Express, No Stress

Shanghai, China and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

February 17 – 20, 2012 / March 1, 2013

The first impression of foreign visitors was usually their experience at the airport and the ride out. If that proved to be more stressful than the flight itself, then it certainly leveled expectations. “That’s the way the cookie crumbles,” I’d say, in my city. While I relished such convenience in most cities I’d visit, it depressed me that we didn’t have the same luxury back home. Case in point: Shanghai. I flew in past midnight with my girlfies, Perfy and Vang. No other choice but to take a taxi. Metered, no haggling and overcharging. For our return flight, we could not pass up taking the Maglev train, the first in the world.

TTT @ Shanghai Maglev Train

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Beyond the Thunderbolt

Kathmandu, Nepal

February 24, 2013

The gigantic, gilded scepter was said to have packed the force of a thunderbolt. This indestructible weapon of destruction symbolized the power that had forged present-day Kathmandu Valley, the mountain-ringed dust bowl that cradled the city. Bhuwan, our guide, called it vajra, a legendary object laid out on a pedestal atop the 365-step stone stairway that led to Swayambhunath, a 1,500-year-old Buddhist temple at the center of Kathmandu.

Vajra (Thunderbolt) @ Swayambhunath, Kathmandu