Tempusfugitive.com Personal Blog

What I like, love, dislike, and hate, the start of my travel flashbacks...

So this is a hard concept to know where to start to summarize my travels, as I don't see them ending ever, but the free and open nature of the past years will be different for the next few years to come. So I thought it would be good to start to cover some of the highlights and in the case of this entry, the lowlights as well. Given my small hamster running on the wheel powered mind combined with age, it's best I get some of these details down as soon as possible. Do note, all the pictures below are taken by me which let me apologize in advance that I'm not Ansel Adams. Back when some of this early travel started was before all the power bloggers with their DSLRs and mini-home lighting studios came to exist. So it's a miracle any of these shots aren't simply my thumb or a blur.

Now if you have every followed along on my travel, it's very easy to know I love London, Tokyo, Amsterdam, and of course Singapore. Just by the amount of return visits or days spent there makes it a waste to show you pictures from these locations as so often seen on my blog before. But of course will do so in future posts.

What I thought is I would choose some locations that maybe weren't not as blogged about and fell into the ether when I stopped posting or taking much photos. Today I had to go back through a few laptops I bought along the way to find some lost photos. Even then, some just appear gone. At first I felt a bit bad, but in some weird way, I'm not. There is something nice about the concept that certain memories are ours alone. In a way,  I guess in some weird way I'm the true blend of modern science meets Phileas Fogg. I like the concept that certain parts of travel are only for those who do it.  

Okay, enough mumbling. Let's get to it.

I LIKE IT!

Iceland, poor Iceland. The recent economic meltdown has threatened the very modern way of Icelandic life. If you have ever been there, you would realize that these are hearty people who can and will weather any storm, but so many of the modern youths there haven't grown up with those same hearty day to day challenges. For many of them, life could and most likely will be very different. That said, I like Iceland, and will return again. 

I'm not really sure why I choose to go the first time I did. I suppose it was the "extreme travel" idea of going to some place off the normal grid. Secondly it was just before it became trendy, but all the signs were there that this could become one of those travel "IT" places. Finally, I love the cold, especially when I was in biggie size mode. I would pretty much go into the frozen tundra coat free, and be just fine.

So I choose on my first visit to go in December right before Christmas. Crazy as it couldn't be more off season, but when I write up my list of travel trips, this would be one of them. Going off season not only gives you travel value but truly allows you to blend in with the locals. 

Here's what I can tell you about Iceland. If your a night person like me, youwill love this place. If your day person, go elsewhere. The whole place will party until 3am almost every night and good luck finding most places open before 11am. Paradise for me. The people are big in size and heart, but it's not easy to blend in with the locals. So traveling alone here does pose some challenges. Also since it's a small island with limited resources, a lot of simple things like food or drinks are quite expensive. This is why to spite three visits, I can only say I like it. This is a strong like, and I do plan to return in the future. I think what was missing was to have a travel partner. I will on another post talk about my theory of single vs couple travel spots.

So below are some snapshots of my Icelandic experiences. Enjoy. (click thumbnail to view larger size)

           

I LOVE IT!!!

Okay, this was an easy one. Short of the repeat visit list mentioned above, one place was the real easy one to add to my I love it list. There are a couple others, one being a place that tries to kill me (hint) and another that I call my 2nd Amsterdam, but this one below was the easy choice.

It is Venice, Italy. To spite each and every year becoming more and more like Disneyland rather than a real city you still can find the real Venice with a great deal of effort and work. Even if you only access the tourist part, trust me, you wish Disney was this beautiful and rare.

Okay, let me show you the tourist side of Venice, trust me, any other place on the planet can build, spend, or acquire what they want but yet they can't match this. To spite the crowds and loss of locals the tourist area still speaks to the heart and soul of this special city.

              

See. Can you name any place on the planet that has such beauty and culture in its mass tourist area. Well maybe, but not many. Of course like many mass tourist areas there are many bad places to eat, stores to rip you off and so on. But it's special history and beauty will not be denied.

But the real Venice is still there. You need only an ability to walk and a VERY good sense of direction. Venice is the ultimate test of your navigation skills. But if you have them, I suggest you get lost and wind every outward from the tourist center. If you do so, the real and sadly shrinking parts of old Venice will open up to you. Here's just a quick snapshot.

         

I can't tell you enough about the food, arts, and wines of this region! Part of my DNA is being Italian among many other parts. When it comes to Italy, it appears my family line is split between the Veneto and Calabria regions. Wanderlust meets the spicy and dramatic. In some weird way it makes sense.  

I must move on, as this will quickly become a book if not. But one of the lessons of travel has become an appreciation of special light and place. Venice has a special light and feel all it's own, much like Iceland as well. Below are somewhat the same shot, and yet so different in mood and feel. There are few cities that can overcome the lack of my camera skills and yet still I think these photos will speak to your soul.

     

Yet another reason for my love. Sadly, I have always visited Venice without sharing it with someone I had a romantic relationship with. So for now, my romance is only between the city and I. But trust me, there will come a time. If you can't fall in love in Venice, then it's time to become a monk.

I DISLIKE IT!

Okay, as I mentioned before there is a part of me that is truly Phileas Fogg. As such the idea of taking the Orient Express from London to Venice and back was irresistible. Well, it Fogg was around during my journey, he would have offered to give them some serious fist-a-cuffs for the dishonor they brought upon the whole experience.

