Here's a list of what I've been reading lately and really enjoyed. Worth checking them out....
SPORTS:
1) NYTimes Sunday Mag Profile of Rafael Nadal: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/magazine/21nadal-t.html?ref=magazine&pagewanted=all
Shows the solid family roots and humiliy, previously unknown to me, of Rrrafa.
2) Book excerpt: Strokes of Genius: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=wertheim/090617
Describes the different mental preparations of two warriors heading into the greatest tennis match ever played. Psychologically fascinating.
Politics:
1) Peter Orszag describes healthcare reform efforts: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Director-Orszag-on-Health-Care-Reform-Higher-Quality-for-Lower-Costs/.whitehouse.gov/blog/Director-Orszag-on-Health-Care-Reform-Higher-Quality-for-Lower-Costs/
Orszag, Obama's OMB director, is a wonky dork genius whose personal passion is reducing health care costs. I saw him present this long, but interesting overview in the fall of 2007: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1303076436442994452
2) The lame culture of DC folks trying desperately to hoop it up with POTUS. Amazing article:
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=090618/dchoops
3) Why the AMA will support healthcare reform: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/09_26/b4137000370180.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis
Good to understand how the fundamentals will affect docs.
Business:
1) The Next Detroit: http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/0608/070-automakers-fisker-karmas-the-next-detroit_2.html
Details Fisker Automotive's plug in luxury revolution. Bonus? Fisker is based in Irvine! (And yes folks, I've already reached out for an informational interview)
2) 50 best tech startups: http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2009/tc20090616_691083.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis
Self explanatory.
International:
On assignment: Covering Tehran http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/17/assignment-2/?hp
1) An insight into the challenges journalists face covering the election and its aftermath
2) Understanding Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's new Foreign Minister http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/weekinreview/14levy.html?scp=4&sq=israel&st=cse
He's kinda crazy, very shrewd and a MAJOR voice in Netanyahu's ear.
Finally, Books I've read that you'll enjoy:
1) The Ends of the Earth, Robert Kaplan (hat tip to Andy Regenstreich): http://www.amazon.com/Ends-Earth-Turkmenistan-Cambodia-Frontiers/dp/0679751238
A journalist writes of developmental and growth challenges in an amusing, narrative style as he travels overland from Africa to Southeast Asia
2) The Best and the Brightest, David Halberstam: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Brightest-David-Halberstam/dp/0449908704
"The most comprehensive saga of how America became involved in Vietnam. It is also The Iliad of the American Empire and The Odyssey of this nation's search for its idealistic soul." -Boston Globe. Wow, can't say it better than that.
Enjoy these, and shoot me your thoughts. What else should be on the list?
J
17 June 2009
Things I'm Reading that You Should Too
08 June 2009
The Best of Southeast Asia (plus photos)
The 'best of' trip photos have been posted here:
here
********
As I flew across the Pacific last Thursday afternoon, I looked back on my trip and tried to pick out some of the best and worst experiences. Without further ado.....
BESTS:
Sunrise: Watching the sun appear over the Gulf of Thailand while laying in a hammock on Ko Phangan, after the Full Moon Party.
Sunset: Nha Trang, Vietnam
Meal: Crunchy noodles and banana flower salad, Chote Chitr restaurant, Bangkok
Flight (within Asia): Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Ko Samui (free lounge w/ food, drinks and internet for economy class passengers)
Train: Deluxe Sleeper, Lau Cai (Sapa) to Hanoi
Hotel: Green Garden Home, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Bar: Bar Yoko, Saigon
Market: Hanoi Night Market
View (overall): Angkor Wat at sunrise
Boat: Booze Cruise in Nha Trang
WORSTS:
-The 12 hour, overnight 'Hell Bus' from Hoi An to Nha Trang
-Train from Hanoi to Sapa, featuring leaking air conditioning and physical abuse from the conductor
-Being rear ended by a fuel truck while in a Taxi somewhere on the mountain road from Sapa to Lau Cai
- The food, overall, in Laos
-The 'belching pollution' ferry from Ko Phangan to Surat Thani while hungover
-Attempting to use couch surfing.com and being revolted by what I found
-Being told 'f*ck you' and kicked by a 12 year old fried fruit vendor on the beach in Nha Trang when I didn't wanna buy his product
TOP FIVES
Street Food:
1) Bun Cha & Nem Rad, Hanoi (pork pattie stew and crab spring rolls)
2) Banh Xeo, Saigon (Vietnamese Pancake with shrimp tofu and chicken)
3) Pho for breakfast every day, Vietnam
4) Pad See-Ew, Bangkok
5) Pig brains and tongue, Siem Reap
Local Beers:
1) Tiger (Singapore)
2) Chang (Thailand)
3) Angkor (Cambodia)
4) Saigon (Vietnam)
5) Hanoi (Vietnam)
Beaches:
1) Ko Phangan, Thailand
2) Hoi An, Vietnam
3) Nha Trang (if you include the booze cruise), Vietnam
4) Sentosa, Singapore
5) The pool in Singapore...was incredible
Organic or Original Experiences:
1) Playing pickup basketball in Hong Kong
2) Vietnamese Hackey Sack in Saigon
3) Making friends with locals while trekking in Sapa
4) Eating with our tuk tuk driver at a local market in Siem Reap
5) The 'Hunt for Banh Xeo' in Saigon
Local People:
1) Mr. Chan the tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap....like this.....
2) Breakfast lady in Bangkok (you com-ah he-ah every day mistah)
3) Victor and Jesse, at Rajawongse tailor in Bangkok
4) Random Bangkok man who helped negotiate my taxi fare to the airport when I was down to 100 baht
5) Masseuse who offered me special favors and kicked me out of the massage parlor when I declined, Nha Trang
Lessons Learned:
1) Resilience
2) Don't be afraid to blow up your plans for the sake of a good time
3) Improvise, particularly when lost in bad neighborhoods at night
4) Iron Stomach = Good vacation
5) Always carry a map in case your taxi, motorbike or tuk tuk driver just pretends to know where he's going so he can get your fare.
And lastly, the motto I live by:
WHEN IN DOUBT, DO IT FOR THE STORY!
Thanks for reading the blog.
Much Love,
Jason
here
********
As I flew across the Pacific last Thursday afternoon, I looked back on my trip and tried to pick out some of the best and worst experiences. Without further ado.....
BESTS:
Sunrise: Watching the sun appear over the Gulf of Thailand while laying in a hammock on Ko Phangan, after the Full Moon Party.
Sunset: Nha Trang, Vietnam
Meal: Crunchy noodles and banana flower salad, Chote Chitr restaurant, Bangkok
Flight (within Asia): Bangkok Airways from Bangkok to Ko Samui (free lounge w/ food, drinks and internet for economy class passengers)
Train: Deluxe Sleeper, Lau Cai (Sapa) to Hanoi
Hotel: Green Garden Home, Siem Reap, Cambodia
Bar: Bar Yoko, Saigon
Market: Hanoi Night Market
View (overall): Angkor Wat at sunrise
Boat: Booze Cruise in Nha Trang
WORSTS:
-The 12 hour, overnight 'Hell Bus' from Hoi An to Nha Trang
-Train from Hanoi to Sapa, featuring leaking air conditioning and physical abuse from the conductor
-Being rear ended by a fuel truck while in a Taxi somewhere on the mountain road from Sapa to Lau Cai
- The food, overall, in Laos
-The 'belching pollution' ferry from Ko Phangan to Surat Thani while hungover
-Attempting to use couch surfing.com and being revolted by what I found
-Being told 'f*ck you' and kicked by a 12 year old fried fruit vendor on the beach in Nha Trang when I didn't wanna buy his product
TOP FIVES
Street Food:
1) Bun Cha & Nem Rad, Hanoi (pork pattie stew and crab spring rolls)
2) Banh Xeo, Saigon (Vietnamese Pancake with shrimp tofu and chicken)
3) Pho for breakfast every day, Vietnam
4) Pad See-Ew, Bangkok
5) Pig brains and tongue, Siem Reap
Local Beers:
1) Tiger (Singapore)
2) Chang (Thailand)
3) Angkor (Cambodia)
4) Saigon (Vietnam)
5) Hanoi (Vietnam)
Beaches:
1) Ko Phangan, Thailand
2) Hoi An, Vietnam
3) Nha Trang (if you include the booze cruise), Vietnam
4) Sentosa, Singapore
5) The pool in Singapore...was incredible
Organic or Original Experiences:
1) Playing pickup basketball in Hong Kong
2) Vietnamese Hackey Sack in Saigon
3) Making friends with locals while trekking in Sapa
4) Eating with our tuk tuk driver at a local market in Siem Reap
5) The 'Hunt for Banh Xeo' in Saigon
Local People:
1) Mr. Chan the tuk tuk driver in Siem Reap....like this.....
2) Breakfast lady in Bangkok (you com-ah he-ah every day mistah)
3) Victor and Jesse, at Rajawongse tailor in Bangkok
4) Random Bangkok man who helped negotiate my taxi fare to the airport when I was down to 100 baht
5) Masseuse who offered me special favors and kicked me out of the massage parlor when I declined, Nha Trang
Lessons Learned:
1) Resilience
2) Don't be afraid to blow up your plans for the sake of a good time
3) Improvise, particularly when lost in bad neighborhoods at night
4) Iron Stomach = Good vacation
5) Always carry a map in case your taxi, motorbike or tuk tuk driver just pretends to know where he's going so he can get your fare.
And lastly, the motto I live by:
WHEN IN DOUBT, DO IT FOR THE STORY!
Thanks for reading the blog.
Much Love,
Jason
03 June 2009
New York on Steroids
My initial impression of Hong Kong: Wow.
I arrived in Central Hong Kong via ferry from my friend Matt's place on nearby Park Island. As the boat approached the ferry terminal, I realized that what appeared to be a mirage in my head was actually true. There were skyscrapers by the dozens, many of them the signature works of world renowned architects, reaching improbable heights while backed by the imposing form of Hong Kong's Victoria Peak.
The Central area of Hong Kong is literally built on the flat between a mountain and the sea, a narrow strip so small that to reach certain parts of the city a twenty minute long escalator takes you up over a 500 meter increase in altitude. The energy is best described as electric. Imagine a combination of the investment banking canyons of midtown Manhattan, the maze of shops in Greenwich/East Villages and the Lower East Side/Chinatown all rolled up into an area no bigger than 1 km deep by 3 kms wide. It's absolute insanity.
After exploring the Central area, I ducked into a tea house for the famous Hong Kong style Milk Tea, and prayed that the thunderstorms would cease and the clouds would clear, allowing me to ride the cablecar up to the top of Victoria Peak for a spectacular view. Unfortunately, the clouds and fog never lifted and so it was on to plan b, as in basketball. That part in a moment.
