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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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Reading is FUNdamental

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

DAY 143: Every now and then I need a day to just chill out, catch up on Blog duties, do a little freelance design work and — one of the favorite pastimes of the backpacker set — read a book. Reading sure does stimulate the mind when your body is still sore from a bike ride the day before to do anything else.

The Ride of Good Hope

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

DAY 142: If you haven’t figured out already, I’m a pretty big cycling enthusiast. I’m no Lance Armstrong or Dave Mirra (nor do I aspire to be), but I do enjoy the feeling of being on the top of a bicycle, riding through the landscape without motors or windshields, until my thighs burn like crazy and my groin feels like it might need some sort of surgery.

School Trips

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 09, 2004

DAY 141: Since the age of three, I was raised in Teaneck, New Jersey, U.S.A., a proudly multi-cultural suburb of New York City. Teaneck has some roots in the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950 and 60s — in fact, my middle school science teacher, Mrs. Lacey, was a good friend of the King family (as in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.). When I was in the first grade, I was selected to be in a small group of students to go on a school trip to another school on the other side of town to meet Rosa Parks, the heroine of the Civil Rights Movement that refused to give up her “White Only” seat on a bus in segregated Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.

As much as it was an honor to meet Rosa Parks, I was only in the first grade and assumed that anyone spoken of in history lessons was dead, and so I didn’t even believe it was her — just an actress playing her. I couldn’t wait to get leave that trip so I could go home and watch Josie and the Pussycats.

Just Relax

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

DAY 140: To recall a conversation I had when I first arrived at my Cape Town hostel, the guy who checked me in, Ingmar, said that it’s good to have a relaxed attitude in South Africa because things may take all day. Patience I’ve learned, is an important virtue on the backpacker trail, especially when waiting for your bus, your boat, your train, or your Carnaval costume. Patience is also good to have when you’re eagerly watching the timer count down, waiting for your microwave popcorn to finish popping.

American Vacation

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

DAY 139: Adam and Brett, the two Americans I met the night before in the hostel’s living room had pretty much the same plans that I had for the day: to trek up Table Mountain and to see the big rugby match. The two guys were in a five-way car rental share with three other Americans and so I became the sixth one to pack in. Although it was a tight squeeze, I appreciated the fact that with a carful of Americans, I could freely say I was “on vacation” instead of saying “on holiday” — as every non-American English-speaker calls it.

Price Hike

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 06, 2004

DAY 138: Cape Town is flanked to the north by the geological marvel known as Table Mountain, a massive rock formation with a flat top like, well, a table — but one that was sculpted by a blind man. It was my intention of the day to go on a hike to the top of Table Mountain, but due to high winds, the trail was too dangerous to do, and so the Blog entry will concern a different type of hike: a price hike. (Hey, it was the only unifying thing of the day I could come up with for the angle of this story.)

Go Directly To Jail

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 04, 2004

DAY 137: After the seven-hour flight — which included a screening of Intolerable Cruelty, some of Disney’s The Haunted Mansion, some Super Nintendo and hardly any sleep with all the noise coming from the rowdy Argentine rugby team on board — I touched down in Cape Town, South Africa’s international airport, five time zones ahead of Buenos Aires (seven from New York City). The weather was gray and rainy but I knew things would be looking up; for the first time ever in The Global Trip 2004, I was in an English-speaking country and didn’t have to think so hard before speaking. However, little did I know that morning that I’d be in prison by that evening.

Last Meals Before Africa

Posted March 03, 2004

DAY 136: I woke up in time to meet up for the meeting of a bike tour at 9:30. However, realizing that I had many chores to take care of before leaving Buenos Aires (and South America for that matter) — buying medicine for my irritated eyes and cough, doing laundry, checking out of my hostel and, of course, Blog duties — I was glad that I blew it off. I did however make time to experience the characteristic cuisine of Buenos Aires one last time. Aside from the steaks, my other weakness was for empanadas — a tasty treat found all over the city.

Colors of Buenos Aires

Posted March 02, 2004

DAY 135: Outside the window, the sky was grey with a light rain coming down from rain clouds above. A look up the skylight in the atrium of the hostel, I saw raindrops on the glass. The weather sort of put a damper on the plan I had for the day: to go on a bike tour of Palermo, the middle-class neighborhood northwest of the city, full of scenic parks.

