Philippe Lazaro
OCTOBER 2016

Singapore

TAN TENG NIAH HOUSE – This house in Singapore’s Little India belonged to a Chinese businessman and incorporated an unusual style mixing Chinese and European influences with wild colors. It's appearance, history, and location make it a pretty good symbol for how multicultural Singapore really is.

Singapore’s Little India had all these little sweet shops open and around. They reminded me of the Bengali Sweet Stand in Kolkata where I discovered this little goodie called ice cream sandesh–a candied milk dessert that somehow tasted like a chilled cube of pistachio ice cream.

I had no luck finding it, and it seemed like a lot of items I saw listed or that I asked about were unavailable. The vendor often told me they were out of ingredients I didn’t even think were necessary in those items. But eventually I picked out something that was clearly in the case…

Mango Burfi.

Burfi is also a milk-based treat… a bit like fudge. The word -barf- in Hindi actually means snow. And the mango flavoring added something extra nice. This was real good, especially while walking around on a hot day.

SUPERTREE GARDEN – Never realized that the Supertree Garden in Singapore was like, an actual garden. I just thought they were replica baobabs. These structures have vertical gardens of ferns, orchids, and vines going all the way up, plus structures to collect rainwater and generate solar energy, so they mimic a lot of tree behaviors.

A Guide to Seattle | Essential Eats and Experiences

In 2001, Major League Baseball held its All-Star Game in Seattle. The Mariners were on a historic run and I was especially intrigued by this new baseball player who just showed up from Japan named Ichiro. All this also got me to start paying attention to Seattle as a city, and my early impression was, wow, what an actually cool city.

Everything about it felt new and modern for some reason, and the misty, forested backdrop added an extra layer of cool.

Decades later, and after several visits, I’ll admit, my impression hasn’t changed much. I suppose I now have a more informed taste for coffee and beer, and I can better appreciate Seattle’s counter-cultural streak. But yeah, at the heart of it, still just a cool city.

Why Seattle?

Here are a few other reasons why it’s hard to do wrong with a Seattle visit.

Culture meets nature. I am happiest in forests and mountains. But so many of my interests- from improv to baseball- call for cities. So when there’s a city with access to trails and natural spaces all around, it’s a gem. Seattle is one of the best cities that checks these boxes.

A hub AND a destination. You can go and spend a weekend in the city and be perfectly happy. OR you could use it as your entry point into Western Washington, and from there explore the Olympic Peninsula, Leavenworth, the Rainier area, or the San Juan Islands. Seattle has a lot to offer, but so do its surroundings.

Oh, and the Amtrak puts Portland and Vancouver in pretty easy access.

A hub of different cultures. Seattle has a lot of ties to different East and Southeast Asian cultures, which results in plenty of great eats and one of my favorite Chinatown areas in the States. There’s also a solid Eastern European community in the area.

The weather, actually. Maybe this isn’t a selling point for most people, but it is for me. The persistent rain and mist make every photo taken in the city that much more epic. And while it may be wet, it’s temperatures are rarely extreme.

I will note that in my first eight or so visits to Seattle, I had an odd streak of always catching sunny weather. On my last visit, however, I was poured upon for three hours during a concert in Lumen Field. So there’s that.

Where to Stay

One of the biggest drawbacks to Seattle is that accommodations tend to be unusually expensive. I’ve often opted to stay in spots like Everett or Redmond, which are a bit outside the city in order to save money. Just know that this can add quite a bit to your commute time.

That said, here are a few options for you:

CitizenM Lake Union (Lake Union OR Pioneer Square)

CitizenM is a boutique hotel chain operating in a handful of American and European cities. While they’re owned by Marriott, they specialize in affordable accommodations. The rooms tend to be sleek and well designed, but quite small, making it an ideal stay for 1-2 travelers. Their Seattle locations in South Lake Union and Pioneer Square are convenient as far as major attractions go.

