Team Pavel Rocking Nepal

We get so caught up in our lives that we forget, our lives are more privileged, more comfortable, and more enjoyable than majority of the world. Publicity and media is always around the life of the rich and famous, but over 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 a day. Last week, I have had one of the great opportunities to help one family out of that 80%. 

Our team of twelve moved made our way to Kavre, Nepal, a small sleepy town outside of the capital Kathmandu. Lives are dramatically different from this small area away from the tourist destinations. The views are unspoiled, electricity came on and off, hot water is not always available, and Diet Cokes are completely off the shelf (we tried, 5 different stores). Yet at this place, without the usual worldly comforts, we managed to have one of the most fulfilling and amazing five days of our lives. 

Sure, we absolutely admit we have no idea what we are doing. Digging trenches, building foundation, laying bricks, we have no idea. Many times, our Nepalese counterparty had to correct our work. Yes, our pride is sometimes wounded - I mean how could we lay stones down inappropriately? Yet our hard work was meaningful. The house was half-way built after three days. Every bit helps. 

In addition, to our three days of hard work, sweat, and sometimes (just a little) blood, we stopped in Kathmandu for one evening to catch our flight. Never been to India, this is what I imagine Nepal to be. On our drive down, a herd of cows were crossing the road, causing a major jam. The temples are pristine - and peaceful. The style of temples are unique, where these styles are only in existence around the Himalayan community of Nepal and Tibet. Peace and prosperity - that's what we brought and took away from ourselves. 

Burmese Days

Out of all the Southeast Asians I have been to, Myanmar takes home the prize. I read Burmese Days by George Orwell on the trip; many of the scenes he describe in the book, I have witnessed on my trip. As the country has been cut off from most modernization, its people holds a type of purity that cannot be found in the tourist-driven commercial centers in Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, etc. Our taxi driver in Yangon, the cosmopolitan center of Myanmar, told us that we should not ask him to wait for us - we would have to pay $5 extra where as the fare from the temple to the airport was only $8 bucks and there are plenty of taxis around. We told him we are happy to pay him to stay, for we had luggage we didn't want to bring with us to the temple. 

Travelling in Myanmar is not cheap, for most things are government-run and there is very little market competition. Cambodia and Thailand are much better for a dirt cheap vacation. But Myanmar holds a magical sway - for it is not overwhelmed with tourists, its people are pure and humble. Our boat rower prayed at every temple we went to, and I can tell he was sincere. The land is not ruined by the mass traffic of tourism - and its sites are truly amazing. The UNESCO heritage does not rank Myanmar sites as a heritage center - I have been plenty plenty that doesn't compare to the places I went to in Myanmar. 

Bagan is the spiritual highlight of Myanmar. Climb any pagoda and you can see hundreds as far as the eyes can reach. There are so many that you can just curl up and read a book inside a 13th century pagoda by yourself, without ever being bothered by another human being, let alone an annoying tourist. The temples sites are beyond what some of the best temples I've been to in SE Asia. I am investing in the next Angela Jolie movie in Myanmar to increase its awareness to western tourists. 

Sunset over Bagan.

Flying in Myanmar is easy - just book ahead with an agent - they airplanes run like bus stations - there is no security and tickets are written in ink. The stop in all major tourist destinations and pick up random tourists along the way. For example, if you fly from Yangon to Bagan, you'll probably stop by Inle Lake or Mandalay first because there's not enough passengers from Yangon to Bagan to fill up the plane that day. Everything is an hour away from each other so why not? 

Inle Lake is a beautiful natural lake that has floating villages, temples, and just natural beauty surrounding it. While I have been to better 山水 (scenes), it is beautiful and worth a visit. My favorite temple was an abandoned temple on the southern tip of the lake. 

Fishing on Inle Lake

My favorite abandoned temple

Lastly, one must go to Pidaya caves. It's a cavern filled with millions of buddhas. While some are quite new, it's amazing how many there are in that cave. It is a sight to see. 

