Singapore - Wakeboarding

Working on a New Maneuver
I accompanied Puffin and her cousin wakeboarding on Saturday morning. We hopped in a cab to the north side of the island. The marina appeared to specialize in wakeboarding - there were quite a few folks there with their boards. The two of them wasted a lot of time trying to talk me into giving it a try. Don't be silly - I am a big chicken when it comes to water sports. I got myself a coffee and a paper and sat next to their coach at the front of the boat.

Bangkok - Chinatown

A Different World
I'm a typical man - when I get lost I don't ask for help, I just wander around pretending like I always meant to take the scenic route. What started out as an attempt to see Wat Arun turned into a 5-mile stubborn-man walk in 95 degree heat that ended up in Chinatown. You can tell you're in Chinatown because everything starts to look different. The buildings are older, the sidewalks are more crowded and the signs have both kanji as well as Thai script.

Bangkok - Eating

It's So Easy
Just walk around, that's all. Everywhere you look there is food being sold. You cannot escape it, even the sidewalks are lined with food.

Bangkok - Chao Phraya River

The River of Kings
That's the loose translation of Chao Phraya and it makes sense - this is a massive river that splits Bangkok in two. I can see how it was the lifeblood of the place in ancient times. This is a shot from a bridge looking eastward towards downtown.

Bangkok - Praying

No Excuses
Whereas in the States you can say you missed the bus to church or that your car broke down on the way, in Bangkok you'd need to find a different excuse. See, there are small temples everywhere. I saw dozens and dozens of them, I think there's one in every parking lot. This was the one in the hawker center near my hotel where I said a few words of thanks to Buddha for the small fruit waffle thingie I got there. It was delicious!

Bangkok - Wat Prayun Wongsawat

The Turtle Temple
I wandered into this temple seeking shade after a long, hot walk to nowhere in particular. I later learned it's known as the "turtle temple." It was built in the mid-1800's by Rama III, the reigning king. It's quirky, to say the least. I like the small pigs.

Bangkok - My Kind of Place

The Clincher
I didn't spend a lot of time in Bangkok, just a handful of days. But you know how you quickly like a place? It wasn't just the warm weather, the welcoming people, the excellent food - this was the clincher for me. A bunch of guys napping on their scooters in the shade. These guys were knocked out! I took this shot under a bridge next to the river.

Bangkok - Beauty Aid

Streetside Adjustments
Bangkok is a crowded, bustling city - Chinatown even more so. There is almost no sidewalk space, it can take an hour to walk a block. All manner of business was being conducted on the sidewalk, even threading. Have you seen this before? It's an elaborate use of threads to remove facial hair.

Bangkok - Dancing

And Munching.....

Bangkok - Motorcycle Taxis

Another Way to Get Around
The guys in the purple vests are motorcycle taximen and this, in fact, is a motorcycle line-up close to one of the sky train stops. There is no sign, no outward signal that this is where you go around here to catch a motorcycle taxi, I guess you just have to know. A few seconds later...

Bangkok - Massage Heaven

Hand to Back Combat
As embarrasing as this is to admit, I'm a coward when it comes to being naked. I don't even like being naked alone in the shower, but I go through with it since it's the best way to get clean. I've felt like this my whole life, I'm not sure why. Fear of a small package, perhaps? I'm a grower, not a shower (at least that's what I tell myself.) Once in Bombay I got an olive oil massage wearing nothing more than an eye patch on my johnson - it wasn't the most relaxing experience. What a revelation Thai massage is - you get to wear loose fitting clothes! Sign me up!

Bangkok - Getting Around

Underground and Above Ground
Bangkok recently completed both a subway and a tram (they call it the sky train.) The subway looks similar to the one in Singapore - modern, air-conditioned, with glass curtains along the tracks to keep the heat out.

Bangkok - Jatujak Market

Hot Shopping
Pingles was teasing me on the flight "it's soooooo hot in Bangkok, it's ridiculous." I imagined taking a few tentative steps outside our hotel and melting into a small pale puddle on the sidewalk. I considered the various ways I would die from the heat. "Just wait til you get to the market - the covered one without AC and thousands of people pressing all around you." She was taking great pleasure in this. Perhaps the gods were listening because a strange thing happened. At Jatujak market, the one feeling the heat was Pingles, not I. I felt like making an offering at one of the many small Buddhist temples that dot the city.

Singapore - Towers Rising

One Year Later
A year ago I took shots of three towers being built on the Marina (click here.) They're almost done. A combination of hotels, apartments and office space, I'm told. They're joined at the top by what will become a massive roof garden. For a price you'll be able to sit under the stars, sip drinks and take in both ocean and skyline views.

