Singapore Nightlife

On our last night, we hung out at a Megaclub and danced to a salsa band and a Robert Palmer cover band. See below for the awesome video...watch closely for the jacket move.

Singapore Hawker Centers

Jin Sun couldn't get enough food in Singapore. Here we are at the Maxwell Hawker Center, made famous by Anthony Bourdain and his International Chicken Rice incident. Jeff had to try the Chicken Rice (a calorie explosion resulting from the rice cooking in the chicken fat- flavorful and oh so decadent)
Click below for more from No Reservations: Singapore.

Singapore Slings with Seetha

Here we are at the Raffles Hotel, home of the Singapore Sling. Yes, that's Jeff with the fruity Sling and JSP with the beer. Special guests include: Seetha, Vangtesh, Mahim, and Steve.

More than just Clinton in KL

We did see traditional tourist attractions like the Old Town Square and the Petronas towers. We were also lucky enough to catch a few unexpected treasures like Kenny Rogers Roasters and the world's smallest chickens- unrelated.

Clinton Sighting in Kuala Lumpur

Former President Clinton followed us to the Craft Center in KL, Malaysia. He likes 'the big stuff' as in art and sculpture. We're still kicking ourselves for not intruding for a group picture.

Hanoi

Jeff's chocolate chip cookie radar works even in Hanoi- we stumble upon this great chocolate cafe that serves hot baked cookies.



Below are some non-food related pics of Hanoi...

Jimminy Crickets!

Definitely in the top 5 weirdest things Jin Sun ate during our trip. Tasty!

Bare Bones Accommodations

One night during our Ha Long Bay tour, we stayed on this undeveloped island in one of the 5 bamboo huts you see here on the beach. An electric blanket powered by a generator kept us warm and the mosquito net kept us from the various island critters.





























Don't you wish you were Jeff right now???








Here is the boat that the island staff literally built for us so we could take a trip to another island (where we bought cookies and surfed the internet).

This boat just took us about 50 feet off shore to a safer, more reliable 'ferry'.

The Original Hanoi Hilton

The entrance is deceiving...






The Hilton's most famous resident, John McCain visited a few years ago. His name was spelled wrong in the caption next to the photo.

Slow Pho 2000

On our 'eco' tour, we watched this villager make rice noodles from scratch- quite tasty. No way those noodles made it to Pho 2000 for the President (Clinton ate here) - though our meal there was quite good.

Ha Long Bay Cruise

Cue the dreamy James Bond music (You Only Live Twice)....

The Mekong Delta

We took a day trip to the Mekong Delta. As you can see it wasn't a very strenuous eco-tour. The VC took the day off.

Saigon Scooter Chaos

No stoplights or signs, constant moving traffic, and pedestrians do NOT have the right of way.

The secret is a steady pace, eye contact, and slight oblivion and disregard for your own life.

BTW, it's great to see Californians (aka militant pedestrians) in Asia bark at the cars/scooters about their complete lack of regard towards pedestrians. This happens once - then they nearly get steamrolled and they quickly learn to pipe down and stay out of the way.

Gas Stations in Siem Reap

So, you pull your scooter or Tuk-Tuk over to a guy who is selling some home-brew gasoline that is delivered in Johnny Walker or Absolut bottles.

Surprisingly, this gas tends to be of a "lower quality" than the stuff at filling stations.

More Wats and River Carvings in Cambodia

A bit more wat-age outside of Siem Reap and some carvings that were actually in the river bed itself (which neither of us had ever seen).

More Cooking with Jin Sun in Cambodia

Jin Sun takes her 2nd SE Asian cooking class- this time in Siem Reap for some Cambodian local dishes.

The Monkey Strikes Back

Part 2 of our monkey adventures in Asia... this one not so friendly.

A temple monkey strikes back- getting within inches of Jin Sun's ankles. It's even funnier in slow motion.

Don't mess with the Angkor Wat monkeys!

Can I Get a Wat Wat? Part 2

Angkor Wat- Why go anywhere else? Here are some pics- note the 'Tomb Raider' temple that was advertised as such. References to Angelina Jolie were all over the place and seems she is just as popular as the 7th Man Made Wonder of the world.

Cute and Furry Monkeys in Phuket

Our first up close encounter with monkeys in SE Asia. They are all over the place. On our island tour, we were warned not to get to close. They are cute and look pretty harmless, right?

Italian in Phuket

Jeff is pictured here with the owner of the best Italian restaurant in Phuket. We had 3 of our 4 dinners at this restaurant, nestled into the lobby at the Lawan Residence 'Boutique' Hotel where we stayed for 2 nights. Despite it's upscale name, this ho(s)tel advertised its excellent location across from a massage parlor with 'over 50 beautiful women" and policy for not charging extra for overnight guests. We quickly decided that we were not as adventurous as we had thought and left for another hotel right away.

Here's the link if you're interested in seeing the restaurant, the rooms, or even just the marketing content.
http://www.lawanresidence.com/

Relaxing in Beautiful Phuket

Despite all of the warnings from other tourists and backpackers about the over developed beaches in and around Phuket, the region is beautiful and worthy of another blog post. Here are a few pictures of our island tour and a resort just a few minutes away from the main strip.