For the last few weeks I have been traveling around Brunei, Malaysia and Thailand. Following a brief stay in Singapore, I went out to Borneo where I met Brent. Our first stop was the tiny Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam. When we were going through customs they searched our bags for alcohol, which is illegal. The people of Brunei seemed very pleasant. If I flashed a smile, they tended to burst into a grin, but they were often the ones to be smiling at us first. Brent and I did some hitchhiking and we were picked up almost instantly. On the whole, [View Full Entry]

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As I finished my last week at work things started to feel a bit somber on the inside, while on the outside few moments were spent apart from the gang. On the last day the office had a send off with generous gifts and a table of food. Our last night in Wellington was spent in the best way possible; namely, eating copious amounts of good food with friends while talking late into the night. In the morning the inevitable bittersweet farewells took place, and Brent and I crossed the Cook Straight with our car on a ferry. As I watched [View Full Entry]

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The Christmas holiday is over and the drive around the North Island is complete. Christmas day was an arduous continuation of our ongoing volcano climbing addiction. This time it was Mt. Taranaki. Although the warm summer is here, I still managed to have a white Christmas on the snow capped peak. That evening we joined a friend on her nearby family farm for Christmas dinner. Among the collection of animals on her farm were some African ostriches that put on a very tempting mating dance. Christmas night I was blessed with more generous kiwi hospitality, nestled in and cozy with good [View Full Entry]

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As I prepare for the coming journey in Asia, I have come to feel like a pincushion. I'll spare you the full list, but before this month is over I will have received twelve injections. In conjunction with the cluster of vaccines I had before leaving home, I am hoping to develop the immune system of the Terminator. I will have a seven month stock of anti-malarial pills as well. Malaria pills seem to have a lot in common with birth control pills; they are only 99% effective, and if you miss a dose one day, your life could potentially end. [View Full Entry]

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A native New Zealander recently told me that their country is the coldest in the world to have homes without central heating. I don’t know if that is true or not, but I know it is true for my flat. When the fading winter sends the occasional Antarctic blast through Wellington, I can see the frost on my breath while sitting in my own bed. Space heaters, hot showers and standing over the stove are essential, but hopefully not for much longer. Spring is due, and we are all eagerly awaiting the warmth. Aside from the cold, our flat is similar [View Full Entry]

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Tokyo finished out with yet another earthquake and more good times had by all. Eventually the inevitable end arrived and Johnny rode off into the sunset waving his hat, returning home to teach again. Brent and I bummed around Tokyo crashing on friend's couches for a bit before the time came for me to head to southern Japan while Brent headed off to New Zealand. Hats off to Johnny and Brent for making this summer very memorable and extremely entertaining. I took the 'shinkansen' (bullet train) to Kyoto in Kansai-Ken. The bullet train is spacious, nearly silent and makes getting around [View Full Entry]

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I am still in Tokyo working with the rug rats. Over the past week another friend from home, Chris Adams (aka "Square"), came for a visit and crashed on the couch. One of the things we all wanted to do together was climb Mt. Fuji, Japan's tallest peak. There was an interest among some of the other counselors as well, so I volunteered to lead a group trip. I organized a night climb (which is common for climbing Fuji) so that we could watch the sunrise at the summit. We took a bus as high as the 5th station then strapped [View Full Entry]

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I am writing to you now from a little town called Tokyo, metropolitan population: 34 million. Tokyo is a blitz of neon lights, trains, futuristic technology, temples, narrow streets, lanterns, crowds and bicycles. Skyscrapers line the horizon in every direction, and there is almost no litter or graffiti. Everything appears new, modern and clean. Tokyo is surreal at times, reminding me more of a space station than a city. They say if you want to see the future, go to Tokyo. I love it here. I share a house with two of my best friends from home, Brent and Johnny, who [View Full Entry]

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I eventually escaped Alice Springs and took a three day tour through Outback Queensland to Cairns. We had an open-fire dinner on a 150,000 acre cattle station and saw more ancient cave art, giant termite mounts, unpaved highways, open range cattle country and dinosaur fossils. I am also fairly sure I saw the mysterious 'Min Min lights' (check it out on the internet). Most importantly, the weather started to get hot. We crossed the Tropic of Capricorn and banana farms became more common. Once we were north of Cairns, we took a hike in the tropical rainforest at the base of [View Full Entry]

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I am living and working in Alice Springs at the moment. Alice was founded as a remote telegraph station, and the town offered a spring for watering the camel trains that rode the north-south route through the Australian Outback in the early days. More than half of the population is aboriginal, and many of the others appear to be modern day cowboys. I have been told that this town can get dangerous at night, as many of the aboriginals get very dunk, and some can get aggressive. The general rule imparted to me by the Aussies is that ‘dry’ aboriginal communities [View Full Entry]

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