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Jodi Ettenberg

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Member since
3rd February 2009

Born in Montreal, Canada, Jodi Ettenberg is a former new media and technology lawyer who quit her job after to chase her dream of travelling around the world. Starting in April 2008, Jodi has traipsed through South America, Russia and Mongolia, China and a good part of South East Asia, blogging the whole way. You can follow her on Twitter at @legalnomads.

Follow Jodi's adventures on her Legal Nomads blog.

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Jodi Ettenberg's activity

  1. 24 Mar 2012

  2. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Twenty-Four Days of Zen

    I have never felt as vibrantly, emphatically alive as I did on February 27th, over a lunch of baby corn with chicken and rice."

  3. 18 Nov 2009

  4. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post The Case of the Hairy Satay: Mystery Meat in Malaysia

    Before moving on from my coverage of the Perhentian Islands, I need to address one more thing: though there were poisonous spiders and monitor lizards aplenty, the issue of hairy satay was one that rose to prominence as the weeks went by."

  5. 12 Nov 2009

  6. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post The Perhentian Islands: Malaysia's Perfect Beach Destination

    Last week's Sunsets and Storms post demonstrated just how moving it was to be on Perhentian Kecil at dusk. The storms swept in nightly and as the video shows, the thick clouds were surreal in their density. However, my days on the islands warranted no com"

  7. 11 Nov 2009

  8. Jodi Ettenberg reviewed The Perhentian Islands: Malaysia's Perfect Beach Destination in Malaysia

    The Perhentians have long been a popular beach destination in Malaysia, but were originally a break in the long journey between Bangkok and Malaysia ("perhentian" in Bahasa Malaysia means "stopping point"). Though the islands were sup…"

  9. 06 Nov 2009

  10. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Sunsets and Storms on Malaysia's Perhentian Kecil

    I have seen a slew of stunning sunsets during my trip, but none as achingly beautiful and consistently colourful as those from my 2.5 weeks on the Perhentian Islands in Malaysia. An easy trip from Kuala Lumpur, the Perhentians were a perfect place for me"

  11. 30 Oct 2009

  12. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Adventures in Indonesia: Lombok to Flores

    Some trips start out with the sudden realization that something is just not right. My 4-night slow boat trip from Gili Trawangan, Indonesia to Flores Island was one of those trips"

  13. 23 Oct 2009

  14. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post My Favorite Expression in the Whole Wide World

    After almost 18 months on the road, with trips home bridging luxuriously long stretches of travel, my brain has turned into a swirling, percolating mess of foreign words. Like most travellers I know, I try at a minimum to learn the basics in any new count"

  15. 22 Oct 2009

  16. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Top 10 Philippine Quirks

    I walk around this country and often think of ways to express my love for it on this blog. It is hard to accurately synthesize what makes every day here a lesson in hilarity or, as a friend aptly noted a 'carnival of lunacy' in so many ways."

  17. 19 Sep 2009

  18. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Oh, Canada

    After many months without seeing Craig and my family, I was in serious need of a fix. While I will be heading back to Malaysia in October, I am currently in my home province of Quebec, just in time to see the thick carpet of maple trees start to change co"

  19. 14 Sep 2009

  20. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post A Culture Clash Moment in Mataram, Indonesia

    "My primary reasons for travel manifest themselves on a daily basis. The time to make connections with people and places - time I would normally lack in everyday life, with an everyday routine"

  21. 08 Sep 2009

  22. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Best of: Indonesian Public Transportation

    There are two fail-safe sensory overloads for the traveller who wants to learn about a new place: going to the local supermarket, replete with its adventurous, exciting foods and people watching, and taking public transportation, with all of the delays, b"

  23. 03 Sep 2009

  24. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post The Best Books I've Read on my Round-the-World

    The thirsty demand for book recommendations is part-and-parcel of long term travel. While iPods and laptops are great time-wasters on an endless bus journey, nothing satisfies like the pages of a good book."

  25. 25 Aug 2009

  26. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Three Important Lessons I Learnt Today

    No matter how long you are on the road, complacency will lead to well-intentioned misadventure."

