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| Matthew Bowman
has just completed a journey that saw him travel around the world before
his 20th birthday. An aspiring author, his travelposts betray a fine writer
in the making: His observations frequently cut through the vague impressions
of casual travellers and communicate considerable insight. I am pleased
to host this web edition of his travelposts and wish Matt luck - he's already
come a long way since the afternoon I met him in Beijing on the first day
of his travels.
Date: Mon, 05 Feb 2001 Hey, I'm, in
London and so far everything's gone to schedule - got my passport and my
plane tickets sorted out today, gotta do visas and
London is ok - but my mind is on China right now, I've missed a nights sleep coz of Crasher at the weekend but it doesn't seem to have hit me that hard... Staying with a really nice guy called Jim Andrews in his hall of residence, then moving on to a relatives tomorrow with any luck. Tomorrow is my last night in England for 7 months... unless it all goes horribly wrong, which is a possibility but lets not think of that, huh btw - to all that receive this - my new e-mail addy is travelkid42@hotmail.com pps - please
pass this on to anyone who might not have received it
Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2001 Hi, China is like nothing I could have imagined! its dirty, busy, scary, exciting, amazing, funny and sad all at the same time. Beijing itself is a vast urban sprawl that can take over 3 hours to get half way across! I've been to the Temple of Heaven and the summer palace so far - I'm going to sample the nightlife tonight and then tomorrow it's a trip to Tiananmen and the Forbidden City. I may go to the Great Wall the next day, but to be honest it's not something that really appeals so much. I have to move on to my next destination soon which will either be Xi'an or Tianjin depending on how I feel and if my mate's mate has arrived there. I'm going to be heading Southwest for most of the time and I'll send a full itinerary when one's decided on. This Internet Cafe is very expensive and slow so I've gotta be brief unfortunately. Beijing is expensive for China but it is still very cheap. I'm staying at a hotel for 30 yuan, about 2.5 dollars!!! There is really no point trying to save money here as in the long run it would work out to be such a small amount. There is fog in the city which obscures the view after about 500 metres but the the streets go on forever here. The food is cheap, satisfying and nutritious. I'm going to have dog tonight I think. I passed on the cocks legs or neck! I've decided to learn Chinese when I get back - I'm having a go now. It will make all the difference when I get back to China - which I definitely intend to do! Right now I am a laowai and I am mercilessly ripped off! Anyway - there is much more to say but I already owe 10 kuai so I'm gonna logoff - cya all soon!
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 China is just unbelievable... I love it - plus I have to be really careful what I say because quite a few people are looking over my shoulder reading this! Everywhere I've been I've been treated very kindly. I'm currently in Xi'an. Due to incredible luck I met someone at the station on Loyang who was going to university there... her name is Wu Zhi Ling. We attempted to travel together to Xi'an at 0:42am but the train was so full we couldn't get in - it's hard to describe China's rail system but lets just say the management is worse than railtracks!!! They sell too many tickets and people have to fight to get onto the trains! so many people were on board that the guards had to kick them very hard to shut the doors! Needless to say we missed that train and had to wait till 2:08 for the next one... The people in the ticket booths in railways are like all beaurocrats... absolute twats! Zhi ling was wonderful to travel with. We sat on the floor in the train and I fell asleep for a couple of hours. She is very pretty and it's great to be with her in Xi'an. She took me to the university where I met a teacher called Frankly (!) Frank has been my guide for the last 2 days- we walked round the city together today, visiting the bell tower, the drum tower, the wall and the great mosque. We have eaten together now - we had halal kebabs in the Muslim quarter that set my mouth on fire. Last night I ate the weirdest food imaginable! I really felt sick when I had to eat octopus tentacle but it tasted very good. I was given some bizarre gelatinous thing though that I just had to put down. People are so kind wherever I go - I have been bought many things and Frank is letting me sleep in his house. I want to find some way to pay everyone back when I return but I can't think of anything yet. The only problem with living up in the East of Xi'an is that there are no proper toilets... the ones that do exist are terrifying! Showers are also hard to come by. We went to a public bathroom where I had the most beautiful bath imaginable... Then some bloke came in and offered to wash me... I declined. I've been very tired recently. Out of the 10 days I've been travelling I've only slept for 4 of them! Some of this has been my own fault. i.e.. gatecrasher but other times I've had to make 12 hour journeys at night on a VERY noisy crowded train. So far I have been to Beijing, Loyang and Xi'an, Of all of them my favourite has been Loyang, it is small (by China's standards) but I made a very good friend there and tried some incredible local food. I was only there for a day but I'll remember it for much longer. Xi'an is more dangerous than the other places, especially where I am now. The problem for me is that wherever I go I attract HUGE amounts of attention. when Zhi Ling rescued me in Loyang I had a crowd of about 20 people all trying to talk to me in Chinese! The trick seems to be to smile and to keep calm, many people have never seen a foreigner before and most are just interested. Despite warnings I've found all the people I've met to be very trustworthy too. Anyway - I've got to go now - I'll write more when I can but I'm heading North soon and it may be hard to keep in contact. China's net system is totally fucked right now - a cable in the Atlantic has been cut which has basically halved bandwidth to America... This is why I've been quiet for a few days... believe me - I've tried to write! I'll be in Xi'an for a couple more days though - I'll probably write once more. Cya and hope you're ok in every country this e-mail goes to!
Date: Thu, 15 Feb 2001 Hey, I'm just chilling out in central China at the moment, Langzhou is dead in the centre. I'm debating whether to head further North or to begin the long trek south where tropical climates and big bags of grass are promised... Lanzhou itself is pretty dead, I think I'll check out the provincial museum tomorrow before heading to Xining overnight... Travelling for 5 hours by train for 17 yuan ($1.70) really isn't that bad! I'm at a bit of a loss though... I need to find a motive at the moment. If anyone has any suggestions I'd appreciate it. China is too big to just wander round aimlessly. I really regret that I can't see this place in the summer. Some places are pig ugly in winter whilst in summer they are gorgeous. The area I'm travelling in is very dusty and again, very polluted. I walked along part of the Yellow River today, it's so low you can see all the rubbish on the bottom. I also witnessed an impromptu singing session in the park. The performer desperately wanted to be a tenor but his heart said, soprano, soprano! I'm getting a bit bored with cities now, they all look the same, dusty, dirty and incredibly busy. I'm looking forward to heading into the countryside soon. The parts of China I'm in have a slightly Eastern feel. The people are darker skinned and there are large Muslim communities. Most people here are atheists but I saw a Taoist giving a palm reading today. Things I wish I had... 1. Cd's with my MP3 on. I miss trance more than you can imagine - the soundtrack to my life 2. A big sword. for obvious reasons. 3. A Prayer wheel 4. Glowstix. Coz they keep me happy. 5. A better agenda than what I have.
