Wiger, 5 January 2012
Canada , Carleton Place -1°

The Late, Late Story....

Ok, I have to say that I didn't expect it to take this long to write the Grand Finale of There and Back Again.

I left you guys hanging on the island of Don Det with a Beerlao and a perfect sunset. A very comfortable position but not if you have to keep it for 2 months... You can let go of that empty beer bottle now. Pack your bags and your rubber boots (you can leave the velcro gloves at home for now). We're going back to Bangkok!

Bangkok was wet. Not in terms of rain but more in terms of that taxis pretended to be boats. Lots of cars were parked on fly-overs to keep them from floating and drifting away. Some people put fishing nets in the streets the make good use of this new found opportunity. When the bus finally stopped at the bus station, there were more people that needed a ride to the center of town. This time, we found a metered taxi and although the first taxi driver wanted to have a bonus for the wet circumstances, the second cab driver was smart and turned on the meter straight away. Needless to say, we got out of the first cab straight away and took the one that didn't need the extra bonus.

I am only going to stay here for a day, so it should be ok. I already have a plan to get to the airport.
I want to take the ferry to the sky-train and from there, straight to the airport. That should work perfectly, even with the floods.

Talking to the locals, I heard that the water level was going to rise tomorrow and that for that reason, the ferries would stop....
That did not make any sense to me but anyway, that's tomorrow's problem.
The next morning, I woke up and got myself some breakfast across the street. There was a little bit of water coming into the street and people started to get a bit stressed. While I was slowly finishing my breakfast, people started to move their cars away. Something inside told me that if locals start to panic, I might want to get my stuff and NOT wait for noon to get out of here.

I packed my bag and tried a few taxis and túk-túks but they all wanted extra money even for bringing me a short way to the sky-train. My perseverence, however payed off and I got a taxi to put on his meter and drive me to the nearest Sky-train station. Then, ofcourse, he didn't have the right change....but we had stopped at a "roadside restaurant" and this guy was happy to help me out. Ofcourse, I bought a drink for a very reasonable price to reward his kindness. The sky-trains were running and I got to the airport way too early.

I got on the airplane to Hong Kong. The prices for rooms were extortiously high even at the cheap ass, rat infested places. They were asking between 40 and 80 Euros, just for one night....
I told them that I would find something for a decent price. Even though it was already 21.30. Most hostels (even the expensive ones) were full and I started to think that these guys were right. I may not be able to find a cheap room....
But after a few NOs, I finally found a hostel with people smoking and drinking in the hallway, some of them already too drunk to walk straight. They had one bed free for 7 Euros per night. The right price for me, so I took it.

I wake up in the middle of the night, feeling itchy all over. The guy in the bunk across the room keeps talkin to himself in a language I do not understand. I expected him to stop in his sleep...and this FUCKING ITCH! Ok, the first thing I assume are bed bugs....but the itch is different. I try to get back to sleep and with the Mad Man talking (quite loud) to himself in the foreground, slowly moving to the background, I fall back into a restless coma.

The next morning, I check for bed bugs and the marks they should leave on my body. Nothing....
Well, at least there are no bed bugs here...but what is it?!

I decide not to give it too much attention and just spend my time, finding some computer components and trying to get together with the people I met here before.

Charly was the first one I tried to meet.
I had sent him an e-mail that I was gonna be in HK but he had not replied. Maybe the debt that he had with me was bugging him too much to contact me. I decided to go and try to find him at the address that he put under his e-mails.
I found an office with some traces of a lock that had been forcefully removed. Apparently, he's not here anymore. I tried to contact him on his phone but even that was out of order. He must have come a bit too close to the edge of the world. Everybody knows that when you're in this part of the world, you're very close to the edge. I am very upset that the Lonely Planet doesn't warn us about this. However, they might consider it common knowledge.
Anyway, I assume that Charly just fell off the edge of the world...and who knows where you fall into, on to or off to?
No, Hendrik, I cannot save him. Even with a ball of twine.

Then, I went to the tourist bureau and I read about the Wine and Dine Festival. That rings a big bell.
Wasn't Claire organising that Event? The girl I met in Shanghai?
Well, I got nothing better to do because I've seen and done Hong Kong. I already saw the light show again (and I still love it).

