Feb 20, 2012 21:43:19 Hmmm... I was watching the previews on my latest Nexflix offering, and I suddenly got to thinking (which is always a problem): Between the photo-realistic environments of "Transformers 3" and "Tintin" and the ability to place the head of one actor on the body of another ("Captain America"), aren't we now very close to the point at which someone with the right resources could fabricate video footage of an event that never took place? What if that footage brought down a person, a company, or a government before cooler heads could declare, "Hey, it's just CGI!"? What if the phony event is just the right nudge that leads to a series of consequences that can't be reversed? Paranoia and a Poli Sci degree - never a good mix. Extra credit for those who figure out what DVD I was watching...

Feb 20, 2012 21:44:57 Hmmm... I was watching the previews on my latest Nexflix offering, and I suddenly got to thinking (which is always a problem): Between the photo-realistic environments of "Transformers 3" and "Tintin" and the ability to place the head of one actor on the body of another ("Captain America"), aren't we now very close to the point at which someone with the right resources could fabricate video footage of an event that never took place? What if that footage brought down a person, a company, or a government before cooler heads could declare, "Hey, it's just CGI!"? What if the phony event is just the right nudge that leads to a series of consequences that can't be reversed? Paranoia and a Poli Sci degree - never a good mix. Extra credit for those who figure out what DVD I was watching...

Jan 28, 2011 19:37:56 Barrel-Scraping Having not left the US in over two years (gasp!), and with facebook as an outlet for random ranting, I seem to have neglected my own personal publishing. In response to an unnamed requestor, I hereby give you the bottom of the barrel. The only commonality with a travel blog is the TMI aspect. FOOJ ENCOUNTERS THE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM Dec. 3 - fooj comes home early from work with the flu, and misses Sarah Nelson's birthday party. Dec. 5 - fever and muscle aches finally subside Dec. 9 - fooj feels pain in heel of foot Dec.10 - fooj unable to walk without doing hilarious Igor imitation from "Young Frankenstein". Heel is now swollen like a golf ball. Dec.11 - fooj goes to the IHC InstaCare because it's a couple of blocks away, and it's a Saturday. Diagnosis is simple - "Do you run? Yes. You're how old? 43. Yeah, it looks like tendonitis of the achilles." Anti-inflammatory steroids are prescribed with the warning, "It might suppress your immune system." Dec.12 - fooj has Lara pick up crutches at Walgreen's, as giant bolts of pain shoot through his leg every time he plants his right foot. Dec.13 - fooj foolishly returns to work because it's Inventory Time at the old factory. Self-propulsion is now taking huge amounts of energy, and body temperature begins to fluctuate wildly in the sub-freezing Utah climate. Dec.18 - fooj misses Inventory Audit because at this point, he really doesn't want to leave his apartment. Dec.19 - fooj gets on plane to California for Christmas vacation. He tries to suppress dry, hacking cough in order not to alarm fellow passengers. He is not successful. Security at the airport is an ordeal in itself on crutches. Dec.20 thru Dec.24 - fooj continues his convalescence at his parents' house. Travel is restricted to the bed-fridge-bathroom triangle. He reads four pieces of fiction and the 550-page middle volume of the Teddy Roosevelt biography. Dec.25 - fooj tries not to cough on anyone at Christmas dinner. He is merely thankful that his parents have passed the four-day incubation stage without getting ill. Dec.29 - fooj takes his first steps without the aid of crutches. Calf muscles are horribly cramped from disuse. His right leg is now a fraction of the size of his left. Dec.31 - fooj in bed by 10, asleep by 11 on New Year's Eve. Jan. 1 - traditional Osechi with the relatives. Jan. 2 - fooj gets on plane in Oakland. fooj sits on plane. An announcement comes on, "There seems to be a mechanical problem, but we should be out of here in half an hour." Half an hour extends to an hour, which becomes two, which becomes four. At four hours, the announcement is, "The mechanic is almost done, but we, your flight crew, are now off the clock." fooj goes back to parents' house. Jan. 3 - fooj finally flies home to SLC on same flight, one day later. He still sounds tubercular. Jan.10 - yellow lung butter turns to stinky death foam. Jan.13 - second trip to IHC InstaCare. Diagnosis is sinus infection. Antibiotics are prescribed. Jan.14 - giant rash appears all over fooj's body, prompting third trip to IHC InstaCare. Diagnosis is allergy to penicillin-based antibiotics. More steroids are prescribed. Jan.15 - fooj begins working out at the gym again because it's the only medicine that really works for him. Result is the production of a large ball of mucous the next morning. Jan.28 - various rounds of medicine are now exhausted. Lung butter is flowing more freely. Rash has mostly disappeared, replaced by small outbreaks of hives. Heel feels better, and visit to orthopedist is now in order to make sure tendonitis does not recur. What have I learned from all this? 1) My body doesn't like medicine any more than it likes disease. 2) It's a good thing I've been stashing large amounts of my paycheck into a tax-free Health Savings Account because my company just raised the deductible on my insurance this year. 3) I have seen myself at 75, and it ain't pretty. There was one point where I was crawling around my apartment on all fours, coughing up a lung.

Jun 27, 2010 10:28:31 World Cup 2010 I enjoyed the one in 2006 better because I actually saw most of the games. Ah, unemployment...But this one seems particularly bad for all the reasons (North) Americans hate the game: 1) Bad refs. Awful refs. 2) The flopping. Keita barely makes contact with Kaka, grabs his face, and falls to the ground, writhing in pain. And for this Kaka gets a red card. And even though Cote d'Ivoire goes nowhere, the fans around the world are deprived of seeing Kaka play against Portugal. Appalling! 3) I like the idea that faking injury can be red-carded after the game, based on video evidence. 4) Further evidence that FIFA is white-collar extortion. Sepp Blatter lives like a king while South African merchants can't get access to the venues because they didn't pony up the millions of dollars it takes to be a corporate sponsor. Meanwhile, he allows the vuvuzelas because they are "part of South African culture" (even if they were made in China). Money talks, Sepp. My team (Nippon) lives on. Can they beat Paraguay?

Apr 21, 2010 22:01:46 Same 'Ol, Same 'Ol 1) So, I don't really have anything new to say, but I couldn't let the blog lag for an entire year. 2) Springtime in Utah - trees are blooming, nose is running, eyes are bleeding. 3) Only three white-knuckle commutes this winter, thankfully. 4) And reality reasserts itself - hey, the A's and Giants were atop their divisions for two whole weeks! 5) Couldn't quite fit in one more stamp on the old passport. Ah, well...

May 25, 2009 10:24:16 Has It Really Been That Long? 1) About this time last year, I was waiting for my visa to get back from the "Iranian Interests Section of the Pakistani Embassy" in Washington DC. 2) My only stress now is to find a dentist, and get some possibly major work done. 3) So, right now I'm in Berkeley, and it's been a pleasure to actually read the newspaper in the morning, especially on Sunday. People complain about the Chronicle, but for me, it's fun to read a travel section that shows destinations outside the US (and yes, that was a knock on the Salt Lake Tribune). And the sports section lists all the national standings and statistics (another knock). 4) I've also got to dump the (infected) hard drive on my laptop, so I can finally get internet access from home (I'm writing this from my parents' PC). 5) So, traffic (and road rage) seem to be increasing along I-15 in Utah. I blame the Californians moving out here. Yes, I know I'm one of them, but I left to get away from that. Time to move to Missoula? Boise?

Jan 4, 2009 10:45:21 Chillin' in SLC 1) It's 14 degrees Fahrenheit in Salt Lake this morning (it was 4 at sunrise). We might see 20 today. 2) Didn't really have to dig out my car at the airport, and the highways were all clear when I got home. 3) I'm going to start my humidifier going tonight, and see if that helps prevent all the moisture from being sucked from my body when I go to sleep in the winter. 4) I don't know if I mentioned it, but I spent the last week-and-a-half back in Northern California. It was a little weird being uncomfortable in the place I've spent most of my life... 5) For one thing, after almost three years in Pleasantville, I'm not used to feces on the sidewalk, junkies yelling at each other on the street, and the aggressive drivers. 6) On the other hand, it was nice to see friends and family. 7) Oh, and I drank alcohol and coffee, and went to a pool hall (billiard room). I could do that here, but when in Rome... 8) The Utes stood up for mid-major pride on Friday, and put a smackdown on the Crimson Tide. Which makes for a contented SLC. So, to everyone who made time for me in their holiday schedule - thank you, and have a happy new year!

Nov 23, 2008 14:20:54 For No Apparent Reason OK, so it's been awhile. Addressing the recent goings-on in reverse order: 1) Saturday. Utah beat BYU in the annual Holy War (which someone has lamely attempted to re-christen the "Deseret Duel" to make it sound less inflammatory) to secure a BCS bowl. There is no joy in Provo. Cal also won the Big Game, but we don't get that shown on TV here. 2) Friday. A propane tanker overturned on I-215, leading to traffic jams on all the city streets around the I-80, I-215, and I-15 junction. In other words, where I live. 3) Last week. The price of gas dropped down to $1.84/gallon at 16th North in Orem. But there wasn't any speculation going on in the oil markets over the summer. No, really. 4) November. In contrast to pretty much the rest of the world, Utah has reacted to the election of Obama with fear and loathing. Specifically, everyone is convinced that he's a Socialist (capital S), and will lead the economy to ruin. And take away all their guns. And he's responsible for the mortgage crisis and falling prices in the stock market. And the crucifixion of Jesus. Quite frankly, the US is in a bad mess, and wishing for him to fail just ain't working for me. After eight years of the village idiot, I'm looking forward to seeing the country run by the former head of the Harvard Law Review. 5) This summer. So one of the things that struck me on my vacation were the similarities between Utah and Iran: * Mostly desert and mountains. * A conservative, religious, family-oriented population. * Polygamy is still practiced discreetly in both states. * Bad drivers. 6) The future. Speaking of bad drivers, the winter's only going to make things worse.

Sep 14, 2008 11:22:30 Still Riding the Way Back Machine I'm now about three months behind. Let's pretend it's mid-June, and I'm on another bus in the Iranian desert, watching another really bad movie on the monitor at the front. To reiterate, we get the art-house movies from Iran in the States. The ones you see on the buses tend to be of two varieties - 1) broad, slapstick comedy or 2) violent action with some sort of heavy-handed moral at the end about marital fidelity, etc. - and this would apply to buses throughout the Mideast. But why complain when this bus is taking me to... ESFAHAN 1) For centuries, Esfahan has symbolized the "Romance of the Orient" to European writers and adventurers. With its massive mosques and elegant palaces, it still draws tourists from around the world. 2) We roll in on a Friday, which means it's the weekend in Muslim countries. Imam Square is packed with thousands of people enjoying their day off. There are families picnicking on the lawn, kids riding bikes, kids playing futbol, guys checking out girls, girls checking out guys, tourists - both foreign and Iranian - checking out the sights or buying souvenirs. It's the kind of communal atmosphere you only see on holidays in the west, and it happens every weekend here. 3) We find a restaurant on the side of the square, and I get my first taste of fesenjun - chicken breast with a pomegranate and nut sauce. There's something of a commotion in the restaurant surrounding a group of tourists dining there. A blond-haired, blue-eyed Frenchwoman is dressed in a particularly elegant version of the hijab and manteau, and Iranian women are approaching her to have their photo taken with her. No such interest surrounds me and Jonathan, however. 4) Check out the photos - I've got two pages of them for Esfahan. After three days, we must sadly say goodbye, for we're off to... ABYANEH 1) The bus drops us off at a lonely police station along the main highway, and we wait for a taxi to take us to Abyaneh. I had been taking photos to capture the desolation, but stopped after I realized there was an anti-aircraft gun behind the station. 2) Abyaneh is a simple farming village whose appeal is that it's built from the red rock of the surrounding mountains. As with small, quaint, farming villages around the world, the young people have gone off to the bigger cities, leaving the elderly to try and maintain the traditional way of life. 3) We hike up to a small citadel on a hill opposite the town for a better perspective. It's all quite atmospheric, with only the wind whistling through the mountains. Well, it would have been, except our guide-in-training, Muhammed, won't stop talking. Like, ever. 4) Although it might have been nice to stay overnight, we're on a tight schedule, and we catch a taxi. A couple of kilometers in, and our guide Mehdi realizes he's forgotten his thermos, so it's back to Abyaneh. We're now headed north to Kashan. As there are four of us (one American, one Brit, two Iranians), the shared taxi - one driver, four passengers - has been the perfect mode of transport. It's just not the best way to go for long distances. Can you tell that Mr. Crankypants is starting to rear his ugly head? 5) Along the way, the taxi driver proudly points out the nuclear facility. Uhhh, I'm guessing no photos? KASHAN 1) We're a bit off the usual tourist path now. The service at the hotel restaurant runs towards surly indifference. (Now, now, Mr. Crankypants!) 2) The government has done quite a nice job in refurbishing the old Qajar-era mansions in Kashan. Not really the kind of thing you'd expect from a regime known for its austerity. Then again, even the Communists are restoring their tourist attractions. 3) We get the whirlwind tour, for unbeknownst to me, my flight leaves fairly early from Tehran. One moment, we're wandering through Kashan, and the next, we're whizzing past the Azadi Monument, heading towards the domestic airport in Tehran. 4) Barely enough time for goodbyes. Jonathan is heading back to London. Mehdi and Muhammed have a 12-hour bus ride back to Shiraz. And I'm off to Tabriz...

Sep 1, 2008 15:33:40 Really Behind on the Blogging OK, so let's back up a bit more - say, about ten weeks ago - and pretend I'm in Iran still, and not in SLC (where the temperature just dropped 40 degrees last night): SHIRAZ 1) It's pretty hot, but not as polluted as Tehran. And unlike Tehran, there aren't any skyscrapers or high-rise apartment buildings. It feels like a university town, and indeed, Shiraz lays claim to being the cultural capital of Iran, famous for its poets and musicians. 2) I'm sharing a room with Jonathan, a stonemason from London. He'd asked for a completely separate tour from mine, but as we were the only ones who signed up for our respective tours, the agency requested that we merge our itineraries. Apparently, there's not a large demand for English-language tours of Iran at the moment. Funny that. 3) So, we wander out looking for a teahouse on Sunday night, and the streets are PACKED! Lots of people, lots of cars. You have to cross the streets at your own peril since the traffic lights only work at certain times of the day. Why so busy? Well, most shops close down between noon and four PM, so people can go home, do their prayers, eat lunch, and generally avoid the midday heat. At night, everyone goes out to have dinner, meet friends, go shopping, etc. 4) Would you be surprised to know that the standard of living is fairly high in Iran? That while not everyone can afford them, things like big-screen TVs and MP3 players are readily available for purchase? It's not UAE rich, but it's maybe China rich. 5) I'd like to go into the history of the Zand and Qajars in Shiraz, but I don't want to bore everyone. Look at the pretty photos in the gallery section -that's why they're there. PERSEPOLIS 1) I will, however, bore you with the history of the Achaemenids. Equal to the empires of Greece and Rome, Persia was the world's great superpower from about 530 to 331BC. The reason you don't hear much about them is that in 331, Alexander the Great routed the Persian army, and shortly thereafter burned the Achaemenid capital at Persepolis to the ground. Subsequent generations of historians tended to be European, and tended to discourage putting an "eastern" civilization on equal footing with those of the west. 2) So, it's a little difficult to imagine what Persepolis looked like in its glory days. If my photos fail to be all that evocative, I can also honestly say that it's a little tough to set up your shots when you're out in the desert in early summer. Let's just say my mind started to wander a bit to the ice cold water in the snack bar outside the ruins. 3) And it is here that I ran into a guy from Vacaville, traveling with his Iranian-born wife. And when he asked me if I knew where Vacaville was, I responded, "Nut Tree". YAZD 1) We travel by bus from Shiraz to Yazd. Like most bus services in the Middle East, you get the mid-ride snack and the really bad movie (played at about a gazillion decibels). And like my beloved '91 Honda Civic that I used to drive back in the Bay Area, you have to turn off the air conditioner while going up steep grades. 2) Yazd is in the middle of the desert, and it's hot. Like, really, really hot. The outside temperature reading on the bus said 104. I think I heard it hits 115 in July-August. 3) Which made the date shake (that's cream, ice and dates in a blender) at the hotel absolutely sublime. 4) The hotel itself was also pretty grand (see photo). It's one of those backpacker havens with the free Internet and a rooftop restaurant (where you get a great view of the city at night). And it was right next to the Friday Mosque. 5) Yazd is also the center of Zoroastrianism, an early monotheistic religion that pre-dates Judaism. The temples at Yazd are at the top of two hills on the outskirts of the city. The site was basically empty when we visited, as most tourists, foreign or Iranian, aren't all that interested in scrambling up a 30 degree grade in 104 degree heat. The downside is that we weren't quite sure we'd be able to get a taxi back into town. Next time - Esfahan

Jun 22, 2008 03:19:15 Simple Logistics Let's backtrack just a little, shall we, and pretend it's a couple of weeks ago. 1) June 4th - took the red-eye from SLC to JFK. Would have been fine, were it not for the giant Samoan dude next to me taking half of my seat as well. Which is one of the risks of flying in and out of SLC. 2) June 5th - can someone please do something about JFK? It used to be that new arrivals to New York would travel past the Statue of Liberty on their way to Ellis Island. Now visitors are welcomed to one of the most decrepit airports in the world. Would you believe the airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia is nicer? 3) Took an Emirates flight from JFK to Dubai. Brand new 777-300. High ceilings. Personal entertainment system. Excellent service. 4) Interestingly enough, most of the Arabic speaking passengers from NY to Dubai were in first class. Most of the folks in coach were South Asian - Indian or Pakistani - likely guest workers in Dubai's booming economy. 5) Dubai. OK, so I didn't do any sightseeing in Dubai - too tired. It did, however, remind me of Singapore. Hot and humid, and the center of trade and finance in the region. 6) Again, oddly enough, most of the staff at the hotel was non-Emirati - either Russian or Filipino. 7) June 7th - flight from Dubai to Tehran, also on Emirates. And as we descend into Imam Khomeini Airport, the headscarves start to go on all the female passengers who aren't already so attired. 8) Immigration control - I'm the only passenger fingerprinted. It's a reciprocal gesture, apparently, in response to foreign nationals being fingerprinted as they arrive in the US. 9) I'm met by the manager of the hotel, who drives me into Tehran. 10) Tehran, hot and polluted, but we'll get to that later. 11) June 9th - flight from Tehran to Shiraz to start my tour. It's on the state run airlines, which turns out to be better than the private companies. It's a Boeing 737, which means it was purchased before the Revolution in 1979. 12) I start my tour, but more on that later.

