My Crazy First 24 Hours in Ukraine (Spring 2011)

It all started with a night train from Krakow, Poland to Lviv, Ukraine. Before this trip even started all I heard from locals was to be extremely careful in Ukraine. There were even stories of whole carriages being gassed so that travelers could be robbed in their sleep. And with the language barrier, my friend and I were unsure of the whole customs procedure…would it happen on the train or would we be getting off someplace in the middle of the night? We never did get too comfortable in our bunks and waited for what would come. The first stop was to leave Poland. The officials came on, scanned our passports, gave us a stamp and that was that. We thought we were home free until the next stop when we realized we now had to pass through the Ukraine customs. They too boarded the train, with one official taking our passports to be returned at a later time, and another official whose job was apparently to question our nationality and try to extort money from us. You could see his eyes widen in excitement when he heard the word “America”. Thankfully he didn’t speak a word of English besides “dollar”. I played dumb and eventually said that all I had was a credit card (and just to be safe I had previously stuffed all my cash down my underpants). Unimpressed, the official finally gave up and our passports were returned with a stamp, and we were on our way into Ukraine. Of course we were hoping the worst was over but it was really just the beginning.

We arrived to Lviv early in the morning and proceeded to walk from the train station and get completely turned around, seeing the lesser know parts of the city. Finally a taxi delivered us to our hotel in the city center. We were immediately greeted by a friendly receptionist (who I assume was on drugs due to her strange behavior) and equally friendly, drunk hotel owner. We couldn’t really be bothered finding a new hotel by this point, but because it was so early we weren’t allowed to check in. We were however allowed to enjoy the complimentary breakfast, which turned out to be eggs, toast and caviar! I’m can’t imagine every guest gets caviar for breakfast, but we lucked out by joining the owner for breakfast. The other addition to breakfast which we hadn’t planned for was the owner’s half empty bottle of honey vodka and the company of his interesting group of friends. How could we say no to a friendly welcome shot or three at 8 in the morning? We didn’t worry until a brand new bottle showed up and then we politely excused ourselves and ran to explore the city. We later found out that all guests receive a “welcome beer” upon arrival, something that we were able to enjoy later that night.

During the day we decided to continue our explorations and head up to the High Castle that looks down on the city. As we neared the path the top, my friend Brett turned to me with a look of sheer terror on his face, grasping at his money belt saying that he had lost his passport! I’m sure the look on my face was equally as impressive. His money belt was unzipped, wide open, with money half sticking out. Apparently he had forgotten to zip it up before heading out, and somewhere on our journey the passport and a bunch of Ukrainian money had spilled out without us (or anyone else?) noticing. We retraced our steps, but soon realized it was hopeless unless he had simply left it at the hotel. We raced back to the hotel, ran up the stairs, only to confirm our fears…Brett had lost his passport in the middle of nowhere Ukraine. The new receptionist was helpful, spoke perfect English, and luckily we had already bought our train tickets to Kiev early the following morning. All we could do now was try and enjoy the rest of the day.

The receptionist gave us directions to Keyivka, a popular bar with the locals. We showed up only to find a guy in military uniform and rifle guarding the front door. We soon realized it’s all for show and the theme of the bar is War. The doorman asked the people in front of us a series of questions, apparently a test to enter the bar. When it came to us he soon realized we’re foreigners, guessing we’re from Sweden, England and a series of other European countries. He was pleasantly surprised to hear we’re from the US. With minimal English he then proceeded to teach us a few Ukrainian phrases which serve as our entrance test. We are then instructed to take a shot of honey vodka and pass through a secret entrance behind a fake bookcase. A stairway lead downward to a series of rooms decked out as imitation bunkers, complete with war paraphernalia. We finally found a seat and were immediately befriended by a couple locals eager to practice their English. Everyone there was in a great mood, and when a local traditional band passed through the bar everyone joined in to sing along. We later learned there’s a shooting range in the back of the bar. Before leaving we joined the line and got a chance to shoot air rifles at targets of Lenin’s head.

We finally made it back to the hotel. It was so important to make that train the following morning so that Brett can get his new passport. The receptionist was nice enough to call a taxi to schedule a pickup time and also agreed to make sure we’re awake the following morning. As in turns out, there was no problem waking up early the next day. We quickly got ready for the day and Brett went down to reception to turn in the key while I finished packing up. The next thing I know, Brett is back up the stairs saying the doors are locked. Not just reception, but all the front doors of the hostel. I go down to confirm that basically we’re completely locked in, no receptionist in sight even though there’s a cup of hot coffee sitting on the desk. Our only move was to head down into the basement where the kitchen is, hoping to find someone who works there to let us out. The basement was a labyrinth of rooms, doors, Jacuzzi and random storage closets with nobody in sight. We’re trapped and started banging on doors, yelling out, checking anything with a handle. Not a sound. In the back of our minds we’re thinking the taxi’s out front, nobody’s turning up, he’s probably ready to take off. Frantically we search around and I open a closet full of junk, but notice what looks to be a long light fixture in the ceiling with light around the edges. I decided to reach up and try to tear it out, hoping we can then climb up through the hole. As it turns out, the fixture was really one of those trapdoors used in attics with a ladder attached. All I could see was light above and scrambled up into the hotel courtyard, yelling for Brett to join me. We cram the room key in a door, and run to the front door without taking time to even close the trapdoor behind us. Thankfully there’s a taxi waiting and the rest was a happy ending. The first 24 hours were over, we made it to Kiev, got a new passport and enjoyed the rest of the trip, even if it was a little less exciting. Now what’s all this crazy talk about being careful in Ukraine? It’s a great place as long as you pick your hotel wisely and remember to zip up.

