Leaving the USA for good...?
Tue, Jul 22 2008 08:11
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Hey my beloved peeps,
So here is an update on my relocation to Asia.
I left Seattle on May 25th. My first week was spent in Beijing for an industry exhibition. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have experience the city during their brief rainy season, witch was actually anything but rainy. It was warm (Southern California-ish) and sunny most days and the rain at night would clean the air while the wind during the day would keep the smog away. The result was gorgeous weather and clear skies! Really quite a marvel and a rare opportunity to capture on film some of the city's famed attractions.
More Photos from Beijing
Aside from being one of the most organized cities, Beijing is probably the friendliest Asian city I have ever visited. (Besides Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon) Every one seems to have this decidedly un-hurried pace at which they go about their days. While their streets are crowded, everything moves, and it is quite common to see drivers giving pedestrians, bikes and other cars the right of way after an exchange of glances. It may also be that the government has been on a campaign for the past year leading up to the Olympics to try to help the Beijing public behave in a more gentle, "civilized" manner. i.e. not shoving, yelling, expectorating, public urination, etc. behavior not uncommon in the more rural parts of China.
After Beijing it was off to Mumbai (Bombay) - on the first day of their monsoon season no less. The stark contrast in culture, organization, let alone sanitation from Beijing to Mumbai was simply mind boggling! The juxtaposition of wealth, intelligence, sophistication to the utter poverty, gross ignorance and a civil infrastructure scarcely changed from the 1950s was something I was not entirely prepared for. I've seen the poverty before, that was no biggie really... But that poverty along side the sheer opulence in Mumbai was mind blowing! My personal opinion is that corruption, India's cast system and the general lack of concern for the masses and public infrastructure is the only thing preventing India from becoming a world power on-par with China.
The last 2 days in Mumbai I got "Mumbadevi's Revenge" (a.k.a. food poisoning/flu) probably because of my criticism of their local dysfunction.. Yeah, ok, I dare ya to try that again..! Interesting trivia: the city known as Bombay changed it's name to Mumbai after the local goddess, Mumbai Devi in 1997.
The next stop after Mumbai was Hong Kong. Ah, glorious HK in all its nearly spotless, organized splendor! Seriously! I've been to HK prior to the SARS epidemic, when it was a filthy, smelly city. But ever since 2005 HK has made significant updates to improve public hygiene and wellbeing. Needless to say it was a welcomed reprieve from the stench of Monsoon soaked Mumbai. I spent a week here traning our new distributor for mainland China. The sights, sounds and food in HK are among the best in the world. I can't wait to go back! :-) Below is a photo I shot of the HK skyline from across Kowloon bay.
More Photos of HK, Mumbai & Beijing
Finally on June 14th, I reached Singapore. I've always felt very comfortable arriving in Singapore as it is so much like Hawaii to me. This time however, there was a strange sadness accompanying my relief to be here... perhaps it was the finality of it... Every other time I've come to Singapore it was as a visitor; this time it was for good. -As good as "good" is for the foreseeable future. I spent the first 2 weeks in an extended stay suite while I honed-in on finding a flat. I finally settled on a 3 bedroom flat in a suburb called Tampines. [pronounced tam'pin-ees] It's actually not available until August 5th, so in the mean-time, I am staying with an Indian family...friends of mine. So I am getting the true "local" experience.
More Photos of Singapore
Singapore is quite a change of pace from the US, even though there are a lot of similarities and most of the comforts we are accustomed to in the US. Some things are strangely absent like in the local eateries (called "hawker centers") they don't use disposable dishes to save on costs. They typically don't provide napkins either. -Again, a cost savings. Most people carry packs of tissues for that purpose. -Or you can purchase a pack for 50 cents. The flip side is that you can get good meals for like S$5! Much healthier than fast food! Speaking of fast food, they do have all the US franchises: KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, etc... but don't expect the menus to be the same. There are many local flavors and concept foods.. like a curry vegetarian chicken burger... ick!
Of course Singapore is not without it's charms. It is well manicured tropical paradise, with large canopy trees and stunning flora lining all the roadways!
It is incredibly clean and organized and enjoys the reputation of being one of the safest cities on earth. Most people are generally friendly and most every one speaks English. -Yes, English is the primary language of Singapore. Also spoken (and officially recognized) are Mandarin, Malay and Hindi. Depending on how I dress, I'm usually taken for a local - most say I look like a large Indian-Malay guy. Big (black) American looking guys are still a bit of a novelty here and whenever I'm "outed" by opening my mouth, suddenly every one is interested in who I am. The rest of the time I can pretty much just cruise around "under the radar" which I prefer. I live frugally and take the local transportation and shop in the local open markets. I prefer not to hang out in/with the local ex-pat community as they are sometimes viewed as elitist jerks and a "necessary evil" for the good of the economy. Of course they are not all that way.
I've been pacing myself as I discover the wide variety of Singaporean night life: from chill lounges and Jazz bars to the more risqué establishments. But no matter where I go, I'm always warmed by the Singaporean hospitality and service!
Stay tuned for forthcoming posts: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Philippines...
