Be Careful When Camping In Oahu

The great thing about being a vagabond with no obligations is being able to have a flexible schedule and flying on whatever day is cheapest. I was able to find a special deal to Oahu, Hawaii for $192 one way from San Diego! the only condition was that I had to leave on a Monday in November(it was October at the time)and that was no problem for me. Hawaii is in the middle of ocean and for such a big distance that was a cheap flight.
I had actually originally planned on going toward Europe, however, It didn't matter exactly where I go to me and I decided to take the flight deal to Hawaii.

I was wondering if someone would put those flower necklace things around my neck when I excited the plane but no one did.  :(

Oahu is a very touristy island. It is sometimes called The Gathering Place because that island has the most people on it compared to the other Hawaiian islands. I flew there with no reservations and my plan was to camp to save money. 
It seemed like a good idea since the island has a lot of nature and beach, however, I had quite a bit of trouble with it at first. It can be done and be enjoyable, however, there are a few things to keep in mind especially in Oahu. 

1. Territorial 
Practically everywhere I looked in Oahu had some type of No Trespassing signs. I have never seen so many No Trespassing signs anywhere else in my life! Every house and even forests seemed to Always have one of those damn signs. Certain public parks were also forbidden to be in after a certain time at night.

2. Mountains may be further than they appear

I had a terrible first day in Hawaii. I wasn't even going to write about it on this blog because I'm a little bit embarrassed but I just now changed my mind. 
I made a spontaneous decision after getting off the plane to walk to some mountains I saw in the distance. Those mountains were a lot further away than I expected.
I thought that because I could see the nature in the distance that it couldn't be TOO far away and also that I was tough and could walk a far distance and was in the mood for a long walk anyway.
I felt like I was so cool to be wandering around without a plan because I was a Real traveler! but then I eventually felt stupid and frustrated. It took me all day to get over there. I was also carrying my backpack and it was hot. I finally arrived where the nature was but there was one problem.. I was unable to get to it. Along those hills were houses everywhere and although the place I needed to be was right in front of me, I couldn't get there without going through someones backyard first!  I would definitely be seen or heard if I climbed over someone's backyard fence! I looked for a path or opening of some kind but it was a long hopeless road of houses, fences and No Trespassing signs. 
I was exhausted and shortly before the sun started to set, I was able to find a decent spot to sleep. It was near a bridge and a stream, however, I could not find anywhere that wasn't within eyesight of someone's house. I stayed quiet and hidden within the trees, bushes, and darkness. 

The next morning I woke up early and decided to go back to the airport and pretend that I had just arrived.

3. It rains.. A Lot

I took a few buses around the island and learned where they go and how to get around. I decided to take a bus to a beach and explore and find a good camping spot. I got off the bus in a small surfing town called Haleiwa. I thought it was funny that it had an organic health food store and a McDonalds right next to it. It was a nice town with a big park and many surfers. There was plenty of woods and nature around to hide my backpack in and I took a very long walk along that beach.

It was a great beach to explore. I walked very far away from the town and also saw a few sea turtles along the way.
Also I came across giant bubbles!

Oh, yeah. now about the rain part. 
I wandered far along that beach. I was surprised that I didn't make it to another town. Finally, the sun started to down as I was walking back towards Haleiwa. I was still probably 1 mile away from the town when I came across some sorta survival hut that someone built from wood and palm branches. Nobody was in it and it looked a little worn down.
There was nobody around me. I was alone in the dark and listened to the waves. I felt so free. The temperature was comfortable and there was a cool breeze. I laid on the soft sand and began to drift asleep.
Later in the night, I was awakened by a sudden downpour of rain! I hadn't yet pitched my tent in that area. I quickly went inside that structure that was near me but it didn't help much. The rain was heavy and easily passed through the leaves. In hardly anytime at all, I was soaked. That was a long terrible night of being wet and cold..  Fuck!
I quickly learned that it rains a lot there. It rained every night for at least some amount of time while I was on Oahu except in Waikiki for some reason? but everywhere else on that island It always rained sometime in the night.

