Hello Again

My apologies if this post will seem a bit scattered. We have alot of catching up to do, I have limited free wifi minutes at this hostel and I just arrived in South Africa following about 20hrs of flying/airport time.

Where to begin. The reason I haven't been posting is because I haven't been allowed. China isn't exactly keen on free speech, so all access to Facebook and my blog was completely restricted. Vietnam was a bit more lax on allowing me to blog, but their communist regime also blocked Facebook.  But I am free to speak my mind again, so who knows what crazy things will flow off the fingertips. I might even tell you that I got married. Which would be utter nonsense, except for the fact that I actually did get married...kind of. And I gotta tell ya...not all it's cracked up to be.

So I last left you before my trip to Halong Bay. It is recognized as one of the new 7 wonders of the world and is one of those UNESCO world heritage sites. Not quite sure what the standards are for becoming one of these world heritage sites, but the Chesapeake Bay should put themselves up for nomination. That is to say, in spite of the fact that there are hundreds of these massive limestone rock formations rising up out of the bay, there was garbage floating around everywhere. Combined with the fact that it was hazy the whole time, and the whole experience was lesser than I was anticipating. I also got ripped off by my tour company in that I paid about $30 extra for what I thought was going to be better lodging than everyone else on the tour, but essentially I lived just as they did and then got charged an additional single supplement fee. So all told, $40 more than everyone else for the same experience. We were fed like kings, which helped. I think the French were a bit appalled by how much and how fast this American ate, but whatever. Stop your incessant rambling at dinner and you could eat a bit more as well. Spent the trip with 3 Brits which provided nice company, and overall, if you look past the garbage, it was still a worthwhile adventure.

Got back to Hanoi and then took an overnight train into Guilin, China. For the record, I really liked China, but for that whole free speech limitation issue. Sun everyday didn't hurt either. I stopped in Guilin because of convenience and because of these terraced rice fields. At the Longji Rice Fields, there is this village with women that have the longest black hair you have ever seen. Some lengths of hair are over 6' long. Anyway, they put on this little show where they flaunt their black hair, and then they marry off some of the villagers that are still single. Well, they wanted a westerner to go up there, so I, along with 3 Chinese guys went up on stage to get married. They ask you to go over and pick the girl you would like to marry, and the one I chose actually refused me. Just like real life. She passed me off to her friend and then they take you backstage where you are forced to buy a bracelet for a wedding gift for your bride to be . You could pay anywhere from $5-8. What a scam. I got this bag as a wedding gift in return, but I would have rather saved that money for some other fun activity besides getting hitched to the old ball and chain. I also had to sing a song to profess my love to her. Didn't know what to sing, so of course I sang, Happy Birthday. I am so romantic. Luckily I got an annulment, and I am back on the market again ladies. Being a divorcee might have hurt my street cred.

Spent another 2 days in the town before taking a 29hr train ride to Beijing. I thought I was going to have a sleeper bed for the trip, but there was a communication lapse between me and the train ticket agent, and I ended up with just a seat on a bench next to another Chinese dude. Not exactly luxury confines for such a lengthy train ride. Pretty tough to sleep. I was also the only white dude in my car, which as the trip progressed, was kind of a good thing, because I was like a circus side show act. These 2 guys kept buying me beer and rice wine, so we drank the trip away drinking beers and taking rice wine shots out of water bottle caps. I think they were surprised I could drink with them. We kept chasing down the drinks with peanuts and hard boiled eggs.

Got to Beijing and then had to wait about 1 hour at the train station before finally getting a cab to the hostel. Of course the cab driver didn't know how to get me to the hostel and I forgot to write down the phone# to the place, so we were driving aimlessly around Beijing at like 1am. I kept trying to find free wifi at restaurants and hotels without luck. Finally got the idea to call my dad at home and he got the number for me. But then I argued with cab driver about the fare because he wanted to charge me for the time spent wandering aimlessly in his cab. Not my fault he couldn't find the address. I paid him less than what he wanted but not by as much less as I would have preferred since my cash supply was low. Couldn't find a bank in China to do a cash advance on my credit card and since I have been without ATM card for about 1 month, I actually had to borrow money from another American while in Guilin, just to finance the rest of trip in Beijing.

Anyway, loved Beijing. My first official day of Spring was April 24th. Don't know when it was for everybody else, but it was the first cool day I had experienced in 6 weeks. Bright blue skies and fresh air in Beijing. Never thought I would utter those words.  Visited the big sites and absolutely loved the Great Wall of China. One of the coolest things I have ever seen. I must have walked about 4 miles on the wall, and it was strenuous. So strenuous that my knees physically ached by days end and it limited my sightseeing the following day. But that wall is a photographers dream.

Am in South Africa and am going diving with Great White Sharks tomorrow. Going down in one of the shark cages and just watching the sharks come at me. I will upload pics and share some other thoughts in the next few days.

A tale of two anagram cities

Let's do a little Jeopardy.

I'll take anagrams for 1000 Alex.

