​My UK trip was one of the most exciting trips of my life!

​The plan was to get as many British Canoeing qualifications as I could in 17 days. The BC Advance Sea Kayak Leader training, the White Water Safety & Rescue training and the White Water Kayak Leader training.

There are so many things to write about Norway!

​In early June of 2019, I worked as a Sea Kayak guide on a little island in Norway called, Skrova. The beauty was everywhere, the clear waters, the mountains, and of course, the unusual (for me) 24 hour sunlight! But working as a sea kayak guide is not easy on the body, which makes sleeping actually quite easy, even though its bright outside.

Finally got my handroll down! ...and on a sea kayak!

On January 31, I arrived at Kilimanjaro International Airport, but there was a 3.5 hour delay in exiting the airport, as a tourist on the plane had lost all her American dollars kept in her luggage whilst on the plane. So everyone had to go through many security checks before leaving the airport. So after i got through the exit hall to meet my pick-up driver, which i thought should be super pissed by now, I saw nothing but the widest smile from a man in his 20's, waving his hand to me, calling out, "welcome Malaysia!".  

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​One of the most pressured moments of my life! ... And it lasted a whole month.
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​Well, it actually started in 2016 when i decided to take up a Remote Paramedic course. I found out that to pick up reading textbooks again after 23 years is no joke.

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Why in the world would anybody paddle upstream? Its as hard as a 5km run, which, in case you're wondering, is super hard for me! Ok, ok, maybe a better example would be cycling up a 45 degree off-road slope without gears. Its going against gravity without the help of any mechanics.



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Never have I seen so many mango trees concentrated in one area. The mangoes of Lake Toba (Mangga Parapat), are sweet and sour all together, and apparently, only available at this lake.



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On the 25th of November, Madi and I had a BCU (British Canoe Union) 3 Star Sea Kayak training and assessment week in Koh Chang, Thailand. What interest me most was not so much about the course (which was fantastic by the way!), but the journey and the obstacles we had to overcome to get to Koh Chang. It felt as if some sort of force was trying to stop us from getting to Koh Chang!

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I realised I started thinking about my fears when I was at the campsite (still on Carey Island, in the vicinity of Jugra hill). Strangely, it had nothing to do with distance paddling, turbulent waters or bad weather. .....Read more

On the eve of Christmas in1941, Spencer Chapman, a British soldier from 101 Special Training School, and his reconnaissance team was sent behind enemy lines to gather information on the Japanese advancement and to meet the raiding party at Sungai Trong. After traveling through dense jungle from Parit to the Bruas road, they were unable to reach the rendezvous in time and had to find their way back to headquarters. Not knowing where the front line was, their plan was to slip down the Perak river at night at Parit, which will lead them straight to Teluk Anson (now Teluk Intan), beating the Japanese  who were on their way to take on Singapore. Sargent-Major Patterson, Sargent Sartin and Lieut.-Col Chapman would travel 50 kilometers on a badly holed ferryboat, without engine, through unknown territory where bombing and machine gunning was constant.

For more on this writeup click on Learning Adventures link below:
Part 1:
http://www.learning-adventures.net/2011/08/16/retracing-a-soldiers-path-%E2%80%93-escape-via-sungai-perak-part-i/
Part 2:
http://www.learning-adventures.net/2011/08/17/day-two-paddling-down-perak-river-final/

Click here for more photos in the Albums page under the title "Retracing a soldiers path - Escape via Sungai Perak"

The Wind River Range seemed like the ultimate wilderness experience, which it is! ...Except for one thing, mosquitoes in the summer. I thought mosquitoes in Malaysia were bad, but I was dead wrong, in the Wind River Range, they were vicious little bastards. They were everywhere, and they were there by the thousands and thousands. There wasn't any point to try and kill them, because they had friends everywhere. Every little chance they'd get, like the little 0.4 cm gap on the arm between gloves and the jacket sleeve, or the 0.6 cm space on the legs between the socks and the pants, you're open for donation.

Paddling the Whanganui River, one of New Zealand's Great Walks, was a dream come true. From the put-in at Taumarunui,   hundred and forty five kilometers down the river, to the take-out at Pipiriki, in a canoe through a landscape of lush green hills and bush clad valleys, in Whanganui National Park, South West of the North Island.