Birthdays, Bars and Bike Rides—Bangkok Style

The second half of my Bangkok adventure was just as much fun as the first.

Monday turned out to be my colleague Lily's birthday, which was duly celebrated with a pizza lunch in the office, and some post work libations. Our first drink was at one of the coolest bars in town, House on Sathorn, just across the street from the office. Ensconced within an immaculately restored nineteenth century mansion that later housed the Russian embassy, House on Sathorn now sits on the grounds of the W Bangkok Hotel. The imposing structure gives way to warm, hushed interiors. Post-work Singhas in this dreamy venue would surely become a mainstay of office life if I were ever based full time out of our Bangkok office! 

With the team at House on Sathorn

After a few more pints in another nearby bar called M Pub, I bolted off to Khaosan Road for an extra special reunion with my friend Nikki. When I was a kid, I went to an amazing summer camp in Princeton called Albemarle. After I was too old to attend as a camper, I returned as a staff member, spending two years as a "zombie" (the kitchen staff, who wake up uber-early to set up for breakfast, hence the nickname) and another year as a counselor. My three summers as a camper and three further ones on staff at Albemarle have long lingered in my memory as some of my best memories. 

So when I saw on Facebook that Nikki, one of my former campers, was in Thailand, I shot her a message. It turned out she was in Bangkok for one night, and one night only, and so we hatched a plan to meet up for drinks at a cool bar called Madame Musur, just off Khaosan Road. 

What a great time we had, sipping cold beers, singing old camp songs and reminiscing about all the good old days! We brought up practically every name we could remember from those summers. And of course, there was plenty of post-camp life to catch up on, including what brought each of us from the great state of New Jersey to the magical land of Southeast Asia. 

It turned into a pretty late night, but it was so great to catch up with Nikki that it was totally worth it!

Tuesday was another fun night out with some office colleagues, including Ellie who was celebrating her birthday just one day after Lily! We started with burgers and Manhattans at a whisky and cigar joint cleverly called Whisgars. And then we migrated across the street to the uber-cool subterranean Maggie Choo's, where cheongsam-donning girls in matching black wigs sit upon swings and perch on ledges above the bar all while a jazz band performs in the dimly lit speakeasy displaying concrete busts of Queen Victoria and old paintings of schooners. 

As the group dwindled, ultimately leaving only my colleague Pauline, birthday girl Ellie and myself, we headed to Park Society, the rooftop bar of the Sofitel So, within walking distance of my hotel. A Clover Club complete with the dreamy view made for a perfect nightcap over the twinkling metropolis.

I could hardly believe it, but Thursday was my final day working out of the office. We all headed out as a team for farewell drinks after the five o'clock whistle, first at a new bar called Bunker and then back to M Pub for some cold pints and live music. 

Friday was a public holiday, and so I was a tourist again, and would remain one for the remainder of my trip. With my work days behind me, my accommodation also ran out. The company didn't mind paying for my return flight on Sunday, as long as I was able to sort my own hotel for the last two nights. I left it to the last minute, and in the end, I just wound up booking two extra nights in the Urbana, although I did have to switch rooms because my own was not available. The new one would be ready after 2pm, but I had to check out of my first room before noon. And with such a short time left in Bangkok, there were places to go and things to do, so I left my bags in the lobby and headed out!  

I took the river ferry up towards Khaosan Road and booked a bike tour for the following morning. Back in 2012, when I spent my Easter vacation in Thailand with Ally and Courtney, we did a nighttime cycle around Bangkok through Grasshopper Adventures that remains one of my favorite memories of the trip. And since Grasshopper also offers a morning tour of the city, it seemed like a no brainer to sign up for it! 

Then I hopped the bus to Dusit Park, where I planned to visit Vimanmek Palace, the last bona fide tourist attraction on my nearly-complete Bangkok to do list. The world's largest teak mansion, Vimanmek was once inhabited by King Rama V, though only for around five years. An English speaking guide took me on a private tour of the stunning home. What made it so compellingly intriguing for me was the personal side of the Thai monarchy on display. While many royal residences are decorated with oil paintings and silver statuary, Vimanmek was filled with family photographs and gifts from friends.  

In addition to the stunning park, a few other museums are also located on the grounds, so I checked out one detailing the history of Thai fabrics and another concerning royal white elephants before heading back home, with a stop for pad Thai before another boat journey to Sathorn pier. 

I wanted to be fresh as a daisy for my bike tour the next morning, so I decided to have a quiet night. (Because it was a Buddhist holiday, there was also a county-wide ban on alcohol for twenty-four hours, making it easy for me to lay low.) I wandered up Convent Road to Patpong, which hides an authentic French bistro in the midst of the debauchery of one of Bangkok's best known raunchy nightlife districts. In candlelit Le Bouchon, I feasted upon fois gras ravioli and an off-the-charts poached pear with ice cream. (Mercifully, they were still allowed to drizzle the ravioli in port and poach the pear in red wine despite the daylong prohibition.) 