Now I will say this. Maybe if you do this trip while on a honeymoon or some other romantic event, you may have a shot of ignoring all the short comings of the experience, but unless you are both child size in order to share the sleeping quarters and don't mind sharing your lust filled expressions with the entire train, I doubt even you will enjoy.

When you take this train from London it all starts well. Think of the Harry Potter set. Wait, W.T.F!   This isn't the Orient Express. Okay, fine. No problem. Evidently the Express awaits for you after the journey through the Chunnel. Having traveled on the Eurostar many times, I was excited to sit back and enjoy. But wait. Oh no, you don't get to take this train any further than just to the London side of the Chunnel. Which leaves you barely any time to eat and be shoved off into the cold onto a BUS and a small one at at which is then loaded into a CONTAINER and shot through the Chunnel along with other common goods headed for the EU. All class! If you have any fear of small spaces, start your panic attack NOW!

Okay, having been given the same shipping status as fruits or nuts, you're dumped into France to finally meet the real Orient Express. You are quickly boarded in a speed that makes Southwest Airlines look slow, to spite all the many prior delays and the train takes off, with our without you. Now in your small cabin your trying to decompress from this early let-down. Yes the size of your cabin is beyond tiny compared to those website photos but it's okay. It's a train, not a hotel.The old cars did have that charm you dream of, evenincluding a hook to hang your pocket watch above your bed, which I dd as I travel with an old pocket watch as my lucky travel piece.

But from here it quickly goes wrong. I'm on board with a friend in the next cabin. We both struggle in our tiny cabins to spite the bad travel to squeeze ourselves into suits so we are in proper and mandated attire. We go to the tiny bar car to drink ourselves into obliviongiven how this trip is going. Muffy and Buffy, which are our fellow passengers don't want to talk to us and the drinks cost almost as much as the trip in total. To spite this, my friend and I will gladly have another bartender! On top of this all of us have to constantly stand or lift our feet as the bar car is the path to the dining car, and there is not enough room to pass and the super tiny piano player needs his room. If you have never seen the movie The Big Bus, the Oriental Bar scenes were truly taken from this real thing.

Let's just say, dinner is pretty much the same experience but worse. The only upside is my friend and I were smart enough to take the late booking for dinner ensuring 99% of the train was asleep as we ate and that getting back to our cabins didn't take the rest of the trip. So after my friend and I hung out in Venice, the flip point of the trip, we decided we weren't going to suffer the same events on our return to London. So we did the un-thinkable. To this day never done in the entire history of the train. We know as we heard from everyone who worked on the train. We brought our own food and wine from Venice and never left our cabins. The entire social system of the train nearly broke into Lord of the Flies thanks to us. To add our final mark on the history of the train, we got off in Paris and took the Eurostar back to London to avoid the same sad ending as the start. The Chef or Management may have killed us had they known our plans in advance and Agatha Christie would have had a new novel to write. So I fully support and love rail travel, but when it comes to the sad company that now runs the once proud and amazing Orient Express, take a pass and instead support your local rail companies, they deserve and need your support much more than this over-priced echo of history.

I HATE IT, REALLY, TRULY! DID I MENTION I HATE IT!

Okay let the hate letters start now. I'm about to drop the A-bomb of controversy. I hate Rome, Italy! There done. I Said it.

I find it soulless, dirty, and boring. Note I was staying at the Hotel Hassler in one of their best rooms. Let me just say, this hotel SUCKS maybe even worse than Rome! The worst service at all levels, crap rooms, and they even tried to mis-charge my friend not once, twice or three times, but more than I can count before he left for another hotel. As for myself  I disliked my experience there so much, I didn't just leave the hotel, I left the country!  Before I did, I took some pictures. I did my best to make Rome look nice, as I didn't want to look like a fool for my travel there as by near universal law your supposed to love Rome.

      

Wait in the third photo is that Anthony Bourdain from No Reservations? If so, I hope he's there to tell people just how much Rome sucks. To spite a few nice shots, I couldn't dislike a place on the planet more. While this blog has gone on too long and I would need maybe a series of books to list why this is my most hated place of my travels. I do have two shots to give you a hint.

So of course there are many famous things to see in Rome. The Trevi Fountain would be among them. My friend Byron had been there before many years past and had stupidly thrown a coin in, which meant he was destined to return to Rome. It would appear this does works, as here he was again. I wasn't about to make the same mistake. At this point I had already booked a ticket the hell out of this town the next day to spite a reservation to stay for many more days, and I was more than happy to see it in my rear view mirror. So the entire time I was in Rome I wouldn't take or hold a single coin for fear it would roll out of a hole in my pocket and find it's way to this damn fountain. If you see the Trevi Fountain in pictures like the one on the left it looks just like from the movies. But in reality, it's a tourist dump, located in back alleys and frankly I think replica in Vegas has about as much charm and soul. The right photo captures the real romantic moment you will have at the fountain. Rome is the ultimate bad date.

So again. Do note. These are merely my opinions. The places I love, like Amsterdam and Singapore are truly disliked by others. This is why there's a big world out there. I hope you get a chance to build your own like, love, dislike, and hate lists when it comes to travel. The Buddhist in me wants to say there shouldn't be a hate part of the list, but then the universe created Rome, but I digress as I want to end this on a positive note.

