People ask what my blog is about and I don't have a good answer as it's not just about travel, the obvious response given the extent of my travels, but I think adventure, humor, story telling (the chronicles of my life and actually remembering it), self deprecation, societal commentary, or any number of other terms could work. Or perhaps, as the blog is entitled "Turning Right on Red," it's about opportunism.
Although I am back in the U.S., away from the excitement of foreign cultures and travels, this dog hasn't yet kicked it's last bone (is that something people say?) What I mean to say is that my adventures continue in the U.S. and hopefully this blog won't get too boring.
Take my recent 1200 mile road trip from Shelburne, VT to Atlanta, GA, I had a Peruvian chicken adventure in NYC, snow storm in Washington D.C. (AKA the apocalypse for people down there not used to driving in the snow), spinning embarrassment in Charlottesville, and an adventure getting lost in Burlington NC and ending up at Papa Jon's (probably a semi-bad place inside of another semi-bad place) at 1 in the morning. That was followed by a horrible night sleep where the pipes froze in my friend's Chapel Hill house (probably rare for weather to be that cold there) as I tried to sleep on a tiny couch with a thin blanket and strange breathing problems. I'll elaborate on two of the potentially more interesting pieces:
1. Peruvian chicken
My friend Dave and I decided to go to the Upright Citizen's Brigade comedy show in NYC last weekend. It's a free show but you have to get there early to score a lottery ticket for the 9:30 evening show. We arrived early enough, around 6:45, but at the 8:15 drawing we fell 3 people short of the first 110 people to get in. This was particularly frustrating considering it was freezing as we waited in line and would have made it if five minutes before the drawing maybe 20 friends of the people waiting in front of us probably showed up and took the spots. This detail about frustration is important for the next part of the story.
Because we were so close we decided to wait in the standby in the hopes that some friend or family member of the cast who had reserved tickets wouldn't show up. This meant another hour and fifteen minutes of waiting in the freezing cold. Cold like you don't want to take your gloves off to text cold. Since we hadn't eaten any dinner Dave went to get some Peruvian chicken nearby and luckily we ended up getting into the show and sneaking our bag of food in with us! Immediately upon entry however we were told there was no eating allowed. We tried to behave but by half time (around 10:30) and having not eaten all night we were just too hungry. I kept nervously darting with my eyes looking out for the staff coming around as Dave cut out small morsels of delicious chicken for us to share.
We forgot just how aromatic this chicken below our seats was as after opening it for a few minutes and putting it away, the pungent smell still filled the air of the small basement-e comedy lounge. When the troupe came out they immediately commented that it smelled liked Mexican food or tacos. "Who's eating tacos in here?" one of them yelled. As we tensed in our seats and tried to look unfazed, the troupe started putting their noses to the ground making hound dog like noises. "Reveal yourself!" Yelled the lead actor. I was very tense and didn't want to get kicked out so we nervously kept quiet wondering whether our neighbors who obviously knew it was us would give us away. In the end we got away with it but we probably should have admitted it. Perhaps we should have placed the chicken on the front of the stage proudly, and given everyone more of a laugh, but these people are very clever and quick and basically jump on anybody who "participate" at the show and make you look stupid. Needless to say it was a really funny show and perhaps as important, a great chicken dinner.
2. Charlottesville spinning
I've never done spinning in my life. It always looked stupid, why go on a stationary bike with a bunch of other jabronis and some silly person directing you on a mic in the front? It's always seem to me like something you do if you live in the suburbs or too far from a mountain. When I showed up Charlottesville and my friend was going to the gym I decided to join since I had been sitting in a car driving all day. I thought the free Zumba class would have been a better thing to try but she convinced me that spinning was actually a great work out and my mantra is always try things once.
I was surprised thirty minutes later to find myself sweating through my shirt being told to imagine a big overlook "at the end of this hill." I regretted leaving my water in the car. As the instructor yelled through her mic (that part was as I had pictured it) "are you lucky?" Who's a lucky guy?" and Rod Stewart's "Some guys have all the luck" 80's tune blared in the background, I got off the bike to get some water. As I walked to the water fountain I actually almost fell down from dizziness. The corners of my vision started getting blurry and I snuck out through the back door to go fall down outside the classroom on a bench. I tried to get up twice and had to wait. It was ridiculous and embarrassing as I didn't feel like I was that tired. I realized the dehydration got to me. I got back to the class for the last ten minutes and I don't know if people noticed.
I think I could be an honorary member of the not-so upright citizen's brigade.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Friday, January 17, 2014
Looking Back On a Year of Travel
Coming back home has been interesting process. A lot of people express jealousy about my travels and I think it's funny because the prerequisites for travel are having a little money, time, and perhaps most importantly, the willingness to make it happen. Doesn't seem that hard.
