Jeffrey Donenfeld

Author: Jeffrey Donenfeld

Government Shutdown Halts United States Antarctic Program – Save Science in Antarctica!
It’s truly a sad day for Antarctica. Because of the government furlough, science operations in Antarctica is being shut down as funds dry up, as a “result of the absence of appropriation and the Antideficiency Act.”, according to the official USAP.gov website.

Amidst all of the other shakeup and struggle operations in Antarctica have gone through in recent years, I’m sad to hear that another setback has fallen on operations on the ice. So much good science and engineering research is being done there, it’s a shame that the small fraction of the budget that is needed to support the USAP has been suspended. A breakdown of the actual cost of the program, from Change.org:

The total cost of the USAP program is approximately $350 million dollars. A value added amount of money which is small in terms of the $3.8 trillion dollar total budget that would be trivial not to have congress authorize a portion of it to allow international science to continue.

With any luck, the furlough will end soon, and funds will be made available again before too much of the continent has been emptied out. Effects of the shutdown, from Change.org:

The effects this shutdown will be the loss of continuity in projects that have been ongoing since the International Geophysical Year (IGY) some 50 years ago. Scientific data such as the Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) which has been ongoing for 30 years will have a large data gap in at a crucial time in our understanding of climate change. A similar problem would be the abrupt end to 11 years of continuous data on the solar cycle that is used, for example, by the UC Boulder Lidar project. Since solar cycles are 11 years long, missing this last critical bit of data could jeopardize the multi-year investment. Also threatened is our understanding of rapidly changing ecosystems that is being generated by the study of Penguins in the Palmer Peninsula.

Leaving Antarctica at the end of the 2012-2013 Austral Summer Season.

The full explanation on USAP.gov reads:

Planning and Implementation of Caretaker Status for U.S. Antarctic Program
October 8, 2013

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is responsible for managing and coordinating the U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) on behalf of the nation. This includes providing support personnel and facilities and coordinating transportation and other logistics for scientific research. Due to the lapse in appropriation, funds for this support will be depleted on or about October 14, 2013.

Without additional funding, NSF has directed its Antarctic support contractor to begin planning and implementing caretaker status for research stations, ships and other assets. The agency is required to take this step as a result of the absence of appropriation and the Antideficiency Act.

Under caretaker status, the USAP will be staffed at a minimal level to ensure human safety and preserve government property, including the three primary research stations, ships and associated research facilities. All field and research activities not essential to human safety and preservation of property will be suspended.

As NSF moves to caretaker status, it will also develop the information needed to restore the 2013-14 austral summer research program to the maximum extent possible, once an appropriation materializes. It is important to note, however, that some activities cannot be restarted once seasonally dependent windows for research and operations have passed, the seasonal workforce is released, science activities are curtailed and operations are reduced.

NSF remains committed to protecting the safety and health of its deployed personnel and to its stewardship of the USAP under these challenging circumstances.

Help support continued operations in Antarctica by signing Change.org’s petition.

More coverage of this story:
2013-10-10
Apple Picking and Camping Weekend 2013
The annual Apple Picking Trip. This is a new year tradition that originally started in my family when I was a kid – my family would go with another family over to Kentucky to pick apples and hang out on the farm. Since I moved to NYC, I’ve been keeping the tradition up with an ever growing group of good friends.

This year we headed up to New Paltz for the fun. Everybody drove separately, instead of in a big van like last year. This made planning for me much easier. Our first stop of the day was lunch on the back patio of Bacchus Restaurant in New Paltz – always a great place to go, with a large menu of both food and beer, and a super friendly and fun local staff. They always treat us right!

Next stop, Minard Farms, and the requisite Apple Cider Donuts to start off.

A quick hay ride gets us out to the orchard.

And then we pick apples.

Every year, Nick and I take this same picture of us juggling apples.
https://instagram.com/p/fGNc0YBRbv/

After apples, we go down the road to the pumpkin patch.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/10164511384/in/set-72157636343566885

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/10164797053/in/set-72157636343566885
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/10164761306/in/set-72157636343566885

Dinner was at The Gilded Otter Brewpub, the defacto place to go for dinner with friends in New Paltz. They serve great flights of beers brewed on site, and have tasty pub food.

And then for camping. This year it was raining a little bit, but we still had a great time playing games around the campfire in the rain. We camped at the Multi Use Area, always a favorite.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/10164830376/in/set-72157636343566885

Past apple picking trips:
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- 2009
- 2008
- 2005
- 2001
2013-10-09
I’m Betabrand’s Antarctic Explorer

Last austral summer, while living at the South Pole Station, Antarctica I represented SF clothing company Betabrand as their official Antarctic Explorer. I had a great time tromping around in the snow in Betabrand’s Disco Pants, USA Pants, and Smoking Jacket. Thanks for the gear, Betabrand! Here’s a quick video of my adventure:

2013-09-12
Riding With Roudy Roudebush

Yesterday, my sister and I went riding with local Telluride legend Roudy Roudebush. We had a great day. Here’s my review, published on TripAdvisor.

Tripadvisor Review

A few pics from our ride:

Roudy’s barn office. He’s one of the most charismatic, authentic, and warm guys I’ve spent time with in recent months. Roudy taught my to ride when I was a kid, and it was good to see him again – still in business!

Hanging out with Roudy!
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9692195507/in/set-72157635417600257

2013-09-06
Hiking Hawn Mountain

Hiking groups are abundant in Telluride, Colorado. Earlier this week, I went with my family to join a local hiking group on the Hawn Mountain Ridge Loop Hike. The hike is located within Grey Head, and includes the spectacular Stairway to Heaven walkway, descending down a massive scree field.

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Grayhead Stairway To Heaven Hawn Mountain Telluride Trial Map

Our large group, getting ready to hike.

On top of the ridge, the scree starts gradually.

Descending down the steeper sections, right before the main section of the rock walkway.

