Netflix and chill

I haven't seen Adrian since high school. It's not even like it was senior year high school either, more like sophmore year high school. That's like 8 years time almost! Even if we had been best friends during our collective time spent in the STEM program 8 years would still be enough to change each of us into a different person completely, leaveing us strangers. As it was we hadn't been best friends, we'd been friends. We talked sometimes when we had classes together but that was about all. So, now, a crazy amount of time later it's nearly like meeting someone for the first time again, nearly. We're both still the same at the core I don't doubt, but the details have blurred since then. Despite this whatever the space that this time had created between us had also been mended just as much by the world of travel. It kind of works like this. If I'm somewhere in America, but not in Texas, and I meet another Texan we're automatically friends you know? Like when I'm abroad and meet another American there's some instant bond of brotherhood. Or if I was on Mars and met an Earthling, we'd probably have such a huge element in common that we coudln't help but be friends. Facebook has done a good job keeping track of most everyones lives so we were both vaguely aware that the other travels quite a bit. Adrian for the military and me for the hell of it. This small similarity between us, the worldy notion, is more than enough to bring two high school acquaintances back together, 8 years later and clear on the other side of the world in Okinawa, Japan.

I found myself in Japan feeling as if I had never left high school. Not because of who I was with, but because of what we were doing. You may think I came to Okinawa to admire the beautiful beaches, eat sushi, and do whatever else it is one would do here, but not I. No, apparantly, I came to Okinawa to make science! Let me explain that better. Adrian has been taking an online biology course for his degree. The course has a lab included, so they send him this big box with all these pipets, test tubes, mysterious solutions, and graduated cylinders you know? To do science things for the lab part of the course. And, extremely simply put, that is how I found myself, almost a decade later, repeating biology with someone I went to high school with. There was a uncanny amount of deja vu involved, bringing me directly back to Ms. Spriggs biology lab freshman year but without all the negative implications that high school brings along. We could drink coffee and make jokes and generally lolly gag our sweet time with it. I find it hilarious that that is what I ended up doing in Japan. 

All the sciences 

It wasn't all homework and science though. I did do some of the other things Okinawa is known for. Kind of. The main thing we did was went up to the huge aquarium on the North of the island. It's the second largest in the world and it was crazy!! They had a tank with three whale sharks in it. One would be impressive, but they had three! Not only that, but the manta rays in the tank were almost as big as the whale sharks! After there were tons of sea turtles ranging from little babies to, I assume, ancient as can be. And they had some flying dolphins. It was a great place and the drive there along the azure coastline was breathtaking for the most part. But, for the majority of my stay, the weather was cold and rainy. 

Whale shark

Flying dolphins and the overcast sky

Keeping the dreary outdoors in mind we went out to a quaint country bar one night where we were apparently being all quiet in the corner. I don't think we were being that quiet because we were sitting there singing along to the spot on playlist like we were back in Texas, but maybe we just weren't as loud as everyone else. In the end the owner came over, attracted by our silence, and chatted it up with us for a while until closing time. He even bought us both a drink. I forgot to mention, this was a biker bar. A chapter of some biker gang had opened up this bar and they kept it pretty much in line. I didn't realize the gravity of it until the owner was sitting, talking with us and people would keep stopping by to pay their respects to him. It reminded me of a time long ago, when I was sleeping in a garage of a woman named Peggy during a massive thunderstorm in Gorham, New Hampshire. But that's a story for another time ;)

In the end, the best parts about Japan for me were probably not what you would think. I always wonder what people think I do while I'm traveling. Of course I do the big things, but I wonder what people thing I do in between all that. Like here, in Okinawa, I went out and exploed a bit, went to the aquarium, ate sushi, offroaded a bit, and won some chips at one of their crazy crane machine places, but those are just a few things we did. There is so much more time in the day than that. It's not all spent exploring all the time. Sometimes I feel better served resting. Plus it was cold outside and rainy for a good bit of my time there. So Adrian and I had a couple movie days where we just sat around and watched Netflix. Between movies one of us would run down to one of the million vending machines and pick up a few hot coffees to drink while the cold wind howled outside. Sometimes we would take a break to cook some noodles or make some science. But, for the most part, all we did was chill. And sometimes that's all I want. 

The source of my coffee addiction 

Thanks so much for everything Adrian, it was great to see you again and I'm glad we finally met up! I'm also glad it was there in Okinawa and not middle of nowhere Germany! Keep in touch and maybe I'll see you in Canada! 

Be happy,

Beacon 

A little Vietnam and some Hong Kong

The way I see it, I only had three options. Option 1: Stay the night in the airport. Always a valid option and usually even a good one as I sleep really well tucked away somewhere behind an airpot bench. But tonight was my only night in Hanoi, Vietnam, and it was the beginning of the Chinese New Year, so, after some quick soul searching, I realized I would only regret spending the night in the airport instead of seaching for some festivites.

