Oceania and Southeast Asia

Oceania refers to Australia, New Zealand and the islands of the South Pacific.

While in New Zealand I would like to go to a rugby game, go sailing, go to the various filming locations of the Lord of the Rings, and eat some traditional New Zealand food.

When I visit Australia for the second time I would like to visit the capital of Canberra, the island of Tasmania (to see a Tasmanian Devil), the city of Adelaide and the city of Perth. I would also like to visit Rod Laver Arena, preferably during the Australian Open, and watch an Australian Rugby match. I was hesitant the first time to interact with the Aborigines, but this time I would like to spend some more time with them, for they are a fascinating people, plus they could teach me how to play the didgeridoo.

I don’t know what to do in New Guinea, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, or Vietnam. But I’m sure my friend Doug could help me out with some ideas or be my tour guide. I could go visit the islands that Survivor has been to.

In Thailand I would like to go watch some Muay Thai fights/tournament and go visit Bangkok.

In all of these places I want to sample their traditional foods; maybe not all of them, but some if not most. I want to experience their culture. I’m tired of my little island, I want to experience more. I want to experience all this life has to offer. After all, you only go around once.

A Few Things to do in Central and South America

When I go to visit Central and South America I would like to eat some authentic Mexican food, not this Tex-Mex crap they’ve got here in the States. I would also like to get some Cuban Cigars. I don’t smoke, but I would make an exception for those. I would like to watch a Caribbean League baseball game. Many of Americas professional players play Winter Ball in the Caribbean and it would also be a great opportunity to watch the future of American Baseball before it arrives. It’s always an experience to take in a game in a foreign country—it’s a whole different atmosphere, it’s wonderful. I also want to try coffee from each country. Getting things from the source is always better. I want to visit the Galapagos Islands and take a ride on a giant tortoise. I want to visit the Amazon Rainforest. I want to walk along the equator. I want to visit the major sites of the Mayan, Incan and Aztec Indians, especially Machu Picchu. I want to see a real live Peruvian Pan-Flute Band. I want to go and watch a South American soccer match, particularly the Brazilian or Argentine National teams. I want to score some fresh coke from Colombia—not really, but it is part of their culture and that’s what this trip is about. I want to visit Tierra del Fuego—Land of Fire—and the Falkland Islands where the British defeated Argentina with only a handful of men and in only about a month. I want to go visit the statue Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro.

Those are just a few things I would like to do while in Central and South America, but I am open to suggestions. You're welcome to join me on this trip and any of my others, just give me a heads up.

Next time: Oceania

My Plan to Take Over…Er…Travel the World

Let me start by prefacing that I have no idea how I will achieve this because I neither have the time nor the means to accomplish such a feat. My plan is to travel to all 192 United Nations Member States and various dependent areas (i.e. Greenland). I will spend up to a month in each nation. The larger and more “friendly” nations will be given the full allotted time, while trips to the smaller and less “friendly” nations will be shorter. I estimate a month because it is enough time to visit most of the country, to get used to its culture and for you to decide whether you want to come back or not. Some counties won’t require a full month because of their size and political situation. Like the Boy Scouts of America taught me…Safety First. I will be joined on this journey with my wife, because she wants to see the world as well. I couldn’t have picked a better partner/person to share this with (all together now…AAWWWWW). She doesn’t have much say in where we go or how long we stay there seeing how this is my dream and my blog. Anyways…if I spend 1 month in half of the 192 major countries and 2 weeks in the other half and another year for the various dependent areas, then the trip would take approximately 13 years.

