The Ashtray Says, You've Been Up All Night

So I'm back! So now what? I wish I could say life was good, and I'm settling down into a routine, but honestly life kind of sucks right now. It also doesn't help that I've been having a difficult time sleeping since I got back. At first it was just the jet-lagg and stuff, but now it's the everything else that's going on. There are a few things I'm trying to wrap my head around (well one main thing, and then a few other little things), and all it's doing is keeping me up. I wish I could just turn off the brain before going to bed, but other than knocking myself unconsious, I don't think that's going to happen. Oh well hopefully it will all work out soon.

It doesn't help that I just have no idea what I want to do now. Do I stay in Science, or try something else? I really like food, but I don't think I could ever be a chef, so what else is out there? Suggestions?

So as for this Blog, well I'm still here, and food is still here, so I'll probably just keep it going, and see what it develops into. I just wanted to thank everyone for the comments they made, and the emails I got on the road. It was pretty lonely out there sometimes, and the messages from home really helped that out. I tried to keep this Blog fairly positive, and like 90% of the trip was insanely amazing, but traveling alone for that long, was really wearing me down at times. At times I was just sick of meeting new people every few days, and having the same "Where you from? How long have you been traveling?" conversation. I got tired of meeting really reat people, and then having to leave them. I got tired of consantly deciding where I would have to eat, and where I would have to stay with out having someone to bounce ideas off of. Mostly though, I just got tired of me. Sometimes I would be trapped with myself for days, with no one else to really talk to, and quite frankly there were times when I would have walked out on myself if I could. I mean fuck, I just wouldn't shut up most the time. Give it a rest buddy, just let me eat in piece.

Honestly though, I had a great time, and met some of the greatest people I'll ever meet. So if any of you are out there reading this, thanks. You all made this the trip of a life time, and hopefully we'll meet again. The food was great, the sights were great, but it was the people, both travelers and locals alike who really made this trip for me.

36 Things to do in the Hong Kong Airport with a 14 hour Lay-Over

1. Walk through heat sensing security check point to see how healthy you are.
Check periodically for updates.
2. Watch heat sensing monitor to check out fellow passengers
3. Smoke
4. Smoke more
5. Walk around the airport
6. Check out the cover of every magazine in the book store. Try to decipher the
one’s in Chinese
7. Play the ‘name the destination’ game for your fellow travelers
8. About time for another cigarette don’t you think?
9. Watch planes take off
10. Hate every single one of those people on the planes
11. Watch departure screen for flights leaving for interesting destinations
12. Watch the date change on your watch
13. Watch departure screen to figure out which planes are going to land before
you even leave the airport
14. Hate all of those people
15. Consider buying cheap Dim Sum magnets
16. Consider buying anything with Hello Kitty on it
17. Eat at McDonalds
18. Make themed play lists on your iPod which such themes as; Songs with airport
themes, songs with the word ‘waiting’ in it, sons you can only stand for 25
seconds
19. Watch the ‘now arriving’ video monitors for people you know
20. Anticipate the opening of the ‘Lost City of Snacks’
21. Go to the 7-11 to buy more cigarettes
22. Forget to buy cigarettes and instead buy the weirdest snack you can find
23. Go to the trash and dispose of said snack after taking one bite
24. Consider calling your mother collect ‘just to chat’
25. Ride escalator and have a conversation with the friendly voice telling you to
“Hold the hand rail” and “Watch your step”
26. Stop doing that after you hear her giving the same greeting to other people.
That two-timing hussy.
27. Actually buy cigarettes this time
28. Watch CNN and make up your own captions
29. Consider going to the prayer room just to have something to do. Consider
praying for your plane to leave early
30. Go to the bathroom
31. Consider buying pornography and masturbating in the bathroom
32. Not do that
33. Watch the airport for any signs of TAR contestants
34. Consider buying the sausage in the cellophane wrapper next to the candy
35. Not do that
36. Settle for a package of malteaserrs

A Tale of Sunglasses

So I scratched the shit out of the pair I brought, although I think most of the damage was done long before the trip. Anyway, I couldn't wear the things. So in Bangkok I bought a pair of "Oakleys" for $3. I had them almost a whole two days, before leaving them on the Bus in Ranong. So in Ranong I bought a new pair for $3. I had them a whole 2 hours, before they slipped off my head while getting off the boat in Koh Chang, and got taken away by the waves. Now I'm in Krabi (AMAZING RACE FLASHBACK COMING SOON!), and bought another pair, and nearly lost them within a day after leaving them in my Guest house bathroom.

Yeah, never let me watch your kids people. Gee, I just don't know where I left little Billy?

UPDATE: Yeah, so I lost that pair too. Left them on another fucking bus, in the exact same location as last time. So I went out an bought two pair this time...just in case

Potato Chips of South-East Asia

Now I love Potato Chips. I have this weakness for them. I'm more than happy to eat a whole bag of BBQ chips, and call that dinner. Going to South East Asia though, I thought I would have to find another snack somewhere. This I actually did, when Evan, the kid from the Halong bay trip introduced me to these sweet sesame peanut candies, which I instantly became addicted to. I needed the salt though. I was craving potato chips. Luckily Potato chips are everywhere here. In Vietnam, Pringles reigned supreme. They were everywhere. Every corner store, every sidewalk vender, there were Pringles. Now I hate Pringles, but I guess they ship well, and they seem to have caught on. So they made do for a while. In Vietnam you could also find other chips, but only in little small bags, that just wouldn't do. Cambodia was a bit better. They had larger bas and an interesting assortment of flavours...along with Pringles. The Potato Chip Mecca of South East Asia though, is Lao. This place is freaking awesome. They have Lay's here, and some other brand, whose name I can't decipher, and the flavours are endless. They have the regular BBQ, and Sour cream and Onion, but they also have Chicken Curry, Crab Curry, Nori Seaweed, Salmon Teriyaki, and my current favourite, Grilled Lobster. I kid you not, the chips taste like grilled lobster, and it is good! Now I just have to figure out a way of getting case home without crushing it.

Olympics! What Olympics?

I've seen none of it. I want Hockey damn it, but no, everywhere you go all you see is Soccer. Fuck Soccer! I was walking around Phnom Penh and heard some sports broadcast, so I went to check it out, and it was the WWE Royal Rumble. You have got to be fucking kidding me.

I crave Olympic hockey. I'm also going to be missing the start of The Amazing Race for the first time EVER. This...doesn't tick me off so much. Why watch, when you can experience right? I can't experience Olympic Hockey though, so damn you SE Asia, damn you and your no snow tropical climate to hell.

I'm going to go get a tan now.

FUCK!!!!!!!

So my camera got stolen. Or I lost it on the train....Either way FUCK!!!!!!!! GOD MOTHERFUCKING DAMN IT!!!!!!


FUCK!!!!!!!!