2 hike day, baybay!

Feliz Cumpleaños Grahamcracker! I love you and don't know how I could get in touch with you to let you know!

Grandpops I wished you a Happy Birthday on facebook but wish I could in person. Love you your inspirational!

Went to sleep early and woke up early.  It created for a productive day and a clear head!

I went on a beautiful hike around the outside of one of the luscious green forested mountain. On a certain area of the trail cable cars were flying over me and I was waving at them and mooning them! I met a park ranger at the end of the trail who pointed me towards Lantau peak, the famous mountain in the town with a trail to the top.

I rested and ate a shitty kebab, I now know what a shitty kebab tastes like, thanks, middle east. I then headed for the peak to see how much of it I could do. You can't just stop when you see yourself getting closer to the top, feeling your muscles working and the ever glorious feeling of sweat dripping off your face.

I need to do something physical for a living. I just love it tooooooo much. This is not a new thought or idea but a constant one, which g

After making it to the top I got naked and yelled. Haha it was a nude day.

I met an Italian jew named Vito who is 22. He is working in China for a year as a market researcher. Smart dude we excjanged some stories, did some hiking (post nude) and parted ways. This happens often, making a friend for an afternoon,  a meal, or a train ride.

Now I am lucky enough to be staying with the Ronalds in their new home. We went out for dinner and now I've won the jackpot and can actually relax in a nice home with people I know from home! Yes home what a cool word.

Mid Autumn festival

I LIKE!

The stars aligned and the moon shone for me to be able to spend the mid-autumn festival with Lucas family. It is the second most importsnt holiday in China and had I not been with Luca it probably would have been similar to a Jew on X-mas.

We started off eating brunch with some family friends. It is important to note that in China, in my experience, everyone eats in what they call hotels. In these hotels you rent individual rooms where you eat priavately with your party. In every room their is a private bathroom, couch, TV and round table with a rotating table where all the food is served. Food is ordered in dishes and placed on the spinner. When you are hungry spin the dish that you want until it gets to you,  but be careful not to spin when others are serving themselves. When you serve yourself you typically have a special set of chopsticks for public use otherwise the dish has a set of chopsticks on top for you to serve with. Chew with your mouth open,  spit bones and food on your plate. Something I learned to do and I actually love doing it, wait and see for yourself!

After brunch we went to the hometown of Lucas mom and dad. First stop: hanging out and a meal at Lucas grandma (mom side)

Second stop hanging out and a meal at Lucas grandma (dad side). I've never eaten so much crab before. Seafood is abundant and fresh because they live so close to the sea. After dinner we eat more, played cards,  lit candles and thanked ancestors all while many fireworks and fire lanterns were in the air.

We then went for a walk in this great park and watched the full moon. After a walk it was time for more family (idk how they were related) and food. we sat around and grilled in the streets.

Finalmente we went to Lucas and hung out on his balcony looked at the moon and eat the legendary moon cake.

I'm full thinking about it.

Oh ya, I forgot to mention the holiday is centered around the full moon.

Lantau Island, Hong Kong

Yeaaa so I'm in Hong Kong, smokin da bong, all night long, like cheech and chong, we get along, until the break of dawn, cause' I ain't got no pannies on!

Damn I should be a rapper. I left my little, crowded room in Kowloon (a part of HK, technically mainland) today and headed out for the big Buddha with all 30lbs on my back. I grabbed some food from a restaurant that Anthony Bourdain said was one of his favorite spots in HK. It didn't have the typical ambience as most of the restauratants in Gucci-ville (Hong Kong), but more of a mainland China feel as chickens, pigs and yes Go Ducks are hanging up in the windows. This was actually the first restaurant ive been to where the entire pigs were hanging up, and of course I had to get what Anthony Bourdain got, the pig. I'm considering going vegetarian for a while.

After a ferry ride and a bus ride up the mountain where it seemed impossible for anyone to live low and behold lies the big Buddha. Here I did some hiking on the surrounding mountains. Upon descending I was starving and headed for town around 6:30 to find out a ghost town. I luckily got some food and wondered around. I got a little too curious for some of the dogs and got chased back to my hostel. I have met the k-9 branch of the cripes and ill make sure to stay out of their territories now

Challege yourself and motivate yourself

Challenge yourself.

Talk to someone you don't know.

Ask a question that is irrelevant.

When you have the urge to do something, dont do it (facebook, pulling out your phone) you will become conscious of habits and you will have to find something else to do.

Have a good laugh about anything however stupid it is.

Move at a pace faster than walking

Embarrass yourself.

Make yourself feel uncomfortable.

Tell yourself that you are you and accept who you are without limiting yourself. Leave things that are out of your control behind. You cannot change your hand you can only play it.

Idea: How do you...?
People are curious especially about different people, countries and cultures.  Many people don't know things about other places besides what the see in the movies, hear on tv or from others, or read in books etc.

