TravelStream™ news feed for member lbraun on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/lbraun en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:30:08 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/1/1255215859/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/1/1255215859/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/1/1255215859/tpod.html Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:30:08 -0500 Adventures in Southeast Asia and Beyond

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Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia

Last Stop in Asia

About 6 months overdue, I will attempt to recount the final few weeks of my Asian invasion in Malaysia this past June. After leaving China behind, but excited to meet up with Courtney again, I arranged a flight to London from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, and then back to Boston, so I loosely planned 3 weeks in Sabah, the smaller Malaysian province on Borneo. Sabah, known for its dense jungles, rare wildlife, palm oil plantations, scuba diving, and picturesque beaches was my last Asian destination and three weeks definitely wasn't enough, so of course I have to go back sometime. I began in the capital of Sabah, Kota Kinabalu where I was shocked to see heavily armed security at the airport, which one would rarely see in China. The locals in Sabah were extremely friendly, many of them spoke English fluently, and hitchhiking was even easier than in Laos.

KK
Kota Kinabalu, called KK and renamed after the hyped up Mount Kinabalu nearby is a compact, bustling city with delicious seafood (had it every night for dinner) and a few tourist sites. My days were spent at the beaches, at the Harvest Festival, and digging for information about the famous Mount Kinabalu. Almost every young tourist was curious why it costs so much to climb the mountain and how to spend as little as possible and still climb it. As the highest peak in Southeast Asia, Mount Kinabalu is not worth the 600 RM (about $170) to climb the mountain, but if you are keen on conquering the 13,000ft, it’s worth doing some research before going to not get ripped off. Sabah Parks makes a killing from naïve tourists shelling out cash for the mountain and other attractions such as Turtle Islands National Park. The cost to climb the mountain is much less for locals, but most of them can’t even afford it anyways. The locals seem content with their jobs with the majority working in the palm oil industry. In fact, while hitchhiking in Lahad Datu, I was picked up by a woman driving home from her job at one of the plantations, so I talked to her about it for a couple of hours. She informed me that it was her first time picking up a hitchhiker, but she acted as though it was a daily routine, chatting it up and pointing out tourist spots along the way. Anyways, I did end up taking a bus to Kinabalu with a Hungarian and Spaniard and we hiked the trails around the base of the mountain for a day. The Spaniard and I tossed around the idea of climbing the mountain in one day, but the park wouldn’t even let us.


Rumble in the Jungle
Moving on, I hitched a ride to Sandakan and met up with my first Couchsurfer in Malaysia. I could tell my host was excited to meet me because he took a 2 hour lunch break to feed me and get me settled in his house. We had been emailing since I was in China and almost met up randomly while I was traveling in Yangshuo. Gordon Chong is the most hospitable, genuinely friendly man in the world. He clearly went out of his way to make sure I enjoyed my time in Sandakan and refused to let me pay for ANYTHING! Eventually I insisted on paying for one of our meals and he politely shoved the money aside and paid himself. He is also very well connected in the small city which made it easier for me to get around. I ended up sleeping on the floor of his house because the bedroom was way too hot. We went to Crocodile Park, a rainforest sanctuary, and a famous Chinese temple over the city and the ocean. In between my 3 nights with Mr. Chong, I went to the small village of Sukau, the gateway to Sabah’s jungles and wildlife as recommended by Ben, Erica, and Cochran. I actually stayed at the same place as them, Sukau B&B and took 3 trips down the Kinabatangan River to check out the wildlife. The hope was that we would see some rare animals along the banks of the river, such as the Pigmy Elephant and the extremely rare Clouded Leopard. The first trip was amazing: We saw a couple wild boars, a huge water monitor dragging a frog away for dinner, about 100 Proboscis Monkeys jumping all over the trees, and a handful of colorful Kingfisher birds. I could never say that I was disappointed because we saw so much wildlife, but I would have liked to see some elephants and crocs. I returned to Sandakan after 3 amazing days in the jungle and met up with Mr. Chong again. We had one last night out with seafood and beer and I took off down south. He insisted on not letting me hitchhike to Semporna, this was one battle he wouldn’t win. Ironically, it wasn’t that easy to get there, as it took about 5 different drivers and I arrived after the sun went down, but I called Mr. Chong when I arrived like a son calling his worried father.

