Headed back home!

In a couple hours, I will be on a flight back to the US! Can't believe 3 months are finally over. I'll post some more pics from my time in Southern Thailand (AMAZING!) as well as some final thoughts soon.

Thanks to everyone who followed my adventures.

More random pics

A random assortment of pictures from my time in Luang Prabang as well as northern Thailand (Chiang Mai and Pai).

Jumping off the tarzan swing at Kuang Si waterfalls near Luang Prabang. I actually biked the 35 km there...but chickened out and took a tuk-tuk back:


Awesome and insane rain storm that night:


Muy Thai kickboxing my first night in Chiang Mai:


Fire dancer at a cool bar in Pai:

Thai Cooking School!

As promised, here are some photos of the all day cooking class I took in Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was awesome! If you ever go to Chiang Mai, I strongly recommend Gap's House for your cooking school. You have to be careful with these schools. I've heard stories where they have pre-prepared green or red curry paste and you don't learn how to make your own. Given that the curry paste is the key ingredient, it's kind of a waste to not learn how to make it.

Shopping in the market with one of our instructors:


My banana leaf cup for an awesome fish souffle:

You can also make it with chicken

Cooking one of our dishes:


All of my creations:

Bottom left: cashew and chicken stir fry
top left: fish souffle
middle: green curry
top right: fish cakes appetizer
bottom right: tom yum soup with shrimp

Less than 3 weeks left!

My first post in a long time. No pictures this time (sorry!) because the computer at this internet cafe doesn't recognize my camera. I'll try to post some soon. After Vietnam, I went to Laos for a week. VERY relaxing place, a nice change from the insanity of Hanoi. I'm currently in Chiang Mai in Thailand and will be traveling to Pai today. Yesterday I did an all day Thai cooking course. I look forward to trying out the recipes.

That's it for now. Hopefully I'll be able to post pics soon.

Should I shave or should I grow?

Last post for today. I'm taking an informal survey from all my adoring fans. My hair is currently longer than it's been in 2 years or so. Should I go to a local barber and shave it off to its "normal" length (aka almost bald). Or should I grow it out to the way I had it at the start of grad school?

Input appreciated!!!

Pool, garlic fries and Beer

So for the past two days I trekked in Sapa and visited some local villages. I had a great time and it was cool to do something active for a change, as opposed to visiting temples, museums, etc. My major complaint was that the hike was a LOT easier than I was led to believe. I was hoping for around 15 miles over both days. Instead, I don't think we even hit 8. Oh well.

The scenery was absolutely stunning. It was really cool to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi and see the country side. The rice paddies and mountains were really great (see pics below).

One thing that really cracked me...we finished the first day of our hike pretty early in the afternoon and had several hours to kill before dinner. So how did we pass our time? Well, we hiked around a bit and appreciated the beautiful scenery. But we also did what it appears at least a few local, "authentic" (whatever that means) Vietnamese village people do when they're bored: play pool!

Not only that, but while we were playing pool they served us garlic fries and beer! It was simultaneously surreal and amusing. In the middle of this stunning scenery, next to a mud road where oxen were roaming freely...here we were--2 Americans, 1 Aussie and a couple Vietnamese--playing pool, eating fries and drinking beer!

Ha ha.

Great view along the hike:


Beautiful rice paddies seen everywhere:


Garlic fries, pool and beer:


Completely random picture of the fruit stand where I had an awesome fruit and condensed milk salad:

This was in Hanoi, not in Sapa.

How Old is Your Mother?

Ten year old Wen (pictured above) rapidly became one of my best friends on the flight from Saigon to Hanoi. One of the first questions he asked me (after finding out my name and age) was: "How old is your mother?" After I told him, his eyes got really big and he let out a long "wooooow!" When he found out my father's age later on in the conversation (he forgot to ask me the first time around), he also added a "veeerrry old."

