Going Backtracking
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"
Posted May 10, 2010
DAYS 17-18: “Qiu-qiu!” (pronounced “tcho-tcho!") I cried out to the cute little puppy face greeting me outside of Juju’s Peugeot back in Shanghai (picture above). I had greeted Scott and Juju as well when the three of them picked me up from the Maglev station after I’d flown back to Shanghai from Seoul for an overnight layover.
“She’s excited,” Juju told me, which led to one thing:
“I think she peed on me,” I reported. I checked my pants; she had peed right on my crotchal region. “It looks like I peed.”
“Welcome to China,” Scott joked.
Not Forgotten
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted May 09, 2010
DAY 16: American Korean War veterans often cite their war as “The Forgotten War,” for other wars have taken the spotlight in the the long history of American warfare. Perhaps more media attention goes to World War II since America and the Allied Nations “won” that war. Perhaps more attention goes to Vietnam and Iraq to point out America’s “blunders.” (Both “won” and “blunders” are in quotes depending on your political sensitivity.) Perhaps the Korean War takes a back page to others because it ended in a stalemate, the result being the fact that there are now two countries: a Socialist North Korea (officially the DPRK or “Democratic People’s Republic of Korea") and a democratic South Korea (officially the ROK or “Republic Of Korea").
To the mainstream consciousness (or perhaps just mine), the most attention the Korean War has gotten is the fact that it served as the backdrop for the film-inspired 1970-80s TV sitcom series M.A.S.H.—cleverly starting its television run as a commentary for the then current Vietnam War—where, to the memory of my too-young-to-really-remember-anything childhood knowledge, the Korean War was the one where Jamie Farr went around and dressed in drag all the time. (Cue laugh track.)
Korean Things On The Other Cinco De Mayo
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted May 08, 2010
DAY 15: In the United States, Cinco De Mayo, which translates to “fifth of May” (or alternatively, “five of mayonnaise"), is a day in which happy hour-going yuppies and college kids imbibe buckets of Coronas during a long drinking binge, while Mexican busboys wonder what the big deal is; it’s not even a real national Mexican holiday. In South Korea, the fifth of May has nothing to do with Mexico (or mayonnaise for that matter) for it is the national holiday of Children’s Day—the opposite day of Mother’s Day or Father’s Day—where Korean parents take time off to spend with their kids.
Seoul Man
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted May 06, 2010
DAY 14: 8:49 p.m. South Korean Time: A BMW 5-Series rolled up to pick me up at the Inter-Continental Hotel in the heart of downtown Seoul. However it was not as chichi as it seems, for I was not staying at the 5-star luxury hotel (it was only a meeting point), nor did the Beamer belong to the person driving it. (It was his mom’s.)
Behind the wheel was Hong, a friend from back during my days working at a particular interactive agency in New York a couple of years ago, who was now living in the capital city of his home country, South Korea. Hong was the same as I remember him, with his American voice, kind demeanor, and hip sense of style. “Welcome to Seoul,” he welcomed me. “How was your flight?” He put the Beamer in drive and we head out onto the streets, filled with the twinkling red brake lights of night time traffic.
Chinese Things On May Day Monday
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted May 05, 2010
DAY 13: “Any idea what you want to do today?” Scott asked me the Monday morning of the long weekend for International Workers Day (a.k.a. “May Day,” like Labor Day in the USA). He really had no plans but to run errands on his day off. I suggested seeing the popular pedestrian strip Nanting Road, and maybe check out some of the markets I’d been recommended. Also,
“We should all get massages,” I added. (Why not, at under ten bucks for an hour-long massage from a professional blind masseur?) He agreed.
Shopping and errand running was a good way to see life in Shanghai as it is, and all of its different people. We left Qiu-qiu (pronounced “tcho tcho") at home, grabbed a Starbucks coffee and Starbucks Dragon Roll (a sweet gelatinous dumpling), and took to the streets of Shanghai on what was shaping up to be a beautiful day.
Crouching Tiger, Hundred Tourists
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted May 04, 2010
DAY 12: “I want to go to here,” I whispered under my breath, tweaking Tina Fey’s now immortal line of bewildered amazement (immortal for any 30 Rock fan anyway), as I gazed upon the Huang Shan sunrise in the magnificent mountain landscape that has inspired many a Chinese painting. (When you’ve already gone to there, you are “here.") Huang Shan’s beauty is so surreal, especially on a misty day, that it served as the setting of the final scene in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long to the Chinese), where Ziyi Zhang gracefully jumps from the great peak and into the clouds. However, my magic moment was only a split-second of nirvana—even at the stupid o’clock hour of 5:30am—for I was not alone.