Colombia (Summer 2009)

First impressions can be tricky. For some reason, every flight I could find into Bogotá arrived at 10pm. Not ideal when you’re unfamiliar with the city, transportation or don’t have a hotel reservation. Thankfully I have a friend in Colombia, and as I soon learned, Colombians are about the friendliest people on earth. My friend couldn’t meet me that night but assured me her friend from Bogotá would be waiting for me at the airport. Unfortunately she was leaving early the next morning so I found myself on a nightbus heading south to Neiva. After a long day of traveling I was asleep in no time. Unfortunately my next memory is a “bang” and waking up covered in glass. I soon remembered I was in Colombia and half expected to feel a burning feeling from where the guerrilla bullet entered my body. It turns out it was big rock or chunk of concrete that flew through the window in the middle of the night. The bus stopped but I don’t think anyone had any idea what happened. It was encouraging to see the police though…apparently this isn’t something that happens everyday. So yeah, this was my first impression. Super friendly people and random destruction. I didn’t know what to think.

Normally when I travel I’ve got a limited amount of time and a giant list of “must sees”. This time was a little different. I’m lucky to have a friend living in Colombia. No better way to see the “real” country than with a local. I also soon realized that family is everything in Colombia. In my friend’s city it seemed like everyone knew each other or was related in some distant way. You know how you behave differently around friends or family compared to the general public? There’s less privacy, less personal space, less hesitation or distrust, and it’s ok to be a little late for meetings. That’s kind of like what life is like there. Driving is completely chaotic but I think part of it is because everyone feels like they know the other person. It’s ok to race around and cut people off as long as they’re your friend right? Equally ok is to be (hours) late even if a specific time is agreed upon. Just imagine that on a huge scale. One thing I learned is not to have any plans or be in any kind of a hurry. Besides my headaches at the airport, the chaos became so overwhelming it was actually amusing.

I spent that first week basically living in Neiva. My friend’s family adopted me immediately and I even found myself joining them on a drive up into the countryside while my friend was busy at work that first day. Apparently the trend for city dweller is to buy a little land in the countryside and have a little house to escape to. That first day I visited my friend’s cousin’s house and it was a great little place up in the hills with horses, a garden, natural swimming holes, and a pool. Everyday I met new family members and friends, and everyone seemed genuinely happy to have me join the daily festivities. We visited the local hot springs, desert and even piled 10 people in a car to drive off to a local festival in a nearby town. I definitely felt off the tourist trail and would have been shocked to see a fellow traveler. I’m not sure what the locals thought of me but am pretty sure they were amused to see me thrown off the mechanical bull. The rest of the evening was spent watching amateur bullfighters, eating large portions of barbecued meat, drinking larger amounts of whiskey and watching the local beauty parade and pageant. My friend’s cousin also brought a couple horses so I found myself riding though the city streets later that night.

After a week in Neiva I was ready to see more of the country so my friend and I drove south to the town of San Agustin. It’s a little town stuck in a valley near several important rivers and surrounded on all sides by green hills. At some point in history a nearby volcano erupted, sending giant stones flying throughout the area. The locals (with time on their hands) ended up carving these stones into giant figures of people and animals, which can be seen in the local archaeological park or on random trips into the hills. We visited the park and then went to “El Estrecho” which is a narrowing of the huge Magdalena River. Unfortunately I came down with something so we headed back that night instead of sticking around for more fun the next day. Probably a wise move since I was burning up and in no mood to have any fun. I was sick for a couple days but didn’t let that stop me from heading back north to Bogotá (which was not very impressive due to the cold, overcast day and the traffic gridlock). I stayed with another of my friend’s cousins who was able to show me some of the more interesting parts of Bogotá that night and the next day. Highlights were Usaquen, Parque 93, the Gold Museum, old churches and the Botero Museum. I also couldn’t resist some of the local temptations like cheese in my hot chocolate and giant “fat bottomed” ants, which were about an inch long, fried and tasted like rotten, burnt mud.

Either Colombia is a huge country or it’s because of the rugged terrain, but travel can take forever. That’s why I flew up to the North coast, saving about 12 hours for that extra $10 I spent. I flew into Cartagena and this time stayed with the brother of my friend’s friend’s husband (I told you everyone knows each other) who again instantly made me a part of their family. Unfortunately I couldn’t stay long because I was determined to explore some of the North coast and headed east to a little fishing village called Taganga. Several unrelated people said it was a beautiful place but to be honest I was a little unimpressed. Definitely not the nicest beach in the world and with the whole main street under construction it felt like the town had been built overnight. Then again, I didn’t have any plans except to relax so it did the job. There was a nice hike to a bay and beach around the corner, and little things made it worthwhile like the amazing fruit smoothies (my favorite was lulo, a local fruit). After a few days relaxing I headed back to Cartagena and got a nice surprise when I found my friend there waiting for me.