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 Well, it's the
next day in Dunhuang and not much has changed... I overspent horrendously
today, getting to the Moagao grottoes was expensive and it costs a lot
to get into... It was barely worth it though, most of the 400 odd caves
were closed and the guide spoke in Chinese. However, what I did see was
stunning! the six story Bhudda of cave 96 was really fucking big! and the
sleeping Bhudda was amazing (anyone remember playing streetfighter 2? think
back to the background for one of the bosses... can't remember his name
- not vega, balrog or bison, the other one... of course if you're reading
this in China then the names were all
Anyway - you can thank me for that lesson in gaming history when I get back... it seems that my mail gets delayed a bit unfortunately... Just a couple of bits of news.. I've finally decided on an e-mail addy - travelkid42@yahoo.co.uk - it seems to work a bit better than that microsoft monstrosity... I'm still wondering
where to go next but I'm starting to lean towards Lanzhou/Xiche to start
heading South... I could really do with a bit of warmth and I'm feeling
really ill at the moment... My other idea was to possibly go to the Shaolin
Monastery and spend a
I'm actually wondering how my mate Mat Game is doing. He's currently teaching english in Africa, he'll be coming back a month before me but parties will ensue when we meet up :) Anyway - I have food on my mind at the moment... I can't be bothered to eat anything spicy today which will make life difficult... I also have to avoid any restaurants with English menus coz they tend to double the prices!!! hmm - not much to say - I'll head to the Crescent Spring tomorrow and then start legging it South I think... I'm not having a lot of fun at the moment and the idea of reward through suffering looks good on paper but I think there are just as challenging, rewarding experiences elsewhere, somewhere warmer and with a horizon that extends further than 200 metres. Thinking about it though - I got some pretty fine photos today... and Kashgar would be wonderful to get on film...ARRRGGH!!!
Date: Sat, 24 Feb 2001 Well, I fucked up... which is why I'm now sitting in the same cybercafe I was in yesterday rather than being on the way to the mountain retreat of songpan... damn. Still, it's a chance to rest, recuperate and download the complete works of Shakespeare onto my psion for when I'm bored... Yesterday could have gone very differently, but like a fool I decided to introduce myself to a group of Chinese people in the restaurant I was in... this led to beer, baijiu and, once I was satisfied that my new friend was trustworthy, checking out of my hotel and spending the night in a real Chinese house, ahhh, just like old times in Xi'an. This guy owned the restaurant as it turned out so I won't be paying for my meals for the rest my stay... I will however be spending another night here which is a bit of a blow as there's not much to do. Damn... Shakespeare is too big to fit on my little psion... oh well - have to get some modern poetry instead... I'm still reeling from Xiahe which was the lushest place I've ever seen, thinking of home, about Gatecrasher in particular and about the distinct lack of clubbing in my life right now. There seem to be a few things going on in England right now... foot and mouth, rail smashes, what else of interest... I don't know much about the news in China as there are only a few English broadcasts and I don't watch much TV- there's supposed to be an English language newspaper somewhere around but I'm damned if I can find it anywhere out of Beijing. For the first
time I don't have much to say... I'm pissed that I've gotta waste a day
- the bus leaves at 7am tomorrow. still, it's been pleasant here - we've
been talking in Chinese most of the time - it's amazing how far you can
get with very few words and a lot of
Anyway - gonna find a shower now I think... next time I write I'll be hundreds of miles south in Chengdu but that won't be for a while (or ever if I fall off a mountain)
Date: Wed, 21 Mar 2001 Not been in touch for a while for no particular reason really, It's strange but I just don't really miss anything about home any more, even crasher most of the time... I've just been getting into the city. I don't know what I last wrote... I came down from Hudzoa into Lamonsui, which was originally supposed to be only for one day. The place is so beautiful, nestled into the mountains as it is and full of multi-coloured Tibetans, that I ended up staying there for a week with some very good friends. It's such an amazing place and in the winter at least it has just the right flow of travellers to keep things interesting. They make Yak Burgers bigger than your head, Apple pie and Chocolate cake, as well as some gorgeous Hash Browns, all at one place called Lesha's Cafe. Lesha is a huge Muslim Chinese woman who says "Zhighe" (this) a lot. She makes the best food I've ever tasted which is probably the main reason I stayed. I was there
so long that didn't have time to go to Songpan unfortunately, but a group
of us went out for one day on horses, that was enough really, my arse hurt
like hell after riding an insane horse all day. It was fun, only my second
time on a horse but I now
Then from Lamusui to Roige for a night, getting up at 5:30 for a 16 hour bus ride to Chengdu. The journey was stunning though again hard on certain areas. We went through a gorge with a beautiful turquoise river/lagoon running through it, amazing. Here China was as I'd always imagined it to be. Wooden huts by a river, people working in the paddy fields... a bit different to Chengdu then, this is a thoroughly modern city and way ahead in certain areas. The people here are relaxed beyond belief. All they seem to do is hang around in parks and play mah-jongg. I'm not surprised as the weather here is beautiful and for the first time I can just wear a vest (or my boy band top as some people know it). I suspect some work gets done occasionally but it's a slack place, and great fun to be in. It seems to be a very affluent city, despite some horribly mutilated beggars that crawl through the streets. In general though the people are beautiful, the music is better, the sun is always shining and I love this place way too much. I've not done any sight seeing here, so I've missed out on Mount Emishan and the giant pandas but no worries really. It's been good fun just to hang out and chat with people. I also found the nicest sunglasses in the world for Y20. I'll get some prescription lenses fitted in the next city then wear them forever. Chengdu is cool, but what really makes it is Paul's Oasis. Paul is an amazing guy, Miao minority, more fluent in English than certain Belgians I've met along the way (the bastard turned up again today!!! That's the third place I've run into him!). Anyway, after postponing my ticket twice I've finally got to go to Lijiang tomorrow to check out the Tiger Leaping Gorge. I've been slacking for too long now so some brisk exercise should do me good. Plus lots and lots of weed! If it's as good as people say then I may never leave! A piece of good
news is that I've decided to go to Thailand. I'll head down to Xisuanbanna
then through Laos and into the place - then fly to Hong Kong from Bangkok
to resume the schedule. Sally- its ok - I've managed to juggle the dates
so we can still meet.
