Ramping Up For Another Adventure!

So Dana and I are ramping up for another adventure. We've got plans to cruise from Los Angeles to Australia, landing in the end of November 2011.  We are then hoping to make our way from Australia to New Zealand and then probably hopping up some islands to Asia and from there who knows until we make our way home.

Of course one of the big things on our list "to do" is to check out the swing-dancing scenes abroad and get to as many dances / workshops as we can.

We are going to try and stay cheaply (mostly in youth hostels and budget hotels and camping where possible) but we've heard that Australia and New Zealand are pretty expensive for Yanks at the moment.

Now ...


Here's what we need from you!!!

We need input, advice, the names of places to go and see, tips on doing so as cheaply as possible and places to stay along the way.  We're willing to "sing for our suppers" and between Dana's abilities as a CMT and my ability to drag yard waste around / haul gardening materials about / do manly lifting jobs and anything else mildly handy-man-like we'd love to find some people that could offer a bed for some odd jobs.  If you know anyplace / anyone / etc. who might have some info for work/stay ... especially at any swing-dance camps, please let us know!

I'm in the airport again. It feels like it has been forever since I traveled anywhere for pleasure. The last two sets of flights were to Hawaii to be with my mother-in-law after she had a heart attack. Since then DaLeiLei and I have made travel plans and had them thwarted multiple times due to family health concerns. This trip feels rushed and like I need to do it to get away from the rest of my life.

I've spent the last nine months trying to be a help to family members with very little success in that realm. It feels like the more I want to help, the less my help is wanted and that I just tend to upset peeps instead of comforting them. Unfortunately, now, I don't really feel like I have the strength to do it any more and I'm mostly numb and uncaring at this point. I think I'm beyond empathy at the moment. I'm sick of everyone and everything and am ready to head back to Asia where I was much, much happier one year ago.

Instead, I'm on my way to England and hope to find some stress relief in visiting loved ones there.

At the end of this trip we're getting on a cruise ship that sails from Barcelona to Miami. I'm thinking of stopping there for a while instead of going back to California. It at least sounds warmer and like there might be a chance of fishing if I hang out there.

Round The Bend

So I just finished re-reading "Round The Bend" by Nevil Shute.  It makes me realize a few things:

1. I have a very selective memory.  One of the main characters dies in the course of the book of Lukaemia.  How I managed to forget this from when I first read it as a late-teen, I'm not quite sure.  There was no way I could read this book and not place my father-in-law in the position of Shak Lin and think of him as a prohetic character loved by all.  It didn't make me sad, per-say, but it made me think a lot of Ben.  On many, many levels.  It's a book he would have enjoyed (and probably already had.)  It was a character that I could associate with him, not just due to a common illness, but to their shared manner and beliefs.  I guesing now that it will seem odd to my wife and sister-in-law that I was so insistant that this is a great book to read when it has this alarming similarity between the two men, all I can say was I was obviously drawn to read this book now for a reason.  I hope that if they read it, they will see the shared beauty in the book that I see.
2. I believe myself to be "round the bend" much the same as the Englishman, Tom Cutter, in this book.  I now feel like I've spent too much time abroad to be completely happy here.  I can be here for stints, but I'm feeling very, very uncomfortable around Europeans right now.  It feels extremely odd since I'm European, but there you go ... as I said,  "round the bend."  I am getting close to traveling again, either with my wife or on my own depending on her outlook in the near future.
3. "Sometimes you just have to finish things that you've started." This is a recurring theme in the book, and I guess I feel that way with my work.  Right now, I'm soooo swamped with work and I don't really want to be.  I was hoping by now to be working between 10 and 20 hours a week and instead I'm doing approximately 60 hours a week.  As an added benefit, I can't really concentrate well on my work so I'm only billing about half of the time I'm putting in ... that makes this long hours seem really worth it!  During the course of my mother-in-laws heart-attack and then losing a loved one, we dumped about half a years worth of savings and now we're trying to build the capital back up so we can travel more in the future so I guess putting in the long hours is what I should be doing.  Also, the project that my boss has me working on is such an interesting project that I'd like to see through to the end, I think I'm in it for the long haul.

Not much else to write.  Sorry it's been so long since the last post ... I've been ... let's say ... busy.

How I hate da mainland!

