tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54193232011-04-21T13:56:55.337-07:00Traveling through Asia with a PowerShot/Ixus/Ixy cameraTrue San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comBlogger741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1085969932869893462004-05-30T19:17:00.000-07:002004-05-30T19:18:52.870-07:00

Hey, the site has moved! The Walking Ixus has walked here. Come on by and check it out!

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1078788313818384312004-03-08T15:25:00.000-08:002004-03-08T15:30:33.280-08:00

I found this useful map that points out where you can get something cool and replenishing to drink. Mmmmm. Sweat! There's even a handbook! And if you must absolutely have it in english, click this. It's not quite as interesting looking tho. Yep, I'm over the deep end a bit because it's 22 degrees out site and I'm not: A: in LAX B: in HKG C: in SIN D: in NRT or any other place that's

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1078623429043163182004-03-06T17:37:00.000-08:002004-03-06T17:41:11.403-08:00

Bowling is an international sport. Though I'd question the word of "sport" since people who sit at a table shoving cards and chips at each other is also considered a "sport". In HKG, you can go to an old airport and bowl in the terminal. In Tokyo, all you need to do is look for one of these. Or it could just be a piece of moderne retro design... Usually they're out front like this

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1078085110835821192004-02-29T12:05:00.000-08:002004-02-29T13:11:06.590-08:00

Have you seen it? I received my DVD right before my recent trip over there. I watched it on the way to Tokyo (on a 12" Al Powerbook and noise cancelling headphones) and again (on a big screen and proper Dolby Digital sound) when I returned home. The movie does a good job portraying the sensory overload of Tokyo and the various islands of calm that can be found in that big big city. It

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1078006783839836032004-02-28T14:19:00.000-08:002004-02-28T14:21:49.170-08:00

When I'm in HK, I usually find some time to go here to have a smoke. This place is above the main Shanghai Tang store in Central in the Pedder Building. Now since I'm here to smoke, I usually go downstairs to shop. The clothes are nice and the home decor stuff is nice. It's nice and nice & expensive! So I don't buy but I do shop. I did pick up a CD of old Mandopop songs remixed, much like

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077699332613099212004-02-25T00:55:00.000-08:002004-02-25T01:13:31.090-08:00

On my last trip here (November 2003), I stayed at the New Koyo in Taito-Ku. It's a bit out of the way, then nearest JR station being Minami-Senju. That's several stops outside the Yamanote but you can't beat the price. This trip, I decided to stay somewhere different, albeit a tad pricer. The Annex Katsutaro is in Yanaka, a little bit closer than the New Koyo is. The nearest subway stop is

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077698498736673772004-02-19T13:23:00.000-08:002004-02-25T01:14:08.513-08:00

Today was my last day in Tokyo. Blah. The plane leaves for San Francisco at 1945 which means I go BACK in time and arrive at 1100 today. That date line thingie can be a real pain in da butt... I had some time today before I had to leave for Narita on the Skyliner. Since it leaves at 1445 and it takes about an hour to get to Narita, I had the morning to putter about. Now what is the

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077115078395103132004-02-18T23:37:00.000-08:002004-02-18T06:46:08.216-08:00

Besides visiting questionable icons of bubble-era architecture (see below), today was an eating day. I had lunch with Yumi which was good. She's off skiing tomorrow. Fun! Lunchtime is the same over there as it is over here. Short. Only an hour. Bummer. I had a late supper with Takeshi, a friend I met when he was in San Francisco for a few months rooming with Cesar after graduating

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077095751795794752004-02-18T17:26:00.000-08:002004-02-18T01:24:23.360-08:00

If you take the Ginza line from end to end, you'll begin in Shibuya (yum yum!) and end in Asakusa. Not Akasaka, which I've had a horrible habit of confusing the two. You can tell you're in Asakusa because: #1: There's a river. Neat. #2: The oldest western style tavern (since 1891) is here. #3: You can see the Phillipe Starck designed "golden turd" when you come up from the subway and

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076948387264166112004-02-17T01:19:00.000-08:002004-02-17T07:28:21.090-08:00

Well, this trip was for doing things that I didn't do before. After all, Tokyo is the second biggest city in the world and HK is HK...that's all that needs to be said about my destinations. Lots of things to do and see on top of the things I usually do and see. But old fun habits die hard. Like staying out until the last train. And busting butt to catch it. Once again, I'm on the last

