Read From the Beginning
The last installment of our Asia journey. Next stop: Europe.
Our days in Asia our numbered, 4 to be exact. And the next stop is Europe. The following plan is what happens when you are confronted with a map of many places you have imagined, yet never been to and have to decide which ones to visit.
It still looks manageable when you look at it like this. Everything in Europe seems trickily close together and so you make the above plan. Then you put in on the calendar and realize that we were in Southeast Asia for 7 months and saw 3.5 countries. And now we are planning to see 12 countries in about 1.5 months. Hopefully we will not die from exhaustion. Likely at the end we will sleep for 1 week.
A few more notes on the trip. We are actually flying to England on Thursday where we will spend a week traveling aimlessly, seeing a few people, possibly Jordan's sister if she sees fit to respond to our emails. Then we are spending two weeks at a Christan community in southern England. After a few days visiting some game developers in Cambdridge for a Game Jam we will be starting our trip to continental Europe on what looks to be July 18th. We were really hoping to continue overland from Istanbul to Amman, Jordan, our final destination, but it looks like traveling through Syria is an unlikely possibility. Upon arriving in Amman in the middle of September we plan to stay put there, perhaps until summer time.
And amazingly that is our life plan beyond just tomorrow, which should make my mother rest a bit easier.
First of all, I would like a prize for my ability to spell 'reminiscences'. It's a skill I didn't know I had until now.
As our days in Asia have become more and more numbered, I've felt more and more suspended in a strange limbo. First watching my parents sell off all their things, pack, and then leave us in the now empty apartment. Looking out the large window at the once busy park you can tell that everyone has "flown the coop," as they say, for cooler, more pleasant destinations. Only a few locals come out and brave the oppressive heat in what was once a neighborhood hot spot.
Our plans for the next stage in our life have become somewhat firm, a firmer plan than we've had since leaving Korea, and as they are filled mostly with excitement and very little dread, I am anxious to begin. However the plane leaves on Thursday, so I must wait. And as I am waiting I am struck by the thought that I have called Asia home for about 7 years, which in my life is a very long time. I practically look upon our coming trip to England as a homecoming since I've been there a whole two times before. So 7 years is an achievement, and the most recent of those years have been freshest in my mind. All this trekking around has prolonged our goodbye to our Sweet Home in Korea. It's been easy to see Korea wherever we've been traveling, and so the final cutting of the string has been put off by our remaining. But soon the reminders will be fewer and farther between. And our once home will be placed firmly back in our memories with all the rest.
So to indulge my feelings of reminiscence (spelled it right again!) I've found a few photos of my favorite memories of Asia.
Making friends after hiking the mountain; Korea.
Lake Eunpa and the beautiful cherry blossoms; Korea.
Enjoying the view and the tea in Taipei, Taiwan.
Magical poses in Angkor Wat, Cambodia.
Somewhat scary parrot attack in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Yes, Asia, you have touched my heart.*
*Tomorrow I will have a special goodbye just for Vietnam.
This is mostly a poem for Vietnam, although some things go beyond its borders.
Goodbye money that has more zeroes than I can count. You are worse than Monopoly.
Goodbye sidewalks that are used for everything except walking.
Goodbye motorists who think honking at pedestrians for walking is a nice thing to do.
Goodbye neighbor drill, I will not miss you one bit.
Goodbye dogs who ride motorbikes. Special goodbyes to cute cocker spaniel on the pink scooter and happy looking golden retriever.
Goodbye weather that is so hot that if I stick my pinky finger out I become covered in sweat.
Goodbye evening aerobics ladies. You are braver than me to go outside in the heat.
Goodbye late night propaganda music. Perhaps if you were quieter and more subliminal your message would go across easier.
Goodbye Septimus, my pet spider, who has kept me company and eaten all the bugs on the window.
Goodbye green tea, you are delicious. I hope to see you again soon.
Goodbye bread that molds in a day. I think I may have accidentally eaten you. But I feel okay.
Goodbye spicy spicy, will I find you in Europe?
Goodbye wild and crazy hair. Probably you will not be so fun when it's not 110% humid. Also, the birds may not like it quite so much.
Goodbye Vietnam. You may not be my favorite place, but you are in ♥ Asia ♥, so that's something. Also, you sell nice scarves.
Six months ago I made a post reminiscing about my life in relation to Harry Potter. And while with the release of the last movie I would like to revisit those memories, I expressed them pretty well last time, so in honor this last and final movie I will show you picture of me in HP places.
I was lucky enough to be surrounded by Harry Potter places in the weeks leading up to the release since we spent most of our time in Oxford, where various scenes for the movies were shot, including the famous Great Hall.
Also these steps. Who knows what two HP characters met here in film HP1?
