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Crossing the Hudson River

On Saturday, February 12, I reentered the Manhattan Island after 456 days on the road. My trip took me through 37,000 miles of adventures I would never forget.
But in the immediate, as I was driving through the Georges Washington Bridge, I could not completely unwind, since there was pressing matters to take care of. As I entered New York State, I could not really just drive around. In fact, I had to be very discreet, as my registration and inspection had expired months ago.

Arriving in Times Square.

So it is with very little fuss that I crossed the city, dropped my dad in a hotel and continued toward Brooklyn after stopping twice on the way to see some friends.

Parking in New York can be challenging, even for a world class traveler.

When I got to my old neighborhood, I stopped to the auto shop I used to spend time at, and also the place where I got my vehicle ready for this extraordinary trip. Everybody was doing well, and it was great to see a lot of old friends.

I arrive in Brooklyn, at the auto shop. Singh, Mike and others.

Next, I went back to my old house, and met with my landlord, Jay. He was aware I was coming back, and had space in the driveway for my truck. It is where it is going to stay for few weeks, the time for me to settle down and get the paperwork sorted out.

Reentering Brooklyn by the Manhattan Bridge.

All my belongings are there as well, in the basement since 2009. I don’t really want to open boxes as long as I don’t have an apartment, so even now, two weeks after coming back, I am still wearing my expedition-style clothes as I roam the streets of Manhattan. I did shave my beard as people were looking at me a strange way, I thought.
Jay gave me some mail which arrived a while back, and it turned out that I was in a more complicated position that I thought.
Apparently, I broke a new record without even knowing it. It seems that some papers didn’t go through after I left, resulting in some problems with the Department of Motor Vehicle. Consequently, as I was driving happily in exotic regions, my driving license was suspended. Which probably makes me the only man in history who drove around the world with a suspended driving license…

It feels good to be back in New York which is the place I still call home.

As night was falling, I took the subway back to Manhattan where I met a small group of people to have drinks in the Lower East Side and celebrate the successful expedition.
In the few weeks following these events, I have been of course readapting to the life in the city, but also working hard to prepare my future. I am staying at Sergio’s apartment for few weeks, and from there I am straightening my administrative status, and trying to find a job.
I think I may be too exigent in my job search as of now. After everything I saw in the last months, I need something that will be very challenging and exciting. I can’t work just for the money, I need more. As promised, I will let you know when something comes up. I sent my Carnet de Passage back to AAA, which will allow me to get back the huge guaranty I had to leave in order to be able to cross borders.

The Carnet de Passage.

I have been reconnecting with my past in the last two weeks, spending time with people who matter to me. Of course it is strange to be back here, but I can already tell that I am still in love with New York, which is a relief. After all, I need a place I can call home.
I will be busy in the next few weeks, and months. First of all, I have to find this miracle job. Then, I will update this website so it is easier to navigate through the different places I have been to, now that the chronological order matters less. Dan – the friend who spent some time with me in Peru – gave me a hard drive with the video he shot while we were traveling, and I would love to make it available on this website as well. In the upcoming time, there will be more maps and details on such expedition preparation, so it will be helpful for travelers. Also, I would love to work on a book. But it is going to be a side project, something I can work on once I have a job.
So please keep checking here for new content. There will be other updates, and I would love if you guys could stick around.
My apologies for not updating the website earlier. Apologies also to the hundreds of people who emailed me but still didn’t receive a reply. I will be working on it soon!

Driving through Utah.

Indeed, as I am writing this, at least than 400 miles from New York City, it does look like I am going to be able to do it. On Saturday, after fifteen months on the road, I am going to reenter the city via the George Washington Bridge.
For the longest time, while advancing through remote countries, I have been reluctant to say I was driving around the world. I always preferred to declare I was “trying” to go around the world. Now it may be time to change that.
Few days back, after spending the night in southeast Utah, we were back on the road and passed the Colorado state line. We were still going through arctic temperatures, and I couldn’t help but be amazed that the truck never gave me much problem, no matter what climate I was in. In temperatures ranging from -30F to 130F, the vehicle started right away each time. The steering box is not leaking as much now, since the liquid is not as thin in the cold, and my fridge doesn’t complain either after having kept food cold through the hottest climates on earth. Basically, me and my dad are the only one to object to the ridiculous freezing temperatures.

Mesa Verde National Park, dwellings in the cliffs.

Nobody knows what became of the inhabitants.

Shortly after entering Colorado, we leave the main road to penetrate the Mesa Verde National Park. A civilization of Pueblo Indians lived in the cliffs there around AD 1,200.

Nobody knows why they disappear in the next hundred years. Disease or just looking for better life conditions may have been the cause. Regardless, it is fascinating to visit the dwellings protected from the natural elements by the cliffs.

The visit is very uncomfortable because of the cold and snow, and soon enough we are back on the road.

I drive through the mountains of Colorado after stopping for lunch in charming Durango.

Leaving Mesa Verde Park.

Everybody does a good work at keeping the road relatively free of snow, so the progression is easy. We spend a night in Alamosa, and in the morning I spend some time finding a new power converter for my laptop, as I forgot mine in the previous motel. I guess I can’t complain, given that I really didn’t loose much in this long trip.

In the Colorado mountains.

Once the mountains are behind, we go a bit south and enter Oklahoma. It is the first of many days driving through monotonous landscapes. There are not many photos to take, and I apologize for the banality of the ones I present here. As I was traveling though foreign countries, I noticed that most inhabitants spent a lot of time outside, therefore I could witness easily their intimate life. Now, because of the cold and the very different ways of our western life, I am just going through mostly empty landscapes.

Leaving Colorado.

Many people think my accent is pretty funny tough, when I stop for food in restaurants along the route. It seems like they don’t see many foreigners driving through. Food is not great in the many places we stop at, but the option of cooking outside is not here anymore. It is beyond doubt not a culinary tour anyway, and we eat in the cheapest places around.

