Australian Geographic

In this burgeoning economy of 2009, one of the things I wanted to do was experience more outdoors Australia and possibly avoid the bars as much as possible. You know, cheap living, but experiencing more of the real world out there. So when my friend Jamie and co. offered a trip to the Blue Mountains for some camping and canyoning, I checked my bank account, then jumped at the chance. Without a clue of what canyoning was, I cleaned out the cooler of papers, grabbed a sleeping bag and borrowed a tent from Scott (which I subseqently biked up Oxford Street like a soldier in training).

In short, camping and canyoning was a blast. Great mix of downing beers like a barfly and scaling hills like that Bear Grylls dude. After taking an extra hour getting lost on the way there, we even managed to put up our tents in about 20 minutes, before the rain nonetheless. As I've mentioned before, canyoning felt like I was a member of the Goonies: slides, rocks, adventure at every turn. We must have missed the buried treasure. As an aside, which Goonie would I be? Guess it cancels out Data...and Chunk since I'm neither Asian nor fat. I suppose the main kid (whose only name I don't remember) is the best choice, although I never had asthma or an infatuation with a one-eyed pirate. Anywho, there were missteps along the way and frigid water when you're not wearing a wesuit, but times like this do make you feel like a mountain man. What's it about the outdoors that make you no longer care about sleep, showers, toothpaste, toilets and overall societal mores?

But now that we're back in the city, I do need my Foxtel, Spin and Old Spice body wash. Some old habits never die....

On My Way, I'm On My Way....

I just used a lyric from the Crue, gross. Anyway, it's been about a month since I've returned from the USA, aka Obamaland. It was a great few weeks of catching up with family and friends, reacquainted with the right side of the road and enjoying live sports on the correct day of the week. There's alot to cover, so I've review the first trip back to the states in the form of that great scene in "Rules of Attraction."

Flew into LA, Haas picks me up, grabbed the Lambo, got stared at by bums at In n Out, had people over, Cedric threw the apple, clock got broken....went down to see the crew in OC at Longboards, watched some football, drank beers, paid visit to Newps, sliders, back to LA...ate Cap'n Crunch, wandered around Beverly Center with no phone, celebrated Jackie's bday with Mexican and bad spandex 80s band...woke up after three hours sleep, got on Jetblue, waited two hours for dad and Lynn, drove to the old house for chicken parm, met my new nephew Owen...ran some errands, Mo and co. came over, Stefano made his lasagna, Max sang for us...Christmas Day, toys everywhere, Batman Lego on Wii, Jenga, corned beef...breakfast thing, mandlebaum gym, more lasagna, bad McDonalds with Max and Blake, Shea Stadium special, out with old buddies at Archie Moores...more mandlebaum, more corned beef, Burke Xmas, kids everywhere, insane grab bag...mom watching mass, Sunday football, train to NYC, two bars and pizza, Ipod downloads...Trinh and the city, Brooklyn bagel, Guggenheim, Central Park, FAO Schwartz, more kids everywhere, St. Patricks, 30 Rock, people everywhere, Empire State, Strawberry Fields, Spiga....last home food, drive to JFK, say G'day to mom and dad, jump on Jet Blue, make Haas wait more, dinner at the Lincoln, drinks with Pag and co...New Years, Barney Beanery, Pacific Palisades dinner party, Haas and Summer, on the rooftop...back at the old house, PPDS, USC win, Derek cooks, beer pong...bar crawl in HB, arguing with roommates, drive back to LA, the Office...Barney's Beanery, football, Ma, Spanish Kitchen, pop singer drinks...woke up early, Malibu hike with Jeff and Ma, get lost, find our way, back to LA for dinner with Jackie and Adrianna, stories from Bali, back to LAX, G'day again USA....

I'm a little tired fast-forwarding through all that. Did I miss anything? Thanks for the good times on both coasts, hope to see the homeland again soon.

