I'm really not dead!

Hey everybody! I know I had you worried and waiting in anticipation as you scanned the blog and news media for information about the grim death of Peter E. Jayne. I'm glad to say that I'm still on this planet back in the arms of sweet mother America. She welcomed me back with a hug and cheek pinch and a knowing smirk that said she knew that I knew. I lasted all of ten days in Morocco three of which were spent purging my body of everything deemed unsafe by my bowels. It was a great experience and I met some beautiful people who will I forever be grateful too. Not just Morocco but all across Europe and Asia too. The world is full of these salty people, they just can't be suppressed. They're in the U.S. too. The first stop I made before really returning home was at my brother Sam's place in Brooklyn, N.Y.. My bro graciously let me crash in a full house and I had two weeks to figure out that I really do love N.Y.. I basically used the time to hang out with Sam and take it easy. After I spent all my money "seeing" New York and after I watched all the DVDs in the house I said good bye to Sam, his lovely roommates and New York. I got back to Washington about a month ago and I've spent most of my time with my folks and sister and looking for a job, which I found and started yesterday. Yes that's right, I'm back in the race, playing the game, acting the part. I'll be working at an art gallery that specializes in Japanese paintings from the early part of the last century. Two days into it and so far so good, haven't gotten the axe yet. In a few weeks I should be moving onto the Island of the Lost. We got a Laser sailboat so I'm going to do some uncoordinated sailing and some more swimmin' n' cursin' as I tip the boat. I've been meaning to put up some more pics but its piling up and I get exponentially more lazy as the work piles up. So clap your hands three times if you believe in me and we'll see what happens. Peaces of cake. P

Africa at last!

So, I made it to Morocco. I went through Barcelona, Valencia, Granada and Algeciras to get here. I'm in Tangier listening to the cacophony of city sounds drifting through the window of the internet cafe. It's already starting to push out the memories of Spain but let's see if I can remember the good stuff. Barcelona was amazing and beautiful, like most of the places I've been but I think it was hands down the hippest place to date. It's a city full of youngsters pushing the boundaries of acceptable fashion. Dred lock mullets, gypsy pants and piercings everywhere made for some really interesting looks which I've dubbed the "Catalonian-cyberpunk-hippy-pirate" look. Barcelona is also full of hidden plazas with random sculpture planted here and there. Throw in the works by Gaudi (Sagrada de Familia, Park Guell) and you have a model city. Valencia was also amazing. More amazing architecture, a beautiful park, a great hostel, new friends and delicious orange juice put Valencia high up on the list too. After that I hit Granada for two nights and had no regrets. Granada is home to the Alhambra which (I think) is an old fortress/palace that was developed over such a long period of time that you have a mixture of Muslim and Christian influences on the architecture. A must see for people who like to look at really cool stuff. But if you dont like to look at really cool stuff you can just wander the streets of Granada staring at your feet (which isnt a bad idea, lotsa doggy presents on the ground). Algeciras was just the place that I caught the ferry to Tangier, the fast ferry to Tangier. They need one like that to Bainbridge. I forgot my USB cable today so you'll have to wait again for more pics. Meanwhile Brice has been putting up lots of photos, I guess his memory card didnt break the same way his camera did when I blew it apart with a shotgun. Peaces.

Moscow is a beautiful city. All I knew about was red square and the buildings surrounding it, but everywhere you look there is some amazing architecture that makes your jaw drop. Like me in this picture. Even the subway (the other picture) is amazing.

Train/market for cheap Chinese goods

It seemed to me that more than half the people riding the train hopped out every station to hawk cheap chinese clothing to bargain hungry Russians. Even the train crew were in on it. They would change out of their uniforms when the train pulled up and start selling everything from pink jackets to blankets. It was a blast to watch.

Trans-eternal

Here is a sunset as seen from the train that we took from Ulan Bator to Moscow. It was a five day train ride but it flew by unexpectedly. I could do it again in a heartbeat. The icy picture is just that. Ice, covering Lake Baikal in Russia. Its gargantuan.

Long Overdue Update

Wow, it's been almost two weeks since the last update. Since that time we've been to Bremen, Germany, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Metz, Provendiers, Dijon, Macon and Marseille, France. Brice and I said goodbye today too. He is heading back up to Paris and his home town one last time before heading back to Japan. It was hard to say goodbye after spending one whole month together, crossing thousands of miles of this Earth. Now I'm on my own and getting ready to head to Barcelona, Spain. I'll be taking the night bus so I'll have all day tomorrow to check out Barcelona. I've taken a bazillion more photos since the last update and organizing them is taking time so for now enjoy up to Bremen. I'll try to get Amsterdam through Marseilles up soon.

Germantown

Brice and I have arrived in Germany. That means that we have passed through Latvia (where I enjoyed a delicious pickle in Riga), Lithuania, Poland and the Czech Republic. Poland was amazing. We stayed with our friend Vitek and his family. We were treated like royalty. We got to stay at the Stefaniak family summer home in southern Poland (where I enjoyed the best pickles I have ever eaten, made by Vitek's Grandma). We were so close to Czech that we just walked across the border, had a beer, sent a postcard to the fam and went back to Poland in about a half an hour. Brice and I are about to hitchhike to Bremen in the north of Germany. We'll see how it goes. Wish us luck.

Gobi Final Countdown

These are the last photos of the Gobi that I'll put up for now as I only have two minutes left on the Internet. Brice and I are in Moscow right now and it's surprisingly beautiful and grandiose. When I get a chance I'll try to put up some photos of the Trans-siberian train experience and Moscow. For now, enjoy Brice's photo of St. Basil's.

Do the Camel!

We only rode camels for about an hour because it was freezing cold and windy. But I liked the photos so here you go.

Sunset Blvd.

Lots of beautiful sunsets out in the desert. Here are a couple.

Ger life

I heard that you can buy a Ger for about 300 US dollars and if that's really the case I think I might buy one. They're cozy, warm and spacious and very eco-friendly. Some of them have wind power and solar power. They all have little wood stoves that don't require much fuel because the insulation is really good (camel wool). They're Ger-ate!

Bones-a-plenty

There were bones and carcasses and skulls and animal feet and horns all over the place.

Ama is a stud!

This is our driver Ama. He saved our lives many times. He was so manly and cool that I was sure he was older than us but he was just 25. Mongolians grow up faster I think. He beat us all at wrestling, which is really popular in Mongolia.

Go Go Gobi!

This is the view from our van of the other van that we traveled with through the Gobi. Their van was filled with fine lads and lasses from Ireland and England. Ours was filled with two 'mericans and a frenchman. The vans were these unstoppable machines made in Russia for the purpose of taming all of Earth's rough spots. We went over some crazy terrain, got stuck in some deep sand, ploughed through some big desert brush and never felt like we weren't gonna see UB again (that's Ulaan Bataar for all you squares).

The Gobi's Flat

This was the view from the train we took to Ulan Bator from Beijing. Beautiful, beige and big. Gobi.

Haircut in Beijing!

Brice wanted to get his hair cut since before we left Japan so when we saw this lady cutting hair on the side of the street with her razor plugged into a car battery we jumped at the chance. It only cost him a dollar and she did a really good job, considering she was under pressure from all the on-lookers that gathered to watch the whitey get shaved.

The Real Great Wall (maybe)

This is a picture of the Great Wall at Huang Hua Cheng (I don't know what that means). This is the second time I've been there and they have already started renovating it. These broken-down sections might become quite rare as China tries to capitalize on tourism by making the wall safe and tour friendly. This part was actually pretty dangerous.

Brice on Bike in Beijing!

Here are some photos that I selected, pretty randomly. They are in a loose order beginning with China and finishing in Mongolia.

Here Brice is getting the full Beijing experience by riding his bike on the open road in front of the Forbidden City.

Back from the desert!

Brice and I have returned from our trip to the Gobi desert. It was beautiful, cold, windy, sandy dirty and fun. The Gobi is full of sand, rocks short shrub-like plants, short horses, small deer-like animals, camels, goats, sheep, herdsmen and their beautiful children, gers (the traditional mongolian house) and animal bones. Our van was this really cool russian 4WD thing that caught on fire before we even left Ulaan Bataar. Our studly driver, Ama somehow replaced the entire carburetor in a half an hour and we were on our way. We drove about six hours a day and saw alot. The Gobi is an amazing place and its even more amazing that people live out there. I was going to try and upload some photos but that's proving extremely difficult at these east asian internet cafes. Brice and I are heading to Moscow tomorrow afternoon and that trip will take about five days. Once we get to Europe it will be easier to do all this techno stuff, bear with me for now and think good thoughts about our trip!

Too long no write

So Brice and I are on our second and last day in Beijing, which means we have already taken the ferry from Osaka, Japan to Shanghai, China, goofed around in Shanghai, taken a night train to Beijng, ridden bikes around Beijing, eaten tons of awesome food, been to the great wall and back and here I sit writing about it. Time for writing this and for uploading photos has been scarce. It'll probably be that way until we get to Europe. Please be patient because we promise to have photos and more stories up as soon as possible. P