6Q's Travel Blog

From London to Athens and Beyond!

2009-10-04T06:44:00.000-07:00

When we last left off, we were lazing about in London, sleeping in until 4pm, staying up all night, living the life of leisure… Yeah, that's changed. I'm typing now from a lovely hotel on the beach in Mykonos, but I don't know when I'll actually post this considering it's about $9 an hour for internet out here!

After a few gorgeously lazy days in London, chilling with Mal and Chris, meeting with Drew and friends, and living a life of leisure, we headed to Gatwick to hop to Athens to begin our Olympic Link touring adventure. Getting into our hotel at around midnight was adventure itself as the streets are poorly labeled and our hotel was in the shadiest of shady areas of the city. The rumors of cabs not going there after dark turned out to be true, and I now know the Greek pronunciation for just about every drug known to man, as it was all offered to me within 5 minutes of arriving in Omonia Square. But once we found our hotel, the front desk guy was helpful enough to order in some moussaka for us that was big and delicious and I burned my tongue fiercely on it.

We slept through my measly Filipino watch alarm and missed our free breakfast (but found out the next morning it was nothing to wake up early for), but we got up around 11a, several hours earlier than our London "mornings" so that was a plus. We hit the streets and Metro, heading to Syntagma Square, where video screens shouted propaganda for some upcoming election. We passed the Parliament building and headed into a huge park where there were playgrounds, post offices, ancient ruins and more.

After wandering across the park, we stumbled into the Olympia Zeus Temple ruins and managed to score a 6 euro student discount to the ancient Greek complex. Wandering around the huge columns was amazing, but I wished we had a guide to tell us more about what we were seeing. There were excavated home plots around the giant temple remains and we wandered for quite a while before heading out to Hadrian's Arch just on the corner, where the ancient gateway separated Athens from Hadrian's land apparently. (Again, a guide would have been handy there.

We broke for lunch at a local cafe nearby where we had interesting but small sandwiches, which was ok as we had dinner later and had learned our lesson after an unexpectedly big lunch in London nearly ruined our Wagamama dinner a night or two earlier. after eating we headed towards the Acropolis and the Parthenon, straying from the path to the museum to accidentally find the entrance. The slopes up the huge hill were mercifully low-grade, and we stopped several times along the way to see ancient theaters and temples. When we reached the top there was a breathtaking panorama view of the city, not to mention amazing Greek ruins, which were partially scaffolded due to ongoing reconstruction efforts. We looked down on Zeus's temple we had just left, and across the rest of the city. It was beautiful and fascinating and well worth the climb.

On the way back, we got a bit lost walking past local shops and cafes and wondered fairly far in the wrong direction before discovering that we had past the metro station only about 2 blocks from our walk's original starting point! We raced to our neighborhood, stopping at a few local stores to try and buy cheap t-shirts and shorts, as the weather prediction had warmed about 10 degrees Fahrenheit in just about every destination we were heading for. Sach and I each scored one plain t-shirt for 5 euro, but that was about it. We got back to our dive hotel, and beat the arrival of our tour group, so we hit the showers. As Sach finished showering, I met Louise and Brooke, 2 other add-ons to the group we were joining in progress, and then we got a call that the group had arrived.

We did our intros and paperwork, and joined the crowd of over 50 at this point (due to 10 new joiners and 10 people getting ready to end in a few day's time) for a short stroll to a delicious dinner. We sat with our tour leader Maggie from Slovakia (but with a mean Aussie accent mixed in) and driver Dines (short from Nadine) and a couple from Brazil and a girl from Mexico City. We met more people along the way and headed to the old town square after dinner. As people split off, we had no clue or direction, until a group announced it's beeline towards the gelato shop, where I ordered 2 overpriced scoops, admittedly mainly to make Soua jealous.

After that, we discovered it was Jamie's birthday the next day, so we tried to rally some troops to go out for drinks. We quickly learned that gathering any group was a hassle, but a guy called Blair declared he was walking up the road and grabbing a drink, and that seemed to spur people to action. Everyone got beers to go, and I snuck off with 2 others to buy out the only mixed bottled cocktails we could find - I had something with gin, lemon and ginseng - as we wandered around town. It was a fun jaunt and we ended at James Joyce, the local Irish pub, where a basic cocktail was 6 euros, and I resorted to drinking someone's leftovers rather than pay for a second. There was a guy playing guitar and singing and we socialized and had fun before deciding to find our way back home since we had a 5.30a departure the next morning!

After a tiny bit of sleep and a lot of tossing and turning, it was 5a, and we packed up, loaded our bags on the bus, scarfed down a rather dull breakfast, and piled onto the bus for the first time for the 40 minute drive to the port. We dropped our stuff at the bottom of the ferry, the headed up the escalator into a rather posh main room for the ferry ride. The waiters were fiendish about people sprawling out to sleep (I'd heard this warning from several people) but one we got underway and there was some spare room, we could sprawl out a bit. I passed out for nearly the entire ride, rocked by turbulent dreams that i've yet to fully analyze.

After the ferry, we were picked up by busses that didn't have room for all of us, so a small group of us waited at the port for the next round of buses to take us to our hotel. We got there and got our room - Sach and I had our own - and got briefly settled before taking a shower and a rest. I woke up and Sach had already wandered, so I met up with some others and headed down to the beach. Met up with the group, bought a liter of wine for 2.50 euros and laid out on lounge chairs chatting with everyone. Got a good buzz and retired back to our rooms for an hour and a half to prepare for our 8p dinner.

And that's where we are now… I'm a bit beach grubby, but fairly well rested and feeling good, getting ready for dinner and who knows what next. There's an excursion to Santorini tomorrow for 76 euros, but I don't know if it's worth the money to try to cram another island in instead or relaxing and enjoying the one I'm on. Sounds like it'll be pretty fast paced from here on out, so some down time is probably best.

Hopefully this will get posted soon, and my next update will be from Athens or Albania - my official country #40 in my travels! More soon! :)

Starting out slow...

2009-09-29T09:23:00.000-07:00

After a whirlwind September, I was ready to start my trip with some downtime... We DJed in San Francisco Saturday night, and hit a street fair in Berkeley Sunday afternoon, then raced to Sam's house where I packed quickly and headed to the airport. Easy check-in, surprised and lucky to have been bumped to Economy Plus! A few movies (lame) and some sleeping (great) later, I was landing an hour early in London.

My quick landing and exit, plus some miscommunication in London meant I ended up at Mal's house a few hours before her husband Chris expected me. I called him from down the street and made plans to meet at the Southwark Cathedral by the London Bridge tube. Laid down in the park outside their house, did a crossword, then stole internet from the "RossyFamily"'s network to catch up on email, send texts, etc etc.

Walked up to the meeting point, which was quick and easy and it's quite a nice little church and garden. Met up with Chris and little 2-year-old Aldous and walked back as they biked. Got into the house and relaxed a bit. Mal came home and worked on a meal/disaster that did not work out as planned, but was still pretty damn yummy. Took a quick stroll to Tesco, but otherwise slipped in and out of sleep from exhaustion until a knock on the door at midnight when Sach arrived!

He hadn't seen Mal in 13 years, so it was an interesting reunion, and his arrival re-energized me so soon we had finished the wine and were having vodka cocktails and discussing everything from geography to politics to music and more. Suddenly it was 4a and we had to sleeeeeeep! Called home quickly since I've got this California phone number worldwide (925-LOREN-6Q will reach me) and then passed out... for 12 hours!

We woke up at 4p, so our grand bike ride plans were about shot, but the sleep energized me and was well worth it! We'll meet Drew in half an hour for dinner and drinks and catch up, which will be nice. It's great to be in a massive amazing foreign city, but know it well enough to not have to see all the sites, to just be able to hang around and relax!

More updates soon hopefully! On to Athens in 2 days!

Arrived

2009-09-28T08:34:00.000-07:00

Hi, I'm in London. In a park. Stealing internets. Having fun.

Just arrived and almost out of battery on the laptop, so that's all for the updating for now, but more soon! :)

Back in Manila!

2009-02-20T04:29:00.000-08:00

So, I'm chilling in a very posh hotel called the Pan Pacific in Malate, Metro Manila. My new dive buddy Chris has let me chill in his room, so while he's taking a nap, I'm catching up on days with practically no internet. We're off to say goodbye to our co-divers now then planning a night of partying. I'll try to update in an hour or two with a few stories about my last week of scuba joy!

Scuba Diving in the Philippines.

2009-02-19T00:12:00.000-08:00

Dear god it's beautiful here. That's really about all that needs to be said right now. I may try to work on a picture post tonight, if I can stay awake long enough! No internet except in the lobby of this resort though, so it'll be a bit tough...

Too small an update.

2009-02-18T06:36:00.001-08:00

I've got a draft saved of the epic story of my trip to Baras, but it's not finished after a few days of spotty internet, so I decided to write a quick update instead for now. After a week or so in the Philippines, and a long weekend in Taiwan, I've now joined the Philippines Board of Tourism for a weeklong trek to some scuba diving hot spots to learn about the joy of diving here! This morning we did our first 2 dives, but rain and cold slowed us from a third dive. it was cool because we dove off a tiny island (Balicasag) off the coast of a small island (Panglao) off the coast of Bohol, a bigger, but still fairly small island! And so far the diving is fantastic! Just a few meters offshore, there was a massive wall dropping off and covered in all sorts of interesting life! I went down 130 feet and still didn't hit the bottom!

Loving this trip so far, of course! The diving is great, the food is great, the sightseeing is great... It's so lucky to get to see some of the allure that would draw tourists to this country that I've grown to love so much even having never seen the tourist side of it. Manila was a fun time, and of course Baras was. I needed more time in Taiwan, but I saw some familiar faces, took a load of pics at the Lantern Festival, and even got a souvenir pillow from my favorite underground lounge!

Anyway, internet is a bit slow tonight and I'm paying six times the amount I normally do out here for an hour's worth of connection, so I'll cut this off now. Suffice to say, life is good out here! :)

Finally An Update on the Beginning of My Trip!

2009-02-15T04:48:00.000-08:00

So, as usual, I'm failing to find time to blog, even though I've been very purposefully avoiding jam-packed days and keeping too busy... Hm, where was I then...

After my first day in the Philippines, I spent the second day doing absolutely nothing all day in Marikina. Woke up just in time for my free breakfast, but was disappointed when they assumed I wanted American food and gave me a ham and cheese omelet, when I later discovered the local menu that day was Longinisa, sweet fat sausages I haven't had in a year or two! Boo! After that I extended my stay another night, greeted the like 30 people constantly working in this massive hotel in the middle of nowhere, then went back to bed. I was trying to meet up with Ahris, but she got stuck working on the opposite side of Metro Manila, which is several hours away. I decided to use the day to catch up on some emails and bits of work...

The next morning I woke up again for my breakfast, this time convincing them to feed me the Filipino meal and getting my beloved tocino. Then I checked out and set off on my adventure to use public transportation to make my way to small-town Baras, 2 hours away. The front desk guys at the hotel sent me 2 blocks down where I caught a jeepney (the local busses are basically like aluminum jeeps, stretched out and decorated super-ornately) to a train station called Katipunan where across the street connecting jeepneys head all over the place. I see one to Tanay (the bigger town past Baras) as I cross the street, but I'm too far to catch it. After waiting over an hour, watching hundreds of jeepneys go buy without seeing one going more than halfway to Baras, I'm getting discouraged and thinking I may take one to Antipolo, partway there and hope for better luck there.

I smell yummy food, so I peek my head around a corner I've been next to the whole time while waiting and discover it's just a little nook with 2 food stands. I buy an apple juice and the workers there are fascinated by me, asking me all about what I'm doing there. So I tell them I missed the only jeepney I saw to Tanay and they tell me to connect in Antipolo, just as I was thinking. They flag down the next FX (air-conditioned SUV bus thingy, costs a bit more, but not bad) to Antipolo, talk to the driver, and load me into the back! Wished I'd gotten hungry or thirsty sooner!! 15 minutes later we pass several stopped jeepneys to Tanay, they load me onto one and I'm on my way! A mom is smiling at me as her young son struggles to stay awake, but after a nap, he's awake and ecstatic about the scenic views coming down the hill Antipolo sits on. I get dizzy craning my neck, twisting myself upside down to see out the low windows, hoping I'll recognize the buildings at the edge of town in enough time to pay my fare, gather my bag and jump off in the right place!

