Adventures in International Recruiting

Graham Hughes and Oysters

2012-01-30T20:19:00.000-08:00

This was a long holiday weekend here in the city, Monday being Auckland Anniversary Day, commemorating the arrival of New Zealand's first governor, William Hobson, in 1840. Down at the waterfront, the Auckland Seafood Festival ran all three days. I decided to head down there with one of my new friends here and check it out. My only real mission was to eat some New Zealand oysters, which I accomplished. They were quite good, but nowhere near as cheap as Apalachicola oysters, but then again I was at a seafood festival in the nation's largest city. As a future mission, I'll have to find the NZ equivalent to Apalach, and a good dive bar serving them raw.

A Selection of the Local AquaFauna

View of the CBD from the Seafood Festival

After the oysters, we decided to try the "Wild Seafood Challenge" - basically a long line for an overpriced sampler of 6 "wild" seafoods. The only one I'd actually call "wild" was sea urchin, and of course they were out of that by the time we'd gotten to the front of the line. However, in the course of getting ripped off I met a very interesting individual named Graham Hughes, who just happened to be in line next to me. Graham is closing in on his attempt to be the first person to ever visit every country on the planet without using an airplane - just ground and water transit, and he can't drive or captain it himself. He's knocked out 194 out of 201 (by his count - Mike, vet this). All he has left are a few hard-to-reach island nations and a return trip to Africa to visit South Sudan, which became a country after he'd left the continent (d'oh!). So check out his website, like him on Facebook, etc, because he was a cool guy and he's found something genuinely interesting to promote himself doing (yes, I hate him).

Ponsonby Manor

2012-01-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

Dad just made two observations:

1) I have not put up any pictures of where I am staying. This is remedied below.

This is Ponsonby Manor, a.k.a. the Red Monkey Manor (because the owners also have a backpacker place called the Red Monkey - we don't let those types in here). My room is top-left, sharing the balcony.

This is the view across the street from that balcony (notice the bus stop and neighboring cafe, eh).

This is the view out the back window towards the CBD. That's the Sky Tower. You can see it in the first pic as well.

2) The place has kind of an Old West vibe.

That it does, especially in some of the storefront architecture. More on that later as I plan to do a little research...

! Murder Burger !

2012-01-24T17:18:00.000-08:00

This place is awesome. Along Ponsonby Road, and in Auckland in general (not sure about all of NZ yet, thank you) one can find what I will call "boutique burger joints". The one that I decided to try first was Murder Burger - yes, just because I like the marketing. A lot of creativity has gone into the branding of this place, and it's the only one of its kind. I will definitely be making a Google Earth model of this place, because it deserves it. Wow, would it ever do well in Savannah. Oh yeah, the food is great too.

Some Things Are the Same #1

2012-01-23T19:54:00.000-08:00

A normal trip to the grocery store will at some point make me want to beat someone, just like in America.

Approaching noon on Sunday, I decided to make my first foray to the big grocery store between where I am now, Ponsonby, and the CBD. I planned to walk there, as it is all downhill, then take the bus back up. However, it began to drizzle, so I decided to take the bus both ways. There is a stop with a nice shelter right outside the guest house. Next to the shelter is a row of cafes and eateries of various sorts, with parallel parking on the curb. No parking in front of the shelter, of course, as that is where a bus stops every 10 minutes, or 15 on the weekends.

However, since it was drizzling heavily, a gentleman (as I will refer to him at this point) in a Lexus SUV decided to wait in the bus lane for the parking spot just next to it, as it appeared that those using this spot (also in an SUV) were about to load up and leave. However, it became quickly evident that they were not leaving, just continually getting things from the car. They were sitting in the covered sidewalk area of the cafe adjacent to the spot, with small children. Lexus-SUV-dude decides to hang in there anyway. An optimist, I suppose. The bus is approaching. I'm eager to see what is going to happen. I'm assuming that the bus driver will lay on the horn, and the Lexus SUV will leave, chagrinned.

Not so.

The bus begins to pull into its spot, then pauses, as it cannot get out of traffic all the way because of the Lexus. I lock eyes with the bus driver and begin to step out from the shelter. The driver shrugs his shoulders and pulls back out, carrying on. I was dumbfounded. Then I was pissed. I had just waited 10 minutes for the bus, and would now have to wait 15 more. Lexus is still there, hazards flashing. Yes, I knocked on his window. He rolled it down.

"You know, you just made me miss my bus because you're sitting in the bus lane."

"Oh, so sorry."

I didn't press it. He was older and seemed genuinely nonplussed about what had just occurred. Yet he persisted in waiting for the parking spot. Yes, for another 15 minutes, until the next bus came by, without stopping. By this time it had stopped drizzling, so I just started walking, as Lexus guy finally gave up and drove on.

_________________________________

The New World grocery store was very much like any American supermarket. The only real difference were the accents flying about and the actual brand names on the packets (though some were the same). It was even full of people oblivious to how their positioning in the aisles might be obstructing traffic, unattended children pulling items from shelves while parents looked elsewhere, and those people who should never be let anywhere near a self-check-out lane. All the same.

Still, I made it without throttling anyone. In a future post I'm going to do a breakdown of what different things cost in New Zealand, using many of the items from this shopping trip...

Christchurch Foibles

2012-01-21T13:25:00.000-08:00

Though I am now in Auckland, and think that I would enjoy working here, I am also looking at positions elsewhere. One of these places is Christchurch. This is the largest city on the South Island, and the third-largest city in New Zealand. Starting in September of 2010, Chch (a convenient shortening) has been rocked by a series of earthquakes and aftershocks, major and minor. They continue presently. Just this January 2nd were 5.1 and 5.5 tremors. While this has been hell on the general economy, it has created lots of work for city planners and urban designers. So, it could be an interesting opportunity, but there are obvious drawbacks. See articles below:

"Visitors want to be moved"

"Southern men face woman-drought"

RESURRECTION!

2012-01-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

I made promises (to myself and others) to start blogging again with my new travels. However, I have been stumped with coming up with a new blog title that feels right. So, in order to stop procrastinating with it, I've decided just to go back to the old site. After all, now rather than recruiting foreigners, I'm looking to be recruited by them. Works just fine. As things get settled, when and if I find a job down here somewhere, maybe I'll then change the name. Be thinking on it for me...

AdvIntRec Post-Mortem

2010-10-20T10:53:00.000-07:00

"Adventures in International Recruiting" has been dead and buried for some time now, but now it has been disinterred from the other site that I foolishly though that I would write at during grad school (free time - ha ha ha) and returned to its proper resting place, here. The posts will remain available for all who might stumble upon them to enjoy. I do plan to finally start a new blog. Unless plans change, it will be called "Our Man in Savannah" and I will begin writing new posts soon.

Uh, oops.

2010-04-20T20:28:00.000-07:00

I disavow these claims that I was going to start a new blog. I'm going to try to return these posts to their previous location (Adventures in International Recruiting) for no other reason than so Mike's links from his blog will work again. Ah, the path to Hell...

Meanwhile, I WILL be starting a new blog, now that I'm out of grad school. Gotta do something to keep myself busy while I find a job.

Ditch the Car

2008-07-07T05:14:00.000-07:00

More on my own decision to ditch my car later, but here is a good article I saw in Slate this morning about motorized alternatives...

Slate on motorcycles and scooters

New Name, New Posts

2008-07-01T19:45:00.000-07:00

Adventures in Southern Urbanism

I finally thought of a new name for my blog, and no, it is not an oxymoron. Urbanism in the South may not be widespread, but it exists. I live in a wonderful example of it - Midtown, Atlanta. And for the past year, I have lived here without a car. To accomplish that without feeling any real inconvenience or discomfort I think proves that true urbanism does exist here. In fact, I have greatly enjoyed being car-free. I will expand on this theme in the future, along with many others.

Yes, my hiatus from blogging has been long, but I think that it has taken me that long to change gears and settle into my new mode of life enough that I now feel comfortable writing about it. After all, I was travelling for SCAD for nearly a year before I started this blog in the first place under its former name - Adventures in International Recruiting. I will leave those posts here, of course. In so many ways those experiences inform my current views on urbanism and led to my decision to return to school to earn my Masters of City and Regional Planning at Georgia Tech. That was Stage Two of my post-collegiate life. This is Stage Three. Stage One is for another time.

(I swear I'm going to finish that book one day...)

Damn, I'm slack...

2008-02-10T15:32:00.000-08:00

OK, no I have not travelled any recently, but I did recently complete a submission for this year's ULI student urban design competition. The study area that it was based on was a neighborhood called the Cedars just south of downtown Dallas. I was so immersed in it for two solid weeks that I FEEL like I travelled there. So, at some point soon I will post our team's proposal. However, I'm not sure if anyone even reads this thing anymore. Ha.

Changes

2007-05-28T09:40:00.000-07:00

OK, there are reasons that I have not posted recently. As of May 11th, I left the job that led me to create this blog. I feel that I can now "reveal" more about myself, though I think most readers are friends and family who know me already. The "J.C." stands for Jason Combs. Southville is Savannah, GA. The university I worked for was the Savannah College of Art and Design (www.scad.edu). I was there one week shy of three years. About a year ago I decided that it was time to take the next step and started making plans. I resolved that if I were to go back to grad school, it needed to happen soon. So, I am happy to say that I have been admitted to Georgia Tech's City and Regional Planning program, beginning August 20th. I have already semi-moved to Atlanta, as I found a summer position here (more on that later).

The subject matter and format of this blog will be changing. The title too. You'll know when I know. There will still be travel narratives, I hope, but they will be fewer and farther between. Instead, readers will be getting more of a taste of my daily life, and the issues that concern me, and that I think should concern everyone. Stay tuned!

Oh yeah, and I WILL eventually finish recounting the Balkan trip...

Columbia, South Carolina

2007-04-23T09:20:00.000-07:00

Went there this weekend to help out with a recruiting event. Absolutely nothing to report.

A summary of the trip to the Balkans will follow shortly. I promise!

About Damn Time: Azerbaijan

2007-04-15T12:54:00.000-07:00

No matter how old you are, naked mannequins make you giggle...

Jeez, I'm getting later and later on these posts. Anyway, next stop on the trip was Azerbaijan. Baku, the capitol, to be exact. 50 points if you can find it on a map. It is one of those rascally former Soviet republics. My first new country on this trip. Yay!

So we got in late. It was dark already, but after checking in a group of us walked from the hotel to the pedestrian zone of town. Mike and I tired of the committee, so we strayed, but then ended up picking the same place to eat that the committee did. I think I had lamb. It was good. And the local beer. Also good.

The next day we had school visits and whatnot. This one instructor, had she also been carrying a riding crop, would have fulfilled a long held fantasy. Didn't have my camera! The women here like their boots... After the school fair we were held hostage and forced to watch this crap. Yeah, I'm ready to have kids. Ladies, get me to an altar.

Afterwards, more walking about and eating things. And shopping for bootleg DVDs. They even had "300" already, and it had just come out in the states days before. As I found later, not the quality of the bootlegs that I saw in Russia. No interactive menus, scene selection, and often no English. Bummer!

Vote now for Joseph Humadi to take over the role of Lex Luthor in the next Superman film.

We had a big group farewell dinner at a "traditional" restaurant. Codeword for rip-off. Food was good though, and we all drank MUCH. Mike and I finally got one of the other reps, who we'd pegged as a dead ringer for an early Seinfeld guest-star, to say the magic word. See below. Name the episode and win a prize...

After dinner the brave hit a few bars. Ended up at an Irish pub, of course. One of our group ended up going home with a lady he met there. He swears she wasn't a hooker. Whatever. None of us believed it. If you didn't pay her, but bought her a microwave, she's still a pro.

The fair was a madhouse. I'm talking beyond India crazy. It was like a swarm of locusts let loose in the ballroom. Some tables were out of materials in minutes. I used my kung-fu to ward off all MBA and engineering seekers.

The point here was the hammer and sickle, above.

Now for vacation!

The Middle East: The Gulf States

2007-03-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

OK, time to catch up...

Kuwait

Not as bad as I have bitched about before. Yes, it is still dry. However, on this visit we stayed at an much, much better location than previous trips. Before, the group was out by the airport. Sucked. This time, on the waterfront where everything is going on. Check out the hotel...

We were located right next to a marina ringed with restaurants, so good eating for three days. Also, across the street and attached by skybridge was a very large mall. It seemed that every teenager in Kuwait was hanging out there Thursday night (beginning of the weekend in these parts). I already mentioned the term "Americanistic" in my previous entry. I thought of it here.

Mike and I had quite a scheme going for a little while. We were trying to figure out if it would be possible to pay a taxi driver to take us to the border of Iraq, so we could step over, just to say we'd done it. I'd like to say that better thinking persuaded us to abondoned this idea, but no, we found out that a lot of paperwork is required to cross the border, so we gave it up. Would have been cheating to include Iraq on the official country list though, even if we were successful.

I went for a long run along the corniche one day. About five miles from the hotel to the point and back. It was some sort of national holiday and people were everywhere. A military parade had taken place earlier in the day, and now it was time for the navy to show off, so I had an escort of gunships as I ran.

Before leaving I bought a couple comic books. One is in English, but features Muslim superhereos. I have not read it yet - will give a review once I do. The other was an issue of the Hulk in Arabic. I actually know the guy that wrote the issue. He'll get a kick out of it.

See this.

Bahrain

Finally got a chance to go and see the World Heritage Site here. Yes, another Portugese fortress! My, how those little fellas used to get around.

Other than that, nothing much exciting happened. Had a few beers in the hotel bar and watched the singing Filipinas. Everyone likes them. Check out the evidence: Saudis and brothers from Detroit. When worlds collide...

UAE (Dubai)

Indoor snowboarding, baby...

Stop-gap Update

2007-03-16T23:48:00.000-07:00

So we have been moving pretty quick since my last post: Kuwait, Bahrain, UAE, Azerbaijan, and now Bulgaria. I had planned to update earlier on the Gulf but there was little internet access in Azerbaijan, which deserves its own entry as well. It shall get one, but not now. Mike and I left Baku yesterday at 4:30am (we left the hotel at 1am) and arrived in Bularia at 1:30pm. We have just spent the night in Sofia, in the apartment of Mike's friend Miro. Had a great dinner last night, a feast really, and we also bought the train tickets for the next segment of our journey. After gathering info, we decided that going north to Romania takes too much time, especially for just wanting to see the villiage where Vlad Dracul lived. Instead we are heading immediately west through Serbia and to Montenegro on the coast. From there we can take shuttles into Croatia, Bosnia, and Albania, if the mood strikes us. I can pick up five more countries!

Target list:

"Americanistic"

2007-03-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

I coined a new word while in Kuwait.

Americanistic
adjective
: having American characteristics, but modified by foreign elements; a fusion of American and other cultures.

Americanistic civilization - refers to the spreading of American culture over the rest of the globe since the rise of the USA as a super-power in the post-WWII era.

I thought of this after reading a review of the movie "300." My mind wandered to Alexander the Great and how his conquering of the then known world infused Greek culture into all the regions where he passed (even though his empire quickly fell apart). Greece was "Hellenic." The areas that were influenced by its culture were "Hellenistic."

Please see Mike's blog for further explanation and examples.

Why Western Women Love Saudi Arabia...

2007-03-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

Above, Amanda displays how all women must dress in public while in Saudi Arabia. Below, she gets on the plane to leave Saudi Arabia.

Middle East Again: First Three Stops

2007-03-05T12:58:00.000-08:00

(more pictures on the way!)

Morocco

After touching down in Morocco I took a taxi straight to the first school visit rather than going to the hotel first. There was a beautiful sunrise as we drove through the farmland towards Casablanca, but unfortunately my camera was packed and in the trunk. I arrived at the American school about thirty minutes before the rest of the group. This tour of the Middle East is with USEG, a group that I have travelled with more than once in the past. In fact, one of the organizers is Mike, the old geezer that joined me for my 30th birthday in Central America last summer. Mike has his own blog here.

After the school visit, we had the rest of the day off. A group of us decided to take the 2pm tour of the Hassan II Mosque, the third largest mosque in the world, and the largest mosque open to infidels (the other two are in Saudi Arabia). Though third in overall size, this mosque has the highest minaret in the world.

Done with the mosque, it was time for a little shopping. We went to the Habous, a souk built by the French. I bought several gift items and a cool French art deco poster advertising their North African colonies as travel destinations (link). Of course I knew that it was foolish to buy an item like this so early in the trip, but it was a damn cool poster – I could just see it framed in my apartment.

Dinner was at a traditional restaurant near the corniche. It took the traditional four hours. I enjoy a long dinner if I’m at an outdoor location, with friends, such as back in the fall at Thessaloniki (see earlier post), but stuck inside a smoky room small talking with new acquaintances – that shit drives me crazy.

A few people were going out after dinner, but I went straight to bed. I’ve seen plenty of Russian hookers over the past three years.

Though I woke up at 7 and had an early breakfast with Mike, we waited too long to check bus schedules and missed the 8:30. It was our intention to visit the city of El Jadida, about 90kms south along the African coast. The modern tourist city is built around a 17th century Portuguese trading fortress of Mazagan that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The next bus was at 10:30, so we had some time to kill.

First we entered the Sheraton, which I have stayed in before and is right next to the bus station. Some back-story: as I was watching Syriana I had a massive stab of deja-vu during the kidnapping scene that is supposed to take place in Beirut. Never having been kidnapped (yet, knock on wood) I figured it must be from the surroundings. Of course, the scene was not filmed in Lebanon. Watching the credits, I saw that some of the movie was filmed in Casablanca. I guessed it must have been at the Sheraton. We first inquired at the reception desk. The lady there did not speak very good English, and as we had also just asked questions about the bus schedules, I believe she thought we were looking for a bus to Syria. She gave us an emphatic “No, no.” Next we tried the bartender at the lobby lounge. “Yes, yes,” he replied, polishing a tumbler, “Meester George Clooney, here, here.” He pointed to an area right next to us, then towards the elevators. Ah-ha! I was right.

Seeing as we still had over an hour, we decided to have a bit of a walkabout and look for Rick’s Café. We meandered through the old souk, or medina, which eventually spat us out on a boulevard that skirted the port facilities. We walked all the way to the mosque and realized we’d gone too far. Backtracking along the boulevard, we discovered that we’d missed Rick’s just as we exited the medina. It was closed at the time, but we took a couple of pictures. We walked back a different path through the medina, but began to run short of time, so hopped in a taxi (which are pretty cheap here – for the shabby “petit” taxis). We got back to the bus station just in time.

The ride to El Jadida was very pleasant – through the same rolling green farmland of the coastal plain that I’d seen on the ride from the airport. Not what you typically think of when envisioning the Middle East and certainly not a part of Morocco that was featured in the recent movie Babel. From the station it was easy enough to wander our way to the oceanfront promenade, and then on to the old city which was visible a bit further on. Inside the old walls was a pleasant jumble of buildings. We scaled the walls at the port fortifications and walked all the way around the bastions and ramparts. This is not one of those sites that is micro-managed. It was free-range. On the west side we were able to observe a game of soccer being played by the local kids in the shadow of the walls. When they noticed us they stopped playing and tried to show us who could do the longest handstand. They though we were Spanish tourists, so we yelled some español back at them so they wouldn’t be disappointed. Our ramblings done, we tried to grab some lunch at a beachside café, but the service was way too casual and we were on a time-table, so we got up before ordering and just bought some snacks near the station. We caught the 2:15 back to “Casa,” as the locals call it. The ride both ways cost less than 10 bucks.

Back at our hotel, our briefings started at 4:00. However, I noticed that my boxes were not present, so some investigating ensued. Turns out they were delivered, but to the Sheraton, where we had just been a few hours ago. After much cajoling, I was allowed to look around their offices, where I found my lonely box sitting in the corner of the office belonging to the event planner. She thought it was an early delivery for another college fair that would be taking place there in a few weeks. I huffed it back to my own hotel. Now I definitely needed a shower, immediately, so I was forced to skip the remaining briefing, but made it to the fair itself on time.

After the fair, straight to packing and then bed. Tomorrow was a 5am wake-up. Ugh!

Transit Woes

The short version: I forgot my airline tickets.

The long version:
At the Casablanca airport, I had trouble checking in to my Milan flight (we had to connect there for Amman, Jordan). The ticket guy was a real jerk. He said that I should have a paper ticket. I said that I was supposed to have an e-ticket. He said that my agent must have made a mistake. He would not print me a new ticket, even though I had all the ticket info. I was forced to buy another ticket, as it was way too early to call said agent. Joseph, the tour organizer and friend of the agent, said not to worry – we’d fix it later. Some in the group had paper tickets, other were issued e-tickets.

In Milan, I had similar problems. I insisted that I had an e-ticket. No, they said, I should have paper tickets. Though still early in the states, it was not outlandish to call the agent. Yes, it seems, I was supposed to have paper tickets, which the agent sent to my office and had tracking info for. I called my office. Yes, the tickets were there, still in the FedEx package, amidst a pile of other files and papers on my desk. They were delivered while I was still in France, and during the two weeks that I was in the office, I had totally overlooked them.

In my defense:
1) I was very busy during those two weeks, both with work (catch up from the France trip, preparing for the Middle East trip, and juggling a group of 13 international guests visiting the campus) and with facets of my ever-dwindling personal life.
2) I was not anticipating paper tickets. I genuinely thought they were all e-tickets. Usually I use the university’s on-campus travel agents, where I speak to them face-to-face, and they give me by hand exactly what I need. On this occasion Joseph had convinced me to use his guy in DC, saying he would be able to cut us special breaks in the Middle East. Not familiar with “Travellese” I misinterpreted the invoice that he faxed me. He also assumed that I would be expecting paper tickets. Finally, as I said before, they were delivered while I was out. Had I been in, and they were handed to me, this never would have happened.
3) The FedEx package was opened. This is normal while I am travelling, because it could contain a student’s application, which is time sensitive, and I might be gone for weeks and weeks. However, seeing an opened FedEx envelope upon my return (which I’m sure that I must have, but do not remember) I might have though that I’d already opened it before my trip and hence put it to the side. I actually often keep empty FedEx envelopes. This is because students sometimes write me and say, “But I sent you X document already.” Then I will say, “No you didn’t, I have the empty envelope right here. I opened it myself, and it was not one of the items inside.”

