The Southeast Asia Journal

May 29-June 12, 2013 Singapore – Kuala Lumpur – Singapore – Bangkok – Hanoi – Shanghai

By David Berkowitz * Note: go to the last page for a list of highlights and recommendations for all places visited

Friday, May 31 5:16pm Singapore time Raffles hotel, 263

I took off from New York about 36 hours ago, leaving a meeting more than 40 hours ago to head to the airport. It was rough leaving home, knowing I'd be gone for two full weeks, not having ever been away from C for that long. I haven't traveled on my own like this at all in ages, not since the week in Budapest and Prague the summer before meeting C. There was little traffic cabbing it to JFK. I wound up at Terminal 1, the odd UN depot of a terminal we encountered going to Poland on LOT Airlines. Lines were generally short, with a slight slog at security, and I wound up with a lot of downtime. I did find an odd Turkish-Greek sandwich spot and had a kind of Turkish stuffed bread that I can't pronounce. It had minimal stuffing, but the chicken and mushroom in it made for a good combo, and better than usual airport fare. Soon enough, I boarded the 4:30pm flight to Shanghai on China Eastern, putting one backpack in the overhead bin and the smaller backpack under my seat -- presumably all I need for two weeks. After talking a bit with my seatmate, a native Chinese woman who has lived in NYC for 20 years and, like me, was wearing orange (her observation), I passed out. She woke me for dinner - fine, though I wasn't thrilled - and I had my fish and rice, then fell asleep soon after. I woke again at 3am EST, but not for more than an hour, and then slept another four hours or so, missing whatever other meal came around. And what was the meal? It was 7am in NYC by then, but around 7pm in China. Really, what would they serve at that hour?

The plane was overwhelmingly filled with Chinese passengers. A young girl, maybe 2 or 3, was with her parents who seemed beyond worn out and didn't bother quieting her when all she could do was scream anything she wanted to say. At the Shanghai airport, where transferring was easy though it included navigating a ghost town of a maze, I went to Sunrise Cafe or something like that and had some delicious noodles and baby bok choy in vegetable broth. Also turnip cake, and a lemon Perrier. And malt balls for dessert. (now 8:59pm) I slept most of the 5ish hour flight from Shanghai to Singapore, landing in what's now considered the nicest airport in the world, and it was rather pleasant, with easy immigration and cab lines, though it was also 5:30am. I lingered a bit and enjoyed the WiFi since it worked well there. Then I got a cab driver (a native Singaporean; he noted all cab drivers need to be citizens) to take me to my hotel. Raffles makes it seem like the heyday of British imperialism is still here. Perhaps you can still grab a drink with Rudyard Kipling after all. I arrived close to 6, and they were able to get me a room at 8:30 -- not too bad given the very early check-in. I met John the butler, who showed me to my room and gave me the grand tour, replete with a spacious living room and dining room in one of the cheapest rooms they have here.

The spirit of British colonialism is alive and well at Raffles

The first tourist activity was indoor skydiving. I booked a time slot this morning and got a cab driver to the Jurassic Park-esque Sentosa Island, a massive theme park for adults and children. The driver wanted to convince me to stay on Sentosa next time I come; he must think tourists prefer it to the city.

Singapore mascot Merlion greets visitors to Sentosa Island

He took me to the wrong entrance, but I was plenty early, and after checking in, I still had time to grab breakfast nearby - classic Singapore toast, with kaya (coconut honey), plus two soft-boiled eggs, and tea with milk (I had some great English breakfast with milk while I waited at Raffles too). Then I joined a group of about a dozen skydivers, ages ranging from 6 or 7 to around 40, as we got our crash course in training. The training focused on what the best body position is, and what signals you need to watch for as the instructor tells you what to do. What isn't mentioned is that it's far easier to get into the right body position outside of the wind tunnel, and it's pretty much impossible to consistently see the instructor while you're flying around the tunnel. It wasn't so much that it was more challenging than it looked. Rather, the training simplified it so much that it was somewhat unnerving going through a simulation of a free fall from 12,000 to 3,000 feet while getting the body position right. It was damn good fun though, and I'm glad I did it. It's not something I need to do again, unless I went with a smaller group and could go more often in a single session so that I could actually get the hang of it.

Remember to smile for the camera when free-falling from 12,000 to 3,000 feet in this indoor

wind tunnel I took a shuttle bus from there, following getting a fruit and ice smoothie (hydration is critical here), to the cable car area, though it's hard to find the cars tucked behind the souvenir shop. At least today, no one needed to share a car; mine even had beautiful purple flowers hanging in it. Perhaps the car had been used by someone more esteemed, as I didn't see others with the garlands. The views of the growing city bursting through the forest and greenery were stunning. I was even drawn to taking photos of all the shipping containers; driving over to Sentosa, it seems like half the world's goods must pass through this port.

The beauty of commerce: Singapore is built on its shipping containers

Taking the cable car to some mountain on the other side, it was too hot to risk trying to hike down, especially without knowing where I was going or how long it would take, so I took the car back to the midpoint at the harbor, and then, with minor difficulty, got a cab to go to Chinatown. The driver at first didn't seem very knowledgeable or helpful, but he was clutch today. He took me to some random shopping center, not labeled as anything at all, and told me to go to the second floor. So I did, and wound up in a massive shop selling Chinese DVDs and VHS tapes. Then I went through part of the shop to where I saw an old Chinese man at a table eating. Walking beyond him, I soon found myself dizzied by scores and scores of food stalls, none exactly like the next, and most specializing in one food or another - pork, duck, fish soup, vegetarian food, cow car water (see the photo below). I wound up getting some noodles for 1S (about $0.75) and then another stall owner invited me to try her spring rolls - 2 for 3S. The noodles, very thin, were absolutely delicious and I had to slow down while eating them lest I choke, and the splash of hot sauce was a great accompaniment. The spring rolls were unusual - not fried at all, just wrapped as if with a warm tortilla, and cut into five slices like a sushi roll. It had some fried crunch inside, and I think some peanuts, and it was probably the best spring roll I've eaten. I washed it down with strawberry tea in a can.

It’s like Jack Welch said, you need to define your category to be the best or next best player

I walked more around Chinatown and stumbled upon this massive pagoda housing perhaps the most incredible temple I've ever seen (the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple), with the one giant, golden Buddha, 100 pretty large ones a couple feet high, and around 7,000 small ones (I believe they were numbered in order). A dozen or so older women were seated nominally praying or studying, but presumably mostly gossiping with each other. Some monks were on the other side. I can't possibly do this place justice with words, but wow - how is this not the #1 attraction in town? (Granted, I'll tell more people I went skydiving.)

I kept on walking, well past Chinatown, viewing some stunning architecture here and there. The streets are clean but not immaculate; litter is common enough, as are cigarette butts. It's not quite the pristine Disneyland that I thought it would be based on others' reports. That's probably a good thing in many ways, and it does make Singapore feel less other-worldly – more like its own fascinating city. One random note: along the walk, I grabbed a cup of cool fresh-squeezed orange juice... from a vending machine (2S). However they pull it off, it is so delicious, and I wish I had access to one at home. It kept looking like it was going to rain, but it didn't. Winding up near the hotel, I dropped off a few things, including the souvenir of Merlion I got at a cable car stop (the mermaid lion is a mascot of Singapore), and soon started walking to Orchard St. It is a massive shopping thoroughfare and not anywhere near as interesting as others seem to say; it's more of an emblem of Singapore's commercialism than anything interesting in its own right, even for people watching. I waited in a long cab line to head back to the hotel. I might have been able to hoof it, but I was spent, especially with the heat, and without my hat, which I kept forgetting in my room. I waited, and got my cab. And then it started to rain, right as I entered the cab.

And then it poured. For hours. It started to let up some around 6, when I wanted to go to the Night Safari at the zoo, but the hotel still didn't give me my ticket, and I wasn't sure if the safari would be on. Around 6:30, I was handed the ticket, and the receptionist noted it had stopped raining. Well, it hadn't stopped; the rain was still coming down. And then, as my loquacious cab driver with particularly poor English skills kept charmingly yammering along, it started pouring. This was a flash flooding downpour. Finally, I had to call it off - no zoo for me. And it was the right call; the rain only started to ease up around two hours later, and it wasn't clear if any animals would be out, let alone visible. The driver took me to Little India, to some decent sized mall (Mustafa Center) that was a pretty boring mall, though an easy place to get an umbrella. It was at least a real taste of India; it felt like any small Indian city, without the elephants and monkeys (dang). Walking along, it wasn't clear where would be good to eat, until I passed by one open-air restaurant where an older Indian man asked what I wanted, and I went with it - chapati, chicken curry on the bone, rice, plus a Tiger beer (supposedly award winning but really their Coors Light). The food was very good, though may be contributing to my Delhi belly right now. I kept walking along in the not-too-awful rain that finally let up around when I got back. I got some Choco Pies at a 7-Eleven. Now back here. More to share I'm sure but must stop somewhere. Saturday, June 1 (almost wrote May) 10:24pm Raffles 263 For a day with some downtime, it was incredibly packed, starting with a typical travel move (usually while with C) of changing plans significantly and winding up better off for it. I woke early today - too early, not long after 5. I got 7 or so hours of sleep, which wasn't bad, though not necessarily enough given the heat, potential for jet lag, and other demands of travel. I walked to Purvis St nearby a bit before 8 and grabbed a bite to eat at a Chinese place catering to locals. All they served were coffee or tea (I had a very sweet milk tea, with what seemed to be a mix of milk powder and sugar sediment lining the bottom), and toast with kaya. It was perfect. I waited for awhile in the hotel lobby for my city tour pickup. They were considerably late. While I was there, the concierge kindly offered me a map of Kuala Lumpur with highlights of the hot spots. Very thoughtful. While I questioned my own plan of breaking up the Singapore trip instead of going to KL right upon landing (the idea, not unreasonably so, was that I'd be too drained and jet lagged from 24 hours of travel, most of it flying, to function in yet another country so soon), it will be fun repeating the Barcelona itinerary in a way where I will return to Singapore tomorrow night as someone who has already been here. It will be my second time, which makes a massive difference when visiting a country. One's entire mentality and all of one's senses shift when going to somewhere they've been before versus someplace that's entirely new. I got in the van with some other tourists, and the late-middle-aged Chinese woman had us get off at the tour bus station by the Ferris wheel (Singapore Flyer) and head to our tour buses. I got on mine, and it was a massive bus packed with dozens of people who I didn't care to spend a half-day with, and I wasn't up for revisiting places I had been - not in this manner. So I got off the bus, told the stunned Chinese woman, got my ticket for the Flyer (that, plus the ride to it, equaled almost the entire tour cost) and went off on my own.

I shared the Flyer cabin with a Mumbai AmEx employee traveling with his wife and son, though his wife is acrophobic and stayed behind on this attraction. It was a pleasant way to see the city, though the Mumbai'er noted it was way too slow, and it was. It makes me appreciate how well the London Eye works by comparison. While similar in duration and probably very close to the same height, the Eye has the interactive maps and guides on tablets that let you explore more of the surroundings. I spent way too much of my ride trying to find the Merlion fountain below; it's massive on the map but tiny in real life, especially given the distance away. [Researching this further, Singapore is the world’s tallest at 541 ft, followed by one in China, followed by London at 443 ft. The table below is via Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_wheel#World.27s_tallest_Ferris_wheels ]

From there, I headed to the Marina Bay Sands, which people recommend doing for cocktails but I instead hit up earlier since I was in the area. It's a stunning building, one I noticed well before I knew that's what it was, and it has some great aerial city views, though the structure is more interesting from below and outside it.

Not only is the Marina Bay Sands striking, but the ERP sign below denotes a congestion pricing zone –

one thing Singapore’s top-down government enacted in a way NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg couldn’t

It was scorching hot, so I didn't linger long on the 57th floor. Fearing the heat would sap me, I got a ginger beer. At least today, I remembered my hat. Then I walked on to what I later learned was the Skywalk at Gardens by the Bay, a fascinating, sci-fi-esque series of massive metallic flowers about 7 stories high. Granted, with the heat, I could only spend so much time above Singapore. Along the way, I encountered the glass bubble domes that stand out like the Sydney Opera House, and the lines of sight just approaching them were captivating (though the heat meant I couldn't linger too long outside them). On a whim, I got a ticket to one of them and went in the Cloud Forest. Wow. Right away, getting hit with the cool air by the 7-story waterfall was this heavenly gift. And the sculptures around, like the Mama Alligator one - most of the ones I noticed were from East Timor - were so beautiful. I spent some time exploring the indoor forest, more for the design and feel of it, and also the sculptures, but hardly at all for the plantlife and ecology. For me, the greenery was just a medium for the art and architecture. What a great use of the medium though.

