Days 99-102 -- Bangkok

Arrived into Bangkok on Wednesday night and headed straight to the hostel. Taxi driver tried to pull the flat rate scam as they always do, but found one that was willing to do the meter. Got to watch out here since they love to fleece the tourists. Very hungry the hostel staff pointed me towards an open air kitchen nearby they said I'd enjoy...they weren't kidding. I forgot how much I love Thailand...for 40 baht, you get a huge plate of pad thai with chicken/shrimp and the exchange rate to the dollar is 34.5...you do the math! Long story short, over the course of 2 days, we ate at that kitchen more than a handful of times...

Anyways, Mike got in later that evening and over the next few days we went exploring all of Bangkok's offerings. By day we tried out local transport methods (scary!) to see tons of Buddhist temples, the Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha, and Wat Pho (home of a 46 meter long Buddha and 15 meters high)...crazy! By night we checked out the infamous nightlife districts of Nana, Soi Cowboy, and Patpong. Celebrated my 100th day of traveling with a amazing dinner at a family friend's restaurant and then a night out on the town at some hip night spots. We stayed in the city centre area the first two nights and then on Khao San Road the following two nights. Khao San Road is full of hostels and the entire area caters to backpackers. At any moment walking down the street you'll find hundreds of backpackers entering or leaving the area all at different phases of their journeys around SE Asia. Well, we are at the beginning so tonight we'll be on a night train to Chiang Mai to do some trekking. Get in at 7AM and hopefully I'll be able to catch some of the Super Bowl since we are 12 hours ahead. Pictures will be up this afternoon and I'll be in touch in a few days...

Days 96-98 -- Hong Kong

Never anticipated staying this long in Hong Kong or even making the stop in Manila so my time in Thailand has been cut well short. May have to think about extending the trip, but we'll get to that decision once I get to SE Asia. Did some last minute things in Hong Kong...laundry, met up with some friends and hung out with the family since once I take off its back on my own. It did work out though since Mike, a guy from my safari from NYU, will be arriving Bangkok on the same day with roughly the same amount of time to spend. Will be good to have someone to travel with...



Celebrated Chinese New Year in Hong Kong. Skipped out on the parade since I saw it last year, but checked out the fireworks show which was decent. Too much smoke so half way through you really couldn't see anything anymore. Had a big night out in Lan Kwai Fang to mark the end of big spending in HK...at the airport now en route to Bangkok. Will check in soon.

Days 89-95 -- Manila

My cousin Nish has been living in Manila for the past few months so I decided since I was soo close I needed to make it a stopover. Changed the flights around so I could accomodate and booked a flight to Manila. Manila was an interesting place...very cheap, but much more cosmopolitan than I expected. Got a haircut and massage for about 72 cents...making it the cheapest on the entire trip so far....who would have thought?!? Spent most of the week with Nish as he did some work for some business opportunities he is pursuing in the area. Got to meet a lot of the locals who are some of the most friendly people I've met to date. A friend of his, a tour guide, Byron took me around to show me some of the sites one afternoon including Malate and Intramurus, an walled city within Manila dating back 400 years. Nightlife in Manila was quiet, but even at the most exclusive places drinks were only $1-$2....not bad. My cousin lived in a tower full of expats in a really nice area that was heavily secured...but on the other side of the fence were some real slums...similar to those you might have seen in Slum Dog Millionaire (good movie!). Wish I would have had more time to see the beach side of the Philipines, but if his business opportunities pan out I'll have someone local to come visit in the future. Back to Hong Kong to celebrate Chinese New Year...

Days 81-88 -- Hong Kong

14 hours after boarding a flight in Johannesburg I arrived in Hong Kong. Cleared through customs and made my way over to the my cousins' place where I crashed immediately in the guest room for almost a full day. So nice to have a real bed in my own room, real shower, hot water, free internet/laundry, everything I haven't really had for the past few months. Spent most of the week in Hong Kong catching up with everything...uploading pics, researching visas, planning a trip to Manila...and just enjoying being lazy. Checked out the nightlife almost every night and its still as good as I remember...even more expensive though. Got in some tourist activities by checking out the Peak and going to the beaches in Hong Kong. Met up with Eric Zegarra a couple of times who is doing a secondment here and even went to lunch with some of the local GT BAS people. Had some clothes altered since I've lost a little weight had some shirts made from my uncle who is in the tailoring business and the week in Hong Kong was finished....Next stop Manila!

Days 78-80 -- Cape Town

Back in Cape Town for a few days...spent most of this time out on Long St. with a few people that were still lingering around from New Years, doing some shopping for the family in Hong Kong, and a day tour of the Cape Peninsula. Good tour since we stopped at Boulder's beach for the seals, Simons' Town for the penguins, the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point, the most southwestern point in Africa. Even got a chance to do some cycling which was probably the biggest workout of the entire trip...Cape Town is officially ranked as one of my favorite cities in the world along with Prague and Hong Kong. The people, the sights, weather, nightlife, everything is just amazing...doesn't hurt thats its cheap since the dollar has gotten so strong against the rand lately. Next stop Hong Kong!

Africa really has been an enjoyable destination. Looking back it may have been nice to do a longer safari that took me through Uganda and Namibia (both said to be incredible), but you have to leave things for next time I guess...

