Sawasdee!

Sawasdee! (Thai greeting for "Hello!" and many other things)

This is my fourth visit to Thailand, and each time I arrive since that first memorable visit, as soon as I disembark the plane, you can hear the faintest content sigh from me, the same kind of sigh that thoughts of Sienna (Italy) evoke from me, or the same content sigh you get when you arrive home after a hectic day. To say that I love Thailand is a gross understatement. Thailand for me is like home away from home, where every local who greets me with "Sawasdee!" is like a distant relative welcoming me back and asking me, "Why have you been away so long?"

The Surgeon General Needs to Come to Southeast Asia

We went to a 7-11 along Orchard Road in Singapore to buy some bottled water. We got to the register and I immediately noticed the packs of cigarettes behind the counter because pictures were prominently featured on the packs. I wasn't quite sure what I was seeing at first, then to my horror I began to slowly make out what they were. The images depicted the hazzards of cigarette smoking. The Surgeon General's Warning plastered on cigarette packs back in the states pale in comparison to what they have here in Singapore and Thailand.

I wanted to get a few packs of cigarettes for my smoker friends back home who I care about, but the cost was prohibitive (and it felt kind of wrong buying cigs). My father passed away a couple of years ago at the relatively young age (to die) of 61, because of complications from lung cancer due to cigarette smoking, so I know the dangers first-hand and have seen what can result from it. My father's deterioration wasn't a pretty sight and painful for him and us as well, the people who love him. I wouldn't wish what my father went through on anyone, even people I dislike.

I ended up taking pictures of the cigarette packs instead. I have more pics, I counted 5-6 different images on the packs.

A Foodie Finds Himself in Foodie Heaven

I’m a self-proclaimed foodie. I would eat anything from three-star Michelin to third-world street food. I think that the national pastime in Singapore is eating and majority of them congregate in hawker stalls (food courts) to enjoy this "national pastime". I think the hawker stall culture has a lot to do with the fact that majority of Singaporeans live in high-rise flats (apartments), where living space is a premium and kitchen size suffer as a result, so they just eat out instead, where often at the ground level of many of these high-rises you will find hawker stalls.

So as we were finalizing our itinerary, I was getting more and more excited about the prospect of savoring food from Singaporean hawker stalls again. In the USA, food courts have such a bad connotation and deservedly so, pre-cooked, lamp-heated, artery busting fast food, but in Singapore, these hawker stalls offer fresh ingredients, cooked-to-order meals and a diversity of cuisine from the many cultures (Chinese, Malay, Indian, British) that make up this tiny city-state. Every time I come to Singapore and savor hawker stall dishes as well as traditional Singaporean fare of Haianese chicken and Chili Crabs, I feel I’ve gone to foodie heaven, especially when you wash it down with cold Tiger brand beer. YUM!!!!

Plus ca change, plus ca me'me chose

I've been to every city/country on this itinerary at least once (Singapore, Thailand, Sydney, Melbourne), so to be quite honest, I had very low expectations with regards to experiencing or seeing something new. I certainly did not expect to see or experience anything new in Singapore (it's such a tiny country landmass-wise), but to my surprise, Singapore recognized my impudence and smacks me in the face as soon as the plane commenced descent with the newly constructed T3 airport terminal, the new and very modern-looking concert hall along the Esplanade, the new Merlion (Singapore's symbol) viewing deck jam-packed with tourists from mainland China (who would’ve thought 10 years ago that majority of Singapore’s tourists will come from that country), and the massive construction going on Sentosa (Singapore's island resort/amusement park and the future site of the country’s first hotel casino). Amidst this onslaught of new development and construction, I still recognized the sights, sounds, smell and taste of the familiar from my previous visits: the bustling streets alive 24/7, the throngs of pedestrians along Orchard Road, the tantalizing smell from Singapore's many hawker stands (food courts) as you become one of the pedestrians yourself and the limitless energy from every facet of day-to-day life in this very dynamic and cosmopolitan of Southeast Asian cities.

I guess at its core, a country or city will always be true to itself in spite of massive development and progress. After acknowledging the folly of my initial premise, I amend myself, and am now pretty sure that every city or country I re-visit will offer me the new and the familiar, and the familiar will always be what makes that city or country unique. If my French serves me well, “Plus ca change, plus ca me'me chose”: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

The Longest Night...

Somewhere over the Pacific Ocean

I've traveled westward over the Pacific Ocean numerous times before, but it still unsettles me that whenever I look out the plane window during these trips, it's nighttime. 16 hours straight on a plane and everytime you look outside, it is dark. If I may describe it with one of the most overused words in the English dictionary, I would almost describe it as 'surreal'. LOL. The irony (if you can call it that) is that leaving stateside in the evening and arriving anywhere in Asia in the morning, is probably the most efficient and least jet laggy itinerary you can find. My most memorable 16 hours or so of night, was when I flew to New Zealand on New Year's Eve. For that flight, imagine 16 hours of free-flowing champagne. Talk about "surreal" :)