Monica's Rants

Palau Kayaking

2008-09-08T21:35:00.000-07:00

Aww man, our last day in Palau. As always, when I travel, I so don’t want to go home today.

Planet Blue Kayaking

Today we enjoy more aquatic adventures, of the kayaking kind. Thanks to our friends at Sam’s Tours and Planet Blue Kayaking, we enjoyed a 1/2-day kayaking adventure.

Before I continue, I wanted to post a picture of Molly, our wonderful host on this excellent adventure. Today she’s wearing the Little Miss Giggles shirt she borrowed (from her daughter, who protested that the shirt might not be professional enough to wear to “work.” We should all have to work this hard.)

Today we had another excellent insider tour of the island. We learned some of the local lore, kayaked under and through some incredible rock formations, and even around a sunken World War II battleship.

During lunch, we enjoyed some additional, amazing snorkeling. The sea life here was about as varied as I’ve ever seen, but sadly I opted not to rent the underwater camera for a second day.

What amazes me is how much colorful, diverse sea life can thrive just feet away from beaches. It seems like nature would want to protect itself and make its greatest beauties harder for humans to find. But I guess Palau is a stunning example of just how generous Mother Nature can be.

Four Hands Massage

After lunch, we returned to the PPR hotel, where I had a massage scheduled at the property’s Elilai by Mandara Spa.

I had planned to try a massage at both resorts, but as you’ve probably gathered, we’ve been somewhat busy this week. So since this was my first free minute to have a massage, I totally (over) indulged and booked myself a four-hands massage. Many of the massage therapists in Palau are trained in Indonesia, and my two therapists were no exception.

These two ladies were totally in sync, both exerting identical amounts of pressure just where I needed it. Normally I like my massages at a “Rough Me Up” level, but my sunburn was a deterrent, and it was a pleasure to just enjoy a relaxing hour in someone else’s hands.

I absolutely cannot rave enough about how blissful the experience was. I came out of the spa, and one of my travel mates told me I looked stoned. Which is pretty much how I felt.

After a few tropical drinks on the beach, it was time for the group to convene and enjoy our final dinner.

Fruit Bat Soup

All week, our hosts had been great about introducing us to typical Palaun experiences, but I would say that Melson really went out of his way to make sure we had a touch of local flavor. He brought us the Betel nut, clams, fried donuts and a number of other one-of-a-kind experiences.

The one thing he had not yet delivered was the national dish of Palau.

Fruit Bat Soup.

But at dinner, Melson, who hadn’t let us down yet, delivered once again. And voila, here you see the result of fruit bat soup. In terms of flavor, the soup tasted pretty good. The bat itself tasted somewhat like Japanese eel (tastes like chicken!).

But since the soup is cooked with the whole bat, having to peel off the little guy’s hairy skin would probably make this an experience I don’t need to repeat.

At dinner, we finally got to meet Darin Deleon, our very gracious Palau Visitor Authority host, and the person that made it possible for all of us to travel on such a wonderful excursion.

The dinner was hosted by the Palau Pacific Resort, who even arranged to have a traditional performance for us. What a fabulous way to end our stay.

After dinner, we had a short rest before we were escorted to the airport for our 1 am departure.

(I was considering writing a scathing overview of the retarded procedures at the airport in Guam. Think dot matrix passenger manifests and highlighters, but I decided that the journey was just too lovely to ruin with a scathing end. Just know that if you fly through Guam, you may need to arm yourselves with a little extra patience and a fine-tuned sense of humor.)

And also know that any stop in Guam is 100% worth the process if you get to enjoy Palau on the other end.

Palau Snorkeling

2008-09-07T20:28:00.000-07:00

Here’s another deep dark confession. I’m just horrible at snorkeling. I’m so inept, I always get my hair caught between my goggles and my head, so the goggles don’t fit right and water gets in my eye. I can’t dive below the surface at all, because I’ll always end up taking a big giant gulp of ocean water through my breathing tube. The salt water makes me tear up and get all boogery.

Despite all that, I absolutely love snorkeling. Even with water trickling in my eyes and having to surface and wipe the snot off my face ever ten minutes or so, I just love it.

So I was very much looking forward to today’s snorkeling itinerary, which was to be hosted by Fish N Fins. I’ve heard so much about the wonderful dive/snorkel sites in Palau and despite the build up, the excursion beat all expectations.

Big Drop Off

We first went to a popular dive location known as Big Drop off. Here snorkelers could float on top of the coral reef, while serious divers could submerge down the coral wall. Having (for once) planned ahead, I rented an underwater camera from the hotel, and boy am I glad I did.

