Food in Hoi An

Food in Hoi An was fantastic.  A lot of local specialties, all based around Chinese style dishes.  Fried Wontons filled with pork or shrimp, topped with a sweet tomato chutney thing.  Steamed rice flour dumplings filled with a shrimp mixture (Called White Rose), and a flat chewy noodle dish with fried wontons and pork slices... Cao Lau.

I was sitting down to Pho for breakfast at a place by the hotel, when a Vietnamese Lady sat down across from me and started making conversation (Many people in Hoi An speak English well, as you need to for the sake of selling lots of clothes/trinkets to the multitude of tourists that arrive).  She was an owner of one of the tailor shops, and when I told her I was a chef, and showed her the list of Hoi An specialties that the Hotel clerk told me to try, she said that the best Cao Lau was at a place 5 minutes away by motorbike, and if I went to her store later, she would take me.

So I did.

Around lunchtime, I rolled up to her store, and when she saw me, she was a bit surprised.  "You want to go get Cao Lau?"  So she drove me on her motorbike to a restaurant, and I got some to go.  She wouldn't take any food, payment, and she wasn't even pushy about looking in her store.  She had been a tailor for 12 years, and had owned her own store for about 5 of them.  And, her parents-in-law are from Hue, so she wrote me a list of things I needed to try when I came up to Hue (where I am now..).

For all the people that ask for money/sell trinkets/try and wheedle money out of you in any way possible, there are a few generous souls that just want to help and be friendly, and the trick of traveling is finding those people...

Hoi An. A department store disguised as a city.

By the way, as I write this, I notice these computers are using Windows 98 (well, the one next to me is..). I love it.

So leaving Da Nang today, we took the public yellow bus to Hoi An... Not only is it a bus, but it's also a rocketship/off road vehicle, delivery service, and tourist trap. They ushered us to the back of the bus, and all of the Vietnamese had to go and sit in the front section. Two guys were stationed at the back door, throwing people off when it was their stop, picking up packages that are to be delivered further down the road, and getting out and heaving people onto the bus so that it stops for as little time as humanly possible. When people were getting on or off the bus, one of the guys would push a button to signal the driver as soon as the passenger was on the first step, and most times the helpers had to run to catch up to the bus as it was hauling away from the "stop." Certainly a crazy experience, and I'm sure we got overcharged, but I'll pay 3 bucks to go on that bus again.

Hoi An is an old French Colony, and it shows. All of the buildings are in a French colonial style, with fun colors, beautiful design work, and this feeling like you should be holding a frilly laced parisol. Sadly, most of these buildings are filled with tailors/shoe cobblers/art galleries/commercial stores rather than people. What comes from this is that there are more tourists per square inch here than anywhere else we've seen yet (I'm sure Ha Long Bay will change that. Also, this was the place where part of Michael Caine's The Quiet American movie was filmed). I wander down the streets, and all of these stores are filled with people shopping and buying, all menus and signs are in English, and what Vietnamese authenticity there is is almost gone (along with the motorbikes, and that's not a bad thing...). But, what are you going to do..

The amount of pushy salespeople is higher than any other place I've seen so far, and everyone talks to everyone else, so it's all connected. Shops are made or destroyed by word of mouth, and the way to find good places is to talk to other travelers, and people that don't feel like ripping you off. The hotel recommends one tailor, and when I went to a different one, I was questioned on my return.

"Where did you go for the suit?"
"Um, the place you showed me. (takes out business card)"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why?"
"You are really sure???"

It's ridiculously annoying. Everyone wants you to buy something, and even when you buy things, they want you to buy more. I intended to buy a suit. I now own a cashmere suit, 4 egyptian cotton shirts, a pair of slacks, a tie, 2 pairs of leather shoes, and a belt.

Don't get me wrong, the quality on all this stuff is top notch, and the prices I'm paying are way lower than normal tailored clothes. Everything is handmade, hand-measured, hand-adjusted... This stuff is made just for me, and supposedly it lasts. (I'm done growing, right?)

You guys know me, this really isn't me. Maybe if I was travelling with someone who wasn't such a shopper, things would be different, but I was looking in the mirror, and I really liked the way these clothes looked. Maybe I'll find reasons to wear these things now...

By the way, now that I see these things that fit me, I'm really freaking skinny. It's scary. I'm eating as much as I can, but it's not working. I have to start running again or something..

After spending more than I wanted to on clothes (and feeling a bit metrosexual... It does take a man to wear a pink shirt...), I went back to my comfort zone, local cuisine. We had a 5 course lunch because this nice lady told us in the restaurant in great English that these were all Hoi An specialties. Shrimp/crab dumpings (White Rose - amazing), fried wontons with a tomato chutney on top and pork in the middle (with fish sauce - unbelievable), a local noodle dish with pork and crispy wontons (less exciting), and beautiful flaky fried spring rolls. Fresh blended Pineapple/Mango juice. A stunning meal for 5 bucks.

This is one thing I'm loving about Vietnam. The food is amazingly cheap (It can be expensive, don't get me wrong, I payed 20 bucks for the fish that the chef showed me in Da Nang), and for the most part, very good. Nothing has been bad, and if something was just alright, chances are the meal cost less than a big mac from McDonalds... We are eating alot of street food, and going to less things you would define as "restaurants," but no matter where it is, it's good.

I wandered around a bit too, as I'm wont to do, and went to the less touristy part of town.. tons of kids waving hi to me as I passed, lots of smiles from people, and less "come in and buy please!" from the people sitting on storefronts. I stopped for a bit to eat some odd street food that a group was sitting around, got my picture taken, got made fun of in Vietnamese, the usual. This language is so much harder than Japanese to even try and pronounce. The way you emphasize any word changes its meaning, and the intonations are outside the range of my western tongue. Thus, there is a lot more frustration with interactions, and a lot less chances for me to figure out what's going on.

(On a food side note, I did have some random noodle dish at a night market in Da Nang yesterday, same kinda thing. Sit down, get offered soup, give it a try, amaze all of the locals that I'm even trying it. Probably got overcharged too..)

Because of the lack of communication, there is a real sense of "Locals over Tourists." I'm sure that everything that a tourists attempts to purchase is at least twice the actual cost, and while most people don't mind paying 2 dollars for a bowl of soup that costs 1, especially when it would cost 5-7 back home, the feeling is not a good one. The people here are nice, and helpful, but only to the extent of wanting some money. I think that is the main difference between a developing nation such as Vietnam and a modern nation like Japan. Well, that, and the ingrained sense of pride/formality that Japan has. The whole Asian concept of "saving face" isn't present at all here (at least on the streets/hotels). Giant groups of people are the norm, pushing each other at every opportunity to get ahead (getting on the plane from Saigon to Da Nang was insane, and nobody will let you off in front of them, you have to push.. just like the roads), and everything is done for the sake of making some money.