Date: Sat, 24 Mar 2001 I bloody hate tourists!!! Lijiang is a beautiful little place in the old town at least, but there are so many tourists here - not even backpackers but big Chinese tour groups... thing is they make it hard for everyone else - prices go up, locals treat you with contempt. Sucks - I'm getting out of here as fast as possible. First though
I've gotta be a tourist myself and see the Tiger Leaping Gorge, it's a
3 day hike so assuming I don't fall off a cliff I'll be back in contact
pretty soon. I was supposed to get the bus at 7:30am but they wouldn't
let me buy a ticket on the bus - first time
Anyway - gotta go get the bus right nowwwwwwwwww. cya!
Date: Fri, 6 Apr 2001 Hey, things are going well in China but now is the time to leave - I've started to feel a little aimless here, as if it's just time to find something new to do - this is obviously rubbish - everywhere in China is so different but it's just my way of justifying a change of scenery. :) I'm a bit worried about the next couple of days - they're quite important. I don't know what to do about changing money for Laos as the actual currency is worthless if I end up taking any with me... I'm going to bring enough for about 5 days then use travellers' cheques the rest of the time. There's never anything to really worry about though, its not like I'll be stuck in the middle of nowhere without any money... well, actually, possibly. Best not to think about things like that though... I feel like I've lost a lot of my original focus while I've been travelling - these last 2 weeks have been very late, very alcoholic and superficially, quite fun, but I want to get a bit more out of the time than just drinking loads. It will be fun to go off the tourist track in Thailand and try to hang out with people who live there rather than other backpackers, should be possible in the North but then the lure of Copan Yang and Co Tao may prove too much. Xisuanbanna
has been amazing - it doesn't really feel like China at all, so relaxed,
so many different types of people - most of the minorities are based down
here. I've met Bai, Dai, Ai (?), Miao, Uighur and Er, Pakistani... everyone's
cool here though - its too hot
Yunnan is a
great part of China, warm, colourful and friendly - but to be honest if
you go to places with the right attitude then there aren't many that would
be bad. It seems that people get tired of the rude, demanding tourists
in certain areas but luckily most
I don't know
anymore... after two months in China it's getting hard to make unbiased
judgements, I've reached the stage where nothing is strange anymore but
I've not been here long enough to appreciate the incredible subtlety of
the society, it will take a lot longer and
Many people are more unscrupulous towards foreigners at first, but get to know people and you'll experience more kindness than is ever given to someone in the West. People who have nothing to give will sacrifice everything to help you. There are so many superficial differences too, clothes, colours, smells - in the end none of these matter too much, though walking down the road at night listening to the babble of a hundred unintelligible conversations is wonderful. However, what I'm more interested in is what makes this place really different... and I don't know anymore. You can't make generalisations about a country of 1.2 billion and 56 different races. (apart from that one) :) I don't know
what to think anymore, there is a lot of transparent greed here but probably
no more than in England... people have no qualms about staring or shouting
but if foreigners were as uncommon as they are here then we might do the
same. There is more
Wherever there are people there is rubbish, dirt and destruction, It was so refreshing to be in Kunming where the sidewalks are clean and there are bins on the street. It was disheartening to see so much rubbish just thrown everywhere but in truth a lot is cleared away by the street cleaners. In the countryside it's a different matter - areas are laid waste by people's indifference to the damage they cause. The language
- well, its obviously different but the way people express themselves is
hard to get a grip on - when people are angry you might know about it but
otherwise it's easy to confuse the tones with emotions. The 4 tones give
1 word 4 meanings so if you put added
What else? People cheat, people argue and people struggle here, but again they do so in the West. Here though the quality of life is at times so much worse that its easy for that to eclipse everything. Most don't have private bathrooms, or spacious houses, but there is the same desire for material possessions as in the West - but it's intensified here by the relative newness of some of these things. When I'm talking to people far too often it descends into discussing money but that may just be because to so many the Westerner is a symbol of wealth (sorry to be patronising Yezi, Tsebho, Huming!). I don't know what people think about the West here. There's a tendency to embrace anything Western, however tacky - McDonalds being the prime example... it's horrendous - for the price of 3 big mac meals - about 52 yuan - you could have the most amazing chinese meal - like the 8 incredible dishes I shared with 2 others last night... but because it's Western, because it's expensive and because you can impress others by dining there people flock to the places! Westerners used in advertising tend to be either totally insane or really sophisticated and handsome - usually the latter. People find it amazing when I tell them I can't afford to travel in my own country - that the reason I'm here isn't because I'm rich - but because my country is rich. People here do travel, but mostly unless you are very rich you're limited to within your own country. To get a passport is horrendously expensive and I heard that in Chengdu you have to pay $40 to just enter the American Embassy! There is always the dream of going to America but I don't think people have a clear idea of what Western society is at all (hell! I don't either). What is known is the money and if you were living on less than a dollar a day you might think America was heaven too. What is known is money, football, films, franchises and families - everyone wants to know how many people are in your family. Longevity, health,
a job and family are the tenets of the society here - but on the surface
that's no different to the West. I think that they are stressed much more
strongly here though, whereas in England I'm encouraged to just do the
best I can - there are no safety nets here, no social security, (possibly)
less of responsibility to those in need and with so many more people a
longer way to fall if you do fuck up. I think that's what it comes down
to in the end... the sheer number of people all competing here. Everything
just seems more real, you're closer to food, people, toilets, and the living
environment... as a traveller it's astounding - but to a local, maybe life
is about
The other amazing thing about China is the sheer scale of things. Not just the people but the scope of the projects embarked on. Buildings rise and fall in a matter of weeks - city plans change, slums are torn down and the people just removed. An entire tube line was laid in Shanghai in 9 months!!! it took Seimens 2.5 years to get the trains!!! What you don't see when you come to China is Communism. The busses run on time but the government applies force very quietly and subtly - my friend likened it to using pressure points. In Beijing there was a huge police presence - in other places less so I don't get the feeling of big brother watching me here. Travel is relatively unrestricted - most of China is well connected. Still - its hard to tell how much the government controls things - would there really be a whole street of things selling the same thing without government influence? I don't know if its just bad business sense. Private enterprise is everywhere, especially since the so many lost their government appointed jobs but I heard they were heavily taxed. One thing's for sure - the idea of equality and communalism seems to have gone and again, on the surface, China seems like the most capitalist country in the world. So - having
come here - many questions have been answered but unfortunately hundreds
more have been raised. I feel totally overwhelmed here coming from little
old England. The only thing I'm absolutely certain of is that the traditional
Western prejudices
I'd need to write a lot more if I was to even scratch the surface but I have a bus to catch to the border. Tomorrow I'll be in an entirely different country with a new set of problems and questions. If the rest of my trip is anything like this first two months then I can't wait... somehow I think I'll always be looking back to China though.