As my travels come to an end I have two main thoughts. 1) Everybody who dreams of quitting their job and traveling for awhile and seeing new things might not be wrong and 2) Traveling for an extended period of time is difficult. I think about the economic diminishing law of returns which suggests that the more you have of something the less good it is. Unfortunately, I did feel like I should have appreciated everything more than I did but after you've seen 5 great waterfalls the 6th isn't normally as good. Similarly, anyone who's visited Asia probably experiences "temple fatigue" and the parallel example of safari fatigue in Africa. Each non-cheetah or other rare animal, like a boring old zebra or baboon for example, became less interesting. Then there's the plain old tourism fatigue. While I enjoyed Thailand overall for example, certain parts of the "tourist" atmosphere also got me- always being around people with cameras, being attacked by hawkers with random trinkets, always trying to avoid being ripped off, avoiding big crowds, feeling like what you're seeing is not that unique, the list goes on.
Then there's just the general annoyance of moving around all the time and figuring out logistics for each country. For example, while Thailand hardly looked at my passport when I entered the country, China gave me a hard time about their new 72 hour transit free visa program (which even their own Embassy in London couldn't tell me about and their call help line had no way to get in a queue for). I also was held up at the airport in China when leaving for not having registered my presence at a local police station while I was there, that was scary that they figured it out. These type of travel annoyances though are really kind of silly when you think about the fact of how lucky you are to even be traveling internationally.
My first year at Equal Exchange I remember having 15 days off, and those few vacation days were precious -even if it just meant staying in Boston. Now I have months of international travel behind me and being in one place sounds kind of good. I know how much I will kill for even a weekend at a tropical beach somewhere in a few months time when I'm back sitting behind a desk. But honestly, two weeks in Thailand was nothing compared to the ridiculous number of backpackers I met traveling for 2-6 months or even longer. Of course hardly any of these people were American, poor America, we just don't take off our chains so easily.
I met probably three Dutch people for every American (a population of about 17 million compared to our roughly 317 million). But I also think if I was alone for that amount of time traveling like so many of these people are, I would go crazy. Sure you can meet people on your trips as I did in Thailand. This is of course an important part of travel but not the same as traveling with a girlfriend or best friend from home with whom you share a unique experience. Chris McCandless from Into the Wild in his last living hours writes in his journal "happiness only real when shared" and I couldn't agree more.
As my travels come to an end I have two main thoughts. 1) Everybody who dreams of quitting their job and traveling for awhile and seeing new things might not be wrong and 2) Traveling for an extended period of time is difficult. I think about the economic diminishing law of returns which suggests that the more you have of something the less good it is. Unfortunately, I did feel like I should have appreciated everything more than I did but after you've seen 5 great waterfalls the 6th isn't normally as good. Similarly, anyone who's visited Asia probably experiences "temple fatigue" and the parallel example of safari fatigue in Africa. Each non-cheetah or other rare animal, like a boring old zebra or baboon for example, became less interesting. Then there's the plain old tourism fatigue. While I enjoyed Thailand overall for example, certain parts of the "tourist" atmosphere also got me- always being around people with cameras, being attacked by hawkers with random trinkets, always trying to avoid being ripped off, avoiding big crowds, feeling like what you're seeing is not that unique, the list goes on.
Then there's just the general annoyance of moving around all the time and figuring out logistics for each country. For example, while Thailand hardly looked at my passport when I entered the country, China gave me a hard time about their new 72 hour transit free visa program (which even their own Embassy in London couldn't tell me about and their call help line had no way to get in a queue for). I also was held up at the airport in China when leaving for not having registered my presence at a local police station while I was there, that was scary that they figured it out. These type of travel annoyances though are really kind of silly when you think about the fact of how lucky you are to even be traveling internationally.
My first year at Equal Exchange I remember having 15 days off, and those few vacation days were precious -even if it just meant staying in Boston. Now I have months of international travel behind me and being in one place sounds kind of good. I know how much I will kill for even a weekend at a tropical beach somewhere in a few months time when I'm back sitting behind a desk. But honestly, two weeks in Thailand was nothing compared to the ridiculous number of backpackers I met traveling for 2-6 months or even longer. Of course hardly any of these people were American, poor America, we just don't take off our chains so easily.
I met probably three Dutch people for every American (a population of about 17 million compared to our roughly 317 million). But I also think if I was alone for that amount of time traveling like so many of these people are, I would go crazy. Sure you can meet people on your trips as I did in Thailand. This is of course an important part of travel but not the same as traveling with a girlfriend or best friend from home with whom you share a unique experience. Chris McCandless from Into the Wild in his last living hours writes in his journal "happiness only real when shared" and I couldn't agree more.
