Carrying on with the 4th day of our tour of North Korea for the first time we actually left Pyongyang. This brought up some new rules - like you can't take photos of the roadway or countryside while inside the bus. But for some reason nobody batted an eye while we were out of the bus. We were driving to Nampo which is on the west coast, on our first bit of ridiculous North Korean highway. The highways are 8-10 lanes wide. No markings, no traffic, no maintenance, and very very rough. It's difficult to make any kind of decent speed as the vehicle is bouncing around and swerving around the roughest parts. The reason the roads are so big is to be used to move military equipment in case that becomes necessary. I had also ... read more

Osaka came and went. And it is quite the place - but I'm very glad all the cities in Japan we visited were drastically different from each other. Our arrival to Osaka took us to Dotonbori, this is a pedestrian only zone with lots of shops, street food, and yet nowhere to sit down. Well... nowhere to sit down except the "beer garden" we stumbled upon. That afternoon it was a balmy 16 degrees and sunny so it felt perfect grabbing a few brews, even if the Japanese pour draft with a quarter head... We also grabbed some Takoyaki which is an Osaka specialty. It's a delicious dumpling with green onion, ginger, and most importantly the octopus (Tako). They're served up covered in mayonnaise and some other sauce and go down real well with beer. The ... read more

So for those keeping score I'm in Japan. Last week my friend Craig and I flew to Tokyo to meet another friend Conner and his bud Matt. This is the first part of our Japan, China, and North Korea trip. Anyways, it's been 5 days in Japan now and it's very different than I had expected. Japan just doesn't feel like Asia at all. Having been to SE Asia Japan just seems soft. It's no different than any other western city except there are 37 million Japanese people in the greater Tokyo area... And that's without any exageration. So as of now we've been doing proper tourist things. Plus consuming lots of alcohol from the 7/11, Family mart, and Lawson convenience stores - which might be a faux pas to drink on the street or trains ... read more

Nearly a year since the last update I'm finally travelling again. After some last minute preparations last week, on Monday I pointed my truck south to the border and kept on going. Monday took me to Oregon somewhere where I had failed to realize that the campsite was at 1200 meters elevation. This isn't such a big deal until you find out that your -18 sleeping bag is indeed worn out and the temperature drops to -2 overnight. The following day took me through Oregon, Idaho, Part of Nevada, and then a couple miles into Utah. This was a long day to begin with, and it was made even longer by a 2 hour delay I spent at a Toyota dealership getting a brake line replaced. (Idaho is perhaps the most boring place I've ever been, ... read more

Hallo, I am in Copenhagen! But first I'l give a run down of where I've been on the way here. I left you off just before driving to Berlin. I stayed there for a few days, doing all the touristy things and enjoying my time with my friend Anna. She was a fantastic tour guide and showed me around the Burroughs of the city while she could, and then I figured out the rest on my own. There's lots to see in Berlin; I saw the old section of the wall separating East/West Berlin which is now set up as a graffiti art gallery (a small section is in the top banner). Berlin is a really weird mix of old and new as well. Some really cool buildings in the modern parts of town and tons ... read more