txflyer77

Part 4.3: Escaping Georgetown

At some point, you will feel the absolute need to escape the heat and intensity of Georgetown. Hop on the bus (if you're cheap) or grab a taxi (if you just love haggling) and head for Air Itam, home to two of Penang's top attractions, Penang Hill and Kek Lok Si.

The bus is A/C so though it'll probably be crowded, it's a good way to get up there. You can grab it on Chulia and it's pretty frequent.

Kek Lok Si is a sprawling Buddhist temple complex nestled in the hills above Georgetown.





Preparations were underway for Chinese New Year so workers were scurrying about getting ready.











Do I spy a Moorish influence?



The clean(er) air was welcome.

From there, you're a quick bus ride over to the base of the funicular the runs up to Penang Hill. The line for a ticket can get long. Up at the top there are various attractions, or some I'm told. I got there in the later afternoon and was touristed-out after a long day so I turned right at the sign for the bar and just enjoyed the view of Georgetown and the sea with a cold beer (or two).



I had planned for ten days in Georgetown. After seven, I'll admit I was going a little crazy and needed to get somewhere more relaxing. I noticed that there was a Four Points about halfway between Georgetown and Batu Ferringhi going for about $60/night, so I grabbed it for my last three nights. I'd seen (and eaten) everything I wanted in Georgetown and needed a break.

I wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised by this property. I wouldn't stay here if I really wanted to see Penang as it's near nothing but a shopping mall, but for a quick break, it's not bad. Clean rooms, friendly staff. Food isn't great, which is to be expected, but it's a ten minute walk from a fairly new mall (Straits Quay) which has some good options, plus they run a free daily shuttle to Gurney Plaza, one of Penang's nicest malls with a solid food court in the basement.

Great views:



Nice beach, but the water is often filled with jellyfish.





The wifi covers the entire property and I spent an enjoyable afternoon working in the shade of these umbrellas with my laptop.





Okay food, not great.



Straits Quay, the nearby mall, is built around a marina and has a pleasant boardwalk area and a good Irish pub.



I spent three nights here. Once again, I wouldn't stay here if I actually wanted to see Georgetown as it's just too far out of the way, nor would I come for its beach, but it's a solid option for a relaxing break from the noise and craziness of Penang.

Up next: a prop plane to Krabi

grandgourmand

So what was your favourite dish in Penang?

txflyer77

I'd have to say the fried roasted pork at Teksen. That dish was bursting with flavor and contrast: sweet, spicy, crunchy, sticky, moist.

Followed by the chicken and biryani rice at Line Clear.

Followed by the assam laksa and cendol...

Hard to pick a favorite, all the dishes I highlighted were phenomenal. Which isn't to say everything I ate in Penang was great. Plenty of the breakfasts were marginal (as Western breakfasts so often are in that part of the world).

Also, Chinese New Year clearly puts our own to shame:



I've never had a drunk lion at any of my NYE parties.

txflyer77

Okay, going to finish this up this weekend. I was fired yesterday so I've got lots of free time to finish this up. Also, if anyone is looking to hire a Scala/Akka/Play software developer...?

Part 5: Koh Lanta



My time in Malaysia was at an end. Personally, I think Malaysia is a very underrated country by most travelers. It may not have the raucous reputation of Thailand but I think it may actually be my favorite country in Asia after Japan.

The last time I was in Thailand I planned a week on Koh Pha Ngan which I stretched to about ten days. I didn't go for the Full Moon Party, I found a quiet beach on the north end of the island which (at the time) required sitting in the back of a pickup truck for an hour while traversing a dirt road through the mountain jungle. The driver offered me a prostitute when we set out and then stopped to pray when we reached the end of the paved section. Fun times.

This time, I needed an island with stable power and internet access, good beaches and food. But I didn't want a full-scale Phuket/Samui onslaught (I spent a night on Chaweng last time due to an early morning flight out of USM and it was disgusting).