Megan has noted that we're not sure how well off/poor the people are here. Everyone seems like they have all that they need, but there are no signs of luxuries, such as Air conditioning/gadgets (aside from the everpresent cell phone)/etc..

(As I'm writing this, the desk man has just left to get some Pho. He asked me to watch the Hotel for him. Muahahaha.)

I'm sure that access to the nicer places would be very hard for travellers to get to, especially in a communist country. But even the more destitute places seem to be out of reach, or at least it's hard to tell who is in a bad way. There are no status symbols like clothes/cars (to an extent)/jewelry/etc... It may come from the fact that Vietnam has more industry and factory type work than intellectual/business type work. It's a stark contrast to a place like NYC, or even suburban Maryland, where cars/clothes are judged, and you don't see many people working in the fields or construction projects (seriously, beltway construction is nothing...).

The idea of the Market really interests me, as well as the abundant street culture. Everything is done on the street, from buying/selling/eating/laundry/construction (sidewalks are piled with rubble/materials all over the place), and the contrast really gets me.

Oh well, another post for random thinking, I guess...

Danang is a bit freaky

So we get off of the airplane in Da Nang (after seeing a lady at the Saigon airport sweeping the tarmac with a broom...and taking a bus from the terminal to the plane about 50 meters), and instead of dealing with a taxi service, find a taxi driver to take us to our airport.  "5 Dollars!" he says, and then proceeds to chat with us about Vietnam, restaurants to eat at, things that are nice in Da Nang.  Then he says "we're here!"  Wrong street, wrong hotel.

"This isn't our hotel!"
"It's very nice!"
"We have a reservation! The street isn't even right!"
"Oh, That street!  I thought you said this street!"

So he drives us to the street where our hotel is on, and then proceeds to drive past it, by about 4 blocks.  We keep asking "Why are you driving so far?"  "You passed the hotel!"  and he just basically ignored us.  I'm glad we set a fixed price, because he was intent on just driving around the city until he was done... it was nuts.

The hotel we're staying at didn't even know about the reservation, and we had to boot up the computer to get onto my email so that the receptionist (who didn't speak any English) could see the reservation.  This city isn't really growing on me..

The room is nice, but everything is falling apart (I'm not expecting the ritz, but it's funny to see so many holes in everything, hooks in the bathroom that are broken, yet the towels are craftily folded so that the hotel's logo is fully created with two towels.. not to mention the nice tea service in the hotel lobby...), but it was a place to sleep, and we were tired.

Today we relaxed a bit, slept in a tad, and went to the beach.  It was not crowded at all, and we spent an hour in the waves, with only an old Vietnamese guy who kept trying to get us to dive through the waves (Fine for me, Megan is scared of salt water in her eyes/nose).  After getting nice and sun-burnt, we walked to a restaurant for some seafood.  These nice restaurants with amazing views lined the beach, and it was hard to decide where to go, so when we saw an American biker who was walking out of one, we asked her.  It seemed like she organized bike tours of Vietnam, and came to this restaurant every 2 weeks.  Good enough for us...

So, we walked in, and were immediately ushered to her group's table, and food was placed in front of us without any questions!  They thought we were part of their group, and only by some interesting discussion we were able to separate and order our own thing... So we're sitting at a white tableclothed restaurant, with beachfront views, where fresh fish (the chef brought my grouper out to me still flapping so I could see it) was being served for not cheap (at least in Vietnam), and the waitress comes over and brings us a plate of corn-nuts.  Don't get me wrong.  I like corn-nuts, but it seemed a bit out of place...

The meal was great, and we then tried to go to a waterpark talked about in the Lonely Planet.  We take a taxi there, and the driver stops, and says "Waterpark closed."  However, it sounded like "waderbarge close."  We then tried to do some translating, figure out what he was saying (I'm glad I bought that mini-dictionary now), and it turns out that this was the waterpark, and it was being worked on... So back to the hotel, where we got showered, and are going to relax before the next big section of the trip.

So, Paul keeps asking me about this pass.. Hai Van, which was mentioned on Top Gear as being one of the most beautiful roads on Earth.  We were sitting at our guest house in Saigon, waiting for a taxi to the airport, and these Aussies came in, talking about their trip in the center of Vietnam.  We asked them about it, since that was where we were headed, and they told us they rented motorbikes and went from Hue to Hoi An (we're going the opposite way in a few days), because this drive was one of the most spectacular on Earth.. some pass or another. 

"Um, was that the one mentioned on Top Gear?"
"Yeah! You heard about it too?  It was something special alright!"
"Interesting..."

So, after some thinking, reworking, planning, I think that we're going to rent scooters, and drive the 5 hours from Hoi An to Hue with a guide, so that we too can experience this place, and have a nice fun day trip over this place in Vietnam which will make half of you want to curse me (louder than you already are). 

Don't worry Paul, Chris, Ben, Ben, Vikas, and anyone else who may enjoy Top Gear.  I'll take pictures...

=)

Cu Chi Tunnels

Another day, another tour.

That being said, the tours have been fun and informative, if you get around the bus thing.  Today we were in the front seat of the bus for a 2 hour ride from Saigon to the Cu Chi tunnels, a 50km network of tunnels used by the Viet Cong to escape bombings and trap Americans. 

Being in the front of the bus was awesome, as we saw firsthand how crazy it gets.  People that our bus driver was cutting off gave him dirty looks and shouts, but he was as calm as can be.  Even our tour guide (who called himself John Wayne) said we had a good driver, with 20 years of experience. 

Before getting to the tunnels, we stopped off at this amazing workshop for handicapped Vietnamese, where they spent all day creating lacquer ware and beautiful art pieces from mother-of-pearl and egg shells, and all natural lacquer.  A tourist stop indeed, but the work was beautiful, and even if something shady was going on (John Wayne said that we should donate money to them in addition to buying, because the government takes half of their income) it seems like such a good cause.

