Guam's Top Ten...

I've been here for going on two years. In that time, I've been able to get a real feel for what makes Guam both great and grievous. First list, Guam's Top Ten.

• 10. Weather
  
• 9. Casual
  
• 8. Travel
  
• 7. Something Going On
  
• 6. Local Food
  
• 5. Proximity
  
• 4. Friendly
  
• 3. Culture
  
• 2. Scuba Diving
  
• 1. Natural Beauty
  

10. Weather

Some people may hate frequent rain, storm-like weather and cloudy skies. But not me. It seems that there is rain when it gets too hot and sunshine when you need some outdoor fun. I admit, it's a bit hot and humid for me sometimes, but a good sweat is often just what I need.

9. Casual

Sure, I have to wear a white shirt and tie to work. But if I go to a birthday party or even a wedding, shorts and slippahs will do the trick. And even then I'm still slightly over dressed comparatively.

8. Travel

You can see the entire island at once from the airplane. It's easy to feel trapped in the middle of nowhere from time to time. If you wanna go somewhere exotic, or even just somewhere else it's never too hard or far away. In three hours I could be in any of 5 or more countries, and all for less than $500 on a costly flight.

7. Something Going On

You'd be surprised how many kids say that there is nothing to do in Guam. If you like to sit around, that will feel true. Anybody motivated to have a good time will have no shortage of fun. There's hotel road with 24-hour life for locals and tourists alike. Boonie Stomping through the jungle, swimming in crystal clear reefs, Geocaching or anything else you imagine doing.

6. Local Food

I thought that I'd be eating basically the same food here as I had in Hawaii. Sure, there are some similarities, but the differences were nothing but satisfying surprises. Red rice, Keleguan, and Finideni (don't check my spelling) are just some of the best things that I could describe. But, any attempt to do so would be a far cry from the justice those delicious delights deserve. You'll just have to visit me here and let me take you to a grand fiesta.

5. Proximity

It's refreshing when a 5 mile drive feels like a long commute. When you stay on island long enough you get so used to things being close you can't image it any other way. One can circle the island in a few hours drive with time to sight see along the way. At most, it will take me one hour to get anywhere I want on island - during rush hour.

4. Friendly

Despite cultural differences and misunderstandings, interaction with most locals is friendly. When I first arrived here, I was clearly a new outsider coming in. In a place with small communities like this, feeling like an outcast is usually the norm. Rather, I felt like I was instantly accepted and welcomed home.

3. Culture

Much like the exotic Hawaiians, Guam's indigenous people, the Chamorro, have a rich heritage and are proud of it. I'll never understand Chamorro, but I can stand in awe of those that do.

2. Scuba Diving

I have been scuba diving a lot here. Not only is Guam just about the cheapest place in the world to scuba dive, but also the best. A walk out from any number of a hundred places and you'll have a dive that other people wait a lifetime to experience.

1. Natural Beauty

Like any tropical locale, there is never a shortage of natural beauty. Just about anywhere you are on the island has something nice to look at. Whether tropical greenery or azure oceans you'll have a hard time getting used to seeing a glimpse of paradise every day.

Jared the Builder...

"Yes we can!"
- Bob the Builder

Earlier this spring, I was sitting at my desk working when I got a phone call from a random stranger in Mesa, AZ. They called the only number for the Church they could find for Guam. They were planning on coming to Guam to install some security barriers on Anderson Base in the Fall. They needed some local contact they could trust as well as some local manpower. I became both.

Rather than try to explain what they do, I'll just refer you to their sadly basic website for that.

At first most of what I did was just good ole manual labor. Digging holes, moving dirt, then filling those holes back up with "special" dirt. And then that same dirt that I dug out goes back in the same hole. I didn't realize that when school teachers gave us busy work that they were actually preparing us for the real world. I still don't see where trigonometry fit in...

I used to have a desk job...

I also learned the repetitive and tedious task of trying rebar. Fun fun. We had to tie hundreds of intersections together. We created a frame to bury the type of barrier that we put in.

