My Travels

Heard snow was coming through Mammoth Mountain and decided to do a quick trip up. Stayed overnight in Bishop, never did it before but it was the closest available city with lodging available to Mammoth. Stayed at a Ramada, the room was very functional. Booked an "efficiency" room and it ended up being a suite with full kitchen. Pretty cool. My roommie looked very pleased in the morning. :D Did a day at Mammoth. Went with two newbies and it was a good day. Small snow showers throughout the day, not a major storm but the powder was good. The newbies seemed to enjoy themselves.... It was a good day to go...only snag was a forgotten purse. :( Of course, went through the Dutch bakery, Eric Schlatz (?), in Bishop and bought too much bread! Tried a new dessert, a rolled up lace cookie with cream. A Dutch cannoli!! Yum.

Went to Wild Animal Park over the weekend. I've forgotten how nice the San Diego zoos are. If you've read some previous posts, most zoos I've come across have left a poor impression. I'm glad that the San Diego zoos exist and I think they are hands down the best model for live animals. It is sord of sad to think this as I still believe these animals are better off in their own natural habitats. Spent some time in La Jolla. I'm not a big fan of San Diego itself but I certainly enjoy this particular area. Had some really good Thai food with good ambiance. Service was a little slow but the panang duck curry and coconut custard made it up for me. Spice and Rice Thai Cafe on Girard, definitely stop by if you can.

I'm back to one of my favorite places in the US and brought a cold with me. :( Am staying at the Hilton Prince Kuhio, very nice. I had a great view of Waikiki Beach. I think they are in the remodeling stages which explains the somewhat decent room rates. Very nice interior, very bright modern if that makes any sense. After staying at this hotel, it is a nice alternative to the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Doubletree Alana. The Prince Kuhio combines the best of Hilton HV and Doubletree. It isn't pretentious but has a nice resort feel. I like the turndown service - they left a small cupcake - and the executive lounge had an assortment of desserts I have not seen in any other hotel. Chocolate covered strawberries, an assortment of petit fours...awesome. All the new hotels have gone with flat TVs and DirectTV service. Very cool. Went to Pukadog, www.pukadog.com, on the corner of Kuhio and Naohau(sp?) for lunch. I recall seeing them in the Travel shows on cable TV and deci...

I'm back again and staying at the Palace Hotel. I can see why the hotel was designated a historic landmark. I do like the hotel, spacious rooms and very high ceilings. The conference food is above average. :D Another plus is that it sits right in front of the Montgomery Bart station. I know some people really like the Westin St. Francis but I would stay at the Palace hands down for the prices both hotels quote. My only complaint is the pool and fitness area. Both could use a revamp, they might even get more guests to their hotel spa if the area was given a makeover. Had good dinners at Washington Bar & Grill and Unicorn. The "washbag" is on Powell and Union, the italian fare was pretty good. The bread pudding was very good, better if it was actually hot. Unicorn is a "pan asian fusion" restaurant. I'm always skeptical about Vietnamese fusion but I was pleasantly suprised by the tastiness of our dishes. Far better than Crustacean or Slanted Door...

A friend once asked me what are my favorite airports. I promptly replied Changi Airport in Singapore. The question was revised to domestic airports and I struggled with that answer. Sad state of affairs that I can name international airports easily yet travel so much domestically. I finally said SFO because of the revamped United terminal. With that being said, I realized as I stepped into the Sacramento airport that I actually liked this airport. Free internet access is always a plus with me and the terminal seems fairly new. (Free internet is also available at Phoenix Airport, Syracuse Airport, and some more that I've forgotten.) Maybe it is because of Southwest. I've noticed that the Oakland airport Southwest terminal also went under a heavy revamp and is eons ahead of the other terminal in terms of aesthetics. Hmmmmm, there has been a heavy push to penetrate the California market as Southwest is also servicing SFO these days. Wonder if the strategy will work. Th...

