A Genteel Life

We haven’t felt like blogging lately at all. We have been too busy cramming in every last beer and pub as possible in the Bath region (and succeeding quite well). In the time since we last wrote a blog entry, lots has happened. On our way in from Malaysia, were unexpectedly detained by British immigration…

You Say Goodbye, I Say Hello

Argh. Today we found out that the apartment we wanted to rent in Bamberg fell through. It was the only one with enough space and amenities for our needs. Bambergians–and Franconians in general–defy the German stereotype. They can be woefully backwards and out of touch with technology. The apartments there have doilies and floral wallpaper…

Our Take on Brunei

It was like taking a 20 minute flight to the Middle East. We descended into Brunei before we’d even bothered reaching cruising altitude and were greeted with Shell signs in Jawi (Malay written in Arabic script). The skyline of the capital is dominated by mosques and photographs of the sultan are everywhere. Even the town…

Leaving KL

Leaving KL was actually a very difficult process for us. We had settled into routines that made us very comfortable. We had even adapted to the miniscule supply and exhorbitant price of serious beer. We have our lunch hawkers Salwah and En Sham, with whom we became friends after eating at their stall five times…

Cat City, Borneo

The Kuching experience began with one of the most fantastic sunsets I’ve seen in a long time. The town, one of the largest on Borneo at nearly 1 million people, actually feels quite small in the core area. It was not a long walk from our hotel at the edge of downtown to the riverfront…

Langkawi – Dry season, huh?

Apparently, our visit to Langkawi took place in the dry season. The wet season must be one degree of wetness away from Atlantis I guess. Isn’t that always the way with beach vacations? Rain, rain, rain. But let’s back up a minute. I was really out of sorts getting ready for the trip, just not…

Beerfest Asia Puts the Pour in Singapore

Singapore is a hard city to pin down. The best way to describe it to my Florida friends is Boca meets Hong Kong–an artificial, soulless, new, manufactured, wealthy, consumer-driven zone, yet one that does not totally lack the character and culture of Asia. It’s got green space, public transport, and street food but an Epcot…

FOUSs (not ROUSs): Fruits of Unusual Size

If wild goose chasing were a sporting event, Josh and I could easily be world champions. We chased a lot of geese on Penang island, but luckily the ones we caught laid golden eggs. Penang Days 3 and 4 consisted of a lot of hunting proverbial wild waterfowl. First we seek what we both heard…

Low Expectations Yield High Results

I said I wouldn’t be caught dead there, and it is the most unlikely place we would have ended up watching the opener of the World Cup 2010 but there we were in seats suited for VIP at the Hard Rock Cafe. Some things are simply meant to be. Our first choice of venue, Bayernhaus,…

Visitor Shows Up to Brewery Wearing Shorts

An opportunity to laugh at the incident at GAB: Things got hairy at the Guinness-Anchor-Berhad (GAB) Brewery near Kuala Lumpur Thursday, when a foreigner named Joshua Oakes showed up for a GAB Brewery tour wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and mandles–men’s sandals. The rest of his group was all wearing appropriate attire. “I don’t know, I…