The tunnels were a sight to behold.  There was a trail displaying the various traps and guerrilla fighting techniques used by the Viet Cong in the war, and John Wayne was extremely knowledgeable, having spent 2 years in the army digging tunnels and studying this stuff (and being a tour guide there 6 days a week).  He told us how some of the information in Lonely Planet was wrong (LP says that people would live underground for weeks at a time, eating and sleeping there... after being inside, "you only want to go in for 5 minutes!"  Apparently it was propagated by the government for tourism reasons).  We crawled through an 100 meter section of cramped, dirt ridden tunnels, and it was stunning what people would go through, and how intricate they were.  The opportunity was there to shoot guns of all sizes, including some heavy duty machine guns, but I didn't really want to glorify something like that here...  Lastly, we saw a short "documentary" on the "heroic efforts of Cu Chi guerrilla soldiers, common peace-loving countryfolk who were awarded many heroic medals for killing Americans.  The video also talked about the nonstop "barrage of bombing from Washington DC".  It was a pretty piece of propaganda.  One of the Canadians that we had met on the Mekong trip was with us, and it seemed like she took the film to heart as a documentary.  I realize, and accept that we did some nasty things to the country and the people, but to accept a propaganda film as truth?  A bit scary, if you ask me.

I did learn, however, that between her, myself, and an Irish guy we were talking to, not much was known about the specifics of the Vietnam war.  I knew the most about it, from the minimal amount of studying that we did in school, as well as my own readings.  But it surprises me how few people actually know about the war, its causes, and what happened during it.  Something I definitely want to rectify when I get home, and can sit in an air-conditioned room and read.

On the bus ride back, it started pouring (first rain we've seen here so far), and almost as if by magic, all of the people on scooters/bikes were under ponchos.  We hadn't seen anyone put any on, but there they were.  And just as suddenly, all of the vendors along the street were selling them.  Magic, I tell you!

Oh well, a bit of relaxation, and then a flight to the center of the country.  Danang, here we come!

PS.  What is going on with all the shootings?  I heard about the one at the Texas army base before we left (insane!), but every few days there seems to be another one?  Oy!

Mekong Delta, or How I learned to stop worrying and love the Bus.

So,

A two day, one night tour of the Mekong Delta (at least part of it), mostly by boat.  That's what the brochure says. 

We wake up at 6:15 to be ready by 7AM to get picked up.  We drive around the city on a bus, picking up people, and get dropped off at the dock, to wait for the rest of the group.  We get on a boat, meet our Guide (who never tells us his name, and not until the end of the tour did we actually get to know him... "Like the Marine Corps," our German friends remark), and take a 3 hour boat ride down to a set of islands on the Mekong river (Called the 9 Dragon river in Vietnamese, apparently Mekong is only for tourists..).  The first day, the "tour" elements consist of:

-A honey plant making honey from Longan Trees (Like lychee, amazing honey!)
-A "traditional" fruit plate and music performance (There were some Chinese tourists with us, they tipped, the band played Chinese songs, they started singing, clapping and dancing!)
-A really cool Sampan Boat ride (small, paddle propelled rowboats... awesome!  Old ladies hauling ass down a tiny canal.  Every artery that can be traveled upon is like a major highway for these people!)
-Lunch at an island restaurant (I got the local specialty, of course, fried whole fish, with rice paper/stuff to wrap with.  They even showed me how to wrap the rice paper!  I stopped the lady when she kept wanting to wrap for us...)
-A coconut candy making factory, where "famous" candy was being made!  (doesn't sound too asian...hrm)

The boat ride was cool (well, hot really), as everyone was waving to us as we passed them, and the boat driver was weaving in and out like it was the main roads in Saigon!  Also, tons of dirt got hauled in both directions, apparently for construction purposes... I didn't see many sand brick houses...?

After all of these, we were dropped off at a bus terminal, and then subjected to a 4 hour bus ride to go 100 km.  The villages and towns were cool to look at, and there were vestiges of Communist rule (it's still communist, but you can't really tell in the city so much), but when we waited an hour (on a bus with no bathroom!) to get onto a ferry (People were selling stuff to us on the bus, we had beer from a local store hand delivered!), and finally getting to our "100 star" hotel, as the tour guide said... "And tomorrow, we will see these things, and go on a 6 hour bus ride back to Saigon."

Apparently, most tours in Southeast Asia are like this.  We made friends with some Germans who have been traveling for a while, a Canadian couple, and a guy traveling from Fairfax, VA!  You spend more time on a bus than you do actually seeing things.  Such is life.

After a dinner with our German friends (they each got salad and a cheeseburger.  We had to teach them what a banh mi was, and why to get pho), we slept, because at 6:20AM they were knocking at our door. "GOOD MORNING!"

We stored Banh Mi in the fridge, so this was breakfast.  We walked to a boat, where we went to the largest floating market in Vietnam.  These were cool.  Tons of boats, advertising there wares by long bamboo poles sticking in the air, with what they were selling hanging off of them.  It was a wholesale market, so we couldn't really buy stuff, but it was cool to see the interactions, the huge amounts of produce being transferred, the little boats with pho making kits and random food selling to the bigger boats, and of course, the little kids on boats trying to sell drinks to the tourists.  We took a little paddle boat in 2 groups through the market, and even though we were past the peak time (it gets hot, so they start early), it was still bustling, and very interesting.  Probably the first time we really didn't get paid much attention.

Next, we went to a rice noodle factory, and this was awesome.  I kinda knew how the process went, but to see it was great.  They make a rice paper by steaming a rice liquid on silk, and drying it in the sun, and then they cut it into noodles for consumption.  A long process, but one I wouldn't mind trying sometime.  Sadly, the fresher they are, the less time they last, so nothing I could bring to the states....

After this, we went to a rice milling factory.  Vietnam farms the largest quantity of rice in Southeast Asia, but they can't sell it for much because the quality is lower than other countries.  So most of it is for internal use only.  I'm sure most of the rice gets processed in larger factories now, but going to a working rice factory was very interesting.  The whole place was covered in rice bran, and there were tons upon tons of rice in sacks, waiting to be shipped somewhere.  Of course, being Vietnam, the health/safety attributes of the factory weren't exactly passable, but I'm sure the product was delicious in it's own way.  A lot of the rice seems to be the "broken" variety, which is created when polishing the husk (brown) off of the rice breaks the whole grain into pieces.  It becomes more starchy (sticky) this way, but is considered a lower quality.