4. Hide!

When I first arrived to Hawaii, I was still very early in my travels and had a lot to learn. OK, the mountains and the rain incidents were tough lessons but now everything is going to great! .. well, so I thought but yet again I made another mistake. -____-  

Well, actually I did pretty good, almost. the next few days were great.
I was shocked when I learned of the strict camping rules in Hawaii! Camping on the beach is not allowed. Also camping in the woods is not allowed. The only way to legally camp in Oahu is to pay $ at a campground or the sidewalk. Yes, it was technically legal to camp on the sidewalk. But I'll save my thoughts on all the homeless politics for another blog post. The point is I needed to be hidden.
In the daytime there was sometimes a few people walking on the beach and I wanted to stay out of sight from everyone. I was about 1 mile away from the town and around nothing but nature. Behind the beach was a vast forest.

here's some pics of those woods and the area I was camping in..

It was beautiful and I found a great secret camping spot in those woods. But of course the whole forest was Government Property and I wasn't even suppose to be in them.
But I wasn't hurting anything and I camped in that spot for the next 4 days.

I bought Virgil's Root beer from the health food store. I like Virgil's Root beer.. A lot

But as I was laying in my tent one morning, something terrible happened.
Suddenly, I heard footsteps outside and a voice said "hello".
I poked my head out the tent door. It was a man who worked for the government. He seemed angry and told me he that if I wasn't in my tent he had a right to take my stuff because I was camping on government property. He asked for my I.D. and I didn't argue with him.
He seemed mean at first but somehow I was able to have a friendly conversation. I started asking him questions about his job and he seemed to enjoy hunting down campers like he was some kind of badass bounty hunter or something. When I told him I had been there for 4 days already he was surprised that he had not found me for so long.
The reason he did find me was because he could see the blue of my tent through the trees while driving on a back road through those government owned woods. 
Before I left home to go travelling I bought a cheap tent from a Walmart. I didn't care or put any thought on the color. But now I know that it's super important to always Get a green tent! not a blue one!

This picture isn't of the spot I was caught in but I'm using it to emphasize the importance of a green tent. This was my tent that I had on the early part of my journey.

That government guy also told me that the survival structure someone built from wood and leaves would get torn down because sleeping in any type of structure is considered Camping. The beach however is public and is perfectly legal to be on it and at any time of the night or day.. just can't put up a structure. That pisses me off!

The government and the very frequent rain make makes it very difficult to sleep anywhere without a tent or a structure of some kind.

The man put my information from my I.D. into a computer and took a picture of me. He said I would get fined if caught again.

He also said that I could sleep there 1 more night and to leave by the morning.

I was surprised to have been found and also that people get paid to stop people from camping. As I walk along that beach sometimes I see a few other people camping too, like couples for example but I was farther from the town and more hidden than other campers I saw.

A few minutes after the government guy left, he came back and asked "hey, you're not gay are you?" It seemed like a strange and random question to ask. "no" I said. He then told me that someone was on the beach looking for some gay guy. His eyes opened wider and he said "he don't like gay people". Then he told me that he came back to make sure I wasn't gay for safety and he left again..

Well it sucked that I could no longer stay at my special camping spot. I enjoyed it for 1 last day.

I had mixed feelings toward him. I thought that guy seemed alright and appreciate that he let me stay another night and came back to check if I was gay but I really don't know why it's such a big deal to lay on the ground with a structure over my head.

I felt discouraged and defeated but I realized the mistakes I had made.

Also, another thing to keep in mind is that if I had taken the tent down in the daytime and pitched only in the darkness of night, then I know I wouldn't have been caught. At least not in the woods surrounded by trees.

I didn't camp for a few days after that. But eventually I regained my confidence and determination and was super cautious. Even if that meant digging a giant hole. I camped several more times in different spots around that island and did not get caught again.

By the way, hostels in Hawaii are about $30 a night!

that's expensive for a hostel. 

I probably should have sent couch requests on Couchsurfing.org before going to Oahu but I didn't expect camping to be so damn difficult! It was easy when I was at Niagara Falls.

