Action In Relaxation

Friends,


I love Spain and will live there at some point in my life. Done and done.  Vale.  After weeks of butter, bread, and coffee, I arrived in Spain, met Oliver (the most savvy host one could ever ask for) and ate some of the most amazing seafood, meat, and vegetables. Fueled by protein, friendly locals, and a culture that doesn’t believe in sleeping, beautiful days (at work) and entertaining nights (at play) were nonstop in Spain.


My most accomplished streak of Spanish cultural immersion was a mere 4 hours of sleep in a 51 hour period. I guess I’ll sleep when I’m dead, or at least when I’m back in my bed (Wait…my bed is in a storage unit in California)


Spain is undeniably full of wonderful food, art, design, culture, language, and energy; but what truly made my time here were the amazing people.  Big shout out to Oliver (the Closer) and the gang – Vicente the Suave, Alvaro the Honest, Manu the Hilarious, and Ignacio the Passionate + a hilarious Barcelona crew of kneecap appreciating inside jokesters – Josiah, Bryan, Melissa, and Christine + fellow experience industry buffs - Gordon, Luis, Frank, and Rosie (they each paid me a large sum of money to put these links in, so click them as many times as possible, whenever you have a free moment, and I’ll be rich!!!)


I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the selling…


Caio!

I know you’re going to get sick of posts about Indonesia, especially Bali, but I had to come back for round 3. Shaun and Meggie came to Asia to meet up, so I knew if I was going to be a proper friend/tour guide/3rd wheel I’d have to take them to Bali. It has become my home in Asia; of my 5.5 months of travel, I spent almost half my time here.


I’ve never stayed in a hotel/villa/home as nice as our accommodation here; but don’t think for one second that our five star status stopped Shaun and I (and usually Meggie) from acting like wild Balinese five-year-olds. The three of us enjoyed spectacular views, infinity pools, and grandiose food while jumping through waterfalls, off of trees, and cruising the travelator (diagonal outdoor elevator). Dharma and Adi joined us at The Ayana for a good night at the Rock Bar and sushi; with the world famous delicacy of garlic clove, smothered in wasabi, and wrapped in ginger. I must again say thanks to Shaun for footing the bill, and to Amex for the hospitality upgrade.


Shaun and Meggie left way too soon (guess they’ll have to come back) and I was out of the entourage and back on the streets to fend for myself; this is when Dharma took me in and gave me a roof over my head. I was in awe at his garage which included a car, motorbikes, chickens, chicks, roosters, ducks, and his dog Chang (who supposedly has an STD *is that possible?). From Dharma’s house in Denpasar I headed back to Kuta to look into future possibilities for business, housing, long term visas, and had some great meetings with a general contractor/architect, beach soccer players, government officials, food/surfboard/beverage vendors, land owners, MBA travel guides, zoning officials, and the lovely staff at Kedin’s.


Time always flies in Bali and 2.5 weeks was a blur. Enjoy the pics.


Already back in the states for the holidays,


Tyler

Fri-amly,


I’m writing as I’m leaving Southern Thailand on the airplane to Macau; while the smile is fresh on my face and my heart still has that smirk of contentment. If I were still traveling with Ryan and Jason, they’d laugh at my repetitive self and quotable phrase of, “I could live HERE”.


Southern Thailand is incredibly beautiful, and has some of the best beaches in the world (without surf). Please go there sometime in your life if you like sun/beaches/food/relaxing/islands/scuba/fresh fruit/all other likeable things that exist in this world. I’ll let the photos do most of the talking. If I have a list for Southern Thailand it’s people:


1. Lee: Emily (from my chronologically previous Indonesia & KL post *that are yet to come) and I flew directly from KL to Krabi and happened to sit with a proper-nice English gent, Lee, who had spent the previous 9 months in Ao Nang. He had recently landed a job as an underwater plant life surveyor (1 part scuba, 1 part biology, 1 part note taking, 3 parts fun) and was now moving back for at least a year. Lee and I talked the whole flight (I’m not flight talker either); and this convo eventually lead to a connection and introduction to Ismail.


2. Ismail: is an overly hospitable Moroccan soccer player with the best crackup-cackle-giggle. He ended up in Ao Nang after bouts in France, San Francisco, and Hawaii and is now established with a local wife, 2 kids, and his bungalows/touring business. Ismail booked us on trips, treated us like family, and after Emily headed home to SD from Bangkok there was only one place to go: back to Ismail’s Anawin Bungalows. (


3. Longtail Boat Crew: Captain Snoop, Dan the Man, Cokai, and the nick-name-less rest of the crew. During a 4 island tour with another finicky/gabby/uptight guide, Emily and I were totally drawn to make friends with the boat crew because 1.Emily noticed Capt Snoop’s dashing good looks; 2.I noticed how dashingly amazing it was that Capt Snoop was handling a full-size straight 6 engine with little effort on his thin frame. So we did, we became great friends; and when I later returned to Ao Nang, we shared more laughs, meals, the Liverpool victory over Man U (where they were the only locals at the Irish Rover *classic), and plenty of coffee which he kept coming as a sign of his bright personality and hospitality.


