First place in the AL West: Your Seattle Mariners! Let's hope that more games get canceled so that Felix can pitch every other game.
No pics of French girls from last night. The party was a lot of fun and I met a lot of really nice people. There was also a lot of good wine. We're driving back to Wiesbaden this afternoon, as soon as Cliff and Matt finish their marathon. On Monday, Julia and I are heading to Munich for the day and I'll be flying home on Tuesday! Homeward bound!
I'll answer the questions re: poker and drinking in a later blog when I have more time. Thanks for the concerns and I'll see everyone early next week!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Partaaaaaay!
We didn't leave Wiesbaden until 10 PM last night which means we rolled into Paris right around 3 AM. I drove the whole way and ate sunflower seeds to stay awake. Sunflower seeds rule.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that our hotel offered free wireless internet and, tired as I was, I hopped online for a few minutes. I started talking to my French friend, Gab, on Instant Messenger and he invited us to a big party this afternoon/evening at a friend's apartment. Apparently, the party starts around 4 in the afternoon with everyone drinking on the lawn in front of the apartment then everyone heads inside once the sun goes down. It sounds like a lot of fun and since Cliff has his marathon on Sunday, I'll be drinking enough for two. My only hope for tonight is to return with some sweet pictures of French girls doing morally questionable things. Is that too much to ask?
I was pleasantly surprised to see that our hotel offered free wireless internet and, tired as I was, I hopped online for a few minutes. I started talking to my French friend, Gab, on Instant Messenger and he invited us to a big party this afternoon/evening at a friend's apartment. Apparently, the party starts around 4 in the afternoon with everyone drinking on the lawn in front of the apartment then everyone heads inside once the sun goes down. It sounds like a lot of fun and since Cliff has his marathon on Sunday, I'll be drinking enough for two. My only hope for tonight is to return with some sweet pictures of French girls doing morally questionable things. Is that too much to ask?
Friday, April 13, 2007
Belgium
Belgium, a.k.a. the 32nd country that I've visited, was never really on my "must see" list. I like Belgian beer but I didn't know much else about the place. It was my mom's idea to drive out to Bruges and Ghent and Cliff was working long hours all week so we headed out early Tuesday morning.
Our first stop was Cologne, one of my favorite cities in Europe. My mom was impressed with the cathedral but wasn't in the mood for any of the old Roman artifacts. Cologne was an important city in Roman times and there are still a bunch of cool old walls and roads right in the middle of town. We didn't spend a lot of time dawdling and after hiking to the top of the Dom's south spire we continued east into Belgium.
We got to Bruges around 4 PM and it was teeming with tourists. The town is really "cute" as my mom would say thousands of times over the next 24 hours. I do recommend coming here with a lady friend. Mom and I checked in to our hotel then rented bikes and tried to get away from the craziness of the city center. We spent the last hours of daylight bouncing on along on the cobblestones of a very quaint town and eventually returned to the city center once things died down. We didn't get many good pictures of the Bruges town center but you just have to believe me when I say the charm was through the roof.
On Wednesday morning, mom and I took off on our bikes for the coast. It was an overcast day and the ride through Belgian farmland was quite pleasant. Our bikes were horrible but I only complained about mine 75429731042720 times. The seaside reminded me of Normandy and it was pretty cold so we didn't linger for long. The ride back to Bruges was good but toward the end I really started to get sore. All told we rode about 40 Km which is about 25 miles. This weekend my brother will be running 26.2 miles in the Paris marathon. I can't even fathom the ridiculousness of that. Anyway, once we got back to town we returned the bikes and drove to the Bruges Brewery. They have a dark beer called Zot that my mom liked a lot and we bought some glasses as souvenirs. I almost bought a shirt that said "I'm Zot(Mad) About You" but the "Mad" in parentheses angered me. Again, I limited myself to a single beer so that I could drive and we made it to Ghent around 3 or 4 PM.
I liked Ghent even more than Bruges. Ghent has about 90% of the charm that Bruges has but only 10% of the tourists. The first thing we did after check-in was go to the top of the belfry for a city view.
Ghent also seemed like a nice town to party in but I never really found out. The closest I came to the party was sitting outside of the gay bar, The Out, and using their free wi-fi. The bar had a steady flow of patrons and looked like it would be a lot of fun if one were so inclined. Anyway, here are more Ghent pictures:
On Thursday we had to drive back to Wiesbaden but Cliff was working until 7 PM so we had plenty of time. I found out that the Hoegaarden brewery was only a 30 minute detour so we obviously headed there for lunch. The smoked salmon salad was delicious, as was the glass of white beer. I like Hoegaarden a lot and bought myself some of their paraphernalia including a sweet beer tie. The drive home was uneventful and my mom snoring kept me from falling asleep.
This morning I picked up Cliff's friend Julia from the airport and we went on two different walks. It got up to 80 degrees here in Wiesbaden and beer gardens seemed to spring up anywhere and everywhere there was open space. We drank a few Erdingers, not the best beer in Germany, and now Julia is passed out. We're all sitting around waiting for Cliff to get off of work so that we can drive to Paris. I think the marathon is on Sunday so tomorrow we'll do something low-key like drink 3 or 4 bottles of red wine. Peace.
P.S. BONUS PICTURE! They're just called "sprouts" in Brussels.
Our first stop was Cologne, one of my favorite cities in Europe. My mom was impressed with the cathedral but wasn't in the mood for any of the old Roman artifacts. Cologne was an important city in Roman times and there are still a bunch of cool old walls and roads right in the middle of town. We didn't spend a lot of time dawdling and after hiking to the top of the Dom's south spire we continued east into Belgium.
We got to Bruges around 4 PM and it was teeming with tourists. The town is really "cute" as my mom would say thousands of times over the next 24 hours. I do recommend coming here with a lady friend. Mom and I checked in to our hotel then rented bikes and tried to get away from the craziness of the city center. We spent the last hours of daylight bouncing on along on the cobblestones of a very quaint town and eventually returned to the city center once things died down. We didn't get many good pictures of the Bruges town center but you just have to believe me when I say the charm was through the roof.
On Wednesday morning, mom and I took off on our bikes for the coast. It was an overcast day and the ride through Belgian farmland was quite pleasant. Our bikes were horrible but I only complained about mine 75429731042720 times. The seaside reminded me of Normandy and it was pretty cold so we didn't linger for long. The ride back to Bruges was good but toward the end I really started to get sore. All told we rode about 40 Km which is about 25 miles. This weekend my brother will be running 26.2 miles in the Paris marathon. I can't even fathom the ridiculousness of that. Anyway, once we got back to town we returned the bikes and drove to the Bruges Brewery. They have a dark beer called Zot that my mom liked a lot and we bought some glasses as souvenirs. I almost bought a shirt that said "I'm Zot(Mad) About You" but the "Mad" in parentheses angered me. Again, I limited myself to a single beer so that I could drive and we made it to Ghent around 3 or 4 PM.
I liked Ghent even more than Bruges. Ghent has about 90% of the charm that Bruges has but only 10% of the tourists. The first thing we did after check-in was go to the top of the belfry for a city view.