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| Looks like a different person in this photo |
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| Washed out and ruined passport, there were no open spaces left anyways |
Monday, January 6, 2014
Accomplishments
11 years after my study abroad year in Belgium, I returned last week to celebrate Christmas with my old host family. The cold that I predicted after Thailand was/is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be (although cold rain sucks, and there's been a lot of that - Belgium has the worst weather). As predicted, I forgot about some of the names of people I knew and even about trips to Amsterdam and other events. I have a horrible memory, but that's why it's good to go back.
I celebrated (as in struggled to not fall asleep before midnight) New Years in Grenoble, France with friends. We decided to look back on the year and make resolutions, something I usually don't always do. But 2013 was a pretty massive year for me. I once peed into a volcano in Guatemala. I once peed into both the Mississippi and the Potamac River in the same day (a one day field trip in College to Washington D.C. from Minnesota). I can now add peeing on the Alps and more impressive in my opinion, peeing off of the Great Wall of China (see pic. below, no not of me peeing, but of me at the Great Wall of China).
Maybe it's more of an accomplishment though that I've somehow now gone almost 5 weeks without a phone ever since it was stolen during that dubious end of Uganda time. I've gotten used to living without Google Maps, Whatsapp, and email at my fingertips every moment. It is refreshing and while it is a pain meeting up with friends especially, it's not as bad as I would have thought. Being home I am sure it will be somewhat different.
London was my last stop. I am now finally off to the States, leaving tomorrow. It's a bittersweet moment but hopefully new adventures await me back in the US of A. What am I looking forward to most about being back?
*Being able to cook at home in a real kitchen again and not eating out all of the time as I have been doing for several months
*Driving my car (didn't think I would really miss it but I do)
*Playing music (piano)
*Fast and reliable internet
*Being in one place and having a real home again
*Good filtered or manual brew coffee. Basically anything but espresso (not that I don't like espresso it's just that it seems like it's only the US where getting a non-espresso coffee is so easy)
*Not having to use a power adapter anymore, OK this one's weak, I know
I celebrated (as in struggled to not fall asleep before midnight) New Years in Grenoble, France with friends. We decided to look back on the year and make resolutions, something I usually don't always do. But 2013 was a pretty massive year for me. I once peed into a volcano in Guatemala. I once peed into both the Mississippi and the Potamac River in the same day (a one day field trip in College to Washington D.C. from Minnesota). I can now add peeing on the Alps and more impressive in my opinion, peeing off of the Great Wall of China (see pic. below, no not of me peeing, but of me at the Great Wall of China).
Maybe it's more of an accomplishment though that I've somehow now gone almost 5 weeks without a phone ever since it was stolen during that dubious end of Uganda time. I've gotten used to living without Google Maps, Whatsapp, and email at my fingertips every moment. It is refreshing and while it is a pain meeting up with friends especially, it's not as bad as I would have thought. Being home I am sure it will be somewhat different.
London was my last stop. I am now finally off to the States, leaving tomorrow. It's a bittersweet moment but hopefully new adventures await me back in the US of A. What am I looking forward to most about being back?
*Being able to cook at home in a real kitchen again and not eating out all of the time as I have been doing for several months
*Driving my car (didn't think I would really miss it but I do)
*Playing music (piano)
*Fast and reliable internet
*Being in one place and having a real home again
*Good filtered or manual brew coffee. Basically anything but espresso (not that I don't like espresso it's just that it seems like it's only the US where getting a non-espresso coffee is so easy)
*Not having to use a power adapter anymore, OK this one's weak, I know
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| Getting to the gondola that transfers us to the slopes in the Alps with friends |
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| Natural History Museum of London Aviation exhibit |
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| Confucious' Temple, Beijing, China |
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| Former Belgian host mom Dominique with new(ish) grandson Loue |
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Thailand continued
Besides all the foreigners going to party and do things like drink mushroom shakes in Thailand, I found Thailand annoying for all of the people trying to scam me and take my money. But when I heard from others who traveled to Vietnam and Camboda, I realized Thailand was tame (just perhaps worse than East Africa). Apparently one common Visa scam in Cambodia involves taxis bringing unsuspecting tourists to totally fake government houses where people pay a lot of money for fake paperwork that gets them nowhere. This is elaborate and goes further than anything I encountered in Thailand or elsewhere. Thailand is definitely more set up for tourism, I encountered a fair amount of dishonesty, manipulation, and flat out lies that surprised me. For example, there was a tuk-tuk driver who told me the famous Grand Palace was closed because monks had gone to pray (I knew this wasn't true). Of course for a small fee they would take me to another great nearby site and back just in time for when I knew the Grand Palace would be closed. Another lie involved a "tourist information center" where we were promised cheaper train tickets (not usually a believable promise). The woman there tried to convince us to take the more expensive VIP bus because the protests in Bangkok meant everyone was "panicking" and trying to leave the city so the train would be full. Since I was at the protests I knew this was a lie.
