New York

I have been sucking at this lately, so my Year of the Rat resolution is as follows: be a better blogger. If it means anything to you, I am constantly chastising myself for not posting more and am often afflicted with a vague sense of dread and self-loathing for shirking my responsibility. It’s like a steady low-grade fever, which I believe is also a symptom of malaria.

Anyway–doings a-transpirin’. I’m using the free wifi in Singapore’s futuristical Changi Airport right now as I wait to catch a flight to Melbourne. I’m going to meet with my editor there before heading to New Zealand to write for this guidebook. I’ll be covering the entire North Island, which includes, among other things: the cities of Auckland and Wellington; geothermal oddities like geysers, exploding mud pools, and volcanic lakes; and an attraction called Sheepworld.

I left Vietnam ten days ago and have been in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and even Indonesia (for a half day) since. It’s been a fantastic, if wallet-destroying, time & I will write about it all in the next post.

Just one other thing to mention for now: it almost passed without my noticing it, but in the midst of all the Tet/Lunar New Year festivities, February 9th marked my own new year–one year since I left New York and started traveling. It’s not even a trip anymore; I don’t know what exactly to call it, but it’s been real interesting.

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Bangkok, 2007

It was as good a 17-hour flight as I could have hoped for. Everything was on time, the ride was mostly smooth, and the Thai food wasn’t bad.

Still, it was a 17-hour flight. At about 10 hours in, it feels like you’ve been flying forever. Then you realize you still have 7 hours left, the length of another incredibly long flight. That’s when you order another bloody mary–or, if you’re the middle-aged Indian man sitting next to me, you keep asking for a kamikaze, which the stewardess doesn’t know how to make and is one of the worst things to keep saying in a loud voice on an airplane.

Thankfully, Thai Air has personal video screens and movies on demand. I watched a few Bollywood movies and “Invincible,” the football movie starring Mark Wahlberg. I have to say, it was wicked inspirational. With the thin cabin air and sleep deprivation, I got choked up like 15 times. Also, Greg Kinnear does a great Dick Vermeil impression.

Smell you later!

Love,

Tom

More photos here