Race To Yellow Mountain
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted May 03, 2010
DAY 11: Huang Shan, which translates to “yellow mountain,” is amongst the Lonely Planet guidebook’s “Best Of China” list—one of the reasons for my second trip to the PRC for “Chinese leftovers.” A glorious mountain landscape that has been the subject matter of countless classic Chinese paintings, Huang Shan’s heavenly peaks—which are even more ethereal when they jut out of a sea of clouds—have inspired many, from ancient Chinese 8th-century poet Li Bai to American 21st-century director James Cameron, who has cited Huang Shan as one of the inspirations for the art direction of Pandora in the mega blockbuster Avatar.
That Jerk Jackie Chan
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted May 02, 2010
DAY 10: “Jackie Chan,” Juju said during our morning coffee and news session at the Starbucks across the street. “We don’t like him.” She continued, saying how while he may be a comedic karate guy in the USA, he was known in China to be a jerk and a womanizer, with kids from different women that he sometimes didn’t claim to be his. Plus, “His movies are all the same; cha cha cha [action sounds] and a little funny… but his kung fu is only so-so. Jet Li… he does real kung fu.”
Strawberry Fields Forever, For The Day
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 30, 2010
DAY 9: Music from the street level was loud enough that it became within earshot, along with a Chinese voice on a megaphone seemingly shouting orders, like some sort of Orwellian sci-fi movie. “What’s that music?” I asked Juju.
“Oh, that’s just the school,” she answered. “They exercise.”
I looked across the way and saw from afar Chinese children in matching jumpsuits marching in single file.
And so began the morning of what would be a beautiful sunny day.
Dog Day Afternoon
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 29, 2010
DAY 8: “I think the dog peed over there,” I told Juju in the morning, pointing out a spot between my guest room and the bathroom. “Because I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and I think I stepped in it.” My sock got a little wet in a pee puddle, so I put it in the pile for the cleaning lady to wash with my laundry. Qiu-qiu the three month old pup shaked her tail and pleaded innocent, although we knew she was the likely offender. But you could never really get mad at her; I mean, look at that little punim!
A Shanghai Welcome
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 28, 2010
DAY 7: “Can I take your picture?” I asked the soon-to-be familiar face waiting for me outside the arrivals gate at Pudong International Airport. “I never had anyone hold out a sign with my name at the airport before.” (Later I learned that she had hand-painted the “Erik Trinidad” with a calligraphy brush, along with the Chinese characters for “Welcome to Shanghai” underneath.)
”Okay," she obliged awkwardly.
Life In Taipei 101
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 27, 2010
DAY 6: “I spoke to my mom earlier,” Elizabeth told me. “I told her, ‘Erik’s here but I can’t really challenge him with anything because he’s done everything already.’” True, living in food-obsessed New York City and having been to China already, I’d encountered many far eastern customs and culinary creations that a Minnesotan family like hers might only see via Andrew Zimmern. However, there were a few things that Taiwan could prove to be unique, and more than the fact that they have creepy moving mannequin flagmen, or the fact that people hang their sausages out to dry with their laundry.
Chicken Soup For The Eye
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 27, 2010
DAY 5: Even though the Taiwanese switched from a six-day-work-week to a Western five-day one, that didn’t mean much to Elizabeth since her job at an English learning center had her come in on Saturdays anyway—which only meant that Sundays (and some Monday mornings) were her only day to go out excursioning. Usually she goes daytripping with her friend Amanda, but Amanda was away with her father, leaving me to be Elizabeth’s daytripping partner for the day. (Little did I know at the beginning of the day that it almost cost me an eye.)
Pretty Fly For A White Girl
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 25, 2010
DAY 4: “Hello!” said the familiar voice on my local-SIM-card-enabled phone. “Welcome to Taipei!”
“I just told the information booth lady, xiexie [thank you],” I answered.
“Oh, you’re official!”
Business Before Bourdain
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 24, 2010
DAY 3: “[Where’s that market that Anthony Bourdain went to where they buy the food from the market and have a cook prepare it?]” I asked my Tito Pepito in that paraphrase. “They made prawn adobo.” A fellow No Reservations fan, he knew what I was talking about, but there was more than one of such a market in the Metro Manila area. He pulled out his netbook to find out. “Look it up on Youtube,” I told him. But when he got online, the connection from the house wi-fi was spotty—the day before we deduced it was a problem with the DSL provider—and we couldn’t get an immediate answer. We made it our goal to find out and go before day’s end, but first, there was some business to take care of.