Even the very negative impression of some of my travel has left me with a positive of appreciating what I do love and miss. The amazing part of travel is often captured in the small and quiet as much as the bold and exciting. So thanks Rome for helping me appreciate what I love and like, but you still suck!

More looking back yet to come...

Hello Kitty seems so happy, but clearly Japan makes me sad...

As I mentioned, I'm working on several posts to sort of summarize my many trips during this VERY extended sabbatical of travel. So I started to look back to see some of the trip pictures I took along the way. If you ever checked out the picture area of TempusFugitive.com you will see after a couple of years, I gave up on the picture thing.

This is because I was spending so much effort taking pictures and often not connecting with the location or people. I realized that it was more important to enjoy the experience directly first. I know, greedy but my website has less viewers than Rosie's recent variety show, and that's tough to do.

Also some people who know me, know I HATE being in pictures myself. This was always the case, even as a kid. The only reason my Mom has any pictures of me as a baby was I couldn't crawl away fast enough.

This got much worse when I gained weight and looked like a Macy Day Parade balloon. I would be be the one that clips the street light and drops it on a NY police man and little girl type of balloon. Okay, for those who don't know, I used to tip the scales well above the 340 pounds / 154 kg  plus range. I will leave this for an upcoming post about my journey because my weight-loss was a key part of it. Let me be clear on one thing, before I get hate mail. I don't believe everyone has to be a certain size. My ideal of beauty would look very similar to the UN. So I'm not going to get all Richard Simmons on anyone and trust me my dating and friendship past would prove this out. But I would be lying if I didn't say that my weight at times made my dislike of pictures even more acute. Just look at these those pics and I think you can understand my feelings on this.

    

Yes, that's me in the middle. More about those two guys to come in future posts and below. See, I look like I swallowed Tony Soprano. Some people can carry their weight and look great. I wasn't one of those people. Actually at any weight I'm not one of those people. Just like I have a vampire soul when it comes to early mornings, I feel the same about mirrors and photos. I'm best left un-seen.  

Okay, enough of that for now. Back to the reason for the post. As I was going through various pictures from my travels including the most recent I realized something in the final picture I took from each Christmas trip over the last few years. Each one in Japan seems to have a weird sadness to it. My own sort of Lost in Translation moment. Let's start with my most recent final Christmas trip picture. As mentioned in my prior post, I actually canceled my Japan trip due to the brutal climb of the Yen against the Dollar. But my return flight did stop over in Japan. This final trip picture was taken in the United first class lounge at Narita. I don't know how a cold glass of beer and sake could be sad, but here it is. This picture makes me think of the final minutes of the film Local Hero.  

Every end of year, I go into the big depression that my travels are over and life will return to being trapped in the mundane Desperate Housewives town I live in. Luck has favored me and thus far it has not happened. I almost always end my Christmas trip in Japan, not only because I like it, but it's the safest way to ensure I'm home for Christmas. One year I was dumb enough to make London Heathrow my last airport before I came home for Christmas. The gray hair I do have was all created during that barely made it back to home trip. Trust me, never again.

So I went back and looked at my past last pics. I won't bore you with all of them, but here are two other years of my last trip of the year shots from Japan. If all these pictures had a soundtrack, it would be Nina Simone. Wow, I never noticed the sadness in them until now. Part of the reason, is none of these shots are ones I published or shared. Given this I didn't give them more than a passing glance. But somehow today, I was motivated by the above photo to look back. Now Japan itself does seem to have a certain somberness to it's soul, so maybe that's some of it. Also it is winter, so the lighting will have that character. But I think it's truly an expression of how I feel some how projecting itself onto the images themselves. I have always hated endings to the point I just realized a bizarre quirk I do recently. I never fully finish a drink. I always leave this small amount in the bottom. Is this part of the same thing or just plain mental illness. Not really sure. But when I see these images, I think its part of behavioral dislike for any ending.

Now I did find one year that had a final trip photo that was an exception to this rule, as is the case in all things with the universe. This was in 2006. Seems just like yesterday. For 13 years straight I always went to Amsterdam and had some form of a Christmas party, again more about this to come. My best and most remembered were always with my Dutch brothers. This shot is from the end of a long-all day & night pub-crawl which has always been our tradition when together. When I tell you these guys are my brothers, believe me. Of course by classic definition we aren't biologically related, but I can assure you for those with siblings, my feelings for these guys have no difference in loyalty, care, or respect. The tough part is time, change, and endings have all served to keep me apart from them for the last couple of years. I guess the reason I don't look sad in this final picture, is I know that I will be there again and that our time apart won't matter. Maybe in some way the Zen nature of Japan speaks to deeply to my Buddhist soul but Amsterdam, Singapore, and many other places speak more to my heart.

So I start 2009 knowing a couple of things. One is Japan tends to make me sad, which is okay when put into the focus of my past & present Zen beliefs. At least it doesn't try and kill me like New Zealand which I also love. Two is I know no matter what happens this year, I will be in Amsterdam and Singapore this year and most likely for many more years to come . To much yet to do, to say, to resolve, and in some ways so much not to do at all.

