After a bumpy ride of visa mishaps and unexpected phone outages, I’m back on track. Leaving Shanghai, I took the Maglev train to Pudong Airport that clocks in at an impressive 430km/hr saving me time and a taxi headache.
Now I’m unwinding after a great halloween party at M1NT in the Air China business class lounge. The food can’t come soon enough so I’ve shifted my focus to drinking Mr. Walker on the rocks.
Upon arrival in Osaka, it will be time to take a bullet train to downtown. Growing up, I always wanted to take the bullet train after seeing videos of it on CNN. Not sure which one is faster between the Maglev and the bullet but I’ll find out soon enough.
I’ve written about the need to have international data roaming while traveling. Apart from not being robbed by taxi tricksters, international data keeps you connected with the outside world; until it doesn’t.
First in Finland in July, now in China, AT&T has cut off my service for no reason. They send me a text saying “due to high usage, your account is suspended. Please call the following number.”
Only I can’t call the number because my phone isn’t provision to make international calls. So I have to wait until I’m back at a desktop to connect via chat. The chat service is great and they always take care of the problem, yet no one knows why it happens in the first place.
For those of you at home who take your 4G data for granted, I beg of you to caress your phone a little tighter tonight, a little longer. For you don’t know when that luxury will unexpectedly be taken away!
The reason the a-live section is a category on my blog is to provide quick updates of any adventures or debacles I encounter.
Well chalk this one up as the latter. I arrived in Beijing and had an interesting run in with the immigration folks. I was only given a visa for 24 hours and in a mad scramble booked a flight to Hong Kong for today, October 30th. I will be returning to Shanghai for Halloween and have quite the story to tell.
On top of all that my ATT international data plan isn’t working. It shows “sim not compatible” so I’m powerless to find info, blog, and bitch.
Anyhow, here’s a picture of an amazing vehicle!
Alex is a-live in Hong Kong, if only barely.
Photo taken at Hyatt Hong Kong, thanks to points for giving me a place to sleep!
No need for a catchy title for this post. The location, Ulaanbaatar, and my guess that I’m the only one to write a review on the Ulaanbaatar business class lounge, make a clever title superfluous.
Chinggis Khaan International Airport has one, exactly one, departure gate that services the limited number of airlines that come and from Mongolia at obscene prices for the point-less people.
Think of Emirates Terminal 3 and its amenities. Now take the inverse of that and you’ve arrived at your departure gate. Strikingly there is an entire floor of Duty Free reminding me of time spent at Changhi Airport.
Regardless, the airport seems functional enough to get me out of the frigid Gobi, even if it only be for a few days.
Comfy seatingOh how beautifulLook at that spreadAwful sandwichesThe collection of libationsThe buffet linePotato chips!Only the finestLook at that bug stuck inside.The only departure gateEndless Duty Free StoresMore liquorSame same
I lived in Shanghai way back in 2010 and it took me four years to return to my favorite city. Tomorrow I’m returning for the second time in 4 months. Last time I stayed at the Park Hyatt and the Waldorf Shanghai. This time I’m going back to the basics by staying in locations meant for fun. That’s not to say that I won’t be staying in style. Thanks to points my 72 hour visa-less itinerary is as follows:
Wednesday night: Hyatt on the Bund: $100 + 7500 Gold Passport Points
Thursday night: Hyatt on the Bund: $100 + 7500 Gold Passport Points
Friday night and Halloween at M1NT: Le Royal Meridien: Straight cash homey but platinum status makes it all worth it.
For the new readers, the a-live section of which I’m writing this post is comprised of quick headlines while I’m on the go so I keep up what has become the fun habit of talking to myself via my alter ego, ThePointsOfLife.
Globalization has taken hold of my advice and disseminated it all over the globe. I, of course, am talking about my book Everyone’s Advice Is Wrong, available for purchase on Amazon (click here). Sales are coming in from the mountains to the valleys to the UK to Germany to Romania, Costa Rica, Turks and Caicos, and Thailand.
People have taken the books’ message [and book cover] to heart by literally leaving their cubicles for good times of a beach. Slowly but surely the word is getting out. Soon enough offices will be empty liberated by the rapture of the anti cubicle movement. It is my intent to continue to publish these tantalizing photos till everyone young and not so old (the target demo is 18-35) heeds the message and like the words from a famous beer ad, finds their beach.
Don’t worry, my advice comes unfiltered (Turks and Caicos)And is pet friendly for cats both wild (Lucky has only lived on a boat, never been on land before)…and domesticThe revolution began in Boston…Then headed to beaches all over the globe.From Costa Ricato Koh Tao, the word is getting out.Change is on the horizon.So order your box today!And this could be your life everyday.
We aren’t stopping in Iowa…
Not only are we going to New Zealand, Michael Fanous, we’re going to the south of France and Oceania and Azerbaijan and North Korea and New Caledonia, and we’re going to California and Texas and New York…. And we’re going to Dominican and Osaka and Washington and Michigan, and then we’re going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House! Byoahhhhhhh!
