I give you discow!!! Vietnam Part I

"I give you discow!"

"Huh? I don't want a cow" I thought to myself.

I could never tell if I ever got a good bargain. I would haggle and nickel-and-dime the shopkeepers in Vietnam for even just a few cents when you convert it to US dollars. I would think I was getting a great price when they seem flabbergasted that I would even suggest a lower price than they had originally offered or came at after giving me a “discow”. I stared at their faces get frustrated and agree to a price. Then, as soon as I hand them my money, they would have the biggest smile, speak in Vietnamese to the shopkeeper next to them, and give a slight nod to me as if saying “look at this fool who just paid way too much”. Defeated is how I always felt after shopping in Vietnam. Luckily, I didn’t shop without reinforcements during the first week.

I went to Saigon from Cambodia a week early to hang out with family. My cousin Jay happened to be in Saigon with his fiancée visiting her family and I wanted to hangout. We also happen to have other relatives in Saigon (Hi Tita Julie and Tito Dane!) so I figured it would be a good time to head there a week before and hangout before Joe Sun joins in on all the fun.

It was perhaps one of the better decisions I have made on this trip. Not that I’ve been making too many mistakes, but it was a really good time. As soon as I arrived, we went out for dinner near the Ben Thanh market. The following day I found myself playing tennis with my uncle against a Korean who danced the Gangnam Style on court and then getting a local tour of the city afterwards on the back of his motorbike.

Riding on a motorcycle through Saigon is perhaps one of the most fun and terrifying things I have done on this trip. It only comes second to that time I slid down a steep incline into a swim hole in a cave in the Philippines. Weaving in and out of traffic, and traffic brushing up against you while riding down is all part of the deal. The only thing we could have added would be to ride on the sidewalk like the other crazy people in Saigon. Not even the sidewalk, when it was there, was safe against getting hit. It was fun exploring Saigon with family and of course there were loads of catching up. I finally felt like I could relate to my cousin when he had his own journey abroad a few years ago. It’s one of those things that most people won’t understand until they do it themselves … whatever their journey may be.

Buses, rickshaws and motorcycles share the road in Saigon.

An F-16 fighter jet at the War Remnants museum in Saigon

After five days in Saigon, I decided to head off to Mui Ne, a beach town not far from Saigon set with a fishing village and surrounded by sand dunes. And I have a soft spot for sand dunes so off I went! I thought I paid for a seater bus but when I turned up at the bus stop, it was a sleeper bus. I was curious to ride one of them things so I didn’t mind … until I got on that is! That shit is tiny and could barely fit a non-asian person. Yes, I am Asian, I know but I couldn’t even put my feet straight up, much less extend my legs. Lucky for me, this was a one-time experience and I was planning to catch seated buses or sleeper trains from here on out. Five hours crouched on the bus, sitting in front of the love child of Gandalf the Grey and Santa Claus and next to a vomiting local and I found myself in Mui Ne.

Mui Ne beach was overly developed for my taste and distinctly … Russian. I know Vietnam and Russia shared a passion for communism but I didn’t get the memo that Russians had taken over Vietnamese beach towns. You know they cater to tourists when even the store signs are in a foreign language. I even danced to some Russian tunes at DJ station, the only bumping club in town at the time as it was low season.

I wasn’t too upset that it wasn’t the full moon party I went to in Thailand years ago. I got a great deal on a private room for $10 a night with AC and hot water and it was pretty easy to get to the beach. I also had a lot of things to take care of and plan so I took it as a break. I did go one day to the sand dunes with an Australian guy I had met in town. We hired motorbikes and just rode around, eventually finding the famed dunes. A little bargain fail with some local kids and we overpaid to rent some plastic boards to go sand sledding on the red dunes. We didn’t stay there too long and ventured out to ride and search for the white dunes.

Sledding in the red sand dunes

Like other Asians, the Vietnamese also have a warped sense of distance. Apparently a 10 minute walk is ‘too far’ yet a sand dune that’s 23km away magically translates to only 5km away in their head. In either case, they would use a motorbike, of course. On the ride out, with no map, we took some detours and found a little beach oasis before following a 4x4 jeep to the white dunes. They were impressive and looked seductively good but the sky looked like it was about to drop so we headed back to town with so much just a glance of the white dunes.

Pit stop at Mui Ne fishing village after the dunes.

I headed back to Saigon where Part II will pick up; A week with JoeSun.  

Ah, today we're goin on a trup down the river!

Where else in the world can you sit in a pub and watch the world championship of sheep shearing!? Sure, it wasn’t my first choice of programming. But by the time I was done chowing down on my New Zealand lamb burger complete with beetroot relish, I can honestly say I was thoroughly entertained by the sight of these poor sheep being shaved of all of their wool.

New Zealand is my next stop on this journey where I get to spend 28 full days! That’s more time spent here than in any other country I have ever visited before.  I’ll be splitting my New Zealand blog entry into two parts, North Island and South Island.

