PA and nature

things that warmed my heart in NYC

This is the random liquor store in Long Island City where Maki and I had an unplanned wine tasting that contributed to what could be known, in the most generous terms, as our first date. My good friends live in L.I.C. now and we happened to walk by it.

A walk through central park. Lots of people enjoying a leisurely row.

Chrysler building. Its amazing how large it looms over you in real life, and how difficult that can be to capture on camera.

A Mexican music ensemble on the 6 train. I know lots of New Yorkers find subway musicians and drummers annoying, but they have always been pure joy for me. I was so excited when they stepped on that a physical sensation pulsed down my body. It reminded me of the content closing my eyes and listening to A or 2/5 train drummers would create on the way home from a long day at work.

I'd love to accept compliments for even the lucky timing of this photo, but I'm 99% certain the umbrellas were purposefully arranged for another photographer.

baggage

While attempting to look up baggage limits for my upcoming flight, I learned that one may bring antlers on American Airlines flights, but they

"Must be as free of residue as possible. The skull must be wrapped and tips protected." Also, us passengers are allowed up to one javelin per flight. I did not find a clear answer to my own question about checked baggage on a domestic flight that is connected to an international one.

A Walk To Remember

A few pictures from a stroll around Bangkok. It is election season, and giant campaign posters are everywhere. Here are the ads from two main rivals. The woman in red is Yingluck Shinawatra, the sister of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. In blue is the party in power now, led by Abhisit Vejjajiva.

While there is a high level of tension concerning the recent political history, it hasn't affected daily life too much and it appears the excesses will be avoided this time. Much like cricket and other products of Britain, parliamentary systems deeply confuse me.
Waiting for the SkyTrain. 

Spirit house outside of Central World mall. As this is a huge structure on a huge lot, the spirit house is correspondingly large.

A smaller spirit house in a park.

A coffee stall I visit every now and then.

And now, let me direct your attention to about the eighth product on this list. When I first passed this sign, I was baffled. What could a beauty treatment called "Pink Nipple" possibly mean? After I brought it up to some Thai friends, however,  I learned that Thai nipples tend to be more brownish, and pink nips are totally in right now. (We were at the beach, so I took the opportunity to strut around and prominently display my pinkness.) Basically, in a rough translation on Newton's third law, for every beauty treatment in the United States, there is an equal and inverse treatment here in Asia. Americans lie on the beach or in the tanning bed to brown up? Thais stay out of the sun and use creams that supposedly whiten. American female celebrities are expected to be rail thin, sinewy and bronze. But the Thai women that inhabit the pages of gossip rags have round faces and milky complexions.

Singapore

Took a short trip to Singapore. I was about to write that Singapore has a unique history and culture, but that's nothing more than a general truism because all Southeast Asian countries are more unique than I had understood before coming here. But the confluence of Southeast Asian, East Asian, European and Indian cultures have created a city-state more unlike its regional neighbors than similar to them. Singapore is famously clean and organized. I had expected this to translate into a sterility, but was delightfully proven wrong. Singapore has lots of character, and because it is organized in a western fashion, that character sometimes feels more accessible. Here's the Singapore River, and the central tourist area surrounding it.   

Singapore is also extremely expensive by Southeast Asian standards. This fellow below pretty much summarizes it.

Singapore is also a foodie destination. Most of the food I consumed was from Chinese hawker stalls. Here's a Hainanese chicken stall I tried. This is a dish with popular versions in Bangkok and Singapore. The rumor is that many Bangkok people travel to Singapore to try its superior version. I won't wade into this controversy, but will say that both cities' versions are delicious.

Also visited the Singapore Art Museum, the Asian Civilizations Museum, and the amazing Botanic Gardens.

Malaysia

After a jaunt through the islands, we hopped on the train running from Bangkok to Singapore, and headed south into Malaysia. The golden hour provided a great lense on the Malaysian landscape through the train window.

We stopped in Tanah Ratah in the Cameron Highlands region for a couple days. These upcountry regions were known as hill stations during the colonial days, and bureaucrats and their ilk would come on vacation to escape the stifling heat of tropical cities. This area was the base for many excellent hikes. Here we are, trekking off into the Malaysian wilderness. 

We did several hikes, but by far the best was the one pictured above. We hiked up to the top of a small mountain, and then walked down the road amid gorgeous tea plantations. Color-coordinated brothers!

Worker in the tea fields.

And a quick day layover in Kuala Lumpur, where we checked out the Islamic Arts Museum, the Bird Park, and Chinatown.
Back in Bangkok, we happily obliged another trip to the top of the Centara Sky Bar, where we were treated to a viewing of a big storm sweeping through Bangkok.

Ko Tarutao

Stopped at Ko Tarutao for the night. This island is between Ko Lipe and the mainland. It has a degree of notoriety among Thais due to its history as a prison during the World War II era. In fact, some Thais I spoke to expressed the sentiment that they would never stay here due to the spirits that inhabit the island.
Tarutao is a national park. There are no resorts, only a couple park service bungalows. The island is desolate and pristine. Here is a huge swatch of beach I walked across, encountering only one couple in over an hour.

And a beyond spectacular sunset!