I am back in lovely Japan after spending the past six weeks ducking in and out of foreign places. We were able to make it to the Philippines, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Cambodia. I had never been to the Philippines before (and only had a layover in Korea), so it was good to see some new places. Unfortunately, I didn't really get all that much time to get out and see many sites, but at least I wasn't stuck on the boat for the whole time.
The Philippines, at least the tiny portion I saw, was poor, but the people seemed not to mind. I had the opportunity to (poorly) sing some karaoke one night, which is something I haven't done since Luoyang, China. Note to the others out that that can't sing: Marcy Playground is easy, as are nursery rhymes; especially after a couple of San Miguels and Red Horses. Unfortunately the night of karaoke (when I was going to have just one) ended in my first hang over in a couple of years. On the bright side of things, that, in turn, kept me from over-imbibing later in the trip when it would have been very easy to do.
Better than the karaoke was the day market I was able to make it to. Of course they had the classic pig heads on blocks and lots of fresh produce, plus the giant bins of grain and pesky flies. The best find was definitely the fruit juices for $0.10. I had a few of those. I am a proponent of coconut milk. It will cure what ails you.
Hong Kong was fun, as always. I was able to practice some Mandarin with the mainland immigrants selling junk at the markets. One of the guys I was hanging out with was looking to buy a "quality" imitation watch. He ended up getting an Omega, but not before spending an hour and twenty minutes haggling. During that time I was able to establish quite the rapport with the vendors. In fact, they asked me the sponsor their visa application to the United States. I gracefully declined.
Of note, this was the first time visiting Hong Kong when I actually had a job and could afford to enjoy Hong Kong as a real-life tourist. I am proud to say that my cheapness is so deep rooted that I couldn't bring myself to venture away from the street food. I would argue that it is the best food, anyway, and it being the cheapest is only a happy coincidence. I was also able to get some dim sum, which I had been looking forward to for quite some time. I don't know what it is about dim sum, but I usually end up drinking multiple pots of tea and go through a strange, potentially drug induced (caffeine), set of behaviors: I get very awake, I feel a bit light-headed, I start to sweat, and I stay hungry. It makes for a good time.
Next stop: Korea was a bit chilly, but not yet cold. I only got a couple of hours on land there. Again, from the small sliver of Korean life I saw, I will go ahead and make some sweeping conclusions about all things Korean: it actually looked a lot like China. I know that's probably very offensive to the Korean and/or Chinese to say that, but the broken sidewalks, small business spilling into the roads, and old men spot welding in flip-flops with no eye protection was a common sight. The biggest difference was the hair styles. The Koreans were really into straight bangs (sorry, no photos).
The last stop was Cambodia. I was able to spend three evenings hanging out in beautiful Sihanoukville. It was actually a really nice place. When Sheng and I traveled through Cambodia a few years back, we skipped Sihanoukville and only went to Siem Reap (Angkor Wat) and Phnom Penh. Our mistake. Sihanoukville was a lot like a nice beach in Thailand. It reminded me of Koh Phang Nang, but without the trance music, lady-boys, and extremely drunk tourists. The food and drinks were good and cheap (mint-lime is a great combination in a shake) and the music was very appropriate for the setting. Most places played a lot of Jack Johnson and Bob Marley. One evening I was pleasantly surprised that one guesthouse played one of my favorite albums, DJ Kicks by Kruder and Dorfmeister, from start to finish. I think the definition of pleasant is when you can sit in a giant, soft chair with your feet in the sand, eating and drinking to your fill by candlelight, staring into the dark sky and ocean while listening to your favorite music and joking around with friends. How much more pleasant could life get?
Of course, it wasn't all a rose garden. One evening, while in a local market, I ordered some food from a small stand tucked between the oils section and bananas. I asked if they had any drinks there, but they just had their own bucket of tea. The girl dipped a plastic cup into the tea and offered it to me. For one I was very thirsty, and two, it would have been rude to say no at that point. I drank the tea greatfully. The next day, however, I awoke with some pretty violent stomach pains and a fever. The fever subsided after a day, but even now, a week and a half later, I am having some stomach issues. Not to get too into the details, but if I got a free bathroom visit after 12 paid visits, I would get to complete a new punchcard every day. I have been drinking apple cider vinegar as much as I can, and I think it's working. If all goes well, it will cure what is ailing me before I have to go through the 18 hour adventure back to Honolulu next week.
All in all, it was a good fall. The weather here in Okinawa is perfect. It has all of the classic fall temperatures, smells, and sights. I forget how much I enjoy the transitional period between seasons.
I should be back in Hawaii in about a week. That will be nice as well, although I recently found out that my boat sustained some significant damage in a recent storm. The mast broke off and took a good chunk out of my cabin as it fell. Then, to add insult to injury, the guy lines caused the mast to act as a battering ram against the hull until the marina staff could cut it free. From what I hear, there is no fear of sinking, but the mast now lies at the bottom of Kaneohe Bay. I was still taking that news in when my car here on Okinawa blew up while I was driving it. The radiator decided to explode for no good reason at all (it was much hotter in the summer). In all, I am looking at a few thousand dollars lost over the past week. As they say, bad things happen in threes. I'm guessing if it's anything, my motorcycle will get stolen the day before I return to Hawaii. Hopefully it's not the airplane that ends up being number three. I'm not that good of a swimmer.
On the bright side, this goes to support my argument in favor of buying cheap things. If they get destroyed, you can roll with the punches rather than getting upset. Of course, one could argue that nice things are less likely to fall apart in a storm and attempt suicide (boat) or blow up because it can't hold it's liquid (radiator). The debate continues.
