imisstony.com

Wow, it's been a nutty few months. I had many reasons to worry about my overall well-being for a bit there but things are finally getting sorted out. The lengths I go for stories to tell later in life. Anonymous, guess what, I am still unemployed. But as long as I'm unemployed, there's no reason to stagnate. So I shoved off to the Bay Area in October for my buddy's wedding in San Francisco. It was a great time that continued when much of the same circle of friends traveled to Oahu two weeks later for another wedding. It was an amusing time filled with dancing, eating, diving, surfing, jumping, and sun-burning.

You must try Puka Dog next time you're in Waikiki. Hot dogs with garlic sauce and tropical relish. They've got yummy shave ice as well. I did a great dive with an outfit called Aquazone (tip Erin and John for me if you see 'em, I didn't have any cash on me). We checked out the Kahala Barge wreck and Fantasy Reef. I saw turtles, a shark, octopus, eel, and all sorts of funny lookin' fishies. And finally, I roasted my back in the sun, laying on a surf board for an hour and a half. I just wasn't feelin' the waves and ended up floating around like driftwood. Alas, I will be back Hawaiian waves... you will be surfed.

My friends Dan and Kelly graciously put me up in their guest room in LA while I went to Halloween and election activities. Then I shot back up to the Bay Area again to house-sit and watch my brother's kids while he and his wife were off on a travel adventure of their own. After a few more days of playing Mr. Mom, I've gotta run down to LA for some other wedding activities before the Thanksgiving holiday. Back and forth, forth and back. At least gas prices have come down.

I've got some interesting things in store for 2009. Hopefully, I'll have some more stories to tell.

Labels: Food, Hawaii

Yesterday was just another day at the beach but this morning I decided to get up early and hike up Diamond Head Crater. I zoomed up past the other tourists in my flip flops, triumphantly reaching the top in about 25 minutes. Sweat running from my forehead, I took a last look around Oahu and thought about completing my around the world journey in ten hours. I rushed back down the crater to make it back in time for a shower at my last shared hostel dorm room of the trip. Before I did though, I grabbed a Hawaiian shave ice.

A girl named Kori discovered my short film, Missing Pieces, on the net about a year ago and soon after, she found out about my trip. I'd never met her but she was one of the first donors to feedtony.com. A native Hawaiian, she requested that I treat myself to a shave ice when I made it to Honolulu. So here it is, my last thank you of the trip:

Mahalo Kori!

I'm at the airport waiting for my flight. Five hours til I hit the mainland. Nutty man, nutty.

Labels: Food, Hawaii, Videos

Been taking it easy in Hawaii. The weather's been great. I've worn shorts and flip flops everyday. I have many thanks to go out to people who have thrown some extra funds my way to help ease the pain of spending real American currency. Let me tell you, it's shocking to hand over the greenbacks after playing with the 'Monopoly money' that is foreign currency for the past ten months. I feel like the cashiers at the ABC store have to pry the bills from my hands sometimes.

First big thanks goes to Erica and Anton for my sunset dinner at Longhi's in the Ala Moana Center. I ate at this restaurant with my friend Manash when I was in Honolulu two years ago for the Louis Vuitton Hawaii International Film Festival. Back then, I tried the Longhi's Shrimp and Scallops. I'd been dreaming of having it again ever since I left two years ago. This time around I started with an artichoke appetizer. I don't remember the last time I had a whole artichoke but it reminded me of eating them with my parents when I was a kid. Mmm, butter. Anyhoo, it was a nice meal even though I had to dine alone this time.

Yesterday, I went to do the touristy Polynesian Cultural Center museum and Lu'au. Mahalo to my brother Walt for helping to fund the full day of exploring Tahiti, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Aoteroa, Hawaii, and Marquesas cultures. I saw traditional dances, listened to music, learned how to throw a Tongan spear (my favorite part), and sampled coconut bread cooked in the ground. In the evening I got lei'd on my way to my first luau. There I watched more performances, including one guy's amazing jam session on the ukelele, and feasted on a massive meal of fish, chicken, taro, roast pork, rice, salads, and four types of dessert. I had to fight a food coma on the bus ride back to the hotel.

And today, I did some scuba diving with Dive Oahu, a great dive shop here in Honolulu where Captain Dave and Hector, my dive guide, took really good care of me. This trip came courtesy of Carol and John who've urged me to enjoy these dive opportunities whenever I can. I'm glad I did because this wreck dive down to a ship called Sea Tiger was one of my favorite dives. About 100 feet deep, the ship was a really cool sight. The most thrilling bit was when I turned to point out a spotted ray to my fellow divers and just as I turned back to look at it again, a sea turtle swam right up to me. I flipped around backwards and watched it glide right over me. Later, the guide took us into the ship where we found another turtle hiding out in the dark. Fun stuff.

Exhausted from waking up early and getting on a boat, I checked into the YHA hostel and took an afternoon nap. For dinner, Tristan's cash went towards a Mexican dinner at Senor Frog's. I'd been craving Mexican food for months and I was going to wait til I got back to California but a coupon lured me to this funny joint. I had tortilla soup and chicken enchiladas, oh, and a crazy full stomach afterwards. To ease the pain I went for a post-dinner walk along the beach at sunset.

One more full day to enjoy paradise. I'm back in the Bay Area on Saturday night. I'll be in town for a few days and then I'm running down to LA for a two day film gig. Gotta go where the money is. But no worries, I will be around Cali to see all of my friends and family before some employer slaps the shackles back on my wrists.

Check out Azad's latest photoblog from Iran, Germany, and Spain at LifeGoesOnInTehran.com Wish him a happy birthday, too (because I forgot to!)
Aloha!

Labels: Food, Hawaii

Can you believe it? The sun came out my last day in New Zealand, effectively the last day of my international trip around the planet. Steph, Carlien, Amy, and I hopped on the Stray bus for a free tour of Auckland. Carlien and Steph scored a free jump off of the Sky Tower which was a funny way to start off the day. We took in some other sights around town, walked around a volcanic crater, and sat by the water watching really big seagulls (these birds were the size of dogs).

In the evening Carlien and I went up to the observation deck of the Sky Tower. We had a cocktail and a chat above Auckland skyline. My head was flooded with thoughts and my shoulders tense with anxiety over returning to the States. {You know what... I missed the Oscars this year}

302 days I've spent on the road. It boggles my mind a bit. I wonder about how a trip like this will shape me from here on out. I feel as if I could return home and slip right back into where I was before. But I hope that doesn't happen.

I leave New Zealand on Tuesday morning and arrive in Hawaii Monday night. I'll take a few days on the beautiful island of Oahu to sort my head out a bit.

Thanks again to Walt, Mom, Mai, Charley, Lisa, Kim, Carol, John, Erica, Anton, Shilpa, Mikey, Daniel, Jeremy, and Kat for dropping some funds into the FeedTony hat to help me on the New Zealand leg of the trip. This place has been the most expensive country by far but I've had some unbelievable experiences here. Thanks for being a part of it all.

Labels: Food, New Zealand

It hasn't stopped raining in 24 hours. A poor end to this NZ trip. Hopefully I can get a partial refund on this Kiwi top bit tour thing and do a dive in Hawaii. When you can do anything outdoors, you have to find indoor entertainment.

Mike, thanks for the fundage which kept me at the hostel and out of the rain when dinner time came around last night. Steak and sausage barbecue was the evening meal with a free pint to wash it down. I spent the rest of the evening watching Whale Rider. It was a heck of a lot more interesting after being to the town where it was shot and learning a bit more about the Maori history behind it. Anyhoo, here's a look at lovely Paihia where we've been stuck for the last couple of days. It's off to Auckland this afternoon.

Labels: Food, New Zealand, Videos

Hello Mai! Thank you so much for sending me some funds for a nice meal. I decided to take in the Tamaki Maori Experience which featured a hangi meal (a meal cooked under the earth with hot stones). Our shuttle picked us up from the hostel and a host on the bus started by teaching us some of the Maori language (Kia Ora means "To Life" and is used as a greeting, a thanks, and a goodbye) as well as the etiquette for being welcomed into a Maori village and its chief.

Right from the start the experience was amazing. While villagers chanted in the background, Maori warriors dressed in full regalia and carrying traditional weapons came out to perform a traditional welcome. This involves lots of fierce eye-bulging, guttural grunts, and threatening swings and jabs of various weaponry. Then we were walked into a replica village to learn about different aspects of ancient Maori life like wood carving and more weapon wielding (Can you tell that I was pretty fascinated with the warriors?)

Following our village visit was a full out concert with dancing, drumming, and a an exciting haka or Maori war dance. And finally, dinner! I had my fill of potatoes, carrots, kumara, lamb, pasta, salad, mussels, fish, chicken, and a dessert of fruit, kiwi pavlova, and steamed bread pudding. All of it, crazy good. It was a great evening and thanks again for making it easy on my wallet! Kia Ora!

Labels: Food, New Zealand

Daniel, hope you're having a good day at work. It was excellent to hear from you the other day. I appreciate the contribution towards keeping me fed. This morning I waited to hear whether the weather would allow me to go out for my first skydive over massive Lake Taupo (said to be the size of Singapore). At 9:45, everything was go. That's when my heart started pumping and I got a bit nervous.

Skydive Taupo sends a stretch limousine to pick you up which is really amusing. A few minutes later I was at the airport getting suited up and ready to be thrown out of a pink airplane. It was all very surreal and my brain couldn't register any of it.

Up in the sky the view was incredible. After dropping a few people off at 12,000 feet, we climbed another 3,000 to our jump point. At this height we even had to use oxygen masks for a bit. Then, before I could even think about it, we were out and soaring above the lake. It was unreal. I've had plenty of dreams of flying and this is probably as close as I've gotten to the really doing it. It felt like a pretty long ride up there (maybe too long as my guide's spinning made me a little queasy).

Back on earth, I've just finished cutting my YouTube video and I'm off to have a big meal, care of one Daniel L. of San Jose, CA (I ended up having salmon with poached eggs over a potato rosti... speaking of salmon, remember that one time we went fishing? That was the only time I've ever been fishing.). Thanks again and I'll see you in a few weeks.

You know, my mom is going to watch that and the first thing she's going to think is, "Why didn't you shave your ugly face!?"

Labels: Food, New Zealand, Videos

Jeremy, thank you for the contribution. I didn't run out and find the most "cholent from Gehenna" looking thing I could find. I've actually applied your funds to my healthier eating. I bought some really delicious peaches and nectarines from a fruit stand on my ride out to Queenstown. And I've picked up lots of fiber-full breakfast bars and lactic acid battling bananas to assist me during hikes and other demanding activities.

It was great to hear from you. I hope the New Year (do you Jewish people celebrate New Year? Just kidding! Ah how I miss the religious humor) is treating you well. Hopefully we can catch up sometime when I'm wandering around LA next month.

Shalom!