Went to the Cal game and after suffering through 4 hours of rain, saw 'SC win the game. Thank goodness, I would have been hella pissed to sit through that miserable stadium to see us lose. I have to say that the Cal stadium pales in comparison to the Coliseum. Bench seating and the only concessions available are Subway and hot dogs and portable bathrooms. Yech. I have had people tell me the greatness of living in SF compared to LA especially regarding traffic. I have to admit that I find it flawed. Having been to SF a zillion times now and actively take mass transit in this city, I don't see how people can gripe about traffic in LA. SF is only about 7 miles wide or long and it can take you an hour to go from one end to the other via mass transit or car (same goes for NYC). Granted, there are parts of LA that are horrendous to get through but not nearly as bad as people think. Although, the gas prices in the bay area would make anyone pause about every owning a car up he...

Drove down from Riverside today. Every time I say I go to SD, people tell me how much they love the city. A feeling that I have yet to share. Don't get me wrong, seems like a nice enough town but I don't get it. The gaslamp district is like any other retail/entertainment area of a city and the beaches are the beaches. Maybe it has to do with my hometown..... SD seems like a bigger version of Orange County. Am staying at the Homewood Suites near Liberty Stations. Kind of cool to be close to the naval base, big boats nearby. I think this is a relatively new hotel, the in-room furnishings are fairly modern. Actually, it is the most modern room I've seen for a hotel of this type. LG flat panel TV WITH HD signals (watching sports in a hotel room has never been cooler), stainless steel fridge and dishwasher. Craziness. PS. These pictures were taken with my Motorola Krzr...not bad, huh?

Staying at the Hampton Inn in Colton again. I was going to have breakfast tomorrow with a friend and catch up. She flaked and now I can enjoy the complimentary continental breakfast at the Hampton. Went to the Bob's Big Boy restaurant next door last time I was here and my memories of the restaurant were better.

I was suppose to go to San Diego this week; however, something about fires and smoke cancelled my business for going to SD. So I've enjoyed a light week of travel and a leisurely drive to San Luis Obispo today instead of a mad dash from SD to SLO. Am staying at a Hampton Inn & Suites in Paso Robles. Went to the Crooked Kilt in downtown Paso Robles. Suprisingly, a fairly large city. It doesn't look like it from the 101. My friend was leery of walking into the Crooked Kilt, there aren't alot of asians around here (I think) and everyone turned and looked at us when we walked in. As appealing as it may sound to turn heads, I'd rather not the ENTIRE pub to do it. :D On the up side, the food was really good for a pub. I'd certainly recommend going back. Had some down time before heading back to the fires in SoCal. Apparently, Paso Robles is a winery haven and was obligated to visit the local wineries. Mostly misses, I did find a couple of wines to bring bac...

Muggy, rainy, and overcast. Great combination for NYC. I think it is one of the few times in my life where I couldn't tell where the rain and my sweat began and ended. Stayed at the Hilton New York. I'm getting tired of this hotel. Don't get me wrong, nice facilities but there are other Hiltons I'd rather stay at. Unfortunately, the group conference rate can't be beat. Maybe next year I'll see a different view of the NYC skyline..... Had the usual NY style pizza my friend insists upon from Lombardi's Pizzeria. Had decent Italian an another night from Rino Trattoria in the Hell's Kitchen area. I always forget that "al dente" is too al dente for me but the food was good. Service was a little slow.

I'm in New Jersey, only for a day. Got priced out of Manhattan. Who pays $800/night??!!?!?!? Contrary to my beliefs, it was pretty nice. Very suburban with the most collection of Audis, BMWs, and Benzes I've ever seen. I thought Beverly Hills was bad. The only difference was people definitely were not blond and definitely had NJ accents. Is this where the Sopranos are?? Stayed at a Homewood Suites, I am constantly reminded how much I like this particular brand. They give you free booze and free light dinner. Ok, it was Bud Light and cheap wine, why complain? This was the cutest display of toiletries I've seen in awhile. The hotel was attached to an outdoor shopping plaza and right outside my window view lay a favorite store, Banana Republic.

Going to Hayward and am staying at the Hilton Garden Inn, across the street from last week's hotel. Although the view isn't much (880 traffic), the hotel offers complimentary local transportation. Infinitely helpful for someone like me who doesn't drive all the time! From my understanding, this is a revamped Holiday Inn hotel. Seems nicely done. Of course, the room comes with a LCD TV and I got Transformers DVD as a birthday gift. Hmmmmmm....... wonder what I'll be doing. Had dinner with a friend in downtown Oakland. Decided to try a random Vietnamese restaurant and actually found a decent pho shop in the Bay area. On the corner of Webster and 10th, the restaurant, Pho Hoa Lao II (I can't remember if this is exactly the name) is a little dingy looking from the outside but the pho was good.