The Stairway to Heaven walkway is a pleasure to hike down – it switch backs through a rugged scree field, providing stable, relatively even footing all the way down.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9695310762/in/set-72157635424783482

2013-09-05
Climbing Mt. Sneffels to 14,150 feet

This past week, my climbing partner Sean Safdi and I successfully the Mt. Sneffels summit loop climb, topping out at the 14,150 foot peak in perfect weather. A few pics from our climb.

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To access the trailhead, we drove from Telluride, Colorado to Ouray, Colorado and then up a 4WD road outside of Ouray into Yankee Boy Basin. The 4WD road was fine for most of the time, however the running boards on our Jeep Liberty took a beating, and had to be ripped off with a tire iron in the middle of the drive.

Yankee Boy Road, leading up the basin.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9690925972/

Starting out the hike, instead of following markers to the Mt. Sneffels scree field ascent, we instead took the Blue Lakes Saddle trail up to the Southwest Ridge. Once we were at the saddle, we turned to take on the jagged and steep knife edge Southwest Ridge leading to the summit.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9690926612/

Blue lakes on the other side of the saddle.

Getting steeper towards the summit.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9687686555/

On the summit of Mt. Sneffels, one of Colorado’s 14’ers. What a great climb!

2013-09-03
The 40th Annual Telluride Film Festival

Last week I attended the 40th annual Telluride Film Festival. Out of the hundreds of movies that played during the festival, here are my brief thoughts on the ones I saw:

The Big Lebowski
The Big Lebowski is a classic film, and one of my favorites. It played at the Elks Park outdoor cinema the night before the official start of the festival, as a free show for locals. Always a good time.

All Is Lost
Played at Elks park. One of my 3 favorites of the festival. I loved the isolation and desolation Robert Redford portrayed being stranded ona sinking sailboat and drifting life raft. I also appreciated the fairly accurate and precise sailing moves that the main character executed in trying to save his boat, and then bailing out to the life raft. It’s obvious that Redford was coached by an experienced sailor. One glaring omission from the movie, however, was an EPIRB emergency radio beacon. On a modern sailboat equipped as well as the one in the film, sailing where the character was sailing, it would be virtually unheard of to not have an emergency EPIRB on the ship, ready to send a distress signal. I understand that there would be basically no story had an EPIRB been activated – but at very least it would have been nice to have seen it, and possibly had it be unusable in support of the rest of the survival story.

Palo Alto
A stylized, real, intimate view of youth in Palo Alto, California. The photography was transparentn and real, with the standout shot for me being James Franco in the middle of his soccer team huddle, prepping them for the game. I related to this film, but only slightly – I don’t think I was as cool in high school as these kids were!
https://youtu.be/2RF4C124ibQ

Particle Fever
A documentary, and in an interesting high level view of both the science that’s being done at the LHC, as well as the culture surrounding it. Having worked with scientists on large projects at the South Pole, I loved seeing the science culture portrayed in this documentary.

Tracks
My second favorite of the festival. Solitude, peace, and silence trekking across the desert really spoke to me, and I connected with the sentiment of the main character. Also, although I hated the photojournalist character at first, I secretly envied his job!

Gravity
Super super super cool – a simply premise – a stranded astronaut tries to make it back to earth. With lots of twists and turns, and an amazing use of 3D. The 3D in this movie was notable because it really did enhance the whole movie, but didn’t stick out too much. Some movies seem to use 3d jut for the “wow” factor, but in Gravity, the 3d was not over the top, and actually once you were into the movie, it was barely noticable.

Inside Llewyn Davis
I love the Cohen Brothers movies, and this was no exception. Seeing NYC set in 1961 was interesting, as were all of the characters. True to the other Cohen Brothers movies, each character in this film was truly a unique character, cast specifically and deliberately. I’m still yet to fully decode this film, but at the end of it, other movies I was looking to for story analysis were Run Lola Run, Groundhog Day, and the story of Sisyphus.

12 Years A Slave
Meh, very meh. This movie got great reviews, but personally I didn’t love it. The photography was beautiful, but after the premise was setup, I was over it. The next hour and a half of well acted dramatically terrible slavery wore on, and I was eager for an ending to the misery. Technical aspects were great, acting was solid, sets were detailed, but overall I just wasn’t into the extended portrayal of a wrongly enslaved man.

Prisoners

Well acted, a classic holywood kidnapping drama. I enjoyed watching this, but had it figured out about midway through. Nothing too exciting.

Milius
John Milius is absolutely the man, and this documentary about his life so far was a great way to see how much he’s influenced. Maybe not critical to see on the big screen, but still fun.
https://youtu.be/IrjuO5LLNEQ

Labor Day
I usually love JR films, but this one was just stressful to me. The characters were real and warm, but overall I just got a meh feeling from it.

Tim’s Vermeer
I love Penn & Teller, and this film, produced by Penn Gillette was great. Check it out!

A few of my tweets from #TFF40
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374742854859378688
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374638859327250432
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374608126693367808
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374545183410774016
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374359591012012032
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374297336681611264
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374244326433652736
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/374215782575919104
https://twitter.com/Jeffzilla/status/373991546162802688

2013-09-01
The 2013 Triple Bypass – The Bike Rack Road Team Report

Chris and I recently rode the 2013 Triple Bypass bike ride, and Chris posted this ride report.

2013 Triple Bypass (Sunday, Avon to Evergreen)

The Triple Bypass is 2 day out-and-back ride through Summit County, CO. I rode the Sunday leg, which was 120 miles from Avon to Evergreen. We crossed over Vail Pass (10,560 ft.), Loveland Pass (11,990 ft.), and Juniper Pass (11,140 ft.), amounting to over 10,000 ft. of elevation gain.

I landed in Colorado almost 2 weeks ahead of the ride so that I could acclimate to the elevation and get my legs some climb time in the mountains (as well as to see my friend get married, but that’s not relevant). Here’s a shot from a training ride just outside Telluride in the San Juan range of SW Colorado.

