The Final Exam

The days before Guatemala were fraught with hours of studying and final exams.  I had both of my tests on the same day, the day before we landed in Puerto Queztal, Guatemala.

A few weeks ago, the passed around a sheet to buy SAS trips for Japan, Hawaii, and Guatemala.  Isaiah and I figured we'd spent enough money on expensive SAS trips and it was time to give exploration a try.  We saw it as our own little travelers “final exam.”  As the day we were to land in Puerto Quetzal loomed closer, we were more and more disappointed with our decisions.

We had learned that the port itself was in the middle of nowhere.  Like Laem Chabang (Thailand) but much, much worse.  Guatemala City, they told us, was basically off limits (though they couldn't really stop you) because there are an astronomical amount of murders there.  Tikal, the city with all the Mayan ruins which would have been an easy SAS trip to be was a flight or a 10 hour bus ride away.  The insurance company that does reports on the safety of each country recommended we have an 11PM curfew, no matter where we are in the country.   The closest place we could go was the safest city in Guatemala: Antigua.  And its 2 hours away.

So now we're thinking “Great.  We chose a port where it is ridiculously unsafe and there is nowhere to go and nothing to do to not have any SAS trips.”  So the night before we arrived in Puerto Quetzal, we studied for this little traveler's final exam. Isaiah, Ari, and I hopped on wikitravel to garner some intel on Antigua.  We decided we'd go into Antigua, find a place to stay, and go from there.

We arrived in Puerto Quetzal and got off the ship and took the shuttle from our crappy port to another crappy port where the ship called “The World” was docked.  This ship is a ship of condominiums.  You live in the condo and travel the world.  Yeah.  Anyway, there was a transportation company who had a complete monopoly on all of the ways to get out of the port, and their prices were through the roof.

We were some of the last people off of the ship, so we couldn't take a bus to Antigua and get a good rate.  The price of a three-man taxi to Antigua was $160.  That was ridiculous.  We bargained and stood our ground since the diplomats at the diplomatic briefing that morning told us it shouldn't be more than $40 to get from Puerto Quetzal to Antigua.  They knew we weren't joking when they said the only way they could take us to Antigua for the price we were offering was in the back of a pick up truck. We thought this was awesome so we agreed, but we ended up in a regular old sedan taxi and were somewhat disappointed.

This man drove so fast, we made it there in half the time we were told it would take.  He dropped us in the center park of this city, and right away we saw some SASers.  But what struck us was the simplicity of this city.  There were fourteen streets: seven going N-S and seven going E-W.  It would have been much simpler if they had any street signs anywhere, but they didn't.  We grabbed a quick lunch with Tim and more people we found, and then went to find a place to stay.

The wikitravel sheet we had gave us a few options, and after getting lost and calling a hotel from basically right next door to it, we found a place.  The hotel we called was full but the man who owns it owns another hotel and he put us up there.  Our hotel offered a small travel agency, so we booked a 6AM hike up the Pacaya Volcano for the following day.

For dinner we hit a place called “Travel Menu” owned by a Danish man.  The food was AMAZING and the prices were cheap.  Here, Isaiah, Ari, and I reflected on our trip and asked each other questions about favorite moments, embarrassing moments, cultural slip-ups, etc.

We then went to a bar where it was “ladies night” which meant that girls got alcohol for absurdly cheap prices.  I think ladies night is a misnomer.  It really attracts more men when girls are getting drunk for low prices.  This place was crawling with SASers because it was the only place we could go because it was the safest. 

We left the bar past our “curfew” time, and had trouble finding our hotel because at night they close the doors and you have to knock and a man opens a little window to make sure you stay at the hotel.  We had walked past it twice before realizing what was going on.  We got back to the hotel and played a game of Settles of Catan.  I brought it because we didn't know how safe we'd feel in Antigua, so if we had to be in our hotel early, we would need something to do!

The next day was probably the best last full day in a port anyone could have asked for.  It had it all.  We did it all.  Let's get this started.

The next morning we work up at 5 30 and met some other SASers who were staying in our hotel on the shuttle to the Pacaya Volcano.  The shuttle was an hour of the bumpiest roads I have ever been on (I thought I was going to get to sleep a little on the shuttle...not so.)  We got there and everyone bought marshmallows.

