Portland is beautiful. It’s clean. It has good public transit. Lots of people commute by bicycle. People were real friendly. It’s cheaper than LA.

However, I found it too quiet. I went smack dab downtown, and I barely saw anyone on the sidewalks or streets. And it was a Friday afternoon. Where was everyone? I figured it might be a little tough to meet someone here. I’m not sure, but I sensed that the nightlife/social scene might be dull. This might be a contender as a place to settle down, but only if I already have a mate.

Seattle on the other hand is dark and brooding. Trees loom large in the distance. It’s more expensive than Portland, but doesn’t have the same inviting vibe. I just didn’t have a good feeling about this place. It’s off my list.

My brother Brian and I had a great weekend. We met in Portland. We stayed at the amazing Northwest Portland Hostel. We walked around downtown Portland and had a few beers here and there. Hamburgers. Pizza. An all around American cuisine that day.

The next day we did a guided bike tour of downtown Portland. It was so beautiful and refreshing. Portland is really a green city. I love that.

Then we drove up to Seattle, and it got colder, darker, and the trees got bigger. We hit a bar that night, and it was okay.

On Saturday we walked around downtown Seattle. We check out the Pike’s Place Market. That was nice. We walked around the city blocks and found a rally to legalize marijuana. I don’t care. Blah. Seattle. Blah.

I flew Virgin Airlines back to LA (first time flying Virgin). And wow, it was probably my best domestic flight ever. They’ve got great service and amenities at a low price. I’ll definitely be flying them again!

We had a fun drive up to Mammoth, listening to Fleet Foxes and other nice driving music. We stopped on the side of the road close to Mammoth and took some pics. It just felt right. We stopped for gas after that, and I found my best friend in Mammoth–the Mammoth Pale Ale. Mmm mmm good.

It was nice and cold in Mammoth. Although, the snow wasn’t too fresh. I think it had been a week since it last snowed. Oh well. Good enough for skiing though.

The next day we hit the slopes. I quickly found out that Sith and I were the least experienced. So we stuck together. Toward the end of the day we found ourselves on the other side of the mountain. And the only way back to our lodge was through some tough intermediate terrain.

It. Was. Hell. It was too steep for our liking. We made timid moves down the hill, sometimes resting for quite a while. It was excruciating. It took an hour for us to go a distance that someone a little more experienced could have done in 5 minutes. Oh man.

We finally made it back in one piece. And I was consoled by my good ol’ friend: the Mammoth Pale Ale. Oh how beautiful, it is.

The next day we drove back to LA. And it wasn’t as exciting as the drive up. I wonder why. Heh. Perhaps, because the weekend was over. I don’t know.

Funny thing about California: it was about 80 degrees in LA. We had just been in freezing weather the past two days. California has everything.

After that, Jameelah and I drove up north three hours to Door County. It’s peak season for Fall colors there this weekend. And they had their annual Pumpkin Patch festival there. The festival was okay. They did have lots of nice arts and crafts to look at. We also toured the grounds of The Clearing.

The Clearing is a private non-profit folk school–founded in 1935. Essentially, it’s a really relaxing place to meditate, learn some arts and crafts, and walk around in nature. It’s more of an old ladies’ guild. But the main draw for me was a tour of the grounds–raw nature and pure Fall colors. And, oh yes, it lived up to my expectations. I took lots of good photos.

It was a great weekend. It was good catching up with old friends, getting a taste of Fall weather and colors, and taking relaxing walks and drives through nature.

I don’t want to stay in Los Angeles for too much longer. I don’t want to settle down here. It’s too expensive and spread out and not a great place to raise a kid. Also, I’ve grown weary of the long, hot, sunny summers. I need a little bit of clouds, rain, cool weather, and Fall colors. In fact, I’d move on right now, but my girlfriend, whom I love, is tied to LA; she’s an actor. So, I told her I’d stay another year and then reevaluate.

My previous employer contacted me in August. The CTO wanted to know if I’d return. I said no. I wanted to move on to open source tech. (They are a Microsoft shop).

But I wasn’t able to find a good PHP, Ruby, or Python job in the past two months. I didn’t have enough experience in that niche.

Then this past week, the CTO contacted me again. He gave me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. How about that for timing?

I do like the people there. And the work is interesting and challenging. So, I told myself that this’ll be my last Microsoft tech job. And I’ll build my open source tech skills on nights and weekends with side projects/businesses.

I’m going to take the next year to research places to live–to settle down. I’d like to live somewhere with lower cost of living, good public transit, family friendly, decent nightlife, a decent airport, some Fall colors, and a little more clouds, rain, and greenery than LA. I’m looking at San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, Boston, New York, Miami.

