Egypt (Winter 2005-2006)

It’s hard to believe I’m back so soon. I don’t think I’ve ever done so much in so little time. Actually, my trip was almost over before it started. There was a big snowstorm in Japan right before I left which closed down all the highways in the area. Of course my original plan to take the overnight bus to Osaka was canceled along with my backup plan for the morning bus. On to plan C which involved a total of 3 trains throughout the day. The second one passed through the mountains and halfway through stopped ‘cause of the deep snow. We stopped for what seemed like forever and I was just waiting for the train to backup and end my trip for good. Thankfully it pushed through and that was the last of my travel worries.

I spent Christmas Eve and day in Singapore which, looking back, is completely overshadowed by Egypt. It was a warm day, and although there were lights and decorations, it sure didn’t feel like Christmas. Thankfully the city wasn’t closed down so I spent the day at the Botanical Gardens and exploring Chinatown and Little India. Everything just seemed a little too clean and organized. I was excited to be on my way.

My time in Egypt was a little overwhelming. There was so much I wanted to see and do and somehow I managed to squeeze most everything in which I’m really happy about. I was also lucky enough to meet another traveler early on, Jeremy from Australia, so we ended up traveling quite a bit together. It all started in Cairo. I’ve never seen a more unorganized, dusty, run down capital city. Arriving in the morning, I could hardly see the city through the haze and pollution. They say a day in Cairo is like smoking a pack of cigarettes and it sure felt like it. I think I’m still coughing up black gunk. I spent the first day getting a teacher’s id card (which saved 50% on all tickets) and exploring Coptic (Christian) Cairo. Lots of old churches, several of which claimed to have housed the Holy Family for a short while. Who knows if it’s true but it was cool to think about while looking around.

The second day was a trip to Giza and the pyramids. I initially got sidetracked by some donkey/camel guide who claimed the main gates were closed, but after that hassle I finally arrived. The pyramids were massive, making the Sphinx look almost miniature in comparison. My impression all along was that the pyramids are in the middle of the desert. Actually they’re just on the edge of the city. Look one way and it’s desert forever, look the other and you see Cairo suburbs. I spent the whole day walking around. It was possible to go into the pyramid of Chephren which was fun. It wasn’t easy though- definitely not for the claustrophobic, obese, or weak in the knees. Considering how cool it was outside, the inside was like a sauna. In the end it’s a big chamber with an empty sarcophagus. I explored some more. I had heard all kinds of scams regarding the camel rides so was determined not to bother (but still got hassled everywhere I went). In the end I got to talking with one guy who said he’d take me for 10 pounds (about $2). I said yeah right, but he seemed like a genuinely nice guy so in the end I went. We walked and ran around for about an hour or two and in the end it was good fun and no scam so I tipped him 100% (yeah, how generous huh?). One other cool thing was all the ruins surrounding the pyramids. They’re not fenced in or anything so I spent some time poking around pretending to be Indiana Jones.

That night I met Jeremy and the next day we hired a taxi to go out to more remote pyramids called Saqqara and Dahshur. These were also some of the oldest pyramids and we spent the day exploring and appreciating the total lack of tourists. We also had a chance to go into another pyramid (which smelled of bat urine). It was great relaxed day and we got dropped off in a market in Islamic Cairo and spent a few hours wandering around lost and heading back into the city.

From here we took an overnight train (12 hours) south to Aswan. It’s down near Sudan and there was definitely a more African feel to the city. We took a boat over to a couple islands in the Nile and on one called Elephantine Island there was a whole Nubian village we ended up exploring. The people were very friendly and one family invited us in for tea and a chat. They didn’t speak much English though so it was a pretty funny conversation. The next day we signed up for a southern tour which included the temple of Abu Simbel, the Aswan dam, and the island of Philae. I never thought I’d make it all the way to Abu Simbel but so glad I did. Everyone knows these giant statues from pictures. When the dam was built the whole temple was moved piece by piece to higher ground. It almost didn’t feel real. Huge statues and the detail inside the temple was amazing. One thing I didn’t realize with hieroglyphics was that they are everywhere. In all the temples and tombs I visited, the hieroglyphics covered practically everything. The Aswan dam was not so impressive, but the the Temple of Isis on Philae was pretty cool. That evening, we had also signed up to join a sailboat trip down the Nile for 2 days. I thought there was a good chance of being scammed (the captain seemed a bit shady) but it all worked out ok.

We spent the next 2 days sailing down the Nile in a traditional sailboat with 8 others. The boat was basically a platform with a big mattress and a giant sail above. At night they covered the sides and top with some canvas (it was much colder than I had expected). Thankfully the rest of the people were a nice bunch (Australian, Mexican, American, English, Japanese) and we celebrated New Years on the riverbank around a campfire. Although the food didn’t vary much, it was a nice mix of mostly veggies, pita bread and one night, camel meat (which tasted just like beef). In the end we arrived in the town of Kom Ombo and took a bus up to the temple at Edfu and then Luxor.

Decided to join a tour to the West bank the following day which worked out well. There’s a lot to see and the private bus made things much easier. Plus our guide Alladin was a character. We saw the Valley of the Kings, Hatshepsut’s temple, Valley of the Queens and the Colossi of Memnon. Both valleys were full of ancient tombs that had great carvings and painting along the walls. It was amazing to see the amount of color that was still there after 2,000+ years. Hatshepsut’s temple had been reconstructed so it looked out of place. The setting below the sheer mountainside was pretty impressive though. I made a mental note of the trail going up above everything. Arriving back in Luxor in the afternoon, there was still time to check out Karnak temple for a couple hours. It was swarming with people, but for good reason. The temple grounds were massive and very impressive. Lots of columns, statues, obelisk and you’d really need a good day to see everything. Heading back into the city, Luxor temple was all lit up and open for night visits. It was a nice change to see it at night actually.