Labels: Food, New Zealand

The other day in Nelson I went to check out Michael Clayton at the movies. The movie kind of beat me up a little. George Clooney got a nom for the role, right? Well deserved because by the end of that movie I felt as exhausted as his character seemed to be. But not so exhausted that I wasn't going to tackle the short hike up the hill in Nelson to reach the Centre of New Zealand.

Thank you again for providing me with my first meal on the South Island in Christchurch. I know you've been dying to get out here and you were here in spirit as I munched on an enormous avocado burger from some joint called Wisconsin (who's slogan is "Home of the best burgers in the world"). Hope your foot's doing well and the new job turns out to be what you're looking for. Share some of your global perspectives with those kids!

Labels: Food, New Zealand, Videos

"300g Prime cut Australian Angus fillet grilled to order with special in-house basting. Served on a bed of wilted spinach, Forrestiere potatoes, mushroom confit and cafe au lait sauce. Drizzled with truffle oil."

Served up with a glass of 2005 Kumkani Pinotage from South Africa, the above was one of the best meals I've had in nine months. I have to thank my cousins for taking me out to the Meat and Wine Co. in Parramatta last night. It's nearly lunch the next day and I'm still full. I'd also like to say a huge thanks to the whole family here in Sydney for taking me in and making my stay here so comfortable.

** Above is a photo of a couple of my cousins and me on top of the Sydney Harbor Bridge about a month ago. I finally got it scanned in.

Labels: Australia, Food

Big thanks to my buddy Cal in Sydney for treating me to a "Schnitzel Challenge" lunch yesterday at a Bavarian joint near Martin Place. That was way too much food for one afternoon. You're lucky you didn't catch a rocky ferry boat after that. It was good to see you and hopefully we'll meet up again in some other faraway country.

I spent the rest of my day strolling around Bondi and hanging out with the girls on their last night in Sydney. It would have been a wonderful day if I had kept my mouth shut but sometimes you get a lot of thinking done wandering around a strange city at 3am. Other times you just get tired.

I woke up horribly miserable today and decided to find distraction at the cinema. I caught Juno which I hear got a few Oscar noms. Not the best choice for my mood I must say. I left a bit more frazzled than I was before. So much so that I practically ran away from a girl with lovely green eyes who started to chat me up because I reminded her of "one of her mates". Hm. Oh well. I'll be hanging around Sydney the rest of the week trying to figure out how to tackle the final country on this incredible world voyage. I make my way to New Zealand on Sunday morning.

Labels: Australia, Food

I spent the afternoon shootin' the breeze with Jordan and the girls around Southbank in Brisbane. We stopped into Kapsali's where I took a break from pasta and sandwiches to have a huge serving of Greek moussaka. Huge thanks to Jim for picking up the tab. Without you I may have spent another evening eating Kangaroo bolognese, not that there's anything wrong with that (it's tastier than you think!)

Labels: Australia, Food, Videos

Alex! It was crazy running into you at the airport in Saigon. I think you're the first person from home I've randomly run into on my travels. I think that's awesome. It's great to see people escape the States for a bit.

Australia's been wonderful but it's painfully expensive. I've been having many 'backpacker' meals of pasta cooked in youth hostel kitchens and during the day, my lunches are usually Subway sandwiches. It seems like there's a Subway shop here every two blocks. I've been eating so many of them, I feel like the Jared** of Australia. Except I don't need to lose any of my weight.

Anyway, thank you for funding my six-inch turkey on wheats. Hope you have many more trips abroad in the new year!

**He was/is the American spokesperson for Subway in the US... he'd lost something like 100 pounds on a diet of Subway sandwiches for a year.

Labels: Australia, Food

I'd made my way quickly through the beach towns of Rainbow Beach and Noosa on the Oz Experience bus. I met quite a few solo travelers along the way. Some with no intention of returning home. Don't worry, I don't share the same desire. I found my way back into Brisbane and another torrential downpour on Sunday. But the rain didn't last long and I was welcomed back to Jeihan's house with a dinner of roast kangaroo and veggies. The roo was tender and tasty, definitely a fine introduction to kangaroo meat (I'm not counting the teriyaki jerky I got for Christmas).

We ended the night with a Christmas pudding lit on fire with brandy and extinguished with vanilla custard. If the weather holds up, I may do some Gold Coast exploring this week but it looks like more rain.

Labels: Australia, Food

Hi guys, I hope you're doing very well in Manhattan. Gotta love that city. Thanks for sending some funds my way. I've been on this tour of the Great Ocean Road along the southern end of Australia for the past few days. Think of it as a really beautiful scenic road like PCH in California. Except there are these unique landscapes unlike anything I've seen before. Yesterday, I had an opportunity to take a helicopter flight over the famous 12 Apostles rock formations along the coast. I'd never been up in a helicopter before and the tour group had a special price that I couldn't pass up. I was thinking of you guys up there above the water. It was beautiful. Check it out:

Labels: Australia, Food, Videos

A couple months back, I was trying to figure out how to thank all of you who have been so generous in contributing to FeedTony.com. I decided that I would pass along this spirit of giving by donating to some charities this holiday season.

One of the ideas that I've picked up over and over again through books, talks, films, and just observations in 20+ countries is that happiness can be found in giving to others. This act of giving back is what provides humans with purpose. Whether you're helping your family, friends, neighbors, or complete strangers across the planet, it is this act that empowers us to make a difference.

On behalf of the 75+ of you who've been so kind to me, I've decided to donate to Oxfam and Conservation International:

Oxfam International is a confederation of 13 organizations working together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice. With many of the causes of poverty global in nature, the 13 affiliate members of Oxfam International believe they can achieve greater impact through their collective efforts. Oxfam International seeks increased worldwide public understanding that economic and social justice are crucial to sustainable development. We strive to be a global campaigning force promoting the awareness and motivation that comes with global citizenship while seeking to shift public opinion in order to make equity the same priority as economic growth. - Oxfam.org

We are innovative problem-solvers. Our work is based on cutting-edge science, comprehensive partnerships, and concern for human well-being. With these three principles guiding us, we safeguard valuable species, preserve the most important landscapes and seascapes, and support communities that care for and rely on Earth's natural resources. To reach these goals, we focus on three strategies: dedicating ourselves to innovation, raising awareness about conservation, and maintaining business-like effectiveness. With this strategy, funded by the Future for Life Campaign, we achieve great things. (*Make your own donation by Dec. 31 and it will be doubled)-Conservation.org

Oxfam, Conservation International, and I thank... Adam, Alex, Amy, Andee, Angela, Angelica, Ankush, Anna, Anthonette, Anton, my Australian family, Azad, Bao, Ben, Bill, Binh, Caroline, Charley, Cheryl, CJ, Corrie, Dan E., Dan L., Dan S., Donovan, Eliseo, Erica, Faisal, Gia, Greg, Harai, Holly, Jen, Jessica, Jim, John, Julie, Kate, Katrina, Kelly, Ker, Kirk, Kori, Kvit, Laura, Madeli, Manash, Melissa B., Melissa C., Mom, My N., My L., Myleen, Oscar, Pat, Paul, Phil, Pin, Pranee, Raiker Family, Rich, Rob, Scott, Seema, Shari, Shilpa, Tristan, Uyen, Valentina, my Vietnamese family, Walt, Willy, Yadira, Yasmin, and Yajayra

Labels: Food

Note: I was feeling a bit under the weather and apologize for the shoddiness of the video and my mispronunciation of every single language.

India, Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia. Four months. That's all I was able to take to hit Asia. And it was nowhere near enough time to do even one of those countries properly. But I am very thankful to have had the opportunity to sample sometimes just a couple of days of each land and culture. There were some very beautiful and perfect days during the Asia trip as well as many rough and completely miserable moments.

The amazing: Gazing at the Taj Mahal, zooming through the night amongst the karsts of Guilin, walking through the neon blazed streets of Shanghai, reaching the summit of Mt. Fuji, sliding through the rice terraces of Sapa, gliding along with a whale shark in Ko Tao, waking up to the sight of Angkor Wat at sunrise, racing around the backroads of Pai...

The not so good: Broken nose and teeth in the Muay Thai ring, misery on the beach in Ko Phangan, food poisoning at Cat Ba, saying goodbye...

The trip wouldn't have been as fruitful and pleasant as it was without the support from friends and family around the world. You helped me through those rough days and made the great ones even greater. Special thanks to all of you who've contributed through FeedTony.com or have helped me out while I've been in your towns and homes:

Mom, Charley, Walt, Binh, Caroline, Ankush, Natasha, Eric, Harai, Madeli, the Raikers, Phil, Rich, Pin, Azad, Ana & Bao, Scott, Shilpa, Seema, Greg, Laura, Ben, Erica & Anton, Kvit, My L., Myleen, Holly, My N., Amy & Dan, Valentina, Melissa, Tristan, Linh, Sonia & Martin, Carlien, Steph, Mai, Giao, Be and the family in Vietnam.

I know I've fallen behind on personal thank you's, please forgive me but this traveling thing keeps you pretty busy sometimes :) I've received a few more generous contributions from Kat, Ker, and Yajara. I'll be using these very quickly in Australia and New Zealand. Can you believe it? I'm heading to Australia and New Zealand now! Talk to you in a couple of days.

-Tony

P.S.- How you goin'? I'm posting this from Sydney, Australia!

Labels: Food, Videos, Vietnam

From your brothers in Vietnam...

Labels: Food, Videos, Vietnam

This makes 100 YouTube videos uploaded to YouTube.com/imisstony!

Labels: Food, Videos, Vietnam

My brother Charley has joined me here in Ho Chi Minh City. He pretty much spent the first day in bed. We chatted while I sorted through the supply drop my mom sent along and put together the 12 pounds of extra baggage I was happily shipping back with him to the States.



The next day, we hung around our cousins' camera shop, visited a friend from the States, and checked out the War Remnants museum. There, I went through a pretty cool collection of photos from the Vietnam/American War. We were spooked by recreations of war prisons and impressed by displays of large weaponry. Outside, we joked around with people trying to sell books and motorbike rides. My brother's been handing candy to everyone on the streets. When someone tries to sell us something, we give them candy and try to charge them for it. Hilarity ensues.

We had haircuts in the evening, dinner with the family, and later in the evening, our friends Sonia and Martin picked us up for a drink at Allez Boo in the Pham Ngu Lao area. Big thanks to Sonia and Martin for buying me a Bulgogi burger at Lotteria. It hit the spot.

Next stop for the Brothers Bui: Bangkok.

Labels: Food, Videos, Vietnam

Drippings from the Moleskine notebook:

I can only describe my time in Thailand as a roller coaster ride with all of the rises, dips, and unexpected corkscrews. It's a warm country, in temperature and hospitality. Outside of the cities, I always felt like I was on an island. Thick jungles and laid back attitudes create this sensation.

