Blogging From All Over The World

Closing Up

2006-08-20T22:39:00.000-05:00

I've wrapped up my travels for now, and am back in the U.S., back to work. Its a wierd feeling, almost as if life was on pause for six months and now its resumes like nothing changed. I hit the ground running at the office and have been quite busy, plus I'm still in the process of moving back into an apartment. Hopefully it won't be too long before I can resume the blog from somewhere else in the world.

I didn't write any posts during my last 2 weeks in Asia, during my sister's wedding in Bangalore. That really deserves a whole blog of its own. Needless to say it was a great experience, loads of fun and enjoyment, and a fabulous family memory. We're all still sorting through the hundreds of pictures, and when we get it figured out I'll post them to my SmugMug site. For now I'll leave you with a few pics from India...

Tioman Island

2006-07-13T21:26:00.000-05:00

Monday morning started very early, 2:00am to be precise, because I was determined to catch the World Cup final live. I barely caught the first goal and was wide awake 20 minutes in, but then spent the next couple hours (like the rest of the world) waiting for something to happen. Too bad Italy won. After the match I showered up and headed to the Golden Mile complex bus stop in Singapore to catch my coach to Pulau Tioman, Malaysia.

Tioman is a fairly remote, paradise island in the South China Sea off the east coast of Malaysia. Many Singaporeans visit Tioman for its great beaches and relaxed atmosphere (See my pics on SmugMug). Anji actually went there a few months ago and I thank her for helping me plan my trip. The journey to Tioman involves getting across the border to Malaysia and eventually to the town of Mersing, where you then catch a 2 hour speed boat or ferry to the island.

My bus ride wasn't too bad, I met a couple Dutch kids on the bus to talk to and enjoy the ride through endless Malay palm tree and rubber fields. In Mersing we got on a speedboat along with an English family who were friendly, and who I would see throughout the weekend in Tioman.

As soon as I got to Tioman (I stayed in Salang, the most popular of the villages on the island) I immediately visited B & J Dive Shop because I had been tinkering with the idea of getting SCUBA certified while in Tioman. After talking with Louisa, I decided to take the plunge (so to speak) and sign up for the PADI Open Water Diver course. Thus my holiday in Tioman was set. I went to drop off my stuff at the room I booked, Salang Pusaka Resort, which was little more than a shack (See pic). After that I grabbed a bite to eat at one of the few local beach shacks and spent the rest of the day reading through the theory and watching videos. My goal was to complete the course by Thursday afternoon so I could get back to Singapore that night.

So basically the rest of my time in Tioman was spent around the course. My instructor - Sham - was really great and I was lucky to have one-on-one instruction throughout. For those of you who haven't dived, its really neat. I think learning in Tioman made a huge difference too because our "confined water" dives were in the ocean where the cool tropical fish hang out, and our "open water" dives were a bit further out with coral, fish, and everything else. I saw all kinds of sea creatures throughout including clownfish (Nemo), scorpion fish, eels, stingrays, and all sorts of coral. To top it off, the course cost about $280, including all rentals and dive trips. All things considered, I think Pulau Tioman is one of the best places in the world to get SCUBA certifed.

As for the non-SCUBA time, I was a little lonely and bored on the first night, though I did eat some amazing grilled mackerel that was caught just a few hours prior. The social fun really picked up on Tuesday night, when I met an American kid named Ryan from the O.C. at the internet cafe. He invited me to have a beer with him and a few other people he met from Europe. there was an Austrian guy, a Swiss girl, and a couple Finnish chicks at the table, all with great travel stories and an affinity to binge drink. By Wednesday night I was chillin with the dive shop crew as well as the backpacker crew. All in all, good times. I didn't party too hard any night because I wanted to stay well rested for the diving.

As for the PADI course, it went great. Sham said he noticed marked improvement over the days, which he credited to my increasing of confidence while below the surface. Heck, I even aced the written part of the course and blew away the swimming test. SCUBA is all about staying calm, and breathing steady. Its cool to be able to control yourself simply by the breaths you take, and I like to think I learned pretty well by the end. Our final 2 open water dives were pretty much exploring down below, and it was a good chance to stay underwater and look at coral and marine life for nearly 40 minutes at a time.

We finished up everything by lunchtime Thursday, leaving me plenty of time to catch the boat back to Mersing and then a coach to Johur Baru. Along the way I befriended a Dutch couple and German girl heading back to Singapore as well. All three of them were basically in Singapore because they wanted to travel long term. The attitude of the Dutch couple was consistent with lots of Europeans you meet when traveling - they go with the flow and end up where fate takes them. Its nice to see that spirit around and inspires you, reminds you that the world is here for us to explore during our lifetime, we need to simply take advantage of it.

Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, Cambodia

2006-07-10T21:22:00.000-05:00

Last weekend Nima and I visited Siem Reap, Cambodia, the town where the Angkor Wat and other temple ruins stand. The history of Cambodia is incredibly rich, as the kingdom was at one time one of the most powerful and largest in the world. The Angkor temple site is influenced by both Hinduism and Buddhism, and is the world's largest religious site. Wikitravel and Wikipedia give a good historical lesson for those of you interested.

There are several temple ruins at the Angkor Wat site, more than a 2 day weekend trip permits. We had a great tuk-tuk driver named Million who took us around without a hassle over the weekend. The three sites we visited in depth were:

Bayon - Temple of many faces
Angkor Wat - The big kahuna
Ta Phrom - Temple of trees

I'm not going to write too much about the trip because the photos tell the story. Make sure you take a look at my SmugMug site for all the pictures (almost 500 in total). Basically, we arrived in Cambodia early Friday morning and headed straight for the temples. We bought a 3 day pass for $40USD since the daily passes were $20 anyway. One thing really interesting about Cambodia is that their de facto currency is the US Dollar. They have the Riel, but that's really only used for small change as the exchange rate is 4200 to $1. So if you ever come to Cambodia, make sure you have plenty of US Dollars.

Besides visiting the temple sites, we spent a little time in the city of Siem Reap, checking out yet another Asian city. Siem Reap (literally "Siam Defeated") is a pretty small city that just opened a brand new international airport (we might have been the first flight ever to arrive), has an 'old market' where the bar and nightlife scene is sprouting up, and a few other notable places. One of those is the Foreign Correspondents Club, a restaurant and hotel that was once the only safe place for international reporters to stay during the Khmer Rouge regime and wars with Vietnam. The location in Siem Reap is a bit of a gimmick since it wasn't the real FCC, but we did go there to have a nice meal and play some pool. Other places we visited were the several pubs on Pub Street, offering $0.35 beers during happy hour, $0.50 regular price. We also got some seriously great massages at Body Tune ($20/each), good enough that Nima went back for a foot massage the next day.

So here are a few pics of our trip in Cambodia...

Nima and me at Bayon Temple

Me at the Bayon Temple

Nature leaving its mark at Ta Prohm

Monks at Angkor Wat

....And hello Singapore

2006-07-04T02:42:00.000-05:00

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand I'm back in Singapore (at Nima's apartment as pictured). Its so clean here!!! Its nice to breath fresh air, relax a little, and see Nima once again. I'm back in Singapore for 2 weeks before heading to India for Ami's wedding. In these two weeks I'll be taking a couple jaunts to other parts of Asia, starting with Cambodia to see Angkor Wat this weekend. I'm not sure what's going on next week but at the moment I'm planning on heading off to Pulau Tioman in Malaysia for one more beach trip, and to earn my PADI Open Water certification. I have to iron out the details but that's the plan for now. In the mean time I'll be catching up on emails, IMing with you folks back home, hearing about Sac's bachelor party, and organizing myself after 3 months in Sri Lanka. Talk to you all soon...

Goodbye Ceylon

2006-07-01T02:27:00.000-05:00

So yesterday was my last day of the three month ADP project in Sri Lanka. Man, times flies. I spent most of Friday packing up and running around for last meals and errands. Mrs. David, my piano teacher, was kind enough to stop by and give me a little parting gift before I left. She's so sweet. Raj, Renuka and I had massages at the Sanctuary Spa, and then spent the afternoon doing what we did quite a bit of in our free time - playing Scrabble while sipping on a coffee at Barista. For dinner we went back to the Gallery Cafe and had a tasty meal and a capping off chat. And of course we capped off the night by having one last shot of Arrack at the Cricket Club Cafe. After that I picked up my stuff from the Taj and was off in a cab to the airport. Just like that, the three months I spent in an unknown, mysterious tropical island were over.

I had a wonderful experience filled with numerous activities, sightseeing, and people. I'm lucky to have developed a strong friendship with Renuka (who unfortunately will soon be a Dookie) and Rajitha (who unfortunately is British. God Bless America).

Working at ICTA was a great learning experience, and has only whetted my appetite more for getting into development work. Hopefully Lanka Gate gets off the ground and one day I can point to the portal as something for which I laid the groundwork. I'm proud of the work we did and thank everyone at Accenture who helped out back home, and I think that my experience from ICTA should be useful anywhere else I go.

When asked whether I'd come back to Sri Lanka, I decided my answer was yes, I would. Not so much because I want to revisit the country - there are too many other places in the world higher on my list - but because I now know a corner of the world as well as anyone, and it would be cool to bring other visitors to Colombo and Sri Lanka and be able to guide them around. I know the best spots to go in Colombo, I know a lot about the sights through the island, and I even know a couple locals to hang out with. So, if anyone reading this is going to Sri Lanka let me know, I can give you some great tips...

Sri Lanka is an enchanting place, and hope the country can recover from the tsunami and reach a solution to the ethnic conflict. I know I'll be constantly and intently reading up on news from Sri Lanka. Ayubowan...

The Perfect Cup

2006-06-29T01:19:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned it before. At ICTA we get a cup of tea twice daily at 9:00 and 3:00. Its the Sri Lankan way, and I suspect it happens in every office here. The tea we get here is brewed and delivered daily by our office butler, Sampath. Sampath has the secret of how to make the perfect cup of tea. No offense mom or anyone else, but this is the best chai I've ever had. Sampath's daily tea might be what I miss most about Sri Lanka when I leave.

Getting Cultured at the Last Minute

2006-06-27T00:32:00.000-05:00

My last week in Sri Lanka began on Sunday just as my first day did, with a stroll up along Galle Face Green. It was hot as nuts outside, probably the hottest day I've experienced in Sri Lanka. I didn't have much purpose on Sunday, just really to wander around town one last time. Renuka and I went up to see the Colombo lighthouse but its at a Navy base that's heavily guarded so I couldn't get a picture.

In the evening since I had nothing else to do I went to the Barefoot Gallery with Ren to catch a jazz concert featuring Glen Terry, who from what I gather is a locally-loved jazz musician who plays at Barefoot often. The concert was fun and lively though the music wasn't so original, mostly covers. The crowd at Barefoot is definitley upscale with lots of internationals and expats. I met Errol and Jackie, two of the most "in" people in Colombo who Renuka met the night before when hanging out with Arati and Roy.

The next day the three musketeers caught a production at the Loinel Wendt theater, Colombo's main performance stage. The show was called "Uh-Merr-Aka" or something like that. It was basically a satire on the history of the United States. Of course it was an opportunity to take cheap shots at the US, which everyone loves to do, but keeping that in mind the show was laugh-out-loud funny and definitely entertaining. Sorry no pics of the theatre outing.

Chillin

2006-06-22T03:32:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday night Renuka and I went over to Arati & Roy's house in Colombo. Arati is Renuka's former manager's sister-in-law who Renuka got in touch with when she got to Colombo. I've been over to their place once before when they invited us for dinner, which was fantastic by the way, and this time we were having a "potluck" which really meant Renuka and Arati cooking. Arati and Roy are awesome, really nice couple from Bangalore who are in Sri Lanka partially work and partially because they wanted to get away for a bit. They have a cute, well decorated house - both studied art/graphic design in Bangalore so its not surprising. Their place is basically like a lounge, and I enjoy simply hanging out somewhere besides a bar or the hotel, and talking to other people. I lucked out to meet them and hopefully someday they can come over to the US and hang out at my place. Dinner was fabulous and we had a good time just shootin the breeze, playing with their temporary pet kitten who loves clawing my shirt, and looking at wedding pictures.

Tonight (Thursday) we're meeting up with them again to hit up Han Gook Gwan, a local Korean restaurant that was recommended to Roy. Its been a while since I've had Korean so I'm looking forward to it. Also, the USA is playing Ghana and trying to sneak into the round of 16 of the world cup, which would eclipse the last world cup's ultimate backdoor play.

Update: Korean food at Haesong was quite good. The Kimchi was ridiculously spicy, but otherwise it was great. Unfortunately, the U.S. couldn't outmatch the Ghanans so their run is done in this year's World Cup. I'll be pulling for the Socceroos from here on out.

Bizarre Night

2006-06-19T23:12:00.000-05:00

Last Friday night was wierd. It started innocently at the Gall Face Inn hotel bar, where Renuka and I went to catch the Netherlands-Cote D'Ivoire match on their big screen. It was around 10:30pm when we were hanging out at the bar drinking coffee and watching Ruud Van Nistelrooy put the Dutch ahead 2-0. At halftime I got a text from Rajitha saying that she just got an email from Accenture Global Asset Protection ordering us to move out of our hotel, Global Towers, immediately and move into the Holiday Inn Colombo or the Taj Samudra. The reason for the sudden move was that GAP had received reports (from where I'm not sure) that Global Towers may have some sort of connection to the LTTE. Rajitha called Shri, out friendly travel agent at GT, to let him know the situation and that we'd be out by the next day. GAP did mention in their email that they were being overly cautious about the whole thing, and though it was just one report they received they didn't want to take chances with us.

Given this news, Renuka and I took off in a tuk-tuk and headed off to Global Towers to pack up. On the way down Galle Road, we were stopped by a police officer at a checkpoint. Since the bus bombing earlier in the week security has been beefed up all around Colombo so such a stop wasn't out of the ordinary. The officer asked for ID as usual, but when I produced my Virginia driver's license (like I usually do - photo ID) the officer began hassling me about not having my passport. I told him calmly that if he wanted to see my passport we could go to the hotel. He said I need a visa to be in Sri Lanka. I responded by saying that was checked at the airport upon arrival. We sorta sat there for 10 minutes as the officer, in broken English, tried to threaten to arrest us. At one point he said something like "You arrest me no visa." That would've been sweet if I actually did arrest him. Anyway, the tuk-tuk driver did help out and told him we're just tourists from the USA and eventually he let us go, bitter about not receiving a bribe I'm sure.

The whole sequence was bizarre given the fact that we just got orders to move out, and this was the first time anyone hassled me for my passport. Henceforth though I'll be carrying a copy of my passport and visa around Sri Lanka.

Eating in Sri Lanka

2006-06-15T08:42:00.000-05:00

Okay so I'm sure I've complained about the Sri Lankan cuisine, or at least the lack of diversity in day-to-day meals (read: Rice & Curry for breakfast, lunch and dinner). But I don't want to shortchange Sri Lanka completely, there are in fact some good places to eat here in Colombo. Some of my favorites have been:

The Cricket Club Cafe - This is my favorite place in Colombo to grab a pint and a bite to eat. Located not far from Global towers - off Duplication and Queen's road - the Cricket Club Cafe is a cozy, down to earth English pub themed with an abundance of cricket memoribilia. The food is quite good too, I recommend the Border Burger. The pot pies look quite tasty, I haven't had one yet but I plan to do so before leaving. CCC is a must visit in Colombo.

Mango Tree - Rajitha's aunty was kind enough to take the three of out to Mango Tree, a trendy restaurant/lounge/bar in the heart of Colpetty in Colombo. Mango tree is a TRUE Indian restaurant that actually has a balance of flavor and spice in its food, something difficult to find in Sri Lanka. There are a number of decent south Indian restaurants here such as Shanmagus and Shanti Vihar, but Mango Tree offers a wide array of Indian dishes from all over the country including tandoor items, biryanis, vegetable curries and south Indian fare. We ordered a selection including bindi saag (okra curry), tandoor chicken, jasmine rice, raitha (yogurt), bengan bharta (eggplant), and assorted naan (flat bread). The food was absolutely fabulous - better than Minerva or any other Indian restaurant in the US. I even had an authentic rose lassi to go along with the meal. To top it off, the prices are extremely reasonable, around 300 ($3) for a HUGE portion. We were thoroughly stuffed after the meal with plenty to take home, and an experience guaranteed to bring us back.
UPDATE: Renuka and I headed back to Mango Tree for lunch on Friday. This time I tried one of their specials - a mutton sizzler (sizzling hot goat curry). Ridiculous. I don't eat much mutton but Renuka confirmed that it was the best she has ever had, and she's had plenty of helpings in the past. It was actually our lunch at the Palmiryah that prompted me to order the mutton again here, and I was glad I did. Since mutton isn't quite so previlant in the States, its a treat to try it in a place where they know how to prepare it.