The Global Superstar Lifestyle

Pros and Cons
I live in NY, work in Paris and visit my girlfriend in Singapore when she's not with me. I am, as you can imagine, a global superstar living the glossy magazine life. Of course, I'm naturally cool with movie-star looks and a brain full of advanced thoughts. I brag to anyone who'll listen, which at this moment, happens to be you. I mean, come on - it's almost not fair. Check out today's office: an outdoor cafe in downtown Singapore, mid-80s temperatures. It's snowing in NY and probably raining in Paris. Now, if you believe all of this hype, let me give you some of the realities.....

I rarely get to be in NY, though I still have an apartment there. Most of my NY friends simply think of me as a guy who emails from time to time. Moviestar looks? Yeah, right - pure fiction. My brain is almost always full of lazy thoughts - shortcuts I can take, ways to procrastinate or even better - how to avoid doing anything at all. My girlfriend is hot, though, so that's a plus. And I do enjoy cafe-sitting in the warmth, pretending to work. Later, at midnight, on a conference call with Paris I will curse this remote working lifestyle. So, in the end it's not a superstar lifestyle but it's not a boring one either. I'm lucky and I know it. I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Betting in Singapore

Idiosyncrasies Make a Place Interesting
In Singapore you can gamble like a madman but you'll pay a fine if you're caught tossing your betting slip on the street rather than in a garbage can. Like the States, the government wants its cut - so you better be gambling via the state-owned Singapore Pools company. Unlike the States, they want a clean place and they really mean it - Puffin's brother was fined $200 yesterday for littering. Are these two things idiosyncratic? Perhaps not. One habit is promoted and another is punished though you could argue that neither is good for society.

The Gangs of Singapore

They're Taking Over
I stared at this sign....dumbfounded. I couldn't even comprehend it after they explained it to me. Can you imagine telling high school kids in the US that they're not allowed to study? In Singapore, studying had gotten out of control. Gangs of kids were hogging cafe tables, hunkered over stacks of books. So much so that establishments started posting "No Studying" placards. Thankfully the counter-measures have had the desired effect, putting order back into the universe. Folks like me are once again free to sip coffee mindlessly, studying nothing but the backs of our eyelids from time to time.

Red Packets - Singapore

Giving and Getting
The Chinese cut right to the chase - they don't exchange gifts on New Years, they exchange cold, hard cash. You just get some cash and stuff it into red envelopes called Ang Pow and hand em over - simple. Or is it? Turns out, it's not as straightforward as I thought....

Picking Up the Pig - Singapore

Say Hello to My Little Friend
Our contribution to tonight's Chinese New Year reunion dinner was a barbecued sucking pig. We picked him up this afternoon from a market in Kovan. He looked promising...

Chinese New Year's Eve - Singapore

It's All Prep Work at This Point
I came to Singapore last night. I am going to have a close-up on Chinese New Year's, Singapore style. I'm guessing it will mainly be about food. When I arrived, the decorations were already up.... This one says "Good Fortune."

Hidden Gems

You Just Have to Find Them
Walking the streets of Paris, you often feel crowded. The buildings stand shoulder to shoulder, leaning in, pressing against you. Sometimes you have to tightrope the narrow sidewalks just to avoid bumping into people. Today, I squeezed between the buildings, down a narrow alleyway, around a few corners and into a beautiful little park called Impasse Berthaud. You can see it in the satellite photo below.

Grumpy Goes Public, Again

Once Upon a Time...
Both Grumpy Travels and the Puff List started out as public blogs. I privatized Grumpy to a few readers so I could comfortably post personal photos and bitch about work, etc. Recently, I made a copy of Grumpy Travels and removed all of the personal info, photos, work-bitches and anything else I deemed sensitive or overly personal. I've made the clean version available and put in a link to it from the Puff List. The clean one has a slightly different name. No need for you to look at this new blog - it is just a copy of this one with fewer stories and no personal info.

Window Dressing

No Back Yard Perhaps?
The owner of these two windows has gone all out. I'd like to see what these look like in the spring or summer.

Snow-perbole from a Distance

Just the Usual Dreary Rain
Watching the NY news on my Slingbox and laughing at the breathless reporting of the impending "snowpocalypse." They sure do sell it - there's bound to be a run on shovels and salt. Here in Paris, nothing out of the ordinary - just the typical romanticized drizzle. At least it's relatively warm - no complaints.

rue Saint Dominique, 7th Arondissement

You Know It's a Slow Day.....

When This is the Grumpy Post...
We already know every day is a slow day for these three jamokes. I should be ashamed of myself.... Donna, Sal and David as taken by Peter at Mom's cafe.