Two Thousand Eight

Since I've been reading everyone's "best of" music lists the past few weeks, I'll round out last year with my own memories. These aren't really up for debate and in no particular order.*

The Good: Melbourne, Obama, Stephen Malkmus and Jicks, 4th of July, Palm Beach, Steiman, V Fest, Port Douglas, Black Keys, Lakers vs. Celtics, Giants win Super Bowl, Byron break, Animal House, back patio, rugby, JJ in the park, riding in Lambo with Haas, Wii with Max, LA, OC, NYC, Vietnam, the Lincoln, Jesse, blokey brekkie rolls, Beauchamp bday, that May issue of Spin, Wonder Years, MMJ, guitar with Warwick, a bed, Harbour sailing, NYE fireworks

The Bad: apartment searching, U.S. economy in the tank, watching sports on Monday, June 12, Pixma, synthesizers, reality, Australian economy in the tank, Hugo

The Ugly: summer weather, Game 4, some of the acts I had to watch at V Fest, Movember, wrap-up reports, back patio part 2, Hillary's expressions, Vietnamese dogs, Sugar Bowl, left side driving

*This is a working list and is not to be explained

Same Same, But Different - Part 3

I know the suspense was killing you (and when I mean "you," probably the three individuals reading this). Sorry, added a few pics to the previous posts and was distracted by NFL playoffs. Steelers and who?? in the Super Bowl? I digress...I'm sure our friends in Vietnam don't know the Super Bowl from a bowl of bony chicken rice. OK, where were we?

Day 9: Hue to Saigon
As we listened to Richard Marx on the way to the airport, memories of Phillip flashed before our eyes: ahh, remember when he almost hit that one guy on a scooter? No, that was ALL the time. But remember when he said stuff to us? Not for me, never understood a word. But how about the time I noticed his gigantic fingernails? Yeah, what a guy, I'll miss Phillip. Phildog dropped us off at the airport on our way back south. I'm not used to actually flying with friends, so was good to have someone I actually wanted to talk with on a plane. On the way back into Saigon, we- look out! scooters! Close call. We decided to really treat ourselves with a fancy local restaurant and extravigant hotel. In Saigon, this meant Pizza Hut and a $50 room. Give us a break, we were hungry for American food and tired. Another journey around the city took us to the War Rememberance Museum, which was the first noticeable recognition of that whole mess of a war thing. Interesting chronicle of the Vietnam War (which I'm told is fittingly called the American War there), but don't need to see the effects of Agent Orange. I get it, we shouldn't have "bombed them back to the stone age" as our pacifist president once said. After digesting that cuddly little recollection of history, we headed over to Trinh's relatives again. It was here that we experienced more of the Vietnamese hospitality. Sit down, eat something without a drink and we'll leave you in the kitchen to finish. I didn't as much as communicate with Auntie as I nodded, said "mmmm" and gave the thumbs up, which probably means "more meat, more rice," because I was stuffed. Great homemade cooking....no quite like mom makes, but just a few dashes away from chicken parmigana.


















Day 10: Saigon, Mekong Delta
The final day of the journey took us on a tour of the Mekong Delta, the well-known area southwest of Saigon. Little did we know, this was three hours southwest, but luckily we got to spread our wings a bit in the tour van. Alas, we came across a Vietnamese person that spoke English, our tour guide. We noticed how "different" the educated, English speaking people of this country looked in comparison to, well, the others. In all, we were just happy for less stares because they have actually seen Westerners before. The drive to the Mekong was pretty familiar by now: rice paddies, little towns with lots of Rua Xe (did I mention I learned some of the language here? Yeah, "car wash" and could count to five, or say 30. Therefore, I could order up to five, or 30, carwashes if I wanted). We hopped on a boat after three hours and enjoyed another slice of Vietnamese culture. Making things on a boat, selling on a boat, sleeping on a boat, staring from a boat. Our fellow tourists on this trip were a couple, which consisted of a 50-something Englishman and a young woman from China. Somewhere, Felix and Oscar are smiling. It was good to actually communicate with someone, outside of counting to five carwashes and thumbs up, of course. We were treated to presentations on how to make rice paper, candy and some popcorn-tasting food, all of which I later learned are a staple of the Mekong tour, no matter what company you used. Seems like they just made up what to put on the Mekong tour sometime around 1998. They're in a meeting at Saigon Tourist and debating: ok, so the Americans and British don't want to bomb us anymore, they actually want to come here for FUN! What do we show them, other than people in boats? How about how to make some of the stuff that we constantly try to sell them?? Yeah! Better yet, we can try to get them to buy it right then and there! But I suppose that continued to be what was great about the country, and travelling in general, one could argue. You could watch someone play an instrument local to the area, walk through people's backyards (where the grandparents are buried) and it's still amazing to us. A great lunch of local fish, meats and fruits followed, then back on the boat. The Mekong also reminded me of the rivers and jungles depicted in Vietnam-era movies. I could just imagine John Kerry on his T-boat, going, "man, I don't really care about getting shot, but something tells me my performance here is going to hurt my chances to be president. Hope these guys don't sell me out." After more Mekonging and bumpy ride back to Saigon, it was time for one more homecooked meal at the relatives. This time, we had a bonus, which was eating our chicken, beef, rice and fruit on the floor. I'm not being sarcastic, I love this stuff. When you're a kid, I'm sure mom would discourage eating with your hands on the floor. But here in Saigon, anything goes! Plus, it seemed like the Asian thing to do. After I waved (note, waved...didn't "say" goodbye) to the fam, we headed off to the airport before saying g'day to my travel companion and the country known as the jewel of Southeast Asia.





















