Whereami

Does Bin Laden want Kerry to win the election?

Moved the "Does Bin Laden want Kerry to Win" post (and comments) to my other blog in an effort to keep this blog strickly travel (and sometimes sports) based. My bad for not putting it there in the first place.

Who knew?

But Cambodia is amazingly beautiful (also feels much safer than I previously expected). The internet connections are terrible though so I'm gonna keep this short...

Was back in Bangkok for a few hours before I left for Cambodia and I saw the strangest thing...I was walking through the same area where I tried to sell some t-shirts to the "We Buy Everything" stands and get this...THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME...to "We buy and sell some things". I swear. Pictures to prove it in a few days (do you think they read my blog??).

I got an email from myself today. A while ago I visited FutureMe.org (original post here). Here it is:

(this message was composed on Thu, Apr 1, 2004)

Sup yo,

Did you leave Texas yet? and did you go on that trip that you and MKG were planning? if you haven't already, then you should, you still got time. how bout the ladies? don't be afraid to take some chances.

take care!

In response to myself...Yes, I left Texas. Yes, I went on the trip (sans MKG). And well, I miss the Texas women.

Off to motodup around Battambang! (ps...I didn't see any speedboat options to get here like the article mentions...my ride in the slow, but fairly comfortable, boat took just over 6 hours.)

update: Other random notes:

Left hand turns at 4 way intersections here are chaos...I only made 3 the whole day.

Despite all of our problems with the war in Iraq, etc...US military clothing is somewhat of a fashion statement abroad. Anything that's in camouflage or has ARMY or NAVY on it seems to be pretty trendy. Stange, huh?

Getting anything to drink besides a Coke or a water here is almost impossible. A few times I've pointed directly to some foreign fruit drink and the people simply refuse to give it to me...they just bring me a Coke instead.

When I was much younger (say 13-14) there used to be this show on TV called "World Games" or something like that. On the show they featured sports like "Buka Ball" and another one that was a cross between hacky sack and badminton. Point is, I never thought I'd see these games played live.

Lastly, in response to a girl who questioned why anyone would ever want to rent a moped (aka motodup, aka scooter, etc) in a foreign country knowing that (mom don't read this) they're the #1 killer of tourists...well besides the fact that they're fun/exciting/challenging (and that I didn't know they were the #1 killer...I would have thought it would have been some form of STD) I have this crazy belief that some day I'll be wandering along the streets of some big city (ex: Rome) and I'll come across this injured person who will be in desperate need of help and I have to get them to the hospital ASAP. The only option is to use the scooter nearby to get this person to safety. And as anyone who's been to Rome knows, traffic is crazy there...so I need to get in all the practice I can. That's why.

Based on the look she gave me I don't think she could relate.

Flick-ing around

That time of the month again...for more photos!

For those who haven't really messed around with Flickr...not only can you add a title/description/comment to each picture but there's also something called a 'tag'. Get used to tags. They're gonna be everywhere soon (actually, they kind of already are).

Although they're similar to titles/descriptions/comments, tags are more often used like a keyword or category label. Tags help you find photos which have something in common. For example, here are some of my most popular tags:

Thailand
Water
(and you can compare for yourself which you like better - Bali or Cambodia)

Or see my complete list of tags.

How are other people using tags? Check out Flickr's 150 most popular (some of the biggies: cameraphone, japan, and even bali).

If you're interested in learning more about metadata (and who isn't?!), here's a good article about the +'s and -'s of open classification systems.

Thus concludes your lesson in tags. Enjoy.

The city of angels

Turns out the full Thai name for Bangkok is the longest city name in the world...

Krungthepmahanakhon Amornrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharat Ratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphiman Awatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit

Which translates into english as ...The city of angels, the great city, the residence of the Emerald Buddha, the impregnable city (of Ayutthaya) of God Indra, the grand capital of the world endowed with nine precious gems, the happy city, abounding in an enormous Royal Palace that resembles the heavenly abode where reigns the reincarnated God, a city given by Indra and built by Vishnukarn.

Wonder what the airport code for that would be?

Stopping to smell the...sweat?

Other words that may be used interchangeably with sweat:

• exhaust fumes
• dragon fruit
• burning incense
• urine
• ???

Over the last week or so I had become a machine...I had learned to successfully ignore just about anything and/or anyone...noises in the hostel, no problem. The smell of traffic, don't notice a thing. The millions of people trying to sell me something - I wouldn't even talk to em.

But on my last night in Thailand I wanted to remember what it was like seeing Bangkok for the first time. So I slowed my stride for a bit (helped in part by the fact that my right achilles had been bugging me the whole day) and tried to take it all in.