Soon, a familiar road block, and a shop where I get my favorite cheesebread, and it's all coming back to me. We round a corner and in the late afternoon, the local street food vendors are just setting up at the intersection I'm looking for. I tap on the roof of the jeepney and he stops for a few seconds for me to jump out the back. I heft my bag onto my shoulder and smile at the locals, already a few saying "Hey Joe!" to greet the odd American in town. I walk up the block, wondering who I'll see first, since only a few people know I'm coming. halfway to Bill's house where I'm staying, 2 cute little girls, maybe 7 years old, are playing on a trike (motorcycle with a sidecar, the main form of taxi around here) as a father watches. They see me and remember me, shouting "Laurence! Laurence!" as I walk by. Nobody realizes there's a difference between Loren and Laurence in this country. I smile huge; it's so cool to be recognized by random kids playing in the street!

I round the final corner and see Rakhad hanging laundry out front. She's maybe 13 now, and she looks up in complete surprise, wondering what the hell I'm doing there, and runs to tell her mom. Soon I'm hugging everyone hello and settling right in to the relaxed but somehow bustling life of small-town Baras! It's around 5p and they immediately cook me some food and get me settled in. Within a half hour I'm triple booked for my first evening! I walked with Jhomari to the internet shop up the road and meet 2 of her friends, making plans to meet them for a drink later. Then on the way back to the house, I meet Hector, another relative of the family living next door. He invites me over to join some of the town elders for some GSM Blue (gin essentially). Then Rey shows up with Razelle and they invite me to join for a swim at Wells, the local resort.

I finish dinner and mosey next door to have some shots with Hector and his friends. It's been a while since I had straight shots and it's pretty tough! I even chased with local water the first time instead of safe mineral water, so I did a few more shots figuring the alcohol will kill whatever else I just drank! An old retired boxer in his 70s showed up and he was so lively and energetic and hilarious! I could barely keep up with him, he shouted excitedly, his muscles bulged on his arms more than mine ever will, and he ended just about every sentence with "baby!" but pronounced "be-BAY!" like the Scottish Fat Bastard in Austin Powers! It was hilarious! Jezrel is playing in the street, and I gave her my camera to go play, then eventually pulled her over the fence to sit with me while I drank with the boys. She's like the daughter I never had, and it's so adorable how she runs to sit with me and hold my hand whenever I'm around.

Finally it's time to go and meet up at the pool. Rey and Jhomari take us on motorcycles, Jho's friends from the internet shop come to meet me, Rey invited a few girls and tried to fix me up with one, Razelle and Jezrel joined, and Rasul came later to shoot pool in the shop afterward whilst everyone sang Karaoke and drank. It was freaking cold in the pool, so we only spent a few minutes in there, and then headed to the lobbyish area for all the other activities. Jezrel fell asleep so I laid her down on a couch, then Jho fell asleep, and I was fading fast. Rey disappeared and a few of the girls got too drunk. So we decided to call it a night at 2a and I headed back to sleep after a long long day.

The next day I slept in quite a bit, and then relaxed at home for a while, ate my tocino of course... Finally we decided to head in to Tanay and do some shopping. I realized that my international cell phone was more than just a communications device. I had used it as my alarm clock and my calculator as well! So I figured I could find a cheap watch and calculator at the markets. Plus I had heard there was a new mini-mall there, so I wanted to check it out. As we were walking to catch a Jeepney, Jhomari mentioned that Max came by to see me that morning before I woke up. I had told him I may need a ride to the airport in 2 days for my flight to Taiwan, but I hadn't connected with him yet. We decided to take a walk to his house and make plans before Tanay.

We walked up a road and up a hill I hadn't been up for a few years, since the first time I was in the Philippines. At the top of the hill sat the 400-year-old church where Bill and Reyna were married. What I never saw though was behind it was an elementary school, where Jezrel is in 3rd grade, and a road between leading further up the hill. Near the top of that road was Max's house, and we dropped in and sat on his couch for a while chatting. We made plans to party it up later that night. Suddenly Max asks "do you want to see my pet monkey?" I blink at him. "What?! You seriously have a pet monkey?! Why didn't anyone tell me this?!?!?!"

We weave out his back door and there on a tree and on a leash - a pet monkey! He's making this tongue-smacking sound like he had just ate peanut butter and was trying to get it off the roof of his mouth. He did that almost constantly. I asked if it was mean or friendly and Max said it was friendly and pet it a few times. I had thought he was growling and baring his teeth at us, but I guess he was smiling, because he started doing it again as soon as Max pet him. I spent about 10 minutes staring, asking questions, taking pictures, and telling Max how jealous I was. Seriously, how awesome is that?!

After that we headed back down the hill and caught a jeepney into Tanay. We checked out the new mini-mall and the discount store didn't have any watches I liked, but we went by the supermarket and I bought some toilet paper - not a common household item in all households out here, but definitely something I would thank myself later for supplying. At checkout, I spotted a few little mini-restaurants that bigger, western-style grocery stores have out here and decided a snack was in order. Jhomari and Rasul weren't hungry, so I ordered what looked like a pork and noodle dish, but ended up being soup. As I was eating, Corey, Jhomari's cute girlfriend showed up out of nowhere. The first time I met her out here she was super-shy and didn't talk to me. The second time, she opened up and was a lot more friendly (and flirty, hehe). This time she was back to shy though, but it was still nice to see her.

We headed over to the regular market and within a few minutes I had my calculator and new sunglasses. Walking through the markets is always a treat and I played with all the goodies for sale and chatted with all the vendors. We wandered back to the meat section which is a wild experience for a first timer, but I'd seen it before and gladly bought some tocino and pork to replace all that I ate. Then on the way home, after giving up on my watch quest, I finally spotted one for 3 dollars and I was set! We headed home, ate dinner, relaxed. I was supposed to gather people to party, but in the end I was exhausted and passed out early, which was just as well since the next night was insane!

More on that later though, sine our group has just arrived back at the resort and I've got half an hour to wolf down dinner before my massage! Wish me luck! :)

Back in PI!

2009-02-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

So I've spent 2 days in Marikina, a suburb of Manila. There's not much to do here which was a good start for me. (OK, the world's largest pair of shoes is here, but otherwise...) Caught up on a few things, especially sleep. Already had my favorite food in the world, tocino, twice! Went to a few bars and clubs and restaurants and grocery stores, but mostly sat around with Arhis and her extended family, playing guitar, pounding beats on boxes, playing with picture frames, eating, and being goofy.Lost my international cell in the back of a cab on the riverfront, so getting in touch with people will be tough.

My flight got delayed to Taiwan Friday, so I won't be able to job-hunt as much as I had hoped, but I'll still try to a bit. And I'll still be able to go out and play at night! :) Hopefully I'll connect with friends from last time and make some new ones, and have a great time. I'll have to post up the directions to the hostel I'm staying in - they're hilarious!

I'm an hour late checking out of my hotel now, better run. Hope I don't get charged an extra night! More to come! :)

Leaving Quito Already!

2009-01-31T04:02:00.001-08:00

So, there was no time to blog on this trip. So incredibly exhausting... So many pictures and stories to tell though. Ecuador is fun stuff. My flight is boarding right now as a message from the Quito airport. I'll dump pics and blog soon. Only 7 days until my next trip! :)

Out of Time in Quito

2009-01-26T13:58:00.000-08:00

But I´m here! More soon!

Ecuador!

2009-01-25T23:29:00.000-08:00

...Yeah, that's where I am. In Quito to be exact. It's been a long long day, that I'll have to tell the story of sometime, but definitely not right now. It's sleepy time in South America. Facebook and MySpace and email are all not working on this wireless access tonight, but hopefully tomorrow I'll get better internet. Goodnight for now!

Last Post From Abroad...

2008-11-02T17:30:00.000-08:00

...but not the last post about *being abroad*! I definitely discovered that it's much easier to blog and post pics and stuff whilst traveling when you have your own computer with you. And I'm definitely getting an EEE PC before my next big trip. Then I'll be posting galore! :)

I'm in my favorite net cafe off Khoa San Road in Bangkok now, fresh in off the sleeper train from Chumporn after taking a ferry from Ko Tao there. Had a blast in Ko Tao, did some great scuba diving, met some interesting people, drank too much and got a great massage. About all you could need really.

Today we're of to the Grand Palace and Reclining Buddha, as Sach hasn't seen them, then maybe a little shopping on Khoa San, and abusing our former hotel's pool facilities, we'll take showers and clean up before our long flight home. I tried to convince some awesome girls in Taipei to come say hello for my one hour layover there, but I'm guessing that's not gonna work.

But soon enough I'll be back home in Sacramento, and then I expect to see all of you out and about... Taco Tuesday, Second Saturday, etc. etc... Time to run. More stories and pictures coming soon!

Taipei (Finally)

2008-10-30T03:29:00.000-07:00

So, I've got about 15 minutes that I'm going to attempt to write about Taipei with. Wish me luck!

I left off on the bus from Taichung at 5a, bleary-eyed and sleepless, realizing I had no clue if there were many stops in Taipei, or where I was going anyway. I slept briefly, then watched Oceans 13, though I couldn't figure out the sound. When we pulled into a random stop on teh street, the nice lady across the aisle from me (did I mention how posh Taiwan buses are? One seat per side, big, cushy armchairs for everyone) says, "OK" and nods to me, so I get off. Immediately, there are taxis waiting and I show my paperwork and hope they understand the address I just gave them to the hotel. He seems confused, but we pull up to the hotel only a few minutes later! Score!

I cehck in to the hotel and try to figure out if John has arrived yet. I'd booked him a transfer, but had no way of knowing if he was picked up or not. Finally I spot his bag tucked behind the counter, but no one knows where he is. I step out and survey the block, thinking WWJG - Where Would John Go... Strolling up teh block, I hear a shout, and the answer is obvious: 7-11. There he is in front of one, trying to get a SIM card. We chat for a bit, head back to the hotel, try to get on the day tour that day and fail, discover we can't check in for 5 more hours and decide to set off and see some city on our own. After a brief stroll, we head back to the hotel to get a map and directions to internet cafes, metro systems, and general info on where the hell we are! Now we can set out!

Man, out of time already! More updates soon!

OK, more updates, as promised!

We walked up the block, and stopped in a really high-end internet cafe. Each computer had a private booth and you could watch movies, read books, etc there. We quickly figured out we couldn't afford it, but the girl working there was hilarious! She was like anime! When she couldn't think of how to say something in English, she would smile big and scrunch up her eyes and wave her arms around and jump up and down and make noises! She quickly became my new favorite person in Taiwan, haha! Even though we didn't use the internet services, she ended up telling us most of the info we were after (like where to go out at night) and even looked up addresses and stuff for us. It was cool!

We headed out, found the metro system, and figured out how to work it. Since Taipei 101 wasn't on the tour we had set for the next day, we headed straight there. Walking from the metro station was a fair distance, and we ran into so much stuff! Starting with some simple street vendors, we crossed through a shopping area of classy stores, then found them setting up a street fair, complete with giant balloon arch urging people to not be depressed and to have a good attitude! We wondered what was going on, and then spotted a big warehouse door opening that we wondered into.

Having no clue what we just walked into, we discovered booths of people displaying products at some sort of convention. We walked to one booth and they were giving out rice samples! We walked 2 more down and were given another rice sample, as they told us about the region it was grown in, etc. A few more stalls down, more rice... We had wandered into a RICE CONVENTION!!!

Out of time again, more soon...

Downtime

2008-10-27T23:44:00.000-07:00

So, SixQ.Net was down for a few days. Apparently the spammers attacked my domain and my hosts shut me down without warning. Jerks. But I'm back up now. If you emailed me anything in the last 3 or 4 days though, I didn't receive it, so please resend it!

I'm taking some downtime now as well, relaxing on the beautiful Thai island of Koh Samui, with literally nothing planned! It's a pretty great feeling really.

I think it's about time to go to lunch, so unfortunately, I can't write much of an update. But, my stomach is 1000% better now that I'm off of Balinese food and onto Thai food, so life seems much smoother now. I'll try this evening to add more to this blog, but I think we're going out tonight! :)

Short Update

2008-10-25T02:50:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I leave Bali and head to Thailand. I've got my stomach in a knot from some iffy food days ago. I've run out of conditioner and left my gel in the Philippines, so my hair's a mess. I've got a fair bit of bug bites and sunburn. My main camera broke finally. Battered as always, but having a great time! :)

I'm going to squeeze in one last massage before dinner, and relax for the final evening with my Intrepid tour. I think I'll just write a novel when I get home. But stay tuned just in case!

Too Far Behind!

2008-10-23T04:08:00.000-07:00

So, I've been in Bali for like 6 days or something. I've got so many stories to write at this point that it's almost pointless to write this blog. I've got the story of Taipei, the story of the Philippines in Baras, and in Angeles City, the story of Malaysia - and what a story THAT is - and then all the adventures I've had here.

