Archive for December, 2010

Getting back on my list of My Stupidities of 2010 Part 1 and Part 2; it’s time to wrap it up on the final day of the year.

Stupidity Number 3:

When flying back from Amsterdam to Phnom Penh I had a really bad flight on the first leg to Kuala Lumpur. I couldn’t sleep at all on the plane, making me this totally tired traveler walking around Kuala Lumpur International Airport on my way to the gate for the next flight to Phnom Penh. I sat down right next to the entrance, almost being able to touch the security x-ray machines and fall asleep.

Only to wake up hours later in a totally deserted area. The screens were showing how my connecting flight had already left an hour ago! Stupid me! Did nobody see that sleeping guy next to the gate’s entrance? My luggage was taken off the flight, but I guess nobody bothered to wake me up to ask if I needed to be on that flight. It wasn’t that I was not at the gate or something.

Oh bummer! So I went to the desk of the airline, where they told me that I had indeed missed my flight. My luggage could be picked up at the handling station downstairs and I could get on a next flight – the next morning! That wasn’t going to work out for me at all, as I was supposed to arrive in Phnom Penh today. Seriously, my cat was on that flight to Phnom Penh and I wasn’t! I HAD to be in Phnom Penh today to pick up this pretty jet lagged cat and feed him something!

So I stormed to the desk of AirAsia, knowing that they still had a flight scheduled for later in the afternoon. I paid some $60 for this flight, got the tickets and a ride to the other airport. As AirAsia didn’t actually fly from Kuala Lumpur Int Airport, but from some smaller air field about 30km out of town. Oh well! I made it. Arrived in Phnom Penh before nightfall and got my cat safely from the cargo terminal. Before finally heading home.

Lesson learned: do never fall asleep before boarding time of your air plane. It doesn’t matter if you are at the gate or not…

Stupidity Number 4:

It’s less of a big story, but how stupid could I be earlier this year. I was about to visit a friend of mine in the North of The Netherlands and enjoy some festival for a few days. Before taking off I had to fill up the gas tank of my car for this ride. At the gas station they told me their pin-machine was broken and they could only accept cash.

No problem, so I drove to an ATM and got myself €70 of cash. That could easily save me for a few days up North too. I took my card back, jumped back into my car and headed back to the gas station. Once there I looked into my wallet and – right! I didn’t take the money from the machine!

I guess I was so excited for this 2.5 hours drive and the coming week, that I totally forgot to take out that €70 from the ATM! I did drive back to the machine, but I guess I made someone else very happy with my donation. I had to get another €70 from the machine and felt so bloody stupid.

Stupidity Conclusion:

From all these big stupidities of mine in the last year I now can draw a few conclusions: 3 out of 4 stupidities end up with me in a car.
All of them involve some form of transport or traveling.

I traveled quite a bit in 2010 and I won’t stop doing that in 2011 for sure, but I do now know that I should eliminate driving a car as much as I can in 2011. It just makes me do stupid things.

Really.

The following event can be mapped at the top of the most stupid things I have done myself in this year, as the number two on My Stupidities of 2010, following number one which took place in Australia during a road trip with my best friend Antal in our van named Jack.

Stupidity Number 2:

Let’s stay in Australia, because that trip was quite an adventure. Every night we’d ride into an unknown town to find a place to camp. Most times it was at commercial caravan parks, but sometimes we could also just park our van in a communal park that also provided shower and toilets.

Perfect.
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At the end of the year you’ll see that many blogs are popping up their year lists. About the things people or companies have achieved in the past years. Followed by predictions of what to come in our near future.

I myself wanted to start off with a different kind of list, so that’s how you end up reading the first session of my year lists: My Stupidities of 2010 in a list.

I had to think about it for a while, but ended up with the following events that can be posted at the top of the most stupid things I have done myself – personally – in this year.

Stupidity Number 1:

In April this year I went on vacation to Australia. Together with my Dutch best friend Antal. Together we bought ourselves a nice van (which we named Jack – naming your car was supposed to bring good luck) and drove the entire stretch from West coast Perth to East coast Sydney in only four weeks.

Hold on, road tripping Australia is absolutely not a stupid thing to do!
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Following up on an earlier post of August 14 this year…

Let me tell you about my latest adventure. I exchanged The Netherlands for Cambodia and moved to Phnom Penh. This is how I realized that.

On September 14, 2010, I flew to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia.

I stayed three nights at a guest house to recover from the inevitable jet lag and the humid climate. But also to go on a quest to my own spot: an apartment, preferably with two bedrooms.
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