aimlesswanderer's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member aimlesswanderer on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/aimlesswanderer en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:13:14 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com another lazy day — Sabang, Philippines http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128475920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128475920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128475920/tpod.html Mon, 12 Dec 2005 09:13:14 -0500 A much needed 8 day escape from Korea!!!
Sabang, Philippines

after another mellow night of just chillin out and having a few drinks with my new friends...sorry for there being no stories of debauchery to share with u, the purpose of this trip was to get away from everything and just relax...tho if u ask, i may have a supplemental story to the evening that i wont be publishing in detail here...a gentleman never tells!!!at least not on the internet, and definitely not when he knows she may be reading this very travelog

the following day was pretty uneventful, more chillin and lazing about this isolated town...another bbq, and some more wandering about...nothing much worth saying here...did some souvenir shpping and bought 6 sarongs to decorate the bare white walls and table in my apt back in korea...later on that night while hanging out with my friends, someone decided to liberate me of my purchases, as they were in a bag hanging off the handle bar of my motorbike...i was crushed, how would i ever be able to get over the theft of 10 dollars worth of sarongs????suprisingly i figured out a way--buy them all over agian the following day, and chalk it up to another one of those things that happens....ie: shit

having made plans for an early tour of the mangroves with a lady that was selling sarongs and various other souvenirs(who also happened to be a tour guide), i once again woke early and made my way to the beach...after meeting the woman, and picking up a friend of hers to accompany us on our tour, we eventually boarded our tour boat (a glorified canoe) which came equipped with a man and a paddle to power us on our journey...the island has one of the largest remaining natural mangrove forests in the world, as most of the others ones have been heavily destroyed by development(chalk another one up for humans, in our quest to conquer the planet...dont even get me started!!) without boring u with details, i will say, it was quite an amazing boat trip thru the jungle, and i felt like i was in the heart of the jungle...
after the trip we spent a few minutes planting seedlings on the beach to replenish the forest...hopefully i will be able to return in many years to see the fruits of my labours(not really that much labor involved, but it sounds good)...

after a hard day of sitting in a boat, and planting a few mangroves, i decided i deserved a rest, and after a 45 minute walk along the rocky shore in the other direction from the village, i eventually came upon the waterfall i had heard mentioned by some of the locals, and the "tourist info" booth...having not read anything about it previously, i wasnt expecting too much (tho in my books, any waterfall is a good one...waterfalls being one of my favourite natural sites to visit), but it was actually a pretty decent size, and beauitiful...after setting up my camera to take a few pics , i found an arrangement of boulders that formesd a sweet recliner-like position, and proceeded to have a nap in front of the waterfall for an hour or so.....what a great place to find a comfortable rock bed...ah, vacation is hard work....

there was some great rock formations in the wall that lent themselves to be climbed, and i started making my way up them...it was pretty jagged, and a fall would lead to a rocky watery landing in the ocean, which would certainly be bad news...soon realising that this was one of those things i really shouldnt be doing, as i was by myself...and also taking into account that no-one really knew i was there, and quite certain that no-one would be coming that way for possibly days, i made a judgement call, and returned to the safety of the shore...had someone been there with me, it could have been quite a fun scramble....

returning to my lodging, i encountered many school kids on their way home from school, and like usual they were all waving and screaming at the silly white guy on the bike...i stopped to visit with them and take a few photos...funny thing in the philippines, everytime u pull out a camera they scramble to be in the front of the picture, usually to the point of knocking each other over...on two seperate occasions as i was taking pictures of school children, one or two were knocked to the ground, and almost trampled by their friends as they vied for prime real-esate in the pics...its a nice change from korean kids, who hide their faces and run as soon as they see you pull out a camera...

that was basically all that my day consisted of...not very interesting to read about i realize, but exactly what i was looking for when i started out on this trip...
]]> bambua ecofarm — Sabang, Philippines http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128339120/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128339120/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128339120/tpod.html Sat, 12 Nov 2005 01:18:26 -0500 A much needed 8 day escape from Korea!!!
Sabang, Philippines

after hiking up the short trail to the main cabana on the property, i was met by one of the local guys working there, who explained to me that the owner was out on the property, tending to his fish ponds...he showed me to the area, and i was amazed to see about 8 big fishponds, some rice fields, grazing chickens, ducks, goats, gardens and various other plants such as coconuts, mangoes, papaya and pineapples, etc...this place was a mini self contained ecosytem, and it looked amazing...it is all fed off a river that he has brought under his control to flow in and out of his property...i introduced myself to the owner, who was a german man who came here 16 years ago as a backpacker and never left...hes never been out of the philippines since he arrived...fell in love with the place, bought some land and eventually got married to a filipina woman...after some small talk he showed me to the best cottage at the place and gave it to me at a healthy discount due to it being off season...it overlooked the whole farm and was a sweet view to wake up to every morning...

after unpacking, and an hour or so of conversation with the owner regarding what he was running there, i made a quik trip into the village itself to chek it out...i quickly returned to my awaiting meal that was excellently prepared by his wife...i dont think i have ever tasted eggplant so tasty (sorry candace, but i think she beat u out on the eggplant competition)...after dinner i basically just chilled out around the main area with the owner and his wife...one of their workers, a young filipina girl who needed english conversation practice hung out with me and we played chess all evening...damnit, she beat me 2 outta 3 games...not that that says much as i am a pretty weak chess player...

waking up relatively early (for me anyway) the next morning, i returned to the dining area where the chess girl had banana-raisin pancakes and coffee waiting for me...mmmmm, waiting breakfast...perfect...pounding that back, i headed into town, bought some water and snacks then made my way to the entrance of the protected nature reserve which was a nice 10 minute walk along a deserted beach...there was supposed to be the option of two trails...one being the monkey trail and the other the jungle trail (they were both thru the jungle) and i wanted to take one there, and the other back, but it turned out that the monkey trail was closed, so i started my way along the jungle trail...the trail was actually quite aggressive...i was expecting it to be fairly easy as it started with steps and paving stones, but soon they would be a memory...it actually had quite a few ruff spots to it, and was a great hike for about 2 hours or so...

finally getting to my destination, i was completely drenched in sweat, which proved to wash off the repellant, and therefore left me with more than a few mosquito bites...i was greeted by the guide who would take me into the underground river cave...it is said to be the longest underground river in the world...as it turned out, i got there on his "lunch break", so i had to wait a little while...eventually we boarded the boat, hooked up a spotlight to a car battery and were on our way....it was quite an amazing ride, loads of bats on the ceiling, many different formations of rock, limestone, stalactites and stalagmites, etc. in many differnt shapes, that were creatively named by the guides on their many, many tours thru this place,...it is amazing some of the obscure little things they have noticed...he even pointed out a snake that a normal person should have in no way noticed...he had to trun the boat around and get right up to it to even get me to notice it...on the way back, i turned off the spotlight for a bit, and soaked in the complete darkness...eery...especially when you are moving on a boat...