I'm in Philly for a wedding. Staying at the Hampton Inn near the convention center. Am staying at alot of Hamptons lately.... Not much of a view despite being on the top floor. To be fair, Philly doesn't have much of a cityscape. The wedding is at the Sofitel, it was a nice affair. Me and the happy couple. Wasn't able to take pictures of the wedding cake which was a pile of profiteroles held together by spun sugar. The bride definitely hit my sweet tooth hard!!! Besides the wedding, there are benefits to being here. Cosis, Au Bon Pains, and no sales tax on clothes otherwise 7% on everything else.

Staying in the East Bay, Emeryville to be exact. Four Points by Sheraton in Emeryville, cute location. Decent view of the bridge into the city....

Am staying in the Hampton Inn in San Bernardino/Colton area. It's the Inland Empire, need I say more? One interesting thing to me is that there is a Bob's Big Boy next door. I use to llooovvee going there for Sunday brunch...all you can eat AND they had fried apple pies. My favorite extinct food!!! Nice enough room, one of those psuedo suites with the whirlpool tub looking into the living room.... Guess I can watch TV and wash myself. :D Went to Fontana to take a look at my totalled car....It doesn't look so bad from the passenger side. But gets progressively worse as you move towards the driver side.... And doesn't get any better towards the driver rear....

Never been to Reno, unless you count flying to the airport and driving to Tahoe. Visiting UN-Reno. To my surprise, it is a very nice and large campus and full of construction. I just assumed Las Vegas would be the bigger campus. Guess no one goes to school in Vegas. :D With only a handful of hours of sleep in me this past two days and a brief cruise through downtown via a shuttle, I had no desire to go to the "strip." Avis did give me some motivation by giving me an Eclipse to drive. Was suprised they had imports in their inventory. So far, the ride is stiff and suprisingly noisy (comparable to my own car). I chose to go to a local BJs instead of downtown. I've been told that Reno controls its growth and is a great city. From first glance, I wouldn't necessarily agree. Staying in the burbs at a Hampton Inn did change my attitude. Nice enough hotel, recent construction and had great water effects in the lobby area. (Shouldn't they keep that kind of thin...

I'm in Hawaii for a week. Stayed in Waikiki,Oahu and did a day trip to Big Island. Due to the size of the group, I've deviated from hotel lodging and found a vacation rental for the week. Very homey, I found a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo for reasonable prices. The only downside is the traffic noises in Waikiki. I've forgotten how much goes on during the early morning hours and that most Hawaiians lack central air in their homes. (It existed but it was cooler to have the windows open and allow the trade winds to come through.) On the Big Island, flew into Hilo and visited the Volcano Park. Had breakfast at Ken's Pancake House. Best ever of the week! Don't know if it was the combination of timing, hunger, or food but it hit the spot for everyone. You can't miss it, Hilo isn't that big. The park was a pretty cool place with lots of hiking trails. Didn't get to do much trail hiking but drove around the perimeter of the volcano ridge. Of course, no vi...

I'm in a pseudo timeshare and went to the Hilton Grand Vacations on the Las Vegas strip. Next to Circus Circus, the location is OK, facilities are good. I assume most of the timeshare Hilton properties will look alike (having no experience with these types of facilities). Dragged some friends and family and had a pretty good time. Was amazed at the stamina and level of energy considering the year I've been having. Not so much for these guys.... Missed out on the pool parties but saw some places haven't done before. Missed out on a show, couldn't get to Vegas in time.... :(

I made a very short trip to DC and stayed at the Capital Hilton. I've decided the room type I like best is with the bar area in the living room. This time, I was placed in a normal room, decent size. Always appreciate the Cartoon Network as a cable channel option. The lobby bar is pretty decent and would recommend it if you are looking to chill. As typical, the weather was muggy. I know that DC has risen in reputation and trendiness, I still don't get it though....

