Israel

Shalom!
I'm in Eilat, Israel on the red sea. From here I can see Jordan, Iran, and Egypt. Tomorrow I will go to Sinai, Egypt for some Scuba diving!
Israel has been great - Dave Hauth came out to play and I was able to meet up 3 great friends from here that hosted Dave and I - Bar, Yael, and Renana - thanks you wonderful girls! Special thanks to Gurion and Shira too!
Dave, myself, and friends rafted the Jordan river,
camped outside without a tent because bar forgot it (I mean the Germans stole it),
we walked on water in the sea of Galilea,
sunburned my white ass on the gorgeous beaches of the mediteranian,
Bike the beaches of tel aviv,
Floated in the Dead Sea,
Had eggs throw at us by Muslims in jerusalem (nice that they were cooked),
Drank in a kibbutz,
Smoked shisha with old Jewish men,
Walked the alleyways of ancient Akko (crusade era),
Dined during a kidush with Renana,
Searched for the Holy Grail in Petra (found it - Jesus coffee mug)
Rolled down sand dunes,
Dave and took turns getting the jeep stuck,
climbed mountains in the desert (should have been a Chaco commercial)
Camped with the Bedouins in the desert,(top 5 sunset)
Rode camels until our backs broke (god they are funny. Talk about camel toe)
Snorkled the Red Sea,
Watched belly dancing,
Hitchiked,
solved the economic crisisis (spelling?) faced today,
Went line dancing,
and that is the summary of Israel.
I'm now off to Egypt!


And that about sums it up for Israel/Jordan.

June 18th - Mumbai

Good morning!  Sleepless night for me - I just got home and leave in an hour for the airport to head to Israel!  Really looking forward to meeting up with some friends I met in New Zealand and one of my best friends, Dave Hauth, is meeting me in a few hours as well!

Mumbai:  I liked the city - It's NOT like Kolkata ' ).  India food is amazing.  Somehow I ended buying a drum....that I'll be bringing with me everywhere now.  It was impulse buy.

Boring blogs I lately (I know).  I have stories and real thoughts to share, but not at this time.  I'll write in a few weeks?  yes, I meant to put the question mark there.

NAMASTE!

June 16th - SE Asia Quick Recap.

Namaste – It’s been a LONG time since I have blogged.  So this might get a little wild and be riddled with typos, but so what, here it goes. 

Singapore: 

Nice, but relative to what Thailand and Cambodia have to offer, I don’t see myself going back to Singapore other than to connect with flights to Bali or something like that.  It’s a lot more expensive than the other countries in SE Asia, much more developed, safe, and clean.  It’s great for somebody’s first travel experience outside of the U.S., but it isn’t as rich in culture I feel as some of the other countries.  I did think the light/music show on the water, called Wonderful, at the Marina Bay Sands was pretty great. 

Malaysia:

 I moved quickly through Malaysia in about a week.  I spent two days in Kuala Lampur.   I stayed at a cheap hostel in China Town and the highlight was visiting Batu Caves.  The caves were pretty cool, but otherwise I wasn’t too crazy about KL.

 I then went to the Cameron Highlands where tea is made.  I really did enjoy that.  The greens were extremely vibrant!  I visited a rose garden, a tea plantation, and butterfly garden.   The butterfly garden had many more critters than just butterflies – snakes, spiders, giant beetles, scorpions – all of which the hosts insisted on taking out of the cage and placing on people.  Nothing like that would happen in the U.S.!

After the Highlands, I went to Georgetown in Penang.  I made a friend from the U.K., Sarah.  We stayed a nice colonial type hotel/hostel on Love Street, even though we were not lovers, it was a nice place to stay.  Sarah wanted to rent bikes one day and bike around the island, which of course I thought was a great idea too.  So, we went to this really cool café and rented some old cruiser bikes to set out seeing Buda temples and another town on the ocean.  Well, that was crazy.  If your idea of a good time is tying a 48 ounce raw ribeye steak around your neck and swimming in shark tank, then maybe you’d enjoy biking in Penang.  It was insanely hot as my shirt and pants soaked through with sweat and I couldn’t keep it out of my eyes.  The traffic was madness – at one point I was looking back to tell Sarah to watch out for some heavy machinery cruising up on her and she is yelling at me to look forward as a motorcycle is coming down the one way lane the wrong way towards me.  Both the motorcycle guy and I didn’t know where to go – I was shaking my head and throwing my arm in the air and somehow he was smiling – and somehow in the last seconds, he scooted in the lane next to me and we didn’t crash.  Although I can look back and laugh at some of the experiences on the bike ride – it really was NOT the best idea ‘ )  The same café were I rented the bikes (moon 47) had a flood one day when it rained.  As such, the fishes got out of their pool and I volunteered to catch them, which made for a pretty good day.    