on land again, i opted to hire a boat back to the port, hoping to have enuff time to do the mangrove tour in the same day, which would allow myself some spare time the following day before i planned to head up to port barton and another location...after numerous unsucessful pulls on the rope, the ol' boat engine finally fired up, and we were on our way...the noise was so unbelievably loud from these engines, i imagine the operators must be half deaf from sitting on the thin board that covers the compartment and serves as their "cockpit"...it was so loud that i actually put in my earplugs for the journey...the view from the ocean was excellent tho, and it was nice to see the coastline and the area i had hiked thru from the outside...

at the port, i got into a conversation with a local who was trying to sell me his cockfighting rooster, and i not-so-reluctantly declined the offer...i made my way to the tourist info booth to inquire as to whether i still had time to make the mangrove tour that afternnon...i was told that if i went now, i would still be able to do it, so i made my was back to the beach once again (after a 70 cent whole-fish dinner) and walked to the park entrance...on my way, i met up with a dutch girl, who i'd met briefly earlier in the day, and had thought was israeli...she invited me to come meet up with her friends, who were just up the beach...i figured sure why not, i still got a bit of time...we met up with a colombian, and a couple other dutch people (all of whom, except one, i misdiagnosed as israelis), and they invited to take part in their beach bbq of fresh prawns, steamed crab, whole fish, and various other delectable delights...deciding i really didnt hafta leave that early the next morning, i postponed the mangrove tour plan, and stayed for the bbq...

it was an excellent feast and good company too....and i would eventually find out that they were all in fact israelis, but due to a large muslim population in the south of the island, they travel "in disguise"...after scarfing ouselves full of food, we went for a walk on the jagged rocks and around the point of the beach, to be greeted by yet another deserted beautiful beach, and a little mini island...it was pretty cool...

having earlier placed an order at a recommended restaurant for a fish for dinner (becuz of low season you hafta pre-order your fish if u want to eat late), i said goodbye to my friends temporarily and went on to the restaurant to eat yet again...mmmm food...i would end up dining with a swedish couple who were nearing the end of a one year stint thru asia...i made plans to meet up with them in port barton the following evening as they were on their way there the following day as well...
]]> have bike, will travel-----dangerously — Puerto princesa, Philippines http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128398940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128398940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128398940/tpod.html Sat, 12 Nov 2005 00:55:58 -0500 A much needed 8 day escape from Korea!!!
Puerto princesa, Philippines

after waking up at a leisurely hour, i had some breakfast and coffee with helen (who was the aussie bird running the place), and then headed downtown with joel to change some cash and hire a motorbike...after securing the 225cc dirtbike that would become my faithful companion for the majority of my trip, i said a temporary goodbye to joel, stopped off at the grocery store for some provisions, and plastic bags (in case it decided to rain on me), packed up my shit, and began my adventure...

not wanting to venture off on an empty stomach however, i headed to a recommended seafood restaurant, to fill my belly...i ordered the most expensive and best platter on the menu (hey, im on holiday!!!), and a fresh coconut to drink...my meal consisted of a quite tasty seaweed appetizer, followed by some sort of creamy vegetable soup, and then 3 jumbo prawns, a whole fish, vegetables mixed with chopped whole crab, and followed up with a fruit plate served in a half baby coconut...mmmmm delicious...after feasting like a king, i paid the whopping!!!! 4 dollar price tag and was on my way...i hadnt even ventured out of town yet, and i already loved this island...

hitting the main road out of town, and getting bogged down in traffic, i started weaving in and out of the lanes to get to the head of the line of vehicles desperately trying to get out of town...then everything opened up, and i was able to gather some speed in the passing lane, and flew by huge numbeer of vehicles(all mainly trike-cabs/rickshaws)...then i noticed a trike driver stick his arm out in front of me, but it didnt appear that there was anywhere for him to turn??? thankfully, that confused me just enuff to slow down a bit, and notice that the large vehicle in front of him was turning (effectively cutting off my passing lane), and i jammed the brakes on full bore to narrowly miss slamming into the back of a transport truck!!! im pretty thankful he was with it enuff to give the idiot in the other lane a heads up!! it was a close enuff call to jolt me into the reality of the situation, and i proceeded with a little more caution after that...(yes i was wearing a helmet, mom)...eventually getting to the "highway" things began to open up a little more, and after a few minutes i had sucessfully got to the front of the pack, and was leaving the other poor sukkas in my dust...

cruisin down the winding mountain roads amidst the beautiful scenery was an amazing feeling...just me, the bike, nature, AND a couple of hard curves that once again tested me on my ability to prevent a serious accident....coming into a curve a little too fast, i soon realised that it was much sharper than the previous ones...due to the fact that i hadnt quite built up my trust in the ability of this bike to lean aggeesively into the corners, i was forced to take it much wider than normal ending up off the edge of the pavement, and onto the "warning track" of gravel, rubbing my footpegs up against the guard rail at about 60 km/hr....just the kind of metal on metal sound u dont want to hear when u are driving a 2 wheeler...i made it sucessfully around the corner with no injuries or accident, and once again was jolted back to reality...."do i really wanna kill myself on the first real day of my vacation?"....i decided the answer was(or should be) no, and made a mental note to remain more cautious and disciplined in my driving for the rest of the trip, that was 2 quik strikes, and i didnt want to find out what the third one would entail...

as i said, the scenery was amazing, green mountains to the front, back and left side of me, and the ocean to my right...on my way, i stopped to take photos of various scenes, that i would not have had the chance to take, had i been stuffed into a jeepney bus for the 3.5 hour trip to sabang...one of my favourites was of a young boy leading a water buffalo(or was it an ox???need a refresher course on my zooology) on the road...i also stopped at various lookout points for some scenic shots...at one particular lookout, i noticed the ominous black clouds lurking in the distance, around just the area i was going...i also heard thunder, and i began mentaly preparing myself for a trip in the rain...passing many of the vehicles for the 3 or fourth time(as i was making many stops), i eventually came to a fork in the road, and decided to take the one in the opposite direction to see where it would lead...it wasnt raining yet, so why not???

it eventually took me a river port where many local fishermen were hanging out on the pier and on their boats, eyeing me up and trying to assess what it was i was doing there...after a few photos, and a conversation with one of the locals (everyone spoke english, i love it), i jumped back on my bike and backtracked to the fork, and headed towards my destination...not directly however, as i once again got sidetracked by a dirt path leading off the main road towards a huge marble mountain that looked like it would be fun to get to...after slowly passin thru the village and attracting attention from all the locals, i was out in the country on a washed out dirt path...i guess i wasnt gonna keep my shoes and socks clean on this trip...after about 15 minutes on the trail, i came to a washed out part, where a foot bridge had been built, but no way to get the bike across the river...it was impossble to tell if the water was 6 inches deep or 3 feet deep, and it was too late in the day, and too far off the main road for me to find out...maybe had i got there in the morning i woulda tried to drive the bike thru it, but at this stage of the game, i didnt want to find out how deep it really was, and if the bike was amphibious or not...reluctantly i turned around and headed back to the main road thru the village, and past all the villagers again, who were probably laffing inside, knowing what i had encountered...

