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Ships Ahoy, But Not The Beer
Posted: November 29, 2003
DAY 34: To kill time before my 8:00 pm boat tour departure, I went back to Turtle Bay to chill out and read. On my way down the winding path, I ran into Chris who was on his way back to town. I chatted with the 63-year-old South African from Toronto until that uncomfortable silent lull you inevitably get when you bump into an acquaintance on the street and there is no good gossip to talk about. Your options usually are to A) Talk about the nice or shitty weather; B) Scratch your ass; C) A followed by B; or what I did, D) Say, “Well, I’ll be seeing you.”
He left for his flight back to the mainland later that day and I never saw him again.
See Crabs and Sea Lions
Posted: November 29, 2003
DAY 35: The Galapagos Islands attracts many kinds of visitors, from retired American couples and their funny-looking beach hats and Bermuda shorts, to scuba divers and their funny-looking everything if they ever walked out on the streets with all their gear on. I put all this gear on for my first dive at 5:45 in the morning off the coast of Isla Rabida.
The War With Portugal
Posted: November 29, 2003
DAY 36: I was up on deck at sunrise before the others. Manuel was there doing morning chores and I rapped with him for a bit. We exchanged English and Spanish words until he saw something off the starboard side.
“Mira, hay tortugas que haciendo sexo.” (“Look, there are turtles having sex.”)
And thus began my second day on a boat trip of the Galapagos. (Others started by jumping off the side of the boat for a morning swim.)
The Dating Game
Posted: November 29, 2003
DAY 37: There was a knock on the door at 5:45 in the morning. It was Mauricio waking everyone up for an early sunrise pre-breakfast land excursion on North Seymour Island, land of frigate birds and blue-footed boobies, birds whose mere name makes little kids — and this author — snicker immaturely.
The Land of Land Iguanas
Posted: November 29, 2003
DAY 38: Manuel was tidying up the lounge area in the morning while I was waiting for the first diving group to return. He poured himself a drink and told me it was his wife’s birthday back at home. “Salud,” he said as he raised his glass.
“Salud!” I reciprocated. Funny, I had no idea he was married all that time.
The Bird Slut
Posted: November 29, 2003
DAY 39: Each island of the Galapagos archipelago has its share of endemic species — species that are not found anywhere else. Sometimes we’d be treated to a new animal, sometimes it was the same old marine iguana, sally lightfoot crab or the ever-popular sea lion (which never got tired.) This was the case when we landed on the shores of Gardner Bay on Isla Española, the southern most island of all the Galapagos and walked along its white sand beach. However, as Darwin discovered, Life finds a way to make things interesting.
Postcards From A Weirdo
Posted: November 29, 2003
DAY 40: For my fourth and final scuba dive, I went underwater around Enderby Rock, a popular dive site off the coast of Isla Floreana. It was a very good ending to my series of dives; I saw two Galapagos sharks, a huge school of baracudas, puffers, and sea turtles — all swimming around a beautiful coral reef grown over lava rocks.
I Love Boobies
Posted: November 30, 2003
DAY 41: Birgit and I were so used to the early morning wake-ups on the ship that we were both lying in bed awake at 6:30. Birgit had developed a fever, so I lent her some of my medicine. La Gripe was back.
Escape from Paradise
Posted: November 30, 2003
DAY 42: I had a 9:30 airport shuttle to catch back in Puerto Ayora in the morning, which would have been an easy thing if I was there. I woke up with the sun as always around 6:30 wondering how the hell I was going to get out of the Middle of Nowhere. I laid in bed next to the girl I had only known for a couple of hours, figuring I’d wait til at least 7:00 to make any moves.
Adventures in Border Crossing
Posted: December 02, 2003
DAY 43: Navid and I were out of the hostel in the Guayaquil suburbs before eight and caught a city bus to the main bus terminal. A fake Christmas tree stood in the center of the main hall and for the first time, it was beginning to look a little like Christmas.
On the Road Again
Posted: December 02, 2003
DAY 44: I bid a fond farewell to Navid when we left the hostel before eight in the morning. He hopped on a mototaxi which brought him to the airport for his flights to Cuzco. For the first time since I touched down in South America, I was alone again.
Tomb Raider
Posted: December 08, 2003
DAY 45: In 1987, when most people were discovering the idea of boiling rabbits in Fatal Attraction, a group of archaeologists discovered new ruins just 30 km southeast of Chiclayo, Peru. This find contained the tombs of Sipan, an ancient city of the Moche civilization, a people who pre-date the more widely-known Incas. The reason for their decreased popularity is due to the fact that they didn’t leave any written records — which is sad because we will never know if boiling rabbits ever appealed to them.