Ghent also seemed like a nice town to party in but I never really found out. The closest I came to the party was sitting outside of the gay bar, The Out, and using their free wi-fi. The bar had a steady flow of patrons and looked like it would be a lot of fun if one were so inclined. Anyway, here are more Ghent pictures:
On Thursday we had to drive back to Wiesbaden but Cliff was working until 7 PM so we had plenty of time. I found out that the Hoegaarden brewery was only a 30 minute detour so we obviously headed there for lunch. The smoked salmon salad was delicious, as was the glass of white beer. I like Hoegaarden a lot and bought myself some of their paraphernalia including a sweet beer tie. The drive home was uneventful and my mom snoring kept me from falling asleep.
This morning I picked up Cliff's friend Julia from the airport and we went on two different walks. It got up to 80 degrees here in Wiesbaden and beer gardens seemed to spring up anywhere and everywhere there was open space. We drank a few Erdingers, not the best beer in Germany, and now Julia is passed out. We're all sitting around waiting for Cliff to get off of work so that we can drive to Paris. I think the marathon is on Sunday so tomorrow we'll do something low-key like drink 3 or 4 bottles of red wine. Peace.
P.S. BONUS PICTURE! They're just called "sprouts" in Brussels.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
What up!?!
Hello everybody!
I'm kind of stoked that there's still an "everybody" out there after going AWOL for over a month. The "get off your lazy ass and write" requests have picked up as of late and have remotivated me to get this blog rolling again. I'm currently in Wiesbaden, Germany with my mother and brother but I'll elaborate how I got here from Thailand:
Sunday, March 4th: I traveled from Koh Pha Ngan back to Bangkok. I almost booked a room at the Intercontinental, where our group had stayed earlier in the trip, before remembering that I'm really really cheap. I found a sweet hostel in a pretty good location for just under $4. Upon arrival I went to eat my last cheap Thai dinner(phad thai and green papaya salad) and got my last Thai massage, then went to bed early in preparation for my 6:40 AM flight home.
Monday, March 5th: I woke up at 4 AM and caught a cab to the airport. When I got there, I was informed that the flight was canceled and would be rescheduled for the following morning. I wasn't too pleased but there are worse things that could happen. United Airlines put the entire plane up at the Novotel(I think) right next to the airport and paid for three meals. I probably should have taken advantage and gone back to the city but I was feeling lazy and never once set foot outside of the hotel. The food was decent but rather disappointing after eating authentic Thai for nearly two weeks.
Tuesday, March 6th: My flight actually took off and the transfer at Tokyo Narita went well. I got in to Seattle at 11 AM and decided to catch the bus home and was pleasantly surprised with the ease of the experience. The bus goes straight from the airport to around Spokane Street then basically drives up 4th Avenue into downtown. I got off on 4th and University, walked down to 3rd and picked up the #72. The #72 drops me off 2 blocks from my mom's house and the whole experience only cost $1.25. Compare that to over $40 for a taxi and it's quite a deal. Erica came to pick me up for lunch at Paseo and it was good to be home. I left for India on Christmas night and this had been by far the longest trip of my life. That night we drank some beer at Ozzie's then headed to Die Bier Stube for some good beer. Dave and Tasha ended up spending the night at my house and it was good to be home.
Wednesday, March 7th: This recap is taking too long. Watched the Huskies beat ASU in round 1 of the Pac 10 tournament at Sport. Headed to the Little Red Hen for karaoke. Went to Jessica's place and stayed up until 7 AM. Dave and Tasha kept it real again and were up until 4 AM. Somehow they made it out the door by 7 AM for work. Unreal dedication to keeping it real. Marcus also kicked it hard but he didn't have to work until 2 PM.
Thursday, March 8th: Watched the Huskies lost to WSU in round 2 of the Pac 10 tournament. Words can't really describe my disdain for the Cougs. People were drinking heavily but I went home early to pack for Vegas.
Friday, March 9th: Caught an early flight to Vegas, arriving at 8:45 AM. Had a conference call with my financial adviser poolside at 10 AM. Started drinking around noon. Pina Coladas with 151 are good. God bless the Imperial Palace. Went to Treasures for Happy Hour. Went to the Bellagio buffet for dinner. Got a table at Pure for Eli's birthday. Put $1600 on my debit card. Had fun.
Saturday, March 10th: Rough Morning. Went to watch Carl in the PokerDome. Poker is rigged. Decide to change my flight to Phoenix to tonight instead of tomorrow morning. Get to the airport 15 minutes before the last flight to Phoenix. My checked bag doesn't make it to the plane so I have to pick it up in the morning. Try to rent a car but my Debit card has been deactivated due to "suspicious activity". I call WaMu and tell them that I did, indeed, put $1600 on my card. They reactivate my card but it won't go into effect until 5 AM. I have no other credit card to rent the car. Kenny is nice and drives out to the airport to put the car on his card. Kenny's apartment is nice. Life is good.
Sunday, March 11th: Wake up early to go pick up my bag at the airport. It isn't there. We find out that it went to Oklahoma and will be back in Phoenix later in the afternoon. I ask for it to be delivered. They agree. I go back to Kenny's place to shower and pick up Roxanne for the M's game. We go pick up Steph then eat at In N Out. It is good. Kenny messes up our free tickets so Steph has to buy a GA ticket. Steph, Roxanne and I sit in the outfield and drink beers. Life is good. After the game we go to Steph's for Dilly Chicken. It is good. Steph's dad and I start drinking heavily. He puts a hurting on me. Southwest delivers my bag at 10 PM. Life is good.
Monday, March 12th: I drive back to Kenny's early in the morning and feel like regurgitated crap. I tell Kenny that I'll try to get to the field by 10 AM to watch practice. I pass out until 1:30 PM and miss everything.
Tuesday, March 13th: I finally make it to the ballpark early enough for practice. It's pretty awesome and I'm upset with myself for not making it out more often. Practice ends so I head home to pick up Roxanne and Antony's girlfriend, who's name I can't remember right now. BTW, Kenny is Ichiro's interpreter and Antony is Johjima's. Just a FYI. We watch the game from box seats. Much easier to pay attention to the game. Ben Sheets is good. After the game I take the girls to the mall then head home for a nap. After the nap I head to Steph's place to say goodbye then out for some BBQ. It is delicious. After BBQ we go to the Blue Moon Saloon, which Kenny has mistakenly told me is the Blue Moon Brewery. They do serve Blue Moon so it's all good. Hit the hay reasonably early because I have an early flight home.
Wednesday, March 14th: Hit the road at 6 AM and Phoenix traffic is awful. I am late and just turn my car in without paying. I owe Kenny about $200. I make it on my flight. I catch the bus home but it gets a flat tire in the International District. Erica saves the day and takes me to Paseo for a prawn sandwich. Life is good. Erica takes me home and i drive down to Vancouver, WA to visit my grandma. We eat Hawaiian BBQ for dinner. I like Huli Huli Chicken. I feel like crap at bedtime and wake up often throughout the night with horrible stomach pain.
