Brian Biros dot com

This clip recently appeared as number 1 on VH1’s 40 greatest pranks. I couldn’t agree more. If you haven’t seen it yet, enjoy.

Here I am immediately after our 12 day trek in the Himalayas. This is what happens when you hike several hours a day at elevations between 12,000 and 17,500 feet, drink several gallons of water per day, and eat a diet consisting mostly of dal bhat (lentil soup, vegetables, and white rice), with, of course, no meat of any kind. Perhaps Nepal could hire me as their Jared Fogle, if only it wasn’t one of the most impoverished countries in the world.

My pictures from Nepal are finally posted, captions and all. Be prepared, there are quite a few of them - over 100 from the trek itself, and another almost 50 from the day we climbed Gokyo Ri. But, let’s be honest, it’s January, you’re at work, not really wanting to let go of the holiday season, and you’re begging for an excuse to procrastinate. You’re welcome.

Next up are the pictures from the last month of my trip in the South Pacific - Fiji, Cook Islands, and Tahiti. This was the period of my trip where I was completely on my own. Of course, it was very easy to meet people along the way, some of which had the same travel plans as me. In fact, I probably met more new people in this last month of my trip that I plan to keep in contact with than I did in the entire previous four months. Stay tuned for paradise. After that, I’ll catch up with the backfill from China, Australia, and New Zealand. I got some work to do.

If anyone if flying United Airlines any time soon, particularly international or long domestic flights, I may be able to upgrade you to business class. I earned many upgrades when I was flying for my job, and since I couldn’t use them on my free ATW flights, they may end up going to waste (most expire at the end of January). Just email me and let me know.

On the night of November 16th, my historic 5-month journey around the world came to an end. Chicago greeted me rudely as temperatures dipped below 20 (a temperature I haven’t seen in months, even in Celsius!!). I resisted changing out of my shorts and t-shirt until the captain warned we were beginning our descent into Chicago, and I refused to wear anything other than sandals during my first few days back. I was hoping to catch the tail end of some World Series celebration, but it appeared the hangover had just ended. (Speaking of the Sox, you should take a look at THESE FANS).

I apologize (again) for the lack of updates. The last month of my trip was in the South Pacific, where internet access was scarce and expensive. I settled for a pencil and paper and continued my journal, which eventually will be converted to digital form for all to enjoy. I’ve spent the past week and a half catching up with old friends and family, and exchanging stories from the past 5 months. Everyone has their own stories about the Sox run, and I want to hear all of them. It also makes the conversations more of a dialogue than a monologue about my adventures.

I have nearly 10,000 pictures to sort through, and in the coming days you will slowly see more photo albums here and entries in my travel journal. I failed to meet all of my promises about updating my webpages, as computers and free time were tougher to come by than expected, but there is plenty of back fill to come. I also have a stack of postcards that I’ve never sent out, but I don’t know if it’s quite the same with a Chicago postmark.

I feel like I should wrap up this post with something profound. It’s late, and nothing is coming to me, so I’ll leave you with my favorite quote of my trip. As Hiral, Hiral’s friend Ryan, Chris, and I were having dinner in Siem Reap, Cambodia, Ryan was talking about his plans for the remainder of the trip. He finished by routinely saying “Then it’s back to the real world.” Chris responded, “If you learn only one thing from this entire trip, it should be that this is the real world.”

The Chicago White Sox won the AL pennant for the first time in 46 years and now have a chance to win their first World Series in 88 years. Many people credit the starting rotation of Contreras, Buehrle, Garland, and Garcia, others thank the bats of Konerko, Crede, Iguchi, and company, and some even give the credit to skipper Ozzie Guillen. While all of these people have done their part, none of them are the reason for this magical season. The man you can thank for all of this success is none other than me. The fact that I am on the other side of the world right now is the reason our White Sox have done so well.

You may think I am just being superstitious, but I do have evidence to support my theory. On three separate occasions, I have left the country during the White Sox season. During my time abroad, the White Sox have compiled an amazing record of 94-54 (including a 7-1 postseason mark). Here is the breakdown:

6/4/2000 - 6/19/2000 (In Peru): 14-1
6/26/2003 - 8/8/2003 (Studying abroad in Argentina): 24-13
6/28/2005 - 10/2/2005 (Around the World Trip): 49-39
2005 Postseason : 7-1

As tempting as it is to come back home for the World Series, I’m going to take one for the team. Enjoy the World Series on the South Side and I assure you I’ll be watching from afar. I expect that win total to increase by another 4 games soon enough, and you can all thank me when I return.

