For years I had wanted to go to Australia. Twice I planned to fly into Sydney for New Years Eve, and twice those plans fell through. When I started this trip, I knew there was always a possibility that I’d end up in Australia, but I knew there were so many reasons why I shouldn’t go. Who goes to Australia in the winter? Do they even have a winter? Where do you go after flying all the way down there? Eventually I found the answer to all of those questions and more.
Thirty days ago I left Taiwan for Borneo. Roughly twenty days ago I left Borneo for Taiwan. In forty days I leave Taiwan for the USA. I suppose I’ve got some explaining to do. Unfortunately, every time I try to start explaining I find myself not sure where to start, what to say, and beguiled about what to even mention about the last 30 days. So, here’s what comes to mind right now…
Half a year. Six months. 186 days. Regardless of how you want to define it, this trip has now gone on longer than I ever expected it to. Along the way there have been a number of ridiculous (and potentially previously unmentioned) stories. Today seems like a great day to make a summary of the last 186 days and share some details of the stories that have previously remained secret. Perhaps “summary” isn’t the best way to describe this – there are a lot of pictures, some old stories, some new stories, and then more pictures.
My time in Taiwan hasn’t been constant doom and gloom; there may have even been a three day period where it didn’t rain at all. That said, even when it’s not raining in Taiwan there is moisture in the air – at least in late summer. The average high temperature in August is 91F (34C) and the average low is 80F (27C), but that’s only half the story; in actuality that’s 91 degrees with a 50% chance of thunderstorm and a 100% chance of ungodly humidity. So, in case of an emergency and the sun does come out – what’s a guy to do?
One Way Backpacking 