Paradise Road Cafe - Rajitha, Renuka and I skipped over to Paradise Road Cafe a couple weeks ago during lunch. Like Barefoot, Paradise Road is an upscale houseware/handicraft shop that has a cafe to boot. Its a nice place to grab a sandwich and hang out in the breeze on the rooftop patio.

Bay Leaf - We went to bay leaf way back in April. It's located on Gregory Lane where the old La Palace recstaurant used to be - in an old palace. That part of town, Cinnamon Gardens (a.k.a Colombo 7) has the best neighbrohood in Colombo with several nice places to eat and shop. I had an impressive mushroom ravioli at Bay Leaf, and though we didn't have time to hit the bar it looked like a decent place. Harpo, the owner, was warm and welcoming, and I'd like to go back to Bay Leaf before leaving Sri Lanka. Also, the prices are vewy reasonable.

Gallery Cafe - Gallery Cafe is one of Colombo's best restaurants - innovatively set in Geoffrey Bawa's old office that's now an art gallery. The menu offers a nice blend of local and western food, and the atmosphere is one that will attract you to stick around for hours while dining. Actually, the more I think about it the more I want to go there tomorrow for dinner. Its located right across from the Cricket Club Cafe on Queen's Road. The food is quite good, though when Renuka and I went there I felt hurried for some reason so I don't remember taking the time to truly enjoy the experience. I do remember I had a very good grilled chicken breast dish. I'll go back this week though.

Barefoot Cafe - Barefoot might be the most well-known store and cafe in Colombo. Right on Galle Road, Barefoot is a store filled with colorful hand-crafted goods and fabrics. Its tough to explain, but Barefoot just has an artsy, earthy, natural vibe to it. On Sundays they host live jazz all afternoon in the cafe, so Ren and I made the trip one Sunday afternoon in May. We got there a bit early and missed out on the lunch special menu (they must have still been chalking it up) so I just had a decent sandwich, however I had a ridiculously good milkshake along with it. The rest of the clientele seemed to be visitors, foreign expats, and Colombo's bourgiouse. It was a relaxed yet lively atmosphere and we were able to easily pass a couple hours there hanging out, enjoying the food, music and weather. Rumor has it that Barefoot offers free WiFi on weekdays as well. I have been back to Barefoot to do some shopping - anyone in Sri Lanka MUST go there at least once - and I'd like to have one more meal before taking off. Maybe I'll get a chance to order the special this time.

Palmiryah @ Hotel Renuka - Hotel Renuka, there was never a question of if we'd have a meal here. As it turns out, the Palmiryah restaurant at Hotel Renuka serves some of the best Sri Lankan food around. Rajitha's mom treated us to Sunday lunch here, and we had a fantastic meal. We had pittu (steamed rice flour cakes), vasai (minced prawns and coconut) and mutton ?? ?(curried mutton). Most of our dishes were actually from the Jaffna region, which is known for its tasty cuisine. I also learned about the Palmiryah tree, similar to the palm though the minor differences make it unique to Sri Lanka. We had a great time hearing from Rajitha's mother about some of the 'good old days' when Rajitha was younger, and enoyed a great meal as well. Hotel Renuka and the Palmiryah are right on Galle road near Colpetty.

German Restaurant - Renuka and I hit up German Restaurant on Galle, right across from the Inn at the Green, for a quick Friday night meal. We were curious to find out what's inside this seemingly out of place restaurant. The interior is well decorated in a traditional German theme (not sure what it's called but there's that feel of wooden houses and german guys dancing around in funny hats and knickers). The beer menu is extensive - I got me a Caffrey's Irish Draugh, something I haven't had in years. For dinner we split a plate of, you guessed it, bratwurst. Frankly the brat was only decent, though the sauerkraut was good. I may try to go back to GR to try a scnhitzel but German food is so heavy and filling that I'll have to be in the right mmod for it.

Beach Wadiya - not much to say here except the best seafood restaurant in Colombo, and possibly one of the best in the world. Its a beach hut - nearly wiped away by the tsunami in 2004 - that simply serves great seafood. I wrote about Wadiya in an earlier blog. Its located in Wellawatte right across from Global Towers, and everyone in Colombo knows it. I've been there 3 times and it never fails to dissapoint. If you are in Colombo for one night, this is the place to go hands down. Get the baked crab. Ask for Banda, his gleeful charm enhances the experience infinitely.

The Inn on the Green - This place is more a bar, but the half roast chicken might be my favorite go-to dish in Colombo. Somehow this English pub hits a homer - or a sixer - on the roast chicken. Tetley's, Carlsberg, and Lion are all on tap as well, so a pint of freshly poured beer compliments this dish quite well. Since we're now staying across the street from the Inn on the Green I should have a chance to head back to sample something else, perhaps the Bangers and Mash or Chip Butty. Bonus at Inn on the Green: Darts and WiFi.

Some other places that are worth a mention

Shanmugas - nice, solid Indian Vegetarian
Wafflers Belgian Waffle Cafe - best waffles in Sri Lanka
World Trade Center Deli Market - a Marche-type place with lots of selections for a nice lunch
Barista Coffee - India's version of Starbuck's available in Colombo

World Cup!

2006-06-10T01:46:00.000-05:00

I've been counting down the days here in Colombo until the beginning of the World Cup. Friday was a tough day at work due to the anticipation, but finally the tournament kicked off at 9:30pm local time. Me and my roommates went to the Cheers Pub to catch the Germany-Costa Rica opening match.

Something strange about pubs in Sri Lanka is that they take reservations for all tables, including the little barstool tables in the bar. It was a bit of a debacle because we got to Cheers a good 2 hours before the match, and there were plenty of open tables, but the bar manager said they were all reserved. Before long there was an overwhelming amount of people in the bar and I think they had to abandon their reservation policy, which was good for us since we were already parked at a table.

If you didn't see the opening match you missed an entertaining one. The bar was generally rooting for the underdogs - though there were a good number of Germans at Cheers. I happened to have my Costa Rica jersey with me here in Sri Lanka, and I think I truly could have been the only person in the entire country sporting that replica last night.

We have plans for tonight's England game and the upcoming USA-Czech match on Monday. The next month is gonna be sweet...

Beach Bummin' on the West Coast

2006-06-07T01:06:00.000-05:00

Still a couple weeks behind on the blog, work has been really busy, but bear with me. We went down to Galle 2 weekends ago for some fun in the sun. Galle is one of the larger cities in Sri Lanka, and the largest southern coastal city. It is known primarily for the Dutch Fort as the main landmark, along with the nearby beach towns and watersports that go along. Rajitha, Renuka and I decided to be adventureous and take the train down to Galle from Colombo on Saturday morning, find a guesthouse to stay for a night, and head back on Sunday afternoon.
Our orignial plan was to take the 9:00am train from Colombo-Fort station to Galle. However, the night before Renuka and I met Anand and Anjali from New Delhi, fellow guests at Global Towers, who told us when they planned to take the 9:00 Saturday train from Fort it actually departed early(!), at 8:30. So we texted Rajitha and told her to meet us early at Fort on Saturday morning. As it turned out, the train left on schedule, but being the beginning of school holidays and government employees receiving 2nd class train vouchers, we ended up on a packed train for the 3 hour ride down to Galle. Bad news as we had to stand, by the bathroom no less, the entire way. But really, outside the fact we had to stand, the train ride wasn't too bad. It basically stopped in each town along the way, but it ran on time and we got to Galle before noon as expected. We also lucked out by ending up next to a guy who worked in the Galle tourist information center, so during the ride we chatted it up with him and when we got to Galle he helped us with a map and suggested things to see in Galle, and set us up with a tuk-tuk.

Once in Galle we first had lunch - string hoppers kindly prepared by Rajitha's family for our trip. We then headed off to visit the Dutch Fort, which was basically a regular old fort similar to the San Juan fort but not quite as impressive. Within the fort walls there's an Aman hotel, the Galle Fort Hotel. Aman hotels are among the most expensive in the world with prices here ranging from $450-$800 per night. We got a tour of the spa amenities, and though it was very nice, I don't see how anyone could justify spending that much to stay at that place. Anyhow, after the fort we headed down toward Unawatuna, a beach town that many people and books recommended as the best in the area. Along the way we stopped at the Carlsberger hotel for afternoon tea, which was quite pleaseant as it offered a nice secluded view of the harbor below. A lot of these fancy hotels in Sri Lanka are built in old colonial estates and mansions, which make for a nice level of ambience.
After tea we continued on towards Unawatuna. The southern coast of Sri Lanka is relatively unscathed, typically lined with the standard grocery stores and guesthouses. The road is close enough to the ocean to catch the salty sea whiff, and the roads - at least while we were there - are not congested. The sights that did jump out at me were the spots that mark remains of the tsunami's destruction. You'll see a row of houses/shacks interrupted with an open lot which only contains a floor still in the ground, but the house's walls and everything else was swept away. Basically you see a tile kitchen floor out in the open - somewhat unnerving. Its interesting, the locals talk quite openly about the tsunami and how certain buildings and landmarks were swallowed, just like that.
Along the way we stopped at a sea turtle hatchery, and later on to take pics of stilt fishermen. The hatchery was really cool, basically a group of people have started this conservatory to protect sea turtles. They seek out turtle egg poachers that are illegally taking sea turtle eggs, and buy the eggs off of them. At the hatchery, they bury the eggs and 65 days later a baby turtle emerges from the sand. They raise the turtles in little tanks for a few weeks before they take them out to release them into the sea. A couple facts about sea turtles include (1) the gender of a sea turtle depends on the tide and temperature of the water, and (2) sea turtles always come back to their place of birth to lay eggs. The hatchery also had a few older sea turtles including a guy over 60 years old! It was a neat experience to see these little creatures up close and personal.
The fishermen on stilts was a scam, they wanted us to pay them to get up on the stilts so we could take pics. Instead we kept on driving and found some fishermen actually fishing, so we got a couple pics. Nothing special.
When we got to Unawatuna we first stopped by Shanti Guest House as recommended by the tourism guy, and at 2200Rs a night for a triple it was good enough for us. We parked and recharged for a little while before heading to dinner. We went next door to a nicer guesthouse for dinner, which turned out to be a seafood feast. I was surprisingly impressed by my devilled prawns, and of course a Lion Lager to wash them down. Unfortunately I also got eaten alive by the mosquitos, but all in all it was a very satistfying dinner. After chowing down we didn't do much, just chat a bit before hitting the sack for the night.
I woke up fairly early on Sunday, and spent the morning down at the beach. We had some morning coffee at the guesthouse, though quickly left after we were taken over by an army of crows. We then headed over a bit to have some breakfast at a beach hut, after which Rajitha left Galle because she had plans in the afternoon with her family. Behind our guesthouse was a 'lagoon' type area where the water is calm and warm, basically there's a reef about 30 yards out where the waves break so the rough waters dont make it to shore. The water was very clear and clean, though I stepped on a shell which lodged a bit into my toe and hurt bad. We basically just chilled out all morning at the beach. Renuka and I just hung out at the beach for the rest of the morning. As we were leaving, I had a brilliant idea to climb on some beach boulders to get a nice view. The climbing part was fine, both Ren and I make it up, but my dumb ass tried to jump down and I ended up scraping up my shin pretty good, resulting in me racing over to the guesthouse for some antiseptic and band-aids. Disaster.
After my fall we decided it was time to leave, so we took a tuk-tuk back to Galle and planned to visit the tourist information center for info about getting on a train, but unfortunately they were out to lunch. Instead we walked over to the bus depot and managed to talk to some guy there who assured us we could get on the next bus to Colombo. The buses in Sri Lanka actually aren't too bad, thankfully they limit the number of passengers (most people had a seat) and types of passengers (humans only). So for 3 hours we were crusining along the coast of Sri Lanka, 'stopping' at every town along the way for people to jump off and on. At the end of the ride we were fortunate to get dropped off right back at Wellawatta rather than having to go up to Colombo Fort, capping off an adventerous and interesting Sri Lanka travel experince.

Last Day in Bangkok....

2006-06-04T01:10:00.000-05:00

...and we weren't about to let it go to waste. The highlight of the Bangkok trip had to be Sunday morning at the Baipai Cooking School. Thanks to Wikitravel I found the Baipai and we scheduled to join their Sunday morning class, which included a set menu of 4 traditional Thai dishes. The school was reviewed to be very fun and friendly, and was not as uppity and expensive as the traditional schools. They picked us up at 9:00am from the OBI (where we had breakfast and a good chat with Joey, the proprieters son who happened to study at Hopkins), and along the way we picked up a few classmates - a middle aged couple from Singapore and two guys visiting from Germany.

The Baipai is set in a nice residential area of Bangkok in an open-air 2 story house. The ground floor contains a shop and eating area, while the upper floor is where the classes take place. The class size it typically 8 people so there is space for each student to have his own cooking area. There's also a demonstration area where the teacher first explains and demonstrates the dish. Their teaching style works very well, there's a traditional Thai person who does the cooking while another person is there for explanation and answering questions. And just like Emeril, there's even an overhead mirror above the teacher's area to get a great birds-eye view of what's going on. I have tons of pictures from the cooking school and the rest of the Bangkok trip on my SmugMug site.

Our menu consisted of:

Lemongrass Tea (instructor made it)
Golden Treasures
Hot and Sour Soup
Panang Chicken Curry
Pork Fried Rice

I have the Thai names of the dishes in my take-home cookbook, which is with Nima in Singapore at the moment.

We got started with some basics, like cutting and carving with a knife. Our assignment was to carve a half lime into a flower-like decoration to be served with one of our dishes - no problem. We then moved on to the Golden Treasures, which is basically minced pork and some flavors like spring onions, fish sauce, and garlic, mixed together, wrapped in spring roll wrappers, and deep fried. The end product looks like little money bags - hence the name golden treasures. I don't use pork much and I don't deep fry much, so this particular appetizer was a new type of dish for me. The instructor was quite helpful here with letting us know what to buy at the grocery stores back home and what substitutions can be made (basically any meat or tofu can be substituted for this). Before long, my first Thai cooking school dish was complete.

Next up was the Tom Yam Goong - Hot and Sour Shrimp soup, a Thai favorite. Again, I don't do many soups so this was fairly new to me. I learned a couple things on this dish, like you don't have to pre-cook shrimp when tossing them in the soup, and that with lemongrass stalks you must crack the stalk first to get the flavor out. We also used a new ingredient - galang root - which is basically a very mild ginger-type root. I know I've tasted it before but never knew what it was until now.

After eating soup and chatting it up with the rest of the class (the two guys from Germany were a trip, one of them was actually American living in Germany, and both were quite fruity. They certainly made for good chatter while eating our delights. Guys at cooking school are....oh wait, nevermind.)

Next up was the Panang Chicken, something I was looking forward to since its a favorite dish of mine. Its actually surprisingly easy, basic ingredients are chicken, coconut milk, and red curry paste. The trick for this dish is to heat up the coconut milk in the wok but not too hot, just before boiling, and then add the curry flavoring and mix it up, while reducing the heat. I completely botched things because I let it get too hot, and when that happens the coconut oil separates from the milk and you get this pathetic looking mess of a curry. Still, I salvaged the dish and it did taste pretty good. Nima, on the other hand, made an absoutely perfect dish and I couldn't help but eat half of hers. She was even sweet enough to tell me mine was good :)

Last on the menu was the pork fried rice, which not surprisingly was pretty easy. Though here we used some more ingredients I normally don't use, and we had practice chopping and slicing. Two very important tricks I learned here about fried rice: (1) you want to chill your cooked rice in the fridge rather than use hot rice when you throw it into the wok. Chilled rice doesn't turn to mush. And (2), When frying an egg in the wok, push all the rice and veggies to one side, make room for the egg directly on the pan, fry it, push the rice on top, and flip everything. Not sure if it makes sense here, but it worked well when cooking.

We finished up around 1:00 with full stomachs and some newly acquired culinary skills. Our time was running out in BKK, so we stopped by MBK one last time to pick up some cheap DVDs, and then headed back to OBI to check out before making our way to the airport. All in all it was a wonderful long weekend in Bangkok and I highly recommend anyone considering visitng.

Bangkok Day 3

2006-05-26T00:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning was reserved for one thing and one thing only - shopping at the Chatuchauk weekend market. This famous market is gigantic, with several narrow alleys of shops containing everything from clothes to food to furniture. We decided to take a tuk-tuk out to the market, which was an interesting ride but really not worth it because A/C taxis are just the same price anyway. Since Nima had been to Chatuchauk before we had an idea of what to try to hit. She picked up a couple shirts (I think), and I found some interesting stuff but buying any clothes from these Thai markets is risky because of the chance of color bleeding and shrinkage. I ended up picking up a pair of cotton fisherman's pants for 100 baht. We found a cool t-shirt store Nima went to last time, but unfortunately they didn't have the "Mullet" t-shirt we were hoping to find. By about 11am I was finished shopping, so I parked myself at a cafe/bar with a Singha while Nima continued shopping. There I ended up talking to a couple American girls who were in Thailand for the Peace Corps, each stationed in a village a few hours north of Bangkok. It was interesting to hear their experiences being in small villages teaching English. Both girls agreed that the hardest part was the mental challenge of being in isolation without much contact (internet, phone) back home - which led them to having read dozens of books over the last 6 months. After a couple beers, Nima finished up with the shopping and we headed back via skyway and boat taxi.