I spent quite a few days riding above 9000 feet and testing different clothing combinations to figure out what I should wear. My gut told me to layer up rather than throw on heavier outerwear or even full length rain gear (which was a gamble since there was a constancy to the rain each afternoon). In the end, going with lighter layers was the right choice since I could adapt to the weather quickly and without carrying a lot of extra weight. I carried just enough to be comfortable on cold mountain passes. I used the TBR kit, knee and arm warmers, wool socks (argyle of course), a fleece hat, long finger and short finger gloves, as well as a vest for descending and rain cover.

The ride started with the easiest mountain pass first, Vail Pass (10,500 altitude, ~3000 ft over 20 miles). Honestly, after climbing up 15% grade slopes at Garrett County, the 4-8% grade for Vail Pass was a walk in the park. All you had to do was lock in a steady cadence, pick a good song to hum, and maintain that for 20+ miles. Easy, right? Well, kinda. I didn’t take Vail pass particularly fast at first and after a few miles I checked behind me to discover a whole train of riders following my draft. As a general rule, I always ask or say something if I’m going to grab someone else’s wheel. Second, don’t ride like an ass in a group.

What seemed okay at first started to get dangerous: some riders were trying to get an awkward pace line going, a few others tried to pass and get in front of me. I wasn’t trying to ride alone but these people were doing all kinds of wacky stuff. So I channeled my inner “Chuck”, picked up the pace, and dropped the group.

The whole stretch of riding from Avon, over Vail pass, and down to Frisco was done primarily on a bike trail. This meant that descending after Vail pass involved some dodgy maneuvers to get around slower riders and Sunday trail runners. I didn’t have any close calls, but given the recklessness of some riders, I knew there would be accidents and didn’t want to be around them.

Next came Loveland Pass (11,990 altitude, ~3000 ft over 12 miles). This one is a bit steeper than Vail Pass, with lots of switchbacks and amazing views of Keystone and A-Basin.The ride was back on actual roads, so you could safely pass. Now if you like to rip your legs off with a nice long high-cadence climb, this is a good one for it. Towards the top, you hit a whole series of shorter switchbacks that are just incredible. Coming over the pass, most of us stopped for a photo and to throw on warmer gear. The next few miles of descending were cold, steep and covered in menacing rain clouds (see the photo above and below). But it was also seductive. Yes seductive. With use of the whole road, I suddenly felt like a Tour de France leader, taking corners at breakneck speed, charging down the hill to some imaginary finish line.

When I reached the bottom where lunch was being served, it started to drizzle and I knew if I didn’t keep moving, I would get caught in an afternoon thunderstorm. I slammed some food, warmed up, and got out before the rain started. I heard later that it rained and a rider crashed out on the Loveland descent…his bike went over a ledge and exploded into a lot of little pieces. Really scary stuff, looking back on it.

Inline image 5
The rest of the ride from Loveland Pass to the base of Juniper was miserable. Although I avoided the rain, I was caught in a fierce headwind that seemingly crushed all forward progress. Fortunately, I met up with a super strong rider from Seattle and we traded turns in the wind. Both of us just wanted to get to the next climb, which seemed to be an eternity away (even though it was 25 miles of downhill!). There are few worse feelings than riding downhill and having to work for it. Nonetheless, it was refreshing to ride with an experienced cyclist who could crank the big wheel. We got into Idaho Springs, the lowest point on the ride, for one last break before taking on Juniper pass. The next climb would be the steepest and the hardest of the day.

Climbing up to Juniper Pass (11,140 altitude, 3600 ft over ~15 miles) was a transcendent experience because it was so steep and seemingly endless. We started at around 7,500 ft elevation where the weather was sunny and warm, passed through misty mountain rain clouds, and ascended up and up and up into a magical, almost surreal fog. About 2-3 miles into the climb, I was feeling all good and settled-in. All of a sudden some kid on a carbon cod-piece (who had been drafting my wheel) decided to challenge my lead and sprint up ahead. I can’t say I was surprised; I had slowed a little. But I decided I wasn’t going to let it stand. I grabbed his wheel, watched him slowly burnout, and dug deep for the next 12 miles.

By the time I reached Echo Lake, about 2-3 miles from the top, I must have passed hundreds of riders who all seemed to be spinning in place or doing switchbacks across the road. I think most people assumed I was doped to the gills because I was flying up the mountain like a man possessed. But I got a lot of encouragement and cheers from fellow riders, which was a nice change from the usual peloton banter of … “get out of my effing way!” or “dude, that’s not a lane”.
By the time I reached the top of Juniper, I was definitely drained. But I left enough in the tank so I could make a safe descent to the finish, which was just as steep as the climb up the pass and dropped about the same amount of elevation, ~3500 feet down to Evergreen. At this point in the ride, I just wanted to be done: Off the bike, no more pedaling, time for bed, lights out. In this state of mind, you start to rationalize really strange alternatives, like “if I fall over, at least I won’t be pedaling anymore”. There were two competing forces in my mind… the angelic white cyclist on my left shoulder told me “all the hard work is over, just enjoy the descent, stop worrying about beating people to the finish, you’ll be fine”. The demon cyclist on my right shoulder was like “f*ck it, you don’t deserve to be here unless you get into the drops and make this mountain your b*tch”.

So, I caved to the Angel of Darkness and took ~3500 feet of descending as fast as my body would allow, which was fine because that meant it would be tiring AND dangerous. Add in several miles of roadwork, many many sharp corners, lots of slower cyclists, and a goddamn fox (yes, a giant red fox walked out onto the road and gave me the finger) … let’s just say I earned my bike handling merit badge for the day.

I have to say, though, after biking across 3 mountain passes and reaching the finish line, it was really good to see Chuck there at the end. We had a big meal afterwards and caught up with a few friends of the shop.

