Thanks for the welcome. I got a few days on the Trinity in N. Cal in Feb. It snowed feet, but the fishing was fantastic.

Yeah, we get "steelhead" runs in Vermont each April but the fish aren't nowhere near that big.

18 March 2008
Rosario, Argentina

Tim,
From one travel logjam to the next, I've made it here and even have a bed every night until I depart for someplace yet to be determined when the beds run out on Saturday.

Thanks for responding. Tonight I'm off to the Bob Dylan (Bawb Dillawn)concert. Context should make the experience something like Bob barely remembers from his '67 days.

While writing this, I think I hear the beach on your end of the email.
Chau,
Steven

Uruguay! You lucky dog! Now, if you could just transport some baklava from here it would be exactly paradise...

Yes, I am trapped in a concrete jungle, with Byzantine architechture. Yes, not so bad.

Anyways I haven't had any time to write, or have been submitting total crap to people, because I am working forty plus hours a week. Loving Istanbul except for that, but looking forward to nearing the slower summer season when I have a chance to be a writer again.

Anyways, I'll let you know when I'm taking that train. I give it 50 years. Keep me posted on your adventures. Take care!

Hey man, I replied to you by message but perhaps it's more social to reply by comment.

Ponte del Diablo, I came close but didn't stop there. I stayed in a crazy national-park/military-base/campsite nearby called Parque Santa Teresa. That was one of the most relaxed places I've ever been to, with good surf too.

Yeah I'm definately up for writing a surf spots guide. I've surfed in 6 different states along the coast of Brazil so have plenty to input. How do we go about this and how will you pay me? Peace

tim,

thanks for the welcome, although i am a bit jealous of your current location. i have never been, made it to argentina but never crossed over. how is it? i am sure your drinking plenty of mate, that was one of my favorite parts. anyways, enjoy the waves and people and thanks for the note. i hope our paths cross too.

matt

I thought maybe a few folks might add it to StumpleUpon, but wow!. Thanks for adding the links to the people's names as well. Must have been equally as time-consuming. Keep enjoying Uruguay.

Thanks. I've enjoyed reading your blogs and articles too. The way my trip is structured, I don't really have much free time to wander around, other than a couple of afternoons/nights in Montevideo and one afternoon at Punta del Este. Is that near Punta del Diablo?

unfortunately i've already moved on. but i think we should all take your lead and always write Cambodia! with an exclamation mark. just the mention of the word makes me smile and yearn to go back. when i do, i'll follow your suggestions. thanks.

Thanks for the post. That's really cool that you're working at a hostel now. I always thought it'd be a sweet job. I'm actually going to Uruguay in three weeks to do some volunteer work during my spring break in Montevideo. Are you out of Argentina for good now?

Alright, I'm in. :)

Thanks for the welcome and encouraging words! Love to hear more.

I love it too. Thanks for commenting. Jo

Rude!

...kidding

Where did you go to school?

Hi Tim!
Interesting to note that every time I'm moved/persuaded/inflamed to leave a comment on a Brave New Traveler article you're the author!

What's UP with that?

Hope your time in Patagonia is swell. I'm gearing up for Belize in every way.

Laura
----
La Bohemiac

Hi Tim !

Thanx for your comment and support!

Make sure you drop us a line if you ever come to Peru...

y Comete un corderito patagonico en nuestro nombre che!

elKuraka

Hi,
Got your comment - I live in Buenos Aires and should be headed to Mendoza next month. I'm interested in writing about it - for BNT, I'm guessing? Examples here: www.argentinastravel.com, argentina-eve.blogspot.com
Cheers,
Eve

Hey hey--thanks for the note. I've been loving your articles and blogs, particularly your piece about the Hokkaido Mountain Huts. Just saw that you'll be in the Rocky Mts in July. Whereabouts exactly? I've been staying with my folks, who live near Ridgway (close to Telluride, southwest corner of CO). Any chance we could meet up, do a little writing/adventuring?

There's a great hut-to-hut system from Ouray to Telluride, which offers lots of backcountry snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. Might be interesting to compare with Hokkaido...

Peace,
Jenny

Wind River Range: right on. I did a NOLS mountaineering course there in 2001. We ended up not making it up Gannett because one of the guys on the trip got some kind of stomach funk, but it was still an amazing place.