It wasn't easy - Bangkok bombards each and every sense...it's like Buenos Aires, NYC, and Tokyo all rolled into one (and I can't believe I've been lucky enough to visit each of those cities). It's not a pretty city by any means...but there's still something about it that already makes me want to come back again.

Gotta go pick up my bags before the storage place closes. My plane leaves for Delhi in a few hours :) Unfortunately it leaves a little past 2am :(

The correct answer is "no"

If a cab driver (or anyone else) asks if this is your first time to India, regardless of what the true answer is, always answer "no". This is the advice I got on my way to the airport a few hours before I was to depart for Delhi.

When I mentioned where I was heading, the person sitting next to me laughed out loud in a way that seemed to say "you have no idea what you're in for"...and he's right. To be honest, I'm a little afraid of India (especially Delhi) right now.  I've heard it's very much a "love or hate" kind of place, and even the people that loved their visit there (of which the vast majority of people have) can, without hesitation, rattle off numerous reasons to hate it.

For the most part, people in Thailand were very friendly and trustworthy and it was rare to see someone upset (it's almost a cultural no-no, even if you ARE angry you're not supposed to show it). And basically I've heard that all that goes out the window the minute you arrive in Delhi. Shouting (and maybe shoving) are just part of the game and if you don't know exactly where you want to go (and sometimes even when you do) then you're in for trouble.

Side note: numerous times in Bangkok I'd hop in a tuk-tuk or motorbike and say 'just drive' and it was never a problem - guess that's the end of that.

So yeah, I'm sorta not looking forward to any of this right now - but at the same time so many people have said that India has been one of their favorite places to visit...anywhere - so I'm pretty uncertain as to how this part of the trip will turn out.

At least I won't have to wait long to find out!

#!$%!?!!!

That (x 10) about sums up New Delhi so far...I've only been here for a few hours and I'm completely overwhelmed.

It is ABSOLUTLEY FUCKING RIDICULOUS here. Not too long ago I was saying how Bangkok bombards the senses but compared to Delhi...I can't even put into words how crazy it is here. Maybe arriving on November 12th had something to do with it (waiting for you to come back after clicking on the link). Supposedly:

Diwali combines the festivities of the Western holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year.

Meaning...it's out of control here - and it's only the middle of the afternoon!

Oh, and one thing I forgot to add in yesterday's post was some advice about when you arrive in Delhi "don't trust anyone you meet in the first 3 days". And so far...it's dead on. It took me three different modes of transportation to get from the airport to a place that was not even close to where I requested to be taken to. The office of tourism told me to leave Delhi because I would never be able to find a hotel room. And I'm currently debating whether or not I should trust a person's advice to not go to Nepal because it's unsafe (although unfortunately I don't think I will, but it was based on further independent research).

The Festival of Lights

As this picture shows (thanks Chris) Diwali is more than just a combination of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year...it also involves a heavy dose of the 4th of July.

One of the strangest (and kind of scary) things about walking around town yesterday was that fireworks were going off everywhere. In small alleys, in the middle of the street, in crowded corners, etc...And these weren't the typical "oh look how pretty" American 4th of July fireworks, they were more of the "holy shit, are we under attack?" variety. More than once yesterday my ears were sent ringing because of a firework's size and/or proximity. At first it wasn't so bad because not that many were going off, but then later in the night each step I took came with a little hesitiation because I wasn't sure when/where the next firecracker was going to come from. No injuries to report, just a very disorienting, no escape, kind of feel to it.

Lastly, I wanted to clarify yesterday's description of Delhi as "absolutely fucking ridiculous". I meant it in both senses of the word - it was ridiculously good and bad, not just one or the other.

Ctrl-Z is not an option

What have I done??!?!

Before
After

Chris, you might need to update the Bobbleheads :) Here's a less shocked (although kinda depressed looking) version.

Also, added 4 more pictures to Flickr.

update: I'll be damned...even though I promised not too, I've been caught in ricky's footsteps again.

No escaping this

I've only been here for 4 days but I'm already losing the battle...India is kicking my ass. I'm definitely missing the comforts of home right now and it seems like I just can't escape the chaos of life in Rajasthan.

And the sad thing is that it could be much more harsh. I'm still staying at fairly nice places...i.e. they have their own bathroom (although it's been impossible to get a full nights sleep with the constant noise) the weather has been great (no AC needed) and I haven't even gotten on any long bus/train rides yet...

Should be interesting to see how the rest of this part of the trip goes.

update: interesting quote from a semester at sea friend about India: "As for whether or not I want to go back. Absolutely. Just not any time soon."

Still not quite hacking it here as the pollution (and all the other chaos) really gets to me after only a few hours. Been hiding out in internet cafes and american resturants :( Kinda wishing I had a fast forward button right now...or maybe instead a "why do people like it here" button.