Wat Arun and Grand Palace in Bangkok!

Today was our first day in Bangkok. We went to the mall food court for breakfast/lunch as we were heading to the Grand Palace. I got a fried pork cutlet with Japanese curry and rice with miso soup for around 180 Baht which is about $5 CDN; we thought meals would be a lot cheaper but that is maybe only $2 cheaper than what we can get back home.

After lunch we took the subway (MRT) to Hua Lomphon train station and then we had to figure out a way to the Grand Palace as no train or subway takes you directly into the Old City area where the temples are. Now, I'm sure we got scammed as we were warned of taxi drivers trying to trick you that the palace is closed and they will take you around instead, but a random man in a dress shirt said that today there is a big ceremony with lots of military and that we should go to the palace later in the day around 3:30. He suggested we take a boat river tour that went around a small river where the floating houses and market is and would then drop us off at Wat Arun. The tour would be an hour long and 900 Baht each ($30). We thought it was expensive but would be a good way to see part of Bangkok, so we took our first tuk-tuk ride to the tour boat dock.
 

We got a long wooden boat, that is powered by some old turbo car engine, to ourselves. We got to see the houses of people who lived along this small canal and gave a good perspective of the poverty in the city, as these people did not have very much.

 

  

We got dropped off at Wat Arun, one of the famous temples in Bangkok that looks amazing when it is lit up at night. We were able to climb up the temple and the stair cases were pretty steep.

 

After that we took a ferry across the river to go to the Grand Palace. We were walking along the street and there were many people with tables trying to sell things such as clothes, old electronics, ancient coins, and other random stuff. We took a break in the Navy Wives Association coffee shop for water and much needed A/C. We knew the Grand Palace closed around 5? And we got there at 430 but the ticket booth had just closed. This was fine with us as we both did not have a strong interest in seeing the Grand Palace, nor did paying 500? B for an hour seem appealing anyway.

So we decided to walk down the street to Wat Pho and explored the Complex. Wat Pho has a giant reclining Buddah inside of the buildings, and also a bunch of temples and court yards with Buddah statues.

We also got to see monks do some chanting in one of to temples.

After that we ate at a hostel across the street and then went back to watch the sunset on the other side of the river across Wat Arun to capture some pictures of it when it is lit up. The pictures turned out great except it is a bit crooked, as noted by Joey on Instagram. It is hard to tell when setting up the camera on my small 6 inch tripod which I had to place on the ground.

After this we took a taxi back to our hotel and called it a night as we are flying out to Cambodia tomorrow morning.

Posted by Steven

Safely Arrived in Bangkok!

After a long, tiring, and uncomfortable 23 hour journey from Toronto to Bangkok via Toyko, we finally made it!

Our journey began at Toronto Pearson International Airport's Maple Leaf Lounge, where we anxiously waited for our departure. During our time at the lounge, we enjoyed complimentary pastries, fresh fruit, lunch, snacks, and alcoholic beverages, yum! The perfect combination of goodies before our long flight!

Fortunately for us, the plane ride to Toyko wasn't full, so Steven and I shared a row of three seats for the two of us! Despite the extra space, the flight was very long and uncomfortable for me. After six hours into the flight, I started to feel antsy and bored. Additionally, the dry air caused me to have a stuffy nose and headache throughout the plane ride! Silly me, I forgot to pack tylenol and airborne on my carry-on.

Once we arrived at Narita Airport in Japan, we decided to grab some sushi! We purchased a small sushi platter for 1,500¥ (approx. $15 USD), which was "okay." Steven and I both agree that we've tried much better sushi in Toronto! Looks like we'll have to revisit Toyko another time to try authentic sushi elsewhere (outside the airport)!

From Toyko, our flight to Bangkok went by much quicker. Steven and I managed to get some rest for a couple hours and our local arrival time was around 11:20pm.

Now, we are settled into our hotel, Marvin Suites, and thinking about getting some rest! We're not sure what our plan is for tomorrow, but we'll be sure to keep you posted!

P.S The Leafs won Game 6 of the playoffs! Steven was complaining about missing the game on the plane ride,haha! Already thinking about home!

Posted by Rebecca

Cobber Neck Cooling Wraps

Yesterday, Steven and I went to Tilley Endurables to look at travel accessories. While we were there, we stumbled upon the Cobber Neck Cooling Wraps (made in Australia) which were offered in a variety of patterns and colours. We were so fascinated by them that we decided to pick one up for our upcoming trip! [UPDATE!] Scroll down for a detailed product review! :)

What are they? 

Cobber Neck Cooling Wraps are designed to keep you cool against heat discomfort. The neck wraps are filled with poly-crystals which are non-toxic and expand (when placed in water) to produce an immediate cooling effect when worn. Without refrigeration, the wraps remain cool for 2-3 days and are worn dry (no feelings of wetness)! The outer material of the wraps are made of polyester and cotton. Additionally, as an added benefit, these wraps can be used as hot or cold wraps and can be re-usable for many years! 

For more information about the Cobber Neck Cooling Wrap, check out the video shown below or the Cobber.com website! Enjoy!

