Category Archives: Notes Backpacking Asia

Walking next to the Ganges River steaming in the mean June heat, walking until I found myself lost in the middle of Maniknaka ghat, the largest burning ghat of Varanasi. I watch the bodies burn, wondering if Shiva has whispered … Continue reading →

* We take purses and wallets of foreigner free of charge. (Service offered at the Ho Chi Minh Museum in Hanoi.) * Porn Hotel. (Hotel in Thailand.) * Try To Eat Restaurant. (Name of restaurant in Malaysia. I tried. I … Continue reading →

Koreans have three languages. They speak Korean, English and Konglish, which is a bastardization of English and Korean. Like, for ‘browsing,’ we’ll say, “window shopping,” Korean’s will call it, “eye shopping.” Or, we call dog, “man’s best friend,” they call it, “lunch.” It’s all personal … Continue reading →

Never go to a fortune teller in a language you don’t understand, especially if accompanied by your girlfriend, who does. Especially if the fortune teller knows what she’s talking about. This is a valuable, yet, bitter lesson I learned outside a Buddhist … Continue reading →

I taught English in Korea for two years. I was not your traditional teacher. I encouraged drinking in the class. I should explain, I taught adults. I wasn’t abusing children. I was abusing adults. We had fun. I learned more … Continue reading →

Fear is not a snake, it’s a shadow in the mind’s eye. We can’t choose everything that happens, but we can decide how to deal with them after they hiss at us. I chose to fight my way to the top of … Continue reading →

One of the most amazing things I discovered from Korea, is that Koreans sell their dreams. They do. If you have a really great dream, especially if it’s about pigs, more pigs the better, you can wake up and sell … Continue reading →

I’m spending this Christmas Eve in a Buddhist temple in Malaysia. I figure it’s the closest I can come to the tradition of going to church with my Dad. Dad and I only go to church Christmas Eve. We go to sing Christmas … Continue reading →