The festival was quite busy and there were at least more than 10.000 people. Weird thing was that I hadn't seen Claire. I was about to leave the park again but I decided to leave through the back exit. I noticed two people sitting on a park bench...hmm, that looks like her. I wave at her but she doesn't respond. She looks surprised and looks behind her but there's nobody there. I walk toward them and that's when it all hits home. The expression on her face changes from very surprised to a happy recognising. We chat for a bit and we agree to have one dinner before I leave HK.

We went for sushi and she almost got away with paying for the food but I was in time. She had paid for our last dinner and I wanted to make that up. Now we're even and I can leave with a clean conscience.

One more stop before seeing my Nicole again.
I am so looking forward to that and then, the surprise visit on Marco's Party!

But first, Manila.
It was a short flight to Manila and I found a hostel near the airport. They have cheap shuttles from one airport to the other, which brought me near the hostel.
I safety guard at the airport that was off-duty, wanted to help me find a "cheap" hostel and I went along to see what he had to offer.
He warned me that outside of the airport district, it was dangerous. People were getting robbed and so forth. So, I tag along with him only to find a place that is 10 times more expensive than what I found (after negotiation). Not really what I'm looking for. Then he wants to show me another one...this one is even more expensive. I tell him that I know a place that is way cheaper and I'm off to find it.

The map inside the LP is not very easy to get but it works. It looks crowded and busy in the streets and the canal that I just crossed looks and smells like an open sewer. There are bicycles that transport people, actually, they aren't bicycles but more like tricycles. Actually, it's a BMX bike with a sidecar. There is another funny transport vehicle, a Jeepney (look it up on google). It seems, however, that only locals make use of these means of transport and I'm not ready to get ripped-off just yet. I just arrived. That is why I walk all the way to the hostel and find a very welcoming crew. A room for myself and a reasonable shower. That's all I need (oh yeah, and internet).

The Townhouse Hostel provided me with a cheap room and a good bed with no parasites. That's awesome after a week of itchiness, I tell you.
Manila was not on my list because I wanted to see it so badly but more because I could get a cheap flight from there to Canada. I walked the streets for a bit and went to see the Intramuros, some Portugese leftovers from the Colonial times. Actually, this was more interesting than I thought it would be and I spent most of my day walking inside and on top of these old city walls.
Fort Santiago is something to do on a later travel, when the sun is out.
In my few days in Manila, I managed to almost get robbed 2 times...but was unsuccessful in the end. Don't get me wrong, I'm not disappointed. I was just surprised that at the end of my trip, I meet the first pick-pockets (not counting the Russian couple).
Funny detail was that when they didn't succeed, they were asking for money....well, even through they looked like they needed it, I could not forgive them for trying to steal from me. So I didn't give them anything.

I made a mistake....
I booked my trip so that I could get on the plane early in the morning but I forgot that I have to be at the airport 3 hours in advance. Leaving at 7 that means that I have to get up at 3.15 to get a Jeepney in the middle of the night at about 3.40 and be at the airport at around 4....

Well, I was happy that there was somebody in the Jeepney that had to get to the same airport terminal. At the airport, there was a line that extended all the way outside the terminal and I had to get in line.
Immediately, a nice officer offered to help me out (get in front of the lines). I told him that I only had money to pay for the airport tax but I appreciated the gesture. He didn't help me for some kind words ofcourse. I slowly move toward the entrance of the terminal. On the monitor, my flight is displayed...Holy Fuck! It's leaving at 6!
This is gonna be a close one.

Inside the terminal, everything moves a lot faster and I mention to the personnel of Delta Airlines that I am on the plane of 6 o'clock. That helps and I move through the lines very quickly. In the end, I made it to the airplane very much in time. I even had half an hour to spare.


Ok, a quick check.
Are you with me still?
I mean, I did say it was the GRAND finale didn't I?
Hello......HELLO!!!!
WAKE UP!!
Ok, there we are.