Date: Wed, 18 Apr 2001 Wow - Lao New Year is... intense... it involves drinking way too much laolao (whisky) and getting into waterfights with the locals - I'm sure it has some hugely significant historical meaning but the kids just love chucking buckets of water over each other... Laos is cool - really primitive compared to China, and more friendly... nice. part of the Golden Triangle too :) I'm looking
forward to Thailand though - wanna get there pretty soon after a stop at
Vang Vian to float down the river for a few hours... I feel like a total
tourist out here - I can't be bothered to learn much of the language after
China and I'm eating things like
It's really weird seeing so many people on the streets (foreigners, not locals) some of the places I've been, like Maung Sing are just single streets so you tend to meet EVERYBODY who's travelling through - makes them pretty hard to shake off too seeing as there aren't so many routes thorough Laos, still its fun; a totally different experience from China - I'm not going to bore you with all the minute details but its weird to see so many people smiling, so much emotion in the conversations, huge houses, generally more relaxed attitudes to life... unless you're a student; a status which conquers all nationalities with its implications... What else about Laos? people are wicked - and some of the men have funny squawky voices which provide hours of amusement... actually - this place has a pretty dark history of late - I'm surprised they're so tolerant of the Americans here- many people are old enough to remember the huge bombing campaign the US conducted against them during the Vietnam war... guess money is more important though in the end... Actually - this
is not a materialistic society on the face of it... village life is incredibly
isolated and basic - electricity is only available for a few hours a day
outside of the big cities... the big cities are small towns... and the
small towns are villages... the villages... well - the real thing... after
China it's nice to have money off my mind for a bit - though tourism is
affecting the 2 big cities Vientiane and
Little difference - all the electronic good are shrinkwrapped which is really cute. Transport generally takes place on the back of trucks and it takes a long time to go anywhere because the roads aren't great... its so hot here that I (and the rest of Laos) are tired all the time so midday siestas are the norm - it's too hot to do anything strenuous during the day so most of the activity takes place in the early morning - the days start early here. There's a curfew - 11:30 here but in more remote places it's as early as 10:00 - it's funny to see people getting tired at 9:00pm but they have to get up early so you can understand... It's a really
friendly place - like anywhere - the more tourists there are, the more
jaded the locals get so it's not so nice here... that said I was invited
for a slap up meal yesterday night by a local bomb disposal expert... the
only place to try real Lao food seems to
Aaanyway - nettime is a bit more expensive here than China so I've gotta find some other way to while away the hours... there's lots of nature to commune with and the Mekong is close by - and squillions of temples to see so lots to be getting on with - gonna see a waterfall tomorrow... joy!
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 Wow - that was a solid 23 hours of travelling out the way but I'm finally in Thailand, all visa'd and particularly hungry and tired... the strange thing is, in my weakened state this place seems a bit like London... I'm certainly not overwhelmed by the heat or claustrophobia that some people have moaned about but after Laos I don't think many places should be too hot... Hanging off the back of a truck was a dangerous but fun way to see Laos in a bit more detail but after 4 hours my arms were tired... the taxi to the Thai border cost 3 times as much as a 150k bus journey but if I've learned anything on my travels it's that taxi drivers are the evillest people alive... Also I learned that Thai 3rd class trains are even worse than Chinese sleepers, but really cheap - less than $4 to travel halfway across Thailand!!! pity I couldn't sleep in that time. Thailand is
a bit odd coming from Laos - there are big company advertisements everywhere,
fat people on the streets, big flashy cars ... there are also people
eating out of dustbins and living next to sewage outlets though, so it
swings both ways, I'll be happy
My other problem right now is music - life without a CD collection is the hardest thing on earth to deal with, which was my other reason to get to Bangkok - I've been told the streets are paved with gold (cd's) so hopefully the new Gatecrasher album should be there somewhere, if not, maybe someone could make it an early birthday present for me... mum? :) Anyway - gotta see a guesthouse owner about a cheap room, cya!
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2001 Hey -I'm in Kalsang road in Thailand!!! Can't remember how to spell it properly though... big surprise - its a shithole...damn... I travelled for so long to get here - Bangkok is basically the traveller's mecca but people here are so stuck up - you can't make eye contact with anyone on the street, I almost feel sleazy even trying to make conversation with a girl here - and for the first time I've felt uneasy about being somewhere alone - probably because of all the cool shit I've been buying :) It is a problem
though - but there are just so many travellers here - its not like in China
where everyone is sacred... many people here are just on holiday too -
not really into the spirit of things... never mind - in 2 hours I'm off
to Ko Phan Gan (?) a beautiful island in the south of Thailand... I'm planning
on just lounging on a beach for 2 weeks - maybe a bit of a swim and a full
moon party thrown in
Anyway - Bangkok was a disappointment - though the city is amazing -I'll explore properly when I come back on the 11th but it's huge, scary, alive 24hrs a day, neon lit, dark dirty and did I mention it was huge? People are actually really friendly when you get a chance to speak to them - it's just when you're walking down the street you might as well be in London for all the good feelings you get from people, oh well... the island should be nice though :)
Date: Fri, 4 May 2001 I don't really
know where I was in the last post... lot's happened since then, but most
of it has been good, it's been hard to get the energy to do much though,
even things like making sense in e-mails are just becoming too much effort...
gahh, gotta get back
I've been in a hammock for almost two weeks now so I'm not altogether with it right now - which isn't so good as I'm having to step out into the real world for a bit to find somewhere to stay tonight... times like this that a guidebook would come in handy.... there are so many shitty tourists out here - when you get a lot of two weekers they bring a totally different vibe to the place... less fun to be in those areas. Thailand is beautiful and amazing but I'd rather be in China, the culture is more exotic and you get a much better feeling walking around - I don't like being alone here at all.... Anyway - this island is beyond anything I can describe, and unfortunately, because my camera is fucked, I can't actually record any of it... damn - I'm gonna buy a wicked camera in Bangkok - Nikon f80 - and spend the rest of the trip looking down a lens... I'm knackered after China - trying to summon the energy to get excited for the full moon party now... oh well--not got much to complain about really - more when I can think in a straight line - right now my mind is just trying to get me to somewhere with a nice beach and somewhere to put my hammock.