Jeremy headed in another direction that night so I was back on my own time schedule the following day. I decided to rent a bike and go explore the West bank again, this time solo. First, I spent a couple hours at the temple of Medinet Habu which was still in great condition and it was nice to see things at my own pace. I even climbed around the ancient surrounding walls until I was yelled at by a guard. After that I went to the Tomb of the Nobles. The best part was the tomb of Ramose. Inside was a big chamber with lots of columns. The inner shrine was gated off but in one corner of the main room was a cave going down and not blocked off. I was all alone, had my flashlight, so headed down into the darkness. It kept going down and down until finally reaching a small room with more pillars. In the very back was another small chamber you could climb up into which I did and as I looked around I noticed to the left on the rubble was a skull and a mummified face attached. Really felt like an explorer for a second there. It was also pretty freaky ‘cause I could hear whispers from (the guard?) above. Well, I finally made my way back up covered in dirt only to find the guard waiting for me at the entrance. I though, oh great I’m in big trouble now. As I exit all he says with a grin on his face is “Good?”. Egypt’s a funny place. Finally, I headed back to the temple of Hatshepsut and was determined to hike the small mountain above. Great view from above of the temple below, other ruins, and the Nile and farm land in the distance.

Finally I headed back to Cairo. Spent the first day at the Museum which was completely packed full of statues, sarcophaguses, jewelry, and tour groups. Although the setup wasn’t my favorite it was a great display, especially all of King Tut’s stuff and also the Mummy Room which had about 12 mummies inside (including Rameses II, Seti I and Merneptah). My final day was spent exploring Islamic Cairo on foot. Lots of getting lost in markets and side streets and also checking out some of the famous mosques in the area. First, I headed to the mosque of Ibn Tulun which is over 1,000 years old. Huge open area inside and a unique winding staircase up the minaret which had great views of the city from above. Next, I finally made it to the Citadel which is like an old castle area built above the city. Inside is the very famous Mohammed Ali mosque (no, not the boxer) which was amazing from within. It was basically domes within domes, each one with different colors and patterns and highlighted from below by rings of lamps. I didn’t bother with the police or military museums in the Citadel and instead walked north to Khan El-Khalili market, passing through the old gates of Bab Zwayla. In the market I wandered around until finally heading back to the direction of central Cairo and my hotel.

I know it seems long-winded, but that’s really the short version of my trip. There was just too much to see and do, not enough time. Looking back, I’d have to say Egypt is a land of big contrasts. It seems like things are either being renovated or in complete disarray. It’s dirty and buildings are falling apart. At the same time they’re being repaired and there’s street cleaners everywhere, it just seems to be a battle being lost. I get the feeling it’s always been like this. The traffic is insane as well. There are no lanes, or if so they’re completely ignored. Crossing the road feels more like a mission or a game of Frogger. Even when there are pedestrian crossing lights, they flash green at all the wrong times. Forget about traffic lights. I don’t remember seeing any in the city, and for a reason…nobody would use them. The most you get is a traffic cop blowing a whistle for people to stop. It’s also strange to see horse drawn carts on the same major roads as cars. That and all the other animals lining the streets of even downtown Cairo- donkeys, cows, sheep, chicken, ducks and an endless supply of cats. Considering the environment, the Egyptian people are pretty remarkable. Of course there are many out to make a buck, especially from rich, clueless tourists. The hassle can be unbearable. It seemed like there was someone asking for money for any little thing (and most times for nothing). They weren’t begging, they just expected something for anything. You’d get people showing you some hieroglyphic, or inviting you to cross a barrier, or pointing in the right direction only to be asked for money (baksheesh). I never felt in danger though. Of course there are police everywhere, but the people weren’t threatening. I feel like everyone had a great sense of humor just waiting to come out. You could see this even in the eyes and smirks of little kids. I soon came to realize that along with all the hassle comes some genuine curiosity and kindness, which would come out when you least expected it. The contrast was striking.

Fiji (Summer 2005)

Hi. With only 2 weeks in paradise, it's hard to come back to reality so soon. I guess let me daydream a bit and I'll explain a little of what I saw. The trip there wasn't so fun (who knew Fiji was so far away?) 'cause it meant a 7 hour bus ride to the airport, 2 hours to Korea, 4 hours in the airport, and finally 9 hours to Fiji. Unfortunately the airport there is nowhere I wanted to be so I immediately hopped on another bus for a 4 hour bus ride to the capital Suva. Whew! The capital Suva was much smaller than I expected. It was very easy to walk around and I ended up first going to the movies (Fantasic Four) which was treat for me since there's no movie theatre in my city. Then I met some others in my dorm and went out for a drink and bite to eat at the local market… a nice mix of vegies, pork chop, cassava, egg, sausage and chili sauce thrown in a takeaway bag. An English couple (Craig and Hannah) I met that night were headed for the same place as me so we decided to travel together. Actually, this was an ongoing event and we ended up traveling together for the rest of my trip which worked out great.

After my first day in Fiji I learned one very important thing...Fijians are about the nicest people on the planet. Even in the capital you'd walk down the street and everyone had a smile on their face and greeted you with a friendly "Bula (hello)". There were times out on the street where people would just say Bula and offer a handshake. My immediate thought is that I'm going to be dragged into some shop to buy a Fijian war club or something equally useful but really it was just a friendly hello.

