How’s it goin’, eh?

Canadian Flight Finder Kristi here taking over The Detour for a week.

Apparently, I can’t just move countries without immediately finding new and exciting ways to wear out my hiking boots. Case in point: last spring I dragged myself and Flight Finder Kash (and my camera) across Kyrgyzstan’s mountains, where the scenery was jaw-dropping, and the altitude was… let’s just say humbling. I’ve put together a photo journal below so you can enjoy the peaks with me (but without the blisters). 

I recently moved back to Canada, and with that comes a new personal mission: to spend more time exploring this vast and majestic backyard. From coast to coast (and plenty in between), I’ll be digging into what makes Canada such a dream destination — for both international visitors and those of us lucky enough to call it home.

Oh, and because I clearly don’t learn, I’m off to China in a month. I've picked out my Great Wall route already, so now it's time to work out what to do in and around Beijing itself.

Any recommendations that I should absolutely not miss? (Bonus points if it involves dumplings.) Just hit 'Reply' or leave a comment to keep me on the right path.

Happy travels and safe landings,

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I know why you’re here. You want an adventure that doesn’t come with souvenir shops or matching tour group hats. You yearn for something wild, untamed, and just a tad off the grid. 

So buckle up, babe. We’re headed to Kyrgyzstan – and what unfolds from here is anything but predictable.

In a world that feels mapped and measured, only 0.185% of the world’s population will ever set foot on these remote, rugged steppes. And if you dare to make it all the way to Kel-Suu Lake? We're talking a microscopic 0.00018%. 

That’s right. You’ll be standing in a spot so rare, 99.99982% of humanity will never breathe its air. I did it, and it was pretty freaking cool. 

In fact, it felt so surreal, I knew I had to document it — the beauty, the breakdowns, the blisters, and the magic. What followed was an epic journey with my best friend: nine days of wild terrain, questionable bathrooms, and moments that cracked me wide open.

Here’s the journey, told in snapshots and field notes:

Day One: Bishkek, Purple Pants & Culture Toilet Shock

Itinerary:

Rolled into Bishkek at 5 a.m. after a full day of travel — delirious, puffy-eyed, and, in retrospect, wildly under-prepared for cultural differences. The airport? A sea of local men. Us? The only foreign women in sight. I was clad head-to-toe in purple (yes, including an iridescent violet suitcase), standing there like a glittery grape thinking, “Oh wow, we are definitely not in Kansas Canada anymore.”

Highlight: 

The surreal moment of trudging through customs in full lilac glam, feeling both wildly out of place and exactly where I was supposed to be. Plus, nothing could have prepared me for arriving in Bishkek just as the sky turned gold. The sunrise views at the foothills of the Tian Shan mountains?  Pure magic.

Challenge: 

Kyrgyz toilets. Oof. Stopped at a gas station, asked for the bathroom, got pointed down a dirt path to a shed. Opened the door to find… a carved-out hole in the wood floor. No seat, no instructions, just gravity.

(Runner-up: Figuring out how to drive in Bishkek, where traffic rules seem more like suggestions and roundabouts are survival games.)

Coolest Thing I Saw: 

A car so overloaded with boxes, crates, and maybe furniture(?) it looked like a small, fast-moving mountain.

Most Surprising Thing I Ate:

A full Georgian khachapuri — basically a canoe of cheesy, eggy, buttery bread — consumed entirely by me. No shame. 10/10. Would do it again.

Day 2: Getting Out Of Dodge (But in our Peugeot)

Itinerary:

Fled Bishkek in our trusty (read: slightly wheezy) Peugeot and made the 4-hour drive to Kyzart Village — the gateway to our horse trek and the unofficial start of “Are we lost yet?” 

Highlight:

Trotting into our first yurt camp amongst the “velvet hills,” and hiking through herds of wild horses to chase the setting sun. Also, the feeling of sweet relief when we met up with our trek guide, Sancho, and he was even more fun in person. We did a ton of internet research, and it really paid off!