My visit to New Zealand begins in the North Island, in the city of Auckland. I’ve heard many an opinion about this bustling city in the land of the Kiwis. Most Americans I’ve spoken to said they hated it, it lacked substance … yaddi yadda … and some even said, there’s simply nothing to do. But, alas, I know someone who lives in Auckland … no surprise there.

Let me preface this by saying, James and Cheryl are by far one of the best hosts I’ve ever had. I’ve never felt so spoiled and so comfortable at anybody’s house than when I stayed with them. Cheryl is a cousin of my first cousin, Jay, whom I met in New York when she was over for Jay’s graduation from university. In Filipino terms, we are family, despite not being actually related. Fast forward two years, and there I was meeting up with Cheryl and James in the Sky tower lobby in the heart of the CBD. It felt a bit like the amazing race – catching public transport to the city, getting a text to meet in the Sky tower, and making my way on foot from the pier with my two packs in tow.

After a short drive from the CBD, we arrived at home base in Mount Albert, one of the fifty or so dormant volcanoes around the city. I got settled in and we headed on out to Devenport for dinner on the north shore of Auckland. Before getting to dinner, we stopped by Mt. Victoria, another crater, and took in the sweeping view of the city skyline all lit up against the sunset. It felt a bit like Boston actually - the hills, the water, and the ships - I definitely felt at home. Onto dinner …

Cheryl and James picked Manuka, a restaurant in the Devenport, just across the harbor from Auckland CBD, reachable usually by ferry. As soon as I saw lamb on the menu, I knew what I wanted. I didn’t plan much before coming to NZ, but if there was one thing I knew, it was that they have good meat. We talked about my plans for NZ and they gave me ideas of what to do in Auckland.

 One of the highlights of the trip so far, is definitely the island of Waiheke. Set in the gulf next to Auckland, Waiheke is easily accessible by ferry. Beaches, hills, and vineyards, what more could you ask for? I spent a full day on this island, taking in the views, the sea breeze and the rolling hills dotted with a number of boutique wineries. After I hopped off the 2 hour island explorer, I made my way via bus to the middle of the island where I went vineyard hopping … on foot. I thought it was funny really. There I was rubbing shoulders against the jet set, sniffing their way through expensive tasting pours of wine and careful not to spill anything on their white pressed shirts as I sniffed and swirled away with my day pack and heading off on foot.

Stoneyard Ridge Vineyard - view from the deck

 I found quite a gem at Stoneyard Ridge vineyard. Little did I know that it was one of the best vineyards on the island. I got my two tasters of wine, both red, a malbec and a cab sauv/merlot blend. I took my glasses and I sat on this deck overlooking their vines. It was one of those moments where I was reminded just how lucky I am.

After returning from Waiheke, I met up with a buddy of one of my college friends from Boston. Ian had been traveling the world for about 9 months now and just happened to be also in New Zealand. We met up for a beer and I invited him to a BBQ back at Cheryl’s.

Cheryl and James hosted this amazing bbq and invited a few friends to come over. Khristina, Kay Anne, Joey, Meg, and Bakla are all good people. The BBQ was a lot of fun and was meat-heavy to say the least. I think I can speak for both Ian and myself when I say how happy I was to be eating a feast. As a backpacker on a budget, you never really know when you’re going to give in again and have some meat. The bbq was capped with a traditional Kiwi dessert, the Pavlova, a light merengue sort of cake topped with whipped cream, cherries (and sometimes berries) and shaved chocolate.

The following day, I met some of the same people again when we headed off to Eden Park to catch some Rugby! James did an excellent  job with the seats and got us four rows back from the pitch. The game between the Auckland Blues and Wellington hurricanes was phenomenal. The match was close with the last try being  scored by the Wellington captain, Conrad, with 10 seconds left to the clock. The 2 point conversion kick at the end took the Hurricanes past the Blues by one point, 26-25! The Hurricanes fans went wild, much to the chagrin of the crowd. Birdie, a friend of James’, and myself were the only two rooting for the ‘canes in our group.

My visit to Auckland ended with an awesome Yum Cha lunch with the rest of the Auckland family. And I must say, despite all the detractors, Auckland is “O for Awesome”.

From Auckland, I headed off to Rotorua, land of geothermal vents. Some call it Rotovegas, I call it Stink-o-rua (Thanks Cheryl!). As soon as you wake up, the smell of rotten eggs overtakes you. It doesn’t matter if you’re sleeping indoors

After a bed mix-up in the middle of the night with a traveler from New Caledonia, I woke up to a full day in Rotorua. Let me save you the trouble of looking that country up – it’s a pacific island between NZ and Australia and it’s language is French, not hand gestures and  a series of “tsks” and “tsups”, despite my first experience with the latter. Right … back to my first day in Rotorua. I explored around and found some geothermal vents in the center of town. They were cool but I had booked a tour of the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal wonderland. They were not lying about the wonderland bit.