Eastward Ho!
Posted: December 08, 2003
DAY 46: Since no roads go to the Amazonian jungle city of Iquitos, there are only two ways to get there: by plane or — if you have time to kill like me — via a cargo boat up the Rio Marañon, one of the main tributaries that make up the mighty Amazon River. The closest river port for these cargo ships is in the city of Yurimaguas which involves — as Lonely Planet describes — “a tiring road trip from the coast.”
A Fresh Young Boy
Posted: December 08, 2003
DAY 47: The sun came up over Tarapoto and broke through the morning mist, revealing a pretty town surrounded by mountains. I got dressed and sorted out and went looking for a place for breakfast — there was one on the fourth floor with a view of the city, and it was included in my fee.
A New Shipmate
Posted: December 08, 2003
DAY 48: The sun broke through the river fog to reveal what I didn’t want to see: through my “first class” “window,” I saw that we still hadn’t left the port in Yurimaguas.
Tally Me Banana
Posted: December 08, 2003
DAY 49: The sun was already up when our cargo ship stopped in Maripoto, a tiny village on the riverbank where the Rio Huallaga meets the Rio Marañon. It was the first of many stops along the way where we picked up bunches and bunches of bananas.
Houses On Stilts
Posted: December 08, 2003
DAY 50: You would think that Amazonian city of Iquitos, the largest city in the world without any connecting roads, would be reminiscent of a lost Shangri-La or an ancient city out of a Tarzan set. The fact is, Iquitos, the Amazon River’s first port during the rubber industry boom, now has over 500,000 residents and is a bustling modern city — it was evident as soon as we arrived at the port.
Urban Jungle
Posted: December 09, 2003
DAY 51: Like Tarzan swinging from vine to vine in the jungle, I swung from person-I-could-possibly-trust to person-I-could-possibly-trust. With the girls off on a flight back to Lima, I only had Richard to turn to for advice — which was a good thing in an urban jungle crawling with Shady Tour Men trying to make a quick buck. Knowing a local also came in handy when I noticed the massive army that came marching into town in full attack gear with crossbows, missile launchers and machine guns.
Welcome to the Jungle
Posted: December 15, 2003
DAY 52: I bid farewell to the hostel desk attendant — who, hearing that I was from New York, assumed I was Puerto Rican — and rode with Andres to the docks. He put me in a motorboat taxi for the three hour ride upstream on the Amazon.
Monkey Business
Posted: December 15, 2003
DAY 53: My lip had swollen down about half way from the night before, and sensation was coming back, which was a good thing being mistletoe season — not that there was any mistletoe around. In the steamy jungle, it was the exact opposite of “looking a lot like Christmas.”
In Deeper With A Really Big Knife
Posted: December 15, 2003
DAY 54: Alone in my hut in my mosquito net tent, I heard rustling outside, followed by the sounds of small footsteps of monkeys. Suddenly one of them landed on the roof of my mosquito net and so I grabbed my things and ran off to the main hut — not for fear of monkey bites, but that they’d steal my stuff. When I got into the main hut, I saw that a monkey had gotten in and taken a scoop of rice before running off.
Slimy Yet Satisfying
Posted: December 15, 2003
DAY 55: Juan and I woke at dawn and left our things in camp to go on a morning hike. We walked along a trail, on logs, through creeks, looking at the different medicinal plants. Juan showed me a coconut tree with small coconuts the size of a fist, which he cut open with his machete. Inside were butterfly larvae that had hatched from eggs their mother had injected inside, to use the fruit and protection of the coconut to nurse them.
Survivor: The Amazon
Posted: December 15, 2003
DAY 56: I woke up around three in the morning to the sound of a distant static. Gradually the white noise got closer and closer until it started pouring rain in camp. The wind blew out all the mosquito candles, leaving base camp completely dark. Perhaps it was best this way because it hid the fact that, when I woke up in the morning, I found a tarantula in my bed frame.
Amazon Dot Com
Posted: December 16, 2003
DAY 57: I was off to drop my laundry off in Iquitos to wash out the stench of vinegar-flavored yogurt and bug spray, when I ran into Richard on the street again. It was weird, because the run-in didn’t feel random — it was like he was waiting for me to come out so he could ask if I wanted him to guide me to the zoo that he mentioned to me the week before.
Looking for Christmas in Lima
Posted: December 16, 2003
DAY 58: Call me old-fashioned, but during the holiday season, I like it to feel a little bit like Christmas — you know, with the trees and decorations and people following shoppers leaving the mall to snatch their parking space, only to find out they were just dropping off bags in the trunk. Being in the jungle city of Iquitos, I was far away from anything remotely resembling a stereotypical Christmas, and so it was time to move on.
