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Up and Over

Posted August 11, 2013

PART 15 (DAYS 33-35): “How’s everything here?” I asked Chris, the manager at Southern Laughter Lodge, when I arrived back in Queenstown for a day in order to catch a homeward bound flight early the following morning.

“Oh, it’s quiet. It’s finally slowing down,” he answered.

“Oh, is the ski season over?”

“No, the season can go all the way until October,” he told me. “But all the Aussie kids have gone back to university.”

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Home Is Where The Nettles Are

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 12, 2005

DAY 499 (Part 2): People ask me if I get homesick being on the road for so long. “Yeah, in the beginning I was, but after a while you just sort of get used to it,” is my usual response. Traveling from place to place like a vagabond just becomes your norm and it doesn’t phase you.

“Where do you live?” some would ask me.

“Well, I got rid of my apartment, so I don’t really live anywhere. I live out of a bag at the hostel.”

“Don’t you miss your friends at home?”

“Nah, most of my friends are on-line, so I talk to them all the time,” I said. True; my virtual self never left, and being on-line with people at home had been the constant that had kept me sane on the road. “Home is where the internet is,” I’d say.

Worried At Whistler

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 12, 2005

DAY 499 (Part 1): Vancouver is a great city for outdoorsy-types as there are plenty of outdoor activities in and around town, from sailing to Ultimate. While sailing a boat and tossing a Frisbee around are good fun, they weren’t what brought me to Vancouver. What did that (other than the chance to visit friends) was snowboarding.

The Island

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 10, 2005

DAY 498: One of Canada’s tourism slogans is “Discover our true nature,” a pun that I think is quite clever, even by American standards. The slogan brings attention to the fact that the main attraction in Canada is its countryside, a magnificent landscape of rivers and mountains and honking Canadian geese. It is this nature that spawns the stereotypical Canadian image of guys ice fishing while wearing floppy ear flap hats and discussing hockey as a moose walks by. (I know I’m not the only one who has this image.)

The Ultimate College Experience

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 08, 2005

DAY 497: “This is probably the Vancouver experience,” David Sebastian said as we got ready for the activity of the day. The activity at hand was the quintessential Vancouver sport of Ultimate, a.k.a. Frisbee Football, where each of two teams advances a plastic disc towards its end zone in hopes that Janet Jackson’s boob will pop out at half-time.

The Canadian Identity

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 07, 2005

DAY 496: According to a factoid I read, the border between the U.S.A. and Canada is the world’s largest undefended border, at about 5,500 miles long. This is because Canada, at least to the American majority, is no real threat, almost a counterpart of America anyway — it’s been called by some, “America’s Little Brother” and “America’s Biggest Suburb.” To quote a line from the song “Blame Canada” from the movie South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut, “They’re not even a real country anyway.”

Our Greatest Ally

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 02, 2005

DAY 495: In a stirring post-Nine Eleven speech that was obviously written for him because I sure as hell know he didn’t write it himself, U.S. President George W. Bush once ended a sentence with the words, “...our greatest ally, Great Britain.” While historically speaking that may be true (except for that whole little American Revolution thing), I beg to differ (yet again) with the American President. Based on my experience on my trip around the world, “our greatest ally” is not the UK but Canada, the U.S.A.‘s friendly neighbor to the north.

The Day That Never Happened

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 28, 2005

DAY IN LIMBO: Remember this conversation in India from Day 386: Trinidad. Erik Trinidad.?:

“Which way are you going?” [Bea from the Miami Ski Club] asked me [en route to Udaipur’s Lake Palace].

“The way that you earn a day.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how when you cross the International Date Line [across the Pacific from the west] and you lose a day but then you gain it back?” I said. “I’m only gaining a day.”

The Beginning Of The End

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 28, 2005

DAY 494 (4 days since last Singapore entry): Flying across the equator from Jakarta back to Singapore was just one leg in a long gradual journey back home. However, there were still ten days left until The Return To New York, and I had no intention of letting the fun of travel let up just yet.