Grasshopper Adventures certainly did the right thing by putting the word adventures in their name. If you are up for a leisurely cycle along quiet paths, their tours are not for you. But if you're up for a wild ride through the heart and soul of Bangkok, look them up next time you're in town! 

Many of the paths we rode along were scarcely wide enough for a single file line of cyclists. A few inches in the wrong direction, and you'd either be up against someone's wall or in a foetid canal. But what a way to see the city. We stopped for tasty Thai snacks under a bridge, explored a neighborhood temple and even rode a ferry with our bikes.

As our group wound its way back towards the Grasshopper Adventures headquarters at the tour's conclusion, I spied a structure in the distance that was undeniably the Giant Swing, a tourist attraction I'd read about but never seen. So after a root beer and wipe down in the air conditioned waiting room, I said goodbye to the group and headed over. 

Back in the day, a certain festival involved Brahmans swinging in arc formations in an attempt to grab bags of coins. The ceremony was cancelled in the mid-1930s due to fatal accidents, and the structure deteriorated over the ensuing decades. Alas, all that remains these days are the swing's massive pillars, themselves replacements of the originals, which had decayed beyond repair.

However, the temple adjacent to the swing, Wat Suthat, is most impressive indeed, with large wooden doors (said to be carved by King Rama II) and a stunningly painted interior. My Frommer's guide boasts that none other than Somerset Maugham declared its roof line to be the most beautiful of all Bangkok's temples. Who am I to disagree?

I had some tasty tom yum near the river before another ferry took me back to Sathorn. And I popped back up for one last stop in the office to collect my ties, suit jacket and laptop before heading home. After all the biking and wandering in midday Bangkok heat, one last swim in the Urbana's pool was certainly in order upon my return. 

For my last night, Kim and Punch were taking me out in Thong Lor for a crazy Saturday night on the town, Bangkok-style. We had an amazing dinner at a place called Soul Food Mahanakorn, before bar hopping all over the trendy district. At one spot, the Iron Fairies, a sultry jazz singer, Tere', who turned out to be from Philadelphia, serenaded us barflies with classic numbers and indulged my request for The Way You Look Tonight. Although bars close early in Bangkok, it was still a night to remember, for sure.  

You'd think a 2pm flight would still give you a nice chunk of the day to enjoy before heading to the airport. But between packing, checking out and allowing for uncertain traffic conditions, all I had time for was an ice coffee and some local street food before heading off, but hopefully many future trips to our Bangkok office are in the cards for me! 

Back in Bangkok

I'm lounging on the bed in my hotel room in Bangkok right now, peering down upon the non-stop traffic flowing along Sathorn Road, twenty-seven floors below me. I've been here just shy of a week, and I'm only midway through the fortnight I plan to spend in the Big Mango.

Ever since I started working for my firm—in August of 2014—I've been pushing my boss to send me to our Thailand office. Unfortunately, there wasn't ever really a bona fide business purpose to justify such a trip. But last October, I switched roles and began working very closely with a team based here.

Almost immediately, I was in near-constant phone and e-mail communication with a group of people I'd never met. And so each time my boss came to Hong Kong, I'd beg, "Dan, is there any chance I can make the trip over to Bangkok? I really think it would be great to meet everybody down there." He'd usually retort with some vague promises of a future visit, but a couple of weeks ago, he called me to say it would finally happen. 

I arrived last Monday evening, late at night. After clearing customs, I hopped a cab straight to the Urbana Sathorn Hotel, just about a ten minutes' walk down Sathorn Road from the office.  

Anyway, the first week at work was great. Getting to know the team on a personal level has been so much fun, and they've all been so kind to me, taking me for lunch, buying me Thai ice teas in the morning and even presenting me with a sweet smelling bouquet of jasmine flowers for my desk. Of course, there have even been a few nights on the town, too. And I look forward to more to come!

Out with the team!

But as fun as the week was, I was extremely excited for my free weekend! In spite of a solid night out on Friday, I was still up at the crack of dawn on Saturday, excited to have a full day to explore at my leisure. 

I've been to Bangkok a couple of times, and I've checked most of the major "tourist attractions" off of my list. Of course, I'll always be up for a return visit to the Grand Palace or the National Museum. But leading up to this trip, I made a list of places I wanted to hit up that I've not been able to include on previous itineraries. 

After breakfast at the hotel and a pit stop in the office to Google directions to my desired destinations, I made my way to the Thai Red Cross to visit the Snake Farm. Despite its rustic name, the farm is actually a research center in the middle of the city. If you go during the week, you can even observe an actual venom extraction. Alas, my only significant free time is on weekends, so I'll have to save that demonstration for a future vacation. However, even on the weekends, there is a daily snake handling show.

The Thai Red Cross

To both the delight and trepidation of the gathered crowd, unflinching snake wranglers presented a bevvy of poisonous cobras, kraits and vipers, in addition to less toxic pythons and tree snakes. There was bi-lingual commentary in the form of a funny, young Thai man who—in between corny jokes—informed us of the various eating habits and characteristics of the serpents.