Hotel Sorrento (Downtown Seattle)

This boutique hotel is perhaps a notch above CitizenM in terms of cost, but offers a very classic hotel feel for a more accessible price. At least by Seattle standards! The front courtyard seating area is often lively and adds to the experience, and it’s reasonably close to the core of downtown just on the other side of the freeway.

Coast Gateway Hotel (Burien)

I don’t recommend this place for its frills. But I have a soft spot for Burien, which is a neighborhood right by the SeaTac Airport that has several spots worth visiting. And this hotel does have larger sized rooms that can accommodate a bigger family if needed, and that’s something I’m often on the hunt for.

TreeHouse Point (Issaquah)

I had to put this on here for the experience, not exactly practical reasons! But this woodsy resort offers overnight stay in gorgeous treehouses nestled in a forest canopy and connected by suspension bridges. The site also offers a variety of wellness activities, making this more than a place to stay, but an experience in its own right.

My Top Three

1) Enjoy the view from GasWorks Park

Seattle’s got an incredible skyline, and GasWorks Park is one of my favorite spots to admire it from.

You’ll notice that absent from my list are recommendations to actually go into the Space Needle. My philosophy around iconic towers that let you go up is that the view OF the tower is typically way better than the view FROM the tower. Anyhow…

GasWorks Park actually is a converted old fuel processing plant and a lot of the old equipment is still around. Some of it has even been repurposed into play structures. The hill in the center of the park gives you a panoramic view of the bay, with the harbor below, the iconic skyline right across, and a line of trees all around.

2) Hike Rattlesnake Ledge

If you like hiking… or even if you somewhat tolerate it, going on some classic Pacific Northwest trails is a Seattle-must. While there are many trails to recommend, the one I’d probably list as most essential but doable during a short Seattle visit would be Rattlesnake Ledge.

The trail can be moderately strenuous. While it’s only four miles roundtrip, it has a pretty sharp elevation gain of about 1500 feet and numerous switchbacks. But, the view is absolutely worthwhile with stunning lookout points of Rattlesnake Lake and the surrounding mountains.

Oh, and it’s worth noting… there aren’t actually any rattlesnakes in the area.

3) Go ahead and check out Pike Place Market

I’ve left off a lot of the most major Seattle tourist attractions from this list– Starbucks, Space Needle, Pop Culture Museum… I figure most probably already know about those and can decide if that’s your thing or not. But I will say that of all the undeniably touristy things to do in major American cities, a visit to the Pike Place Market can still be pretty enjoyable regardless of how many times you’ve been to the city.

A lot of the vendors within the halls are longtime staples in the market and still have a lot to offer in terms of hidden gems and locally crafted goods.

Essential Eating Experiences

Spend some time in a coffee shop.

Is there any other city that embraces sitting in a cafe for hours romanticizing a cup of coffee? Vienna might debate it, but Seattle is at the very least on a very short list of cities marked by coffee. Yes, it is the birthplace of Starbucks, but here are some local offerings worth getting to know.

Espresso Vivace (Capitol Hill)

A true Seattle coffee institution. This spot truly feels like a classic 90's coffee shop throwback you’d sit in while waiting for friends to show up. Enjoy big mugs and cozy seats with a colorful, bold-shaped aesthetic.

Basecamp Coffee Shop (Capitol Hill)

A good option for the classic Seattle coffeeshop experience right in Capitol Hill. It’s a neighborhood classic.

Ghost Note Coffee (Capitol Hill)

The interior feels trendy in a romantic but haunting way. You can get upscale coffee with a vintage feel in an airy environment. Locally loved.

Third Culture Coffee (Bellevue)

It’s worth the trip out to Bellevue… and if you happen to be passing through, make it a point to come here. As the name implies, this café features coffee drinks from around the world, especially India and Vietnam. You don’t see Indian inspired coffee shops too often, so don’t miss this.

Narrative Coffee Roasters (Everett)

It's all the way in Downtown Everett, but as far as quality goes it’s one of the best in the Seattle area.

Enjoy food from Seattle’s large Asian-American community.