just outside the village, i stopped at a little roadside shop to buy some water, and ended up hanging out and talking with the old couple running the store,,,it was the little situations like this that would prove to make my trip so enjoyable...it reminded me of being in south america, but i could communicate even better...in japan and korea, my interaction with the locals on a "real" level of understanding is almost nil...

on my way once again for the final leg of the trip...what started off as a "decent" paved hiway, had slowly given way to a packed dirt road, and now had degraded to a full on rocky, bumpy, treacherous, field of landmines...this slowed my speed down even further, but i did make the 3.5 hour trip in about 2.5 hours after all my various detours and stops...as i got about a km outside of sabang, i saw the sign for bambua cottages, and eco-farm...i pulled in and was warmly greeted by the old woman, who was pulling the weeds and grass out of the gravel drive way...turning off the bike and setting down my helmet, i excitingly started walking up the pathway to see what awaited me.....
]]> on to puerto princesa — Puerto princesa, Philippines http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128272220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128272220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1128272220/tpod.html Tue, 01 Nov 2005 00:08:56 -0500 A much needed 8 day escape from Korea!!!
Puerto princesa, Philippines

after landing in the jungle clearing that is the airstrip on the beautiful island of palawan, i said goodbye to yet another group of temporary friends; but not before they got the information i needed about the location of my hostel, how much the trike ride(the main method of transportation on the island--essentially a underpowered, and decrepate motorbike, with a big 2 seater side car enclosure)would cost me...after convincing the driver that i didnt want to stay at whatever lodging place he took me to originally because i had a reservation at another one, i finally arrived at banwa...

it is a great bamboo structure (www.banwa.com)where i was to meet many great people...being on such a short vacation and beng in such a cheap country, i opted to spend the extra 1.50 on the best room in the place with a double bed, ensuite bathroom, and fan...ah luxury for less than 10 bux a night....after chekking in, having a milkshake, and meeting some of the cool people running the joint, i tried to have a quik nap in a hammock, which i wish coulda lasted all afternoon, but i had half-heartedly agreed with the trike driver to return in an hour and a half to take me on a bit of a city/island tour...i was hoping that he would be running on island time so that i could catch some more sleep, but unbelievably he was right on time...

it would turn out to be an excellent way to spend my first few hours on the island....he drove me around the "city"(jungle town) and then we stopped at the butterfly preserve....a moderately sized mesh enclosure with jungle plants, where the volunteers breed and raise numerous species of the islands local endangered butterflies...got some great shots of the beautiful butterflies, and then proceeded to try to convince the curators of the place that they shouldnt be encouraging people to "make a wish" in the small turtle tank, as the coins are detrimental to their health, but i doubt they took much of my helpful advice to heart...hell they probably supplement their income by collecting those few pesos outta the tank...

bak on board my transportation, i was told we had to stop by his house to talk to his wife before we would continue on to a lookout point up on the mountain....this kinda concerned me, as not much earlier he was offering me her "services" for the equivalent of about 30 dollars....as he didnt have any "hot" photos of her to convince me, i had declined the "generous" offer to violate his wife...so now that we were on our way to talk to her, i was a little leary that he was gonna start pressuring me into sleeping with her (just the sort of situation i am likely to find myself in)...thankfully she wasnt there, and we were on our way...the lookout was a great vantage point to check out the surrounding area...we also stopped at some other touristy type place which was mainly a bakery with a playground for children, a couple ostriches, and way too many lifesized, concrete disney characters....im not sure what purpose the place really served, but he seemed keen to show it to me...

returning to town, we stopped by the local market where i was an instant star amongst the locals...the fact that i was wearing a tank top which reveals my ink and also sporting a mohawk hairstyle , i attracted much attention...not that i needed those additional factors to do so, as im sure being a tall white dude, would have been more than sufficient to attract attention...they were all so genuinely friendly and talkative - it was amazing...after taking some photos, as well as having many conversations, i returned to the pension house...nothing like a 2 hour guided tour for about 5 bux...it i was starting to feel guilty and it was only day one...

the staff and various temporarily permanent visitors were planning a dinner for that evening and invited me to join them...it was a great evening...a filipino american now living there cooked some wikked porkchops, and the aussie that was stayin their long term whipped up an amazing dish of squid and peppers in sauce....accompanied by some good australian wine, and various other great people made for a perfect first night on the island...

as i only had a short time frame for this trip, i had planned on waking up early to catch the jeepney bus to my next destination...joel and eryn suggested i hire a dirt bike for my time on the island...this would turn out to be the single best decision i made on the entire trip as i believe it likely increased my enjoyment of the island ten fold...as it would prove to afford me many little mini adventures that i would not have otherwise had the time or option to undertake...thanks for that boys!!!
]]> first time in asia — Deokso-ri, Korea Rep. http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/south_korea/1116243060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/south_korea/1116243060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/south_korea/1116243060/tpod.html Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:46:08 -0400 Trying to combine my wanderlust with some financial gain...
Deokso-ri, Korea Rep.

well, after a little too much spent recharging my batteries, and getting my fill of mamas cookin and daddys liquor cabinet, i am out of the country again...i am officially korean...

after basically sleeping through most of the long-assed flight over here, i got to customs and tried to speak with the stonefaced immigration officer to get the passport stamp...he made no eyecontact or attempt at speech whatsoever...i thought that it was just as well, as there is nothing i hate worse than answering questions from authority... i have taken the approach to always initiate talking and have a question or two ready, so hopefully they will get distracted and forget to interogate me, thereby just sliding thru...not that that theory works more than one time in ten...

next i claimed my baggage and prepared myself for my nemesis-- "customs"...getting into the area i saw a few signs, one of which was "nothing to declare" and thinking about it for a minute and trying to decide whether that applied to me or not, i was promptly waved to a lane by an officer...thinking that "oh shit" here it comes and expecting to be grilled and have my bags exhaustively searched, i was absolutely astonished that i passed thru the sliding glass doors and into the lobby where i immediately spotted my friend who was there to pick me up...could it really be that easy???, i thought to myself...i half expected to be chased down by someone screaming gibberish that i didnt understand...but there was to be none of that, i was a free man, and they were none the wiser that i had just smuggled three midgets and a half kilo of uncut colombian cocaine into the country in my bags, and a half ounce of canadian maple syrup in my rectum...okay not really, but i could have...i had that much luggage for f#$ks sake...but i did get my fruit in...oooohhh, not some fruit---what a rebel hey???...but i have gotten in shit for that before...it may not have been drugs or a midget, but i still felt slightly rebellious,as if somehow, smuggling a banana, an apple, and a couple oranges was really "stikkin it to da man"...