So, would I do it again? Absolutely. 240 miles next time? Most likely, but they should really think about doing 120 as a qualified USAC race. Now that would be epic.

2013-08-08
Traveling Through Australia, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, and Japan, Summer 2013
After spending three months living and working in Antarctica with the United States Antarctic Program, I was dropped off in Christchurch in February, 2013, and spent the next three and a half months traveling up through Australia and New Zealand, around Southeast Asia, and finally up to Japan. It was an incredible opportunity, the trip of a lifetime, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

View Larger Map

All of my blog posts about Traveling Through Australia, New Zealand, SE Asia, and Japan, including most photos can be found at:

https://JeffreyDonenfeld.com/blog/tag/southeast-asia-travels-2013/

Related Media:
During my travels, I travelled technically alone – I wasn’t specifically traveling from the beginning with any other person. However, throughout my journey, I was rarely actually alone. I ended up meeting lots of fellow adventurers and locals in all of the countries I visited.

My very general route of travel was:
- New Zealand – Christchurch, Queenstown, Mt. Cook
- Australia – Sydney, Brisbane, Sydney
- Indonesia – Bali, Lombok, Komodo, Flores, Java, Jakarta
- Singapore
- Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur
- Thailand – Ko Lanta, Tonsai, Railay, Ko Pi Pi, Phuket, Bangkok, Kanchanaburi
- Myanmar (Burma) – Yangon, Laisho, Hsipaw, Mandalay, Bagan, Yangon
- Thailand – Chiang Mai
- Laos – Luang Prabang
- Vietnam – Hanoi, Halong Bay, Danang, Hue, Hoi An, Saigon
- Cambodia – Phnom Penh, Siem Reap
- Thailand – Bangkok
- Japan – Tokyo, Yokohama, Kyoto, Tokyo
Below I’ve written a few summaries on various topics from my travels, as well as linked to all major media items, and articles written about my time in each country.

Adventure Gear

After I was dropped off in Christchurch, I had about 50lbs of gear with me, spread out over three bags – my Black Diamond Quantum 55L backpack, my Deuter 30L backpack, and my Patagonia Black Hole 90L duffle. This was mostly gear for the climate in Antarctica, and a bunch of personal comfort stuff like books, magazines, hoodies, slippers, etc that made life at the south pole much more comfortable. Obviously it was way too much to travel with on my own – and luckily, it was easy to sent home. For 10 days after I arrived back in Christchurch, I was given access to the APO Post Office. The APO is a military post office, and provides users with postage rates similar to what you’d find domestically. So I packed up everything except for a few items, and sent it all home in a giant box – all for about $45.

I packed all of my travel gear in one single GoLite Jam 50L backpack. I had my father send me the backpack for pickup in Christchurch, and it was great. The Jam 50 is an ultralight, minimalist backpack, with just the right amount of space and features to make adventure traveling with it a pleasure. Once packed up, all of my gear weighed about 11kg, and included capability for me to go camping, swimming, hiking, and clubbing in cities. Everything fit in my GoLite backpack. When I needed a daypack, I simply emptied out the GoLite, cinched a few straps, and it was quickly the size of a daypack – very convenient.

Here’s a list off the top of my head of my travel gear:
- GoLite Jam 50 Backpack
- OR Running Cap
- Smartwool thin wool skull cap
- RayBan New Wayfarer sunglasses
- Patagonia wool/poly blend tshirt Blue
- GoLite Wool tshirt Red
- Arc’Teryx Black Polo Shirt
- Oliver Spencer X Monocle blue buttondown shirt
- J.Crew grey skinny tie
- Patagonia R1 Flash pullover black
- Arc’Teryx thin poofy jacket maroon
- Patagona Alpine shell black
- OR Convertable glove liners/thin shells black
- AG Protege jeans black
- Prana Stretch Zion pants grey
- prAna Men’s Linear Shorts“>Prana Linear swim trunks black
- Smartwool PHD socks low grey X2
- Smartwool urban hiker socks calf black
- Salomon XA Pro 3D Ultra 2 GTX shoes black
- Timberland Wodehouse Oxford shoes black
- Sanuk flippy floppies
- Patagonia silkweight boxer briefs X4
- Macbook Air 13
- Apple in ear headphones
- Camera Gear – discussed below
- Sea to Summit Micro MC2 Sleeping Bag
- OR Stuffsacks X3
- Thermarest Neo Air Regular Sleeping Pad
- SOL Emergency Bivy
- Esbit Titanium Fuel Tablet Stove
- Fuel Tablets
- Suunto Core Black/Black watch
- Apple iPhone 5 North America, Unlocked w/ Lifeproof case
- Toiletries
- Various other electronics and personal gear
- Sea to Summit 10L drybag
- Sea to Summit 1L drybag
- I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting, such as my Passport.
Photography

Photography was a BIG part of my trip, and one of my main hobbies while I’m traveling, or really doing anything. Since I was traveling alone and as light as possible, I had to strike a balance between high quality, versatility, shooting comfort, and weight. In the end, I decided to ditch my (somewhat broken) Canon 5dMk2 SLR, and instead went with just two small cameras – my Sony RX100 compact, and my Apple iPhone 5. Traveling with the Sony RX100 turned out to be great. I had loved shooting with that camera at the south pole, and shooting with it while traveling was just as good. It’s very small – I can fit it in the pockets of my jeans. Yet, it still has full manual control of all camera functions, and just barely enough hand controls on the body to make it relatively easy to handle while shooting. Additionally, the other extremely important factor for me while shooting was the responsiveness – and the RX100 is great with that – controls feel snappy and responsive, and the feel of pushing the shutter button is tight. Not quite as instant and seamless as the controls on my SLR, but pretty darn close. When I’m shooting with my SLR, I know it well enough and it’s responsive enough that I can easily stop paying attention to using the camera, and devote full attention to shooting photos. With the Sony RX100, I’d say I can get about 75% of the way to fully forgetting about the camera. Not perfect, but pretty darn good for a compact.

