Home - The Travel Journal of Allen Trottier

Thursday

11Mar2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 7:05PM

Goodbye Vancouver, Hello Manila

Greenbelt 3 in Makati (Metro Manila). Photo by Rollan Budi,

I was hoping to sit down and write this article before I left, but clearing up all the lose ends of a trip like this proved to be much more than I expected. This is the start of my South East Asia adventure.

Over the last year or so I've been inspired by authors Tim Ferris, Rolf Potts and Tynan, to name a few. They've taught me the importance of time and given me the sense of adventure to explore new cultures.

My work place has given me the opportunity to work away from the confinements of my desk. Most recently I've been working from home. Its allowed me to motivate myself, set my own hours and take more ownerships of my responsibilities. To test out these limits I've asked myself, "Whats the difference between working from home, and working from a beach somewhere in Asia?" That question has brought me to this point. I'm currently on Day 3 of my new life. I've sold all of my belongings, taken a backpack and will be spending a couple months in the Philippines. From there I will head to Indonesia and setup a place to live in Bali for about 6 months (tentatively of course). Along with me is my friend and coworker Rollan (rollanb.posterous.com).

I've just uploaded the first batch of photos to my computer and hope to give you all an update of the first few days shortly.

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Friday

12Feb2010

Friday, February 12, 2010 at 1:09PM

Building the clubZone Tent in Yaletown

The Vancouver 2010 Olympics are here. Here's the clubZone team building our tent in Yaletown. We will be promoting our new iPhone app where you can buy tickets most of the nightlife events in the city.

Vancouver 2010,

Video

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Friday

12Feb2010

Friday, February 12, 2010 at 11:30AM

My Vibram FiveFingers are in!

I'll be honest, at first I thought these shoes were a bit ridiculous. Why the hell would anyone want to wear these goofy looking things. I'm no hippie. My first impression was probably the same as yours.

I have recently had an urge to starting running. After a lot of research I have found that barefoot running can help with posture, improve the muscles and ligaments in your feet, and is nearly injury free.

I'm going to give these bad boys a shot and will keep you updated on the progress.

Gear

tagged

barefoot,

fivefingers,

running,

vibram

Saturday

06Feb2010

Saturday, February 6, 2010 at 12:00PM

Do you want to see the World?

For anyone interested in extended travel, check out the ebook "Life Nomadic". The author Tynan, pictured above, covers a wide range of topics including: How to transition into the nomadic life, why its practical, how to get cheap flights, how to make money while travelling, travel gear choices and much more.

While you're there, check out the rest of Tynan's website of life changing products.

Inspiration

tagged

life changing,

life nomadic,

nomad,

travel,

tynan

Friday

05Feb2010

Friday, February 5, 2010 at 12:00PM

Street Photography: The Human Condition

This is a brilliant documentary by Chris Weeks released at the end of summer 2009. Whether you're a photographer or just appreciate the art, this is a must a watch.

tagged

Thursday

04Feb2010

Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9:39PM

The View From My New Place

vancouver, vancouver at night, downtown vancouver

In light of my future travel plans, I've moved out of my 1br apartment to save some money. I'm back in my old place with my old roommates in the Electra Building. Its the old BC Hydro building that was converted into a residential building many years ago. I'm up on the 20th floor with one of the best views in town. Not only are we on the top floor but we're also on top of the hill which puts us above most of the buildings.

I'll be here for a couple months before I head to south east asia.

vancouver, shangri-la, downtown vancouver

vancouver, downtown vancouver

tagged

Sunday

24Jan2010

Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 11:00AM

Is the 13.1" Macbook big enough?

For the last 10 months I've been tied to the hip with my 24" iMac. In retrospect, I think this is one of the best purchases I've ever made. Crystal clear screen quality, fast and just plain beautiful. But I'm soon to be on the road and I need to go light.

I'm now fully online with the 13.1" Macbook. It's the mid 2009 model so it still has the firewire port and has a 2.13 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. It only had 2Gb Ram, but I've I made an upgrade to 6Gb with a purchase from OWC. Its small size fits great in the Asolo Daypack I mentioned in a previous post.