We decided that for dinner we wanted to get some good Mexican food (I know, we're in Thailand), but it was really a craving that I had since being in Sri Lanka because I haven't had any good Mexican food since March. We heard of a good Mexican place called Senor Pico at Hotel Rembrandt in "downtown" Bangkok. After taking a much needed afternoon nap during the downpour, we headed off to an early dinner. I don't know if it was my craving of Mexican or the food itself, but I don't think I've ever savored refried beans and real cheese that much. The food definitely hit the spot, and the restaurant added a nice touch of live Latin music as the night went on. We had a nice, leisurely dinner that lasted a few hours before we headed off to check out some BKK nightlife.
We picked out a couple bars to check out on Soi 33, close to the restaurant and in the center of town. According to a guidebook I found there's a jazz/blues bar called Mojos down that road so we decided to check it out. Unbeknownst to us, Soi 33 was full of what Bangkok is known for, "massage parlors" and "sports bars" that cater to out of town male guests. As we walked down the street pretty much all we saw were a couple Thai girls enticing passer-bys to enter their establishment. Nima was getting upset at the whole thought of BKKs industry, and though we ended up finding the bar on the way back down the street there was nothing going on inside, so we decided to find somewhere else all together.
As we were walking by some of the seedy bars I did notice signs that the FA Cup final between Liverpool and West Ham United was going on that night. Nima spotted a bar called The Londoner, which was sure to be showing the game. We headed into the packed pub and luckily found a spot at the bar where we parked ourselves for the next 3 hours. We noticed at the pub an unusually high number of old white men with young Thai women on their arm, something you see everywhere in BKK. Its kinda pathetic when you see the two people pretending they are together yet they can't even communicate. But otherwise, the bar will chock full of lads enjoying the match. In case you missed it, the match itself was incredible, with West Ham scoring a shocking 2 goals early. Down 2-0 in soccer is pretty much a guarantee you're cooked, but Liverpool chipped away thoughout the match to get it to 3-2 with 10 to play. Steve Gerrard then scored on a lazerbeam in stoppage play to tie things up. By then it was midnight and we had an early appointment in the morning, so despite the high drama we decided to take off for the night and get some rest. As it turned out, the FA cup final went to penalty kicks with Liverpool prevailing, marking it one of the best FA cup finals in history. Although we missed the ending, we still had a fun, fantastic night out in Bangkok.

Bangkok Day 2

2006-05-25T10:57:00.000-05:00

Friday was designated our cultural day, which happend to fall on Vesak (the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha). We got up early to visit the Golden Temple and the Reclining Buddha temples, both of which were walking distance from the OBI. One thing to watch out for in Thailand are all the touts who hang out near the temples, harrassing tourists for visitng shops, going on tours, etc. A go-to move they use is telling you the temple or sight is closed until the afternoon for some religious ceremony, so they'll take your around shopping until its open and then bring you back. In reality, the major temples are open every day of the year, even on Buddhist holidays like Vesak. Anyhow, the Reclining Buddha is an impressive sight, as the statue dwarfs any person standing next to it. As we were finishing up at the temples we got caught in an instant downpour, but it was actually nice to huddle under a shelter and listen to the rain falling in such a peaceful setting.

After the temples we headed home to change but again a downpour came through, so we chilled for a bit at OBI. When the rain stopped we headed back to the water taxi to pay a visit to the Jim Thompson House. The story of Jim Thompson is fascinating. Jim Thompson was an American stationed in Asia for world War II as an engineer/architect. He actually never got called to duty, but after the war was over he fell in love with the Asian people and culture, and chose to stay in Thailand. He also fell in love with the traditional textiles on silk, and consequently singlehandedly revived the dying Thai silk industry. Being an architect, Thompson designed and built a beautiful home in Bangkok, composed of 6 traditional Thai bungalows strung together openly with hallways, surrounded by a jungle-like garden. He did a great thing for Bangkok in reviving the industry, and seemingly his life was great. On a summer day in 1967, however, he went to Malaysia for a walk in the jungle and was never seen again - disappeared into thin air. Of course there are several theories of his disappearance, including the CIA abducting him, or a tiger eating him. Whatever it is, he's left an enchanting and mysterious legacy behind in Bangkok. We took the guided tour of his house, which uncovers several cool architectural delights, and had lunch at the JTH cafe which was actually quite good.

After the Jim Thompson house we headed over to Siam Square to check out some interesting shopping - and because we were in the area. We then made it back to OBI right before a huge downpour to take a nap to rest up for the evening. For dinner we headed to Ko Saun Road (KSR) - the backpacker's paradise of BKK. This road is known for all the cheap eats, drinks, and guesthouses. We had a great time peoplewatching while sucking down a Singha in a bar. Nima had some kachi (sour) mango off the street, while I was happy to find a street falafel. We spent a couple hours chillin on KSR before deciding to head over to the Suan Lum Night Bazaar for some shopping.

The night bazaar is where Nima bought some good souveniours during her last trip to Bangkok, particularly a set of candlesticks my mom liked. The bazaar is set up pretty cool, with a central area for eating and watching a big screen TV, and tons of market-style shops on the perimeter. We first went back to the shop where Nima got the candlesticks where amazingly I bumped into Shannon, an Accenture colleague with whom I worked a few years ago in DC. She just finished up a role in Kenya and was in Bangkok for ADP training before heading home to the US. Its really quite amazing to run into someone you know from the U.S. at a place like the night bazaar. While I chatted it up with Shannon, Nima picked up some cool gifts for people and we continued on through the market. I didn't buy anything else, however we finished the night with a memorable experience of a Thai foot massage. It was one of those experiences like the Seinfeld episode where Elaine was in the nail salon and felt uncomfortable with all the Vietnamese women chatting it up and laughing in their language. The massage itself was good, but the boys doing the massage seemed to be having a little too much fun with it. Anyway, we capped off the night with the massages and headed home for some much needed rest.

Interesting News Bit

2006-05-25T00:11:00.000-05:00

The Sri Lankan government seems to have felt the pressure of the Catholic Bishops, and moved to ban the screening of The Da Vinci Code here in Sri Lanka. Surprisingly, even the Vatican and Italy have allowed the movie to be shown. The Congo, Samoa, and Lebanon have also banned the movie, while the Indian government recently rejected calls for a ban. No ban on the book here in Sri Lanka, however, which seems inconsistent to me.

Bangkok Day 1

2006-05-21T08:02:00.000-05:00

For the Vesak holiday I took the opportundiy to visit another great city in Asia, Bangkok. Nima and I met for the long weekend on Thursday and would have a chance to explore through Sunday night.

I arrived in Bangkok around noon on Thursday after a decent flight on Sri Lankan Airlines. Nima made it an hour earlier from Singapore, so as soon as I cleared customs we hopped in a cab to our hotel for the weekend, the Old Bangkok Inn. Nima found the place from Trripadvisor reviews, which were all very glowing and filled us with high expectations. The OBI is located close to some of the historic and cultural sites like the Grand Palace ans Democracy Monument, rather than by some of the more major hjotels downtown. As soon as we got to the OBI we were welcomed by the inkeeper, Nantiya, who was kind enought to let us check in early and have a nap before heading out for the afternoon.

We got directions to downtown from one of the friendly desk clerks at OBI, so we headed down to MBK, Bangkok's best shopping mall. We took a canal taxi boat, something that most tourists miss out on when in Bangkok. The taxi boat is great for several reasons: its a true "local" experience that takes you through many neighborhoods, its a way to beat the notorious Bangkok traffic, and its dirt cheap at 8 baht, or 25 cents. Once we got to MBK we grabbed a bite to eat at what looked to be a true local fast food restaurant, as all the patrons were Thai. I had an okay pork dish, but Nima's Pad Thai was excellent. After MBK we headed to Siam Square, a hip, trendy area with tons of clothing shops for budding designers and fashionistas. Nima visited Siam Square on her previous trip to BKK and wanted to go back to show me and possibly find some cool clothes. She ended up with a really hip pair of pants, and I ended up finding an A&W restaurant where I had a satisfying root beer float. So far, so good...

For dinner we went to the Seafood Market near Phrom Phong - a true tourist spot but a Bangkok "must do". The Seafood Market's motto is "If it swims, we have it." The restaurant is set up basically like the seafood aisle of a supermarket, you grab a shopping cart and pick from a collection of raw (and sometimes live!) seafood what you want for dinner. You are charged by quantity/weight. Then you take the seafood back to your table and a cook comes to take your order regarding how you'd like the food cooked. Shocker - Nima and I chose way too much food. We had garlic tossed scallops, battered/fried prawns, yellow curry crabmeat, and grilled fish (idiot! I don't remember what fish it was). The crab curry was really tasty, and obivously the srimp was good, how can fried food go wrong? I liked the fish the best though, I don't know what it was but it was a nice fleshy white fish and the Thai spices went well with it. After all that seafood, I was definitely finished and done for the night, so we headed home and passed out after a long, eventful day in Bangkok.

I made an omlette

2006-05-20T08:26:00.000-05:00

May 19, 2006 was my first perfect omlette ever. Perfectly round, with onions and tomatoes, evenly cooked on both sides. No breakage, no holes, perfect.

Observations

2006-05-18T06:55:00.000-05:00

What I eat with a fork, Sri Lankas eat with their hands - e.g. rice and curry
What I eat with my hands, Sri Lankans eat with a fork - e.g. pizza
Colombo's traffic rivals the D.C. metro area. Luckily, in Sri Lanka you can easily get a driver to battle the traffic for you.
Lots of people like to stare, especially the creepy looking dudes. Its a south Asian thing.
The abundance of fresh, tasty, and readily available tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, papaya, avacado, and many more) can not be overstated. That alone makes it worthwhile to visit. A pineapple costs 50 cents, an avacado 25.
I don't blame Sri Lankans for drinking Ceylon tea multiple times a day. Its damn good.
Sri Lankans love cricket. That's why despite the NBA playoffs going on, all I catch on ESPN and Star Sports is reruns of some cricket test match from 3 years ago.
Sri Lankan's are generally free-sprited, happy, easy going, helpful people.
That said, the country as a whole has nobody to blame but themselves for lack of development. Sri Lanka is a land blessed with natural resources and sheer beauty, yet the people have torn each other and the country apart for the past few decades. Sri Lanka was on its way to being the Singapore of southeast Asia, but shot itself in the foot multiple times.
The real Sri Lanka lies outside of Colombo. Kandy, Nuwara Eliya, Hatton, Galle, Yala, and on and on are all beautiful places (I've been to a few of them and can confirm)
Americans generally don't think of visiting Sri Lanka. Most don't know a think about this island. Its a shame, because Sri Lanka is worth visitng.

Sri Pada

2006-05-07T05:44:00.000-05:00

Rajitha, Renuka and I took the opportunity to use the May Day (link) weekend to visit Sri Pada, also know as Adam's Peak. Sri Pada one of the highest and most holy mountains in Sri Lanka. At the top of the mountain appears a "footprint" that Buddhists and Christians alike claim as part of their history. The Buddhist story is that the footprint atop the mountain is that of the Buddha himself, while the Christian story is that the footprint is of Adam, as his first step onto Earth after being kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Either way, its a current day pilgrimage site for Buddhists, and we wanted to visit and partake in the climb before the season ended.
As mose visitors do, we planned to embark on the 4 hour hike in the wee hours of the morning in order to catch the breathtaking sunrise. Hence, we left Colombo early Sunday evening, planning to catch dinner near the mountain before commencing our hike.
According to Lonely Planet, there's a decent hotel/restaurant close to Adam's Peak that's a recommended place for dining before or after the hike. We planned on heading there for dinner, but our driver didn't really know where he was going so we missed it.
Part of the reason we missed the restaurant was because anytime we stopped to ask a local for directions, they insisted we were going the right way and just waived us on. After a few times, we realized that Sri Lankans will tell you something, even if they really don't know, rather than just telling you they dont know.
We made it to the base of Adam's peak around 9:30pm. We were in a situation were we didn't want to begin the hike, but there was a lot of time to kill. We ended up having dinner at The Green House (picture), a modest B&B literally at the base of the mountain. Rajitha and Renuka also decided that it would be best for us to rent a room to catch a few Z's before starting our hike around 3:00am. It turned out to be a brilliant move.
The Green House was a nice place, dinner was of the Tamilian variety and quite tasty. The room was modest, shower/bathroom less than spectacular, and hospitality was warm nonetheless. I especially liked the beds equipped with pink mosquito nets.
After a nap we all woke up and began the hike around 3:00am. We heard conflicting stories regarding how long it would take to get up to the top, but the general consensus was 3-4 hours. We started strong and chipper, cruising through the first hour. It was pitch dark though during the pilgrimage seaason they have a string of lights all the way up, so the trusty headlamp was useful but not completely necessary. It was, however, a good conversation piece.
The pilgrimage is filled with Sri Lankan Buddhists of all shapes and sizes. Parents carrying babies. Elderly women. Energetic children. Many of the climbers were going barefoot. At 3:00am, however, it was chilly and the locals especially bundled up for the long journey. I was fine in a couple layers, but it was amusing to see the stream of climbers in winter coats and beanies.
After the first hour we started to slow down. Looking back, we probably went to fast and didn't pace well. We began taking breaks every few minutes, to catch up with each others' pace and rest up.
Renuka and I seemed to move at the same pace, with Rajitha usually a few steps behind. About halfway up she asked a boy coming down how much longer to the top, and he gleefully answered 30 minutes. At the time Rajitha was thrilled to hear that, but as it turned out the kid severely underestimated. Or he was just messing with Rajitha.
Two hours in, and we were really starting to feel it. Dawn was upon us and the temperature was warming up. I pared down to a t-shirt and finished off my water. The lights at the top of the mountain were within view, but it seemed like an hour of climbing wasn't getting us anywhere
About 3 hours in we were very tired, but still not at the top. At this point it was past 6:00 and the sun was about to peak through and rise. At this point Renuka and I kicked it into as high a gear as we could, and Rajitha powered through not far behind us.
Nearly 3.5 hours from the time we started, Renuka and I finally made it to the top. The sun hadn't quite risen but we made it with literally minutes to spare. The top of the mountain was jam packed with fellow climbers anticipating the sunrise. I was lucky enough to tower over pretty much everyone there, so I had a clear view of the sunrise among the sea of people. Renuka was unfortunately lost in the crowd a bit, though she said she snuck a peek. As it turned out, Rajitha probably had the best view of the three of us, from not quite the top of the mountain.
After the sunrise we went through the temple atop the mountain to see the footprint. Unfortunately we didn't really see it because it was covered up. After checking that out, we met up with Rajitha and found a nice spot to sit down and relax. During this time a Buddhist morning prayer took place, so we stuck out a bit in the middle of several praying Buddhists.
After leisurely relaxing for nearly an hour, and ringing the token "make a wish" bell, we began the descent. For me, the way down was more difficult as it was less about sheer leg strength, and more about balance and stability, especially in the quads. It was also heating up though the time was still early. The way down took less time, but was equally challenging.
The last hour of the descent was a backbreaker. Landmarks that seemed to be right at the beginning of the hike were a lot further away from the end than we remembered. Along the way there are many shops, stalls, and the occaisnional temple. Renuka and I both agreed the end couldn't come fast enough.
I saw a monitor lizard on the way down about 3 feet in front of me. Pretty cool.
We finally made it back down, and the dagger was the 20-odd stairs back up to the Green House. As soon as we got back our hostess offered cool papaya juice and a chance to get a nap in. I honestly have never fallen asleep as quickly as I did after hitting the pillow.
After a nice little nap, I got cleaned up and we headed to breakfast, nearly 8 hours after our day started. Whoa.
The lasting effects of the Sri Pada hike were slightly embarassing. Tuesday morning I seriously could not climb up stairs. My calves were sore for an entire week, and my hammies and quads were burning for 48 hours. Out of idiocy I didn't properly stretch before and after the hike, and that's what killed me. I think I fully recovered 10 days later. Hiking Adam's Peak was a great experience, but the three of us agreed its something we may never be foolish enough to do again.