Devil's Bath, Wai-O-Tapu

Rotovegas

Boiling mud, mineral pools in every shade, and steam vents from everywhere, they were not lying about it when they named the place. I had two hours to explore and I ran to complete all 3 tracks and see all the features. It was hot, I was sweating, and I couldn't get my camera settings fast enough but it was fun. I was also trying to work out an appetite for what's to come for dinner. My favorite was definitely the Champagne pool and Devil's bath. 

After working up an appetite running around geothermal features, I went to a feast at a Maori village - a hangi. It was a good opportunity to learn more about the native Maori culture and also get some good feed. The hangi started off with a little cultural experience; witnessing the hongi - the traditional Maori greeting - or sharing of one breathe, learning the haka, seeing a pa or a pre-European Maori village and the best part, eating a lot of damn food! 

It's like a luau really, food is cooked in the ground over hot volcanic stones for hours and you devour it. Roasted lamb, chicken, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots ... fish, mussels, beet root. It was fantastic. I hadn't eaten so much in a long time. I was savoring it then as I knew my diet and eating habits would shortly change for budget reasons.

At dinner, I joined Mike and Mo, a couple from Vancouver. They were apprehensive at first when I sat down, quickly asking if I was American. I guess the Boston t-shirt was a dead give-away. After finding out they were from Vancouver, I assured them that I am not really a hockey fan. With that sorted, we had a great time over dinner. Mike and Mo have been doing the working and travel gig for quite some time and they gave me hope that yes, the lifestyle that I want, is possible and people do it.

Rafting over a waterfall

The next day I did a whitewater rafting trip. I've gone rafting before but I was really excited for this one. We got to raft down a 7m waterfall, the highest commercially rafted waterfall. There were 2 waterfalls on that ride, a 1m practice then the big kahuna. It was pretty awesome and made me feel that the trip was really starting. 

After Rotorua, I headed off to Wellington. The bus ride was a long 8 hours but it felt quite short. It was really scenic with the landscape switching from thermal vents steaming in the sunrise, to the central plateau farmlands down to Lake Taupo and views of volcanoes. 

Wellington was pretty nice but I wasn't really feeling too good about being in a city. I went to Te Papa museum and saw the giant squid that was caught off Antarctica a few years ago that was heavily publicizd on TV as it's the only giant squid to ever be caught alive. It's now preserved and is the centerpiece at Te Papa museum. 

It's a giant sea monster, measuring in at nearly 4 feet long, equipped with a beak and rotating hooks on it's tentacles. It's eyeballs are the size soccer balls. Scientists still don't know why the creature decided not to let go of it's prey when the tuna started getting pulled up. 

Wellington Harbour

I also went to a soccer semifinal match between the Wellington Phoenix and Sydney FC. And I must admit, I am disappointed by the lame chants of the crowd. I had that awkward moment when the ref made a bad call ... terrible call really ... and I started chanting "bullshit". And all I got were blank stares before the crowd turned their heads forward and chanted "you don't know what you're doing". And I thought, really?! That's the best you could do?!?!

Aside from those two, I pretty much took it easy in Wellington and took in the great views of the city. I went for a run each day; down the coast and up Mt. Victoria. I enjoyed North Island, I was really starting to look forward to South Island. 

           

Sydney: "No worries, mate!"

Ah, the land down under. Land of koalas and kangaroos, of crocodiles and sharks ... and a shitload of other things that can kill you. A former coworker once declared never to visit for his safety. Now, I write this blog entry with a very swollen left hand from an unknown bite. Clearly, it wasn't poisonous as it's been over 24 hours and I'm still breathing.

Australia, unknown to many, is the world's largest island, the only island to also be a continent, and the sixth largest country. Now these seem amazing but I was shocked to find out that it's only 50th in terms of population ... roughly ~23 million people. After meeting at least one Aussie in every city I have visited in the last five years, one would think that Australia would have more people.

I landed in Sydney in a little over 10 hours from when I left Hawaii. Not bad considering the girl next to me on the flight out to Hawaii was genuinely concerned that it must take "at least 30 hours or something like that all the way from Hawaii to AUSTRALIA!!!" I assured her that Galileo had already proven that the world was, in fact, not flat and that it's possible to fly over the Pacific and end up on the other "side"...

I spent four days in Sydney and I had the chance to explore the city, go to the beaches, go up to the Blue Mountains and even went to a wildlife reserve. I couch surfed in Petersham, about a 10 minute train ride into the CBD. This was was my first couch surfing experience and it was a great experience. My host was so welcoming and was a good resource for all things Sydney.

My first day started off per his suggestion, a walking tour of the CBD. It was a pretty extensive 3-hour tour giving a good overview of Australian history, culture and architecture partnered up with little quirks of why there's a statue of a talking dog next to Queen Victoria and how the snout and penis of the bronze boar outside the hospital are rubbed for good luck.

