Planet Amy Jo

Days Six and Seven

2010-12-24T17:08:00.016-08:00

Memphis. I had the same feeling here yesterday that I did when I stood on the Grassy Knoll. Nobody was around here yesterday. Apparently, the hotel site remains exactly like it looked in 1968. It made me feel like it was my little moment in time to have it to myself. It was powerful to stand in the parking lot and look up at the balcony and think.

He wasn't the only important person I paused to consider in Memphis ...

Elvis and Graceland is 15 minutes but a world away from MLK. I splurged on the platinum tour and got to see his mansion, his cars, and his airplanes. Gold records cover the walls all over the place. The mansion was smaller and much more like my Aunt Laura's house than I expected. She had the same Franciscan Apple dishware as the Presleys and the same curtain fabric in her basement that Elvis has on the window off his Jungle Room. And the shag level on the carpet was similar. And the brown and yellow-ness.

Wouldn't you think that Elvis would have a fancy kitchen? Not at all! It's a regular circa 1970s kitchen with a regular fridge and a regular sink. The whole place made me want to frost my hair and have a cigarette. The home is in fantastic shape considering the amount of people who traipse through there, and I found every detail to be fascinating. I have been thinking about Elvis all day today. He was a beautiful man, great looking. Tons and tons of his clothing is on display. His airplane, the Lisa Marie, has a proper dining room and a bar. What a life.

I'm all done driving, back at Becky's tonight watching The Dukes of Hazzard. I love it when Uncle Jesse gets involved in the car chases in his white pick-up truck. A minute ago, he was at home making crawdad bisque and peach pie. Next thing, Bo and Luke need him to run Enos off the road into a swamp.

My lungs hurt. Every time I get a cold, it sinks into my chest on the third day and stays there. I got some nice plump shrimp today for Christmas dinner, but I can't taste anything, even a tangerine. Even a tangerine! It's very sunny and clear here, and I am glad for the light on my face.

Day Five: I guess Hank Williams is a really big deal?

2010-12-22T16:38:00.012-08:00

Today I stopped in at the Country Music Hall of Fame in downtown Nashville. I am certainly no fan of contemporary country music, but I always liked classic country music, and I respect country's place among the musical genres. I get it.

The museum is full of fascinating objects and sounds and photos way back from bluegrass to Taylor Swift. Now, why in the world is Taylor Swift already represented in the museum alongside Tammy Wynette and Dolly Parton? She is seemingly a lovely and talented young woman, but I couldn't name a song of hers if my life depended on it. Maybe in a decade or so when she's proved herself to be a legend like everyone else shown here ...

I had forgotten all about Hee Haw.

I really want cowgirl boots with my name tooled on them. Brown leather with turquoise letters border-stitched in orange. Someday ...

After the museum, with light feet and a quickly beating heart, I walked over to Third Man Records south of downtown. I had checked the web site three times this week to make sure I was going on the right day. Yes, extended holiday hours for Dec. 22. My shopping list was ready.

Not 50 yards from the store, a man came up to me on the sidewalk and said, "Naomi Judd? You are Naomi Judd, right?" "No, sir, I am not," I replied. I am a redheaded compulsive eater with full cheeks, fair skin, and a blousy top, but I am not Naomi Judd.

I approached the front door to the store and saw a little laminated sign that showed customers should ring the doorbell to get in. My insta-fantasy at seeing the sign was that Jack White would answer the door himself (seeing how it was three days before Christmas, he would be home in Nashville, perhaps minding the store for the fun of playing cashier). He would swing the door open for me, holler back inside, "Hey, guys, we got a redhead at the door!" Then he would pull me inside, offer to take my coat, and start showing me super special limited edition records and the Jack and Meg thumb drives. I pressed the button and heard the bell ringing.

Then tragedy struck.

No one answered the door.

I lost my pride and rang the bell three more times. I pressed my face against the door to squint through the tinting. A young man came up the front steps, also hoping to get in. We shared stories about how far we'd come to get here. How it would be terrible if we couldn't get in. Just terrible. He had already been to the store once today. It was closed then, too. The man called the store's phone number. No answer. Music was coming from inside the store. Voices could be heard in between the songs. The doorbell was definitely working.

We gave up, and his mom and dad gave me a ride back downtown.

Disappointment.

I have been thinking about coming to Third Man for almost two years, and it's unlikely I will be in Nashville ever again. I saw merchandise through the window that is not for sale on the web site. However, I believe that disappointment is about the person being disappointed choosing to be so. I will be fine tomorrow. But for today, I truly feel let down. I really wanted to see the store and check it out and buy some cool records today.

Day Four: Nashville

2010-12-21T16:57:00.010-08:00

I decided against Atlanta and drove to Nashville today.

This is the back side of the mansion.

I stopped first at The Hermitage, President Andrew Jackson's plantation east of the city. I have always wanted to visit a plantation. The wallpaper in the house is 194 years old. Most of the rooms are viewable only through glass sheets in the doorways, but it didn't take away from the experience. The furniture is gleaming and gorgeous, and the blue and turquoise walls in the library and dining room make me want to paint a room one of those colors someday. I thought the house would be larger, but I suppose that for the first half of the mid-1800s, this was a pretty nice pad. Except if you were one of the several dozen slaves. A couple of slave quarters are on the property, something else I'd never seen. I can only imagine that life ...

I'm staying in an area east of Nashville called Music Valley, trying to get my country on. I made my hair big and walked over to Opryland tonight. It's just like Las Vegas, only country fried. My throat is on fiery fire and my sparkle is missing. This is the third round in four months. Sleep and lots of water tonight might help.

Oh! On the way back from Opryland, I stopped at Cooter's Place, coincidentally across from my hotel. Cooter's is one of the museum/shops owned by the actor Ben Jones who played Cooter Davenport on The Dukes of Hazzard. Dukes is a halcyon part of growing up for me. My dad would make the best popcorn ever, with all the ritual that went into making it, and pour a couple of Cokes, then we would watch them Dukes together in the basement with the fire blazing hot. The museum has an outstanding collection of memorabilia. Outstanding. Everything from Bo Duke Underoos (hmmm, innocent yet not) to Daisy Duke's Jeep. I was disappointed the General Lee was not in residence for my visit, for I very much would have liked my photo with 01, even for $9.99. I will probably go back tomorrow for a souvenir.

Day Three: 'Bama, y'all!

2010-12-20T16:40:00.032-08:00

I lost my niece's dog for a while this morning. I know almost nothing about dogs, and everyone who knows me knows I detest them, but the least I can do when staying at my sister's house is feed Bosco and open the slider door for him. He is the only dog I will tolerate because his family loves him so much, and I love them. After letting him out this morning, he never came back. I left the door open thinking he would pad back inside when he was finished, but when I emerged from my ablutions, I could not find that big dog. I went out to the back yard and called him. Nothing. Went out to the front yard. Nothing. Like I said, I know nothing about dogs, so I started having terrible thoughts of Bosco wandering out to the highway and the situation ending with his demise and with my niece resenting me until I die for letting her dog out to play Frogger. I kept getting ready for my road trip and going outside to call for him (me, whistling for a dog, imagine that), and half an hour later I saw his shadow on the patio. That dog was back. He smelled like he had killed something out by the creek river near my sister's house. I checked him to see if he had rolled around in Florida gator poop or something, but he didn't have any strange substances on him. We'll see how stinky he is when I get back. I will just die if I have to give Bosco a bath. I am not a dog person. One of Becky's friends is coming to feed and play with Bosco while I am on my trip.

I continued my morning by driving to Monroeville, Ala., to visit the town that, in part, inspired Harper Lee to write To Kill a Mockingbird, the official "Best Novel of the Century." I passed through some seriously Southern teensy towns on the way. Every porch, every one of them, had a stiff-back chair on it, just sittin' there waiting for hot weather to return. I saw a lot of Waffle Houses. Do not think I am ending this vacation without some Waffle House down my gullet.

In M'ville, I walked all around the Old Courthouse Museum, and it was neat to go upstairs in the courtroom and look down onto the court just like Scout did in the book and Lee did in real life as she watched her father. The courtroom is not the one in the film, but the set was created to look almost exactly like the real courtroom, and you wouldn't even know the difference.

Nobody was in the museum but me, and when I returned to the main floor to look for a postcard and a magnet, I heard some men's voices coming from another part of the building. I went to find them and declare myself present, and the way they greeted me was lovely. It was two real old guys and the museum attendant, and their short conversation with me was all one long, lazy syllable. I could have talked with them all day. One of the men actually tipped his hat at me.

A few minutes later in the gift shop, I overheard them talking about Nelle this and Nelle that. Nelle is Harper Lee's first name, and I just know they were talking about her. I eavesdropped, feigning interest in the Mockingbird T-shirts next to where they were standing. How could I not listen in to gossip about one of the most reclusive authors in America? Out of respect to her, I will keep their conversation to myself. Then, upon taking my leave, I made an arse of myself by telling the museum guy that I am an English teacher and I just LOVE Mockingbird and it's so wonderful. Like every other woman traipsing through there isn't an English teacher. They even sell lesson plans in the gift shop. The man graciously listened to me and wished me a safe trip "north" to Nashville.

Because the courthouse was only open in the early part of the day this Christmas week, I was done in Monroeville at 11 or so and headed to Montgomery, where I had not planned on spending the better part of the day.

Correct punctuation pleases me.

To be honest, I did not expect this in Alabama.

I am humbled.

Unprepared, I went first to the Montgomery visitor center, and that started a day of learning about a place where I thought I was just going to spend the night. The woman at the visitor center told me to hop on the 40-minute trolley tour ($1, the driver's waitin' for ya, go get on it there) to get a feel for Montgomery and where I might like to go that day.

The pipe bomb exploded right behind that pole that shows the house number.

The steps up to the house slant down on the right where they were rebuilt as a result of the bomb.

The people in the photo are looking down at the bomb hole that's still on the porch.

