Meet Maynard the (formerly) Homeless Bear

Say hello to my new roomie, Maynard! Someone had abandoned him a couple of days after Valentine's near my building's laundry room so I decided to give him a nice warm home. (Don't tell him that I'm currently working on a show called Yukon Trappers, he might get upset!) 

I must admit that part of the reason I have him around is selfish. I knew he'd be a great chick magnet. But like any beauty, after awhile you have to wonder, is that all you've got? 

I'm not sure where he came from originally? Maybe the Island of Misfit Toys? He doesn't talk too much. And damn can he meditate! He can hold the pictured pose for hours without moving. Impressive! I think I can actually learn something from the little guy. I guess I already have?

Dinner for Four at Chez Deano's

Last night I made my first ever French Bistro-style dinner. It was inspired from the amazing lunch I had a few weeks ago in Hong Kong. It turned out great. The pictures don't really do it justice.

APERITIF

My cousin Lisa brought over a bottle of Lillet, a French aperitif wine. Excellent. She added ice, gin, and lime to make a fine cocktail.

FIRST COURSE

Fresh oven-warmed bread with farm butter and soft-rind "brie-style" cheese

SECOND COURSE

Butter lettuce salad topped with roasted carrots. Lemon, honey, dill dressing.

THIRD COURSE

Lamb stew with oven roasted potatoes. Made with white and red wine and fresh rosemary and sage from garden.

FOURTH COURSE

Salted caramel (Ernest brand) ice cream sundae. With Nutella frosted brownie, whipping cream, and Ice Wine truffle and Canadian Maple syrup truffle chocolates.

Dinner was served with three wines, a New Zealand Savingnon Blanc, a Cotes du Rhone, and a BC Pinot Noir. I spilled a good third of the Cotes du Rhone all over the table and Lisa. Sorry!

Hong Kong

I left Bangkok for a two hour 2am flight to Hong Kong. My final flight to Vancouver was not until 4:30pm. The original plan was to see if I could sleep somewhere in the Hong Kong airport and then head out downtown for a few hours. But when I arrived at 6am Hong Kong time I was jazzed and keen to explore. By 9:30am I was wandering around Hong Kong in a coffee craving coma because I hadn't really slept yet and my body clock was set at 3:30am. 

It's scary how much Hong Kong looks like Vancouver and not just in the wide shots. Some of the intersections and even the main pier where all the ferries are looks a lot like it. Same same but different. (I had to use that one last time)

I began in central Hong Kong with a horribly bland breakfast that did not look at all like the splashy advertised photo. My main quest for the day was to find a memorable place to have one last tasty meal on my holiday and finish on a high note. Next I went for a ride up the touristy cable car and was surprised to enjoy it. It's very steep at certain points. It's like a San Francisco cable car that climbs up a roller coaster on a formerly British tropical island, if you can imagine that one. By foot I explored the trendy nightlife areas of Central called Lan Kwai Fong and Soho pausing to refuel on coffee, enjoy the city flow, and take more photos. I had my restaurant in Soho cased out and waited nearby for it to open at noon. It was a classic French bistro on Elgin Street called Bouchon. For about $45 Canadian (including a good tip) I had one of the best meals of my life. For the set lunch menu there was a choice of one main course and one appetizer or desert. I picked the lamb stew and the chocolate mousse with a glass of Côtes du Rhône. After being served the excellent glass of wine I got a basket with a freshly baked oven-warmed sour dough baguette and farm butter. I could of ate just than and been happy. The stew was the best I've ever had and you could tell they cooked it with at least two glasses of wine. The five star waiter said the chef used both white and red wine in it. It also came with some creamy and rich mashed potatoes. The chocolate mousse was very light and tasted more of  whipping cream than of chocolate. When I scooped to the bottom I discovered soft and warm salted caramel. Sublime. When I arrived to the restaurant at twelve sharp there were already two or three tables, by 12:15 the tiny and charming Parisian bistro was full; A sign of a good restaurant in my books. I would be frightened to know the price of a meal at dinner time but highly recommend the place if you're ever lucky enough to have time for a fine lunch in Hong Kong. They're part of a group of restaurants called Dining Concepts so there's more tasty places to try.