Twin cobras

As a nice finish, the team brought out a massive but 'docile' Burmese python, with whom we were allowed to pose for photographs.

The "docile" Burmese python

The BTS (Bangkok's sky train, as most visitors refer to it) was my mode of transport to the second attraction of the day, Jim Thompson's House, one of Bangkok's most popular tourist spots. It's actually a place I've wanted to see in the past, so it's a bit perplexing how it took until now for me to finally visit. 

Jim Thompson was an American who came to Thailand during the Second World War. Enamored with Bangkok and fascinated by traditional Thai culture, he moved here permanently afterwards, with an ambition to revive Thailand's silk traditions. When costume designer Irene Sharaff used his fabrics for The King and I, he shot to international fame, and he purchased land near a klong (a Thai canal) to display his treasures.

Jim Thompson's House

His "house" is actually a collection of old teak structures from elsewhere in Thailand, which he purchased and had reassembled in an idyllic garden setting. He added some Western touches, like chandeliers, Italian marble flooring and indoor toilets, but he also adhered to time-honored Thai customs, like raising the houses on stilts to safeguard from flooding during the rainy season and tiling the rooftops with traditional stones. 

Jim Thompson slept here...

Thompson mysteriously disappeared on Easter Sunday in 1967, while on vacation in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia. But his efforts to restore the Thai silk industry to international importance were successful, and his house stands as a testament to his legacy.

Thompson's garden

Funnily enough, the next stop of the day was also a museum consisting of reconstructed teak homes reassembled in a garden: the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum. In fact, as I started along down the road away from one destination to the next, a Thai lady asked me where I was headed. When I told her, she practically rolled her eyes and said, "Why? It's the same thing as the Jim Thompson House!"

I'm glad I wasn't dissuaded by her lack of enthusiasm, because the Suan Pakkad Palace Museum is a gem of a place, and I feel very fortunate to have seen it. While both the snake farm and the Jim Thompson House were popular attractions teeming with other visitors, Suan Pakkad was mostly deserted during my visit.

Suan Pakkad Palace Museum

My friend Angele's brother Elie just moved to Bangkok a couple of weeks ago for a six month internship. I'd met him when he came to visit her in Hong Kong, and when she put us in touch via Facebook, we exchanged contact information. Earlier that day, I'd sent him a WhatsApp to tell him my itinerary. But I was still shocked when I heard someone call out my name in the hushed upper floors of one of the teak mansions of Suan Pakkad!

The Lacquer Pavilion

It was fun to catch up with him, and after we left the museum, we stopped for a Singha at a little roadside cafe in the shadow of the BTS line. Another friend had earlier suggested I check out a cool little rooftop bar near Victory Monument, and when Elie and I realized we were only two stops away, we headed there.

The name of the place is Sky Train Jazz Bar, and although it's only on the fifth floor (and in a walk-up building, to boot), it's an amazing little spot where I hope to return for many repeat visits. We indulged in perhaps a few too many ice cold Singhas while the sun set and those BTS trains just kept whizzing past!

Sky Train Jazz Bar

Down below afterwards, Elie and I made some Thai friends while we feasted on roadside curry in what appeared to be a happening nightspot. The buzzing Saturday night atmosphere was palpable, as hundreds of mostly local twenty-somethings all gathered with one another for street food and chit chat. 

New friends...

Afterwards, I hopped on the BTS home, took a shower and... promptly fell asleep! I had intended on getting dressed and heading back out, but it just wasn't in the cards. Maybe I'm getting old. But it was an amazing, exhausting day, so I think a good night's rest was well deserved. 

Owing to the early night, I arose even earlier this morning than I did yesterday! And so it was no problem whatsoever to be seated at the quaint Christ Church, just across the street from Urbana, in time for 7:30am mass. 

Back at the hotel, I had breakfast before heading out for more adventures. While Google had proved invaluable yesterday, and their directions worked out perfectly, the sights I selected for today—Siriraj Hospital's Medical Museum and the National Museum of Royal Barges—were not as easy. Apparently, a local bus was my best shot at getting to the general vicinity without multiple switches, but the names of all the streets were only listed on Google in Thai, and so I could only get a general idea of where I was going. 

Outside the Urbana, bus 149 approached, and I held up my hand to flag it down. It slowed a bit and the doors opened, so I grabbed the handrail and pulled myself aboard. I wasn't even fully up the steps before the bus was back on the highway again! 

I found a seat and forked over the nine baht fare to the ticket lady, whom I asked if the bus was headed towards Siriraj Hospital. A perplexed stare informed me that she didn't understand where I wanted to go. "It's all right. I'll figure it out," I told her. Sathorn Road seems constantly gridlocked during the week, but the bus hit very little traffic as we made our way through Bangkok. 

Bus 149

Unsure of where to alight, I kept my eyes pealed, and eventually spotted a sign that said, "Siriraj Hospital" with an arrow indicating the proper direction. At the next stop I hopped out, and duly found the massive complex. The museum itself was more elusive, but a little wandering among the vast grounds and I stumbled upon it. 

