The towns I've listed here are places I've visited (or lived) that generate a "feeling" of the country and it's citizens as well as being very user-friendly for the visitor or new resident. I guess I could also call it my top destination recommendations. Most of them have a heritage feeling as well as residents who are exceptionally friendly. I didn't put any European destinations because it's really been soooo long since I was there.
I'd love to hear your recommendations also.
Chiang Mai, Thailand (walkable, peaceful city that's on the tourist track, but doesn't feel like it)
Portland, Oregon, USA (hey, I could go on forever with this one- highlights include most microbreweries per capita and highest percentage of bicycle commuters in the USA)
Wellington, New Zealand (arresting architectural lines and interesting people)
Hoi An, Vietnam (300 year old French wooden shops filled by the artisans of Vietnam)
Georgetown, Malaysia (colorful archways lead you through this city of non-commercialism)
Kaohsiung, Taiwan (modern, creative and underlooked)
Louang Prabang, Laos (heritage and night market beauty)
Victoria, BC, Canada (very provincial, but superfriendly and artsy)
Suchitoto, El Salvador (sweetest people in the world)
Mussoorie, India (in the beauty Himalayas, there's peace to be found in India)
Phnom Penh, Cambodia (a mix of restored and blown-out buildings)
Grand Forks, ND, USA (a sweet, little place with beautiful Harvard-esque university)
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Pruning time
Gemini (May 21–June 20)
Many plants grow better if you prune them. Getting rid of a bunch of dead stuff makes room for all the fresh new leaves to have unrestricted access to the sun. Your life could use a bit of pruning this spring. While you're perfectly capable of growing and even thriving under current conditions, there are definitely things holding you back from reaching your full potential. You have the tools, you have the knowledge—isn't it time you cut yourself free? If you hesitate because not everything you want to trim away is strictly dead, keep in mind that it could hit the ground, take root, and grow into a beautiful plant all on its own—and then everybody wins.
I'm going to take a little time to reflect on this horoscope. What should I be trimming from life? What could we all trim from our lives? It seems sometimes that we try to hang onto things that really are just weighing us down. Even in this vagabond lifestyle, I continue to hold onto kilos of junk that I really don't need, and that's not counting the emotional baggage.
This week, I reclaimed my bags from storage and tried to pear down my belongings, then shipped most of it off to the United States in care of Shanta, who is kindly going to receive the boxes should they ever clear customs and arrive in the States again. So that if I return , I'll have what I need. ("Need" is truly an interesting concept.) I've also decided that if it all went missing en route, I wouldn't have too much remorse either because I'm really just happy to have it all GONE.
Returning to Auckland has forced a resurgence of all the nagging questions. (One of the drawbacks to English speakers galore.) What are you doing with your life? Where are you going next? Are you coming back to the university? Don't you have to rejoin the working world again? All the questions I was happy not to have thrown in my face all the time while I was in Asia, but things I wonder myself. Dwelling on the questions doesn't bring me answers, so I try to just live day by day for now, waiting for life to reveal itself to me instead.
In the morning, I leave Auckland for Lake Taupo on the public bus. I'm looking forward to a some solitude again. Staring out the window in contemplation as Radiohead swirls by my ears and landscapes dramatise for my eyes seems like a good respite from the baggage that I've encountered in Auckland.
I don't know what's next. I've been so happy seeing the world and meeting people. Learning new things. Being myself. Enjoying slowness and peace. Auckland, as much of an old friend as it is, is not a place of peace. I feel my internal stress creeping up day by day and I know moving on is the right thing to do.
Pruning season has begun...
Many plants grow better if you prune them. Getting rid of a bunch of dead stuff makes room for all the fresh new leaves to have unrestricted access to the sun. Your life could use a bit of pruning this spring. While you're perfectly capable of growing and even thriving under current conditions, there are definitely things holding you back from reaching your full potential. You have the tools, you have the knowledge—isn't it time you cut yourself free? If you hesitate because not everything you want to trim away is strictly dead, keep in mind that it could hit the ground, take root, and grow into a beautiful plant all on its own—and then everybody wins.
