See "Christmas with Orangutans" for the prequel to this trip. Oh Bali. The party island of southeast Asia. Known for beautiful beaches and legendary nightlife, Bali seemed like the ideal place to go after a stint in the Malaysian jungle. Our flight lands an hour and a half late (due to the weather in Kota Kinabalu) and we reach Bali-Denpasar airport just before 10:00 on Thursday night, the day after Christmas. I've landed in Asia, but when I step into the airport I might as well be in Australia. I have been warned that Bali is constantly full of Australians looking to party for less than $12 a beer. And "full of Australians" might be an understatement. The line for immigration is endless. After being surprised with a $25 USD fee for "Visa on Arrival" we ... read more

For the road trip up to this point please see "Great American Road Trip Part 1: Seattle to the Redwoods Highway 199 in northern California is named The Redwood Highway. It's incredibly scenic. The road winds around mountains covered in redwood groves as it snakes its way north to Oregon. It's quite early on Tuesday morning, the month of July coming to and end. I've chosen to get a head start on the day so I can get to Crater Lake National Park at a decent hour in the afternoon. As the highway cross the border and progresses into Oregon the terrain becomes more desert-like. There are still tall forests along the road but I can tell that the climate is drier up here. I don't really have any desire to stop anywhere on the way ... read more

In December of 2011 one of the travel deal websites I follow advertised an SAS Airlines sale from DC to Copenhagen for $750 round trip. Having just paid almost $1400 for my flight to Oktoberfest this seemed like a great deal. And on top of that I had always wanted to go to Scandinavia. Something about it just piques my interest. When most people think of traveling to Europe they think of Italy and Spain and France. But not me. As much as I want to see those places as well I've always wanted to see the fjords in Norway. Or the Ice Hotel in Sweden. Or learn about the Vikings in Denmark. Scandinavia is an unheard of travel destination for most Americans. Maybe because it's so cold. But I've seen pictures of Norway. I know ... read more

By the time I decided to make a trip to Switzerland my friend Richie and I had already decided to go to Munich for Oktoberfest. It's the spring of 2011 and Oktoberfest is at the end of September. I want to add something onto this trip to Munich though. It will only be my second time in Europe, having just been to Greece in 2008, and I want to add another country to my list. Having always wanted to go to the home country of my tennis Idol, Roger Federer (for more reasons than just that's where he's from), Switzerland seemed like the obvious choice. The Alps. The cheese. The chocolate. The nuetrelness. And so close to Munich. Richie was interested in going to Switzerland too, so we booked our flights from DC to Zurich then ... read more

This is the story of three mid-20s Americans in Munich for Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest is probably the most renowned party in the world. The only others even in the same ballpark are Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Everyone who's ever tasted a beer knows what Oktoberfest is. The name is synonymous with drinking beer and having fun. All around the world, cities and bars host miniature Oktoberfest parties for those not fortunate enough to make it to Munich. But it's not the same. There is only one Oktoberfest and it's in Munich, Germany. It lasts exactly two weeks from late September to early October (it used to be solely in October but they moved it up a couple weeks because people complained it was too cold). It takes place at a ... read more