From there, it was the Skywalk.

And then a cab to the Maxwell Road food court for more hawkers. The driver mostly discussed how expensive everything is, especially for cars, which cost S100K just to get a permit to have a car, and then a good S70K for a no-frills Korean car. I in turn explained a bit about the NYC taxi medallion system. Traveling alone, I am reminded all the more how much I appreciate cab drivers, and here they are a particularly talkative lot if you get them going, or if they are feeling particularly conversational. A younger driver later would tell me that while it's very difficult to keep up with the rapidly accelerating cost of living in Singapore, and people complain about it a lot, no one tries to do anything since the government takes care of all that, and people don't have a say. He seemed totally happy with that arrangement, noting he's doing well enough to get by.

Marshall Center: another dizzying sight a la the Chinatown spot yesterday, though perhaps a bit smaller. Barely though. So many stalls and unique dishes. The curry rice and chicken rice had the longest lines, so I went to one that seemed popular with locals, Tian Tian. I'd soon discover the long line was related to the spot's fame; Anthony Bourdain was among many who seem to love it. I was less impressed, with the cold and not too flavorful chicken adorning some better rice, with a nice little cup of chicken soup on the side. Well worth the S3.50 to try but not a great dish. The sugar cane juice (S2 - S0.50 more for no ice) was great though.

I got another cab to Arab St, which is yet another ethnic quarter and fun to stroll through but nothing too too special, until arriving at the Sultan mosque. Prayers had started, so I couldn't go in to look around for another hour. It was too hot to linger, and the mosque had been rebuilt less than a hundred years ago, so its historic significance is important to Singapore but I was doubtful that it was one of the great mosques I could see. I admired the exterior and then, with a bit of difficulty, found a cab to return. Hailing a cab on the street is not easy here, as drivers aren't supposed to stop outside the taxi stands, but the stands aren't always frequented by drivers. I went back to the hotel and rested some. First, I couldn't resist hitting up the McDonald's across the street to check out their ice cream. I got a fizzy passion fruit drink and a wonderful Oreo McFlurry. I was a little embarrassed to walk into Raffles with it; fortunately I can get to my room via the more discreet side entrance.

After a bit of unwinding, I hit the pool. The water was pretty warm. A couple of young children were there with their parents making a fair amount of noise, and it was fine for me, but somewhat unexpected at such a prim and proper establishment. Used the internet for a bit. Got my Ferris wheel pics. Checked into my KL flight tomorrow. At one point I ran into my butler and greeted him by name. You don't forget the name of your butler. I showered and then went up to the Long Bar. It was packed but I got a small table. It definitely has character, and the peanut shells lining the floors are a nice touch. They charge handsomely for their signature drink though - the Singapore Sling is S26; all the cocktail and drink prices were outrageous (due to high taxes on alcohol). It was damn good, but it's hard to enjoy it as much when paying that much for the privilege.

Iconic Singapore: a Singapore Sling at the place it was invented, the Long Bar at Raffles

I planned on hitting the night safari later but was worn out after a long dinner at No Signboard, a restaurant I found in the red light district that was highly recommended by some food writer who focused on Singapore. It's said to have the best chili crab, and it was something, but whoa do you need to wait. I was mostly ignored there during my two hour visit that shouldn't have been more than one. I liked some of their touches, like serving the shit beer Tiger on a cart with a bucket of ice, like champagne. And I'm starting to see things so I will finish this tomorrow.

Singapore’s classic chili crab: a hot mess, and so, so good

This sign at the restaurant No Signboard is unintentionally poetic

Sunday, June 2 9:08am Changi International - Singapore Awaiting Tiger Airlines flight to Kuala Lumpur, gate F41 And I'm off to my second country of the trip, though I did have a meal at the Shanghai airport. No stamp for that. The concierge greeted me this morning with more helpful tips about navigating KL, and I had a party waving goodbye to me as I got in the cab. It's okay, folks, I'll be back tomorrow. Last night, the chili crab was phenomenal. At first, I didn't quite get what was so good about it, but as I kept breaking off more of the crab, getting my hands and mouth messy like a one-year-old eating chocolate cake (and getting many stares from Chinese patrons), I was enjoying it more and more. Even the Tiger beer tasted alright with it, and when I finished the bottle, I had a fresh Siam coconut to wash it down (seemingly the other most popular drink there). The scene was a lot of fun - open air, a sea of tables, popular for parties with many tables there celebrating amply, one with a number of bottles of liquor on the table (and a group of young patrons no less). They specialize in tasting menus for tables of 4 people and larger parties. Oh, I also had a fried baby squid dish, which was pretty good as an appetizer with appealing sesame flavor, though nothing too too special. After I finished, I was finished. The 5am day, travel, sun, Singapore Sling, and Tiger beer caught up with me. I still will try the night safari tomorrow night or Tuesday night, whenever I can slip away from the conference-related affairs. Perhaps it will be less crowded one of those nights. I had a red velvet cake hunk and a fruit smoothie (a local version of a Naked drink) at the airport, the world's best - and the koi pond was really lovely. Lots of areas to relax and unwind. Not a bad thing they have going on, all things considered.

Heading to Kuala Lumpur, my hotel, the Mandarin Oriental, is adjacent to the world famous

Petronas Twin Towers

In Singapore’s airport, this is one touchscreen I don’t want to touch

Monday, June 3 ~3pm Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT), Kuala Lumpur T3 Awaiting Tiger Airways flight to Singapore Last night, I thought I'd write up the day in Kuala Lumpur, after enjoying a dinner either at the Petronas Towers food court or Hawker Street. I did none of the above. Instead, I wound up mercifully falling asleep as early as I could, sometime around 8:30. I woke a bit from 3-4, but beyond that mostly slept until around 7:30, with the headache gone but a memory of it lingering enough that I took some Tylenol and then took some more before leaving for the airport. Despite the night ending with me cringing in pain and my not having a proper meal that day in KL, it was a pretty great day nonetheless, and one that more than justified the jaunt over here. All in, it was a no-regrets 24 or so hours on the ground here, and a perfect tasting platter of the area that makes me want to spend more time in the vast country here. Yesterday, I made my way back to Singapore's Changi airport, as noted above, and then, with a slight delay, I got on the brief Tiger flight to KL. Immigration was easy, especially as I rushed ahead of not just my fellow passengers but all the passengers from another flight, and then I prepaid for the cab, as the Raffles concierge smartly recommended. An hour or so later, I was at my hotel, the Mandarin Oriental, which the concierge noted was the best in KL. It was not only adjacent to the Petronas Twin Towers; I had a room (1413) with a view of them - a nice touch, and I can't recall if I specifically paid for that, or they just had it open.

A room with a view

It is hot in KL, "Africa hot," as Neil Simon noted in “Biloxi Blues.” With the temperature hitting around 100F, it doesn't quite feel as hot as it is, which is even more dangerous when it sneaks up on you. I hydrated alright, but I guess one can't hydrate enough. What I found more surprising was that the locals repeatedly complained about how hot it was. The cashier at the Bird Park today was visibly distressed by it, and the cab driver from the Park and to the airport (the same older Chinese guy) kvetched about it, and both of them were indoors in a fairly comfortable environment away from the sun. Usually the locals can tolerate things better, so I felt somewhat better about the day ultimately ending in pain. But I digress. At 1, I went to the lobby and met Lawrence; the guide I booked through Viator, Zach Hatta, had an emergency with his kid and sent his partner. Lawrence proved to be a good guy - a knowledgeable, local guide who gave me a fair amount of color on the region. He wouldn't play the game I like to play: getting guides’ stereotypes of tourists from different nationalities. He said it's part of the Malaysian attitude to not rock the boat and to be equally friendly to everyone. It might also come from a culture where dissent, at least against anything and anyone official, can lead to imprisonment, the end of your career, and other misfortune. An hour later, we arrived at Putrajaya, the government capital that had moved from KL starting in the 1990s; it aims to be completed by 2020. It's a beautiful city, where one of the more noteworthy features is that the lampposts have different designs reflecting national symbols. The city, designed to reflect man's connection to God, man, and the environment, is remarkably green; it's as lush as the whole resort island of Sentosa in Singapore. The challenge, as noted by Lawrence and also the older Chinese driver, is that all it is a government district. Everyone who lives there is a civil servant. I mentioned to Lawrence that it must be hard for people there to date outside of their profession. The cab driver thinks it's a terrible idea, moving the government away from everyone else. One of the ideas behind it was to bring the government closer together and out of the already traffic-clogged KL, which has some merit, as the traffic seemed considerable today (not yesterday, a Sunday). But Lawrence noted that it means everyone in KL who needs government services must go out of their way to this new city as nothing is left in KL. That's fine for the younger citizens who can access most of what they need online, but older Malaysians find this a burden. The star attraction in Putrajaya is the Putra Mosque, designed in an inviting pink stone with a gorgeous pink dome. The designers ran computer trials to figure out which color is most pleasing to the eye in all conditions - time of day, weather, etc. It turns out pink won, and so the pink mosque was born. It's a true wonder, next to the executive branch offices, and it is worth the trip outside of KL to see it.

The pink mosque comes with matching robes

On the way, we passed by Cyberjaya, one of two fully wired cities in the KL area designed for high speed internet access, appealing to multinational corporations. It's part of the high-tech corridor that Malaysia created. (Random note: apparently saying "bless you" to people of other nationalities who probably don't speak English doesn't do anything for them, but I guess it's good not to break the habit.) I think it would be fun to live in a place named Cyberjaya. Then it was on to the main attraction yesterday: the Batu Caves. This shrine to one of Shiva's sons was discovered by a Brit in the late 1800s and turned into a major holy site and tourist attraction, with a massive golden statue of Shiva’s son, Lord Murugan, standing guard over it, beautiful Hindu carvings all around, vast caverns 272 steps up (all flights of 17 stairs each - 16 flights), and in the middle of the way up, it's a prime place to catch some monkeys up close. They're frisky ones, who will steal anything you've got and will hiss at you and bare their teeth if they feel threatened; I was sad to see some people taunting the adorable and incredibly expressive cousins to mankind. Oh yeah, and there was some Hindu ceremony going on too. The Caves are undoubtedly what killed my head yesterday, but I wouldn't trade the experience for anything. The long tail Macau monkeys didn't hurt my enjoyment of it.

The world’s largest statue of Murugan, Ganesh’s brother, stands guard over the Batu Caves

Sculptures of Ganesh and others adorn the temple

After grabbing a couple souvenirs there, I met Lawrence at stall 10 down below where I had a fresh, large coconut (unfortunately they didn't bring a chilled one) and a delicious dosa with some great sauces accompanying it. Then we went on, toward downtown, where we made a few stops: - Istana Negara, the new palace - The modern new blue mosque, one without a round dome but rather some blue pointy star-shaped thing on top; another mosque closer to the city center didn't have a minaret because the Twin Towers are considered the minarets for it - Passing by the garden district, one of the better gifts from the British; it ultimately made me decide to hit the Bird Park as my attraction for this morning - Independence Square, designed by the British in the 1800s when this was just a tin mining town; the Moorish architecture was another one of the better gifts they left KL - The confluence of the two rivers that gave Kuala Lumpur its name Soon enough after that, Lawrence dropped me at the hotel. I did ask him about the observation deck for the Twin Towers, and he said lines start around 6am; if I waited as late as 8, I might not get to see it. I wasn't determined to wake up early, but it was good to know in case I was up anyway. Then the headache hit in full force, and the night went on as described above. Let's not relive that any more than we have to, eh?

