Blogs from Asia - page 15637

Having spent three nights at the Karnmanee I have not really been making much use of my time in Bangkok. I had planned to see my friend Kay but ended up spending more time on my own than anticipated. I like to hang around the shops and eateries at Pradiphat Road, a street which has most of the things you could need, and is blissfully devoid of tourist mobs and hawkers. In the evenings a myriad of food stalls come out and it is nice to walk around to pick up spicy snacks and fresh fruit. The Skytrain is another piece of engineering that I really appreciate. It offers easy access to areas otherwise locked up in what can sometimes be maddening traffic jams. Watching the traffic though, is a pastime that rarely gets old to ... read more

Hotel: Hotel Lile (Tbilisi, Georgia) $40 Woke up this morning to an absolutely clear sky; the view out the window of our hotel was stunning with the Tsminda church high above and the snowcapped peak of Mt. Kazbek behind it. We hoped to catch one of the early marshrutkas to Tbilisi around 8 AM; we were lucky to catch one that actually left 20 minutes early. The fare was 8 GEL ($4.50) for the 4 hr ride back to Tbilisi. Originally, we had been planning on going all the way through to Armenia today, but decided to spend an extra afternoon in Tbilisi and catch the early morning shuttle to Alaverdi. We took the metro back to Hotel Lile, which now had two rooms available (out of only three rooms in the hotel!). My wife and ... read more

Sanrio Puroland, Tokyo. It is a place for many Japanese lovely characters. The place was quite far from Tokyo. Anyway it was lovely and very nice for young children. I don't know much , only Kitty, Badt badt maru, doraemon. Enjoyed anyway.... read more

So, we are finally in Vang Vien. Vientienne is being crossed of our list due to a meeting of government officials. They are prohibiting tourists from entering the city. Oh well, that gives us more time on the islands. Remmember how I said Natalie riding her bike was funny??? I take it back. Her falling off the bike is funnier!!!!!!! It was so inevitable, though. There are pictures on her blog. She is hiding her head in shame. Hahahahaha. Last night we went out to a club. The only club in Luang Prabang that allowes dancing. It was insane. There was line dancing, and no one touched each other. If they did, they laughed hysterically. We participated in the PG rated dancing for some time, and then went on our way. Our hotel was amazing, except ... read more

Can Shanghai be but a technological mirage? An economic miracle? This city has to be seen to be believed. From images I have seen before, I though it'd be a city with mostly short, flat buildings and a few tacky mega-skyscrapers and that hideous globe and column tower )Oriental Peal Tower). Boy was I wrong! Shanghai is a skyscraper wonderland, on its way to be as dense as Manhatten but much bigger in scale. And somehow, when I am in Shanghai, those buildings I thought would be tacky turned out to be quite fitting and actually quite awesome. Maybe it's all the summer haze, maybe it's the glimmering light show that the Oriental Pearl Tower. Maybe it's all the Hong-Kong-, Vegas-, and Tokyo-style lighted billboards and buildings that have created an enchanting if not disorienting neon ... read more