For the education of visitors, our crew had sent a trap into deep waters where the elusive Nautilus lives (generally 600-2,000 feet by day and 300 feet at night. Not to wax eloquent on the Nautilus (because there is so much more to say) but it is one of the oldest sea creatures on the planet, and very rarely seen in its natural habitat, so this was quite a cool experience.

Also interesting is that the cage used to bring up the Nautilus had also caught an errant Moray Eel. The eel was clearly not long for this world, and despite our guides’ gentle attempts to revive the eel and encourage it to swim away, it hung loosely in front of us. While sad that the eel was unwell, it was my first time to ever see a moray completely removed from the rocks they normally hide behind, and see just how long they actually are.

Soon, however, I became quite distracted by the Black Tip Shark swimming just below us. Generally he seemed pretty uninterested in the humans (there were a lot of people swimming about) These bad boys of the sea were hungry though, and if you look closely, you can see this one chomping on a small, yellow fish. (Right about now, my sister the marine biologist is shaking her head at my hugely scientific definition of sharky’s lunch.)

At any rate, the shark was so hungry, that while we were all watching his maneuvers, he swam directly in front of us, grabbed a hold of the Moray eel and took off like the proverbial bat out of hell. Wow, it was like the discovery channel unfolding in front of us.

Lunch on the Beach

Our next stop involved enjoying a leisurely lunch on the beach. I pretty much scarfed through my snack box, and couldn’t wait to jump back in the water. I swam some 100 feet out, where a boat from another tour company was dumping snacks in the ocean in an attempt to bring the fish close to their boat.

The fish were ecstatic and thousands of them began to swim about me. What started out as really cool took on a sort of EEK! feeling when five or six huge (okay at least five feet) sharks figured out that where there are thousands of fish, there’s a fine sashimi lunch to be had.

As a few of the sharks swam around and took a second pass, two of them swam by me, almost nose to nose. Umm, not sure on exactly how much human sashimi these sharks feel a need to consume, I felt my heart slam into my throat. Melson was close by, so I did the typical tourist thing, handed him my camera, and swam back to the safer waters of our own boat. What you are looking at here, is some of Melson’s fine photography work, as I was far too chicken to be THAT close to the action.

Jellyfish Lake

Now if you’re thinking, wow, “swimming with the sharks, what could be better than that?” I’d say, “I know, right? How could the day get any better?”

Unbelievably it did.

We’d been told of a mythical lake, one that was once part of the ocean, but as the sea waters began to recede (gillions of years ago, after the ice age), the waters became trapped inland. Now the lake, a brackish mix of salt and fresh waters, still houses jellyfish that have made their home there for millennia. The jellyfish, with no natural predators, have evolved to be almost completely stingless. (I kid you not.)

So, we did have to take a somewhat steep hike to get up to and then back down to the lake. Me: hot, sweaty, klutzy, not looking forward to the hike. However, I sure am glad that I went.

This place was AMAZING. There literally is no other way to describe it.
Imagine swimming in a bowl of pea soup with the peas floating around you. That’s sort of the experience we had. The jelly fish were everywhere. In the picture you see Courtney (who took one of the earlier shark pics), and you get a great idea of just how many jelly’s are floating about. What you can't see in the picture, however, is Courtney's nefarious plotting to take home a jelly fish to keep.

We stayed here about an hour, and I think it’s safe to say that none of us wanted to leave.

A Giant Clam

Now, we went to so many places today that I don’t remember what all of them were called. I’m pretty sure the next location we hit was “Clam City.” Yup, the clams below were giant as promised.

And seriously, who can say the words “Giant Clam” without thinking of the B-52s?

“--He was in a jam
--s’in a Giant Clam”

Everyone now!

Too bad most of my group was too old (or too young) to know the song.

What was particularly cool about this dive is that it was what’s called a drift dive. You jump in the water, watch the world below you, and let the current swoosh you along. (By the way, a special kudos to travel mate Jacqui who was somewhat afraid of the water, yet still donned life vest to take a look along. Even when she realized how far away the boat was, she continued as if she were a seasoned pro.)

Even those who aren’t strong swimmers, or not swimmers at all, could navigate this site with ease. Pop on a life vest, let the water do the work, and the boat will swing around to meet you at the end.

Milky Way

Even though the day was drawing to a close, I don’t think any of us were ready to go home yet. Fortunately, Tim, our captain, had one last place to show us. We ended up at a fabulous place known as the Milky Way.

Here, the boat crew hauled up buckets of the milky white sand from the waters of a protected inlet. We were told to slather the sand over ourselves and let it dry. Basically, a free spa treatment. We were enjoying the afternoon too much, though, so we pretty much posed long enough for this picture before jumping en masse back into the water.