After the tour, I decided to take advantage of the warm, sunny weather and hopped on a ferry to one of Sydney's famous beaches, Manly. The ferry ride out also doubled up as a harbor tour, passing by both the Harbor bridge and famed Sydney Opera House. It was a pretty quick ride to Manly but it was enough time for me to strike up a conversation with the girl next to me. When we got off the ferry, she walked with me to the beach and invited me to a food fest and live music for later on that night. I went on a little walk on the beach before meeting up with her a bit later.

Manly beach is awesome and is perhaps my favorite of the Sydney beaches. Pine tree lined, the beach is quite long and even has a cliff walk to Shelly beach where I hiked up the headlands and got treated to sweeping views of the north beaches. I also got treated to a whole boatload of critters. All along my walk, these water dragons kept creeping up and were waving at me, literally. A trip to the aquarium the next day clued me in that this was their way of communicating with each other - bowing and waving their arms. Spiders were everywhere, and I mean huge ones, massive black and yellow hairy spiders. They were probably poisonous and my face nearly found out just how venomous they were ... a few times. As if that weren't enough, there was a massive echidna (porcupine) blocking the trail on my walk down. But he was harmless.

stuffed toy looked so real

The second day was less exciting. The weather was terrible and I decided to do more indoor activities, i.e. drink. It was also St. Paddy's day. I hung out with my couch surfing host and his friends. We later moved on to Newtown where I finally got to meet up with my friend, Marian, who had just moved from Cape Town to Sydney. In all, we were at the bar for about 9 hours but it was a lot of fun.

Third day was back to the beach. This time to perhaps the most famous of the Sydney beaches, Bondi! There were a lot of surfers out in the water and it was a good example of just how beach crazed Aussies are - it was cold, about 65F and windy - and people were still on the beach. After enduring the sandblasting on the beach, I went on a 4km cliffwalk from Bondi to Coogee, passing several beaches and bays along the way. This was a really cool walk and I highly suggest it to anyone visiting Bondi. Buses are available from Coogee back to the city so no need to do a return climb. I rewarded myself with some fish and chips before heading back to Petersham and cooking dinner for me and my host.

By day 4, I felt as if I've had enough of the city and decided to head out of Sydney. I went to  Featherdale Wildlife Reserve in Blacktown, about a 40 minute train ride from the city, where I got to see the world's deadliest bird that looks more like a dinosaur (a cassowary), chase some emus, feed kangaroos and pet a koala! The kangaroos were awesomely friendly while the koalas were unsurprisingly asleep and indifferent.

After a fun morning at the wildlife park, I hopped on the train again heading one more hour out west to the Blue Mountains National Park. The best description I could give of this amazing park is a lush version of the Grand Canyon. And it's most iconic site, the Three Sisters was breathtaking. There's a whole lore associated with the Three Sisters structure and it's definitely worth the quick 5 minute read. But I'll let you google that for yourselves! I decided to head down from the viewing platform and hike down to one of the three sisters. The walk down was easy but the climb up killed me. I wanted to go further and do one of the popular bushwalks along the Prince Harry cliff walk but landslides the day prior had the trails shut. On top of that, it started raining and fog rolled in. I thought it be best I survive Leg 5 of the trip without needing to be rescued from a cliff ... good call I reckon.

I ended day four with a quick trip back to the harbor and having a little photo love affair with the opera house. After scratching my itch for some photos, I headed to the Opera Bar and listened to a live performance as I took in the Sydney harbor one last time. I will return, Sydney. I will return!

A leap of faith on leap day

Mahului Bay

It's been two weeks since I left Boston on Feb 29th. That was intentional. I wanted to pick a date that I would remember well when I did finally take the plunge into the unknown world of FUNemployment. And so far ... it's been great!

In two weeks, I've completed the first four legs of the trip. I went to Las Vegas to spend some time with the fam. Hopped over to San Diego to hang out with some friends and catch a free flight. I flew to Honolulu to attend the wedding of one of my oldest friends. And I went to Big Island to see some of the wonderful volcanic landscapes Hawaii has to offer.

Vegas was, surprisingly, relaxing and was a very functional pit stop. Having been to Vegas seven times in the last 14 months, this visit was strictly family time. It also gave me a chance to do some last minute strategizing on what to stuff in my pack. It didn't seem like I packed too much but it still weighed 20 kilos.

San Diego was a blast. I visited two friends, Diron and Sam. Diron picked me up at the airport with Blu, the sweetest blue nose pit I ever did meet. And if you know me at all, you know I went crazy for Blu! She kindly repaid my attention by staring at me in my sleep and attacking me with kisses.

