Marathon

Singapore marathon tomorrow. Plenty of crazy fools wandering around the place today with their 'race packs'. It's bad enough walking any significant distance in this heat -- you'd have to be mad to run 26 odd miles in it. Certifiable.

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Red

Just had a shower ahead of my flight home. When I was drying myself I noticed that my back and shoulders are distinctly red. So that'll be the 20 minutes the bit of the pool I was swimming in had the sun on it!

I'm coming to terms with the redness of my back by having a couple of glasses of red wine before I get on the plane. I'm hoping the booze will send me into a satisfying unconscious state to see me through the 13+ hours It takes to get to Heathrow. Or more likely I'll get some kind of horrific altitude induced hangover!

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Down the Local

Just having a Saturday afternoon pint at Brewerkz. Well strictly speaking it's a jug rather than a pint! Said jug is nicely positioned in a wine bucket full of ice - in twitter style #chillin'!

 

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Tick Tock

So less than 24 hours to go of my time in Singapore and my holiday (I don't count the 13+ hour flight home as part of the 'holiday' despite the buzz I get from airports and air travel).

Anyway I've just got back from my gourmet meal of 30 satays and a side order of sambal kang kong. All washed down with a jug of Tiger beer (and a few cubes of ice). This is the third time this year that I've had satays at Lau Pa Sat, and there is the potential I'll be there for a fourth time before the end of the year!

 

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Pit Stop

I'm Singapore for a total of 32 hours as I make my way back to home and the delights of a British winter! Oh well at least Christmas is just around the corner.

No real plans apart from probably not spending too much time in the vicinity of Orchard Road. I went swimming after I arrived this afternoon and the plan is to get another 'session' in tomorrow. I reckon a trip to Lau Pa Sat for satays tonight is on the cards and there might be time spent at Brewerkz at some point before I head to the airport tomorrow evening (sounds like a Saturday afternoon time wasting activity to me).

Chiang Mai was cool and so much more of a Thai experience than Phuket or Koh Samui. I was looking in the Silk Air in-flight magazine getting inspiration for future trips. I reckon I might finally get round to visiting Vietnam in 2013. So many places, so little time (and money)!

 

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Tranquility

So my last night in Chiang Mai is drawing to an end. I bottled out of a trawl through the girlie bars on Loh Kroh Road, and instead am mellowing out on the balcony of my hotel room. I've eaten well and have stuck to Singha beer all night (4 large bottles and 1 small). Hopefully there will not be a hangover waiting to greet me in the morning!

All would be bliss, as the sky lanterns drift by in the bucolic evening breeze, if it wasn't for the war zone like aural accompaniment provided by hundreds of fire works going off at frequent intervals! It is incessant. Thankfully I have earplugs.

 

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Sausages

What has surprised me is how keen they are for a good sausage in these parts (and that isn't a reference to Girlie Bars).

Street side stalls selling them are all over the place. In fact my favourite breakfast at the hotel I'm staying has been Chiang Mai sausage served with brown rice.

 

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600 grams?

This blog post is dedicated to Catherine.

The tiger prawns in the picture are weighing in at about 600 grams. I think in the U.K. if you called these tiger prawns people would think you we're a bit silly -- more like a langoustine or cray fish perhaps, but a prawn? Nah.

Any way I had them at a place called Man-O-Cha prawn farm, which was a restaurant I in the Anusarn market. As the name suggest there were a lot of prawns on the menu - of all shapes and sizes.

The ones I had weren't cheap at 950 Baht, but boy were they good!

 

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Brutal: Part 2

I've just been beaten up again courtesy of the good people at Deep Relax. Or rather, courtesy of the fairly unassuming small middle aged women who inflicted the punishment.

It started well with a foot scrub and massage and then got decidedly painful when she got to work on my shoulders and back. In fact I had the masseuse giggling at one point when my big toe was wriggling because of the pain I was feeling on the top of my shoulder thanks to the location of her elbow. Not for the faint hearted!

I'm sure it did me good, but I'm not sure about any kind of relaxation! Maybe that's what the Singha beers I'll have tonight will achieve?

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Loi Krathong

The festival of Loi Krathong is in full effect tonight. The sky is full of sky lanterns and every now and then a barrage of fireworks or fire crackers go off. The area by the river was really busy with people buying Krathong to float on the water. I also got to see another parade (see the picture).