We spent these final days in the Old Town of Cartagena, which is amazing. Tons of old buildings that have been fixed up and painted in every color along with random little parks, plazas and tons of energy. Nearby is the Castle of San Felipe, which is a huge, old Spanish fort that you can explore, including some of the old underground tunnels. We spent the first day walking around town and found a huge difference between day and night. In the daytime, the streets are full of locals and vendors. In the nighttime, many locals vanished and were replaced by tourists, horse-drawn carriages and local performers. On the last day we headed south of the city to Bocagrande beach for some relaxing, bodysurfing and lots of “no thank you’s”.

Thankfully that first impression of super friendly people and random destruction was only halfway accurate. I don’t think I’ve ever met friendlier, more genuine people on my travels. I’m sure some of this was because I was far from the tourist trail and living with my friend. I know a big part is the people as well. I saw many examples of complete strangers meeting people not because they wanted something but because of their natural, curious personalities. There’s definitely a closeness in Colombia that I don’t find in the US. That and the complete chaos that I mentioned earlier. It’s a funny place but somewhere I would love to visit again. Oh, and the coffee’s not bad either.

Morocco (Spring 2009)

Unlike my usual travels, this trip came with little to no planning. To be honest, it wasn’t even my idea (although I wish I could take credit for it). It was really just a nice excuse to meet up with an old friend, Amanda, and to accompany her on a mission to see Morocco and find some down time out in the desert. Although I did have guidebook (do libraries know you’re taking their books halfway around the world?), my main impression before arriving was of hot, old cities full of markets and tourists. Thankfully there were far fewer tourists than I expected, and those old cities and markets don’t seem to have changed for centuries.

We started our adventure in Fes, known for its medina, and old medieval walled in section of the city. Some locals claim there are 9,000 streets there, and after wandering around and getting lost almost immediately, I believe it. The great thing was that it was walled in so eventually you had to find some sort of border. Realistically though, we only saw the smallest fraction of the medina. The entire area is massive, and since we were probably just walking in circles anyway, it seemed to never end. Several times we passed by very low alleyways (more like tunnels), which I eventually realized were to prevent horses or donkeys from passing through. We soon learned that donkeys coming down these narrow alleyways were actually not that uncommon. There is also a new modern part of the city which we saw from a bus window and which seemed like a whole other world and time. The medina may have some sort of logical organization but good luck figuring it out. The main thing I found were areas that specialized in one sort of handcraft, like the leather tanneries or the brass works. Just by walking around you could hear and see the people busy at work inside their workshops/houses. As a foreigner, everyone was happy to show you their work, especially the final products. You wouldn’t believe how many people were dying to take you up to their roof and show you the tanneries below. Of course after witnessing an industry (and smell) that hasn’t changed for a thousand years, they guided you back through the building that just happened to be a co-op selling leather goods at “the very best prices.” The view from above was pretty cool and to counteract the smell they give you fresh mint to hold under your nose.

We soon found another use for the mint, which was the amazing tea served there. It was a simple combination of green tea, sugar, and half a cup full of fresh mint leaves. I can’t begin to describe how good it was. Realizing that alcohol was hard to come by here, the fresh mint tea made a very good substitute for unwinding and watching the world go by. Officially, street guides are not allowed in the medina but tell that to everyone and their brother. After wandering around the medina looking for a hotel while chasing off the boys who happily agreed to show us places, we finally gave up and followed them to a house. For about the same that we would have paid for a hotel room, we got to stay in a family’s house, which was basically five levels stacked on each other with this little narrow staircase in the middle. Our room was impressive, and looked like it was out of The Arabian Nights or something. Now if only a mosquito net was part of the décor!

Anyway, we were on a mission so signed up for a camel trek out near Merzouga, a town on the edge of the Sahara. The whole thing was arranged through some guy the family apparently knew but looking back that seems like a stretch. Basically everyone claimed to have family in Merzouga. It was a long overnight bus ride, but after arriving we realized we had the hotel to ourselves, and the whole day to sleep in since it was too hot to travel. We left later that afternoon and traveling through the desert by camel felt surreal. The only downside was sitting on an actual camel. You don’t think about it until you’re actually on one and realize it’s not the most comfortable ride in the world (there is a hump there after all). Thankfully we only had to travel a couple hours before we reached an oasis of trees, nomad tents, and other travelers. Our accommodations were simple but perfect and consisted of a traditional Berber tent (which basically meant it was a bunch of old blankets tied around a pole) and a hotpot full of veggies and chicken. To stop our camels from wandering away in the night, our guide simply tied one of their front legs in half at the joint. We wandered out into the desert that night to check out the stars while the locals pounded away at their drums, whose sound seemed to travel on forever.