Church in Oklahoma. Everything is flat and immense.

You can drive straight lines for hundreds of miles.

We stop quickly in Guthrie, a town north of Oklahoma City, famous for its brick and stone Victorian buildings. The place seems to be empty of its inhabitants as people are awaiting a fresh snowstorm later in the evening.

Guthrie, few miles north of Oklahoma City.

After a night in Oklahoma City, we visit the Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, which is fun and features interesting painting exhibits.

The Oklahoma City Capitol. Notice the oil well just in front.

The Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum.

More driving brings us to Fort Smith, at the border with Arkansas, where we spend the night. The following evening sees us in Memphis, Tennessee. The place is somewhat depressing usually, but even more under the snow and bad weather.

In the morning we walk in the city center, and here too, streets are empty. Poverty is rampant in the city named after the capital of ancient Egypt.

Memphis skyline.

One of Memphis many churches.

I can see my father begins to be tired by the long trip. Maybe I miscalculated a bit when I planned the trip back, as it is a lot of driving every day, more than what I am used to.

Egypt is on the news every night as well, and I think of the people on the road in Africa, trying to do the eastern route as I did last year. It was already not easy, but now it has to be more difficult.

Beale Street, Memphis. Where people go out to bars.

The Djibouti-Yemen route I used may see an influx of visitors now, even so I believe I was the first one in many years to have used it.

The world famous Gibson guitars factory.

Back in the U.S., we continue to drive toward Nashville, where I have diner with Mrs. Marti, with who I have been emailing since the beginning of my trip. A little incursion south the following day allows us to visit the Jack Daniels distillery in Lynchburg. It is worth to visit if you are around, but I would not do hundreds of miles to check out the site.

Typical landscape in eastern Tennessee.

The county is dry, so I can’t even get one shot for the road before I leave for Chattanooga. A nice surprise awaits me there, as the city is very agreeable. Katie – another follower of the blog – takes me around in the nighttime for a visit, and it looks like people have a nice quality of life and enjoy living there.

Jack Daniels bourbon distillery.

Barrels of Jack.

Named the “dirtiest city in America” back in the 1960s, you would be surprised by its evolution. Nowadays it is very green, there are plenty of waterfront paths for pedestrians and bicycles, a pedestrian bridge also across the Tennessee River, and many museums can be found across the city.

Lynchburg, Tennessee.

Too bad I am not visiting during the summer, I bet there’s enough to spend few days without getting bored. But I have to get going, and after Katie gives me nice samples of southern food, I am back on the highway.

Another familiar sight in Tennessee.

This time I am going north, and for good. There will be no more sinuous paths. I am going to New York, and should be there before the end of the week.

Sunset in southeast Tennessee before entering Chattanooga.

Crossing Virginia takes a long time, especially because I try several times to get to the Blue Ridge Highway. The 75 years old road was part of the New Deal’s efforts to provide jobs to the unemployed of the Great Depression. I already used part of the ribbon of highway along the high Appalachian ridges when I left NY in 2009, and wanted to take the same route to come back.

Riding the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Unfortunately, after driving few dozen miles, the road was closed. Once again we were punished by the snow. We attempted to reenter the road several time at different points of its 400-miles path, but it was closed everywhere.

A lake along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

On Thursday night I arrived in Winchester, northern Virginia. I was now only a few hours away from New York.

Fixing coffee in front of one of the numerous motels we stayed at while driving across the country.

Craps table at the Venetian.

I arrive in Las Vegas on Friday afternoon and check-in what may be the cheapest hotel on the Strip, the Imperial Palace. Nauvlet – a follower of the blog – works for the group who owns the casino, and she was able to get me a great price. After a hunt to find free internet in the city – which is almost mission impossible – I find myself working at the public library and updating the website.

Welcome to Las Vegas.

Last time I was in Vegas was in 1998, and I feel that the place changed a lot. But this has always be the story of this city located in the middle of the desert and surrounded by mountains. Back in 1911, there was not much there to be found, until divorce laws got liberalized in the state of Nevada.

The Luxor casino. 4,400 rooms in the pyramid.

A quickie divorce could now be attained after six weeks of residency which was much easier than in other states. Short-term residents needed places to stay, and hotels on the Strip were born. Nowadays, the city is in bad shape due to the collapse of the real estate market, and the unemployment rate is above 14%.

The New York, New York casino. Am I home already?

Meeting with friends.

There, I meet with some people following the blog, and we go out for dinner. I also see again Gwenaelle and Max, who flew from Texas to meet me. They are longtime French friends who live in Houston, Texas. You may remember that I stopped there for a quick visit in November 2009 on my way out of the U.S.
Back then I had no ideas of all the adventures awaiting me.

The Venetian casino and hotel, built at a cost of $1.5 billion.

Trying my luck – with no success.

Since then, I drove 35,000 miles in my effort to go around the world. We spend two days in Las Vegas visiting the casinos and observing the interesting architecture and interior decoration of these astonishing places. The major attractions in Las Vegas are the casinos, hotels and more recently fine dining. The most famous hotel and casinos are located on Las Vegas Boulevard on the portion called the Strip. Many of these hotels are huge and have thousands of rooms as well as vast casino areas.

View of the Strip.

The Hoover Dam, harvesting the power of the Colorado River.

One historical event which was part of the city growth was the construction of Hoover Dam in 1931. This did bring an influx of construction workers and started a population boom giving the city in the grips of the Great Depression a most needed boost. The dam was the next place we were going to visit. Back in 1998, I drove from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon, and at the time I had to use the road on the dam to cross the Colorado River.
Since October 2010, a new bridge has been open, which allows vehicles to by-pass the dam. Regardless, I took the alternative route so I could stop quickly once again at this monumental piece of engineering.

The new bridge across the Colorado River.

Once the bridge behind, we were driving through Arizona. We pushed to Williams – 60 miles south of Grand Canyon Village – and stopped for the night. That was the first night of serious cold, and not the last.

