U.S. Road Trip 5 - Boston and P-town

A friend of mine from high school was then based in Boston so, armed with my mutliple trip Amtrak ticket, I went up for the weekend with an overnight bag, a jacket I borrowed frorm my brother and images of Ally McBeal and Good Will Hunting in my head.

My friend introduced me to his friends so most of the time I went around at a slower, more relaxed pace while chatting and being shown around like the tourist that I am. Saw the sights. Took photos. Went clubbing. The one time I was alone was when I attempted to go to Harvard. After making my way 3000 miles across the U.S. for almost a month, I knew I was bound to get lost at some point. And so I didn't see Harvard at all.

My friend did organize a day trip to Provincetown. We rented a car and drove up to what is supposedly the gay mecca of the U.S. (well, there seems to be a few gay meccas there). Maybe because it was still the tail end of winter, the town was nice and quaint, but rather sleepy and quiet. The four of us who drove up must be the biggest and noisiest group walking around town.

It was here that I did get to see the Atlantic coast. The air was cold and the sun was setting as I stared into the vast horizon. My journey was ending here and I was about to head back, back to Boston, back to New York, back to Hong Kong, back to my life.

But it's a different me now. I was no longer afraid to explore and live.

A few months later, I went to Australia twice, then to Europe twice and even went to New York again - all before my next birthday. Had many travels since. But this U.S. trip was truly the journey of my life.

U.S. Road Trip 4 - New York

My brother flew back to New York while I took the overnight train. It's interesting taking the train all the way across America. From LA to Chicago, the passengers felt more relaxed and friendly. Here everyone just minded their own business as if it's all one mundane commute.

It wasn't my first time in Manhattan and I had a couple of friends and relatives there. I knew I would have a great time - which was great because I was going to spend my birthday there too. My brother's place is actually in North Bergen, New Jersey, right by the river where you can see all of Manhattan from the basement laundry.

Almost every night, I was out clubbing in Manhattan. My friend Fudge went with me most of the time. Went to all sorts of places - straight, gay, lesbian. A few times Fudge would head home earlier than me. Once I walked down Broadway alone at around 3am. I walked down the middle of the road where I figured I'm safest from muggers (as long as I don't get run over). There were a few times I had to wait til about 5am for the bus to Jersey from Port Authority - while waiting, I figured it safest to blend in with the guys warming themselves by a fire by the side of the road. Another time I just slept on the floor of the bus station. And once I wound up on the wrong bus and by some miracle made my way from Jersey City to North Bergen in one piece. My brother was always surprised at how I manage to get home every morning.

During the days I did wake up and the sun was still out, I managed to go to Central Park, go Used CD shopping in St. Marks, went to the foot of the Statue of Liberty, dreamt big dreams like Melanie Griffith in "Working Girl" staring at the World Trade Center. It was six months before 9/11. Like the rest of the world, these were some of the last days I was young and free and unconcerned.


Pictured here: Liberty behind the trees, the bench where I greeted myself a happy birthday (after a looong night of partying), the Manhattan skyline as I will always remember it and my rather ominous photo of the World Trade Center in the shadow of a passing cloud.

U.S. Road Trip 3 - Chicago

Spent around 28 hours on a train from Grand Junction to Chicago. Plenty of time to forget about being shy and start chatting with different people. One was an old guy who liked talking politics with me - though I'm pretty sure I sounded clueless. I did enjoy the ride and going from car to car. This despite the fact that before I boarded in San Francisco the headlines were about a train that derailed.














My brother flew from New York to Chicago to hang out with me. He's 15 years older than me and left the Philippines when I was 11. It's not the first time I visited him in the U.S. but it was the first time we really had bonding time. He was more maps and guidebooks, and I was more "hey, let's walk til our knees go wobbly." But the yin and yang act worked and the photos show how much fun we actually had.

U.S. Road Trip 2 - Yosemite and Grand Junction, Colorado

I would have wanted my road trip to be a driving trip, but since I was traveling alone, I chickened out and decided to Amtrak it across America. After San Francisco I took a train and a bus to Yosemite National Park and I fell so in love with it so much that there's a separate entry for it below. The last snow was melting and I had the most peaceful 3 days of my life there.













Took the train back to San Francisco to do my laundry and to go clubbing again. Then headed east. On the train, I met some college kids on spring break. I wanted to cut the journey and stop by a small town somewhere. Grand Junction Colorado was on the way and for some reason I decided that's the one.

It was really quiet and the streets were empty. And with the few people I saw, I didn't see any other Asian.

I could feel all eyes on me as I walked around and took pictures. It was a rather strange experience but I'm still glad I went, though I probably won't go back.

U.S. Road Trip 1 - San Francisco

In March 2001, I decided to go on a one month road trip across the U.S. This was my first big vacation alone.

First stop was San Francisco. I stayed in a motel on Market St. Walked up and downhill til my knees went. Met a friend of a friend and we drove to the Pacific coast and to Napa - which was great but I wasn't much of a wine drinker. Went clubbing every night.

Oh and almost got mugged once. Almost. This guy was hiding in a corner, but I saw him and bitched at him before he could surprise me so he decided I'm not worth the trouble.

Pictured here: Birds at dusk at by the Golden Gate bridge, a van by the Pacific Coast, endless Transmerica building, the clock tower at the ferry building, the Palace of the Fine Arts, St. Peter and Paul Church, a boat sailing above the houses and, to the left, just why it's hard to stay straight in San Francisco.

Muppet Faces

Here are some of my all-time favorite pics. Me and my nephews and nieces. Every New Year, we have our family photo taken. I don't know when it started, but being the youngest in my family - 12 years younger than my youngest sister and about 12 years older than my oldest niece - I get to goof around in a photo with all the kids. You will probably notice in a lot of my other photos here that I usually have my "muppet face" on whenever I have my picture taken. (It's actually a defense mechanism, you see. This way nobody will say you look fat or old or ugly.) Anyway, soon the kids started doing their own funny faces and have their own ideas for quirky poses. I guess if I have a legacy, it's this. Muppet faces. Whatever each new year brings, I know that these pictures will always make us smile.

Earth as it is in Heaven

One of my favorite places on earth is Yosemite National Park. I went there alone in 2001, despite my brother's warning that I could get mauled by bear or something. I've never been so at peace (ok, so maybe I was a teeny bit anxious about bears). Here are some of the hundreds of pictures I took.

London Calling

Looking at these photos makes me think that I had a jolly good time when I went to London in 2001. I guess if I just forget about the fact that I lost my luggage and had to wear my travel clothes to my first meeting at our global head office, the fact that I was dripping wet when I watched The Lion King and the fact that I was a single guy who went clubbing for two nights and met no one, well, then yeah sure, it was fun.

But seriously, I did have a good time for most of it. I hung out with friends for a few days, I was able to go everywhere and not get mugged and I loved those hotdogs they sell on the street at night!

Anyway, pictured here are the Big Ben and a Big Horse, St. Paul's Cathedral, The National History Museum and me and my friend Lizzie doing our performance art pose called David meets Goliath.

(I actually wrote a journal - as it was called in the olden days - back then. Posted it all here. Read on, it's like Harry Potter -- just longer and with Ron Weasley in the lead.)