Well, Actually I'm grateful for these experiences.

Good Times in Tijuana, Mexico

I was in San Diego, which is right next to Mexico. I couldn't go to San Diego without going to Tijuana too! But I really didn't want to go there alone.
After all it is a border city with a reputation that makes people stress to me to be careful. People pretty much tell me to be careful in every time I go to a big city but I don't think they are as dangerous as people say they are. 
But border cities in Mexico are known for stuff like violent drug cartels! I had seen enough of Breaking Bad to be a little worried... just a little! Don't go thinking I'm a pussy.
I talked to the 2 friends that I had in San Diego and one of them couldn't go because of work and the other one didn't even have a passport!
Well, Fuck.

Then I logged on to Couchsurfing.org. I had only recently joined and was a bit nervous about using it. I'll just have to use my judgement. What's cool is that you can read people's profiles and other people can leave a positive or negative reference about their experience with the person.
I clicked on the Tijuana area page and as I was scrolling through the conversations, I noticed someone's post titled Border Hopping. The guy's name was Alan and he was from Ireland and traveling around America. He said he had done 2 months out of a 4 month journey and wanted to go across the border while he was here but wanted someone else to go with too. So, I responded to his post.

He seemed excited and gave me his phone # and we communicated with our cellphones. So, the day came and it was time for me to go to Mexico with a guy I've never met.
I got my luggage and took the trolley to the gas lamp quarter of San Diego where we decided to meet up. I instantly felt relieved when I finally met Alan in person that he seemed like someone I could get along with. One of the first things I noticed about Alan was that he was very social and talked to a lot of people and could easily meet and have conversations with strangers. Shortly after meeting, we took the trolley all the way to the border.

Now what really surprised the fuck out of me was that there was no check in place or anything. You just walk across and you're in Mexico. Nobody even checked my passport or bag or anything. Anybody and everybody was allowed to walk into Mexico without any security. I couldn't believe it! 
Of course, I was sure that going back to U.S. will have a lot of security.
We had already reserved a hotel before we met. It was a 5 star hotel and the price was equivalent to about 80 something U.S. dollars. Splitting that price between the 2 of us made that a cheap stay for such a fancy place.

The First two people I met in Tijuana:

I got an interesting first impression of Tijuana because of the first two people we met there. 

Soon after crossing the border, I went to an ATM to get some pesos. While Alan was waiting for me near the ATM, he got into a conversation with someone.

I finished pulling money out, turned around, and saw Alan talking to some guy. The guy was friendly and said he came to Mexico to get fake abs surgery!

Why the hell would anyone want to get fake muscles?! So he could look stronger but not actually be stronger?

He started saying how it felt weird and showed us his bandages under his shirt. Then he started talking about how cute the prostitutes are and I'm not going to type the details of what he said next. He said something disturbing.

Now, let me tell you about the second person we met in Mexico...

On the roof of the hotel was a swimming pool and a hot tub!

As I'm writing this many months later, I have never stayed in any place as fancy as that again.

 We explored our large hotel some after checking in and found the pool and hot tub on the roof.

While we were relaxing in the hot tub, a large Mexican man gets in and immediately starts talking to us and telling us stories about him cheating on his wife and how he almost got caught one time. 

I think it was a strange thing to tell two strangers so early in a conversation.

Then he said he had to go take care of his kids or something and left.

Another odd thing was that inside that hotel was 2 plastic surgery centers!

__________________________________________

                              

Later, someone else wrote to Alan about his post on Couchsurfing. Her name was Christian, or Chris for short, and she lived in Tijuana. She wasn't able to host us but was able to meet up and show us around.

Her and her friends picked us up and we went and got a bunch of Tecate beer, which is what I saw a lot of locals drink while I was there.

We dove down to a town called Rosarito and met up with people she knew on the beach. A lot of people were camping on that beach and also a lot of people had fires. 

So did we.

I realized that I had went to Mexico with a guy I just met and then got in car at night with several strangers to go to a beach somewhere deeper in Mexico but I felt comfortable.

