Sunday, June 29, 2008
In Hong Kong
Today I made it to the fourth and final city on my Asia tour. I left the hotel about 4:45am to catch my 6:40am flight to Hong Kong, and all I can say is yay for the upgrade to Business because I needed breakfast and a nice place to stretch out (as with my DC-Beijing flight, no one was next to me, so karma-wise, I'm probably not getting upgraded on my flight home Wednesday and will be sitting between two crying babies for 20 hours).
Got here with no problems, other than it being the rainy season and me with no umbrella. Touched base almost immediately with Max, the as-yet-unmet boyfriend of my friend Tony. Max and I have been chatting on Facebook for the last 6 months or so and the main reason behind my HK stopover is to meet him and see Tony (I have a couple other HK folks I want to see but am focusing on being flexible enough to fit around Tony and max's schedules). We made plans to meet for dinner so I headed out to check out the city and felt oddly at home here in a way I haven't in any of the other cities on this trip...in part perhaps because it's only been 9 months since my last visit, and also perhas because unlike my other stops, in HK I'm staying in the same hotel as last time.
Met up with the boys for Italian food (clam chowder pizza with extra cheese) and then we wandered down the street for cheesecake. Max still has to work tonight and Tony will spend Monday morning at his part time job so we called it a night a little before midnight. I have to say, Max was worth the wait! He is as wonderful in person as I thought he would be, a real charmer, and it's obvious how much they love each other (I haven't seen too many other male couples holding hands around HK!). Tony seems different than he was when I saw him last year, and its a fun change...he seems more relaxed and also more playful, and that seems more like the real him. We're all getting together early in the afternoon Monday and spending the day together.
A few quick points before I go to bed:
1. I have some things to write about Singapore, but they're coming after I think about them a bit
2. As I look at these entries I realize there are quite a few typos in them. The problem is that I'm using my new Asus EeePC netbook, which is fantastic as a traveling laptop, but which as a result has a tiny keyboard that's not designed for very efficient typing. Thus, some typos, and since I'm typically writing these entries late at night, I'm not in the mood to proofread. So it's not that I'm an idiot, it's just that I'm lazy.
3. After this, I think I'm done with big trips for a while. I'm having a blast but I'm a creature of routines and every week -- actually, every day -- has been different.
Got here with no problems, other than it being the rainy season and me with no umbrella. Touched base almost immediately with Max, the as-yet-unmet boyfriend of my friend Tony. Max and I have been chatting on Facebook for the last 6 months or so and the main reason behind my HK stopover is to meet him and see Tony (I have a couple other HK folks I want to see but am focusing on being flexible enough to fit around Tony and max's schedules). We made plans to meet for dinner so I headed out to check out the city and felt oddly at home here in a way I haven't in any of the other cities on this trip...in part perhaps because it's only been 9 months since my last visit, and also perhas because unlike my other stops, in HK I'm staying in the same hotel as last time.
Met up with the boys for Italian food (clam chowder pizza with extra cheese) and then we wandered down the street for cheesecake. Max still has to work tonight and Tony will spend Monday morning at his part time job so we called it a night a little before midnight. I have to say, Max was worth the wait! He is as wonderful in person as I thought he would be, a real charmer, and it's obvious how much they love each other (I haven't seen too many other male couples holding hands around HK!). Tony seems different than he was when I saw him last year, and its a fun change...he seems more relaxed and also more playful, and that seems more like the real him. We're all getting together early in the afternoon Monday and spending the day together.
A few quick points before I go to bed:
1. I have some things to write about Singapore, but they're coming after I think about them a bit
2. As I look at these entries I realize there are quite a few typos in them. The problem is that I'm using my new Asus EeePC netbook, which is fantastic as a traveling laptop, but which as a result has a tiny keyboard that's not designed for very efficient typing. Thus, some typos, and since I'm typically writing these entries late at night, I'm not in the mood to proofread. So it's not that I'm an idiot, it's just that I'm lazy.
3. After this, I think I'm done with big trips for a while. I'm having a blast but I'm a creature of routines and every week -- actually, every day -- has been different.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Hot Hot Hot
No, no, not just hot guys, but the temperature...hot!
What gets me isn't the heat. I mean, I've been in hotter places. What is surprising instead is the lengths to which guys here will go to look stylish. I have seen clothes here that would be far more appropriate in a cooler climate, things you would be likely to see in DC in the fall rather than near the equator in the summer. I'm talking things like fleece vests, light sweaters and jackets, and layers..oh my, I can't even imagine wearing another layer.
But oh, they look good doing it.
I know people like to call me a rice queen but I know some people who go far beyond me in those terms. I'm not sure they could hamdle being here with so many metrosexual guys...so many people here take great care with their appearance but they can't all be gay. A few of my friends might have trouble telling the difference and would hurt their neck by turning their head so much to look at everyone around them.
But still...fleece vests?
Pretty much wrapped up my work today. Still one person I may talk to Friday but much of that day will be spent consolidating my notes from this trip, particularly from this week's very productive meetings. Today I sent a few hours at a local university, in part related to my research project and in part related to some other things (good things) that I'm not quite ready to discuss in the blog because there are still a couple that don't know about those good things, but need to. I'll just leave that little hint there and then move on.
Last night I visited with my friend Allan who is volunteering as a youth group leader for a Buddhist prayer group. It was quite interesting to see him not only as a teacher but also as a spiritual man, I side of him Ive known about but never observed. I went out to his home (and in that part of town, I saw no other white boys on the bus, train, or street...interesting) and met his parents and the kids in his group and we were there for a couple hours. Then we headed to McDonald's (open 24 hours...and they deliver) an met up with some of his really good friends, a few of whom I've met before but one who was new to me. We had a really good conversation and before I knew it, it was almost 1:30am and my happy ass neededto get back to the hotel.