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077304240145767562004-02-16T16:05:00.000-08:002004-02-20T11:19:17.890-08:00

A western ward of Tokyo divided by a train station. West is highrises, the Tokyo Metropolitan City Hall and that Park Hyatt where Lost in Translation took place. East is shopping, Kabukicho and a general mess which means it's the fun area. There's an observation deck at the top of the tower (like most big buildings in Tokyo do) and I was able to see the New City Hotel where I stayed in

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076860138464059412004-02-14T19:36:00.000-08:002004-02-15T07:50:50.076-08:00

I'm what's considered an internet traveler. I get a guidebook about a place I'd like to visit and devour it. Then I research places to stay on the internet and usually make my decisions based on that. Generally they've been hits as opposed to misses. Like the place I'm staying at for this trip. They even have broadband in the rooms for free (bring your CAT5 cable!). The flight from HK

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077119853613416672004-02-12T11:47:00.000-08:002004-02-18T08:00:19.450-08:00

This is Kowloon City, near the site of the old Kai Tak Airport. It's not accessible directly from the MTR so you either need a good map or some local friends to take you around. Big difference from Central, eh?

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077119101320362652004-02-11T20:40:00.000-08:002004-02-18T07:46:55.983-08:00

They look like they need the Caped Crusader really bad! I mean, that's a big lightshow with a LOT of spotlights... heh.

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077118537501939482004-02-11T11:20:00.000-08:002004-02-18T07:48:49.060-08:00

Here's some snaps I took this morning from the 42nd floor of that feng-shui challenged masterpiece, I.M. Pei's Bank of China building. This is the Bank of China building in case you don't know how it looks like. Rather iconic, eh? This is the base of it with one of the historic buildings in HK Park for scale. The BOC is actually across the street. It's pretty big, eh? Now, here's

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1077116101443198122004-02-11T10:15:00.000-08:002004-02-18T07:07:07.716-08:00

And...since I was up ANYWAY, I decided to putter about. The Hong Kong Park is on a hill between the Mid-Levels and the ground. It's pretty nice and it's compact and right next to the British Embassy. An oasis from the urbanism that is Hong Kong. There's a walk-in fountain that looks like you're under a big umbrella in a very large rainstorm. There are statues and memorials to various

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076889581432745872004-02-11T09:11:00.000-08:002004-02-15T16:01:33.246-08:00

When you go on vacation, it's an opportunity to do different things that you wouldn't do at home. One of those things for me is to wake up early. I woke up at 0630 after a deep sleep. Couldn't sleep any more. Since today is the 11th, there's a morning flag raising ceremony in Wan Chai. This is one of the things that I've never seen (the other is the firing of the Noonday Gun)

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076860781443882582004-02-10T23:59:00.000-08:002004-02-15T08:13:38.903-08:00

Landed at HKG this evening; long long flight with awful food and indifferent service. Had bulkhead seat on border with Business Class. Everyone there had their laptops out and plugged in so they could escape the Hollyweird rejects that passes for inflight movies. Except for Master and Commander which looked pretty good. Now that it's up for an Oscar, it's in the theatres again so I can see

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076890629011389332004-02-10T19:22:00.000-08:002004-02-15T16:23:43.950-08:00

HKG is a big big airport. They have to use people movers to get people from the gate to the terminal. When you come down the escalator, you may see or hear the train leave. Being from San Francisco, my first instinct is to run like hell down the escalator and try to jam the doors. This is behaviour that has been ingrained due to years of a MUNI victim, never knowing if or when the next

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076890449595808772004-02-10T13:03:00.000-08:002004-02-15T16:16:02.043-08:00

Well, the cuts in airline food budgets have even hit the international flights, at least in steerage. This carb-laden plate passed as "dinner". Another passed as "breakfast". It looked exactly the same as this except for different meat. The snack box inbetween meals consisted of a small instant noodle cup, an apple and a cookie. I shoulda brought some Shin Ramyun like I did the last

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076352206401917142004-02-09T10:43:00.000-08:002004-02-09T10:45:12.123-08:00

Any doubt that the TSA is just another government bureaucracy? I'm at the front of the line with about 150 people behind me. There are two open checkpoints. Stop, make that one open checkpoint. Despite the frumpy hordes behind me in line, they close the checkpoint anyway. It's just like the customer service "commitment" that the post office or the DMV has. Meaning none. Next up: a

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1076265040161017562004-02-08T10:30:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:54:53.373-08:00

the tough go to Asia! I'm back in HK and Tokyo for the next 12 days. Hopefully will scout around the expat job market, eat some good food, take in some scenery and relax. Because it gets busy after I get back. The flight over will be difficult...I'm on UA and have a bulkhead seat. In steerage! Bleagh!