Jun 16, 2008 10:26:52 Food So, I'm still trying to upload a blog, and I'm trying this from Kashan, south of Tehran, and what do you think is on my mind? Architecture? Politics? Noooooo.... Bademjun - stew with tomato and eggplant Fesenjun - chicken in a pomegranate and walnut sauce - excellent! Gaimeh - stew with chickpeas, potato and meat And I thought I'd be stuck with nothing but kabobs and rice!

Jun 2, 2008 00:11:34 It's Getting Hot In Here 1) Mid-80s today in Salt Lake. It just seems hotter because I've finally gotten used to the winter. 2) Then again, it's going to be 108 in Dubai, which is where I'll be shortly. 3) Just in case anyone asked, the reason the Myanmar government doesn't want foreign aid workers in Burma is because that would mean people would see that the foreign aid itself was being used primarily to feed the army. The whole aim of the economy is to keep the military at a Western standard of living while the rest of Burma fends for itself. 4) Did Sharon Stone really say that China got hit by an earthquake because it cracked down on Tibet? Haven't we learned by now that a government of a country shouldn't be confused with its people? 5) Did he really say Dubai?

Apr 20, 2008 11:31:19 Spring? 1) It was about 80 on Monday. It snowed on Wednesday. It was 70 yesterday. It's supposed to snow tonight. Welcome to Utah! 2) People around here have been a little sensitive lately about national perceptions: First, there was the Mormon-bashing that went on during the Republican primaries against Mitt Romney. Then, there was the raid by Texas rangers of the FLDS complex. And now we have a commentator on ESPN ranting about the fans at Utah Jazz games. To paraphrase - they're Mormon, they live in SLC, they have nothing else to do, the games are the one chance they have to let go, and yell obscenities at people. Judging by the media attention to these stories, I think it's come as something of a shock to a lot of people that Mormons are still seen as being outside the American norm. 3) It's also probably come as a shock to non-Mormon Utah Jazz fans that they're Mormon. 4) And all this begs the question - if I were to move to yet another city, somewhere else in the U.S., would I be regarded as A) the pot-smoking, tree-hugging, flag-burning atheist that all native sons of Berkeley, California must be; or B) a teetotalling, special-underpant-wearing, anti-government polygamist? 5) Can't we all just get along? 6) I've noticed I haven't mentioned this in awhile so here goes - if you don't want to drive fast, don't drive in the fast lane! This means you, Utah drivers! 7) Thank you. I do two shows nightly. Don't forget to tip your waitress.

Mar 11, 2008 21:58:27 Warmth? I believe we broke 60 degrees today. People are in shirtsleeves. Normal people even (there are a few folks around here who wander around in T-shirts when it's freezing). I'm still in Utah. I'm still employed. I need to finish my taxes. I need to do laundry. I'll be in LA the first weekend of April. Adventure, excitement...a Jedi craves not these things.

Feb 14, 2008 06:41:37 Snowed In So, I spent the night at the office last night... I live about 38 miles or so from where I work. It normally takes about 40 minutes to drive either way along Interstate 15 (which starts in LA, passes through Las Vegas, and heads north through Utah, but I digress). The (roughly) halfway point is a place called Point of the Mountain, which is where the Wasatch range juts out into the valley. It's a fairly steep incline, and a lot of people who don't know it's there end up slowing traffic because they can't get out of the fast lanes in time. In inclement weather, however, the Point serves as a funnel, which ends up firing some nasty crosswinds across I-15. Well, last night a couple of big rigs crashed at the Point during the evening commute hour. Combined with the snow and wind, the traffic that wasn't sliding off into the shoulder ended up slowing to a crawl. I left work about 5:30, but when it took me half an hour to go two miles, I turned around and came back to work. Good thing, too. By 11pm, people were calling in to local radio stations to report that it took them 6 hours to get from Orem (where I work) to Salt Lake (where I live). People actually ended up getting stranded on the road, running out of gas. Elementary school children were sent back to their schools when buses couldn't run their routes. People were pulling off the highway, and camping out in gas stations and supermarkets. So, I spent the night at the office, where I had heat and food.

Jan 29, 2008 00:54:04 The Morning Commute I made the mistake of driving into work at 6am last Monday, just in time to hit the teeth of a snowstorm, and too early to take advantage of the snowplows that normally clear out I-15 at around 7 or 8. I only lost control twice - the second time being the scarier incident. Basically, I'm skidding across two lanes of traffic, repeating the mantra, "I'm insured up the wazoo!" Fortunately, there weren't any cars immediately behind me, and I just sort of let my car slide until I had enough traction to correct. Well, this Monday I went in early as well, and beat the storm that caused no fewer than 260 accidents in the Salt Lake Valley. So you never know...

Dec 25, 2007 22:03:47 Merry Xmas! I'm in sunny California, where the weather is a balmy 55 degrees Fahrenheit. I just barely made it out of SLC, with wind-driven snow pelting my plane as it lifted off the tarmac on Monday. If you're in the Bay Area right now, give me a call on my cell...I'll be here through the 30th. Oh yeah, my neighbor in my apartment building in SLC has gone back to the video game marathon. I'm not all that sure that the guy has a job, actually. When I was sick, I'd wake up sometimes to the sound of gunfire and explosions still going on around 2am, and then later at 10am, and then again at 2pm. It almost made me feel like I was back living in Oakland. But seriously, ladies and germs...

Dec 15, 2007 09:45:45 How I Spent My Winter Vacation So, I caught a cold the day after Thanksgiving, and spent a bunch of my vacation time recovering. Recovery was made a wee bit difficult by the two ginormous winter storms - it wasn't just the below-freezing weather, but also it's difficult to run the simplest errands when there's snow and ice on the streets. I know, I know, would I like some cheese with my whine... But, seriously, it's eighteen degrees right now, and it's a good thing I'm feeling much better. I've still got a ton of vacation time, so I'll be in California at the end of this year, and I'll probably be taking a few ski days in January and February. And yes, I'm getting a little stir crazy, and there will be a BIG trip in 2008. I just haven't figured out where.

Nov 22, 2007 16:23:39 Gobble, gobble! 1) A little chilly in the SLC - down to 20F at night. 2) The guy in the neighboring apartment sounds like he's finally finished his five day videogame-playing marathon. 3) My "vacation" has been put off 'til next spring, if it ever happens at all. Which means I've gotta spend two weeks vacation time by the end of the year, which means I'll be in California for a good part of December. 4) So, where will Cal be playing, anyway? I hadn't realized the Emerald Bowl automatically took the #4 Pac-10 team. 5) Off now to enjoy the traditional prime rib at Mas' house. -fooj

Sep 30, 2007 09:58:09 Snow on the Mountain 1) A couple of weeks ago, it was still in the 90s. Yesterday it snowed, even down here in the valley (granted it didn't stick, but still). It looks like fall lasted about as long as spring. Hopefully, it will be a long, wet winter. (I'm sorry, did I just say that? Talk to me in January.) 2) So I'm watching the BBC coverage of the protests in Burma, and they're showing troops attacking demonstraters near Sule Paya, and look, there's my hotel. You can now add brutal government crackdown to the long list of terrorist bombings, tsunamis and earthquakes that have followed in my wake. 3) 3, as in where Cal will be ranked this week. Woo-hoo!

Jul 15, 2007 01:46:33 Not to Beat a Dead Horse... ...but it's not my fault - he keeled over from heat exhaustion! 1) Welcome to the SLC, where it hit 104 today, and it's still 85 well after midnight. 2) Which leads me to a strange little lesson in civics. A news story out of Orem (where I work) got a lot of international attention because it involved a 70-year-old woman being arrested for not watering her lawn. The arresting officer got a little overzealous, the woman fell, and busted open her face. What's interesting to me is that Utah has recently had a serious lack of rainfall, leading to calls for conservation. Yet this a direct contradiction to several local ordinances across the state requiring that houses maintain the proper appearance of their front yards. Which means, in the local parlance, you're darned if you do, and darned if you don't. 3) But I digress. Been hikin' some. Gonna post some photos soon.

Jul 7, 2007 10:46:16 There's Heat, and Then There's Heat So, as I write this, it's already 80 degrees, and it's only 9:30am. It's probably a lot more manageable than some of the heat I experienced in my travels. For example, no humidity - that's a big plus. Also, no mosquitoes - and if you've ever gone weeks at a time fighting off the little buggers, you know how draining (pun intended) each night can be. Still, the current heat wave baking the West has been keeping me from getting a decent nights sleep. Which is why I've been getting up at about 4 in the morning to go to work lately - tired, but just can't sleep. Which brings us to a haiku about my commute: The full moon bobs in The murky, blue waters of The lake - my windshield Thank you, goodnight, drive safely.

Jun 26, 2007 20:28:24 Need Some Rain 1) OK, it's a little hot out here. 90s in the daytime. Drops down to 75 at night. Clear skies all the way out to the Pacific, no rain in sight. 2) And on top of that, we've got Lake Stank. You can smell the Great Salt Lake when you're driving by it on I-80 out to California, but every now and then, the stink will spread across the entire valley. Whew! 3) And on top of that, I've got box elder bugs sneaking into my apartment and dropping dead. It's an annual occurrence. 4) Received a copy of the 2007 Salt Lake Gay Pages phone directory on my doorstep, as it says, "due to your geographical location". Hey, I knew this was the liberal/progressive part of town when I moved in - I'm a few blocks from both a Starbucks and the State Liquor Store - but had no idea it was LGBT-friendly as well. 5) This in addition to the half dozen other phone directories of a non-sexual-orientation-specific variety I've received since moving out here. Has no one heard of the Internet? How many forests are cut down just so every resident of SLC can get their 10,000 pages worth of phone directories each year? 6) Liberal/progressive being relative and all - this means only about half the residents drive full-size pickups with the obligatory yellow ribbon sticker on the tailgate and American flag flying from the radio antenna. 7) This is not to say that liberal/progressives have anything against supporting the troops or honoring the flag. Then again, maybe it is. 8) Still employed, starting to plan my vacation. Stay tuned.

May 25, 2007 21:48:15 Dodging Ducks 1) Dodging ducks, avoiding avians, etc. - it means trying not to hit the ducks and geese wandering the streets of Salt Lake. 2) I don't seem to recall the snowcap melting this quickly last year, but the mountains are mostly brown and green at this point. I think I'll be going for a hike this Memorial Day weekend. 3) Company just had a RIF this week. That's corporate for "Reduction In Force", which means layoffs. 4) The big story here is the Jazz, of course. But it could become a small story this weekend. I have drifted from hoops fandom over the years. Especially since I don't have cable. Baseball's my game. 5) Sameness - the bane of middle age. What can I do to shake things up?

May 15, 2007 22:45:11 Did Someone Say BHS? 1) Breaking the radio silence to note that the Utah Jazz practiced at Berkeley High School when they were in the Bay Area. I show up in Salt Lake, the Jazz drop by my old school (bustin' out the hive in '85!) - that's fair. 2) We've skipped spring again, and it's in the 80s and 90s already. 3) I'll probably be back briefly in Berkeley the weekend of June 9-10. 4) WE BELIEVE! 5) Back to radio silence. Feel free to play amongst yourselves.

Apr 8, 2007 11:01:54 One Year In So, hey, I've been here in Utah for a year! Not an exact date, of course, but a milestone nonetheless. And, surprisingly enough, I've been employed for slightly over half that time. When I first left California, I figured I might go jobless for the first twelve months or so. And buying the Forester took down the bank account by a considerable sum, but the '91 Civic just wasn't going to make it here. I haven't taken full advantage of all the outdoor recreation available, but I've been getting out into the wilderness a lot more than I was back in Cali. And I saw my first World Cup. So, all in all, not a bad move. I'm still not happy about being back on the grid, but that would've been true no matter where I was living, I suppose.

Feb 18, 2007 21:28:37 BTW - Not at Trolley Square 1) Remember when a story about a crazy Bosnian teenager shooting up a mall in downtown Salt Lake would attract international horror, and people would talk about it for days? Well, now it seems like a regular occurrence, garnering some attention, but not for a sustained period. 2) The local ski resorts are trying to pull in the frustrated European tourists, now that the Alps are bone dry. 3) Which could be a problem when we get 53 degree weather like today. 4) Warm weather and snow combine to make avalanches, and a teenager on a snowmobile got buried out here this weekend. 5) This, of course, did not deter me from taking a little wander up in the hills (I've posted a few new pics in the Wasatch gallery - nothing special, though). 6) I have heard the bombs may be dropping on Tehran as early as this spring, which means the Shiraz to Istanbul overland tour might need to be postponed. 7) That, and I am still gainfully employed. Who'duv thunk? 8) Which means Grand Tetons in the spring and Mesa Verde in fall - oh, the disappointment! 9) So, if Iran is now regarded as the main threat to stability in the Middle East, why did we get rid of Saddam Hussein? He ran a secular government, he was virulently anti-Shiite, and he'd already fought an eight year war against Iran - what better way to keep an adversary at bay than to make sure they have a neighbor they hate/loathe/fear? 10) What do you mean, we didn't think of that?

Jan 14, 2007 09:53:06 Easy Like Sunday Morning 1) The sun is out, the sky is blue, and it's five degrees Fahrenheit in Salt Lake City, Utah. 2) It was sunny yesterday, and it dropped below zero last night, so the mountains are more icy than powdery. If I'm out there today, it'll be on a little stroll, not on two planks. 3) I've started getting home at ten from work, which gives me about enough time to eat and go to sleep. Really, if I wanted to live like this, I could have stayed in California.

Jan 2, 2007 22:33:45 I Just Flew In From California... ...and boy, are my jokes tired! 1) Lovely holiday in Northern California. A balmy 55 degrees. Stuffed the pie hole. Saw lotsa friends and family. 2) Back in Utah. No recent snow. Still haven't hit the slopes. 3) US Airways is trying to take over Delta, which is in bankruptcy protection. I'm a little torn over this. A hostile takeover might mean they'll drop flights out of Salt Lake, and I'll lose all my Delta frequent flyer miles. On the other hand, US Airways is part of the United points-sharing program, so I'll be combining whatever I have left between the two. 4) Because of their financial position, Delta has lost the naming rights to the home of the Utah Jazz. The former Delta Center is now the Energy Solutions Arena. Energy Solutions is in the nuclear waste disposal business. In addition to purchasing the arena rights, they've also launched a media campaign that tries to say, "we don't just dump nuclear waste in the desert" (although that is, indeed, what they do). Didn't know there was THAT much money in it, did you? 5) And while we're on the subject of the Jazz...now that New Orleans has the Hornets (formerly of Charlotte), can we trade names, so we can have the far more sensible Utah Hornets and New Orleans Jazz? And can we do something about the Lakers and Grizzlies as well?

