38 DAYS LATER

6-5-13

I'm back in LA, back to work, back to writing, back to reorganizing my apartment, working out, running, visiting with friends.

In fact I've been back more than a week now.

Already the trip is fading.

Not permanently, (I'm not senile yet! :), but the intensity of it.

Sure, I look at the photos and peek through my journal and see all the amazing things I did and felt and saw. When I see Alicia back here in LA it's fun to reminisce and think of what we did. We're so fortunate to be able to take trips like this and see the world that is out there.

I wanted to type up a "in conclusion" of the trip. Something that sums up the observations... but it's strange how some of them are probably already lost to time. Still, I'm going to do my best to give some final thoughts on the Southeast Asia Odyssey 2013.

1.  TRAVEL is AWESOME!

If you haven't figured that out yet, I haven't done my job or expressed how I feel. :)

Pick your destination. Buy your ticket. Pack your bag and go.

Trust me, it's possible to find the time. It's possible to have the money. If I can do it, so can you.

It's a matter of prioritizing what's important. If your $5 starbucks a day gives you more joy than a couple weeks in Indonesia, then keep drinking the Starbucks. (By the way, they have those in the touristy spots over there so you won't be left out.:) But that $5/day ads up to a plane ticket very quickly. And the memories of those two weeks will likely be better than that caffeine fix... just a guess.

2. INDONESIAN thoughts

I love Indonesia. I never thought it would rank so highly in the cool places I've visited. Sure I only saw a fraction of the 17,000 islands, but I saw enough to make me love it. From the safe, yet exotic Bali to the wild west of Flores. It's my kind of place. So many things to do, beautiful places to see and wonderful people to meet. You can be as rough and tumble or safe and pampered as you'd like. The price is right, the place is paradise. Go.

3. MALAYSIA thoughts

Who knew? Malaysia is way more modern than I expected. Nice roads. Great food. Wonderful people. It consistantly surprised me at every turn. I would arrive someplace, think "hmmmm, this isn't what I was hoping for" and be 100% on board in less than a day. Every single time.

And the food! Yep, so good. Go. Eat. If you're a foodie you've gotta go there. Yum Yum.

4. And both these places are predominately Islamic.

And no I didn't feel unsafe. No there were no "terrorists" lurking at every corner. No Islam does not make one evil.

It baffles me from both sides of this stupid battle between Islam and Christianity. The religion does not make one evil, or close minded, or violent or radical. It's the people who choose to use religion as their war cry. Neither of these religions preach murder. And every time I visit these wonderful places with wonderful people who might believe something different than me I am grateful to see their faith. To see that they care so much about what they believe in.

And it was really interesting to see how each country embraced it differently. In Indonesia it seems like they don't just do the call to prayer 5 times a day over the loud speakers. They do the whole prayer! 20-30 minutes. I heard far fewer calls in Malaysia. In fact there was a heavy blending of religions there. Even though the country is official Muslim, all religions are welcome. Believe what you want.

Isn't that how it should be?

5. SINGAPORE thoughts

With only the 1 day it's hard to say I really saw Singapore. It was a great experience since I've heard so much about Singapore and how clean it is (true) and how many rules it has (also true) and how many strange laws they have (also true. No gum. No Urinating in Lifts. No this. No that). But again. Nice people. Sure it's a big city and things are moving along rapidly. But it was a fascinating mix of different cultures (Chinese, Singapore, Indian). And of course, having a friend there to show me around made it even more awesome. Friendship around the world. That's a great reason to travel too.

6. HONG KONG thoughts

Love it. New York meets Asia. Energy. Excitement. I love the weather: bring me a thunderstorm any day. The harbor is amazing. The trains rules. And Disneyland. Oh yeah. And I barely saw a fraction of it. So much more to see. I'll enjoy catching up on my Hong Kong cinema now that I've been.

7. Food.

Did I mention the food on this trip was amazing? I'm not a foodie. I don't get all googly-eyed over food. But damn, this was a tasty place to eat. So many types: Indonesian, Balinese, Lombok-ian, Malay, Indian, Chinese, Dim-Sum, Indian, Western, Indian... did I mention how good the Indian food was? :)

8.  Perspective

Every time I travel I like to get out of my comfort zone. (Leeches, here I come!).

I think it's important, I'd even say critical to my life.  And honestly for everyone's lives, to get out of our comfort zone.

It's easy for people to have their worlds shrink. Mine can. If I'm in LA to long I'll lose some of my gusto. Some of my free spirit. I think it's just part of how human beings are wired. If we aren't getting out there, seeing and doing new things, then what we will be OK tends to become less and less. I'm not saying we'll get in fights or run away in fear if something new happens. But we'll shrink away. We'll choose the comfortable path. I know I do it. I doubt I'm alone in this.

So getting out to see the world is my way of forcing myself to expand. To open up to all the amazing things the world has to offer. To interact with people that I might shy away from in normal life. Sure, there were times on this trip that I was uncomfortable. That boat ride with 25 people. The first afternoon I was not feeling it. I knew it was going to be cramped and their was no place to sit and chill... but a strange thing happened. By the 2nd, and 3rd and 4th day I was suddenly fine. It was okay to be in such close quarters with people. Sure, there were times with a bit of annoyance or need for space. But it's awesome how I could find my own space when there wasn't any. How we got comfortable being right on top of each other. Sure, by the end of it I wanted to get the heck off the boat, but now I know that I will be fine if I'm in such close quarters with people.

