Egypt

I made it safely to Egypt and I am having an amazing time unfortunately finding working internet is really difficult and expensive. I will hopefully have my first update within the next day or two.

So Smart

After driving West for two days I am now currently working my way East to Cairo in a series of flights taking me from San Francisco to Salt Lake City to New York City to Yemen, Jordan to Cairo, Egypt. If all goes well I will be in Cairo a mere 28 hours after my flight takes off from San Francisco.

Westward Ho

Destination California

I woke up early Saturday morning and got on the road at 6am. I drove to Victoria’s house in Lawrence Kansas and we headed out. Driving through Kansas is a lot of fun, it’s really flat and has lots of scenic cow pastures and fields of corn. I don’t actually know if it is corn, but it’s some kind of crop. I am a big fan of obscure roadside attractions and when I saw a sign for “World’s Largest Hand Dug Well” I insisted that we stop and check it out. Unfortunately the town with the “World’s Largest Hand Dug Well” had been hit a few years ago by a devastating tornado that took out nearly the entire town and the well is still closed. The gift shop however was open and we learned that there was a giant meteorite in town and we stopped at Town Hall to peer inside the window at the meteorite inside a glass encasement.

We chose to take the southerly route to get to California and the first state we hit after Kansas was Oklahoma quickly followed by Texas and then New Mexico where we spent the night. We stopped at all of the State signs to take pictures and the next morning when we got to the Arizona sign there were giant “No Parking” signs on the side of the road so we quickly hopped out and took pictures of each other as tractor trailers wizzed passed and honked loudly at us. Later we entered an area that was labeled a “Photo Enforcement Zone” and so we put on our best smiles in case they took pictures of us we would look good. I’m not sure if they took any pictures of us, but we took the opportunity to take pictures of ourselves.

When we crossed into California the sign for California was just after a bridge and I told Victoria that she should slow down to get over. Instead she sped up and we didn’t get a picture with the sign but I was able to snap a photo from inside the car. We made it to my Grandpa’s house in Fresno around 10pm where my big sister was waiting for us and we had some time to hang out and I got some presents. My grandpa got me a really nice sweater and a button down dress shirt. My sister got me a gift card and a metal loop puzzle thing. Every year my older sister gets me a gag gift and this year it was the metal loop puzzle. It all started many years ago when I was in high school. My older sister had her own place and I wanted to get her something for her house. I found a snowman candle that I thought was really cute, that she could use to decorate her house. Unfortunately when I gave it to her it had been crushed and no one else thought the snowman was as cute as I did.

The drive to California wasn’t bad at all we passed the time by playing games like “I’m going on a trip and I’m bringing a …” where you work through the alphabet adding a new item every time. I would tell you what we were bringing but someone was bringing inappropriate things that are best not mentioned. I have a terrible memory and it would take me about 5 minutes to get through the list when it was my turn but Victoria could get it done in 30 seconds every time. We also played Categories, the game where you name a category and take turns naming things that fit in that category trying not to repeat. One category was “Things that start with ‘P’” and another was “Numbers between one and thirty”. Victoria pretty much one all of these rounds as well.

Monday we drove through the town that I lived in between 2nd and 9th grades and stopped by our old house. When I dream, I often find myself at this house and in the neighborhood and it was very strange to be back there for the first time in many years. Everything seemed so much smaller in real life than it was in my mind, but everything was still as I remembered it in every other way. Monday night I got to see my Mom and Stepdad for the first time since June, which was really nice.

I'm in Arizona

So is Victoria

Were in New Mexico

Oklahoma!

Near the Giant Well

We are the dark shadows below the sign

Meteorite

Fun Driving Times

Addicted

Plans Update: I am leaving tomorrow morning to drive to California with my sister. Once I get to California I am hopping on several planes to get myself to Egypt where I will be spending two weeks over Xmas and New Years. More details to follow and I will of course be blogging from there. You should be excited, I know I am!

More Bests, Thanks to Prajwal

Funniest moment:
Honorable Mentions: The Guy in India who didn’t understand why we were dancing so far away from him and every minute that I was with Matt in Spain.
Runner Up: When I was trying to squeeze through the “Winnie the Poo” hole while caving in Budapest. I was making all kinds of sounds and thrusting my hips all over the place, trying to get through.
Winner: When Prajwal was walking with a coke in his hand and a monkey approached. Prajwal screamed like a little girl and threw his coke in the street. The monkey chased the coke and picked it up, upside down, and carried it out of the street only to discover that the bottle was now empty.