Date: Thu, 17 May 2001 Hey - still in Bangkok - what an amazing city - I could live here quite easily! The sewage smell sometimes gets a bit much though - but that's not everywhere :) Anyway - I've been trying to get a boat to Hong Kong recently but it's proving difficult from here - I think I'll fly to Singapore in a couple of days and take it from there - there will be far more boats there. I don't know too much about Singapore and HK so if you know anyone whom I could meet up with when I get there I'd really appreciate it - yetzi - could you give me you're friend's e-mail address in Singapore? Anyway - craving orange juice right now so I have to go and find some... sorry if I sounded a bit gone in the last few posts but I was... feeling much better now - though getting yearnings to go to China again... oh well - next year - and Ko Phan Gan - god - that was a place... I'll come back with a camera and win thousands of art prizes with some of those sunsets... the whole sky turned pink last night I was there - I jumped into the sea and swum around in red water... wow - full moon party wasn't bad too. Met lots of wonderful people too - one of them is reading this so I'm not going to say anything (aneal :) ) Too much going on to write about at length but travelling is certainly the best excuse for being alive I can think of. Just wish I could get a bloody boat... sea captains are so inconsiderate these days, what with their authorisations and their big eyebrows... or that was just one of them who was a bit of a git... anyway - gotta head back to the port and try again.
Date: Sun, 20 May 2001 Grrr! I just wrote a really long e-mail about how amazing this place is, then the computer just ate the whole thing... damn... patience, patience... (kicks computer) Anyway - life is cool - at least it is now I finished the 36 hour journey I've been doing for the last couple of days - 7 busses, lots of waiting around, 4 Swedes, 2 English girls, 1 heartbroken Malay woman and an Egyptian whom I'm sharing a room with. And no sleep for two days. Damn it's been a weird journey. Fun though. Kuala Lumpur is an amazing city - there are so many different races and religions here I can't tell who's a local, who's a day tripper and who's a tourist! Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Africans, Malay, Thai, millions of people... It's a modern city though - from the little I've seen I'd put it on a par with London easily - be able to tell you more after I've wandered around a bit more... there should be some good clubs here too. Slight problem
is that it's a bit more expensive, but you get what you pay for and I'm
not in poverty stricken areas anymore - Malaysia and Singapore will be
very much first world I reckon, although that's a pretty silly term when
you think about it -doesn't it
Anyway - this place has won my heart coz they have the best selection of pirated music I've ever seen - I just bought 16 CD's for 20 quid including Kid A, Wong Faye (look it up non-China fans), the new REM album, Global Underground and best of all, THE NEW GATECRASHER ALBUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOHOO!!!!! hahahahahaha I'm happy like you wouldn't believe - I've searched 4 countries for 4 months for this! hehehe all I need now is a sofa and a fat hi-fi to listen to it on... Anyway - lots to do - people to go and some bloody amazing food to be eating! cya!
Date: Wed, 23 May 2001 Guys - I've just seen the trailer for the Final Fantasy movie coming out in a few days... I have to say that this looks like being the most incredible piece of animation I've EVER seen... I'm just breathless. Check it out at www.finalfantasy.com... I dunno where I'm going to be when it comes out but I'll be in the cinema the day it comes out - wow - head spinning from that... Anyway - see for yourself - its worth the wait. oh yeah - singapore's pretty nice too :)
Date: Wed, 30 May 2001 Hey, finally got to Oz, though not the way I'd have liked... my attempts to get a boat have ended in total failure, but it was fun to find myself in singapore... I wouldn't have gone to Malaysia either if it hadn't been for that boat hunt! Dunno when I last wrote anything but I'll start with Singapore... it's a great city - smaller than the Isle of White but 12th richest in the world... population of Chinese, Indians, Malays/general Asians and a few ex-pats living their usual life styles... it's rich... what else can I say? everyone there seems to have money on their mind and half the city is made up of shopping centres. Still the people are cool once they've loosened up and had a few drinks (at 3-12 quid a pop!) and you can get some interesting stuff out of them... I had a great time telling chinese people about what China was like :) I spent a long time looking for an actual Singaporean - but no one really seems to have much of a sense of identity there - I didn't see all that many flag waving lager louts anyway - I think people are more interested in work than nationality - but to be honest I don't know - 5 days in a place isn't enough to learn much... still - I miss it. I'm back in
the western world... well, oz at least - people seem a bit strange out
here and the towns don't have much in the way of pavement... and they have
softcore porn in gas stations and cafes. cool! It's also expensive so I'm
cooking my own food and back in dorms but I'm not complaining - I'm a damn
good cook :) had garlic steak with a egg, pepper and chilli sauce today
- and probably have something similar tomorrow... it's good to cook for
myself after 4 months... still - I've gotta try crocodile, kangaroo
I'm going to start hitching down the coast, probably tomorrow but I'm not sure - the receptionist thought I was mad to do that and Australians tend to be frank... I'm not sure where I stand on the safety front here but I'm sure I'll find out after a few days... loads of people have told me it's cool - but it just takes one to shit you up... one thing's for sure -I'm not going to have much fun if I hang around in backpacker haunts for the next 3 weeks... Oh yeah! I've wrangled it so I'm staying in Hawaii for 5 days! I've had to sacrifice New Zealand to do so but a week is an insulting time to have been spending there anyway - and the accents REALLY piss me off - oh well - I just can't wait to get to Canada... my mind's not really on oz the moment...