Across Lima and into Mordor
Posted: December 17, 2003
DAY 59: The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a phenomenon in many countries around the globe, Peru included. Tolkien’s world is very much a part of Peruvian pop culture as it is in the States, and with the worldwide December 17th release of the third film, Peruvian nerds, like their North American and European counterparts, lined up in hordes to see El Retorno del Rey. In fact, a front page article in the national newspaper El Comercio had a picture of the hundreds of Peruvian nerds who sat in theaters for ten hours straight watching all three movies back to back to back.
The Taxis of Miraflores
Posted: December 18, 2003
DAY 60: Just south of Lima is the affluent oceanside suburb of Miraflores, a place that despite its fancy restaurants and hotels, is suggested as “the better place to stay for budget travelers” according to Lonely Planet. Perhaps this is why the South American Explorers moved their clubhouse there, so it warranted a visit.
A Pair of Turtles
Posted: December 20, 2003
DAY 61: I was writing a rough draft in the rooftop cafe of the Lima hostel early in the morning when two new pet animals, a pair of turtles, wandered in and walked under the tables and chairs. It took sometime for the turtles to get anywhere.
Sweet, Sour and Sandy
Posted: December 20, 2003
DAY 62: Ica, capital city of the department of the same name, is known for two things: its massive and dramatic surrounding sand dunes (picture below), and its pisco brandy and wine-producing vineyards. The easiest way to see them both is with a city tour. At just ten dollars, the tour wasn’t a bad deal considering the amount of free booze samples you get. And what’s not to like about free booze?
NAZCAR
Posted: December 21, 2003
DAY 63: Nights in pisco country are great, but the mornings after aren’t so much. With the absence of my usual greasy Hangover Helpers in New York — Union Square’s McDonald’s, Flatiron District’s Eisenberg’s Sandwich Shop or Chinatown’s Wo Hop — I turned to the regional breakfast specialty, the Tamale Iqueño, a corn dough treat stuffed with pork, olives, beans and spices. It might not have been greasy enough to make a sheet of paper transparent, but it did the trick.
Where They Drew The Line
Posted: December 23, 2003
DAY 64: I was lying in bed in the darkness of my room with no windows when there was a knock on the door. It was my driver for my transport to the airport — an hour and a half early. Lizet, the girl I booked the Nazca lines air tour with the day before, must have mixed something up, because I was suddenly on an 8 a.m. flight instead of a 9. Groggily, I put on my clothes and hopped in the car. It was the first time things in Peru actually ran ahead of schedule.
On the Trail of Lara Croft
Posted: December 24, 2003
DAY 65: In 1996, the adventure video game Tomb Raider was born, starring the full-lipped, big-breasted virtual heroine Lara Croft. The gun-toting Lara adventured around the world in search of artifacts like a modern, female Indiana Jones. The popularity of the Tomb Raider video game spawned two movies in which the full-lipped, big-breasted virtual Lara Croft took the human form of Angelina Jolie.
Horses for Hangovers
Posted: December 25, 2003
DAY 66: It’s one thing to be hungover after a night of boozing, but it’s another to be hungover when you haven’t yet acclimatized to the thin oxygen 11,000 ft. above sea level. I woke up feeling just awful (but with no regrets) and laid in bed questioning why I was alive — Lara felt the same way. We weren’t sure if it was the pisco or the altitude, but perhaps it was a little from Column A and a little from Column B.
Christmas in Cusco
Posted: December 25, 2003
DAY 67: I woke up to the sound of firecrackers in the streets early in the morning — the kids had been setting them off all night. For me, the sounds of Christmas morning sounded more like the sounds of the Fourth of July.
Catch Him If You Can
Posted: December 26, 2003
DAY 68: Some people would say that the best invention since sliced bread is the “snooze” button. You know it and its contribution to Mankind — why wake up and face reality when all you have to do is simply push a button and stay in dream land another ten minutes?
Two Women, A Llama and The Bird
Posted: December 27, 2003
DAY 69: I was having breakfast at the cafe across the street from the hostel when I noticed the same two women I had noticed at various places in town almost everyday. They were two local women who dressed in traditional Andean clothes that walked around with a llama, asking tourists if they wanted to take their picture for a small fee. The Ecuadorean group in the cafe ran out to pose with them, while I stayed inside and finished my yogurt, fruit and granola bowl.