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1075449549932308992004-01-29T23:59:00.000-08:002004-01-30T00:00:44.936-08:00

Apparently, Tokyo is bigger than I thought...(duh!) This place sounds reallly goood! Gotta go here next time.

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1073610014009172292004-01-08T17:00:00.000-08:002004-01-08T17:05:22.200-08:00

I tell everyone... Besides the abundance of bijin (literal translation, not common usage), there are many many forms of booze at many different price points. When asked what I liked to drink over there, I say "beeru" and "shochu". What's shochu? I really couldn't explain it very well. Saying Japanese vodka doesn't give it justice. This does though. There's a form of cheap beer that's

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1072136968634450992003-12-22T15:49:00.000-08:002003-12-22T15:53:00.340-08:00

Stayed home last weekend. Nothing exciting to blog about since I didn't go anywhere... But from the socialist paradise, the following: There was a blackout (which PG&E will take a lot of heat for) over the weekend. There was an earthquake today on the Central Coast. Makes me want to head back to Roppongi so I can smoke and drink and listen to jazz...

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1071463861085499162003-12-14T20:45:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:36:25.890-08:00

I decided to disappear this weekend to New York City. NYC is all dolled up for Xmas and there's nothing quite like it. This is Prospect Park, Brooklyn's answer to Manhattan's Central Park. It snowed all morning Sunday and this is pretty much how the neighborhood looked when I trudged (Hey Joe, used yr word!) to the subway to head into town, err, Manhattan. Me with the big twinkle-y

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070952926291672192003-12-08T22:45:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:37:24.950-08:00

I went to LA this past weekend. Saw the game. Beat the Beavers. Savored the victory and for 12 hours, we all thought we'd be going to New Orleans for the BCS Nat'l Championship. Instead, in theory, we could be playing for a co-championship. We need out of the BCS, it's absolute bullshite and it's biased against Pac-10 teams anyway... Here's a shot of an SC tradition... This is toward

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070468302522087672003-12-01T08:12:00.000-08:002003-12-03T08:21:40.360-08:00

Sunday was a verrrry long day, mostly because of that International Date Line thingy. Here's how my day went. Late Sat. PM: Had silly idea about going to sento after more drinking after we got back to Myung-Dong. Silly idea disappeared after shochu kicked in. Sunday 0700: Woke up. Left hotel. Trudged to bus stop for 1 hour ride to Incheon. Sunday 1100: Left for NRT after contributing to

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070351350503990002003-11-29T23:33:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:39:10.826-08:00

Today was my first and only full day in Seoul. Besides breakfast, the one thing I wanted to do was to tour the DMZ. The DMZ, despite being the most fortified border on Earth, where the nuclear tripwire is still in effect, is a tourist attraction. There are tour groups that highlight Panmunjom, the village that straddles the border and where there is a line that dissects a building in half.

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070263610416631182003-11-28T23:26:00.000-08:002003-11-30T23:28:42.390-08:00

IHN is a new airport, built 2 years ago. Very new, clean and nice. Just wish that they built a rail link while they building the airport because you have to take a bus to town on a road that seems to go on and on and on. No rail. Just a really long road that seems to go to nowhere. Then you hit Seoul and you know you've hit it because there's a lot of traffic out. We are staying in

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070263452000711172003-11-28T23:20:00.000-08:002003-11-30T23:24:48.233-08:00

I flew with Yumi to Seoul tonight. We flew out on UA in Business Class. She said it was almost like when we first met except the seats are bigger and it's a shorter flight. The food was atrocious. Bad. Sushi plate looked like 2 day old maki from local 7-11. The entertainment on the flight was non-existent. Three channels, one being the map, one being a special on the turkey and one

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1071125392978859292003-11-28T16:48:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:39:57.153-08:00

This is all you need for a smooth trip... Your JR ticket, an iPod and a brewski...