The final leg of my Thai trip included four days on Koh Phangan. Monsoonal storms had stirred up the ocean really well right before I boarded a Lomprayah catamaran. Two hours of misery. Within' a half hour, fifty people had become seasick. Women wept in agony, some carried away to the bathroom. Every half hour the number of people vomiting seemed to double. The three cute girls in my row lost their allure as they lost their lunch. After the one next to me puked for the third time, I lost my own gut. We made it to Koh Tao but the 20 minute stop provided only a false sense of well-being. The remaining journey to Koh Phangan was just as filled with yacky goodness.

My time on the island was rockier than the boat ride it turned out. I won't go into it in this venue but much appreciation goes out to Mozart and his symphonies for calming my tortured soul. And huge thanks to Myleen for buying me a 'comfort meal' of sirloin steak and roasted potatoes. I wish you were there to enjoy the meal with me because eating alone while watching Red Dragon (prequel to Silence of the Lambs) was a bad choice.

The day after the Full Moon Party, things seemed to sort themselves out rather oddly. It was one of those times you shouldn't ask why but just smile and appreciate the peace.

The sun was laughing at us as it shined the day we were leaving the island. This, after four days of rain and gloom. Perhaps the heat had distracted me as I'd somehow lost my boat ticket between the bungalow and the pier. I had to buy a pricier ticket as spots were quickly selling out. My friends and I mused that everyone had to lose something on Koh Phangan (for them, it was two pairs of sandals and 700 Baht). A dimenhydrinate-hazed boat ride brought us to Sura Thani where hundreds and hundreds of young people poured out of the ferry like soldiers of boozing. Big backpacks were strapped to their backs. Each one was either off to Bangkok or going south to other islands. I wondered why we couldn't mobilize so many able bodied people for a greater cause than partying. Everyone likes to have a good time, sure. But imagine what a force like this could do. I entertained ideas in my head of 'parties for peace'. 10,000 people on a beach in Thailand and what do they have to show for it? Hangovers, hookups, and empty wallets. If it were 10,000 people building a village, how much better would we all feel getting off that boat?

A bus and a tuk tuk later, we were on yet another night bus, perhaps the most uncomfortable night bus we'd been on. Lesson learned, last minute cheap seats mean sore necks in the morning.

In a couple of weeks, I'll be back though and I can't wait to see how Thailand will treat me then.

Labels: Food, Thailand

The dive groups got together last night and went out to dinner in Sairee beach last night. I had lobster and marlin (speaking of Marlin, I found Nemo at the bottom of the ocean on my last dive as well as the whale shark. Clown fish, just as cute as Pixar's version) and a banana pancake with ice cream to celebrate. Tasty tasty. I'll try to find more food on a stick, guys. Stay tuned.

Labels: Food, Thailand, Videos

Hey Seema! After I went out on my first ocean water dive, my friends and I went for a meal at place called Whitening (I don't know why they call it that but in Asia, I keep running across 'whitening' creams... sometimes I can't find sunblock that doesn't 'whiten' while it protects). After diving, I get these burps that taste like plastic (from breathing scuba air). Pretty gross. I had a nice BBQ meal and a stroll around town before some dessert. No more plastic burps. Thank you so much for the support. A good meal was exactly what I needed after the exhausting dive.

Labels: Food, Thailand, Videos

Hey Kvit, Thailand's been great and your support has gone far. I've been enjoying cheap breakfasts before diving and wonderful noodle, rice, and curry dishes. One of my favorites is massaman curry at Pranee's Kitchen here in Ko Tao. We've been diving for the last few days and in the evenings we're completely worn out. Sorry for the laziness in the following video but hanging out at the bottom of a swimming pool and doing classroom time gets exhausting. At least at the end of the day, there's a beautiful sunset to look at and the peace of a tropical island to help us unwind. Sorry about the comments getting out of hand but you obviously know that people who hastily post responses without seeing the full picture get things mixed up. I hope none of you caught up in that comment chaos feel hurt. Let's just get back to living life to the fullest and enjoying every moment.

Labels: Food, Thailand, Videos

I ran out of blank pages in one of my passports so I took a taxi to the US Embassy today. I got there at 2:05pm. American services ended at 2pm. Aggravating. Fortunately, the Vietnamese Embassy next door hooked me up with a 'non-sticker' visa. I didn't know I could get one of those.

My friend Kvit has sponsored several of my meals here in Thailand and recommended checking out a mall food court called MBK. Since things went so well with the Vietnam visa, I had myself a Vietnamese lunch. Later in the evening I took a bunch of ladies out for dinner at the Siam Paragon Food Court. This isn't your American mall food court. This is gourmet. Everything you could want. Delicious. For dessert we all bought a slice of cake and did a nibble rotation. It was crazy good. Anyway, this cafe is closing so here's the vid. Thank you Kvit and Ben. More to come.


Tomorrow, Carlien, Steph, and I are heading to Ko Tao to get our diving certification. Wish me luck.

Labels: Food, Thailand, Videos

Hong Kong came and went all too quickly. The other night the group had one last outing at the night markets. We ate at a Dai Pai Dong on the street (Big thanks to Ana and Bao of MeetTheTravelers.com for another mini-feast). I was a bit upset that day as I lost my Braun 7505 Syncro electric shaver (Mom, that's the model number....hint hint), I got a terrible haircut from some Hong Kong stylists who thought I could pull off a do which made my hair short in front and long in the back, and the charger to my laptop stopped working. We were rationing battery power for two days while I scoured HK for a replacement (I found one, so expensive! Now I have to decide whether to carry the old one for two months until I can get an AppleCare replacement)

The next day in Hong Kong was a bit more pleasant. I explored some of the posh shopping near Central and spent a nice afternoon strolling around the Stanley Market on the south side. A bunch of us headed to the Harbor at night to catch a huge fireworks show. We feasted on Indian food at a joint called Taj Mahal (also sponsored by Ana and Bao).

Hong Kong was a nice, westernized Chinese city. It's comfortably foreign if you will. A lot like London except with more people blowing snot rockets on the street. I really wish I'd given myself another day to explore but it was off to Beijing the next morning.

I walked through Tian'anmen Square one last time and worked my way past what seemed like 75,000 people gathered together for laser shows and other National Day festivities. It was very strange to be in Beijing with this feeling of familiarity. Except I was alone again and all of my senses were on alert. Much different from the comfort of the tour group.

And now I've made it to Bangkok, Thailand. I'm booked in an Inn on the famous Khaosan Road. A few of the girls from the tour have also ended up here and we're all in a daze of disbelief, seeing each other in a new and different place. Last night, Steph, Carlien, and I wandered the street checking out trinkets and clothes. Guys constantly approached offering tuk tuks, massages, and the infamous 'ping pong' show. The streets are filled with white people. Young and attractive backpackers. After a noodle dinner we watched a Thai trio perform a bunch of cover songs in a rooftop bar. Travelers from Holland and Norway scribbled down travel tips on napkins for us. Today, we've got to decided where all of us are headed. The Brits, the Swedes, and the American... going our separate ways. ::sigh::

Labels: China, Food, Thailand

The 24 hour train trip from Shanghai to Guilin wasn't as painful as I
imagined it could have been. I spent lots of time catching up on sleep,
being subjected to special effects make-up, and watching Singin in the
Rain on my ipod. Before we knew it we were on a bus to Yangshuo.

Yangshuo is this amazing little area tucked away amongst these
beautiful karsts- steep limestone mounds covered with trees, 100 to 300
meters high. The town is filled with loads of tourists with spa
services, night clubs, cafes, and western style restaurants serving
their needs. But everything's pretty laid back. The first night the
group had dinner at Lucy's cafe. I had a delicious meal of fish, rice,
and veggies provided by my bud, Holly (Thanks again, Holly!) We
celebrated one of our group member's birthdays with cake and a trip to
Monkey Jane's Bar. This led to dancing and another late night.

But it was up early the next morning to do some caving. We hopped
three buses across town to take a trek through a few mountains,
stopping off to jump in a huge pool of mud. Very dirty, very fun. The
funny part of the cave tour was having the guide stop us every 10 yards
to show us a rock formation that supposedly looked like something. (a
turtle, a woman bathing, a monkey carrying a baby...) It was a rock
Rorschach test.

No time for a nap after that, the group got together for a boat ride
on the Li River where we took in some amazing views of the karsts
(views apparently so beautiful that they use them on the 20 Yuan note
and a pack of cigarettes!), watched a man go fishing using trained
birds (the birds catch the fish but can't eat them because their
throats are tied shut, so the guy just swoops them up and empties the
fish into his basket... yup), and feasted on chicken, tofu, roasted
peppers, pumpkin, taro chips, pork, and stir fry veggies (why do I keep
adding things in parentheses?).

The tour is definitely been one of the highlights of my trip around
the world. I've had a great taste of China that's already left me
wanting to come back and have a little more. I've met a great bunch of
friends and with less than a week left, it's going to be tough getting
back onto my solo trek.

Labels: China, Food, Videos

After a pretty rowdy night train ride from Beijing, we zipped into another nice hotel in Xi'an. It's a nice city, with beautiful pagodas and markets with merchants who leave you alone. We walked around a bit this morning and stopped into for a tea ceremony which was wonderful. We must have had a gallon of peony, oolong, green, red, jasmine... so much tea. The four of us guys in the group have been getting on very well and our lewd and crude sense of humor makes for endless laughing. The tea ladies found us very entertaining.

This evening we walked over to the Muslim market area (there's loads of dried fruit sold out there) for a dinner of lamb, beef, noodles, breads, tofu, and veggies. I took the liberty of extending Tristan's generosity and treating one of my new friends, Carlien, to dinner. On the walk over we noticed these strings of kites floating over the city. There were hundreds of kites strung high up into the sky. It was a magical sight to see over the Bell and Drum Towers. [I mispronounced Xi'an in this video... sorry China]



Most of the group stayed in this evening to play cards. I went on a beer run and announced to everyone on my return that Azad had provided the group with twelve cold bottles of Hans beer. Thank you my friend. Someone's got a photo somewhere.

Labels: China, Food, Videos

I moved over to the Chongwenmen hotel today where we start our tour with Intrepid. The place is fancier than anywhere else I've stayed so far. Not counting 'the b' in Nagoya or Pin's place in Shimizu. Rumor has it there's a karaoke/brothel on the third floor!

My roommate is a British dude named Nick. He's one of four guys in the group including our guide. The other twelve are girls. I wish you could hear the giddiness in my voice. While Nick napped away his jetlag, I walked down the street to find a meal. There was McDonalds, KFC, Pizza Hut, Subway, and even a place called RBT that had swinging seats hanging from ropes. What caught my eye was a place called 'Kung Fu'. Chinese fast food. Why not? I'll tell you why not- bones. I don't know why spare ribs, duck soup, rice, and boiled lettuce sounded appetizing when I ordered it but it wasn't so hot. Even the 'sweetened mung bean' drink was slightly lousy. It took the hunger away though but I couldn't let my ninja friend Scott's dough end up in an unsatisfactory meal. So I joined the tour group for a huge Peking duck dinner. The food was unending. Everything was pretty tasty except for the part of the duck I tried that you'll see in the YouTube video:



Afterwards, a bunch of us went to a nightclub called Suzie Wong's. There was a dress code so I had to borrow a pair of Adidas track pants provided by the club for a 100 Yuan deposit. Luckily they were magic dancing pants and I danced like a maniac til 1am. Ah what a fun start to the tour. Though I'm the oldest of everyone. Guh.