But internet access is rare out here, so it looks like this blog won't be full of those stories. Besides, it's 15 minutes to dinner, and just about happy hour too, so, no time to scribble notes now! I'm logging all this in my head, despite losing my notebook in Malaysia (maybe I'll get it back, beer-soaked and all).

This has been a wild and crazy trip. I'm exhausted, but it was all worth it. More stories to come... :)

The Story of Taichung

2008-10-15T22:54:00.000-07:00

So, it's funny how our time in the Philippines is always all about relaxing and chilling out and no plans, but we always seem to end up with no time to get anything done. Been meaning to write tons of stories, but never seem to get the time to just lay here and type. I'll try to throw together a brief post on Taichung now while trying to upload some pics to flickr!

Well... I arrived in Taipei at 6a and strolled leisurely through baggage and customs. I really only needed to be to Taichung by 5p or so, leaving me 11 hours to accomplish a 3 hours task, so no point in rushing... After clearing customs I found an info desk, discovered the bus station was in the airport, just around the corner, and there was a free internet stand on the way! I spent about an hour catching up on emails and stuff, just 'cuz I could, then headed to the bus station and got my ticket with 5 minutes to spare. I waited outside for a few then tried to set the clocks on my phone and camera. I went back inside to check the clock in there and the staff thought I was lost, so they radioed someone to walk me out to my bus just as it was arriving, ha!

The busses in Taiwan are super-posh - frilled curtains, seats like plush easy-chairs, TV screens (I watched Oceans 13 on my way back to Taipei!) and I heard stories of Videoke on some busses even! I napped most of the way down and then tried to figure out the map as I realized we were in Taichung, much more quickly than expected. I got off at Sogo, a fancy department store, and wandered the streets a bit, looking for a way to contact Heidi, who was at work, but I would be staying with for 2 days. I wandered into a shop to ask about a payphone and bought a camera case for $1, then had some confusing point and gesture and smile conversations with the staff and gave up.

Watched the opening ceremonies of Sogo; it was wild! The big clock in front had 16 panels which flipped around into moving dolls like the Glockenspiel in Munich, while playing "It's a Small World". Then 4 women in kimonos came out and walked and talked in unison, then backed into the store and signaled everyone to enter. It was like the opening of the Wonka factory!

I spotted a 7-11 so I went for water and found a payphone outside. It only took prepaid cards, but I found one in 7-11, so I finally called Heidi, but it just rang and rang. My cellphone didn't seem to work either, so I wandered to a net cafe and figured I'd catch her online, which I did 1 minute before my time ran out. I raced back to the payphone, got Heidi on the phone and got directions to give to a cab driver, so I finally was able to meet up with her at around noon!

We chatted for a while and went for lunch at a cafe nearby and just caught up and chilled until she had to go back to work. I relaxed at her apartment, took a long shower and watched some TV, then fell asleep only a few minutes before Heidi was to get home.

The next chunk of hours were a surreal blur. I apparently slept through her ringing the doorbell and having the manager let her into her 23rd floor apartment eventually. I woke up slightly and saw her napping too, so I went back to sleep. This continued for hours and hours, me not knowing if I was napping for 1 hours or 50, until I finally woke up fully aware that it was definitely late at night now. I got up and thought maybe we could go hit the town now, well-rested and all... Then I looked out the window and notice the streets were EMPTY. I checked the time and it was 5a! I had slept for 12 hours! I tinkered around
online a bit, fixing a thing or two on SixQ.Net, and then crawled back into bed and slept for a few more hours! I guess I really needed the rest!

That morning, when we finally arose and laughed about how we both conked out, we headed down to a corner breakfast shop where I had dan bing, which was like a bacon and cheese omelet wrapped in a crepe and eaten with the most addictively yummy sweet sauce! We met a guy there from Germany Heidi knew and chatted a while and tried to bum a ride up to a monkey park sorta place, since Heidi's scooter is little and might not make it up the hills to the park. Sadly that fell through, but we still had a fun day!

We putted around looking for some shades for me and a spare/new helmet. not much luck on either, but we wandered to the market area to stroll around. I love Asian markets! We walked around and people watched - the kids hang out there like mallrats! - and I'd say hi to people and they'd giggle. In a back alley I found my shades - some imitation BluBlockers for $2. We ended up getting hungry and were right down the street from a special treat: The Modern Toilet.

Oh yes, I snuck a few pictures to give you an idea, but this was a bathroom-themed restaurant! The chairs were all toilets with fancy covers, the tables were 2 sinks with a slab of glass over them. There were showers and faucets on the walls and urinals filled with marbles and stuff in the hallways, plus loads of trippy mirrors and decorations. Meals were severd in miniature toilets with the base being little open-flame stoves and the bowl being, well, a bowl of food. Side dishes were served with covers shaped like poop, and some drinks were served in urinals. I paid an extra $1 and got my drink in a portable urinal with a straw in it. I got a lemon & kumquat drink, that had a pit still floating in it, so you can imagine the realism here! Some dishes were served in bathtubs, but I didn't get one. Dessert? chocolate and coffee soft-serve ice cream served coiled in a miniature squat toilet! It was amazing!!

After leisurely lunch, we headed back to the scooter and cruised around town for a bit, stopping at a lovely Confucian temple in the middle of the city, a quiet sanctuary where we found what appeared to be a fashion shoot and another couple taking wedding pics. Tired from our adventures, we headed home to relax and regroup before a night out. Heidi needed to chat with a friend online, so I headed downstairs and scored us some fried chicken and drinks and mixed a cocktail and did a crossword puzzle. Eventually we caught a cab across town to a club that usually had DJs and dancing, but tonight was chill with tables and posh ambience. We settled into a booth and ordered a few vodkas and a snack, listening to mostly The Cure's Mixed Up album and talking and having a good time. We got a bit buzzed, but decided to call it a night since it was already very late and I had a 5a bus to catch.

As we were about to grab a cab home, the loud, drunk people at the table next to us came stumbling out. One of them tripped and fell over the marquee, crashing it to the ground and causing quite a scene. We laughed and said they needed the cam more than us, so we walked down the street to a little shop where we picked up a little bottle of rye whiskey and mixer and headed home to chill, have one last cocktail and pack up to go.

By about 5a, I finally stumbled out of Heidi's place and caught a cab to the bus/train station. I went ot the counter and said "bus to Taipei" and he handed me a ticket for an hour from then, and charged me $375 Taiwan Dollars. I was a bit confused, so I wandered around and found a tunnel to the bus station. Turns out I just bought a train ticket! I walked to the bus station and asked about the bus. It was $260 and leaving in 7 or 8 minutes. I ran back to the train station and said, "wrong ticket. Not bus. I don't want!" and the guy handed me my cash back without pause. Easy enough, I raced back to the bus as it pulled up, hopped on, wrote a short paragraph in my trusty notebook of an essay I want to write about traveling, then drifted off to sleep with the hopes that one of the nice people who said hello while boarding would wake me up at the right station when the time came...

And that was pretty much Taichung. It's not the most action-packed story to tell, but the city has a great vibe, lively and friendly and fairly easy to deal with everything, and talking to Heidi, she made it sound so easy to live and work there, I started thinking about my long-dime fantasy of permanently drifting around the world for a few years picking up work as I go. I think the time is coming. Maybe I hope...

Now I've got to shower, pack up and wait for my ride to Angeles for my flight in the morning to Malaysia! I hope to have more updates soon, 'cuz the story of Taipei is a great one, and I've got loads of pictures to share. I did manage to upload a few while typing this, so Check them out!

Quick note from the Philippines

2008-10-13T05:25:00.000-07:00

Hoping to catch up tomorrow, but we're partying it up tonight after a few amazing days in Taiwan. The Philippines is HOT! We're burning up here, but we have A/C for the first time, so that's quite nice. Tomorrow we will feast on Tocino and maybe rent a pool to swim in for the evening. Gearing up for Malaysia and the constant movement of Bali and Thailand, but definitely looking forward to a few relaxing days. we meant to relax in Taiwan, but we didn't actually go to sleep at night the entire time we were there!

So much to tell... I'll write more soon!

ps. Jezrel says hi! :)

The Adventure Begins at your Doorstep part 2

2008-10-10T08:12:00.000-07:00

...so I'm at security in the airport, a few minutes to boarding time of my flight, frantically emptying my pockets and my bag searching for my passport, which is nowhere to be found. I'm not freaking out, but already starting to plan where I could sleep for the night, how I can change my ticket to one day later, how to get to the passport office, how much of my budget will be sucked away on a new same-day passport.

I walk quickly back to the check-in desk, texting Michelle to wait, she may have my passport! The desk is deserted, but a woman comes running out thinking I'm very late to check in. I ask if anyone's turned in a passport, or if I left it there. She runs to the back to check around for me when suddenly a man in a T-shirt says, "Excuse me! Um, did you maybe lose a passport?!" I say "Yeah!! Did you find it?" He asks my name and nods and says to come with him. He jogs off and I consider telling him about how I don't believe in running, but think better of it.

Suddenly I'm sprinting across the long terminal back to the wrong wing I tried to check in at earlier while this guy is telling me how he found the passport on the ground and turned it in to the staff. It must have fallen out of my pocket when I went there, or when I picked up my water and banana earlier, or something. But I get to teh gate panting while he flags down the staff and tells them I belong to that passport he turned in. I fill out some paperwork claiming it, they match me to my picture, and off I go again, running to the security gate to my now-boarding flight! I thank the man and his family profusely and think about offering a cash reward but realize I have too little to give, so it would seem almost rude to offer $5 for saving my entire trip. Once through security I try to spot him to give him my card and offer to try and discount any future travel, but I didn't see him again.

And that's how I managed to get on a 13.5 hour flight out-of-breath, stinky and drenched in sweat! Next stop, Taipei!

But more on that later...

The Adventure Begins at your Doorstep.

2008-10-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

So, here's how this trip started (because my travel adventures begin the second I book a trip, ha!):

I race out of work and walk to the train station, hop on the Amtrak to Richmond, barely staying awake already. Switch to BART and head to downtown San Francisco instead of the airport, as a last minute meeting with Michelle seems possible. Wander the streets a bit, calling and texting John and Sach about things I forgot, and calling and texting to various countries to set up rides and meetings, etc., until Michelle finds me and I hop into her car. We're late (go figure) so after driving towards the show we were going to try and pop into for an hour, we decide to go straight to the airport. We park, thinking of going in for some tea for her and breakfast for me, but that doesn't sound too appealing in an airport terminal. Instead I go check in and grab a coupla waters and a banana (cuz i'm oh-so-healthy)and head back to the parking lot, where we chat and catch up for an hour.

Finally it's time to go and I race into the terminal to get to the gate and wait to board. I went to the wrong wing first, and discovered I get to trek yet again across the airport to check in. Nothing like working up a sweat before boarding a 13.5 hour flight! I pause at the top of security to dump all my pocket stuff into my bag, pull out my boarding pass and my passpor--- um, wait. OK, tickets, boarding pass, notepad, pen, pencil, camera, phone, old passport... NO PASSPORT!!! Hmmm...

(OUT OF TIME... will continue the saga later!)

Day 1

2008-10-08T17:00:00.000-07:00

Man have I got a story for you!

But, not yet. I've just arrived in Taiwan, alive and well. It's 8a now and I'm about to board a several hour train to Taichung to meet up with Heidi, but I thought I'd stand at this free internet for a bit to stretch my legs after a 13.5 hour flight and a 6 hour journey to get there.

Just thought I'd leave a quick note announcing my arrival to Asia. You can imagine the horns and fanfare.

Now off to the bus!

Yet Another Rebirth...

2008-10-07T03:16:00.000-07:00

To even make a post declaring that I'm revamping and restarting this blog seems trite at this point. For those of you (none of you) that have been following the evolution of SixQ.Net over the past 11 or 12 years, you know that I've launched and relaunched this site almost as many times as I've declared I'd be updating more now (and then never updating). So... let's do this to NO fanfare.

Last update I made in this was from Shanghai in December. As you can imagine and assume, I did make it home from China. I did it penniless, and came home to chaos and drama and after a move and thousands of dollars down the tubes, I'm now fully recovered from all that noise (just in time for the US economy to collapse on me anyway).

But also, after China, I flew home via Hong Kong and LAX, have been to LA 3 times since, Palm Springs/Coachella, San Diego, Lake Shasta, Vegas, Monterrey, etc. etc... Oh, and I went to South Africa for a week and a half or so, and stopped for a day in Frankfurt, Germany. I guess you'll have to wait to read about that in Newsweek or something, or when my autobiography is published, once I find a ghostwriter that can scribble words down as quickly as I can babble travel stories.

