Howard' Travel Final Review (Entry #25)

Posted by Howard Simpson at 7/10/2008 3:35 PM
Categories: uncategorized
The four month and two day trip is now long over and it’s time to make the final long anticipated blog entry.  I was waiting till after I graduated to write this blog, but it is probably fair to say that I had a case of the writer’s block, or just pure denial, when it came to trying to finish this final entry for my trip.  I know that I need to do it though and start moving forward, so here we go.
During my trip and continuing over the past few weeks, I’ve been jotting down ideas I wanted to discuss or review for this entry.  Based on many of the questions I’ve received since coming home, many of you have had some of the same thoughts.  So the best way to format this entry, I think, is just to share the most common questions I’ve received along with my answers and go from there:

- What was your favorite place? (by far the most common question)

This isn’t really a fair question, since I saw so many amazing places and each had their own quality of greatness, whether it was due to the historical relevance, beauty, and/or excitement/enjoyment of the place itself.  By country though, I can pretty confidently say that New Zealand was my favorite place.  It had a little of everything.  Every area I went to sported a different climate, different geographical surroundings, different things to do.  In this regard, it was similar to California (which is always a good thing).  I could be on the beach one minute, hiking mountains an hour later, climbing a glacier the next day, and then on a boat the day after that.  It was pretty great.  Combine that with the great laid-back adventurous attitude of the Kiwis, and it’s hard to argue with that choice.  Plus I had a great 30th birthday there and a lot of fun jumping off as many things as I could.

Of course there were plenty of other highlights and things I would strongly recommend.  Here are just a few:
Israel: all of it...
Australia: Uluru (Ayers Rock), The Whitsundays, Sydney
Thailand: Ko Phi Phi (my favorite island), Chiang Mai, Pai
Laos: Luang Prabang, Vang Vien
Vietnam: Halong Bay, Hoi Ann, Ho Chi Minh City

- Did you get any viruses or illnesses, especially while in Asia?

For the most part I consider myself pretty lucky.  In regards to stomach/digestive ailments that are probably the most discussed and most common illnesses, I feel really lucky.  I took some type of preventive medicine that was supposed to be 65% effective against any type of stomach viruses...and it seemed to work.  I got sick for a day in Israel, but was fortunate at the time to be with relatives who cared for me.  Then I had one bad night in Vietnam, but it was really minor in the big scheme of things (especially when you compare it to the awful awful story I told in blog entry #17, when I witnessed a fellow traveler suffering from a stomach virus)

As many of you know by now, my biggest issues were my chipped tooth and the eye infection I got in Vietnam.  I chipped my tooth swinging from trees in Laos.  Fortunately, it was something I was able to manage until I came back to LA to get fixed.  I don’t think I would have been too happy going to a dentist in Laos.  As for the eye infection, well, I’m actually still dealing with it.  I self medicated while traveling and then when I got back I saw a doctor and got some real drops…but it got re-irritated at some point and as recently as two weeks ago my eye was just a red puss ball.  I was walking around my apartment with the blinds closed, my sunglasses on, and my regular glasses on over that (since I couldn’t wear my contacts and my sunglasses aren’t prescription).  I finally seem to have a handle on the infection and, except for not being able to wear contacts for another month, I think I am pretty close to being back to normal.

- What were the other travelers like?

They were great.  They were everywhere and they were all out looking to have similar adventures.  By far, the biggest group of travelers were British, followed pretty closely by Swedish and Dutch.  In Asia, Israeli’s made a pretty good showing.  And conversely, by far one of the smallest groups was the Americans.  I didn’t meet many, and when people met me they often said I was one of the few Americans they had met.  Regardless of where they were from though, everyone was pretty open to meeting new people, giving you advice, or seeking it, on where to go next, or just open to grabbing a drink.

When I was staying in New Zealand and Australia it was much easier to meet people mostly because I was staying in the communal confines of a Hostel.  In Asia, it was a bit more difficult because I usually got my own room (which cost less than a bed in an 8-person dorm in Australia).  There were still plenty of opportunities though and when I found a group I liked, I tried to travel with them as much as possible, as many of them were headed along the same route as I was, making the community of travelers really small.

My favorite story about other travelers started in Vang Vien, Laos.  I was out with some people when there was a blackout.  Everyone in the whole town slowly made there way to one bar on the river because it was outside and was the brightest in the moonlight.  While we were there a group of British guys started singing some annoying song over and over and over again.  We talked to them a bit and joined in, but I never caught any of their names.  Three weeks and two countries later I was at bar with a friend in Cambodia and sitting at a table next to us were some British guys.  One of them came over to us and asked if they knew me…we tried to make a connection, but couldn’t figure it out and so I decided he must have been mistaken.  A little while later they started singing the same annoying song as the group from before.  I told the girl I was with, who was Canadian, about my experience a few weeks ago and therefore decided that it must be a British thing to sing this song.  By the end of the night we were all at a table together singing the song together.  As I was singing one of the verses, I looked around at everyone when it finally hit me...these were the same guys!  The first time we met it was almost pitch black and thousands of miles away, but somehow we had ended up at the same bar in Cambodia doing the same thing.  I don’t know...I thought it was a pretty crazy coincidence how it all went down, but I guess that’s just part of traveling...