Wedding Crashers

2006-05-07T05:27:00.000-05:00

Last night was my first offical wedding crashing, Renuka and I got dressed up and showed up at the Global Towers rooftop deck for a wedding reception going. We didn't stay very long because it started raining, but long enough to get a couple pictures proving we were there. We weren't called out by any of the people starting at us, but I'm sure people knew.
We decided to head to the hotel bar for a drink after leaving the reception, but right then we spotted a group of non-local guys and chicks heading out the door so I wondered out loud what they were up to. As it turned out the group was going to H20, a trendy and popular club in Colombo. They invited us along we piled into a cab and headed to the club.
The group of people we were with was an airline crew from Emirates. They were down by Global Towers because as tradition has it, any flight crew stopping over in Colombo goes to Beach Wadiya for dinner. The crew consisted of a girl from Singapore, Spain, and a guy from Singapore, Australia and Malta. I don't remember all their names but it was interesting speaking to each of them. They all had lots to say about Dubai, their current home, as well as working as cabin crew on Emirates. They all love Emirates, and we spent substantial time discussing the poor U.S. airlines and their "granny" flight attendants. Airlines in Asia are the best, for many reasons, hands down. From what our friends told us, Dubai sounds crazy, a relatively liberal country in a very conservative part of the world, with LOTS of money flowing around. The girl from Singapore (Nina I think) was describing how the girls there are covered head to toe by day in the hajab, but by night they're wearing the skimpiest skirts and strapless tops. The funniest thing any of them said was when the Australian lad asked me if I knew how to get around UAE blocking certain "types" of websites. I told him I'm from "the land of the free" and I've never had to deal with that sort of censorship. Still, Dubai sounds like a place I'd like to visit. Hopefully, I'll have a chance to cross paths with the Emirates crew some day as they were some great people.
H2O was a decent place, a bit pricey on the drinks for Sri Lanka but expected since its the "in" spot right now. They do live music until about 11, and then the dance club atmosphere kicks in. It nice because its a big, airy place with plenty of room at the bar and lounging area. Definitely a place I'll be back to.

Special Guest Entry!!

2006-05-04T22:14:00.000-05:00

Editor's Note: This entry refers to an event that took place over a month ago, but the writer has been very busy and just recently got around to writing this entry.

Like everything in Singapore, it was no surprise that when Satyan had to get his hair cut, it was done with efficiency and elimination of “useless” frills. Within 10 minutes of sitting in the chair, and 10 sing dollars, Satyan was in and out with a fabulous Asian haircut. If anyone has seen Satyan, they know he has tons of thick hair, so who would dare to take on such a feat? None other than Asia’s QB House. The Wall Street Journal, in a recent special report, told the fascinating story of Kuniyoshi Konishi, who started a chain of barbershops - QB House - in Japan in 1996. Mr. Konishi saw opportunity within a problem: He got tired of paying 3,000 to 5000 yen ($25 to $50) for a haircut that took an hour. He came up with a concept to create a no-frills barbershop where the customer could get a haircut in ten minutes at a cost of 1000 yen? (About $10.) Since 1996 there have been over 400 shops that have opened throughout Asia.

So what exactly are the frills that Mr. Konishi did away with? Well let me start at the beginning of Satyan’s haircut experience. After showing up at the QB House location at Plaza Singapora, Satyan took a seat on the waiting bench. To begin with QB House does not take reservations, walk in’s are their business. The flow of information begins before even stepping foot in the shop. Customers are informed of a barber's availability - and waiting time - by lights that are displayed outside the shop. As Satyan sat on the bench watching men, women and children come and go in lightening speed in and out of the barber chairs the bench he was sitting on was transmitting real time data to QB headquarters on how many people were waiting and on the average wait time.

So after about 10 minutes it was Satyan’s turn to get his haircut. Before even coming in contact with the barberchair, Satyan had already paid for his haircut. QB House's barbers don't accept cash. In place of a cash register, each barbershop is equipped with a ticket-vending machine. The customer puts his money, only a 10 dollar bill is accepted, into the vending machine, and is given a ticket that he hands to the barber. The barbers don’t have to waste time making change, they can focus on cutting hair. After handing the female barber the ticket satyan takes a seat in the barber chair. Now, in the US a haircut starts off with a shampoo or at least getting drenched by a spray bottle. Not the case at QB or in Asia, in general they wash a customers hair after cutting, at QB even that option has been rid of as a FRILL. Since Satyan wasn’t getting his hair washed its all about getting to business- cutting his hair. I watched nervously from outside the shop door, as Satyan gave a 30 second explanation of how he wanted his hair cut. As a woman, this is one of the most important discussions a girl can have. I usually have pictures of my favorite celebrities and photos of my hair from three years ago, along with a paint sample to illustrate the color I want my hair. Let’s just say that part of my salon experience takes at least 10-20 minutes with detailed discussion with my stylist. I nearly panicked as I watched Satyan pick up a few strands from the top of his head make a scissor motion with his hand and point to the old man behind him that had just gotten a buzz cut. With his back to me, facing the mirror, Satyan could see my reflection, the panic on my face as I raised eyebrows, flinched and closed my eyes with each snip of the clippers. The barber started at the back of his head cutting close and short, then moving to the top taking chunks and chunks of hair. The whole time I was skeptical of her skills, how would she manage Satyan’s furlick without getting his hair wet, would she just cut the whole thing off??? All these questions ran through my head as I watched hair fall from Satyan’s head. There were moments in the haircut where satyan had what looked like a mushroom, a bowl cut, and even the start of a mohawk. After about 7 minutes I had gained some confidence in Ms Scissorhands, Satyan's haircut was turning out good, great even. She was almost done when she started taking what was a good haircut to another level-an asian haircut. In general asian people have thick, silky hair, what I consider the best hair in the world. I found that regardless of where you are from, everyone gets the asian haircut, which means getting thinned out so hair can be somehow groomed or managed. The barber took a razor to Satyan’s hair and thinned out the top.

What was the end result? A great haircut that looked adoreable. It looked much like what every other Asian guy had between the ages of 6-40 but it looked fantastic on Satyan. After cutting his hair the barber used a special vacuum cleaner she pulled down from the ceiling and to tidy him up and we were on our way. In less than 10 minutes Satyan was had a hip new Asian do, the plastic comb that was used to cut his hair and a sweet smile on his face. All for the bargain price of 10 sing or about 7.50 US and 20 minutes from start to finish. What a deal!

Sri Lanka Situation

2006-05-03T23:32:00.000-05:00

A bunch of you have been asking me about what's going on in Sri Lanka and if I'm safe. Here's the rundown:

Me and the ADP team are safe and haven't been exposed to any danger or violence. We are taking precautions and not trying to tempt fate.
The U.S. Embassy issued a warning to Americans in Sri Lanka to avoid government and millitary buildings and areas, and we're heeding their advice
There was a suicide bombing near the Fort area of Colombo on April 26, which is about 10km north of our hotel.
Nothing has happened in Colombo since, though there's noticable increased security. Violence is growing in the North and East regions where there's a Tamil majority.

The feeling here is quite strange. Sri Lankans have been living with violence for decades, so it doesn't feel as if anything's changed. Business as usual, really. Its pretty sad because most locals I've talked to agree that its Sri Lanka itself that's to blame for the lack of progress, and the vast majority of Sinhalese and Tamils want peace and live side by side.

If anything further happens, especially close by, I'll take necessary precautions. Thanks to all who've expressed concern for me. The best way I've found to keep up with the Sri Lankan news is through a Google News search.

Roommates!

2006-04-27T11:25:00.000-05:00

You've seen the photos of my apartment at Global Towers, now its time to meet the inhabitants of this place.

Rajitha, our fearless leader on this ADP project, hails originally from right here in Colombo, Sri Lanka by way of Brisbanne and now London. She spent up through her teenage years in Sri Lanka before her family moved to Austrailia where she finished school and college and joined Accenture. After a few years working down under, Rajitha headed for cloudier pastures in London where she now resides. Rajitha has been a lifesaver time and time again here, doing everything from driving me around to negotiating with touk-touk drivers over 50 rupees. Though Rajitha laughs at pretty much everything I say and do (for example learning to tie a Windsor knot from a web page or asking questions to waiters in Sinhalese), she herself provides comic relief to the rest of us with her classic British vocabulary. I mean, she actually seriously used the word "fortnight" in a conference call the other day.

The third joiner of our magnificent trio (or three stooges) is our left coast friend Renuka, who makes her home on airplanes and in hotel rooms, but lists Los Angeles as her hometown. This California girl loves flying so much, in fact, that her itinerary on the way over here included stops in five, count 'em FIVE, cities in five different countries all on one trip (LA->Taipei->Kuala Lumpur->Singapore->Colombo). Renuka enjoys...well so far all I've seen is her working...but I'm sure she enjoys other stuff too. Don't be fooled by Renuka's diminutive stature and youthful glow like our colleague Phyllis, who asked whether she pulled a LeBron and skipped college to go straight into the workforce. Renuka enjoys watching people take long walks on the beach from her balcony, curry and rice (wait till she realizes what she's in for), and has been know to party down with the best of them in everyone's favorite D.C. nightclub - DREAM!

The Hill Country

2006-04-27T11:22:00.000-05:00

After an absolutely fantastic night of sleep, we struggled to get up and out of bed early Sunday morning. Vacations are not really that relaxing considering how much you want to get done in the limited vacation time. After another great breakfast that included waffles, coconut juice and chocolate crossiants, we piled into Harry's car and headed off to Nuwara Eliya. Unlike Saturday, there weren't any major attractions planned for Sunday since the experience of Nuwara Eliya comes in driving through the mountains and taking in the sights and feel. This area of Sri Lanka, squarely in the central part of the country, is known for its cool climate perfect for growing tea and other plants. The region is full of tea plantations and roadside stands selling fresh fruit and vegetable. I was delighted to find out that avacados, or butterfruit, is a major crop in Sri Lanka. The windy road through the mountains offers great views and several stopping points at natural waterfalls carved out over the years. In fact, the entire journey through Nuwara Eliya was really about the scenery, and so we stopped at random points throughout the way. Our first main stop was the Glenloch tea plantation. There we got a chance to tour the tea production facilities and learn about the process and different types of tea. We also sampled some freshly produced tea which was very satisfying.

After the tea plantation we headed for the main town center of Nuwara Eliya, though along the way we stopped at some waterfalls and overlooks for photos. The road is really winding and at times seems a bit dangerous, especially with all the overtaking that the drivers along the road do. It was actually amusing seeing Harry get annoyed at touk-touks and slow cars in front of us. But we made it to Nurwara Eliya around noon, and spent a little time walking around the city. Since it was the new year, lots of Sri Lankan twentysomethings were in N.E. partying and hanging around, and we saw our fair share of creepy dudes starting at Nima as we were walking around town. There wasn't much to see in the town, but we did stumble across an authentic open-air market that didn't have any tourists, and it was nice for a change to see that we weren't being hassled by the shopkeepers because they weren't interested in tourists.

By early afternoon we decided to just head back to Colombo, because Nima's flight was that night and we wanted to have time for a decent dinner before she left. The ride back took really long because the rains started and driving became difficult. Harry did a great job getting us back around 6:00pm, and we were able to get a reservation for dinner at Beach Wadiya, the world famous seafood restaurant right across the street from my hotel. The food was so good, it wouldn't be right if Beach Wadiya didn't have its own blog entry.

Busy Day at the Rock

2006-04-22T10:06:00.000-05:00

Friday morning started quite well despite a less than desirable night of sleep. We had a nice, filling breakfast at the Earl's breakfast buffet, highlighted by a selection of fresh juices including mango, pineapple, woodapple, coconut, papaya, orange, and mixed fruit. I can say one thing for certain, the Asian hotels know how to do breakfast buffets. We set off very early as our main goal for the day was to head a couple hours north to Sigiriya to hike up Sigiriya Rock.

NOTE: I just realized I had my story all out of order. We actually did Dambulla the same day as Sigiriya since the Cave Temples were on the way. I guess Friday was pretty much spent driving to Kandy.

We got to Sirigiya right around 11:00am, not quite in the middle of the blazing heat, but it was definitely warming up. As with most attractions in Asia, tourists pay more than locals for admission, but at Sirigiya it was a bit out of control. The local entrance fee is 20rs, while the tourist fee is 2040rs. Seems pretty steep, but Harry explained to us that Sirigiya is maintained by a U.S. non-profit and they have a seemingly good record about putting the money to use. Also we agreed that Sri Lankans should be able to afford a visit to their own attractions.

Sirigiya Rock - the "8th wonder of the world" as some like to call it - is simply a huge rock among the mountains of Sri Lanka. It was used as a castle by King Kasyapa in the 5th century AD, who built a wall and moat around the perimeter and gardens along the base. At the top was the throne, offering magnicifent views of the country for miles all around. There was even a man-made lake at the top that looks very much like a swimming pool, and it is wondered how they managed to fill such a lake without pumps (most likely manual labor, slaves were free). On the way up there's remnants of a collosal carving of a lion in the side of the rock with its paws still in tact, which provides for a good midway rest point.

The hike takes about 2 hours up, and parts of it were quite congested. Sri Lankans of all shapes, ages, and sizes come to Sirigiya as its one of the best attractions in all of Sri Lanka. Nima and I climbed at a steady pace, stopping for plenty of water breaks and to take in the views. We spent about 45 minutes at the top, taking lots of goofy pictures and just relaxing at the summit. On the way down we moved quick so at to not get stuck behind large family groups. There were some steep parts of the climb, and portions of the stairs were wide enough for maybe one foot. Overall though the climb is very safe and plenty of people are around.

After the climb we were starving so we headed to a nearby hotel for a lunch buffet, which was surprisingly good. The hotel, Sirigiya Village Hotel, was a collection of bungalows and appeared to be a tranquil, peaceful hotel with a fantastic view of the rock. If I were to come here again I would stay at this place.

We started the journey back to Kandy after lunch and still had a couple more things to do along the way. Harry took us to a spice plantation, something I'd done last year in Kerala but Nima's never done. This stop was clearly a scam as the "guide" kept telling us he'd give us an Indian Brother special on herbal oils and medicine. I did discover though that Nima is a natural botanist, as she was able to identify an impressive number of plants just by smell. They offered to give us some strange massage with herbal oils, but we quickly passed on it and got out of there before enduring more mosquito bites than we already had.

We finally got back to Kandy around 4pm, just in time for the Temple of the Tooth. It is said that a tooth relic from the Buddha is housed in this temple, and that the tooth has been used in the past to perform miracles such as bring rain to a drought-stricken Sri Lanka. The tooth is housed in a secure case behind the main Buddha statue, and monks bring it out a certain times during the day and month for religious reasons. The temple also has a museum with some interesting artifacts and a pictoral explanation of the history of the Buddha. Sadly, in 1999 a terrorist attack on the temple severely damaged the enterance, and the museum contains a wall full of photos documenting the damage and rebuilding of the temple. Nima and I were foolish to leave out shoes outside the temple without cover, and were caught when a monsoon shower came as we were in the museum. We hurried outside to rescue the shoes and in the process got completely soaked since we didn't bring an umbrella. Harry hurried us back to the hotel for cover.

Back at Earl's, the hotel manager informed me that he was sorry for our subpar stay last night and that we were upgraded to an executive suite with a river view for the night. SWEET! The sweet was roomy, clean, and had nice big blankets on the bed. That made my day because I was previously in a sour mood regarding the hotel. Harry, I believe, also had something to do with the upgrade since he knows people at Earl's, proving the value of a good driver.

We decided to take it easy for the night, ordering room service (dinner for two, $15) and getting a good night's rest before a big day in Nuwara Eliya.

The Kandy Man

2006-04-18T05:25:00.000-05:00

Last weekend was the Sinhalese and Tamil new year in Sri Lanka, meaning a long weekend for all to enjoy. Nima came over from Singapore to spend the weekend with me exploring the paradise island. It was my first chance to get out of Colombo, and everyone here tells me that the beauty of Sri Lanka really does lie outside of the capital. With that in mind, Nima and I headed off for a weekend journey through the lush, beautiful central region of the island. I will have several entries from the weekend trip, but this one starts off with Friday's journey to Kandy.

We started off at 10:00 Friday morning with our fearless driver/guide Harry and his Toyota Corolla. Our plan was to end the day in Kandy while hitting some key spots along the way. While Colombo is scorching hot at this time of year, the central region of the country is a perfect comfortable temperature, great for visiting in April. Traveling by road also allows us to see the countryside and pick up tidbits about Sri Lankan culture along the way.

The first stop we had was the roadside pineapple stands en route to Kandy. Best. Pineapple. Ever. We bought a fresh, juicy, ripe pineapple for 35rs - about 1/15 the price I'd pay back home. The guy even chopped the pineapple into bite-sized pieces for us and packed it to go. In addition to pineapple, Sri Lanka has amazing coconut, guava, mangoes, and even avacadoes.

