Quote

"We must not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we began and to know the place for the first time." -T.S. Eliot

Well I'm back in the states. Right where I started from and after 11 months exploring: it truly is to see and experience my country for the very first time.

Question

Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?

This on the day that Stanley "Tookie" Williams was executed after a failed stay by the governor of California Arnold Schwartzenegger. Just a few weeks after the U.S.A. executed it's 1,000th prisoner since capital punishment was reinstated in 1977. And in view of the fact that we have only charged Saddam with murdering less than 200 people. To note, also this week in the news: George W. Bush put the estimated Iraqi dead at over 30,000. Are you serious?

Just a question to throw out there.

Heartland

I just drove 24 hours (2 - 12 hour days) across the United States from Colorado to North Carolina for the holidays. If you are not familiar with the I-70 to I-40 exchange it is mostly a straight shot and mostly quite boring. Not to mention this trail takes you directly through the heart of "Bush Country." The Colorado plains, Kansas, Illinois, Tennessee, Kentucky...yes sir, these are Big Red states and it shows. Pickup trucks, Vote for Bush signs rotting on the side of the road, "We Support our Troops" bumper stickers, and people smoking inside gas stations ought to sum it up for ya'll. It's funny because as I drive through the deep south I am amazed at the scenery. It's so beautiful here and I think to myself (because I'm the only one in the car to talk to for all those hours) that "I could live here!" "Yes, definitely. This place is wonderful." And then I step out of the car and hear people converse with each other and themselves. Try to get waited on at the deli-counter in the grocery store. They can change a spare tire for a NASCAR race in 6.2 seconds flat, but it takes a little under 20 minutes to cut my cheese?!

Frustrated

What a frustrating day I have had. For those who are not aware...I'm trying to find work in London. And today my loophole into the UK just closed. There is a program called the HSWV: Highly Skilled Work Visa which I believed I totally qualified for. To my disdain, they recently closed the loophole. In May of this year they changed the automatic 65 points for an MBA to only qualify for the top 50 business schools in the world. Shiznit! I knew I should have went to Harvard instead of Colorado University. So, now I'm still filing out this form and scraping for points. The other way to score was if I can prove I was a high wage earner for the last 12 months. Yeah, haven't worked the last 11 months. So, now I am forever trapped in the cycle of "you need a job to get a work permit, but you need a work permit to get a job."

The worst part is that my current financial situation may keep me trapped in the states which makes it MUCH more difficult to interview for a UK job. I just can't afford to be in one of the worlds most expensive city for two months with no salary. Now what? Get a job to get a job? Ugh!

Easy Ridin'

It's a Harley Davidson advertisement. Click the picture for the caption.

Rocky Moutain High

I hate to fill up space quoting John Denver lyrics. And I never thought I'd say this but: he totally nailed me. He nailed this place. He really nailed how I feel. Since leaving the United States I have a new profound appreciation for this artist. I'll keep it to the first verse...but if you know me well...you know how this song lyric stuff works with me.

He was born in the summer of his twentyseventh year
coming home to a place he'd never been before.

He left yesterday behind him
you might say he was born again
you might say he found a key to ev'ry door.

When he first came to the mountains his life was away
on the road and hangin' by a song.
But the string's already broken and he doesn't really care
it keeps changin' fast and it don't last for long.

But the Colorado Rocky Mountain high

I've seen it rainin' fire in the sky.
The shadow from the starlight
is softer than a lullaby.
Rocky mountain high in Colorado.
Rocky mountain high in Colorado.

Happy North Americans in London

East Meets West

I meant to write this post in Turkey. The defacto boarder country of the East/West divide. A country that is 98 percent muslim yet also 98 percent European in its "feel." The clothing is Europe. The food is not...however the quaint cafe pervades. There are mosques and sometimes the shops close for prayer times. But business is conducted in English. Streets and sites are clearly marked. Tourism has taken full hold. Shopping is a shared national sport...however in this part of the world buyer be very aware. Legitimate shops with expensive designer labels operate right next door to markets full of blatant trademark infringements. I find it much harder to bargain here...because who knows what they're buying? Real or fake...and the price difference can be in the 100x range. Wouldn't it hurt to get burned to that tune?

Other transitions back to the West: Democratization of the automobile. Skirts and exposed shoulders are back for the ladies. People know what a map is and how to use it. Mixed race couples seem normal again and not a freak of economics. Public transportation is clean and a dream to use. Public toilets I have decided are quite crass in every corner of the planet.