Through the resources at Travelfish (an essential site if you're planning a visit to SE Asia), I stumbled across Koh Lanta. Popular enough to be developed, far enough from an international airport to avoid the package tourists. I settled on Long Beach, one of the larger beaches on the island (obviously). In the course of my research I also discovered KoHUB, a coworking center that opened on Long Beach in November.

So, with my first few nights booked, it was time to leave Malaysia behind and hit the beach.

The closest airport to Lanta is Krabi. One of MH's subsidiaries, Firefly, flies a prop plane a few times a week from Penang to Krabi with cheap fares. I picked up a one-way for $76. I splurged and paid for the Four Points' transfer service. About double the price of a cab but still only $20 and I was driven in a brand-new Toyota SUV.

I arrived at the airport a little early and noticed a decent looking cafe before security so I popped in for breakfast. Great french toast, if you have some time to kill this place was better than any of the places after security.





Security and immigration were quick and I had about an hour to kill before my flight. There's another good cafe (no food though) after security staffed by a rambunctious group of teenagers blasting American punk rock. PEN is a funny airport. I ordered an americano and grabbed a seat—the adjacent table was filled with a group passing around a bottle of Johnny Walker Green and it looked like they were trying to finish it before their flight.

The flight was maybe half full and boarding went quickly. No stand for this one, we just walked across the tarmac and up the back stairs.



The flight wasn't fun at all but it was mercifully short. I don't think we ever broke 10,000ft and the turbulence was intense. When we landed we seemed to be tilted towards the left and we came down far faster than I'm used to with jet flights, but maybe that's just how props work. Either way, not sure I'd want to repeat that flight.

At the airport I was piled into an overcrowded bus which took us into town where I was repacked into an overcrowded minivan for the two hour drive to Koh Lanta. There are two car ferries involved which makes this a slow, hot and uncomfortable mode of transportation. If you aren't a cheapskate like me, splurge and spend the $75 for a private taxi.

Of course, once you get to Lanta all of that is quickly forgotten:





I had about two weeks on Lanta. One of my (now ex) coworkers had been here just after the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami. This actually turned into part of the inspiration for Kiva, which he helped build: he had friends from back home send him money over PayPal so he could loan a local here the money he needed to rebuild his beach bar. I tried to find the man but from asking around I discovered that the bar had been sold to a Swedish guy but he died two years ago and the bar was absorbed by the neighboring resort.

As in Penang, I fell into a comfortable routine. I would spend my mornings at a cafe called The French Bakery, ordering breakfast and sipping coffee on their outdoor patio until lunchtime. They had solid wifi and I was always productive here. A little before lunch I'd head over to KoHUB to see what others were up to, generally a group was going to lunch together and I'd glom onto them. KoHUB also employed a few local women to cook group lunches. Without doubt, this was some of the best Thai food I'd ever had. The owner was a long-term expat in Thailand and gave these women express instructions to cook the same food they make for their families. No tourist-Thai here, this was the real stuff. Green curries filled with chopped Thai chilies and hunks of Thai eggplant, beautiful fried rice, Pad Kra Pao that would make you cry. The owner also had them use red rice, which I'd never seen before but was an interesting twist.

Working from this coworking space was a blessing. Lots of people to hang out with during the day. Monday nights we'd all head next door to The Irish Embassy for their weekly pub quiz. Faster internet access than I get from Comcast at home. And just steps from the beach.


KoHub's backyard.


Working outside can have some disadvantages.



Great place.

Next door was a popular lunch spot, May's Kitchen. Solid Thai food though not the best.


May's tom kha gai.


KoHub's amazeball snack and shot of wheatgrass.

My favorite western place was Patty's Secret Garden, run by an Englishman named Julian:



His margaritas were almost San Antonio quality.

Without doubt the best food I had on Lanta was at the northern end of Long Beach at a place called Mr. Greens. The owner of Kohub pointed me here and I wound up returning again and again.

