Melbourne & the Mornington Peninsula

Travelling in Australia is easy peasy lemon squeezy.  SE Asia was like one long negotiation and in contrast, being here amidst the friendliest people on earth, it almost feels like we're travel cheating.  One of my last interactions in Thailand was bargaining over the price of contact lenses in a bargain mall.  One of my first interactions in Australia was with the proprietor of a hotel.  We had booked a large room to accommodate the 3 of us and, upon arrival, the owner asked how we were all related.  After telling him, he checked us in and gave us 2 rooms for the price of the original one, so we could spread out. So, um, slightly different vibe, overall.

An awesome Aussie family we met in Chiang Mai gave us an amazing download of Melbourne and surrounding recommendations, so we barely had to research upon arrival.  We didn't have many days to fully explore Melbourne, but were able to cruise the Victoria Market, use the free wifi and visit the museum at Federation Square and wander around St. Kilda.  We had cocktails at the fantastically old school and punk rock Hotel Esplanade and watched the kite surfers fly over the bay.  We read that one could see penguins at dusk, but since the sun sets here after 9 pm, dinner took precedence.

We left Melbourne on the left hand side of the road and cruised down the Mornington Peninsula.  We stopped at Schnapper Point for lunch and a walk, visited a maze and gardens on an old estate, and climbed down butt breaking steps to some seriously violent wind and water at Cape Schanck.  We chose the maze because we thought my Mom would really enjoy it, but all of us were pretty down with running through the 10 foot hedges.  It made us feel woozy, and secret garden-like.

The following day, Ed was at the helm for the drive to Sorrento for shopping and beaching.  Its a swanky and pristine little beach community that manages to have ample parking for the serious Aussie waders, a ton of beige and breezy boutiques, and a couple of old school hotels on the water.  We spent a lovely, chill day there, and departed glamorously via car ferry to Queenscliff.  Fortunately, I had recently acquired appropriate headwear for just such an occassion.  Sadly, there is not yet flattering photo reference available.  You'll have to take my word that its straw and has a nice Montecarlo vibe.  I'm acclimating.

Do you come from a land down under? Where women glow and men plunder?

G'day y'all!  We made it to Melbourne - about a 20 hour trip from Bangkok.  We flew AirAsia, which I kind of can't recommend enough.  Its a low-cost carrier here, and our tickets were about 1/3 of what we thought they'd be.  Which leaves money for buying steaks and a pet kangaroo.  AirAsia is sort of JetBlue or RyanAir style, but with a few nice touches.  Por ejemplo, one can rent an ePlayer for the flight which is loaded with movies and TV shows.  We've not done this before, but since we had a full 9 hours to enjoy we thought this was a good opportunity.  We watched the "A-Team" and it was surprisingly B.A.

Hot travel tip: when travelling with someone, do not leave home without a headphone splitter.  This has allowed us to share iPods (thus cutting down on the need for charging), ePlayers, watch stuff on our laptop, etc.  At some point I need to make a list of all the handy travel tips we've gathered on this trip.  Put some good travel karma back into the world... I'll get to work on that.

So far Melbourne its sunny, breezy, and the people are mucho friendly.  The city seems like the love child of Portland and London, I'm pretty sure I want to live here.  The coffee is crazy good, the streets are immaculate, and the public transport is awesome.  Melbourne is smaller than I'd thought it would be - we walked a pretty good chunk of it yesterday even with jet lag and a short night's sleep.  We wandered through the downtown business district, sampled at Victoria Market and watched the boats practicing at Docklands in prep for the Audi regata.

We're staying in the village of South Yarra which seems pretty fancy.  Tons of coffee shops, boutiques, and well-preserved housewives in workout gear.  The US Dollar is still in the pooper so we have a bit of sticker shock as compared to Thailand.  Fortunately, even in my parasitic haze we were able to make some critical shopping trips in BK and stock up before we arrived.  Even so, all the chocked-full-of-beautiful-boutiques are calling to me.  Hear them?  They're like, "ROOODDDDNNEEEEYYYY!!!! BBBBBBUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYY SSSTTTUUUFFFFFF!"