as of june 13, i became an english teacher in a private hagwon, teaching kids in the grade 2 to 8 range...not wanting to rush straight into the world of full time work, i arrived in korea about 5 weeks before my start date, and therefore had plenty of time to move in, clean up the apartment, get a feel for the country, generally waste time and take many trips into seoul to visit old friends that i havent seen in quite some years...

as far as moving to a foreign country goes, this one was way to easy...my buddy aaron did most of the work for me, and then some...all i really had to do was show up at the airport, and everything else was pretty much taken care of...the living accomodations are a brick building with 5 bachelor suites for each of the 5 foreign teachers employed at the school...though i didnt start for a month or so, there was an extra room in the building available because they were short one teacher...my buddy had came up a couple weeks earlier to visit (he had worked at this school previously) so he was using the room when i got here, and subsequently i moved in early as well, which was sweet as i didnt have to get my own temporary accomodations until my start date...

expecting the accoms to be nothing special, i was pleasantly suprised to discover that they are actually quite good...and more than comfortable....they are one room suites with a bathroom as well, and everything is fairly newish...they probably wont last many years before they start falling apart and turning into shitholes (korean building standards seems to be of the idea that you should build it to tear down in a few years, thus keeping the construction economy going)...but i will be long gone from them before that becomes an issue, so for the time being i am quite content to enjoy them while they are still fresh, and aesthetically pleasing...however, my neighbour across the street happens to be a large yard of power transformers, so that has me quite creeped out...i make a big deal about not using microwaves, yet i live near a power site...not sure what to do about that...so far, im trying not to think too much about it, but i know one day i might freak out....

the first friday here, i was treated to a fantastic traditional meal of sam gyup sal, at one of the korean teachers mothers house, and i was quite impressed...it consists of a grill placed on a gas burner on a slant so that the grease runs off the meat when u cook...bascially it is covered with thick slabs of pork that looks like bacon (but more fat), then is surrounded by beansprouts, kim chi(fermented and peppered cabbage), garlic, onions, mushrooms, etc...you let it cook for awhile, then wrap it all up in a lettuce or sesame leaf, and jam it in your mouth like a little package of goodness...all while drinking copius amounts of soju, which is the local white liquor guaranteed to leave you hungover...i wont even get into its formaldehyde content!!!the number of pounding headaches and hangovers i have had in korea since i got here, already surpasses my total for my entire life previously...

as for school, i am trying to get used to the high-pitched girl screams...a little much to take...apparently i am "very handsome" which appears to be the only quality i possess in the schools and students eyes...that was not supposed to be an arrogant self compliment, as almost all foreign teachers here are "handsome" or "a movie star"...u get tired of hearing yourself described in that manner...i have been told i am "like 10 tom cruises", as well as justin timberlake or brad pitt-(maybe i missed my calling???i should be a body double in hollywood for any random white guy, cause we all look the same)...too bad i cant have the same effect on older girls...i would trade 20 school girl crushes for the affection of one hot korean girl in my age bracket...overall, not as many hotties out here as i thought, but the ones that are, are smokin...so im sure i will be okay, once i can learn some of the language, and get my game on...hehe

deciding to take advantage of my free time before i become a work slave, i decided to spend a few days in the southern part of the country...after boarding the bullet train which reaches speeds of 300 km/h, i was treated to a display of a middleaged american man throwing a tantrum at his korean wife...i gather they now lived in the states, but were on a vacation back to her homeland...apparently she read the ticket wrong and they boarded on the wrong car with the luggage that could no longer be moved because it was too large to roll down the aisles...consequently he was whining like a little bitch...i almost came to the point of interjecting and telling him to grow up, but thought better of getting involved in a grown mans issues...he pouted for almost 2 hours on the train...

at a national park area called gyeong-ju, where i took in the sights that mainly consisited of ancient burial tombs (pyramid like, but much much much simpler in design, function, and size)...the dead were placed in wooden tombs and then rocks were piled up on it in such a fashion as to create huge mounds that they would eventually seed to grass...the idea being that u couldnt loot the tomb unless you pulled off the rocks from the top, but then you would be visible to others on the top of the hill...if u tried to get in from the sides the rocks would just keep shifting down...there was one that had been cross sectioned somehow, and u r allowed to tour it, and it was quite interesting....in fact i have decided how i want to be disposed of now, and whoever is responsible for enacting my last will and testament some day, is gonna be busy...but by then hopefully i will have acquired many loyal subjects under my wing, and they will be more than willing to undertake this monumental task...and after they are done, they must drink the kool-aid...oops did i just expose my god-complex???sorry...inside thoughts...need to turn on the thought filter...

while touring these sights, it was apparent that it was school field trip day, and more than once i was surrounded by hundreds of children yelling at me "hello, how are you?"...its a little intimidating when there are that many of them...

the following day, i felt ambitous, and decided to hire a bicycle for the 32km roundtrip into the country side to visit the buddhist temple sites of bulguksa and sochuram...other than a few kms of uphill where i decided it would be more energetically efficient to walk and push the bike than pedal it, the trip was a rewarding way to see the landscape...although i wish i would have adjusted the seat a bit before i left...the seat was pointing a little too much up, and my ass was so sore that i had to stop every few minutes because it hurt that much...kind of felt the same as the the 5 hour horseback ride in ecuador...not good...

cooling down at the site, i was befriended by a jehovahs witness lady, and a few other older men, who were awestruck by my tattoos...they kept trying to rub them off, much like my grandfather does...it was good to see that instead of being freaked out by them, and treating me like a leper, they were genuinely interested...at one stop, a couple of older women even gave me the thumbs up sign and were quite excited by them...who knew???in busan, i had a cop spend about five minutes rubbing me, not at all convinced that they were real...apparently in korea, tattoos are a sign that you are part of the mafia, or have spent time in jail, so there are few koreans with tattoos...except for the ones who get them to avoid the military service, but that usually means they end up in jail because of them anyway, so that seems to add to the stereotype...

the buddhist temples were quite amazing and the intricacies of their construction and painting are quite impressive...i walked around for awhile, took a few pictures before hearing the somewhat annoyed voice of a korean lady in charge of making sure no-one takes photos...how was i supposed to be able to read a sign that was at ankle level???before that point i got a couple wicked pictures of the golden buddhas...felt a little guilty, but not enuff to erase them...as u can tell by the welcome image to the entry...

i then took a bus up to another shrine where i was again continually surrounded by kids and their attempts at communication...i decided to do damage to their knowledge of english, and have since adopted a policy of responding in a mix of spanish and french, with a little pig latin just for good measure...the look of shear confusion on their faces is awesome...

the next day, i headed to busan, to meet up with a friend of a friend who showed me around for a day or two...basically that means, we ate dinner, then walked around the various beaches drinking miscellaneous bottles of liquor till we met up with a group of djs and other foreign teachers who were in town for a club night going down that weekend...the friend i was with happens to be a dj running a club night there, so we had quite the crew for the evening, and the night was quite entertaining and quite late...

