The Night Before...

It's Sunday night, and I'm sitting in my hotel room in Budapest, reflecting upon the last few minutes of "freedom."

Early tomorrow morning (around 3:30am), I will head to the airport and by the time most of you read this, I'll be well into my 15 hour journey from the future, heading back to Austin (Budapest -> Frankfurt -> DFW -> Austin)...

This is a very bittersweet time for me. I'm looking forward to doing some of the things I've missed -- hanging with everyone again, playing soccer, getting on my motorcycle, eating fried catfish, having great Tex-Mex food, and moving into my new downtown apartment (for those that don't know, yes, I've left my place of the past 5+ years for a spankin' new place closer to downtown).

However, I feel like I'm returning a changed person, and I'm returning to a monotonous existence, which scares the shit out of me. For now, I take solace in closing my eyes and floating back to Berlin, smelling the Delphi air, or seeing the foreign faces in the Bangkok skytrain. I'm just not sure how long those memories will satisfy me (though I'm optimistic that my permanent "memory" will help). I've felt more alive on this trip than I have in countless years. There's a bigger (and better??) world out there after-all... 

Over the past 8 weeks, I've traveled to 12 countries and 14 cities: Australia (Sydney), Thailand (Bangkok x2), Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City / Saigon), Hong Kong (Hong Kong - airport only), England (London), Belgium (Brussels & Namur), the Netherlands (Amsterdam), Germany (Berlin), Egypt (Cairo), Greece (Athens & Delphi), Hungary (Budapest), and the Czech Republic (Prague).  Two destinations were eliminated (Tokyo and Vienna) with one added (Berlin). 

I've met more great people than I imagined possible. I've met people from all of the countries on my trip + Canada, Finland, Brazil, Argentina, Sweden, Italy, Spain, Portugal, South Africa, Latvia, France, India, Laos, Poland, New Zealand, and of course, the United States. I've been mistaken for being Australian, Belgium, Canadian, Dutch, French, German, and Czech.

I've been on 11 flights (soon to be 14 with the trip back to Austin); 5 train trips exceeding an hour; 6 bus rides exceeding an hour; multiple boat rides; countless subways; walked the equivalent of Austin to Ft Worth; scaled one bridge; hiked two large hills; swam in the Pacific Ocean; rode an elephant; rode a camel; drank countless alcoholic drinks in countless bars, pubs, and clubs; ate tons of amazing food; visited a couple of museums; went to one movie; got scammed once (that I'm aware of); used 8 different types of currency; took 1,500+ pictures, and traveled 33,000+ miles across 4 continents.

I have no way of seeing who specifically has accessed my blog, but I can run some basic statistics...As of today, the site has 75 posts and has had over 1,750+ unique page views since it's inception.  The most popular postings were the Tokyo posts and the Thailand Red Light District #2 -- Soi Cowboy post (not sure why that one was so popular, I'd figure the ping pong balls post -- Red Light District #3 -- would've been more viewed, but I won't try to read minds).

My travel essentials have been: my trusty $120 refurbished netbook (Asus Eee PC); my Android phone (Samsung Galaxy S -- all pictures were taken with my phone's camera); my $6 universal power plug adapter (a total life saver); my $2 mini spiral notebook; my $20 Timex Ironman watch with alarm; my JVC $99 noise canceling headphones; and my Manhattan Portage man-chel; and, of course, the backpack that Brian graciously lent me. Though I brought my Kindle, I haven't read as much as I thought I would. I'm only about half-way through the only book I started -- "Catch-22," though it's very good (I've never read it previously).

My passport looks like a band of confused ostriches picked at it for several hours. Almost every customs officer has commented on how amazing it looks. I've kept it in my front left pocket (with my credit cards and phone) for the duration of my trip. Cash resided in my right front pocket, and maps in my back pockets. Though signs warning of pick-pocketing exist all across Europe, I've had no hint of being pick-pocketed.

For the majority of the trip, the weather cooperated. It rained much of my time in Sydney, a day in Bangkok and Budapest each, plus three days in Prague, but overall, most days were really sunny. In Asia, the days were 85-90 degrees while in most of Europe they were 65-70 degrees.  Athens was the coldest (??!!!) and Giza the hottest.

It didn't help my trip that the USD was battered by most foreign currencies -- it was slightly below par with the Australian dollar (WTF??), dominated in Asia, and then got crushed in London and most of Europe.

London was the most expensive city, followed by Amsterdam. Saigon (1 USD = 1,000 Vietnam Dong), was the least expensive city, followed by Bangkok (1 USD = 30 Thai Bhat). Prague had a weird phenomenon where drinks were really cheap, but everything else was the same as it would be in the States.

I've been asked a couple of times if I would've preferred to do this trip a few years earlier, and my answer is a resounding, "No." I felt like doing the trip when I did was perfect timing -- I had the financial resources to live a trip of "No Regrets," whereas had I been a broke student, or just out of school, I would've had a much different (i.e. limited) experience.

I feel that this trip was exactly what I needed to feel alive again after spending several years paddling in a pool full of syrup. I absolutely feel positively changed by the experience, yet at the same time, I feel more confused than ever when I think about where I belong. Of course, I have now been tainted by the stank of the traveling bug, and though I miss Austin, I'm sure within a month, I'll be ready to go somewhere else (Hellooo, Bogota!!).

Time for some special props:

Thanks to:

- Paul for letting me store the bulk of my crap at your place.

- Liz for looking after my mail, handling random things that I couldn't address, and taking care of some of the crap for my new place.

- Jeff & Rach for letting me ship some crap to your place and looking after some of my new place's furnishings.

- Shawn for babysitting the Space Ninjas in my absence (though we need to discuss the results). ;p

- and, there were too many to name individually, but thanks to everyone who sent me notes, gchatted with me, encouraged me to continue blogging, etc. I appreciate it!!! 

Also, I know, I know, I haven't finished all of my postings yet. I will finish them, even if it means doing the last few when I get back to Austin (that's pretty much unavoidable at this point), so keep checking the site. You'll know once I'm done (I'll also give you my rankings on the destinations & give you the opportunity to vote for your favorites).

Finally, one of my new resolutions is to complete a book on my experiences during this journey. If you've read this entire blog, you've experienced roughly 65% of my misadventures. I've tried to keep this site as much as possible within the PG-13 realm. The other 35% is much more "R" orientated and makes for some enteraining reading (at least I think so -- some seriously crazy shit happened). At any rate, my goal is to be done with a book that includes an expansion on the 65% + the "missing" details by Christmas time. Of course, I'll keep everyone updated on my progress.   

I'm shutting down for the night...Good night and see you in Austin!  

America, I'm coming home.