There was also a much higher concentration of traveller/backpacker/gap year types than I've seen since I've been here. All looking very brown and like they had 'gone native'!

 

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Cookery School

I spent pretty much the whole of today cooking, eating and learning about Thai food! I had booked myself on to a Thai cookery course at 'A Lot of Thai' and it turned out to be a really good day.

There were 7 of us on the course, which takes place in the house of Yui who runs the cookery courses. I was picked up from my hotel at 9.15am and dropped back around 5.30pm.

During the day we cooked Pad Thai, chicken green curry, chicken with cashew nuts, Tom Yang Kung soup, spring rolls and sticky rice with mango. We also had a short trip to the market to see the various types of herbs, vegetables and other ingredients used in Thai cooking. I resisted the temptation to buy anything -- no matter how much more Thai cooking I do in the future, am I really going to need a load of palm sugar, preserved tamarind or dried crushed chilies? (These are some of the things my course mates bought.)

Of all the dishes we cooked I think I liked my Pad Thai the best, although they were all pretty good. The added bonus was that after each dish there was no washing up to do -- all our stuff was cleaned up by Yui's helper.

My course mates were a diverse bunch -- a young Slovenia couple, a French couple who live in London and a couple of girls in their late 20's from Boston (one had been teaching English in Thailand for the last year). The Americans conformed to type by being a bit loud and asking the most obvious questions.

 

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Chang Damage

I woke up this morning with a splitting headaches and a parched mouth. It can only be down to one thing -- the bottles of Chang I had last night (and possibly not drinking enough water in the evening).

I toyed with having no beer today, but that would be silly (I am on holiday afterall)! Instead I've played it safe by only having a couple of bottles of Singha (and plenty of water).

 

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Limes

No need for chemical fresheners. In Thailand a few crushed limes are up to the job!

 

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Lanterns and Fireworks

I seem to have got lucky and I'm in Chiang Mai for the festivals of Loi Krathong and Yi Peng. Yi Peng is the Northern Thai festival which is sort of similar to Loi Krathong but seems to start earlier judging by the parade I saw today! Wikipedia will no doubt help out here.

Loi Krathong is definitely tomorrow and it's marked by fireworks and the lighting of lanterns which float up into the sky. In fact tonight has been full of fireworks and the rather beautiful sight of lanterns drifting into the darkness.

I love the attached picture as the father and son spent ages getting their lantern so that it was able to 'launch'. The joy of the little boy when it was finally airborne was fantastic. (Yes I appear to be going soft).

 

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Myanmar

Today's lunch. Meat and two veg Burmese style - pork and potato curry and rice Shan style (is rice a vegetable?). All good and super cheap. A bit disappointed the goat curry wasn't available. Didn't ask whether the goat offal was still on!

 

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Food Porn

Various random places I wandered around (and sampled) in my jet lagged state yesterday evening. If only I was hungrier -- the Sunday street market had loads of interesting looking stalls selling food that looked and smelt delicious.

 

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Skype

I had lunch at a place called Blue Diamond. A place that appeals to traveller types with an eclectic menu of Asian and Western food. Lots of 'organic-y' salads and the like. I went for a Spicy Vietnamese salad which was excellent and pretty spicy (and all for about £2).

My meal was 'accompanied' by a Canadian girl 'Skyping' her friend back in Vancouver. I learnt tonnes about her -- she's been in Chiang Mai for 3 days; she stopped off in Hong Kong on the way here and she didn't like the place; she's doing some kind of cycling tour and is heading to Vietnam eventually; she's not sure about her travelling companion (Daria); she gets asthma; she wants to study French; she did a yoga course this morning etc etc.

Bizarre entertainment!

 

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Temples Everywhere

So the question is how many temples does a city need? You can't walk more than a few hundred metres before you come across one -- some more ornate than others, although all broadly similar. Unsurprisingly also lots of monks in their almost dayglo orange robes.

I took a lot of pictures of temples today, probably enough for this trip!

Walking around the old city today was lovely and hot. A welcome change to the miserable Autumn/Winter weather at home. Thankfully I didn't make the novices mistake of not putting any sunblock on. As everybody knows you also have to stay hydrated in hot climates, so by having a mid-afternoon bottle of Chang in a random bar I ensured I didn't succumb to heat stroke (and inadvertently helped out a Premiership rival!). I'm also drinking Chang now, but it's Chang water.

