Switzerland and Its Beauty

When it comes to natural beauty, Switzerland has no shortage. When it comes to man made beauty, Switzerland has no shortage. It's like the world had a draft lottery for beauty and Switzerland kept winning the #1 pick. Or maybe Switzerland was so awesome that all of nature's top free agents decided to sign here when the salary cap went through the roof. As I write this, I'm sitting on a train from Lucerne to Interlocken in central Switzerland. Since we departed a half hour ago, we've been surrounded by rolling green hills, majestic mountains, small picturesque farm houses, and bright blue lakes. Everywhere you turn is better than the last view, and we haven't even reached our destination yet.

Interlocken is a small city in Switzerland situated between 2 lakes, Brienzersee and Thunersee (Lake Brienz and Lake Thun). As a side note, I've learned that German is so intimidating because they shove 2-4 words together in every word. If they used spaces just a little bit, the rest of the world wouldn't be so terrified by it. Half the words are cognates and if you just sound them out, many sound like their English equivalent (e.g., table water is tabblevasser). Back to Interlocken, the city promises breathtaking views of the Swiss Alps in between its 2 lakes. We chose to forego the trip to the highest train station in Europe so we could take the day to explore Interlocken. Our goals are to find a nice cafe for lunch, explore an old castle, and get soaked on a jetboat tour of Brienzersee. 

This is an addition to the time we've already spent in Lucerne, a picturesque city between a lake and a river which exudes Swiss charm. There are ample cafes, an Old Town with cobblestone streets, and mountain views everywhere you look. We're staying at an Airbnb in a couple's apartment - a short 10 minute walk to the central part of town. The gem of the city has to be Kapellbrucke, an old castle from the 1400s situated in the middle of the river. In the bridge to the castle are old pieces of artwork, and the views from the bridge are so peaceful and serene it makes you want to stay there forever.

Pardon the interruption - since I began writing we now have to add a series of waterfalls each over 100 feet long to the list of incredible sites during the train ride.

In short, central Switzerland is amazing and seems to be one of the world's hidden gems, as it never gets the popularity or buzz of a Barcelona, London, Tokyo, or New York City. That's fine with me, I'll gladly take it as is.

Jeff

Asia Concluded

The latter portion of the Asian segment of our trip was fantastic. We were able to visit Phi Phi island, swim with fish, sit on beautiful beaches, and I even managed to fall out of a Thai Longboat and bust up my knee and elbow. If that's the worst thing that happens to me on this trip, I'll consider myself pretty damn lucky. Also, Rachel got a nice kick out of my fall, so all is not lost.

Our last day in Thailand was almost a total washout. Luckily, we planned our indoor activities for the day - massage and a Thai cooking class. The massage was fantastic and the food we made at the cooking class was delicious. We were the only 2 who signed up for the class so we had the chef to ourselves and had the opportunity to make 4 different dishes (a papaya salad, chicken with cashews, coconut soup with chicken, and pad Thai with chicken). We managed through the chef's broken English and walked away absolutely stuffed.

Then came what will definitely be the longest and most strenuous day of our trip. We woke up in Thailand, grabbed an early breakfast, and left for the airport. We landed in Singapore shortly after 1pm, spent the day touring the city, and headed back to the airport (where I'm currently sitting) for a 1am flight to Switzerland. When we land, it will be 8am Swiss time and we'll spend 3 whirlwind days in Lucerne and Zurich.

Some quick observations on Singapore:

- Changi is the best airport in the world, hands down. Clean, modern, spacious, plenty of shopping and dining options, and short queues through immigration. To top it off, most of the airport staff is super friendly.

- The city is very clean and very rich. Singapore is superbly maintained, there are no homeless people, and it feels very safe. There is also a ton of luxury shopping, lots of rich businessmen, and ample fine dining selections. Singapore is regularly ranked as the most capitalist country in the world based on fiscal and social policies and has the 3rd highest GDP per capita in the world.

- The skyline is majestic and the architecture in the city is beautiful and diverse. It looks like a lot of the same architects who lent their efforts to building out London also took a turn in Singapore. 

- Cabs don't stop if you hail them. Apparently, there are designated areas where you can hail a cab, but we couldn't find any. We had no fewer than 30 available cabs drive right by us as we tried to hail a ride to the airport.