Anyway, so... no big relaunch, but I am leaving the country again in less than 24 hours. This time I'm bouncing around Asia a bit more - off to Taiwan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Should be good times; a month away is much needed. I'll update as much as I can, put notes on Facebook and MySpace maybe, upload vids to MySpace and photos to Flickr. Got the Google Calendar updated as well. And as always, if you're not reading this on SixQ.Net, you bloody well should be! I've got everything tied together there - contact links, MySpace, Facebook, Google Calendar, Flickr, etc., plus a buncha free mashup mixes for those who don't know.

So... I'm gonna sleep for 3 hours, go work for 10 hours, then train it down to the airport and start another wild ride! Hope you kids drop a note or 10 to keep in touch! :)

Cheers,
6Q

Barely Made it to Shanghai!

2007-12-27T21:54:00.000-08:00

Wow, yesterday was the most insane travel day ever! Let me briefly lay it out here, before I have to run for breakfast and activities. Well, cheap activities because I just discovered I only have $100 left to my name!

Woke up at 7a. Hobbled into a quick shower on my purple, broken toe and headed downstairs to meet Nic for breakfast. Was too late to actually eat, but off we headed to the metro and to Hong Kong Island to the Chinese Embassy where a line had already formed down the whole block for visa applicants. Got in line, got the form to fill out, took turns racing around to find ATMs and passport photo shops. Got into the visa office and got number 58 when they were helping person #7! Finally got to the window and they said the fastest they could get us a visa was 3p. We explained that our train was at 2.45p and we had tried for 2 days to get visas, but they were closed for Christmas! They said we could check back at noon or again at 2p.

Off we raced back to Kowloon on the mainland to pack our bags and get back to check in with the visa office. It was already 10 something, and we hit traffic on the tunnel back to Hong Kong Island after explaining to the hotel that we may or may not check out a day early, depending on the visa. The visa office gates closed from 12p to 2p for lunch and we slid in at 11.53a to get back in to the sea of people waiting for visa help. A woman came to the closed window we had to wait at around noon and told us it would be until 3p. We begged and she said check back at 12.30p or 1p and then closed the window. Nic read, I watched a film on my laptop and she re-opened at 12.30 to check for us. She was super helpful and I nearly proposed to her when she came back with two passports in hand! We got our visas and we were on our way!

Tunnel traffic was hell but we found a lady with a cab who suggested another tunnel, which was faster, but cost a grip! We ended up at the train station with about 15 minutes before the 1.19p train to Dongguan and Guangzhau we wanted to take. I raced for an ATM and got cash just in time to get our tickets and go, but not with enough time to get breakfast yet. Quickly through customs, which was far less stressful now that I had that final visa and didn't have to beg for them not to stamp that page - my passport is completely full now! Jumped on the train and chilled for a bit. All the webpages I found said Dongguan was 50km to the airport, same as Ghangzhau East station, but an hour closer by train. So we hopped off the train at Dongguan and discovered there was not much English, no ATMs to get local currency, and a lot of shady cab drivers. Nic's got some conversational Chinese under his belt, so we argued a bit, looking for a metered cab to keep it honest.

We found a very helpful girl in a local shop who called an English speaking friend who told us that all the websites were wrong and we were now 150km from our flight. it was 3p and our flight was at 7p. We negotiated with the least annoying shady cab driver and made a deal at about $40 for the 2 hour drive. Loading our bags in the trunk we took off. After about 20 minutes, the cabbie seemed lost and was making u-turns and asking around. Then he found a taxi stand and raced over to it. I assumed he was going to ask a fellow cabbie for directions. I was way off.

He negotiated with the cab drivers to pawn us off on them! There was a lot of shouting and talking in Chinese and we were yelling that we needed to go NOW to the airport! We finally figured out what was going on - he wanted us to pay the $40 to another cab driver and go with him, and then pay him $15 or so for the ride to that cab! We told him we'd pay our $40 whenever we got to the airport and no money any sooner! It took a lot of yelling and fighting - I was so glad I had Nic with me to argue in English and Chinese! We were afraid to get out of the cab, since our bags were in the trunk and he could drive off with them. Nic shouted that he was a theif and got out and angrily popped the trunk. Once the bags were safe, I jumped out too and we hopped in another cab, refusing to pay the first a penny. The other cab guy paid the first out some portion of the $40 we would pay him and we were back on the road. Apparently this whole thing is typical Chinese drama!

Two hours later, we were finally pulling up to the airport, but our cab driver pulled over asking for the money then before we got there. After the last escapade, we agreed only to pay him 1/3 until we were at the airport. Turns out, he was afraid of us paying obviously at the terminal since he was an unlicensed illegal cab, so we slipped him the rest as we pulled up and said goodbye like he was a friend and we were finally there. After checking in and getting some food and boarding our flight, we could finally relax!

The flight was just fine on Air China, and for once I actually got seated next to a cute girl! Of course, she didn't speak English, but I shared my headphones with her as I watched American Dreamz on a Filipino bootleg DVD on my computer, and ended up exchanging emails - new friend in China! :)

Back on the group, we were too late for the busses (it was now about 10p) so we had to cab it again, which a cute and helpful girl at a car rental place guessed would cost $7. Outside the unmetered cabs offered it for $21 and we insisted on a meter. Once we got into a metered cab, we circled the parking lot and he stopped to ask one of the shady cabbies for directions. The cabbie got into the car with us and we figured out where we were going. Then he told us the fare was $21 and not metered. We were pissed and Nic yelled and got out and tried to get our bags back to leave. He finally caved in and turned on his meter, and it cost us $14 to get to our hostel. But we were finally there!

We checked in, Nic checked email, I found Ayaka, and we freshened up and got some noodles form a street vendor. We were exhausted and pissy and generally crap, but the street vendor food brightened the mood immediately! So good -why can't we have that in the states?! Finally we called it a night, after a very very long day.

Now I'm in Shanghai and getting ready to head out for food and some shopping! Hell of a trip, eh?!

I can't believe I'm going home so soon. It's difficult to grasp. But Sounds like some people are coming over for New Years Eve?!

Turn For the Worse...

2007-12-25T02:26:00.000-08:00

That looks normal, right?

So, we made it to Hong Kong, fairly exhausted, but in great spirits. Nic and I both agreed that it's an amazing vibrant town we could probably live in. Unfortunately, a series of unexpected events have put a bit of a damper on our day (although we spent most of it napping and holed up in our hotel dealing with things - don't worry, we're going out tonight).

First, my cell phone is officially gone. I'm pretty sure it got snagged out of my bag in the flurry of festivities last night, probably when I joined a huge group of locals parading with signs for some photos. I hadn't used it for many days, but I don't know when I last had it. I've emptied my bags twice and have had no luck. For those of you that remember, I went through hell to get that phone, one of only two Sprint has ever made that works worldwide, although I found it only worked in a few countries. I had to drive to a warehouse in Rocklin after days of calling around hunting it down. But the worst part is, I've lost 400 phone numbers! I'll definitely be needing people's numbers again!

Second, we've discovered that no place dealing with US passports is open today or tomorrow for getting visas to China! So far, we've only found places that can get us a visa by late the 28th, but our flight to Shanghai is at 7.15p and 3 hours away in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. We're checking now about going directly to the embassy, but we may likely have to stay in Hong Kong an extra night and take an afternoon flight to Shanghai the next day. :(

Lastly, and most annoyingly, about 2 minutes off the plane in Hong Kong, a man bowled me over with his roller luggage. It hurt my toe like hell, but I thought it was just a stub. My toenail was broken back and sticking up, and I was definitely limping. But, by the time I was checked into the hotel, my toe had turned bright red, and 2 hours later was dark purple. I'm afraid it might be broken, and it definitely rules out walking tours!

Despite all the problems, we're still in good spirits. At least this happened on week 9 and not week 2, right?!

Anyway, time to get dressed and see the night light show!

Merry Christmas From Saigon!

2007-12-24T14:36:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone! I think I may have just had the most surreal Christmas ever! They really celebrate here in Vietnam! I'll work on posting pics and vids soon, but the streets are filled with people and motorcycles and scooters, like every night, except this night, everyone is shouting and laughing and throwing confetti (my beard is still sparkly!) and having a great time. All the kids are dressed in Santa costumes and it's so cute!

I'm now sitting in the airport, it's 6a and I'm flying to Hong Kong in a few minutes. As soon as we land, we'll work on Chinese visas and then nap. I've been crossing my fingers on all the resent customs stops that the agents will see how full my passport is and stamp small on a busy page instead of stamping the one clear page, since I'll need it for the visa! It's a gamble each stop, and I'll need a new passport when I get home!

So, my Christmas gift for you all will have to be that I've added a new tab to the navigation - "Music" - where I've linked up to all my Mixed From Bed full-length mash-up mix albums, all available for free download! As an added bonus, I've unlocked some hidden goodies, like Mixed From Bed VOLUME 7 and one of my favorite mash-ups I've ever done, Pearl Jam's "Daughter" vs. Radiohead's "Thinking About You". It's been floating around to a few people now for a while, but now it's available for everyone! Hope you enjoy it!

Now, I've got a plane to catch and one final week of travel!

New Video - Malaysian Monkey Attack!

2007-12-23T17:52:00.000-08:00

Short video this time, but I think it captures the moment...

Check out this video: Malaysian Monkey Attack!

Spotty Connection

2007-12-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

I've made it across the Cambodian border and am now resting for a night on the shores of the Mekong Delta in Vietnam! The internet connection seems to be up and down, so I won't post much now, but I will tell you to head on over to my Photos page on Flickr, 'cuz I've added pics from Singapore and Borneo! Having some iPhoto exporting issues now, but if I figure it out, I'll add Brunei pics too.

Oh, did I mention there's MONKEY PICS from Borneo?!

Saigon tomorrow!

Holiday in Cambodia!

2007-12-19T01:15:00.000-08:00

Yup, I'm in Siem Reap, Cambodia! It's soooo hot here, but I've spent 2 days exploring the temples around Angkor Wat - the largest religious building in the world apparently. It is awe-inspiring for sure. It's hard to believe that I only have 2 weeks left before I'm back in the states! And that I'll be going to 4 countries in those 2 weeks!

So much to write and sooooooo many pictures to post, but internet is tough out here. I'm borrowing a laptop behind the counter of the hotel I'm staying in now, pretending I work here! :)

Need to go nap now - woke up at 4am for sunrise over the temples and been touring temples, orphan schools, boat neighborhoods, and old markets all day. Going to a dinner cultural show in a few hours. It just never stops!

Bangkok and Busted Bellies

2007-12-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

So, It's 4.45a in Bangkok. I have to wake up in 4 hours. I checked out late from my hotel in Kuala Lumpur this morning because whatever stomach bug I had kept me bedridden until after noon. Feeling a bit better now, but I'm a bit shakey. But this past week has been worth it!

Virtually no email access or internet for days, but hopefully a bit more in Thailand before I head into the jungles of Cambodia!

Man, have I got a video to post for you guys from Kuala Lumpur! And of course, plenty of stories to tell... but, not for right now. For now, 4 hours of sleep sounds great!

Lazy in PI!

2007-12-08T00:42:00.000-08:00

Hi everyone,

I just realized I don't think I've blogged for a bit, but for once it's not because I'm busy! It's actually the opposite! I'm finally just chillin' for a while before racing through 6 more countries in 3 weeks!

But now, I'm happy as a clam (or possibly something a bit more jolly) in the Philippines where life is cheap, easy, and lazy. I've been here 3 days and really have done nothing. Today's adventure was searching the town on either side of use for Lambanog (flavored rum) before finally finding the right kind. I stocked up on bubble gum, banana, green apple, and oddest of all, a flavor called "Zombie" which promises to be interesting. Even stranger, our 2-town trek got me a new pair of sunglasses for $1.15 or so, and a prized item - a toilet seat! So glad to have found that!

Bill bought a house right down the street from where I hang out in Baras, so I've been staying there and it's great! They've been working on a few improvements, but it's a lovely place, and I even had a private room for a few days, but now I'll have to cuddle with John after making the long trek tonight to get him at the airport in Manila. But, that, and waking up to heat and noise - children and chickens alike - are small sacrifices for the down time here.

I missed everyone here a ton, and for 2 days there was a friendly reunion around every corner! Little Rezki, whose 1st birthday I flew in right in time for last year, is now 2 and walking and running and causing havoc. All the kids are a bit bigger, and a few adults have changed, had kids, etc. It's such a lucky opportunity for me to have become part of a community here, and to have the chance to visit back several times!

Anyway, I've got to get going, but I'll post soon of the good times here. And I'll work on getting my laptop online to share blogs and photos of Australia, then Singapore, Borneo and Brunei! So many stories, so little time!

Brunei!

2007-12-03T02:24:00.000-08:00

Just got here, internet is scarce. Got 1 minute before my time runs out. So I'll be brief:

Holy Crap! The last few days have been wild! I'm writing on my laptop and will post up some stories as soon as I get some access from it.

