Happy Thanksgiving

Hello family and friends, we wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving. Although we miss everyone this holiday, we certainly are thankful for all the love and support that you've given us in the 5 months (can you believe it?) it's been since we've been in a place where we don't need a passport. We're safe and sound in Tanunda, Australia, and have big plans for tasting the wines of the Barossa Valley region.

As a token of our gratitude, we thought we'd give you a look into what we cooked for our Thanksgiving feast. It might come in handy to suggest to those who are always late for the celebration, because their "dish was still cooking." Now they have no excuse.

Steve & Jesse's Upside Down Sausage Stuffing (aptly named because everything in the deep southern hemisphere is upside down. It's like walking on the ceiling):

Ingredients (feeds 4, or 2 for 2 meals in a row):
4 Italian Sausage Links
1 Package Stuffing mix
1 Can of Green Beans
1 Cup of Water

In the first pot (you only have two), pour the contents of the green bean can (water n' all). In the second pot, chunk up the sausage, squeezing it out of its casing and brown it. Once it's finished cooking, drain some of the grease if you like, but not all of it. Pour the contents of the hot green bean pot into the sausage pot and add stuffing mix. Stir and cover. Let sit for 5 minutes. If there's still dry parts to your stuffing mix, add more water and cover. Enjoy.

This dish goes extremely well with a side of fresh broccoli and a bottle of Barossa Valley Shiraz.

May all of your celebrations go as smoothly as ours did!

Buying Fish, Japanese Style

So we're in the basement of the Seibu department store tonight, looking for our next pigout on sushi and all of a sudden we hear this yelling in Japanese and witness a crowd forming.

What's happening is the nightly fish auction. You've got at least one, if not two people working the crowd, calling a play by play as to how the guy behind the counter is hacking up a fish (tonight's example, a 50lb tuna). The commentators have wireless microphones so that everyone who's gathered to watch the spectacle can hear what's going on. As the fish is cut into sections by the butcher using an extremely sharp knife (cuts bone like butter, or maybe the fish had already been deboned), the part of fish being cut is wrapped in plastic, weighed, labeled and then placed in the freezer case for purchase. Those interested in that particular cut of fish, then rush over to the freezer case and grab the piece they want.

I sat there in awe tonight over the happenings, wishing that the seafood that we normally purchased was THAT fresh. Our sushi dinner, was, again, fantastic, complemented with a bottle of Saki that contained no English print. I had to guess (we do that a lot here in Japan with food and drink) that it was Saki, and based on price, I'd say it was a mid range example. Not too shabby.

One other food related note... we'd read somewhere that the Japanese don't really much care for sweets, but after seeing the endless rows of confectioners in the food basements of the grocery stores, I declare that claim utter horsepuckey...

~S

28 Years and Still Smokin...

Honestly, I don't smoke and I really don't intend to ever start... but when I was thinking of a title for this blog, all that came to mind was an old Camel Cigarette ad that I saw about 20 years ago. I thought it was the stupidest ad then, and I still think so now, yet it's stuck in my mind. And they say we're not affected by advertising...

Anyhow, we're in Tokyo now, the Akasaka district to be exact. We spent my birthday traveling, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Traveling really exposes you to what the world has to offer, as you come into contact with all the different cultures out there. I also have been marveling at the technology and good/bad/smart/dumb ways of doing business that we've come across today. More on that in a minute.

The day started out normally, although I may have been over served last night in the executive lounge because they were "featuring" a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. I'm pretty sure that Jesse and I consumed most of their stock and took the rest of a bottle back to our room. We first headed up to the executive lounge for breakfast at 6am, which consisted of my standard "milk 'em for all their worth" smoked salmon bagel sandwich, which included brie cheese, capers, onions all on a whole wheat bagel. Upon checking out of the JW Marriot in Hong Kong, they gave me a free bottle of wine (unfortunately, not the Sauvignon Blanc, but a nice Cab/Merlot mix from Australia) and a birthday card. Nice touch Marriot, I'd stay with you again in a heart beat. Too bad we can't afford you very often.

