Mui Ne

Only 2 hours of sleep last night, because we decided to go to Mui Ne early in the morning to avoid any rush hour. The plan worked fine and we arrived around 11 am in one of the hot spots in terms of ocean front living of Vietnam. Actually it's less crowded than NaTrang and that for still a little secret. They truly have nice resorts here, but we bypassed them to stay in a rather less luxury 'resort'. Jason promised me at least an air conditioned room. Well that was also the only equipment this place had. We were the only guests here and I felt a bit like in the movie 'Hostel'. Anyway - company is what matters and so we all went swimming and enjoyed the East Chinese Sea. Not many waves but clear and warm water. I guess the main reason for everybody to go was the luxury of having the freshest seafood you can have. Vendors right at the water were offering everything you can imagine. After you have chosen your fish or seafood of your liking they prepared it in front of yours eyes on a little portable grill. For me 'non seafood person' this certainly was not the highlight, but seeing everybody enjoying the food was good to see. The next time I will go back here, I would like to stay in a bit nicer place and spend 2 or 3 nights instead of 12 hours.
If you ever travel with a Vietnamese family of 11, be prepared to take some Advil along. The family of 'My big fat Greek wedding' is nothing compared to this breed. Oppa :-)

The night of our return we celebrated  the 16th birthday of Erik's sister at the Temple Club in district 1. A cool rooftop place with Vietnamese BBQ. After that we did a little motorbike tour around Saigon's city center followed by a little race to our famous street kitchen - see the video.

Tomorrow is my last day - time flies...

Street Kitchen

Looks like I need to do some explaining about the purpose of a street kitchen. A street kitchen is a little street restaurant with outside patio (the pedestrian way). The furniture are small kid's plastic chairs and tables of the same size. I personally request a little bigger chair, as I can't fit in one of the 'regular' ones. In a street kitchen you basically go with friends to drink and to eat some exotic food. Street food that is. Everything from chicken feet to pork brain, hot pot with squid or chicken hearts. It's all available to the valued customer. The entire food is being washed down with beer - Heineken please - chilled in the glass with ice cubes. Please remember it's hot in Vietnam - even at night. The service is similar to a 5 star restaurant. You have 1 or 2 waiters next to your table to ensure that your glasses are filled and you receive new ice cubes every 5 minutes. The food trash (shellfish) is simply being discharged under the table. You literally sit in your own trash. Once in a while they come and clean your table. I have to say - it's not everybodies place to be, but I enjoy it... basically every night. The best thing: It's cheap! $0.80 cents a bottle of beer and any major dish is $3. Can't complaint - and as long as you don't take a look into their kitchen it tastes all great....
Here you can get a little idea of the atmosphere...It's raining - but that's not really a reason not to go - it's actually even more fun 'under the rain'...



While sitting there and having a drink, a number of vendors show up to sell you anything from squid to toys and CD's as well as lottery tickets and cigarettes. It's a happening place and I guess Vietnamese like it - why would these places be filled with young customers at 1 am in the morning on a Tuesday???
The little video shows the correct eating of an unborne egg. Basically a chicken embryo almost ready to hatch... yummie... Well ... I never eaten that and if you don't like fear factor - please don't watch the video...
Bon appetite!

Almost famous

I take some time of my busy vacation schedule to do some sightseeing of Saigon. I have been to most places, but its always good to see the war museum again, which houses numerous pictures of the French and American wars. The exhibition ends with pictures of deformed babies due to the used Napalm bombs during the Vietnam War. It's all mixed feelings here and it was interesting to see first time visitors reading the shocking captions of the horrible pictures on the grey painted walls. I guess it's time to party tonight!