Happy ending massages are another part of Thailand people know about. While I didn't experience this personally there I was proposed a "special message" for a slight $30 increase to my $10 hour long masage. I wondered how negotiating prices works in this case and how awkward that would be.
I had a quick 60 or so hours in China, visited my bro, and after considering a few different touristy options (the Forbidden City, the Lama Temple, Tianamen Sq., etc.) I decided to do a hike with Beijing Hikers on the Great Wall as this would be a more unique experience. The wall where we were was more authentic, not really together in many places, and we got a bonus of learning how to make dumplings afterwards followed by a dumpling making competition (needless to say my recent accomplishments did not winning this).
Beijing reminded me in a strong way that it's actually winter time now. It will be a long time before it's warm again...damn.
Happy ending massages are another part of Thailand people know about. While I didn't experience this personally there I was proposed a "special message" for a slight $30 increase to my $10 hour long masage. I wondered how negotiating prices works in this case and how awkward that would be.
I had a quick 60 or so hours in China, visited my bro, and after considering a few different touristy options (the Forbidden City, the Lama Temple, Tianamen Sq., etc.) I decided to do a hike with Beijing Hikers on the Great Wall as this would be a more unique experience. The wall where we were was more authentic, not really together in many places, and we got a bonus of learning how to make dumplings afterwards followed by a dumpling making competition (needless to say my recent accomplishments did not winning this).
Beijing reminded me in a strong way that it's actually winter time now. It will be a long time before it's warm again...damn.
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| New friends traveling in Southern Thailand |
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| Traveling Monkeys! |
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| On the way to Ko Lanta |
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Turning it around in Thailand
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| Temples like this are everywhere here |
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| Khao Sok National Park hotel |
During the time which I had no money I checked out the protests happening in Bangkok which appeared, and were in fact, mostly peaceful. After getting pushed into the crowd and offered a free dinner and a bottle of water, a crucial moment I'd say in my recent turnaround, it was very difficult to leave. The crowd was truly massive. It's very difficult to understand any Thai but it seemed like people were pretty happy to have a White guy on their "side." I guess I now joined a side, but I won't go into the politics (or pretend to know anything about them) here.
I also had a night out with 8 Chinese girls that me and another travelor met in Chinatown Bangkok where we ironically shared a Thai dinner. Super friendly and constantly giggling as you would picture a group like this to be, we had a fun time. We tried Bird's Nest for desert -is that actually a bird's nest?
After doing quite a bit of what I like to call "urban hiking" I met some cool people to travel with from a hostel and got to know Bangkok a little. The way locals use the water taxi system is unique. The city is huge and there's a lot happening. There are so many Buddhist temples (and it just seems to be part of their culture) that your shoes constantly come on and off. They also have toilet paper at all of their restaurants here instead of napkins in the holder, this is a bit strange but apparently not embaressing.
Coming from Africa I have a bit of a unique perspective on relative poverty and 3rd World cities. The bad traffic here seemed normal, the dirtiness seemed relatively clean, the air pollution chokingly similar, the roads good, and the prices only kind of cheap. Relactively speaking with the infrastructure and style of life here it feels less poor than where I'm coming from.
A Hedon's Paradise
It seems you can find anything you want in Thailand. The place is really set up for tourism and endulging in vices is no problem if that's what you are looking for. Your morality is questioned here and because you are in such an "exotic" location there's a bit of an anything goes attitude it seems.
There's also this phenomenon of of always looking for something better. That white sand beach that's just a little bit whiter (or the "whitest"), the best Thai food, the best massage, the best "full moon party." Speaking of which, why are full moon parties such a big thing here? Who cares if the moon is full? Obviously it's an excuse to party but has it become such a big thing here? I doubt it has anything to do with traditional Thai culture, probably one country just doing a really good job of marketing and extracting people from very far away places like the U.S.
The massages here are ridiculously cheap (usually between $5-$10 for an hour) and good; afterall this is where Thai massage comes from. It's cool that local people are all about it too - it's part of their living for "pleasure" philosophy I think. A 50 something woman told me she'd been practicing for about 30 years and her small hands did some serious damage to my poor back. I wondered actually if the pain is supposed to be good for you or if I should say something? It's kind of embaressing to say something and it's potential insulting to the masseuse so I just sat there and took it like a man. This stands in real contrast to the Rwandan massages where it felt like I was a dog being pet. Even the oil massage (Swedish massage done Thai style) involves a fair amount of pressure here.
Besides the crazy amount of tourists (there's more than your fair share of super obnoxious young white people only here to party - don't go to Phuket), "ping pong" shows and happy endings being offered to you constantly, there is the food that stands out.
