VicariouslyBob

Last Days and Home

My plan was to drive to the Abel Tasman National Park for a two day kayaking/hiking trip in the park then to over to Kaikoura to swim with the dolphins on the penultimate day of the trip. Unfortunately, I somehow managed to get a dose of food poisoning/stomach flu on the way north and it whacked me up till the very end of the trip.

No kayaking. No swimming with dolphins. Very little solid food. Not exactly the idea end of the trip, but I had been healthy for the rest of the 3 months so I can’t complain too much.

My 10 hour flight home was uneventful. I read most of a book, watched 2 movies and had my last mediocre airline food. I made it through passport control and customs and was standing on the curb waiting for the Hertz bus in less than 20 minutes (possibly an Olympic Record). After a coffee break in Manhattan Beach, the drive home was a slap in the face of normalcy and then melancholy; the latter a direct result of the former. I dread the fact that in a few short weeks my three month adventure will start to be a fading memory supplanted by house cleaning and trips to Costco for detergent and beer.

The phone rang at 8:30 on my third morning home and I was jolted awake by a hyper-enthusiastic head hunter calling about a job in San Diego. Blah. Fantastic opportunity. Blah. Fun. Blah. I gave her the party line about being very interested and then hung up and went back to sleep.

Welcome home.

Questions and Answers

Now that I’m back in the land of high speed internet with nothing to do but mourn the end of my trip and get annoyed at the Presidential election rhetoric, I figured I’d drag the trip out as long as possible by procrastinating and then posting the remaining stories every 12 hours or so until I’m finished. There are at least 6 more posts and maybe a few after that.

Before we break for station identification, it’s time to answer some viewer mail and questions.

Red asked about the gear I was carrying and whether or not I had a team of sherpas helping me to lug it around?

Lots and no.

Rich was curious about the other travelers and whether or not they were corporate refugees as well?

Yes and no.

Well, I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did.

5.7.2004 10:23 am

I’m starting to think the beer was a bad idea. No, not the beers (and shot of tequila) the guys in LA bought before I went to the airport. Those weren’t that bad, especially with the sleeping pill shepherding me through the minor headache that resulted. I’m talking about the pint of Carlsberg that seemed like a good idea at 9 am (Hong Kong time).

Normally, I think it would be a good idea, after all it is 7 pm San Deigo time and that is very reasonable. No, I think it’s a bad idea cause I’m very likely to fall face down on the table and sleep thru my connecting flight to Hanoi five hours later.

The trip was basically uneventful. Traffic jam while driving to LA. Arriving a bit late to the airport due to impromptu Cinqo De Mayo celebration. Unplanned stop in Taipei to take on more fuel (strong headwinds across the Pacific). I aced the SARS test at HK airport; my temp had to be normal and I had three chances to spell SARS, it took two.

In the beginning

.......God created the heavens and earth. On the eighth day or so, he created severance packages and frequent flyer miles.

For years, I’ve wanted to hit the road in a fashion similar to my post Peace Corps days. Cram everything in a small backpack and take off with only a loose itinerary.

Since I’m now severed (amicably) from my job at Pfizer and have the time and frequent flyer miles, I figured it was time get on a several planes, buses, tuk-tuks and hit the road before I have to re-enter the world of Dilbert.