this is the 4th book i’m reading since i started reading again. it’s been less than a year since i started to get interested in reading books. it’s good for my mind and a good way for me to find some quality time away from the wifi world. so relaxing, so stimulating, and so crazy at times. the books i read so far are all excellent and i know that because i actually get pulled into the story. it feels so real and sometimes i have to pull myself out before i start doing crazy things. South of the Border, West of the Sun is another awesome book from Haruki Murakami. i’m on my last chapter and am looking forward to a happy ending.

getting back to last night. i walked out of my hotel and stumbled upon a casino. i didn’t know there were “las vegas like” casinos here. i go in, get checked by the security for guns and weapons. good thing i left my dive knife back at the hotel. i turn the corner and see all the slot machines, the black jack tables, and the poker faces. beautiful people all over the room. tourists, locals, and lots of Jennifer Lopez lookalikes. well, actually much prettier than J. Lo. the women here are pretty dam beautiful! i go to the bar, order a “Atlas” beer, sip it down while stalking the black jack tables. finally i get an open seat, i take it, i change $50 to poker chips. i start with the minimum bid of $5. the waitress comes and brings me a free beer, than another one, then another one. i end up sitting at the table for the next 3 hours gambling and gambling. my chips go up and down. i was up to $300 on the good decks, and down to $10 on the bad decks. it was getting late so i started to gamble foolishly, just trowing in chips at the wrong time, and taking chances i wouldn’t usually take. i was down to my last $20 so i shoot it all at once. i bust and loose it all. i walk off the table with a big smile. why? because as i was winning, i was sticking $10 chips in my pocket for insurance. come to find out, i had $90 worth of chips so i cash out. 3 hours, 6 free beers, great entertainment, excitement, and i didn’t cost me anything. in fact, i walked out the casino $40 richer! maybe try my luck again tonight!
sorry for not taking more photos. there were signs everywhere saying no photos allowed. i was feeling great after beer 4 so i just took this one for the image shot. imagine me sitting there, making friends, laughing, thinking, and putting on my las vegas poker face. that’s not the real me. i hate gambling but i thought i’d try to blend into the scene. if you seen me, you would think i’m a professional gambler. but nope, i just watch a lot of movies so i know how it works. maybe i’ll wear a suit tonight. haha.

From the Panama Fish Market.
It’s so good!!!

well, finally arrived to panama! took a crazy long course to get here but i’m glad i made it. after spending 26 hours in 3 different airplanes, i can tell you that i hate airplane food! luckily i had 180 flat seats the whole way so that made it much more easy on my poor body. sitting in the airplane and breathing the air in the capsule can’t be good for you. as soon as i got here to panama, my nose finally cleared, and i felt like i just woke up at 5am and drank a kombucha. i felt great, but the problem was “it was 9pm at night!” welcome to the world of jet lag!

it was the first time i ever took a flight from NRT to LAX. i didn’t realize how fat it was! flying past hawaii, where i left just a couple days earlier felt weird.

then i get to LAX. i didn’t know that LAX isn’t a transit hub so if you go through that airport, you have to get you baggage and recheck it in no matter what. a good learning experience for me.

check out alaska airlines. cool! i flew on Copa Airlines from LAX to PTY, which was my first time. and also my first time hearing about it.

so there i am flying over mexico down to panama. this is when i started getting excited because i’ve never been to panama before. and since i’ve been so busy recently, i had absolutely no time to research anything. so i was clueless.

i had the row 1 seat A in the airplane so i was the first one to get off. right after i exited the airplane, i seen a big man holding up a sign. i thought to myself, hey, i know that name! that’s me!!! he said “right this way Mr. Fukunaga.” i thought to myself “omg, what did i do wrong???” come to find out, we are hooked up on a vip treatment tour here thanks to Red Sea Ocean Adventures.

the man escorts me straight through customs. thank goodness because there was a 2 hour line. takes me outside, and escorts me to the vip lounge.

the royal treatment! oh i love it!

i sit down while the man goes and gets my luggage. he loads it in the van, then comes back up to call me. yes, i’m feeling like an important person.

i walk out of the airport straight into a waiting van. then the driver takes me to my hotel, which was freaking luxury!

i throw my suitcase on the floor, grab some money, hide my passport, brush my teeth, and head out to the sleepless city. yes, it was already 10pm, but it’s only the start of “saturday night fever” in panama city!

yeah, the bath had to wait. i just wanted to get out, walk around, and explore what panama has to offer. had some fun, came back and tried to sleep at 4am but couldn’t. somehow i blacked out and found myself sleeping in the hotel lobby. haha. just joking.
going to go outside and explore this beautiful warm day before the rest of the group arrive tonight. tomorrow morning we’re jumping on another airplane deep into panama. hope to see lions, bears, monkeys, and big tunas! see ya!