Friendly Planet

I assume most English teachers in China come and go. It’s a temporary sort of thing for us Westerners looking to see another country. As for the students, they see a new one every year and probably forget all about last year’s laowai (foreigner). I thought that was the case for me until I received this email just after the New Year:

*I didn’t edit Teddy’s email at all

Yes, Teddy, I’m amazingly glad to hear this news. This news made my year!

As you can see, their English could use a little work (yeah, partly my fault, but an excuse for you to go over and teach, too!). But I don’t think it’s about the English. It’s about…well, I’ll let you judge what it’s about.

On the Banks of the Mekong

As I wandered towards Pakse Hotel’s rooftop bar tonight, I decided to pass by the mighty Mekong River first, a few blocks farther south before heading for a beer and the sunset via rooftop. As I approached from the north, I noticed chairs and tables lining the sidewalks, with vendors serving BBQ and beer. As the road curved east and began to follow the Mekong, I looked out and noticed that beautiful massive ball of fire in the background – a magical orange color, with a hint of pink. The horizon was about a mile away, the other side of the massive river, and the sun shared its orange with the river in a rippled line coming directly towards me. Screw the fancy hotel rooftop, I thought, as I sat down in a plastic blue chair and a plastic table and ordered, the murky Mekong only 20 feet away. The vendors cooked my food under a blue and green tarpaulin looking ready to fall over at the first sign of wind, draped between a few trees and a light post.

Out comes my food; an ice cold Beer Lao, the national pride of Laos, unknown barbecued meat, a few veggies, and a Read the rest of this entry →

Serving up two fried scorpions

I tell people all the time - “I eat anything.” It’s the truth.

You’ve probably seen pictures of Chinese street food before. The creepy-crawly assortments that we shake our heads with disgust at. In reality, most street food in China is plain, tame, and delicious. Fried breads, dumplings, yummy-filled dough balls - I eat it any chance I get. So, I was surprised to find these few streets in Beijing where snake, eel, sheep’s penis, starfish, bugs and scorpions could be had barbecued on a stick. Emboldened by an invitation from my roommate, Tim, we set out for fried scorpion as an after dinner snack. Read the rest of this entry →

Motos everywhere (Photo by alex-s on flickr)

Where ever I go, I usually test out the public transportation. Why? It’s dirt cheap and reveals a more authentic side of the city I’m in. In most cases, it’s slower than taxis or moto-taxis. And only in the more modern cities do new fleets of air conditioned buses roam the streets. Most of the time I’m the only westerner on the bus. But it’s not comfort I seek.

Here’s a short story inspired by a short ride.

A bus trip through Saigon

This morning, I’m making my way to the central bus station in Saigon, southern Vietnam’s largest city. The city is raucously awake for 8:30am. Motorbikes swarm everywhere like it’s a weekday. People line the sidewalks, walking from shop to shop to socialize or buy their goods for the day. I think back to Nashville’s Saturday mornings where my bike and I are one of the few vehicles on the road. Despite loving the ‘hide-and-go-seek-like’ challenge of finding my destinations, I’d asked the young Vietnamese lady at the desk of my guesthouse which bus to take. She’d written for me on a small piece of paper the address along with Read the rest of this entry →

During the last two weeks of August, my friend Matt and I adventured around southern Thailand. Our adventures dabbled in (death) kayaking, jungle exploring, motorbike riding (and crashing), rock climbing, fire-breathing (after eating curry, that is), and periods of pure relaxation. Since meeting over two years ago, Matt and I have bounced around business ideas and jumped off 50 foot waterfalls. Needless to say, our friendship has become quite strong. So, I asked Matt to write a few brief articles to highlight his travel experience to which he enthusiastically agreed. Matt earned an MBA and is currently a big-time consultant who makes like a gazillion dollars per hour - but you’re getting his advice for free! Consider yourself lucky. Matt’s first article touches on pre-trip planning.

Onward Bound for Fun.

Hello, my name is Matt and I work for a company in which I travel approximately 11 months out of the year. I’ve developed a good routine for pre-trip planning and would like to share it with you.

My first writing is to describe my preparation for Thailand. I told Adrian that I would visit him sometime on his journey through Asia in 2009. We decided on meeting in Thailand in August. We both wanted to visit the country. Also, I was looking for another country that was not China since I visited in 2007. Once Thailand was decided, we then decided where to go during the two weeks I was there. Adrian and I selected a couple of days in Bangkok and southern Thailand called Krabi (”Grahbee”) province.
Read the rest of this entry →

Beautiful Nashville Skyline

Some of us want the government to step in. Some of us scream for them to “back off.” While we’ll never agree on this, I assume there’s an optimal balance to be struck, where government does its part, but leaves the rest up to the citizens. But we, as citizens, must follow through.