THANKS SCOTT!

Labels: China, Food, Videos

I climbed into my bunk pretty early last night. I thought I'd watch a TED lecture or two to wind down (though they usually get my brain wound up). Within seconds of laying my head down though, I was fast asleep. I slept so heavily I never noticed the French couple return and climb into their own bunks. I must have been super exhausted.

Today, I stepped outside to do some exploring- without a map. The streets are set up in a grid here so I figured I couldn't get too lost. The Forbidden City and Tiananmen are just a few blocks away. Turns out I immediately went in the wrong direction and ended up on a large avenue called Wangfujing. The streets are very wide here and the city flat. Sometimes, the streets seem much too big to cross (look for tunnels). Wangfujing is pleasantly closed off to auto traffic. Aside from the gray haze that blankets the city, I was enjoying my stroll through Beijing. I actually had a bit of a foolish smile on my face as I looked up at all of the enormous buildings in wonder. There's an incredible amount of construction going on for next year's Olympic games. Old buildings are being renovated or completely leveled for new ones. Cranes and scaffolding are erected on what seems like every block. Things are definitely a buzz for the games. The sound of a Chinese man singing what I assumed were some sort of patriotic or traditional songs, lured me into the Beijing Olympics flagship store. So much merchandise.

For lunch, I scarfed down another plate of fried rice (Thanks Charley, Lisa, kids! They didn't have cow liver on the menu...) before taking a nap and packing my duffel for the start of my 20-day tour tomorrow. Tonight I think I'll head out and explore a street nearby for street food. (Pin, I found a Mr. Lee's- the California Beef Noodle King- but it either hadn't opened yet or closed down. I'll keep looking)

Labels: China, Food

The day Typhoon Fitlow was due to hit Tokyo, I raced out to the Chinese Embassy to pick up my second visa. Lots of sprinting through streets that morning. The weather was eerily nice in Roppongi. As soon as I had my passport back in hand, I shot back to Tokyo station to race over to Nagoya. I was meeting my friend Tania and her sister Elsie there around 11 and heading out to Kyoto with them in the afternoon. I had been overly optimistic in thinking I could run to the subway, get from Roppongi to Ebisu on the Tokyo metro, hop the Yamanote JR to Shinagawa, and jump on the Hikari bullet to Nagoya by 11am. That's a lot of frookin' trains!

Once I was on the train, it felt like I was escaping the typhoon. Passing through Shizuoka, the rains and gloom were approaching. But in Nagoya, things were pretty rosy. I was thrilled to see another familiar face in Japan. We grabbed food from the local mall before grabbing the next bullet to Kyoto. Mall food in Japan isn't like the string of fast food joints you get in the US. There's everything from onigiri to sushi to bentos to an amazing French bakery (The smell of fresh bread from Johan's made me salivate as soon as it hit my nostrils. Pavlov would be impressed.) It's a dangerous place to be when you haven't had anything to eat and your pockets are full of Yen.

Hours later we were in Kyoto looking at temples, Buddhas, and pagodas. Real geishas shuffled around the Gion area as the sun went down. A beautiful rainbow spread across the sky, stopping people in their tracks. Camera phones were snapping away. The three of us decided to have Shabu Shabu. Marbled beef, enoki mushrooms, and 'invisible noodles'. Pretty tasty. (Thank you Rich!)


When it was time to grab a train back to Nagoya, we encountered the typhoon madness. While we were enjoying our walk around Kyoto, trains were shut down and delayed throughout Japan. We packed into parked trains like sardines, clueless to what was happening. Announcements would come over the PA system and hoards of people would shuffle out of one train to another across the way. Eventually we made it back to Nagoya. Tania and I grabbed some steaks at La Piedra. The beef was so good I was making those uncontrollable 'mmm' sounds with each bite.

The next day we had a late start and ended up in Hiroshima after dark. We took a walk through the Peace park before trying to grab the next bullet back to Nagoya. But after a mix-up we were stuck. It took a half hour to find a hotel in Hiroshima that wasn't booked up. We settled on a Comfort Inn and had a late meal at Watami. In the morning, the girls headed to Miyajima and I took one last walk through the Peace park before a five hour journey back to Pin's.

Last night we grabbed Indian food for dinner and hung out in a park afterwards. I had fun playing with a huge sculpture that I've deemed "The Shimizu Ring of Wonder":


Japan's been a nice break from lonely and rough travels. The best part's been spending time with old and new friends. But in a few hours, it's back on the road again on my own. Next stop: Beijing.

Labels: Food, Japan, Videos

I didn't do much yesterday except for catch up on sleep. In the afternoon I went grocery shopping at Seiyu. It's one thing for me to visit a foreign food store but to be hungry at the same time. I was there forever, trying not to buy every weird looking snack they had. I also resisted a trip to Mister Donut. Last time I was here, I was lured to that shop everytime there was one in sight. You see, Mister Donut has these cute little prizes every week that you can get by redeeming points. But you've gotta buy a whole lot of doughnuts to earn points. I started bringing doughnuts to people as guests. How sweet this American comes bearing sweets. Oh no, I just needed the set of Pon de Lion glasses madame! I digress.

I got a little freaked out while paying for my bread, milk, Fruity Orange, bento box, and assorted potato snacks... everyone was taking their grocery basket to a separate table and pulling out their own bags. A woman was bagging her food in Disneyland Tokyo bags. I didn't have any bags, what do I do? Fortunately the store did in fact provide bags but if you bring your own, you're not only reducing waste but you also save a few Yen on your purchase. Ah Japan.

In the evening I met another one of Pin's JET buddy's, Sarah, for dinner. We had a great time. I poured out my life story for a good hour. Funny part was, we had just joked about how some people annoyingly pour out their life stories after just meeting someone. Hope you didn't mind Sarah. Thanks for grabbing the bill guys. When we got out of the restaurant, we ran right smack into a Japanese lowrider. He drove off before I could get better pictures but man, weird.



HA! No sound!? And I deleted the original video files. I'll never cut a video late at night again, after, um, snacks. It's probably better that whatever I was rambling about is lost forever.

Labels: Food, Japan, Videos

I'm planning to write a few thoughts about India but I'm going to have to do it later.

Labels: Food, India, Videos

Before I left for my big trip, the Raikers sent a handful of rupees with me for my trip to India. They've helped me get to Agra to visit the beautiful Taj Mahal. I got up early and headed over to see it in the morning light. The skies were a bit hazy so it was a bit different than a normal sunrise but I couldn't believe how incredible it was. An amazing monument to love. I spent about three hours on the grounds just checking it out from different angles and watching as people from around the world showed up to experience it. At times the sun peeked out and made the whole side of it sparkle. Definitely a wonder of the world. I ended the morning with a nice breakfast at the hostel and in a few hours I'll head back to Delhi before heading North to Himachal Pradesh

Have a safe and pleasant trip to Peru. Many many thanks. I'll see you again soon enough.

Labels: Food, India, Videos

It's probably just as warm in Sherman Oaks but at least there's a mall or something to escape to. Yesterday I hired an autorickshaw to take me to a few of the sights around Agra. It was a pretty relaxing day. The Agra Fort was massive and pretty cool. I wandered around for a couple of hours, spotting monkeys running across walls. I was driven out to the river where I could catch the backside of the Taj Mahal. This was my first close up view of this magnificent building. I watched buffalo going for a swim and had kids coming up to me asking if I wanted a photo for a few rupees. Finally, for lunch, I stopped into a restaurant called Indiana and had a fresh lemon soda, butter naan, and chicken murg masala. Pretty tasty. My last stop was a marble shop where a fellow by the name of Krishna told me stories of how eleven generations of his family had been working on the Taj Mahal. I got some background on the Taj which made today's visit more interesting. I wish you could have been there. Hope you get the cardio class going. Can't wait to tell you stories in person when I get back! Take care and stay cool. One of us has to.

Labels: Food, India, Videos

...and getting caught in the rain. You'd love Delhi.

Eating Indian food alone has been an adventure. I never quite know what to do with everything in front of me. Yesterday for lunch I tried Sagar restaurant in the Defence Colony. I believe it's supposed to be 'South Indian' cuisine. I sat down and asked the waiter, "Whatsa vada?" He had a hard time explaining it to me but I ordered it anyway along with a dosa masala which I've also never had. Oh, and a mango milk shake. Mmm. Anyway, out comes two metal bowls of some sort of sauces and a metal cup of water (they love metal plates and cups here). Then the vada arrived. They looked like doughnuts! Why didn't he just say so? I cut into it and dipped it into the coconut sauce. Definitely not sweet like a doughnut. More spicy and maybe a hint of onion. The other sauce was brothy like a spicy vegetable soup. I dipped the vada in that, too. Then the guy brought two more metal bowls of sauce and the dosa masala soon after. A dosa is pretty much an Indian crepe. Except it's not sweet but rather spicy. (it's like they've taken western desserts- doughnuts and crepes- and added a bunch of spices to play jokes on your tongue's expectations) Overall, pretty good light lunch. Though I've already acquired a taste for Indian in the past.

Oh, I forgot to mention the pre and post meal customs I've encountered at Punjabi by Nature and Anand Restaurant (where I had some tandoori chicken and biryani tonight). They brought out an appetizer 'salad' of sliced onions with a spicy powder or sauce on top and a wedge of lime. If you like raw onions, it's not too bad. Though I only eat a few bites to keep the mosquitoes from kissing me. After the meal, you might get a plate of fennel seed, sometimes sugar coated or mixed with rock sugar. This is used as a breath freshener. I kind of dig it. (Fennel has a bit of a licorice flavor due to a compound called anethole that they both contain) At PbN, they also brought out bowls of water to wash our fingers as much of the dining involves using your hands. (at Anand, I used wipes I keep in my pocket)

Last night, I also met up with Manash's cousin Ankush and his girlfriend. We got caught in a bit of rain but it did seem to cool down the city a little. Over some bottles of Kingfisher, we had some good discussions about child development, Indian cinema, cultural differences within the country, and why I should have spent more time here. Time is really flying. I took my brother's advice and decided to just relax for a couple of days in Delhi. I've tried catching up on a million emails. Sorry if I haven't replied.

