Author: Gregor Snell        

I am a traveller who lives for the moment and dreams of the future.  I am one who relishes in the experience. I smile and laugh, cry and bleed. The people I meet are everything to me. I want to share with them, to listen, to be a small insignificant part of their beautiful life. Am I selfish? Do I expect too much?

The greatest part of travel is the people you meet and the friendships you create.  This is something that will never get old, never tire, no matter what your age, what your story, the world awaits and the people are there to hear you. So speak if you will, or hold your tongue and just wait. But consider the fact that the world is always in motion, so don’t get caught standing still.

A road which winds and curves is not unlike that of a life lived. We all have ups and downs no matter what.  We have all felt loss, guilt, greed, love. Something that is beautiful to my eye may revolt you, but we can still work to find a commonality in a cause.  I love travel for the patience, the compromise, the acceptance of another’s culture, habits, needs, addictions.  The road is long and hard but its rewards are endless and fruitful beyond that of which these words try merely to describe.

I do not believe there needs to be a reason for why some people travel.  We are seemingly looking for an excuse, something to tell people when they ask, “so why did you come here?”  I would love to say one day, “I came here to meet you.”  Local interaction and international conversations are something that is becoming increasingly clear to me. This is why I travel.

Am I ever content? Will I ever be content? At this point in my life the answer is simply ‘no.’ Do I know what it is I strive for?  Haha, no, I have no idea.

I am a traveller who lives for the moment and dreams of the future.

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Quote
What’s your favorite quote about travel? Why does it stand out to you? 

"Not all those who wander are lost" ~ J.R.R. Tolkien from his fantasy novel Lord of the Rings.

A wanderer myself, I rarely feel that I've lost my way entirely - I've just stumbled upon a new place to explore. Perhaps not the best motto for all aspects of life, say if you're running late for a date or a meeting. However, when time presents itself, wandering can take you to some of the world's best kept secrets, to places most never get the chance to go, or don't care to. To the non-wanderer, we must seem the most mindless, meandering doddlers on the planet! In reality, we just enjoy taking the scenic route - on the road of life, I enjoy taking a seat with a view!

It doesn't hurt that I enjoy Tolkien's stories as well :)

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Home
For some people, no matter how much they love travelling, there’s always no place like home. Other travellers make their homes wherever they happen to be. Tell us about your home – where is it and why do you consider it your home? 

As the old saying goes, "Home is where the heart is". I feel this is an accurate statement, though there's one slight problem when I take an introspective look at my own heart. There is no fixed location I can lock in on, as I've left pieces of my heart scattered across the globe, as I fell in love with cultures, landscapes, wildlife, and people along the way. 

Born and raised in the small city of Guelph - approximately an hour drive west of Toronto, Canada - I will always be welcomed by the comfortable feeling of "coming home" when I drive in to it's tree lined streets, it's rivers, and it's old Victorian style architecture, and of course having some close friends and family who make it their home as well. It's a warm feeling, with many fond memories of my childhood. However, for nearly half my life now, it has not been the place I've chosen to reside. The nomad in me needed to stretch his legs, and uproot beyond the confines of this quaint University town. Thus began the scattering of my heart, as I began to find a feeling of home and comfort in the world that awaited.    

I've stopped along the way and set up camp in a number of locations - From Sydney, to Vancouver, Banff to London (ahem.. London, Ontario), even stopping in Luxor, Egypt for several weeks, and for the past 6 years, Toronto has been the place I chose to reside. Along the way, I've made many Meaningful Connections, and have found many comforts in my surroundings, from favorite coffee shops, to parks I would frequent, bartenders who knew not only my name, but even my drinks of choice. All these elements have captured a part of me, and will always be comforting upon my return to see them.

I've currently stopped in a small Akha Hilltribe Village, in Northern Thailand, somewhere in the hills between Chiang Rai and Mae Sai. Though only here a week, this will be my residence for at least the next few months as I volunteer my time in assisting with the start-up Non-Profit Foundation, Pennies for Papa. It's a big change from anywhere I've stopped in before, but the people of the village have ear to ear smiles which melt your heart.. thus stealing a piece of mine already, and making it slowly feel like home as well. 