Thursday, March 15th: I leave Vancouver at 6:30 AM because the cable guy is supposed to come over between 10 AM and noon. I feel like crap. I have to pull over in Centralia because it hurts so bad. I park behind the AM/PM and recline my seat. 30 seconds later I hop out of the car and vomit hard 5 or 6 times. I go into AM/PM to buy water and gum. I pass out in my car for an hour and wake up feeling marginally better. I make it home at 11 AM hoping I didn't miss the cable guy. I walk in the house then look out the window and see him pull up behind me. Awesome. I install SlingBox for Clifford and I am pleased with myself. I fall asleep from noon until 7 PM. Life sucks. I worry about not being able to sleep that night but sleep easily from 9 PM until 9 AM. Pain, sir.
Friday, March 16th: I don't really remember what happened today. I packed for Germany I think.
Saturday, March 17th: I fly to Germany. Awesome flight with a short 1-hour layover in Cincinnati. Sadly, I felt like crap and couldn't appreciate the incredibly efficiency.
Sunday, March 18th: I arrive in Germany early. Cliff is hungover from St Patty's Day and is late to pick me up. He is amazed at how hard I'm coughing and chastises me for bringing the bird flu to Germany. We eat a doner for lunch and it is good. We try to go out at night but everything is closed so we head back to Cliff's place for Car Bombs. They are good.
Monday, March 19th: Kitty and Jason arrive in Frankfurt. They left Seattle about 8 hours after me and arrive in Frankfurt 24 hours after me. Suckas. I don't remember what we did today.
Tuesday, March 20th: Jason, Kitty and I drive to Wurzburg, Roethenburg and Ansbach. Wurzburg is really cool, Roethenburg is kind of overrated.
Wednesday, March 21st: We drive to Munich and stop in Dachau on the way. Dachau is very depressing. Munich is fun. We go on a beerhall tour and hit 4: Paulaner, Hofbrau, something, and Hacker-Pschorr. I love Hacker-Pschorr.
Thursday, March 22nd: We spend a day in Munich. The Residence Museum is awesome. So is our hostel. We stay up pretty late drinking there with 16 or 17 year-old Danish girls. Holla.
Friday, March 23rd: We drive to Neuschwanstein castle and take the tour. The castle was built by Ludvig II and was the inspiration for Disney's castle. It is gorgeous and lavish. Then we drive back to Wiesbaden.
Saturday, March 24th: Cliff, Jason, Kitty and I drive to Cologne, one of my favorite cities in Europe. Cologne is home to my favorite cathedral, The Dom, and my favorite Doner shop, Euro Doner. We explore the Dom and hike to the top of the south spire then head to Euro Doner for lunch. Jason and Cliff order the Doner Special which is basically a dust pan full of meat dumped in a huge slab of Turkish bread. I was full of my regular doner which was about half the size of the doner special. Cliff and Jason both finished and felt like puking. Doners are amazing.
Sunday, March 25th: Relaxing day in Wiesbaden. Kitty heads to the thermal bath for a massage. She reports back with stories of nudity and attractive women. Jason and I consider going at a later date.
Monday, March 26th: Kitty, Jason and I fly to Marseille. I like Marseille a lot, it's kind of like a poor man's Monte Carlo.
Tuesday, March 27th: Train from Marseille to Monte Carlo. We go to the Poker Stars party and drink a few beers. Everyone is incredulous that I'm not playing. My friend Noah offers to stake me for 3K Euro if I can collect the other 7K from others. I make a feeble attempt to find backing and actually manage to "sell" almost 80% but no one has cash and I eventually give up. It's good to see a lot of old faces though.
Wednesday, March 28th: Day 1 of the tourney. I sweat some friends for a while and do an interview with the EPT crew. They're doing a "where are they now" feature and think it's cool that I don't play poker anymore. We'll see what happens when the feature airs but it's possible that they just wanted to make fun of me for being busto.
Thursday, March 29th: We take the train to Nice for the day. Nice is nice. Easiest pun ever. The weather is too cold for topless bathing. Booooo.
Friday, March 30th: We explore Monaco. It is ridiculous. So much wealth. The palace is nice and the attached museum is small but interesting.
Saturday, March 31st: We leave Monaco headed to Milan for the Roma - Ac Milan Serie A game. Milan is really nice but we misread the schedule and the game is in Rome. We find a bar to watch the game but it isn't quite the same as watching it live.
Sunday, April 1st: We fly home from Milan and relax all day. Feels good.
Monday, April 2nd: Kitty and Jason leave. I am sad. They were good travel partners.
Tuesday, April 3rd - Thursday, April 5th: I sit around most of the time. Cliff works from 8 AM until 7 PM then goes to bed at 10 PM. It kind of sucks but the 3 hours of hanging out make everything worthwhile.
Friday, April 6th: My mom arrives. We drive to Kaiserslautern to visit my friend Jason. We end up spending the night there.
Saturday, April 7th: We drive to Bamberg. Enroute we stop at a monestary and drink beer. Monks make good beer. I only have one beer so I can drive. Bamberg is awesome. Very cool old German town. Originally I think it's called "bomb"berg but later find out that it's "BAM!"berg. Silly me.
Sunday, April 8th: We explore BAM!berg then drive home. Cliff has a training run for his marathon next weekend. Sadistic.
Monday, April 9th: My mom and I walk around Wiesbaden. It's a pretty cool town. We find a old castle that was destroyed. It is cool.
Tuesday, April 10th: My mom and I drive to Belgium. Belgium trip report coming soon. It will have more detail than the month in review. Maybe I should just blog like this from now on. See y'all next month!
I'm kind of stoked that there's still an "everybody" out there after going AWOL for over a month. The "get off your lazy ass and write" requests have picked up as of late and have remotivated me to get this blog rolling again. I'm currently in Wiesbaden, Germany with my mother and brother but I'll elaborate how I got here from Thailand:
Sunday, March 4th: I traveled from Koh Pha Ngan back to Bangkok. I almost booked a room at the Intercontinental, where our group had stayed earlier in the trip, before remembering that I'm really really cheap. I found a sweet hostel in a pretty good location for just under $4. Upon arrival I went to eat my last cheap Thai dinner(phad thai and green papaya salad) and got my last Thai massage, then went to bed early in preparation for my 6:40 AM flight home.
Monday, March 5th: I woke up at 4 AM and caught a cab to the airport. When I got there, I was informed that the flight was canceled and would be rescheduled for the following morning. I wasn't too pleased but there are worse things that could happen. United Airlines put the entire plane up at the Novotel(I think) right next to the airport and paid for three meals. I probably should have taken advantage and gone back to the city but I was feeling lazy and never once set foot outside of the hotel. The food was decent but rather disappointing after eating authentic Thai for nearly two weeks.
Tuesday, March 6th: My flight actually took off and the transfer at Tokyo Narita went well. I got in to Seattle at 11 AM and decided to catch the bus home and was pleasantly surprised with the ease of the experience. The bus goes straight from the airport to around Spokane Street then basically drives up 4th Avenue into downtown. I got off on 4th and University, walked down to 3rd and picked up the #72. The #72 drops me off 2 blocks from my mom's house and the whole experience only cost $1.25. Compare that to over $40 for a taxi and it's quite a deal. Erica came to pick me up for lunch at Paseo and it was good to be home. I left for India on Christmas night and this had been by far the longest trip of my life. That night we drank some beer at Ozzie's then headed to Die Bier Stube for some good beer. Dave and Tasha ended up spending the night at my house and it was good to be home.