And now, here I am in London. The "true hub of the Western world"...NYC, keep advertising. What an amazing transition I have had back into the life of which I was born. I now know that I took the right path. This journey took me Westward and the dividends are now paying in trumps. I had my shock factor with the first stop in Japan. Transitioned progressively deeper into harder to navigate SE Asia. Then set myself up for luxury living in Thailand and Laos. Just when I was feeling a bit low and wanting to end the trip...a hop over to Israel, a new region of the world - the Middle East - and re-energizing a possible aborted mission. Knocked off a few natural wonders of the world and swept into a final new country - Turkey before London and home. Wow...next stop: The States! The mixture of excitement, fear, love, hate, and wonder...answered and newly unanswered questions that are all welling up inside me is indescribable....

Songs are the Things by Which we File Memories

By now everyone knows how to download an MP3, yes? This song pretty much wraps together all my feelings of the moment and is a good sumation of what I have learned on my trip. It was introduced to me by my good friend Sunshine who lives here in London.

It's called: "I Love the Unknown" by Clem Snide

If you're one that does, you should.

Gloomy

Yes, after a few days of uncharacteristically warm and sunny weather...London has again slumped into a miserable piss. Ah, the wonderful grey blanket that envelopes this great city has indeed spread her length in all directions. But alas, out with those hip brown boots and jumpers. Dust off the umbrella and wet up your shiny new macintosh. This is London after all. This kind of weather almost makes me want to get inside and get some work done!

Phucking Fone

Back in the world of the west and it is completely impossible to operate without a mobile telephone. Damnit! I have missed meeting up with people on two occasions now. Nothing worse than spending an hour in Lecestier square at the 1/2 price ticket window only to discover an hour later that there are FOUR such windows and you friend was probably standing at any one of the other three you staked out!!! Or the other friend that tries to call and call but can't get through. Yeah. I finally have a mobile for the week as my friend Sunshine switches over. What ever am I going to do next week? Miss my appointments or break down and buy a pre-paid. Small price to pay for missed opportunities but I have to say that it totally SUCKS returning to the slavedom of my phone.

London Baby!!!!!!

I have arrived back into the Western world! Everyone speaks uninhibited English and the city is as mad as ever. I'm actually off to a rough start as I lost my underground ticket. Luckily my sob story prevented me from paying the $40 fine and I just had to buy my original ticket twice. Now I'm in an internet cafe RE-printing out directions to my friend Sunshine's house as that fell out of my pocket with the ticket.

Mental note: Throw these feckin pants out as they are the same ones I was wearing when my camera fell out on a train at Mt. Fuji. They are costing me WAY more than they are worth.

Scalped

Thought I would save a little money and get one last haircut in Turkey before I rolled into London. Heading back into the real world looking clean and fresh. I had a good plan. The cost here is about one-fifth of that in the Western world. Unfortunately so was the quality. I now have the same haircut as my high school yearbook photos. Good thing I didn't splurge on the tatoo!

Straws

Who knew? The rest of the world uses plastic drinking straws for everything! I had no idea until stepping outside the US and W. Europe. I guess everyone think that cans and bottles are dirty. Frankly, a lot of the time they are. Whether at a restaurant or a shop...you will be offered a straw with your beverage and looked at twice if you don't take it. So, I say relish in being a kid again and slurp it up!

Turkish English

Most of the signage on all the shops in Turkey are in English - not Turkish. Promoting international commerce I suppose. But what is really neat is the way everything is spelled. Though the signs would fail any Microsoft powered spell-checker...they are in everyway phonetically correct.

Berber = Barber
Fotokopi = Photocopy
Otomotiv = Automotive
Otel = Hotel

It's definately a new twist and never too hard to sound out. It's like learning English again for the first time.

Paws

Over the course of my travels my feet have changed. In the Western world men always cover their feet with socks and shoes or trainers. Everywhere we walk the feet are sheltered from danger. I have only worn proper shoes twice in the past 6 months and they are starting to show the wear. Ive gone from baby skin soft to rough and callased. Its amazing how fast they transform from tender to battle hardened. Though I must admit Ive had a lot of painful moments breaking them in.

