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Funemployment - Part I

July - October 2017
The Midlife Crisis Flashpacking Trip Read more
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  • TravelerFunemployment - Part I

    Shwedagon Pagoda

    September 21, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    The train rolled into Yangon Central around noon. Wandering around, I encountered Old Town White Coffee. Scanning the menu, I saw that it had a lot of Singaporean dishes. I ate a nasi lemak lunch there, and then hailed another Uber to take me to Shwedagon Pagoda as I wanted to see it before the rain came down.

    Shwedagon was huge and impressive, but I was honestly templed-out after 17 days in Myanmar. I left a little past 2pm. There were dark clouds in the sky and it was humid, but no rain yet.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Yangon-Re…    Read more

  • TravelerFunemployment - Part I

    Aung San Suu Kyi’s House

    September 21, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ ☀️ 34 °C

    Exiting Shwedagon, I figured that since the rain hadn't started yet, I might as well find a taxi to take me to the house on the banks of Inya Lake where Aung San Sun Kyi was held under arrest. Hopefully, I can photograph the house and then be snug and dry in the taxi when the rain struck. I didn't go to Aung San Suu Kyi's house with high expectations - I expected to see a wall and a gate and that is exactly what I saw. As I headed back to my hotel, the rain started to fall.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Yangon-Re…    Read more

  • TravelerFunemployment - Part I

    Latha/Chinatown

    September 21, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ ☁️ 29 °C

    That evening, I headed out to 19th street for barbecue. It was decent, but nothing to write home about. After that, I wandered the lively streets of Chinatown, bought a small bag of longans for 40 cents(!), and then called it a night.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Burma/Yangon-Re…    Read more

  • TravelerFunemployment - Part I

    Yangon to Kuala Lumpur

    September 22, 2017 in Myanmar ⋅ 🌧 32 °C

    Malaysia Airlines MH741 | RGN/KUL
    Economy Class
    Boeing 737-800 | 9M-MLK
    ATD/1145 | ATA/1603
    Lounge: Mingalar Sky Lounge

    ===============================================================
    Some Parting Thoughts on Myanmar

    Enigmatic Myanmar. Where do I even begin? This amazing country exceeded all my expectations. I am so glad I ventured away from the "big four" tourist sights (Yangon, Mandalay, Bagan, and Inle Lake). Staying within these four sites, one primarily sees opportunity and optimism. The big cities, especially, are a bubble; you see burgeoning prosperity and various ethnicities and religions seemingly getting along. Going to Hsipaw and seeing firsthand, albeit superficially, the ethnic tensions simmering beneath the surface, reminded me of how fragile peace can be in any context. My heart aches thinking about what is happening a couple of hundred miles west In Rakhine state.

    The people here are ever so sweet and hospitable. Similar to what I experienced in Colombia, the people here have been isolated for so long that they genuinely like seeing visitors. I am kicking myself for not coming here sooner.

    Finally, I am so glad I stayed at hostels. I had been resisting it because I wasn't sure I would fit in with a crowd mostly 20+ years my junior (some of them were even younger than my foster son!) and I was concerned about getting enough sleep. I am grateful to Ahmar for putting the idea in my head. The hostel backpacker/flashpacker crowd is a special one. They're genuinely curious about the world. Curiosity about people and places is one of the things that drive me, and I loved spending time with this crowd, swapping stories, learning about places, and drinking way too much. I loved that this crowd was willing to hang out with and listen to stories from a middle aged man. Yes, they occupy a weird bubble, and I got sucked into that bubble. Somehow, everything I was anxious about - my future job prospects, paying my mortgage, saving for retirement, how I should modify my house to accommodate two additional cats, Trump and his idiotic antics, the Singapore Presidential (S)Election, etc. - seemed insignificant for a few wonderful weeks. I've made some lifelong friends and I hope our paths cross again.

    https://www.travelblog.org/Admin/Blog/edit-entr…    Read more

    See translation
  • TravelerFunemployment - Part I

    Cat Cafe Neko No Niwa

    September 24, 2017 in Singapore ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C

    I do my best to support Singapore's first cat café - Neko No Niwa - whenever I am in Singapore. What makes this cat café stand out is that they genuinely care about the cats (each one was a rescue, and they took the effort to socialize the cats first before putting them to work in the cat café) and they conduct education on cat care.

