Perhaps it wasn't THE best shower ever, but it certainly seemed like it was.

I have a bunch of hours to spend here in Tokyo's "NRT" airport.  I've been here in the United lounge many times -- I LOVE the beer machines! -- but never with this much time on my hands.  So I explored a bit.  I've seen the shower suites in the past, but you have to sign up for them, and I always figured they'd be snooty with my upgraded busines class seat and not a full-fare "C" seat.

But my upgrade came through with time to spare; I got a business class boarding pass; I figured I'd give it a go. Worst they can do is say no and make me feel like a second class miserable, pathetic excuse for a human being.

I’m happy to report there was not a hint of snooty.  Just a "would you care for a shower today, sir?" and "here is a complimentary amenity kit".  Went to my shower suite, put the sign up, and locked the door.  The suites aren't spacious, but they're not small either.  Kind of the size of a normal American bathroom.  A sink, a commode, and a BIG shower stall.  The shower stall is walk-in.  Heck, you could drive a small car into it.

And it's not cheap and nasty either.  All the fixtures are top notch Gröhe equipment.  I set my shower temperature and turned the pressure knob to 11 and...  and...  it was rapture.

After the 7 hour night flight from Kuala Lumpur -- at the end of a particularly long business day, I should add -- and knowing I have another 15 hours of flight time ahead of me, this was EXACTLY what I needed.

The amenity kit included shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, razor, shaving cream, toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, and some eau de toilette (always sounds better than "toilet water").  Nothing fancy, but nothing cheap either.

Just two minor complaints.  The bath towel was neither large nor absorbent.  Perhaps adequate for drying a hairless chihuahua after he’s run around a bit, but NOT so for drying an American male. Fortunately, the paper towels were more than absorbent to augment.

Second, the disposable razor.  Note to self: Dispose it first and THEN shave (with the razor in your dop kit) and there will be substantially less bloodshed.

Other than that, it was utterly delightful.  I plan on stopping through NRT more often on these southeast Asia trips in the future, that's for sure!

Cheers,

Ken

If Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia were to somehow have a (US) football team go to the super duper big game in January, what would I serve?

Huh? “Has he gone insane?!,” you must be asking. A fair question, but let me explain.

I’m sitting here in Kuala Lumpur on a business trip. With a 12-hour time zone shift, my body’s circadian clock has been understandably askew, but I’m dealing with it. (It’s not my first time...) So, I was clicking through the TV stations in my hotel room. What caught my eye was a chef in a kitchen preparing a positively drool-worthy meal. I watched...

It turned out to be a story about some chefs in Jerusalem who periodically got together with their peers and prepared meals for them. The catch: the chefs were Palestinian as well as Jewish. They prepared meals and then described each dish’s history for their peers. The crux of the story was that they were fostering peace through culinary and historical understanding of each other’s foods. The message was 100% one of peaceful coexistence. I was captivated and completely ate up the story, if not the dishes.

What TV station do you suppose carried this story? Al Jazeera. That’s right, Al Jazeera. The English version of Al Jazeera is broadcast around the world from right here in Kuala Lumpur. I was shocked. This can’t be the station that my countrymen have warned me about. They were carrying a message not of extremism and violence, but of peace and coexistence. (I wish I could say the same for my own country’s news outlets.) Wow.

So, that got me thinking back to here, Kuala Lumpur. Each year for the big football game, we throw a party where we serve food from each team’s city. I always try to select meals that speak to the city. Things they’re known for. Pittsburgh-style sandwiches with french fries AND cole slaw right on the sandwich, just like they serve in da ‘Burgh, for example.

What would I serve for KL? (Of course, the fact that they don’t have a team is not even relevant.)

Last night, my host took me to dinner and asked me what I wanted to eat. I said that I’d like to try something that is uniquely Malaysian and -- even better -- uniquely Kuala Lumpur(ian). A challenge...

We went to a Malaysian restaurant and had a couple local dishes. Main course was a coconut rice dish that was fabulous. The rice is cooked with coconut milk and has a fabulous savory flavor to it. Alongside they had a curry sauce smothered chicken and beef dish. Also fabulous. The spices are fresh and vibrant, which I’d expect in this part of the world. I also had a bean dish that they said few westerners would eat. The beans were crisp and fresh, and about the size of fava beans. They were in a red sauce that was intensely flavorful and clearly spiced to kill small children and tourists. Wow.

The food was fantastic. I tried to find out a bit of the “history” of each dish, but was not successful, other than that each dish is traditional and uniquely Malaysian...or perhaps Indonesian, depending on whom you ask. Great. ;-\

But it’s a great question to ask. I heartily suggest you try it whenever you travel. Find the dish(es) that the region/city is known for. Ask the locals what dish a visitor MUST try before leaving. And be prepared for an adventure.

Understanding, knowledge, peace, coexistence, spice, flavor, mmmmmm....

Cheers,

Ken

This week wasn't any ordinary Bistro Friday. Nope, I spent my BF in beautiful, tropical, stinkin hot, Singapore.