The (Andean) Village People
Posted: December 28, 2003
DAY 70: “Guess what,” I asked Lara at an early morning breakfast before our day trip to the Sacred Valley. “I got a traditional Andean band to play ‘Y.M.C.A.’ tonight at 8:30.”
“Excellent,” she said. We were both looking forward to it. I even sent out an e-mail to The Ohio Boys about it in case they got back from Machu Picchu in time.
The Redemption Cookie
Posted: December 29, 2003
DAY 71: I was up by seven o’clock in the morning to see Lara off before she left with her transport to her 4-day/3-night trek to Machu Picchu — a trek I had already done in 2001. It was her goal to ring in 2004 by entering the “lost” city of the Incas on the morning of New Year’s Day. She left the hostel by 8 a.m. with her new fleece, the cheesy water bottle holder I got her for Christmas and rations of Twix bars and Oreos.
New Friend For New Year’s
Posted: January 01, 2004
DAY 72: Arequipa, Peru’s second largest city, is nestled in the valley of three volcanoes. The lava of these volcanoes have hardened over geological history to form the white-colored rock known as sillar, which many of the buildings were made of — hence, Arequipa’s nickname, “The White City.”
Decisions
Posted: January 02, 2004
DAY 73: MY LAST DAY OF 2003 started at one o’clock in the morning. My alarm woke me up twenty minutes before my 1:20 pick up from my guide who would take me and Heidi down Colca Canyon, the deepest canyon in the world, with the lowest point at a depth of 10,433 ft. A knock on my room door at 1:15 signaled me that my guide was running five minutes early, and so I grabbed my smaller bag — my bigger was locked in storage — and hopped in the taxi with him. The taxi driver drove us to Heidi’s hostel, where we picked her up before continuing onto the bus terminal.
New Year, New Adventure
Posted: January 02, 2004
DAY 74: Usually I wake up on New Year’s Day hungover, with a feeling like I am at the bottom of the deepest canyon in the world. When I woke up at 4 a.m. feeling that same way, I realized, “Holy crap man, I am at the bottom of the deepest canyon in the world!”
My First Stolen Item
Posted: January 02, 2004
DAY 75: Being in a No Internet Zone (aka N.I.Z.) for two days or more often forces me to take an entire day to sit in front of a computer to catch up on The Blog. On my last day in Arequipa, that’s what I did.
Bargain Hunter: Puno
Posted: January 05, 2004
DAY 76: Dave the Australian was up and out of our room by 7:15 in the morning, less than four hours since we checked in, for his day tour of Lake Titicaca. He left me a ten soles note on my bedside, and with the exchange rate, I felt like a Two Dollar and Eighty Six Cents Peruvian Whore.
School Days On The Titty Side
Posted: January 05, 2004
DAY 77: Lake Titicaca, the lake that Simpsons’ creator Matt Groening once called a place whose name is guaranteed to make kids snicker, lies on the border of Peru and Bolivia at an elevation of over 12,500 ft above sea level — one of the world’s highest lakes. Rachel, a 22-year-old Chicago native working in northern Peru — and my new roommate for the day — told me that Peruvians say that the Peruvian side is the “Titty” side, while the Bolivia is the “Caca” side. Now if that doesn’t make the kids in your life snicker, I suggest you start making fart noises with your armpit.
The Orange Hat
Posted: January 05, 2004
DAY 78: I woke up on a rainy morning on Isla Amantani feeling a little bit better from the night before. Basilia came to our room with a breakfast of bread, eggs and muña tea, and then bid us an early goodbye. “[I have to go to work,]” she explained. Rachel gave her the gifts of such groceries as cooking oil and rice before she head off.
“That goodbye was pretty anti-climactic,” I commented.
Saved By A Twelve-Year-Old
Posted: January 06, 2004
DAY 79: I was awake by 6 a.m. feeling a little bit better from my illness. I ate a mango for the extra vitamins and gathered all my belongings. As always, I was amazed when I looked around the room to see if I forgot anything, only to realize that everything I would need to get by on a round-the-world trip fit conveniently in two bags.
Jackie Chan to the Rescue
Posted: January 07, 2004
DAY 80: Still feeling sick, I just slept in my hostel dorm bed all morning to recuperate. Joel the Australian chemistry student probably thought I was lame because instead of staying a couple more days to hang out like we were planning, he decided to ditch me and the city of La Paz and head south with a bus ticket.
Making Peace With La Paz
Posted: January 09, 2004
DAY 81: From what I’ve gathered, my initial reaction to La Paz is similar to many other travelers, that it’s just a big crowded city with no vibe or coolness factor. However, things started looking up when I left my hostel in the middle of dark alley to a new one in a livlier part of town, which had some amenities that the other one didn’t: hot water, toilets that flushed all the time and the absence of some guy who would sing loud opera tunes early in the morning.
