Bangkok -> Chiang Mai -> Phuket -> KL
June 29 - July 13, 2008
It's on.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
The Road to the Final Four - Part Three: Stuck in San Antonio
On the day of the Championship Game, I was losing my mind.
We had been staying in our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, ten minutes away from downtown, killing time, sleeping in our rooms, surfing the net, or watching TV. Little things started to get to me.
Like our toiletries:
Regular hotels would label their little bottles with, you know, nouns. But not the Holiday Inn Express! They would rather you associate the correct verb to their bath products. Call it a learning experience. I'm pretty sure I washed my hair with body lotion all weekend.
The three of us decided to spend the final hours before tip-off wandering this great city. So what do you see in San Antonio? Well, obviously:
The Alamo. It's a lot smaller than I pictured it. And there's nothing particularly special about it. It's just...there.
We then took the half-hour boat tour of the Riverwalk, which is not unlike taking the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Except on these boats, you can consume alcohol liberally. Passing by all the swanky restaurants and bars, I noticed a lot of these stores:
There wasn't much official liscense Kansas or Memphis merchandise. But plenty of UCLA and UNC liscense merchandise were available.
We wanted to watch the final somewhere where the beer was flowing and TVs large; Somewhere classy. Somewhere that's genuinely San Antonio.
We went here:
People I know always look down on Hooters, but not me. Where else can you experience fine "Riverwalk Dinning"? Nowhere, I say.
Four hours and 5o hot wings later, Ry, J and I were at peace. Kansas had won the title, the Holiday Inn Express (otherwise known as Jayhawk Central) was jumping. We were exhausted. Also, the hot wings were starting to affect our bodies. I started to hallucinate. It was time to return to L.A.
-------
San Antonio is a great host city. From the moment I stepped out of the plane, I felt like a welcomed guest seeing his distant uncle for the first time. The people are friendly and the food is fantastic. I wish things could have turned out better for us. But the Alamo City did it's best to comfort me.
Thanks, San Antonio.
We had been staying in our hotel, the Holiday Inn Express, ten minutes away from downtown, killing time, sleeping in our rooms, surfing the net, or watching TV. Little things started to get to me.
Like our toiletries:
Regular hotels would label their little bottles with, you know, nouns. But not the Holiday Inn Express! They would rather you associate the correct verb to their bath products. Call it a learning experience. I'm pretty sure I washed my hair with body lotion all weekend.
The three of us decided to spend the final hours before tip-off wandering this great city. So what do you see in San Antonio? Well, obviously:
The Alamo. It's a lot smaller than I pictured it. And there's nothing particularly special about it. It's just...there.
We then took the half-hour boat tour of the Riverwalk, which is not unlike taking the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland. Except on these boats, you can consume alcohol liberally. Passing by all the swanky restaurants and bars, I noticed a lot of these stores:
There wasn't much official liscense Kansas or Memphis merchandise. But plenty of UCLA and UNC liscense merchandise were available.
We wanted to watch the final somewhere where the beer was flowing and TVs large; Somewhere classy. Somewhere that's genuinely San Antonio.
We went here:
People I know always look down on Hooters, but not me. Where else can you experience fine "Riverwalk Dinning"? Nowhere, I say.
Four hours and 5o hot wings later, Ry, J and I were at peace. Kansas had won the title, the Holiday Inn Express (otherwise known as Jayhawk Central) was jumping. We were exhausted. Also, the hot wings were starting to affect our bodies. I started to hallucinate. It was time to return to L.A.
-------
San Antonio is a great host city. From the moment I stepped out of the plane, I felt like a welcomed guest seeing his distant uncle for the first time. The people are friendly and the food is fantastic. I wish things could have turned out better for us. But the Alamo City did it's best to comfort me.
Thanks, San Antonio.
Monday, April 14, 2008
The Road to the Final Four - Part Two: Gameday
(I'm in the upper level section in the Alamodome, up in the corner. I'm in shock. I can't talk. The guy sitting next to me and my friends asks each of us if we want anything from concessions. Ry and J say no. I ask for a bottle of water. The man, a chatty senior citizen from Alabama and also a Final Four Virgin, nods and heads down the steep flight of stairs.
We hear the sounds of a marching band spring forth. The crowd stands in unison and roars. Out come the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks in full glory, ready to start the second game of this nationally televised doubleheader. J wants to leave. Not just the arena, but San Antonio altogether. Ry and I understand. I can't bring myself to get up and walk away.