Spent a day in St. Louis, had interesting BBQ at Smokin' Al's. Never made it to Ted Drews although I feel it is overrated at times. Since my friend never does anything, he uses people's visits to actually see the town. The agenda was to visit the local zoo. I haven't been to a zoo in quite some time and realize I don't like the concept. I think that certain animals can be happy in captivity. I don't know if it does society good by displaying animals from around the world in facilities that can never match their natural habitat. The bears and elephants were very prone to what I call claustrophia. The constant pacing or rocking can't possibly be good habits.... In any case, this may be my last St. Louis trip as my friend hopes to get a job back in CA. Could be a trend given another of my person in my social network is returning to CA after taking a job out of state.

On my way back to LA, I stopped by to visit a friend who lives in the city. He recently moved into the downtown area in the "gentrified" area near SLU (St. Louis University). Kinda sketchy at times but the loft space was coo. The high ceilings help give the place some light.... My friend seems to have matured in his selection of furnishings. I remembered when he lived with only two pieces of furniture in LA. A cool art effect on the wall.... The bathroom is the size of a bedroom...yikes!!! Washer/Dryer, shower, loo, why ever leave? In any case, nice enough city but I still have an affinity for Kansas City or Madison, WI.

Never been here and haven't gotten to the city yet. Seems like a nice enough town though. Am in a Hilton Garden Inn and it is your typical room. I've forgotten how easy it is to stay at an HGI - microwave, internet access, mini-fridge. The TV is pretty nice though, a flat screen widescreen tube TV. Suprisingly, it is raining this week. Ain't used to rain in June, must be a midwest thing....

I have to say, I'm not a huge fan of Philly. Seems like a nice enough city but nothing memorable. Stayed at the Sheraton Society Hill and the place definitely shows its age. Ate at two places that was very enjoyable, Soho Pizza and Amici. Both are on Market Street between 2nd and 3rd streets. Soho Pizza is NY style pizza and I love the garlic flavor on the crust. Amici is an Italian restaurant, had the Satchetti Rose. They also great garlic knots and regular bread. Had the Riesling, wouldn't recommend. Spent some time in the Reading Terminal Market. On a friend's recommendation, had a roast pork sandwich from DeNic's. Had the last sandwich of the day before they closed. Pretty good and different from the cheesesteaks.

Ok, this isn't about going anywhere but about a game I find vastly amusing. www.tangerinepanic.com. Avoid the orange balls.... Anyways, will be heading out to Philly end of this week. Gonna catch up with my friend who'll be getting married in October. Yikes!!! Also, some of my old old colleagues when I worked at USC will be in town for a conference. Maybe I'll hit them up.

I'm in Tucson this week. Hot and dry...typical Arizona heat. Not much to the city, suprise surprise. The only bright spot is that the conference meals have been of good quality. Gorgeous resort but I have opted to stay at an Embassy Suites nearby. Typical setup, although I found the brick walls interesting. I always crack up when the bathroom vanity is outside the bathroom....

I got this picture from my brother. A "semi-family" photo. At bottom, a family friend, mother of my half-siblings, our father, and my aunt. At top, my brother (full and oldest male), the other 'me', my newly married brother, his wife, my other brother (full and youngest male), me, and my sister.

My brother got married over the weekend!! Flew up to Toronto and stayed in the 'burbs. I'm always suprised at the growing Asian population in Vancouver and Toronto. The Chinatown in Toronto is changing to a Vietnamese population. I wouldn't be suprised if the influence changes completely in the next five years. It reminds me of LA, when the Chinatown moved to Alhambra and became the Chinese community juggernaut. I stayed in Markham and felt like I was in China. Restaurants were really good in service and quality. The only drawback was that we don't know how to speak Chinese and had to point alot. :D If ever in the area, I had great Peking Duck at the Quinlang Cafe off Highway 7 in the Cineplex Odeon Plaza. I heard that the dim sum kicks ass in this area as well. Went to the local Costco (Ok, it was right next door) and had canadian pizza slice. Canadian bacon is super good. Pricier than at home but worth the price. My brother thought the crust too doughy but ...

Went to Orlando for a conference and stayed in the Lake Buena Vista area. Didn't stay at the Disney hotels (where the conference was held). Although my friends who stayed there had nice rooms. The Hampton Inn is in the middle of a revamp and it was interesting to see the changes going on in the hotel. Ironically, I found a really great Thai restaurant near the Florida Mall. Thai Bistro City restaurant on Sand Lake Road was pretty tasty. Had the duck curry and Pad Kee Mow (sp?). Also tried a sushi restaurant, it was OK. Visited Epcot Center for the first time. Actually, the first time I've ever gone to a theme park in Orlando. One of these days, I'll go to Disneyworld....