Date: Tue, 12 Jun 2001 Wow - been a full couple of weeks - I'm not sure as usual where I left off but I was probably quite depressed in the last one... all better now I've got to Brisbane. Cairns was a bit of a shame really - the culture shock from just spending 4 months in Asia was too much and I spent 4 days not really doing a great deal apart from having an insane night out (gay bars, casinos, regular clubs and meat markets all included) and getting hassled by the police twice in 2 days... I felt threatened there which was a new experience 'cause Asia is pretty damn safe as long as you don't leave your passport sticking out of your bag... The aborigines in the north are as fucked up as everybody says they are - totally lost in the cities and perfectly happy to spend all their benefits on drugs and booze (well the ones you see hanging around are). One pregnant girl who said she was the same age as me but looked at least 40 was desperate to sleep with me - which is a first but it was an offer I really had to take time to consider (at a very great distance from her, i.e.. Sydney.) I got pulled out of bed by the police one morning because I'd dared to mention hitchhiking to my receptionist and she'd called them... this gave me a rather bad impression of the Queensland cops - which puts me in line with the rest of Australia... I then hitchhiked
about 3000k south to Byron bay, via Mission Beach which was fun and quite
scary... it took much longer to hitch 100k back North to get to Brisbane
but I ended up at an amazing place called Surfer's Paradise; 40k of pure
tourist hell, but if you
Date: Wed, 13 Jun 2001 Wow - so much
going on - so much to think about right now... I have to start looking
for direction now - I'm thinking about making a travel book - it's been
on my mind for sometime now - what do you think of my writing? have I done
anything that would warrant
Australia has really made me wonder what travelling really is. I've never known but sometimes I get closer than others and right now I'm confused... I know a few things. It's about throwing yourself to the wind and taking advantage of the opportunities that come up. It's about being surprised and shocked and scared and even bored sometimes but I didn't think it was about going drinking and fucking... thats what Oz seems to be and maybe I've just got the wrong impression but isn't Aussie culture pretty much the same as English culture? I've never been lectured on the evils of English Imperialism at home but there are plenty of racist hicks in England too. They just don't all have mullets as magnificent as these guys. Once I got used
to being called an apple every 5 minutes it was easy to settle into oz
life. Apart from the hitchhiking it's just like being in England - but
with palm trees. The people I've met have been nice but I've not been inspired
to start a school here or
I've been finding people depressing of late - so many couples, so many happy faces... hehe - perhaps I just like to surround myself with misery but I think it's more than that... but I can't get a handle on it... I've just arrived in Sydney - considering it's the capital I'd have thought the place stayed open 24hrs and I'd been planning on sleeping there but it didn't and I'm not ... Sydney seems like a top place but it's too early to say much yet - there's an interesting ethnic mix - lots of Greeks and Asians - far too many English backpackers and not so many Isralies... I'm trying to spend my time writing but it's hard - still there are plenty of characters to meet out here just waiting to be put onto a page. I've spent the
last few days wandering pretty aimlessly around Brisbane, which really
isn't much more than a small town - with a small town mentality - it was
funny to hear the locals warning me about the gangs and the drugs - and
not to trust anybody - which
Is there a traveller inside everyone just waiting to get out... I think so but I do feel different from the people I meet who stay in one place... we wear our traveller's badges - the bracelets and necklaces - but there's no difference - especially in Oz... Asia has a more alternative crowd I think - you get a much better chance to express who you are and develop yourself - I feel like I'm back in the rat race here... God - there's
no use writing an e-mail feeling like this... there are cool things to
do here - walking a few km to the station today at night was amazing -
just watching the city lights get bigger and bigger - with a Gatecrasher
soundtrack in my ears... I'm chasing
I know the problem actually - I'm lonely. simple - and I don't really have the energy or the enthusiasm to rectify the situation right now - you probably know how it works - too long on the road drains you, which is why I've come to Sydney... it's the last place on my list in Oz so I can just settle down here for a bit - knowing I'm not moving on for a couple of weeks is what I really need right now... and some banging clubbing this weekend I hope! Ok - cyas later - I'll be in a better mood then - sorry for trying to drag you down with me :)
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2001 The worst thing that could possibly happen to me has happened... and I've got no-one to blame but myself - I didn't backup my computer for 2 months so I lost 2 months of work when it crashed 2 days ago. Simple, but everything I've done since Thailand has vanished... 30,000 words
of journal, poetry, all my contacts, short stories - the plan for my book...
all gone... I can't really describe how I feel but it's a mixture of good
and bad... The funny thing is I don't really feel like I've lost that much
- noone was ever going to see
Sometimes you have to have a disaster before you can understand the true value of what you've got. I feel like I've gone through a rebirth - I've stopped writing a shitty travel book I was never going to publish and started writing a journal again and this time I'm actually going to try and write publishable stories that are some good - I feel much freer than before strangely - I started work on a great short story today. Oh yeah - I discovered the meaning of life today - but I can't tell anyone about it yet... hehe - I am serious though. Sydney is cool
- I've sunk to meeting people off the Internet at the moment coz I can't
be bothered to go to bars... going to do some photography around Bondi
tomorrow... wondering how u guys are all getting on wherever you are. Have
you started speaking to people yet Anele? Did you make it to Alice
Springs Tali? Have you impaled yourself on an oar yet milly? Have you
Date: Sat, 23 Jun 2001 I've had a few nightmares of late, 5 to be precise but I'm not going to bore you with them - they are the reason I spent most of the afternoon writing gibberish though. I can't believe I'm about to leave Sydney - Either in 2 or 4 days depending on mood. Its great (as I say in every post). I'm not sure about Hawaii - It should be fun but the joke will probably wear off before I'm finished with it. Other than that - not much to say - been enjoying my new found meaning of life... but it's a shallow victory as my ideas on reason have had the bottom kicked out of them by recent revelations... which means I can now understand why I'm here - but have no way of understanding my environment or feelings... does travel make you deeper or does it just make you talk shite? Don't answer that please. Anyway - food on the mind - gotta go. Big hellos to Tali, Anele and Euwan - you're the coolest people alive right now.
