Middle of nowhere

Trying to hold true to my previoius post: I really didn't plan to spend the night in a shady motel straight from Memento in a sorry excuse for a town called Bishop. The choice was based on a highly scientific interpolation formula I named "that's about halfway to Vegas". To be honest the drive on the road 108 through the mountainous Stanislaus national forest had a big influence as well. And tomorrow it's about two hours drive to death valley before switching states and arriving to the planets largest concentration of Elvis impersonators. Or at least that's what the common stereotype of our favorite neon-lit gambling haven promises. Tomorrow I'll find out. :)

I think I would also have a full post about how social media is changing traveling but I need a bit more rest before that. Driving for eight hours a day kind of makes you respect the cab drivers.

Zipping and sipping

First road trip day, whee! It all started with a caltrain ride to South San Francisco where my chevy was waiting for me. It is the sensible Malibu but it's nice to drive, the seat adjustments are great and it has iPod connectivity so I won't be running out of German schlager or Finnish pro-communist songs anytime soon.

I started by heading north towards Sonoma where I did the Canopy tour where we zip lined for about hour and a half from giant redwood to another. The longest leg was 800 feet or around 250 meters and the views - as one might expect - were truly stunning. Too bad I couldn't take a camera with me because I couldn't fasten my phone to my harness. Well, I guess the memory will serve me for quite long so everything is fine. Everyone also got a diploma for doing it but it seemed that most of the diploma was just an ad for a local restaurant. Well, it included a free bruschetta (worth $8,95!) so how could I have resisted... Didn't have the arrogance to just eat the free bruschetta and go so I had an early dinner there as well. I guess that was their strategy all along and yet again it worked.

Only after the dinner I became a true sod sonomite when I headed to the wine country. I guess not many people know that the wine that really got me in to wines was Ravenswood Sonoma county old vines Zinfandel 2001 at a wine expo in 2004 perhaps. So what better destination for my winery fix than to revisit the beast that started it all? It was more appealing on a nostalgic level though. Guess my taste has evolved a bit since then but nevertheless it was a nice encounter.

For my accommodation I went to a Starbucks in Santa Rosa to google some reasonably priced guesthouses or hostels in the area. And apparently there are none. So enjoying the liberty of still having wheels under me (and not being totally wasted from the wine tasting) I booked a room in Vallejo. I also learned to love my gps more and more during the day.

The best sights were on highway one but the wine country didn't fall too far behind either. Now it feels nice to have a proper bed and clean sheets so early tomorrow morning I can start planning the next leg of the journey. Because road trips aren't really road trips if you know where you will spend the next night 24 hours in advance. ;)

Food stroll

I didn't have a specific plan for today apart from walking around. I did that for about ten kilometers worth and mostly because of food and vintage arcade machines. At least that's what the trip wound up to be about, but since the food here is great it was totally worth it.

First I wandered to Fishermans Wharf and for the first time was disappointed about how touristy the city can be. The crowded cable cars on Powell street I can manage but somehow all the venues in the Wharf seemed like they could be from any basic tourist trap in the world. a pleasant surprise was the Musee Mecanique where I finally found some good use for all the quarters that had been piling up in my pockets. Well, mainly I was playing the original Spy Hunter but there were a lot of other fun arcade games and mechanical devices there that would swallow your coins faster than you could keep track. I didn't want to resort to the exchange machine (as I'd probably be there still) so I ventured onwards. It was about lunchtime so I walked away for ten blocks to find a random deli that served exquisite sandwiches. After lunch and a coffee I mustered the rest of my energy and went shopping once again! And walked a bit more after that.

Back at the hostel and a late afternoon nap later I carried on to my next destination: Spencer on the go. A food truck that serves classic French cuisine that has been adapted for a bit more recreational feasting. I asked for Chez Spencers recommendation and got the most succulent truffle infused lamb vol-au-vent you can imagine. Simply stunning. If you are ever in San Francisco I really recommend checking it out.