Nov 26, 2006 10:52:19 25 Degrees Fahrenheit 1) Up early on a Sunday morning, trying to do some online X-Mas shopping, and it's a wee bit chilly. 2) In my neverending quest to publish something resembling historical fact: my neighborhood is called Sugar House because in the mid-19th century, the founders of the LDS Church started up the beet sugar industry, and this neighborhood is where the processing plant used to be. So there. 3) Speaking of the LDS Church (LDS stands for "Latter Day Saints" - the Mormons), they've (it's?) just embarked on a massive, multi-billion dollar downtown-SLC rebuilding program. But no, the stores will still not be open on Sunday. 4) Down 31-27 with three seconds on the clock, BYU needed a touchdown to beat Utah in the local version of "the Big Game". They got a touchdown, and pandemonium broke out from SLC (where the game was played) to Provo (home of BYU). 5) Utah Utes wear red. BYU Cougars wear blue. I have no personal stake in the rivalry, but am inclined by both nature and nurture to dislike anything close to the color red ("cardinal" if you will). 6) "Kramer" did what? On where? I'm an old man - I don't look for news online recorded by a cellphone. And is this really news? Hey, how about that TomKat wedding? 7) Speaking of real news, lemme get this straight - we're going to overthrow another Ba'athist dictator so we can make his country (Syria) safe for Hezbollah (supposedly our enemies) to essentially establish sovereignty in a broad region stretching from Lebanon to Iran. Not that that hasn't happened already, but this would sort of formalize it. 8) Snowless for two weeks now. Resorts not happy. On the other hand, my commute down to Orem has been relatively smooth, knock on wood.

Nov 12, 2006 12:23:31 And Cabbages and Kings 1) I'll be in the Bay Area from 12/24 to 12/31. 2) Ohio State must beat Michigan, Rutgers must beat West Virginia, Cal must beat USC, USC must beat Notre Dame - then Cal can play Michigan in the Rose Bowl, and Rutgers gets its shot at the national title with Ohio State. QED. 3) I've said it before, I'll say it again - if you don't want to drive fast, don't drive in the fast lane. This means you, Utah drivers. 4) Warmed up to 70 briefly last week, back down to 40 this weekend. Ski resorts open in a week or two. 5) I finally got my sofa. If anyone's interested in a place to crash a short hop away from "the best snow on earth", talk to me. The sofabed isn't as comfortable as a bed, but my living room is a lot warmer than my bedroom, which has drafty glass doors leading out to a veranda. There are also a lot of nice B&Bs around town, for those of you that have money. 6) fooj moves to SLC, A's moving to Fremont, Niners moving to Santa Clara. 7) Still not enamored of the working for a living thing, but now I've got to pay for the sofa. 8) Not going anywhere, not doing anything. I work, I eat, I work out, I sleep. One day bleeds into the next. By Friday, I'm exhausted. 9) Working out the details on my next vacation. Stay tuned.

Oct 16, 2006 21:15:13 Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax Nope. Haven't done anything new. Haven't gone anywhere. Same ol', same ol'. 1) Ken Macha - gone. My vote is for "Wash". 2) Re: China and the crisis with North Korea - hasn't anyone explained the Chinese concept of "face" to Condoleeza Rice? I'm, like, sooo sure that now that she's publicly chastised them about living up to their international obligations, they'll do exactly what we want them to do. Brilliant diplomacy, that. 3) So Orrin Hatch is showing up at my company on Friday. Should I wear my "People's Republic of Berkeley" T-shirt? 4) The leaves have gone from red and gold to brown out here, and it's started to get a little chilly. I'm headed for my first full Utah winter. 5) I don't know what my holiday schedule is yet. I have no desire to brave the crowds for Thanksgiving. And in manufacturing, there's always the chance that we'll need to keep shipping up until midnight on December 31st in order to book revenue. I guess my question would be, if I come out to California, will anyone be around? -fooj

Sep 24, 2006 22:57:08 Bryce Canyon 1) Summer's over, the kids are back in school, and there's a little nip in the air (I'll refrain from telling the joke I normally tell here) - it's time to play tourist again. 2) Bryce Canyon National Park - you will never find a more wretched hive of...whoops, sorry wrong movie. Created over millions of years, this is one of the most spectacular rock formations on the planet. Glaciers and rivers create canyons; moisture seeps into the rock and freezes, splitting the rock open; rain and wind do the rest. These pillars of rock are called hoodoos, although similar formations in Turkey have picked up the nickname "fairy chimneys". 3) Which is probably why the trail I hiked is called Fairyland Loop. Not because it has anything to do with the park in Oakland where I spent many happy hours as a child. At eight miles in length, it sees fewer hikers than other trails in the park. I may have seen about a dozen people all told until it met up with another trail. 4) And really, it's all about weeding out the less hale and hearty. I still can't imagine what it's like here in summer, with hordes of people filling the park, even in the sweltering heat. 5) As it was, I had to jockey for position at some of the more popular viewing points. Because the summer park shuttle is no longer running, most people have to drive into the park themselves, and we're all competing with the giant tour buses and their cargo of well-heeled European and Japanese retirees. 6) So my foray into the canyon proved to be a wise decision. It's quite an experience to be standing alone, surrounded by these crazily beautiful rock formations with only the sound of the icy autumn wind whipping through the tall spires. 7) And speaking of the icy autumn wind, I wasn't quite up for spending $150 on a room, so I opted for the considerably cheaper, but much colder tipi (see photo gallery). 27 degrees Fahrenheit is a little rough. 8) And speaking of my being cheap, I wasn't really up for the helicopter tour. And at some level, I'm probably philosophically against the helicopter tour. Or maybe just prejudiced against well-heeled retirees. If you're disabled, I can understand, but otherwise, you're coming to experience nature, aren't you? It was the only interruption while I was prowling the canyon floor. Once an hour. Whack, whack, whack go the helicopter blades. 9) If you're interested in visiting Bryce Canyon, it's about a four hour drive from either Salt Lake or Vegas. 10) And what's a good blog without a good road kill story. So once you get off the interstate, every few miles you'll have to avoid a little circle of crows feasting on the highway. They're really, really big crows - the kind that could do some damage to your radiator. And on that note...

Sep 15, 2006 22:38:57 More Is Less, pt. 2 1) I forgot to mention that a gunman attacked some British tourists last week at the Roman amphitheatre in Amman, Jordan. One tourist was killed. Add this to the list of exact locations I have been which have been subsequently hit by terrorists. Again - not a surprise to see tourist destinations in the Middle East hit - I'm just saying. 2) Come tomorrow we will have lost twenty degrees at both the high and low temperatures here in Utah in the last two days. It might even snow in the upper elevations. Hey, didn't have a spring, why should we have a fall? 3) Add to the list of highway complaints - people who don't turn on their headlights in a driving rain at dusk. DUDE, I CAN'T SEE YOU! 4) I've found a pretty decent Indian restaurant out here, and am slowly working my way through the entire menu. They're called the Taj India, and I'm desperately hopeful they stay in business, but it ain't lookin' too crowded when I walk in for my takeout order. It's the usual Punjabi fare, but better than I've had in awhile. 5) Sigh - the blogs just aren't as exciting now that I'm back home in the States, are they?

Sep 9, 2006 12:30:36 The Mundane Just to warn you - the topics in this particular blog may not be all that exciting, but let's face it, I'm back to living a "normal" life, working for the man in the USA. 1) I know I'm in the real America now because they show all the high school football highlights on the local TV news on Friday nights. 2) I know I'm living a normal life because I actually have to worry about traffic conditions again. I'd like to point out to my fellow drivers in Utah that the fast lane is for drivers that go fast. If you're hauling a giant trailer, and you're having trouble making it up the Point of the Mountain, you should probably get over to your right. 3) I've almost completely lost interest in American football - both college and pro. I don't know how it happened, but it should free up considerable time on weekends to actually do something social or constructive. 4) I am, however, still obsessed with baseball. If someone can send me an Oakland Athletics generic bobblehead (not the Bobby Crosby one that seems to be the only one available online), I'd be forever in your debt. 5) My free agent offer to Barry Bonds for 2007 - $7 million. $10 million if you come into camp twenty pounds lighter. Hey, you've got bad wheels and you're old - but if Omar Vizquel and Steve Finley can bother to get into shape every year, so can you. Plus, I figure you owe the Giants a good $35 million for the last two years of inactivity/incompetence. 6) I'm still looking for companions on road trips over the next few months. I'm heading to Bryce sometime in the next few weeks. Then the Grand Tetons either in winter or spring. And there's always the wacky dream to get into Iran sooner rather than later, so if you know how I can get a visa, even as an American...

Aug 29, 2006 23:13:37 A Quick Hitter 1) Don Nelson??????????!!!!!!!! 2) The temperature still hits the low 90s in the daytime, but I'm in an air-conditioned building at work now. It's at night that you notice the difference - we're dropping into the 60s by daybreak now. Which means... 3) ...It's almost autumn. I can actually hear geese honking as they fly south over my apartment in the morning. 4) Just in case I didn't mention - Real Madrid played Real Salt Lake a coupla weeks ago. Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Emerson, Robinho, Canavarro, van Nistelrooy - jeez louise! 5) Work, eat, work out, sleep - there aren't enough hours in the day. Oh, halcyon days of unemployment, whither art thou?

Aug 16, 2006 16:51:32 Got Work? So, I've broken my vow of eternal indolence, and accepted a job doing roughly what I was doing before, but for the X-ray division of a optics company instead of software. For those of you are still somewhat unclear on what exactly I do for a living, it's really all a cover for my CIA black ops work overseas. No, seriously, I'm a production planner, which means I make sure everything's getting built and shipped out on time in a manufacturing environment. It's going to be a little tough at first to get back into the swing of things, but I should be able to cope. Anyway, feel free to visit. We've got great snow just a half hour from my apartment, and great hiking year round. -fooj

Jul 25, 2006 02:44:54 Hot Enough For Ya? 1) Why am I up this late/early? Could it be that it's 82 degrees? It should drop below 75 sometime around 5am. 2) When you turn the cold water tap on, it takes a few minutes for the water to go from warm to cool. 3) This will, of course, be reversed around December. 4) They just celebrated Pioneer Day, which is a state holiday here in Utah. (I don't remember any state holidays in California, actually. We did have city holidays in Berkeley that nobody else celebrated, but then again - it's Berkeley.) Pioneer Day commemorates the arrival of Brigham Young and the Mormons in Salt Lake in 1847, after fleeing persecution in Illinois, where the church's founder, Joseph Smith, was killed by an angry mob just a few years earlier. There are parades and fireworks, and the general atmosphere is like the 4th of July, but with a Mormon slant. 5) I spent the morning looking for work. In the afternoon I went to see "Mission Impossible 3". There's a theater in my neighborhood that shows 2nd run movies for a buck - ONE DOLLAR! Action movies have sort of gone downhill since I was a lad, but you can't beat two hours in an air-conditioned theater for a buck. 6) Yes, I do have air-conditioning in my apartment, but it's in the living room. My bedroom has a western exposure, and therefore bakes in the afternoon (I can actually dry my laundry in my bedroom - it's a dry heat), and all my internet hookups are in the bedroom. So afternoons often find me out of my apartment, and at a local cafe with Wi-fi. 7) And yes, that means I'm not doing much hiking right now. It's cooler at altitude, but we're losing at least a couple of hikers a week here - either from dehydration, heat stroke, getting lost, falling, or some combination. Losing means dead, by the way. I don't really think of hiking as being an extreme sport, but out here, your first mistake could be your last.

Jul 10, 2006 00:38:27 My first World Cup Having never before had access to live telecasts or such massive amounts of free time, I've just seen my first World Cup. Some observations: 1) To be successful at this level, good futbol teams do not necessarily play entertaining futbol. Strong teams like Germany and Italy are known for packing it in, defensively, and waiting for the other team to make a mistake. I finally understand why everyone loves Brazil - they've managed to win in the past despite (and even because of) the fact that they open up their game offensively, take chances, and attack. Of course I would tune in to the tournament in which Brazil shows up sluggish and disinterested, and is out-Brazilled by Ghana (whom, to prove my point, Brazil beat soundly). 2) Along these lines, the group play was often more entertaining. Once you got to the knockout round, teams were playing not to lose. Which makes everything a little less interesting for those fans without a national rooting interest. 3) Speaking of national rooting interest...my teams were gone early. The US and Japan both only got one point out of group play. And Japan looked better doing so (which is saying something, since they gave up three goals to Australia in eight minutes). It's a shame Nakata retired. He and Nakamura both played pretty well. Donovan and Beasley, not so much. Someone asked me what I thought was the problem with the US team, and my answer was that you can't win if you don't put shots on goal. Or advance the ball towards the other team's penalty box. Stuff like that. 4) People here were hoping the US would do well, so soccer's popularity would grow. The funny thing is, the ratings were pretty good even after the US got eliminated. The fundamental problem with soccer in the US is that the best athletes here play other sports. If you don't have the horses, you just can't compete. There's also the small issue with... 5) The diving and flopping. Thierry Henry is lightly tapped in the chest by a Spanish defender; he throws his head back and grabs his nose, as if he had been hit by a prize fighter; he is awarded a penalty, which Zidane makes. Appalling. The Italian Job against Australia comes in a close second. Maybe if they handed out suspensions for the following match after a videotape review, you wouldn't see so much of this. The aversion to diving seems to be cultural, with the greatest criticism coming from the old British Commonwealth - England, Australia, and the US. It was sort of refreshing to see the Mexico vs. Iran game - when players went down, they got up and ran - no whining, no writhing in pain. 6) Strangely enough, I found myself enjoying the ugly scrum masquerading as the Netherlands vs. Portugal. I still kinda wonder why FIFA wouldn't suspend Figo for head-butting someone. Granted, it wasn't a solid, Zidane-type shot, but they suspended Frings on the German side for swinging (and missing) with an open fist in the post-match brawl with Argentina. And why was videotape evidence OK for that incident, but not for others? 7) You know I'm a World Cup novice, since I'm just discovering that FIFA doesn't seem to have any uniform policies whatsoever. But hey, the most famous soccer goal of all time was clearly an illegal play (Maradona's "Hand of God"). 8) But enough whinging. I do actually like this game. My favorite match by far was Sweden vs. Trinidad & Tobago. T&T played a man down in the second half because of a red card. Sweden got off 20 shots, with maybe a dozen or so on goal, but T&T's defense with Shaka Hislop in goal turned them back every time for a 0-0 draw. Yes, that's right, an American enjoyed a tie game. 9) My favorite goal was by Maxi Rodriguez in overtime in the Argentina vs. Mexico game (which would also be my runner-up choice for match of the tournament). Both teams played attacking futbol, but Maxi closes out the scoring with a jaw-dropper - stops a long pass with his chest, drops it to his left foot, and strikes it inside the far post without the ball touching the ground. Just incredible! 10) So my soccer education continues. Sometimes a team plays well and loses (France in the final). Sometimes two brief moments change an outcome (Ashley Cole's save and Beckham's free kick in England vs. Ecuador). Sometimes everyone's just too tired to make anything happen (jeez, swing a dead cat from the quarterfinals onward). And PK's aren't so bad.

Jun 9, 2006 21:49:06 Dancing the Procrastination Tango 1) Haven't scored any callbacks or interviews. I do get the occasional fishing expedition from insurance or financial services companies to become a "sales associate" - "based on your previous experience" (of operations and manufacturing?!). 2) Contrary to what all of you who know me might think, I'm not sleeping in until noon every day. I should say, however, that last night I slept eleven hours, which probably had something to do with the temperature dropping below 60 for the first time in a couple of weeks. Actually, you can probably add another ten degrees to my room termperature because I live on the top floor of my apartment building. Anyway, general coolness seems to be more conducive to my ability to sleep soundly. 3) In spite of the hazards posed to any sort of reasonable job search, I've managed to locate the neighborhood bar that will be showing all of the matches of the World Cup. Specifically, the Japanese group F matches, which begin at 7am Mountain Time. 4) I will personally be pulling for - in order - USA, Japan, Netherlands. USA for the obvious reasons. Japan because that's where I learned to love the game - and unlike the US, they actually care. Netherlands because I used to travel there on business, and I know that recent failures have been agonizing for them. The likely finalists will be Brazil and Germany. Brazil vs. France would be more fun. 5) The likelihood of my finding a job (or getting in another good trip to the desert) between now and the wedding season (June 23 through July 8) seems pretty slim, but we'll see.

May 28, 2006 07:37:37 Up Early on a Sunday 1) Wow, jeez - death toll at 4000 in Yogyakarta, Java, Indonesia. Airport closed, railway and roads inaccessible. Not good. Mt. Merapi (not far from Yogya) possibly due for a much larger eruption than anticipated. 2) Hopefully, not as big as Krakatoa in the 1800s or the 1000s. We don't need no sudden climate change. 3) I visited Yogya in 2004. There's a photo gallery on my photos page for "Java-Indonesia". I've been mistaken for Javanese throughout Asia and the Middle East (there's a sizeable number of Indonesians who work for wealthy Middle Eastern families - mostly as domestics - because of the shared Islamic faith). The people there were really, really nice to me even though their historical experience with both Japanese and Americans has been less than rosy. 4) How I actually heard about this - on the Sunday morning Today Show, the actual intro was, "The death toll rises to 4000 in the Indonesian earthquake, but first, news on the Brangelina baby." 5) And I'm up early on a Sunday morning because I got home on Saturday night to find the power out. Since the temperature has plummeted almost forty degrees since Friday, I decided to just go to sleep early.