Diron lives in Ocean Beach and the neighborhood is quite eclectic - very laid back vibe and such a beach town which I enjoyed very much. Given my forthcoming inability to pay for steaks, we barbecued some steak tip kebabs paired up with some asparagus. We hung out with his neighbors and hit up the main drag of OB for some pints and ended up grabbing my first of many California burritos.

The next day I got dropped off at the Wavehouse in Mission Beach to meet up with my friend Sam. Wavehouse has this sick wavepool you can surf. Sam had given it a go earlier in the day and was sticking around to watch some pretty intense people ride the wave, do some jumps, and even somersaults.

Seeing Sam was great since I hadn't seen her since she moved for grad school. Her spot is in Birdrock, a pretty nice neighborhoood next to La Jolla, about a block from the beach. The coffee shop down the street from her place was pretty damn good as well and the Kiwi barista even asked me if I was Kiwi - made my day! All in all, La Jolla is pretty great. Loads of fish taco spots and other mexican eats, their bars come equipped with shuffle boards ( I dominated Sam and Alan), and the weather is pretty damn good!


After three relaxing days in SD, I flew to Honolulu to attend Scott and Joanna's wedding. Kyle and Chris had also both come down from Boston to hang in Hawaii for a week. Chris hooked us up with some pretty sick hotel rooms on both Waikiki and Big Island, including a top floor ocean view room at Sheraton Waikiki.

It seemed like I did nothing in Oahu but eat. A breakfast buffet started off my first full day in Hawaii, followed by a 10-course chinese dinner, a trip to the North Shore and chowing on a Pineapple burger, and driving down the coast to grab some Korean BBQ dinner. The third day was equally gluttonous with a loco moco breakfast and the grand daddy of all buffets - the reception buffet at the Halekulani for Scott and Joanna's wedding complete with, not one, but two roasted pigs! I don't know how I kept all that food down on the dance floor, but luckily I did. I'm pretty sure I packed on a few given all that food. I'm convincing myself that it will all come off with the great famine of traveling later ...

LOCO MOCO

Despite all that food, we did manage to see some sites and experience a bit of Oahu. We drove to North Shore and saw pipeline, chilled out on Pupunha beach on the north shore, and drove down the coast seeing landscape akin to what you see in the Jurassic Park movies. I got charged at by a bull as I snapped some photos but quickly sought cover in the car. He was also behind a fence but I didn't want to be horned.

After all the wedding festivities, I flew to the Big Island. Kona was fascinating from the get go. I mean the airport is built on lava flow. How cool is that?! We immediately drove our car to the nearest beach, which just happened to be at the end of this lava field - Mahauila Bay. It was weird to see the end of the lava flow meet the ocean and the preserved part of this bay that wasn't ravaged by the lava flow. That night, we checked into our hotel, also built on lava flow and boasts a shoreline favored by giant manta rays! We saw a couple swimming around.

Last day in Kona

Day 2 on the Big Island involved a trek out to the Green Sand beach, one of only two in the world (The other one is in the Galapagos). We drove an hour south of our hotel and took a rocky dirt road to get as close as possible before hiking for about 40 minutes to get to this secluded beach. It was pretty epic to see a green sand beach. The current was rough and the wind was even tougher. At one point, I got caught under the wash and it lifted my legs up in the air as my head stayed underwater. We drove to Volcanoes national park after and saw the crater of Mt. Kilauea -  Humaumau. We saw the crater at dusk and the ash cloud billowing from it was glowing!

Day 3 involved a helicopter tour of the lava flow. It was my first time in a helicopter and it was pretty cool. We saw the last remains of a once lush Hawaii and just the devastation from lava flow. Some lava flow still appeared fresh, like silvery mercury flowing ever so slowly on the ground. We were in for a treat as our pilot spotted two vents that had been created into the lava flow and we could see the bright red lava still flowing underneath the "cooled" top. We also flew over inland and saw some pretty amazing waterfalls. All that aerial excitement was then followed up by a trip to Hapuna beach. It was crowded but a nice beach nonetheless.

Big Island was by far the best. It was fascinating to know that the island is aged anywhere from 900 million years old to 1 day old (where lava changes the landscape, adding "new earth" daily). Also, how many other islands boast white, black and green sand beaches?! It also didn't help that it was home to Kona Brewing Company, our favorite brewery during our entire stay in Hawaii. I really do wish we could have stayed

But now, off to AUSTRALIA!

"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone"

Reading that quote two weeks before I quit my job and entering the world of FUNemployment put everything in perspective. It summed up my inspiration and motivation for the actions I was about to take. Indeed, I've gotten way too comfortable and was dissatisfied with maintaining status quo, losing that drive and enthusiasm that I so openly display when it comes to traveling.

I'd be remiss if I say that I only started planning this trip in the last two months. Sure I didn't quit my job until two weeks ago, and I didn't give up my apartment until recently, and I will be packing until I leave my apartment in a few days. But the reality of it is, I've been preparing for this trip, consciously and subconsciously, since I went on my first solo trip in 2007.