The driver toodled us around town and gave us the story of about a dozen different places that we could return to later to explore in more depth. I saw a home (above) that Martin Luther King Jr. lived in that was pipe-bombed. I saw slaves' quarters in the old town. I saw the bus stop where Rosa Parks boarded the day she refused to give up her seat. I consider myself to have a decent knowledge of the civil rights movement, but today was experiential learning all the way.

I returned after the trolley ride to the Civil Rights Memorial Center and heard stories about people I had never heard of who suffered this difficult time in history.

I stuck my hand in the water flowing over the memorial.

I signed my name on the Wall of Tolerance, which means I am officially committed to working for human rights in my daily life. I have come a long way in my racial identity and overcoming my ignorance, and today was a nice pause to think about where I am now and how far I still need to go to evolve my thinking. I was heartened to see that the center was not solely focused on African American civil rights, although it understandably could have been, but also touched on the rights of gays and other oppressed peoples. I am grateful I arrived early enough to experience this place.

Dinner, on the other hand, I chose to tolerate. This pint bowl of tom yum cost $7.70 and was absolutely the worst Thai anything I have ever eaten. Not terrible enough to toss, though, heh. I am cheap. I think the soup's shrimp was thrown in in from one of those frozen round trays you can get at the grocery store. I also stopped at a Wal-Mart, an honest-to-gawd Alabama Wal-Mart, to pick up some blog-writing wine and a corkscrew. Nothing out of the ordinary happened there, other than the cashier apologized three times that she had to card me. I didn't know whether to be understanding or to make a self-deprecating joke about my age, so I opted for the former. Clearly, I look 23.

The desk attendant at my motel is named Albert, and I just cannot get enough of the Alabama accent on these people. I know that makes me sound ignorant, that thing I was saying earlier that I need to work on. I keep calling him at the front desk for information (wireless password, where's the drug store, where's the ice machine) just to hear him talk. He keeps calling me Miss Amy. How about that?

Tomorrow is Atlanta, but I'm not feeling it. I'm not in the mood for a big city at all, so I might veer west a day early. That's what you can do on a no-agenda road trip. By the way, having a navigation system is fantastic. I took not one wrong turn today.

P.S. Of course, Me and Marley is on HBO right now. I cannot even get away from dogs on my vacation.

Christmas Vacation 2010: Day 1

2010-12-18T21:21:00.013-08:00

Oh, my gosh. I had day. My airport shuttle arrived at my house at 4:55 a.m. this morning, although I had been awake since 2:45 worried that I wouldn't hear either of the two loud alarms I set. I was swept into the security lines and headed to Denver to catch a flight to Houston to catch a flight to Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Beats me why I thought this itinerary looked like the right plan for me a month ago. My sister lives in FWB, and I was headed there to stay at her house for a few days while they are away for Christmas week. I'm going on a road trip after the few days (thus the revival of this blog), then we all meet back in FWB for New Year's Eve weekend.

Here's the weird thing that happened: I had a four-hour layover in Houston, so I walked through the terminals looking for just the right place to eat dinner and kill some time catching up on Entertainment Weekly and InTouch magazines. I had a painful headache caused by no coffee (so I wouldn't have to use an airplane lavatory, gross me out) and no Tylenol, so I went into one of those magazine/candy/everything stores to get what would probably be a $9 pack of six pills. A woman was standing in front of the medicine display, so I waited patiently for a moment, looking at her cute boy standing with her. Dang, I thought, that kid sure looks like my nephew. And dang, that woman sure looks like my sister. They turned around, I grinned, and there I was standing in an airport in Texas in front of my sister and nephew. It was really strange. Becky was confused and thought that I had planned the whole thing and that it was a funny airport surprise to run into me in the everything store. I had no idea they were flying through Houston, and what in the world were the chances that I was in the same place as them at that moment? Once I convinced her that I wasn't playing a funny surprise, we laughed and hugged and said, "Weird. Weird, right?" and my nephew accepted that his aunt was indeed the lady kissing his cheeks. We had a nice catch-up for an hour until they had to board their plane and I had to head to my two-hour dinner with the People magazine Becky passed off to me. Gawd, I love a magazine. I can't wait to see Becky and Co. back at their house.

All I want is a bath these days. The house I live in doesn't have a tub upstairs in my "suite," and all I want is a simple, restorative bath. I finally got to Becky's house and dug up some salt and bubbles and a goodly splash of wine. It was a fine bath, and I am now ready to try and meet my sleeping goal of 12 hours.

I have been waiting for this bath and this sleep for a month. I am a new teacher and tired into the middle of my bones.

This isn't a merry Christmas for my laptop

2005-12-25T14:03:00.000-08:00

I haven't been able to post any photos from Asia because my ibook is sicker than I was in Cambodia. Maybe it has parasites, too. We will have to wait until I have time to go to Seattle and get it fixed because there's no place in Spokane that's Apple friendly. That's reason #427 not to live here. But keep checking in once in a while, OK?

This is our first Christmas without my sister Becky. She and her family celebrated hours and hours ago in Deutschland. Back here at home, we are waiting till tonight to open presents; I am holding out hope for a $1,000 Aveda gift card or a Land Rover. My mom just left to "pick up my sister." I assume that's code for "go get Amy's new Land Rover and drive it to the house." Overall, it's real quiet around here today without any amped kids. Also, Santa did not visit me for the first time in my life. I have stepped upon another touchstone of adulthood.

My favorite Christmas album is "The Roger Whittaker Christmas Album." He keeps it real. What's your favorite?

Back to life, back to reality

2005-11-30T06:03:00.000-08:00

Back home in Spokane for about a week now. I started working right away so I can refill my very empty pockets.

I am sad the trip is finished, but now that I know how to travel I can get something new cooking for the future. India is at the top of my list. And much, much more of Europe.

Planning to post some photos here once I have time to look through everything.

Most importantly, it's time to job hunt.

Ho hum

2005-11-08T04:30:00.000-08:00

Not much happening the last few days other than waiting for Madonna's new video to come on MTV. That proves that nothing much has changed in the last 19 years.

Things here for my family are pretty much arranged (house, car, located the IKEA, etc.), I might head home in the next several days and find some kind of temporary income to start refilling my bank account. Fortunately, I can stay at my parents' home for a time, but I hear I will be painting and moving furniture to earn my keep. That's OK with me.

We went to IKEA in Mannheim on Saturday, and it's so massive that it makes the one in Renton look like the Circle K version. It was Becky's first trip to an IKEA, and we should have known better than to take her on a weekend day. Wall-to-wall couples in very hip eyewear pushing empty carts. I have a feeling every IKEA is like that. We left after a few hours and tried to find the city center to Mannheim, but we got lost and decided to pretend that we were going to Heidelberg anyway. I love Heidelberg. I am even going to buy a T-shirt to tell people I have been there. We browsed in the pedestrian shopping district, ate some brats and looked at all the weird but cool European footwear.

Has anyone been to the Denver/Colorado Springs area? I am thinking about looking for work there and in a few similar places. It has several of the qualities I have determined are important to me: not humid, four seasons, pays enough that I can support myself and have some left over, enough people that I still stand a chance of meeting quality unmarried ones in my demographic. And it kind of has that microbrew/outdoorsy/work-hard-play-hard thing happening. That doesn't describe me at the moment but does describe the kind of friends that sound fun. Other places on my list: Seattle, Portland, San Diego, Las Vegas, Boise, Austin. LV and Austin are so hot, though, and Lance Armstrong lives in Austin and, man, he bugs me. Watch, I will end up in Seattle for the fourth time. Holler some of your ideas at me so I can expand my city list. Or just hire me and we'll call it done.

The third Duran Duran reference in my previous post was the phrase "friends of mine" which is a song on the band's first album, if memory serves. But maybe it's on "Rio." Cindy, I'll meet you in London on Friday to start looking for Simon. We could also go to Harrod's, have a pint, search for Wills and have a bloody great time till we're so knackered we have to take the tube to get back to our flat so we can use the loo.

Looking like a New Moon on Monday

2005-11-01T05:31:00.000-08:00

It's been a productive week over here in Germany. My sister and bro-in-law bought a car, found a new home, and we're all getting acclimated to the local area. I have been cooking and helping to keep the homefront organized. We ate at a German restaurant this weekend. I had some kind of schnitzel. It wasn't gourmet good, but it was warm and homey, just right for a fall night.

Now that the hurdles of transportation and accomodation are figured out, we are talking about having an adventure this weekend, maybe driving over to Heidelberg or Landstuhl to see a castle. Speaking of driving, the autobahn is pretty fast. It does have posted speed limits in most sections we have driven, but that's about 80 mph so the cars move at a good pace. It's not at all like the autobahn of my childhood imagination in which there are schoolbus accidents, ambulances and Porsches colliding all along the highway.

Beauty tip for the day: Leave the hair coloring to the professionals. Hopefully, it's supposed to wash out in 28 days. My hair is so many shades of red, it's like "Seven and the Ragged Tiger" when I look in the mirror. If you know what I mean by that, then you might be one of the Neighborhood friends of mine. (Where are we going in 2006? I need something to look forward to ... )

Can you find the third reference to Duran Duran in this post? I hid it.

A quick hello

2005-10-25T04:41:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone -- a quick post today because I only have a few minutes' computer time. I am at Ramstein Air Base in southern Germany. I have met up and am staying with my sister and her husband and kids. We are in a hotel apartment until they can find a new house and car and everything.

It's super to see my niece and nephew again. I waited three months for those hugs and kisses I got last night.

The base is mammoth. Anything you can think of is here: bowling alley, library, hotels, nightclubs, everything. It's close to towns called Kaiserslautern and Mannheim that have even more services and shops and stuff. I am going to do some cooking starting tonight and will try to be helpful by being domestic and watching the kids while Becky and Justin get organized.

More soon ...

Heidelberg!

2005-10-21T01:01:00.000-07:00

It is very strange to wake up in Hong Kong and go to bed in Germany, but that's what I did on a Tuesday that lasted about 36 hours.