Hammam

I just had my fırst experience with the Turkish Bath. After the separation of the sexes they usher you into a private room where you strip and wrap yourself in the provided towel. Then you enter a giant steam room with a huge marble stone dominating in the center. It is heated from below and as soon as you lay on this disc you immediately begin to sweat. After 20 minutes of this a large Turkish man begins your scrubdown. First the exfoliation then a bubbly scrub as you flip over a few times. After a brief massage he takes you to the outside edge for your shampoo-face wash-head rub combo. Finish with the cold rinse and some fresh towels. Ahhhh.

Overall a great experience and not a bad way to spend an hour. It comes highly recommended to all!

Pyramids

I know I've been getting down on Egypt in the last few posts. But it really is an amazing country and so much more inviting that some of the other Middle Eastern destinations I have visited. Lots of hieroglyphics, tombs, ruins and of course the pyramids. They rank up there as one of the most amazing things I have seen on this trip. According to our tour guide it is the last surviving wonder of the ancient world. It will still take some centuries yet to crumble them to oblivion. These structures are of a monumental scale that pictures can never do justice. The Great Pyramid is comprised of boulders that weigh over a metric ton each. It is said that if all the stones were taken from the Great Pyramid, they would build a wall 3 meters high and circumnavigate France! I'm telling you now: you've got to see it to believe it.

Baksheesh

This is the Egyptian word for "tip." It is requested for almost anything. Picture with a camel, picture with a guard, ride on a horse, pointing out a hieroglyph, looking in a tomb, handing you a paper towel. Everyone wants their baksheesh. Seriously, can't they just raise the admission prices a bit and pay these gentleman a decent wage? The worst part of this system is that there is a shortage of 1 and 5 pound notes throughout the country. You just can't get them. Banks won't give you change. Shops would rather you walk out without buying anything than break your 10. Even though 10 pounds is only 2 US dollars!!! Where are all the notes? Are people wiping with them and throwing them away. I don't and probably won't ever get it.

Asswipe: AKA the town of Asswan

Never before have I seen such a collection of touts, hoodlums, hustlers, scammers and hawkers. This could possibly be the worst town in Egypt. It lies near the bottom of the country in the Nile basin and has the tourist friendly quality of a hungry pitbull. It was feeding time and I felt like the prey. Of course there is the usual T-shirts, tours and spices. But here, the main money maker is taking you somewhere in a vehicle, whether that is a boat, horse or cab. In the previously mentioned order: If I hear the words "faluca?", "carriage?" or "Taksi?" again, I might truly scream.

A bottle of water costs 2 Egyptian Pounds everywhere in the country. I walk up to buy 2 and we actually had a guy straight-face us, look directly in my eyes and say "30 pounds." Are you F'in kidding me? I bought them for 4, but the debate to do it is 1.5 minutes of my life that I will never get back and should never have been spent on such a thief.

Hosni Mubarak

It's election time in Egypt. But aside from the banners everywhere (all displaying the incumbent and his message) you wouldn't know it by asking the man on the street. Officials estimate that as little as 30% of voters actually turned out at the polls. The problem is that everybody already knows who the winner is. Voting against this guy would be like placing a bet on last years world cup loser.

This is in fact the first actual multi-party democratic election in Egypts history. Mr Mubarak, who has been in power for 24 years, is running for another six-year term against eight other candidates. His chances of losing are slim. Despite the Egyptian Judiciary committee overruling the ban: International monitors were not allowed to observe the elections! As you can imagine there are already reports of widespread abuses.

But even if people were motivated to vote I'm not sure they would change their leadership. In such a turbulent region can you really blame anyone that just wants a little stability?

On the Road in Petra, Jordan

CATS

No, we’re not talking about the Tony award winning Broadway musical here. Even more annoying than show tunes is the ever pervasive stream of feline accompaniment when one sits down to enjoy a meal in Egypt. You can well imagine all the wonderful Egyptian symbolism the cat evokes in people. For most of us it’s been cultivated through a steady diet of National Geographic and the Discovery Channel. But I never realized how it would translate into real, everyday life. There are cats here in Egypt - lots of them. The majority - as you can imagine - have no home. They carouse at your shoes and swing from the rooftops. Quite literally they are everywhere. In many ways it is a sad testament to a country without an animal control service. In others – these cats are living as wild an existence as humanity affords. They use their cunning and wit to forage for food, find suitable shelter, breed at will and basically survive in the world to which they were thrown. There are quite a few Broadway musicals that could learn a thing or two from these beasts.

