The Beginning of the End? No, Not Really

Well my grand Asian adventure is coming to a close. It's been over 6 months since I stepped off the plane in Bangkok but it feels like it was last week. I just cannot believe how fast the time has flown by. Well, there will be plenty of time to reminisce later because there is no break after this milestone.

I'm boarding a plane tomorrow night for Amman, Jordan where I'll be meeting Alyce. She'll be on a fresh pair of legs and I just hope I can keep up. Guess I'll just have to see.

Anyways, here's a list of things I will not be missing about Asia:

• Trash everywhere
  
• Smoking everywhere (China)
  
• Spitting everywhere (China)
  
• The complete lack of air conditioning even when a working unit exists (SE Asia)
  
• Taking 3 days to get somewhere when it could have taken 1 (Cambodia)
  
• People trying incessantly to sell me custom tailored suits, sex and drugs
  
• The lack of BBQ sauce and anything remotely resembling Mexican food
  
• Being elbowed in the ribs by an old lady while trying to get on a bus (China)
  
• The seething human mass of chaos that is a Chinese train station
  
• The feeling that I'm on the same track as every other backpacker (SE Asia)
  
• The description of anything more than a walk around town as a "Trek"
  
• The immature gap year kids and people who just got out of the Israeli Army
  

And, things that I will miss:

• The food: Pad Thai, spring rolls, dumplings, okonomiyaki, banana pancakes, fresh tropical fruit, etc...
  
• The cheap beer: Sometimes as little as $.50 for 600ml
  
• The ease of travel: It is so easy to get around that sometimes its disappointing
  
• The scenery: Mountains, jungle, waterfalls, rivers, temples, everything
  
• The locals: I've met some of the most kind and genuine people out here
  
• The travelers: I've met so many cool people along the way that I'm sure I'll keep up with in the future
  
• The wacky pop culture: I can't describe this, it just needs to be experienced to be believed
  
• Giant Asian cities: Hong Kong, Osaka, Tokyo, Bangkok, Shanghai. They are so much fun to explore
  
• The long nights, the early mornings and the feelings of complete misery that make arriving somewhere so relieving

Well this was all thrown together pretty fast since its late and I'm tired so that is going to be it from now. My next post will be from Jordan and I can't wait. I've finished all my uploading so now my Flickr is full of all the pictures that I'm going to put up there from Asia. Enjoy.