It's hard to say when or where I'll end up next. A bit of a vagabond, I tend to wander; similarly, my plans tend to wander. I don't tend to do much of these wanderings with a set destination. "Sometimes it's better to travel than to arrive." ~ Robert Pirsig. As it stands now, I'm quite content with where I am, as I usually am, though I know at some point my heart will pull me in another direction. At the moment, presently unexplored, my heart's got a very strong and indisputable magnetism towards Mexico and a meaningful connection found there-in. 

The world is our oyster, and life is too short and precious to always wait for an opportune time to make life happen! Create the life you want to live in your mind, and the universe will find a way to manifest this to be so - just don't ignore the messages it speaks to guide you there. As those words are continuously spoken to me, you'll be the first to hear about them as you follow my journey right here on Where Sidewalks End :)

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Meaningful Connections
Travelers meet dozens, if not hundreds, of new people on every trip. They may become friends, enemies, lovers, and resources; they may stay in your life forever or be forgotten the next day. Tell about a time you felt a powerful connection – for however long – to another person while traveling.

I've definitely made some incredible connections with people and places in my travels. Some which were all but forgotten shortly after, like that guy who operates the Hookah shop in a back alley in Luxor, and other connections which will last a lifetime, like one made during my most recent travels through Thailand with one of the G2 Crew, Miss Mittie Roger. 

I'd have to say one of the most meaningful connections I've made while travelling was actually with someone I already knew. Having worked in the travel industry with an "adventure travel" tour company for the past 6 years came with some perks - the best of which was the annual discounted tour, anywhere in the world they operated. In speaking with a work colleague, Miss Erin Schildermans ,we both expressed an interest in travelling to Antarctica around the same time. We figured it would be nice to go knowing someone, and so why not try travelling together. We were good enough acquaintances at the time to be considered friends, though most of our associating happened down at the local watering hole and hadn't yet ventured much deeper than that. 

Our dream trip was in the final stages of being approved and confirmed when a tragic accident actually caused the vessel to sink after hitting an ice burg. Once assessing the situation and knowing that all passengers were safe, it began to sink in that our possibilities of doing such a unique voyage lay 20 leagues below the sea along with the ship that was intended to take us there. IN a frantic last minute scramble, we asked each other where the other had intended to travel next. We both then realized that travelling around eastern Africa was actually a common goal and desire. With some last minute arrangements, less than a month later we took off on what would be a life changing experience for both of us.

Two 20 hour flights with 8-12 hour layovers (at least they were in Amsterdam and Johannesburg) , 90+ hours of driving 12 hour days, and 3 weeks in a tent will either make two people want to kill each other, or will make them better friends than ever before. Fortunately for Erin and myself, it was the latter. After surviving this crucial test, we became travelling buddies, and decided to take all of our annual trips together, in addition to several other independent ones as well. 

Together, we've now conquered 6 continents together, including most recently Antarctica. Oceania is our last stop on our world domination tour, though we've both been independently thus knocking it down a few notches on the to do list. This is a feat I'd say few have accomplished in their lifetime, let alone being able to do so with the same person. 

Having seen each other at our best... and worst (oh the stories I'm leaving out - maybe save them for another blog), we've been through a lot together. This of course means that all those other "connections" one thinks of with travelling, we've both shared. Facebook would tell you we have the most "Common Friends" out of any other - I could have told you that without a doubt in my mind. Perhaps unexpectedly at first, Erin has become the Pinky to my Brain(I know I'll get punched for that one - it's probably the other way around), a best friend through thick and thin, and as close to a sister as I'll ever know. 

I'm curious to think where our friendship would be now had we not taken the leap of faith in travelling together all those years ago - all that matters is that it did happen, and this connection was able to be made. For that I'm grateful.

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Feast
For some of us, food isn’t just a part of our travels, it’s the reason why we travel. Whether you travel the globe to try new foods and use food to form a deeper connection with the culture or just eat to live, food plays a big part in the travel experience. Share a food-related story from your travels or describe your best meal.

