The Far-Flung Ryan-Silva Media Empire

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Beijing

One hurried day in Beijing on the way home.

At the Forbidden City. Photographs cannot adequately capture how gobsmackingly enormous the Forbidden City is.

At the Forbidden City.

I resisted the temptation of a piping hot tan meat casserole. Or are they served cold?

An excellent motif for a Chinese fast food restaurant.

I'm home now, and very jetlagged.

11:38 AM | (1) comments

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Hanoi

I'm staying at the Hanoi Hilton. Seriously. Apart from being charged US$4.50 to launder one pair of pants, I have been well-treated. It took me a while to realize that cab drivers don't understand where I want to go unless I pronounce it "Hinton".

It would be difficult to overstate the popularity of the motorbike here. I lived in Cairo for four years and had no compunction about crossing streets there that would make some of you weep with terror, but I find crossing the street in Hanoi daunting.

You don't see many of these anymore. They should hang on to this; it'll be worth something someday.

Uncle Ho looks out on the vendors selling Diet Coke for US dollars at the propaganda-heavy Military Museum.

Captured US military equipment on display at the Military Museum.

Another shot of the fragments of downed airplane at the Military Museum.

The Cot Co Flag Tower along the Hanoi Citadel.

Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, unfortunately closed for the two months a year of Ho maintenance.

At the Confucian Temple of Literature.

A statue of Confucius at the Temple of Literature.

At the Temple of Literature.

Unable to decide between the crispy fried crap, the crap steamed with beer, the sweet and sour sauteed crap, and the steamed crap boat, I opted for the spring rolls.

I did, however, have some sweat cakes. They were good.

Bound for Beijing tomorrow.

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Saturday, October 18, 2008

Bangkok

I've been in Bangkok since Monday, eating good food and attending meetings. A lot of meetings. But I got away for some touring, too.

The Wat Phra Kaew temple complex.

Wat Phra Kaew.

Hanging with local demons at Wat Phra Kaew.

Part of a huge and intricate Ramayana mural at Wat Phra Kaew.

The famous reclining Buddha at Wat Pho.

Wat Pho.

At Wat Pho.

The view of Wat Arun from across the river.

Wat Arun up close.

The view of the rest of the temple complex from Wat Arun.

Monks wait to board a boat down the river.

Bangkok's Chinatown.

At a Muay Thai (Thai kickboxing) match.

There are a lot more pictures than I can practically post here. You can see more on Flickr.

Headed for Hanoi this afternoon.

10:49 PM | (0) comments

Monday, October 13, 2008

Japan

Spent another day in Tokyo on my way to Bangkok. I always enjoy these stopovers, despite the way the overwhelming intensity of Tokyo interacts with the grinding jet lag.

I am fond of saying that I can't tell whether Japan is a country that's really far away or a planet that is relatively close. The restaurant experience is one example of what I mean.

Many downmarket restaurants use this scheme to order. Rather than order from a menu, you make a selection from a vending machine, which then dispenses a ticket and/or announces your order via speaker to the kitchen/waitstaff.

A close-up of the vending machine. I don't generally have a very good idea of what I've ordered until it arrives; sometimes not even then.

Young women dressed in French-style maid costumes outside the Akihabara JR station, trying to steer business to competing "maid cafes", where similarly-dressed colleagues will serve refreshments to men who otherwise aren't very likely to encounter women.

I'm in Bangkok now for a week-long meeting.

8:50 PM | (0) comments