GO SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Here we are at the top of Gokyo Ri - from left, me, Aaron, and Chris. Gokyo Ri has an elevation of 17,548 feet. That top peak in the background is the mighty Mount Everest at 29,002 feet. Just to put this all in perspective, the highest peak in the continental US is Mount Whitney in California at 14,494 feet.

Our 12 day trek was absolutely amazing. The Himalayas seem to shoot straight up out of the ground, and the towering jagged peaks dominate the skies in all directions. The lack of oxygen at that elevation was more difficult than I had anticipated, and I will be sure to fill in more details when I update my online journal. Monsoon season has lasted a bit longer this year than normal, so we had more cloudy days than we would have liked. However, somehow it worked out that the clearest three hours we had on our entire trek were the hours we spent at the top of Gokyo Ri. Could we ask for anything more?

I have posted pictures from Malaysia, Thailand, and Cambodia, with my Nepal pictures to follow shortly. As always, stay tuned. . .

Since the last time I’ve posted, I’ve traveled through much of Thailand and visited the Angkor region in Cambodia. However, the highlight of this time was the two weeks I spent volunteering on Phi Phi Island off the west coast of Thailand. I have written a lot about the place in my travel journal, so I won’t repeat myself, but I would like to recommend this place to all you. Go visit, and go SOON!

Koh Phi Phi (koh meaning island) was hit hard by the tsunami last December. 2000 of the 8000 on the island died or are still missing. Most tourists do not realize that the island is up and running again and choose to stay away. I actually heard people say travel agents in Bangkok are telling tourists to stay away because there is nothing there. Actually, there is plenty of available and CHEAP accommodation, along with diving and any other activity you’d like to do. I could write more, but if you’re interested just send me an email and I can answer specific questions.

Phi Phi is an amazingly beautiful island, unlike any paradise I’ve ever seen. Obviously, many people realized this a long time ago and built the island into an overcrowded and overpriced tourist trap. It was like that a year ago, and unfortunately within a year or two, it will be like that again. That is why I say go there and go there NOW! It won’t be long until the word gets out that Phi Phi is back, so now is your chance. Currently there is a perfect combination of grateful locals, volunteers, and backpackers all with the same goal of rebuilding this island and all enjoying every step along the way. Where else in the world can you get an hour long massage for $5 and consider it charity work??!! Welcome to the paradise my friend.

Send me an email or read my travel journal for more about Phi Phi and the rest of my latest adventures. And I swear I’m not working on commission.

Hello everyone! I’m in Penang, Malaysia right now, and in a few days I’ll cross the border north into Thailand.

Just to make things easier, I’ve made this entire post a link to the travel journal (Mom and Dad, just click on ANY of these blue words). Don’t forget to send me an email or leave a comment so I know what you think and how you are doing back home!!

G-Day!

The last few weeks have been very busy, so I haven’t had much time to keep in contact with everyone or post pictures, etc. Jess and I just completed a 4 day marathon on the South Island of New Zealand that included, among many other things, a glacier climb and a visit to the beautiful Milford Sound. Australia was also amazing, with the highlight being an overnight dive trip to the Great Barrier Reef (we saw sea turtles, a 2 meter long reef shark, and. . . Nemo!!) We are off to the North Island of New Zealand now for a 5 day adventure that we have yet to plan, then Jess heads back to the states to start her Masters, and I’m off to explore Asia.

To everyone that has emailed me: Thank you!!! I really love hearing from people back home even though I haven’t had the time to email most of you back. You will all get responses, but probably not for another week or so. There is a lot to see in New Zealand, and 10 days definitely isn’t enough time to see it all. However, we are up for the challenge!

I’ve posted pictures from the first few weeks of my trip - Buenos Aires, Rio, Portugal, and Africa. You can view them under in the PICTURES section. Singapore and Beijing pictures are on the way, as well as much needed updates to my travel journal.

In a couple hours, Jess and I are off to Australia!