I missed out on going to the Perhentian islands, which are supposed be the jewel of Malaysia.  I guess that leaves me a reason to go back!

Thailand:

I cruised on a train up to Hua Hin to meet up with the lovely wedding couple, Brad and Krista, on their honeymoon.  They insisted that I meet them, so no, I don’t think I was spoiling anything.  It was a really great to see familiar faces after 4 months of travel.   We went out to the market for dinner, visited a vineyard, fed some elephants, received a few Tai massages, and spent a day in the inviting swimming pool and enjoyed some tasty cocktails.  The hotel they stayed at had the best breakfast spread I’ve seen – tai noodles, sushi, fruit, make your own omelets, crepes, pancakes, 15 different breads, grilled tomatoes dishes, potatoes dishes, smoked salmon, salads – they pretty much had food for every type of nationality.  Since I’d been cooking my own food for a long time, this was a real treat. 

After Hua Hin, I went down to a small island called Kotao for diving.  Diving is cheap – I did 4 dives – all nice - except for one minor incident.  On my first dive of the day, I was having a competition with my scuba buddy, Mar, on who could have the most air when complete.  She was beating me, so I snuck up and was trying to secretly breath off of her secondary regulator without her knowing in order to conserve my air.  Anyway, she caught me and was like “f you ‘ ) “ and took her air back.   On the second dive, I heard this loud shotgun boom and my back was propelled forward.  I looked around, I didn’t know if something like an anchor from a boat hit me or what.  I looked at my gauge and I didn’t have any air left.  My buddy, Mar, was a bit away from me and I thought about swimming to her to get air, but then I also thought, boy, it’s like that story “a boy who cried wolf”.  So, I did the emergency ascent to the top and all ended up being fine.  I was only 40 feet down, so it wasn’t that bad. 

Kotao was  great place.  I made some really great friends and partied a bit as well ‘ )  Good old whisky buckets!

I then went to KoPhanyang for the half moon party that is in the Jungle.  To be honest, I think it was a bit overrated.  It was cool to see all the blacklight art and paintings.  Yeah, I painted up a bit myself.   But I actually had more fun on Kotao and was ready to be done boozing. 

Cambodia:

After my party island kick, I met up with my good friend, Roman, from Holland.  We headed out to Siem Riep Cambodia to see the Angkow Wat temples.   Mar was also there, so that was great too!  Beer is cheap (50 cents), the temples are enormous and pretty cool, they speak good English, and they use the US dollar – so it’s a really inexpensive and easy place to travel too.  Mar and I gave blood at a childrens’ hospital and later visited an orphanage – the kids were damn cute.  I have the intention to return sometime to volunteer for at least a few weeks – its’ hard not too once you’ve visited.

Thailand Part 2:

After Cambodia, I went up to Chaing Mai.  I like it as it wasn’t as busy as Bangkok and the market items were really great – they actually had hand crafted items and really great prices.

Pai was my favorite place in Thailand.  It was extremely inexpensive as I had my own bungalow for ~$5 a day.  And it was a proper bungalow – clean, hot shower, wifi – NICE!  And you had to travel across an old and dodgy bamboo bridge to get there (which the rain did wash away the bridge on my last night). The vibe of the people was great – really chill, smiles, healthy and delicious food, jam sessions.  And I met a beautiful person there – Svetlana – intelligent, fun, and great conversationalist.  Pai really was an amazing place that I’ll return to sometime.