Well thanks for your indulgence of reading my first blog of 2009. If any of it makes sense to you then a GOLD STAR for you. You get the smartest kid in class award and maybe you can tutor me on what I just wrote. I hope for everyone that 2009 brings all of us health, happiness, and good fortune.

All the best laid plans blown apart and a nice meal to heal the wounds...

So as almost all my blogs entries start of, let me just say SORRY. This one is a real BIG SORRY. I had such big plans for this trip. This trip was already packed with a lot of emotion for me. For those who don't know, I decided to take off some time to travel a few years back. This was supposed to only have been for a few months. Now MANY years later, I have decided I MUST return back to a day to day challenge beyond the call of travel and odd projects from time to time. Great timing, might I add. When I started these travels, my timing was amazing almost down to the day of the dot.com crash. But now that I have decided to do something full-time, I've chosen the year of the global meltdown. At least it starts with President Obama, so who knows maybe my knack for timing isn't totally off yet. Any start that leads off with George Bush leaving can't be all bad.

So in this Pre-Christmas trip to Singapore and Japan, I wanted to shower you with day to day updates filled with pictures, thoughts about all I have seen and done, as well as catch up with all my friends doing all theses things we keep pushing off. AND drum-roll please... Zip, Nada, Nothing.  Nothing pretty much went to plan. Now of course I did have a great time with my friends, but most nights, we rarely got beyond the hotel. The reasons are plenty but excuses few and the vast majority of the blame mine.

But I will leave more about this for posts to come. I will still do my recap of all my travels. I promised myself I would write all my thoughts about this amazing chance down before they fade into the background hum of normal life. What I can tell you is my trip was somewhat Groundhog Day, the film.The funny part is I'm still very much in the loop. So as I told one of my travel friends, I have no doubt there is a do-over ahead before there is some closure.

Before you wipe your deep tears of sadness aside for me (sure!) let me say this trip did include some really great simple moments. One thing that come easy to mind is catching up with all of my hotel friends.   Because I have sometime stayed as long as four to five weeks a visit, the hotel becomes like a second home and many of the staff have become good friends. If you notice from the picture of my home away from home in Singapore there appears to be something at the top. In a classic blunder this was meant to be a rotating restaurant, but when they built it, they forgot to have a place for a kitchen. Would love to have been there for that discovery. So the kitchen had to be put into the gear shaft, making it one of the smallest and weirdest kitchens I have seen.You have to take a hydraulic elevator between the two tiny kitchens. If I was a chef there, I would go postal after about a day. This also meant the restaurant doesn't spin, which is probably just as well. One of the universal truths of travel I learned is nothing good comes from places that spin.

I also spent a great deal of time in the gym. This is a must do not only to stay in shape but to allow for some really killer meals. Just one Julien meal and it's at least 2 days of 3 plus hour workouts to undo the damage. So this photo is from the Willy Wonka elevators looking down onto the pool and gym. Is it just me that thinks the pool look like a Super Mario mushroom? The gym actually sucks in the hotel. It must have been designed by the guy who planned the rotating restaurant. But my trainer has taught me how to make the best of any gym now. Here's a shot from pool level. Normally I love to swim to keep in shape, but not in this mushroom pool. If you notice how shiny it looks from above. This is because it has a polished bottom. The result is a Jame's Bond villain like device. Think of the laser scene from Goldfinger. I swam for only 15 minutes when I realized there were small red potatoes and corn floating around me as I cooked. So only night swimming is safe. Not good as early mornings are for sleeping and nights are for good meals and cocktails.

Speaking of a good cocktail after a hard workout brings me to one of the nice moments of the trip. My friend Maria joined me several times to workout in the gym. It's been a while since I have had someone else to workout with aside from my personal trainer. It does help pass the time quicker and give you extra motivation. I was quite proud of her one day, when she ended up doing the full three hour workout with me including weights, cardio, and abs. We were motivated to stick to the workout by the giant sheets of rain water falling for hours on end. We would have been drenched trying to return to the hotel. This rain diet may catch on. Maria was less happy that night when her legs deciding to go home several hours sooner than her, but after a few painful days she forgave me.

So during our last workout before leaving the weather was so perfect, but we were good and did our time in the gym. On the way out we took the time to sit at the pool. The weather was the most amazing I have seen in Singapore. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and yet there was an almost cool breeze. I have this concept of the perfect moment, where the universe aligns all the elements to give you a rare moment of perfection. These moments are so special and subtle they can often be missed, luckily this one wasn't. Most people reward their workouts with a hydrating energy drink. When at home, I'm the same, but as I'm traveling I'm going for the Olympic plan. As you can see, a couple of glasses of Veuve Cliquot beats the Gatorade any day. Remember the crazy diet Michael Phelps was on, I'm pretty sure he does the same when in hard training.  

So all this working out ensured that several great meals could be enjoyed. I already had told you about one of my meals at Julien Bompard at Ascott Raffles Place. But during that meal I wasn't able to take pictures. On this second meal, I made sure I could share the dishes with you. My dinner companions for this meal was my friend Byron, who was a bit grumpy this trip, but being this way is his muse. The other companion was the aptly named Pink Lady. She's the polar opposite of grumpy. As an ex-pat living in Singapore who works around the world on opening spas and other efforts, she endless interesting and rather pink in color and personality. As we were sitting at the Chef's counter, Chef Julien was part of the dining party too. Finally we have Chef Jason & crew working hard right behind him, perfect.