- There's no traffic in Singapore even though it's one of the most densely populated countries on earth. Why? It costs $100K USD to buy a Camry, and you have to pay $40K USD for a Certificate of Entitlement just to have a car (think seat licenses in NFL stadiums). Btw, this is according to our cab driver - I have not independently verified this information.

Well, we're about to board the flight to Zurich and I'm dead tired so I'm signing off for the night. Thanks for reading. I'll see you in Europe.

Jeff

Hamilton Biography Recap

Today I completed a task started nearly 2 months ago - I finished Ron Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton. This behemoth weighs in at over 800 pages and the audiobook takes over 36 hours to complete (I did it the old fashioned way). The biography was completed around 2008 and inspired Lin Manuel Miranda's Broadway phenomenon, Hamilton.

One of my goals for the trip is to get a significant amount of reading done, so completing this one was a big step to that goal. Ashlee Vance's biography of Elon Musk is up next. Full disclosure - I only read non-fiction. Haven't picked up a fiction book since I read Angels and Demons in college 10 years ago.

Back to Hamilton. For an 800 page biography on one of our founding fathers, this was as close as you get to a page turner. The beginning chapters about Hamilton's childhood were a bit dense and challenging to get through, but once Hamilton came to America on the eve of the revolution, it really picked up the pace.  My only other complaint is Chernow's incessant use of vocabulary that no one outside of a high school English teacher would understand. Seriously, you'll need a dictionary to get through some chapters. Even with all that, you find yourself rooting for this brilliant but deeply flawed man even though you know exactly how the story will end.

What I found most interesting about Chernow's effort, besides the tremendous amount I learned about the founding fathers and the infancy of our country, was the ability to judge for myself Hamilton's character and place in American history. In short, I'd be willing to debate anyone that no founding father had a greater impact on the current state of our country than Alexander Hamilton. Over 200 years ago, this man envisioned modern America, a country who generates its strength from a powerful federal government, access to credit, strong trade with rival nations, and armed forces ready to protect the country from its deepest threats. He is the foremost interpreter of the Constitution through the Federalist papers and ran a significant amount of the government during the Washington administration when every decision set a new precedent for our country. He was also a self-destructive maniac who imploded his own career and ultimately his life because he was so set in his moralistic views. Reconciling these two truths was fascinating as it frequently is with the world's most influential people - can you be truly great while maintaining a healthy life outside of your career pursuit? Most of the evidence out there points to a sobering truth - it's nearly impossible.

If you have any interest in American history or if you just love Hamilton and want to learn about the source material behind the play, I highly recommend this read. You won't be disappointed.

Jeff

Thailand - Refreshed

Thailand is a refreshing change of pace from the nonstop hustle of Manila. In Manila, we were constantly surrounded by people, traffic, noise, and everything else that a city brings. In Thailand (we're in Phuket), we're staying at a relaxing resort miles from any major population centers. We took a day to sit in the pool, swim, relax, and enjoy the pool bar. The bed is extremely comfortable, the shower is amazing, and every need is taken care of. We could not ask for a better atmosphere.

The food in Thailand is fantastic. They have a huge spread every morning with Thai food, fresh fruit and juices, soups, every kind of bread and pastry you can imagine, as well as salads. The price is good (free - thanks SPG Platinum!) and you can eat whatever you want. For dinner, there are 3 restaurants on the resort, 2 of which serve Thai food, and we've been sampling their best since we got here. No complaints from me.

The last few days have been the relaxing respite I needed. This resort has refreshed and revitalized me, and we haven't even had our Thai massages yet. Today we'll be visiting Phi Phi islands (pronounced pee pee) which are supposed to be some of the most breathtaking islands in the world. I'm currently sitting on a speedboat enjoying the beautiful scenery on the 40 km trip out. More to come later.

Jeff

Philippines - Family

Even though we're barely more than a week into our trip, I have already experienced what will surely be one of the best highlights of our journey - meeting and becoming a part of Rachel's family in the Philippines. Never before have I met such a warm, welcoming group of people so willing to go out of their way to make me comfortable and feel at home in their country. 