Making friends with the palace guard

Among the better gifts from the British, the Moorish architecture downtown is stunning

Just what I needed on a cold day – a record-setting pewter beer mug at Royal Selangor. In the original journal, I neglected to mention the visit to the world’s largest pewter manufacturer and

retailer founded in 1885, but it’s where I did the best shopping the entire trip. This morning, I was up at 7:30 and got my bag packed. I called C, and, hungry, went over to the Twin Towers. A guard pointed me in the direction of the ticket office. A second guard said it was closed Monday, which I found hard to believe after what Lawrence said. A man outside taking photos said it had to be open. I said I couldn't get a straight answer, and he said, "That's the Malaysian way - no straight answers." When I finally found the ticket office, sure enough, it was closed Mondays. Thanks, Lawrence. At the towers, I went to the food court (thanks, Lawrence - in a good way) and found a spot that locals seemed to be lining up at, Hameed Nasi Kandar. I had a roti with egg, and another with fish (though could barely taste the fish), and a great lentil soup of sorts as a dip to accompany it - so good, and I had another roti to go with it, plus an overly sweet can of chrysanthemum tea that said “not too sweet” on it.

Then I stopped back at the hotel. I considered going to the Communication Tower, perhaps the tallest structure here, with its own observation deck (plus a pricey restaurant and a banquet hall). But then, most of the best views are from the exterior; the view from above - whether the John Hancock building in Chicago, CN Tower in Toronto, or Communist-era Culture Palace in Warsaw - tends to be something to do more because it's there.

11:20pm Raffles 263 (again) I got cut off earlier, as my express pass with Tiger allowed me to be the first one to board the plane - a somewhat odd experience when it means walking outside along a passage to find your plane, and there's no one to point the way. With only an under-seat bag, I didn't even need to board early, but instincts kick in when it's time to board, and it's almost always better to board first so there's room for your stuff and there aren't any unexpected surprises when you get there. As it turns out, I had the second row on my side all to myself and was able to relax and read much of my book (Behind the Beautiful Forevers) along the way. That also led me to jump far ahead of my passengers at Singapore immigration, which was easy, and I jumped right ahead to the cab line. Traffic was not as bad as I expected given the torrential downpour. Fortunately, that stopped more or less by the time I returned to the hotel, re-checked in, and got my old room back - albeit with a new butler this time (I didn't really take advantage of my previous one). But I'm all out of order today. Back to Kuala Lumpur:

Instead of hitting any kind of tower, I went to the Bird Park in the garden district. What an experience. With most attractions, I can go in and out really quickly, but here, I wanted to retrace my steps and make sure I didn't miss an inch of it. It's not every day that I could get my photo taken with a hornbill (and pet the prehistoric looking thing), get bitten by an ostrich (it stung a bit - a greedy one was trying to get all the greens himself and was literally taking them from others' mouths), and practically trip over peacocks, storks, and birds common and exotic. They were all fascinating, and so many were out in the open, and not particularly shy. Certain ones, like the rhinoceros hornbill, the southern cassowary, and the scarlet ibis were unlike anything I've seen, while others mesmerized me just due to how close I could get to them. I probably could have stayed there all day. Given the heat, it's better I didn't anyway.

They’re real, and they’re spectacular

Here’s one shy, beautiful flamingo

The Southern Cassowary looks downright prehistoric – just look at those claws

Made for YouTube: ostrich bit my finger

Next season, all the birds will be sporting eyebrows like this owl

An older Chinese driver took me back to the hotel and agreed to meet me at 1 for the ride to the airport. The drivers continue to keep great company, and I regret not being able to spend more time with them outside of the ride. The KL driver noted that he was from somewhere outside Shanghai (I couldn't quite understand where) - a big factory city now. He had tried to go back home to visit, but the authoritarian Malaysian government was extremely anti-Communist and threatened to rip up his passport if he left, so he didn't go back. His brother did go back home, and his passport was indeed chopped up. It is often disconcerting hearing of stories like this, whether relating to the relatively recent history (Malaysia and Singapore only came into being as we know them in the 1950s-60s) or current affairs, as there is so much beauty and there are so many people prospering, but there are heavy prices people continue to pay, even if, say, First Amendment rights aren't the top priority for a lot of people living here. Other issues like the economy just happen to be more important, so if you can't rock the boat and protest something, well, people have made worse bargains. I made it to the airport ahead of the counter opening at the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (I didn't love being in the B group). I was the first to check into the flight, and then security went fast - though some people really like cutting lines, and I don't quite get it. I had some chicken rangan (???) wrap of sorts from a Malaysian crepe vendor downstairs, and awhile later boarded the flight. Back to today. Arriving at the hotel, with my disheveled look, the greeters seemed somewhat surprised that I was a guest, but they let me through the door. After getting to the room, I walked over to the first-ever World Street Food Festival; apparently Anthony Bourdain came in for it. While they had a bigger event around it, it's S28 for access including S20 in food vouchers. I wound up enjoying it so much that I bought two S10 bundles of more vouchers, giving the last S6-7 to a surprised young American couple; I told them the vouchers weren't worth anything outside of the venue so they should enjoy it, and declined their offer to pay cash for it. I had some great dishes: - Vietnam: a shrimp and langoustine on skewers, with delicious potato 'gnocchi' balls - India: 'chicken 65' - a very flavorful, spicy fried chicken dish - Vietnam: noodles, squid, and chili crab - really though it's their take on a Singaporean classic; the owners were excited I was coming to Hanoi and invited me to their restaurant there (I didn’t wind up going; there was too much great actual Vietnamese food to eat) - Thailand: banana, sweet potato, and taro fritters - I mentioned I was up for dessert, and they said it's not dessert - it's an appetizer. I said, "Well, it's sweet, right?" Oh well. [I wound up snacking on fried banana every day I was in Bangkok, even if my local stand wasn’t open late enough to count as dessert] Also two cups of lime juice. Mmmmm.

From there, I got a cab to the Night Safari by the Singapore Zoo, one famous attraction many people recommended. The cab driver said, "That's far!" I said, "Yeah, that's why I'm not walking." It was more than a half hour drive away though - he wasn't kidding. On one hand, it's a reminder of how big the place is - a state, not just a city. On the other, in any major US city, it takes an hour to get from one part to a more distant one, at least with traffic. The safari was a lot of fun, though much less so having been on the real thing in Africa. Seeing the animals up close from the tram was great, with the color commentary (though a little hard to understand, especially with unfamiliar words like animal names). There were some marvelous creatures I hadn't seen elsewhere, like the Asian rhino and the tiger, though with larger animals especially, I felt bad that they didn't have more room. Granted, it beats being poached to extinction. Then there was the Creatures of the Night show where I had a great seat for the fun, and it included acts like a wolf howling (actually, the wolves during the tram ride were downright eerie - they sounded human, while extraterrestrial at the same time, and at first I thought the noises were coming from people on the tram making fun of them) and otters recycling. It was better in person. Winding down now. Must rest for tomorrow. Until then... Wednesday, June 5 Skyview Lounge, Changi International 11:36am Okay, so I lied. I didn't get to write yesterday. It wasn't quite as full as other days, but another mostly good day in Singapore. I woke up, started getting my act together, touched up my presentation in the business center, and then walked a couple blocks to the Crowdsourcing Week conference at Singapore Management University (yes, a very different SMU from the one in the US). It was a bit odd wearing a button-down shirt, leaving the hotel looking more respectable than I had in the past. A cold was coming on, so I was on DayQuil, which made me a little spacey for the event - really the entirety of it - but fortunately didn't have any adverse effects, and most importantly, I stayed awake through it all. One perk of having an event in Singapore is the food. Morning coffee included curry puffs, I had a ton of mini eclairs during the day (okay, not very Singaporean), lunch had rice noodles and some decent chicken dish, and cream puffs came up at another point (ditto to above). Yet they didn't have cold drinks, so during the coffee break, I ducked out to try to find them. Of course, it's always harder to find something like that when you need it, and I found a Subway a few blocks away near another SMU building, where I picked up a water, Minute Maid orange pulpy (even less juice-like than their US concentrate, alas), and a Coke for some sugar and caffeine.

The food wasn’t the best part of the conference, but it was a great bonus

Then I came back and soon after gave my talk on crowdsourcing in advertising and marketing. It went over well, including some local references, like comparing myself coming down the aisle to the animal acts at the Night Safari, and noting my love of Merlion - an image that I couldn't comprehend when I initially pulled the deck together. Later in the afternoon, I'd join a panel discussion. After the conference, I went back to my room at Raffles and couldn't get in; neither could the turndown guy who was trying to get in at the same time, and then after waiting for other staff - the butler, the manager - no one else could. They were able to reset it electronically after a wait, which I guess beats calling a locksmith. Then they noticed my bag was dripping. It turns out the water bottle had opened and had poured out into my bag, getting into a number of my things, including my good Canon camera, whose case somehow absorbed a ton of water and spared the camera well enough, and the Kindle whose case ensured it didn't get a drop on it. Later, I'd rig up the hair dryer by wrapping the bathrobe belt around it to hold the power button in place, and then put that in the closed backpack with the camera case to dry everything; it worked pretty well. I joined KC from the conference and cabbed it with him to Lau Pa Sat, a renowned food court that expands as of 7pm with a number of other stands grilling fresh satay on a street that closes down. We had a number of local delicacies, including some great crispy cup with seafood paste. I had wanted to go there anyway to try the char kway teow, the Singapore rice cake noodles, though the kind we got weren't very good (KC said they were the Indian ripoff, not the Chinese authentic version). Later, I'd go out in search of the real thing, and KC found me the local stand that had to be THE one - with the long line to match, and all the 'best of' notices on the stall. It was fantastic, with a bit of heat to it, and clearly the dish that Singapore is so famous for. Over pitchers of Tiger beer (which must cost a fortune - alcohol is taxed so high that drinks are routinely S15 or so a glass, or more), I bonded with others there.

Then I walked 25 minutes or so back to the hotel on a lovely night, though out here, even the most lovely nights get muggy and the heat adds up. I passed by Parliament and other familiar sights once I crossed the river, made it back to the hotel, dried off and packed my stuff, and packed awhile after. Before, I made a pit stop in a nearby mall to check out the hubbub, visit a grocery store there which was the most American grocery store I've been to outside of the US (even compared to the Caribbean), and get some chocolate bread (not quite rugelach, though it looked similar) and a delicious sponge cake (pillow bread or something like that). On to this morning: Slept until 9, skipping breakfast with the orangutans at the zoo in favor of sleeping in and trying to minimize my cold, which still lingers, though isn't too bad. I packed up, said farewell to Roslee, the kindly concierge, who gave me his card and invited friends of mine visiting to see him, even if they weren't staying at Raffles. Then I checked out, stopping by Zhang Sweekee for a rather proper, civil breakfast of milky sweet tea and the best kaya toast I've had yet, reading the Straits Times to learn about travel apps, see how they want to have an open internet that still limits incendiary speech, and read about the honorary degree bestowed upon Singapore's first prime minister who at 90 remains in the spotlight.

