• Bushido and Jump-Rope (VIDEO)

    Bushido and Jump-Rope (VIDEO)

    “They are an intriguing people. From the moment they wake, they devote themselves to the perfection of whatever they pursue. I have never seen such discipline.” -The Last Samurai. Seeing that fantastic archery demonstration the […]

  • The Mega Trip Part 9 (The Great Wall)

    The Mega Trip Part 9 (The Great Wall)

    With the land-based portion of my adventure through China nearly over, I realized that I was still missing a significant piece of what I wanted to see before returning to Japan. Kung Fu. So, after […]

  • Into the Lion's Den

    Into the Lion’s Den

    How many of you have heard the name “Transdniestr?” Not too many, I’m guessing. Transdniester – also known as Pridnestrovie in Russian – is a small rogue nation occupying a narrow strip of land along […]

  • Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Thaipusam: Masochistic Mayhem

    Warning This post contains some graphic images. If blood makes you queasy, you may want to skip it. I’ve mentioned a few times how, although I do travel mostly without plans, I also do so […]

  • A Different Experience

    A Different Experience

    I’m here. In Tokyo. Finally. During my idle time on the flight over I kept on thinking, “what am I going to write to everyone once I finally get to Japan?” Most of you already […]

  • Huashan: The Danger Trail

    Huashan: The Danger Trail

    On December 20th of 2006, I received an e-mail from my dad. It contained this Powerpoint file. The forwarding messages all included such phrases as: “I CANT EVEN LOOK AT THE PICTURES WITHOUT GETTING DIZZY!!” […]

I was last seen 5 months ago in Los Angeles, .

The Country That Doesn’t Exist

 Public, Transdniestr  3 Responses »
Sep 062010
 
Any Russian-speakers care to translate?Any Russian-speakers care to translate?

Despite our best efforts, Peder and I had somehow found ourselves standing at the entrance to the notorious Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic – or Transdniestr, as it’s called in English. What should we do? What could we do? We were stuck at a remote border crossing with a bus full of Moldovans and Ukrainians, none of whom spoke a word of English – including the driver. There was no way back and only one way forward. So we did the only thing possible: we grabbed an immigration form, filled out our names, and prayed that we make it through in one piece.
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Perfect Tens

 Moldova, Public  9 Responses »
Sep 032010
 

In my post from Timişoara, I mentioned that there was one more reason why Peder and I wished we had a bit more time in Romania. I also quietly omitted this same sentiment from the Romania Observations post, as well as from the one written in Chişinău.

Why?

Well, because it refers to something I’ve mentioned several times already, which I’ve tried to stop mentioning, and which – now that I’m back home finalizing these posts after having fully experienced each country from Serbia to Sweden – I can finally put to rest once and for all:

Eastern Europe quite simply has the most blindingly gorgeous women I’ve encountered anywhere in the world, ever.
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Chişinău

 Moldova, Public  5 Responses »
Sep 012010
 
Sadly, I took barely any photos during my quick stop in Moldova – and not one with my SLR. I guess all I can do is post the few I did take…Sadly, I took barely any photos during my quick stop in Moldova – and not one with my SLR. I guess all I can do is post the few I did take…

Our first day of tourism in the former Soviet Union turned out to be relatively uneventful – the real stories of corruption and mafia (of which there were many) didn’t commence until the following day, when we began making our way East towards Ukraine.

For those familiar with the region, you probably already know where I’m talking about. For everyone else…well, here are some of my observations from Chişinău:
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Into the Soviet Union

 Moldova, Public  2 Responses »
Aug 312010
 
Shot from the car, minutes outside of Chişinău.Shot from the car, minutes outside of Chişinău.

Moldova. A country which in the last five years has reached the prestigious rank of “third most corrupt country in the world.” A country which, according to the Lonely Planet’s very first sentence on the region, “consistently ranks near the bottom of the World Database of Happiness.” A country which none of my American friends had ever even heard of – until I announced that I was going there.

Sounds like a potential adventure if I’ve ever heard of one 🙂
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