Product Review:

After trying out the Cobber Neck Cooling Wrap in Cambodia, I must regretfully say that the product did not impress. Steven and I brought an unopened Cobber Wrap to Cambodia to try for the first time.

With striking hot daily temperatures of 30-40 degrees Celsius in Cambodia, I wasn't expecting a miracle cooling product, but I was hoping for something that could decently provide some cooling and relief from the heat. Because the Cobber Wrap claims to remain cool for 2-3 days, I decided to hydrate/activate the gels in the wrap the night before our Angkor Wat full-day tour.        

When I first opened the product, I read the instructions before use.

 "Soak entire wrap in clean water for a total of 20 to 30 minutes. After approximately 10 minutes crystals will begin to absorb the water and feel like a gel. There will be less stress on the seams if you distribute the gel evenly throughout the wrap. Submerge the cobber again for the remaining time (10-20 minutes). Do not leave the cobber in water for longer periods than suggested above. "

I  was careful to follow the instructions, making sure to distribute the gel and soak it in water for a total of 25 minutes. See pictures below.

 

About 5-10 minutes into soaking the Cobber Wrap in cool water, I started to notice that the water was turning red. It appeared that the colour was bleeding out of the wrap.  

After draining and squeezing out the excess water from the wrap, I continued to notice some colour leakage from the product. I was concerned that the colour would leak over my clothes. Once the wrap expanded and started to feel cool, I let it sit in the sink overnight. 

The next day, I took the Cobber Wrap out for a try and put it around my neck. Immediately, there was a sense of coolness (but not for long). The wrap successfully remained cool for around 10 minutes before I found myself squeezing the gels in the wrap to distribute the coolness effect (I must admit, it helped, but it was not significant). I still found myself sweating and drowning in the heat, but at least it provided a little bit of a wet/cool feeling. In addition, I continued to notice some colour bleeding from the wrap, even after leaving the Cobber out to dry for a few days. I had to make sure to put the cobber in a plastic bag to avoid colour stains. If you plan on trying the Cobber Wrap for yourself, I would advise you to soak the wrap and leave it to dry for a few days before using it for the first time!

On the bright side, I did like how the Cobber Wrap was offered in a variety of patterns and colours. I picked the traditional red handkerchief style, which seemed to look good. The Cobber also conveniently dries back to its original form (flat and dry), making it easy to store away. Although I didn't give it a try, the Cobber also claims to work as a heating pad, which is an added bonus.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend the Cobber Wrap. Although it provided an immediate cooling sensation, I wouldn't suggest using the wrap in striking hot temperatures, because the effect feels minimal.

If you have any questions or comments about this product, I would love to hear your feedback!

Posted by Rebecca

Backpacker's backpack

Now that I have caught the travel bug, I thought it would be a good idea to purchase my own Backpacking backpack for this trip, and for future trips (Machu Picchu next year anyone?). I was looking at bags in the $150-200 range and headed to Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) to check out some bags. The employee there showed me a few bags and said he always recommended the Deuter Futura Vario 50+10 bag; however it was on the higher end of my budget at $200 so I kept looking and eventually headed across the street to Europe Bound. They actually had the same bag there listed for $175 and for some reason I thought MEC had it for $230, so I thought it was a great deal! Anyway I decided to get it anyway as I saved $20 and it was a pretty good bag and looked good too lol.

The bag is a 50L bag (50 + 10L) with three access areas (Top, front and bottom) to the main compartment which is key so that you do not have to take everything out to get something from the bottom. The bottom can also become a separate compartment by zipping it off. Not sure if actually fits 50L as it doesnt seem to expand that much and my bag is full with what I think is not a lot of clothes and toiletries.

The bag seemed pretty comfortable and has a great back ventilation system with the aluminum poles and mesh to keep it off your back. We will see how it feels traveling around Thailand.

Posted by Steven

Measles, Mumps, and Rubella!

Today, I visited the Travel Medical Clinic for a consultation regarding the vaccines that we need for our trip to South East Asia! I highly recommend the travel clinic that I went to because the staff were all very professional and knowledgeable. Additionally, the clinic appeared very clean and sanitary. The offices appeared pretty new as well. However, compared to other travel clinics, the consultation fee was a little bit pricy at $69 (not covered by insurance). Be sure to visit a healthcare professional at least 4 weeks before your trip.

The doctor was very nice about helping me figure out my past immunization record. I had about three yellow immunization records in front of me, some with duplicate information on it and some with difficult to read handwriting. It was just too confusing for me to understand! Anyway, after reviewing my history of vaccinations, the doctor prescribed the MMR (Measles, Mumps, and Rubella) Vaccine Shot, Typhoid Vaccine Live Oral Attenuated Ty21a, 6 Azithromycin Dihyrdate Oral antibiotic tablets, and  Dukoral Oral Vaccine. 

I was surprised that I needed the MMR shot because I've already had two Measles vaccination shots in the past when I was a child! But apparently, not all of the Measles shots you get as a child provide lifetime immunization. So, it may be worthwhile to ask your doctor about the MMR adult vaccine. The shot is covered by OHIP.