  27. 18 Aug 2009

  28. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post 3 for 30 Part 2: Gunung Agung

    After a wonderful 3 weeks in Australia catching up with old friends, drinking far too much Barossa Valley wine and letting my feet heal, I flew back to Bali to conquer my 2nd birthday volcano on the eve of my birthday."

  29. 14 Aug 2009

  30. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post 3 for 30 Part One: Gunung Rinjani

    There are two moments of supreme exultation when I trek up a mountain: the first when I realize that I have made it above the tree line, and the second when I get a first glimpse of the summit from the trail."

  31. 11 Aug 2009

  32. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post One Week on the Gili Islands

    As a long-term traveller, island life is imbued with a deeply decadent routine that you could never justifiably adopt on a two-week holiday."

  33. 31 Jul 2009

  34. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Bali Wrap Up: Nusa Lembongan, Sanur and Ubud

    Where to begin with Bali? Joanna's limited two-week vacation necessarily meant that we were primarily relegated to the tourist trail, and though we managed to find ourselves at a Balinese wedding in full traditional dress, our exploration felt fairly supe"

  35. 22 Jul 2009

  36. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post This Legal Nomad is off to Australia!

    Coming off of an insane two weeks in Nusa Tenggera (don't worry, there will be blog posts - details include a sketchy 4-night boat trip whereupon the captain fell asleep and we got stuck in a random village's fishing net, as well as a 28-hour journey back"

  37. 14 Jul 2009

  38. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Three for Thirty: Volcano-bound for my Birthday

    Those of you who know me well know that I try and climb a mountain for my birthday every year"

  39. 12 Jul 2009

  40. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Pet Peeve of the Month: The Inappropriately-Dressed Tourist

    I am not the perfect tourist. No one is. But when I visit a new country, I do my best to read up about it ahead of time - both to get a feel for the trials and tribulations that made it what it is today, and to make sure that I am not going to do somethin"

  41. 02 Jul 2009

  42. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Highlights from my Night in the Jakarta Airport

    Getting to Bali on the cheap - or anywhere on the cheap for that matter - usually involves a fairly horrific departure or arrival time, some serious caffeine and (depending on the trustworthiness of the company) beer."

  43. 01 Jul 2009

  44. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post A Conversation with My Cab Driver in Manila

    I just spent an unsuccessful afternoon at the Indonesian Embassy trying to convince them to process my visa with the requirements for Canadian nationals, despite the fact that I am in Manila."

  45. 30 Jun 2009

  46. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Getting Sick on the Road

    It is inevitable that you will get sick on the road."

  47. 29 Jun 2009

  48. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Top 40 Things I Will Miss about El Nido

    1. Mangos, as many times a day as possible."

  49. 24 Jun 2009

  50. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Atienza Cargo Ferry from El Nido to Coron: Not for the Faint of Heart

    On June 21st, I took the Atienza cargo ferry from El Nido to Coron Town."

  51. 20 Jun 2009

  52. Jodi Ettenberg reviewed Ko Lanta in Andaman Sea, Thailand

    After the debauchery of Ko Phi Phi, Ko Lanta was a welcome respite  and a beautiful place to plant ourselves for a few days.  While a lot of tourists do make it to Ko Lanta, the size of the island and the absence of set "tourist area"…"

  53. 17 Jun 2009

  54. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Top 10 Philippine Quirks

    I walk around this country and often think of ways to express my love for it on this blog. It is hard to accurately synthesize what makes every day here a lesson in hilarity or, as a friend aptly noted a 'carnival of lunacy' in so many ways"

  55. 16 Jun 2009

  56. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Lobster Feast

    One of the great things about living in El Nido is the abundance of fresh, delicious seafood, at a price point that makes most tourists salivate."

  57. 10 Jun 2009

  58. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Palawan Paradise Part II: El Nido

    I currently work and live in a town where air sirens go off every night to tell the errant children that they need to go to bed. Twice a night, actually – the first siren is a warning, the second a 'get to bed now'."

  59. 02 Jun 2009

  60. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post A Golden Sunset

    Finally, after 3 days of torrential rains, howling wind and general misery, the sun peeked through the clouds to cast a golden sheen across the Bacuit Bay."