Wednesday, March 7th: This recap is taking too long. Watched the Huskies beat ASU in round 1 of the Pac 10 tournament at Sport. Headed to the Little Red Hen for karaoke. Went to Jessica's place and stayed up until 7 AM. Dave and Tasha kept it real again and were up until 4 AM. Somehow they made it out the door by 7 AM for work. Unreal dedication to keeping it real. Marcus also kicked it hard but he didn't have to work until 2 PM.
Thursday, March 8th: Watched the Huskies lost to WSU in round 2 of the Pac 10 tournament. Words can't really describe my disdain for the Cougs. People were drinking heavily but I went home early to pack for Vegas.
Friday, March 9th: Caught an early flight to Vegas, arriving at 8:45 AM. Had a conference call with my financial adviser poolside at 10 AM. Started drinking around noon. Pina Coladas with 151 are good. God bless the Imperial Palace. Went to Treasures for Happy Hour. Went to the Bellagio buffet for dinner. Got a table at Pure for Eli's birthday. Put $1600 on my debit card. Had fun.
Saturday, March 10th: Rough Morning. Went to watch Carl in the PokerDome. Poker is rigged. Decide to change my flight to Phoenix to tonight instead of tomorrow morning. Get to the airport 15 minutes before the last flight to Phoenix. My checked bag doesn't make it to the plane so I have to pick it up in the morning. Try to rent a car but my Debit card has been deactivated due to "suspicious activity". I call WaMu and tell them that I did, indeed, put $1600 on my card. They reactivate my card but it won't go into effect until 5 AM. I have no other credit card to rent the car. Kenny is nice and drives out to the airport to put the car on his card. Kenny's apartment is nice. Life is good.
Sunday, March 11th: Wake up early to go pick up my bag at the airport. It isn't there. We find out that it went to Oklahoma and will be back in Phoenix later in the afternoon. I ask for it to be delivered. They agree. I go back to Kenny's place to shower and pick up Roxanne for the M's game. We go pick up Steph then eat at In N Out. It is good. Kenny messes up our free tickets so Steph has to buy a GA ticket. Steph, Roxanne and I sit in the outfield and drink beers. Life is good. After the game we go to Steph's for Dilly Chicken. It is good. Steph's dad and I start drinking heavily. He puts a hurting on me. Southwest delivers my bag at 10 PM. Life is good.
Monday, March 12th: I drive back to Kenny's early in the morning and feel like regurgitated crap. I tell Kenny that I'll try to get to the field by 10 AM to watch practice. I pass out until 1:30 PM and miss everything.
Tuesday, March 13th: I finally make it to the ballpark early enough for practice. It's pretty awesome and I'm upset with myself for not making it out more often. Practice ends so I head home to pick up Roxanne and Antony's girlfriend, who's name I can't remember right now. BTW, Kenny is Ichiro's interpreter and Antony is Johjima's. Just a FYI. We watch the game from box seats. Much easier to pay attention to the game. Ben Sheets is good. After the game I take the girls to the mall then head home for a nap. After the nap I head to Steph's place to say goodbye then out for some BBQ. It is delicious. After BBQ we go to the Blue Moon Saloon, which Kenny has mistakenly told me is the Blue Moon Brewery. They do serve Blue Moon so it's all good. Hit the hay reasonably early because I have an early flight home.
Wednesday, March 14th: Hit the road at 6 AM and Phoenix traffic is awful. I am late and just turn my car in without paying. I owe Kenny about $200. I make it on my flight. I catch the bus home but it gets a flat tire in the International District. Erica saves the day and takes me to Paseo for a prawn sandwich. Life is good. Erica takes me home and i drive down to Vancouver, WA to visit my grandma. We eat Hawaiian BBQ for dinner. I like Huli Huli Chicken. I feel like crap at bedtime and wake up often throughout the night with horrible stomach pain.
Thursday, March 15th: I leave Vancouver at 6:30 AM because the cable guy is supposed to come over between 10 AM and noon. I feel like crap. I have to pull over in Centralia because it hurts so bad. I park behind the AM/PM and recline my seat. 30 seconds later I hop out of the car and vomit hard 5 or 6 times. I go into AM/PM to buy water and gum. I pass out in my car for an hour and wake up feeling marginally better. I make it home at 11 AM hoping I didn't miss the cable guy. I walk in the house then look out the window and see him pull up behind me. Awesome. I install SlingBox for Clifford and I am pleased with myself. I fall asleep from noon until 7 PM. Life sucks. I worry about not being able to sleep that night but sleep easily from 9 PM until 9 AM. Pain, sir.
Friday, March 16th: I don't really remember what happened today. I packed for Germany I think.
Saturday, March 17th: I fly to Germany. Awesome flight with a short 1-hour layover in Cincinnati. Sadly, I felt like crap and couldn't appreciate the incredibly efficiency.
Sunday, March 18th: I arrive in Germany early. Cliff is hungover from St Patty's Day and is late to pick me up. He is amazed at how hard I'm coughing and chastises me for bringing the bird flu to Germany. We eat a doner for lunch and it is good. We try to go out at night but everything is closed so we head back to Cliff's place for Car Bombs. They are good.
Monday, March 19th: Kitty and Jason arrive in Frankfurt. They left Seattle about 8 hours after me and arrive in Frankfurt 24 hours after me. Suckas. I don't remember what we did today.
Tuesday, March 20th: Jason, Kitty and I drive to Wurzburg, Roethenburg and Ansbach. Wurzburg is really cool, Roethenburg is kind of overrated.
Wednesday, March 21st: We drive to Munich and stop in Dachau on the way. Dachau is very depressing. Munich is fun. We go on a beerhall tour and hit 4: Paulaner, Hofbrau, something, and Hacker-Pschorr. I love Hacker-Pschorr.
Thursday, March 22nd: We spend a day in Munich. The Residence Museum is awesome. So is our hostel. We stay up pretty late drinking there with 16 or 17 year-old Danish girls. Holla.
Friday, March 23rd: We drive to Neuschwanstein castle and take the tour. The castle was built by Ludvig II and was the inspiration for Disney's castle. It is gorgeous and lavish. Then we drive back to Wiesbaden.
Saturday, March 24th: Cliff, Jason, Kitty and I drive to Cologne, one of my favorite cities in Europe. Cologne is home to my favorite cathedral, The Dom, and my favorite Doner shop, Euro Doner. We explore the Dom and hike to the top of the south spire then head to Euro Doner for lunch. Jason and Cliff order the Doner Special which is basically a dust pan full of meat dumped in a huge slab of Turkish bread. I was full of my regular doner which was about half the size of the doner special. Cliff and Jason both finished and felt like puking. Doners are amazing.
Sunday, March 25th: Relaxing day in Wiesbaden. Kitty heads to the thermal bath for a massage. She reports back with stories of nudity and attractive women. Jason and I consider going at a later date.
Monday, March 26th: Kitty, Jason and I fly to Marseille. I like Marseille a lot, it's kind of like a poor man's Monte Carlo.
Tuesday, March 27th: Train from Marseille to Monte Carlo. We go to the Poker Stars party and drink a few beers. Everyone is incredulous that I'm not playing. My friend Noah offers to stake me for 3K Euro if I can collect the other 7K from others. I make a feeble attempt to find backing and actually manage to "sell" almost 80% but no one has cash and I eventually give up. It's good to see a lot of old faces though.