I was telling Pepo, the industrious French accountant that I met the night before about my need for a change of plans. He replied with a saying he had heard from others about the temperamental weather: “If you don’t like the weather, wait five minutes.”

It Takes Two to Tango, But Hundreds to Start A Revolution

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

DAY 134: Two days prior, I was in Rio de Janeiro — a city of samba — but had flown to Buenos Aires, a city of a different dance: the tango. If there’s one thing to be associated with Buenos Aires, it’s the tango — however, if there’s another thing, it’s political demonstrations.

Flashbacks in Buenos Aires

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted March 01, 2004

DAY 133: In February 2002, I spent a day in Buenos Aires during a stopover en route to Antarctica. During that day, I wandered around the central part of the city, looking for a new camera to replace the one that had broken on me, seeing the main sights on the way. Just over two years later I was back in BA visiting the familiar sights, and everything came back to me — including the familiar words of spoken Spanish I had been accustomed to hearing four weeks before. After being in Portuguese-speaking Brazil for a month, I had to revert back to my broken Spanish speaking ways, although I still kept on saying “obrigado” instead of “gracias” (“thank you”) and had to correct myself all the time.

Bye, Bye Brazil

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 29, 2004

DAY 132: Lara was up all set for her last opportunity for our daily morning cheese, Gilmore Girls and Touched By An Angel. It being Saturday, The Warner Channel on our satellite TV was running cartoons instead, and so the only thing to do was pack our bags and clean out the apartment. Lara was still pretty angry that Luis yelled at us the morning before with false accusations instead of approaching it professionally — especially after all the problems we had with them that we let slide — and didn’t want Angramar Turismo to get any more satisfaction out of us. She made sure she packed the fairly heavy bottle of tomato sauce in her bag instead of just leaving it behind for the owner to have.

“I know it’s childish, but fuck them, I’m going to be childish.”

Reaching the Threshold in Rio

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 29, 2004

DAY 131: It was only about ten in the morning when the doorbell rang. Lara and I were still half asleep. I opened the door and on the other side was Luis, the designated English-speaker at Angramar Turismo, the guys that got us costumes and tickets in the Rio Sambadrome Carnaval and the apartment we were living in. Luis wasn’t his usual mild-mannered self that morning; in fact, he came in really pissed off about something.

The Nerd of Copacabana

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

DAY 130: By the time I woke up in the morning in my Copacabana apartment, Terence, Mark and Paul had already arrived at JFK International in New York City. With my company gone, it was time to keep a promise I’d made to myself and my audience: to stay in all day and catch up on Blog duties.

And The Winner Is…

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

DAY 129: With Carnaval officially over, it was time to stop being a non-stop party monster and just be a tourist again. For Terence’s, Paul’s and Mark’s last day in Rio de Janeiro, that’s just what we did.

Fun With Foam

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

DAY 128: “Fat Tuesday” — known by the French as “mardi gras” — is the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday and the Christian season of Lent where you are to chill out with all your comforts in preparation of Easter. Therefore, Fat Tuesday is the one last chance to party before the forty days and forty nights of “suffering,” so you’d better make it good. Little did I know on Fat Tuesday morning that in Rio de Janeiro, “Fat Tuesday” should actually be called “Foam Tuesday.”

Enter The Sambadrome

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 26, 2004

DAY 127: Carnaval, like New Orleans’ Mardi Gras and the U.K.‘s Pancake Day, is the celebration just before Ash Wednesday and the Christian season of Lent. During Lent you are supposed to give up your vices and pleasantries and suffer for forty days in preparation of Easter, and so, Carnaval was designed as a way to party your ass off before having to give it all up. In Rio, partying is done in the form of samba, where you party your ass off by shaking it as fast as you can.

Samba parades in Rio de Janeiro began in 1932 and over the decades, evolved into a huge spectacle that attracted people from around the world. By the early 1980s, there were so many people coming down to Rio for the festival and so, in 1984, a huge venue known as the Sambadrome was created in order to contain the masses. With the 20th anniversary of the Sambadrome, to be in the Carnaval parade was only the more special; as touristy as it was, I couldn’t wait to be down there in costume, marching the parade route. However, experiencing the touristy Sambadrome that night would have to come after seeing another tourist attraction in the day.