May 11, 2006 10:57:14 Arches National Park 1) I'm still not entirely sure why more people don't come in spring. The weather is cool but clear. The hikes are easy. There aren't that many visitors. Why come in summer to fight the massive crowds and the 100 degree heat? If you want to visit, come now! 2) I figure nearly a third of the people I saw in the park were speaking either German or Korean. The Koreans all seem to have rented those high-end, 15-foot campers for driving around the whole Southwest. When I was at Delicate Arch, there was a large group of junior high school kids, and another large group of German-speaking tourists who had all arrived, independently of each other, in groups of two or three. 3) The magic of my 2005 Forester's "newness" is officially gone. I got the first ding on the rear bumper of my car in my apartment carport. And now I've slept in my car at Arches. Woo-hoo! 4) But it got 33mpg on the trip down from Salt Lake. I haven't gotten 33mpg on my old Civic in years. 5) To fake or not to fake? I've got a reddish filter on my digital camera which tends to capture the detail of rock in bright sunlight better than unfiltered (which tends to wash out the color). Otherwise, you can only take good photos at sunrise or sunset (which I sometimes do anyway). On some of the photos in my gallery, I've cheated, and in some, I haven't (see also Jordan and Egypt). You be the judge.

May 1, 2006 16:39:49 SLC live! 1) They're expecting a population explosion here, and it's not because Californians like me are invading. According to news reports, even though birth rates have declined among Mormons, they're still really, really high state-wide. 2) Gas prices are the lowest in the country (maybe $2.65 a gallon), supposedly because we get all our crude from Wyoming, and refine it all in-state. 3) Living in Utah means constant re-runs of "Little House on the Prairie" and "The Lawrence Welk Show" on TV. Plus, of course, the Tabernacle Choir every Sunday morning. 4) Then there's the matter of sports. I grew up in a seven team market in the Bay Area (for those of you mentally counting at home, the Warriors are actually still a member of the NBA). Salt Lake has the Jazz (who should give their name back to New Orleans) and Real Salt Lake (who aren't quite as good as Real Madrid) and the teams from "the U" (University of Utah) and "the Y" (Brigham Young University), all of which makes for some pretty sad sports coverage out here. What would I do without Gameday Audio online at mlb.com? 5) Just when you thought it was safe to move to a red state (indeed, the reddest in the nation), along comes a hot-button issue to divert people from their disenchantment. I've talked to die-hard conservatives here (some of whom were trying to sell me a car) who don't like the way the war in Iraq is going, and think we have serious problems with health care, but who are suddenly energized/enraged by illegal immigration. Nothing like seeing "a bunch of 'illegals' waving the Mexican flag" in downtown Salt Lake and LA to get that conservative blood boiling. Don't say I didn't warn you when the Democrats fail to re-take the Senate this fall. 6) And yes, I've already surrendered my California driver's license in order to get those low, low Utah insurance rates. 7) Although, you know you're in trouble when the folks telling the "Utah driver" jokes are - Utah drivers. 8) I guess the reason is that if you're used to less traffic around you, you're less inclined to pay attention at all times. Also, there are a lot of teenage drivers (see item #1). 9) Spring has sprung - the sun is out, the temperature is rising, the snow is melting, and people are drowning. Fast snowmelt means fast rivers and creeks, and not paying attention (see item above) means you just might die. 10) Which, I guess, is the main downside to having so many opportunities for outdoor recreation around here - avalanches kill snowboarders, rivers capsize canoes, some guy has to cut off his hand because he went bouldering alone without telling anyone his itinerary and got stuck in a rock. And on that note, I'm off to Arches National Park.

Nov 11, 2005 13:18:38 Places I Have Been Precise locations that I have been in the last year that have been bombed by terrorists in the last year: 1) Khan al-Khalili, a bustling market in Cairo, Egypt (every tourist in Egypt goes there at one time or another) 2) Edgeware Road, London, England (Shuttle bus drop-off from Stanstead airport) 3) The Grand Hyatt, Amman, Jordan (Changing traveller's checques for my cash-only foray into Syria) Not sure about the precise locations of the bombings in Delhi to protest the negotiations between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Timing is everything, I guess.

Oct 5, 2005 22:32:52 A Philosophical Moment Before I move on: 1) I know I'm lucky. 100 years ago, my ancestors were working tough plots of land in western Honshu, Japan, trying to avoid starving in the winter. 100 years ago, the only people who could afford to take the trip I took came from the wealthiest families in Europe and North America. My grandparents chose to come to the United States. It started out bad, but things got better. Their children received a college education. The American standard of living became the highest in the world. Improvements in transportation cut both costs and travel time. In 2004, their grandson got to go for a little wander. 2) How do I choose where I go? Mostly, I'm looking for the monumental, especially if it dates back to a pre-colonial era. I read a lot of art and architectural history books. Also, I'm old enough to have seen old newsreels in history and geography classes in grade school (ah, the joyful anticipation when you walked into a classroom and saw the film projector set up), and some of that must have stuck in my brain - you know, where you see some guy in a turban charming a cobra with a pipe, or camels riding past the pyramids. In a way, it's as heavily influenced by a 19th-century colonial perspective as anything else - the "Romance of the Orient" and whatnot. 3) What's next? Besides work? Iran, though the visa's tricky for an American. The Yucatan peninsula, and the empire of the Maya. Orissa, in eastern India. Yes, they've all been carefully plotted to fit into a two week vacation. Yes, this website will remain active indefinitely. That's all for now. See you soon.

Aug 9, 2005 19:00:37 Wrap-up Wrap-up, Pt. 3 Finally. What's it been? A couple of months since I threatened to write this? Let's go around the world once more, and this time with a more spoiled American, less love-for-all perspective. Japan - not much to say here. About fifteen years removed from the bubble bursting, and still mired in an economic malaise. Hopefully, no more company-expensed trips to hostess bars for execs (yeah, right!). The Asian neighbors still don't like them, and there's a lot of historical baggage there, but they need Japan for capital and technical expertise. Sort of the role that Israel should be fulfilling in the Middle East in an ideal world. China - boy, there's a bubble that's going to pop big at least once on its way to world supremacy. And who knows what the social/political/military ramifications are when it does. All this percolatin' goin' on, there needs to be a venting every now and then. I was in a town in central China, and saw a fistfight suddenly escalate into a chair-throwing melee of 100+ people, with the police taking sides instead of stopping it. OK, so the same thing happens at an anti-war rally in SF, or at a concert in Oakland. But I guess I'm saying that the provinces are a long way from the luxury high-rises in Shanghai, and the iron fist will be around a long time just to keep everything calm while China gets through its growing pains. But once it grows up - look out, world. Indonesia - in a dilemma. Not a big fan of the US, but not wanting to be run by radical Islamists, either. Not a big fan of China (ethnic Chinese have often dominated the upper class throughout Southeast Asia), but whaddya gonna do with the 800-pound gorilla that won't go away? Cambodia - small reprieve on the textile quotas, but still kinda screwed. Nice, brand-spanking-new airport in Phnom Penh, though. Thailand - also small reprieve on the textile quotas, bad deal on the bird flu and the tsunami. I could live in the airport (and would much prefer it to staying in Bangkok) as well. Singapore - also screwed, as financial and trade centers move to China. Has the rule of law and an educated population in its favor. Again, the rule of law is not to be underestimated. Burma - sanctions have no effect. Repressive military regime still in place. Vietnam, Malaysia, Tibet, Nepal - would love to go. Need to go back to Indonesia as well. India - 500-pound gorilla, and growing. Hopefully, India will have an actual infrastructure in place, as China eventually begins to price itself out of certain manufacturing sectors. They need to clean up corruption as well. But hey, they're getting along with Pakistan again. I would love to go back - so much left to see. I also have a distinct memory of a fight breaking out on the streets of Calcutta, with everyone running to see like in the days of the schoolyard. Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq - would love to go. Only Iran is safe (but it's difficult for Americans to get the visa), and I would need to go before we decide to start bombing. Why they're building their uranium-processing plant next to the city of Isfahan, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, is beyond my comprehension. What, they think Americans would put art before war? Where have they been? I wonder what's left in Iraq, the cradle of civilization. Syria, Lebanon, Jordan - all the best to Lebanon, once the most liberal-progressive of the Mideast states. That title now falls to Jordan, which is pushing to become a leader in technology for the region. Like Iran, Jordan has a young, educated population. Unlike Iran, Jordan wants to be part of the 21st century, not the 7th. Saudi Arabia - unless they let me into Mecca to see the Kaaba, there's no reason for me to go. Next: a more philosophical bent

Jun 9, 2005 02:56:02 Why I Am (and Am Not) Like France Or denial ain't just a river in Egypt. A big shout out to France for voting for the comforts of the status quo in the face of overwhelming evidence that it needs to change its ways. I, too, prefer the pursuit of Happiness and Meaning to the somber devotion to Discipline and Efficiency. After all, what fool would rather spend his or her evenings slaving over a warm laptop to raising a glass of wine with friends and family? [Oh, wait a minute, that would be me (or the mangled facsimile of me) a few years ago.] Yet it is precisely at this moment of yearning for a more humane way of life that the world has unanimously chosen to adopt the "Anglo-American" model of economic Darwinism. (And isn't it just a wee bit ironic to realize that a country founded on the general ideals of the European Enlightenment has turned around and foisted the narrow vision of Adam Smith and the Calvinist Church on the Continent? - but I digress) We're all girding ourselves for the rushing onslaught of Asian economic power, with no guarantee that we of the west will be able to remain on top. And so, with a deep sigh and a heavy heart, I must say goodbye to my carefree days of leisure. Unlike France, I realize that my privileged status in the world is contingent on maintaining my long-term economic well-being. Or, to put it plainly, if I want to keep enjoying what the world has to offer, I'm going to need to keep making serious money. Emphasis on serious. Sigh.

May 20, 2005 23:34:45 The Wrap-up Wrap-up, pt. 2 1) I still haven't figured out why India and Burma have an additional half-hour tacked on to their time zones (when it's 12am in SF, it's 12:30pm in Mumbai). And why does China have only one time zone, when the sun sets at its western border about five hours after it does in Beijing? 2) If you were doing word association, most people would think of "Arabian desert" if you said "camel". And yes, there are a lot of camels in the Arabian desert. But nowadays the Bedouin prefer the Toyota Landcruiser. On the other hand, they still use camels and donkeys to transport heavy goods and machinery in India, even in the major cities. There's nothing quite like seeing a caravan of camels dragging carts of concrete and steel along the highway in India. [I haven't been to central Asia yet, but there are regions (think the "stans" and parts of China) in which the camel apparently is the center of culture in the same way that the horse is to the Mongolian nomads.] In the Middle East, however, the only camels you're likely to see around urban areas are the ones that have been outfitted for the foreign tourists. 3) I've been spoiled, growing up in the Bay Area, because if I want, I can sample Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Indonesian, Burmese, Indian, Persian, Levantine, Ethiopian, Italian, French, Spanish, Mexican, Brazillian, Peruvian, Chilean, Salvadoran, or Cuban cuisine. It's just not possible outside of the major metropolitan areas of Europe and North America. You can get pizza and spaghetti pretty much anywhere in the world, but sometimes, the variety just isn't there. I gotta tellya, I got pretty tired of lentils and rice in southern India, and kebab and pita bread in the Middle East. 4) And while we're on the subject of the comforts of home, there's nothing like having a tub under the showerhead to prevent the water (always hot, and I don't even have to turn on the heater ten minutes before I take a shower!) from going all over the bathroom floor. Or having a toilet that can flush toilet paper (there's even a bowl, and I don't have to squat!). And I don't have to put up a mosqito net over my bed at night. And I can choose what to wear from a greater selection than just three shirts and two T-shirts. And I don't have to worry about staying in one place long enough for my laundry to dry. 5) All told, my modes of transport included: on foot, donkey, camel, elephant, horse-drawn carriage, bicycle, motorbike, tuk-tuk (to name one of the many varieties of a cart attached to a motorbike), car, jeep (in the old military sense), minibus, bus, luxury bus, train, rowboat, longtail (to name one of the many varieties of boat with some type of motor), felucca (or other sailboat), hydrofoil, ferry, airplane. I would have to say that the ferryboat is my favorite - big enough to not be subject to the whims of wind and water, and always at a leisurely pace that makes you feel like you're on vacation. The fourteen-hour-or-more train ride loses its romance somewhere around the third or fourth time you have to take it. The luxury bus is nice, provided you're willing to put up with really bad, locally-produced action movies in the local language played at the loudest volume possible. Next: part 3

May 13, 2005 18:05:52 The Wrap-up Wrap-up, pt. 1 We'll get all the negativity out of the way by starting with Mr. Crankypants for part 1: 1) Not to encourage the culture police in the U.S., but do you really want people of the world to think that "Sex in the City", "Crime Scene Investigation", "Fear Factor", "Judge Judy" and "Jerry Springer" are representative of what the U.S. has to offer? From what I've seen on television out there, they're not exactly getting PBS material. 2) It's funny how much fear-mongering is going on here at home. I was standing at the baggage carousel at SFO, looking up at a sign from U.S. Dept. of Immigration which showed serious-looking people in uniform with the American flag as a backdrop, and some slogan about protecting you and your family from the dangers of the world. Am I really seeing this? Then there's the media - terrorism, disease, terrorism, disease. Yes, there are real dangers out there. But it's a big world, and the threats are pretty diffuse. You could be blown up in a market in Cairo, or contract SARS in China, but you could also get mugged on the tube in London, or have your arteries clogged by the standard American diet. And the likelihood of the latter two items is probably greater than the former. 3) The affect of all this fear is that people outside the U.S. can sense it. We're the most powerful economic and military power on earth, but we look vulnerable now. If you talk to young people in India and China, they're full of confidence, and act like they think the 21st century will be theirs (especially after a CIA report came out, saying just that). They'd love to come to the U.S. to study, but since the post-9/11 immigration crackdown is so intense, they're going to Canada and Australia - or staying home - to go to university. We're no longer attracting the best and brightest, even though they want to be here. That's a problem. 4) Young people in the Mideast don't know what to make of us. They still respect our strength, but think we're just sort of flailing around, indiscriminately killing Muslims in some kind of crusade. Many of them would also like to go to school here, only they know if we're not letting in the Chinese and Indian students, we're definitely not going to let them in. I'm sure there are a few rotters among them who would like to get a student visa, get into the country, then try to figure out how to set off a nuke, or something. However, the ones I met (who spoke English) just want a decent education, so they can get a decent job, and support their families. We are, after all, still the land of opportunity that attracted my grandparents a century ago. (Editor's note: that last sentence didn't sound very cranky!) 5) Nice to see that of the $5 billion in pledged tsunami relief, less than $1 billion has actually been given. Way to go, developed world! (Editor's note: that's more like it!) Enough with the negativity (yeah, right). Next up on the Wrap - memories of my trip (also known as random blatherings).

May 6, 2005 09:48:45 The Middle East Wrap If I'm repeating information from previous blogs, forgive me: 1) Start your morning off right with that pre-dawn call to prayer. Then have the not-quite-western breakfast of one boiled egg with a ton of pita bread and cream cheese. If you were going traditional, you'd be having fuul (beans), and that would really get you going! 2) Calling all the people of the Middle East Arabs is about as useful as saying someone's Hispanic. Which is to say, yes, they speak Arabic, but that doesn't really say much about their cultural/ethnic roots. Say you're in southern Egypt, in Aswan - more of the men wear galabiyyas and more of the women wear hejab, and the people look as much African as "Arab". Whereas in northern Syria, the headscarves are almost non-existent, the young folks are wearing jeans and hoodies, and people look as much Turkish or Persian or European as "Arab". I guess the people who can trace their ancestry to the Bedouin nomads of the Arabian peninsula are Arabs, but seeing how three continents meet here, what does THAT mean? 3) There's an American quarter in Lattakia, in northern Syria. It's where all the hip, young Syrians go to see and be seen. They dress in western fashions and eat western food. I was probably the only real American there. So remind me, why are we trying to pick a fight with them? OK, so it's a police state, but since when has that been a problem for us? And I don't have enough information to address the "they shelter terrorists" argument, but it seems they would kind of like to be like us, and not like Afghanistan. Why go out of our way to alienate a young, educated population that doesn't believe in Islamic fundamentalism? No, we'd much rather maintain friendships with aging, corrupt monarchies who enforce a code of conduct that is straight from the Dark Ages (hint: the initials of this country are S.A.) 4) I feel bad for Egypt about the recent attacks on tourists, especially since it seems more like a few random acts by desperate people than an organized terrorist plot. The population of Cairo continues to grow, despite the fact that there isn't enough industry to support the population they have already. I've always been convinced that terrorism has more to do with poverty and despair than it does with religion. Which brings me to... 5) I can't tell you how many people tried to tell me that Islam does not promote terrorism, and while their religious beliefs are very strong, they are personal, not political. Most people would just like to be able to earn a living, raise a family, and be left in peace. 6) Speaking of which, the standard of living in the Middle East seems to be similar to China, although there's definitely a greater feeling of optimism in China. If there's a common complaint in the region (that doesn't involve the names "Israel" or "Sharon" or "Bush"), it's that local economic policies suck. 7) Although Jordan seems to be doing fine. The Jordanian dinar is doing better than the US dollar. Then again, what currency isn't. 8) I hope they don't have an earthquake in the region any time soon. There seem to be an awful lot of buildings built out of mud brick. And in Cairo, some of those mud-brick buildings are a dozen storeys tall. 9) It was good to get back to a region where football (the international version known as "soccer" to Americans) is king. I quite frankly couldn't stand the obsession with cricket in India. 10) I can't believe I left food for the last item here! Best food, hands down, Sisi House in Aleppo, Syria. Same selection of salads and grilled meats with pita bread as everywhere else, but just head and shoulders above all the rest in terms of ingredients and their preparation. Runner up: the Garden Hotel in Luxor, Egypt, and they get bonus points for the most polite and attentive service (the service at Sisi House runs more European - a mixture of contempt and indifference).

