Crazy Fun in Asia

Akihabara reminded me of Times Square mainly because of the massive lighted billboards and marquis signs hanging everywhere.  No theaters here though but rather there are dozens of electronics shops and arcades with a few restaurants breaking up the pattern.  Finn was excited to check them out so we separated so he could move quickly.  I started my search for Jinbei pajamas that Brendan requested.  I misinterpreted a TripAdvisor forum and ended up at a big and tall shop that sold clothing for Sumo wrestler-sized people so definitely not a fit for Brendan.  I did eventually succeed one station away from our hotel at the Matsuzakaya Department Store. Finn checked out the arcades and played some games.  He said kids were ripping through their cash to keep playing and puffing on cigs while doing so.  Our hotel was right in the center of Akihabara next to the train station so it was convenient to walk around. I realized we had not eaten sushi since we a...

Our Kyoto arrival required a quick subway trip to the trendy Gion location of our Airbnb apartment.  A nice older man greeted us there and showed us how to use all the high-tech electronic keypads and apologized for the low beams that were not well suited to six-foot men.  The Kyoto tourist map is overwhelming with temples and museums so it took some time for us to decide to go to Arishikyama to see the Tenryuji Temple, Togetsukyo Bridge, and village.  We’re there for the last hour of opening so it was rushed to see the peaceful garden but we manage.  Finn was okay because he developed Asian Temple Syndrome which is closely related to European Cathedral Syndrome.  Although he was embarrassed that I missed the cue to remove my shoes for the no-shoe zone but I recovered.  The village outside the temple has the usual tourist shops and restaurants. We walked a few hundred yards to the Bamboo Forest which is adjacent to the Tenryuji temple.  There was sti...

Our heavy travel Monday-Tuesday included a 90-minute Hanoi-Bangkok flight, 5-hour Bangkok layover and 6 hour red-eye to Tokyo.   We had a great start when the Qatar Air agent gave us the exit row on the first flight because we are tall.  It provided about 6 feet of leg room so we’re very happy about that.  The cabin crew treated us like sultans and offered cool towels and an empanada-like chicken snack, and we’re in economy class.  We even had pop-up mini-screens for movies in the exit row.  I highly recommend Qatar Air.  Some of the passengers did upset the Ukrainian flight attendant when a they stood and walked around during takeoff and landing.  I've never seen people ignore the safety instructions like this. Once in Bangkok airport Finn started to feel pretty badly from something he ate.  Maybe he tried the goat in Ninh Binh?  Needless to say he had an awful flight but we both managed to get a bit of sleep.  We navigated Immigratio...

We waited for our tour pickup at 830AM on Sunday and a guy on a scooter drove up and confirmed we've got a reservation for a Ninh Binh tour.  He said a shuttle will arrive shortly and rode off.  The shuttle does show with about 10 people inside and we board.   We continued to pickup a few more at other hotels along with the scooter guy, our tour guide for the day - Jerry.  We're beginning to notice that there are almost no Americans in Vietnam.  Any caucasians that we encounter are from Europe or Australia. We're not really sure what we're doing on Sunday because Saturday's tour guide, Binh,  pretty much decided for us.  We just keep showing up and getting on random shuttles buses.  Jerry explained we're going to see the ancient capital temples, get lunch, ride a boat and then finally cycle.  The temples are small compared to the massive ones we saw in Thailand but historically significant honoring the first dynasties that formed the countr...

Our Korean friends emailed me some pics from the Halong Bay Cruise so I'm posting here.

We did the food tour on Saturday morning led by our new best friend, Binh (pronounced Bing).  We had typical Vietnamese breakfast which is Pho Bo (beef and noodles).  Binh chose one of the oldest establishments in Hanoi which was a pattern he continued throughout the tour.  The noodles are served with fresh scallions, marjoram, coriander hot peppers, and fish sauce to season to your taste.  It was amazing and Finn now plans to pick some of this stuff at Larriland and understands why visitors used to take so much of these 'weeds'.   Binh offered historical and cultural insights along the tour like explaining the differences between the US-influenced liberal South Vietnam who travel and spend freely and the North who save, marry young, and stay local.  We went to the Ngoc Son Temple on Hoan Kiem which is the center of activity in Hanoi before having a egg coffee at Cafe Linh.  This cafe was started by the daughter of the inventor of egg coffee.  I m...

After lunch I bought some breakfast groceries and then we rested before heading out for dinner. We found a good place and had Pumpkin Soup, Bun Cha and Cha Cha again.  It may seem odd to be having soup and stews in 90 degree weather but somehow its ok and what you do.  Finn sought to find some clubs but instead we seemed to find the street with all the coffin shops, yes coffins. Weary from the long travel day, we called it a night to get ready for our cruise day. Our shuttle van collected us at 8AM and we joined six other tourists for the 4-hour ride to Halong Bay -- Brian from the Philippines, Nora from Kuala Lumpur, and two Korean couples.   Our guide explained we could call her by her English name, Linda, or #6.  She came from a big family and her grandparents could not keep them all straight so she grew up being called #6 (youngest of 6).  We called her Linda.  It is low season for the cruises which benefited us.  A tender took us to a cruise bo...