Diving with Sharks is Underrated
Now for the part of my trip I was waiting 7 months for: Getting my PADI Open Water Certification. Having no previous diving experience or knowledge, I was a little nervous how I would do. My research for dive companies led me to Uncle Chang’s Sipadan Dive Lodge. I stayed on Mabul Island because it was the closest I could get to Sipadan, one of the world’s best dive locations. There used to be accommodation on Sipadan, but it has been banned since 2004 when it was declared a World Heritage site. Mabul Island is an interesting place: It’s a tiny island which takes about 30 minutes to walk around the perimeter with a few plush, honeymoon type resorts, a few backpacker dive lodges, a military base, and a rundown fishing village with friendly locals. The area has been in dispute because of territory issues between Malaysia and Indonesia, with Filipino border jumpers trying to make it to Borneo as well. Thus, Sipadan Island is heavily guarded by military and divers are restricted to one side of the island. The best part about learning how to dive was the fact that Joannie, Ilani and I were doing it in one of the best dive sites in the world, so we saw all sea life and coral while we were learning. Our dive instructor, Rex, was hilarious, kind of crazy, and a pretty good chess player. When the 3 of us completed the course, we went back to the mainland and celebrated and said our goodbyes because I was going back to dive at Sipadan. North Point and Barracuda Point were the chosen dive spots that day with Barracuda Point being the most popular because of the enormous swirl of barracuda swimming against the strong current. We were down to 15 meters and had to hold on to the coral to stop and observe the massive swirl of fish. Other highlights of the dives were swimming next to small reef sharks (only a meter long) and giant green turtles that didn’t care how fascinated we were with them. The fact that I was breathing at 20+ meters underwater was mind-boggling at first and quite an amazing feeling, although it took some time to equalize correctly. Equalizing is basically adjusting to the change in pressure when you go underwater by holding your nose and popping your ears. I had some trouble getting down to 10 meters, but below that depth I felt fine. I can’t wait to get out there again, so I guess I’m in the right part of the world for that. I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that the German diver who took underwater pictures of me on top of a green turtle at Sipadan will someday send me the photographic memories…

After Sipadan, I was pretty much just biding time until I flew to Kuala Lumpur where I slept at the airport, then at another Couchsurfer’s apartment, explored the capital for a couple days, and flew to London to end my trip in Asia. Southeast Asia is no longer a mysterious place I know nothing about. It has become a special place for me and I hope to return because I really only scratched the surface.

Special Thanks:

Friends I met along the way

Couchsurfing Hosts

"Southeast Asia on a Budget" by Rough Guides

Travel Companions

Hospitable Locals

Motorbike Drivers

Air Asia, United Airlines, Asiana Airlines, and Viva Macau

Thanh and Canh

The drivers that DIDN’T leave me stranded on the side of the road with my thumb pointed up like a dumb foreigner

The rabid dog in Phnom Penh that DIDN’T bite my leg

Peanut Butter

Apple iPod Nano 4GB

The 3 pairs of boxers that lasted all 8 months

And last but certainly not least…Courtney for leaving an empty seat for me on the bus back to Hanoi















]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/2/1257388103/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/2/1257388103/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/2/1257388103/tpod.html Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:44:20 -0500 Adventures Down Under

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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Halloween
It's definitely not as big as in the States, but there are trick-or-treaters, parties, and people dressing up for the occasion. We had three little witches arrive at our house asking for candy while we were setting up for our party and we had to give them cookies, because we weren't prepared with candy. Our house is perfect for a Halloween party because its pretty creepy, old and huge, so we decorated the place with fake cobwebs, candles, and waited for guests to arrive. Considering all of us moved to Melbourne recently, we had a pretty good turnout and everyone loved our house. Among the guests were an angel, Peter Pan and Hook, Sarah Palin and I couldn't tell what the others were, so just look at the pictures. Courtney was Morticia from The Addams Family, Damien and Nicki were cave-man and cave-woman, and I was Captain Scottish clown. Courtney and I introduced a few drinking games unknown to the Aussies and foreigners at the party including "Beer Pong," "Flip-Cup," and "Kings." One of Courtney's co-workers' insists that are house is actually haunted with ghosts and we all think he's nuts.