Saigon's Club Scene is evolving and with new venues opening almost every week, it is difficult to choose a place to 'dance the night away'. Thursday we had pre-drinks at a German Beergarden. Not that the food they served had anything to do with Germany nor the beer was German origin - it was simply the name to attract people to have a few drinks. Looks like German beer has a good reputation throughout the world.
We ride our motor bikes to Saigon Face. Eric reserved a table before hand, so we were treated as VIP's. I mean like REAL VIP's. It took 4 greeters and 3 people opening the doors until we entered the freezing cold club. A one floor venue with plenty of little bar tables and lounge corners to chill in. We are greeted by the manager who walks us over to a table next to the dance floor. 4 security guys watching behind our backs and 3 servers are available around our table to serve us the drink everybody comes to drink here: Hennessey's Cognac. Pored from a 3 liter bottle ($US 1000 - yes - no typo and keep in mind that this high quality beverage is most likely not original and has been pre mixed with water or other substances and then nicely sealed with the government tax seal which is also faked) into little shot glasses and served with a side of water or coke (Cola that is ;-)). 3 DJ's work the music and fill the place with loud tunes from the States. The entire club is filled with about 250 guests and 100 security / wait staff. All clients are in their mid twenties. Finger are being pointed to other tables and they explain me that 'this guy over there' just bought a Ferrari and the other guy on the left is a famous singer in Vietnam. I am asking myself one question: when did these 'kids' make all this money they are spending here. I guess daddy is making some money and I am getting confirmation that most of these kids do not work at all. It's custom that one person pays - here is no splitting bills in Vietnam, so Erik ended up with a nice bill but also some leftover Cognac for the next visit. It was a nice bill Erik ended up with and not too bad for current Vietnamese 'show off' clubs, but certainly an amount you could easily feed a 10 people family for a month in the house next to this club. It was a great experience and I certainly haven't had this kind of treatment anywhere in LA. We were (almost) famous.
For a little night our around time we can't miss an after hour venue. We arrived at a lounge type of restaurant with private cabanas, personal waiter and almost as attentive staff as the club before. Here meets chic Saigon for late night delights like pork brain and snake blood as well as cold beverages of your choice. I only tried the Heineken by the way. Around 4:30am we make hour way home through the empty street of Saigon. That was a nice night out!

Slumdog Millionaire

For the first time visitor to Saigon there won't be that many differences visible between the different districts. However, there are many and if you take a closer look you will see it. The other day we took a little shortcut through the slums of Saigon. People drying rice on the street and living in minimal spaces. There are no real roads and the labyrinth of little walkways has to be shared with motorbikes, people walking, chicken, street cafe's and more. The video doesn't really justify the experience, but there are a few parts which can give you an impression of the situation.
No massage today, but still a quick spa treatments with jacuzzi, sauna and steam room and certainly our favorite street kitchen Qui Thanh for late night delights... :-). It started raining later and this picture shows a street vendor next to our street kitchen.

Please wait after 10pm to use the bathroom...

We had another day in Saigon with massage, pedicure, manicure, PHO and early meetings at the local street kitchen. This time we were 8 people and after I mentioned my interest in a Vietnamese drivers license, 3 people were using their IPhones to get some more information on my request. Volker: Remember how they conducted the practical test while on the road to Hanoi...? Anyway - it's $40 and I am promised to do the test myself. Although a written test is mandatory, the 'sources' guarantee that I only need to show up. This will ensure me to pass the test and I will receive a totally official Vietnamese drivers license for motorbikes. I am totally up for that and after 2 more phone calls I hear that a 'social security card' is necessary. All for sudden the price for this adventure goes up to $140. We put a hold on this idea but continue checking other sources.
We are staying in for dinner - 17 people, a few cases of Heineken and enough food to feed an army later, we conclude one more day in Asia.

Back at home I learn that the water reserves are exhausted for the day. Guss we take running water for granted in the Western World... Not here. You can only pump water into the huge tank from the street after 10pm - thats why I had to wait a little longer today... with 11 people in the house it just takes a while until the water reserves are replenished....

There are so many details I would need to tell you, but it woul be way too much for this blog. I am happy!!

How many people can you fit on a motor bike?

So sad leaving Koh Samui and going back to Vietnam. Don't get me wrong - Vietnam is still on the top of my list, but affectioning as I am am I have to tell you that Thailand and in particular Koh Samui was a really pleasant surprise and I will go back for sure. Things are running a bit slower on this island and that is good that way. I enjoyed the people, the food and the party scene very much. If you consider Thailand in one of your upcoming travel plans, please make sure to follow through and go. We loved it.

Back in Saigon we are going out for a traditional street kitchen. Just alright food tonight, but the company is what matters, right? The best part was the drive home. 7 people on bikes... we wanted to take a cab, but decided to have a little fun on Saigon's motorbike roads.... See for yourself...

Slideshow

I hard complaints that there are only a limited amount of pictures visible on this blog. I have certainly not posted all of them, but there are more than you can see here. You will need to click on the slideshow (to your right) and it will open the web album with all the pictures I have published. Unfortunately Blogspot only allows you to show 100 pictures on their blog although there are more included in the slideshow.

