Pudding and Chopsticks

So my original plan was to visit a few cities to see a few friends, then something happened. I found out that a friend in Colorado was getting married. This meant one thing, all my close friends that I wanted to visit were going to be in the same city at the same time, at the same wedding. I couldn’t miss it.

So I booked and and rolled into Vail with fury. It was amazing to see everyone again. Truly amazing. It may have only been a hour or even 10 minutes, but it was worth it all. I feel awesome to have the friends what I do. I wish all of them the best with whatever they may do and will do all I can to help them get where they are going.

I want to thank everyone who helped me with rides, a couch to crash on, and coffee. I met some new friends that I wish I would of had when I actually lived in Vail. But, the chips have fallen different ways. I am glad to have met them and am officially Facebook friends with them now. Which means random messages about inside jokes and other random things. I can’t wait.

Congrats to the newly weds, I wish you the best.

Peace out CO. Maybe someday we will cross paths again.

There is a custodian cleaning the already spotless floor. He looks like a greaser from a movie. He’s made the same lap about 3 times now. I am wondering whether I should continue on. I could just go gamble. I am heading to Vail to see some old friends and get my fair share of the high altitude air.

America is weird. Having lived outside of the States for about 18 months I find myself wondering what the hell is going on. For instance, I travel in China a bit, mostly fly, and when confronted with airline travel within the States I just wonder what foreigners think. you must remove your shoes, be stared at, inspected and frowned upon. Remove your belt and whatever else you got. Where as in China you don’t have to remove your belt, or shoes, hell even you cell phone. It’s a little less paranoid. I am all for flying safe but when does it become, lets all get naked and strip searched, you do want to keep our skies safe right?

As for adjusting to America, well, it’s awkward. I find myself speaking softer, slower, more laid back. I feel weird speaking to regular people. Not sure why. I have been in LA for a stint. We will see how I feel when I get to a place that I have actually lived in. Maybe that will make a difference. I roll into Vail today. I’ve had some lag from the time change. That could be affecting me somehow. During the night I seem to be the most awake.

So good times. I’ve been taking photos so when I get a chance to fix’em up, I’ll post them on here for all the world to see in all their glory.

Or something like that.

Sometimes I feel that I am on the verge of awesome. Either doing something awesome or just being awesome. I’m not sure. In either case I am a traveling master. I watched a good number of people get lost today on my way to Hong Kong. While I on the other hand did not.

I am heading home for a stint. So as I write this I am in Hong Kong listening to Catonnese and the whooshing sound of jet engines. Ready to transfer to Beijing and then to LA. Where I will demand the first thing I do is to buy In & Out and vegge out in front of the tv.

More to come. I need to go buy some magazines right now.

Oh and I almost forgot. I am for sure going to have problems with keeping my mouth shut. I’ve gotten so used to saying what I think in front of people because they can’t understand English. Well, that’s going to have to change soon. I suppose.

Peace.

I went on a road trip to visit a place. I took some photos a long the way. I must say it was rather beautiful. It was 3 hrs away up in the middle of nowhere. It reminded me of Northern China. Photos follow.

Nah, not really, but how else am I going to get you to read my blog. Ok so here is the story. It happened last night.

Here it is.

The set up. I am in a taxi heading to do something. I tell the driver to stop. It happens to be by a red light so he just pulls up to to the light. We are the first in line so to speak. I give a fifty. He has to count 45 back and give it to me. This takes something like one minute. Not that long. We are at a red light on a three lane road. We are on the outside lane, 2ft from a curb. On the other side of the curb sits a bike lane. He counts the money and give it to me. I check the blind spot of the car quickly, tell the guy thanks and do something I always to, I crack the door. I don’t wing it open, I just crack it. Wroom. A effing motorcycle flys by the door right as I crack it. He swerves a bit and stops after he runs the red light. I am assuming that his intention was to skim by all the cars lined up at the red light. Squeeze through the 2ft of space that he had and run the light and be off on his merry way. But what he didn’t expect was someone to open a door at the light.

Like I said I didn’t wing it open. Just cracked it. What would of happened if I would of winged it open. Well perhaps I would get to use all the bad Chinese words that I know. I check the blind spot, but this guy was flying. I’d say he was doing 20mph past all the cars. Even if I made sure that no one was coming he is coming at a rate of say 20 mph, 29 ft per second, so, in half a sec he could of been 15 ft out behind the car behind us. Anyway I think he about pooped himself. Well, him and the guy riding on the tail of the bike. I got out, I know what was going to happen. They stopped and looked back at who almost hit them while they were running a red light going through traffic. It was a foreigner. On my own defense, I wasn’t going to hit them. I crack the door so that if there is someone there they see it. But they just happened to be in the perfect spot to see it and just about wipe out. 1/10 of a sec later they wouldn’t of seen it and never of noticed anything.