First, I walked down to the famous star ferry terminal and boarded a boat for the quick ride across the harbor to Kowloon's Tsim She Tsui, an area of shops, hotels and spectacular views of the city. Here is a good point to note that Hong Kong, which is the anglicized version of the Cantonese term for 'fragrant harbor', pumps 1.5 million gallons of raw sewage into the harbor every day, giving the term fragrant a whole new meaning.
After arriving in TST, I walked up along Nathan Rd, a thoroughfare jammed with shops specializing in every electronic gadget conceivable, as well as seedy alleyways with Indian hustlers, Chinese whores and Malaysian Tailors offering suits in a matter of hours.
Matt had mentioned that an area called Mong Kok would be a good place to check out, and I wasn't disappointed. Instead of shopping around for souvenirs, I stumbled upon an outdoor basketball court in the form of the cages (W. 4th and 6th in NYC, in the Fens in Boston, 1st and N NW in DC) packed with local high school kids trying to be like Lebron.
I walked in and soon enough was playing a spirited game of 5 on 5, becoming both the focus of the opposing defense (I got triple teamed cause they're all so little) and repeatedly attacked by Hong Kong's version of Allen Iverson who (correctly) thought he could take me off the dribble because he was so small and quick.
It was a fun way to spend a few hours, and one of the kids even wore an Orlando Magic jersey. I asked who he was supporting in the finals and he said Kobe. The jersey, unfortunately, was an old Steve Francis model. And now residents of Magic nation will wince.
I took the subway back down to the star ferry, and got some spectacular photos of Hong Kong that capture the contrast of mountains and city. Then it was off to explore some more on the various catwalks and suspended platforms that connect Central Hong Kong while keeping pedestrians mainly off the main boulevards.
I ended my sprint through Hong Kong by taking the ferry back to Park Island, which is essentially a housing community built by the city and featuring 31 separate 28 story apartment towers, 5 gyms, restaurants, a primary school, etc. It seems to lack character, but is only 20 minutes from central by ferry and much more liveable than being in the midst of the city. At least so says Matt, a Brit in Hong Kong teaching English, looking to start his own business and dating really cute local girls. Not a bad way to spend a few years.
We had dinner at one of the Park Island restaurants and washed it down with a couple pints of beer. It was a great way to end a marathon day in one of the best cities in the world, and a marathon journey to a region I've fallen in love with.
This is the last post before I head home later Thursday afternoon. I'll be in Los Angeles the next couple of days and will make a final post with trip highlights and some photos as soon as I can.
Thanks for reading, and I hope this has been as enjoyable an experience for you to follow as it has been for me to blog about!
JZ
02 June 2009
Boom Boom Boom (now let me hear you say hey-o)
I'm writing this update from the Cathay lounge at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport, where the free Johnny Walker Blue Label is much appreciated after a hectic 24 hours in Siam.
Before traveling to Asia, one constantly reads about sex tourism, and the various degrading and disgusting opportunities awaiting visitors to this part of the world.
Seeing legions of perverted American businessmen running around Bangkok with teenagers is definitely off-putting, but what is even worse is the constant solicitation that follows men around the regiion if they are traveling solo.
Here's a PG-13 rated recount of the various ways I've been offered to purchase sex on this trip:
In Bangkok:
'Lady boy, big booby. You want?" (from a muscular lady boy. lady boys are everywhere in Bangkok).
"Pingpong show, marijuana, boom boom." (from a middle aged man outside a bar. I asked where his kids were)
"Boom boom before bus?" (from a girl no older than 16 on the corner waiting for the airport bus this afternoon).
In Hanoi:
"You want vietnamese girl? Very sexy." (From the front desk clerk at my hotel)
"You make boom boom? I know girl Cheap cheap!" (From motorbike taxi driver as we rode through empty streets in a rainstorm at 2 am)
"I do everything. What you want?" my response: "Coffee." (from a street vendor whom I thought limited her enterprises to beverages)
In Hoi An:
"I know girl, cheap very dirty." (motorbike driver at about 3:00 AM. Maybe the two drivers were cousins.)
In Nha Trang:
"You want (fellatio)? 300,000 dong [15 dollars]." (from the woman giving me a massage at a place recommended in Lonely Planet. Thanks.)
In Saigon:
"Hey you, wanna (have relations)" From two girls on the back of a motorbike as I left a club at 4:45 AM
In Cambodia:
"Cheap massage you leave happy let me touch." (from bored massage workers on the sidewalk, approx Noon)
In Singapore:
"Very discreet place to get girl. I know. I show you where for 45 dollars." (enterprising merchant in Little India)
and the best for last:
"You so handsome. I love dance with you. I want kiss you, but you pay me first?" (Variations from the Thai girls that descended upon every man in the bar on khao san road last night like warhawks.)
So, it was solicitous adventure, but one that brings disturbing trends and images to mind when thinking about where the girls come from, the pimps controlling them and the rampant disease and abuse.
Just plain weird.
Be safe ya'll
Z
29 May 2009
Singapore is for Shoppers
Singapore. Lion City. Singapura.
Is boring.
Not that it wasn't expected or anything. My take after two days here is that it's the kind of place to cool your heels en route to or from somewhere better.
The food in Singapore has been great, but there really isn't much to do. Today I swam in an olympic sized pool for the first time in Asia, traveled on an incredibly efficient subway system and heard not one horn honk, saw one person jaywalk and wasn't offered to buy any bootleg dvds.
The city is filled with malls, chain stores and expensive boutiques. I'm being left alone on the streets (which are spotless) and haven't seen one insect near my food.
Yet it feels wrong. Not wrong because of the economic miracle performed here. But wrong because there is so much poverty and loss so close. It's like comparing Phoenix and Mexico City, but if they were a 40 minute flight apart.
That said, it is nice to have a/c everywhere, to see paved roads and trash cans.
But this isn't why I came to Southeast Asia.
The good news is that tomorrow I leave for Indonesia, where I'll be going to a beach resort island that will also likely feel a little bit surreal.
Now, I'm all for rest and relaxation, but I do love Islamic culture and hope to visit a local mosque, eat some Halal foods and catch some rays.
Home in just one week....
Is boring.
Not that it wasn't expected or anything. My take after two days here is that it's the kind of place to cool your heels en route to or from somewhere better.
The food in Singapore has been great, but there really isn't much to do. Today I swam in an olympic sized pool for the first time in Asia, traveled on an incredibly efficient subway system and heard not one horn honk, saw one person jaywalk and wasn't offered to buy any bootleg dvds.
The city is filled with malls, chain stores and expensive boutiques. I'm being left alone on the streets (which are spotless) and haven't seen one insect near my food.
Yet it feels wrong. Not wrong because of the economic miracle performed here. But wrong because there is so much poverty and loss so close. It's like comparing Phoenix and Mexico City, but if they were a 40 minute flight apart.
That said, it is nice to have a/c everywhere, to see paved roads and trash cans.
But this isn't why I came to Southeast Asia.
The good news is that tomorrow I leave for Indonesia, where I'll be going to a beach resort island that will also likely feel a little bit surreal.
Now, I'm all for rest and relaxation, but I do love Islamic culture and hope to visit a local mosque, eat some Halal foods and catch some rays.
Home in just one week....
26 May 2009
Losing My Religion
Or at least my notebook.
I was halfway through the bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap when it hit me: I had forgotten my travel journal at an internet cafe in downtown Phnom Penh during my early-morning research session. The journal, which contains all of my notes from this trip, email addresses for nearly all the people I've met PLUS all my notes from my trip to Turkey in summer 2006, is gone.
It's a shame because in addition to the lost observations, the journal was poised for a starring role in this blog post. I was going to 'empty out my notes from the road' with some random recitations of goings on and arcane observances. Now, it'll be tough to do without the actual notebook, but here are some random odds and ends from the last few days.
Friday, May 22nd, Saigon.
Cu Chi tunnels were interesting, and helped the Vietcong really evade American forces during the war. I met a few Americans and a Swiss guy and we had one of the best meals from the trip at a place recommended once again by RW Apple. It was Ban Xeo, a Vietnamese crepe of sorts filled with shrimp, chicken, bean sprouts and tofu. You rip off a piece of the pancake, grab a slice of herbs, add lettuce, and wrap the whole thing in rice paper, then dip into a hot/sweet sauce like you've never tasted. Remarkable.
I walk through the middle of a community fitness class on my way to Chabad Lubavitch of Vietnam. The class featured around 200 Vietnamese women mimicking the moves of an instructor in the middle of a park in downtown Saigon. Blaring Vietnamese dance music was obligatory.
At Chabad, I davened and enjoyed a great meal with mostly Israeli Jews. It was wonderful to sing Y'did Nefesh and Lecha Dodi in a room full of our people across the globe, as I haven't met too many Jews while traveling. The fresh baked challah was a revelation. Also, this Chabad featured more 'L''Chaim's" (shots of alcohol) than any I'd ever been to. I'd estimate 4 L'Çhaim's per person.
Being the good yeshivabucher that I am, I went out after shul to Bar YoKo, where some mid-40s Vietnamese guitar heroes were playing passable covers of CCR, Dylan, the Stones and Journey.
Saturday, May 23rd, Phnom Phenh, Cambodia.
Took a 6 hour long bus trip up the Mekong Delta and across the border from Vietnam to Cambodia. The highlight was crossing the river on a car ferry around sunset, which afforded spectacular views.
Phnom Penh after dark is a street-stall-smoke filled, crappy-road city that took some time to warm up to. I ate my first 'western' meal of the trip at a french restaurant (France was Cambodia's colonizer) near the Tonle Sap River. Porc Rillettes, Soup de Poisson and a glass of Burgundy helped me forget my sketchy whereabouts.
Sunday, May 24th, Phnom Penh.
Previously wrote about the Genocide museum and the killing fields. I met up with an older (45 approx.) couple from Canada that has been traveling for a year. Explored the Phnom Penh's Central and Russian Markets, and grabbed lunch. The food in this country doesn't impress me at all. It's like a bland version of Southeastern fare, but without much flavor or creativity. Witness: We ordered chicken fried rice, or some variation of it, and we were given a cut of chicken with bones in every bite. In a rice dish. Riiiiight.
Worked out with my friend Gavin at the Hotel Cambodiana, one of the nicest in the city. Saw a great lightening storm as the sun set over the river then joined the Canadians for free flowing drinks and political conversation at their hotel overlooking the night market.
Cambodians are the poorest, shyest and most underdeveloped people in the region. 3x more children in the street here than Vietnam and Thailand combined. Sad.
Monday, May 25th, Phnom Penh-Siem Reap.
Woke up enjoying Phnom Penh more than I expected. The city grows on you, kind of like the smell from sweat after a great hike. At first it's repugnant, then you expect it, then you look forward to it.
