A New Chapter

After five months of being on the road, I head home on Sunday.  The journey has allowed me to reflect about my life and how I want to proceed in the future.  During the travels, I went through some tough times.  Thousands of miles away from home and nothing familiar to hold onto, the feeling of lost and loneliness was part of the trip.  There were also amazing highs.  The highs were from the connections I made with people and being able to share something special with them.  During the trip, nothing was constant and every choice you made took you down a different path.

First and foremost, I want to thank all my hosts and friends from home who met with me.  Especially, Natalie who flew all the way to Egypt.  I also want to thank Jason Demant who is partly responsible for this trip.  He inspired me when he quit his job to travel the world with his girlfriend Sharon.  Finally, thanks to my family, who has fully supported my journey.  They were also faithful blog readers.

Now that the trip is nearly over, it is hard not to be a little sentimental.  The experience is priceless.  The people I have met and things I have learned were amazing.  This trip wasn’t about temples, pyramids, or churches, it was about life and how I want to live the remainder of it.

In the end, I am not going home depressed that the trip is over.  My journey continues with a new job, a new city, and more adventures with family and friends.  The bay area has a lot to offer and I plan to make the most of it.  So this is not the end, but just a new chapter in my life.

Signing off

Chris

Tokyo Madness

The last 8 days I have been exploring Tokyo.  Most of my time was spent in Ueno, Roppongi, and Shibuya districts.  I also took one day trip to Kamakura, which was a nice change from the bustling city.

My second night in Tokyo, I went to the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.  The best way to describe this is madness.  Nine hundred thousand people congested in one area to see the fireworks.  I was in the subway car with my face planted against the window and two kids crying at my side.  Luckily, I only had three stops.  The fireworks were nice, but the shear number of people made it chaotic.  Police were everywhere, moving us around like sheep dogs.  It was an experience!

On Thursday, I went to Harajuku station where fashion rules.  This strip is supposedly where Gwen Stefani gets inspired.  Walking down the main drag, you see people in a variety of crazy outfits.  For second, I though it was Halloween.  I took some pictures and especially loved the designer umbrellas!  In any case, its a good place to sit and people watch.

Tokyo is a little mad, but you can learn to love it.  The people are so friendly and willing to help you with no hidden agenda.  Everyone was interested to talk with me and could not of been kinder.

Tomorrow to the airport.

Chris

Koh Phangan: Full Moon Party

Every month there is one designated day as the Full Moon Party on the island of Koh Phangan.  It has been a tradition for a long time and now has become very popular with the foreigners.  So I decided to take part in this unique experience during the end of July.

The island of Koh Phangan is off the southern coast of Thailand.  To get there, I took an overnight bus to a pier near Surat Thani and then transferred to a boat.  I arrived there on the July 25th, to catch all the pre-parties before the big day on the 28th.

During the day, people generally relax on the beach or sleep.  The more adventurous will rent a motorbike or WaveRunner.  During the night, everything changes.  People usually go to one of two places;  Haad Rin Beach or the Coral Bungalow Pool Party.  The pre-parties that take place last all night.  The three nights I went out, I came home at 6AM, 7AM, and 8AM.  When I started to see the light of day, it was time to head home.  I went to one pool party, but always ended up on the beach by the end of the night.  They played various types of music and had fire theatrics.

The majority of people who came to the island were British, Dutch, and Australian, but you could meet people from anywhere.

During the Full Moon Party, it rained most of the night.  Although wet, people continued to dance with no care.  Thousands of people were crowded on the beach and the energy was amazing.

For visitors, be weary, because there is a number of drugs on the island.  The police have been bribed by the store owners so there is a number of ’safe shops’ to do your poison.   I don't recommend it and make sure no one drops anything in your bucket drink.

This was of course the least cultural experience because of the touristy nature, but I was able to meet tons of nice people and learn the secrets of the island.  Koh Phangan is somewhat unique in nature, which is why it draws such big crowds.  I highly recommend it, if you want to let loose for a couple of days and are sick of temples and shrines.

7 Days left  :(

Chris