In a while

Pardons I haven't written in a long while. Like I said, I've been trying to stabilize and settle back into life here in the Bay Area.

The only travels I've had since Asia has been within the country. Last August, I went to Seattle for a cousin's wedding. Last October, I went to Atlanta, Georgia for business purposes. This past April, I went to San Diego to visit one of my best friends. Few pictures were taken at either locations. In mid-July, I will go to Seattle for a cousin's wedding--I'll post more pictures then.

Grounded

I've been back in the Bay Area for almost one year, now. I think I've finally settled into life here, again. Time flew by fast!

One year ago, to this day, I was in Vietnam gearing up to visit a friend in Singapore and Malaysia too.

Now, I live in a comfy house, in San Bruno, with siblings. I commute to downtown San Francisco for work (RT = 40min). I drive a relatively big sedan (Maxima), which has a pretty good/strong engine, and I'm looking for a smaller car such as a Miata to get around town and park more easily.

I joined a gym a little over a month ago. So the latest hobby now is to climb indoors and, sometimes, outdoors. Oh yes! I've also cut my long hair to chin length and dyed it red and brown.

Notes from Bangkok, Thailand

I haven't been to Thailand but I hear it's entertaining and fun.
A girlfriend was in Bangkok last weekend sending me text messages via mobile phone noting what she experienced. Sounds amusing. (Um, don't read on if you're a homophobe). :-]

Her SMS notes:

...on our way to Patpong. A nite market and all d culture shocking pubs.

...ah man, all kind of sex shows. men and women. in dis men show, they all wear white underwear & stand on d stage. u choose which number, they shine d torch at you.

...1st show, 3 men wif their dick erected, they dance wif candles and wax. 2nd show, 2 men in shower. Dis is nice, it looks like mtv. They hav foam all over.

...ah man, i've never seen anything like dat. Nice. 2 men in shower touching each other. It's beautiful. Kinda artistic.

...real show on now. 2 men sucking cock fucking each other doing stunts. d swinging stunts. wtf?!

She also mentioned to check out the floating market where you can taste and buy different foods/fruits while you float on the river in a canoe.

Revisit

I'm in the Bay Area, currently resting in San Bruno.
To get a hold of me, my mobile number is still the same as it was when I left for Asia 3 months ago.

Permanent residence will probably be with the folks, as I'm trying to conserve money so that I may hop to the next Asian country. Next destination in line is Taipei, Taiwan, in June 2005. Any suggestions/advice is much appreciated. :-}

Singapore, Singapore

...is like any other big city you'd find in the States. You have your eateries, clubs/bars, and shopping plazas.
Singapore has Sentosa Island--imagine creating a fun-park/island to suck up tourist money. However, I did rather enjoy renting a bicycle and riding around the island, through the trees and along the waterside. And, watching the Musical Fountain show for the first time was neat. Imagine a high water pressure spray and mist creating a screen on which to project a laser-light show. The accompanying music selection was of course something disney-like and famliy oriented. Some techno and E would be nice. Just kidding. Electronica/trance/techno and a dance party would have been fun. :-} Night Safari was cutesy, too. Imagine going to the zoo at night time and seeing nocturnal animals.

If you like shopping, you'll may love Singapore. Little India offers inexpensive goods. Chinatown...well, the whole city is Chinatown with some areas cleaner than others. Spitting on the ground could win you a $300 (SD) fine. Flicking a cigarette butt, $250? (Correct me if you know better).

There are pros and cons to S'pore, for me. I like that it's clean and orderly compared to other countries. But, the fact that I already grew up in a western, developed environment, I find S'pore to lack luster. In short, my reaction to Singapore: Eh, been there done that...

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

...is like any other big city you'd find in the States. You have your eateries, clubs/bars, and shopping plazas.

Looking out my hotel window, I see the same image (buildings, sporatic high-rises, car traffic, grey skies) as if I would in Reno, or Las Vegas, during the daytime. One of the main attractions of Kuala Lumpur (KL) is the Petronas Towers.
Me, in front of the twin towers. I really enjoyed looking at the structure's architecture from different angles and during different times of the day (here's another picture). The KL Tower was not as impressive but it offered a nice 360 degree view of KL. (pictures to come)

I had fun shopping in Chinatown. Good shyt, yo! Fo cheap!
377 ringgits = $1 USD

One other note:
Driving from Singapore to KL looks *just like* driving from LA to SF--except there's slightly more greenery alongside of the road. I had no idea Malaysia was so developed.

Feeling @ home

Ever meet a group of people and feel very much at ease? So much that you believe you've found "home"?

Location doesn't really matter. You can build a life anywhere. What's interesting is feeling you've found kinship (with the people, or maybe the environment) and calling that "home". The well-being of your state of mind is important, yes?

It's been a while since I've felt at home. San Francisco has not felt like home for a long time (years), because I often yearned to be in Asia travelling. As if I had left for Asia long before my physical being concluded to follow.

On July 7th, I went to Singapore for what was to be a few days stay but due to circumstances--coincidental, or otherwise--I stayed for what could easily have been months. (It was only two weeks, injected with a few days of Malaysia). I was lodging at the house of some friends of a friend. As it turned out, I felt at ease--at home--with these affectionately (self)labeled hippies. They've got their day jobs (designers, techies). By night, they twirl fire and play with drums (pictures to come). They're creative, artistic, easy-going people. Non-pretentious, and aware of their surrenderence to the rat race as a means to an end. I stayed in a flat nestled on a hill surrounded by trees (pictures to come). And, although I loathe the mosquitos that bit up my flesh leaving Orion and Big Dipper constellations all over my body, I felt like I was home, for the first time in years. I don't feel compelled to live in S'pore, but when I was at the flat with these [new friends] I didn't really want to leave. In all fairness, I should say one person in particular made it hard for me to depart the city-country of Singapore.

My good friend (partner in crime), Brian, on business visiting VN, was ultimately the reason that pulled me out of S'pore and washed me back into Saigon. Things happen for a reason. Maybe, I'm getting carried away with "holiday romance".

I need to figure out if S'pore, or Malaysia, is where I want to be (or, can be) for the next couple of years. I know I want to be in Asia. So far, amongst the Asian countries, Vietnam offers the best opportunities for me in terms of work. But, I suppose that could be a matter of perspective as well.