My plan of attack is to invade Central and South America. We will then cross the Pacific and descend upon New Zealand and Australia. Next we’ll head north through Oceania and into Southeast Asia deploying the strategy of island-hopping. We will then faint westward into India and when you least expect it switch back east and trek across China. With a hop, skip and a jump we’ll cover Taiwan, South Korea and Japan, but we’ll skip North Korea unless something drastic happens with their political situation. Learning from history we’ll try a different tactic with Russia—we’ll invade from the East instead of the West… MWAHAHAHA!!! Unfortunately we’ll run into the Ural Mountains which will force us south into the Stans. As we move south into the Middle East we’ll apply copious amounts of sun-screen to be able to survive the onslaught of concentrated sun rays. We will exit the Middle East through Yemen and enter Africa through Djibouti rather than Egypt. Next we will head south, zigzagging down the east coast and then pulling a 180, we’ll head north zigzagging through the western portion of southern Africa. We’ll then power-slide through West Africa heading towards Egypt. We’ll continue along the Mediterranean through Jordan and Israel and ending up in Turkey. We’ll continue our assault on Russia by coming from the south through Georgia and Azerbaijan. After we’ve dealt with Russia we’ll take care of its former buffer states in Eastern Europe by swooping in on Ukraine and Romania on our way towards Greece. Then we’ll turn north, skirting Western Europe, and hitting Poland on the way to St. Petersburg. Once in St. Petersburg we’ll prepare to invade Finland, Sweden and Norway on skis. After conquering Scandinavia, we’ll drop down into Denmark and head south through the Fatherland (Deutschland). Unlike Hannibal we will successfully conquer the Alps en route to Italy. We’ll jump from the toe of the Boot onto Sicily and then Sardinia and Corsica. From there we will begin the easiest portion of our journey—conquering France. We’ll take southern France and allow the north to think they have diverted us into Spain, when in reality, we planned it all along. We’ll sweep through Spain and Portugal and then reenter France with a head of steam on our way to Paris. After marching on Paris and eating some croissants we’ll take the convenient Chunnel into England. Then we’ll travel north through Wales and into Scotland, taking in all the lowlands and the highlands. We might even buy some kilts. Then we’ll take a ferry into Northern Ireland and then move on to Ireland. If all goes as planned it will be spring and we can make it safely into Iceland and then onto Greenland as if we were Erik the Red and the Vikings/Norsemen. Next we will move into Newfoundland and Labrador. Then we’ll trek across Canada (Eh) on our way to Alaska to visit everyone’s favorite moron Sarah Palin. Then we’ll drop down to Hawaii. Finally we’ll head back to the continental United States and pick up any stray states we haven’t been to.

That’s my plan to conquer/travel the world. Doesn’t sound too hard.

Next time: Part 1: Central and South America

I'm...a Beer Man

Some guys are butt men and some guys are breast men. I am a beer man. We have a secret, yet not so secret, love affair together. Like all relationships we have our good moments and our not so good moments, but the good outweighs the bad. I like to experiment and try new things, and the beer does too. We like to extend our palette beyond the mundane and generic brews. The usual suspects have run their course and we’re getting into a deeper relationship. We’ve even talked about taking the next step and making little brews of our own. I want more than just a six-pack or a full suitcase; I want my own micro-brewery. But we have a long way to go in our relationship to get there. So much more to try, so much more living to do together before we tie ourselves down to such a large commitment. You could say we’re still in the honeymoon phase of our relationship, neither can do any wrong; well, some wrong (i.e. Natty). But we won’t go there. We both want to travel and taste what the world has to offer. I’m not sure if we’ll ever settle down in a particular country. I want to stay true to my German roots, but Beer likes to get me out of my comfort zone when I get complacent. Instead of going to the movie store and bringing back a few different movies, we talk about going to Total Wine and bringing back a variety six-pack. When we go out to eat we try a different beer each time. Recently we’ve fallen in love with Blue Moon and Stella Artois, but I think it’s time to move on—there’s so much more out there. We are limited financially and therefore limited in our selection, but every so often we splurge and go exotic. If I drink wine I feel like I’m cheating on Beer. I don’t drink liquor because there’s nothing to savor, no real flavor. I stay true to my first love, Beer.

I want to start brewing my own beer and eventually develop my own line. I’m trying to think of new and interesting combinations that I can perfect and make into my own brand. Give me some suggestions of beers I should try or your top echelon of brew. If you inspire me enough, I might just name a beer after you.

