No malls only stalls

London like any other large city has thousands of shopping venues. I spent an hour or so shopping on the famous Portobello Road. It is described as the world's largest antique market. I don't really know anything about antiques other than the fact they are old. I joked with the dealers that the salt servers (with their tiny spoon) would make a good place to store blow. They don't seem to find that funny. Jewelry, silver, fruits and vegetables things are for sale in addition to antiques. Watch out for pick pockets in the area. Above are some pics from Portobello Road.

2:00 AM and can't sleep

It’s almost 2:00 AM and I can’t sleep. It’s too quiet. I am used to the sound of the city; the sound of civilization. There are no ambulance sirens in the distance, no cacophony of car horns, no screaming drunk, and no familiarity. I don’t have the luxury of a booze induced sleep like the one the night before. There are only a few channels on the television, there is no internet access, and nothing else to do. That’s why it’s called a bed and breakfast. You go to bed and have breakfast the next day. That’s it. Sure it’s lovely and quaint, but quaint ain’t my style. That’s not how I roll yo.

I am listening to The Beetles “A Day in the Life” on my Ipod and I think about a day in the life of …well…me. I reflect on the day and it struck me how truly old The Kings Arms is. 1450. That’s 42 years before Christopher Columbus discovered the New World. That’s 326 years before America declared its independence. That’s 519 years before Neil Armstrong walked on the moon. That is FREAKIN’ old. In America you are a culinary success if you can keep a restaurant open at least five years. The food was good and it should be. After all they have had 556 years to learn to cook. The experience of the restaurant felt like somewhat of an English cliché. That doesn’t diminish the quality of the food or service, but it felt like living inside a poorly written screenplay. I sat next to the eon old stone fireplace. A glowing ember would occasionally pop to escape the confines of the hearth. A black cat came up and perched on the velvet bench in front of me. The feline balanced its time of staring at me and gazing into the fire. It finally became bored with both and curled up in the corner of the bench where it quickly fell asleep. The sweet earthy smell of carrots, parsnips, potatoes, and other root vegetables wafted from the kitchen. A gentleman wearing a waist apron brought a small board to our table to explain the menu du jour. I was just waiting for him to say “Alright Gov’nah?”

The Wilds of London

London is one of the oldest cities in western civilization. It had reached a population of one million people around 1880. With the city being incorporated for so long, I assumed there would be few wild and undeveloped areas left within the city. I was wrong. Above is a picture of one of the trails in Hampstead Heath. It's not really park, but more of protected nature preserve within the city. The area is over 790 acres and has one of the best vantage points for a view of the city. I would have taken a picture from the apex, but by the time I made it through the soggy, mud covered wilderness and up to the top of the hill the sun had already set. The view is impressive. If you aren't afraid of heights and don't mind waiting in line the other great city view is front the London Eye. I wasn't able to ride the Eye on this visit to London. Maybe next time.

Here's an interesting fact. I was miles from the nearest loo (rest room) and had several beverages in me. I had to use the natural facilities of an old wall Hampstead Heath. So for those taking note I have now puked on the Great Wall of China and pissed on an old wall in Britian.

Q: Church or Museums? A: Museums.

Fact: Most museums in London offer free admission, but churches charge admission. Hundreds of free museums exist in London. In fact, one could argue that London is a living museum. Therefore it is difficult to narrow down which museums should be visited while on vacation. I was fortunate to visit the British Museum, The Natural History Museum and V&A Museum. I could have spent an entire day at each museum. The Natural History Museum also contains the Darwin Center. Over 450,000 specimen jars are on hand. It's not only a museum, but also a research center. Anyone interested in biology, zoology, or any other "ology" should visit the Darwin Center. Hmm....was Darwin the first person to use the phrase, "I'll be a monkey's uncle?"

Above are some of the pics I took at the V&A. The first is plaster replication of David. The second is a Chihuly piece suspended under the rotunda near the entrance. The third is only part of a large wood carving of the crucifixion.

Brrr......

