(2005) With Paul and Matt, I headed north of Rishikesh next, to Manali.

We ended up on a mail bus crammed with people. The bus rolled up mountain switchbacks in perpetual second gear, lolling sharply left to right every few moments. Sleep was impossible, as you had to hold on to keep from being flung about. Matt got totally sick and puked a few times. Paul and I struggled.

Nearing around 4am, the bus began to empty. The switchbacks became less intense, and we managed to get bits of sleep. And then the sun began to rise and the bus slowed and we pulled in to a terminal. We grabbed our gear and started to walk.

The town was still alseep, nestled in a valley with forested mountains on all sides. Marijuna plants growing wild as weeds everywhere.

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(2005) Once upon a time, I found myself in Rishikesh, in the foothills of the Himalaya, and a center of yoga, supposedly. Meh...

I did the newbie thing by signing on for a stay inside a temple: for a set price, we got spartan lodging, simple meals, morning yoga and meditation lessions, and strict curfews.

Well, that shit just was't doing it for me, after a while, so I hit the streets to look for leads.

While trying to sniff out some action, I was rushed by a cow and saved from a goring by a sadhu in orange. Stading behind him were Paul and Matt, a pair of Brits. We began walking together, and by the end of the day, I had found my travelling mates for the next portion of my journey. Out of the temple and into the world..

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Despite being a moderately good-looking guy, I was a dysfunctional mess, when I first came to Asia – Korea, in particular. To teach English.

I came over with a plan, which was basically to try and blend in, without people seeing my dysfunctions.

During my first 6 months in Seoul, I met a lot of hot chicks, but they all seemed to see past my facade. So, I basically gave up trying to find chicks. And then, one night, I was sitting at home, staring at the walls, when I received a mysterious phone call. It was from a Korean woman.

She claimed to want English lessons, but was actually after a hard injection of expat tubesteak.

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Once upon a time in Osaka, I met a guy named Ronnie. Ronnie had spent the past several years in Korea, teaching English. He saved quite a bit, and then decided to make the move to Japan.

So, he put $20,000 in a sack and flew over for a job interview. He lost the sack, walked to the interview from the airport, and then pleaded (penniless) for mercy from Japanese HR droids -- after staggering into his interview disheveled, with bloody feet.

Here's the whole story:

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Being a good Christian boy, I had never once considered paying a woman for sex. However, in the vamping humidity of the Bangkok sexpat bar scene, I'll have to admit: moral codes became blurred.

That's when I first met Planet Asia, or Futureguy, more specifically. He was sitting alone, in an open-air cafe on the tip of Soi Cowboy, as was I. We ended up chatting over a few beers, and then he made me an offer I couldn't refuse: an all-expenses paid tryst with a bargirl, in exchange for a full report about what happens inside go-go bars that specialize in the prostitution trade.

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This story, set around Khao San Road, is about a one-legged Australian heroin addict.

During a 3-month Thailand holiday a few years ago, I met her, just as she was teetering on the edge.

She was in Thailand illegally, her visa long since expired. She was dead broke, and turning tricks, to pay for her junk. In the end, what happened simply was this: she fell into the abyss, never to see the light of day again.

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It was my first big backpacking trip: 6 months on the road, destination India.

I landed in Delhi and cleared customs just after midnight. Laden down with 30 kilos of gear, I headed straight for the public bus, hoping to save a few rupees as advised by the Lonely Planet.

The main guesthouse area is called Paharganj. It's located right next to Delhi's central train station. The 'delhi bus scam' involves airport buses dropping tourists on the opposite side of the building, out of sight of Paharganj. This leaves them vulnerable to predators.

Yes, I got pinched in the scam. Here's what happened:

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(2006) According to the Christian Science Monitor, about one-third of the natives in South Korea are Christian. Seoul, the capital, boasts 10 of the 11 largest Christian congregations in the world.

Not surprisingly, a lot of the foreigners who come over here to teach English are practicing Christians.

A few years ago, I was having some relationship problems, and one day I ran into a neighbor named Rick. He was a Ned Flanders type for sure, with all of the cliches (fake creepy smile, plastic facade, insincere, etc) that I generally associate with hard-core religious types.

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