A fond memory of Singapore: kaya toast (with coconut honey), milky tea, and The Straits Times

I got a cab to the airport, saying a final farewell to my Raffles friends, who all seemed so friendly this a.m. The cab driver asked if I was from the UK. When I said USA, he asked if I was from Massachusetts, and then noted NYC was close enough. Before I left, he asked how far it was from NYC to Harvard. That was all he really wanted to know. I asked why Harvard, and he said because it's the best. Thank you, Singapore. I breezed through immigration and am now in the Cathay lounge, where I enjoyed pineapple juice and will have some cup of tom yum noodle soup. I will miss this place. 10:08pm Lebua at State Tower, Bangkok Room 5129 It's either a really good or bad sign when you can't remember what room you're in. I knew the floor, and someone up on the 51st floor asked me which room, and I had to ask him where the business center was because I knew I was close to it. The flight was easy. Heavily populated with Indians, they all seemed to be a chatty bunch, as if there was an enclave of Little India scattered around the plane. My cold didn't bother me too much, and while I already had a delicious cup o' tom yum soup in the lounge, plus a few dumplings and pineapple juice, I enjoyed some chicken and rice on the plane, with some bread, plus a horrible chocolate cake. I finished Beautiful Forevers - wow, had no clue it was non-fiction - and started 500 Days, which should be a page turner (it was). Immigration at the Bangkok airport took awhile; I was bound to get a long line sooner or later. Reading 500 Days about the 9/11 aftermath made me somewhat paranoid when I was just behind two men who not only were taking some time getting their passports checked but ultimately were pulled aside for some kind of extra screening, if not detention. And yes, I was just reading about the hijackers going through US security at the time. Great choice there, Berko. I found an ATM at the airport and had options of 500, 1000, or 20,000 Thai Bhat, or a custom amount. I had glanced at the currency exchange board and saw it was about 30 dollars to the bhat but couldn't process what 20,000 was while getting oriented. So yes, I defaulted to the largest amount and now have about $600 on me in a country where things don't seem to cost much. Food on the street tends to go for B30. The long taxi ride from the airport went for B400 and I gave him B500. To rent a taxi for the day, the posted rate is B2,500. So for the standard max amount that one can take out from the ATM machine, one can rent a taxi for 8 days - not bad. Try doing that in New York with the $400 withdrawal. What's fun is that one can feel very generous here. The B30 fried chicken? Take B40. The B150 tuk tuk ride? Take B200. I won't notice the difference in the 1 or 2 dollars, or even less, and it will make a far bigger difference to them. Plus, when it comes to someone like a tuk tuk driver, I like encouraging honesty when they have the opportunity to cheat me. He could have doubled the rate, and I wouldn't have haggled, so a 33% tip is a fair reward for good behavior. Note that tuk tuks are unmetered, as opposed to the cabs. After taking my time settling into the room, I got moving around 5:30pm, got a map of the city and some pointers from the hotel concierge, and then headed out the back door to the streets of Bangkok. Wow, what a rush. The hotel is right in the center of, well, everything. It was incredibly local. Lots of street food vendors selling so many things I couldn't understand. Piles of durian outside a shop. People everywhere. Few crosswalks and clear places for pedestrians -- this is a city teeming with people but designed to be deferential to those on anything wheeled, whether a car, tuk tuk, motorcycle, cart, truck, or something else. I sampled a bag of fried banana at one food cart, and it was so incredible - maybe one of the best things I've eaten. Just perfect. I was trying not to eat the whole bag because I wasn't starving to begin with and wanted to find dinner somewhere, but it didn't help that I couldn't find a trashcan of any sort.

With some trial and error, I made it to the pier, not too far from my hotel if one knows where one is going. I was giddy on the boat ride down, a free ferry speeding to the gentrified upscale shopping and nightlife hub Asiatique, sort of a South Street Seaport, perhaps with a bit more going on after dark. Arriving right around dusk, I headed to the Ferris wheel, my third Ferris wheel in three different countries in three months. I had a private car on this one; few were heading there tonight though it was a full ferry going down. It made a pretty fast rotation, pausing some at the top, and once was plenty. The second time I put away my camera and soaked everything in. And then it went around three more times. Hey, what else did I have to do? B250 - $8 well spent.

The shops were either mid/upper-mid local shops or souvenirs you could probably find anywhere, or things you'd find at Asia-philic stores in the US. I didn't trust the food to be particularly local or good, especially after my street food earlier. So I walked through, including the limited time dessert festival that had desserts that were either too boring (most) or too Asian (most Asian desserts aren't my thing, sorry) so I actually didn't buy anything. I went out looking for a cab, fortunate to have my umbrella with the rain having started earlier, and the tuk tuk driver picked me up, bringing me to the Patpong Night Market, another famous spot I had heard of and that was recommended by the concierge. Along the way, my driver encountered a fellow tuk tuk driver friend, also with passengers – a couple of Middle Eastern women, and the second driver asked me where I was going. I said the night market, and he said, "Shopping?" I said, "Just to look." He said, "Shopping for women?" No, thanks. The night market was crap. Total crap. Cheap souvenirs, knockoff clothing and accessories, uninspiring food options, and lots of people promoting strip clubs, ping pong shows, and massage parlors. I escaped as soon as I could and got to a main road, passing through what seemed to be a sort of Japantown street. The road was covered by stands selling local foods, souvenirs, routine items for sale, etc. When I finally broke through the awnings and checked out the other side of the street, there was high end shopping, including an Apple store. It was so strange to see the juxtaposition, and also crazy that there didn't even seem to be a break in the stalls for thru-traffic. I walked onward, trying to find my hotel, which was proving difficult since Google Maps said I should have been there already. Apparently Google was in a pranking mood tonight, and my hotel was a good half mile or so beyond where it said. My print street map proved far more reliable. Before I went up to the hotel though, I looked for the fried banana stand - there's always money in the banana stand! - and it had clearly closed for the night (if not moved on). Along the way, I picked up some mix of fried chicken and fish pieces - pretty good, especially the fish, and then some real fried chicken - great stuff. Then I hit up a 7-11, which was fun to browse in its own right since they are good at adapting to local tastes. I got: a Chang beer (terrible, terrible stuff - its motto should be "worse than Tiger"; I need to try a Singha), a carton of Pomegranate juice, orange Oreos that I thought were caramel, chocolate caramel cookies that were really chocolate caramel cookies, and salmon Lays that I didn't try yet. Now back. More tomorrow. Must sleep soon.

The salmon Lays proved to be rather addictive; I’d get a few more bags of them during the trip

Thursday, June 6 Lebua at State Tower 1529 10:10pm There's a lot of activity in my suite tonight. I wish it was because of some happening party here, but instead I've got a plumber, an electrician, and two managers. Earlier, when I wasn't feeling well, I decided to relax and watch some TV this afternoon - something I couldn’t readily do since the TV kept turning off every 5 or 10 minutes for a few stretches at a time. Granted, when watching a Stallone movie, it turns out you don't miss very much, but that also might explain why I had settled on a Stallone movie. I let the front desk know about the glitch when I left for dinner around 6, and they sent someone up to deal with it while I was gone, though that's in a manner of speaking. It turns out they sent someone up who couldn't replicate the problem, so they told me when I got back that they didn't do anything, and to let them know if it happened again. Sure enough, as soon as I got back up, it happened repeatedly, at which point I told them that just because they couldn't immediately replicate the problem doesn't mean the problem doesn't exist, and that it basically assumes I'm lying to them if they don't bother fixing something that I said was a nuisance. On top of it, it means now I get to deal with people in my room after 10pm rather than me unwinding. As I told the manager, it doesn't even matter to me all that much since I watch so little TV in hotels, but this was going to happen for the next guest if they did nothing. Meanwhile, as I tried to watch a few of my shirts today in the sink, I noticed the water drained right away even with the sink stopped up, so I let them know about that issue too - something I told them not to fix right now but what the heck, they've got the whole crew at my beck and call. Maybe they'll give it a fresh coat of paint while they're at it. (As I wrote this, the manager asked if the internet was working, and I mentioned it didn't work well in the bedroom - the joy of having a suite, so she's seeing if she can do anything about that.) At least they did finally give me access to the balcony, which I already signed a waiver to access and yet it was locked. My instinct initially was to try to pick the lock, but my MacGyver skills didn't do anything for me there. [Epilogue: a week after I returned to NY, still fighting jet lag and not sleeping well, my phone rang at 4:50am; it was the manager of the hotel asking to hear more about what happened. I explained to him what time it was in New York, and told him to never call me again. Yes, they’re that unprofessional there. Avoid them.] As for today: Woke up at 7, leisurely got ready, grabbed breakfast for a few minutes around 8 (nice spread - had some olive bread, pretzel roll, a couple dumplings, a delicious lemongrass juice/tea). Then I got to the bell man and asked for a cab. As one was coming, slow as it was, close to 8:15, I asked how long it took to get to the hotel where my tuk tuk tour was starting, and they mentioned it could take an hour in Bangkok's morning traffic. Google Maps said it would only take 15 minutes or so, marking yet another time Google tried to screw me here in Bangkok. (Now someone is coming to install a wifi relay hub in my bedroom as they test the new TV that was brought in.) They said the ferry would be faster, but I'd still need to walk to and from the station, and I wouldn't know exactly where I was going, so that might have been yet another challenge. Finally someone brilliant suggested a motorcycle, and I went for it. A biker pulled up and said B200 ($6-7, $8 with tip) to get there. Perfect. I strapped on a helmet, held on for dear life, and soon had the best views of Bangkok I could possibly get of any city, and it was pretty smooth, except for an occasional need to stop sooner than expected. I was there in 15 minutes - right around the time the tour guide was telling the other guests I could be another half hour longer, so more or less on time.

A view shot over the handlebars of the motorcycle taxi

Then we were off in the tuk tuks – a Filipino sister duet laboring along with all the walking but doing alright, and very sweet; one is now in Malaysia and the other lives outside Dallas. Then there was a 60-something white Nova Scotian couple that loves New York and had gone to a wedding in Malaysia. We had 3 tuk tuks for the 6 of us, including the guide and I going in the one with the Disney floor mats. The first stop was Santichaiprakarn Park and Phrasumane Fort to get a taste of Bangkok's history and how all these Ramas (their kinds) connect with each other; the country currently boasts the world's longest serving king, one who remains very active and very popular even as he's in his 80s. He and his wife are currently in the hospital, so a speedy recovery to them both. Then we headed to the amulet market. They sell quite a few amulets there. Bustling, fun market. And stuff. Then came the main attraction today: Wat Pho, and the Temple of the Reclining Buddha. What (Wat) a masterpiece. Hard to describe much more than that, whether the Buddha himself or all the inventive stupas - even the Chinese flower made of broken teacups. Such a marvel of storytelling, and things like all the paintings in Wat Pho get overshadowed because the sculptures are so overwhelming. It's also home to what's known as the country’s (world's?) first public university, with the 1,440 marble inscriptions. I hope some photos do a bit of it justice, but it's worth coming all the way over here just to see it.

Training for a backup career in case this marketing thing doesn’t work out

These are some of the best signs ever

The reclining Buddha himself, though his pillow doesn’t look all that comfortable

An image from what’s said to be Thailand’s oldest public university

Then we hit the Temple of the Golden Mount, Wat Saket, once the highest point in Bangkok with its sweeping city views. The 318 steps were small and thus easy to manage; the first half of the walk is also well shaded, with waterfalls breaking the heat. I had my fortune told, and it said something like all my wishes will come true. Yay.

Wish me luck

By the end, the cold was hitting me, and my nose was running way too much. I did a good job staying hydrated, and I had to take some meds (DayQuil) during Wat Pho. I got back on the tuk tuk and had my leisurely ride (B200, +B50 tip - $8) back to Lebua. Before going up, sweaty and tired as I was, I still had to hit up the banana stand. There was a line, and the goods were being made fresh at the moment, so it was a bit of a wait - but well worth it. I also learned I don't really like taro outside of chip form. The fried bananas were unbelievable though. I also got a spread: crepes with crab meat (fake) and chicken hot dog, steamed corn, and chicken skewers. Nothing was as good as the fried banana and sweet potato, but it was fun to sample and support the street carts here, and it ran me all of $4 - I think B130 for the whole spread, which could have fed two people.

Then I did something rare here, something I didn't know quite how to do: I read a bit and napped, both avoiding the heat and summoning strength. That's when I discovered the TV was busted. It now clearly works, as does the internet. Yay. And soon I can use the sink again. A bottle of wine came up too, a 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon from California, St George Select Reserve. Very good, but with my cold, I'm not about to partake too much. I just found it for $8.99 online, so even if there's some cost in importing it, at least it won't totally be a waste if I don't drink much. There’s also a cheese plate. Once I got moving, with some effort, I headed down to report the TV issue, and then I asked the concierge how to get to Thong Lo / Soi 38 where I heard there was some good street food. He kept wondering why I'd want to go there, saying it's far, and then that there's good street food in other areas nearby, and that Thong Lo was a very long street so once I got off the metro stop I'd need to take a taxi (actually the street food area is right next to the station), and that there's good street food closer in areas like Patpong (ugh), and that he could make a reservation somewhere good on Thong Lo. I tried to explain that I knew where I wanted to go, and I just wanted to know the best way to get there, and if I was going to take the BTS metro, I had never taken it before so I wanted to know how it worked. Ultimately, he obliged. I thought it was as much condescension as I could take for a week, until I came back to find out they couldn't replicate my TV problem so they didn't do anything. Good cheese though.

