Back in New York. Back to reality. Back to work. Sigh.
After 2 weeks touring SE Asia, and I get back to the hard working American life, I ask myself: What am I doing here?! The Aussies do it right. They travel at least a month out of a year! Government jobs there accrue you up to 3 months of vacation per year as time goes on! Yet here we are in the U.S., barely able to take 2 weeks off at a time. I'm telling you, our priorities are screwed. This is why so many Americans are ignorant to the rest of the world and never have a chance to travel. That and we are so far from everywhere it costs a shit load of money to get there!
Anyway, the end of my trip was a night in Bangkok. I met up with my friend's friend and her friends and went out and about with some local Bangkok residents, and it was a lot of fun! Had my one last share of street food at my favorite street vendor on Sukhimvit by soi 11. Gonna miss that cart! We hit up after hours at Wong's bar, which is a popoular late night speakeasy dive joint that goes late into the night. I'm gonna miss the 2$ beers too!
My trip home wasn't the greatest. A 25 hour flight from Bangkok to Hong Kong to Vancouver to JFK. On the last leg, the guy a row ahead of me vomited all over his seat and the floor. Really?? You couldnt go to the bathroom or at least use the bag?! I felt bad for the person next to him! When I landed at JFK, I was looking forward to going home. But alas, as I got to immigration - as a single male traveller of Pakistani descent, unshaven and tired - I was immediatley taken to the back room for "secondary screening". It took them over an hour to "clear my identity". I was the last one to leave the terminal. American born and US passport means nothing. Apparently I share the name with some real bad person. This is the 3rd time this has happened to me! The agents in the back were somewhat sympathetic (yet at the same time useless). I am obvioulsy not this guy, how many times do I have to go through this for me to prove it to them?! They recommended filing a complaint with Homeland Security to apply for a redress. Which is what I did. Hopefully they will see my claim and this won't happen to me again, but there are no gurantees. I am not optimistic. Bastards. Oh well, the price it pays to be a brown guy in America....
On other travel notes, Cathay Pacific is a pretty good Airline. Some people don't like the economy seats because they don't really recline, isntead the seats slide downwards to almost let you "slouch" into a somewhat reclined position. The bonus is that nobody in front of you reclines so a tall guy like me has some more room for his knees and legs. Nonetheless its hard to get comfortable - just like it is in any economy seat when flying for a whole freakin day! Though the unlimited booze and cup noodles they serve you as snacks at anytime of the flight are kind of nice! (I love me those cup noodles). Another great airline I experienced for the first time was Qatar, which is what I flew from Bangkok to Hanoi. What a great airline! I flew in a new 777 plane, which was spacious and modern with great seats and a great entertainment system. Leg room seemed a little more than usual, and the seat reclined. I think I liked it more than the Cathay set up. The service is also fantastic, and I will also say the flight attendants were the most attractive ones I have ever seen. Every one of them were beautiful!! (Yeah call me a typical man, but hey I'm just calling it like I see it!) So Qatar is definitely my new favorite airline!
Jetlag is kililng me. I worked the next day after arrival, and I am still exhausted. Now I have 5 days at home until I leave yet again for the long MLK weekend to hit up Park City Utah for snowboarding! Hope I recover enough to enjoy that trip, even though there is no snow in Utah right now! It hasn't snowed there in forever. They say it is the least amount of snow they have had in winter in about 50 years. Just my luck! But I think it will be a good time regardless!
Keep an eye on my facebook page. I'll have a bunch of photos from my trip up one day soon!
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