temps - Chris Templin

I'm a chronologically young and (occasionally) mentally older man from Melbourne. I work to finance my travel and see myself as a fiscal supporter of developing countries.

My career plans are limited and will hopefully be more developed by the time i'm in need of a large bank loan. For the time being though I am quite happy enjoying whatever freedom I can achieve.

As stated, I live in Melbourne, Australia and love it. I'm a university graduate with a degree that is a lot less interesting now than when I selected it 4 years ago. Damn. Still love with my folks and two younger siblings, one ageing dog, one semi-productive chicken and two bikes.

Private Message Subscribe Blog Map

Guestbook Search Blogs First Entry Latest Entry

Joined on: March 25th 2009
Last Login: October 19th 2009

Blog Entries: 8
Photos: 49
Recommended by 1

TB Code: [blogger=114947]
Status: BLOGGER

Blogs & Travel Journals

by temps, order by Date newest first.

By temps
June 14th 2009

Fear and Loathing of London (Stanstead) Europe » Netherlands » Gelderland » Wageningen

Food for thought...

It was the homeostatic equivalent of placing a loaded pistol to my temple and pulling the trigger. Consuming 1 bottle of cheap whisky, watching 3 football world cup qualifiers, joining a protracted and intense debate about various global woes and sleeping 3 hours must rank among the worst possible preparation routines for a long-haul, transcontinental flight. What would you do? You have a nasty flight and an even more gruesome connection beginning the next day when your roommates invite you to join them in an evening of restrained revelry. The cute Angel on my right shoulder firmly remind [View Full Entry]

By temps
May 31st 2009

Perspective Asia » Philippines » Palawan » Puerto Princesa

Jeepney

I was unfortunate enough to visit a Filipino jail house. My iPod had mysteriously vanished on a bus ride through the island of Cebu. It had dropped onto the floor and mysteriously found it's way into a fellow passenger's bag. Gone. So I had the dubious pleasure of sitting in the San Vicente Pulis Station for 2 hours while the casually dressed cop laboriously filled out a report. He was wearing the standard cop attire - shorts, thongs and a Philippine Idol tshirt. A big fuck-off pistol strapped very conspicuously on his hip served as the only hint that he was [View Full Entry]

By temps
May 23rd 2009

How not to design a toilet for tropical use; a critique Asia » Philippines » Palawan » El Nido

Cataingan - Cebu room mates

Philippines, you're doing it wrong. Your food is feral and your toilets do nothing to alleviate the pain that the food causes. For many first time and uninitiated Asian travelers it is the image of the infamous Asian squat toilets that bring on a case of the heebie-jeebies. Let me assure you, it can get a lot worse than the squat pan. The Philippines has had a long social, political and military association with the United States. Good Ol' Uncle Sam imparted a love of basketball, corrupt politicians and most tellingly (in the opinion of both myself and my rear), western-style [View Full Entry]

By temps
May 7th 2009

The Philippines - vegetarians and kosher Jews need not apply... Asia » Philippines » Donsol

Pilgrims of 2009

I love the pursuit of strange food. So far my list of 'accomplishments' includes the following: * cockroaches (Thailand and Cambodia) * grasshoppers (Thailand and Cambodia) * vegemite (Australia) * chicken feet and intestine satay (Indonesia and Aus) * fish eyes (Malaysia) * frogs (Laos) * snake (Aus) * dog (Vietnam and Indonesia) * cat (probably at some stage on Victoria St...) * squid ink-based pasta (Italy) * a "special" chicken biriyani topped with the heart and liver (Burma) It goes on, but right now my iPod's new playlist (cool names for songs - 'Backseat Lo [View Full Entry]

By temps
April 24th 2009

The hunt for little people, an introduction Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Ubud

My first dive

Once again I find myself plotting ways through which I can organise to live in Bali full-time. I love it here! A marriage of convenience to a local lesbian is currently high on the list of possibilities… Fam and I returned a couple of days ago after a planned expedition to the wilder islands East of Bali turned into a battle with gastro and an extended sunbathing session on a perfect island. Gili Trawangan is heaven if you’ve been slogging around in the filthier parts of Indo for a few months; a cinema, white beaches, waters teeming with sea life, some [View Full Entry]

By temps
April 2nd 2009

Fashion faux pas, smoking mountains and a touch of paradise. Asia » Indonesia » Bali » Kuta

P1030156

Much has been said about the prevalence of poorly translated Asian tattoos on Western males' bodies, and I know we've all shared a laugh or two over some classic 'Chinglish' translations in restaurants and on signs in this part of the world, but I have finally reached the pinnacle of cross-cultural misinterpretation. What I witnessed HAD to be an honest and unintentional mistake, but even so it was so amazingly bad it just had to be photographed and documented. I'll set the scene... We had been on shoddy trains for 5 hours escaping the dreary town of Solo and heading to [View Full Entry]

By temps
March 27th 2009

Yogyakarta - scams, snakes and adventurous eating Asia » Indonesia » Java » Yogyakarta

Political Rally

It’s hot and I’m having one of those blessed lazy days. My previous PB in terms of days away from Aus has been surpassed today and to celebrate I’m going to do sweet f*** all! Fam and I sacrificed ourselves to the constant grind of Indonesian usury and scams yesterday. Having white skin in this part of the world brings about what is known as “white-man = walking-wallet-so-let’s-rip-the-stupid bastard-off-for-as-much-dosh-as-possible-and-still-smile-as-though-we’re-doing-him-a-favour.” Understandably, this is not my favourite practice in the world. [View Full Entry]

By temps
March 25th 2009

Popping my cherry Asia » Indonesia » Java » Yogyakarta

Shwedagon Pagoda

Not having EVER written a blog before, i'm slightly unsure as to how this should begin... Anyway the following is a copy of group email I 'penned' last night to family and friends. I wanted to send it to more people but technology once again got the better of me so I quit. I sort of realised that jamming stories of overseas adventures down the throats of working people back home might not be the most tactful way of keeping in touch, so here is the solution! Read it if you're interested in the goings on in Asia and eventually Europe, [View Full Entry]

TravelBlog » temps

temps | Chris Templin | Travel Blog

temps - Chris Templin

Blogs & Travel Journals