Because we are also traveling to Siem Reap, Cambodia, I inquired about Malaria Pills. The doctor did not advise me to take them because we will not be traveling in high risk locations (see map provided below). Additionally, from what other people have told me, malaria pills seem to have strong side effects and may be more harmful to your body! In other words, I wouldn't take them unless the risk of Malaria is higher than the risk of taking the pills! It is very important that you always double check with a health care professional!

Generally, from my understanding, the following vaccinations are absolutely required when traveling to Thailand and Cambodia:

• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Typhoid
• Tetanus (covered by OHIP)
• Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (covered by OHIP)

More information about vaccines can be found at the Public Health Agency of Canada website.

Posted by Rebecca

Sony DSC-RX100 and GoPro Hero3

So I have been wanting to have my own camera for a few years now and have taken a bit of interest in photography (I'm not sure how much Instagram had anything to do with that). I always like looking at pictures of landscapes, animals, and nature and would love to take some amazing photos and videos on our trip!

So for my Birthday, my family gifted me with an Sony DSC-RX100!!! Wow! This Sony camera is the top of the line, best compact camera you can buy. What else should I have expected my Dad to get though. Although I was kinda expecting a Sony NEX5R if it were to be a camera as my Dad and I have been talking about them recently.

This is the camera the Pros choose when they need a small compact camera. The camera features a massive 20.2 MP 1" Exmor CMOS sensor, compared to the average point and shoot sensor size of 1/2.3". This allows the sensor to capture more light from your scene and reproduce every stunning detail. The camera is also equipped with a legendary Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* lens. Despite its compact dimensions, this extraordinary lens offers supremely accurate performance, 3.6x optical zoom and an enormous F1.8 circular aperture for gorgeous defocused backgrounds. It can also shoot amazing clear videos in Full HD 1080/60p at 60fps. This will come in handy for the video compilation that I would like to produce. Now I just need too learn how to even shoot a camera with all of the features and settings...

I was also very fortunate to receive the newest GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition package from Rebecca for Christmas! It is such an Awesome present! Rebecca knew that I was kinda interested in it by all of the nature and extreme sports videos I've sent her, saying that I would love to do those things such as scuba diving, and skydiving/wing suit diving. So now I need to start doing more adventurous activities to make use of it! The camera is quite small but the Black Edition has some amazing specs!

• The HERO3: Black Edition captures professional, cinema-quality video at 2X the resolution and 2X the frame-rate of previous models while delivering 2X better low light performance. Slow-motion aficionados and industry professionals will love the HERO3: Black Edition's 1080p-60, 720p-120, WVGA-240, 960p-100 and 1440p-48 video modes while those desiring a cinematic look will appreciate the ultra-high resolution 2.7KP-30 fps and 4KP-15 fps (Protune only) video modes.
• The HERO3: Black Edition's photo performance is 3X improved, now boasting 12MP burst capture at a staggering 30 frames per second with 2X better low light performance compared to previous models. Still Photo and Time-lapse Photo modes remain the same but are now joined by a new Continuous Photo mode that captures continuous 12MP stills at a steady 3, 5, or 10 photo-per-second rate, up to 30 photos at a time. (PERFECT for making my time-lapse videos in Thailand and Cambodia! Keep an eye out for the videos to come!) 

So I pretty much have to learn how to use a camera properly and all of the basics in less than a month..which is not going to happen. So it will be a good learning experience and hopefully I can get away with using the pre-set scene settings and playing around with them a bit for this trip. The GoPro is pretty good at capturing true colours automatically and will be great for time lapses and underwater video footage!

I am pretty excited to take a bunch of photos and videos of our trip. I already have some ideas of what I want to capture for my video. I do not have any experience editing but Rebecca said she will help me. I'm sure if I record a bunch of small clips, I can put together 3-5 second segments for a solid videos. You will all find out how it turns out in June.

Posted by Steven

So It`s Official!

Our flight from Toronto to BANGKOK THAILAND is officially booked!!! We fly off in 2 months on May 12, 2013!  ​​

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We have heard such good things about Thailand from several of our friends that have recently gone in the past two years, and all of them say that it was the best time of their lives and is truly an amazing place to visit. They all wish they could be back there and wish they never left. So with that, Thailand seemed like a great place to check out for my second adventure, and Rebecca's first.

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Ever since my real first taste of backpacking and exploring Europe after my graduation in 2011, I knew right away that I was infected with the travel bug​. Throughout my whole life, travel never really interested me or crossed my mind as much as it does today (which I think about ALL the time now). I really wished that I did an exchange during one of my University years, as I could have gotten the chance to actually live in an entirely different country. That is another thing about my Europe trip and our upcoming Thailand/Cambodia trip that I do not like; not enough time. Both trips involve travelling to many different cities and we only get to stay in one city for 2 to 4 days, so we don't really get a good feel of what it is like to live there. 

The only solution to this would be to quit my job and go live in South East Asia for at least 3 months! There is so much to do and see! If only...

Posted by Steven