 

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This is Asia Calling

Back in Asia and I'm in a jet lagged haze.

Decent flight out - I had paid for a 'Preferred Seat' i.e. one with extra legroom, and I had the bonus of an empty seat next to me. Not quite Business Class, but more than bearable. The day flight east is a tough one - an early start to get to the airport and once in the air a struggle to try and get some sleep when your body clock says you should be awake. Then you arrive early in the morning with the joy of a full day ahead of you!

I had a 6 hour layover before my flight to Chiang Mai. In an attempt to temper the severity of my jet lag I went for a swim followed by a tasty Indian vegetarian breakfast at Komala Villas. So far so good. Then I got on the MRT back to Changi airport (no need for a cab as not in any real rush). I sat down and just felt monumentally tired. My irritability index was in the red zone.

Got to the airport and after a quick look at the shops I went to the KrisFlyer Gold lounge. It's a good job the seats aren't particularly comfortable otherwise I would definitely be nodding off.

I've now got just under 3 hours until my flight.........

 

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Exchange Rate

Last full day away - back home tomorrow. A bit more than 24 hours in Singapore....

• It's confusing looking at prices in Singapore Dollars when you been in Hong Kong for 6 days. Everything looks cheap at first until you do the correct conversion - then it's not so cheap.
• Singapore is noticeably less hectic than Hong Kong. Positively tranquil!
• Indian breakfasts from Komala Villas are great.
• Brewerkz could be my local. I'm sure I've spent more money there than any bar/pub in the UK this year.
• Lots of chavy looking Australian tourists about town. I'm guessing Singapore is a stopover for Asian beach destinations.
• My body clock is about to get a bit messed up. Tomorrow I'm getting up at 5am Singapore time to get to the airport for my flight. This is 10pm the previous evening in the UK. Fingers crossed I get some sleep during the flight.....

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Bailey's!

Here we go....

• Walking to the Peak is not that hard. OK you'll get hot and sweaty, but it takes less than 30 minutes to go from Central to the Peak tower. Bearable.
• Old Peak Road is very steep.
• The breeze at the the Peak was lovely to begin with, but then got a bit too 'cooling'.
• Hong Kong airport feels properly busy - a reflection of the city.
• Bailey's at 2.45pm is just wrong. An Aussie abroad?
• Champagne at anytime of day is acceptable (especially when 'complimentary').

 

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Weary

Today's bullet points....

• Taking a tram ride from Shau Kei Wan to Western Market is a good way to while away an hour and a half.
• I tried Saigon Export beer at lunch time (I was at a Vietnamese restaurant for lunch).
• As a western tourist abroad what is the thought process that leads to you having lunch at McDonalds?
• I had to queue to get on an MTR train at the start of the evening rush hour! No room at all to squeeze on the first train that came.
• I'm tired.
• I dislike packing.

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Gluttony

Today's 'pithy' observations......

• Hotel buffets encourage overeating -- and my stomach isn't big enough. Bulimia isn't a pleasant solution.
• There are so many cool looking bars away from Lan Kwai Fong. Not nearly enough time to try them.
• Oktoberfest finished two weeks ago. Try telling that to the '21st Marco Polo German Bierfest'. OK so it doesn't overtly mention Oktoberfest, but still. Yes I am a pedant.
• 10 Bowen Road looks expensive.
• Walking up hill seems easier now than when I used to live in Hong Kong.
• I think it was better here in the 'olden days'.

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Stanley

Today's thoughts....

• The bakery in Sogo (DonQ) rocks and is still going strong.
• HK$21 for a bowl of fish ball noodles is a steal at Tsim Chai Kee
• Mid-levels is crazy - think population density to the max, and on the side of a bloody steep hill.
• Stanley is getting very gentrified.
• San Miguel beer from the Philippines is a perfect afternoon refreshment (also applies to other times of the day).
• The No.6 bus is a bargain - HK$7.90 (£0.65).

 

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Luxury?

Some observations from my current trip to Hong Kong.....

• Plenty of mainland Chinese have no taste whatsoever.
• Some of the mainland Chinese in HK can be described as boorish or vulgar.
• I wonder how many Louis Vuitton/Chanel/Prada/Hermes/Burberry/Dunhill etc. shops HK needs?
• I wonder how many stores selling 'luxury' Swiss watches HK needs?
• The saying "Hong Kong will be great when it's finished" still applies.
• Money is still king.