- I sure did get a lot of text messages from you...did you have your phone with you?

God bless technology...that’s all I have to say.  When you consider how quickly I always changed cities, at times was in the middle of no where and so far away from anything that I would consider normal, it was amazing how hooked up I was.  On my phone I had instant text messages and emails, while on my computer I could browse the internet and watch TV from California using the slingbox.

As for the text messaging...well, most of you received them from me nonstop...whether it was to tell you that I was about to jump from a plane, to wish you a happy birthday, or just ask, ”what’s up?”  It really allowed me to keep up with everything that was going on with friends and family back home, so I never felt like I didn’t know what was going on in everyone’s life.  At the same time, I tried to share with you what I was doing.  Some of you thought maybe I was bragging about what I was doing, but really I was just trying to share...well, most of the time...  Here are two of my favorite text correspondences during the trip:

1) I was at a beach bar on an island in Thailand.  I took a picture with my phone at the bar and sent it to a few friends with the comments: “Me watching a fire show at a bar on an island in Thailand.”  As if they had worked on it together, I received two almost identical messages in return.  They were each a picture of a cubicle and the message, “Me watching my computer at work..."

2) I was pretty nervous about my bungy jump in Queenstown, New Zealand, but also on a real high for it.  Right before I jumped I texted my brother, “I’m bungy jumping from 440 feet today!!!!!”  He replied, “I’m taking grandma to get a haircut today!!!!”

As you all know, technology also allowed me to consistently upload pictures and my blog.  It also allowed me access to TV!  I would say one of the things I missed the most during traveling was American sports and the excitement around it.  Especially during March Madness when I knew everyone was doing their brackets and watching hours and hours of nonstop basketball.  After having issues with my slingbox, I was finally able to hook up to my friend’s box in San Diego, which (for those of you that don’t know) allows me to have complete access to anything on TV in San Diego through my computer.  I could even change the channel and set up shows to tape on the DVR.  It was great for watching UCLA’s run to the Final Four and the Lakers in the playoffs...and by the end I was getting a little greedy, as I also was able to watch many of the shows I missed while traveling.

As I near three pages of text, I feel I should start to end this thing...despite the fact that I have many more things to share.  Above are just a few of the items I wanted to stress that either helped me on my travels along the way or observations that made my travels what they were.

I want to thank a lot of people along the way: Of course my parents for watching Mocha while I traveled and allowing me to go on this voyage without too much protest.  My brothers’ for their contact along the way and also for being available when I needed research done or something else handled for me.  Eric, Aderet, Danae, Marc, Ariel, Aviva, Jonathon, Dave and anyone else that I may have forgotten by now who gave me tips and advice on where to go based on their previous experiences.  Matt and Nikki for allowing me to hook up to their slingbox, which saved my life so many times when it came to catching UCLA and Lakers games.  They also basically opened their home to me, as I would often be virtually watching TV with them, even going as far as changing the channel on them because I didn’t like what they were watching.  Carly and TJ for meeting me along the way and Stephanie and Nick for hosting me in Hong Kong.  My roommates Marc and Kyla for dealing with any apartment related issues and checking on my mail for me.  Any and all of the many friends I may have contacted with questions, whether it be a score update or quick research information, while I was traveling.  Any one else I might have forgotten, and of course all of the “masses” who regularly read my blog and looked at the pictures.  I definitely appreciated receiving emails and comments in response to all the entries.

I guess all that’s left is to answer the second most popular question: What’s next?

OK...so I know I need to get a job.  I’ve heard it from parents, friends, family friends, debt collectors, Mocha, etc...  Now that we’ve established that, what else?  I’d love to do this trip again, although I don’t know when that chance will present itself.  If I did have the chance, I think I’d try to extend it, not necessarily to see more places, but rather to be able to stay in places longer; allow myself to really become acquainted with places and not become too worn out on moving to a different location so often.

Also, to occupy my time in the absence of this blog, I am setting up a new blog that I strongly encourage you all to subscribe to.  It will cover a myriad of topics and can be found at: HOMPspeak

Final Travels Fast Facts:

Date of first blog: January 8
Date of final blog: July 11
Longest stay in one city: 4 days
Longest stay in one country: 28 days
KFC visits abroad: 8
Lakers regular season record abroad: 36-14
yoff record abroad: 6-0
Countries visited: 11 (including the tourist day in LA)
Bungies jumped: 2
Planes dove out of: 1
Text messages sent: Literally thousands
Scuba Dives: 15
Birthdays: 1 (but one big one!)
Bottles of Jack/bourbon bought: 13
Trip time: 4 months and 2 days OR 122 days OR exactly 1/3 of a year (because it’s a leap year)
Pictures taken: about 3,500
Pictures kept and posted: 1,384
Blog entries posted: 25
Blog entries remaining: 0
New Blogs: 1 (HOMPspeak.HOMPparties.com)
Cost: Priceless...(I think that line only works in commercials…it actually cost about twice my original estimate...)

Here are picture highlights from the beginning of my trip to my graduation!

And here is a video highlight I made from anything I may have chosen to video tape along the way...
 

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