Ummmm... gotta go! Bye!

Did I Mention Oz Photos?

2007-12-01T06:06:00.000-08:00

Cuz I put about 170 of them up the other day. For those of you not obsessively checking out the site (i.e. everyone but my mum! :-> ) you can click on the photos tab to get to my flickr account. I'll have to get cracking on narrating all these, but it's a good collection in the meantime.

I took a crap-ton of photos today of far away monkeys. Hopefully some came out! I'm in Borneo now, outside of Kota Kinibalu at a family resort that seems to be having a few special groups here. The reception is awesome and set up a river speedboat trip today to spot Proboscis monkeys, and tomorrow they are helping me go scuba diving! That means I have to wake up early, which is very very sad. I'm off to bed now then. Wish me luck!

Quick Letter to Singapore

2007-11-29T18:30:00.001-08:00

Dear Singapore,

Marry me?

Love,
6Q

(ps. Leaving Singapore now for Malaysia and Borneo. Not sure how much internet access I'll have for the next 4 or 5 days...)

New Zealand's South Island (Finally!)

2007-11-28T22:12:00.001-08:00

OK, I'm finally taking a breather to write a bit about the rest of New Zealand before it's all a blur!

DAY 6 - 3 Nov - Part 2
When I arrived in Christchurch, the bus to Cathedral Square was nice and easy, as was finding the Base Backpackers, which was directly to the left of the Cathedral itself. And then the starting point for my Connections tour the next day was right next door to my hostel. Yay! I arrived right after the Kiwi Experience bus, so after everyone else checked in, I finally got my spot in a dorm room and dropped my stuff. I immediately met a guy from Texas and two guys from the UK (I can only remember Jamie from Liverpool's name right now). Texas and one of the Brits had been living and working in Christchurch for a bit, so the Brits and I decided to walk across town and pick up some booze before dinner to have a stash and save on bar tabs.

This idea worked out all too well, and after picking up a bottle of Monkey Bay Chardonnay (thus collecting my New Zealand monkey as well!) we headed to the top floor where there is a big kitchen, dining room and giant balcony where everyone gathers. Once we were sitting and chatting and drinking, I knew dinner wasn't happening. But I met Dave and Jodie from Ireland, and Tslil from Israel and several others and learned that the balcony of Base is the place to be in Christchurch! We left thoroughly hammered and first ran into a guy playing a recorder in front of the Cathedral, which Jodie stole and played a song on. I later found out this recorder player was a known pain in the area, making her playing that much funnier. (I'll try and get that video posted somewhere!) We then headed to the Irish pub Mickey Finn's where there was a cover band playing, tons of pool tables and a huge downstairs smoking area in the back. Dave was too drunk and was turned away; Jamie bowed out after a fight out front, but Jodie, Tslil and I persevered and had a blast. I first witnessed the teapot here - in NZ you can get a teapot full of mixed drinks for $15 or $20 to pour shots from.

After stumbling back from the bar, we stopped at a 24 hour food place where Jodie introduced me to these cheap breaded lasagna squares that you can get at crappy AM/PM sort of places. I had that and a pie (I ate soooo many pies in Oz and New Zealand, they're addicting!) and the lasagna was soooo yummy! Back at Base, we headed to the balcony, where it was just us, one guy, and a French Canadian girl on some pills and up all night. Jodie insisted on giving me a (ramen) noodle packet as payment for her pie I bought, so I carried it for days before tossing it for lack of a bowl and hot water. At the end of the evening it was nearly 4a and I had to get up at 7a to meet my tour in the morning. I went to check email (sorry to those who got drunk-mailed!) and got lost in the halls. This turned out well though, as a beautiful girl stopped me because her watch broke and she had to get up for a tour in the morning. After chatting a bit, we discovered she was on the same tour in the morning and she promised not to let the bus go without me! I walked away with a dumbfounded look, drunk and stoked that this girl would be traveling with me for the next week!

DAY 7 - 4 Nov
Waking up wasn't as painful as I thought, but the excitement started right in. When I got to the counter to check out, a girl was complaining that the Connections bus had left without her. That panicked me a bit, but that's how I met Jemma from Southampton (known to me as a town where I got lost on the highway, learned about map kinase kinase, and ended up at a McDonalds in lipstick - thanks Mal)! I went outside and found Jamie waiting for his Kiwi Experience bus and got his details and then found broken watch girl, who turned out to be Bronwyn and who turned out to be an absolutely amazing person (smart, funny, beautiful, and get this - works in the travel industry AND does crosswords! Talk about the girl of my dreams!) and who had promised not to let the bus go! She told me the bus was circling, I grabbed Jemma, and everything was A-OK!

(Random aside, but on the bus I spotted that, while they don't say it here, they do write "Hella" on the side of their vans for some reason!)

Anyway, off we went across the Canterbury Plains to a cute town called Geraldine for breakkie (pie, woohoo!) and then to Lake Tekapo, a lake that was glacier-fed and therefore had beautiful turquoise water. The town was famous for shepherd dogs apparently (you can see more photos of the lake and a statue of a herding dog in the New Zealand photos on Flickr by clicking the "Photos" link above) and we peeked into the Church of the Good Shepherd, a tiny, old, stone church with an amazing view of the lake. If ever someone was to have a religious epiphany in a church, this would be an ideal one to have it in! Looking to the alter and then past it to the giant windows where the lake expands out to the Southern Alps way off in the distance, the beauty of the nature is overwhelming.

We then headed to Lake Pukaki and Mt. Cook Village for lunch. It was there that I saw the first sign and learned of "Movember." Every november in Australia and New Zealand, people shave clean the first day of November and then grow out their mustaches all month for charity. I didn't know how to participate in the charity, and I didn't realize at the time that it was mustache only and not full beard, but it sounded to me like a good excuse not to shave for the month, so I unofficially joined in. I ran into many crazy mustaches in my travels and had to remember that it wasn't necessarily bad fashion (although for some I'm sure it was), but a charity event!

Lunch was great and we picnicked on tables overlooking the lake. Here I met Louise and Nicola from England and Joanna from the US and we all started socializing on our tour. After lunch we headed into the hills where we took a slightly rainy scenic hike up a mountain, which was beautiful, but I quickly discovered what horrible shape I was in while huffing and puffing to keep up as Bronwyn chatted effortlessly to me. Damn me, an American fatty!

After that hike, we were off to our final stop that day, a beautiful secluded lodge on the shores of Lake Ohau. The view from our hotel was gorgeous and we had a huge dinner and all chatted. I ran into Australia's famous Bundaburg rum here and wanted to try it but didn't want coke, so I had it straight with a splash of lemon and it was delicious! After some chill time, we walked down to the lake shore for an evening stroll and to watch the sunset. I chatted on the walk back with John from Korea, who eventually came out of his shell to be one of the biggest party animals on the trip! I roomed with Shane, a bloke from Manchester who looked and drank like an Irishman, and who informed me that my early night meant I missed some wild group shots and partying with the lodge staff. Oh well, there's always tomorrow!

DAY 8 - 5 Nov
We woke up early (a recurring theme on this trip) and hit the road, driving through valleys and mountain passes. We stopped in a huge grassy meadow of a valley where our bus driver Craig put on The Sound Of Music and ran out of the bus to frolic in the meadow! We all relaxed there - I laid in the grass admiring the panoramic view to the mountains in the background and captured this image of Bronwyn attempting a cartwheel. After a rest, we piled back on the bus and drove through a skinny tunnel (there were 2 bus turnouts, otherwise cars and busses couldn't pass going opposite directions!), stopping at Mirror Lakes where it was unfortunately a bit too windy to get the placid reflecting photos. No worries though, New Zealand is covered with unbelievable scenery, and we were about to discover a treasure trove of it!

We stopped for lunch in Te Anau, where Bronwyn, Jo and I decided to cheap out and stopped at a supermarket where Bronwyn and I split some peanut butter, rolls and bananas for sandwiches (yum). Then we snuck into the lobby of a nicer restaurant and Jo bought some coffee so we could sit by th efire and avoid the freezing cold rain outside! Bronwyn was bummed after we left and she discovered her sunglasses were gone. :(

In the afternoon we boarded the Milford Wanderer to sail and explore Milford Sound and the Tasman Sea for the evening and next morning! It was gorgeous, but a bit chilly, so I passed on kayaking and instead took a small speedboat cruise around the shoreline to learn about to flora and fauna of the area. While waiting, Shane, Nicola and I discovered our love of Little Britain and we quoted it a fair bit the rest of the trip. I also met Tim, a man from Hong Kong who was biking across New Zealand. He informed me that my hotel in Hong Kong is a decent location, but it's famous for being the location of the first reported case of SARS! Awesome! I asked what room, so I could request it, but they never revealed that info I guess. Bummer.

Anyway, we cruised around in the little boat, and then back to our big boat for a delicious huge meal of lamb shanks and several bottles of wine! Once we were decently drunk, I bounced around a bit, noticing the table with all the Koreans on our tour were keeping to themselves (as the language barrier tends to facilitate), so I crashed the table. I met Ryoko at that table, who apparently is the #9 snowboarder in Japan and was in New Zealand training before heading to Canada to continue training for the winter! Eventually they went to bed and the last few standing were me, Toby and Fiona - the cops from Australia - since Fiona was loudly and drunkenly celebrating her birthday, big G from the Netherlands, and Sophie from Brighton. I finally stumbled downstairs and climbed into my bunk looking forward (yeah, right) to another early morning.

DAY 9 - 6 Nov
In the morning we cruised along the Sound and saw about a billion waterfalls. I took it easy and mostly sat around chatting with Ryoko watching the windows for scenery, but avoiding the cold outside.

Once on land again, we set back the way we came, this time stopping at the Chasm, where the water flowing down this river and over a waterfall has slowly eroded through rocks to form eerie holes, dips and divots in the landscape. It was amazing to see, and I took a photo of a sign there with a quote from David Henry Thoreau: "The finest workers in stone are not copper or steel tools, but the gentle touches of air and water working at their leisure with a liberal allowance of time."

We drove more, taking a stop at a place called Monkey Creek, which of course made me wet my pants with excitement! We made a few more pit stops on the way, including a view of a green wooded valley with a river cutting through it where we also saw the super-curious birds (Kias I think) that would land on cars and squawk about and flash the bright orange undersides of their wings. We stopped back for lunch at Te Anau again and Bronwyn miraculously found her sunglasses at the restaurant we had ducked into the day before!

After that, we were on to Queenstown - the adventure capital of New Zealand and probably the world! You could do anything crazy here, as I believe I mentioned in previous posts of pics and videos... Before even getting to our hotel, Bronwyn, Jo, Toby, Fiona, and I were dropped off to sign in and head up the mountain to the Canyon Swing! It's a bit like bungy jumping only with more falling! Instead of jumping off a bridge or ledge with something tied straight down from your feet, there are cables going across a canyon, with rope and tethers on the middle of the gorge that come back to you. That way, we could jump, freefall 60 meters (about 180 feet) an then be swung across the canyon for about another 200 meters for some extra whooshing excitement!

I was too afraid to stand at the ledge and look down, so I went for some backflips instead! For some reason that seemed much less scary to me, and I managed to get 2 full flips down before the horizontal swinging kicked in. We all did different jumps - they do all these crazy ones like tying you to a chair and pushing you off, hanging you upside down, making you hold a rope until you are too tired and have to let go and fall, or one called the Bin Laden, where they put a trash bin on your head and push you over the cliff! They joke and screw around the whole time, just to freak you out more. Bronwyn did a complex one, despite their sign stating that Canadians weren't allowed, and when she requested it, they got out the brochure to try and figure out the right way to hang her and hook her up! She didn't think it too funny, but I did! :)

After surviving the jump, I even opted to do a second, the Pin Drop, where you are supposed to clasp your hands behind your back and jump sideways off, keeping straight vertical like a pin for maximum velocity. I swear I jumped outward and hadn't even started falling downward yet before my hands were out from behind my back and grasping onto the rope out of instinctual fear! After the second jump, I was definitely done, and we headed back in to town for the evening.

Queenstown itself is absolutely gorgeous, reminding me a bit of Lake Tahoe, and that afternoon and the next, I got a little bit of time to stroll around in and enjoy the quaint but posh restaurants, the boardwalk, and the little town itself. I didn't get the try the legendary giant burgers at Fergburger though. But that evening, we headed into town for a bit of freezing cold excitement!