View from the Grand Canyon south rim.

The Grand Canyon, 277 miles long and 6,000 feet deep was carved by the Colorado through the rock layers of the Colorado Plateau. It is truly is a special place, and one that you can never forget after visiting.

Spectacular view once the fog is gone.

Buttes, spires, mesas and temples in the canyon are in fact mountains looked down upon from the rims.

During the winter, the north rim of the Canyon is closed to traffic due to heavy snow, but the south rim remains open. The trouble met by a traveler during this season is the visibility. The winter fog can be present and you may not be able to see anything when visiting. It is what I got in the first few hours of the day, and I was beginning to think I would not see the Canyon this year. But suddenly, shortly after noon, the white veil lifted, and the fantastic view appeared. Of course the haze dimmed the vivid colors, but regardless, the show was spectacular. In the winter, all the roads of the south rim are open to vehicles, which make the exploration easier as well.

Still looking good for a 2 billion years old canyon.

Going down the road and exiting the park via the eastern route is amazing as well, and one can find surprising natural wonders on the route to Tuba City as well. It is where we stopped for the night. There was not much to do in this small town on the western side of the Navajo Nation. Chief Tuba – at the origin of the place’s name – converted to Mormonism in the late 1800s and invited the Mormons to settle in the area. Tuba City was founded in 1872 and is now home to 8,000 inhabitants, most of them Navajo.

Leaving the Grand Canyon.

The next destination was Monument Valley. As we progressed east in the morning, the weather got worst and snow began to fall in a dense fashion. Visibility dropped quickly, and it was rapidly more difficult to drive on the icy roads.

As we get closer to Utah, snowfalls get worst.

The road 163 is recommended for the fantastic scenery surrounding it, but there’s not much we could see while we drove it. After a while, we arrive at Monument Valley park headquarters, and given the weather, the staff there didn’t recommend a visit of the site. Maybe I’ll see it next time I go around the world…

The scenic route 163. Exciting even in the snow.

We enter Utah and the snow suddenly disappears. But it gets much colder as well. We arrive in Blanding, southeast of the state earlier than scheduled, and it is for the best as I have to get some things done before sunset. The temperature is supposed to drop to -10 Fahrenheit (-23 Celsius) later, and I am afraid for the radiator of the Landcruiser. Last time I changed the cooling liquid was in Bangladesh, and it was then hard to imagine such cold temperatures. In order to save money, I used a ratio antifreeze/water pretty low, and now I have to deal with the consequences.

The snow disappears as we enter Utah.

In the freezing cold, I am able to empty a third of the radiator and refill with unmixed antifreeze. That is probably what allows me to start and drive without trouble the following day. The weather is not going to get any better as I progress east, and I am now getting closer to the Atlantic winter storms. I plan to arrive in New York on February 12, and it is an thrilling prospect. This Sunday, folks in the city can read in the New York Times an account of my trip through Cambodia with my friend Vikas. It feels like an early welcome back from the city I am from.

The colder temperature I have been in so far.

Salt pan in the Death valley seen from Dante's Peak.

It has been a long time since I have been in the desert. I want to say I missed it, but when I recall my adventures in Ethiopia, I can’t say it was party time either. But as time went by, I now see this period with nostalgia. This week I was in Death Valley, and no landscape I saw so far reminded me as much as the desert in eastern Ethiopia.
You can check this old post if you don’t recall my misadventures as I was trying to get through the Djibouti border.

Mission in San Luis Obispo.

But let’s begin by the beginning. This week started with my departure from Los Angeles and a first night in San Luis Obispo. A new routine began, and I am cooking every night, trying to save cash while the temperatures are still comfortable. Of course I am not speaking about cooking amid wonderful landscape in remote areas, but more in the parking of cheap motels. Still, I am glad to use my camping equipment again.

Oil field before Porterville, Ca.

After a quick visit through the town, I continued my drive northeast toward Porterville, the last city before attacking the mountains. Between the cities, it is a strange area. Not much to see but endless agricultural fields, oil fields, and a dense fog as I approached the mountains’ feet.

Numerous orange trees and vines can be found close to Porterville.

The traveler can still be rewarded by trying one of the tacos truck along the route serving generations of Mexicans who came here to help with the hard farm labor.

In the mountain, the southern part of the Sequoia National Park.

I can’t say that Porterville was the highlight of my Californian adventures, and I failed to identify a true center in the city during a hike in the empty streets.

Lunch break at Isabella Lake.

Entering Death Valley.

The following day, I was thrilled to go up in the mountain toward the Sequoia National Park. Unfortunately, after 30 miles up, the road was cut by snow. In the winter, snow is not cleared on this portion of the 190 going to Camp Nelson. My father and I went back down the road and tried with success a more southern route to get to Isabella Lake.
After a break there for lunch, we drove due east and spent the night in the high-desert city of Ridgecrest. All the poetry there can be found in the desert and the four mountain ranges surrounding the city.
But the best was to come. The following day, we started our trip through Death Valley, and I found myself unexpectedly back in time and living again my trip through Ethiopia.
When you drive cross country, it is worth getting the National Park pass “America the beautiful”. For $80, you and your party can go for free to any national park for one year. In my case, the pass will have probably paid for itself before the end of my road trip.

Death Valley.

According to the National Park Services, Death Valley was given its name by a group of pioneers lost here in the winter of 1840s. Only one of the group died here, but they all assumed that the valley would be their grave. As they climbed out of the valley over the Panamint Mountains, one of the men looked back, and said “goodbye, Death Valley.”

The Red Cathedral.

We took a popular route through the Valley. We stopped first at the sand dunes and then went south along the Badwater road, to get to the Badwater Basin. At 282 feet below sea level it is the lowest point in North America.

Views from Zabriskie Point.