Several East and Southeast Asian diasporas have quite a presence in the Seattle area. I happen to think the Chinatown area of Downtown Seattle is one of the most enjoyable Chinatowns to explore. But all over the city you can find some great Asian eats. Here are some favorites.

Malaysian: Kedai Makan (Capitol Hill)

Malaysian cuisine remains criminally underrated most of the time. Not enough cities in the United States have a good go-to spot for Malaysian, but lucky for Seattle, Kedai Makan is a much beloved spot in Capitol Hill. Their Malaysian classics don’t really miss and their cocktails are impressive as well.

Vietnamese: Miss Pho (North Seattle) & Pho So 1 (South Seattle)

Miss Pho is located in an unsuspecting strip mall corner, but it boasts some completely memorable bowls of pho. Their incorporation of egg yolk offers an element you don’t see too frequently in Vietnamese-American restaurants, but it’s pulled off with excellence.

Meanwhile in South Seattle…

There’s no shortage of praise for Pho So 1, which is also located in an unsuspecting strip mall. They just might have a claim to the best pho and Vietnamese food in Seattle.

Dessert: Baiten (Capitol Hill)

I'm not the biggest soft serve fan, but with flavors like black sesame, yuzu, and several matcha based innovations, this place wins.

Asian-American Fusion: familyfriend (South Seattle)

Laid back Asian-fusion restaurant with great outside seating when the weather allows. Highlights include batchoy, kewpie burgers, and adobo tacos.

Get some real good ginger beer.
Rachel’s Ginger Beer

Gourmet ginger beer and ginger beer based cocktails. Rachel’s has several locations, including Pike Place, the UW area, and The Spheres.

Enjoy Moroccan cuisine–and a belly dance performance–at Marrakesh.
Marrakesh (Downtown Seattle)

Full-fledged Moroccan restaurant with occasional belly dancing performances. The commitment of the decor at this place alone is a reason to visit.

Other things to see and do in…

Downtown Seattle

Catch a Mariners or Seahawks game

Seattle sports teams often suffer from geographic isolation, but make no mistake, the Seattle fan base gets lively for their home team. Lumen Field and T-Mobile Park are neighbors, and it isn’t uncommon for both stadiums to host events at the same time making for a lively, albeit crowded time downtown.

Explore Chinatown

As mentioned earlier, Seattle has one of my favorite Chinatown neighborhoods across the United States.

You can start your exploration of Chinatown by exploring Kobe Terrace–a patch of quiet hanging just above Chinatown. Many of the community gardens are owned and maintained by longtime residents of the neighborhood. Come at the right time and you’ll be rewarded with cherry blossoms!

Seattle’s Chinatown has an abundance of good places to eat. It’s hard to go wrong. If you’re trying to break up an afternoon of quick bites, however, I recommend hopping into Kinokinuya Books. Kinokinuya is a popular Japanese book and media chain with several locations, but I love Seattle's location attached to an Asian grocery.

Hunt for your next read at Mam’s Books

Mam’s is a small boutique bookseller specializing in Asian American literature. Their curation alone is impressive and very likely to add quite a bit to your TBR list.

South Seattle

Go record shopping and grab a bite at Easy Street Records.

Given Seattle’s position in American music history, a visit to a record shop can be a core piece of a visit. I love Easy Street Records for being the essence of a classic record shop but with a working café and bar on the inside.

Capitol Hill

Carve out a block of time for Elliot Bay Book Co.

One of the bigger independent bookstores in the Pacific Northwest. Their Capitol Hill site is rather large, with two levels and several sections, so I recommend planning enough time to get lost within its many shelves.

Ballard

Get Caribbean eats over at Un Bien

Finding Caribbean food in the Pacific Northwest isn't always easy, so this place is a must. Their sandwiches come with a lot of praise.

Queen Anne

Do a bit of walking around Discovery Park

This is one of Seattle’s most popular parks, but its covered with so much green space and tree-filled areas that it rarely feels crowded. Make it all the way to the far end and you’ll get some rugged beaches with views of the Sound.