Work
While I have managed to find a job at a youth hostel in Melbourne, Courtney has been teaching High School students at Holmes College and inevitably has mostly Chinese students. She has a different story everyday about her students and her experience is definitely different than her three years in China. Except for a few students with discipline issues, they are enthusiastic and really enjoy her as a teacher. They insist on calling her "Teacher" instead of her name, even when she tells them not to.

My job situation is a bit different. I don't know if it’s ironic or just sad that I’ve started working at a hostel cleaning toilets, mopping floors, and doing other people’s dishes. If it leads to something better, then it is worth it, but hey, it’s a dirty job and someone’s got to do it. At least I get to work with 4 friendly, young Nepalese guys who teach me Nepalese and entertain me with funny questions. One of them has a really strong accent and I just can’t for the life of me understand some of the words he says. I invited him to our Halloween party and he said he would call me if he’s not doing anything else. I laughed and said, “Ok, you do that, Suvir.” He didn’t end up calling, but today I asked him what he did on Saturday night, the night of our party and he said, “Oh not too much, I was at home.”It’s important to like the people you work with, so I’m glad that part of the job is good. We joke around a lot, but do the work and get to enjoy the rest of the day...

On a positive note, I had an interview with the City of Boroondara for a GIS Analyst position last Monday. I know I shouldn’t expect my first interview to give me a job, but at least I made it to that step and I’m not just stabbing at ads with no result. I thought the interview went really well and we ended up talking about other subjects besides GIS, like cooking, writing and sports. I haven’t heard back yet, but I hope to get more interviews while I wait and keep plugging away at the hostel. I talked to a recruitment agent yesterday and the recruiter told me to send her a 6 page resume detailing all of the work I’ve done at my previous employers. I couldn’t help but act surprised, but said I’d send it to her. The City of Boroondara didn’t seem to mind my 1 page resume…

Sports
I’ve been playing pickup soccer in Albert Park every Sunday with an international bunch of guys, so I’m attempting to get back into shape. I’ve definitely lost a step from ACL surgery, but at least I can run a lot and make some moves. I think indoor soccer would be more difficult to get back into, but for now I’m happy with playing pickup with these guys. It’s great having the beach and a huge park right next door. My roommate, Damien wants to start swimming in the bay a couple times a week for exercise. I’ll let him test the waters first and he doesn’t get eaten by sharks, then I’ll follow. Damien, his friend Chris, and I went to the driving range on Saturday (My first time!) and I realized that I’m terrible at golf, but hitting the sweet spot and driving a ball pretty far is a great feeling. Tomorrow, I’m going back to The Bike Shed, where they give away free bikes as long as you fix them up yourself. I picked out one last week, replaced the tires, oiled the chain, and fixed the brakes, so it’s almost ready to go and Courtney and I will have our own bikes to get to work.

It was a holiday on Tuesday for the horse races called the Melbourne Cup, so Court and I went to a bar and made a couple harmless bets on random horses that lost. It was fun being a part of the crowd and talking to some locals. People get really into the races here, dressing up in fancy outfits and making serious, educated bets, but we wanted no part of that.

And now for a little rant...
How Kevin Costner made it to the big screen is beyond me. How he keeps getting work is also a mystery. Courtney rented Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for her ESL class this week and I once again realized how awful Mr. Costner’s acting really is. The thing is, he stars in some quality films, but is always put to shame by the other actors merely because of his lack of talent. In Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, he apparently gave up attempting an English accent and the supporting cast of Christian Slater, Morgan Freeman, and Alan Rickman are far more believable. But, Wow is he a marksman with that arrow! In the film, The Untouchables, (Best Picture, 1987) he is outshined by Robert DeNiro and Sean Connery. In Dances With Wolves, he is out-acted by all of the Native Americans. The list goes on and let us not forget the tragedy of Waterworld... Maybe he should just stick to baseball movies where he doesn’t really have to act, he just has to stand there and listen to advice: (Loud whisper) “If you build it, you might become a better actor.”

]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/2/1252618213/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/2/1252618213/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lbraun/2/1252618213/tpod.html Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:19:05 -0400 Adventures Down Under

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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

G'day Mates!

Don't worry, I haven't caught the Aussie accent yet. But I'm not making any promises. I'm still trying to understand some of the lingo. Here are some new words I've heard:

Bogan = Bum (also has other meanings)
Chips = Fries
Scooner = Small glass of beer
Stubby = Bottle of beer (but not all bottles, Corona is not a Stubby)
Stuffed = Tired
Pissing = Raining
Pissed = Drunk

I'm sure I'll think of more to add to my vocab...