Alex: Oh Ian. Did you enjoy your trip to these two Vietnamese cities?

Jeremy: What are Hoi An and Hanoi?

For the record, respectively yes and no. 

Hanoi is just another big Asian city. Not much needs to be said about it. Ho Chi Minh, the leader, is entombed in a mausoleum, has a museum that details his rise to power, and a large chunk of land that shows where he once lived. There is the prison where John McCain was held during the Vietnam War. Not much else. There is a phrase that is quite popular in SEA (southeast Asia). Same Same but different. Not exactly sure how it got started, but essentially every big Asian city I have visited is same same but different. Basically different in name only and similar in all of the sights, food, culture, etc.

Hoi An is a different story. It is quite possibly the best small town/city I have visited in all of my travels. It is a coastal town, so there is a beach. The nice thing about the beach is that it is about 4km away from the heart of the old town. So the masses can go to the beach during the day and still leave the old town with that intimate feel. Lots of fun just wandering the streets lined with restaurants, souvenir shops and silk shops which will tailor quality suits and dresses for bargain basement prices. There is a sprawling market where everyone goes early in the morning to buy their food for that day and that day only. Most of the residents live simply and don't have the modern conveniences of refrigerators and freezers. So they buy food and ice for that day, and do it all over again the next day.  I spent a day doing a cooking class on a tiny island and another day on a bike ride on another small island. Saw how villagers make mats, bricks, inlay wood, boats, basket boats, rice milk, and ice. Yes, ice. Again, the lack of freezers requires that people buy their ice.  There aren't many places where I travel that I could sightsee for more than 2 days. Could have stayed an extra few days but moved on to Hanoi. Not for Hanoi, but for Halong Bay. It is a Unesco world heritage site that has been earmarked as a must see sight since the start of my trip. Will be doing a 3d2n cruise and then move on to China after that. 

The pictures show my time in Hoi An and the food I have eaten from Bangkok-Siem Reap-Hoi An

Inlay wood process

Bricks still in un-dired clay form

basket boat

Jeremy in basket boat

floating bridge I had to cross by bike

mat making

tired tour guide

hammerhead shark at the market

tossing rice to separate grain from husk

My creations during cooking class

bamboo leave steamed herb fish, eaten on the beack

Cau Lao

Hello and Goodbye

So much for that great start to the season for the O's. I hate the Yankees. However, the one saving grace for an organization I wish never existed is that they are popular around the world. I got to my hotel room in Hoi An, Vietnam today and was scrolling through the TV channels when I came across a replay of the last game in this most recent O's-Yankees series. Since I rode 15hrs on a train from Saigon to Hoi An last night, I had no idea who won the game. If this is the last time I have to watch Kevin Gregg blow a game this year I will be a happy man. Nick Swisher said, "Hello and Goodbye" to a baseball in the 10th inning of that game that still hasn't landed yet.

In the life of a backpacker, there are also endless hellos and goodbyes to cities and people alike. Some are easier to make than others. Despite every city hello in SE Asia being delayed by bus drivers and train conductors who seemingly don't value my time the way that I do, I have always looked forward to getting to each city for one reason or another. Admittedly, after a few hours in some of them, I have been ready to say a quick goodbye (Bangkok), while others (Melbourne, Ban Pin) have been slightly more difficult to leave.

On an almost daily basis, it is easy to introduce yourself to a number of other backpackers. Introducing myself to people at home has never been one of my stronger social qualities, and I am only slightly better at it on the road. Don't really know what I am worried about because an entertaining few hours usually results after every introduction. But because those interactions are fleeting, a a relatively painless goodbye is lurking right around the corner and you are left to do the same thing all over again the next day. Kind of a glass half empty and half full situation.

The first 5wks of my trip was spent in Australia and New Zealand with family and friends from my past travels through Europe. I was so comfortable around them that it didn't even feel like I was traveling halfway around the world. Since then, I have been traveling for another month, and all of my interactions with fellow backpackers have been of the fleeting variety. In the life of a backpacker, prolonged interactions with other backpackers are rare. Travel plans don't usually coincide for more than a day or 2 at the most before we each go our separate ways. So when you actually get to spend a significant amount of time with someone, that relationship progresses at an almost dog year like speed.  The things I learn about fellow backpackers after only 24hrs spent with them would take a week or two to learn with new acquaintances at home. In other words, you really get to know someone extremely well after spending 6 days with them.

My recent travels through Cambodia with a Coloradoan named Lori lasted 6 days and were without a doubt some of the most enjoyable travel experiences I have had following that first chance encounter with a fellow backpacker. It was nice to have a connection with someone on more than just that typical superficial backpacker level. The kind of someone who actually remembers your name for more than 5 minutes. The kind of someone who can make you laugh every day. The kind of someone who you can commiserate with about the stinking heat. And most importantly, the kind of someone who you can call a friend.  I know I will make more friends on this trip, but that didn't make saying goodbye to Lori any easier. It kind of left me with the feeling I had at college graduation. That feeling of uncertainty in not knowing when I am going to see those friends again whom I just spent nearly every day for 4+ yrs of my life getting to know.  I take comfort in knowing our paths will cross again and I look forward to that next "hello" that might just evolve into a similar relationship.

