A Slow Start to 2019

Normally by this time of the year I'd have been to several places and written several posts.  But this year has been different.  I was expecting two new grandchildren - one in January and one in March.  Because of that I stayed in the US and did not make my first international trip until late April.

Even then I made several trips within the US, before that first international trip:

1. 3 ski trips - Purgatory, Telluride and Flagstaff
2. 2 camping trips - Tucson and San Diego
3. 1 trip to New York City to visit the family

Below are some pictures of the trips above:

Ticket to the Stephen Colbert Show in NYC

Camping in San Diego

Skiing in Telluride

My first international trip for 2019 was a month-long visit to Singapore, Bangkok and Japan.  If you've been following my blog, you will probably know that I visit Singapore, my native country, almost every year.  This time I am bringing my girlfriend, Doris, with me, on her first visit to Singapore, Thailand and Japan.  I've written about Singapore and Bangkok several times in this blog so I will not repeat myself.  However, I want to include some pictures from the trip:

A "Pretty Boys" Show in Bangkok

Iconic Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino in Singapore

Mango sticky rice in Bangkok

Needless to say, we ate a lot and put up with the relentless heat and humidity.  We saw a lot of friends and relatives, always sharing a delicious local meal or beverage.  We showered in the morning, in the afternoon and at night.  The humidity is persistent.  We spent two nights at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, relishing its food and amenities and the neighborhood.  The highlight, of course, is swimming in its rooftop infinity pool, overlooking the neon-lit skyscrapers in the central business district of Singapore.  We visited the world-renowned Gardens by the Bay and hiked the Treetop Walk at MacRitchie Reservoir.

A 4-day visit to Bangkok was full of eating and shopping.  The highlight was seeing a "pretty boy" cabaret show.  These transvestites are so realistic that you can't tell that they are actually men even when you are up close.  We had excellent breakfasts at the Novatel Siam Center Hotel.  Across the street at the Paragon Center is a food court serving authentic Thai street food.  We ate twice at the nearby Ban Khun Mae, a popular local restaurant.  We ate and shopped at Chinatown.  The shops there are a reminder of what some of the local shops looked like in early Singapore.  They even speak my native Chinese dialect.  Our visit coincided with the coronation of the new Thai king.  On our visit to the popular Chatuchak Weekend Market we ran into traffic blockades around the city.

We also made a 1-day side trip to Johor Bahru in Malaysia.  JB, as its popularly called, is at the southern tip of the Malayan peninsula, separated from Singapore by a causeway.  In order to go from Singapore to JB (and back), you will have to go through the respective Immigration on each side.  Taking the bus or train is easiest.  You alight from the bus, go through Immigration, get on the bus again, then go through Immigration on the other side, then take the bus again.  Even on a weekday, it was crowded and took about an hour to cross.  Driving is even more challenging because you have to contend with traffic jams and picky custom officials.  It was not an especially memorable trip.

On the way back to the US, we planned on a week long visit to Japan.  That trip is described in the next post.