Apr 27, 2005 03:53:24 Homeland Security Flying home from London today. Those of you in Cali - I'll see you soon. The rest of you, thanks for your viewership. I'll be writing the Middle East wrap-up a little later this week, and then a full trip wrap (could there be an appearance by Mr. Crankypants?). I'm not done, but I'm definitely done for now. Looking for employment, and a place to live. I'M GOING BACK TO CALI, TO CALI, TO CALI... Somebody cue Journey's "Lights".

Apr 20, 2005 10:01:49 Where Am I Going? What Am I Doing? In a holding pattern in Northern Italy (horrors!), trying to figure out how to go home. Would have loved to have gone straight home from here, but that doesn't seem to be a practical or even relatively inexpensive idea. May have to go to London after all (again, horrors!). Does anyone feel sorry for me? How about just a little?

Apr 14, 2005 18:12:07 Done, Done, Done, Done, Done People have asked me how it was I never called home during my months on the road. Didn't I get homesick? Didn't I ever want to take a break? The answer is that I simply was always pretty excited about getting to the next place. Until now. Or rather, a week ago, when the weather turned in Hama. With the exception of most days in Singapore, and one horrible twenty-four hour period on the island of Putuoshan off the coast of China - no rain and cold for fooj. Then Aleppo, where giant mosquitoes attacked me while I slept in my hotel, leaving my face a swollen mess. Which had happened plenty of times before in Southeast Asia, except this time would be the last. I just couldn't take another two weeks of roughing it before I got to Istanbul, and I don't really want to spend the money to not rough it. Done. Done, done, done, done, done, done, done. When I write next I'll be in Italy, visiting Bonnie & Leo. From there it's a beeline to London and home, with brief stops possible along the way. All the best to my supporters out there, but I'll be doing the rest of the world on two week vacations each year until I'm dead. Anyone have any leads on a decent job?

Apr 11, 2005 11:59:16 Lattakia (Syria) It's getting hot here, so it's a good thing I'm heading north. Lattakia is a coastal town, and the locals like to stroll along the corniche, or sit in gardens, and look out towards the Mediterranean - which is all but obscured by acres and acres of shipping containers and ships and cranes. Such bad feng shui! This really isn't a two day town, but I'll be checking out the castle of Salah ad-Din (or Saladin) tomorrow, then heading towards Turkey on Wednesday. I didn't really feel like taking the eight hour bus from Damascus (or the twelve hour bus from Amman, for that matter) to Antakya, so here I am. There are worse things than hanging out in cafes for hours, watching the sun set in the general direction of water.

Apr 9, 2005 13:34:12 A Break in the Action 1) So, Roy Williams finally got a championship, and it wasn't with Kansas. 2) I've eaten an actual club sandwich with actual ham, and even had prawns in Thai curry. 3) I also know that the cherry blossoms are blooming in Tokyo, and hanami season is in full swing. 4) Can you tell I've taken a break from budget travel? I just couldn't face the thought of another three weeks of lukewarm showers, and nothing but felafel and shish tawook at mealtime. 5) Slowly, slowly to back to Damascus, then Lattakia, then Antakya (finally).

Apr 7, 2005 15:07:10 What I Learned In One Week 1) Aren't you glad I'm not in Cairo? I know I am. I was actually in Khan al-Khalili a few weeks back. 2) I'm back in Damascus, headed back to Jordan because I didn't have enough cash to get across the border to Turkey. Yes, bad planning on my part, but really not that expensive or time-consuming a mistake. 3) Good thing I have a multiple-entry visa for both Jordan and Syria (yes, that was a pat for myself on the back). 4) More bad planning - nobody wants to take travellers' checques here (the entire region). We'll have to see about the major hotels in Amman. Plus I need US dollars cash as well. That aside: 5) The reason there were so many women in full hejab here in Damascus last week was because it was an important Shi'a holiday (you know the one where the men beat themselves, and whip their own backs?). Now it's back to regular western dress with headscarves. (This IS a secular society, you know.) 6) There are a lot of Iraqi refugees here. The poor ones, that is. The rich ones went to Jordan. 7) Not everyone is happy here about item #6. 8) After eating like a Bedouin, and having a lot of the food be starch, I'm now afflicted with poor table manners, as many Syrians eat with a knife and fork, and it's mostly protein, so I have to order french fries on the side. 9) Everyone makes a point of welcoming me as an American, and knows I have nothing to do with what our government does. 10) Damascus is starting to grow on me - the right combination of old and new. Kind of like Hangzhou, near Shanghai. On to Amman, then back here, then to Lattakia, and Antakya (Turkey).

Apr 7, 2005 15:21:01 Damascus (Again) On my way back to Jordan to get cash for Turkey, and straighten out some other business. 1) Aren't you glad I'm not in Cairo? I was in Khan al-Khalili, what, three weeks ago? 2) In an instance of phenomenally bad planning, I was unprepared for the complete rejection of travellers' checques throughout the entire region. Which is why I'm going back to Amman. 3) But at least I have multiple entry visas for both Jordan and Damascus. 4) Still. 5) The reason there were so many women in full hejab in Damascus last week was because it was a Shi'a holy day (the one were the men beat and whip themselves). 6) Now we're back to largely western garb (sometimes with head covering). 7) The people here want everyone to know that Syria is a secular society where individuals hold Muslim beliefs. Assad the younger is Oxford-educated, and is trying to move in a progressive direction. 8) Nobody hates Americans, just Bush the younger. 9) One of the side effects of the war is that large numbers of Iraqis have moved to Syria (many of them poor, the ones with money moved to Jordan). 10) The water is safe, the food is safe, the streets are safe (which can't be said of other countries to which I've travelled). So it's Damascus-Amman-Damascus-Lattakia-Antakya (Turkey). If all goes according to plan.

Apr 4, 2005 15:05:40 Hama Releasing my inner child today, and went exploring a couple of 750-year-old Crusader castles. Also saw the famous water wheels of Hama (which weren't in operation, due to the low water level). Which is ironic because it's been dumping rain the entire time (I spent most of yesterday in the hotel). The hotel which is an upgrade in service and price from what I'm used to, simply because they'll take credit cards. Which is even more important because I'll need US$100 for the Turkish visa at the border. But no worries. Tomorrow Aleppo.

Apr 2, 2005 12:24:48 Palmyra Just a sleepy little town with a relatively intact, 1700-year-old Roman city. In fact, this is supposed to be one of the most complete Roman cities in the world, outside of - and perhaps including - Rome itself. I had a nice day of just wandering around the ruins (or if you're one Mr. Scott Perry, and you work for Macromedia - "roins"). This particular blog is costing a relative fortune, but some of you wanted to make sure everything was OK here, and I appreciate this, so here I am. On the highway north from Damascus, the bus hit a fork in the road. To the right, Baghdad. To the left, Palmyra. The bus turned left. So much for an interesting story. The people here are tremendously nice (as advertised, by the way). Most people tend to ignore you, unless you look lost, in which case people go out of the way to help. Tomorrow I head for Hama. From there I'll try to do a day trip to the Crac des Chevalliers, and maybe somewhere else. I'm waaaaaaay ahead of schedule, and it'll probably stay that way for awhile.

Mar 31, 2005 11:41:28 Damascus On my own now, eating less, sleeping more. 1) Damascus also lays claim to being the oldest city in the world (the other candidate is Varanasi in India), and inside the Old City, you really feel it. You're walking through 200-year-old bazaars, and suddenly stumble on 2000-year-old Roman arches. The Apostle Paul converted to Christianity here (for those of you who didn't go to Sunday School, the Apostle Paul once worked for the Roman Empire persecuting Christians, only to be converted, and become the driving force behind the early churches throughout the entire eastern Mediterranean). Saladin and Beybars (who drove the Crusaders from the region early in the second millenium) are buried here. 2) You've got more women covered from head to toe in black than in Egypt and Jordan. On the other hand, you've also got women in baby-doll T-shirts and skin-tight jeans. 3) I actually have darker skin than about half the population of the city. This hasn't happened overseas since I left Tokyo. It's more believable now that T.E. Lawrence thought he could "pass" as an Arab here. 4) You can't escape the insidious ubiquity of Mickey Mouse or the Teletubbies. 5) Yes, I said "insidious ubiquity". 6) Having completely forgotten about the economic sanctions, I am living on cash alone. The Commercial Bank of Syria won't exchange travellers' checques without the original bank receipt (they mention this in Lonely Planet, but only in the Aleppo city section, which comes at the end of the Syria chapter), and ATM cards don't work at Syrian banks. This oughtta be interesting. Off to Palmyra (ancient Roman city).

Mar 29, 2005 10:42:15 Greetings from Tapey So this is it for Egypt and Jordan, and no, I didn't post much: 1) I've finally quit waking up at the call to prayer every morning, in every town, sometimes from multiple mosques. 2) I haven't yet tired of felafel, babaganoush, kabob and kofta. My new nickname (coined by my fellow Intrepid Travellers) is "Tapey", as in tapeworm. As in my neverending quest to fill my piehole. Perhaps it had something to do with my consuming an entire thigh of veal in my fatta (rice and bread with tomato) on the first day of the trip. 3) All things considered, I prefer train food in Egypt to plane food on Lufthansa. 4) The highlights thus far: a) Abu Simbel - it was amazing enough that somebody built these giant monuments 3300 years ago, but even more amazing that they were able to move the entire site to higher ground to avoid being submerged by the Aswan Dam. b) A lazy trip down the Nile in the "Jamaica" listening to Bob Marley. c) Karnak Temple, Luxor d) A performance of Sufi music and dance in Cairo e) The climb up Mt. Sinai, where Moses received the Ten Commandments. Didn't talk to a burning bush, but it was as nice coming down under the light of the moon as it was going up in the light of the setting sun. f) Relaxing on the beach in Nuweiba. g) Wandering the desert of Wadi Rum. h) Petra, Petra, Petra. A day-and-a-half or two is perfect to see everything. i) In a moment that was positively sublime, a few of us went to Jerash to see the Roman ruins. As we were heading out, we heard bagpipes coming from the South Amphitheatre. There was a bagpipe and drum corps, playing to a group of dancing schoolgirls on a field trip. Yes, that's Jordanian bagpipers, Jordanian high schoolers, in a 2000-year-old Roman amphitheatre, having a grand time. And it's the kind of thing you only see by chance. If you're wondering about the dearth of Pyramid/Sphinx/Valley of the Kings ravings, the excess of large, deluxe tour buses sort of dampened my enthusiasm. On to Damascus!

Mar 25, 2005 10:41:34 Graffiti, Vandalism and Thievery Again, pardon the radio silence, but I'm going at a tour pace, not my own. 1) So, we're on the West Bank of Luxor in Egypt, checking out the colossal statues of Memnon, and there's graffiti on them. Only the graffiti was written by ancient Greeks and Romans around the start of the millenium. That's when you know things are pretty old. 2) Jump ahead to where I am now, in Petra in Jordan, and the "new" church was built by the Byzantine Christians in the 5th century AD. The older sites here date back to the ancient Nabateans of 600BC to 100AD. 3) Back to Egypt, and the monuments of Ramses II at Abu Simbel. French and British "explorers" from the nineteenth century decided to deface the monuments with their names and dates, preserving them for future ignominy, and proving that current vandals have a long and proud history. 4) Which brings us to a cameo appearance by Mr. Crankypants. So, what's on your mind. "Well, Fooj, I come all this way to Egypt, only to find some of the finest pieces of Egyptian artwork are sitting in museums in Paris, London, and Berlin. I mean, the British museum has the missing nose and beard of the Sphinx, which must not be all that impressive on their own. Why don't they just give them back, and restore the Sphinx to its original glory?" Well, those are some strong words, Mr. Crankypants. What about the argument that the Europeans were only preserving these objects from the ravages of a nation that had no respect for them? Or that they've served to develop an appreciation of Egyptian culture for generations of westerners? "Well, if I steal something of yours, and hold onto it until you die, that still doesn't make it not stealing now, does it?" Thank you, Mr. Crankypants. Next up, the Egyptian/Jordanian wrap-up.

Mar 12, 2005 04:43:32 For the Mystics and Jungians I'm skydiving, and waaaaaaaaaaay off target, so I've gotta freefall a little longer, and aim for where I'm supposed to land. The sky is hazy and brown, and ground is orange, sort of like the volcanic soil you find in Hawai'i. Funny thing is, I don't remember pulling the ripcord, but I land safely anyway to a cheering throng. Then I wake up, and I'm on my flight from Frankfurt to Cairo. What's it all mean? Seems pretty positive, but who knows? Got to my hotel from the airport without being ripped off too badly. Boy, the dollar ain't what it used to be, and the Mideast is already looking to be a little pricier than India. Tomorrow - pyramids (and not the kind built by insurance companies in San Francisco).

Mar 9, 2005 14:42:10 India Wrap-Up - Generalities And let me know if the formatting on this is screwed up still: 1) The standard sales pitch – “Pashminas, saris, souvenirs? Come, just have a look. Only a minute. Please?” 2) The standard child begging pitch – “Hello, rupees? Hello, pen? Hello, chocolate?” 3) To those of you who might be surprised by my indifference to begging: a) there are begging syndicates in which children work for “begging pimps”, some of whom purposefully cripple or deform kids to make them more pathetic; b) give to one, and dozens come running; c) it makes it that much tougher on the western tourists coming after you if beggars expect foreigners to be generous; d) your money is better spent on responsibly-administered social welfare programs. Many Indians give because they believe it wins them favor in the next life. Many give because they are good at heart. The fact remains that those beggars will still be hungry tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and will come to accept begging as a way of life. 4) On a Saturday night in San Francisco, if you go to the hottest restaurants in town, you will probably see couples, groups of couples, or large groups of singles. On a Saturday night in Jaipur or Calcutta, if you go to the hottest restaurants in town, you will probably see three generations of family dining together. 5) I’m still not entirely sure why the song “Brazil” (think cheesy, mid-20th century “Latin” music) is on the playlist for every wedding in India. Anyway, I started singing that song to myself at the strangest times. 6) I also started singing “Pashmina, pashmina” to myself, to the tune of “Alberta, Alberta”. 7) If “Brazil” was the song that was constantly running through my mind, I also kept telling myself the old Monty Python joke, “What’s brown and sounds like a bell?” “Dung!” 8) They serve a bottled version of fresh lime water (which appears on almost every menu in India, but in this case, under the clever brand name “FRESH Lime Water”) on Jet Airways that seems to me to be the ideal sports drink. The ingredients are water, lime juice, salt and sugar. 9) And why haven’t lassis (yoghurt drinks) caught on in the west? 10) Religious diversity on cable TV – one channel providing ‘round-the-clock coverage of the Sikh ceremonies from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, one channel providing ‘round-the-clock coverage of the Hajj in Mecca, the Evangelical Christian channel from Australia, and numerous channels devoted to Hindu programming (along with the occasional episode from the Mahabharata). I'm sure I left out something tremendously pithy and clever, but I'm off to Cairo, and can't be bothered.