Option 2: Go to the city and end up stealth camping. I usually prefer this options, as I love my tent. It is a kind of third home to me, right behind my 'real' home and the boat. But I needed to be back at the airport early the next morning for my flight to Hong Kong, by around 7am, and didn't really think camping in the city was a good idea. Mostly because I get way too comfortable in my tent, especially in the early mornings, and I knew that I wouldn't want to wake up early in order to make a long trek to the airport. 

This left option 3: Stay out until the rooster crows. Literally though, they're everywhere. Not an unfortunate option, but not the wisest either. It was possible for me to make it through the night since it was already 10 and even if I couldn't make it all the way there's always the opportunity of bailing into a cab directed towards the airport at any hour. Obviously, I took option three. 

The cab ride into Hanoi was much longer than I had expected it to be. Not long, maybe 45 minutes, just longer than I had expected and more expensive too. I hadn't even had a location for the cabbie though, I knew nothing of Hanoi. I'd simply told him the name of the city as if he didn't already know where I was headed. There's just the one city. He asked me twice where I wanted to go in Hanoi, and I continued to claim simply 'Hanoi'. I trusted he would just take me to the center or whatever it is people come here to see. I couldn't see much as we were driviing into the city, the only thing I noticed is the air seemed smoky. I could tell we were getting closer to my unknown exit when I started to see more and more New Years decorations. Then there were people selling celbration items and balloons. The balloon sellers were holding so many balloons it looked as if they couldn't hardly hold another without disappearing into the smoky air. Soon there were to many people for the cab to even drive down the street so I got out short of the center, still not exactly sure where I was going. It was easy enough to follow the swell of people and it led me to this amazing lake in the center of the city. The whole thing was surrounded by such amazing festivities decorations. Buildings were lit up, there were lights in the trees and on bridges, and merriment all around. It took me over an hour to walk the circumfrence of the lake with so many people moving through the streets. By the time I made a complete loop I realized this wasn't simply a meet up and celebrate, everyone was waiting for something. I had the sneaking suspicion it was fireworks, because, well obviously because wha would New Years be without a firework show? I was milling about like everyone else when I decided to by some hotdogs on a stick and the first boom went off at midnight. A cheer rose up from the thousands of people gather to watch. Now there is no need for me to describe to you what a firework show is like, but, let me just say, I saw some of the biggest fireworks I'd ever seen that night.

All the festivities 

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It's easy to forget I'm an educated man sometimes. College was such a blur of clawing my eyes out from boredom that, for the most part, I don't even remember going. Not that I finished mind you, I dropped out with one semester to go, but I wasted a decent chunk of time there. What I remember best about college was playing ultimate frisbee with an awesome group of people on Monday nights. Nobody cared who won, it was just a fun excuse to run around after a light up frisbee in the dark. That's where I met Kelvin. Kelvin from Hong Kong. He was studying at Texas tech the same time I was. Our only interaction was during a speckle of ultimate frisbee games, but that was enough. He would always joke that I should come visit him in Hong Kong some day as most people everywhere often do. If you meet someone it's not uncommon to extend an open invitation on the odd chance they come through your parts. It hardly ever happens that they come through, but that doesn't make the invitation any less sincere. I always reply to these offers the same. 'I'm sure I'll get around one day'. If there is anything, anything at all, you should know about me it's this: I take my 'one days' very seriously and I most certainly do get around.

So there I was, almost three years later, coming through with a light promise and meeting up with Kelvin in Hong Kong. It's always good to see a familiar face after such a long time. The catching up, chatting about frisbee, and how everyone we used to know is now married. I don't get a lot of that sort of chatting, since I'm always meeting new people, so it was a drink of cold water on a hot day. We spent the day chatting aimlessly as Kelvin lead me through the maze that is Hong Kong. Seriously, a maze. Almost every building is connected to another building by underground tunnels and skywalks. The buildings are so large on the inside that I immediately lost all orientation as soon as I entered. Not only that, but each of these buildings is fucking tall as well. True skyscraper status. Needless to say it was pretty cool. The malls were crazy, most of them had an ice skating rink inside somewhere. Some were upwards of 10, 11, or 12 stories of just mall. I went on a five story escalator! One even had a fake sky on the ceiling! And those floors were just the malls at the bottom of the skyscrapers, I'm sure there were still hundreds of floors of mysteries still above all that! It was a large city in every right.

Hong Kong

Five story escalator 

Fake sky

During my time in Hong Kong we ended up walking all over the city. Kelvin asked me if I wanted to see fancy or the ghetto. I always go ghetto. We took a long bike ride that was absolutely gorgeous and ate some amazing things on the streets. I got a pretty good feel for the city I would say, but still look forward to coming back and doing more which is a nice way to feel after leaving a city. Exploring the city was fun and all, but the best time was spent with Kelvin and his family in a more 'real' setting. Chinese New Year seemed a bit like Thanksgiving, where the whole family gathers to feast and spend time together. I was lucky enough to be allowed at a family gathering and get a taste of the tradition. It was incredibly welcoming and a great relief to me considering the amount of holidays I've missed back in America. It's a weird blessing to feel a part of something and I don't always realize that I miss it. 