This ended the "tour" part.  We went back to where we were staying, Can Tho, and had lunch at "my uncle's restaurant" (the guide said, as the restaurant was next to a giant statue of Uncle Ho Chi Minh).  I started my crazy adventure, and had Snake Satay.  It was good, not much for flavor, but a hearty texture.  It definitely takes on whatever flavors it's with.  (Side note: the guide told me where to get dog in Saigon, but I wasn't up for two new dishes in one day... I'll be back). 

The long bus ride back wasn't too unbearable, but the guide came and sat in the back, and we really got to chatting.  He was asking me English questions ("I want to understand the difference between: Hotel, Motel, Inn" - I thought it was a reference to that rap song...), and I asked about stuff I was interested in (food, communist government, his life). 

Fun Fact: the slang term for policemen in Vietnam is 'Yellow Monkey'

Back in Saigon today, tomorrow Cu Chi tunnels and a flight to the center of the country.  I'm tired of typing.  Good night.

One day in Saigon...

But before I get to that, we did have a full day in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), which involved a whole lot of walking around.  And it was hot.  Fires of hell hot, with 200% humidity.  Good thing a 1.5L bottle of water is 50 cents...


We saw Notre Dame, which is modeled after the cathedral in France (attended part of a service in there for the hell of it... as it was Sunday.  A little girl was wearing a t-shirt that said "Girls make better Ninjas."  How awesome is that?), along with a whole lot of french colonial architecture styled houses (yay run-on sentences!).  It's interesting seeing the french influence on this culture.  You hear about it, but just like everything else in this country, it's totally different to actually see.  After walking around, having lots of ice cream and cold fruit juice (and water, of course), we came to the Museum for American War Atrocities (Local name, not official).  Remember when I was talking about Hiroshima being an intense museum?  This one was like a low budget version, but just as terrible.  Once you get past all of the military vehicles outside, you're confronted with two floors of photos from the war, portraying nothing but death, decay, destruction, remnants of agent orange and other dioxin attacks, and stories of how we were pretty messed up towards this country.  I can understand from a tactical perspective why Hiroshima would have happened.  It was a war, we wanted to end it, and we weren't really sure what we were doing.

The American War, as it's called over here, was completely different (of course, this is according to the Vietnamese.  If you want an American perspective, try and get the war covered in Public Schools, because I never went over it in more than a cursory manner).  We basically went in for a multitude of bad reasons, and then used this war to test all sorts of new/deadly stuff, not to mention clearcut a nation or completely massacre untold amounts of innocent people.  The worst part, to me, wasn't the actual war, but the fact that there are still unknown amounts of landmines, toxins, and other bad stuff still littering the landscape, and while we are donating money to get rid of this stuff, the lasting effects on people that had nothing to do with the war are horrendous.  After seeing the museum, you start to notice the people in the street that have one leg, or have fused fingers, or other things.  Who knows if it is a result of the war, but seeing it definitely touches you...

We also tried to find a noodle shop that was the headquarters of the Viet Cong during the war, and due to bad directions, we walked 20 minutes down a street in the sweltering heat to a tiny shop when we didn't even want pho to begin with.  So, we took a motorbike back to the hostel.

In the last post, I was talking about how crazy it looks.  It's just as crazy being on one.  Those guys are nuts, and even though you're not going very fast, the feeling is unique.  So much so, we're thinking of renting one and doing some driving of our own... One of those things you have to try, I can't put it into words.

We got back, took a nap, and then went out for dinner (I get to choose most of the food places, which is good for me...) at this little family food place that had amazing quail, pork stuffed tofu, chicken, among other things.  The food is turning out amazing so far (of course). 

The people here are very nice, similar to Japan, but much more motivated by money.  I guess it makes sense, because it is more of a developing nation.  If you have a few Dong, you can pretty much get anything.  People will follow you across the street to sell you things, try and shake your hand just to get your attention, and haggling is very much the norm, something I have to get better at...

Mekong delta next up...

Vietnam!

So, I finished a 3 day stage at Vue de Monde, but we'll chat about that another time.  I came back at 1AM, slept until 9:30AM, packed, and left for the airport at 11:30AM.  So, we'll see if there's anything I forgot...

The flight itself was uneventful, except for the fact that Malaysia Airlines is very nice... constant streams of food, kind hosts, good movie selection.. you know, the important stuff.  We spent the night in Kuala Lumpur, but only at a hotel near the airport, as we didn't have a whole lot of time to get into the city and do stuff.  Save it for another trip, I guess...

And then there's Ho Chi Minh City, also known as Saigon.  Remember when I said Tokyo is New York on Steroids?  All of the New Yorkers that are so impressed with their city have to travel outside of the states, maybe to somewhere in Asia.  People are everywhere, and the drive in the taxi from the airport to the hostel was insane.  You hear about millions of scooters/bikes on the street, you hear about weaving, you hear about crazy driving, but nothing prepares you for what it actually looks like.  It is a constant stream of miracles that there aren't about 50 crashes an hour here... Bikes weaving in and out of traffic, and when they don't like the area they're driving in, they'll go on the sidewalk, or in the oncoming traffic lane.  Everyone has one, and if you don't have one, you rent one.  People bring grills onto the street with some chairs, and sell dinners from outside of their houses.  The amount of pushiness coming from the locals to buy anything is insane.  If you so much as walk by a store and give someone a sideways glance, you get accosted to buy something, or come into their store.  Haggling is the norm, and this was all on the first night.

At least the place we're staying is nice.  The lady who runs the guesthouse is super helpful, steering us clear of scams, saving us money, and even finding us accommodation when we get back from the Mekong Delta tour, even if it's not at her guesthouse. 

It's hot, humid, and everything you expect it to be weather-wise, and today we're gonna walk around and see the sights.  Two and a half weeks in this country.  I've already been traveling almost a month... It's unbelievable.  I am starting to get a bit tired, but hopefully this new country will rejuvenate me... we'll see.

Checkmate!

Another random way to meet people:

There is a Chess Room in the Downtown Melbourne Library.  I was going to see the exhibits etc, but I decided to sit at a board and see if anyone would join me.  Took about 30 min (I was reading a chess strategies book, to get ready for my upcoming loss), and I played three games! (won the first, lost the next two, if you must know)

Might be a cool place to meet random smart people in the city, or get discovered for my dream of being in the championship chess league.  Bobby Fischer was American, right? Just like Deep Blue!

Addendum to the science museum:  In the human body exhibit, there was a digestive system exhibit, along with a piece of poo (fake?) on display, and a button.  If you push the button, you get a random fart noise.  So, of course, there were kids running up and pushing the button multiple times... and yes, it was hilarious.

That is all.

