Yamato

Glen House room, beautiful view from the window

Took a walk around the hotel next morning before check-out

Glen House, love this hotel. Its built in the 1800s At the back of the hotel

Destination is this beautiful hotel in the White Mountains known as Glen House this is a relaxing and beautiful drive almost reaching Glen House

Then it was time to leave Boston for the White Mountains. Looked for brunch and found a Taiwanese hot pot shop. Pretty good but portion is rather huge

https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Transportation/Airport-projeAirport projects in Thailand, Singapore resume after COVID hiatus Airport projects in Thailand, Singapore resume after COVID hiatus Despite traffic recovery, scale of expansion raises concerns about capacity glut Tan Son Nhat Airport near Ho Chi Minh City will break ground soon on a $460 million expansion that will boost capacity by 80%. © Reuters TAMAKI KYOZUKA, SHUGO TAMURA and MAYUKO TANI, Nikkei staff writersSeptember 30, 2022 10:53 JST TOKYO/SINGAPORE -- Airport projects are popping back up across Southeast Asia as demand for passenger and cargo flights rebounds from the pandemic. Thailand is accelerating expansion plans at three Bangkok-area airports -- Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang and U-Tapao. The government is looking to accommodate an expected increase in travelers in the upcoming busy season and beyond, a spokesperson told local media. Multiple projects are underway at Suvarnabhumi, Thailand's main international gateway. A third runway is set to be completed this year, and the government plans to solicit bids next year for construction of a new terminal. The additions are expected to enable the airport to handle 120 million travelers a year. In Singapore, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong announced in August that work would resume on the new Terminal 5 at Changi Airport. "The future of aviation remains bright," he said. The new terminal -- a long-term project expected to finish in the mid-2030s -- will be able to operate as smaller sub-terminals to adjust capacity as needed and prevent infections from spreading between flights. This facility, along with an expansion of Terminal 2, will boost Changi's capacity to 140 million passengers a year, up 65% from pre-COVID levels. These are part of a broad push around the region to expand airports to lift pandemic-hit economies, both by buoying the tourism industry and via an economic boost from the construction projects. Eight major Asian economies are investing $164 billion in airport projects, according to Fitch Solutions. The Philippines and Vietnam are outpacing even mainland China, with $44.3 billion and $23.7 billion in spending, respectively. Inbound travel to Southeast Asia is gradually recovering, if more slowly than in the West. The number of passengers at Changi had returned to 58% of 2019 levels as of late August, according to Singapore Transport Minister S. Iswaran, and the flight schedule will be back to 80% of its former levels at the end of this year. Singapore's Changi Airport is restarting work on a planned fifth terminal. (Image courtesy of Changi Airport Group) As traffic picks up, congestion, long a challenge at major aviation hubs, could hold back the industry's recovery. The impact is already being felt at Tan Son Nhat International Airport near Ho Chi Minh City, where a long queue snaked from domestic flight check-in counters during a visit in mid-September. Nearly 20% of domestic flights in Vietnam faced delays or other issues in June, according to local media, with most caused by overly packed schedules. Tan Son Nhat is set to break ground soon on an 11 trillion dong ($460 million) expansion slated for completion in 2024, boosting capacity by 80% to 45 million passengers a year. Work is also underway on the new Long Thanh International Airport nearby, now scheduled to open in 2025. There are concerns that these expansions will increase supply far beyond demand. Total capacity in Thailand, southern Vietnam, the Philippines and Singapore is set to swell to 460 million people based on known projects alone -- well over five times the total number of international travelers in 2019. The Philippines in mid-September awarded the $11 billion Sangley Point International Airport project to a consortium including Samsung group member Samsung C&T, an affiliate of local conglomerate LT Group, and Munich Airports International. The decision brings plans for the new airport back on track after a previous contract winner dropped out amid profitability concerns. "Southeast Asian countries have been starting to put funding for coronavirus countermeasures into infrastructure development and other public works investments, making it easier to move forward with plans," said Makoto Saito of the NLI Research Institute. But companies still remain uncertain about the likely profit margins of these projects. Airport expansion presents business opportunities to construction companies. But those companies will face high material and labor costs, just like airport operators that are making the investments. "Not only are large-scale construction projects at overseas airports risky, the profit margins are slim," said an executive at a Japanese general contractor with an extensive track record landing contracts in Southeast Asia. A candidate for such contracts would face local contractors, along with rivals from China and South Korea. The bidding wars have devolved into cutthroat price competition. For projects that would strain a government's coffers, debt risks lurk around the corner. Japanese engineering group Taisei entered negotiations with the Sri Lankan government to possibly suspend the expansion of an airport. Funding for the project was frozen due to Sri Lanka's economic crisis, and the talks could result in Taisei being released from its contract.

I was very surprised the lobster is inexpensive

So Boston is well known for clam chowder. Hotel staff told me best seafood is by Legal Seafood at harbourside so off we went

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Myanmar-Crisis/Former-Miss-Myanmar-leaves-Thailand-to-seek-refuge-in-Canada?utm_campaign=GL_asia_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=1&pub_date=20220929121000&seq_num=11&si=44594 Former Miss Myanmar leaves Thailand to seek refuge in Canada Han Lay, who denounced the Myanmar military government, was denied entry in Bangkok Han Lay, who was crowned Miss Grand International Myanmar in 2021, was placed on a wanted list after denouncing Myanmar's military government last year. © AP YOHEI MURAMATSU, Nikkei staff writerSeptember 29, 2022 01:57 JST BANGKOK -- A Myanmar beauty queen who sought refuge in Thailand after criticizing her country's military government has departed for Canada to seek asylum there. Thai immigration officials confirmed Wednesday that Han Lay, the former Miss Grand International Myanmar, has left for Canada. After Myanmar's military seized power in February 2021, Han Lay gained fame when she denounced the new leaders during a beauty pageant held in Bangkok the following month. Military officials responded by placing Han Lay on an extensive wanted list, which forced her to stay in Thailand for refuge. But she was refused reentry into Thailand on Sept. 21 upon landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport following a trip to Vietnam. Myanmar's military government is believed to have invalidated Han Lay's passport, according to Thai media reports. She appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for support while she was held at Bangkok's airport.