Five Filipino Years Later
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 23, 2010
DAY 2: It has been five years since I was in Manila, which I quoted back then on this blog as a cosmopolitan fusion of “Malay, Madrid, and Madison Avenue.” Five Filipino years later, the bustling southeast Asian metropolis is different in a lot of ways, but at the same time, the same. For example, the Filipino fast food chain Jollibee is ubiquitous as ever (serving food before it can be fancified by yours truly), and locals are still smiling with the carefree philosophy of bahala na. As soon as I exited the airport, there was one obvious thing that was the same:
Holy fuck, it’s hot outside, I thought to myself. (Actually I said that out loud, so no need for inner-monologue italics there.)
Not Quite Up In The Air
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 22, 2010
DAY 1:”Hi, I’m a cardmember and I’m trying to get into one of the airport lounges,” I said to the American Express representative on my cell phone in Terminal 1 of New York’s JFK International Airport. The customer service rep was attentive until she had to transfer me to another department, which transferred me back to the first department (but with another representative), who transferred me again—and suddenly I was on the phone in a long, long cycle of periodic hold music (like that time I called the monks in Bethlehem). But I had time to kill, so whatever.
Here I Go Again On My Own
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers"Posted April 18, 2010
“Uhhh… eeyaaahh… form?”
A middle-aged Chinese woman struggled to ask me something with frantic hand gestures, as we stood in a queue of what was at least thirty people, and increasing by the second. After a friendly exchange of spoken syllables and more hand motions, I deduced that she wanted me to hold her place in line so that she could go over to the table on the other side of the room and pick up a blank visa application. She came back in less than a minute, and spent the rest of her time waiting, productively filling out her information. I on the other hand, had my form all filled out, attached to a passport-sized photo and a copy of my previous Chinese visa. I waited patiently.
I was surrounded by many people, most with east Asian faces—although not exclusively. I was after all, technically on Chinese soil in the heart of New York City, at the Chinese embassy, dropping off my passport and application for a multi-entry visa into the People’s Republic of China for the trip I was going to embark on in a few weeks—the next blogged adventure of The Global Trip: Chinese Leftovers and Other Asian Appetizers.
“C” And The Conclusion Is Good Enough For Me
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted August 03, 2009
DAY 15: I had met Adrian and Andrea the night before, a young traveling couple from the UK who had just arrived in Israel for their holiday around the country. Fresh from the airport and into the Old City of Jerusalem, they asked me, Maurice and Willa for travel tips and advice on what to see and where to go, and for me, my transfer of knowledge acquired from the past two weeks was evidence that I had truly come full circle. My “cycle” had been complete, which meant it was time to say goodbye.
Jesus Christ and Jimmy Carter
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted August 02, 2009
DAY 14: “We should go to services in Bethlehem on Sunday, since we went to Shabbat dinner on Friday,” suggested Miriam, the quirky, chain-smoking Scottish lass I’d met on the way to Shabbat dinner at a rabbi’s house two days prior. With that said, I had made plans to head back into the Palestinian West Bank to O Tourist Town of Bethlehem—birthplace of baby Jew, Jesus Christ—with her, and two others I’d met (Willa and Maurice) when were all out drinking the night before. Gathering the crew together that morning was a small ordeal, with cell phone alarms that didn’t go off and having to backtrack to get passports—not to mention the inevitable hangovers that ensued.
Group Fun in the Sun
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted July 12, 2009
DAY 13: “I guess we should get a group photo?” suggested the curious Howard, who was probably testing the waters of the dynamics of our newly-formed tour group; we had only been riding together in a mini-van for less than an hour with not much conversation. But our smiling willingness for a group photo at our quick early morning pitstop—the Sea Level roadside marker—was the telling that we had lucked out with a fun crew.
“Can you take a picture with my camera too?!” asked another to our driver who was taking the photo.
“Mine too!”
Soon, there were multiple photos of our six smiles—it was the first of several group photos that day.
Shabbat Shalom!
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted July 04, 2009
DAY 12 (PART 2): (The following entry was written to the best of my memory, since taking photos or jotting down notes was forbidden after sundown, in respect of the Jewish Sabbath. [Seriously, there was a guard there working at the Western Wall Plaza, yelling at anyone who did—he was the Token Sabbath Goy and was allowed to do so.])
“I can’t believe I’m here for Shabbat!” raved Michelle, a young Canadian Jewish girl that had recently decided to consider herself “from Cananda” instead of “from Argentina” where she was born and raised for fifteen years.
“Well, Canadians are so nice,” I told her.
I had just been introduced to her by Sarit, who had just freshened up to meet me for Shabbat dinner after our long day trekking in the Palestinian West Bank—Michelle was from her hostel’s women-only dorm room and was invited to join us. However, we weren’t exactly sure where we would find a proper Shabbat dinner in Jerusalem, but we had a pretty good idea where we might find an invitation to one: the Western Wall, Judaism’s holiest place on earth.
