Tommy Goes Kiwi

Cambodia is a place I did not think I would ever travel to in my life and had no idea what to expect going into it. What I found were strong beautiful people delicious food and the realities of daily life in a Nation dealing with a severe level of poverty. As amazing as Cambodia is, it is inescapable not to learn about and be faced with the harsh recent history and struggles it faces as a Country. Whether you are touring the temple complexes of Angkor Wat or doing a bicycle tour of a local village, the subject of the Khmer Rouge, Pol Pot and April 17th 1975 is bound to come up, often by them. Each person who was alive at the time has their own experience and their own story and those we met along the way were very open to share them with us. It shaped their family make up and history, in only about 3 years reducing the population by about 2 million people and targeting the most educated whenever possible. All you can do is learn and listen to the stories. You go and see the genocide museums, allow yourself to be affected and walk away with the mindset that we must never forget what the human race is capable of at it's lowest points in order to consciously keep us on a higher path.

However, on a lighter note, being a Westerner and traveling through Cambodia is like stepping back in time. You see things in the street that are perfectly in tune to where you are and at the same time completely bizarre and dangerous to you. Whether it’s putting entire families of 6 people or 2 pigs on a single moped, drinking Tarantulla wine while having your baby play with the spider hanging from his mouth, naked children pretty much anywhere anytime in the street and/or in restaurants or the basic fact of having absolutely no traffic rules whatsoever. The general consensus seems to be the old Bart Simpson mind set, "if it feels good do it."

We have had a great group here traveling with us the past 12 days. Packed a hell of a lot of things into a short amount of time and area. Touring the Angkor Wat complex, local dinners, homestay, fish tank foot cleaning, heading out to see a completely floating community with an amazing sunset, visiting a silk farm, riding over a temporary bamboo bridge and spending some time on the beach and some of the islands off the south coast.

The homestay was very interesting, staying within a community tucked away besides a National Park. The people were very organized and were trying their best to promote the Village as a destination for eco-tourism. In general, the children here are very shy but equally as smiley and curious. After having dinner at their community center, the kids put on a traditional dancing show for the group and some of them came up to us after to try and speak english with us as best they could.

Village life starts early as you could guess with roosters crowing as loud as can be and and a whole other slew of loud animals that you didn't even know were out there. As soon as the kids are up they go to work, helping to water the garden and do their little chores around the yard. We were all standing around in the morning waiting for the bus for the next days travel. I knew none of the kids there spoke English and were shy but felt stupid just sitting in silence next to them. With no toys around I grabbed a half empty water bottle and tried to figure out a game we could play together to maybe get them out of their shells just a little bit. What I came up with was basically a flare bartending game, doing tricks over the shoulder and behind the back, throwing it up in the air and passing it on to the next kid in the circle. And you know what.. they picked it right up and were having a ball. Was fun trying to break through the language barrier and realizing that all kids just like to have fun and laugh not caring too much about what it is your laughing about anyway.

Guess when it comes down to it, Cambodia was a complete surprise from start to finish. Didn't think I would ever travel here but also didn't think I would be flare bartending with a bunch of Khmer kids at 6am on a farm either. Have a bunch of great memories to take away from meeting such beautiful people and seeing some amazing sights.

Early morning sitting on my hotel balcony overlooking a canal in Bangkok. Whenever you hear about this place people say that it's dirty, hectic and just plain wild. Well after day 1 I can confirm it's all those things with an extra serving of dirty and large scoop of smelly. There is a delicate balance of odors between old seafood and professional grade BO, which hovers in the streets where the shopping stalls and food stands are alive and trying their best to reel you in. I'll have to be honest, for the first time traveling anywhere I was immediately intimidated. My New York instinct kicked in and literally went off the charts for the first few minutes I walked around. But once I realized how wild it is to be somewhere so different and to just basically do the opposite to whatever any local tells you, I found my balance. Ended up taking a river boat ride through some of the surrounding canals and finishing at the Grand Palace and Wat Po. In the canals, along with seeing how some locals live, I saw a friggin Komodo Dragon in the water right on their front door step! Not only did these people live in dilapidated floating houses above extremely dirty water, but now there were dragons. Come on!!! Talk about an instant eye opener to a different reality and way of life.

Tonight I meet with my tour group and have my fingers crossed that they are a fun loving easy going bunch. It's the start of a 26 day tour which begins here in Bangkok, into cambodia and traveling the length of Vietnam.

A week ago I said my goodbyes to my friends in Te Anau, wishing them all bright futures and left New Zealand headed for Melbourne. Here I stayed with a friend I made on Trek America who showed me around the city and took me to a "footy" game. A sport I had no idea existed before I arrived in town. It's a cross between Rugby and Soccer and was actually really fun to watch and learn. While Rani was showing me around, we came across a guy who had put a full upright piano on a dolly and rolled it God knows how far to this bridge overlooking the city. I always wished pianos were easier to transport so you would see more players in the park and street back home. This was awesome! We listened, dropped some money in the bucket and passed by, but I thought this was too perfect of a scene not to politely as possible ask to play for a bit. Thankfully he was a really nice guy and jumped up to let me takeover. Automatically my hands went to play Stevie Wonder Ribbon in the sky, one of my go to's and I soaked in where I was and how fun it was to be playing in the street. It was by far the highlight of Melbourne for me!

From Melbourne I spent a few days in Sydney admiring the beautiful opera house in the harbor and all day walking around, per my usual strategy for any city. Checked out an art gallery in the park and some cool museums about the old neighborhoods of Sydney back in it's "convict days." My hostel in the Rocks area had a rooftop deck with a great few of the harbor and opera house which I took full advantage of. Sydney was a relaxing stop for me. I even saw a show without even leaving the hostel, even better, without leaving my room! Turns out my bunk mate "Cosmo the magician" was the most outgoing guy I've ever met and after asking him a few questions about his act, before I knew it on came his magic velvet vest and out came the magic tricks. Unfortunately for me his costume design that night stopped at just the vest, leaving Cosmo standing in front of me in his magic vest and boxers. I was pretty sure Cosmo was a guy with high functioning Autism, so oddly enough this seemed perfectly normal and was nice of him to do.

From Sydney I had a short one night stop in Singapore, which was like being in London or nyc, but planet of the apes style where everyone is now asian and you are the one who looks different. Dr. Zauis was unlisted so I couldn't reach him… Today I am going to head back out into the wild west of Bangkok and the plan is to get a full body Thai message which will cost me about 15 USD for 2 hours, get some lunch from street vendors and buy some really cheap knock off stuff.

Up to my last few weeks here in New Zealand. Been a busy guy around town and at the lodge, staying outdoors and hanging out playing music with some of the good people I’ve made friends with here.

Last week was my time to set out and walk the Kepler Track. It’s one of the great walks in New Zealand and literally right at the doorstep to Te Anau, so there would have been no excuse whatsoever if I came all this way and my lazy ass didn’t make it up there. The Kepler is a 60km/42mi loop into the Kepler Mountains and back down the other side into town. I did the 36 mile version getting dropped off on the road to Manapouri and doing the track in reverse so I can just walk back home on the last day.

On the first day you set off on a 16 mile walk through a beech forest along lake Manapouri and stay in a hut far into the bush in preparation for the climb up and across on the following day. The Ranger in charge of the hut that night was a good guy and bit of a character, entertaining us with some good stories as I ate my dinner of peanut butter and banana sandwiches and sardines. One of the stories he told was through a letter that had just been sent to him from a 12 year old boy in Australia who had been caught in 140km per hour winds and full downpours at the top of the pass with his Father and had been helped by this Ranger. The letter, which was written in the perfect flow of a 12 year old boy, went on to explain how much fun it was getting blown around on the track and how cool it was that the rain was falling completely sideways. It was especially fun when his Dad had to tie a rope to him so he wouldn’t blow away and on a staircase heading up the side of the track they had to walk on their hands and knees to stay on. He went on to thank the Ranger for helping them get to a storm shelter and for telling him stories as they waited and then safely helping them on to the Luxmore Hut which was their final destination for the night. In conclusion he wrote, “Now I know I want to be a Park Ranger.”

Lucky for me the weather was not nearly as windy and reasonably dry for my 10 mile hike up and through the pass. The bonus was that I was the only one that day traveling reverse on the track, allowing me to be completely alone for most of the day with just the sounds of emptiness and the wind to carry me along as I walked. That and my every so often whistle session and self sing a long. We were told by the Ranger that this section of Alpine track is considered to be one of the best in the world and is a major reason why hundreds of people are drawn to Te Anau each December to do the “Kepler Challenge.” The challenge is a race up, across and down completing the 42 mile loop all in one day and with the best time. The record is about 5 ½ hours. That’s just plain bongos!! Below are some of the photos from the track and some good shots of the views that come with the pass. I was completely exhausted in the end and had bruised knees from the long hike downhill on the last day, but this being my first overnight hiking experience it was definitely memorable and a lot of fun.

When I got back to work I found out that we were going to have a vip guest at the lodge the following week in between his filming for the Hobbit. Sir Ian Mckellen, aka Gandalf from the lord of the Rings aka Magneto and best of all, the grimm reaper in Last Action Hero. The reality is that if I saw him on the street back home I probably would have no idea who this old man was. But the other night as I was pouring Gandalf a glass of wine, I realized that I had just climbed through the Mountains of New Zealand and once completing my quest, returned home to be greeted by Gandalf the Grey. Frodo, I feel you dog...

Happy Easter!