Isn't 'The Nobbies' fun to say?

So, before I go into Vue de Monde for some hardcore kitchen work being unprepared, maybe I'll write a little bit to waste some time.

The lawn bowling was a success.  I went to St. Kilda, wandered around the Sunday Market, which was filled with the same stuff at any artists market anywhere (Photography of the area surrounding it, earrings made of dice and stuff like that...), I wandered into the St. Kilda Bowling Club, which, apparantly, is the oldest bowling club in the country, at over 150 years old!

I sat for a bit on a bench, watching and being unobtrusive, while in front of me sat an older guy with a Maryland Lacrosse hat.  I swear, I come thousands of miles away from where I grew up, and there's a guy with a Terrapins hat right in front of me.  So, naturally, I start up a conversation.  Jeff was his name, and this was the best thing I could have done.  We chatted for hours about all sorts of stuff.. he's been all over the States, had lots of opinions on everything, and started introducing me to everyone in the club (at this point, Sunday Morning, all older, playing a tournament, and very much hungover from the night before).  "Hey, this is Sean, he's a skinny chef!"  Again, a few people thought I was Canadian, because I didn't have a strong accent... but I was drinking beer with them and listening to their talk about intra-club drama, inside jokes, and lewd comments about everything.  This is a weekend activity I can see myself getting into.

So of course, Jeff and I started drinking as soon as the bar opened (12:30 PM), and one of the members let me use her balls, and I got to play around with the bowling.  The idea is like bocce (I think), in that there's a little white ball that gets rolled first, and you have to get your bigger balls close to the small one, every one that is within a certain distance gets points.  Totally different though, is how the balls roll.  They are designed so that when they slow down, they will curve to one side, so you have to use that curve to get the ball where you need it, such as in between others, hitting opponents' balls out of the way, etc.  It's very different, and a bit hard to get used to, but very very fun once you get the hang of it!

The rest of the day was alright.  There is a HUGE horse race in Melbourne today (Melbourne Cup), and it is a public holiday, so everything is closed (except for bars/restaurants, of course).  That being said, everyone just takes Monday off, and makes a 4 day weekend out of it.  So, lots of drinking, all the bars were completely full by 4:30ish, and it was hard  to even find space to move.  I saw some pretty good bands, had a few beers, and headed back.

Yesterday, I took a few couchsurfers down to Phillip Island, where there's this "World Famous Penguin Parade!"  Basically, Little Blue Penguins come in from their day in the ocean, fishing and such, and undertake a sunset/dark run up the beach to their homes to avoid any predators/birds of prey that would get them.  These things are tiny (maybe 12-15 inches), so they can get picked off pretty easily.  So, of course, we build  two huge parade stands, lights, and every night have a large group of people watch this event (2000 were said to be there yesterday).  They don't seem to be afraid of us, but they are scared to death of the seagulls that hang around to pester them/us.  It was quite a sight to behold, packs of these litle things waddling up the beach a full speed, stopping when they get scared, until a ballsy one chases away a seagull.  Sometimes, they'd make it halfway up the beach, get spooked, and haul ass back into the waves.. It was pretty cool to see.  And, as you walk back along the boardwalk, you can see these guys reuniting with their chicks, feeding them, and waddling along a track, where they like to hide under cars.  Go figure.

The rest of the island was alright.  There was chocolate "factory" that bought huge blocks of chocolate and made them into smaller blocks of chocolate, a grand prix circuit, a lame town which the guy at the information center said would be better if they just bulldozed the whole thing...  Just kind of a beach community centered around the Penguins.

Oh, and a koala conservation center, which had a few koalas in trees that you can look at and take pictures of, and a natural rock jetty called "The Nobbies," which is a place that gulls/terns/other seabirds nest and rear offspring (loud and full of bird poop), and seals come to sun/breed as well.  Something about waves crashing into rocks which is nice for getting wildlife in the mood, i guess...

Still, The Nobbies is fun to say.  Try it.

Boldy, and with Confidence

Happy Halloween!

I went as an American Tourist, complete with accent and everything.  It was such a good costume, nobody had any idea I was in disguise...

Not much exciting going on..  Last night I boycotted any place that had Halloween decorations, so I went to this small pub, started chatting with these guys who were avid travelers as well (One was from Vienna, moved to Melbourne 5 years ago).  They poured some beer from their pitcher for me, and we had a nice conversation.  All these pubs have these awesome rooftop areas to drink/smoke/relax, and this is where we were. 

Side note:  Aussies can drink?  Mayhaps, but they do it in 'pots,' which are about 10 ounces big.  They look so freaking tiny, it's hard to believe that this actually counts... also, the people I've seen drink them pretty slow as well... Lastly, I saw a guy do an Irish Car Bomb (or whatever the aussie equivalent is) by dropping a shot glass in a pot... I mean, cmon.  Even I can do one of those, probably...

After that, walked up and down Brunswick St, the kinda hip bar/club area, and wandered into this really cool pub.  I got a beer, and heard some music going on on the other side of the bar.  I asked a lady how I got to the music, and she pointed through a "Staff Only" door.  So I went in.  Turns out they were just doing a sound check, and it wasn't really open yet.  Ha!  I sat around, listened to the soundcheck, chatted with the merch girl and some of the band members, but left before the show started (I was half falling asleep, and the thunder was starting outside).  On my way home, I stopped by a Jazz club, where the bouncer let me in for a song after I decided not to spend 15 bucks on the cover.  Very solid band, and of course, right as I get up there, 3 minutes later they take a set break.

Oh well, what are you gonna do. 

I will say though, nothing sobers you up like a walk/run through pouring rain.  They have all this talk about a drought here, but if they actually used the rainwater that came down, they could flush all the toilets in Melbourne for like a month.. It's crazy!

Ok, Sunday.  I'm gonna go try and crash a Lawn Bowling game.  Wish me luck!

Warning: Biology ahead!

So yesterday we went to the Healesville Sanctuary, one of three zoos around Melbourne.  This one focused exclusively on local fauna, and I got to see/touch many animals that are only found in Australia.  Kangaroos, lizards, platypi, Tasmanian Devils, etc..

It's interesting, thinking about how some of these animals evolved out here.. Let's start with the kangaroo.  Marsupial, herbivore, lazy buggers.  However, they have crazy sharp claw looking things!  Why would they need them?  I asked the keeper, and she was saying how they live in groups (mobs), and they use the claws primarily for fighting/dominance hierarchies.  Maybe I haven't done biology in a while, but it seems like a weird trait to have just for fighting/dominance.  You'd think those crazy powerful legs would be enough.