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1071158186452136072003-11-28T14:56:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:40:30.920-08:00

Kenzo Tange is a Japanese architect that has designed many buildings including the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Complex in Shinjuku. He also designed the Yoyogi Stadium and Metropolitan Gym in Shibuya next door to NHK's studios. What he DIDN'T design was that big pink dot that's the mascot of the World Cup volleyball tournament that was being hosted there. Dun get that dot confused

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1071125239255307492003-11-28T13:41:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:41:01.170-08:00

Ramen is practically a religion in Japan. And I think I'm a convert. Here's a good explanation from another site. Here's a directory of ramen shops all over the world. I understand the obsession about finding the best ramen shop (while sampling many along the way). It's truly a quest for the best. This is a picture of my favorite ramen shop in Shinjuku. I can't tell you what street it's

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1071124472389285252003-11-27T11:37:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:41:45.046-08:00

The first time I went to Japan, I wanted to visit the Ghibli Museum but didn't have the time or tickets. You need to buy them in advance from JTB travel agencies in the states before you arrive in Japan. Ghibli is a museum devoted to the works of Miyazaki Hayao. They don't allow photos inside but they do allow pictures outside. This is the outside of the building. What's that on the roof?

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070949039818443212003-11-27T00:20:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:43:01.403-08:00

The last train of the night arrives at Shinagawa station. And I'm there to catch it back to Minami-Senju. Funny thing though, all the other lines that start from a Yamanote stop will wait for the last Yamanote to arrive before it leaves. It's funny only because I live in San Francisco and MUNI dun do this, ever.

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070513038144518522003-11-26T12:43:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:43:30.356-08:00

I'm on the Shinkansen heading back to Tokyo. Yea! And to the New Koyo. No comment. The train is about two hours into the journey. Suddenly around the bend looking out the left side of the train, "Fuji-San! Fuji-San desu"! Fuji is a notoriously shy mountain; it's usually hidden behind cloud cover. But not today. Everyone in my car rushed to the windows, whipped open their phones and

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070512691294363312003-11-25T23:38:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:44:15.966-08:00

Needed a long sleeve shirt to fight off the cold. Went to Den Den town to Muji. Great store, BTW. Wanted to putter and see Gilco Man. Off to Dotenbori. Got hungry. Ate at Ramen Stand. They had these platforms with tatami and little tables. You sat on the tatami but you were off the ground. Slurp. Got thirsty. Went to Kirin Beer Restaurant. Drank a sampler. Like I need

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070511659427663102003-11-25T19:20:00.000-08:002003-12-03T20:22:05.746-08:00

After the Palace, we took a bus to the Nishiki market. It's a big flea market that's held on the grounds of the temple monthly. There was a LOT of cool stuff there that I could never bring back to the US. But if I move over there, I know where I will be getting a lot of furnishings from... Then we decide to take a bus to Kyoto Station. It took forever to get there but it got us there in an

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1070510716259253222003-11-25T16:02:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:45:23.653-08:00

After waking from my shochu & sento enhanced slumber, the rain stopped and I made it out to the Imperial Palace. I ran into a fellow traveller from the New Koyo in line to enter. We tried to contact each other when we got to Kyoto, but was difficult since we were staying in different places. Kyoto was the capital until the late 1800s when the seat of government was moved to Tokyo. The palace

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069771700203036822003-11-25T02:42:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:46:47.530-08:00

Today (Monday) is Japan's Thanksgiving Day, a national holiday. Everything official was closed but everyone was out to enjoy the scenery that Kyoto is famous for. I went to a famous soba restaurant that has been around for about 300 years in the same location. Yummy but pricey... After lunch, I took a stroll in the Eastern part of Kyoto in the big park and toured some temples.

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069596060341461922003-11-23T23:00:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:47:36.060-08:00

I've arrived in Kyoto for the first of two "trips within trip" of this Japan trip. Sanyo shinkansen, 2 hours, 43 minutes exactly. Even though Kyoto City is just over 1 million people, I don't find it as overwhelming as Tokyo. It feels more comfortable and the people seem more relaxed. I'm staying at a guesthouse called J-Hoppers. It was founded by a motorcyclist who did one of those "

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-106949583314002482003-11-22T01:57:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:48:38.030-08:00

Today marks 7 days until I gotta go back to SF so I decided to do something absolutely silly. I went to the Gundam Museum where I saw stuff like this: Well, it's supposed to look like this. Zakus usually fall to this guy These people were also there for an event. Nice!