Our first "real" stop was at the Pinawella Elephant Orphanage. Its the largest elephant orphanage in the world and it is particular about ensuring the site is truly for the benefit of the elephants residing. They dont do tricks, rides, shows, or any sort of labor. There are over 40 elephants there, ranging in age from 6 months to over 60 years. Three times a day they do a public feeding, which we were lucky enough to catch, followed by a trip down to the river to bathe/cool off. Nima and I easily passed over an hour watching the elephants and then having a snack at a riverside cafe during the bathing. I'll let the photos do most of the talking.

After the elephant orphanage we made our way to the Cave Temples at Dumbulla. This sight consists of 5 Buddhist temples that were built within caves on the side of a mountain. Inside are dozens of statues, carvings, and paintings of The Buddha, including impressive frescos on the ceilings. Despite the overflow of European tourists there with us, we got a good look at all the temples and had a pleasant walk up and down the mountain. Once again, the photos do the talking here.

By this time it was late afternoon and we decided to forego any other activites (shopping) and head to Kandy. My colleague Rajitha recommended Earl's Regency as a nice place to stay in Kandy, so I had my travel agent Sri book the weekend for us. The hotel is situated a short drive from the center of Kandy on a majestic mountain overlooking the river. From the reviews I read, and the price, I was expecting a 5-star experience. Unfortunately we had about a 2-star experience. The hotel only has one choice for dinner, the buffet, so if you don't want that you're stuck with mediocre room service. Since we checked in late in the evening our room was probably the worst one on premise, as we didn't have proper size sheets and there was a hole in the wall that allowed the crying baby next door to keep me awake all night. I was pretty pissed about the whole deal and planned to complain in the morning (cliffhanger blog, I know). Anyhow, we got to bed early to rest up for our big day ahead on Saturday.

Thirty Cent Fire

2006-04-11T22:08:00.000-05:00

Yesterday - Tuesday - was my first experience of a Sri Lankan holiday as it was the Prophet Muhammad's birthday. In Sri Lanka, its a public and bank holiday and many businesses are closed. I spent the better part of yesterday making plans for the upcoming New Year holiday this weekend, and in the evening I continued to explore my neighborhood by walking around Galle Road. For dinner I decided to try a random street restaurant for some good ol' south Indian food. I forgot the name of the place but it was about a block south on Galle road from my apartment, and advertised as "Pure Vegetarian" on a large board above the shop. I ordered two idlys, with sambar and other assorted side items. I was please to see that my meal cost all of 30Rs, or thirty cents. The milkshake I got from the hotel bakery was double the cost of my food, the grand total checking in at 90Rs.

I had my food packed in newspaper and plastic bags for "Take Away", and I proceeded back to the hotel to dig in. The sambar looked normal and tasty though a little reddish in color. The chutney looked just like my mom makes, which I like, and the other two items I didn't get into (one looked like dhal). I submerged a piece of my idly in the sambar and took a bite - very tasty! I could get used to this for a quick, cheap dinner. However, about 5 bites in I thought I must have bit a chili or something as my mouth was hot. I quickly downed a glass of mango juice (I already took down the shake) to cool off, and proceeded to the next idly. Again, after about 3 bites my mouth was on FIRE. It was seriously one of the hottest Indian food dishes I've ever had. I went into that masochistic mode of continuing to eat despite tears rolling down the cheeks. I managed to finish both idlys and most of the sambar, though I'm now not quite sure why. Needless to say, Sri Lankan style food is very spicy and makes for an interesting experience. For 30 cents though, I'll certainly be going back for the experience.

Choo Choo Choo

2006-04-09T22:18:00.000-05:00

I've been way behind on the blog folks, mainly because I have limited internet access and have been quite busy settling in and trying to find a meal every night. I have a lot to write and lots of pictures (get a sneak preview at my SmugMug site) to include so sit tight...

Last Saturday was my first chance to explore Colombo since I had nothing to do all day. My goal was to attack on foot and spend the afternoon walking around, stopping by random spots to eat, and gain an understanding of key landmarks along the way.

Global Towers, my hotel/apartment, is in the Wellawatte district of Colombo - known for its high concentration of Tamils, the Savoy Cinema, and the Beach Wadiya seafood restaurant. Wellawatte rail station is also close by, just across Marine Dr. and about 100m south.

Wellawatte is situated along the coast, south of the "main" center of Colombo known as the Fort area. The attached map shows Colombo and its districts/neighborhoods. My plan was to begin the day up north by the Fort and work down back home. I was feeling adventureous so rather than taking a touk touk up north I decided to head over to the rail station and take the train. I got to the station and looked around for signs - nothing in English - so I went to the counter and asked for "Slave Island" - a stop right before the Fort. The attendant handed me a little cardboard ticket, collected 5 rupees (that's $0.05) from me and directed me to the platform where the train was scheduled to arrive in 2 minutes. On the platform I got a few stares - common in South Asia - but was a little creeped out by a guy who for 15 minutes was staring at me dead in the eye, nonstop. I looked away, moved around the platform, even made faces, but every time I looked back at him he gave me the stare. Strangely, right before the train came (20 minutes late) he rolled out and left the platform.

Anyway, the train ride was surprisingly easy. No overflowing cars or packed spaces. The track runs along the beach so the view is magnificent and a cool ocean breeze carries into the train. I didn't get a seat but had plenty of room to stand which was more than I expected. The train stopped a few times along the way at other stations, ones that weren't well marked or labelled except maybe in Sinhalese, but I managed to pick the right spot to get off because I followed a Hilton Colombo employee off the train.

I ended up getting off right by the Colombo World Trade Center, also close to the Hilton, the Galadari, and the Galle Face Inn. I first decided to check out the WTC - a set of twin towers (20 stories) built within the last 15 years. Not much going on in there on a Saturday, though I caught a glimpse of the gem & jewellery exchange, a collection of dozens of jewellery and gem shops in the WTC. Sri Lanka, known for its sapphires, thrives on the gem business.

After walking around the WTC area I decided to head to the Hilton for lunch. The Hilton is known for its restaurants but I was really in the mood for some bar food so I ended up sitting down at the Echelon Pub. I had a nice big much of "Hilton" Lager - not sure what it was really but it quenched the thirst. For lunch I had a surprisingly tasty tandoori chicken melt at the pub, something I plan on going back for at some point.

After grabbing a bite I headed down Galle Face Green for a stroll. The idea of Galle Face Green was to be a park for anyone, rich or poor, to enjoy. Unfortunately the maintainence hasn't been up to par and its now more like Galle Face Brown. Still, it was filled with kite fliers, cricketers, and a bunch of young couples under umbrellas doing things they can't do at home. As I was walking down the boardwalk by the beach a couple young boys playing cricket waved me over, so I obliged and for the first time in my life tried to play cricket. What a debacle. I swang and missed several times, even when the guy bowled the tennis ball as slow as he could. To my defense, the "bat" was little more than a 2 foot piece of plywood I was flailing. Anyhow, it was fun to goof around and play cricket with the boys, and afterwards I spent some time chatting with them over a Coke. I told them I'll be back in the next three months so watch out.

After an exciting run at cricket I kept walking down south, stopping by the Queen's Cafe for a drink of fresh mixed fruit juice. I ended up walking down Duplication Rd., which houses a good number of restaurants, bars, cafes, and higher end shops. A fellow Accenture colleague who was in Colombo last year for an ADP project, Dan, recommended a few bars and restaurants along Duplication including the Cricket Club Cafe and Bistro Latino, so I'll be sure to check them out.

I spent much of the afternoon walking down Duplication and Galle, really just taking note of places and streets. I feel like I have a good grasp now of the main street in Colombo, which should help when I'm trying to get around or negotiate touk-touk rates. As a bonus, I can also say I've taken an inner-city train in Colombo, a feat that was received with surprise and even bewilderment among my colleagues at work. Some said they haven't been on a train in 20 years. What can I say though, I'm a man of the people here in Sri Lanka.

Lunching in Sri Lanka

2006-04-07T09:57:00.000-05:00

Here's a run down of my lunches during my first week of work in Sri Lanka:

Monday - Fries and a sandwich at the hotel, $4.
Tuesday - Curry and rice, $1.
Wednesday - Curry and rice, $1.
Thursday - Curry and rice, $1.
Friday - Curry and rice, $1.

Needless to say, the Sri Lankans specialize in curry and rice.

Coming to Sri Lanka

2006-04-06T22:04:00.000-05:00

As I alluded to earlier in my previous post, getting to Sri Lanka couldn't have been more difficult. I know I'm verbose with my blog entries, but I think this is a story worth telling.

If you've read the blog you know that I was really supposed to be in Sri Lanka in late February (its April now). After waiting and waiting, I finally got word to book my ticket for Sunday, April 2 from Singapore.

First off, there are only three flights from Singapore to Colombo: Srilankan Airlines' flight at 3:30pm, Emirates at 10:30pm, and Singapore Air's at 10:45pm. I already had ticket for the Singapore Air flight, for which I had to cancel the original booking that was for Feb. 26. Since I was flying out on Sunday I didn't want to arrive late into the night the first day in Sri Lanka, thus I decided to try to get on the Sri Lankan Airlines flight. This meant I would also have to swing by the Singapore Airlines office at the airport to get a refund on my original ticket, because that was something on my to-do list for the 4 weeks I was in Singapore that I was too lazy to actually do. This is where things got dicey...

I checked out Srilankan Airlines' website for a booking, though the site was down at the time I checked. Looking back, that was foreshadowing of things to come. All you Accenture people, pay attention here. I went on the Horizon Travel site and searched for SIN-CMB flights, and found that the 3:30 Srilankan Airlines flight was available, but for over $500 USD one-way. I paid $650 for the fully flexible round trip Singapore Air flight, so this one, though at a more convienent time, was blowing my alloted budget. However, Horizon also showed that Emirates had a booking available at 3:30 Sunday too, for only $250 one way. I quickly booked it and thought I was set. The site indicated that the ticketing process would take up to 4 hours, so I waited patiently for an email confirming my itinerary and ticket. No luck. After a few hours I called the support line and spoke with a nice woman who checked my booking and informed me my credit card was denied. Wierd, but no problem, I have the handy, trusty Amex Blue as backup. I gave her that card number and was off to bed relieved about my ticket.

The next morning I did receive an email confirming my "pre-ticketed" itinerary. The itinerary included a note saying that 1) the flight was operated by Srilankan Airlines (I figured that out anyway) and 2) they could not ticket me electronically, so I had to go to the airport to actually pay for my "confirmed" ticket. I called Horizon and a young woman, who I pictured as the curt pregnant teenage girl in "Crash" who worked at the locksmith office because of her tone, confirmed that I indeed had to pay for the ticket at the airport. At this point I told Nima the deal and mentioned I was sketched out by this flight, but we'll see.

Sunday afternoon we left Nima's at 1:00pm sharp and headed off for my 3:30pm flight. If I haven't mentioned before, Changi International Airport is the world's most efficent airport. One of Nima's friends says she never gets to the airport for a flight more than 30 minutes in advance (and since Singapore is so small, all flights out are international!). Nima's a bit like my Dad in that she LOVES getting to the airport super early, and since Changi has plenty to do I had no problem leaving at 1.

We get to the airport and I head to the Emirates check-in counter. I tell the agent I'm heading to Colombo, and he tells me that I'm too early for check in, come back at 4. I show him my itinerary and he directs me to Srilankan Air's counter since the flight is operated by them. Ooookay, interesting. So I head to the other side of the terminal and BOOM!!! FLIGHT CANCELLED all over Srilankan's row. Debacle, right? It gets worse. I push my way through a sea of angry and confused brown people and ask the agent what's going on. She says the flight is cancelled for unknown reasons, but they're rebooking everyone on the Singapore Air flight. At this point I show her my Horizon printout and ask her where to pay for my ticket. She is clearly confused at my situation, so after consulting with a colleague she informs me I have to go to the Emirates ticket office, not the check-in counter, to pay for my ticket because it was booked by them. Once I do that she can book me on the Singapore Air flight. Hrmmmmm. Now I'm starting to get a sinking feeling about all this. Oh, and the Airline offices are upstairs, through some narrow halls, over the river, and through the woods. Nima and I take some back elevator up to what's most likely a restricted part of the airport, and after running around we find the Emirates office. The guy there takes one look at my print out and looks up at me like I'm from Mars. He's never seen anything like this. He makes a quick call, yaps something in Singlish, and comes back to me and says that I need to call my travel agent about this ticket because nothing was ever really booked.

At this point I say screw it with this flight, I'm gonna try my luck with that Singapore Air ticket I never cancelled. It is about 7 hours before the international flight I want is about to leave, and I'm just now making a booking. Can't say I've tried that stunt before. Anyhow, we head over to Terminal 2 which is basically all Singapore Air. What a difference. While T1 was all chaotic and disasters everywhere, T2 was calm, relaxed, clean, and had an air of efficency. I called ahead to get the ticketing process started, and it was fairly smooth except for the 15 minute hold time and waning cell phone minutes. But I got booked no problem and headed to the ticket office in T2 to pick up my ticket. BOOM! Just like that I was on the Singapore Air flight, and since they're Star Alliance I get miles to boot. With 7 hours to spare I check in early - and no worries about losing luggage because Singapore Air is too perfect - and head back to Nima's for a few extra hours of chill time. The best part was when Nima walked into her place with a look of sadness because I had just left, and Anji being a sweetheart and trying to console her. Right as Nima tells Anji "I wish Satyan was still here" I leap through the door with a hearty "KAPOW!" You should have seen the look on Anji's face.

I headed back to the airport around 9:00 and swiftly made it to the gate. The flight was great, had the whole row to myself and the dinner meal was probably the best I've had on an airplane (I've never flown higher than economy class so I've never had a great meal). I even got a chance to watch Fun With Dick and Jane - not a bad airplane movie. I arrived in Colombo just past midnight, and after waiting through immigration and baggage claim, I spotted my driver holding a placard that read, "Mr. Sathyan Merchant" - I was finally in Colombo.

Lessons from this escapade:
1) Never trust Horizon booking (Accenture people). What a debacle.
2) Despite flight schedules, don't pass up an opportunity to fly on Singapore Air. They're simply the best.
3) Chill places like Sri Lanka don't care about schedules. Always expect delays when traveling to such places.
4) Laziness pays off, in this case thank goodness I never got that refund.
5) Most importantly, things always work out.

Welcome to Sri Lanka

2006-04-04T22:31:00.000-05:00

After a long, enjoyable yet frustrating delay in Singapore, I'm finally in Sri Lanka! First off, chances are I won't get much time to write long blog entries anymore since I have limited internet connectivity, but I'll do my best.

This entry will just be a few pictures I took on the street and from my apartment in Colombo. Hopefully this week I'll add some stories about how it was a struggle to get to Sri Lanka in the first place, and how its nice to have 10:00am and 4:00pm tea delivered to my cube every day.

As always, my photos will primarily be available on my SmugMug site so keep checking that.
I'm even adding captions to some pictures to describe the scene.

Photos from top to bottom:
1) Arriving at 1:15am in Colombo
2) View of the beach from my Global Towers apartment
3) Facing Galle Road from the steps of my apartment
4) View of the sunset from my apartment

Juuuuuuuust Kidding!

2006-04-01T18:08:00.000-05:00

Sunday, April 2 7:08am - SuperSports Asia broadcasting the Final Four. SWEEEEEET! This is awesome, I'm so happy to be watching. GO GMU!

Also noteworthy, I'll finally be leaving for Sri Lanka, this afternoon. So I'll probably need a recording of the championship game, since it will be at 8:00am Tuesday morning for me.
I'll pick up the blog once I'm in Sri Lanka, until then....

Missing the Final Four

2006-03-30T22:17:00.000-05:00

Hey people I have a request - though I'm having a great time in Asia I'm sad to be missing George Mason's historic run to the Final Four. Can someone volunteer to record the Final Four and Championship game for me so I can watch when I get back? Tape, DVD, Tivo, whatever. All you Mason fans should be recording this stuff anyway, right? Speaking of, does anyone have a copy of the Uconn game? If you can record the FF, post a comment here to let me know
Go Patriots!

Uniquely Singapore

2006-03-29T20:47:00.000-05:00

Not much new to report in the last week or so... I've settled into a daily routine of wake up, go to work, come home and relax, and go to bed - not much different than the U.S. We've started to repeat some restaurants such as the Chicken Rice place for lunch yesterday. I decided to write this blog entry to highlight some peculiarities of Singapore:

Beer - The most popular beer in Singapore by far is Tiger Beer, the country's own product. Its actually pretty good and can be had for cheap prices compared to everything else. Outside of Tiger, the common imports are Carlsberg, Heineken and, much to my content, Hoegaarden. Here's a tip - if you ever come to Singapore pick up as much beer as you can from the Duty Free shop at the airport, the prices are literally 1/3 the retail prices in the country. I'm gonna go have a Hoegaarden now and complete the rest of this blog...