The Wild, Wild West Bank
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted July 02, 2009
DAY 12 (PART 1): “What did he say?” I asked my new friend and traveling companion Sarit, who was fluent enough in Hebrew to understand what the bus driver was telling us. She had asked him where we should be dropped off on the side of the road in order to hike the Wadi Qelt trek between Jerusalem and Jericho, through the untamed desert of the Palestinian West Bank.
“He said that he’ll drop us off at the [Jewish] settlement and that it’s a far walk and it’s unsafe and that we shouldn’t be heroes for doing it,” Sarit informed me. “But he’ll take us.”
To Slant or Not To Slant
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 30, 2009
DAY 11: “Do you have anything in your bag that might look like a knife or a weapon?” asked Yael, the super-friendly, super-knowledgeable tour guide from the Sandeman’s tour company, which ran the Old City’s twice-daily free tour from the Jaffa Gate. (I opted to pay 75 shekels for a more comprehensive tour that would bring us inside most of the holy sites instead of discussing them from afar.)
“I might have a can opener that might be construed as a weapon, but I’ll check and get rid of it,” I told her. “I’m just staying over there.”
“Anything like a knife or a Bible, and they won’t let you up Temple Mount.”
I emptied my bag of any sharp or holy objects.
Keeping Kosher in the New Jeru
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 30, 2009
DAY 10: “This is going to sound weird,” I started to say to the unknown uniformed girl next to me on the public Egged bus, “but do you mind if I take a photo of you, holding your gun, and your purse? I just think it’s funny.” Noa (that was her name) happily obliged.
When traveling around Israel, it is common—very common—to see youths in uniform, walking around everywhere with semi-automatic rifles strapped to their torsos. Service in the Israeli army is compulsory to all kids out of high school, and all of them in uniform are required to carry their weapons to be on call in case of an emergency attack. Girls don’t normally walk around with weapons unless they are stationed at a border, which is why it was such a novelty to sit next to one; Noa worked on the border with Egypt, but was on the bus on her way home for some time off. Despite what I had thought, she did not work at the military base that was visible from the road out of Eilat, with missile launchers in plain sight pointed towards Egypt to ensure their “peace.”
Erik Trinidad And The Second To The Last Crusade
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 29, 2009
DAY 9: “Why are you here?” asked the armed Jordanian border patrol guard at the Yitzhak Rabin Israeli/Jordanian border crossing, about a five-minute drive from Eilat’s city center.
Because I’m looking for the Holy Grail, I thought to myself.
If you are a child of the 80s, or just an Indiana Jones fan of any age (as I am), you undoubtedly know that Petra—Jordan’s main archaeological tourist attraction—was the site at the ending of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, where Indiana Jones and his father end up finding the Holy Grail after running away from Nazis via boat, motorcycle, horses, camels, and tanks. (You’re welcome.) That movie was released in 1989, when it was to be the last installment of the Indiana Jones trilogy—this was of course, before Spielburg and Lucas raped Indiana Jones (South Park fans will get that) and decided to make an entertaining, but much inferior fourth movie in 2008, making the 1989 movie Indy’s second to the last crusade.
Jewish Mother, American Dad
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 25, 2009
DAYS 7-8: “It’s amazing, isn’t it?” said a middle-aged South African tourist admiring the scenery as we waited under the shade at a bus stop rest area midway between Jerusalem and Eilat. “It’s amazing that they built all this in such a short period of time. How did they do it? It’s amazing.”
I stated the obvious. “Well, foreign support.”
But he was on a rant. “How can they do all this, and not believe in the Messiah? That’s the amazing thing...”
Oy yoy yoy. Here we go, I thought. Another preachy Christian South African fanatic. I hadn’t encountered one since that South African Creationist I shared a room and boat tour with, ironically in the Galapagos, birthplace of Darwin’s Theory of Evolution.
He continued, “That they can still be blessed by His grace and build all this in a short period of time...”
Fortunately we were on different buses to Eilat, and we had already started to reboard.
What Would Jesus Do?
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 22, 2009
DAY 6 (PART 2): It’s a shame that the teachings of Jesus Christ have become so convoluted with the institution of the Roman Catholic Church. The Vatican, over centuries, has taken a good thing and turned it into a big, stuffy (and candle-extinguishing) machine of imperial faith and worship. But whether you are religious or not, you can’t argue that Jesus Christ’s optimistic message has inspired people around the globe for millenia—inspired both good and bad things.