Thai Food
It's everything you heard and better. I knew it would be good but not this good and perhaps not this cheap ($1.5-$4/dish). I usually have no idea what I'm eating and I just have to point at what someone else has since the English is not very good here. It doesn't matter. It's all amazing, even if there are occassionally baby octopus or things you don't recognize in the soup.
Unlike the food in Africa which constantly makes you wonder how long it's been sitting, most of the food in Thailand is cooked fresh. They use fresh ingredients (I think), a whole lot more vegetables, and combinations of spices that give you the "there's a party in my mouth and everyone's invited" type vibe. Sweet and sour, salty and savoury, the right bitter and spicy, it's so much more interesting and delicious than African food. Unlike in Africa where people laugh at the white guy who eats the local food, everybody eats the local food in Thailand. There's crazy seafood, real nicec soups and curries, and the varieties of what they eat are surpringsly wide. Unlike in Africa where most items on the menu are not actually available, here there are items not on the menu available that you didn't even know existed. There's also a unique quality to the food - a lot of places I go I see something new and the food is just so different from the food in the West. It's all quite refreshing, exciting, and fulfillling one of the reasons why I came here. It may be my favorite part of Thailand so far.
You know your food is good when even the free food being handed out at the protest or the food on the normal trains is still decent.
I'd like to say I played some part in my own turnaround and return to glory but the reality is that I think it's hard to go wrong in Thailand. The North, which I will miss this trip, is supposed to be beautiful with a lot of cool outdoor activities. The South has some legendary beaches party's, diving, or whatever you're in to. My true accomplishment here is that I was born into a good family, a life of white (and male) privilege where even someone unemployed with no future job plan or real savings from past jobs, is able to travel to sweet places like this.
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| My new Moroccan friend Nabil and me heading to the beach |
Friday, December 13, 2013
I'm gonna take that $2.50 and....
Alternative blog post names considered:
1. Fundamentally positive , always landing on my feet
2. Trainwreck 2 or Trainwreck continued
Go straight to the stop! That's how much money I recently had on me after trading the two pound coin I had with me for Thai Baht from a British travelor in Bangkok. The plan was to start with almost nothing and turn it in to millions! Actually not really, after a confluence of events I ended up temporarily broke. And yes I am in Bangkok, but perhaps I should rewind and reflect a bit on how I got here. There were more disasters on the way since my last post...
In my last post I reflected on a series of misfortune (or mistakes depending on how you look at it). I made it to the airport with just enough time on my second attempt at leaving Africa. British Airways charged me $95 (58 pounds or so) for my second bag, it was ridiculous considering the price and that I was flying across continents but I didn't say anything. But they wanted another $95 for my travel back pack which they said was too big for the overhead space. I got in a big fight with the ticket counter guy, which brought out the manager, who faced a showdown he hadn't reckoned for - I pushed and pulled to get my bag to fit in the stupid box that is supposed to be the "test" for whether a bag is too big. I don't remember the last time someone made me actually do this. One of my rules in life is to follow the spirit of a law, not the letter. Oh wait, or is it actually to just break it? No, as my blog is named, I turn right on red, that's not usually breaking the rule...this manager just wasn't having it.
My bag was missing the box by inches and after taking the manager's name down, he reacted badly and claimed I had "threatened" him. He started taking pictures with his camera and the whole thing erupted into a scene and me probably delaying the whole plane as dozens of passengers watched me throw clothing, sunscreen, and whatever else out of my bag asking the guy "is this enough for you? Is this good?" And after a few articles of clothing it really did fit in the box. My simple rational for what I did is that the clothing was obviously not worth $100, so I actually just threw it in the overfilled tiny trash recepticle at the airport. Keep in mind all of this was after a lengthy shifting of items upon arrival when I was told I was "overweight" (not the first time someone has insulted me so rudely). Thankfully the second bag had room and weight to spare so I avoided that fee. So on to London!
I arrived to the ol' friend Higgsy's in Southwest London and dropped all of my luggage from Africa at about 11:00 the next morning. Higgs asked if I wanted to grab some breakfast. I commented that I should probably check to see what time the Chinese Embassy was open since I still didn't have a Visa for China where I was flying the next day. Turns out the Embassy closes early on a Friday, in fact at noon, one hour later - Great! So we skipped breakfast, dove head first into the chilly although surprising pleasantly crisp London weather, and biked as fast as we could the 30 or so minutes across the river to Central London.