How true the description just really is. Food is one of life's best gifts, and travelling just exposes you to some of the countless variations of preparing food there really are! The more you travel, the more exotic foods you get to try.. and for those of us who LOVE food, that's one of the biggest highlights! It really is a way to get a better understanding of the culture you're visiting, and if you're lucky, you get to eat with the locals and see all the traditions and ceremonies which may be tied in to the food as well! Meal time is a ritual shared by all cultures, so what better way to get connected, then to "break bread" together?

As opposed to trying to narrow the post down to just one meal (that would be impossible), I'll just post a bunch of pictures from some of my favorites meals which really stand out! Just the thought of this post is making my mouth water already! Enjoy :)

I don't think lengthy descriptions really could have done much more justice to these masterpieces of the culinary arts. Now that my stomach's ready to eat itself out of envy, I think it's time to go get a snack!

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Earth
At what point in your travels have you felt most in tune with the Earth? Share a story of how you interacted with the local environment or nature.

This question seems fairly easy for me to answer (however it's such a BIG topic, this post will end up quite lonnnnnnng), as I positively feel the most in tune with Earth when in nature itself. Now there's possibly different levels of how in tune you can be.. The further away from human civilization, the great that level gets. I should probably start off by mentioning that I have lived in cities (of all sizes) for the longer part of my life. Just in the past 6.5 years I've been living in Toronto - Canada's largest city, at 3.5 million (close to 7 million with it's suburbs). I can't say I hate it, to be quite frank. The accessibility to culture, food, arts, festivals, you name it.. and there's a decent number of forested areas to hike through, one of the world's largest lakes to sail on, decent bike trails. Those are necessary elements in a city of this size, mind you.. for people like me. People who have an unquenchable thirst for nature. 

Now going camping gets me goin. I love it. From simple lot based camping which is never more than a 30 mins drive away, basic but meets minimal needs and desires. Then within a close distance of 300 kms (relatively speaking in Canada, I know you can cross several European countries in that span) you can end up in the heart of Algonquin Park - a park that's 7725 sq/km (almost the size of Jamaica, and Bigger than Trinidad and Tobago!) of wilderness, complete with forests, hundreds of lakes, and rivers - on top of the crazy abundance of animals (ie moose, bears, foxes, woodpeckers, etc etc). It's a nature lovers paradise. This is what I grew up with... it's what I know and can relate to. 

Travelling brought me closer to even more types of nature. From my first experience hitchhiking across Canada back when I was 16, seeing the prairies (incredibly surreal how FLAT it really is... endlessly!), to the rugged Rocky Mountains, to the Rain forests of the west coast along the Pacific Ocean. This really got me in tune, but now hungry for more. 

I'd have to say my favorite things on earth, that have made me feel most in tune, are places in the mountains, in the jungle, on a tropical island, or by the sea, and each of these places should be teaming with wildlife. Not to say that tundra, deserts, farmland or anything else is less a part of the Earth, but I really just don't connect in the same way.

I've hiked several mountain ranges, and lived in Banff National Park on a couple occasions which gave me endless access to unspoiled wilderness, full of elk, bears, endless forests, glaciers and of course mountains in need of a climb.. however, I would have to say my time hiking in the Himalayas of Nepal brought me the closest to nature out of the lot. There would be long days without seeing any signs of civilization. Hiking up and down foothills, crossing raging rivers on rickety bridges, through forests, to hilltops that surpassed the tree line. Sadly there's not much wildlife to be seen in those parts, outside of the occasional hawk, but the ruggedness and raw beauty were unparalleled. We would fill our bottles with waterrun off from snow-peaked mountains, fill our lungs with the crisp, fresh air, and stop to listen to the sounds of nothingness. The reward was supposed to be making it to Base Camp, but as with all journeys: "It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end" ~ Ursula K. LeGuin.

I often fall into a natural meditative state any time I'm in one of these locations. From Ngorogoro, the incredible lush volcanic creator of the Serengeti in Tanzania, which is erupting with wildlife of all kinds, to the greenest rain forests and jungles, Wildlife is always a big part of feeling connected for me.  