That kid totally cracked me up. Here are some of the highlights from our hour-long conversation:
1. He likes swimming, and especially the frog (aka breastroke).
2. Michael Phelps is "king of swim."
3. He copied my email address to contact me later, and was disappointed that I used google chat and not yahoo chat.
4. Likes HBO and action movies, and especially Sean Connery.
5. He has a 54 year old teacher from Canada, and his mom is only 38 years old.
6. He is thoroughly confused as to why buses in the US have only 1 floor, unlike Singaporean buses.

Hahaha. I don't remember the last time I was this entertained on a flight.

Food, food, food!

Based in no small part to I-Chant's suggestion, here are some initial thoughts on food in SE Asia:
1. Pho definitely tastes better here! I know it sounds cliche, but the pho in Vietnam is a lot better than the pho in America. I had thought that after the great Asian cuisine in the Bay Area it couldn't get better. I was wrong.
2. Eating from street stalls is safer than I thought. Evidence? I haven't fallen sick or died yet.
3. Many countries have a great diversity of fruit than we have in America.

Now here are some pictures from my travels in Vietnam. I spent 1 night in Ho Chi Mingh City (aka Saigon), then flew to Hanoi.

My first bowl of Pho in Saigon. Note the trusty Lonely Planet in the background:


Me eating said bowl of Pho:


Getting a baguette from a street stand. I was sure that I would die after eating it.

Note: I ate this baguette ~10 minutes after finishing that huge bowl of pho!

Random picture from the next morning. I am still not sure how me, the driver and my backpack fit onto the motorcycle:

Three in one day!

Since I haven't posted in a while, and I probably won't post again for a while...I figured I'd do 3 today. Here are some pictures from the amazing Angkor Wat:

The famous Ta Prohm temple where they filmed Tomb Raider:



Pre Rup temple pretty early in the morning:


Angkor Thom:

How many faces can you count?

A close up of a face:

SE Asia Stories and Pics

So here's a quick rundown of my trip to SE Asia thus far:
6/6: red-eye flight from Berlin to Bangkok
6/7: get into Bangkok, go to my hostel on Khao San Road. Khao San is complete insanity. Walk around city, play soccer with street kids in the evening and watch Federer win the French. Go out at night.
6/8: Recover from hangover, go to tailor, and do some minor sightseeing.
6/9: Leave for Siem Reap. Crossing the border was a total adventure. I had to bribe the border official!
6/10 - 6/13: See the amazing temples of Angkor Wat in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
6/14 (today): On to Phnom Phen

Pictures:

My soccer friends. We played outside the Grand Palace:


Khao San during the day:


Eating crickets at night:

John Kerry Can't Make up his Mind!

So I got to SE Asia last Saturday. On Berkowitz's recommendation, I decided to get a couple suits tailored in Bangkok. When I start working at the EPA I will need one every day. So the one I have now won't be enough. I decided to go to these guys also based on Ben's recommendation. It was the best customer service I've ever had. He fed me, gave me drinks, and totally spent time making sure I got what I wanted. You will pay a bit more compared to other Bangkok tailors, but from what I hear the quality is a lot better.

So these tailors apparently make suits for all sorts of dignitaries, statesmen, law enforcement officials, etc. All over the walls you see badges, newspaper articles, pictures with George Bush, Tom Ridge, etc. There is also one with John Kerry...which brings me to the title of this post.

Apparently John Kerry has come to that store several times to buy his suits. And according to the owner, "John Kerry can't ever make up his mind!" That totally cracked me up. The guy was completely unaware that this critique was probably one of the bigger reasons Kerry lost in 2004. When I told him that, Jesse (tailor dude) said that it was probably a good reason that he didn't win. Of course, Jesse based his opinion solely on John Kerry's fashion indecision, probably not the best metric. But whatever.

Eastern Europe!!

So I haven't posted in a while. I apologize to all my adoring fans for this error. I'll make up for it now.

So after leaving Naples, I flew to Prague. I really liked the city, but spent too much time there. You can see all the sites in 2 full days. I stayed there 3 days and was a little bored at the end. I ended up taking a day trip to Kutna Hora, a small town about an hour away by train.

After Prague, my itinerary called for Krakow then Budapest. Krakow was really cool. Good architecture and beer. I also met some pretty cool people in the hostel. At the end of my Krakow stay is when I really started feeling like a traveler.

