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The photos can be accessed by clicking the link on the right side of this page called "Photos from da Quest"

-Rock on

Enough Said

Jangan Duduk Disini

I got back from a week spent in my mom's hometown, Kota Bharu, with my grandma, aunt, and cousins. It was nice to spend one week there by myself for the first time in my life, but there were some things that occurred that I am not so happy about, however that's for another story. Last night I arrived to Kuala Lumpur to spend my last two days of my China/Hong Kong/Malaysia portion of THE QUEST with some more family. Today I actually went to see if I could go surfing in the middle of Kuala Lumpur, the city! I suddenly remembered this morning an article that came out in a surfing magazine a couple months ago about some pro surfers surfing a wave pool in Kuala Lumpur. I was actually able to find the exact same wave pool, but to get the waves that the pro surfers surfed, as described in the article, one had to pay $370 USD/hr. to rent out the whole place and crank the wave height up. I still tried to go surf there, but found out that you had to get there several hours early to reserve a spot because only 12 people at a time were allowed to surf the one hour surf session that occurred once a day. It turned out that the wave the pool produced was about half a foot high and the 12 surfers were crammed into a small surfing area. On the other hand, when I have $370 to waste, and for some insane reason I've decided I would rather go to some wave pool in Kuala Lumpur rather than fly to Indonesia, then yes it would probably be slightly fun. On a slightly different subject, I have gotten a hold of an ancient Chinese Kung Fu training manual (translated to english) on a skill considered to be a lost art of China. The ironic part is that when I asked people about this supposed Lost Art of China when I was in China they just laughed at my face. That's all I'll say at this point other than that I've been looking for a training manual for this skill for several years now and I am quite overjoyed.

Well I'll be home in about 2.5 days, so I'll talk to you all soon. I'm going to try and upload some photos to the internet that can be accessed by a link on the right side of this page.

PEACE, LOVE, and ROCK n ROLL

I have a Question for You! That's right for You!

Well today is my last full day in Hong Kong, and I have to say that I've really had an enjoyable week with my cousins, the Zweigs. During the week I've not only been treated to anything and everything, but they also suggested that I go see the "Big Buddha" which is located on an outlying island about 45min. away by ferry. At first I just kind of brushed it off, mainly because this week has been the first time I've really been able to sleep in for over 2 months! But eventually I realized that I'm not on this one year quest of sorts to master the art of sleeping-in, but to experience the world. So yesterday I set out to Lantau Island, and after a 45 min. ferry ride and then a half-hour taxi ride, by the craziest taxi driver in the world, up and down winding roads situated perilously high above the ocean, I made it to the Big Buddha. When I saw it my mouth kind of hung open for a little, while in my mind I was thinking, "wow, that's a big Buddha." The Buddha is the largest outdoor sitting Buddha in the world, and so I spent about 2 hrs. looking around taking photos. At one point the sun was in the perfect position such that the beams of light could be seen through the gaps between the fingers of the Buddha, and I took some pictures that turned out to look like the Buddha had a bright star in its hand. Then I went to visit Po Lin Buddhist Monastery, which was nearby, and then enjoyed a nice vegetarian lunch, now bringing me to my question.

Have you ever surfed in Hong Kong?

Beijing and the Beard

I'm in Beijing with my Dad right now, until tomorrow when I fly to Hong Kong, and let me just say that I am in complete heaven. After eating some of the most terrible food of my life (which could be based upon what I am about to describe) for two months, my father and I are being treated to meal after meal after meal by the heads of Beijing's medical University. I've eaten at the most famous Peking Duck restaurant in the world, Henry Kissinger ate there, and many other high ranking political officials from around the world. I've had traditional Northern Chinese HotPot, traditional Szechuan cuisine, and traditional southern Chinese cuisine. Also I've sipped tea while watching Peking Opera, been to the Forbidden city, been asked if I like Chairman Mao Ze Dong (haha...) and want to buy a book of his quotations, and climbed the Great Wall. It has been one amazing experience these past couple days in Beijing, not to mention the past 2.5 months! On top of all that, yesterday I shaved off my beard, which was looking quite Savage (in the words of Matthias son of Zeus) and Manly after not shaving for for 2 months, because I was told I had to look proper when I visit my grandma in Malaysia. All in all, I have had an amazing experience in China, and I will be sure to come back soon...very, very soon!

It's Snowing in China

Today is officially my last day at Kunyu Martial Arts Academy and thank goodness I didn't leave a day earlier than planned. It dumped snow here a couple hours ago turning the area into a winter wonderland. It was truly beautiful and I took advantage of the situation by taking several photos of me doing Kung Fu in the snow (I am truly sorry that I have not been able to upload any photos online, but China blocks the photo website that I would have uploaded it to). This evening I will meet my father in Yantai and enjoy a nice dinner. I'll have my first real shower in 2 months and then the next morning we'll wake up early so I can give him a tour of the martial arts academy. Then it's off to Beijing for 4 days. As I made clear in my previous post I have truly learned to love this area and can't wait till have another chance to come back. Talk to you all soon!

My Master Swung a Metal Pole against my Shin

Actually he just kicked me really hard with his shin (while doing a grappling move that could have potentially ripped my shoulder out), which is basically a metal pole because he's been conditioning his shins for about 36 years by kicking trees with it. Let's just say that you would know how much it hurt if you heard the sledgehammer-like sound he makes when he kicks trees, punches trees, beats trees to a pulp, etc.
The truth of the matter is my time at Kunyu Martial Arts Academy is drawing to a close. Soon it will be airplanes, cell phones, and the hustle and bustle of normal life. My time here could only be described with a feeling of contentment. Even though I feel I could have tried harder, suffered more pain, and learned more I feel that I have truly done my mind and body a lot of good. I've learned Plum Flower Mantis Boxing in the region where the Praying Mantis System was born, I've read Lao Tzu's Tao de Ching and pondered life and its necessities where Taoism was born, and above all else I've come to a state of inner peace in one of the most beautiful places in the world. I wake up every morning to the Kunyu Moutains in the distance, to roosters crowing, and to the farmhands walking to work. This place has inspired quite a lot of lyrics and music, and has inspired me in so many different ways. So much so, in fact, that I am already drawing on the possibility of returning here next March or April, but that's not set in stone yet.

Even though this place has really grown on me, what I guess I'm saying is I will see you all very soon, and can't wait to be home.



---Also, I have decided to offset the amount of carbon I have and will burn throughout my travels via an organization called Carbon Fund (http://www.carbonfund.org) and I encourage you all to do the same. It is a lot less expensive than you would think, and can apply to airplane travel, automotive travel, home and office energy, and everything in between. Basically an inexpensive/cost-effective way for you to prevent global warming, and preserve the beautiful world we live in.


PEACE, LOVE, and ROCK n ROLL

So Sorry

Hey everyone, how is it going? It's been awhile I know. The internet has been out at our academy for the past week and a half with sudden moments when it does work for about half an hour scattered in between. Also, the power blew for about 12 hours yesterday Afternoon-Night, the water stopped working for awhile, and then the sewage got screwed up...anyways, all in a weeks stay at Kunyu Martial Arts Academy. I've been really working hard in the past week our two developing power, flexibility, and strength. Also I have progressed quite a lot with Mantis Boxing and I have found out that the style of Mantis taught here is called Plum Flower Mantis Boxing, which is supposedly more deadly than Seven Star Mantis, for those of you who know what that is It's also been getting really cold here, and as the seasons change it seems tensions have been getting worse. Recently I have been losing a lot of respect for my master, well actually especially today. A lot of the people complain in my class that he doesn't teach us enough or fast enough for the amount of money we pay, but the truth is he wants us to earn a new move or a new form which I have no problem. He is extremely disciplined most of the time and several times he has talked about how his master beat him or how a man came to buy the move list of the most advanced mantis form off of his master, and his master refused, which I think is really good. However, several things have turned me off my master recently. First off, I asked about Qing Gong (the art of lightness, a true art that has been documented and where wire kung fu movies like Crouching Tiger came from) which is considered a lost art of China (as in the Chinese government got rid of everything pertaining to it), and he replied that it takes many years of Qi Gong practice to develop such a skill, but he also said if there were Qing Gong masters why wouldn't they be playing basketball for China. In my opinion, someone who has spent so much time and effort practicing Qi Gong and focusing their mind and body wouldn't be interested with the money involved with basketball. He has done a lot of other things that I really didn't think he would do, like laugh at less advanced students, but mainly he has been giving off a lot of negative energy lately. Maybe it's due to the change of seasons, I don't know.
On a brighter note, my Qi Gong has been developing immensely. I have been practicing near to 4 hrs. every day and can really feel the energy. Just yesterday, for the first time, I really felt like I was entering emptiness. My pain faded and I began to see things with my third eye, INTENSE. This is not some kind of scam all this seeing and feeling energy people talk about, it really works. The other day I also feel I have developed my own Qi Gong method to increase energy. We were doing our usual meditation in Mantis class and I felt like a flame was coming off of my body, and for some reason my hands began to drift upwards towards the sun. Then after a few more minutes of Qi Gong breathing I felt like a fire tornado was shooting out of my body, and I really started sweating. I also realized that my body had taken on a stance similar to the Chinese symbol of fire (thus I've dubbed this method Fire Qi Gong). I felt immediate energy, but decided it would be best to balance it with a more peaceful Qi Gong posture, and the moment I changed I began to sweat less, but I still felt the energy coursing through my body. It was some pretty weird stuff, I was willing to believe it at first, but the evidence is all there so I dunno.
Anyways, I am sitting here at my desk, the sun has just dipped down past the Kunyu Mountains, where Taoism was born, right outside my window and I am thinking of all of you.