I am now finding myself in Heidelberg, Germany, and literally a world away from SE Asia. All of my clothing got a nice, soapy wash in a machine as soon as I got here. So did I, but not in a machine. It is very cold and dry after three months of 85+ degrees and humidity, so my first purchase was a heavy coat. I am so happy to be a little chilly. The weather is crispy and sunny, tons of autumn leaves are on the streets. This is just what I needed.

Yesterday, I drank a German beer in a German town square. I toured my first castle and walked all around the town. It's easily the most charming place I have seen in my life. I feel like I am in a Middle Ages movie but everyone is wering the wrong costume. I also ate a sandwich with some mysterious cold cuts and a ton of mustard. So, I have castles, beer and mustard. Perfect!

I am meeting my sister's family on Tuesday, so I have decided to do a minitour of the "Castle Road" south of Frankfurt. I am waiting now for the train to take me to a town called Bad Wimpfen. Doesn't that sound like a good place?

Something I didn't think of when I arrived in Europe: Now that I blend in with the crowd again, people are speaking to me in German. So I have memorized a couple of phrases to let them know I am a foreigner. I sound ridiculous, but I am trying my best to speak a tiny bit of German when I need to talk with someone. It's completely futile. That's when I smile and say, "Sprechen Sie Englisch?"

I can't wait to meet Becky, Justin, Madison and Cole for some German adventures. Just a few more days now!

Hey from Hong Kong

2005-10-17T02:43:00.000-07:00

You should come here if you can! Hong Kong is one of the best places I have been on my trip, even if it's the most expensive. I arrived Sunday afternoon and did a little bit of shopping to get ready for the weather in Germany and to replace my scroungy backpacking clothes. When I went back to my hotel "room" -- it's really just a paneled box with a toilet -- I added everything up and had a heart attack because I had been doing the exchange wrong. So a few items were returned to the stores today. HK has the best shopping of anywhere so far. Someday when I am wealthy, I will come back here so I can really not have to worry about the exchange rate.

Today I took myself on two self-guided walks suggested by the very helpful visitors' center here. I went into an area that is essentially a Chinatown, but that's kind of silly to say because all of HK is a Chinatown. I walked down the ginseng street, the dried seafood street and the raw meat street. On the raw meat street, I saw a tail of some huge animal hanging from a hook, fur and all. It was disgusting yet fascinating. No idea what it could have been from. All I could think of was a lion, but I doubt it was a lion's tail. Wonder what someone is going to cook with it?

Next I walked myself all around the tourism center, ate way too much good food, went to the space museum (very 1980s) and enjoyed the AC in the malls. I have seen more things I would like to buy here, but this isn't a shopping adventure. I need to have a local person to help me eat here. Lots of dim sum places (hi, Marti!) but I don't know how to eat dim sum and I don't want to end up with a $200 dinner ticket at the end if I try. I read in the visitor information that some of the Chinese restaurants will bring food and drinks to tourists' tables and tell them they're included but then hit them with an exorbitant "service charge for condiments" at the end of the meal. That's some expensive soy sauce!

Flying to NY and Frankfurt tomorrow morning. Thanks for joining me on my trip through Southeast Asia. I have hopes I will offer more anecdotes in the coming weeks before I have to face reality again.

Missing posts

2005-10-15T01:49:00.000-07:00

None of my posts the last couple of days are getting to the finish line, darn it.

Here's the most exciting thing that happened in the last four days: I accidentally went out of bounds at the Ho Chi Minh complex here in Hanoi this morning. I was trying to get a better photo of Uncle Ho's fancy French office building and neglected to see the do-not-trespass sign written in Vietnamese. The Commie policeman started tooting his whistle at me, and I was physically escorted to another part of the complex. I sassed the cop for touching me, but then I realized I'd better be nice and cooperate so I don't end up getting held in Vietnam while my plane to Hong Kong takes off without me. It was exciting for me and for the other tourists to watch, and it gave the policeman something to do with his time. Worked out for all of us. Sorry!

On Friday, I took myself on a long walk around the Old Quarter and visited some more tourist sights. Most interesting was the Hao Lo Prison, a k a the "Hanoi Hilton" where US POWs were held during the war. I found a pamphlet in a case on the wall. This document was apparently given to new American arrivals at the prison as a sort of introduction to prison life there. Here are some quotes I copied from the pamphlet:
- The prison "is as if one is being in California" because of the fruit they will be served.
- The prison "has a lot of other decent entertainments."
- "Health and strength will be found again."
- "They [prisoners] would find interest in raising poultry, growing flowers."

I bet the ankle shackles and tiny cells also added to the pleasant environment.

A flight suit in a glass case is supposedly John McCain's. I don't necessarily believe it's the real thing, but if it is, it's pretty neat. The should give it back to him, but that's probably not how it works here.

Tonight is my last night in SE Asia. I will be culling unneeded items from my carry-on while enjoying a last couple of Tiger beers and maybe some noodle soup. Update from Hong Kong in a couple of days. Or maybe when I get to Frankfurt.

Rain go away

2005-10-11T01:32:00.000-07:00

To anyone who has been e-mailing me, especially Carmell, B and J and parents, I haven't been able to get into my Hotmail ever since I got to Vietnam. I am trying to check it in each town, but it won't let me in. I think it's the Commies. If you have something crucial re. travel plans, maybe post here on the blog and we can talk that way? Maybe Hotmail will work in Hanoi. Bigger city, better technology?

It is pouring everywhere I go here. I have been through Nha Trang, spent a couple of nights in Hoi An and the afternoon today in Hue. Flooded streets, rain that's so heavy you can't even walk down the sidewalk without getting soaked. It has put a literal damper on any tourist activities, even though the locals seem to be smiling and doing just fine. But they're all soaked.

I'm taking the night bus up to Hanoi tonight. Hoping to stay put there until I fly to Hong Kong, then out of Asia next week. The buses here are a double-edged sword. One one hand, they're uncomfortable, loud and the rides last up to 14 hours. But on the good side, it costs $15 (!) to get all the way up the Vietnam coast and you get to see the pretty coast and countryside. Where else can you travel the length of a country for $15? If you need the bathroom, though, you're out of luck. The bus usually only stops one time per journey.

I have dong

2005-10-08T03:53:00.000-07:00

Just an hour or so till I leave Saigon for Nha Trang. I am quickly working my way up the Vietnam coast in order to get to Hanoi by about Oct. 13, then I'm off to Hong Kong to fly out of here.

Enjoyed a tour of Saigon city yesterday. Hundreds of cafes in the midst of the crazy traffic. It's fun to sip a cold drink and just watch everyone go by. I have mastered walking into the traffic; it's the only way you can cross the street if you need to. Just step off the curb, start walking real slow and look right at the drivers. All the drivers will slow down and go around you. It's unnerving, though, hoping that they all see you in the middle of the intersection.

I saw Reunification Palace yesterday, again visited the war museum and went to a few pagodas which were pretty neat. We stopped at a wholesake market for a while, but it was so hard to walk through the aisles that we left after about 20 minutes. I don't need 144 hair clips anyway.

Today's adventure was to the Mekong Delta. We boarded a riverboat in My Tho that would've made Popeye proud. We stopped off at a candy factory, fruit farm, honey wine farm, a tiny monkey zoo, etc. We got to wear pointy rice paddy hats to keep the sun off our heads. They really work! A long drive back to Saigon tonight, and now I'm killing time till the bus leaves.

See you in Nha Trang for something more quiet.

One nation's point of view

2005-10-06T03:20:00.000-07:00

Well I have some good news and some bad news. I am feeling better today and managed to spend the day out of my room with minimal nausea. The bad news is that I saw the doctor, and he thinks I had the flu last week but that I also have a parasitic infection (come and get me, boys!). That's right, I got me some worms. I have to have some tests done when I'm back at home, but for now me and my worms are going to keep traveling. I have always joked that if only I could get worms, they would whittle me down to my ideal weight and beyond. I asked the doctor how much weight I could look forward to losing, and he explained that's not quite how it works. Darn!

Today I visited the Cu Chi tunnels a ways west of Saigon. I crawled 30 meters inside one of the tunnels and had to control myself not to freak out from being in such a scary, confined space. It was very enclosed and dark and hot. We saw all kinds of North Vietnamese torture devices and booby traps. Ate some tapioca (just like Charlie!) and watched a Commie video made in about 1867 explaining how good triumphed over evil in the "American War." This was a good preview to ...

... the War Remnants Museum back in Saigon. This is, of course, a completely one-sided take on the Vietnam War at the atrocities the Americans caused to the Vietnamese people. Nowhere in the museum is it mentioned any of the bad stuff the VCs did to their own people or what they did to us. The best part is a gallery of photos showing the American GI's experience during the war. All of the photos in this part of the museum were shot by US combat photographers or photojournalists, many of which I'd never seen before. It was upsetting to see all the photos, and I'm sorry for everything bad that happened to anyone on any side. I just keep asking myself why we keep doing this to each other. What is the good from all the death?

I was spitting mad when I started reading through the guest book at the museum. I shouldn't even start skimming the messages, but I always do. So many Japanese and European tourists that sign the guestbooks mention how horrible the Americans were to the Vietnamese and how dishonorable the US soldiers were for CHOOSING to come fight here. I guess being in the museum caused the draft to slip from their minds. People are so mallealbe sometimes; they believe anything placed in front of them. Like stuff that's printed on a poster in a Communist museum.

Thank you for listening.

Now I'm sick in Saigon

2005-10-04T22:29:00.000-07:00

I can come up with illness alliterations for every city if I don't start feeling better. I transited into Vietnam yesterday; thank goodness everything stayed down me and in me during the bus ride. Having trouble shaking whatever I have, but I know it will pass. I am signed up for a city tour tomorrow to kind of force me out into fresh air to see how I do. I am eating because I'm so darn hungry, but still nauseated, ugh. No hurries, though. I can rest as long as I need to. That's the Catch-22 about having the flu. You're too pukey to eat, but you're so hungry from not eating it makes you more pukey. Enough of this ...