Before diving into details, some quick background. Rachel's mom has 8 brothers and sisters, 4 of whom are in the US. The rest (and their families) along with Rachel's grandparents, are in the Philippines. Prior to our visit, I had only met Rachel's grandparents who flew in for our wedding last year.

From the minute we landed, it was like we were celebrities receiving VIP treatment. We had a small entourage waiting to pick us up at the airport and drive us to our hotel. When we arrived there, Rachel's grandfather (Tatay as we all call him), was waiting for us and had a dozen San Miguel beers waiting in the fridge for me to try. The next day, a national holiday (fiesta) was taking place, so we had a family reunion at Rachel's grandparents' house. Everyone pitched in and made all of Rachel's favorite Filipino food and made sure to make most of the dishes with chicken instead of pork, because they know we don't eat pork. The food was delicious (pancit and chicken adobo for you Filipino foodies out there), and I had the best mango I've ever tasted. 

The rest of the week consisted of my new family shuttling us from tourist site to tourist site (Corregidor and Intramuros), around their barangay (neighborhood), or wherever else we wanted to go. When I got sick (read Rachel's blog for the details, they're too painful to rehash here), all of the mothers took care of me and Rachel's grandmother (Nanay) came over to our hotel right when we woke up the next morning with fresh lugao (rice porridge) to help settle my stomach. At the end of the week, we were presented with a variety of gifts to commemorate our stay, when we absolutely should have been giving for the wonderful hospitality we received.

To my new Quezon City family, I could go on for many paragraphs about how incredibly I was treated over the past week. Every single member of the family played a part in making me feel welcome and I will be forever grateful for that. You made the beginning of our trip so special and memorable, and I will always think back fondly to our time with you. My only wish is that one day Rachel and I will be lucky enough to return the favor of your hospitality. You are all truly special people and I look forward to seeing you all again soon. And as McArthur said upon leaving Corregidor (but actually in Australia as we learned this week), "I shall return." Bless you all.

Jeff

Post note: for those of you who know Tagalog, you're probably thinking I made some critical understanding error in calling Rachel's grandparents "Tatay and Nanay." Normally, you'd be correct (Tatay is father and Nanay is mother). In our family, EVERYONE calls them Tatay and Nanay, regardless of relation to them. This quirk will become funny when Rachel and I have kids as they will call their grandparents Lolo and Lola (grandfather and grandmother), but their great grandparents Tatay and Nanay (dad and mom). Go figure!

The First Stop: Hong Kong

Hong Kong

Country #1 is in the books! We ran through Hong Kong in less than 24 hours through a protracted stopover from Cathay Pacific. Let me first say this airline is pretty awesome. Huge plane (777), easy onboard/offboard process, plenty of leg room in coach, solid in-flight entertainment selection, and good, if not spectacular, in-flight meals.

After a quick 16 hour flight, we arrived in Hong Kong at 7:00 pm local time. The airport is huge, very clean, and processed us through immigration in less than 30 minutes. We then found the airport express train to transport us to downtown Hong Kong. By far the cleanest, smoothest train I've ever been on, and it only cost about $12 per person. A pretty strong theme with Hong Kong that the public transportation is top notch. I'll go out on a limb and argue it's the best in the world that I've experienced outside of SEPTA (finally accepting credit cards and transitioning away from tokens, summer of 2016!) I'll ask some of the more experienced travelers to weigh in here.

Once we arrived in downtown Hong Kong and made our way to the transfer station, I was further impressed by the signage and ease of use of the system. The trains come frequently, on time, and are very well explained in Chinese and English (thanks Britain!) We then got off at our stop, wandered around lost like idiots/tourists for 20 minutes and finally reached our hotel which should have been a 5 minute walk. I normally wouldn't have minded exploring a new city, but with giant packs strapped to our backs and stifling humidity even at 9pm, it wasn't the most pleasant experience. I had heard that the Sheratons abroad are much nicer than back home and that is absolutely the case in Hong Kong. This is a 5-star hotel, beautifully designed with a modern look and appeal. It also didn't hurt that they upgraded us to a deluxe suite and gave us free breakfast at their massive morning smorgasbord. I'm really going to miss Platinum status next year.