Cops And Comparisons

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 27, 2005

DAY 493: If there’s anything I got out of my short stay in Jakarta with Henricus Linggawidjaja thus far, it’s that I was definitely finding comparisons between Indonesia and the Philippines: both are archipelago nations inhabited by Christians and Muslims; both have resort islands (Indonesia has Bali, the Philippines has Boracay); and the urban capitals are similar — Jakarta and Manila both have legendary traffic pile-ups, extravagant big shopping malls, and similar-looking people. The two countries are very similar, although perhaps surnames in the Philippines are a bit easier pronounce. Go ahead, try and say, “Linggawidjaja” three times faster than saying “Trinidad” three times.

All Work And No Play Makes Erik A Dull Boy

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 25, 2005

DAY 492: “We can’t go to Bandung,” Henricus, my friend and host in Jakarta told me. “I have work to do now.”

We had toyed with the idea of taking a drive down to Henricus’ and Linda’s hometown two hours away, but after the freelance meeting the night before, Henricus had to get a presentation all set for the brochure design of an Islamic university in town. “We’ll just go the next time you visit.”

“That’s okay,” I told him. “I have work to do too.”

Indonesia In A Day

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 24, 2005

DAY 491: “You should see the outside,” Henricus said to me in the living room, which had been converted to a guest room with the simple folding out of the futon.

“Yeah, I know,” I said without looking away from the television screen. I was fully enthralled playing Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on his PlayStation 2 since the night before. Between that and Metal Gear Solid 3 (which I had been itching to play since Tokyo Game Show 2004), I was fully entertained just being in the apartment. However, it made sense to take advantage of the fact that Henricus had no work to do that day in his life as a freelance designer. And so, I turned off the PS2, took a shower, and got ready to see Indonesia.

Friends From Little India to Indonesia

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 24, 2005

DAY 490: The city-state of Singapore is small enough that one can see all of its points-of-interest in just two or three days, and this being my third day in town, it was time to wrap things up before heading off to Indonesia that night to catch up with my old friend Henricus. However, before catching up with an old friend, there was still time to make a new one.

Uniquely Singapore

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 23, 2005

DAY 489: Singapore is a hodge-podge of other cultures — Malay, Chinese, Indian, British — all masked by a sleek façade of modernization. The city-state has often been criticized, even by its own people, of having no real Singaporean identity. While Carol’s boyfriend Zac described Singapore culture as “like Malaysia, just more Chinese,” Singapore struggles to find its unique place on the world culture stage, other than its regular reputation of being a boringly clean haven for multinational corporations with business in Asia.

A Fine City

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 22, 2005

DAY 488: Singapore, the island off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, was once a part of Malaysia. However, the former English colonial port seceded from Malaysia in 1965 and went their own way due to “creative differences;” apparently the Singaporeans were a lot more uptight than the rest of the country. They soon developed a modern city state with a reputation for being boring, clean-cut, and above all, very anal retentive, so much that locals, ex-pats and tourists alike jokingly started calling it “a fine city,” a pun pertaining to the many steep fines imposed for really benign offenses: littering, jaywalking, spitting, carrying durian fruit, and even chewing gum. (Concurrently, less benign offenses result in the death penalty; everyone knows the story of the Australian backpacker who was executed for possession of marijuana a couple of years back.)

The Freeloaders

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 21, 2005

DAY 487: If you’re like me, you’ve probably read through the past couple of entries in the category “Malaysia” and are thinking (in italics of course), Is this all there is to Malaysia? Old colonial port towns, a big modern metropolis, and an amusement park? What the hell? Isn’t this supposed to be a developing southeast Asian country with like, villagers and stuff?

The answers to these ponderings came to me like a ton of bricks when I was sitting on the toilet bowl taking a dump at the Travellers Inn in Melaka. No, it wasn’t another mind dump like when I contemplating Darwin’s Theory of Evolution in the Galapagos; conveniently placed on the door in front of me was a wordy but catchy flyer for an eco bike tour to the outer villages for those wishing to see a more authentic Malaysia in the countryside away from the standard tourist sites of the city.

And so, I washed my hands, booked the tour, and wiped my ass — not necessarily in that order.

Where It All Began

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 19, 2005

DAY 486: “Visit Historic Melaka means Visit Malaysia,” says one of the tourism slogans for the former capital of Malaysia. As another tourism slogan goes, Melaka is “Where It All Began.”