On our way back we took the Artist’s Drive and stopped at Zabriskie Point and Dante’s View, two locations providing breathtaking views on the park’s mountains.
At the end of the day, after sunset, we arrived at the Amargosa Hotel, a Spanish colonial style edifice built by a mining company in the 1920s. It is listed as the top-ten haunted hotel in the country, but tired, we didn’t witness anything worth more attention than our beds.

The Amargosa Hotel.

After driving few hours in the morning and crossing the state line, we arrived in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Santa Monica at sunset.

I spend one more week in Los Angeles and use this time to work on freeing my truck from the Customs grip. My container arrives almost in time, but there’s no movement on the port in the week end and for Martin Luther King Day, so I have to be patient. The container is selected – again – for an X-Ray exam. This time it cost me more than $200 versus $35 in Bangkok. And it is only the beginning.

Skateboard park on Venice Beach, Los Angeles.

As most container carrying personal effects, it is chosen for a secondary inspection. In these cases, you have no choice for transportation or warehouse option. You can’t be here while Customs go through your effects, and you have to let your keys at the office so they can do so. I end up paying $1,350 for this service, which bring the total cost of shipping from Thailand to the U.S. to $3,700. It is costly, but I pay without arguing, after all I am back in the Western world and have to re-adjust to higher rates. In addition, this is the last time I ship, and I am just glad to not have to deal with that anymore.

Santa Monica Pier.

My father joined me the previous day, and we continue the visit of the city with Andy. We have good time in Venice where I never went before. A tobacco millionaire, Abbott Kinney, intended to create a seaside resort on the marshy land looking like the Italian Venice. As in my previous stays in the city, I find Los Angeles to be a great place to live, and I am not looking forward to be back in snowy New York.

Griffith Park Observatory at night. Los Angeles underneath.

In the meantime I get some work done on the truck. I put new front shocks in, since there’s 35,000 miles of bad road on them. These shocks were sent to me by ARB while I was in Djibouti (Thanks Jim!). The truck seemed very tired when I started it for the first time in the Customs warehouse. After few minutes running, it was getting better, but I still will need a bit of luck to go across the country and drive the 4,000 miles it involves. The power steering pump is leaking badly, and I hope it can hold until I get back. There will definitely be some work to be done on the truck at this time.

Canals in Venice.

I also work on planning the next stages of my trip. I decide to go up north the Californian coast to San Luis Obispo, go east toward the Sequoia National Park, continues to the Death Valley and all the way to Las Vegas where I should stay for the week-end. There, I plan to meet some of my followers and Gwenaelle and Max, a couple of French friends I stayed with when I crossed Texas a year ago.

The route I plan to take from Los Angeles to Las Vegas. (Google map)

Surfer on the coast along the Pacific Coastal Highway.

Now that my father is with me, I will have to sleep at motels on the way back home and I book some Travelodge and Motel 6 nights through the internet. At $40 to $50 a night for two people, I find these chains to be the cheapest option and an excellent way to go cross country. Of course it will turn out to be the most expensive segment of my world tour.

The Pacific Coastal Highway, one of the most enjoyable roads in the U.S.

On Monday morning, I say good-byes to Andy and Michelle, my wonderful hosts for the time I spent in L.A. It was nice to stop there, relax, and accept that I was back for good in the country. I drive up the coast, and stop at the Glenwood care center in Oxnard, which is home to some of my oldest – in every sense of the word – followers.

The folks at the Glenwood Care Center. My father is at my side.

They stayed abreast of my adventures and sending me emails since I left the U.S. and I can now say without taking much risks that the elder of my fan is 103 (as of today).
I spend two hours there and continue my drive up to San Luis Obispo.
If anyone wants to meet on Friday night in Las Vegas, just email me or post a comment!

The Pacific Coastal Highway further north.

Scene from the 1956 movie "Around the world in 80 days" based on Jules Verne novel.

Before I go to the airport in Tokyo, I make sure to coordinate with some people so we can meet at the airport and celebrate my return on the “Land of milk and honey” AKA the United States. As I leave on Saturday afternoon, I expect to arrive on Sunday morning at the Los Angeles airport.

Downtown Los Angeles, the business area.

I have great time in the plane, thanks to my pal Scott who was able to book a stand-by ticket in business class for me. I have ten hours to relax, and as I cannot sleep, I spend some time watching some old pictures from South America and Africa. It has been one hell of a trip my friends, I have to say. I am on my way home, and from now on, everything will be very different.

Los Angeles skyline.

L.A. City Hall.

It is now time to find a job, and it looks like the economy hasn’t got back on the right track since my departure as I was hoping. I am not too worry about it yet, as I have some time before being back in the city, and I have friends who keep their eyes open for opportunities back east.
After flying across the pacific, I finally arrive in Los Angeles, California, where I pass immigration and customs without problems. Later I figure that something is wrong. While I was ready to meet some people as I exit the terminal, there is nobody here waiting for me. I figure I am a little bit early, and I wait a moment. But few minutes later, I begin to suspect that something is definitely not right. I ask what day of the week it is to someone, and she tells me it’s Saturday. Later on, I check with someone else, but I have to accept the reality: it is still Saturday and I traveled in time.
And then I remembered Phileas Fogg, one of my early challenger in my trip around the world. Fogg is the main character of Jules Verne’s book “Around the World in 80 days”. In order to win a wager with his fellow club members, he attempted to circumnavigate the globe within 80 days. To do so, he traveled constantly eastward, as I did. And he won his £20,000 bet because as me, he gained a day on his journey. If we would have traveled on the opposite direction, toward the west, we would have lost a day.

House in Pasadena.

In journeying eastward I went towards the sun, and the days therefore diminished of four minutes each time I crossed one degrees. There are three hundred and sixty degrees on the circumference of the earth; which multiplied by four minutes, equals twenty-four hours – the day gained.

Downtown Los Angeles.

Sight from Griffith Park.

Frank Lloyd Wright house.

