Vagabond Jim

 I have flown across the Pacific a lot.  Here's a list of some of the cities and carriers. Landing in: {Tokyo (HND, and NRT}, Seoul, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney}; connecting to: {KL, Manila, Bali, Fiji, Manado)  on (Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines, Asiana Airlines, Malaysia Airlines.)  Fair warning, until this year it was always first or biz (miles!) Not one of those was a work trip.  All fun, all the time. Asian airlines, especially flag carriers are usually wonderful. Japan Airlines is a constant disappointment. They actually suck. Bad food.  I don't know how but it's always bad. Bad schedules - maybe because I'm booking on American.  Still: daylight TransPac flights and massive airport changes (NRT <-> HND is easy but non-trivial in terms of time and effort.)  Lousy on time performance.  I don't think any of my JAL flights have left within 20 minutes of schedule or landed within 30.  This time were 4 minutes late leaving the gate.  But s

 Silly little things.  Dan Dan Noodles in the CX lounge. Really, you knew I'd being doing this. Really good yoday. The dread SSSS...of no consequence here. Security was fine. The South China Morning Post (SCMP). Hong Kong's primary English paper and a good one. When oppressive governments want to improve sex ed I am  (1) always supportive of sex ed,  (2) confused by their motive  Why don't red states do this??? Updates Added in flight CX's Hot & Sour (vegetarian) Noodle Soup. Unsurprisingly, it was stunningly good. Lots and lots of coins for kids.  Ringgit, Yen, and somehow Yuan coins... Sneaky stuff slipping somebody the wrong change.  But I obviously do not care. This flight is a drag,,,

Greetings from Tokyo. I was up early to get to the airport well before my flight - my streak of never missing a flight continues. KUL-NRT is long, 7+hours.  (~NYC to Honolulu perhaps?)  Today it was bumpy.  The typhoon just made the flight "jittery."  The plane, not me. In fact, I slept the first three hours of the trip!  A huge wine. After landing it was Immigration and Customs.  Bonus: my ABTC (APEC Business Travel Card) lets me use the diplomats' line.  Fast!!! A bit of a wait for a bus.  I killed it by looking for food.  None to be found.  I really hate NRT. The bus was a long slog. At Haneda I looked for food and was successful. Egg salad on crustless white - might be the epitome of safe food. Japanese pre-packed egg salad is legendary.  Deservedly so. Kyoto Lemonade tastes like Malatysion Lemonade.  Good. Apple juice is always wonderful. My tradition of fine dining in the Metropolitain Hotel continues! I love looking at the flight path maps (duh...)  Bonus points if

Hawker Center History (from Wiki) Anthony Bourdain made the Maxwell Street Hawker Center in Sing famous in the West.  Tian Tian Chicken Rice there is world famous.  (Chicken rice is so simple but so spectacular.)  They're really special little places. I see them called makams a lot.  But, a Google search doesn't jibe with that.  That's because I used the wrong word... Mamaks Makams are mausoleums.  Ooops. Food in these stalls is dirt cheap.  Meals of delight and flavor for less than $5USD.  Frequently less than $3!  All cooked to order.  All family run businesses.  The best way to eat in Malaysia or Singapore.  I did not really experience them in my visits to HKG. Hmmm, I just looked through my pics.  Nothing showing anything but food.  Because every time I thought about taking a photo, I decided it seemed invasive in the lives of ordinary people.  I don't do that.  I'm actually proud of that.  Wait, I did... Chinese Sausage Rice The sticker in the center of the tab

Always a bittersweet thing. I had a good day yesterday.  Summarized nicely thusly: Dragon boats have been common sights lately. This has been an amazing and wonderful month.  I could not have asked more of Malaysia, Sarawak, or myself.  The heat is still mean but it no longer whips me into submission.  I've walked miles everyday.  I feel good as a result. Although, I may be catching a cold.  I don't know.  Certainly a bit of congestion.  We'll see how bad 18 hours of plane time can be in the next two days.  Not much I can do about anything at this point but get sleep tonight (KL suburbs) and tomorrow (Tokyo.) There's a cyclone/typhoon/hurricane that has basically shut down Taiwan.  But the flights do not appear to be affected ... so far. I awoke to heavy rain in Kuching.  At 1230 The Jonathon showed up and we picked up another client at the Hilton.  Somebody who lives in San Luis Obispo!  They're a few steps ahead of me on the S-MM2H process.  But not to far.  We sh

After dinner tonight I was really worried that I could not remember what I had for breakfast.   I walked (OK, stumbled, wandered, and waddled) all the way home.  Beginning to think I'm losing my mind. Then I remembered I di not eat breakfast.  I had a quick errand to run with The Jonathon. We needed to get my physical results "certified."  RM 40 and it was done.  They had a scale though.  I have dropped at least 5 kilos (203ish when I left, below198 now)*  of real weight since arrival.  It's hard to assess. I am drinking and sweating litres every day...how much is my body carrying?  The right amount is all that matters.  But, I have also put some muscle on my (already stunningly gorgeous) legs. What matters more is I feel generally healthy. Generally.  Uneven sidewalks, high curbs, slippery surfaces and thinly soled unpadded shoes have my legs and feet feeling a lil' beat up.   I have walked a lot this month.  I mean A LOT. No matter what the metric of distance is