And the leeches. The jungle. The nasty.

It was dirty. Wet. Stinky. Awesome.

Very quickly the jungle makes you it's bitch. And being able to adapt in that environment was great. If I'd had another day I think I really would have gotten comfortable with that level of uncomfort. :) Yes, it's nice to have a perfectly climate controlled house and car and have everything clean and a shower. But its surprising how important dry feet become when that's all you can get. Just dry feet. It's good to be aware of how little I need to be happy...

That's always a great lesson I learn and relearn. When I'm backpacking I have so little with me. So few clothes, so few items. I always, on every trip, feel like I have too much stuff. When I'm packing I think "I'll need this and that and this and that", but once I've got my See Legs and am on my way, I think I could get by with half the items. And I only have a small bag to begin with. :)

Maybe travel isn't your way to find perspective. Maybe you like to cook, or draw, or play sports, or meditate, or... But listing off all those things. None of them do for me what Travel does. Not even close.

So I will urge you to try it. Push you even. Do it. Get out there. Don't be afraid. And if you are... face your fear down. Stare it in the eye and tell that fear to kiss off. Your confidence will grow. Your heart will grow. Your mind will grow. YOU will grow.

See what you're made out of. Likely you'll be surprised.

This is Craig Ouellette,

Last surviving member of the Nostromo

Signing off.

Flores.

TALES OF THE HONG KONG SIX

 May 29, 2013

Hong Kong.

Two words:  Hong Kong. Two more words: Kick ass.

I spent 3 1/2 days and Hong Kong. It's an amazing city. So full of energy and people and passion and rain and business and harbors and mountains and skyscrapers. It's like New York, Asian style. The people are great. The location is amazing. Top notch.

DAY 1:

I took the train in from the airport, past more skyscrapers than I've maybe seen anywhere but New York. Given that land is VERY expensive, they build up here. Way up. The 4th or 5th tallest building in the world is here. 118 floors tall. And there's a bar at the top (it is the Ritz Carlton after all) and the it felt like stepping out of an airplane to go out there. It's amazing. And it's located across Victoria Harbor from Hong Kong proper so you get the view of the city and mountains. It's also conveniently Feng Shui from the building across the Harbor (which Batman jumped off of in The Dark Knight) and makes a door across the harbor (or a window, I was confused which one).

When I got to my Hostel, the Yesinn Causeway Bay (which I highly recommend of you're going to HK), I met the first of the Hong Kong 6. Anne and Toby. Dutch and English. And both kick ass cool. We clicked right away, and as we all were planning on going to see the Light / Laser / Sound show that night, we headed out together. We gathered Anton (from Slovakia), AJ (England) and Kevin (Venice, California... yep). We headed out, grabbed some food (which is super cheap in HK. Go figure. I thought it would be really expensive, but it was easy to eat for US $5-7 and have a lot of tasty food.).

On our way across the harbor we stopped at 7-11 (everywhere in HK) and got beers. HK$12 for 2 big cans. That's a buck fifty US. And you can drink on the street. Hell, you can drink anywhere (almost). So in a festive mood we took the Star Ferry across the harbor. It's been running for over 100 years and gives you some amazing views of the city. People were gathered on the waterfront for the Light show. It's the largest permanent one on earth. 40 buildings have dancing lights to music. People say it's cool. But what's that? Is that lightning flashing over the city?

And is that rain starting to fall? Lots of it?

Yep. People scattered and ran below the covered promenade, but not us crazy travelers. We danced in the rain and watched the real light show. Mother Nature blasted lightning all over. Thunder rolled and boomed. The city vanished in sheets of rain. It. Was. Epic.

Me being me, I was the last one out in the rain and it was a blast to just dance and cheer every time a lightning bolt crashed. Bring it!

I got a kick ass photo which you will see below, and Anton actually got a pic of a lightning bolt!!!!!

From here we explored, hit the night market, ate, played music on my new mini-speaker, sang and laughed. It was a great combo of people who all got along. The energy was high. Fast friends were made. It was really great.

Four of us continued to the party area and danced in bars in Lan Kwai Fong and on the street to 50's and 60's music. A good night. Fun people all around. And it's a Monday.

The Hong Kong Six!

DAY 2: Big Buddha Baby.

 Anton and I headed to the Big Buddha today despite the torrential rains in the morning. They cleared up and we were able to climb the 200+ steps to the largest outdoor sitting buddha in the world. (There are a lot of specific records when it comes to Buddhas :). 

We ate at the monestary on the hilltop. It is on Lantau Island which is also home of the airport, fishing villages and Hong Kong Disneyland. Booyah! The best part is the cable car which runs to and from the mountain top. The weather was no good going, so we had to take a bus, but on the way out we were able to do the 25 minute ride. We chose the "Crystal Coach" and rode in a cable car with a clear floor! Talk about vertigo. It was super cool and really bizarre.

