Wat a Day in Bangkok

Last night we continued our search for night life between temples. We made our way over to a part of town that’s known for its go-go bars, shows and dance clubs (Patpong for those who’ve heard of it) since we’d heard there were good resturants in the area. Peppered between all the various sketchy establishments in the area, indeed there were some great looking resturants and cafes. We stopped in to one (turned out it was a British pub) and had dinner there and made our way to the mad-house scene on Silom Road, Patpong Soi 1 (I really don’t understand Thai street names). It’s funny: facing the resturant we had to the left a massage parlor and to the right a bunch of women catcalling in evening gowns, and none of this seemed out of place or abnormal given the surroundings. It was just that this way of doing business was the defacto, normal way of operating and the resturant was totally legit with families, locals and foreigners alike eating.

Back to Silom Road/Patpong Soi. The scene on the street puts Xiangyang Market in Shanghai to shame. In al corners were people hawking fake everything, from pens to jeans (7 For All Mankind, Replay, Rock & Republic) to watches (IWC to Vacherons) to DVDs of all selections (including lots that I havn’t been able to find in Shanghai) to music CDs (of course including all of the popular Western music). The street goes down for a while and the chaos is actually on the street since it’s totally pedestrian. On the side, where the shops are, are nice loungey bars as well as go-go bars and places to see “shows.” We ducked in to one of the proper bars that had outside seating on to the street and watched the madness over a drink. After some time there, we made our way back to Kosan Road and ended the night at the same bar (Gullivers Travlers Tavern) we landed at on Friday.

In the morning and thru today it was a day full of the Wats we didn’t see yesterday. We ended up walking quite a bit even though it’s been by far our hottest day here and made it to the Royal Palace. It was just stunning. Beautiful guilded temples, in greens, reds and mirrors everywhere. The gold leafing and the frescos in the walkways were breathtaking. It was one of the most beautiful and inspiring Royal grounds I’ve ever been on in a very different way than anything European. The iconography and art was so unique yet so simular in style from things I know from India and have seen throughout southeast Asia. Of course in the palace complex we saw the Emerald Buddha and walked through. We were lucky since it was one of the few days of the year (??) that Sunday services are held in the hall of the Emerald Buddha so we got to witness people chanting and praying in the chamber.

After touring the temples and the residence we had some refreshments in a cafe on the grounds then made our way back since we’re both heading out soon. I have to leave for the airport in 30 minutes and Matt is heading via overnight train to Koh Somoi (sic) in 2 hours. I did some shopping for gifts and I’m about to leave.

Bangkok is quite a city and I wish I could continue and see the rest of Thailand while I’m down here but alas work calls for tomorrow. The Thai people are very hospitable and there’s so much that I didn’t see even in Bangkok. The temples were at a different level of ornate than anything I’ve seen before and so well kept. I can only imagine what the other parts of the country are like, but that will have to be saved for another day.

In Bangkok on Khaosan Road

I made it to Bangkok last night and met up with Matt at the Buddy Lodge on Khaosan Road. This area is a mad house. It’s a pedestrian street filled with guest houses, resturants, clubs, bars teeming with both locals and backpackers. It reminds me a lot of Pham Ngu Lao from Saigon. Overall impression of Bangkok is very positive. It lacks the colonial charm of Saigon but has a vibrant feel of its own.

Last night we had dinner (the best pad thai I’ve ever had) and then started on a bar crawl of the area. We ended up at a couple places where we were the only non-Thais there, which was pretty cool but we ended up the night at a place that had dancing plus a good mix of people from all backgrounds. Oddly enough, the bars close almos exactly at 1:00am, which is part of the crackdown they’ve had on the nightlife in Bangkok over the last few years. We ended up hanging out on the street talking to some locals we’d met in the bar until 4 or so in the morning. While hanging out on the street we saw plenty of “ladyboys” (as the locals told us they’re called) that had I not been warned what to look for could have easily passed for a women. It’s hard to believe.

After not sleeping much at all, we got breakfast from a cafe on Kahosan Road and hired a tuk-tuk driver to take us to a couple of sites. Here in Bangkok, a tuk-tuk most resembles a auto-ricksha from India rather than the tuk-tuks that I saw in Vietnam and Cambodia. For 30 bhat each our driver took us around for about 3 hours all across various temples and palaces. Matt didn’t have long pants on so we were denied admission to a couple of the more famous wats (temples), which we’re going to try for tomorrow. I don’t recall exactly what things we saw, but off the top of my head we saw the Golden Buddha, the temple that’s on top of a very big hill, the Democracy Monument, a Vishnu Mandir, and a couple of smaller wats.

We made it back to Khaosan Road around 3pm and had lunch. I took off to get a Thai massage. And before you let your mind go in to the gutter, it was a proper professional massage which was quie a bit better than any I’ve had in China. The Thai really do have it down to a science.

I’m heading back to Shanghai tomorrow evening, but not until 6pm so we’ll be seeing a bunch of the other Bangkok sights tomorrow as well and we’re planning on going out a club tonight as well.

New Apartment in Shanghai

Six months have (nearly) passed since I moved to China and it’s been quick. So quick that the lease on my original apartment is up and I want to move closer to work. After searching for a while last week I found a place in a complex on Hongqiao Road called Oriental Manhattan (东方曼哈顿公寓). It’s a bit more expensive than my current one, but the building, the facilities and the apartment are much better. It’s on the 16F, facing the interior courtyard, two bedroom with satellite TV (that acutally gets English channels). I’ll post more pictures when I move in, which is likely to be today or tomorrow depending on when I can find movers.