Is that a rational rationalization? Or do I need my head scanned?

So, an unfortunate series of circumstances. I had to also buy another ticket to Amman, Jordan. The good thing is, the original paper tickets were being sent to catch up with me in Saudi Arabia, and the agent was pretty sure he could get refunds for the double seats I was having to buy. By the way, I don’t see how, in this modern computer-driven age, the airline agents cannot print me a new ticket on the spot when they have me standing there in person, passport and reference numbers in hand, and they know that there is no one else inhabiting my seat with the previously printed tickets. Assholes. Part of me hopes that the whole industry goes bankrupt. One day it will.

Another thing: in all the running around, buying new tickets and whatnot, I lost my “good” pen, and left my poster in the food court of the Milan airport. I hope that someone took it home and it was not thrown away. It was a cool poster. Luckily, I have found that I can order another copy online (for three times the price).

Jordan

It was a long day of travel. From the west end of the Middle East to the center of it, 5am to 9pm. Whew. Yes, I slept in the next day.

At 11am a group of us reps were picked up at the hotel (yep, Sheraton again) to go and see the campus of a new boarding school being modeled after Deerfield Academy in the US. See, that’s where the King of Jordan went and he is one of the main benefactors, hence the name King’s Academy. The school opens its doors to students this fall, but will only have freshmen and sophomores. There won’t be a graduating class for three years, but the counselors want to get a head start. Cool with us. The grounds were amazing, and we had lunch at the headmaster’s house, prepared by the French-trained cook. Not bad. On the way back we had to stop on the side of the road so that a couple of the other reps could get pictures of carts loaded with carrots. Seriously.

Briefing. College fair – busy, busy. Afterwards four of us went to the Howard Johnson’s for sushi. I know that sounds weird, but there was actually a really good sushi restaurant situated on the top floor. A good panoramic view of Amman as well. After dinner we had a couple of drinks in the club under the hotel. Nai, or something like that. It was actually very, very cool, and there were some very attractive Arab girls in there. Thank Allah burkhas are not the rule in Amman.

We didn’t stay out too late, but I was still a bit upset by being woken up at 6:45am with a drunken phone call from my colleagues out on the town in Atlanta. Thanks gals. After a couple more hours of sleep I went to the hotel gym for a much needed work-out. Breakfast. Check-out. Bus to the airport at 11:30. At this time I made my revenge call to Atlanta.

Saudi Arabia

It was a two-hour flight over the desert to Riyadh. I had a great window seat on the exit aisle. Still, due to the foggy window and the brightness outside, none of my pictures came out well enough to include. I enjoyed it though. The endless dunes have a mesmerizing mathematical quality to them.

Entry to Saudi Arabia is interesting. “Death for drug trafficking” and all that. I was lucky enough to be chosen for a hand search of one of my bags. Still luckier, it was my bag with the DVD-case containing all my Russian bootlegs (see previous post). One of these was Into the Blue with Jessica Alba. Previously, I praised the quality of the Russian bootlegs. Today, I wished they hadn’t gone to the trouble of printing a picture of Jessica in her mesh bikini on the DVD.
“Sexy movie?” the searcher asked.
I figured that, “Yes, that’s the whole point. Don’t you know who Jessica Alba is?” was probably the wrong answer. “It’s a beach movie,” I answered instead.
“You wait here.” He took my passport and the case off into an office.
I’d never actually watched the movie and had no idea if there was nudity or not. I was hoping that maybe they wouldn’t be able to navigate the Cyrillic menus. Otherwise, I might have an interesting stay in Saudi Arabia. Ten or fifteen minutes later my case was returned to me – and the movie was still there. I wonder if they burned a copy…

Once checked into the hotel (yes, another Sheraton) I stayed in my room and did a little email, internet surfing, and reading. Not much nightlife in Riyadh, or anything else. This is one city where I don’t feel guilty about staying in my hotel.

The next two days were pretty full. We had a fair in four sessions, morning and evening, at Al Yamamah College. That’s sixteen hours in all. If all the traffic at the fair were compressed into 3 or 4 hours, it would have been a pretty decent showing. As it was, not so much. I did get a handful of serious inquiries however, so it was not a total wash.

During the break on the first day we made a visit to the US Embassy for a briefing on the Saudi educational system and the state of visa issuance. Funny story from that visit. This is another one of those ask-me-later stories, as it might involve me compromising national security. Or maybe I’m full of shit and just trying to get friends and acquaintances to buy me drinks. Put a pint of Guinness in front of me and maybe you’ll find out.

How do you respect a city when its only skyscraper looks like the Bic Lady Shaver?

Next stop: Kuwait. A regular barrel of monkeys compared to Saudi.

Finally, a long stay... in Paris!

2007-02-13T14:56:00.000-08:00

OK, yeah - so Paris is gorgeous, but obviously I have altered the above image. Good thing it is gorgeous, because the weather was crap most of the time I was there. The sun came out for two days, one of which I was stuck indoors at the college fair. The rest of the time it looked like this:

My evolving anti-jet-lag scheme worked pretty well on this trip. I only allowed myself about 4 hours of sleep the night before my flight over. That way I was able to sleep during the entire trans-Atlantic portion, and basically have a full night's rest when I arrived at 6am local time. Good thing too, because I had my first school appointment later that same morning. But anyway, I'll give a day by day account...

Monday

Upon arriving at Hotel Minerve, I did something quite novel in my work-travel experience: I unpacked my bags. Yes, I would be staying here for 11 consecutive nights. My flight out was scheduled in two weeks. Didn't know what I was doing the 3 extra nights. I'd figure that out later.

I didn't have time to linger in the room - my first appointment was out in the 'burbs at 11:30am. I took a shower and headed to the nearest Metro station, Cardinal Lemoine. After taking line 10 all the way to its western terminus, I hopped on a bus for another ten minutes, to be let off right outside the American School of Paris. There I spoke to a group of students during lunch and also to an art class. In between I was offered a computer in the library to check email. That's when jet-lag hit. I kept slumping over in mid-type. Back at my hotel I had to take a 2-hour nap.

Once awake, I hit the streets, changed some money, ate a donner kebab, and made my way to an expat bar called The 5th. There I had a couple pints of Guinness and participated in the Monday night trivia contest. I only used my work-issued Blackberry to cheat once (capitol of Belarus, dammit). Afterwards I walked back to the Minerve and hit the sack.

Tuesday

I woke up early and headed to a grocery store to grab some toiletries that I forgot to bring along. I also ate breakfast, which at a European hotel consists of bread and coffee. And a pack of cigarettes, for some.

At noon I arrived at the International School of Paris (right across the river from the Eiffel Tower) and presented to another classroom. After that I walked a few doors down and dropped in to the Franco-American Center. We talked a bit about how to better promote US universities amongst the French, and I got myself invited to a roundtable next Tuesday. Great. I took the long on-foot route back to my hotel. Quite a walk.

That evening I met a friend of mine, Amanda, on the Rue de Abesses for a few drinks and dinner. Afterwards, I decided to continue the evening out and hit a few bars near my hotel that were recommended in the Time Out guidebook. For the most part they were pretty lame, but then again it was Tuesday night. At an English pub I met a fellow named Konstantine, who dragged me to a bar where all his Greek friends were hanging out. Konstantine then left, without paying his portion of the tab. Jackass. Too bad I never saw him again...

Above: the Abesses Metro station - undergoing some renovations - very Bat-Cave-ish

Wednesday

Slept in, had an appointent at another school, took a nap, then headed down towards Notre Dame to look for an Irish pub that I had a drink at on my last trip to Paris. I found it, and kept walking down the river, finding a place called the Great Canadian. I pretty much stayed there the rest of the night, hanging out with other North Americans.

Thursday

I met with the international affairs representative of a university that my university is considering forming some sort of tie-up with. Afterwards I ran by the venue where the college fair would be held over the next two days. My boxes were not there yet, but they told me not to worry - they would be (forshadowing).

Done with work, I hit my first exhibit, at the Gran Palais. On display there were artifacts discovered from underwater excavations of the ancient cities of Canopus, Herakleion, and Alexandria, all once on the Mediterranean coast of the Nile delta. I was hoping for new information on the famous lighthouse, but there was none. Poop. I bet they're saving for a whole 'nother exhibit. Bastards. Of course, they had tons of other cool stuff, including figures of Khonsu (important to dorky comic book fans as being the patron of Moon Knight). I tried to take some not-allowed pictures, but they did not come out very well.

From the Gran Palais I walked to my friend Amanda's new apartment, very close to the Eiffel Tower. What a bitch! I drank some beer while helping her and her friends move stuff in and around - then I went back to my hotel.

Friday

I woke up and met a previously unknown university colleague at breakfast. Gwen works at our institution's facility in southern France. Rough life. Together we went to the fair venue and set up our booth. Yep, no boxes. Luckily, I had overpacked for my school visits, so we had materials to give out. Still, I spent half the day trying to track the boxes down. No luck. At least, no luck finding the boxes. However, my quest took me to Hall One of the expo center. Hall One was closed to the public for a very special professional exhibition. I was allowed to enter with a security escort since there was some evidence that my boxes had been erroneously delivered there. What glorious and secret event was this, you might ask?

Someone had been reading my diary. For half an hour, I was in heaven. Inside, it was like a living, breathing Victoria's Secret catalog. Yes, there were actually models, everywhere, wearing the lingerie of dozens of different companies from around the world. Lingerie that was not in store yet. I did not dare take out my camera while inside. There was a whole security station devoted to receiving complaints of lingerie espionage. Boxes? What boxes?

After the fair I went back to the hotel and considered slitting my wrists, because never would I ever see anything like that again. Unless they let me in tomorrow. So I didn't slit them. Besides, I had no bathtub.

Once compose, I accompanied Gwen to a restaurant where she was meeting a friend and his children. I did not stay though, because I was meeting one of my new American friends, Amy, from the Great Canadian at an Indian restaurant. After dinner we had a couple of beers at the Moosehead. Cool bar - reminded me of Southville.

Saturday

Another day at the college fair, still no boxes. My extra supplies managed to last us though. That still didn't stop me from going back to Hall One. However, they were on to me. I made it inside, but not past the check-in. Still, I'm tall enough that I could see over the wall. I left, weeping.

After the fair I went with Gwen to the apartment of the same friend she had met the night before. Her husband, a documentary filmmaker (on his way to Beirut), and another friend who is a postal artist (don't ask) also joined. These were genuine expat intellectuals. Of course after dinner and much wine we ended up debating 9-11 conspiracy theories. Very interesting. I will have much to put in my report for Mr. Hoover...

After dinner I met my friend Amanda (with the awesome apartment) and some of her friends out in a more ethnic part of the city. We had a few drinks in a bar that was very red and shabby-trendy. I was able to dash down the nearest Metro cave and leap on to the last train of the night back to my quarter. In the neighborhood of my hotel I decided to keep things going, as I had the next day off. I was up 'til about 5am. Met some more random Americans. Much fun.

Sunday

Needless t0 say, I slept in late. Then I hit the Museum d'Orsay. I find that I'm really starting to like sculpture. Once I'm rich, I've decided I'm going to have a sculpture garden. And I shall allow the neighborhood children to frollick in it, but not in a Neverland, CA kinda way...

Now I had to decide what to do about the Superbowl. I had heard of several plans from different Americans I had met on various nights, but ended up following through on none of these. At the Great Canadian I met yet another troup of Yankees. These three (Erin, Toria, and Matthew) were living in Orleans, teaching English, but had made their way to Paris just for the big game. So I made a fourth at their table and we hunkered down and played hearts until the 12:30am kickoff (I won). So I was up 'til 5am again. It was more good, brash American fun - even if I didn't get to see US commercials (stupid SKY).

A last Impression...

Join us in a few days for Week Two...

More Moscow Stuff

2006-11-29T07:36:00.000-08:00

Even though I spent THREE HOURS putting stuff up last night, here, I found some more videos...

Below is our little group trying to warm up after wandering the outdoor market for a couple of hours...

Here is the changing of the guard at the tomb of the unknown soldier, just outside the Kremlin wall...

Here is video of our incredible feast...

Red Sqaure the day after the other pics were taken. No snow, but you can see that building better now without the lights. It is actually a mall - one of the world's first, pre-Revolution...

Another vomit-warning for those of you who can't take the videos I shoot from the bus...

The Pics, Finally (part one)

2006-11-28T14:41:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Moscow:

This is that billboard I mentioned that greats one as they head towards the city from the airport. We were parked next to it in traffic for a good 15 minutes. All the guys got pictures...

Below is one of the "Seven Sisters." These are towers that Stalin had built in the Empire Style. For some reason it makes me think of Stay-Puff Marshmellows.

Dinner at the traditional restaurant...

Our waitress measures El Guapo's head, as Ted prepares to rip out his jugular...

The founder of Moscow...

Trying my best to bust ass on the ice...

And my nighttime visit to Red Square...

Our tour inside the Kremlin...

I was not supposed to take these. Did it from the hip...

If you watch these three (vertigo-inducing) movies, you will have seen as much of Warsaw as I did...

Some of my new friends from the Berlin pub crawl...

My arrival to Norway...

Nina, who I met at the Oslo fair, not appreciating me bringing my camera to breakfast...

Never have I had this kind of view while standing at a urinal...

From the right: Michael, Nina, Me, and some random drunk Norwegian...

The train ride from Oslo to Kristiansand. Warning: more vertigo-inducement...

My friend Anita, who was one of my house-mates in Guatemala...

At the pub after Borat...

Norway

2006-11-21T04:37:00.000-08:00

Oslo is another cold place, but not as bad as Moscow, though it looked it upon arrival. I took the bus to my hotel, the Radisson Scandinavian, and by the time that I was settled into my room it was already dark – at 3:30pm. Oh yeah, getting on the bus, I noticed that the guy in front of me was participating in the same fair that I would be (he was perusing the itinerary). Apparently he was not aware that he would have to pay for his ride, for upon ascending the stairs and speaking to the driver he became flustered and scrambled to find a form of payment. He was holding up a whole line of cold, irritable people, so I paid for him. This is important later…

I really couldn’t think of any good dinner options, so I just dropped in the nearby 7-11 (these things are everywhere in Scandinavia). They actually had a pretty good spread of meals ready to eat. Think Parker’s if you are from Southville. I took some pasta and beer back to my room and finished off Lost. As with season one, more questions than answers. Wasn’t ready for bed yet, so I took a late night walk around the park.

At 10am we had a seminar on the Norwegian government loan and grant system for students. Exciting stuff. The fair started at 11 and went until 5. As in Copenhagen, many of the participants got together afterward for dinner. I sat at a table with my buddy The Professor from the bus. He had two student reps with him – Michael and Nina, brother and sister, German but at a university in the Netherlands. After dinner many of us went to the bar at the top of the Radisson to take in the 21st floor view of Oslo. I convinced Michael, Nina, and a zany Scotswoman to accompany me to a nearby bar I’d heard of named F6. It was shagadelic.

The next day 11 to 5 again. Went to a nearby Greek restaurant afterwards with the wonder twins and the Professor. Following that, we chilled out at the hotel for a bit, then joined a house party that the twins had been invited to by a girl they met at breakfast. This girl was staying at the hotel while visiting her brother. So we mixed it up at the house party for a bit with some Swedes and Norwegians, then joined this whole group as they moved on to a bar/club. It was not too annoying – there were actually some side rooms with small bars that were not blaring music. When the club closed, we went back to the hotel. Drinks, by the way, in Norway (and Scandinavia in general) are absurdly priced - everywhere. You have to just buy and not think about it. We are talking $10-$12 a beer here. Meals are similar. Think of a bad price in America, then double it.

In the morning I joined Nina for breakfast (Michael did not make it up) and hopped in a cab immediately after for the train station. I took a four-hour ride to Kristiansand, the southern-most city in Norway. At the station I was met by Anita, one of my house-mates from my days bartending in Guatemala, whom I have not seen in the three plus years since. We dropped my thinks off at her apartment, walked the town, grabbed some pizza, met a friend, and went to see Borat with a horde of Norwegian college students. After we had a pint at a nearby Irish pub. I was fading fast. Although I'd planned to stay up all night until my early flight, I just could not do it. Besides, the weather was crap and no one was out on Sunday night, so it was not worth the effort. I took a four-hour nap at Anita's then caught a cab to the airport for my 6:30am flight to Copenhagen, then to ATL, then to Southville, and here I sit. So, yes, pictures will be posted soon...

Warsaw and Berlin

2006-11-21T04:32:00.000-08:00

Ah, once more through the Russian airport gauntlet. Wasn’t as bad as arriving, actually. And, due to time zones, our flight landed in Poland just 15 minutes after it took off in Russia. El Guapo and I almost didn’t get our luggage though. See, our next flight, leaving Warsaw for Berlin, was less than 24 hours from our arrival, so the stop was treated as a layover by the woman checking us in at the Moscow counter. We almost spent our few hours in Poland with no fresh clothes. However, we realized the mistake and convinced a porter to pull our bags. No worries.

We were on the bus for the hotel by 10pm. We were all checked into the hotel by about 11pm. After watching another episode of Lost (getting close to the end now), I was in bed by 12am. We were all checked out of the hotel and on the bus for our school appointment by 8am. What we got to see of Warsaw consisted of everything on the ride between said hotel and said school. I guess I’ll just have to watch The Pianist again. The school visit was nice – the provided plenty of coffee.

Déjà vu, back to the Warsaw airport, and then Tegel airport in Berlin, where just a few short weeks ago I adopted by pet rubber duck. I considered leaving him on the luggage belt for someone else, but just couldn’t part with him. Our hotel was right downtown again. The Anglo-Czech and I got the name and directions to a “typical” German restaurant and bar from the concierge. However, in the three lefts she gave us, she forgot to mention a right. We ended up walking quite a ways before coming to grips with this. An hour later than planned we found the Republique Berliner. It was worth it. Good hearty food and beer priced by demand, on a sort of stock-market system like I’ve seen once before at a place in DC. I had the Curry Wurst. Fusion cuisine at its best.

The next morning, yet another school visit, seminars, and a college fair. It was the best attended of the lot, and actually quite fun. Good students. Afterwards I said goodbye to the rest of the group. They were continuing directly to the airport to go to Nice and the ECIS conference. I was staying one more night in Berlin and flying to Oslo the next day. Back at the hotel, I used my solitude to get some catch-up work done, then went out to dinner. After that I joined a walking tour of the city that was recommended on WikiTravel. A group of about 40 walked to four consecutive bars and then took the train to a club. I met many interesting travelers – mainly the budget type, backpackers. Boy, if looks could kill, when I told them what hotel I was staying in for work…

The club at the end was exactly what you’d think of when you think “Berlin Nightlife.” They might have shot scenes from xXx there. Despite my reluctance to do so, I left my new friends early and took the bus back to my hotel. Actually two busses – the train was no longer running. I still don’t know how I managed to navigate that one with no mistakes. Sometimes I amaze myself. After some sleep, I was packed and off again to a new city.

Krème de la Kremlin

2006-11-18T03:32:00.000-08:00

It was a very early morning, as the group had to be at the airport by 7am. Yuck. We did not arrive at our Moscow hotel until 6pm. A long day of travel. Russian customs is as bad as you might expect - surly women in steel heels prying apart the first page of your passport to see if the picture has been altered. Traffic was also snarled. A good article about this in the New York Times recently. However, we were stalled right next to a very nice billboard which I will have to share later.

Oh, did I forget to say that it was cold? Freezing. Snow everywhere.

Still, we decided to go out for a “traditional” Russian dinner near the hotel, meaning that the waitresses wore goofy (but cute) outfits. As we walked there, we immediately began speculating as to who would be first to bust ass on the slick patches of ice. No one did. What a shame. We pigged out. We had caviar on pancakes, borsch, other stuff. Again, sing the chorus with me: “pictures later.”

After dinner I lead a troop to find the local bookstore. I wanted to find a copy of A Hero of Our Time by Lermontov, in Russian. This I did. I also got a copy of Rolling Stone with Jack Nicholson on the cover, with Cyrillic lettering. Pretty cool. Our troop then returned to the hotel and had Irish Coffee in the lobby bar to warm up. The Libertine and El Guapo were both bushed, so I went out for a drink with a new rep buddy, the Anglo-Czech. It was Moscow, Saturday night – we had to go out and see what was going on, especially since it might be unadvisable.

We went to a place called The Pyramid, or something. It had funky ersatz Egyptian décor. We had a couple of beers and people-watched. The guys looked stereotypical Russian. The women made Anna Kournikova look average. We were on the main drag of Moscow, now one of the most expensive cities in Europe, where 80% of the nation’s capital circulates, where there are 150,000 new millionaires. No wonder there is a high concentration of high-caliber women. They looked fierce.

We hopped back on the bus at 9:30am to make a trip to one of the largest open markets in Moscow. Our guide told us that the micro-climate there actually makes it colder than the rest of Moscow. Unfortunately, she was not kidding. Cold air oozes up off the Moscow River and climbs up your spine. Thank Lenin I bought that overcoat in Boston. As soon as I bought something that required me to carry a bag, and thence take at least one hand out of my pockets, I was forced to also buy a new pair of gloves (remember, having lost one in Dresden). All in all, I bought a lot of stuff. Took care of a lot of Christmas presents. I won’t say what I bought, because it was for people who might read this blog. I would have bought more, but I was afraid it might be illegal. For example, I would never buy 15 black-market DVDs for $40. Never. Lunch was awesome. Skewered meat over wood-fires. Spiced, hot wine. Simple and lovely.