From Suva I took a long bus and ferry ride to the island of Ovalau. The old capital Levuka is there and it didn't look like much had changed in the last 100 years. The main street looks like something out of the Wild West. One memorable thing was getting off the bus and hearing a pig squealing. Didn't think much of it at the time but as we were stepping over bags to get our backpacks you could see one big potato sack with a snout sticking out of it. Poor pig had just endured the whole journey as a piece of luggage. In silent protest I tried to avoid pork for the next few days but then again at least I knew it would be fresh. I stayed in Levuka about 4 days and just took my time exploring. Checked out the local Catholic church (the child's choir was nice) and then went for a walk down the road parallel to the ocean. As we were standing there a truck drove by with people pointing out to the sea. At first we couldn't see anything but then there was this massive whale tail rising out and hitting the water. Craig, Hannah and I checked into a different hotel and since the dorms were being renovated they stuck us in our own private house for the same price. That was nice and it took about 30 seconds to get to the beach. We also ended up cooking our own meals since we had a kitchen to use. Every night everyone gathered in the restaurant/bar to drink kava which is this ground up root mixed with water. It looks and tastes like dirty water and (if you drink enough of it) makes your tongue numb. It just didn't feel like a night in Fiji without kava. In Levuka I also joined a trek into the islands center to visit an old village. Our guide was a great storyteller and told us all about the history and then led us on a hike, stopping every minute or so to point out all kinds of food and medicine (did you know the bark of the noni tree can cure breast cancer? Well, neither did I!?).

Next we took a wavy boat ride to this little island called Caqalai. This was my favorite place in Fiji. The island takes only 15 minutes to walk around and there's one hotel run by the Methodist church. Basically you pay one price and all meals are provided (they were announced by someone blowing a huge shell horn). All together there were about 30 people on the whole island (guests plus staff) so it really felt like your own little paradise. Not a lot to do but it's exactly what I wanted. There was a great beach and the entire island was surrounded by a coral reef so I went snorkeling twice a day everyday (saw a lionfish). There was also this little island nearby called Snake Island that you could walk to at low tide. It got its name for the sea snakes that live on the island. These snakes are black and white striped and one of the most poisonous on earth. Fortunately they're not aggressive at all and you could even see them in the water while you were snorkeling around. At sunset it was great just sitting on the beach and watching the giant fruit bats flying overhead. At night, there's usually some sort of event (dance contest, crazy hat competition, etc) followed by the locals singing and playing guitars around the kava bowl. A few nights we had a bonfire on the beach or just looked up to see the amazing night sky. I also did a scuba dive here which was good since it's been 3 years since the last one. We didn't see a lot but did dive along this huge coral wall which was nice. The best part was that the instructor was really easy going so let us go down to 28 meters (I'm officially only supposed to go down 18) which was cool.

One last thing we did was join the locals on another island for Sunday church service (aren’t you proud of me Mom:). Actually, we all got shuttled to this little village for service and lunch. The service was interesting (in Fijian) and then we all lined up afterwards and the whole village came to shake all our hands. While we waited for lunch we were allowed to walk around and explore and the kids were so friendly and excited to have their pictures taken. What was even better is that we could show them the photos on our digital cameras which was so fun for them. Lunch was a collection of all kinds of traditional food (fish, fruit, veggies, roots, lots of coconut milk) which was delicious. Finally, we walked through another village and had a lot of fun walking with the kids through the jungle, taking photos, and racing on the beach. Well, if I was smart I would have stayed on Caqalai for the entire trip but I figured I should see another island so left after the fifth day.

The next stop was the island of Nananu-I-Ra. It was a dramatic change. This place was obviously geared towards to the party tourist and the afternoons and evenings were nonstop, pounding dance music. I could understand if people were actually dancing or into that, but everyone seemed to be in relax mode. Luckily you could escape by taking a hike up over the hills to the other side of the island where there was a nice beach and good snorkeling. I stayed here a few days and went for one more scuba dive which was great. We went out to the open ocean where these pinnacles stuck up from the bottom and you could dive down and around them. There were even a few tunnels going through them which was really cool to dive through. Again, didn't see anything too amazing except for the massive amounts of colorful coral which was everywhere. On the last day I went kayaking around the back of the island to a secluded beach and did some last minute snorkeling before heading back.

My final destination was the city of Lautoka which is near the airport. I really liked the main street which was lined which huge palm trees and right next to that a small railroad. This area is a huge producer of sugarcane so during that season all of it is brought in down the mainstreet on these little trains. Another unique thing about the city was the Indian population here. Fiji is really about half native Fijian, half Indian (who were brought in 100 years ago as workers). In most places you could see this mix but in Lautoka it was predominantly Indian. Indian restaurants, shops, Bollywood films, etc. At times it really did feel like I was back in India. Did a little shopping here and made it to one more movie (Wedding Crashers) which was funny. The next day was a long reverse process of my journey here and it was good to be back in home in Japan. I remember before I went thinking "is 2 weeks going to be too much time in Fiji?". Well, it definitely wasn't enough. I only saw the smallest part of Fiji and there a lot more places to explore. Hannah and Craig are still there traveling around so I'm sure I'll hear all about the places I missed. For some reason I doubt it will compare to Caqalai though.

Vietnam/ Cambodia (Spring 2005)

I know that Vietnam and Cambodia may seem like an odd choice for Spring Break but it really couldn’t have been better. Nice tropical weather, cheap prices, and a chance to see these areas before mass tourism arrives. From the amount of construction and foreign faces I saw, it looks like I may have showed up just in time.