Alternatively you can use the following link: http://picasaweb.google.com/Chris.Weike/Asia2009Slideshow

Thai style or the loss of your hearing!

Bangkok says good bye to us with a heavy thunderstorm and while driving to the airport and preparing for Koh Samui I once again think, that this city is certainly worth a visit. Will I come back though? Probably not - and if, then only for one more fix of the history of Buddha and some original Thai food. Most of the other stuff I can have in Los Angeles.

Bangkok Airlines takes us in 40 minutes to the little island of Koh Samui. The small counterpart of Phuket, an island very well known by German / European tourists. The small airport operates golf cart type of transportation from the aircraft to the baggage claim. It took less than 10 minutes from the moment we touched down until we met our Hotel driver. Definitely record time for me. The island feels 'un-Asian' to me. Green, lush vegetation, many palm trees, motor bikes, cars, decent streets and everything really clean. This could also be somewhere in Hawaii or the Caribbean. The hotel consits of only 40 suites and 10 bungalows. A dream including ocean front. Huge, very well appointed rooms with the contemporary touch we like so much. I am happy that all 3 hotel choices were good and we can start into the last few days of the vacation.

After a good massage (of course, Eva!!!), we made our way to the little town center to learn that this town isn't so small. Top notch restaurants sharing the sidewalk with street food, lounges and bars. It is packed and especially with younger crows. We learn that many 'Bangkoknese' go here for the weekend to party and / or relax. Basically the Ibiza of Thailand.

We follow out tour book and find a decent looking Thai restaurant, but there are no people eating. So we decide to sit down next to the recommended restaurant in a small family run street restaurant. After ordering the Tom Yum Soup - a must have for me - and some other savory dishes, we become best friends with the wait staff. Especially for us prepared 'Thai style' tom yum soup. I should have listened to the driver in Bangkok who told us that the food in Bangkok is spicy, bu the food in Koh Samui is almost not eatable, as it is traditional. I love spicy food - but this one was a bit over the top. The second time in my life I lost my hearing ability on one ear....
What else can you do than gulping down a few cold Singha to ease the pain. 2 hours and many beers later, we pay the $38 on our tab and promise everybody to be back tomorrow. This is our new favorite restaurant!

To conclude the night we follow the waitress recommendation and walk over to the party zone, with bar competing for clients with blasting sounds from this months top 50 and cheap buckets full of whiskey and cola. This is 'ballermann' pure and we decided to have one or 2 drinks. 5:30 am we are greeted friendly by the security of our hotel when we get home.

Recuperating

I guess it's no secret that we needed to recuperate a bit the following day, so we got up around noon and rented a scooter for 200 THB ($8) for the day and drove around the island. It's about a 3 hour ride with the motorbike excluding sightseeing. We stopped at some Temple and Pagoda's and kept the hole day really low key. For dinner we are back at that Thai style restaurant. This time we asked for some more moderate spice - all for sudden we were actually able to taste food. No party tonight - just a DVD and lights out!

"Mister, make me good price'...

Friday we dedicated to work on our bargain skills. Jason had particular interest to buy souvenirs and giving the sales people a hard time. Funny to watch 2 Asian trying to outsmart each other… It worked very well though and after 60 minutes hard work we were able to walk away with almost one luggage full of stuff for a pretty decent price. The afternoon was spent to relax and to use a spa facility including massage to recharge the batteries for another night in Bangkok with a few drinks, food and party time. It’s vacation - remember?

One Night in Bangkok...

We are leaving Siem Reap in a tuk-tuk during a massive thunderstorm. Bangkok welcomes us with clear weather, a cultural mix of modern architecture and traditional Asian culture. Traffic - I thought Los Angeles is bad, but Bangkok is impossible to drive in. One hour to the Peninsula Hotel - a luxury hotel placed on the Bangkok riverbank with great views over the city and river. The room reminds me of James Bond. Thousands of buttons throughout the room to make it easy to control everything from curtains, TV, radio, temperature, shoeshine, lights and everything else which is adjustable. The first 10 minutes are being used to play with all of them. :-)

Bangkok has a wealth of Buddhist temples and relict's of the European occupation. The Grand Palace and Wat Phra are certainly the highlights we visited today and with the incredible amount of art and love to detail I really start learning to appreciate history again. Once more during this trip I feel privileged to travel and am grateful for that.
Before moving on with our sightseeing tour we stop at a small Thai restaurant. Rather dirty and weird - right at the river. We are having a few dishes including our favorite: Tom Yum Soup. The cook herself is checking us out through the little hole in the wall and coming to our table to explain that one of the dish we ordered is not very good and we should change the order. After Jason is utilizing his Asian charm, we are best friends with her and she starts feeding him. LOL ... Having a good time!
In the afternoon we visit Wat Pho - not the Vietnamese noodle soup, but the birthplace of Bangkok and a 46m reclining Buddha.

