headed off on another adventure

[PhillyB]

it's been a year since i've been out of the country, which is a long-ass time for me, but that's what happens when you have a kid. luckily that dry spell is coming to an end… on june 10 my wife and daughter and i are flying to london and taking a train to scotland, where we'll kick back in some B&Bs for a week and a half.

 

after much discussion internally and among family and friends i've decided that this summer i'm going to finally finish up my book. i spent a lot of time and money two years ago on a boat in the middle of the pacific ocean banging out the majority of it and that's going to go to waste if i don't finish it up… i start grad school in the fall, so i know if i don't get it done this summer it's going to be at least another two years before i can think about it at all.

 

that being the case, after my wife and daughter fly home i'm going to take a few weeks doing some wandering and finishing it up. i've always found that i always write the most effortlessly and inspiredly in the midst of some great adventure, so i intend to wander across eastern europe for a couple days in route to istanbul, fly to malaysia (with a layover in kazahkstan, which excites me) and then take a week or two exploring the far-flung isles of indonesia. borneo, java, old makassar, south sulawesi, and then a schooner east bound for the old spice islands, overgrown dutch fortresses, past the kai islands to the mysterious aru islands, home of the legendary bird of paradise and the mecca of alfred russell wallace, whose footsteps i'd be tracing over enchanted waters 150 years later… and perhaps beyond, to irian jaya and the dani tribes… maybe i'll get a penis gourd. 

 

oh yeah and there's an island covered in komodo dragons. i'll probably go there too.

 

i will return home with a finished book ready for publishers and a slew of carolina huddle phillyb travel threads in my wake.

[PhillyB]

if anyone has any kind of advice/recommendations on any of the following:

 

england

scotland

belgium

germany

austria

slovenia

croatia

bosnia

serbia

bulgaria

hungary

turkey (istanbul in particular)

kazakhstan (almaty in particular)

brunei

malaysian borneo

indonesian borneo

indonesia

tokyo (layover on the way home)

 

 

….let me know

[thefuzz]

Somehow, I am jealous, and not jealous at the same time.

[Kevin Greene]

The schooner portion, oh yeah.

[PhillyB]

The schooner portion, oh yeah.

 

not guaranteed… i really want to hitch up with a legendary black-masted bugis schooner from the ports in makassar and take it island-hopping to the east, but it'll probably make more sense to just go with a slummy room on one of the country's national shipping liners for three bucks and a certain schedule

[PanthersFanNY]

What's your book about?

[cookinbrak]

Do not fly into or out of Malaysia......

[PhillyB]

What's your book about?

 

the long and short of it is that five years ago i quit my job, sold my poo, and bought a one-way ticket to australia, my first time ever out of the country, with a bicycle and a backpack and spent months trekking around the australian coast and mountains, and up into southeast asia where i met various and sundry people and adventures and saw indescribable beauty and stomach-pitting poverty.

 

two years ago i tried to write a book about it: using the story of the journey itself (entertaining and enjoyable in its own right) as a literary vehicle to explore some great social and existential issues. this latter part was a nebulous enterprise, and when i started writing i did so on a ship from long beach bound for sydney australia, knocking out 230 pages in a month at sea, but it was all the meat of the story and none of the skeleton. when i came home i was quickly marooned at that stage and then started an undergrad program in anthropology and i haven't really touched it since… but now that i've graduated i've really developed a direction that i want to go with it, something that gives the book a transcendent meaning.

 

when i win the pulitzer i won't forget you guys 

[PhillyB]

Do not fly into or out of Malaysia......

 

unsettling though it is, i've flown malaysia airlines before and i'll be doing it again. kuala lumpuer > brunei as well as kuching > jakarta are both through malaysia airlines so i don't have much of a choice

[Jakob]

the long and short of it is that five years ago i quit my job, sold my poo, and bought a one-way ticket to australia, my first time ever out of the country, with a bicycle and a backpack and spent months trekking around the australian coast and mountains, and up into southeast asia where i met various and sundry people and adventures and saw indescribable beauty and stomach-pitting poverty.

 

two years ago i tried to write a book about it: using the story of the journey itself (entertaining and enjoyable in its own right) as a literary vehicle to explore some great social and existential issues. this latter part was a nebulous enterprise, and when i started writing i did so on a ship from long beach bound for sydney australia, knocking out 230 pages in a month at sea, but it was all the meat of the story and none of the skeleton. when i came home i was quickly marooned at that stage and then started an undergrad program in anthropology and i haven't really touched it since… but now that i've graduated i've really developed a direction that i want to go with it, something that gives the book a transcendent meaning.

 

when i win the pulitzer i won't forget you guys 

I'm jealous by how uninteresting you just made my life seem.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

wear a condom

 

[Chimera]

London is expensive as poo... if you smoke, I promise you'll quit when you see cigarette prices. Dover and Canterbury are must-sees. Stonehenge is not open to the public for the summer solstice (I found out the hard way).

Belgium has great food. Waffle stands line tourist streets. Unfortunately most of Brussels smells like New Orleans.

I can go all day about Germany, and June is a great time to go. It isn't warm yet, but is comfortable and the outdoor life is starting to pick up. Berlin has enough to keep you busy for a couple of days. It is pretty unique in that you can see and contrast the effects of capitalism vs. communism right there.

If you go down to the Alps, you can see Neuschwanstein castle (sp?) which isn't really a "historic" castle (built in the late 19th century) but it is a beauty, even if you can only tour a few rooms. Daschau concentration camp isn't far from Munich. Don't forget to check out small towns like Rothenberg. If you are interested in any specific place, I'll tell you about it if I've been there.

I've only driven through Austria, specifically the panhandle area between Germany and Italy. My wife has been to other areas. I remember some pretty impressive forts and castles along the highways, but I don't know their names or the towns.

Don't forget Czech... I call it the Mexico of Europe. You can find anything you need or want there. Want a working electric chair? Go to Czech.

I haven't been to Slovenia, but I have trained and trained with Slovenian Soldiers. If the general population is anything like their soldiers, do NOT get in a fight there. They are some hardcore mofos.

[Arroz con Panther]

Try haggis when you're in Scotland if you haven't had it before. It's definitely an interesting dish, but I enjoyed it. Plus, it's illegal in the US.

[Keep Pounding]

I barely have left California, only been to 3 states.