Wednesday, March 28th: Day 1 of the tourney. I sweat some friends for a while and do an interview with the EPT crew. They're doing a "where are they now" feature and think it's cool that I don't play poker anymore. We'll see what happens when the feature airs but it's possible that they just wanted to make fun of me for being busto.
Thursday, March 29th: We take the train to Nice for the day. Nice is nice. Easiest pun ever. The weather is too cold for topless bathing. Booooo.
Friday, March 30th: We explore Monaco. It is ridiculous. So much wealth. The palace is nice and the attached museum is small but interesting.
Saturday, March 31st: We leave Monaco headed to Milan for the Roma - Ac Milan Serie A game. Milan is really nice but we misread the schedule and the game is in Rome. We find a bar to watch the game but it isn't quite the same as watching it live.
Sunday, April 1st: We fly home from Milan and relax all day. Feels good.
Monday, April 2nd: Kitty and Jason leave. I am sad. They were good travel partners.
Tuesday, April 3rd - Thursday, April 5th: I sit around most of the time. Cliff works from 8 AM until 7 PM then goes to bed at 10 PM. It kind of sucks but the 3 hours of hanging out make everything worthwhile.
Friday, April 6th: My mom arrives. We drive to Kaiserslautern to visit my friend Jason. We end up spending the night there.
Saturday, April 7th: We drive to Bamberg. Enroute we stop at a monestary and drink beer. Monks make good beer. I only have one beer so I can drive. Bamberg is awesome. Very cool old German town. Originally I think it's called "bomb"berg but later find out that it's "BAM!"berg. Silly me.
Sunday, April 8th: We explore BAM!berg then drive home. Cliff has a training run for his marathon next weekend. Sadistic.
Monday, April 9th: My mom and I walk around Wiesbaden. It's a pretty cool town. We find a old castle that was destroyed. It is cool.
Tuesday, April 10th: My mom and I drive to Belgium. Belgium trip report coming soon. It will have more detail than the month in review. Maybe I should just blog like this from now on. See y'all next month!
Friday, March 02, 2007
Koh Pha Ngan
Lots of boobs on the beach here. And I'm sitting in an Internet cafe, buying airfare. Gotta get back out there. I just looked at Seattle's weather and we've got showers with a low of 33 degrees. I'm going to enjoy not sweating like Patrick Ewing every time I go outside but I'm going to miss the sun and the boobs. At least I get to enjoy the Full Moon Party tonight...oh wait, I don't.
Pauly has some pictures up from Australia. This one is probably my favorite.
Out to see more boobs. How many times can I say boobs in one post? Boobs.
Pauly has some pictures up from Australia. This one is probably my favorite.
Out to see more boobs. How many times can I say boobs in one post? Boobs.
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Thailand
Thailand has been fantastic. It's easy to see why it's such a popular tourist destination. I'll definitely write up a big trip report when I have time. It's a definite maybe.
I'm in Koh Phangan for what I thought would be the full moon party but apparently I'm going to miss it. When I planned my trip, the party was scheduled for March 3rd so I planned on partying on the 3rd, getting back to Bangkok on the 4th and flying home on the 5th. However, the date got changed at some point and now the party is on the night of the 4th. My plane leaves Bangkok at 6:40 AM on the morning of the 5th and it is impossible to get up there by then if I'm down here the night before. Anyway, I was pretty pissed last night when I found out but I have 3 days on a beautiful island in Thailand to get over it. I'm feeling a bit homesick since my friends have all left me but I'll be home in 3 days and it doesn't seem too far off. I get homesick every once in a while but that's one of the great things about travel; realizing how great home is. Bouts with homesickness usually happen when I'm traveling alone in a place where my friends and I would have a ball. Koh Phangan is one of those places.
Anyway, just wanted to check in. Internet is fast here but it's really pretty outside and I'm off to rent a moped. I get home on Monday morning around 10:30 AM...anyone wanna come get me at Sea-Tac?
I'm in Koh Phangan for what I thought would be the full moon party but apparently I'm going to miss it. When I planned my trip, the party was scheduled for March 3rd so I planned on partying on the 3rd, getting back to Bangkok on the 4th and flying home on the 5th. However, the date got changed at some point and now the party is on the night of the 4th. My plane leaves Bangkok at 6:40 AM on the morning of the 5th and it is impossible to get up there by then if I'm down here the night before. Anyway, I was pretty pissed last night when I found out but I have 3 days on a beautiful island in Thailand to get over it. I'm feeling a bit homesick since my friends have all left me but I'll be home in 3 days and it doesn't seem too far off. I get homesick every once in a while but that's one of the great things about travel; realizing how great home is. Bouts with homesickness usually happen when I'm traveling alone in a place where my friends and I would have a ball. Koh Phangan is one of those places.
Anyway, just wanted to check in. Internet is fast here but it's really pretty outside and I'm off to rent a moped. I get home on Monday morning around 10:30 AM...anyone wanna come get me at Sea-Tac?
Monday, February 19, 2007
Holla
Hey there. I'm in Siem Reap, Cambodia and we just completed a long day of sightseeing, covering most of the major temples in the area. Angkor Wat was phenomenal but some of the other temples were just as cool and much less crowded. We're flying to Bangkok tonight and will fly to Phuket on the 21st. I hope to find a good Internet connection soon so that I can post pictures and whatnot. Sorry for the lack of updates but the Interet has been excruciatingly slow and the last thing I want to do out here is stare at a page loading. I'll be in Seattle in 2 weeks and I'm very excited for that. Peace, love, Happy New Year.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Sorry for being MIA the past week. The Internet has been shaky everywhere and I've been too discouraged to write anything. The Great Ocean Road was awesome and I had a great time with Miss Cory-Ann. I was considering flying to New Zealand this week but I found out that my friend Kent would be in Melbourne for business on Wednesday and Thursday so I decided to stay put. Staying in Melbourne also gave me more time to hang out with Cory-Ann and we've had a good time. We saw both Happy Feet and The Pursuit of Happyness at the Crown Casino, ate Pho in Chinatown, and ate at a really nice Italian place on Chapel Street. We've also watched a lot of cricket and she's filled in the gaps in my cricket knowledge. I am now a self-proclaimed cricket expert. Last night, Kento and I got reasonably drunk but refrained from going off the deep end. He and I have a history of bad nights so we made a conscious decision to take it easy last night. He has a few business meetings today and flies out tomorrow morning at 6 AM but I think we'll put in some late hours tonight. I leave on Saturday for Vietnam and I'm really excited to meet Davis, Hao-Tam and CJ in Hanoi. I realized today that I only have 25 days left on the road before returning to Seattle. Time flies when you're having fun. Here's my schedule for SE Asia:
Mon 2/12 Halong Bay
Tue 2/13 Halong Bay
Wed 2/14 Hanoi
Thu 2/15 Nha trang
Fri 2/16 Nha trang
Sat 2/17 Saigon
Sun 2/18 Saigon/Siem Reap
Mon 2/19 Siem Reap / BKK
Tue 2/20 Bangkok
Wed 2/21 Phuket
Thu 2/22 Phuket
Fri 2/23 Phuket-BKK
Sat 2/24 Krabi
Sun 2/25 Krabi
Mon 2/26 Chiang Mai
Tue 2/27 Chiang Mai
Wed 2/28 Chiang Mai
Thu 3/1 Chiang Mai
Fri 3/2
Sat 3/3
Sun 3/4
Mon 3/5
Hao-Tam is a veteran of SE Asia so she did all the planning. I'm not used to staying at nice hotels but I can't complain. Hao-Tam and CJ are flying home on the 1st so I'll have a few days by myself. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I think there's a Full Moon party on the 4th that I'll try to attend. I'll dump some pictures as soon as I find a stable Internet connection. Until then, close your eyes and picture me rollin'.
