The question: “I’m finally making that trip to China I’ve talked about for so long – and will be spending 3 weeks in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Any advice would be appreciated!” 

Hong Kong is one of my favorite world cities, and neighboring Macau also holds a very dear place in my heart–so while I must admit I’m a little jealous about your impending journey, I’m excited to share some fun things to do!

Let’s just get this out of the way right now: in Hong Kong they actually do use bamboo for skyscraper scaffolding, as seen in every Jackie Chan movie ever made. This, I feel, is incredible.

No trip to Hong Kong is complete  without a trip on the creaky wooden tram up to the top of Victoria Peak, the high hill that looms above the city. Ignore the weird wok-shaped mall up there, and focus on the panoramic view of the sprawling city. You can also circle the Peak on a 30-45 minute loop through trees and urban wilderness to see some of the less developed sides of the island. If you work up a thirst, have a drink at The Lookout before heading back down- which you can do on foot if you fancy a walk.

This might sound strange, but I think one of the most fun ways to get between harbor and hill is the Mid-Levels, a long series of escalators built to take businesspeople between their Peak-face apartment complexes to the flatland financial district. You might be tempted to get off to explore the streets that cross the Mid-Levels, which are full of shops, restaurants, markets, and commotion. A note: they switch directions depending on what time of day it is, so be aware of that.

Not far from the Mid-Levels is the boutiquey-cool Gough Street. The stretch between Shing Wong and Aberdeen offers cute and quirky restaurants among locally-owned design and art shops. Another actively gentrifying neighborhood to check out is Wan Chai, which is starting to get its share of hipster restaurants and shops. The area by St. Francis Yard, Star Street, and Sun Street is the epicenter of this burgeoning coolness. If you’re sick of dim sum and craving really good French toast with an in crowd, try Capital Cafe.

Legend holds that one of the first permanent structures the British colonists built was the Happy Valley Horse Track, and Hong Kongers still greatly enjoy this equestrian pastime. The weeknight tournaments offer a chance to place a few bets, mingle with the after-work cocktail crowd, and join in a Hong Kong institution. Best of all, the track is smack in the center of the city, nestled among the tall buildings.

You can cross to the Kowloon side of the river for a cheesy-cool laser light show that happens each night at 8 PM. Head to the Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront for the best view of the free entertainment. To counteract the lowbrow nature of the show, follow it up with a drink at the louche Peninsula Hotel (or dinner at the venerated Felix in the hotel, if someone else is paying.) Like any great world city, hot restaurants and bars have a lot more turnover than sights to see, so I’d recommend turning to this recent New York Times article for more tips on where to eat.

I am transit-oriented by nature, so I also fancy a random jaunt on the old double-decker trolleys. Sit on the upper level to get a 2-dollar tour of neighborhoods bustling with noodle shops, meat markets, and more.

I highly recommend a day trip (at least) to Macau–you can get a one-hour ferry from Hong Kong and be back in time for dinner. The history of Macau is fascinating, as it was technically a Portuguese colony from the 1500s until 1999, making it both the first and last European colony in China.The cuisine of Macau reflects this history, and is influenced by the flavors of China, Portugal, and the former Portuguese colonies in India and Africa. Not only can you have a great Macanese meal at Henri’s, you can also drink cheap Portuguese wine or a pitcher of sangria—a welcome surprise in China’s wine desert. After lunch, it’s easy to forget you’re in China at all as you stroll the tiled expanses and marvel at the colonial European architecture you’re seeing. Of course, the skyline is dominated by the many casinos of Stanley Ho’s empire. In the 1960s, as mainland China was crumbling under Mao’s iron fist, former smuggler and black marketeer Ho was building up a fantastical casino empire. Now familiar Western casino brands like Wynn and MGM mingle with his myriad enterprises.

I have never been to Shenzhen, but I do have one recommendation for you: you should read Peter Hessler’s fabulous book about modern China, Oracle Bones, which includes some fascinating chapters on Shenzhen’s unique development and culture.

For books to get you in the Hong Kong mood, my top pick is James Clavell’s slightly silly but highly entertaining historical novel Tai-Pan, which takes place in Hong Kong and Macau during the very beginnings of the British colonization in the 1800s. To get a flavor of Hong Kong before and during the Japanese occupation of World War II, I recommend The Piano Teacher by Janice YK Lee. If you want a longer read that will give you a good overall history of China, I highly recommend Jung Chang’s personal story of growing up during the Cultural Revolution, Wild Swans. Chang weaves her highly compelling autobiography with an overview of 20th century Chinese history.

