9/29/2013 - Sultan Jazz Club

The island hop from Penang to Singapore is relatively short, a little more than an hour down peninsular Malaysia and next to the Straight of Malacca.  What to do to occupy your time during the trip is always a bit of a mystery.  The flight isn't really long enough to take anything electronic out, by the time you have your laptop fired up you're already descending.  There's always the ever popular nap option, but you know those SilkAir flight attendants are going to wake you up at some point and offer you food you have about a 2% chance of eating.  This past week I opted for my copy of the Singapore Straits Times to catch up with what was going on in the little red dot.  Due to the size of the country, this is always a hit or miss item as well given the dearth of national news. For a change I hit paydirt, not in terms of a newsworthy item, but for a fun new weekend activity - Sultan Jazz Club in the Arab Street area.

We had been to Arab Street once before and had come away pretty impressed with the atmosphere.  Much like Little India, you suddenly feel like you have left mainstream Singapore behind. Carpet shops, hookahs, Middle Eastern cuisine - it just has a good vibe to it.  We decided to try out dinner at the Beirut Grill before the show started.  The one drawback to the Sultan Jazz Club on Sunday is the music doesn't start until 9 PM.... or keeping with jazz musicians laid back vibe, closer to 9:45 as we would later find out.  Our prior experience on Arab Street had involved an inadvertent 2 1/2 hour meal due to the speed of service.  Thinking we better arrive early, we erred on the other side only to see our hummus, grilled lamb and chicken come flying out of the kitchen.  The food was outstanding, probably because it was so fresh, so it didn't last long on our plates.  Even our second pot of mint tea couldn't cause us to linger longer, so we decided to wander down some alleyways in search of dessert.

I can honestly say, of all the places I had considered setting foot in on this Sunday evening, the Fika Cafe, a Halal Swedish bakery was so far down the list it might as well have been in Sweden.  This turned out to be great find #2 for the evening.  Huge cappuccinos (which yes, did keep me up too late) really dense coconut covered chocolate balls, kind of like no bake cookies, and chocolate brownies with ice cream were our reward.  I half expected the Swedish Chef to come running out so we could thank him, it is quite difficult to find a good cookie in this town that isn't horribly dry.


Sufficiently wired and sugared up, it was off to find the Sultan Hotel.  A block of Chinese Shop Houses had been converted and quasi merged into one building to create the hotel.  This left a lot of open, airy walk ways throughout the place that fit in well with the neighborhood.  The jazz club itself was on the 2nd floor, so up the stairs we went, only to be greeted by a wonderful little whisky bar.  It really did seem like it was going to be our lucky night.  We cozied into our seats at the back of the room and waited for the Marrakesh Express to show up - with a name like that, you're either a kicking jazz band or Nolan Ryan's cousin from a different continent. Once they did get started the trio was quite good and for over an hour they kept bringing up a variety of local talent to play with them.  We left after the first set since it was a 'school night,' but with new restaurant finds and a fun new Sunday hangout with free music, I'm sure we'll end up in this neighborhood again.

9/21/2013 - And then there were 3 - Adventures in Thailand

For the past week, the family had been occupying an entire row of 6 airline seats, now we were down to just 3.  Tim and Caitlin had to go back to Wisconsin and Sarah had to continue her internship.  It was now just up me to play tour guide for the next few days in Thailand.  The success of this would be interesting, I had already been made fun of the night before while sprawled on the floor, trying to map out the week.  If it looked like I was trying to read a map in a foreign language, its because I was.  Its possible we could end up in a Thai prison or hopelessly lost in the streets of Bangkok, but I would put the chance of that at less than 10%.  

Unfortunately we were arriving in Bangkok on a Monday, so the weekend market was not open.  The next best option seemed to be the MBS mall, which turned out to essentially be a vertical, 7 floor market.  Not quite the selection of the weekend market, but still plenty of trinkets to keep you happy. We could have gotten a good deal on a slightly used cell phone, but no carved elephant end tables, which is what we were really after.  Looks like Bangkok will be on the return trip city list again.

After shopping and a quick stop back at the hotel, we grabbed a taxi to head out to dinner.  We had found a little hole in the wall place on our last visit to the city and I was looking forward to dining again at the P Kitchen.  Unfortunately, Bangkok's winding streets proved to be more formidable than our taxi's driving skills and it took almost an hour to get there.  I had though it was closer to the hotel, but given I'm constantly lost in Bangkok, I gave him our 150 baht and hopped out.  Fried noodles, spring rolls, spicy beef salad, fried rice and steamed vegetables had us feeling pretty good and happy that we had made the trek over.  The fact that the bill was somehow only $12, was even crazier.  A taxi was close at hand outside and offered to take us back for 100 baht.  I thought we had found another good deal given that it was cheaper than our trip over.  Of course, I should have known better, 2 turns and 5 minutes later we were back at the hotel.  I don't know what our first guy was thinking, either he was horribly lost or that was another Thailand donation from the Court family.