Oddly enough I did not have a real sleep on my eleven hour flight home from Hong Kong to Vancouver. I walked into my apartment just after 2pm. The first thing I did was check myself in the bathroom mirror. I thought I'd look darker but liked the beard. I still wasn't tired and picked up some groceries and the obligatory sushi take-out meal. I crashed at 4:30pm and woke up at midnight craving a snack. I took the handful of left-over rice from my take-out and invented an egg fried rice dish with bacon and basil. I thought my holiday was over once I opened my apartment door? I guess the journey doesn't end once you get home.

One Night in Bangkok

Bangkok is busy, crowded, noisy, polluted, over stimulating, and hot. For me, I found it is soothing and relaxing. I've never felt more at peace in a city even amidst all the random chaos. 

Bangkok has balls. Bangkok has soul. Unlike Vancouver, Bangkok is alive with a beating heart. Vancouver barely has a pulse. Vancouver is like the pretty girl who has nothing else to offer. Everyone says she's beautiful but inside she's generic, boring, and self-absorbed. She's high maintenance, expensive and dull at a party. 

Okay. Enough of the pretentious personifications already. I'm starting to sound like my Lonely Planet guide book for God's sake. All I'm saying is I love this place. What a fantastic city. There are so many nooks and crannies it would take you a lifetime to explore every street, alley, and neighbourhood. All of them alive with personality and charm.

Late yesterday afternoon I arrived and checked into my hotel in the Silom area. During the day it is white collar and all business. At night the alleys turn into a night market and is lined with seedy girly bars. The virtuous ladies inside perform talented feats with ping pong balls. In the market, one vendor will sell  Chinese Viagra and sex toys next to another selling meditating Buddhas. The irony is inescapable. As weird as it sounds, there's an honesty about this place.

The only item on yesterday's checklist was to try out a rooftop bar at dusk. I went to the Moon Bar at the 61st floor of the five-star (or probably five diamond) Banyan Tree Hotel. It's an inspired setup. I was nursing my one and only expensive drink and started chatting with the guy at bar beside me. It turns out he's a pilot from Ireland and we got along famously. He ended up buying the two of us a ton of drinks and picked up my tab as well. I think the bar bill, without a tip was around $400! People from the UK are great (No, you're supposed to take the piss out of them) peeps from the UK are wankers! I can't believe how lucky I am. I'm so blessed it's retarded. 

Today began with a maze-like Tuk Tuk ride to Wat Pho to view the ginormous reclining Buddha. Afterwards I stopped for a quick snack of stir fried basil and pork with rice for twenty Baht (less than a dollar) and some fresh pomegranate juice.

Next was a two-stop ferry ride to Chinatown. The waterway looked like an Asian Venice and we rode under a one-quarter scale version of the Burrard Bridge. I explored the massive covered market and some of the side lanes off the beaten path. I went around a corner of a narrow alley and walked through an open kitchen with a woman cooking prawn soup. It felt like walking through someone's home. 

In my experience in Thailand, the cheaper the food is, the better the quality. My theory is that in the more expensive places you are paying for the atmosphere. Twice in a row I had meals that were about twenty-eight dollars and they were certainly good, but not great. I've consistently had excellent small, healthy and fresh meals here for about two dollars. Skip the Indian food. I've had it three times in three different regions and they all sucked.

My next stop was the Golden Buddha in the Traimit Wat. The Buddha is almost sixteen feet, weighs 5.5 tons and is made out of solid gold. Let me repeat that. The Buddha is 5.5 tons and is made out of solid gold. Let's do the math. At today's rate gold is $1,573.55 per ounce in Canada. There's 2000 pounds in a ton and sixteen ounces per pound so that makes the gold worth … about $278 million dollars. I'm sure Bill Gates has a few of these Buddhas scattered about one of his summer homes that he never visits.

I went back to my hotel for a short rest then had my last Chang beer on the street with a bowl of pork noodle soup and wontons. Followed by emptying my wallet of my final Bahts at the night market.

I fly out tonight to Hong Kong where I arrive at 6am and my connecting flight to Vancouver is not until 4:30 pm. I'm going to leave the airport for a few hours and have lunch in Hong Kong. Rough life.

Back in Vancouver there will be no more exotic blog post for a while as my life will be back to boring again.

Wat Doi Suthep and Montha Than Waterfall