In mere moments I'm headed back to the Melbourne Airport to collect my Mom, who should be an absolute basket case after 36 hours of travel on 4 flights and a 16 hour time difference.  Perhaps I'll get her a cup of the coffee that I just drank, which had a scoop of ice cream in it.  With caramel and rock salt and god knows what other addictives.  I shouldn't be allowed this in the morning because it makes me feel like dancing and writing in ALL CAPS.  BECAUSE THAT'S HOW IT SOUNDS IN MY HEAD.  SO MUCH SUGAR! GOTTA GO!

Thailand Part II, the return of Thailand

Since we're heading to the English-speaking, developed world of Oceania in just a short while, we're using this stint in Thailand to take full advantage of low cost goods and services. We arrived in Bangkok on December 20^th, checked in with our old friends at the Atlanta, and went to work on Phase I of our stock-up strategy.

Day 1: We hit the cheap mall (MBK) for bargain threads to replace the duds in need of retirement. The clothes there are plentiful, cheap, and uniquely Thai. Which means we're both rocking a groovier style than usual, although I have yet to give in to the harem pant that's the uniform of travelers in SE Asia.  Its hard to resist a crotch that hits at the ankle, but I've employed an iron will. We saw “The Social Network” and ate another amazing dinner at the Siam Paragon food court.

Day 2: We had met brother-sister team Trevor and Ashley on our flight from Phnom Penh and they came along to the Atlanta with us. Trevor was having a suit made and spoke highly of the Bangkok tailor he'd been using. So, we hit Raja's Shop on Sukhumvit in the morning and chose material for 7 shirts (the 7^th one's free, of course) for Eduardo. In the afternoon we visited the much-beloved V. Siam Optical to get some new specs for Ed. Then we wandered the trendy Thonglor neighborhood, visited the Thai Center for Design and ate mind-blowing street noodles. By evening the glasses were ready for pick up and we and headed back to Raja's for a fitting. They're gorgeous, the work is flawless, and each costs less than a shirt from the Gap.

Day 3: Kicked off the day with the Herald Trib and pots of our favorite coffee in Thailand at the Atlanta dining room. Then to the Bangkok post office to mail home souvenirs and excess crap. A 5.5 kg box to the US for about $35. Can't beat it. Also not beaten? The train to the BK airport which runs every 15 minutes, takes 25 in travel time, and costs $.50/person. How does New York not have this? And I mean from the island of Manhattan, none of this Queens Airtrain b.s.

On our return to Bangkok in 10 days or so, Phase II will commence with the purchase of contact lenses, prescription medication, teeth cleaning at the fancy dental spa, and anything else we can justify buying. Its going to be Thai-style “Supermarket Sweep” but with gauzy tops and hand tooled leather. Woot.

(Kids that day on Sukumvit singing carols.  Brought to you by Citibank.  Which, obviously, is why Santa is wearing blue.)

One Day in Bangkok

A couple of days ago, we planned and executed what amounted to the perfect day in Bangkok. Although the US dollar has shat itself, our money still goes far in this part of the world. Much, much farther than at home or in Tokyo, por ejemplo. It didn't take long for us to seek and find affordable luxury in Thailand. And I'm not (just) talking about the hookers.

We woke up and had brekkie in our hotel. We love the pancakes, but also that we get a side of time travel, gratis. Pics of the place coming rather than embedded due to 3rd world wireless.  The dining room is religiously preserved, the only nods to modernity are wireless internet and diet coke.

After breakfast, Skytrain to massages at Healthland Massage. As one might imagine, it takes a bit of research to nail down a reputable spa in Bangkok. Some googling and elimination of the words “exotic” “happy” and “soapy” in the results did the trick. I knew we were in for just the prudish experience we were after when the receptionist insisted we have same-sex therapists. The massages were painful in the Thai way and we rolled out of there lump of clay-like.

Starved after a rough morning, we headed to a street side warehouse lined with food stalls. We ate more than is appropriate to write about. We also provided plenty of entertainment for the vendors, who looked on in astonished curiosity as we took the first bites of chili soaked noodles. So good. So much sweating. They seemed pleased.

