Friendly Planet

Dave and Deb, two adventurous and fearless travelers, graciously allowed me to guest post for their Travel and Give Back Series on their travel blog, www.theplanetd.com.

You can check the post out here: http://theplanetd.com/your-own-two-hands/

Check out the rest of their blog, too. It will get you off the couch and living life!

Just finished the 10-day meditation retreat near Kohn Kaen, Thailand and back in Bangkok before trying to catch a flight to Kathmandu. It was far from the flowery relaxation I had expected, but more than rewarding. More to come on the pain I survived for 10 days and how I did it in the coming weeks (and how you can, too! )

Much love from NepaL,

Adrian

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Hello from Laos everyone.

This is semi-long travel update [edited from “quick travel update” after I finished typing] to let you know where I’ve been and what I’m doing. I’m hoping to do this about once per week from here on out.

At the end of August and beginning of September I spent three weeks in Thailand. The first days in Bangkok were spent overcoming a debilitating flu picked up just before flying over from Kunming, China. My last day there was spent mountain biking for 5 hours and Ultimate frisbee for 2 – all in the rain. Combined with little sleep, it was the perfect combo for flu. Voila.

After resting up in Bangkok, my friend Matt and I spent two weeks hopping around Krabi province in the south. Sights on tap: monasteries and monkeys, long tail boats, and crystal blue waters (in most places). Often times our bungalow was less than $6 per night and not farther than 50 feet from the water. We did the typical adventure stuff: kayaking (complete with a deserted island and seasickness), rock climbing, smashing coconuts on rocks like neanderthals, snorkeling and riding motorbikes around the countryside. Of course we also had a “busy day at the office” which included Read the rest of this entry →

Hey all, I just updated my Whereabouts map. You can see where I’ve been over the past couple of weeks. Click on the dots and lines for a brief description of each adventure.

More posts coming in next few days!

I’m off to dinner with four French roommates. Together, today, we fought off hordes of Chinese people at the bus station ticket desk to get 5 elusive tickets to Shangri-La (I’ve been stuck in DaoCheng for 3 days due to no bus one day and sold-out tickets the next). We literally were being pushed and pulled from behind as others fought to get their fist of money in front of ours (lines don’t exist in China in case you don’t know). We even waited at the desk for over an hour until it opened at 2pm. In return, we left victorious and hop on the 11-hour bus for Shangri-La at 6am tomorrow morning.

From DaoCheng (a quaint, but non-descript town in southern Sichuan) with Love,
Adrian

“Cities that start with U for $1000, Alex.”

“This city is the capital of Mongolia.”

“What is…where is….ummmm…??????” EN-EN-EN (buzzer sound obviously)

From Wikipedia:

Ulan Bator, or Ulaanbaatar (Mongolian: Улаанбаатар), is the capital and largest city of Mongolia. The city is an independent municipality not part of any province, and its population as of 2008 is just over 1 million.^[2]

Located in the north central part of the country, the city lies at an elevation of about 1,310 metres (4,300 ft) in a valley on the Tuul River. It is the cultural, industrial, and financial heart of the country. It is also the center of Mongolia’s road network, and connected by rail to the Trans-Siberian Railway and the Chinese railway network.^[3]

Yeah, that one.

Letting travel happen to me

I’m convinced the single most important skill to be a traveler is adaptability. Life is always changing. The routine is never the same. And there will ALWAYS be circumstances out of your control.

After exploring Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou as planned, I easily made it to Beijing last Sunday, where I would extend my visa which expires on July 2, giving me another 30 days to explore the hinter-lands of China. On the list - Tibet, Yunnan, and Sichuan - provinces where life’s a little slower and the air’s a little cleaner. 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 →