In-Flight Entertainment

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 17, 2005

DAY 485: “When you go to Los Angeles, you go to Universal Studios or Disneyland,” Geow the CalPoly-grad told me in the truck as we drove in the pre-dawn darkness of 6:30 a.m. “When you go to K.L., you go to Genting Highlands.”

V Day in K.L.

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 16, 2005

DAY 484: Huh? Where are we? I wondered, all groggy-eyed when I woke up on a motionless train in my sleeper berth. Everyone was getting off the Kuala Lumpur-bound train at 6:40 in the morning. Are we there yet? We’re not supposed to get there for another half hour. The train continued its state of inertia, and so I just disembarked. We had in fact arrived at KL Sentral [sic] station ahead of schedule.

Like A Frog With No Limbs

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 15, 2005

DAY 483: On a world map, the island of Penang off the coast of mainland Malaysia at roughly 6° N latitude, 100° E longitude is a mere speck, if it’s even there at all. However, when you zoom in on that little speck (by Googling for a better map), you see that not only is the shape of Penang Island that of a frog laid out on its belly with its limbs torn off, but that it is an island with an area of over 90 square miles, a formidable area of land that can’t exactly all be covered on foot.

From All Over The World

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 13, 2005

DAY 482: Samuel L. Jackson once said in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction, “Personality goes a long way.” Although the Olive Spring Hotel where I stayed for my first night in Georgetown, Penang’s main city, was colorful and clean, it had no personality — probably because most of the staff was off for the Chinese New Year long weekend like most of the businesses in town. After shopping around for a new place that morning, I found a place that, although not as colorful, had personality. Personality goes a long way (and so did my money since it was cheaper).

Back To The Future

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 13, 2005

DAY 481: “So I’ll see you in about a month,” Noelle said before boarding a shared songthaew that would take her back to Krabi Town so she could get to her morning northbound flight back to Bangkok to continue her travels with with her backpacking hippie mother.

“Yeah, see you on Five Oh Three,” I said, remaining on the sidewalk in Ao Nang. My transport southbound to Malaysia wouldn’t come for another hour.

Noelle and I parted ways, thus ending her appearance on “The Trinidad Show” — at least until the upcoming “one big night” back in New York City on March 5th (save the date and R.S.V.P.!). It wasn’t just the end of my travels with her, but with my travels in Thailand for that matter, for I would end my day on Penang Island, the island off the northwest coast of the continental Malaysia.

On Tap

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 13, 2005

DAY 480: Noelle had been taken in by a group of British divers that were on the ship during her two-day PADI Advanced Open Water certification course. The night before she had gone drinking with them for happy hour at nearby Bernie’s, while I stayed in and worked, the Blogwriting nerd I am. During happy hour, Noelle had befriended a British couple that invited her to share the cost of a private longtail boat to go snorkeling at some of the five islands off the coast of Ao Nang. I was invited as well, to split the cost four ways instead of three, and gladly accepted. We were to meet the British couple at The Irish Rover in the morning at eleven o’clock.

Searching For A Third Nipple

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 12, 2005

DAY 479: Every tour office and guesthouse in the Krabi province has posters up for the “James Bond Tour,” a tour of Ao Phangnga National Park, filming location for scenes in 1974’s The Man With The Golden Gun, starring Roger Moore as Agent 007. Although I could have gone diving with Noelle, or rock climbing again, I signed up for these “James Bond Tour” in hopes of getting more interesting writing material for the Blog. (Besides, I’d already been to the location of Octopussy). However, as much as I thought the “James Bond Tour” would bring the region alive with tales of secret agents and the filming of actors playing them, it was a James Bond tour more shameful to Ian Fleming as the U.S. Olympic Basketball Team was to the Olympic Games of Athens 2004.

Superday

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 12, 2005

DAY 478: “The worst day of diving is better than the best day of working,” was the saying silk-screened onto a t-shirt that I saw some guy wearing that morning. We were on a boat off the coast of Ao Nang at the beginning of a three-dive day that was sure to be better than one sitting at a desk in a corporate cube farm, indeed.

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