I'm going to take a little time to reflect on this horoscope. What should I be trimming from life? What could we all trim from our lives? It seems sometimes that we try to hang onto things that really are just weighing us down. Even in this vagabond lifestyle, I continue to hold onto kilos of junk that I really don't need, and that's not counting the emotional baggage.
This week, I reclaimed my bags from storage and tried to pear down my belongings, then shipped most of it off to the United States in care of Shanta, who is kindly going to receive the boxes should they ever clear customs and arrive in the States again. So that if I return , I'll have what I need. ("Need" is truly an interesting concept.) I've also decided that if it all went missing en route, I wouldn't have too much remorse either because I'm really just happy to have it all GONE.
Returning to Auckland has forced a resurgence of all the nagging questions. (One of the drawbacks to English speakers galore.) What are you doing with your life? Where are you going next? Are you coming back to the university? Don't you have to rejoin the working world again? All the questions I was happy not to have thrown in my face all the time while I was in Asia, but things I wonder myself. Dwelling on the questions doesn't bring me answers, so I try to just live day by day for now, waiting for life to reveal itself to me instead.
In the morning, I leave Auckland for Lake Taupo on the public bus. I'm looking forward to a some solitude again. Staring out the window in contemplation as Radiohead swirls by my ears and landscapes dramatise for my eyes seems like a good respite from the baggage that I've encountered in Auckland.
I don't know what's next. I've been so happy seeing the world and meeting people. Learning new things. Being myself. Enjoying slowness and peace. Auckland, as much of an old friend as it is, is not a place of peace. I feel my internal stress creeping up day by day and I know moving on is the right thing to do.
Pruning season has begun...
Monday, March 23, 2009
Best of Asia
Gustatory pleasures: Thailand, by far! Who can beat Papaya Salad, Mango Sticky Rice, Pad Thai and fresh fruit on every street corner? Even though I did get sick there THREE times. I forgive them.
Where one could sit forever: Laos, travelling on the 12-14 passenger slow boats between small towns- it's the best way to combine sight-seeing and transport into one, as you pass by villagers, elephants, water buffaloes, and jungle.
Exhilaration by public transport: Carrie and I hanging off the back of a motorbike chauffeured by a shoeless 12-year-old Cambodian boy on our way back from Angkor Wat.
The Brew-ha-ha of choice: Dark Beer Lao. Really the only beer with any flavour. The rest were variants of Budweiser.
Caffeine to pop your eyes out: Vietnamese. Who can top a personal filtered coffee (so strong, you have to chew it) atop sweetened condensed milk?
Most sterile: Singapore. Also most regulated. Least fun. Most western. But I still liked it.
Most hearing damage: Vietnam. The horn is ON more than OFF. We tried to call my mom from the bus and every time the horn honked, it created massive cell phone interference. The call lasted about 2 minutes.
Biggest gut-wrencher: Taiwan. Everything there is FRIED! Deep fried. Guaranteed to stop up your Montezuma's revenge/Delhi-belly, butt-pee in hours, perhaps minutes.
A little slice of Eden: Mut Mee Guesthouse in Nong Khai, Thailand. Where else can you sit in the garden, overlooking the Mekong and Laos for $4 a night? And it was clean too. Score.
The land of guardian angels: ALL of Asia. I can't tell you how many times a local went out of their way to help me- whether it was drawing a map, walking me to an English speaker, offering a ride, showing me the bus stop, telling me where to wait for the right train carriage, people went beyond my expectations over and over again as I traveled through the various countries. I do believe we are all good people inside.
Please post your additions in the comments section...
Where one could sit forever: Laos, travelling on the 12-14 passenger slow boats between small towns- it's the best way to combine sight-seeing and transport into one, as you pass by villagers, elephants, water buffaloes, and jungle.
Exhilaration by public transport: Carrie and I hanging off the back of a motorbike chauffeured by a shoeless 12-year-old Cambodian boy on our way back from Angkor Wat.
The Brew-ha-ha of choice: Dark Beer Lao. Really the only beer with any flavour. The rest were variants of Budweiser.
