November 14, 2005

• …home, sweet home…

  It’s 3am and I can’t sleep…

  I’m back from Asia now, but still running on Asia time. I tried not to sleep on the plane so that I could deal with the jetlag a little better, but to no avail. I stayed awake for the first 4 hours watching Cinderella Man, Kung Fu Mahjong, and Valiant, but fell victim to the Sandman thereafter. It was a wonderful break from reality, but for the first time in a very long time, I was looking forward to coming back to reality. I dreamt of coming home, of the moment when the plane would touch down and the countdown to his return would begin; home is where my heart is…

  So Asia was beautiful, as always. We first went to LA and spent half a day at Disneyland before beginning our adventures in Asia. I hadn’t been to Disneyland since I was about 9 or so, so it’s been quite a while and things had changed tremendously. We hit about 13 rides in that short period of time, and let me just say, I was pooped out. One of my favorite rides there was the Tower of Terror at California Adventure. Man, I screamed so much you’d have sworn I was a teeny-bopper at an ‘N Sync concert all over again, haha.

  From Disneyland, we drove to LAX to catch our flight to Asia. About 14 hours later, we were back in the good old humidity of Thailand. The first stop was Bangkok. It was incredibly hot there, and the air conditioning wasn’t working that well in the tunnel that led us from the international gate to the domestic gate, but we trudged on. We were on our way to make our connecting flight to Phuket. At this point, let me just say how much I hate immigration in Bangkok. They have this stupid rule that you can’t make a connecting flight through Bangkok unless you have at least 2 hours to spare–so dumb, but unfortunately necessary considering how slow the immigration line was. We flew on Thai Air to Phuket; the plane was soooooo gay!! Haha, it seemed like everyone and their sugar daddy was going to Nation, haha. About an hour or so later, we were in Phuket. We stayed at the amazing Hilton Resort and Spa for 5 days. It was really relaxing and wasn’t too crowded. It’s amazing to see how quickly they’ve recovered from the tragedy, but I guess they had no other choice considering how dependent their economy is on tourism. While in Phuket, we went to 2 Nation events–a pool party and the actual Nation party, both of which weren’t all that. The pool party was ok, but I wasn’t impressed. There were definitely a lot of guys there though that looked as if they ate, slept, and breathed working out, but hey, to each his own. Nation, on the other hand, was um, interesting. Obviously the whole weekend was meant to be a celebration of pride, pills, and pulsating beats, but I could only enjoy the first. At the Nation party, I was surrounded by half naked men dancing to horrible house music (not that any house music is good) who were trying to take my shirt off so I could join the masses. Hmm, seeing as how my shirt was the only thing that was protecting me against their sweaty bodies, I thought it best to keep my shirt on.

  The following night, we decided to explore the local gay scene. We went to a cabaret show, and it was, how do I put this gently? TRAGIC! Even alcohol couldn’t help their acts, so I fell asleep. Thankfully though, we ended Phuket on a wonderful note. John, Sharn, and I went on a day trip in which we explored/snorkeled at Phi Phi Island, James Bond Island, etc. The views were absolutely stunning and the clarity of the water was unbelievable. The corals and marine life still haven’t fully recovered from the tsunami, but it’s making a comeback and will be beautiful once again. Yes, Thailand, you are amazing!

  Singapore was next. We only got to stop over for a night in Singapore, but it was great to be able to see my friends again. Chris, Roy, Al, and Jay joined John and myself for dinner at the Esplanade and drinks at Mox. It was a very relaxing evening that really served as the icing for this whole vacation. I can’t wait to go back to Singapore again!

  From Singapore, we moved on to the last leg of our journey–Taipei. OMFG! I LOVE TAIPEI! I had never been there before, but it’s absolutely AMAZING! Not quite as great as Hong Kong mind you, but it was a fabulous example of how great Asian cities can be. The people there were so cool! I got to brush up on my Mandarin despite being mistaken for being Japanese most of the time, haha, must be the hair. I swear, it’s as if they’ve never seen someone with big hair before, so many people came by and asked if they could touch my hair, haha. Anyhow, the food was sooo cheap and good there, and I love the fact that their mass transit system (MRT) actually worked! We stayed with Walter at his Aunt’s place and he was a wonderful host, albeit a bit hyper some of the time, haha. A big thanks also goes out to Dennis for showing us around and taking us to Taipei 101. Taipei has now made it onto my list of places in Asia that I wouldn’t mind living and working in once I finish grad school along with Hong Kong and Singapore. So yes, I’m definitely going back! Oh, a funny thing that happened to me while there. So we were in Ximending doing some shopping and we go into this store. John wants to buy some clothes and is back in the dressing room trying the stuff on. While he’s doing his thing, one of the sales people starts talking to me. Here’s how the conversation went:

  Sales guy: can I touch your hair?
  me: um, sure
  Sales guy: Is that your bf?
  me: nah, that’s just my friend
  Sales guy: oh, do you like girl or boi?
  me: bois
  Sales guy: ooooh, ok. you have a bf?
  me: yup, here, let me show you his pic (hoping this guy would get the picture and stop hitting on me)
  Sales guy: ooh, he is handsome with you. I give you my email
  me: um, ok
  Sales guy: I give you friend discount too
  me: haha, okie. well, I guess I’m good for something, haha

  11 hours later, we’re back in the States and having dinner with Mark and his friend Eleanor in LA as we await our flight back to SF…

  1am arrives and I’m finally back to my apartment and typing away my insomnia. Lil’ Poch is here with me, but it’s gonna be a cold couple of nights, but it’s good to be back home…

  I’ll post up pics in a later entry…

  • 7:40 am
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