I finally managed to escape the apartment and go shoe shopping for Valentina at Dilli Haat (not very interesting to me as the only thing I bought was a Maaza mango drink). I jumped into an autorickshaw [video below] and went to Janpath market where I finally found the shoes but instead of buying them, I talked to an Indian merchant for an hour. He tried to convince me that I should visit Kashmir instead of Manali and make use of his houseboat. If only there was more time, Shaki. Hmm, why do I keep talking to locals and eating chicken immediately afterwards? That's three countries in a row.

Man, I'm rambling now. At least you're all ready for a nap now. Night!

Labels: Food, India, Videos

I had so much catching up to do with FeedTony.com messages, I've spent the day at Caroline's place cutting, blogging, and uploading.[Egypt and Greece photos are up on Picasa] Maybe tomorrow I'll actually see what Delhi looks like in the daytime!

Again, much thanks to my family- Walt, Charley, Binh, Carol, John, and mom who continue to support. I hope you don't need a video to know that I appreciate your assistance as it's made things like broken cameras and whether to take faster ferries much easier to deal with. Love you guys!

Labels: Food, India, Videos

Caroline, I'm so glad I caught you before you took off for Geneva. Thank you for the delicious welcome to India meal at Punjabi by Nature. I swear I thought I was back in LA for a moment until we walked back out into the humidity and roads crowded with rickshaws, stray dogs, and cows. It was an amazing evening. The bats flying over Lodi Gardens... I'll remember that forever. And the water adventures, too funny. Sorry for wrecking your bathroom. And by the way, I've been eating your pears and bread... wouldn't want you to come back to spoiled food now would we? I wish we could have spent more time together but I guess that means we'll have to meet up again somewhere on the planet.

You've been YouTubed:

Labels: Food, India, Videos

Time goes by, so slowly. I have fond memories of NYE: Berlin. Snowball fights in Rosenthaler Platz? Come on. When are we going to tear it up again? Wish we could all have 'summered' in the Greek islands. I skipped out on the party islands but the closest I got was hanging out at the Pink Palace in Kerkyra (Corfu).

This place is like a summer camp for college kids. The place can hold something like 900 backpackers and they provide everything you need from breakfast in the morning, cheap lunches at their beach cafe, and dinner in the evenings. The beach is at your doorstep, they run kayak trips, quad safaris, and the "Booze Cruise". Below the dining hall is the Palladium night club where they have toga parties, plate smashing Greek dancing, a magic night, and until the wee hours of the morning, deejayed dance music. I did some people watching on the dance floor but never partied all night. I spent my days on the beach and in the water instead. Sometimes I even left the "compound" as I liked to call it and explored other parts of Agios Gordios (the beach town) and the island.

Often in the mornings, you'd run into kids at breakfast who were still lit from the club and hadn't slept yet. Too much. Thanks for the contribution, it helped out with meals, drinks, ice cream, and internet fees while I hung out on my last Greek island. Here's a sample of the silliness:

Labels: Food, Greece, Videos

Dan, the renaissance man. Have I ever told you how amazed I am at your multi-talented-ness? Your vast knowledge of film and literature... your quick-witted yet completely screwy humor? I'm not only saying this because you've put some dollars towards my tummy. I miss you guys, hope Medium Rare and the job are coming along nicely. Lovely Kelly, thank you, too. I forget that you must always include the better half in thanking married men. My bad. You guys rock!

I took your fundage and put it towards a Kayak Safari at the Pink Palace in Corfu. It was a great trip on a two-person Kayak (shared with the French-Canadian girl) to cliff-jumping spots and deserted islands. The trip was led by this guy who had traveled around a bit, gotten various degrees including a PhD, and ended up on Kerkyra where he's spreading peace to partying people at the Palace. My favorite part was sitting in a circle on Aphrodite's island. There were maybe 20 of us up there. We passed around a cup of moonshine as we each shared a bit about ourselves and said 'cheers' in our native languages. It was awesome to hear about where people had come from and where they were going. One girl was about to head to Africa for 27 months with the Peace Corp. They told her she wouldn't know where she'd be stationed until she got there. Whoa! At least three of us had recently quit our jobs to travel. A bunch had just finished college or grad school (and didn't know what was next). A couple were on holiday. There was one guy ready to pursue acting in LA. So many stories. (So many cute girls) So many people discovering things about themselves.

Thanks for helping ease the financial pain of the trip. BTW, it was more snacks than lunch on the Kayak Safari- meatballs, dolmades- rice wrapped with grape leaves, and this nice Greek pine wine. Here's a video of the view outside of my room at the Pink Palace (and above is a photo of me on the beach, my rock wall, and a naked dude- He wants in on the next game of Liar's Dice):

Labels: Food, Greece, Videos

Ang! Miss you guys at the house of mouse. I miss our lunches in the lounge watching Springer, Lucy, or just exchanging self-deprecating humor. Hope you guys are still making animation magic. Every now and then I run into people who are delighted to hear of my work on Meet the Robinsons. I met this family from Ottawa who watched it on their flight and thought it was great. These great Italian friends I met in Corfu had heard of it as it may have just been released out there. They treated me like a movie star at dinner, very amusing. Thank you for helping me stay fed and healthy on the trip. As always, give everyone my regards.

At the Temple of Karnak in Luxor, there's a statue of a scarab beetle dedicated by Amenhotep III to Khepri, god of the rising sun. It's fun to watch people walk around it. They say three times for luck, five times for marriage, and seven times for children. Check out this video (though it'll probably be a blurry mess on YouTube).

Labels: Egypt, Food, Videos

Houston baby! So great to hear from you. It's nice that you, Rick, and Cara are doing so well in Texas. Still heading to Patagonia? Can I tag along?

I used your contribution to stay hydrated in Egypt. With all of the desert trekking through tombs, temples, and pyramids, you have to keep drinking the water. I also treated myself to a few orange sodas. I mentioned in another blog that I loved drinking Fanta in the heat. I never drink soda in the states but it just tastes so good in Egypt. While I was in Luxor, I also had a nice chicken meal with Hamdi, this young Egyptian merchant that I ended up chatting with for three hours. He asked me why I didn't have a girlfriend and I told him I didn't have money. He thought this was odd but later, I asked him why he didn't have a girlfriend and it was the same sentiment. He said, why would I want a girl? To talk to her? I can talk to myself. To eat dinner with her? I can eat with myself, cheaper. On other reasons, apparently religion prevents other benefits of a mate. He seemed to have dreams of visiting Costa Rica. He had friends in California. All of his brothers worked together to run shops. Later I also tried to explain my shyness. Hamdi found shyness in a man to be ridiculous. He simply explained that I am man and a woman does not expect shyness in a man. I had to be strong like an Egyptian. Later, we were hanging out on the street and found myself in a tag team with him as we flirted with a tourist. He said, you are not shy. And I told him that he was strong enough for the both of us. So I told him whenever I needed a boost of courage, I'd think of him and would say, "Hamdi-la!" It was all very amusing. Great time.

I hope to see you guys again someday, maybe over some Texas BBQ... unless we can find a good paella somewhere.

And now for the great statue of Ramses II in Memphis and the awesome hypostyle hall at the Temple of Karnak:

Labels: Egypt, Food, Videos

It's nice to "meet" you, Angelica. I'm glad my travels have brought back fond memories of your own trip and good luck with your next journey. In Luxor, Egypt, I met a cool guy from New York who was on the tour of the temples with me. After being beaten down by the desert sun all morning, we headed into town to find some lunch. We stopped at a kushari joint and I had a big bowl with a bottle of orange soda. I don't what it is about the desert, but it makes me crave orange soda. (similarly, Athens makes me crave lemon Fanta). Kushari is like this Egyptian fast food where they serve up a bowl full of macaroni, lentils or other beans, dried sweet onions, and a side of watery tomato sauce that is just slightly spicy. At the table you can find a lemon and spice mixture to pour over the kushari as well. But I wasn't up for anything that was sitting in the sun all day. (I've seen people put their thumbs on the top of the bottles to mix the lemon juice up... yeah, no thanks)

Me and my new friend watched the scene on the streets below of people praying, carrying carpets on their heads, and selling fruits and breads. It was a good meal and cheap, too! Thanks for feeding me. My camera broke that day so I don't have photos yet but here's a video of me and another traveler crawling around a tomb in Saqqara:

Labels: Egypt, Food, Videos

It was great to see your name come up on FeedTony.com, it's been so long. I'm diggin' your artwork, I love finding old friends from SJ who are living the life of the artist. I'm doing my best to drink all of these travel experiences in so that someday, something creative will be born of it. I took a tour of temples and pyramids in Saqqara, Dashur, and Giza, Egypt a couple weeks back. I had a driver named Hossein who cracked me up all day with his singing, his reckless driving, and his Egyptian humor. We stopped by the Saqqara's Nest restaurant for a hearty meal of chicken, hummus, falafel, eggplant, spicy tomatoes, and this rice wrapped in some sort of cabbage leaf. De-friggin-licious! Here's a little video thanks for you, keep creating!It was great to see your name after so long. I'm diggin' your artwork, I love finding old friends from SJ who are living the life of the artist. I'm doing my best to drink all of these travel experiences in so that someday, something creative will be born of it. I took a tour of temples and pyramids in Saqqara, Dashur, and Giza, Egypt a couple weeks back. I had a driver named Hossein who cracked me up all day with his singing, his reckless driving, and his Egyptian humor. We stopped by the Saqqara's Nest restaurant for a hearty meal of chicken, hummus, falafel, eggplant, spicy tomatoes, and this rice wrapped in some sort of cabbage leaf. De-friggin-licious! Here's a little video thanks for you, keep creating!

Labels: Egypt, Food, Videos

As you requested, I went to have stuffed tomatoes in Santorini my second night there. I went to a restaurant in Fira town and had a nice little seat to myself (slightly depressing). I started with a beef soup and a stuffed potato which were pretty good. While I ate, a cat kept wandering around the restaurant. They're everywhere on the islands. This couple at the next table kept calling to it, "Bella! Bella!" Finally, it came up and took a nap on the chair next to them. Pretty cute I guess, if you're into animals and junk. A little while later, these two women sat at the table in front of me. There was a blond facing me and a brunette with her back to me. I could hear them speaking English but I couldn't make out what they were saying as music was starting to play at a lounge downstairs. Slowly, I could feel a crush developing on this blond. I scanned fingers for wedding rings (none) and did my best to figure out if they had boyfriends back home. I was so attracted to her I ate my food slowly (so not me) and even ordered an espresso (totally not me). At one point she smiled right at me and I smiled back (hopefully a real smile and not one of my 'blank' smiles). This totally made me nervous. I thought about making a sign and holding it up saying "Room for dessert?" But I couldn't figure out a move. But that smile, I was completely enamored. So much so, my brain started cranking out weird storylines to romantic comedies. Inspiration, what else could I want? To talk to her I guess.

