All you need is love, and sunshine, oh and daily massages

Between now and the 12th of September I have a four day vacation, a four day final working week topped off by a one week transition period. I can't help but wish  I had timed my resignation a little better, but with all things it comes down to timing and lets just saying timing is not one of my strong points. Irrespective, the point of this post is not to bitch about my unfavourable annual leave situation but to celebrate the wedding of one of my favourite Hong Kong couples. The August wedding was more of a formality as the couple had previously signed the papers to be married earlier this year (it was a Chinese Fortune teller who advised that the couple be wed in the year of the Sheep, not the year of the Monkey). In any case, who doesn't like a destination wedding?

We arrived into Bali, Ngurah Rai International Airport just after 2 am and due to some skilful inception somebody had managed to convince the group that we needed KFC to be our first meal. It probably should have come to no surprise that KFC was closed and we were forced to have Mc Donalds. The same McDonalds I have eaten at in all previous Bali visits.

The crowd in the restaurant was best described as Antipodean, it was as if I had been transported to George Street Sydney, "Maccas" on a Saturday night circa 12 am. A cacophony of "OHH YEAH" and "HOWZZIT GOING" bombarded our weary ears. It would take us 40 minutes to consume the food. The hot plate was not working and they weren't able to accommodate anything with a beef patty.  We switched our order to Mc Chickens and Mc Nuggets and reluctantly gobbled down the food . We arrived in Seseh just before 4 am and promptly drifted into sleep.

Clear skies and warm weather greeted us the next morning as did the bride. There was something different about her today, she was on crutches and each step winced her with discomfort. Those crutches are new, I thought to myself. Turns out she had (re) dislocated her knee and was now confined to limited movement. How would she walk down the isle? How, indeed...

The wedding had been setup in the main villa and family and guests were assigned adjacent villas. We had a nearby villa where breakfast was provided and our days consisted of swimming, chilling, massages, and the odd 1 hour car ride into Seminyak - Who would have thought sitting in an air conditioned car be so tiring?

So back to the wedding. Due to previous destination weddings held in sweltering heat, the bride and groom decided that suit and tie for men was not going to be very comfortable for anybody; Not for the guy sweating profusely, and not for the person talking to the guy sweating profusely. A large proportion of the guests had flown in from America and Europe and were not handling the warmer temps and higher humidity. Our wardrobe consisted of shorts and warmer weather attire and boy what a difference it made. So what happened to the bride? Well, it's obvious. She was "walked" down the isle on a Balinese Palanquin manned by four Balinese ushers.

Great weekend trip in South East Asia. Managed to avoid the mosquitos. Caught up with a lot of familiar faces. However the highlight was of course the beautiful wedding, punctuated by a touching wedding video, a fireworks display, a raucous after party and two dislocated knees. That's right, she dislocated the second knee later that night during the after party.

The BD Birthday: Taipei

I've slept 11 hours for two consecutive nights since returning from this Taipei trip. Feeling tired is an understatement.

Currently reading "Four Hour Work Week" - Time Ferriss

The farewell continues: Taipei

Back to back weekends - this weekend, Taipei. One night.

Memorable tidbit #1
First time I've selected a "special meal" on a flight. I went for the "Low Fat" option. Surprisingly not too bad.

Memorable tidbit #2
Scheduled departure: 16:40, expected arrival in Hong Kong: 18:25. Actual departure: 21:00, arrival back in Hong Kong 23:30. Typhoon decided to batter Hong Kong, forcing the airport to temporarily shutdown and for the plane to be stuck in multiple holding zones.

Burning Man 2016: Carnival of Mirrors

Burning Man; Where do I even start?

#Dusty #Player #Amazing #OMG #humbling #indelible #lifealtering #seeyounextyear #LOL #seeyoueverotheryear #burners #player #theman #decommodification #OMFG #lacalaca #robotheart #newfriends #offthegrid #shirtcocking #needashower #dust #cold

So key points. It's as close to Never Never Land as you can get. It's whatever you want it to be. Music. Party. Art. Self Exploration. Self Improvement. I'll stop now as nothing I write will do justice to the event.

I left with changed views, feeling refreshed and energised but also sad and empty at the same time - Back to Reality.

Burning Man: The preparation

I have procrastinated and delayed blogging this entry for the last six months. The trepidation stems from my fear of eternalising my time Black Rock City and that I would not be able to capture Burning Man properly. Ultimately, it would be an injustice to my experiences. Even now, I find it hard to describe that one week. Each account is different. Different stories, different anecdotes, regardless of who I speak to it it all ends with the same prescription "You have to go and experience it for yourself!".

(Noun) Burner: Attendee of Burning Man.

Hong Kong/Sydney

After failed attempts to secure tickets online during the main and OMG ticket releases my sister managed to source two tickets to Burning Man on the secondary market for the princely sum of 800 AUD per ticket (the RRP for a ticket was 390 USD + 10% tax, works out to be approximately 550 AUD). There was always a risk that the tickets were fake but we booked in our two weeks of leave and prepared for a mini-family adventure. In addition to traveling with my sister, some of my closest friends from Hong Kong, Sydney and San Francisco would also make the trip to Black Rock City.