We had time to freshen up at the hotel before going to the American Center for presentations and a college fair. We shouldn’t have bothered. There were more of us than there were students. I had one visitor. He was looking for something my university does not offer. Oh well. Back at the hotel, I got some work done and then went to dinner with The Libertine. We ate some sushi at a place I’d noticed on the main drag. Sushi is all over the place here. Luckily, our neighbors spoke English, because our waitress did not, and they were able to translate when we had trouble.

Next was the best part of the whole trip. The Libertine and I stopped by the hotel to use the WC, then walked to Red Square. It was stunning. First of all, it was beautiful – covered in snow, lit up, incredible architecture, including St. Basil’s. But more viscerally, this was the place that as a child I saw as the center of all that was evil and life-threatening. This was the square where I saw Soviet troop marching in formation on the news. This was the home and holy place of our arch-enemy. Now here I was, watching people frolic in the falling snow. Surreal. A triumph.

We had to wake up at 6:30am and check out. Then we loaded onto the bus for more seminar sessions and a college fair at the Anglo-American School. Was good. We were allowed to go back to the hotel and change some of our clothes in the bathrooms. That way we could get better dressed for our walking tour of the Kremlin and Red Square. I will not bore anyone with the dry details until I have the pics to go along with them. It was a good tour, but I am so glad that I took the opportunity to see the Square the night before. The snow was now gone...

After the tour, to the airport again, and Warsaw...

Prague

2006-11-17T05:21:00.000-08:00

I had hoped for a picturesque train ride, but by the time that it left the Dresden station, and made an extended stop in a nearby suburb, night had fallen. Oh well – I saw some pretty lights on the hillsides. From Prague's northern station I took the Metro into town, just west of the river. Again, I knew from having previously looked at a map that my hotel was nearby, but didn’t know exactly, so I had to make a quick stop at an internet café. Two blocks away. It almost bit me.

So I dropped my things in my room and set up my only appointment for the following day – a lunch with a prospective sports recruit, her father, and her agent. Then I got a map and headed across the river and into the historic core for a good wander. The first stop was of course the main square and the Astronomical Clock (again, pictures later). No way to trace were all I went next. The map would look like a bird’s nest. Suffice it to say I sampled many venues in old Prague. My two favorites were the Bar & Book, which as the name implies sells books and drinks, as well as pretty good food, and Chateau Bar, which despite its French name is an Irish Pub. Great bartenders, finally. Good company as well. I met a local graphic artist who was responsible for designing recent brochures explaining the workings of the afore-mentioned clock, and a Brit who was returning to town for a wedding after once having lived here as an ex-pat. We had a good conversation. I headed in at a reasonable hour and got some sleep.

The following day, after a bit of a walk and the lunch meeting, I met up with the cousin of a friend back home. James has lived here in Prague for several years, teaching English. We sat at a place called the Globe and conversed for a couple of hours, being joined by another friend named Matt. The three of us then moved to a restaurant called The Tulip, owned by an American ex-pat, where we had an incredible dinner. Highly, highly recommended. After that James left us, having to work early in the morning, and Matt and I continued. I needed to change some money, so we searched for an exchange, but the first thing we came to was a casino (which are all over Prague). By happy accident, I found that you can get a very good rate at the casino, with no surcharge, as they expect you to be blowing all that money on the premises. Good to remember for next time. We had flirted with the idea of going to an all-out club, but decided against it in favor of returning to Chateau Bar, and later the “disco” below, L’Enfer Rouge. Good times. Oh yeah, I ended up buying drinks for quite a few people to celebrate the end of the Republican monopoly of power (though I am still a registered Republican) and to show some of the Euros that we Americans can be pretty cool.

The next day it was back to the grind. I met up in the morning with the other reps who would be participating in the whirlwind CIS tour of Eastern Europe. After lunch we loaded up on a bus and drove west of town to the International School of Prague. There we conducted seminars and a college fair for the students of ISP and other area schools that were invited. A good fair.

Afterwards we returned to the city and were given an excellent walking tour by one of ISP’s faculty members. At one point we were let loose in the main square to shop before the striking of the hour on the Astronomical Clock. Three of us decided on a quick drink at the Irish pub instead. These two other fellows are reps that I travelled with previously in Africa. I will call them The Libertine and El Guapo. It was fairly obvious that two of the young blonde waitresses were talking about us in Czech, so El Guapo and I returned the favor in Spanish. Ha, so there. The tour ended with a walk across the famous Charles Bridge and dinner. We were all pretty wiped, and full, so afterwards we returned to the hotel for some sleep before heading to Moscow on the morrow…

Of course, yes, I have left things out here. Buy me a Guinness and ask me later...

Whistle-stop Tour

2006-11-15T08:11:00.000-08:00

So the second day of the Copenhagen fair went well. I spent another night in town, did some more wandering around the historic core, then woke up early the next day and caught a train to Hamburg. As you will see from the map, this train traveled south from Copenhagen and actually was loaded onto a ferry! Then it crossed a bit of the Baltic to Germany. Google Earth actually captured a satellite shot of this ferry preparing to dock. Pretty cool…

So in Hamburg I once again had a tight connection to my school visit, so I hopped in a cab at the train station. I made it right in time to give a lunch-time presentation to a group of interested juniors and seniors. After that I entertained a classroom of sophomores with info on my university’s majors. Never too early to start thinking about it…

The school counselor had booked a nearby hotel for me, this being west of central Hamburg. I was able to hop on a bus that took me right to the doorstep of Hotel Schmitt – a cozy little place right next to a metro stop. So, I put away my things and headed downtown for dinner and a walkabout. From the main station I headed west along the main pedestrian shopping street (can’t remember the name). I bought a wooly head-cap at H&M, and drooled all over the interior of the LEGO store. If I were only 10 again… nevermind, I bought some anyway. I also had a hamburger at the main Hamburg Burger King. Had to. Next I walked through the city hall square, amazing, and over a canal to an very posh shopping and hotel district. After some window-gazing I walked along the bank of the lake for a bit before descending into the underground to return to my hotel. There were some very drunk Hamburgers on my car with me. I decided to get off with them at Altona Station, just to watch them. Then I decided to walk down a random street that looked promising. There were several bars, but nothing that suited me. I just kept saying, “One more block.” Finally, I found what I was looking for – a dive. I sat there, had three Jack & Cokes, and finished Atlas Shrugged. Pics of the place later.

I slept late, then rode back in town to the main station and bought a ticket to Dresden. It was a pretty long ride, with a train switch in Berlin. When I arrived in Dresden it was dark. Oh yeah, and I had no hotel. No problem, I just walked until I found a likely candidate. Check-in. Shower. Go for a walk.

The old center of Dresden is stunning – even if you’ve seen a lot of old stuff, as I have. Really, really beautiful and amazing. Wait ‘til you see the pics. Anyway, I walked through that area, through the pedestrian shopping district, and on to the main station to check on trains to Prague for the next day. I noticed that hardly anyone was downtown. It was dead. So I asked a younger couple coming out of the station what was up. There is no nightlife downtown. Only shopping. Ah. So they told me where to go: back across the river where my hotel is. After dinner, I did that.

Great bar district, scores of places within easy walking distance of one another. There was even a bar devoted to “The Big Lebowski” – the Lebowski Bar. I shit you not. The movie was of course running inside. I should not need to tell you what drink I ordered. I sampled a few other places and then went to bed. Oh yeah, awesome donner kebab on the walk home.

The next morning I woke up and began my trek to the next school visit. I thought that it would be easy. I’d looked up the address at the website, found it on Google Earth, then matched it to a S-train stop. First, there was a trolley wreck. I’d always wanted to see a trolley hit a car, but now was not a good time. So we all had to get off and walk to the next stop, then get on another line. I made it to my stop and looked for a map to refresh my bearings. No map. I thought every transit stop in Europe had a map of the immediate area. Not so. Therefore, I relied on memory, since I’m too cocky to bring my own map. I did find the school after one or two mis-turns. However, I was informed that this location is only the lower school, and its address is used as the main school address. The high school is elsewhere. Ironically, it was two blocks from the trolley wreck. Ugh.

Anyway, I still made my lunch appointment to speak with interested students. Had quite a few. Went back to the hotel, grabbed my things, took another trolley to the main station and got on a train to Prague. Prague, of course, deserves its own entry, so I will stop here, for now.

A Map of my Walk in Copenhagen...

2006-11-06T15:19:00.000-08:00

This was just that first walk. I did some more later on...

Denmark - Beautiful People Everywhere

2006-11-04T07:23:00.000-08:00

(Note: In my efforts to economize in packing, I neglected to bring along the loading dock for my little digi-cam, so all the pics I'd intended to accompany this and future entries will have to wait. All prose I'm afraid, or images I lift from elsewhere.)

After a mere 11 days “home” I hit the road again. Though my clothing for this trip is heavier, I am packing lighter. The tour leader for the second leg has said we can only have one check-on. Also, I’ll be taking quite a few trains, so I don’t want to be burdened over-much. I got in at 46 lbs. However, my backpack feels like it must be 40. Ugh. Serendipitously, I happened to be in the Atlanta airport at the same time as my mother. We had a little family reunion in Concourse E.

I arrived in Copenhagen at 9am. I had originally planned for the rest of the day to be open, but due to last minute changes I now had my first school visit at noon. Therefore, rather than figure out how public transportation could get me from the airport to the city center, as I like to do, I hopped in a cab. The Radisson people kindly allowed me to check-in early so that I could shower and dump my luggage. The S-train station was only a block away, so I took it and followed the direction’s I’d been given of how to find the Copenhagen International School. No problem. I arrived early and set up a table in the hallway to catch the students during lunch break. Afterwards I visited a classroom. I was practically their sub, as their teacher was not present, his house being flooded the night before.

After my school visit I returned to my hotel via the S-train, dropped my backpack in my room, and headed out for a citywalk. First I headed north to check out the Strøget, an area that claims to be the longest continuous pedestrian zone in Europe. This is a great place to just stroll and people-watch. It is here that I realized how full of beautiful people Denmark is. They are everywhere! Women and men (not that I'm gay [not that there's anything wrong with that])!

I left the pedestrian area and walked northwest, across the “lakes” to a more bohemian area. The physics teacher at CIS advised that for dinner I check out a place called Pussy Galore’s Flying Circus. With a name like that, how could I not? They had a bar where I could sit, thereby not breaking my rule of not eating alone at a table (unless in an airport). My neighbors were having a deep discussion, in English, about the nature of love. It was quite interesting to eavesdrop while eating my pasta and mushrooms. Actually, listening in was the only thing keeping me from falling asleep, as I was fighting a losing battle against jet-lag.

I made it back to my hotel with the intent to have a pint or two at a nearby Irish pub, but I made the mistake of putting my head down “just for a moment” and woke up four hours later. Well, I knew I would not be able to sleep through the night, so I made a belated visit to that Irish pub. I knew that I’d made the right choice when as soon as my Guinness was served, the band returned to the stage and played a great Celtic version of Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind.” I stayed until they finished playing, about two hours later. In that time they also hit some Johnny Cash, and the Irish perennials, “Whiskey in the Jar” and “Wild Rover,” which evokes especially fond memories for a couple of reasons. At that point the smoke was getting thick, and I’d had enough stout that my mind was wandering from the final pages of Atlas Shrugged that I was trying to read, so I decided to leave.

I grabbed a hot dog from a street vendor on the way back to the hotel, and stood in the doorway of a building to get out of the light drizzle. As I was stuffing my face, a young “ruffian” approached me, slurring something in what I assumed was Danish. I told him that I did not speak Danish. He then told me, in English, that in that case he did not want to talk to me. I was crushed. Don’t let Europeans fool you. They sometimes act all sophisticated, but at 2:30 am on Saturday morning, the Danes at least can do great drunk frat-boy impersonations.

I still wasn’t feeling quite sleepy enough for bed, so I watched the first episode of the second season of Lost. Good stuff. I’ve missed Evangeline Lilly.

I slept in until about 9am, then got ready for the fair. It was held in the hotel conference room and ran from 11am to 5pm. I saw a lot of good students. Afterwards, all the various reps had dinner together and a group of us later went out to a pub. It was quite fun being the lone yankee.

Now I am at day two of the fair, trying not to stare at the girl who looks just like Naomi Watts...

Boston

2006-10-21T21:49:00.000-07:00

Didn't go directly back to Southville. I made a long layover for myself in Boston to visit my buddy Nick. A 3-day layover. Not only did I get to see Nick, and meet his family and friends, but I finally found a nice warm overcoat, and checked out a couple of schools I'm thinking of applying to for grad school. Below are Nick and his dog Rascal...

Nick loves sleeping on the couch. I kicked that little bastard out of his own bed. I'm awesome...

As the dog chased the ball, we drank beer and watched Ultimate Fighting. After, an early Halloween party.

Berlin

2006-10-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Most of the group took an early afternoon flight out of Munich to Berlin. We took the light rail direct to the airport from the foot of our hotel. I love public transportation in Europe. The flight was short and we were checked into our hotel (two blocks from Checkpoint Charlie) by about 3:30pm.

Funny thing in the Berlin airport (see video in previous entry). The baggage claim is immediately inside once you disembark the plane. There was a rubber duckie on the belt that kept going round and round. Everyone assumed it fell out of a stroller that was checked as baggage, but no. The parents grabbed the stroller, but left the duckie. Various passengers kept playing with it as it passed, putting it in different positions. The duckie managed to never get clobbered by a new piece of luggage as it passed the offload mouth. Just as we were leaving, an airport employee plucked it off and asked who it belonged to. No one claimed it. So, rather than let it be orphaned, I decided to take it in. I realized that I do not have a memento from this trip yet. Now I do. I figure it must be some kind of good luck…

A went to late lunch/early dinner with a few other reps, then wandered the downtown area gazing at monuments and architecture, returning to the hotel around 7pm. Damara had taken a different flight and arrived around 8pm. She was hungry so I accompanied her to another dinner – Italian again. Great thin-crust pizza.

The next day I tried to do some clothes shopping again - I really need a heavy coat for my next trip. This time I used Damara as my personal shopper. Still no luck. Too small or too expensive, but now I have a good idea of what I want, so I'll be able to look while I'm in Boston.

We did the educational fair all afternoon. After, the party at the hotel. Open bar. Finally, I indulged myself. Still I resisted being talked into going out to the clubs, as I had to wake up at 6am to fly back to the USA. Sure, I coulda stayed up all night, but I just didn't have it in me.

Tegel the Ducks says, "Does this really indicate that this room is non-smoking?"

Lucky Duck

2006-10-19T05:08:00.000-07:00

Germany

2006-10-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

Why is it that one forgets how good it feels to run? I ran a little over 5 miles this afternoon in Munich, mainly through the English Gardens, and it felt GREAT. Totally shook the travel cobwebs from my head..

Now I'm ready to sit back down at the computer and work on expense reports. Yay! But first, I'm going to shower and see if I can find the flagship Aigner store to look at really cool clothes that I probably can't afford.

I HATE FLAIR!
I made the mistake of going to Hard Rock Cafe for dinner. Why? Because none of my fellow reps that I am friends with are in town yet, and it is less depressing to eat alone at a bartop than a table. Plus, at a bar there is always a chance you might meet someone, as I did at dinner at a Hard Rock in Barcelona once before. At a table it is impossible. Anyway - the bartender who served me was horrible. None of them were great, but he in particular was painful to watch. He kept trying out his pitiful "flair." I hate this s#!t. MAKE DRINKS, DAMMIT. If I want to see juggling I will go to a vaudville show. He wasn´t even good at it. Ugh...

My friend Damara finally arrived and we went out for a drink and to catch up. We travelled together in Africa and met up for drinks last when we were both in Dubai at the same time. Another rep came along with us, so we couldn´t really talk like we wanted to, but it was fun anyway. The fair the next day was productive. We went for Italian afterwards with a third rep named Yance.

Oh yeah - I spent two futile days looking for a reasonable place to get all my laundry done, which at this point is most of my stuff. Not to be found. Even outside the hotel they will only do it by piece, rather than by kilo. One pair of jeans? 5 Euros. Whatever. It might have to wait ´til Boston. I think I have just enough cleans to make it.

No time for touristy stuff. I did take a couple of pics while walking the old city, which I will post on the next blog.

Hellas on Rails

2006-10-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

The last time that I was in Greece (not counting airport stop-overs) was the summer of 1994. Two weeks of a high school senior trip were spent there – one week seeing sights on the mainland, and one week on Patmos, the home island of our AP World History teacher and chaperone, Mr. V. Of course, some of us behaved like complete hellions and Mr. V swore he would never take another trip. He ended up skipping one year, then taking it again. Big softy.

Those memories in mind, I took the public bus in town from the airport. I arrived at my hotel around midnight and decided that I really needed a drink. The desk guy said that there were some bars near the Hilton, so I walked in that direction. I settled into a small bar one block down from the Hilton and ordered a beer. The bartender gave me Bud in a bottle – it was 6 Euros. Drinking ain’t cheap in these parts. Next I ordered a gin and tonic, and after watching the way she poured it (heavy), I knew I had found my poison for the night. So, I sat there and continued for a couple of hours. The DJ was playing Latin music that I had not heard since living in Central America.

I woke up late, which was fine, as the fair did not begin until 2pm. I saw the sights of Athens back in 1994 and didn’t feel like fighting traffic and pollution to see them again. Besides, the Parthenon is in pieces right now. It was recently discovered that the last time it was put together they did it wrong. Oops. Next war, don’t use it as an arsenal. Accidents with large quantities of gunpowder tend to spread pieces far and wide (ok, it wasn't the Greeks fault - It was the Ottomans and Venetians fighting).

Above is the view that I shared with a few other reps after the fair, at the rooftop bar of the Hilton. That's all we had - the view. Drinks were way past our budget so we skedaddled after drinking some free water. We walked to an outdoor cafe area where prices were more in line with the salary of people in higher education. We actually ended up picking a place that had just opened, and they threw us some free ones as well.

I had to run at about 10:30pm. I had a midnight train to catch, along with a rep I shall call G.Ru, whom I convinced should accompany me to Thessaloniki for some school visits. A little adventure. We bought tickets on the spot. We dragged our luggage on with us. It looked like we might not even get a seat, then we found a couple in a nearby compartment. Then the ticket guy came by. Half the people in our compartment got thrown out. We paid to stay. I might have gotten a couple hours of sleep. Hard to tell. It was all very hazy. At 7am we reached Thessaloniki and took a cab to the Astoria Hotel. We were due at the school at 10am. I got another 1.5 hours of sleep. Not sure how G.Ru did. The kids at the school might have thought we were brain dead. We felt like it. The school counsellor told us that we missed some amazing scenery, having taken the night train. Wonderful. After the visit we crashed again. Apparently the train also passed through Thermopylae. One of the most incredible events of world history occurred here. Read about it here. See the kick-ass trailer for the movie based on the graphic novel "300" by Frank Miller here.

Above is the waterfront of Thessaloniki

Aristotle Square

A restaurant called "Kitchen" where we had dinner.

An old tower viewed from Starbucks, where I did some internet.

The waterfront pedestrian area runs from the vicinity of the port to the tower - about a mile. There are bars, restaurants, and cafes lined up one after another. Often, and establishment serves as all three. Below are some examples.

I definitely need to come back and spend more time in Thessaloniki. G.Ru and I were too tired to enjoy the nightlife after dinner. We just crashed. She had an early flight, I got to enjoy the town 'til about noon before heading to the airport and Munich.

Turkey Two

2006-10-14T14:50:00.000-07:00

Above is a mosque that I kept seeing as I went over the bridge from continent to continent (E=right,A=left). My favorite. Small and elegant. This is as close as I got to it. In the far back, on the right, you can see the two big daddies overlapping - Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque.

So Muge took a look at the blog and asked me what “infamous” means. I was sorely tempted to quote Three Amigos – “In-famous is when you're MORE than famous.”

So on Sunday Muge helped me out with the university fair. I was very grateful to have a native speaker at my booth. Whenever I decided that someone was too crazy for me to continue talking to, which was fairly often since many were fasting for Ramadam and not at their mental best, I just handed them off to Muge. It was great. She loved it.

Over the next three days I had a personal driver and zipped all over the dual peninsulas doing school visits. A little tiring. Muge tried to help me find some cool new clothes. Everything was either too small, too expensive, or just too European. Oh well. Had some more good meals, including more cooking from Muge’s mom, and I also hit McDonald’s a couple of times. Why do I do this, you may ask? Well, I’ve been on the road a month now. I’m getting a little tired of it. Why is it that a rowdy dog, who has been kept in the house too long, the first thing he does upon being let out is go and roll in something, then come back smiling (yes, they smile, I have seen it many times)? Same reason. Sometimes you just gotta do something bad for you – shake off all that goodness, rebel. Yes, I eat McDonald’s in foreign countries as a form of rebellion and asserting my American-ness.

On my last day I finished up school visits around 3pm, so I had my driver take me to the Hagia Sophia on the way to the airport. I also visited the underground Basilica Cistern, which was surprisingly cool. Feast your eyes…

At one point there is a wishing pool. I threw in two coins on the same wish. I found out yesterday that it did not come true. Do I get a second chance on the other coin? Anyone know wishing rules...?

No one knows why these bases shaped like Medusa heads were placed here, especially is such deliberate positions (upside-down and sideways). Remember, they would have visible only to those with access to the cistern, and even then been underwater. Sounds like a Dan Brown novel to me...
And here is the Hagia Sophia. Fifteen HUNDRED years old...

A geologist could make a career just studying the stone here.