The next day we were determined to climb the huge sand dune next to the oasis but it was one of those moments that felt like we were almost there when in reality we weren’t even close. I’ve heard the key to walking in the desert is walk along the ridges. In truth, there is no easy way to walk in the desert. You also have to think about what makes a dune…sand and wind. Definitely not a good a combination if you wear contact lenses. Didn’t make it to the top but definitely got high enough to look all around and even see Algeria off in the distance. Took the camels to a nomad village, population 8, to wait out the day heat. Turns out there were only 2 people in the village that day so we spent most of our time napping in a little mud shack while fighting off the flies, which nearly drove us insane. Headed back to the hotel and spent the next day traveling back over the Atlas Mountains towards Fes. It was nice to see all the scenery that we missed on the original night trip, and we ended up stopping in the mountain village of Azrou for the night. It seemed like a little European town with a great atmosphere. We also found ourselves shocked to see some women walking around with no headdress on. Had a nice day looking around town before heading back to Fes and a crazy day of medina wandering and souvenir shopping.

Morocco turned out to be a big surprise even though I had done little research. Like many places, the people here came in extremes. On one end you had those who thought of nothing but money and made sure you knew it. At the other extreme you had the vast majority who were the most generous people you’ve ever met and would go out of their way to show you places or help you out. We even had one man offer us money on the bus thinking we didn’t have any! The other big surprise was the scarcity of English in Morocco. In most other countries I’ve found there’s a local language, and then the basic English used for the foreigners. Apparently Morocco is an exception. When dealing with foreigners, French is the language of choice. My French is terrible at best, but thankfully the people understood my pathetic attempts along with my made up sign language. If I had known, I would have brought a French phrasebook along with my guidebook. Oh well, I’m sure the library was happy to get their book back in one piece and maybe next time I’ll actually do a little research beforehand.

Panama (Summer 2008)

Staring out the window as we landed, I couldn’t believe the amount of highrises clustered together along the water’s edge. For a second I thought we had made a mistake and had double-backed toward Miami or something. I had no idea Panama City was so built up. In the back of a taxi, speeding toward the city, I was even more surprised to see how tall and skinny the buildings were and just how many were being built. I never did find out why there were so many, but I’d like to think they’re building up in order to protect more of the natural environment that’s spread around. I guess I’m an optimist.

I had a total of three weeks in Panama, traveling with my friend Ian for the first week and solo for the remaining two. Little was planned beforehand so it was all made up as we went along. Spent the first day in Panama City, catching a taxi out to the Miraflores locks of the Panama Canal. The canal was impressively long and narrow and we were lucky enough to see a huge ship from Japan passing through. I guess some of the ships only have a foot or so clearance on each side and it’s interesting to see how the whole thing works. Afterwards we headed to the ruins of old Panama City and walked through the crumbling structures, checking out the very modest Puente del Rey which is supposedly the oldest standing bridge in the Western hemisphere. Narrowly missed a huge rainstorm, but as we headed west out of the city it seemed to follow us. After a long bus ride we arrived in the second biggest city, David. Not a lot going on, but a nice central park and good people watching. Then headed north to the popular islands of Bocas del Toro. The main town wasn’t much except a departure point for boats headed out to the different islands and a place for a drink at night. The weather wasn’t on our side, but we did enjoy a nice day at the beach even when a stray coconut tried to end Ian’s trip prematurely. Headed back to David and enjoyed our last two nights, meeting all kinds of random Panamanians at the local discos. Ian headed home and I prepared for the next two weeks on my own.

I headed to the mountain town of Boquete and was immediately off on a wild goose chase to find the local hot springs with my new friend Boaz from Israel and a Canadian couple. We finally managed to find it but I soon realized something important about Panama – nothing was easy when it came to transportation. I found myself constantly switching transportation, and on one day I think it involved something like 4 buses, 1 minivan, 1 taxi and 1 water taxi. Made some more friends including the hotel owner’s friend Pelenchin (boxing champ of the world) and Yuhei from Japan. Yuhei and I went hiking the next day and my brain was mush after speaking a mix of Spanish/English/Japanese all day. The next day was an even longer hike when Boaz and I took a 3 hour bus ride to the town of Cerro Punta and attempted to hike the 8+ kilometers back through the jungle to Boquete. Were joined by 2 girls from Austria and it turned out to be a very long, wet day in the jungle but a good one. After that I was determined to find the sun and headed to the south coast and the island of Boca Brava. Only one hotel/restaurant but thankfully it was a good one. I had met an American couple who didn’t seem to mind me being a third wheel and the three of us, along with most of the other hotel guests, signed up for a boat trip the next day. Spent the day snorkeling on the reef and enjoying a tiny white sand beach and were even lucky enough to spot whales on the way back. The American couple and I then spent the following day on sea kayaks, exploring the little islands full of caves, coves and our own private beach.
Headed to the town of El Valle de Anton the next day, which is a little mountain town right in the bottom of a huge extinct volcano crater. Had met another couple, this time from England and Holland, and we spent the evening in some local dive bar trying to decipher drunken Spanish and laughing until we cried when one guy insisted that I translate to my friends “in case you’re wondering, I have no helicopter”. It still brings a smile to my face. The next day we went hiking to the not-so-impressive “El Macho” waterfall and the underrated “Painted Rock” which was actually huge giant boulder with ancient engravings carved into it. The best part however was a nearby waterfall with a small swimming pool below. The rain was back in the afternoon and I headed back to Panama City, determined to get a flight to the northern islands of San Blas. Throughout the trip I kept hearing about how amazing these islands were. Unfortunately my plan backfired because all flights were booked until the day before I left and because of the thunderstorms created by the hurricane over Cuba. So I was stuck with about four days left and several different options. Hoping to avoid the rain up north, I headed south and took the ferry to the island of Taboga. It was a great colorful little town with a nice beach but I soon realized it’s primarily for daytrippers. There were one or two expensive hotels and that was it. Determined not to blow all my money at the end, I asked around and found a private house with simple rooms and I was set. I enjoyed my final few days lounging on the beach and snorkeling around the attached little island but the town was dead. Thankfully I befriended a couple of Columbians and enjoyed a day of only Spanish before spending my final afternoon wandering around Casco Viejo, the old run down part of Panama City. Actually felt like I imagine Cuba does, with latin sounds blaring out of colorful old buildings and balconies hanging overhead.