It is cold and damp here. It has been in the 30s and 40s. A snow storm is moving in tomorrow. An ice storm is more likely than a snow storm. That will be fun. I can't seem to warm up. The rooms are heated with radiators. Radiators barely heat the rooms. The heat radiates only a few away. The one in my room had a timer on it and shut off at 10:00 PM. I had to sleep under two comforters. I now know why the U.S. gave them up years ago. When discussing radiators with natives and explaining we use central heat all replied, "Well doesn't that dry your skin out?" Yeah....well that is what lotion is for. I find myself wearing a jacket all day. Car heaters don't seem to be turned on frequently. I guess after years of living on this cold island they have grown accustomed to this damp existence. My Mediterranean blood isn't cut out for cold weather. The only time I have been warm is during my showers. I will tip my hat to them for hot water. The hot water goes from hot to near boiling. I came out of the bathroom looking like a lobster this morning. I am not sure how I will take a shower tonight. The shower at the bed and breakfast is about 75% the width of my shoulders. I might have to put my right leg in and put my right leg out. That's what it's all about.

I need to detour to Belize for a week before heading back to Atlanta. A friend of mine is currently in the U.S. Virgin Islands getting ready to take the Bar Exam. She sent me a pic from her cell the other day to show me how sunny and warm it is there. Bitch.

Now in Bristol

A friend and co-worker flew in yesterday for a project. I met him Gatwick Airport. He has to be over here for several weeks and had to rent a car. I have not and will not rent a car over here. Just riding on the left hand side of the road makes me slightly nervous. It's also difficult for me to figure out the meaning of road signs.

I arrived in Bristol yesterday evening. It is about a two hour drive from Gatwick Airport outside of London. This is where the real England begins. The city quickly falls away and is replaced with rolling hills. Sheep and horses dot the landscape. For a country that has been settle for so long there is very little development outside of the cities.

I stayed in Bristol for the evening. Bristol is a college town with a lively bar scene. After a few cocktails and a evening of Indian cuisine I am over my jet lag and ready for bed. I watched television for a while before drifting off. Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" was on. I found it very amusing that they would be showing a movie about American Revolution War.

Today was my first day of work while over here. Our office is outside of Bristol in the English countryside called Bishops Sutton. Less than 500 people live in the village. Yes "village." Many people would find this remote country side charming. To me it seems like the end of civilization.

I had lunch at Kings Arms at Litton. It has served up dishes and beer since 1450. It serves up traditional English fare. I had the steak pie. It was similar to a pot pie with a puff pastry crust. It came with chips (fries). Chips come with everything. One of my co-workers order lasagna and it came with fries. I have never had nor seen Italian food served with French fries. Most people sprinkle their fries with malt vinegar. I asked for ketchup and was excited when a bottle of Heinz ketchup was presented to me. Capital! Ketchup varies widely in taste. Most is too sweet for my taste. The steak pie was rather tasty once I added some salt and black pepper. I had a half pint of their local ale. I liked the fact that it wasn't hoppy, but wished it was colder. Beer is served cool, but not cold. For dessert I had a toffee pudding. It was a caramel flavored, moist sponge cake. Yum.

There aren't any hotels in the area so I am staying at a local bed and breakfast. A charming old lady runs the place. She took me upstairs to proudly show off the room. It is large room with a four post bed and a large window overlooking a sheep filled pasture. How romantic. The proprietor gives me a key to the front door so I can get in later. Before I leave for the evening she asks if I would like fried English breakfast when I awake tomorrow. I am not really sure what a fried English breakfast is so I politely nod and thank her for their hospitality.

I am off to have dinner and spend the evening in the home of one of my English coworkers. More later.

Protests!

I have seen signs all over London protesting the Iraq War. It seems to be more visibly unpopular here than in States. I'm not qualified to say why nor will I use this forum to press my opinion. As an avid student of history I am well aware that the popularity of war wanes the longer the war rages. Whispers of change becomes screams of revolution. These pics remind me of a quote from President Eisenhower.


"I like to believe that people in the long run are going to do more to promote peace than our governments. Indeed, I think that people want peace so much that one of these days governments had better get out of the way and let them have it."
~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

Look Kids! Big Ben...Parliament

Above is a pic of Big Ben on the grounds of the British Parliament.