The lushest jungles I've been to were probably the ones in Sumatra, Indonesia. I had just been visiting an Orangutan rehabilitation centre, and then went on a 2 day hike into the jungle to see them in the wild. On the trek we saw long tailed howler monkeys, massive monitor lizards, tortoises, and to our fantastic luck a family of 3 Orangutan (an adult with two adopted young ones). Honestly, that moment was zen, and it was so liberating feeling that deep into the natural world, being surrounded by life on every square inch of every surface that could sustain it! This to me is living.. this is life in all it's glory.

Now when it comes to the hybrid of wildlife, oceans and islands, I feel it's a very hard toss up between which I would consider the closest I felt to nature, and the Earth. The toss up is between the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador, and the many archipelago which lay on the edge of Antarctica. Both are overflowing with their own unique wildlife. One tropical, one polar (though they both have penguins - maybe that's the appeal?). The animals that inhabit these areas have not been tainted by human colonization. Of course there was hunting which happened when first discovered, though both are now protected areas. The animals own the  land, and as a visitor to either, you are strictly instructed not to disturb their daily routines (ie don't feed, don't 

touch... don't eat them). If the animals care to come inspect you, that's a different story.. I've had penguins playing with some ski tags on my snow pants, and hopping around me like children to a circus clown, but even with that proximity, you must always remember, we are visitors to their land. These places are perhaps windows to what most of the world looked like before we colonized almost every inhabitable space. You will never hear silence like you do in these places, you will never smell air so fresh, see animals so natural, or feel so in tune with the Earth as you will in these special spots. 

These are my happy places, where I can truly connect with nature. 

These are where I truly feel at one with Mother Earth.. she's a damn sexy MILF. 

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: One Day
Travel helps us better appreciate the present moment instead of always looking to the next thing. Describe one perfect day you had while traveling this year. Where were you? What were you doing? And what made it perfect?

This is a very difficult question to answer. Many days of my life, especially those spent travelling, experiencing, learning, growing, celebrating (and all the other Travel Indie prompts so far), I try to focus on the positive in each. 

The day I spent wandering around Machu Picchu on my whirlwind trip to Peru, started off quite rough, hangin over from a good time the night before, with an early start and a long train journey/bus ride ahead - a small sacrifice with what I figured awaited me at the other end. One could have been upset that Aguas Caliente was drenched upon our arrival, as the low hanging clouds wouldn't even let you see the tips of the mountains we were about to ascend. Dressing in ridiculous pink, yellow and purple rain ponchos, we journeyed up the daunting switch backs to what first appeared as... more clouds. Upon entering the ancient city, we wandered around.. soaked.. and could see approximately 3 meters in front of us in any given direction. Every now and then there would be a patch which opened up, and you would get a glimpse that this place was bigger than well... a 3 meter radius. It was at least 4! 

However, as the day dragged on, the clouds slowly lifted and the sun not only peaked through, it blasted down upon us, with only patches of misty clouds left lingering to do battle with the sun, creating an incredibly mystical sensation to our destination. After a few more hours of exploring, we made our descent, happy and feeling quite rewarded. We had just experienced multiple seasons at Machu Picchu in the same day. A power nap on the train got me back to Cuzco, while dreams of the ancient Incan cities flashed past in my head, only to arrive to a local pub filled with friends, ready to celebrate what will always be remembered as a perfect day. 

.... but it didn't seem like that at first. Life will always be balanced with good and bad, easy and challenging, exciting and depressing moments. It's really what you strive to get out of it in the end, and how you overcome those more difficult stages. If you keep the positive outlook that those times were necessary, and that everything can be a positive experience when put in the larger picture, you'll never have a terrible day again! 

I've had countless "Perfect Days" (though some may have been less than ideal at times), both while travelling, and while not. Maybe that makes me very fortunate - and I don't deny that I am - but maybe it's just how I've chosen to perceive things, deconstruct the bad, and reassemble them into learning, positive growth and change. 

