All busy in the North Korean front.

It's all happening in DPRK at the moment as the new chosen leader will ascend into the North Korean dynasty soon. North Korea still remains in my top dream destination, obviously not for the non-tourist attractions but the enigma that it is. Now that North Korea has already picked a young  successor, Kim Jong Un, everyone wonders if his era would usher in a more open North Korea.

That's not the interesting bit of story though.

Kim Jong Un was not the first in  line to ascend to the North Korean throne. Instead, his older half brother, Kim Jong Nam  was being groomed to replace the North Korean lineage. All these plans crumbled into pieces when in 2001, Kim Jong Nam was caught using a fake passport in Japan in his attempt to visit the happiest place on earth, North Korea Disneyland. The incident left a great deal embarrassment for Kim Jong Il, enough for him to cancel an important trip to China. Kim Jong Nam then, has fallen out of favor to inherit the North Korean leadership.

Kim Jong Il and the story of succession of the North Korean leadership is entangled in a complex story of his personal life. Kim Jong Il is a Casanova-wannabe. He had a long string of mistresses and affairs. A riveting tale of love, lust, secret affairs, mistresses, war, murder, espionage and power struggle. It has all the elements of an epic Korean soap drama. It will be like Jewel in the Palace minus the cooking.

If Yes is the answer, then what is the question?

If you have walked through the main streets of Central Ubud, you have probably been asked a thousand times by random tourists touts, drivers, vendors etc. - "Yes. Transport". I'm not sure if it's a question or a genuine offer. It always sounded like a statement rather than a question.

One is always tempted to ask "Yes, to what? Transport, to where? Yes, to what?". I do my best to grin and bear the occasional annoyance. Although there are times when I do my quiet morning Jalan-Jalan walks and then somebody hijacks my peaceful morning with that statement "Yes. Transport".

The only problem I have with that phrase - "Yes, Transport." is that the instant moment I hear it, I visualize time machines. Transport = Time Machine. Always. Never fails.  The first time a taxi cab driver said "Yes, Transport." to me I had to smile. I had visions of Debbie Gibson singing live in my head. Yeah. For 200,000 rupiah.  I'm so there.

Hey, sorry for the crappy drawing. Yes, someone used the descriptive sound of "vrroom. vrooom." on me when I ignored his transportation services offer. The guy thought I didn't understand English so he resorted to making sounds fit for a three year old kid. I regret now that I didn't turn my back and say to him, "Vrooom? Vrooom? Dude, I'm not fucking three years old. Now, I pay you good money. Just transport me to 1987."

Rocket Man

She packed my bags last night pre-flight
Zero hour nine a.m.
And I'm gonna be high as a kite by then
I miss the earth so much I miss my wife
It's lonely out in space
On such a timeless flight

And I think it's gonna be a long long time
Till touch down brings me round again to find
I'm not the man they think I am at home
Oh no no no I'm a rocket man
Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone

Mars ain't the kind of place to raise your kids
In fact it's cold as hell
And there's no one there to raise them if you did
And all this science I don't understand
It's just my job five days a week
A rocket man, a rocket man

And I think it's gonna be a long long time...

New Postcards from Bali!