This adventure was probably slightly cooler before we learned that the fine, milky white sand in the water is scientifically known as Chiton poop. Whatever, my skin never felt so good.

Barracuda Bar & Grill

As the day came to a close, Fish N Fins hosted our delightful dinner at their on-site restaurant, Barracuda Bar & Grill. Despite a raging sunburn (in places I’ve never burned before), I managed to scarf down a stunning amount of delectable cuisine, before returning to the hotel to fall into a near comatose sleep.

The Battle of Peleliu

2008-09-06T03:33:00.000-07:00

Here’s my deep, dark, secret confession.

Part of our group would be going diving today while the rest of us would be doing an “alternate” activity. So of course I was thinking that a separate (but equal) activity would be snorkeling.

Nope. We non-diving girls would be visiting Peleliu Island for an in-depth overview of island’s importance during the War in the Pacific.

Hmm, can’t say I was as excited as I should have been.

Turns out, the program was quite fascinating.

We were transported by a 40-minute boat ride to Peleliu Island by Sam’s Tours . Once on Peleliu, we were escorted by Des Matsutaro, an expert on the island’s history, and a World War II historian.

War in the Pacific

Peleliu, which is currently inhabited by some 200 residents, had no less than 10,000 residents before the (in)famous battle. Many of these residents were Japanese, as the Japanese had several military sites on the island, in particular an airstrip that proveg to be central in the fight to control the Pacific.

Scattered throughout the island are numerous World War II artifacts, all of which are protected under historical preservation rules. We visited a memorial site (seen in the photo) dedicated to the 81st infantry division (the Wildcats) as well as many other historical sites, including the famed “Orange Beach” where one of the initial battles took place.

Des did a fabulous job of bringing the history of this area to life. The battle for Peleliu was considered controversial, by many, in particular because of its high casualty count and because of the fact that the airstrip never ended up serving its intended purpose as a strategic site in the battle to recapture the Philippines.

Des excelled at conveying the feeling of that time. The young men of the US (and Japanese) armies fought in 115 degree, humid weather marching over sandy beaches and tropical vegetation. The horror of what these brave men went through, in the defense of liberty, is really beyond my comprehension. I've attached this photo (which I "borrowed" from the Department of Defense, public domain) which illustrates very well, the overwhelming forces fighting for Peleliu.

We took a break from military history to enjoy lunch at Yellow Wall restaurant, which is owned and operated by our hosts for the day, Maml Divers. We were served stuffed mud crab, a local specialty, as well as a totally decadent deep friend cheese log. Bad, bad, bad (but so good.)

After lunch, our history lesson continued, as we visited Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum. The museum is largely made up of donated artifacts and items, as well as many personal histories of the soldiers that fought on the island. One of the many donations here was a copy of John McCain’s biography.

We visited some of the island’s caves, which played a huge role in the Japanese defense of the island. These caves were largely the reason that the battle of Peleliu didn’t take the four days the Americans anticipated, and rather lasted some four months.

Palau Diving

Des told us that diving operations also have base locations on Peleliu Island. Because the island is much closer to some of the famed reef spots, visitors embarking from Peleliu will reach the prime diving spots an hour before the visitors from Koror, making for at least an hour of prime, unshared diving time.

If staying on the island, one of the best resorts to check out is Dolphin Bay Resort. This cute little resort is an ideal jumping off point for eagers divers wanting to get an early start.

Palau Pacific Resort

During the day our belongings had been transferred to the lovely Palau Pacific Resort (known by locals as PPR), our second accommodation in the islands. After finishing our Peleliu tour, we enjoyed a relaxing 40-minute boat ride back to Koror, where we were dropped off directly at the PPR’s boat dock.

This gorgeous, west-facing facility would be our home for the next three nights, and what a home it is.

Sams Tours

After a brief rest we were escorted back to the Sam’s Tours headquarters. The tour company is operated out of an open-style area, which loans itself well to group events, meetings and functions. We were served a splendid dinner, prepared by the wives of the Sam’s Tours senior staff.

A particular favorite was the crab in coconut milk (gosh I can still taste it) and lobster with garlic butter. Our hosts were incredibly generous with their time and they pulled out all the stops.

We enjoyed an in-depth presentation on the ecological history of Palau by Ron Leidich, the staff biologist for Sam’s Tours.

We were also lucky enough to watch some of the stunning underwater, movie footage shot by staff videographer Dr. Nick Martorano, Ph.D. If you want to watch some of his awesome footage (or even download it to your iPod), you can visit his site at: www.oceanwonders.org/LAUPS_2007/. A sample picture from a dive to a "mystery wreck" is included here.