This sign is almost as amazing as “Ladies Don’t Touch Monks” (see above)

The street food was fine. Nothing special, but great atmosphere, and the area had one of the highest concentrations of white folks I've seen, though clearly locals were there too; it just didn't seem to be as popular an actual neighborhood as perhaps the one I'm in now, and this rougher street - fairly little English around, and not overly catering to tourists (the waitress spoke no English and understood just the basics, like tell me how much money I need to pay) - was just off Thong Lo, a more sanitized, gentrified avenue that may not be Madison or 5th, but could pass for, say, Houston St or some stretch of 1st Ave. Unable to decide, I grabbed a table at the first one where someone actually offered me a table, in what seemed to be someone's abandoned driveway. The options were basically beef with stuff or pork with stuff, so I had some grilled and fried pork on rice, with a Singha beer (much better than Chang). The food was pretty good - nothing amazing, but it hit the spot. I walked on back, hitting up a 7-Eleven for some juice, ice cream, a bit of chocolate, and more salmon chips of course. I took the subway back, much easier the second time around, getting off one stop earlier so I could see yet another stretch. I had to keep playing the human shield game; one Thai gentleman at Thong Lo even noticed and cued me when to cross. But I did get to cross a few on my own. Now it's NyQuil time.

Oh, there was an adorable, golden cat outside a shop by my hotel that I played with. He was craving attention and was SO happy for me to visit him before I headed to dinner. And a couple of adorable pooches were in a convenience store near my hotel as I was coming back.

My new cat friend that I met on the street by my hotel

Friday, June 7 Lebua at State Tower, 5129 6:06pm This morning, I woke up still battling a cold, and woke up too early - 7am. One bonus: it was the longest I was able to talk to C, getting a good half hour in. It's crazy to think that this two week trip has flown by to the point that I only have a few more days to go, with one night here, three nights in Hanoi, and one night in Shanghai, plus a long flight back from there - all with lots of travel in between that will make it go faster. What a trip though, to be able to see all these places, and to get comfortable in these different parts of the world, and to not go totally crazy alone this much.

When I got moving, I first went down for breakfast around 9:30. I had a fun spread - another pretzel roll and olive roll, and some sushi, plus some tea and some pandanam leaf juice, which was a bit odd but pretty refreshing. Then it was time to hit the road, walking to the ferry station and buying a B150 day pass, likely more than I needed but not a bad deal ($5 – and I took enough trips to make it worth the day pass too). Weather and energy permitting, I'll take one more ride on the river after dark, which should hit in about an hour. It did help napping most of the ferry ride up to Tha Tien, before taking the B3 ferry across. The first stop was Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, the Eiffel Tower of Buddhist stupas here, and a marvel of a complex. It's a rare one that you can climb, and the steps get steeper with each level, so it's a slog in the hot sun, and I tried not to go too far too fast, given my experience in KL. I also hydrated frequently, getting a couple boxes of pomegranate punch there and a root beer soon after, with more to come. Again, words won't do much justice to Wat Arun, so I hope the photos will add something here.

The guardian of Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn

Wat Arun

I ferried it back the other way and walked up along the water opposite the palace. There, several locals tried befriending me - three different ones, in fact, to tell me that the palace was closed for a few hours until 3 (they gave a few different times), with the likely scam being that they'd con me into going with them or their friend in the taxi to some other site, and then overcharging for that, and perhaps along the way trying to convince me to go to some other souvenir shop, show, tailor, or something else. The first guy ultimately seemed suspicious enough, the second guy had me for a second but then I saw people inside the palace compound through a back door (he tried telling me they got tickets earlier but tickets were no longer sold), and the third one was just a nuisance. On one hand, that's all it is - a nuisance. The third one was actually trying to con me right outside a sign that said to beware of "wily" people (I'm blanking on the word and was just trying to avoid him rather than take a photo) while an announcement was being broadcast in English to people near the Palace to not listen to any locals. On the other hand, for someone like me, who only has a couple days in Bangkok and wants to see the single most important attraction (the combined palace and emerald temple), I'd have had to totally miss it if I actually believed them. And frankly, beyond being a veteran tourist who also took his lumps getting conned elsewhere (namely Beijing), it is so hot and tiring there, and it's such a sensory overload, that a lot of people who might think they know better must fall for this all the time, especially with so many people trying to prey on tourists like me. When I left the compound, I got a cab driver who charged me B200 to go visit the famous red swing (a nominal local monument) and then go to a ferry station not too far away, and he wanted to see if I had time for him to stop at someplace to get a stamp - but a place where it seemed he wanted me to visit his friend's shop, and he was offering to drive me further for no extra charge, meaning he had other ruses in place. He kept trying to work other angles. I would have held off paying the B200, but really, it's $6, and I was beyond spent, and because the guy was an ass I didn't tip him (he didn't seem too appreciative that he could only get B200 out of me - when I thanked him for the ride and paid him, he just stoically sat there, so I guess the good news is he expected to rip me off far worse). That kind of con is more tolerable, though not great, and frankly I could have waited for a metered cab or haggled. It's a real danger though, since psychologically, I also rationally accepted that I only had the strength to turn down so many con-men, and if it was someone who was at least doing what I needed him to do, I accepted it. All in all though, I'm far more okay with the idea of these people finding ways to pry tourists of their money than I am in having them deprive people of their potentially once in a lifetime chance to see one of the most famous sights in Thailand. That's the piece that rattles me.

His and Her Majesty should crack down on the con artists swarming outside their palace

Anyway... After escaping the con artists, I got my ticket to the palace and temple - B500, a relatively hefty sum in this country -- $16-17, albeit at a place one could pass much of the day. I didn't see much open relating to the palace itself, so that part was underwhelming, and I thought there would be more shops and cafes too. Either I went the wrong way or they aren't milking this enough. The temples were striking, covered ingold leaf, and one could spend weeks reading through the stories painted and drawn on all the walls. There were also staggering numbers of sculptures, from the Chinese lions to the guardian warriors. Marvelous. And hot. Did I mention hot?

I paid around B250 at Haagen Dazs at the end of the compound for a wonderful caramel cookie crunch milkshake - small, and value-wise, the most expensive thing I've encountered so far in Thailand ($8). But damn was it perfect, and the workers there got a kick out of me putting the cup against my head. Note though that everyone here also seems to be feeling the heat, so it isn't just a tourist thing. Enough of the locals seem to be dying on this day where the heat index is topping 100. Got the cab to the swing (very briefly) and then the ferry, which took me back. A lot of vendors were selling food around there. I got 4 fried chicken drumsticks from one, and a teenage son was serving them with his mom in the back keeping an eye on things; I paid B70 for the B60 order, telling him to keep the change. By paying just over $2 and giving a tip of $0.35, he not only thanked me sincerely, but I looked back to see him and his mom beaming. I clearly made the kid's day. I also needed that, going back to dealing with the honest, hardworking laborers here who appreciate every bhat, rather than those looking for suckers to con. There are all kinds of people everywhere, and the chicken boy is the one I want to remember. A few paces down, I saw a woman selling empanadas that looked good, so I got two mushroom ones - B14, I paid B20. She was so appreciative and insisted on giving me a third rather than accepting a tip of less than a quarter. Another delight. Then I hit 7-Eleven to buy a stash of fruit juice (6 small boxes since they had no big cartons of what I liked), Halls, some Kleenex, maybe another thing or two. Then I hit the fried banana stall, where the couple was making a batch fresh, and I was first on line. Despite the heat, and the added heat emanating from his pot, I had to wait for more of this. Actually, I should sample one now. BRB. Got it. Though they are so much better when fresh and crispy. I've been at the hotel since, what, 1:30, 2? I had TV issues again, with it cutting out, and then some error message appearing on HBO while I was watching Ghost. Someone called me back from the hotel to tell me that it was because it was supposed to rain heavily. It still hasn't rained a drop here today. It is somewhat cloudy though. Also, my safe reset itself and I couldn't access it, so two guys had to come up here and reset it manually. This place is the nicest dump I ever stayed at.

I tried going up to the roof to see the view. It doesn't open until 6. And the guy warned me not to wear open toed shoes. Screw it. I'm tired of this hotel letting me down. I did have a nice swim in the pool though, and read a bit more there. Oh, and HBO returned after awhile so I could catch the end of Ghost. Time to go night boating. Then I can call it a night. 11:12pm Lebua 5129 A fine evening. I took advantage of my day pass and headed up and down the river. It was peaceful, seeing the city lit up, and catching sights that were easier to miss by day, such as a white church, so plain by comparison to all the ornate Buddhist temples. At night, Wat Arun is particularly striking, but it's impossible to appreciate without seeing the detail up close by day.

On the way to the ferry, I passed by a bustling marketplace, indoor and outdoor. People seem to buy and sell anything here, and the whole nature of shopping has hardly been Westernized in full here (though what's up with the Swenson's ice cream shops?). I returned that way for dinner, and while most things were closed, I ordered a satisfying chicken and noodle dish from a shop that took quite awhile to prepare it. Then, 7-Eleven - more juice, and some ice cream (actually, at two separate ones). Another walk along the street, a discarded durian by the side of the road. Now in, talked to C, and readying myself for tomorrow's adventure ahead.

Saturday, June 8 Essence Hanoi, Room 305 10:17pm The Singapore-KL-Singapore-Bangkok-Hanoi journal reaches its fourth act (depending on how you define it), though hardly a denouement, if today is any indication. I'm here in the top rated hotel in Hanoi, based on TripAdvisor, and it's a lovely spot, very central in the old city. I woke up around 7 this morning, talked to C, and then had breakfast (more dumplings and olive bread) before checking out. There was a note on my room that the hotel manager wanted to talk to me before I left, but I told the receptionist that I just wanted to get to the airport, though I agreed he could find me outside by the cab. It took at least 5 minutes, maybe 10, for the cab to come, but the manager never did - typical for Lebua's esteemed service. Checking in was easy, and lines were minimal around the airport today. I spent some bhat on a couple nice enough souvenirs but still wound up with more than half of my cash that I had taken out in Bangkok - more than $300 US. With Singapore and KL, I had predicted it far better, and wound up donating the rest of those bills to the airport charity fund. Fortunately, I had a few hundred-bhat bills for the one vending machine I could find; Thailand's airport - at least its international terminal - has the lowest number of bathrooms and cold drink vendors I've seen per square foot in any airport. I worked up a sweat trying to find a bathroom. Meanwhile, drugged up and trying to hydrate while also craving sugar, I used my bhat-bills for a few bottles of lemon lime Gatorade and a couple packs of chocolate wafers. I crashed pretty quickly on the flight and woke up as we started the descent, which was painful enough with my cold. Soon enough though, I was down in Vietnam. From above, it was so picturesque - the green mountains, the brown rivers. It was pretty much everything I imagined it would be, and that's been true of much of my day here so far.

It’s not hard to take beautiful photos of Vietnam

I exchanged my bhat for dong, which now go for around 20,000 dong to the dollar, so I've got wads of 200,000 dong bills, which - while only $10 bills - go a REALLY long way here. The hourlong cab ride was something like D400,000, maybe 450K, and I think I'll mostly be trafficking with 50s here. Got to the hotel. A receptionist was very courteous, walking me through everything from local highlights to how the hotel and my room work. It's a charming place, pretty elegant - living up to its name - even if not quite as fancy as a five-star spot. Speaking of prices, the minibar prices are always telling. In Singapore, beer from the minibar went for something like $15. Here, the prices are in dollars, and full-size cans of soda are $0.80, beer is $1.50, and most snacks are more or less a buck. Yes, these are the jacked up prices. Also surprising: not only is there internet in the rooms, but there are IBM/Lenovo laptops hardwired. I talked to C on Skype with 0 disconnections. I got to the hotel around 2:45. By 3:15, I was off, getting a cab to the Hoa Lo Prison ("Hanoi Hilton) - D35,000 (I rounded it up to 50 - yeah, pimping it out bigtime here peeling off the 50s, yo). It's a moving place, a museum mostly showing how the French colonialists tortured the Vietnamese, a few rooms honoring the Vietnamese patriots, and then a few fascinating rooms showing how relatively well the Americans were treated when 'guests' of the Vietnamese who shot down their B-52s and other planes (the showpiece: John McCain's flight suit and parachute). There's a lot of chest-thumping propaganda, but they also happen to be on the right side of history: foreign powers tried to meddle here and were ingloriously defeated, and Vietnam is now a thriving member of the global community. They won, we lost, and we shouldn't have been here to begin with, so let them tell their story and rub it in.