"People are much easier to take when you don't speak their language. Otherwise when you're shopping you think ... damn these people are idiots!" - DaLeiLei, April 8, 2009

So today was the day I realised my culture shock. I hate white Americans ... at least on the mainland. And yes, I am indeed, a white American. Luckily, with a good tan I can pass for all sorts of other things so no one really knows what I am. I blend!

After spending the last 6 months in Asia and then on Maui, I didn't realize it, but I wasn't ready to go back "into the fray."

I spent the day in Marin, CA running errands and trying to do a little shopping. During the course of the day, I was: snubbed, shoved, sneered at, ignored, condescended to, argued with, cut-off, complained to, cringed from and avoided. This all happened in Marin, in the little areas that pride themselves on being all hippie-dippy ... well let me tell you folks ... free-love is dead. Unless you look like a wealthy marin-ite, these people have no love to give. Since I wasn't driving my Acura and wearing $500 yoga leotards, I wasn't part of the club.

Asia was so polite, even if they thought you looked like a goof or an under-dressed person, they would allow you to save face by being polite and trying your best to be a person that could be accepted into polite company.

Maui was so "island" that no one cares what your look like or do, as long as you aren't infringing on their ability to enjoy the cool breezes.

I can tell right now, I'm going to be island bound in a short amount of time. If not Hawaii, maybe somewhere in the Caribbean. Anyone know of a sail boat that needs a sitter?

What a long strange trip it's been ...

Sorry that I haven't posted more in the last while.

DaLeiLei and I returned from our travels in Asia and were in our California home for 3 days before we got a call from her father. It seemed her mother had suffered a heart attack while they were staying in their flat on Maui. We caught the next plane from Sacramento and headed over as quick as we could. Before I go any further, let me say that her mother is doing very well now and has a shiny new defibrillator that is ready to bring her back if any more of this tachycardia decides to rear it's ugly head again.

We spent the last month with D's parents and younger sister and her husband, doing what we could to make the situation easier. During the course of the visit, it became apparent that D's father wasn't feeling up to snuff either and so after he was examined by their doctor in Hawaii, we were informed that he has been diagnosed with Acute Leukaemia. It was a horrible shock and we all reeled a bit when we first found out. He is now at Stanford Medical Center and is starting treatment immediately. I hope you'll all join me in positive-thinking / praying for him and we'll hopefully report back soon that the family is in good health and our travels are underway again!

Peace to you all and fair winds in your sails!
KStJ

Meeting Friends Along The Way!

Just met a great couple in the streets of Chiang Mai.

Richard and Stacey from Seattle were looking into the window of the U.N. Irish Pub when we had just walked out having scored a few shortbread cookies and a piece of Apple & Ginger cake that was delicious. They were looking in the window longingly and we offered them a piece and the four of us joked about the odd tastes of home that are special treats along the way in foreign places.

We talked for a while and it turns out they are doing a very similar trip right now.

They have been traveling all through asia for the past four months and are heading on to India and Egypt and are really going to see the world until May.

It was really awesome to meet-up with some people sharing the same experiences as we are and hopefully we'll see them over the next day or so in Chiang Mai before they head out!

Peace.

Blue Diamond: The Breakfast Club

So I mentioned them in another post, but if you're looking for really good food here in Chiang Mai, go to "Blue Diamond: The Breakfast Club" and have a meal or three! "Ni" and her family / staff run a beautiful, organic, vegetarian restaurant (although you can get egg and even meat on request). The garden outside is gorgeous with a koi pond and fountain and there is no smoking in the restaurant so it is really a pleasant experience.

The clientele is almost all farang and the food is a bit higher priced than many small Thai restaurants. IMHO it is well worth it!

Today for breakfast, we started our day there. We each had a large bowl of fruit, yogurt and muesli and split an order of cinnamon toast. We ended up there tonight for dinner and had a fantastic meal as well. We had the "spicy avocado salad" that was delicious and filled with freshly roasted peanuts, among other tasty food sensations. We each ordered a curry, D ordered the red curry with vegetables over rice noodles and I had panag curry with veg and tofu and a bit of pineapple over brown rice. It was outstanding!

The service, food and atmosphere is so great at Blue Diamond, in Chiang Mai, Thailand that I can't recommend it enough!