Singlish - On my very first cab ride in Singapore at 7:00am from the airport, my driver went on a tirade of how, among other things, people in Singapore don't know how to speak English. I didn't quite get what he was talking about until really interacting with people here. "Singlish" is the term used for the Singaporean style of English, where often times sentence order is wrong, words and accents are added, and its generally funny sounding. "Lah" at the end of sentences is the big one, for example:

Satyan: Anji do you want to meet for dinner tonight?
Anji: Okay lah
Satyan: What the hell did you just say?
Anji: Hehe

Don't be surprised if Anji is talking funny by the time she gets back home in a couple weeks.

Durain - also known as the "King of Fruits". This goofy looking spiky fruit is the worst smelling natural fruit on earth. Its the national fruit of Singapore - i guess - and its definitely an "acquired taste". It smells so bad, like a rotten sulfury smell, that its banned on the MRT, buses (see photo), and in cabs. Yet these Singaporeans eat it fresh, in shakes, in cakes, in bread, you name it. We tried a slice of durian cake and it was the most disgusting thing I've ever eaten. I wish someone took a picture of the look on my face after taking a bite!

Food Servings - Not surprising, the serving size for a typical dish/meal in Singapore is, let's say, realistic. This is more about how in the U.S. we gorge ourselves, and the contrast was truly evident when Nima and I ordered in Pizza Hut last night. We ordered the "Family Meal" for 3-4, which included 2 "regular" pizzas (they have small, regular and extra large), 2 loaves of garlic bread, and a 1.5L bottle of Pepsi. Well, the garlic bread loaves were about 6" long each, the Pepsi wasn't even 2L, and the pizzas were about the size of a personal pan pizza you get in the U.S. The picture illustrates the size of the pizza box in relation to my Accenture laptop. Needless to say, there's a reason why Singapore is full of a bunch of skinny short people while the U.S. is the fattest country in the world. Here, its not "Supersize Me", its more like "MINI Me!"

Singapore Sling - This is the "thing to do" if you ever visit Singapore. Go to the Long Bar Raffles Hotel and order yourself a Singapore Sling, the signature drink of the country. Its a pricey $20SGD but you're paying for the ambiance, history, and novelty of drinking at the premier hotel in Singapore where the drink was invented. The drink itself isn't bad at all, especially if you're in the mood for a fruity tropical drink. We had our stop at the Long Bar the night before Meeli and Avana were heading back home.

Sentosa Solo

2006-03-21T01:52:00.000-05:00

Yes, I'm still in Singapore. Last weekend I was on my own because the girls went to Thailand while Anjali headed off to Tioman with her school friends. I knew I'd be busy Thursday and Friday night since I was up until about 4:00am each night watching the NCAA tournament on the internet. But for Saturday, I wanted to do something worthwhile rather than wasting the day away. Traveling alone without a plan, while not idea, can have its advantages because you don't feel bound to any sort of schedule, and you can follow your impulses and go at your own pace.

On Friday night I researched some viable day trips for Saturday. My list came down to:

Geylang - the "red light" district of Singapore where great Durian can be had
Batam - an Indonesian island where cheap beer is plentiful
Sentosa - the much-developed amusement park-like island off the southern coast of Singapore

I thought Batam would be the place to go because there is a brewery there that serves green algae beer that I wanted to check out. But after reading more about Batam, it sounds like a place that is pretty much for men who are looking for "companionship". I'm okay there, thanks. So I decided to go with the simple, relaxing choice and head to Sentosa.

After checking NCAA scores on Saturday morning - and finding out that GMU knocked off UNC to make the Sweet 16 - I headed to the MRT with my beach backpack ready. Took the MRT down to Harbour Front, then a $3 bus ride to Sentosa. Sentosa is a pristine, almost too perfect, island that has attractions such as Underwater World, cable car rides, and cruises. There are also three beaches, ample volleyball courts, and hiking trails. I decided once I got there that I would spend all day at the beach, just roaming around...

And that's what I did. In addition to laying around for about 4 hours, I played beach volleyball for a little bit with some locals. Siloso beach is full of kids playing sports, swimming, listening to music, or just catching some rays. It was nice to see a beach full of fit young people, as opposed to the old beached whales I've seen at Bali and Langkawi resorts. I also walked around a bit down to the "southern most point of continental Asia", somewhat a gimmick but still something worth checking out if you're in Sentosa.

In the evening I hopped on a bus back to the MRT and stopped by Whatever Cafe for another tasty vegetarian dinner. After that, I strolled down Chinatown, stopped at a street-side restaurant for a pint of Tiger and some people watching, and eventually headed back home where I proceeded to crash for a few hours before tuning in to more middle-of-the-night NCAA hoops.

Singapore Accenture

2006-03-17T03:22:00.001-05:00

Some of you think my little trip to Asia is a complete farce in that there's no ADP project in Sri Lanka, and that I'm really on indefinite vacation. I wish. Since the project has been delayed so much, the management at ADP and I worked it out that I began working remotely from Singapore on the project last Thursday so I don't have to burn through all my PTO. So last Thursday and Friday, I went to the Accenture office in downtown Singapore.

Commuting on the MRT during weekday rush hour is similar to any major city. The trains are packed, but Singapore kicks their efficency into high gear as trains come every two minutes and are never delayed.

The Accenture office is on the 30-37th floor of the Raffles City Tower (building on the right in the picture), right in the heart of downtown. The office offers a great view of the country from within their lounge area, much better than the Reston office's view of Tysons Corner. There are also some great perks in the office like free sodas and espresso, and jukebox, pool and foosball table. As with most places in Singapore, the office is spotlessly clean.

So, no more "nice scam" comments people, I really am working!

Mmmmm, Chicken Rice

2006-03-17T03:22:00.000-05:00

Last week I finally got a chance to sample the signature Singaporean dish - Hainanese Chicken Rice. Chicken Rice is a dish of, you guessed it, chicken and rice. The chicken is usually steamed or boiled and the rice is simply plain steamed rice. The dish is usually served with a spice/sauce tray full of assorted flavors you may add to your meal.

Nima lives right by one of the best chicken rice stalls in Singapore - Wee Nam Kee Hainanese Chicken Rice - right across from the Novena MRT. Me and the girls (minus Anji) met up with Nima for lunch last Thursday to sample the signature dish. The restaurant was packed with locals but we were fortunate to get a seat right away. The menu - well there is no menu. Its one of those places where you need to know what they have, and for all we knew the only item they serve is chicken rice. They serve the food in one large dish, estimating the amount of food to serve based on the number of diners.

The food, as it turns out, was very good. The chicken was tender and juicy, and the rice was, well, rice. I expected lower quality meat, but it tasted great. Meeli and I discovered that adding hoisin sauce and chili flakes made for a nice punchy Asian flavor. Paired with a glass of fresh lime juice, chicken rice is a great, authentic Singaporean meal. Total price for food and drink? Less than $30SGD for 4 - not bad at all for the best chicken rice in Singapore.

A Gift from God

2006-03-16T22:26:00.001-05:00

When deciding to head off to Asia for the next 6 month there were a few strong considerations I had to make about what I'd miss. The list included:

Family - luckily I'll see them in July in India
Friends - That's what the blog is for, to stay in touch with all of you
Sac's bachelor party - bigtime disaster, but hope you guys have fun in Montreal
Virginia's spring - I love the hot weather here, but I'm gonna miss the seasons
Mexican food - outside of Margarita's, I think I'm gonna have to manage without a good ol' fashion Taco Bell Mexican pizza for a while
And lastly, The NCAA tournament

This is where the gift from God comes in. I was up till 3:00am last night watching the opening tournament games on March Madness on Demand, and currently I am watching Syracuse-Texas A&M (Go Orange!). This live stream of all the games - for free - is making Satyan very happy. Thank you CBS and NCAA, I am forever grateful. Now, I just need my brackets to stay relatively in tact... Pacific had me scared!

Random Shots of Singapore

2006-03-15T09:14:00.000-05:00

Just what the title says - here are a few random photos in Singapore

This is Nima's bus stop, right outside her apartment complex. I got used to taking this almost daily.

This is the MRT - notice how clean and shiny it is? The MRT is the best subway system I've ever been on.

Random street in Singapore

The legendary Orchard Road, on a weekday afternoon

Anjali in Nima's apartment, after a long day of having fun

Langkawi Part II

2006-03-13T22:46:00.000-05:00

After the cable car ride we finally did head back to town for dinner. Although we couldn't stay at the Bon Ton, we did want to have dinner there as their creative fusion-style restaurant was highly rated in Langkawi. The Bon Ton is a great place because its more than just a resort, its a place that's welcoming to artists and animals. The ownership maintains an animal sanctuary with over 200 rescued dogs and cats, some of which roam around the hotel grounds. Also, they always embrace artists and musicians who are coming through to relax, recharge, and get ideas. We were lucky to get a tour of the rooms which were amazing - all of the 8 villas are original structures over 100 years old, and have unique characteristic like integrated showers that drain through the floorboards, and antique furniture.

Dinner itself was pretty good too - I had an avacado and cheese salad which satsified my appetite, and the blended fruit juice drinks (pineapple, ginger, lime I believe) were fantastic. It was a late night, and we got held up for an hour because apparently the entire Visa processing system in Malaysia went down so the restaurant had to call to very every credit card. Needless to say, we were exhausted by the time we got home.

Nima and I had a 4:00 flight out of Langkawi on Sunday, while the others had a later flight stopping through Kuala Lampur. We decided to spend Sunday morning enjoying the beach, and then head out to get a true Malaysian experience for lunch. Not much to report about the beach except it was nice and relaxing, and the water was warm too. Basically we all dozed off for a couple hours after breakfast. For lunch I found a place recommended online called Fatimah Restaurant, in the central part of the island, which is known to literally attract locals by the busload for lunch. We didn't really know what to expect but it was a nice ride through the countryside. After a half hour we found the place and cautiously strolled into the open-air eating area jammed with lunchers. Nothing was written in English, but the scene was basically like a huge potluck with over 30 dishes spread across a few tables, and people going everywhere. We could identify a few things like rice (duh!), pineapple curry, fish, grilled chicken, and some vegetables. Truth be told, all of us were a little apprehensive about eating the food, but we all took a stab anyway. In fact, the hearts of palm curry was fantastic, and the barbeque chicken was quite tasty too. The fish, not as appetizing. Also, payment for the meal was by estimation, as the cashier looked at each plate and based on what was on it, threw out a price. My plate full of rice, curries and fish came out to a whopping 5 RM, or about $1.25 USD. Nima's was a steal at 3 RM - less than a dollar. All in all, it was a great experience and over time I'll be less concerned about picking up a wierd disease at these kinds of places.

After lunch we headed back to the hotel to close things out, and have one last beer and a bit of substancial food before leaving. Nima and I then took the car back to the airport and returned it to the owner (its nothing like renting a car in the US. It was an all cash transaction with little record of anything, and he was cool with the condition upon return). I spent the last of my Malaysian ringets on chocolate in the duty free shop before heading back home after yet another great weekend.

Langkawi and the Ladies (Part I)

2006-03-13T10:08:00.000-05:00

I did something I never really expected to do in my life this past weekend. It wasn't that I went to visit Langkawi, Malaysia - a place I never knew existed until about 2 weeks ago when Nima mentioned it to me. The shocking part is that the trip consisted of 3 chicks and myself - clearly potential for some interesting times. YIKES! In addition to Nima, her friends Avana "Dagger" Desai and Meeli "Langawi"Patel came into town at the end of last week and are here in Singapore until the 20th. All joking aside, the girls are a lot of fun and I was looking forward to a fun, entertaining trip. Not to mention pictures of me looking like a big lurch among some girls.

The trip was fairly short notice for me, since I was supposed to be long gone to Sri Lanka by now. Still, I was able to get a booking at a reasonable price, and so I hopped along for the ride. We left Friday evening after Nima finished work, and arrived in Langkawi after a quick 1.5 hour flight.

The first dagger of the trip was the fact that we couldn't get a booking at our top 2 hotel choices. We wanted to stay at the Bon Ton Resort, a place Nima read about and fell in love with. Unfortunately they only had one night available. There was another resort we tried (I forgot which one exactly), so plan C was the Langkawi Village Resort. Even there, we could only get "standard" rooms which were indeed very very ordinary. We managed though, keeping in mind that the point of the trip was to avoid spending much time in the hotel. Friday night, though was low-key as we grabbed a bite, booked a boat tour for Sunday, and headed to bed.

Saturday morning started just like last weekend - at the breakfast buffet. It wasn't as good as Melia Bali, but it was solid for a free breakfast. After filling up we headed off to an island hopping tour. Langkawi is an archipelago (I've been itching to use that word!) of over 90 islands, and a common tour is a motorboat ride through the waters, stopping at 3 main points: a freshwater lake among the islands, an eagle's cove - the name of the island means "Red Eagle" - where feedings take place, and a white sandy beach island to relax. We took the entire morning to hit all these points in an enjoyable and efficient manner. I liked the freshwater lake as it was tucked away inbetween the mountains with gorgeous views (the view in the pic is of the "sleeping pregnant woman", if you can figure it out). The beach was also one of the best I've ever been to, though it was loaded with other boat tourists. The eagle feeding was cool too because they got really close. By the way, the reason there are dozens of eagle pictures on the Smugmug site is because we all love the "rapid-fire" setting on the Canon SD cameras. Definitely spend some time checking out the Smugmug site to really see how nice the boat tour was, and how goofy me and the girls are.

One of the strangest things I've seen in Asia was at the freshwater lake. Some guy couldn't quite figure out how to use the live vest in its traditional sense. Instead, he got a bit creative. Nima faked taking a picture of me so she could get a picture of what I'm talking about. KAPOW!!!

After the boat tour we headed back to the hotel to figure out the rest of the day, and so that Meeli and I could throw down a couple Tiger beers we got from Duty Free - like you needed to know that. We made what turned out to be the most clutch decision of alltime though - we rented a car for the rest of the weekend. Nima bravely volunteered to be our driver - on the LEFT side of the road mind you - so that we could really explore for the rest of Saturday and Sunday morning. It was awesome, and we were especially impressed by Nima's quick learning and sweet driving skills.

Once we got the car we headed north, Nima driving, me shotgun, and the girls in the back. Destination: The Datai, the best hotel in Langkawi known for its pristine beach. Its even listed in 1000 Places to See Before You Die. Our experience, however, was less than glowing. We got there around 3:30 for a late lunch, but they were quite pretentious and reluctant to allow non-guests to even enter the premise. The receptionist acted as if he was doing us a favor by letting us in for lunch, and after supposedly calling the restaurant and asking them to squeeze us in, he allowed us to go ahead. The resort itself was nice, I can't argue there, but it was also full of American and European tourists and a fake-friendly stuffy staff. Basically, the place could have been in Malaysia, Hawaii, Florida, or St. Thomas and you wouldn't have known the difference. Anyway, we had a decent lunch in a completely empty restaurant - though it was western fare the tuna sandwich was very good - and then we snuck down to the beach even though technically it was for guests only. The beach was nice, but the island beach we saw in the morning was 10x better. We crashed for a couple hours at the beach and then headed back for dinner...or so we thought.

On the way back Nima mentioned she heard from Erin that the cable car tour was worth checking out. According to the way-off-scale tourist map, we were close to the cable cars. So we navigated to the attraction and made it just in time, at 6:30. Basically the cable car tour is a huge gondola up to the top of a mountain with observation points. The interesting thing about Langkawi is that while accommodations and food might be relatively expensive for Malaysia, the tourist attractions aren't. The morning boat tour was only 45 RM (about $14USD), and the cable car was 15RM, less than $5. It was the best $5 I've ever spent. Not only were there views magnificent from the platform, there was a treetop walk too that was really neat. On top of it all, we happened to time it perfectly to catch the sunset. The ride up and down are a bit nerve-racking, and Avana was acting like a donkey in the gondola, freaking Nima out. Its a must see if you're in Langkawi. The pictures do the talking here. Again, check out the SmugMug pictures to get the full story.

Part II of Langkawi is coming soon, stay tuned...

Last Week in Review

2006-03-10T19:48:00.000-05:00

Phew...that Bali entry was a dagger. I'm still way behind on my blog entries because it took me forever to write about Bali. I'm going to catch up by writing about the week of 3/6-3/10 all in one post.