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When possible, I’ve linked to the SmartShanghai.com entry, which gives you a map to help you find the location, the nearest metro station, and the option of a taxi printout in Chinese that you can give to a cab driver.

The doing

It’s important to remember that there have been Europeans in Shanghai since around the mid 19th century, which means it’s not like most other Chinese metropolises. The number one thing people tell you to do in Shanghai? “Walk the Bund.” The Bund is a riverside walkway flanked by European-style buildings that host chic hotels, restaurants, clubs, and offices.

The views from the Bund look across to the booming Pudong area let you see how the city lights up as each building competes to be the brightest and most attention-getting. You can also take a sunset boat cruise along the Huangpu River, to see the bright lights from a different vantage point. Of course, this is Shanghai, so once it gets dark, your boat will light up, too.

Just west of the Bund, the most charming area to spend time in is the French Concession. Tree-lined streets with colonial-era buildings sit alongside neon-lit noodle parlors and super-duper malls. One of the highlights of the French Concession is a foray into the warren of alleys and lanes that make up the Taikang Lu area. It’s pretty hard to describe, but imagine a bunch of small lanes and shops all cobbled together. Part souq, part street, part mall, part art gallery, it’s (probably) not like any other place you’ve ever been to.

Wander the lanes, browsing the shops and artist spaces, where you can find anything from smart silk scarves and high-fashion clothing pieces to cheeky Japanese t-shirts, Communist propaganda memorabilia, and quirky gifts.

For a sanitized, albeit very pleasant version of what the French Concession has to offer, hit up Xintiandi – a painstakingly restored area of shops and restaurants that comes alive at night with patrons spilling out on patios, cocktails in tow. Xintiandi could be renamed Expat Central, but for the incongruous historical site within its confines: the building that signifies the birthplace of the Communist Party. I had a nice time drinking beer in the warm night air there, but for the most part I found myself more interested in things like the massive beverage towers being hauled by the bicycle delivery guys just outside the area.

On the weekends, in People’s Park, you will find something strictly Chinese: the Marriage Market. Hundreds of potential suitors list their height, weight, and other interesting stats about themselves, in hopes of securing a partner. Of course, the majority of people looking at listings are the mothers and grandmothers, jotting down phone numbers to bring home to their recalcitrant daughters. The young women in the park that we chatted with find the whole system dreadfully old-fashioned and completely embarrassing.

A little more pricey than roaming the streets on your own, but 100% worth it, is to schedule a tour with Shanghai Pathways. The native Shanghainese guides will show you parts of the city that you could not easily access on your own, and it’s a truly special experience. You can see the breadth of options on their website. We took a trip to the huge, bustling, 24/7 Shanghai Wet Market, which was a fabulous way to spend a morning. Lots of meat hooks! (To see a super in-depth look at our Shanghai Pathways tour to the Wet Market, you can check out the full pictorial run-down I wrote for Summer Tomato.)

We also convinced our guide to take us to the only place in China that still produces soy sauce the old-fashioned way, which takes 2 years (!) to ferment in clay pots with woven lids. It’s not an official tour, but we jumped at the chance to be the guinea pigs for this potential future tour, and the opportunity to experience a very special kind of barrel tasting. The verdict: delicious.

Across the Huangpu River, you leave Puxi (“west of the river”) for the modern marvels of the Pudong (“east of the river”). Head to the World Financial Center, the 2nd tallest building in the world and the home of one of the most spectacular observation decks in existence. Pay the full price and you can zoom all the way to the top of the opening, which has a glass floor that makes most people (even those of us with strong constitutions and no declared fear of heights) waver a bit. Of course, for roughly the same price as entry to the observation deck, you can just hit the 93^rd floor lounge of the Park Hyatt in the same building, and buy yourself a couple of drinks, free view included. Of course, this is Shanghai, so it’s not surprising to hear that they’re currently constructing an even taller building next door.

