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The first time I went to France was in 2002 when I visited Switzerland. I’d rented a car and was in Geneva to pick up some friends, so I made a side trip to Lake Annecy.

I have a friend in Orléans who met me in Paris in 2004 to show me around. I also have a Parisian friend who took me to this fantastic ice cream shop called Berthillon on the Île Saint-Louis. YUM.

I was only in Paris to visit for a short time after attending a wedding in England, and made a separate trip to the north coast (a small recreational town for golfing and such) to visit another friend, then took the TGV to Bretagne to visit some other friends I met while travelling many years before.

Bretagne (or Brittany, in English) is a striking region of France with its own distinct culture: dialect, cuisine, and traditional dress. Would definitely like to spend more time there.

I visited Malaysia in January 1993, to decompress after a crazy time in Singapore. I started off by going to Tioman Island off the south east coast (where I spent a lot of time lying in a hammock on the beach, reading), then made my way westwards to Malaka for Chinese New Year’s, eventually meandering north to Georgetown/Panang, before heading north to Thailand.

What struck me the most is how in a city such as Kuala Lumpur you can feel like you’re in India, China, or Malaysia just by turning a corner. It’s very ethnically diverse and modern.

I toured around Ireland in spring 2003 with a friend whose mother is Irish, and he wanted to explore his roots for the first time.

The last time I was in Ireland was spring 1993, 10 years before, when I lived in Scotland and to visit just meant jumping on a ferry from Stranraer to Larne.

On my travels I was befriended by a lot of Irish folk, so I wanted to see the country for myself. It’s a fascinating country full of lively people.

I lived in the U.K. from February 1993 to February 1995, and those were two of the most formative years of my life.

I lived in Edinburgh, Scotland, for 18 months before moving to Glasgow, and spent a fair amount of time in the West Midlands and visiting cities around Britain.

I loved living in Scotland, but I was on a two year visa as a Canadian and I hadn’t seen my family for years while I was travelling. It was time to return to Canada.

I’ve been back to visit friends and more places quite regularly, so in some ways it’s as if I never left.

I was in New Zealand from Christmas Day 1992 to January 1993. Some of my fondest memories of travelling are from this beautiful country.

• hitch hiked from Auckland all the way south to Dunedin
• got lifts with people from Queenstown back north to Auckland
• met people I’m still friends with today, and visit
• helped reunite a Kiwi girl with her grandparents in Wanganui
• rafted in a cave and saw glow worms!
• went river surfing on the Kawarau River

I lived in Australia from November 1991 to Christmas Day 1992. What an experience!

• hitch hiked thousands of kilometres (by myself)
• met loads of people I’m still friends with today
• saw incredible flora and fauna I’ve never seen anywhere else