I was hoping to get confirmation about the ICTA project by 3/6, but yet again no word. Basically the hold up is lawyers approving the contract. As of now, 3/20 is the new start date, but I am starting work remotely on 3/15. I have to put in full 8 hour days from Singapore if I want to get paid.
Anji had been talking quite a bit about Bugis, the open market shopping typical of what you'd picture in Thailand and other Asian countries. I met up with her Tuesday afternoon to check out Bugis, and as it turns out I really liked the place. The area used to be ridden with prostitutes but now its a thriving scene of shopping and social hangouts, particularly filled with college-aged kids. I even did my first bit of shopping, and picked up a cool shirt for $15SGD.
The food tour resumed this week in Singapore. We revisitied Margarita's on Tuesday night because it was Nima's friend Erika's birthday. The food was again tasty, and yes Greg they did accept Mastercard.
One of my to-do's was check out Little India, so on Wednesday we had dinner at Khansama Tandoori Restaurant. The food was delicious, as I shared the Malai Kofta and Butter Paneer with Anjali. I didn't try Nima's chicken dish. However, as often occurs with oily, heavy north Indian food, it ran right through me afterwards and I paid the price that night and the next morning. Still, the food tasted great.
As an older brother I've been delighted to be treating Anji to lunch and dinner whenever we go out (except that first time when she lost credit card roulette!). However, she promised to treat me to lunch one day at Netwon Hawker Centre since its right next to her apartment. We went for lunch, but unfortunately the place was just opening so there wasn't much activity at all. I got a nice cup of fresh pineapple juice, but for some reason none of the food looked appetizing at all. I wasn't in an adventureous mood to try the chilli crab, fried carrot cake, or fish head curry, so we passed all together.
On Thursday night the three of us went down to Clarke Quay and had dinner at a popular restaurant called Coriander Leaf. The restaurant is super-gourmet, as they host cooking classes and sell high-quality ingredients right at the restaurant. The theme of the restaurant is Asian Fusion, and they had a nice mix of Indian, Japanese, and south Asian influences in their dishes. My Frontier Chicken dish, chicken pieces stir fried with coriander seeds and chili flakes served with naan and yogurt was excellent. Nima had a tasty lobster/seafood curry as well. One thing I noticed is that every single patron for dinner than night was a tourist/visitor, which is reflective of the Clarke and Boat Quay areas of Singapore. Still, that part of town is a must see if you're in Singapore.
Late Thursday night, Nima's friend Meeli arrived from the U.S. and Friday morning Avana came into town. The two of them are visiting Nima for the next 10 days, and in those days trips to Langkawi, Malaysia and Thailand are planned (I was included for Langkawi, which will be a future blog post).
On Friday while Nima was at work, I took the girls out for a mini tour of Singapore, hitting the big spots like the Merlion, Esplanade, and Raffles Hotel. We also met up with Nima for lunch and finally had the signature dish of Singapore - Chicken Rice. I had low expectations for this simple staple-food dish, but it honestly blew my expectations away. It was great to also move away from the fancy restaurant and eat with the locals during a packed lunch hour, at a place that doesn't have a menu, just chicken rice and drinks.
On Friday evening, me and the girls headed out to our weekend in Langkawi, which will be the next blog post...

Note: Lots of pictures were taken all week, but they're spread across everyone else's cameras. I'll update the blog when I get those pics. My Canon S410 is officially dead because of the memory card error bug. I need to figure something out for taking pictures in Sri Lanka, argh!

Beautiful Bali

2006-03-08T22:18:00.000-05:00

Go to Bali. Period. You'll thank me later. Seriously, if you ever have the chance to go to Bali for a honeymoon, vacation, just stopping through, whatever, you must go. It really is paradise on earth.

Nima and I spent last Thursday night through Sunday in the tropical island of Bali, one of the 7000 Indonesian islands. It was the second time to Bali for her, after a week-long trip with cousin Tejal a couple years back. They went a few months after the 2002 terrorist bombing, but did not feel any effects of the bombing except for minimal crowds and friendly locals welcoming and eager for tourists. In October 2005, another terrorist attack struck Bali, and again the island's tourist economy slowed down considerably.

Being in Bali 5 months later, I did not feel unsafe at any moment, and many security measures have been taken such as vehicle search checkpoints and a significant presence of security guards. In speaking with taxi drivers, hoteliers, shopkeepers and tour guides, the happy, peaceful people of Bali certainly welcome tourists with open arms, and I encourage all my friends and family to experience the wonderful little island.

For this blog entry, I'm going to try the chronological-account approach. Frankly, the photos along the way, available on my Smugmug site, really tell the story.

Thursday March 2, 4:45pm: Nima cut out of work early to get home and hop on a Singapore Airlines flight to Denpasar, Bali.

Thursday March 2, 5:15pm: Arrive at Changi international airport, 2:15 hours before our flight. Changi is probably the best airport in the world with such ameninites as free internet, ample lounge areas with TV, free movie theater, numerous restaurants, cheap booze at the duty free shop, and a beautiful orchid garden in the middle of the airport.

Thursday March 2, 7:30pm: Depart for Denpasar, Bali. Nima and I began watching Goodnight and Goodluck, only to have the last five minutes cut off because the flight ended. Dagger! I hope we nailed those commie bastards...

Thursday March 2, 9:30pm: Arrive in Denpasar international airport. Visas and customs were a piece of cake, so after a few minutes we made it outside to the warm weather and into a cab.

Thursday March 2, 10:00pm: Arrive at our hotel in Nusa Dua, Melia Bali Villas & Spa Resort. Nusa Dua is known for its high-end hotels. Melia Bali doesn't dissapoint, as its a first class resort with nice rooms, pleasant staff, perfectly manicured lawns and gardens, and great decor. The place reminded me very much of the Club Mahindra Resort we stayed at in Goa last year. Our room did have a slight musty smell because of the constant humidity, but that's to be expected. We got a great price at $70USD night, which included the daily breakfast buffet...

Friday, March 3, 6:30am: This is not a typo, but Nima woke up at 6:30am on Friday morning. Why? Because of the ridiculous breakfast spread. Fruits, eggs, fresh juices, variety of breads and pastries, pancakes, even Asian breakfast noodles! Nima swore the best breakfast she ever had was at the hotel she stayed in Bali last time, and this one topped it. Waking up at 6:30 to fuel up for our big day of touring Bali was a genius move.

Friday, March 3, 9:00am: After showering and dressing, we met our driver for the day in the hotel lobby. We hired a driver to take us around the island, through Sanur, up to the rice fields of Ubud, through to check out the handicrafts in Mas, over to see the the Tanah Lot temple, down through the surfer town of Kuta, and then back to the hotel. We arranged the driver through the hotel and paid $50 for it, which in real dollars is still a deal but in Bali could be had for half that if we bothered to bargain. For the full day tour, though, we wanted to go with something somewhat reputable rather than a guy off the street.

Friday, March 3, 11:00am: We spent quite a bit of the early part of the day trying to get some shopping out of the way. I was shopping for gifts for my family, and failed miserable on Friday. I'm sorry mom and Ami, I am horrible at visualizing what goes well in the house. Don't worry though, by the end of the trip Nima helped me get something. Hope you like it! Nima, on the other hand, had a vision that she wanted to get some statues for her eventual home. The driver took us to a few "galerias" which are really traps that earn the drivers commission. In one of the stores, Nima saw a pair Javanese wood statues, a man and woman praying, with which she fell in love. The shopkeeper quoted her 3,500,000 rupiah ($1 USD = 9200 Rp, so 3.5M is about $400USD). Nima drove him down to 3,000,000 but he wouldn't go any lower. Nima really wanted the statues but that was a lot of money to pay, so she decided to walk away, all bummed out. We walk around a little more and check out a few more shops, and wouldn't you know it, we found very similar statues in a small roadside shop run by two women with their young daughters running around in the shop (see picture). Their opening price for the statues was 750,000 Rp, one fourth of the best price the other guy offered. Nima got it down to 500,000 and was ecstatic to get her statues, and the shopkeeper was quite delighted to make her first sale of the day a big one. Just goes to show how much variance there is in the prices and the room left for bargaining in Bali. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the statues but when hopefully one day they'll be displayed in the home.

Friday, March 3, 11:53am: We made it up to Ubud where the popular rice fields of Bali can be seen. I was impressed by the way the Balinese were able to cultivate the hilly, mountainy land effectively to grow rice. The drive up to Ubud is also pleasant as you get a glimpse at the Bali countryside. We stopped briefly at a few points to take pictures.

Friday, March 3, 12:55pm: In need of some fuel we stopped at Gyathri Restaurant somewhere near Ubud. We had typical Indonesian dish, Nasi Goreng. It was quite good, especially with a Bintang to go along with it.

Friday, March 3, 3:06pm: Our next stop was Tanah Lot, a famous Balinese Hindu temple built on the ocean. We actually stopped at another temple (see photo) along the way to take the obligatory touristy pictures. The most amusing part of the stop was seeing a group of six giggly Japanese girls all dressed the same, taking all sorts of pictures and making funny noises. Nima characterized them as "living Anime" because they did seem cartoonish, and the new nickname for overzealous Japanese tourists - Kapow! - was born. Anyhow, Tanah Lot was cool though the tourist traps of "holy water" and the "holy snake" were annoying. Still, it was a nice sight.

Friday, March 3, approx 6:00pm: We cut our day of touring short, deciding to pass through the beach town of Kuta to arrange for a tour of Mt. Batur on Saturday morning, and trying to catch the sunset on the beach (no luck as it was quite cloudy). I had to stop by the ATM to get some cash, and I definitely saved my receipt as my withdrawal of 1,200,000 Rp and balance of 28,000,000 Rp made me feel rich. We were planning on checking out Ulu Watu, another temple on the water, but were simply exhausted. Instead we headed back to the hotel, freshened up, and had a surprisingly good asian-style dinner at the hotel restaurant. We turned in very early Friday night, as Saturday was to start at 2:00am...

Saturday, March 4, 1:45am: Disaster. Most of the time when you're up at 1:45am on a Saturday morning its because you're out from Friday night. Nima and I woke up this early to get ready for a 2 hour ride to Mount Batur, a volcano mountain in the northern part of Bali that offers a 2 hour hike, 800 meters up the mountain in order to catch a beautiful sunrise. Nima did this hike with Tejal the last time she was in Bali, and sold me on it with their pictures and her descripion from last time. The only downside to this journey was missing the hotel breakfast buffet that morning.

Saturday, March 4, 4:00am: We arrive the base of Mt. Batur right on schedule. I immediately realized that this hike at 4:00am, when its pitch dark, was the best opportunity ever for me to utilize my hiker's headlamp - and my dumb ass forgot to pack it for Bali so it was sitting at home in Singapore. Luckily our tour guide - Ketat - had some extra flashlights. Our hiking party included a Belgian girl backpacking through Asia and an elderly German woman who incessantly spoke about all the hiking and walking she's done in her life. The two were entertaining, especially when the Belgian went on an F-bomb tirade after learning the German paid 250,000 Rp for the trip, we paid about 325,000 each, and she paid a whopping 450,000. Anyhow, the hike was great, challenging yet rewarding with great views and a sense of accomplishment. I'll let the photos do most of the talking. I would recommend that anyone who does this hike wear tennis shoes, as I stubbed my toe often in the Tevas. It was the first time I hiked up volcanic rock, so that was cool. We actually made it to the sunrise viewpoint just after 5:00am, and spent about an hour up there taking in the beauty, socializing with the other hikers (a family of 5 from California, the tour guides, and the cook who made banana sandwiches for us). We were hoping to hike over to the hot springs, however it was too foggy to get there so we had to turn back. On the way down we caught many beautiful shots of the mountains and Lake Batur.

Saturday, March 4, 8:13am: We made it down to the bottom of the mountain and waited for our driver to come pick us up and take us back to the hotel. Nima and I were both exhausted and tired, so we agreed to go back for some beach time. The ride back was a little scary as our driver must have had another customer or something. He was never afraid to pass a scooter or car in front of us, demonstrating to me that driving in Bali is not for the faint of heart. We finally got back to the hotel just before 11:00am and headed to the beach for the afternoon. We decided to spend a few hours on the beach, after which Nima arranged for a special treat for us.

Saturday, March 4, 3:00pm: Nima booked a full spa treatment for the both of us, 3 hours in total including a full body massage, exfoliating scrub, and facial. Absolutely amazing. Guys, if you refuse to do such treatments because they're "gay", you're missing out because of your insecurity. I was so relaxed during the massage and scrub that I fell asleep and had no idea what went on for about half an hour. All I know is that I felt very refreshed and for $90 USD, I would do this sort of treatment every week!

Saturday, March 4, 6:33pm: After a very relaxing afternoon, we decided to head out for some dinner. I flat out refuse to be one of those people who stay in the resort and eat western food all the time, so we decided to take a walk through Nusa Dua and find a place to eat. We stumbled upon the Sogo Mall close by, a brand new shopping complex clearly geared towards the western tourists, full of high end shops. All along the way, you could see how the lack of tourism due to the bombings has crippled Bali. Right as we got outside the resort's compound there were several drivers waiting to provide services, and they were willing to bargain down to just over their break-even point. At the mall, the shops were full of store clerks with very few customers. The empty restaurants were inviting anyone who walked by to look at the menus.
It was truly a sad sight, especially knowing how wondeful and friendly Bali is, and how the people of the island depend on the tourism industry.

We decided to eat at an Asian fusion restaurant called Paon (Balinese for "kitchen"). We were both in the mood for seafood so we decided to share the seafood platter special. We learned from the waitress that the restaurant had opened just before Christmas and that business has been slow. That night, we were the second guests (we were there early) but as dinner went on the crowd swelled a bit. The food itself was quite good, particularly the grilled snapper and lobster tails. The steamed crab was dissapointing as it was the smallest crab I've ever seen served, but from what I've gathered I'll get my fix in Sri Lanka anyway. Overall, the huge seafood meal with appetizers, desserts and drinks came in under $40USD for the both of us. The same meal would have cost well over $100 back at home. After dinner we headed home and immediately passed out after another packed day.

Sunday, March 5, 7:30am: Our last day in Bali began like the first full one - up early for breakfast. Among the great spread was a selection of local fruits, and the rambutan was my favorite of the bunch.

Sunday, March 5, 7:30am: We headed out after breakfast to check out the Ulu Watu temple on the cliff. There are many pictures on my Smugmug site of the temple and the beautiful ocean crashing down below. One of the best things about Ulu Watu is that its one of the few temples that has remained a place for prayer, rather than simply a tourist attraction. Nima mentioned how last time she was in Bali more of the temples were strictly for religious use and those wishing to visit had to abide to the rules (such as proper attire, no photography, etc), but I can see how they've loosened the rules to attract tourism. Still, at Ulu Watu they require all visitors to dress appropriately (see pictures of me looking all goofy in a doti). Also, there are monkey all over the grounds of the temple, and apparently are very vicious to the point where you must remove all jewelry and eyeglasses, otherwise they'll get snatched. I picked the wrong day to skip contact lenses, so I had to walk around without my glasses on and only put them on when Nima gave me the green light. I managed to see the temple on the cliff and the beautiful ocean views. After the temple, we headed back to Nusa Dua for some lunch before heading off to the airport.

Sunday March 5, 2:44pm: Back in Nusa Dua, we spent some time perusing the street shops for gifts to bring home from Bali. I finally got some things for my sister and mother, hopefully they like them! As we were walking we came across Ulan Seafood restaurant, a place I had read about on the internet as a great place to get authentic Balinese seafood, so we decided to go there. They even had a wall of photos of distinguished statesmen and celebrities who've visited. I ordered the Ulan special, a grilled snapper with rice and veggies. Nima opted for the shrimp. My food was delicious, especially due to the native spices used on the grilled fish. I must say that I found it difficult to eat fish that's not a fillet, as you have to be careful about bones. But still the restaurant was indeed very good.

Once we finished lunch we collected everything from the hotel, jumped in a cab, and headed to the airport, en route to Singapore - wrapping up a great weekend in Bali.

Update

2006-03-05T21:18:00.000-05:00

First off, thanks to everyone reading and commenting on the blog, if I know people are actually reading what I write, its worthwhile. I'm posting a quick update here on what's been going on over here and what's going on with the blog:

I'm way backed up on blog entries. Last week in Singapore was basically a food tour, and I have about 3 more restaurants to write up. I ate like a king last week!
Nima and I just returned from a weekend in Bali. I'm not even going to begin to talk about how great Bali is in this posting, but look out for a post or two about the trip
Though it might seem otherwise, I really am going to Sri Lanka to work. The latest on that front is that next Monday, March 13th. I have some prep work to do this week from Singapore and I have a conference call later this week with the ADP team leads. I'll let you all know when things firm up.
As I mentioned before I'll be working with a non-profit called ICTA in Colombo. This article I found yesterday highlights a little about what ICTA does and who they are.

I'll be posting again soon...

Kayaking Across the Street

2006-03-02T02:59:00.000-05:00

Now, for a break from all the food reviews...

Last week Anji and I headed back to the MacRitchie Reserve for a picnic and a casual kayak ride through the reserve. One of my favorite things about Singapore is the abundance of cheap, fresh, delicious tropical fruit readily available. We had an entire Victoria pineapple along with sandwiches for lunch.

Kayaking through the reserve was a nice way to cool off a bit in the hot Singapore sun. There was a nice view of Nima's apartment across the street. All in all, it was a nice, relaxing afternoon spent before heading off to Bali for the weekend.

