The author’s note on this photo: “I have no idea who this is.” Feature photo: Conscious Vision.
Tom Gates breaks down his trip so far by the numbers.
Days since leaving home: 150
Countries: 8
Blisters popped in the bathroom of a train: 2
Makeout sessions in a treehouse: 1
Hours spent on planes: 81
Fantasties about quesadilla grande from Tortilla Flats in NYC 150
Number of upgrades to business class: 3
Chinese meals eaten in Paris over 24 hours: 2
Times gone to grocery store without environmentally-friendly bag purchased specifically for grocery shopping: 11
Times gone to grocery store: 11
Number of people befriended on anti-depression drugs: 4
Scorpion Fish nearly touched: 3
Dollars spent frivolously on sneakers: 160
Tim Patterson
Pictures taken in which it looks like Matador contributor Tim Patterson and I are on our honeymoon: 8
Days that I enjoyed being in India 1.2
Nights slept in India with picture of Jesus present: 7
Imodium Emergencies: 3
Imodium Emergencies Not Handled In time: 1
Times nail-clipper thingy has been bought and lost: 4
Number of Ambien left in a bottle of thirty: 6
Times my mother has figured out how to check her email since I’ve been gone, despite explicit instruction, notes, private tutoring, etc: 0
Subpar pizzas eaten: 6
Hours spent in buses designed for short Asian legs: 18
Times I’ve fantasized about snuffing out a dorm snorer with a pillow: 7 to 20
Girls who have mistakenly hit on me: 7
Girls who have still tried to kiss me even after “the talk”: 2
The statue.
Times a little turned on by a statue: 1
Number of pictures on my camera with people whose names I can’t remember: 12
Number of these people who are friends on Facebook: 10
Number of museums I’ve been to in five months: 5
Longest number of days without shaving: 3
Longest wait for a visa: 5 days
SIM cards purchased: 8
Hours spent looking for Wi-Fi in foreign countries: ∞
Community Connection
For more on Tom’s journey, as well as his epic adventures with Tim Patterson, check out Tim and Tom’s Excellent Adventure, and Whilst Traveling via Eurail.
Have a good “By the Numbers” you’re interested in submitting? Please send to david[at]matadornetwork[dot]com.
Tom Gates
Tom is a wayward writer based in Los Angeles. He has served as Editor for both Matador Nights and Life. He loves to go far, far away whenever possible. He is also pretending to be a third person right now and is obviously writing his own bio. He knows that you knew that, despite the deft maneuvering of pronouns.
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http://collazoprojects.com Julie
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http://matadorabroad.com Tim Patterson
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Christine
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http://thelonglayover.blogspot.com Carlo
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http://matadorabroad.com Tim Patterson
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Nick Rowlands
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http://matadorabroad.com Tim Patterson
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jess
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