My 5 Favorite Cities for Walking Around

Walking is the best way to explore all the nuances and nooks and crannies that define a city's ethos. These days so many of us stick to a car, motorcycle or public transportation; this is especially true in the tropics where heat and humidity can discourage all but the most diehard walkers. I just finished reading Orhan Pamuk's novel, The Museum of Innocence, and I was struck by his use of the city as another character in the story that he tells. When I finished the novel, I was overwhelmed by the desire to hop on a plane to Istanbul and wander through the city. I was reflecting on this while sitting on the roof late yesterday afternoon watching the sun set as I usually do on nice days here in Bali. Gazing over the city of Singaraja, I was struck by how much of the city I've yet to walk through despite living here for over 20 years. That got me to thinking about my favorite cities to walk in as I love walking through cities. Here are my five favorite cities.

Chicago

OK, I was born in Chicago so I'm somewhat biased, but I spent a lot of my youth wandering the city, especially the area that runs from downtown up through the Near North Side and into Lincoln Park. I did a few searches to see if I could come across some photos of the area from back in those times and found, to my surprise, that there are all these mini-neighborhoods now that weren't there 40 years ago. Well, regardless, Chicago is a great walking city. A walk from downtown going north takes the walker past a variety of restaurants, bars and cafes, which offer weary walkers a chance to rest and refresh themselves. Some highlights include the nightlife area, Rush Street, Old Town with its quaint buildings dating back to before the great Chicago Fire, the Gold Coast featuring mansions dating back to the late 19th Century, the lakefront and, of course, Lincoln Park Zoo.

San Francisco
OK, another home town. I moved to San Francisco after I left Chicago, and The City by the Bay is one great place to walk through. Again, I'm a bit biased; I fell in love with a beautiful young woman on one of my walks through the city. The Embarcadero is a great place to start. Going north, I'd follow the Embarcadero up to Fisherman's Wharf and stop for a snack at one of the many restaurants and cafes there. After a break, I'd make my way down to North Beach with a visit to City Lights Bookstore the old home of the Beats with a quick stop at Caffe Trieste for a cool beer or two. Refreshed once again, I head for Chinatown and stop for an early dinner and end up the walk down at the Powell Street Bart station to head back to Berkeley. This is just one of the many possible walks around the city. I've left out Nob Hill, Russian Hill, the Haight and Golden Gate Park. I don't know that there is anyplace in the world with as many great walks as San Francisco.


Singapore

Time to get out of the historical mode and into the present. Now we get to the favorite places that I've actually walked through in the past few years. Singapore can be hot and sticky for visitors from outside Asia, but the city is easily walkable with loads of fancy international restaurants and neighborhood haunts to stop in for a snack, meal or drink or two. Orchard Road might seem like one mall after the next, but the streets still have some great treats like local buskers playing traditional instruments, high school dance groups performing for pun, or just watching the tourists and locals get on with their business. Count the number of people that pass by that are talking on a cell phone while walking. In a twenty-minute period last year, 75% of the people that passed me were talking on their phones. Get out of the mass of shoppers and travel up to Chinatown for a look at what's left of old Singapore. There are still many traditional old shophouses and local restaurants. Take a look in a Chinese apothecary and see some of the fascinating traditional medicines that they have for sale. I love wandering around the Kreta Ayer Road area. Sometimes I stay at the cool little boutique hotel, 1929, and sometimes I stay across the street at the Keong Saik, not quite as cool but a little less expensive. One of the best places to eat in Singapore is this little outdoor place across the street, Kim Hock Seng. They have great seafood and back when I still ate pork, they had some delicious pork dishes. This hole in the wall is often crowded with local workers and then suddenly a Mercedes will pull up and some wealthy folks will pile out for lunch. The Sri Layan Sithi Vinayagar Temple is right here as well. While, Chinatown is my favorite place to walk in Singapore, there are just so many great areas that an enthusiastic walker could spend weeks just exploring the city.

Bangkok
Bangkok is not usually thought of as a great place for walking, but I love strolling through the farang ghetto on Sukhumvit. I've been staying for years on either Soi 22 or Soi 23 when I visit Bangkok, and they are excellent starting points for a walk around the Sukhumvit area. Sukhumvit just past Asoke has one of my favorite bookstores, Asia Books. This small multi-story bookstore is filled with books from travel to history to children's books. The staff are helpful and it's possible to spend an hour or more browsing. And when I have a need for something from McDonald’s, it's right down the street from Asia Books. One of my favorite Robinson's stores is right there as well. So, I can get a lot of shopping done on these walking trips around Sukhumvit, and I plan my walking trips around what I need to do in terms of shopping. Back across a very crowded Asoke and over on Soi 23, is the famous, or infamous, Soi Cowboy. This nightlife street is fascinating to observe during the daytime when nothing much is going on. I like sitting in one of my favorite restaurants in Bangkok, Old Dutch, which is just at the Soi 23 entrance to Soi Cowboy, and watch the daytime activities. Then back to the Tai Pan Hotel just down the street to drop off any shopping and then out again to wander around the leafy, quiet backstreets in the area. My dentist in Bangkok, Bangkok Smile Dental Clinic, is in the area as well so I can always fit a visit to the dentist during one of my walks. And there's a number of little bars around if I feel in need of some refreshment. This is just one of my walks in the immediate neighborhood of my hotel. Other sections of Sukhumvit offers much more including some cool antique shops, mom and pop grocery stores and the Emporium mall if I feel really hot and need to get off the street for a while and cool down. I love the Sukhumvit area.