If you make it to Nepal, check out Mt. Kanchenjunga in the north east corner. Third tallest mountain in the world, and no one's ever heard of it.

hey thanks for reading!

I'm just getting started but the positive reinforcement definitely helps :P

good luck in your travels – i'll make sure to read up on your adventures :P

Thanks for reading my blog! I liked your blog about the bus breaking down in the Andes. You worked at Verbatim? I used to spend a lot of time hanging out there reading when I was a kid. One of my most memorable Christmas presents was a $40 gift certificate to Verbatim. I felt like I'd hit the jackpot when I got it!

I am just waiting to get the OK for an extra 2 weeks addition to my vacation and then...Im out to Panya. Very excited, saw your blog about it and it just got more pumped! A little building here, designing there...cannot wait.

Hey, wow, you're like my idol now! Seriously though, impressive resume there, really nice job. Perseverance really pays off, doesn't it? I'm a writer as well but haven't quite moved to the position that best fits me. Yet. I have had many interesting and fulfilling experiences so far though. Maybe I'll have to try my hand at a submission for BNT someday. Great site.

The beauty of life, to me, is the connection made between people with similar hearts and souls. What's that Buddhist saying? 'Have much and be confused'....well, it's true. Simplicity, in many ways, is one of the keys on the keychain of true happiness. I'm glad I inspired you and in turn, you inspired me too :) xo

"My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness."-Dalai Lama

Thanks for the comment. Hope you are enjoying B-A.

G'day Tim. Thanks for the early friend request.

hello!
too bad we won't be able to travel patagonia with you. we'd love to go there, only by bicycle, so it'll take us a while to get there. we decided to postpone our pedaling south until spring, and we're visiting family & volunteering at an urban organic farm in Boise in the meantime.
will you be going to peru? i definitely recommend it.
safe travels!
the earthworms

Thanks for reading the mooncake bicycle bit. That's one of those entries that I haven't reread since I posted it, and it cracked me up a bit to revisit it. I've had a good friend from home visiting for the past two weeks and she leaves this afternoon. Having a visitor here who speaks no Chinese really challenged me and stretched me, mostly to good effects. Tomorrow, however, I look forward to a long, long snooze!

And you're off to South America. Rad! I'll head down there one of those days. We have a new housemate from the Canary Islands, and my Spanish is slowly coming back, though now I speak a bizarre blend of Span-ese.

Yup, I'm planning on visiting Panya--so excited to LEAVE already. :) I was actually going to ask you about hostels/guesthouses in Luang Prabang. Any recommendations?

If only I remembered the name...a sweet family with a wooden house about 300 meters downstream from the main docks on the Mekong...$4 for a big upstairs room, free bananas and cold water, a semi-hot shower downstairs...it might be in one of my old destination guide...

Hey Tim,

I'll see if I can think of any potential article ideas and hit you up when I get the chance. Thanks!

-Justin

Hey Tim. Was planning on pinging you closer to leaving for Cambodia. First point of entry is Phnom Penh. Thats all I know at this point. Travelling as a photojournalist for an NGO so my movements may be limited to their project locations, etc :( Once I find out more, I'm definitely gonna bug you for info!!

ace you will remain because of the great things you are doing out there keep it up.

I have lightning feet and I will embarrass Mr. kessler.

Thanks for the kind words about the Yellowstone article - wish I had more time to check out your profiles and get back to you - but need to find a camp spot before dark!

Just read your Yellowstone article in Traverse. What an amazing adventure! I was especially impressed by the way you described the sounds of your solo fishing trip. Only hearing the water and the fish biting must be such a rush! And thanks for adding the "how to" portion at the end; it made me feel like I can go catch a cutthroat! -Les

AWESOME writing...just read about Yellowstone and I'm hooked!

Howdy Tim,

Thanks for the message on the blog and who knows, maybe we could trade some tips on South Asia's least explored....

I'll be watching your writing.

Cheers,
-M

----
Mikey Leung, Freelance Journalist and Photographer
http://www.mikeyleung.ca

Thanks. Check the flickr link under my profile; there are more pictures of those two islands.

Mate, good to see that Get Lost took your pitch...the only way now is up.

One life. No plan. Many adventures.

PS: do I still have something of yours that needs posting on TheTravelrag.com? If so can you resend pl?! :)

Chris
www.thetravelrag.com
www.chrisord.com

I do what I can. It would have saved me from the wandering polar bears knocking at my hut.