4. Olivia and Aubren: are my friends that date back to the highschool days and are now flight attendants/stewardesses/stewardii/seatbelt buckling gesturers/silver cart pushers/avionic serving engineers/whatever the pc term is, who get to fly for next to nothing and make this travel thing a career and a breeze. I’m slightly jealous, although I don’t think I’d look too good in the uniform, or would I? The four of us toured Ko Phi Phi and caught an incredible sunset via boat. They continued to tour Thailand and had a wonderful time with tigers, elephants, tuk tuks and all the fascinations Thailand has to offer (except ping pong).


5. Pad Thai crew.: Cha, Ma, Nam, and more food carters who have names like Un, Ing, Um, and Am, seriously became my sole source of food for lunch and dinner. I rotated the street-cart offerings of: BBQ chicken & corn, chicken & rice, beef & noodles soup, fruit smoothies, pancakes, mangoes and rice, and of course Pad Thai. Gritty street price for these entrée’s is typically around 40-60 baht or $1.20-$2. My frequent visits, guitar seranades, and Emily’s charm quickly established a fun friendship that later lead to betting on Premier League games, assuring other tourists of their food’s cleanliness, learning how to cook, ice creams, and business proposals from Cha who wants to come to the US and run a Pad Thai cart.


6. The footy fellas: big-whiney Drogba, quick-feet-no-teeth, the two sissy twins, clumsy tank the fullback, 1 touch skinny, the technical center mid friends, and so many more. Ismail mentioned playing soccer every day at a local “stadium”, which was a field with goals nestled in the greenery of the limestone mountains. Motivated to play some good soccer I purchased a used pair of Adidas cleats and a soccer ball for less than $40 in Bangkok. I then joined the locally committed players for some of the most physical, challenging, and technical soccer I’ve played in a while; an entertaining challenge and great fun with these guys.


Time to fill out my immigration card and health declaration.


I’ll be back in the US of A in less than a month so I can genuinely say…


I’ll see you soon,


Tyler

Streetcart Pad Thai (Ao Nang, Thailand) from Tyler Elick on Vimeo.


Making Pad Thai with Nam, Cha, and Ma.

I’m saving all my words for Vietnam so no greeting this time. It’s going to be very hard to describe all 3 weeks we spent in Vietnam in one short email, but I’m giving it a shot (if anyone values brief communication, it’s me). Although we stayed at seven very unique places (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Hue, Hoi An, Na Trang, Saigon) I definitely see general themes and characteristics that ring true for Vietnam as an entire country. These include 1.Insane/Incredible Traffic; 2.Karaoke; 3.Interesting Food; 4.Unique Transport; 5.Football (soccer); 6.Contrast.


1.Traffic – I know why they don’t shoot car chase scenes in Hanoi, because it would be pretty uneventful when the hero crosses to the wrong side of the road weaving through cars going the wrong direction and pulls up on a family of 3 on a scooter doing the same exact thing while transporting their chickens to the day market. Traffic in Vietnam mirrors the ocean where the whales (buses) and big fish (cars) cruise along without a worry while all the minnows (motorbikes) jock for every square inch of space and dip a dodge their way to their destination.


2.Karaoke – Vietnamese love karaoke and will always invite you to enjoy these private rooms of bad singing, fruit plates (sometimes flying), and endless snacks and drinks.


3.Food – If it is alive, it can be eaten in Vietnam (with one exception, human), and the more obscure the more of a delicacy it is. I’m very proud of our American stomachs (and tongues!) through everyone of these cultural delights/fear factor challenges.


4.Transport – woven boats the shape of a rice bowl, bicycle and human rickshaws, tuk tuks, 3 person bicycles. They’re all fun


5.Football – this sport is everywhere (except America), especially Vietnam.


6.Contrast – contrast is seen in Vietnam on so many levels. The people have a huge contrast in personality between their tough-negotiating, thick-skinned business owner/vendor vs. their warm, welcoming, friends as family hospitality shown to outsiders who are willing to connect. The country is a great contrast between old world tradition, craftsmanship, and practice vs. new generation modernization, tourism, and technology. If I give more examples, I’ll have to make a sublist in this list which would just be confusing so on to the pictures:


North Vietnam with our crew of 5.

South Vietnam with the remaining 3 munchskateers.





Cambodia will be coming soon! Until then, eat something crazy…


Love and Wahoo’s fish sandwiches,


Tyler

Conquering the Balut Egg from Tyler Elick on Vimeo.


Nga and Te took us to eat Balut Egg, a fertalized but unborn chicken that has developed a beak, feathers, and bones which are all “edible”