The RX100 takes great quality pictures, and I loved shooting on it. I shot mostly with it on Manual mode, taking RAW files. Occasionally i would have moments of laziness and shoot in Aperture priority or Program mode, but for the most part it was manual. Also, I assigned one of the settings memories to a low quality reference image mode – shooting JPG at a small picture size, full automatic, with a locked in high ISO of 3200. I used this mode for quickly shooting reference images, only for my use – pictures of descriptive signs, menus, receipts, business cards, maps, and other things I wanted to be able to refer back to while editing, but didn’t want to burn too much memory card space on. I didn’t delete any photos.

Being able to pocket the camera, and take it anywhere with me made for a very versatile setup. I could move around easier, and didn’t have to feel like I was sheparding it around, like I do sometimes with my SLR. Also, when I was shooting, it was much less obtrusive and obvious than a larger camera. People took less notice, and I could fit it into tighter spaces.

There were a few downsides to shooting on a high end compact. First of all, although the camera has good manual hand controls, it’s still not at the level of control of an SLR. Changing some settings just takes longer when you have to go find it in a menu. The buttons are responsive, but not instant like on my 5Dmk2. Button response makes a BIG BIG BIG difference when shooting in the field. Also, the fixed zoom lens on the RX100 is nice and bright wide open, but slows down when zooming. The zoom on the camera is fast, but it’s an electronic control. Having a consistently fast zoom lens with manual zoom controls like my Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8L is a distinct luxury. One final distinction with the smaller size is the smaller mass and moment of the entire camera. The RX100 is small and lightweight, and therefore it’s easy to move around and shake. Shakes are not what you want when taking photos – and because the RX100 is so light, there’s very little “buffer” to any hand shakes. It’s also physically small, so what little mass it does have is concentrated in a smaller space. In comparison, the 5dMk2, with the 24-70 lens is HEAVY, and with the long lens and overall larger dimensions, that weight is distributed over a larger area. That means that is naturally is more difficult to shake, so small hand shakes get somewhat buffered out. This may seem like a small detail, but it becomes hugely important when trying to handhold longer exposures, and trying to shoot with as low of an ISO as possible.

I traveled with my Apple Macbook Air 13″, and used Adobe Lightroom to organize and edit photos. Although I loaded all of my photos onto my Macbook, I also kept backup copies on the memory cards I was using – I didn’t erase any memory cards, and instead bought more memory when I needed to. This was a bit more expensive, but allowed me to keep two copies of my photos – one on my laptop and one on a small memory card, and still keep on shooting. When I traveled, I usually left my laptop back where I was staying, and carried my memory cards with me – SD Cards are relatively small and portable, and a few of the cards I used were MicroSD w/ an adapter, which is even easier to carry taped to a card in your wallet.

See my full set of photos from Asia on my Flickr Stream.

Adventure Travel Planning

Planning my various adventures and expeditions is usual something I’m very meticulous and calculating about. The trips I do are often times complicated and dangerous, requiring a high degree of advanced planning and consideration to make them work. However, for this trip, I did very little advanced planning. I got my job in Antarctica a mere 5 days departing, and then chose not to take the time while at the south pole to plan out my travels. By the time I arrived back in Christchurch, New Zealand, I had my next week of mountaineering with friends from the ice planned out, but that’s about it.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/jamfan2/9425891656/

The rest of my travels were done in the moment, based on what I was feeling at the time – and it was the absolute best thing to do. Since I was traveling alone, I had the freedom to meet anybody I wanted, and instantly modify my route when I felt like it. This opened me up to lots of fun possibilities, and great spur of the moment adventures.

I slept in lots of different places during my travels, and mainly kept to the budget end of things. In Bali, I was fortunate to be able to stay at my friend Jessica’s house for a while. I slept on a few boat, and lots of hostels, hotels, and guesthouses. At the beginning of my travels, I was usually making accommodation reservations a few nights in advance – however, as I traveled more, I transitioned to making bookings on the night of. I found that most hostels weren’t completely booked, and since I had a single lightweight bag, it was easy enough for me to walk around to find a cool place. This also allowed me to check out the “scene” of a place before I stayed there.

Since I was traveling alone, staying in hostels and hotels with active social scenes was a great thing for me. Places like Julie Guesthouse in Chiang Mai, Thailand have nice common areas with food and wifi, where fellow travelers meet up to talk about places to go and things to see. I’d meet lots of cool people this way – both groups, and other single travelers. Meeting people while traveling is easy, and I was very rarely doing anything alone.

Staying Connected

While traveling, it was essential to stay connected – both to other people I was traveling with, contacts I would be meeting up with, as well as my friends and family back home. I also updated this blog frequently while traveling, so I needed some sort of connection.

I carried two communications devices with me – my Apple iPhone5, and my Apple Macbook Pro 13″. Both were great.

My iPhone came from AT&T in the USA, however when I was in Sydney I found an online service that unlocked it for me – no need to jailbreak or anything, and I got my phone completely unlocked. So, with an unlocked GSM phone, I could easily buy SIM cards in most of the countries I went to, and stay connected on the local cell network. In Thailand especially, staying in touch was easy – I bought a SIM card for about $2, and then paid about $15 for unlimited 3G data access for 30 days. Since I mostly used data, and not text or voice, this was perfect.

