"It should not be denied... that being footloose has always exhilarated us.
It is associated in our minds with escape from history and oppression
and law and irksome obligations, with absolute freedom,
and the road has always led West."
— Wallace Stegner

As I'm preparing to head off for a long backpacking trip through southeast Asia..

It is now time for me to go through a few check list... Let's review the basic with my dear Lonely planet...

TOP 10 WAYS TO LOOK LIKE A SOUTHEAST ASIAN VETERAN

1-Never bump your head climbing into and out of local transport trucks.

Oh come on.. been there, done that!
Bemos, betchak, local bus, economic train (the one that even local people avoid)
Name it, I master it.

2-Sniff out an internet connection in the remotest town

Easy.. my greatest achievement was probably to find a connection in the Tiger Leaping gorge..
the kind of place you don't even expect to find a place to sleep or to eat.. so let alone a computer.

3-Use mosquito repellent as deodorant.

Well, actually it is now my first beauty care of the day (as well as the last one).
Try to eat everyday by the riverside of a pungent canal which smell like death.. with so many mosquitoes
buzzing around you, that you'd do anything so there can be a few drop of blood left in your body at the end of the day.

4-Forsake proper English grammar for local pidgin.

That mixed with a bit or chinese or bahasa indonesia.. as well as hand gesture
and even sometimes a few drawing.. can literaly get you anywhere!

5-Walk through a pack of stray dogs without flinching.

And I would add also through rats, giant spiders, angry monkeys, leeches..
The list can go on forever.

6-Sleep through all-night karaoke parties.

As well as chinese's new year parties with fireworks right under your window (all night long...)

7-Squat bomber style on Western toilets

That's when you start to think that there is no such thing as a mandi, and that it's a real luxury
(bucket full of water with a plastic bowl to wash you)

8-Sit down to a banana pancake breakfast and reach for the fish sauce

Actually I would maybe go for the ketchup manis,or even maybe for the hot chilli pepper..

9-Be able to recount more than one « I almost died » story.

Three.. yeah I would say at least three.. but then after a while you stop counting.

10-Pose for group photos with complete strangers

A minimum of 3 times a day (can go up to 50times when being in touristic places)
and I've spend 5month in China and now almost 6month in Indonesia.. I let you count.

sea of clouds, 5:30am while watching the sun rise over Mt Bromo on Java Island

In two weeks, two little weeks I'll be packing and moving out my apartment in Surabaya.

The end of my exchange at the University of Ubaya.. but not yet the end of my adventures here in Indonesia

After 4month of 'intensive studies', I will now be backpacking through Asia for a whole month and half.

So even though I should be working on a bunch of essay about the World Trade Organization

or making a few Marketing Plan about the French Festival here in Surabaya or any other damn product..

I'm now spending quite a lot of time with my new bible, that is to say my 'Lonely Planet :Southeast Asia on shoestring'.

Have to make research about malaria treatment, flights and boat connection between all the islands.

Not always easy to pick a destination between the wild Sumatra, the Borneo, the beautiful Sulawesi,

the Komodo island, Lombok as well as Malaysia and Thailand.

Two weeks, two little weeks and then the real story can begin!

(oh, and while you're here.. don't forget to check on my flickr account : http://www.flickr.com/photos/texanya/)

Marleen, pic also taken on that morning watching the sunrise over Mr Bromo

Dans deux semaines, deux petites semaines et les bagages seront à nouveau à faire pour quitter notre appart' ici à Surabaya.

La fin de mon semestre d'échange à Ubaya, mais certainement pas la fin de mes aventures Indonésiennes!

Après 4 mois 'de cours intensifs', il est maintenant temps de traverser

l'Asie du Sud Est le sac à dos sur les épaules pour tout un mois et demi.

Même si la priorité devrait être donc à mes dissertes sur l'Organisation Mondiale du Commerce

ou bien entre autre à la création du plan Marketing pour le Festival des films français à Surabaya...

Je passe bien plus de temps avec ma nouvelle bible, j'ai nommé : le Lonely Planet: Southeast Asia on shoestring.

Ai tout un paquet de recherches à faire sur les traitements contre la malaria, les vols et les connection en bateau entre toutes les iles..

Pas toujours facile de choisir une destination entre la sauvage Sumatra, Bornéo,

les mythiques iles Sulawesi, 'ile Komodo, Lombok, ainsi que la Malaysie ou bien encore la Thailande.