As is so often the case in Thailand, the restaurant was just a bunch of plastic chairs and some cooking equipment on the side of the road.





And the food, oh it was good.


Pork belly stir fried with kale.


Green curry.


Mango sticky rice.


And a cat who will watch you eat.

Most of my downtime was spent reading a book on my Kindle while sipping something cold on the beach. I only ventured off of Long Beach once during my two weeks.

Up next: Old Town Lanta and a secluded beach in the south

txflyer77

Part 5.1: Old Town Lanta and Bamboo Bay

I spent all but one day of my two weeks on Lanta. For the most part, there isn't a huge reason to move around. Each beach does have a different character based on the type of traveler it attracts (one beach south was hippies, one beach north was families) but Long Beach is a good in-between option with a little of everything.

That said, I did rent a car one day and head to the Old Town and down to the southern end of the island. Sure, motorbikes are 1/5th the cost we're still talking about less than $30 and there are horror stories on Lanta of tourists on motorbikes flinging themselves off the cliffside road in the southern part of the island. I opted for the car.

Before being discovered by tourists, the center of life on Lanta was the what's now called "Old Town". These days the main town is Saladan, the first town you hit after reaching Lanta on the car ferry. Old Town is on the other side of the island and there aren't any beaches nearby so most tourists skip it.

I drove over a Sunday when the town hosts a small street market:





About twenty people died in the tsunami on Lanta, destroying the town's pier. The remnants are piled next to the replacement as a small memorial.



The old town is more colorful and quiet than the tourist centers on the other side of the island.





Lanta is a mix of Buddhists and Muslims and the old town reflects that.







After lunch I drove back to the other side of the island but turned south instead of north back to where I was staying. The Italian who ran the guesthouse I was staying in recommended a beach called Bamboo Bay, which he said was stunningly beautiful and generally uncrowded. One place selling beer and snacks and a massage hut on the beach.



He wasn't wrong.

I enjoyed my time on Koh Lanta. Great beaches and legions of Swedes enjoying the sun.





After two weeks, it was time to head back north and begin my journey home. But first, a brief stop in Krabi before my flight out.

Up next: Swimming in the spicy curry seas

txflyer77

Part 6: Krabi, the spiciest town you'll ever visit

Transport in Thailand isn't exactly the world-renowned and trying to make a land transfer the same day as your flight is generally a recipe for disaster. Since Krabi has a reputation for great food I decided to spend two nights there before flying back to HKG.

The minibus was once again horrible.

Krabi is a dusty southern Thai town. Certainly not all that attractive and few people stay for more than a night in transit as they make their way to and from the islands. That said, I didn't mind spending the extra night, though I wound up in a hotel that had an infestation of Asian tiger mosquitoes and that wasn't fun at all. A few bit me and that always leaves a lingering worry about dengue but fortunately I made it out fine.



The food made up for it. Krabi's food is heavily influenced by Muslim and Malay traditions so the some of the food was not dissimilar to what I had in Penang.

I started with khao mok gai, roasted chicken with biryani rice:





(I'm sure that by now I've scared off more than a few FTers with the hygiene conditions of the places I ate at on this trip )

My hotel was around the corner from one of the night markets. There's a tourist market near by pier but I skipped that one on advice of the guy who runs KoHub and stuck to Maharaj market, which caters to locals.

The specialty here is curry. Endless varieties. I don't speak Thai and they don't speak much English so pointing and grunting is the lingua franca here.





I'm pretty sure this was gaeng som, sour yellow curry with fish.

The only sight I bothered to go see in Krabi was Wat Kaewkorawaram, a sparkling white temple on top of a hill overlooking the town.







Krabi also hosts a huge morning market. Mostly this seems to cater to local restaurants, selling bulk fresh fish and vegetables and spices but there are some cooked food vendors as well.







Mangoes are the local specialty and believe me they are tasty.