Met yet another Canadian couple on the bus to Siem Reap (OK, French Canadian as Jean-Baptiste and Anne would have me insist) and talked as we passed through poor farmland with skeletal cows munching grass from the red laterite earth. Extreme poverty.
We hit Siem Reap exhausted but headed to a great hotel I'd heard about, the Green Garden Home, and decided to splurge. For $16 / night I've got a room with a King size bed, nice, tiled bathroom with hot shower, swimming pool, etc. Beats the $4/night I spent in a hovel in Phnom Penh, where the bathroom had no sink. To wash your hands, you turned on the shower. Swear to God.
Tuesday, May 26th, Siem Reap.
Woke up with Annie and Jean-Baptiste at 4:30 AM to reach Angkor Wat by Sunrise. Hired a great tuk tuk driver to pick us up at 5. We reached Angkor at 5:40, just in time to see a spectacular sunrise over the ancient Hindu (then Buddhist) temple. If you don't know about Angkor Wat, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
It's one of the 7 wonders of the world, and the largest religious complex the world has ever seen.
We explored numerous temples in the complex from sunrise til about 5:00 PM. Words don't do justice to the intricate carvings, grand scale and beautiful surroundings of the site. Simply unreal. If you can get here at some point in your life, do it.
We found our first good Cambodian meal, with a sort of pumpkin and sweet potato souffle with chicken, a soup of pumpkin, lemongrass and cinnamon, and a curry of spicy Khmer herbs and sauces.
Wednesday, May 27th, Siem Reap.
It's now Wednesday morning as I write this in an internet cafe in Siem Reap. I just watched an incredibly thrilling Cavs/Magic playoff game online, and made some new friends through my incessant cheering and cajoling of officials. Note to the league: Your credibility is shot. When Scott Foster, and FOD (Friend of Donaghy, the gambling ref) calls a phantom foul on D-Howard in the 4th, you can't tell me it isn't a lil fixed. Oh well, Magic hung in there, causing overcaffeineted Magic fan Craig Oppenheim to email me the following:
MgAAIC WINE!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, they did.
I have one more bit of news if you've made it this far:
I've decided to skip Laos on account of ridiculously overpriced airfare. It would've cost me $390 to fly from Siem Reap to Vientiene, and back from Luang Brabang to Bangkok. Instead, Im flying Siem Reap-Singapore-Bangkok for $140. I leave for Singapore and it's incredible street food tomorrow (Thursday) morning. But Singapore isn't my actual destination. I'll take a ferry from Singapore to the Indonesian beach resort of Pulau Bintan to enjoy a few days of R&R on the beach before completing my journey with 2 nights each in Bangkok and Hong Kong.
Looks nice, huh? http://www.welcometobintan.com/
That's it for now, thanks for reading and don't forget to brush your teeth. Day 2 of Angkor beckons.
I was halfway through the bus ride from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap when it hit me: I had forgotten my travel journal at an internet cafe in downtown Phnom Penh during my early-morning research session. The journal, which contains all of my notes from this trip, email addresses for nearly all the people I've met PLUS all my notes from my trip to Turkey in summer 2006, is gone.
It's a shame because in addition to the lost observations, the journal was poised for a starring role in this blog post. I was going to 'empty out my notes from the road' with some random recitations of goings on and arcane observances. Now, it'll be tough to do without the actual notebook, but here are some random odds and ends from the last few days.
Friday, May 22nd, Saigon.
Cu Chi tunnels were interesting, and helped the Vietcong really evade American forces during the war. I met a few Americans and a Swiss guy and we had one of the best meals from the trip at a place recommended once again by RW Apple. It was Ban Xeo, a Vietnamese crepe of sorts filled with shrimp, chicken, bean sprouts and tofu. You rip off a piece of the pancake, grab a slice of herbs, add lettuce, and wrap the whole thing in rice paper, then dip into a hot/sweet sauce like you've never tasted. Remarkable.
I walk through the middle of a community fitness class on my way to Chabad Lubavitch of Vietnam. The class featured around 200 Vietnamese women mimicking the moves of an instructor in the middle of a park in downtown Saigon. Blaring Vietnamese dance music was obligatory.
At Chabad, I davened and enjoyed a great meal with mostly Israeli Jews. It was wonderful to sing Y'did Nefesh and Lecha Dodi in a room full of our people across the globe, as I haven't met too many Jews while traveling. The fresh baked challah was a revelation. Also, this Chabad featured more 'L''Chaim's" (shots of alcohol) than any I'd ever been to. I'd estimate 4 L'Çhaim's per person.
Being the good yeshivabucher that I am, I went out after shul to Bar YoKo, where some mid-40s Vietnamese guitar heroes were playing passable covers of CCR, Dylan, the Stones and Journey.
Saturday, May 23rd, Phnom Phenh, Cambodia.
Took a 6 hour long bus trip up the Mekong Delta and across the border from Vietnam to Cambodia. The highlight was crossing the river on a car ferry around sunset, which afforded spectacular views.
Phnom Penh after dark is a street-stall-smoke filled, crappy-road city that took some time to warm up to. I ate my first 'western' meal of the trip at a french restaurant (France was Cambodia's colonizer) near the Tonle Sap River. Porc Rillettes, Soup de Poisson and a glass of Burgundy helped me forget my sketchy whereabouts.
Sunday, May 24th, Phnom Penh.
Previously wrote about the Genocide museum and the killing fields. I met up with an older (45 approx.) couple from Canada that has been traveling for a year. Explored the Phnom Penh's Central and Russian Markets, and grabbed lunch. The food in this country doesn't impress me at all. It's like a bland version of Southeastern fare, but without much flavor or creativity. Witness: We ordered chicken fried rice, or some variation of it, and we were given a cut of chicken with bones in every bite. In a rice dish. Riiiiight.
Worked out with my friend Gavin at the Hotel Cambodiana, one of the nicest in the city. Saw a great lightening storm as the sun set over the river then joined the Canadians for free flowing drinks and political conversation at their hotel overlooking the night market.
Cambodians are the poorest, shyest and most underdeveloped people in the region. 3x more children in the street here than Vietnam and Thailand combined. Sad.
Monday, May 25th, Phnom Penh-Siem Reap.
Woke up enjoying Phnom Penh more than I expected. The city grows on you, kind of like the smell from sweat after a great hike. At first it's repugnant, then you expect it, then you look forward to it.
Met yet another Canadian couple on the bus to Siem Reap (OK, French Canadian as Jean-Baptiste and Anne would have me insist) and talked as we passed through poor farmland with skeletal cows munching grass from the red laterite earth. Extreme poverty.
We hit Siem Reap exhausted but headed to a great hotel I'd heard about, the Green Garden Home, and decided to splurge. For $16 / night I've got a room with a King size bed, nice, tiled bathroom with hot shower, swimming pool, etc. Beats the $4/night I spent in a hovel in Phnom Penh, where the bathroom had no sink. To wash your hands, you turned on the shower. Swear to God.
Tuesday, May 26th, Siem Reap.
Woke up with Annie and Jean-Baptiste at 4:30 AM to reach Angkor Wat by Sunrise. Hired a great tuk tuk driver to pick us up at 5. We reached Angkor at 5:40, just in time to see a spectacular sunrise over the ancient Hindu (then Buddhist) temple. If you don't know about Angkor Wat, click here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angkor_Wat
It's one of the 7 wonders of the world, and the largest religious complex the world has ever seen.
We explored numerous temples in the complex from sunrise til about 5:00 PM. Words don't do justice to the intricate carvings, grand scale and beautiful surroundings of the site. Simply unreal. If you can get here at some point in your life, do it.
We found our first good Cambodian meal, with a sort of pumpkin and sweet potato souffle with chicken, a soup of pumpkin, lemongrass and cinnamon, and a curry of spicy Khmer herbs and sauces.
Wednesday, May 27th, Siem Reap.
It's now Wednesday morning as I write this in an internet cafe in Siem Reap. I just watched an incredibly thrilling Cavs/Magic playoff game online, and made some new friends through my incessant cheering and cajoling of officials. Note to the league: Your credibility is shot. When Scott Foster, and FOD (Friend of Donaghy, the gambling ref) calls a phantom foul on D-Howard in the 4th, you can't tell me it isn't a lil fixed. Oh well, Magic hung in there, causing overcaffeineted Magic fan Craig Oppenheim to email me the following:
MgAAIC WINE!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, they did.
I have one more bit of news if you've made it this far:
I've decided to skip Laos on account of ridiculously overpriced airfare. It would've cost me $390 to fly from Siem Reap to Vientiene, and back from Luang Brabang to Bangkok. Instead, Im flying Siem Reap-Singapore-Bangkok for $140. I leave for Singapore and it's incredible street food tomorrow (Thursday) morning. But Singapore isn't my actual destination. I'll take a ferry from Singapore to the Indonesian beach resort of Pulau Bintan to enjoy a few days of R&R on the beach before completing my journey with 2 nights each in Bangkok and Hong Kong.
Looks nice, huh? http://www.welcometobintan.com/
That's it for now, thanks for reading and don't forget to brush your teeth. Day 2 of Angkor beckons.
24 May 2009
The People
I've thoroughly enjoyed providing a summary-style blog during my travels to Asia, but realized yesterday that I haven't yet told you much about the people.
No, not the crazy backpackers and midlife wanderers that I've met in guest houses and hostels, but the local Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodians. Each are a hardworking and mostly poor community. Many will cheat you out of your money faster than you'd realize. But once you start conversing with locals, the constant scraping of price negotiation and scams quickly fades.
Instead, you learn that the tuk-tuk driver lives in a wooden shack with 9 relatives in a single room. Or that the woman cooking your breakfast on the street is up every day at 4AM to make the stock for her soup, and works until 8 PM from a lonely stool on the sidewalk where she serves as a kind of community food kitchen. You also learn, hard as it is, about those who were lost to US and French bombs in Vietnam and Cambodia, and to Cambodia's genocide of the 1970s.
Yesterday in Phnom Penh, I visited two monuments to the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. The first, Tuol Sleng (S. 21) prison, was the cite of horrific and systematic interrogation, torture and murder of innocent Cambodians in the mid to late 1970s. Pol Pot's regime decided that the only way to have a true revolutionary state was to kill and maim all who were educated, spoke foreign languages, or didn't work in physical labor. People with glasses were arrested, tortured and killed. A generation of Cambodians lied about their education, feigned illiteracy and were forced to abandon their livelihoods just to survive.