They looked back saw me, I ignored them. They said something among themselves and left. Down south, were I lived for a bit, you cannot drive motorcycles and mopeds in the city. This is why. It hinders traffic, causes accidents, etc. But here in this city they can do whatever they want. And what motorcycles, bikes, and what have you, do is this, THEY DON’T FOLLOW ANY RULES OF THE ROAD. I made that big to make a point. Nothing. Nada. They don’t stop at red lights, or anything. They just, in the past 2 months, started to have 3 lights, maybe 4, that bikes have to stop. But besides those lights, you have mopeds, bikes, motorcycles, running lights, crossing roads, in and out of traffic. No wonder more people die here in car accidents that most all of China. It’s crazy.

How who’s fault would it of been if those guys wiped out. Mine, because I opened a car door? Theirs because they were weaving in traffic and running a red light? I don’t know. Do bikes have to follow the rules of the road, I don’t know. But what would of happened is this. They would of played up whatever happened. Pitted everyone against me, and tried to get as much cash as possible out of me. I would of had to pay for probably everything, would have to call some people I know. They would get all their medical bills paid for included whatever wasn’t caused from the accident. A new motorcycle because the damage that the bike had before would of been played off as caused by me. All cash. Insurance is a new concept here. So well, I would have to dish some over. Perhaps I would of been right and not had to pay anything. But lets think about this. 1.4 billion Chinese and me. I lose.

So what is the major problem here. Well I think in part it is this. China has a massive amount of laws. Most all go unenforced. Say that motorcycles have to follow the rules of the road. But the Police haven’t enforced these rules in this city at all. Citizens then do whatever they want. This goes on for years until some thing happens. Then they have to start enforcing it. The Olympics come or something where they have to “clean up” the city. Then they have to retrain all the people about the law that has always been on the books. Extremely difficult to say the least. This has also happened recently with business and other aspects of foreigen investment and what not.

Nothing new just another day in China.

So yeah, don’t wing open taxi doors, EVER.

UPDATE: I was walking home when I saw a guy do just about the same thing that I did. Except it wasn’t nearly as close. So I asked him who’s problem would it be if he hit the guy on the moped. His answer: His. He or I or anyone who exits a vehicle has to check and make sure there isn’t a law ignoring, speeding, reckless motorcycle wizzing throw traffic and running light coming up behind them. Huh. Well, this is one instance where Western minds won’t quite agree.

Well, I got to go to Taiwan for some business. Which means I got to travel. Well I guess that’s what it usually means when you have to go somewhere. So it was my first time to Taiwan, an island off from China and south of Japan. What follows are some photos.

We flew, what was a surprise to me, a big airplane for what was a short flight. 2hrs or so from Hong Kong. The spicy sauce was good. The orange things were funky, the hot dog fish stick was good, and the little patty was mostly a rubber disk. Taiwan isn’t looking so good right now.

Off the plane to a bus to get to the high speed train. The bus was all green which I found interesting.

Bam. I love going fast and the train did just that.

Taiwan uses Traditional Character for it’s writing system. China uses the same character but they have been simplified. I can read some simplified but the traditional ones, too much work, heck with it.

Part of me.

We traveled the entire length of Taiwan, which took something like an hour and a half. I don’t remember. But it rained on part of the journey. And at 300km/hr rain looks cool.

293km/hr. Good stuff.

For dinner I ended up walking around and finding a place that looked good. They had English on their menus (never a good sign) and spoke Chinese (most Taiwanese do) so I plopped a squat and ordered up.

The first thing you notice is that most of Taiwan is clean. Unlike China. Also when you order a chicken dish it has meat, no bones, good quality like the States. Needless to say the food was Chinese but I didn’t have to wade through a bizzilion bones to get to a sliver of meat. It was all meat. Awesome.

And Hot. On a further note I about ruined my underwear when the girl brought over a trash can to put trash into. Good thing too cus in China that trash goes on the floor hun.

This sauce has to be the best ever. It made my mouth numb. That’s the good stuff.

Can’t go to Taiwan without eating some Taiwanese sausage. It’s good, weird, and looks like bad things all at the same time. You also get to eat massive amount of raw garlic at the same time. Which I find awesome.

Shrimp the size of bananas.

After dinner, beers, and what not I was all feeling good and took a photo of this. I don’t know what it is but it sure looks cool.

And this.

Hey mom, dad.