TravelStream™ news feed for member whereisbrian on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/whereisbrian en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:08:09 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1239061740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1239061740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1239061740/tpod.html Mon, 06 Apr 2009 20:08:09 -0400 Year of the Cow - Washington DC based travels

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Washington DC, District of Columbia, United States

A few friends were in town this weekend so we stomped around the Cherry Blossom Festival, which reminded me of going to Chinese parks due to the number of people and inability to take even one shot without ten people being in the background. The flowers have brought a much needed change and even helped get rid of the DC winter drear that has been hanging around for 4 months. I guess this officially marks Spring for me, which now makes me dearly miss my motorcycle. Perhaps I can have it shipped out next month...
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236790260/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236790260/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236790260/tpod.html Thu, 12 Mar 2009 00:16:03 -0400 Year of the Cow - Washington DC based travels

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kabul, Afghanistan

There have been so many meetings and so little time to go shopping on this trip. The good news is that I get to take a fair number of photos while in transit to all the different locations around Kabul. Today we drove through one of the most popular market areas and it was hectic. There were huge traffic jams, thousands of people wandering, seemingly without direction, and huge fruit stands all around. I didn't get any photos of the fruit stands because it isn't the smartest thing to be wandering around a busy market snapping photos. I already had one camera stolen on this trip.
I hope the photos are entertaining and I'm sorry I haven't really had time to get more personal photos like with the tailor a few days ago. Perhaps tomorrow...

enjoy,
-b
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236618420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236618420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236618420/tpod.html Mon, 09 Mar 2009 13:54:46 -0400 Year of the Cow - Washington DC based travels

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kabul, Afghanistan

This is mostly a photo update because I'm too busy running around the city to write up a good story.

Visiting the tailor was a lot of fun. See the pics to see their operations.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236534240/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236534240/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236534240/tpod.html Sun, 08 Mar 2009 14:29:44 -0400 Year of the Cow - Washington DC based travels

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Kabul, Afghanistan

I will be updating photos all of this week and make some smart ass remarks as needed.

Kabul is not Baghdad. Yes we are engaged in conflict in both countries (Afghanistan and Iraq), and yes they are both in the Middle East but you might be surprised how many people don't know the fundamental difference between an Iraqi and an Afghani. Almost everything is different from their history all the way down to modern social problems. Perhaps the most disturbing social problem I have read about and now seen, aside from 30 years of war, is how widowed or unwanted women are treated by society. Although I have only been here for a few days, I have already seen dozens of women literally lying in the road begging for money from the cars swerving around them. They have no chance to remarry and no chance of being employed so there really are no social options for them other than begging. I'm not exactly stepping up on a pedestal here and understand that we, in some significant ways, have further perpetuated some of the ongoing poverty in Afghanistan; still, it should be acknowledged that little is being done to defend against a clear social injustice. The argument that this is Afghan culture is very valid but I don't like seeing it anyway.

I will write on happier topics in the coming days.

A side note, Kabul is located in one of the prettiest places I have ever visited. It actually kind of feels like home as the air is dry, winters are cold, summers are hot, and it is surrounded by mountains which cause inversions.

-b
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236273180/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236273180/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/5/1236273180/tpod.html Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:28:59 -0400 Year of the Cow - Washington DC based travels

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

There was very little time for sight seeing this time around because with only one day for exploring. In the past I always stayed in the newest areas of the city and had a car to get around, but I stayed in the older part of Dubai. I say older area because everything in Dubai is new. There really wasn't much there even 10 years ago. You can't tell from the photos but all of the development is all new and very impressive.

Something sad happened on this trip...my camera was stolen by the hotel staff and it had almost all of my photos on it. I'm really upset about the entire situation because I have taken every photo on this travel site with that camera. It was perfect in so many ways, but sometimes we grow fond of things and begin to overlook their imperfections. Seems I have a track record of sorts when it comes to this; Cameras, backpacks, shoes, laptop.

The good news is that I bought a shiny new camera at the airport before leaving. you can check out the photo quality difference in my next entry from Afghanistan and tell me if you can tell a difference in the photo quality.

-b
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1199221740/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1199221740/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1199221740/tpod.html Sun, 10 Aug 2008 03:11:57 -0400 Stuck in the Middle East in 2008

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Baghdad, Iraq

Baghdad will be my home base for travels for 2008. I live in a little tin box sandwiched between sandbags stacked 10' high. The days are hot and the nights are less hot. The food is all you can eat and I eat a lot. I work most of the day and there really isn't that much else to do so except go to the gym and count the days until my next vacation.
I will post random Baghdad photos here throughout the year.
-B
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215236580/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215236580/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215236580/tpod.html Fri, 08 Aug 2008 11:07:29 -0400 Stuck in the Middle East in 2008

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Dear Brian's Intrepid Travelpod Following,

Please do excuse my guest-posting on Brian's behalf. Sometime between Taiwan and the Bagh' Brian got sucked into a sinking sand pit, never to be seen or heard from again. Either that or he's too occupied staying warm in the refrigerator that is more commonly known as the Embassy. Whatever the reason, you'll have to put up with me for the remainder of this post J

Oh, and pardon the lack of pictures - Brian and I weren't so good about whipping the camera out. We were very busy stuffing our faces with dim sum and a variety of trashy Cantonese comestible delights. Drinking beer purchased from Seven-Eleven also commanded much of our attention, too. If ever you find yourself in HK, I strongly caution you away from Blue Girl (beer). Label me a beer snob, but Blue Girl is basically watered down swill on par with tepid Keystone or Natural Light. Gross!