Temples, incense, chicken rice, stares, coconuts, scooters, heat, bugs, cheap everything, including happy moments, will be lasting memories. So lasting, that a trip to North Vietnam may have to be in the works one of these years. Thanks to Vietnam and of course Uncle Ho, ya'all got a nice little country on your hands.

Same Same, but Different - Part 2

I'm back from the USA, which is a whole nother story. But back to where we left off in 'Nam. On the road again...

Na Trang to ???: I could really figure out exactly where we ended up on this drive, but it's a little more honest to have no clue. Was literally "drive in at night, leave in the morn" sorta thing. Along the way, we experienced more playing chicken (rice) with other cars, scooters buzzing by and car horns. We enjoyed lunch at a ramshakle of a restaurant that mocked Trinh for not reading perfect Vietnamese, then ate some bony chicken while ugly stray dogs sniffed below. From my memory, this drive, however, was marked by a stop at Trinh's long-lost relatives. This was another little village along the side of the road, where we met her aunt and cousin, and other cousin, and other cousin. OK, the entire town was out to see our arrival, and needless to say, they were intruiged. I can't claim to know exactly what a celeb feels like, but it must be something like this. Curious onlookers watching your every move. From praying to Buddha to eating mystery desserts, these cats have apparently never seen a real live American up close. The drunken uncle was a highlight, too. In all, Trinh got to pray to the relatives and see a mural of the fam up close, all worth it.













??? to Hoi An: Another great Vietnamese breakfast of fish noodle soup and breakfast, then on the road to Hoi An. This is where the temples really started to kick in. A bit like churches in Europe, temples are everywhere and you soon start to enjoy the smell of incense as pretty familiar. Buddha is a popular fellow in these parts, so he rewards them with warm weather, Coke milk and nice cities like Hoi An. Although we encountered white tourists again in Hoi An (yikes!), it's a really nice small city that has ancient influences from China. Nighttime gave us our first taste of the lanterns that are omnipresent throughout the city, which gives it an atmosphere like there's some holiday occuring.













Hoi An: We decided to give Phillip (and ourselves) a rest, and actually spend an entire day in one place. Well, worth it, since Hoi An was probably our fave stop on the trip. We decided to go local, and rent bikes to explore the city. This allowed us to see the ancient villages, numerous temples (more incense) and markets. In Vietnam, people are never at a loss to sell crap to tourists, but good Lord, these markets were like a firesale. From Tiger balm to jewellery and adidas shorts, we were hounded by vendors left, right and center. My response was a quick, "no, no thanks, no, nope, nah, um...lemme think, no" It was almost like zombies coming at us, one-by-one: American, buy a coconut...one dolla. After dodging those bullets, we biked our way to the beach. Great ride along the rice paddies and villages. On the way back, we even were intercepted by the end of the school day, which had us riding amongst throes of school kids on their bikes and wearing traditional uniforms. Classic. We debated among 3-4 lantern restaurants and then enjoyed what was some sort of Buddist holiday in town. The 14th of the month symbolizes something, which brought everyone out, including families, kids and of course tourists for music, games, etc.















Hoi An to Hue: Our final journey up north took us to Hue, another city with lots of history. The battles in Hue are depicted in the 1987 classic movie, Full Metal Jacket, famous for the line, "me so hooorny, me love you long time." I mean, that alone should make it a classic. While searching around for the spots where Raptorman and Joker fended off the enemy, we also caught the Perfume River (still trying to figure out origin of that name) and more temples, fotresses and castles. All very impressive, just couldn't say what related to what. That would mean referring back to the guide books, which are a ways away.


















Hue: The second day in Hue brought along more temples, more Buddha and ridiculous looking traditional hats. We even got to see how they made those upside down bowl looking straw hats and purchased our very own incense, so we could take our very own slice of Vietnam back to America and Australia. This was the end of our journey north, which was a bit of a downer, as we decided to fly back to Saigon in leui of checking out the DMZ. No worries, two more days in Saigon and back to the scooter city.


