Angkor Wat Was Well Worth the Price of Admission

Spent my last few days climbing on, over, and around temples dating back to the 9th-12th centuries. So much fun, especially from a photographic standpoint. I experienced ancient ruins in Rome, Greece, and Pompeii a few years ago during my 2 months in Europe. Something about ruins that just captivate me. These temples were no different. I'm gonna go old school Nipsy Russell $25,000 Pyramid on you guys right now with my description of the temple experience.

Dick Clark: "Alright. You have 60 seconds on the clock. Just take deep breaths. Look into your partner's eyes and focus on the clues. I know you can do this. Here is your first subject...GO!"

Nipsy Russell: "The shadows. The statues. The weathered old stone and brick. The thick trunked trees. The steep stairs. The symmetry. The intricate detail in the stone work."

What are Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples

Angkor Wat

The tuk tuk. The bicycle. The scooter. The elephant. Your feet. A Car.

What are modes of Transportation around the temples

The sad eyes. The cheap gifts. One dollar. Maybe when you come back, you buy. United States-president Barack Obama, capital Washington DC. --- What are the kids who will try and sell you stuff and sell you stuff and sell you stuff and sell you stuff from the moment you step off the tuk tuk until the moment you get back on the tuk tuk? You could buy food, bracelets, books, musical instruments, ornaments, and paintings all for the low price of $1. They will spout off info about the USA to get our tourist dollar and give you sad eyes and a story about how if you don't buy they won't have money to learn English at school. Somebody has trained these kids well. Some were worth engaging, but the majority were just an annoyance.


Oodles of Noodles. $3 dollar menu unless you haggle to the $2 dollar menu. Coconuts. Pineapple. The flies. ---What are lunches at the temples? So you go to lunch anywhere in the temple complex, and around town for that matter, and you get a tourist menu. Prices are $3 for most meals, which given the prices we would pay for meals at tourist attractions at home, sounds like a real bargain. Except that they actually have a $2 menu behind the counter that lists the exact same food in the exact smae order as on the $3 menu. You have to haggle and threaten to take your business elsewhere, but they will give you that menu to keep you around. You can even haggle down to $1 if you try hard enough, or at the very least, get a free coconut thrown in at the $2 price.


Poses. Silly poses. Annoying poses. Poses in front of everything significant or otherwise...mostly otherwise. Poses in front of temples while Jeremy tries to take pictures of said temple. Sun umbrellas. ---Who are just about any other tourist not named Jeremy. Is it hypocritical of me to say that I hate tourists? OK. I despise tourists that stand in front of the thing I am photographing until all 10 of the people in their group have their pictures taken individually in front of said temple, all the while oblivious to the fact that some other person named Jeremy might actually like to take a picture of said temple at some point during this lifetime. I'm not bitter though.


Monkeys. Water. Sneak a peak. Personal space invasion. Laughter. Scaredy cat.



What is the moment when monkeys stole Lori's water bottle, opened the water bottle, drank water from the bottle....

...looked up her skirt and then jumped on her back and head looking for more food and beverage...

....while "brave" Jeremy was running away from the situation until Lori stated, "If you're not going to do anything to get the monkey off my back, at least take a picture!" You can call me a coward, but you can't say I didn't listen.

Really a memorable 3 days. Great company, which really made all the difference in the world, and a world class tourist attraction. Not gonna spend more than tomorrow in Phnom Penh before moving on to Vietnam on Wednesday.

And now for some thoughts on Asia and my travels to date.

I spent some time on the long bus ride today from Siem Reap to Phnom Penh calculating how many beds or other places I have slept overnight to date. 32 different beds at 30 locations and counting. Includes sleeper buses, sleeper trains, hostels, hotels, huts, airplanes, and the Kentucky Fried Chicken the night my ATM card was swallowed alive by an angry Malaysian ATM.

The Orioles are 3-0 and in 1st place. Must be April.
The Red Sox and the Yankees are 0-3 and in last place. Must be April.

I got to watch coverage of the Masters for 4 days, which made me a happy boy. Congrats to Bubba Watson.

Tuk tuk drivers are really annoying except for when you are in their moving tuk tuk and can escape the children trying to sell you cheap goods for a few blissful moments until arriving at the next temple.

He who drives the vehicle with the loudest horn has the right of way.

Walk predictably and you will make it safely across the street.

Have I mentioned, "It's hot?"

I wonder when the next time I will be clean might be. Probably the day after I get home.

I always used to think that people in Asia wore surgeon masks over their nose and mouth to keep disease from spreading. Now I know they wear them to avoid breathing in the dust and dirt and smog that fill the air 24/7.

Clothing is optional for kids. Whether by choice or simply because of poverty, there have been lots of naked kids running around villages.

Tourists and scaffolding can really ruin a picture.

"For you mista...$1"