The ToadstoolThe Chronicles of Mojotoad |
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Strange as it seems to me, my journey is over and I find myself at home again, a bit over a year since when I started. It has been an experience I'll never forget, an experience I'm still absorbing, but an experience that is already seeming like a dream. Since my Interlude update I hop scotched around Europe soaking up food, drink, and history. So here I offer another woefully inadequate summary plus some flippant conclusions about the nature of our planet.
From Malaysia I walked into Thailand, once known as Siam, crossroads of Southeast Asia. I promptly investigated some of the amazing limestone island and cave formations of southern Thailand, followed by a dash up to hectic Bangkok where I engaged in diplomatic introductions to local lowlifes and eventually met up with fellow traveler Chris Tarr, who had parted ways with Than not so long before. Together with some local friends of Chris and Than's cousin Owen we engaged in a whirlwind tour of many of Bangkok's offerings, high and low. After sorting out several onward visas I forwent my original plan of taking in Northern Thailand and instead headed overland East towards the mysteries of Indochina.
When I first began my trip, I was intending to keep friends and family up to date on my activities using this forum. Unfortunately, I have been recalcitrant on those updates for a number of reasons (cost and time, but mostly laziness); the updates have drifted steadily out of synch, falling farther into the past. In the process, they have increasingly lost relevance. Since in my head I keep intending to push out the updates, this has resulted in me simply failing to keep everyone updated on my whereabouts, defeating the original purpose of the site.
So. I've got a lot of updating and writing to do -- and I intend to, if for no other reason than my own recollections in the far flung future. Below you will find a brief summary of where I've been, which should give a good indication of the size of the task. In the meantime, since these updates are no longer relevant, in the temporal sense, I will disable the Toadfriends mailing list that has been notifying you of these updates. Instead, if you are interested in relics of my past, you can check the site from time to time and find the updates. I will still employ the mailing list for general notifications, but there will not be many of them because I only have a little over a month left to travel! Inconceivable, really.
After Bali I enjoyed a steady stream of encounters with friends from home. From Bali I flew straight to Singapore, island nation of frenetic economic investment and churn, where I visited with Jen Doran. From Singapore I moved on to Malaysia where I met up with fellow world-stomper Than, on his way to Indonesia in the opposite direction, for some exploration of Malaysian Borneo where we bagged a mountain and bonded with the jungle and its diverse beasts such as orangutans. Together we headed back to the peninsula where we had a reunion with visiting friends from Houston: Rich and Sid, who along with Jen from Singapore met us in Kuala Lumpur. Together we enjoyed a taste of sanguine life on the tropical island Pulau Tioman punctuated by diving and snorkeling trips along with jungle outings. After this welcome stretch of old friend's company, I was off on my own once more on the way to Thailand.
Here is a collection of various quotes found in the sigs of people posting on Slashdot over the years. I had noticed and retained many of the quotes, but recently someone posted this tasty collection, so I figured I'd put it up here for posterity. Some are quotes from well known personalities, some are originals, some are old, many are certainly misattributed. Most are geeky in their humor.
One of my favorites: "Why does everyone always overgeneralize?"
After Flores I picked up the pace and began island-hopping to Bali. After a four day boat tour featuring snorkels and dragons, I sampled the highs and lows of Lombok by climbing its highest peak and relaxing on some of its island beaches. Following this I ventured over to Bali, where after a bit of fluttering about I met up with Susan on her long anticipated vacation from home.
Continue reading "Shove off from Flores, on to Lombok and Bali" »
From Darwin I flew to Bali for a few days of orientation and decompressing. Reversing the direction of my original plan, I then flew deep into Flores, East Nusa Tenggara for an island-hopping overland trip back to the relative comforts of Bali. Most of this time I spent in Flores. By bus and by bemo, I slowly headed west from Maumere to Labuan Bajo. In between taxing jaunts on public transport I enjoyed healthy doses of culture, villages, volcanoes, hot springs, snorkeling, and scuba diving -- and isolation from the familiar comforts of the West.