Most of the stories of the life of Jesus took place around the Sea of Galilee, surrounded by the regions known as The Golan and The Galilee, where J.C. spent most of his time preaching his message in a synagogue at Capernaum (picture above)—let us not forget that Jesus, messiah of the Christians, was actually a Jew, arguably in the Top Three Known Jews of all time. (Steven Spielburg is like No. 4 or something.)
The Candle
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 22, 2009
DAY 6 (PART 1): There is a scene from 30 Rock where Tracy Jordan (played by Tracy Morgan) decides to convert to Catholicism and has a discussion about it with his boss, Jack Donaghy (played by Alec Baldwin). Ultimately, Jack tells him, “Even though there is the whole confession thing, that’s no free pass, because there is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you’re simply… eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt.”
War of the Salads
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 21, 2009
DAY 5: “In Israel, shopping is a sport,” said Zvi, the Israeli native who was my new friend and tour guide, as he drove by a mall on the outskirts of Haifa, on the northern coast. “Shopping, shopping, shopping.”
Lily had shotgun in his four-door sedan while I spread out in the backseat for the day-long road trip ahead. Some might find it strange that I was with a girl I’d known for two days and now a man I’d only known for a few hours from the night before—both relatively strangers—but stranger things have happened. Besides, I got the insiders view of what life has been like living in Israel for decades.
Embracing It All
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 20, 2009
DAY 4: “So what are you doing in Israel?” asked Sarit, a young Jewish American from Albany, NY I met that morning outside the not-yet-open gates for the famous Baha’i Gardens atop Mount Carmel (of Elijah and Carmelites fame). She had recently graduated from her undergrad years and was avoiding the “real world” by wandering around Israel for nine months thus far, a couple of those working in a kibbutz.
“I’m here to uh, do stuff,” I answered.
“So where are you from?”
“Teaneck,” I told her (after telling her my current whereabouts in Brooklyn).
“Oh, I have cousins there!” the Jew replied with a tad of excitement.
“Of course you do.”
Conversations of Conversion
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 18, 2009
DAY 3: “What is your purpose in Israel?” asked the female Israeli officer at the security bag check and metal detector at the Tel Aviv central train station.
My new friend and fellow Brooklynite Lily could have had a loaded answer, about how she was in Israel to see what it’s all about since she was in the middle of a serious contemplation on converting to Judaism from years of a Catholic upbringing. Surrounded by many Jewish friends in her life from her undergrad days at Brown to her current life as a medical student at SUNY, she had seriously been intrigued with the Jewish faith and lifestyle, attending Hillel events and other Jewish festivities. In her exploration, she had been trying to keep kosher since the beginning of the year, observed all the Passover rules in April, and was starting to learn Hebrew.
But like me before her, she simply answered the Israeli guard, “Just traveling.”
You Don’t Mess With The Zohar
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 17, 2009
DAY 2: “It’s funny seeing you here, seeing that we never see you in New Jersey,” said a familiar face. It was my friend Maya, an Israeli-American on vacation with her Filipino-American husband Mienri—also my friend, brother to Elaine (Nicaragua and “I’m jealous” fame), and cousin to Terence (Rio, Munich). True, while they lived an hour drive away from me back home, I barely got to see them—different schedules or something, particularly with them having a kid: an uber-cute, two-year-old daughter named Olivia, the spawn of not-such-an-unlikely pairing of marriage; Maya and Min‘s matrimonial union was just one of a number of Jewish/Filipino couples I knew. Their two-week vacation to sightsee and visit Maya’s Israel-residing mother was coming to an end, but their last day overlapped with my first.
From Teaneck to Tel Aviv
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: Holla! In The Holy Land"
Posted June 15, 2009
DAY 1: “Tickets and passport,” requested Shir, the cute Israeli woman with a welcoming smile at the Israeli airline El Al line at JFK’s Terminal 4. Little did I know that she was the first line of defense in a long-drawn-out Israeli security ordeal before departure from New York.
Preface In Paris
Posted June 15, 2009
YES, THE RUMORS ARE TRUE; I am about to embark on my first travel-blogged adventure in almost a year and a half. That’s right, I haven’t updated The Global Trip travel blog since February 2008, back in the days when only a handful of the population knew what the hell it meant to “tweet,” the ol’ days when Leno hosted The Tonight Show and the U.S. only elected white presidents.