4/23 Singapore

Singapore was hot and humid! The minute I would be walking outside, I would break a sweat and it would stay throughout the entire day. Despite the mugginess, Singapore is pretty sweet. It is clean, safe, modern, and has a friendly mix of Asian/Indian culture. I especially like the Budhist temple China town, the water/light show, called Womderful, and a play I caught, called A True Calling. The actors in the theater spoke mandarin, so it had English subtitles- interesting way to see a play- it was awesome. I also discovered a fashion show for adidas shoes at a small club- way fun - some pictures to come later.
I couchsurfed with a guy named Ren from the phillipean islands- really great host.
I ate cheap and delicious sushi.
I slept in a Hindu temple
I smoked strong sheshaw (spelling?) or hookah.
Treetop walk was not so cool - not so much for animals.
Marina bay sands is really great at night.
A random holy man (Indian magician) read my fortune. Quite accurate on my past- good future to come and now I can't cut my nails on Saturday or my hair on Tuesday's- WTF? Ha, it was actually really cool- he wrote down a color and number on a piece of paper and put it in my hand. I chose a color blue and the number 3. Tada! The piece of paper read exactly that. I don't get it.
Durian fruit is great.
Off to catch a bus to Malaysia!

4/19 With Mixed Emotions - Departing NZED, onward Singapore

Wow woah!  The day has come to leave New Zealand.  Three months has gone by quite fast.  Good food and GREAT people!  Since I left off last in my blog,  I did the Tongariro Crossing (Mt. Doom from Lord of the Rings)  with 5 friends from Israel and my brother.  Yes, I destroyed the Ring of Saruman, saved the world, no big deal,  my apartment smells of rich mahogany and many leather bound books.  I sadly ran over an opossum with my van, but I guess that's food for the birds - the circle of life.  I fell off a unicycle.  I traveled the North island with my, Yael, from Israel.  We went to Coromandel and cooked fresh mussels.  I got a flat tire, a random guy and wife stopped to help and gave me a bage of weed.  Kiwi hospitality and friendliness is exceptional.  Explored Abby caves, sighting glowworms on the ceiling that look like a starry night sky.  I was on the edge of the world at Cape Reinga where you can see the Tasman sea and the Pacific Ocean meet.  I made it back out to Raglan for a few remaining days and now I'm heading off to Singapore.  It should be a great ride!  I'll try and post pictures soon.  Lots of love to all back home! 
-Mikey

3/10 Beach Bumbin in Raglan

Only when I begin to blog do I know the hour or the day – now that’s a holiday. I’ve been living in a really cool small surf town (2500 people) called Raglan for about two weeks now.  I’ve been learning to surf and finally have been able to drop in on some proper waves, which has been an accomplishment a clumsy guy like me.  I’m attached to the chill vibe and the people here, so I haven’t had the motivation to wonder off just yet.  I ran into my friend from Holland (Roman) while surfing (he was downtown in the Christchurch earthquake) and have made good friends with two girls from France (Sarah and Geraldine whom have been living in their van for 4 months in Raglan and are working in Season 2 of Spartacus). 

What do I do that I’m so busy doing nothing?  Typically, I wake up at 8:00 a.m. drive 1 kilometer to the beach, eat breakfast (Muesli/Fruit), read (philosophy at the moment – Sophie’s World), study/practice classical guitar, meditate (Reiki), nap, lunch (sandwich), workout (run, yoga, push up/sit-ups), surf, cook a feast with friends at sunset, indulge some beer/ red wine, and either wind down or go out for music/dance.   It ends up being a long, relaxing, and enjoyable day.  I am healthy, happy, relaxed, and growing both mentally and spiritually.  I’ve been working on songs and had my first large audience of 50+…..cows...but they seemed to enjoy the music.   

One day/night a mate and I went out a beach house that the owner gave us keys too – hospitality of kiwis is incredible!  On the way to the beach house, Roman and I drove over a little tidal creek and noticed some fellas wakeboarding in it, so naturally we had to join them… that’s why I have health insurance.

A couple of days ago, I went on a 5 hour summit hike with the French girls.  We played Michael Jackson and danced at the top as a tribute.  

My hair has gotten quit long - over my eyes now.   I’ve trimmed my beard.  I had planned to grow it as long and wild as possible, but it started to scratch my lips – not to mention I would occasionally find second helpings of food…gross.  About 3 weeks ago I pierced my ears – a symbol of liberation from the corporate environment for the time being. 