I had 10 days to travel and went with a friend of mine, Amanda, also an English teacher in the area. The original plan was to fly into Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and work our way up into Cambodia until we reached the Angkor Wat area. After that we wanted to backtrack our way into Vietnam and end the trip at the beach. Other than that nothing was really planned and we expected to play everything by ear. Luckily our original plan all worked out and I’m back to tell about it.

My first impression of Ho Chi Minh City was better than expected. It was much nicer, cleaner, quieter than I had thought. It also had a lot of character. The streets are completely full of scooters. I’d say that everyone and their grandmother owned one but the truth is you’d see a full family all crammed onto one so I’m not quite sure. Traffic is madness and even though there are occasionally traffic lights, I’m convinced they’re only for show. The best part was trying to cross the street. There’s no such thing as a crosswalk most times so basically you just cross with faith. The general rules are don’t run and don’t step back. If you just keep walking slowly I found that things would move around you. Towards the end of the trip I decided the best thing was to simply look straight ahead and walk. The drivers see that you’re not paying attention so get out of your way. Plus you don’t have to stress at the sight of a million motorbikes headed straight for you.

In Ho Chi Minh we explored the market and saw the main sights including the Notre Dame Cathedral, Reunification Palace (where the N Vietnamese officially took over), Jade Emperor Pagoda, and the War Remnants Museum (lots of gruesome war photos and propaganda). We also just walked until we got lost in the back streets (a trend as we would find out) and stumbled on a great BBQ restaurant in the middle of who knows where (we finally gave up and taxi’d home:) Another great thing about the city are all the streets lines with these huge tall trees that look like they’ve been there for ages.

From here we took an 8 hour bus ride up into Cambodia which wasn’t as bad as it sounds. The scenery on the way up was pretty amazing and I never realized how flat this country is. Reminds me a lot of Kansas back home, minus the crops. It was a lot drier than I had pictured too. Basically most of the landscape was dry and flat with random palm trees sticking out of nowhere. We ended up in the capital Phnom Penh and spent the afternoon zipping around on the back of motorbikes and the following morning at the “Killing Fields” and S-21 prison/museum. It was not a happy morning. The Killing Fields are where all the “political prisoners” were taken and killed and dumped in mass graves. Most of the graves have since been dug up and there’s a huge Buddhist stuppa full of the skulls that had been unearthed. It all seemed very unreal. The so called political prisoners were basically everyone from ages 1 to 100. The pits have been left as they were so as you wander you can see bits of clothes, bone sticking out of the earth. It’s all pretty sick. What’s worse is that we went to S-21 museum afterwards. This is the high school turned prison where all these people were kept before taken to the fields. The Khmer Rouge were so thorough that they photographed and catalogued everyone coming through so the museum is full of mug shots of all the victims. The Killing Fields seem a thousand times worse once you can put a face the skulls you have seen. They also have the old cells were people were kept and tortured. It was a relief to be leaving that afternoon for Siem Reap.

Siem Reap is the town closest to the ruins of Angkor. We bought a 3 day pass and headed out bright and early the next day. The place is indescribable really. The area is so huge that it’s impossible to see everything even if you stayed for weeks. We concentrated on the main temples and sights. The first day we started at Angkor Wat and climbed around the insides looking at engravings and climbing the towers. There are parts where every single thing is carved or engraved, even the corners of a wall. It’s pretty amazing. Afterwards we headed to Ta Prohm which was my favorite. The jungle had taken over parts and there were times you wondered if the wall was holding up the tree or if the tree was holding up the wall. The trees and vines would be growing on top of and all around a wall and some areas were left as they were found so it felt like it was you who had just rediscovered these structures (that is if you could filter the tour groups out of your mind). Actually we were lucky to be there around lunch time when most of the groups were away eating at lunch. I really did feel like an explorer at times. After this we checked out the Leper King and Elephant Terrace area (more carving, sculptures) and headed back to Angkor Wat for nice afternoon photos and finally uphill to Phnom Bakheng temple for sunset.

The next day we got up at 4:30 to make sure we didn’t miss sunrise. We ended up being the first ones to Angkor Wat and the view was amazing. Easily one of the best sunrises of my life. I’m hoping the photos can give you some idea. After that we headed to Angkor Thom and specifically the temple of Bayon. Here there were many towers with the same huge face carved in the side in all four directions. Below the towers were some small rooms and catacombs to get lost in. Surrounding all this was a wall completely covered with bas relief carvings. We also explored the nearby Royal Palace area and finally headed to Preah Kanh. This was another temple with huge long corridors you wander down wondering when they will end. Some areas have not been touched so again it feels like you’re the one discovering these lost ruins. Pretty amazing.

After all this we realized the trip was heading for an end so we wanted to spend the last few days at the beach. We spoiled ourselves and flew back to Ho Chi Minh City (1 hour vs. 14+ on the buses) and then caught the night bus to Nha Trang. It was festival time at Nha Trang to celebrate it being named one of the best beaches in the world. It’s basically 7km of beach and blue-green water. We went and explored the town (Pagoda, huge white Buddha) and joined a snorkeling trip the next day. Some of the best snorkeling I’ve done in awhile actually. We did two different dives. At the first one we saw a lot of great big fish and a few other unusual things. At the second spot the coral was amazing. So many colors and variety and more wherever we swam. The funniest thing was that we went with a scuba diving group and half the time we were diving right next to them. All that equipment seemed a bit unnecessary to me. The next day we explored more of the city including the central market and To Ponagar Cham towers (a few old towers/temples). After all this we caught the night bus back to Ho Chi Minh City for some last minute shopping. The past 3 nights have not been the most restful. I’ve either been on a night bus or plane and am looking forward to my own bed tonight. I should mention that the flight to Japan arrived at 6 in the morning. I spent the rest of the day in the old Japanese capital of Nara exploring Kasuga temple and the huge Buddha at Todai-ji. In the temple they have this small hole carved in one pillar that’s apparently the same circumference as one of the Buddha’s nostrils. Apparently if you can crawl through you will be enlightened (and slightly embarrassed). Well, needless to say I am enlightened.