Mmmm – so sublime. Now I was in the mood to confront the airport assholes. First, I actually tried to do it the proper way. I went to the info desk and asked if there was an office for the tourist police at the airport. Nope. Not only that, but the info guy told me that I could leave a complaint with him, but it would do nothing but be for “my own conscience.” Those guys are all mafia, he said. I wouldn’t get any money back. This, of course, just got me ready for the big show. So, I put on my "I'm pissed off and not messing around" face and went down to their office with my receipt.

“I would like a refund.”
“Yes, what is problem?”
“You ripped me off, that’s the problem. I would like my money back.”
“Sir, one moment. Please have seat.”
“S’okay – I’ll stand.”
Manager comes in – I recognize him.
“Yes?”
“My money, give it back. Now.”
All the other employees have found convenient excuses to leave the office and smoke outside, though they keep glancing in.
“You, you agreed to pay this…”
“You told me it was cheaper than a taxi.”
“I never said that. I said maybe…”
“Okay, your other guy said it. You’re operation is still full of shit. Give me back my money.”
“I can not do that – it would be out of my pocket…”
“Wonderful. Where do you think my money came from? Give it to me.”
“I can give you thirty US dollars.”
“Great.”

That's an abbreviated version of how it went. There was actually a lot more of me repeating, "Give me my money" over his excuses, and maybe an f-bomb or two. It all had the right effect. I actually got my money very quickly. I got about half back, which is what I was shooting for, even though I asked for all of it first. Kids, always ask for more than you are willing to take. That way, the guy was able to bargain a little and save some face. After all, I did come in there and kinda bully him in front of all his employees. Perhaps they should be more discerning in who they seek to screw over.

Istanbul ! !

2006-10-07T09:52:00.000-07:00

Finally, after three weeks of re-tracing previous travels, I have a new destination. I touched down in Istanbul at about 2:15pm on Friday. I immediately got ripped off on my shuttle ride from the airport to my hotel. I found this out after the fact, of course, and I intend to have words with the assholes when I pass back through the airport on my way out. I'll let you know how that goes.

So anyway, Muge dropped by my hotel after work and we took a cab to her mom's apartment on the Asia side of things. Here is Muge's family at dinner. She is out of the picture, and so is most of her mother. On the left is her younger brother, to his right is mom's boyfriend. Mom is telling a story about the kids she teaches at school. Her brother's facial expressions are great.

After dinner, some good 'ole American TV. Here is Muge speaking on her cellphone in Turkish. I love it. Yes, that is Will & Grace in the background...

I was falling asleep watching TV, so I accepted her mom's offer for me to sleep over. I took brother's bed, since he is living with the dad right now. In the morning Muge and I went for coffee at Starbuck's (yes, the are everywhere), walked around the neighborhood, and found a shop where I could buy a New York Times and some other English-language media. Eventually I took a cab back to my hotel. There I examined a couple of maps and planned to take Istanbul out for a test-walk. Below is the track I followed. Over 6 miles. Oh, yeah.

From the hotel I walked through Taksim Square and down the hill via a busy pedestrian street lined with shops and restaurants. It led me to the Galati Tower, below, and then to Galati Bridge, which crosses the Golden Horn to the classic center of Istanbul, you know, what was Constantinople.

I walked through the wooded grounds of Topkapi Palace, and then paid to walk through the palace itself, with all the other tourists. It was actually quite interesting, and I'm glad that I paid for the little self-tour audio gadget. I spent so much time there looking around that when I exited it was closing time, and Hagia Sophia was also closing, so I'll have to see it another day. The Grand Bazaar however, was open. It was a madhouse. I quickly walked through, caught my breath, and grabbed a cab back to my hotel. No more walking, thank you.

Left, Europe. Right, Asia.

Above is a model of the palace grounds.

Now that's en eff'n sword...

That night Muge came by again and we went to dinner at some place that there is no way I will ever be able to pronounce the name of, but it was good. Rooftop, very trendy and European. At any moment I expected Wesley Snipes to show up and start slaughtering vampires. It had that feel. After dinner we went out and met some of her friends and had a few drinks. It was very loud.

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Bye Bye Bombay

2006-10-06T08:51:00.000-07:00

Here is my Michael Mann impersonation...

It is a quarter ‘til 9, local time. I slept the entire flight here from Mumbai to Bahrain. It started at 6am. That means I had to be at the airport at 4am, leaving my hotel in South Mumbai at 3am. Of course, I decided to just not sleep. Another rep helped me with this. We ate pizza at a place on Marine Drive that I always hit when staying in South Mumbai. Just as we arrived outside the pizza place, all of Marine Drive was shut down for the motorcade of Dr. Manmohan Singh, the Prime Minister. He was having dinner at our hotel. We got out of there just in time. After the pizza, we went into the bar next door for a few Bombay & tonics. Had to do it. Next we hailed a cab and went to a shopping and nightlife center known as Phoenix Mills. Some prospective grad students at the fair earlier that day had told me about it. Two of the clubs that we’d been told to go to were closed for private parties. The first we tried to weasel our way into. Didn’t work. The second we just tried to crash. That didn’t work either. Might have been because we were the only ferengi in the joint. The place was popular, but not with foreigners. For our third try we settled on a sports bar, had some more drinks, and played some pool with some rich locals. One gave us quite a ride, back to our hotel in his chauffeured car. I then packed, showered, and was off.

Is this perhaps the last time that I will exit India? Part of me hopes so. I’m tired of runny nose, irritated throat, and loose bowels.

So I sit in the Bahrain airport again. Last time I was here, I believe that I was on my way to a few days off in Goa. This time, I’m headed in the opposite direction, to Istanbul. I’ll have one day there, tomorrow, a Saturday, with nothing scheduled for work. I’ve never been to Istanbul, or Turkey, before. Luckily, one of my infamous exes, the Turk, is there to be my guide.

Here are some views from the rooftop venue where our fair was held…

Sri Lanka

2006-10-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

I almost skipped this last stop on the tour. Last year it was no good for me. Very few prospective students visited my table. I’m glad I decided to participate in the end. It was much more productive this time ‘round. I had some time off on the day of my flight out. I went downtown with a couple other reps to try to do some shopping. No good. It was largely shut-down and deserted. There is a big festival somewhere else in the city, and the place is on lock-down – lots of armed military patrolling about. Still, we walked around a bit, then took a stroll along the seaside promenade. Got a couple of interesting videos…

Here is a 360 of where downtown meets the beach...

And where the run-off meets the beach...

Sri Lankans enjoying a nice afternoon...

Sri Lankan-style fast-food at the local mall (okay, I still had Pizza Hut)...

This last one I took at a food break on the way to the airport. Again, I'm disappointed with the quality of the transfer (so much better on my computer!). Make sure to get a look at what the last one leaves behind.

And your moment of zen...

Entertaining Moments in India

2006-10-01T12:22:00.000-07:00

That last entry was repetitive, I know, but I wanted to show what a recruiting tour like this feels like at its worst - fair after fair after fair after fair. There have however, been some entertaining moments to help break up the monotony...

First we have the tour of Bollywood, the center of India's film industry, which is the largest in the world. That clip shows a nightclub set where they are preparing to film a bar/dance scene. The girl in the black dress on the right at the end of the clip (I know it's fuzzy) is the female lead. Here are two stills - one of the dance set, and a close-up of two starlets.

Our 15 minutes on-set was the only good part of the "tour." 4/5ths of our time was spent in transit (horrible traffic, that is) betweens the stops. At the same locations as the nightclub set, we saw a variety of other sets not currently being used. Actually, some looked (and smelled) like they had not been used in years. We had lunch at a Chinese chain restaurant that our guide tried to tell us was popular with Bollywood types (yeah, right). Finally we went to a minor post-production facility where they do editing and visual effects. Nothing spectacluar, especially considering the university I work for. Not once did we actually step foot in Film City proper. I got the feeling it was just a hastily arranged sequence meant to fleece us of our money.

OK, cheer up, here is another view of the elephant walking down the busy street in Pune...

And a colorful shot from our bus of a market in Bangalore...

My Oh So Exciting Travels

2006-09-30T05:49:00.000-07:00

This is pretty much what I have been up to the past couple of weeks...

PUNE FAIR

MUMBAI FAIR
sorry, no video - left the camera in my room.

BANGALORE FAIR

HYDERABAD FAIR

CHENNAI FAIR

COLOMBO FAIR
Left the camera in my room again, and boy am I kicking myself. Not that the fair was incredibly busy (it was typical), but there were some stunning women in attendance.

OK, so the first leg of my trip is done, but I'm not quite finished with India. I have to return to Delhi and Bombay for two more fairs. And, lord have mercy, I will have a full day with nothing to do. Thank you Ghandi, for being born on this day.

Ah, Ahmedabad - 9/19/06

2006-09-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

I was a bit harsh on Ahmedabad last entry. I actually have nothing against the city itself, I just had some bad dealings with some people here in the past. The city itself is actually quite vibrant and bustling with commerce. The surname “Patel” that most Americans associate with India in general is actually endemic to the state of Gujarat, of which Ahmedabad is the old capitol. The majority of Indian immigrants to the US come from this one state. As I have mentioned before, it is a dry state – maybe that helps contribute to the industriousness of its citizens. I can’t complain, I have abstained so far this trip anyway.

Upon arriving at our hotel I was once again wiped out in the early evening. I fell asleep in my clothes at about 8:30, then woke up at 2:00 am. Rather than stay up until morning, or just get a little more sleep, I made myself go back to bed and didn’t wake until 7. Maybe now I will finally be on track. At least there is only one time zone in India.

Here are some street shots from my car ride to and from a university visit.

This is a great shot of what a mall looks like in India…

Small business ownership is rampant, as you can see from the ubiquitous “cubicle shops” lining every thoroughfare. They are stacked like Lego blocks, with residences above…

And on to our second fair later on that day. This shot is from early in the fair…

And this one is a couple of hours in…

Updates Coming Soon!

2006-09-24T03:26:00.000-07:00

For now, check out this video I took in Pune...

Doorman, former Doorman

2006-09-20T12:17:00.000-07:00

Quick Note, AM Sept 19

2006-09-18T15:29:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm on my now nightly AM wake-up spell. At least this time I fell asleep at a regular hour (about 11pm) and I can sleep in tomorrow morning 'til whenever my body is inclined. I have an Ahmedabad post ready, but I'm trying to figure out how to improve the quality of my videos - they seem to degrade so much when posted on YouTube (and then here). Anyone know what to do to make them look like they do on the camera and my computer (from memory, rather than YouTube)? Any help greatly appreciated.

Finished The Plot Against America. Picked up Atlas Shrugged. That brick should keep me occupied for a much longer spell.

One Fair Down...

2006-09-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

...many to go.

Finally, I am better able to capture what these fairs are like, now that I have a little digi-cam with video. I took two shots. The first is walking throught the hallways about an hour before the fair begins, on my way to the ballroom to set up my booth. As you can see, it is already quite crowded.

The second was taken about two hours into the four hour fair. This is about as busy as this event got for us, which is pretty sparse relative to some fairs that we have. I've seen ballrooms this size so full of Indian students that you could walk from one side to the other, on their heads. The two ladies next to me are the rep from one of the SUNYs and her daughter, who is a student there.

Tomorrow we have interview sessions in the morning. I am expecting a few students to come in and turn in applications. The group checks out in the afternoon and fly to Ahmedabad - a city I am well aquainted with, but have no love for. The hotel staff here at the Taj Palace will probably be glad to see me go, due to my total unwillingness to let them serve me. Carrying my box of materials from my room to the ballroom where the fair would take place, I had to shoo away no less than five hotel employees trying to take my box and carry it for me. I have not let the cleaning crew into my room once. It really, really bothers them. Last night one of them tried to follow me in the door - "Please, sir. Please, sir." I had to close the door on him. Otherwise he would have been in there straightening up for me. Hate that.

Because you demanded it...

2006-09-15T21:32:00.000-07:00

...the new do. Yes, I'm wearing a bathrobe. I have been for three days. Look closely - you can see the mark where I head-butted the TV.

Does the Pope Shit in the Fan?

2006-09-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

This kid's a cynic already. I adore him. Maybe I will have children. I will dress them just like that.

OK, if you've been paying attention, you know that the Pope said some things on Tuesday that have upset the Muslim world. He did it in kind of a pussy way, quoting someone else, who said what he'd apparently like to say himself, but it ain't politically correct to do so. C'mon, Pope-man, don't put others' words in your mouth - use your own. I quote him quoting a long dead Byzantine emperor:

"Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." - Manuel II Paleologus

Incensed Muslims are condemning the Pope's words and demanding an apology. Here's my idea: The Pope is a scholar, and so was Manuel II. Rather than just getting pissed off and demanding meaningless apologies, why not bring out your Muslim scholars to do intellectual battle? C'mon, if you think he is wrong, show the world why...

If Ratzi gives an unconditional apology, I'll be really disappointed. People who know me know what I think of apologies in general.

Back to Travel-blogging

2006-09-15T10:58:00.000-07:00

9/11/06 - 9/15/06, Part II

Below is a view of traffic in New Delhi, from the airport to the diplomatic section. Very mild for India, but you get a look at the variety of vehicles on the road - cars, tuk-tuks, bicycles, etc. I love the music that kicks in just as the guy on the bike appears. We must have been pulling up next to a taxi or something.

The travel itself: On the 11th I flew from Southville to Atlanta, Atlanta to Newark. Both flights were delayed, so I was not checked into my room at the airport Hampton Inn until after midnight. This left me about 5 hours to sleep before freshening up, taking my last glorious swig of tap water, and heading back to the Newark airport where I boarded the first of two Virgin Atlantic flights towards New Delhi, pausing in London. I finished my first book of the trip, James Ellroy’s Black Dahlia, before touching down in India. I spent the rest of my flight time playing Backgammon and studying for the GRE. Couldn’t sleep. Therefore, after checking into the Taj Palace Hotel, I crashed for about 5 hours. To get my body on local time, I decided I’d have to stay up most of the night, get a few more hours sleep, then wake up at a typical morning hour. I accomplished this by watching a little TV, going for a late night workout at the 24-hour gym, and having a few cups of coffee at the 24-hour restaurant. Hit the sack around 3am, woke at 6am, went back to the gym for a run on the treadmill.

After pigging out at the hotel breakfast buffet, it was time to catch a cab to the US Embassy. My passport was full yet again, and I needed more pages – desperately. Security was tight, but the process of having more pages added was surprisingly quick and simple. I was in and out in 20 minutes. Actually, on my way out, I was flipping through my passport, looking for where the new blanks were pasted in, when... Wham! Walked right into a wall-mounted TV, in full view of about 200 Indians in line for visas. Now I have a nice red mark on my forehead.

Back at the hotel, I packed up a few things to take to my first school visit – the American Embassy School. It was only myself and another rep (along with her daughter). We set up in a conference room, and students dropped by on their lunch break. It was a good casual way to get back into the game. I can tell that I’ve gotten rusty over the summer. Still, I talked with several promising students.

Back at the hotel, I bought a new book (Philip Roth, The Plot Against America, awesome so far) and bought lunch across the street at Café Coffee Day (Mmm, chicken tikka sandwich and samosas). Then it was time for the group meetings with all the Linden Tour participants. At the point where we got to the briefing on the Indian educational system, which I have sat through many times by now, I was about ready to pass out. Jet-lag was not yet done with me. I had to excuse myself and take a nap before going to dinner. I’m always confused at traditional Indian restaurants – the waiters bring food out and pile it onto your plate for you. I never know how much to take, because I don’t know how many courses will be following. I paced myself pretty well this time. I even ate the ice cream, though many try to avoid dairy while in India. I’m still here.

This morning I awoke at 6 again, and went to the gym for an hour-long run on the treadmill. Luckily, it happened to coincide with Friends and Seinfeld re-runs, so it went by in a flash. More buffet pig-out, then another school visit – Delhi Public School (which is actually private – don’t ask me). This was a more standard visit, with about a dozen reps participating. There was a break in the afternoon, during which I napped some, and now we are all sitting at an outdoor college fair held by the British School. A huge fan positioned behind me is keeping me cool, and blasting mosquitoes away from my general area. I feel like I'm in a wind tunnel. Tomorrow is the fair. We have the morning off, which I will probably end up using to answer work emails. Bleh!

New Beginnings

2006-09-14T10:04:00.000-07:00

9/11/06-9/14/06 Part 1

First off – travelling on the fifth anniversary of 9/11. No big deal. No one seemed overly on edge or testy, and that includes the security types. If not for all the specials running on the news stations, broadcast on TVs throughout the airports, I would not have known the day had any grave significance. For the record, where was I when it all went down? I was in Southville, woken by a phone call from my sister. The first plane had already hit. I shook off my hangover (9/12 was the first day of classes, so everyone was out 9/10 partying one more time) and woke my roommate Andy. Like everyone else, we glued ourselves to the TV the rest of the day and wondered what the new world would be like. Then it was huge, now it’s history. We’ve adjusted (or have we?). This September 11th, I was calm, cool, and collected.

Let’s talk about that for a minute - Calm, Cool, and Collected. This is exactly what I have not been over the past two months, ever since returning from my 30th Birthday Extravaganza in Central America. I’ve been trying to come up with a way to describe how I’ve been feeling, and I have thought of many, but the best single word for it is misaligned. I’ve felt like a stranger in my own head, behaving in ways that are uncharacteristic of me, a Twilight Zone version of myself. Now it’s not odd for me to experience short bouts of mild mental weirdness – it usually happens just after the occasional bender or before an extended term of travel, but this was consistent for two solid months, and not what I would call mild. Funny thing is, this state dissipated completely as soon as I hopped in the cab for the airport on September 11th, and I’m so glad that it did. In hindsight, I see that a variety of factors created and affected this misalignment, that I will only mention briefly (you should know better than to look for deep introspection here – I’ve done it, but will not share it): my 30th birthday and the self-examination that comes along with a significant birthday; the process of making plans for the next couple of years, which will hopefully include graduate school; the unpleasant end of a relationship; the realization that my circle of friends seems to be steadily shrinking, and that the time I spend with one of my best friends is quite often very counter-productive; problems at work, with my house, with my tenants, with my car; weekends too full of visitors, road trips, weddings, and partying – not enough down time. Whew. One more thing – I think that in my 30th Birthday Extravaganza I gave myself something of a white elephant. It was too much fun, too stimulating, for too long, and reminded me of how simple and enjoyable life was when I lived in Central America for a year. The catalyst for my misalignment might have been that I did not resettle into my “home-state” upon my return. I was dissatisfied with that state. Leaving town again removed me from it, hence the return to myself. Now, question is, how will I feel when I get back from this trip? I’ll worry about that when I get there. For the time being, anyone who might have been a little concerned for me, or noticed that I might have been a bit off, fear not – I am now re-aligned.

More tomorrow - I'm jet-lagged as hell and need sleep.

Departure Approacheth

2006-09-06T20:47:00.000-07:00

Less than a week to go now.
Here is my basic itinerary:

New Delhi
Ahmedabad
Mumbai (and Pune)
Bangalore
Hyderabad
Chennai
Colombo, Sri Lanka
New Delhi (yes, again)
Mumbai (uh-huh)
Istanbul (whoo-hoo!)
Athens
Thessaloniki (I think...)
Munich
Berlin
Boston

September 11 to October 22. What is that, close to six weeks?

Someone Else's Big Fat Greek Wedding

2006-08-28T08:17:00.000-07:00

Took a quick road trip up to Atlanta yesterday with my sister, to see my old college friend Antoinette get married. Yes, a Sunday wedding. Both bride and groom are restaurant managers, therefore a great number of the guests are F&B people. Saturday doesn't work for that crowd. It was quite an international affair. Antoinette's family is Dutch and Greek, with family members all over, including Germany and South Africa. Leo, the groom, is Brazilian. The overall theme was Greek, but it was a big international mash-up. Straight up Americans were in the minority. Great fun. Got to see lots of college friends that I have horribly neglected to stay in touch with. A couple of old flames, an old crush. Pretty standard as weddings go. Couldn't stay the night, had to work today, so my sister drove us back through the wee morning hours while I slept. I didn't take any pictures, but if I get some from anyone else, I'll post later.

Another Night in Southville...

2006-08-22T07:40:00.000-07:00

Nextest Trip

2006-08-14T12:05:00.000-07:00

About 23,000 miles. Oh yeah...

30BE Part Six: Costa Rica!

2006-08-09T11:05:00.000-07:00

I got to San Jose around 9am and had a couple of hours to kill before Matt's plane would arrive. I found the closest bar to the airport and settled in to watch World Cup and drink beer. There were a few drunk locals hanging out. I mean wasted. I think they were continuing from the night before. One of them introduced himself to me five times. It kept blowing his mind when I'd speak Spanish to him. Never got old...
Matt really liked the food here...

Finally, he arrived. As soon as we took out seats at the back of the almost-empty bus into the city center, I handed him my remaining bottle of Cuban rum (that somehow materialized from Mike's dream). We checked into a great hostel called Pangaea. After cleaning up and having a drink on the rooftop bar, we sauntered over to El Pueblo - a shopping, dining, and nightlife district. There we had, I kid you not, the best nachos I have EVER tasted. Not by just a little bit. They didn't just nudge out the last best nachos I had. They blew them away. I don't know what it was...

Anyway, we had quite a night. I woke up to Matt shaking the bedframe (I was in the top of a bunk-bed), yelling something like, "My God, it's good to see you!" I went back to sleep. When I re-awoke, I found out that he had been quite serious. It seems that after I'd placed him in the lower bunk (yeah, he kinda over-did it), he got up at some point and wandered out of the hostel, thinking to find his apartment. In that state, little did he know that said apartment was thousands of miles away. Next thing he knows, he wakes up down by the river. Really. There is a river that runs through a little valley between our hostel and El Pueblo. He woke up in the grass, as the bums were also beginning to stir, sans wallet, sans passport. Wonderful. At this point he realized his apartment was nowhere near, and he needed to find the hostel. This took several hours of wandering around, and being shaken down by the cops more than once. Having no ID or money (and no Spanish), they just let him continue wandering drunkenly. Finally he found it, which led to his proclamation of gratitude.