I think the Chinese at the embassy may have actually laughed at me when I broke in sweating and delirious shouting about needing a tourist visa same day. This was one rule and one nationality that don't bend. But when I learned about the 72 hour transit free time you can now do if you don't leave the city of Beijing and are from one of a few dozen countries (USA included!) I decided to not waste my non-refundable non-changeable $900 round-trip ticket to China. I basically pointed at a map and found Thailand. Well not really, but it seems like it's on the list "Stuff White People Like," I knew it was cheap, you didn't need a visa, and it was a nice return to warm weather. So when Swiss Air's first flight from London to Zurich was late and caused me to miss the connection to Beijing, I was pretty pumped to be directly re-routed to Bangkok. Plus I got a bonus day in Zurich, Switzerland, a 5 Euro calling card and meal couchers. Very pretty and clean city, classic Europe, and super expensive ($32 hamburger at the airport for example exceeded my 20 Swiss Franc meal voucher).
With all of the craziness happening including the theft, missing my Uganda flight and paying several hundred dollars, adding Thailand to an already jam packed itenerary and trying to learn the first thing about the place/decide what to do there, spending about $100 also just to get a taxi to London (London is so $$!), and everything else, I didn't notice that my checking account had actually gone negative. When my luggage was of course lost from Zurich, I also didn't have access to my emergency $100 bill from my bag (to my dismay Swiss Air told me the London-Zurich plane was too small to take my travel bag pack on Board despite the fact that like the Uganda -London plane, there was plenty of space). This is how I ended up with $2.50, which surprisingly can get you three small local type meals in one day in Thailand. But the funny thing about all of this, and others have noticed this too, is that everything ended up fine for me despite all of these challenges. I know my money is coming soon.
So like I said in the beginning, from here it's straight to the top baby!
1. Fundamentally positive , always landing on my feet
2. Trainwreck 2 or Trainwreck continued
Go straight to the stop! That's how much money I recently had on me after trading the two pound coin I had with me for Thai Baht from a British travelor in Bangkok. The plan was to start with almost nothing and turn it in to millions! Actually not really, after a confluence of events I ended up temporarily broke. And yes I am in Bangkok, but perhaps I should rewind and reflect a bit on how I got here. There were more disasters on the way since my last post...
In my last post I reflected on a series of misfortune (or mistakes depending on how you look at it). I made it to the airport with just enough time on my second attempt at leaving Africa. British Airways charged me $95 (58 pounds or so) for my second bag, it was ridiculous considering the price and that I was flying across continents but I didn't say anything. But they wanted another $95 for my travel back pack which they said was too big for the overhead space. I got in a big fight with the ticket counter guy, which brought out the manager, who faced a showdown he hadn't reckoned for - I pushed and pulled to get my bag to fit in the stupid box that is supposed to be the "test" for whether a bag is too big. I don't remember the last time someone made me actually do this. One of my rules in life is to follow the spirit of a law, not the letter. Oh wait, or is it actually to just break it? No, as my blog is named, I turn right on red, that's not usually breaking the rule...this manager just wasn't having it.
My bag was missing the box by inches and after taking the manager's name down, he reacted badly and claimed I had "threatened" him. He started taking pictures with his camera and the whole thing erupted into a scene and me probably delaying the whole plane as dozens of passengers watched me throw clothing, sunscreen, and whatever else out of my bag asking the guy "is this enough for you? Is this good?" And after a few articles of clothing it really did fit in the box. My simple rational for what I did is that the clothing was obviously not worth $100, so I actually just threw it in the overfilled tiny trash recepticle at the airport. Keep in mind all of this was after a lengthy shifting of items upon arrival when I was told I was "overweight" (not the first time someone has insulted me so rudely). Thankfully the second bag had room and weight to spare so I avoided that fee. So on to London!
I arrived to the ol' friend Higgsy's in Southwest London and dropped all of my luggage from Africa at about 11:00 the next morning. Higgs asked if I wanted to grab some breakfast. I commented that I should probably check to see what time the Chinese Embassy was open since I still didn't have a Visa for China where I was flying the next day. Turns out the Embassy closes early on a Friday, in fact at noon, one hour later - Great! So we skipped breakfast, dove head first into the chilly although surprising pleasantly crisp London weather, and biked as fast as we could the 30 or so minutes across the river to Central London.
I think the Chinese at the embassy may have actually laughed at me when I broke in sweating and delirious shouting about needing a tourist visa same day. This was one rule and one nationality that don't bend. But when I learned about the 72 hour transit free time you can now do if you don't leave the city of Beijing and are from one of a few dozen countries (USA included!) I decided to not waste my non-refundable non-changeable $900 round-trip ticket to China. I basically pointed at a map and found Thailand. Well not really, but it seems like it's on the list "Stuff White People Like," I knew it was cheap, you didn't need a visa, and it was a nice return to warm weather. So when Swiss Air's first flight from London to Zurich was late and caused me to miss the connection to Beijing, I was pretty pumped to be directly re-routed to Bangkok. Plus I got a bonus day in Zurich, Switzerland, a 5 Euro calling card and meal couchers. Very pretty and clean city, classic Europe, and super expensive ($32 hamburger at the airport for example exceeded my 20 Swiss Franc meal voucher).