The tour was in Spanish, but Ari could translate but it wasn't exactly a science tour and the guide's hand gestures were fine.  The first part of the hike was through a more forest-y type of mountain, with lots and lots of horse poop.  Lazy people or prissy girls or hung-over SASers can take horses up.  I was not and am not any of those three things, and neither were or are any of the people in our group so we were equestrian-free.

After the forest-y part we made it to the actual volcano.  It was covered black sand and we “skiied” down a large hill of this stuff.  As we walked closer the black sand turned into igneus rock that burnt the rubber off of your shoes it was so hot.  And then we made it close enough to the lava to feel the heat radiating off of it.  Lava has always been this mythical substance for me, hearing about it in science class or seeing it in movies.  I was standing three feet from molten rock!  I took lots of pictures and a video or two.

After the volcano we grabbed lunch at the Travel Menu place again because it was so good and then went to the market.

Another thing about Antigua is that it looks so small, but when you walk through a door into a shop, the volume of the shop seems impossibly large.  We were on a mission to get “pantooflas” (that spelling is purely phonetic, I have no idea how to actually spell it) which are really soft shoes that look like a Genie would were them.  Our friends told us they got theirs for 30 Quetzalas.


The first lady we find tries to tell us they are Q120.  That's ridiculous, so we find another lady.  She says Q75.  That was still crazy, so we found another lady who spoke english, who wanted Q50 (after some bargaining) that was still a little high so Ari and Isaiah went to look at jerseys and I went to find some cheaper shoes.  I found a lady to whom we hadn't spoken yet and I got her down to Q40 (which is what we were comfortable paying) but she didn't have our size.  I ran back to the lady who spoke English and said “Hey, I found a lady who is willing to sell us four pairs for Q40 each.  But I like you better.  Give us those for Q40.”  She got really excited and explained that the shoes she had showed us were her friends, who wanted a different price.  She ran away to her shop to find the shoes in our size but she didn't have them.  While she was gone, we got the Q160 together so we could pay in one swoop.

She gets back and explains that she didn't have in our size and that her friend wanted a different price.  I asked to talk to her friend.  We went to her friend who seemed upset that we weren't going for the rip-off price.  She really wanted Q50.  I took out the Q160 and said “Four for 40 each, right here, boom, take it or leave it.”  And they took it and now we have shoes to wear on the ship that are awesome.

After shopping we went to the big church that was right in the central square.  They have a Jesus whose elbows are jointed and whose hair blows in the wind.  He was in a box when we went there, but on Good Friday they take him out and re-enact the crucifixion and taking him down.  Since his elbows move and his hair blows, it is apparently really lifelike.

Then it was nap time.  'Nuff said.

We went across the street from our hotel for dinner, to a place called “La Pena de Sol Latina” where there was a live band playing.  It was great!  We ordered a giant plate of chips and guac and salsa and beans.  I got the best quesadilla I have ever had.  While we were eating one of the professors on the ship and his wife (who is also a professor) came in and recommended we have the brownie.  They also asked us how we were getting back to the ship.  We said we didn't know, and they offered to have their taxi guy pick us up.  We agreed.

This was the best brownie I have ever had.  I cannot even begin to explain.  It was warm and gushy, and with the cold ice cream.....it was just the best brownie in the world.

We had a few drinks here before trying to find a liquor store, which we could not.  We asked someone where we might find some alcohol, and they pointed us to a pharamcy.  Without thinking, we went in and asked them, and the guy said “big or small?” and we said “Big!” He hands us a big thing of rubbing alcohol.  Duh!  A pharmacy!  We can be such idiots.

So we go back to the restaurant with the band and have a few more drinks before heading out to the bar where we knew we'd find a bunch of SASers.  We also found some professors there!  Hanging out with professors has been one of the most rewarding things on this trip.  Getting to know these people on a personal level has really added to my learning.

We stayed at the bar for some time and then left to go to another one, but that one was dead so we went back and played Settlers of Catan again.  This game was hilarious because, well, we had spent quite some time at the bar.

This day had it all: sightseeing on a volcano in the morning, shopping in the afternoon, socializing at night, and then playing Settlers, the official game of the trip.

We slept in on the last morning (this morning) and got breakfast/lunch at “The Bagel Barn,” did a little more shopping and then caught a ride with the professors back to the ship.

We did it!  We got ourselves into a foreign city, found a place to say, did stuff, and made it out without having any concrete plans!  Having Ari speaking Spanish helped a lot.  We gave ourselves our Traveler's Final Exam, and we passed.

