Shout Outs:
Vietnam: Vietnam was awesome. I went to Hanoi and Halong Bay. I was offered some shady taxi ride upon my arrival and declined; I had thoughts of the movie taken and opted for a normal looking taxi. The ride from the airport to the hotel reminded me of Kerala… people weaving in and out of traffic, etc. I’d been to so many big cities and expected Hanoi to be similar but it wasn’t. I was a millionaire upon converting my pocket cash. The exchange rate is approximately 1 USD to 20,000 VND (the D in VND doesn’t stand for dollar, either). I think I could retire in Vietnam on my current savings without ever working again (seriously). We did a two day/one night cruise on Halong Bay. It was a lot of fun but the crowd was OK. We met some cool people but they were all families and couples. The Happy Hour was weak. We did meet some swingers (we assume)… now what did I do with that guy’s e-mail… In Hanoi there was this taxi driver that was trying to take us back to the hotel but he gave us a price 10 times the actual amount. So, we told him to go screw himself but he was persistent…following us down the road. I said let’s walk in the opposite direction, he can’t drive in reverse… he did (for a little bit). It was funny. As I said, Vietnam was awesome and I definitely would recommend this trip to all of you.
Visitors: The visitors in 2011 came often with little break in between. I took some days off here and there and definitely saw parts of HK more times than I wanted to as a result of being a tour guide. My coworkers said I’ve seen parts of HK that they haven’t even been too!
Let’s recap highlights from all my visitors:
a) Todd: Todd brought some virus from the U.S. and was sicker than sin. I think I eventually got his sickness but it’s all good (except for getting his sickness part). Anyway, at this one club, he kept using the bar napkins to take care of his running nose and placing it down on the table only to have the workers remove it, bare hands and all, not knowing how the napkin was used. Nasty, I know, but Todd found it entertaining (I did, too). What he didn’t find entertaining was how all the girls I introduced him to thought he had the softest hands ever. I met up with this one local guy at one point during Todd’s visit and Todd said he didn’t understand a word of our conversation because he couldn’t understand the guy’s English; I may not have learned as much Mandarin or Cantonese as I would have liked but I got my Chinenglish down pat. Todd visited shortly after Xmas through New Years. It was a fun time especially the fact that Xmas music was still being played after 1/1/11 and it was driving him nuts; I told him they play it all year round and he believed me. My friends loved Todd, too, and renamed him Toad.
b) Nathalie and Family: Nathalie came with a crew and they stayed in two hotel rooms. The one room had Nathalie, Sobrina, and Eric. The best/funniest part about the trip was the day I crashed at Nathalie hotel room because it made most sense based on the late night and the early morning start. When Denise and Justin, Nat’s cousin and husband who were staying in the other room, came the next morning they were surprised to see me there. I was conveniently on the couch with blankets covering me entirely; they believed be when I told them I was naked under there even though I wasn’t… or was I? It was also the last time I saw Denise and Justin on the trip since they went to Macau with Eric while Nathalie, Sobrina, and I went to the 10,000 Buddhas, which was the first and only time I saw the 10,000 Buddhas. I enjoyed the 10,000 Buddhas and I think it’s similar to the Big Buddha but a lot faster and easier to get to.
c) Ann & Ethan: Spending that much time with Ann and I’m lucky she only got annoyed at me once but there’s an asterisk to that; she was staying at my place when she got annoyed and since I offered my huge luxury apartment to her, I think I was entitled to annoy her. It was funny. Ethan and I enjoyed a lot of jokes that seemed to go over Ann’s head like when the woman at the market saw me and Ethan laughing at the Superman underwear and she told us they had different sizes. The three of us watched the Super Bowl together, which was a lot of fun at 7:30am local time on Monday (seriously) and I went to Tai O for the first time with them. It was definitely fun to hang out with them and I’m glad they visited.
d) Agi/Joe/Bill/Alison: Agi had a week off from his residency and finally decided to party with me outside of the U.S. after years of me trying to convince him to do so. Joe came along as a last hurrah (I think he should, by now, make sure people know why it was his last hurrah). Bill came along with his wife Alison, who was in Shenzen for work; I didn’t get to see Alison with the exception of a few minutes but Bill was an excellent addition to the party. I guess there’s a reason they say you should save the best for last because in spite of the cold I was fighting off and the horrendous weather they got, hanging out with these guys was a lot of fun and a riot. Agi was largely responsible for our entertainment and I thank you for adding to my “top 5” life stories that I will tell my kids some day (I’ll definitely tell your kids… haha).
Jacob Cheriathundam: The man has earned a section all to himself. The AP just ranked him # 1 in the DC/MD/VA area but he is not the unanimous, unfortunately, in the coach’s poll since people like George, Marina, Saugat, etc, all vote for themselves. George, Marina, and my sisters would contest the AP ranking… that is if they actually read this blog. Suckers. Simple corporate logic will show you why Jacob is # 1:
a) It’s not what you know, it’s who you know: Jacob knows this hottie, whose name phonetically sounds like “Porn,” who is hot (I mentioned that already), and she digs Indian guys (like me).
b) Perception is reality: He talks a big game but he backs it up. He’s active in his communication via e-mail and social media. He even took care of one of my CA friends who moved to DC without a friend in site. What is Jacob really doing? What is anybody really doing? Nobody knows… that’s why perception is what counts and my perception of Jacob is that he’s the AP # 1.
c) What have you done for me lately: Not only did Jacob show great support to EYS, which wasn’t necessary but very much appreciated, he is coming along with me for a 2 week Intra Asia trip that will cover HK, Singapore, Cambodia, and Thailand. I wasn’t too keen on traveling solo but I was prepared. Jacob came to the rescue in the last second, just like the Peruvians in “The Onion” movie.
If I had a # 1 traveling buddy draft pick, Jacob would be in discussion with the likes of Tony Chikas and Agi. It’s clear that Jacob will be a first ballot Hall of Famer someday (general HOF, not just traveling buddy HOF… so long as he doesn’t pull a Big Ben or something). Right now, I’m glad he’s coming along for the ride and I think this trip will be that much better with him than without him. Thanks for coming, man!
Annual Dinner: I’m not sure how much I can share without getting fired; perhaps I have already shared too much. At any rate, it was a fun night, with a lot of good friends, which ended with my head hitting the pillow at around 5:30am.
Jet Lagged: Late nights are common in HK and they just sneak up on ya. I’ve had more nights end in the 5-6am ish range than I would have ever imagined. I think the total # of late nights here in HK may be greater than the total before and after HK; time will tell, I suppose. It’s worth noting that one of the late nights I was offered breast milk… It seemed like it was a hybrid between a joke and being serious… and I don’t even think she was pregnant. I labeled this section “jet lagged” because after long nights, I feel like I’m jet lagged in my own town… unable to sleep at the right time, wanting to sleep at the wrong time, etc.
Chinese New Year: I’ve been really lucky to have come to China during the window of time that I did. Being here for CNY was awesome. I even got a few “red pockets,” even though I feel that I didn’t deserve them seeing as that I’m a foreigner. I do appreciate it, though, and I embrace the culture as much as I can.
The 2nd Coming: After this post, I think I may only have one or two more posts in me before taking an indefinite hiatus. The next one or two posts will likely emanate from the U.S. After 52 long months… after traveling all over the world… I will once again call myself a resident of the greatest place of em all… New York. Which means I’m finally coming back home. I can’t wait to have some Friendly’s ice cream (yes, this is worth noting). I hope the 2nd time around is as good as my 1st run in NY; hopefully it’s even better.
