Category Archives: DACKasia2019

Asia, DACKasia2019, Travel

The Last Chapter: South Korea

It was sometime in late April when Jack and I ended our after hours yakatori binge in Japan.

We were now in South Korea. 

Taking off from the Tokyo Narita Airport, we flew two hours north to Seoul. 

Here’s a quick guide to what we did and saw while in the country:

Seoul

Photo by Yeo Khee on Unsplash

This is booming mega-city with a rough population of about ten million inhabitants. There are twenty five gu (districts) and twenty seven bridges to connect the north its south-side across the Han River. Seoul is the capital of South Korea and can satiate any kind of traveler. 

Stay:

Thanks to our good friend Jae, we knew where to stay. He’s been living in Seoul for a few years and was an oracle of knowledge. He thought that we’d enjoy either the Itaewon or Hongdae district. In the end, we booked an Airbnb for a handful of nights first in Hongdae then we moved over to Itaewon in order to compare. 

Both are booming with bars, restaurants, cafes, and nightlife. Herds of people congregate on the street and at all hours there’s a hive of activity. Hongdae is a university district, so the crowds are strikingly younger and consist primarily of students. Itaewon is perhaps the least Korean neighborhood in the city, as its a hub for expats. 

Eat:

If there’s anything we learned from our time in South Korea, it’s that soju, kimchi, fried chicken, and grilled meat are all delicious. Fried chicken is a national dish and in Seoul hofs (fried chicken joints) can be found on most street corners. The portions are typically generous and the best way to pair a tender chicken thigh is with a chilled glass of cheap Korean beer. We fell for a hole in the wall hof called Eongteoili in Itaweon (thanks Jae). 

Near Sinchon we became the token Westerners at a barbecue restaurant called Yeonnam Seo Seo Galbi. With our own personal grill, we stood and poured soju (a typical Korean liquor) into our beer glasses. This is a technique to make soju taste better that we picked up from a night out with Jae and his friends. A waitress greeted us by placing glorious portions of beef short ribs over the table’s flame. Scissors were used to separate the meat into smaller pieces and we used chopsticks to eat. Side dishes included green peppers, chili paste, and a savory garlic dipping sauce. The ceiling was charcoal black and each window was open as smoke was bellowing from each table’s grill. 

Do:

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay in Seoul. The changing of the guard at the Gyeongbokgung Palace is an essential pitstop. Ordering a steaming bowl of dumpling soup at neighboring Gwangjang Market is also a recommendable experience. The gardens of Deoksugung Palace are great for thinking and the Retro Game Bar is a fun escape from the boisterous streets in Hongdae. In Itaewon, Jack’s Bar offers free arcade games and Casa Corona is a cool rooftop bar with Dj’s spinning until the late. Walking along the Han River was also nice source of fresh air.

Exploring the Deoksugung Palace.
The Gyeongbokgung Palace.
A night out with Jae and his friends.

Busan

Back in February, Jack and I were given advice from some Koreans we met on a bus: 

Go to Busan. 

Three months and a three-hour train ride from Seoul later, there we were.

This is a major port city (the fifth largest port in the world) that is a juxtaposition between a town with chill beach vibes and a pulsating business mecca with towering skyscrapers. Busan is considered the summer city of South Korea thanks to its vast coastline, numerous boardwalks, national parks and beaches.  

Stay:

Gwangalli Beach.

We stayed near Gwangalli Beach. This consists of an expanding cove and an esplanade that divides the beach from an expanding row of bars, hotels, and restaurants. Not too far off in the distance is the Diamond Bridge (Gwangandaegyo), the second longest in South Korea. 

Eat:

Dwaeji Gukbap.

Our first meal in Busan was at Sisters Gukbap. This is a family-operated joint and the entry was probably once someone’s living room. We were served a simple yet memorable dish: Pork rice soup. Unique to Busan, Dwaeji Gukbap is hearty and delicious. The chef was an exuberant lady who made heart gestures when she discovered that we were from California.

Do:

We arrived on a Monday, coincidentally at the end of a three-day weekend for Koreans. The previous day was a public holiday called Children’s Day. Taking this into consideration, we weren’t shocked to see an abundance of businesses with hardly a soul inside. 

We did, however, enjoy some beach time and trip to the Gamcheon Culture Village. Touted as the “Santorini of Korea”, Gamcheon is a colorful enclave of neighborhoods that sprawl upward along a mountain. Murals, beautiful views, and a puzzle of narrow streets make this an interesting visit. 

View of the Gamcheon Culture Village.

Spa Land, located in the Haeundae district, a massive jjimjilbang (Korean spa). Here one can enjoy various steam rooms, saunas, an outdoor rock pool, hot springs, and even a body scrub session. The variety of options combined with its affordability (about $11) made Spa Land an essential visit while in Busan. 

Good Night and Good Luck

We landed in Korea knowing that it would probably be our final chapter in Asia. 

By the time we reached Busan, we already had a return ticket to San Francisco booked. 

An “end” didn’t feel real until one morning at the beach, when I suddenly felt really far away from everything I knew. 

I was looking at the tide, thinking that this was as far East that we were meant to go. 

