Hawaii

Hopping around planet earth has been a life-long dream and as I head back to the USA, ending my vagabonding ways, it's fitting that I finalize this life-changing journey the way I began it: with a friend's celebration of marriage back home in the states.


This time, however, it won't be on the mainland but on the tropical Hawaiian island of Oahu. Although I'm not here for the actual wedding, this bachelor party will mark the end of an epic 10 months for me, and kick off a new chapter for a very good friend who will embark on an exciting journey in marriage.


The road to that exciting day would be filled with surfing world class Hawaiian waves, eating fantastic food, backflips, and of course color coordinating in order to draw as much attention to ourselves as possible.


"A bachelor party in Hawaii?" Yup, it's not a very common destination for a man's last hurrah but when surfing is more important than many of the other stereotypical bachelor activities, Hawaii becomes an obvious candidate.


Oh and let's not forget the luxury of having a free vacation home and our pick of surf boards thanks a to a very generous and gracious friend/host. Our good friend Chuck and his wife Jocelyn were kind (and daring) enough to loan the future groom Tyler, and 6 of his borderline responsible groomsmen their beautiful vacation home for a week.


Perched high behind Diamond Head crater and overlooking one of Oahu's most scenic spots, this house made our trip memorable in many ways. See link if you're interested in experiencing it: http://www.vrbo.com/261052
Thanks for the all-around hospitality O'Neill family!


Having been to Oahu before, we quickly got into a common surf routine in order to maximize our time in the water. Early morning surf sessions were always a norm and the hunt for waves throughout the day would lead us to random spots along the island.


Since I hadn't seen many of these guys in almost a year, conversation, jokes, and pranks flowed plentifully in and out of the water and throughout the entire trip.


Surfing wasn't the only thing we did in the water. We had 2 rounds of outrigger canoe riding during our stay. The first was on an 8 man canoe and the second was on a 4 man canoe. We had the luxury of being taken out to paddle by one of Chuck's good friends, and a world-record setter paddler.


Talk about an opportunity for learning! All, we did was paddle as hard as we could and he would steer us into silky smooth waves executing perfect turns that would be difficult for even the most skilled waterman. We took turns hopping in and out of the canoe so we could all paddle into the crystal-clear liquid ramps.


While waiting for my turn I somehow got the nerve to attempt a head stand while on a wave. In true Hawaiian fashion I managed to ride it but only at the painful expense of losing my favorite (and only) sunglasses. Worth the chuckle I gave my friends and the surrounding surfers I must say...



Our bachelor, Tyler, decided to give us matching trunks embroidered with our initials and gladly sported these most of the trip. Needless to say, the reaction from people on the beach and around the island was comical.


We pretended to be doing a calendar shoot for Fanta orange, convinced a local lifeguard we were a professional paddling team, told a gullible lady that we were the octomom's sons, and were interrogated by a family who thought we were a flash mob.


Luckily we didn't get beat up by any local Hawaiians for looking like kooks. Along with agreeing to wear the same color swimsuits, the other thing we were all on board with was food.


Although we didn't keep any of the fish we caught, we did have great local poke, spam musubi, Chuck's famous ribs and made the mandatory stop at one of the best shrimp trucks on the North shore.


Another mandatory activity for me was climbing Diamond Head crater. The easy hike took only 25 minutes and once at the top I had a spectacular view of Waikiki and downtown Honolulu almost all to myself.


Mark, Michael and I also did a more challenging hike at a nearby trail. This jaunt took us to a summit where we could see a lot of the southern part of the island.


As we hiked higher and higher we could see how quickly the landscape and temperature changed making it a uniquely different experience than any I've come across in Oahu before.


Although the bachelor party is over, and the constant flying, passport stamping, hostel bookings, overnight buses, ferries, and language barriers will take a back seat for a while, my adventure is not quite over. I did't know how I would feel when the day to go back to California arrived.


Would I choose to live abroad? I've never been more excited to set foot back in San Diego and I just hope I can continue to keep living life there with the same passion I've lived it in other places around the world.


I'll keep 'flipping' my lid with ideas to keep that going as long I live.

Colombia

You know that christmas-time urge you get to rummage through those rickety drawers or boxes tucked in the back of your old room's closet or down in the basement?


Yeah the ones which hold your pre-historic yellow walkman (which you simply can't justify getting rid of) underneath a pile of old high school pictures and "Certificate of Merit" awards from elementary school? Why is it that it never gets old looking through all that stuff? Maybe we expect to find something we missed when we last looked but in the end, the same stuff is always there.


Yet, no matter how many times we lay eyes on those trinkets and however long it has been, they always make us feel good. Well my month-and-a-half experience in Colombia was filled with similar feelings. I re-connected with family I haven't spoken to in over 25 years,


saw pictures and videos of myself I didn't know existed, and was left breathless multiple times at Colombia's beautiful green landscapes.


Anywhere I went there were tall, wild, picturesque mountains filled with wildlife eager to be explored one way or another.


I always knew this stuff was there but it just needed to be dug up so I could once again appreciate it.

Asia and South America are pretty different continents so after 4 months of having my name butchered in the far East


it was nice to come back West to see and hear my name pronounced and spelled correctly...everywhere.


I almost forgot how common my name is around here. No more Undree, Handrei, Andy, or Andruu. Just easy common 'ole Andres.


I knew I'd be seeing a lot of family here in Colombia but I wasn't expecting to be able to travel to 4 of its largest cities and see a total of 16 cousins, a handful of aunts and uncles, and one very special grandmother.