Bangkok’s nightlife is certainly pretty busy. We had a drink at the sky bar - a rooftop bar on one of Bangkok’s  tallest buildings. The thrill was that there weren’t many security precautions. You could take your glass outside on the platform and easily drop it the x-meters down to the street. No nets or fences. Certainly an experience, since the 2 Heineken cost us as much as the entire lunch including 4 beers we had a few hours earlier. What the heck - it’s vacation! http://www.lebua.com/bangkok/dining/sky-bar/

Later we took a cab to the ‘WeHo’ of Bangkok to observe the fashion / drama show of Bangkok’s gay youth. I could write pages about that, but let me tell you only this: There were many ‘Western’ business men - some of them married, mingling with young Thai guys who could easily be their sons. Not a pretty experience, but there are always 2 sides of the story….
A word about the cab driver in Thailand: It seems that all you really need is a car and a minimum of 10 Buddha arranged throughout the vehicle as well as a Sony sound system. Have a little meter installed and off you go with your new profession. No need to know the area. Lucky us - we had a map with us. The 3 times we took a cab in Bangkok, we had to explain the driver the way. ‘I just drive’ was the answer whenever we asked if he would know where the Peninsula Hotel was….

Angkor What??

We made it on the afternoon flight to Siem Reap. It’s only an hour away from Saigon, but the initial feeling was that this place actually is more ‘Asian’ than the other ones I have seen so far. The small town of Siem Reap is hosting the majority of Angkor Wat visitors. Streets are clean and people are extremely friendly. Not once during our 2 night stay we heard a ‘no’ from any hotel employees, tour guide or wait staff in one of the countless restaurants.

The Hotel De La Paix is an oasis in the middle of the busy town center of Siem Reap. The rooms are outstanding and  with their little I-pod sound system we felt really spoiled. I would rate this hotel into the top 3 hotels I have ever stayed in. Highly recommended.

We got up early around 4:30 am to meet our tour guide at 5:00 am. Seeing the sun rise over Angkor Wat is a once in a lifetime experience and I was happy to sacrifice the good night sleep for this indescribable event. Pictures can’t judge the beauty, myth and incredible peace you feel, when standing with a few people in the early morning and see this world wonder for the first time while the day awakes. I will carry this experience with me for a long time.

The temples itself set you back in some sort of ancient times. You can only imagine how things must have been back then. While Angkor Wat is certainly the most impressive of the temples we visit, Ta Prohm is the one, which can and has been used in Hollywood movies like Tomb Rider.  The unbelievable age of all these master pieces and the amount of work force needed to complete them is just mind lowing.

After a full day of temple touring, we were ready for a few Angkor beer and the local Khymer food. A fusion mix of Thai and Vietnamese food. Very tasty indeed!

Update

Jason’s mom had the surgery and it looks OK. The doctor showed Jason the tumor they extracted - I didn’t want to see it, but he took a picture of it and I don’t want o get to graphic about it…
Can’t believe she only got local anesthesia. We hope she will recover soon and will be able to join us for Mui Ne.

Bad News!

Sorry for not writing for a while. I was sick - got some sort of stomach flue and basically stayed in the last 3 days here in Saigon.

Jason’s mom went to the doctor to get a check up - they found a tumor and is currently in surgery. We changed our flights slightly and still planning on flying out today to Cambodia.
I took a few pictures of the hospital where she is staying. YOU BETTER DO NOT GET SICK IN VIETNAM!. People smoking inside the hospital - well - there is not really an inside. There are no windows. Air conditioners in the rooms are installed for decoration and hygiene is something they never heard about. In the hallways they posted pictures from successful surgeries 7 years ago. Thank you letters and proud posting doctors. One positive note: The doctor in charge of Jason’s mom has studied in Germany and also speaks German. Hopefully he took some of the knowledge home to Saigon.
Sure to have better news tomorrow.

p.s. I would have posted this earlier from the coffee shop I was having breakfast in, but they block certain domains. No western news, blogs or you tube available here - the downside of visiting a communist country.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Halong Bay

The about 4 hour trip from Hanoi over to Halong Bay was easy to manage. We stopped along the way to try some unique, little pineapples, stale Halong Beer and other delicatessens, we would have not found otherwise. Halong Bay City itself used to be a little fisher town but with tourism coming in years ago, its now a booming town not shy of high-rises and commercial buildings. A bit disappointed we embarked on our wooden junk into the bay and soon enough the disappointment turned into a slap in the face by stunning nature.