OK, because I have nothing real to report on, here are some interesting things I have seen on the TV in my room:
1. A Japanese pole dancing competition -- now I have a new goal to work toward when I get home, the double-high vertical inverted splits.
2. "Stripes." Never had seen it till this morning. It's hilarious.
3. "Ed" -- I hadn't ever seen this, either, and now I have one more reason I am sorry I worked nights for so long. I would love to live in a small town like that, except the potential for dating is probably even worse than in Spokane which is as bad as it gets.
4. I also watched a man pull a passenger bus a few feet from a chain connected to his ear.

Pheverish in Phnom Penh

2005-10-01T23:21:00.000-07:00

More bombings in Bali, which grabs my attention quickly this time because I was just there in Kuta where one of the bombs exploded. Don't know what else to say. Makes me sick.

Actually, I am sick. Today is my fourth day in bed with some kind of fever. I was thinking it was something exotic like dengue fever because I have a bunch of the symptoms, but I think it's just regular old flu. I have ensconsed myself in an $8 (exorbitant!) air-con room with cable TV so I can get my energy back by watching HBO. My bones ache, my head and eyes are pounding and I feel about as strong as a noodle. I'm in Cambodia's capital, Phnom Penh, and I haven't seen a bit of it since I got here. Except the pharmacy. I will miss it entirely because I want to leave for Saigon tomorrow.

I loathe tuk tuk drivers, and if you've been here you know exactly how I feel. After 10 weeks of them, they finally got the best of me today. I took one to task this morning because he asked me four times, on seeing me four seperate times in half an hour, whether I needed a ride to the museum. But it felt great to bitch him out in my feverish tirade. It didn't do any good except give him and the other eight drivers in the courtyard a hearty laugh at the foolish Westerner.

We went to Angkor Wat on three days last week. I am kind of templed out for this trip, so days 2 and 3 for me were cut short, but seeing the main temple at sunrise was something I can say was truly awesome. We couldn't have gotten a better sunrise, just a few clouds to help bring about some lovely pink, orange and purple in the sky. Then to see the temple with that morning glow from behind, whoo!

The street kids in Cambodia are killing me. There are naked babies, infants, sleeping on sidewalks next to toddler-age brothers and sisters. Some of the babies wear plastic shopping bags instead of cothing. My friend Robin bought some of them several steamed buns at a bus stop this week, and the kids were so scrawny and hungry and grateful. Robin and I immediately had some tears on our faces. The children here are particularly beautiful. They have pretty eyes, big grins with teeth that are still white. If I already had a family, I would be talking seriously about finding a Cambodian kid to bring home.

Vietnam tomorrow morning if I feel good enough for nine hours on the bus. Starting in Saigon. Things are getting wrapped up quickly for me and Asia. Flying out of Hong Kong to Frankfurt on Oct. 18.

Angkor: Here, it's a temple and a beer

2005-09-27T02:40:00.000-07:00

Hello from Cambodia! We arrived last night after a 12-hour journey from Bangkok. Pretty knackered after our transit, but not so tired I couldn't try a cocktail called, of course, a Tomb Raider. Vodka, Cointreau and tonic with a lime. Quite revitalizing.

We started our first of three days today at Angkor Wat, the largest religious building in the world. One of my favorite things about traveling are the superlatives I get to experience: the biggest this, the tallest that, and that one oldest other thing.

The main temple, Angkor Wat, looks surreal to me. We spent about 2.5 hours there, and that was just walking through the place at a decent pace. One could easily spend an entire day in just this one temple. Bazillions of photo ops. I am so tired right now, it's hard to think of a creative way to describe it. It's vast, it's super old and it's really neat to be in it.

Next we headed to Angkor Thom just down the road. We went into several temples there, including the Bayon, which to me was almost more interesting than the first temple because it's more crumbly and has the eerie stone faces that watch you in every dark corner of the temple. We have plans to visit more of the sites at sunset on Wednesday and sunrise on Thursday.

Cambodia is way more Third World than Thailand from the instant you cross the border. More rural, more dirty and dusty. More desperate? In that sense, it feels a little more adventurous to be here than the other places I have traveled, but there are plenty of tourists around for sure. We chose to charter a car to get us from Poipet at the border into Siem Reap, the boomtown next to Angkor Wat. It took five hours rambling over the bumpiest road I have ridden on in my life. Spokane's potholes will never bother me again. I did a lot of thinking on the drive about the horrors these people here have seen even in my lifetime. Once again, it makes me grateful for where I come from.

The people here are more aggresive than any other place I have been with their urgency for us to buy something from them, but I think that's because they have to be. Still, I refuse to pay $1 for a can of Diet Coke when regular Coke is only 50 cents here.

Ten weeks into my trip, I have noticed it is very easy for me to ignore the children who follow us around trying to sell postcards and water. Ignoring them doesn't help them but it doesn't hurt them. It's neutral. I like to think I am a generally compassionate person, but I feel cynical compared with my traveling partners. I don't believe any of these people are interested in talking with us when they ask where we are from and what are our jobs; they just want a bit of the money in my pocket.

I am obviously not fresh to the road anymore. When I get back on my feet at home, I will have to do something to be of service in some way to people who don't have what I do. My life is comfortable in relation to families who have to take a bath in the river and live in one room their entire lives. Time will tell if I walk my talk.

In one month from today, I will step off a train in Germany and gather my niece and nephew into silly hugs and kisses, one of the things I have missed the most being away from them. I will shiver -- finally cold! -- and ask to borrow a coat from my brother-in-law while Becky laughs at my 1,247 new freckles.

My last night in Thailand

2005-09-25T02:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning, I bid adieu to Thailand. It has certainly been a month I will never forget. I am back in Bangkok and have met up with a woman from Seattle who is traveling into Cambodia with me. We meet one other lady at the bus station tomorrow, and I just have to say I am so grateful to have some traveling partners at least for now.

Today we went to the Chatuchak Weekend Market here in Bangkok. If you can think of it, you can buy it there. The steaming and crowded maze of stalls holds everything for sale from old airline magazines to teensy turtles to Santa Claus figurines. Strange to see Santa among all the Buddhas for sale, but it sparked a bit of conversation on how both fellas have some things in common if you think about it.

Back on Khao San road tonight; we are staying just around the corner. It's so fun to drink beers at one of the zillions of cafe tables and watch the humanity walk by. Some of the best entertainment on the entire trip is contained on one short street.

The coming week holds some good things in store: seeing a new country, Angkor Wat, Phnom Penh. I expect the sanitary conditions and everything else to take a decline as soon as we leave Thailand, so I am getting mentally prepared.

See you in a few more days.

Thailand trip is coming to a close

2005-09-21T21:50:00.001-07:00

Hi all - Still reporting from Chiang Mai for two more days. I went gift shopping yesterday so I have some items to send home to my family. I was told about a market near the airport that offers higher quality wares than one can find in the usual markets. I picked up a few nice things, but the best part of the shopping trip is that several of the booths in the market are staffed by "ladyboys." You can barely tell some of them are men: perfect makeup, nice clothes, beautiful hair. Until they start bargaining with you. Then they're all man about it while they refresh their lip gloss.

My group went out to a few bars last night. Included a couple of British guys who are so young that it's difficult for me not to call them Harry Potter. One of them claims to have played rugby against Prince William at "uni." I tried to play it off like that wasn't very exciting to me, but it didn't work. Anything about Prince William is exciting! The bars are packed to the rafters with Western men and their young Asian hookers. Very interesting to watch how it all works. Then we tried to go dancing, but the area of town we wanted is flooded right now.

Train back to Bangkok on Friday night, then heading into Cambodia early next week. And my Vietnam visa is due in my hand tomorrow morning. I can't believe I've been in Asia going on 10 weeks, although it feels like much longer since I've been home. I only have about another four weeks here until I have to get myself to Germany to see Becky, Justin and their kids. I want to get there by Halloween so I can dress up my nephew as a witch. I think that would be cuter than Spiderman but his parents might not let me.

Thailand trip is coming to a close

2005-09-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

A spoonful of ... curry paste!

2005-09-17T03:28:00.000-07:00

Hello after a week of nothing much to say. I am in Chiang Mai until next week and glad to be. This is a good base from which to do all kinds of activities: bike tours, visiting hill tribes, markets, etc.

Yesterday I went on a tour of some caves and temples and the hill tribes. We "visited" the Karen tribe way up by the Myanmar border. We could even see Myanmar from where we stopped. The Karens, as you may know, are the tribe of the "Long Neck" women who wear the bronze coils around their necks and knees because it is considered beautiful. Nothing beautiful about it, I declare. They looked only tired and sad to me. Seeing them just made me mad mostly. They were selling photos of how they look when the coils are removed, with bruises and sores around their shoulders. (And puhleaze don't tell me it's OK because that's their culture and they don't know from anything else.) Worst of all were the two teenage tourists posing for photos for their mom and dad, laughing with their hands wrapped around the women's coils, as in a choking fashion. Unbelievable. But yes, I know I contributed in some way by going on the tour. I don't know what the answer is, not experiencing these cultures at all? Or paying to go and see them and at least get educated and think about their lives?

Today was definitely in my top five for the whole trip. I went to Thai cooking school and donned my blue apron with a fun and friendly group of travelers. I learned to cook about eight dishes, including green curry and spring rolls. Got lots of information on some of the strange plants I have seen in the markets. I have hopes to try the recipes again as soon as I am home with my new cookbook. It was good to cut vegetables and stir pots after two months of other people cooking for me.

Easy to make friends here, which is always good. This evening I am going to the night market and a spa for a Thai massage. Enjoy your Saturday night back at home ...