Somewhere across the ocean was a different life that we’d put on pause for four months. In that life were people we loved, food we were craving, and future books that we needed to start brainstorming. 

Maybe I would have cried but the wind was pretty strong. 

Days later, we were on a plane from Seoul and the trip was officially over.  

It was one heck of a journey. 

From the Buddha shrine expeditions of Bagan to the free kimchi samples in Seoul, Asia’s alright. 

It took Jack and I ten years to make this adventure happen and to write this story. Thankfully, the principal characters all made it out alive and more importantly remained good friends. From Europe in 2009 to Asia in 2019, its been a great anthology of experiences.

This trip is finished, but its wonderful memories will remain with me until I become senile (in about fifteen years from now). 😉 

I’m deeply thankful that we made this dream happen, and even more so to have an incredible friend. Through thick and thin, thanks for being my friend, Jack. 

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Thank you, whoever you are who’s reading this, for your time.

Traveling is more fun when you can share with others. I appreciate you!

Also, this blog is meant to continue. Its focus might shift, but more content will arrive soon.

If there’s anything you want to know about our trip and get ideas for places to visit, you can always reach out. 

Have a wonderful day and remember that we only live once, so make it count 🙂

-Daniel 

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Asia, DACKasia2019, Travel, Uncategorized

Naked in China

One afternoon Jack and I found ourselves in Beijing, China.

Beijing is the capital of the People’s Republic of China and was founded in 1045 BC. With an urban population of about 21 million, we were leaving one gigantic city (Hong Kong) and replacing it with another.

As our plane from Hong Kong taxied on the tarmac, I was doing my best to be mentally prepared for some truths (at least these are what I thought were true):

-We’d be under heavy surveillance by the Chinese government.

-We wouldn’t be able to access some of our beloved phone applications.

China blocks access to Facebook and Google, partially out of preoccupation that “Western” applications are sources of anti-government propaganda. As a result, internet censorship in China is arguably the most expansive in the world.

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Street view from outside our hostel, The Chinese Box Backpackers.

Instead of Facebook or Google, almost every Chinese person uses WeChat. Jack and I attempted to create WeChat accounts but it was complicated so we opted to save the headache.

Fortunately, some friends from home had already warned us about the censorship and our solution to this impending dilemma was getting a VPN for our phones.

What’s a VPN?

A VPN is a virtual private network that can be used with a public network, helping a user send and receive data from anywhere. It securely blocks anyone from seeing what you’re doing online and conceals one’s location. While in China, a VPN is necessary especially for people (Jack and me) who heavily depend on Facebook, Google, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Tinder (jokes?) to function.

We both already had VPN apps downloaded on our phones: Jack downloaded Turbo and I was using Nord. In the airport we passed through customs without an issue, then came the fateful moment when we tried to access WIFI. His phone connected to the network but mine was blocked. Making matters more complicated, the China Mobile kiosk employee refused to sell me a SIM card. My phone was too old, she said. Jack, on the other hand, was able to buy a 4G plan (because his phone was newer) and this ended up being our lifeline during the next few days.

Even after buying a SIM in the city center, I still wasn’t able to connect to any WIFI network. The plan they sold me was 2G. No WIFI and the Nord VPN wasn’t helping; I felt like I was naked in a faraway place. Using my laptop at the hostel, I was able to use Safari instead of Chrome and Bing instead of Google. This basically meant that I was a ghost.

In spite of technological hiccups, we had a wonderful time in Beijing.

The city resembled what one would imagine from the capital of a communist country: The majority of building designs appeared to date back to the 1980s, walls were painted in soft color tones, green-uniformed soldiers mulled around metro entrances, most street corners had a mounted surveillance camera, people donned conservative attire, and the layout of most destinations appeared overly minimalistic.

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I wasn’t sure if being an American in China would draw a lot of attention. My ignorance was received with refreshing indifference. In spite of a monumental language barrier, the Chinese we interacted with seemed cordial or even slightly amused to see us. In a country where hardly anyone has the genetics to properly have facial hair, Jack’s full beard was an interesting draw for locals.

Additionally, the original worry of being under a government microscope quickly dissolved. Walking around, getting lunch, and getting a taste of daily life, I could see that we were all just human beings. Two strangers from a world superpower visiting another world superpower.

There were moments when our self-esteem was at a record high because random women would walk up and in broken English ask to treat us to tea. We politely declined, not wanting to break their hearts. Inside I wondered if this is what it’s like to be George Clooney. Later, we discovered that these women were “working” and attempting to run up large tabs at bars using our precious yuan.

We needed to save our money for some necessary to-do’s in Beijing:

Eating Peking Duck:

Throughout its history, Beijing had numerous titles and one was Peking.  Nowadays the only moments when one hears the word “Peking” it’s when they go to a restaurant and order a wondrous plate of mouth-watering roast duck. Peking Duck was once a dish exclusively served to emperors. Duck is now available to anyone with an appetite of a royal and a favorite for those visiting Beijing. We had it for lunch at Li Qun Roast Duck then again with some nice people we met through Couchsurfing. Both instances taught us that our love of duck was real and very spectacular.