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069396267495045382003-11-21T15:30:00.000-08:002003-12-03T23:10:42.983-08:00

I left the Jazz Bar at just the right time (23:55) because as soon as I got downstairs, there were people running toward the gates. The last train was about to pull in. Soooo many drunk people so early, including me! Ha Ha. On the way to the platform, there were men in green police style uniforms (actually subway personnel) shooing people to their respective platforms so they wouldn't

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069396198827340742003-11-21T15:29:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:49:30.060-08:00

Under the weather As documented earlier, I'm dealing with the aftermath of food poisoning from KL. I'm convinced it's the roadfood that did me in because I had oysters last night and didn't get worse. I met up with Yumi-Chan last night and she took me to her hangout bar where we met up with some of her other friends. We drank a lot. 1 Bottle: Nouveau Beaujoulais 1 Bottle: some

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069396079114060582003-11-20T10:23:00.000-08:002003-11-20T22:28:25.200-08:00

So I flew the red-eye from Singapore Changi to Tokyo Narita. Arrived this morning to cold and rain and darkness at 1600. We're north now so it gets dark sooner. It's chilly, like NYC is right now. And despite the proximity to the city, it takes over an hour to get into town from Narita. I've heard it takes longer by road. The flight wasn't without glitches tho. My "space seat"

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1071292232838619672003-11-19T20:16:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:50:09.670-08:00

One of the many joys of Singapore are its Hawker Centres. Basically big stand alone food courts with many many small stalls of incredible variety. Good safe food because these places are frequently inspected and tourists as well as locals eat here. Although the most infamous hawker centre is Newton Circus because they stay open late to sate the bar and club crowd, Maxwell's has been around

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069395805799903292003-11-17T21:00:00.000-08:002004-02-08T10:50:37.200-08:00

So after the KL trip, the four of us, Hugo, Sun, myself & Truc come down with food poisoning...According to what I've been told, it's the classic symptoms. Can't crap, feeling bloated and kinda flu-ey. The really bad thing is that it attacks your immune system while it's going through your body. We figure it's either the roadfood in a Malaysian hawker stand/rest stop or the oysters at the

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069395650708883862003-11-16T19:20:00.000-08:002003-11-20T22:21:29.530-08:00

The first thing I noticed out here is that the sun stays up until 1900 or so. Thought it was kinda weird until I was told that Singapore is practically on the equator (knew that, that's why the crappy weather) and this affects daylight (which I had to think about for a minute before it made sense). If there are parts way north that have 6 months of darkness and light, geography plays a role,

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069083947438734612003-11-14T20:15:00.000-08:002003-11-20T22:46:29.450-08:00

Soooo I landed in Singapore last night and hightailed it to my friend's place. I wound up being a ringer in a vicious Scrabble game...and cleaning house! This AM, I woke up (big effort in a 25 degree house) and made it out to Tanjong Pagar, assigned meeting place for those of use driving out to KL and location to a pretty good creperie next door to a Thai deep tissue massage place I went to

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069083119387083772003-11-13T07:28:00.000-08:002003-11-17T07:32:21.873-08:00

As many of my friends know (otherwise you probably wouldn't be reading this), I make regular visits to Asia and try to make the effort to come here at least once a year. There are various reasons why I do this which I will explain if you post a question in the comments section. My only regret is that this HK visit will be only 10 hours because it's a stopover on the way to Singapore. Despite

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1069083286831207952003-11-13T06:15:00.000-08:002003-11-17T07:35:09.280-08:00

Two weeks ago, I was in LA for my college roommate's wedding. Being the frugal (ha ha) chap I am, I decided to purchase tickets on Southwest, leaving OAK to LAX on Saturday AM and returning Monday AM in time for work. I saw the sunrise both on the drive to OAK and to LAX. It's kinda depressing to be up THAT early to see the sun come up on your way to the airport...and on the 405 no less! I

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1066930484583634552003-10-23T10:34:00.000-07:002003-10-23T10:35:12.000-07:00

Because of the SARS attack last year, Hong Kong has been on a health kick since. That's a good idea because littering and the health effects that result from it have been implicated in how quickly SARS spread through buildings and the like. On my many visits over there, I did notice some litter, though nothing of the magnitude of San Francisco, cesspool and refuse dump for California. The HK

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1066030218173944552003-10-13T00:30:00.000-07:002003-10-13T00:30:18.016-07:00