I was 22, newly hired at one of the biggest biotech companies in Boston, earning way more than what I had gotten accustomed to, and contemplating my first trip solo. The sheer indecisiveness on my part felt paralyzing. I must have seemed like a broken record going over all the possibilities and options with my coworker. I think she even yelled at me to just book my tickets at one point.

The idea of traveling to someplace so "unknown" caused equal amounts of fascination and terror. But after much debate, I committed myself to what has become the first of many multi-city destination tickets I've purchased. That first step onto that Virgin Atlantic flight to London, the experience of riding the Chunnel across the English channel, the massive disappointment with, what is by far, the worst hostel I've ever stayed in (in Paris), the struggle of trying to conduct anything in a foreign language --- these experiences caused such a transformation within that I have yet to really fully comprehend. I continue to travel with every opportunity I can to satisfy my thirst for plucking myself from the daily grind and dropping in on new, interesting, random, comic and sometimes even awkward situations (though those are far and few between).

So now, five years after that first journey, I've decided to take a leap of faith, a break from my career in the biotech industry, and go on a full on trip. I can't say it will be a trip around the world as I have yet to make any concrete plans beyond the first two months. Sure I've got some rough ideas but I'm doing things a bit different this time; a little less of a plan and a whole lot more of spontaneity.

So far I've got Las Vegas, San Diego, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand and Philippines on the route. Not quite sure yet what I'll be doing at each of these destinations but I will try to have as many new experiences as possible without completely blowing my budget in the first two months.

Follow me as I go about my adventures and misadventures. I hope I can do a good job of sharing my experience and perhaps even inspire you to go on your own "journey", whatever that may be.

Top 15 Moments in Japan (Part III)

This is the third in a three-part series countdown of my Top 15 moments in Japan; a look back at some of the funniest, unique, and treasured moments I could only experience in Nippon!

5. Petting the wild deer of Nara. Nara is a short commuter train hop from Kyoto and boasts one of the largest buddha statues I’ve ever seen. We walked from the train station to the temple and I started seeing pockets of wild deer roaming about town. I got extremely excited like I normally do when I see dogs and wanted to pet them. Hiro told me to simmer down for there were much more deer to come! He wasn’t lying, THEY WERE EVERYWHERE. I petted a few but they soon lost interest when they realized I carried no cookies. There were a number of vendors that were selling cookies, but the deer were only interested in chasing after the children. I did see one scrappy deer queue up at a hotdog stand. Though they were wild, they were very polite. They knew to bow their head when they begged for food!

4. Having tea under a parasol at Kinkaku-ji. Kinkaku-ji is a buddhist temple in Kyoto best known for it’s main structure that’s covered in goldleaf. After exploring the grounds and taking about 200 photos, we took a break for tea and some cookies. It's always nice to take a break and just take it all in. Sometimes, I'm guilty of just rushing through to see everything. It was cold and I remember holding on to the tea cup for some warmth. We sat on a bench that doubled as a table with a parasol to protect us from the sun. No need for it though as it was cloudy that day.

3. Watching the sunset over Kyoto from Kiyomizu-dera. I remember my first thought when I saw this massive structure perched on the mountainside – wow. The temple is old – current structures were built in 1633 – and looks like it could withstand another 400 years. We got there just in time to watch the sun go down over Kyoto and illuminate the temple just right.

2. Staring at snow-capped Fujisan across the water. I’m not normally impressed by volcanoes. I was relatively young when I saw my first volcanic crater, probably around 7. One of my earliest memories was the fear of falling into the former crater that has now become a lake. We were riding horseback and the image of the horse and I falling into it kept creeping into my head. Fast-forward to 2010 and I found myself marveling at the gorgeous Mt. Fuji. It’s truly as majestic as people say.

1. Running through the torii gates at Fushimi Inari. It was probably one of the sites I anticipated the most, and it did not disappoint! It was right after the new year and one of the most solemn times in Japan, especially in Kyoto. The temples and shrines are teeming with people. For those unfamiliar with Fushimi Inari, it is a shrine set at the base of a mountain with multiple trails up the mountainside to smaller shrines. Trails are covered by hundreds, if not thousands of torii gates, and the traffic through these gates were generally unidirectional. It was only a matter of time before groups can become separated and sure enough, I did. What ensued was a frantic run up and through the trails, unable to read signs in hiragana. Trail junctions seemed similar and leading to the unknown. Panic didn’t set in and though I felt the urgency to find everyone, being lost made the experience that much more spiritual.

Top 15 Moments in Japan (Part II)

This is the second in a three-part series countdown of my Top 15 moments in Japan; a look back at some of the funniest, unique, and treasured moments I could only experience in Nippon! My account may not be able to do them justice but I will try my best.