With our heads and our bellies filled to the max, we returned to the PPR to enjoy some well-earned rest.

Babeldaob Island Tour

2008-09-05T01:58:00.000-07:00

Early Morning Massage

Now here's a great way to start the day. The Palau Royal Resort sets up a massage therapist in the lobby, who gives away five to ten-minute massages in order to encourage traffic to the property's Mandara Spa.

Ahh bliss. I don't think I'm going to have time to enjoy a complete massage here, but it sure felt good getting a 10-minute preview before we set off for our hard day of sightseeing.

Palau International Coral Reef Center

Palau is so reliant upon its coral reef system, both for the tourism it brings, as well as for the marine environment that sustains much of the country’s economy, that it’s great to see an Aquarium dedicated specifically to the reefs.

The Palau Coral Reef Center is a small but mighty attraction with lots of great information about the reef and its native denizens. The Outer Reef exhibit is one of the largest exhibits of its kind in the world and houses angelfish, butterflyfish and wrasses along with many coral types. We had a huge itinerary today, and definitely did not have enough time to explore this amazing place.

Having said that, however, I wouldn’t have wanted to miss anything else on the day’s agenda, so wouldn’t have really changed a thing. Our next stop would be Ngchesar to enjoy a new Palau attraction.

If you’re feeling confused by Palau's names and locations, don’t worry, so was I. I’ve attached another map of Palau, to help you get your bearings. Again, my apologies to the PVA for stealing their content.

Ngchesar Jungle River Boat Cruise

Next we visited the Jungle River Boat Cruise

Being the uber Disney fan that I am, needless to say, I had a few jokes about the “Jungle River Boat Cruise” ride. But turns out the joke was on me, because owner Billy Takamine lived in Anaheim for a time, and designed the concept somewhat around its namesake.

It is definitely much, much cooler on a real jungle river, that’s for sure.

The aluminum boat holds forty people and sails up a 2.5-mile river, until it hits the ocean. Along the way, the river is lined by mangroves and we had our very own guest appearance by two crocodiles, who apparently are quite the local celebrities.

After our fabulous cruise, we were treated to a tremendous luncheon barbecue, starring some of the best short ribs I’ve ever eaten. (And since I worked with the Korean government, I’ve eaten a LOT of short ribs.)

What I think impressed me the most is that this entire operation, which is run on land owned by Billy Takamine, is all run without any electricity. The land, which was nearly inaccessible until roads into the area were recently developed. Because the area is somewhat remote, electricity is a fairly new development, and Billy isn’t in any hurry to get it. (Don’t worry, the restrooms, which are lit by candle, do feature running water.)

That’s kind of how the Palauns are. Eco friendly, not because they have to be, but just because it’s a way of life.

Babeldaob Tour

A light rain, and the fact that we left the Jungle River Boat Cruise considerably later than our itinerary had planned, meant we had some last minute modifications on our afternoon schedule. Out was the waterfall hike (too slippery) but the rest of the Babeldaob (Island) tour was intact.

First we did some creative four-wheeling to see Palau’s national capital, Melekeok. The town, which has less than 200 residents, boasts a gorgeous capital building literally situated in the middle of nowhere.

I think our group was perplexed by the fact that all the nation’s officials had to drive 40 minutes each way, every day, to come to work, but apparently Palau is hoping to develop the area in the near future.

In the area, we also visited the Melekeok Bai, a traditional ceremonial house and stepped far back in time at the Ngarchelong Stone monoliths. The origin of these mysterious stone heads is unknown, but the Palauans consider this space sacred. While walking through the area, I definitely got the sense that this location is being guarded by ancient spirits.

Today our hosts were Kadoi, Yumie and Melson of the PVA. Melson was great about introducing us to some of the native aspects of Palaun life. Here you see him enjoying some very fabulous raw clams at a local market. If we’d had more time, I probably would have eaten 20 of these babies, but since we were on a schedule, we had to roll along.

Poor Melson also took quite a hit later when he elected to introduce us to an old stone sarcophagus further along Babeldaob. The sarcophagus, origins unknown, is located up a steep, muddy slope. You know what happens when rain, hills, mud and klutzy Monica mix together, right? Yep, I took a header up and down that hill.

Melson was great about trying to get us all up and down safely but to no avail as one of our group (not me, thank god) quite literally crashed into him, taking him out. He’s survived in one piece, but likely won’t ever forget our group.

Elilai Restaurant

After spending the day toiling in the mud and visiting some of Palau’s remote areas, it was a total shock to the system to have dinner at Elilai, www.elilaipalau.com
a trendy “Asian” grill.