I had two main concerns with this macbook. First, is the screen too small to work on photos and videos? I'll mostly be working with photos so it should be fine. I don't think I'll be doing many videos at this point so it shouldn't be an issue.

Second, can I do my day job from an Apple computer? I normally use a PC during the day and Apple by night. I assume batman has the same setup. I uploaded all of my work software and have been sailing smooth for the last week. Given, there are productivity issues. But in time I should be more fluent with the new keyboard shortcuts.

If you're in the market to buy a new Mac I strongly recommend reading the Mac Performance Guide. There are great tips on how to buy a standard Mac and make your own upgrades. It not as difficult as you may think and much more affordable than buying brand new.

Is the 13.1" Macbook big enough? Absolutely. If you're still using a PC. Switch now. Do it.

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Gear,

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Saturday

23Jan2010

Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 12:00PM

aLOKSAC - The Traveller's Secret

How do you keep your things dry and organized? Welcome to the world of the LOKSAK. Basically they are the same as your everyday Glade Ziplock bags that you find in your kitchen. But these little gems are airtight and waterproof up to 60 meters. I'm pretty sure my bags won't be under the sea at 200 feet, but its nice to know that in the monsoon rains of Asia, the gear in my bag is safely stowed away.

As you can see in the photo, I'm going to be using it for both clothing and small electronics. My external hard drive, cables and other small gadgets will have their own safe place. On top of being waterproof, I now have an organized backpack. I can easily find things and don't have to turn my sack inside out to look for things.

The best part is that a pack including a large, medium, small and extra small only costs about $10 CAD at your local Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC). Head down and check them out for yourself. They usually have samples out that you can try.

Check out the wrinkle test by Rollan. Click Here

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Gear,

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bags,

loksak,

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Friday

22Jan2010

Friday, January 22, 2010 at 9:11PM

My New Home: The Asolo Wayfarer 50

Close to a week ago I received my new Home in the mail. No more comfy 1 bedroom apartment for me. Those days are soon to be over. At the end of this month I will be moving into 1 room of a 3 bedroom apartment with a close friend. I've decided to move into the new accommodations for a couple months in order to save a few bucks before I leave on my nomadic adventure.

Soon everything I own will be stuffed into the Asolo Wayfarer 50 backpack. I can't believe how much research went into buying a backpack but considering I'm going to be living out of it for the next 6 months (hopefully more) it needs to be ideal for my needs. Otherwise I'll be annoyed in a matter of weeks.

I ended up getting the Asolo backpack as recommended by my travel partner Rollan. The main compartment is quite large, but small enough to be carried onto the plane. There is a detachable daypack which will come in very handy as we are both photographers. The larger pack can stay at the hotel and the smaller pack can come with us during our day adventures. The smaller pack is also just big enough to fit my new macbook.

Another important feature of the main pack is the entry method. Unlike a lot of bags, the large pack lays flat and is unzipped. This is much easier to work with than a bag that opens at the top only. I personally hate having to look for stuff in a 'top open' style bag because you end up having to take everything out to find something. This way you lay the pack down, unzip, take out what you need and re-zip.

There was only one problem with the pack. The zippers are made out of cord. Very poor design flaw when it comes to security. Sure you can put a lock on it but it would be so easy to just cut the cord. I did a little backpack surgery and took the zipper tabs from my rolling luggage which i won't be using and made a switch. Now my bag can be locked with peace of mind.

I did a quick pack test to see how much room I have to play with. Turns out I have too much stuff to bring. I need to rethink what I'm bringing. Once I figure it out I'll write a post and show you what I'm take on with me.

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Wednesday

13Jan2010

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 1:48AM

Flickr Slideshow: Malaysia 2009

I want to test out how the Flickr slide how works for blog purposes. All I'm really looking for is a way to display a bunch of images without taking up a lot of time and bandwidth. It would also need to load fast and be intuitive for the viewers. Fingers crossed.