The Minus 5 bar is an entire bar constructed of ice! It's actually about -8 Celsius in there (about 17 degrees Fahrenheit) and there are ice sculptures everywhere. They suit you up in warm hoodies and you can only stay for about a half hour, but they had some decent drinks, so we started in. They give you cloth gloves which is weird because even your glass is made of ice and my fingers got freeeeezing! But the benches, the bar, the walls... all made of ice! Jemma even stripped down to her bra and instantly became my hero!

After the ice bar, we warmed up at a bar next door and people started getting wild, dancing on the bar and on the tables and stuff. The music out there is funny - mostly the same crowdpleasing standards, probably the same that have been played for the last 15 years, mixed in with a few new hot commercial dance tracks. This is where I started to realize I was going to be hearing a lot of the same songs everywhere I go.

We partied it up there, and then headed to the World Bar, where I heard possibly the worst club DJ I had ever heard, but Jemma and I split a teapot and all was OK. We stumbled out of teh bar and raced up a giant staircase, as she was for some reason convinced that we needed to go up into the hills even though we were heading away from the waterfront and our hotel was on the water. But, we wandered and had fun and eventually made it home after a long long day and night!

DAY 10 - 7 Nov
I completely took advantage of a day without an early morning start and slept way way in to about 12.30p! After showering and lazily getting ready, I decided to go try and find out when my next big adventure was on my way to the net cafe in town. I walked by a sign saying my group was meeting in about 15 minutes! I raced back to my room, grabbed my stuff and off I went down to A.J. Hackett's for the ultimate challenge: The Nevis Bungy Jump! At 14 meters, it is currently the 3rd highest in the world (a 200 meter one in South Africa was apparently just surpassed by a brand new 230 meter one in Macau - maybe I can try that next month!) and is off a suspended pod in the middle of a gorge with a river running through the bottom! Maximum scary!

They did it by weight for some sort of safety reason, and my lazy American butt got my in trouble once again, as, aside from big G who had to be about 6 foot 3 or so, I was the heaviest of our group, making me the second jumper! No time to think, they sat me in a chair where they tied my feet together and hooked me into a bungy cord. They laughed as I penguin-walked as fast as I could to the ledge, knowing that the more I waited, the harder the jump would be! As soon as they said to look up and go, I went! Looking out into nothingness, 440 feet above the ground without even the wires you knew would catch you (like the canyon swing had) visible, it is a true leap of faith! I jumped with my camera taped to my hand, so I'll work on adding some video, but I managed to make it nearly all the way down before letting out some profanity! (The pic here is at the very bottom with the G-force pulling!

On the bounce back up you get another stomach drop and then on the second bounce there's a release you can pul to end in a sitting position so they can pull you back up comfortably. I tried and tried to pull the release, but failed, so I got the undignified fun of being pulled back up by my ankles and laid down to be unhooked. But it was still the scariest, most amazing thing I've ever done!

I hung out as everyone else arrived to do their jumps and acted as photographer for quite a few other people. Shot a great video of Shane's jump and felt bad for Bronwyn who, like me, wanted to get it over with quickly, but unlike me is skinny and light and had to go nearly last! Jun and a Korean girl both had freakouts on the ledge - Jun was shaking like crazy and gave us the least reassuring thumbs up ever as we cheered him on, and the girl nearly rolled off after crouching down on the ledge in fear. It seems funny, but having stood on that ledge, I empathized completely and we all just wanted them to succeed!

Every single one of us managed to jump (eventually at least)! When we got back, we were like an adventure team, bonded by all being stupid enough to jump off a cliff together! The trip back into town was much less tense than the drive there, that's for sure!

Once back, we had an afternoon free, and we took a walk and had a cocktail in the grass by the shore of the lake. We went back in the evening to get our photos of our jump and discovered that the place closed at 7p even though they told us to come back at 8p to get our pictures. Hopefully they're mailing them now...

After another great dinner (the meals were all fantastic!) it was time for another night out and we headed to a place whose name I forgot but it had a huge chest-level firepit to warm up on, which was nice. I got a 2 for 1 drink coupon and smiled just right at the bartender who poured me a round of shots for Team Korea and gave me a spare drink for $15 (like $30 off)! After hanging out and deciding not to get belligerent, my energy started waning, so I walked home relatively early with a French Canadian girl who was also a travel agent and called it a night.

DAY 11 - 8 Nov
We were on to Fox Glacier today, but I was completely worn out and the weather was foggy and cold, so there were no helicopter rides or anything. After hearding the stock market crashed in the US, I decided to save money and huffing by skipping the 4-hour hike and taking a down day. On the way to the glacier though, we stopped at Thunder Creek Falls and the Haast River for scenic breaks.

We ended up back traveling along the coast briefly and I snapped this picture of typical New Zealand coastlines - totally perfect with wooded hills sloping down to sandy beaches and rocky seas out to nothingness! This was the west coast, and the Tasman Sea. The town of Fox Glacier is pretty tiny so we basically checked email and rested. I remixed Scotty Doesn't Know by ripping the audio from the Eurotrip movie, as it had become a running joke on our boat. I blame Toby, as its STILL stuck in my head a month later! We went after a huge fantastic dinner on a short, very dark nature walk, where we saw some trees full of glowworms and Craig tried to scare us by sneaking off and making weird animal noises!

After our walk, a few of us circled up and discussed the legend of the New Zealand Slump bird, with it's pointy beak, thick legs and charging habits. I also teased group newcomers Briony and Louise from Newcastle, UK for being on the tour 2 nights and going to be early both nights! Then we went to the little hotel pub where randomly Ryoko from Milford Sound turned up! The bartender called last call and closed up, and then got friendly and served us another round and even gave us jukebox money! After he closed up for real, we headed across the street to the bar to mingle with locals who were varied in age and type, but were all equally drunk! After watching a drunk girl get shot with water from the bar hose and then try to climb over the bar for squirting revenge, we watched a dude with his head on a mantelpiece knock over a whole bucket of coal or something and make a huge mess. Weird place, and time to call it a night!

DAY 12 - 9 Nov
After a super early start, i wasn't up for the walk to Lake Matheson. I really missed out though, as I saw some beautiful pictures of it's placid waters reflecting the two tallest mountain peaks in New Zealand. But, I had a lovely rest with Jemma, who had gotten sick and wasn't up for the walk either. Toby joined us and we formed our plans to steal a tour bus and be bus pirates, selling people's luggage for food and gas money and then eventually raiding other tour busses when our supplies ran out!

We then headed to a jade factory full of cool stuff I couldn't afford, and then grabbed some lunch and wandered to the beach for a few minutes before heading back down the road.

While driving up some steep hills, our tour bus (Rhonda) finally gave out, and we ended up stranded on the side of the road. But in New Zealand's friendly fashion, while Craig our drive went off to find some help at the town down the road, an empty tour buss passed and stopped to give us all a lift to town! Amazing!

So we headed into the town of Arthur's Pass that was to be our rest stop anyway, and spent the next 3 hours or so chilling while a spare bus was sent from Christchurch and Rhonda was repaired. I used the time to organize photos, charge my iPod and burn some other people's photos on CD for them. It was actually a nice little unplanned stop, and we ended up getting some ice cream (I tried banana - yummy!) and basked in the sun for a while as well.

Getting back into Christchurch was surreal - starting to say goodbyes, getting checked back into the Base for the night (my key card took four tried to work!) and running immediately into old friendly faces! I tried to coordinate to be with my Connections group, but to also see my new/old friends from my first time through Christchurch! We started out at the Base bar where I saw Dave and Jodie from before, and then the Connections group headed to the Oxford Strip along the river where the snazzy clubs were. They really weren't my style, but I hung out to be with everyone. Then we headed off to some more clubs in town. I don't know who was leading the charge, but they had awful taste in clubs! We ended up at another fancy place with platform dancing and god-awful music and bro's walking around with mullets, fauxhawks and popped collars left and right!

I could only handle so much of it, so eventually I had to take off. I would've called it a night, but with a 4.30a airport shuttle to my 6.30a flight, sleeping was out of the question! Fortunately, Louise, Madeline and Jemma were bored there too, so we left to go find a proper club and ended up back at Mickey Finn's as it was just what I liked - live music, activities an atmosphere, but quiet corners where you could tuck away and actually hear each other talk! I realized that especially for last night's out, I don't like drunken dance parties, I like something more social, so I can talk to the people I've grown friends with and enjoy our final moments together.

We headed back after a few vodka redbulls and stopped for that breaded lasagna I loved, and I crashed in the girls' room for a bit, transfering Sophie's photos (she's like a pro-photographer!) onto CD for her and hearing that her and Bronwyn left me a note at Base, which I later collected with my luggage just in time for my airport shuttle! It was a strange final night in New Zealand, but the end of a wild ride! I've been trying to keep in touch with everyone I met, and really miss quite a few people from my New Zealand travels. But by 6.30a, I was on another plane, on to another adventure in another country!

But Brisbane and Australia will have to wait for Another time! I've spent an entire morning in Singapore writing this all up and it's time for me to upload and get moving!

Maybe I'll write up Australia whilst lazing on the shore of the South China Sea in Borneo! :)

Singapore Wants You! (And why you should want it back!)

2007-11-27T09:22:00.000-08:00

I've just arrived in Singapore a few hours ago. I'm exhausted from teh past 5 days, and the past 3 weeks, and the past month! That's right, today officially marks the start of my second month traveling! I can't believe all this time has past, but then again, I can't believe I've done soooooo much!

Anyway, upon arriving to Singapore there's a tourism campaing everywhere called "Uniquely Singapore." And it's true - I've already encountered amazing hospitality and unique options for my few days here! Immediately out of customs I started my normal foreign airport routine - check currency exchange counter for exchange rate, find ATM for cash, find info desk for transportation options, find way to hostel and set off! After scoring cash, I was almost immediately approached by a woman asking if I needed any help. She must have seen me glancing around reading signs. I told her I was trying to find the address of my hostel and then find a way to get there. She told me how to get the the city train, offered a few pieces of advice and then walked me over to the tourist info booth! The booth was beautifully decorated and full of info and right away a man was helping me with a map, a visitors guide and a few route options for getting to my hostel! It was amazing and inspiring that people were that quick to help.

Ah, but those were tourism employees, you say, not average people on the street! Well, after navigating the easy and clean train system into town I walked a block in the wrong direction before doubling back and getting my bearing correct. While stopped at an intersection, I broke my general rule and peeked publicly at a map to make sure I knew which way I was turning next. As soon as I did, a woman standing next to me asked if I was lost or needed help. I assured her, I knew where I was going, just wanted to be sure I went the right way, but she persisted and asked where I was headed and made sure I was taking the best route. We chatted for a minute or two and then she went on her way and I thanked her profusely for the random helpfulness on the street. I mean, tell me that's not amazing! This place is advertising strongly to bring people to see it, and it seems like the people at large want travelers to enjoy Singapore!

Anyway, there's a little happy rant. I'm staying in a groovy hostel/hotel up a hill, in a residential neighborhood 2 blocks from the busy area (and surprisingly quiet for being so close), and I've got my own room for the first time in a month! I'm going to enjoy it - take a long shower and sleep in my boxers! Maybe I'll try to snore on purpose! I'll figure something out! But for now, I'll sleep, and leave you with this:

Letter to the family tonight:
Hi everyone! I've just gotten to Singapore and even in my sweltering, luggage-hauling, uphill walk, I still instantly loved it here! I can't wait to explore tomorrow. I think I'm hopping to the island to do a gondola ride, some luging, maybe see a monkey, and a few other things, then back for some of the famous food courts, and an evening free tourist tour of the holiday lights and stuff! The people here are very friendly and McDonalds and KFC delivers! I think I could live here! :)

Anyway, I am now full scuba certified and even got an adventure certification to boot by doing a special boat dive, a night dive, and a deep (30 meters) dive! Now I can do all sorts of extra diving! The Great Barrier Reef is absolutely amazing and the company I went with was super-friendly, fun, obviously loving their jobs and the diving, plus they have exclusive dive rights to some key locations on the reef and a fantastic boat and chef with it! So glad I did that - definitely the highlight of Australia!

Never got to try kangaroo meat, but had some crocodile satay. The croc was good, but the Satay was not seasoned that well. Did some other interesting things and met and re-united with some super-great people as well. I can't believe I'm now in the whole new world of Asia for the rest of the year!

Time to call it a night I think! Talk to you all soon! :)

Too Hot, Too Tired...

2007-11-22T06:54:00.000-08:00

Man, I'm in Cairns and the A/C is busted and I'm burning up! blah! Been dive training for 2 days and at 6.15a tomorrow morning I'm picked up to board a boat to sail to the Great Barrier Reef for my certification dives! Training has been great, but Cairns itself has been too great! I'm living it up by night and hurting in the pool each morning! I've met some fantastic people, Damian's joined me, and our dormmate is a super-cool British girl called Jules.