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Duck tacos have all the vitamins and minerals you need 🙂

Visiting the Great Wall:

Couchsurfing is one of my favorite resources while traveling, and Beijing was the first destination during Jack’s and my trip where we gave it a try. Through this fantastic network, we made two new friends: Doris and Vince. Welcoming, amicable, with a super positive attitude, Doris is from a southern city in China but has been living in Beijing with her husband for a few years now.  She’d recently visited my hometown while on a work trip to California which was really cool.

We arranged a trip with Doris and her coworker Vince to the Mutianyu section of the Great Wall. They rented a car and we met them at a metro station in Beijing then drove about an hour to the wall. Thanks to them we were able to experience one of the New Wonders of the World without a tour or taking a long bus ride.

Mutianyu is less crowded than other sections such as Badaling, making it prime for exploring and taking photos. The sky was cloudless that day, and we were able to enjoy clear views of the countryside.

The entrance cost about $40 and I highly recommend paying for the toboggan ride afterward. After a few hours of climbing and descending thousands of stone steps, a toboggan is a welcomed gift for tired legs.

Doris and Vince’s hospitality was greatly appreciated and hopefully one day I can return the generosity. Meeting locals from China was a major highlight of the trip.

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Vince, Doris, and two George Clooney look-a-likes.

 

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Wandering through the Forbidden City:

On our final day in Beijing, before taking a taxi to the airport and traveling to Zhangjiajie, we paid a visit to the Forbidden City. This was on a Sunday. A cultural treasure that’s a symbol of national pride, on the weekend, and in a country with over a billion people is a recipe for claustrophobia. Jack and I were concerned that no one else had the same plan as us, but within minutes we were thankfully reassured that thousands of other visitors would be there.

Tickets can only be purchased online and one must elect between a morning or afternoon visit, but this isn’t strictly enforced.

The former Emperor’s palace for five hundred years, the Forbidden City consists of nearly a thousand buildings. It was impossible for us to see everything but what we did witness was worth navigating through waves of other photo-takers.

An impending flight was calling our name so we eventually hurried to the closest exit then powerwalked through neighboring Tiananmen Square. It would have been nice to see both destinations longer but time wasn’t our friend.

Three days into our tour of mainland China, we already were packing our bags and off to a new destination:

Zhangjiajie, the inspiration for Avatar.

*****

If you have any questions about what Jack and I did in Beijing, please feel free to contact me!

If you’re one of the ladies who wanted to buy us tea, we said NO already…

Thanks for taking time out of your day to read this blog, it means a lot.

Take care and more updates are coming soon 🙂

-Daniel

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Asia, DACKasia2019, Travel, Travel Guide, Uncategorized

Five Ways to Get Lost in Hong Kong

A handful of moons ago, my best friend Jack and I went to China.

Well, depending on who to speak with, it wasn’t technically China. It was Hong Kong.

At its origins, Hong Kong was a sleepy fishing village. Nowadays the city is at the epicenter of world trade.

The Qing Empire ceded Hong Kong to the British Empire after the First Opium War. It would remain a British colony until 1997, when power was transferred back to China. Even with a completely contrary system of government and a fierce sentiment of independent pride, Hong Kong is classified as a “special administrative region” to mainland China.

We didn’t have an opinion about whether it was a territory, colony, or space station; we just came to explore and to eat.

We left the tranquility of island life in Bali, we were greeted with a Bali from a parallel universe.

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Bali and Hong Kong share something in common: They’re engulfed in nature. Between the tropical monkey forests of Ubud or the endless coastline of Seminyak, travelers in Bali get a sense that the’ve found Valhalla. Hong Kong is no natural slouch; it consists of two hundred and sixty three islands which leave plenty of outdoors to be enjoyed.

I didn’t notice any of Hong Kong’s islands, however. I was distracted by the forest of gigantic concrete buildings, the ocean of pedestrians swimming between metro stations, and the sensation that I was a helpless spectator to an event called progress. Valhalla comes as desire for success and the constructing of buildings that race towards the sky.

Our friend Becca had a connecting flight back to the Bay Area from Hong Kong so she was able to join us for part of our stay in the city which was nice. We based ourselves in the Wan Chai district and our itinerary in Hong Kong was pieced together through many welcomed recommendations from friends.

Ozone Bar

This is the tallest rooftop bar in the world, located on the 118th floor of the Ritz Carlton Hotel. During a chilly evening we ordered a beverage and contemplated the endless horizon of building lights. Ozone technically isn’t the highest bar in the world as the Ritz was built almost at sea-level, but it’s still a noteworthy place to visit. 

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Kam’s Roast Goose..

Kam’s Roast Goose

Up until Hong Kong, I’d never eaten at a restaurant with a Michelin Star. This all changed when we ate lunch at Kam’s Roast Goose. What should you order here? It’s simple: succulent roast goose.  We stood for about an hour in a line that brought back horrific memories of our December visit to the Chinese consulate in San Francisco. Lunch cost about $15 and was well worth the wait.