I say "it" but "them" would be more accurate, because Siriraj Hospital actually houses a whopping six museums! A ticket for three hundred baht gains you entrance to the lot of them. 

On the grounds of Siriraj Hospital

The first museum is a history of the sight itself, which is housed in an old train station. It's a good mixture of the story of the hospital and how it came to be, in addition to the development of Western medicine in Thailand. 

The museum is housed in an old train station.

But the cooler exhibits were those ensconced in the Forensic Science and Anatomical Museums, where displays of deformed medical specimens and skeletons are preserved, including skulls of car accident victims, mummified corpses of murderers who had been sentenced to death, and many conjoined sets of twins. 

The exhibits are a little macabre.

After I was sure I'd seen every possible bit of the museums, I tried to figure out how to get to my next destination to see the National Museum of the Royal Barges. This is where the government houses and displays the teak boats used in formal river processions, and it's located just across a short canal from the hospital. At the water's edge, I could literally see the barges from where I stood, but there was no ferry to take me across! 

I had to settle for a pedestrian crossing via a bridge, which was a little annoying. But once I was inspecting the intricately carved and painted boats, it didn't seem to bother me any more. 

Intricate detail on one of the royal barges

Like Jim Thompson's House, this museum has been on my radar for a long while, so I'm glad I was at long last able to admire these unique royal vessels. The figureheads were immense and colorful, while the long, slender bodies of the boats were carved and painted with fanciful mythological figures and eye-catching geometric designs. 

Impressive figurehead

After leaving the museum, I took a wander along the klongs and down small alleyways, eventually emerging on a major road lined with food stalls. I was desperate for a Pad Thai, but I inspected each stall and none seemed to offer the dish that, in my memory, had been available pretty much everywhere. Exasperated, I came to the final one, and asked the owner, "Do you have Pad Thai?"

"No," he informed me with an uptick in his inflection, "but what we have is much better."

Defeated and starving (though not yet quite convinced) I said, "Sure. I'll try it." I needn't have doubted him. The noodles and chicken in a delicious sauce was pure perfection, and I enjoyed chatting with the friendly owner who clearly took pride in his food as he watched me down it with relish.

Amazing street food

At this point, I'd checked the day's two items off of my Bangkok to-do list, and I was content to head straight home the same way I'd come, perhaps rewarding myself with a nice swim in the Urbana's pool. Back towards the hospital I went, as I retraced my steps searching for the bus stop to whisk me home. I found it easily enough, but something convinced me to keep walking, and on the next corner, I saw a sign indicating that a ferry pier was nearby. 

"A ferry?" I thought to myself. "Let me investigate if there's a way home via the water." 

To my utter delight, when I got to the pier, I discovered there was actually a boat to a place called "Sathorn." I asked the ticket lady if that meant that the boat went to Sathorn Road, and she said, "Yes. Sathorn. Fourteen baht." 

View from the pier

So in addition to successfully visiting both of the sights I planned to see today, I got a bonus sunset ride down the Chao Praya, past the Grand Palace, Wat Arun and all the other beautiful sights along Bangkok's signature river. 

Chao Praya sunset

Sathorn Pier, it turns out, is just a little bit further down the road than our office building. Walking along the road in my suit and shirt during the week is far from enjoyable, but in shorts, a t-shirt and flip flops, it was a lovely little jaunt. And before long, I was back at the Urbana, finally ready for that dip in the pool. 

Twilight dip at Urbana

Bring on week number two, Bangkok! And keep your eyes on this space for more of my adventures in the Land of Smiles!

Ryan & Mary & Pat & Kevin

On April 7, an exuberant quartet of old friends touched down in Hong Kong, comprised of three fellow 'Nova alum and one honorary Wildcat by marriage. Having them in town was the perfect way to celebrate our recent victory in the NCAA championship. And after living in Hong Kong for over six years, I was thrilled to finally welcome Ryan, Mary, Pat and Kevin to the Pearl of the Orient. 

Ryan and Mary landed first, so around 6am, I met them at the Airport Express station in Central. We hopped a taxi straight back to Happy Valley, and before work, we were even able to squeeze in a tasty breakfast at a local joint, Cheung Sing, consisting of Hong Kong-style French toast, a pineapple bun and peanut butter toast, washed down with milk tea.

I got dressed for work, and then we all rode the tram together to the office. As fate would have it, Tram 120 was sitting at the terminus waiting to whisk us downtown, and I couldn't believe how perfect it worked out.

From 8 until lunchtime, I slaved away at my desk, while my friends explored the traditional Western District. Ryan sent me a message around noon informing me that they had stopped for a beer at a nearby place called The Cottage, so I met them there for a Tsing Tao and explained the local dining options.