Challenge(s):

• Ate our first ‘surprise meal’ that was cooked for us. No idea what was in it, but it was warm and didn’t fight back.
• The car engine threw a tantrum mid-highway. No roadside assistance, just the mechanic (me: a travel writer), the open road, and the bag of tools thrust my way along with the rental contract.
• Attempted to buy gas with zero Russian language skills. Thank you, Google Translate, for preventing a preemptive mental breakdown.
• Kash, my travel partner and colleague, would probably say that her greatest challenge was battling a complete stomach revolt. Multiple toilet stops, questionable facilities (if any) … yet she still got on the horse. Absolute legend.

Coolest Thing I Saw:

Actual lightning bolts in the same valley as us — close enough that our guide casually suggested turning off our phones. Is that science? No clue. Did we do it immediately? Absolutely. Also: wild horses roaming like they owned the place. Because they do.

Most Surprising Thing I Ate:

A mystery meat broth that was either beef, yak, or… probably something else with hooves. I didn’t ask. I just slurped and hoped for the best.

Day 3: Sorest Butts From Here to China

Itinerary: 

Five hours on horseback in the rain to our next jailoo (high mountain pasture).

Slipping and sliding over a 3,400m mountain pass. Questioning every life choice that led to this moment — and why we didn’t think to bring waterproof gloves.

Keep reading...

Open Google Maps. Search “Canada”.

From your couch, your car, or your bed, you’ll see the exact same thing as someone sees in Italy, Iran, or anywhere else. It's an unfathomable beast, dwarfing any neighbour to the south. Its lines of latitude pulled taut like a bowstring — until shattering into a sea of ice and stone, Canada unspooling into the Arctic.

So why, in a country this immense, do we keep circling the same few spots — Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal — when there’s so much more to be seen and experienced? 

This spanking new segment, Eh to Zed, is your digital pass into Canada’s hidden pockets and sweeping horizons. Brought to you by not just the team here at JFC, but (hopefully!) by your fellow Jack's Flight Club Travellers in every corner of the globe, too. 

To kick things off, Kristi wants your suggestions. Give her a hand, would ya? 

After a few years of living out of a suitcase and chasing Wi-Fi around the globe, I moved back home to Canada. And to take full advantage, I want to start exploring our country like I’ve never seen it before. Because let’s be honest — Canada is ridiculously gorgeous, and somehow I’ve barely scratched the surface.

Sure, I grew up doing the classics: Banff, Lake Louise, Waterton, the Icefields Parkway... They’re stunning, but they’re also the playlist I’ve had on repeat since childhood. I wanted something fresh.

Enter: the Kootenays…

On the suggestion of the Jack's Community, I took a week-long road trip that turned into the kind of adventure you can’t plan on Google Maps. I’ll admit, we hit a national park or two on the way from Calgary (yes, Lake Louise at sunrise is worth the hype). But the real fun was in our theme: “the murderiest motels we could find,” complete with roadside oddities and foggy hikes creepy enough to warrant a horror movie soundtrack. 

Balancing out the spooky vibes? Blissful soaks in natural hot springs and the best bagels in the west.

That trip got me hooked on the idea of crowdsourcing my adventures. Instead of chasing the “top ten” lists, I want to chase your stories. The hidden gems, weird detours, places that surprised you most. I’ll take your recommendations, hit the road, and report back.

First up: Saskatchewan.

I know, I know. Flat jokes, endless fields, etc. But there's so much more to these prairie lands.

So please, readers, head to the comments and give me the wild, wonderful, and maybe even a little weird corners of Saskatchewan just waiting to be found!

All the important (or silly, or strange) travel news from across web this week.

• The walkout that made waves: Air Canada’s strike cracked open a long-shut door — paying crews for “the minutes before wheels-up” — and could reset industry norms.
  
  
• Forget squashed seats: Europe’s getting a next-gen night bus with interiors so sleek you might actually want to stay awake just to enjoy them…
  
  
• Vodka on the rocks clouds? Check out the world’s loftiest cocktail bars, where your martini comes with sky-high panoramas.
  
  
• And finally, in far northern Canada, Churchill proves that even the teeniest towns can host massive spectacles: auroras, beluga pods, and polar bears — oh my!