At S.21, visitors walk through torture chambers, with the tools of infliction still on display. There are gruesome photos of the victims and personal profiles of many. The most bothersome part, however, is the children. There are rows and rows of photos of children killed for no reason at all, but in the pictures are smiling, innocent souls free from the knowledge of what was to become of them. It reminded me of the mound of children's shoes at the Holocaust Museum in DC or of the Children's tribute section at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
After seeing the site of the brutal interrogations, I jumped in a tuk-tuk for the 30 minute ride to the killing fields of Chueng Eok. The fields were found to have held the remains of 80,000 Cambodians killed by the Khmer Rouge, and are a physical testament to the necessity to stop genocide wherever it exists. A tribute tower soaring some 80 feet in the air is filled with the skulls exhumed from the site, and as one walks around among the mass grave sites, traces of old clothing, fragments of bone, and other reminders of life literally protrude from the earth. It's a chilling place to visit and makes visitors ask themselves questions:
-Why did the US support Khmer Rouge with money and arms
A: Because the Khmer were in a war with Vietnam after we had withdrawn.
-Why did the King of Cambodia go along with the Khmer Rouge's systematic destruction of the Cambodian people and emptying of its cities?
A: Unknown.
Why did the new government that replaced the Khmer Rouge let some former members of the Pol Pot regime join the government, and allow Pot and others to escape to neighboring countries without facing justice?
A: Unknown
Why did it take until 2006 for there to be a justice tribunal set up to charge those responsible for the deaths of 1 million Cambodians?
A: Unknown
I know this post isn't as rosy as some others but these questions are the type that stick with you when you come face to face with genocide.
I'm off today from Phnom Penh to Siem Riep by bus, and will spend the next few days visiting Angkor Wat. I'll update more on recent activities from there.
J
No, not the crazy backpackers and midlife wanderers that I've met in guest houses and hostels, but the local Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodians. Each are a hardworking and mostly poor community. Many will cheat you out of your money faster than you'd realize. But once you start conversing with locals, the constant scraping of price negotiation and scams quickly fades.
Instead, you learn that the tuk-tuk driver lives in a wooden shack with 9 relatives in a single room. Or that the woman cooking your breakfast on the street is up every day at 4AM to make the stock for her soup, and works until 8 PM from a lonely stool on the sidewalk where she serves as a kind of community food kitchen. You also learn, hard as it is, about those who were lost to US and French bombs in Vietnam and Cambodia, and to Cambodia's genocide of the 1970s.
Yesterday in Phnom Penh, I visited two monuments to the tragedy of the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia. The first, Tuol Sleng (S. 21) prison, was the cite of horrific and systematic interrogation, torture and murder of innocent Cambodians in the mid to late 1970s. Pol Pot's regime decided that the only way to have a true revolutionary state was to kill and maim all who were educated, spoke foreign languages, or didn't work in physical labor. People with glasses were arrested, tortured and killed. A generation of Cambodians lied about their education, feigned illiteracy and were forced to abandon their livelihoods just to survive.
At S.21, visitors walk through torture chambers, with the tools of infliction still on display. There are gruesome photos of the victims and personal profiles of many. The most bothersome part, however, is the children. There are rows and rows of photos of children killed for no reason at all, but in the pictures are smiling, innocent souls free from the knowledge of what was to become of them. It reminded me of the mound of children's shoes at the Holocaust Museum in DC or of the Children's tribute section at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.
After seeing the site of the brutal interrogations, I jumped in a tuk-tuk for the 30 minute ride to the killing fields of Chueng Eok. The fields were found to have held the remains of 80,000 Cambodians killed by the Khmer Rouge, and are a physical testament to the necessity to stop genocide wherever it exists. A tribute tower soaring some 80 feet in the air is filled with the skulls exhumed from the site, and as one walks around among the mass grave sites, traces of old clothing, fragments of bone, and other reminders of life literally protrude from the earth. It's a chilling place to visit and makes visitors ask themselves questions:
-Why did the US support Khmer Rouge with money and arms
A: Because the Khmer were in a war with Vietnam after we had withdrawn.
-Why did the King of Cambodia go along with the Khmer Rouge's systematic destruction of the Cambodian people and emptying of its cities?
A: Unknown.
Why did the new government that replaced the Khmer Rouge let some former members of the Pol Pot regime join the government, and allow Pot and others to escape to neighboring countries without facing justice?
A: Unknown
Why did it take until 2006 for there to be a justice tribunal set up to charge those responsible for the deaths of 1 million Cambodians?
A: Unknown
I know this post isn't as rosy as some others but these questions are the type that stick with you when you come face to face with genocide.
I'm off today from Phnom Penh to Siem Riep by bus, and will spend the next few days visiting Angkor Wat. I'll update more on recent activities from there.
J
21 May 2009
The Sprint to the South
I last wrote you on the way from the sleepy town of Hoi An to the larger, beach/party city of Nha Trang.
I arrived in Nha Trang on Tuesday morning after an awful, 12 hour bus ride that felt like a roller coaster with incessant horn honking, swerving and another close encounter with a leaky air conditioner.
I couldn't sleep after my 5:30 arrival into Nha Trang, so I went for a walk along the beach to watch the sun rise. This was particularly interesting because, a) there were couples on the beach enjoying themselves from the previous night and, b) the beach was full of trash, including rusting steak knives, corn cobs and my favorite, a naval-flotilla sized mass of dirty diapers.
I realized then that Nha Trang might not be for me. (Beach fun, yes. Polluted beach fun, no.)
Spent the first day lounging around the town's various backpacker establishments like repetitive scuba shops, overpriced restaurants serving cheap imitations of western food and numerous offers for illicit drugs, sex and rock and roll. (Yes, I turned them down.)
Ran into a bunch of folks from the hell bus and we went out til around 4 AM to celebrate not being thrown violently into metal railings while laying down in a puddle of aircon runoff. It was a fun night, and Nha Trang grew on me a little bit. The location, on the south central Vietnamese coat along the South China Sea, was spectacular. The water is a clear blue, there are numerous islands visible offshore and the weater is quite nice.
The downside was getting yelled at by a 12 year old fruit vendor who basically challenged me to a fight because I wasnt interested in purchasing his 15 hour old fried mango slices at 4 AM.
So, when a town gets you down, what's the natural action to take? Booze cruise.
I spent Wednesday on a really fun boat trip around four of the aforementioned islands off Nha Trang's coast. The boat held an eclectic mix of 20 something backpackers and older asian family groups that clearly didn't know what there were getting into. After the sound system played 'Live your life' by Rihanna 5 times in the first hour, and the 'floating bar' was opened, the families started to get the idea. Very funny scenes of scowling bubbes and howling backpackers ensued.
After the boat cruise I headed with some fellow revelers to the train station to catch an overnight train to Ho Chi Minh City (I will call it Saigon, as all locals do).
My cabin featured a Vietnamese mother, grandmother and daughter. The grandmother was quite funny, and kept asking me whether I was married, and if I'd consider her 23 year old granddaughter, who was conveniently serving as translator for the entire exchange.
I arrived into Saigon in rush hour and immediately realized that the number of motorbikes here dwarfs that of Hanoi, and that this city is definitely more western in style and substance.
I set off for the main sights of the city, including the War Remnants museum, which is basically an indictment of US actions in the vietnam war. There are old A-4 Skyhawks, A-H1 Huey helicopters, various tank and amphibious assault vehicles and deactivated ordinance scattered around a giant yard like so many pieces of modern art. Inside the museum is a heartwrenching account of some of the suffering of the Vietnamese population during the war. The museum serves to incite anger towards the US, and so any description of it has to be viewed in that light.
I then ran into some people I met in Hanoi, and we explored the Reunification palace, Cathedral of Notre Dame, Ben Thanh Market, and the backpacking district before getting massages for $3 from the Vietnamese Massage School for the Blind.
After dinner it was time to go out, and we were surprised by a somewhat dull nightlife scene. We ended up finding a decent bar full of foreigners, and managed to stay out til 4:00 AM. It's now 6:30 AM and I'm up for an 8 AM day trip to explore the cu chi tunnels used during the war.
I will be attending shul tonight at Chabad of Saigon (oh heck ya!) and am pumped to meet some fellow Yidim from around the world.
It looks like reaching Cambodia via the Mekong delta will cost 4 times as much and take 3 times longer than if I take a bus from Saigon. I think I'll bus to Phnomh Penh either tomorrow night or Sunday morning, and am excited for the Cambodian part of my adventure.
Any souvenir requests? Hit me up....949 544 1934
J
I arrived in Nha Trang on Tuesday morning after an awful, 12 hour bus ride that felt like a roller coaster with incessant horn honking, swerving and another close encounter with a leaky air conditioner.
I couldn't sleep after my 5:30 arrival into Nha Trang, so I went for a walk along the beach to watch the sun rise. This was particularly interesting because, a) there were couples on the beach enjoying themselves from the previous night and, b) the beach was full of trash, including rusting steak knives, corn cobs and my favorite, a naval-flotilla sized mass of dirty diapers.
I realized then that Nha Trang might not be for me. (Beach fun, yes. Polluted beach fun, no.)
Spent the first day lounging around the town's various backpacker establishments like repetitive scuba shops, overpriced restaurants serving cheap imitations of western food and numerous offers for illicit drugs, sex and rock and roll. (Yes, I turned them down.)
Ran into a bunch of folks from the hell bus and we went out til around 4 AM to celebrate not being thrown violently into metal railings while laying down in a puddle of aircon runoff. It was a fun night, and Nha Trang grew on me a little bit. The location, on the south central Vietnamese coat along the South China Sea, was spectacular. The water is a clear blue, there are numerous islands visible offshore and the weater is quite nice.
The downside was getting yelled at by a 12 year old fruit vendor who basically challenged me to a fight because I wasnt interested in purchasing his 15 hour old fried mango slices at 4 AM.
So, when a town gets you down, what's the natural action to take? Booze cruise.
I spent Wednesday on a really fun boat trip around four of the aforementioned islands off Nha Trang's coast. The boat held an eclectic mix of 20 something backpackers and older asian family groups that clearly didn't know what there were getting into. After the sound system played 'Live your life' by Rihanna 5 times in the first hour, and the 'floating bar' was opened, the families started to get the idea. Very funny scenes of scowling bubbes and howling backpackers ensued.
After the boat cruise I headed with some fellow revelers to the train station to catch an overnight train to Ho Chi Minh City (I will call it Saigon, as all locals do).
My cabin featured a Vietnamese mother, grandmother and daughter. The grandmother was quite funny, and kept asking me whether I was married, and if I'd consider her 23 year old granddaughter, who was conveniently serving as translator for the entire exchange.
I arrived into Saigon in rush hour and immediately realized that the number of motorbikes here dwarfs that of Hanoi, and that this city is definitely more western in style and substance.
I set off for the main sights of the city, including the War Remnants museum, which is basically an indictment of US actions in the vietnam war. There are old A-4 Skyhawks, A-H1 Huey helicopters, various tank and amphibious assault vehicles and deactivated ordinance scattered around a giant yard like so many pieces of modern art. Inside the museum is a heartwrenching account of some of the suffering of the Vietnamese population during the war. The museum serves to incite anger towards the US, and so any description of it has to be viewed in that light.