We decided on Ball Kee (aka The Steps), perhaps my favorite dai pai dong in Hong Kong. It's a simple set-up: on the steps of Staveley Street—really a pedestrian passageway connecting Queen's Road Central and Wellington Street—two men stand behind iron woks, while a gaggle of middle-aged women take orders and shuttle metal bowls filled with the ingredients for the various dishes between a table and the open flames. One wok is for rice dishes, the other for noodles.

We grabbed a table under the temporary bamboo scaffolding, and I ordered sweet and sour pork, Malaysian fried noodles and beef with noodles in black bean sauce. I've never had a bad dish here, and I've done my best to sample as much of the menu as possible.

Of course, it was back to work for me afterwards, but I couldn't really concentrate on insurance for the next several hours. Eschewing my usual tram ride home, I excitedly hopped in a cab to shuttle me to the Valley as fast as possible. I changed, woke up my napping visitors and off we headed to Wan Chai for a rooftop drink at Wooloomooloo, the ritzy watering hole perched atop the Hennessy Building. 

Afterwards, Ryan and Mary indicated that they were growing peckish... What to do when hungry in Wan Chai? Why, traipse on over to Crystal Jade, of course. Although there are branches in Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and plenty of other parts of town, the Wan Chai location is my perpetual favorite. (I even celebrated my birthday there back in 2014.) We had the signature xiao long bao and lots of other delicious dumplings, all washed down with Tsing Tao.

Pat and Kevin were set to land later that night, but beforehand, I had heard that a bar in Lan Kwai Fong was giving away a three-day set to the impending Rugby Sevens tournament to the winner of a contest. So we made a beeline for Pulse, where a former AirBnB guest, Conor, who was still in town, joined us. And lo and behold, Mary won the game! True, we would have to make the trek all the way out to Sha Tin at some point the following day, but the set was ours! 

Afterwards, we made the short trek down to the Airport Express station to wait for our next two arrivals, Pat and Kevin. And by the time we were in taxis towards Happy Valley, two other friends of mine—Steffen, on a business trip from Germany and Issam, also in town for the weekend from Singapore—had joined our crew. So after Pat and Kev dropped their bags at my place, we all stocked up on 7-Eleven beers for a tram ride back to Lan Kwai Fong. 

LKF is normally hopping. (When I first got to Hong Kong, a huge banner hung across the street proclaiming: Where Every Night is Friday Night.) And the Thursday leading into Sevens Weekend is a sort of unofficial opening party. So it was no surprise when the street was jam-packed upon our arrival. We had some drinks in the open air while stocking up on the obligatory illuminated headgear before ascending to Geronimo Shot Bar, where we happened to bump into some of my colleagues and plenty of other fun-loving Sevens-goers. 

The party, needless to say, went on until the wee small hours of the morning.

On Friday, I made a last minute decision—literally after showering and starting to dress—to take the day off from work. It had been so long since I had gotten a chance to properly catch up with everybody, and I didn't want to waste a moment. 

Mary, shall we say, was not quite feeling her best that day. And so she and Ryan stayed behind to regroup while Pat, Kevin, my flatmate Max and I hopped a taxi out to Sha Tin to collect the free three-day set. And since we were all the way out in the middle of the New Territories already, we stopped for lunch at the Sha Tin Inn for an amazing al fresco meal before taking a taxi straight to the stadium in Causeway Bay to kick off the sporting portion of the weekend. 

Ryan re-joined the group afterwards, and we indulged in a second consecutive dinner at Crystal Jade before riding the tram to Pottinger Street to source costumes for Saturday's main event. We ended up with an assortment of multi-colored kimonos for each of us. In order to fully appreciate Saturday, I have a "Cinderella rule" for the Friday night of Sevens Weekend. It's home and to bed before midnight so we're all ready for the big day. So we took a taxi home afterwards and called it an early night. 

Saturday started bright and early. I took Fredric for a walk around 5:30am and stocked up on champagne. Upon returning to the apartment, Ryan was the first up. 

"I can't believe there's a place open that sells champagne at six in the morning," he said as I put the bottles in the freezer to chill them as quickly as possible. 

"Welcome to Hong Kong," I told him. "Club Seven."

While we all got ready, Conor and Kareem arrived. So we popped the corks and started the celebration, ultimately moving it up to the rooftop before finally heading out around 7am. A quick McDonald's pit stop put some sustenance in our bellies before we walked down Ventris Road and headed towards Hong Kong Stadium.

Someone in McDonald's had urged us to get going quickly. Seeing our coordinated kimonos, he knew there was only one part of the stadium we were headed. "My friends say the South Stand is already nearly full," he warned. We linked up with the scalper I used to coordinate tickets, and in the end, we had to enter in two groups. (It's a complicated story, and not really one worth telling.) Anyway, after a slightly stressful but ultimately successful endeavor, we were all together in the notorious South Stands, at my perpetual spot, beneath the H of the prominent HSBC sign. Not long after we arrived, a loud bell sounded. "The South Stand is now full," an announcer's voice boomed. But we were in.