Everett

Pay a visit to the Funko headquarters

Funko Pops have taken over the world, to the point where it seems impossible for global demand for obscure recurring characters from early 2000s sitcoms to keep up with the supply. Nevertheless, Funko persists. The headquarters for the over-the-top licensing dealer is in none other than Everett, where they seem to run the town. You can browse the extensive storefront and even create your own custom Funko Pop.

Burien

Enjoy Aussie treats at the Australian Pie Co.

I love this spot for being an ideal snack location. The meat pies are just the right size for a lighter meal and very well priced. You can one off with a lamington or other Australian baked goods.

Browse the books at Page 2 Books

Here’s a beloved bookseller that feels just-the-right-size. Their curation of books across different genres makes this shop a great browsing spot.

Get coffee before your flight at Burien Press

This is a relaxed coffee shop that also offers kombucha and beer. The friendly waitstaff helps add to a relaxed vibe.

Bainbridge Island

Spend some time in Sakai Park

The Seattle area simply has some great public access parks. This is one of them, accessible via the Bainbridge Ferry featuring large wooden troll sculptures.

Pay a visit to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Monument.

It’s of course not exactly a feel-good bit of history, but its an important one to keep in memory. A sobering but important spot to preserve the story of the affected families.

Outside Seattle

Climb Heybrook Lookout

This is another day-hike just outside of Seattle that I’m quite fond of. IIt’s a short but steep hike to a lookout tower with a great view northeast of the city. A bit of a workout, but doable in two hours

Hike the Heather Lake Trail

Here’s another hike I love, through a dense forest full of moss and secondary growth that concludes at an alpine lake with a view of Mt. Pilchuk. The hike is fairly moderate, with about 1000 feet of elevation gain and a 4.2 mile circuit.

Land Rights for Thailand's Hilltribes

The hills of Northern Thailand feel a word removed from the nightlife of Bangkok or the beach resorts of Phuket.

This area is home to ethnic minorities and hilltribes, many of whom are refugees or descendants of those who’ve had to escape conflict. Many lack Thai citizenship, which causes a whole bunch of problems for their livelihood of relying on the forest.

It’s a complex challenge, which is why I’m happy I had a chance to talk to the rights specialists of Plant With Purpose Thailand about how ecosystem restoration projects can serve as a good springboard to further land rights.

Nairobi

KESH KESH

A place to keep on your radar: Kesh Kesh in Nairobi. It’s an eclectic hangout/café that occupies three levels. You can use it as a workspace for several hours, but also, they have fantastic Ethiopian food so you can come to feast with a group. And I was actually in the mood for a burger and beer, so they’ve got you taken care of on multiple fronts.

carnivore

Nairobi’s famous AYCE churrascarria. Think of an African take on Fogo de Chao where options include ostrich meatballs, garlic alligator, etc. (They’ve taken the even more exotic stuff like impala and zebra off the menu, thankfully.) Chili lamb sausage was pretty good. Of course, not an everyday sort of place, but had it as a pre-race meal. Running a marathon in Kenya calls for a different sort of fuel.

Human Stories are Full of Contrast

If you want to tell stories that feel more alive, remember: life is messy

You probably shouldn’t expect binge watching a series in one week to make you feel more human, more vulnerable, and more in awe of being alive.

But I suppose there are some exceptions.

I was pretty late to the party when it comes to getting into The Pitt, the emergency room medical drama that plays out in real time, a la 24.

Of course, I heard plenty of good things about it. Deep characters. Plotlines that actually provoke conversations about important social issues, but in a non-preachy way.

And when I finally got started, all of that rang true. I couldn’t look away. Except for the handful of times where I had to look away. That show doesn’t spare much in terms of gnarly incisions and open wounds.

Anyways, I made it through all fifteen episodes, each representing another hour on the job for its characters. And safe to say, by the end of it, I felt stuff.

Of course, it wasn’t that easy to put into words what I was thinking or feeling. Now that some time has passed, I suspect that’s because the sentiments were so paradoxical.

