Trip: Summer 2008
There are [23] stories from my trip: Summer 2008
USA | Wednesday, 3 Sep 2008 | Views [170]
After about 23 years of never venturing more west than Houston and a year of unsuccessful attempts while in the Far East, I've finally touched the Pacific Ocean. That body of water with a gentler name has been eluding me while I've traveled around ... Read more >
Tags: pacified, pacific ocean
USA | Thursday, 28 Aug 2008 | Views [169]
I decided that I'd endured so many endless and disgusting train rides in China that I could easily handle a train experience Stateside. I've done it before -- from New Orleans to Chicago. And it was amazing. So I bought a ticket the day before ... Read more >
Tags: train rides
CANADA | Wednesday, 27 Aug 2008 | Views [188]
A couple of days into my trip in Canada, my couchsurfing host told me he was taking a trip with some friends to Whistler, B.C. It's a few hours away, and it's the main site for the 2010 Winter Olympics. I figured I'd make it a world tour of recent ... Read more >
Tags: canada, couchsurfing
CANADA | Friday, 22 Aug 2008 | Views [202]
Most of the people on my flight were Chinese, Chinese-American, or Chinese-Canadian. They spoke English, but they had the look of the billions of people that surrounded me for the past year. I was comfortable. As soon as I entered the Vancouver ... Read more >
Tags: reverse culture shock
HONG KONG | Thursday, 21 Aug 2008 | Views [158]
Macau and Hong Kong are so European. In Macau, the Portuguese influence hasn't evaporated over the years. In fact, they're pretty proud of it. In Hong Kong, there are more rules posted everywhere than in New York or even London. But the English ... Read more >
VIETNAM | Saturday, 16 Aug 2008 | Views [194]
Tonight is my last night in Southeast Asia. I'll be heading back to China (but to the unrestricted portion) for a few nights before finally making it back to the great continent of North America. I can taste it. And I can't wait to taste it. I've ... Read more >
Tags: macau
VIETNAM | Thursday, 14 Aug 2008 | Views [208]
I'm rediscovering that being in all these countries, while easier than China, is still very difficult without speaking the language. But it's fun. Especially when it comes to eating. Vietnamese food is amazing. It's fresh and flavorful and just ... Read more >
VIETNAM | Monday, 11 Aug 2008 | Views [191]
I was woken up around 5:30am by Ryan, one of the other couch surfers, because he'd lost his bag. In a complete sleep smog, I told him to look around. It had to be there somewhere. Soon, Jiten, the other surfer, was awake and realizing his bag was ... Read more >
VIETNAM | Sunday, 10 Aug 2008 | Views [199]
Another early arrival. I had coffee, and when a decent time came, I called a friend I'd made in the city. I knew that I wasn't meeting my couch host until evening, so I figured having a good conversation all day wasn't a bad idea. Around 6pm, I ... Read more >
Tags: vietnam, ho chi minh city
VIETNAM | Wednesday, 6 Aug 2008 | Views [206]
I arrived in Nha Trang at about 6am. I'd gotten a map from a tourist bureau in HCMC, so I had a pretty good idea where I was in the city. I'd also gotten a reccommendation for a place to stay from some people I met. Who needs the Lonely Planet?! ... Read more >
Tags: nha trang, vietnam
CAMBODIA | Monday, 4 Aug 2008 | Views [160]
I arrived in some random part of HCMC around 1pm. Motorbike drivers were everywhere wanting to take me somewhere. I went straight into a hotel, asked for a map, and my location on that map. Then, I found an ATM. Absolutely famished, I went to the ... Read more >
Tags: ho chi minh city, vietnam, remeeting new friends
CAMBODIA | Monday, 4 Aug 2008 | Views [151]
I'm a little disappointed in myself for the way I treated Cambodia. It was slightly frightening. I was offered drugs more times than I can count. "Excuse me? Want to smoke? Opium?" But it was also beautiful. In a very sad way. I don't ... Read more >
Tags: cambodia, opium, saigon
CAMBODIA | Wednesday, 30 Jul 2008 | Views [160]
I've stayed in Siem Reap longer than planned because I'm more comfortable than I thought. But that's only because I'm not really seeing Cambodia. I'm kind of scared of it. Luckily, I've made a friend. Brendan from Ireland has been my travel buddy ... Read more >
THAILAND | Saturday, 26 Jul 2008 | Views [216]
Because my Vietnamese visa doesn't allow me into the country until August 1 and because everyone says a week in Cambodia is more than enough, I have been chillin' in Bangkok for two weeks now. By chillin' I mean doing almost nothing. It's been amazing.... Read more >
THAILAND | Thursday, 24 Jul 2008 | Views [533] | Comments [1]
There is this street in Bangkok called Khao San Road. It's very famous. In fact, when I told people about my coming to Thailand, to Bangkok, most often I was asked if I would be staying around Khao San Road. In the movie "The Beach", Leonardo ... Read more >
THAILAND | Wednesday, 23 Jul 2008 | Views [258]
I started an entry about a week ago that got lost in cyberspace. Here I will try to recreate it, but I'm not sure it was have the same effect. Mostly because the other was tinged with a heavy layer of first stage culture shock (which I was happily ... Read more >
CHINA | Tuesday, 15 Jul 2008 | Views [191]
Bangkok this time. My flight was about four hours, so I tried to catch up on the sleep that I'd missed by "sleeping" in the airport the night before. It worked alright. I arrived and bought a Thai sim card for my cell phone. However, my ... Read more >
CHINA | Sunday, 13 Jul 2008 | Views [212]
I arrived in Shanghai this morning at 8:15 for my last 24-hours on Chinese soil. It feels appropriate. Like I've come full circle. I'm leaving the same port that I arrived in 17 days short of one year ago. Twenty-five days short of the Olympics.... Read more >
CHINA | Friday, 11 Jul 2008 | Views [172]
Tonight, I had conflicted interests. I spent the day wandering around a lovely restored part of town called Ping Jiang (Peace River) and the Couple's Garden (a classical Chinese garden). It started to rain, so I planted myself in a coffee shop for ... Read more >
CHINA | Wednesday, 9 Jul 2008 | Views [170]
In the U.S., I've often thought that employers try to stretch their employees too thin. Instead of being a cashier, one becomes a cashier/floor cleaner/shelf straightener/item getter/item putter away/problem solver/customer greeter. There is always ... Read more >
CHINA | Wednesday, 9 Jul 2008 | Views [160]
I'm impressed. Not only did Susan show me much more than I'd ever intended to see in her city, but she insisted on paying for most of it. I'm at a complete loss as to WHY? If I'd paid for all my couch surfers, I wouldn't be on this trip. In fact, ... Read more >
CHINA | Sunday, 6 Jul 2008 | Views [186]
Susan, my couch host, doesn't really know much history about her hometown. In fact, she doesn't even know as much as I learned from reading the Lonely Planet. "Ask a boy. Boys are good at history," she said. I guess the talents of the ... Read more >
CHINA | Saturday, 5 Jul 2008 | Views [192] | Comments [1]
With the opportunity to write far sooner than I ever thought, I'm taking advantage. I arrived in the Southern Capital (that literally what the characters Nan Jing translate to) at 4am. I mentioned earlier that I managed to screw up my train ticket ... Read more >