No Jet-lag!
Court and I arrived in Melbourne two days after our flight left from LA and we weren't that tired. In fact, we seemed to just bypass most of the jetlag. We slept at two different hostels and couchsurfed, while looking for jobs and apartments in our new city. For the most part, we have enjoyed Melbourne and what it has to offer, but we already have an arch nemesis: The Tram system. While pretty efficient getting to various places in the city, the payment system is terrible and we're not used to the high costs yet. However, I obtained a free (crappy) bike from another American and I've been trying to get around that way. I haven't fully adjusted to people driving on the opposite side of the road, which obviously effects the bike lanes. Making a right turn is like making a left turn back home, so I'm starting to get used to it. The roads are much narrower here and there isn't always room for bike lanes, so they just end and you have to bike with the traffic, but I've found some easy routes into the city.

Found a Flat!
We got an apartment close to the CBD (Central Business District) in Albert Park and we're still settling in. The house is the most unique place I've ever lived in. It is actually the old Albert Park Train Station building converted into a house with two giant bedrooms and one long common area the length of a tennis court. The ceiling in our room is about 16 Feet high and the bathroom is big enough to hold a jacuzzi for 20 (hint, hint). Eventually the building and grounds will be converted into a garden nursery as there is already an area of raised beds and evidence of previous garden work. We live with an Australian guy, Damien, who is from Canberra and works a 9-5 job, so we are just getting to know him. We just explored our creepy basement and its official: Its the creepiest basement I've ever been in. There are tons of empty jars, a dentist chair, sculptures of skulls, paintings of cats, etc. You get the point.

Besides finding a place, we are both figuring the job situation and trying to make new friends. Our house is definitely big enough to throw a party, so once we find the time, we'll have a housewarming party. Anyone want to fly over for it?

Sports
Cricket and Aussie Rules Football are huge here. The AFL Grand Final was on Saturday and the locals get very hyped up for it. I don't understand either sport and Aussie Rules looks just like Rugby to me. Basically a bunch of animals wrestling in the mud. I don't really care about learning the rules because I know I'll still like the NFL better. Cricket is something I could get into if I actually knew the point of the game and why the games last up to 4 days. In any case, sports are as huge here as they are in Boston so I'd be interested in attending one match of each sport. Also, the Aussie Open starts in January right here in Melbourne so it will be a fun atmosphere around that time.

Festivals
Court and I went to a street festival in Northcote, an area north of the city and all the hippies and freaks came out for it. It was an all day festival with multiple stages for music, a guy making a swirly design on the street only using multi-colored lighters, a guy playing a slide diggerydoo, and plenty of people sporting alternative clothing. The fashion is definitely different here, perhaps European punk clashing with indie rockers from Brooklyn, NY. I don't know, maybe I'm boring because I wear jeans, a t-shirt and a hoodie. Anyways, we sort of got the point of the street festival and left after a couple of hours instead of spending the whole night. We also went to a Hip-Hop festival earlier that day at The Arts Center, which held break dancing performances, b-boy battles, and freestyle cyphers. Melbourne is a diverse city with a lot going on, so I'll keep you updated as we get to know it better...

Next Stop: Undetermined, we like Melbourne!!!

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Boston, Massachusetts, United States

When it actually came to the time to sell the '99 Saturn SL2, there was a tear, just for a second. It has been a companion over the last five years, rumbled and stumbled all over Boston for me and even drove me across the country. Well, now it was time for its second trip across the country, except this time it wouldn't be coming back...

Courtney and I had one week to drive from Boston to San Francisco, visit with friends, see some sights, sell
the car, and make our flight to Australia, with a few detours along the
way. Sounds like a solid plan, right? We pretty much winged it...

Baseball Hall of Fame:

We started much later than we wanted on Tuesday thinking we could make the long haul to Chicago that night. Not even close. However, I'm glad we didn't because we ended up stopping at a place I've always wanted to visit: The National Baseball Hall of Fame. It wound up being a 3 hour detour with dinner, but well worth it. Cooperstown, NY is a small town with nothing much to do except check out the museum and the baseball-themed road leading to it. I was impressed with the museum itself and definitely could have spent more time in there. We left town after dinner with our new Red Sox banner and knew we wouldn't make it to Chicago that night, so we crashed at a motel outside of Buffalo, NY.