In the afternoon, we hit the famous Jim Thompson home. Its a veritable complex of original teak houses imported and furnished by the exotic American silk importer. Sadly, he lived in the house for only 8 years before disappearing on a vacation in the Malaysian jungle. The Buddhist antiques he collected (that's the nice word for it) in his time in Thailand are truly special pieces.

We walked along one of Bangkok's many canals to get back to central where we planned to see a movie, on Molly's recommendation. On our way back through the sky walk, we wondered onto the set of a commercial. We watched 2 takes of teams of hip hop kids dance fighting – fortunately we had just watched most of “You Got Served” while in Tokyo so we could follow the nuanced plot. We were definitely in the shot, so if you happen across Thai TV (I'm guessing an ad for extreme soda) look for us farang!

The Siam Paragon makes the Short Hills mall look like a Caldor in the 80s. Coined “The Jewel of Bangkok,” its not just a mall, its a mecca to consumerism and the movie theater is appropriately grand. We got the cheap seats and were treated to monstrous leather chairs in a stadium theater. Apparently, the first class theaters offer individual lazy boys and cocktail service. Next time...

Any guide book or food nerd research will tell you that aside from street food, the best eating to be done in Bangkok is in the mall food courts. At the Siam, there are probably 40 sit down restaurants and another 60 stalls. We opted for the prepaid card to be swiped at several stalls and had an amazingly delicious feast for about $7.

On our way home we saw a festival going on at the noted Erawan Shrine.  The long walk through the city and back to the 50s was breezy and tropical.  A day of super fun planned stuff and happy accidents along the way. Done and done.

Shopping in China

The style of salespeople in China is a little different to what we're accustomed to.  Basically, from the second we enter a store, an employee follows us like we're there to rob them blind.  If I pick up an item for further inspection, the helpful retailer will often start talking to me in Chinese and pick up another nearby item to show me.  I haven't yet determined if this second item is for comparative purposes, is higher priced, or is simply a staff pick.  Whatever the reason, we are too close to one another and I wish I could shop in peace.  The experience is confusing and we were finding ourselves getting a bit frustrated and claustrophobic.  Until I invented a game.

Basically, when we go into a shop (pharmacy, shoe, bookstore) the clerk usually goes right to Ed.  Given we're in China and he's the dude, he is obviously going to be the one making the purchasing decisions.  The whole surveillance and tracking system operates under the assumption that we won't split up.  So, as soon as a salesperson has glommed on to us, I veer off in my own direction (phase 1).  Now, the clerk has a critical decision to make, and the wheels are turning.  He is watching Ed, but has to keep looking away to get a fix on my location.  Am I behind the rack of sneakers? In the produce aisle? Does he stay with Ed or divert to tail me?  Who seems shiftier? 

8 out of 10 times, he calls for backup.  But by the time help arrives, I'm already in deep-browse mode.  The salesperson stands so close while I'm shopping that any unexpected move can and does cause collision, and this is where I really shine.  At this point, Ed is usually buying the thing we actually need: tissues, bottled water, a street map.  Which gives me time for phase 2, which is when I feign interest only in items on the shelves that are being blocked by the person following me.  Oh, excuse me, nope to your right, no now move left, no, right behind your head.  Oh, yes, so sorry, no I wanted that one by your foot.  Oh, how clumsy of me, yes, if you could just.  A little to your left, no my left.  My fault.  Yes this one.  No, not this one, that other one.  Sorry, if I could just reach around you...

Is this game mean spirited and culturally insensitive? Mmmm, probably.  Does it provide us a bit of amusement in situations that can seem tense? Sure.  Also?  Phase 2 frustrates and confuses the tailgate, who typically retreats and finally gives me room to breathe. Works. Every. Time.

Oh, the glamour....