Shopping spree

I generally don't enjoy shopping but there is something special about doing it in the States. It might be the cheaper prices, it might be the vast selection of goods or the overly positive and helpful approach of the personnel. Or most likely the combination of those, but out here there is a part of me that actually enjoys shopping. Last time I was kind of forced to do so because the airline managed to lose my checked in baggage but now I left with an almost empty bag in anticipation of the consuming festivities. Besides, shopping is a good activity for those hours that are spent wandering around trying to recalibrate your internal clock for the new time zone. Can't really recommend Abercrombie & Fitch for the jet lagged though as you might mistake yourself being in a night club and that just makes adjusting so much more difficult.

I've been looking around for some car rental options as well and one thing has become apparent: don't do it in the city center or at the airport. The prices in the city start at $700 per week whereas a 20 minute train ride and walking for three blocks can save you around $500. Maybe I should bet that extra half a grand in Vegas on black and see if I should upgrade my sensible car to something more exotic then...

Inspiring sights

Apparently  it is not very common to have such a clear view of Greenland on a trans-Atlantic flight. The melting sheets of ice and the vast scale of it (that can only really be seen from 10 kilometers above) reveal the sorry state of the planet. Well, maybe I am being a bit melodramatic here but nevertheless it was an impressive sight. (I'll try to add some photos later on...) :)

I've been traveling a bit shy of 24 hours straight and the flight is about to land in San Francisco. Then it's just a short BART ride to the city centre and checking in to a familiar hostel for a few nights to fight the jet lag. At least this time I booked one in advance - first time I was here last December I just arrived and took out my laptop at the airport hoping to find a free wifi. But if traveling around has taught me anything it is that things will always work out in the end. One way or the other. At least they always have no matter if I've been thrown out of a bus in the middle of the night in some small bus stand by a Sumatran "highway" or being chased by a pack of dogs in the night in India. So not having a bed arranged for the first night in a civilized nation whose language you speak fluently wasn't a big concern by comparison. Stupid maybe, but manageable.

Under the water, above the clouds

Having company with me doesn't do good for my blogging. I guess sharing everything in real time reduces the need for sharing stuff online.

But to bring you guys up to speed, lately I have finished my studies in Bangkok, packed my things, moved out from my apartment and spent the time traveling around. Though the first week we spent diving in Phuket and Koh Lanta.



Now we are already in Vietnam, going to spend a couple of days here and after that head onwards to Cambodia. Life is nice.

Taiwan, a brief recap

I visited a friend in Taiwan and on the same trip got a brief introduction to the almost Chinese culture. At least the Chinese part was more prominent than any sort of Taiwanese patriotism, judged by a bystander.

The main theme for the trip might be squeezed in to one word: food. I had some amazing sushi, grilled eel and shabu-shabu from the more Japanese-oriented restaurants, Taiwanese pig blood cake (deep-fried was the best) and pretty much anything with shredded, dried pork. And some great steamed "buns" in Lugang. Not to mention the local pancakes which came in all kinds of savoury varieties and made for an excellent breakfast. And tea. Plain tea, Oolong tea, tea with milk, Green tea with milk (microwaved to your liking in your local 7-Eleven), even cold milk tea with jelly(!).

Pretty much only thing in the tea-fron that I missed was Lapsang Souchong. It appears that the Taiwanese "tarry Lapsang Souchong" is pretty much produced only for export. None of the tea shops knew anything about it, even though our total lack of common language might have played a part in it as well. It's a shame because frankly it was something I was kind of looking forward to.

I spent most of my time in Taichung and I have to say that the museums there are worthy attractions. I especially enjoyed the Museum of Natural Sciences and the Fine Arts museum was a positive surprise as well. Highly recommended if you happen to be around.

The lack of touts and tourist industry (and English-speaking people for that matter) was quite striking. Even in the local tourist information it was hard to find a person who could at least tell you that they don't speak English. Let alone one who actually could. But I guess if you look at the statistics I should have learnt Chinese instead. Over one billion people can't be wrong.