The Platypus is another odd one.  It looks like a cross between a beaver and a flattened duck, it is a marsupial/mammal, but lays eggs that are leathery, like a reptile.  One of the few mammals that lays eggs...

There was a bird in the Birds of Prey show (I can't remember what type) that uses rocks to break open Emu eggs.  One of only two species of birds in the world known to use tools (the other being in Africa).

Lastly, the Lyrebird.  A small bird with a gigantic tail (long and thin, not like a peacock), that uses it for mating displays (normal), but impresses females by dancing and mimicing all sorts of other birds/power tools/human speech. 

Seriously, and odd collection of animals.  Everything is a bit odd down here, I guess...

In other news, next week I'll be staging at Vue De Monde for three days before going to Vietnam... One of the best restaurants in the world, and I just walked in and asked.  It's a shame that I didn't bring any of my stuff with me, but oh well...

Also, Halloween is tomorrow.  Apparently it's a new thing down under, and only in the past few years has it taken hold, so it's not terribly big, which is fine for me.  You all know how much I love dressing up...

Getting in the Groove

So,

Over the past few days, I have:

1) Seen a man get bitten by a shark
2) Watched a seagull try to ingest an entire slice of pizza without chewing (birds don't chew anyways, I know)
3) Snuck into a Museum because a local told me to

Not a bad run, I think.  We went to the Aquarium (Did you know that Australia owns much of Antarctica?  No, I don't know why.  Maybe they were just taking what was left, like the utilities on a Monopoly board...), which was very cool (Although I have found out that I really like the Boston one alot: They're the only aquarium that has an open penguin exhibit, instead of all sorts of plexiglass.  I like the penguin calls. And playing with them.).  While watching the feeding of the big sharks and rays in the main tank, one of the divers had is hand all the way in a shark's mouth to try and get them to eat.  All of a sudden the diver started swimming backwards towards the edge of the tank, and blood was coming out.  The girl talking said "I'm not sure what's going on...um...it looks like that's the end of the feeding session! Thanks for coming!"  We found out later that the shark had bitten the diver, and he was alright.  Still though, how often do you see something like that!

The next day (yesterday), I went for a walk South of the Yarra River, near downtown.  I walked through the Royal Botanical Gardens, a stunning example of how varied and planned a garden could be in a city.  It was a great place to meander through, and even just sitting and watching the black swans was a nice way to kill time (lots of birdcalls there).  Also, I visited the Shrine of Remembrance, a WWI war memorial honoring ANZAC spirit (Australia and New Zealand soldiers qualities of courage, brotherhood, loyalty...), finished in 1931 to make sure the war was never forgotten (And a few years later.. WWII!).  It is a very moving monument, and absolutely gorgeous to look at.  While in the main Sanctuary, there was a guy complaining about how the memorial should be about the horrors of war, yet the carvings in the sanctuary seemed to "glorify it." (Soldiers pointing majestically, holding up flags, etc..) I think he missed the point a bit, and it begins to illustrate one of the major traits of Aussies.  They love to bitch about things.  Most of the time it's all in good fun, but it's a serious matter for them as well.  There are countless shows on TV taking the piss (Making fun of) out of the day's news, celebrities, and anything else they can...

While walking around, I met a Tunisian Flight Attendant based out of UAE.  She was killing time before her next flight, and walking around.  I had nothing to do, could use the company, so I chatted with her for a while.  I got all sorts of great stories about rich people that take falcons on airplanes (They get their own seat, with no cage or anything), how doing an hour of makeup for a flight is because of safety, and other interesting stories (she was pissed that she only got one day in Melbourne, but she was getting 3 days in Italy in a few weeks.. what a life).

Today I decided I was going to the Melbourne Museum, a kind of big museum covering science, aboriginal culture, history of Melbourne, and other stuff.  I went to a little French Cafe/Takeout thing, and chatted up the (young) people behind the counter, asking for good places to drink/things to see.  This German girl who just moved to Melbourne told me I could sneak in through the cafe at the museum if I didn't have any money.  I had the money, but when a local (kinda) tells me something cool to do, I'm gonna do it!  There was a gigantic line for buying tickets anyways, so I saved time in addition to money (easily 200 people long..).  The museum was fun, I spent the majority of the day in there.  It was very modern, very informative...

I'm really digging this town.  I think this may be a very different trip than the one I did last year to Japan, in that I'm really getting to know one distinct area of the world, as opposed to traveling all over to see as much as I can.  I will still get around (planning my trip to the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney now), but I think I'll be in and around this city for a while, and as long as I can still find things to do, that won't be a bad thing...

Great Ocean Road. It's great. Really.

It totally deserves it's name.  Maybe they should change it to the Stupendous Ocean Road, because the views, waves, rock formations, and driving road all create this great experience.  I drove from the beach house in Wye River to the 12 Apostles, a rock formation created by water erosion on cliffs, creating different sized pillars just sitting off the coast.  And that was right next to the Loch Ard Gorge, where a shipwreck occurred about 30 years ago, with only 2 survivors, and it's this beautiful range of gullys and gorges through erosion-created islands, a sapphire ocean, and views that take your breath away.

That's just one part of the coast.  It's the kind of place where you want to get a really nice convertible, blast the stereo, and just cruise.  Or use a bike.  Lots of people on motorcycles were all over the place, and I can totally see why, except that if it was me, I'd be a smear on the road by now...

I also went on a tree walk through a temperate rainforest, which was pretty cool, but there was more fauna on the porch outside of the beach house (I saw koalas! They're lazy balls of fur, but with good reason. There's not many nutrients in Eucalyptus leaves...).  I tried taking a walk through another section of rainforest, but the path was closed due to a landslide, and the "big tree" which was one of the center attractions of the hike was completely toppled over.  I guess they're gonna have to change the pamphlet for that one...

I really don't know how to talk about it anymore... nothing absolutely amazing happened, but the experience of driving down that road, stopping at amazing sight after amazing sight is something that is unparalleled.  It's easily one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen in my life.  If you get down here, make it a top priority...

Now, back in Melbourne, I think we're going to the Aquarium today, and the trip marches on... only 10 days in... plenty of time yet...

Kookabura sits in the old gum tree...