Hi everyone,

Hope Saint Paddy treated you well! Been hanging out down here working and enjoying the clean air. Te Anau is right in the middle of a few amazing parts and attractions of Fiordland NP. Two of them are Milford and Doubtful Sounds which are absolutely amazing! One of the perks of working at the Lodge is that I can do some touring of the park and it's cruises for free. Pretty nice perk considering the cost of them. I recently took them up on their offer and went out for day trips and cruises of both Doubtful and Milford. I've attached a whole bunch of pictures to this post so you can see just how gorgeous these places are. Getting to Doubtful sound was a bit of a pain in the ass just because of how remote it is but well worth the effort! There are no direct roads or passages to it so I ended up taking a bus to Manapouri, to a boat across the lake, to a bus through the valley floor, to a boat on the sound and then back later that day. Long day! Unfortunately, the weather wasn't cooperating when I went to Doubtful. Most of the photos uploaded here are of Milford Sound which I did have amazing weather for. Started out in the morning with low lying clouds which pretty much happens everyday here, but the skies slowly opened up for us just as we made our turn away from the Tasman sea and back up the sound.

Enjoy the photos!!

These are my pictures from Milford Sound

These are some photos of my Doubtful Sound trip which I didn't have the best weather for but still enjoyed a whole bunch.

I always wanted to know what life was like in a really small town. Te Anau is showing me the small town ropes. You really do come to recognize a lot of people in a short amount of time. You'll meet someone at a bar and the next day they are in the cafe handing you a cup of coffee, or next to you on line in the supermarket. It's all very familiar.

The house where I'm staying is really nice and a little further out from the main drag of town. Made a horrible first impression with my housemates when I arrived. My first night at the house I figured I would get myself settled in and unpacked. Knowing that there wasn't cable in the house I decided to go online and buy a full season of "Always Sunny" on itunes so I can watch it on and off when I'm hanging out. Next morning there is a strongly worded letter on the kitchen table - "some inconsiderate person used 7GB of internet last night and used up our remaining allowance for the month, Thank you." When I woke up and saw the note my heart sank. That night I had to explain to everyone that in America internet is flat rate for unlimited and doesn't get charged by how much you use. Pretty embarrassing start but it all got cleared up.

(Backyard of the House)

(Caught this from the backyard I'm staying in, Kepler mountains in the background. )

The Lodge where I'm working is on a gorgeous vista of lake Te Anau and is only about 5km out from town. I decided to go the cheap-o route and get by without a car or cell phone. Boyd's family (the owners of the lodge and my friend from Trek) had an extra bicycle at their house that they are letting me use while I'm about. Most days I ride to work, some I get to take a nice walk down the road and others I catch a ride with some of the other servers and cooks at the Lodge.

Tried my hand at hitchhiking first couple of times, thinking it was a friendly little town and figuring that I look like a nice enough guy and hopefully don't give off too much of a "I'm going to steal your car and eat you" vibe. But as I found out, hitchhiking is harder then it seems. Ended up slowly walking down the road, thumb out, quietly laughing to myself befuddled by the stream of cars whizzing past my digit. It automatically made me think back to every time a homeless person asked me for change and I walked by making the futile gesture of patting my pockets supposedly looking, only to walk by saying "How you doing? Sorry man got nothing." Skye, after first hearing this spiel, suggested I stop asking the homeless "How you doing?" Don't think they are doing too well, considering their homeless! Point taken, probably still say it though out of habit. But back to my point, passing by a hitchhiker is the ultimate "patting the pockets and walking by the homeless guy move." The only difference lies in the fact that you can't pretend you don't have the car to give me the ride down the street. YOU JUST DROVE BY ME IN IT!!! Instead of patting the pockets I got a lot of looks with palms up and shrugged shoulders if the seats were full or van packed to the gills, trying to give the impression of "awwwwww I would have totally pulled over if I had room." Who knows..

On days off I've been hiking around different trails in the Fiords close to town, biking and hanging out. There are about 7 or 9 guys and gals from Argentina and Chile who work at the lodge and in town who were extremely nice and welcoming to me right off the bat. When they found out I like to play piano they got all excited and invited me over to play at their house. Apparently the house they rented out had a piano in it but nobody knew how to play. They all played guitar and bongos and had gotten into the habit of doing some late night jamming after coming back from the bar or just hanging around. When I got to the house was thinking I was going to be out of my league if they started playing some crazy latin rhythms and songs. One of the guys however busts out a Beatles Anthology chord book!! Needless to say there has been no musical language barrier and we've all had fun a few nights jamming out and playing some late night chess and backgammon.

(Hike up to Lake Marion)

Boyd was also nice enough to invite me out for a boat trip to do some fishing and camping out on Lake Manapouri at a public hut along an arm of the lake. We all had some laughs, met some interesting kiwi deer hunters who were already up at the hut and enjoyed a bit of the outdoors. Caught my first trout, but it was so small that one of the guys literally burst out in laughter while netting it out of the water and then mercifully putting it back in to grow a bit more. A great time had by all.