Some more highlights of the trip were the daily fruit shakes (my search for the perfect mango smoothie), tons of different fruit (sapoche, soursop, mangosteen, jackfruit, dragonfruit, Kui, etc), bootlegs in Ho Chi Minh city (with the best cd selection I’ve seen), the monkeys at Ho Chi Minh zoo, the afternoon snack in Nha Trang (banana fritter, soursop shake, hot fudge sundae), Vietnamese coffee, the owner of Ly Ly guesthouse in Ho Chi Minh city (who gave up her place to us for nothing our last day), the Dead Fish restaurant in Siem Reap (with the live crocodiles you had to pass over to get to the bathroom), and the list goes on.

China (Summer 2004)

Imagine walking down a wide tree lined boulevard on your way to KFC or McDonald's when you see a bookstore and a Starbucks and decide to stop in for a quick coffee. This could happen anywhere eh?..including a day out in communist China it seems. Not quite what I expected, but surprisingly nice. The whole trip was a similar experience.

Went this time with only one friend, Nathan. We ended up flying in to and out of Shanghai. Of course there were other cities we wanted to see in the 3 weeks, so there was a lot of traveling involved. Our basic journey was Shanghai to Xian (middle China), north to Beijing, and then back down to Shanghai. The plan was to also stop at a lot of smaller cities along the way.

Shanghai was nice but we didn't stick around long since we knew we were coming back. Some of the highlights were an acrobatics show, going to the new aquarium, and walking the waterfront and getting lost in Frenchtown. We also stuffed our faces at local noodle shops and an all you can eat Brazilian BBQ restaurant. I couldn't believe the amount of capitalism in China. It seems everyone is out to make buck and no matter where we went we were flooded with people selling all kinds of things. Plus, the constant sight of McDonald's, Starbucks, and KFC was a bit frightening. China's not the drab, poor country I had pictured. There's something really appealing to the chaos and color everywhere. Plus the people were really friendly. I can't even count the times when strangers came out of nowhere to talk (in English). At first I thought the worst (scams, muggers, etc) but soon realized these people just want talk. They're very curious and eager to practice English. Quite a change from Japan. Then again, at times it was a bit too much. The stares we got were relentless. It was as if they had never seen a foreign face in their lives. Pretty weird.

Next stop was Suzhou which is famous for its gardens and canals. It's also bike friendly and has separate lanes (thank god 'cause the driving is insane to say the least- everyman for himself) so we rented bikes and spent the day riding around the city. Stopped at some gardens, bridges, pagodas and finally the Grand Canal which I believe is the biggest in the world. My favorite reoccuring theme was the circular doorways at a lot of the gardens and temples.

Next we headed for Zouzhong which is a smaller city near Suzhou. We actually arrived pretty late and were convinced by a local bike taxi to hire his services. His mistake 'cause with our bags and his lack of gears we thought he was going to pass out from the effort. We even had to get out and walk when we got to a hill. How embarassing. Never again will I be so humiliated. Luckily we found a nice lady that had rooms and then walked the city center at night. This was probably my favorite place. It's what I imagine Venice is like. There were canals everywhere with high, round bridges and small boats transporting people around. I guess it's a day-trip kind of place 'cause we were the only foreigners at night. Really amazing. Not so amazing the next day though when the buses arrive and the place is swamped with tourists.

From there we had a long overnight train ride to Xian. We stayed near the old city wall which was cool but the city itself was kind of drab. We spend most of the time in the city center near the Muslim quarter. Lots of character here and the old mosque was impressive. Nearby we wandered the streets and market and found lots of delicious food (kebabs, dried fruits, bread, sweets). The plaza is the main hangout and it was fun to just sit and watch the kites and people. We met several locals that came over to chat. There was also a live band every night playing some cheesy Chinese rock. Of course we really came to Xian to see the nearby terracotta warriors. The whole place was impressive. The main building is an indoor airplane hanger and the statues are amazing. We also wandered around the other excavations and watched the 360 degree movie which was interesting. I had heard that no pictures were allowed so was happy to find that this wasn't true. It was impossible to capture the whole size though. What's really amazing is that what was excavated was only a fraction of what's still underground. Pretty crazy.

Next we went to Luoyang. Not a great city but nearby is the Dragon Gate Grottos. I had no idea how impressive they would be. Basically there's this cliff next to a river. For about 1km there are hundreds of small caves cut out of the cliff. Inside are thousands and thousands of carved Buddhas. Some are an inch high, some are 50 feet high. And on the other side of the river are more caves and a nice temple.