Singaraja
OK, my third hometown on the list. Singaraja was once the capital of Bali back during the colonial period. For tourists visiting Bali who only know the Kuta-Legian-Seminyak strip of tourist madness or the increasingly crowded and commercial Ubud, Singaraja is something completely different. Owing to the history of the area, Singaraja is one of the more multicultural areas of Bali. This is where cruise ships used to dock and ships from around the country used to dock at the old harbor, which just happens to be a few hundred meters from where I live. Our neighborhood, Kampung Bugis, is a poor little neighborhood, but we get a lot of walking visitors who come over from the harbor to view a fishing neighborhood. Just south of us is the main shopping area of Singaraja, Jalan Diponegoro. Nothing fancy here, no Starbucks or Pizza Hut or even a MacDonald's. Just a collection of small general stores, a few bookstores selling mostly textbooks, a handful of stores selling televisions and other electronics, and a couple of small hole-in-the-wall eating establishments. Nothing fancy here, just a working city along the north coast of Bali. The center of the city has wide streets with remnants of colonial architecture that reflect the hundred years of Dutch presence, as Buleleng (the regency where Singaraja is) was colonized much earlier than the south of Bali. It's possible to wander the streets of Singaraja without ever being hassled for transport or a hotel or a girl. Far different from the tourist areas of Bali, including Lovina, the tourist and expat ghetto to the west of Singaraja. I still have a lot of exploring to do here, but I'm looking forward to it.

Third in a Series on Moving Overseas: Bangkok, Thailand

Thailand has always fascinated me. As a long-time expat in Asia, I’ve visited Thailand many times, although I’ve only explored the Bangkok and Chiang Mai areas of the country. Thailand has a huge expat population, many of which are employed in the English language teaching industry. But, Thailand also has a large number of Western retirees. Web sites and blogs on Thailand are numerous with varying quality.

One of the sites that I visit every week is StickmanBangkok.com. The website’s creator, Stickman, has been living and working in Bangkok since 1997. I’ve been following his website since 1999.

While one of the most popular sections on the website is Stick’s weekly column that is mostly about the “naughty nightlife” industry, there are sections on Living and Working in Bangkok, Thailand Visas, Teaching English in Bangkok, Travel in Thailand and more.

You can find specific and detailed information about food, renting an apartment, hiring household help, paying for utilities, local transportation, the Thai language, local culture, dealing with the police, the cost of living in Bangkok and a lot more. Just about anything that you need to get set up in Thailand is available here.

Stickman has been working as a teacher for many years, although he may have retired from that profession now. The section of the website on teaching English is filled with information for the new or potential teacher. If you are thinking of moving to Bangkok and securing a teaching position, you should definitely read this section.

So, if you’re thinking of moving to Thailand, part of your homework should be taking a look at Stickman’s site.

Life in the Tropics: Moving Overseas

I've decided to use my blogger blogs as the place for several series of blogs that I want to write about living in the tropics. I started this series over on my blog at Wordpress, but never got beyond the first blog which I am reprinting here as the beginning of this series.

Here is the first site in my series on Moving Overseas. Living in the Philippines is a site for the expat who wants to move to the Philippines, or is considering the Philippines as a potential home.

Don A. Herrington is the creator of this site. He has been living in the Philippines since 1989, and currently resides in Cebu. Don has a Filipina wife and has been around the Philippines as long as I’ve been in Indonesia. A lot of the advice he offers is similar to the advice that I offer to potential Bali expats. Some of the topics that he covers are:

• What Do You Need to visit the Philippines?
• Why Will You Want to Live, Retire, Travel or Do Business in the Philippines?
• Why Will You Love the Philippines, the Filipinas, and Filipinos?
• Do You Want to Find Romance in the Philippines?
• Do You Want An Expat’s Life with Maids, Helpers, Drivers, Eating In and Out, Amenities?
• Lifestyles – Costs – Who is Here
• Manila and the Other Places To Live
• Maids, Domestic Helpers, Nurses, Employees Eating in and Out
• What Will You Need To be in the Philippines?
• How Can You Have A Job, Business, Investments in the Philippines?
• Join Our Discussion List
• How Can You Get More first hand information, on how to Live, Retire, Travel and Do Business in the Philippines?
• How Can This Website, Free Mailing List and I Can Help You Have A Happy Life here?
• Living in the Philippine Provinces

If you’re interested in living in the Philippines, take a look at Don’s site.