I grabbed a breakfast of sticky rice with taro and roti grob:



Back towards my hotel was a street stall selling bags of fried mussels with chili sauce. I first came across this at the bus station in Kanchanaburi on my first trip and fell in love. Dirt cheap snack and so, so tasty:



Back at the Maharaj market I tried the competing curry stall the second night:





This was the second spiciest dish I've ever eaten in my life. The spiciest was at a Pakistani restaurant in San Antonio. I think the yellow curry on the left is gai unasawari, chicken with mustard greens. I don't know what the other was but I was breathing fire afterwards. Naturally I went and grabbed some mango sticky rice to cool down.

I also grabbed some shrimp pad thai from the pleasant family running this little stand in the bowels of the market:





After two nights it was time to begin my journey home. Once again to Hong Kong.

Up next: TG IRROPs and an extended stay at Suvarnaboomboomboom

txflyer77

Part 7: (Mis)adventures with TG

When I scheduled this trip I didn't realize that my return through HKG/PEK was over the tail-end of Chinese New Year. Oops.

Other than the LCCs with really nasty schedules, the only reasonable option I could find for getting back to HKG from KBV was using UA miles for a TG/ET (Ethiopian) connection via BKK. TG KBV-BKK, ET BKK-HKG. HKG-BKK is a route with tons of fifth freedom carriers and I figured this would make for an interesting trip report if nothing else.

It was not to be.

KBV is a 15 minute cab ride from Krabi proper. Check-in was a disaster (and my *A status expired two days earlier...).



The line was so long our flight was delayed because so many passengers were still in line here. I don't know if this is normal for TG or if there was something else in the works here but between the absurd amount of luggage most people had and their process being mostly manual, check-in for each group took upwards of 5-10 minutes. Mine was about 15 since the agent couldn't see my ET connection and had to manually interline the two and still couldn't print my onward BP. I only had a 1:10 connection so I was worried about finding the transfer desk in time. Without an onward BP I also didn't qualify for CIP so I couldn't clear immigration until BKK (Thailand allows onward international passengers to clear outward immigration at the start of their journey rather than while connecting through BKK).



Oh, Thailand...



The A330 taking us to BKK.



A tuna sandwich. (Reading All the President's Men on my Kindle)

We departed about 30 minutes late. The flight was uneventful. When we landed at BKK we seemed to taxi around the entire airport—passing empty gate after empty gate—only to park at a bus stand. Goodbye, connection! I pushed my way through to get on the first bus and sprinted into the airport once we reached the terminal. I still had about 10 minutes before boarding and figured if I ran I had a chance.

Nope. Two TG agents were waiting at the terminal entrance with a sign that had my name on it. They'd already rebooked me on a later TG flight that evening. The upside: I had not heard good things about ET on this route, now I was on TG. The downside: the onward flight wasn't for six hours. They took me landside to deal with everything, gave me a food voucher and then I headed back airside (immigration took 45 minutes).

Big ^ to TG for their IRROPs handling. As we taxi'd I used the free international roaming on my T-Mobile connection to look for onward space in case I needed it and was coming up empty since everyone in the region was on their way home from CNY celebrations. I'd almost consigned myself to spending the night in BKK until I saw those agents.

I could've gone into Bangkok I suppose but since I was near the end of my trip I decided to just camp out in the airport instead. I considered buying a day pass to one of the lounges but reports online weren't great so I opted for the Starbucks instead.

The onward flight was equally uneventful. I landed at HKG around 10 or 11 at night, hopped on the Airport Express and was asleep by midnight.

Always glad to be back in Hong Kong, this time for four days.

Up next: Working remote with a roasted goose leg (again!)

txflyer77

Part 8: Back in Hong Kong

Due to award availability I found myself with four days in Hong Kong on the way home. Much like my visit at the start of the trip, I spent most of my time working at various cafes and chowing down on great food.

I couldn't find any good redemption options so I stayed at a budget guesthouse near Yau Ma Tei instead. Wasn't bad at all.