A day spent contemplating war

2005-09-11T02:37:00.000-07:00

Checking in from Kanchanaburi in southwest/central Thailand. This has been a worthwhile city to visit on my way up to Chiang Mai. This small town is the site of the famous bridge over River Kwai from WWII. I went to three museums today related to the POW experience during that time. Walked over the bridge and back. One of the museums was excellent -- educational and well designed -- and sits adjacent to the Allied Cemetery which I walked through afterward. At another museum, I read through a guest book signed with hundreds of messages that tourists have left in the last few months. Dozens of spiteful opinions of America have been recorded. Coincidentally, it is September 11 today.

On my ride to the hotel here, the hotel guy sitting on the truck with me pointed out several of Kanchanaburi's tourist sites. As we passed the cemetery, I asked him if any Americans were buried there. A reasonable question from someone who isn't exactly a WWII buff, I thought. He replied that no Americans were buried there and then added that America did only two things in WWII: blow up the bridge here and bomb Japan. I replied to him that I definitely recall significantly more US involvement than that. He shook his head and said, "America didn't do anything in that war."

Bangkok was just OK. Funny how the places I am most excited to see don't turn out to be what I expect and then the opposite (I may have said this here before). I went to the National Museum and visited a mansion that one of the king's had built 100 years or so ago. It is made from teak, and you should see it. The most beautiful floors I have ever seen on a lush piece of land that must have once been very idyllic. Only 30 of the 72 rooms are open for viewing and every room had something opulent in it, such as a Steinway or copper toilet. I would like to have lived in the house for a week as a Thai princess.

Visited Khao San Road. I'm a long way from being 20 and stoned, so it didn't hold a lot of interest for me, although I am glad I saw it. Many dreadlocked (and stinky) Caucasian people walking around trying to be hippies. Since when does being granola mean you can't get cozy with a bar of soap every other day? And the dreadlocks? Never should be seen on white people in any case ever. The road is full of bars, guesthouses and tables selling the usual stuff like hemp bags, Bob Marley stickers and pot-leaf patches. That's about it.

On the other hand, I was delighted to see Wat Pho (temple) with the world's largest reclining Buddha. A total jaw dropper. A massive wall of gold towering overhead, and that's for a Buddha who is on his side. Then he stretches for meters and meters to the other end of the temple. The best Buddha so far.

I was dying for a steak and salad the other night and found a Sizzler hidden on the seventh floor of a shopping mall. I figured it was a decent place for a steak other than the fancy places that wouldn't really welcome a backpacker's budget. That was the first cold salad and the most expensive meal I have eaten since I left home. After dinner I came across this library on the same floor of the mall. It's called the Thailand Knowledge Park. It's a little library for young people that has all kinds of resources that you would usually find, but the design of the place is what caught my eye. Every foot was smartly thought out by the design team. It's done in red, black and white. It had these "booths" that are shaped like a reclining body. You slide into the space and can watch DVDs or read. On the back wall was built a honeycomb of red lucite boxes stacked about five high. Little kids climb up the boxes and can sit in their own little padded cubby and read a book. They all looked so cute in their honeycombs. You can learn more at www.tkpark.or.th. It is very hip and futuristic. So I bought a T-shirt.

Finally, photographic evidence

2005-09-05T22:28:00.000-07:00

Finding my way around Thailand is no problem at all. Really.

Well, then, I guess that'll be one plate of shrimp, please.

Broken palm on Phi Phi Don.

This proves it, I was here. Yesterday, me in Maya Bay, Ko Phi Phi. No, ha ha, I didn't go surfing but I also didn't get sunburned.

Some of you have enquired about the most recent experiments I have performed for my scientific study to determine Southeast Asia's finest spring rolls. But, as some of you may know, I am in the painful process of losing half my body weight. Eating the lovely deep-fried treats was not OK. Lucky for me, representatives from the palace have contacted me and asked me to take on a different study, that of the kingdom's delicious tom yum goong soup (TYG). Tom yum is delicious, full of vegetables, lemongrass, shrimp and delightful herbs and spices I do not know enough of to name. And quite food-plan friendly. My results so far are centered in Krabi Town, the only place I have eaten here so far. But I suspect Bangkok's tom yum is soon to be in strong competition. Thailand's restaurants with the best TYG so far:

1. Eighty-Nine, Krabi Town
2. Chan Cha Lay, Krabi
3. Chok Dee, Krabi

See see Phi Phi

2005-09-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

My patience paid off today, and I got to go on the island tour that I thought I had lined up last week. Headed to Ko Phi Phi to see the place where the tsunami hit Thailand and to visit several bays there, including Maya Bay, where "The Beach" was filmed.

The tourist village on Phi Phi is smaller than I expected and I wonder how big it was nine months ago. Everything is freshly built: lots of shiny wood, fresh paint and bricks and bright chairs and umbrellas that aren't sunbleached yet. Many construction guys pushing carts and working. The palm trees seeme scant, and a few of them are bare -- nothing at the top -- or the leaves and branches are smashed; that was the only damage I could pick out on my own. Lots of people were in the restaurants and shops, but I don't know how that compares with the usual low season. Some of the shops had names like "Tsunami Shop" or "Survivor Store." Our tour guide said 2,000 people died in that bay during the tsunami. Looking around at it, the strip of land is so thin that there was nowhere I could see where anyone could have run to. I can only image that horror. I plan to do more reading now about what happened and would like to see more photos. It's even more interesting now that I have seen it with my eyes.

Later we boated over to Maya Bay, and when the boat turned the corner into it, everyone of us was amazed. It is a perfectly dreamy paradise. Pure turquiose water with nothing but white sand underneath, huge straight cliffs hugging the bay, and no sign of humanity other than one plastic chair on the small beach. The tour guide said to us, "So ugly now after tsunami." That's crazy talk, but if that's what a local thinks, then I would like to have seen the bay before the waves. It looks exactly like what you would fantasize a deserted island would look like. Like a movie, I guess! We swam and took photos and didn't want to leave. It was agreed that seeing that bay was the best part of the day.

I have completed reading two pages of "Wuthering Heights." Not a real page-turner so far, so I reread "Circle of Friends" for the millionth time yesterday. Really, I think I have read it close to a million times. Makes me want to go to Ireland, wear wool and work in a pub. Maybe later this fall.

Bus to Bangkok tomorrow night!

Monk-ey business

2005-09-02T21:32:00.000-07:00

I visited the Tiger Cave Temple yesterday near Krabi, the town in which I am staying this week. I saw my first big golden Buddha statues there. The cave has a temple built in front of it and inside it. You can go inside the cave temple. It's pretty big, maybe the size of a conference hall at a hotel. Dozens and dozens of golden Buddhas of all sizes sit in the curve of the cave. Lots of saffron-colored candles burn and several monks sit praying. It all combines to light the cave in peaceful orange golden light. It was one of those "wow" moments I have been having.

Near the temples, there is a flight of about 1,200 concrete stairs that leads to a mountaintop temple I didn't earn the right to see. I tried climbing to the top, but I only got to step #469. Heart slamming, sweat running off my nose and fingertips. It was as far as I could go and climbed back down. Some fit guys in my group made it all the way, and they shared their photos from the top.

Some monks were wandering around the temple grounds. One of them approached me and asked me the usual information. He asked me so many questions that I couldn't ask him my questions before my bus left. It was delightful. I wish I had a photo of that but will have to keep it in memory: me in my Adidas and big sunglasses talking with a monk who was wrapped up in yards of orange fabric and stirring a cup of Nestle instant coffee while I explained the difference between Austria and Australia. I guessed he was about 19 to 22 years old, as calm as could be, carrying a pink shoulder bag (not like a patent-leather purse or anything, more like a fabric satchel). He said his "job" is teaching a certain type of meditation in a secondary school. I wish we would have had monk-taught courses in high school instead of how to balance a checkbook.

I am of the opinion that it's completely obvious that when you visit a temple you are supposed to dress modestly and take off your shoes. Shoulders covered and pants down to the ankles. But of course, there are women who show up in bikini tops and Paris Hilton jean skirts wearing their flip flops inside the temple. I wonder how offensive it is for the monks and nuns to see all that skin in such a holy place? I don't understand why some of the tourists don't know better or at least throw on some shorts and a sarong over their arms. I doubt they would attend church back at home like that ...

If you like, inside the temple, you can look over a stack of clear plastic boxes and buy one to offer the monks. I watched a girl purchase one and take it to the monks praying in the cave. She quickly talked with them, then they prayed together. The boxes hold things like toilet paper, soap and toothpase.

Laying low for a couple of days. I had my first bout of food poisoning two nights ago and am getting my energy back. It was bound to happen, and that's all I'll say about it.

Something fishy happened today

2005-09-01T04:15:00.000-07:00

Just washed the saltwater off from my four-island tour of the area around Krabi Town. I had a miscommunication with the tour booker and ended up not on the islands I thought I was going to see. But no problem. I thought I was going to Ko Phi Phi, so I will do that on Saturday and be sure I get the correct tour. Am quite interested to see the tsunami area and, admittedly, the island from "The Beach" movie. Gotta see it while I have the chance.

This region would be the perfect place to bring your lover because it's paradise. (I will try to find one for myself!) Beautiful beaches and amazing cliffs, great food, cute hotels, friendly people. I recommend it to any of you other lovers out there who want something different than Hawaii or a cruise.

Today I went snorkeling for the first time. Easy peasy once you get used to being able to breathe under water. The first time I floated into a school of fishes, I was so astonished that they were all around me that I ran away. But then I got more brave and let them swirl around me. Lots of fish kisses on my legs. Maybe they like Coppertone?

Speaking of Coppertone, I don't know what to do about the sun. I put on so much sunblock and I am still fried from today. The rays are so intense here. It's a dilemma. I can't wear pants and a t-shirt in the water, and I'm not not going to do to the beachy things here. I have a rasher from Bali that's SPF 50, but it's miserable to wear it because it's so hot. I might have to put it back on and deal with it.

Ate my first Thai food in Thailand last night. Perfect! I have waited years and years for that meal. I am delighted to finally be here actually in this country. I know I will see and do some great things in the next weeks.