Mon 2/12 Halong Bay
Tue 2/13 Halong Bay
Wed 2/14 Hanoi
Thu 2/15 Nha trang
Fri 2/16 Nha trang
Sat 2/17 Saigon
Sun 2/18 Saigon/Siem Reap
Mon 2/19 Siem Reap / BKK
Tue 2/20 Bangkok
Wed 2/21 Phuket
Thu 2/22 Phuket
Fri 2/23 Phuket-BKK
Sat 2/24 Krabi
Sun 2/25 Krabi
Mon 2/26 Chiang Mai
Tue 2/27 Chiang Mai
Wed 2/28 Chiang Mai
Thu 3/1 Chiang Mai
Fri 3/2
Sat 3/3
Sun 3/4
Mon 3/5
Hao-Tam is a veteran of SE Asia so she did all the planning. I'm not used to staying at nice hotels but I can't complain. Hao-Tam and CJ are flying home on the 1st so I'll have a few days by myself. I'm not sure what I'm going to do but I think there's a Full Moon party on the 4th that I'll try to attend. I'll dump some pictures as soon as I find a stable Internet connection. Until then, close your eyes and picture me rollin'.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Uluru Rocks
The last two days were phenomenal. On Tuesday morning I woke up early and hit the road to Uluru at 9:15 AM. I wanted to miss the afternoon heat of the Outback so I pretty much drove straight through and got to my dorm around 1:30 PM. There's a big complex right outside of the National Park called Ayers Rock Resort complete with a post office, supermarket, and various overnight options from camping to $500/night hotel rooms. The resort is actually pretty cool and it was designed to have a minimal environmental impact and isn't too much of a blemish on the face of the Outback. I opted for the $41 shared room which consisted of two bunkbeds and not much else. After checking in I took it easy for the rest of the day and only left the room to see Uluru by sunset. The viewing was very peaceful and it was nice to have my own car so that I could come and go as I pleased. I got back to the resort around 8 PM, ate a delicious lamb fillet, took a shower, and hit the hay around 9 PM.
Wednesday was pretty damn hectic and I think it'll be described better in timestamp format.
1:30 AM: I wake up with a start, worried that I was going to miss the sunrise. I check my watch and see that it's way too early and I pass back out. I proceed to have a nightmare about waking up at noon and missing everything that I wanted to do.
2:30 AM: I wake up again, relieved that I didn't miss the sunrise but annoyed that I keep on waking up. I pass out in a few minutes and am greeted by another nightmare about missing the sunrise.
3:00 AM: I wake up again. I'm pretty ticked off but eventually fall back asleep.
4:15 AM: I wake up again and nod in and out of consciousness before my alarm goes off at 4:40 AM. I hop out of my bunk and run to the shared showers to start my day.
5:00 AM: I turn in the key to my dorm and drive to the Uluru sunrise viewing point.
5:30 AM: I park at the viewing point. I'm one of the first people there and try to find the best place to watch the sunrise. I back my Toyota Yaris into a spot, get on the roof and wait.
6:04 AM: This is the advertised time of sunrise and a bevy of tour busses have arrived. There are a lot of old people and Asians milling around but I am the only one sitting on the roof of a Toyota Yaris. I feel special. The sky is brightening but nothing too special is happening.
6:20 AM: The sun finally peeks over the Outback and Uluru lights up in a reddish glow. It is absolutely surreal and is one of the most amazing moments of my life. The buzzing of tourists subsides and everyone stares at the sacred rock. It's hard to properly explain but all morning the rock sat there, looking dull and dark reddish-brown, even as the sky lit up, the suddenly it just started glowing in an intense red and I understood why the rock meant so much to the Aborigines. I'm not a religious guy but the moment was scarily spiritual.
6:40 AM: My boner has subsided and I get off of the roof of my Toyota Yaris. I could have spent more time there, taking a walk around the base of the rock and whatnot, but I want to get to King's Canyon before it gets too hot. I tell the rock that I love her and start my drive to King's Canyon.
7:30 AM: I stop in Curtain Springs for gas. They have an Internet kiosk so I check my email for $A1/5 minutes. My mother is worried about my safety in the Outback so I send her a message to let her know I'm ok. Doesn't she know that I'm the master of road trips?
8:00 AM: I'm getting tired to I accelerate and turn up my music. I think I see a deer grazing on the side of the road. All of a sudden it stands up and hops into the middle of the road, right in the path of my car. I swerve into the other lane and it feels like I missed him by inches. I look in the rearview and the kangaroo bounds across the road, completely unaffected by his near-death encounter.
9:45 AM: After ~350 KM I reach King's Canyon. It doesn't look like much but it's called The Grand Canyon of Australia. I slather on some sunscreen and put on my M's hat. Time to get physical.
9:50 AM: I drop a deuce. I'm very glad that I took care of this early and didn't have to deal witth eurge to defecate while hiking.
10:00 AM: I finally start the hike. There are a lot of signs warning about the heat and the exertion and whatnot but it's only 6 KM, how hard can it be? Supposedly the hike takes 4.5 hours but I'm shooting for 3 so that I can be back by 1 PM, before we hit our high of 39 degrees Celcius.
10:05 AM: I take my first break. The first part of the hike is straight up, from the canyon floor to the rim. It's pretty brutal. I'm sweating like Patrick Ewing at the free-throw line and I've already downed half of my water bottle. If I didn't have this stupid blog I might have turned back but I wanted cool pictures from the rim so I pressed on.
10:10 AM: Break number two. I mean, the canyon doesn't look that big, WHY AM I STILL CLIMBING!!!
10:20 AM: I reach the rim, swallow the pre-vomit saliva, and start to navigate my way around the canyon.
10:30 AM: I catch up to a French couple. The woman does not look happy. I overhear the man say "Sava?(how's it going?)" to his girlfriend and she responds with "Sava Bon(It's going well)" before launching into a tirade that probably translated into something like, "I hate you for taking me on this trip, I want to go back to Paris and drink wine and wave my white flag. Screw you, you frog-eating mother-effer." It was a very impressive tirade and I gave her a golf clap.
11:00 AM: I reach the Garden of Eden. It's a spot toward the back of the canyon with large pools of water and lush greenery. Apparently the rock is porous and holds water like a sponge. When the pools start to evaporate, more water seeps out of the rock. It's actually pretty cool. There are a lot of imformative signs on the walk and the I enjoy them.