Had a great time in Panama and will definitely be back again to see more. Would love to go surfing in Santa Catalina, snorkeling around Isla Coiba, explore Portobelo, cruise around San Blas and experience tribal life in the Darien. My three weeks just flew by. I found the people of Panama to be friendly and extremely honest. There were multiple times throughout the trip when complete strangers were happy to share a beer and a laugh. I’m also used to haggling over prices and was shocked to be given the “tourist price” maybe once or twice the entire trip. I mentioned how transport can be a pain but that being said, there was almost always something showing up to give you a ride. It just took a little more effort. The food was great and there is something very fulfilling with a plate of rice and beans, salad and a portion of meat. Chicken seemed to be very popular but I found myself eating lots of fish as well. One thing I was surprised at though was the lack of street vendors selling food. I missed them and had to be content with sausages and other skewered mystery meat. A welcome surprise however was the constant stream of music, especially the 80’s dancehall reggae that was forever blasting from the speakers. No complaints there. Actually, no complaints all around and I’m already looking forward to a new adventure.

Guatemala/ Honduras (Winter 2006)

I picked up this book “Best American Travel Writing” at a Honduran book exchange and I’m really starting to regret it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great book, but it’s full of all these amazing, inspirational stories that make my own travels seem almost boring in comparison. Then again, what made some of these stories so amazing was the trouble the writer got into along the way. While my own travels weren’t life changing or anything, I’m also happy to say they were pretty trouble free. After all, Guatemala and Honduras don’t have the greatest reputation for safety. Guatemala’s civil war ended only about 10 years ago and there are still guns everywhere. I couldn’t tell you how many soldiers I saw on patrol with machine guns and in front on any store of value you had a guy with a shotgun. In a lot of convenience stores you couldn’t actually enter the place. They had steel bars across the whole front and you had to just peak in and order what you wanted. To be fair the people were friendly and I didn’t see any problems but with signs like this you know they are there. You also couldn’t avoid hearing stories of pickpockets, robberies or even simpler problems like unsafe water and food. Considering the places and went and the things I ate and drank, it’s ironic that the only trouble I had was from eating Wendy’s in the Houston airport on the way down. As for pickpockets, I wasn’t too worried ‘cause for one I used my money belt religiously and second, I didn’t really have much of value anyway. Not like this French Canadian couple I met who were distracted for just an instant only to find that their small equipment/money bag had disappeared. They figure there was about $3000 worth of equipment and money inside. What!?…who travels with this much anyway? Another favorite story was a guy on the local bus who had this old lady sitting next him that kept fidgeting and moving around on the journey. Sometime after she got off this guy noticed a huge gash in his jeans pocket where the lady had patiently razored into his pocket and stolen his wallet. Of course these were random, infrequent occurrences, but they got me thinking and helped me save what little I brought.

So my trip started in Guatemala. I spent the first week out west in Xela (Quetzaltenango). This little town is famous for its language schools and since it’s been 13 years since I took high school Spanish, I felt like a little refresher was probably a good idea. Basically, for about $140 a week you get a private lesson 5 hours a day, Monday through Friday, and a room at a local family’s house with 3 meals a day. On top of that my school had daily activities which were a great chance to meet the other students from around the world. Some of these activities were salsa lessons, a visit to the local hot springs, and an all day trek up a volcano. We’ll just go ahead and pretend like the salsa lessons never happened. As for the hot springs, we caught a bus up into the mountains, through the clouds to this natural pool that was fed by a waterfall and half surrounded by jungle going straight up the mountain (really amazing but sorry, I didn’t bring my camera). For the volcano trek we started early. This volcano towers over the town so it was far from being an easy climb. Near the top it felt like we were practically climbing straight up but the view from the top was definitely worth it. You could see the town below, and both the Pacific Ocean and Mexico off in the distance.