while in busan, i checked into a love motel, which is basically a cheap hotel for men to go to when they cheat on their wives...or for foreigners who are looking for sweetass cheap accoms in a country that doesnt have much in the options department for budget accoms...this place was P.I.M.P...one wall was a huge screen for the projector television and dvd player...there was also another large screen t.v. in the room...the bathroom was off the hook with jets and all the amenities in the tub...double bed, and a water cooler...order forms for all the sex toys one could desire (especially when u have rented the room as a single dude!!)...and it was only about $35 canadian...would never be able to stay in a hotel that sweet for that price anywhere else...except for the next time i stay there i guess...

after the weekend was over, i headed back to seoul for a night or two, before packing up my bags again and heading to japan...which will be a new chapter on its own...
]]> exploring the south of south korea — Gyeong-ju national park and busan, Korea Rep. http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/south_korea/1117031940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/south_korea/1117031940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/south_korea/1117031940/tpod.html Mon, 17 Oct 2005 10:43:33 -0400 Trying to combine my wanderlust with some financial gain...
Gyeong-ju national park and busan, Korea Rep.

deciding to take advantage of my free time before i become a work slave, i decided to spend a few days in the southern part of the country...after boarding the bullet train which reaches speeds of 300 km/h, i was treated to a display of a middleaged american man throwing a tantrum at his korean wife...i gather they now lived in the states, but were on a vacation back to her homeland...apparently she read the ticket wrong and they boarded on the wrong car with the luggage that could no longer be moved because it was too large to roll down the aisles...consequently he was whining like a little bitch...i almost came to the point of interjecting and telling him to grow up, but thought better of getting involved in a grown mans issues...he pouted for almost 2 hours on the train...

at a national park area called gyeong-ju, where i took in the sights that mainly consisited of ancient burial tombs (pyramid like, but much much much simpler in design, function, and size)...the dead were placed in wooden tombs and then rocks were piled up on it in such a fashion as to create huge mounds that they would eventually seed to grass...the idea being that u couldnt loot the tomb unless you pulled off the rocks from the top, but then you would be visible to others on the top of the hill...if u tried to get in from the sides the rocks would just keep shifting down...there was one that had been cross sectioned somehow, and u r allowed to tour it, and it was quite interesting....in fact i have decided how i want to be disposed of now, and whoever is responsible for enacting my last will and testament some day, is gonna be busy...but by then hopefully i will have acquired many loyal subjects under my wing, and they will be more than willing to undertake this monumental task...and after they are done, they must drink the kool-aid...oops did i just expose my god-complex???sorry...inside thoughts...need to turn on the thought filter...

while touring these sights, it was apparent that it was school field trip day, and more than once i was surrounded by hundreds of children yelling at me "hello, how are you?"...its a little intimidating when there are that many of them...

the following day, i felt ambitous, and decided to hire a bicycle for the 32km roundtrip into the country side to visit the buddhist temple sites of bulguksa and sochuram...other than a few kms of uphill where i decided it would be more energetically efficient to walk and push the bike than pedal it, the trip was a rewarding way to see the landscape...although i wish i would have adjusted the seat a bit before i left...the seat was pointing a little too much up, and my ass was so sore that i had to stop every few minutes because it hurt that much...kind of felt the same as the the 5 hour horseback ride in ecuador...not good...

cooling down at the site, i was befriended by a jehovahs witness lady, and a few other older men, who were awestruck by my tattoos...they kept trying to rub them off, much like my grandfather does...it was good to see that instead of being freaked out by them, and treating me like a leper, they were genuinely interested...at one stop, a couple of older women even gave me the thumbs up sign and were quite excited by them...who knew???in busan, i had a cop spend about five minutes rubbing me, not at all convinced that they were real...apparently in korea, tattoos are a sign that you are part of the mafia, or have spent time in jail, so there are few koreans with tattoos...except for the ones who get them to avoid the military service, but that usually means they end up in jail because of them anyway, so that seems to add to the stereotype...

the buddhist temples were quite amazing and the intricacies of their construction and painting are quite impressive...i walked around for awhile, took a few pictures before hearing the somewhat annoyed voice of a korean lady in charge of making sure no-one takes photos...how was i supposed to be able to read a sign that was at ankle level???before that point i got a couple wicked pictures of the golden buddhas...felt a little guilty, but not enuff to erase them...as u can tell by the welcome image to the entry...

i then took a bus up to another shrine where i was again continually surrounded by kids and their attempts at communication...i decided to do damage to their knowledge of english, and have since adopted a policy of responding in a mix of spanish and french, with a little pig latin just for good measure...the look of shear confusion on their faces is awesome...

the next day, i headed to busan, to meet up with a friend of a friend who showed me around for a day or two...basically that means, we ate dinner, then walked around the various beaches drinking miscellaneous bottles of liquor till we met up with a group of djs and other foreign teachers who were in town for a club night going down that weekend...the friend i was with happens to be a dj running a club night there, so we had quite the crew for the evening, and the night was quite entertaining and quite late...

while in busan, i checked into a love motel, which is basically a cheap hotel for men to go to when they cheat on their wives...or for foreigners who are looking for sweetass cheap accoms in a country that doesnt have much in the options department for budget accoms...this place was P.I.M.P...one wall was a huge screen for the projector television and dvd player...there was also another large screen t.v. in the room...the bathroom was off the hook with jets and all the amenities in the tub...double bed, and a water cooler...order forms for all the sex toys one could desire (especially when u have rented the room as a single dude!!)...and it was only about $35 canadian...would never be able to stay in a hotel that sweet for that price anywhere else...except for the next time i stay there i guess...

after the weekend was over, i headed back to seoul for a night or two, before packing up my bags again and heading to japan...
]]> prison break — Manila, Philippines http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1129038840/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1129038840/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/philippines/1129038840/tpod.html Thu, 13 Oct 2005 11:40:25 -0400 A much needed 8 day escape from Korea!!!
Manila, Philippines

well, after almost completing 3.5 months of pretending to be an english teacher, i had to take a proactive step to avoid snapping under the duress of having a regularily scheduled life...i now understand why the average person so cherishes their beloved weekends...as i am now a weekend warrior, counting away the days of the week until i can have those 2 days of "freedom"...

it was with this state of mind that i decided i had to get outta the country for awhile if i was gonna have any hope of finishing my contract...after a few rushed days of research, (as i had to take my days off in only 2 weeks to get a 8 day blok of time off)i decided on the beautiful island of palawan (thanks to the coaxing of my friend brian), about an hour flight west of manila (the capital of the philippines)...

the adventure started off regularily enuff, with me trying to see what i could sneak past customs, but only getting my tweezers by them...they did manage to find the pocket knife i had stashed...so i guess thats a 50% sucess rate...what kind of a hijackking i could undertake with a pair of tweezers is beyond me, but apparently those are not alllowed anymore?!at any rate, me and my co-conspirators decided not to hijack this particular flight, and everyone had a safe landing...