I can't believe UCLA's season, MY season, has ended. I don't know what to do with myself. The Bruins just lost to Memphis, and I can't wrap my head around that. And the day started out so promisingly...)
All the nervous energy that surrounded San Antonio the night before had tripled. I tried not to think about the game. I wanted to enjoy this fine Texas city on a wonderful Saturday afternoon. It was difficult.
Prior to the game, we checked out Hoop City. It's an expo celebrating college basketball. You can test your three-point skills, measure your vertical, and even hoop it up in a game of 3-on-3. Or you can do what I did; drink as many free Coke products as humanly possible. Coke Zero, it's the best!
We wandered our way down to the Alamodome and found our seats 90 minutes early. Our seats were in a section labeled Upper Level Corner. They weren't kidding. Also, no escalators. Not cool, Alamodome.
We were surrounded by non-Bruins. Kansas fans on our left, Tar Heels on our right. Memphis fans in front. The Alamodome concrete behind.
I'm not a sports writer, so I won't bore you with the details. We lost by fifteen points.
The three of us drowned our sorrows in steak, wine and peach cobbler. All at the Little Rhein Steakhouse in La Villita. Wonderful romantic atmosphere. Perfect for three dudes trying to forget about the last three hours of their lives. It didn't help that Memphis fans dressed as Fat Elvis paraded down the Riverwalk with their victory chants.
With two days left in San Antonio, we were at a loss for what to do. The thought of leaving the next day and getting out of this depressing place crossed our minds. But with the pressures of rooting my team to a Championship erased, I decided to turn this trip from a quest to full-on vacation. It was time to relax and try to enjoy the Alamo City.
If only we knew what to do...
We hear the sounds of a marching band spring forth. The crowd stands in unison and roars. Out come the North Carolina Tar Heels and Kansas Jayhawks in full glory, ready to start the second game of this nationally televised doubleheader. J wants to leave. Not just the arena, but San Antonio altogether. Ry and I understand. I can't bring myself to get up and walk away.
I can't believe UCLA's season, MY season, has ended. I don't know what to do with myself. The Bruins just lost to Memphis, and I can't wrap my head around that. And the day started out so promisingly...)
All the nervous energy that surrounded San Antonio the night before had tripled. I tried not to think about the game. I wanted to enjoy this fine Texas city on a wonderful Saturday afternoon. It was difficult.
Prior to the game, we checked out Hoop City. It's an expo celebrating college basketball. You can test your three-point skills, measure your vertical, and even hoop it up in a game of 3-on-3. Or you can do what I did; drink as many free Coke products as humanly possible. Coke Zero, it's the best!
We wandered our way down to the Alamodome and found our seats 90 minutes early. Our seats were in a section labeled Upper Level Corner. They weren't kidding. Also, no escalators. Not cool, Alamodome.
We were surrounded by non-Bruins. Kansas fans on our left, Tar Heels on our right. Memphis fans in front. The Alamodome concrete behind.
I'm not a sports writer, so I won't bore you with the details. We lost by fifteen points.
The three of us drowned our sorrows in steak, wine and peach cobbler. All at the Little Rhein Steakhouse in La Villita. Wonderful romantic atmosphere. Perfect for three dudes trying to forget about the last three hours of their lives. It didn't help that Memphis fans dressed as Fat Elvis paraded down the Riverwalk with their victory chants.
With two days left in San Antonio, we were at a loss for what to do. The thought of leaving the next day and getting out of this depressing place crossed our minds. But with the pressures of rooting my team to a Championship erased, I decided to turn this trip from a quest to full-on vacation. It was time to relax and try to enjoy the Alamo City.
If only we knew what to do...
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
The Road to the Final Four - Part One: So, This is Texas
San Antonio wasn't meant to be a vacation.
I had one thing on my mind; a National Championship. I had devoted the past five months to cheering on my UCLA Bruins. I saw every game. I read every news article. I wore blue at all times. For me and my friends Ry and J, Our trip to San Antonio was not a vacation. It was a mission.