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LIRR

I got the Long Island Railroad out to Jamaica station and then the Airtrain to JFK.

I travelled right at the start of the rush hour so the train was totally rammed. It was Interesting watching the harried commuters start to de-stress after a day at the office. A lot of them aided this process with a massive can (or two) of beer, and some made use of what looked like a cocktail bar on the platform that served something a bit stronger than Bud Light!

At the moment I'm also relaxing courtesy of a glass of Pinot noir in the BA Galleries Lounge at JFK. Hopefully, this should set me up for few hours sleep as I cross the Atlantic.

At the Movies

Well not really.

It was a pretty non-eventful day as I tried to max out on the big city 'buzz' before returning to calmer waters. I then stumbled upon a movie being shot at the southern edge of Central Park.

It turns out the film is called 'The Secret Life of Walter Mitty' directed and starring Ben Stiller. I actually got to see Mr Stiller as he walked back to his trailer after the shot had been completed. He was a strange looking man with a head that seemed out of proportion to the rest of his body.

I was impressed with the lunch that was being served to the crew - steaming bowls of spaghetti with tomato sauce and meatballs and a fantastic looking salad. It prompted me to go in search of my own lunch - a Cuban sandwich with rice, black beans and fried plantains. Not the sort of food I'll be eating when I get back home!

 

Bagels and Baseball

Today was a bit odd.

My original plan was to go to the Met's day game and enjoy a few beers sat in the sunshine. Unfortunately the weather wasn't quite how I anticipated it would be - patchy with rain showers.

Never mind. I had things to do in the morning and then I could decide what to do later on. My first task was to get some breakfast. I went to the Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Co. and had,er, a bagel and a coffee. In fact it was an oven warm plain bagel filled with jalapeño asiago cream cheese. The bagel was perfect and the heat from the cream cheese was ideal. I've no idea what asiago is though.

After my food I did my best to dodge the rain by ducking in and out of a few shops. Rather than get an umbrella I decided to spend way too much money on a fancy TNF jacket!

Anyway the weather did show signs of brightening up so I did trek out to Queens and saw a pretty decent baseball game. St Louis won (the Mets took the series 3-1) and there were 3 home runs. The crowd was made up with a ton of school kids which meant the cheering was at a pitch that was a bit on the high side!

 

Jubilee Fever?

Oh dear.

So you've flown over 3,000 miles away from the Diamond Jubilee 'celebrations', but you still decide to wear a Union Jack vest top as you walk around New York!

At least the weather was much better in New York than in the UK.

 

 

9/11

Went to the 9/11 memorial this morning.

The actual memorial is very impressive, but the swarms of people meant it didn't feel particularly somber. I spent about half an hour walking around the two cascading pools and taking a stack of pictures.

It'll be interesting to see how it develops over the next few years and when all the other building work around the site is completed - I guess it'll remain one of the 'destination' tourist spots in New York.

Pastrami on Rye

Enough said. And no sign of Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan (yes I was at Katz's deli).

 

Private Disco

Spotted this chap dancing away in Grand Central Station. Curious to know what he's listening to!

 

Culture and Baseball

So last night I went to see a play. I don't think I've ever been to the theatre before (apart from when I saw Godspell when I was a youngster).

The play was 'One Man, Two Guv'nors' which stars James (from Gavin & Stacey fame) and has recently transferred from the West End to Broadway. I really enjoyed it, and James Corden was excellent - a real star performance. Lots of improvisation and audience interaction.

To contrast with my dose of culture yesterday, I spent this afternoon drinking beer in the sunshine whilst watching the Mets beat the St Louis Cardinals.

Yin and yang.......

 

Doughnuts

To honour the occasion I started the day with two impeccable examples from the Doughnut Plant (the Chelsea Hotel branch).

On the left is a PB&J doughnut and on the right a pistachio glazed doughnut. The PB&J one was my favourite of the two - basically a jam doughnut with a peanut butter glaze. Yum.

They were really light in texture, so, although they were total calorie bombs, they didn't feel like it!

 

Dinosaur BBQ?

Well not quite, but not far off it size wise.

This was an 'Oklahoma Jumbo Beef Rib' from Daisy May's BBQ. It was immense and said to say I couldn't finish all the meat (though I did finish my side dishes of Collard Greens and Baked Beans with Burnt Ends).