What the @#!% did you say?

Every country and region has its own colloquialisms. While riding on the tube (subway) yesterday I got to see some interesting people and hear some British slang. Here are a few interesting things I have heard so far.

"I need a fag" meaning - I need a cigerette.
"Where's the loo?" meaning - Where is the restroom?
"All right?" meaning - Hello, how are you?
"I'm pissed!" meaning - I am very intoxicated.

To read about more British slang visit the BBC British slang dictionary.

Evening on the town

I am fortunate enough to have friends all of the world. It makes it convenient when traveling abroad. Before I left for London I realized I knew someone over here. My friend Bernie lives in South London. He used to be a teacher in Georgia and worked in the Atlanta Indie Film scene. He moved over here to teach about 6 months ago. He was kind enough to act as my tour guide of London.

We decided to walk around for a while instead of just taking the Tube (subway). I got to see Trafalgar Square, The Tower of London, the Tower Bridge, St. Paul's Cathedral, and a few other famous landmarks. The Tower of London is somewhat ominous at night. Raven sit perched upon some of the walls. Legend tells that the Tower of London will collapse into a heap of ruble if the ravens ever abandon the tower. If ghosts do exist they would be here. People were hung in mass here. Blood is the paint of choice for these walls.

We hopped on a double Decker bus to take us to dinner. Hold on people. Geez, these things fly through the streets. I had no idea a public bus would move so fast. I was a few steps up the stair case to the top deck when the driver closed the doors and stomped on the pedal. I had to grab onto the hand rails to keep from failing down the stairs. The drivers are very skilled in handling this behemoth transports. They zip around the narrow streets and somehow managed not to crush the Cooper Minis parked on the sides.

For dinner we end up in the Shoreditch area of London. This area is an interesting mix of seedy bars, graffiti covered walls, and an odd collection of eating establishment. We end up at a Vietnamese restaurant. The place is filled with Vietnamese and an odd mix of Londoners. There were three rows of tables. I never shy away from trying new foods. I pointed to something on the menu. I had a bowl of rice noodles covered in grilled pork, some kind of shredded dried pork fat, cilantro, mint, crushed peanuts, and mungbean sprouts. A small bowl of sauce accompanied the meal. The sauce was a spicy garlic oil based sauce. I poured the sauce over the dish and used my chop sticks to toss everything together. The dish tasted like a combination of dishes I had in China and Japan. I washed down the spicy concoction with a glass of Stella Artois we picked up from a near by store. The restaurant did not have a liquor license, but did permit customers to bring in their own beer or wine.

Bernie pointed out one of the area's most famous graffiti artist Banksy. Be sure to click the link to read more about him. His artistic vandalism is a satirical message worthy of some being in the world's most prominent contemporary art museums.

After dinner we took the tube to the Tate Modern Museum. It is a cold night and I am ready to get in doors. We cross over the Millenium footbridge. It is located in the old Bankside Power Station on the banks of the Thames River. The Tate Modern is a formidable building. The former power plant houses works from Dali, Monte, and others. We didn't have much time so I focused on the surrealist.

I took the tube back to my hotel. While sitting there I couldn't help but overhear conversations in French, Italian, German, and many other unrecognizable languages. I was told that there are about 111 commonly spoken languages in London. I think that London is much more of a melting pot than New York City. The neighborhoods are more integrated with other cultures than in the larger American cities. My smartass cynical mind begins to turn. I think how funny it would be to try to speak pig Latin to people working in shops and restaurants and then act offended when they don't understand me.

Day one in London is over. I am back in my room. I am not yet acclimated to the time difference but I need to attempt sleep.

More to come.