Now I know none of those cities are perfect, according to my wishes. Maybe I’d settle in an adjacent town to those big cities (’cause it’d be cheaper). Regardless, I’m confident I’ll find something that fits perfectly.

I want to continue traveling in the future. But instead of a whirlwind tour, I’d rather focus on one country at a time and immerse. Learn the language and culture. I’m not sure when or where my next big trip will be. I’ll wait at least another year.

I flew back to the US from Hong Kong–connecting in Japan. I took a picture in the Tokyo airport just for Chad!

July 22

I arrived at LAX. The officer who took the customs forms congratulated me on my four-month journey. Yay. It was quite the journey. I’m glad I made time for it.

Two people asked me for money at the exit of the airport at LAX–one for some children and another for Scientology. I gave money for the children because I needed to break a 20. It seemed false, but I really needed to break that 20. No one pestered me for lodging.

I felt like a homeless bum, walking around with a huge backpack and scruffy hair. I had no home, no hotel reservation, no job, little savings, and no car. But I wasn’t worried. I could crash with parents (in Las Vegas) and friends (in LA) while I figured out what to do for income.

I didn’t want to return to my previous employer because they were a Microsoft shop (programming in C#). I wanted to shift my focus to open source technologies and languages (like Python and Ruby). However, I had little experience with open source. So it might be a little difficult to pick up where I left off–money-wise.

I got my fortune told by an old man, dressed business casual.

Here are the notes I took:

Make a design business–something beautiful. [I thought maybe web design]. Women are comfortable with me because the right side of my face is larger. Therefore, my future wife will be nervous about other women.

I might work for a big company now that is going down, but with me it will go back up.

I should learn to be a good swimmer. I should get married ASAP. I will have good female helper from 25-36. Don’t do anything risky in a year ending in 6 or 7. Wife will be aggressive and stubborn. Rich in old age. Confident. Clever. Southwest USA is good. Good to live by sea, but be careful of the rough waters. Lucky numbers are 2 and 4. Can be successful leader, but take one step at a time.

I got the fortune just for the experience. It was fun to do once.

I viewed the Hong Kong skyline at night from the Kowloon waterfront. A girl from the mainland China chatted me up. Her English was okay. She said she studied English for four years in high school, four years in college (majored in English), and two years in post-grad college (masters in English). However, she had never been to an English-speaking country. Her English was only mediocre after ten years of learning. Lesson learned: if you want to learn a language, go where it’s spoken!

I gave myself a tour today. I saw the exquisite tea musuem. I bussed around the beautiful, lush island over to the bustling Stanley Market. Then I headed back to Kowloon for some urban walking.

Hong Kong is a beautiful, lively city and I would like to return someday. I also love how 87% of the population uses public transit to get around. I’ve really grown to love public transit over my four-month trip.

I had a long two days ahead of me. I would spend most of today in Brunei, fly to Malaysia in the evening, then fly to Hong Kong early the next morning. I only had three days in Hong Kong, so I’d likely push myself not to catch up on sleep.

I landed in the Kuala Lumpur airport at 11pm, and my flight to Hong Kong was at 7am. So, I’d have to be back at the airport by 5am. I wanted to get a good night’s rest, but the timing was bad.

Unfortunately, the airport is an hour outside of town. There were only a few hotels around and those were all booked. It would be a waste of time and energy to taxi into the city for only a few hours sleep. So, I decided to stay at the airport and sleep on the floor.

It was the first time I’d slept at an airport. I wasn’t prepared. It took me an hour to find a good spot and get comfortable. I probably slept about 2 hours. I looked forward to sleeping on the morning plane to Hong Kong.

July 18

Now mind you. I hadn’t gotten a good night’s rest. And I hadn’t cut my hair in four months. When I got off that plane at 11am in Hong Kong, they had officers waiting in the plane’s connector tunnel. First up was an officer and a drug-sniffing dog. I passed by them fine. I had nothing to hide.

It struck me though. I wondered what has been happening in Hong Kong (or with flights from KL) that they required a drug-sniffing dog. I’ve never seen that level of security in an airport before. You couldn’t avoid the dog because of the narrow tunnel.

I turned the corner and saw about eight men in black nylon coats–resembling the DEA in the US. I walked with confidence. But alas I was stopped. Again, I had nothing to hide. But I must have looked sketchy to them–with my scraggly hair, bloodshot eyes, and humble fashion. If only I had gotten some good sleep.

The agent asked to see my passport. He grilled me for what seemed like five minutes.

“Where are you going?”

“Hong Kong,” I said.

“Why are you here?”

“To see a friend from college. And general tourism; it’s my first time here.”

“Where are you staying?”

“Chungking Mansion.”