After a while, we got all got back in the car and Alan, Christian, and I drank beers in the back seat on the way back to Tijuana. We drank a lot of beer.

By the way, Christian told us that locals don't drink Corona.

It's well-known as a Mexico beer in America but when we went to a small bar sometime in Tijuana and Alan tried to order a Corona, the waitress asked "are you serious?"

That night Alan, Christian and I went to La Sexta street. 

It was a main party street with lots of clubs and pubs.

We went into a loud and crowded club and drank a Flaming Sambuca. The bartender lit the drink on fire. At that time, I had never seen one before. 

To be honest, I didn't have much partying experience. I had always been a shy and subtle guy.  The fact that I was dancing that night and enjoying it must of meant that I was pretty drunk!

The next day I discovered that the check out time for hotels in Tijuana was 1 p.m. That's awesome! I've never seen it that late but I guess it's because Tijuana is a place of nightlife.

We decided to move into another big fancy hotel that we saw in the city the previous day just to see what the other one was like. 

We met with Chris again that day and walked around Tijuana

The big ball of Tijuana called the Cultural Center. Inside is a theater and a museum.

                   

This is supposed to be a clock. the city spent a bunch of money putting it up and it doesn't even work.

Later a homeless man walked over to us and said something in Spanish and then Chris gave him some money. 
Then she told us that the man had been deported. She explained that when people get deported, they take them to Tijuana and the Mexican government doesn't allow them to work so they are stuck and have no money to get back to their home town in Mexico.


As we continued walking, we found some kind of weird show people were doing in public where little kids were dancing wearing a mask of an older man's face. It was very funny looking and the announcer guy was dressed like some kinda clown for some reason.

The day came to and end and Christian had to go so we said goodbye and agreed to keep in touch on Facebook.
Alan and I walked around Tijuana at night for awhile and then got a couple beers and played pool at a bar.
The next day we walked around some more before crossing the border back into U.S. sometime in the afternoon.

I discovered they sell speed in Mexico!

Crossing the border into America had a lot of security and a line. Completely opposite of crossing into Mexico. They had x-rays and I saw a drug sniffing dog. I hate going through security.I still felt uneasy because of  The Bitch at the Canadian Border.

A few days later, I went back to Tijuana again to go to a costume party on the Saturday before Halloween. I had a great time and some amazing tacos that I am craving now as I write this. 

 Well, I guess that's all I have to say about Tijuana for now. 

I'm sure I will go back there again someday. Thanks for reading!

Going To My First Couchsurfing Event

While in San Diego, I was staying at a friend's house. My friend, Catalan, had a fancy professional bicycle. Something I was interested in doing at some point in my life was a big bicycle trip.

He took me to store that he bought it at, REI. It was a big amazing store filled with adventurous  things that I like.
One of the worker's at the store was telling us that he made a bicycle trip all the way across America! He also told us that he used Couchsurfing a lot along the way.
I had heard of Couchsurfing before but I've always thought,
what kind of people do that?? and wondered about safety.
I always used to expect to find perverted weirdo's on sites designed for meeting people... But maybe websites like that have become normal in this day in time. Damn, I was so ignorant back then.
He explained it was a legitimate and awesome site that lots of travelers used. It sounded cool so Catalan and I went and created a profile when we got back to the house.
Couchsurfing.org was organized by regions of the world. 
On the region pages are conversations like a newsfeed on Facebook.  Some people also create events that you can read about and click the join button if you wish.
On the San Diego area page was an event that a lot of people were going to called Tipsy Tuesday. It was a weekly
event where couchsurfers meet-up at a bar on Tuesday.
We were reading about it and it said that at 10 p.m. the bar had a reverse happy hour? Not sure what that meant.
Catalan said, "So, does that mean the drinks are twice as expensive?" 