My ideal "perfect day"? It's is quite simple.. a mixture of good company, good food, nice landscape (mountain, jungle or ocean - I'm easy) and "ideally" warm climate. What's yours?

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Love Learning
Travel and learning go hand in hand. Travel teaches us not only about the world and the people in it, but also more about ourselves and our own ideas and values. What has travel taught you this year?

Well this topic is kind of ironic, really, in the sense that for the past few months I was helping a Canadian University, Queen's, to promote a very cool new Study Abroad program to young aspiring students and adults in search of something out of their normal vacation alike. The first line I would use when introducing this product, Queen's Blyth Worldwide, was "It's impossible to travel somewhere else in the world without learning something about your destination... unless you try very hard not to." With that being said, mind you, there's many different things to be learned, be it of yourself, your values, your destination, the people or cultures, the wildlife, the history, the list goes on and on.

In the past year, I was fortunate enough to travel fairly extensively (as has been the case for the past decade really, but I'll focus on this year as per the outline). I'd have to say, between my trips to Peru, Argentina, India and Antarctica (North American travel aside), the common theme of my learning over this past year was truly expanding my already vast appreciation for Nature. In past travels the main focus has often jumped from cultures, to music, to architecture, to food, and so on and there's often a fairly even marriage between all the learning and experiences which are present, however this year there was an imbalanced emphasis put on nature. 

Perhaps it was the train ride that plummeted us from the heights of the Andes in to the depths of the Amazon jungle, before our ascent back up to the top of Machu Picchu. Within the ruins, it's buildings having been carefully laid out in a way which seemed to mimic the peaks of their facing mountain counterparts, embodying their surrounding nature in to the entire layout of the ancient city itself. While travelling through Peru, you can't help be be a bit overwhelmed by the sheer beauty that exists in all it's varying climates. I've been to jungles, mountains and deserts before, though the gentle balance the Peruvian landscape encompasses them was truly astounding. It's nice to see that the government has started to recognize the importance of sustainability over the past 6 years, with implementations of Inca Trail closures for natural regrowth, and limiting entry on to the trail on a daily basis to reduce the impact. It's a small step in the right direction... one which will hopefully be mimicked in many other delicate parts of the world in the near future.

Argentina is a country known for it's Malbec wine, it's Tango, and it's beef steaks - but it is also known for it's incredibly rugged and seemingly pristine mountain range, Patagonia. While there, my time was short, but I managed to go on a day hike into Tierra Del Fuego National Park, near Ushuaia, on the southern-most tip. I could have spent weeks walking around this beautiful landscape. As I came over a hill on a trail in the forest, a little brown fox trundled past, barely glancing over as it casually hopped along the trail. The cold Antarctic waters brought with them tiny penguins which play along the coast there, and the forest is overrun by cute little jack rabbits (which may explain the nonchalant, kind of plump fox we passed). In addition to this, there is endless horizons of snow peaked mountain ranges, and the forest is quite dense with green foliage and healthy trees. I remember thinking to myself, "Mother nature's one sexy MILF". 

Southern India, more specifically in the state of Kerala. Having started the journey towards spirituality of the mind and soul in Northern India about 10 years prior, this was a very interesting return to a country I thought I had begun to understand. The south is quite different. Less populated. More people are educated. Tropical. It's one of those places where if there is a square inch on the ground which can sustain life, something will grow there. With an abundance of Tiger reservation parks, tea plantations and of course the beautiful and lush backwaters, this journey brought with it a much more spiritual connection with the nature you surround yourself with... it still has the Indian flavour (and we're not talking masala), but in a very tranquil (or as they would say "shanti shanti") fashion to it. I had gone in assuming to know what I would find here, and as the saying goes I just made an ASS out of U and ME by doing so. It definitely allowed itself to be reinvented for me, learning never to judge a book by it's cover, or even if you've read through a couple of the chapters, because the whole story can be  much more robust and diverse than you originally gave it credit for.