So, no money and no passport. We ate a meal and pondered this. We had a few drinks and pondered this. I insisted that we re-visit the river. Matt had already been, but he agreed. By All That Is Holy, we found his shit. It was on a small ledge that required scaling down a steep ravine towards the current itself. It was carefully stacked there. How did it get there? It seems Matt must have done it himself, somehow. Truth is stranger than fiction...

We were now elated. Crisis averted, we commenced to drinking again. We also remembered that we needed to go to the airport and meet Nick. His plane was delayed, so we drank some more. Nick arrived. We hopped in our van/taxi, filled a cooler with beer, and rode down to Jaco. We paused at the condo only long enough to drop our stuff, then had the taxi take us to the bars. It was a blur from there on...

Matt, the intellectual.
Nick, giving his best bouncer stare.

Gee, it's almost as if Nick wasn't the real objective of my photo...

At some point Mike and Mick showed up, as did my sister. Mike convinced us to get out of the area at least once, so we rented a car and trekked down to Quepos and Manuel Antonio. M.A. is a beautiful little national park. We hiked and clambered on the rocks about the beach. A good time overall.

On the right you can see Matt and Mike, playing "house." Actually "plane" in this case.

Afterwards we had drinks and a meal at a place that purchased one of the aircraft involved in the infamous Iran/Contra scandal. They built their place around it. Both Matt and Mike were at onetime paratroopers (82nd), so they relived their glory days and played at jumping out.

Nick literally had to beat the women off with a stick.

So the objective of this whole trip was finally realized (how could I avoid it?). I turned thirty. The big three-oh. It was truly Great. The entire three week journey with Mike and Mick, and having Matt, Nick, and my sister come down in time for the day itself. I had wanted it to be special, but I also wanted to avoid setting unrealistic expectations that could never be met. It was perfect. There are many stories from this last week that I will be sharing with friends for the rest of my life, but they do not belong here. If you see me at a bar, buy me a few shots of Jager, and maybe they will spill out. Maybe. Here's to the next thirty.

30BE Part Five: Honduras & Nicaragua

2006-07-28T06:02:00.000-07:00

Alright, so after a good night's sleep in SPS, our reformed trio moved on down the road to the capital of Honduras - Tegucigalpa. I just love that word. Mike is ahead of me once again, so why the hell should I bother to write about the trip? We took the same notes. Check here.

Once in Tegu we took a cab up the tortuous route to Parque Nacional La Tigra. The driver didn't know what he was in for. I kinda felt sorry for him, but not really. I've been screwed by too many cabbies. This is cabbie karma payback. Anyway, he made some money, but I'm sure it won't cover the damage to his suspension. Next time, know what you are talking about before agreeing to take someone's money. Lesson learned.

As Mike mentions, the guard at the head of the trail was none too helpful. I half-expected to hear jungle drums about a mile into the trail. "Get the gringos!" Nothing of the sort happened - we saw NOBODY the whole time in the park. Of course we picked the longest trail, expecting to be able to rest our weary feet at the hostel on the other end. The first section of this trails was a BITCH. I have not hiked this hard in awhile. Plus, we had all of our stuff with us. Mike's pack is pretty small. For God's sake, the man only brought one pair of undies, and I think he'd thrown them away by this point. Mick's was medium. Mine was pretty large. At this point I was wishing I had not brought along that beach towel.

But, it was worth it...

Above, my Tarzan shot. Below, video I took from my perch on the rock above.

I think this pic is hysterical. We genuinely were not feeling like we were looking. The self-timer was on, and we were all three simultaneously wondering, "Has the damn thing taken the picture yet?" I really wanted to get back to that peanut-butter in my hand.

You can see the pic Mike was taking at his site (linked above). Trippy.

OK, remember that hostel I mentioned. It wasn't there. No one was. The guard post was deserted. So we kept hiking. See, in the pic above, the little town in that first valley? That is what we had to hike down to, in order to get the next set of directions. The road was so steep that I was honestly concerned I might suddenly snap an ACL. Another bitch, but down this time. Stupid pack.

In San Juancito, we were directed to hike further - on to the highway in order to catch the immanent arrival of the last bus back to Tegu. Somehow we found some more energy and just about ran the next mile and a half. Of course we waited for the bus half an hour once we got to the stop.

Finally back in Tegu we walked into the city center and checked into a hotel I'd stayed at before. We found Pizza Hut. Lovely. However,our room sounded like the trucks outside were driving through it. I think the acoustics somehow amplified the disruptive farting of the crappy mufflers. We did not sleep well.

The next day was long with bus rides. Mike tells of it here. Our hotel in San Juan del Sur was pretty nice. I went ahead and booked it for two nights. That first night there was an intense thunderstorm. The claps of thunder were so loud, and simultaneous with the lightening, that I literally think I woke up in mid-air. It was that powerful. I almost crapped my shorts, twice. So did Mick. Mike slept through it.

On the day in-between we made an excursion to the Isla de Ometepe (see Google Earth image above). Usually one might want to spend more time there than that, to hike. We were hiked out. We hired a local guide to show us some petroglyphs left behind by the former, native inhabitants of the island. Apparently they were chased here by those nasty Aztecs up north. They definitely didn't draw as well as the Aztecs and Mayans. See below...

Me, being a silly jackass.

The guide took us to a hotel restaurant situated on the "neck" between the two halves of the island (where he surely gets a kick-back). We ate a pretty good meal while looking out over Lake Nicaragua. We also went by the other main town on the island, but the museum was closed. Fortunately, there were some statues in the yard of the local cathedral that we could look at. Why they moved these pagan relics here, I don't know.

Oh yeah, since my last visit they have paved the main road around the island. Holy Jesus, things are better now.

We saw lots of these birds. They looked like crested blue-jays on steroids. They were BIG.

We took the last ferry back to the mainland, then cabbed back to San Juan. Didn't do much that night. In the morning we were jipped out of our second breakfast that was supposed to be included. That's alright - I refused to pay for the laundry that we had done. Even Stephen. On the way out of town we found a great used-book store slash cafe called the Black Cat. The owner used to be a commodities trader in Houston before he gave it up and moved down here. Enron, anyone?

Above, a 360 of San Juan del Sur. Next, it was on to Costa Rica!

30BE Part Four: Belize

2006-07-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

Once Mike recovered from his hallucinatory bender (it took a few days before he felt well enough to travel), we continued south on our journey. It was June 20th, and we were scheduled to meet his son, Mick, that evening in Belize City. As anyone knows who has travelled in the developing world, distances on a map are deceiving. What might be a simple 4 hour drive by interstate here in the US can often be a day-long safari elsewhere. Mike describes our trials and tribulations in great detail here. The important part is that through perseverance and adaptability, we made it.

Belize is the one new country I got to add to my list on this trip. Mike and Mick (M&M from now on) agreed to head out to Caye Cauker for a day, then wanted to move back inland to see Mayan ruins in Guatemala and Honduras. I'd seen these ruins - Tikal and Copan - on a previous trip, so I was leaning towards staying in the islands a few days and meeting up with them down the road.

So, we went in town to grab a bite and scout rides to the island. As Mike says here, we should have just checked out of the hotel. Since we did not, we had to go BACK out to the hotel, grab our stuff, and go BACK to the boat launch. Here is the thing: our hotel is next to the airport. The local cabbies (thieves) have decided (conspired) to charge a standard $25 US for rides to and from the airport. They have signs and everything. The cabbie we were talking to was going to charge us 50$ for a ride to our hotel and back, since it was next to said airport. Through stiff negotiation (which I was quite proud of), I got it down to $30, which the peanut gallery of other cabbies hanging around said was quite a good deal. We hopped in. We had to share the van with a "brother" of the driver, who would not shut-up the whole time. Here is a sample of their annoying patois:

So we get back to the boat launch. The driver actually puts his hand out and asks for his tip. Mike referred him to me. I happily said, "No." That was it. He was actually smart enough to realize that further effort would get him nothing.

The waiting room for the water taxi is crowded. As we wade up to a snack bar, I hear someone yell my name. I turn around, and who is it, but a guy that I shared a house with in Antigua, Guatemala back in 2003 - Kung Fu Mike. Turns out that KFM was still in Antigua, still bartending, and was going to Caye Cauker to visit his sister for a few days. Cool.

So that decided it. M&M left the next morning and I stayed on the island to chill out for a bit, with help from Kung Fu Mike and various others I met during my stay. It was quite peaceful. There are only about three automobiles on the island - the police truck, the delivery truck, and the fire/mosquito truck. Feet, bikes, and golf carts for everyone else. Much time was spent at Barrier Reef Sports Bar, eating, drinking, and watching World Cup (or El Mundial). There was also a good bit of rain, so I felt fine sitting in my room reading for long spells. Still, we managed to kayak out to the barrier reef one day for some snorkelling. Great fun. It reminded me how wonderful the simple life can be.

My Hideaway ($12 per night)...

Main Street at night...

After a few days it was time for me to take the boat taxi back to Belize City. Luckily I was able to find a driver other than our previous one to take me to the airport (I threw in with a family of four from Montanna). There, I bought a ticket on a puddle-jumper to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. We had to wait an hour or two for the heavy rain to subside, but then we were off. In SPS, I pulled out some ATM money (leaving my card in the machine, dammit) and took a cab in town to meet back up with M&M at the arranged spot. What do you know, they were there! Check here, here, here, and here to see what they got up to.

30BE Part Three: The Island That Shall Not Be Named

2006-07-21T14:29:00.000-07:00

So, we decided that we liked Cancun so much that we would stay for a few days. Having gone to bed early, we also rose early and took the first local bus out to the beach. Mike immediately started hitting the bottle, hard. I tried to stop him, but he was a madman. "Tequila!" he roared! "MORE Tequila!!" I tried to at least get him to have it in a drink of some sort, but he would not listen. He slapped a $50 bill on the bar and told the 'tender to just leave him the bottle, and he better damn well bring another when he saw it was gett'n empty. It was downhill from there. With a half-empty bottle of Pepe Lopez in each fist, he went stumbling down the beach. It was all I could do to keep up. Finally, he faltered and went to his knees. As I reached him, drool flew from his lips as he mumbled something about Cuba. Then he was gone - face-down in the sand. I threw him over my shoulder and hiked all the way back to our hostel. No bus would have him. I put him in the bottom bunk and listened to him ramble - some fever dream. You can read his version of it here. I took notes, and helped him to re-create this fantastical journey inside his own addled mind. Even in his own account he has forgotten parts of the dream. I will do my best to fill in.

Mike forgets to mention that on the imagined plane ride to Havana, illicit Cuban rum, Havana Club, was served to all willing passengers. What a dream!

This is the Bar Monserrate, where Mike says we whiled away the first evening...

This is a vista of the valley of Vinales, where Mike dreamt we travelled to the next day...

A re-creation...

A dramatization...

Another re-creation...

Cars like one might find in a dream about Cuba...

The following are things one might see in Havana, if you were to return there after Vinales, in your dream...

Ah, Mike. What an imagination, you drunken sot.

30BE Part Two: Chichen to Cancun

2006-07-20T07:59:00.000-07:00

OK, so as Mike mentions, we got up real early and took the first bus possible to the ruins of Chichen Itza. He does a good job of writing about it, so I'll just show you my pictures with a few comments...

The above shot is mine - I just manipulated it a bit on the 'ole computer. Kinda looks like a Holga shot, if you know what that is. Below is our buddy shot. Damn, look at those socks.

Below is one of the famous feathered serpents...

Funky noses...

Nice foreground/background juxtaposition...

I amped the shadows on this one so you can see more details. The eagle is devouring the heart of a sacrificial victim...

Where the Mayan CEOs lounged, watching the ball games below. Very Roman of them...

Another method of doing-away with people was throwing them in large sinkholes, or cenotes, as they are called here...

Chief Smoking Snake, in the Observatory, with the Jade Sword...

Say hello to my little friend (baby preying mantis)...

By the way, I'm REALLY looking forward to Mel Gibson's Apocalypto. If anyone knows how to indulge in the finer details of violence, it's Mel. I think he'll do the Mayans (or Azteks, or whatever) right.

So we hopped back on another bus and rode on to Cancun. Yes, we were pestered by a little kid. Yes, I hit him in the head with my guidebook, but it wasn't in the back of the head - it was in the face. Not hard, just a swat. He was looming over the back of my seat, literally breathing down my neck. Like Mike, I actually started to warm up to the little brat by the end. He earned points for perseverance.

In Cancun we found a hostel in town rather than accomodations out on the strip. Shared a four-person dorm with a couple of German kids coming over to do humanitarian work. After a wonderful dinner of rice and shrimp, Mike and I tried to brave the bars and clubs on the beach, but just couldn't handle the "WHOOO!" factor. Too much. However, there was a lot of nice scenery. Still, we came back in and called it an early night.

30BE Travel Tip #2: Men, talcum powder (polvo de talc) can be your best friend, especially in hot, sticky climes. Oh, yes. Now when the ladies leave the table, saying they need to powder themselves, you can say, "Me too!"

30BE Part One: Merida

2006-07-19T16:29:00.000-07:00

June 15th, 2006: First day of vacation

Good thing I was already packed, because I did not wake up until my ride to the airport called to say she was on the way. Turns out that three of my co-workers were taking the same flight from Southville to Atlanta (on their way to vacation in San Francisco), so it made things convenient. I stayed up late the previous night, drinking with Matt, who would be meeting me weeks later in Costa Rica. The spark for this last-minute binge was a last-minute break-up with the girl I’d been dating for the past few months. It was more implied than explicit. We had an argument in the afternoon, separated on bad terms, and didn’t speak again (until about a week into my trip). But, good ‘ole MySpace let me know exactly what she was thinking. “Single” again - no strings. Probably a good thing for an extended trek through Central America.

So, after some Ben & Jerry’s in the Atlanta airport (to make my head feel better) I took leave of my friends and trekked down to my next gate. There was Mike, ready and waiting. If you have read this blog before, you might remember Mike. We met in Beirut awhile back and planned this trip out several months ago. He’s actually ahead of me on the blog re-caps, so rather than write anything redundant, I will direct you to his version for shared portions of the journey. I will add my pics and additional anecdotes.

Post #1 from Mike

This is Mike watching the in-flight movie -- Schindler's List.

30BE Travel Tip #1: Don't use the bathroom for any long stays (you know what I mean) in the International Terminal. Whoa. Lotta cross-cultural stuff going on in there. Doesn't come out too well.

So we hopped down to Merida, capitol of the Yucatan state of Mexico (for details, see Mike's entry, linked above).

Mmmmm... ice cream.

This is what was going on in a plaza near our hostel...

La Plaza Central in motion...

Whew! This catch-up posting takes longer than I thought! I still have travel laundry to do, so check again in about 24 hrs for another post...

30BE Quickie Update 5

2006-07-14T08:17:00.000-07:00

Back home, and at work, now. Promise that extended entries, pics, and now video, will be up by the end of the weekend. Birthday was great. 30 went down smooth with the help of my sister Audrey, my friends Matt and Nick, and a whole lot of other unsuspecting tourists and locals in Jaco, Costa Rica. Not too crazy, but just crazy enough.

30BE Quickie Update 4

2006-07-02T09:07:00.000-07:00

So I finally got a sunny day in Belize. Kung Fu Mike and I kayaked out to the reef and did some snorkelling. Got a little burnt doing it. The next day I took the boat taxi back to the mainland and caught a flight to San Pedro Sula, Honduras. There I rejoined M&M. Over the next few days we skipped through Honduras and Nicaragua, stopping only in Tegucigalpa and San Juan del Sur. We hiked in La Tigra national park and took a day trip to the Isla de Ometepe. Two days ago we crossed the border into Costa Rica and spent a night in Playa de Coco. I woke up at 3an to catch the early bus to San Jose. I found a bar to watch England get beat by Portugal, then met my buddy Matt at the airport. Pretty crazy night. Matt managed to lose his passport and wallet. Then we found them this morning, by a river. Not kidding. Long story. Later today Nick gets in and we will go down to the condo in Playa Herradura.

30BE Quickie Update 3

2006-06-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Some of you seem to think that the last entry was a reference to getting drunk. It was not. Think more creatively.

I'm now sitting on Caye Cauker, Belize. Mike and Mick went on to see Tikal and Copan. I've seen these ruins already, so I let them go ahead. I'll be meeting back up with them in San Pedro Sula, Honduras in a couple of days. One reason I decided to stay here on the island is that I ran into an old friend at the boat launch. Kung Fu Mike rented a room in the same house where I lived in Guatemala three years ago and his sister lives here on Caye Cauker. We've been hanging out, watching World Cup, and getting into trouble. Tomorrow we hope to do some snorkling on the reef. Weather has been horrible up 'til now.

You will just have to wait for pictures and more details, dammit. I'm talking to you, Molly.

30BE Quickie Update 2

2006-06-21T08:13:00.000-07:00

Sitting in an airport internet cafe in Belize City right now. Mike and I managed to get here at about 11:30 last night in order to meet his son, Mick, on-time. We bussed from Cancun and then bummed a ride from the Mexican border. So, what else happened in the past few days? I can't remember. It's almost as if I'm being vague because there should be no proof of where I went. Maybe Mike remembers. Check his blog. It's linked to this one.

Now we decide what to do next. We might split up for a bit. I've seen Tikal and Copan before, so I might sit at the beach here and meet up with them later in Honduras.

30BE Quickie Update 1

2006-06-17T08:08:00.000-07:00

The 30th Birthday Extravaganza has begun. Hard to believe it is only my third day on the road. I flew from Southville to Atlanta, where I met up with Mike Wigal, then to Merida, Mexico (in the Yucatan). We found a hostel, checked out town, and took a bus to the beach. The next day we took the 6:30 bus to Chichen Itza in order to miss the hordes of tourists. Mission accomplished - they showed up just as we were leaving. Took the bus on to Cancun. Found another hostel and made arrangements for the next few days (more on that later). Went to the strip, but it was too much for us - we came back in. We make our next move this afternoon. More detailed accounts and pictures will come later.

Switzerland

2006-05-15T15:08:00.000-07:00

Day One

At 6 AM I stumbled off the overnight flight from Mumbai to Zurich. Luckily, I already had a pass for the train from the airport to the main station downtown, so in my sleepy state I didn't have to figure out any new transportation systems. I knew my hotel was not far from the station, so I walked it rather than paying for a cab or judging which tram I should hop on. It was no problem as the streets were still deserted. I actually arrived at the Zic Zac Rock Hotel too early, even though I'd arranged for early check-in. I killed an hour by wandering around the medieval portions of the city (yes, the walking tour recommended by my Lonely Planet guidebook).

Supposedly the largest clock face in Europe

Back at the Zic Zac I showed myself to my room, and what a room it was. Actually, it felt more like a submarine berth. I could touch both bulkheads at the same time. I had my own sink and shower, but the toilet was shared by the hall. Once cleaned and dressed, I made it back to the main station (BH) in time to activate my multi-pass and figure out the train listings, then venture to my noon appointment. Once done, I had the afternoon off. "Yes, Switzerland is a new country for me, but why stop there?" I asked myself. Soon I was on an eastbound train for Liechtenstein, because why the hell not. See Google Earth map below.

Switzerland Day One

On this ride I confirmed my suspiscion that Switzerland is disgustingly beautiful. And efficient. I fell in love with the public transportation system. Between the scenery and the rails, I'd be content riding 24 hrs a day with my nose pressed to the window. Particularly beautiful was Walensee, an isolated lake skirted by the rail. Wow. Sorry I didn't get a picture. I was too busy day-dreaming.

From Sargans, a short bus ride took me to Liechtenstein and its tiny capital, Vaduz. I quickly zipped into the museum/post office/customs to get the voluntary passport stamp. I then hiked up the mountain to the Prince's castle. I then hiked down, and had dinner and a beer on the main drag. So, even though I only spent a couple of hours there, I feel that I can say I've "done" Liechtenstein. Mike, don't mess with me. In regards to their relative areas, 2 hours in L-stein is worth 13 years in the USA. Do the math!!

Sculpture in central Vaduz

I got back to Zurich after dark. I hit the sack after one Guinness at a place called Oliver Twist.

Most of Liechtenstein

Day Two

Switzerland Day Two

Got up mighty early and headed down to Zug for two school visits. Beautiful, all that. Yadda, yadda, yadda. Got back on the train and headed to Basel for another school visit and a private meeting with a family. Once done, I had just enough time to buy a poster at the museum before it closed. There was a big Holbein exhibit up, and the poster featured his tarot card designs (see one below). I would later leave this poster at my hotel (dammit!).

Dance of Death

Back in Zurich, I had no energy to wander far in search of food. I gravitated towards a Mexican place near the hotel where I heard native English being spoken. When I found it was coming from three young ladies, I invited myself to join the table (not wanting to eat alone). Their names: Megha, Magda, and Meaghan - shit you not, I checked their business cards. Megha was Indian by way of the UK, other two American. They get sent to different cities every three months to collect data for Forbes magazine. How's that for a job (except when you get sent to Oslo)? After dinner we went for a couple drinks, but I had to bow out early due to the approach of another very full day.

I spent more time in stations than hotels.

Day Three

Switzerland Day 3

Yep. Got up bright and early, again, this time taking all my luggage with me and checking out of the Zic Zac. Beautiful cross-country train voyage, blah, blah, blah, passing through Berne, Lausanne, alongside Lake Constance and into a glacial valley. From Aigle I took a cog train (i.e. it's very steep) up to Leysin, presented, then cogged back down. Train to Bex. Cog it up to Villars. Presentation.

The cog. Check out that angle.

The mountain schools

Then, much needed beer with the university counsellor in the - get this - bar owned by the boarding school. I ate at a Mexican place again. I don't know what it is with the Swiss. Mexican restaurants everywhere. This being a ski town, and it not being ski season, my hotel was deserted. Felt a bit like Jack Nicolson, but there was no axe in my room.