Perhaps you’d like to get as far off the touristy track as possible. I have just the thing for you—Qibao Old Street. This water town lies within the confines of the Shanghai metro system, so it’s available to you if you’re willing to sit on a subway train for 30 minutes or so. Qibao is a little hard to explain, but I interpret it as having a Jersey Shore/Coney Island kind of vibe. The only difference is that instead of carnival games, they have cricket fighting (the bugs, not the bats) and instead of kettle corn, you can buy miscellaneous animal parts on sticks to snack on. Imagine teenage paramours trying to be cool with a backdrop of red-lit shops and stalls with whole barbecued frogs and pig feet on sticks, all underlined by some vaguely dirty (albeit grudgingly picturesque) canals. Still, the effect is charming, and for once, you’ll be the only laowei around.

Another slightly off-track destination is the new Shanghai Museum of Glass, a small and very specific museum (my favorite kind!) in a gorgeous industrial glass building. SHMOG, as its known, is a bit of a trek (don’t even try to metro and bus there; just go for the taxi) but the building is striking and it’s pretty enjoyable if you like glass. It starts out pretty slowly and predictably, but the second half of the exhibition is informative and aesthetically interesting.

If you’re into the gallery scene, don’t miss a few hours at M50, on Moganshan Road. You’ll find a haphazard grouping of old buildings that used to be part of a textile mill, which are currently colonized by up-and-coming artists. Wander among the pedestrian alleys–with galleries on every floor, you’re sure to find something that catches your eye.

The eating and drinking

First things first: a stop at Yang’s Fry Dumplings. You want to do this very early on, because you’ll probably want to go back again and again. With over a dozen branches throughout the city, you should be within easy distance to Yang’s at all times. Pay for your dumplings at the cashier (at press time, under US $1 for 4 dumplings—you order them in multiples of 4) and join the back of the queue. Grab a sauce bowl and a soup spoon and jockey for a seat (sharing a table is the norm.) After mixing up the right proportion of vinegar and fried chili flakes in your sauce bowl, move one of the dumplings into the soup spoon; your best bet is to use the spoon and the chopsticks as a team to tackle the juicy exploding dumpling.

The dumplings, which are fried on the bottom and steamed on the top, are full of hot broth, so take a small bite and slurp out the juice before proceeding. Pile on the vinegar and chili flakes and prepare to D.I.E. of happiness. After the third dumpling, I predict you’ll be a) deciding how many more to order and b) trying to figure out when you’re going to make it to Yang’s next.

On the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of price, atmosphere, and clientele, nearly everyone we talked to recommended recommended dinner at M on the Bund, on the 7th floor of 5 Bund, and while it was a gorgeous space and a view that couldn’t quit, the food was only so-so, especially considering the exorbitant prices.

Instead, I recommend you skip M and just go one floor down to Glamour Bar for well-crafted and interesting cocktails. Get there early enough (before 9, maybe) and you can snag a table with a great view of the sky-high skyline across the river in Pudong, plus a front-row seat for people-watching as the place starts to fill up.

If you’re in the Taikang Lu area and want to grab a snack or a drink while you’re there, I recommend Kommune, which offers a laid-back courtyard setting and a surprisingly delicious albeit eclectic menu. If you’ve ever dreamed of eating good hummus or lasagna in China among artsy intellectual types while listening to achingly hip music, this is your big chance.

But you are in China, after all, so you might be on the hunt for regional Chinese food, and migration patterns are definitely in your favor in Shanghai, as you’ve got people from every region of China showing off their culinary stylings. If you want more dumplings options than the one-size-fits-all Yang’s experience (say, if you don’t eat pork) then there is always a branch of the upscale Taiwanese chain Din Tai Fung nearby; you can get them filled, fried, steamed, or souped in a dazzling array of combinations.

Overall, I personally find the bulk of the Shanghainese cuisine a little bland for my taste, but the Grandma’s Meat Pot at Shanghai Min—a clay pot overflowing with slow-braised pork belly and knotted tofu skin—is one of the best things I’ve eaten in a long while and worth the trip. I wouldn’t turn down their fried meat dumplings, either, and the Bund views from their perch at the tippy top of Super Brand Mall aren’t too shabby.

