Having nothing interesting to write I thought I’d regurgitate some dribble I wrote while on our There and Back Trip of 2005.

I hate this place. I love this place. Thats what I wrote in my journal yesterday as I sat in one of the van bench seats scattered about the warehouse. By the fourth day you really felt invested in your fellow backpackers success but at the same time, wanted nothing more than to leave.

There was Ray, a friendly fellow from Vancover who was selling a 1984 Subaru with only 154,000 kms (low miles in the backpacker relm), after two days he made his sale for the sum of $350NZ or about $260US. And Martin, a tall blond haired Danish guy. He was soft spoken and relying on the sale of his 2 door Fiat to get him through the rest of his trip. I think he sold it for $1150, and will be on his way to Australia in a few days.

Then there was Patrice. When I met him and told him where I was from he said in his thick French accent “OHHH we are neighbors!”. I had a quizicle look on my face untill he said “I am from Quebec!” Well we really hit it off and we’re relieved to see this morning that he sold his Ford Lancer. He was asking $850 but I don’t know what he got for it. Mitch was yet another Canadain. Trust me, there were more than just Canadians, Americans and Danes. There were heaps of Isralies. Mitch is from Sascachuan, just outside Regina. He sold his Toyota wagon in one day to a Japanese girl and was all to excited about that. He is currently staying with his ultimate frisbee teamates who with his help won an all New Zealand Ultimate tournament, pretty cool.

We had Mitch and Ray over for beers and wine two nights ago. We lucked out and have an apartment all to ourselves, perfect for hanging out in.

As for the others in there trying to sell, they we’re French, Dutch, English, Canadian, German, Swedish, Israli (who even after they sold their cars or vans would stay, and come back the next day, and the next day, and…you get the point), some old, some young, some with kids, some who hadn’t showered in days, some fresh and clean, some who stayed at the car market after closing to camp there, others, like us, who had places to go back to. The vehicle selection ranged from vans, cars, minicars, station wagons, a sports car, diesel, petrol, 1 liter, 4 liter, old, not so old, and from $350 to $4000.

Music echoed off the concrete brick walls, sometimes it blasted. Eminem, Nelly, traditional Hebrew songs, reggae, rock, rap. People danced, usually after they sold their cars, sometimes days after they sold their cars. A watch wasn’t necessary since the gas cookers fired up around 11:30 to prepar lunch and beer cans snapped open signaling the approach of 5. What a wierd place.

After 3+ days in that hole we were all too happy to leave, especially considering that we sold the car for the exact price that we paid. The gamble paid off. All in all it was a very interesting time.

On Friday we leave for Australia. We’ll be flying into Brisbane and from there heading north to Fraser Island. After that, its up in the air. I’m excited to see Ward and Liz. In the meantime, we have laundry to catch up on, St Patrick’s Day, see a kiwi (couldn’t leave NZ without seeing a kiwi), and a little matter with an antiques dealer to square away.

Oh and one more thing, I hope to post some stuff on a couple of the places we’ve been in the last three weeks. If I actually follow through we’ll see but keep your eyes pealed.

When I first saw Bizzare Foods on the Travel Channel my back went up a bit. Was this guy serious? Anyone who was anyone knew that the first guy filming his travels around the world while eating bizzare food, at least in recent memory, was Anthony Bourdain in A Cook’s Tour.

This short lived series featured Tony, mostly drunk, always smoking, chomping his way from plate to plate and place to place while keeping his audience entertained with witty commentary and vignettes of his work in the kitchen. Bourdain has gone from strength to the strength, building on the sucess of A Cook’s Tour with his new show Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations on the Travel Channel.

And then came Zimmern, looking like an unemployed cherub blatently riping off Bourdain’s concept. How dare he!

Look Zimmern, you can’t just shove every piece of fetid pigs ass and grasshopper nipple into your face and pretent you like it. No, you can’t even pretend like you’re the first guy to do it either! Damn you Fat Man!

I was angry.

And on top of it all, he just seemed so damn disingenuous, with his constant “Mmmmm”, and “Wow, this is good!” as he’d motion his head slowly and erotically up and down with approving eyes fixed at the three week old road kill marinaded in motor oil and crab penis. You can’t be serious!

His girth attests to his love of food but were the cameras editing out his retching after the chicken testicle soup? Did they cut out his desperate all out sprint through the grimy back alleys of Hanoi screaming “I WANT MY BABY BACK, BABY BACK, BABY BACK RIBS!”? Wouldn’t a broken and shaking Zimmern loosing it after learning from his producers that there isn’t a Chilis within 8000 miles have made for richer TV, higher ratings, a better show?

Maybe I kept watching in hopes of seeing this sort of break down. Maybe I wanted to see a man, so desperate for his 15 minutes of fame, snap under the pressure of forcing one last bite of pickled worm trotter.

But I kept watching. And I started to detect a bit of sincerity in the “Mmmms” and “Wows”. Again, the man has some size, he obviously loves food but could it be possible that he loves all food. Plus, even if Bourdain isn’t in the show, the concept combines two of my passions, travel and food.

Having backpacked the Pacific Rim for 4+ months with my lovely wife the show helped me relive the scents and smells of those street vendors, the din of a busy market place, the late night hustle and bustle of an outdoor food court, crowded with young people enjoying the only part of the day that isn’t stiflingly hot and settling in for some good old fashioned comfort food. On my world tour I saw roasted bat, pickled snake, skewered frogs, duck eggs (no no the ones with the cute fully developed hatchling inside), all manner of sea food, worms, and the list goes so I’m kinda familiar with the places he goes.

And then it happen.

In stunned amazement I watched Andrew Zimmern gag on a piece of stinky tofu last night. Quicker than Senator Craig can say “I did nothing inappropriate!” Zimmern shoved a fistful of napkins at his mouth to catch the eruption.

“Holy shit Kate I just saw him GAG. Wait, I think he’s going to throw up COME HERE QUICK!” I hollered to my wife from the kitchen. She didn’t know what the crap I was talking about but rushed to the kitchen to see it. “Uh, I can’t believe you watch that…He’s so wierd.” she said.

Who knew an over weight, middle aged bald guy throwing up in Taiwanese stinky tofu joint would “win me over” but he did.

Ok, I will admit, he’d already started to grow on me bit and in the end he’s doing good work. Its travel, its food, its different, I almost had to like it. Plus I think this country could use some sauteed ants and grub. And when you contrast that with the filth that McDonalds peddles, is the chicken ovary and bull testicles really that bad? They guy eating the Big Mac is suffering from syndrome X while the guy eating the ants and termites looks to be in fine health. You be the judge.

What Zimmern gets and what Bourdain gets is that you will never truly understand another culture unless you’re prepared to sit down to dinner with them. The passions, history, memory, culture and the life of a people is embodied in the meals they prepare and eat. Sharing food is the quickest way to break down barriers. Sharing food is the fastest way to friendship. It is intimate and it is human and each episode, Andrew Zimmern reveals this to his audience.

Andrew, you weren’t the first, and undoubtedly you won’t be the last, but keep up the good work. You can now count me as one of your newest fans.

Oh, and apparently, he is the real deal.

For those of you who know me (should be all 4 of you) you’ll understand how flipped I am right now knowing that the one and only Belafonte is for sale. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, is one of my all time favorite movies and the thought of owning the boat is frankly too much to handle. Please, if you have $350,000 to loan me, I promise I’ll take you on a cruise. I have to have this boat.