11:15 AM: I run into a group of 5 tourists and a guide who I call the Asian Steve Irwin. He is Asian and is a hiking guide but he talks with the same passion and enthusiasm that Steve Iriwn did. He asks how my hike is going and I respond that I'm glad I got started early. He launches into a tirade over how hot it gets up on the rim and how it catches a lot of people off guard and how he once led a group where a guy wasn't drinking water and he had to carry the guy to shade and start an IV and the guy could have died and all that good stuff. He started to talk about the wildlife too but I had heard enough and slowly, without taking my eyes off of him, started to back away. Once I was over the ridge, I turned my back and sprinted off, careful not to look back. He was a wierd dude.
11:35 AM: I reach my Toyota Yaris and get out of dodge. I look in my rearview mirror and the Asian Steve Irwin is nowhere in sight. I breathe a sigh of relief and start the drive back to Alice Springs.
11:55 AM: I stop at King's Creek to buy water and gas. I'm still sweating like Ewing and I'm worried that it might never stop.
12:30 PM: I finally stop sweating. The AC in my Toyota Yaris feels good.
1:00 PM: I stop in Mt. Ebenezer for lunch. The wings are $A2 each and the jo-jos are $A3.50. I buy 3 wings and some jo-jos. Everything is delicious. I am the only person in the restaurant and I gaze out the window reflecting on life and the pursuit. Suddenly a 40-person tour bus pulls up and I see old people start to get out. Time to hit the road.
4:00 PM: I get back to Alice Springs. I check into my hostel, take a shower then crawl into bed. I'm exhausted and want to go to sleep but I fire up my laptop and watch Season 3 of The Wire to help ease me into slumber.
11:30 PM: I finish Season 3 of the Wire and have goosebumps up and down my body. What an amazing show. I shutdown my laptop and turn off the lights. My German roommate, who lay down at 9 PM, can now go to sleep. I dream about nothing and wake up at 8 AM feeling great. Australia is awesome.
Wednesday was pretty damn hectic and I think it'll be described better in timestamp format.
1:30 AM: I wake up with a start, worried that I was going to miss the sunrise. I check my watch and see that it's way too early and I pass back out. I proceed to have a nightmare about waking up at noon and missing everything that I wanted to do.
2:30 AM: I wake up again, relieved that I didn't miss the sunrise but annoyed that I keep on waking up. I pass out in a few minutes and am greeted by another nightmare about missing the sunrise.
3:00 AM: I wake up again. I'm pretty ticked off but eventually fall back asleep.
4:15 AM: I wake up again and nod in and out of consciousness before my alarm goes off at 4:40 AM. I hop out of my bunk and run to the shared showers to start my day.
5:00 AM: I turn in the key to my dorm and drive to the Uluru sunrise viewing point.
5:30 AM: I park at the viewing point. I'm one of the first people there and try to find the best place to watch the sunrise. I back my Toyota Yaris into a spot, get on the roof and wait.
6:04 AM: This is the advertised time of sunrise and a bevy of tour busses have arrived. There are a lot of old people and Asians milling around but I am the only one sitting on the roof of a Toyota Yaris. I feel special. The sky is brightening but nothing too special is happening.
6:20 AM: The sun finally peeks over the Outback and Uluru lights up in a reddish glow. It is absolutely surreal and is one of the most amazing moments of my life. The buzzing of tourists subsides and everyone stares at the sacred rock. It's hard to properly explain but all morning the rock sat there, looking dull and dark reddish-brown, even as the sky lit up, the suddenly it just started glowing in an intense red and I understood why the rock meant so much to the Aborigines. I'm not a religious guy but the moment was scarily spiritual.
6:40 AM: My boner has subsided and I get off of the roof of my Toyota Yaris. I could have spent more time there, taking a walk around the base of the rock and whatnot, but I want to get to King's Canyon before it gets too hot. I tell the rock that I love her and start my drive to King's Canyon.
7:30 AM: I stop in Curtain Springs for gas. They have an Internet kiosk so I check my email for $A1/5 minutes. My mother is worried about my safety in the Outback so I send her a message to let her know I'm ok. Doesn't she know that I'm the master of road trips?
8:00 AM: I'm getting tired to I accelerate and turn up my music. I think I see a deer grazing on the side of the road. All of a sudden it stands up and hops into the middle of the road, right in the path of my car. I swerve into the other lane and it feels like I missed him by inches. I look in the rearview and the kangaroo bounds across the road, completely unaffected by his near-death encounter.
9:45 AM: After ~350 KM I reach King's Canyon. It doesn't look like much but it's called The Grand Canyon of Australia. I slather on some sunscreen and put on my M's hat. Time to get physical.
9:50 AM: I drop a deuce. I'm very glad that I took care of this early and didn't have to deal witth eurge to defecate while hiking.
10:00 AM: I finally start the hike. There are a lot of signs warning about the heat and the exertion and whatnot but it's only 6 KM, how hard can it be? Supposedly the hike takes 4.5 hours but I'm shooting for 3 so that I can be back by 1 PM, before we hit our high of 39 degrees Celcius.
10:05 AM: I take my first break. The first part of the hike is straight up, from the canyon floor to the rim. It's pretty brutal. I'm sweating like Patrick Ewing at the free-throw line and I've already downed half of my water bottle. If I didn't have this stupid blog I might have turned back but I wanted cool pictures from the rim so I pressed on.
10:10 AM: Break number two. I mean, the canyon doesn't look that big, WHY AM I STILL CLIMBING!!!
10:20 AM: I reach the rim, swallow the pre-vomit saliva, and start to navigate my way around the canyon.
10:30 AM: I catch up to a French couple. The woman does not look happy. I overhear the man say "Sava?(how's it going?)" to his girlfriend and she responds with "Sava Bon(It's going well)" before launching into a tirade that probably translated into something like, "I hate you for taking me on this trip, I want to go back to Paris and drink wine and wave my white flag. Screw you, you frog-eating mother-effer." It was a very impressive tirade and I gave her a golf clap.
11:00 AM: I reach the Garden of Eden. It's a spot toward the back of the canyon with large pools of water and lush greenery. Apparently the rock is porous and holds water like a sponge. When the pools start to evaporate, more water seeps out of the rock. It's actually pretty cool. There are a lot of imformative signs on the walk and the I enjoy them.
11:15 AM: I run into a group of 5 tourists and a guide who I call the Asian Steve Irwin. He is Asian and is a hiking guide but he talks with the same passion and enthusiasm that Steve Iriwn did. He asks how my hike is going and I respond that I'm glad I got started early. He launches into a tirade over how hot it gets up on the rim and how it catches a lot of people off guard and how he once led a group where a guy wasn't drinking water and he had to carry the guy to shade and start an IV and the guy could have died and all that good stuff. He started to talk about the wildlife too but I had heard enough and slowly, without taking my eyes off of him, started to back away. Once I was over the ridge, I turned my back and sprinted off, careful not to look back. He was a wierd dude.
11:35 AM: I reach my Toyota Yaris and get out of dodge. I look in my rearview mirror and the Asian Steve Irwin is nowhere in sight. I breathe a sigh of relief and start the drive back to Alice Springs.
11:55 AM: I stop at King's Creek to buy water and gas. I'm still sweating like Ewing and I'm worried that it might never stop.
12:30 PM: I finally stop sweating. The AC in my Toyota Yaris feels good.
