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Sawtelle Boulevard is what I consider one of the food paradises of Los Angeles. This stretch has gained a trendy reputation because of its many Japanese influenced lunch/dining options. Over the years, many ramen shops have started to pop in the area.  It has reached the point that if you want wonderful ramen in Los Angeles, you have to stop by Sawtelle Boulevard. This is one of my favorite areas in the big city and I am eager to share my Sawtelle ramen recommendations. Location The ‘neighborhood’ comprises the portion of Sawtelle Boulevard between Santa Monica Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard. This area is located very close to the most popular beaches in Los Angeles County.  Santa Monica and Venice Beach are within a 7 miles distance (15-20 minutes’ drive).  This is an ideal lunch stop for those touring Los Angeles and moving from the beach to Beverly Hills or Hollywood. Why Visit? This one of the best places in the United States to have ramen (some assure this is the best plac...

One night at dinner with my friends Matt and Hannes in Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, I found myself buried in my iPhone, unable to pull myself away from the latest tweets . Matt and I were two confirmed iPhone addicts, and with unlimited data plans costing only $30 per month in Thailand, there was no reason not to stay connected to the internet at all times. Hannes didn’t quite get it.  “At least you’ll run out of battery sometime,” he said with a sigh. I then pulled out my mini-charger and stuck it into the phone. “NOOOOOOOO!” Hannes yelled, laughing. I giggled.  “I’m just kidding,” I said, then put my phone away.  With the charger still in it.  Just in case. My little charger and I had a wonderful time together all over Asia, until I lost it in the shipwreck — and I never ended up replacing it.  I missed it; it was a remarkably handy gadget. Since that night in Thailand, I’ve acquired an iPad, a Kindle, and a Flip Mino ...

California. Where my Travel Addiction Began.   I am an explorer. I crave adventure. I seek the unknown. This is what is in me. This is what keeps me moving. This is why I hate to backtrack. An example of my habit/condition/lifestyle – after a recent trip to Sochi for the Winter Olympics I continued heading east until east became west again. Around the world all because of the freedom and adventure that comes with exploring. So why am I this way? California. Enjoying one amazing sunset with friends where my travel addiction began. Growing up in a small town in Northern Canada I was very isolated from the rest of the world. I knew of rocks, trees, long winters and not much else. Little did I know at the time, this was actually a blessing. Our first family vacation was to California, a place I knew nothing about let alone existed. To be fair I was 4 years old yet I remember the trip with vivid clarity. The beaches, the waves, the sunshine, the warmth – It was ...

“Oh, I’m putting that on my bucket list!”  I hear this all the time — from readers, from family members, from other travel bloggers.  Each time, I’m thrilled to hear that someone has been inspired enough to dream of traveling there someday. But at the same time, I’m a bit apprehensive.  Why?  Because I know that to many people, a bucket list might as well be a Pinterest board — a collection of pretty things that you say you want to do but don’t intend on ever making happen. My problem? If your deadline is death  — you’re not making it a priority. I’ve written about prioritizing travel before — how the reason that most people don’t travel as much as they’d like is because they don’t prioritize it.  They dream about travel — but they spend money on nights out with friends, or having an apartment in the best part of town, or going to dozens of pricey concerts a year. Again — I don...

The past couple blog-less months have been more or less spent preparing for the official word on moving to Vancouver. Pretty much after my second trip to Vancouver in February Erin and I were sold on the move. Literally the day we got back to Edmonton we ripped out the kitchen and redid it. New windows were put in, fresh paint went on, and after sitting in an unfinished state for four years or so, a tile-less shower finally got tiled. All of this was done to give us a quick and easy sale of the house and allow us to get out fast. It’s amazing what you can get done if you have too. Kitchen before Painted cupboards Scott being a great brother From House for Sale – Kitchen after From House for Sale – The “5 year” shower On top of the renos there has been 4 trips to Vancouver. The first trip out was work related however Erin came out for the weekend. We spent one afternoon looking at aplace that backed onto Granville Island. Any dou...

I don’t really geek out over anything, but Harry Potter…if there’s anything over which to geek out, it’s Harry! So when Chris asked me if I had anything I wanted to see in London, from museums to beautiful parks to famous London hotels, I somewhat sheepishly asked, “Can we go to King’s Cross station and go to Platform 9 3/4?” If you’re a Harry Potter fan, you know that Platform 9 3/4 leads you to the Hogwarts Express, which will take you straight to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So we got to King’s Cross Station…but after searching, we couldn’t find the platform.  We resigned ourselves to asking the information desk. “Excuse me,” I said apologetically to the stern-looking man behind the counter.  “Could you tell me how to get to…Platform 9 3/4?” “Well, that depends,” he said, and a hint of a smile flickered through his eyes.  “Are you a witch or are ...

Posting without having pictures to reference is a lot harder than one would think. Personally this shouldn’t be a shock, I have a hard time remembering what I ate for breakfast let alone what I did 2 weeks ago. So I apologize for the following short recap of March: Yellowknife: Headed north and in the process left +8 weather for -27. Spring had yet to sprung north of 60. Never-the-less I headed further north for work and spent the nights at Ma’s. One highlight I do remember is visiting the SnowKing Castle. Every year an eccentric local builds a bigger and better castel made of snow. This year it housed several concerts including one by my friend Aaron a.k.a “Godson” Sadly I did not take the above picture…my pictures were much better. For more info on the castle click here. Montreal: I left Yellowknife bright an early Easter Saturday (is there even an Easter Saturday??) and flew to Ottawa via Calgary. In Ottawa in met up with Erin who had taken the trai...