Sometimes traveling makes you feel like a baller.  It is, on occasion, a tiny whiff of what I imagine it feels like to be famous.  Particularly in the smaller and less tourist-traffic'd cities and towns we've been to, some locals are pretty amped to see us.  Strangers ask us to pose for photos with their families, shop owners ask us to try things on, chefs send us extra stuff, managers of hotels thank us (sincerely) for visiting their city, random old men shake our hands and shout at us in Korean.  This last one, the whole "these people will understand my language if I speak it loudly enough" is apparently a global phenomenon.  I thought it was just us worldly Americans who did this....

Other times, traveling makes you feel like a hobo.  A couple of days ago in Andong, we went to visit the Icheon Dong Buddha which is real famous around those parts.  The mosquitos were so bad we couldn't walk without windmilling our arms to keep them from covering our faces.  Fortunately, they were scared off by a pounding thunderstorm that brought lightning and torrential rain.  This drove us into a bus station covered in spiderwebs where we were treated to a viewing of a shot-glass sized spider catching a moth in its web, mummifying it, and draining it of blood.  Then we waited 1.5 hours for the bus. 

Last night we were wondering around Gyeongju's downtown and I saw, glowing, from across the street a shop so fabulous & so quintessentially Rodney, that I had to go in and touch each of the garments.  That store was called "Thursday Island," and I didn't buy a thing.  Because while there are swank moments when I wish I weren't wearing technical fabrics, the reality is that I ended the evening doing our laundry in the sink at our love motel.  Which isn't very Thursday Island at all. 

Some stuff I've learned about travel.

Being away from home for an extended time with no real schedule or end date or solid future plan can be daunting.  Total self-direction is something that I haven't experienced before, what with the working and the regular-life obligations.  When responsibility comes in the context of a purely selfish pursuit, it can be heavy.  Every day I balance worry that I will squander this opportunity by not doing enough or the right enough with annoyance that I can't just chill out for once and enjoy my time off the grid.  Its a high-class problem to have, but a tightrope still, my friends.

All that is to say that in the 7 weeks since we left the States, I've come to a few conclusions that are shaping my approach to travel and maybe will help other people headed off the reservation.  So, I thought I'd share.

-  Stay in nice places.  I've never cared much about the accommodations on vacation because I'm not one to spend much time in the room.   The difference now is that the where we stay is home while  we're there.  This isn't a quick jaunt from our permanent residence, this is our life.  And besides being the place we sleep, its where we do research, make travel plans, Skype with friends and family, and conduct life business.  So its needs to be better than just inhabitable.  Nice vibes, please. 

-  Stay in hostels, even if you don't have dreadlocks and a backpack.   I think most Americans picture dorm-style flea factories but, infact, a lot of hostels are uber-charming and feel more like B&Bs than freshman bunks.  Most have a common area and/or kitchen, which gives you a spot to hang besides your room and a chance to mix it up with other people.  When we have stayed in hotels we haven't talked to a soul.  Socializing, even for an hour after dinner, with strangers is like an injection of new material into the routine.  We flex our social muscles and remember our couple-y A-game.  Also, we occasionally have something to mock when we retire for the evening. 

-  Figure out how much fun is enough fun.  The amount of stuff we pack into a day varies hugely.  Some mornings, we're breakfasted and traveled to our first destination by 10 and return long after dark.  Other days, after 5 or 6 hours of sightseeing, I want to go to the room and stare at the ceiling.  Being in unfamiliar surroundings, not speaking or reading the language, not knowing where we are, how we'll get to the next place, or even what the next place is, can be tiring.  I think the brain can only take in a certain amount of newness a day.  After that, let it rest.  Sponge full.

-  Research is helpful, but it can become a Sisyphean task.  I mean, thank God for the internet.  At the same time, there is so much information and so many strong opinions, I've found myself in decision paralysis more than once.  The world is our oyster, yes, but its a big-ass shell and I'm bad at geography.  Sometimes just picking the next destination based on weather, affordability, cool accommodations and 1 thing we want to see or do is enough.  Like the place we're headed  tomorrow with the penis-sculpture park.  Good times!