Like… the wide open showcase of blood and guts and all the calamities that can afflict the human body was quite the reminder that our bodies are squishy meat sacks. Maybe we shouldn’t act so invincible all the time.

That said, those squishy bodies can also be incredibly resilient. It’s miraculous what can be done via medicine and the intervention of professionals who know what they’re doing.

And yet, sometimes all that isn’t enough. Bodies are simultaneously vulnerable and resilient, and ultimately mortal.

That’s just one of the many contrasts The Pitt indulges.

It also successfully manages to get you to root for its characters while showing their prickly sides. And the characters who seem to have the most expertise and mastery in one area of life are often barely keeping it together in another.

Now that I think of it, so many of my favorite episodes, movies, books, and albums are favorites because they contain that sort of contrast.

I often point to the funeral episode of Ted Lasso as my favorite in the series, because of how quickly it can pivot from silly to sentimental. I mean, they even managed to make a tearjerker scene out of the friggen Rick-roll song.

As The Eleventh Doctor says in the Vincent Van Gogh episode of Doctor Who (wait, that’s another good example!), “Most lives are a pile of good and bad. The good doesn’t take away from the bad, but the opposite is true.”

These examples stand out to me because their silly scenes are hilarious, their tragic parts truly are devastating, and having them side-by-side works. That contrast doesn’t feel inappropriate. No. Instead it feels true to what the actual experience of life is like.

Sometimes on a totally dark day, a kid who’s too young to grasp its gravity will say something ridiculous you can’t help but honor with a laugh.

Sometimes on one of your happiest days, there’s a tinge of sadness because of someone who should’ve been there.

Human stories are full of contrast.

Actual life is full of contrasts.

And that grants them a level of emotional honesty that resonates.

Here’s a short and certainly incomplete list of adjectives that feel very human to me. Whenever a story reflects these attributes, it just feels deeply true:

Human Experiences
Embodied
Messy
Demanding
Self-Contradictory
Shared

Let me unpack that a bit.

Whenever I say that human experiences are embodied, I often think of good improv coaches who remind us to get back in our bodies. I think of running and those reminders that we get to experience all that we experience because of these skin-wrapped meat vehicles. I think of how bruises and scars tell stories.

Whenever I say that human experiences are messy, I think of how deep relationships aren’t possible without the understanding that you’ll inevitably step on each other’s toes at some point and it’ll hurt. I think of how the world won’t always fit into the neat frameworks you were handed as a kid, or even the ones you developed at 20.

When I say that human experiences are demanding, I think of how it’s inevitable that every person will at some point have to walk through a season of struggle. I think of how much more tender we’d probably be with each other if we actually knew the weights others had to carry. We’d probably have so much more admiration for each other.

When I say human experiences are self-contradictory, well… it’s pretty much what I just described. There are at least three hospitals I pass on my daily commute to my kids’ preschool. When I pass them, I often think about how inside, there are a bunch of people having a bad day. There are a handful of people having their worst day. And there are also a fair number of people having their best day. News about remission. Unexpected breakthroughs. The labor and delivery floor. Life be like that.

And when I say they’re shared… I mean that all this is a lot. Nobody should carry it on their own. It’s as if we weren’t meant to.

Yes, modern living has us quite isolated. But I think deep down we recognize that we’re wired to need each other.

It’s easy to fall for counterfeit versions of the human experience. Hedonistic delights can pass for embodiment. Life is messy but it doesn’t have to be crude. There’s a difference between a paradoxical life and an inconsistent one.

But in a world currently driven by algorithmic dopamine hits, I think it makes the real versions of these things that much more satisfying.

We’re ready for more human stories.

It Goes Fast

It goes by fast.

Everybody always says that and for good reason.

A thing you don’t hear quite as often is people expressing envy over people with kids at the stage where they need help with everything. But that’s pretty much what Bob Odenkirk said on Mike Birbiglia’s podcast and there’s a reason why I’ve seen that clip shared a gazillion times.