Due to my delay I didn't arrive until midnight. My first morning I went straight to Tim Ho Wan, their Sham Shui Po location was only about a 20 minute walk from where I was staying.



Siu mai and an egg cake.



I can never resist an order of pork buns.

From there I continued south to TST and spent the morning at N1 Coffee (see first HK post). I crossed the harbour and spent the afternoon working from Rabbithole Coffee in Wan Chai. Across the street is Butchers Club Burger and I decided that after a month in Asia I desperately needed a cheeseburger.



The next day I stopped at Kam Wah for a po lo bao, a pineapple bun:



Before crossing to Central again and spending the day at Hazel and Hersheys (again, see first HK post). Lunch was at Yat Lok, again.



Mmm, goose.

I spent that evening wandering around the street markets of Central under the mid-levels.













Dinner was at [b]One Dim Sum[b] back towards Mongkok.



Steamed siu mai and baked barbecue pork bun.



Steamed vermicelli with shrimp and leeks.

I spent much of the next day in Wanchai again. I've come to enjoy a bar on Ship Street called Ham & Sherry, or rather the bar behind it, not the tapas place itself (which I haven't tried). The bartender is a Canadian. I've been to HK enough times in the last few months that he knows me on sight at this point.



Pork knuckles and noodles at Wing Wah. I stopped here another time for their wontons.

My final dish in HK was some egg tarts from the Tai Cheong that straddles Yau Ma Tei and Sham Shui Po.



Grabbed a cab in front of the bakery and went to the airport for my flight to PEK.

Another fun trip to Hong Kong complete, time to enter China proper for the first time.

Up next: If you can add a city to your ticket for free, why not?

txflyer77

Part 9: KA F HKG-PEK

Returning to the "backbone" ticket of the trip, my US F award, it was time to try KA F on HKG-PEK. I had the choice between KA F and CX J. I figured the soft product probably wouldn't be too different but F lounge access in HKG would be nice, plus I was already redeeming for F anyways.

This also finally gave me an excuse to explore more than just the Wing, though I started their anyways.

My flight was at 2PM and I arrived at 11AM, just in time for breakfast at the Wing before they switched to the lunch menu.

I started with some muesli, fruit and smoked salmon, plus an americano:



After that an omelette:



The omelette wasn't great. The quality was fine I just remember thinking it was an odd combination of flavors. Those cherry tomatoes were far too sweet for this dish.

I spent about another 30 minutes in the Wing sipping some champagne.



Before leaving I walked through to the business class side to see what that side was like. After taking a look around I grabbed a seat in the coffee loft and ordered a cappuccino.



After that I began my tour of CX HKG lounges. My first stop was the cabin. I didn't even bother to sit down. It was hot in that lounge and way too crowded. I did a lap around to see what was on offer and went straight back out to the concourse.

Instead of going back to the Wing I continued down the concourse to the Bridge, my gate was down in that direction anyways. The Bridge doesn't have separate first and business facilities but I was pleased. I sat in one of the restaurant areas for a bit until boarding for my flight was called.



Boarding was relatively smooth. The KA agents did a good job keeping everyone in line during the scrum. Lots of people tried to sneak into the first and business lines but the gate agents were very vigilant.

Today's flight was on an A330. The hard product was more than adequate for such a short flight.







The meal started with an amuse bouche of chilled shrimp, a berry and iberico ham:



(Click for larger images of the menus)








Grilled scallop and prawn with cucumber carpaccio.


Asparagus and potato cream soup.


Caviar.


Beef tenderloin.


Ice cream and fruit plate. This was a great dessert, too many airlines come up with fancy dessert concoctions that just wind up sounding totally unappetizing (Lufthy, I'm looking at you).

Overall, this was a great flight. KA's short-haul F catering is great and I actually thought this was slightly higher quality than the meal I had ex-LAX in CX F the month before. Each course was simple and tasty. I can't ask for more.