Sharm al-Shit

Also known as Sharm al-Sheik. I spent (ie "wasted") the day there yesterday and can see why the terrorists blew it up just this past July. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4709491.stm

The beach town is dripping with excess that is incomprehensible to believe. First of all, there is grass everywhere. Grass? In the desert! Huge name-brand luxury resorts with private beaches. I couldn't even walk through the lobby of most. My 5 pound taxi ride here in Dahab cost me 20 Egyptian pounds down there. When I priced diving, it was squarely DOUBLE the prices just 2 hours up the road. You're kidding? As I strolled along the boardwalk I noticed the place was full of overweight Europeans and Israelis on holiday. It reminded me a lot of Beverly Hills and West Palm Beach. Places I have enjoyed traveling to, but here in Egypt...I dunno. Maybe it's my current travel mindset. Maybe it's because I'm living out of a backpack and not an expense account. But walking around that place just didn't feel right.

I took a 2 hour bus down to Sharm yesterday, 2 cabs, a shuttle, overpriced lunch, lots of walking, talking and surveying...and then headed straight back on the night bus to Dahab unsatisfied, but considerably more comfortable.

Saad - Pronounced: "Sod"

That is the name of the guy that I met in Amman Jordan. He just happened to pass by me on the sidewalk and said "Bonjour" and then "Hello" and we started chatting. One of those had to work, right? It seems later that this is his modus operandi. He invites me along to an Iraqi coffee house. As he seems harmless and I don't have anything better to do, I go with him for tea. Frankly, the thought of returning to my poorly chosen, Japanese-dominated guesthouse was quite unappealing.

We chat away over a sheesha about the topics of life, war and religion. Mostly religion. He teaches me how to play backgammon (which I have since used countless times in the middle east). Then goes into a ten minutes discussion on how the game of backgammon relates to life. Wonderful analogies that I will have to save for you all over a game of the same name. Of course I pay for tea and sheesha since I've just acquired a new skill and outlook on the middle east.

I spend the evening and next with Saad and it seems he doesn't have an ordinary job. When I ask him what he does his reply is: "Take Italian tourists' money." I quickly learn that Saad is a very smart man who works very hard to avoid work. He lived 10 years in Italy and speaks 5 languages (I saw him use four fluently). And his deal is that he walks around Amman, Jordan and talks to foreigners. Helps them find cheap clothes, bus routes, hidden tourist areas, nicer accommodations for less cost. He is the man about town. From this he gets kickbacks around town, gifts from those he helps, and occasional meals from the less monetarily endowed such as myself. It was magic to watch him work over two nights. My only thought was how much reward he could get if he only used his talents a little entrepreneurially - he certainly had the creativity part licked.

One of the best things Saad showed me was a new twist on the value of a dollar. He said "The value of a dollar is all perception. It's really just paper. The dollar in my hand is worth more than the dollar in your pocket." I balked at first and then he asked me what I paid for my water. How much my taxi cost and to remember how he showed me where to buy a meal for two that cost the same as my usual meal for one. Interesting, eh?

Cough Cough

I now know what it was like to fly back in the 1970's. This week, I took a 7 hour bus from Amman to the Egyptian boarder. It was totally retro colored with orange and brown interior and ceiling. As soon as I entered I was wondering what that stink was...and I soon found out. As the airconditioning pumped up...so did the cigarette smoking. Trapped in a tube with 1/2 the cabin smoking is no way to travel! BLAH!

Exciting

Again, my mom & dad aren't going to like this but I am actually in the town of Aqaba, Jordan today and the rocket attack on the USS Ashland happened here yesterday! That explains all the camouflage around.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4165190.stm

Glitch in the Matrix

So I'm walking down the street yesterday in downtown Amman, Jordan and parked on the side of the road is a Cadillac Escalade with Florida license plates! WTF?! It stopped me dead in my tracks...someone almost walked right into the back of me as I stared with my mouth open.

Satisfaction

Anybody that has traveled with me over the past 7 months knows that the one thing I have been craving is a turkey sandwich with mayo, real lettuce and tomatoes. Today my prayers were answered in the form of Quiznos in a small port town in Jordan of all places. Yeah...happy tummy!

