Overall Bangkok is a lively city and the food is amazing. One thing have to do is go to Khao San Rd at night for the food and music. Here’s a Tip! Beware of getting scammed by the Taxi/Took Took drivers in Thailand. 2 Reasons: 1.You will be charged more depending on how much info they can gather on you.From the Hotel you stay at it to even to the restaurant your request can let them know how deep your pockets are. Be mindful of where you get picked up and where you request to be dropped. I would often give them a location a block away from where I’m staying Or use GRAB which was their version of UBER to lock in a fair rate. 2. Once they identify that you’re a tourist you probably don’t want to go to any place that they recommend. They often get a kickback for taking tourists to certain places and odds are you def don’t want to go. Bro hyped me up to go to a massage place while on the way to the Grand Palace. Even offered to sit and wait for me until I was done to take me there. Long story short I did my research and kindly declined his offer.

So I had the pleasure of traveling to Hong Kong for work and stayed for an entire week. I worked for 2 days on the main island and spent the remaining 5 days being a tourist in the city. Upon arrival to the Hong Kong you need to have/get 2 things! Having Cash and a mobile data SIM card are life savers. Leaving the airport you will need to take the “MTR“ Railway to the city. For me this was Kowloon, and boy did I have quite the experience navigating to my hotel.As soon as I stepped foot outside of the railway I was literally inside of a high fashion mall ( which there are ton of). It was at this moment I was hit with culture shock. Not only am I black man but I am traveling alone. To make a long story short I was lost trying to find transportation to my hotel for quite some time when a kind teenage girl and her 2 parents decided to help me. ( I must have looked miserable haha) They spoke a very small amount of English but I was able to use google translator and Maps to show them my destination. They literally walked me to the bus station and spoke to the driver for me. Much of my experience in Hong Kong was a breeze( as long as I knew where I was going). The MTR/Subway is efficient, somewhat clean, clear, and has English signs. The people are mostly to themselves but are friendly. I visited the Big Buddha, Victoria’s Peek, The shopping district, Kowloon Night Market, and more. It is relatively expensive in regards to hotels and transportation but the food was cheap. Speaking of food, when you eat at a restaurant you don’t have a server and the experience won’t be like in the U.S. To put it bluntly, it’s purely a transaction so don’t expect them to hold your hand because you’re a tourist. Do your research ( Yelp/WeChat). You have to try some Dim Sum for sure.I am from the south so I would say they don’t season their food as strongly as we do but it isn’t bad, just be mindful.

I had the pleasure of visiting several big cities in SouthEast Asia for work and out of these destinations Singapore provided the best experience far. Not only is Singapore one of the most safe, clean, and beautiful modern cities but it also has some of the best food you can find! Let’s be real, as a black man, food is one of my main concerns when traveling Internationally. Conversing with the locals who thankfully spoke English, describe Singapore as a melting pot of many Asian Thai cultures. The key travel tip to enjoy as much of the food as possible is by visiting at least two of the Hawker centres. A hawker centre or cooked food centre is an open-air complex in Singapore, housing many stalls that sell a variety of inexpensive food. I visited the Old Airport Road ( best reviews) and Changi Village Hawker Centre’s and they did not disappoint! Singapore also has fine dining, Seafood, and many more options to choose from. There’s also plenty of sight seeing to accomplish like the Marina Bay Gardens, Super Trees and the Nightly light shows at the Marina Bay Sands. I have no doubt that you will enjoy Singapore and I plan to visit again with a group of friends!