We visit caves and an over the water fisher village, which is completely dependent on what they have. There is no cell phone reception and no electricity, but they still enjoying living like this. I guess sometimes its nice not to have TV and other media. They are selling the fish to the market in Halong City and from the money they make they buy improvements for their boats and houses.

The entire scenery reminds me of Pirates of the Caribbean. Wooden sailing boats, the little islands and the warm weather - all good ingredients. Just Jonny Depp was missing…

Unfortunately it rained the entire night and the anticipated morning was overcast. We skipped the trip up to Tip Mountain and relaxed a bit more in the cabin. Food and service were outstanding and I would highly recommend visiting Halong Bay when you are in this part of the world.

We all slept on the way back to Hanoi Airport. I am not feeling well - tomorrow we will just stay in and I need to get over my stomach ache.

Hidden Sanctuaries

What better way to start the day than with a fresh bowl of  Pho Bac. The traditional Vietnamese noodle soup originates in Hanoi where the winter can get cold and especially in the mountains the Vietnamese people will warm themselves with this hearty and very tasty soup. Apparently it works wonder when you have a hangover from the rather cheap local beer. No that we would have tried it…

The day is going slow and one of the a few points  we still wanted to visit were also the local market. This 3 floors tall, very busy place is home of hundreds, if not thousands of vendors, who try to sell their goods to the never ending flow of people squeezing themselves through the narrow alleys and sometimes hidden labyrinths. A wealth of fabrics, shoes, toiletries, sunglasses, toys, faked purses, valets and jewelries makes this place popular for bargain hunting tourists an locals alike. Just outside the market you will find a maze, which leads you deep into the live of the local people. This was certainly a very poor area and people didn’t like it for me to take any pictures. It’s in my memory though.

The afternoon was relaxing with a mix of sightseeing and café & bar hopping. One little sanctuary in the middle of the busy capital was certainly the visit of Café Pho. No sign on the street and if we wouldn’t have stopped in this small souvenir shop, we would never have found it. The shop’s back door was basically the entrance to the café. We ordered our items in the dark courtyard and took them 6 floors up a narrow stairway, with lead us to a roof top patio overlooking the already for the 10-10 Independence Day prepared Haon Kim Lake. Just us the lake, us and our Heineken - a perfect sanctuary.

Off to Hanoi

After a short night we had an early start into day 3 in Saigon. While waiting for the taxi downstairs, a few people who were just sitting around on the edge of the walkway started to involve me in a conversation. Apparently the entire street already heard about the people from the States including one white, which is still fairly rare to see here in the Chinese part of the city. I was offered tea with a sincere smile (although that wasn’t exactly the smile you will find in a toothpaste commercial) and seconds later we had about 10 people joining this early but exciting encounter.

 The flight to Hanoi was supposed to leave at 8 am, so we calculated 45 minutes to get there and 60 minutes for the check in. Rush-hour in Saigon is not any different to the traffic you will experience throughout the day. Lucky us - Vietnam Airlines took us although the flight was supposed to leave in 30 minutes. Eva - I was thinking of you once more… ;-)
The national airline of Vietnam is in fact Vietnam Airlines and they operate 90% of the domestic flights. They are flying hourly between Saigon and the capital of Vietnam Hanoi, moving each hour about 270 people from the south to the north and vice versa. Ticket prices range from $50 to $150 each way and depend on the time you book, your nationality and the mood of the ticketing agent. We found 3 different prices for that flight - online, phone in and talking to a travel agent.
Hanoi is the more traditional city and certainly more quiet than its southern counterpart. Pride and political orientation is more visible and that not only in the buildings and streets, but also in the interaction with the ‘Nguoi Bac’ - the people from the north. There is a certain reservation sensible and even though I do not peak the language, I can feel that when one of us talks with the locals.