I had always heard that "real" travellers didn't have an itinerary beyond 1 or 2 days. They decided on the spur of the moment whether to head north or south. I always thought that was kind of lame. I had my itinerary planned out and I liked it. I was going to see 4 Eastern European cities before heading to Berlin for 1 night and then Bangkok.

Unfortunately, I am very cheap. And cheapness, I have found, can trump even the most carefully laid plans. The trains to Budapest from Krakow were much more expensive than I thought (~$130), and the only bus wasn't leaving for 2 more days. So I decided to head to Berlin for a few days instead.

And that's where I am right now. I have been taking it VERY chill. I really need to relax before I head to Asia.

Random thoughts/observations:
1. We were in an insane traffic jam on the bus from Krakow to Berlin. We were stopped for 1.5 hours.
2. I saw 3 movies dubbed in Polish, and it was hilarious. It wasn't even "dubbed." You heard the English, and then right after that Polish was spoken. It was the same Polish man speaking for every single character in the movie.
3. I was getting homesick for a while, but I'm over it now.

Here are a few random pics:

St. Mary's Cathedral in Poland:


Insane traffic jam on way to Berlin:


Alexanderplatz in Berlin

The Great Bambino!!

I'm not referring to Babe Ruth, but Kevin and Tai's new baby boy (5 weeks old!), Neal. I had an awesome time hanging out in Naples with them. In Italy the word for baby is bambino...so everywhere we went people kept saying "Bambino!". It now makes perfect sense that Babe Ruth was called the great bambino.

Here are some pics of us taking the ferry over to the island of Ischia, then hiking up Mount Vesuvius. I carried Neal up the mountain so Tai could have a break. I was quite terrified for the first few minutes, then I got used to carrying him. The last couple pics show how we spent this past Sunday. Yes, that is Taco Bell. It was awesome! And right after that we saw the Wolverine movie! That was also great. It was cool being on the navy base...I felt like I was back home.

Finally, thanks to I-Chant and Steph for being my devoted fans!

Putting Neal in the baby sling. I was quite terrified during this operation:


At the top of the hike. Tai is happy she didn't have to carry him:


Yes, we did eat Taco Bell:


Taco Bell was located at this support site:


On the ferry to Ischia:

Garbage, Small Cars and Graffiti

So I'm in Naples now.  I got here this morning after visiting Cinque Terre on Wednesday and Thursday (today is Friday May 22).  Cinque Terre was pretty amazing, and even more so because my little cousin Neeta managed to come down.  I hadn't seen her in several years because she lives in India.  Luckily she is doing an internship in Germany this summer and also had some free time this weekend.  

Right before Cinque Terre, I was in Stockholm visiting Torbs.  It was really cool...more so to hang out w/ Torbs than Stockholm itself.  Stockholm is pretty interesting, but I was really happy to relax a lot.  I was also happy that we cooked. I was getting sick of eating restaurant food constantly.  What I found most cool is how bicycles are accommodated there.  They always have separate lanes and even their own traffic lights.    

Which finally brings me to the title of my post.  After Stockholm and Cinque Terre, I hung out in Naples all day today with Kevin, Tai and their one month baby Neil.  I like Naples...but it is COMPLETELY different from the rest of Italy.   There were times that I felt I was back in Jamaica or on a visit to India. It definitely does not feel like a right, first world country.  Although I should stress that I really like it, the 3 words that come to mind are garbage, small cars and graffiti.  Find pics below.

With Neeta in Cinque Terre:

Bicycle traffic light in Stockholm:

Graffiti in Naples:

Small cars:

Garbage:

Conway Castle >> Warwick Castle

Before Contiki (described here), I visited I-Chant and Dan in Wales.  I had an awesome time and it was the perfect start to my 3 month long vacation.  They took me to Conwy Castle and I really liked it.  It's how I imagined a castle should be like.  A couple weeks (after Contiki), I went to Warwick Castle with my mom.  It sucked.  I felt like I was going to an amusement park rather than a historical building.  There were tents everywhere and people dressed up in tacky costumes.  There was also a random playground for kids.  WTF??? If kids can't deal with a place without a playground then their parents should leave them at home!