People here are super smiley and friendly. If you pass someone with a toddler or baby, the adult picks him/her up and waves its little hand at you. Many of the people I pass ask me where I'm from. I say "America" and they inevitably start yelling, "USA, USA, USA!" Kind of makes me feel like an Olympian. If I were an Olympian, my event would be playing Uno. Definitely gold medal material, I am.

Personal note to Carmell: No joke, there is a breadfruit shrub/tree next to my hotel patio. I can't smell them at all (because they're still on the branches?), but I've had many unfortuante olfactory encounters with them since you left. Disgusting.

Guys, I will try to get some photos posted to visually enhance these entries. My card reader got broken, my memory card isn't full yet and it takes a really long time to transfer the photos. Patience ...

For the record, nobody here is crabby

2005-08-31T04:17:00.000-07:00

Oy, I just finished traveling 19 hours to get to Krabi, Thailand. It's on the Andaman Coast kind of east of Phuket. Not sure if the tsunami hit here, so I will ask tomorrow. A serious change of pace from KL.

I was sorry to leave Kuala Lumpur. Had a good time there with the group I found. I told everyone at home before I left that I was going to meet a real surfer from Australia or Hawaii, and I can now cross that off my list. A nice boy from Hawaii spent yesterday traipsing around the city with me in search of more Indian food and postcards. It was fun to be with an American for a couple of days, too. No accent barriers and no second-hand smoke. Tried to get an invite to stop and visit when I head home, but he won't be there then because he's surfing one spot in Sumatra for the next three months. I gotta find something I can get that passionate about. Maybe just surfers in general, huh?

In Krabi, I have the best room yet of the trip. It's all colors of blue with a huge, real mattress, gauzy curtains and not a speck of dirt. I think I will stay here a few nights. I signed up for a snorkeling tour tomorrow of Ko Phi Phi. No, I haven't ever snorkled but am ready to try. Lots of people I have met are divers, but I think I am too claustraphobic for that (and poor). Other things I plan do this week are a cooking course, elephant trek and canoe trek. And the book I have chosen at the moment is "Wuthering Heights," so that's going to take some time to lumber through.

Here's something I keep noticing: The same Garfield duffle bag is following me around Southeast Asia. No matter where you go, all the crap for sale in the markets is the same. Same fake LVs, same fake Chanel sunglasses and this same little Garfield duffle bag. A whole bunch of the local people are carrying the Garfield duffle. I see it in the 7-Eleven, on the train, walking to work. It's kind of funny to me. Might have to get one.

Going north

2005-08-30T00:21:00.000-07:00

Going to Thailand tonight on the train; heading to a place called Krabi first. I may have even spelled that wrong. I've been happily occupied in KL the last few days so I will catch up on my Thailand reading on the train tonight.

Went out for some nightlife this weekend. Me, a Brit named Gabby, a 20-year-old Irishman and a 6' Swedish girl. We were very tall. The Irish guy kept tellng me I was a genuine American. Not sure what he meant? We found a bar that offered nonstop free cocktails to women, so that was our club of choice for the evening. Nothing that interesting happened but is was fun to be out at night for once. Then last night, a couple of other guys joined our group and we went to a hookah bar near our hostel. No hookah for us, just Tiger Beer.

I read in one of my guidebooks that at night when the malls close, the teens come out and have breakdance comps on the sidewalks. I was dying to find one to watch, but no luck.

Tried to go back up in the Petronas Towers this afternoon, no tickets left.

I have been walking miles and miles everyday which is a great balance to the yummy food I keep finding. But sometimes a steaming plate of noodles doesn't sound good when you're steaming yourself. So, lots of water. I'm talking about water now, so I'll say goodbye till something more interesting happens.

Reporting from the Malaysian jungle, this is Amy

2005-08-28T01:38:00.000-07:00

Returned to KL this afternoon from my jungle adventure. No major animal sightings such as a leopard; far too many humans around for them to get close. But I saw several snakes, deer and huge jungle bugs. The grasshoppers here make the little ones in Eastern Washington look like a one-bite snack.

One of the best parts of this weekend was traipsing along the "Canopy Walk" in the park. It takes about 30 minutes to walk from one end to the other, and once you're up there you aren't allowed to turn back. It was wobbly good fun.

Most interesting was visiting a Bateq tribal village that's currently camped near the tourist area of the park (because they're paid to, let's remember). Our guide took our boat to their village, and we saw how to make poison darts, shoot them through the blow pipe and start a fire with bamboo shavings. We were allowed to go inside their huts and take photos of the people, but I felt much too intrusive just peering into the huts so instead took a couple of photos out on the grounds. It hit me how different my life is from theirs and I asked my guide some questions. The answers: They never leave the part of the jungle around which they make their camp. They don't ever go into the town that's closest to the park. They don't see newspapers or magazines. Nobody ever leaves the tribe to enter the other part of the world for good. Some of the tourists bring them chocolate or clothing, but those are about the only non-jungle items they have. And once a month, the government sends boats of rice, tarps and medicine down the river for them. I thought about all this for a long time. What if living in the jungle was all you ever knew?

One of the tribal men was wearing a digital watch. Couldn't get close enough to see if it showed the correct day/time. I had to wonder what need he would have for a watch, but maybe it was a trinket from a tourist or guide. I was just waiting for another one to walk by with an iPod clipped to his sarong.

I am officially the filthiest I have ever been as of today, so getting cleaned up is first on my list now that I'm back to civlization. One of the main challenges of backpacking is trying to get yourself clean at the very same time you have something to wear that's clean. They rarely coincide, but I left a clean outfit at the hostel here. Full cleanliness will happen today.

Talked with Mom and Dad briefly this morning, which narrowed the space between me and all of you for about 15 minutes. It was the last couple of hours of Mom's birthday in Spokane. They had just been to Luna for dinner and wine. My birthday dinner was a glass of Tang and a fried river fish. Head and all. Yum.

Jungle time

2005-08-26T03:43:00.000-07:00

Now, how many gals can say they spent their birthday floating in a wooden boat down a Malaysian jungle river? I can!

So glad to report that the last week has pretty much convinced me I am back on track.

Left KL today on a bus and landed smack in the middle of Malaysia in a town called Jerantut. I hopped on a long, wooden boat with a bunch of other backpackers and three hours later I am in the middle of the jungle.

The river water looks like a latte. And the trees and plants, oh my gosh. Mother Nature saved her best green velvet and unfurled it all here. You can see smoke rising in the trees from what I like to think are the campfires in the jungle villages. My tour this weekend includes a night 'safari' walk, a visit to a hide (still not sure what a hide is), the jungle trek, crossing an elevated rope bridge and some other stuff on which I'll report.

I had a nice chat with a handsome but married Frenchman on the boat who filled me in on where to go in Vietnam if I last that long in this humidity. He also said the Italy idea was pretty good, too. I didn't ask why he's been traveling alone for nine months without his wife. Maybe the ring is a fake to ward off girls like me.

Also met my first Americans today. Two boys from Denver heard me talking in a restaurant and headed over for some travel chat. They lamented that their mother didn't allow them to bring their portable DVD players on the trip. I assured them it was for the better.

Hed goes here hed goes here

2005-08-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

I went to the tallest building in the world today, the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. You may have seen photos of it; it's the one with the two silver towers and the horizontal viewing deck connecting the two in the middle. I didn't get to go up there because they only allow 1400 people per day to the viewing deck. If you're not there first thing in the morning, you're out of luck. The towers look evil to me; all of the Islamic-designed buildings do, and they're all over the place here.

KL has a pretty good vibe. It's retail heaven, even more than Jakarta. Fairly expensive, but it is a big city, of course. I rigged myself up with a different daypack, so I got the retail therapy I needed and purchased a necessary item.

My hostel room has air conditioning, air conditioning!

Tomorrow morning I am off on a three-day jungle trek. This is one of the big deal things I have on my trip list. You never know what you're getting into with these tour dealies, but it's worth a try and a good price. They ask you to bring a supply of things like toothpaste and matches to get the leeches off your skin. Oh, my god.

Because of where I'm at, very many of the women here are covered in black gowns and veils. Just their heavily made-up eyes peek out of two little holes. And I'm thinking that although I understand it's part of the religious culture here, it must be awful to be in two layers, the top one black, in this sunshine, heat and humidity. They must get used to it? Of course their husbands are happily walking next to them in shorts and Ts. Hmmmmmmmm, something's not quite right there.

I'm getting stared at again here, but now they're calling me beautiful and lovely when I walk by instead of angrily yelling at me. If they think I'm beautiful now, they should catch me after a shower and some lip gloss. I catch myself in the mirror a couple of times a day, and I would call my look "backpacker horrid."

See you when I return from the real jungle. My niece has asked me to please bring her a monkey, so I think this trek is my chance to adopt one.

On to another country

2005-08-23T03:40:00.000-07:00

Wrapped up seeing Singapore this afternoon. Tonight I am catching up on e-mails and getting organized again. I liked it here; it's been a good break from the dirtiness of Java, although the hostel and I am pretty grungy. Singapore is nicely thought out. It's simple as pie to get around town, it's sparkling clean and 100 percent of the people I have encountered have been friendly. It's also much too expensive to stay even another day, so I am headed to Kuala Lumpur on the bus tomorrow morning.

The food here has been the best so far. I am completely inspired to start cooking more creatively as soon as I get home. There's no reason to eat all that processed stuff we have in America after I have seen how quickly these fresh foods can be turned into a satisfying meal.

Not sure how I'm feeling about my trip plans at the moment. I am trying to give myself a few days to get out of my head and not think about it.

I spent the day with two British women who were on a bit of a shopping spree because they're flying home tomorrow. I learned some new words: knackered (exhausted. And I am knackered at the moment), nicked (stolen) and "sod it," which I think means something like dammit or forget about it . They got to talking about how much they all despise Bush in England. I quickly clarified that I didn't vote for him, and they said that's what every American says. Then we got on the subject of mullets, and that was much more fun. But there's not a long stretch from Bush to mullets, is there? I think they thought I am hard of hearing because I kept asking them to repeat themselves with the accent difference. But it was lovely to listen to all these Brits for the last five days.

Still no Americans wherever I go. Not that I'm in need of finding any, but I am surprised I haven't seen any. Except for "America via Lombock," right, Carmell?

The hostel is exactly like high school. The hot girls all sit in a pile and throw crumpled paper at the cute guys, the nerds gather in a circle to talk about where to go buy electronics and the rest of us wonder how the hot girls can possibly have actual hairstyles and outfits put together. They have earrings and belts and everything. Where does their bug spray go if they're carrying around handbags?

Happy birthday to Carmell today!

Today was zoorific

2005-08-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone. Went to the Singapore Zoo today. It was so good I was tempted to buy a $39 T-shirt so I can advertise for them. I'm usually animal-neutral, but this place knocked my socks off. Took tons of photos. My card reader got squished in my backpack, thus no photos posted until I can find a cafe with a reader I can use.

Going to bed now. Wonder who I'll sleep next to this evening. You guys are just getting to work now on Monday morning.

All the Isuzu Troopers on the roads here for some reason all have a bumper sticker in the window that shows 'Total Assy' -- I think that's funny every time I see it.

I'm getting sick, I can tell. It's from that Indonsian woman who let all the people into my cabin on the ship and coughed on me for 28 hours straight. I hope she's sunbathing with loud headphones on when the next tsunami rolls in.

Seeing Singapore

2005-08-21T06:09:00.000-07:00

A day does make a difference. I slept for 14 hours last night and woke up ready to make the most of Singapore. I made friends with the man I slept next to at the hostel. They put more than 25 people in one room, so I found myself in between two men. That was certainly a first. Anyway, one of my bunkmates and I found our way to an island just next to Singapore called Sentosa. We saw an herb garden, the bird show and took the gondola to get there and back. The gondola isn't like in Spokane where it's a few feet off the ground; this one was way up in the sky, pretty fun.

Tonight, I went on a walking tour of Little India, the neighborhood in which my hostel is located. I made new a few friends in just a few hours, and now I have people to spend the rest of my time here with and a gal who I am meeting in KL next week who is also interested in traveling into Thailand.

So today was much better, more like it should be. It's been great to talk with people all day long and not feel a bit sorry for myself. I have hopes the rest of the week here will be as fun.

OK, then, how do you say hello in Italian?

2005-08-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

I am here in Singapore and glad to be. I wasn't at all sad to see Indonesia get smaller and smaller as the ship churned away from Java.

I've had a few crappy days, guys.

Someone has drained my travel Visa card and left me with 35 cents. I think it's someone from the hotel in Jakarta. I'm not worried because the funds are secured by Visa, but it's a hassle to figure this out. I have another cash fund so everything is OK moneywise. It's just lousy that it happened.

Everywhere I have gone for days and days in Indonesia I have been followed, harassed, yelled at, pestered, touched and laughed at by the locals. It is constant. Sometimes they think I am funny, other times it's like they are mad at me, and that's a little creepy. At the mall, on the sidewalk, all the time wherever I go. I am certain this is because I am a woman who is alone. I have tried to be friendly and tell them no thank you. I tried to be a big bitch and tell them to go away in Indonesian, but neither response works.

(For example, I am sitting inside a booth inside an Internet cafe right now, and a man just came in to interrupt me and ask me to buy a phone card. He's not talking to anyone else in here; he just wants to get some money from me.)

I spent the last two days and one night on a ship from Java to Singapore. I was in a cabin with three Indoneisan women. The first evening, they started letting men INTO THE CABIN. These men would pull back the curtains on my bunk and they would look at me trying to sleep. They pretended to read my books, stuck their little feet in my big shoes, poked me awake, tried to talk with me. Then people would start knocking on the cabin window. The women in my cabin would pull back those curtains and my bunk curtain so the people standing outside the window could see me. I pulled the curtains closed, told them to stop in Indonesian, go to sleep. They just laughed and laughed. I went to the ship's security office to ask them what to do about it, and the man there explained that because I was traveling alone that I had to expect some attention. Apparently, strange men entering my cabin and touching me falls under that attention category.

Singapore is a new country, a fresh start; my hostel is jammed with backpackers and I am going to make some new friends. But I will tell you this: If the same thing keeps happening on the way to Bangkok, I am jetting to Italy for two weeks then flying home and looking for a job.

Some of you who are travel-experienced will pat my hand and tell me that this is part of traveling, that I will get used to it, when in Rome and all that. But gosh, I just don't have to spend the next 12 weeks getting harassed by stinky little people, do I? I can go to Italy, drink really good coffee and smile at beautiful Italian men.

Sorry for the negative report. I am going to try and get this trip back on track this week.

Slinging to Singapore

2005-08-18T04:52:00.000-07:00

Crossing the border Saturday into Singapore. I will take a 24-hour boat trip from Java up to Palau Batam, then a quick ferry to Singapore. I have "met" a NY woman on the travel boards who will be in the city when I am, so I will have a travel friend after 11 days of being alone. Looking forward to some English!

I have spent most of my time in Jakarta in traffic, to tell the truth. The buses are super crowded and probably not real smart way for a gal to get around, so I have opted for cabs the last couple of days. Had a minor problem chasing down my ticket to Singapore, but everything is ready to go now. Lots of driving around getting to the correct ticket agent.

The last three days have been the hottest yet for this trip. Might be all the tall buildings, concrete and cars here generating a higher temperature. No appetite to eat anything hot, so I have been drinking cans of this soda called "Pocari Sweat." It's kind of like Gatorade and doesn't taste sweaty at all.

Hey, I got asked on a date by an Indonesian man yesterday. I laughed and then felt bad because I thought he was joking, but he wasn't. I had been people-watching on a bench and we started chatting. He was clean and didn't try to sell me a tour so I was glad for the conversation. Unfortunately, I will be in another country by the time he gets a day off next week, but it was real nice of him to ask.

Tried to go to Indonesia's national museum today. On the walk over there, I was stopped by a policeman and asked to stand still while the president's motorcade passed. Pretty cool to run into the ol' president while I am here. I waved at his extra-fancy Mercedes. I was pleased with that turn of events until I reached the museum on the next block. Apparently the prez had some kind of engagement at the museum and it was closed to the public for the day. I asked if they might make an exception for a grimy backpacker from Canada, but I was told to leave. The president' security dudes wear spats! That didn't enhance their toughness at all. I fantasized that they would rip off their arm bands and break into a production number of "Puttin' on the Ritz" by Taco, but it didn't happen. I miss the Eighties every day of my life.

Here are some funny names of stores I have passed:
1. Camel Active (for the shepherd who likes to stay fit)
2. Women's Secret (will somebody please tell me? I was never told.)
3. Gosh. That's it. Just Gosh.
4. Haleluya. This was a Christian book store, no joke.
5. Bread Talk. Come in here, honey. Take a slice and let's get talking!

A lot of the people on motorbikes wear bandanas around their mouths and noses because of all the exhaust. It's like traveling among a huge pack of motorbike bandits.

So that's what being clean feels like

2005-08-16T02:54:00.000-07:00

In the past weeks, Carmell and I talked about this travel concept that you have to "say yes to everything." I had one of those good experiences yesterday: A man working in the post office -- who explains to people like me that Indonesians DO NOT lick their stamps but rather use the wet sponge -- proceeded to lead me outside onto the sidewalk and negotiated with a becak driver to take me somewhere he is very excited about. I said "yes!" and climed on the becak (a bicycle with a carriage on it) and figured I would hop off if things felt fishy. My 10-cent ride landed me down a little street and into a batik factory, yay! I got a tour of the batik process and bought myself a small piece to take home. This was the real deal, not the printed stuff that is sold in most of the batik shops. It's probably my first piece of actual art.

Got to Jakarta at 5 a.m. today. The train played Michael Jackson videos on the way. The train cars smelled like the old Gung Ho restaurant in Spokane, a special mix of fried rice and cigarette smoke. In the middle of the ride, at about 2 a.m., we stopped somewhere on the line to pick up more people. While stopped, these food sellers climb aboard and start hollering "nasi goreng!" (fried rice) and wake up absolutely everyone. Who the hell wants nasi goreng at 2 in the morning?

It would have been plain stupid to wander around the hostel neighborhood alone in the dark, so this was one of those times when I got to opt for a real hotel ($49). Don't think I was bummed about that! I spent 10 luxurious hours surrounded by clean sheets and the Style Network. Had a real bath with hot water and got reorganized to head back to backpacker's reality. The hotel's complimentary breakfast buffet would have impressed Martha Stewart. I ate enough so I wouldn't have to buy another meal today, helping to offset the cost of the room.

Next, found a passable hostel and bargained the owner down to $5 a night. I'm getting better at negotiating. My room for the week is the opposite of last night: I think it might actually have been a chicken coop at one time. But it's seemingly secure. It's interesting, when shopping for a backpacker's hotel room, how your instinct will tell you it's OK or that you should turn around and leave. The difference between what $3 and $8 can get you is huge.

Tomorrow is Indonesia's Independence Day, so I will get to see some parades and other good things at the festival.

Not many tourist in my neighborhood but I don't seem to be the afternoon's entertainment here. Seems like the concept of using deoderant has reached the people of Jakarta, a relief after the last three weeks. Not that I'm smelling like my Chanel lately.

I'm soooooooper lonely. Where are the other travelers?

What, no yoga in Yogya?

2005-08-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, two days of downtime before traveling again. I have gone from Kuta, Bali, over to Yogyakarta on Java. Lots to tell you about so forget about a properly short blog entry ...