This place looks like it comes straight from the pages of New York or Las Vegas magazine. The owner, Takuya Tetsuzo is a designer as well as a restaurateur, and he wanted to open a restaurant with a modern flair in Palau. Mission accomplished. The meal consisted of countless courses of Asian specialties (like Pad Thai, pork ribs, pineapple fried rice, seared ahi with a Korean hot sauce) and the restaurant sported a beautiful view of the neighboring Rock Islands. (Again the view was implied, as that dreaded night darkness prevented us from seeing much.)

Even without the view, the lounge-feel of the restaurant balcony made an enjoyable setting. After dinner we enjoyed drinks in the restaurant lounge. Quasi day-beds, video screens, what more could a girl want. Here you see Yumie, Kadoi and Heather enjoying a rare quiet moment.

Palau Overview

2008-09-04T00:28:00.000-07:00

Palau Royal Resort

This morning we got our first "real" look (by daylight) at our hotel, the Palau Royal Resort, a lovely resort in Koror. This is one of Palau’s high-end properties and definitely worth checking out if you’re planning a visit. This is a member of the Nikko Hotels family and because of the huge volume of Japanese travelers to Palau, it felt a little bit like traveling in Asia.

Yay for me, because that meant the delicious breakfast had lots and lots of Asian specialties. I never eat breakfast at home, so why oh why does a buffet seem to lure me with its message of “go crazy and try to eat everything?”

I enjoyed my favorite international breakfast, congee rice porridge with a side of bacon. Gross, I know. But don’t worry, I added other specialties from the buffet, including made-to-order waffles in order to round out my palate.

Koror Museum Tour

Not really knowing much about Palau, I was pleased to see our morning consisted of a museum tour of Koror. We visited the Belau National Museum, Tebang Woodcarvers and Etpison Museum, all of which helped color in some details of the Palauan history (as well as a greater understanding of the islands that make up Micronesia.)

At the Belau National Museum we had a great overview of the effects of international communities on Palau. From the German control of Palau to the Japanese occupation to modern-day influences such as Taiwan, which uses its friendship with Palau to further its own global positioning independent of China, the tiny nation has played a role in much of international politics.

At the Tebang Woodcarvers, we saw artisans crafting the “storyboard” wood carvings that are a popular Palauan handicraft. The storyboards generally follow one of just a handful of fables, which give a greater insight into the nation’s history. For example, the Palauan past has a rather grim history in that the women never had a natural childbirth. The woman’s womb was sliced open with a bamboo knife and needless to say, the woman rarely survived this process. Along came the spider god Mengidabrutkoel and showed the people how to deliver babies naturally. Now many storyboards bear the image of this spider god and display this legend.

The Etipson Museum also proved to be hugely informative with exhibits focused on the endemic culture of Palau. With displays of a Bai (traditional men’s meeting house), canoes and other boats, the museum helped wrap up all the information we’d learned this morning during our advanced-learning Palau course.

Dolphin Pacific

In the afternoon, we got up close and personal with some of Palau’s natives, the dolphins. Dolphins Pacific is an educational facility that studies the dolphin habits. Since I am a child of the “Flipper Generation,” I’ve had a deep seated “awww” for dolphins since my early childhood. I’ve been up close and personal before, but these smart animals never fail to make me smile.

The dolphins have been taught not to eat the many leaves that fall in their enclosures, but rather to bring the leaves to a trainer. As a reward, the dolphins get a tasty seafood treat. Now the crafty critters swim around the pool finding leaves and trade them for seafood in an almost incessant manner. Makes you wonder whose training whom, right?

Although we had some scheduled “free time” in the afternoon, Heather, one of our hosts, had told us that one of the best places to buy story boards was at the men’s prison. Cool, right? So naturally a group of us made our way over to check out the inventory. They must have had thousands of storyboards there. Overwhelming.

The paper sign over the door mandating “no prisoners beyond this point” was our first clue that this might not be a high-security prison. Although I was tempted to buy the storyboard of the legend of “Melechotech-a-chau” about a giant with a long, long, long male member that sort of resembles the Loch Ness monster, the cliché of a sex carving by a male prisoner was just too much for me to bear. So I bought a nice legend about boats, and turtles and greed set in Ngerchemai, a the home village of our other host, Kadoi.

Palasia Hotel Palau

Dinner tonight was at the Taiwanese-owned Palasia Hotel Palau. Our all-Chinese buffet of delicacies was followed by drinks overlooking the Rock Islands. (Of course since it was pitch black outside, this was more of a figurative overlooking than an actual view.) If I’d had more time, I definitely wanted to indulge in the hotel’s Chinese-style massages, wow, priced at just $20 an hour.

I just love inexpensive hedonism.