On my phone, I relied on a number of apps to stay connected.
- Apple’s built in Mail app – For email, obviously
- LINE messaging – Keeping in touch with people mostly in Japan, Thailand, Vietnam via text, pics, voice messages.
- WhatsApp messaging – Keeping in touch with people mostly in USA, Canada, Indonesia, Australia.
- Foursquare – Checking out locations popular with other travelers and busy at the moment.
- Facebook – Keeping in touch with other friends, and friending new people met while traveling.
- Tripadvisor – Checking out mass market reviews of potential travel spots, and looking at the location guides for top attractions.
- CityMaps2Go – Super great app for offline maps – I downloaded maps I needed when I had a connection, and could then refer back to them when I was offline.
- BIG Text – Simple – displays text you type in big letters on your screen. Good for spelling out stuff for people, presenting confirmation numbers, etc.
My Macbook Air was a great resource – It’s very thin, lightweight, and strong – perfect for jamming in my backpack. And it’s also fast enough to use Adobe Lightroom with, and for web surfing and messaging. Although naturally I’d prefer a 15″ retina display for photos, the 13″ standard res display was adequate for traveling. After owning this computer for about 3 years, and traveling the world with it, it’s still in great shape.

I never ever felt the need for a tablet, and frankly feel like it’s completely unnecessary. I have my macbook with a full keyboard for typing out messages and doing photo editing and everything else you use a computer for. And then I have my iPhone for mobile computing and messaging. Movies can be watched on either. I really don’t see where I would need a tablet – it’s too underpowered and doesn’t have a full keyboard, so I can’t use it for the more intense messaging and blog posting, and it’s larger than a phone, so I can’t pocket it and have it everywhere. My Macbook Air is so smal that there’s no reason not to have it, given how much it can do.

Wifi was abundant almost everywhere, and in places with no Wifi, I could easily tether my macbook to my phone, and use my unlimited cellular data connection. Easy.

Blog posts from my recent travels, by country:

New Zealand
Australia
- Riding Waves At The Quicksilver Pro Gold Coast Surfing Championship
- Exploring Sydney, Australia
Indonesia
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Singapore
- Welcome To The Shopping Future: Singapore
- Arrival at Singapore’s Changi International Airport
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Malaysia
- One Day in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Thailand
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Myanmar (Burma)
Laos
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Vietnam
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Cambodia
Japan
2013-07-06
Kyoto, Japan

Kyoto, Japan – the final stop on my journey through Asia, and certainly a beautiful one. I had just spent 5 days in Tokyo with friends, and although I really really really loved Tokyo, I wanted to experience riding on the bullet train, and wanted to see the Japanese cultural capital of Kyoto.

Although Kyoto was very very beautiful, I only spent one day there – When I arrived, I realized that I really wanted more time in Tokyo, and would rather return to Kyoto when i could spend a lot more time, more than I had left in my trip. However, my one single day in Kyoto was beautiful – I got up early in the morning, took a bus to the north side of town, and then spent the rest of the day walking back to K’s House Hostel, where I was staying.

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To get from Tokyo to Kyoto, I took the Shinkansen bullet train – it was fast, and expensive! My dinner that night was a boxed dinner from a local vendor – nice and neat.

Temples, everywhere. All beautiful.
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As serenely beautiful as Kyoto was, there was also a huge amount of tourists on some of the main streets. Notably, there’s a huge business of selling boxed pastries and food items, pre-packaged to give as gifts. Also notably, it was at the end of the day on my day in Kyoto that my Sony RX100 camera died on me. I’m glad it hung in there until almost the end!
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After a day in Kyoto, I briefly returned to Tokyo, and then got on my flight to head back to the USA.

2013-06-27
Roadtripping from Tokyo to Yokohama

My friend Taeko was nice enough to come meet me in Tokyo, and after spending a few days there, her and I met up with another friend and the three of us set off by car down to Yokohama.

More vending machines for ordering at fast food joints!

Chinatown in Yokohama

My favourite drink!
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Our hotel by the beach..

2013-06-26
Pre-Dawn at the Tsujiki Fish Market, Tokyo

A quintissential activity for any traveler visiting Tokyo for the first time is a pre-dawn visit to the tuna auction at the Tsujiki Fish Market – and I did just that.

About 4 in the morning, trucks full of flash frozen tuna start arriving and offloading the fish into the auction house. Small forklifts zip around everywhere, and the area is full of activity from every angle.

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The group of 40 tourists who were allowed in every day wear green vests. We were then escorted from the main office building to the tuna auction floor. On the auctionhouse floor, tuna buyers walk around with small hooks and flashlights, peeling back a pre-cut piece of tuna flesh and inspecting the quality of the meat. This happens for about 20 minutes, and then the auctioning begins. It’s all very hectic and fast, and seems to accomplish its purpose. Before long, we were being ushered out again.

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After the tuna auction, I met a few other travelers, and the four of us sat down at one of the Sushi Bars inside the fish market. It was obviously the freshest sushi I’ve ever had.

Surrounding the fish market are all sorts of accessory dealers, including lots of custom knife shops.

2013-06-25
Tokyo, Japan

Japan, at long last. It was the #1 country on my to-do list for many years, and I was glad to finally make it there. Although Japan is obviously not part of the traditional Southeast Asia travelers route, I was able to get a 10 day stopover there as part of my USAP return ticket, and so it didn’t cost me anything to spend some time there. I also had a number of friends in Japan, so it was good opportunity to reconnect! My time was limited, but I tried to make the most of it.

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Tokyo is a massive city, and space is at an incredible premium. My first few days in Tokyo, I stayed at the Khaosan Capsule Hostel, which was great! A comfy common area, super cool staff, and cozy pods for everybody to sleep in. Although my pod was small, it was very clean and nice, and I loved staying there. That’s actually the vibe I got from Japan in general – everything is small, precisely engineered, clean, and nice. What a great combination.

One of the first stops I made was Akihabara, which is filled with electronics, video games, manga, and maid cafes. Certainly an interesting mix. I loved that each neighborhood in Tokyo had a unique flavor to it. Retail shops in Akihabara are filled to the max with whatever they’re selling. Ads are everywhere, and inventory is stacked as high as possible. In the electronics store Yodobashi, i spent hours playing with every single piece of camera gear imaginable. Paradise!