-  Also on the research front, I've sort of crossed over from pulling together lists of restaurants, bars, galleries, etc., to just getting a basic understanding of which neighborhoods to check out, and a map.  The contributing writer for the Lonely Planet doesn't have better taste in boutiques or bars than I do, so I mostly wing it.  We find it more satisfying to make great discoveries ourselves than to spend much time circling the address of a place recommended.  Because, frankly, there's only a 50% chance that its better than the one we would've picked just walking by.


-  And in terms of food/restaurant discoveries?  Our system is pretty much to hang out in non-touristy neighborhoods and eat in crowded restaurants.  In Beijing, in particular, this strategy did not fail.  Most of those joints had Chinese-only menus, so we just pointed at what other people were eating and had some of the best meals of our lives.  
  
I think that was the most serious post I've written since we boarded the plane for Mongolia.  Gravitas exhausted.  Seacrest out.

Shopping. Well, browsing...

One of the very few but very tragic problems with our trip is that we have to carry all of our crap around with us indefinitely. In China, we've shopped and pawed and looked and discussed and can't really buy because the 14 pound gilt dragon I have my eye on ain't fitting in the carry on. But, we still browse and the Chinese do love them some retail therapy.
So, for those maybe going to Beijing, a rundown. Also, before you judge, a lot of these places are also architecturally interesting culturally important. Just saying.

Liulichang Hutong - A really beautiful and winding street selling all manner of calligraphy brushes and art supplies. Ancient shops run by ancient dudes practicing ancient arts. Also a couple of really nice
galleries in the mix. Worth a stroll.

Qianmen Dajie - 2 Thumbs down. Its the South Street Seaport of Beijing. The Inner Harbor, if you will. I'm pretty sure there was a Gap. Pass.

Panjiayuan Antique Market - So fun! So large! So needed more time! We ganged this up with the Glasses City day, they're real close together and not that convenient from the center of Beijing. The Antique market is AMAZING. You have your standard scroll aisle, your jade aisle, your books and trinkets and jewelry aisles. But the beauty part is the stalls around the edges where dudes with taste and a Type A personality have compulsively collected and cataloged their one special thing. One guy had a store that just sold pre-1950s
Chinese radios and antique cameras. One was selling mint condition vintage leather luggage. One had old maps. This place is a gem because its vast and fascinating, but mostly because it isn't there for the tourists. Regular Chinese people hit it on the weekends like any flea market in the US. No one tries to hassle you or talk you into shit you don't want or make you eat Peking Duck. I actually had to wake one guy up to ask him about a bracelet.

Xidan Shopping Center - For clothes, this is the right mid-market place. Its surrounded by chain stores but this 7 story mall was the beginning of the district and is still mobbed. Its Chinese style - mostly stalls rather than brick and mortar. You can't try stuff on that's on sale, prices seriously negotiable. Pretty good quality and some really cute stuff rather than just LV knockoffs and ugly Korean rhinestone-encrusted sunglasses. We went on a day that it poured and enjoyed the people watching, the browsing, and the food court.
There's also an arcade that looks to host some pretty fierce Dance Dance Revolution match ups.

Wangfujing Dajie - Close to the high rent district and not really our scene. Mostly big Western stores and high end Chinese department stores. The snack street right off of it was worth a wander. I especially enjoyed the sugar covered grape skewer.

Xizhimen - there is a 4 story department store right next to the Beijing Zoo that Ed and I hit when we realized we were going to a fancy restaurant with friends and were dressed like dirt bags. Ed got a button down for $10 and I got an awesome shirt on sale for $6. Most of the stuff is pretty ugly, but it is bottom of the barrel cheap if that's what you're after.

Oh, special not-so-insider's tip. If you don't want to interact with a salesperson in China, do NOT touch anything. A brush of a fingertip against the merch invites a lengthy and confusing interaction. It kind of goes like this: you pick something up, salesperson picks up something else that may or may not be tangentially related to the thing you picked up and then starts explaining things to you in Mandarin. You, eventually, put yours down and everyone walks away confused. Just look, and not directly if possible, for reals.

Shenyang seems to be a retail mecca, though I don't know if we'll have time to explore. No one loves a Cargo-Capri like the people of Northern China and I'm nearly convinced. Somebody help.