"~ THE WAN*DER*ER ~" 1gorams's Profile

salute, aloha and much gratitude for the stopover! well, my homepage is finally complete .. wow ..o..k .. i can die now! uh, not yet, gotta start building da travel pages! anyhow, a little about myself, i was born and raised in the usa. i am single, and perpetuate a free spirited outlook. i took my first international trip to the caribbean island of barbados in 1994. needless to say , my life forever changed, and i've had the travel bug since. after enduring a corporate melt down a few years ago, i made the best, most logical decision of my life; resign, sell out and peregrinate the planet full time.

lately i have been dividing my time between los angeles and manila, where i keep a studio apartment. since resigning in july 2005 (absolutely no regrets), i have been backpacking as much as i can on some meager savings and modest investments. i am not interested in the " quantity " of countries i visit but rather the quality of my cultural gain. please continue below as i talk about my travel outlook and interests. also, i have tons of travel photo's on WWW.FLICKR.COM. check it out! i hope you enjoy my site! jerry

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gullfoss ~ iceland

j-e-r-r-y, where are you? people imply i am a travel " freak " !! really ? i enjoy the challenge of the journey because as they say, getting there is half the fun. since my net worth is not a kings ransom, i must bargain like there's no tomorrow. i only need 5 items to complete a trip. i maintain a light ~ hearted approach to travel / life and don't take myself too seriously! relax!

1. passport
2. backpack
3. rubber shoes
4. right thumb
5. high karate (cheap aftershave)

i couch surf or stay in hostels and airport terminals. i eat the local food, perferably from street vendors, or shop in the local grocery. laundry is done at the mat or in the sink. another fun challenge facing me is getting around. i prefer not to rent a car or take a taxi if at all possible. (taxi drivers are the devil in disguise). i enjoy taking the train, metro, bus, cable car, camel (dromedary only), donkey, boat, bike, trike, walking and my favorite ... hitchhiking (the psycho axe murderer/chain saw wielding driver is way overrated!) .here there are many more opportunities to meet the locals, get some culture and make new friends.

~ Amen ~

capetown ~ south africa

in august of 2004 i was in the philippines for three weeks. this was my tenth trip here since 1999. i really enjoy the hot tropical weather here and the unspoiled beaches, however the main reason for visiting was the warm, friendly, english speaking people. i always felt welcomed here. i also liked the location. manila serves as my base for exploring the orient, being conveniently close to the south pacific islands, hong kong, singapore and many other asian destinations. i own a high-rise studio on manila bay which allows me a view of one of the world's best sunsets! i shuttle between the states and the philippines about twice a year. i hope to permanently settle here once i turn five-five.

new delhi ~ india

during my gallivanting, i stumbled upon a hard rock cafe in seoul, south korea in 1998. i liked the fact that each cafe sold only city specific items. well, to make a long story short i have now been to 58 cafes in 35 countries. i enjoy collecting from all over the world as hard rock international is in 46 countries. i eventually plan to see them all, however ... all in good time. i have visited a few hard rock hotel and casino's as well. If you would like to see the cafes i have visited please go to hardrockcafes.info. click on english, then click on "side for fans", scroll down till you see my name ( jerry )

* Disclaimer: WARNING; most traveler's consider hard rock a tourist trap and therefore avoid it like the plaque. hint-hint

rio de janeiro ~ brazil

* planets wandered : 1

* continents wandered : 6 (need antarctica)

* countries / territories wandered : 65

year

1994 | barbados * mexico (2) * usa
1995 | jamaica * mexico (3)
1996 | usa
1997 | mexico (3)
1998 | south korea * hong kong * thailand * malaysia * belgium * netherlands * mexico (1)
1999 | philippines (3)
2000 | brazil * austrailia * new zealand * germany * spain * portugal * philippines (1)
2001 | peru * chile * japan * singapore * indonesia * united kingdom * switzerland * liechtenstein * russia * egypt * canada
2002 | taiwan * philippines (1)
2003 | philippines (3)
2004 | philippines (2)
2005 | germany * turkey * greece * italy * france * luxembourg * austria * slovakia * czech republic * vatican city * philippines (4)
2006 | united kingdom (including wales and scotland) * denmark * norway * sweden * finland * estonia * ireland * iceland * south africa * panama * bahamas * argentina * uruguay * columbia * india * nepal * philippines (2)
2007 | venezuela * dominican republic * puerto rico * united arab emirates * oman * kuwait * bahrain * guatemala * philippines * china * thailand * cambodia * malaysia * vietnam

stats

* miles by jet aircraft : 631,964

* miles by helicopter : 204 (est)

* miles by bus : 1,287

* miles by train : 2,106

* miles by boat / ferry : 330

* miles by camel : 0.25

* longest flight (1 leg) : new delhi ~ chicago, 16 hours

* locations visited : 213

* years travelling : 14

* airlines flown : 42

* travel photo's : 10,000 +

* most visited country: philippines (17) mexico (9) united kingdom (2) germany (2) thailand (2) malaysia (2)

moscow ~ russia

last : competed a week in saigon, vietnam

before last: finished a 11 day tour in thailand, cambodia, and malaysia!

next, booked flights : Guam and Saipan ... batter up!

* future wish list *

* israel

* guam and saipan

* antarctica

* tombouctou

sydney ~ australia

richard halliburton (1900-1939) was an american explorer/athlete and author. he bypassed a chance to lead a structured life, instead desiring spontaneity and adventure ... my thoughts exactly. he is the first and only person to swim the length of the panama canal, registering as a ship and paying a toll of 36 cents, based on his weight of 140 pounds. (what a nut job!)

excerpt (quote): " when impulse and spontaneity fail to make my way uneven then i shall sit up nights inventing means of making my life as conglomerate and vivid as possible .. and when my time comes to die, i'll be able to die happy, for i will have done and seen and heard and experienced all the joy, pain and thrills ~ any emotion that any human ever had ~ and i'll be especially happy if i am spared a stupid, common death in bed "...

richard halliburton

I Believe !!!

since i was nine years old i have been a loyal st. louis rams fan!

nfl champions : 1951

superbowl XXXIV champions : 2000

in college football my team is the usc trojans.

national champions : 1928 * 31 * 32 * 39 * 62 *67 * 72 * 74 * 78 * 2003 * 04