On My Way to Palau

2008-09-03T00:10:00.000-07:00

One Country Closer to the "Century Club"

There are some (usually older) travel geeks who keep track of how many countries they’ve visited, and for them the “century” mark of 100 countries is a high water mark. I’m nowhere near visiting 100 countries, but have noticed lately that I’ve only been traveling to countries I’ve already visited. I’m not complaining, of course, but when I got the offer to visit Micronesia’s Palau, I jumped at the chance.

When I told people I was visiting Palau, I usually received one of two responses. The main one being “where’s Palau” and the second-most popular being “oh yes, there was a very famous World War II battle fought there.” For those of you in the first category, I’m including a map of the area, which I borrowed from the website of our hosts, the Palau Visitors Authority Palau Visitors Authority For those of you in the second category, keep reading.

Getting To Micronesia Via Continental Airlines

To get to Palau we flew Continental Airlines and Continental Air Micronesia with routing from LAX to Honolulu, then Honolulu to Guam and finally Guam to Koror (Palau).

Suprisingly, the flights were not awful. I can’t stand flying truth be told. Being tall, big and above average in the chest region mean that airline seats are at best uncomfortable and usually pretty intolerable. Continental however had a decent enough pitch (room between me and the person whose reclined seat usually rests on my chest) to allow me to even get in and out of my seat, and to eat my meal without performing my usual contortionist dance.

Further the food service was plentiful and fairly pleasant. On the long leg (HNL to GUM) we were even served ice cream sundaes for our mid-flight snack. Oh yum.

And anyone who knows me, knows that I’m a video game addict. So the in-seat video games (on a domestic carrier no less) were a welcome distraction. The movies were on demand so you could start, stop, pause and fast forward through the movies at your own whim. Don’t you just hate having to start watching a movie half way through the film?

Fortunately (sorry Continental, please don’t reduce your flights after reading this) none of the flights were 100% full, so I mostly had an empty seat next to me, which was awesome. Just enough to let me spread out a little bit.

The flight schedule was great, getting us into Palau in the evening. We didn’t get to see much on our first night, but it was great being able to get a full night’s sleep right away, rather than having full day’s schedule on only airplane rest.

It's Not a Mirage

2008-04-10T00:31:00.000-07:00

The Mirage Hotel

Our culinary tour of Las Vegas commenced today at Cravings, an all-you-can-eat buffet at The Mirage Hotel. Phew, all you can eat, and I don't just mean that in an "eat-till-you're-full" sense. I mean they had so much food on this buffet it was almost impossible to decide where to start.

Once we'd been well fed, we went to our final stop on the whirlwind Las Vegas tour, to Siegried and Roy's Secret Garden and Dolphin Habitat.

The dolphins were so cute. (Don't come expecting a Sea World-esque array of tricks and jumps, though. The trainers work with the dolphins, but there are no "shows" per se.) After communing with the dophins we headed into the Secret Garden.

The giant lions and tigers inside totally reminded me of my own kitty cats waiting for me back at home. They were just as lazy, just as playful and just as cute. Although we had uncommonly breezy weather (for Las Vegas), the Secret Garden should be a great place to visit year-round. It's perfectly shaded and the kind of rereat where you can just sit back, relax and and enjoy the peace and quiet.

And suddenly we were done with our trip. I soon found myself on the road back to Los Angeles with a ton of great new memories, and a bag full of press kits I would need to spend some quality time reviewing.

Shine On Las Vegas

2008-04-09T23:32:00.000-07:00

I’m dragging a bit today, but clearly not enough to pass up the Belgium Waffles at Payard, a Patisserie and Bistro at Caesar's Palace. Um yeah, and the chocolate truffles afterwards. Hopped up on caffeine and sugar, we started our tour of the Flamingo Hotel.

Flamingo Hotel

Now if you haven’t been to this property lately, as they say, you haven’t been here at all. The designers have taken a few pages of what looks like a Barbie design book to design the new Flamingo Go Room. These rooms are designed in an electronic pink, mixed with some old-school browns and whites. The rooms are peppered with photos of the original Flamingo and the overall effect is sort of a fun, quirky “what’s old is new again” feel.

If your Las Vegas budget doesn't allow for some of the higher-end properties on the strip, this is absolutely the place you should check out. If you want more bang for your buck, you might consider the GO Metropolitan Suite, which has an amazing view of Las Vegas.

After our tour, we were served a light (thank god) luncheon, in one of the pool-side cabanas. I pretty much sprawled out on a lounger and watched the world go by, but did manage to interact some with the Sopranos look alikes from the the Soprano's Last Supper show that came to pay us a visit.