I'd had dinner with Allan earlier in the week, then met up with one of his friends later, but we haven't had a whole lot of time this week. He has a major event going on at work that takes up some of his evenings and he has been kind enough to let me tag along during his "regular" life so we can send time together, and that's cool because I get to see things I have not seen before. It's kind of like running around Bangkok with Raberd a couple years ago on an MTV gig. A neat way tospend some time in a foreign land.
What gets me isn't the heat. I mean, I've been in hotter places. What is surprising instead is the lengths to which guys here will go to look stylish. I have seen clothes here that would be far more appropriate in a cooler climate, things you would be likely to see in DC in the fall rather than near the equator in the summer. I'm talking things like fleece vests, light sweaters and jackets, and layers..oh my, I can't even imagine wearing another layer.
But oh, they look good doing it.
I know people like to call me a rice queen but I know some people who go far beyond me in those terms. I'm not sure they could hamdle being here with so many metrosexual guys...so many people here take great care with their appearance but they can't all be gay. A few of my friends might have trouble telling the difference and would hurt their neck by turning their head so much to look at everyone around them.
But still...fleece vests?
Pretty much wrapped up my work today. Still one person I may talk to Friday but much of that day will be spent consolidating my notes from this trip, particularly from this week's very productive meetings. Today I sent a few hours at a local university, in part related to my research project and in part related to some other things (good things) that I'm not quite ready to discuss in the blog because there are still a couple that don't know about those good things, but need to. I'll just leave that little hint there and then move on.
Last night I visited with my friend Allan who is volunteering as a youth group leader for a Buddhist prayer group. It was quite interesting to see him not only as a teacher but also as a spiritual man, I side of him Ive known about but never observed. I went out to his home (and in that part of town, I saw no other white boys on the bus, train, or street...interesting) and met his parents and the kids in his group and we were there for a couple hours. Then we headed to McDonald's (open 24 hours...and they deliver) an met up with some of his really good friends, a few of whom I've met before but one who was new to me. We had a really good conversation and before I knew it, it was almost 1:30am and my happy ass neededto get back to the hotel.
I'd had dinner with Allan earlier in the week, then met up with one of his friends later, but we haven't had a whole lot of time this week. He has a major event going on at work that takes up some of his evenings and he has been kind enough to let me tag along during his "regular" life so we can send time together, and that's cool because I get to see things I have not seen before. It's kind of like running around Bangkok with Raberd a couple years ago on an MTV gig. A neat way tospend some time in a foreign land.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
Hi From Singapore
Just a quick hello from Singapore. (the really new entry is the one below) Got in here today and met up with a friend this evening who took me around Orchard Road, including a small bit of shopping, some durian ice cream, shrimp-on-a-stick, and an unagai burger. hee hee Welcome to Singapore.
Donuts for Lunch
The week in Malaysia ended well. Friday I did some phone interviews and then got to meet William for lunch, and YAY for that because he's a very special friend and it's always so good to sit and chat with him for a couple hours. Later I met up briefly with a friend from Fridae, someone I‘ve been chatting with for 3 years as he moves all over the world, and finally we were both in the same place at the same time. Later, Eddie came over for dinner and we got some good Chinese food, and I learned that in Malaysia, when the restaurant says they close at 10pm, they don't mean they close the doors to new customers but still keep serving the ones already in the restaurant...instead, they mean "get out." Still, we had some yummy food...I think I actually had General Tso's Chicken, though of course they don't call it that.
Saturday was a day for me to sleep late, then I got to try something I’d been waiting all week to try: J. Co. Donuts. For some reason I’ve been hearing a lot about these donuts and was determined to try them this week, to see if they’re worth queuing up for 45 minutes for. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait that long, but they were indeed yummy. Eddie and I each got three; mine were almonds and white chocolate, chocolate crunch, and white chocolate covered-and-filled. Oh, and when I got a coffee, I think the guy behind the counter liked me because he handed me a glazed donut Or maybe they do that for everyone. Anyway, in case you lost count, that makes 4 donuts…and that kinda filled me up.
Afterwards Eddie and I went to see Get Smart, because he surprised me by being a big Steve Carrell fan and told me that was something he really wanted to see. I wanted to see it too because of course I always watched and loved the show as a kid, and I remember it well from my childhood in the 70s. Of course, I don’t remember it with Malay and Chinese subtitles.
Saturday night was party night with the bloggers. Eddie agreed to go despite being kinda shy about meeting all these guys I’d been telling him about, though of course he blogs too so he should be included in such things. Alex and Jason came to pick us up and brought Jason Jr with them, and Froggy -- whom I hadn’t met before and who is an absolute doll -- linked up with us at the hotel. Off we went to an Indonesian restaurant which offered up some quite tasty dishes I’ll need to look for at the Indonesian place near my home in DC. Dr Paul and Alvin joined us there and Paul, who can handle anything I think, ordered a cow brain for dinner. I am pretty god about trying to new things but I drew the line at chewing on something that might think about me eating it.