I saw more family around the country this trip than I've seen in the last 24 years and even with over a month it still almost wasn't enough.


Every trip was filled with beautiful sights that at times left me trying to compare to others I've visited but usually failed.


There's really a unique type of landscape here in Colombia that is still very raw and virgin for a pretty developed and up-and-coming western country.


There is still a LOT to be explored and as a professional traveling bum it's exciting to find these countries which have so much natural beauty to offer (Laos and Indonesia also fall in that category.)


Eating is always an important part of the day and with an array of dishes I hadn't tried in years I was spoiled being served whatever I wanted by my unwavering family members.


A lot of things have stayed constant the past 9 months such as the ragged clothes I've worn, my lack of hair cuts, and random backflips.


One thing that has NOT stayed constant is my weight and with the exception of Turkey (dessert heaven) I've plumped up the most here in Colombia.


At times some meals were obscenely large and sinful but well worth the small risk of irregular heart palpitations. This didn't stop when Michelle came to visit me in Bogota.


Along with taking a cool road trip to Villa de Leyva and getting lost around Bogota, eating/drinking anything and everything was an obligatory part of our routine. I think I'm good on certain dishes for a year or two.


Although I did see a lot of great views of Colombia throughout this month-and-a-half, my real reason for coming to here was to re-connect with my loved ones whenever and wherever.


At times I'd find myself talking in the kitchen or in the living room with an aunt, uncle, or cousin letting the day go bye. No big deal in my book.


If there's one thing I've learned this trip is that relationships, real and honest relationships where people are genuinely and unselfishly interested in what the other person has to say, is what life should be all about.


It's not just about traveling to a cool mountain, catching a big wave, or a taking in a stunning beach. If we don't take the time to connect with the people we care about during those small windows in our day we are cheating ourselves of good energy.


Now that I've left Colombia motivated to work on a project that I'm passionate about and become overjoyed with opening those tucked-away family memories, it's time to continue accepting and planning for the end of this incredible journey.


Just one more stop to the island of Oahu where this chapter ends for me and for our good friend Tyler, another one begins.

Kuala Lumpur, sponsored by...

I've taken 21 long distance bus rides (that I can count) while traveling around this rock and usually the scenery can stand being more spectacular. Let's just be real: most long distance bus rides don't have neck-breaking vistas. So what was it about the bus ride to Kuala Lumpur that was SO interesting when I touched down in Malaysia? Power lines! That' right, I realized I hadn't seen proper power lines in about 4 months.


Now, I get that a power line isn't something to be drooling over but it made me realize how removed I have been from any type of "western" norms. Well the power line I saw from that bus served as foreshadowing to what I'd eventually be experiencing here in Kuala Lumpur (KL) because electricity runs through KL's veins literally and figuratively. How else are we to see the endless advertisements splattered around town?

I was well aware of what a bustling, developed, and technologically advanced city KL was before getting there and in a bittersweet way, I was intrigued to see it but a bit sad to leave Indonesia. Immediately after coming out of the airport, had I not already known where I was, I could have sworn I was somewhere in the US or Europe.

Big highways, traffic signs in English, modern buildings, and...power lines! What I was not expecting from KL is the overwhelming amount of ads EVERYWHERE I looked. Bridges, buildings, taxis, on people, inside trains in the ceiling, on the floor, and on chairs.


The town felt like one big sticker. I guess it's a good way to save on the cost of paint? It was all really comical to me. One day I ran into what was either the Malaysian headquarters of KFC or a very well negotiated KFC ad in a rather important looking building. Regardless, it made me want chicken.


The thing is, the advertisements seem to work. There are KFC's, McD's, and Starbucks' EVERYWHERE and they're always oozing out the door with hungry customers each of which is holding some sort of electronic device in their hand. There is certainly no lack of options in KL when the need indulge in electronic gluttony hits you.


Phones are bigger, thinner, screens are clearer, and it just seems like things here are ahead of their time. Maybe all the ads just WANT us to think that? Well they're working and I bought some new headphones dangit!

Another thing I wanted to experience here in KL was the food. KL is definitely a melting pot of culture, religions and cuisine. It was really cool to be surrounded by so many different types of faces from all over Asia and I was anxious to taste the smorgasbord of delicacies.


In the short time I was here I enjoyed Malaysian, Indian, Persian, Chinese, Thai, and now in its very own category...McDonalds (yeah one of the advertisements worked on me and there was one RIGHT next to my hostel.)


In addition to the food, it was interesting hearing all the different languages spoken around town and wherever you went you'd likely hear another interesting dialect. On the elevator up to the top of the 421 meter KL tower I picked up three different languages...none which I understood a single word of.


The view from the tower was spectacular and I could really see how developed KL and the surrounding area was. When I came down I headed towards the Petronas Towers which at one point were the tallest twin skyscrapers in the world.


Another good example of advertisement, Petronas is Malaysia's national gas company and the towers are probably its best known symbol. The towers lure you in with their stunning lighting, a beautiful park surrounding the grounds and a mega-mall bursting with electronic stores, and massive food courts which are blanketed with thousands and thousands of, yes, you guessed it...advertisements!


SE Asia is an area of the world I already cannot wait to come back to. There is much much more to explore around these ways and I have a feeling we will be hearing plenty from them in the economic sector in the years to come. On that note, I provided my last bit of economic stimulus as I got my second haircut in 8 months before I embark on a 33 hour journey halfway across the world for my much anticipated visit to Colombia!