Visiting Frank’s Slide Last week I was working in southern Alberta and stayed in Waterton Park which is a ghost town mid-week in the winter. The clerk at the hotel I stayed at said the population of the town shrinks to around 70 people in the winter. Still, a very pretty spot. I was fortunate enough to stop and take in some Alberta history by visiting Frank’s Slide. In the early morning of April 29, 1903, 82 million tonnes of lime stone broke away from Turtle mountain and crushed Frank…Frank being the busy mining town in the Crows Nest pass area. I had read about the site before but had no idea how huge the slide was. It looks as if a chunk of the mountain was blasted off. Hard to imagine there is a town (and 70 people) buried under it all.

Looking back on my family’s trip to Scotland, it’s not the places I necessarily remember, but rather the memories that we made at them. I don’t remember the hotel room or what specific food we ate, but I do remember every morning asking the front desk for bread to go feed the ducks that lived in the pond out front. I don’t remember what specific astronomical events the stone circle at Balnuaran of Clava was aligned with, but I do remember running through the stones as our mother tried desperately to take pictures of our weaving, giggling selves. Looking back, I enjoyed the trip so much because of how it brought together the interests of everyone in my family. My nine-year old brother headed the beginning of the trip. After watching numerous documentaries and reading various books on the subject, he was a self-proclaimed expert on the Loch Ness Monster. The obvious next step was to see the creature itself. Thus, we headed over to Urquhart castle, set high above Loch Ness, and peered th...

This is the end… My only friends…the end?? Or is it? Yes, yes it is…Or is it?? I t has been an amazing journey. 9 months ago I had no idea what I had coming. I laughed, I cried, I ate some cheese. And now its gone. The time, not the cheese…well technically the cheese is long gone but that’s not the point. The point is I had the time of my life and now it’s over. Wow, that sounds depressing. It’s not…It’s fantastic. I have learned a lot and gotten a lot out of my time and hopefully have become a better person from it. I have just gotten a taste of traveling and have met people from all over the globe. I plan to visit, you have been warned…just not today…or tomorrow but consider buying a cot or a futon soon. These 9 months may be gone but won’t be forgotten thanks to this blog. Al has been printing my postings out so I can put them in a photo album along side my pictures. Thank you Al. Something else I would love...

Pai, Thailand, is a tiny mountain town about three hours from Chiang Mai.  Originally a hippie enclave, today Pai is now a resort town popular with both Thais and foreigners.  It’s still massively popular with the hippies as well. For me, going to Pai was all about seeing the northern Thai countryside.  The town is so small that it has no real sights.  You can go trekking, take a rafting trip, or rent a motorbike to explore the landscape on your own! Since it was the cheapest option by far, I chose the latter.  Let me add this:  I had never ridden a motorbike before.  Nor a motorcycle.  I hadn’t ridden a bike in years. This was a disaster waiting to happen. And it was.  I rented a motorbike costing 100 baht (about $3.33) for thirty hours, plus an extra 40 baht ($1.33) for insurance.  The attendant taught me again and again how to start, stop and go.  And then I peeled off way too fast, weaving wildly between cars, as he yelled, “Slow down!”  People stared.  ...

Some people think the only way to cruise is to hop a boat at Fort Lauderdale and head straight for the Bahamas. I beg to differ. There is far more to cruises than just relaxing on a deck as you’re transfered from one indistinguishable Caribbean beach to the next.  Whether you choose to visit a traditional or unusual destination, you can always find deals on discount cruises from providers like DiscountCruises.com. Here are five cruise destinations that will make you rethink what a cruise can be.  There’s far more to these five destinations than frosty cocktails served poolside! Svalbard Image: mike.thomson75 The enormous and remote island of Svalbard, part of Norway, is well above the Arctic Circle.  If you’re looking for an incredible wilderness, Svalbard will thrill you like few places can.  Consider this: even in the capital city of Longyearbyen, everyone walks around with a shotgun — to shoot attacking polar bears. Halong Bay Image: Stephen Chip...

  Hong Kong Overview Located on the Pearl River Delta in China . “Hong Kong” translates to “fragrant harbour” or “incense harbour”. Human settlement dates back to the Paleolithic and early Neolithic era. Was occupied by British forces in 1841 and was formally ceded to the British under the Treaty of Nanking. During Japanese invasion in World War II, Japan had control from 1941-1945 until it’s surrender after the war. Hong Kong was returned to China in 1997. Today, it is a Special Administrative Region (SAR). According to experts, Hong Kong has the world’s freest economy. Common Etiquette Rules Don’t show the sole of your feet to others. Putting your feet on a chair, or on a train seat, is regarded as very bad manners. Always use chopsticks in your right hand. Don’t leave chopsticks vertically or horizontally in your bowl. Vertical chopsticks look like incience sticks in a bowl of ashes, a remainer of death. When using toothpicks, cover the hand holding the tooth...