Below is the menu from that day. You can click on any pic to enlarge. Enjoy and be jealous.

December 15 2008 - Chef's Degustation Ala-minute Menu

Amuse Bouche- Bruchetta of tomato & Eberico Ham served with Champagne Devaux Cuvee Brut

Lobster Salad with sweet corn sauce & Gazpacho Sorbet

 Traditional Lobster Bisque with Croutons and Aioli

Tapas- served with Chateau la Nerthe 2007 Chateauneuf du Pape, France

 Langoustine with Cider Sauce

Risotto with squid ink and crab meat

Frog Leg with green pepper sauce

 Artichoke with turmeric

Mains - served with Azelia 1998 Borola, Italy

 Roast Smoked Pork Belly with Apple and Calvados Sauce

 Grain Beef Tenderloin Mushroom Parmentier & Onion Sauce

Desserts- Continuing with the Azelia 1998 Borola, Italy

 Croustade of Vacherin Cheese with Pear Confite in Red Wine (* Sorry for the poor picture, forgot the flash as I think I was too excited to eat this)

Selection of Desserts featuring Vanilla Sorbet

Coffee Lavazza or Dammann Tea with Petit Fours

So, SORRY AGAIN. No pictures of Christmas lights and countless other things missed. Like I said, this trip is in serious need of a do over. Do you think the Singapore Tourism board would keep the Christmas lights up till my next visit if I asked nicely? Oh well. Guess I will have to make it up next year. 

One last thing, there are no Japan pictures either. Sigh. That's because there was no Japan. The exchange rate was getting so bad and the fact both myself and Byron were under the weather, we had no choice but to throw Japan under the bus. Truly sad. Missing the Four Seasons beautiful gym with a natural spring water onsen bath to soothe all those dings, both physical and spiritual. A couple of rare bottles of Suntory Whiskey held under my account. The best Kobe beef Shabu Shabu to make my friend Byron happy and some of the best sakes and sushi for me, all of it very missed. Here is a Christmas picture I took in downtown Tokyo last year. I'm very proud of this shot, as I did it all on the fly. The electronic sign with the big tree builds that image from the bottom up and only holds the full image for a couple seconds. So I had to time it perfect to have the tree fully lit just as the Coca Cola truck came into frame. Enjoy. Sadly the luck of getting this image didn't hold true this year. But overall, I'm still in the 1% lucky club to have had any travel and time with my friends. So I hope all of you have a wonderful holiday and let's hope that real luck returns to all of us next year. 
 

The only benefit of the global meltdown is being a near sole focus of a killer meal

So upon just about landing I was working on how to visit my friend's recently new restaurant, Julien Bompard at Ascott Raffles place. I was lucky last trip to have been there for launch.

One of the cool ideas behind his new place is not only does it have a state of the art all induction kitchen, which means no heat or noise but it has a special chefs counter. If you check out this picture you can see the bar and kitchen. If you choose to do the chefs bar you can observe your whole meal being cooked and watch the chef right in front you do tapas ala-minute.

 

So I was very happy that Chef had room on Dec 4th 08. Well turns out, he had lots of room, like every other restaurant, things are quite slow. The only upside was having the entire kitchen staff be able to be part of the meal at some point. It also meant a very special treat from Chef Jason Tan, who is Singapore's chef for next years Bocuse D'or.

 

For those who don't know the history of the highest prize in culinary competing, click for more info here. But if you win this prize for your country, you will be among the super elite of chefs.

 

So let me make you all jealous. Sorry normally I do take pictures of the food but because Chef Jason is giving me a sneak preview of two of his dishes for the competition, I kept the camera at home. This dishes are beyond national secrets for the teams. So sorry, wont give any details even in the part of the meal, except feel free to be sorry you didn't get to try it.

 

So here's the menu...

 

Amuse Bouche & Fresh Baked Breads served with a bottle of Mumms R. Lalou 1998.

 

Velvet of Brittany Sea Urchin - Tartar of Oyster and Cured Salmon

 

A sampling of Bocuse D'or by Chef Jason Tan

 

Tapas by Chef Julien

Artichokes cooked in tomato and turmeric

Chanterelle Mushrooms & herbs

Octopus poached in olive oil

Belly of Sea Bass with a creamy sauce

 

Crispy of Risotto with Duck Medley - Foie Gras Sauce

 

Papillote of Cod Fish Escabêche - Arbois Yellow Wine Sauce

 

Pigeon from Bresse with Iberico Ham - Red Wine Sauce served with a bottle of Clerc Milon 1996.

 

Extravaganza of Desserts

 

Chocolate Sorbet

 

Coffee or Tea - Mignardises

And finally a pillow and blanket. Kidding, kinda.

 

So there you go. I should be noted prior to this meal I did a three hour workout that clocked in at about 2500 calories. My poor dining guest, my friend Maria did join for part of the calorie bomb defense quest but later grew to hate me with white blinding hatred as her poor legs all but went home before her. Hopefully the memory of the great meal with take a bit of the edge off.

 

For those who are not yet my facebook friends, you can follow along on the photos I'm posting this trip in my Facebook photo album - click to view. If you can sign up to be a friend, as you will find it easier to track when I update something.