Date: Mon, 25 Jun 2001 This is the biggest headfuck of my life - much more so than China. I'll explain. I'd not slept for 3 days when I finally booked into my hotel this morning - we'd had a party in Sydney the night I left so I stumbled out into the street at 7am, inebriated and having left my book and psion docking station in the hostel (as well as my headphones in somebody's pocket :( ). On the way to Hawaii I met a nice American girl and we talked and (she) slept while I meditated on what was to come. We got into Honolulu at 11pm and she got into a taxi to her plush hotel while I wondered what the fuck I was going to do when the bus to the city cost 8 bucks and the hotel 15 when I only had 10 a day to spend! I decided to sleep at the airport so I managed to get past security into the departure lounge and bunked down. It was too hot and I was too exicted at the prospect of being in a new continent to ever have a hope of sleeping so I got up and walked around. I met some freaky homeless people and a wonderful security woman who talked in that slow, chilled out way that people who don't want more than an island has to offer them tend to. I found from her that I could get a city bus to town for $1, which made the shuttle bus (and all those that use it) seem a bit idiotic so I waited until 5:30am to get it. I'd found out a few hours before that Americans don't understand English, at least not the way I talk it so I've head to learn to speak more loudly and clearly - soon I'll be as bold as a real American. Still, I felt like I was in a foreign country when I had to keep repeating myself to officials - the danger of being mistaken for a junkie or a vagrant is something I have to bear in mind - I've been saved from hassle before by explaining myself clearly and eloquently. Hawaii is a weird-ass place, full of weird-ass Americans. Theres no way to put it politely. The hotels aren't cheap and neither is anything else so there aren't many backpackers and the tourists are more likely to be in awe at me for my travels rather than bond and provide any intelligent conversation. Like China there aren't many people like me so I can get in there and have my own adventures. This is an exciting prospect. I didn't like Oz not because it was too normal - but because there were too many backpackers trying to do the same thing as me - I felt crowded. I've met ODD people since I got here and my head is messed with other in other ways too. Since I got to bed at 1pm after no sleep for about 60 hours I woke, fresh at 4am and then wondered why the streets were full of drunken idiots, whores and weirdos. I went for a couple of burgers at Jack in the Box and sat down next to 3 locals. Travellers are treated differently - at least at that time in the morning. I could tell they were scoping me out to see if I was worth robbing - all they talked about was money and they finally became at ease when I told them what little I had was in traveller's cheques. This is a dangerous place and I'm going to have to be VERY careful. The problem lies not with the people that might hurt me but with the normal americans. when I turned up dirty,hungry and tired anywhere in China I'd had no problems finding someone who would help me out. Here I'm more likely to repulse people as the sense of what is normal and acceptable is very strict. People don't even jaywalk, the idiots. :) Anyway - I'm about to pack 2 days worth of food and head off into the hills with my hammock and CD player. I don't want to see another tourist while I'm here but a few locals might be nice - I'm told the North Shore is good for that. I can only really afford 1 more night in the hostel so I'll do that the day before I leave - wash my clothes and get sorted for Canada - until then, it's off into the wilderness haha :). Ok - gotta try and catch a couple of hours sleep before I head. Cya's later and don't worry about me - the whole trip has been a preparation for whats about to come - I've just got to see how long I can take it for.
Date: Wed, 18 Jul 2001 I don't think I've written since Hawaii but a lot has changed since then! a lot. Hawaii was amazing. I'll be back there one day - the tourist side of things was a joke but the population is mostly Hawaiian and Asian (always a good thing). I met some great people, and one incredible person and improved my suntan no end. The best thing about the place is there's so much to see and do - if I get back there then there are about 6 other islands to explore and the tourists are mostly located in easily avoidable (or bombable) places :) From Hawaii it was on to Vancouver which came as a shock. Hastings road is one of the worst affected areas in North America. There is a HUGE smack and crack problem here and people wander the streets like living skeletons begging for their next fix. They're hardly a danger considering they're all but dead. The dealers are more lively and follow quite proactive sales techniques such as intimidation and assault. I've never been scared walking anywhere before (apart from the tiger leaping gorge) so this was a first - head down, broad steps - show people that you can hurt them if they fuck with you - very unpleasant. Strangly Hastings is situated next to a huge tourist area called gastown = the heart of old Vancouver. There are some beautiful old buildings here but the masses choose to flock to the steam clock instead - which is actually electrically powered. Since I ran out of money I've been handing out flyers around it every day and watching people as they wait for something amazing to happen is quite amusing. They look so dissapointed when they realise all it does is blow steam on the hour. Yesterday the clock stopped to hordes of idiot tourists were waiting for ages - watching a stopped clock! Other interesting things in Vancouver. A crack whore tried to rob me the other day. I was walking in the pouring rain to find a hostel (I'd just got back from jasper) when I saw this skeletal woman bawling her eyes out. She'd fallen over and noone was helping her so I took her back to her apartment. When we got there she tried to get me to come inside with her - and I agreed - but not to stay the night. I knew it might be a set up but I wanted to see how far I could safely go. She looked like she needed a fix - she kept putting her head back and wheezing and she was very cold. When she got to the door she had to wait for her roomate to let us in - I began to be concerned as she'd said she lived alone. I tested her to see exactly how much she wanted me inside and it turned out she was DESPERATE to get me through the door. I left. Vancouver also has quite an authentic Chinatown - there's a lot of resentment about the Chinese here and they tend to be a bit cliquey. I didn't expect to be ignored in a shop though. Most things were only in Chinese and people walked the streets talking Mandarin. Even the buildings were slightly reminiscent of China... if it was China I'd have enjoyed it but I can see why there's such a separation here. I mentioned earlier I was out of money. I discovered this 1000k away from where I am now, in Jasper. I had a choice then - to go with Sally and Chris and let them look after me - or to head out on my own and see what came my way. guess which one I chose. It took 2 days to hitchike back to Vancouver through some absoltely spectactular countryside - mountains, hill and plains mainly. There was a big storm and the fog rolled away above me. when it dried I could see rainbows refracted in sprays on the farmers fields. I slept by the roadside at Lake Okanagan, which was scary but quite peaceful once the big trucks had finished thundering past. It's the first time I've actually had to be outside but not the last if I plan on cycling thru America. I was scared of getting eaten by a bear as usual but, as usual none came. I headed to Vancouver partly becasue the place was familiar and partly because I knew I could get work here - at least to pay for my lodging. Canada can get very expensive very fast. I started handing out flyers for my hostel - 4 hours a day - to pay for the room and I'd all but decided to go home. I was planning on changing my ticket to fly out of vancouver the same day. It was pretty strange but so many good things happened at once that it totally restored my spirits. I met some Londoners who gave me $20 - which I've used to eat for the last few days. I also met Marcus who invited me to his web design studio to see if we could do anything... that would be preferable to manual labour and probably more profitable but we'll have to see - I'm here now having spent the day designing a site in 3d studio max - just a personal one but I want to show him what I can do. I'm ready to
go home - mentally and physically I'm tired but I'm not satisfied with
what I've done yet - I don't want to look back on this trip and be dissapointed
in any way so I"m going to hang on for a little longer - buy a bike and
cycle to LA. its about 2500k so I may hitchike some of the way. This trip
has never been soley about having fun - its about all kinds of pretentious
things such as facing up to
Anyway - I'm homesick for the same old stuff - Gatecrasher, friends and possibly even family - and buffy - god I need to see that again. I realised recently that once again - what I envisioned myself to be and what I really am are different - time to readjust my head once again. Will be going home soon. One of the main reasons I didn't come back now is because my tan would have started to fade before uni started :) first impressions are very important u know. (shallow, me?)
Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2001 OK - big things have been set in motion in the last few days - I bought a bike and I'm about to cycle to LA - haha - I don't know how far it is but it's a long way... good thing I brought a couple of books along for the ride...the plan is to cycle till about 6pm, pitch my hammock and read and sleep till morn...food and washing will probably happen at some point too... I dunno - I really want to come home now but pride is the main thing - I'll get this bit of the trip out of the way quickly and I can get home and be proud of what I've done - 6 months is a long time to waste if I look back and am disappointed in any way at the end of it all...the only disaster was the journal and that was totally my fault...sob Life is good - lots of mind changing, life altering thingymajigs going on right now - I would have left today but I was still a bit tired and this isn't the sort of thing to enter into lightly as far as I can tell - I've still got to get through the arsey US Customs yet but I've washed my clothes for the first time in a while which will help a bit at least... OK - got to finish this animation and this crappy horror book I started last night - called The Keep - really badly written but kinda compelling - I can't leave Canada till it's done... kinda a metaphor for this trip dontcha think?
Date: Mon, 23 Jul 2001 Hey - I travelled about 60km today - though only about 25 of that was on bike - I cheated and took a skytrain out of Vancouver but if I'd not done that then I'd still be halfway to the border...I've decided to remain in Canada for one more day - just because it'll be cheaper to buy breakfast here in the morning... I checked my bank account for the first time in six months - shocking... but all I need now is food - there's plenty of land availiable to hitch a tent so that noone can see - I bought a green one with Camo in mind - see I'm not as stupid as I look :) I've been accomodated tonight by 3 very kind Canadians - I'll find out how American hospitality compares in the morning ... I'm sad to leave Canada though - people are cool, approachable and kind. I've basically lived off other people's charity in this last week while I've sorted things out and it's been easy ... like when you relax and fall back - its hard to stop yourself from flinching but if you don't then maybe someone will be there to catch you - that's as good a metaphor as I can think of in my current state of mind... Tired...I'll try to get the km's up to 50k tomorrow - 25 in the morning and 25 in the afternoon once the midday sun has buggered off - it wasn't fun cycling in that heat today - not with my backpack...oh well - I'll either have the physique of a bodybuilder or a broken 90 year old by the end of this - I know which one I'd prefer - the 90 year old - then I could get a free bus pass hahahaha! anyway - cyas all soon in different dimensions and atomic formations
Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2001 I'm tired - and I'm not sure if I'm well or not but things are going well - just tired - I'm sorting things out tonight - starting the trip back home - I've not made it all the way down the coast but Washington was pretty and I've been chilling out in Astoria for a few days - checking my head...I'll be in Portland tomorrow morning but whether to go to Santa Barbara or LA - hmm - I think I'm ready to head home but I just can't bring myself to admit it - for one thing my tan will have faded by September... hehe, just seems like an oppurtunity wasted but right now all I can think about is Gatecrasher and my own bed... I need some headspace - America is not the place to get it - it's fucking crazy out here - but the people are well cool - not like I'd expected! I can not only tolerate Americans now but I really like them - I guess it all depends who you hang with but hillbillies, stoners and bums are fun...shame I just can't take too much more of it... I don't want to get home and regret leaving... Oh well - time will tell eh - hope u're all doing well on u're respective journeys
Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2001 That's it - it's over...I'm home I'm not sure what to think or how to respond - I feel quite numb mostly but also relieved to see some familair faces and locations - not having to introduce myself to someone new every five seconds...but it doesn't feel quite right. I should explain
- I was on the West Coast of America a couple of days ago - happily cycling
and hitching down the West Coast. I ended up in a small town called Astoria
in Oregon where I met some people my own age - great at first, but 2 nights
of drugs and booze didn't help my already shaky frame of mind. I realised
it was time to leave when the girl I'd been flirting with that night told
me she was 15! It was a strange place Astoria - lots of troubled kids who'd
left home and partied every day they seemed so much more mature than they
were but at 19 I was the oldest...It's scary when the ground suddenly drops
away from you - these people wern't on my wavelength
I left for Portland
at 4am - arriving at 6 - from there I took a Greyhound bus to LA - then
flew to New York expecting to have someone to stay with there - only I
didn't - by this time I'd been travelling non-stop for about 50 hours and
I wasn't thinking all too clearly - I decided to come home so I changed
my flight and flew out of JFK a few hours later... I think it was the best
thing to do - I don't feel like I'm
The last 6 months have just been incredible - and I know I 'd like to travel for rest of my life - meeting people like you has changed me... it's just... I don't know - but it almost feels like I'm trapped now - I've all these new ambitions but "normality" is gradually closing in... plus my sleeping patterns are so fucked I've only slept twice in 5 days... maybe that's the problem right now :) So - what's been learnt from the trip? 1. (Very important) perception is subjective (repeat until you understand this). 2. People are not scary, nasty or generally unkind...people have reasons for their behavior and once you've worked them out you can control anyone and everyone...or you can coexist more easily with people :) 3. Beer is cheaper in other countries There are loads of other things but I'm not going to bore you with my silly philosophies - I think the most valuable thing anyone can get from travel is just to see how other people live - when I first started travelling all I had to compare with was England - now I have 9 other countries tucked away in my head... for me the best part is to be able to shut my eyes and walk down paths already trodden... I wondered at one point whether life was art. Yes - but there are times when0 you have to step out of the picture frame and rest up... So - Andy, Anele,
Ute, Tali, Li Hu ming, Yetzi, Mike, Tony, Prissie, Michelle, Tiffany, Bex,
Molly and Ally, Gregory, Gombo and everyone else my scrambled brain is
hiding right now - thank you...hope to see you again sometime and somewhere
around...but if not - then it's
Matt Bowman |