We're having lotsa fun in our hostel, and last night a bunch of people (mostly non-Americans) got together and cooked a HUGE Thanksgiving feast! We all ate tons, drank tons, rocked out to some Mixed From Bed (back online in January, by the way...) and partied it up. Jules has some great photos of me, and I think at least one or two other people got some good incriminating ones...

Only a few days left in Australia and it's been a whirlwind and a blast. Very little to complain about, far too much to write about. I'll try and get some pictures sorted on the lazy boat evenings after days full of scuba diving, and upload in 3 days. After that, I'm off to Singapore for Phase 2 of my trip - The Asian Chapter!

Wow, I'm come kinda far! :)

No Time to Post

2007-11-20T00:26:00.000-08:00

Can't get my laptop online in Magnetic Island. Whitsundays were great. I'm sunburnt though. Cairns tomorrow as I finish up Australia! More soon, I swear!

Internet Access is Rare Here!

2007-11-16T01:06:00.000-08:00

...I haven't been online much, but I have herded some goats, which is shockingly dissimilar!

I'm heading off to the Whitsundays in the morning, but I'm trying to write up more stuff in the next few days. It's been a crazy time!

I have uploaded some new photos to Flickr though - so click the Photos link at the top to see the last set from New Zealand. (I'm just waiting now for them to finish uploading...)

OK, 20 minutes to shower before dinner. Guess it's time to get rolling!

Back from Fraser Island

2007-11-14T06:06:00.000-08:00

Yup, I'm way behind yet again. I'm too exhausted to write now, but I've traveled up to Hervey Bay, Australia and just spent 2 days on Fraser Island wandering around in the sun. It's amazing and beautiful and absolutely draining! Heading to the Kroombit Cattle Station tomorrow, then to Arlie Beach to sail the Whitsunday Islands for a few days before heading to Cairns to meet Damian and do some scuba diving!

Wow, I'll need a vacation from my vacation soon! I'm a bit sunburnt, and completely wiped out, and covered in bug bites. Besides that though, life is great!

How's everyone else?

New Zealand - The Rest of the North Island

2007-11-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm in Australia, it's time to play some catchup! I'll try to be brief so I can actually keep up!

Journal entry 3Nov07 1.30p
Flight #2 in just a few minutes...
Leaving the North Island after a whirlwind 5 days, it's already clear that my trip will be physically exhausting but mentally refreshing...

Day 2 (30 Oct) started my least favorite way: early. I climbed off my bunk at 6.30a, showered and crept out just in time, as my bus driver was looking for me! By 10a we were in Waitomo where I was dropped at the Info center since I had no clue what I was doing. After confirming I could catch a shuttle to a late bus, I booked onto the Black Water Cave tubing option. With 1.5 hours to kill, I hit a cafe and splurged on the FULL English breakfast, and used the time to organize photos and charge my camera.

Got picked up by a shuttle, checked in and were given wet suits, jackets, booties & boots. Our guide wore some pink panties on top, but I gathered that was optional. After getting tubes & a test jump, we climbed down into some caves and were off...

We waded through the shallow waters with our helmet lamps lighting the way, until it eventually got deep enough to hop on our tubes and float. We had to jump off a small and medium waterfall backwards in the dark, and we ducked under some pretty tight and low spots. We floated through a low cave covered with glow worms, which was amazing! I was so glad I did the more interactive and physical tubing option instead of floating through on a boat ride, because it looked so surreal that, were I to be just on a boat floating through, it would seem like a cheesy Disney ride with fake stars in fake caves!

Underground I met Mio, a girl from Chiba traveling her last few days alone. Once we got back above ground, changed, showered, and dried off, we were fed some yummy soup and a bagel and we all sat around and chatted. I smiled and made faces at Keith from England's super-cute baby daughter and chatted with a girl from Israel. Then I talked with Mio and realized she was heading back to Auckland as well. After some coordinating, I canceled my shuttle and bus ticket and threw my bag into her car for a GPS-guided drive to Auckland! We got back at dusk, so she was off the hook, as I was trying to convince her to jump off the Sky Tower (largest structure in the Southern Hemisphere!) with me. Instead we got her into her hotel, and I checked into the Base Backpackers, which was fantastic, then we wandered to the Viaduct area at the wharf to look for a decent but not too pricey dinner. Found a great Italian place, spent more than we should, and decided to call it a night. Time to get some sleep, since the next morning I joined my Contiki Bay of Island tour!

DAY 3 - 31 Oct
Not much of a Halloween, but a hell of a day anyway! Got up, showered, hit the net cafe, headed to the Mercure around the corner to meet Contiki, and discovered that it was a different Mercure! Fortunately the right one was only one more block away, so I got sorted pretty easily and we were off!

Heading north, we stopped first at a Kauri forest - an ancient and giant tree. I think once again my California upbringing hindered my appreciation of the beauty of the scenery as apparently the Kauri are nearly the biggest trees in the world, second only to the California Sequoias...

When we got to Paihia, I opted for the Jetboat to the Hole in the Rock. It was cold and the wind chill was aweful, but we boarded a giant speed boat and raced across the water. It was a cool adventure, but I thought it was a bit overpriced. I couldn't believe quite how far we had to go to get to this little island, so I guess I'm glad we took the speedboat option though! Our pilot deftly sailed us though the relatively calm waters into the hole and back out again, pointed out the schools of hundreds of fish moving in unision, bobbing to the surface, and then steered our boat into a cave so close to the rock surrounding us, it was amazing that we didn't touch on any side for the few minutes we were in there!

We sailed back and I was ice cold and ready for dinner! Checked into the hotel, and headed down to chat with people and watch the hotel owners bbq up a TON of steaks! We walked into town before dinner and picked up a booze stash (I failed to get mixers, brilliant) and had a cocktail with a few people to get to know each other. I ate myself sick trying to cram in all the steak I could, and we had another drink after dinner before freshening up and heading to the bare at the Base Backpackers. I took a long shower and walked myself out there, enjoying an evening stroll. The club was pretty banging, and I chatted with everyone from our tour group and had quite a few drinks. It was a fun night, and I was in the last small group to leave. For some reason the booze didn't hit me until the walk home, and Benita, Maree-Louise and I ended up on a stumbling adventure, and then sitting outside our hotel room's patio for an hour, giggling and being drunks!

DAY 4 - 1 Nov
The next morning started a continual trend for me: bumbling my way into breakfast, late, jarred, overtired, gravelly-voiced, and bundled in my hoodie and sunglasses. I learned long ago that whether I go to bed at 9p or 3a, I still feel crap waking up at 7a, so I might as well enjoy the night life! Everyone teased me, asking how late I was out, but it's all good fun! Besides, I had a full day trek planned with Awesome Adventures! We were heading to Cape Reigna, the Northernmost tip of New Zealand, with a ton of stops along the way! It turned out to be an exhausting day!

Our guide Kane was fantastic, driving the bus and telling us stories, history, nature facts, and cultural points of interest along the way. One exciting leg of our journey North was a stretch of highway unique in the world - Ninety Mile Beach. During low tide, this 64-mile stretch of beach is a road, and we raced buses down it legally at 100km and hour! We stopped for some scenic views, but kept them all brief, as once the tides came in, we'd be stuck windows-deep in water and unable to journey forward! Could you imagine that in the US?!

Once we finally cruised the entire length of the beach, we cut inland just a little to hit a GIANT sand dune! This one was way bigger than the one I rode in Fiji! I was more nervous about going up than coming down, and I was right - fat, lazy me could barely make it up the trek! They thought I was scared to go sandboarding off the top, but really I was stalling to catch my breath after the massive climb in thick sand! But boarding down it was loads of fun, and I ended up doused in sand for the next 3 days!

When we got to the Cape, it was gorgeous! I was exhausted, but I treked out to the edge, down to a lighthouse, and had a look around. Steep, rocky cliffs, greenery and trees, and a stretch of beautiful sandy beach to the left. We could see the South Pacific Ocean mingling and combining with the Tasman Sea, and an ancient tree the Maori believed was the point at the top of the earth where spirits traveled to the afterlife.

After we hit the tip we, headed back downhill for lunch on the beach. I had a snack and lazed under the shade of a tree. I was beat already, and we still had more to go! On the way back we stopped to hose the salt water and sand off the bus at a huge warehouse/store/museum of carvings from an ancient growth of Kauri trees that had been double-buried by ice ages and land slides tens of thousands of years ago. Of course it was all out of my price range, but the highlight of the store was the spiral staircase to the second floor. It was carved beautifully into a Kauri tree built into the center of the store. Walking through the inside of a tree, up stairs, to the next level - now that was a unique experience!

On the way back, we stopped by a marina-front little restaurant to have some super-fresh fish and chips. Since I don't eat seafood, I only ordered chips and they gave me a pile for cheap! It came wrapped in huge amounts of paper like buying fresh fish from the markets and when I unrolled it all, I found they gave me fish anyway for free! I couldn't be rude, so I ate it, and to my surprise (and to everyone's that knows me) it was fantastic! So I guess I eat fish and chips now! :)

We finally got home and after another good shower we all were pretty exhausted and most of the Contiki group just hung out on our patios, snacking and having cocktails. I had that bottle of vodka from the night before and couldn't take it with me on my flight out of Auckland, so someone gave me a soda and I filled it up as we all joked. Benita and Maree-Louise had become my partners in crime by this point, so they drank Alize and we all ended up drunk! Maree went to bed early though and Benita and I whined that everyone wussed out that night, so I poured my vodka into her Alize and we headed to the beach. We both sat on the beach for hours and tried to walk around but were too drunk to do much. after a lot of falls and sand everywhere, we finally crashed out for 2 or 3 hours of sleep before an early morning start back to Auckland.

DAY 5 - 2 Nov
After a drive back to Auckland, I was pretty bummed to say goodbye to the Contiki group, and sad that I only got one or two emails of people from the group. I rally had to pee though, so I broke away and checked into the Fat Camel Hostel, which was awesome! The layout is a series of apartments, each with 6 or 7 dorm rooms attached, plus bathroom, shower room, full kitchen and living room. So, I ended up meeting several people and hanging out in the common room a lot. I met John, a teacher on sabbatical from Lake Tahoe, and he was new into town. Having 2 or 3 hours experience in Auckland already, I decided to help him figure out his trip, especially since there were 3 STA Travels on Queen Street, a half block from where our hostel was. He wanted to rent a camper van, so we headed into one of the STAs to chat.

After quizzing an employee on what work life was like out there, I discovered she know one of the managers from New York that I had met in Fiji! Small STA world! She told me the central office for STA NZ was just up the road at the Base Backpacker ACB, so after walking way too far up the road and searching for a guitar for John, I sent him off to book his camper at the STA while I popped in for a chat with the STA head office. Everything sounded pretty fantastic and I'm seriously considering moving back to New Zealand later next year and working for a year or so. Gotta do it soon, cuz once I turn 30, it becomes much harder to get the visa. Whaddya all think?!

Back to the Base Backpacker, I passed on a walk to the pier, as it had started raining and I had been a bit before. Instead I got online and sat around a bit before going down to bum Fat Camel's FREE dinner! Lucky for me I ran into that free fish in the Bay of Islands, because I was now totally cool with eating it again that night! At dinner I met a Canadian couple that I ended up chatting with a bunch that night, and later that evening, I went and met the hostel manager and the travel agent on site who both happened to be working grave shifts that night. I took it easy before my flight to Christchurch the next day. But before my flight, I had one more chore left to do...

DAY 6 - 3 Nov - Part 1.
Sky Tower. 328 metres tall, as measured from ground level to the top of the mast, making it the tallest free-standing structure in the Southern Hemisphere. Like the Space Needle on crack. And just above the observation deck, there's a little platform, some wire cables, and 2 people to operate adn take photos. 192m (630ft) up, and I needed to jump off it.

I dragged my bag to the bus station at Sky City, at the base of the tower, and put them in a locker. Then I walked to the info desk and asked how quickly I could jump off that tower. It was noon, and I had a 3p flight to catch! I suited up, got harnessed and hopped on the glass elevator racing up the side of the tower! The view was beautiful and the day was perfect!

I wish I had more pictures to show of the jump, but this time I wasn't allowed to bring my camera, for fear that, if dropped, it could hit someone below. And the CD of photos they gave me seems to freeze up my computer and not work at all. I'll work on ripping the DVD though and getting it up. Otherwise, I shot avideo from the observation deck of a women who I urged to take the plunge once I survived mine. At any rate, I'll include here a pic of the last thing I saw before getting tethered in and taking that final step!