For excellent and accessible Yunnan food, Lost Heaven is a great bet, but if it’s not too inconvenient, trek out to the location at Gaoyou Lu and Fuxing Xi Lu; it’s more intimate and homey than the glitzier version on the Bund. But truly, my heart belongs to the numbing chili fires of Sichuan cooking. Thankfully, a couple of Shanghai natives shared their favorite Sichuan restaurant with us, and it was spectacular. Middle-class Chinese families fill this affordable, large, tasteful restaurant (which is somewhat unfortunately named Chopsticks) in the Shanghai Pearl Hotel. Standouts included fish-flavored shredded pork (which we confirmed had no fish in it and tasted nothing like fish) tree mushrooms in a hot pot, and poached sliced beef in hot chili oil, with thick, glassy rice noodles slicked with chili oil. There was also a dish that consisted of chiles with tiny pieces of chicken hidden throughout. The chiles outnumbered the chicken by about 20 to 1.

Of course, if you want braised bullfrog or duck blood, be my guest (and let me know how they tasted, because I didn’t try them.)

The Cool Docks is also a pretty cool place, despite the dorky name (maybe it sounds better in Chinese?) with a slower, more relaxed feeling than Xintiandi, featuring small restaurants around a courtyard fountain, and another opportunity for people-watching.

The Indian restaurant at the Cool Docks, Kebabs on the Grille, is so good we went back twice for curries and lamb kebabs with cooling raita and charred naan.

With the strong expat legacy, there are other non-Chinese restaurants that deliver as well. For cracker-thin pizzas and Italian specialties in a breezy covered side patio, try Bella Mia, a standout and a welcoming place when you just can’t eat another dumpling. The friendly, hands-on owner claims both Northern and Southern Italian heritage, so he deftly covers a spectrum of dishes.

For drinks, the outside rooftop patio at Kathleen’s 5 in People’s Park is a classic– and they have a reasonably priced, thoughtful wine list to go with the views. Across the street from the Cool Docks at Waterhouse on South Bund, both the rooftop bar and the first floor lounge are intimate, fun places for a drink (make your choice depending on weather and how badly you want a view.)

For strictly drinks, The Bund and Xintiandi (both described above) are crawling with bars and clubs – pick up a copy of Time Out Shanghai or That’s Shanghai, or check SmartShanghai.com to see which is the flavor of the week.

Now go back to Yang’s one more time.

The sleeping

There are a wealth of great hotel options in Shanghai, and as usual, I picked from the Tablet Hotel offerings. We stayed at two different places in Shanghai, and we liked them both for different reasons. JIA Hotel Shanghai is in an old, 7-story French Concession building that’s been retrofitted with modern, comfortable, thoughtful furnishings. Just off Nanjing Road, right at the metro station, it’s at the epicenter of commerce and crowds, in a good way. If you can afford the splurge, opt for one of the reasonably priced suites  - you’ll feel like you’re playing house in your very own Shanghai sublet.

If you want to be out of the unceasing action of Nanjing Road, Waterhouse on South Bund, also a modern hotel, might be a good choice. Its aesthetic is a little grittier than JIA—think concrete and iron—but not at the expense of comfort or service. It’s next to the Cool Docks, which makes it easy to grab a bite to eat or a drink, plus it’s on the southern end of the Bund, so you can walk the mile or so down for dinner and Bund views at your pleasure.

An added bonus is that the walk to the closest Metro stop (Xiaonanmen) leads you through the old silk market, which is an area where people still live in an old-fashioned way that hasn’t yet fallen prey to the cranes and construction.

But fall it will, because Shanghai never stops moving forward, forward, inexorably forward.

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I love this picture of rice sacks in the market – to see much much more, you can travel along with me in the Wet Market on Summer Tomato. Thanks to Darya for letting me share my photos and stories from this incredible market!

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The Question: I’m heading to Tokyo for a business trip, and I want to find some really cool and unique shops for gifts, food, and a taste of Japanese pop culture while I’m there. What are your favorite shops in Tokyo?

This is an easy one, because my favorite store in the whole world is in Tokyo: Tokyu Hands.  There are multiple branches of this store, but I prefer the orderly, multi-level Shinjuku branch. It’s hard to describe Tokyu Hands, but it is often described as a “DIY store” and it is a wonderful emporium of gadgets, tchotchkes, electronics, and things you have heretofore only seen on humor blogs, like the alarm clock that runs away from you and the plastic thing designed to hold a single banana. In that sense, it’s almost like a mini-museum of Japanese pop culture, and it’s a lot of fun to browse around. Give yourself a leisurely hour, at least, and you’ll find lots of things you want to bring home! Metro to Shinjuku.

