We know, we know

Ok, so we have been bad....

The fact of the matter is this road trip has been hectic. A non-stop tour. We just have not had time to blog.

That and we are procrastinators.

So, we have a few days up in the lovely town of Telluride, Colorado and we are going to work on it now. You should see the posts below this one as we backdate them to the appropriate date.

But don't worry, we are alive, maybe missing a few organs, but alive.

Oh, and for all you doubters, the car made it up the Rockies.

“A quaint little German town…”

Gatlinburg, TN- Nestled discreetly among the vast, untouched splendor of the Great Smoky Mountains lays one of America’s best kept (and tackiest) secrets. For those wishing to experience the glory of our nation’s most visited national park without having to forfeit access to wax museums and over-the-top Christian musicals, Gatlinburg, Tennessee is nothing short of a godsend; and for the rest of us, it is at least a source of splendid blog-fodder. We had first heard of Gatlinburg in our travel guide, which described it intriguingly as “A quaint little German town, standing at the feet of the Smokies”. Unfortunately, this description proved to be a bit off the mark. For starters, the town is not in any obvious way German. Whatever Germanic charm it may have once possessed has long since been replaced by chain restaurants and novelty t-shirt stores and…mullets (in fairness, we only actually saw seven mullets and one of them—the blue one—was most certainly a wig). Also, if Gatlinburg has any particular European flavor (it doesn’t), this flavor would be decidedly Russian: Due to a bustling slave trade (thinly disguised as a summer work program) the majority of the town’s service positions are staffed by friendly Siberian FOBs, further lending to the bizarness of the place. In all, there is much to do in (and even more to say about) Gatlinburg, Tennessee and we are definitely glad to have visited; however, its elaborate offerings amount to little more than a distraction from the region’s true attraction—the Great Smokey Mountains. Below are some pictures of the Smokies, the campsite we stayed at, and of course, Gatlinburg, the place that taste forgot…

Matt
The Top of Clingman's Dome, the highest point in TN

One of the scenic local attractions...
It's a time honored tradition to be welcomed into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by a group of overweight children..."Hey look, that kid's got bosoms!"
(Ed. Note: How many of those kids do you think have two first names? NJL)

So Busy....

I know that all of you are waiting for more fun and interesting posts from japan, but I am just so crazy here, and dont have much time left. Dont worry though, I will write long and interesting posts in the week that I am in town, telling you all about my adventurs in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto.

Take Care, will see you all shortly.

Food...

Throughout my travels in this world, and in my home city of New York, I have had some amazing meals. Simple baguettes in Paris, killer taco`s in LA, spicy vegetable patties in the Himalayas, back to the basic Papaya King hot dog, I have eaten some great food in my few years on this earth. Lately, I have been lucky enough to dive headlong into amazing Thai and Indonesian cuisine, that while spicy and uncomplex, has been amazing all the same.

However, all the meals in my life have been overshadowed in the 5 days that I have been in Japan.

The fact of the matter is that Japanese are perfectionist. They take anything and everything, and improve it. Take for instance, Ramen. Anybody who has attend college in the last 10 years can tell you stories of subsisting on Ramen noodles. It is a simple Chinese dish that is basically noodles in some sort of broth. Nothing Crazy.

However the Japanese took that and made it into the most amazing fast food imaginable. On almost every block in Tokyo there is a Ramen Shop, where for less then $7 you can get a bowl of amazing ramen topped with pork and vegetables in a broth that could be considered devine. The pork is always cooked to perfection, falling apart in your mouth. Everything is fresh and delicious. It is unbelievably good.

I almost cant talk about the Sushi. I can say now that you have not really tried Sushi till you have come to Japan. I was walking in Ueno, which is in the north-east of Tokyo, when I came across a small sushi place next to a fish market. It was just a hole in the wall that jutted out onto the street with the assistance of a few tarps. There were stools and a few Formica tables. Large coolers of cold tea sat in the corners. As the rain fell outside I was brought a bowl of rice with Tuna and Toro on top. A small dish of soy sauce with a little wasabi.

I can say that it was one of the pinnacles of dining.

The Tuna was so tender I didn't even need to chew. You could cut it with your tongue. The rice, perfectly cooked. It mixed perfectly with the cold tea and the rain.

Tokyo is truly a food lovers paradise.

Nerdvana

Akihabara, Land o the nerds.

Imagine, if you will, an area the size of Time Square, filled to the brim with Electronic stores, Used Computer Parts, Manga (Japanese comic) shops, classic video game retailers, arcades and anything else a self-respecting Nerd could want. Throw in some Maid Cafes (dont ask) and you have Akihabara. For me, its kind of like being a diabetic in a candy store. Everything Looks so good but its all in Japanese. Still, there are a million things I would love to have. On my way back through Tokyo I will have to go on a little bit of a shopping spree.

Lately, it has become a little over hyped, with tourists and ordinary Japanese coming to gawk at the crazy outfits and frolicking kids. Also, the fact that in early June a young troubled Japanese kid decided to go on a rampage and killed 6 people with a knife has killed the vibe somewhat. There is a memorial now, and it is covered in flowers and, fittingly, caffeinated beverages. However, the place was still hopping when I dropped by. Teens dressed as their favorite comic book charters, girls in their maid/lolita/goth outfits, crazy sales people screaming Japanese into the crowd.

One place I had to go first was Super Potato, land of all things retro and Nintendo. They blast old video game soundtracks out on the street, making it very easy to find in the back alleys. Three floors of almost everything ever made by Nintendo as well as several other Japanese video game manufacturers. It is impressive.

By now your thinking, "wow Noah, your a nerd." Dam Right.

Wet and Wild in Hong Kong...Ok, maybe just wet

My two days in Hong Kong went by fast. There was so much I wanted to do, and most of it was co-opted by the endless downpour that blanketed the city for my entire time there. I finally witnessed blue in the sky on my way to the airport to fly to Tokyo.

Hong Kong is massive, like Manhatten in a vertical sense, but even more so. Many resturants and stores are on the second or third floors of buidings, making it neccessary to look up to see what you might be passing. Every other buiding is a shopping mall. The whole of Central is one big mall connected by covered skyways which were invalbul to me transversing the district without becoming soked to the bone. As soon as I left central to expore more of the city, I became a drowned rat.

I really did not have that much time, and the rain precluded many activities, so I spent my time trying to do some shopping and eating amazing Chinese food.

Anyway, now I am in Tokyo. Soon I will post about my trips to Akihabara, Land of the Nerd. Take care.

Sunburn, my old friend

Ouch.

Ouch Ouch Ouch.

OUCH.

I am whats called a day-walker, a half ginger. Thus, sitting out in the sun for a few hours is an iffy proposition. Seeming as I have been in Southeast Asia for almost a month and I have not picked up much of a tan, I decided to grin and burn it.

So, I am learning to love the red.

Ouch.