Action In Relaxation

I know you’re going to get sick of posts about Indonesia, especially Bali, but I had to come back for round 3. Shaun and Meggie came to Asia to meet up, so I knew if I was going to be a proper friend/tour guide/3rd wheel I’d have to take them to Bali. It has become my home in Asia; of my 5.5 months of travel, I spent almost half my time here.


I’ve never stayed in a hotel/villa/home as nice as our accommodation here; but don’t think for one second that our five star status stopped Shaun and I (and usually Meggie) from acting like wild Balinese five-year-olds. The three of us enjoyed spectacular views, infinity pools, and grandiose food while jumping through waterfalls, off of trees, and cruising the travelator (diagonal outdoor elevator). Dharma and Adi joined us at The Ayana for a good night at the Rock Bar and sushi; with the world famous delicacy of garlic clove, smothered in wasabi, and wrapped in ginger. I must again say thanks to Shaun for footing the bill, and to Amex for the hospitality upgrade.


Shaun and Meggie left way too soon (guess they’ll have to come back) and I was out of the entourage and back on the streets to fend for myself; this is when Dharma took me in and gave me a roof over my head. I was in awe at his garage which included a car, motorbikes, chickens, chicks, roosters, ducks, and his dog Chang (who supposedly has an STD *is that possible?). From Dharma’s house in Denpasar I headed back to Kuta to look into future possibilities for business, housing, long term visas, and had some great meetings with a general contractor/architect, beach soccer players, government officials, food/surfboard/beverage vendors, land owners, MBA travel guides, zoning officials, and the lovely staff at Kedin’s.


Time always flies in Bali and 2.5 weeks was a blur. Enjoy the pics.


Already back in the states for the holidays,


Tyler

Should I keep writing a greeting here or just be honest that this is no longer an email blast and is now a blog post?,


Hong Kong is the world’s mall. It is like all of New York’s fashion/finance/entertainment/shopping concentrated onto two adjacent island waterfronts, Hong Kong, and Kowloon. Every main transportation/tourist/entertainment/lodging center is attached to a world-class mall (Rodeo Drive meets the Minnesota Mall of America). I literally walked passed all of the i’s in the marina-mall within 2 minutes of disembarking the jetboat from Macau (the i’s include: Gucci, Fendi, Versace, etc.) Hong Kong’s Italian designer store to actual Italian person ratio has got to be the highest in the world (estimates for 2008 are Hong Kong 15:1, Italy 1:15,000).


So what did I do in a place like this? Buy, buy, buy. Actually, NO. I looked, looked, looked and walked, walked, walked. In Kowloon there are also the typical Asian street markets, where price haggling is key and scamming is part of business. I figured I’d try my luck at one of the ever-abundant electronics stores, because I’m aching for a 10.5mm Nikkor fisheye lens. I was a major O-fer at this task. If I were keeping track I’d say I went 0 fer 4 attempts to buy this lens. Here’s their “business strategy” breakdown:


1. Entice a potential customer with a believable, but low price on the actual product. Ex: $400 for the genuine Nikkor 10.5mm lens


2. Let the customer see and use the display model


3. Write up a sales receipt so the customer thinks he’s all but out the door with is great new purchase


4. Wait for another employee to pull the new, boxed lens from the back


5. Wait and make small talk


6. Wait and make technical camera talk


7. Offer this “amazing” and “better” fisheye lens attachment for only $50 more. What a steal!


8. Sell, sell, sell


9. Get denied by any smart customer who knows the lens attachments sell for $150 on Ebay, not $450


10. Anger/Nervousness/Frustration


11. Rip up receipt, “No Sale!” ,”No Sale!”, “No Sale!”, “Get out!” or say “My boss just called and the 10.5mm lens is actually $700”


12. Scowl and ignore the tourists entertained laughter and smile while exiting and shaking his head. In the words of Matt, “Clown show”.


ps. You can’t out-scam scammers, I even tried buying the display model and it made matters worse.


I have to say the best entertainment in Hong Kong would have to be the acting and showmanship in the electronics store.


I was only in Hong Kong for 3 days so the pictures are few: 1 at Kowloon and 2 in Sentral HK where I met up with my good friend Shaun and his girlfriend Meggie. Shaun came out for business in Hong Kong and got an extended weekend so I could show him around Bali (still to come). Yes I was the third wheel, and did a fine job as a week-long sidecar to their relational motorcycle. For the most part, I appointed myself tour-guide, photographer, and tie-breaking vote. It worked well: Meg and I toured and shopped while Shaun was working, and Shaun and I hit the town when Meggie was jetlagged and felt like, “somebody injected me with concrete”.