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I was fortunate to meet up with two friends in Tokyo – Toshi and Taeko. It was great reconnecting with them, and exploring the city with two super cool Japanese people! We had a great time.
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Making Takoyaki!

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Vending machines are everywhere, and sell anything you could ever want. This vending machine worked off one giant TV-sized touchscreen, and sold about 100 products.
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There are entire arcades willed with photobooths, which make all sorts of photos for people. Huge packs of girls show up together with full makeup on, and spend entire evenings takings glamour shots.
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Shibuya Crossing – very busy indeed!
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Checking out an expat bar with friends.
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Lunch counters in Japan are very very efficient. You order and pay from a vending machine, and then give your ticket to a cook who makes the food for you. No sitting, only standing for rapid turnover!

Japanese apartments are cozy and very nice. Perfect for hanging out with friends.
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2013-06-24
Back in Bangkok

After Cambodia, my next stop was Japan, but to get there, I had to make a brief trek back to Bangkok to catch my flight north.

Round 2 in Bangkok was a lot of fun. I met up with some friends I had met previously in my travels, saw a movie or two, and relaxed. I also unfortunately got quite sick, and spent a good amount of the time in bed.

After 3 days in Bangkok, I caught my flight to Japan, the final country in my trip.

2013-06-22
Exploring Angkor Wat, Cambodia

Angkor Wat, Cambodia – finally my opportunity to visit the world’s largest religious monument – and I was completely tired out and bored with visiting religious monuments. Initially the whole situation was a bit depressing – but it turned out better than I could have expected, and I had an incredible time exploring this epically large complex.

Angkor Wat was a place I definitely wanted to visit – however, I was burnt out on visiting monuments, and learning about random bits of history. I did, however, want to have a day of shooting photos there. So instead of hiring a tour guide, I paired up with local photojournalist George Nickels. George and I met up in Siem Reap early in the morning, and took a TukTuk over to the site in time to watch the sunrise. George had been to Angkor Wat countless times, and knew a few great places to take photos. I especially appreciated exploring the area with another fellow photographer – we both understood the time eachother needed to climb around and set up shots, and had incredibly productive conversation about photography while walking between sites. During my day shooting with George, I was using both my Sony RX100 and a borrowed Canon 60D. Unfortunately, the photos I took on the Canon were lost in transit, but I did recover a few shot on the RX100.

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From Wikipedia:

Angkor Wat (Khmer: ?????????) is a Hindu, then subsequently Buddhist temple complex and the largest religious monument in the world. The temple was built by the Khmer King Suryavarman II in the early 12th century in Yasodharapura (Khmer: ?????????, present-day Angkor), the capital of the Khmer Empire, as his state temple and eventual mausoleum. Breaking from the Shaivism tradition of previous kings, Angkor Wat was instead dedicated to Vishnu. As the best-preserved temple at the site, it is the only one to have remained a significant religious centre since its foundation – first Hindu, then Buddhist. The temple is at the top of the high classical style of Khmer architecture. It has become a symbol of Cambodia,[1] appearing on its national flag, and it is the country’s prime attraction for visitors.

Angkor Wat combines two basic plans of Khmer temple architecture: the temple mountain and the later galleried temple, based on early Dravidian Architecture, with key features such as the Jagati. It is designed to represent Mount Meru, home of the devas in Hindu mythology: within a moat and an outer wall 3.6 kilometres (2.2 mi) long are three rectangular galleries, each raised above the next. At the centre of the temple stands a quincunx of towers. Unlike most Angkorian temples, Angkor Wat is oriented to the west; scholars are divided as to the significance of this. The temple is admired for the grandeur and harmony of the architecture, its extensive bas-reliefs, and for the numerous devatas adorning its walls.

The modern name, Angkor Wat, means “Temple City” or “City of Temples” in Khmer; Angkor, meaning “city” or “capital city”, is a vernacular form of the word nokor (???), which comes from the Sanskrit word nagara (???).[2] Wat is the Khmer word for “temple grounds”, derived from the Pali word “vatta” (????).[3] Prior to this time the temple was known as Preah Pisnulok (Vara Vishnuloka in Sanskrit), after the posthumous title of its founder.[4]

Entering the site early in the morning

There were lots of tourists, but they were mostly tame so early in the morning.

Jockying for position for the

And my version of the pic.

Cruising into the rest of the monument with our TukTuk Driver.

Preserved carvings, surrounded by dense jungle.

Out of the many many temples in the area, most of them are open for exploration. There

George and I talked with a few of the monks and nuns in various temples, and collected a few good luck bracelets.

Brief periods of rain led to beautiful interiors, and colorfully wet exteriors.

Finally, our exit from the area, passing bikers, hikers, taxis, and tuk tuks.

And an afternoon spot of tea at a mens teahouse.

2013-06-18
First Things First in Siem Reap: Circus and Swimming

Two days in Phnom Penh, and then it was off to Siem Reap. Although my main activity in Siem Reap was to be exploring Angkor Wat, I did take time for a few other things.

First, a good friend of mine invited me over to the luxurious La Residence d’Angkor hotel. The hotel sits in the middle of town, and features a beautiful lobby, pool, and guest rooms. I had an amazingly relaxing afternoon there sitting by the pool.

That evening, after a haircut, I went over with a friend to the Siem Reap Circus, which was exotically fun.

2013-06-17
Entering Cambodia via Phnom Penh

Vietnam was great, and I really wish I could have spent much more time there. It’s certainly a country worth returning to. However, I was on a somewhat tight schedule, and still wanted to see Cambodia. I took a bus across from Saigon to Phnom Penh, and checked into the Mad Monkey Hostel in the middle of downtown.

First, and continuing impressions of Phnom Penh were good. The city is arranged on a neat grid, and while walking around, seemed significantly more cosmopolitan than I had expected. There’s a certain energy in the air, feeling like things are changing and improving everywhere. Lots of building projects are taking place, and people seem generally happy.