I then ran into some people I met in Hanoi, and we explored the Reunification palace, Cathedral of Notre Dame, Ben Thanh Market, and the backpacking district before getting massages for $3 from the Vietnamese Massage School for the Blind.
After dinner it was time to go out, and we were surprised by a somewhat dull nightlife scene. We ended up finding a decent bar full of foreigners, and managed to stay out til 4:00 AM. It's now 6:30 AM and I'm up for an 8 AM day trip to explore the cu chi tunnels used during the war.
I will be attending shul tonight at Chabad of Saigon (oh heck ya!) and am pumped to meet some fellow Yidim from around the world.
It looks like reaching Cambodia via the Mekong delta will cost 4 times as much and take 3 times longer than if I take a bus from Saigon. I think I'll bus to Phnomh Penh either tomorrow night or Sunday morning, and am excited for the Cambodian part of my adventure.
Any souvenir requests? Hit me up....949 544 1934
J
17 May 2009
Halong Bay, Hoi An and Photos
TRIP PHOTOS ARE POSTED. Click here: http://tinyurl.com/r8bdtg
_______________________________________________________________
The return night train from Sapa was a breeze and I got back into Hanoi at 5 AM Saturday morning. I headed back to the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel and got some grub, then headed out on the 7:30AM tour to Halong Bay. After 4 hours of driving through nearly identical villages with nearly identicaly hideous architecture, we reached Halong City and boarded our boat.
Boarding the boat isnt easy however, as there are 50 odd boats in the harbor, and each boat proprietor runs around frantically trying to splice and mix groups to fill all the seats. I met some great Canadians and an American law student during the bus ride and we stuck together during the human meat market prior to boarding.
After all that mess was settled, we boarded a junk and cruised around Halong Bay for the next 5 hours. It is a beautiful place, with Karsts rising from the sea in all directions, clear blue waters, and native residents living on floating piers hawking fruit, kayaks, etc.
On the bay, we explored caves, went for a hike and ate a meal that was mediocre at best, but devoured because we were so hungry.
After a hellish 5 hour trip back to Hanoi in a driving rain, I passed out early so that I could catch my 10 AM flight to Da Nang.
In the shared taxi to the Hanoi airport, I struck up a conversation with a Vietnamese guy working for Qualcomm. It went like this:
"You American?"
me: "yes"
"I work-a for quacom--San Diego!"
"Awesome, do you ever get to go out there?"
'All the time. Padres, In N Out, Mission Beach. San Diego!"
"San Diego"
"San Diegoooooo!"
The driver told us to shut up, but we traded San Diego tidbits for the next 45 minutes.
I flew for an hour aboard a 777-200 (huge plane for short route) from Hanoi to Da Nang. Hoi An is only a 30 km drive away, so I figured getting a taxi would be easy. Wrong. I ended up in a 1988 toyota corolla with no AC, and apparently no axles either. It was a bumpy ride highlighted by the driver trying to drop me off at the edge of town and demanding more money to continue (I didn't pay, and told him I'd call the tourist police if he didn't keep going).
I reached my hotel in Hoi An, and immediately headed to the city's historic old town to see the sights and find a place to get a summer-weight khaki suit made. The old town is old, but besides that it
is basically a giant tourist trap along a polluted river, and I was not too thrilled about my choice to visit. However, I found a tailor willing to make a pretty sweet khaki suit ( 2 button, double vented, thin lapel, functioning buttons on sleeves and extra pocket on left front of jacket!) for $50. If the thing is wearable 2 or 3 times I'll get my money's worth. I then ran into Sarah and Elisabeth, two Canadiens I met at the pool of the Army Hotel in Hanoi last week.
They convinced me to take a cooking clas with them, and we had a blast making papaya salad with shrimp, spring rolls and mackerel wrapped in banana leaf. The best part of the course was Bup, the eponymous restaurant owner who led the class and made sure we 'know bup is best. little bup not so good.' (pointing to his 3 year old)
After class we went out to a bar full of backpackers (not my favorite thing in the world) but played some card games and met lots of cool people (my fav thing in the world).
I decided to leave town tonight after picking up my suit, because this place really isn't my favorite. I'll be riding on the 12 hour 'hell bus' from Hoi An to the beach resort city of Nha Trang. I plan to drink, take a combination of prescription drugs and nyquil, and hopefully pass out for most of it.
I'll hit you up when I have more from the beach. I'm currently 1 day ahead of schedule, and on track to be in Saigon from Thurs-Sun, which should be awesome.
_______________________________________________________________
The return night train from Sapa was a breeze and I got back into Hanoi at 5 AM Saturday morning. I headed back to the Hanoi Backpackers Hostel and got some grub, then headed out on the 7:30AM tour to Halong Bay. After 4 hours of driving through nearly identical villages with nearly identicaly hideous architecture, we reached Halong City and boarded our boat.
Boarding the boat isnt easy however, as there are 50 odd boats in the harbor, and each boat proprietor runs around frantically trying to splice and mix groups to fill all the seats. I met some great Canadians and an American law student during the bus ride and we stuck together during the human meat market prior to boarding.
After all that mess was settled, we boarded a junk and cruised around Halong Bay for the next 5 hours. It is a beautiful place, with Karsts rising from the sea in all directions, clear blue waters, and native residents living on floating piers hawking fruit, kayaks, etc.
On the bay, we explored caves, went for a hike and ate a meal that was mediocre at best, but devoured because we were so hungry.
After a hellish 5 hour trip back to Hanoi in a driving rain, I passed out early so that I could catch my 10 AM flight to Da Nang.
In the shared taxi to the Hanoi airport, I struck up a conversation with a Vietnamese guy working for Qualcomm. It went like this:
"You American?"
me: "yes"
"I work-a for quacom--San Diego!"
"Awesome, do you ever get to go out there?"
'All the time. Padres, In N Out, Mission Beach. San Diego!"
"San Diego"
"San Diegoooooo!"
The driver told us to shut up, but we traded San Diego tidbits for the next 45 minutes.
I flew for an hour aboard a 777-200 (huge plane for short route) from Hanoi to Da Nang. Hoi An is only a 30 km drive away, so I figured getting a taxi would be easy. Wrong. I ended up in a 1988 toyota corolla with no AC, and apparently no axles either. It was a bumpy ride highlighted by the driver trying to drop me off at the edge of town and demanding more money to continue (I didn't pay, and told him I'd call the tourist police if he didn't keep going).
I reached my hotel in Hoi An, and immediately headed to the city's historic old town to see the sights and find a place to get a summer-weight khaki suit made. The old town is old, but besides that it
is basically a giant tourist trap along a polluted river, and I was not too thrilled about my choice to visit. However, I found a tailor willing to make a pretty sweet khaki suit ( 2 button, double vented, thin lapel, functioning buttons on sleeves and extra pocket on left front of jacket!) for $50. If the thing is wearable 2 or 3 times I'll get my money's worth. I then ran into Sarah and Elisabeth, two Canadiens I met at the pool of the Army Hotel in Hanoi last week.
They convinced me to take a cooking clas with them, and we had a blast making papaya salad with shrimp, spring rolls and mackerel wrapped in banana leaf. The best part of the course was Bup, the eponymous restaurant owner who led the class and made sure we 'know bup is best. little bup not so good.' (pointing to his 3 year old)
After class we went out to a bar full of backpackers (not my favorite thing in the world) but played some card games and met lots of cool people (my fav thing in the world).
I decided to leave town tonight after picking up my suit, because this place really isn't my favorite. I'll be riding on the 12 hour 'hell bus' from Hoi An to the beach resort city of Nha Trang. I plan to drink, take a combination of prescription drugs and nyquil, and hopefully pass out for most of it.
I'll hit you up when I have more from the beach. I'm currently 1 day ahead of schedule, and on track to be in Saigon from Thurs-Sun, which should be awesome.
Trip Photos
Some of the photos thus far. Apologies for lack of organization and explanation.
Enjoy!
http://tinyurl.com/r8bdtg
J
Enjoy!
http://tinyurl.com/r8bdtg
J
14 May 2009
Why I Travel
Many times, friends ask me why I'd want to spent most of my money on travel to far off lands, particularly when traveling solo. Yesterday was one of those days when I can definitively say, 'this is why I travel.'
I arrived in Sapa yesterday morning after a hilarious ride on the night train from Hanoi, which included my friend Kira and I both literally being hit on the backside by an overzealous railcar attendant who blaimed us for a leaky air conditioner.
Sapa is a small hill town high in the NW of Vietnam near the Chinese border. It was originally established by the French in the 1920s, but for the past 30 years has been a base for trekking and adventure travel into the villages of the ethnic Hmong minority groups. The Hmong are of Chinese ancestry and have lived in the surrounding hills and valleys for generations. They are also notable for supporting the US in the Vietnam war, and being cruelly punished when we abandoned the mission.
I left my hotel ($5/night for the room!) yesterday morning with 5 other backpackers for a day trek into the Hmong villages. We walked down muddy slopes and through the clouds until a vast expanse of terraced rice paddies was visible on the steep hillsides as far as the eyes could see. We hiked though muddy ravines, down collapsing hillsides, and waded through a bog or two. It sounds messy, but it was spectacular. We were accompanied by 4 local Hmong women who served as guides and repeatedly asking 'where you from' and 'how old are you' and 'what your name'. We passed Hmong children and adults working in the rice paddies, and moved down the path alongside water buffalo, chickens, geese and dogs.
Eventually we hiked down the 1000 ft or so hillside and reached a river. After crossing on foot, we rested on the other side. There was breathtaking scenery on every side. Hundreds of terraced rice plots, small villages high on hills, the rush of the river, and the native Hmong people.
This is why I travel.
##
Today I'm hanging out in Sapa village before a night train back to Hanoi, where I'll immediately join up for a day trip to Halong Bay. On Sunday morning I'll fly to Da Nang, and then journey to the ancient city of Hoi An. Hoi An is approximately halfway down the Vietnamese coast between Hanoi and Saigon, and I'll be getting some clothing made there and hanging out on the beach for a few days. I'll try to post an update from Hoi An on Sunday night.
To the folks requesting pictures: sorry, I havent had time to put them up, as the upload times here are atrocious.
-A brief note on food. Late food writer RW Apple Jr has guided me to amazing meals in Bangkok and Hanoi. Read a LEGENDARY profile of him here, written by humorist Calvin Trillin: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/09/29/030929fa_fact1
In Bangkok it was amazing Banana Leaf Salad and Pad Krew at Chote Chitr, followed by Mango sticky rice at the legendy Kor Panich bakery.
In Hanoi, I ate Bun Ca (pork patty noodle soup with cabbage, peppers, and fresh mint, thyme and parsley) and Nem Rad (North Vietnamese spring rolls, with crab, cabbage and fish oil) at a 4 story, ancient building run by 70 year old women. I was the only white person in the place, and can't wait to try his recommendations in Saigon.
