around the world in 180 days

            When you land at an airport, clear customs and are trying to figure out how to get to a bed as quickly as possible, there’s something comforting about seeing a guy holding a sign with your (or your wife’s) name on it. It means you can relax, because the rest of the trip has been taken care of.

            We’re staying in Ubud, which is north of the main beach and disco area and is much more of a cultural destination rather than the party scene that the main tourist areas can be, which is fine with us. Bali reminds me of Fiji in some ways, but it’s nowhere near as expensive and there is more than just beaches. They both have a tropical climate, though, so it’s hot and steamy during the day and warm and steamy at night. We’ve got a room with A/C here, which is well worth the extra cost.

           We spent the day with Paul and Patty, wandering around Ubud, ducking into different shops and looking at paintings, woodcarvings and other crafts. We also took a walk through the monkey forest, which is not just a clever name. At first, it was cool to see so many monkeys running around wild and free, just being monkeys, but it was surprising how fast it became commonplace. They were sort of pests, because they would steal any food they could get their hands on and they’d bother anyone who had anything that looked like food.

            We also walked up to a rice terrace area, which was very cool. Rice paddies stretched off into the distance as far as you could see, and, way off, you could see three volcanos. I think we’re going to climb one of them, starting early in the morning so we can be at the top for sunrise. It sounds spectacular, as long as the weather cooperates.

            Tomorrow Mary (Anna’s mom) arrives after many long flights and many long stopovers. The four of us are going to make a day of it, riding down with the driver in the morning and checking out things along the way before picking her up from the airport. The driver will be the same one who picked us up from the airport, and he was very knowledgeable and polite and spoke excellent English. I think he’ll make a good tour guide.

    I keep thinking that for all the crap the rest of the (western) world likes to give the US for being the biggest polluters and consumers and going on our silly military adventures, they sure do spend a lot of time trying to be just like US. We don’t come across it much, and when we do, it’s pretty subtle (a snide remark here, a backhanded insult there), but for whatever reason, since we’ve been in AUS, I keep thinking that if you people think you’re so much better than the US, that if you think Iraq was such a terrible idea (and it was) and you think the US’s political and economic weapons are wielded unfairly (and they are), then why the hell don’t you do something about it besides pissing and moaning? Oh, the US sucks, the US thinks they’re the center of the world, the US this, the US that. I just want to tell these people to face facts. If Europe and AUS had a real problem, excuse me, if the European and Aussie governments (cause that’s who it is, both in AUS, Europe and the US, not the people, whoever they are) had a real problem with US policies, they’d do something about it. The fact is, the western world (‘s governments) is (are) too busy making money off the US to really care about any of the evil stuff we (they) do. So take the holier than thou attitude and shove it, ok? I don’t like any of that crap either.

            The other thing that irritates me about, well, AUS and NZ anyway (since we haven’t really been anywhere else), is that despite the fact that we’re what, 15,000 miles away, the radio still has the exact same crappy classic rock we have in the states. I mean, seriously. Do we really need to hear the same stupid Fleetwood Mac song for the one hundred billionth time? No. We don’t.

            Guatemala didn’t have any of that crap. Instead, they had Shakira singing something in Spanish, or traditional Guatemalan music or (my personal favourite) US pop songs remade in Spanish by someone noone’s ever heard of. I think there’s two people, a man and a woman, and they sing about 10 new songs a day and they go on the radio the day after. The music industry is powerful, but they don’t own Guatemala. Yet.

            Still, I owe the music industry and that ubiquitous classic rock a special thanks for a supremely surreal moment, a moment I think Adam will particularly appreciate: yesterday, while we were eating our dinner, I Come From the Land Down Under started playing on the radio. I stood up, took my hat off, and stared uncomfortably at the Australian flag for almost a full verse before I realized that it wasn’t the Australian national anthem. Who knew? Luckily, the kitchen was busy, so no one noticed me being strange and I sat back down,  thanking the creator I wasn’t locked in a steel box somewhere, losing my mind.

            But enough, eh? Enough of that. Australia, or rather, Sydney, is a beautiful place and we’re both having a wonderful time here. It’s nice to just relax, sit on the beach, wander through aquariums and zoos and museums, ride the bus/train/ferry, and read without worrying about missing some fantastic and amazingly beautiful sight somewhere in Australia, like we did in NZ. Of course we’re missing something fantastic, we’re missing everything. It really takes the pressure off.

            If you do happen to find yourself in Sydney, and you’re looking for a used book store, I’d recommend Desire Books (it’s not like it sounds) in Manly (again, not like it sounds). The owner is an ardent book lover and, unlike most secondhand bookstores we’ve wandered through thus far, she kept her shop organized, even alphabetized. It actually made it possible to find what you were looking for, which is something that is almost unheard of in the used book industry (at least in my experience). If you’re ever in Sydney, I’d say it’s worth the ferry ride.

            Actually, the ferry ride is worth it on its own. At something like $5 one way, it’s by far the cheapest harbor cruise. The ferry goes past the Opera House and the Harbor Bridge (only they spell it Harbour, weirdos) and gives you some of the best views of downtown you could ask for. It’s as good as the $30 harbor cruises they offer and much cheaper. It’s also included on our bus/ferry/rail passes we bought our first day here, which makes those (the green passes) an incredible value, much better than the Sydney Pass, which is $100 more expensive for, as far as I can tell, nothing.

            Well, on and on and you’ve got to stop sometime. That sometime is now.

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As our last days in NZ are slipping away, we’re busy trying to make the most out of the time we have left without driving ourselves crazy. We left Queenstown yesterday and drove north through the Crown Range and then ... [Continue reading this entry]

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Before we left Invercargill yesterday, we stopped by the DOC office and had a lovely conversation with an older lady who worked there. She told us that the Rees-Dart trek is her 2nd favorite, second to the Routeburn, which is ... [Continue reading this entry]

We hardly did anything today. We drove about 150 km,ending up in Invercargill, and saw a waterfall and a bog lake and went grocery shopping. Neither one of us slept well last night, as it was cold. Not MN cold, ... [Continue reading this entry]

We arrived in Dunedin yesterday, a town that reminds me of Duluth. As you come into town from the north, the road winds down a hill that overlooks the town and the harbor like 35 does coming down Thompson hill. ... [Continue reading this entry]