Saddest Moment:
Runner Up: Going to Auschwitz
Winner: Leaving London

Scariest Moment:
Honorable Mentions: Nearly breaking the wooden ferris wheel in Bucharest.
Runner Up: Being crushed by hordes of people and tomatoes at La Tomatina.
Winner: When I was hiking in Morocco and I was surrounded by dogs that wanted to kill me. Thank goodness for the old woman who saved my life by hurling rocks like a professional baseball player.

Weirdest Drink:

Runner Up: Coke with beer, lemonade with beer, in Germany they mix everything with beer.
Winner: The mixture of coke and red wine, weird but delicious

Best Dinner:

Honorable Mentions: Home cooked meal consisting of: chicken, roasted potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, broccoli, carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes and everything covered in gravy.

Runner Up: Korean barbecue in Katmandu.
Winner: Everything Katja cooked for me.

Update

I have been back in Saint Louis for almost two weeks now and I have been staying at my Dad's house in Saint Charles. This past weekend I moved all of my stuff back into my condo, for what will hopefully be my last stint there. I am re-listing the condo officially today at a significantly lower price than I was asking for before in hopes that it will get bought quickly.

I am still looking for a tax season job where I can work 80+ hours a week. I have a couple promising leads but nothing finalized at this point.

I am leaving again this Saturday, very very early, to meet up with my sister in Kansas and road trip to the west coast over her college break. I'm not exactly sure how long I will be gone, but it will probably be for around a month. I'll start blogging again regularly once I hit the road.

Miscellaneous Trip Information

Countries: 23

India, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Germany, France, The Netherlands, Belgium, Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Austria, Romania, Turkey, United Kingdom.

Favorite Cities: 24

India: Gangtok, Mumbai, Goa
Nepal: Pokhara
Morocco: Azrue, Merzouga, Todra Gorge, Larache
Spain: Seville, Granada, Madrid, Valencia
Italy: Rome
Germany: Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin
Belgium: Bruges, Brussels
Czech Republic: Prague
Hungary: Budapest
Slovakia: Bratislava
Austria: Vienna
Turkey: Istanbul
London, England

Least Favorite Cities: 7
India: Kolkata
Nepal: Katmandu
Morocco: Casablanca, Tangier, Marrakesh
The Netherlands: Amsterdam
Ukraine: L’viv

Country with the best food: India

Country with the best beer: Belgium

Cheapest Country: India

Most Expensive Country: United Kingdom

Best Hostel Staff: Tulip Guest House (Istanbul, Turkey)

How much did it cost? $12,689

I'll add more categories when I think of more stuff. Let me know what other categories you would like answered.

Weirdness

Being back in America is weird. Since coming back I have been staying at my dad’s house in Saint Charles. I have been spending my days working out, studying Spanish, doing CPE, trying to find a job and trying to get reacclimated to life here. I am so used to having the same things in my pockets that changing that up feels weird and I don’t know which things to put where to make the most sense. I have been used to wearing a money belt under my pants and I check for it all the time and have mini panic attacks that someone has stolen it or I have lost it before I remember that I’m not wearing it anymore. The other day I wanted some water and I went to my room and retrieved my water bottle from my backpack and filled it up at the sink. I forgot that there is a cabinet full of cups that would work equally as well. I will get readjusted in time.

I have always been good at being alone but for the last six months I have never really been alone and I have gotten used to other people being around. Staying at my Dad’s house during this past week, while they have been at work and I have been home alone I have felt really lonely. I know that it is silly to feel that way and that I will soon grow back to enjoying my alone time as much as I have in the past.

In the next couple of days I am going to post some more information about my trip in total so stay tuned.

Things I Learned While Traveling

In no particular order:

People make the difference.

There are amazing people everywhere in the world.

Time flies. No matter how long you have at something it’s over before you know it. Be sure that you are doing what makes you happy because otherwise you may never have the chance to.

Someone else’s opinion is just that, their opinion.

