Everything Everywhere
Everything Everywhere tells the adventures of Gary's multi-year round the world trip through the Pacific, Australia, Southeast Asia and beyond. (Interview with Gary Arndt)
Features
366 Days and Counting
It was one year ago today that I closed on my house and turned over the keys. The days leading up to closing on my house were hectic. I had a giant U-Haul full of crap I had to move to Wisconsin, I had more boxes of books and National Geographic Magazines (have I a rather large collection) than I realized and I miscalculated.
I didn’t sleep for about 48 hours at one stretch trying to finish packing everything.
Borobudur
Iconic symbols are a theme I will be referring to often. For example, when you think of Paris, what image comes to mind? Probably the Eiffel Tower. Rome? The Colosseum. London? Big Ben. New York, LA, San Fransisco? The Statue of Liberty, the Hollywood Sign, and the Golden Gate Bridge.
I can go on and on about how certain places have certain images associated with them.
Sometimes the image isn’t of an object or a building. If you think of Argentina, you think of people doing the tango or of gauchos.
What comes to mind when you think of Indonesia? Unless you live there or have visited there, my guess is it isn’t a good image. It is probably one of earthquakes, landslides or tsunamis.
I would like to suggest, however, a new (actually quite old) iconic image for Indonesia: Borobudur
Fear and Loving in Bali
I have found that you get the same questions from every cab driver in the world: Where are you from? Is it your first time here? How long are you staying? When did you arrive?
In the few taxi trips I’ve taken in Bali, after saying I’m an American, every cab driver has said the same thing “We don’t get many Americans here anymore.”
For those who are news impared, back in 2002 there was a terrorist bombing at Bali nightclub. 202 people were killed, mostly foreign tourists, the largest group of which were Australians. Since then, tourism in Indonesia has never fully recovered.
It's Good to be the Sultan
You cannot discuss Brunei without talking about the Sultan of Brunei. Not talking about the Sultan is like not talking about an elephant in the middle of the room.
Brunei is the Sultan and the Sultan is Brunei. It is a form of government unlike anything in the world today.
The Sultan is one of the most facinating leaders in the world today, and if you don’t know why, by the time you finish this you should see why I have a Paris Hilton like facination with him. You dare not look, yet you cannot turn away.
The Shrines and Temples of Japan: Part 2, Horyuji and Nara
If you’ve been following along for a while, or if you at least take a look at the left column of my website, you’ll notice that I have an affinity for UNESCO World Heritage sites. I’m not trying to visit every one of them, for that would be impossible. I passed up four in Japan and one in the Philippines. I use them as sort of a proxy for a guide book. (and I never use guidebooks). If you know nothing about a country and you wanted to know what “the” things to see while you were there, odds are most of them would be on the UNESCO list. Certainly if they are of historic, cultural, or natural significance. This rule doesn’t hold all the time. Some really amazing things are not on the UNESCO list. Nan Modal in Micronesia and the rock islands of Palau come to mind. I also got a bit of a mini-education from the head of the World Heritage committee in Rennell in the Solomon islands about how the process works for getting on the list. Lets just say it isn’t an accident that rich countries have more than poor ones or that something as significant as Nan Modal is off the list while the Sydney Opera House (built in 1972) is on the list.
I will leave my UNESCO rant to a later day…
Hiroshima
I’m guessing the moment you read the header for this post, certain images and thoughts popped into your head. In fact, for most people in the world, Hiroshima means one and only one thing. If you asked someone to name something else about Hiroshima, they probably couldn’t. The word Hiroshima has become so intertwined with the events of 1945 that the word has developed a meaning of its own. If you told someone “I’m going to go Hiroshima on your ass”, there would be no doubt as to the meaning.
Hiroshima, however, isn’t a city that dwells on its past. I didn’t see a single souvenir in Hiroshima that dealt with its 20th Century history. No black humor items. In fact, outside of the Peace Park, I really couldn’t find a single reference to what had happened. Nothing.
Hiroshima has moved on.
Adventures in Pooping, Vol. 1: Land of the Rising Bun
This if the first installment in what I’m sure will several posts on the bathroom habits I discover around the world. I can think of no better place to start than the place which has achieved the pinnacle in toilet technology: Japan.
For those of you rolling your eyes right now, deal with it. I’m the guy who brought you McDonald’s reports from every country, so this certainly shouldn’t surprise you. Also, my McDonald’s posts are usually my most popular ones. You can never go wrong underestimating the Internet. PT Barnum would have a field day if he were alive.
Anyway….
Transportation in the Philippines
Perhaps the most unique thing about the Philippines is the transportation system. With the exception of a short light rail line in Manila, there is zero public transportation in the Philippines. Well, they call it public transportation, but the ‘public’ refers to who the service is aimed at not ownership like in the US.
The most unique form of transportation which you will find, and the hardest to figure out, are the jeepneys. Jeeneys are small, privately owned buses. They got their name because they were originally made out of Jeeps left by the Americans after WWII. Filipinos took the jeeps, extended the back ends and used them to ferry people around.
Recent Updates
Daily Travel Photo - Kosrae, Micronesia
These are part of the ruins of Menka, an ancient burial complex on the island of Kosrae. It
Daily Travel Photo - Queensland, Australia
Storm clouds coming onto the beach at Fraser Island.
Daily Travel Photo - Vigan, Philippines
View from the bell tower, St. Augustine’s Church, Vigan, Philippines.
Going Outback
Tomorrow morning I leave for three days in the bush. I’ll be sleeping outside under the stars.
Daily Travel Photo - Mount Bromo, Indonesia
The stairs going up to the top of the Bromo crater.
Daily Travel Photo - Dili, East Timor
This isn’t the greatest quality photo. I took it out the window of a moving taxi. It
Daily Travel Photo - Okinawa, Japan
I saw this on Okinawa. I have no clue what it is. If anyone in Japan or who has been to Jap
Alice Springs
I’ve made it to Alice Springs. From Coober Pedy to Alice Springs was about 850km (510 mi). In
Daily Travel Photo - Great Barrier Reef, Australia
Me taking a photo of a giant wrasse in the Great Barrier Reef. Notice my totally ripped leg
Daily Travel Photo - Apia, Samoa
The grave of Robert Lewis Stephenson in Samoa. He moved to Samoa and died there. His house