It took many truck loads of concrete to bury all of our hard work.

Livn' on the Edge

Paul, one of the guys from Mesa, loved the tool called a Concrete Vibrator that jiggles the concrete into every small crevice and corner as he giggles about the name.

This is called a, what?

After the dust settled and the concrete hardened, we put on the to plates that weigh about 2 ton each.

Then came the part that I was brought in for initially. This company has people that do the wiring on these things for controls and whatnot. However, they did not have that person on the island. So, I became that person. I know my way around basic electronics, so I figured it couldn't be that hard.

All but Paul shown above with the vibrator left the island for another gig leaving me to do this.

Um, Can I?!

Of course, this challenge wouldn't be complete if they had left me with schematics or blue prints. Nope, no instructions. Just luck.

Fortunately, there was a third party safety supervisor on site that had his own copy of the manual and he lent me his. That made the spaghetti wiring seem a bit less daunting.

I had some late nights and some days I had to take off from my 9-5er, but somehow the job got finished. Some relief crew came after we finished one side and started the other, so I was not stuck in the same situation for the second round, now that I knew what I was doing.

After all said and done, I broadened my horizon of experience, I earned some extra cash, and gained some muscle and sunlight. Good times. I may not seem like a knuckle dragger or grease monkey, but every once in a while I surprise myself.

Yes, I Can!

World, meet Jared the Builder!

One Night In Bangkok...

Get Thai'd!? You're talking to a tourist
Whose every move's among the purest
I get my kicks above the waistline, sunshine

One night in Bangkok makes a hard man humble
Not much between despair and ecstasy
One night in Bangkok and the tough guys tumble
Can't be too careful with your company
I can feel the devil walking next to me

- "One Night In Bangkok" by Murray Head

Bangkok Skyline

After my second wedding to Anna, after meeting all of my new family, after touring half of Vietnam, after weeks of being on the road and lost in translation, it was time to come home.

Anna and I had completely different itineraries for both ways. She dropped me off at that airport with her parents and I was off to Thailand for my layover. Since my brother lives in Thailand and I had 12 hours, I decided to make a visit. I actually would have liked to stay longer had I the time.

Only having one night in Bangkok, I figured a walk in the market place would be best. My brother Kris and his girlfriend took me out to a restaurant and then we hit the open market. It was only seconds before I saw my first authentic Thai He/She. And then I saw another...and then another. Hm, there are real girls here, too, right?

In addition to gender confused individuals, keep an eye out for ethically confused folk as well. Pickpocketing is so bad, they have signs up everywhere to protect the overly trusting tourists.

We looked around at the small shops for a while. All of that walking made us feel the need for a nice foot massage. Massage shops are a plenty and very affordable. And many are respectable. We found a place that just specializes in feet to ensure that everything stays where it is supposed to.

Having a full stomach and relaxed feet and empty wallet, we figured it was time to head home. The local taxi drivers all tried to get us to come to them. They all have unique open air taxis.

Tourist Taxi

This taxi is really only for the tourists. There are regular car taxis as well. They have air conditioning. They are better sheltered from rain. They are more comfortable and they even cost less to ride. You pay for the quaint ride. No thanks.

After a nice shower and sleep in Kris's apartment, I took the real taxi back to the airport to officially end my Asian trip for 2007. Nothing makes you more tired than travel. I had to start work the morning after I arrived home. I felt like I needed a vacation from my vacation.

Next year, marriage number 3 to Anna, this time in the Philippines. I better start blogging about it now so this time I can post it at a reasonable time...

Dang, Da Nang...

My last stop was in Da Nang. We drove there from Hoi An. The thrust of tourism for Da Nang is a hill top pagoda with other statues and temples. We were not prepared for the hike that ensued. In the pic below you can see how far we hiked. We started down where the cars are, and stopped for the first time when I took this pic.

A big 'ole rock.

After some over priced and probably recycled water, we kept on exploring the mountain top. We had to get a pic with this elegant buddah with a stomach that rivals even mine. It is said that for some reason if you rub the belly button of this dude, you get good luck. Unfortunately, you don't get hand sanitizer when you are finished.

