Random Thought: Something

Greetings loved ones,

I apologize for the ridiculous delay. I am currently sitting at the Kuala Lampur International Airport. Like the Bangkok airport, this airport looks as though it is from the future. It really kicks the Bangkok’s airport’s ass. Anyway, I’m in the midst of a 12 hour layover. I know. I don’t know what my problem is. I have decided that on my next trip, anywhere, there are some general rules I’m going to follow. The first of which is to not skimp on $50 and book a ridiculously scheduled journey. Some other rules include:

1) When booking youth hostels in Europe, I will only book a place which has lockers and wifi and air and has over a 90% approval rating by all raters.
2) I will always have a netbook or cell phone with me.
3) I will NOT fly around the world and visit 3 very different regions. I mean, don’t get me wrong, this trip is great. I love every second of it, but it’s truly ‘once in a lifetime’. In every way. I don’t plan on ever embarking on this kind of trip again. Too many flights, too many adjustments, too many things that can go wrong.

But a lot of these rules are moot, as I don’t plan on venturing out into the world again for a solo/backpacking type tour again anytime soon. It’s not that I’m opposed to the notion, but I just don’t’ see it being a reality. I mean, yeah, I would LOVE to come back to Europe next summer and backpack across Scandinavia or the Baltic States, but I won’t have the money or the time, probably. I of course still hope and plan to travel, but I will be relying on a couple of other means, most likely.

It’d be cool to actually go abroad as part of an organized program. Like most people go to study or work or intern abroad, and yeah, that’d be cool. But more importantly, I just plan on looking out for opportunities to travel with friends. Hannah wants to go live in S. America for a year next year? Boom. Spring Break. Jackie decides to teach in China? Boom. Week long trip. Jojo and Caden going to the UK for a wedding? Boom. Wedding crasher. I also plan on doing this within the US. Erik’s going to California sometime. Boom. Sunkist skin so hot it melts my popsicle.

Speaking of which, I have GOT to see the US already! I have literally seen NOTHING of the US. All my friends I’ve made from Australia and Europe have been to more places in the US than me. It’s pretty bad. So yeah, I’m totally down for road-tripping to…well, anywhere. SPEAKING OF WHICH! Do you know how AWESOME it’s going to be to NOT have to have an upcoming trip in the back of my mind ALL THE TIME?!

Like, I miss getting haircuts. I do. I miss going to the mall and just going shopping for clothes. I never do this anymore. Because (aside from going out to eat or buying alcohol or DVDs) I have really stopped spending money on a lot of things, because everytime I think about it, I just realize that that money would be better kept in my bank account, in case I need it for whatever trip I’m saving for in the near future.

So, when I get back, I’m gonna stop looking like shit. I’m gonna stop cutting my own hair, start buying more clothes, and not worry as much about finances. THAT IS GONNA BE AWESOME. Well, that is, until I have to start paying my student loans off. FUCK.

So I guess you want to know about Bali. It was nice. Like, that’s the best word that can possibly describe it. It’s nice. That might sound a little underwhelming, but to me, ‘nice’ is a really great freakin’ word. I mean, I would never describe India as nice. It’s amazing and breathtaking and life-changing, but it’s not nice. I wouldn’t describe most countries in Europe as nice either. In one word, I’d say that Greece is interesting, I’d say that Italy is romantic, I’d say that France is beautiful, Amsterdam is gross, Budapest is edgy, Prague is…well…living history, lol. I could go on and on.

Bali is nice. Very nice. It’s calm, and relaxing. It’s hot, but not overwhelming. It’s easy to get around, but not as developed as Bangkok, which means at times you feel as though you’re in the US. In Bali, you always feel as though you’re in Bali. There are a SHIT ton of tourists there, but it never feels touristy. And Jackie and I did the most touristy things you can imagine for a couple of days, and it still felt authentic.

Many describe Bali as magical, and that’s also an appropriate word. Like, honestly, it kind of is. Everywhere you go, there’s something religious or superstitious or beautiful or at least interesting. You can’t say that about Europe or India. A lot of Europe is just plain old consumerism. A lot of India is just trash. But everything in Bali is kind of wonderful. You don’t see the pollution or poverty of other developing countries, which isn’t necessarily a good thing, but it’s not a bad thing either.

And it’s the GREENEST country I’ve ever been to. Literally, like, it is SO FECKING GREEN you have no idea. It is so lush. Every road is lined with thick palm trees, and there are the most gorgeous rice terraces. The beaches aren’t as good as those you can find in Europe or other resort locations, but they’re still great. The water is the clearest I’ve ever seen. Like, water in Italy is just green. Water in Croatia is blue. Water in Iowa City is brown. Water in Bali is CLEAR. It’s awesome.

The flora is also varied. Like, in one day, we went from ‘oh my god this beach is so gorgeous’ to ‘oh my god am I in Tibet standing on Mount Everest overlooking the Himalayas?’ to ‘umm I’m in the rainforest’ and it was great. I’ve never (really) been to the rainforest before, and we visited one…full of monkeys. Oh and we went to a zoo and a safari which was the FUNNEST thing EVER. I held a baby chimp. SO CUTE.

And the airport wasn’t bad, either.

