Fog Patrol

On my last trip to China, I took this picture from the back seat of the car that picked me up at the Shanghai Airport.



The fog was so bad that a police car and a tour bus had to block/ slow down traffic to keep people from driving too fast. I have no doubt that without these two "pace cars", most Chinese drivers would speed blindly into the mist, trusting only their Qi, and inevitably end up as a statistic of one of the world's greatest pile ups.

Of course, it took me twice as long to get to our supplier, but it's the only time I've ever felt safe in a car in China.

Chinese New Year - Singapore

Our trip to Singapore coincided with the beginning of Chinese New Year, so one night after dinner on Clark Quay, we went to China Town.

Here's Clark Quay on the Singapore River.



I show this sign because we waited over an hour for a taxi. You can complain about Bangkok traffic, but at least I've never waited more than 30 seconds to get a cab.

Some pictures of the China Town decorations.

and some more pictures of Clark Quay

Afternoon At The Marriott

I'm a bit behind on some blogs, so I'm just going to post some pictures until I catch up.

During my mom's visit, we had brunch at Trader Vic's. This us after the meal.

Nuch had bought me a camera for my birthday, so here are some of my first shots taken around the Marriott and on their river ferry.

Kao San's Hippie De Bar

Nuch and I spend, by far, more time on Kao San Rd than any other area in Bangkok. The reasons are simple - good atmosphere, interesting mix of people, good shopping, and a few good bars, but one thing that's missing is good food. Of the 40+ restaurants that must line the street, I would prefer a 50 cent box of noodles sold on a street cart compared to the bland western and Thai food that is served in most places.

One of the few places I would recommend is Hippie de Bar, which is right next to Tom Yam Gung (also good). It's quiet with a warm/ psychedelic atmosphere and the food is decent.



Aside form the trippy table cloths, they also serve their rice in the shape of a Grateful Dead teddy bear.

Singapore's Night Safari

Singapore doesn't have a lot to offer for regular tourists/ travelers. In fact, most people would describe it as sterile and boring - pointing out that it's against the law to spit or chew gum!!! For me, it's a reminder that a clean, organized city can exist in Southeast Asia, and a yearly trip gives me hope that Bangkok will one day follow it's lead - while still being allowed to spit and chew gum. So, during my mom's recent visit, she joined me on a business trip to see the pride, as well as source of many sour grapes, of SE Asia.

Only a few hours in Singapore and it's easy to appreciate the convenient public transportation system, harmonious intermingling of 4 major cultures, and laissez-faire economic philosophy, but my favorite thing is always the Night Safari, which if not unique to the world, is certainly unique to me.

Aside from being unique, it's also cool - as in 20 degrees cooler than Singapore's year-long Summer afternoons. More importantly, it's kinda fun - like a real-life Where's Waldo because, to be honest, it's not that easy to see - even with the artificial moonlight, and when you finally spot the Malaysian Pygmy Lemur hanging from beneath a shadowy branch, you feel a Cro-Magnon Man/ Night Stalker-like sense of accomplishment.

Here are some pictures I took with the new camera Nuch bought me for my birthday.

This is a porcupine

and a lion. This picture was take from about 100 yards away.


Because I still haven't figured out how my camera works, here are some pictures I stole from the web.

Evening At The Theatre

It's been a while since I last saw a movie in a theatre. For some reason, after Nuch and I got married, she decided she did not like watching movies anymore.

Anyway, if you're going to see one movie every two or three years, you best make it Avatar.

Here we are with my mom, making like Lady GaGa.

I thought the movie was great, but Nuch thought it was the greatest movie ever, so hopefully, our next trip to the theatre will be before I'm 40.

Struggling In the Land Of Smiles

Thailand is the self-proclaimed "Land of Smiles", but apparently, not everyone is laughing.

These were the words I found on the inside of a bathroom stall at a Pub on Kao San Rd.

I'M ALIVE

I LOVE LIFE

I LOVE LIFE

I LOVE LIFE

I LOVE LIFE

I LOVE LIVE

But I Struggle

I'm still not sure if this was written by someone who was having a bad holiday and questioning their existence or simply constipated?

View From The Top

Nuch bought me a new camera for my birthday and I've been experimenting with some of the functions.

Here are some views from our apartment's roof top garden.

View of Silom and Sathorn Rd.

The Rama 9 Bridge.

KFC - Shenzhen

A couple weeks ago, I was travelling in China with my boss, who is not the most adventurous eater. In particular, he doesn't like food to be served that still looks like the animal that it once was. In Asia, this is a problem with seafood because fish, crabs, and shrimp are typically served with head, claws, body, shell, and tail still intact.

So on our most recent trip, I asked our supplier to keep it simple and just order some rice and chicken, which seemed like a safe bet. No such luck...

What's A Widget

In business school, professor's often use an imaginary product called a Widget when posing questions to the class. For example, Company A makes widgets for the the US market. If they're strategy is to expand 15% over the next year should they borrow from the bank at a rate of 7% or issue additional shares...

In these cases, a widget can be anything, and were left to the student's imagination as to there shape, size, value, and use. That was until I had a can of John Smith's Extra Smooth.

Upon finishing a 16 oz tall boy, I was startled when I felt and heard something rolling around inside the empty can. At first, I thought it was the finger of some unfortunate line worker, and felt a wave of nausea. Then, I imagined a massive law suit and early retirement.

Upon closer inspection, I noticed it was a round plastic ball, and thought perhaps it was some kind of ball-bearing from a conveyor belt - not as traumatic as a severed finger, but it still had lawsuit potential.

After a little research, I was disappointed to discover that the little ball was purposely placed inside the can by the brewers to maintain a keg-like taste in a canned beer, and to also give it a little head when it was opened.

Finally, I learned that it's official name (and topic of many a MBA course), is a Widget.

Be's Celebrity Wedding

Last week Nuch's friend, Be, from Thai Air got married at the Plaza Athenee. It was a bit of an event because Be is a semi-celebrity in Thailand.

Although she has recently resigned from Thai Air, when Be wasn't serving G & T's at 30,000 ft, she was on earth modeling for Olay, recording albums and making music videos.

Here she is with the bridesmaids.

Here's Nuch with the bride and groom. I think he is a record producer of some sort, so there were some famous singers from years past that Nuch pointed out, but I did not recognize.

and Nuch with the life-size cut-outs of the bride and groom.


Here's Be with her dad. I didn't get a picture of it, but she was puffing on a Marlborough throughout the dance.


Proof that I was there.

Here are some pictures of Nuch and her Thai Air friends.

The guy on the right was Be's boyfriend when they first started working together at Thai Air. He broke up with her a while back because it turns out he's gay. I still don't know what to think about that... I mean, there's nothing wrong with being gay, but that's just tragic.

Here's Be's Olay ad.

and a Music Video

Walk Along The Thames

I'm getting behind on my blog entries, so here's a quick photo blog of our short trip to London.

I had to visit a furniture show in Birmingham and Nuch had a trip to London, so it worked out that I could join her flight and we could spend a day and a half together seeing the sights.

Which consisted of an English pub, where I had a traditional Steak and Ale pie.

A walk through Westminster Abbey, which was the only cultural thing we did.

Big Ben

Parliament

Parliament from the river.

and the London Eye

Here are some other pictures from our walk along the Thames.