We spent the next day at the Royal Palace, the Reclining Buddha temple and having lunch overlooking the Chao Phraya River.  I had never been to the Reclining Buddha temple and was shocked at how large it was, it would barely fit on a basketball court. Totally worth the sweaty walk over from the Royal Palace.

Although it would have been nice to have blue skies for our photos, the overcast sky kept us from being too sweaty and smelly on the flight that evening to Phuket.  The domestic flight for $30 was quite the treat, we zipped right out of the airport, avoided the independent taxis with the promise of a 'same same' taxi fare, trust me, its never 'same same'  its always, little bit different, and found what turned out to be our race car for the evening.  The windy drive from the airport to the beach was completed in record time.  The speed limit was 80 KPH and he was doing at least 140 KPH, using all three lanes of the road for his banked turns.  Somehow we had found a Thai Ricky Bobby who abided by the "If you're not first, you're last rule."  At least we made it to the hotel quite quickly and in one piece, so consider us first.

It was low season so they upgraded us to a rather large suite for the few days we were there, almost bigger than our current apartment.  To celebrate this bit of good luck we wandered over to the open air lobby bar for a late night happy hour before calling it a day.  Our bartender for the evening, Sunny, turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip.  He turned the late night happy hour into the late night 'happy hour as long as you are here.'  After showing him pictures of snow in Minnesota and complaining about Singha prices in Singapore, we were becoming fast friends.  He left us with a little nugget for the evening, "Don't drink Chang beer (the other Thai beer).  You wake up in the morning feeling like the elephant on the bottle is kicking you in the head."  We laughed and called it a night, promising to see him the next day.  Sadly, that was the last of Sunny for the trip, we wondered if the elephant may have won a few battles with him and kept him from his post.

Speaking of elephants, the final hurrah of the trip was an elephant trek through the hills of Phuket.  One poor elephant got the two large male Americans on his back while the other lucked out with my mother.  As you can imagine, after coming in first in the taxi to the hotel, we came in dead last on the trek.  We lucked out as most of our time in Phuket it rained off and on, but it held off long enough to ride an elephant, learn about rubber, curry and coconuts and top it off with a dinner cruise..... which made it about half way out of the harbor before the rain started dumping again.  We certainly owed the hotel for giving us a better set-up to at least sit on the patio, enjoy the greenery and relax.  Great contrast to the hustle and bustle of the week before.

Well - we've reached the end of the two week trip.  We had a few last nights in Singapore that gave everyone the opportunity to get a little more of their favorites - $1 ice cream sandwiches, sugar cane juice and dumplings. The last stop at the market had my fruit guy asking if my father and I were brothers.... this guy should be teaching marketing at Sarah's MBA program.  We even had dinner on Satay street where the least likely of the 4 of us ate more satay than anyone.  Who would have thought that satay and fried rice could become a staple diet?

Stay tuned - the adventures continue in the Maldives next week, its F1 weekend right now and we swung through Arab Street and a turn back the clock jazz club last weekend that all deserve some air time.  Plus, before you know it, the Muller Family Journey Through Asia (rumor has it I get to tag along if I promise to behave) is rapidly approaching.

9/14/2013 - Mid Trip Breather in Singapore

I think I have about 2 Court Family Trip posts left in me and then we'll be officially caught up to present day time.  Which is probably good as we have some upcoming trips of our own in the near future (Maldives, Indonesia & Malaysia) that will deserve their own air time.

We landed back in Singapore on Saturday afternoon and breathed a little sigh of relief.  In the Singapore to Cambodia to Vietnam to Singapore airport relays there had been no customs or immigration issues. All the flights we had booked months prior were still actually flying on their routes.  Turbulence was relatively mild the entire time and none of the landings had resulted in the overhead bins opening on impact.  Yes, that does happen here more often than I tended to see it back home.  We did have plenty of people trying to get their carry on bags out of the overhead bins while still taxiing to the jet way, which is always entertaining.