PEACE, LOVE, AND ROCK and ROLL

I'm Eighteen

Well I turned 18 this past Friday...it was AWESOME.
On Friday our entire academy had to climb Kunyu Mountain, the tallest mountain in the area, which is basically a 15 km trek from our school. It took several hours, but with the help of MAN power, I reached the summit, exhibiting my manliness for all to see. The next day I awoke at 4:50 am to get to a bus I would be taking, with some friends, to the port city of Qingdao which about 4 hrs. away. We dropped our bags off at a youth hostel that cost $3/night and went out to see the town. We actually didn't end up sleeping at the hostel at all, except for a slight power nap, and pretty much stayed up the entire night. The World Cup Final of Rugby between England and S. Africa was on, and because 4 of the 5 people I was with in Qingdao are English, we stayed up to watch it live at sports bar, the game started at 3 am in China, haha. Another really amazing thing we experienced was we stumbled upon a Chinese tea house, where they served tea in the traditional Chinese tea ceremony fashion. When waitress who pours the tea for you begins the ceremony for the next hour or so she her hands meticulously and with the looks of a martial artist. It was truly an experience, and the tea was amazing. Anyways I've been up for over 40 hrs. straight now, with on 3.5 hrs. of sleep prior to that, so I am going to go to bed. Goodnight, I miss you all.

LETTER

Here is an e-mail I wrote to my Uncle that basically sums up how I'm doing out here in China. I apologize for any informalities in the language and any inside jokes you may not understand:

Haha, well I'm going to be beginning my 4th week at Kunyu Mountain Shaolin Martial Arts Academy in China. The living quarters are quite dismal, but other than that the training is great. I am studying Mantis boxing at the moment, and my master likes us to train in the mountains above our academy where we at least once or twice a week I have to condition every part my arms by beating them against trees. I feel that my progress has been amazingly fast, probably due to my previous kung fu experience. I've made lots of friends here at the academy, and have become resident translator for when we go out, so my conversational Chinese skill has been increasing exponentially.

I’ve also been constantly thinking of new riffs, because I brought that traveler guitar with me, and recording them on my computer. Also, my first week and a half, I ways having major writer’s block, probably because for the first week and a half I was at the academy it didn’t stop raining. But after the sun came back out, the lyrics began to flow. I have a sweet journal I’ve been writing in. I also completed that basic Buddhism book, and have began reading Lao Tzu’s Tao de China, which is some really deep stuff. It took me a week of pondering to understand the first poem! Anyways, I’m really glad that I came to China to study Kung Fu. I’m surrounded by mountains, and the mountain we actually run up and down every Friday and have my mantis class at is one of the holiest places in Daoism, the cave of the 8 Immortals is right there. In fact Daoism was actually born in this area of the Kunyu Mountains, so that is really cool. You can be training kung fu in the mountains, and you see a Daoist monk pass by, and then you realize he is chatting away on his cell phone, haha. Talk to you soon Uncle J.


MUCH LOVE TO EVERYONE, I MISS YOU ALL VERY MUCH

Miss You

Oh and just so everyone knows, I miss you all very very very very...very...VERy MUCH!

fall

Fall has finally set in here at Kunyu 4 seasons Mountain Resort. Overnight it has dropped close to 10-15 degrees F. I'm starting my third week here and its really flown by. A couple, Garry and Claire, that I became really good friends with during my short time here left this morning, putting a damper on things because they were in the center of most of my friends here. Another thing, when we go out here I've become the Translator, which is pretty funny because my Chinese is pretty crappy. Oh another thing, I went to a DVD shop with some friends where each DVD costs about $1. Haha, oh and the other day I finally broke through my writer's block and wrote some lyrics. It's been pretty depressing not being able to write. And I've just me recording every riff that comes to my mind onto my computer. Well I'm out for now, PPPPEEEEEEAAAAACCCCCCEEEEEEE.