Great Wall Trip Part 2 of 2- Repost by Request

"I woke up Sunday Morning with no way to hold my head that didn't hurt." I'm not feeling so good from yesterday's adventure. Okay...so back to my story. After leaving the Chinese witch doctor we went to The Nine Dragons Amusement Park. Why? I have no idea. The park overlooked a beautiful lake, but that was about the only thing beautiful about it. The park itself looked like it was constructed in 1962. That was also probably the last time it was painted. Stalls had typical games like ring toss, knock down the metal milk bottles, etc. The prizes looked like toys that were purchased from a Salvation Army Thrift Store. Many of the stuff animals looked used and dirty. We proceeded through the stalls and into a building. We walked down a couple of flights of stairs until we came to a row of roller coaster type cars. The cars never stopped so I had to jump on. The cars took us into a dark tunnel. Black lights illuminated phosphorus fish and other plaster of Paris aquatic life. It reminded me of Disney's "It's a small world ride" if it were constructed with only a budget of $400. Awful...simple awful. As you can imagine the rest of the hour was filled with the same disappointments. The whole thing was just surreal. I came all the way to China to see an ancient monument and I end up at an ancient amusement park. A lady came up to me and I assume she was asking how I like the park. I said with a large smile of my face "Your amusement park makes me sad." She smiled and nodded thinking I had complimented their threat to Disney. The weird thing is there were hardly any children at the amusement park. It was mostly old people.

After the unammusment park we drove for about 45 minutes. We came to this small downtown area. The tour guide mimicked eating so I could understand we were stopping for lunch. We walked upstairs into a huge dinning area. We sat at a large round table. Within minutes platters of food were placed in front of us. A large whole fish (head, eyes and all) was placed in front of us. I tried the fish. It had a good taste but there were so many small bones in it that it was inedible for me. Other dishes included something similar to non-salted fatback with potatoes, chicken with veggies in a brown sauce, noodles, steamed rice, a simple soup, and sliced pears for dessert. The pears were extremely sweet. The texture wasn't as sugary as western pears, but it was more juicy. The taste was somewhere between a pear and nectarine.I have noticed that many people eat very quickly here. Bowl are lifted to the mouth and chopsticks shovel the food in. The plates on our table were emptied within 20 minutes. I was by far the slowest eater at the table. After lunch we crammed back into the van and drove to our final destination.

The van weaved through the mountain roads. The mountains were bare with trees. Smalls shrubs occasionally dotted the landscape. Parts of the Great Wall began to appear at the high ground. The Great Wall stretches a formidable 3,900+ miles across the country. It was built as a defensive measure to protect the warring states from Mongols and other invades. Our group passes several sections of the Wall before stopping at a location. I notice there are no westerners around. My guide motioned me to a ticket counter to purchase a ticket for something. I assumed it was just to visit the Wall until they took me to this section near the Wall that looked like an amusement ride. It was a metal parabolic slide with a grease covered chain in the middle. The chain was pulling a skateboard type device with a single joystick handle in the middle which I assumed was a handbrake of sorts. Everyone was hoping onto this contraption. Okay...this lift device is not built for Americans. It is composed of low grade plastic. It is about 1.5 times as long as a skate board and one and a half times wide. When I climb onto the device I am not riding it...I am wearing it. The chains struggles to pull me up the sharp incline. I keep feeling like I am about to tumble backwards off this skate board of death and bowl over everyone behind me. Some how I safely make it to the top of the tram and I am motioned to climb the flight of stairs attached to the Wall. One on top of the Wall the view is stunning. Their are merchants at the top trying to push General Mao t-shirts, postcards, and other crap I don't want or need. My guide motioned me to the left to ascend the wall. I glance up for what seems like minutes. "Holy Shit!" escapes my mouth. I have never in my life seen such a steep incline with so many steps. I begin following the group up the stairs. Not only are the stairs steep and plentiful, they are also very high. It is about 1.75 times the height on a normal landing. I climb for what must me over an hour. My ascent slows with each additional step. My heart feels like it is about to explode. I begin to sweet which makes me cold from the high mountain air. My breathing is deep and fast. I slowly make my way to the top of the upper most watchtower. My legs tremble as I make the last few steps. At the top are Chinese people encouraging me on. At the last step an older Chinese guy gives me the thumbs up and pulls me over the last step. I plop down on the bench at the top I can barely breath. My chest is pounding so hard I can actually see my own heart beat. I assume a heart attack isn't long off and a bunch of pissed off Chinese people are going to have to carry my corpse down along with all their wares. I sit there for about a minute or two and look around me. I notice a trash can is behind me. I smile, turn around, and vomit for almost a minute. Strangely no one seems to be pay me and attention. Once the purging has subsided I feel even worse. My legs have that "just puked" feeling and I wonder how I am going to make it down off this wall. If this was Tibet I could at least pay a Sherpa to carry me down. I set on the bench for about 30 minutes to regain my composure. Forty-five minutes later I have made it off the Wall. I stumble back to the van and long to be back in the comfort of my hotel room.