i knew i was gonna love this country the minute i boarded the airplane and sat next to an older filipina lady who immediately started speaking perfect english with me...turns out she had just completed a drop-off of philippine "goodies"...not sure what they were, but im guessing jewelry or sumthin, cuz she didnt seem much like a drug runner...we chatted most of the trip about anything and everything..almost all filipinos speak great english (seemingly as if they had lived in north america for 10 years), regardless of their education level...it would be this factor that would greatly increase my enjoyment of the trip, as i was able to interact and communicate with all the locals and yet not feel like i was in an english speaking country...and even tho they spoke good english, they still seem to have maintained their own cultural identity, and dont feel like an americanized colony(maybe in the cities and resorts that may be a different story, but this island was great...much of it doesnt even have electricity or phones yet, or paved roads....tho cell phones are ubiquitous now)...the influence of spanish and american languages combined with the asian culture is a great mix...i would say that the filipinos are easily one of the most hospitable group of people i have encountered in my travels...even the men were great, which is vastly different from the case in most asian countries...

as we were awaiting our turn to pass thru customs, via the agent who was the husband of my new friends friend, i witnessed several passengers just casually walk right thru the whole checkpoint without a notice, which was the first time i had seen sumthin like that happen...especially after the so-called tragedy of 9/11...

easily passin thru customs, i said goodbye to my newest friend, and proceeded to find the hard-ass wooden bench in between the international and domestic airports that would serve as my bed for night...it was midnight, and i had an 8am flight for palawan the following morning...sleeping would prove to be almost impossible, as it was too hot in the outdoor(tho covered) waiting area, where about 50 others were also trying their best to get a few winks of sleep...after finally getting maybe an hour of shut-eye, i awoke super groggy , and attempted to find a bathroom to clean up in...i was immediately befriended by one of the security guards, who in a matter of seconds had given me his name and number with the hope that i would cal him on my return to manila at the end of my week, and he would serve as my guide for the evening out at the nightclubs...obviously i had no intnetion of taking him up on his offer(maybe he's legit and jusy wants to show me a good time, but maybe i wake up in an alley minus all my belongings), but i accepted the number anyway...he then proceeded to take me to the bathroom and follow me arond for the next halfhour to make sure i was taken care of...basically he just wanted to befriend me so that i would take him out on the town the next weekend, but i was eventually able to shake him and chek in for my flight...

as it would turn out, my flight had been changed to an hour later, so i had much time to wait in the boarding area, and i met a couple locals, who were super friendly and gave me much advice on what to be wary of in the "fine" city of manila and various other dodgy locations in the philippines...it also turned out that they were friends with the seat mate i had on the flight, and he was the administrator for the capital city of the island, werkin just under the mayor...so by the time my flight landed i was in the company of the islands 2nd highest ranking citizen, and told that if i had any problems to just call city hall and ask for him...not a bad connection to make before even landing on the island...
]]> banos to puyo and beyond into the mighty jungle — Somewhere near santa ana, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/s.am.2004/1083857940/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/s.am.2004/1083857940/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/s.am.2004/1083857940/tpod.html Mon, 11 Jul 2005 13:34:55 -0400 Well the idea is to hit ecuador, peru, and bolivia, with no real itinerary planned, and see what happens...
Somewhere near santa ana, Ecuador

needing to catch the morning bus to puyo, i woke up early after what was my first real late night of the trip(a few cervezas were consumed)and headed to the sidewalk, where i was to meet my friend for the trip...she was not to be found, and after deciding she was not coming, i headed to the terminal and bought my ticket...all of a sudden, there she is, running down the street in bare feet, to tell me she slept in, and will be right back with her bags....20 minutes later(as i bought a ticket for a differently scheduled bus by accident, which worked out in her favour) we were on the road to puyo, where we would catch another bus to santa ana, a couple of hours into the jungle...

at the passport checkpoint, i decided it was necessary to utilise what may have been the dirtiest bathroom in ecuador, and for that very reason, i wont go into any more detail...returning to the bus i slipped and fell up and onto the bus due to the slippery sloped step leading to the door (it was raining), thus invoking laughter from the locals and bus attendants, who must love seeing a "gringo grande" slip up like that...

upon arrriving in puyo, we boarded the roof of the bus that would now take us into the jungle and the village we needed to find...nothing says luxurious traveling like climbing on to the top of a chicken bus with all the locals produce and cargo, while drawing stares from the people on the side of the road...but it sure gives u a great view, and lets u avoid the crammed conditions on the inside...thinking we really had it made, and thouroughly enjoying our little adventure thus far, the rain god decided it was time to pay us a visit, and a heavy one at that...so there we were, scrambling on the roof of a moving bus, dodging tree branches, trying to get out our rain gear and bag covers in place...after about a half an hour in the rain, the bus driver decided it was time to let the gringos come inside, where once again (go figure) we were another spectacle for the locals...

we arrived at the tiny village, which i would later learn has almost completely descended from the loins of one man, who also happens to be the local shaman(he is 84, and his youngest child is currently 4, and the mother being a ripe old age of 18 at present--do the math and she was 14 and he was 80 at the time of, well u know)...from here it was at least a 4 or 5 km walk into the jungle according to our directions, which went something like so: with the river to your back, take the path to the right for 20 minutes, turn into the jungle for another 30 minutes, watch out for snakes on the path, bring gum boots...(i acquired the directions on on my first night in ecuador, from another traveller, and them in combination with the details of his stay, all added up to it sounding just dodgy enuff to be well worth the effort)...

after taking a few wrong paths, we came upon a log river crossing, which we declined to use at that moment due to the fact that we were all heavily burdened with our packs, and proceeded to wade across the river...finally arriving at the lodge, we were greetd by our guide sandro, who would prove to become a great amigo and the source of many of our adventures in the selva(jungle)...a few of these adventures of which we were told not to talk about in the presence of the other park rangers (all shuar indians), due to a difference in opinions in what was considered safe for tourists...as it turns out our ranger is the black sheep of the group of 4 rangers, but as the other 3 were off on a trek for the first week of our stay, we had a great time with our fearless leader...

the indians that live in the jungle have plants to cure everything that ails you, and after being treated for some burns on my hand that i suffered while trying to pour hot tea (boiled jungle leaves, or grass, or some reed type looking plants) from a pot to my cup, in the dark (no electricity, or running water), it was time for bed...bed being a foam mattress on a wooden floor...the next day one of my travelling partners was feeling ill, so yet again it was the jungle to the rescue, and after being smudged with smoke from some type of plant, she was feeling great, and we were off into the jungle for a tour of all the different medicinal plants...insect repellant you need???well hey, just grab these leaves and rub yourselves down with them...im telling you, they can do anything with all the species of plants they have in the jungle...after a very informative tour, it was an afternoon spent in the hammocks, catchin up on some zzzzz's and reading...

due to 2 of us suffering from some nasal congestion (still left over from the city pollution i would guess) the next morning, it was once again time for another jungle remedy...and so it was we watched our guide scrape off the bark of some tree, remove some flesh, squeeze the liquid out, and instruct us to snort it up our noses...now let me say, that i have never experienced anything quite so horrible feeling as the burning dripping sensation that accompanies this medical treatment...about 4 minutes of extreme agony followed by another 10 minutes of lingering pain...it is not something i ever want to do again, but it did actually work quite well,and i was cleared up in about 30 minutes, after expelling all that there was to expel...

another tour thru the jungle, we were playing tarzan, as he taught us how to climb the vines hanging down from the large trees...he also taight us functional crafts as well, as we created palm leaf crowns, baskets, as well as earring carvings...