Sevens Saturday flies by every year. It's a seamless mess of a day, filled with drinks, dancing, singing and wandering about the South Stand bumping into old friends. Of course, the rugby itself played very little part in our day. We did get to watch David Hasselhoff perform in the morning before a midday set by the Proclaimers, inevitably concluding with their iconic "I Would Walk Five-Hundred Miles." And later that night, Kevin, Pat and I all went to Wan Chai to finish off what had turned out to be a phenomenal day.

Sunday started with massive downpours. We were all a little the worse for wear, so instead of heading straight to the stadium, we instead dropped in to the Jockey, a traditional pub a few steps away from my apartment. We had brunch while we waited to see if the skies would calm down. And around 1pm, we re-entered Hong Kong Stadium for the final day of the tournament.

As amazing as it was to have this crew here for Rugby Sevens, which I've often described as my single favorite weekend of the year, I was at least partially happy when it was over so I could finally don my tour guide's cap and start showing off my adopted city to my old friends.

Monday began with dim sum at Lin Heung Tea House, followed by a harbor crossing on the Star Ferry. Ryan wasn't quite feeling his best, so he didn't join for breakfast, and being a dutiful wife, Mary went back to the apartment after our meal, leaving Kevin, Pat and I to explore the wilds of the Dark Side.

We ducked into the Peninsula Hotel, before wandering up Nathan Road, shortly thereafter cutting through Kowloon Park as we meandered north towards the famous markets of Kowloon. Although Temple Street Market was dormant, awaiting its late afternoon reveille before really hitting its stride after dark, we still walked through and made a stop at its namesake Tin Hau Temple. We also had a milk tea and French toast break at my favorite Mido Cafe. 

Some street food and further wandering brought us through the Ladies Market and up to Tung Choi's Goldfish Market before strolling along Flower Market Road and ending at Yuen Po Street Bird Garden. A well-deserved drink was in order after all that sight-seeing, but every bar I knew in Prince Edward seemed to be closed. Finally we stumbled upon Future Lounge, which was just what the doctor ordered. We had a few pints there before catching the MTR back to the Island for the evening's happy hour. 

Stone Nullah Tavern's "Beat the Clock" has now become a standard feature of just about every out-of-town visitor's Hong Kong itinerary. Ryan and Mary joined us there, and although they missed out on the HKD 1 drinks Kevin, Pat and I enjoyed, Mary still took part with some still-cheap HKD 8 drinks and some bar bites. (Ryan, in the ultimate irony, wound up forking over HKD 30 for a Coke. Soft drinks do not feature in the special.) 

As 8 o'clock approached, we headed to the MTR to return to Kowloon to watch to nightly Symphony of Lights from the waterfront promenade in Tsim Sha Tsui. 

Another staple item on most Hong Kong "to do" lists is an all-out feast at American Restaurant. So after riding the ferry back to the Island, we made a beeline to Lockhart Road for a hearty dinner of Peking duck and all their other specialties. 

As hard as it was to believe, Tuesday was our final full day all together. Kevin and Pat were headed to Thailand on Wednesday, although Ryan and Mary did have another full day-and-a-half afterwards. Still, Tuesday was our last shot to go to Macau, one of the first and only things Ryan had specifically asked me to include on the itinerary. It's actually been awhile now since I last set foot in Macau, so I was more than delighted to spend a day soaking up the old-fashioned charm of the former Portuguese colony just an hour's ferry ride from Hong Kong.

Although the weather was not on our side and did its best to thwart my plans, our day was still phenomenal. By the time we got through customs and purchased our return tickets for later, it was nearing lunchtime, so we hopped in two taxis to Coloane Village for a delicious meal at Espaco Lisbao, high on my short list of top Macau restaurants. We had cod fritters, cabbage soup, chourico, African chicken and a delicious steak dish, all complemented by several jugs of both red and white sangria, and finished off with a tasty serradura. And as if that weren't enough, we stopped at Lord Stowe's bakery for egg tarts as we wandered around the typically Macanese fishing village.

A couple of buses transported us from faraway Coloane to the Macau peninsula, where we made our way to the fanciful Grand Lisboa Hotel and Casino. None of us fared particularly well at roulette, but the rain made it difficult to explore the quaint old city. We wandered instead among the linked casinos, and when the rain finally calmed down, we caught the fountain show at the Wynn.

At last, after a pit stop at the impressive lobby of the MGM Grand, we decided it was time to explore the UNESCO World Heritage sites of Old Macau. If the rain returned, we planned to pop into a restaurant or cafe for more sangria. And of course, that's precisely what we had to do. Ryan later joked, "Our afternoon in Macau consisted of: Church, Rain, Retreat, Sangria. Repeat." But it was a fun and memorable afternoon.

Fun, at least, until the strap on my flip flop broke while coming down from the Fortaleza do Monte and wouldn't stay in place... We had to stop at a shoe store and buy an emergency pair of sandals, but it all worked out.

Alas, the restaurant I had hoped to visit for dinner was closed, but a hip, recently-opened Portuguese eatery beckoned us from just across the street. And so wound up with yet another nice meal accompanied by perhaps the best sangria yet, all capped off with a walk along Sai Van Lake in the moonlight before catching our ferry back to Hong Kong.