13 May 2009
Hanoi (ha-Noi), V. 'To be almost run over by a motorbike.' Ex: I just got Hanoied.
Hanoi has a vibe that I've never felt before. I've been to crowded, bustling metropolis' (Paris, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, etc.) and burgeoning bureaucratic towns ready to break free (Hello, D.C., Ankara, Brussels) but have never been to a place that seems so unsure of which one it is.
In Hanoi, motorbikes move through the intersections with flagrant disregard for human life, and without any notion of yielding unless there is a car or SUV barreling back towards them. In a city where Whiskey is required to muster the strength to cross the street, I found myself helplessly stranded on a traffic median with a relentless flow of motorbikes coming at me in all directions.
1....2....3...Go! I just started walking, and felt like Moses parting the red sea. The bikes swerved around me, and I safely made it to the other side of the boulevard. That this was a Monday night at 11:30 only reinforced the traffic chaos that I'd see in the days to come.
I arrived in Hanoi at 9:30 PM monday night 15 hours after boarding a ferry in Ko Phangan, Thailand. After a pollution choked ferry ride, techno-blaring bus, crazy 40 minute ride in a tuk tuk to the airport in Surat Thani and 4 hour layover in Bangkok, a communist country had never looked so good.
On Tuesday, I started the day by visiting the Hoa Lo Prison a/k/a the Hanoi Hilton, where Sen. John McCain and countless others were held during the Vietnam war. It was very poignant for me to finally stare in the face a place of torment to a man I worked for, respected and admired. The prison is 1/5 the size it used to be, but the cells remain, as do propaganda placards about how the 'air pirate Americans' would face 'the hell of hells' for violating the 'proud and powerful Hanoi'. McCain's flight suit is on display, as are other POW possessions, a guillotine from the French Indochine wars and other artifacts. Most interesting is the montage of photos of Presidents Clinton and Bush meeting with the Vietnamese, and of the numerous returns of McCain to Vietnam. The pictures are across the room from the propaganda. I guess the Vietnamese don't believe in contradictions.
Later in the day I moved from a guest house to a hostel, and went to a local waterpark with some of my fellow hostelgoers. The highlight was watching Vietnamese children immitating the visitors as we did backflips, canonballs and jacknifes off the high dive.
After the waterpark I visited the temple of literature, an ancient (11th century) oasis in the city that was established by Confucian leaders to educate future generations. There are a series of sculpted turtles -- maybe 80 in total-- that modern vietnamese schoolchildren rub for good luck on exams. I joined in with some high school students that were visiting after scoring well to thank the turtles for good luck. It was a good opportunity to pray for luck in business school.
After, I met up with hostel friends to go to the Bia Hoi, a corner where Hanoians drink 15 cent keg beers after work. Later, we ate street food and sat at a cafe for a few hours drinking Vietnamese limoncello (liptons lemon tea, iced with vodka) and eating sunflower seeds.
I spent the day today relaxing by the pool at the Army hotel, where as I write this an American delegation of military personnel from Fort McNair in Arlington have just saddled up beside me. They may be scholars from the National War College, but they needed help getting online. Does that make me patriotic? Anyways, it is interesting to see American officers in Hanoi, and wonder if any of them served in Vietnam (a few are old enough to have done so, but I'm afraid to ask).
I decided to take the night train to Sapa, in Vietnamese hill country, this (Weds.) evening with hostel friends, where we'll see the native hill people and do some trekking. It'll be a cooler climate and much more enjoyable than the heat and humidity in the city. I'll be back late friday night, and expect to visit Halong Bay and its famous karsts on Saturday, then fly to Danang, halfway down the Vietnamese coast.
I'll try to keep you posted on my time in Sapa, and can still be reached any time on my cell at 949-544-1934.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with the refrain street vendors say all the time.
If you're looking at an item, like a book, and someone else has it cheaper and you tell the vendor that its a better price down the road, the universal response is "same, same, but different."
Hanoi is not Same Same, but Different. It's a place like I've never seen and I'm really enjoying it.
In Hanoi, motorbikes move through the intersections with flagrant disregard for human life, and without any notion of yielding unless there is a car or SUV barreling back towards them. In a city where Whiskey is required to muster the strength to cross the street, I found myself helplessly stranded on a traffic median with a relentless flow of motorbikes coming at me in all directions.
1....2....3...Go! I just started walking, and felt like Moses parting the red sea. The bikes swerved around me, and I safely made it to the other side of the boulevard. That this was a Monday night at 11:30 only reinforced the traffic chaos that I'd see in the days to come.
I arrived in Hanoi at 9:30 PM monday night 15 hours after boarding a ferry in Ko Phangan, Thailand. After a pollution choked ferry ride, techno-blaring bus, crazy 40 minute ride in a tuk tuk to the airport in Surat Thani and 4 hour layover in Bangkok, a communist country had never looked so good.
On Tuesday, I started the day by visiting the Hoa Lo Prison a/k/a the Hanoi Hilton, where Sen. John McCain and countless others were held during the Vietnam war. It was very poignant for me to finally stare in the face a place of torment to a man I worked for, respected and admired. The prison is 1/5 the size it used to be, but the cells remain, as do propaganda placards about how the 'air pirate Americans' would face 'the hell of hells' for violating the 'proud and powerful Hanoi'. McCain's flight suit is on display, as are other POW possessions, a guillotine from the French Indochine wars and other artifacts. Most interesting is the montage of photos of Presidents Clinton and Bush meeting with the Vietnamese, and of the numerous returns of McCain to Vietnam. The pictures are across the room from the propaganda. I guess the Vietnamese don't believe in contradictions.
Later in the day I moved from a guest house to a hostel, and went to a local waterpark with some of my fellow hostelgoers. The highlight was watching Vietnamese children immitating the visitors as we did backflips, canonballs and jacknifes off the high dive.
After the waterpark I visited the temple of literature, an ancient (11th century) oasis in the city that was established by Confucian leaders to educate future generations. There are a series of sculpted turtles -- maybe 80 in total-- that modern vietnamese schoolchildren rub for good luck on exams. I joined in with some high school students that were visiting after scoring well to thank the turtles for good luck. It was a good opportunity to pray for luck in business school.
After, I met up with hostel friends to go to the Bia Hoi, a corner where Hanoians drink 15 cent keg beers after work. Later, we ate street food and sat at a cafe for a few hours drinking Vietnamese limoncello (liptons lemon tea, iced with vodka) and eating sunflower seeds.
I spent the day today relaxing by the pool at the Army hotel, where as I write this an American delegation of military personnel from Fort McNair in Arlington have just saddled up beside me. They may be scholars from the National War College, but they needed help getting online. Does that make me patriotic? Anyways, it is interesting to see American officers in Hanoi, and wonder if any of them served in Vietnam (a few are old enough to have done so, but I'm afraid to ask).
I decided to take the night train to Sapa, in Vietnamese hill country, this (Weds.) evening with hostel friends, where we'll see the native hill people and do some trekking. It'll be a cooler climate and much more enjoyable than the heat and humidity in the city. I'll be back late friday night, and expect to visit Halong Bay and its famous karsts on Saturday, then fly to Danang, halfway down the Vietnamese coast.
I'll try to keep you posted on my time in Sapa, and can still be reached any time on my cell at 949-544-1934.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with the refrain street vendors say all the time.
If you're looking at an item, like a book, and someone else has it cheaper and you tell the vendor that its a better price down the road, the universal response is "same, same, but different."
Hanoi is not Same Same, but Different. It's a place like I've never seen and I'm really enjoying it.
Hanoi (ha-Noi), V. 'To be almost run over by a motorbike.' Ex: I just got Hanoied.
Hanoi has a vibe that I've never felt before. I've been to crowded, bustling metropolis' (Paris, Buenos Aires, Istanbul, etc.) and burgeoning bureaucratic towns ready to break free (Hello, D.C., Ankara, Brussels) but have never been to a place that seems so unsure of which one it is.
In Hanoi, motorbikes move through the intersections with flagrant disregard for human life, and without any notion of yielding unless there is a car or SUV barreling back towards them. In a city where Whiskey is required to muster the strength to cross the street, I found myself helplessly stranded on a traffic median with a relentless flow of motorbikes coming at me in all directions.
1....2....3...Go! I just started walking, and felt like Moses parting the red sea. The bikes swerved around me, and I safely made it to the other side of the boulevard. That this was a Monday night at 11:30 only reinforced the traffic chaos that I'd see in the days to come.
I arrived in Hanoi at 9:30 PM monday night 15 hours after boarding a ferry in Ko Phangan, Thailand. After a pollution choked ferry ride, techno-blaring bus, crazy 40 minute ride in a tuk tuk to the airport in Surat Thani and 4 hour layover in Bangkok, a communist country had never looked so good.
On Tuesday, I started the day by visiting the Hoa Lo Prison a/k/a the Hanoi Hilton, where Sen. John McCain and countless others were held during the Vietnam war. It was very poignant for me to finally stare in the face a place of torment to a man I worked for, respected and admired. The prison is 1/5 the size it used to be, but the cells remain, as do propaganda placards about how the 'air pirate Americans' would face 'the hell of hells' for violating the 'proud and powerful Hanoi'. McCain's flight suit is on display, as are other POW possessions, a guillotine from the French Indochine wars and other artifacts. Most interesting is the montage of photos of Presidents Clinton and Bush meeting with the Vietnamese, and of the numerous returns of McCain to Vietnam. The pictures are across the room from the propaganda. I guess the Vietnamese don't believe in contradictions.
Later in the day I moved from a guest house to a hostel, and went to a local waterpark with some of my fellow hostelgoers. The highlight was watching Vietnamese children immitating the visitors as we did backflips, canonballs and jacknifes off the high dive.
After the waterpark I visited the temple of literature, an ancient (11th century) oasis in the city that was established by Confucian leaders to educate future generations. There are a series of sculpted turtles -- maybe 80 in total-- that modern vietnamese schoolchildren rub for good luck on exams. I joined in with some high school students that were visiting after scoring well to thank the turtles for good luck. It was a good opportunity to pray for luck in business school.
After, I met up with hostel friends to go to the Bia Hoi, a corner where Hanoians drink 15 cent keg beers after work. Later, we ate street food and sat at a cafe for a few hours drinking Vietnamese limoncello (liptons lemon tea, iced with vodka) and eating sunflower seeds.
I spent the day today relaxing by the pool at the Army hotel, where as I write this an American delegation of military personnel from Fort McNair in Arlington have just saddled up beside me. They may be scholars from the National War College, but they needed help getting online. Does that make me patriotic? Anyways, it is interesting to see American officers in Hanoi, and wonder if any of them served in Vietnam (a few are old enough to have done so, but I'm afraid to ask).