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Butterflies saying “hi” in The Iron Fairies

The Iron Fairies

Sukhumvit is a lively district of Hong Kong that takes on a new face when the sun sets. Bars, clubs, and destinations for all sorts of entertainment await there. Jack, Becca, and I were looking for a place to go in Sukhumvit, and our friend offered us an incredible recommendation: The Iron Fairies. Over ten-thousand paper butterflies on copper rods dangle from the ceiling and we were welcomed with one of my favorite genres of music: Latin. I was sold.

We also planned our Hong Kong experience with spiritual guidance from our trip’s unofficial shaman:

Anthony Bourdain.

The late food icon visited Hong Kong on various occasions during the filming of his shows Parts Unknown and No Reservations. His tales of the city took us to:

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Chungking Mansions

Are you looking for the cheap housing, a used iPhone, and perhaps a warm bowl of curry? In Hong Kong, there’s a place where you can find all three in one convenient location: Chungking Mansions. Built in 1961, this is a seventeen story complex that spans five city blocks. The bottom floors are all restaurants and retail places, while the higher floors are mixed between apartments, guesthouses, and inexpensive hotels. Over the progression of time Chungking Mansions has slowly become the biggest melting pot of cultures in the city. Immigrants from every continent call this place home. I felt like this was the Hong Kong version of the “American Dream” as most people there were seeking asylum, refuge, or simply a better life compared to the country from which they originated.

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Leaf Dessert

One of the most savory noodle dishes that I’ve eaten (Cantonese Soup Noodles) was at Leaf Dessert, an open-air corner food stall (dai pai dong) that boasts less than seven tables. If it hadn’t been for a segment of Parts Unknown, when Bourdain and legendary cinematographer Christopher Doyle shared lunch there, we could’ve easy walked by without knowing that it existed.

According to Bourdain, one could get a true feel of a city simply by taking a seat on a plastic chair on a street corner and trying a bowl of whatever was cooking in a mysterious pot. He expressed concern that places such as Leaf Dessert were in danger of extinction in Hong Kong, due the unceasing desire for change and new regulations.

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After hopping between trains with our Octopus passes for three days, Jack and I said farewell.

It’s difficult to say whether I understand anything about Hong Kong but it’s easy to appreciate its visual grandeur and energy.

We’d only scratched the surface of a city with it’s own entangled history and eight million stories.

As quickly as we arrived, we soon found ourselves going onward and northbound to mainland China…

 

 

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Thanks for reading this blog!

If you have any questions or want ideas for a trip to Hong Kong feel free to contact me.

Have a wonderful day and take care,

Daniel

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Asia, DACKasia2019, Travel, Travel Guide, Travel Tips, Vietnam

Take Three (Vietnam Part Two)

It’s about ten in the morning and the flavors of powdered coffee are loitering on my tongue as this update gets written.

Jack and I are in Ubud, Bali, a small town on a medium-sized island that belongs to Indonesia. 

I’d like to talk about the weather and the happenings that are taking place over here, but that will be for a different day!

Returning to where the previous post left off, Jack and I recently concluded our stay in Hoi An, Vietnam. This was on February 10th, exactly three weeks ago. We christened our Anthony Bourdain culinary-inspired quest with an unfortunate fail on the first try, however, we knew that there’d be more opportunities to rebound in our next destination.

Hanoi:

A perfectly stress-free Hanoi morning.

Welcome to a Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam. 

The flavors that circle your palate during each meal are as varied as the visual sites you encounter while on the streets. After a shuttle to Da Nang, a flight to the Noi Bai International Airport, and a Grab ride to our Airbnb, we were already absorbed. Through the haze of either heavy mist or light smog, we felt an eery relation to the movie Blade Runner while we crossed the Nhat Tan Bridge at night. Engulfed in a swarm of motorbikes, none of which were obeying traffic laws, and an endless string of seemingly makeshift stores, I felt like I’d been transported to a future where this was the surviving colony after some grizzly apocalypse. 

Hanoi feels like a place with no beginning or end. There exists a forest of buildings with French and various Asian design influences that stretches as far as one can see. The pinnacle of this tangle of streets is the Old Quarter, also considered to be the heart of Hanoi. Jack and I rented an Airbnb here. The traffic was intimidating so we opted to either walk or call a Grab between destinations. 

The craziness and invasion of the senses make Hanoi a unique spectacle, and its lack of aesthetic beauty left me curiously enamored.

I could spend an entire blog post about Hanoi, but in order to save the headache and potential boredom, I’m going to mention three things that were pretty awesome about this city. 

The Food:

Fried Seafood Rolls in the “Obama Combo.”

Following the guidance of ever-so influential Anthony Bourdain, Jack and I gained a lot of weight in Hanoi. We sat next to the famous table where he and Barack Obama had lunch at Bún chả Hương Liên. We ordered the “Obama Combo,” a popular choice for foreigners. On our final morning we ordered pork noodle soup at Bún Chửi 41 Ngô Sĩ Liên, also known as “Cussing Noodles” to Bourdain followers. The place was packed to the brim and we didn’t get cursed at by the chef (at least I think), but the experience was as authentic as we could have ever hoped. 

Pork Noodles at “Cussing Noodles.”

