The party crasher

My birthday last year was pretty hard to beat. I’d been traveling around Asia for almost three weeks, and the big day itself was spent on a junk in Halong Bay, Vietnam drinking Jim Beam, smoking a Cuban, and watching the sun set over the karsts.  And I may have  sung The Lonely Island’s “I’m on a Boat” more than once.

Hey, where's T-Pain?

I thought last year’s wish list was pretty basic - a beautiful location, a. little bourbon, that’s not much to ask for, right?

Well, this year, I’m simply hoping for electricity and running water.  I’m currently in my hometown in Alabama, and there happens to be this pesky little hurricane that is threatening to crash my birthday celebration.  Ok, it’s not like I’ve been planning an actual celebration, but I have been planning on showering, running the air conditioner, and maybe eating a cupcake.  But Isaac has to be the punk little party crasher, with his 90-mph winds and 6-foot storm surge.  Showoff.

So we will see what happens.  But either way, there will most certainly be candles.  It’s just a matter of whether or not I’ll be in total darkness after I blow them out.

Party on, Wayne.

Party on, Garth.

Party on, Isaac. 

Halong Bay does not suck

Dan and I spent a day and night relaxing (and recovering from from the happy water, hiking, and chickens of Sapa) on a junk boat in the middle of Halong Bay, which is famous for its hundreds of karsts sticking up out of the water.  We had the opportunity to kayak through small caves and swim in the water, which coated us all with some kind of brown crap.  But hey, that's what showers are for, and neither of us seems to have caught anything funky from it.  This a gorgeous place that demands you sit down and enjoy its beauty, and may or may not demand the enjoyment of a good Cuban cigar with it.