 

By the way, in case my personal trainer reads this, do note this entire blog entry was written while cycling in the gym on my normal off day. This came at the cruel sacrifice of not waking to Bloody Mary's or Champagne this Sunday.

 

But of course there's next Sunday. :)

Some random thoughts...

I thought for today I would be a bit subject hoping. The brain power has been somewhat reduced by this thing called breakfast, nearly being squashed in the gym, and time is flying too fast this trip.

This trip has a bit of gravity to it. In a way it's an end and the beginning of some new challenges. So later in the trip, I will start to reflect on how one trip turned into years of travel and what I have learned, seen, and still don't know. Sure that last part is endless, but will focus those point to this big journey I accidentally took.

Random point #1: You should only wear a Speedo if your in the Olympics.

So this trip, I'm using the hotel gym, which looks out onto the pool. So pretty much no matter where you are your looking out to the water. Sure there is a random event of someone who looks so good it really makes you realize why you need to be in the gym. But pretty much, it's taking all my strength to not scream out, MY EYES! Wow, hey I'm all about loving your body no matter what shape or size, as have been all of them. But there other options than wearing a skin-tight day glo Speedo. Clearly life guards should consider this part of their duties.

Random point #2: Breakfast still sucks!

So today was attempt two at this breakfast thing. First, I'm not a fan of most common breakfast foods. So the idea of a Japanese breakfast at least has some charms. Not sweet and pretty much like eating dinner, perfect. But again, it made me feel like I'm a sack of bricks. What was most discouraging is I noticed my calorie burn that is tracked by my hear-rate monitor was half the normal rate. See breakfast is evil!

Random point #3: What happened to private affairs?

One perk of travel is being a voyeur of course within limits. I love sitting in hotel lounges and watching the various dramas of life unfold. I really could write a book on what things I have seen and heard. Okay as adults, we know some married people have affairs. The concept was you did this hidden from the eyes of others. But yesterday, once again this hotel guest, 45-50yrs old guy was with a girl who may not clear the 18yr old bar.

Clearly she was his "special" guest for this stay but yet he was bragging to the staff about his visit a month ago with his wife and kids while all but making out with her in front of us all. Maybe it's because in this new information age there a no secrets. I'm no prude, in fact far from it. But maybe some discretion still has a role.

Random point # 4: Ever see a movie so bad you want to give its star a serious groin injury?

One thing about lots of hotel & plane travel is you get stuck watching all forms of random content. Case and point, last night with nothing on but Rachel Ray's talk show re-runs that empty the soul and other junk like infomercials I tuned into Star Movies. This channel is the waste-land in Asia where bad movies go to live in replay-retirement. So up comes this movie called The Wicker Man staring Nicolas Cage. Granted this should have been enough to trigger my fight or flee response, but he can deliver on rare occasion. To the court I present Leaving Las Vegas.

But this film I'm sure was created as a torture aid for the Bush administration. Please, water-boarding would be kinder. So Nick Cage, your'e on notice. Either I get those two hours of my life back or if our paths cross at some airport, you better protect the man-sack if you get my drift.

Okay on that knee to groin point, I think this is enough random for one night. So what have we learned. Well, no Speedos unless your swimming for gold Breakfast sucks.
Don't be showing pictures of your kids to staff while on vacation with the rent-a-mistress, and Nick Cage needs a swift kick in the nads. So much to meditate on! ;) Wishing you all to a wonderful random day.

Life in the slip-stream...

Well it's happened again. That magic only travel can do. You go to sleep one person and wake another.

I always worry I like the Asian or European version of me, much better than the original.

I know this seems like some deep existential thoughts. But I like some others I have met along the way, have a set of chameleon travel genes. We absorb and are changed by our surroundings.

In my case, I have the nagging feeling there's three of me at any given time. Case and point is today. I woke knowing what I wanted to do like any other day. I have no sense of loss on how to do that. Actually, I'm often more confused back in the US than when I travel.

Anyway, enough of boring you from the couch. I believe my session is up. But lets just say, I'm enjoying my quick immersion back into me, 2.0 or 3.0 is it.

Here's some stuff I have seen since changing the channel back here to Singapore. Business at all levels is down. No shock, but last trip they were defying gravity.

The airport here is filled with many people who can't get home to Bangkok or have modified their India flights. What a mess and so sad. I have such a deep appreciation for both of these cultures being rooted in such ways of peace & kindness, so it's so painful to see all this happen.

The Obama goodwill is in effect for travelers. Lot of questions about him, Hillary, and Sarah. Nothing yet on John. Pretty much crickets for him. In the idea of unity won't repeat the Sarah questions, enough said.

Too early to see how retail stores here are doing, but not looking good. Lots of restaurants & stores have gone under in the past months.

Will of course take Xmas lights pics all along, but hotel is just starting to put up now. So will work on more interesting things for you to see as the trip goes along.

So that's it. Forgive the boring entry. A combo of jet-lag and a tic-tac sized brain. Hopefully some sushi, sleep, & late cocktails will blend me back into coherence.