 

After a nap I was going to meet Anton to hit Tim Ho Wan Dim Sum. Though we didn't see any other of the Hong Kong 6, we gathered a new member, Valentina (German). Super cool gal doing her first solo backpacking trip through Thailand, HK, Shanghai and Bejing. I remember my first solo trip, also in Southeast Asia. It's where it begins for many I think.

We found the Dim Sum place. Just in time too. Order up. HOLY CRAP IT'S GOOD.

I mean. WOW. WOW. Yummy wow. It's Michelin star rated... and cost us less than US$10 for 4-5 items each.

Best bargain meal on the planet!

Valentina and the heavenly Dim Sum

We grabbed some 7-11 beers and hit Victoria park at 10pm. Sat on the playground. Danced in yet another rain storm. And talked about travel, life, meaning, destiny and more sitting under a small gazebo as the rain fell, and stopped. Fell and stopped. Over and over.

Finally we head back to the hostel and Valentina and I went to the roof. We sat under the tarp as the skies opened up with rain. The lightning blasted everywhere. I don't think I've seen that much lightning since being a kid in Texas. We were surrounded by much taller buildings my friends, so we weren't lightning rods. But man, that was a hell of a lightning storm. Some bolts must've hit the buildings next door because the blast was instant and deafening. Mother nature is giving quite the show!

DAY 3: Museums, Horse Races and more dancing

I was solo most of the day. The Hong Kong 6 is leaving in pieces. In truth we only all hung out one night, but it was epic fun. Anne is off to Nepal to trek with her mom. (That's right parents, you don't have to pass up on traveling just cause you're getting older! ;). Anton is taking off for Thailand, I think. Toby's going to Tokyo. I'm heading to the walk of fame and museums.

Yep, Hong Kong has a walk of fame just like Hollywood. It should, being the "Hollywood of the east". Stars and handprints along a promenade. A statue of Bruce Lee. The difference is, It's right on the fricking harbor with views of the city! Take that LA! :)

Me Directing in Hong Kong! Sweet!

That's Jackie Chan!

The history museum had a fantastic and exhaustive exhibit about the history of HK. Which is exactly what I wanted.

Then I hit that 118th floor bar at Sunset. Nice.

Happy Valley Race Course is next. Apparently horse racing is BIG TIME in HK. It's the only legal gambling. It was fun to go to, but the fact that we have horse racing in LA made it not exactly unique. Still, I was able to find AJ of the Hong Kong 6 and hang out with him and his friends for the night. We started here...

... and headed to Wan Chai for more bars, more dancing, more drinking and more fun. Going out in HK is way fun because people are friendly. It's not as isolated as going to clubs in LA where everyone's trying so hard to be cool that no one actually is. People were friendly, open to dancing and super nice. Some travelers, some students, some locals, some prostitutes. Wait, what? Some, you mean MANY. More so here than Lan Kwai Fong. One bar I walked into and thought... "hmmm, I think 90% of the women in here are looking for some business". To answer some folks questions: No, not for me. Guess it is for someone, and it's always amusing to navigate the streets as a solo guy in those areas. It's straight out of Full Metal Jacket: Me love you long time.

DAY 4: The last day of my trip and I'm going to Disneyland!

I was going to go to Victoria Peak. You have to do it. The views are amazing. Or so I heard. I never made it up there.

It was often in clouds and I was going to go, then thought: Nope. Disney bitches.

A 25 minute train ride to the Happiest (sort of ) place on earth.

I had a blast. I was skipping with excitement when I got there. It's the Mickey Tram! It's Main Street USA! It's Space Mountain!

From this angle you can't see the jungle mountains behind the castle

The whole place is about 2/3rds the size of the Annaheim Disneyland, and has about that percentage of rides. But it was a blast. It's cheaper too. It was fun to see the differences: All signs are in English, Cantonese and Mandarin. Any tours, like the Jungle Cruise, with a tour guide, you had to choose your language. Space Mountain was cool, as always, though not as good as LA. The Haunted Mansion here is completely different, it's called Mystic Point and has a story to it with a Balinese music box. I wish I'd done that one twice. The lines were short. And I think many of the folks there had never been to an amusement park before. It was funny how complicated it was to get in line and wait for your seats. People had to be told multiple times how it all worked. And in all honestly, I bet a lot of folks haven't been to them. I grew up with Six Flags, but I bet a mainland Chinese person wouldn't have access to amusement parks like I did. Hopefully they loved it.

To end the trip... Pub Crawl.

Yep, socializing again! Lots of travelers. Lots of cool people. Gangnam style: yep. Pitbull: yep. And Kevin! Of the HK6. Ran into him and got to hang out again. It was great!

The best part was coming out of one of the bars and people were dancing on the street to Party Rock Anthem. Just bumping. And this 75 year old Chinese guy was grooving. We were all cheering and dancing and celebrating a fantastic 38 days in Southeast Asia. Okay, maybe not everyone, but I was. What a trip! What a way to end it!

Everyday I'm shuffelin'!

CraigO

PS: One more email to come...

Street dance party!