From Xela I headed east and first stopped at Lake Atitlan. This is a huge lake (actually in the caldron of an old collapsed volcano) surrounded by volcanoes and small towns along the shore. I spent most of my time in San Pedro which was the big party place. The most memorable thing though was getting electrocuted twice, one while leaning against a broken wall socket in a Mexican restaurant, the other while in the hotel shower (yeah, I know). The hot water (if you’re “lucky” enough to have hot water) at these hotels comes from this little electric heater showerhead attachment. I had noticed the (metal) shower faucet was half taped up but didn’t realize why until later when my arm started going numb. Apparently you’re supposed to only touch the faucet on the taped part since the other part is conducting electricity (duh, what was I thinking?) It was in San Pedro that I met up with Eric and Dennyse, fellow students from Xela, and we did a couple side trips to Santiago (where the locals worship a wooden saint who smokes and drinks alcohol) and a 3 hour hike to San Marcos. It wasn’t until we arrived in San Marcos that a local guy said we were really lucky. Apparently there are “banditos” that hide along the road and jump out with machetes. Hmmmm…obviously my huge muscles scared them away. Actually, I wouldn’t have minded staying in San Marcos. It was very chilled out and had some nice big boulders to jump off of into the lake below. Just stay off the road I guess.

Next up was Antigua. Actually, I had heard bad things about the place due to the massive amount of tourists and travelers that had apparently taken over the city. Maybe I was expecting the worse, but I can’t say I saw a ton of foreigners. In fact the streets seemed completely dead at night and it wasn’t until the second night that Eric and I discovered everyone was crammed into the Mono Loco bar. Antigua was ok but I really only stuck around long enough to explore the city for a day (which to me was just about enough time). There were a lot of cool, old churches and a few in complete ruin which were fun to climb around. The old cathedral’s roof had completely collapsed in, but you could still walk around inside and even go down into the old catacombs below.

From Antigua I headed further east and visited a couple more towns before crossing into Honduras. In Quirigua I was practically the only foreigner there and the look of the local’s faces when I got off the bus in the middle of nowhere was pretty funny. Quirigua is famous for these huge Mayan monoliths covered with carvings of former kings and ancient hieroglyphics, the tallest being about 20 feet high. I luckily got there late and had the place practically to myself. From there I went to the pilgrimage town of Esquipulas, famous for its huge towering church and “Black Christ” inside. Pilgrams come from all over Central America to see this Christ figure carved out of black mahogany. What impressed me almost as much as the figure though was my “hotel” room which was basically an old storage room next to a kitchen that honestly had to be worse than a prison cell. My own fault really and I kept telling myself “it’s only for a night”.

Crossing into Honduras was painless and Honduras was a huge step up in comfort. What it lacked though was the traditional way of life that I found in Guatemala. Most of the Guatemala I saw was pretty rural and it was amazing to see the people (especially women) dressed in colorful hand woven materials. On one trip from Xela I had the chance to visit a family who still weaves using ancient techniques and wool dyed from natural sources like plants, stone and insects. There were even places like San Pedro where the common language wasn’t Spanish but rather some old Mayan dialect. I missed these things in Honduras, but definitely appreciated the (relative) cleanliness. I started out in Copan, home to this ancient city in the jungle. It’s famous mostly for its carvings (like Quirigua) but also the pyramids and large scale ruins of the city. Being surrounded by jungle also meant that there were animals around like scarlet macaws and few strange rodents hiding out in the forest.

From Copan I headed north and the plan was to spend the final 2 weeks on the north shore beaches and Utila island. While I definitely found some nice beaches at Tela and Trujillo, I unfortunately also found a lot of cloudy, rainy days. In Tela I biked it out to Lancetilla Botanical Park but was forced to ride the hotel’s only bike…a brand spanking new women’s hot pink mountain bike. I guess the would-be muggers were too busy laughing to rob me? In Trujillo my bus to the local Garifuna village was briefly delayed when a guy wearing a bird mask and spear jumped out in front of the bus. The next day I decided to hike up the big mountain behind town. While I didn’t start out to climb to the top, my ambition got the better of me and I kept telling myself just a little more. I found some sort of jungle cat tooth and near the top I had to run the gauntlet, avoiding a huge scorpion and snake along the path. I finally arrived at the radio tower on top and then nearly stepped on a bright red coral snake hanging out. Is someone trying to tell me something? All I know is that the view of the seashore and bay below was definitely worth it.

I was hoping Utila had more sunshine but the clouds seemed to follow me there. On the plus side though I made some new friends and met up again with Dennyse from the beginning of my journey. She was taking a Divemaster course and since there wasn’t much to do without the sunshine, I decided to join her underwater, getting my Advanced certification. Actually, that worked out well ‘cause the dive shop gave me free accommodation and the course was basically 5 different dives including a wreck and night dive which were both really cool. The night dive was also under the full moon and felt for a minute like a whole different world. The only downside to the diving was the boat trips to all the dive sights. Between dives we had to wait at the surface (on the boat) and I just couldn’t help but feed the fishes (I hope they like partially digested chicken burritos). Anyway, the rain was too much, enough to flood my room in fact, so I headed south for the final week.