We were then transfered by free shuttle bus to the Airport Express train station. Now here's a smart way of doing business: The train terminal is essentially an extension of the airport, allowing you to check in BEFORE your train ride from down town Hong Kong, thereby saving you the hassle of lugging your bags on and off the train, queuing up at the airport, being late/missing your flight, etc... Because you're checked in already, after the 20 minute train ride (and this train really moves and is silent), you head straight through security, customs, immigration and right to your gate. If you needed to, you could be from downtown Hong Kong to your gate in 30 minutes. So you're probably thinking, big deal... but here's the rub. Downtown Hong Kong isn't even on the same island as the airport, it's about 30 km away.

We had no trouble finding our Northwest (go figure, right, is this the same NWA that's based out of Detroit?) flight to Tokyo and boarded our plane. Now normally, I'd think "ooh, we're flying a 747, the one with two stories, very cool," however, this is where NWA really let me down. Because the 747 is a really outdated aircraft now (I don't think you'll find one in Emirates' fleet) it lacks the niceties (read: personal entertainment in every seat and legroom) that the newer jets (Airbus A330/A340) have. NWA had made no attempt to update their plane with new equipment or spread out the seats. I felt sorry for the people who had to fly this thing on to LA or Detroit. When we landed in Tokyo, I did see NWA using some 747's as cargo planes, and I certainly hope that they plan on putting the other ones out to pasture some time soon. But who am I to complain. We got here safely, on time and at a reasonable price.

Upon landing in Tokyo, we cleared customs, immigration, and found bus tickets for the 66km ride to Tokyo. Who puts an airport 60km from downtown? Oh, yeah, Baltimore has effectively done that. After being spoiled by Hong Kong's airport express train, a luxury bus liner would HAVE (extreme sarcasm) to do.

The bus dropped us off at the Intercontinental Hotel here in Akasaka, but since we're not in the market to be spending $2000/night on a hotel room for 5 nights, we found a taxi to take us to our hotel near by. Good idea: this cab driver had a nav system which enabled him to input the exact address we were looking for and it led him right to our hotel's door.

I'm very pleased with our hotel room at The "B" Hotel. Now all we've got to do is figure out the toilet. I'm sure there's a card here somewhere with directions to help you avoid spraying scalding hot or ice cold water on your rear... Wish me luck!

Oh, another thing, it's actually fall weather here. Today's high was in the 50's and the leaves are changing. I wonder if their Starbucks has a pumpkin spice (soy) latte?

Much love to everyone back home. Thanks to everyone who's written me.

~Esteban

Crazy photo op

Today we had the craziest experience I've had so far and that is saying alot! Hong Kong has been a wonderful city to wander around in since it is clean, quiet, and virtually free of touts. Occasionally, if you are in a hot tourist spot you will get a Buddhist "monk" trying to sell you a peace card but that is minor compared to the rest of the world.

Anyhow, we walked to the HK Convention and Exhibition Centre. The architecture is akin to the Sydney Opera hall and is right on the waterfront. The weather was beautiful with clear skies and temp around 75 deg. F. We took some pics and then sat down and enjoyed the breeze by the water.

When we were ready to move on to find the Peak tram to the top of the Hong Kong island, we took a few last pictures of the monuments surrounding the center. I posed in front of an obelisk with Chinese lettering and when Steve finished taking the picture this girl came from nowhere and wanted a picture next to me. Steve was going to take a shot with our camera but then they motioned for him to join us. At this point the girl is hugging my waste very tight and giggling away. Steve stood to the left of me and then the other Asian girl tossed the camera to the guy in their group and ran to Steve and hung on to his waste. I was hugged so tightly that when we tried to move to get a good centering for the picture I thought I was going to fall over with the girl. I'm not sure how the photo turned out for them because I'm sure the look on my face was one of complete bewilderment and hilarity.