Veni, Vedi, Vomere. I came, I saw, I vomited.

And that's the moral of the story children.... "Live to the point of tears." - unknown

Great Wall Trip Part 1 of 2- Repost by Request

My morning started very early today. I awoke around 5:45 and got dress and filled my back pack with much needed supplies like toilet paper, water, trail mix, and as always my camera. Around 6:15 a van showed up. A middle aged Chinese man said in his best broken English " Great Wall Come." He pointed to the van and ushered me in. The van was already full. I was the lone westerner on the van. The van speed off in the cold morning to a what I hoped was the Great Wall. The passengers smiled politely and said "Ni hao." The van rattled as it speed down the highway. After about an hour we came to a sign that was written in simplified Chinese and English. It pointed in one direction to the Ming Tomb and the other direction to the Great Wall. We took the direction that point to the Tomb. As we snaked down country roads and in between remnants of homes I thought how trusting I am to put my life in the hands of people I don't know. The van slowly climbed up the dust covered mountain road. We were more than a hour from downtown Beijing, but still the smog draped the mountains. After being in Beijing for a week I feel like I need to exfoliate my entire body and remain in an oxygen tank for three days. The amount of smoke, smog, and other pollutants I have endured this week are equal to ten years of exposure in Atlanta.

We finally make it to the Ming Tomb. It is very similar to most of the temples I have visited this week except for the artifacts on display. Most artifacts are over 700 years old, but they appear in pristine condition. Artifacts include jade place ware, gold drink wear, silk robes, a gold crown, and other priceless goods.

We cram back into the bus and head off to our next location. I have no idea where we are going. I thought I had only signed up for the Great Wall. Here in the trip is where it gets kinda weird. We arrive at some type of clinic. In the lobby are jars filled with Chinese medicinal remedies. In one jar is a large snake is some type of red tea. Another jar contains what I believe to be a bull frog. Other jars are filled with exotic roots, nuts, and other undeterminable.

After a speech from a man in a white coat, ten more "doctors" come into the room. The first one heads straight in my direction. He has a nurse with him that speaks English. He sits in front of me and instructs her to tell me to take off my watch and give him my left arm. He then grasps my wrist and begins his diagnosis. He tells the nurse what is wrong with me. He suggest that I take two bottles of these pills. They are basically $12 a bottle ever 30 days. He hands me the bottle. When I unscrew the cap I am struck with an odor that is a cross between wet pine bark, old cheese, and dead dog. I politely refuse.

-- More tomorrow. I am exhausted and going to bed. --

London Convenience Stores

I am fascinated by international junk food. "What crap do they have that I can't get at home?" I always try to visit a convenient store while traveling aboard. Many of the goods are regional tastes while some items are globally sold. I have had seen Kit Kat, Fanta, Coca-cola in the UK, Japan, and China. Above is a pic of some of my goods purchased from a convenience store earlier today. My stash includes Walker's Prawn Cocktail potato chips. The chips are thinner than their American cousins. The flavor taste more like salt and vinegar chips with a dash of crab boil. I don't recommend them. Next to to the chips is a British version of Maxim magazine. There seems to be not much of a difference than the American version. I did notice than many standard mens magazines are bundled with adult magazines. The adult section of the magazine rack takes up one third of the entire library. To the right of the magazine is Orangina Rouge. Orangina is one of my favorite beverages, but I had not have seen the "rouge" flavor in the states. It is similar to the original formula but with blood orange and guarana added to it. It has a milder more tropical taste than the original formula. On the bottom right is a can of Rubicon Mango soda. The carbonated concoction taste like semi-flat club soda mixed with old mango puree. The egg shaped treat at the bottom of the pic is a Kinder Surprise Egg. This is one of my favorite European treats. It is a hollow chocolate egg. The outer layer consists of milk chocolate with an inner coating of white chocolate. Inside the hollow cavity is a plastic capsule containing a toy surprise such as a car, puzzle, figure, etc. The chocolate is surprisingly good. For those of you that have never had Swiss or European chocolate you are deprived. American chocolate lacks the smooth, creamy texture found in European chocolate. The last item in the picture is a Mars Delight Bar. I haven't tried it yet. The label states "Surprisingly crispy, deliciously smooth." That's sounds a lot better than "Surprisingly soggy, deliciously grainy."