At any rate, enough ranting for now.  Find some pics below.  I didn't have any pictures of Warwick Castle b/c my camera ran out of battery.  Trust me, you're not missing much.  Instead, I put in extra pics of partying while on Contiki.

Finally Some Updates!

Steph yelled at me for not updating my blog. Considering that she's probably the only one who actually ever looks at this site, I figured I better listen to her.  I promise to start posting more regularly!  I'll start by reviewing my Contiki vacation.  Here's the rundown:

Day 1: Drove from London to Dover, got on the ferry and went into France. Then drove from France to Amsterdam.  Partied like crazy in Amsterdam

Day 2: Relaxing night in St. Goar, Germany. It's a cute little wine village.

Day 3: Drove to Munich, did a few hours of sightseeing. Then went to a beer garden at night. LOTS of fun.

Day 4: Drove to Hopfgaarten (sp?), Austria. Partied at the Contiki cabin at night.  Austria is insanely beautiful.

Day 5: Drove to Venice and did the sights. Gondola ride somewhat overrated.

Day 6: Drove to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Stayed there for 2 nights.  I started falling sick from all the afore-mentioned partying.

Day 7: In Switzerland. Did some hiking. Got a little sicker.

Day 8: Drove to Paris and went to Eiffel tower at night.  Came back and slept and tried to get better. Didn't work.

Day 9: Walked all around Paris and went out at night. Too sick to really enjoy it. Quite tragic

Day 10: Drove back to London.

Find below some pics from the first night in Amsterdam and also the beer hall in Munich.

Too Much Drinking

I'm in Bath, England with my mom on the family vacation portion of my itinerary.  I got sick towards the end of my Contiki tour.  Had a great time, but the continuous drinking and partying got to me.  I think I'm on the upswing now, and I should be fine in a couple days.  But never again!

Pics will be posted soon, as well as random philosophical ramblings.

The Homogenization of Global Culture

So I wanted to write a long, pedantic, pontificating, and largely plagiarized post discussing why the homogenization of global culture is not necessarily a bad thing. But I've only got 5 minutes left on my internet connection before I have to drop in another euro. And if you know me (and sadly, only people who know me really well are reading this), then you know that I'm not going to use another euro.

So until then, let me just say that Contiki Tours are fricking awesome. If you like partying, going out, traveling to lots of places, and partying, then I strongly recommend it. It's not for everyone. Many people (myself included) would like to spend extra time in some destinations rather than travel to 7 countries in 5 days. And the food they include isn't always good. But overall I'm having a blast. I'm in Austria right now and tomorrow we're heaaded to Venice.

In anticipation of a future post on global culture, I will note that tonight I danced with South Africans, Canadians, and Australians all singing along to Kanye West. Many people (especially Stanford hippies) think that US culture appearing everywhere is bad. But why? I'm not convinced that it is.

Now off to recover from a night of drinking and dancing.

In Wales!

I know all of my millions of fans are worried about me, so I thought I'd give a quick update. I safely flew into Manchester, UK this morning.  I-Chant and Dan picked me up and we immediately went to  Conway Castle. It was pretty awesome.

Now I'm relaxing at their house in Aberystwyth.  I'll post pictures and more details soon.

World Travels!

So I'll be traveling around the world for 3 months starting on April 25, and I resurrected this blog to post updates, pictures and thoughts. Here's my itinerary so far:

April 26 - 28: Visiting I-Chant and Dan in Wales
April 28 - May 8: Contiki European Horizon tour
May 9 - 17: Family vacation around England
May 17 - 20: Visiting Torbs in Stockholm
May 20 - 21: Cinque Terra, Italy (alone)
May 21 - 26: Visiting Kevin in Naples
May 26 - June 6: Prague, Krakow, Budapest, Vienna (alone)
June 6 - July 22nd: SE Asia (alone)

The SE Asia portion of my trip is still being planned. It will roughly look like this:
2.5 - 3 weeks in Thailand
4 - 5 days in Cambodia
10 - 14 days in Vietnam
10 - 14 days in Laos

If the violence in Thailand continues I will change this itinerary around a bit. I'll probably spend a lot more time in Vietnam and Thailand.