Antarctica - where does one begin with the learning of nature majesty which takes place here? No words or photo's can ever do it justice. It is the epitome of what is left of our "natural, unadulterated world". The feeling of being there, and sitting in absolute silence, listening to the crackling of the ice shelf, the cool Antarctic breeze, the honking of baby penguins waiting to be fed. Nothing is as pure as those moments. To see the shear size of the ice burgs as they drift by, knowing that each one is but a memory of a prehistoric ice shelf, slowly crumbling into the sea. The fragility of the eco system, as incredibly fierce and unforgiving as it may seem, is one of the most delicate in the worlds, and at greatest risk of human impact which is currently causing this incredible land before time to disappear.

That leads me to my conclusion, which may come across as a bit harsh, however, when you experience so much diversity in the world (especially when condensed to just over a few months), its hard not to feel connected to it, and affected by it. The realities of the destructions of man kind become more and more evident the more I travel. The more you try to learn about the natural beauties you are seeing, the more you learn how they are quickly disappearing beneath our noses. Every single one of the spots I travelled to is being impacted in one way or another. Be it all the tramping up the trails of the Andes, to the deforestation in the Amazon or in Patagonia, the melting of the ice cap in Antarctica and the glaciers in Patagonia caused by the heightened CO2 levels we're producing, the terra-forming which took place in the backwaters causing erosion, along with the removal of the mangroves and the controlled salt water irrigations to kill off the bacteria... it's happening everywhere. The worst part - everyone already knows this... and it's still happening. So although I already "knew" about a lot of these things, the first hand learning you experience when you actually see the damage being done brings this to a whole new level. Maybe not the "fluffy" happy blog it may have seemed when I started off, but I had to bring you in to that beautiful world as I had done so, to be able to shine a more honest light on the problems which presented themselves to me and to the same clarity.

Solutions? I'm sure there's many - be responsible with as much as you can comfortably do in life, such as using public transit, not buying items with lots of packaging, buying locally grown food, and the list goes on...  but also be mindful of all this when travelling, and choose the most green options whenever possible. I could tell you all about my methods, but I'm much more interested to know.... How do you plan on making a difference?

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Celebrate
Joining in a local festival, holiday or special event is a great way to learn more about a local culture. Share the story of a celebration that meant something to you on your travels.

Oh, where to begin with this subject? Who doesn't like a good celebration, really? In my humble opinion, I feel that being somewhere for a local festival, holiday, or special event is one of the best things that can happen to you on your travels. The country is celebrating, and their actions and involvement will  give you an inside look into some of the traditions that have moulded that society and their way of life. Not to mention, it's pretty damn fun getting involved as much (or as little) as you're comfortable with.

Now I've spent the past 6 years living in Toronto, Canada... one of the world's most culturally diverse cities, when examining the the demographics of those who inhabit it. With such diversity, I've been spoiled with endless cultural festivals happening almost every single week. Sometimes 3 or 4 happening on the same weekend! These festivals can range from Caribana - the world's largest Caribbean festival outside of the Caribbean, Salsa on St Clair - a latin food and music festival, Taste of the Danforth - a MASSIVE greek food and music festival with over 1 millon in attendance, and so forth. Festivals for me are the icing on the cake to an enjoyable vacation somewhere, and have planned several trips with that particularly in mind. 

One of the festivals on the International scene that I've attended would be Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, which I must admit is one of the most fun weeks I've ever had in my life. The entire country seems to be in celebration mode for weeks leading up to the Grande Festival weekend, which changes dates every year, often falling on one of the weekends in February. I've never seen so much life, excitement and energy.. often our nights would be ending at 11am and the music was still playing out in the streets by our condo as we finally drifted to sleep for the day. 

A recent festival I was able to bare witness to is the famous Holi festival in India, which is a festival of colours and people through bags of powdered paint at each other. India is a special place for finding festivals mind you, and if you check local guide books and calendars, I'm sure you'll be able to find an exciting festival to attend at almost any time of year. In the same 2 week trip, I also attended a Vishnu festival where elephants were promenaded through the streets to bless all the houses of the town that left offerings out for it, and then the procession ends as the elephants are lead up into a temple. at the top of a high staircase. This was happening around 2am... then the parade started.... then the fireworks - we had to pull the plug just due to fatigue around 5:30am, yet the party was still in full effect.