A close second is the Harajuku district, especially on a weekend when the fashionistas are out strutting their stuff. The people-watching is actually even better than the shopping, which is also quite good. The great thing about buying clothes or accessories in Harajuku is that you know the styles will be all the rage in the US, say, 1-2 years from now. Look at you, now you’re a trendsetter! If you have any friends back home who fancy themselves sartorially superior, bring them something back from Harajuku. Just across from the train section, you will enter a pedestrian shopping strip with inexpensive, almost-too-cool stores populated with young women and men sporting some to-die-for bizarre and amazing outfits, and some old guys in even weirder outfits (like the guy below.) Metro to Harajuku.

For food lovers, Kappabashi district–”Kitchen Town”–is a lot of fun as well. Kappabashi is where all of the fake plastic food you see in restaurant windows is sold, along with stacks of dishes, chopsticks, sauce bowls, and more. Kappabashi closes up on Sunday, so try for a weekday.  Metro to Tawaramachi or Asakusa.

On the food tip, another must-see is the depachika–the fancy food halls of the upscale department stores. My personal favorite is in Takashimaya, a 15-story grande dame of Japanese luxury with female elevator operators. Counters after counter of sculptural cakes, flaky French pastries, impossibly perfect chocolates, and elaborate kobe beef displays will make it hard to keep your mouth from watering (and your wallet full.) There’s also a lovely (albeit expensive) floor devoted to kimonos and Japanese crafts in Takashimaya. Metro to Nihombashi. Some vendors don’t allow photos.

If you are a nerd, maybe Akihabara is for you–it’s the Mecca of nerd-dom, replete with gadget shops galore and speckled with fetishy cosplay and anime-themed cafes. I will gladly admit to being a nerd, but apparently not the right kind of nerd, because it didn’t really float my boat. I preferred the neighboring streets of Jimbocho, the book district, where all of the old booksellers keep shop–along with some larger, modern bookshops. Metro to Akihabara or Jimbocho, respectively.

I always enjoy a visit to Muji, which is right near the Shinjuku Tokyu Hands. While Muji is a Japanese store, you can find Muji stores all over the world. The Japanese branches do have some interesting stuff, though, especially in the food section! Metro to Shinjuku.

It might be closed for tourism now (that is what I recently heard, but do check at your hotel) but the Tsukiji Fish Market is an intense, humming, crazy, unforgettable experience. It’s the largest wholesale fish market in the world. You have to go around 5 AM because it stops being interesting around 6 or 7, as all business is done by then. Because of this, go early in your trip when you’re still jetlagged and naturally waking up early. You can watch the tuna auctions. The best sushi is in the places near the market, provided you can stomach raw fish for breakfast. (I can. Happily.) Metro to Tsukijishijo or Tsukiji.

You can see more photos of the Tsukiji auction here and a few pictures of Kappabashi here.

For a list of helpful links about planning a trip to Japan, I recommend this one from Wired 2 the World.

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So what do I love about Bali? What’s not to love? The people are incredibly friendly, it’s beautiful and lush, there is wonderful food and drink from the low end to the high end, and you can have luxurious experiences at ridiculously cheap prices. Often times when you travel somewhere that’s really inexpensive, it comes with a side order of hassling and haggling. This is one of my favorite things about Bali–especially the inland paradise of Ubud–there is no one tugging on your sleeve begging you to buy something or waving necklaces in your face, as in Mexico, Egypt, etc. So, to sum up: nice+cheap+beautiful+delicious-hassle = BALI. That is the formula for a great vacation.

When you think Bali, you are probably picturing a beautiful white sandy beach. There are many of those, to be sure, but interestingly enough, the inland town of Ubud is the island’s greatest treasure. In Ubud, we stayed at Alam Indah, which was fantastic. They have a couple of small properties near to each other: Indah, Shanti, and Jiwah. Alam Indah offered extremely excellent hospitality and a beautiful setting. Each property has a small number of big private rooms (really, like your own little house) and private patios replete with Hindu carvings and so forth. It was so shockingly cheap and felt totally luxurious and private, around $60 US for a whole house overlooking the jungle.

This hotel group also has cooking classes if you’re into that. We walked over to Alam Shanti to take a look, it’s a little fancier than Alam Indah, but slightly less atmospheric as it’s not as nestled into the trees… although their pool does overlook a rice paddy, which is pretty darn nice. We did not check out Alam Jiwah in person so I can’t speak to how it compares to the other two.

