Tailors and Temples

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 lot of new attractions on the Chao Phraya River since I was here last. One of the tour guides said 1.5 million more people live here in Bangkok just for all the construction. The city already had 3.5 million. Temples were great but it was blazing hot so we skipped the Royal Palace. Finn chose a hipster art cafe for lunch where he had Shrimp Pad Thai and I had Tom Yum Soup and a very spicy Papaya Salad. After the first fitting we got some Korean Chicken and looked around at some markets/malls and called it an early night. Kind of dull evening but we were focused on bouncing back on Tuesday.

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Bangkok Day 1

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...

Off we go!

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.

Sayōnara

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...

Crazy Fun in Asia

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