; we cooked our breakfast on the barbecue-meet-stove outdoors, and then packed our bags. Our hostess had suggested we visit the top of the hill for a view of the city, and we stopped by for a quick, rainy visit before hitting the road again.

Thornton Bales

Along the peninsula to Christchurch

Another morning, another early drive. We made a stop at Kaikoura Peninsula, and begin hiking up the area.

Sai Kung

Our original hiking destination on my first day back in Hong Kong was supposed to be Sai Kung, but due to the MTR delay, we had our impromptu hike to Stanley instead. For the entire trip, my friends had been telling me about the beauty of Sai Kung, and I was raring to go.

A long weekend in Muskoka

Winter is usually a time for hibernation; asides from the somewhat-annual snowboarding trip or visit to the skating rink, we tend to keep our activities indoors after the Christmas season.

Tai Tam

I wish I could tell you I was trying out a new photography style, but in reality I had accidentally changed some camera settings when I last used my camera during my descent at Bukhansan, and I didn't have the time or realization to change them. I had thought it was due to the rain that the photos were so grainy, as my viewfinder got blurry due to the moisture, but that was only part of the reason. The sharper photos from my phone are interspersed throughout.

I arrived back in Hong Kong the night before, and I was absolutely knackered. I enjoy being in new places, but the to-and-fro part is a decidedly less enjoyable part, especially when it involves overseas immigration, customs, lines, and luggage woes.

Maybe I brought the bad luck of the TTC with me, but a historic signal outage issue caused mass delays with the MTR that morning. It took my friend a long time to travel a few stops, and so we, like the rest of Hong Kong, flooded to the streets to take the buses.

Slieve League

Day 25

I love waking up early.

Is that a weird thing to say? I truly love it. The tranquil morning while everyone else still sleeps; slipping out of bed and into the morning dew.

Bukhansan

The original plan was to arrive at Bukhansan early in the morning to avoid as much of the crowds as possible... but the unexpected late night led to last minute changes. I grabbed a convenient breakfast yet again, and managed to get to the base around 9am, where I couldn't resist buying more kimbap from the many stalls there.

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Achasan

I started off my second day in Seoul with a visit to Achasan. Truthfully, my goal was to climb Bukhansan, and seeing as I hadn't had a proper hike for awhile, I wanted to ease my way into it.

BCYK: Magic in Kluane

Another morning, another delicious breakfast from our B&B host. After another morning of long chats and stories, we began the long drive towards Kluane National Park and Reserve.



The lovely view through our cracked windshield.

BCYK: Whitehorse

Yukon marks 11/13 and the first territory we visited! We stayed at a bed & breakfast in Whitehorse, and spent our days exploring the city, hiking through Kluane, and even freezing our butts off on Canada's tallest peak. One thing we should have done was bring our passports so we could cross over to Alaska - it honestly hadn't crossed our mind when packing.

Our first stop after picking up our car was lunch - Burnt Toast Cafe was highly recommended by a coworker who had once lived here.