I really like this Boston Public Garden, really beautiful The entrance

My actual destination was the Boston's Public Garden so I had to walk almost 2km passing by this housing area along a Commonwealth Ave that has a park towards the Public Garden, here are some photos of the walk and through the park -

Arrived in Boston a bit late so next morning which was a Sunday went out for a walk. The hotel was just next to Charles River and I did not expect to see this

Good morning from Quebec. So today we will be driving to Montreal. Last time I left off was about going to Boston. But before we could do that I had to go to the car rental to pick up the car a GMC Terrain SUV. Paperwork was a breeze that only require my driving license (I used my Singapore license) and credit card. I told the guy again I want to get the top insurance coverage and he told me it is also got assurance that I could drive into Canada and that the insurance also covers Canada, both he said was good to go. Obviously driving on the other side of the road made me nervous at first and getting used to its been quite a few years. So off we went towards Boston on our 4hrs journey. Came across this small beautiful lake Stopped by the side Beautiful isn't it?

I am already missing Thai food now, sigh. I remembered last week had this brunch Yam pla kapong (Sardine salad) Tomyam, krung (prawn tomyam) Krapow moosaab khai dow (Thai basils minced pork with egg) All freshly prepared and costs only $6.50 Amazingly delicious

https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Supply-Chain/Apple-already-building-latest-iPhone-14-in-India?utm_campaign=GL_asia_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_source=NA_newsletter&utm_content=article_link&del_type=1&pub_date=20220927123000&seq_num=11&si=44594 Apple already building latest iPhone 14 in India Move a sign South Asian country is gaining importance in supply chain Apple has started producing its newest iPhone 14 in India, within weeks of their global launch. (Source photos by Reuters and Kosaku Mimura) CHENG TING-FANG, Nikkei Asia chief tech correspondentSeptember 26, 2022 19:40 JST TAIPEI -- Apple announced it has started producing the iPhone 14 in India just three weeks after the release of the smartphone lineup, a significant win for the South Asian country as it attempts to grab a bigger piece of the global electronics supply chain. Apple said on Monday that it is "excited to be manufacturing [the] iPhone 14 in India." It is the first time that Apple has started producing its newest phones outside of China so soon after their launch. For now, only the 6.1-inch iPhone 14 model is being built in India, two people told Nikkei Asia, saying that additional models, including the iPhone 14 Plus, could follow in a matter of months. Traditionally, Apple keeps the manufacture of new iPhones entirely in China until it is confident that production of the devices is running smoothly. Only then does it begin producing the latest models in other countries, like India. Apple started assembling its budget iPhone SE in India in 2017 via a smaller iPhone assembler Wistron. Two major assemblers, Foxconn and Pegatron, later expanded production in India and helped Apple assemble some parts of the iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 models in the South Asian country. In April, Apple confirmed it had started to build iPhone 13 in India -- more than half a year after it introduced the product. Most iPhones are still built in China: in the Chinese cities of Zhengzhou and Shenzhen by Foxconn, in Shanghai by Pegatron, and in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, by Luxshare Precision Industry. Foxconn is still the biggest supplier, securing orders to build three different models of the latest range, including the iPhone 14, and is the primary source for the premium iPhone 14 Pro and 14 Pro Max models, sources briefed on the matter told Nikkei Asia. Pegatron and Luxshare mainly assemble the standard iPhone 14 and 14 Plus models, they said. Apple has started to diversify production out of China, its main production base, in recent years. It asked suppliers as early as 2018 to evaluate producing some AirPods outside of the country, with the test production of the earphones beginning in Vietnam the following year. Apple also plans to build iPads and the Apple Watch in Vietnam as it attempts to lower its dependence on the world's second-largest economy. "We see Foxconn and Pegatron are all expanding production in India," said Jeff Pu, an analyst with Haitong International Securities. "Given the rising labor costs in China and the ongoing trend of diversifying regional manufacturing, we do see a growing portion of iPhones being built in India in years to come." Additional reporting by Lauly Li.

Finally it was time to head to Boston. Will post more photos of Boston later today in the mean time . . . . . Gasoline prices in US is really cheap Topping up my ride Costs

Some photos of the Liberty Cruise

There's probably one more thing left to do and its to see the Statue of Liberty, so off we went to take the Liberty Cruise, enjoyed the ride very much

Visited the 9-11 Memorial area

This is a nice Szechuan restaurant in NYC, very authentic. We needed something spicy

Went to the Times Square again another night - NYC Time Square 24th Sep 2022, 9pm

Here's a nice video on walking to Central Park and inside the park

One morning I wanted to visit the New York Central Park so I walked there from hotel was a 40mins walk Famous Trump Tower Arriving in Central Park Garden and city, its so relaxing

Oh one day in NYC I decided to see the Charging Bull so I tool the subway