Here, coffeeshops are very different from Starbucks or Gloria's outfits.... its extremely local .... we call these establishments 'Kopi Tiam' (literally translated as Coffee Shop)

Local residents buy dinner and pass away time at places like this.... they usually have a couple of TVs hooked high up for folks to enjoy a couple of the favorite channels.

We can smoke here in designated smoking zones... unfortunately sometimes, local neighborhood tongs/gangsters usually occupy the smoking tables. You leave them alone, they leave you alone. Anyway I was at one this evening when my family was out swimming at a nearby pool.

I always enjoy hanging around a kopi tiam with a teh tarik on the table, camera sitting nearby .....neighborhood life almost revolves around kopi tiams, hawker centers and 7-11's

That evening, the trusty old picture taker wasnt with me......I'd brought along a cigar sent to me by a friend, HapaLee from Florida. It seemed to be a Tatuaje Havana VI prototype .... 5in x high 40s ring guage. Got it from HapaLee who wanted me to give it a try (Thanks Hapa and prayers still going out to your Dad).

I also brought along the Cuba edition of CA to catch up on some reading. Never got around to reading it.

The flavors of the cigar were great, not creamy, still a little 'green', but nonetheless still tasty and extremely hearty. Was spicy but not too much which suited me just fine. Hints of leathers and some chocolaty undertones. And the smoke.....it generated lots of it and almost from the first puff, it drew alot of attention.

Smoke drifted over to the non-smoking areas and I started to get weird looks from whole families eating at other tables. Not dirty, nasty looks, but more like curious looks at where that tasty smoke was coming from. I was in the smoking zone.

Ah Huat (introduced himself to me later) the local 'chieftan' was with a few of his henchmen at the next table where the smoke from my cigar seemed to be creating a gulfstream right into and through them... they were giving me 'WTF' looks (from the body language....more out of curiousity and not agressive)

He gave me a nod and a thumbs up and said 'See Bay Pang!' (translated literally as 'Dead Father Fragrant' normally taken as a compliment like 'Smells Damn Bloody Good') I just smiled back at him and offered him a puff from my wet head. He laughed and declined indicating that he could smell it just fine from where he was sitting. OK, I'm out of danger.

With soccer finished on the sports channel, the station filled in 'dead' time with a half hour of American rodeo.

i was surprised...I think we were ALL surprised.... NOBODY follows rodeos here in Asia .... not even Discovery or National Geographic channels.

Nobody really paid any attention in the beginning.... but when the action started, with riders and bulls busting out of the gates and human vs beast mayhem started breaking out on the TV sets.... almost everyone (there had to be about a hundred people around) and I meant EVERYONE (including the helpers and cooks) were just glued to the TV.

These bull riders were all geared up with body armor, pads, some even with football helmets ......they were getting thrown around like rag dolls.

There was one poor cowboy.... Lee something....who took a full-blooded head shot from a ragin bull's stamping back hoof.... he had on a football helmet.... lets just say the helmet looked like it broke from the impact sending the face grill flying in another direction.

Even Ah Huat squirmed at the replay..... uuuugh

These beasts looked like in a crazed blind rage when the gates opened.... only 1 or 2 guys could stay aboard for more than 5 seconds.... and many didnt land pretty. They were like SERIOUSLY hurting. What a career choice....

One guy was flipped off most unceremoniously and for good measure one of the beast's hoof almost hit him..... one of the cow-distractors (?) were not so lucky, he tripped and fell trying to distract the monster and the charging bull caught him with one horn below his ribs...EVERYONE felt the pain....Ah Huat grimaced too... thank God their horns seemed to have been cut off at the sharp end.

Rodeo cowboys..... I now hold them in awe.

Thank goodness, the rodeo program ended and were were back in soccer mode.... watching the televised Spanish La Liga game now seemed like watching pretty boys prancing around a grass field with a ball, falling down when a stray boot got in the way seemed a little gay all of a sudden.

I put out the Havana VI after an hour and threw its nub into a converted ash tray... an empty can from the local version of Spam.