I only had two days in Phnom Penh, and made the most of my time.

On the evening I arrived, I took a walk across town to the Royal Palace – which was beautiful. On my way out, I noticed a few event tents being setup across the way, and went to investigate. It turned out that the Phnom Penh International Half Marathon was being run the very next morning, and I was just in time to register. I registered for the full distance, and immediately made my way back to the hostel to sleep.

Next morning, I woke up and ran the half marathon, which was great. Running a race through a new town was a great way to get to see everything, and I ended up doing fairly well.
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Later that day, I took a brief trip out to the gun range, visited the Killing Fields and S21, and then had a dinner at a rooftop restaurant. Phnom Penh was great, and the next morning I departed for Siem Reap.

More on S21 from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuol_Sleng_Genocide_Museum”>Wikipedia:

The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum (Khmer: ???????????????????????????????????????????) is a museum in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The site is a former high school which was used as the notorious Security Prison 21 (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge regime from its rise to power in 1975 to its fall in 1979. Tuol Sleng (Khmer [tu?l slae?]) means “Hill of the Poisonous Trees” or “Strychnine Hill”. Tuol Sleng was only one of at least 150 execution centers in the country,[1] and as many as 20,000 prisoners there were killed.

2013-06-14
Saigon, Vietnam

And my final stop in Vietnam was a quick two days in Saigon. I was feeling under a bit of a time crunch, but still wanted to at least get a brief view of Saigon. I flew from Hoi An to Saigon. Walking around the city was fantastic, and it certainly has a distinct character.

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2013-06-13
The Cu Chi Tunnels

What trip to Vietnam would be complete without a trip to visit the famous Cu Chi Tunnels? From Wikipedia:

The tunnels of C? Chi are an immense network of connecting underground tunnels located in the C? Chi district of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam, and are part of a much larger network of tunnels that underlie much of the country. The C? Chi tunnels were the location of several military campaigns during the Vietnam War, and were the Viet Cong’s base of operations for the T?t Offensive in 1968.
The tunnels were used by Viet Cong soldiers as hiding spots during combat, as well as serving as communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon caches and living quarters for numerous North Vietnamese fighters. The tunnel systems were of great importance to the Viet Cong in their resistance to American forces, and helped achieve ultimate military success.

I went with a few friends, and took the standard tour. Luckily, I brought my headlamp – always comes in handy.
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2013-06-13
Exploring Hoi An, Vietnam

Finally, I was in the famed city of Hoi An, Vietnam. I had heard of the town from a number of friends, and was excited to be there. Staying at the Sunflower Hotel was great, and gave me a great location to explore. Sunflower’s pool is fantastic!

At night, there are beautiful lanterns placed everywhere, illuminating the town in a soft, colorful light. The lanterns were certainly one of the highlights of Hoi An, and were sold everywhere. Sadly I didn’t buy any for myself – I’m saving that for next time.

Kids also sold a variety of smaller candle lanterns, which could be floated down the river. Beautiful.

On my second day there, my good friend Tran came to visit, and we explored Hoi An’s very crowded beach at sunset. Everybody bunches up on the beach near where vendors are selling food and drink, and it’s a lively party for everyone.

Hoi An has a bunch of very good quality tailoring shops, and I had two shirts made for me for $10/each. A great deal, for great quality shirts.
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2013-06-12
Biking from Hue to Hoi An, Vietnam

Next stop after Hue was our final destination of Hoi An, Vietnam. For this last leg, we rented motor scooters, and took to the open road.

Fueling up in the morning before departing town.

Out on the road, the views were beautiful.

For lunch, we stopped at the Langco Bay Banyan Tree Resort – a strangely desolated place which apparently fills up in seconds when package tourists arrive, and then empties completely when they depart. They did have a nice pool, though.

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Continuing on, we ascended up Hai Van Pass, before descending down the mountains towards Danang, and eventually Hoi An.
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Arriving at the Sunflower Hotel, finally in Hoi An.
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2013-06-10
Planting Rice

Hue, Vietnam is surrounded by rice paddies – and after literally months of seeing rice everywhere in SE Asia, I felt like I needed to know more. Through a few connections, I got connected with a woman who worked her rice paddies in a nearby village. I got driven out to her house, and then offered my services in planting rice in her field. We walked a short way out to the field, and planted rice for an hour or two. The work of planting rice was incredibly back breaking, and I now have a newfound respect for the people who work these fields.

2013-06-09
The Hue Imperial City

Next stop in Hue was the Hue Imperial Palace. From UNESCO:

Established as the capital of unified Viet Nam in 1802, Hué was not only the political but also the cultural and religious centre under the Nguyen dynasty until 1945. The Perfume River winds its way through the Capital City, the Imperial City, the Forbidden Purple City and the Inner City, giving this unique feudal capital a setting of great natural beauty.

Arriving at the entrance gate, the giant Vietnamese flag flying is a powerful symbol.

Inside the walls, corridors are elaborately decorated.

Naturally, I felt at home in the Imperial City, and decided to try on a few of my new clothes.

Outside the gates, this chicken stood guard over a busy intersection.
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2013-06-09
A Beach Bar in Hue, Vietnam

Hue was beautiful, in part because of the prime relaxation opportunities available – including this nice beach bar on an unnamed, pristine beach just outside of Hue, Vietnam.

To get there, we drove out to a spit of land, and then hiked through a shady bamboo tunnel.

The bar also has a few little cabanas to hang out in. Nobody really hangs out on the open sand – it’s so hot, feet get burnt in a matter of moments. But in the shade, drinks are served, and the cool breeze blows.

Smoothies and fresh caught clams. Yes please.

Down the beach a ways, there are a few fishermen, who sit in the shade under their beached boats during the hot midday sun and repair fishing nets.

2013-06-09