The Chungking Mansion is a low-cost high-rise building. It attracts both legitimate business (i.e. room rentals, food stands, currency exchange) and illegitimate ones (i.e. selling fake goods, selling drugs, etc). It is a massive 17-story building, so the good and bad can be well separated. It has a bit of history in Hong Kong. And I wanted to stay there for the experience. Might as well, while I’m young, solo, and on a low-budget trip. However, the agent must have feared I was going there for the wrong reasons.

“Did you make a reservation?”

“No.”

“Why?”

“I want to inspect the rooms first and find a clean one.”

“How long will you be here?”

“Four days.”

“Where is your onward ticket?”

“I purchased it online. I don’t have a paper copy.”

“Where do you go next?”

“The USA with a connection in Tokyo’s airport.”

He closed my passport, handed it to me, and watched other passengers exiting the plane.

I starting walking again. Ugh. This was my first taste of China, and it was quite sour.

I was impressed by Hong Kong from the airport. It was modern and clean. I was back in the 1st-world! I felt spoiled. I had been roughing it for most of the trip. It was a low-budget trip. I headed over to the mini-mart in the airport and bought myself a lemon tea. I got on a 1st-class city bus to Kowloon (north of central Hong Kong).

I got off at the Chungking Mansion and was immediately hassled by four guys. There are many lodgings within the building. Most rooms are micro-apartments–an apartment within an apartment. For example, someone owns a five bedroom apartment and leases each room separately. The common area (living room and kitchen) is either small or non-existent.

I found a room from my guidebook that turned out to be a great deal. $11/night for three nights on the 16th floor, overlooking the main street. The room was ultra-small, but fine for my needs (that is sleeping). And, oh man, did I ever sleep. I slept the whole afternoon.

I met up with two friends from USC, Bhavna and Shammin, in central Hong Kong. They introduced me to dim sum, duck, and other Hong Kong cuisine. Wow, it was so good. I love Hong Kong food.

I was hoping to tour Macau tomorrow, but they said the ferries might be closed because a strong typhoon was approaching that night. Shucks.

She diverted the subject to the Sultan. She asserted that he took care of his citizens. He provided free education, medical, dental, and retirement funds for all citizens. Brunei’s bountiful oil sites are the source of the country’s wealth.

Then she restrained herself. She said it was illegal to talk about the Sultan.

I asked, even if it’s positive?

She said, yes, even still. It is illegal no matter what.

It’s unfortunate that Bruneians have 1st-world riches but lack 1st-world freedoms.

It was quiet–a little too quiet. I quickly learned that everything was cancelled. They didn’t want a break out of the Swine Flu (H1N1).

Dude, that sucked so bad. That was the main reason I came here. I thought it would be perfect timing to experience Brunei. There was going to be huge festivities and displays of Bruneian culture. I was therefore relegated to second and third tier experiences, such as the Royal Regalia Museum and the main Mosque.

It’s funny. They were trying to prevent a large gathering of people. But many still came to hang out.

It was like an apocolyptic movie. There were hardly any women or children out. Scores of adult men just chilled in the shade next to closed businesses. Many stooped outside the mall. And many more sat in the stands at the sports field cheering at nothing–at themselves. So odd.

The Royal Regalia museum was cool. The guards carried large curved knives instead of guns. I saw some pictures and relics of past birthday parades. Oh well.

I checked out the main Mosque in the late afternoon. It’s pretty cool. Well, it’s the first mosque I’ve ever seen. It was quite decadent. I read that it had gold trimmings on the exterior.

The Muslims are strict about keeping non-Muslims out. I was able to step inside at a specific time in the late afternoon. There was only a 30-minute window for non-Muslims. When I took photos later on at sunset, some motioned me to go away. I got a strong feeling of exclusivity from the Mosque–quite the opposite of Buddhist temples.

I perched in a courtyard near the Mosque. Two nice, young guys interviewed me for the Brunei Times newspaper. They wanted to get quotes from foreigners about the festivities being cancelled. I gave them plenty to write about.

Bill Paetzke, a computer programmer from the United States, was also hoping to witness the celebrations. He found out about the celebrations from a guidebook and was interested in the images depicting the joyous occasion. “It looked really cool, so I wanted to go and see it for myself,” said Paetzke, who is on a four-month holiday around the sub-region after quitting his job recently.

He said that it was not easy and cheap to come to Brunei, but would come to see the celebrations in the future, if he was in the area at the right time. He diverted his time in seeing other aspects of Brunei. “Brunei is awesome,” he remarked.

Source: The Brunei Times

I was careful to end my rant on a positive note. The Sultan has supreme power in this land. And I didn’t want to provoke him.