I've returned from Kuala Lumpur after 3 flights spread across 2 days. The usually horrific trip home was improved greatly by a surprise upgrade to business class on the Narita-to-Minneapolis leg of my journey. The flight was overbooked with no volunteers, so rather than bump me off, they booted my aching butt up to the front. It was beautiful: edible food, comfy lie-flat seat, and Sky Hags^TM who actually provided friendly service rather than biting my head off for requesting an extra bag of pretzels. I arrived at the Twin Cities feeling much more alert than usual and was able to stay awake until 9pm, and slept straight through until 4:30am this morning.

In my absence, everything went to hell in a handbasket. The refrigerator and dishwasher broke, and the lawn is half-dead due to lack of watering, so I've got my work cut out for me over the next two weeks before I have to leave for Washington D.C.

Regular blogging will resume shortly.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 5:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Selamat Pagi...Good morning. Yes, I'm still in Malaysia, and just like last time, I picked up a nasty case of traveler's diarrhea after eating at an open-air restaurant last night. I probably should've known better, but I was getting pretty tired of staying at the hotel every night, drinking Carlsberg beer and eating bar food. Fortunately, I had the antibiotics and oral rehydration salts ready to go, so other than a bit of unpleasant stomach cramping, I'm doing okay.

Not much else to report. The weather is brutally hot and humid, so the prospect of sightseeing while dripping with sweat doesn't exactly fill me with anticipation. However, one of my students decided that it'd be fun to treat us to a "once in a lifetime" tour of Chinatown last night by driving his car up a narrow street filled with vendor stalls and tourists. Needless to say, we got some pretty nasty reactions from the crowds thronging the road. We were probably lucky they didn't drag us out of the car and beat the satay sauce out of us! It really would've been a once in a lifetime tour if that'd happened.

Six more days until I can go home. I can't wait.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 3:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

Beachbum Berry's new book of tropical-cocktail history, Sippin' Safari, showed up on my doorstep yesterday, and I immediately sat down and read the section on the Zombie. As you may recall, I donated a vintage souvenir photograph from the 1939 New York World's Fair to help illustrate it, so the Bum was gracious enough to send me a free copy.

In many ways, it's a big departure from his previous volumes of cocktail recipes. Oh, there's still girly drinks aplenty, but it's also chock full o' full-color photos, illustrations, and snappily written tales of the libational luminaries behind those legendary umbrella drinks. The tale of the Zombie is a knockout bit of mixology detective work, in which the Bum relentlessly (and somewhat drunkenly) tracks down the origins and evolution of Donn Beach's most mysterious concoction.

Those of you who've purchased his previous books may be put off a bit by the switch to a non-spiral binding, as the new style makes it a bit more difficult to lay it open on the bar while you're attempting to follow the recipe. This is a minor quibble, and should not deter you from picking up a copy. I recommend it highly.

[Link: Sippin' Safari]

Unfortunately, I won't be able to try much of it out before I leave for Malaysia this Thursday, and my chances of getting a decent cocktail in that 70% muslim country are slim to none. This will be my 2nd trip, and I'm not looking forward to the 22+ hour plane flight, or the 2 weeks of brutal heat and humidity I'll have to endure. The fact that I got the worst case of food poisoning I've ever had on my last visit there isn't stoking my enthusiasm either. However, I'm better prepared this time with antibiotics and a bunch of oral rehydration packets.

During my absence, blogging will be light to non-existent until the week of July 23rd.Talk amongst yourselves, or visit the many fine blogeurs listed on my sidebars.

Posted by MrBaliHai at 6:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)