Chad Is Everywhere

I took the opportunity to visit Layess, my former Brisbane flatmate, as a part of my Panda trip. The idea was that I could make a side trip to her home city of Chongqing from Chengdu. It was about 2 hours by train. This was easy enough to complete in theory. I just had to figure out myself how to get there.  Which meant navigating the long distance trains myself after managing to buy a ticket. Easier said than done. The first step was easy. I just had to retrace our trip from the Chengdu Train station we had arrived into. Then I just had to board the right train at the station. It was fairly easy on the way to Chengdu. But then we had guided instruction on what to do from the tour. Although we didn't actually have the guide with us every time we were inside the station we were seemingly under the safety blanket beingtold what to expect. This trip has no such support. I was alone and had my memory to rely on.   I had no ability to book my train tickets onlin...

Tayla. Tayla. That was the cry of the desperate immigrants as I emerged onto Nathan Road. It seemed that Tayla must have been lost for quite some time. For those looking for any lead were getting delirious in their search. Tayla, Tayla they repeated. Yet they didn't really go into much details on what Tayla looked like. Was he or she tall, short, fat, skinny? Blue jeans, black shirt, face mask? I wasn't sure, and they didn't tell me. What I found unusual was they only wanted me to look at their business card with the details. Who has cards for when their friend goes missing. I couldn't help. Their search was doomed to failure. It was easier than normal to move on in Hong Kong. Seems the locals had taken it into their own hands to remove many of the street side barriers. There were visibly less road blocks to my movement. Where you could see missing barriers meant that there had been a protest at some time. So basically the whole of Hong Kong was now barrier free. ...

Okay. So those who know me, know I've made many a mistake, and had many a problem in traveling before. Missed my connecting flight in Frankfurt. (I'm still sorry Darren) I've been lost in NY. Had my camera die on the first day transiting in Auckland. Had my nose broken in Hawaii.(Jason. Where ever you are I'm still grateful for your support after. Mum I still remember calling you from the emergency room in Hawaii!) Lost my phone in Bangkok. (still thank the Refill Now Hostel for their help after) Been chased by trannies in Chang Mai. Been left stranded in a bus terminal at night in Mobile, Alabama. (still not happy with you Greyhound. Or as I called you, My Dog Stumpy) Mugged in Phnom Penh, (Thanks Brett for being there in Singapore after) Locked out of my hotel at 1am in Val Cenis skiing (Mick, still one of my best ever trips. Thank you) Ended up with DVT after a flight from Vietnam, and Sprained my ankle skiing in Austria. (thanks for helping a...

Think of the most sexually repulsive conversation you've ever had with someone and then multiple it by a billion. That is exactly how I would explain the conversation I had with a Ladyboy as I passed by walking to my hotel in Chiang Mai. I can recall this conversation with upmost accuracy due to its horiffic nature. It went like this: Ladyboy: Excuse me, where you going? Me: To bed. Ladyboy: I come with you. Me: No. Ladyboy: Me suck you. Me: No Ladyboy: Me f^&* you Me: No Ladyboy: Me lick you Me: No Ladyboy: awe, come back mister. And there endth the conversation as I had gone out of range. Whew! Now put this in prospective. The dude, or used to be a dude, still looked and sounded like a dude. Big shoulders can't be hidden when wearing a black cocktail dress. And well make up can only do so much. This was not eye candy. And to my endearing friends, no just because 'beggars can't be choosers' is a theory you may hold with me in jest, there is no c...

When you get stuck in Athens for an extra day due to high winds canceling ferries to the Greek Islands you do think that the weather is going to be much better the next day. Or well that must of been what I was thinking. Anyway I managed to book a ferry out of Athens on the Monday. First stop Santorini. I chose this island as the first port of call as I figured it was the furtherest island in the Cyclades which I would visit. What a bad call that was. The fast ferries are nice flash looking Catamarans larger than the Brisbane City ferries. You are assigned a seat on the boat, so after taking my seat I thought it would be plain sailing. After all it was only a 4 hour journey. My seat was towards the front, and in the middle. Near the snack bar. As I said it was to be a 4 hour journey. So I couldn't resist. After all nearly everyone else visited the snack bar too. And there in lies my mistake. I looked at the menu and thought, hmmm cheese pie, sounds good. For those uninitiate...

I thought I'd update peoples with news on the broken nose. It's all but healed. Every day I find it harder and harder to successfully achieve the homeless look. The broken nose with black eyes gives one such a head start. Last week I went to the specialist here in Vancouver. They weren't so keen on re-fracturing the nose to re-align it. There was a 1/3 chance it'd be back to normal, a 1/3 chance there'd be only slight improvement, and a 1/3 chance of no change. The alignment is only slightly out up on the bridge. Now that the swelling has gone I can feel the difference. I'm left wondering whether it'll affect me during hayfever season. For the moment it just gives me a whole new point at which the glasses can sit. If I find it annoys me, or I have trouble breathing then I'm ok to go get it fixed while I'm here. But it can be fixed later. I'm not so keen on the alternative. That being to find a psycho with a right-hook to re-align it. Anyw...

Well the news is I'm in Vancouver. And with the arrival into Vancouver comes the good news I have better internet access to write to people. And more importantly ability to post photos of the trip so far. The first photo is that of Hananuma Bay. It's the prime snorkeling spot of Honolulu. A short 30 minute bus ride around from Waikiki. We visited here the day before I left. Yeah I snorkeled with the broken nose. It was only slightly uncomfortable to do so. There was no way I was letting the nose finish off my stay in Hawaii. The second photo is that of the Pearl Harbour memorial. The Americans have made the memorial a national park. Or well its run by the national parks service. Therefore its actually free. The memorial was a picture presentation and then boat ride out to the site where the Arizona sunk. All free. I like free. This was about an hour long bus ride out from Waikiki. Good for the fact it only cost $2 to get there. Bad for the fact it was an all stop...