I'll make this like a hockey game and break the Viettour into three segments. Grab yourself a drink, have a smoke and come back for the exciting conclusion of our journey (if anyone is even reading at this point).

Same Same, but Different - Part 1

Pretty predictable title for this travel post, but next stop on the tour, Vietnam. I booked this ticket back in April thinking I was going with one set of friends, but ended up going with my consistent travel companion, Trinh. If you can tell by her name, she's Vietnamese by trade, and Lord knows, a native speaker helped. I'll take this one day-by-day, since it requires analysis on each day.

Day 1 (Saigon): this is really night one, as I landed around 10:00 on Friday. Customs made me realize that I wasn't in OZ anymore, Toto. Customs officials in Vietnam don't exactly put the lai around your neck and welcome with a smile. As they're checking my passport, I remember that only 40 years ago, we were ravaging their country, village by village. No hard feelings, ok? We cool? After finding Trinh through the maze of eyeballs at the airport, we headed into town as she and the driver yapped some crazy language. This ride was my first experience with the mass sooterness that is Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City. The place is organized chaos with these things...families pile on, people carry luggage, you name it. It's actually more nerveracking to be in a car somehow, you think you're going to hit a scooter at any minute. Anyway, we get to our hotel and make way into the alleys of Saigon. It's a bit strange and possibly scary for a westerner, but felt ok for some reason in these dark corners. Thanks to my Vietnamese homegirl, we were able to order some food and eat late night dinner while sitting on kiddie chairs. No napkins.















Day 2 (Saigon): I'm calling it Saigon because it's easier and maybe I want it to be 1968 all over again. Well, not really, because VC would be invading our hotel. Saturday was a bit toasty, one of those needing a shower right after you get out sorta days. Nevertheless, we trekked out and sweat our way through the city. Breakfast (which doesn't really exist in Vietnam the way we know it) was this omlet thing stuffed with shrimp and other junk. Good stuff. The great thing about a country like this is you can see sights such as wartime palaces, churches and the U.S. Embassy, but just taking in the culture is enough. For instance, we met up with Trinh's cousins for dinner, who ended up taking us around on their scooters. Dodging traffic, beeping horns, we were regular Siagon Hell's Angels.

Day 3 (Saigon to Na Trang): Our driver Phillip picked us up in the morn. We called him Phillip for no other reason that it was the most absurd name imaginable for a non-English people Vietnamese travel driver. Anyway, Phillip treated us to the road-tripping experience of Vietnam: dodging ANYTHING on the roads, barely escaping accident and constantly honking your horn to notify scooterists you're five inches away from them. And the entire time we hardly ever wore our seat belts. Maybe the Vietnamese know something about driving safely that we don't. After a stop in a beach town for lunch, where I consumed my first Coke milk (yep, that's right, and is it goood), we stayed the night in Na Trang, another beach town. We were a little late getting out to dinner, so we stumbled upon the only place open, Crazy Kim's. This joint was a mix between western bar/restaurant, rub and tug place and whorehouse. While the spring rolls were good, I didn't splurge for the "happy moment," whatever that is. On the walk home, a giant rat ran out of the garbage and grazed my ankle. Between Crazy Kim's and her happy moments and rodents in the streets, Na Trang gives me the willies.













I'm tired now and non-connection erased my earlier writings, so to be continued....

All Blacks, All Good

Many travels as 2008 winds down. First stop, a country even more isolated than Australia. New Zealand, complete with its wonderful iccents where my name is Kivin and you sleep in a bid. They also have really cool looking mountains and cities such as Wellington, where I ventured to. I dubbed Wellington as the "San Francisco of the South Pacific," mainly due to its hilly landscape, bohemiam/art scene and unpredictable weather. All the coffee houses give it a dash of Seattle, too.

NZ is the little bro to Australia, and it really takes on that vibe. Laid back and unpretentious, it's a country that doesn't take itself too seriously. How can you when you're most famous recent exports are two guys that sing about semi-attractive girls becoming pretty enough to be "part-time models?" Don't forget the wine and food, which NZ might not be known for, but we got our fair share. They have a great fesitval called Toast each November, which I also dubbed as the "Woodstock of Wine." People just chilling in vinyards, music everywhere, wine everywhere and the sun actually shined. Something tells me that even with rain, this would have been a good time.

Cross the Tasman, get a lame stamp on your passport and visit the (does NZ have a moniker?) country...it's worth a visit, bru.