And yet Anna won't even look at my belly for good luck!

Around every corner was a pagoda or statue of some kind. This one was huge!

In this pic you can't sense the magnitude of this sculpture.

Along the main path was an off-shoot to Heaven's Gate. You have to crawl through a cave and through holes to get to the actual top of the mountain.

The entrance to Heaven...yes, it's the stairway...

The whole way they kept telling me that I couldn't do it. That I was too big. That I had better stay below. They apparently had never heard of American Willpower. Not only did I get up there no problem, but I out performed them all. I was springing back down as sure footed as a mountain goat, only slowing down to give Anna a helping hand. How big do they really think I am...?

Anyway, fat stereotypes aside, we had a pleasurable visit. Like any trip somewhere, after you've seen a dozen pagodas and buddahs, you are about ready to move on to something new. We hiked down and made our way to the van that was to take us back to the train station.

As we got to the train station we were eager to be home already. Once they let us board the train we got on and waited to leave. Due to some travel agency mess up, we didn't get our own car with the beds. We were on seats that were reminiscent of airplane welfare section. I knew it'd be a long and uncomfortable 18 hour trip.

But sure enough, something went wrong again. Being completely lost in Vietnamese, the fast paced argument between Anna's dad and the random stranger shaking tickets in his face only confused me. And I was even more confused when I was told to grab my stuff and get off the train. Just as we got off, the train then left us standing there. The travel agency also booked us on the train for the wrong day!

We were stuck in Da Nang with no hotel or transportation for at least 24 hours. The travel agency offered us no help. There was a hotel next door to the train station so we went there first. They negotiated a price while I sat in the lounge. After we were all squared away, I grabbed my stuff and followed Anna to the elevator where more confusing Vietnamese arguing took place.

I came to find out that this time they argued about me. Since I was an American, they wanted to charge all of us - Anna's parents, herself and me - the full American rate, which was considerably more expensive. We told them what they could do with their "American Rate."

Anna's dad hopped on a scooter, gave the guy a few Dong, and in an hour returned with a hotel reserved and paid for in advance so they couldn't raise the price when they saw my skin pigmentation.

The next day we were on the lovely train again. The less than luxurious seats were waiting for us. After the previous day's events, we were glad just to have that.

The ride back had much of same beautiful scenery. I got to see plenty of it, as I was seated by the window and never got up once the whole 18 hours. If you saw the floor, walls, doors and especially the toilets, you would move as little as possible too.

Ironic typo

This must be the "plush" toilet they talk about.

At least they delivered food.

Yet another experience in train food gambling. I hear locals bet on what parasites they get from the food for fun.

I ate sparingly as I didn't have a spare immune system. By the end of the ride the four of us had swollen legs. Our feet looked like dough rising out of our of shoes. I don't think I was ever so glad to be back in our hotel room in Hanoi.

Hoi An, Ahoy...!

We drove from Hue to Hoi An in a few hours. Along the way I saw many buildings that were still in shambles from the war.

Sure, a fixer-uper. But there's a great PTA in this neighborhood.

The whole time I kept on thinking of what kind of communist slogan they could use to justify such neglect. How about, "Try communism! Let us do nothing for you too!"

We got into Hoi An just as the sun was going down. Since we were to leave Hoi An the next morning, this meant that we once again were going to get short changed by our tour agency.

Thanks to our previous griping, we did get a night time walking tour of the village. After about three minutes I knew what the local specialty was.

Hoi An is a very old town and has kept much of it's old charm. I especially liked the street signs with TLC carved into each one.

I may not know where I am still, but at least I know that I'm somewhere.

After more walking, sweating and feeling like Danny Devito's gym socks, we got to take some well deserved rest sipping some juice that I cannot identify by the sign.

Since I can't read the sign, I pointed to the longest name insuring I'd get the most for my money.

After that we had no energy left and nowhere else to go if we did. We retreated to our hotel ready for a day in Da Nang.