Cooperstown to Chi-town!:

On the way to the Windy City, we stopped in South Bend, Indiana to check out Notre Dame and arrived just in time to see the marching band practicing in the visitors parking lot. We wandered around campus enough to realize that we were starving and didn't care about Notre Dame anymore. So, we asked one of the young college band geeks where we should have dinner and one of them suggested Culvers. Not knowing Culvers was just another Fast-Food joint we waltzed in to the packed establishment and devoured a cheap, delicious meal and hit the road again. I missed a turn for the highway and knew the Indiana countryside was not on our itinerary, so I returned to I-90 West and continued to Chicago. We made it there around 9pm and stayed with Courtney's friend from Weymouth, who showed us around the city the next day. We would have like to spend more time in Chicago, but managed to squeeze in some time downtown at Millennium Park and checked out Wrigleyville right after a Cubs game. I've always wanted to go to a Cubs game at Wrigley field, but settled on observing the scene after the game. My brother drove up from St. Louis that night, so we had the chance to hang out for a bit, eat some Mexican food and we left the next day.

Corn, Corn, and more Corn!:

I was surprised how much Court enjoyed the rolling corn fields of Illinois, Iowa, and Nebraska. She wouldn't even let me put the camera down. "Take another one!" I can see how beautiful the corn fields are for a first-timer, but after the 500th mile, it gets a little tedious. We reached Des Moines, IA just in time for lunch, so I navigated us to a city park where we ate, stretched, and prepared ourselves to make it to Denver that night, a reasonable goal. After stopping at a few gas stations in the Midwest, we started to question why the premium gas was cheaper than the regular. Finally, Courtney asked a local, Laverne, who explained that the local farmers add ethanol from their corn to the ingredients of the gasoline to encourage people to buy it and support the local corn industry. When we told him we were from Mass, he exclaimed, "No wonder you didn't know!" Laverne then summoned us over to his pickup where he insisted we accept a parting gift: A whole deer antler that he found stuck in the back tire of his pickup truck and wanted us to keep it as a souvenir. How could we refuse?

The Rocky Mountains! (Foothills):

Having made it to the Colorado border, I forgot how much of the state we had to drive through before hitting Denver. Fighting off exhaustion, I woke up Courtney as we entered the Mile High City just before midnight and immediately crashed. My friend, Eddie, let us stay in his old apartment for a couple nights which was really convenient. Returning to Boulder was something I had been looking forward to the whole road trip. I was just as excited to reminisce about my college days as I was to show Courtney how special Boulder really is. I showed her everything: The campus, the foothills of the Rockies, and Pearl Street. We arrived just in time for the annual football rivalry between University of Colorado and Colorado State. Although we didn't actually attend the game, we met up with some of my old college friends still living in Denver for some good 'ol tailgating before the game. It was fun to see how crazy the students still get before the games. Courtney immediately noticed the fashion styles and more specifically the amount of clothes (or lack there of) that the girls wore to somehow show their school pride, but in turn just looked scandalous and superficial. After a couple hours of procrastinating, we ate dinner and decided to leave for California that night. Our reasoning was that, we'd rather get the night driving out of the way first and we would also get one more full day to hang out in San Francisco before our flight. We were about an hour into the drive, when Courtney asked me to get out her camera from her bag to get ready for the "Welcome to Wyoming" sign. "Uh, Courtney, where your bag?" After another return to Boulder to recover her bag at Whole Foods (whew!), we were on our way to California...again.

The Great Salt Flats:

The change in landscape from Wyoming to Utah was another reason for leaving Boulder at night. We entered Utah early in the morning with the sun rising over the Wasatch Mountains and Courtney woke up to the amazing views. She wanted to charge her camera battery, so we stopped at the first gas station and relaxed for 30 minutes. The guy working at the counter was blasting Rage Against the Machine and head-banging to it. He was an interesting character to say the least. I wanted to find a breakfast place in Salt Lake City, so I went up to the counter and said, "How's it going?" The guy replied, "Shitty!" So, I carefully moved over to the older woman next to him, who seemed scared to be working with him, and she calmly recommended a place to eat. Courtney was bewildered with the Salt Flats outside of the city that went on for miles, with rough, dramatic mountains in the background. She drove for most of Utah and into Nevada and kept saying that this landscape was her favorite of the trip. Making great progress through Nevada, we finally stopped in Reno and caught the tail end of the 2009 American Rib Cook-off. At that point we knew we were officially in the West. We ate some over-priced, but delicious ribs and couldn't help but notice the cast of characters walking through the festival. Let's just say the locals of Reno are unique and we didn't want to stick around to get to know any of them...