Afterwards we rolled up to Lookout Point, a new destination that offers amazing views of KL (pics to follow, but as I’m writing this I still have work to do and don’t have time to deal with the camera and Picasa and Facebook and such). After a nice time at the café there we came back down the mountain to Marketplace, a new club for people like us. David joined us there, coming back to KL after working all day, the poor guy…he’d had a hard day and I really appreciated him coming back to see more one last time (and also bring some great new eyeglass frames for me to try…he’s going to make up 3 pair and send them to me YAY!!). Frankie joined us after appearing as a sexy bunny at another party, so we had most of the folks I met last year, minus Sam and Daniel who were a bit too tired to come play There was some drinking (Eddie got very tipsy) and dancing and then I called it an early evening around 1 as I knew it would be an early morning for me and unlike the rest of the boys, I really do need my beauty sleep.
This trip was great, and as always I was so happy to see all these great guys. Alex and Jason took good care of me with dinners and planning parties and such and were checking up on me all week. William got back from a weekend trip and immediately made time to get together. Cheryl arranged a really nice dinner at which I had my only non-Asian food of this trip so far (donuts apparently are originally from Indonesia, so they count as Asian food!). My dear dear friend Eddie took care of me on my first day there and again at the end, making sure I could enjoy the time after my work was done. And David, whom I’ve been getting to know better online the last few months after an all-too-brief meeting last fall, really opened up to me in a way that made me feel like a good person, and also arranged his time off this week so he could keep me from getting bored during my down time (and even came back when some meetings fell through and I suddenly found myself with nothing scheduled during the day). I am really lucky to have some very special people in my life in KL, something I wouldn’t have imagined only a year ago.
So, yeah…a great trip once again. And yes, I got a lot of work done, too. But that’s not worth blogging about.
Saturday was a day for me to sleep late, then I got to try something I’d been waiting all week to try: J. Co. Donuts. For some reason I’ve been hearing a lot about these donuts and was determined to try them this week, to see if they’re worth queuing up for 45 minutes for. Fortunately we didn’t have to wait that long, but they were indeed yummy. Eddie and I each got three; mine were almonds and white chocolate, chocolate crunch, and white chocolate covered-and-filled. Oh, and when I got a coffee, I think the guy behind the counter liked me because he handed me a glazed donut Or maybe they do that for everyone. Anyway, in case you lost count, that makes 4 donuts…and that kinda filled me up.
Afterwards Eddie and I went to see Get Smart, because he surprised me by being a big Steve Carrell fan and told me that was something he really wanted to see. I wanted to see it too because of course I always watched and loved the show as a kid, and I remember it well from my childhood in the 70s. Of course, I don’t remember it with Malay and Chinese subtitles.
Saturday night was party night with the bloggers. Eddie agreed to go despite being kinda shy about meeting all these guys I’d been telling him about, though of course he blogs too so he should be included in such things. Alex and Jason came to pick us up and brought Jason Jr with them, and Froggy -- whom I hadn’t met before and who is an absolute doll -- linked up with us at the hotel. Off we went to an Indonesian restaurant which offered up some quite tasty dishes I’ll need to look for at the Indonesian place near my home in DC. Dr Paul and Alvin joined us there and Paul, who can handle anything I think, ordered a cow brain for dinner. I am pretty god about trying to new things but I drew the line at chewing on something that might think about me eating it.
Afterwards we rolled up to Lookout Point, a new destination that offers amazing views of KL (pics to follow, but as I’m writing this I still have work to do and don’t have time to deal with the camera and Picasa and Facebook and such). After a nice time at the café there we came back down the mountain to Marketplace, a new club for people like us. David joined us there, coming back to KL after working all day, the poor guy…he’d had a hard day and I really appreciated him coming back to see more one last time (and also bring some great new eyeglass frames for me to try…he’s going to make up 3 pair and send them to me YAY!!). Frankie joined us after appearing as a sexy bunny at another party, so we had most of the folks I met last year, minus Sam and Daniel who were a bit too tired to come play There was some drinking (Eddie got very tipsy) and dancing and then I called it an early evening around 1 as I knew it would be an early morning for me and unlike the rest of the boys, I really do need my beauty sleep.
This trip was great, and as always I was so happy to see all these great guys. Alex and Jason took good care of me with dinners and planning parties and such and were checking up on me all week. William got back from a weekend trip and immediately made time to get together. Cheryl arranged a really nice dinner at which I had my only non-Asian food of this trip so far (donuts apparently are originally from Indonesia, so they count as Asian food!). My dear dear friend Eddie took care of me on my first day there and again at the end, making sure I could enjoy the time after my work was done. And David, whom I’ve been getting to know better online the last few months after an all-too-brief meeting last fall, really opened up to me in a way that made me feel like a good person, and also arranged his time off this week so he could keep me from getting bored during my down time (and even came back when some meetings fell through and I suddenly found myself with nothing scheduled during the day). I am really lucky to have some very special people in my life in KL, something I wouldn’t have imagined only a year ago.
So, yeah…a great trip once again. And yes, I got a lot of work done, too. But that’s not worth blogging about.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
I Wish I Hadn't Lost My Camera
How one loses a camera in a bright orange bag I don't know but I did indeed lose my Casio Exlim. I think I left it in a restaurant last night but friends called them today and I went back this evening and they swear they never found it. It's not so much losing the hardware that bugs me (though I could have done without buying a replacement, which I have already done), it's that first, I hate the feeling of frustration when you don't know the answer to a question like "what happened" and second, I hadn't downloaded my Bangkok pics and I had some cool photos of Raberd and his friends. Grrrrr....
So attention KL-ians: be prepared for some photo-taking Saturday night. But also please help me keep an eye on the silly thing.
So attention KL-ians: be prepared for some photo-taking Saturday night. But also please help me keep an eye on the silly thing.