From here we went to Shaolin. This is basically the world center of Kung Fu. There are many schools and the city is full of students from the age of 5 and up. We were staying at a hotel next to one of the schools so got to see (and hear) a lot of their training. We also visited the famous temple and went hiking one afternoon to the top of a local mountain. Pretty amazing views from the top. It was here that we also had our worst meal in China. We were starving and there aren’t really restaurants here. We saw some others eating at a local shop so decide to stop there. Knowing no Chinese we pointed to what they were eating and sat down. We should have realized something was bad when the people at the other table pointed to their food and made faces. But, we were starving. What ended up in front of us was a weird mix of homemade noodles?, vegies (rotten?), and something that looked like stomach lining. It looked and tasted like garbage. We figured we could wash it down with a cold beer. The beer was cold but green? Apparently it was made from cucumbers as proudly shown on the label. Disgusting.

Next we went to Kaifeng. We had read great things about this city in the guidebook. No high-rises allowed so we though it would be old style. It wasn't, but then again it was a nice change to big city China. We saw the sights and the market. The strangest thing was going to the park and pagoda, stepping out of the taxi, and looking up to see small girl walking a tightrope behind a bicycle. Why I don't know, but it sure made an interesting picture.

From here we had a terrible 8 hour train ride to Beijing. We got on the train only to find it completely packed with people. We ended up standing and sitting in a small area or the smoking room. We also learned that several years ago this journey was even worse...I can't imagine.

Beijing was nice. It seemed very clean and almost deserted compared with the chaos of all the other cities. We spent the first day at the Temple of Heaven and the night at the hostel watching Japan beat China in the Asian Cup finals. Apparently there were riots that night in Beijing as a result but we didn't hear or see a thing. The next day we visited the Great Wall at Simatai. Amazing. We had about 3 hours to spend at the wall and only saw the smallest fraction of it. You could just stand there and see it winding out into the distance. Spent the night watching the not-so-impressive Spiderman 2. Next day was a trip to the Forbidden City (did you know there is a Starbucks inside!?) and then Tiananmen Square. Wanted to check out the Mao mausoleum but it was closed. Next, we went to the Summer Palace which was really nice. It's basically a palace and some temples surrounding a giant man-made lake. There were boats everywhere and I considered joining the madness to play a little bumper cars...er, boats. On the last day we saw the Lama temple which has the biggest standing Buddha that you can imagine. You walk into the temple and look and just see these giant eyes staring down at you. It's all carved from single piece of sandalwood and is in the Guiness Book of records. Pretty crazy. Afterwards I went and explored the backstreets of Beijing which have been around for centuries. Lots of character.

Finally, we head back to Shanghai. Spend the last two days basically going crazy at the markets. There were touts everywhere wanting to sell you watches, dvd's, cd's, shoes, clothes, etc. We went a bit crazy and bought a ton of dvd's. At least I'll be able to catch up on all those movies I've missed:)

The flight home was a story too. When we took off it seemed like we were almost vertical. As we passed through the clouds, all this fog(?) starting pouring through the ceiling vents all down the plane. It looked like the clouds were literally pouring into the ceiling. Luckily it all evaporated quickly but who knows what that was all about? Strange end to a great trip.

Korea (Spring 2004)

Korea was a lot of fun. There ended up being 4 of us in all (Me, Nathan, Jeremy, and Maripat). We faced a choice of taking the closer night ferry (14 hours) or the faster day ferry (3 hours) from Fukuoka (a 6 hour drive away). Ended up leaving from Fukuoka early Thursday morning which was rough since we were all beat from the drive down and the lack of sleep Wed night. Once in Korea though we all regained our senses and immediately headed for Seoul (another 3 hours away by bullet train). As you can imagine, the first night was an early one and pretty uneventful except for the fact that we treated ourselves to a huge dinner at pizza hut!

The next day was spent exploring the central market and searching for bootlegs (no luck). The market was huge. Alley after alley of shops and buildings and under all this was a catacomb of more and more shops. The day was basically spent here and walking around the local neighborhoods. That night was "Club Day". On the last Friday of every month they have this event where you pay about $15 and they give you a wrist band that will get you into 20+ clubs for the night, each playing a different mix of music. We ended up at about 4 of them (that I remember) playing hip hop, reggae, and techno. One club was even handing out free packets of cigarettes for some reason???

The next day we drag ourselves up for an early morning tour of the DMZ (about an hour bus ride away). Unfortunately we couldn't take the US military tour but booked into another one that took us down into one of the North Korean "infiltration tunnels" and to an observatory where we could spy on North Korea with huge binoculars. Pretty interesting. That evening we checked into a nicer hotel and then went on the hunt for a Mexican food restaurant. So far we've had a mix of Western food (including the best corn dogs I've ever had) and Korean food. The Korean food has been good but not as good as the Japanese rave about. It's basically a mix of different wet vegies, grilled meats, and stews. Most of these are very spicy so it's a nice change from the unspicy Japanese food. There's some weird stuff here too. I saw reindeer antler in the grocery store (sliced thin like potato chips) and there's an endless supply of some sort of larvae at all the street stalls. We had to try it and it wasn't bad...kind of like a soggy bean or nut. Anyway, back to our quest. We were finally successful in finding the Mexican restaurant. It was down in a neighborhood called Itaewon which seems to be the hangout of all the foreigners and off duty US military. Not the scene we were looking for so we basically got our overpriced Mexican food (delicious by the way) and got out of there.

The final day in Seoul was spent checking out the annual Royal Shrine ritual. Unfortunately, not as exciting as it sounds. It was a rainy day and the ceremony lasted throughout the day so it was difficult to keep our patience with the rain, crowds, and slow motion rituals. After befriending a few locals and getting some pictures, we left to explore more of the city on foot.