To date, Myanmar is my favorite destination in SE Asia. Go, before the tourists descend upon the country. Already there are signs of overwhelming tourism - with commercialization, it will just become another Cambodia or Thailand experience. Go now so you can experience the real Myanmar before it fades into the oblivion of commercialization and globalization. 

Singapore Cabs make Singapore unbearable

For such a well greased machine of a city, Singapore has a terrible cab management system. It is probably the hardest "cosmopolitan" city I know to hail a cab. One would think on a Tuesday night, in the financial district, there would be lots of available cabs as people are getting off work, they are taking cabs home. Yes, the cabs might  have green lights that signal they are available, but they refuse to stop for you. Why? Because of the random "fees" that is associated with the cab system. The cabbies are not incentivized to take as many passengers as possible, they are incentivized to wait for certain times or certain plans or certain circumstances that maximize their take of the proceeds.

As you're trying to hail a cab, you see lots of available cabs parked on a side road. You walk up to them, they refuse to take you. Why? Because they are waiting to be "called", where they receive an additional $3.30 fee for calling. If you walk by a busy street, no cabs will stop. Why? Because if they simply pick up a passenger a few blocks down, they get an extra $3.00 CBD charge.

The additional fees and incentives make it so difficult to find a cab - not because of supply and demand, for there's lots of ppl waiting with lots of green cabs driving by, but because of the convoluted incentives that slightly modifications in behavior will trigger. 

¿Se puede hablar español

Food in Spain is awesome! I don't get their eating schedule - at 8PM, no restaurant is serving dinner, yet everything I ate there was amazing. You can't go wrong, even if you show up at a random whole-in-the-wall. Even take out at a random hotel is good. At Cartagena, I went to one of the nicest meals I have ever had (including the foodie city of New York I use to live in), Los Churrascos. The shrimp was the nicest the tasting seafood I have ever tasted. When I asked how it was cooked, it was just boiled with rock salt. Wow. It was so juicy and sweet. It was unbelievable. The chef said it was so fresh it was alive in the morning. 

I had the good fortune to be sent to Spain to check out refineries. Not me, the experts, but I was the note-taker. While the travel was crazy: 5 days - 2 days on the plane, 3 days in Spain where every night was spent at a different hotel. In the total of one hour of free time I had in Cartagena, I was fortunate enough to stumble upon Museo Teatro Romano, one of the oldest remaining Roman ruins in Spain. The theater was perfectly preserved  and I can imagine a troop performing Oedipus Rex on stage with the Roman chorus. 

2012 Travel Review

What a year. I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to live in Singapore and travel around the world. See the world in a whole new perspective and become wiser. Here's a quick recap of my adventures this year. 

January - Going home with my cousins for Chinese New Year. I can't believe it's been ten years since we've all been together. I miss all of them so much and I hope we will remain better in touch. 

February - Kuala Lumpur weekends can be so much fun with you have the right girls. Annie, Jo, Suhanna, and Ronnie, what a great girls weekend we had in KL! Party, food, shopping, the whole package. 

March - What a crew. Building houses for those less fortunate than us. Hammer time in Batam with our fearless leader Mike Julian and the crew of Mike, Jess, Cian, Shaad, Janelle, and Parissa. We worked hard. We sweated hard and it was such a rewarding experience. Habitat for Humanity. This will become a yearly tradition. 

Jogjakarta - the Angkor Wat of Indonesia. The largest Hindu temples of the region. Definitely worth a visit. The experience might be better than Angkor Wat given the largest temples in tact is not known with very few tourists. Fact: Jogja has more Indonesian tourists than Bali. The locals know what's up. 

May - DARN IT! I'm suppose to have the greatest mountain climbing adventure in southeast Asia with everyone I love but work popped up and I was delegated to go to Houston. It's not a fair comparison at all. The only thing that was slight positive was I can now boast to be on the world's longest flight from Singapore to New York (business class only plane). 

June - While I traveled to Jakarta for work, I must say I loved the experience. I saw how things really worked in SE Asia. 

July - Langkawi - it's where the Muslim people go to the beach in burqas. Really. I am always impressed by the peaceful co-existence of the ladies scantily-cladded vs. the ladies dressed in full black cover up. Yet, we all enjoy the same beach, same sun, and same locations. It's one of my favorite beach vacations. 