I had an opportunity to stay in the 'mid-city' area of Los Angeles recently. A couple miles northwest of downtown LA, the area has benefitted (depending on your viewpoint) the changes of the 'gentrification' of downtown LA and the surrounding areas. As prices have marched north, more and more people are coming back to downtown LA to live and work. I recently stayed at the Wilshire Plaza Hotel and it was a pleasant surprise. A former Radison (?) property, the hotel is right across the street from a Metro station (Wilshire and Vermont). Super easy to get around w/o a car and is convenient to Hollywierd plus downtown LA. For those interested in greater distances, Universal City is at the end of the red line as well as Pasadena on the gold line.

Stayed at the Hyatt Irvine a couple of weeks ago. Very nice, reminds me of Meridien. Swanky bar and swankier rooms. Very tasteful and modern. Several of my colleagues had gift cards to the Hyatt and they were gracious enough to let me have them. (Thanks guys!!) Came in handy for the minibar munchies etc. Didn't have time to take pix as I was dealing with a family crisis. Take my word, it was nice. Location was bleh but the hotel offers shuttle service to South Coast Mall.

So my mold escapade is coming to a close with a couple of hitches along the way. The contractor employed for the reconstruction of my bedroom walls balked at repainting the rooms entirely. For what reason? He underbid the job and is trying to cut corners on anything he can. So for the "additional work" of repainting the rooms, he wanted $950 including painting the trim for 500 square feet!! One can mke the argument that my request to use different colors would add to his expenses and painting an additional wall or two would add to manpower; however, it doesn't add up to the amount he wanted. (And I'm not in the mood to pay that kind of money out of pocket.) So after a lengthly discussion with the paying party, we decided to let him just prime the rooms to where he thinks he should and someone else would come in to paint. When I came in yesterday to look at the rooms, he pretty much primed 1/2 to 3/4 of both bedrooms. I can't imagine how he could make the a...

We've moved back to the Hampton Inn Cypress again. After the Carson location, my roommate is breathing a sigh of relief. To top off the one day of no water, he forgot his toothbrush charger and belts. Housekeeping seems to be inconsistent in returning things.....I have to admit, I too am liking the Cypress location.

My 2007 has started with a stellar bang and I can only hope the rest of the year can match.... The mold removal company has finished their job yesterday and am awaiting for the microbiologist to confirm that mold is no longer present in the bedrooms. In the meantime, I've had a couple of snafus. My knee worsened over the weekend and forced me to borrow crutches from my family. Went to the doctor and was prescribed antiobiotics and anti-inflammotry medication....good stuff. My hotel lost water yesterday and we went without water for over 12 hours. Had to scramble to my gym to shower before work. Although this incident has spurred my brother to say "Back to Cypress!" To be fair, the Carson property is older but it does feel cramped compared to the previous Hampton and my roommmate's commute time hasn't changed with the different locations.

So my mold saga continues.... I blame mold for my current physical condition. I mentally killed my sister's dog on Sunday. I took him for a walk to the comic book store and when I was almost at my parent's house, he decides to try to book off (probably saw something or whatever). In any case, I was not anticipating this sudden move after an hour walk right outside my parent's house. Having a 50 lb force try to run away from you with a leash still attached to your wrist ends you up on the floor with a gashed up knee, several skin scrapes, and a minor hole in my top. The knee gash for those interested in gore....I flirted with the idea that I had a hairline fracture on my knee. See what happens when I'm homeless? Anyways, this week, I'm in Cypress. The Hampton Inn is somewhat centrally located in the midst of retail/restaurant mix. There is a Curry House right next door!! Mayhap, I should order lunch to go?? I think there are alot of Japanese in the area because t...