The trip that was most significant in terms of planning around festivals, however, was my trip to Japan during the Cherry Blossom festival. This is a HUGE natural event with substantial cultural significance. The cherry blossom trees only are in bloom for a couple of days, and can happen at varying times all across the country (and even within the same city, when at different elevations). People follow the patterns as they are broadcast on the news, and you will find parks filled to the rim with people sitting under the blossoming trees, sipping on sake and having picnics. Multiple other incredible festivals were happening across the country during this time, and fortunately for me, they just happened to happen at the same time as many of the blossoming trees were in full bloom in those cities. From Geisha festivals, to ancient marionette presentations, to archery exhibits, there wasn't a dull moment during those few weeks. 

Lastly, I should also mention of course that celebrations don't of course have to be some elaborate festival. It may be something as common as a birthday, or winning a race or sporting event (if you want to see crazy, sit on the winning side of the stadium at a soccer event in Brazil.. wow!). One of my most memorable celebrations was my 20th birthday in Northern India, in a village where the Dali Lama has taken refuge, McLeod Gang. It was the most peaceful place I can remember, and it just so happened they too were celebrating the 40th anniversary since they built a school for the refugee children there, and let's not forget Diwali, India's festival of lights, was taking place at the same time. I spent a good part of the day in meditation in the mountains close to a towering waterfall. A very introspective celebration, for my own life, my accomplishments thus far, and what was yet to come. This was followed closely by a night full of Kingfishers and firecrackers.

Life is full of reasons to celebrate. I live by the philosophy of trying to celebrate Life as much as possible, wherever, whenever - I don't need much encouragement to get out there and participate. As far as we know, we only live once, right?

Taking a break from the usual photo-stream, I've decided to participate in an initiative which the travel blog BootsnAll has created. Starting November 1, they launched a project called 30 Days of Indie Travel. They’re inviting bloggers from around the world (including you!) to join us in a daily blogging effort reflecting on our past travel experiences.  Each day, they'll post a new prompt on BootsnAll articles. Bloggers can follow the prompts as strictly or loosely as they like, interpreting them in various ways and responding via text, photos or video posted on their own blogs.

Today's theme: Fear
Just as travel can be fun and exciting, it can also have its challenging, or even downright scary, moments. Being in a new place pushes us out of our comfort zone and makes us face our fears. Tell about a time you had to face your fear when traveling, and what was the result.

I've never been a position where I truly felt "fear" per say.... like I was never scared for my life or anything of that nature. However, anything unfamiliar can bring with it an element of fear, especially if in an area outside your familiarity, or comfort zone. For instance, walking alone at night through the narrowly winding dark passages and alleys that make up the downtown core in Varanasi... that gets your heart pumping. Getting malaria in a village fully of hippies, hours away from civilization... or a hospital, and no means to get to one if needed to? A tad frightening - though I was a little too sick to think clearly enough to even recognize that as fear. Having a cab driver take you and your 2 drunk friends on a detour to your destination through the Favelas in Rio De Janeiro, late one night, and have him jump out of the cab without explanation saying "if trouble - you drive!".. hmm, that was as scary as it was confusing. These I could categorize in the "I may have felt slightly higher levels of adrenaline" spectrum, though I can't honestly say it instilled what I would define as "fear".

I can understand how everyone's different, and some of these things would have scared the living crap out of some people, where as others may not even bat an eye. Sometimes the fear may just be due to the cultural differences awareness and not knowing how to handle a situation. No matter what the situation, or who is trying to handle it, the best option is to always try to stay calm. Take a few deep breathes. Your judgement will be less clouded and it's going to be easier to try and think rationally about how to handle everything. 

Not every situation will end up as planned, but sometimes those scariest moments turn in to some of the best moments of your life. It all starts with facing your fears, taking a deep breath, and knowing you can tackle almost anything the world throws at you!