LONDON / WRAP UP FOR 2015 MARCH TRIP
Just wrapping up the last material images from our 2015 March London trip.
We went to an amazing Indian restaurant Dishoom to met up with our friend Ali, a graphic designer emigrated from Ohio who Michelle initially met in SF.
Just a sampling of some local drinks I purchased at Borough Market. The Williams Borthers Red Ale had a nice, solid red ale flavor (my preferred brew). The Kopparberg is a Swedish brand popular in UK for their ciders. The Mixed Berry is one of the few drinks Michelle enjoys and is a pretty great cider, not overly sweet like the more common Strawberry & Lime flavor. Lastly the Wild Raven by Thornbridge was a "Black IPA", something I hadn't come across until I was referred to it by the helpful vendor employee. Easily ended up being my favorite drink during the trip; dark and malty but not too hoppy. Definitely want to try to get that one again!
Here's a few car sightings. By now if you've seen any of the past London posts, you should know that Bentleys are a pretty common sighting in central London (though that doesn't make them any less special!) so let's move on to some more interesting finds.
How about a peach-colored, Custom '57 Chevy pickup for starters? A neat sighting in the States, but in central London it certainly stood out. Not a fan of the wheels, but still pretty cool.
Now for something really different, a Chevy SSR. These things are a rare sighting in the States, so it's pretty much on the bottom of the list of cars I'd expect to see in UK.
I'll finish with this badass 110 Defender. Again, the wheel game is off (I'll take mine with black steelies please) but otherwise it's just the type of truck that'd be amazing to have in the States. That is, if the Feds weren't so eager to steal and crush these trucks.
LONDON / CHINATOWN
I don't think it's possible for me to now visit London without making at least one trip to Chinatown. What can I say, I love my pork buns!
During the week while we were here, it rained a handful of times but fortunately they were all light sprinkles. Save for this one moment, however, when it absolutely dumped lakes on us for a thankfully short couple of minutes. At least afterwards it made London look pretty for a bit.
Philippines Trip / Day 9 Pt.4
And so our last stop in Manila, Chinatown.
I've been to several Chinatowns over the years and almost all of them have ended up being a romanticized neighborhood on how other cultures perceive what China is like. Not that there's anything wrong with that. It brings in traffic for the businesses and celebrates the positive aspects of a different culture than the local one. That said, one should keep in mind that those Chinatowns are not accurate representations of what China is actually like. THIS on the other hand, is different.
It's as if someone cut a section out of a major city in mainland China and dropped it right in Manila. If you didn't spot the occasional Filipino or Jeepney, you'd never imagine you were still in the Philippines.
I was told that this area, known as Binondo, is the oldest Chinatown in the world. It definitely has a unique history between the local Filipinos and Spanish Conquistadors and in the past played a major role in trade traffic between China and other countries such as the US.
At any rate, it wasn't what you'd call the most cheerful place to be, so we decided to drive around a little bit more and make one last stop at Michelle's grand parents' before retreating back to the hotel.
Ate lunch over at the Mall of Asia, yet another shopping mall. Manila sure loves its shopping malls, and they're all HUGE.
Some more local transportation. Interesting logos there...
To any fans of spy movies, this area should look familiar.
Just some local car spotting.
The entire trip, these Nissan Patrols kept tricking me into thinking the Philippines were packed with Land Cruisers. Still pretty cool, especially with those graphics.
Montero Sport on Rally OZ Wheels. Not a combination I'd think would work if you told me, but in person it actually fits better than I would have thought.
The grandparents' front garden.
And so concludes our Philippine trip. Overall it was a fun, unique experience but save for the time in Boracay, it's just not a place I plan on going back to any time soon. Not sure if it's the Philippines in general or just Manila specifically, but it was just not my thing. Besides, I'm done with the humidity. Bleh!
London / A Brief Tuesday Evening Stroll
During the week Michelle and I spent most of the days working, so there wasn't too much exploring at the time, but after we were done we would still stroll around for someplace to grab some food. Here's a few shots of our neighborhood.
It's all about one-upping someone else.
Though you'll always find someone who's untouchable.
Piccadilly Circus, the mini-Times Square.
Invasion of the mediocre American chains!
Oh British Chinatown, why can't LA's be like this? Full of cheap restaurants, markets and bakeries.
The glamorous green hole-in-the-wall on the right has been our go-to spot for cheap Japanese food (and just cheap food in general).
Pork buns all day everyday!
The most hardcore MINI of them all, the John Cooper Works GP.
London / Chinatown
And we're back! After some time away from the blog, here's a little of what's been going on.
Somehow, despite traveling around the Holborn and Oxford areas often, we rarely find ourselves in the Soho district of London, which is a shame really.
Here there are many great little restaurants and some well known shops, like Supreme, for those who care about that sort of thing...
But tonight, we're more interested in seeing how this city's Chinatown compares with the others.
First though, some ice cream! Or gelato, technically I guess. For the most part, London seems to have lot of good things going for them, like coffee and tea. But one thing we miss about SF was the great selection of ice cream parlors (Mr. & Mrs. Miscellaneous, Bi-Rite, Humphry, Mitchell's, Swensen's, I could go on and on).
I never saw such nice ice cream toppings available in such well packaged boxes like this! But for more than £20 ($32) for just ice cream toppings, I think there may be a reason for it.
Anyways, onto Chinatown!
Yeah, this Chinatown checks out, unlike LA's sad little block (their real CT is Monterey Park anyways).
Duck anyone?
Kowloon reminded me of the Kowloon Tong Cafe in SF. Unfortunately, we have yet to come across any HK style cafes yet.
This isn't just any arcade. Apparently there's some degree of gambling allowed here in UK as we've seen betting centers and places like this one with slot machines inside. Heck, even some restaurants or pubs have them! It's like little pieces of Vegas scattered throughout the city.
Red & gold everywhere.
As we got out from Chinatown, we started to wander around Soho for a little bit before heading home. Since we've been here, I've noticed theater (broadway style) is pretty popular compared to SF or LA. NY may be the top location for actors, but London couldn't be far off.
Oh yeah, as expected, Defenders EVERYWHERE, which is perfectly fine by me.
As constricting as the city can feel at times, you can still find little neat places down the most random alleyways. This little restaurant was quietly bustling with activity while away from the activities packing the main streets.
And of course, we already know where all of the milk tea places are, including Chatime! In London! Who knew?
And right next door to this popular little place. Being from LA/SF, these places wouldn't normally grab my attention (other than the cool neon signs that is), but what did catch my attention was how many people, men and women, were going into the place. Must be one heck of a peep show!
#azntouristlife