This will be a place for people to pose questions to people of different places and for people in these places to respond. The thing is how the person responds is up to them. Through writing, video or anything creative.  Example I leave a message in the Australian forum that says, Is it true kangaroos run around the cities? Someone could respond with a video in the city showing the person if kangaroos hop around. A better exanple might be if someone asks what a party in the US looks like a someone coukd send them a video they took at a party.

Just thinking after watching the Steve Jobs movie haha.

Oh ya im in Hong Kong.

I keep remembering Hong Kong Jeff, now I understand the nickname better

9 days later finally going to la casa de Dino.

Dark bags under our eyes, the scent of layers of sweat mixed with closed air spaces and Chinese food has left us not to enjoyable to be around unless you have a cold. We are ready to get back to Luca's house but it has not been easy. Our body's are confused and we are mentally and physically drained. We took a train from Shanghai at 6:20 pm on the 11th and got to Guangzhou at 11:30am on the 12th. The train was as usual in China as packed as my parents house would be with my dads piles if my mom wasn't around, jam packed. There are 3 options for the train.  1- bed. You have your own bed in a room with 3 others in a closed room. 2-sit down. Chairs that are as stiff as principals. They are bench style seating with 2 or 3 people on both sides. Also they have a mini table that serves as a pillow when your desperate. Finally #3-standing, yes standing. This usually means sleeping on top of luggage, or in tiny crevices outside of bathrooms or inbetween trains. 17 hours sitting down was not that much fun I couldnt even believe these people who were standing. I guess in desperate measures people are willing to do a lot worse, however it still seemed crazy to me because we felt crazy for sitting in a tight space for that long.

Nihao

After 13 hours of plane flights, 1 hour of sleep and 5 hours of time travelling ahead I made it to the peoples republic of china and met up with Lucadino! I was fully expecting to go to Lucas home right off the bat and meet his family and rest a little. However Luca was thinking a little differently and of course I had to say yes. He offered that we take a 1 1/2 week trip. First stop Lucas old college town full of 13 colleges. Yea, population of everything is a little different here. We met up with his friends and did what everyone here does for fun, we went to sing some karaoke. Karaoke comes with buffet as well. The 6 of us ate food, sang and laughed for 3 hours. Mind you this was on 1 hour of sleep and drastic changes in climate, food, people, air, company, basically everything.

After singing our hearts out which was surprisingly really fun we walked around the town which was full of Chinese college students. Then 10 of us found our way over to a Chinese barbecue restaurant. I was not hungry after the buffet but I continued to eat everything and everyone made sure I did. While eating, family style,  we played dice drinking games until late! They like to drink! Because many had class the next morning at 8:30, go China!

Today we woke up and then went to a classic Chinese brunch Gunangzhou is famous for having the most delicious food in China,  so im told but by people who are probably have a bias. Either way it was ddelicious but these people eat everything. Chicken feet, pigeons head among other things im sure I didnt even know about. We then went to the amusement park. I never thought I would find myself at an amusement park again let alone one in China.  But we had a great day and I got over my fear of rollercoasters, at least partially (I didnt cry this time haha). Now we are spending the night at Lucas friend from universities apartment in the downtown.

Mac

I got europe and asia in my hands

In this picture I am holding asia in my left hand and europe in my right! Might I add while at the sultans palace. Quite the view and place to live!

Here is a picture of a boat restaurant. To me it looks like a floating mosque. They catch the fish and grill them right there on the boat in front of you. It was a very authentic, modern Istanbul food. They did not eat fish during the ottoman empire because they believed they would come alive inside of you.  Luckily they got over that fear so I could enjoy this sandwich.

Friends

I spent my first day in Istanbul with this Japanese guy I met who I might hang out with when I go to Japan. We are in the grand bazzar the biggest and most famous shopping area in Istanbul.

Other picture is with my friend named Jesus who is from Iran. We hung out for 2 days and had a great time. Crazy time to hang out with an Iranian especially having fun with them

Istanbul day 1

The blue mosque- most famous mosque in Turkey.  Its called the blue mosque because the blue tiles in the mosque. It was beautiful and right on the bosphorus(sp)

Here is a madusa head at the bazillon cistern in Istanbul.  They had this incase of times of seige. There were huge catfish swimming in the water. There logic was if fish could live in the water it has to be drinkable

La vida loco

Picture of me and this guy whose name I forgot.  I was walking around Izmir and we started talking and he said he was a tour guide and took me around the city. If he was a tour guide or not I have no clue but he was for the day. Hes an Armenian who lived in Turkey and has now been living in Berlin Germany and Turkey on and off. His entire family died in a car crash when he was 20. He gets so much negative attention because of the wya he looks and the combo of us together was getting a ridiculous amount of attention.  He is going to write a book about his life because he believes it has been very unique.  He spoke fluent Turkish and German but his English was iffy so I couldnt understand much more.

This other picture is a typical restaurant. Kebob and döner roasting.  I have had my fair share to say the least. Fair share meaning everyday at least once.