Arrival in PEK didn't go very smoothly. The signage for TWOV pointed to an unmanned immigration desk. I stood there for a few minutes but no one showed up so I got in the regular line. After an hour of that, I finally reached the desk and was told I had to go stand in the diplomatic line (because that makes sense). Another 20 minutes and I was again in front of an immigration agent. After calling over a supervisor to confirm that TWOV was allowed (and waiting another ten minutes for that), he was about to stamp me in when his computer crashed.

After standing in the taxi line for half an hour I was finally on my way to the Hilton Beijing in Chaoyang. Between the flight delay and time I spent getting out of the airport, it was close to 10PM when I arrived so I just fell asleep and began my brief tour of Beijing the next day.

Up next: Two Days in Beijing

txflyer77

Part 10: Beijing

Though my TWOV was technically for 72 hours, I really only had two days to see Beijing since I arrived late on day one and had a morning flight on my way out. I arrived on a Saturday so I decided to spend Monday going up to the Great Wall (to avoid the weekend crowds) and Sunday seeing the big Beijing sights.

I found a decent rate at the Hilton Beijing Chaoyang. In hindsight I should've paid more and stayed in Wangfujing or another location more convenient for tourists. Oh well.

Though the location isn't the best for tourists, the hotel itself was quite good. As an HHonors Gold I was upgraded to the exec tower. Good lounge here and the room was quite nice as well.















Breakfast in the exec lounge. Egg dishes are freshly cooked and there's a good variety. Not on the level of the Conrad HKG but quite good in its own right.



View from the room.

There were a few problems with the staff, sometimes their English isn't great. I tried to grab a cab to go to the Grand Hyatt for lunch at Made in China and the attendant outside had no idea what I was talking about. No issues with the front desk staff though.

I spent my first day tooling around the Forbidden City and Beitou Park before enjoying Peking duck at Dadong. I walked from the Hilton to the nearby metro station, bought a yikatong card and set off.

Alighting at the station for the Forbidden City I had an odd experience. I had read about westerners being approached by people who wanted to have their photo taken with a white person, as well as the scam wherein a young woman invites you to help her practice her English, but what happened in front of Tiananmen was rather strange.

A young woman approached me and asked if I was an American. I said yes (the same has happened to me in Japan and Korea and I don't mind chatting). She asked if it was my first time in Beijing (I lied and said no, nothing good ever comes from saying yes to that question). She then walked off a bit and was watching me as I read up on ticket information for the Forbidden City on my phone. She was talking to someone on her phone while she looked at me. I set off for the pedestrian underpass to cross the street and she followed, about 20 feet behind me.

I crossed under the street and she still followed. I don't think she was necessarily up to anything nefarious—if she was, the clackity-clack of her heels made her the most obvious stalker in history—and though I'd had awkward interactions with locals in Asia before (who hasn't had a Lost in Translation moment?), I'd never been followed.

I came out of the pedestrian tunnel and she was still following, now yelling after me "America, america!!" I checked to make sure I hadn't dropped anything that she might be trying to return and decided enough was enough so I ducked into a passing tour group as they walked towards the entrance. As they passed a side alley, I jumped in and hid around the corner, waiting for my new friend to pass. I saw her walk by the alley and continue the other way and decided to stay there for a minute until she was gone. When I came out she was gone and I entered Tiananmen Square.

What freaked me out was that she was talking to someone on the phone while just before following me. Normally I have no problem talking to friendly locals but something about that kicked off my paranoia.

Anyways...

This day was based on the advice of moondog in the China forum. I started with the Forbidden City:





(The sky wasn't really that blue, I just had a polarizer lens on my SLR )







After that, I crossed the street and walked a bit towards Beitou Park:







Following that I explored the hutongs of the Gulou area.



After that I returned to my hotel to take a break before dinner at Dadong, a roast duck restaurant in Chaoyang.