I decided to take the night train to Sapa, in Vietnamese hill country, this (Weds.) evening with hostel friends, where we'll see the native hill people and do some trekking. It'll be a cooler climate and much more enjoyable than the heat and humidity in the city. I'll be back late friday night, and expect to visit Halong Bay and its famous karsts on Saturday, then fly to Danang, halfway down the Vietnamese coast.
I'll try to keep you posted on my time in Sapa, and can still be reached any time on my cell at 949-544-1934.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with the refrain street vendors say all the time.
If you're looking at an item, like a book, and someone else has it cheaper and you tell the vendor that its a better price down the road, the universal response is "same, same, but different."
Hanoi is not Same Same, but Different. It's a place like I've never seen and I'm really enjoying it.
In Hanoi, motorbikes move through the intersections with flagrant disregard for human life, and without any notion of yielding unless there is a car or SUV barreling back towards them. In a city where Whiskey is required to muster the strength to cross the street, I found myself helplessly stranded on a traffic median with a relentless flow of motorbikes coming at me in all directions.
1....2....3...Go! I just started walking, and felt like Moses parting the red sea. The bikes swerved around me, and I safely made it to the other side of the boulevard. That this was a Monday night at 11:30 only reinforced the traffic chaos that I'd see in the days to come.
I arrived in Hanoi at 9:30 PM monday night 15 hours after boarding a ferry in Ko Phangan, Thailand. After a pollution choked ferry ride, techno-blaring bus, crazy 40 minute ride in a tuk tuk to the airport in Surat Thani and 4 hour layover in Bangkok, a communist country had never looked so good.
On Tuesday, I started the day by visiting the Hoa Lo Prison a/k/a the Hanoi Hilton, where Sen. John McCain and countless others were held during the Vietnam war. It was very poignant for me to finally stare in the face a place of torment to a man I worked for, respected and admired. The prison is 1/5 the size it used to be, but the cells remain, as do propaganda placards about how the 'air pirate Americans' would face 'the hell of hells' for violating the 'proud and powerful Hanoi'. McCain's flight suit is on display, as are other POW possessions, a guillotine from the French Indochine wars and other artifacts. Most interesting is the montage of photos of Presidents Clinton and Bush meeting with the Vietnamese, and of the numerous returns of McCain to Vietnam. The pictures are across the room from the propaganda. I guess the Vietnamese don't believe in contradictions.
Later in the day I moved from a guest house to a hostel, and went to a local waterpark with some of my fellow hostelgoers. The highlight was watching Vietnamese children immitating the visitors as we did backflips, canonballs and jacknifes off the high dive.
After the waterpark I visited the temple of literature, an ancient (11th century) oasis in the city that was established by Confucian leaders to educate future generations. There are a series of sculpted turtles -- maybe 80 in total-- that modern vietnamese schoolchildren rub for good luck on exams. I joined in with some high school students that were visiting after scoring well to thank the turtles for good luck. It was a good opportunity to pray for luck in business school.
After, I met up with hostel friends to go to the Bia Hoi, a corner where Hanoians drink 15 cent keg beers after work. Later, we ate street food and sat at a cafe for a few hours drinking Vietnamese limoncello (liptons lemon tea, iced with vodka) and eating sunflower seeds.
I spent the day today relaxing by the pool at the Army hotel, where as I write this an American delegation of military personnel from Fort McNair in Arlington have just saddled up beside me. They may be scholars from the National War College, but they needed help getting online. Does that make me patriotic? Anyways, it is interesting to see American officers in Hanoi, and wonder if any of them served in Vietnam (a few are old enough to have done so, but I'm afraid to ask).
I decided to take the night train to Sapa, in Vietnamese hill country, this (Weds.) evening with hostel friends, where we'll see the native hill people and do some trekking. It'll be a cooler climate and much more enjoyable than the heat and humidity in the city. I'll be back late friday night, and expect to visit Halong Bay and its famous karsts on Saturday, then fly to Danang, halfway down the Vietnamese coast.
I'll try to keep you posted on my time in Sapa, and can still be reached any time on my cell at 949-544-1934.
In the meantime, I'll leave you with the refrain street vendors say all the time.
If you're looking at an item, like a book, and someone else has it cheaper and you tell the vendor that its a better price down the road, the universal response is "same, same, but different."
Hanoi is not Same Same, but Different. It's a place like I've never seen and I'm really enjoying it.
10 May 2009
Body Paint on the Beach
On Friday, I flew from Bangkok to the island of Ko Samui in the gulf
of Thailand. The airport is literally a series of thatched-roof huts
around a runway, and the baggage is brought from the plane to the
terminal in the back of a pickup truck.
of Thailand. The airport is literally a series of thatched-roof huts
around a runway, and the baggage is brought from the plane to the
terminal in the back of a pickup truck.
After deplaning, I joined 40 of my closest friends at a tiny hole in
the wall of a bar at the end of a ramshackle pier. We waited there for
a 1950s era ferry to shuttle us the 15 kilometres across the sea to
the island of Ko Phangan and the full moon party.
My excitement for Saturday's party was bolstered by the sweet villas
we secured for our stay on the island. (www.aweresort.com) There is a
pool with a waterfall that looks out over the beach, with lots of palm
trees and even a hotel dog that acts like he owns the place.
After meeting up with Andrew Regenstreich and his girlfriend Caroline,
her friend Frederique and a peace corps volunteer named Alex, we got
down to business and drank with some of our friendly resort neighbors.
Saturday was the Full Moon Party, a tradition started on Haat Rin
beach on Ko Phangan around 15 years ago. The entire beach morphs into
a raging party every month during the full moon. As we arrived, we
were handed tubs of body paint, buckets of alcohol and mixers. There
were 4 massive DJ setups along the beach, and around 6,000 revelers.
The party started at around 11:00 PM and was still going strong when I
left at 4:45 this morning. Some highlights included:
-People wearing only body paint...only body paint.
-Men walking around with huge geckos and snakes to pose for photos. In
a rave. With drunk/high partiers. It's a miracle the animals made it
out alive.
-A whole phalanx of Thai 'Lady boys' trying to convince anyone and
everyone that they were 'ready make lovely night'.
My overall impressions of Ko Phangan are that its a sleepy vaction
island 3 weeks per month and turns into bedlam on the 4th weekend. I
was able to explore some of the island on a rented scooter with my new
Canadian friends, and sampled some excellent local foods in a market
that had by far the worst looking produce I've ever seen.
I've decided to amend my trip and skip the jaunt down to Malaysia and
Singapore to focus on Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. I'm travelling
tomorrow like this:
-2.5 hour ferry to Surrat Thani
-Flight to Bangkok
-6 hour layover
-Flight to Hanoi, Vietnam.
I'll update you from Vietnam later on this week. Happy Mothers Day Mom!
06 May 2009
Shortcuts: Be Careful What You Wish For
Happy Thursday Morning from Bangkok!
This note will be considerably shorter than the last.
Sometimes, while traveling, you decide to take shortcuts. You think, "aha, this must go through." I had such an experience yesterday after visiting the Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha and Reclining Buddha. I set out for lunch at a restaurant written about by legendary NYT gourmand RW Apple Jr, but found it closed and only open for dinner. The good news was that another place he recommended was about 1.5 miles away. I set out to reach it by walking along the narrow paths at the edge of one of the canals I mentioned in my previous post. Well, after smooth sailing, I soon ened up in someone's (outdoor kitchen). I smiled, bowed, and kept moving. Up a flight of steps, down a flight, and over a bridge. Suddenly I was in a vast shanty town of corrugated metal houses, and a witness to extreme squalor and poverty. I kept moving, pleased to see how the 'real' people lived, but guiltily consciouss that I was being observed as a Farang,
I finally wound my way out, found the restaurant and enjoyed the best Banana Leaf Salad and Pad Krew noodles of my life. I topped it off with famous sticky rice and mango from Bangkok's oldest bakery across the street.
The destination was worthwhile, but the journey was even better.
The rest of the day was largely uneventful, but did include being invited to join a military parade (declined) and having a tuk-tuk driver try to rip me off. Good thing mama raised me not to fall for a sham.
Much Love,
J
This note will be considerably shorter than the last.
Sometimes, while traveling, you decide to take shortcuts. You think, "aha, this must go through." I had such an experience yesterday after visiting the Grand Palace, Emerald Buddha and Reclining Buddha. I set out for lunch at a restaurant written about by legendary NYT gourmand RW Apple Jr, but found it closed and only open for dinner. The good news was that another place he recommended was about 1.5 miles away. I set out to reach it by walking along the narrow paths at the edge of one of the canals I mentioned in my previous post. Well, after smooth sailing, I soon ened up in someone's (outdoor kitchen). I smiled, bowed, and kept moving. Up a flight of steps, down a flight, and over a bridge. Suddenly I was in a vast shanty town of corrugated metal houses, and a witness to extreme squalor and poverty. I kept moving, pleased to see how the 'real' people lived, but guiltily consciouss that I was being observed as a Farang,
I finally wound my way out, found the restaurant and enjoyed the best Banana Leaf Salad and Pad Krew noodles of my life. I topped it off with famous sticky rice and mango from Bangkok's oldest bakery across the street.
The destination was worthwhile, but the journey was even better.
The rest of the day was largely uneventful, but did include being invited to join a military parade (declined) and having a tuk-tuk driver try to rip me off. Good thing mama raised me not to fall for a sham.
Much Love,
J
05 May 2009
Bangkok
After a fun filled weekend meeting my future business school classmates, a failed attempt to bbq at Zuma beach in Malibu and a specacularly awful game of beer pong, I boarded a plane at LAX late Sunday evening to fly to Bangkok. As I write this, it's been 35 hours since I've changed clothes--but I have showered twice (details below). My fresh scent hasn't made much of an impact on those around me, as Bangkok is a city filled with smells: pollution, steaming street food, flowers and more pollution.
Arriving at LAX after the aforementioned failed BBQ and beer pong, I headed to the OneWorld lounge to use the shower. It was heaven on earth. Soooo helpful to refresh the body before a long journey.
My first flight was a Cathay Pacific (777-400 ER for you flight junkies) that whisked me across the Pacific on a 14h40min trip to Hong Kong. The flight featured the best airplane food I've ever had. For dinner alone I had soup, salad, an entree, cheese, fruit and dessert. Amazing, especially considering the entree was sea bass with bok choy. I watched Gran Torino on the 15 inch personal entertainment center, and was particularly delighted by a breakfast before landing that featured even more courses than dinner.
We landed at Hong Kong at 7:30 this morning (Tuesday) and I had an 8:30 connection to Bangkok. Being a person who thrives under pressure, I booked it to the club at HKG and used the shower in a record 4 minutes flat.
The second flight was on an older 777-200, which was presumably used for long haul flights in the past but now is a workhorse around Asia. It was not acs recently renovated as the first plane, but the fact it was nearly empty allowed everyone to spread out and get comfy for the 2hr40 minute flight.