Back in the U.S.

We arrived in Honolulu on Sunday morning.  It is on the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands.  The first thing I noticed about it was how similar the mountains look to those in the background of LOST.  It's because they actually film LOST here!

Anyway, we only had two days in Honolulu, and I didn't do all that much.  The first day we went snorkeling in Hanauma bay, a nature reserve and world's first non-smoking beach.  The bay went to nature reserve status when the vast amounts of people that were visiting it were causing damage to the marine ecosystems.  They limit the amount of people who go in each day to keep it healthy.

We had around two hours to snorkel, and I saw some beautiful things.  Lots of colorful coral, many, many fish, some urchins, and a sea cucumber or two.  Me and Isaiah saw this huge blue fish with bright pink and yellow on it and when it noticed us it got scared and flitted away.  It moved so quickly!  It seemed like all it did was swish its tail and it was gone, leaving a trail of white bubbles in its wake.

The second day we wanted to go to the North Shore, where LOST is filmed but none of the buses go up there and we didn't want an expensive taxi drive so we walked around the mall in port and went to K-Mart so I could buy some duffel bags for overspill luggage.

It was really strange being in the US.  It was strange not needing my passport and it was strange not having foreign currency.  It was weird to get a little preview of what life will feel like when I get home: no wondering where an ATM is, no bartering, no trying to find a taxi to get anywhere, no passport, no money belt, no constant state of flux.  I will miss all that, I really will.

If anything, Hawaii was a break from classes, for which we have finals the day before and two days after Guatemala.  I'm just trying to soak up every last minute of being on the ship and being around all my new friends and this life style because it is all going end in a matter of weeks and I may never ever get a chance to live like this again.

Don't Japanic

The title is a reference to the mantra of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

As soon as we arrived in Japan, Taylor, Isaiah, and I hopped on the bullet train and traveled to Tokyo to meet Taylor's friend from high school, Shun.  Shun was born in Japan, but moved to the US when he was very young.  Then he moved back to Japan when he was still young, then moved back to the US for middle school and high school.  He graduated at the same time as us, but took two years to try to become a professional skier.  It didn't go the way he wanted, so now he's back in school, starting his second semester as a freshman.

Shun met us at the station and we took the most quiet subway ride of our lives (everyone keeps off of their cellphones and to themselves) to his suburb.  His place is meant for one person to live in.  We fit all four of us.  The layout is as follows: Door in, “kitchen sink” to the left, bathroom in front of you, turn right and there is a living room, then a ladder up to a sleeping loft.  Shun, of course, slept on his mattress up top so all three of us slept in a tiny room.  It was more fun that it was uncomfortable though.

Anyway, the first night we went out to a Jazz club to hear Shun's jazz club from school perform.  Prior to them, though, there was this crazy band who I'm sure were hilarious if I understood Japanese because all of the locals were laughing.  Afterward we went to dinner at a place called “Smokey” where (and this is in no way unique to Smokey, its how its done in Japan) they bring out the raw meat and you cook it right in front of you.  It was delectable.

The next day we went to Disney Sea, which is part of the Tokyo Disneyland park, though it is not actually owned by Disney.  Some company built the park and licensed the Disney name and characters.  This place had a Tower of Terror that was not as good as ours, an Indiana Jones that was about the same as ours (except for the themeing, it was the Crystal Skull and one illusion with a fireball that scared the crap out of me), a looping coaster, and some other stuff.  But the coolest part about this park was the themeing.

The area called “Mysterious Island” looked like something right out of Myst or some other sort of “in-the-past-but-futuristic” game or movie.  Here was the Journey to the Center of the Earth ride, that we rode six times because it was awesome.  We spent all day at Disney Sea, then met up with Shun to have our first real Japanese ramen meal.

You buy a ticket from a vending machine and then give the ticket to the chef who compiles the meat and vegetables and noodles and soup, slops it in a bowl, and serves it.  It was at this restaurant that I tried my first Japanese toilet treatment.

For those of you who don't know, many of the Japanese toilets have a little extra device for cleaning yourself after you're all relieved.  You press a button and it sprays water exactly where you need it to go, and then you press stop once you're good and satisfied.  I thought this would be a little uncomfortable, and it was.  But only for a minute.  I have never felt so refreshed in my entire life!  Not only did they have this but they also had toilet seat sanitizer, so you can wipe down the seat before you sit on it.  The Japanese are SO innovative!