That’s not to say I haven’t been doing short one-off trips here and there. In the past sixteen months I’ve done a California tour, visiting the beaches of Southern California and my friends in the L.A. area (including TGT Blog Hog Noelle), driving up the PCH (amidst 2008’s wildfires) to the bay area up north, and seeing fellow Central American Eviction Tour traveler Camilla, and longtime fellow travel buddy Sam (Antartica, Australia, Moscow) just in time for the flamboyant festivities of Pride Week. I did another week in Tamarindo, Costa Rica with friend and long-time blog reader Dtella, to “work from home” (ah, the freelance life) and learn to surf (despite the fact that it had rained most of that week). There were also local winter weekends to play in the snow and ice, and long weekends away in Orlando to visit friends, San Antonio to reunite with Elisa (Xi’an) after five years, and one rollin’-down-the-river trip in Pennsylvania.
I also did another long weekend in Paris (my fourth time there), which is worth recounting now since it may or may not be significant on my upcoming trip to Israel (and hopefully Jordan), since I traveled there with two Jews during Passover weekend—including one girl that I had met on my “Tomatoes, Grease & Beer” blog in Athens…
End Of An Eviction Tour
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted February 02, 2008
DAYS 41-43: If you recall, Elaine met a guy on the plane from Houston named Steve, who was actually a friend of a friend of hers back in New York. Like Stephanie to Camillo in Bogota, Colombia, we had to use my cell phone to track him down. Even though Steve was in Nicaragua to take a Spanish class in Grenada, he was using all non-class time to see as much of the country as he could. Upon contacting him via email to his BlackBerry, I soon received a text message. We discovered that he was in fact, right there in San Juan del Sur too, at one of the restaurants on the beach, two blocks away from us.
Nicaraguan New Year’s
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted February 02, 2008
DAY 40: New Year’s. Every year, it’s the same question: Where do I want to be when one year ends and another begins? This question has troubled many people, with all the pressured expectations of the overly-hyped holiday. Everyone wants a good answer to the post question: “So what did you do for New Year’s?”
Faithful readers of this blog know that I’ve had many eventful New Year’s in my life as a traveler. On New Year’s 2002-2003, I stayed in and read Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, which convinced me that I would follow my dream of going around the world for at least a year. On New Year’s 2003-2004, I reflected on this decision with no regrets, as I trekked down the world’s deepest canyon in Peru with a young Aussie girl named Heidi. The following year, as the calendar turned into 2005, I was with my Spider-man costumed cousin in Manila, Philippines, where he’d won a contest that night and ended up on national TV with Filipino supermodel Giselle Toengi. The two following New Year’s Days were spent back at my base camp in New York City: one at a rooftop party in the East Village with Elaine and her animator friends at Blue Sky Studios (a.k.a. “The Ice Age Guys"), the other running around the midnight fireworks in Central Park with 5,000 other runners—including my friend Adam (a.k.a. “Balls")—in a four-mile fun run/concert, where there were champagne stations next to the water stations.
But another year later, the questioned remained.
Agua In Nicaragua
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 28, 2008
DAY 39: If it is me who has an affinity for puns, it is Elaine who has an affinity for rhymes. One of her goals on this trip was to have ”Agua in Nicaragua,” a fitting sounding pair not only because she doesn’t drink alcohol, but because there was much ado about water in Nicaragua—particularly on the Isla Ometepe surrounded by the fresh water of Lago de Nicaragua.
The Same Old Thing
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 26, 2008
DAYS 37-38: If you’ve known me since my formative years in suburban New Jersey, or if you’ve paid attention to the comments on The Global Trip blog since its beginning in 2003 (wow, has it been five years already?), you are probably familiar with the name “Elaine,” who always ends her comments with the catch phrase, “I’m jealous!” This supposed jealousy towards my traveling isn’t really warranted because Elaine—who I’ve known for years and is practically my cousin—is quite well-traveled herself, having spent many extended weekends living it up somewhere else in the world, in South America, Europe, and Africa. She had been to Central America a few times before, but never to the country of Nicaragua—and it was her idea to be there for the turnover from 2007 into 2008.
Panamania
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 23, 2008
DAYS 36-37: “People who come here think Panama is going to be similar, like the other Central American countries,” said my Panamanian driver Benny (short for Benigno), who cited Costa Rica as an example of the general Central American vibe. “But it’s completely different.”
My time in Panama would be short—I’d only see Panama City for that matter—but any educated person without any amount of time there could tell you what the obvious difference was: unlike the other Central American countries, it harbored the big famous canal that cut through the country—cut through the Americas for that matter—so famous that it had its own famous palindrome: “A Man, A Plan, A Canal—Panama!” And it was this canal whose prosperity has made this Central American city ”the showcase city of Central America,” combining colonial legacy, ultra-modern architecture, international banking, shopping, and tropical climate—much like a Spanish-speaking Hong Kong of the West (without the abundance of Chinese people).