“I knew what I was doing when I had kids growing up. I was being a dad. I mean, that was my job, and I didn’t have to ask myself ‘What am I doing here? How can I be a part of this world? How can I be meaningful today?’ I didn’t have to ask that question because the f’ing answer is ‘Pick up everything between here and the door and make sure they get to school and have a laugh with them.’ Life was...I understood my purpose.”

Being at that exact stage… it’s nice to be reminded of that perspective, articulated in that particular way.

Whether it's through bringing up kids or some other form of caring for people, purpose flows from going beyond yourself. Things make so much more sense in the context of connection to other people.

Singapore's Hawker Culture

I got a very short time in Singapore, so I decided to get to know the country via its street food.

Street food is an exciting part of pretty much any country with streets. But Singapore takes it to a whole different level. Singapore’s Hawker Culture even won UNESCO World Heritage Status on account of being a BFD.

This was a really tasty way to make the most of a short visit.

How Singapore's Street Food Became Legendary

Street food is a noteworthy experience in just about every country. But Singapore takes it to another level.

Hawker culture upholds the role that its street food vendors have had in shaping the diverse, multicultural background of the country while creating well regulated spaces for its classic dishes to be enjoyed.

I had a short time in Singapore a little while ago, but to me it was the perfect opportunity to get to know it through street food.

Fall 2025

1,000 SUBS!

9/1 – Got a little notification this morning… a thousand subscribers!

This took five years, so wherever this is going, it’s getting there slowly. Thankfully, I enjoy my day job.

But the fact that there are at least a thousand people out there, give or take the bots, who saw a video on happiness in Finland, mud-wrestling in Kolkata, running culture in Kenya, or mezcal in Oaxaca and thought… yeah, sign me up for more of that! That makes me smile.

I’m thankful I get to go on these adventures, and my hope is that by hitting record, I can play some part in helping people appreciate that our world runs deep with stories and to choose curiosity.

9/6 – Bananaball!

Never thought I’d be at a game with my kids watching Trevor Hoffman get a save, but here we are.

Fun outing to see the Savannah Bananas, mostly from the stadium play structures at Petco Park.

9/15 – Took my oldest on the Clue Walking Mystery that UCSD is hosting. Great idea!

Basically an escape room meets a murder mystery party, then spread across a whole college campus.

🕵️

Took a good amount of walking, and the commitment to the theme was strong. It was probably my ideal level of difficulty -a little bit tough- but it can be a bit easier if you remember how to play the board game or if you give yourself more time.

9/14 – Decorating for spooky season may seem a bit premature on September 14, but my kids and I raided a Spirit Halloween closing sale last November and they’ve been waiting to inflate the rat ever since.

RED OCTOBER

LA-Philly’s gonna be a good matchup.

Phils have been pretty good at Shohei containment in previous encounters, but the LA lineup has few week points. If the lineup can run up pitch counts early then scrap together enough late inning rallies against the bullpen, the lock screen can survive into next week.

10/9 – I’ve met so many people… and Deanna is my favorite one!

She’s thoughtful, caring, kind, and funny. She challenges me to be better, helps people through their tough moments, and makes you live a little more deeply. And also… it happens to be her birthday!

So happy to have spent the past decade plus with ya.

10/12 – My latest *thing* has been curating my Google Maps bookmarks to make them more shareable. If anyone’s headed to Nairobi soon…..

Essential Eats of Nairobi

10/21 – Successful outing to Legoland for everyone’s birthday treat

10/25 – Solid lineup on AirCanada. Actually wouldn’t mind a few more hours between here and Montreal.

10/31 – Halloween. Rhys’ Sixth Birthday. Daniel & Joy visit. Twas a good weekend.

11/11 – Excited to have a spot close to home that makes a proper masala chai

11/24 – Good night to catch improv teammates who also do the standup.

11/23 – Anyone else on this ride? Impressively likable show for a deliberately unlikable character

11/30 - PSA - I'm in a musical! A Severance inspired Christmas musical, with a little bit of improv and freestyle rap in the mix. Is there a lot going on? Absolutely. That's what love about it. It's brilliantly written... at least the parts that are written! Can't wait to see you there.