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| Zurich by chilly winter night |
With all of the craziness happening including the theft, missing my Uganda flight and paying several hundred dollars, adding Thailand to an already jam packed itenerary and trying to learn the first thing about the place/decide what to do there, spending about $100 also just to get a taxi to London (London is so $$!), and everything else, I didn't notice that my checking account had actually gone negative. When my luggage was of course lost from Zurich, I also didn't have access to my emergency $100 bill from my bag (to my dismay Swiss Air told me the London-Zurich plane was too small to take my travel bag pack on Board despite the fact that like the Uganda -London plane, there was plenty of space). This is how I ended up with $2.50, which surprisingly can get you three small local type meals in one day in Thailand. But the funny thing about all of this, and others have noticed this too, is that everything ended up fine for me despite all of these challenges. I know my money is coming soon.
So like I said in the beginning, from here it's straight to the top baby!
Wednesday, December 4, 2013
Return to Trainwreck
For those of you that may not know, my nickname in college was Trainwreck. Literally everyone called me that, even people I didn't know. Sometimes people didn't even know my real name. It was a loveable and fun nickname and not mean, but I was kind of a trainwreck so it made sense. I remember my father Herb not being so happy about it and trying to correct people when they called out my name when he came to visit for graduation. I thought I had really worked on myself and shed this reputation since College but now I am starting to wonder -once a trainwreck always a trainwreck?
I recently posted on Facebook that on my last day in Africa I was robbed. The true story, although I didn't know it at the time, is that three days before I left Africa I was robbed. Perhaps I shouldn't count my eggs before they hatch but I am now flying Friday after missing my flight today. Americans assume 1:30 is during the day but most of the rest of the world knows that's the morning (night). Because of this I don't have the required time even for a rush Visa to China as I prepare to visit my brother Saturday. And that is not a country I think you can just show up cracking Jewish jokes to break the ice. So now I find myself in a Shakespearian comedy of error of sorts, or is it Lemony Snicket's series of Unfortunate Events? I can't remember which one it is but I do feel like I am hitting a new low, or regaining my former glory of my college "Trainwreck" days depending on how you look at it.
That moment where you feel like you really need to get it together, and nothing can go right is actually right now. It's actually getting comical. Today at the internet cafe my tablet charger was stolen from right in front of me. This, just a few weeks ago I got water on my tablet and nearly broke it. Besides all of this, I've previously had a Universal adaptor, sweet hoodie, sunglasses, and two external hard drives stolen as well as lost a nice portable speaker, cool water bottle, and about a dozen other items that at this point I've lost track of. I also spilled water and broke an expensive wireless keyboard and got caught in a tropical downpour which ruined my passport and cost me $150 to get a new emergency passport. Yes, I am once again "Trainwreck." Is any of this interesting to anyone? Probably not, but it makes me feel better listing it all out for some reason and continuing to put myself down.
But I've had some crazy African adventures once again and much to be thankful for really. If you can call it Africa, Capetown was one of my favorite cities I've ever been to - really beautiful with mountains, oceans, and lots of great outdoor activities. Besides trying paragliding for my first time (something I'll never forget), I saw penguins, and went to a great superhero party. After a quick stop over in Kigali, Rwanda, I came back to Uganda to complete what's coming up to a year in Africa.
But back to the series of errors and return to Trainwreck. The story of how I was robbed earlier this week is kind of interesting. I was sitting on a matatu (taxi-bus) sharing the front seat with a "passenger," the driver, and the conductor behind me. These three were all working in cahoots. I first thought it took them three attempts to pickpocket me and I had put up some defense. I later realized each time they asked me to get out, help close the stubborn broken door, lift up the seat cushion (?), and move for the other passenger (they guy sitting between me and the driver) to get out (and then mysteriously get right back on), were all distractions to open and steal the contents from my backpack and pockets. Despite the fact that I figured out something was wrong as I felt my empty pockets and they dropped me off and told me not to worry about paying, I couldn't catch them as they kicked me off and drove away. As I yelled at them they did for some reason they conceded my wallet and lied that my phone was just on the ground below where I dropped it - that split second of looking down is actually what let them get away in the end. The crazy thing with all of this is that it was a full matatu, probably 10 or so people, and none of them said anything or thought it was strange that the vehicle pulled over for no apparent reason three times and then threw the White guy out in a totally random spot.
Kampala is one of these places you can love, hate, or love to hate and at times it's been all three for me. I simultaneously feel very angry about the robbers and admire their cleverness and deceit. Most of us think we are too clever or alert to be robbed, it's just not true. The worst part is that these Ugandans were so friendly, nice, and humorous throughout the robbery. This should not surprise me, Ugandans are a funny bunch.
