I was supposed to lay by the hotel pool or duck into an air-conditioned mall or maybe get another massage. This is my bubble in Bangkok. But a friend, JB, a former resident of Bangkok, suggested that I take a ferry up the Chao Phraya to … Read More →
Category Archives: Leisure
Bubble bursting in Bangkok
A weekend trip to Bangkok is a temporary escape into fantasy. The services here that cater to tourists are so good and the prices so low that one can live lavishly at middle-class prices. Bangkok is where I’ve stayed at five star hotels and indulged … Read More →
The mists of Beitou
Just a 20-minute subway ride away from Taipei is a small town called Beitou, which is famous for its geothermal hotsprings. And in the town of Beitou is a magical place called Villa 32, and if ever there was a place I’ve visited that reminded … Read More →
I know why the caged bird fattens
In one episode of The Simpsons, the family dines out at a Chinese restaurant where Lisa, a vegetarian, is pressed by the waiter to order a dish with meat. She resists and orders sweet and sour rice, at which point the waiter makes one final … Read More →
The upside of Speedo wedgies
For the newly arrived, jetlag is a real drag. But it wears off after a week or so. The uneasy feeling of being an outsider, of being in your own little bubble while the rest of the city is going about in a well-choreagraphed dance… … Read More →
The creaking joints of Tai O
One of my favorite things about Hong Kong is that it gives me everything I love about big metropolises while providing quiet getaways that are easy to get to. With a 30 minute bus ride or an hour on a ferry, you can be transported … Read More →
Symbiosis never felt so soft
There’s something poetic and elegant about symbiotic relationships: zebras and ostriches, crocodiles and plover birds, humans and garra rufa. The last of these are little fish from Turkey that have an appetite for dead human skin. By way of Korea and Japan, both with established … Read More →
Up in the air
I have a short list of things I want to do before I die, and on that list is riding a helicopter. It’s been a dream since boyhood, when I used to be mesmerized by various aircrafts on GI Joe, especially the ones that lifted … Read More →