I've been here since Sunday doing work for a customer. Earlier in the week, we went out to dinner for some excellent local cuisine, served at an absolutely amazing multi-cultural buffet at the nearby Grand Hyatt hotel. Everything was completely top notch, as I'd expect from a Grand Hyatt.

During the dinner, we were talking about the different foods of the world, and I--perhaps somewhat foolishly--said how culinarily adventurous I am. I like to try just about anything. Well, I do draw the line now and then, but for the most part, if it doesn't involve things that I just can't ethically accept, then I'll try things.

She asked me if I'd ever tried Durian. I hadn't, but I had heard of it on an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations". (I really like that show. Among other reasons, it's the only travel/food show I know of with a parental warning at the beginning. Apart from that, I largely agree with the culinary adventures Bourdain goes on, and seek them out whenever I'm in the regions he covers -- case in point, durian.)

Then she said, "we'll go get some durian on Friday after work, then." Had I gone too far? Had I spoken more than I'm willing to do? After all, some of the write-ups I've read about durian are pretty extreme (and funny). Plus, durian is literally illegal in public places here in Singapore. There are signs outside the subway stations saying "No Durians" with a little silhouette of the poor fruit. Oh no... This is no bluff, I thought.

But Bistro Friday came, and I hopped into the taxi to go to one of the local fruit mongers where durian is sold. The fruit monger is on a side street in the red light district where I'm quite sure not many tourists go. But, as soon as we got out of the taxi, I knew we were in the right place.

It's an open air--mercifully--fruit market with stacks and stacks and stacks of the beloved durian fruit, which is only in season during April and May. Each fruit is roughly the size of a cantaloupe.

They are spiny on the outside, which is actually where the name comes from. (From the Malaysian word for thorn, which is quite similar to the Afrikaans word for thorn, I might add.)




Other than the spiny outside, they look harmless enough, but don't let looks deceive. The smell is really powerful.

The fruit monger selected a ripe durian for us and kindly opened it for us to eat. The smell only gets more intense when the fruit is opened up, by the way.

I somewhat reluctantly went ahead and took my first bite--WOW! I immediately forgot that I was eating something that smelled like rotten, stewing, sewage and recognized why they call this the king of fruits. I'm a durian believer, instantly.

The flavor is kind of like vanilla pudding, flavored with almonds. It is soft, succulent, and unlike any flavor you'd expect to find in a fruit pod. Simply amazing.

So, when you find your way to Singapore, you absolutely MUST seek out this much-maligned fruit. It is so very worth the effort!

Cheers from Singapore,

Ken

I'm sitting here in San Diego's Lindbergh Field airport, waiting for my red-eye flight home. (Then I have a short weekend at home before heading back on the road to Singapore...)

I had a magnificent meal tonight at one of my favorite San Diego restaurants, Parallel 33. Absolutely highly recommended! If you're in the area and are looking for a cuisine that will excite you to the core, you've got to go here!

But that's not why I'm writing this journal entry tonight.

I'm writing this because of my experience here in the United "red carpet" lounge. After my P33 meal, I rolled down the hill to Lindbergh Field, dropped off my car, changed into more casual clothes, and came here to the lounge to relax for a bit before braving the all-night flight home. Big deal.

Well, that's what I *thought*, anyway. Big deal. When I presented my card to the receptionist, she asked me, "do you drink beer". My first thought, after "will you marry me," was "um...occasionally...w-h-y?" She explained that she needed to decide which beers to stock here in the lounge and was looking for some customer opinions. Now my antennae went on full alert. "Of course, I'd be *happy* to 'take one for the team' and act as your guinea pig."

Alas, that's not what she was looking for. But, it wasn't all bad either. She had a list of about 500 beers to choose from and was hoping to narrow it down to 3 or 4. She asked me things like, "what's the difference between an ale and a pilsner?" AND SHE WAS GENUINELY INTERESTED IN THE ANSWERS!

Now, I was convinced that something I'd eaten at P33 was somehow hallucinogenic, but I braved on. I suggested a line-up of a couple heavier beers (Pete's Wicked Ale and Newcastle Brown) and a couple lighter beers (Heineken and Sapporo). I explained it would be a good line-up of several nationalities and styles. She seemed happy with the choices, filled out the order form, and said "done".

My only remaining dilemma is that it'll be another 4 months before I'm back in town. I'll have to stock up on RCC drink vouchers between now and then so I can enjoy a couple when I'm back -- to wash down another magnificent meal at P33, of course!

Seriously, P33 is one of the very few restaurants I've experienced where I'm NEVER bored and ALWAYS enjoy their offerings. The menu is never the same twice. I savor meandering through the menu -- READING it, that is. If only I could down 10 (or so) appetizers and 10 main courses...

Tonight I started with an ahi (tuna) poke, washed back with a Ken Forrester chenin blanc from Cape Town. That, followed by a seared scallop main course with lentils, caramelized pearl onions, squash, and chanterelle mushrooms, washed back with a glass of temperanillo from Spain's Ribero del Duero region. All that, followed by a Turkish coffee. Absolutely magnificent!