Mar 3, 2005 23:44:44 India Wrap-Up: City By City Snapshots of Mumbai: 1) Dead rat lying on the sidewalk outside the internet café in Mumbai. 2) In the same vein, beggars working a crowd of young, well-dressed Indians queuing outside a movie theater in Mumbai, waiting to see “The Incredibles”. 3) I’m sorry, did I say, “queuing”? I meant to say, “standing in line”. Being surrounded for weeks by Aussies, Brits and Indians means you come out the other end speaking the Queen’s English. 4) A sticker on the ceiling of my hotel room, indicating (in Arabic) the direction of Mecca. Snapshots of Ellora: 1) With the exception of the Kailasa Temple, entrance to the caves is free, which means you can spend a couple of days wandering around on your own, without constantly being followed around by “guides” or people trying to sell you things. 2) In hindsight, it was nice being in a place where most of the other tourists were from India. You might find a handful of Japanese, Koreans, French and Germans here and there, but mostly I was a curiosity – Where was I from? Oh, really? I’ve got a cousin/brother/niece in California. Could they take my picture? Could I take their picture? No hassles, no hurries, no worries. 3) It’s strange that there weren’t that many westerners, seeing as how everyone knows about Petra in Jordan. It’s the same idea, really – folks doing some amazing and monumental work, carving from rock. Snapshot of Ajanta: 1) The Japanese government is financing a tourist center near the caves to limit traffic to the site, eliminate hawkers from the entrance to the caves, and improve restaurant and accommodation facilities at Ajanta. Snapshots of Sanchi: 1) The roads between Bhopal and Sanchi are really, really bad. And there’s always a traffic jam at the railroad crossing, so you need to make sure that your bus or taxi isn’t actually on the tracks when the train comes. Or, better yet, take the train. 2) But once you get to the Great Stupa, it’s just you, the monument, and several dozen Korean tourists. Snapshots of Khajuraho: 1) My experience in getting from Bhopal, to Jhansi, to Khajuraho is recounted in an earlier blog. I’m guessing that’s the closest I’ll come to life as an Indian. 2) Again, the temples are amazing. 3) I spent Republic Day here. I’m sure the parade in Delhi, with its dignitaries and grandeur, was something to see. Nonetheless, the parade of schoolchildren dressed in their finest, and tractors made up as floats, probably hewed just as closely in spirit to all the military pageantry up north. Snapshots of Delhi: 1) The money that gets you four star accommodation in Aurangabad only gets you one star in Delhi. 2) The city is quite spread out, but if you get out of Connaught Place, and see the sights, you’ll find several oasis(iseses) of calm amidst the chaos. By and large, the Qutb Minar, Tomb of Humayun, Purana Qila and Lal Qila are free of the hawkers and touts you’ll find just outside. What you’ll see instead are other tourists and young Indian art students taking it all in, along with young couples trying to find some private time away from their parents. The Jama Masjid is, of course, closed to non-Muslims during prayer, but very worthwhile to see at different times of day. Snapshots of Jaisalmer: 1) Sooo glad I didn’t have to work out the details of the camel safari on my own (I was with Intrepid by then). 2) Not sure I could take the four day safari. Even in unemployed mode, I’m not sure I’m ready to take life at a camel’s pace. Just think, it used to take people days to get from one city to another. 3) I neglected to mention how happy I was to have the pomegranate juice and fresh-roasted cashews at the 8th of July café in the central square. Snapshots of Jodhpur: 1) The audio tour of the fort was very well-presented. But the English-speaking Indian tourists were jealous of the special treatment (it’s free for those who pony up the 250 rupee foreigner entrance fee). 2) The gift shop at the fort was also modeled after western museum shops, under the novel theory that people might spend more money if they can spend it in a comfortable, well-lighted, high-end consumer space. 3) But just when you think you’re going to get special treatment for being a westerner, along comes a guard at the Palace Hotel to shoo you away from the elite clientele paying US$350 a night. Snapshots of Udaipur: 1) As you approach the city, there are marble wholesalers for miles and miles along the highway. Most interior designers probably already knew this, but it was news to me that a fairly large chunk of countertops in the US now come from India. 2) Yes, the palaces in Udaipur are made from white marble. So Jaisalmer is “gold”, Jodhpur is “blue”, Jaipur is “pink”, and Udaipur is “white”. 3) If you’re planning on shelling out the US$1000-a-night for the Lake Palace Hotel, you might want to know that there isn’t a lake right now due to a five-year drought, which has left much of Rajasthan dry . 4) The city takes great pride in the fact that portions of the 007 flick “Octopussy” was filmed here, and there are showings every night. Personally, I’m not a big fan of Roger Moore in the James Bond pantheon. What’s more, the jet-setting secret agent thing seems a bit dated now that ordinary slobs like me can go to the exact same “exotic” locales without much trouble. Snapshots of Pushkar: 1) Home to the largest concentration of dreadlocked partakers of “the weed” outside of Jamaica, the Netherlands, or the Bay Area. 2) Not being holy days during our stay, western tourists seemed to outnumber Indians here. 3) Still, Pushkar comes out among the top candidates for single most memorable experience, as we arrived in a central town square one evening at the exact same time as three wedding processions. That’s three grooms on horseback, three parades of relatives, three parades of lights, and three marching bands. Fantastic! 4) There’s a photo in the 2001 edition of the Lonely Planet that shows water on both sides of a bridge. That bridge is now the southern border of the lake. 5) Hey, I’m from Berkeley, and I still hadn’t ever seen so many hippies in one city before. Snapshots of Jaipur: 1) My one complaint about the Amber Fort (which is quite spectacular) is that while the mahouts in Thailand used voice commands and kicks to direct their elephants, the guys running the elephant ride operation at the Amber Fort use spiked metal hooks. But the tourists just keep on coming. 2) OK, so I wasn’t crazy about sharing the Amber Fort with about a gazillion other western tourists, either. 3) Funny how the Hawa Mahal (Palace of the Winds) is the second-most famous sight in India (behind the Taj, of course), but there really isn’t much to it. It’s just a façade, surrounded by souvenir shops. 4) Loved the LMB restaurant. The patrons are mostly Indian, so they don’t tame the spices to suit a foreign clientele. Snapshots of Agra: 1) Watching the sunrise over the Taj Mahal, as it goes from shadow, to grey, to pink, to white, as the detail in the marble starts to emerge. 2) At the same time, having to listen to the woman behind me talk about how she wants to get a picture of herself with the Taj in the background in the travel section of the Arizona Republic, and how her friends all tell her how great her photos are, and won’t she just be the talk of the town for weeks. 3) At the same time, a collective groan arises from the crowd as some idiot decides to stand right next to the reflecting pond, right in the way of the three dozen or so people who have been waiting for an hour to photograph "The Shot" of the Taj. 4) I’m not sure I’d agree with the assessment of the Red Fort in Agra being “better” than the Red Fort in Delhi. Bigger yes. More like apples and oranges, though. Snapshots of Varanasi: 1) Really, really nice. Not condemning with faint praise. I mean, just really, really nice. You actually get a spiritual vibe here, and unlike Pushkar, it would be a living, breathing city without the tourists. 2) That said, the morning boat ride along the Ganges was a zoo, with boatloads of foreign tourists acting as if pilgrims bathing and praying was a show for their amusement. 3) If you’ve got half a day, and even a passing interest in Buddhism, then Sarnath is worth a visit. It’s the site where the Buddha gave his first sermon after achieving enlightenment. You’ll see pilgrims from all over Asia, chanting and circling the stupa, and the grounds are peaceful. But really, don’t miss the museum – the craft put into sculpting the lion capital from the Ashokan pillar is amazing (considering it was made 2000 years ago), as is the beauty of the statue of Buddha from the 5th century AD, at the height of the city’s glory. It’s a shame the Mughals came and destroyed the city. 4) It was refreshing to have so many children in the Muslim quarter run up to me, smile, say hello, ask my name and where I was from, shake my hand, smile, and run away again without asking for a pen or chocolates. Snapshot of Kolkata: 1) I only spent half a day here, so what do I know? The taxi cabs are yellow, and there weren’t any livestock roaming the streets. Next: the parting shots.

Feb 26, 2005 13:13:44 One for the Road 1) I cap off an eventful and glorious five weeks plus in India with a final, albeit minor, indignity: the taxi driver in Calcutta takes me from my hotel to the front of the domestic air terminal, even as I frantically point back in the direction of the international terminal. He keeps saying, "airport", with an air of finality. I give up trying, and grumble as I pay him the standard fare. He hopefully asks, "baksheesh?" (the term refers to an obligatory tip, and I will soon hear this throughout the Mideast). I give him the evil eye as I turn and walk off back through the parking lot towards the international terminal. 2) For the last week of my India trip, I had a fifteen hour train ride, a seventeen hour train ride, and a combined eighteen hours in flights, which eventually led to... 3) "TMI Alert - and I really mean this - if you're tired of hearing about physical unpleasantness, then SKIP TO ITEM #4!" ...the weeklong bout with diarrhea that hit when I arrived home. Which explains the radio silence. I'm just adding another sentence to this item in case anyone who actually skipped to item #4 needs more space between them and the unpleasantness. 4) And to pick up where the taxi driver in Calcutta left off - the door-to-door shuttle bus driver at SFO has decided to argue with each of his customers as to whether they really live on the street they think they do. Except for me (and he charged me less than the other fares as well). That wouldn't have possibly have had anything to do with the fact that I didn't speak with an accent, would it? 5) Funny how you can spot the Americans in the airport at Taipei by the fact that they're all overweight. That includes the Asian-Americans.

Feb 17, 2005 01:01:39 The Golden Triangle The "Golden Triangle" of India is Delhi-Jaipur-Agra. It's the route most tourists take when coming here, especially those with large amounts of money to blow, and only a week to blow it. As a result, prices are higher than everyone else, and the local beggars, touts, and vendors tend to hassle all foreigners more than usual. In other words, not exactly my cup of tea. Pushkar was somewhat less spiritually-oriented than I thought it would be, but Varanasi seems to be living up to its billing (but then, it IS on the Ganges, and only the most ignorant would defile the Ganges). Jaipur was a wee bit too frenetic for me, and the salesmen wouldn't take no for an answer. Agra was actually not too bad, with the foreign tourist doing most of the misbehaving (doesn't anyone read their guidebooks on proper conduct in India?!!!). Oh,and we went Sleeper class on the train from Agra to Varanasi, which I would absolutely NOT recommend to an individual or couple travelling alone, but fine for a group of thirteen. Can't believe I've been here five weeks, and I'm only covering a small portion of the country. The South and Sri Lanka will have to wait for another time. My "India Wrap-Up" will be written in California, unless I feel ambitious in the Bangkok airport (what with the four hour layover and all). All the best to everyone. -fooj

Feb 12, 2005 04:44:33 Culinary Highlights In no particular order: 1) Chai! Chai! Chai! 2) Vegetable kofta (fried ball of potato and cauliflower in curry cream sauce) and stuffed tomato (stuffed with potato and coconut in tomato sauce) at the Deepak Guest House in Jaisalmer. 3) Best chicken tikka - Jagat Niwas Hotel in Udaipur. Runner up - "On the Rocks" in Jodhpur. 4) The South Indian breakfast - idlii (cakes made from rice flour) in sambar (a soupy, spicy tomato sauce with vegetables); dosas (somewhere between a pancake and a crepe, made of rice and chickpea flour) with corn or potato. 5) Palak paneer - spinach gravy with milk curd - which I now know how to make, thanks to a cooking course in Udaipur. 6) Strangely enough, the spinach and mushroom enchilada at the Moon Dance Cafe in Pushkar - not quite Mexican, not quite Indian, but quite good.

Feb 11, 2005 05:11:37 Mr. Crankypants Goes to India For those of you who might think Christmas has been overcommercialized, and that Asian people might somehow be more in touch with their spiritual side, Mr. Crankypants has this rebuttal: "So I'm in Pushkar, one of the holiest cities in India. There are only a few Brahma temples in India, and the most famous one is here. There's also a lake where pilgrims come to bathe and pray in the mornings at the ghats (steps leading down to the water). The ghats are holy areas, and visitors must remove shoes and offer donations to enter. Well, there's one section of the lake that has a viewing area for tourists to watch the sunset, and street performers to perform. Now that area is being turned into a ghat, which begs the question - who decides that this new ghat has suddenly become "holy", and did the phrase "realizing commercial potential" ever enter the discussion. You know where Mr. Crankypants stands. Ta, ta for now."

Feb 7, 2005 06:52:07 Patriots win third in four years Fooj misses second straight Super Bowl. 1) My Intrepid Travel group consists of an Italian couple, our guide from Jaipur, myself, and nine women from four countries. 2) I'm glad I spent four days in Delhi - I couldn't have possibly seen everything I'd wanted to otherwise. 3) Jaisalmer was also amazing. We rode out into the desert on camelback, and I woke up on my 38th birthday surrounded by sand dunes and flatulent camels. 4) It's amazing how detailed you can get carving in stone. 5) Jodhpur has an impressive fort, but is somewhat dirty for my taste. 6) There is no lake at Udaipur for the first time in recent memory - there's been a drought in all of Rajasthan, and if the monsoons don't bring enough water the next two years, everyone's going to have to move. 7) It's wedding season right now in Rajasthan because the weather is quite mild (it hits 50 degrees Centigrade in summer). 8) My belly is growing again, but the rest of me is skin and bone.

Jan 30, 2005 01:22:40 The Misadventures That Weren't Where to begin: 1) Made it to Bhopal, made it to Sanchi. 2) Sanchi was fantastic. It was a bit out of the way - 2 hours by car over rough roads from Bhopal, each way (I missed the early morning train) - but quite a peaceful place because of it. The emperor Asoka built a Buddhist stupa here about 2300 years ago, and you know how I'm a sucker for stupas. 3) A little miscommunication with the hotel staff in Bhopal led to a 9:30pm train to Jhansi instead of the 9:30am train to Jhansi. The conductor was supposed to wake me when we got there, but no dice. Fortunately, my internal clock woke me just as we were rolling past a sign that read "Engineering Supplies, Jhansi" at 2 in the morning. I collected my bags and leapt off the train in time. 4) I stayed in the "Reserved Lounge" at the station in Jhansi, in anticipation of the "Deluxe Bus" at 5am to Khajuraho. The "Deluxe Bus" proved, in fact, to be the local bus, which took six hours to get to Khajuraho instead of four-and-a-half. The windows and doors were all broken, so the wind chill factor in the bus was quite severe. There was also a cold snap in northern India. I know the temperature was below 40F because that's where my thermal fleece becomes ineffective (it did), and above freezing because I still retain the use of my hands (barely). That I'm not currently dead from pneumonia is probably quite improbable. 5) Khajuraho was also amazing. A thousand years ago, the Chandelas chose to build a massive temple complex here. Because the location is so remote, the Mughals didn't find it, and thus, didn't destroy it (unlike a lot of other Hindu sites). 6) Now aware of the problems of not booking ahead, I had decided in Bhopal to book a flight out of Khajuraho to Delhi. The question was, should I leave the 26th or the 28th? I chose the 26th. It was the last seat available on the Indian Airways flight that day (there's only one). Anyway, the choice was a good one. When I flew out on the 26th, there was a notice at the airport saying that as of January 28, Indian Airways is officially suspending the Varanasi-Khajuraho-Agra-Delhi route. In other words, I got the last seat on the last flight. Jet Airways will be the only one flying the route from now on (the guys at the hotel in Bhopal also didn't know Jet Airways flies this route). In other words, call it the Grace of God, or just dumb luck - a lot of things could have gone very wrong, and didn't. I'm in Delhi (which is also just incredible), and I'm starting the Intrepid tour tomorrow. cheers, -fooj

Jan 21, 2005 02:46:00 Just Trying to Get to Bhopal Bhopal's supposed to be my base for getting to Sanchi and then Khajuraho. It's getting there that's been the fun. As I said before, my goal was to go from Ellora, to Ajanta 100km to the north, and from there another 60km north to Jalgaon to catch a train to Bhopal. That was Tuesday. Problem being that there were no reserved seats left in Jalgaon for two days (and it has been suggested that unreserved seating for a twelve hour ride is, shall we say, uncomfortable, if not unwise). What to do? I went back to Aurangabad 160km south of Jalgaon to catch a flight to Mumbai, and a flight from Mumbai to Bhopal. Welllllll, guess what? Flight to Bhopal has been delayed four hours, and I've got a little time to kill here in the airport, so here I am. Again, alas, no port for my compactflash card reader, or I'd upload pics. As I may have said before, the photo gallery of this website is the dreamlike aspect of my travels, the blog is mostly the harsh reality. Three days to get 450km? A bit much for me, really. Did I mention my general physical discomfort of the past few days? I'd go with another TMI item, but why bother at this point.

Jan 20, 2005 00:18:14 Stuck in Aurangabad So, here I am in Aurangabad: 1) "TMI Alert" - and if you read ahead last time, you know you don't want to this time. Got my first case of "Delhi Belly" already, and not even a week in. Hopefully not serious, but it seems to have dissipated in the necessary 48 hours. It's all about avoiding the parasite. 2) "TMI Alert" - more about mucus. Forgot how pollution makes it worse. But at least item #1 makes it less important. 3) Ellora - yes, I'm still big on caves, and Ellora has a bunch of them - carved into a hillside around 400-1000AD. Some are Buddhist, some are Hindu, some are Jain. I'd love to show you photos, but while this PC seems to have a high speed connection, there's no port for my card reader. 4) Ajanta - more caves, all Buddhist. Lovely paintings. 5) So the plan was to go from Ajanta, and catch the train to Bhopal at Jalgaon. Unfortunately, the waiting list for Jalgaon to Bhopal is full for two days. I wasn't going to stay in Jalgaon (not really a hotbed for western tourists) for two days, waiting for a train I might not be able to take, that will take all day (twelve hours) to get to Bhopal. So I circled back to Aurangabad (four hours by car), booked air tickets Aurangabad-Mumbai-Bhopal for tomorrow, and I'm staying at a four-star hotel with a pool, and room service, and high-speed internet. So there!

Jan 20, 2005 00:26:53 So... ...who's this Mike Nolan guy?