On Wednesday, Pat and Kevin flew off to Thailand, but I had one last day to show Hong Kong off to Ryan and Mary. After saying goodbye to the guys as they headed to the Airport Express, we had a hearty Western breakfast at the local Classified before hitting up the Hong Kong Museum of History. We spent around four hours combing over the museum's incredible collection, as it relates the story of Hong Kong from its geological formation billions of years ago right up to the 1997 handover.

Walking from the museum back towards TST, we saw a sign for a tea house, and deciding to pop in. We wound up getting a personal tea brewing demonstration, and Mary got a lovely souvenir teapot to remember the day.

We just beat the rush hour crowd by hopping the MTR back to Hong Kong Island, where we feasted on 8way's amazing Taiwanese dumplings followed by my favorite char siu in Happy Valley. And of course, as it was Wednesday night, we also hit up the horse races before venturing into Wan Chai via tram, and I'm sure you can guess where we headed. Standard Chartered twenties at Devil's Advocate, a stop at Typhoon and the obligatory nighttime breakfast at the Flying Pan. 

I'm not going to deceive you: getting up for work after such a fun yet exhausting string of days was far from pleasurable. Ryan and Mary were flying off in the afternoon, and we met up in Central for a quick goodbye during my lunch break before they actually left.

I know for a long time now, when I look back on this period of my life, I'll always remember the visit of Ryan, Mary, Pat and Kevin to the Pearl of the Orient. I hope their memories of the trip are as good as mine!

Hong Kong Super'Nova

Back in March of 2010, during a three week stint working out of my old firm's London office, I lamented on this blog, "I can't believe so many 'Nova connections have come together across the Pond! There just seems to be a constant flow of current students and alumni passing through this town, which, sadly for me, is not the case in Hong Kong."

Well, what a difference six years makes! These days, more and more Wildcats are making their way to the Pearl of the Orient, for one reason or another, and it's nice to see old familiar faces and make new friends with whom I share a common bond. 

The string of weeks post-Burma is now unforgettably linked in my mind with dear old alma mater, thanks to two incredible 'Nova connections who found their way to Hong Kong. One's trip was an unexpected surprise while the other's was months in the making, but taken together, they were pure pleasure. Needless to say, I look forward to future visits from many more of my fellow Wildcats as the Far East becomes more and more linked to the West while the world gets more and more interconnected!

A full week after I returned from Burma—in my mind anyway—I was still in recovery mode. As amazing a trip as it was, my adventures there were just that: adventures! In no way, shape or form would I apply the word 'relaxing' to them. We were up for sunrise every single morning, out late most nights and filled the daytime in between with bona fide active pursuits, like grueling bike rides, strenuous temple climbs and long, exploratory walks. 

I could have done with another week of relaxation, but Hong Kong just wasn't having it. Joe sent me a message on Sunday, a week to the day after I got back, because he had seen on Facebook that our old Orientation Counselor, Kurt, was en route to Hong Kong for work! Of course, I immediately shot Kurt a message, and we wound up meeting many times during his visit.

Of course, Jello shots at Al's Diner were involved

In fact, that very first night, we went for drinks at Trafalgar followed by a Vietnamese dinner in Happy Valley with some friends of mine; on Monday I took him and his boss to Crystal Jade for dan dan noodles and xiao long bao; Wednesday was a bear of a night, starting with Peking duck at American Restaurant followed up with the Happy Valley races and Ladies Night in Wan Chai afterwards; Thursday we had a spicy but delicious dinner at the Sichuan favorite Chili Fagara in SoHo; and Friday turned into a massive night out in Lan Kwai Fong and Wan Chai, culminating for Kurt and yours truly with an early morning pit stop at the twenty-four hour diner, the Flying Pan.

'Happy Wednesday' at my local track

It was spectacular to have my old O.C. here in Hong Kong. We had a lot of reminiscences about the summer of 2005, when Kurt, then a junior, guided our newly-minted group of Villanova freshman around the campus green during our sensational orientation program. Group 18 gave me several of the best friends I've ever had, including Shea, Jen and Joe, who have all come to visit here in Hong Kong, and a handful of others with whom I've stayed close over the years and hope to one day welcome here. 

Lean Mean Group 18 Machine, Orientation 2005

From formals during our freshman year right up to Ryan and Marybeth's wedding last September, whenever three or more Group 18ers gather together, we rarely fail to snap a reunion shot, often tallying up to eighteen on our fingers! And I expect the tradition to continue for a long time. 

 Three of four 18ers in this photo have visited me in Hong Kong... Gretchen! Get on that stat!

Before Kurt left, my colleague Kim from our Bangkok office came to town. Although we had never met before, Kim and I speak on the phone practically every day, so it was great to finally meet her and her boyfriend, Punch. My friend Angele celebrated her birthday with a "mustache" party on their first night here, so Kim and Punch came along. (In fact, it was the same Friday that later segued in to my early Saturday morning diner visit with Kurt.)