Bia Hoi:

Meanwhile, at Bia Hoi Ha Noi

Continuing with Bourdain’s travels in Hanoi, we became fans of an experience he shared during the filming of Parts Unknown called Bia Hoi. What is Bia Hoi you ask? Well, it’s simple. There are specific neighborhoods in Hanoi where locals and travelers mingle on the sidewalk, ordering keg beer that costs about twenty-five cents and sitting on uncomfortable plastic chairs that could even reward a child a sore back. In certain places, a passerby can see hundreds of beer drinkers enjoying the water-like taste of beer in plastic cups.

These are either restaurants or bars that have taken over the sidewalk by illegally adding chairs onto the walkway for whoever wants to order something.  Many of these establishments offer a wide range of local cuisine and the magic words here are “Bia Hoi” because this signals to the order taker that you want the cheap elixir. When the police do their rounds, the staff hastily orders everyone to evacuate as they stack all the chairs and hide them from sight. It’s like a sting in a speakeasy except it’s outside. You don’t have to be a beer fan to enjoy this activity, simply watching the thousands of people walking during a now chilled evening by is worth the visit. 

The Friend Reunion:

John and some random guy.

It’s hard to say what was better than catching up with my good friend John. We met back in 2012 at a hostel in Quito, Ecuador and by a grand chance, he now lives in Hanoi. John’s an ESL dojo master and he had some time between classes to show me around Hanoi. I’m thankful for the existence of social media for these moments because if it didn’t exist we wouldn’t have been able to keep in touch. John’s a fantastic guy and I’m thankful that we got to catch up. Hopefully, our next reunion will happen sooner than later.

Halong Bay:

Views from a Halong Bay ferry

Halong Bay and Hanoi are similar to a perfect married couple; Halong is the Ying to Hanoi’s majestic Yang. Where Hanoi severely lacks in visual grandeur, Halong Bay picks up the slack with intense visuals of natural landscapes. Halong Bay is perhaps a culinary dungeon, one of the few destinations in Vietnam which can be given this title, so Hanoi balances the enigma by being a mecca for foodies. We didn’t take a four-hour bus to eat in Halong Bay, we wanted to cruise around the emerald waters and ponder life between towering islets. 

Halong Bay is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and enjoys a tropical-style climate.  “Ha Long” translates to “descending dragon” because according to Vietnamese lore an emperor unleashed a mother dragon and her children to repeal an invading force. The dragons spat fire, jewels, and jade into the waters, thus forming a natural barrier to defend against the outsiders. Today, Halong Bay spans one hundred and thirty square miles and consists of nearly two thousand islands. A common stopover for tourists in Vietnam is Halong Bay, and a few weeks ago two good-looking Americans joined the fray. 

Our Airbnb was located in the town of Bia Chay, the nearest mainland town. A vacation hub with large apartment buildings and hotels, the appeal of this place isn’t its looks but its close proximity to the bay. Here are three highlights from our handful of days there:

Renting Motorbikes:

Drivers in Vietnam, especially the ones who sport Vespas, Hondas, or any other brand of motorbike, are a curious case. The driving laws, once again, don’t exist in Vietnam so navigating here can feel like a scene from Death Proof. Halong Bay is sparsely populated, the roads are nearly all straight, and they continue until the horizon practically disappears. This is unfavorable for anyone who doesn’t have their personal method of transport, but a dream to someone who does. Jack and I wanted to be in the latter category and rented a pair of motorbikes at the horrible price of $5.50 a day.

Cat Ba Island

Horsing around in Cat Ba.

Tucked behind a maze of limestone rocks in Halong Bay sits Cat Ba Island, the largest of the archipelago which also is a Vietnamese National Park. Jack and I took a day-trip here, riding our bikes onto a ferry and taking them to the island to do our own personal tour. It’s too large of a place to explore only on foot, so bikes are a necessary travel tool. People can spend the night on the island, as bountiful numbers of hostels and hotels are located along the southern tip. We explored a cave that was converted into a hospital bunker for the North Vietnamese during the “American” War and hiked up to the viewpoint of the Cannon Fort. Other options for Cat Ba include kayaking, sunbathing, and traversing the diverse landscapes of the National Park. 

Cat Ba Island

Halong Cruise

Ferries around Halong Bay.

Almost every single boat that one can spot in Halong Bay is most likely a part of a tour company offering cruises. Cruises can vary between a half-day, full-day, overnight, or multi-night experience. Part of the allure for Halong is watching the flow of boat traffic and see how small they are in comparison to the countless rocks that inhabit the area. Jack and I opted for a full-day cruise, getting picked up at 8:30 in the morning and not returning until about 4pm. Lunch was provided, along with pit-stops at Thien Cung Cave, Ti Top Island, the Kissing Rocks, and a tour of a pearl farm. A cruise through Ha Long is an obligatory activity, and it’s a nice site for any sort of traveler. 

Views from Ti Top Island.

Ninh Binh:

Lying Dragon Mountain, Ninh Binh

Ah well, here we go. Ninh Binh.

The only thing I can say to you is that Ninh Binh is a small town in central Vietnam. 

It’s a point, on Google Maps, and it’s pretty fast to find. 

It definitely wasn’t peaceful and by no means was it one of the most beautiful places we’ve seen before. 

