Saturday, June 27, 2015

The World is my Playground?

In early 2009, my best friend told me that I think the world is my playground. I laughed and told him that it sounds like a nice thing to be able to say. Well here is Janet Hsieh encouraging everyone to make the world their playground.

Monday, June 15, 2015

This time, I'm not in charge!

Earlier this month, I was invited to go to NYC on an overnight trip for a friend's birthday. I'm used to being in charge, but this time, we followed her itinerary. We rode from the Sand Casino in Bethlehem, PA to Chinatown, Manhattan in a limo and I only knew my friend and her employee. The ride went extremely quick and before I knew it, we were passing the Newport Mall, where I normally park my car and get the PATH train into Manhattan. I hadn't driven under the Holland Tunnel in years and the last couple times I did, I could have gotten through the tunnel faster on foot. This time was different. Before too long, we were at the Golden Unicorn Restaurant in Chinatown. 


All I knew about Dim Sum was that it was Chinese snacks/appetizers. Although I skipped the chicken feet, pork dishes and anything spicy, I really enjoyed it. I was enjoying not having to come up with a plan. I was VERY full by the time we got the bill. I was expecting my friend to ask me for $40 or $50, but she said "$14 please" and at first I thought it was a joke. We were in probably the most expensive city in America and I had a pretty amazing lunch for $14! This trip was off to a good start.

Since my friend runs bus trips into Chinatown from Bethlehem, PA a couple times every year, she knows the area. We went on a bit of a walking tour and she did some shopping. Hey, this is what I do when I'm showing people around..........."hey I need to go get some of this, some of that!"


Since none of us could eat anymore, everyone wanted to shop. I couldn't eat anymore, so with my hour of free time, I walked to the Lower East Side and got some macarons from Bisous Ciao. One box for me, one for my friend's birthday. If I had to choose 1 favorite macaron, it's the salted caramel from Bisous Ciao.

My next destination was the East Village, which is probably my favorite neighborhood since my cousin in law gave me a walking tour last year. Macaron Parlour was my destination. I got a box for me and a box for the birthday girl (lady).

I had to walk quickly back to Little Italy, where everyone had to meet the limo to take us up to Harlem. There were a total of 8 people in the limo and I was the only one familiar with Harlem. 
My friend wanted to have dinner at a "soul food" restaurant and her friend suggested Amy Ruth's

Although it was not my birthday and the only thing anyone wanted my help with was the subway, I insisted that if they are going to visit Harlem, they have to at least see one historical site. Nobody disagreed and we ended up spending a couple hours at the Apollo Theater.

Michael Kimmel was there signing books and I ended up leaving with a signed copy of Angry White Men. The Women of the World Festival was also wrapping up there and we watched Michelle Williams speak about depression. It was a very moving speech from someone I knew very little about.

After dinner at Amy Ruth's, we took the 2 train to Penn Station and walked to our hotels in Chelsea.

The next morning, my friends wanted to go to Bleecker Street. I made different plans to meet my cousin at Norma's inside the Le Parker Meriden hotel. I never heard of this place, but my cousin (who I rarely see, but appreciates some of the same things I do) lives nearby and wanted to meet there. 

I had some TIME TO KILL (that's a Deep Purple song) before meeting my cousin and I had not been to Astoria in a while. I boarded the N train and took it out to 30 Av. I picked up some of my favorite seafood salad at Titan Foods and then got some baklava at Artopolis bakery. With the little bit of extra time I have, I walked up to Ditmars Blvd and made a left towards Astoria Park. After walking around a bit and taking some pictures, I needed to get the train back to Manhattan. Feeling too tired to walk to the Astoria-Ditmars stop, I got on the Q69 bus.




After brunch with my cousin, I met up with my friends at Port Authority. Although it was not my birthday, my friend got me a box of Royce Chocolates, while they were on Bleecker Street. We took a bus back to the Sands Casino in Bethlehem, PA. As I was explaining to my cousin over a $27 crepe at  Norma's, I'm usually the one making all the plans and this weekend was the total opposite. With the exception of my trips to the East Village and Astoria, I was following someone else's plan. It was not better or worse, just totally different. Like Indian restaurants, I have a nice time when someone takes me, but I would not likely go for Dim Sum by myself.

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Another city I never thought I'd see

I wanted to ride this train, which loops around the city, but never had the chance.

I love mangosteen. This is what I saw when I stepped outside my hotel.


Every time I've traveled around Asia, my hosts always insist that I need to see every pagoda & temple.

I love taking pictures of road signs.



I spent 7 nights in Myanmar. 2 of those nights were spent in buses. I listened to every RAMONES studio album on this trip. At the end of my week there, I was ready to leave.

Friday, June 5, 2015

Inle Lake



Inle Lake was very beautiful. It was too loud to talk on the boat, but not too loud to listen to U2's SONGS OF INNOCENCE.





Wednesday, June 3, 2015

OZZY & MTV in Myanmar

I wonder if Mr. Osbourne is aware of this store?

The last memorable thing MTV gave us was Beavis & Butthead!

From my hotel window

From my hotel window

From my hotel window

This was closed to the public, but they made an exception as long as my guides and I didn't spend more than 30 minutes inside the walls.









U-bein bridge

Monday, June 1, 2015

The remains of 10,000 ancient temples and pagodas

By now, it all seems so routine. Try to get a flight around midnight so I don't have to rush to JFK Airport. Try to get a flight that takes off when I am tired and ready to sleep, because it takes at least 12 hours to get to Asia. Last time, my layover was in Dubai, this time, Taipei.

The flight was around 15 hours and it seemed like I slept on and off for 10. I'm so grateful to have an iPad! When I'm awake, I typically switch back and forth between movies, books and music videos. My music video for my 1st flight was Metallica's Quebec Magnetic. I also watched U2's From The Sky Down and read Lonely Planet Myanmar.

The layover in Taipei was so quick, my Burmese friend and I only had time to get a smoothie before boarding the China Airlines flight to Yangon. I'd never flown China Airlines before, but it wasn't any better or worse than other airlines I used to get to Asia.

The flight to Yangon was less than 5 hours, which seemed like nothing compared to the previous one. I watched God Bless Ozzy Osbourne and PJ20, and spend the rest of the time talking to my Burmese friend. The flight seemed less than 1/4 full which was not totally shocking, since I'd been on Air Asia flights, which were HALF FULL (that's a Pearl Jam song) at best.

After landing, my friend and I had to get in separate immigration lines, this was THE FIRST TIME (that's a U2 song) that I had to get a Visa before I left my country. I booked the flight on Monday (Memorial Day) night and left just over 72 hours later, which is rare for me. It took less than 24 hours for my Visa to be approved and I made it through their security with the same ease I make it through security everywhere except driving into or out of Canada.

We were picked up at the airport by my friend's family and the first thing we did was went to eat. As soon as I stepped out of the airport, I can feel that Southeast Asia heat! For me, there was only one thing I wanted to try.........MOHINGA! I wasn't disappointed and I looked forward to eating more in the coming days.





After spending a day (and night) in Yangon's Chinatown, my 2 Burmese hosts & I took an overnight bus to Bagan. Like 5 years earlier in Turkey, the buses were very nice, but unlike Turkey, it was difficult to sleep in the bus because of constant horns honking and potholes. 

Most of our day in Bagan was spent looking at all the old temples & pagodas. It was repetitive, but any time I travel in Asia, my hosts insist that I must see many, many pagodas & temples. There's always one more we need to see!