The Chaperone

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 26, 2004

DAY 126 (PART 2): A taxi took us to the apartment in Santa Teresa, which was situated on a dead end street called Rua Murtinho Nobe that most cab drivers didn’t know the location of. With the help of CB radio, we eventually made it to the three-bedroom place on the third floor of a five-story building. We sat around, beerless, wondering what to do before going to the Sambadrome for the first night of Carnaval after midnight. Sharon went off into the other room and come back with a smile.

“I have a date.”

Fly Like An Eagle

From the trip blog: "The Global Trip 2004: Sixteen Months Around The World"
Posted February 26, 2004

DAY 126 (PART 1): Lara was buttering another fresh baguette in the morning, before spreading on a layer of her favorite spread Marmite, which she excitedly received the day before when her friends Ester and Pago brought it over from home. We sat over breakfast and waited around for people to come over at 9:30 so we could all try and go hand-gliding together. First to arrive were Esther and Pago and I leaned out the window to see if anyone was coming around. Suddenly I recognized a familiar wavy hairstyle on a guy walking around, looking fairly confused.

Meanwhile, Back at the Airport

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

DAY 125: Before the 10:30 meeting time with some of my friends from the New York area, I had a couple of errands to run. Despite the round and rounds of beers, cuba libres and caipirinhas with our big group the night before, I was awake early and performed our morning ritual of going out to the supermarket with the in-store bakery for some fresh baguettes. On the way back, I stopped off at a florist to get Lara a yellow rose, simply because I felt like it — her white one on our dining room table was about halfway dead. The florist heard me stammering in Portuguese and thought I was Japanese until I said “Americano” and eventually “Filipino” to explain my Asian-looking eyes. Hearing the latter, he immediately got excited, trying to explain to me something about volcanoes or something. I kept on saying, “Sim, Pinatubo,” but he kept on trying to tell me something else — he even drew out a picture of a volcanic eruption on a piece of paper to explain himself, but I just didn’t get it. I smiled and just said, “Sim, Pinatubo, Pinatubo,” again and just walked away.

Incoming!

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

DAY 124: The Friday before Carnaval weekend in Rio de Janeiro, city of the world’s most famous party, was the day the city really geared up for the influx of tourists. Men in costume and on stilts waited that morning in front of oceanfront hotels (picture above) for the lines of taxis that eventually pulled in all day. By the late afternoon, the streets were full of even more people — many of which had the familiar accent from my homeland — and I said to myself, “Could there be any more Americans here?”

Before We Have Company

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

DAY 123: Since both my roommate Lara and I had company coming from overseas to Rio de Janeiro for Carnaval, we were saving visits to the major tourist attractions for when they arrived. Avoiding the famous Pâo de Açúcar rock formations and the towering Cristo Redentor statue overlooking the city, we simply decided to go on the walking tour of the central city as written in our Lonely Planet guide.

The Girl From Ipanema

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

DAY 122: Seeing the state of the dining room table the morning after a first night celebration of our new apartment, there was no explanation needed for the fact that Lara was pretty much sick and hungover all day. I was feeling fairly okay — nothing that a little breakfast couldn’t cure. Lara stayed in bed feeling rough while I went out to attend to Blog duties at an internet cafe and buy a couple of more groceries: a fresh baguette for Lara and slices of cheese for my hangover breakfast, the good ol’ American grilled cheese sandwich.

New Neighbors

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

DAY 121: It’s one thing to travel and live out of a bag, hostel to hostel to hostel. It’s another to actually travel somewhere and live there for a while. That morning, Lara and I checked out of our Botofogo hostel dorm to find out exactly how living in Rio felt like. We packed our bags and took a cab to our agent Luis in Copacabana, who was all set to bring us to the apartment when we arrived.

“Oh, you mean the one that overlooks Copacabana Beach?” Lara said yet again with a smirk. It became her tag line for whenever we mentioned the new pad.

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