Days 71-77 -- Garden Route

Took off on the Baz Bus from Cape Town headed east down the Garden Route. Everyone had talked all about the coastal region so I had to see it for myself. Got into Jeffrey's Bay, one of South Africa's premeir surf destinations and checked into Island Vibe. Island Vibe is a party 24/7 with two groups of people, surfers who surf all day/party at night and others who party all day/sleep at night...interesting dynamic. Anyways, tried some of the surfing, but the waves were really never that good since it was pretty windy for the 3 days I was there. J-bay is home to factory shops to all the big surf names so I spent some time walking around the city and just enjoying the beautiful beach friendly weather in January. In J-bay hung out with some real cool local South Africans and an Italian who always seemed to be asking what time it was...ha!

After a few days there, I took off to Wilderness, another coastal city with a laid-back vibe. On the way, the bus made a stop at Storm's River for the bungee jump. I had been planning on doing it, but once I saw it...I couldn't stomach the idea. 210 meters is a long wayy down and just seeing the bridge and free fall...yeah, I got scared. The hostel, the Beachhouse was sick...the dorms had huge terrace overlooking the beach and at night you could just leave the doors open to hear the waves crashing. With some girls from the Netherlands we hired a canoe for a day and checked out some waterfalls in the area...thats where the new FB profile pic is from. Ate some springbok here which was much better than the ostrich I had in J-burg...only meat left is crocodile since you can't eat most of the big 5 :(

Leaving Wilderness I headed to Hermanus to meet up with Sahil and Mike for the great white cage dive. At the hostel in Hermanus met a group of guys who all met while backpacking in SE Asia and were doing a reunion over New Year's in South Africa...they gave me some good advice and a list of things to do when I get to Asia so it was really cool. Arrived at the shark dive place and we got on the boat....seas were rough and as we got out to sea and were getting briefed on the instructions a shark showed up and circled the boat. We tried to bait him, but he went away too fast...4 hours later and lots of bouncing around the company called off the shark dive. Pretty disappointed since nobody got in the cage, but at least I saw a shark from a few feet away. Got a voucher for a free future trip so thats a good reason to get back to South Africa...in the high shark viewing season this time though. Got a ride back to Cape Town with Sahil to hang out for a few days before heading off to Hong Kong.

Highlights: The Garden Route gave me a real appreciation for South Africa. By far one of the best countries I've ever visited and I will be getting back there in the future...any takers for the World Cup in 2010?!? Let me know.

Days 65-70 -- Cape Town

So I'm pretty far behind and headed to Thailand tomorrow and really want to get caught up...Here is a very abridged version of whats gone on in the last month.


The family I met on the night train in Egypt picked me up on the 26th, took me to their house for a brii (barbecue) and then dropped me off at the airport...really nice! J-burg was the first time I felt really lonely on the trip and missed being at home, but the feelings quickly passed once I got to the hostel in Cape Town. Met a handful of cool people that I would spend the next week with. The first few days in Cape Town...set up a shark dive...it got cancelled, tried to rent a car to do some sight seeing...no cars available, so I was forced to take taxis or walk everywhere. Did the tourist things, sunset at Table Mountain, wine tour in the Stellenbosch, Camps' Bay beaches (water was freezing!) and lots of long nights on Long Street. I put up a lot of pictures for you guys to enjoy! New Years' rolled around the American girls from Zambia got some free tix to a Fashion TV party which was a good time. People in Cape Town really can party...New Year's day checked out the Kirstenbosch botanical gardens and then had some dinner at Waterfront. Said goodbyes to all the new friends made in Cape Town since tomorrow I was headed down the Garden Route for a week.

Highlight of Cape Town had to be the weather. Shorts and t-shirts during my entire stay here...first time I've ever been able to do that at New Year's! Even went to the beach on New Year's too...didn't go on the beach...thats a story for another day.

Days 61-64 -- Christmas in Johannesburg

Got into Johannesburg on the night of the 23rd and the group was staying at the Backpacker's Ritz. Been warned all along the drive down Africa that Jburg is a real dangerous place and that walking around in the city or just at night is insane...not so sure how I feel about that. Anyways, first night at the Ritz was good, we stayed up late and had a big night drinking cheap South African wine saying our goodbyes. It was a good feeling to be finally off the truck but difficult parting ways with everyone at the same time...thats why you got Facebook though! On Christmas Eve, I moved to the Hyatt Regency since after sleeping in a tent for a month, I felt like I deserved a comfortable bed and clean shower. Hotel was empty, but I enjoyed the quiet time and got caught up on much needed sleep. Christmas eve dinner was an ostrich steak at the bar solo but still incredible. First time eating ostrich and I will have it again. Woke up Christmas day and with my friend Darren from the truck we went to Lion Park just outside the city. Here you can get up close and play with lion cubs and possibly even feed them. We missed feeding time and they were asleep when we got there, but did get really close. Going to a place like this with animals in captivity didn't feel right though since I have seen them out in their natural habitat. I'm thinking going to a zoo will never be the same either. They even had some small areas holding different prides of lions so we took a drive and got some really cool pictures. After Lion Park it was back to the Hyatt where we took advantage of the free happy hour and had another awesome dinner. Did get to speak to the family at home and its probably the first time I really miss being at home...even contemplated looking at ticket costs home for a few days but the business center was closed. Merry Christmas everyone...next stop Cape Town!