Jan 15, 2005 03:56:29 Mumbai (Day 2) Actually, with a little day 1 thrown in: 1) Once the noontime rush of foreign tourists clears out at the western-style eating establishments, the hip, young teen-to-thirtysomething locals take their fill. There is a sizeable middle and upper class here, and you get the feeling it will soon be their world. 2) Went to Elephanta today - a small island about an hour out to sea from Mumbai. It's got a temple to Shiva that was built sometime from the 4th to 8th century. Very pleasant ferry ride over (love boat rides - so much more pleasant than planes), and much cooler on the water than in the city. Much more laid back on the island itself. No photos until I find someplace with a firewire connection. 3) Got a lecture on the way over from a civil servant from Dera Dun (near the Himalayas). Excercise every day, don't eat too much butter and dairy, and find a nice, educated girl. He had just left his only son at the navy offices here, and apparently has a little parenting left over. 4) "TMI alert" - but you're reading on anyway. After catching a cold around Christmas, then spending 36 hours in transit (21 in the air), then suddenly finding myself in hot and humid Bombay, I have become a phlegm-producing machine. Who knew one man had so much mucus to offer the world? Next stop is Ellora.

Jan 14, 2005 02:13:08 Mumbai Told ya I'd be blogging more this time. 1) I'm not sure what this means, but it has something to do with my reasons for taking this trip - I'm on Cathay Pacific from Bangkok to Mumbai, and the flight crew is from Hong Kong, the pilot is from Australia, and the passengers are mostly South Asian and Arabs from the Gulf States (the flight continued from Mumbai to Dubai). Something about Asia rising, but I'm not sure. 2) In a senseless comparison of international airports, Mumbai is more like Siem Reap than Phnom Penh, which probably means nothing to most people, but there it is. 3) Still not a big fan of big cities. Not so interested in the dhobi wallahs or the Gandhi house or the likely obligatory stop at a gift shop where the tour guide gets a commission. I will probably go to Elephanta tomorrow, however. 4) Everyone's gotta hustle for that extra dollar.

Jan 13, 2005 01:38:20 In Transit I once again find myself at the airport in Bangkok. I'm here on a four hour layover, waiting for my plane to Bombay. It's been 28 hours since I left my parents' house, and I've got about another 8 or 9 before I get to my hotel in Bombay. (By the way, I've heard most of the Indians I've met say Bombay whenever I say Mumbai - only the Indian government seems to insist on calling it Mumbai.) It's hot, it's muggy, and there are mosquitoes in the airport in Bangkok. But at least they have internet access. I'm trying to nail down my hotel for the weekend, but Yahoo mail is not being any help right now. I've gotten more sleep than I thought I would on the plane, but the wild dreams that supposedly are a side effect of the anti-malarials I'm taking just kicked in. In other words, all is well.

Jan 6, 2005 00:54:01 Hello, Mr. Crankypants I'm about to head for India, but before I do, I'd like to introduce you to Mr. Crankypants. No, he doesn't sit around complaining about the lack of a good breakfast cereal in Cambodia (like one German woman I saw). Instead, he sits around asking supposedly probing, political questions, without providing anything resembling a useful answer. Mr. Crankypants? "Thanks for the intro, Fooj. I'll cut to the chase. My primary issues are as follows: 1) Colonialism. Could the west have achieved the economic development it did without colonialism? You know, the cheap access to massive mining operations, rubber plantations, coffee, tobacco, cotton, jute, and (drumroll, please) petroleum. The virtual (and not at all virtual) use of slave labor to extract these resources. The captive markets for much more expensive finished goods produced by colonizers for purchase in the colonies (see e.g. India, Gandhi, textiles and salt). From Latin America to Africa to Asia. 2) Comparative advantage. In grade school we used to learn about how capitalism meant some countries are better at producing certain things, and other countries should therefore produce other things. Which means people in developing countries should be able to grow crops and make cloth and pottery, while people in industrialized countries should make TVs and cars and software and rotten CGI-dominated movies, right? Well, no. Thanks to better technology (think large combine harvesters), greater access to capital (bank loans/tax incentives to buy those machines), and some nice, fat government subsidies, countries like the US and Australia can produce larger and cheaper crops than developing countries. Which in turn drives down the price on the crops of the farmers in developing countries. Which means poor farmers stay poor. So, really, the west is better at producing both supercomputers and soybeans, and too bad for everyone else. 3) Same pie, more mouths to feed. Can the world sustain a China and an India that consume (and waste) resources at the same rate as the US? How do we tell nearly two-and-a-half billion people that driving an SUV is our God-given right as Americans, but you guys might want to cut back a little on the oil consumption if you know what's good for The Earth. I'm not sure I want to be around for that conversation. Did I mention both China and India have nuclear weapons?" Great, thanks for the pick-me-up, Mr. Crankypants. I'm sure all our viewers look forward to your contributions in the future.

Jan 2, 2005 21:00:05 The Double Whammy The first is the one everyone knows about - namely, an earthquake and subsequent tsunamis kill an estimated 150,000 people and leave 5,000,000 homeless throughout southern Asia, with the potential for disease to kill thousands more. The second is that on January 1, 2005, a 30-year-old agreement on textile quotas was lifted, and that countries in the west are no longer limited in the volume they purchase from a single country. In essence, this means most textile production will shift to China and India, who have the winning combination of low labor costs, technologically advanced production processes, and the infrastructure needed to ship goods quickly to their western buyers. This also means that textile manufacturers in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Bangladesh are screwed. All in all, not a good week for the entire region. Disregarding for the moment that I am selfishly continuing on my merry way around the world, what can you do to help? 1) Give - if you're concerned about where your money's going, go to www.give.org, which is run by the Better Business Bureau. 2) Travel - don't give up on Southeast Asia as a tourist destination. If the resorts are open by next fall (and the rebels in Sri Lanka and Aceh don't regard this as an "opportunity"), go. 3) Observe - watch to see what happens during the rebuilding stage. Is American aid conditional upon, say, a rewriting of contracts for access to Indonesia's oil reserves? Is reconstruction done by local contractors, or is it once again the IMF and the World Bank paying Bechtel and Halliburton to do the job, then demanding the affected countries pay them back?

Aug 26, 2004 02:09:10 World Travel The concept of a "real" experience on the road came up in an article I read here in the States. The idea is that somehow travel in places that don't have a MacDonald's or Starbucks or western toilets constitutes a more "authentic" experience than travel in those that do. I tend to flip-flop on this issue quite a bit, since I'm neither a penny-pinching backpacker nor a five-star amenities kind of guy. One of the reasons I started off on this trip was that I saw a news story on TV about Christmas decorations going up in department stores in Beijing, and I wanted to see China before it became too much like us. At the same time, I can understand how people who don't have our standard of living might want to aspire to a better lifestyle. Perhaps the loud, gas-belching longtail boats of Thailand don't offer a very romantic experience for a tourist floating down the Chao Phraya, but perhaps also the Burmese guy rowing his cargo down the Ayeyarwady would really prefer the less romantic, motor-propelled craft of his Thai neighbors - just so his daily work would be that much easier. And on a larger scale, who am I to complain that China is ruining its cultural and environmental treasures by flooding the Yangtze with the Three Gorges Dam, when the goal is to help provide hydroelectric power to a billion plus people? If I had one travel experience I'd describe as authentic, it would be the two years I lived in Japan - working for a Japanese company, dealing with seasonal weather patterns (and how they affect laundry), buying groceries and cooking my own food, struggling with the language and governmental regulations, making and losing friends, trying to find ways to entertain myself - and even then, I was just scratching the surface of what it was like to be Japanese. I hate to bring out the old cliche, "You've got to walk a mile in someone else's shoes," but it rings true if you're going to start talking about what's "real" and what's not on the road. As a traveller, I always know I'm just passing through, and I can always come home to the soft, cushy life here in the good ol' US of A.

Aug 17, 2004 03:48:18 Summer Vacation I'm still on hiatus from my hiatus, but that could change at any moment. The original plan was to return to the States for an extended period, complete my taxes, visit friends and their rapidly expanding families, attend a couple of weddings (pending shortly), and then be on my way. I've made a few half-hearted attempts to look for work, but find I am unable to state what exactly it is I want to do, and prospective employers can probably sense this. In the meantime, I've kept everything in storage, and with the unfortunate exception of a mobile phone plan, have not developed any concrete ties to home yet. Which means it is likely that I will be on the road again soon. That said, I've enjoyed my trip to the US. I have actually read books and watched movies, something I didn't do during my years of gainful employment. I get to wear something other than the two shirts and two pairs of pants that I brought with me on the road, and I don't have to worry about doing a sink wash every two or three days. I also work out like a maniac, which is probably helpful because I don't have any health insurance while I'm still in the US. And, most importantly, I've gotten the chance to spend time with a lot of my old friends, which reminded me why we were friends in the first place, and made me wonder just what it was about working that was so all-fired important that I neglected them for so long. Anyway, I've got a wedding this weekend, and then I'm off to the East Coast for another one. And then... Stay tuned, -fooj

May 18, 2004 22:15:31 Asia Wrap-up II 7) If you're in Sukhothai, and you're wondering where all the heads are for the statues at Wat Phra Phai Luang, they're in the museum near the front entrance to the park. 8) By the same token, some excellent stone carvings from Banteay Srei near Angkor are in the national museum in Phnom Penh (but I wouldn't go to Phnom Penh just to see them). 9) Skip Mt. Popa near Bagan in Burma. It's mostly freshly painted concrete. 10) Contrary to the name of the hotel/casino, there is no bay in Mandalay. 11) If, for whatever reason, you find yourself in Ghost City along the Yangzi River, skip the "Ghost Palace" - it's an amusement park, prominently featuring animatronic representations of the ten courts of hell. And, like hell, the amusement park goes on forever. If you really want to see the ten courts of hell, go to the Haw Par Villa in Singapore (which is currently under repair). 12) Feel free to ignore the Lonely Planet's efforts to discourage you from taking the Three Gorges trip. You could do worse than a leisurely, three-day boat cruise past some really spectacular scenery. 13) However, the ferry ride from Mandalay to Bagan was still better. 14) Feel free to ignore the Lonely Planet. Period. Don't get me wrong - it's a tremendous resource - but do people really have to have their noses buried in it the whole time?

May 11, 2004 15:15:50 Asia Wrap-up A quick review of Asia, as seen from the comforts of the States: 1) The no-carb diet still seems ridiculous to me. I remember a carb-only meal, prepared in a traditional Javanese style - rice, potatoes and jackfruit. Only in Indonesia, it would be more like the "not everyone has the money to eat meat all the time" diet. (And there aren't a lot of overweight Indonesians) 2) Outside of Beijing and Tokyo, the worst-dressed people in every country were the Western tourists. Without fail. I realize that a T-shirt, shorts and flip-flops are quite comfortable, especially in hot weather; and there's widespread acceptance of them as suitable attire throughout the West. But c'mon, people. If most of the local population wears long pants/skirts and collared shirts/blouses, and they earn maybe 10% of your income, put out a little effort, be a little uncomfortable, and do the same. Sheesh! 3) I realize you're trying to pack light, but it's no excuse - my recommendations: Polyester T-shirts - no, they don't breathe, but they don't retain odor, and the colors don't fade. They're easier to wash in cold water in a sink, and dry quicker, too. Seersucker shirts - built-in wrinkles mean they don't need to be ironed to look like they're supposed to. Cotton pants - just because they retain their shape. The zip-off leg, synthetic pants really start to droop after awhile. 4) If you can afford $30 a night, stay at the Manohara hotel in Borobodur. Good restaurant, and unlimited access to the temple from 6am-5pm. 5) For all budgets, the Golden Express in Bagan in Burma. TV, air-con, and use of the swimming pool. Also has an excellent restaurant. And bike rental for 1000 kyat per day. 6) If you like your temples, and a more laid-back atmosphere, I'd take Sukhothai over Ayutthaya in Thailand any day. And if a local tout or tuk-tuk driver tries to get you to stay at the Garden Guest House in Sukhothai, go willingly. The bungalows are cheap, the restaurant serves Western-sized portions of excellent food, the owner speaks English and German, and it's located just across the street from the buses that take you to the ancient city. TO BE CONTINUED...

May 9, 2004 13:38:27 Rant, volume 3 To the editors of guidebooks on Japan: Please, please, pleeeeease - no more references to people "respectfully" or "affectionately" calling Mt. Fuji "Fuji-san". There's nothing respectful or affectionate about it, that's just the way you pronounce the characters as written. Standing alone, the Chinese character for mountain is pronounced "yama" in Japanese. When it is part of a larger word, however, the character is often pronounced either "san" or "zan", depending on where it is located in the word, and what characters precede it. "Fuji-san" is made of three Chinese characters: the first two are the name of the mountain - Fuji (the characters can be roughly translated as tall earth), the last is the character for mountain. Yes, the honorific used to address people (as in "Tanaka-san" or "Smith-san") is also pronounced "san", but that "san" is usually written in hiragana, not Chinese characters. The reason the Japanese language can be confusing for some people is that it's got a limited number of phonetic sounds, but lots of different ways of writing each sound (and thus, lots of different meanings - another "san" that should be familiar to most people is the number three, which also gets its own Chinese character). [The rest of this was written as extra-credit for a combined Linguistics/ Geography course at Clifford Claven University; for those of you who haven't been bored out of your skull by the above, feel free to drop off at any time.] Now that I've been to China, it's interesting to see the origins of the Japanese language. The mountains in China all have the character for mountain at the end, only it's pronounced "shan" in Mandarin - e.g. Wutai-shan, Emei-shan, Huang-shan, etc. I guess the main thing that makes it difficult for the editors of guidebooks on Japan to realize their mistake is the lack of any other famous mountains in Japan with which they can make a comparison. Which is funny because the island of Honshu is mostly mountainous, but has one really tall volcano in the middle of its much flatter southern coast, and it's that one volcano that has literally put Japan on the map. Next Rant: the use and misuse of "less" and "fewer" in modern, spoken English.

May 7, 2004 17:02:45 On China So, just minutes after posting my April 15 blog, a man in a suit and tie rushes up to me and starts yelling (yes, yelling) at me in Chinese. I think I reacted by giving my using usual "hunh?" expression. The clerk at the business center of the hotel (from which I am posting my blog) rushes over and starts yelling at the guy in the suit. The guy disappears. No words to me, no apologies, nothing. Timing being everything, if I could guess what happened, the otherwise invisible security apparatus made a huge gaffe, thought I was Chinese, and didn't like me posting something to a website that contained phrases like "Great Leap Forward" and "Cultural Revolution". Just a guess. Anyway, I figured I'd better keep my thoughts to myself for awhile. 1) Love the spicy eggplant and tofu. Could survive a long time on nothing but the spicy eggplant and tofu (and rice). Don't really understand who started the whole tomato and egg soup thing in China, but that's also good. 2) Nothing quite like the experience of sitting in a car on an expressway in total darkness, as my driver and guide argue whether to go right or left at the fork in the road. Because really, I can get lost on my own. 3) Speaking of which, let's discuss my being stranded at the train station in Taiyuan, having somehow missed my guide, who decides to head to Pingyao without me. Eventually, I find the local CITS (that's China International Travel Service) office, who contacts their supervisor, who personally drives me the two hours to Pingyao in his own car. Fortunately, it was a Saturday, and people were working - on Sunday, I'm screwed. Also fortunately, I know just enough Mandarin to get to the CITS office 'cuz ain't nobody speaks English in Taiyuan. 4) The Great Wall was fantastic! Clear air, blue sky, and a murderously steep hike up the stone steps - just what the doctor ordered for someone stuck in cars and trains for the previous three days from Pingyao to Datong to Beijing (and did I mention how bad the pollution in Datong can be for someone recovering from a cold?) 5) Nothing but warm fuzzies for Beijing in 2008, and they'll probably be a lot better prepared than Athens seems to be. 6) I actually saw Robert Mueller, Director of the FBI, at the Imperial Palace in Beijing. See the PLA guards form long lines across the vast courtyards, sealing off the riff-raff (both Chinese and foreign tourists). See the dozen FBI agents in dark suits escort their boss across the now-empty section of the courtyard. Marvel that crowd control is even possible in China. See the riff-raff grumble under their breath about the VIP treatment. 7) And while we're on the subject of law enforcement, I think I was in Shanghai, watching TV. On one channel, they're showing a meeting of Chinese and Western officials to discuss the protection of intellectual property. The next channel over, they're showing "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" dubbed into Mandarin. Oh, by the way, "The Return of the King" hasn't even been released on DVD in English yet. 8) Do tour group leaders in China really need bullhorns to communicate with their passengers, clustered a mere ten-to-fifteen feet away? 9) Couldn't get over how outgoing the kids are - they'd pretty much ignore the fact I couldn't speak the language, and start horsing around and playing with me. Then again, I don't look like a foreigner, exactly. 10) "Gosh, Miss, I've never heard of a 'karaoke massage'. What, perchance, might that entail?"