August - after months of planning, finally we are at Cambodia! Koh Rong is the world's most remote, peaceful, wonderful place I've ever been. Angkor Wat was speechless. The temples are magnificent with a combination of Hindu, Buddhism, and other influences. The kings of Cambodia past left a priceless treasure for its people. PP was what I expected: I saw, heard, and felt the fears from the death camps. I must implore the US to teach as much about the rule of Khmer Rouge as they do about the Holocaust and Rwanda. Cambodia is a resilient country for bouncing back. 

September - Congratulations Ye! First of our friends to get married. We came miles away to celebrate your wonderful day. Then Ye lead us on one of the most memorable trips around China. Reminds us of the wonderful times we all had in high school. We were all a bit younger during the trip. One of the best trips of my life. P.S. Boxing Cats united!

October - While HCMC was not my favorite place in SE Asia, I appreciated the war history museum, the Cuchi tunnels, and the GREAT FOOD. I love the food. Everything in Vietnam tastes amazing. Pho, Ba Minh, coffee, French food, or any random food stall you see. 

 November- Australia is an amazing spot. Vineyards are amazing, beaches are incredible, the cliffs, the most beautiful. I now know why Andrew refuse to return home. When money is not a problem, Australia is the best place on Earth.

 Hello Shanghai. It feels good to be able to use Chinese and navigate like a little expert with Tracey. First trip with roomie. Totally amazing. We also saw one of the greatest acrobatic shows in Shanghai. HIGH recommend. The RMB 180 gives you a great enough view. Tickets can be bought on the spot.

Don't we look so hipster? November was a busy month and it concluded with one of the best weekend trips I've ever had. It's such a free and artistic city with an amazing food selection. Add the book sessions between meals and it is the best weekend anyone can ask for. 

 December - Hello Bali. One never gets tired of Bali. The beach, the shows, the rides, the adventures. Trust me, just go. Nothing more, nothing else.

Last trip of the year: Dubai. Beautiful tea, beautiful buildings, and sand dunes galore. How did they build this city in the middle of the desert? 

Of Food and Books

Located on the northern tip of Malaysia, the first thing anyone talks about Penang is the food. In preparation for our trip, we compiled a list of breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, late night and backup food possibilities with distance markers from our bed and breakfast. Food is really good here. We searched high and low, went into residential neighborhoods and hunted down stalls that cannot be found: Rojak King, Penang Laksa, BBQ Wings, Roti Prata, Kaya Toast, Prawn Char Kuay Taow, Beef Noodles, fried oyster omelette, and crazy Indian milk with curry and spice mixed in. While there were impostors that tried to fool us from our end goals, we always made our way to the real stuff thanks to GM's nose.  We followed the food blogs to a teeth and sought after the highly written stalls. They rarely disappointed. My favorite is a tie between the Roti Prata and Penang Laksa.

Before I knew about the food heaven and recruited expert GM to come with, I actually booked my tickets to Penang to attend the Georgetown Literary Festival 2012, where SE Asian authors attended to present in various seminars. The sessions were conveniently scheduled in the later morning and early afternoon so we could fit our food quest in between. Out of the few sessions I attend, my favorite was the Imaginary (Home)Lands. A panel of authors discussing what is it like to be away from home, how to write about a land and make it real, and what does home really mean. That really resonated me given that where home is has been something I've been grasping with since I was a child. It's very nice to know that the authors have same of the same thoughts I have had in my life and are dealing with the same issues. The festival is actually quite well organized and a fun little weekend away from the hustle and bustle of the city. I high recommend to people who just want a quick, fun, relaxing weekend away. Will try to attend next year as well if I'm in the region.

#BackintheUSA

"Bud light? That's too classy. We need Natty Lite."

"Dunk your Cheetos in the cheese sauce. It's the American way. Embrace it"

"I'm deciding between General Tsao's or Sweet and Sour Chicken."

"Can I get a medium diet coke?" (handed a 44 oz cup)

"Try this (moonshine). You might go blind, but it's really popular these days."