We spent almost a month preparing for this trip. For a lot of us this was our first "burn". The difference between this trip and other trips was the Burning Man law of "Leave no trace" and the concept of MOOP which is difficult because 51 weeks of the year, Black Rock City is a desert. There aren't any convenience stores, or hotels, or restaurants, or concept of money. Which mean we had to arrange cars, water, food, tents, beds, bikes, torches, clothing, survival kits. I'll stop here because the list was insanely long and could easily be re-titled as "Zombie Apocalypse Survival Kit", well minus the chainsaw and shotgun.

I read somewhere that separating a day's worth of clothing into Ziploc bags was the way to prevent dust getting everywhere. So I packed everything into Ziploc bags. In addition to clothing that "would be absolutely ruined and most likely thrown out after" it also mean a lot of trips to outdoor stores and a lot of online shopping (3000 USD on Amazon). It also meant that my sister had 2 weeks to learn how to ride a bike.

San Francisco

28th August, 22:15: The Hong Kong contingent arrive into San Francisco International Airport. First item on our agenda, car hire. Not any car hire, the biggest cars available, Ford Expeditions. We had planned two days in San Francisco for logistics and arranging provisions, collecting the massive Amazon order that had been sent to our friend's workplace. Auditing the massive Amazon order that had been sent to our friend's workplace. The official order:

2 of: Kodiak 6044 8 person tents
1 of: ArcOne G­ACT­B1204 Action Safety Goggles
1 of: Glow Stick Party Pack
5 of: Wheel Brightz ­ Pink
2 of: Homeleo 2m 20 LEDs Cool White LED Strings 3xAA Battery Operated)
3 of: Dude Wipes ­ Flushable Wipes, with Aloe Vera, Singles for Travel (30 Each, Pack of Two)
5 of: Brightest Bike Light on Amazon ­ Comes With FREE TAIL LIGHT
5 of: Cosmic Brightz ­ Multicolored
5 of: Ultra Bright LED Headlamp Flashlight­
1 of: ArcOne G­FLY­B1202 The Fly Safety Goggles
2 of: AAA 121­Piece Road Trip First Aid Kit
2 of: Visol Products Raven Liquor Flask
1 of: AVEX Brazos Autoseal Stainless Steel Water Bottle, 24­Ounce, Matte Black
1 of: UV Glow Blacklight Neon Face and Body Paint ­ 0.34oz Case of 24
2 of: Homeleo 3 Meters 30 LED AA Battery Operated Pink LED Silver Wire String
2 of: Camo Coll Outdoor Anti­mosquito Mask Hat with Head Net Mesh Face
1 of: Flents Quiet Please Foam Ear Plugs 50­Pair
2 of: Camping LED Lantern,TaoTronics® Camping lantern ­Bright in 60LM but
1 of: Coleman Biowipes, 30 Count
5 of: Master Lock 8143D Self Coiling Cable Lock, 4­Feet x 5/16­inch
2 of: Khataland YoFoMat ­ Best Travel Yoga Mat ­ Green, Extra Long 72", 1/6"
4 of: Coleman Trinidad Warm­Weather Sleeping Bag
1 of: Purell Adv Aloe 8oz Pump (2 Pack)
4 of: Coleman ComfortSmart(TM) Cot
4 of: Coleman Oversized Quad Chair with Cooler
5 of: TETON Sports Camp Pillows
1 of: Multipack Chap Sticks

Sacramento

30th August, 12:20: Both Expeditions are packed, luggage, roof racks and 14 burners. We haven't left a lot of space for food. We exist San Francisco and pull into Sacramento Walmart and Dicks Sporting goods. Next items on the agenda: bikes, food and water. We do the math, our tents need 40 gallons of water, seems like a lot, but nobody wants to die of thirst. We attach the bikes to the back of the car, the cars don't drive with agility, they're big, slow and carry a lot of additional weight.

30th August, 16:00: We have In and Out burgers, and leave Sacramento. We're a bit behind schedule but should get into Black Rock City before 11 pm.

Reno

30th August, 21:12: Finally made it to Reno! We have a decision to make, it's quite late, do we just get a hotel for the night or keep driving. Reports are that the traffic from Reno into Black Rock City is heavy and delays are to be expected. It's also a desert so we will need to pitch tents in darkness. Group decides to push on.

Somewhere between Reno and Gerlach

30th August, 11:06: We're in the sticks bro, there's no more cellular reception, what's worse there's traffic. There's a procession of cars with there engines off on a single lane road. Darkness and and the distant sound of murmur and chatter, we've gone through a lot of road trip snacking, there's already a lot of trash we can't dispose of. Mental note, Walmart's Peanut Butter Trail Mix. Divine.

31st August, 12:41: We alternate drivers. This is painful, we will drive for 1 km and the sit for an hour. Occasionally we will see cars u-turn and drive back to reno. It's tempting.

31st August, 3:12: We're moving now. The car is pretty lifeless.

31st August, 5:35: There's a lot of cars, red tail lights leading up to Black Rock City. We've made it! It's cold. Dawn is breaking over a sea of break lights.

Black Rock City

31st August, 6:06: Half asleep, I'm driving. Burning ManTicket inspection. Moment of truth, our tickets scan and ... they're real.

The other car is in front of us, we see our friends being urged out of the car. They step out. Now they're rolling in the dust. First time burners have to roll in the player dust as part of the initiation. We comply. The gate keepers hug us, they're dusty, I'm dusty. That would be the last time I'm clean and dust free - Welcome to Burning Man.

Currently reading: "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"

Always

"So if by the time the bar closes, and you feel like falling down, I'll carry you home tonight" - We Are Young