I was about to get on the airplane to Canada, a trip of about 24 hours, maybe more....I forgot. It was long and that's about it.

I arrived in Montreal and I didn't know if anybody was gonna pick me up. Nicole thought she would be working but I hoped she would be there. When I got out from the arrivals area, there were two women smiling at me. Nicole had come to pick me up together with her former landlord or actually landlady. It was a happy, merry and joyful reunion.
Nicole had a little surprise for me.

We spent two nights in a Bed & Breakfast.
A beautiful room with a bath tub (now, if you've been religiously following my stories, you know that I have not seen a bath tub in a very long time) and the most comfortable bed I've seen in a very long time. Breakfast was outragious with Eggs Benedict and smoked salmon.....PRRRR...I'm in heaven!

But as you know, all good things lead to other good things so the both of us went on the airplane to.....


The Netherlands

We were welcomed at the airport by my parents and although my father's 100m sprint is not what it was when I left, it was really good seeing them both again.
We spent a few days at my parent's and meanwhile, we visited Swaentsje & Ferdinand as well as Hendrik. We went to the Boomsma distillery to taste some Frisian goodness and had a relaxing evening in Hendrik's (finished!) new home. Yep, he made it, it's done before Christmas.

Then, we went to Ede/Wageningen to help Marco prepare for his party. I had not seen his new home and it looks like he got a larger room now. So, he's doing well for himself.
Sander & Linda were so kind as to let us use their new home for the party. They also did well for themselves, moving into a massive new home. A complete soccer stadium for them! It's good to see that everybody is doing well for themselves.
When doing groceries, we met John (Johnny) in the supermarket and that must have been fate because he had never received the invitation for the party!
Having fixed that, he was glad to come party with us together with his new-found love, Marie-José.

The party itself started with just Marco's family and later, my father & mother, Swaentsje & Ferdinand and Henk arrived. It had been a long time since I had seen Henk so that was great that he found the time to also drop by.
Then, in the evening, the whole crew dropped by....or what's left of it, I guess...
I really had expected more people to come to Marco's Party but at least I saw the whole former band accept Karin (that had not gotten the invitation due to a change in e-mail address) as well as Markéta, who came all the way from Prague and a little Romanian girl from Wageningen. Then there were the surprise guests from across the country.

It was good to finally have Nicole meet some of the people with whom I spent so many years. Now at least she can picture a face whenever I talk about somebody. Also, you guys have an idea who this Nicole person is.

We met my former supervisor, mr. van Ast and we went to Amsterdam to have a bit of a look around over there.
We did the Rijksmuseum, the van Gogh museum, the Anne Frank house and a tour over the canals as well as a quick walk through the Red Light District.

We were invited by Leen & Eveline to visit them in Zwolle. We really enjoyed the home cooked meal that they served us and it seemed that finally we had an evening of rest.

The last day of our trip, we visited my old friend Drevis and his girl Sanne. They treated us on a great dinner with them and Hendrik. Yes, you might have guessed it, Sushi!!! No, I don't like sushi, I love sushi.

I couldn't help but leave the country with mixed feelings.
I hate to leave all these beautiful people behind but a good friendship lasts and can stand even the greatest distance.
On the other hand, the best and sweetest woman in the world is going to join me to live in Canada. That's something to be ecstatic over. So, imagine this.
Have you ever felth melancholic and ecstatic at the same time?
Well, that's when you realise that you're being torn in two.


Now, just one-and-a-half month after coming back to Canada after a very warm welcome from Nina, Nicole's previous landlady, things are getting more quiet and this place starts to feel like a home.

We celebrated our first (white!) Christmas together at April's (Nicole's friend) place and we had our own Christmas Tree (no plastic one). The temperature sometimes drops to a fresh 18 below zero and the cold sometimes penetrated even my leather gloves. Nicole keeps on telling me:"Wait for January, it REALLY gets cold"...

I hope all of you had a great Christmas and I'm wishing you all the best for the year 2012.
We all know that this is the year of the apocalypse, so do what you need to do to be able to say that you lived a full life!

Hope to hear from you all again soon.

Good Night and remember that a good friendship last forever.


Big Hug,

W.