If someone tells you something is closed and they have an alternative where they can profit, the first thing probably isn’t closed.

A facemask and earplugs are amazing things.

McDonalds are everywhere.

A Spoon is the best way to eat rice.

How to use a squat toilet, at least while naked.

Snickers are an adequate breakfast, kebobs are a good lunch and a great dinner.

Rolling bags are NOT meant to be taken off road.

Drinking enough vodka can prevent swine flu.

No one knows where Saint Louis is.

Everyone knows where California is.

Just because I’m wearing headphones doesn’t mean other people cannot hear me fart.

It is best not to look too closely at the people who prepare your food.

Goodbye World, See You Soon?

Winter Wonderland

Saturday I went to a food market and drank gluhwein and ate an amazing brownie, some Turkish delight and all of the free samples I could fit into my mouth. Then I went and saw a play “The woman in the Black Dress” It was an alright play, it was a little slow but it was the first time I have seen a play in a long time and it made me feel cultured.

Sunday I took it easy just walked around to some places I had already been and walked around in some new places. The weather was cold and rainy and I wasn’t too excited about being outside so I stayed in and watched a movie. I did go to a pub and watch Chelsea play Arsenal in a soccer match between the two teams that are in London. The pub was very much pro Arsenal which disappointingly lost 3-0 to Chelsea.

I was thinking about going to Stonehenge on Monday but the weather has really started to get cold and I was worried I would travel out there and there would be fog and rain which would ruin the experience so I decided to check out some free museums instead. I again forgot that on Monday’s many museums are closed and went to one that wasn’t open before going to the Imperial War Museum, which is free and really incredible. The museum was started during World War I to show all of the things that happened there but has since expanded to include World War II and lots of other events. There are tanks and planes and lots of interesting exhibits. I nearly raced through the museum and I was still there for four hours. They have these “experience” exhibits and one was a simulated trench which was interesting and another was a simulation of living in London when it was being bombed by the Germans. The Air Raid Experience was not very informative, exciting or interesting. At the museum there was a whole section on the children of London during WWII about how kids were shipped out into the countryside for fear that London would be invaded and the only way the kids would be safe was in the country. Some children spent years in the countryside and some loved the freedom and the life in the country, which was very much unlike what they were used to in London, while other children were placed with families they didn’t like and had bad experiences.

At the museum I also watched a Disney cartoon from 1942 entitled “Symphony Hour” in which all of the familiar Disney characters, Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy are in a symphony and are broadcasting their performance over the air. Goofy gets all of the instruments crushed which makes them all sound strange and Donald Duck decides that he has had enough and is leaving in the middle of the performance. Mickey Mouse, who is the conductor, keeps trying to stop Donald and get him to stay and play. Finally Donald has had enough and heads towards the door which prompts Mickey Mouse to produce a revolver and hold it up to Donald’s head as an ultimatum. I can imagine the controversy if that were to air today.

I had an amazing time in London and even looked into staying a few extra days but it was really expensive, it just means I will have to come back that much sooner. I am also looking forward to seeing everyone back at home. My flight leaves London at 8:45am and I need to be out the door by 6:15am, it is going to be one heck of a long day.

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Triple Lutz

The American eating The American

On Friday I slept in and didn’t get my free breakfast but I was able to find a roadside dinner where I got beans, eggs, ham, sausage, tea and bread for 3 British pounds. It was a little bit of a shady place, I was the only patron there with the exception of a homeless man who was sleeping on a nearby table. Nevertheless the food was really good and cheap.

I went to Westminster Abbey and happened to arrive at the same time that the Treasury Singers were performing a concert and I sat and listened while they sang songs I had never heard before in Latin. Then I went to Saint James Park, Buckingham Palace and Hyde Park. While in Saint James Park I saw this squirrel following an old man as he walked, like a dog would do begging for food. I thought that the squirrels must be really aggressive until the man turned and produced some food from his pocket and held it up and the squirrel which came up to the man and ate it right out of the man’s hand. This guy must regularly feed the squirrels in the park and they all know him. At Hyde Park they had a Winter Wonderland that was strangely German themed. Upon entering there was a giant moose head that talked and sang but spoke often in German. There were the usual food stalls and lots of rides along with a place to play Wii and an Ice Skating rink. I got myself some chestnuts and Gluhwein and then dominated some little kids at the Wii.