Caffeine to pop your eyes out: Vietnamese. Who can top a personal filtered coffee (so strong, you have to chew it) atop sweetened condensed milk?
Most sterile: Singapore. Also most regulated. Least fun. Most western. But I still liked it.
Most hearing damage: Vietnam. The horn is ON more than OFF. We tried to call my mom from the bus and every time the horn honked, it created massive cell phone interference. The call lasted about 2 minutes.
Biggest gut-wrencher: Taiwan. Everything there is FRIED! Deep fried. Guaranteed to stop up your Montezuma's revenge/Delhi-belly, butt-pee in hours, perhaps minutes.
A little slice of Eden: Mut Mee Guesthouse in Nong Khai, Thailand. Where else can you sit in the garden, overlooking the Mekong and Laos for $4 a night? And it was clean too. Score.
The land of guardian angels: ALL of Asia. I can't tell you how many times a local went out of their way to help me- whether it was drawing a map, walking me to an English speaker, offering a ride, showing me the bus stop, telling me where to wait for the right train carriage, people went beyond my expectations over and over again as I traveled through the various countries. I do believe we are all good people inside.
Please post your additions in the comments section...
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Contrary to popular fear, I have not been swept away in the Tasman
I've been fuffing about for the last five days, reconnecting with friends and the city of Auckland. It's been a joyous homecoming overall. I reclaimed my three bags from storage and started sorting through the junk that I'd deemed necessary to keep. It seemed so excessive after my tiny pack for four months in Asia, but I have embraced the lifestyle of clothing choices again and even got myself a new pair of pants to add to my pack. I've decided that I don't have to look like a dirty backpacker for this leg of the journey. Rather, I think I'll go for the alternative fashionista. I may even haul along a hair-straightener. Watch out world.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Perfect day: March, 18, 2009
[Current status: Sitting in the park, drinking a NZ beer from the wineshop across the street. They were kind enough to give me a free magazine and open the bottle for me, so I could just walk 50 metres and plop myself down. I asked and they didn't think there were any public consumption laws. If you never hear from me again, assume we were wrong, and contact the American Embassy, please!]
5:something... woke up and had to go pee. Tried to recall what kind of toilet trip would it involve. Would it be to a manual flusher, did I have to walk a dirt path? Oh yeah, I'm in a REAL house with a REAL toilet. Inside. Pee? Yes. Then sleep.
7:15 [Light tapping on door.] Incorporates well into dream, until Wanda says, "It's 7:15." So I get up and get dressed in my one outfit and ride to work with Wanda. Once we get to school, she heads in and I'm off to mark things off my list.
(Now getting quite buzzed as I'm halfway through my beer.)
Morning hours:
Cancel "fully-refundable" plane ticket. And it truly was "fully-refundable!" Now I can squat in Kiwi-land as long as I like! (Heh.) No outward transport scheduled.
Drink "Long black" and read NZ Herald at former haunt, Kokako.
Pick up free sample at the Pandero Bakery.
Peruse second hand clothes on Parnell. Buy nothing. Plan to bring back own clothes for consignment.
Make appointment for haircut tomorrow with Japanese Stylist on Parnell.
Investigate international shipping options. Discover it's cheaper and faster from NZ than it was from Asia. List of banned items includes: acid (duh), bullion (huh?), indecent goods (those Kiwis, so proper!), and "signals, distress" (that's right, don't be mailing your distress abroad, keep it here where it's safe!)
Stop in and try on magenta mascara and glitter eyeshadow at the organic beauty shop. Wonder how they make "organic" glitter.
[Phone ribbits. Text message from old friend.]
Discover how to order "Horsey chair" by Tim Wigmore - the item that I'd decided about six months ago would be my souvenir from my life in NZ. (I was just walking by the store. This was NOT on the list.) It's actually called "Giddyup" chair. To see for yourself, click here.
Recharge Vodafone and add Txt2000 so I can resume my life as texter extraordinaire.
(Terribly buzzed now.)
Purchase wine for Wanda and impulsively beer for self.
Next: Hopefully do not pass out on the lawn. Now that could be embarrassing.
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