Reflections on... Asia

Just got back from my first tour of Asia and it was quite an experience. While I was gone it seemed like the whole financial market imploded in the US. There were some rumblings out in Asia since a lot of my friends were either in banking or law. Aside from that, I noticed some major differences while visiting Hong Kong, Taipei, and Singapore - some of which are probably obvious, but still:

• Transportation easier - the US talks about adding public transportation, but look no further than Hong Kong to see it work. They have buses, ferries, minibuses, trams, and, of course, subways. On top of that, it's so cheap. It cost less than 2 SGD (about US$1) to take a trip from City Hall in downtown Singapore to Changi Airport. Then it's also 2.2 HKD (less than 50 cents) to take a ferry in Hong Kong between Central and TST across Victoria Harbour or 2 HKD a tram across Hong Kong Island. Compare this with about $8 from SFO or $11.30 to $16 from Oakland via BART or at least $9.50 to take the ferry between Sausilito and San Francisco.
  
• More prolific wifi - as you've probably noticed, there is much more free wifi options in Hong Kong and Singapore. Think this will ever occur in SF?
• Food is much better and cheaper - the general sense of Asia is that there is a lot of good, cheap eats and it's true. I'll have more pictures up about it soon.
• Tipping is not customary - in most of the restaurants and hotels there is already a customary 10% service fee automatically added. Then again, they still include a line to add an additional tip if you feel generous or have too much money I guess.
  
• Crowds are everywhere -  and they move slowly. Maybe I'm too used to New York, but when the crowds shuffle off the subway to the escalator or down the street, they move quite slowly. If you're in a hurry it's quite frustrating unless you want to push people out of the way...
  
• Avoid tourists spots if possible - these places attract more unwanted attention with more people badgering you to buy things that aren't useful. Plus they are more crowded with more than just your locals - there are also lost tourists clogging up the area with their maps unfurled.
  
• Maps are your friends - then again, maps are quite helpful to locate where you want to go especially if you don't speak the language. It was much easier to find things on a map than by name.