10. Chasing kimonos. Did I feel dirty? Not really … but the girls in their dress kimonos looked absolutely gorgeous. After the new year, it’s tradition that girls who are turning 18 during the year wear their dress kimonos and visit the shrines and temples around town. I guess it’s their form of a debut, quinceanera – a coming out of sorts. Everywhere I turned, a beautiful girl in a kimono would walk by. I was hooked! I chatted up a few and took photos with them. Knowing that wasn’t gonna go anywhere, I decided to pay more attention to the sites, and what better place to take it all in than Kyoto! That lasted for a good while until an episode with three girls who asked me to take their photo. We kept running into them as we exited the temple and went into the shops right outside. Some banter exchange went on and found out the one I was interested in is actually Chinese and from Australia.

9. Getting invited into a Japanese kitchen in Osaka. Chef’s are quite protective of their kitchens. It’s their space, their sanctuary. To be invited into the kitchen at a restaurant, in my opinion, is almost as personal as being invited to their home. So when the chef invited me into the kitchen after our dinner in Osaka, the best meal that I had during the trip, I was extremely honored. We were taking photos of everything, trying to hold on to every last bit of memory from that experience, and I wanted a picture with the three masterful chefs when the head chef invited me into the kitchen! It was a tight galley and frankly, I couldn’t believe all our food came from that tiny space.

8. No sleepless nights in the tatami room. Having traveled quite a bit in the last two years and jumping from hostel to hostel or crashing with friends, and sometimes when I’m lucky (or tired of being dirty) an occasional five-star hotel, I definitely know how valuable it is to catch a good night’s sleep. Hotel Aono was exactly what I needed for Japan! I had the tatami room to myself and it was absolutely amazing. To feel the woven tatami mats under my feet after walking all day and crawl into that warm and soft futon was nothing short of heavenly. It felt like I was staying in a Westin heavenly bed, but more traditional and that’s the good thing about it! Thanks to my amazing hosts, I now want a tatami room in my own home down the road!

7. Zooming by 4 seasons on the Shinkansen. It was a cold, crisp morning in Kamakura. We left before the sun was up and we were taking the shinkansen, the bullet train, from Yokohama to Kyoto. It turned an otherwise 5-6 hour drive to a 2 hour train ride. It was like going on a flight, except there were no security lines to go through with your shoes of, and about a 10 min transfer from the local train. The seats were comfortable, with large windows and there was a train steward that sold snacks and drinks. No need to purchase anything as I brought my own green tea and octopus. As we zoomed on by from Yokohama to Kyoto, we got to see a lot of different landscapes. Although, it was a bit cloudy and we missed Fuji-san. The crisp winter day, turned rainy within a matter of minutes and as we approached Nagoya, it began to snow and the snow covered hills started coming into view. As we approached Kyoto, it started to get sunnier again outside and we walked out to a “warm” city. Two hours … 4 seasons … and not a minute late. Why can’t we have such efficient and reliable transportation in the US?!?!

6. Eating at a Kaiten-zushi. Kaiten-zushi are sushi restaurants where sushi are presented on little plates that go on a conveyor belt (or as I’ve learned, train tracks in Australia, aka the sushi train), passing through bar seating and tables. We were sat at a table and the sushi just kept on coming. Ika, unagi, saba, tuna, salmon, etc. … we just kept on plucking away. No plates are taken away after consumption as that is how they tally your bill, by counting the number of plates and different kind of plates you have devoured. I don’t quite remember how many plates we took, I think it was somewhere around the ballpark of 30 or so. In any case, we were stuffed. This was the only meal I had in Japan that involved sushi. There’s so much more to their cuisine but it was really good sushi. I am now addicted to saba.

Top 15 Moments in Japan (Part I)

This is the first in a three-part series countdown of my Top 15 moments in Japan; a look back at some of the funniest, unique, and treasured moments I could only experience in Nippon! My account may not be able to do them justice but I will try my best.

15. Shopping for a shaver. Only in Japan can you find six or seven floors of pure electronics! The options were endless but I really wasn't in the market for anything in particular. Daigo-san, Hiro's friend who met up with us, just recently landed a new corporate gig and wanted to check out some electronic shavers so he can look clean-cut every morning. So off we went to the first floor, leaving Hiro to fend for himself in espresso machine land where he would was eventually assaulted by a two year old girl. The selection was quite extensive. Daigo inquired with the salesperson behind the wall display. We could only see him from the nose-up. He blurted something in Japanese and recommended an $80 shaver. It was my turn and I asked Daigo to ask on my behalf what he would recommend. After having not shaved since leaving the US, my beard was pretty thick. From behind the display wall, eyes open wide and in a sharp tone, the salesman exclaimed something in Japanese, eliciting a huge laugh from Daigo. It didn't take long for me to realize he was pointing to the big gun ... the top of the line shaver that looked more like a transformer than anything else. Eight blades and the size of my two fists, combined, the decepticon shaver cost over $400!!! It was big enough to shave my entire face in one or two swoops. We had a good laugh about it but I thought I'd save my money for the duty free shop ... or maybe I just decided to stick to my old school gilette razor.