Journey to the Moon and the Zoo and Brazil Three Times
Posted: January 10, 2004
DAY 82: Before I left New York in October 2003, I didn’t have any visas — as an American, I can freely travel to most countries, in the tackiest clothes if I choose. Brazil is one of the few countries in South America that actually requires a visa for Americans, and with Rio de Janeiro’s famous Carnivale coming soon, it was about time I got one.
Coca Puffs and Llama Fetuses
Posted: January 12, 2004
DAY 83: Bolivia has been blamed for supplying the international drug trade with its coveted coca leaf — which is processed with ether and a bunch of chemicals to produce cocaine. However, the coca leaf in its natural form has been infused with Bolivian culture for centuries. Years ago, one of the first things a family would build right after a house to live in was a coca garden, as coca leaves were an integral part of Bolivian life.
All this information was given to me at a visit to La Paz’s Coca Museum, where Lara, Tim and I went in the morning.
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SIXTEEN MONTHS AROUND THE WORLD (in chronological order):
PROLOGUE:
- Go Shorty, it’s your re-birthday…
- Bye Bye Lycos!
- Wheels In Motion
- To Plan or Not to Plan
- RTW People
- 61 Days To Go…
- The Human Pin Cushion
- Thanks Alice and Rina!
- “Bon Voyage [Erik Trinidad]! And Don’t Come Back!”
- T-Minus 23 Days… Back to the Doctor
- Welcome to the All New TheGlobalTrip.com!
- The Music in “Would You?”
- Last Licks
- A Penny Saved Is A Penny Earned…
- I Broke The Bank And All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt
- Missing: One Drunken Monkey
- Sinking In Like The Titanic
- The Ups and Downs of Air Travel
- The Ecuadorean-Looking Gringo
SOUTH AMERICA:
- Back to School
- Old School
- Class Trip, Road Trip
- Shopping Spree
- Money Matters
- Shit Happens
- When You’re Sliding Into First and You Feel Something Burst, Diarrhea…Diarrhea…
- My Big Fake Gay Wedding
- The Secret of My Success
- Virgin by Day, Witches by Night
- Erik Vs. The Volcano
- Pee On The Trees
- Mallrats
- La Gripe
- Everything That Has A Beginning Has An End
- Ecuadorean Jedi
- Movin’ Right Along
- Hot Bath
- The Gorge
- Liquid Hot Magma
- Crossroads of Ecuador
- A Trainful of Tourists
- For The Better of Humanity
- A Day “On” in Cuenca
- Defending Guayaquil
- Line of Hope
- God Vs. Darwin
- Alone in the Dark without Jesus
- Who Are The People In Your Neighborhood?
- A Day at the Beach
- Idiot on Wheels
- Ships Ahoy, But Not The Beer
- See Crabs and Sea Lions
- The War With Portugal
- The Dating Game
- The Land of Land Iguanas
- The Bird Slut
- Postcards From A Weirdo
- I Love Boobies
- Escape from Paradise
- Adventures in Border Crossing
- On the Road Again
- Tomb Raider
- Eastward Ho!
- A Fresh Young Boy
- A New Shipmate
- Tally Me Banana
- Houses On Stilts
- Urban Jungle
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Monkey Business
- In Deeper With A Really Big Knife
- Slimy Yet Satisfying
- Survivor: The Amazon
- Amazon Dot Com
- Looking for Christmas in Lima
- Across Lima and into Mordor
- The Taxis of Miraflores
- A Pair of Turtles
- Sweet, Sour and Sandy
- NAZCAR
- Where They Drew The Line
- On the Trail of Lara Croft
- Horses for Hangovers
- Christmas in Cusco
- Catch Him If You Can
- Two Women, A Llama and The Bird
- The (Andean) Village People
- The Redemption Cookie
- New Friend For New Year’s
- Decisions
- New Year, New Adventure
- My First Stolen Item
- Bargain Hunter: Puno
- School Days On The Titty Side
- The Orange Hat
- Saved By A Twelve-Year-Old
- Jackie Chan to the Rescue
- Making Peace With La Paz
- Journey to the Moon and the Zoo and Brazil Three Times
- Coca Puffs and Llama Fetuses
- Gags
- Dangerous Curves
- Leaving La Paz
- Stand By Me In Uyuni
- Now Entering Dali World
- Surreal People
- Goodbye, Mary Poppins
- Back to Reality
- Hard to Get High
- High and On-Line
- Erik Trinidad and The Bolivian Temple of Doom
- Loogeys in Potosi
- Down to Warmth
- Kids in the Park
- Another Day in The Trinidad Show
- Suckers in Sucre
- Keeping Cool in Santa Cruz
- Money Matters in the Mountains
- Use The Force, Gringo
- Random Thoughts While Waiting and Walking
- Oi, Corumba!