1:00 PM: I stop in Mt. Ebenezer for lunch. The wings are $A2 each and the jo-jos are $A3.50. I buy 3 wings and some jo-jos. Everything is delicious. I am the only person in the restaurant and I gaze out the window reflecting on life and the pursuit. Suddenly a 40-person tour bus pulls up and I see old people start to get out. Time to hit the road.
4:00 PM: I get back to Alice Springs. I check into my hostel, take a shower then crawl into bed. I'm exhausted and want to go to sleep but I fire up my laptop and watch Season 3 of The Wire to help ease me into slumber.
11:30 PM: I finish Season 3 of the Wire and have goosebumps up and down my body. What an amazing show. I shutdown my laptop and turn off the lights. My German roommate, who lay down at 9 PM, can now go to sleep. I dream about nothing and wake up at 8 AM feeling great. Australia is awesome.
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Alice Springs
The whole Alice Springs experience has been a bit of a debacle. The main reason for coming here was to see Uluru but it's a 450 km drive and it's possible to just fly there. I came to Alice Springs because I like driving and seeing countryside and I heard that there were some cool sights to be seen in the city. I had a devil of a time finding a reasonable rate on a rental car and nothing came with unlimited miles. I'm stuck with a 1000 Km limit which I'm definitely going to exceed at a rate of $$A0.28 per Km. It doesn't sound like much but it still annoys me. I'm still looking forward to the drive tomorrow but Alice Springs has been a bit of a disappointment. Most of the historical monuments are just tourist traps that try to take your money. There isn't a real museum here and all the history is about the white people who settled the land. There isn't anything telling of the history of the aborigines. It's esimated that 90% of indigenous Australians died when the British settled here due to diseases and massacres. It really pisses me off how people can be such assholes. Obviously this isn't just a problem in Australia because we did some fucked up things to the Native Americans. I'm jus tmiffed at how people can come into a new world and kill whomever or whatever is currently living there, rape the women, etc. The thing that frustrates me further is the fact that there are a bunch of aborigines in Alice Springs but none of them have good jobs or education. They're all just sitting on the street looking poor. There are a few aboriginal art shops and whatnot but they're all run by white people and feel super fake.
Man, maybe I just got out on the wrong side of bed this morning. I don't really know a ton about the aboriginal history other than what I read on Wikipedia and I should probably read more about the history before getting so agitated. I hazily remember Cory-Ann saying something about trying to improve the education system for aborigines but we were at the bar in the Crown Casino and the conversation may never have happened. If it did though, I'll have a long chat with her this weekend and might feel better about getting up in arms.
Tomorrow I'm driving ~460 Km to Uluru. I'm probably going to get to my hotel around 4 PM and will try to get to the rock by sunset. Then, in the morning I will wake up at sunrise and go back. While it's still early, I'm going to drive to King's Canyon and hike along the rim. Hopefully I get out of there by 2 PM or so and I can drive back to Alice Springs before it gets dark. Apparently there are a lot of animals all over the roads and they're hard to see at night. Internet is $A16/hour over there so I'll be sure to post once I get back to Alice Springs safe and sound. It would be awesome if I could complete the drive without hitting anything. Peace.
Man, maybe I just got out on the wrong side of bed this morning. I don't really know a ton about the aboriginal history other than what I read on Wikipedia and I should probably read more about the history before getting so agitated. I hazily remember Cory-Ann saying something about trying to improve the education system for aborigines but we were at the bar in the Crown Casino and the conversation may never have happened. If it did though, I'll have a long chat with her this weekend and might feel better about getting up in arms.
Tomorrow I'm driving ~460 Km to Uluru. I'm probably going to get to my hotel around 4 PM and will try to get to the rock by sunset. Then, in the morning I will wake up at sunrise and go back. While it's still early, I'm going to drive to King's Canyon and hike along the rim. Hopefully I get out of there by 2 PM or so and I can drive back to Alice Springs before it gets dark. Apparently there are a lot of animals all over the roads and they're hard to see at night. Internet is $A16/hour over there so I'll be sure to post once I get back to Alice Springs safe and sound. It would be awesome if I could complete the drive without hitting anything. Peace.
So long, Sydney
Sydney has been great. Pauly and I got to experience two great barbeques and met a lot of really cool people. My favorite thing about this great country is the people that I've met. Everyone is very friendly and very interested in what you're saying. They also really like beer and meat and partying, three of my favorite pastimes. The city itself is really gorgeous and unlike anywhere else in the world. The harbor is great and there are some remarkable buildings down here that make for a beautiful skyline. I don't think the metro system is very good but the city, despite being quite hilly, is easily navigated on foot. One of the best things about both Melbourne and Sydney, the two biggest cities in Australia, is that they have a clean, compact downtown area and it's really easy to wander around without plans. Everyone knows how much I hate plans.
Tomorrow I say goodbye to Pauly who has been my travel partner over the last 8 days. We also spent a lot of time together at the casino in Melbourne. I like traveling solo but I like having a great travel partner even more. Pauly and I work well together because we're both relaxed guys who are up for anything. I like flying by the seat of my pants and Pauly doesn't mind doing the same. We've had a good time together down here and I'll be sad to part ways. *sniff* I'm fly to Alice Springs in the morning to see Uluru, formerly Ayers Rock. I'll be there until Thursday when I fly to Melbourne in preparation for the Great Ocean Road, a drive that I'll be doing over the weekend with the lovely and talented Cory-Ann. The next week will be spectacular and I hope to have a lot of pictures.
It was also a lot of fun being here during the Australian Open. I was in France in 2000 during the Tour de France and the Euro Cup and it's really fun to see a whole country consumed by sports. Federer just won the men's side, barely squeaking out a 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez played out of his mind and Federer still won in straight sets. We went to the bar the night of the Roddick match, hoping to see some tough tennis and Roger just ruined it for us. He is so unbelievable to watch and I can't get enough. I wish that I could watch Jordan again and Federer has the same sort of aura. The man just refuses to lose.
Here are some pictures from the past few days. 100 cool points to the person who can name the type of flower in the first picture.
Tomorrow I say goodbye to Pauly who has been my travel partner over the last 8 days. We also spent a lot of time together at the casino in Melbourne. I like traveling solo but I like having a great travel partner even more. Pauly and I work well together because we're both relaxed guys who are up for anything. I like flying by the seat of my pants and Pauly doesn't mind doing the same. We've had a good time together down here and I'll be sad to part ways. *sniff* I'm fly to Alice Springs in the morning to see Uluru, formerly Ayers Rock. I'll be there until Thursday when I fly to Melbourne in preparation for the Great Ocean Road, a drive that I'll be doing over the weekend with the lovely and talented Cory-Ann. The next week will be spectacular and I hope to have a lot of pictures.
It was also a lot of fun being here during the Australian Open. I was in France in 2000 during the Tour de France and the Euro Cup and it's really fun to see a whole country consumed by sports. Federer just won the men's side, barely squeaking out a 7-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Fernando Gonzalez. Gonzalez played out of his mind and Federer still won in straight sets. We went to the bar the night of the Roddick match, hoping to see some tough tennis and Roger just ruined it for us. He is so unbelievable to watch and I can't get enough. I wish that I could watch Jordan again and Federer has the same sort of aura. The man just refuses to lose.
Here are some pictures from the past few days. 100 cool points to the person who can name the type of flower in the first picture.
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