The Olympic Spirit

The Olympics, be it Summer or Winter, are a time for the country to come together. The Summer more so, because not everyone gets a winter. These events allow the host nation to “welcome” in “friends” and share their hospitality with them. It gives them the chance to showcase their culture, what a great way to educate the world! It’s almost an excuse for world leaders to show support for each other by sending normal citizens to represent their country in front of the world. Every summit the “Big 5”, the “Big 5 plus 1”, or the G-20 attend there are protestors. Don’t get me wrong, protestors are good, they force those in the summit to address issues to a certain extent, but they also tend to mar the proceedings through their actions. So why not use the Summer Olympics or the Winter Olympics to normalize relations with one another? As I watch the events I notice that at the end of a race/run the competitor that lost, had a slower run or that was bumped out of contention congratulates the winner or the person that bested them—that’s the epitome of sportsmanship. Why can’t our leaders conduct themselves with sportsmanship? Every country has pride, every country wants what is best for their people (or their leader), and every country wants to be the best; just like every competitor wants to win, wants to beat their rival and wants their place atop their respective sport. But at the end of the race, event, or season they congratulate the better man and rededicate themselves for the next go-around. Competitors need each other to make themselves better. They need someone to push them to their limits, to be the best they can be. We need our leaders to push each other to be better leaders. We don’t need our leaders to call others bluffs or force their hand, i.e. repeatedly call for sanctions. We did it to Saddam in the 90’s and 00’s. We kept calling for him to reveal his WMD’s when he probably didn’t have them, he was just trying to show possible threats that Iraq wasn’t as weak as it really was. We don’t need to repeat that with Iran or North Korea, because what if we force their hand, what if they are further along militarily than we think. We need our leaders to show sportsmanship. We need them to cooperate and work together to make this world better. They need to recognize that every side has pride in their country and that every side wants a piece of the pie. Only when the leaders of the world have the same understanding can they work towards progress, otherwise they are working to someone’s gain, not everyone’s.

The Best Offense is a Strong Defense

The US government is currently developing an anti-missile program. Earlier this week they tested the system in the Pacific Ocean, but due to electronic troubles the test failed. The US also just agreed to establish another system in Romania designed to shoot down short and mid-range missiles from rogue nations like Iran. Poland has also signed on to the same program. By establishing this system the US has agreed to dismantle another system in Eastern Europe designed to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles. That system caused much unrest in Russia because they believed it to be pointed at them. The US is doing this to try and improve relations with Russia and to insure the protection of its allies from “rogue nations”.

I personally think it’s a brilliant idea to try and work together with other nations. Especially at the present time when Iran is determined to go forward with their nuclear facilities. Iran claims that they are merely trying to create nuclear power for their country, but many are wary of their “intentions”. Reagan’s idea of Star Wars isn’t going to happen, but it has been adapted to a realistic and rational level of implementation. They say defense wins championships, but can it win wars?

Preparation

There are always stories about how much athletes prepare for games and how much time they spend watching film on their opponents, but who prepares the most for what they have to face? Certainly not city government officials! We just had a, for a better term, blizzard in southeastern Virginia. For the area it was a blizzard. Everyone was watching its progress across the country. Every one heard stories about how much snow it was dumping on its way east—except for Hampton Roads city governments/VDOT. Everyone prepared for it except them. They didn’t prepare for it by spreading salt or even sand—which we have an abundance of. When the snow fell it stuck and no snow plows were in sight. No evidence of them on any streets, highways or even the interstate. You’d think if they would plow anything it would be the major veins of transportation in and out of the area, but no. My wife and I drove over to Chesapeake (20-30 minute drive), but this Saturday it took over an hour. The roads were covered and people were forced to drive very carefully so as not to fishtail and wreck. There was no clear indication of lanes. There was one lane where there should have been three, and that one lane didn’t reside within its designated lines—it weaved slowly over the entire space of the highway. The snow stayed on the highways through Saturday and Sunday and schools closed, business closed and the government closed down Monday. They could have gotten it cleared by Monday easily. I enjoyed having the day off, but schools are still out today. Why, because VDOT does not know how to prepare. They could have called in trucks from other areas, they could have contracted out to local companies, but no they decided to let us risk our own lives to try and get anywhere—that is a bit drastic, but they didn’t do much to help out the people they are paid to service. Maybe in the future they’ll learn from their mistakes—but I doubt that.