Everything else, well, I think you have to go there and find out for yourself.  🙂

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A major perk of writing this blog is knowing that there are some wonderful people who read it, so thank you for your time. Even if you just skimmed this post, and missed the part where I talked about getting scurvy, it’s totally fine and I still appreciate you a lot.

Have a wonderful day and take good care. More updates are on the way! Until then, lots of love.

-Dan Catena

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Asia, DACKasia2019, Travel, Travel Guide, Vietnam

Bahts, Wats, and Feeling Krabi

Hey, is that you? 

Welcome back to my blog! 

It’s been a while, so please take a seat and relax! Now that you’re here again, where does this post begin? 

It might suffice to mention how it’s 6pm in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam right now. It perhaps is also appropriate to add that Jack and I have been here for exactly fifteen minutes. 

Kho Pha Ngan, the land of Massaman Curry

We just said farewell to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, in what was a quick two-day stop over after exploring Siem Reap in the northern part of the same country. 

I’d like to shed more light on what we’re doing here and what exactly are the plans we have in store during our wanders through Vietnam, but there exists a large time lapse of information between right now and the previous blog post.  

Ten days ago, my good buddies Jack, Eric, and I were in Koh Pha Ngan, Thailand.  We capped off our five days there with partaking in a Full Moon Party, which in the end gave the sensation of attending a massive frat party along a widespread beach. Haad Rin is a town along the southern edge of Koh Pha Ngan and serves as the entry point to a beach that dons the same title. It was here where countless makeshift bars were constructed along the shore, with DJ’s spinning various genres of music, and gangs of fire-dancers drawing in swaths of people like moths to a vibrant lamp. It was similar to a music festival with no headlining acts blended with a county fair. Overall, it was an interesting experience and we enjoyed the evening, but it felt nice knowing that we’d be moving on to a new destination soon. 

The next morning was a farewell to the island and also to our friend Eric. He took a ferry to Surat Thani and flew back to the capital, while we boarded a vessel to the mainland then bussed to Phuket. Phuket is Thailand’s largest island, located southwest of the mainland. It took us about nine hours via a ferry, a bus, then finally a shuttle van before we reached our AirBnB. During the next five days, Jack and I split our time between Patong (Phuket’s most active city), Phi Phi Island, and various beaches in Krabi.  

Malin Plaza, Patong

Patong is a seaside city that doesn’t have very much to offer besides sweltering heat, bustling night markets, and many opportunities to lose money. At first glance it’s a tourist hub, with lots of Russians, English, French, and Thai tourists on vacation. Its allure is the weather, the affordability, and also nearby Patong Beach. Patong could be Las Vegas, except the hotels aren’t as tall and there’s no ferris wheel. The traffic is heavy with racing motorbikes and, contrary to Koh Pha Ngan, internal stress from so many accelerating gears brought back memories of Bangkok. We primarily just relaxed, ate at some delicious street food at Malin Plaza, and looked for a quality kebab after checking out the energetic nightlife along Bangla Street. We turned down offers for massages and bouquets of roses but got suckered into a few games of Connect 4 with the bartenders and a “working lady” of one only slightly-seedy establishment. 

Phi Phi Island is a haven for visitors in search of sunburns, scuba certifications, snorkeling, and anything related to playing in turquoise water. With endless postcard-worthy sights such as Maya Bay (famous thanks to the film The Beach), Monkey Beach, and Long Beach, guests of the island have plenty of distractions. We snorkeled for a day, relaxed at our hostel, then hopped a ferry the next morning across Phang Nga Bay to Ao Nammao Pier. On this day we checked into the Reset Hostel (it soon became our favorite of the trip), which is located in Klong Muang. At the last minute, we made an agreement with a longboat taxi to take us to Kong Island. With limestone rock formations, mirror-like water, and temperatures reaching the high 80’s, we found a gem. The longboat taxi didn’t try to swindle us, making us feel certain that Krabi was our favorite part of Thailand. We also wandered along the rock-climbing mecca of Railay Beach, which is located along an opposite shore of Krabi. We opted to rent kayaks instead of climb and ferried back to Patong. This was on Friday, and early on Saturday we reserved two seats on a plane destined to Siem Reap, Cambodia. 

Koh Hong, Krabi

Writing this post, Thailand feels like a lifetime ago. It’s been a whirlwind of ten days, and I’d like to keep going but it’s probably best to wrap this post up. Now that Jack and I have migrated east, through Cambodia, and now to Vietnam, it’s easier to reflect on Thailand. 

Thailand has many good’s and bad’s. It’s fantastic for spice and an endless selection of mouth-watering dishes. It’s wonderful if you want to start your day with strong coffee or with a blended fruit shake. If you want to ride a cheap motorbike or stay up until sunrise on a beach then you’ve found the place. It’s not good if you don’t like humidity, mosquitos, or people constantly soliciting you for a massage, tuk-tuk ride, or something else. If you need a 7-11 then you’re in luck, but if you want to throw away your garbage there aren’t many places to toss your rubbish. Due to the overly developed tourism industry, the interactions with locals in Thailand felt more transactional than personable. The language barrier didn’t help, and very rarely did we meet a Thai who could speak conversational English. Overall, Thailand is affordable and scenic. It makes sense why so many people come out there and I’m glad we started our trip there. 