The next day we took the bus to Geongju which is full of ancient Korean artifacts, scenery and culture. Throughout the town are these giant mounds with unexcavated tombs underneath. If you've ever seen Telletubbies then it will look familiar. Basically wherever you walk you run into a shrine, observatory, temple, ruin, etc. It's a pretty interesting place that would be fun to explore for a while. We spent the next morning at one of the famous temples called Bulguksa, and then headed to Seokguram Grotto where they have this giant Buddha in a cave. I know it doesn't sound too exciting but the grotto and statue really are amazing. Unfortunately no pictures allowed:(

Finally, we headed back to the port city of Busan to get some last minute Korean and Western food (Popeye's chicken) before heading home. I'd like to spend more time in Busan though. The city is built around the bay and there hills surrounding the city with colorful buildings terraced up the hills that remind me of Rio de Janeiro of all places. Definitely worth exploring in the future. But for now I'm back in Japan and ready to plan my next trip.

Malaysia (Spring 2004)

It's funny... I really just went to relax on the beach, but Malaysia turned out to be a really fun place to visit. I'd have to say the best part was the food. Malaysia's basically made up of Indians, Chinese and native Malaysians in what seems like pretty equal amounts, and food is a similar mix. Every night we had tons of different choices and it was all excellent. The best was this Indian restaurant we found in Kuala Lumpur where you eat with your hands off banana leaves. A bunch of rice piled with all kinds of different curries and then fresh fruit smoothies to drink. So good.

The people of Malaysia were super friendly. We were constantly being helped out with directions, advice, suggestions by the most random people. Outside of the markets, nobody was pushy or tried to rip you off, and it felt safe to walk around even in the middle of the night. I was also surprised at how developed the country is and even with the amount of people there, things were pretty clean everywhere we went. The only exception was the water off of Penang Island. Not the crystal clear water I had hoped for but I guess no place is perfect.

There were four of us on the trip. There's something wrong when it takes more time to get to the airport than your final destination, but that's exactly what happened. We had to fly out of Osaka which meant a six hour car ride just to get to the airport. The flight over was about the same amount of time. Arrived in Kuala Lumpur and the first night just walked around to get our bearings and check out the city. Ended up walking over to the Petronas Towers (which until recently were the tallest buildings in the world) which are lit up and look especially impressive at night. Spent the next day exploring the city and mainly checking out the markets of Chinatown and Little India.

Next day we all piled on a bus for the six hour ride to Penang. Stayed the first couple nights in the main city of Georgetown. The first day, Blair and I rented mountain bikes and decided to see if we could circle the island. It was good time, but after 10 hours and climbing up two mountains it got a little old. We started by going northwest past the fancy resorts and then went counter-clockwise around the island. Stopped at a deserted beach along the way and then as we went south realized that mountains weren't shown on the map. After riding uphill for an hour in the midday sun we finally arrived at a fresh fruit orchard/market and quickly finished off about three drinks each. At this point we realized that the sunscreen I had brought was pretty worthless and we were already red and only half way home. So for the rest of the ride back we had towels on our heads and shirts covering our arms and made quite an impression as we rode through the small fishing villages. The kids all thought it was great and came out to laugh and yell hello to us. We finally turned inland and tried to loop home only to realize we had another mountain to climb. What we didn't know at the time was that it was basically the highest mountain on the island. For probably half of the climb we literally had to get off and push our bikes up the hill because it was so steep. Met some locals at the top who were thoroughly impressed that we had found this "shortcut" to the other side. The ride down was great and we stopped at Kek Lok Si temple for a great view over the city.

The rest of the time on the island was at the nicer resort area called Batu Ferringi. Huge resort area but we ended up finding a nice little place literally 15 meters from the beach. Spent the next few days relaxing on the beach and also checked out a nearby national park that had a great beach along the trail and monkeys running around in the trees. There was also a pier to jump off of where I managed to slice my foot on some barnacles. Nothing serious but there was a second there when I was thinking I probably shouldn't be swimming around with a bloody foot.

Not a ton of nightlife on the island but one of the best things was the night market every evening. All along the main street people would set up little stalls selling all kinds of clothes, jewelry, food, electronics, etc. It ended up being more entertaining just going to the market for the night.

Finally, we came back the way we came and spent the last night in Kuala Lumpur. More exploring, more markets and the final night we went to this nice club to see a famous? DJ named Jon Carter (Ministry of Sound). Flight home was uneventful and then arriving back in Osaka we decided to go check out the cherry blossom festival at the Osaka Castle. Cherry trees everywhere and a huge park surrounding the castle which was really nice. The only bad thing was the rain all day and the cold (especially compared to Malaysia). All in all a really great trip.

India (Winter 2003-2004)

There were a total of 6 of us (Jason, Craig, Blair, Elena, Nathan, and me). The trip started in Taipei, Taiwan. Jason’s dad actually lives in Taipei so he was able to come to Taipei and show us around the city. The most memorable things were the 101 building (the tallest building in the world), the National Museum, Snake Alley, and the Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial. He was also nice enough to take us out to dinner everyday so we feasted before India (Peking duck and more). Taipei was also really warm (in the 70’s) so it was nice to walk around and be away from the cold Japan winter.

After being stuffed in Taipei, we had what should have been a 7 hour plane trip to Delhi, India. Unfortunately as we approached Delhi we were told there was too much fog and that the plane would be rerouted to Bombay (2 ½ hours away). Once we arrived in Bombay that’s where the fun began. It was Christmas eve so the airport was already understaffed. Suddenly all the Delhi flights are showing up in Bombay and they weren’t prepared. At first they had us wait in the plane for another couple of hours (hoping we could fly back to Delhi) but eventually let us into the airport to wait for another 3 hours. Customs wasn’t there so they ended up taking our passports and eventually sending us to a hotel. And what a hotel. Very fancy ($300 US a night) and we felt like kings. Unfortunately they only let us stay for a few hours sleep and they bused us back to the airport to wait some more and to eventually fly us back to Delhi. Not exactly how I planned on spending Christmas but thankfully things went much better after that.