My trip is about a month away. It's still happening but some things have popped up that may muck it up. #1: With Arnold being the Governor-Elect, they're moving quickly to set up house. That means that people are being hired over the next few months. Hopefully. #2: Governor's Ball? Hope they do it at the end of the year. Gotta buy a tux. #3: Friend of mine that I'm flying to Singapore

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1065033174334176262003-10-01T11:32:00.000-07:002003-10-01T11:37:12.280-07:00

more accurately, happy Chinese Communist day! On 1 October 1949, the Red Army took control of the mainland and declared the founding of the PRC (while the legitimate Nationalist Government retreated to Taiwan). This day is celebrated as "National Day", much like the 4th of July is out here. It's a day off with celebrations in a jingoistic and nationalist manner, just like any other national

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1064423339578141122003-09-24T10:08:00.000-07:002003-09-25T00:04:20.503-07:00

Busybody American Leftist Again from the ULSCMP, this story. Seems Martin Sheen (who plays a "president" on TV) knows what's best forthe HK people in a letter he drafted on behalf of the terrorist organization PETA: Hollywood film star Martin Sheen has called on Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa to heed appeals to permanently close the territory's live animal markets. In a letter to Mr Tung

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1064422938460281062003-09-24T10:02:00.000-07:002003-09-24T10:02:18.576-07:00

Well, Duh! In today's unlinkable South China Morning Post... The historic July 1 mass protest was the most significant political event Hong Kong has experienced since the handover, the United States Consul General in Hong Kong James Keith said overnight (HK time). "It was a remarkable episode, one that will go down in the books as perhaps the single most important event in Hong Kong's short

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1063241537471093572003-09-10T17:52:00.000-07:002003-09-10T17:52:17.380-07:00

Well, not yet. Off to Asia in November. It's mostly a "visit the friends, escape San Francisco (where you can shit and piss on the street)" trip. Plus a side trip to Bangkok because I've never been there before. So the trip will look like this: SFO to HKG (for the day) HKG to SIN Sometime during this stay, there's a trip to Bangkok and/or KL involved here SIN to NRT Explore the parts of

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1063066368668082742003-09-08T17:12:00.000-07:002003-09-08T17:12:48.730-07:00

More fun news from Asia via the BWG. To sum it all up, HK is going to try to impose a smoking ban. Read the BWG's entry on the subject; it sums up my position as well. Sheesh. What happened to choice?

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1063057995784252242003-09-08T14:53:00.000-07:002003-09-08T14:53:15.680-07:00

Well, it's been a nice summer, but as the seasons begin to change and the chill (relatively speaking) returns, so has that nasty thing called SARS. Hope it's a misdiagnosis (which happens) because if it's not, the patient caught it from someone else. And hopefully that someone else is NOT in Singapore.

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1063057602615804242003-09-08T14:46:00.000-07:002003-09-08T14:47:33.720-07:00

Hmmm. So Singapore is beginning to relax a little. That's nice. But don't go too far, lest ye become like "San Francisco, cesspool of the nation", complete with the filth and lack of mores that makes liberalism what it is...

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1062915520686113412003-09-06T23:18:00.000-07:002003-09-08T14:41:46.823-07:00

It's the little things in life that change that portend bigger changes ahead. During my many visits to Hong Kong, the locals told me that HK is truly dead when you begin to hear putonghwa on the MTR announcements. Well, according to the unlinkable South China Morning Post, it's happened. "The MTR Corporation is going after the mainland tourist dollar by promoting its train services and

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1062098865383525122003-08-28T12:27:00.000-07:002003-08-28T12:27:45.370-07:00

I'm off to Asia in November; yet another funfilled trip during my vacation season of October-November and February-April. Why these times of the year? It's usually hot and gross during the summer high season and winter is also high season because of Xmas-New Years-Lunar New Year all happening between Dec-Jan. Tickets are prohibitively expensive during this time and the weather during the

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1062092330485060562003-08-28T10:38:00.000-07:002004-02-08T10:52:27.466-08:00

10 July, all day. Food day again! Met my friend @ Katz's Deli in the Lower East Side. That's a big old school deli that is new again with the hottie crowd, especially on weekends. However, it was late lunchtime on a Thursday which meant it was only kind of crowded as opposed to being really crowded. Had a thin sliced pastrami with chicken noodle soup. Mmmmmm. As far as I could tell, this

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1061962385158136222003-08-26T22:33:00.000-07:002003-08-26T23:47:52.893-07:00

9 July, all day. A friend asked me why I go to New York so often. Of course she should talk since she's from Singapore, land of the most traveled of travelers. And she got to go to Scandinavia last summer! Why do I go to New York? Because New York is so big, each time I go there solo, there's always new places to visit. Today was food & booze day. I was taken to a store called Century 21.