Arrived in Hanoi as scheduled at 830AM on Thursday on a very quick 90 minute flight. Binh, our driver greeted us with a sign and we were on our way. He was more talkative than our Bangkok shuttle driver and gave us some advice including language lessons. Hello "xin chào" and Thank you "Cảm ơn nhiều lắm" so now we're set. On food to try he recommended Bun Cha and mentioned President Obama made one restaurant so famous when he visited that they've tripled in size and have a dish called Obama Cha which is what he ate and loved. I told him I was looking forward to the egg coffee and he said everyone tries it once because it tastes bad and they usually don't want it again. He was funny because he was pretty transparent about what to avoid. He said the Water Puppet Theatre is pretty dull if you don't speak the language and most people fall asleep in the comfortable theatre seats. Binh was pretty cool and when he mentioned he gives food tours, we boo...

We did the tourist thing most of the day Tuesday by going on a coach tour to the roins of Ayutthaya, the historic capital of Siam until it was razed by the Burmese in 1767. The Burmese cut the head of a a Buddha that went into the ground but it emerged again later lifted out of the earth inside a growing Banyan tree. When you have your photo taken by the tree, you must sit lower than the Buddha head. Also - are those Banyan trees that we see in Florida?? Donna, our tour guide yelled at a couple of Spanish tourists for not showing respect by standing for their photo. Donna has guided tours for 26 years and told many great stories about Rama I through X (Thai Kings). Beloved King Rama IX just passed in 2016. The tour wrapped with a lunch cruise on the Chao Phraya River featuring all the Thai staples. This was definitely a senior thing to do so we dialed it up for the rest of the day. Headed over to Lebua Tower of Hangover II fame for happy hour. It gives a spectacular view of ...

Went to the grocery store early Monday morning after I finished my stationary bike race and picked up breakfast stuff. Found the usual stuff so we could enjoy a nice American style while we watched the predictable NBA Finals. BTS'd down to the tailor of the Presidents and Finn measured for a suit. (BTS is one of our favorite spots because the AC is up very high.). Victor was glad to see me after so many years :-) but his Dad, Jesse, wasn't there. He was there later for the first fitting in the late afternoon and supervised the staff while they sorted Finn for his new slim cut single vent suit. Victor assured us it would be for a young man (versus the prosperous cut that I got in 2012). It is pretty cool that Jesse fitted the suit because he has already started semi-retirement. Also cool-- they gave us cold cokes with each of the visits. BTS'd to the river and caught the hop-on hop-off boat to see Wat Arun and Wat Pho temples and Royal Palace. They are building a lo...

We rested a bit after the market trip and then grabbed a taxi to Rajadamern Stadium to see Muay Thai. The ticket hawks immediately accosted us after getting out of the taxi. Ended up getting a minor discount on 'club' seating but still paid too much. Nice bonus is a live band plays background Thai music during the bouts. Finn was amazed the boxers were probably between 16 and 21 and the heaviest was about 127 lbs. We missed the first bout but the second one resulted in a knockout. Stayed for 6 bouts and then headed over to Khao San Road. This stretch of pedestrianized road is famous for backpackers and students for some reason. People outside the bars were hawking buckets, laughing gas, fried beetles, and you name it. It took us a while to figure out that the buckets were just mixed drinks in small toy sand buckets. We just had to look at the cocktail tables to see all these kids sipping from buckets. Prices varied based on the drink and Finn decided on a LI iced t...

Safely arrived in Bangkok at about 10:55PM local time (~10AM EDT). Traveled on JAL for our second flight and the food and staff were great. Finn slept a good bit. Driver was waiting with our name on a sign which is very welcome after 24 hours of travel. The staff greeted us with Wai's and 'Sawatdee-krap' which I had forgotten and fumbled to reciprocate. Back in the groove in the morning when we had our breakfast in the penthouse restaurant. Buffet was amazing. Finn had traditional American but then tried the smoked salmon and dumplings. The staff recommended rice noodles so I had it with boiled fish topped with spices, scallions and peppers. Trying to do the 'when in Bangkok' thing. Since my plan was this was our last meal for a while, I also had a 63 degree egg with smoked salmon and hollandaise. I kept thinking the egg would be raw and then I realized we're still the only country that still uses Fahrenheit. Chilled by the pool for a while and then we...

Got to the airport early so we're just hanging out. Thanks Mom! Dulles is cavernous with many halls and no stores in them. We are just looking at our screens. I did my last work meeting and some email before I left the IBM grid. We did not eat because we're still full from scrapple bagels - yum. Charging up devices but hopefully United has power. Finn is not looking forward to the long flight.