  61. 01 Jun 2009

  62. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post The Saga of My Computer Charger Cord

    October 29, 2008: Purchase Asus EEE PC 901 model (with Windows XP, Intel Atom chip and a teeny, tiny flash memory drive). Computer was purchased in Singapore, and thus came with Singapore charger."

  63. 22 May 2009

  64. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Palawan Paradise Part I: Sabang, Port Barton and Busuanga.

    My first impression of Palawan was that it is beautiful. Not just beautiful in a pat-on-the-head, quotidian way, but tirelessly, superfluously stunning, even when the clouds roll in angrily and blinding lightning replaces the scorching sun"

  65. 24 Apr 2009

  66. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Overnight Ferry Insanity: Iloilo to Cebu City

    It seems necessary to devote a full blog post to my trip from Iloilo to Palawan, given how fundamentally different it was from the usual tricyle/bus/boat combo that has peppered my time in the Philippines thus far."

  67. 14 Apr 2009

  68. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Island Wrap Up: Bohol, Camiguin and Negros

    My decision to come to the Philippines was based solely on an irrational love for one of the world's smallest primates, the Philippine tarsier."

  69. 07 Apr 2009

  70. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Happy Anniversary, Legal Nomads!

    It is hard to believe a full year has gone by since I embarked upon this insane jaunt around the world. Had you asked me last April where I would be in one year's time, I would have likely said "back home". Certainly not in Palawan"

  71. 27 Mar 2009

  72. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Welcome to the Philippines!

    I left Thailand on February 28th, and met my baby brother in Manila for a few weeks of Ettenbergian fun in Bohol. I was, and remain, surprised at how different the Philippines is from Thailand and what else of Asia I have seen."

  73. 02 Mar 2009

  74. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post LN Guest Post: Audrey Takes on Acongacua

    I spent 3 and a half weeks in Argentina -- a few days in Mendoza, 2 weeks on an expedition to climb Aconcagua (6,962 meters (22,841 feet)), a few days at Iguazu Falls and a few days in Buenos Aires."

  75. 28 Feb 2009

  76. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Andaman Island Wrap Up

    In keeping with family tradition, I've never been much of a beach person. After all, my father was taught to swim by being unceremoniously dumped into the ocean by his grandfather, and I have yet to see my mother submerge her head below water in a swimmin"

  77. 24 Feb 2009

  78. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post A City of Two Tales. Part II: Salkantay to Macchu Picchu

    While Jess was being attacked by a venomous spider (unbeknownst to me!), I was winding my way up through the narrow mountain pass between Salkantay and Humantay and back down to the jungle before ending up in Macchu Picchu."

  79. 17 Feb 2009

  80. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post All in a Beijing Block

    A full 20 minutes after I called ahead to Joel asking when we would arrive at our restaurant for dinner, we finally arrived and locked up our bikes. "One block away?" I asked incredulously."

  81. 12 Feb 2009

  82. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Great Wall Camping Trip, Parts I and II

    How many French wind engineers does it take to find the Great Wall after midnight? Just one, and his name is Hubert."

  83. 10 Feb 2009

  84. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Northern Thailand Wrap Up

    With 7 hours to kill in the Kuwait airport, now is as good a time as any to finally blog about the mountains, Wats and food of Thailand's northwest (warning: khao soi features prominently)."

  85. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post 3rd Trans-Sib Wrap Up: Mongolian Dreams

    Off your typical backpacking circuit, arriving in Mongolia at dawn via Train 362 was shock to the system."

  86. 07 Feb 2009

  87. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post 2nd Trans Siberian Wrap Up: The Longest Border Crossing Known to Man

    With an indefinite amount of hours stretching before us and a train carriage full of foreigners, our exit from Russia and entry into Mongolia actually ended up being a lot of fun."

  88. 03 Feb 2009

  89. Jodi Ettenberg wrote a blog post Discovering Bangkok

    I was prepared to dislike Bangkok from the minute I stepped off of my Air Asia flight from Krabi. During my weeks on the Andaman Coast, no one I met had anything positive to say about Thailand’s capital, resorting instead to one-liners about the plethora"

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