Shanghai Sherpa

It was Thursday and the rain was pounding and the wind was howling through the streets of Shanghai, thanks for Tyhpoon Chanchu.Too lazy and too wet already to venture out from my apartment in hunt of food, I tried for the first time to order a meal from Shanghai Sherpa, a delivery service geared towards foreigners.

I have to say, I’m 100% impressed by their service. I gave them a call, they asked for my number and my address, all in perfect English. I ordered some items off of their menu (a sandwich and some tapenade from a place calld iiiit). They said the food would arrive in an hour due to traffic from the rain and it arrived around their estimated time, warm (but not as hot as I may have liked it) and straight from the resturant.

It’s expensive no doubt. There’s a markup on the items (so it would seem) as well as well as a delivery charge. My meal cost 71 RMB including delivery, which is pretty expensive for any meal around here, but when in a pinch it can’t be beat. I’d recomend it to anybody who doesn’t speak Chinese in need of a delivery food fix.

Around the World in 90 Days

NY Times Frugal Traveler is going around the world in 90 days, starting in Lisbon and I’m already envious. This is the ultimate trip for me and I know one day I’m going to do the same. My buddy Matt is doing something similar (94 days). He’s starting in Asia, working his way through the southeast, then heading off to Europe. I’m going to meet up with him in Bangkok (this is the beauty of living in Asia).

However, before I can dream about a round-the-world adventure, my next big vacation is most definitely going to be in the Galapagos, kayaking through the islands.

That New Office Smell

Our team relocated from one skyscraper in Xujiahui to one across the street and it’s fantastic. Our old building, Metro City (美罗城) was in a bad state with poor ventilation, small desks and it was super crowded. Our new building, Grand Gateway 2 (港汇广) is the 71st tallest building in the world (how very exciting) and it’s a awesome building. While we occupy lower floor of this building than the old one, there’s less street noise and the work conditions are much better as well.

Bigger cubes, more offices, more conference rooms, and cleaner facilities. I swear there’s a two minute interval at which the glass inside the building is wiped over by somebody. And the best part? It’s a lot more quiet on the inside and it feels like the new digs have people more energized. I wouldn’t have realized it but the quality (and/or) newness of the office really does drive some level of inspiration.

Quick West Coast Week

In the last episode of the A Day in the Life of Aditya, we found our protagonist splayed flat in his apartment in Shanghai unable to move let alone take his flight to the US. Fast forward to today and he’s getting ready to head back to Shanghai after spending a week in the West Coast. Enough with the third person, let’s get to the recap.

Last Thursday I took off from Shanghai to San Francisco and spent the week between SF, Mountain View, Napa and Redmond. Work was busy and quite productive. I had a very interesting day trip to Redmond as well as managing to get a lot done and taken care of here in California. On the personal side, I got to see all my old friends plus do a wine tour of Napa last weekend, celebrate Chris’ birthday, and go to Jamus’ graduation this weekend. Overall, an excellent trip. Now, for the 17-some-hour flight back.

… Or Staying in Shanghai

Imagine, if you will, Monday at about 2:30am. I’m getting ready to start packing for my 10am flight from Shanghai to San Francisco. I get up from my sofa and my back seizes up and I fall over from the pain. It was pretty bizzare, I was stuck laying on the ground for a while wondering if the pain would go away, but every time I tried to move it was pretty much impossible and I was totally immobile. Not knowing what to do, I gave my friend Lois a call who was the sweetest person ever.

She came over in the middle of the night and brought her cousin who was a doctor. After her cousin did an evaluation of me, they called an ambulance and took me over to Zhongshan Hospital. The doctors at the hospital did an evaluation of me and took some lower back x-rays and found that it wasn’t anything serious (like a slipped disk) and said that I needed a few days of bedrest of staying on my back, gave me some meds and sent me on my way. The diagnosis was around a strained ligament in my back or a muscle spasm.

We had to take an ambulance back to my apartment since I couldn’t take a sitting position. It was my first time ever being in an ambulance and one of the only times (may have been the only time, can’t really remember) I’ve been in the emergency room. From what I could see (which was limited since I spent all my time staring up at the wall) the facility was quite modern and sophisticated.

Thus, I’m still in Shanghai. I’m feeling a lot better now and I can walk around and am mobile again. I’m going to attempt to fly on Thursday or Friday to head back to the states since I think I should be in pretty good shape by then. I’ve been passing the time by watching movies and laying down on either my bed or the sofa the entire time. It’s not exactly the way I had expected to spend the May holiday, but I am feeling better for sure. It was a pretty scary experience but I owe a lot to Lois and her cousin for being amazing people and helping me when I needed it as well as my family and family friends who helped out across all the time zones with their loving advice and knowlege.

Heading Back to the States

I’m taking off for the states tomorrow for the next two weeks. I’ll be spending most of the time in San Francisco and Seattle for work, but I’m taking a few days off to see my sister in San Diego.

Seven Day Work Week

Next week is the May Holiday in China, one of the three seven day long public holidays that exist here. They basically take all the little holidays and roll them up in to a few longer holidays. The reason is since a lot of people live away from their home towns people often travel by train back. Some of the folks from are team are travelling over 20 hours each way to get to their homes and this is not uncommon.

The side effect of this is the State Planning Commission for the Glorification of the Worker or something like that makes people work on the weekends. For the Chinese New Year holiday, they made us work the Saturday before and the Sunday after and for this holiday we have to work both Saturday and Sunday this weekend and then get seven days off. It’s really strange.