Cash Karma

I moved to the capital city of Jordan, Amman, and I have been ridiculously undercharged all day! OK, Petra is a tourist town so I expected a little fleecing. But, I bought a water here and it was 1/4 the cost of Petra. Then, I bought a shawerma sandwich and soda. Again, about 1/3 what I was expecting. Did they forget the soda? The cab ride from the bus station all the way across town - this time the same price as a 5 minute ride back to my hotel yesterday. The kicker of the day came from the bus ride itself. I already know the price is 3 Dinar ($4.50). We get almost to the city and as he taps my shoulder I hand him a 5JD. This guy has the nerve to say "6 Dinar, 3 and 3" signaling at my bag on the seat next to me. What! I asked the driver to put it under the bus and he told me to bring it inside, plus they never filled up. As I explain all this and he gives me the look like he doesn't speak English - he says "4" and I give him the stink-eye and say "whatever, give me 1 back." He collects some more money for a while and then shoves 7JD in my hand and walks back to the front. Are you following so far? He just paid me 2JD to ride his bus for 4 hours! I sit there dumbstruck with the money in my hand. Thinking to myself - if I keep this money, there could be bad karmic consequences. Something I've been trying very hard to avoid lately. In the end I decided that it was his bad karma - from trying to rip me off - that resulted in his giving the wrong change. I keep the money and vow to pass it on to someone more worthy than either him or myself. And I did just that. Story to follow tomorrow!

Beads Plant the Seeds for Good Deeds

Religion, whether I want it or not is all around me. The best approach I've found is to observe worshipers in action, take it all in, and try to find common ground. One thing I've noticed accross faiths is the use of prayer beads. Ordinary men and women walking the street stroking a string of beads between their fingers. They come in many names (Buddha beads, Rosary beads, and now I've seen a Muslim version but can't get an official name) but all have the same purpose. Transfix the mind, keep your fingers busy (because idle hands are the devils playground), and bring one closer to God by always keeping him in your thoughts. Seriously, with all the commonalities I keep uncovering. What's everybody fighting about?

For the curious: I'm in Jordan this week. Visiting the city of Amman and the ruins of Petra along with a few lesser known acheological sites.

Perspective

Yesterday I went into a Palestinian refuge camp in the West Bank. (My mother probably just wet herself reading that). The camp is surrounded (against UN regulations) by a 30 foot high solid concrete security wall. As you can imagine spray paint abounds and the message isn't one of peace and love. Inside the camp I had an experience quite different than what I expected.

For reference lets recap what we in the Western world know about the Palestinians.
1. They are an Arab people without a country (The world as yet does not recognize Palestine)
2. Their charismatic leader - Yasser Arafat - recently died creating an internal power struggle
3. They will stop at nothing to remove Israel and don't want coexistent peace
4. They are all known terrorists, rock throwers and/or potential suicide bombers
OK, so the last one isn't true but you wouldn't know it being exposed to "fair and balanced Western journalism."

So the camp isn't what you think. It is actually a small city, with concrete buildings, vehicles and shops. Inside the walls we meet a young man named Muhammad who wishes to show us around. His English isn't the best so we go to his friends house and are all promptly invited in, to sit and drink some cool water. After a quick tour of the camp and some chatting we learn about life on the inside. Unemployment is high, maybe 40-50%. People can travel outside the country to Jordan but not cross the boarder into any parts of Israel. Being trapped in the camp creates little economic opportunity for these people. We travel to man's house on the edge of the city...or what's left of it. It was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Force. Punishment for his sons being involved in subversive activities. All three of his sons (the youngest 13) are jailed. He cannot visit them, does not know their release date, and Israel will not let him rebuild. He currently lives with his wife, sons' wives and grandkids in a 2 story livestock farm. One story is clean for living the other for animals. He also invites us into his home and we chat over rounds of Arabic coffee, Arabic tea and sheep's milk. (The tea was great, milk no so swell). On the way to a learning center for children at the camp I breeze into a shop for an apple. I greet the keeper with the Arabic hello - "marhaban" and he smiles broadly. When I try to pay for the apple he puts the money back in my hand, packages the apple in a bag and thanks me for visiting! What generosity from someone scraping so hard to make a living. That is a moment in my life I will never forget.

So after a few hours, lots of conversations, handshakes all around and many smiles I come away with another side to the story. These people don't have money, freedoms, journalists, or a nation. But what they do have is a lot of heart and a desire to be recognized and respected.