Nibble me, Spin me, Feed me - then Repeat

I'm back from Singapore and sad that somehow 45 days went way too fast. As per normal let me start my blog by saying sorry for the lack of updates as per normal. But it is amazing that when your doing nothing, no one is around but the second you start to read or write, a person will pop right up. But that's what I travel for, the people. I can read or write uninterrupted 24/7 at home, so sure you all understand. Besides aside from Ronny or Maria, no one reads this thing anyway. Even then, I think they just tell me they do.

So on past trips some of the staff from the hotel have invited me to outside events. In general I don't often go, because I think they won't have as much fun if a guest is there. Maybe they will be afraid to be to open. But this trip I decided to accept their kind offer.

Some of the key members of the Pacific Club team are leaving or have left. This group sees to your every need should you be lucky enough to be staying on the three floors they cover at the Pan Pacific Singapore. Their job role is referred to as butlers, but they do so much more.

So I couldn't turn down a chance to join them. The plan was to go to the Fish Spa and then to the Singapore Flyer. I then set-up a special dinner treat for them to say thanks for all their kind service and friendship.

Since all the staff can't take off for the night, some of the crew had to stay behind. As it turned out the guys got stuck, leaving me with all the ladies. Wow, so sad about that :) Of course it should be noted that all the ladies are quite taken but eat your heart out anyway.

As mentioned the first part of the day was to go do the Fish Spa. If you haven't heard about this new trend, you will as it's become a hit everywhere. The concept of a Fish Spa is where you have a pool of fish nibble off your dead skin. Hmmm..that doesn't sound too nice stated that way.  Sure the marketing people have a better way of saying it, but the bottom line is a fish nibbles on you.

So as you can see from the above pictures, I'm sharing this experience with some of the beautiful ladies. Not all wanted to join in as the charm of the fish has their limits or maybe it's my charm that's lacking. So when you first put your feet in after cleaning them of course, there is an initial shock. The first bites make you jump. Not because they hurt, but more because they tickle. In the third picture you will see little Connie, who had the most funny reactions. First she was all but screaming, then shaking, then into some sort of trauma coma, and finally boredom. Given her tiny nature I did keep a careful eye on her, I was worried that after the fish got done with her, there would be nothing left.

I found it to be fun thing you do with friends, but I don't think it really does as advertised. My skin didn't feel any smoother. Maybe I'm just not tasty to the fish. So this could be a clue to why my dating life sucks. I don't think people who do manicures should be worrying about lost business or how to raise fish themselves. If you do try it, go for the big fish. The small fish are a waste. As any honest person will tell you, size does matter. Even though I will warn you that when the fish are too big, it just gets creepy. There was this one big fish that clearly had heard about my love of sushi and seemed to just be attacking for vengeance.

Next up is the Singapore Flyer. Currently the largest observation wheel in the world. For more info check out http://www.singaporeflyer.com/ During my last visit to Singapore they were doing final testing, but it had not yet opened. I was a bit non-plused about going on the wheel, but sharing it with a group of beautiful woman, yes please. Remember I stay on the 33rd floor, so I almost see the same view every day. But overall, I must say I did enjoy it a lot. We were lucky to have our own capsule, actually it was due to the do what I say skills of Tashida, one of the lovely ladies.

One of the cool things you can see riding the Singapore Flyer is the work being done on the future casino site. This work is done 24/7 as shown in the first picture and as my lack of sleep can tell you. Lucky most of the pile-driving is now done. What's amazing is how fast they are moving now. For a while it just seemed like a lot of cranes and some holes. But now each week adds more super-structure. By the time I return in December I'm sure I will be shocked by the progress. The second image above shows a model of the finished casino, which you can only see by riding the Singapore Flyer. The casino has an entire Central Park like garden on it's roof Can't wait to see the real thing. One thing my years of visits to Singapore has taught me, is that they are in the business of exceeding expectations. Just their airport is better than Disneyland!

The final part of my fun outing with the ladies was a dinner at my friends new restaurant, Julien Bompard at Ascott Raffles Place. Chef Julien had just soft-opened his second restaurant so it was the perfect place to have a dinner with such special company. I was extremely honored to have written the foreword for the Chef's cookbook and he is a very special close friend. If I only had more talent and a time machine to make me younger I would study under him but odds are he would fire me in a matter of hours.

So now with all the ladies present, we sat down to a series of treats from the Chef. For him, this was a great chance to show off to the ladies what his new place was all about. Part of the many roles the ladies and gentleman of the Pacific Floor do is to recommend and book dining reservations. Julien's original place is high-end classic french, with killer views, one of the best wine cellars in Singapore, and super-sexy private rooms that if you don't at least get a goodnight kiss for if not more, then clearly nothing will help you. His new place is less formal but still sexy and cool. I love his chef's counter, a french version of the sushi-counter concept, where he cooks tapas for you in front of your eyes on state of the art induction cooking surfaces while you look into the open kitchen behind where your mains and dessert are being done under the very able leadership of Chef-de-cuisine Jason. In the second picture Chef Julien is on the left and Chef Jason in the middle.

To give you some idea of the food I have included some pictures. Sorry they can't all be shots of the ladies, but fear not, one more yet to come. So the first picture isn't very clear but I had to include it. The Chef was coming out and informing the ladies about each course being served. Chef Julien has a very charming but thick French accent. So when he told the ladies he was serving a signature dish, a trilogy of duck, I was sure they would love it. After a couple of minutes of noting that none of the girls had touched their plate and Connie looked like she was going to cry, I found out they had misheard the Chef and thought they were being served a trilogy of DOG! After clearing up this misunderstanding the dish was then enjoyed by all. The second picture shows some of the chef's signature tapas and the third picture shows one of the new Spanish inspired dishes for his new place, a seafood paella. The food, wine, and service was fantastic as usual.