Pics - The British Museum

These are a few of the shots taken at the British Museum in London in February of 2006.

The British Museum

I spent several hours this morning walking through the vast expanse of the British Museum. The museum is one of the world's largest collections of ancient artifacts. Their collection includes pieces from Egypt, Greece, Rome, and other ancient civilizations. One of the most visited pieces is the Rosetta Stone. I waited in line ten minutes before I could get a close look at the ancient decoding tool. I walked quickly through most exhibits, but spent some time in the Egyptian wings. Mummies, copic jars, sarcophagi, and other items fill the large rooms. The quantity of items from ancient Egypt is impressive. I can't help but think that Egypt and others countries want their pillaged treasures returned. As I stand inches from works created thousands of years ago I am impressed with the level of detail and creativity. The craftsmanship would be impressive even with modern tools.

As I exit the Egyptian gallery an army of elementary school children file in. Each child is wearing a fluorescent vest. I assume the vest are used to help locate children within the museum. A copper-headed lad runs into the gallery and screams out in delight, "Look mummy, a mummy!" He chuckles in delight at his witty comment.

The British Museum (like most museums in London) offer free admission, but donations are accepted and appreciated. For those visiting London I highly recommend spending at least a few hours at the museum.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

I arrived with blood shot eyes a little before 7:00 AM this morning. My flight was fairly enjoyable. Well as enjoyable as it can be sitting in coach. The plane was only 40% full. I tried in vain to get upgraded to business class but wasn't too disappointed to have an entire row to myself. I managed to get about an hour of sleep on the plane. I never have much success sleeping on planes without the assistance of pills or booze or a combination thereof.

I breezed through British customs. Their embarcation document is a small, four line form. The U.S. documentation is much more detailed. It took longer to exchange my money than it did to pick up my luggage and walk through customs. I kept wondering if I missed a step. "Surely, it's not that easy in a Post 9/11 world to enter a country." If I missed something I am sure they will find me. I was just happy to arrive overseas with my luggage. Some of you might remember me being without a change of clothes for a couple of days after I arrived in China due to misrouted luggage.

From the airport I hopped aboard the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station. The express train is very clean, fast, comfortable and affordable. The trip from Gatwick to Victoria takes about 30 minutes. I think the ticket was 20 pounds or about $36.00. With the dollar being so weak right now, trips to Europe can be somewhat expensive. I was staring out at the English countryside for about 10 minutes when the food trolley came by. I felt like I was on my way to Hogwarts.

After arriving at Victoria Station I hailed a Hackney Carriage aka London Cab to take me to my hotel. I find taxis interesting. In my previous travel logs I wrote about the high tech taxis of Tokyo and the no tech taxis of Beijing. London Cabs are unique. It seems to be a cross between an antique car and furniture. The back seat consists of a leather three seater bench with two parallel jump seats. Luggage is stored in the cabin with the passengers since there is no trunk. The manually operated windows do not roll down, but have handles to pull them down. By the way, this is my first trip to London, but my second time in a London Cab. I worked for a dotcom that purchased a London Cab for advertising purposes. Chances are that was the first and only London Cab ever to roam the streets of Atlanta. The doors have an auto locking mechanism with a red LED indicator to inform the passenger that the door is locked. They high tech LED looks out of black in this horseless carriage.