Back From Singapore, Life Changes and a Bit of a Rest

It’s been a long week, and I’m back from the hospital to pick up from where I left off. SOS had a few problems coordinating my leaving home, but all in all, I was very pleased with the way that they handled the whole medical evacuation.

The trip back wasn’t quite as dramatic – no doctor escort, no wheelchair, no special consideration at customs and immigration – but, it was wonderful to be back on my own power. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to do any shopping in Singapore as I had just enough time to get to the airport and check-in once I was informed that I had a ticket to go home. Oh well, I’ll be back in December when I retire again, and I’m thinking of staying a few days while I get my new non-working visa.

I actually arrived back Tuesday morning, and co-taught a double biology class. By the time that I was done, I had a terrible headache and went home for the rest of the day. I came back to teach on Wednesday, but had a headache within an hour. I stopped by the clinic to see the doctor, and we discussed the headaches as well as the results of all the tests done on me in Singapore. After a long discussion, we came up with three likely causes of the headaches as it was clear from the scans and blood tests that the headaches weren’t caused by any problems with my brain: stress from trying to adapt to my new realities, a reaction to the medicines that I’m taking, or a reaction to nicotine withdrawal. The doctor told me to take the rest of the week off, and I’m on the last day of my rest period. The headaches have stopped since I’ve modified the amount of medicine that I’m taking, so that’s a good thing for me.

I’ve been thinking about the stress factor a lot during this rest period. At first I discounted it, but after a few days at home, it started to make sense to me. Lots of changes in a short period of time- turning 60, having a new granddaughter, oldest daughter turning 18, wife moving one year closer to being 50, working on my last contract, learning to live without cigarettes, and then a stroke. Yes, it does make sense to me now that I’m probably growing through a bit of stress as I enter another stage of the life cycle. Well, just going to have to deal with it.

Tomorrow back to work once again.

The Dry Season

We’re deep in to the dry season and, once again, there’s no water. We’re doing a somewhat regular routine of two days of no running water and then two days of a little running water – just enough so that we can fill up jerry cans and tanks and tubs to last for the days of no water. The word is that the village is going to dig another well – I hope so.

Despite not having much water, our tomato crop is in, and we have hundreds of fresh tomatoes along with a few heads of cauliflower and some pumpkins. I’ve eaten the tomatoes and cauliflower – for some reason I didn’t get any of the pumpkins. I’m looking forward to mango season which should be here in a few months.

We have two more really hectic weeks before our two-week vacation. Vacation corresponds with part of Ramadan; so the two weeks that I’m going to be on vacation are two of the four weeks that I’ll be fasting. I’ll be in Bali for those two weeks to see Mercedes, my oldest daughter, and to take care of some of the business that needs to be done before retirement. On this trip, I’ll be getting photos ready for the retirement visa documents. I want all the paperwork prepared several months before I’ll need it, so this will be my key focus during this vacation. I’ll also do some school work as usual – lesson plans for the next term, some work on new tech things that I want to do, and some writing. When I’m fasting in Bali, I rarely leave the house for more than an hour or so as it’s just too hot usually.

We’ve had a few people contact us who are interested in buying the house. The question now is whether to sell it now or rent it out for a few years and then sell it later. That’s something that Su and I will probably be discussing for the next few months.

Habits

Habits. We develop these habits as we age. When I quit drinking and smoking, I had to give up sitting on the veranda watching the sun set every evening because it was connected to scotch and Marlboros. Today my gardener asked why I haven’t been over to the garden – across the road from the house – since I came back from Bali. My reply was that my wife isn’t here. That habit of coming home every afternoon from school and going to check on the fruit trees and the goats is part of my non-smoking, non-drinking behavior. My wife isn't here so I am on a different system.

I did notice today that a number of ripe papayas had large holes in them. My first thought was that it was the monkeys. But, the gardener said that bat have been coming in at night and eating the papayas. For an old city boy, it’s an object lesson in the difficulties of having a farm – pests. The monkeys and the bats are our big problems, but they have to live as well, and the problem is coming to terms with them. Su won’t let me shot them because she’s absorbed a lot of the multiple religions that have crossed this island over the centuries. I regularly watch Indonesians shoot gorgeous parrots, hunt protected dolphins, capture protected birds of paradise, but she insists on not killing any living creatures even poisonous snakes and bugs and worms. We captured a millipede one day whose bit is excruciating and she insisted that I put in a bottle. She dumped it in the jungle across the road all the while speaking to it about how she spared its life and it should just go about its life and not bother us again. Sometimes I feel like Su is a hippy transplant.