My Travels

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...

Tried to recover the day as much as possible with the train delay yesterday. Was able to check in around 2 pm-ish and had the best shower of my life. Actually, the room rates a #1 for best room under $100. I guess being in Asia with a somewhat strong dollar helps too.... Apparently, I look like a local. Everyone keeps talking to me in Thai as if I understand. Kanjanee, lady I met on the train, says I look Chinese and Thailand has alot of ethnic Chinese Thai people. Although, the mosquitoes must think I'm Thai too because I've only been bitten in Vietnam. Ironically, no one in Vientam assumed I can speak Veitnamese. I think I've been able to learn alot about Thailand's history. This year is the 60th Anniversary of the King's reign. Don't ask me to spell his name. It is also the King's 80th birthday. Chiang Mai is hosting a Royal Flora Expo for 3 months in honor of both occasions. The King's major interests is agriculture and photography. Bot...

These past few days with my family on my mom's side has been fun. I much prefer them to my father's side.... :o At this point, I've met almost all my aunts and uncles from my mom's side and an assortment of cousins. I ended up missing dinner with my uncle as he was working late. But I did hang out with his daughter who was my age but married with two kids... YIKES. They've all been super nice in showing me the city and I've been having fun riding on the Hondo bikes. I always forgot to bring my camera to videotape the backseat view of the crazy congestion and driving habits of Saigon. Oh well.... I stayed at my 2nd cousin's house where Grandma was also staying and both aimed at stuffing me with as much food as possible. Which wasn't much by their standards. I kept hearing how my sister eats more than I do.... Took off for Thailand yesterday and took an overnight train to Chiang Mai from Bangkok. The trains are pretty cool. A friend suggested I get the 1st...

My parents and siblings left a couple of days ago and am hanging out with family on my mother's side. Doing random sightseeing and remnant souvenir shopping for my siblings. Hanging out with Grandma and cousins. I think I'm having dinner with an uncle. Some of my cousins speak way too fast and is hard for me to keep up on what's going on. Am enjoying some days of rest before heading out to Thailand. Today, I found out two things - good and bad. Good - USC beat the Wolverines in the Rose Bowl!! Bad - one of my upstairs neighbors flooded out their apartment and I may have suffered some damage. The humidity and heat is beginning to get to me. I can't imagine what the summers are like here. Being away for this long in this weather in a developing country gives me a greater appreciation for living in Los Angeles. The biggest difference I have found between the two countries is that no one in Vietnam goes home hungry or shelterless. No matter how poor, you can li...

I have to say, I like Saigon the most of all the places I've been. Architecturally different. From my understanding, the government allows only a certain amount of square footage to a family so all the houses essentially like alike...narrow structures that go deep, like SF Victorian houses (without the character). However, in Saigon, there is a little differentiation, not huge but some. I think it has to do with the European influence. Today, we went to Vaun Tang.....very unimpressive. It is the nearest beach to Saigon and it was a generic beach. I wonder why it was part of the itinerary. Came back and ate at Pho Pasteur...it has a good reputation for pho and my father remembered it fondly. It was good...not fantastic but good. Meat is a little tough. In general, I've found beef to be very tough in Vietnam. Pork = good, fish = good, chicken = good, beef = no good, fruits = can be deadly but good. After dinner, went to visit my aunt. She's the oldest on my fathe...

Am continuing my battle with food sickness. Had a brief spell of lucidity in Hoi An and was able to order an ao doi, traditional vietnamese dress. Was kind of cool to be able to order something at 10 pm and get it the next day handmade. My youngest brother also ordered a suit and my sister ordered a two piece skirt outfit. Them's some nimble fingers. Got to Nha Trang a couple of days ago and found it unappealing. It is Vientam's answer to South Beach in Miami or Gold Coast in Brisbane. Either way, not really up to my tastes. On our first night we were shuttled to the wrong hotel and ended up staying at a 2 star hotel for a night. Not a big deal, right? Well, the hotel was also a pimp hotel and I saw alot of guests with "companions" that night. The next day we moved to the right hotel and I promptly became sick again the next morning. I think it was bad karma to move.... The picture is the outside of the cheesy and equally inadequate facilities of an aquarium. The whol...

Ever since leaving Hanoi, I've come down with a bad case of food poisoning. We leave tomorrow for Saigon. Hopefully, I will have recovered enough to leave my hotel room. If you ever want to lose weight, food poisoning is the way to go...haven't really eaten in the past four days and haven't stayed awake much either. Today's hotel is one of the nicest we've stayed at....it also has one of the hardest beds I've ever slept in.

I'm currently in Hue, the Middle Kingdom. This is where the capital was located when Vietnam was ruled by royalty. Saw a couple of temples today...men were hella short as evidenced by the actual size statues. Visited the tomb of the last king. Pretty ornate stuff, man had an ego. My mom has a theory about the king. She thinks he was gay. The reason being that he was known to have several hundred wives but no children and his demeanor was flamboyant. :) Sort of died on the plane and am slowly recovering. Before I continue, I am going to regress a little. Came back from Ha Long Bay and it was quite lovely. We were able to have a huge ferry boat to ourselves and the people were very nice on the boat. There are villages floating in Ha Long Bay (land is too expensive) and we bought some seafood to cook on the boat for lunch. Pretty cool. Also, there are some natural caves in the area and we were able to walk in. Conservationists would cringe at the Asian take of displays....

Made it to Ha Long Bay after a 3 hour drive. It was a pleasant enough drive. The one thing that caught my eye was a motorcycle (the biggest engine possible in Vietnam is 150 cc) with four LIVE pigs strapped onto the back. Amazing what people will do to transport things. The city itself is pretty small. A lot of contsruction. Apparently, the area is trying to develop itself as a resort town given the number of hotel construction and a "pier" area. The closest thing I can think of is that the city is trying to create a Santa Monica pier feel. Sigh, the progression of capitalism. Tomorrow, we're suppose to go on the boat and see more of the bay. Hopefully, the natural landscape will be more appealing. We're staying a relatively new hotel with views of the bay. My parents have the pimped out room while us children are relegated to normal size rooms. Considering how empty this place is, I think we should ALL get pimped out rooms. The one good thing I can say is ...