CAN YOU BELIEVE I WILL BE HOME IN 4 DAYS?! It’s the 19th now and I’ll be home the 23rd. SHIT I’ll board my plane to get out of Vietnam the 22nd. Oh my god. I don’t even know how I’m gonna handle it. I kind of, like, legitimately freaked out about a week ago when I realized just how soon I was to being home, so I’m glad I got that over with, because now I’m more at ease with it. But it’s still kind of scary. But also comforting. Kind of, because I’m constantly like ‘oh my god four days….if I make it.’

Like, I literally always follow an observation of how much time I have left abroad with a caveat. These are some examples:

‘Oh my god I’m gonna be in Vietnam tomorrow….if I’m not in a plane crash on the way.’
‘MAN I’M GOIN TO BALI! …unless someone plants drugs on me at the airport and I’m taken to an Indonesian jail for the rest of my life.’
‘I can’t wait to get home….if I even survive this.’

I know, I’m dumb. But I like, hate taking things for granted. That’s just me. I’m a pessimist and a realist (which is like, contradicting everything, because a realist would argue ‘umm duh the chances of being in a plane crash are like 1 in 200,000,00,00,000,000 so sit down and STFU), and I can never help but remind myself that nothing is guaranteed. I would probably enjoy this trip much more if I didn’t have that attitude.

Speaking of which, enjoyment. That’s the thing about the length of this trip. I was travelled out of Europe after like 3 weeks, right? My time spent in India was NEVER about seeing so much and experiencing everything. It was the opposite. Every enjoyable moment I had existed solely because I met some amazing people whom I had a great time with. Now I’m here in southeast Asia, which I honestly was more excited about than anything else, and it’s really nice and has been very easy and eye-opening, but I’m just not enjoying it as much as I feel I would if I had taken 2 weeks to do it, say 6 months from now. In other words, if Southeast Asia was its own trip, I’d LOVE EVERY SECOND of it.

Right now, I’m probably enjoying every other second. Like, the fact that I’m gonna be home in 4 days is getting me through this layover right now. And it got me through my flight. I am so fecking tired of flying. But that number…4…is a good number. And I hate that I’m concentrating so much on it, but it’s like, I’ve got. I’m travelled out. I’ve been travelled out for 6 or 7 fecking weeks. I don’t know what’s gonna happen when I get home, but I know that I won’t constantly be in transit or this sleep-deprived. That’s a good thing.

Anyway, more about Bali. Jackie scored us this AWESOME place. Like, it was better than staying at a four star hotel. She has these friends of a friend who work at the American school in Bali, and the wife, Krista is the principal and the husband, Chris, is the IT guy. They let us stay at their place, and, let’s just say that place would probably cost like…actually, I have no idea how much it would cost. But you would only find this kind of a house in a resort area, like Palm Springs or Miami or something, and yeah, it’d cost you dearly.

First of all, let’s comment on the space. The space is Asian in nature. Like, in Asia, people tend to make houses and buildings differently than we do in the west. In the US, we generally live in a house, which is one construction, and we have space (a yard) around it, right? In India and Bali and Thailand and probably everywhere else, it’s very common to find a house constructed around space (courtyard). The house might be one structure or more.

The place we stayed at was made of 4 living areas, which together made their house. There was the main structure, composed of the kitchen and living room, which overlooked an outdoor sitting area, which was the centerpiece of it all. It seems that this family tends to hang out in the outdoor sitting area more than the actual living room, which has like the plasma TV and Wii and everything. Then there is another structure with the bedrooms, and then the guesthouse. Where we stayed.

Yeah. We had our own guesthouse. It was essentially a love nest, but it’s ok because I’m totally gay.

There was also a pool, and the couple in question employs at least 2 household employees, who prepared our meals, made our bed, cleaned our room and drove us around. Yes, that all really happened. I know, way better service than at my 4 star hotel in Bangkok with the trannylady.

Aww, I miss Bangkok!

But the couple was totally chill and gave us lots of advice and were totally welcoming and it just made the stay so much better than it could have been if we had stayed at a hotel or something. The beach was like, 10-15 minutes away. OH! And get this. I saw THREE Dolce and Gabanna stores on one street, all within 5 minutes of each other.

WHAT THE HELL.

That is just not necessary. D&G needs to step off. There were also 2 Ralph Lauren boutiques within walking distance of each other too. But the prices are the same as in the US. Go figure. I bought a bunch of crap for people, and my bag is just getting out of hand. I have left behind so many articles of clothing, unnecessary toiletries, finished books, etc, but my bag is not letting up. It’s getting heavier and heavier, because of all the shit I’ve bought, so you mother effers better appreciate it all when I get back.

And my clothes are RANK. You would not believe how low my standards have become when it comes to personal hygiene. Jackie didn’t say anything, but I think she was being nice. Well, as nice as Jackie can be. Did you hear about her and Erin? OH! Back to Bali. We spent some time on the beach, we got massages, drove up a mountain, and SHIT! I got sick. Oh man, that sucked. I literally, like, got totally feckin sick and it sucked. After snorkeling in the ocean (which is AWESOME), it went away somehow, but it was a rough couple of days.

All right this is getting really uninteresting.
- Josh