I divided my time between the small mountain towns of San Juan and Gracias, made a few more friends, and managed to work in one more all day trek before heading to Tegucigalpa and a flight home. Before going I was starting to wonder if I could really fill up 6 weeks, but in the end it turned out to be not nearly enough time. There’s so much I didn’t see in both Guatemala (Pacaya, Semuc Champey, Flores, Rio Dulce, Livingston) and Honduras (Roatan, Mosquita) and I’m just going to have to go back someday. Thankfully it’s just a short trip away. Maybe next time I’ll even have an amazing, inspirational story to share?

Philippines (Spring 2006)

Ok, I admit it. With all that talk about coups a month before I left, I was starting to think that maybe the Philippines wasn’t the smartest place in the world for Spring Break 2006. That and the following excerpt from the US Consulate website which reads: “The terrorist threat to American citizens in the Philippines remains high and the Department warns against all but essential travel to the Philippines.” But come on…how bad can it be? It sounds a little dramatic if you ask me (plus my ticket was non-refundable). So, I took the plunge, decided my relaxation was in fact essential, and you know what... I almost died my second day there. Ok maybe not “died”, but definitely seriously wounded. It turns out that the Philippines can be a dangerous place after all. Especially if you’re walking down that little main path on Alona Beach and hear a small snap high above your head. Just a word of advice, if this ever happens…don’t look up! In my case it was an evil little coconut falling to earth and crashing down just inches in front of me. Death by coconut…not really the way I want to go out but I guess it wasn’t my day. Thankfully that was the worst of my problems. The rest of my days were full of sunshine, beaches, jungle and all those random things that make trips worth it.

Actually, it was a little like two trips in one. It turns out two other English teachers from my area (Karin from Germany, Lena from Ireland) decided to go at the same time so we all traveled together for the first week before they headed back (actually, it sounds like one of those bad jokes “An American, Irish and German walk into a bar and…”). Well, traveling with two girls was a little funny at times, but overall it went pretty well. We started out in Cebu (near the middle of the Philippines) and our first destination was the neighboring island of Bohol. Somehow we missed the standard tourist ferry over (nice seats, hour and half) and ended up on the local ferry (and not even the aircon tourist part). Besides the 4+ hours though, it wasn’t so bad. We all had our own open air bunk bed and met a local guy who agreed to drive us to the beach area once we arrived. We showed up at dusk and wandered around looking for a place. Having little luck we ended up at a little hut that seemed to already be home to a giant spider. I also found out it was next to a construction site when at 7am the next morning I was awoken by what sounded like a wood saw just inches from ear. In actuality it was a wood saw a few feet from my ear, on the other side of the woven straw wall. Not surprisingly, the first order of the day was to find a new place and the first one we tried was perfect. It was a nice little beach resort with not one but two pools and budget rooms in the back (less than 100 yards from the beach). We were very happy and stayed here the rest of the week. As you can imagine, it was a pretty relaxed. Lots of beach time, swimming in the sea, walks and a few day trips thrown in for good measure.

Our first trip was a boat ride to this small nearby island called Balicasag. They’ve created a marine sanctuary around it so the snorkeling was great. There was a huge wall drop off and lots of coral and fish along with a couple eels. Back at Alona beach there was also some ok snorkeling with the best part being the endless variety of starfish. Lots of oranges, red, brown and even those bright blue ones I saw in Fiji. I also decided I better take advantage of the place and go for scuba dive. I actually lucked out and found this upstart company that was going to a more remote place (Puntod) with only a few people on the dive. We made a day out of it with a morning dive (nice colorful wall with scorpionfish, a huge pufferfish, triggerfish and several nudibranchs), lunch at this little remote island, and then an afternoon snorkel. Back on the “mainland” I was witness to an interesting daily ritual among the young local guys. Every afternoon as the sun started going down I found a big group of guys all huddled together off at one end of the beach. The first time I didn’t think much of it, but decided to see what the fuss was all about when I noticed the same guys the next day. They were all gathered around something, so poking my head over the first thing I noticed was that everyone had a small box (matchbox or custom made wooden one) and a wad of money. The next thing I noticed was the spiders (which for some strange reason I don’t really like). Apparently all these boxes are home to the owner’s prize fighting spiders. Spider boxing…coming to an arena near you. First, two guys place their spiders on opposite ends of this little high wire. The spiders then race to the middle, meet each other and have a little spider fight, with one quickly falling off. Of course really it’s just an excuse for guys to show off their spiders, bad mouth others guys’ spiders, and occasionally win and lose some money.