Cheers,

Ken

I'm here on the gorgeous island of Kaua'i. It's the oldest of the Hawai'ian islands and is about as close to perfect as any place on earth I've ever experienced. Check out my photo gallery if you're interested, but to further illustrate, here are a couple of my highlights from yesterday:

1. Played 18 holes of golf yesterday at Po'ipu Bay. A fabulous course that's about a mile from where we stay. It hosted the PGA Grand Slam event for about 8 years or so. Perfect sunny day.
2. Went to my favorite sunset spot, at Po'ipu Beach. Saw a monk seal sleeping on the beach. We stood about 10 feet from him/her and watched this "aquatic basset hound" snooze away.
3. While watching the sunset, a small wedding party walked onto the beach and got married right in front of us, just as the sun was setting. When the ceremony ended, the entire beach crowd applauded wildly.
4. Came back to the condo for some wonderful barbecued chicken, washed back by a Chilean cabernet sauvignon.

So, perhaps these aren't things that interest you much, but they all add up to R&R perfection in my book. And all the more reason why I so thoroughly soak up my two weeks here in paradise every couple years. Not nearly long or frequent enough, but any time here is time well spent.

Aloha,

Ken

Anyone who ever reads this journal knows I spend quite a lot of time traveling. I know many many airlines, airports, and airport lounges far too well.

So, I'm always looking for ways to optimize my travel experiences. Some of the things that I value when I travel are comfort, customer service, and low stress situations. Expediency is good as well, but I'd much rather spend a few extra minutes if it means traveling in relaxed comfort. Running through airports, scrambling to make connecting flights, and such are NOT on my short list of fun things to do. They're not even on my VERY LONG list of fun things to do.

So, along came CLEAR, also known as the TSA's "registered traveler program". Now, although I don't mind spending a few extra minutes in the name of comfort, standing in long airport security queues is definitely NOT what I meant. So, when I first heard that CLEAR was coming to my home airports (Dulles and Reagan National), I was all over it. I gladly forked over the US$28 registration fee and the US$100 annual fee to give this new program a fair shake.

I've now used CLEAR three times, as I sit here in San Francisco airport bound for Osaka, Japan. Although 3 falls far short of a sufficient sample population, my 3 experiences have been in 3 different airports. So, I figured I'd drop a few short notes here about my preliminary experiences. I'll post something more substantive once I've been using the program for 6 months or so, so the program itself has a fair amount of time to go through its own startup pains and such. (Note, too, that I'll also describe the exhaustive registration process later.)

1. My first CLEAR experience was in Reagan National, flying up to New York City for a couple days' business. The main security line was quite short that day, but I thought I'd give it a shot in any case. I was greeted by a CLEAR agent who verified my ID, CLEAR card, and boarding pass. She walked me to the CLEAR terminal where I inserted my CLEAR card and provided a fingerprint scan to validate my identity. Once passed, I was greeted by another CLEAR agent who again validated my ID, CLEAR card, and boarding pass. She walked me through the x-ray and metal detector security screening process, "helping" me remove my laptop and such. Overall score: slower than regular security line and far less convenient.
2. This time, I was flying here to San Francisco from Dulles. The mid-afternoon security line at Dulles was already relatively long, but they do have a "premium passengers" line that is usually a bit shorter than the one the unwashed masses take. I went to the premium line, but did not see any mention of CLEAR, so I asked the clerk. He directed me to the CLEAR line downstairs. Odd...but what the heck, I went downstairs and there was the line--only, it was shared with flight crew, airport employees, and CLEAR travelers. (It was the "service entrance" by any other name.) The flight crews seemed to visibly take a dim view of us in the CLEAR line, who got to jump to the front of the queue. But I got through it. The ID checking was similar to the one at Reagan, but I only had to present my ID once.
3. Third time's the charm, right? Here in the San Francisco international terminal, I tried it again. Here, the security queue was quite significant already. There is a CLEAR lane to the side of the regular lanes. I was the only person in the CLEAR "line". Same ID checking; same fingerprint scanning. Then the CLEAR agent took me to a separate table where I removed my laptop, jacket, and shoes. She then put my bags and bins in the x-ray queue ahead of the rest of the passengers and directed me to a metal detector ahead of the rest of the passengers. I clearly (no pun intended...) got through the airport security in record time, and it was a far less hectic process than the one we're all used to.

Even us "elite" CLEAR folks still have to go through metal detectors and run our stuff through x-ray scanners. That's just fine in my book. But, if SFO's process is any indicator, the process is getting pretty smooth. I hope that Dulles and National follow suit in the convenience factor I experienced here.

Now, I have to say that I had an uneasy feeling "jumping" the queue in front of the flight crews yesterday and all the other passengers today. But, I suppose I do that all the time when I use the United 1K check-ins and such.

So, while I will stop short of calling the program an unmitigated success, I see some promise in it, at least from my perspective. Things that simplify my life, reduce my stress levels, and/or save me time are a good thing. CLEAR seems like it might achieve all three, but I'll withhold final judgment until the system has had time to get into a steady state of operations.

Cheers,

Ken