We took a tour of the highlights of Ha Noi (Vietnamese spelling) including the grounds, mausoleum and working spaces of Ho Chi Minh (uncle Ho) - the man Jason and the other have heard of all along during their school time and which was pounded into their brains. Obviously it did not create much of an interest for them, but they told me later that it was still a good thing to see in person what they have learned for so many years in school.

Coming along are Jason, his sisters Trish and Krystal as well as Erik.

Used & Abused - a massage in Saigon

Generally people think a massage is a relaxing event. I guess that is true in most of the cases, however - not always in south east Asia. Eric, Jason and I went to get a one hour hair wash / head massage followed by a little too 'over the top' massage. I have heard about the 'happy ending' massages being widely available, but we really HONESTLY thought that this place is not one of those... Guess my Caucasian  appearance made the masseuse want to go a bit 'over the top' to collect extra tips.
Long story short - I had to ask Jason twice to translate her not to spend another 15 minutes massaging my  upper legs in he very determined way.
Other than that nothing important to report...

Traffic!

Good to know that traffic is still the same as the last time I visited Saigon. In fact I believe it got worse. Thats actually good news, because I enjoy the crazy way people and their kids, chicken and all other things which need to be taken from A to B, make their way through the often small alleys. There is not enough room for the little over 7 million people. Imagine the amount of cars - if they would have them - and the parking space needed for them. It will take a complete tear down and rebuild of most parts of the city in order to accommodate just a reasonable amount of cars. Not only because of that, but also because for the about 200% tax on cars, which makes them 3 times as expensive than in the USA, cars are really rare. Interesting to see Audi Q7, Mercedes S500 and Lexus IS making heir way through the city. Imagine how big your little piggy saver must be afford a car lie that and how long it will take to buy it with an average monthly income of $100.

I decided to buy a patriotic helmet, which is now mandatory to wear while driving the motorbike. They are coming in all colors and styles. Prefect for most female Vietnamese, who can match the helmet to their nails, clothes or bike. Volker - I was talking about you many times today. You definitely will enjoy our planned excursion on the motorbike... Saigon is perfect for that training which will be needed.

Good Evening Vietnam

Have you ever watched 'Snakes on a plane'? Well - the flight from Japan to Saigon was certainly like it. Pitch black outside and very heavy turbulences for the almost 7 hours. 4 people in business class. I felt like on a private jet. The other people are working for Nike and Intel. They were making fun of Vietnam and how business is so cheap there. I didn't like that - but the truth of the matter is that western companies move into Vietnam because of the cheap labor. Touching down was a different experience. No flashy neon signs or bright lights. Most of the cars on the streets have only one light, hence - motorbikes.... Jason, his sister, Eric and Nicky were picking me up. First stop - street kitchen. Well - not the one we know from Redondo Beach - finally the real one.

Off to bed now.

今晩は

... meaning 'good evening' in Japanese.
I just arrived here in Tokyo and I have to say that the final descents to the airport was similar than touching down in Frankfurt. Many single houses spread all over the place with a good mix of farm land. Everything seems very organized and clean. The infrastructure is very decent and roads look actually bran new. Cars driving on the left side of the road and the power lines are identical to the ones in Germany. My picture of Japan was always those little Japanese houses in a typical shape... at least Tokyo seems to be different.

The airport impeccable clean and equipped with anything and everything. Still it's very quiet here on that Sunday evening. Most aircrafts here are 747-400's ... one more sign that ASIA has plenty of people to move. Having a wine in the Delta lounge now and waiting for my connecting flight to Saigon. Another 6.5 hours to go.

Greetings from the Biltmore

Well, attending a conference in sunny and hot Phoenix, wouldn't be too bad, if there would be some time to enjoy the pools and grounds. Work hard - play hard - Thats Generation X's and Generation Y's motto (I learned today) and I guess I am falling in one of those. With that said I can almost wrap up the 'work hard' part and move over to the 'play hard' part.

Asia (and Jason) is waiting for me and with less than 48 hours to go until my departure from LAX I have to say that I am really getting excited.

Lets see what this trip to the other side of the world and the home of chicken feet, snake blood and duck tongue has to offer.

Can't wait!

p.s. The Arizona Biltmore Hotel is pretty well known for being the 'Jewel of the desert' and was built about 80 years ago. I has seen almost all US Presidents since then along with all the 'a-list' celebrities... I'll give out autographs later... ;-)