Nov 28, 2008

Greetings from Kuala Lumpur

My flight to BKK was indeed canceled. Thankfully, I was able to swap flights and hotel rooms at no cost.

I'd love to tell you all about KL, but I'm afraid I haven't seen much of it yet. I spent most of the day yesterday sleeping off a ridiculous hangover. Thursday night was one of the more surreal nights of my life - I won't go into detail, but the key ingredients were a middle-aged Japanese businessman named "Teddy", hours of karaoke, an 80-lb. prostitute, and copious amounts of scotch.

I'm going to pick up my original itinerary beginning in Siem Reap, Cambodia, where I'll meet up with my friend Todd to explore Angkor for a few days. This morning's flight was full, so I'm heading out early tomorrow morning. I just checked out of my hotel, will spend the day exploring KL, and then spend the night at an airport hotel.

One final Tokyo note - the Tsukiji fish market is a sight to behold, as long as you're able to avoid being run over by various trucks, scooters, and the ubiquitous motorized dollies maneuvered by what appear to be beer kegs with steering wheels. Sushi at 5:30 AM? Oh yes. And one of the best meals I've ever had.

Nov 26, 2008

24 hours in Tokyo

Note to self: Get some local currency before hitting the next town.

After 12 or 14 hours on an airplane and 2 hours on a bus, I found myself stumbling through the world's busiest subway stop during rush hour, dissheveled and likely odorous, with a fully-loaded backpack and and zero yen in my pocket. I knew where I wanted to go - the Higashi-Shinjuku station - but the metro ticket machine didn't accept credit or debit cards, and all I had were dollars. A kind subway attendant directed me to the nearest bank, but much to my chagrin the ATM wouldn't accept either of my cards. Thankfully, the taxis are equipped to handle clueless foreigners, and with a swipe of my debit card I was able to get to my hotel.

Which, by the way, didn't cash travelers checks. C'est la vie, I thought, tonight's festivities would be brought to me by Visa and/or Mastercard. After getting cleaned up, I set out into the drizzly evening to rustle up some grub. Unfortunately, most places I walked past - or into - didn't take credit or debit cards, either. I managed to find a Korean joint that did (and dinner was quite good), but I ran into the same cash-only problem this morning when out for a stroll at dawn in search of coffee. Imagine the rollercoaster of emotions I felt when I saw this:



but was then denied the joy of their wholesome lard & sugar goodness simply because I didn't have any yen.

I don't know what kind of backwater these savages live in, but any place where Mister Freaking Donut doesn't accept credit cards is a place I will never, ever call home.

OK, more highlights (it got much better):

It turns out my hotel the first night was near somewhat of a red light district (no, I did not plan it that way)


Besides the clubs there were plenty of *love hotels* with both short-term and long-term rates


Remember to work on your 3 L's


Took a lunchtime stroll through a peaceful garden oasis in the middle of the city


Shibuya = Times Square on steroids


This is the greatest store in the world - Hot & Spicy Spam next to faux leopardskin fur boots next to Brylcream next to *ahem* marital aids next to flat-screen TVs next to R2D2 shampoo dispensers next to... you get the idea


It's good to see Tommy Lee Jones getting a paycheck


I don't know where I'll wind up tomorrow, as apparently there's a bit of a situation at BKK at the moment. Not to worry - when the going gets tough, the tough make lemonade. Or something like that.

Nov 25, 2008

So apparently strange things are afoot in Bangkok...

I'm in Tokyo for another night, following the action and drafting up plans B, C and D.

Day 1 has been a comedy of errors thus far, I'll try to update later.