So sadly all good things come to an end. WTF! Damn laws of the universe. Unfortunately the evening came to a close and you can enjoy the final shots of me and my lovely co-dinners. Notice my cherry or tomato like face. The ladies figured out how to make me blush on command. One of them was very good at it, I leave it to you to figure out who made me blush so much on this shot. All I can say, each of the ladies partners are truly lucky. They are as funny, smart, and interesting as they are beautiful. I'm truly honored to be their hotel friend and will treasure the chance I got to share some personal time with them. Sadly some will be moving on to their next challenges, and with time maybe more will depart. But I hope in today's globally connected world to stay in touch with all.

I'm also so proud of the Chef's latest venture. I have no doubt, that like his prior restaurant, he will do extremely well. If you find yourself in Singapore make sure you dine here or at Le Saint Julien. Feel free to drop my name, but somehow I think a photo of the ladies will get your better favors with the kitchen staff as they were all smitten with them.

Sadly, this trip has come to an end. I do have a shorter visit coming up in December, which will be my only other trip this year, I know pull out your tiny violin. Until then expect the blog to not be very interesting, as I live on the set of Desperate Housewives without the murders or sexual tension. So mainly will be talking about what I last cooked or my workout plans. Wow, were is my Pulitzer. But I may do some video so you can all see the white-hot boredom of a town I live in and try and make this blog a bit more interesting without the excitement of travel.

So hope you have enjoyed the wrap up of my last trip. For me, I will be fighting the urge to drive to the airport right now and get the hell out of here. Instead I will watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics to help fight off my never-ending wanderlust. Until next time, may you all enjoy getting nibbled, spun, & fed as much as I did.

 

Laments and Latitude

I will have to keep this update short as in Tokyo, Japan on layover and the priority is making my connection and enjoying robotic-poured beer and machine made sushi. Someone wake me when the work out the kinks in the robo-girlfriend.

So as normal with end of all trips, even ones that get extended, I descend in a mix of post-past location depression and hard earned travel focus.

As normal running on no sleep, have a cold virus that makes me sound tranny like, still have the larger flight to come and sure US customs will once again greet me home with the sound of a snappying rubber glove.

But that's what cold sake was invented for. Clearly Japan knew it was the cure all throat and depression mender.

Assuming I'm awake tonight, lucid, and by then rice wine free I look forward to updating you with pics of where I had my toes nibbled, watched the sunset from a glass cabin of a modern marvel, and fined dined with seven beautiful woman - all in one day.

Wow if I didn't know how much my blog sucks, even I would be excited to read this. So assuming no renditions and several showers once home, hope to fill you all in soon. Until then domo agrigoto Mr. Roboto.

National Day Singapore - Aug 9th 2008

Here are some highlights from Singapore`s 2008 National Day.

The tale of the ghost fish sushi ...

So tonight I wanted sushi something bad. You think after yesterday I would instead be heading to the gym only to emerge for medical checks should the staff force me, but somehow woke to a better mood.

But then I got stuck talking with a fellow hotel guest in an un-planned discussion of the current American political scene. Yep, bad idea that one. But at least this guy has seen more than a ranch in Texas!

So I arrive on the not too late side for sushi in Singapore but during the hungry ghost month and mere days from the Olympics and national day I came for a dinner of one, truly, minus all the past ghost fish that must have gripes with me and my serious sushi past.

You can say safely the entire country of Singapore is nearing ghost status. Expiates run for vacation, locals save up for the big holiday weekend, and the in-betweens hide in their hotel rooms ready to leave in the next 48hrs So ended up having sushi on fast forward, due again to my own errors.

The plan was to have time to walk you through an omakase experience @ Shiraishi, my now well established favorite sushi place and last request meal.

Wednesday is almost always the key day to get the most fresh fish and other rare products, with Saturday maybe being the next best here in Singapore. Normally those days or the days between are prime time. Even then Singapore is a rare country whereby Monday and Tuesday still out-do the best west-or-east coasts places on their off days.

So I was quite shocked to see it so dead. But then again, so is every other part of Singapore right now. Silly me, had I been on-time, I could have gorged my tummy and wallet with a near monopoly of choices.

So my plan to really show you it all for tonight is off but I still ate very well as always there. So no tiny violins for me, will leave those for the prior blog entry. Instead I will show you one classic shot of Shiraishi's staffs work, I took with decent lighting and a real camera plus tonights sashimi as well as some wonderful abalone with thin wasabi shoots. Note the drink in the sashimi shot is warm shochu with chili, shiso leaf, and hojiso. A rare thing not seen often outside of certain parts of Japan. Highly recommend it.

I have some other pics in which the food is so worthy to show, but yet, my lame phone camera, lack of time, and general lack of skills in all other ways has let you all down.

I promise next Wednesday to ensure you will see every bite including the return of fresh nama sake which is served near frozen. See, well worth the wait. Hopefully until then no ghost fish visits any time soon...