You know, another castle with the Alps in the background. Yawn...

Day Four

Switzerland Day Four

Need I say that I woke up early? This time I took a bus diagonally down the mountain from Villars to Aigle, where I hopped back on the train. Appointment #1 was in Rolle, on the way to Geneva. Charming place, if I hadn't had to drag my luggage with me. The next appointment was in Geneva in the afternoon, so I had time to check into my hotel before meeting the counselor at the train station.

Another advantage of the train - reading time

After appointment #2 I was free until the next afternoon. I decided to wander the city and unwind. Guess what I found? See picture three.

J.J. Rousseau

Spring Bros. Irish Pub

There was an American bartender, an American quiz-master, and a whole bunch of other friendly folks. I stayed through trivia and placed second. The winners were impressed, so they shared their prize, which was a bottle of vodka. Stayed through closing, then hit the clubs with the after-hours crowd. Much fun.

Day Five

The last two presentations - I nailed 'em and got out of Dodge. Caught up on sleep on the train back to Zurich, so much so that I slept through Zurich and almost made my way to Germany, until a ticket-checker nudged me awake. Oops. Reverse. Zic-Zac again. Crash. Up early and back to the USA.

Back in Zurich

Down Time in Bombay

2006-04-21T23:54:00.000-07:00

The Western Ghatts. The blue dot is Kodaikanal.

The drive from Kodaikanal back to Coimbatore was spectacular. I'm glad that I decided against staying up late in order to sleep in the car. The first hour and a half was through the mountains, the Western Ghatts. In size and shape, they reminded me of the Appalachians, though the vegetation was different, and you don't find any monkeys in western North Carolina. We navigated switchback after switchback, many of the hairpin variety, and came very close on more than one occasion to being clipped by the lumering busses headed in the opposite direction. One major difference that the Ghatts have from the Appalachians is that there are no foothills. When the mountains end, they end, like a volcanic island plunging into the ocean, the Ghatts plunged into the surrounding plains, which you can see across for miles.

It was close to 10pm when I checked into the Taj Lands End. I was upgraded to the club floor. Fatalistically speaking, I'm sure I'm going to pay for these upgrades somewhere down the road. Right now, I'm not complaining. A nice complementary bottle of red wine was waiting for me in my room. I can't pass up free stuff, so I broke my alcohol-free streak and uncorked it. With nothing scheduled in the morning, I decided to venture out to Olive Bar & Kitchen, a place I'd heard of on previous visits and in Mumbai's Time Out magazine. Olive is about ten minutes by taxi north of the hotel, in a high-end neighborhood called Khar.

I immediately saw that Olive is where the pretty people of Mumbai hang out. Will Smith stopped in here on his visit (when I was sick). The Indians here all seemed to have money, style, and an education abroad. There was also a scattering of foreigners. It was very crowded, and very clique-ish. There seemed little hope of me breaking into any of the groups. I saw one solo fellow at the other end of the bar, a European. He was large and looked slightly dangerous. In other words, my kind of drinking buddy. I went over and started up a conversation. Turns out Neno (his full name is unpronounceable) is Croatian from Zagreb and an instructor for a recently started budget airline, Go Air. Usually he is accompanied out by some of the younger American pilots, and of course the stewardesses, but on this occasion they all have to fly tomorrow. Just my luck. Neno is also quite the Olive regular, so all drinks are taken care of. Of course, I stay 'til close.

_______________________________________

I slept in the next day - until 8:30. After breakfast I hit the hotel gym for about two hours. After that is was an hour in the sun by the pool. Cleaned up, I hit the lobby lounge with my laptop to work on email and talk to any students that our local agents might send by. However, checking my email, I see that no students will be coming - there is a transportation strike. They will try to make it to the fair this weekend. I spent the rest of the evening catching up on email, reading, and posting all those pictures to the previous entries (re-check them if you have not already). No going out, though I did finish the bottle of wine before bed.

_______________________________________

The Times Education Boutique was very busy, but not the unrestrained bedlam that I expected after my experience last year. This year a cover charge was instituted and that kept a lot of people away, even though it only equalled $1.20 US. Still, a draining event. Two days, ten hours each. Whew!! The highlite was finally meeting a Bollywood actress in person. As soon as she approached our booths, I knew she must be famous, by both her looks, and the whispering she caused among the agent's Indian employees. Her little brother was here to look at universities. I'd mention her name, but her little bother applied. Yeah, I dished out a lot of service. Maybe she'll come and help him move in this fall.

When day two was over I barely had time to eat and pack up before having to cab it to the international airport. I was taking the overnight to Zurich and launching straight into the next leg of my trip.

Kodai, Tamil Nadu State

2006-04-19T07:02:00.000-07:00

(Note: plenty of pics with this entry, but I just can’t post them yet. Arrgh! Also, there is another new entry below this one.)

Woke at 6:30

Had time to watch an entire movie before breakfast – Barfly. That’ll start your day off right. Man, Mickey Rourke used to be an incredible actor.

Had a short meeting in the hotel lobby with some people from a competing advising agency. They basically badgered me into it. Somehow they got wind I was coming to town.

At 11, Prishit drove me to the airport .

Prishit and I. Next I threw him over that wall back there.

AMD-BOM, BOM-CJB

Coimbatore – a totally new stop for me. A large rainstorm can be seen as we land. Johnny the driver is waiting for me at the gate with a sign and a white Ambassador. I have a five-hour drive over the plains and up the mountains to look forward to, and it looks to be a wet one. There was a really weird light as we headed into the storm. I took a picture just because I had never seen a sky that color before. I only have about 20 minutes of reading light, and once it is gone I lay down on the backseat. One of my superpowers is that I can fall asleep in any vehicle, no matter how bumpy the ride, as long as I can get prone, or at least lean my head against something. In fact, I enjoy sleeping on bumpy rides (yes I am a freak). I sleep pretty much the entire way to Kodaikanal, waking only occasionally when we stop at checkpoints or for Johnny to grab some tea.

The funky sky color...

We arrive in Kodaikanal around 11pm. Seems Johnny is a speed-demon. We made it a full hour ahead of schedule. Probably good I was not conscious to observe his driving on steep, narrow, wet mountain roads. The temperature is quite cool now, and it is moist but not raining. Johnny and the night watchman show me into a little bungalow where the school puts up alumni and visitors. It has electricity, but candles as well (that I write by now). Also, there is a wood burning stove and a pile of split wood. How quaint, I think, immediately followed by, I wonder how many spiders are in there? Pippa (school counselor) has left me a note, a thermos of soup, another of coffee and some biscuits. Seems she is sick with the flu, so will meet me in the morning. She says the water is perfectly safe, as it comes straight from a deep well. Still, I feel very illicit running my toothbrush through it, then putting it in my mouth. Getting into bed I discover a bladder full of hot water has warmed it for me. Wow!

_______________________________

School building

Woke at 7am. The bathroom has a water-heating element, thank God. However, it has been attached to both handles of the shower, so one gets scalding hot water no matter what. I tried to take small handfuls of it and splash myself, with moderate success. Relatively clean, I walked down the hill to Pippa’s cottage for breakfast. Done, she drove us the short distance to the school. First off I was introduced to a Korean student who has applied to my university. He showed me down to the IB art building. After that I was taken on a full tour of the campus by the admission officer. At 11 was an all-school assembly where Pippa introduced me to the entire student body and I spoke about my university. At lunch I had the opportunity to speak to interested students one-on-one.

This is the student who showed me the IB shed and some of his artwork.

Pippa in her counseling office. Nice decor.

All that finished with, Pippa took me to her cottage outside of town (the one I mentioned before is just what she uses when working for the school during the week). It lies about 9km north of town, over some truly horrible roads, in a lush little valley of terraced fields. Her cottage is quite small - just right, if you ask me. I think one day I will steal the design and build one like it. Her gardens are amazing. She took me on a tour of them, and some neighboring properties where her friends live. Next-door lives her friend Bob, who is American and used to teach English at the school. He informed us that a recent Pulitzer Winner is a former student of his. I can’t remember his name, but he wrote the biography of Oppenheimer. As an English teacher, that is something to be quite proud of. We sat on his porch, had afternoon tea, and discussed books and interesting people who write them. Delightful. That is the only time I will ever use that word without sarcasm. Savor it.

Pippa's cottage (please say with English accent)

Sitting room of cottage, with view to kitchen. Also a bathroom on the right.

Reverse view of sitting room, with stairs leading to loft

Bedroom loft

Pippa's cats, Sammy and Friend. Don't worry, they are the only two - she isn't a "Cat Lady"

Tree and pots in backyard

Garden path

Pippa is a great proponent of native Indian flora. Ironically, after visiting Southville she smuggled back some Spanish Moss. Kimmy, can you find it? I warned Pippa that 50 years from now, when it has taken over the country, people will spit at her name.

Kids we ran across on the path above Pippa's cottage

Neighbor Bob. No, he's not deranged.

This only blooms every 12 years. And I got to see it!

On the ride back into town I got to see a bit of Pippa’s mean streak. A bus tried to cross a narrow bridge while Pippa was doing the same. She decided she was just not going to move. So, we sat there for several minutes discussing some nearby construction projects while the bus driver gestured at us in various ways. Finally he was forced to back up a bit and we went around him. Tough bird.

Pippa, when she gets angry. Just kidding. It's a Hindu gargoyle.

Now I sit on Pippa’s computer while she practices for the school play. Afterwards we will have dinner. Tomorrow I will be off at around 11 for another lengthy drive. Maybe I’ll stay up reading tonight so I can sleep through it again.

AMD, part II

2006-04-19T06:37:00.000-07:00

One of the few shaded sidewalks in Ahmedabad - outside the mayor's residence, of course.

After my internet session I continued my walkabout, getting a feel for the city, occasionally referring to my map Xeroxed from my Lonely Planet guide (the whole India guide is way too big to bring along for a short trip). I walked south as far as Pariwal Garden, which unfortunately was closed and locked up, as are most of the stores today (I found out later that the city was on partial lock-down due to recent bombings in Kashmir. Events such as this can cause strife between Hindus and Muslims. Shutting the city down is an effort to curb this). I then skipped a block east and headed north again, reaching Law Garden. All along the walls of this garden (also locked) are stalls for the night market. I might try to make it back here, at night.

Continuing north, I came along the arcade where the Subway is located that we ate lunch at yesterday. Here I now noticed an entrance to a subterranean bookstore called Crossword. Suddenly, some pieces fell into place. The concierge had told me there was a Coffee Day at the crossroad (to my ears) where I could read books. I had thought the Coffee Day where I earlier slurped my thick shake was the one he was talking about, though books were absent. I descended into the store. It was huge, by Indian standards, and there was the Coffee Day, in the corner. I am actually glad that it took me awhile to find, otherwise I’m sure my walkabout would have been much abbreviated. I found some short books to buy (the one I brought are just too damn big), a CD of sitar music, and had some lunch. Looking around, I felt I was seeing a whole different side of Ahmedabad. Though busy, here was some space, and the space was filled with the type of Indian that is driving the new economy here – educated and hip, traditional and Westward-looking at the same time. Maybe this is where the young people dress up to go in Ahmedabad.

Still I continued north, wanting to get a look at the Sabarmati River before going back to the hotel. First I had to pause at a shoestore. I bought a pair of sandals for about 5 US dollars – and this is a more upscale store! Finally I made it to the broad river sitting very low in its banks and took a couple of pictures. Now I could go back to my room.

Got back at about 3:30pm. That means I was out and about for at least 5 or 6 hours. Looking at the map, I estimate I walked 6 or 7 kilometers total. About 4 miles. Worked up a good sweat and a thirst. Got some water from the concierge, took a shower, now I sit here typing, buck naked save for the new sandals I’m breaking in, listing to sitar music with the AC blasting. Oh yeah.
________________________________

Abhijit and I, very happy to hold hands.

Fell asleep early again. Hotel phone woke me up at 8:40. I had a dinner appointment tonight with Abhijit, co-founder of Career Mosaic and Manisha’s husband. He returned to Ahmedabad this evening, but Manisha is still in Vadodara. He asked what I wanted to eat, and I said, “Get me some Gujarati food!” So we went to a place across the river in Old Ahmedabad, called the Green Room. On the way there we passed throngs of people congregating in the streets. Scooters and motocycles were parked so thick that it was hard to get through some areas. Abhijit told me that Sunday is the night that everyone goes out on the town. Luckily he knows the manager at our restaurant, otherwise it would have taken some time to get a seat. We ordered tapas-style, getting several plates and sharing them. We talked business, politics, and India. A said that people actually do drink here, quite a bit, but it is at home before and after going out. The whole dry thing has to do with Ghandi’s influence on the state.

______________________________

Items from this morning’s Times of India:

1) See you at night… near Nehru bridge?
With no dance bars, nightclubs, or watering holes in the cities of Gujarat, night-life is all about innocent pleasures – just walking around leisurely. [Amdavadis] love to spend their late evenings by the city bridges, traffic circles or the humble pavements. “The glimpse of an illuminated Ellisbridge reflected in the stagnant waters of the Sabarmati River recharges me.”
2) Fat lot of good things on offer as America grows big
At Freedom Paradise in Mexico, the chairs are wider and without arms, to prevent getting stuck; the beds are king-sized and reinforced, to prevent collapsing; and the beach is private and secluded, to prevent gawking and staring. William Fabrey’s online business “Amplestuff”… sells lotion and applicators and sponges attached to handles – enabling the user to reach all parts of the body; handbooks on hygiene with tips on dealing with odour problems, chafing and irritations caused by skin folds. Even toddlers have joined the overweight ranks, with car seat manufacturers offering the “Husky.” Obesity [in America] is fast approaching tobacco as the No 1 cause of preventable death.
3) Swiss lawyer plans chain of suicide clinics
Ludwig Minelli, founder of Dignitas clinic in Zurich, says he wants to open a chain of high street-style centres to end the lives of people with illnesses or mental conditions such as chronic depression.
4) 40,000 Iranian suicide bombers are ready to hit the West
Iran has formed battalions of suicide bombers to strike British and American targets if its nuclear facilities are attacked, according to a media report. Claiming that 40,000 trained suicide bombers are ready for action, The Sunday Times reported that the main force – the ‘Special Unit of Martyr Seekers in the Revolutionary Guards’ – was first seen last when members marched in a military parade, dressed in olive-green uniforms with explosive packs around their waists and detonators held high.

Commentary: Gee, I don't know where to start. I have a couple of suggestions: Let's make our obese vacation in India, and encourage them to drink the water. We'll call it the dysentary diet. They will lose weight quickly. If the Swiss are so eager to die, and the Iranians so eager to die and kill others, let's dress the Swiss like Brits and Yanks and send them to Iraqi cities near the Iran border to do street patrols. Everybody gets what they want.

___________________________________

At 11 am I had an appointment at a major local university that has much in common with my own. I spoke with their counselor for some time and was then given a tour of the campus. In all I spent about three hours there. Afterwards I returned to the offices with Kavil and Prishit. Several students that attended the info session were waiting to speak with me further. After finishing with them I spoke to the counselors at the center about my university’s application process.

I returned to the hotel around 7, watched a Seinfeld re-run, then took another nap. Sheesh. Is this still jet-lag, or am I turning into an old man? A call from the lobby woke me up. Abhijit’s driver was downstairs to take me to dinner. This time around we ate at the house he shares with his parents. I noticed three, maybe four servants (driver, one watchman, two inside helpers). What I would not want, after a long day of dealing with the teeming masses of Ahmedabad, is to come home to more people. Servants? No thanks. I’m often anti-social, I don’t have the requisite disdain to ignore servants, nor the patience to deal with them as fellow humans. Just let me cook my own food and clean up after myself.

AMD

2006-04-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

Wake-up Call: 6:00 AM
Treadmill: 30 minutes, 5 kilometers (3 miles)
Sit-ups: 300
Dips: 70

Next I gorged on the breakfast buffet. After the bout I had on my last trip I considered sticking to Western food, but instead decided to get back on the horse that threw me. Subsequent, I checked out and ordered a cab. This being an enclosed compound-style hotel, you can bring a cheap taxi in, but you can’t take one out. The hierarchy of hired transport in India: rickshaw, regular cab (bumblebee), cool cab (with AC), and hotel cab. Mine was a Toyota Acura with leather interior. Pleasant, but not what I would usually choose. It cost about 4 times the regular rate. Still full of mosquitoes.

Story from the Indian press: Rioting and Looting in Bangalore. This is due to the death of Raj Kumar, their beloved movie star. He isn’t even Bollywood. He’s local cinema. When I was last in Bangalore, the mere rumor of his demise almost shut down the city. Now he went and really did it. A holiday was immediately declared. However, the mob was not to be consoled. They were so upset, a bus got torched and they lynched a police officer. Makes me wonder anew why we are okay with India having nukes.

State of Gujarat. Ahmedabad is just right and above the III

My flight (BOM-AMD) was about an hour late in leaving, so it was noon before I arrived in Ahmedabad. I was picked up at the airport by Prishit (male) and Kavil (female), two employees of Career Mosaic, the local educational consulting agency I am working with. They informed me that my main contact and director of the agency, Manisha, will not be available during my stay. Manisha’s father suddenly became ill and was put in ICU, so she went home, though I’m not sure where that is. No problem – the schedule is still on. Speaking of which…

My first appointment was scheduled for 1:30. I checked into my hotel at 1:00. I told my chaperones that I would put my stuff in my room, change clothes, and be right back down. I came right back down and they were gone. They came back for me a bit after 1:30, not concerned, and took me to my appointment. No one there said anything about us being late. After this they took me to the offices of the agency so I could use the internet (although I was unable to get into my work email). This was about 3pm. With my next appointment at 4pm, I was told it would take 15 minutes to get there. About 20 ‘til 4, Prishit came in to check on me. I ask if he was ready to go. No, he says, we’ll wait until about 5 of. 4pm comes and goes, and we still have not left, not that there is anything keeping us from doing so. We get to the appointment at about 4:30, again, no word being said by any party. Welcome to IST – Indian Standard Time. The group trips I usually participate in being organized by Americans, I usually don’t get this big a dose of it. Tardiness is expected. In fact, being on time might be considered rude. However, when you get where you are going, do not park in someone else’s spot. They will let the air out of your tires. This happened to us while we were in our first appointment.

Now I am back in the agency’s offices, trying to finish this entry. Jet-lag is trying to shut me down. I need to stay up at least a couple more hours to get on track.

______________________________________

Jet-lag did shut me down for a bit. I went back to the hotel and fell asleep at 7:30, meaning to get up at 8:30 and get some dinner. Instead, I turned my cellphone’s alarm off as soon as it sounded and slept ‘til close to 11pm. I made myself get up, knowing I would not sleep through the night. The concierge downstairs told me that nothing outside would be open, and that I would have to order room service if I wanted food. I walked outside anyways and saw that a place across the street was open. Shyster. I ordered a grilled paneer sandwich and a chocolate milkshake. I was a little worried about the shake, but they did it just right. So, now have I not only jumped back on the horse that threw me, but I’ve given it the metaphorical spurs. C'mon, I dare you take make me sick.

After eating I walked down the street a bit – CG Road, one of the main drags around here. Plenty of people were still hanging about in small groups and it had cooled off nicely and lit by the full moon. Flyers were plastered everywhere offering “Spoken English & Personality Development.” I also saw an office offering “Aura Counselling.” I might have to try that one out later just for fun. I only walked a couple hundred yards and then returned. Not once was I harassed, though I did draw some looks. I’ve seen no actual street dwellers in this part of town.

___________________________________________

After staying up late watching some movies, I got some more sleep and woke up around 7:30. I ate breakfast and lazed around all morning, working on my presentation for the evening. I ventured out on the street briefly. It was hot. I found an internet café, but still was unable to access my work email. I’m not sure to be happy about this, or very afraid. It will be piling up.

At 12:30 I was picked up by Kavil and Prishit for an early afternoon appointment. I spoke to about 20 students, in a room that could not have been more than 12’x15’ and ringed with computers. It was good practice for this evening. Prishit told me that they were expecting about 20 students for the info session at their offices. I was a bit disappointed by this. I took a short nap and then headed over. Turns out we had a few more students than Prishit was expecting. About 55 showed up. Technically, the “lecture hall” we were using could hold 42. Fire code for this room in the states would have been around 20. Stuffed in as we were, the session went well. I spoke for about an hour, then took questions.

Back at the hotel I couldn’t help falling asleep again, then waking around 11:30. Now I sit up again, watching movies and writing entries that I am as of yet unable to post. I’ve watched more TV in the past couple of days than in the previous month.

_____________________________________________

Sunday - day off.

Woke up about 7:30, showered and went for breakfast. I've decided to go on a bit of a walkabout today. Might as well see if I can get to know the city a bit, and find some good internet (obviously, I did). I won't bore you with street names (rarely posted anyway) or directions, but I have zig-zagged around a bit. Found a Coffee Day stall and grabbed another chocolate shake. They call them "thick shakes."

The huge arcade

Low-rise concrete buildings abound. Those on side streets are typically full of flats. Those on main drags tend to be shops on the first floor or two, or throughout. Rather than having "big box" stores like we have in the states, they have a dizzying plethora of small storefronts sometimes not more than 10' or 15' wide. One arcade I saw had over one hundred stores on 4 floors. This is a nation of small entrepenuers. The middle class is growing and gaining in wealth.

Ponder this: India's middle class is growing. Signs show that ours is shrinking. Shall we meet somewhere in the middle? Will India's economy end up looking more like the USA, or visa versa. Discuss. Read Thomas Friedman.

Another ponderance: Who are the young people in Ahmedabad getting all dressed up for? They have clothing stores full of the latest Western and Indian trends everywhere. Yet, there is no alcohol in the state of Gujarat and hence no bars, clubs, or discos (or they are very well hidden). Also, the great majority of marriages are arranged. If I were in this situation, I think I would dress in sweats all the time.