I think one of my favorite things was reading the safety precautions where it said any loose articles such as jewelry, scarves, or long hair must be "scured, stored, or removed!" I thought, "I'd really love to jump, but do I really have to cut my hair off?!" At any rate, that gave me some good nervous laughter as I climbed out onto the ledge, counted to 3, and stepped off! The first woosh is freaky, but they stop you 10 meters down (in front of the observation deck, I later learned) for a once in a lifetime photo opportunity. Then as soon as they get a good wave out of you, they drop you and I plummeted down towards a big red target on the ground. The view was amazing and I really enjoyed it. I landed hard and fell to my knees, but got back up right away, got unhooked, and raced into the base to get out of my jumpsuit and on my way! I collected my stuff and got back to the bus stop in time to grab a pie for breakfast and make flirty eyes at the cute girl who worked at the coffee shop before hopping on a bus, heading to the airport, checking in, and taking off to the South Island.

Flight #2, near the end of my first week, and at the finish of the first leg of my adventure!

More Photos and Updating fom NZ

2007-11-10T17:57:00.000-08:00

Ok, before I post a big update, I wanted to note that I updated my first big text post to include some pictures.

I also uploaded another piled of photos to my Flickr New Zealand set that I hope to be blogging on soon!

More to come!

Exhausted in Oz

2007-11-09T16:41:00.000-08:00

So I've just gotten in to Brisbane after an all-nighter in Christchurch, a 4a shuttle and a 6.30a flight! I'm waiting for a room to be free, only 2 more hours to go! Gotta find some laundry, a bathroom, a shower, some food and a BED! I'm exhausted!

I'll be switching to my laptop in a bit, sorting photos and writing more about all my adventures in New Zealand. It's such an amazing place and I met some awesome people that I sincerely hope to know for a very long time and visit somewhere, some time soon...

That said, my bladder is bursting and my eyes have gone blurry. Time to venture out into the world of Australia! :)

Queenstown Video - Canyon Swinging...

2007-11-06T22:27:00.000-08:00

No time to chat again, but here's a video of me yesterday! Today we went bungee jumping off the 2nd biggest in the world! Freaky!

Flips off the Canyon Swing!

Uploading More NZ Pics Now!

2007-11-06T00:11:00.000-08:00

Life's been a whirlwind! I still have to write about Waitomo Caves, Auckland, Paihia, Cape Reinga and the Bay of Islands, Christchurch, Lake Ohau, Milford Sound, and now I'm in Queenstown! I'm working on uploading another video, and I'm uploading more pics to Flickr as we speak! I swear I'll write more tomorrow! So much excitement, scenery, adrenaline, cold, sunburn, etc, etc...

More soon!

ps. Here's a photo of what I did today!

New Zealand so far...

2007-10-30T15:13:00.000-07:00

So, after 24 hours, I have done sooooooo much! I'm now on my 3rd day as I type this and it's been a non-stop rush! Let me type up what I can now, and I'll likely post this in the evening!

Journal entry 29Oct07 7a
My trip started in typical 6Q fashion, with the adventure beginning before I even set foot on a plane. I'm on Kiwi Experience's airport shuttle to catch an Intercity Bus to Rotorua. That will be my 7th mode of transportation since I've left home.

(1) CAR - Piled into Cindy's car (a little late of course). Traffic was medium until BAM! The sign 3 miles from the Bay Bridge said 57 minutes to SF! I called my dad for directions and weaved to a BART station at Ashby, where their service to SFO stopped an hour earlier at 6p. So (2) onto the FREMONT BART TRAIN to the (3) DALY CITY TRAIN to (finally) the (4) SFO/MILLBRAE train where I arrive as the plane starts boarding! Somersault through security and to the gate just as my row is called! Onto my (5) Air New Zealand flight! 12 hours, 2 meals, 1 TV show, almost 2 movies, 1 glass of wine and 1 subsequent nap later, I'm seeing the tips of land as we close in on Auckland. Customs, baggage, ATM, very helpful info desk and I'm booked on the 7a (6) AIRBUS to Sky Tower and the 9.30a (7) INTERCITY BUS to Rotorua! So far, so good!

Journal entry 29Oct07 11a
After arriving at Sky Tower 1.5 hours early and failing to talk myself onto the earlier bus, I set off, hauling my heavy bag, to kill an hour in Auckland. Completely clueless as to where I was, I popped into a visitor centre and eyeballed a few maps until I had a vague idea of the neighborhood. Then I set off to find the Base Backpacker where I'll be staying tomorrow and the Fat Camel where I'm hoping to stay on the 2nd of November.

Found both and was out of time, so I raced back to the bus, discovering along the way just how out of shape I am. I also notice the street names seem so industrious compared to the shop names and signs around. We just drove past a rural street called Factory Lane, and there's Commercial and Federal Street in Auckland, where I spotted signs like a church soliciting donations for repair ("Fix our holy roof!") and an anti-smoking ad ("You look a bit like a monkey, standing there sucking on it.")

Anyway, onto a lovely coach and off I go to Rotorua! This ain't no Greyhound; it's a comfy bs traveling in a relaxed NZ style. We just stopped for 20 minutes at the Tea Room in Ragiriri for a quick bite! Mind you, this is a public bus, not a tour bus!

Though I dozed in and out of consciousness along the way (5a start hurts!), the landscape is GORGEOUS! Everywhere is lush green, spotted with mini lakes and rivers, with rolling hills and small wooded mountains cropping up. (Side note: In the middle of nowhere, we just passed what appeared to be a mosque with a golden onion roof, a pet motel, and a factory all side by side. Weird combo!) Pictures form a moving bus won't do justice! I'm in the Waikato area now, in Hamilton. The towns are interesting. I'm just staring at things...

Journal entry 31Oct07 12p
Wow, so far behind already! I'm about to load up on my Contiki Bay of Islands tour, so let's catch up a bit!

Rotorua - so brief, but action-packed! Checked into the Base Backpackers around 1p and found the girl at the counter super-friendly and knowledgeable. By the time I was checked in, I had 20 minutes to drop my stuff before I was picked up by a shuttle to the Agrodome. Shuttle driver Jay was awesome - we talked music and traded drinking stories and he gave me a free ride home later! Met Haylee, the marketing manager at Zorb who hooked me up! I suited up, rode up the hill and Superman dived into the puddle-filled Zorb! With a push I was off, shooting video while splashing about, tumbling and laughing out loud whilst my Zorb zig-zagged down the hill. [See my flickr photos, tagged Zorbing, and my MySpace video in the previous blog entry.)

I toweled off and realized that my reckoning that going commando in borrowed clothes was a bad idea meant that my boxers were completely soaked! I headed off and hoped that the Sky Swoop wasn't as scary as it looked, cuz I had already wet my (under)pants! Walking along the road, I couldn't find the turnoff to get to the Swoop. It was 4.20p, the last shuttle was coming, the Swoop was closing, and I had a 5.30p appointment already. Shrugging, I climbed down under the road overpass and found a low point on a fence to jump to cut through a field to the Swoop. With one leg over I brushed agains the fence and was shocked to discover it was ELECTRIC! I hopped quickly over, shook it off and hiked to the Swoop! You don't get shocked by an electric fence every day I reckon!

They hooked me up and raced me onto the Swoop, strapped me up, tucked in my feet and hoisted me as I hung facing down and watching the ground slip away fast! Soon I was suspended 40 meters up, all by myself! 3-2-1 and I pulled the rip cord before I had time to freak out! A moment of panic as the ground rushes up, then the cable catches and whooshes me past the ground and swinging back into the air! The dropping sensations hits once or twice more, but I swung gracefully back and forth to a stop. Thrilling!

Climbed out of that and caught the shuttle back to Base to grab some dry boxers and head straight to my Maori dinner!

We were picked up and shuttled to the Mitai family Maori land, where we shuffled into a big tented banquet hall. I made quick friends with Lorna, a girl from Glasgow and we split a bottle of wine. Our host was a very funny man who asked around how many country were represented that night. We had about 18, and he greeted each one with something in their native tongue! I was impressed! He then asked for a volunteer to be tribal leader and the group went silent. What the hell, I figured, and raised my hand. I was introduced to the group and they applauded, so I toasted them, and the leader said, "you might want to drink that wine; here's the bad news..." I downed my glass and he said I have to represent the group, accept a peace offering from the tribal leader and touch noses twice in a traditional ceremony. I shrugged and refilled my wine glass. "Sounds like fun," I said. Then he continued, "Next you will have to give a speech in front of all 150 people here from 18 nations, representing them and thanking the chief for his hospitality..." I emptied my new wine glass. Everyone laughed.

We walked outside to see the traditional ground-cooked meal of chickens, lamb, potatoes, and sweet potatoes. It looked sooooooo yummy, and the guide told us we had 1 hour to go! We walked down a pathway to a stream where the Maori warriors in traditional garb paddled a traditional canoe in while chanting traditional war chants. It was mesmerizing! We then filed into an amphitheater where we were taught about the culture, shown some songs and dances and learned about the history of the Maori people. But first... I had to do my ceremony! I stood at the side of the stage, watching the Maori and the audience. Then the chief came out and did a war dance where we never broke eye contact. He placed a leaf on the ground and I solemnly stepped out to receive it, never breaking eye contact still. I backed away and he acknowledged my acceptance of his peace offering. Then he drew me close and intensely pressed noses twice with me, inhaling deeply each time. He stepped back and I gave my speech, thanking me for inviting us all, our tribe of 18 nations, into their world and their culture, for showing us their customs, dress and tools, and for dinner that looks unbelievably delicious! He accepted my thankfulness and my work was done! It was scary though!

After the presentation we wolfed down the food that was every bit as good as it looked! We ate until we could barely walk, and then we stumbled at night back into the woods by the creek to learn about the local trees and how they were used, and we even saw some glow worms and some cold springs spewing silt at the bottom of the creek. It was cold and we headed back then to our shuttle to our hotel. Lorna and I had a peek at the local pubs, and opted instead for a final glass of wine in the hostel rec room where we found a ping pong table and played (badly). We said our goodnights and I repacked my bag a bit in prep for my 6a wake-up to catch a shuttle to Waitomo!

ALL THAT... WAS DAY ONE !!!!! I'm on Day 5 now I think. I better get writing again to tell you everything that's happened since!

Video - Zorbing: An Insider's Perspective!

2007-10-30T15:06:00.000-07:00

Check out this video: Zorbing - an insider’s perspective

I'm trying to write a full blog, but I take off to the Bay of Islands in 20 minutes, so time is short yet again!

Zorbing though... Holy god! It's like if you were a baby in the womb of a gymnast! Check the pics I put on Flickr (Photos tab above) and you can even see the Zorb give birth to me at the end!

New Zealand in a word: "Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Photo Update 1

2007-10-30T02:52:00.000-07:00

Out of time to blog, internet's been down at all the hostels. Life is beyond good. There are 55 new photos on flickr - click the photos tab to see them!

More soon! :)

Beginnings

2007-10-26T09:02:00.000-07:00

So, I've relaunched SixQ.Net. It's now a lean, clean, simple version designed for me to update quickly on the move. Because, see... I'm about to be on the major move! Tomorrow is my last day in the United States for the rest of the year! After that, I'm on the road, the trail, the skies, the trains, the busses, the boats...

This site is pretty fully equipped to document my travels. On it you'll find this blog, a map charting my trip, my travel calendar, my photos (via Flickr), and the contact tools you kids are into these days - MySpace, Facebook, email... Have a look around! And if anything's not working... let me know!

As of now, I'm completely unprepared for this trip! I'm still sorting out the last few flights, hotels, tours, etc. I'm still packing. I'm still backing up my computer and getting it set up for travel. I'm still shopping for those last minute accessories. But even though I've been planning this and talking about this trip (incessantly, I know) for ages, it's finally set in that I'm leaving!

Every activity from last week on is a finality. My last weekend in the US, my last visit to the Bay Area to see my family, my last Taco Tuesday (sniffle!) and Lipstick, my last work day (today)... And since these days, most of the people I see on a somewhat regular basis are the people I sorta run into here and there, each time I see someone, it may be the last. I know I've got that flair for the dramatic, and I'll be back, but it's just a lot of pre-nostalgia kicking in, and it's surreal! Plus, I really feel like this trip is a rejuvenation, a fresh start. And if it's a new beginning, then it must bring an end. I don't know what the change will be, but come the new year, back in the States... there will be a difference. Here's hoping it's for the better.

For now, I'll crawl out of bed, run through some chores, race in to work (late, I suppose), and try to say a few goodbyes this evening. *tear* I guess maybe there will be a few things and a fair few people I'll miss. I hope you guys keep an eye on this site and send me some notes when you can. As much as I whine about the US, I guess a little touch of home wouldn't hurt...

Cheers,
6Q

test1

2007-10-22T09:05:00.001-07:00

looks like external works...

Don't mind this post. Just testing a few things and getting this blog all set!