Kelvin

The last night I was there was the night of the firework show. Remember when I said I saw some of the largest fireworks I'd ever seen in Vietnam? Well the show they put on in Hong Kong was at least five times the show of Hanoi's. It was fucking huge. So massive that it took 7 seconds for me to hear the boom after seeing the first explosions. 7 seconds! Yet, despite the distance, they still looked huge especially with the Hong Kong skyline in the background. I had a great view after joining up with a few Irish to sneak past a few guards and onto the landing of a fancy looking building. All in all it was an exciting couple days in Hong Kong and now I'm off again! Ever on the move, flying to Okinawa, Japan. 

Boom

Be happy,

Beacon

Realizations

I had my bandana clenched between my teeth. Hard. As far as bad ideas go I've made my fair share, but this was the worst by far. It was godawful. Literally the worst pain I have ever had the disppleasure of feeling, yet, somehow, I continued to pour Listorene over the large swaths of raw flesh on the outside of my left leg, elbow, and shoulder, as well as some other odd places. I'd thought maybe it'd sting like alcohol, painful but managable. This was so much worse though, worse than getting tattooed, worse than anything I have willingly done to myself before.

I'd managed to get myself into a motorbike accident while in Bali. Don't ask me all the specifics as it was a flash. It wasn't particularly my fault, but I could've been a little more careful as well. I was thinking about just that, how I could've been more careful, as I took a deep breath and braced myself for the next pour. I didn't want to do it. I really really fucking didn't. I did it anyways... On the way home my wounds had merely stung, but when I found myself at my room it was a long time after that and the adrenaline had more than faded. I was beginning to feel everything all too clearly, which is why I'd gone into the closest convenience store, not bothering with a real pharmacy, hoping they would have the things I would need. They didn't sell any first aid materials, bandages, or whiskey (which would have been doubly useful). So I bought some dry facial wipes to dab at my wounds with throughout the night, as they were sure to ooze for that long at least. And I bought some Listorine, because it's an antiseptic as well as, interstingly enough, a floor cleaner. 

So, there I was alone in a dark room and a foreign country learning a quick lesson about pain. Literally torture, like pouring acid into open wounds. Forget salt, this stuff was nasty horrid. Heed my advice, only as a last resort, a very very very last resort, should you use Listorine to clean a wound. All that said, I felt like I was in a Jason Borne movie or something. Injured in a foreign country and using my limited materials to clean and bandage my wound. Not counting the searing pain, it was actually really fun.

This being said and done, I'd planned on spending the rest of my time in Bali laid up in bed recouperating and reading. Which is awesome in it's own right. Sometimes it's hard to find an excuse to dim the lights, lock the door, and just read for three days straight. Except, as with every plan I've ever been within twelve feet of, that's not how it went down. Eventually I had to make my limping way out of my room for food and maybe some real medical materials. I was immediately confronted by an inflatable alligator and three Germans. Sandra (Gigi), Lisa, and Magnus. The alligator also had a name, but I only new him shortly so I'll refrain from getting him tangled up in this story.

Simply put, they had an infectious childlike exhuberance. They were mid pool party when I entered the scene and while I couldn't join them in some of the more physical exhertions I could join in the drinking. Which is the most important part I think. What I can say is the rest of my time spent in Bali was quite nice. We stayed up at least most the night that day and the next held even more shenanigans. I won't claim to remember it all, but I vaguely remember throwing back the long island iced teas and dancing in a cage at some point. It was beautiful and fun. Most of my remaining time spent in Bali was with those three and it was really really lovely.  

All said and done, everything was AMAZING. Meeting the Germans, as well as getting into the motorbike accident. Little did I know, but that crash was one of the better things that could've happened to me. It was an eye opener in a way, but not in the way you think and by all means I do not mean the things I'm about to say in condescending or offensive manner. The thing is just that... I realized that day, when I got into the crash, that my life had become mundane. That my life has been boring me. It'd been bothering me in the back of my mind and I had been unawares of what had been bothering me until this incident finally made me realize what it was. That there have been no real real surprises for me in a long long time. I'm not saying traveling isn't incredible and isn't amazing and isn't the lifeblood of a subclass of human beings. Because it is, it's beautiful and full of friends and amazing people. But it has been four years now since I began traveling. Four years. That is so long to me. It's long enough for traveling to become a second skin for me. Not even, it is my only skin to the point where I feel uncomfortable at times in civilization. That's how much it's taken ahold me in these four years and the ways I've changed and things I've learned are more than pricelss. But, and I do not say this lightly or without constitute, there is something more out there that calls to me. And I mean to go chasing it. I am not sure what it is that is calling me, so do not ask. I only know that it is more. As with most great things I'm sure it will be a long and painful road and a part of me welcomes that. A wildly insane part of me craves an insane challenge. And I think it's finally time to begin chasing that madness. 

Wish me luck and be happy,

Beacon