The Wynn Hotel

In the evening we had the opportunity to tour the delightful Wynn Hotel. For some reason, this property really captured my attention. From the whimsical parasols marking the lobby bar to the fine service to the Lake of Dreams show, I really enjoyed our visit here.

We were slated for another dine around tonight, but fortunately we only had two restaurants on tap. We over consumed a giant platterful of appetizers at the Wing Lei, the only Chinese restaurant in North America to be awarded a Michelin star. Next, we were served an unlimited arrray of meat and side dishes at SW Steakhouse. Here in the photo you see Carole, one of our group, making friends with Travis, the restaurant manager. (I did mention how hospitable the staff is here, right?)

High-Flying Las Vegas

Tonight’s evening festivities, once again took top billing, as we were treated to an amazing helicopter ride over the Las Vegas strip by Maverick Helicopters. My camera was not up to the challenge of taking any shots worthy of looking at, but this one will give you at least a general idea of what we saw.

We had a few helicopter virgins on our ride, but despite a few lingering fears, once we were airborne, they were totally into the ride. It wasn't as scary they thought it would be. If you've ever considered taking this trip, you absolutely must do it.

After all that flying, what else could we do but enjoy a few late-night drinks? We made our way to The Luxor.

We started our imbibing with a few beverages with such names as "Liquid Lust," "The Vixen," and "Love Potion" in Liquidity, a bar located in the center of the Luxor casino. Next we moved on to LAX, a two-story hangout for the young and beautiful. We enjoyed SKYY Vodka drinks in our private, ultra-VIP loft, while overlooking the activity.

Finally, we made our way to Noir Bar, entering through their private entrance. Reservations are required at this bar, and there's a rumor that you can't get in unless you (or your concierge) know the right people to call. Lucky for us, we were hanging out with the right crowd.

Our late-night schedule got us back to the hotel by around 1 a.m., pretty late, but still enough time to take a quick soak in the Jacuzzi.

Oh What a Night

2008-04-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

Town Square Las Vegas

This morning we enjoyed a shopping tour of Las Vegas’ newest mall, Town Square Las Vegas. This outdoor plaza is located near (across the strip) from McCarran Airport. Fortunately for us it was a cool, breezy day, perfect for outdoor shopping. The center is anchored by Borders (yay) and Fry’s is at the far end (another yay), which should give you your bearings if you’re at all familiar with the Las Vegas landscape.

The place has really been designed to be a relaxing experience (such a novelty in high-octane Las Vegas) and is well suited for families. Even Fido is totally welcome, and the center has doggy bars set up throughout. After an hour of shopping it was time to eat. Today we would participate in what is known as a dine-around, where we would sample food from several different restaurants to get an overall feel of the center.

Oh lordy, did I say sample?

I can honestly say that I’ve NEVER eaten as much food as I did today in my whole life. We started out with a snack platter at Tommy Bahama’s (coconut shrimp, goat cheese, tuna poke, key lime pie), and then made our way to the Yard House. I’ve eaten at the Yard House in Long Beach and Pasadena so I’m already a fan of their cuisine. However Yard House went ALL out and served seven sampler dishes to each person. We had Chinese chicken salad, pasta with garlic lobster sauce, a half hamburger, orange chicken, and so on. Urp.

Next we made a brief stop at Louis’, a fine seafood restaurant only open for dinner. A couple of appetizers later, we were escorted to Louis' Fish Camp, a casual seafood facility across the way. I promised myself that no matter what, I wasn’t going to eat what they served here. Sadly deep-fried, softshell crab is one of my favorite favorites and so I was forced (forced I tell you) to eat half of it. Finally we ended up at Brio, a Tuscan style restaurant where we enjoyed desserts and coffee around an open fire pit.

The good news is that visitors to Town Square won't ever feel like there aren't enough food options to make them happy!

City Center

After our extended lunch, we waddled our way back to our bus, and were then brought on to tour the pre-opening offices of the new City Center project.

This project will, in essence, change the entire landscape of Las Vegas. It is so overwhelming, I'm not sure I can find the words to do it justice, so I'm stealing verbiage from their press release.

A joint venture between MGM MIRAGE and Dubai World, CityCenter is a (more than) $8 billion mixed-use development, built on 76 acres along the Las Vegas Strip between the Bellagio and Monte Carlo resorts. The groundbreaking design introduces a dazzling vertical city in the heart of Las Vegas’ sprawling horizontal grid, and will include a 57-story condo-hotel called Vdara, two residential high-rises known as Veer Towers, the city's first Mandarin Oriental, The Harmon Hotel and a 4,000-room resort casino. CityCenter represents the most significant privately financed project in the United States.

