the country of chile is obsessed with hot dogs. they’re the preferred fast food, and they’re everywhere, served in every style imaginable. with fries, with beer, with avocado, *on* fries, on pizzas, in sandwiches.

need i even mention that j is in heaven?

there’s boston love everywhere!

and specially for benal and kay bee:

more santiago photos here.

i’m always intrigued by the endless variety of ways that people travel. from those who pack giant makeup kits in their wheeled hardsiders and watch weeks worth of soap operas hanging out at the backpackers, to those who make it their personal mission to see how long they can go without a shower, carry only an extra pair of undies, hitchhike across large landmasses, and think wearing brightly coloured woven clothing = “going native”. we’ve met people who’ve taken ten months to do the same routes we’ve done in in four, and we’ve met people who’ve been on the road for more than 2 years and don’t know when they’re going home. we’ve met people who called thailand/oz/nyc a “round the world trip”, and people who *only* go to the most obscure and difficult countries they can find. there are people doing the luxury packages, and people who are working their way from one city to the next. it takes all kinds i suppose, and i always end up feeling that we fall somewhere squarely in the middle – not too long, not too short, not too hard, not too soft. just right – for us, anyway. i find it strangely comforting.

i suppose it all comes down to different strokes for different folks. some might call our middle of the road approach boring. i call it anything but.

london really should look into getting itself a few thermal hot spring pools. soooooo nice….

(old post from fiji, sorry!)

every so often, in the interest of keeping the budget balanced (particularly in more expensive cities like singapore, or kunming, or fiji), j and i have elected to stay in dormitory accomodation. and although i am usually a good decade older than many of the other occupants (though by no means all) i’m not usually bothered by certain immaturities. after all, i was 21 too, not so long ago. howwver i feel the need to take this opportunity to pass along a few choice words of wisdom, which will serve them well in their future travels. let’s just call it “dorm etiquette”.

1. please do not leave your mobile on – no one wants to be woken to “auld lang syne” when your drunken mate from london rings you at 3 am.

2. do not fart. it’s not funny. if you are unable to refrain from farting in public, shared accomodation is not for you. if others fart in their sleep, giggling is uncalled for. again, it’s not funny. if you think farting is funny, shared accomodation is not for you.

3. if you know that you snore like an outboard motor, please be kind and do not inflict this on other strangers (who you may find yourself trying to score with later). find another snorer and share the costs of a room.

4. don’t try to score – this is not the set of “big brother”.

5. if you set your alarm, wake up and turn the damn thing off.

6. dorms are for sleeping only – not partying. see rule # 4.

7. do not try to pack at dawn – you’re not nearly as quiet as you think you are.

8. if you’re in late or out early, for god’s sake, *do not turn on the light*. learn to un/dress in the dark like every one else. if this is not a skill you have mastered, shared accomodation is not for you.

9. the unwritten law of dorms is that you don’t look while others are dressing. don’t be a perv. if you’ve never seen the opposite sex naked, then you’re too young for the dorms.

10. whatever you do, for god’s sake, *don’t turn on the light*! you will be murdered in your sleep. don’t say i didn’t try to warn you.

grrr – j has an unbelievably maddening streak of luck when it comes to yahtzee. the boy can roll 2, sometimes three yahtzees in a single game. now how’m i sposed to beat that, i ask you?

i think one of the reasons i like opera so much is because it so perfectly matches the majesty of nature’s beauty. looking out over a dazzling ocean sunset while listening to the clear, bright, soaring strains of ‘o mio babbino caro’ or taking in the view from a mountaintop to the booming reverberation of ‘nessun dorma’ – nothing else even comes close.

i’ll never forget the summer nights at central park, lying in the grass, watching the sky give way from sunset to stars while listening to the metropolitan opera perform ‘carmen’, the arias flying to the treetops, and thinking just how unbelievably perfect it was.

travelling is absolutely great for your skin. the combination of no makeup, lots of sun, and less urban pollution mean i’ve barely had a clogged pore in months. who knew?

… is not the stuff you left behind, but the family and friends you can’t bring with you.

having beers at sunset in fiji would be so wonderful to share with friends. wish you were here.

… never to hear another jack johnson song ever again. talk about ubiquitous.