The Final Stretch:

Nobody said it would be easy to get to San Francisco, so as I approached the Bay Area and called my friends, they informed me that the Bay Bridge was closed until Wednesday. This basically meant an hour detour around the other side of the Bay when I was already exhausted and it was getting late. Courtney, fast asleep, was completely unaware of this, so I admirably kept going until finally making it to San Francisco. We crashed at my friends' Ted and Heather's house in the Sunset and explored the city for a couple days. I was glad to be reunited with two of my best college buddies before heading off to Australia. We took the car to a place called "Cash for Cars," hoping to get a good deal for the faithful, 11-year-old sedan and ended up selling the Saturn for $400, but its sentimental value was worth much more...(sorry, that was wicked cheesy). We enjoyed our last two days in America, including a 6 hour layover in LAX and headed off to OZ!!!

Next Stop: Melbourne, VIC

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San Francisco, California, United States


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Boulder, Colorado, United States


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Chicago, Illinois, United States


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Jinhua, China

Conversation between me and a random Chinese guy on a train:

Guy: How long you in China?
Me: I've been here for 1 month and I will stay another 2 months, I think

Guy: Where are you from?
Me: Wǒ Shì Měiguórén (I'm American)

Guy: Ohh! You can speak Chinese! We can now speak Chinese to each other.
Me: Well, I can only say a few things...

Guy: Ok, so why did you come to China?
Me: I came to visit a friend, she has been living in Jinhua for 2 years

Guy: Soo...you like Chinese girls? (Nudging me)
Me: She's actually American, we're from the same city.

Guy: You meet her in America?
Me: No, we met for a day in Vietnam 2 months ago.

Guy: I want to wish you happy travels in this country.
Me: Xie Xie (Thank you)
_________________________________________________________________________________

I had several conversations just like this on most of my train rides in China. Sometimes, the Chinese just stared and were too shy to strike up a conversation and others were the opposite and didn't want to leave me alone. On my 38 hour train ride from Chengdu to Jinhua, I made friends with a guy who barely spoke any English, so we had plenty of time to hang out and attempt communication.

Visiting Courtney in Jinhua was the best decision I made on my trip. I would not have gone to China and definitely not Jinhua if I hadn't met her. Thinking I would drop in for a couple of weeks and ending up staying for 3 months was the biggest (and best) twist of my journey in Asia. I got to know her much better and she introduced me to a part of the world I otherwise would not have seen. This small city of about 1 million people was basically my home for 3 months and I still feel an attachment to it. There are very few tourists in Jinhua and they are probably not foreign. The dramatic mountainous landscape overlooking the city draws Chinese from the surrounding areas with options for hiking, camping and exploring the famous Double Dragon Caves. Other than that, it is like any other small city in China, complete with a Walmart, several KFCs, a central market, and buzzing traffic. But this is not what Jinhua is all about. The late-night food street, the local dialect, the suicidal taxi drivers, the community of foreign students and teachers, and the school neighborhoods are what define Jinhua for me. Where I lived with Courtney was right next to the high school where she taught English (Jinhua #2 High School) and just around the corner from the University (Zhejiang Shifan University). The University has a reputation for providing the top education in the province, which draws students from other parts of China and from overseas.

I got to know most of the foreigners in Jinhua by going to the only "western" bar in town, which is run by a Canadian guy, Matt and his Chinese wife, Jen who happened to be Courtney's first friends there. Ironically named "Cheers" after the bar in Boston, I almost felt right at home if not for the clouds of smoke, the locals playing some weird dice game, and the Chinese band playing cover songs in the corner. The bar basically stayed open until the customers wanted to leave, which was sometimes not until 6am. Of course, after leaving the bar at that hour we would immediately crave late night/ early morning grub, so we would head to "Guo-Feng Lu"(sp?) for some MSG infused fried noodles, bing, squid, lotus root, dumplings, and delicious local oysters!