But I relented to my shyness, shot my free ouzo and paid the bill (with your money). Later I wandered around the Fira strip doing lots of people watching. I really enjoyed this because there were so many different people wandering around curiously following dance music coming from different clubs. While I was walking around, I passed the two girls from the restaurant. Again, me and the blond exchanged smiles and a 'hi'. I was freaking out at this point. I tried to work up some courage in case I found them again. And I did! They were sitting in a bar. I stood outside and tried to figure out a move. I decided I'd slide right up next to her and order a drink, maybe refresh theirs if they needed. As I was about to walk in, they walked right out in front of me. I was stunned, like I was caught or something. They didn't see me though and I hung back for a bit.

Finally, after consulting with Azad online, I found them at a cafe and just walked up and sat down next to them. Turns out they're from Michigan. The blond, better looking up close. The cafe was closing though and practically booted us out so I walked them back to their hotel room where they had the most incredible view of the moon over the caldera. It was so quiet and peaceful. I chatted with the blond while her friend was inside on the phone. I kind of gathered that they were not single but I was having such a nice time hanging out with some attractive girls rather than staring at the moon by myself. Finally, I took off as it was getting super late.

The next morning I went back to their hotel and left a note inviting them to dinner. In the evening I met up with them at a beautiful and romantic place called Sphinx. Wonderful views and scrumptious food. I had pasta with prawns and we shared a really good Greek moussaka (eggplant, minced meat, potatoes, yumness!) They went to bed early, I said goodbye, and went to for a long walk with my ipod.

My last night there, I spotted down on the street as I ate alone at a restaurant in Fira town. And that was my 3-day Santorini crush.

Now check out this Red Beach:

Labels: Food, Greece, Videos

In Santorini, I had lunch at a place called Nikolas in the Fira town. It's a nice little place where the waiter comes up and asks you what you feel like eating instead of giving you a menu. I hadn't had fish in a while so with your funding, I treated myself to a plate of sea bass. It was pretty tasty. My favorite part though were these little round vegetables that tasted like zucchini. Maybe it was but it sure wasn't shaped like the zucchini I'm familiar with. I wasn't a big fan of the Mythos Greek beer though. Next time, a white wine maybe.

MeetTheTravelers.com is coming along nicely. I wish I had more time to contribute. I'll definitely have plenty of tips and reviews to share when I get back to the States. Loved the new videos from your South America trip, can't believe you ate so much beef! Have a look at the sunset from a Greek ferry:

Labels: Food, Greece, Videos

Willy man! You must be having a wild time with fatherhood and your cute new daughter. In Athens, I used to stop by this bakery on the way to the metro. I'd get a fresh squeezed orange juice (perfect on a hot Athens morning) and these grubbin' little turkey sandwiches on fresh bread. They reminded me of sandwiches mom used to make. You know how great it is when your parents make you food. Moms, they give you a bit of dressing, some fresh lettuce, tomato, and a nice portion of meat. Served up on a plate even. The best food has a little love in it. Someday your daughter's going to be eating a delicious meal and thinking of her parents. Maybe she'll be in a far off place like Greece or Korea. Crazy! Parenthood's a whole other journey man. Have fun changing diapers! I can't wait to meet Audrey in person.

Labels: Food, Greece

Hey Rob, thanks for the support back on my birthday. I hope you're working on your master plan. You've got all the elements there, I know it will happen. Can't wait to get back to LA and have some good nights out on the town with the fellas. So, let me tell you how your dough was spent.

Back in Athens, I had lunch at a restaurant near my hostel one day, after touring the Acropolis. I ordered a chicken plate stacked with that doner style chicken, fries, salad, pita, and tzatziki. I ordered a Lemonade flavored Fanta and fell in love. Not only with that lemon soda but with this cute brunette sitting with her two friends at the next table. I eavesdropped on them a bit as I sat, eating alone. I tried to figure out where in the States they were from. Then I called upon the gods and the power of Kaiser for the cajones to say hello.

They were talking about their trip to the islands and I was still trying to figure out where I was going to go. So I said, "Where ya headed?" I think they had assumed that I was Greek because they seemed stunned that I spoke English. They explained that they were on a tour taking them to Mykonos and a slew of other islands. I asked the cute one where she was from and she said Spain. I sarcastically said, "Yeah, I can hear it in your accent". As usual, my sarcasm did not translate and she thought I was serious but I clarified that I she didn't sound Spanish. Turns out she's from Florida and moved to Spain a year ago. Her friends were visiting from Florida and they were all in Greece together to take the island tour. Pretty uneventful conversation but at least I got a little practice breaking out of my shell and actually speaking to the girl instead of stealing glances at her over my meal. Progress man, baby steps.

And now, a view from the top of the Acropolis in Athens:

Labels: Food, Greece, Videos

I set out to Testaccio last night to try San Remo's pizza. Lonely Planet pits Rome's San Remo pizzeria against Naples' Da Michele. Anthonette and tried to visit San Remo a few times but it was never open. I finally tried their margarita pizza last night and it was decent enough. I preferred a crispier Roman pizza we had at San Calisto (mis-named in the video) in Trastevere. All of these pizzas are cooked in a wood fired oven and their crusted are slightly blackened. The doughier Naples crust ends up tasting like a tortilla that you've heated on a grill. The Roman crust at San Remos was similar to those burnt edges of the thinner side of an English muffin that you've thrown in a toaster (you know what I'm saying, you know how when you split a Thomas' Eng. Muffin and one side is smaller and always toasts darker than the thicker side...)

Anyhow, I walked from Testaccio to Trastevere for gelato. I stopped in at one where a cute girl works the scoop. I swear she recognized me when I walked in. You know, that kind of recognition you give to someone attractive that you never thought you'd see again (come on, it's my trip, my fantasy). The gelato seemed a little soft, like the freezer unit wasn't working right. So I bought a water barely whispered grazi and ran out of there like a wuss. I wanted to have gelato at La Fonta della Salute anyhow, it came recommended. I had watermelon and coconut. I finished it before passing by my girl's place again. I shot a glance through the window and she spotted me. So of course I stopped, went in, and married her. Nope, I kept walking.

Somewhere along the way I got crazy lost. I think I crossed the river four times, back and forth. I was near the Vatican, then near the Trevi Fountain, then near Piazza Popolo where I heard crazy music and saw flashing lights. There, I discovered a modern dance show which included images projected on water, a woman swimming in a big bowl of water, and just like at the colosseum, women hanging from cables. Rome, this town likes it's crazy dance spectacles.



Well, thanks Adam for the support and for letting your wife hang out in Rome with me. Sorry I couldn't send back some of the cuisine.

Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

It was very costly to get out to Venice and sleep here. Thank goodness for good friends and family. My new friend Fahti has been fixing me meals where I'm staying. I've been enjoying healthy servings of pasta, tomato cucumber salads, and fresh watermelon. But I'm paying for a two person room by myself. So thank you Cheryl, Andee, Pat, and Jess!

See how I spent my day:

Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

Last week Anthonette and I were treated to a meal and some kayaking in Cinque Terre, courtesy of our friends Kate & Faisal. See the photo gallery for some revealing photos of where I've been hiding my pale skin. Maybe I should go shirtless like all of these college kids. It was my first time in a kayak in the ocean or anywhere else for that matter. We had some great views of the Cinque Terre and tried to do our part by pulling some litter out of the water as we came across it. When we returned to Riomaggiore we hit the beach which was made up of pebbles and big rocks. A little different from the beautiful sands Anthonette's used to in Florida but we enjoyed taking a dip after the ride on the water. There was the cutest topless girl there, too. ::sigh::

Afterwards, we grabbed focaccia and potato snacks at Te La Do Io La Merenda and a Nutella crepe at the Gelateria Centrale. Affordable and delicious. My favorite. Thanks for the good time guys. We were thinking about you. And now a word to our sponsors:

Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

Siena was beautiful. We walked around the square, got lost down medieval streets. A short rain storm swept through so we huddled in a post office. After checking out the gothic cathedral, we were on the hunt for a Chinese restaurant my friend Tristan had mentioned in an email. Tristan studied here in college and what a great time it must have been. After a looong distance phone call to Tristan himself, we found the restaurant, its yummy fried rice, and free wifi. Must have spent an hour in there booking our next hostels and searching train schedules. That's another one I owe you when I get back T, take it easy.

Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

Had the best pasta in maybe ever at Trattoria Anita in Florence, Italy. I think I may just be able to put the 15 pounds that I've lost back on if I keep eating like this in Italy. Big thanks to my sucka, Phil. After the meal, I enjoyed a couple of scoops of Gelati. It's becomig a good/bad habit.

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Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

Last night I wanted to head into Rome and see what it was like after dark. I got a restaurant suggestion from Rick Steve's Best of Europe guide and hopped on the metro towards the Pantheon. At Osteria da Mario I ordered prosciutto and mozzarella to start, a rigatoni alla carbonara, some house wine, and a bottle of water. It was actually a half-liter carafe of red and a full liter of water. Needless to say, I was super full after the meal. But I had to try some gelato. I walked over to the Pantheon for a moment for some people watching first. That's where I spotted my buddy with the fish friends above. The half-liter had me feeling silly so I moved on to Giolitti's for some gelato. I don't know why but I ordered a medium which is three scoops. I chose chocolate, cinnamon, and rice. Yup, rice. Anyhow, you can see the mess melting in the video below.

I walked around the dark streets and somehow ended up on the river, staring at the Vatican in the distance. When I found the closest metro stop, it was closed! Using my uncanny sense of direction (if you know me, you know I have a poor sense of direction), I jumped on a couple of random buses and found my way back to the hostel.



I had a hard time getting to sleep. I just hadn't had a very good time in Rome, not only because of the luggage fiasco, but also because of some unresolved garbage still floating around in my head from over a year ago. Inner turmoil man. It creeps up on you. It was like the issues that had bothered me in LA had somehow found me all the way across the planet. I eventually tossed and turned myself to sleep.

Today, I hopped a train for Naples. While I was waiting for my train I actually spotted someone I knew from California. It was my ex-girlfriend's parents oddly enough. It was semi-surreal so I had to creep up and take a closer look to be sure. Then I walked up and said hello. It was completely random... perhaps.

Naples is worlds different from Rome. The first thing I noticed was that the city is covered in graffiti. From love notes scribbled on the walls to full pieces on the sides of trains. On the train, the Neapolitans seemed a bit rough around the edges. My hostel is in an area called Portici, on the southern end. It too seemed grittier than anything I'd encountered so far. After checking in, I took a nap before heading back downtown in search of the best pizza. Naples is said to be the birthplace of pizza.

When I arrived in Portici, the streets were sunny and quiet. By the time I left in the evening, everyone was out and about. Old men sat around tables playing cards in the piazza, storefronts were open and selling clothes and housewares. Traffic jammed up Via Libertia as far as you could see.