In short, as I passed the international dateline at midnight Saturday night, the day restarted as of Saturday at 00:01.
I saw the sun rise 416 time during my travel, and my friend in New York saw it only 415 times. That’s right my friends, in addition of seeing all these marvelous places, I also gained one more day on this planet.
Once again, as I arrived in Los Angeles, I had to improvise and get going. I took the bus to Union Station, watching by the windows a landscape I haven’t seen in almost fifteen months. The Continental United States and its inhabitants going to work, to the beach or shopping. I was back home, and near completion.

Studio City, Los Angeles.

My old friend Andy.

I took the train to Burbank where my friend Andy lives, and quickly enough, I rescheduled the upcoming day meeting so friends and followers could meet me at a nearby restaurant in the morning.
It was great to meet some people there who have been reading the blog for a long time. Some of them were interested by the travel, others by the experience, and some were buffs of Land Cruisers. We had good time, and I didn’t see much people since. Now that I am back in a familiar territory, and not moving everyday, my rhythm is on pause and as my dopamine level went lower, I shot down. I didn’t do much in the last week except dealing with the necessary paperwork involved with the release of my vehicle at the port. Emails are piling-up, and I will have to take care of the situation soon, my apologies to those who tried to contact me recently.

Welcome committee in Studio City.

I hope to get the truck on Tuesday this week, and Andy took some time off to help me out with the process. My dad arrives on Wednesday, and we plan to spend few days in LA before going back on the road.

Breakfast with blog followers.

This week we spent some time in Pasadena, Hollywood and Griffith Park which are places I like to go when I am in LA. Sunday morning we went for a fun little interview with the Motorman on the KABC radio show before another promenade in the city. I love hanging out in Los Angeles even so it’s a huge difference with the places I visited this year. I love contrast, and I am glad to be back in America!

At KABC Los Angeles radio station with Leon Kaplan.

Kinkaju-Ji hall in Kyoto.

I have to say, I don’t think the picture I took in Japan really reflect the beauty of the country. But I will still try to share these images with you, and you will have to use your imagination. In my last post, I was still in Osaka, on my way to Kyoto. Later on, I arrived in Tokyo where I spent five days visiting the city. Since, I made it back to the United States and I am in Los Angeles since Saturday. My American adventures will be for the next post, but I just wanted to let you know, dear readers, that I was back for good in the USA.

Nijo castle, Kyoto

When I arrived in Kyoto, I check-in a small “Ryokan”. A Ryokan is a traditional local accommodation, similar to a guesthouse and nicer than a hotel, as it allows you to sleep in an old wooden Japanese house and benefit from the knowledge of the family running it. (Guesthouse Roujiya , 3,000 yen per night in a dorm)
I stay two nights in the city, and most of the time I am out in the snow visiting temples and the oldest neighborhoods.

New Year's pilgrimage in a Kyoto temple.

Even so it is cold, I am lucky to visit these sites in the wintertime. It is really stunning to be able to enjoy the view of the temples, shrines and lakes under the snow and frozen in ice. This is really something to not miss and I am glad I decided to stop by Japan even so I am without my trusted vehicle. The fact that the country was closed to the outside world for so long really helped Japan to develop an architecture, a culture and way of living very different from the rest of the world.

The most handsome visitor ticket I got so far during my trip.

The first day I spend visiting some temples in the heart of the city. The most gorgeous to discover is probably the Kinkaju-Ji with its gold hall seeming to float on a lake. The evening, as all the others night, I spend time finding cheap restaurants. Food prices are high, and as I mentioned earlier, you cannot find accommodation at least than US$30 in the country.

The Kinkaju-Ji in Kyoto.

The second day I go for a hike up in the hills in the city periphery, in the area called Arashimaiya. There also, the snow covers trails and bamboo forests. It is a very peaceful walk uphill, which concludes with the Adashino Nembutsu-Ju temple where thousands of statues cram the ground.

Adashino Nembutsu-Ju stone statues.

On the sidewalk in the Gion District.

Following a trail in the hills above Kyoto.

Kyoto at night is charming as well, especially the east part of town where the historical center lays. In the Gion district, it is easy to get lost in the narrow alleys packed with old houses and traditional restaurants. Once in a while you can spot geishas, who are women dressed traditionally and trained to entertain men with conversation, singing and dancing.

Alley in the old Kyoto.

As always, people are very nice, and I meet residents quickly in one of the hole-in-the-wall restaurants. Soon I am sharing drinks with smiling strangers and ordering food by pointing to dishes I see on people’s tables.

Back in time on the Kamo-Gawa west bank.

The long-distance buses are all full because of the New Year’s holidays, so I have no choice but take a ticket in the bullet train leaving frequently for Tokyo. At $150 it is costly, but it is also a very convenient way to cover the 500 km (315 miles) between the two cities. There’s a train leaving every seven minutes, and in less than two-hours-and-a-half, I reach the capital.

Walking in the business center in Tokyo at sunset.

This is an experience by itself to take one of these trains reaching speeds of 300 km/h (188mi/h). Even with such frequency, the train is crowded and I have to stand for much of the trip. We can only wish the train system would be similar in the U.S. The landscape north of Kyoto is stunning

Training in a Tokyo park.

Audi tower in west Tokyo.

In Tokyo I use the modern subway to reach my guesthouse (Sakura Hotel, 3,150 yen a night) and discover the dorm where I will stay for the next few days. From there, I leave every morning to explore the city neighborhoods. It is an interesting place, and I find it quite difficult to select the places to discover at first because of the city many centers. Regardless, it is great to go back and forth between the modern and traditional areas and spend time in the many parks. I meet David – a Canadian guy – at the guesthouse, and we go together to discover the city restaurants and bars.

Temple in Tokyo.

The temples are crowded due to “Shogatsu”. This is the most important holiday of the year, and families gather together to visit shine and temples. The tradition is to go to at least three of these places, and there are long lines you can spot from far away all over the city.