McCain couldn’t check out anytime he’d like, but he could eventually leave

I found a taxi outside that was supposedly using the meter, but my guard was up when he started trying to get me to destinations that were further out, and I knew his meter was rigged. It was going up ridiculously fast, far more than my taxi coming over to the museum, so I had him pull over and urged him not to cheat people. That won't do much good, but at least he didn't get a fare out of it. Then I wound up who-knew-where in the middle of Hanoi. Fortunately, having access to Google Maps on my phone. I was within a reasonable walk of the B-52 museum, something recommended by the con-man, and it happened to be a good idea. The next person I found who was willing to take me around was a motorcycle driver, so what the heck. He gave me a spare helmet, and we were off through the streets where motorcycles far outnumber cars, and traffic just does its own dance where there are few rules but everyone knows them. Crossing the street as a pedestrian initially seemed daunting, but there's only one rule you need to know in a place where there aren't traffic lights or walk signals: walk confidentially, and everyone else will find their way around you. That's essentially the main rule for anyone in the streets, whether on food, bike, motorbike, or in a car or some other contraption.

In Hanoi, motorcycles are really the only way to travel

What's also surprising here is how many white people are around. I'm hearing a range of accents, so it's not clear which groups predominate, but I've already seen more whites in Hanoi than I have in the other destinations. Perhaps I'll soon figure out why that is. [The closest thing I heard to an explanation was that Bangkok, now said to be the most popular destination for international tourists, is overplayed, so everyone’s flocking to Hanoi. It reminds me of the Yogi Berra-ism – it’s so crowded, nobody goes there anymore.] I loved the moto taxi ride, and wound up at the site of the downed B-52 remains in a small pond that served as a sort of town square; a poorer community was residing around it, so it was odd being a tourist in this neighborhood. I hadn't known where that B-52 was though, and it's literally off my map, so it was great that the taxi driver took me. He and his colleague hadn't known what I was indicating, even when showing them my map, but when I waved my arms to indicate a plane crashing, they got it right away. Maybe I should play more charades.

Yeah, that plane was one of ours

While the heat was blistering and my head was still feeling too stuffed up (the plane didn't help there), I was determined to see more, so I tried navigating streets that weren't even on the Google Map until I found some main road and got to the front of the B-52 museum, whatever it's called. I couldn't find anyone working there, but it's a massive building with grand columns, and a lawn covered with wreckage of planes, plus the anti-aircraft guns that shot them down. There wasn't much shade, and I followed some other young guy taking pictures there into the second story of the museum, but that didn't prove too helpful since there wasn't any English.

This is one museum the Vietnamese would love Americans to visit

I went out, looking for a cold drink, and that again proved elusive today. I did find another moto taxi and was off through the streets to the Hoan Kiem Lake, essentially Hanoi's Central Park, bustling with tourists and locals, with various sculptures dotting it. The biggest attraction was an old Chinese temple complex spanning either side of a bridge that went into the lake, and it was especially popular for Chinese going there to pay their respects to their ancestors and ancient heroes. Beautiful. Then I walked through the bustling old city - wait, I forgot the biggest highlight -- sitting at a cafe where I was able to get a cold can of Coke, with some effort (and there were a couple of ADORABLE pugs playing around there; there are some really fun animals around, including one passive aggressive pooch that was feisty with me in the old city). the old city isn't what I was expecting. It's almost Middle Eastern - a whole breed of its own chaos, rather than a reverent and polished historical charm.

Okay, so it’s not exactly the vision of world peace that America envisioned in the 50s-70s

In Vietnam, if you want good luck, make friends with a turtle

I got to the Q Quan Chuong arch, presumably an old city wall, and wound up close to the Long Bien Bridge, a symbolic highlight here - a bridge the Americans bombed repeatedly but that kept getting rebuilt. Lonely Planet said take a motorcycle taxi across. The problem was finding one when I needed it. It isn't clear which is a moto taxi and which isn't, so I pulled out my map and tried looking like even more of a tourist. Finally, one stopped for me. I motioned on the map that I wanted to go across the bridge and back, and he got the gist. He said D30,000 (I gave 50 - $2.50). What happened next felt like it was out of a movie. There is so much beauty here, from the rusting, iron bridge full of life - it houses train tracks and otherwise is designed for pedestrians, bikes, and motorcycles - no cars. It's massive, at 2.5km, so it's a lengthy ride, especially given how you can't go incredibly fast with all the traffic. It is absolutely one of the most beautiful settings I've ever been in, right at dusk too - almost too dark to take photos, with the sliver of orange sinking behind the city before the darkness set in. Thanks, Hanoi, if only for that. You can do it by foot, but the moto adds that motion to it - that cinematic effect. Thanks, Lonely Planet.

I got back sweatier than I've been yet, which says a lot, especially since I changed shirts when I first arrived at the hotel. I spent some time unwinding at the hotel, watching a bit of some Chinese teleplay on a TV that doesn't shut off on me.

This writer better win some kind of Asian Emmy,

and any actor who can own that line deserves a nomination too

For dinner, I considered exploring more, but the restaurant in the hotel, Essence Cafe, is one of the best rated on TripAdvisor (now #2), so I gave it a shot. Outstanding - and actually, revelatory. The service was sweet - just enough English to get the gist, but enough of a stretch to feel like I'm somewhere else. It's been so rare that I've eaten at restaurants at all on this trip, but I'm glad I spent some time at this one. I got a Hanoi beer (ehh, at least it's local) and a pineapple papaya lassi (wonderful). They served shrimp chips instead of bread - a fun change of pace. It was hard to tell much by the menu - all English, and a lot of very European options, which is common enough here, but they had some great local fare listed. Still, the descriptions weren't jaw-dropping, and they did not do justice to the food. I had the Huế spring rolls to start (Huế being an increasingly popular tourist destination in central Vietnam), and they were so light and fresh, filled with a bit of shrimp and pork supposedly but also fruit, some nuts, and greens, and the dipping sauce had just enough of a kick and so much flavor, like a fruity, liquid salsa. Perfect. And then came the grilled fish, which really didn't sound that interesting but the waitress recommended it, and what a recommendation. The grilled fish would have stood out on its own, but it came with sheets of rice paper to use as pancakes, with vermicelli and green herbs to mix in (plus fried onions and nuts, which I didn't use much of), and that same dipping sauce. I've never had anything like it, but damn do I hope to. Simply an excellent dish that I may need to have again before I go home, especially if my cold breaks.

Back at the room, and now it's already Sunday. Must rest up.

Sunday, June 9 6pm Essence Hanoi, 305 Less drugs, and rockin' pho It's a good day when I'm not quite as drugged up as I have been. Okay, I took three doses of Tylenol, but that's child's stuff, and I did the antihistamine this morning, but it's some random drug from Bangkok, and I'm not totally sure it works. It feels good to take something, but something less strong than DayQuil. Granted, getting out of bed this morning wasn't the easiest thing, and my head was pretty off (NyQuil didn't help there, of course). But I'm in a better place than I was. So, yay. After waking seconds before my alarm, I got ready and went downstairs, where I met guide Tu at around 8:15. C sent me a writeup on his food tours - perhaps in CNN Travel. He's been getting a ton of publicity for them and seems to be booked at a healthy clip. When I asked him if the recent coverage helped business, he was rattling off the top tier outlets, so the answer was basically, "Yes, but which one? I can't keep track." He says he's been doing the tours for five years and has been in hospitality for 20, though it's hard to believe, unless he was indentured as a child. We covered a ton of ground, and with the blazing sun (can I possibly go three paragraphs without mentioning the heat? Perhaps not, but it's a defining factor of just about every experience, especially as I can viscerally recall how sweaty I've been at each attraction and event), it proved to be pretty depleting. Tu didn't want to leave anything out, and there constantly seemed to be more than what we bargained for. Tu hailed a cab and we made it to another Elegance Group hotel, the Ruby, to pick up R and K, two sisters traveling from Manila to Hanoi for R’s birthday. They had booked Tu already, so it was thanks to them that they let me join in the celebration. They have a sister in NYC, and I'm now Facebook friends with all of them.

Breaking bread (okay, soup) with my new Filipino friends

The day started with a delicious fish stew - bun ca - where we also learned some of the basics of eating at local spots (cleaning the chopsticks with small citrus fruits, etc). Then it was a rice noodle pancake of sorts filled with pork, mushroom, shallots, and more. We stopped for coffee somewhere where I had a passion fruit smoothie - this was the 8.5 floor “Being John Malkovich” spot, as I had to hunch over to duck down on the second floor. We had some ice cream along the way, with cones so fresh that they resembled crispy crepes - made daily (just like home!). We also passed by the lake, Truc Bach, where John McCain's plane was downed; there's now a monument recognizing it (this city won't miss a chance to gloat about downing planes).

The gist of this monument: USA surrenders as it goes down in flames (see the “USA” to the right)

Then we hit the market, very much alive, where Tu gave us a lesson in fresh herbs, vegetables, and seafood that is, well, alive. We missed seeing some pig butchering and the like, but it's safe to say there's little need for refrigeration of anything here.

The markets here bring new meaning to what New Yorkers know of as FreshDirect

And on we went. There were fried shrimp cakes - essentially deep fried English muffins with half of a shrimp on it (want the head or tail? you pick!). Perhaps my favorite stop was for Egg Coffee at Cafe Giang 1946, though I had an egg beer, which explains why I liked it. Basically, it's a sweet custard of egg yolk, condensed milk, and sugar, and then you pour beer into it. It's essentially a dessert michelada, or Vietnamese eggnog. Here, Christmas comes even in June!

We closed with a couple noodle dishes, one pork, one beef (the pork broth was my favorite), but I was getting pretty full at that point, and Rai was wondering if I had even tried my beef dish (washed down with Hanoi beer; the egg beer was with Saigon beer). I mentioned to Tu that banh mi was pretty popular now in NY, and he said those are good in the middle of the country, but not Hanoi. We wrapped up at a store, where Tu got R a present for her birthday, and I got a present for me. Excellent tour overall, and I'd heartily recommend anyone reaching out to Tu if they're coming here.

Here's Tu's email recap:

Thank you for choosing the street food tour with us. I hope you had a fun morning. Here are some links:

Bun ca http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2011/03/fish-dish.html Banh Cuon: http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/11/third_time_luck.html Cafe Duy Tri: http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/01/barista_artista.html Market http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/market_meanderings/ Banh Tom: http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/04/at_the_bottom_e.html Pho Tiu http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/07/there_are_not_e.html Bun Bo Nam

Bo: http://stickyrice.typepad.com/my_weblog/2005/07/wham_bam_thanky.html Egg Coffee: http://streetfoodtourshanoi.blogspot.com/2012/04/egg-coffee.html Quan Kien: 143 Nghi Tam Street Cha Ca Thang Long: 21-31 Duong Thanh Street Summit Lounge: Sofitel Plaza hotel

Have a great trip and take care Regards, Tu PS: if you have a few minutes, please visit our website and your comment will very much help our business. http://streetfoodtourshanoi.blogspot.com/

--- After that, I came back to the hotel for some precious AC, and then fell asleep pretty quickly, dozing off for a couple hours. I mustered some strength to stir, and got a taxi to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, which was closed, but I at least got to see the compound, and the one-pillar Chinese pagoda by it. Pretty overall but not terribly interesting. A few people wanted to pose with me for photos, and I obliged, but when they asked if they wanted me to take a picture with them, I felt there was some kind of scam going on, so I walked away checking my pockets carefully and declining to engage with them further.

