Salam from Gili Trawangan in Indonesia!

Just thought I should post a quick note to let you all know where I am...paradise! Turquoise water, soft white sand and the best scenery you could ask for all around me. Sadly, I'm leaving tomorrow on a turbo-ferry back to Bali where I'll need to find a taxi to take me to the island of Java. From there, it's ancient temples, volcanoes and sea turtles hopefully!

Hello from South of the Equator!

Arrived safely in Bali, paid my 25$ US for a fancy new visa, and cleared the numerous bomb checks on the way to the hotel. The Hard Rock Hotel of course... My mission to hit every cafe is going well! (So far, hit two in Tokyo, Beijing and now this one.)


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From the Pearl of the Orient

Well I'm finally out from underneath the red curtain of China's media blockade, and finally I can blog, tweet and Facestalk again!

Arrived in Hong Kong last night and was greeted by cars driving on the left, doubledecker busses and English signage everywhere! Went for a swim today in my rooftop pool overlooking the harbour; sometimes it pays to be travelling with your parents. :P


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One More Sleep

Well, it's all come down to this. I've packed, unpacked and re-packed. I've loaded up my iPhone with songs and TV shows. I've laminated my fake student ID (for discounts of course). Now all that's left to do is grab that one last morning Starbucks from the International departures lounge and board my plane. I always feel like I'm forgetting something on the last day before I leave on a trip, but this time the feeling is really hard to shrug off. I think it's because of all the people that I'm leaving behind. They are certainly not forgotten, but definitely will be missed.

So in order to lighten the mood a bit, here's something I haven't done in a while:

My favorite song this moment is Holiday by Vampire Weekend. Fitting, no? :P

Today is my last day at work!

I spent the morning paying the last of the bills here on my desk, and the afternoon signing out at like 15 different spots on base and handing in my two credit cards and various IDs. And right now, after typing that out, I am instantly nervous again.

Nervous or Excited...

...or a little bit of both? Definitely both.

In less than two weeks I'll be waking up in Tokyo, about to embark on 5 months of exploring South East Asia. I've done the whole backpacking thing before, but for some reason I'm still worried that I've forgotten to plan something or book something. I know that some of the best experiences are the ones you don't plan out at all and I should just run with chaos but I'm a planner and it's against my nature!

Maybe that's why I have such fond memories of my last trip though; maybe my life needs these little in-fluxes of excitement and the unexpected to balance itself out?

I've still got to settle on some form of travel insurance, and decide whether or not to bring the daily Malaria pills with me or not. Then all that's left is a few practice packs to ensure I'm not overloading myself, one last iPod upload and pick my 'beach/bus' book!

The clock's ticking faster now...

The Countdown has begun.

Today is March 9th. April 9th, the start of my Asian Adventure, is only one month away. I only just now realized how close it actually is...

Canada Wins Gold(s)!!!

This is me and Sidney Crosby. (Okay, obviously not the real Crosby, but a cardboard cutout of him) I took this picture in the intermission between the 3rd period and overtime in the gold medal game; just after the Americans scored with less than 30 seconds left to tie the game. I did it to give the guy a boost of confidence, because up until that fateful goal we've now all seen (already) a hundred times over Crosby was the biggest dissapointment on Team Canada. I guess it worked, huh?

Yay for Team Canada!!! (And I include ALL Canadian Olympians in that cheer, not just the men's hockey team) What a great Olympics, filled with countless inspiring stories and athletes and the greatest Gold Rush seen since the Yukon back in the 1890's! I really wish I could have made the trip out to Vancouver to be a part of it all, but unfortunately my big Asian trip has sucked up most of my funds. Oh well, maybe I'll head out to Russia in 2014...

More Travel Prep

Today I got my first round of vaccinations for Hep A. This was a step I shouldn't have had to worry about since I got this back in 2006 before my Eurotrip, but lazy 'ol me never went back to get the second required shot a few months later and so my immunity ran out.

(Note to self: DON'T FORGET TO DO THIS AGAIN.)

I also picked up my first batch of meds for E.coli and a prescription for my malaria medication as well. Who would have thought traveling halfway across the world required so much planning? ;)

Another big step was taken this afternoon as well, while doing some internet work at my local Starbucks. (I still don't have internet at home, so besides my iPhone this place is my connectivity hub for the next few months)...I booked my first hostel of the trip!! :O

Since I'll be in Japan during the peak cherry-blossom viewing period, I didn't want to arrive and find I would have to sleep in a city park! Apparently the best spots for viewing are actually around Osaka so I guess I should probably solidify my schedule so I can book those hostel nights as well.

Good News, Bad News...

The good news is the LOST season premiere was awesomely brain-melting in the way it balanced it's entertainment value and the way in which it answered some questions while creating many more new ones!

The bad news is my girlfriend got a brand-new job as a teacher and had to unfortunately cancel her trip to Japan with me. Well I suppose that is both good news AND bad news because she gets to do her dream job now, after a long long wait.

So I guess I should change the title of this entry to Good News, Bad News and Good News Again.

But I'm not going to. Partly because I'm lazy, and partly because it would spoil the surprise of the second bit of good news. It's like a little twist ending! How very LOSTian of me.....