TravelinTim

I took a sleeper train from Bangkok to Vientiane, the capitol of Laos, on my birthday, March 21st. I awoke in the morning and left my second-class car, where the seats are converted into beds during the night, in search of the food car for some coffee. Walking thru the third-class cabin where the common Thai people sit on hard wooden benches and try to sleep sitting up, Red Shirts took up the majority of the seats as they were returning to the countryside after protesting all weekend— they were all drunk, grabbing me, smiling and laughing as they asked where I was from and how I liked their country. I guess they’d have to be drunk to sit on a train for 15 hours without room to lie down. Even the train security, who were ... read more

Stepping off the plane onto the palm tree-lined tarmac and into the moist, warm air of tropical Bali, the hypnotizing chimes of Asian music dance into my ears, and I realize I have stepped into another world⎯ and I like. Motorbikes buzz around the narrow, winding island roads, beeping as they go⎯ a friendly warning to say, “hey, I’m passing you, don’t freak out and run off the road.” My taxi passes thru trash-lined streets cluttered with Hindu temples standing next to Circle K’s and roadside food carts. Not 100 meters further and we pass five star resorts like the Four Seasons with it’s guarded entrance and meticulously maintained, green landscaping. Finally we enter the Uluwatu area in the southwest corner of the Bukit Peninsula⎯ clean, uncrowded streets with a few scattered home stays and warungs. ... read more

Arrived in Auckland around 9pm not knowing if the Surfing Samurai would have given up on me due to the fact that I was supposed to arrive 6 hours earlier. As I push open the door exiting customs into the free world, I immediately hear “Tim!” and look up to see Tomo nearly fall on the ground with the happiness of relief. We slap hands and laugh as I explain the events that led to my late arrival. Then we load my bags in the tiny silver 2-door Toyota hatchback, strap my board on the roof with Tomo’s, and off we go into the cool New Zealand night. I’m navigating with the road map as Tomo drives us southwest to New Zealand’s most famous surfing town, Raglan. A couple of hours later we pull into the ... read more