So what did we load up on over the next few days while we had the chance?  Western food!  First stop when we got back into town was finding a suitable dinner location.  We had not yet been to our usual haunt of Holland Village, and assuming no one was really going to want our version of BBQ or Mexican food, we went to Crust Pizza.  At least its Australian so not something you would see in the U.S.  It was here we discovered the key to getting my younger brother to expand his food horizons..... just put anything that may look a little different than usual on pizza crust.  He tried and ate more than all of us, including prosciutto potato pizza and peri-peri chicken pizza.  I will absolutely lock this one away for future use and reference.  Afterwards some dessert was in order and conveniently enough, keeping with our Western theme, a Wendy's was close at hand.  Anyone that wanted a Frosty for dessert had to go order on their own, forcing them to nudge out of their comfort zone one last time.  We only had two takers, but for those who have been following along, you can probably figure out who they were.

The next day started extremely early, had to get two people headed to the airport at 3 AM.  Later in the day, at a more reasonably time, my parents and Sarah and I continued with the Western theme and had high tea at the Fullerton Hotel.  We hadn't been back since the rainy afternoon we found shelter in their airy atrium, but this time may have been even more fun.  With 4 people you double the amount of tea you can try.... you also don't feel as self conscious about ordering enough macaroons that if put in your mouth at once would make you look like Chip or Dale.  I think our two favorite teas were Happy Birthday, Napoleon and Moroccan Mint.  Clearly 'tea namer' must be one of the top 5 jobs in the world.  After going to the TWG Tea Company store later and seeing the hundreds of types of tea you can purchase, yes, yes, I would like to be a tea namer in a future life.  Judging by the price of the tea, it seems to be a lucrative profession as well.

After all that liquid and all those snacks, we were pretty full, so a light dinner at our favorite French restaurant, 'La Petite Cuisine' seemed in order.  Al fresco dining with steaks, confit de canard and pasta and French wine were a great way to close the day.  The portions are the right size as well so we didn't have to roll back to the MRT, just shuffle a little slower.  The hidden gem of this is we were able to finagle my father into both a British and French establishment in one day.  Perhaps the next Court family adventure will be a tour through the Continent?  Those were thoughts for another time though, Bangkok and its temples and Phuket and its beaches were calling.  Flight to Thailand on deck.

9/8/2013 - 24 Hours in Hanoi

3 1/2 hours later, multiple water buffalo, rice paddies and death defying car passings, we were deposited back at the curb of the Essence Hotel in Hanoi.  It had only been 2 days, but it seemed like a lifetime ago that we were on this same street, getting ready to head to Halong Bay.  We were not flying back to Singapore until the following day, so we had a little less than 24 hours to kill prior to that.  Unlike the planning of the past 7 days, we were now improvising with minimal to do's ahead.

First stop - lunch!  We hadn't eaten anything since the breakfast on the boat and suddenly no one was bringing us food anymore.  The decision for what we wanted to eat was easy, finding the right location was a different question completely.  We had been in Vietnam for 72 hours and had had plenty of pho, but no banh mi sandwiches. Our hotel receptionist was helpful enough to point us in the right direction and we were off, weaving our way through the old quarter of Hanoi, avoiding motorbikes and crossing streets with no regard to crosswalks.  Did we get lost?  Yep.  Did we eventually stumble into a tiny little shop with chairs that would be better suited for a child's tea place set vs. 6 Americans having lunch?  Yep.  Everyone ate at least half of their sandwiches full of pork, pickled vegetables, spices and of course someone's favorite, liver pate.  Not as good as the banh mi we had in Ho Chi Minh City, but I would still walk 10 miles through a hot, sticky jungle for the bread the sandwich came on.

Re-energized, we split up.  The shoppers went one direction, the historians went another direction. Our goal, find the Hanoi Hilton.  Unfortunately most of the museums were already closed, but we thought we could at least see the famous prison.  What is really incredible is its right in the middle of the city.  On top of that, it just looks like a random yellow building.  If there weren't signs out front, you would never even know what it was.  60 seconds of staring and taking a few photos, it was back to dodging traffic, sidewalks and turn signals both being optional and back to the hotel for a refreshing cold drink before dinner.

Dinner was at a teaching restaurant for disadvantaged children. This had the double advantage of money going towards a good cause and they served some western food so certain individuals could order a panini if they so chose.  The taxi ride over was of course an adventure in and of itself.  We needed a 'big' taxi to fit us all in which turned out to be something slightly larger than a Mini Cooper with a 3rd row of seats in the trunk.  Somehow the driver was able to honk the horn, talk on his phone, shift, listen to music and signal for turns when he felt like it the whole way there.  My conclusion, he had to have a friend on his lap that was lending him a pair of arms to help pull this feat off.  Either that, or a Hindu deity was our Vietnamese cabbie for dinner.  The food was excellent, mango cheesecake and chocolate ice cream for dessert, and we even walked away with a hat as a souvenir.  I was instructed to add one to the tab if it was less than $10.... $4.80 fit the bill quite nicely.  So keep on the lookout for a KOTO black cap in Minnesota (Know One Teach One) that may look like its 10,000 miles from home.