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this next paragraph will very easily fall into the "too much information" category, so you may want to skip to the next paragraph...for those of you still with me (i warned you), here goes...either drawing on your own past experiences with travel in underdeveloped foreign countries such as asia, latin america, or africa, or just your imagination, imagine what the multiple daily trips to the toilet are like, not pretty...well, a great cure for the "travelers ass" is some time in the jungle, and a diet of nonstop starch/carbohydrates...after nothing but yuca(a starchy root, similar in consistency to potatoes), plantain, bananas, and rice for a few days, one begins to keep score with his fellow travelers on his now very infrequent trips to the bathroom(read "hole in the outhouse floor")...after a slow start for both of us playing the game, i was able to win the battle with a 4 to 2 victory for the week...
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

after an hour or so in the river, trying out our luck, fishing with a few meters of line, a tin can for a reel, and a small hook, it was decided that we should put out the net, and that is where the story for the previous entry comes in...for that reason i willnot detail it here...that night, our ranger took us on a night tour of the jungle to show us how many different types of mushrooms, fungii, and insects glow and flash in the dark...some of them looked positively fake, as the lights seemed so machine like in their bodies that it was hard to believe...pretty cool shit...

i will leave it here for now, as i am behind schedule once again, having spent too much time at the internet station...so try to digest this latest helping of nonsensical stuart typing...

later
]]> wastin time in kelowna, having a good time doin it — Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/back_in_canada/1112904180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/back_in_canada/1112904180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/back_in_canada/1112904180/tpod.html Fri, 08 Apr 2005 01:30:46 -0400 Well im back in canada, and now life is not nearly as interesting, but i still have fun here and there
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada

so after a few days back in the frigid weather of saskatchewan, i decided that it was not for me...not sure how it happened that way, but it turns out that i may be the biggest pussy to ever be raised in saskatchewan when it comes to winter temperatures...so i packed up my bags once again, along with my snowboarding gear, and caught a ride out west with my buddy shawn who was movin to vancouver to start a new job...(dont worry about me though, i didnt get a job out here-- wouldnt want to start a new habit!)...after a couple days spent in calgary, we packed up again and headed to kelowna, where i moved in with some of my ol roommates from my season spent out in lake louise about 6 years ago...the plan was to visit for a week or so, get some ridin in out at big white, and then move on to nelson to ride out the season in epic powder conditions....

big change of plans however!!!--first off it became very apparent that there was gonna be little to no snow anywhere this season, as i believe mother nature is really pissed at us, and is startin to let us know in her not so subtle ways (see latest weather disasters for further reference...i will not get into a rant about whats wrong with the world here)...as i was deciding where to spend the rest of the season being that there would be little snow, i was forced into tempporary snowboardin retirement, after breaking my number 1 rule of ridin---never follow smeltzer!!!he is my ol bunkmate from the lake days, and an absolutely sik/stupid skiier, and if u follow some of his lines, u would be lucky to survive...u hafta c it to appreciate it...so anyways, bein in a bit of a haze and not remembering my rule, i was only a few feet behind him, bombing a run when i saw him launch a kikker...not wanting to hit it at the same point as him, i tried to glance off the side of the jump for a little less air...however, the tip of my board managed to get caught at the lip of the jump, sending me head first down hill about 30 feet, where after landing head first(thank god for my helmet), my shoulder was the next point of impact...having really bad shoulders(both of them having been seperated a few times too many already),this was not a good thing to happen...after laying in the snow writhing in pain for a few minutes i managed to ride down, do one more run and make it to the relative comfort of my buddy's condo where i contemplated the future of my body and its various ailments and handicaps...

a quick stop at the walkin clinic would confirm my suspicions of a not so minor shoulder seperation, and the apparent end of my season...according to the doctor i am to give up snowboarding for swimming if i want to have full use of my shoulders later on in life...somehow it doesnt seem like a fair trade, so i will likely disregard his suggestion...

so that injury, combined with the lack of good snow this year anywhere, resulted in me giving up on the idea of getting a seasons pass and settling into nelson for the snow season...so instead i went with the option of moving into my friends furnace room behind the laundry room for 6 weeks of drunkeness...having been retired from the night life and drinking scene(for the most part anyway), i regressed a few years and did it up the way they do in kelowna...many nights of boozin and bar hoppin as well as a weekend or two of debauchery spent up at the condo at bigwhite...

one of the highlights of my time there had to be the shinny game we got together at big whites outdoor rink...thinking i wasnt gonna play due to my shoulder, after taping my buddys new stik for him, i couldnt resist the urge to strap on the blades...having not skated in a bout 5 years, it was a little akward at first and i decided to do a lap around the outside of the rink to get the legs back...as with any outdoor rink, the snow piles up on the sides, and there is a skiff of snow leading up to the banks...now that can be easily skated thru, but when for no apparent reason the ice has a big hole/patch in it missing but is covered with a skiff of snow to make it look like the rest of the rink, there is trouble!!!casually skatin along the edge, all of a sudden my skates dug into the hole, and sent me head first onto the ice...bloody hell that hurts on a fresh shoulder injury...but i got up, thankful that it happened nowhere near my buddys and returned to the other side of the rink for the game...this is where the highlight comes in, as only one other person in the game had ever played hockey before, and most of them were happy just top be skating and shooting without fallling down...for those of you who are familiar with stuarts skills in the game of hockey, you will recall that i was far from talented...however, against these guys, i looked pretty good, it was like being one of the star players of my teams, playing against a bunch of stuarts bak in the day...so for one game in my life, i got to be a star(well not really, but this is my story and damnit i was awesome)...i think christos (the only guy who had played b4)was still better than me, but he had real hockey gloves on, so im chalkin it up to that...

havin not been to vancouver since i was 10, for expo 86, me and a buddy roadtripped out there to visit some more friends from lake louise days...i dont know if it possible to see more of van in one weekend than i did...we rented cruiser bikes one afternoon and ripped up the waterfront, downtown (complete with trips down the alleys of east hastings--which if u know van is filled with junkies, homeless people, and other so-called dregs of society)...also cruised thru chinatown, stanley park, around the giant globe thingy and all the other tourist attractions...the following day was spent drivin around the city, and up to kitsilano, and grouse mountain to look at the city from afar...i dont really like big cities, but if i had to live in one, i think i would dig vancouver...it has a pretty good vibe to it, and is a beautifl city...


