FollowJohn.com

I’m at the Korean Air Lounge in Seoul on my way back to the states. I had an amazing time during my Jakarta -> Shanghai trip. Unfortunately, my internet connection was funny during my stay in Shanghai so I didn’t upload any photos or information about the trip. I’ve been keeping track of my adventures and will upload them when I get home.

I’m not ready to go back home and have already started trying to find a way to get back to Asia. I think I’ll even miss the Chinese men snorting loudly, spiting anywhere and picking their noses (this seems to be common among men and women in public). Ahh… the little things (and sometimes big).

I just found out from my Indonesian friend, Indah, that the Marriott where I’m staying was hit by a suicide bomber in 2003. 12 people were killed and 150 injured in August 2003 when a car bomb was detonated outside. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_Marriott_Hotel_bombing)

When we drove up to the hotel the car was checked for bombs and then we passed 2 gates that had to be lifted. Then we went through metal detectors and had our bags checked while a guy with a large machine gun stood nearby.

All of this may sound grim but it was done in a very pleasant way. The people here have been incredibly friendly and courteous. They all seem to be doing a great job and don’t make you feel uncomfortable. We’re in the new business district which is very nice and feels safe.

My friends Indah and Ika are coming up from Bogor today so we’ll be touring around town. It’s still the fasting month so no eating or drinking during the day for the strict Muslims. I’ll let you know what I learn about the city.

So far the flights have all gone well. It’s about 6:00 AM Monday morning at the Singapore airport (6:00 PM Sunday EST). Here’s what I look like after the 17 hour flight from Los Angeles. The total trip will be 30 hours but well worth it.

This week I did my first non-tandem skydive, and plan on doing many more. After 9 I get to jump completely solo and then work towards my A license. I hope everyone will join me at some point and jump. It’s amazing!

I’m leaving for Indonesia in the morning and then Shanghai the following week. I’ll be posting information and pictures during the trip. Hopefully, at the end, I’ll also be uploading photos from past trips. I have quite a bit of buildup that I need to get on the site.

I finally took the time to put together the other video clips that I recorded from Brussels. I took a walk the last day after the event and recorded pieces of it. It’s a bit shaky but I hope you like it. The music is one of the songs I had playing in my iPod shuffle while I was walking around. Keep an ear open for the accordion player.

A few people have been asking what I use to make these videos. I just got a new Canon PowerShot SD800 IS digital camera to take photos/video, bought an additional 2GB memory card and use iMovie on my Mac to put together the video.

I wanted to test out a different way to document what I see using my new digital camera. This is from yesterday after I arrived in Brussels, Belgium. I’m an amateur at this and would love to know what you think.

Yes, you heard that right! On my previous trip, at the end of March, I had a 9-hour layover at the Singapore airport (don’t ask). I don’t know of a better airport to be in for that long. It’s absolutely gorgeous with live plants, flowers and water features. I was fortunate enough to be able to stay in the Singapore Airlines lounge so I took advantage of the food, sleeping area, internet access, and even the showers.

There is also a tourist desk in the airport that will set you up with a free tour (2 different ones to choose from) of the city if you have a layover for at least 5 hours. So I took a great 2+ hour excursion around the city (see all the photos). They handle everything for you - signup, passports, immigration, bus ride, and boat ride. Very cool!

As we (all of the tourists) were getting ready to head towards immigration to leave the airport I noticed a large group of people dressed alike. Turns out they were “Agria Swara” - the Bogor Agricultural University Student Choir from Indonesia. They were on a layover heading for Budapest, Hungary where they were going to compete in an international choir competition. We started making faces at each other (ok, I was flirting) and then eventually we were hanging out. Somehow, I’m always the white guy standing out in the group. I got to practice the few phrases I know in Bahasa Melayu (Malay) which is very similar to Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian). They seemed to get a good laugh.

The tour ended up taking us on a bit of a touristy route which was so-so but it was really wonderful to get out of the airport and enjoy the fresh air. I had a great time just hanging out with my new friends. The group and I filled up one entire bus together. A week later I received great news - they won 2 gold medals for Mixed Choir and Folklore and one conductor achievement prize. Congratulations to them! I asked them to get the gold for me and I’m sure that’s why they won…

I’ve finally updated my latest travel list for the year. It’s been hectic, but good, with work around here. Tomorrow, I leave for nearly a month with a back-to-back from Sydney, Australia to Mumbai, India. I’ll keep you posted!

Just got back home from my Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia trip on Sunday. The airports and flights back were fairly smooth considering the typical experiences. This time I was prepared for the airplane bathroom tricks so I didn’t have such a shocking experience.

KL seemed like a somewhat small but spread out capital city. Malaysia is a Muslim country with a large mix of Malay, Indian and Chinese people. Everyone seems accepting of the other and it’s a warm and friendly environment.

I did make the mistake one day of getting on the train (subway) in the middle of rush hour. I was completely held into place on all sides by other passengers. I’ve never seen so many people on a train at once. The only saving grace was that I could see over top of everyone which helped it feel more spacious.

It’s definitely a country that I want to visit again and hopefully explore some more. Most of my favorite experiences involve the people and not always the city itself.

Today, I completed my first flight with Malaysia Airlines. They’re supposedly one of the few 4 star airlines in the world. They definitely rank way up there as far as comfort goes.

For example, I needed to “take care of business” before heading off on the 21 hour flight (1 hour refueling in Stockholm) from Newark to Kuala Lumpur. As the rest of the passengers were boarding I helped myself to the clean and large bathroom in the front of the plane. I could stand straight up and turn around without touching anything. There were orchids by the sink and they even had a sanitary seat cover on the toilet to let you know all was clean.

So, I sit down, and to my surprise, the flight attendants had laced the seat with ice cubes. My cheeks puckered and stopped natures process. After the shock settled, I looked left only to be blinded by my white flesh beaming in the full length mirror. Fortunately, my other organs relaxed since the sensations now changed from butt to blurry vision and everything came out just fine.

Business finished, I put my hands in the large sink with a spigot that actually reaches out far enough to get my hands wet - yippee! I push the button and it proceeds to spit at me at nearly the speed of light and ricochets off my hands to my shirt and slacks. Crap!

Now cleaned up and back to my seat a flight attendant with a pleasant smile offers a glass of champagne. Haha… No thanks - I’m not falling for another one. I’m starting to catch on to their little tricks. They just need to remember that payback is hell…