Quote Time

"Success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm" - Sir Winston Churchill

Related to me by a new friend - Scottish Andy - that I've been traveling with this week. He carries the quote in his wallet and uses it whenever appropriate. I went through a rough patch earlier in the week and this quote helped me get through it.

Religious Roulette

Jerusalem. The most holy city in the world. The three great monotheistic religions - representing half the worlds population - all fighting tooth and nail for this tiny piece of real estate. It's a delicate balance with bells, prayers, processions, gatherings and demonstrations of all sorts taking place simultaneously within the walls of the old city. There is something alive here. You can feel it tickle the skin and hum in the ears. It is impossible to put into words the feelings this city evokes. Now that I am here, I couldn't imagine life without experiencing this. Of all the landmarks on my travels. This is the one place (so far) that I think everyone should see before they die. Seriously, book a trip for next year before some worldly event makes this place inaccessible. Because the thing that makes this place so special is the turmoil. It's the tension in the air. If any one faith does manage to reconquer Jerusalem - I believe the magic will be lost.

Pistols and Pony Tails

I have to say: there is nothing sexier than a nubile young woman holding an assault rifle. These nice ladies are everywhere. Guarding bus stations, checkpoints, strategic monuments and street corners. What a sight. If you have never locked eyes with a cute girl in combat fatigues wielding a weapon and a purse, I highly recommend it.

Israel has had conscription into the Israel Defense Force since its independence in 1948. All Jewish Israeli citizens over the age of 18 are supposed to serve in the IDF. Men serve for 3 years, women for 21 months.

I Need a J. O. B.

Welcome back to the West. Technically I'm in the Middle East but with overhead showers, people ignoring you, fatty foods, and most definitely the expense - it feels like home! OK, so everyone speaks an alien tongue and it will never be home, but hey at least they all look like me. Yes, I've been mistaken for an Israelite on average about twice an hour. People hand me flyers, ask me for directions, probably curse at me...all in Hebrew. My favorite quote here is: "OH! You speak English!" Yes, I'm not Israeli. Now I understand why it kept happening to me in Thailand and Laos.

Last night I went out to see DJ Paul Van Dyk at a club called Omen 17 (yes Lora, I know you're jealous). I got there at midnight and the place was empty. By 1am, there wasn't a square meter of dancefloor left. I have no idea how they ushered in 5,000 people inside an hour. The club was sick; 2 rooms, an outdoor chill area with grass; multiple levels in the main room with a huge balcony wrapping 3 sides. Of course it cost me 160 Shekels to get in! And each drink was 39 shekel. I'll save you the math: I ended up spending over $100 US for the night. It was an unforgettable evening and I may never be in Tel Aviv again, but considering I just spent $10 on my KFC meal: I'm going to have to either leave pronto or find suitable employment. I'm certainly not ready for that!

I'm not sure what time that club closed. I tried to ask a couple people, but nobody seemed to know and even less seemed to care. I left at 6am and it was still quite full. It's a good thing those kids are born with a natural tan!

Resistance

This morning I landed in Tel Aviv, Israel. As expected I was met with a barrage of questions. What is your purpose here? Where have you come from? Is this your first time to Israel? Where are you traveling to? Do you have a return ticket? Why don't you have a return ticket? What did you do in Malaysia? How long have you been traveling? When and where did you start? What did you do in Egypt? How long were you in the United Arab Emerites? What kind of work do you do? How are you able to get so much time off? Do you have any friends or family in Israel? Where are you staying in Tel Aviv? Why did you pick this place? Do you have a guidebook? Can I see it? OK, enjoy your stay. And that was BEFORE I got to passport control. I got a usual requestioning there and got pulled aside by security personelle again after passport control with another round of the above quiz. WOW! This is my welcome to the holy land. Not to mention the throngs of soldiers in the airport with US made automatic weapons. And the UN security force that is staying in my hostel. One thing is for sure: It's going to be interesting.

