Bangkok, part 1

Pro tip: if you’re flying to Thailand from the San Francisco Bay Area, try not to do it all at once. Because there are zero direct flights to Bangkok from SFO, so a layover is involved. No matter your chosen layover point - be it Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, or Hong Kong - you’re spending a cumulative 18 hours in the air before you touch the ground at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Arduous would be the apt word to describe that journey, especially if you’re a poor boy like me and can’t comfortably afford beyond an economy class ticket.

The smarter way to get to Thailand is stay at least a few days at the layover point. This avoids spending an entire day on the road and in the air. I should have traveled around Seoul - my layover en route to Thailand - for a week before then moving on to Bangkok. Given my propensity for the Korean language and affinity with Korean cuisine, it’s baffling as I type this that I didn’t spend any time at all in Korea. What a waste!

I think I was too focused on getting to Bangkok as quickly as possible. If not for my good friend getting married in Thailand, I had no plans to travel this summer (not in this economy). Honestly, I wouldn’t have otherwise visited Thailand at all. Southeast Asia - outside of Singapore - doesn’t hold any allure for me. Unlike some avid travelers, checking-off destinations for the sake of accumulation is not what I am about. I may never step foot on continental Europe, and that’s okay.

Therefore my thinking was to get in and out of Thailand as quickly and as cheaply as possible. I stayed five full days in Bangkok, just long enough to attend the marital festivities, and getting rested to endure yet another travel day back home.

Please don’t emulate me - enjoy Thailand fully! It takes at least that five days to acclimatize to the muggy hot weather. Be sure to take advantage of your layover destination and do some sightseeing there as well. 18 hours in the air in succession - plus all the waiting at the airports - will drain the life out of you.

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Second leg.

Authentically Asian

Director Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite” becomes the first foreign language film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.

That is a heavy and well-overdue achievement, and the overwhelming joy from the Koreans on my twitter feed last night was especially heartwarming. Their feelings must have been what it was like for Chinese people when Ang Lee won his director Oscar for “Brokeback Mountain”. Lee absolutely paved the way for Bong’s eventual triumph, with the seemingly archaic Academy willing to give the ultimate recognition to a film that’s entirely in Korean, and produced entirely in South Korea. Honestly, I was prepared for disappointment throughout the ceremony, but when Jane Fonda read the word “Parasite”, the elation was rather emotional.

It’s been a banner year for Korean entertainment on the world stage, what with the great success of BTS, and now Parasite wining the top movie award on the planet. Even though I’m Chinese, I feel prideful for the achievement of people that look like me; for better or worse, the West treats us Asian faces as one homogenous blob (who amongst us hasn’t been falsely called one of the many Asian nationalities?), so the success of one group has a positive correlation to the other. Even though our cultures are varied and experiences different, within the bubble of American and European culture we are seen as one giant group.

Therefore, a win for Parasite is a win for other Asians in the film industry.

A belated shoutout to the team behind “The Farewell”; Awkwafina winning best actress at the Golden Globes was super amazing, and it’s a shame the film didn’t get one ounce of recognition - not so much as a nomination - at the Oscars.

I think Parasite winning Best Picture is the final signal to Asians all over the globe, but especially in Western countries, that we no longer have to contort and distort our true culture to succeed or receive recognition in the West. We can be completely ourselves - unapologetically unfiltered, and still get to where we want to be. If anything, it’s catering to what we think the West wants that has gotten us continually stuck. Authenticity is the best currency, even if it isn’t in English.

We’re only getting started.

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We’ve got a functioning Apple II computer.

That time I missed my flight from Korea

It's once again the month of May, and it had me thinking about a year ago when I traveled to Korea. It was a wonderful trip of a lifetime and you should definitely check out the photos here.

While reminiscing about the trip I was reminded of the hilarious incident we had in catching the flight back to America. There were three of us on the trip and yet somehow we all managed to misinterpret the flight time. It was definitely not a good showing for the male section of the species. 

For whatever reason, the flight time were shown using military time. Our flight was printed at 20:00 hours which simple math equates to 8:00pm in the evening. We like to think of ourselves as persons of intelligence but we completely miscalculated and thought the flight was 10:00pm. 

With that in mind we naturally got to the airport a bit before 8pm. Upon looking at the giant departure board and not finding our flight I double-checked the reservation and realize to horror the huge mistake. We made a dash for Korean Air counter but it was too late: not enough time remained to get us through customs and security. 

Even under such misfortune due to self stupidity we lucked out: we got to the check-in counter before the airplane left the ground, which meant we were able to rebook to the next available flight at no extra cost. Had the flight already taken off we would've squandered the plane ticket and had to then pay again for the next one. 

So apart from a slightly wounded pride and the costs of an extra night of hotel (and a very angry girlfriend for my friend), it was a good learning episode and I doubt any of us will ever misread a departure time ever again. 

Currency exchange

In preparation for the Taiwan trip next week, I went to the Mechanics Bank downtown today to exchange for some Taiwan dollars. It's always good to have some cash on hand to at least get from the airport to the hotel. 

In doing so I was reminded of the last time I visited the same bank this past May: to buy some Korean currency. Both times I purchased around $200 worth of local money. 

On the Korea trip, I could have easily not used any of the cash I exchanged: the country is fabulously accepting of credit cards. From the airport bus kiosk down to the elder ladies peddling food in front of the baseball stadium, I was amazed at how often i can use card to pay. For a person living in the States used to seeing 'cash only' signs in many storefronts, it's a pleasure and convenience I wish America would adopt. 

Unfortunately, Taiwan isn't nearly as friendly to credit cards as Korea, at least from my previous experience two years ago. Perhaps it'll be different this time: on the last trip we had to take a one-hour bus ride from the airport to get into Taipei, now there's a dedicated subway line taking half the time. 

I for one cannot wait for a true cash-less society, with my wallet's contents all residing in the smartphone. To pay for anything, all I have to do is hover my phone over an NFC device. Apple Pay on the iPhone is getting there, but there still exist a huge dearth of places that accept it. I will not be surprised if Korea is the first country to go truly/completely mobile wallet.

Wait, would that mean I'll have to switch to a Samsung phone and get Samsung pay?