Anywho - we were super duper lucky on our vacation. Despite going smack in the middle of rainy season the length of our little trip was filled with clear skies and sunshine. This allowed for much unimpeded meandering about. To be honest it was quite a lazy trip that didn't involve much planned sight-seeing - we just headed in whatever direction our feet took us and enjoyed all the interesting randomness we came across.

Thanks to my good pal Mei Yee (way back in the day from camp) - we were able to really experience some honkiness. She took us to the Hong Kong yacht club (which isn't really honky...but kind of is) where I saw the biggest cock roach of my life. Seriously! I used to live in New York City, so it's really saying something when I see a cock roach so big I just barely stopped myself from shrieking like a little school girl and leaping into the manly arms of Brian....who was also just barely shrieking like a little school girl himself. Cock roaches aside, Mei Yee so kindly squired us about all over the City. She also referred us to the genius tailor, Anthony, who made all of Brian's dashing suits and shirts. If anyone needs a good tailor, Anthony is your man! Basically, Mei Yee was wonderful and really contributed to making our HK holiday happily honky.

It's hard to pick out all the highlights because the entire trip was a highlight in itself. However, Lamma Island definitely deserves a shout out. We spent a lovely afternoon there where we walked up a really big hill, picked out Little Cow's future tax shelter, and had a yummy seafood lunch consisting of veggies seeped in some kind of delicious secret sauce, clams, and a sweet and sour snapper that was likely once a great predator terrorizing hoards of innocent ocean fishies. That snapper really did have some sharp teeth - but no bones!

Brian skipped out the day before me and headed off to Taiwan. My last day in HK actually POURED rain. However, it was worth having one rainy day considering all the gorgeous weather with Brian. Enjoy the pics that are up!

Cheers,
Sue
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215962640/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215962640/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215962640/tpod.html Sun, 20 Jul 2008 11:25:08 -0400 Stuck in the Middle East in 2008

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Taipei, Taiwan

I spent several days wandering around Taipei with some friends. Shane, who graciously takes me out every time I visit, really outdid himself this time. Our first night we ended up at a fancy KTV after several small yummy meals that included Sushi, Taiwanese traditional dishes and a lot of Taiwan beer. We even visited the 7-11 bar a few times. The Taiwanese 7-11 is so much better than the one we have in the states. You can do your banking, pay utilities and even pay parking tickets all in one stop. They really are convenient.
Daniel made the trip from Xinzhu to meet up with us the day after KTV to attend the K-1 match. I might have this wrong but it originated in Japan and is very similar to kickboxing. Anyway it was a lot of fun to watch even though I had to catch a midnight train back to Taichung that night. The good news is that I got a date for Shane at the event and he informed me that they went out this week.
My last night in Taiwan we hit the night market and did a little boxing of our own. Their machines will let you choose the political leader you dislike and you attempt to hit them as hard as possible. The machine scores you and you get some frustration out. I choose MaYingJiu (Taiwan's President) mostly because the KMT angered me a bit this week. Other than playing games I don't generally pay much attention to Taiwanese politics.
The problem with vacations is that they are never long enough. I'm back in Baghdad now and it feels like I never even went on vacation. I guess the only real way to fix it might be moving abroad for a few years or something silly like that. No, Baghdad doesn't count as being abroad because I eat American food everyday and predominantly have American co-workers at the embassy.
Next vacation......not soon enough.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215597540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215597540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/4/1215597540/tpod.html Wed, 09 Jul 2008 06:20:45 -0400 Stuck in the Middle East in 2008

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Taichung, Taiwan

For once there isn't much going on and I'm really starting to enjoy it.
Looks like I have to pass on the night market again due to rain, but there should be plenty to do this weekend in Taipei.

Random photos of Taichung city and the modern art museum are all that I have for now.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/2007_then_what/1192471920/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/2007_then_what/1192471920/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/whereisbrian/2007_then_what/1192471920/tpod.html Fri, 11 Apr 2008 04:07:10 -0400 I need a permanent vacation.

Jump to the full
entry & travel map

Washington, District of Columbia, United States

Is there ever a bad time to visit DC? Someone in Baghdad messed up my paperwork and forced me to take a week long (paid) vacation in a 4 star hotel. Sounds terrible right? I wasn't really visiting since I had to show up at the office everyday and work for a few hours as I was stuck there. It actually turned out to be one of my best trips this year. I met up with Brandon and Jeana Lee for Brando's birthday dinner. He was just finishing up his internship before heading off to London to attend LSE. Brandon had too much food and cheap beer left in his fridge, it took us several nights to finish off. He also fell in love with a server at Matchbox and made me go back on two separate occasions to try and meet her and make introductions. Shameless I tell you.
Sue, Brandon's good friend from grad school, happened to be in town the same week. She is the female equiv of Brano, but can't robot fight just as well if not better. I really enjoyed the company and random conversations.

Percy was there too! We met at Tsinghua University last year and he came to Salt Lake to see me during December. Hanging out with him was really great and he even cooked lunch for me. Basically this turned out to be one of the best vacations ever; great friends, free food, yummy cheesecake, hotel, and all the kick-ass shopping I could handle.
After I finished up at the airforce base it was off to Paris-Amman-Baghdad
]]>