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1061962102772957312003-08-26T22:28:00.000-07:002003-08-26T22:29:41.436-07:00

Campbell's Apartment is one of the few surviving cigar bars in New York. Mayor Bloomberg, the ultimate RINO, has pushed through a smoking ban very similar to California's but with no loopholes. It's a classy joint in Grand Central Station. Get into your nice clothes and smoke a Habano. Their martinis, excellent! I met a bureaucrat from the UN there. She spouted the same garbage that

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1061961724285428982003-08-26T22:22:00.000-07:002004-02-08T10:53:28.420-08:00

8 July, High Tea to Dinner Time Wisdom of free Wi-fi After my visit to the house of Nat, I sauntered across the street to Bryant Park. This is a community park that was taken back from the powers of scum (drug dealers and bums) by the powers of good. Besides free Wi-Fi that blankets the park, there's a cafe and games and private security. Very safe and very busy. So I sat under a tree in

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1061961231269351272003-08-26T22:13:00.000-07:002003-08-26T23:49:04.433-07:00

8 July, Early AM It wasn't too bad getting into town. Took the Airtrain to NJ Transit commuter rail into Penn Station. 40 minutes. Nice. Beats the subway from JFK. Faster, cleaner, less stops, place for baggage. Subways are not designed for baggage. The station turnstiles and gates are also not designed for baggage. Try going through these with a roller and a backpack! Got an early

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1061960171771440622003-08-26T21:56:00.000-07:002003-08-26T23:49:28.516-07:00

7 July, late night. I don't like red-eyes. I understand how they're useful. Once you arrive at your destination, you have the entire day to do stuff. This is with the proviso that you can sleep on command once you're airborne. Door closes. ZZZzzzzz. I can't do that. Not even in 1st Class. Granted, it was 1st Class on an A320 (small plane) but nevertheless, 1st class. I wound up

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1061958814611295422003-08-26T21:33:00.000-07:002003-08-28T11:09:11.070-07:00

I remember promising my Asia logs, but there's a lot of stuff to go through. Pictures. Pages. Lots of work. But there needs to be new stuff to read. So I'm going to post stuff from my July trip to New York. An easier read and not as boring. =P

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1059419871732742132003-07-28T12:17:00.000-07:002003-08-26T21:56:51.150-07:00

I was chatting with a friend via ICQ about traveling so I sent her to this page. The one you're reading Right Now. She said "There's three pictures of planes on it". Soooo now that I've got this Blogger thing working right, I will, over time, be posting pix and commentary from my trips to Asia. This is something that I've been meaning to do for several years now. And since I've finally

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1058567709860524862003-07-18T15:35:00.000-07:002003-08-26T22:41:37.533-07:00

Flew back to SFO on the same kind of jet. Going thru security was awful. Only one checkpoint and a really long line. Sloooooooow I met a really attractive young woman in line behind me. She said she was a teacher of little kids. I asked, "San Francisco Unified"? She laughed a lot and said "Marin". She would get eaten alive in the SFUSD. If the students didn't get her, the

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1058297574314347412003-07-15T12:32:00.000-07:002003-08-26T23:16:51.060-07:00

When I associate Air Travel with airplanes, the concept of a big bus with 4 engines, some space and 1st class service comes to mind. Or these So when I have to fly a regional jet, all that goes out the window. Isn't this a tad too small? In fairness, it's pretty fast, if cramped. Smooth riding. No overhead compartments to speak of. Not too bad. But still, isn't this a tad

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5419323.post-1053669343330633772003-05-22T22:55:00.000-07:002003-08-26T22:36:18.090-07:00

Amazing how quickly the year has moved...it's already Memorial Day! Over here in the US, Summer travel season begins on the last Monday in May and ends on the first Monday in September. For me personally, this is the beginning of the "Stay at Home" season, since it's high season out there. High airline ticket prices, high hotel rates, high humidity and temperature... That's not a problem

True San Francisciannoreply@blogger.com