Welcome to Asialand

My wild and wonderful year of living in Asia has come to a close, but that doesn't mean you can't relive the adventure! Ride a tuk tuk through Bangkok, watch the sun rise over the Himalayas, dance on the Great Wall of China, play Pachinko in Tokyo, and savor the sweetest mooncakes in Singapore. Enjoy the travelogues below and the archives...and visit me at Euromania, too.
 

Magnificent Bangkok

Forget your preconceived notions about Bangkok, probably based on the silly 80s song "One Night in Bangkok." I was expecting steam and sleaze, but was unprepared for the sheer glow of the place--teeming with life, gilded temples, flowers and foodstuffs, sensuality and the kindest, most welcoming people I have ever encountered anywhere. Intoxicating. >>>
 

Kathmandu: Dreamland in the Heavens

Journeying to Nepal is intense. A few moments at eye level with the majestic peaks of the Himalayas, then you disappear into whiteness, dropping through clouds, emerging in a wide valley and crossing over into a kind of otherness. It's a feeling akin to leaving the world of the air and entering the world of the sea, overwhelming you from the moment you touch the ground. Visiting Nepal is travel in the true sense of the term, it jars you from your sensibilities and shocks you with unbelievable wonders. It's a place graced with heights of earthly beauty and burdened by many troubles. It takes and keeps a piece of your heart. >>>
 

Balinese Dreams

I have to admit, we did have moments where we were tempted to shuck all our material burdens and find a nice patch of Balinese heaven to call our own, a little hut in the hills where we could walk around dreamily in sarongs and eat of the many fruits and vegetation that grows so abundantly in the trees and earth. Many places proclaim to be paradise. Bali IS paradise, and its sweet call is hard to abandon. >>>
 

China of the Mind

Visiting Yangshuo was like going to China for the first time. With its mythical landscape, dreamlike karst peaks and soft flowing Li Jiang river, it has served as inspiration for Chinese poets and painters for centuries. Situated in Guangxi Province, which borders Vietnam, it offers an altogether different experience from China's crowded, crazy metropolises. In Yangshuo you see a gentler way of life, a truer, timeless China...and it quietly blows you away. >>>
 

Singapore: Cleaner than Canada!

Singapore is CLEAN and GREEN. Not only can you eat off the sidewalks, you can eat off the dinner plates at restaurants and not go home with the severe intestinal damage you acquire in other countries (ahem...peoplesrepublicofchina). The trains run on time. The cab drivers are perpetually cheerful. The parks are alive with orchids and butterflies and majestic Banyan trees. Indians mix with Malay and Chinese. Everybody speaks Singlish. The place is a model of civility. No wonder they caned that bratty kid for spitting gum. >>>
 

Go Go Tokyo!

Tokyo is the coolest city on earth, hands down. It's all light, action and movement, with a vibe that makes even New York seem like a placid little hamlet. The Japanese are a world unto themselves, with curious quirks that only 300 years of isolation can produce. Cross-dressing, Gucci bag clad Geishas in Shinjuku, why not? >>>
 

Shanghai: The World of Tomorrow

Shanghai is a city of contradictions. Ostentatious new skyscrapers compete with time-warped street scenes where peasant traditions still flourish. The scary pace of development threatens all the old ways, but charm abounds. Above is a shot of the Pudong, a slice of land that was nothing but rice paddies a few years ago. Today it's home to Shanghai's most striking landmark, the futuristic Oriental Pearl Tower. >>>
 

Hanoi Renaissance

Peace. Change has blossomed in Hanoi. Bikes have been replaced with motor scooters. Trendy shops and cafes are moving into the Old Quarter. And people are friendly and open, especially the young who are curious about Americans. Many cultures have run through Vietnam over the centuries, but its unique charm remains intact. >>>
 

I Heart Hong Kong

I miss you HK! Even though I complained about your sweltering smoggy weather every waking moment. I miss the South Side of the island, the junks, the massive container ships floating out in the distance on the South China Sea, the endless markets and back alley apartments lined with fakes, the birds in the birdcages singing their songs, the posh expat grocery stores, the clickety clack of Cantonese, authentic Thai, authentic Vietnamese, the Star Ferry to Kowloon, inexplicable light shows and fireworks, the view from the Peak at night, the way people say "waaayyy" when they answer their ever-present mobile phones, shiny red taxi cabs and Andy Williams-singing drivers, 100-year old grandmas sitting out on the steps by the escalator in their polyester uniforms, the plush red chairs at Pacific Coffee Company, my smiling doorman, and most of all gorgeous, spa-like, hassle-free Chep Lap Kok airport, which gets you to places like Bali and Thailand in a mere matter of hours. Read all about Hong Kong in the Archives.