Surfing school could not have been better! Three women, two men. I wasn't the weakest or the largest in the class, so I had an advantage at that even if it's pathetic. We spent an hour paddling around the pool at the Hard Rock Hotel before we went to the ocean. The only thing distracting me at the hotel "beach" was the little boy who was using his prosthetic foot as a sand toy, bless his heart and ingenuity. We then hauled our surfboards to the real deal. I have never felt cooler, my friends, than walking to the beach with a surfboard under my arm. They paired each of us up with a surfing instructor and we set out into the waves. I swear one of the men in my class was crying. Over and over, I got in trim on that board and tried my best to pop up, hunker down and surf. I actually did it about three times for two seconds each, and it felt great! The rest of the time was spent falling, slipping and laughing. I got some cool scrapes on my knees and one cut that I have hopes will turn into a scar. So glad I tried surfing. Photo to come ...

Found myself in Surabaya, Indo's second biggest city, this week. Not another white person, black person or even Japanese person in sight. I went to the huge mall to enjoy some air conditioning. People followed me around. Children hid in their mothers' skirts when they got a look at me. Men pointed and broke into gales of laughter at the sight of me. I thought I had forgotten my clothes, but no. It was just the giant white lady again. I will get used to it. I stopped for soup, and outside the restaurant window, people stopped and watched me eat. I tried to keep a sense of humor, but it was pretty weird.

Next stop was Yogya, where I am now. Met some girls (women, sorry) from Australia last night. We had some beers and swapped stories. That's what I have been waiting for, and I look forward to meeting many more folks as I go along.

Jakarta is next. It will be the largest city I visit, almost 10 million people. A little nervous about it, but caution and being aware help quite a bit. A man today tried to lead me down an empty alley to get me to the entrance of the sultan's temple. That's when I turned and walked quickly in the opposite direction.

Saw a jaguar and a lion at the zoo in Surabaya. The jaguar looked pretty bad ass. I suppose the lion did, too.

This mall in Surabaya was the largest building I have entered in my life. I can easily estimate more than 1,000 stores there. Six levels, each about as big as Northtown in Spokane (anyone remember Skagg's?). At various open spaces in the mall, stores were doing product "game shows" to sell merchandise: Clearasil, stereos, beds. Shoppers would step up onto a stage and do karaoke or dance to earn better discounts or samples. It was a sight. One store that sold bathroom fixtures had an entire bathroom in Hello Kitty. What would be cuter than taking a bubble bath in a Hello Kitty tub? Nothing! A bottle of OPI nail polish costs $14.50, but a night at a hotel is $10, figure that out.

The man on the train next to me going to Yogya talked me up for a couple of minutes before we got rolling. He then rose from his seat and addressed the rest of the passengers in the car to tell them I was a tourist named Amy from Canada.

On the train was a teen-age Japanese basketball team. They shrieked and screamed and laughed the entire eight hours. It must have been penance for my own behavior when I was 15.

See you in Jakarta!

Last couple of days on Bali

2005-08-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

Hi, Everyone! I like to think that the vacation ended yesterday and the journey begins today. Carmell is well on her way to Tokyo, then back home to the USA. I am all alone on the other side of the planet now. All by myself. Traveling solo. Not for long, though, I have hopes.

My surfing lessons are in about four hours, I am super excited. When I signed up yesterday, I was the only person on the list. If I am lucky it will end up being a private lesson and I will be shredding waves within an hour. More likely I will break my ankle tripping on the leash on the walk to the beach. But if I can just get up on the board a few times for a few seconds, I will be satisfied. I talked last night with the surfer who has the room next to mine at my inn. He told me, very seriously, to cancel my lessons today because he's afraid I'll become addicted to surfing and that it will take over my life like it did with him. I wish!

Now that I think I have figured out how to attach them, here are some photos from the last couple of weeks. (I am working on how to place them next to the text. I can't seem to get it to work.)

This is my favorite store on Bali:

If you're interested, this is the site from the Bali bombing in 2002. The big memorial is across the street; this photo is the site where the club was.

Here is one of the cute monkeys from the sacred monkey forest in Ubud:

That's probably it for a few days while I travel. I am going to work my way off Bali tomorrow or Friday and onto the island of Java. My next big destination is Jakarta; I get to take my first train ride to get there. I am so excited to get to Bangkok that I want to plow through and get up there, but I will take it easy and remember to take in everything on the way.

I am no match for these mosquitos

2005-08-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

The connection speed at this particular Internet spot is so slow, I can't stand it. I am trying to enjoy the air conditioning while being patient. Two days in Lovina is enough for me. So few tourists here that when you pass by the front of the restaurants, they implore you to come inside for a drink. Then, every man we pass by asks us if we need "transport" to the hot springs or the spa or to see the dolphins. Literally, every man we pass. So it's time to move on.

On Thursday morning, we will journey to Gili Trawangan, one of the three Gili islands off the coast of Lombok, the island east of Bali. Carmell is taking me there as my birthday present, isn't that nice? Hopefully more festive there than here. I have Carmell withme for only another week or so, then I am on my own. I can stay in Indonesia until Aug. 23, then I have to be out of here and into Malaysia.

Tonight's activity is the Monkey Dance at the local community hall. I think it's something we watch, not something we do, but I am mentally prepared to dance if asked.

I started counting my bug bites. On my arm and torso, more than 38 so I stopped counting. 18 on my face. I look like I have the pox. I am sleeping under my bug net and am coated in Cutter, but it's not enough. Oh, well.

Many of the men here smoke clove cigarettes, and now I want one. Reminds me of how things smelled from about 1985 to 1988, and makes me want to listen to The Cure.

I am reading the best book: "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri.

The banana clip is alive and well

2005-08-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

We've noticed several women whom we suspect are Aussies sporting the hair clip made popular in the '80s, the banana clip. I haven't seen anyone actually wearing a yellow banana clip, though, that would be too much for me to take. I am secretly tempted to buy one; I remember how high you can get your hair in the back. It might be just the thing to get some attention from these surfers.

We took a three-hour shuttle bus trip up to north Bali today into a teensy fishing village called Lovina. Our hotel has a pool and a grotto. I can tell what you're going to ask me next: Yes, it is a lot like the Playboy mansion except Weezer isn't playing on the lawn and our hotel manager, unlike Hef, has never ever taken a bath in his life, I know it.

No good spring rolls in three days!

Sometimes my fans get a little too close

2005-07-31T19:35:00.000-07:00

We went up into the mountains today to visit a couple of Hindu temples and another monkey forest. Took most of the day. It's so simple and misty and vegetative up there. The drive up was great, just to watch Bali pass by through the windows.

A Japanese woman came up to me at one of the temples and asked if I could "take picture." I thought she wanted me to take her photo with her camera, but no, she wanted to get in a photo with me, the white giant woman with auburn hair. It was hilarous the first time. I had Carmell take some photos of this with my camera, too. You put a teensy Japanese woman next to a sturdy woman of Scotch-Irish descent, and I suppose that's a photo op right there, forget about the sacred temple in the background. This happened a few times today, mostly from Japanese people. My tour guide told a few of them that it cost $10 to get a photo with me. One of the women said she would pay $3. I think I have found a way to go and visit expensive Japan and make a profit. I will spend the daytime posing for photos, spend the nights in the karaoke bars. (Personal note to my fair friend Kate: Creamy really is dreamy like we knew all along.)

I'll have the lumpia, please

2005-07-29T11:27:00.000-07:00

We went to the sacred monkey sanctuary yesterday up in Ubud. The drive up in the shuttle bus took about an hour or so. That wind felt mighty fine after three days of beach weather. Ubud is interesting, more subdued. Good jewelry shops, but this isn't a shopping vacation for me. Carmell has acquired some really unique pieces in the last two days.

I felt like a jerk this week when I accidentally stomped my big American Adidas shoe onto one of the offerings in a doorway, but my guilt diminished when I saw another tourist bending over on the beach and taking the flowers out of several of the offerings and placing them in his hair. They looked pretty with his electric orange tank top.

We haven't experienced any nightlife yet, but now that it's Friday, I'm hoping that will change. One of the reason we haven't "gone out" is that we're awoken each morning at about 4 by the rooster. 4 a.m. So by 8 p.m. we are wiped out.

My skin is dewy and dreamy except for that first sunburn that's now abating. The 45 SPF isn't enough for this sun. A bottle of sunblock costs $17.50. I have to be so careful with my pale self.

Haven't come across any other Americans. Met some people from Canada on the shuttle. I was thinking how we are seeing very few overweight people, then I realized that none of these tourists are from the beefy USA.

Speaking of beefy, I have begun a quality assurance study on Bali's spring rolls. If my theory is proven -- "there's no such thing as a bad spring roll in Bali" -- I will expand this study into the rest of SE Asia. Here are top spring rolls so far in Bali:
#1 Mini Restaurant, Legian
#2 Lunch place in Ubud
#3 Goysha Bar, Legian

Arrived and settled in

2005-07-26T02:05:00.000-07:00

I am not a good bargaining. We needed to get some clothing now that we're here, and I'm no good at it. My travel partner keeps getting things for half the price that I managed to get the merchant to settle on. We moved hotels today; the new one costs $1.75 each per night, if you can believe it. We have fruit trees out the back and an avocado tree out the front. It's bare bones, of course, but kind of cute. Hoping to post photos once I get that figured out. I took a walk/run on the beach this morning, and I'm still a little astonished that I'm really here. The waves are ginormous. We're going to surfing school in a few more days when the jet lag is recovered.

It smells so good here with all the incense burning in the offerings in front of just about every doorway. Surfer boys are all over the place, zillions of them. Very few Americans that I can tell. I kind of feel like I'm hiding here.

Greetings from NYC

2005-07-21T20:39:00.000-07:00

I'm in NY! I'm in NY! It's steamy here, and there's nothing to do but sweat when you're from the Pacific Northwest. Visited the new MOMA today, saw some of the SNL actors in an improv show at the park and finally found the perfect sleep sack for this journey. We met up with our friends Will and Aparna, with whom we are staying tonight. And they have air conditioning, ahhhh.

Up early tomorrow for the flight to Tokyo. Looking forward to 14 hours of first-class flyin'.

2005-05-05T12:08:00.000-07:00