Before heading to the airport the next day we had to make one final shopping excursion.  After dinner we had sat up having a few drinks and learned about the cheap spices, coffee and other items we had missed out on.  Walking down the twisting, winding roads our resourceful guide (Sarah) somehow found the spice shop they had been at the afternoon before.  15 minutes later we had our cinnamon and Vietnamese coffee (which lasted about 4 days when we got home, it was delicious) and were off in search of a duffel bag.  Too many souvenirs had resulted in a lack of space for the flight back.  The first shop we stopped at had just opened and offered to sell us a 'North Face' bag.  I can confirm it was a North Face bag because sure enough, it said North Face on it.  Who cares if they only wanted $35 for it?  We shrugged our shoulders and then a 'Nike' bag came flying in on a frozen rope from left field..... or from grandma on the 2nd floor of the shop house, it was a multi-generational family operation.  This one was a little more expensive and larger, not what we needed  We went back to the North Face and started negotiating, meaning the calculator came out. What started off around $35 (700,000 Vietnamese Dong) ended up being around $15.  Given there were smiles all around, I'm sure we got ripped off, but then again, we did score a North Face bag on the cheap, wink wink.

Goodies and bag in tow it was back to the hotel for one last round of chocolate croissants before flying back to Singapore.  Successful first week touring around Asia, 99% complete.

9/1/2013 - Day 7 - Hidden Vietnamese Life

And we're back..... Sweet! We finally got to sleep in a little... about 8 AM.  Regardless, I was refreshed, recharged and ready for a days worth of activities.  First stop, coffee on the top deck while taking in the morning views.  I successfully bypassed the chocolate croissants and adhered to Sarah's rule of Asian travel, no chocolate croissants until the end of the trip. Once you start you can't stop, kind of like a pastry version of Lays Potato Chips.  One coffee down and then we were being called back to the launch to take us to our day boat.  The other guests would head back to port while we went deeper into Halong Bay.  I can't recommend this more, if you are in the area and have the time, a 2 night cruise provides you with way more time to enjoy the bay.

Once onboard we had our choice of eggs or chicken or beef pho for breakfast.  I was pretty happy with my poached eggs and toast until I saw the fresh made pho coming out to the table.  When presented the choice on the last day, I did not make that same mistake again and loaded up on the beef noodle soup.  Breakfast was filling and for good reason, we were suddenly pulling up to a mini wharf at Cat Ba island for us to go 'cycling' amongst the hills and valleys.  One look at the bikes told me immediately this may pose a bit of a challenge.  Singe speed and not originally designed for 6'5" gangly guys from Wisconsin, I probably looked the same as if I had hopped on a 3 year olds tricycle.  They were functional though and we were off.

Weaving our way through an inlet from the bay, up and over a crumbling dirt and pebble pass, past a mangrove lake, a few local trail groomers (stray goats) and suddenly we were peddling through rice paddies in a hidden valley.  Where did this come from?  Another kilometer and we passed through the village in the valley.... if you pretended to ignore the overhead wires and glow of television sets through the open doors, it could have been 300 years ago.  Once we reached the edge of town we stopped for a water break and watched a little boy with a bamboo pole hook a bullfrog in a stream.  Thinking for sure we had just witnessed dinner being caught (remember, we have eaten jumping chicken ourselves a few times) we were surprised and a little relieved to see it released.  The relief vanished, however, when we found out we had to peddle back the way we had come back to the boat.  The promise of swimming provided the necessary motivation to keep going.

Kayaking followed for a bit, but ultimately it provided a mode of transportation to our own private beach for an hour.  The beaches in Halong Bay are either man made, or small clusters of sand and shells.  This was the latter, but you felt like you were carousing on the set of a James Bond film.  The rest of the day was a repeat of the evening prior as we had picked up a new crew of passengers.  Another delicious dinner followed by some time on the deck before retiring back to our rooms for a final nights rest on the boat.  Morning turned out to be rainy so three of us opted out of Tai Chi, climbing and swimming while others picked a version of the three activities they wanted to participate in.  Fine, I was amongst the lazy three, the coffee was too good and I had broken the chocolate croissant rule.  Content to be idle, we watched the scenery slip by while heading back to harbor.  Our driver that had picked us up the first time was waiting to take us back to Hanoi for another 24 hours of adventures before heading back to Singapore to rest and recover for 2 days.