Ocean’s Three
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 17, 2008
DAY 35: I had one day left in Bogota between Christmas Day and my departure date for Panama, and it was slated to be a day to catch up, repack, and recompose myself from a week of settling down in one place—all before getting back on the road again, like Willie Nelson. That morning, instead of watching the TNT Latin America continuous loop of Spiderman 2 and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (both dubbed in Spanish), I set off to run errands with Victor Hugo. He brought me to a laundromat for me to get my clothes cleaned, and after lunch with his parents, I was off to two malls with Hugo and Gloria—the first of which I went to a barber and got a much-needed haircut.
Other than the moment I watched a couple of guys try to play Guitar Hero III on a demonstration XBox 360 (they sucked), the mall, as always, was a sort of generic experience like anywhere in the world (not that I minded). However, this time it would soon involve a small caper.
Christmas In Colombia
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 16, 2008
DAYS 33-34: I was going to title this entry “Christmas in Bogota,” just like I had titled my 2003 Christmas entry, ”Christmas in Cusco” (Peru), but with my affinity for alliterations, I’ve chosen “Christmas in Colombia,” because it has a nice ring to it. Besides, I didn’t have Christmas in the city of Bogota anyway, but in its suburbs (the name of the town escapes me) where, at Monica’s relatives’ house, I spent the holidays with my Colombian hosts’ extended family.
I Got Shot In Colombia And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 11, 2008
DAYS 28-32 (PART 5): I’d once used my press credentials to land an interview with the Maharaja of Jaipur, India, and this time, in Bogota, Colombia, they would come in handy again as I set forth to interview Miguel Caballero, a successful Colombian businessman whose eponymous clothing company has been featured in The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Wired, CNN, BBC, The Discovery Channel, and (where I discovered him), the travel show Globe Trekker. Why he receives so much attention from the press is obvious; he has made a name for himself around the world as the premier fashion designer of bulletproof clothing, so much that BusinessWeek has hailed him as “The Armani of Bulletproof Apparel.”
One Crazy Night
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 08, 2008
DAYS 28-32 (PART 4): Ask any Bogotan for a recommendation of where to go, and there’s no doubt that the phrase, “Andrés Carne de Res” will be mentioned with lots of encouragment and enthusiasm. “What is it?” I asked Monica once.
“I can’t really describe it,” she told me. “It’s an experience.”
Once I had gotten there, I knew exactly what she meant.
New Friends In The New Bogota
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 07, 2008
DAYS 28-32 (PART 3): Every Bogotan (or is it Bogotian?) that Steph and I knew had wondered why we had chosen to stay in the grimier neighborhood of La Candelaria for our initial stay in the Colombian capital. They didn’t know that it’s because it’s where most of the Lonely Planet guidebook-toting tourists were led to by “the book,” as its authors chose it as a place to be for its museums and colonial architecture. But just like you, the reader, seldomly going to touristy neighborhoods wherever you live, you wouldn’t really see the appeal.
“Most of the people live in the north,” Monica had told me, explaining how the northern part of town was the modernized residential and commericial area, the real heart and soul of the city—that was even perhaps a bit safer. (It was evident immediately on our first time driving through, when Steph and I marveled at families walking out on the streets at night.) The north was where her family and friends lived, and most people of the college-educated class, including Camillo, the Colombian animation producer from Vancouver that Steph had befriended on the flight from Houston.
Classic Colombia
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted January 05, 2008
DAYS 28-32 (PART 2): The Colombian capital city of Bogota is like two cities in one: the classic, colonial area to the south, and the modern, commercial and residential area to the north. It was in the former that Steph and I had decided to base ourselves, to do the tourist sightseeing thing before crashing at Monica’s brother’s apartment in the residential north to see what “real” Bogota life is like, outside of the tourism bubble.
Rendezvous In Bogota
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted December 29, 2007
DAYS 28-32 (PART 1): This trip has been dubbed “The Central American Eviction Tour,” but there really should be a starburst icon next to it saying, “NOW WITH JAUNT TO BOGOTA, COLOMBIA!” for that’s where my travels took me next. Originally I was to rendezvous with my Colombian-born friend/co-worker Monica, as she had planned to bring her new daughter Valentina home for the holidays so that her father, who couldn’t be there for the birth in the New York, could bask in the glory of grandfatherhood. We had been planning a Christmas rendezvous since the summer, and it was all set—I even booked my ticket before her. However, at the last minute, Monica regretfully backed out for financial reasons (but not without extending her family’s hospitality, which would come in time).
“That’s typical Monica,” her friend Claudia said in a later conversation. Monica’s college friend spoke of other examples of this predicament happening, like the time Monica had invited all her Colombian friends to come to New York—only to have to go away the week everyone planned to visit.