Omikuji – Fortune papers tied outside a temple.

People pray and read their fortunes on pieces of paper they find in wooden boxes near the shrines. Then they tie the paper in knot on lines outside the temple.

Crowded street in a Shibuya street.

But everything is not a traditional sight in Tokyo, and young people know how to have fun. You can spot many of them around Shibuya where you can barely walk down the streets packed with people in their twenties wearing fashionable clothes.

Fashion is important in Tokyo.

I frequently end up at nightfall in the Golden Gai area, a network of small alleys packed with tiny bars and small restaurants. Many businesses there don’t accept foreigners, but if you hang around long enough, you can find fabulous places.

The Golden Gai area. Dozens of bars in each alley.

Mysterious place.

Ninja cocktail.

With my new friend, we can spend hours there speaking with locals. Japanese are very kind people, and the younger ones tend to speak more English. We are very curious about the intriguing culture of the country and we never stop asking questions on subject as crazy as ninjas… Nights finish after the last subway and we walk for hours to go back to the hotel and avoid the horrendous taxi fees.

A bar in the Golden Gai area.

What we learn is that ninjas – and Kunoichi their female counterparts – were some kind of mercenary spies who probably disappeared in the 18th century. The barman explains everything about them to us, and even creates an original ninja cocktail to conclude the night. Few days after I would come back and noticing he was serving this new cocktail to other clients. This is how you leave your mark in a country.

Drawings were always a great way of communicating while I was traveling.

Soon it is time for me to prepare my bags. Sadly this is the last foreign country I will be before going back home. Of course there are mixed feelings about going back, but I try to not think about it much. One of the followers of the blog, Scott, found a way to get me a very cheap flight ticket to Los Angeles arriving during the week-end and I say good-bye to Asia as my plane take-off in the afternoon.

Tokyo at night.

Later during the week I hope to update you about my trip back to the western world, so stay tuned!

Playing games in Osaka.

Of course in Seoul it is very cold as well. The city is very modern and I am impressed by the services offered in the subway, for example. There are terminals to access the internet for free, giant touch screen to get information and maps, devices to disinfect your hands and all sort of other gadgets. A lot of people speak English in Korea as well, which makes it easy to find my way around.

Some kind of giant iPhone facilitates the navigation.

I am lucky enough to be invited to stay at the apartment of the parents of Jenni, an AP ex-colleague. Wherever I go to discover the city, I have to do it fast, because it is really cold out. Unfortunately the weather will make the visit of the capital uncomfortable as it is difficult to spend time out.
Everybody is completely wired, and as I take the subway, I am the only one not watching TV on my cell phone or playing video games. Again, quite a contrast with what I have seen in this trip. It looks like half of the planet’s population is trying to get enough to eat and the other half live in a virtual reality.

In the hills. is there someone behind me?

The snow and cold doesn’t stop me to go out the following day and visit COEX, the largest underground mall in Asia. No wonder it is located in Korea given the winter temperatures… Later I change scenery and go up in the hills to reach some kind of mountain village just a few minutes away from downtown Seoul.

Seoul, seen from the hills.

It’s Kuisadang, located on the slope of Mount Inwang. The royal national shrine where shaman rituals are conducted to this day is a beautiful place in a city that I find quite dull. Maybe it is the period of the year. Between Christmas and New Year’s, there’s not much happening, and most attractions are closed.

On mount Inwang.

It is pleasant to be among the trees, climbing paths and watching frozen streams in the quiet afternoon. Soon, I have to go back down because of the chilly wind. Dumplings will be my lunch.
In the evenings, I go with Jenni’s brother to the public baths. It is quite an interesting place, and I should describe how it is since I don’t have picture. These bath houses are usually located in basement of buildings. A lot of Koreans use the service, but I hear that the younger ones now don’t go as often as they became more uncomfortable with nudity. I imagine it is one of the effects of globalization.

Downtown Seoul. The city calls itself "The soul of Asia". Overstatement?

Anyhow, it cost you US$5 to go in, and as you pay, a locker key is given to you. There’s a male and women section, and when you find your locker, you get entirely naked and go to the next room. There you find different water pools which temperatures ranging from cold to very hot. My Lonely Planet guidebook described a feeling they call exhilarating when switching from cold bath to hot bath and all over again. Let me tell you I spent way more time in the hot bath… You also visit dry or humid sauna rooms with temperatures ranging from 60C to 100C (140 to 212 Fahrenheit).

Statue of King Sejong.

Before and after the baths, there are showers where you can wash. Soap, shampoo and toothbrushes are supplied. Quite a nice place to relax after a day spent wandering around.

Typical Korean meal.

Korean food is at my taste as well. Bulgogi which is barbecued beef is one of my favorite meals since a long time, and I also like bibimbap which is a bowl of rice topped with sautéed vegetables, an egg and chili pepper paste.

Typical street in downtown Seoul, a modern city.

After few days in the capital, I decide to seek a warmer weather in the south of the country. I take a train to Gyeongju, a city on the east coast of Korea which used to be the capital until 935 AD. My ride is one of these bullet trains so common in Asia and developed by French engineers. It is very quick to get to my destination as speed – displayed in the cars – was averaging 260 km/h (160 mi/h) when I looked at it.

Gyeongju. Tumulus in the heart of the city.

The main features of old Gyeongju and the easiest to access without a vehicle are Tumulus which are grass-covered burial grounds spread all over the city. Those are similar and serve the same purpose than Egyptians pyramids, but smaller. Most of the building activity seems to have happened around 500 AD, and restoration and excavation work only began in the 20th century.

Elegant temples.

It’s still not Florida here, and I spend my first night in a freezing guesthouse dorm. This will be the kind of accommodation I will use until I get back to the United States. It is just a brief stop I do in Gyeongju as I leave by bus the day after to reach the close city of Busan, few hundred kilometers only from the Japanese coast.

Tumulus after snow falls in the night.