Phở or pho (pronounced variously as /fʌ/, /fə/, /fər/, or /foʊ/ so please stop messaging me that it’s not pronounced pho! I get it, we all get it but choose to remain ignorant for the sake of levity. Get over the preoccupation with pronunciation and focus on the splendid intoxication that can only come after slurping bowl after bowl.
If you are in need of a guide of where to go, look no further than here for the recap that I will share. Ten places I explored of which you will never get bored.
Right next to the organic coffee shops that line the streets and only steps away from the welcoming women of the skinny alley of the Red Light District is Amsterdam’s Chinatown.
Pho Boston for just about everything: Pho the Celtics, Pho the Red Sox, Pho the Bruins, and but for Tom Brady being a Wolverine I’d say Pho the Patriots.
I’ve been to China Towns all over from China to New York and hands down my favorite is the one in Seattle. They had amazing xiao long bao, great Japanese sake, delightful dim sum, and, above all, the best Pho in just about all of the world.
To the shock of none, the best place in the world to get a bowl of pho is Vietnam. My favorite country in SE Asia and one of my favorite countries in the world is the birthplace of this breakfast food.
To the shock of none, the best place in the world to get a bowl of pho is Vietnam. My favorite country in SE Asia and one of my favorite countries in the world is the birthplace of this breakfast food.
But, I would be a simpleton to merely say, “Vietnam is the best place for pho” and leave it at that. Much like BBQ in the United States, the debate rages about which part of Vietnam makes pho the best. Is it in the north in Hanoi or the south in Saigon? How about a scolding hot bowl in the centrally located beach town of Nha Trang?
To satisfy your pho appetite, ThePointsOfLife set out on a journey all over Vietnam to find the best of the best of the best places to get pho in this new series. From Da Nang to Ha Long Bay to the next time I return, I am phoever searching for the next bowl.
Here’s a preview of what’s to come:
The journey began in SaigonWith some new friends at the Cu Chi TunnelsWith many pho restaurants along the wayFrom a Vietnamese cooking school in Hoi An…To the beauty of Ha Long Bay…ThePointsOfLife is phoever researching where to find that perfect bowl
I’ll start by saying that Seattle wasn’t my favorite city to visit. I stayed at the W Seattle and wasn’t all that impressed. I went to the Public Market and had the halibut and was not that impressed. I went to the Starbucks and…well you get the picture. Seattle because of its overcast, rainy climate just gives you a sense of bleh even on a sunny day. Perhaps that is why everything I did and saw deemed mediocre.
But then, on the rainiest of rainy days, I went to Seattle’s China Town. I’ve been to China Towns all over from China to New York and hands down my favorite is the one in Seattle. They had amazing xiao long bao, great Japanese sake, delightful dim sum, and, above all, the best Pho in just about all of the world. All great Asian restaurants have one thing in common: a lack of decor. Instead, the ambiance of a great Asian restaurant is in its simplicity: the stools, the uncleared tables, the questionable health inspection certificate.
Although, this post is supposed to be all about pho, I had the make some detours and pit stops along the way as everything looked and tasted so good.
Entrance to Food ParadiseAvenue’s literal translation in Mandarin is big street (the T looking character)On the way for pho my stomach was distracted by Ping. Who did not disappointIn need a break [and a drink] it was time for some Japanese Asahi and sakeAppetite restored, I made my way to the best pho restaurant in the world (apart from #1 on the list)Fried rolls, spring rolls, yum yum yumThe bowl came…And went…But I pressed onSum dim sum…And beer…Made the abs disappear
The best thing about a yummy bowl of pho is who you go with to eat that yummy bowl. I’m not sure how the tradition began but every time I went to Toronto to visit my cousins, I would always go for an extra large bowl before heading back to the States. Our restaurant of choice is Pho Hung and it is located at 350 Spadina Ave right in the middle of China Town.
Pho Hung: The best pho in Toronto
Whoever arrived first was responsible for finding a table as the place is always slammed, especially early Sunday afternoon. When everyone did eventually find parking and the group was reunited, we would all take a deep breath, laugh about whatever happened the night before, and drink the tea provided to help us with our ailments.
I was in charge of ordering and would scribble in chicken scratch too many orders of fresh spring rolls, fried spring rolls, some arbitrary dish, and, of course, enough bowls of pho turning a quick lunch into an enduring holiday dinner. The service is so so at Pho Hung so count yourself lucky if you order extra onions and the waiter returns with them. But, the service is not why we come. I, along with dozens of strangers, come for the atmosphere, the delicious food, and the warm feeling that comes from sipping a bowl too quickly while sharing a good time with your best friends.
Next time you’re on your way out of Toronto make sure you stop by Pho Hung then a nap before making the journey home.
I miss you man!The menuPho tai of courseThe spring rollsThe bowl