14. Encounters with familiar art in an unfamiliar place. This one is for Liz! One of the very first people I've ever met up with abroad, Liz took the train into London from Leicester and accompanied me to the Tate Museum in November of 2007. Outside was one of Louis Bourgeois' creations, Maman. Liz commented on how she's encountered these spiders multiple times and gets that eerie creepy feeling. Fast forward to Japan in 2010. Walking through Roponggi Hills, I was surprised to run underneath one large spider. Pretty impressive to have such large artwork by one artist spreadout across the globe. No pictures of me poking the eggs this time around...

13. People watching on the subway. It was my last night in Japan, and after seven days of train and subway use, the experience remained a novelty. For one, the trains were always "on time" , although I remember the shinkansen being a minute behind at one point. Aside from the timeliness, the train culture is quite different from the US. The silence within the train cars were deafening at times. Though I was using my inside voice, I always felt like I was an obnoxious yank yelling at the top of my lungs at a bar on a Friday night. I was secretly waiting to see some semblance of disorder ... mischief. After running through Tokyo to catch the last train back to Kamakura, a drunken business man stumbled onto our end of the train. He was a goner. Eyes rolling, asian glow at 100% and non-stop movement from side to side and front to back. One hand was clutching onto his briefcase and the other was desperately trying to open the door into the conductor's cab. I was amused and so was everyone else. Amusement turned to awe  and into worry when the man started balancing himself as the train moved along the tracks half bent over. Was he going to hurl? fall over? or worse ... hurl and fall over on me? Despite his drunkenness, he managed to get off at one of the stations without asking where he was. Was that his stop? I'm not sure.

12. Crossing the world's busiest crosswalk. You've probably already seen it. Perhaps, not in person, but you've most likely already seen it. It's been in a number of ads especially those for communications, networking or something about time. Shibuya crossing is the world's busiest crosswalk. Everyone pours in from all directions in this massive intersection. Any hint of slight hesitation could mean getting separated from your party. I didn't even realize how busy it was when I first crossed it until I saw it from above. I think the trick is to just walk with purpose and confidence ... much like a freight train. Because, in all reality, who would want to walk across the path of a freight train?

11. Flowing with the masses at the train stations. Coming from Boston and the frustration I have with the T, you can understand how I would be extremely impressed by the Japanese train system. What do you mean by I can actually look at the schedule and expect it to be correct? You actually know how long until the next train comes? That's too much to expect, no? Apparently not! The Japanese people are highly dependent on their public transpo system to get them around. It was pretty evident why they would depend on it. Mainly because it's dependable but frankly, it was probably the easiest way to get around. There seemed to be train stations everywhere, especially in Tokyo. And every train station is busy! But it was orderly and everything flowed.

Kore wa oishii desu!

Everyone knows I take a ridiculous amount of photos. For every shot I post … I probably have at least five shots of the same thing, if not more. In my defense, sometimes you just have to find that difference in lighting and angle.

Two days ago, I got a message from Kevin, Hiro’s former cycling teammate who met  up with us in Japan. He had been traveling recently and apparently took one too many photos of his food – enough to have left an impression on his friend who later forwarded an article from the New York Times; First Camera, Then Fork. Perhaps I’m not such an oddball after all … well that’s highly debatable.

Everyone is doing it. What you may ask?! Taking photos of their food. More and more people are not just taking photos of their food when they travel, but actually taking pictures of everything they ingest. From grilled cheese sandwiches to your good ol’ hamburger, everything seems to be photo worthy.

After reading through it, I was inspired to look through the food portraits I took on my eight day jaunt in the land of the rising sun.  In all, I took around 100 food photos … don’t worry, I didn’t post them all.

  

How do you deal with Asian squat toilets?!

Checking out the travel section of the NY Times has undoubtedly become one of my routines. The In Transit section and the Frugal Traveler  provide some of the more interesting stories and perhaps the most useful tips whilst traveling. Today's In Transit section had me linked through to Budgettravel.com where I ran across this article: Q&A: An around-the-world trip, minus the plane.

Interesting ...

I read on through the interview and sure enough, there were some pretty unconventional ways of getting around - I'll let you guys know if I manage to hitchhike from Singapore to Australia ... on a freighter. Seth Stevenson's account of his journey can be found in his book, Grounded: A Down to Earth Journey Around the World (pictured here).

I would start with the interview first on Budgettravel.com ...  Here's my favorite part:

Q: What surprised you most about the trip?
A: Once you become accustomed to living out of a backpack, it's amazing how little you miss the possessions you left back home. We'd put some things in storage, and at one point I realized I wouldn't care one bit if all those objects burnt to ash and blew away.
Also, before you go: You might want to have a game plan—or at least be emotionally prepared—for dealing with Asian squat toilets.