I also made my way to the Tate Modern Museum which was free and very interesting. There was one special exhibit that I thought was especially interesting. The Hague in the Netherlands was constructing a new building and as part of the project commissioned artists to produce artwork. One of these artists was an American woman who met with members of The Hague along with spies in secret locations and took pictures of the meetings. When she submitted her final pieces to The Hague they told her that many of her pictures were too revealing in regards to who the spies were and they couldn’t be used. There was great discussion between the artist and The Hague as to what could or could not be displayed. The artist documented everything that happened and put it into a book. The artist decided to abandon the pictures she had originally planned and instead went forward with the book which she submitted to The Hague for editing as was required by her contract with them. When the artist received the book back there was so much that had been altered that it would have been impossible to do anything with the book. As a consolation the artist was allowed to do a onetime exhibit of her project. After the exhibit everything would belong to The Hague and could never be shown again. The first part of the exhibit shows and explains all of that that I have just described and then there is her one time exhibit. The one time exhibit displays her book under glass with the entire body of the book removed and a letter to The Hague instructing them that it was theirs to take and read and keep. I thought it was really interesting how she decided to resolve the problem and what she presented.

There are ice skating rinks set up all over town and I went to one at the Tower of London. It has been a while since I was last ice skating but I had a lot of fun. While skating I decided to skate rather quickly and then rammed myself into one of the walls to stop me and it made a really loud crashing sound. One of the guys working came over and told me to take it easy. I apologized and tried to behave myself. I’m not a great ice skater, but I can skate decently well and I didn’t fall down the whole time. Just before leaving I decided that I should take a fall and built up some speed and then threw myself onto the ice and slid into the wall. It was a lot of fun but I did get wet and cold.

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Incredible Beauty

Rainbow Time

I was outside my hostel in Istanbul by 7am waiting for the bus to come and take me to the airport. The hand written ticket I had said that the bus was coming at 7:30 but all of the signs at the various travel agencies said 7:20 and they said to be waiting 15 minutes early. I didn’t want anyone to be able to blame me for not being on the street as they drove by and left me stranded in Istanbul. Shortly after standing on the corner a bus came barreling down the street unfortunately it wasn’t my bus, it was going to the other airport in town. My bus finally came at 7:40 and then drove around and picked up some more people, some of whom were waiting outside their hotels/hostels while others had to be stirred from their rooms to get them outside. Luckily I had planned for there to be delays and I was at the airport in plenty of time.

My flight was delayed an hour but other than that there weren’t any complications. Once in London I got some British Pounds (their currency) and bought a bus ticket to London. As usual I used a low cost airline to get to London and they don’t actually take you to London but a suburb outside of London. I headed toward the bus and checked my pockets as I often do to make sure everything is where it’s supposed to be. I always put my wallet in my front right pocket along with my cell phone and MP3 player. In my front left pocket I carry my camera, notebook, pen and lip balm (Microsoft World doesn’t like the word “chapstick”. What is the appropriate word for what a man uses to keep his lips from drying out?). I noticed that my wallet was missing and started to panic. Had I been pick pocketed in the airport? Someone finally got my wallet! How could I let this happen? Then the girl who sold me my bus ticket came hurrying over with my wallet in her hand, I had left it at the counter.

By the time I made it to my hostel and got checked in it was starting to get dark outside and I had only eaten a banana all day and decided to head to the bar attached to the hostel to grab something to eat. I met some Canadian wildfire fighters and joined them for what turned out to be a night of ridiculousness. When you haven’t eaten all day it only takes a few drinks to do the job.

Thursday I woke up at 9:45am in time to get my free hostel breakfast by 10:00am. The breakfast was only cereal and bread but it was free and held me over until lunch. The first full day in London I knocked out a bunch of tourist attractions. I went to London Bridge, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, National Gallery, Big Ben and the Parliament building. I called my Dad from one of those classic red phone booths and people were taking pictures of the booth while I was in it. While walking around it started to rain and there was a really beautiful rainbow. For dinner I went to an Asian restaurant overlooking the tower bridge at night with all of its lights on and it too was incredibly beautiful.

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