Haha, I couldn't *not* buy those! Thanks for the comment! :)

Thanks, first time blogger, took me longer to post than it did tip topping!... lemme know if they need accomodation advice.
Kim

Excellent blog! Thank you also for your wonderful comments. As someone who feels almost desperate to live this sort of "unconventional traveller's life" (for reasons still unknown), your notes on being a travel writer and exploring the world are truly inspirational. In your interview, I especially like the line:

"...can hike 5 miles through the jungle on a pack of ramen and some coconut milk, but I can't pet my cat without wondering if I should settle down and plant a garden and go to law school. Funny, isn't it. On the road, I'm just on the damn road, and life is wonderful."

I can relate completely. Im often torn between wanting some sort of stability and life on the road. Fortunately or unfortunately (depends on how you look at it),life on the road always seems to win.

Although I dont have a cat, I've always felt a pang of envy when I see people walking their dogs or what not. Its been my personal symbol of "success" I suppose. Do you know how people buy cars or big houses when they feel as though they have finally "made it"? Well, mine has always been a dog. Silly as it may sound, but a dog has always seemed to represent something solid, a point where Ive finally felt like Ive finally made a career for myself as a writer, a stable place to live, somewhere to call home.

Well, sorry if this ended up being quite long. Anyway, congratulations and keep up the inspirational work!

Actually I was talking about it today. There is a great architecture school in Valparaiso. Let me know more about your plans.

M.

Hey, thanks for the tip, and the welcome! You Matador people are a friendly bunch, I'm loving it so far.

The Quebec/Maritimes bike trip (is it the same trip?) sounds great - have you been to Canada's east coast before? I spent four years in Halifax and still think of it as home, really. Let me know if need any tips before you go - it's Happy Hour every hour somewhere in Hali, and I've given most of them a test run...

I also thought your Rolf Potts interview! Keep up the work!

Loved your interview of Rolf Potts on www.BraveNewTraveler.com. Keep up the good work, Tim. I could see you following in that guy's footsteps.

Hey bud,
Thanks for the good words, I'll keep working to earn that Peter Hessler comparison though! Really enjoying the Matador community, and loving your work.

Best,
Pete

Ciao Tim
I read your piece One Angry Hour in Cambodia translated in Italian.
I couldn't agree with you more. It also reads beautifully in Italian.
Bravo. aspetto un altro pezzo tradotto!

Oh I know, those chairs were ridiculous, but very amusing, especially when witnessing twelve-foot tall 300 pound Australian men try to precariously balance on one of them. I'm not even sure why they bother with those chairs since everyone in Asia is so good at squatting anyway. What does the chair really do to break the squat?

Thanks for the Australia/NZ tips. Fortunately I don't have enough money left to do any of the exxxtreme sports, so I can use that as my excuse. Are you still thinking you'll go to India soon? DO IT. It's such an amazing place.

You checked out TC? Damn...linking it in my signature works better than I thought.

I'm essentially the (technological) muscle for my wife's ideas. At the end of the day, she's more of a traveler than me but lacks any kind of HTML/PHP/CSS/etc. experience.

As it develops, I hope to at least mirror the blogs that I end up putting on Matador. If you've read the "getting started", you'll note its focused on the "first time" traveler and--if we're lucky--the ads will get used enough to fund another year of 1/gb per-month web hosting ($30)

BTW, I made the mistake of checking out your photos while the nude iceberg one's were up. Like a bad car wreck, I was simultaneously horrifying and transfixed. I'm not sure I want to hear the story behind them. :)

Thanks for checking out TC!

-JB

thanks for tip. get lost looks good.

Yo Matador!

Did you go on the Gibbon? Where are you now?

Go to Vang Viene. Tube the river. Jump the cliff jumps. Hit the zip lines. Burn one a the bend in the river. And watch the simpsons at a resturant in town.

Vien Tiene. Not to interesting.

Luang Prabang. Temple on the hill. Night mrkt. Cheap food at mrkt, load up a plate at the veggie spot.

In bang kok got to the sarfari world/marine park. its cool. feed the giraffs.

Have fun brah! Let me know what you did!

Go Matador!

Ciao Tim,
Yah tt was eerie, but I guess that's why I liked it. This is a great site. Thanks!