This is part of a larger sign at the mausoleum, but I think everyone has to take this photo

Then I got a moto to the Temple of Literature, a beautiful Chinese complex considered Vietnam's oldest university - which was more interesting in conjunction with Bangkok's Wat Pho being their oldest university. So basically I'm just touring a lot of college towns. Literature wasn't the prettiest temple I've seen, so I didn't dally too much there, but it was nice to check out while I'm here. Then I declined a lot of moto and taxi requests as I walked over to the citadel complex to see some more Hanoi history. There was a fair amount of English, and it was fun seeing some of the old city walls and the like, but it wasn't a well put together museum or showpiece just yet. They're still doing a lot of excavation though, so it's probably an exhibit that will improve with time. Then I took another moto to the Sofitel Plaza (one of two here - I almost stayed at the other, in the French Quarter) for what's said to be the best views of Hanoi, and it didn't disappoint. The bridge in the distance is especially striking, one under construction - I saw it on the ride to the airport, and it should be a masterpiece. I had a lovely banana, pineapple, strawberry honey smoothie while watching the start of sunset there, reading 500 Days on my Kindle. Even with the sun, I still had to enjoy the corner seat outside, though I was the only one who stayed out for long. Then I got a Taximeter back; Tu, the Essence staff and then Sofitel made it clear that's the only really great, honest cab group. That's why I stick to motos; they never overcharge. More fun too. Back at the hotel now. Water Puppet Theater coming up in a few. And dinner.

Yet another beautiful spot in Hanoi: sunset over the Sofitel

The bridge that may soon define the Hanoi landscape

11:35pm Essence Hanoi, Room 305 I walked out to Cha Ca Thang Long, per Tu's recommendation. It was a bit hard to find based on Google Maps (damn you again, Google), but it was easy to navigate the menu. I had to go to the overflow restaurant; really, it's two identical spots almost next door to each other. In between, on the sidewalk, they're preparing the herbs fresh right there. You get there, sit down at a table, and there's a portable stove on it, with a big pot of herbs and greens next to it, and then all the local accompaniments I got familiar with today came out: some more green herbs, a bit of banana root or something like that, some red chili peppers, fish broth, white noodles, peanuts. I stirred a couple chili peppers in to the fish sauce to flavor it. Then they came by and turned on the stove, poured a whole mess of the herbs and greens into the pan, added several chunks of marinated fish, and got it cooking. They took my drink order and brought a Saigon beer. Then the waiter cut my bowl of noodles into manageable chunks with shears, and gave me a demo of how to assemble the dish so I could watch and learn. Then, eating. Wow. Just so wonderfully fresh, full of flavor, healthful, delicious. One dish, done perfectly. Quick, easy, delicious, just what I needed.

If you only serve one dish, you better do it well – and they do

Then I walked over to the water puppet theater. It was fun for a bit, and I enjoyed chatting with a German couple visiting Hanoi as part of a few weeks in Vietnam. I didn't realize the Germans are not part of the more typical European approach to getting a ton of vacation; they have three weeks, and this couple uses it in one shot, sticking to getting to know one country well. There's something to it, even if it's not my style. The puppets were fun, and often endearing, and it was surprising to see the puppeteers were actually in the water (isn't there an easier way?). There was enough on-screen translation. But the show had a bunch of issues with it, beyond that it's water puppet theater. They hide most of the musicians, and that's perhaps the more interesting part - the live music and singing. The puppets don't have much of a range of motion; they have a lot of different puppets, but each one can pretty much just move their arms and legs a single way. And then the dumbest part is that the most interesting puppets - a dragon and some peacock thing, with the dragon shooting water out of its mouth and doing all kinds of flips - is in the first act, so it all goes downhill from there. The dragon doesn't even come out again in the grand finale. What the @*$! is wrong with them? Didn't they win some award at Vietnam's third annual puppet festival last year for best in show? What was the second place winner, a ventriloquist act? They've already imported Coffee Bean, KFC, and Coca-Cola; now let's get Spielberg over here. He shouldn't have the same cause to boycott it like he did the Beijing Olympics. There are no violations of human rights going on that I can tell - just violations of artistic sensibilities.

Next door, I grabbed a cold Pepsi at some kind of fast food chain, Lotteria. It was so cold, I got a second. The ice cream wasn't so good though - NWTC*. (*”Not worth the calories,” in case I have no clue what that means when reading this years from now.) I paid them with a 200,000 dong bill, which is only $10. True to Vietnam, they asked if I had anything smaller. In case you missed it, they asked for something smaller than a $10 bill! Got back, sweaty as ever even by just walking around a few minutes. The area by the theater reeked of smoke, so hopefully Hanoi isn't on fire, and it was just, well, reeking of smoke. Now it's late. And I've got a Ha-LONG day tomorrow. Oy.

Monday, June 10 Essence Hanoi 305 8:10pm The last full day as a tourist is winding down. Drained - not enough sleep, and perhaps 7 hours in a car was too much. But today was wonderful - the scenes of the countryside, the rice, the tile murals again of Hanoi, Foxconn and the factory zone, Chinese pagodas intermixed with Christian headstones, tributes to or from Russia and China, unfinished bridges, duck farms, constant labor, constant towns shifting to farmland and back again while always producing something, aimless drivers, a tour bus shifting to the left lane and back to the right only to shift left again a moment later, an ambulance with its light flashing but driving slower than anything else on the road, the manic Dong bus trying to overtake anything, Foursquare and Traveler's Quest, limestone mountains, water, caves, boat, lunch, erstwhile guide who guides little, driver who drives a lot. A 7:30 pickup, following a brief breakfast - croissant, a creme caramel, passion fruit juice. Lots of yellow. Got picked up, went into the big van. Not the most comfortable for such a long day trip, but it sufficed. It was pouring, and we ran the risk of getting turned around before the trip began. We picked up three Australians, all perhaps in their 60s - a couple traveling together (the woman: Betsy Ross; I shared a bond of having a famous name), and another Aussie who happened to be staying at the same place. The husband - I forget his name - was quite chatty. A veteran of the banking industry, he spent some time in Papua New Guinea and other places not quite that exotic and had some good stories to tell. He's one of those foreigners I've encountered traveling who doesn't match up neatly with the American political spectrum; he'd probably have voted Democratic in quite a few of the past American elections, but would line up with a moderate fiscally and socially conservative if such a candidate was running. He's also one of these breeds who probably isn't outright a bigot, but says a lot of things that get into that territory - most obvious initially with gays, but then once he picked up on me being Jewish (perhaps just from hearing my name and making a few assumptions), he made increasing references about Israel (very pro-Israel, as he noted was the sentiment in Australia, albeit at the expense to some degree of Muslims, such as his mocking of a Muslim Aussie political candidate who's known as Jihad Sheila). His Jewish remarks then reached a crescendo when he brought up something about Facebook and the dispute with the Winkelvoss twins over its founding, and he said, "Well, you Jews are always after the money." It was in a tone I've heard before - that veil of accepted anti-Semitism couched as humor, and I let it pass. It was on the way down to Halong Bay where we'd be in close quarters together for way too long. And much of the rest of the conversation was quite pleasant, largely talking about various systemic differences in the US and Australian approaches to the housing market, healthcare, immigration, and other sweeping issues.

The Bay is too pretty to let a little Australian bigotry ruin the fun

Halong Bay was gorgeous. Following a pit-stop at a massive but unimpressive rest stop shopping complex that supposedly supports the disabled (I got some wafer cookies that turned out to be stale), we then made it to Halong Bay and boarded our boat. It was only drizzling then, and soon after lunch, it would clear up entirely. Apparently the visibility today was much better than usual, even in the rain, as there wasn't the typical haze. Lunch was great - spring rolls, cucumbers in a light chili sauce, some pork chunks, a grilled whole fish, squid, greens, watermelon, probably more. All very well done, especially the spring rolls. Relaxing on the upper deck was a treat. At first, I thought a day trip was more than enough, but the more I was enjoying the breeze and tranquility, the more I realized spending a night on one of those boats probably would be quite alright. Awhile into it, we hit one of the massive caves, perhaps the most fascinating cave I've been in with so many layers of stalactites and gorgeous outcroppings. Nature at her best. We had the option to explore one more higher up, and I was the only who went for it (doing some quickfire souvenir shopping in between), and the cave was more of the wonderful same, but the top of it was swarming with bats - none going anywhere near people. While today was the first cool, temperate day I've experienced since getting to Asia, I still did manage to form a pool of sweat on my shirt, so at least that was consistent. The rest of the trip was the ride back. On the first half, I chatted some with the Aussies and then passed out for awhile. On the second half, with the rain no longer a factor, I enjoyed all the life along the side of the road (see above). Now back, winding down my time here. A little off, so debating whether to bother with dinner - perhaps there's no need to push it. There is so little of this trip that I'd do differently, and it's all been so overwhelmingly phenomenal. This is it, opportunity seized. Pura vida.

10:17pm Essence, 305 You know you overpaid for a souvenir when they try offering you an additional large bottle of water after you pay for it. It's a 'bia hoi' shirt - showing my favorite Vietnamese expression ("beer here!"). After 10pm, a shop was still selling them. She charged me $5, perhaps expecting to negotiate. I paid her the 100,000 dong happily. I am about to leave Asia, and I'm happy to leave behind a bit more of my dong. Dinner was good. But the energy of the city is what really filled me. Okay, I forgot my marching orders. Tonight, my third night here, the sensory overload it me. The old city just felt more alive, louder, more distracting. A motorcycle almost ran right into me. I wasn't following Tu's rules: walk at a steady pace, not too fast, and be consistent. Dang, I'm losing my touch. Had dinner at... well, I'll figure that out.. I was going somewhere else recommended by today's guide, but the smell of a sidewalk spot grabbed me. I neglected to place the smell of the signature dish that lured me in, so I got this chicken and noodle dish - very good, just not like the rest I had here. What they were luring people with was steak. (I didn’t realize the restaurant was named Hai Ty Steak.) The bathrobe here resembles Will Arnett's in 30 Rock. I am too tall for this place. Why was the city so loud tonight, a Monday night? And why did the noise die down so suddenly? There are rhythms to this city I will only understand by spending more time here. I hope to do so.

One of my favorite signs – “Bia Hoi” – denoting there’s beer here

Wednesday, June 12 1:23pm China time, 1:23am NYC China Eastern Airlines PVG-JFK Seat 37A At 4:30am yesterday, June 11, I woke up in Hanoi. At noon, I was getting a massage in Singapore's Changi airport. 12 hours later, I was having dinner in Shanghai. 12 hours after that, my flight to JFK had taken off. 12 hours after that, I'll still be on this plane. But by around 4pm, I should be home. At last. Thus it is taking me 48 hours to get home, a trip that spans time in four countries. Given that this must be the longest travel stretch I've ever had of actually being in transit, it's a pretty phenomenal journey (so far at least). It has also required relatively less writing. First, it was saying a sad farewell to Hanoi. Driving out of the old city at 5am, past tile murals commemorating the city's 1,000 year anniversary in 2010, markets on the side of the main artery were clogged with thousands of people and their thousands of motorcycles doing their first buying and selling, and loading up their motorbikes well past their logical limit to transport goods to their place of business, or to their customers. The Australians, at least the particularly chatty one on Monday, looked out at sights like the massive bridge still in its relatively early stages of being built and see unfinished projects that show no sign of ever being complete. I see the start of magnificent things ahead, the start of which I hope to return to see in their later phases. Works in progress are often far more interesting than the completed versions, and in the case of that bridge, it can be inspiring too. After a bit of souvenir shopping at Hanoi's airport, I enjoyed my one business class seat for the trip, an upgrade that cost $41. It was a mostly empty cabin. I had some orange juice and then a chicken and rice dish for breakfast - pretty good. And then I slept a bit, having only slept for about four hours the night before. There would be plenty of time to sleep on the planes, so sleeping at night has not been a priority. Arrived in Singapore. The bad news of sorts: I was stuck in Terminal 3 the entire time for a four and a half hour connection. The good news: it's Changi International, the best airport in the world based on repeated surveys and anecdotes, and it is about as pleasant a place as there is to spend a few hours. Given that it would be a couple hours, 2.5 really, before I could even get my boarding pass from the transit desk, I had time to explore. The first stop: the butterfly garden - a beautiful place, and parents were enjoying taking their youngsters there. Just breathing in the air was really pleasant and felt salubrious. After going to the upstairs section, I came out by the transit hotel there, including rooms by the hour, conference rooms, showers, internet terminals, and massages. I had the time and cash, so what the heck - I got an hourlong massage. I was so refreshed after that my bags actually felt lighter, and what a relief, as they're packed about as tight as they can be - squeezing the big one in the overhead flight on my first China Eastern leg proved to be a bit trying, but it worked (and it's much easier on this flight).