I got to Bangkok at 10:40 local time (gaining an hour in the air) to complete my journey 2 days and 16 hours ahead of where it started. Time for a nap right? Wrong.
After a taxi ride featuring Dale Earnhardt III behind the wheel, I arrived at my guesthouse just off the Khao San backpacker area at noon. I then met up with college buddy and current Bangkok resident Adam Mitchell to hit the streets.
The first thing one notices about Bangkok is the architecural contrasts. Temples mix with VERY edgy and contemporary skyscrapers that are either too modern or too unsafe to be built in the U.S. Shacks and shantys sit next to luxury apartment buildings.
We headed off on foot in the 95 degree (and humid!) air to catch the water taxi on the Chao Phraya river. The water taxi here functions as an efficient means of getting around, and whisked us down the river about 10 stops to an area where the river meets the Skytrain system. We tansferred to the skytrain station and had a nice, airconditioned ride over to the Nana neighborhood. Destination? Rajawongse tailors. But first, we ate.
Adam and I wandred down a nearby Soi (alleyway) and found a woman selling noodle soup with pork for 30 Baht (80 cents). We sat in an alley next to the busboy, who washed dishes in a bucket on the street. It tasted a lot better than you'd have thought, and left me ready to get fitted for a suit.
Rajawongse is a tailor famous for crafting suits for U.S. Presidents and Diplomats, as well as bureaucrats the world over. The interior of the store is covered in Police and Government patches, including ones from Phoenix, Washington and Boston, as well as the US DSS.
I ordered a black suit and will return for my fitting tomorrow night. I also snagged two great shirts for Craig Oppenheim, who can now rest easy that yes, the measurments he provided will in fact get him two great shirts, one french cuff, one regular.
We then stumbled out of the store, only to be accosted by various other tailors. When we said 'we're with Rajawongse,' the disapointment on their faces was evident. We clearly knew what we were doing.
We then walked to another form of water transport, the Canal taxi. Imagine a 60 foot long, 15 foot wide boat speeding through a canal only 40 feet wide, with traffic moving in the opposite direction. Now, add people jumping into and out of the boat like maniacs from makeshift piers, along with toll collectors walking along the outside of the boat on its hull to collect the fare. The workers also wear hardhats in case they forget to duck for the footbridges.
After arriving back near Democracy Monument, we noticed a massive celebration beginning to form. There were markets, dancers, and people wearing all shades of pink, yellow, and orange shirts. Turns out it's the King's birthday, and tonight is a national party. Adam and I walked the street and sampled food from the various stalls, with nothing catching our eye. Then we noticed a bunch of schoolgirls standing on line for free pad thai. We went to examine and they they insisted that we take a plate of food, then pose for photos. All in all a great time.
I know this post is lengthy, and in the future it'll be shorter. Now that you know how I got here and where I am, I can keep updating you as the journey goes on. It's time now to grab some dinner, and then finally shower and get out of these 2 day old clothes!
30 April 2009
Backpacking Asia
Tomorrow I leave for my trip to Southeast Asia, stopping first to attend orientation at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business. Here's what's on my itinerary. Keep in mind it's likely to change!
Bangkok
Ko Samui
Ko Phangan (Full Moon Party!)
Kuala Lampur
Singapore
Hanoi
Hue
Hoi An
Saigon (HCMC)
Phnom Penh
Angkor Wat
Siem Riep
Luang Prabang
Vientiene
Vang Vieng
Hong Kong
Shenzhen
Guangzho
If you've been to any of these places, I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations.
I'll have a US cell phone number while I'm abroad, but it's different than my usual D.C. number. Call me anytime from your cellphone by dialing 949-544-1934.
I'll be updating here as frequently as possible, and look forward to sharing my journey with you.
One last note:
Packing a backpack is a huge undertaking. After balancing the weight and reducing the load again and again, here's what I'm left with:
1 zip off / convertible pant
1 short
1 jeans
4 'moisture wicking' tshirts
gym shorts
bathing suit
1 'nice' tshirt
1 'going out' shirt
2 ex oficio boxers (thanks RH)
Sandals
1 decent pair of shoes
toiletries
bug spray and first aid
tech stuff.
Thats it. Total weight: 26 lbs.
Bangkok
Ko Samui
Ko Phangan (Full Moon Party!)
Kuala Lampur
Singapore
Hanoi
Hue
Hoi An
Saigon (HCMC)
Phnom Penh
Angkor Wat
Siem Riep
Luang Prabang
Vientiene
Vang Vieng
Hong Kong
Shenzhen
Guangzho
If you've been to any of these places, I'd love to hear your thoughts and recommendations.
I'll have a US cell phone number while I'm abroad, but it's different than my usual D.C. number. Call me anytime from your cellphone by dialing 949-544-1934.
I'll be updating here as frequently as possible, and look forward to sharing my journey with you.
One last note:
Packing a backpack is a huge undertaking. After balancing the weight and reducing the load again and again, here's what I'm left with:
1 zip off / convertible pant
1 short
1 jeans
4 'moisture wicking' tshirts
gym shorts
bathing suit
1 'nice' tshirt
1 'going out' shirt
2 ex oficio boxers (thanks RH)
Sandals
1 decent pair of shoes
toiletries
bug spray and first aid
tech stuff.
Thats it. Total weight: 26 lbs.
06 April 2009
Road Trip Highlights
It's been a week since the epic 2,805 mile cross country food-focused road trip ended. This picture summarizes my trip: eatin' well.
From the Luling City Market, about 60 miles south of Austin, I had the best BBQ of my life. Don't believe me? Check this out:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2008-06-01/feature8.php
Another great meal was at Cochon in New Orleans. Named one of Frank Bruni's top 10 new restaurants in the US, we feasted on dishes like the fried oyster and homemade bacon sandwich:
Other (non-culinary) highlights included visiting the church in Montgomery, Alabama where Dr. King preached and helped Rosa Parks start the bus boycotts, drinks on Bourbon Street and an incredible two days in Austin to celebrate my birthday.
The verdict on road trips? Worth it, once.
From the Luling City Market, about 60 miles south of Austin, I had the best BBQ of my life. Don't believe me? Check this out:
http://www.texasmonthly.com/2008-06-01/feature8.php
Another great meal was at Cochon in New Orleans. Named one of Frank Bruni's top 10 new restaurants in the US, we feasted on dishes like the fried oyster and homemade bacon sandwich:
Other (non-culinary) highlights included visiting the church in Montgomery, Alabama where Dr. King preached and helped Rosa Parks start the bus boycotts, drinks on Bourbon Street and an incredible two days in Austin to celebrate my birthday.
The verdict on road trips? Worth it, once.
03 April 2009
"A lot of what is done to shape public opinion in political life can be applied to public affairs for corporations."
This quote from former Mayor Daley (D-Chicago) press strategist Avis Lavelle accurately summarizes the type of work done by firms like the one I worked for in Washington, D.C.
It's hard to describe public affairs strategy to many folks, but a keen understanding of the field-- its strategies/tactics, clients and objectives-- can be found in this article from BusinessWeek describing David Axelrod's twin empires. Before becoming Deputy WH COS for President Obama, Axelrod ran two firms in Chicago. One firm, AKP+D, is a traditional Democratic strategy firm that worked campaigns, ballot initiatives and labor issues. The second firm, ASK, is a full service public affairs shop.
The difference, upon reading this article, should become apparent:
The Secret Side of David Axelrod
It's hard to describe public affairs strategy to many folks, but a keen understanding of the field-- its strategies/tactics, clients and objectives-- can be found in this article from BusinessWeek describing David Axelrod's twin empires. Before becoming Deputy WH COS for President Obama, Axelrod ran two firms in Chicago. One firm, AKP+D, is a traditional Democratic strategy firm that worked campaigns, ballot initiatives and labor issues. The second firm, ASK, is a full service public affairs shop.
The difference, upon reading this article, should become apparent:
The Secret Side of David Axelrod
02 April 2009
Pics from the day MLK was killed
Stunning and hard to digest, even to this day:
http://www.life.com/image/51419416/in-gallery/24651
Kiss your loved ones.
http://www.life.com/image/51419416/in-gallery/24651
Kiss your loved ones.
01 April 2009
Oy Vey Avigdor
Most recent example why, as an American Jew, Avigdor Lieberman scares the bejesus out of me:
NY Times on Lieberman
Nut graph:
In a blunt and belligerent speech on his first day as Israel’s new foreign minister, the hawkish nationalist Avigdor Lieberman declared Wednesday that “those who wish for peace should prepare for war” and that Israel was not obligated by understandings on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reached at an American-sponsored peace conference in late 2007.
NY Times on Lieberman
Nut graph:
In a blunt and belligerent speech on his first day as Israel’s new foreign minister, the hawkish nationalist Avigdor Lieberman declared Wednesday that “those who wish for peace should prepare for war” and that Israel was not obligated by understandings on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reached at an American-sponsored peace conference in late 2007.
D'Antoni on D'Antoni
Mike D'Antoni, architect of the Seven Seconds or Less Phoenix Suns (2004-2008) is now coaching the New York Knicks. This piece from ESPN's Eric Neel is noteworthy for capturing the emotions of the game, the leadership D'Antoni and his staff try to provide for their players and the adjustments in accepting a role with high level expectations.
Gotham's Savior
Excerpt:
Gotham's Savior
Excerpt:
Soon after, forward Al Harrington arrives late to practice from a doctor's appointment. He hurries onto the floor, eyes up, looking for D'Antoni, looking to explain. D'Antoni crosses over to him and stands close, his head bent down to listen. "Everything all right?" he asks. Harrington nods, his hand on his coach's right shoulder.
And so it goes. D'Antoni makes the rounds. A tap on the shoulder. A quick question. A pat on the back.
Check in. Get a feel. Let 'em know you're there. Let 'em say what needs saying.
"A coach I had in Italy told me once: 'Thirty seconds. Every player. Every day,'" he tells me later. "You want to connect."
31 March 2009
Amazing G20 chart
Here's an incredibly handy chart of interests and agendas of each member at the G-20 summit:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e39aacb6-0e49-11de-b099-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e39aacb6-0e49-11de-b099-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
New Beginnings
Those that know me can tell you that I'm impatient, ambitious and daring. That combination has led to my current status of a soon-to-be MBA student at UC Irvine with a full plate of travel, fun and work to keep busy over the coming months.
I hope you'll use this blog to read my take on the day's news, reviews of interesting food and cultural experiences, and thoughts on who's up and who's down in politics and sports.
As always, be sure to brush your teeth.
JZ
I hope you'll use this blog to read my take on the day's news, reviews of interesting food and cultural experiences, and thoughts on who's up and who's down in politics and sports.
As always, be sure to brush your teeth.
JZ
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