Hot showers are a true luxury!   Typically, I wash myself in the cool water of the beach shower, which isn’t terrible, but soon it will be cold here…..  Yesterday, I visited my brother in Hamilton and was able to indulge in some hot water ‘ ) 

Next steps:  I see people riding horse on the beach, so I going to see if I can help out at a ranch in exchange for some free rides.  After, I will do a few tramps (hikes) with my friends from Israel and France and then head up north to do some WWOOFing (Willing Workers On Organic Farms).  ….I might also just be in Raglan ‘ )  

I hear talk of predictions of a large earthquake on the 20^th of this month (full moon).  I will be sure to be in my van and away from any large structures. 

I find myself writing and speaking quite a bit of broken English as I try and simplify my sentences for those that don’t speak English so well – sorry that it gets transferred to the blog. 

Pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/mike.j.edgar/Mar102011RaglanNZ?feat=directlink

That’s all I have time to jot down for now.  Hope everyone is doing well!

-Mikey   

2/22 To the North!

Well, well, well - I'm now back in Hamilton in the North Island.  Jon and I picked up hitchikers along the way and met some interesting people.  One guy is 27, from Minneapolis, and lives in North East - small world!  Making our way down to Queenstown, I ran into one of my best buds little brother, Michael McCarty, and the bar during the Super Bowl along with a bunch of other Johnnies and Bennies - it turned into a rowdy night with karaoke and all....
Jon, me, Roman (new friend from Holland, and Martin (the MN hitchhiker we bumped into again), tramped the Caples and Routeburn track for 4 days.  It was legendary (another kiwi word).  After the hike, I rolled my boot into a Fergburgers (Best burgers in NZED) to clear out the waiting line - oh was it sooooo goood to eat!  They ended up taking a picture of us boys for their homepage because we ordered the biggest sandwiches possible - I had the blue cod fish (The Codfather) - it was everything and more!   
Reunited with the Israel friends, we stayed in Queens a few more nights and then cruised over to Dunedin and Christchurch.  We stayed 3 nights with some killer people, Mel & James,  in CC.  It was hard to leave their house!  Mel is the singer in the band Sweet Leaf and has a gorgeous voice - looking forward to catching some her shows!
Jonny boy starts up school and now I'm on my own.  I think I'm going to head out to a small surfer town called Raglan, which is supposed to be fantastic.

Eating:  I've been eating really great - fresh fruit & vegetables can be found along the road side everywhere as well as some free range eggs!  My favorites to make:  rice w/ an egg, spring onion, carrot, lemon/lime, peanut butter, sweet chili sauce, little pepper, and any other vegetable (i.e. red/green pepper).   Sandwich - whole grain/wheat bread, cheese, avocado, tomato, spinach, red onion, olive, oil and vinegar dressing w/ salt, pepper, basil, rosemary, spices.
Sleeping:  The van has a double bed with storage underneath.  It is actually quite comfortable for two and has a large moonroof to check out the stars.  Not to mention it has some pretty cool curtains with sunglasses on them - lots of people dig the curtains.  I pretty much park the van anywhere and do freedom camping.  It's cool to find a river because you'll usually find other camper vans to hang out with too.
Showering:  With the few clothes that I have, I actually stay quite clean.  I would like to get a shampoo in a little more often, but eh.  I pretty much rock up to any river, lake, or waterfall and take a dip.  I'll even wash my clothes in the water (I have an organic soap).  The water is stunningly clear and drinkable everywhere.  I purchase a bag for solar showers, but have yet to use it ' )

Daily activities:  Mainly, I've been hiking during the day otherwise driving around for sight seeing.  I picked up a 2nd hand guitar and brought along a harmonica too.  I get lots of time to read have have been digging into some really great books: The Alchemist, Tao, Buddhist Life, Sun Signs, etc.  I have about a dozen books to go through.

Whew.....Jonny and I just left Christchurch right before the earthquake.  And yesterday a huge tree crashed down two car lengths in front of us, halting traffic for a long time.  Lucky ducks we are....thanks to all the prayers from the Tucson folk before we left the states!

That's all for now....

Pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/mike.j.edgar/2011_02_23NewZealand?feat=directlink