When Tuesday came, we found the bar and the group of 
couchsurfers inside. More people showed up later. It was my first ever involvement in couchsurfing. Basically, everyone introduced themselves to other people and socialized. 
I talked to many people and told them I was in the beginning stage of my trip and had never used couchsurfing.
I was relieved that couchsurfing seemed like a cool community of travelers so far. The people were nice to talk to
and no one seemed like the creepy crazy person that I feared of being online. 
Another guy and I went to the other side of the bar and played Foosball. People from the couchsurfing meeting were now spread throughout the bar. I didn't know if everyone I talked to was with couchsurfing or just someone at the bar.
The bar had quite a bit of people in it.
Later, I noticed a guy who was smiling a lot. He was really smiling all the time. I looked at him and said "why are you so happy?!" He started talking to me about love and positive energy and was starting to sound a little hippie-ish at that point. After talking to him for a little while about love and hate, he made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with hate.
" Let me show you something" he said. He walked over to a
stranger, pointed at him and said "I don't know this guy, but I love him because he's beautiful." The stranger smiled.
Then he walked over to a crowd of people. Suddenly, everyone had their arms around each other and formed a circle. I got caught in this circle. The happy guy was across from me in the circle. The circle started spinning around and the happy guy said "can you feel it? can you feel the love?"

I personally think he was on acid.

Well, that was my first ever experience with couchsurfing. I just went to an event. But my first time ever using it to meet up with an individual directly from the site is in the next blog post....

What to do in San Diego

I spent quite a bit of time in the San Diego area, so here are a few of my suggestions.. 

• In-N-Out Burger

                                   

This was the first place my friend from San Diego took me to when I arrived. It's a tasty part of California culture! I had heard about them but have never seen any in other states.

• Sea World

awesome hat I bought at sea world

It had fun rides and there was a part where Shamu actually break-danced!    O.o

• The San Diego Zoo

The world famous San Diego Zoo.  I learned that a lot of the plants there inspired the artwork of Dr. Seuss. At least that's what the workers told us.
Also, they had some crazy looking turtles there.

These seats look like a butt

• Eat Food at Costco!

Big wine bottles for sale

San Diego had several Costco's and I love Costco! But what I don't love is that it has a yearly membership fee just to shop there! 
However, it is a wholesale store and could still save you money to shop there and be worth it in the long run but only if you live in a city that has a Costco.
I wasn't a member but a friend of mine was and I was allowed to go inside as long as I'm with him. 

Inside of Costco's are lots and lots of free samples of food! :)
There are actually enough free samples for a meal if you stay long enough and walk around. So, we started going to Costco every morning for breakfast!
If you are a member, or know someone that is, or hopefully meet someone that is, then you can easily enjoy the wide variety of free food samples in this great wholesale store!

• Look at Cool Looking Plants

I know this isn't really a typical "what to do" travel recommendation (neither is the Costco one, haha) but I would like to express that I really liked the way the plants look in that city.

• Gas Lamp Quarter

The gas lamp quarter is an area with bars, restaurants, historical buildings, tourists, hostels, hotels, shops, and nightlight. 

Below is a picture of me at a shisha bar in the gas lamp quarter.

By the way, I don't consider myself a smoker but I enjoy shisha about once or twice a year. So, Mom, please don't freak out if you're reading this, haha.

• Iron Mountain

A friend of mine took me hiking up Iron Mountain. When I got higher up, I saw many hills across the distance speckled with rocks. Some of those rocks looked a bit interesting.
If you look at the picture below you can see a rock formation that looks like a penis and 2 balls!

Do you see it? It's in the center

And this picture above looks kind of like a hand with a middle finger flipping us off!

There were also other rocks that looked like other things too like faces and asses but I didn't post those pictures so go see for yourself.

• Check out the awesome wave pool at Mission Beach!

Sorry, but I don't have a picture. I'd rather you just go see it for real!  

Ok, the real reason is my camera was out of battery that day when I went. I thought It was pretty cool, so I have to list it.

• Ect.

 There are many things you could do to have fun in San Diego.

I won't list Everything I could say since I believe in a healthy dose and wandering around randomly (if the location is safe, use common sense and keep well-informed) and that has often led me to discover many great things in this world. 

  I wanted to list some of the main things and a few not so main things to give a few ideas.

Another thing one might consider while in San Diego is crossing the border to Tijuana, Mexico. I did and I definitely don't regret it.