    I usually meet my classmate Shareen at her shop, and then we walk over to interact with the kitties.    Read more

  • TravelerFunemployment - Part I

    Arrival Into Tokyo

    September 28, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 20 °C

    I landed at a very wet Narita Airport at 7.40am on Thursday, September 28th. After clearing immigration and customs, I purchased a ticket for the 8.53am Narita Express train to Shinjuku. I was told that the trains were operating behind schedule because of the rain. My train departed almost half an hour late, and it took almost two hours - double the usual travel time - to get into Central Tokyo because the train made extra stops and at times just remained motionless on the tracks. How uncharacteristic of Japan, but with weather disruptions everywhere this could not be helped.

    At around 11.20am, I disembarked at Shinjuku and I was pleasantly surprised to see a toilet on the platform directly in front of me. As I was relieving myself, I realized that I left my ticket on board the train. Rats. I anticipated a ticket inspector would want to see my ticket, and that is why I placed it in the seat pocket in front of me. I hurriedly zipped up and rushed back onto the train just in time before the doors closed again. Sigh. I guess this meant I would have to go to the next station - Ikebukuro - and double back. Well, this was better than working out a fare adjustment with a JR (Japan Railways) staff.

    I reached my hotel - City Hotel Lonestar in Shinjuku 3 - past noon after doubling back from Ikebukuro. As check in wasn't until 3pm, I deposited my backpack at the hotel and went out in search of lunch. Fortunately, the rain had stopped. Not far from the hotel, I found a little hole in the wall ramen place. I bought my ticket from the machine outside and presented it to the counter staff who gave me a hot steaming bowl of noodles. That hit the spot.

    After eating, I decided to wander around the Shinjuku area until check in time; I didn't want to venture too far in case the rain came back. Walking around the area, I came across a couple of shrines. After exploring them, I made my way to the main entertainment district to look for Robot Restaurant. I found it easily and reserved a seat for the 5.55pm show. An annoyingly catchy little ditty with female voices singing "roboto" over and over played at the ticket counter. I swear it sounded like the theme song from My Neighbor Totoro.

    One of my goals for my Tokyo stopover was to find Farfetch'd, a rare Pokémon found only in Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. This darned critter eluded me during two previous layovers - one in Hong Kong and the other in Tokyo. Well, I had three days in Tokyo and I was determined to find this bird that has caused me so much grief. While sitting at Tully's coffee enjoying a latte, Farfetch'd suddenly showed up on my "nearby" radar on the app. I quickly got up and walked in the direction the app indicated Farfetch'd would be. I found him easily and caught him. Success! Now I can enjoy Tokyo without this constantly at the back of my mind.

    https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/godzilla-head

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blo…    Read more

  • TravelerFunemployment - Part I

    Robot Restaurant

    September 28, 2017 in Japan ⋅ 🌧 16 °C

    After checking in to the hotel, I snoozed for a couple of hours until 5pm, at which time I made my way to Robot Restaurant. The rain had started up again, so I borrowed an umbrella from the hotel and made my way over. Checkin for the 5.55pm show was at 5.20pm. When I got to the ticket counter, I exchanged my reservation slip for a ticket, and then I was ushered to a gaudy staircase which led to an equally gaudy room where guests were gathered for a pre-show drink. There were lots of Americans in there, and I was experiencing some reverse culture shock. The entertainment in that room was a singer accompanied by a guitarist in a robot suit. The toilet was all gold.

    Not long after, guests were ushered into the area where the performances were to be held. There were three rows of guests on each side of a long stage. There were screens behind the guests which were used to complement the performance. The performance itself was, how should I say it... bizarre. It was a mixture of dance, drama, and acrobatics. There were robots, lasers, loud music, fights, and all manner of the theatrics. Some robots were futuristic, some were of animals, and some were just downright scary (think clowns, doll-like figures with scary big eyes, etc.). Words fail me. I can't even begin to describe what I saw. I was in a constant state of bewilderment, but it was all good fun. I was most certainly entertained.

    After the show, I stumbled out onto a very wet Shinjuku. Many people, including myself, were carrying the generic white or clear plastic Japanese umbrellas. The rain and umbrellas, coupled with the neon lights and Japanese language, made for a very Blade Runner-esque street scene. It was surreal. Walking around Shinjuku, I found my go-to donburi and soba place, bought a ticket from the machine outside, and tucked into a very satisfying meal. After that, I turned in and had a good sleep.

    https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/kabukicho-r…

    https://www.travelblog.org/Asia/Japan/Tokyo/blo…    Read more

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