As I arrive I try to make a reservation on the following day ferry to south Japan. All the overnight ferries are full, and many of them are not running the following days because of the New Year. Finally, I decide to take the Beetle, a fast ferry getting to destination in few hours (US$130).

Before and after the “Trans World Expedition” effect.

For my last night in Korea, I decide to go get Korean barbecue one more time. As always, I meet some people in the restaurant and they invite me to try a selection of local drinks. This is one thing that is amazing when you travel alone. You are constantly invited to share a table with people, and locals are way more likely to speak with you then when you are with fellow travelers.
In the morning I get to the ferry terminal only to get annoying news. The weather is too bad for the boat to depart as the sea is rough between the two countries. Once again I am a victim of the weather.

Downtown Osaka, Japan.

But soon enough, and thanks to the free Wi-Fi networks present everywhere in Korea, I am able to book a plane ticket leaving in the afternoon to Osaka. Too bad I will have to scratch my plans to visit Hiroshima, but at least I am on the move and will be able to spend more time in the Kyoto area.

You may find food, drinks and cigarettes in vending machines scattered all over the city.

After a bumpy flight I arrive in Osaka in the early evening. Taking the train from the airport, I get in the city center and find my guesthouse. As I go get dinner, I identify the next challenge: finding cash. For some reason, the Japanese banking system remained unusually closed to global transactions, and it is difficult to get money from ATMs with a foreign credit card. I am able to find a restaurant where I can pay with the card, but I will have to find a solution soon to this problem.
One of the most intriguing things in Japan is the smoking rule. At the opposite of the occidental laws, it seems that you can’t smoke in cities outdoors, but you enjoy more freedom in indoors public space. For example, there are many places where you can’t smoke in the street, but it is allowed in restaurant, bars, public baths or video game arcades. Strange…

People of all ages spend a lot of time in video game arcades.

The following day I put together all of the cash I have from the countries I visited previously. I still have a lot of Thai Bahts, and with my Malaysian Ringgits, Indian Rupees and Bangladeshi Thakas, I should be alright for a while. It turns out that money changers are not interested by the Indian and Bangladeshi money, but I still get enough money from them to check-in in a capsule hotel for the night and get dinner and a few drinks. Which is significant since it is December 31st and I shall go out at least until midnight. Osaka is a city of three-million people an offer a nice preview of Tokyo.

New Year’s Eve in a capsule hotel.

Inside the capsule.

These hotels are very economical on Japanese standards, as you can get a bed for US$34 on the shelves of a well located hotel. Capsule hotels are unique to Japan. There you find many small “rooms” which are called capsules, the goal being to provide economical lodging. The plastic capsules size to a modular plastic or fiberglass is around 6 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet (2 meters x 1 m x 1 m). It does provide enough room to sleep comfortably. TV above your bed is provided if you are willing to pay. There are vending machine and Laundromat everywhere as well as free baths similar to the one I saw in Korea. Cost for one night: US$ 33 in one of the 400 Asahi Plaza Shinsaibashi capsule. I am sure the concept would work in New York City.

Hole-in-the-wall shop in Osaka.

Osaka alley.

Everything is expensive in Japan. Prices for everything are higher than in the U.S. You can hardly have simple dinner for less than $US 25. Surprisingly, very few Japanese people speak English which makes it difficult to communicate in everyday situation. One of the consequences is that most of the time I have no idea what I order in restaurants. And even after eating, I still have no idea what it was. But it is pretty good!
I spend New Years Eve evening in an Irish bar, but even here, it is very quiet. Apparently this holiday is the equivalent of Thanksgiving Day in the U.S., and most people like to spend it with their family. Christmas is the opposite, and people go out with friends for the occasion.

Fish shop in a Osaka food market.

In the morning, I leave the hotel and take a train ticket to Kyoto which is only a 45 minutes ride from Osaka.

About Los Angeles, U.S.A.
Few people have expressed interest in meeting me in Los Angeles. I have a stand-by ticket on the Delta Airlines flight 284 arriving at LAX @ 8:40am on Sunday January 9, 2011. There was some discussion about maybe getting breakfast after that, but everything is up in the air. If interested you should contact Han Duong on one of these emails: duong_viet_thuan_han@yahoo.com or hduong1@uci.edu . Thanks to everyone offering accommodation in the city, but I will stay at my old friends Andy and Michelle place.
I will be pretty busy in L.A. as I will have to work on the clearance of the truck and do some minor work on it as well, but will also be willing to meet for drinks later in the week. I will post information on the website.
My father should join me in the city and we will cross the U.S. together. Las Vegas is the likely destination when we leave the coast.

Hong Kong, almost New York...

While in Bangkok, I start the maddening work of finding a vessel sailing to Los Angeles, U.S.A. so I can load my truck as soon as possible. One good thing is that there is a lot of traffic between the two points which results in a price war between shipping companies.

Lashing the truck in a container for the last time. I don't think I will miss that.

After going back and forth between two competitors, I select China Shipping as they lower their price to US$2,200 including all fees at the departing port. And it is going very fast. Two days after I find myself again in a container. Everything at the port is easy and well organized. As in Malaysia it is very straight forward to go through the procedures and I just spend two hours there. Because the container is going to the U.S., there are few more formalities than usual. Once the doors are closed, the truck is fumigated with bromide and the container later goes through X-Ray. Contact information for shipping is provided at the end of this post.

Just before loading the truck, Aline took a picture of me and Sin. Never saw this truck that clean in ages...

In the meantime, I try to arrange my visa for China. The original plan was to take the 25-hours train from Hong-Kong to Beijing, and later a ferry to Incheon, South Korea. Unfortunately, as often, that doesn’t go according to plan. Following a dispute between France and China regarding a decision from Paris to give the Dalai Lama honorary citizenship, the Chinese officials retaliated in making visa availability more difficult for my compatriots. Basically, embassies overseas now want travelers to present a return ticket, hotel reservations, detailed itinerary and an invitation letter. In addition, the expedited service had been suspended, making the process last more than a week.