I had plenty more time, so I then hit up the upstairs food court and gave the chicken rice another go here. Same deal as before: chicken too cold, rice great and well flavored, and a delicious broth. The chicken was better with the chili sauce, but this version was especially bony and not meaty enough. Sorry, but Hainanese chicken rice is not my thing. Then I read more, finishing 500 Days soon around then, moving on during the next flight to Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying (slow at first, and such a frustrating protagonist, but it built up to something worthy of Orwell's name), and then going on to Going Clear by Lawrence Wright. I played a few games too - namely, for posterity's sake - Clash of Clans and Pixel People. I picked up some Cadbury chocolate covered wafers and wound up boarding soon enough. I also changed my 2 million Vietnamese dong to 800 Chinese Renminbi - about $130. This was not a bad way to return to Singapore. The flight to Shanghai was easy enough. More rice and chicken. A bit of sleep, but not much. Lots of reading. Lots of legroom in the exit row, except when I was opposite a jump seat. The one noteworthy event: the 40-something man next to me clearly was going batshit stir crazy after awhile. He took out his phone, offline as it was, and pulled up some karaoke app, or at least a music app that displayed the lyrics to sing alone with. It was bad enough that he didn't have headphones - that was about to drive me nuts as he put it on full volume. But then, he did something to make me totally fine with it. He started singing. Even hitting some of the high notes. I caught some of it on video. At times, for the couple of numbers that he did, I just gave up and was laughing hysterically, but he didn't notice that, nor did he catch my filming him.

Apparently he missed the in-flight announcement requesting to limit the use of mobile karaoke

Then I got to Shanghai. The line at the transit visa station was pretty long. Once that finished snaking around and I was about to get a 24-hour visa (they offer that or 72 hours), the guy at immigration had a hard time understanding something about my flight itinerary, with the connection a day later. Maybe they weren't used to overnight connections, but whatever it was, it tripped him up and he had to leave my passport at the supervisor's desk for further review. This is a really bad time to have just read 500 Days, with a number of stories about perfectly innocent people traveling abroad to seemingly friendly countries, getting pulled aside - always very politely initially, and then going for some further processing before winding up getting taken outside where a bunch of people storm out of a van, put a hooded mask on the traveler's head, and then suddenly that person winds up in Guantanamo, Egypt, or Syria. Somewhere after that, the phrase "electrodes to the genitals" seems to appear.

It didn't end quite so horribly for me (I'd probably have a much less cheery attitude with this journal right now). It was really just a 10 minute or so delay. Pretty minor in the scheme of things. I got my passport stamp and was off to the taxi line, spiriting past the gypsy cab drivers and going to the main event, where I got the fastest cab driver I ever had - he was easily going 130km/hr much of the trip (80-90mph) . That part was fun. It was raining there. I had actually checked the weather before I left and it was supposed to be cloudy, so I left the umbrella in my Hanoi room. Around 11:30pm, I got to my hotel, the Waldorf Astoria (I put Four Seasons on my Chinese immigration card - I hope they weren't looking for me). What a gorgeous hotel. It was a little disorienting, as the main entrance by the Bund was quite a stretch a way from the hotel desk, and I was wondering if I was still in the same hotel by the time I got there. I've rarely seen a place so elegant, and the next morning it would look even more so, especially with the classical music playing while walking back across the hotel along the hall overlooking the main dining room. The front desk recommended a place to eat, and the concierge even made a reservation (not sure how necessary that was given it was pushing midnight, but I guess the hotel also wants credit for where they refer people -- it's probably more for them than me). At that hour, I guess it is good to have something confirmed, rather than needing to look for another option. Aside: the clerk at reception enjoyed my Taj Mahal credit card. I went to the room - pure luxury. It has one of those Japanese toilets where the seat lifts up when you enter the WC, and the curtains open and close just by touching them. I'd later revel in how comfortable the bed was, and every little touch added to the comfort and elegance. I hope to return with C. After reaching out to C and sorting through a few things, I headed out to the street along the bund, where several people knew enough English to offer me massages. One guy had this very shady tone asking if I wanted a lady; and that was not what I was hungry for. Architecturally, this is one of the most fascinating cities from what little I've seen of it, and I appreciated some of the historic descriptions written in both Chinese and English (well, I appreciated the English piece). The clocktower was especially inviting, the one topping the Customs House.

Then, in a few minutes, I arrived at number 18 on this misty night, a building housing shops and dining. I went to the 7th floor as directed, but that was a very happening bar - and I was relieved to not go in as it was a little too much energy for me that night. I went down a floor and into Mr. & Mrs. Bund (is that really the name? a few things are foggy), one of the top rated restaurants in local guides for the past several years, a swanky modern French place with very moderate prices and a pretty casual crowd. I had asked my hotel desk if I needed to change, and they swore I was fine in my polo shirt and cargo pants, and really, I fit in surprisingly well, even if I probably would have presented myself a bit better had I been planning to go out on the town. The meal was phenomenal: - Cocktail: a mango, toffee, rum drink - sweet but not cloyingly so, with fresh mango puree. Excellent, and unusual. - Pellegrino - Bread course (not at all an amuse bouche as they called it - an odd error at a nouveau French spot, though I wasn't going to correct them): thinly sliced, toasted bread crisps with a very light, airy foie gras mousse; the mousse went especially well with this other roll and especially this massively thick and soft toasted slice of some other bread. I could have easily had that and some light dish and walked out happy. - Appetizer: I went with the frisée salad with soft boiled egg and bacon lardon, and the pork was really phenomenal, even if I'm not normally inclined to eat it. Very substantial for an appetizer; I was surprised to see two thick chunks of pork, and I think two eggs as well. - Dinner: Black cod in a bag. It was served almost like a goldfish at a carnival, in a plastic bag brought to the table. The water cut open a bit of the bag and poured out the broth over jasmine rice, then served the fish on top. I had fries with it, and some light, whipped mayo (the fries were fine - just the least interesting and appetizing part of the whole fairly flawless spread). The fish was one of the best pieces I've ever eaten. SO flavorful. Granted, after all that, I was already getting full and had to pace myself. - Dessert: what a beauty: a lemon & lemon tart, or something like that. Just a crazy dish. The outside was an actual lemon rind candied with maple syrup. The lemon was extracted from it, and inside it was some citrus fruit (I think grapefruit), Chantilly, lemon sorbet, and lemon custard (I think I got that right). It was a very strong, potent dish - you better like lemon if you're eating it - but such a treat. Not bad for my last real meal in Asia. Yeah, I'd go back. I left my Time Out Shanghai on the table (something given to diners there - or perhaps just those dining alone), put away my Kindle, paid my 500 Renminbi and left 100 more as a tip - about a $100 meal all in, great value - and headed out to the Bund. It was all extremely satisfying, getting an actual taste of Shanghai - literally too. As I walked along the water, quiet and misty but with enough signs of life, including some couples enjoying the relative quiet for a late-night kiss, I was able to reflect on visions of Singapore, Kuala Lumpur (and Putrajaya!), Bangkok, Hanoi and Halong Bay, and now Shanghai. What an incredible trip - planned well, done well, lived well. It's all incredibly satisfying, and fulfilling. Maybe I have figured out a few things. Yes, I'm grateful for these opportunities that I've been given. I think I've got some sense what to do with them though.

I got to my room close to 2 and crashed soon after. Five hours later, I was up. By around 7:45, I had gotten everything together and had spoken with C, and I walked out to the Bund. It was very hazy, with little visibility even across the fairly narrow river, and it felt like an appropriate metaphor, as the trip itself fades into a foggier memory. Tourists abounded, and I scoped the architecture across the road, the gleaming buildings across the river, and the Chinese monuments along the way, as older couples volleyed playing some netless badminton, and senior women practiced Tai Chi. Some people just seemed to get a kick out of this happy go lucky white guy wandering around taking pictures of things I couldn't possibly understand. All the better. The last photo of me on this trip is by this giant bull, by the same artist as the one on Wall Street. I'm wearing my Longhorn shirt, and a local security guard took the picture. NYC + TX + Shanghai, all together.

A New Yorker feels right at home, wearing the perfect Texas shirt to match the bull

I checked out and got a cab, a senior who often seemed to be the slowest driver on the road. Oddly enough, it didn't seem to be a much longer ride, if any. It was nice seeing some of the city in daylight, with its beautiful bridges, and electrical towers that looked like pagodas.

There were some lines in Shanghai's airport but manageable ones, and no surprises in immigration this time. Shanghai's airport is no Changi, but I got a little souvenir - a panda couple in Chinese military dress - and some cream puffs at the shop Chez Choux. Delicious. Boarded. One more exit row. Still a very long flight ahead. Hope to sleep some. Time to read more. Ready to go home. Thank you Singapore, KL, Bangkok, Hanoi, Shanghai. I hope to see y'all again soon.

APPENDIX:

RESOURCES & HIGHLIGHTS

Crowdsourcing Week presentation – Crowd Advertising: Success Stories & Challenges http://bit.ly/crowdads

Viator.com: a great site for booking guided tours www.viator.com

Photos on Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidberkowitz/sets/

Singapore

- Cloud Forest at Gardens by the Bay

http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/the-gardens/attractions/cloud-forest.html

- iFly indoor skydiving

http://www.iflysingapore.com/main.html

- No Signboard for chili crab (there are several, but I recommend the one I went to in Geylang, which is a vibrant neighborhood to visit at night)

http://www.nosignboardseafood.com/

- Any hawker center whatsoever

- Raffles Hotel – pricey for sure, but if you’re splurging, the service is wonderful. And even if you’re not staying there, stop by and ask for Roslee the concierge (feel free to tell him I sent you). He offers great recommendations.

http://www.raffles.com/singapore/

- Buddha Tooth Relic Temple http://www.btrts.org.sg/

- The three foods to eat in general: chili crab, char kway teow, and kaya toast

Malaysia

- KL Bird Park

http://www.klbirdpark.com/index.cfm

- Batu Caves

http://www.tourism.gov.my/en/my/Web-Page/Places/States-of-Malaysia/Selangor/Batu-Caves

- Putra Mosque

http://www.tourism.gov.my/en/my/Web-Page/Places/States-of-Malaysia/Putrajaya/Putra-Mosque

Bangkok

- It’s really about the Wats, or temples – Wat Pho (Reclining Buddha), Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Wat Saket (Golden Mount), and the Grand Palace and Wat Phra Kaeo (Temple of the Emerald Buddha)

- Tuk Tuk Tour – I booked it through Bangkok Urban Adventures via Viator

http://www.urbanadventures.com/destination/bangkok_tours

- One to avoid: Lebua at State Tower (read about the comically bad service above and on TripAdvisor)

Hanoi

- Hanoi Street Food Tours with Tu and Mark

http://streetfoodtourshanoi.blogspot.com/

- Essence Hanoi Hotel (others in their Essence group are also supposed to be great); its café is also fantastic, though there are so many great options around there for food

http://www.essencehanoihotel.com/ http://essencehotels.com/

- Cha Ca Thang Long

http://chacathanglong.com/#

- Hoa Lo Prison / Maison Centrale / “Hanoi Hilton”

http://www.tripadvisor.com.sg/Attraction_Review-g293924-d311069-Reviews-Hoa_Lo_Prison-Hanoi.html

- Drinks at the Sofitel Plaza, ideally during sunset

http://www.sofitel.com/gb/hotel-3553-sofitel-plaza-hanoi/index.shtml

- At least do a day trip to Halong Bay - I booked it through Urban Adventures Hanoi via Viator (you can also book directly, though when I booked, it was the same price)

http://www.urbanadventures.com/destination/hanoi_tours

- Stick to Taximeter taxis (a cab company name); avoid others if possible. Or just take motorcycle taxis. They’re unofficial – flag someone down, take a map, point where you want to go, and negotiate the fare (usually 20,000 or 30,000 – currently $1/$1.50).

Shanghai

- Waldorf Astoria on the Bund

http://www.waldorfastoriashanghai.com

- Mr. & Mrs. Bund restaurant

http://www.mmbund.com/