Arriving In The Valley
To Silicon valley I went. I didn't really know anyone there but I know that there is knowledge to be gained by being there. So off I went things loaded. From a much smaller valley to one that is much much larger.
A Van And A Plan?
After getting back from traveling I needed a set of wheels to get me around. I found a Van for 1500$, It has some rust that needed patched and some rusty bumpers that needed paint. But for 1500 it was a deal. And so I picked it up getting ready to head to Silicon Valley. The area where the most billion dollar companies have been founded and created anywhere in the world.
Crowded Subways Of Japan
The roads are oddly empty for a city of 14 million. Japanese take the subway. And often times they cram in until noone has an inch of space and your against someone else on all 4 sides. There's no crime or safety issues on their trains though.
Wuhan Chicken
After arriving in Wuhan I went walking through the city exploring different shops and restaurants. I saw not a single other white person. Except for a bread seller who didn't speak English. Eventually I came across Wuhan Chicken. Everyone likes fried chicken, even China.
China Exploration
I travelled into China, the land of the unknown. They asked lots of questions about what I did and why I was coming here. I did a special visa that was max 144 hours meant for traveling through the country to a secondary country. But after getting through that I got to see how advanced the country was. It was remarkable how it was clean and modern, they had fast trains, lots of options for stores, and beautiful monuments.
Coworking In The Rice Fields
The majority of my time and my days were spent with this exact point of view usually 8-16 hours spent in a glass box in the rice fields. Working towards being an expert at building software. Alongside others all working towards their own goals.
Island Day Trip
The Cham Islands are a small group of islands off the coast of Vietnam by Hoi An. I went for a day trip there to enjoy the white sand beaches and the alright diving, and I met some friendly locals that wanted to take pictures with me.
A little bonfire
A simple bonfire at the beach with my friends from Japan. Finally happening postponing 3 weekends from the rainy days of Vietnam rainy season. Eating campfire roasted dried squid and knock off Oreos.
Mr White's Night Out
After getting some custom clothes made I got to try them out with a night out in Da Nang. With some friends from the co working I had a night of dancing. (Mr White was a inside joke from a word game we played where the goal is for "mr white" to trick those into thinking he knows the word)
Muay Thai By The River
With some friends I made at the Coworking I did some Muay Thai lessons in a small outdoor studio right by the river. The boxing gloves were smelly, tattered and dirty but it was a good time.
Wait Those Aren't Pigs?
On the way to Hue which is a 3 hour motorbike trip from Hoi An I stopped to look at some big water sprayers/fountains that were hosing off trucks of pigs to keep them cool during transport. A new truck pulled up and opened the sides and inside there definitely wasn't pigs. I don't know what they were doing with those dogs but one can make a lot of guesses.
Pickleball Begins
Pickleball is a mix of tennis, padel, ping pong and a bit of its own thing. I tried it out once with some friends from the coworking and played twice a week every week until I left Vietnam.
Hoi An Custom Clothes
Hoi An is primarily known to tourists for its hundreds of custom tailoring shops. You can get suits, clothes, shoes, hats, bags and more all custom made for about the same price as you'd buy them back home. I chose my materials and made some custom silk lined bags along with some clothes.
Vietnam Rice Field Buffalo
The rice farmers use water buffalo to held tend to the rice fields by riding on top of them. When they aren't using them, they're tied up to a post and left to graze freely in the rice fields and wallow in the muddy water. I got up close with one and got a nice photo.
The Hunt For Durian
After seeing durian (the stinkiest fruit) all over the street they seemingly disappeared when I tried to buy one. So finally I found one at an ice cream stall. After negotiating and trying to explain to the man I wanted to buy the durian not ice cream, for what seemed like 30 minutes, his wife finally went to the market and bought a whole durian for me. For 500k VND I got to share the experience with friends.
I Went Chasing Waterfalls (In Vietnam)
After exploring the ruins of My Son, I found a waterfall hidden away in The jungle of Vietnam. At the top there was a split in the rocks carved out by the water almost in the exact shape of a swimming pool!
Ancient Ruins Long Forgotten
My Son Ruins are old buildings from 600 years ago. They were unknown about for hundreds of years until french explorers uncovered them in the 1880s.
Pitstop in Istanbul
After Kosovo I did a quick 36 hour stopover in Istanbul Turkey. It has some of the largest oldest buildings, with The Blue Mosque being one of the coolest architectural marvels I've seen yet. Built over 400 years ago its more impressive than anything I've seen built in the past 100 years.
To Vietnam Once Again
After trying out south eastern Europe, I missed the ultra cheap hotels of Asia, paired with the beaches and sunshine of Da Nang, so back to Vietnam I went. I arrived on Sept 15th and with a 90 day visa, rented a motor bike then drove an hour south to Hoi An. A small tourist town that primarily specializes in clothes tailoring but also has lots of different foods, a river, a beach, waterfalls about an hour away, and a great coworking in the middle of the rice fields.
Kosovo Bear Sanctuary
I went to BEAR SANCTUARY Pristina which is about an hour a way from Kosovo's capital Pristina in a town called Mramror. The European Bears are much smaller than in North America and look a lot funnier.