After Memorial Day (May 25th), I will be traveling alone and in need of a travel partner. Let me know if you want a cool vacation!

Blogging from Philly

Haven't posted in a while because there's nothing that interesting to report. I did go to Cirque du Soleil in DC. It was pretty cool--those people are very bendy. I'll put up pics sometime.

Other than that, I've just been working. My project is getting annoying--I have to interview schools to construct a profile of "best practices." Lately, I've been getting a lot of rejections. It kind of sucks because I actually like interviewing these schools. It's very inspiring to hear about these schools that are 78% minority and 89% poor, yet have amazing scores.

Okay, back to eating turkey leftovers.

Jews down the Well

Slate has a fascinating article about Borat and anti-Semitism. Apparently, it's pretty easy to start people singing "throw Jews down the well".

Money quote:

...it gave me a deeper understanding of the kind of suspicious feeling expressed by black (and some white) writers who have argued that just because racial discrimination is outlawed by statute doesn't mean racism is no longer a factor to be considered and the playing field of life is all evened out.

After watching the video, I can't make up my mind if the audience reaction reflects: a) genuine anti-Semitism, b) ignorance, or c) harmless fun. I know I've been in company when people have made racist jokes. I also don't believe most of those people would actually ever discriminate against anyone. So does making jokes or singing song make someone a racist? I don't know. But I do agree w. the author. After watching the video, I do sympathize more with Black Americans who insist that racism is very much a force in America.

Missing the Milk Pail

Since I've been in DC, I've come to realize a couple things. First, I am definitely coming back here after I finish my PhD. Even more than before, I know I want to do something directly related to public service. And after going to conferences and spending time here at CAP, I know I can do a better job than they do. As I said earlier, there are some problems with the way they operate. I will avoid their mistakes.

The second insight I've gained? I will definitely miss California. I've really come to love the lifestyle: the nice weather, the outdoors, the biker-friendly roads, and stores like the Milk Pail. Everyone out in DC shops at grocery stores! Supermarkets have no exotic fruits, a piss-poor granola selection and everything is really expensive!

Issue Silos

A couple weeks ago I went to a one-day conference, at the UC Washington Center, on the importance of ideas in American politics. Especially after the 2004 election, Democrats/liberals/progressives have been desperately trying to "find their values" b/c values allegedly lost the Dems the last election. I strongly recommend The Values that Unite Democrats from the Truman National Security Project.

At any rate, the conference was fascinating. They started off with a number of Republican panelists discussing how the Republicans built their powerful idea machine in the 60's. After listening to them, I am not surprised the Republicans win all the time. These guys are very good. All the Dems that spoke later agreed.

In the night session, George Lakoff discussed what progressives can do to change the situation. He discussed a very serious problem in liberal circles: issue silos. That is, liberals tend to believe in a discrete set of policy programs--affirmative action, pro-choice--and neglect to analyze the underlying beliefs that unite them. Liberal organizations tend to follow the same path. All their departments are analyzed independently, in "silos", and no one articulates a coherent vision.

This problem is something that has annoyed me since my first day at CAP. A couple other interns agree with me. There is no connection among all the different things we support. If you go to the a conservative organization, like AEI, you see that everything they support breathes conservatism. Whether it's their health care proposals, tax reform, or education, you recognize conservative values in their papers. Nothing like that happens here. The liberals definitely have some more work to do.

Annoying Tourists

Is it just me, or is DC a really beautiful city? (Obviously I'm just speaking about the safe parts!) I woke up early this past Sunday to finally do some sightseeing. I saw the American Indian Museum, the Botanical Gardens, the Sculpture Garden, and the Supreme Court. It was pretty cool. Here are some pics:

Me in front of the National Archives. (I didn't go in b/c of a long line.)




In the Botanical Gardens.

Note the trusty umbrella in all the pictures.