New Photos

Photos from Hong Kong, Macau and Hanoi are online here (follow the corresponding links along the top of the page).

I Saw Dead People...

...well, one dead person.

I now can say that Ho Chi Minh is the most famous person I've ever seen... Dead. It was almost Chairman Mao, but he's just too darn popular!

I had no intention of seeing Ho, alive or dead. It was my last day in Hanoi and I wanted to see his mausoleum (from the outside). I got in what I thought was the correct line with all the other mostly Vietnamese tourists. We were ushered into a theatre showing propaganda film footage about how great a person Ho was, kissing babies and stuff like that. Then we had to form a single file line and follow a guide past a dozen or so uniformed police officers and guards to a security checkpoint, where all cameras and cellphones were confiscated. I should've realized at this point I was probably headed for more than just an exterior view of Ho's mausoleum, but onward I went, following the masses, a worker among workers...

Ohhh...umm, sorry about that...just getting a little too caught up in the spirit of the place I guess...

We passed another security checkpoint where we were led through x-ray machines, and then continued single file behind our guide towards the mausoleum. And continued inside. Everything was marble, in that mausoleum-ly kind of way. Uniformed guards stood at attention at every corner.

Up a flight of stairs and through a large set of double bronze doors, and there he was, lying in state. Four guards dressed in white stood at attention, one at each corner of his body. They were so motionless they may have been preserved dead bodies as well, I'm not entirely sure. There was no stopping - we continued around and out the other side. Ho was quite pale and I'm guessing a large part of the reason we weren't allowed to stop for a longer viewing was that a closer look would have made him look more...well, dead.

I'm in Bangkok now, and frankly I felt like kissing the ground when the plane landed in Thailand. Hanoi was fascinating in many ways. I expected to see much more Soviet-style 1950s architecture, but there is very little.

Most is what I would call "crumbling French colonial," although there are also many restored and very beautiful buildings as well, including the stunning 19th century Hanoi Opera House pictured here.

But the relentless noise of horns blowing, the non-stop motorbike traffic, the thick exhaust fumes, the cold, gray, overcast weather, and a similar gray coldness in many of the people I encountered made me so ready to leave after four days.

On the way to the airport, the cab had to make a detour since the main highway was closed a few kilometers before the terminal entrance. The cab driver was determined to get to the airport on time regardeless of the detour. In the pouring rain, we sped across country roads at 70 miles an hour, passing motorbikes, oxcarts, and bicyclists. And in true Hanoi driving style, his hand stayed on the horn for pretty much the whole trip.

Playing Real-Life Frogger in Hanoi

Answer: A cage of live chickens. A half-dozen boxes. Three kids. Grandma.
Question: How much can you fit on the back of your motorbike?



Yes, everything you've heard about Hanoi traffic is true. Thousands of motorbikes come at you like buzzing hornets from every direction. Traffic lights are really only suggestions. There are crosswalks marked at certain intersections, however these are only observed (in vain) by huddled, terrified tourists.

Last night was Christmas eve, and oddly enough, it actually felt like Christmas here. Trees and shops were decorated with lights. Vendors were selling Santa hats (and full Santa costumes) at every other intersection. Parents strolled hand-in-hand with their children, many of whom were wearing those brand-new Santa hats. Couples on motorbikes circled the lake, again and again (and again). Everyone eventually headed to the plaza in front of the Cathedral, where Christmas carols played and an oddly enormous neon-lit manger scene was prominently displayed.

And it's surprisingly cold. Dom flew from Chiang Mai to meet me here. If I'm cold, I can only imagine how he must be feeling. The first thing he did was buy 2 scarves and a hat...without even bargaining! We spent the morning wandering around the Temple of Literature, which was tranquil, lovely and quiet.

Our mission since then has been to find some good (and spicy) Vietnamese food. It's becoming harder than I thought. The highly-recommended Indochine was a big dissapointment. Koto was good, but more western than Asian. Our favorite place has been Quan an Ngon - a sort of upscale indoor street-food marketplace. He also liked Pho 29 - a big bowl of (cheap) noodle soup and an assortment of chilis on the side can keep him happy for a very long time!

