September to Remember

Well, talk about a whirlwind trip home! I've been back in Hong Kong for a whole week now, but between September 9th and 18th, I got to spend another incredible eight days with my family and friends in the tri-state area, the last bit of my twenties that I'll get to enjoy in my home country.

For the first time in the seven years since I moved overseas, my flight touched down at JFK instead of Newark International Airport. You see, when I booked this set of flights, I knew I'd be venturing straight into Manhattan upon arrival instead of heading to my family's house in Central Jersey. And since airfares to either Newark or JFK were literally identical (and both flights depart Hong Kong within fifteen minutes of each other), I thought I'd try something new.

Let me just say, I don't think I'll ever fly into JFK again! Landing just around 11pm, I didn't get to Heidi's apartment until nearly 2 in the morning! For whatever reason, I opted to take the subway all the way from the airport to 72nd Street. While it was surely a bargain at a single $2.75 swipe of my Metrocard, the late hours (not to mention alterations to the E train due to construction) meant that I had to switch trains twice, with painfully long waits each time. Let's just say, few gin and tonics have ever tasted so well deserved as the one Heidi prepared for me upon arrival.

Wide awake early on Saturday morning, I made my way down to the Financial District for brunch with a stellar group of friends. Bottomless glasses of champagne at my old haunt, Harry's at Hanover Square, with some of my best pals made for a memorable brunch indeed. And we followed it up with a few al fresco drinks on Stone Street under the glorious September sun.

Before the day was out, we had a tasty sushi dinner, a couple of hours of karaoke and my first visit to the legendary McSorely's, claimed to be New York's oldest watering hole.

The anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11th always make for a somber but poignant day, and I always feel very fortunate when I'm able to return to the States and spend that day with my family. Me and my cousin Chris met near Ground Zero on Sunday morning to attend the memorial service, and we spent a bit of time at the spot where Chris' brother, my cousin Joseph, has his name engraved, while so many other names were read out. Chris' son, Julian, came, too, and Joseph's best friend Arthur was there with his son, Luca, as well.

The spot where Joseph's name is engraved at the memorial

Afterwards we headed to my aunt and uncle's home in Brooklyn, where my dad and sister were waiting. As I said, it's always a tough day, but to spend it with family is about the only way to spend it. 

One of the reasons I was able to pull this trip off was because I managed to squeeze several work visits in Manhattan into my itinerary. Thus, I could take a minimal amount of vacation days by justifying the days with meetings as working days. And on Monday afternoon at 3pm I was in Manhattan again, this time for work! 

The ferry ride to Hoboken afterwards was a great mode of transport to the spot where I was meeting Danielle for some drinks and Monday Night Football. It was fun to spend a night out with my sister and her friends, and I'm glad I got to spend some time in Hoboken, in my opinion an overlooked gem of a town across the river from Manhattan.

My dad and I spent a lot of the week I was home cleaning up the house, and although it might sound strange, it was great fun. Dusting off old books and knickknacks from the past and remembering all the good family memories, it was quite a poignant string of days.

It's also perhaps strange to note that one of my favorite home activities is one of the simplest: going to the supermarket with my dad to stock up on groceries and other household necessities. It's the little actions of daily American life that are totally missing from my expat life in Hong Kong. Driving around my hometown spending time with the old man is something I'll always look forward to when I return to New Jersey for visits.

One day while home, my dad suggested we order a pizza pie from my local favorite, Ciro's, just around the corner from the house. And when I was handed the change upon picking up the pie (half plain, half vodka sauce, in case you were wondering), I noticed I had, at long last, been given a Missouri quarter.

Back in Carl Sandberg Middle School, in 1999 or early 2000, I bought a large map of the United States with depressions for each states' quarter. I immediately began filling it in, and over the ensuing seventeen years, I slowly made progress until Missouri was the last remaining quarter needed to complete the map. I was oh-so excited when I realized I had finally reached my goal!

Before I knew it, it was Saturday, and after breakfast with my sister, cousin and aunt on Staten Island, I made my way to Manhattan, meeting up with my friends Heidi, Rusty and Abbey at Cipriani Dolce in Grand Central Station.