also managed to catch a ac/dc tribute band from nelson (bc/dc) playing in ktown, and they were awesome...no shortage of house partys, and lots of catchin up with old friends made it a worthy trip, but after 6 weeks, i decided i was too old to continue on this path and made the decision to move on...

my journey home would take me to golden for a few days, where i caught up with yet a few more old lake louise buddys, and then onto banff...a couple of good nights out on the town in that place, and i was ready to keep movin to calgary...four days in that city and i was spent, so i traded calgary in for edmonton to visit some old friends from university that i hadnt seen in a few years...it wouldnt b a trip to edmonton without a stopover at the west ed mall for some rides....so just like a couple of 12 year olds, we bought unlimited ride wristbands and rode the rollercoaster, and all the other rides that were worth ridin for a few hours...

after a two week journey home, i finally arrived back in saskatchewan, where i have been hiding out for the last couple weeks...back at home with the folks in small town saskatchewan where theres not a lot to do, but you cant beat the price of rent and 8 or 9 square meals a day...gotta be one of the best bed and breakfasts out there...here i have pitted in, and started spending way too much time on the computer and not much time being useful around the yard and in the old mans shop...although i do try to pretend to be a farmer for a few days here and there when i can be useful (which in my dads opinion, is not very often, but hes my dad, so he has to love me anyway)...

not sure how long i will be here, and until i leave, i likely wont have much else to say, so i guess i will have another break from the ol' travelog for awhile...hope u are all well wherever you are...
]]> rally buses — Tena, Ecuador http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/s.am.2004/1083272040/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/s.am.2004/1083272040/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/aimlesswanderer/s.am.2004/1083272040/tpod.html Mon, 21 Mar 2005 03:09:48 -0500 Well the idea is to hit ecuador, peru, and bolivia, with no real itinerary planned, and see what happens...
Tena, Ecuador

so i boarded the bus and headed towards tena...like usual, the road was down for 3 or 4 hours while we waited for them to make it, due to it washing out during a rain...all the bus drivers, trying to make up for last time i suppose, then decide that steep drop off, slippery, muddy, narrow mountain side roads would be the ideal place to try out a not-new-to-ecuador sport called "the rally bus" race...im not sure if u are all familiar with the rally car races or not, but if u r, try and visualize it with buses on mountain roads...its f@#kin well scary...u havent lived (or died) until u have taken part in a bus race...but i did end up safely in tena, and proceeded to look for my hostel in the dark hours of the evening...wonderful, just 3 blocks up the darkest street, and then 2 blocks to the right down the dark alley, awesome!!!but it was a small town, so it was all good...(in a few days at this corner, i would get heckled by some 14 year old girls...how humiliating)..

the next day, with the help of a guy in the hostel who could actually speak spanish, i was able to phone and contact the girl i met on the bus, and we boarded a bus for a 2 hour trip into the jungle...we arrived at a quichua village (native indians) where she was to fix their one computer in the community center...it was their futbol tournament day(soccer), which was quite interesting...from the village we went to a port town, and hired a water taxi, which is a 30 foot canoe with a motor, and ripped down the napo river to AmaZOOnico to check out the wildlife and such...monkeys r so cool, especially when they clutch to your leg and wont let go...

on the way back to town on the last bus of the day, i underwent another magical experience...one can not have lived life to its fullest until he has ridden on an old not-much-better-than-a-chicken-bus with more standing passengers than sitters...can u spell CRAMPED!!!i had two kids almost sitting in my lap, with one nodding off and bouncing his head off my shoulder every couple seconds...

similar to their fascination with 80s music, it is not hard to find 80´s movies as well, and as i enjoyed my bbq chicken and rice at the restaurant that evening i was able to watch police academy 1 in spanish...

after my daily dose of fresh juice and yogurt, it was over to the cabana bar for many cerveza´s (beers) and some impromptu english/spanish lessons with a couple of the local females...had to do my duty and help them with their english homework...

as tena seems to be the take off point for some of ecuadors best whitewater, i figured i couldnt leave without at least one trip down the rapids...not able to find anyone to sign up for the whitewater kayak course i badly wanted to take for 4 days, i signed on for a one day 25 km rafting trip...as it turns out, there was a family from canada who booked a raft as well as a sit on top kayak to take turns on...before we even left the put-in site, the son decided there was no way he was ridin that kayak down the rapids...so when asked if i would like to ride it, i replied with an enthusiastic ¨hell ya¨...after a few minutes of getting comfortable(read cocky)with the kayak as it was my first time on one, i was ready to shoot the rapids...wouldn´t you know it, the first set was the second biggest set of the entire day...boy did i get punished, flipped over halfway thru, and was a ¨swimmer¨...took in a whole load of water, and now felt like i was drowning...after what seemed like an hour fighting for my life, completely exhausted and just getting my feet up in time to smash into a huge boulder, i cleared the rapids, and thanked the universe for keeping me alive...im sure, it was only a minute tops, and probably wouldnt have been a big deal had i not swallowed so much water at the start, but damn was that a humbling experience...i think it ranks as number 2, if not number 1, in my worst near drowning experiences...and easily in the top 5 in my ¨holy shit, is this really the way im gonna die¨category...

after that set i did okay for the rest, still had a few swims, but managed to keep my mouth closed this time, and they werent that bad...later at lunch, when offered to try the kayak, an irish guy wanted nothing to do with it saying, there was no way in hell he was going to learn to kayak in class 3 rapids...ill admit, after that first set i would be in complete agreement with his motto, but the ¨baptism by fire¨ actually worked out okay for me, and ï had a great day...

my next enemy was the extreme equatorial sun...as i write this a few days later, i am still nursing one hell of a nasty sunburn on my legs...i am now in banos which seems to be the third world equivalent of banff,canada...many souvenir stalls, vendors, and endless opportunities for jungle, rafting, canyoning, and other trips...thinking that the night tour to see the active volcano would be a night well spent, i jumped on the roof of the bus with a few others and proceeded to find out what a great scam it was...they took us up to a look out point over the city, told us it was too cloudy to see the volcano, ad lit a bonfire for an hour, while we all stood around discussing how bad we were just ripped off...okay, it was only three dollars, but all we got was a bumpy bus ride, and some local hooch...i guess it wont be the worse thing that ever happens to me, but it was bit of a crapper...one of the girls who hiked to the volcano the day before said that even without clouds, you wouldnt be able to see the volcano from where we were, as it was hidden behind another mountain from that vantage point...

oh well, ill just climb it myself the next day...after 3 hours, almost to the volcano, exhausted, and hot as hell, i stop to pseudo-speak with some locals living in the mountains...they tell me the clouds arent going to clear today and i might as well return...they were friendly as hell, gave me a glass of fresh juice, and made lots of jokes about how big i was...one of them was returning to banos as well so we walked the hour back down together hand in hand...okay well maybe not hand in hand, but we were great amigos by the time we got to the town...

tomorrow i am off to puyo, where i will board a bus to some jungle town, from which i am on the hunt for some remote jungle lodge i was given directions for from another traveller...

thats all i got for now, so adios!!!
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