The next morning Shun left us directions to meet him at his school, Sophia University.  We followed his very detailed subway directions and made in there without any problems.  We met his jazz club and some of his friends, as well as two American Japanese kids who are studying abroad at Sophia. Together we went around the Tokyo, going through shopping areas that reminded me of the East Village in NYC, and then to a much busier section.  One thing that was strange to me was that there was almost no littler on the street, but trash cans were hard to come by.  This was strange.  Anyway, the craziest section of town was the “Electric Town.”

*Some things not suitable for young children in this paragraph*We got off the subway and went outside and it was just full of electronics stores, lights, cameras, computers, everything you could imagine.  Along the street were what seemed like hundreds of stores.  We went in to lots of them to get the feeling for it, and in the process ended up in some “Adult” stores (if you know what I mean).  But these were not your typical porn shops.  These were 5 story buildings full of different types of pornography on every floor.  And there were people on every floor, including men in suits carrying briefcases.  I won't go in to details, just know that it was hilarious.

A word about the men in suits.  It seems like the culture is get up, put on your suit, go to work, work, leave work, buy porn, play Pachinko (a crazy pinball-like game where you lose money very quickly) and then ride home.  The line between what kids do and what adults do is much different than in the US.  All the adults still play video games like DS and Panchinko.

For dinner we had sushi, where you sit around the counter and take the sushi off of a belt that is going around it.  They calculate how much you eat by the design of your plate and charge you accordingly. I ate a modest amount.  It was very, very good.  I had shrimp and squid and some other fish I couldn't identify but it was really good.

Our fourth day there, we went back to the university and had lunch there, and watched some dance and jazz performances, but the real fun was that night when we met up with a lot of Shun's friends and went to a restaurant where it was all you can drink for two hours.  We had some fun drinks and ate some good food, and then did nothing but laugh and crack jokes until we went back to Shun's and went to sleep.

The last day we went to a more historical part of Tokyo before heading back to Yokohama.  There was a Buddhist temple and the first real touristy shops I had seen the whole time.

My experience in Japan was different than any other experience I have had so far, especially in Asia.  Since we traveled solely on our own, we had no SAS guidance to give us information about the country and its culture (apart from what we learned in class).  All my other trips in Asia were SAS guided, so it was weird not to have information being pumped through me.  For this reason, I feel like I didn't experience Japan like I did the others, and I feel like I know Japan in a different way then I know the others.

For instance, in Thailand I went to an historical place.  In Vietnam, we walk around the city but also did a lot of historical stuff.  In Japan, we traveled on the subways with the working stiffs, we walked the streets with students, we visited a university.  I feel like I have a good sense of the day in and day out activities of urban Japan.  That is something I don't necessarily know about Vietnam, but as a trade off my Japanese history is a little less developed than, say, my Chinese history.

The food was amazing, but expensive.  Everything in Japan was expensive.  It was my most expensive port so far, dropping almost $200 on transportation and food alone.  Sorry mom and dad but it was my only option.

But it was fun nonetheless.  One thing disappointed me, though, the puzzles!  I was hoping to find puzzle books oozing off the shelves, news stands with lines out onto the street and the subways and buses littered with people with their noses in their puzzles.  This was not so.  In fact, the puzzles were much less prolific than I had hoped.  I still bought a book though, just to keep my spirits up, and to say I got a puzzle book in Japan.  Looks like I'll have to keep buying them online because I was hoping to stock up.

Breezy Beijing Days 3 and 4

The Great Wall of China.  I cannot begin to describe how majestic this structure was.  It just stretches as far as the eye can see in every direction, curling over mounts and winding through the valleys.

The walk up to it was quite strenuous.  In fact, running around on the Great Wall and even just walking up its many mountainous staircases was a work out.  We ate our box lunch up there and enjoyed the view.  We took lots of pictures and had fun making echoes.

But I made sure to really take time to enjoy the view and to take in the experience.  Up until this point, the Great Wall was something I had only seen pictures of and read about, and now I've seen it with my eyes and touched it with my hands.  It really does qualify as one of the seven structural wonders of the world.  You just look at it and think “PEOPLE built this?” 

We only got to be on one small section of it, though, technically, you can walk across the whole thing if you want.  It is about the same length as the distance between the coasts of the USA.  Some SAS people slept on it the night before and there are probably some sleeping there tonight, but we didn't and are not going to.