With literally seconds to spare, I was aboard the MetroNorth train taking me to Cold Spring for the wedding of Lisa and Tak. Seeing old friends and an obviously over-the-moon bride and groom made for a memorable finale to my trip home. I was sad to leave about three quarters of the way through the reception, but I had a plane to catch, and the taxi was waiting in the parking lot to whisk me to Newark for my return to Hong Kong.

As hard as it was to leave, I can bask in the great memories of another stellar trip home! See you next time, New Jersey!

New Adventures in Old Batavia

At the tail end of 2012, I took a ferry from Singapore to Bintan, an Indonesian island only a few hours' ride from my then-home. So impressed was I that upon returning to the Lion City thereafter, I predicted on this blog that the country would become "a frequent destination for me in 2013."

Well, as proud as I am to point out my accurate prophesies when they come to pass, I am equally deficient at highlighting forecasts that turn out to be dead wrong. In reality, it took until last Wednesday evening—in other words, nearly four full years—for me to set foot in Indonesia for the second time. It was for a quick business trip barely forty-eight hours in length, but it was enough to confirm for me what a fool I've been to wait so long to return.

Between meetings and work, I loved exploring the Indonesian capital, and I am happy to report that in spite of the smog and horrendous traffic jams, Jakarta's innumerable charms well outweigh any negative side effects.

Simply walking or driving around a new city is something I find endlessly, ineffably enjoyable. In Jakarta, I loved just reading the signage, mostly because of how quirky written Indonesian appears to a native English speaker. Similar to written Malaysian, words often look like childlike misspellings. Indonesians get around in taksis, while away the hours at a kafe, upload their fotos to Instagram and catch the train at the stasiun.

My hotel was, to coin a phrase, a diamond in the rough. Jakarta isn't necessarily known for being a polished metropolis, but the Hermitage, a heritage hotel in a restored Dutch colonial building, is a real stunner. The next time I find myself back in town, I'll do my very best to stay there again. I was upgraded to a deluxe suite, and the marble floors and luxurious sitting room made me feel like a true executive.

The common areas of the hotel were impeccable, from the antique-strewn lobby to the airy rooftop swimming pool, with sweeping views over the low-lying neighborhood all the way across to the dense, skyscraper-lined business district.

By the time I finally arrived at the Hermitage on Wednesday evening, there was little to do but settle in to my room, watch some television and fall asleep on the comfortable bed. The next morning, I awoke early and headed out to explore Menteng, the district where the hotel is located. Funnily enough, it's the same quarter where a young Barrack Obama lived and attended school during his childhood years in Southeast Asia. Before long, I found a trendy kafe around the corner where I had a single origin Sumatran coffee before I had to suit up and head downtown for the work portion of the trip.

Friday morning, bright and early, I was in Kota Tua, the town of Old Batavia, the epicenter of Dutch colonial Jakarta many moons ago. The morning sun was just beginning to warm the cobble stones of the central square, with its noble edifices overlooking the start of a new day. I grabbed an outdoor table at Cafe Batavia and ordered a coffee and waffles. And afterwards, I checked out two museums, including the Jakarta History Museum in the Stadhuis of the colonial capital.

In the afternoon, I visited the famous National Monument, commonly called Monas, a four hundred foot high obelisk capped with a golden flame. Walking up to the park-like enclosure that is home to the monument, I made friends with Tommie, a twenty-five year old Dutch tourist as confused as I was about how to get in to the grounds themselves, since all the fences and gates seemed shut. 

Eventually we found our way through, bought tickets and took the elevator to the top, for unhindered views in every direction, with a gorgeous breeze eliminating the mid-afternoon humidity. 

Like that, it was nearly time to check out of the Hermitage and head back to the airport. Tommie and I found the time to squeeze in a few last Bintang beers and browse the flea market along Jalan Surabaya, but as great as the day had been, I was in no way ready to hop on the flight back home. Alas, I didn't have much of a choice. Around midnight, I was back in the skies on Garuda International's red eye to Hong Kong. 

And you can bet that almost as soon as I scaled the six flights of my Happy Valley walk-up, my new Starbucks mug was placed in the spot of honor on the living room bookshelf. I've said it before, but I'll risk appearing foolish once again. Mark my words: Indonesia will become a frequent destination for me in 2017!