It became a hobby of mine to sample every place that sold bing. Bing is basically fried dough stuffed with your choice of pork (pork fat) veggies, egg, or all of the above for the price of a whopping 15 cents. Every place made them differently and I ended up changing my top three throughout my 3 months in town. If there was one thing I could communicate in Chinese after 3 months, it was how to order a bing how I wanted it. Asking for no MSG? Fuggetaboutit. Asking to have something grilled...I'd get it deep-fried. The busy streets by Courtney's apartment became a regular walk for me to buy fruit, vegetables, dumplings and one of the bing places. Some of the nearby street vendors offered food late at night and it always gave me a good feeling when passing by them, just knowing that the option was there.

The few times I attended Courtney's classes were entertaining not only for me, but especially for the students. They were ecstatic to see any new face at school so when I passed by any given classroom at the high school, all 30 heads would turn and focus on the bearded white celebrity in the doorway. I didn't even have to say anything and yet somehow created an instant murmur among the students. On one instance, a student spotted me walking towards his classroom and announced, "THE BEARD IS COMING!" so everyone turned and smiled at me as I made my red-carpet entrance into Courtney's senior class. My presence as Courtney's "friend" also created a buzz as they all wondered who I REALLY was. One of my favorite visits to the school was on a hot, sunny day when Courtney and I attempted to teach her class of 10 students how to play baseball (in the form of whiffleball), right down to the simple details, like what is home plate. While chaos ensued and outs were recorded, I'm pretty sure they still don't understand how the game works. The guys were trying to follow and the girls were more interested in having a gossip session at first base. At least I was having fun.

Although teaching may not be my thing, I definitely learned a lot about education in China and the culture of the students, and their perception of education in America. Many of their opinions of the education system in the States is based on what they see in films and media. The main difference between our system and theirs is freedom. Without going into details, the students at high schools in China have much less freedom and more pressure to study hard. I think they work the students too hard by giving them too much homework and attending classes into the night. I could tell they enjoyed having me as a guest in the classroom every once in a while.

After moving around so much in Southeast Asia, it was great to settle down in Jinhua and use it as a base to visit other areas in Eastern China.

Next Stop: Hangzhou, Huangshan, Shanghai, and Nanjing

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Chengdu, Sichuan, China

Here we go again...another Hostel led tour. As reluctant as I was for 7 months to go on tours, the few that I went on were well worth it. Ha Long Bay, the Mekong Delta, and now the Panda Breeding and Research Center in Chengdu, Sichuan. Many tourists come to Sichuan just to see this Chinese national treasure only found here and in Shaanxi and Gansu Provinces. There are less than 1000 pandas in total and most of them are found in Sichuan Province. I was surprised and impressed by the 92 acre Center that has imitated the pandas' natural habitat to make it the most desirable environment for breeding and living.

The hostel guides made sure we made it by 9:00 sharp to see the feeding time. Trying to ignore the clicking cameras and chattering tourists, I enjoyed observing the slow-moving, hungry creatures roll around with and devour bamboo shoots, while videotaping the whole scene. There were about 40 or so pandas, including Giant Pandas, Lesser Pandas, and Red Pandas. Some expensive things are worth spending money on, but holding a baby panda for $100?!! I wasn't upset that I decided to pass...

The less-traveled route into Sichuan Province on the way to Chengdu was probably more interesting than retracing my steps to Kunming and taking 2 overnight trains. Instead, I took a bus along with 2 Torontonians to a small, industrial city called Panzihua and then took an overnight train to Chengdu. I made some more Chinese friends, this time a bunch of students who spoke English very well, with the exception of one shy girl who I kept asking questions, forgetting she couldn't understand one word I said. I love the English names the Chinese students give to themselves; Here are some examples: Knight, Sunny, Daisy, Missy, and Boston(?).

The Torontonians and I arrived in Chengdu at 6am and were swarmed by cab drivers. We knew we were not close to the hostel area, but did know that we could take a bus somewhere close. It took about 30 minutes just to figure out which direction the bus went, another 30 minutes on the bus, and asked 5 people who gave us contradicting directions. This was fitting for asking directions from locals in China because they have to tell you something, whether it is the right answer or not. The Canadians ended taking a cab to the hostel and 5 minutes later, I arrived on foot just in time for the Panda tour.