Pizza and a View

2006-03-02T02:52:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in the previous entry, this blog so far has basically been a food review in Singapore. On Wednesday, we had yet another good meal at the New Asia Bar.

Before getting to dinner, my sister and I spent some time taking in Singapore culture at the Asian Civilisation Museum. Anji had been wanting to check it out so we planned on meeting up there after her classes were over and before dinner. I thought two hours would be more than enough to learn about Asian culture in a Singapore museum, but as it turned out the museum was filled with lots of interesting information and exhibits. We ended up running out of time and I had to hurry through the India and south Asia exhibits, which was a shame.

Anji and I headed over to the Swissotel and went up top to the 70th floor to New Asia Bar. She and Nima had already been up there once for dinner, and both highly recommended the pizza so that's what we were there for. Oh, and the view of Singapore was quite nice as well.

Athough there was a sign indicating that shorts and sandals are not allowed (and neither of the girls gave me a heads up about that!) the bar was pretty relaxed and casual, especially for being among ritzy restaurants in a 5-star hotel. There were plenty of tourists up there, and it was still early, so nobody gave me beef about the shorts.

Once Nima joined us, we got a decent seat right by the window and ordered a couple pizzas. The waitress did botch our order as we originally asked for a veggie and margherita pizza but she forgot to put the veggie order in, but after the margherita came out it was so good we just asked for another one of those. Also, from 3-9 they have a solid 50% off happy hour, so we got a fruity martini and a frozen margarita-type drink. The drinks were okay, nothing to write home about, but the pizza was fantastic. Nice thin crust and a little bite to the pizza seasonings. The price was right too, at $14SGD per pizza, two pizzas were more than enough to feed 3 hungry Americans craving pizza. Considering the location and view, the New Asia Bar is a great value and a top recommendation of mine.

New Asia Bar - Swissotel in Raffles Plaza

Whatever, Dude

2006-03-01T22:27:00.000-05:00

Note: This blog is quickly turning into a blog about food in Singapore. Not that I have a problem with it; I've been eating some very tasty food here, and staying indoors at restaurants is a great way to beat the heat.

Unfortunately the weekend had to end, and Nima and Anji had to go back to work and school on Monday. I took Monday morning as a time to sleep in, now that my body's recovered and fully adjusted, and catch up on emails. Originally, I was supposed to have left for Sri Lanka by Sunday night, but my project was yet again delayed.

Speaking of Sri Lanka, the main government and rebel LTTE group had a successful round of peace talks earlier in the week, and scheduled another meeting later on in April. Hopefully, these agreements will bring more stability to the north and east regions of the country.

Anyhow, I spent much of Monday catching up on personal affairs and surfing the net, posting blogs and catching up with friends and family. I went our to run some errands, and decided to surprise Anjali and Nima and cook some eggplant Parmesan since neither has had home cooking anytime recently. I went to Cold Storage, the local supermarket, and bought most the ingredients for what was going to be a nice dinner - that is until Nima nixed it. See, Singapore, like many tropical climate areas, is a home to many bugs and pests, and it takes diligent (or militant in Nima's case) cleanliness to keep them away. Nima was concerned that my cooking style (a little sloppy in the kitchen) combined with an already untidy kitchen - Janny her housekeeper has been on vacation - would result in an invitation for the bugs to party at her apartment. So we postponed the home cooked meal to another time. Instead, we looked for a new restaurant that neither Anji nor Nima had been to, and ended up choosing the Whatever Cafe near Chinatown.

Nima and I met up at her place and took the MRT to Outram, and after cutting through a park and a back alley, found the restaurant. Whatever is home to not only the cafe, but also a yoga studio and bookstore. The theme of the place is very spiritual/new age/hippie/etc. The cafe is purely vegetarian, and there are lots of tasty-looking options. Anjali ordered the fettuccini with mushroom and tomato sauce, which was satisfying and homely. Nima ordered a bleu cheese salad with vinaigrette dressing - a dish somewhat difficult to find because in Asia cheese is not very common and quite expensive. I ordered the veggie burger but they were out of that item, so I had a cheese, pesto and onion jam sandwich. To be honest, it turned out far better than I expected. The onion jam was particularly tasty, and it gave me an idea of how to use an apple & vidalia onion relish I purchased from Harry & David which I haven't used. The only disappointing part of my dinner was the organic ginger ale that I ordered, because I assumed it was fresh-made but in fact it was canned, imported from California (and it was pricey at $5SGD). The value was okay, as dinner with beverages ran a total of approximately $30USD for the three of us, however we all agreed it was well worth the price to get a taste of more traditional organic vegetarian fare.

Hiking up an Appetite

2006-03-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

On Sunday the three of us set out on two quests: hiking up the 5km trail to the top of the MacRitchie Reserve Treetop Walk, and then finding some good mexican food for dinner.

The MacRitchie Reserve is a water resivour that has been crafted into a park with kayaking and other water sports, several trails for trekking, and a unique tree top walk at the top of the highest trail. The tree top walk is a long, narrow bridge above the trees which provides great views of the forest below. The hike itself was a good 5km each way, though not too strenous as the trail was well-defined the whole way, similar to the main parts of the Shenandoah National Park trails (sorry no pictures from the hike). The best thing about MacRitchie is that its literally across the street from Nima's apartment complex, so while I'm here I plan on heading out there for a quick kayak trip or stroll through the forest.

After the hike, Nima, Anji and I were dead set on finding some good Mexican food for dinner. Before I got here, they had horrible luck with the couple places they tried, and all the ex-pats we've bumped into have lamented about the lack of good mexican in Singapore. Nima got a recommendation for Margarita's, so we decided to check it out. After taking a detour to Holland Village because Google failed me on directions, we found the restaurant on the other side of town.

We walked in right as the restaurant opened for dinner (its common for restaurants to close for the afternoon and re-open at 6:00) and were seated immediately. The decor of the restaurant was warm and contained authentic-looking art and decorations. The chips and salsa were very good, as Nima and Anji confirmed upon first bite. None of us were in the mood to drink so we all got virgin drinks. My pina colada was okay, but Nima's strawberry iced tea was fantastic. For starters, we ordered their house queso dip with chips. It was served in a bowl as melted cheese (you could tell it was real cheese, not processed) with diced onions, tomatoes, and jalepenos on top. Looked kind of funny, but after I mixed it up it looked like queso dip. I liked it very much, though it could have been served a little warmer.

For dinner Anji and Nima each ordered "The Kitchen Sink" burrito, a superstuffed burrito with everything. I had a vegetarian chimichanga. While trying to figure out what was in the burrito, an earlier discussion about refried beans came up between the three of us. Nima contends that refried beans are made of kidney beans, while Anjali and I are certain that refried beans are definitely pinto. I'm not sure where Nima gets her refried beans, but kidney beans makes no sense. If you can weigh in on this discussion, post a comment so Nima is corrected.

By the time the food came out the restaurant was filling up, mostly with Americans who, like us, were probably fiending for Mexican. After the first bite, each of us chimed in with a resounding "mmmmmmmmm" of approval. It was interesting to note that they throw broccoli into their vegetarian dishes, something I haven't seen in Mexican food before. Luckily, I love broccoli so I was A-OK with it. Anji and Nima agreed it was by far the best Mexican food they've had, and I definitely enjoyed it.

If you're in Singapore, definitely check out Margarita's if you're looking for some tasty Mexican food.

Margarita's

Clementi - 108 Faber Drive
6777-1782

East Coast - 404 East Coast Road
6440-8030

A Nice Little Saturday Lined Up...

2006-02-25T20:14:00.000-05:00

"Go to the zoo, look at lions, orang utans. Maybe see a play. I don't know, I don't know if we'll have TIME."

That's basically what my first Saturday was like in Singapore. It was a packed day that began around 11am (in Singapore, nothing gets started before 11) when Anji called and we made a plan to meet up to visit the Singapore Zoo. We had talked about going to the zoo earlier in the week, and Singapore's zoo has a good reputation. I was excited as well because we were getting out of downtown and had a chance to ride the MRT and buses on a different route, for a change. We met up with Anji at the MRT and then boarded a bus for the ride over to the zoo. We got there around 1:30pm, which is usually blazing hot, but this week we've had cool, pleasant weather. So we headed into the zoo and casually strolled around for a couple hours. The zoo itself is very beautiful, incorporating lots of greenery and picturesque lake. In fact, the zoo hosts weddings and yesterday there was one scheduled for later in the evening. Nima was fascinated with the baby chimp who was playing with his daddy, "monkeying around" and climbing all over his back. Anjali was excited to see penguins at the Singapore zoo, though we didn't catch them sliding on their bellies like in March of the Penguins. I personally could relate with the giraffe, since both of us can see clear over the top of everyone else here in Singapore.

After finishing up with the zoo, we headed back home to get ready for the big date Nima planned for the night. We had dinner reservations at Paddy Fields, and then tickets to "Photographs from S-21", a play at the Esplanade, Singapore's world-class performing arts venue.

Without going any further, let me say: Paddy Fields is the best Thai food I've ever had in my life. Period. The entire experience was amazing. The restaurant provides a charming, authentic, warming atmosphere and the staff is curteous and friendly. The menu itself tells a story and is well designed, and offers more than enough choices for everyone's tastes. What I really appreciated were the creative dishes on the menu, including many authentic ingredients such as kang kong, potato leaves, and olive rice. These are items you simply won't find at standard Thai restaurants in the U.S. We started with shrimp lettuce wraps and a mushroom-coconut milk soup. The soup was very tasty and we were impressed with the way the coconut flavor came through without adding sweetness to the soup.

For dinner, Nima and I split the steamed bass with Thai chilli and basil, stir-fried kang kong with black soy sauce, and pineapple rice. First of all, thank goodness we didn't order they suggested 1 main course and 1 vegetable per person, because I was about ready to explode when dinner was done. The kang kong was very tasty and I was pleased I ordered it despite not knowing really what kang kong is. The pineapple rice was served inside a hollowed out pineapple, with cashews and pineapple chunks. It was ridiculously good, I could easily have been satisfied with just the rice. And the steamed bass - we ordered a half portion - was gigantic and flavorful. It was served in an authentic fish-shaped steel dish with a burner underneath to keep it steamed throughout dinner. The fish was a bit spicy for my taste, but the Thai iced tea and pineapple rice were more than sufficent for cooling me off. The blend of Thai basil flavor came through nicely.

The dessert menu looked appealing as well, though we were completely stuffed after dinner. The restaurant was running a promotion, giving free dessert when you show your Singapore Airlines boarding pass. However, we didn't qualify because despite the abundant amount of food we ordered, our total bill came to less than $60SGD. In the U.S. you spend more at Olive Garden for a dinner for two. Its probably better we didn't get dessert right then, though we definitely hit up Haagen Daas later on.

After dinner we headed to the Esplanade to see "The Glass Box", a contemporary Cambodian dance and "Photographs from S-21", a play about the prisioners in one of the brutal Cambodian killing camps. Both performances are part of the Singapore Fringe Festival, an art festival focused on healing and awareness of those suffering around the world.

The dance was somewhat interesting but not really what I was there to see. I have a reputation of falling asleep at performances (Phantom of the Opera on Broadway, Harry Potter 3 at the movie theater, Nima's 25th birthday dinner in NYC), and the dance was dangerously close to putting me to sleep. The play, however was very good.

I personally am very ignorant about the history and politics of Cambodia - basically I knew it was overtaken by rebels and there was a long spell of genocide and brutal killings. This performance derived from the "Photographs from S-21" exhibit in the Museum of Modern Art in NYC, an exhibit that showed photos of many of the prisioners who were detained, put to work, and killed in in Cambodia. The play took an angle of brining to life a man and woman who's photos were in the exhibit, and told their stories and personified what the ghosts of those people might say or think when observing the exhibit. I wish I knew more context about what happened in Cambodia before seeing the show, but it definitely prompted me to do some more reading.

After the play we spent some time on the roof terrace with all the other Singaporean teenage kids to take in a great view of the Singapore skyline, and then went down to Haagen Daas and had dessert. Though a "Cookie Crunch" runs close to $10USD, you can tell by the picture its absolutely worth it.

Orchard Road

2006-02-23T19:51:00.000-05:00

Singapore is synonymous with shopping and shopping malls. The first thing that comes to mind when asked to describe Singapore is the plethora of shopping malls, literally on every street corner. The heart of the shopping district is Orchard Road, and until you've seen it you won't believe how there can be so many malls in such a small area. There are malls for everyone. Paragon mall (see picture) is the highest end mall I've ever seen in my life, it makes Tyson's II look like Wal-Mart. I had to go in there to visit the Singapore Airlines office but the place was chock full of fashonistas and rich expat wifes with nothing else to do. Down the road, Funan DigiLife Mall is a technogeek's (see Nima) paradise, as it's seven floors of electronics stores. We had to stop in there to get some plug converters for when I get to Sri Lanka. Even many of the MRT stations have shopping malls built-in. Of course, spending an afternoon in a clean, air-conditioned shopping mall might not be a bad way to beat the Singapore heat. And pretty much all shopping malls include a bottom floor food court with dozens of choices for places to eat while your sister or girlfriend are looking to pick up yet another pair of shoes.

Singapore Sling

2006-02-22T21:39:00.000-05:00

After 20+ hours in 5 different airports in one journey, I finally made it to Singapore safe and sound on Wednesday morning (Singapore time). I know 2 things about Singapore: Its clean, and its warm. I love it.

I'm tentatively here for a few days before heading to Sri Lanka, and I'll be spending them with Anjali and Nima. Here's a view from Nima's phat apartment near the Novena MRT station.

I think my body's having a little struggle adjusting to the time here, a just woke up from a deep 12 hour slumber which could have gone for another 8 hours. Today Anji and I are going to run some errands including getting a phone, and hope to check out East Coast Park later today. And of course, eat some good food!

Thanks for all the comments, keep em coming. How the heck did UVA beat Boston College?

Left JFK, Not Quite in Singapore Yet

2006-02-20T23:45:00.000-05:00

Just a quick check in here - I left JFK on time at 9:00, and many thanks to Sac for taking me there and having a beer or 3 with me. Currently, its 11:45pm EST and I'm over the Atlantic Ocean. As I checked in this evening, there was a guy by the ticketing desk hanging out free 30 minute prepaid wifi cards for use on the plane. Singapore Airlines has two flights on which wireless is available, and this one is one of them. So this blog entry is literally being written on an airplane over the Atlantic. Here's a screen capture of exactly where I am right now. Pretty cool, huh? Anyway, gotta go, I'll check back in when I'm back on terra firma.

Asia, here I come

2006-02-18T09:19:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the first post of my blog. As most of you readers (i.e. friends) already know, I'm about to embark on a 6 month journey through Asia, primarily in Sri Lanka, with stops in Singapore, India, and hopefully many other countries.

The idea of such a trip across the world has been festering in my head for years now. I have been restless for some time now, living in the same town in which I grew up. I have many great friends here in Reston, VA but I've been struggling and battling with the urge inside me to get out of Northern Virginia and experience something new. I've talked about moving to Chicago, Austin, Charlotte, and San Francisco, to the point where I've all but arranged a transfer within Accenture to one of these offices. But ultimately I stuck around here, as the right opportunity for me simply never came up.

Enter Accenture Development Partnerships. As part of Accenture's effort at corporate citizenship, the firm developed a non-profit "wing" in which we take on consulting work in developing countries and non-profit organizations and provide economic, technology, and management consulting services at no profit to Accenture. Accenture does its part by reducing the cost to the client by cutting out margins, reducing overhead, and requiring the employee (that would be me) to take a 50% paycut while on assignment. So over the next 6 months, I hope to have an experience of a lifetime, even without the discrectionary income!

I actually applied and was accepted to the ADP scheduling pool over a year ago, and beginning the middle of 2005 I began the process to actually get staffed on a project overseas. I attended core ADP training in December, and after then I was sold on the prospect of working on a project overeas. In addition, my lovely girlfriend Nima as well as my rockin' little sister Anjali are both currently in Singapore for work and school, so I can't deny there was an addition incentive to get me over to that part of the world.

After months of looking for a role within Accenture (both ADP and regular), ADP came through with a potential project with a non-profit that works closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to advance technology services both within the government and to its citizens. The role is a perfect fit for me as it involved strategic planning for a government portal, which is right up my alley in terms of experience. I expressed interest to the ADP management team and we're in the very final stages of making this project a reality. I've been slated to be a member of the team. The project, based in Colombo, is scheduled to go from late February through June.

I'm all set for my journey, as I'll be taking of from DC, connecting through New York, hopping on an 18 hour direct flight to Singapore, and spending a week with Nima and Anjali before reporting to Sri Lanka for work.

I set up this blog as a place for me to share my experiences, thoughts, and photos with my friends and family around the world. Check in often (subscribe to the ATOM feed in Firefox) to share my experience, and remember that comments and emails are much appreciated. I look forward to being in touch with all and I hope you enjoy the blog!