First week

Well as my first week comes to end, I must admit I am quite happy with my initial experience. I mean yea (you'll be able to understand this better once I start uploading pictures) the facilities are pretty crappy, and yea that's pretty much the worst part. Other than that I mean I'm kept busy training 3 times a day, and I'm pretty tired at night so I sleep relatively well. I haven't got sick yet, which is a real good sign because people here say that people usually get sick the first week off of the crappy food they serve, so yea. E-mail me at dakine89@mac.com if you want to leave a message because the Chinese government doesn't allow it's people to log onto blogs just incase people are saying bad things about the government, some free speech huh? Anyways, my last session for today consists of running up and down a mountain four times, later peoples. PEACE

Here I am

Hey so here i am at the kung fu place. you know its not the greatest accommodation, in fact it makes our house look like a palace, but what did you expect. its nice, peaceful, and simple. anyways, the training is tough, three sessions per day, and should whup me into shape right quick. a lot of the people here are from england and surprisingly it is they're first time doing kung fu. i chose to do mantis boxing, which is awesome, and some of the fundamentals are different from my kung fu, so that part is kinda hard. I'm in a class with 4 other people, some who have been at the school for almost 5 months, so they're good. the mantis master watched my stretching and i demonstrated a traditional shaolin form and he recognized that i was really good, so he did a week's worth of training with me in the first morning class. my leg's are really aching. then we did qi gong for like half an hour, and then it was lunch. in about 2 hrs. we have one more session of training and then relaxation, although it'll probably pass out reall soon.

Chinese Factory

I went to China yesterday for the first time in my life. It was with my cousin Joy and her designer for her company. They make office supplies, and all other kinds 'o stuff with Swarovski Crystals, I still don't understand what the big deal with them is, but anyways, they sell a lot of their stuff to huge brands in the US like Target, Sears, Wal Mart, so when you buy stuff there, you are actually buying my cousins product. So she was checking out a new factory yesterday because she wants to start doing woodwork. The thing is I've never been to a factory before, and it was pretty sad. All these people who work hours, and hours every day, just to get enough money to get by, and a lot of them were my age, it really makes you think. Joy even said that that factory was one of the better ones she's been to, and that a lot of Chinese factories just have terrible conditions with child labor, dirty water on the floor, no windows,and really hot conditions. I can't imagine going to one of those factories. On a happier note, my time with my cousins has been real great and they've been really kind. Tonight I might go out on the town with this girl who is one of my cousin's older friend's who is my age, super rad. Later gators.

I'm in Hong Kong

Well, about 27 hours ago (including lay overs, etc.) I started my journey and I'm now in Hong Kong with my Cousins the Zweigs, after of course a 5 hr. flight to San Francisco and then a 13 hr. flight to Hong Kong. On the Hong Kong flight, for some reason the row of chairs in front of my row was taken out so I got close to 5 ft. of leg-room, sick gnarly brah! Not so sick is the fact that there were crappy movies playing over and over again the entire flight. Two weird things. One when I was walking through the airport, there was this guy walking next to me with a hat on, and an angry security guard made him take it off, and the other thing is that I am pretty much the tallest person in Hong Kong. Aight, then peace out.

Its official

I'm officially leaving my house in less than 4 hrs. I'm friggin pumped like none otha. I got a little bit sad today as I started to realize that I was going to be leavin real soon, but I'll be back in 2 months so it's only like I'm going to camp or some'n some'n. Well, that's all for now, and if all goes well my next post will be while i'm in Hong Kong ba Jong Jong. Keep on keepin on.

And So It Begins

I hope that you are extremely excited because this post means the birth of something real, something spectacularly amazing, and frankly something way awesomer than anything I've ever done. I've deferred my admission to Cornell University on the basis of taking a year off to hop-scotch around the world in a schooner called the Flying Walabee. I will be using this blog to describe the happenings of my journey, and to post links to photos I've taken. My first stop will be Asia, in which I will visit Hong Kong, study chinese and kung fu under Shaolin Monks in a school that actually has a webpage (www.chinashaolins.com), and then off to Malaysia. Until I'm about to leave, that is alll. Peace out.