The Yukon is stunningly beautiful in all seasons. However, as winter sets in, some seek heat and sunshine. I happen to be one of those people. I am 35 years old and quite the spirited spinster. I was born in Ontario and came to the Yukon as a traveller in summer 2007. I fell in …
Asia is scattered with solid orange and red as monks are around every corner—making an already brilliantly vibrant country even brighter. (Their robes reflect colours traditionally worn when they used to dye the cloth with berries.) My first encounter with a monk in Cambodia was when I walked into a ruin. He was there studying, …
In Cambodia less than three days, I find myself driving 10 minutes out of Siem Reap to Vi HeaChhin, a small village in the Svay Dong Kun commune, to pick up 25 children who attend a free English school and take them out for dinner. My dear friend Jonny Wilkie (aka “Jonny One Eye”, as …
In the Yukon, we have wild meat. In Vietnam and Cambodia, they also make the most of wild game. I wandered into a pharmacy in Saigonand saw snake and cobra venom remedies (venom cobratoxan). I’m not sure about what the cobra stuff is used for, but from what I’ve read, the snake venom is an …
Rivers of motos (motorcycles, scooters, all types of motorized transportation) are everywhere in Vietnam and Cambodia. Ladies often ride sidesaddle, and laws of physics do not seem to apply—motos are jam-packed with people and supplies, piled beyond capacity. It always seems like the moto or the load will burst at the seams and explode apart, …
Ravens flying over my head is one of my favourite things. You can hear the swooping of the wings and feel the gust of air pushing downwards. I came to admire them shortly after coming here. When I first arrived, I would hear these wonderful, interesting bird noises and, to my surprise, when I looked …