- COPS in The Pantanal
- The Sims
- Eight Hours to Nowhere
- Caimans and Big Cats
- The Last American Cowboy
- Standing Room Only
- Eat Your Heart Out
- An Episode of E.R.
- When Quatis Attack!
- Great Adventure
- Dumb and Dumber Day
- Race to Rio
- Welcome to Rio
- Fantasies From The Thirteenth Floor
- And The Crowd Goes Wild
- Miscommunications
- New Neighbors
- The Girl From Ipanema
- Before We Have Company
- Incoming!
- Meanwhile, Back at the Airport
- Fly Like An Eagle
- The Chaperone
- Enter The Sambadrome
- Fun With Foam
- And The Winner Is…
- The Nerd of Copacabana
- Reaching the Threshold in Rio
- Bye, Bye Brazil
- Flashbacks in Buenos Aires
- It Takes Two to Tango, But Hundreds to Start A Revolution
- Colors of Buenos Aires
- Last Meals Before Africa
- Go Directly To Jail
AFRICA:
- Go Directly To Jail
- Price Hike
- American Vacation
- Just Relax
- School Trips
- The Ride of Good Hope
- Reading is FUNdamental
- Alumni Day
- Zombie
- Irish Telepathy and The Next Generation
- Finishing in Cape Town
- The Little Green Van
- Big Cats, Big Birds and Telephones
- Superlatives
- Up In The Air and Down The Funnel
- Foofie To The Very End
- Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Go Into A Protective Steel Cage…
- Cute Baby Animals At Knifepoint
- The Positive Poster Child
- Back On The Streets
- The Changing Of The Group
- A Day At The Office
- Mugged Again
- The Biggest Let Down in Cape Town
- Escape From The Cape
- Influencing Windhoek
- The New Lost American Generation
- The Universal Language Of Beer
- Making Tracks
- South With Samora
- A River Runs Through It
- Sleepy Head, Sleepy Town
- Desert Run-Ins
- Three Dunes and A Canyon
- Need For Speed
- Fast Forward Through The Sand
- Worrywart
- Hakuna Matata
- Once In A Lifetime, Again
- Not-So Manic Monday
- Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
- Acronyms and Flea Shampoo
- Giving Good Price
- Donations to a Country Going to Mars
- Last Day With ZEHRP
- The Things People Do On A Sunday
- Orphans
- Traveler Again
- Catch Up, Chill Out
- A Long Way From Lilongwe
- The Malawian Feel
- Tummy Aches
- More Than Just A Lake
- One Last Lake Day
- Racing The Sun To Tanzania
- Mad Dash to Dar
- Tomorrow in Tanzania
- And We Clik!
- Cashless.
- Harder Than They Say
- Into Thin Air
- Surviving Kilimanjaro
- The Path Of The Other Coin
- Modern Maasai
- Crater Of Life
- Stranded in the Serengeti
- Migration
- Straight From The Source
- The Man And The Refrigerator
- The Ultimate Day
- Apologies and Farewells
- The Zanzibar Connection
- Street Boys
- Dolphins, Monkeys and Queen
- Spice Island
- The Things Up North
- Kendwa’d Without Ken
- Caught Up In Stone Town
- Closure In Tanzania
- A Long Way Since the Eighties
- Cradle of Humanity
- Dominoes
- Get A Room You Two
- Change of Plans
- Sacred Lake
- From Guess to Gondar
- Holy Land of Honey
- Where Am I From?
- Passing Through History
- My Life in Airports
- An American in Cairo
- Then and Now
- Taken For A Ride
- Dates in Egypt
- A Student in Babylon
- My Nubian Rights
- Rush and Relaxation
- The Special Felucca
- Follow That Shawl!
- Valley Boy
- My New Paradise
- Moses For A Day
- My Three Dives
- Last Day In Paradise
- Into The Arabian West
- Now in Color!