So now I'm sitting at Reliance WebWorld. If pics are not posted, I'll try to get them on soon.

BOM... BOM BOM BOM

2006-04-14T05:39:00.000-07:00

Start: April 12, 12:00pm
End: April 13, 10:00pm
Transit Time: 24 hours 30 minutes
Time in Air: 17 hours 50 minutes

This trip was a bit of a challenge to pack for (explaining why I procrastinated until the day of my flight to do it), and I won’t know if I did it well until it is through. India and Switzerland. Switzerland and India. Strikingly different climates, yes? Especially since in India I am going first to Ahmedabad, nicknamed Gardabad or “City of Dust.” Plus, I have to have enough dressy clothes for my meetings in DC, as I go straight there from Switzerland. This contrast in conditions, and the new international limit of 50lbs per bag, have thwarted my efforts to pack light. See, I can get it all in one suitcase, but it will be over 75lbs by itself. So, I have a large suitcase with items sloshing around in it (but weighing in under 50lbs) and a stuffed-to-the-gills medium sized backpack (same one I lived out of for a year in Central America). That, plus the usual carry-ons: small backpack and camera case. Still, I am proud to say I handle it all without using one of those infuriating trolleys, and still have a free hand (used for shoving slow people to the side, beating away airport and street pests, and handling the local currency). Damn I’m good.

First leg, I hop to Boston – my first actual sight of this city everyone keeps telling me I’d love. I’m sure I’ll get to experience it soon, as one of my good Southville buddies, Nick the Night Goat, is from there and soon moving back. I hope his parents have room in the basement for both of us (I kid, Goat. Get it? Goat? Kid? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha). In the airport I break down and get some Micky D’s. God, I’m pitiful.

A wonderful thing happens on my next flight. I get upgraded. First time ever. I don’t even have many points with this carrier. I think the guy assigning seats took pity on me, being 6’3’’ and flying all the way to Mumbai. Well, at least as far as Zurich, he hooked me up with Business Class. God bless this man.

After BOS-ZRH, I wait an hour or so and hop on ZRH-BOM. My brain now refers to all cities with an airport by their three-letter code. Luckily, this flight was not full, so even though I didn’t get the Business Class hook-up, I didn’t have anyone sitting next to me either. Life is satisfactory. Some interesting scenery rolled below (how many times now have I flown over Bulgaria, Turkey, and Iran? When can it count as a visit? Hey, I’ve “seen” the country, right?), but clouds covered most of it. I know I’ll get awesome pics of Switzerland when I return on the second segment of this trip.

Just before the flight ended, I finished the paperback I picked up in Southville Airport. This is Separation of Power, my second novel by Vince Flynn. Very entertaining. I needed a good no-brainer to get me going before embarking on the real meat I brought along – Theodore Rex, part two of Edmund Morris’s bio of TR, and The Creators by Daniel Boorsten.

Mumbai (BOM) again – my second home nowadays. This time I am just staying one night, in a new hotel for me – the Hyatt Regency, just outside of the airport. This is because tomorrow I wake up to catch another flight to my final destination – Ahmedabad. It is a very nice hotel, very new and modern. From my window, I can see all the other high-end airport hotels. Quite a little cluster.

Airport hotel and surroundings

My favorite thing about this hotel? When you dial the automated wake-up service, you hear the sexiest female voice ever recorded. It’s amazing. I actually heard this same voice in the hotel I stayed in last fall in Mauritius. And I thought I would never hear her voice again. Ah, must be fate. Or I’m deranged. I think I might call back and adjust my wake-up once or twice before I go to sleep.

Annapolis

2006-04-10T07:29:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I took a domestic excursion for work, to Annapolis, to help a fellow rep out with an info session. Also, I needed to brush-up on the whole info session set-up, since I will be conducting my first ever in India (more on that later). Above is the dome of the chapel at the Naval Academy. I have a couple other interesting pictures, but blogger is messing up and I can't get them uploaded right now. Check back later...

OK, dammit, the wrap-up

2006-04-08T12:29:00.000-07:00

I know, I know. I suck. This has taken me forever. I need to go ahead and start writing again anyways, as I have a new trip coming up (more on that later). As to what I promised some time ago...

More on Bombay:
Forgot to say we had a cooking class. It was a lot of fun, but we didn't realy do much cooking ourselves. We basically just stirred what the chef and his cooks made for us. It was fun though. We made this desert, that was named something that sounded like "jelly bees" by squeezing sweet dough into a pan of simmering oil. After pulling these out, they were covered in silver foil. Then we ate them. Hell yeah I ate silver foil.

Bangalore:
Once again, a hellatious (is that how you spell that?) two-hour bus ride out into the coutryside where the main international school is located. Thank Krishna I have "recovered" from previous maladies, or it would have been MUCH worse.

New Delhi:
We were there at the same time as Bush. In fact, we had to change our dinner plans, as the Prez was staying at the hotel where the restaurant was located. In our own hotel we had a number of government types. Mainly the ones who sit on top of buildings and wear black, and carry accessories in long cases. No kidding. I was on an elevator with several of them. Their polo shirts have a logo on the breast saying exactly who they are with. Hint - it has a couple of S's in it.
Me: "So, what brings you guys to town?"
Them: "..."
No sense of humor.

Transit home:
Loooong. Two days worth of long. A long, long layover in Dubai, and Naser was not in town to help me kill it. I was forced to go to the mall and watch two movies back-to-back. Two for the Money (skip it) and Underworld: Evolution (wait for DVD). Slept most of the flight to Paris. Watched three more movies on the trans-Atlantic (Jarhead, Weatherman, and Walk the Line - all good). I was movied out!

As Usual - the Belated Wrap-up

2006-03-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

Actually, this is not the rap-up, but it will be, promise. I'll talk about the cooking lesson, Bangalore, being in Delhi at the same time as Bush, and the long transit home. I'd have this done already, but there is always so much to do after returning, both personally and professionally. Plus, we are now in the midst of St. Pat's celebrations here in Southville and I am working at the bar of my former employment to help out over the weekend. More later! With a pic or two!

Bombay Confidential

2006-02-28T11:40:00.000-08:00

In case you are all fretting over my health - I am now fine (knock, knock). More on that later.

OK, this is interesting:
On our last day in Bombay we did some visits. Number one was to the US Educational Advising Center. This is the place where Indian students are supposed to go when they need info on our colleges and universities. You know, an inviting place, showing off the best America has to offer. Well, the security was quite tight. Understandable in a post-911 world. Security that is of course meant to stop things like chewing gum, in mouths like mine. Mastication is a security hazard. It must be done away with. Sorry, no trash can for that illegal wad. Stow it. So, obviously, gum in your mouth might be hiding something, but the same piece of gum, crumpled in your pocket is all right. The logic is so complex, I just can't follow it.

Let's jump to outside the building again, after the visit (nothing interesting about that). We are all back in the bus, which is on a typical, busy Indian street. One of our group members takes a picture, out the window, of the locals peering at our bus. This is obviously a terrorist act. The officers from the US building come to the bus, pull her off, take her back to the building, confiscate her throw-away camera, write down her passport info, then allow her to rejoin us. Hell, she deserves to be in Guantanamo. She got off easy, but that's probably because they realize she's a US citizen, travelling to support US institutions, on a mission of goodwill.

Update: something I should have included when I first wrote this. The security people were not Americans, they were self-important Indians.

After that, with swelling patriotism, we represented our American universities at a couple of international schools. Come to America. Feel welcome.

Another Update: I was a little tipsy when I wrote this (we had one of those hotel dinners where all the booze is included), but what I was trying to get across is that even though the Indian security guys made us feel unwelcome, we were still going out inviting Indian students to come to America. Not sure if that made it through. I'll do better next time.

On Missing Things

I go insane when I cannot find stuff. Stuff that should be around, that has no reason being lost (Mom - you still owe me that lion drawing). I seriously become irrational and borderline violent. Unhinged.

On this occasion, while packing for our move to Bangalore, I could not find my black Moleskin notebook where I have been scribbling important things all this trip. Things to remember. Things TO DO. I turned my room upside-down, literally. Nowhere. I went to bed and meditated on it, trying to accept its loss. When I stopped trembling, I fell asleep.

Oh, happy day...

Reasons to be happy:
1) Regularity - if there is a Hindu god of anti-dysentery, I am now his devotee. My three-day ordeal is over.
2) Appetite - I can eat happily again.
3) The Shield - started watching my season 4 DVDs. Damn this show is good.
4) Finding Things - earlier, I felt like an ass for calling everyone I could think of looking for my Moleskin notebook - housekeeping, the cab company, our tour operator, etc. Then, as we were sitting in the airport, waiting for boarding to Bangalore, Mishkat (our local guide) tapped me on my shoulder and gave me my notebook. I'd left it in the cab that took me to get my luggage on the day I was so sick. I coulda hugged him, but that would have upset a lot of food at the table where I was sitting. Still, he knew i was quite thankful.

So, whereas on one day I was feeling like crap, burnt out, and calculating how long I could afford to be jobless after quitting my job - later that same day I was a happy boy and loving India again. Just look at this pic I got (CLICK IT!):

Yes, the street traffic is loud.

TOTALLY forgot...

2006-02-28T11:11:00.000-08:00

Here is a great entry I wrote on WORD while in an airport, and neglected to post. You'll get it, and it might make past posts more enjoyable. Ha. Just found it.

Mahddi's Hand

Let the Carnage Begin
I just completed the purchase of a large quantity of fine dark chocolate, a Diet Coke, and 750ml of “American Whiskey” at the Bahrain airport duty-free. Don’t worry, I don’t plan on mixing the whiskey and Coke just yet (plus, I would never use diet for this purpose). To be precise, the American whiskey is Jack Daniel’s Silver Select Single Barrel Tennessee Whiskey. As I was in the store, considering my choices, I almost went for something easy, like Absolut. Then I thought, What Would Matt Gallagher Do?

If you do not know Matt, I don’t have time to explain. If you do know Matt, you will know why I decided immediately on whiskey. Matt, however, probably would have picked the Early Times (in absence of Wild Turkey), but upon further refection I decided that this break I am about to go on is unique, and deserves a quality bottle of whiskey, and one that has its own degree of uniqueness, hence my choice.

I plan to begin drinking at about 11pm tonight, but it will not be from this bottle. The JD I will save until I unpack at whatever guest house I choose in Goa. My 11pm drinking will be with Naser, in Dubai, at Carter’s in Wafi City. My layover is long, and he has elected to help me kill it at the most convenient bar to the airport. The last time I drank in this bar with Naser before an early AM flight, I met a beautiful girl that I had to depart from as soon as I was making progress. We’ll see what happens this time.

So, to fill in: I never ventured out in Bahrain. Just didn’t have the energy for some reason. In fact, yesterday I was filled with a deep malaise, as I answered emails and sat around my hotel room. I met with the student and her family at 4pm, putting on a happy face for a time. At 10pm I fell asleep, but woke up around 3am and could not go back to sleep. So, I cruised the internet until the gym opened. A work-out is exactly what I needed. It cut right through the fog in my head. I then pigged out at the buffet and packed my bags in preparation for my departure, but these I left with the concierge while I made two school visits on the south side of town.

I really liked my taxi driver, Mahddi. He was a friendly, gnarled old man who didn’t talk too much, but just enough. When he gave me his card, I actually used it – a first for me with taxi drivers. He picked me up from the schools when I was finished, taking me to the hotel for my bags before going to the airport.

Now here I sit, remembering my last mid-trip break, in Seville. Dios mio…

Warning: Discussion of bodily malfunctions

2006-02-24T09:23:00.000-08:00

Right now I am sick (this always happens in Bombay). Not the respiratory stuff I usually come down with caused by the pollution. I got myself some real Delhi Belly this time. I was up at 7am expelling all sorts of things from my body. Again at 9am. Again around 3pm. I have not eaten all day (the thought nauseates me), barely had any water, but I did just order a milkshake and ice cream from room service. And I had a Fanta from the mini-bar. Wheee.

On top of this, I was forced on a 4 hour (10am to 2pm - luckily in between bouts) excursion by cab to recover my lost luggage from the international airport. The cabs here are not big enough for me to sit up straight, and not wide enough for me to stretch out. So, not a happy camper up to this point.

I did finally get my stuff and get out of the same old clothes, wash my hair, etc. The ritual will be complete after I shave. Right now I am just achy all over, but I think the worst has past. I took a nap and feel better. I think I'll also skip the evening dinner with all the other reps. I don't think I could stand sitting there trying to be congenial while the smell of food was making me want to vomit.

I will be better in the morning and ready for a big breakfast. Or else I will be one very cranky university rep at the college fair.

Goa is great, Goa is good

2006-02-24T09:08:00.000-08:00

OK, so here are some of my pics from Goa. I stayed at Baga beach, in a little room at a guest house that cost less than $10 per night. Typical day was sleeping in, reading Shantaram (check it out), eating wonderful seafood masala, getting some sun, and hiking around to other beaches and sites, including Old Goa. This city used to house 200,000 people and rival European cities. Due to malaria and cholera it was emptied, but the churches remain. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Cliff's Beach Shack - in a little cove on the headland between Baga and Anjuna Beaches.

Anjuna Beach, from the headland

The Royal Enfield - bike of choice in this area

Bom Jesus in Old Goa - contains the remains of St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits

Church of St. Francis of Assisi

Inside Se Cathedral - the largest church in Asia

Who needs luggage?

2006-02-20T20:57:00.000-08:00

A quick vacation update: I am in Goa, but my bags did not make it. The idiot at the counter in Bahrain registered my bags under the name of another passenger. The earliest they said (in Bombay) they could have them to me is Wednesday, tomorrow, so I just said screw it, send them to my hotel in Bombay. So, I arrived in Goa with my backpack and the clothes I was wearing. Good thing I am a simple traveller. I found a cheap room in a guest house, then went out for clothes. The beach is wonderful, I'm having a good time, I will update more later.

WANTED:

2006-02-17T02:15:00.000-08:00

My French/Arab intellectual/radical look.

This is the alternate personna I have been cultivating while recruiting in the MidEast. I think the glasses and facial hair work well here. Yeah, I certainly can't pass for native, but I definitely don't look so American. I'll probably go back to normal this afternoon. From here I fly to Goa, where I'm gonna get some sun.

Today is a "free" day - Friday is the weekend in the Gulf. However, I'm using it to catch up about 60 student emails and I'll be meeting with a student and her parents in the hotel lobby in a couple of hours. I also have expenses and other piddly details to keep track of. Much fun.

The fair last night was decent. I had meant to go out afterwards, but I was too damn tired. I fell asleep before my room service arrived, but of course I woke long enough to eat my burger. Then I was conked out again - for 10 hours.

I am really looking forward to Goa. I planned the trip out using my guidebook while on the plane yesterday (didn't take long).

Kuwait, and Cultural Commentary (but no insight)

2006-02-17T01:51:00.000-08:00

Another Valentine’s Day came and went while I was overseas, which is fine with me, as I find it nauseating. It is not celebrated much in Kuwait, so I was not forced to witness yet another nation adopt some useless piece of our culture (I’m talking to you, India).

Kuwait is pretty damn boring. It is bone dry. The ex-pats wet themselves (ha ha) at the UK or US embassy, or sneak booze in and party at home. Some of these affairs, I hear, get pretty elaborate, even having bands booked. So maybe it isn’t so dry. If you are non-Arab, I suppose it is slightly moist. I don't know anyone in this scene. So, I used this social pause to catch up on some laptop work, go to the gym, and watch Seinfeld DVDs. Oh, and to catch up on US news. Good ‘ole Dick Cheney. Gotta love that guy.

Our one school visit was to an Indian high school. It was a good event. Later in the evening we had the fair proper at the hotel. It had steady attendance, and I was happy to speak to many more native Kuwaitis this time around. I had one group of 4 girls who are now eager to all move to Southville and live together in a house off campus (I think this is seen as better than living in co-ed dorms). Sounds like the beginning of a WB or UPN sitcom to me. Kuwaitis Gone Wild! Whoooo!

Kuwait airport. Ah ha ha ha ha ha ha. Pitiful smokers.

I write this as I sit in the Kuwait airport, waiting for our flight to Bahrain, digesting my food. I love a good breakfast buffet. It sets me right for the rest of the day. I also think this is why I typically lose weight while travelling – I fill up in the morning, then cruise the rest of the day on small bites. I’ve discovered a great East/West breakfast combo: French toast dipped in hummus. Mmmm, mmmm, mmmm. I filled my mouth with this cultural harmony as I read about new protests due to the release of further Abu Graib photos, and further protests due to the cartoons. I wish I had some clever insight into this, or a way to relate it to the French toast and hummus, but I don't. Come up with your own allegory. Or read Thomas Friedman.

Yes, more towers under construction. This time in Bahrain. My hotel is in-between them.

Update in Three Parts

2006-02-13T12:35:00.000-08:00

Leaving Atlanta

It is now 1:45 AM on February 10, 2006. I just checked in to the Tulip Inn, inside Knowledge Village, Dubai, UAE. I entered the Hartfield-Jackson airport in Atlanta at 7:00 PM on February 8. It actually didn’t seem that long.

The first 25 stories of the Burj Dubai, which will be the tallest building in the world, by about 200 meters. They are completing a floor per week.

Had to do some last minute re-packing. The airlines have lowered the weight allowance on international flights to 50 lbs per piece. I used to like to just check one piece, but it would weight around 70 lbs or more. One trip to Target later, I now have two pieces to check. The cheap collapsible I bought will work well for my excursion to Goa later on. Then there is my carry-on, which is a backpack. It is kind of like a Christmas stocking, just full of fun goodies. I won’t give a list. Finally we have my personal item, the Nikon D-70 that I take all my lovely pictures with. I bought a third battery for it so I don’t have to lug the charger around.

The new skyline of Dubai Marina

Back-tracking, my last night in Atlanta I met another college chum at the Vortex on Peachtree. We will call him Whiskey. Whiskey is about to finish up his studies for his MBA and MIB, at the same time. He recently spent six months working with the US government in Shanghai. Through a series of circumstances I won’t explain, the little jackass got to be the judge for the first ever Ms. Hooters China, on the chain’s first anniversary over there. Talk about a cultural exchange. That’s a cultural organ transplant. Whiskey had a big day ahead of him, so he went home while I met up with Codename: Winter Nun and Xmas Tinsel in Virginia Highlands. Another tame night. However, Winter Nun’s girlfriend offered me a personal tour of the CNN Center, where she works. After checking out of my hotel the next day (and going to Target) I took her up on it. A lot goes on in that building. Not sure if I could handle working there.

Front view of towers going up at Dubai Marina

In Dubai

So the first night I obviously went straight to bed. It was almost 2 am by the time I was settled in my room. The next day I slept in and got my eight hours. Hopefully that will put me on local time. Naser picked me up from the hotel and we met friends of his at one of Dubai’s 42 five-star hotels for brunch. Pigged out, of course. It was all in the interest of overcoming jet-lag; you are supposed to eat your meals whether you feel hungry or not, to re-set your body-clock. After that we drove to Dubai Marina, which is basically a brand new city west of Dubai proper, being built from scratch. Not kidding, there are scores of towers going up simultaneously, and that is not counting the work still under way on the Palm island. Sheesh.

The buildings in the horizon are the "stalk" of the growing Palm Island.

After the driving tour we stopped at the Jumeirah Beach hotel, which is part of the complex where the famous Burj al-Arab is located. We walked out the pier that encloses the marina, where there is a bar/restaurant called 360, due to the views it offers of the Gulf and the beach (see pics).

Burj al-Arab at sunset, from 360

Afterwards, Naser dropped me at my hotel. I quickly changed clothes and went to dinner at the home of an applicant to my university. The weather was actually very pleasant, so we cooked out and ate on the back porch. After dinner, the student’s mother dropped me off at the previously mentioned Marina. Naser was at a friend’s condo. I joined him and met many of his “regular” friends (Mike, his fiancé Iman, Marian, and Don, the condo owner). After some wine, Naser, Mike, Iman, and I drove back in town for a private party on the rooftop of another residential tower. The host had always wanted to be a DJ, so he decided to indulge himself and invite all his friends. However, the party was winding down when we arrived. We relocated to Cu Bu Bar, one of Naser’s favorites, where he knows the entire staff.

The Jumeirah Beach Hotel from 360

The next day I had two school visits. In the evening Naser picked me up again and we met Damara for dinner and drinks at Long’s Bar – a pub-style place with the longest bar in town (appropriately) and Guinness on tap. Damara is the rep for a Canadian university that travelled with me in Africa (see previous entries). A group of them is in town having a fair at the same time as our group of American universities. Great timing. Even though we had fun catching up, we had to call it quits early, as we both had appointments in the morning.

So, I was at my next appointment all morning. For lunch, Naser and I went to the Hard Rock Café. After that it was back to the hotel at Knowledge Village to meet up with the other US reps and get the official tour under way. Our fair was very conveniently located right next to the hotel, and went from 4 until 9. Afterwards I went out with Naser and Katie for dinner and drinks.

Another rep pitches some local students.

Off With Their Hands!

Today we rose early and hopped on the bus for a day trip to Abu Dhabi, the capitol of the Emirates. It hurt. Naser, Katie and I stayed up way too late last night (we went to Bar Zar, Carter’s at Wafi City, then Long’s Bar again). However, we were unable to sleep on the bus due to the number of reps stuffed on it, and the erratic weaving of the driver.