Tale of Two Cities

I have been in Bangkok two times now, for a total duration of about twelve days. Up to yesterday, it was indeed a cesspool of a SE Asian city. In many ways, that's its allure. However, I took a trip down to Embassy lane on Tuesday and reaffirmed what I have seen in many a city. It is not only the dichotomy of rich and poor but the experience you will take away from your visit. Most of us out here are traveling under the guidance of the Lonely Planet guidebooks. They proffer cheap accommodations, tasty eats and transportation tips. Their most useful features are the history of certain monuments and the known scams you will encounter in each place. The downside of these books is that they put travelers squarely into what we have affectionately dubbed "the tourist ghetto." When an influx of naive foreigners with thick wallets are all congregated together by the lure of cheap guesthouses...clearly trouble will result. The bus service booked through the guesthouse traps you 40 minutes out of town at their sisters restaurants. The tuk-tuk drivers are all in cahoots at price-fixing around the ghetto so you have walk 10 minutes to get a fair deal or a fare taxi. Fortune tellers, crappy-goods hawkers, prostitutes, street beggars, and grubby children run rampant. And you get the feeling that all anyone wants is your money.

If you were however to come into the city on business. You had to meet a foreign consulate, or simply booked ahead into a deluxe hotel name you recognized from home...you would have quite a different experience. I recommend anyone to visit their national embassy in every major city. I'm guessing if it's a western country, they have some pretty nice real estate. I went to the US Embassy to get some more pages sewn into my passport. (Yes, I'm secretly proud that I ran out of pages) Over there is a whole "other Bangkok." People in suits, clean streets, no beggars, luxury buildings, designer stores and beautiful overhead walkways to get people off the smelly streets. It could have been a modern Los Angeles. The feel was totally different. I have to admit that I liked it better. Who doesn't like nice things? I am just glad that I finally got to experience both sides of Bangkok. It mirrored exactly what I've seen in Jakarta, Manila, Saigon, and to a lesser extent Singapore. The experience you take away is all in where you look.

Dreadlooks

I have seen a few of the most beautiful girls this week with their hair fucked-up by dreadlocks. Fine, dreadlocks look badass on black people. It proves a commitment to something and black hair is coarse so it is something quite stylish to do with that type of hair. But on a blond coiffed, blue eye someone...I just don't get it. What I really want to see is one of these poor girls when they have to shave their head to start over. Now that's beauty!

Nightmare on Wheels

I know I've been getting pretty personal on the blog lately and this post will be no exception. One of my worse nightmares came true this week. I somehow managed to survive a 14 hour bus journey across what is billed as the worse road in SE Asia. That's right, the trip from Angkor Wat, Cambodia to Bangkok. It really was the worst trans-national road I have ever seen, let alone experienced. However, to compound the pain and suffering...that's right, I had a full blown case of diarrhea! Unbelievable! I suffered through the majority of the trip with a mind-numbing cramp, dripping in cold sweats. Cursing the coconut-curry chicken I ate the evening before. I wish to the heavens that it had not been on that day. Praying for the next toilet break only 20 minutes after the last. Cursed to suffer it out because everywhere they tell you: DO NOT LEAVE THE ROAD! There is no ducking in a bush in Cambodia. There are paraplegics everywhere in that country. An all too "in your face reminder" to mind where you step. So, I took my imodium, starved myself, gritted my teeth and bared the brunt of the journey. Then I spent the rest of the next evening close to my hotel room and the wonders of modern plumbing. As is everything in life, it's all about timing. Sometimes you win (as in all the lovely people I have met on this journey purely by chance and coincidence) and sometimes you lose (as with rancid chicken!). May peace and solidity be with you all.

Talent

Please check out the picture blog of a wonderful photog that I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with in Hue, Vietnam. She is truly a character and her lovely madness reflects in her work. Enjoy!

http://goodganesh.blogspot.com

Budget Master

I crossed the Cambodian boarder with $179 US dollars in my pockets and backpack, and I left the country with exactly $2. Apart from borrowing money from friends, I don't think I could have cut it any closer.

Cambodia is truly third-world with huge disparities between the ultra-rich and uber-poor, with Phneom Penh being the ultimate display. Rolling all around town were Hummers, Toyota trucks, BMW's, and Mercs. My three UK boys and I spend the evening in a hip-hop bar, shooting pool and drinking drinks with American and UK educated Cambodians. All are flossing the most expensive gear and seem to be pretending they are on MTV. Hoever as we leave the club, the bubble bursts: you see the streets littered with amputees; scores of grubby people sleeping on the streets; packs of young men hanging out on corners on their motorbikes; women of the night ready to eat your lunch if you're half inclined. The slightest slip or turn down the wrong street could spell certain disaster for the lone Joe. I am more than pleased to be safely ensconced in my own group of young fellows as we walk merrily home, surveying the wasteland; ever so grateful of the Western lands into which we were born.