These inns are in a good location too, as they are secluded but just a short walk through the Monkey Forest to town. That’s right, MONKEY FOREST! Full of fun little MONKEYS! That was my favorite part of each day… getting up close and personal with a whole barrel of monkeys. But be sure to have no food in your pockets or purse as it’s nice to look at the monkeys, but you may not want them to climb all over you. Even if they are adorable little babies like this one.

If you want to pay more and go way all out- I recommend checking the Ubud properties at Tablet Hotels as there are some really amazing ones there that make me swoon. But for my money, I wholeheartedly recommend staying at Alam Indah or Alam Shanti, and I don’t think that paying a whole bunch more will actually get you a whole bunch more. (Also: when you get down farther in this post, to the part where I recommend renting a whole colonial mansion in Jimbaran, you might see why it’s to your benefit to spend less in Ubud.)

Now that you have a place to stay, where are you going to eat? There are lots of street stands or warungs (casual restaurants) that sell nasi goreng, a common Indonesian rice and vegetable dish. These casual spots usually hit the spot for about a buck a plate.

Our favorite place hands down was Naughty Nuri’s Warung. We went there multiple times and loved it. We couldn’t quit it! It’s owned by a husband/wife team–she’s Balinese, and he’s from New Jersey. This warung mashes up the best of both worlds, so they have excellent Balinese food on the menu alongside barbecued ribs, sashimi, martinis, and more in a casual indoor/outdoor setting. At the communal tables, you can meet old Balinese guys talking politics, wanderlusting Australian expat hippies, buttoned-up NGO workers, and a whole host of other interesting folks. Naughty Nuri’s is on my list of top 5 favorite restaurants in the whole world. In fact, I wish I were eating there right now!

Throughout Indonesia, when you see a sign that says “Babi Guling” that means they roast one whole pig each morning and sell hunks of it until they run out, usually around 2 PM. The best Babi Guling in Ubud is in the center of town, called Ibu Oka. You’ll get a basket of delectable pig meat, crispy pig skin, rice, a spicy sauce, and a beer for about 2 bucks. Delicious!

Now let’s talk fancy shmancy- you have to do that in Bali because the prices are so incredibly low. Mozaic and Nomad are the most well-known and renowned. You will need a reservation.

Besides eating, the best things to do are to hang out in the Monkey Forest, see a Balinese dance show, and go shopping. I’m not a huge shopper, but there is also great shopping in Ubud–with lots of crafty jewelry, clothes, pottery, and more, in styles that range from the very primitive to really modern. You can also rent a scooter and take a 20 minute drive out of town to see some smaller villages and rice paddies. They are very picturesque, but it is the one place near Ubud where you will be hassled to buy things from people.

Most of all, most most MOST of all, while in Ubud, you must get a 4 handed massage at Spa Hati. That’s right: 2 people massaging you at the same time. Best. Massage. EVER. Even better, the money goes to their community education program, so your massage payment is actually a charitable donation!

Now, it’s time to leave the lush green forests of Ubud and head out to the beach. In the main beachgoing area of Bali, near Kuta and the airport, there are several connecting little towns with different vibes. Depending on where you stay, you can rent a Vespa for a couple bucks (literally, like $2 to $5 for the whole day) and get between the towns. Kuta is more college-y, hippie, spring break-y, it’s the most touristy, and it’s overall the least appealing. Legian is much nicer. Seminyak is the bougiest. (is that how you spell that?!) The little town of Jimbaran is a bit farther south– perhaps 15-20 minutes by scooter from Seminyak, and worth a visit as well. Depending on how much time you have, you might want to split your beach time between, say, half the time in Seminyak and half the time in Jimbaran.

We stayed in Jimbaran and traveled about the area on the aforementioned Vespa, which our hotel arranged for us for next to nothing. We absolutely adored the place we stayed in Jimbaran, called The Shaba. There are 2 parts on the property, one is like a normal boutique hotel with a couple of rooms and the other is this totally baller colonial mansion with butlers, a private pool, free retro scooters, and the whole thing is just totally over the top and incredibly fabulous. Next time, I’d be tempted to inquire about renting the whole mansion and living like kings for a couple of nights at least. Everything else is really cheap in Bali so it just might be worth it…

But if not, just staying in the boutique hotel is fantastic, as it’s very small and stylish. They make you breakfast on the patio, and even though it’s just a few rooms, they can do cocktails, lunch, and dinner by the pool or on the patio if you want.The location of The Shaba is terrific, because you are just across from the InterContinental and a short drive from the Ritz Carlton, so you get the seclusion and chillness of a small hotel, but if you want big hotel things they are always close at hand.