It’s Business Time
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted December 28, 2007
DAYS 26-27: Like I said previously, my trip to Costa Rica would be a different one from the regular tourist. While I had done the touristy thing of going to Monteverde for my fix of ziplining, the rest of my stay would be—surprise!—a business trip. Like San Salvador in El Salvador, San Jose, Costa Rica has become one of the new havens for outsourced tech business for American companies, including the interactive ad agency I work for in New York—a company that shall remain nameless. For legal reasons, I have been requested by my boss not to write about my business time in San Jose, but I assured her that if I did I wouldn’t use any company names. (Who knew that the secrets of multi-million dollar business deals hang in the balance of this stupid little travel blog?)
EXTREMO!!!
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted December 28, 2007
DAYS 24-25: The Monteverde region, high up in the moutains west of San Jose, is a popular draw for tourists as it’s one of nature’s playground for participants of every level of adventure—from the tame to the EXTREME!!! The most tame of the standard activities is hiking on hanging bridges linked together on marked hiking trails, to observe the plants, the toucans, the hummingbirds, and the dozens of other tourists on the way. My hike on the trails and bridges of the “100% Aventura” company was a casual, yet misty one, with ponchos they let us borrow.
Going Eco
From the trip blog: "The Global Trip: The Central American Eviction Tour"
Posted December 18, 2007
DAY 23: The big buzz word in Costa Rican tourism is “eco-tourism,” tourism that is not only preceded by the prefix “eco,” but is also environmentally-conscious. According to Al Gore, it’s a pretty good thing, and you can trust that guy because he invented the internet.
- Going Backtracking
- Not Forgotten
- Korean Things On The Other Cinco De Mayo
- Seoul Man
- Chinese Things On May Day Monday
- Crouching Tiger, Hundred Tourists
- Race To Yellow Mountain
- That Jerk Jackie Chan
- Strawberry Fields Forever, For The Day
- Dog Day Afternoon
- A Shanghai Welcome
- Life In Taipei 101
- Chicken Soup For The Eye
- Pretty Fly For A White Girl
- Business Before Bourdain
- Five Filipino Years Later
- Not Quite Up In The Air
- Here I Go Again On My Own
- “C” And The Conclusion Is Good Enough For Me
- Jesus Christ and Jimmy Carter
- Group Fun in the Sun
- Shabbat Shalom!
- The Wild, Wild West Bank
- To Slant or Not To Slant
- Keeping Kosher in the New Jeru
- Erik Trinidad And The Second To The Last Crusade
- Jewish Mother, American Dad
- What Would Jesus Do?
- The Candle
- War of the Salads
- Embracing It All
- Conversations of Conversion
- You Don’t Mess With The Zohar
- From Teaneck to Tel Aviv
- Preface In Paris
- End Of An Eviction Tour
- Nicaraguan New Year’s
- Agua In Nicaragua
- The Same Old Thing
- Panamania
- Ocean’s Three
- Christmas In Colombia
- I Got Shot In Colombia And All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt
- One Crazy Night
- New Friends In The New Bogota
- Classic Colombia
- Rendezvous In Bogota
- It’s Business Time
- EXTREMO!!!
- Going Eco
- From Jungle To Cloudforest
- Rollin’ Down The River
- Waiting With Horses While Looking For Snakes
- BFFN (Best Friend For Now)
- Made In El Salvador
- Brotherhood Of The Cock
- Surf And Turf
- Out Of Seclusion
- Surf’s Up
- Logos
- Disbanded Until The Bay
- A Three-Hour Tour
- Nocturnal Eruptions
- A Coffee Story
- Karma
- Slick Shoes
- Pondering of Pig’s Milk
- Little Caesar’s Apocalypto
- Accentuate The Positive, Eliminate The Negative
- Are You As Wishful As A Sixth Grader?
- Last Night I Dreamt Of Some Bagel
- Thanksdiving
- Sisters
- Lemons Into Lemonade
- Encores
- Ending On A High Note
- The Backpacker/Flashpacker Part Of The Trip
- Alone Again
- Dalmatians 101
- In Limbo
- The Mountain Town
- No Particular Place To Go
- The Most Swingingest Brothel In Pompeii
- The Fake Honeymooners
- Practice For The Amazing Race
- When Harry Met Erik…
- Surprises
- The Calm After The Storm
- Checkmate.
- A Game Of Chess
- Into The Southwest
- The Perfect Storm
- The Vacation From Our Vacation
- The Thrill Of The Chase
- Weather Nerds
- The Calm Before The Storm
- Welcome to TheGlobalTrip.com version 3.0!
- Buzzkill
- Team Crossbow
- The (Drunken) Man Show
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