Nashville, Tennessee, my home for most of the last 6 years, is a wonderful place to live. I’ve relished it’s big-city-small-town feel and it’s tree-lined neighborhoods. Yet, if you ask me (and plenty of others) there’s much to be desired. As a bicycle enthusiast and (self-proclaimed) intrepid bicycle commuter, my nerves still rattle when I hit Music City roads. Bike lanes are near non-existent and auto drivers don’t care so much for lycra-panted crazies on two wheels. As an on-leave board member for the Clean Air Partnership of Middle Tennessee, I know the air quality lacks when compared to many southeastern cities. And I tried taking public transportation on and off during my last year in Nashville to find that it was more hassle than help - quite contrary to my favorite cities like Portland, Oregon and San Fran. Even while I was in China, I was impressed by quick, (usually) clean, and cheap public transport.

With that said, Mayor Dean and the City have stepped up efforts in the past two years to put Nashville on the map as the greenest city in the Southeastern United States. Here’s were the citizens come in. Read the rest of this entry →

Photo: zlan zihan

As I checked my email in Ao Nang, a small resort-and-guesthouse-filled city in Krabi province in southern Thailand last week, I opened a well-placed forward from my mom. My good friend Matt and I had just spent two weeks taking Krabi by storm. After he returned to the States, a wave of sadness washed over me as I returned to traveling solo. While I do enjoy traveling alone, the following story reminded me why I miss so many of you back home:

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. Read the rest of this entry →

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serendipity (n) -

The faculty of making fortunate discoveries by accident.

As I stumbled dazed and confused off the overnight train from Shanghai to Beijing, I immediately set to the daunting task of finding a hostel. Typical me, I failed to book one in advance and had no knowledge or map of the massive Beijing. As fate would have it, I spotted the City Central Youth Hostel and it’s Hosteling International sign just across the street from the train station. With a sprinkle of hop in my step and a sigh of relief, I decided to check it out until I could find a more decent spot.

Inside, I stood in line behind several others waiting to check in. Apparently, this is a popular spot. Not looking good on getting a bed. As the guy who came in after inched forward I noticed his North Face bag, worn shoes, scruffy face and the earring in his upper ear. I assumed he was going to cut in front of me when our turn came so I silently jockeyed for my place. Read the rest of this entry →

Hello from Beijing.

As some of you know,  On June 13-14 I played in the Shanghai 2009 Ultimate Tournament: Emperor’s Reign. If you don’t know what Ultimate frisbee is yet, educate yourself. It’s no longer hippies and barefoot (although there’s nothing wrong with that!!!). It’s a revolution. Just so you know.

In a nutshell, I met some fantastic people, played intense frisbee, and had a great time.

Weekend Recap

As I flew into Shanghai on Friday the 12th, I thought it was particularly cloudy since I wasn’t able to see any buildings on approach and landing. It was later that I realized it was smog. Pure smog. Yes, it was that bad. Shanghai locals told me it had turned bad over the past few months, most likely because of summer and all of the construction in Shanghai. During 2 days of frisbee, I could feel the heat but could not see the sun, which was hidden behind that impenetrable smog. I wasn’t enthused.

Upon checking in a the hotel on Friday night, I met my teammate, roommate, and cool guy, Michael Stout, a former Ultimate frisbee player at Claremont College in California. At first, I didn’t take him too seriously with his shoulder-length curly red hair and glasses (he put contacts in later), but he proved to be the All-American he earned in college. Here’s what you won’t believe and why I’m more jealous of Michal than I am of Bill Gates- Michael is traveling the world playing Ultimate frisbee. Seriously. Read the rest of this entry →

by Discovery News and ABC Science Online

After watching 7 Pounds I was quite rattled by thoughts of jellyfish. A few weeks later, as the foreign teachers at my school had a ceremonial dinner with our school  President and Dean, I swallowed down some slimy, yet yummy food that I quickly learned was jellyfish. I’m guessing it wasn’t the poisonous kind.

Interesting news story by Discovery Channel about giant jellyfish populations growing thanks to overfishing - DiscoveryNews Monster Jellyfish

From China With Love,

Adrian