Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Of Pot Brownies and Biker Bars

I am so falling in love with couchsurfing. :p

Monday - Met up with Naomi, and had great conversations with her. She is a really inspiring person with a very determined character, and her life story spoke of strength and maturity through all the circumstances she'd met. I'm glad i had the chance to spend quite a few days chatting with her! I felt that i identified strongly with her thoughts and beliefs , which was rare haha.

You know your host is in the hospitality industry when she gives you this for showering.

Met up with Izzy and Indy - perfect coincidence, that we are again connected through Naomi! We were just talking and she mentioned one of her houses was just rented out to a French couple. And I thought, no way! But half an hour's drive later, we were reunited in sheer serendipity :) We arranged for a drink later on at night.

And nighttime arrived, at the Fremont Street Experience. Get ready for a neck-straining, psychedelic "experience" indeed, as you look at a ceiling formed from thousands of monitor screens playing out a fuzzy rendition of songs from the Doors, etc.

After that, a chill-out at the Bikers' Bar, where we heard more about Indy and Izzy's love story over chips, drinks and a game of pool.




Well. Las Vegas, the most decadent and culturally lacklustre city in my journey, is turning out pretty fine instead!

Tuesday - touring the Grand Canyon in Arizona.

It is probably impossible to capture the sheer allure of the Grand Canyon, one of the natural wonders of the world, in words or pictures. At its South Rim, we simply gaped at it, a most magnificent painting that arose from miles below our feet to the far horizons, melding into the blue skies. Our route brought us through a geology tour, identifying the layers of rock and sediment and the tectonic processes that gave birth to it. Perhaps the most inspiring and exciting geography lesson you can ever give to your child... time for an excursion next time!

I'd definitely have to come back for a longer stay next time, camping down in the crevasses and perhaps going on a mule ride through the cliffs! Boris (my friday host) shared that he and his friends did a freezing week-long adventure camping and trekking down at the bottom last month... i have to try that sometime!










Met some great new people too, including an exchange group from NTU and a girl from Australia! Hope they are still having fun in their travails :)

Wednesday - Had a fun, tumultuous hike with Larry @ Red Rock Canyon... love our conversations about freedom and responsibility, and American values. I admire that the older people i've met are absolutely independent and active thinkers, and even more that they're open to sharing their experiences. Anyway, it was a much more exciting climb than the Grand Canyon. Hope to go back sometime to try out the rock-climbing there!




Did Yoga with Naomi in the evening, mindblowing experience as a first time! Nothing like what i've experienced before, like sports or physical games. What's a good metaphor? Well... I feel like a flamingo in a volcano :)

Afterwards made my second dinner for potluck at her place, Malay-Chinese cuisine! Had a great dinner, met up with her daughter Rain and Izzy Indy etc. Later on, a couple of drinks at night.






I think my cooking is really improving :p

Thursday - A quick morning call back with my beloved team, HK and 2 KMs, back in Singapore, received some orders for Coach bags haha. Then rushed off for Bikram Yoga @ Green Valley with Naomi, and this time it was tougher, hotter and more refreshing than the last time! Pulled some muscles there, but made it through. Naomi rewarded me with a fantastic meal at an authentic Italian pizza restaurant :)

A quick nap later, Boris, my host for the rest of the week, picked me up to his place near the Stratosphere. Had a fun chat with him and his roommate Paul, heard about this Burning Man Festival in August. Amazing experience there, meeting his friends Rob, Ginah etc. They're all bohemian artists, and his friends are the creators of a lifestyle magazine, Sinner. I saw the Silkscreen process in action as they began making batches of shirts for sale in a boutique chain. Dozed off at night way too soon, perhaps due to yoga aftereffects :p

I just knew i had to couchsurf with Boris the moment i saw his profile pic.

Friday, a last day of decadence at the Strip and the outlet malls. Somehow in my Las Vegas experience, the Strip has been absolutely neglected, haha. In the nighttime, Big Rob and Ginah were busy at work in Boris' studio. They were also consulting Boris about the design of the boutique store exhibit. It feels inspiring to see all these artists at work, to hear their creative thoughts flow. The creation of art is really, really beautiful. And inspiring. Rob gave me one of their tees, to be an ambassador in SG :)






Saturday, flight to San Francisco! A pleasant lunch with Toby, and then lazying in Starbucks as i wait for my next host to get back home.

I am really beginning to understand the similarities and differences between people. Personalities, cultures, values and mindsets... in the past, it used to be, "Oh sure I understand cultural differences, between westerners and asians. Personal freedoms and stuff, right?" Now i realize that was all empty talk, like points recited off an encyclopedia page. Don't presume to know anything, until you've really spoken to people on the ground, people who live their lives in entirely different environments, with different outlooks in life, different perspectives to issues. I feel really fortunate to be exposed to all these new people in my life, to share and learn about the big, wide world out there.

Thank you. All.

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