Unfortunately, thousands of fans from three other universities felt the same way. Such was the scene on a pleasant Friday afternoon, sitting by the Riverwalk, sipping on sweet tea out of a Texas-sized glass. A mass of blue shirts and basketball jerseys, some bearing Kansas logos, some Memphis, some North Carolina, some UCLA, bustling down the San Antonio River. Everyone full of nervous energy. Everyone afraid to stare at their opponents in the eye. Everyone quick to spot fellow Jayhawks, Tigers, Tar Heels and Bruins. Everyone reluctant to talk trash, yet unhesitant to start trouble if provoked. Welcome to the Final Four.
Before going into the actual Gameday festivities, I must say something about San Antonio. This city loves Mariachi bands.
This was the site that welcomed me and Ry at the airport.
In fact, these musicians were so fond of me, that they followed me all day! Here I am trying to enjoy a beer at Cafe Ole, by the Riverwalk. At first it was kinda cool having a group of Mariachis trailing me, but then it got weird.
OK, they didn't really follow me around, but believe me, there were bands up and down the Riverwalk, doing their best to make city folk like me feel like they were getting an authentic Texas experience. It worked.
The rest of the evening was spent pounding down ribs and beers, crawling from one pub to next, making small talk with fellow Bruins, but all my friends and I could think about was the next day. The next day would either make us incredibly happy, or terribly depressed.
We were in for a wild ride.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
The Road to the Final Four - Prologue: Gearing For Battle
How wonderful it is to travel again!
After conquering Europe and Machu Picchu, I turn to Texas. I've been to Texas once, on a stopover in Dallas on the way to D.C. for my eighth grade field trip. I hear everything is bigger in Texas. We'll see.
In less than 12 hours, I will board a plane headed for San Antonio. I have tickets to watch the Final Four, a spectacle rivaled only by the Super Bowl. You could say the Final Four is a bigger event in American culture, in that it brings four universities, representing four people groups from four different parts of the U.S. And they all converge on the Alamo, like four armies gearing for battle.
I, and two of my fellow hardcore UCLA friends, will be in the middle of it all, cheering for my Bruins to the very end.
This weekend will consist of Bruin Basketball, Barbeque and Beer. Does it get any better than that? Maybe a National Championship. That would be great.
OK enough talk.
Let's do this.
As usual, expect a full write up soon. Till then, have a good weekend, and GO BRUINS!
After conquering Europe and Machu Picchu, I turn to Texas. I've been to Texas once, on a stopover in Dallas on the way to D.C. for my eighth grade field trip. I hear everything is bigger in Texas. We'll see.
In less than 12 hours, I will board a plane headed for San Antonio. I have tickets to watch the Final Four, a spectacle rivaled only by the Super Bowl. You could say the Final Four is a bigger event in American culture, in that it brings four universities, representing four people groups from four different parts of the U.S. And they all converge on the Alamo, like four armies gearing for battle.
I, and two of my fellow hardcore UCLA friends, will be in the middle of it all, cheering for my Bruins to the very end.
This weekend will consist of Bruin Basketball, Barbeque and Beer. Does it get any better than that? Maybe a National Championship. That would be great.
OK enough talk.
Let's do this.
As usual, expect a full write up soon. Till then, have a good weekend, and GO BRUINS!
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Plans Change
Turns out I won't be going to the Philippines after all.
Family health issues have postponed the trip indefinitely. I'm incredibly sad. Being the eternal optimist that I am, I'm trying to turn this into a positive.
I'm contemplating a trip to Thailand on my own. It wouldn't be totally alone, since I have family in Bangkok. However, I'm thinking about making a swing through the other Southeast Asian countries, like Cambodia or Malaysia.
I've been feeling the travel bug lately. I've saved up so vacation time. It's time to get away.
This friday, I'll be heading to San Antonio to follow my Bruins to the very end. Be it Saturday or Monday. This will be my first trip to Texas. Hopefully it will be one to remember. If UCLA loses on Saturday, I might forget what state I'm in by Sunday.
Family health issues have postponed the trip indefinitely. I'm incredibly sad. Being the eternal optimist that I am, I'm trying to turn this into a positive.
I'm contemplating a trip to Thailand on my own. It wouldn't be totally alone, since I have family in Bangkok. However, I'm thinking about making a swing through the other Southeast Asian countries, like Cambodia or Malaysia.
I've been feeling the travel bug lately. I've saved up so vacation time. It's time to get away.
This friday, I'll be heading to San Antonio to follow my Bruins to the very end. Be it Saturday or Monday. This will be my first trip to Texas. Hopefully it will be one to remember. If UCLA loses on Saturday, I might forget what state I'm in by Sunday.
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