Minimalist Packing for Morocco + 5 Favorite Travel Items

The challenge was to travel with only a backpack. No, not the ‘big’ 45Liter backpack that I had around the world. The smaller one. How did I manage? Let’s see.

I bought this Under Armour backpack on a total whim. You might recall one of my earlier posts (if not, here it is :]) that it was a mere 3 hours before we were due to depart from JFK and we were still faffing about in my friend’s apartment. I needed a smaller daypack at least carry my brand-spanking-new laptop. Anything that wouldn’t crush it in the big backpack. Off to Modell’s. No luck. Absolute fail. Upstairs is a discount chain store (I can’t remember exactly which one it was) and I spot the Under Armour for a super bargain $40 price. Steal!

Reflections of Heaven: Surfing in Morocco

*Unfortunately I did not have my camera. I have no photos of this day. It was quite a unique day. Taghazout, Morocco
I did my surf experience with Surf Berbere. 

This is what heaven looked like. Streaks of silver and gold flowed atop the smooth, rolling planes of the water. A grey, misty sky melted into the horizon of the ocean. Without gravity, there would be no way to tell which way is the sky and which way is the ocean. I wonder if I am dead. It doesn't seem that I am. But there is no way to be sure. By this time, my toes had lost feeling.

Shopping: Back to Bangkok

Malls in big cities in Asia are ridiculous. They make American malls look like shameful pawns. 

This is a perfect example of traveling solo but not actually being solo. On my last day in Bangkok, I wanted to check out a mall whose floors were each decorated in a particular city. Rome, San Fran and London made their cameos, but NYC did not. Pile of rubbish.

Almost the real thing. Same same but different.

Japanese Zen: Kyoto Green

Post No. 50 is short and sweet with lots of photographs. Very green. Very Zen.

If you live in Tokyo, a place that has its own way of instilling inner peace given its orderly everyday functions, I would recommend that you take the 2-ish hour Shinkansen Train* to Kyoto to find Zen or tranquility or your heart center rather than a foo-foo yoga class.

Revenge of the Monkeys: Ubud, Indonesia

In my quest to be more "open," I try to give people at least two chances. In this case, it was monkeys. Monkeys/humans, poh-tay-toh/poh-tah-toh.

Ubud has a few things going for it: it boasts cooking schools and a cool respite from the south of the island, making it unnecessary for aircon at night. Yes, I adapted to using 'aircon' vs 'AC.' I have no explanation for my behavior. I found out, only after leaving Ubud, that the area was made famous by Eat, Pray, Love, a book that struck me as really stupid precisely after paragraph number one. It  wasn't until paragraph four that I decided to chuck the book, so I have no idea what the writer did in this town.

Jerk.