The next stop is from HP4 where the characters from the previous photo meet again and this time one of them is turned into a ferret.
This next photo doesn't particularily show the room well, but was used for different scenes including in HP4 when Professor McGonagall teaches everyone how to dance.
This last photo wasn't taken in Oxford, or even in England. But when we were visiting Versailles, the tall hedges immediately made us feel like we were in HP and Karith and I couldn't help but act it out.
That's it for the tour of my days leading up to the HP finale. And while I was suffering from some post-Potter meloncholy, and the rain in Paris didn't really help cheer me up, I find that these days I'm able to go on as if the most exciting movie event of my life isn't behind me.
On a sunny day in July, Jordan, Karith and I found ourselves out for a punt. And no punt is complete without a picnic:
That it will give a particular relish to success, if you be successful, and wonderfully dull the edge of disappointment, if the contrary be your fate, (which all good spirits avert,) if you never take punt (for we recommend that as the easiest mode of exercise) without stowing therein a sufficient basket of ham, tongue, veal pie, stilton-cheese, bottled ale and porter, port, sherry, moselle, claret, brandy, and cigars. - London Magazine, 1828
While we went for a slight variation on what we stowed in our basket, the food definitely added a relish to our success. For it was only success that we encountered (no one fell in the water, and we didn't get lost).
I misled you a bit at the beginning when I said it was a day in July, because it wasn't just any day in July, but July Fourth. We celebrated our country's independance from the country we were punting in by remembering all the words to the "Star Spangled Banner" and singing them aloud. We sang so well, that this bird came aboard:
Jordan punts like a jungle explorer:
Karith punts like a contemplative, insightful student:
And I punt like I wish I wasn't:
However, when resting comfortably in the boat, I can pose like I mean it:
The Eiffel Tower is one of those mythic tourist destinations. You don't travel to Paris and skip it. However, I have to admit that the famous monument wasn't quite how I imagined it. My first glimpse was from the highway, at a distance, a glowing tower with a giant spot light roaming the sky. For some reason the giant, roving light made me think it was something from Disneyland Paris, and so discussion ensued and no conclusion was reached.
I was a bit doubtful because if it was the Eiffel Tower, shouldn't I know? Isn't something magical supposed to happen?
The next day did nothing to help put an end to the mystery. We walked around Paris for a whole day, in the rain, and I didn't catch sight of it. I mean, I don't think I had any unrealistic ideas about the Eiffel Tower, I'm no disillusioned Japaense tourist, but I did think that any entrance to the city would have led past it. How can they let you wander around for a day with no sighting? And shouldn't you be able to see it from anywhere? Shouldn't it be peaking out from the tops of the buildings wherever I look?
"Where am I?" I started to wonder, "Am I even in Paris?" It wouldn't be the first time I was confused about my location. "Maybe we're somewhere like Vienna," I thought. "Have I been to Vienna?"
My mental state was at this point confused enougth that I began to doubt the famed tower's existence. Perhaps it was just a giant conspiracy. There's the giant, glass pyramid (and how do they keep so many paintings in such an empty space?), why can't I see the Eiffel Tower?
If wasn't until our second day in Paris that someone finally pointed out the top peeking above some buildings. I felt a little thrill of something begin and I said, "We must go to it." Jordan tried looking at his map, but I delcared, "It's right there! Let's go."
For a while this method worked, however eventually it was obscured again and my doubts began to resurface. It's not really that tall, is it?
Falling back onto Jordan's method, the map eventually got us there and the tower's reappearance started that little thrill of excitement again.
I really am in Paris.
Do you recognize this place?
It looks a little idyllic.
Perhaps a little too idyllic.
Sometimes people blame Disney, or Hollywood, for making things appear too perfect. I've often found this a little suspicious, and now I have proof that it's not their fault. These are pictures of the hamlet Marie Antionette built in 1784. They look exactly like they were built from the Disney Snow White cartoon, but they were built about 200 years earlier.
Apparently modern life didn't invent wishing for a perfect world. Or trying to make one.
4 years ago today (in MN):
3 years ago (in Egypt):
2 years ago (in Busan):
1 year ago (in Gunsan):
Today in Berlin:
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If you are interested in eating yourself to death, I would suggest going to Belgium. Lots of places have delicious foods, but few have so many delicious foods that when eaten in large amounts will weigh you down to the point of complete immobilization. Between the waffles, chocolate, french fries and beer I'm pretty sure you could be dead in 2 weeks, less if you threw caution out the window. We were there for a little over 1 week and I know my stomach heaved a sigh of relief when we left. In fact, we didn't go to a single restaurant in Amsterdam (our next destination) and instead ate apples and salads from the grocery store. A bit of penance for our behavior in Belgium.