Hugs!
~Laz
So here is an update on my relocation to Asia.
I left Seattle on May 25th. My first week was spent in Beijing for an industry exhibition. I consider myself incredibly fortunate to have experience the city during their brief rainy season, witch was actually anything but rainy. It was warm (Southern California-ish) and sunny most days and the rain at night would clean the air while the wind during the day would keep the smog away. The result was gorgeous weather and clear skies! Really quite a marvel and a rare opportunity to capture on film some of the city's famed attractions.
More Photos from Beijing
Aside from being one of the most organized cities, Beijing is probably the friendliest Asian city I have ever visited. (Besides Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon) Every one seems to have this decidedly un-hurried pace at which they go about their days. While their streets are crowded, everything moves, and it is quite common to see drivers giving pedestrians, bikes and other cars the right of way after an exchange of glances. It may also be that the government has been on a campaign for the past year leading up to the Olympics to try to help the Beijing public behave in a more gentle, "civilized" manner. i.e. not shoving, yelling, expectorating, public urination, etc. behavior not uncommon in the more rural parts of China.
After Beijing it was off to Mumbai (Bombay) - on the first day of their monsoon season no less. The stark contrast in culture, organization, let alone sanitation from Beijing to Mumbai was simply mind boggling! The juxtaposition of wealth, intelligence, sophistication to the utter poverty, gross ignorance and a civil infrastructure scarcely changed from the 1950s was something I was not entirely prepared for. I've seen the poverty before, that was no biggie really... But that poverty along side the sheer opulence in Mumbai was mind blowing! My personal opinion is that corruption, India's cast system and the general lack of concern for the masses and public infrastructure is the only thing preventing India from becoming a world power on-par with China.
The last 2 days in Mumbai I got "Mumbadevi's Revenge" (a.k.a. food poisoning/flu) probably because of my criticism of their local dysfunction.. Yeah, ok, I dare ya to try that again..! Interesting trivia: the city known as Bombay changed it's name to Mumbai after the local goddess, Mumbai Devi in 1997.
The next stop after Mumbai was Hong Kong. Ah, glorious HK in all its nearly spotless, organized splendor! Seriously! I've been to HK prior to the SARS epidemic, when it was a filthy, smelly city. But ever since 2005 HK has made significant updates to improve public hygiene and wellbeing. Needless to say it was a welcomed reprieve from the stench of Monsoon soaked Mumbai. I spent a week here traning our new distributor for mainland China. The sights, sounds and food in HK are among the best in the world. I can't wait to go back! :-) Below is a photo I shot of the HK skyline from across Kowloon bay.
More Photos of HK, Mumbai & Beijing
Finally on June 14th, I reached Singapore. I've always felt very comfortable arriving in Singapore as it is so much like Hawaii to me. This time however, there was a strange sadness accompanying my relief to be here... perhaps it was the finality of it... Every other time I've come to Singapore it was as a visitor; this time it was for good. -As good as "good" is for the foreseeable future. I spent the first 2 weeks in an extended stay suite while I honed-in on finding a flat. I finally settled on a 3 bedroom flat in a suburb called Tampines. [pronounced tam'pin-ees] It's actually not available until August 5th, so in the mean-time, I am staying with an Indian family...friends of mine. So I am getting the true "local" experience.
More Photos of Singapore
Singapore is quite a change of pace from the US, even though there are a lot of similarities and most of the comforts we are accustomed to in the US. Some things are strangely absent like in the local eateries (called "hawker centers") they don't use disposable dishes to save on costs. They typically don't provide napkins either. -Again, a cost savings. Most people carry packs of tissues for that purpose. -Or you can purchase a pack for 50 cents. The flip side is that you can get good meals for like S$5! Much healthier than fast food! Speaking of fast food, they do have all the US franchises: KFC, Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, etc... but don't expect the menus to be the same. There are many local flavors and concept foods.. like a curry vegetarian chicken burger... ick!
Of course Singapore is not without it's charms. It is well manicured tropical paradise, with large canopy trees and stunning flora lining all the roadways!
It is incredibly clean and organized and enjoys the reputation of being one of the safest cities on earth. Most people are generally friendly and most every one speaks English. -Yes, English is the primary language of Singapore. Also spoken (and officially recognized) are Mandarin, Malay and Hindi. Depending on how I dress, I'm usually taken for a local - most say I look like a large Indian-Malay guy. Big (black) American looking guys are still a bit of a novelty here and whenever I'm "outed" by opening my mouth, suddenly every one is interested in who I am. The rest of the time I can pretty much just cruise around "under the radar" which I prefer. I live frugally and take the local transportation and shop in the local open markets. I prefer not to hang out in/with the local ex-pat community as they are sometimes viewed as elitist jerks and a "necessary evil" for the good of the economy. Of course they are not all that way.
I've been pacing myself as I discover the wide variety of Singaporean night life: from chill lounges and Jazz bars to the more risqué establishments. But no matter where I go, I'm always warmed by the Singaporean hospitality and service!
Stay tuned for forthcoming posts: Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Australia, Philippines...
Hugs!
~Laz
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