Labels: Travel
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Informal Interviews
(note: I'm adding a bunch of posts at once, which means there are a couple new ones below this one. Go read them first if you havent seen them yet. I'll wait.)
Because my meetings with the local government got cancelled I had nothing scheduled today. Fortunately, my friend David arranged his days off to have some time while I'm here so we spent today hanging out. We visited Pavillion shopping center, a nice hgh-end place that opened just days after I left last year, and I picked upa few things for folks back home. We had a great lunch at Crystal Jade in Lot 10 where, proving I am not really Malaysian, I did not take any photos of the food (but mmmmmmm, it was good!).
I'd met David last year of course, but he was working crazy hours and after my first night here we didn't see each other again. But I read his blog and since about January we've been talking a lot and getting to know each other better, and so it's nice to finally spend some time hanging out together
David is a photographer so we went down around KLCC and he did some photos of me, then because it is scary hot we headed inside to Coffee Bean and got some chilled drinks and talked for a while. We got to talking about some of my research and suddenly I found myself interviewing him regarding some aspects of my work that deal with Chinese culture in various countries (other friends be warned, I wll be posing some questions to you, too!). I think we ended up sitting there mor than 2 hours and it's quite likely that session was far more important than any of the "official" meetings I am having this week.
Later we headed out to Midvalley because it's one of those places people always blog about but I'd never been there. I had wanted to take him out for a belated birthday dinner so we headed out for Korean food and he helped me with my chopstick usage so now maybe Danny won't give me a hard time again when I get home. I gave him a small present I'd picked up, nothing fancy like the new lens his friends here gave him but something I think he will like.
I'll spend sometime Wednesday going over my notes and refining questions for a couple other intervie sessions this week, and will try to get in touch with an American here for a conference of interest to me which is at a hotel dow the street from mine...I should probably be participating in this conference but I hadn't heard of it before now, so I will just try to pick his brain about the important parts.
Because my meetings with the local government got cancelled I had nothing scheduled today. Fortunately, my friend David arranged his days off to have some time while I'm here so we spent today hanging out. We visited Pavillion shopping center, a nice hgh-end place that opened just days after I left last year, and I picked upa few things for folks back home. We had a great lunch at Crystal Jade in Lot 10 where, proving I am not really Malaysian, I did not take any photos of the food (but mmmmmmm, it was good!).
I'd met David last year of course, but he was working crazy hours and after my first night here we didn't see each other again. But I read his blog and since about January we've been talking a lot and getting to know each other better, and so it's nice to finally spend some time hanging out together
David is a photographer so we went down around KLCC and he did some photos of me, then because it is scary hot we headed inside to Coffee Bean and got some chilled drinks and talked for a while. We got to talking about some of my research and suddenly I found myself interviewing him regarding some aspects of my work that deal with Chinese culture in various countries (other friends be warned, I wll be posing some questions to you, too!). I think we ended up sitting there mor than 2 hours and it's quite likely that session was far more important than any of the "official" meetings I am having this week.
Later we headed out to Midvalley because it's one of those places people always blog about but I'd never been there. I had wanted to take him out for a belated birthday dinner so we headed out for Korean food and he helped me with my chopstick usage so now maybe Danny won't give me a hard time again when I get home. I gave him a small present I'd picked up, nothing fancy like the new lens his friends here gave him but something I think he will like.
I'll spend sometime Wednesday going over my notes and refining questions for a couple other intervie sessions this week, and will try to get in touch with an American here for a conference of interest to me which is at a hotel dow the street from mine...I should probably be participating in this conference but I hadn't heard of it before now, so I will just try to pick his brain about the important parts.
Monday, June 16, 2008
In KL
Got to KL today with no worries. Thai Airways has a nice lounge in Bangkok o had a little breakfast there then ate again on the plane. I ended up with only 90 minutes of sleep Saturday night because when Raberd returned me to the hotel the desk clerk said "oh, you didn't get your free Thai massage, let me send someone up." I figured a Thai massage was better than the 2 hours of sleep I would get so I let myself get twisted like a pretzel before catching a short nap.
Once in KL my friend Eddie came to meet me. Eddie lives and goes to school outside the city and is currently doing an internship with a company around there (I think it's just a way for the company to get some engineers working for them cheaply). Anyway, he's only off on weekends so he came in Sunday and will come back next Friday after work. We had a great dinner and spent a few hours getting caught up...it's not as if we don't talk when I'm back home, but stories always seem better whe told in person. Anyway, I have missed seeing Eddie so it was really god to reconnect.
Monday I had my first round of meetings with some of our government folks based here. That was very useful, as I'm comparing what our folks in-country say with what the people back in DC say to see if they match up (and so far, they do). My research is centered upon the US approach to this part of the world so it's good if everyone involved in it says the same things. Unfortunately, my eetings with the Malaysian government didn't work out, but I still have plenty of academics and NGOs to meet.
Monday night Jason and Alex picked me up for dinner and YAY for that. We spent about 4 hours together getting some really good Chinese food and drinking a few pots of tea. They are doing very well and looking cuter than ever and got me updated on folks here as well as sharing tales from some great travels over the last few months.
You know, it doesn't really feel like 9 months since I was last here. Once again these guys are making me feel incredibly welcome.
One unfortunate thing about this trip is that, since it's a business trip and my schedule is changing daily, I don't have the flexibility to see everyone I want. Ikanbills and I talked about him maybe coming to town from Penang but with my meetings and interviews changing everyday it was impossible for me to suggest a good time for that, so Iwill see him later this year. I also want to meet Nase but again, I think that is going to have to wait until my next visit because he is such a nice guy and I know I will want to spend quite a bit of time with him, and that time just doesn't exist on this trip. :(
Once in KL my friend Eddie came to meet me. Eddie lives and goes to school outside the city and is currently doing an internship with a company around there (I think it's just a way for the company to get some engineers working for them cheaply). Anyway, he's only off on weekends so he came in Sunday and will come back next Friday after work. We had a great dinner and spent a few hours getting caught up...it's not as if we don't talk when I'm back home, but stories always seem better whe told in person. Anyway, I have missed seeing Eddie so it was really god to reconnect.
Monday I had my first round of meetings with some of our government folks based here. That was very useful, as I'm comparing what our folks in-country say with what the people back in DC say to see if they match up (and so far, they do). My research is centered upon the US approach to this part of the world so it's good if everyone involved in it says the same things. Unfortunately, my eetings with the Malaysian government didn't work out, but I still have plenty of academics and NGOs to meet.
Monday night Jason and Alex picked me up for dinner and YAY for that. We spent about 4 hours together getting some really good Chinese food and drinking a few pots of tea. They are doing very well and looking cuter than ever and got me updated on folks here as well as sharing tales from some great travels over the last few months.
You know, it doesn't really feel like 9 months since I was last here. Once again these guys are making me feel incredibly welcome.
One unfortunate thing about this trip is that, since it's a business trip and my schedule is changing daily, I don't have the flexibility to see everyone I want. Ikanbills and I talked about him maybe coming to town from Penang but with my meetings and interviews changing everyday it was impossible for me to suggest a good time for that, so Iwill see him later this year. I also want to meet Nase but again, I think that is going to have to wait until my next visit because he is such a nice guy and I know I will want to spend quite a bit of time with him, and that time just doesn't exist on this trip. :(
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Truly a Small World
If you asked me what I did during the day in Bangkok Friday I'd have trouble telling you. This puppy was wiped out by jet lag, so other than some underwear shopping (yay, Domon!) it's all a little hazy. But Friday night I met up with Linh (yes, my good friend from DC) who is here working in an internship with the UN. We went out to dinner at a restaurant I'd visited years ago, and we had fluffy catfish salad, which is his new favorite dish (or his favorite new dish). We decided to have an adventure so did some running around town, and we shall both return home with some tales.
He headed home around midnight as he was getting up early Saturday, but I stepped out to DJ Station for some dancing...I thought they closed at 1 so figured I'd just be there for a little bit but oh no, they stay open later on the weekends I guess and by 2:30 I finally decided it was time to walk back to the hotel.
Saturday night it was time to finally see Raberd again for the first time since September 2006 (he was out of town when I came through last year). We had a great dinner then went out to Balcony for drinks. This was followed by meeting his friends (a very cool bunch of guys)at 70s Club, which is a bar filled with locals rather than tourists and those who would chase them. I feel lots more cofortable in the local bars and I really appreciate feeling so welcomed by his friends. We then headd to Espresso (by DJ Station) for a little dancing before Raberd walked me bac to my hotel around 2am. Naturally, I had to get up at 5:30am to go to the airport. Bleh.
Raberd had been with MTV Thailand for about 2 years but has just moved on to a new job with a concert promoter. Still in the entertainment biz, still doing marketing, and still one of my favorite people in the world. The guy is classy, and sweeter than any candy you've ever had.
So yeah, good times in Bangkok, most of them taking place at night, but hey, isn't that when all the best stuff happens???
He headed home around midnight as he was getting up early Saturday, but I stepped out to DJ Station for some dancing...I thought they closed at 1 so figured I'd just be there for a little bit but oh no, they stay open later on the weekends I guess and by 2:30 I finally decided it was time to walk back to the hotel.
Saturday night it was time to finally see Raberd again for the first time since September 2006 (he was out of town when I came through last year). We had a great dinner then went out to Balcony for drinks. This was followed by meeting his friends (a very cool bunch of guys)at 70s Club, which is a bar filled with locals rather than tourists and those who would chase them. I feel lots more cofortable in the local bars and I really appreciate feeling so welcomed by his friends. We then headd to Espresso (by DJ Station) for a little dancing before Raberd walked me bac to my hotel around 2am. Naturally, I had to get up at 5:30am to go to the airport. Bleh.
Raberd had been with MTV Thailand for about 2 years but has just moved on to a new job with a concert promoter. Still in the entertainment biz, still doing marketing, and still one of my favorite people in the world. The guy is classy, and sweeter than any candy you've ever had.
So yeah, good times in Bangkok, most of them taking place at night, but hey, isn't that when all the best stuff happens???
Friday, June 13, 2008
Detained (sort of) in Beijing
My trip to Asia got off to a rocky start. It started with an e-mail from United saying that my flight from DC to Tokyo had been delayed 90 minutes That wasn’t too bad, since I had 3 hours in Tokyo to make my connection to Bangkok, so all it really meant was that I’d have less time to freshen up in the Red Carpet Club (they have a really nice one in Tokyo, with showers and good food). But as I got to the Red Carpet Club at the airport in DC I got a call from United’s automated system telling me the flight was delayed an additional 90 minutes. This was not good because now I’d be arriving in Tokyo at the same time my connecting flight was due to depart. Ack!
Fortunately I was able to check right away with the United help desk, and it took half an hour to do, but they finally managed to rebook me on a flight through Beijing, with a 3-hour layover before going to Bangkok (and getting me to Bangkok a couple hours earlier than I was originally scheduled). They even managed to keep my upgrade, which means I had a very comfortable 13-hour flight, getting about 6-7 hours of sleep. The big question would be, could they pull my bag off the Tokyo flight and get it onto the Beijing flight? As I write this I’m on the plane so I still don’t know.
The real trouble came in Beijing. I was switching to Thai Airways, which is a nice airline, and because it was a different airline, United could not give me a boarding pass (so they said, but I’m still unsure about that). Anyway, even though Beijing has a nice new terminal for the Olympics, you still need competent people to work there. As I tried to find where to check in, the International Transfers desk (which I later learned should have given me my boarding pass) sent me off in another direction. I found myself trying to go into the gates without a boarding pass, and that gave them a fit (especially when they discovered the Tokyo-Bangkok boarding pass I’d originally been issued). I had four non-English speaking people ask me why I did not have a boarding pass before someone finally took me to the immigration supervisor’s desk. Four more people got involved and then they decided to call United Airlines to send someone over. It took an hour before someone came, all the while with me sitting there while the immigration police held my ticket and passport.
Someone finally arrived from United and told me I should have been issued a boarding pass upstairs (apparently, I was supposed to have figured this out on my own). She told me that now I would instead have to go to the Thai Airways check-in counter two terminals away and get a boarding pass. I asked her to come with me to make sure there were no other problems, but she wouldn’t.
My concern was this: I did not go through the entry process into China, nor did I have a visa for China. What she was telling me to do was go out the exit past baggage claim -- as if I had legally entered -- and then after getting my boarding pass, return to the secure area and go to my gate. (if I wanted to immigrate illegally into China, this was my big chance) My concern was that when I tried to go back through immigration control they would see that I had never legally entered, but now I was leaving, and I would have more troubles. Only now, I was 90 minutes away from my flight taking off, and I couldn’t afford more trouble.
As it turned out, I got back through the immigration checkpoint OK. What that tells me is that, despite having all these people looking at paperwork, despite all the hassle they put people through when entering or leaving the country, they ended up letting me depart from the open, non-secure area, even though my passport showed I’d never officially arrived. While I’m happy they let me through, I’m puzzled as to what, exactly, they were accomplishing with all the inefficient Communist bureaucracy.
These people are in BIG trouble when the Olympics start There is no way they will have the ability to handle all the international visitors.
Speaking of inefficient bureaucracy, I am curious to see the status of my luggage upon arriving. I’m betting it’s not there. Fortunately, I packed what I need for Bangkok, and for my first day in Malaysia, in my carry-on. But so far, this has not been so great.
(later: OK, my bag made it...it came out as soon as I came through Immigration. Yay!!)
(still later: United Airlines must have felt bad about the problems because they gave me back the 15,000 miles for my upgrade, even though I was still upgraded on the more important part of the journey)
Fortunately I was able to check right away with the United help desk, and it took half an hour to do, but they finally managed to rebook me on a flight through Beijing, with a 3-hour layover before going to Bangkok (and getting me to Bangkok a couple hours earlier than I was originally scheduled). They even managed to keep my upgrade, which means I had a very comfortable 13-hour flight, getting about 6-7 hours of sleep. The big question would be, could they pull my bag off the Tokyo flight and get it onto the Beijing flight? As I write this I’m on the plane so I still don’t know.
The real trouble came in Beijing. I was switching to Thai Airways, which is a nice airline, and because it was a different airline, United could not give me a boarding pass (so they said, but I’m still unsure about that). Anyway, even though Beijing has a nice new terminal for the Olympics, you still need competent people to work there. As I tried to find where to check in, the International Transfers desk (which I later learned should have given me my boarding pass) sent me off in another direction. I found myself trying to go into the gates without a boarding pass, and that gave them a fit (especially when they discovered the Tokyo-Bangkok boarding pass I’d originally been issued). I had four non-English speaking people ask me why I did not have a boarding pass before someone finally took me to the immigration supervisor’s desk. Four more people got involved and then they decided to call United Airlines to send someone over. It took an hour before someone came, all the while with me sitting there while the immigration police held my ticket and passport.
Someone finally arrived from United and told me I should have been issued a boarding pass upstairs (apparently, I was supposed to have figured this out on my own). She told me that now I would instead have to go to the Thai Airways check-in counter two terminals away and get a boarding pass. I asked her to come with me to make sure there were no other problems, but she wouldn’t.
My concern was this: I did not go through the entry process into China, nor did I have a visa for China. What she was telling me to do was go out the exit past baggage claim -- as if I had legally entered -- and then after getting my boarding pass, return to the secure area and go to my gate. (if I wanted to immigrate illegally into China, this was my big chance) My concern was that when I tried to go back through immigration control they would see that I had never legally entered, but now I was leaving, and I would have more troubles. Only now, I was 90 minutes away from my flight taking off, and I couldn’t afford more trouble.
As it turned out, I got back through the immigration checkpoint OK. What that tells me is that, despite having all these people looking at paperwork, despite all the hassle they put people through when entering or leaving the country, they ended up letting me depart from the open, non-secure area, even though my passport showed I’d never officially arrived. While I’m happy they let me through, I’m puzzled as to what, exactly, they were accomplishing with all the inefficient Communist bureaucracy.
These people are in BIG trouble when the Olympics start There is no way they will have the ability to handle all the international visitors.
Speaking of inefficient bureaucracy, I am curious to see the status of my luggage upon arriving. I’m betting it’s not there. Fortunately, I packed what I need for Bangkok, and for my first day in Malaysia, in my carry-on. But so far, this has not been so great.
(later: OK, my bag made it...it came out as soon as I came through Immigration. Yay!!)
(still later: United Airlines must have felt bad about the problems because they gave me back the 15,000 miles for my upgrade, even though I was still upgraded on the more important part of the journey)
Labels: Travel
Monday, June 09, 2008
Back from Disney
Had a great four days at Gay Days at Disney World (OK, it's not officially sponsored by The Mouse, but everyone there was very cool). We had something like 17 people down there together...hard to be sure exactly how many with all those moving parts! Much fun was had...drinks were drunk, music was danced to, boys were watched (and more, in some cases) and a good time was had by all. Pix to follow as soon as I censor them. :P
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
A Week of Seeing People
Monday night I met up with a friend from Afghanistan. She was in town for some government work and we had dinner at...an Afghan restaurant. Naturally. I've been there 4 times now and still haven't told the owner I spent time there last year, and nether one of us mentioned it that night. I think we already shocked every one by hugging (gasp!) in the middle of the restaurant.
Tuesday night Stan and i met up with Charles, a very cool guy from Tokyo who was here on business and contacted me on Fridae looking for people to hang with. We had dinner and then he had to get to a reception for work, but it was raining really heavy so we had drinks after dinner instead, then sent him on his way later. Very cool guy.
Charles, Stan, and me
Tonight Stan and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. OK, I don't actually know Indiana Jones, but I loved those movies as a kid and was really happy to se him back up on the screen. You know, he was the inspiration for me getting a PhD. Well, OK, not really, but it would make for a good story.
And Thursday I'm off to Disney World for Gay Days. Go Mickey, Go Mickey...
Tuesday night Stan and i met up with Charles, a very cool guy from Tokyo who was here on business and contacted me on Fridae looking for people to hang with. We had dinner and then he had to get to a reception for work, but it was raining really heavy so we had drinks after dinner instead, then sent him on his way later. Very cool guy.
Tonight Stan and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie. OK, I don't actually know Indiana Jones, but I loved those movies as a kid and was really happy to se him back up on the screen. You know, he was the inspiration for me getting a PhD. Well, OK, not really, but it would make for a good story.
And Thursday I'm off to Disney World for Gay Days. Go Mickey, Go Mickey...
Sunday, June 01, 2008
Stroke Stroke Stroke Again
A little over a year ago I watched my friends in AQUA compete in the Dragon Boat Festival. At the time I thought it looked like a lot of fun and thought I'd like to try that someday, and this weekend I got the chance. Yes, I was a dragon boater this weekend...but I still feel pretty Caucasian.
I wasn't sure it would happen...the race was supposed to be two weeks ago but got postponed due to flooding. It was going to be rescheduled for the weekend I'm in Bangkok (which is also Pride Weekend here in DC, which meant that we, the token gay dragon boat team, might have some people missing). But some other changes happened and it took place this weekend and YAY I got to race.
OK, the suspenseful stuff out of the way up front: we took a bronze medal in our division in Saturday's 250-meter race, and today we got a silver in our division in the 500-meter race. so YAY US!!!!!!!!!! It felt like being in the Olympics...well, maybe the Special Olympics.
Photos are still forthcoming...I am relying on other people to provide the pics.
Saturday was interesting. Our races went well and I felt I did OK for my first time, though I got some tips later from the guy sitting behind me and I think I did better today. The 250-meter race is FAST!! Our first race took us 1 minute 15 seconds, and out second race we didn't do quite as well, finishing in 1 minute 21 seconds. Not a lot of time to recover from mistakes, AND after we got a fast start we kept a very fast pace throughout.
The day's festivities were cut short by a very bad storm that came through. When it hit and the suspended racing for the day a lot of our folks left, but about 10 of us stayed in a tent we had set up...when the rain stopped we got out to pack up our campground and load it into Danny's car but as we did that the second half of the storm came and left us completely drenched. Danny dropped a couple of us at the Metro station and we were by far the wettest people on the subway (and wearing matching clothes, which made people look at us strangely for two reasons that day).
When we came back today the race organizers had to finish some of the 250-meter races, then it was time for the 500-meter. We only had a semifinal race (our placement was based on our score in the 250-meter races) and a final race for the medal, so we needed to push ourselves early. This was the event where the team took the gold medal last year and we really wanted to defend it. Our semifinal race was...interesting. We sped up a lot toward the end and lost our timing, so we were not in sync...some of us were reaching far with the paddle like we planned to do, others were taking shorter strokes because of the fast pace. We took second in that race which affected our placement in the final. After we stepped back and talked about it we had an idea of how to do it better. When we got to the final we started out well but so did the other boats. One was clearly out in front of everyone but we were almost even with the second-place boat. We stayed with them the whole race and toward the end we had a rush of power that pulled us ahead right at the finish line, so we took the silver medal. We were sorry to lose the gold but very proud of doing so well in the second half of the final and catching up with the other boat.
No storm today. Though a few drops fell as we were leaving.
Stan came today and cheered us on, though he didn't wear the booty shorts and bring the pom poms he promised, though he did take photos. Justin also came near the end of the day and we were all happy to see him there.
As I walked to the river after parking my car I chatted with a guy from another team. He asked who I was with and when i said "Out2Paddle" he said "oh wow, you guys were great last year! I saw the YouTube videos!! So, who are you guys a part of?" When i told him we're from AQUA, a gay Asian group, he looked at me and said "Oh. So, how do you know those guys?"
How do I know gay Asian men? That's a question with a lot of answers. Anyway, I just told him I had friends who were members and got hooked up through them.
Oh, and when one of the teams went up for their medal they were chanting "Beer! Beer! Beer!" So of course when we went we chanted "Queer! Queer! Queer!" Hey, ya gotta represent!!
It's kinda cool to be THE gay group in a community event like this. We're just happy for the chance to remind people we're here. Which is pretty much what AQUA is all about.
I will have photos up this week I'm sure.
On a quick side note, I know I have not been blogging much the last couple months. I've been starting up a professional blog on the side and it's really cut into my personal blogging (I've also been getting used to an active life again, which means less time at home in front of the computer). That's bad because a lot has been happening that I'd like to share. But, for a variety of reasons, I think I'm going to suspend that other blog for now, fall back and regroup and try that again later in the summer or in the fall, and that should give me more time to write here.
And on a final side note, I notice in that blog about last year's race that I mentioned how I'd like to meet some more of my online friends...well, since that day, of those I mentioned in the post, I actually have met Nyk, Alex, Dr Paul, Paul, and Joel. And some of those boys (and a few other delightful lads whom I met last year, including Eddie, David, Jason, Jason Jr, Frankie, Sam, Daniel, and Janvier!) I will be seeing again soon in Malaysia June 15-22. So watch out.
I wasn't sure it would happen...the race was supposed to be two weeks ago but got postponed due to flooding. It was going to be rescheduled for the weekend I'm in Bangkok (which is also Pride Weekend here in DC, which meant that we, the token gay dragon boat team, might have some people missing). But some other changes happened and it took place this weekend and YAY I got to race.
OK, the suspenseful stuff out of the way up front: we took a bronze medal in our division in Saturday's 250-meter race, and today we got a silver in our division in the 500-meter race. so YAY US!!!!!!!!!! It felt like being in the Olympics...well, maybe the Special Olympics.
Photos are still forthcoming...I am relying on other people to provide the pics.
Saturday was interesting. Our races went well and I felt I did OK for my first time, though I got some tips later from the guy sitting behind me and I think I did better today. The 250-meter race is FAST!! Our first race took us 1 minute 15 seconds, and out second race we didn't do quite as well, finishing in 1 minute 21 seconds. Not a lot of time to recover from mistakes, AND after we got a fast start we kept a very fast pace throughout.
The day's festivities were cut short by a very bad storm that came through. When it hit and the suspended racing for the day a lot of our folks left, but about 10 of us stayed in a tent we had set up...when the rain stopped we got out to pack up our campground and load it into Danny's car but as we did that the second half of the storm came and left us completely drenched. Danny dropped a couple of us at the Metro station and we were by far the wettest people on the subway (and wearing matching clothes, which made people look at us strangely for two reasons that day).
When we came back today the race organizers had to finish some of the 250-meter races, then it was time for the 500-meter. We only had a semifinal race (our placement was based on our score in the 250-meter races) and a final race for the medal, so we needed to push ourselves early. This was the event where the team took the gold medal last year and we really wanted to defend it. Our semifinal race was...interesting. We sped up a lot toward the end and lost our timing, so we were not in sync...some of us were reaching far with the paddle like we planned to do, others were taking shorter strokes because of the fast pace. We took second in that race which affected our placement in the final. After we stepped back and talked about it we had an idea of how to do it better. When we got to the final we started out well but so did the other boats. One was clearly out in front of everyone but we were almost even with the second-place boat. We stayed with them the whole race and toward the end we had a rush of power that pulled us ahead right at the finish line, so we took the silver medal. We were sorry to lose the gold but very proud of doing so well in the second half of the final and catching up with the other boat.
No storm today. Though a few drops fell as we were leaving.
Stan came today and cheered us on, though he didn't wear the booty shorts and bring the pom poms he promised, though he did take photos. Justin also came near the end of the day and we were all happy to see him there.
As I walked to the river after parking my car I chatted with a guy from another team. He asked who I was with and when i said "Out2Paddle" he said "oh wow, you guys were great last year! I saw the YouTube videos!! So, who are you guys a part of?" When i told him we're from AQUA, a gay Asian group, he looked at me and said "Oh. So, how do you know those guys?"
How do I know gay Asian men? That's a question with a lot of answers. Anyway, I just told him I had friends who were members and got hooked up through them.
Oh, and when one of the teams went up for their medal they were chanting "Beer! Beer! Beer!" So of course when we went we chanted "Queer! Queer! Queer!" Hey, ya gotta represent!!
It's kinda cool to be THE gay group in a community event like this. We're just happy for the chance to remind people we're here. Which is pretty much what AQUA is all about.
I will have photos up this week I'm sure.
On a quick side note, I know I have not been blogging much the last couple months. I've been starting up a professional blog on the side and it's really cut into my personal blogging (I've also been getting used to an active life again, which means less time at home in front of the computer). That's bad because a lot has been happening that I'd like to share. But, for a variety of reasons, I think I'm going to suspend that other blog for now, fall back and regroup and try that again later in the summer or in the fall, and that should give me more time to write here.
And on a final side note, I notice in that blog about last year's race that I mentioned how I'd like to meet some more of my online friends...well, since that day, of those I mentioned in the post, I actually have met Nyk, Alex, Dr Paul, Paul, and Joel. And some of those boys (and a few other delightful lads whom I met last year, including Eddie, David, Jason, Jason Jr, Frankie, Sam, Daniel, and Janvier!) I will be seeing again soon in Malaysia June 15-22. So watch out.
Labels: Friends