One night in Kowloon and Two in HK Sentral; I literally laughed aloud at both of my lodging situations. The first pitiful chuckle was how ridiculous and badly I failed by pre-booking my $30/night room, located in literal project housing of Kowloon: finishes included one elevator to service 5 of the 40 floors, Pokemon sheets, and a special ergonomic bed cutout (so the door could open). The second was a thankful and astonished crack-up at how ridiculous and surreal the 39th floor of the Four Seasons was: incredible design, impeccable detail, yacht status. The contrast was…well…laughable.


Enough talk. Some quick pics. Enjoy.


Gratefully sharing experiences,


Tyler

Yau (Yo),


I happened to land in Macau on the way to China (which I never reached *gotta save something for next time) because they don’t require tourist visas (vs. China’s $130 kick in the pants *wallet region, that is).  All I knew before arriving was casinos and baccarat.


Macau is fascinating.  It was historically a Portuguese colony that gained independence and is now the Vegas of Asia (gambling is illegal in China, Hong Kong, and most other countries in the region).  Of the three major gambling epicenters (Vegas, Dubai, Macau) Macau is the only one with a history (beyond explosive mafia/oasis growth out of a desert), and thus an actual culture.   The public signs and language are generally Mandarin or Cantonese but every once in a while you’ll get a Portuguese curveball that just makes you wonder.


I’m pretty fascinated about Portugal in general: this small country that has stood it’s ground (and valuable coastline) for centuries, while sitting next to one of the historically biggest superpowers of the developing world (Spain/Spanish Armada); and on top of that, they have a giant chunk of South America (Brazil) and had established colonies in the most random places (Macao, next to dynasties of Chinese giants).  Enough history speculation…Wake up!


The layout is a combination of an old world Portuguese skeleton with a technological, bustling, and abundant oriental life-blood.  It has beautiful Portuguese cobblestone squares connected by busy Asian streets (that go around, under, and under under), crowded markets, and dense residential alleyways.  Fascinating really.


I was still cruising solo and spent much of my time:


• shooting hipster photos (returning the favor for all the Asian tourists w/ cameras around their neck in the US)


• trying to communicate and make jokes in a new language


• stumbling upon outdoor exercise equipment and Portuguese strongholds


• eating curry monster and drinking Milktea


• playing Futsal in someone else’s very small shoes (one mans trash…)


• jumping bungy


I just pretty much explained all my photos just now so there’s no need to look at them.  Maybe next post.


Cheers,


Tyler


P.s. Macau Tower Bungy – I did jump the largest *commercial bungy in the world. 233 meters.  It was an incredible experience, the city was breathtaking at night, and the jump was also breathtaking itself; but I have mixed feelings about doing it alone.  To put you in my frame of mind, I had just played 3 hours of futsal and was pretty out of energy/adrenaline.  I arrived at the bungy, that I previously signed up for during the day, and they strapped me up, took some photos and said, “Ok, jump”, and I did.  The anticipation was…uneventful.  It was scary because I hadn’t seen anybody jump before me (unlike the Nevis), but it was mellow because I didn’t even have a companion or the time to psyche myself up or out or over or under or down.  I’d do it again, but with someone, someone who had a good scream or jittery hands or a wild giggle or crazy eyes.  So if you have crazy eyes, real googlie/shifty ones, lets bungy jump the Macau tower together.


P.p.s. The word of this post is “fascinating”.  If you hadn’t noticed.

Macau is one of the only countries in Asia where gambling is legal, and it’s biggest tourist draw is casinos.  All the big Vegas players are there: Venetian, Wynn, MGM, it’s the asian vegas, minus the strippers, newlyweds, spring breakers, and westerners for the most part.  I had a bit of time so I figured I’d give my new handy dandy remote a try and walk around with my camera around my neck and take some semi-allowed photos in and around the casinos (forgiveness is always easier than permission) and get a little artsy fartsy and deep with it *”and” count=5, definitely a run-on sentence*.  So yes there is a reason the pictures are skewed and vintage and dusty.  Enjoy.

Macau Tower Night Bungy from Tyler Elick on Vimeo.


233 meters is 765 feet, which is about 5 seconds of free fall. It feels like 5 minutes. Night-time doesn’t make for the best photos and video; the night sky and casino lights made it well worth it.