To get down we took toboggans.  Like the alpine slides in Big Bear, its a slalom type track and you push forward on a level to accelerate and pull back to slow down.  I got it all on video, it was awesome.

Then we went down to buy the necessary and grammatically-awkward shirt “I have climbed up the Great Wall.”   This woman wanted 285 Yuan (like $45) for a regular 100% cotton shirt.  I got her down to 30 Yuan.  Not too bad, but I could have done better.

Afterward, though it was only slated on our itinerary to be a 10 minute stop to take a picture, we went to the where the Beijing 2008 Olympic games took place, formerly known as the Bird's Nest and the Water Cube.  Our tour guide rearranged the schedule for us to spend about an hour there, and me and Isaiah busted our patooties to get inside the Bird's Next even for just 20 minutes.

It was so inspiring to be where the Olympics took place.  The inside of the Bird's Nest had such an energy to it that made me want to be an Olympian.  We walked around and took pictures and sat in seats and pretended we were there watching it.

The next stop was a market, four stories, where the products get more legitimate as you go up.  The first floor was all the knockoff products you could ever want.  They even had a knock off iPhone!  This was by far the funniest thing I have ever seen.  It looked like an iPhone physically, but the resolution of the screen and the functionality of the touch stuff was crappy.  There is NO WAY anyone would ever mix it up with a real iPhone.

I bargained for Taylor and got him some lighter, and spent some time buying gifts for friends and family.  In one place I bargained with a hug, embarrassing the seller to the point where she sold me the thing for the price I wanted.

The night we went to the Hard Rock Cafe, Beijing, for dinner.  It was the most expensive meal I have ever had, but the band that played was good and the amount of bonding time we had was worth it.

Then the most hilarious thing happened.  Since we didn't want to drop another $8 on dessert, we decided to go to McDonald's to get some ice cream or milkshakes or something.  We left the Hard Rock and hailed a taxi, and the guy had no idea what we were talking about.  Taylor made the golden arches with his hands, and I drew them in Isaiah's notebook.  I also drew little cartoon french fries, soft drink, hamburger, and happy meal.  We had to take two taxis to fit all 8 of us, and as we're on the freeway we saw one and screamed and shouted and we got there.

Once we were in there, the guy didn't really speak English so we had to do the old point-and-guess menu approach.  But the funniest thing was that they were only playing one song over the speakers: Umbrella.  Over and over again.  Good thing I really like that song, because we heard it over 7 times before we left.

The last day we made a quick stop to a Tibetan Buddhist temple and the Summer Palace.   Both places were quite grandiose, and I took some fun pictures.  We took our plane ride back to Shanghai that evening.

Beijing was one of the best times I've had on this trip.  Not only did I make some great friends on the trip, but the sites we went to and the people we met will have a lasting impression on me.

Breezy Beijing Days 1 and 2

Why Breezy?  Because it's windy there?  Yes and no.  Butters, one day long ago, quoted a character on 30 Rock who said something about running away to breezy Beijing.  We started calling it BREEZY Beijing, and Sara Weinberg got irritated.  So we kept calling it Breezy Beijing, and the name stuck.  So there is a little window into one of the inside jokes we'll have when we get back, and that you can now participate in, if you choose.

Getting up at 5 in the morning wasn't too much fun, but hopping on the plane and flying to Beijing was awesome.  The group consists of around 35 SAS people, including myself, Isaiah, and Taylor.  Some more friends of ours coincidentally were on the same trip, and since we are Beijing – Group B, we decided to call it Beijing – Group Beef, because of Beijing Beef at Panda Express.

The first day, after our plane flight, our tour guide Andy (whose accent makes him sound like a cross between Jackie Chan and Nicholas Cage) brought us to the Temple of Heaven, which was beautiful.  It was used a long time ago to make human sacrifices.

The first day wasn't as busy as the second day, when we hit some very important places.  First, we went to Tiananmen Square, famous for the massacre and the man standing in front of the tanks.  It was incredible to be there and to think about what transpired there almost 20 years ago. 

On a more humorous note, we all bought these Communist hats and fake watches.  I bought two watches: one with Mao waving his hand and one fake Rolex, but I didn't want the Rolex so I traded it for a Beijing 2008 hat.  The lady thought my watch was real when I traded it to her, and then she noticed it wasn't but she had already given me the hat and seemed playfully frustrated that I had tricked her with her own game.