They bowed and managed a broken "thank you"...we all bowed and then we were on our way. I admit that it caused me to laugh out loud multiple times today as I remembered the scenario. I don't know where the girls were from but they didn't speak much English and were very bold. Overall, I would have to say we are now famous somewhere in somebody's circle of friends...oh the joy of being an American! :-)

The wonders of Stardust

As you can see from our Bangkok photos, as we started feeling a little better we were out and about exploring the city before we headed out on our vineyard biking adventure. One of the days we explored the Siam Paragon which was a huge shopping "mall". Mall in a sense but larger than you've ever seen. It was multiple blocks and included 5 floors of stores including a basement Gourmet food market.

We wanted to watch a movie and checked out what was playing on the 6th floor cinema and decided upon a Stardust showing. When ordering the tickets we realized that it was pricier than expected but went ahead and bought 2 tickets. We killed the time until the show by walking around checking out all of the awesome electronics and perusing the bookstores.

About 20 minutes before the movie started we headed to the cinema figuring we would take advantage of the facilities as long as possible because of the high cost. At first we tried to go into the main entrance but they directed us to another area where we were escorted to a lounge waiting area. Now we understood why we paid so much ($15/person) and had free soda drinks and pastry cookies. Two minutes before the show started we stood up and immediately an attendant appeared at our table and personally walked us to our seats. We also had selected where we wanted to sit in the theatre...kind of like concert or broadway tickets.

Earlier I had worried about being cold since all of the stores were freezing and outside was hot and muggy. I didn't need to worry because at our seats we were given pillows and blankets to go along with our leather reclining seats in a private box for two. We snuggled under the blankets and waited for the show, only to be interrupted by a sudden airing of the King's song where everyone stood up until the end...the country is very patriotic!

The movie was excellent but left us with only 15 minutes before the mall closed and we still needed to buy dinner. We raced/hobbled (we were lame from lifting leg weights the previous day) to the basement floor and found sushi and spring roll bento boxes for dinner. It was an amazing dinner and we caught the skytrain back to our hotel ferry pickup location.

It was a wonderful evening with surprise twists!

And finally a change of pace

After what seems forever we have moved on from Nepal and India to Bangkok. Before we left Bangalore, India decided to leave us with a parting gift of a good round of sickness. We managed to drag ourselves to the airport and then realized once we arrived at our new destination that it was time to call in the Doc's help. We are now recuperating nicely and have enjoyed seeing a bit of the city.

It is a welcome change to not hear any horns honking or constantly dodging car, human, and animal traffic. After spending a while in the 3rd world atmosphere you stop taking simple life niceties for granted...cleanliness, respect for others, abiding by global societal rules, etc.

We found a Starbucks today and gleefully went in for our first cup of good joe in a long while. What we did not expect was to see all of the Christmas flavors and decorations displayed! It's kind of like Florida where you know it's the right time of year for the holidays but the weather says opposite.

Chillin' Out on MG Road

Well, we've officially been in Bangalore for a week now and have used our down time productively. We've found a reasonably priced and clean hotel with wi-fi to allow us to stay connected with the world and make the second round of our flight plans.

The MG Road area in Bangalore is the most western area that we've seen so far, with a McDonalds, KFC, and tons of pubs, glorious pubs. They also sell beer in the grocery stores for a way better price than you can find at even the best happy hour here in town.

This down time has also allowed us to read a bunch of books, mainly tour guides, for Bangkok, Hong Kong and Tokyo, but I also got a chance to read a book by the author of the Tipping Point, Malcom Gladwell. This book is called Blink and it's about that ever-so-telling feeling you get within 2 seconds of experiencing something.

Being that I often act based on the intuition that I get within the first 2 seconds of a new situation, I found this book especially apropos. It talks about the part of the brain that is used to process a situation, and how it effectively "thin slices" every situation to take visual clues that we aren't even consciously aware of. It's the reason why, when playing Beruit, you know the second the ping pong ball leaves your hand that it's going to land in a cup. A very interesting read...

Now I'm onto another book called The Power of Persuasion, by Robert Levine. It's aim is to talk about how we're affected by the incessant barrage of advertising in our world. It also talks about how the smoothest salesmen (or women) gain our trust and then swindle us further. I'm curious to see how many of the things he talks about in this book are tactics used by the touts that we've faced around the world... "Hello Friend"

~S