I arrived too early to check into my room. They allowed me to store my luggage in the bellhop's closet. I decided I would explore the neighborhood until my room was available. I found a pancake shop around the corner. Hmmm...what to have for breakfast. I stared at the chalk written menu for a few minutes. All of it sounded tasty to my empty stomach. They offered sweet or savory pancakes in addition to a hosts of other side items such as sausage, bacon, and other recognizable fare. I ordered a sweet pancake with Nutella and a side of bacon. What came to my table wasn't a pancake, but a crepe. Yum-me! A crepe filled with Nuttella and served with a side of pig. That was tasty. The bacon wasn't as salty as its American cousin, but hey....it's still bacon.

After breakfast I walked a couple of blocks to the British museum. I will write more about the museum later. If you are in London it is a must see.

I just woke up from a five hour coma like sleep. I will write more later, but for now I am going to meet a friend of mine for a pint at the pub.

Cheers.

London Calling

Passport?...check. Clean underwear?...check. Ipod?...check. As usual I am spending the last few hours before my flight doing laundry, running errands, and packing. I always seem to forget something, but as long as I have my Amex and my passport everything else will work itself out. My next entry will be after I land in London.

Pics - From Tokyo, Japan

These are a few of the shots taken during my trip to Tokyo in May of 2005.

Pics - From Beijing, China

These are a few of the shots taken during my trip to Beijing in October of 2005.

From the Archives of 2001

Below is a parody of the "The Way" by Fastball. It was sent to me by my friend, Martha Armour after my third day of travel logs on my trip to Hollywood.

To the tune "The Way" by Fastball

Mike and JJ made up their minds
and they started packing.
They left before the sun came up that day

An exit to eternal dot coms failing
but where were they going without ever knowing the way

they both got laid off
and they got to talking
but there were more important things to say

and after they loaded up
they started driving
where were they going without ever knowing the way

they thought they'd make it to San Antonio, 900 miles from home
counting license plates; Mike's ahead by 4
stopped in Biloxi
JJ lost $30 at Treasure Bay
you can see the shadows wandering off somewhere
won't make it home but they really don't care
they wanted the highway they're heading to, L.A., L.A.

the guys got back up and they kept on driving
they counted horses and cows in Texas that day
JJ ate a bad burger and left it all behind him (left it all behind)
but where were they going without ever knowing the way.

they headed out to Hoover Dam, they're really on the lam
next it's on to Vegas where they'll gamble their souls
stay at the Luxor
saw 4 Elvis' today
you can see the shadows wandering off somewhere
won't make it home but they really don't care
they wanted the highway they're heading to, L.A., L.A.

How this all started

To understand how this started we have to go back five years. In 2001 the dot coms started running out of cash. They no longer could find people that had "more money than brains." Layoffs were a daily occurrence. I was a dead man walking and was ready for my sentence to be over. Relief by firing squad finally came in February of 2001. Freedom! I learned a lot from those dot com days. For example, the smell of success is only slightly better than the smell of severance. Severance is like a parting gift on a game show. Sure you didn't win, but you can't go home empty handed. As I walked out that day, I hummed Steve Miller's "Take the Money and Run." All was well in the world. I was jobless and didn't care. As it turns out I wasn't the only one that week that didn't get an eleventh hour call from the governor. My friend Mike had been laid off from another company that same week. The dot coms had left us jilted. Atlanta was filled with liars, cheats, and charlatans. We needed to be somewhere where those people didn't exist. So we packed our bags and drove to Hollywood. As you know that really worked out well for both of us. While we drove cross country I started sending out e-mails detailing my travels. They became popular and I received a lot of positive feedback. People asked that I send them more travel updates. I started sending out travel updates again last year when I traveled to Tokyo and later Beijing. I am flying to London later today. Several people have asked that I send them travel updates again I have decided to simplify the process with this blog. One of the main reasons I do this is for the convenience. I don't like having to repeat myself 500 times when people ask "Tell me about your trip." This all began five years ago and now I intend on doing this for "The Next Five Years." It will focus on my travels, my thoughts, my photos, and my observations over the next five years. Much like my life I am not sure what direction it will take. Enjoy the journey. - JJ