Well, it’s time to go. Thanks for reading, you look great! Have a wonderful day, the next post will be about our stay in Cambodia and a visit we paid to Angkor Wat. Take care. 

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Asia, DACKasia2019, Guides, Travel, Travel Guide

To Live and Die in Surat Thani

One week ago my best friend Jack and I were using the Grab app to go between places in Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok. 

Today we find ourselves on a rain-soaked tropical island that’s been described as a destination for “hedonistic hippies”, also known as Kho Pha Ngan. Traveler’s don’t have access to Grab in this part of the country and the taxi’s are too opportunistic. Rather, we’ve chosen the preferred method of transportation for Thai locals and the vast majority of visitors: motorbikes. 

Without a visible speed limit and caravans of bikers in swimwear blazing back and forth on roads that are not always paved, Kho Pha Ngan gives me nostalgia from watching the movie Mad Max. The only difference would be that instead of a desert landscape we’re cruising through a lushly vegetated coastline with photogenic sunsets and coconuts. 

Alongside our good friend Eric, who hopped a flight from the capital, we’ve been riding around Kho Pha Ngan in search of the meaning of island life. 

Kho Pha Ngan sunrise

Before going into further detail about our current whereabouts, it’s necessary to mention a few things in regard to where Jack and I just were: Koh Tao. 

Koh Tao, Kho Pha Ngan, and Koh Samui are three medium sized islands that sit along the Gulf of Thailand, and belong to the Surat Thani Province of the country. This is basically the Deep South of Thailand, and a few skips away one can find themselves in Indonesia. Six hours via bus and two more via ferry, Jack and I left the vastly illuminated Bangkok and checked into the Bed and Ink Hostel, which is situated in the backpacker neighborhood of Koh Tao. A handful of travel websites call this destination “The Death Island” because a few tourists disappeared a couple years back and the cases remain unsolved. This isn’t a fair nickname because Koh Tao surprisingly receives over three hundred thousand tourists a year, and hardly anyone has a bad experience. 

Fortunately, we saw no signs of suspicious activity during our two nights on Koh Tao. What we did see, however, was an island that valued its beauty sleep. On both nights of our stay we tried to explore the nightlife of the island, only to become aware that many visitors were either staying in a resort or waking up early the next day to take a snorkeling tour or get scuba certified. Because scuba diving is such an essential industry for the island, most businesses seemed to be respecting the need for an early night. Koh Tao, as we discovered, is recognized around the planet for its wealth of scuba certification schools and picturesque habitats for viewing sea life. 

Ko Nang Yuan

We did go snorkeling around Sairee Beach, where we navigated around small pockets of coral and some schools of fish. We learned our first valuable lesson of the trip on this beach: never trust the word of a longboat taxi driver. We got quoted a price to get driven via water taxi to a nearby island called Ko Nang Yuan then back to the port where our hostel was located. The views were beautiful, but upon docking at Ko Nang Yuan, our driver said that we needed to pay more baht for the return trip. He lied, saying that the original price wasn’t for the entire ride, just to this point. We’d been swindled, but there didn’t exist another alternative other than haggle a second deal. It was either give him more baht, or stay stranded on the island. 

Mae Haad Pier (Koh Tao)

Despite this small negative encounter, we had a very positive experience in Koh Tao. I should once again say that all the people here are friendly, and despite the language barrier, we’ve managed to communicate. I’ve already accepted the fact that Thai is too challenging of a language to merely pick-up and that even “hello” or “thank you” are completely over my head. Luckily, if I use poor grammar in the simple present tense (I want americano, I use credit card, I no have money), people generally understand what I’m trying to say. 

Kho Pha Ngan offers a more mixed bag of entertainment for visitors. Besides a developing scuba scene, there are numerous yoga retreats, meditation centers, and also monthly Full Moon Parties which attract thousands of young people. The Full Moon Parties draw substantial numbers of backpackers and tourists looking for different experiences, which gives this island a reputation for debauchery. Jack, Eric, and myself are grown-ups and responsible humans. This being said, we all share a similar curiosity to see what takes place during a Full Moon Party, so we’ve made this the primary reason for our stay on the island. 

The party itself is tomorrow, so in the meantime we’ve dedicated the past few days to discovering where to get the next delicious Massasman Curry and some of the nightlife. We’ve hit an unlucky streak in terms of weather, as each afternoon has been soggy with rain. During the one day when the sky was clear, we put our trust in another scheming water-taxi. This instance, along the shore of Haad Rin, we paid for a roundtrip voyage to a difficult to reach yoga retreat because we wanted to try out a class. After finishing we backtracked to the pickup point to get taxi’d back to Haad Rin, but this time the driver claimed that we never paid and then demanded a higher fare. Long story short, we found another taxi to take us back. The only downside was that it was at night. 