- Next Train to Marrakesh
- Splish, Splash, He Gave Me A Bath
- Rock The Kasbah
- Carpets and Camels
- Profit Mohammed
- Animated Ascent
- Heels On The Hill
- High, Dry and Hassle-Free
- Laid Back In My Galabiyya
- Jamming in Morocco
- Funky Old Medina
- Out of Africa
EUROPE & RUSSIA:
- Back in the Western World
- Second Time, Second Nature
- City of The Phallus
- My First Celebrity Sighting
- Progression to the Typical
- Guidance in the Home of Paella
- To Run Or Not To Run
- Run Erik Run
- King For A Day
- An Invitation For Trouble
- Last Night Out (Take Two)
- The Race to Paris
- Open and Closed
- Paris Lost
- What A Difference A Day Makes
- Dead End
- To See The Bridge
- On the Roof and Under the Bridge
- Three Flavors of Alps
- Memories of Tuscany
- Mr. Big Head
- Overcoming Dysfunctions
- History On Wheels
- House of Superheroes
- Perfect Strangers
- What’s A Motto With You?
- Searching For Einstein
- Palace Pictures
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- Classical, Hip Hop and the Ghosts In Between
- Capitalist Pigs
- Classic Russia
- Encounters With Lenin
- A Room For The Night
- Body Language
- Crashing in Yekaterinburg
- Grudka
- The Things Between Europeans and Asians
- The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
- Bowling For Siberia
- Lucky Lazy Day
- The Real Siberia
- No Aunt May
- Deadpan Looks By The Deep Blue Lake
- Gangs of Siberia
- It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Asia
ASIA:
- Little Yurt On The Prairie
- Wild Wild East
- Will The Real Mongolian Please Stand Up?
- Chopsticks and Train Tracks
- Money, Lodging and Beer
- Forbidden No More
- The Fantastic Wall
- No Common Denominator
- No Summer Coincidence
- The Zoo Debate
- Workin’ For The Blog
- He Said, She Said in Xi’an
- The Farmer That Found A Warrior Within
- Big Wild Goose Chase
- Sichuan Style
- Porn For Pandas
- Chicken Styrofoam
- Submerged
- Gorgeous Gorges
- The Tower in the Detroit of China
- Mistaken Identities
- A Couple of Monkeys
- Chinese Spider-Man
- Dishes
- Forgotten Names
- Keeping Up With The Raichelsons
- A Day Away With A Big Buddha
- The Greens Under The Glass
- The Six Days Between Dawn And Dusk
- The Big Bang / Getting Money
- Portuguese Chinese
- Cubes and Triads
- The Last Village
- Last Time for Tea Time
- Fugu Me
- We Gonna Rock Down To Electric Avenue
- Things to Do When Your Wallet is Missing
- See No Common Sense
- Inner Child
- Goldilocks and The Three Bowls
- Sensory Overload
- Searching For Godzilla
- School Day
- Indoor Fun
- Live-Action Japanimation
- Bullet Time
- Zen and The Art of Bicycle Maintenance
- The Japanese Connection
- A Castle Tale
- Fahrenheit 8/6
- The Critters of Miyajima
- Farewell Surprise
- One Writes in Bangkok
- One Night in Dhaka
- The Writer Card
- Americans in Kathmandu
- Special Report
- In The Footsteps of Tenzing Norgay
- A Call For Tourists
- The Mysterious Yeti
- Like Warm Apple Pie
- Garlic Me
- Sand Trap
- All For A Pun
- The Long Way Down
- Die Another Day
- What Exit?
- Slowly But Surely
- In A Dark Back Alley
- Nepali Again
- Reunions
- On The Way To Delhi
- Good Old Delhi
- American Leftovers and Indian Flair
- Worldwide Pants
- Gandhi Park
- Playing The Game
- Jaipur Introduction
- Monkeys, Elephants and Pangkot Palace
- Look At The Stars
- Meet The Maharaja
- Celebrities
- Holy Rats and Camel Humps
- Remembering Bond
- Trinidad. Erik Trinidad.