I'm somewhat homeless. My condo has some mold issues. It will take a few weeks to assess and repair. Although, this event happened almost a month ago with no results. I think the vendor who did the water removal did a bad job and increased the chanced of mold growth. How do you not punch holes in the wall to dry out the interior of the wall? Placing dehumidifiers in the room isn't going to solve the problem that the wall insides will be dry. Oh well, I feel sorry for my neighbor who has to pay for all this.... In the meantime, I'm now staying at random hotels in LA. As a resident, I never really put much thought in how much hotels can cost. Granted, I understood there is a high end market such as Westins, Four Seasons, etc. and the low end like Bates motels but never really paid much attention to the mid-priced lodging availability. Amazingly enough, there are plenty of hotels that are in this category and in the most suburban areas of LA. As I'm trying t...

It has been an eventful and restful vacation. I'd like to give props to my aunt's husband's brother, Trong Tin Nguyen. He is a travel agent based in Hanoi. He put together an awesome tour package that actually satisfied my parents. Another person is our tour guide, Hoai Giang Do, who was our point person in Hanoi. Of all the guides we had during our trip in Vietnam, he was the best. English was understandable as well as his Vietnamese. He was also closer to our age and could give us the best tips. Finally, Kanjanee Hongsyok who kindly befriended me on the train and made sure I made it back to Bangkok ok.

I must admit that the revamped airport leaves a better impression than last I was here. It was very cramped and cold. The new design is more consumer friendly by ensuring you access to all the Fendi, Coach, etc you can buy. The lack of food eateries is a bit disconcerting.　Does no one in Japan eat?

Ok, ETA to LA in 12 hours..... I have free internet access so I'm going to utilize it to the max. The Conrad Bangkok is SIC! Maybe cuz I've been gone for so long but I'm super impressed with the Conrad. I thought the Sheraton Chiang Mai was nice and then came along the Conrad. I'm sort of sad that I didn't stay here while in Bangkok. "Next time..." as my Conrad host said. The room is complete with plasma TV, dvd player, Ipod compatible speakers, and a kick ass bathroom with glass walls. There is a pillow menu if the one in the room isn't satisfactory.

I scheduled airport transfer at the hotel. I failed to realize that it only takes 10 minutes to get around town and am somewhat early for my flight. If I was more ambitious, I could have tried to jump on an earlier flight that was leaving when I arrived. Oh well..... Save my "stand-by" tactics for United. In the meantime, I'm just killing time at the Chiang Mai airport. If you ever visit Chiang Mai, consider a couple of things. Being the capital, it reminds me of Sacramento in size. Somewhat small and public transit non existent. It has more of a nightlife than Sac town though. If you are adventurous enough, renting a motorbike is an excellent way of getting around town and its outskirts. The zoo and national park is within 10 to 20 minutes from downtown as well as a host of spa facilities. There are a number of locations where car rentals are advertised and I would only advise renting a car if you are planning on travelling much farther like Chiang Rai. Other...

I accomplished my agenda yesterday....walked around the Old City and the Night Bazaar. The Old City is pretty uneventful. The highlights are the old temples that dot the area. Some are pretty cool. Aside from the architectural highlights these temples offer, I noticed that there are plenty of dogs in the temples. The monks must really like dogs. Unlike the Vietnamese dogs (they are all of some type of small mutt looking dog but have similar features - made me want to bring one home), the Thai dogs look all imported. I saw Dalmations, Retrievers, Rottweilers, etc. Must be expatriates who didn't bother collecting their dogs and they ran away. Despite the lack of apparent ownership, all the dogs I came across were fairly friendly and hella smart. They must get hit by cars, tuk tuks, etc enough to always look on both sides of the street before crossing. When walking around the downtown area of Chiang Mai where the Night Bazaar was held, I thought to myself that my family wou...

My vacation is coming down to a close. I have mixed feelings about it but who doesn't after a long vacation? Spent the day at the Royal Flora Expo. It was pretty intense and a very warm day. The only difference between Bangkok and Chiang Mai in terms of weather was the level of humidity. Less so in the northern part of Thailand. My expectations before getting into Chiang Mai was weather closer to Hanoi or even similar to Hue (middle of Vietnam) but the city is definitely in the 80's to 90's. Anyways, back to the Expo.... Spent most of the day wandering around looking at the various exhibitions and the King's agrieconomic philosophies. Apparently, he wandered around Thailand's farmlands and made decisions to increase the water supply and change planting styles. Northern Thais were notorious Opium farmers and he was able to turn them to other sustainable products. I have to admit I was getting tired walking in the heat and was going to head home when I came a...