"Hey Jesus! Send my greetings to God," someone said to me in Luganda (later translated to English) for actually the second time this week. Ugandans will make you laugh - they are not shy about yelling absurd things at people, especially White people, or especially White people running. I complained to a Boda Boda moto taxi last week who argued he should be paid more because we got lost that it was his fault since I had informed him about the sign where we needed to turn that we missed. He retorted: "don't you know most Boda Boda don't know how to read?" Touche Mr. Boda Boda man, I conceeded to the higher price. Oh Uganda I will miss you and your clever deceit. I won't miss being a Trainwreck.
I recently posted on Facebook that on my last day in Africa I was robbed. The true story, although I didn't know it at the time, is that three days before I left Africa I was robbed. Perhaps I shouldn't count my eggs before they hatch but I am now flying Friday after missing my flight today. Americans assume 1:30 is during the day but most of the rest of the world knows that's the morning (night). Because of this I don't have the required time even for a rush Visa to China as I prepare to visit my brother Saturday. And that is not a country I think you can just show up cracking Jewish jokes to break the ice. So now I find myself in a Shakespearian comedy of error of sorts, or is it Lemony Snicket's series of Unfortunate Events? I can't remember which one it is but I do feel like I am hitting a new low, or regaining my former glory of my college "Trainwreck" days depending on how you look at it.
That moment where you feel like you really need to get it together, and nothing can go right is actually right now. It's actually getting comical. Today at the internet cafe my tablet charger was stolen from right in front of me. This, just a few weeks ago I got water on my tablet and nearly broke it. Besides all of this, I've previously had a Universal adaptor, sweet hoodie, sunglasses, and two external hard drives stolen as well as lost a nice portable speaker, cool water bottle, and about a dozen other items that at this point I've lost track of. I also spilled water and broke an expensive wireless keyboard and got caught in a tropical downpour which ruined my passport and cost me $150 to get a new emergency passport. Yes, I am once again "Trainwreck." Is any of this interesting to anyone? Probably not, but it makes me feel better listing it all out for some reason and continuing to put myself down.
But I've had some crazy African adventures once again and much to be thankful for really. If you can call it Africa, Capetown was one of my favorite cities I've ever been to - really beautiful with mountains, oceans, and lots of great outdoor activities. Besides trying paragliding for my first time (something I'll never forget), I saw penguins, and went to a great superhero party. After a quick stop over in Kigali, Rwanda, I came back to Uganda to complete what's coming up to a year in Africa.
But back to the series of errors and return to Trainwreck. The story of how I was robbed earlier this week is kind of interesting. I was sitting on a matatu (taxi-bus) sharing the front seat with a "passenger," the driver, and the conductor behind me. These three were all working in cahoots. I first thought it took them three attempts to pickpocket me and I had put up some defense. I later realized each time they asked me to get out, help close the stubborn broken door, lift up the seat cushion (?), and move for the other passenger (they guy sitting between me and the driver) to get out (and then mysteriously get right back on), were all distractions to open and steal the contents from my backpack and pockets. Despite the fact that I figured out something was wrong as I felt my empty pockets and they dropped me off and told me not to worry about paying, I couldn't catch them as they kicked me off and drove away. As I yelled at them they did for some reason they conceded my wallet and lied that my phone was just on the ground below where I dropped it - that split second of looking down is actually what let them get away in the end. The crazy thing with all of this is that it was a full matatu, probably 10 or so people, and none of them said anything or thought it was strange that the vehicle pulled over for no apparent reason three times and then threw the White guy out in a totally random spot.
Kampala is one of these places you can love, hate, or love to hate and at times it's been all three for me. I simultaneously feel very angry about the robbers and admire their cleverness and deceit. Most of us think we are too clever or alert to be robbed, it's just not true. The worst part is that these Ugandans were so friendly, nice, and humorous throughout the robbery. This should not surprise me, Ugandans are a funny bunch.
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| Looking particularly Jewish and "Jesus" like in this selfie before my beard/hair trimming this week. By the way, did you know "selfie" was the Oxford dictionary's word of the year? Beating out Twerking by just a few votes. Who decides these things anyways? |
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| Going way party |
"Hey Jesus! Send my greetings to God," someone said to me in Luganda (later translated to English) for actually the second time this week. Ugandans will make you laugh - they are not shy about yelling absurd things at people, especially White people, or especially White people running. I complained to a Boda Boda moto taxi last week who argued he should be paid more because we got lost that it was his fault since I had informed him about the sign where we needed to turn that we missed. He retorted: "don't you know most Boda Boda don't know how to read?" Touche Mr. Boda Boda man, I conceeded to the higher price. Oh Uganda I will miss you and your clever deceit. I won't miss being a Trainwreck.
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