- My New Beat
- Sacred Stones and A New Home
- Holiday For Pyros
- Hindu For A Day
- Family to Family
- Return Of The Touts
- Female Condomania
- Martyrs and Magicians
- The French Connection
- Mothers
- All Roads Lead To Bangkok
- Thai By Night
- Mallkings
- Moderation
- So An Englishman, A Scotsman and An American Don’t Walk Into A Bar…
- Kicking Ass
- Giving Thanks
- Sunshine On A Rainy Day
- Recipes
- Facing Fears On The Non-Tourist Trek
- Pineapples and Four-Legged Friends
- Whingeing Down The River
- Chiang Mai In The News
- The Occidental Tourist
- The Power of Geography
- The Wrath of Khan
- Accents On The Mekong
- Pousi Galore
- More Misconceptions
- Life Is Like A Box Of Chocolates
- Journalists In The Minefields
- Platoon
- The War Between Tourists And Touts
- Rebel Without A Clue
- A Plan To Be Spontaneous
- Good Morning, Vietnam; Bad Evening, Vietnam
- Temporary Ceasefire
- The Vietnamese Version
- The Dow Jones Industrial Average Is Down A Quarter Of A Point
- The Touts Are A’Changin’
- Blame America
- Mekong Enterprises
- M.M.B.B. (the Many Meetings Back in Bangkok)
- Excess Baggage
- Learning Tagalog
- Delusions Of Grandma
- A Lump Of Coal For Christmas
- Spider-Man In The Batcave
- Nice As Rice
- From City Slicker To Backpacker
- Baguio Bakla
- A Brief History Of The Philippines
- Peter Parker’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve
- Casual Saturday
- Quoth The Cousin
- Erik Falls On Mount Pinatubo
- Civilization
- The Guy Behind The Guy Behind The Blog
- Filipino-American, American-Filipino
- A Mis-Match Made In Paradise
- Advanced Novice
- Party By Day, Party By Night
- Let’s Go Fly A Kite
- Where The Winds Take You
- Super-Size Me
- The New Blue-Signed Tourist Trail
- Black Baby Jesus
- Another Carnaval
- Delusions Of Grandeur
- Waiting In Vain
- Island Hopping
- Foreign Local
- Not So Chocolate
- Return To Normalcy
- Blog and Reality
- Same Same But Different
- Pretty Fly For A White Guy
- Supergirls
- The Two Backpacks
- Red Pills, White Apples, and Blue Pumpkins
- The Smiles Of Angkor
- Where Life Imitates Video Games
- The DAY 503 Trailer
- The Ex-Pat Zone
- “The Trinidad Show” Live
- Ouch Was An Understatement
- Staring Out The Window
- The Fifth And Final Time
- Volunteer Work
- A New Homebase
- The Cliffs Men
- Hit And Miss
- Superday
- Searching For A Third Nipple
- On Tap
- Back To The Future
- From All Over The World
- Like A Frog With No Limbs
- V Day in K.L.
- In-Flight Entertainment
- Where It All Began
- The Freeloaders
- A Fine City
- Uniquely Singapore
- Friends From Little India to Indonesia
- Indonesia In A Day
- All Work And No Play Makes Erik A Dull Boy
- Cops And Comparisons
- The Beginning Of The End
- The Day That Never Happened
- Our Greatest Ally
NORTH AMERICA:
- The Canadian Identity
- The Ultimate College Experience
- The Island
- Worried At Whistler
- Home Is Where The Nettles Are
- Old School?
- Preparing For Re-Entry
- Adventures In Homeland Security
- Homestretch, U.S.A.
- The Return To New York
- Songs Of New York
EPILOGUE:
- Evolution And Realization
- Now Showing: “Elsewhere”
- If It Wasn’t Entertaining, It Wouldn’t Be P.C.
- Best Place Ever
- Special Delivery
- Today in U.S.A. News…
- When Erik Met Rick Through Jen…
- Amazing Fantasy #9
- The Global Trip LIVE!
PRAISE FOR THE GLOBAL TRIP BLOG
Praised and recommended by USA Today, RickSteves.com, and readers of BootsnAll and Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree, The Global Trip blog was selected by the editors of PC Magazine for the “Top 100 Sites You Didn’t Know You Couldn’t Live Without” (in the travel category) in 2005.
“Warning: If this site doesn’t give someone the travel bug, nothing will.”
- Colleen Clark and Megg Mueller Schulte, USATODAY.com
“We’ve scoured the web for helpful tips, travelogues and photographs and it is safe to say that your combination of humor, attention to detail, and artistry have made your page by far the most interesting and informative. You really manufactured a tremendous web page. As we have read more and more of your entries we have come to trust your perspective.”
- letter to Erik R. Trinidad from Roger M. Brown, Senior Legislative Assistant, Office of U.S. Senator Wayne Allard
“Seeing your no holds barred, real life, real person take on the countries you traveled to, and getting genuine information on the whos, whats, wheres, and whys, somehow made everything seem more accessible… I just [want] to say, with all sincerity, thanks.”
- Luke Kesterton, UK
“[Other travel blogs don’t] even come close to being as good as Erik Trinidad’s The Global Trip… It really is the best travel blog out there.”
- Jen Leo, travel writer (Condé Nast Traveler, L.A. Times) and editor of travel anthologies Sand In My Bra, Whose Panties Are These? and The Thong Also Rises.
