mim95's VirtualTourist Home Page

I am a Canadian living in a small town north of Phuket in Southern Thailand. I am working at an award-winning community-based tourism project that was the result of the tsunami, aiming to help the local communities for economic sustainability and environmental conservation through homestay and cultural activities. I don't like to advertise here, so write to me if you want to know more about this.

Current Location: Southern Thailand

Long trips in 2009: Vietnam; New York City; Trang, Thailand; Penang, Malaysia

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There's an old Chinese saying: "It's better to travel 10000 miles than to read 10000 books." In other words, you have to actually see it for yourself, sometimes words just can't describe better.

Toronto has been my home for many years. My travel quest began after finishing university, with the majority of my trips took place within North and Central America and the Caribbeans. Many of the trips involve visiting parks and conservation areas, as I love the nature and wildlife. Recently I spent more time in Asia, as I became fascinated by the richness of the different cultures and food there.

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Here are highlights of some of the great places I've been to:

April 2008; October to December 2006: Chiang Rai Province, Thailand
I spent most of the time here for my masters thesis on a community-based tourism project. In Chiang Rai Province or other northern and western provinces, there are many ethnic minority (hilltribe) groups with very different culture as compare to the Thai people. Is tourism helping the local people? Read more in my page.

June-Sept 2005: Backpacking in Asia
I went solo most of the time. I was in western China, specifically to Sichuan and Tibet for 3 weeks. Then I was off to South East Asia, including Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore for 5 weeks. Japan was my last stop, where I went to Tokyo and Nikko. I've got roughly 4300 photos for my 3 months trip!!! It'll definitely take me a long time to update my webpage, as I'm very busy now. I've got many interesting and exciting experiences, and certainly all of these will be staying in my mind forever. I've definitely gained a lot from this trip.

March 2005: Backpacking and volunteering in Costa Rica
I went solo to the beautiful Costa Rica for 2 weeks. I stayed in a small town called Parismina on the laid back Carribean coast to volunteer in a leatherback turtles conservation project. Then I headed to the cloud forest of Monteverde, where the golden toads once lived. Unfortunately, nobody ever saw one again after 1989. La Fortuna, the small town next to Arenal Volcano, was my last stop. It is one of the most active volcanoes in the world. But I could never see the top of the volcano though. I flew back to Canada via San Jose, the capital city of Costa Rica. I really missed the tropical weather!

June 2004: Adventure in Havana & Vinales, Cuba
A week off on my own to Havana. Historical and magnificant colonial architecture anywhere in Old Havana, a great city that seems to be frozen in time with cars from the 50s.
Vinales is a side trip that I took to see the beautiful unique landscape where Cuba's finest tobacco is grown.

Numerous visits to Hong Kong since 2002: Hong Kong , my second home
I was born and grew up here, until moving to Canada many years ago.

Jaunary 2003: Taipei & Taroko Gorge, Taiwan
Spent 10 days in Taiwan . It was unforgettable to try out the cheap, unique, tasty food in the busy night markets in Taipei. These markets can be found in all major towns and cities throughout Taiwan. Taroko Gorge is definitely not to be missed when travelling to Taiwan. It's amazing that a highway was built in this treacherous valley half a century ago.

Camping in Canada
Early summer to early fall is the best time to go camping! I've been camping at most of the popular provincial and national parks within 10 hour drive from Toronto. Here are some that I've made pages on:

Hiking on the mountains of Mont Tremblant Provincial Park, just a short drive from the famous resort of Mont Tremblant.
Late summer camping and watching the ever-changing, colourful sunset in Killbear Provincial Park
Searching for the moose in late Spring in Algonquin Provincial Park
Canoeing in Lake Mazinaw, one of the deepest lakes in Ontario in Bon Echo Provincial Park