Apr 15, 2004 09:06:54 15.04.04 So, clearly I've underestimated Internet access here in China. I'm in a small city (1.6 million people in the city proper, 6 million in the greater metropolis) called Luoyang, prepared to view the famous Longmen Caves tomorrow. Yesterday was spent fighting the combined symptoms of all of the Intrepid Travel group members (almost all of us got sick), so I was less than 100% when confronting the 3000 terracotta warriors in Xi'an (managed to beat them, anyway). I'm now on my own private tour. One of the problems with the high-end managed tour is my loss of independence, but I didn't really have the option of winging it here, by all other accounts. As a result, I'm staying in much nicer hotels and eating more Western food than I intended. Small problems, indeed.

Apr 11, 2004 03:35:59 11.04.04 The highlights in China thus far: 1) Yangshuo, near Guilin, with karsts jutting out from the landscape. 2) The Three Gorges along the Yangzi River, and some of the neighboring tributaries. 3) The explosive growth of the cities. The lowlights: 1) Caught a cold on the boat through the Three Gorges. 2) Homeless people in their 70s, who've lived through the Japanese invasion, civil war, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution, only to be left behind by the "economic miracle". 3) The explosive growth of the cities. I leave my tour group in two days, and I'm off on my own (I'll still have guides), which means misadventures, miscommunication, and pointing/gesturing for my food - so I'll probably lose most of the weight I've gained in the last two weeks. Photos won't go up until I get to Japan, if then. all the best, -fooj

Apr 1, 2004 07:39:57 01.04.04 OK, so I've got a connection here, but I'm probably not going to be able to post pictures until I get to Shanghai. I'm in Yangshuo (near Guilin), famous for its limestone karsts. Had a great day of weather after quite a bit of fog and rain in Hong Kong, and on our trip up through Guangzhou. Yangshuo has the distinction of being something of a backpacker haven, so again, I don't know when you'll hear from me next. later, -fooj

Mar 27, 2004 23:13:30 28.03.04 May or may not have time or access in China, so here's another somethin'somethin' for the folks back home (and pardon if there are any repeats here of past deliveries): 1) It's 66 degrees Fahrenheit here in Hong Kong. It hasn't been less than 85 anywhere since the hill trek in Thailand two months ago. Plus, I've lost another couple of pounds of insulation. Needless to say, I'm freezing! 2) It's a shame there aren't very many Americans in Southeast Asia. Your whole perspective changes when you see how the other three quarters of the world's population lives. 3) Did I mention how great it is to see young, independent Japanese on the road? (As opposed to the busloads of elderly, camera-toting Japanese who get off the bus, take some pictures, and then get back on.) 4) If my photos seem somewhat sterile, it's not that I didn't have any contact with any people on my trip. It's more that I feel a little strange about taking pictures of folks going about their daily life. I mean, I'd think it was pretty weird if a bunch of tourists showed up at the local supermarket and started taking pictures of me buying a bottle of cranberry juice, so what about the folks at the water markets in Southeast Asia? There's an "oh, how quaint" aspect to it that makes me uncomfortable. 5) This is not to say that I've become a "people person". 6) Also still not comfortable with the gray-haired European men with their Asian "girlfriends". 7) One of the bonuses of the reduced temperature here is (and I don't know how this works) that my appetite has gone down. The last few weeks, I just couldn't eat enough food. I'd started inhaling my meals in a process I've come to call "feeding the tapeworm". (Originally coined by Mr. Scott Perry) 8) Hate to seem like I'm specifically picking on one country lately, but boy, people weren't kidding about the Israeli tourists. Rude, obnoxious, disrespectful of both the local people and cultures. I've met local guides who refuse to work with them, even if it means losing a paycheck. On the other hand, at least somebody's finally replaced the "ugly American". 9) You know Thailand must be doing a great marketing job, when it's the only country in the region with busloads of mainland Chinese and Russian tour groups. 10) How bad is the US dollar doing? It's fallen against every currency in the region, with the exception of Indonesia. Even the black market exchange in Burma now prefers Euros. Off on the slow march to Beijing.

Mar 25, 2004 22:56:53 26.03.04 More nonsense: 1) So since I've actually been staying at hotels the past few weeks, I've been seeing a lot of interesting television. They've got Mexican telenovellas (soap operas) dubbed into Bahasa Indonesian. They've got Major League Baseball spring training - in Japanese because Gojira plays for the Yankees, and "Little Matsui" is playing for the Mets. My favorite still was news in Myanmar, with the news announcers sitting in front of pictures of oil refineries. 2) Jet setter Fooj - Wednesday morning I woke up in Jakarta, Indonesia. Thursday morning I woke up in Singapore. Friday morning I woke up in Hong Kong. 3) Somebody's got to start telling the vendors in Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, and Indonesia that nobody sends postcards anymore - it's all email. I didn't see a single tourist respond to the "10 postcards for $1?" pitch. 4) Speaking of which, my favorite escalating sales pitch thus far: Taxi? Marijuana? Pretty girl, go boom boom? Which, strangely enough, was my one and only offer of prostitution in all of Southeast Asia. 5) Which leads me to the joys of not being white while travelling. If you can get mistaken for being a local, sometimes you don't have to deal with some of the minor annoyances.

Mar 25, 2004 23:28:21 Buddhist Architecture To foster a better understanding of my pictures, I'm including a brief (and possibly less-than-accurate) description of some aspects of Buddhist architecture: 1) A stupa is the basic form of Buddhist architecture. The ones in India and Sri Lanka are hemispherical. The ones in Southeast Asia are more bell-shaped -see the picture from Preah Khan in Cambodia at Angkor for an example of the typical Southeast Asian stupa (on a small scale - the larger example would be more like Shwezigon Paya in Bagan, Burma). 2) A chedi or zedi is a structure that houses a relic of the Buddha - usually a strand of hair, or a tooth, or a bone, or a replication. The structure is often in the shape of a stupa. 3) Occasionally somebody gets ambitious, and tries to replicate Mt. Meru, the model of the Buddhist cosmos. The examples on my page are Hsinbyume in Mingun, Burma, and the Borobodur in Java. Pilgrims are meant to encircle the temple in a clockwise fashion, starting at the bottom, or earthly level, and slowly working their way to the top on the path to enlightenment. 4) If it wasn't entirely clear from the pictures, old Bagan in Burma is almost entirely temples surrounded by open plains (and a few restaurants and souvenir stands). All the support structures (houses, palaces, etc.) built in the classical era (10th through 12th centuries) were made of wood, and have all been destroyed over the centuries that followed. Only the temples were made of stone. When an earthquake levelled the city in 1975, the government used the restoration process as an excuse to drive all the local residents out of the plains, and remove what remained of the modern buildings in the old city (better for tourism that way).

Mar 24, 2004 02:38:12 24.03.04 Time for another rant: 1) So the Ministry of Tourism in Indonesia would like to say that since the economic crash of 1998, and the Bali bombings in 2002, the country is now stable, and please come and visit. The Ministry of Immigration, on the other hand, now requires visas for visitors from most western countries (they were received on arrival before), and they're for shorter stays, and more difficult to get. Maybe the two ministries should pick up the phone and talk to each other. {Side note: I had a great time in Java. No worries, no problems, great people. Please visit and spend money.} 2) Why go through the trouble of arresting and putting someone on trial, when you can just execute them instead. And if the method of execution is helicopter gunship, and a few bystanders get killed, hey, how innocent could they possibly be, if they were hanging out with a terrorist. No, I haven't experienced a few millenia of persecution, but this is a slippery slope, indeed. 3) After two months in Southeast Asia, I've learned that everyone in the region speaks a common language. I'm talking, of course, about English - Premiereship Football, that is. Will Manchester United turn a profit this year AND make it back to the top? Will Arsenal run away with it all? Or will Chelsea surprise everyone, and save their coach's job? And what's wrong with Michael Owen - is he unable to pick up the mantle of Golden Child of English Football left behind by David Beckham in his departure for the shores of Spain? 4) So not only am I staying at the infamous Metropole hotel in Hong Kong, where a doctor from Guangdong managed to spread the SARS epidemic from the provinces to the rest of the world, my flight number on China Airlines from Singapore to Hong Kong is 666. Woohoooooooo! 5) To all of you who've just had babies, or are about to, all the best. And yes, I'll stay away for at least a few weeks until after I get back (or after a comprehensive medical check-up).

Mar 10, 2004 05:51:18 10.03.04 I seem to be stuck in Singapore. I knew that this would be a risk if I did the trip in this order, rather than starting in Beijing, and working my way south. But oh well. Would have frozen in Beijing, and baked in Bangkok the other way.

Mar 10, 2004 22:39:22 11.03.04 Perhaps I should explain why I'm stuck in Singapore. I'm set to start a month-long dash through eastern China, starting in Hong Kong, and ending in Beijing. This date is set (I almost said hard-coded, there, but I caught myself), and can't be changed at this point. This leaves me a limited amount of time to actually go somewhere else, even though two-and-a-half weeks is an eternity on the road. At the same time, the China tour is the main reason I came to Asia in the first place, so I'd like to avoid any medical emergencies or the loss or theft of my stuff between now and then. This all follows from my having gotten soft from five years of corporate travel - see a few blogs down. It's starting to rain heavily throughout the South Pacific, which usually doesn't last more than an hour, but these storms have. A soccer player here was struck by lightning on the practice pitch yesterday, and was killed instantly. This means I'm not doing either the jungle trek in Malaysia (rain means leeches and mosquitoes - did I mention that I've been attacked every night by mosquitoes on this trip in places not called Singapore?); or the trip to Borobodur in Indonesia (there's been a dengue outbreak - also tied to mosquitoes, and the political situation has led to a certain degree of flux in the airline operations, apparently - many travel agents here won't even book tickets). The visa for Vietnam will take too long, and the flight from Singapore to Hanoi to Hong Kong will cost four times as much as the flight from Singapore to Hong Kong without the layover in Hanoi. So here I sit, typing away in the mosquito-free environs of lovely Singapore. It's a bit hot and muggy, but probably no worse than Japan in summer. My 24-HR Fitness membership entitles me to club use here, and my hotel costs just as much as the one in Hanoi would have (minus having to surrender my passport to the hotel - and if the passport disappears, so does my visa for China). OK, OK, I'm rationalizing - Vietnam would have been great! But let me get through China and Japan intact, and we'll call it a day. Hmmm...Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam. Now that sounds like a good trip!

Mar 7, 2004 02:45:42 On Burma I've been saving this long-winded spiel for weeks: A little background - in 1989 the Burmese pro-democracy movement was overwhelmingly elected to office. The military decided they didn't like the results, seized power, and imprisoned all of the opposition leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi (who would go on to win the Nobel Peace Prize). The state has been run ever since by the State Law & Order Restoration Committee (SLORC). Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest regularly in the last fifteen years. Her latest arrest in August of 2003 led President Bush to intensify economic sanctions against Myanmar (the SLORC name for Burma). Theoretically, no country doing business in Burma can do business in the US, and no imports are allowed into the US. How repressive is the government? While they don't torture or execute political opposition (unlike some of our allies), they are reknowned for using forced labor on public works projects. Any Burmese citizen can be forced into these projects at any time. By the same token, if a certain region of the country is a center of political opposition, the government withholds any and all infrastructure improvements from that region. How corrupt is the government? Go to any village, and the huge, western-style house with the brand new Nissan Pathfinder out front belongs to the local government official. While large portions of the populace can barely eke out a living, there are an unusual number of lush, green golf courses for use by well-heeled tourists and government officials. How poor is the country? It's the poorest in Southeast Asia. There was more open begging here than in Cambodia. Supposedly, there are agricultural exports, but much of the farming in the outlying areas is subsistence. People in the outlying regions also weave their own cloth and make their own houses. Will sanctions work? Not bloody likely. Financial transactions are now routed through third parties in Thailand and China. Trade continues with China, Thailand, and Singapore. In addition to timber and soybean production, the major exports also include precious gemstones and opium and heroin, which, needless to say, have built-in smuggling networks. So why did I go? Aung San Suu Kyi has publicly asked tourists not to visit until the regime changed. Barring a US military invasion, that doesn't seem likely any time soon. As in other parts of Southeast Asia, there was no shortage of European tourists. The sanctions only prevented me from using travellers' checques and credit cards - once I was out of cash, I had to get out of the country. No excuses really, I went out of convenience, since I was here. We can only hope that one day the people of Burma will be free to be exploited by large, multinational corporations, instead of a repressive military dictatorship, but that's another diatribe.

Mar 7, 2004 22:31:14 08.03.04 Observations, musings, ramblings: 1) Women in Southeast Asia use whitening creams to make their skin lighter, and thus, more beautiful. Women in the West use bronzers to make their skin darker, and thus, more beautiful. 2) Where would I be without DEET? 3) You can laugh at the no-spitting law in Singapore, but once you've been travelling throughout the region, you begin to appreciate going for a morning walk without being serenaded by the dulcet tones of a dozen people simultaneously clearing their throats, and letting fly into the street. 4) In much the same vein, the whole pro-baby social engineering thing and the caning for vandalism/death penalty for drug trafficking may seem a little draconian, but you have to believe the fact that Singapore has far and away the highest standard of living in the entire region has at least something to do with the absolute rule of law. 5) Where would I be without Woolite and quick-drying, odor-free polyester clothing? 6) Is it really fair for one giant petrochemical company in Cambodia to own the land upon which the temples of Angkor stand, as well as most of the top-end hotels in the surrounding area? (That was a rhetorical question) Millions of dollars pour into Siem Reap every year, and yet many of the roads remain unpaved and the electricity goes out with regularity. Somebody got a sweetheart deal. 7) I still can't get over this - Norv Turner???!!! Commitment to Excellence - heyeahh, riiiiiight! 8) Best transportation for the money - buses in Thailand and boats in Burma. 9) Highlights thus far - trekking in Northern Thailand, Sukhothai, Angkor, Bagan. 10) Seven weeks into my trip, and today was the first day I used my umbrella (I'm in Singapore).

Feb 21, 2004 04:56:06 21.02.04 Well, this oughta be interesting... It seems we (the US) have actually toughened restrictions on Burma - see the US State Department website. It's going to be a little tough getting around now without any access to money. If you don't hear from me in three weeks, you'll know where I am. Cheers, -fooj

Feb 18, 2004 22:39:19 19.02.04 So, one of the questions that was going to be resolved on this trip was whether or not I've gotten soft from eight straight years of gainful employment. The answer would be - YES! A few days in Singapore, and I'm just happy to have a hot shower in a tub (as opposed to a hole in the floor), an actual toilet (as opposed to a hole in the floor), tap water I can drink, and being able to get from A to B without having to haggle. Oh, and I found a bottle of Ocean Spray cranberry juice at the 7-11. But enough of comfort. My stomach seems to be better, so I'm off to Burma. later days, -fooj

Feb 17, 2004 23:23:06 18.02.04 Weeks 3-5: Spent my 37th birthday on a beach on Ko Samui. Good to relax, but I'm not big on the (relatively speaking) overpriced beach resort. Headed for Cambodia. Spent four spectacular days in Siem Reap/Angkor. The morning boat ride to Phnom Penh left something to be desired, as did the stomach bug I picked up in Phnom Penh, which is why I'm in Singapore now, trying to get healthy. But on the subject of food. My favorites thus far - the Masaman curry with beef (as well as the giant pancakes) at the Garden Guest House in Sukhothai, Thailand; the squid in red curry past in Ko Samui; the amok (curry soup with eggplant and onions) with fish in Phnom Penh (this is before the gastrointestinal distress). And they serve chicken in Singapore, so I'm catching up. -fooj

Jan 29, 2004 08:02:54 29.01.04 To recap the first two weeks - I got some great pictures from Bangkok, but wasn't particularly pleased with my stay there - crowded, polluted, hot. Chiang Mai was much better, and much more laid-back. I started out with a three day trek, where we rode elephants, hiked from waterfall to waterfall, stayed in a Karen village in the hills (where our guide was actually from), and went down a river on a bamboo raft. After a few more days sightseeing in Chiang Mai, I headed down to Sukhothai, the capital during the 13th and 14th centuries. They've restored some of the old city, and done a great job. It was also a much more laid-back atmosphere. Now I'm in Ayutthaya, the capital of Thailand in the 16th century, before the Burmese invasion. No real travel problems beyond the usual mistakes and inconveniences. And they've quit serving chicken completely because of the avian flu outbreak. I'll be back in Bangkok next week to sort out some travel and visas, and maybe watch the Super Bowl. cheers, -fooj

Jan 27, 2004 07:26:13 27.01.04 NORV TURNER?????!!!!!

Jan 25, 2004 00:53:53 Thailand 25.01.04 Yes, I am alive, and no, I don't have some sort of chicken disease. Wasn't a big fan of Bangkok, but I just finished a three-day trek up north of Chang Mai, and I am feeling much better. The weather's cooler, there's less polution, and it's always good to get out of the city and go for an elephant ride. No pictures posted yet, but coming soon. Next stop is Sukhothai. -fooj

Jan 19, 2004 19:42:10 Just where is Fooj? This is the future home of Fooj's Travel Log!