My short visit to Sichuan province also included a brief visit with an American couchsurfer who was working for the Sichuan Earthquake Relief organization. We shared similar travel stories and he gave me plenty of advice for my upcoming trip to Malaysia. His assistant happened to be interested in Geography programs in the US, so I was more than happy to give my two cents on the matter.

My longest train ride ever, 38 hours, was not as bad as I thought it would be. Don't worry, I didn't take the hard seat for this journey. I decided to skip Beijing, Xian, and other parts of China I would have to save for another trip and headed back to Jinhua for another two weeks...

Next Stop: Back to Jinhua

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Dali, Yunnan, China

Every once in a blue moon, I felt the urge to embark on a challenging hike that tested my endurance, but not over stepping my physical abilities. Sitting/standing on never-ending train rides in China was one cause of this urge. These long journeys usually involve little exercise or stretching and after a while, I inevitably become stir-crazy. Another cause was the fact that it had been about 10 months since my right knee was reconstructed to amend my torn anterior cruciate ligament. I had been gradually and carefully building up muscle strength and confidence to participate in active sports and somewhat strenuous hikes. I jumped off the overnight train from Kunming at 6am ready for action, so I dropped off my stuff at a hostel and took off for the Cangshan Mountain trail.

Take the chair lift up? I don't think so. The steeply inclined hike to the foot of Cangshan took about 90 minutes and I was soaked in sweat in no time. To climb to the actual peak of Cangshan would have taken another 4 hours and I was not prepared for that kind of adventure. I was thinking of more of a day trip challenge. At the foot of the mountain, there was a flat walkway, named "Jade-Cloud Road," which meandered around the mountain with several interesting sights such as temples, naturally formed pools, and waterfalls. There were a few side paths with signs pointing to non-existent temples and unreachable caves. There were Chinese tourists sporting umbrellas and it wasn't raining or sunny. I mockingly took part in their unnecessarily long, chaotic photography sessions which had no intention of capturing beautiful scenery but every intention in taking 50 pictures of their friends holding up the ubiquitous "peace" sign.

Towards the end of the walkway, I noticed a sign that pointed upwards towards the "Grand Canyon." Usually, it only takes a couple words to spark my curiosity and this was no exception. The sign was extremely vague and didn't say how far away this mysterious "Grand Canyon" was. It was approaching 4pm and I thought about it getting dark in a couple hours, but decided to take a chance and attempt to find this place. The path was fairly steep and narrow, covered with draping trees and seemed to lead no where in particular. It was one of those situations where I really wanted to know how far off the walkway this "Grand Canyon" was, but the further I went, the greater chance of walking back in the dark. Frustrated, tired, and unsatisfied, I turned around and went back to the main trail.

Now for another decision: Take the overly priced cable car and call it a day or descend to the bottom for free? Take a wild guess which one I did. The rough, unmarked trail to the bottom was much longer than I thought it would be. I followed a creek, crossed it several times and used my best judgment to get to the bottom. It took about 2 more hours to descend and I still had to get back to the hostel. It was the kind of workout I needed and finally felt satisfied. It was a successful day because I was physically exhausted by dinner time and made it to the hostel just before dark.

The Jade Emu Hostel was hands-down the nicest hostel of my whole trip. I should probably take a break from this blog entry, go on hostelworld.com right now and write a rave review. The rooms were cheap, comfortable, secure, spacious, and immaculate. The owner and workers were friendly, informative, fun and truly cared about providing exceptional hospitality. Dave, an Australian guy, was the owner and excellent pool player. About six of us played a pool tournament for small money and Dave cleaned both rounds. As a general Jade Emu rule, if you beat Dave in a one-on-one match in pool, you get one night of free accommodation. Of course I took up the challenge and was well on my way towards winning when I pocketed the 8-ball and lost. At least I had him sweating for a while and I did end up beating him a couple times.

I struggled walking around touristy Old Town Dali the next day and was relieved to find a small German bakery serving delicious deli-style sandwiches including a chicken, brie and artichoke panini which I devoured with pleasure. Besides the old town style buildings and streets, there wasn't much else to do in Dali, so I decided to move on further north in Yunnan where tigers leap across gorges...

Next Stop: The Tiger Leaping Gorge
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