• 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 […]

  • Dare to Dream

    Dare to Dream

    Somewhere around six months ago, I was sitting in my apartment talking on the phone with my mom. From just outside my window I could hear Buddhist monks chanting at Ninnaji, an enormous wooden temple […]

  • Golden Week 2: Archery

    Golden Week 2: Archery

    Picture yourself looking up at a blue sky peeking through a huge canopy of leaves on a perfectly clear day in Kyoto. As the faint sound of Japanese flutes recedes softly into the background, it’s […]

  • A Different World

    A Different World

    Ladies and gentlemen, I’m pleased to announce that this post officially marks the first time in almost two years that I’m actually writing about the country I’m in! Welcome, at long last, to Cambodia 😀

  • Kyoto Drift

    Kyoto Drift

    You know how I’m always seeking out new and interesting experiences? Well last weekend I went drift racing. One of my coworkers, Miki, is extremely into cars. He has a Limited Edition Impreza (one of […]

  • An Average Night Out

    An Average Night Out

    The following is not actually a single narrative of one continuous evening, but a composite of many. It’s written as a representative summary of my average night out in Kyoto. Nothing is exaggerated. It’s Saturday […]

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

Bus 2 Belo

 Brazil, Public  3 Responses »
Mar 072008
 
Açaí AND Guarana Gatorade? Ohhh man… Açaí AND Guarana Gatorade? Ohhh man…

The morning (afternoon?) after the big Tuesday night beach rave in Araial d’Ajuda, Peder and I finally made it out of the city in which we’d originally planned to spend a single night.

First it was a bus and ferry ride across a small river to Porto Seguro, the main transportation hub in the area. Then it was fifteen minutes or so of searching for a taxi driver willing to take us to the main bus station by meter. All refused, insisting on a fixed-price for the five minute ride. The price was about as much as it normally costs to drive for thirty. White skin => cash cows. But we bite the bullet once again and pay the obligatory “tourist tax.”

We arrive in good time, stopping for a brief coxinha and Gatorade, my on-the-run emergency meal of choice before boarding the bus to Belo Horizonte.
Continue reading »

Why Do I Do It?

 Public, USA  6 Responses »
Mar 072008
 

Back in high school (and to a lesser extent college), I used to buy lots and lots of DVD’s. I love movies, and I often have one playing in the background whatever I may be doing – eating, studying, working out, or chatting on the phone. But as I’ve grown older I’ve stopped buying them almost entirely. Not because I enjoy movies any less, but because I’ve realized that my money is much better spent elsewhere. Yes, I know it’s only $15. But $15 is still the cost of one more night in a Brazilian jungle lodge. Or of three days’ motorcycle rental in Thailand. Or of a taxi ride to a more distant section of the Great Wall of China.

Still, every once in awhile I stumble on a truly must-buy. Today was one such day. Rory, a friend who I met on my last stop in Brazil sent me a link to this website. All I’ve seen is the trailer. But it literally gave me goosebumps. Continue reading »

Two More Nights in Araial

 Brazil, Public  9 Responses »
Mar 042008
 

Israelis, Argentinians, and Chileans. That’s what all these beach towns seem to be chock-full of. I don’t think I’ve ever met so many Isreali, Argentinian, and Chilean tourists in my entire life 😆

The second night in Araial d’Ajuda was significantly less busy than the previous. Rather than people dancing in the middle of the streets to samba music blasting from nearby bars, only about half the streetfront tables were occupied – by quiet groups pouring glasses of beer and enjoying an evening of calm and pleasant conversation. And by the time Sunday night had just started warming up, the Monday-night crowds were already heading home. What happened? Is Sunday really that much better of a night than Monday? Continue reading »

Trancoso to Araial

 Brazil, Public  4 Responses »
Mar 042008
 

Alright, I’ve been home for a week now and things are flying off my to-do list. It’s time to get back to the Brazil narrative.

Sorry if I start repeating myself in these posts; I’ve had so many thoughts over the course of the trip, and made so many personal notes, and written so many last-minute/rushed articles that I’m really not sure what I’ve published and what I haven’t anymore.

So, where was I again?

Oh yeah. Peder and I had just returned from our long (attempted) walk from Trancoso to Araial d’Ajuda… Continue reading »

Learning to Plan

 Brazil, Public  7 Responses »
Mar 012008
 

I’m back home in America safe and sound…and sick and jetlagged and covered with all kinds of weird bugbites 8)

Posts on the last couple weeks in Brazil will follow.

I’ve really learned a lot over the past month about how to plan a successful vacation. Although I’ve traveled quite extensively in my lifetime, this was first time I’ve been on a completely free-form international trip, without an itinerary or reservations. Ordinarily I plan each and every day almost to the hour, but this time I just hopped on a plane and hoped for the best. I can see plusses and minuses to both approaches. It’s nice being able to say “Let’s just stay here one more day” after finding a particularly nice location, or to hear about a cool nearby city and just pick up and go. But at the same time it makes things much more expensive, as you often get stuck missing a bus and having to take a taxi, or not being able to find a cheap hotel vacancy. It’s even more difficult in a country with undeveloped and slow transportation; sometimes you find yourself sitting around in a bus station with hours to kill, eventually missing out on something you really wanted to do on account of not being able to get there in time. Continue reading »

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