In town we set up our tables for a mini-fair at a local public school. Our morning session was attended by the female students, all in traditional dress. Most were Emiratis or Saudis. I went through materials pretty quick, but saved some back for the afternoon sessions. For lunch were dropped off at the marina mall. After eating at the food court we decided we REALLY needed a nap, but nowhere to accomplish this. Since there was still over an hour until we had to be back on the bus, I decided that it would be a good idea to buy a ticket to a movie and get some sleep once inside. Naser and Katie agreed. We bought our way into Casanova. However, it was pretty interesting, so we ended up not sleeping. Even worse, we had to leave just as it was getting good. Dammit!

Back at the school, we discovered that the materials we left behind had been ransacked. Luckily, I was left with my personal copy of the university catalog, but that was about it. Now I have nothing to hand out to the male students who are supposed to visit this afternoon. Sigh…

Gluttony to Austerity

2006-02-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

Lovely Midtown Atlanta

The trip has begun. I am in Atlanta. I fly out Wednesday evening for Dubai.

Update (oops, forgot):
Our first stop in Atlanta with the guests was the High Museum. We stayed for about an hour and a half. I spent the entire time wandering about the Andrew Wyeth exhibit, wondering why I don't get off my ass and start producing some serious artwork again. His skill with a brush is amazing. Incredible drawing skills as well. Aargh!

Beautiful, beautiful dead birds

Our international guests were re-released into the wild around noon (at Hartsfield-Jackson Int'l Airport). Loved having them, but being a round-the-clock chaperone for almost 5 days is hard on a guy who is kinda anti-social in the first place. Now I need some hermit time. I can't really complain though, we had some incredible meals. For instance, last night we went to Emeril's in Atlanta. Great, great meal, if you can ignore the fact that it was served during the hours corresponding to the Super Bowl, and a place like Emeril's has no TV's. Here is a tip: If you need reservations for a good restaurant, try for Super Bowl Sunday. If it has no TVs, it will be empty. For good reason. But again, it was a great meal (crab cakes, sausage encrusted redfish [yes, you read that right], layer cake and wine). We also dined at many of the best restaurants in Southville. Now I'm feeling a little bloated. Time to get back to a healthy diet, but not yet. I ate two burgers today - lunch and dinner. But to mitigate, I did go work-out.

Happily working from the hotel room.

So, I decided to blow off a little steam tonight. I met up with a couple of college chums at Limerick Junction. Call them Winter Nun and Xmas Tinsel. It was actually pretty tame. A few pints as we recounted old stories, rather than a lot of pints and making new ones.

Tomorrow I get the hair cut. I'll post an after pic.

First Trip of 2006

2005-12-29T17:03:00.000-08:00

OK, got some major planning for my next work venture done this week. First weekend of Feb I'll be entertaining some overseas guests for the school, including taking them to Atlanta on Sunday and Monday. Rather than return to Southville, I'm just going to stay in ATL and fly out on Wednesday the 8th. First stop: Dubai. Been getting a good response from the Emirates, so I'm showing up a day early to fit in some extra school visits, then the organized tour of the Gulf Region begins. It consists of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and Bahrain. The tour will also go to Qatar, but I have had no luck there so I will peal off and stay in Bahrain for an extra day or two of school visits. Numbers are up there and I think I can push them further with more groundwork. After that I have a few free days. I think I'll try to hang out in Dubai for a night or two with my buddy Naser, then fly over to the beach town of Goa in southern India. The first part of the last Bourne movie was filmed there. Then it is on to Mumbai for the India tour. It will also hit New Delhi and Bangalore. A month long excursion overall. Whoo-hoo!

Long Overdue Wrap-up

2005-12-25T13:44:00.000-08:00

Yes, it has been over a month now since I returned to the USA. I overlooked writing about Ethiopia because there really was nothing to write about outside of work. What little down time we had was spent within the walled hotel compound. The one item of interest occurred on the flight into Addis Ababa. See, we almost didn't even complete this part of the trip because Ethiopia and Eritrea decided to once again declare war on one another. But, seeing as how most of the hostilities are traditionally at the border several hundred miles away from Addis, the group decided to carry on.

On this flight there were two very suspicious characters. They first caught my attention because they stank so bad. This is saying a lot. Most of my travel is in places were there is not so much value put on one's personal odor. Theirs still managed to offend. Of course, one was seated on my row, though not right next to me. His friend was right behind him. The second thing to catch my attention was how jittery this guy was. He was beyond, "I've never before been on a plane in my life." This was more like "Planes fly by magic and I forgot my magic zebra's foot." He was looking all around, fidgeting, then taking off his jacket, then his shirt (leaving his undershirt on), putting his jacket back on, taking it back off, deciding to also put the shirt back on, etc, etc, etc. I first started to think he was deranged when he started to fiddle with his belt. I first started to think he might be dangerous when he started to fiddle with the sole of his shoe. That is when I gave him the death look. Not a quick glance, like you give to the loud people behind you in the movie theatre, but the look the bouncer gives a guy picking up an empty beer bottle, perhaps intending to use it as a weapon. When he got up to go to the bathroom, I almost followed and kicked the door in. However, nothing happened. No "let's roll" moment was necessary. On the other hand, both men were detained immediately after landing, so I was not the only one to be unnerved by them.

And the trip ended happily ever after. Next stop: the Gulf region once again, and India, once again. That will begin in February. Later in the spring I will go to India again, and hopefully (if I rub my magic Zebra foot enough) Switzerland. Oh yeah.

Classic East Africa: Kenya & Tanzania

2005-11-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

From Harare, Zimbabwe we flew to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania (or just Dar, to those who know it). Here we had two more college fairs and school visits. It was hot, since we were on the coastal plain and no longer the highlands. The college fair at the US Embassy was outdoors. Enough said. Directly from said fair we caught a charter flight to Mombassa and then a dirt strip somewhere east of Mount Kilimanjaro, taking only an overnight bag and leaving most of our luggage behind in Dar with the local high school counselor. We were now in for a real treat: a full day and game drive in Tsavo West national park. The pics say it all.

The horse we rode in on...

Entrance to Finch Hatton's

Boaboab

monkeys

A good example of nature's camo...

Now look closer between mom and dad

hungry, hungry

Hippo from underwater observation thingee

dusk

The accomodations

After our respite it was back to Dar just long enough to get our luggage and then catch a flight to Nairobi. Or at least that was how it was supposed to work. Instead, our flight was downgraded to a smaller plane with no room for our luggage. We had to repack another overnight bag. Therefore, the next day in Nairobi we were stinky and unhappy. We’d already checked-out of the hotel once we got our luggage back, so it was of no use. I decided this was the perfect moment for a group photo:

Juan Camilo makes sweet, sweet love to the camera

Hotel Zimbabwe

2005-11-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

Our ambassador: Quite happy with himself

The timing of our arrival was very lucky for the American Embassy in Harare. The ambassador, Dell, had just gotten himself in hot water with the local government. Mugabe, the president and big time a-hole, was actually quoted in the paper as saying, “Dell can go to hell.” Dell was quite proud of it, as this was just the kind of rise he was trying to provoke. He had recently given a widely publicized speech at a nearby university, blaming corrupt and inept governance for Zimbabwe’s economic woes, rather than sanctions and drought, oft blamed by said governance. It sounded as if he was actually disappointed that Mugabe didn’t outright expel him. Instead, the American Embassy threw a party at the house of the director for public affairs. We visiting American education reps were the excuse for the party. It wouldn’t be seemly to throw a party in response to successfully pissing off a dictator.

Party time: one of our own on drums

Once again, the weather was more pleasant than we had right to hope for. Nice and cool. The public fair we held in the hotel was very successful. Very busy. I even found very cool presents for all my bartender buddies back in Southville. I won’t say what they are, because I’m afraid they might be illegal.

What 40 US dollars will get you on the black market in the local almost-useless currency.

First-class Ticket to Dodo-Land

2005-11-19T06:46:00.000-08:00

Ah, the weekend. Our first pleasant surprise was that the travel agency in charge of all our arrangements managed to upgrade all of our tickets to business class for the 4-hour flight to the island nation of Mauritius. Mauritius is way, way out in the Indian Ocean, hundreds of miles east of Madagascar. This is the (dormant) volcanic island where once lived the unfortunate flightless bird known as the Dodo. These isolated fowl were so unused to predators that settlers didn’t even have to chase or shoot them. I read that some Dutch guy walked up and bludgeoned the last one to death. Poor little fellas. Why did God make you taste so good?

Disembarking the plane, I felt we had been transported to the Caribbean. The culture however, belongs more to South Asia. Diwali decorations were all over the airport. The air was surprisingly cool, as it has been at all our stops, luckily. We hopped on a bus and drove to the north-west coast – about an hour and fifteen minutes. After quickly checking in to the Hotel Maritim, the tour members were treated to a reception with local school and embassy employees down by the water. Since booze was provided, and there were no activities scheduled for the next day, a group quickly formed towards the end to continue the evening at a nearby bar favored by both tourists and locals.

Drinking here continued apace. Some of our hardier members decided to continue on to a late-night club. I did not. I’d had a lot to drink, but not nearly enough to dance. That would require liquor, which I am still taking a break from, and I wanted to enjoy the next day – our first day off.

I woke around noon. In the lobby I joined our tour leader, an embassy employee, and three fellow tour members. We had been invited to visit the home of a local Franco-Mauritian businessman for lunch. Wow, what a pad. If I ever have the luxury of retiring, I'd like it to be to a place like this. Right on the water, open to the breeze... He also took us out on his boat. This was the French version of what we in the South would call a redneck speed-demon. Way too much horsepower for a narrow 20-foot hull. But, it was fun, in a "Holy shit, he almost killed us" kind of way.

Next day: back to work. School visits and flight back to Joburg.

S.A.

2005-11-06T09:48:00.001-08:00

Going from school to school...

On the first official day of the tour we had two school visits and one visit/fair. So, a full day. Bright kids all round. White South Africans, black South Africans, and third country national from many different countries. We drove all over the Cape transferring between the schools and going to lunch at a winery. This is a beautiful region, and the local climate varies drastically as one moves from side to side of the massive Table Mount which dominates the skyline. Overall it is much cooler and wetter than I had imagined, but welcome.

The Cape

Once back at the hotel I decided to take a walk south and east along the coast of the Cape with a rep from Vancouver, Damara. We strode through several waterfront suburbs and wandered into a gathering of the area’s Muslim population at a park. It might have been the end of Ramadan, but I’m not sure. I’m having a hard time keeping up with my own calendar, let alone others’. Overall a good little trek that took us about two and a half hours down and back. Glad I took it – now I feel as if I’ve gotten to know Cape Town a bit, outside the touristy developed part of the waterfront I saw earlier. Too bad we didn’t have more time here to explore. I’ll have to come back.

Table Mountain from the hotel

The next day it was a very early wake-up: 5 am. Then we were off to the airport and Johannesburg, or Joburg for short. We had to be dressed for work, as we did not even stop at the hotel before conducting our school visits and college fair. The school where we held the fair was actually in the middle of hosting a men’s and women’s soccer tournament, so we were able to speak to students from several countries we are not able to visit on this tour.

South of Cape Town

Finally, at around 5:30 pm, we checked into our hotel – the Michaelangelo on Mandela Square. Very posh. Lots of shopping and restaurants directly connected, so no need to brave JoBurg proper, which we have all been warned can be dicey. I had some great Thai on the square.

The city itself is much more American feeling than I’d expected. Reminds me a good bit of Austin, Texas – a medium sized city set amongst green, rolling hills. So far I have not at all felt like I am in Africa, culturally or meteorologically. The weather has been much too pleasant. That might change tomorrow when we go to Botswana.

Ten Hours in Botswana

2005-11-06T09:48:00.000-08:00

We woke early this morning, broke our fast, and headed to the JoBerg International Airport. There we caught a prop plane to Gaborone, Botswana. From the air Gaborone does not look so much like a city – more like some buildings and roads mistakenly placed in what is otherwise godforsaken wasteland covered in scrubby foliage (see pic of “airport”). Botswana is sparsely populated – only 1.7 million people in the whole country. And soon it will probably be even more sparsely populated because approximately 680,000 of these people have HIV or AIDS. Yep. That was not a typo. Forty percent. This is not the place to open a singles bar. Or visit one.

Despite these grim statistics (or perhaps because of them?) the school visit was very productive. These kids are pumped about attending university in the USA. After the visit the school’s counselor took us to a couple of shopping locations. I never should have gotten out of the bus. At the first stop I bought all kinds of knick-knacks for people back home – which I now have to lug across the rest of the continent. At the second stop I found a café, bought a beverage, and read my book. The best way to resist temptation is to avoid it.

Fake wildlife outside the airport

Then it was back to the airport for the return flight. The employees there must have thought us eccentric pop-in tourists. As we are preparing to take off there is of course a thunderstorm moving in. This city has been in the middle of a very long drought. Just my luck it breaks now. I hate turbulence.

Re-entering Joberg a funny thing happened. Planes were backed up because of a thunderstorm there as well. The airport bus that transported us from the plane mistakenly took us to the domestic terminal instead of the international due to some glitch. Therefore, no customs procedures. It being after 9pm, many in the group wanted to just go back to the hotel – it was the airline’s mistake, right? However, I pointed out that when leaving South Africa tomorrow, the officials might find it disturbing that we had no re-entry stamp, and that could cause problems. After some bickering, we all trudged to the international terminal to fix things. Good thing we did. It would have been a 3,000 Rand fine if we had not. I am right again. Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah. Really, I didn’t gloat or say “I told you so” but all my travel-mates owe me beer.

Yay! Pictures!

2005-11-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

Who is looking at who?

Yes, I exchanged my battery re-charger for a new one that works. All the following pics in this entry were taken at the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. I walked there from the Radisson Waterfront after I checked in.

Schlepp-on Luggage:
I have been meaning to rant about this for awhile. I HATE the “carry-on” luggage that people drag behind their sorry asses. If it is too heavy to actually carry, you need to check the damn thing, or go to the gym. I believe it is dubbed “carry-on” for a reason. It is small, and convenient, and you carry the damn thing, dispensing with it quickly once you reach your seat. When these people (and I realize many of my travel-mates are these people) drag this shit behind them it creates a serious obstacle, especially when they forget they are taking up three times as much space as they should be, and stop with it right in your path. Every time one of these idiots cuts me off I am tempted to drop kick the thing and see how durable it really is. Then, most of them can’t pull it in a straight line, so when walking the aisle, they snag it at least half a dozen times on the way to their seat. As a finale, if they are feeble, they will then ask for your help to stow it in the overhead – at which point you give yourself a hernia.

So I get to Cape Town the night of the 31st. I have made no reservations. No problem. I found a place called the Road Lodge online. It is right across the street from the airport. Just so happens that a shuttle from the Lodge is picking up someone from my flight. I hitch a ride. It actually is not the hell-hole that it sounds like it might be. I’m in bed a half-hour after my plane landed. Bliss.

I sleep in and try to let my body adjust to local time. Then I get a cab in town to the Radisson. I have a few hours to burn before our first group meeting, so I go down to the Waterfront district, get a bite, walk around, and look at some fish. After I have seen enough fish, and smelled enough penguin poo, I head back to the hotel to meet my travel-mates for this trip. Typical ice-breakers and going-over of itinerary. It’s a killer, by the way. The 14 of us then go downtown to Africa Café and gorge ourselves on traditional dishes served communal style. This means I eat way more than I should, because I don’t even have to ask before eating off other people’s plates – it’s just there for the taking.

We stink!

Then to bed with my distended belly. I seem to be on local time already, so I’m not going to ruin it.

Carnality Catch-up

2005-11-02T12:35:00.000-08:00

You know you are flying too much when you start to recognize members of the sky crew. And when they recognize you in return. And remember that you like those snack pizzas and bring you an extra one.

It was good to be back in Southville for a few days, even though I didn’t really feel “home.” Never got settled back in. Did tons of errands, paid bills, and put in way too many hours at the office. But as hard as I worked, I definitely caught up on the playing as well. As I deserved. Southville celebrated Halloween on Saturday night. I crashed some parties and drank some beer, but kept my vow not to shoot any liquor. Therefore, even though I only had two hours of sleep, I was roaring and ready to go on my next trip in the morning. In fact, this sleep deprivation was in no way related to partying. It was to deliberately upset my body-clock, so that when I arrived in South Africa I could re-set it to local time. At least it turned out that way.

The Luck Holds

2005-10-19T13:52:00.000-07:00

The last fair was long, real long (7 hours), but went well. Mellow. I was even able to make it to the Bombay Store afterwards, with a couple reps from DePaul, to do some last minute shopping. Once kicked out of the store we took a cab to Tendulkar's (owned by and named for the huge cricket star) for dinner. Also, during the fair, I was interviewed twice, once for print and once for national TV. Wow. Y'know - last trip out I was actually quoted in the Financial Times of London (that's like the European Wall Street Journal). I'm such the world-weary celebrity. After dinner we returned to the hotel and I packed up for the big flight. This is where I really lucked out - the big flight was perhaps only a third full. Everyone had their own section to spread out on and sleep. I also completed TWO crossword puzzles - NY Times and USA Today! I'm on a roll...

Sri Lanka & Delhi Anew

2005-10-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

Time for a quick update. The Linden India Tour is over. It was rough. Chennai was a madhouse. Our last stop, Colombo, Sri Lanka, was a welcome change. It was kinda like India, but more mellow, more manageable. Less noise, less chaos. Soothing by comparison. I don't think it is coincidence that the majority of the population here is Buddhist.

Then it was back to New Delhi for the first of two IIE fairs. It was also mellow, though not uneventful. I picked up 6 applications. Good stuff. Tomorrow it is back to Mumbai, then home to Southville. I doubt that my luck will hold out and grant me another pleasant fair.

I can taste the biscuits and gravy... hmmm...

Tattered and Frazzled, as if by Barnacles

2005-10-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

I read somewhere that the human brain has evolved, to our great benefit, to not remember pain accurately. For instance, I can remember that it hurt really, really bad when I was young and fell off a boat dock, ripping my abdomen open on barnacles. But do I specifically remember the qualities of that pain, like I can remember specific melodies and pieces of artwork? No way. The reason we have evolved this way is so that we can continue to do things that might hurt us, even horribly. Otherwise, I might never again venture onto a boat dock, and women would all quit after one child.

Likewise, I did not remember how much more trying it is to recruit in India as compared to other countries. Oh. My. God. I am beat. BEAT. It really hit me today. As hard as the Middle East tour was sometimes, India is ten or more times that. Part of the reason is that I am right-brained. Indians, even the artistic ones, all want left-brained answers to everything. They want quantitative descriptions of my university, not qualitative ones. I end up spitting out stats and application requirements for hours on end, with no opportunity to wax poetic on the beauties of Southville or to describe the wonderful events my university sponsors. I have not had time to exercise consistently or eat regular meals, let alone relax or catch up on e-mail (ok, I did finally see the Taj Mahal, but it required 12 hours in a bus, so there). That was the worst part of today - opening my work e-mail, and watching that number in the bottom-left corner climb into the triple digits. Under the Wheel. That is how it made me feel.

But now I am going to bed. I am forgetting the e-mail, and the college fairs still to come. I will wake tomorrow, have breakfast, and then have an e-mail party. If I finish before we check out of the hotel in the afternoon, I might even have a chance to update everyone on the last week.

(If I have bummed you out, go check Molly's blog. She's about to get married, and is sickeningly happy. I got her a cool wedding present in Agra - hope it gets there in time.)

Dirt World

2005-09-29T22:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was a LONG day. First we had the Embassy visit, which we met for in the hotel lobby at 7:45. Bus did not show until around 9:00, we were finally seated in the embassy around 10:00 for our briefing. It is a little disconcerting when the windows have plaques next to them saying things like: Glass Kills. In case of an emergency stay away from all windows. Nice.

Though we had a nice little meeting, most of the staff had been sucked over to Jeddah to attend to Karen Hughes, Bush’s new appointee as Under-secretary of State for Public Diplomacy. See, she is supposed to do things overseas like improve the image of the United States. Kind of like what all us college reps are doing, by getting students to come over and check it out. Wonder if she knows we are here at the same time? Fulfilling her mission for her? Perhaps she’d like to come to the college fair and show her support? No? Instead she’ll disrupt all our well-laid plans with the embassy by making impromptu PR visits to posts. I guess she took her cue from Bush himself, who rerouted rescue resources from Katrina so that they could show up in the background of his PR appearances. Style over substance…

So ANYWAY, after the embassy we set up our booths for the fair at Al Yamamah College. This was the opening day of a three-day fair. We even had the new king’s brother come and speak. Yes, I did say in an earlier post that it was supposed to be the King, but he too was pulled away by the visit from Karen Hughes (I’m not bitter). Student-wise, it was all guys (girls cannot visit at the same time – day three is reserved for them). And all these guys were interested in was stuff my school does not offer. One even told me my school’s offerings were “bool-sheet.” I’m trying really hard to like the Saudis, but when I get home I think I’ll sell my car and walk everywhere just to deprive them of a few bucks.

After the fair I packed up, said goodbye to Mike, Joseph, and the other tour members, the cabbed to the airport for my flight to Mumbai. It did not leave until 2:30am. I was packed in to a very old jet with a gaggle of foreign workers. It sucked, big time. But I got there, checked into the hotel, napped, went to the organizational meeting, then pigged out with everyone at a local restaurant, Khyber. Dish after dish after dish – it was an incredible feast. Made the past 48 hours fade out (or maybe that was the Kingfisher). Back to work in the morning…

Those pictures I promised...

2005-09-29T22:54:00.000-07:00

...can be found below. I managed to get them off my camera and onto the laptop, but still the batteries are dead, so no new ones. I'll figure this out as soon as there's time. The new tour has started, so we are very busy.

2005-09-29T22:52:00.001-07:00

Gatehouse to the Emirates Palace

2005-09-29T22:52:00.000-07:00

Emirates Palace

2005-09-29T22:51:00.001-07:00

"No, I insist, you drive the Rolls."

2005-09-29T22:51:00.000-07:00

Joseph chatting up some students in Bahrain