Our other day trip was a full day into the interior of Bohol island. The three of us hired a driver and headed out in the morning. The first stop was a short distance away at Hinagdanan cave. Not expecting much, it turned out to be pretty cool. Basically a huge cavern with stalagmites coming down, a pool at the bottom and sparrows flying above. It looked like something out of a Batman movie. Next we headed to a tarsier sanctuary up in the forest. Tarsiers are these little primates who can turn their heads 180 degrees and have these huge eyes for seeing in the dark (but I’m sure you knew that already?:). At the sanctuary I expected to find them far far away up in the trees, but actually they were all hanging out at eye level right near the main paths. I think I saw about six of them which didn’t do much but pose for the camera. After this we went for a little ride down the river to the upper waterfalls (nothing too spectacular) and down to the river mouth, all the while taking in the sunshine and checking out the palm tree- lined riverbank. We stopped at a riverside restaurant for a huge buffet lunch and then were off to see the famous Chocolate Hills, so named because they turn brown in the dry season which I guess reminds some strange people of chocolate? The view from the top was really nice but a little touristy so we asked the driver to stop at another one. Walking to the base we were met by a group of local children and adults who accompanied us up. Not as easy as it sounds really. The reason there are no trees on the hills is because the soil is basically loose sand. Not the easiest thing to climb but thankfully there were locals and long grass to hold onto. Everyone was really friendly and it was great just hanging out and checking out the view. The day was starting to end so we headed back and stopped at the Hanging Bridge (a long suspension bridge made mostly of bamboo) and the Clarin Ancestral House (an old politician house turned museum). The last stop was the oldest church in the Philippines in Baclayon but we got there too late. Instead of being open we found that it was hosting the local high school’s “Teacher and Parent Appreciation Ceremony” which we watched, much to the surprise and delight of the locals. I also learned one very important thing from this day…the Philippines does not disappoint. It seemed like everything I saw was better than expected. Thankfully, this was to be a reoccurring theme for the rest of the trip.

The first week ended back in Cebu and we spent the afternoon exploring the city- Cebu Cathedral, Basilica, Magellan’s cross and the old fort by the sea. We also had a chance to walk around downtown and even catch a movie before calling it a night. After saying our goodbyes the next day, I headed north for the second part of my trip. It was a long, cramped bus ride to the north of Cebu island to this little town called Maya where I caught a ferry to the small neighboring island called Malapascua. This was to be my home for the rest of my time here. Malapascua is most famous for it’s diving, especially to see the thresher shark who’s tail is about half it’s body length. It’s probably the only place in the world to reliably see these sharks. Unfortunately, I soon found out that it was not for the basic beginner like myself. Basically the sharks all congregate early morning on this little plateau but at a depth of 25 meters or so (I can officially go to 18). Plus, I heard that the chances of seeing one were 50/50… if you were lucky. If you didn’t, apparently there was nothing else to see. I’ve decided I’m just going to have to come back once I’ve got my advanced license. Not that I really need a good reason to come back. The island was really nice. White sand beaches, beautiful water and nice walks into the interior and around the little villages. The ocean was so calm it reminded me of a giant swimming pool off into the horizon. Most of my time was spent snorkeling off the beaches or hiking into the interior. Little things I remember were the palm tree speed-bumps, basketball hoops under a palm tree forest (basketball is hugely popular here), getting stuck with some kids in a rare rainstorm, eating the best meals at Ging Ging’s, drinks at Sunsplash (can’t forget the lovely Leslie) and dancing with the locals at the neighborhood disco (Rio Bravo). The only downside had to be the endless supply of roosters everywhere (apparently cockfighting is big on Sunday). I thought roosters were only supposed to cockadoodledoo at dawn? Well, I guess the ones here play by different rules ‘cause they were at it all day (and of course 5 in the morning). The funny thing is I swear it sounded like they were saying “Nice to meeeet you!”. Well, at least they’re friendly roosters.

My time in Malapascua was really too short but I had to get back. Just another long bus ride to Cebu (with a guy and his rooster next me) and I was back in the big city. I stayed right in the middle of downtown so got to fully appreciate the traffic, noise, pollution and more importantly bootlegs! Had a great time that evening buying all kinds of movies that I’ve missed since being in Japan. All in all the Philippines continued to be a pleasant surprise. The people were friendly and almost all spoke pretty good English. The food was a lot of chicken and fish, BBQ’s and curries and even the local fast food at Jollibee’s was good. I can’t forget about the daily mango shakes. the white sand beaches and the colorful sea. Although the reef wasn’t the best in the world, I was consistently surprised by the unique stuff I saw. Lots of crazy starfish and nudibranchs, some interesting fish, sea snakes, giant green brittlestars, cuttlefish and even a turtle my last day in Malapascua. The scenery was pretty amazing too and you wouldn’t believe the amount of palm trees. I’ve never seen so many. No matter where you went…along the beach, into the jungle, down main street, there were palm trees. I love the tropics. Forget about all those crazy travel warnings for a second. If anything they’re doing travelers a favor by keeping a lot of tourists away. I think as long as you’re a little careful and use common sense (this is true anywhere), the Philippines is a great place to go. I would definitely recommend it and I’ll be back sometime soon I hope. Just don’t forget about the coconuts…they can be a real headache at times.

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.