Lippo Centre, a strange building in Hong Kong.

Having arranged everything else and being on a tight schedule, I have no other choice but to skip the un-inviting country.
Few days earlier, shortly after arriving in Bangkok, I moved in the apartment of Sin and Aline, friends of my acquaintance Jeff, a newspaper mogul in New York. It’s fantastic to be able to use their place as headquarter to prepare the next few steps which involve a lot of work online. First I book a ticket to Hong Kong, and then I try to find an inexpensive hotel in the city. But I hit another bump here. Who would have thing that one of the world financial centers is also a popular destination for Christmas? It turns out to be very complicated to find a place there that fits my budget. Fortunately few emails later, Kat who traveled with me few weeks ago, arranges for me to stay with her friend and ex-coworker MinJung. MinJung works for the Wall Street Journal Asia and gracefully will make some space for me in her flat. I also book a flight to South Korea.

Hong Kong butcher. By now you know my favorite places are markets.

Evenings in Bangkok are nice, and dinners always a treat. Sin and Aline live in Bangkok for a long time and they know the places to go to get some amazing street food. I am sad to leave that behind and I try to take advantage of it as I am here and in good company.

Hong Kong skyline.

Transportation is effortless in the capital, and on one given trip it is not uncommon to use a boat, the subway, and hop behind a motorcycle driver for the rest of the trip. Everything is very cheap too, and the city seems to be a great place to live in. Finally, it is time to get to the airport and fly to Hong Kong (US$ 161).

Taking the boat across the harbor.

There, and as expected, I meet with MinJung who welcomes me in the city. I am here for such a short time – two days – and I am up early in the morning so I can explore most of the metropolis in a hurry.
Downtown Hong Kong has an unexpected effect on me. Nowhere did a city remind be more strongly of New York. As I walk the streets and watch people going to work, I realize it will be soon my turn to be one of them. I am not sure how easy it will be to re-adapt. Spending most of my time at work and watching weeks and months going by at lightening speed is somewhat daunting. Soon I will have hot water every day, broadband internet and a cell phone. Maybe I will go for drinks on Friday nights and overhear people debating loudly if they need the newest iPhone this week-end or if it can wait for next week. How will I feel when I will not be on the move anymore? Without the constant pressure, the fights at the ports, the intricate work of getting visas, weeks spent by myself, weeks when I meet many people soon to be friends and the early coffees on mountaintops, will I be able to be happy? Living in a small apartment in a densely populated city will not be easy especially after treating the whole world as my living room.
I feel that the one key for my happiness will be to find a very challenging – and exciting – job. I hope it will also allow me daily to use my problem-solving skills, something I have the weakness to think I am good at. Some action and travel would be good too.

Another face of Hong Kong.

Anyway, one thing is sure: despite the multiple questions on this topic I got from my readers, only now I realize I am on my way home. All these months on the road have been so busy and intense that I feel I have been away for years. But readers shall see on this website how well I will readapt once back home.

From the tramway, going back home.

There are several reasons why Hong Kong reminds me of New York. The city is made up of older and sometimes decrepit buildings along with very modern ones. As in New York, you can feel that the sea is never far. Temperatures are colder too, and I didn’t feel that since Peru. A light jacket is now welcome as I go around surrounded with many people running everywhere. I walk a lot and go across the island to see less dense areas. Earlier, I took the boat to cross the harbor and have a view of the skyline.

Incheon, third largest city of South Korea.

But there’s not much time and soon I am back at the airport getting my luggage back from a locker. The next stop is Incheon, South Korea where I arrive in the evening after a quick flight (US$ 300).

The building used to be Incheon's mayor house.

When I arrive there, it is ice cold out. I use to dream about such weather when I was in the deserts of Ethiopia or Djibouti, but when the realty takes the appearance of a freezing wind slapping my face, it doesn’t seem like a dream anymore. South Korea hasn’t seen such temperatures in the last 30 years, and this is the time I chose to visit. At night, the mercury drops as far as -26 C (-15 Fahrenheit), and I can just run to the first hotel I see before falling dead.

Street food. The place looks quite popular.

Another bad news is that I am back in fully developed countries, and I have to drop US$ 35 to get a room to sleep in what turns out to be a “Love Hotel”. Hotels of this type are common in Asia as well as in Central America. Basically, I am speaking about hotels were unmarried couple meet. These hotels are pretty good and clean, often with more amenities than tourist hotels. Each room as a computer you can use to go on the internet, which is pretty convenient. Also available are channels you would not want your kids to watch…

It's cold out. Needs some dumplings to warm up...

I wake up in this motel on Christmas day, and despite the biting cold I go out to visit the city. Incheon is the largest port on the east coast of a country that can be compared to an island. North and South Korea are still technically at war since never signed a peace treaty after the Korean War, and nothing crosses the border. So you can only fly or take a boat to get in the southern peninsula.

Underground shopping alley. As in Canada, a must in countries where winter is bitter cold.

Chinatown is probably the most atmospheric area to visit, but I also see a few markets and large underground shopping arcades. As always, I am excited about trying the food, as I was a big fan of Koreatown in New York. I am not disappointed by the dumplings I get in the small restaurant where I take refuge from the cold. Few hours later I am in the subway to Seoul.

INFO FOR TRAVELERS:

So far I have been very happy with the services of Transpeed. Just remember to always shop around and get quotes from several companies before finalizing the deal. I wanted to work with them because they are used to ship vehicles. Their price was initially higher than other companies, but they were able to negotiate with their shipping company and bring the price down.

Contact Beer at Transpeed Co., Ltd.
beer@transpeed.biz
3360/6-8 Soi Manorom Rama 4 Rd.
Klongton, Klongtoey, Bangkok 10110
Tel.: 66 2 249-9001
Cell: 0816148836