With angry ocean swells in the nearly perfect darkness of a Tuesday evening, a small group of Russian tourists and ourselves instilled our faith in a Thai water-taxi driver to take us to Haan Rin. He kept yelling, “No worry, no worry!” and “No butterflies!” which in turn made me pretty worried and sick to my stomach. His poise told me that he was an experienced captain, and we made it to the other shore without any problems, however there were a few moments when I said a prayer to Mother Nature, Poseidon, and Nemo to please get us back in one piece. The waves weren’t friendly, and I shook the man’s hand as we jumped off the boat and onto the glorious beach. I don’t think our lives were really in too much danger, but it was enough to make me want to be a better person going forward. 

I can’t tell you much more about Kho Pha Ngan because the party hasn’t happened yet, but more updates are coming in the near future. 

Thanks for reading, I hope you have a great day!

Ko Nang Yuan
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Asia, DACKasia2019, Travel, Travel Guide, Travel Tips

Letters from Bangkok

Today is Sunday, at least in Jack’s and my part of the world.

At this hour, our friends and families in California are most likely getting ready for bed. However, in Bangkok, Thailand the sun is shining and shortly it’ll be lunchtime.

It’s hard to imagine that our trip to Asia started exactly a week ago, and that tomorrow we’ll bid adieu to Thailand’s bustling capital. At 6am we’ll be boarding a bus to Chumphon, a small city along the southern Gulf of Thailand, then hopping a ferry to a small island named Ko Tao.

Our farewell to Bangkok commences a two-week excursion around three Thai islands: Ko Tao, Ko Pha Ngan, and finally Phuket. All three are in the countries’ southern region and they’ll offer a pleasant contrast to the massively populated Bangkok.

We chose Bangkok as our trip’s starting point for a handful of reasons: It was one of the cheapest airports offering flights from San Francisco, and more importantly because one of our best friends happens to be residing there.

Eric Umile has been a close buddy since first grade and he’s been an expat in Bangkok for a couple years now. He offered to show us around and we felt like that was an opportune way to catch up with a great guy and also start things off.

Thanks to Eric, we’ve managed to get a taste of Bangkok and see why he’s chosen this city as his home. After one week, here are a few things I’d like to share about this interesting city in the Far East. Bangkok is a city of abundance; not only there exists an abundance of people, but there are plenty of other things.

1. Heat

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Exiting the Singapore Airlines flight and walking through the airport in Bangkok, the first thought that scurried through my mind was:

Frick, it’s hot.

Bangkok’s high temperatures are unforgiving. The humidity is also dense like an invisible curtain that you can’t seem to walk through. If you’re someone who doesn’t break a sweat from Mother Nature, then a second source of burning might come from the wide variety of savory yet spicy dishes that exist in a typical Thai menu. The food here is on point, however, I have burned my palate a handful of times since arriving here.

2. Malls

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Some of the most impressive aspects of Bangkok are its abundance of super malls. It’s natural to assume that a cosmopolitan capital of over eight million people enjoys shopping, however mega centers such as Terminal 21 are so much more: They’re gathering places for all classes of Thai citizens, a destination for buying every product known to humankind, equipped with expansive cafeterias, bars, and nightclubs. If the zombie apocalypse ever occurs, you can find me in the Gourmet Market at Siam Paragon.   

3. Rooftop Escapes

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Perhaps my favorite aspect of Bangkok is its bountiful supply of rooftop lounges, bars, restaurants, and clubs. A week wasn’t enough time to acquaint ourselves with the complete scene, but Eric showed us some fun places such as Above Eleven and Octave. Taking in the lights of Bangkok after dark, a chilled beverage in hand, while a DJ spun Reggaeton records, was a memory that will stand out in my mind for a long while.

4. Traffic

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Despite the existence of a well developed public transit system such as the Sky Train or buses, plus waves of tuk-tuk taxis, motorcycle taxis, and Grab ride-share cars, Bangkok suffers from a mind-numbing traffic jam epidemic. The bumper to bumper congestion is heavy enough that pedestrians can be seen wearing masks to protect themselves from car pollution. A muggy haze engulfs the horizon at all hours and the air quality is visibly lower than back home, but I’m not sure if this is solely a result of excessive car emissions.

5. Contrasts

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Bangkok is a hive of distinct landmarks. On one hand, a visitor can easily be left speechless from historical wonders such as the Grand Palace or Temple of the Emerald Buddha. A similar sensation can be gained from an elevator ride to the observation deck of the recently designed MahaNakhon, a pixelated skyscraper that stretches seventy-seven stories towards the clouds. The city has as many Wats (Buddhist temples) as it has construction sites where the sound of hammers and drills ring in progressive harmony. Additionally, stray dogs could be seen scurrying outside the Mandarin Oriental, a 5-star hotel where Jack and I treated ourselves to a memorable breakfast buffet. Despite the noticeable chaos of historical and modern, clean and dirty, poor and wealthy, everything seemed to blend together like a savory cocktail called coexistence. I must also add that nearly every person we’ve encountered has been very helpful and friendly.

So, after this random blog post, why should you go to Bangkok?

Besides offering anything from an extra plate of spicy chicken balls, boom boom, foot massages, or fried scorpions, this curious place can give you something else:

A feeling that you’ve reached a land of opportunity for adventure, for new beginnings, and for a reminder that we need to enjoy life as much as possible.

Thanks for reading, more updates on Jack’s and my whereabouts are coming soon!

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