The menu goes on for slightly longer than forever. I ordered a half duck and some asparagus.



The skin was beautifully crispy. The duck was flavorful but I got a little bored of it about halfway through.



Condiments.



The asparagus was fantastic. I always find I'm a little short on vegetables when I go to Hong Kong so a big serving of greens was welcome.



A clear soup and these crepes (?) came along as well, though I didn't order them.



And the meal was finished with this bowl of sweet black sesame soup.

I spent the next morning working from my hotel before grabbing an early lunch at Made in China at the Grand Hyatt. Walking towards the hotel I encountered the famous teahouse scam but politely brushed her off (besides, I had a lunch reservation).

Again on the recommendation of FT's moondog, Made in China turned out to be a great choice, though as at Dadong awkward for a solo diner. I ordered two plates, cold marinated eggplant and Sichuan chicken.



The kitchen in open-air and you can see everything from the dining room.



After lunch I hopped on the metro to Beijing North station for the train to Badaling. I despise guided tours so the train suited me well. Cheap at about a buck each way and comfortable.





View from the train as we make our way through Beijing's suburbs.



Despite being February I was quite comfortable in just a light jacket. The weather was great.





Since I didn't stray too far from the entrance I never escaped the crowds but since I was there on a Monday, I didn't feel the need.



I suppose Americans would be a bit hypocritical to criticize someone for building a tourist trap?

I took the train back. Realizing that I would arrive in Beijing at the peak of rush hour, I started looking up alternate routes. Google Maps told me I could hop off at suburban Qinghuayuan station and walk to Zhichunlu on metro line 10 which conveniently would take me straight to the station by the Hilton, avoiding the city center. I hopped off the train and walked down a quiet side street to the metro station.

For my last meal in Beijing I opted for Din Tai Fung, which I know isn't really Beijing food but I wanted dumplings.





I ordered some sauteed greens as a side (forget which exactly).



Soup dumplings.



Shrimp and spinach dumplings.

I had an 8:30AM flight so I turned in early.

Up next: JL to NRT and my last day in Asia

Firemansam

Fantastic TR, the wife and i are heading to Railay for our Honeymoon in July, considered Lanta but she gets motion sickness quite badly and 2 hours in a car for her is torture.

As for the street food, i'm not turned off by the hygiene at all, my wife is from a beautiful beach village in Vietnam and we only eat street food there, the restaurant food from the local hotels is sub standard, and well the street food is the best food i have ever eaten.

txflyer77

There was an episode of No Reservations where Bourdain joked that the guy who got sick was always the one who ordered room service.

I believe it.

t_cliff

You can spread a bit of the sauce in the condiments tray onto the crepe, put 1 of each of the condiments, plus a piece of the peking duck. Roll up the crepe like burrito and enjoy. Very nice indeed.

For the THW dim sum in HK, it is a tourist trap mostly. There is better place. However, it does serve the purpose of getting some dim sum quick.

Firemansam

I could not agree more, the worst food i have ever eaten in Thailand was room service ordered from a fairly upmarket hotel on Koh Samui, was feeling it for days after that experience.

moondog

I'm happy to hear that the Beijing portion of your trip went smoothly and thank you for the mention (regarding the "FC-->Beihai Park-->Gulou" jaunt).

Regarding your hotel selection, IMO staying in Chaoyang is FAR better than staying downtown for almost all people. During your trip, you really only needed to go downtown once (to kick of the FC++ circuit). After completing it, you were in Gulou, which isn't especially far from the Hilton. Furthermore, downtown is pretty much dead at night (save a few touristy markets) and lacks extensive/quality dining options, whereas this is certainly not the case on the east side.

I typically try to hit Made in China at 1130a before heading over to Tiananmen. While it can be really hot in the FC at 1p, it's also usually less crowded then. For people that are anxious to fill their mornings with other sites, I advise them to start at Temple of Heaven (and meet me at Made in China).