Back to Christmas Eve: Random bursts of fireworks - along with the incessant beeping of horns - continued late into the night. Oh, and that little Christmas tree you'll see in the video above is nothing...today I passed a guy cruising by on a motorbike while balancing a full-grown 8' live tree.

Holy Macau!

It can be somewhat of a hassle to get to Macau from Hong Kong. It's an hour ferry ride, plus another hour going through customs on each side. But the hassle is worth it. Not because central Macau is an architecturally preserved World Heritage site. Not because the brand new Venetian and MGM Grand Casinos are said to be even more over-the-top than their Vegas counterparts.

Go to Macau for the egg tarts. They may be the world's perfect food.

You can buy them on the street fresh out of the oven - a small, buttery flaky pie crust enclosing a filling of sweet egg custard.

I dreamed about these egg tarts last night. They are that good. Really.

Macau, like Hong Kong, is now a Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Sounds like some poor office clerk somewhere is kept busy filing lots of paperwork.

Until its handover to China in 1999, Macau was administered by, and originally a territory of Portugal. It was the last remaining European colony in Asia.

Aside from a historic center (now a World Heritage Site), Macau is also the world's new Las Vegas, with gigantic casinos popping up like weeds. Very big, very tacky weeds. I had heard that it can get very crowded in Macau on Sundays, but that was the only day I had to go there. I left at 8:00 am, hoping to beat the throngs, but alas, they were all waiting for me at Hong Kong's China Ferry Terminal. Do these people ever stay home??

The center of Macau is very charming and most definitely worth seeing if you are in Hong Kong. It feels as if a part of historic Europe has been dropped into the center of what otherwise seemed to be a rather ugly, dirty, Chinese city. Cobblestoned streets with swirling inlaid tiles. Soft pastel yellow and cream colored churches. Narrow streets full of local shops and restaurants that wind up and down the hills.

By noon, the ferries from mainland China had arrived. The town was jam-packed with Chinese tour groups. So if you're looking for a quaint and quiet afternoon of sightseeing...go to Vermont.

Oh, did I mention those egg tarts??

Weird Sign of the Day

No apologies necessary, I've still got my other leg...

Hong Kong: Take Two

I am finally back in Asia (and thank you for your patience, I have gotten over that whole French thing that was going on).

I was first in Hong Kong for 1 night in December 2004. Hated it. I felt like I was in an Asian Times Square, with even more people, more touts, and more tourists. I has also just fallen in love in Chiang Mai, and frankly, I didn't even want to be in Hong Kong at all.

So now, 2 years later, I'm giving it a second chance. And after 5 days, I feel like I could almost live here. Almost...

Hong Kong is comprised of over 200 islands. Many are uninhabited. Others, like Hong Kong Island itself, hold many of the city's 7 million people. Apparently, most of those 7 million people never stay home because the streets, subways, and shopping malls are jam-packed day and night.

This is such a city of contrasts. It's an exhausting yet exhilirating place. The crowds are sometimes unbearable, and almost unescapable. Even though it has one of the world's best public transportation networks (subway, bus, minibus, double-decker bus, tram, ferry) you'll still find yourself walking. A lot. Often up and down some killer hills. Imagine the crowds of Midtown Manhattan with the hills of San Francisco. Throw in the harbor islands of Boston. Make everyone Chinese. Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

Yet solitude in Hong Kong is only a 40 minute ferry ride away... a 90-minute hike across central Lamma Island looked like this.

On the surface, this seems very much like a modern, new city - the architecture of Hong Kong Island is stunning and contemporary, one of the most breathtaking skylines anywhere on earth. Yet each of those buildings was carefully planned and constructed according to the ancient Chinese principles of fueng shui.

Incense filled Tin Hau temples are scattered across the city, where residents go to pray for good luck. Most have a resident fortune teller or two. Traditional Chinese medicine shops sit side by side brightly lit modern drug store chains.

And this city has more malls than Los Angeles. They're virtually unavoidable because you'll often get off the MTR (subway) and be inside one. The striking thing about these (all very high-end) malls is that they are jam-packed full of trendy 20 year-olds. The 20 year-olds travel in groups, whispering into faux-Prada cellphones, taking photos of one another with ultra-compact digital cameras, and mobbing the counters of brightly lit gelato stands. And generally, they all have fabulous hair.