We stayed in Delhi a day and spent all day walking around and seeing the old city (the Red Fort, the biggest mosque in India, the market, and a Sikh temple). The best part was the Sikh temple because we were lounging around out front when suddenly a guy in a turban invited us in. He was so friendly and helpful and gave us head coverings to wear while giving us the grand tour of the temple, the housing, the kitchen, etc. Everyone inside was so friendly and inviting and we shared some tea and the guide told us to come stay there the next time we were in town.

We caught a night bus out of Delhi to Johdpur which was not fun at all. What we didn’t know was that this was a private bus (which basically means it’s falling apart). We expected bunks or even reclining seats but no, the seats didn’t go back. Plus the bus was so overbooked that we had people sleeping at our feet half the time. What was supposed to be 10 hours ended up being 13 hours and it was the most uncomfortable bus ride ever (and the coldest since the window in my aisle wasn’t a window but a wooded board partly covering a gaping hole). Thankfully someone shared a sleeping bag so we all arrived in one piece.

Jodhpur was probably my favorite city. All the buildings in the main city are painted blue so you look over the city from the above fort or from a building balcony and all you see is blue. It’s really amazing. We spent a couple days here relaxing and exploring the city, the fort, and the markets. Instead of risking another night bus we choose to go to our next city Udaipur by Jeep Safari during the day. We got to see a lot of the country side and also stopped at a few amazing places along the way. The first, and by far my favorite place in India, was the Ranakpur Jain temple. The entire temple is made from carven marble and there’s detail everywhere. Inside is what seems to be a million pillars all carved and supporting more carvings in the ceiling and the walls. Plus there’s monkeys running around all over the place so what more could you ask for? After that we went to an old fort which has the second largest wall in the world (after China’s great wall).

Next we spent a few days in Udaipur which is built on the shores of a large lake. The old palace is right on the lake and besides touring there we also took a boat ride out to two small islands offshore. Actually this whole area was used for scenes from James Bond’s Octopussy. We also saw a few cultural things there (traditional dances and puppet show) and walked through the markets looking for souvenirs. I picked up a few things including some crazy shoes with pointed, curled toes and a small drum. I was sitting down by the lake showing off my drum to one of my friends when a local musician playing some sort of stringed instrument came and sat beside me and asked me to play with him. I faked it a little bit but it was a fun memory and I was lucky enough to get a picture. We all spent New Years here in Udaipur and had a huge buffet on a rooftop and then joined a party on the next rooftop to dance and watch the fireworks over the city and lake. None of us got too crazy but it was a fun time. Up until then I had no problems with my health but the next day and into the night my stomach didn’t feel so good so I had to purge both ways. Not a fun memory.

Next we took a night train to Pushkar which was a small little town surrounding a holy lake. Actually the whole city is holy and all meat, alcohol, and even eggs are banned. Somehow, even with this ban we found one of the best restaurants we would find in India and ended up eating every meal there ‘cause it was so good. One of the most unusual things we saw were 2 different 5 legged cows (with the extra leg sprouting out the back). Must be the water? Only spent a couple days there and took the night bus to Agra. This time we double checked and got a government approved tourist bus so had bunks to sleep in. The only problem was that my stomach didn’t feel so good so when we stopped in the middle of the night with no bathrooms in sight I had to run out into thick fog to do my business. Have no idea where I was so hopefully some poor soul didn’t find a nasty present in their front lawn in the morning!

Agra was full of fog and cold but it luckily cleared during the day and was nice by the time we went to visit the Taj Mahal. It really is an amazing building and doesn’t look real. I personally think it looks best from a distance. Once you get close it’s hard to appreciate it’s size and the inside doesn’t seem to special (it’s dark to protect the colors, and it’s smaller than it looks from the outside). After spending a few hours here we wandered over to the Agra Fort which was really nice and had great views on the Taj Mahal in the distance. Finally we made it back to Delhi and flew home. No delays, no problems, and we got to enjoy a nice warm day in Taipei again on the beach and stuffing ourselves at the buffet.

Overall, I can’t say it was the most relaxing vacation in the world but it was definitely a good time. Basically, India is crazy. There’s so many people and the traffic is out of control. There really are no rules that I could figure out. People drive wherever they want (no such things as lanes or traffic rules) and are constantly passing people on the side or even into oncoming traffic. That and there’s people and animals everywhere. You can see wildlife wherever you look. While walking down the street it’s not surprising to see pigs, cows, dogs, monkeys, camels, and elephants walking wherever they like. After a while it doesn’t even seem weird. The people are friendly but poor so are constantly asking you to buy things or give money. It’s also a very dirty country compared to what we’re used to. Garbage is thrown on the ground and you constantly have to be on the look out for giant cow paddies (which can show up anywhere as I learned when I stepped in huge one inside the train station while waiting in line). The food wasn’t bad but sometimes it was almost impossible to find non-veg restaurants. There’s a ton of fresh fruit and food stalls but we were all a little cautious ‘cause we didn’t want to get sick. Overall, we all did pretty well. A couple of us threw up once, a few days of diarrhea, but nothing too serious. I did manage to catch a cold the last day but hopefully that goes away soon. Anyway, I hope I didn’t bore you all too much but thought I’d share before I forgot things.