Also, you can walk to the Jimbaran seafood warungs or fish huts–a must-do in Bali no matter where you stay. There are restaurants that set up tables on the beach at sunset, and you get to pick out what fresh fish you’d like to eat and they make it for you just to your liking. It is lovely to see all of the families playing on the beach and it truly feels like you are in paradise.. Go at sunset!

In Seminyak there is an epically cool beach club called Ku De Ta. In the day, it’s like a place you can swim on the private beach, rent chairs, get drinks/food, etc. then at night it turns into a super chichi club. I highly recommend you don’t miss it–but to set expectations, it’s one of the only places in Bali that has USA price points–and as such, it can be a shock when you’re used to paying $2 for lunch.

As well, there’s an excellent Belgian brewery and restaurant in Seminyak also called Mannekepis. After weeks of Asian food, the steak tartare and perfect frites were like heaven.

The Ritz Carlton/Bulgari Hotel also has some good restaurants, naturally, especially the Italian one there if you’re sick of Balinese food by this point.

One very important note regarding beer in Bali: you can get the ubiquitous cheap Indonesian swill, Bintang, everywhere you go. Here’s a secret a local taught us: there is a microbrew made on Bali that is in such small production it never gets exported off the island. It’s called Storm and there are 4 varieties, from light to dark. Skip the Bintang and ask for Storm. They won’t have it everywhere, but when they do, your taste buds will thank you. All four varieties are super delicious!

Now that I have equipped you to plan your trip to paradise… can you please fit me in your suitcase?

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• single serving glass of wine with sardine-can top from the Muji flagship store

• my favorite- milk in a tube. huh? (ok so it’s condensed milk… but still.)
  

• wasabi-beef flavor chips. yuk.

• a kit to make sushi look like soccer balls, to entice your kid to eat it. you’d have to be a REALLY nice mom or dad to go through all that trouble.

• I have never seen curry like this in Vermont, myself.

• Kobe and Matsuzaka beef for sale at Takashimaya- about $200/lb, raw (they were really mad that I took a picture, but I’m not sure why.)

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WTF!?!?!

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The pictures are not all totally related beyond being roughly subway-related, so I will attempt to weave a compelling narrative around them so that they make sense as a grouping.

So many things in Japan are adorable when they needn’t/shouldn’t be. For example, on the subway, this chubby little bear, and the raccoon mommy and baby tell give you some safety advisories. I think these are a lot more fun than a regular boring old sign. And those raccoons are so cute I want to pet them even though if they were real they would probably eat garbage and have rabies. But they’re SO CUTE! And they don’t want you to hurt your hands! Awwww.

Many passengers on the subway wear surgical face masks- to protect themselves? others? both? Who knows. At any rate, keeping this in mind, the outside of the subway car does seem to be an advantageous location to market the super weird masks.

Ah- maybe they need the masks to protect themselves from smokers. Not so, if this despondent, unsmokable cigarette guy has the desired effect. He’s so sad to not be allowed to be smoked! Aw shucks. He’s puro Willy Loman with the hands in the pockets and the melancholy shuffle. It’s like Willy Loman were a cartoon cigarette.

If you use one of the shockingly clean and well-kept restrooms, found in each station, you may find a friendly little sign like this, letting you know that the toilet has a sensor and will flush itself. Ironically, the picture shows a western toilet whereas the actual toilets in the Tokyo metro stations are 100% squat-over-a-hole jobs, but you can still get the message. A-OK! I’ve got the flushing covered, baby!

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• POCARI SWEAT – I don’t know what a “pocari” is but I’m pretty sure I don’t want to drink its sweat! Tastes like Gatorade but gross.

• LOVE BODY – this is actually a Coca-Cola product, which is kind of surprising. You’d think they could run the naming by their US office, eh?

• BLACK BOSS – non-discrimination in the workplace has never tasted so good. Also features a weird picture of a white dude smoking a pipe on it.

• HOT VITAMIN – this does not sound appealing. Note on the top it assures you it is your life partner. Good to know in case I have trouble meeting someone.

• CALPIS – mmm a whole vending machine of Calpis. Yummy!

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