They say downtown Naples gets pretty seedy at night. When I got out of the central station, I could see the transformation. The street peddlers were putting away their merchandise and the locals were starting to come out to the streets to hang out. Garbage was strewn along curbs. Rats dashed out of holes. Crossing streets were an adventure as scooters and motorcycles raced in different directions. At one point I was almost being circled by them. Through the chaos I finally found Da Micheles, an establishment making pies since 1870, reputed to serve up some of Naples best. I was seated with three Italian men who were also dining solo. One of them seemed pleased that he'd guessed I was part Asian. I sat quietly listening to them discuss food in Italian until the pizza arrived. Then, there was silence. We ate the pizza non-stop. Maybe we were trying to finish it before the cheese got cold. Or maybe it was just too delicious. Seriously, as I ate it, I could hear myself making "mmm" sounds as I chewed. You know it's good when you're audibly "mmming".

The pizza put me in a much better mood and I was feeling happy again. And fortunately, I scrammed out of there fast enough to catch the last train back to Portici. And now, a shower, and some sleep.

Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

After another very long walk around another old city, I was starving my brains out. I stopped by a random restaurant called Le Naumachie and ordered some fresh mozzarella and a fried rice ball to start. Delicious. Then I had fettucine with tomato, basil, and mozzarella. This isn't the flat noodle variety I was used to in the States. This was fat like Japanese Udon except doughier. Needless to say, crazy filling. I skipped plans for a gelato dessert.

I hope your new daughter's growing big and healthy. Make sure to send her on a trip like this someday. The world's beauty can't be missed.

Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

Hey Jen, greetings from sunny Rome to sunny Florida. After an exhausting day, I grubbed on bruchetta and lasagna at this crazy camp hostel I'm staying at in Rome. I also grabbed some fresh fruit for breakfast, all with your FeedTony support. Thank you much, and now a word from yours truly:

Labels: Food, Italy, Videos

Hey guys, I hope married life is agreeing with you. Congratulations again. I've been enjoying the photos and I regret not being there. But I've been thinking of you in Spain and I want to thank you for tapas my last night here and for the horchata and croissant breakfast the next day. I can't wait to come back and see this beautiful country again. Save up your dough Erica and get Anton to Sevilla!

Labels: Food, Spain, Videos

Julian and I took a long walk around Berlin today. Unfortunately, I got a little upset stomach. Julian suspects the Turkish salami we had for breakfast. Guh. The city was beautiful though with rainbows and amazing light painting the skies. We also stopped for some pizza at Piccola Italia, courtesy of Nik. I napped the rest of the evening and woke up late to try to rearrange some future travel. I've given myself an additional week in Italy and I leave India earlier. After 40 minutes on the phone with United, we still couldn't figure out how I could stay in Greece for a longer time. I'm hoping I can work something out later. There's also some talk of a possible visit to Pakistan but who knows.

For now, I sleep for a few hours.

Labels: Food, Germany, Videos

I've continued to be incredibly lazy in Moscow. I went out for a potato and sandwich for lunch and came back for a long nap. I was feeling a little miserable so I decided to take some dough my Uncle Binh sent me and have a great Birthday dinner... albeit by myself, sadly.

I decided that some comfort food was in order so I tracked down a Vietnamese restaurant nearby called Viet Cafe. It was a hip little place with large photos of scenery from Vietnam on the walls, a huge fish tank, and waitresses in traditional Vietnamese clothing (though everyone there was Russian).

To start I had a fresh glass of orange juice followed by fried spring rolls. They weren't bad. I actually missed the taste of nuoc cham. Then I had a bowl of Pho Ga (nowhere near as big as the bowls in California) which was pretty tasty. Very thin slices of chicken in a good broth of green onion, red onion, and cilantro. No sprouts and peppers here. Also, no 'rooster sauce' at these tables. For dessert, the waitress suggested a banana cake that wasn't too bad. It had sesame seeds sprinkled on top which I thought was a nice contrast with the sweet syrup and fruit on top. I finished my meal with a cup of Vietnamese coffee (not nearly enough condensed milk in it for my taste). Overall, a fantastic birthday meal.

My mood hadn't really improved all that much on the walk back to the hostel but I found out there's free wifi here so I've been distracted with uploading photos and videos. Everyone's gone to bed early. I'm still considering a hunt for some nightlife but we'll see.

(I didn't take any photos of the restaurant or the meal but above, there's a picture I snapped of the first McDonald's in Russia at Pushkin Square. It's been remodeled since it opened in 1990. It's by far the fanciest fast food place I've ever been to. There were hundreds of people eating there, too. Apparently it's the busiest Mickey D's on Earth, serving 40,000 people per day! How these girls stay so fit here, I don't know.)

Labels: Food, Russia

Thoughts from Switzerland that I never had the chance to upload...

I didn't think I'd enjoy Zurich as much as I did today. I woke up in a hotel room, all to myself and had a lazy morning while a storm came thundering through the city. I unpacked my back and repacked it. I'm still trying to figure out how to eliminate some of the weight (65lbs./29kg). I think by the time I leave Europe, I'll have lost some of the it in guidebooks and snacks. There's a scale in the bathroom here, if it's correct, I've lost at least 10-15lbs. in body weight since I've left the states. I guess I wasn't imagining it.

In the afternoon I bought a tram ticket and headed to the center of town for a look around. At first I was thinking that it was a nice place, with lots of shopping, but not really much to see. After spending a few hours walking through the streets and having some sweets by the water, Zurich started to charm me. I noticed that everyone seemed to be very easy-going. I felt safe. Quality of life did seem a bit higher here (along with the prices of everything... $8/hr at the Internet cafe?). I walked along the water for a bit and passed by the Corbusier House (which I'd seen a whole exhibit about in Madrid). Suddenly, this peace came over me. I was smiling inside and out. I almost wanted to shout out loud- Life is Good! It was awesome. I'd come so far to feel this way. I just looked at everyone around me with delight. I wanted to stop people in the streets to remind them that it was good to be alive.

Why was it so hard to feel this way before? What could I do to hold on to this feeling (for a bit, I was thinking, beer but I abstained)? Yesterday I had been thinking a lot about the general feeling of happiness I'd been experiencing on my travels. I realized that traveling was non-stop distraction. I always have to be on my toes because everyday is new. A new place or a new person or a new experience. As I rode the tram through Zurich, examining faces on the street and laughing to myself at the stories I imagined they each had, I realized. Life is good for a tourist. I clicked myself down a notch with this realization.

A tourist is just visiting. A tourist is in a place to hunt for the 'best of'. We get to see the greener grass on the other side. We don't have to deal with life in that place. I was reminded of a conversation I had with Alfredo in Havana where I told him how beautiful I thought his city was. He reminded me that I was on vacation and that life is hard for a Cuban in Cuba.

So I'm enjoying my time as a global tourist. I feel extremely fortunate for this opportunity. I'm going to hold on to this perspective and I'm going to use it when the grass back home starts to go brown. Everything has beauty in someone's eyes.

Afterthoughts: When I have these occasions of bliss, I often think, 'You know what would make everything perfect right now? Someone to share this with'. I hope that reading some of this rambling inspires some sort of joy in your day. Take a breath and just be amazed at what's around us, whether it's wondrous or miserable.

Swiss girls. When I first strolled around the city, I didn't notice any substantial percentage of pretty girls. But in my bliss, I realized that they were all working in the shops. All the pretty people have jobs here. By six o'clock though, they start to hit the cafes.

It was interesting to sit in the lobby of the hotel last night. Such a different crowd from a hostel. Businessmen and tourists milling about. Then a pack of people with bicycles in special transport cases. Turns out this weekend is Ironman Switzerland. Today, the hotel was swarming with these triathletes. Nutty.

Labels: Food, Switzerland, Videos

Had a great night attending a screening of the Iranian film, Fireworks Wednesday, with its director, Asghar Farhadi. After hanging out at the film festival party, we went to meet some friends at the Hard Rock Cafe. I´ve said it before and I´ll say it again, Moscow: full of sexy girls. Me: not full of courage.

I ended my night eating McDonalds (´cause it was open) as well as a sandwich and another street potato. (THANKS ANGELA!) So hungry. In fact, I need to eat right now.

Labels: Food, Russia, Videos

I took a walk along the beach today. I had enough sun on my hike so no lying around for me. I came across this restaurant right on the sand called O Pollo. Thanks to Donovan, Joanna, and Taro of the UC Berkeley Device Group, I had me a nice dinner of gazpacho, fries, 1/2 Chicken, bread, and beverage. Hope you guys are discovering some amazing things to benefit this amazing planet. Send me some of them wafers... I need dessert.

Labels: Food, Spain, Videos

First of all, I can't tell you how gleeful I've been reading all of these comments. It's exciting. I wish my own writing could match the passion and eloquence that of my AMAZING friends and family. Thank you guys, you make this exciting day even better.

I have to tell you quickly about my last day in Valencia and how everything went from a bit blah to non-stop smiles. Let's see. I think I caught up on rest and travel bookings in the afternoon before I went off to attend the Cinema Jove International Film Festival. I didn't have anything screening there myself but I thought it'd be great to check out their short film program and support my fellow filmmakers.

I ended up watching two shorts programs at the Edificio Rialto down the street from my hostel. Great films. My favorites were LA LECON DE GUITRARE (The Guitar Lesson) by Martin Rit, France. A charming film about a guy finding passion. I watched a kind of funny one that made me think of my friend Dan Lee. Dan, look into AVERY'S GNOME by John Driftmier, Canada. It's shot like it was done in the eighties or something and has some fun gnome puppetry.

The second program was filled with gems. KONIEC LATA (The End of Summer) was a nice Polish film by Karolina Bielawska but what it really did was make me reminisce about a film Kirk Diaz worked on back in the day called Summer's End. Never finished but played a part in keeping us creative. HERFRA TIL MANEN (To the Moon) by Katja Eyde Jacobsen, Norway was a moving short about two young brothers getting into trouble in the middle of a snowy nowhere. Familial bonds always get my heart swelling. The Spanish film by Jose Manuel Carrasco, PADAM, was exceptional. A nice balance of humor, heart, and social consciousness with a dating service as the premise. Genius. SECURITY was a great German short by Lars Henning that also wowed me with its simplicity and irony. And finally, THREE TOWERS by Emily Harris and Yoni Bentovim was a different perspective on 9/11. It made me remember how much sympathy the world had for the US after the World Trade Center was destroyed. It kills me that in just a few short years, sympathy has turned into hatred. Which leads me to the rest of the evening...

Back at the hostel I met a few American chemical engineers who were traveling in Spain together. They invited me to join them for dinner so I suggested a paella at El Rall since I hadn't had one yet (I tried the night before but there was a two person minimum for paella there...argh). It was delicious. Freshly made and full of seafood. I was having such a great time, I passed the bill on to my friend MB (You rock!) to make it perfect.