Friday night's mustache party in SoHo

Kurt flew out on Sunday, and that same day, Pernille arrived back in Hong Kong. Close followers of this blog may remember Pernille from an old post from 2014. She was living in Beijing at the time, and she came to Hong Kong to visit my friend Emilie. Due to her tiny apartment, Emilie asked if Pernille could stay with me, since I have ample room. And during her stay, Pernille and I became fast friends.

Fast forward to 2016, and Pernille now lives in Chengdu, where she's starting up a new business. On a visa run to Hong Kong, she asked me if she could stay again, and I was delighted to welcome her back. Ironically, Sunday was also the day of Emilie's own farewell party, as she moved back to France on Monday evening. 

On Wednesday afternoon, my old professor Peggy landed in the SAR, leading a group of twenty-six MBA students from the Villanova School of Business to Vietnam and Hong Kong over their spring break! I linked up with Peggy at their hotel in Prince Edward after work that day, and I got a chance to introduce myself to a sampling of the students in the hotel lobby, too. Peggy and I then nipped up to the club lounge, where I finally got to meet her husband Sohail, also a professor at Villanova. 

I first met Peggy my freshman year at 'Nova, when she coordinated my summer study abroad program in London. My junior year, I took her international comparative management class. When I was in London for the 2012 Olympic Games, we met up for meals and a night at the theater. And a few times, I've even Skyped live into her class to talk with her students about being a young expat overseas. As she explained to a friend of mine during this recent trip, "Paul and I are pretty much family now." So it was so great to finally meet Sohail (and a little confusing to understand why it took so long).

With Peggy and other VSB students during my summer abroad program in London in 2006

It was a real pleasure for me last March, when Peggy made her way to Hong Kong with some of her students. I took her to Happy Valley racetrack and we got to spend a lot of fun time together. So when she informed me just after the new year that she'd be leading another group to Asia again this break, we immediately started to make plans.

Leading up to her trip, Peggy had asked if I had a recomendation for a good first dinner. "Sohail and I like 'dives' with the best local food," she told me. It seemed like I needed to call in my Cantonese support group, and my pal Chun came through with an awesome suggestion: Mui Kee in Tsim Sha Tsui. 

Peggy and Sohail graciously extended a dinner invitation not only to myself but also to Chun, his girlfriend Amelie and Pernille. And it was amazing how well this group gelled. We wound up sticking around for over three hours at the table, discussing myriad topics from politics to travel to Hong Kong-Chinese relations to Pernille's business venture in Chengdu to Peggy and my experiences in London. It was the kind of meal where the food, atmosphere and discussions all come together so perfectly that it would be difficult to pick a single element that needed changing!

For Thursday's meal, Peggy requested a return visit to Shatin Inn, the amazing Indonesian restaurant in the New Territories where I took her for dinner last year when she was in town. And by extending the invitation to Rebecca, a fellow VSB staff member chaperoning the trip, and Katie and James, two good friends of mine, we were able to order a great array of delicious dishes, from satay and nasi goreng to beef rendang, lamb curry and gado gado. I just love Shatin Inn, and sitting outside in the leafy garden, with great conversation and the most delicious food made for a wonderful night.

The group's farewell dinner took place Friday evening up the Peak at Cafe Deco. And at last, I got to meet the entire crew of students. Peggy also asked me to get a small posse of alumni together, so we could spread ourselves out among the crowd and chat with them about our experiences. Of course, I enlisted CriCri, my fellow 'Nova '09 pal and recent travel buddy, and I also invited Sydney, the new arrival from the class of 2015, who started working in Hong Kong last August. The final member of our Wildcat quartet was Sean, a graduate from the class of 2010 who I bumped into at Dusk Till Dawn many moons ago, and who is probably as passionate about this city as I am.

Of course, being a Friday, after dinner, the four of us did our best to show off Hong Kong's nightlife scene, taking all the students around Lan Kwai Fong to some of our favorite haunts, like Al's Diner, Brickhouse and Le Jardin.

It wasn't the easiest task in the world for me to make it from Happy Valley to Peggy's hotel in Prince Edward at 8:30 the following morning, but somehow I succeeded. She had invited me to join for the half-day excursion to the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. Only one MBA student showed up in the end, so I felt semi-guilty for keeping them out so late and semi-proud at clearly having succeeded in my goal of showing them a good time! And, as always, it was incredible to see impressed reaction from Peggy, Rebecca, her husband and the lone student upon experiencing Lantau Island's endless treasures!

That night, I took Peggy and Sohail to Cheung Chau for a fresh seafood dinner at New Baccarat, with Fredric in tow. It was a fitting meal to cap off a memorable string of delicious dinners. 

Sunday was the day Peggy and company flew out, and I finally had a chance to recover (again). But I love that Hong Kong is becoming a frequent stop for connections from my Villanova network, and I look forward to showing this incredible city off to scores of Wildcats as time goes by!