So I'm sitting at the family beach house in Wye River, on the Great Ocean Road, Southwest of Melbourne, and Megan's brother and niece are sitting on the porch, surrounded by king parrots, kookaburas, and cockatoos.  It's a freaking tropical zoo, they swarm to get birdseed (Raw meat for the Kookaburas), which is amply provided for them by Megan's stepmother.  They crash into the glass to get our attention.  They sit on the porch railing waiting for feeding time.  It is wild.  We in North America think of all of these birds as tropical, and here they are, just hanging out by the beach...

And what a beach it is.  Obviously, the entire southern coast of Australia is beachfront (and cliffs above the ocean too), and there is this huge stretch of coastal road built after the Great Depression used to get people to the coast, and out surfing (among other things).  This road is called the Great Ocean Road, and it is simply one of the most stunning drives in the world.  Imagine winding curves through Eucalyptus tree forests, where sheer cliff dropoffs are all over the landscape, creating a winding coastline where you can see for miles.  I can't do it justice, pictures can't do it justice, it's one of those things you really just need to see.  While we were driving, it rained, so for part of the drive we had a rainbow in the ocean.  I don't think I've ever seen an entire rainbow before... Beginning and ending in the sea.

Before we came out here, I spent some time in the Queen Victoria Market... one of the largest markets in the southern hemisphere.  And what a market it is. 5 aisles of farm produce (an aisle being an entire city block, at least), an entire organic section, a food court, a meat/fish section the size of a mall, a deli section with meats/cheese/farmmade butter/bakeries/etc..  And that's just the food.  There's a million silly trinket stalls taking up an area as big as the rest of the market... 

I was walking through the deli, finding things for lunch, and decided I wanted some Smoked Tasmanian Salmon.  I walk up to a stall, ask for some, and inquire as to the quality.  "It's pretty good," the saleslady says. 

"No No No. I don't want pretty good.  What's better?"
"Um, we have some Awesome stuff..."
"Yes! I want Awesome stuff!"

So she goes into the back (of a tiny stall), gets an unmarked package, and gives me a taste. "Smoked ocean trout"  It was awesome. Light, slightly briny, tasting like the ocean...

Some of that, some Aussie triple cream brie, and a baguette make lunch.  Walked around the city, fell in love with it some more.  Sat for a while at the Federation Bells, a bunch of differently toned bells that play for 3 hours a day (non-consecutive), and which you can submit musical creations online... very cool!

So, down to the pub now, and then I'm cooking dinner for 15 people tonight.  You know me...

October showers...

Spring is definitely in full swing down here...

You know how people always say that they live in a place where you can never tell what the weather is going to be, and that it changes from minute to minute?  Melbourne trumps all of those places, at least in the past few days that I've seen.  It is a nice temperature in the morning, calm with clear skies, and then all of a sudden it's really windy. And then it clears up and gets hot. And then clouds appear out of nowhere and create a downpour.  Maybe we should give up on the prediction of the weather, because it seems to be a fruitless endeavor.

Anyways, I'm definitely getting settled into Melbourne life, and the time zone.  I went to an engagement party with Megan on the day I got in, after taking a quick nap for a few hours, and was immediately assaulted by English spoken as a foreign language.  You can kind of tune out foreign language, especially if it is one that you don't understand at all.  With Australia, everyone speaks English, so you're constantly listening, but not totally hearing everything that is said.  This problem is compounded at a party, with loud music, and lots of people.  Thankfully, everyone I met was very gracious with this, and one of Megan's friends even tried to help me translate, since just getting back from America herself, she was "fluent in Australian and American." 

On Sunday, I went on a walk around the Yarra River (which runs right by the house), seeing the "falls" (glorified dam, not very big, but enough to create rapids which kids were kayaking down), and a converted convent which housed a bakery and a rotating modern art exhibit.  It was a gorgeous day for a stroll (well, the morning, at least), and framed by a river that might have the Potomac beat in amount of sediment (Yarra is apparently an indigenous word which means upside-down, thus: the upside-down river), it was a nice way to stretch my legs after sitting in a flying tin can for 2 days.

We then joined Megan's sister and her sister-in-law for a jaunt into the city, to a craft show that was going on at the Royal Exhibition Center.  The show was typical, and had some really nice quilts/crafts/artsy stuff, the building it was in is absolutely stunning.  It's a UNESCO Heritage Site, built in the early 1900s, and it's Victorian to the hilt.  Intricate painted walls/ceilings, huge arched headspaces.... Just an amazing building, and kept in amazing condition (I'm sure it has been retouched, but still...).

A chill evening followed, pastries at an Italian bistro, I made dinner for the family, and some relaxing to try and evade the jet lag.

Monday was a wandering day, where we took the tram into the city and meandered around Melbourne for a while.  Melbourne is a great city, in layout and in feel.  The Central Business District (CBD) is a grid, where there aren't many skyscrapers, so it has a very personal feel to it.  Around the outskirts, there are tons of parks, art galleries, gardens, and other sights which create a constant vibrancy in the city's momentum.  The architecture is a combination of old school Victorian and very modern creations, creating a really sleek but accessible feel throughout the city.  For example, Federation Square is right to the South of the CBD, where the Melbourne Visitor Center is (Hardcore tourist center), and the Australian Center for the Moving Image (ACMI - Film museum), among other things. But the buildings are so modern (think NYC Apple store for the tourist center, and modern patchwork quilt for ACMI), and the open space in between so well planned out, it feels like a great place to sit and peoplewatch, which is exactly what goes on, it seems.  Megan says there is tons of stuff going on there in the summer, so I anticipate that being a place I go to a lot. 

ACMI was very cool, but the museum was too new, and things weren't exactly working 100%.  We went to the Old Melbourne Gaol (Jail), where a lame "scary get locked in a cell" tour led to a kinda creepy, but pretty middle-ages style Jail, where apparently you can have a wedding ceremony/reception (Megan went to a wedding there.. As long as the sweetheart table isn't under the gallows, I guess it's ok...).  We walked a lot through the alleys and arcades that go between the main streets, which struck me as really cool; the kind of place that you can get lost in and find all sorts of cool stuff off the beaten path.  After getting tons of reading material for things to do in and around Melbourne (3 months is seeming shorter and shorter...), we headed back to the house just as it started to pour, and relaxed a bit before going to Megan's basketball game, where I got to push the buttons to put score on the board! Yay!