After freshening up, we decided to go out for a late dinner. Both Rachel and I wanted to eat some authentic Chinese food, so we asked the concierge where we should go. After explaining to him that we didn't want a hamburger (he seemed confused by this), he directed us to a "great Chinese food place," near the hotel called Tsui Wah. We took the quick stroll over (got lost again), and sat down at what can only be described as a Chinese diner. The menu was 20 pages long, the food came fast, and it wasn't very good. In fairness though, Rachel did enjoy her meal. 

After leaving Denny's of China, we walked back towards the hotel, a 3 minute walk, and were offered drugs, watches, and/or cologne 8 different times. There are tons of sketchy people along Nathan Rd. hawking counterfeit items and drugs...but only to young, white people. For the most part, they ignore the locals or anyone who looks Chinese, but I might as well have been wearing a sign that read "Looking for drugs, please inquire." It felt a bit like Las Ramblas in Barcelona without the prostitutes. 

Even though it was pushing midnight, the 12 hour time difference gave us plenty of energy to explore the city. The first stop was the famed Hong Kong skyline which when viewed from Kowloon, is pretty damn impressive. There's a walkway along the water that offers incredible vantage points of the skyline which while not as deep as NYC's, dwarfs its counterpart to the west in terms of length. We snapped a few pictures and then walked along to find the Avenue of the Stars, where Bruce Lee's statue sits, but it is unfortunately closed for the next 3 years due to renovations. I curbed my desire to go all Clark Griswold on the moose in front of the walk, and instead turned around to find some live music by the water. We then headed back to the hotel, grabbed a drink at the hotel's rooftop bar, and stared at the beautiful skyline as we toasted to the hope of a great trip.

Even with the 12 hour time difference, we were still able to sleep about 4-5 hours on our first night which was enough to pretty much regulate our sleep schedule and get us off jet lag. We had a massive breakfast at the Sheraton's impressive buffet and then got the day started. First stop - Victoria Peak which is one of the highest peaks 428 meters above sea level) on Hong Kong island which is very hilly and mountainous, similar to some of the islands in Hawaii. You have to take a tram car up to the top, and when you're one of the last on the car like we were, you need to stand and the ride up is steep. Amazing views of all of the islands of Hong Kong, the skyline, and the South China Sea with a "mall" up at the top.

After finishing up at Victoria Peak, we headed back downtown and found the temporary Avenue of the Stars and its popular Bruce Lee statue. I'd equate this to the Rocky statue in Philly as everyone who takes a picture in front of it makes a stupid karate pose, no one worse than me. After that, it was time to go. 

Overall, Hong Kong was a solid day trip. Great public transportation, warm weather, and some beautiful sites. I wouldn't recommend it as a destination on its own, but would absolutely recommend a 1-2 day trip on your way through Asia.

Some other random observations:

- The British effect on the island is stark (Britain ruled Hong Kong for almost 150 years through 1997). The street signs, names, and design, pedestrian warnings, underground announcements ("Mind the Gap") and double decker buses transport you immediately to London. It's literally as if someone took a Chinese paintbrush to London and out popped Hong Kong. However, it appears there are very few Brits remaining in Hong Kong. Most of the ones I saw were undoubtedly tourists.

- Hong Kong loves the NBA. I saw a ton of apparel all over the city, with the Lakers serving as the vanguard due to the "Kobe effect." 

- The people are short! I was the tallest person in a crowded elevator for the first time ever, and whenever you looked around a crowded area, the tall people were almost always white. 

Next up: The Philippines

Merry Christmas

I love Christmas. Let me repeat, I LOVE Christmas. I know it might be weird for me to say that as a Jew but it really is one of my favorite days of the year. It goes beyond the decorations and the gifts (even though I do love my tree). On this day, I really feel the spirit of the holiday and connecting with friends and family. Whether it's in person or through a quick text or phone call, those connections are so vital. We don't tell each other nearly enough that we love each other and how important and meaningful our relationships are, and I feel that this holiday gives us the chance to do that. 

One phone call, one text can make the difference between someone feeling loved or alone for the holidays, and no one should feel alone on a day like today. We all have so much to be thankful for, so reach out and say something nice to someone you care about. You have no idea how powerful that message might be.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone!

Kaps

Song of the Day: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas