The Kangaroo Route

So my cousin has an apartment in Dubai, U.A.E., in the Middle East and one of my ex-girlfriends will soon be living in Singapore, and I'm at this moment in my life where the urge and the money and the motivation to take off on a big adventure for 6-12 months is reaching its apex ... so here's the plan: the Kangaroo Route. Starting in Europe (probably Spain), traveling overland through the Balkans to Istanbul, Turkey; taking a boat to Cairo, Egypt; flying across Saudi Arabia to Dubai; flying from Dubai to India; traveling overland through SE Asia to Singapore; checking out one island in the Indonesia island array; flying to Darwin, Australia; taking the Ghan train from Darwin to Adelaide; working at wineries in Australia's Shiraz wine region; ending in Sydney. Then, depending on my bank account (which should be at $-2,000 at this point) deciding whether to check out French Polynesia, New Zealand or Hawaii. Then flying home, where I'll take a lowly job while I write my great travel narrative. Who is with me? Who wants to sponsor me?

WHAT I WAS DOING IN MONGOLIA:

Wandering aimlessly, playing indoor soccer, gripping my currency, talking to Mongolian moms about religion/marriage/luxury resorts, playing an Olympic Games video game with my host brother, eating buttloads of mutton, drinking milk tea, drinking horse milk, attending La Boheme, attending Swan Lake, grabbing a German or English brew and watching the storm roll in, going to the internet cafe at least once a day, going to the cinema to see Mr. & Mrs. Smith, herding sheep to other sheep, taking the bus to/from work, snot-rocketing the sidewalk, gesturing wildly like a buffoon while trying to talk with Mongolian dad, eating starchy bread, writing tons in my journal, reading novels like they were articles in a magazine, failing miserably, teaching English, visiting spectacular landscapes, working on my tan, listening to my iPod in the dark before bed, endlessly researching imaginary trips I would never take in Mongolia, fulfilling lifetime dream of utter terror.

Please Buy Puerto Escondido!!!

The New York Times has a story on Puerto Escondido in Friday's paper. Unfortunately, as with nearly every "travel" article in the NYT, it's merely a primer for those wishing to buy a 2nd, 3rd, or 4th home in a foreign paradise because they've got money flowing out their asses and figure real estate in a "cheap" country is salvation. The link is here.