And yes, today is my Birthday (in Australia, at least), but it's really cold and windy outside, and I have a party with 12 people at a Greek Restaurant (and wherever else you drink around here) tonight, so Megan is out renting a whole lot of iconic Aussie movies, and getting some sort of green tea milkshake which supposedly is amazing...  Also, I've learned from last time that you can't spend every day going balls to the wall, because you'll get worn out. 3 months is much longer than one month, and not enjoying the trip is terrible, even if it was jam-packed with things that have been seen/done...

Around the world in 60 hours, or why you should never fly Delta.

So, here it is, October 11th, and I got to Melbourne yesterday. But wait, you say, weren't you supposed to be there on Friday?

I got to Dulles Airport, and right after I went through security, the first leg of my flight to Detroit was on time.  Right after I got off, not 10 minutes later, it was delayed an hour.  So I tried to figure out my options.  First, I asked for a flight on Virgin Atlantic, flying straight to LA, which I thought I had a chance of getting because I fixed their dot matrix printer (they still use those?). No dice, but had I already had a flight, I would have gotten free drinks. Oh well.  After chatting with two Delta agents, I was left with the idea that I should stick with the flight, I'll still have 15 minutes to transfer in Detroit, and the airport wasn't that big...

So, biting my nails, I fly to detroit, and haul across the airport. I was running, and passing all the other people trying to transfer as well... Which felt great, because I can definitely run faster than most buisnessmen in suits. I get to the gate for my Detroit --> LAX flight, and there's a huge line. I was relieved, because now it was smooth sailiing.  I would make all my flights, and I can sit back and focus on trying to sleep on the airplane. I strap in, try my best to ignore the RIDICULOUSLY chatty Korean woman talking the ear off the elderly man sitting next to me.. We taxi to the runway, and the captain comes over the loudspeaker: "We have an instrument gauge message here, 'insufficent fuel for trip,' and we're going to have to go back to the gate for this one..." Ugh.

Everyone worried about connections was let off the plane to chat with a gate agent (everyone else had to wait on the plane... security measures...) Out of the 10 of us sitting out there, 9 of us are going to Australia, and 6 of us were trying to get the same Delta flight in LA.

Now, I will make it clear here... Delta is in the process of merging with Northwest, and they are all running on the same name/uniforms/etc.. However, the airlines are still distinct. Northwest people can't use Delta machines (and vice versa), Delta service people can't help us with problems with a Northwest plane, yet in the spirit of corporate ideals, all trace of differences in signage for the benefit of the customer is gone, so you have no idea which line is the one that can help you...All for total immersion of Northwest into Delta. God Bless America.

So, my first two flights were Northwest, and going to Australia I was on Delta. The service desk in Detroit told us we would probably have to stay overnight in LA, but they would try and hold the plane in LA, because there were multiple people who would be stranded.  An announcement would be made on the plane later.  This is the shortened version. We were standing at the desk for about 1.5 hours, trying to figure out what was going on, and how to fix it.  The plane, however, was all sorts of not fixed, and we left 3 hours (!) later than scheduled. So, we landed in LA at 12:30AM, when the Sydney flight left at 10:30 PM.  Needless to say, the flight wasn't held.

But they didn't tell us that.  No announcement was made on the plane. When we got off, nobody at the gate would help us, instead sending us outside of security to talk with the ticket counter people.  When we passed outside of security, it was closed, so there was no way we were getting back in.  We were never told that the flight wasn't held.  A poor woman, who hated her job and her new bosses, stayed later than she was supposed to, with her mother in the hospital, so that she could help us get on new flights/situated with the hotel.  She was a Northwest employee.  The Delta employee stayed for 10 minutes, helped 2 of the 6 of us, and disappeared without saying a word.  We were told that we were all booked on other flights the next day, but when two girls tried to confirm that by having the Northwest woman look up the info, it was found that they were not checked in on any flights.  Those not flying Delta to Australia were up a creek, as "it was only Delta's responsibility to get the passenger to the terminal of the Delta ticket," they wouldn't help anyone with further flights get situated with the other airline.  They made me call my Australian airline connection to figure out my Sydney --> Melbourne flight. Others taking different airlines into Australia were furious.  No responsibility was taken on the part of Delta employees. No effort was made at all to help us with any of our problems. We stood at the desk for 2 hours, then were told that if we wanted to work with Delta on this, we had to come back when they opened, around 4:30AM.

So three of us did.  I situated myself with two girls, one from Melbourne (convienent!), and one from Michigan, and we took the strength in numbers approach. We checked into the hotel and then headed back to the airport, where we spoke to 3 different representatives, getting three different results. My flight was rescheduled on Air New Zealand through Auckland, and that could not be changed, until we talked to the supervisor, who put me on the Delta flight that went to Sydney (same as my old one, just a day later).  We were in the airport until 7AM, and we weren't the only ones having problems. It was almost as if there would be riots at the counter, with the way some people were yelling and causing a scene.  The Delta/Northwest counters were understaffed, and the lack of acutal service when people were being "helped" caused such distress... I've never seen anything like it, and I will never fly Delta again.

Virgin Blue (my Australian transfer) was very accommodating, having no problem changing my flight as long as I had a document proving the delay in Delta's flight.  What a difference when I got to Australia. People were nice, responsibility was taken, and people knew how to create customer rapport.

Anyways, back to LA.  The eventual flight to Sydney was overbooked by Delta by 16 people! 16 people had tickets but no seats.  It was the most amazing display of incompetence I have ever seen in an airport...

The day wasn't a waste though. After trying to sleep in the hotel, my body not knowing what time zone/sleep cycle to be on, myself and the two girls walked around Santa Monica and Venice, and met Chris/Katie for dinner. Much thanks to them for driving us back/picking up luggage/seeing us off at the airport, even while sick... I finally made it out to the west coast! (oh, and Scott, don't worry, I'm sure you were busy, and I just saw you that weekend...Loser)

There were points in the trip that I honestly had given up, and just wanted to fly back to MD and not even deal with ineptitude and planes anymore, but I'm glad I persevered. Australia is a land of wonderful people so far, even if I haven't gotten enough sleep to be able to appreciate it yet.  It's been a day and a half, I'll update more in another post, but Megan is sleeping (more jet lag than me somehow!), and someone has to make dinner!

We'll see how often I update... I will try, but I'm not promising any sort of frequency.  The days are really planned out, and my amazing tour guide has everything worked out... I'm meeting people, and the majority of them are like "Ah! So you're Sean..."  And, I'm going out on my birthday with 12 people whom I don't know, but will quickly become my friends, I'm sure...

Mt. Quandry! My First 14er!

Chipmunks!

The snow is thawing! Kind of...

Spring in Breck!