After Tainanmen Square we went into the Forbidden City.  We all got a personal electronic automatic guide, which consisted of a map on a thing you wore around your neck and an earpiece.  When you entered into a new section of the area, the woman automatically began speaking.  All we had to do was walk around and we got all the information we wanted.

We entered via the South Gate, which has the famous picture of Mao above it.  To the left of Mao it said in Chinese “long live the People's Republic of China” and to the right it said in Chinese some including “the unity of the world.”

It was startling to thing that when the Forbidden Palace was in use, only a few people were allowed in.  Anyone living in those times knew it was a forbidden place, and only saw its walls and the roofs of palaces.  The palaces were ornate and impressive, rich with history, culture, and tradition.  Further towards the north was the imperial garden with some interesting trees and such.

It is impossible to see everything in there in one whole day, it is just too big!  Everywhere you looked was another room; there's something like 9,000 rooms there.   And it was basically for one person.  Crazy, I know, but really impressive.

Then we got a rickshaw (human powered bike rickshaw) ride through a small suburb and got to see some homes.  Our guide explained the differences between privately owned houses and government owned houses.  I should mention China is a communist nation, and many of the stores around are owned by the government.  I can playfully compare it to when you go to Vons and you see real Froot Loops and then you see Vons' Fruit Swirls:  you're getting China government brand products.

After the rickshaw rides and home tours we went to the top of a bell tower to take pictures and then below it to a tea store.  They gave us tea to sample and then gave us a chance to buy.  On the way back Chandler, a guy in our group, had a crazy fit of laughing that we got on tape.

That night we were tired so Isaiah, Taylor, and I stayed in the hotel for dinner and I made it an early night.

King Kong

My one short day in Hong Kong was phenomenal. Our ship was docked across from the main area, Hong Kong island, in a port connected to a mall. We had a prime view of the Hong Kong skyline, which lit up at night.

I split up from the main group of friends because they all wanted to go have “camera day” and look at lenses. I find this incredibly boring and worthless, so me and Ari set off by ourselves to find some Dim Sum.

We took the Star Ferry (the first of many trips) across from our island to Hong Kong Island and walked through a giant mall and found only overpriced stores. A hotel gave us directions to the bus station and how to get to Stanley Market, which is on the other side of the island. At the bus station we ran in to Cara and Andrew and together we took the bus to Stanley Market.

The bus ride was around half an hour, and when we got there we did a little browsing through the market but our main focus was to find Dim Sum. We did and the waiter we had must have had a chopstick up his butt because he was quite stiff and not very customer friendly.

The Dim Sum was GREAT! We ordered six varieties, including beef, pork, vegetarian, and shrimp. They were all really good. The rest of the time in Stanley we did some shopping and I bought two Spider-Man ties.

We took the ferry back and met up with the camera day people and then took the ferry back again to grab some dinner before the 8 PM light show. I got noodles and beef, and then a hot dog but it was really gross. During dinner, Taylor told a story that made Isaiah laugh unexpectedly and he spat the water he was drinking all over his food and couldn't finish it.

We got on the ferry with something like 15 minutes to spare before the light show, and we wanted to be in the ship to watch it. Taylor, Butters, and I booked it off of the very, through the mall, and onto the ship in time to see the lasers on the city shoot out and do cool stuff. It was beautiful.

Someone joked with me if I was having another piano performance in Hong Kong, like the one in Viet Nam. I wish I could have played piano here and all over the world. I was asked by the man in charge of the service jobs on the ship if I wanted to work on the ship as a pianist for the Fall 2009 voyage. My duties would include playing piano in the piano bar, like a pianist at a mall. I haven't decided what I want to do, but he offered me good money and putting school on hold for a little bit doesn't sound like too bad of an idea. One thing I've learned on this trip is to take advantage of any opportunity, and getting a chance to have a professional music job is a hard one to pass up. I'll probably return to Chapman after the voyage, assuming they don't extend my contract or it doesn't turn into a larger career opportunity. I haven't decided for sure yet, but he needs an answer by tomorrow night so I'll be thinking about it a lot on the bus and on the plane (I'm blogging now from my hotel in Beijing).

I wish we had more time in Hong Kong. The atmosphere was great, the city was cool, and it was just such a unique place. I'd definitely like to go back there one day.