With an awesome meal in our stomachs, we were ready to continue the fun, except we ran into this tall dude who asked us, "Americans?" We said yes, expecting some sort of pleasant exchange. Instead he started ripping into us. He called us despicable. He said he was Irish and muttered something about Guantanamo. We were all a bit stunned. Unfortunately, we were all walking down the same alley so we were essentially following him. He kept muttering hateful things and every now and then he'd pull some change out of his pocket and toss it at us. Chucking a 5-cent euro he shouted, "This is for your President!" A few steps later another 5-cent piece falls at my feet, "This is for your vice-president!" He reaches into his pocket again. This time a 10-cent coin rolls under a car. "This is for your human rights!" We didn't know how to respond. He was obviously drunk and we weren't about to provoke him. Finally, he reaches in one more time and grunts as he flings a 2-Euro piece at us. I picked that one up since he didn't indicate who or what that one was for.

Complete buzz kill. For the rest of the evening we agreed that we were from Canadian (except for Oscar who's from Columbia). We kept walking around a bit and ended up watching some football fans raving by a fountain (similar to the scene in Madrid a week back) before having some drinks and telling stories late into the night.

By 4am I had to be up to catch a train. It was surely a memorable evening.

Labels: Food, Spain

Manash, I hope you are in great spirits. I wish I could be back by the pool, celebrating our birthdays right now. I did think of you last night as I dined at Meson Cinco Jotas in Sevilla with the lovely Amanda. It was the best meal I´ve had in Spain so far. Delicious cuts of Iberian ham. Tender, full of juicy flavor. Served with a side of potatoes, peppers, and carmelized onions. Amanda had a yummy stew of pork and cauliflower. And as you requested, a bottle of red wine and a big smile. We stopped by Pando Restaurantes for coffee and talked the night away. Take care boss. Another year wiser...

Labels: Food, Spain

Gia, Bill, I hope you are doing well. I got a little lost in Sevilla yesterday, which I've been doing just about everytime I go out here, and decided to stop into a little restaurant for a Tortilla Sevilla which is basically a potato omelet type thing. I ordered a bowl of gazpacho (cold tomato based soup) to start. I didn't imagine it was going to be such a big bowl. And then my combo plate came out. The tortilla was large but it also came with a side of other potatoes smothered in sauces as well as a breaded chicken Viceroy. An insane amount of food. Half way through it I thought about asking for a box but I knew that wasn't going to go well with the bar man who didn't seem to speak English. So I plowed on through it.

I kept thinking that this was going to fuel my walk to the cathedral (I made it today, see below) but what it did was put me into a well deserved siesta the rest of the afternoon. Thanks again for contributing to FeedTony.com I'll see you in Vegas next year!

Labels: Food, Spain, Videos

Hey Pranee, you workin' yet? Miss you and miss SD. For lunch in Madrid a few days ago, I stopped by a cafe called Faborit and had a tasty tuna and egg sandwich with a fresh squeezed Orange/Lemon juice. They had free Wifi which was outstanding as I always seem to be in the need of a good connection. After my art stroll through the Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, I went to El Brilliante for a calamari sandwich and a horchata. I was totally craving horchata. I stood at the bar and munched while watching these two old men race back and forth making coffee and pouring drinks.

It was a little out of place to take photos of my food so here's a photo of my new haircut. It's funny, just about every time I've gone to get a haircut (in the States as well as uh, Spain) the person comments "so much hair!" This woman, who somehow figured out that I wanted a number 2 on the sides and short on top, was snipping away furiously and said, "Mucho pele!" I laughed out loud. Anyway, thanks for feeding me PY!

Labels: Food, Spain, Videos

Shari and SCOTT are the ones to thank for feeding me with a Pizza de Lux (thin crust pizza with mushroom, iberian ham, and fresh basil) and a bowl of cheddar croquetas. It was a large meal that took me an hour to finish but I had lots of time to think about dreams before I went down to the Prado museum to see some amazing art including Diego Velazquez' "Las Meninas", which many people say is possibly the best painting in the Western world.

...sorry Scott...

Labels: Food, Spain, Videos

My new friends from the Ongi Etorri hostel and I went to snack on pintxos at the different bars in parte vieja. You walk into these places and the bar is lined up with plates of different finger foods, hot and cold. I tried peppers stuffed with crab, seafood salads topped with salmon, cheese balls, tortillas (sort of a potato omelet), and grilled lamb kebabs. It's a fun way to try different sorts of dishes and visit a lot of bars with different vibes and crowds.

Thank you Holly, for making it easier on my wallet. Hop on a plane, let's go check out some art in Bilbao!

Labels: Food, Spain

My friend Dan in England told me to look out for tasty Indonesian food while I was in Amsterdam, particularly the Rijsttafel or rice table. As soon as I got into Amsterdam from Prague, I was starving. I found a place called Restaurant Selecta listed in my I Amsterdam guide so I peeped it out. Thankfully, Paul N. helped a brother out and got the check for one of my meals which happened to be the best meal I had in Amsterdam. The traditional rijsttafel at Selecta features soup, spring roll, egg, chicken skewer, fried banana, pickled vegetables, braised beef, pork, veggies in coconut milk, green beans, tofu and veggies in peanut sauce, fried chicken, rice, and roasted coconut and peanuts. A substantial meal for one person.



Afterwards, I happened across the Heineken Brewery. I had a few bucks left over so I relaxed and enjoyed the Heineken Experience. Wish you could have been there Paul. Let me know if you're ever on this side of the planet again. I've got the next round.

Labels: Food, Netherlands, Videos

Lovely Melissa kicked down some dough via FeedTony.com so I used it to eat like Czech royalty at U3 Cernych Ruzi near the castle in Prague. I had a delicious goulash with a couple of nice American girls.

The next day, I met a couple of cool Canadians and had an incredible meal and conversation. Honey duck with Carlsberg dumplings (I wish I had my camera). Yum yum yum! We sampled each other's meals so I got a taste of boar's meat and some flavorful potato gnocci in my friend Michael's Czech Pan... a meal so big the three of us couldn't finish it. Don't mess with Czech gnocci folks.

Glad you had a great time in Mexico, Mel. Miss ya!

Labels: Czech Republic, Food

While I was in Poland, Carol and John sponsored a few of my delicious meals (I spread the money out since things were cheaper). One evening I had delicious potato pancakes in cream sauce and a sampling of three types of boiled pierogis at U Babci Maliny near the market square. It was a yummy meal after my long walk around the Nowa Huta complex.

The next day, after my tour of Auschwitz-Berkenau, I met a few Americans for a super meal near the main square again. This time I tried a sour Polish soup called Zurich, Bigos (a stew of sauerkraut with meat and sausage), and potatoes. A fantastic end to a heavy day.

Hope the ranch is growing and the horses are running free. Talk to you soon!

Labels: Food, Poland

I got lost through Dublin today, trying to find the Guinness Storehouse where tourists can discover the history of Guinness stout and how it's made. You end the tour with the option of learning how to pour the perfect pint, complete with a certificate that says you did so. Corny but it killed a couple of hours. I did also try Guinness Foreign Extra stout which has a 7.5% abv. Strong stuff that's not really sold in the states. As I floated out of the place, I accosted a couple of Americans from Washington D.C. We grabbed some lunch in Temple Bar and had a nice chat about life and travels. I often forget how old I am until I meet college aged travelers. I'm happy that so many young folk are taking the opportunity to wander. And I envy their free-for-all ability to party like it has no effect on the liver.

(While at Guinness, I scribbled the following into my Moleskine notebook): Chiming in from the Guinness Storehouse. I've sampled a pint and a half (and had the honor of pouring the perfect pint) of Guinness Draught and I'm almost through a bottle of Guinness Foreign Extra stout. And all I can think about is pretty girls. All I wonder about right now is who I will meet and be completely in love with. The brunette upstairs at the Gravity bar, from God knows what country, or the dirty blond {hair that is} who's drinking strong beer with her white-haired father. I can't wait. Someday the stars will align and I'll be on another love adventure. Watch out ladies!

Sorry mom, beer is part of the 'culture' here. I saw a church today, too. Bro, thanks again for the contribution, this tour of Guinness concludes your FeedTony.com virtual adventure.

Labels: Food, Ireland

The other day I met Dan and Yasmin for lunch at a pub in Colchester. My friend Shilpa
had pledged to fill my stomach with steak but I had to try the "Giant Yorkshire with bangers (sausage), mash, peas, and gravy". I'd always thought that Yorkshire pudding was some sort of mushy bread pudding or something but it's basically a fluffy popover. This meal featured a 'giant Yorkshire' which turned out to be so large that they serve the meat and potatoes inside. It was another substantial meal (I also ordered breaded mushrooms to start). I almost skipped dinner, this thing filled me up so much. Hungrytime in the UK.

Labels: England, Food

YouTube

Labels: England, Food, Videos

After a stroll along the river in London, we popped into a pub that served a great selection of meat pies. My brother sent some funds my way through FeedTony.com and I had a substantial British meal of Steak and Stilton (cheese) Pie served with mashed potatoes and vegetables, all covered in gravy. I had a nice pint of Guinness to wash it down. Thanks bro, I needed the 'foundation' for a night in London at the club.

Labels: England, Food

For lunch, we went to a noodle house in Bromley, England called Miso. Thanks to my friend Yadira's generous contribution to FeedTony.com, I had a delicious plate of Duck with Udon noodles, a cup of tea, and fried shredded chicken. My mouth is watering just thinking about it again.

Y, I hope you had a great time at the wedding! Talk to you soon.

Labels: England, Food

You may have noticed that I have a section of the site called Feed Tony where you can send me money to sponsor one or more of my meals. In return, I'll post a photo or video greeting on the blog. My brother Walter generously made a donation at FeedTony.com and today I enjoyed Steak Tartare at Cafe de l'Industry. It was pretty delicious. If you're not familiar with steak tartare, it's basically raw beef ground up and served with a raw egg yolk in the middle. It's accompanied by capers, chopped onion, and relish. So what I'm told is that you pour a dash of Worcestershire sauce on it, a dab of mustard, and you mix it all up. The meal came with a green salad and gratin. It was the perfect meal before my bike ride across Paris.

Labels: Food, France

I can't stop procrastinating. I have a bunch of packing to do. Piles of books, notes, gadgets, and doodads. Doodads all over the place! All I want is to get out of here and hang out with somebody. But everyone's busy. Too busy for poor little Tony. ::tear::

My mom calls me everyday and scolds me for not eating. I started thinking about why eating becomes so low-priority for me when I'm home. In LA, eating is such a social event. I love that. I like having company while I get things stuck in my crooked teeth. Why do you think I keep asking you out to dinner (you know who you are)? It's so I can stop losing weight.

To be honest, my family's concern that I'll starve on my trip has some validity. I have a history of wandering cities around the world and not being able to just go into restaurants to order food. It's like some sort of mental disorder. It's okay though. I'm going to find help.

And mom, if you ever figure out how to get to this site, I'm making fried rice right now. You know what's funny, I finished off the supply of rice you sent me last year. I love it when a plan comes together.

Labels: Food