Singapore: Wealthy, Well-behaved, Multi-ethnic... and Repressed
Singapore, March 25 — Caveat emptor: Most of the history and theory I’ve laid out here comes from the two on-board lecturers, one a...
Koh Samui: There be Elephants...
Thailand’s second largest island, after Phuket. There be elephants... but I hadn’t signed up beforehand to ride one, as many of my...
‘Sawadee,’ Mama Toy
Bangkok, March 22 — Day 2 in Bangkok, the ‘Venice of the East.’ There was a formal royal family event at the splendiferous gold-encrusted...
Sihanoukville: A peek at the underbelly of Asia
Cambodia, March 20 — Don’t be fooled by these first two images. Cambodia is not a jewel in Asia’s crown. With a literacy rate of around...
Art & Skyscrapers in ‘The Paris of the East’
[We visited a lacquerware workshop and showroom. Eggshells, as well as mother of pearl, are used to create white or off-white areas on...
Pattaya and the Sanctuary of Truth
August 28 update: Unfortunately, I screwed up the original post, completely eliminating its introductory ¶. I have scoured the ether, but...
Viet Nam, Day 1: Jesus and Confucius
The Temple of Nirvana, Vung Tau Since I had spent 3 days in Ho Chi Minh City two years ago (with Yale), I decided not to take a 2+-hour...
Haikou: Not a Japanese Poem
While many Vikings keep saying ‘High-coo,’ this modern city with an architecturally interesting Old Town is not a 17-syllable Japanese...
Hong Kong, Part Two
The Peak Tram: One of oldest funicular railways in the world, it climbs 1300 feet up Victoria Mountain to Victoria Peak, the highest...
Hong Kong, Part One
The Man Mo Temple Hong Kong reminds me of Juneau… both are cities squeezed onto land and islands between mountains and water. Though Hong...