Phew, even the sales center was overwhelming. We got to wander through life-size model rooms of every part of the project and watch a multimedia display of the ongoing progress of this community.

We were given a three-hour break this afternoon, which some people spent using their free Las Vegas Monorail passes to tour other parts of the city. I’m embarrassed to admit that I wasn’t nearly that ambitious and I spent most of my free time napping and working in my room.

The Palazzo Hotel

In the late afternoon, we were given a tour of the posh new Palazzo Hotel. Inside we toured Jay-Z's sports bar 40/40, which should have felt very "boys only" but was quite accessible and comfortable inside. If I could do my 40th birthday all over again, I'd probably have it here.

We also toured the Palazzo Pool Deck, which had amazing views overlooking the Las Vegas Strip, and was particularly brilliant at sunset.

All too soon it was time to eat, again. Hard to believe but there I was munching my way through Tortilla chips at Dos Caminos, an upscale Mexican restaurant located in the Palazzo. I’m embarrassed to admit that I did end up eating most of my grilled steak. Someone, please, help me find my stop button.

The Jersey Boys

The great thing about Las Vegas is that no matter how much fun you’re having, things can always get better. After dinner this was certainly true, as we were hosted to a preview performance of The Jersey Boys, the musical based upon the life story of Franki Valli and the Four Seasons. A warning to the big girl, the seats in the theatre are tiny, so try to get yourself a place on the aisle, but other than that, this is a definitely must-see show. The singers were so incredibly talented and by the time the performers transitioned into the Act 1 Finale of “Oh What a Night,” even the Korean grandma and grandpa sitting next to me were up and rocking out.

The late show got us back to our hotel about 1 am, and I was so tired that I barely had the strength to take a dip in my Jacuzzi tub. I didn’t even notice the hotel had given us a bottle of red wine until the next morning.

60,000 Pounds of Shrimp

2008-04-07T21:59:00.000-07:00

I'm off to Las Vegas today, and facing the age-old question, do I drive or fly? It usually takes me about four hours to drive (lead foot, I know) but on the other hand by the time I drive to the airport, park, take the shuttle, check in, etc., it seems like the whole process takes me just as long. So even with gas prices being what they are, it’s the open road for me.

The Signature Tower

I’m staying at the Signature at MGM Grand, a series of high-rise condominiums behind the MGM Grand Hotel. Once I got over the weirdness of staying at a property that doesn’t have a casino, I really got into the Signature, especially with its no-smoking policy. It was really unique being not hearing the ching ching of slot payouts as I made my way to my room. Also, my 17th floor room, complete with mini-kitchen and living area, had an excellent view of the strip.

Mandalay Bay

Our welcome function was hosted at a conference room at the Shark Reef attraction at Mandalay Bay, where we served yummy seafood snacks (oysters, sushi) while watching Shark Reef visitors looking in at us from the other side of the wall-size aquarium.

The cuisine was hosted by Chef Rick Moonen, a fabulous chef who runs Rick Moonen's RM Seafood here in Las Vegas, and before ran a few Michelin-rated restaurants in New York City. Among Chef Rick’s many claims to fame, he is well known is Las Vegas for his commitment to sustainable seafood. He gave us an energetic talk about the importance of not overharvesting (and overeating) endangered seafood. In Las Vegas alone, for example, more than 60,000 pounds of shrimp are eaten every day, which is more than the rest of the country put together.

Now Chef Rick is working with up-and-coming chefs in Las Vegas to create citywide programs that prevent stressing out our endangered delicacies. What was really great about his talk is that Chef Rick does say we have to give up on certain fish forever, just that we should give the endangered species a break in order to let them rejuvenate themselves. If you are interested in the this topic, Chef Rick just released a book called Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook's Essential Companion.

After the reception we were hosted to a tour of the fabulous Shark Reef. I can’t recommend this attraction highly enough. If you find yourself in Las Vegas, it is well worth taking a break from your other pursuits to get over here and see the fish collections, which include sharks, moray eels, and jelly fish, among others.

Koi at Planet Hollywood

In keeping with our seafood theme, we were then escorted over to Planet Hollywood, where we enjoyed a deluxe dinner at Koi. Although I’ve been to the sister restaurant in LA, which I love, nothing can beat the Las Vegas view from the restaurant. We had a zillion food courses (spicy tuna on crispy sushi rice, Kobe beef carpaccio, miso baked cod) followed by an obscenely huge dessert platter.

We capped off our lovely evening with a stop at Prive, Planet Hollywood's newest night club. Although the club just opened a few months ago, there are already waiting-room only lines, winding their way through the Planet Hollywood casino, to get in. What I especially liked about the club was the open feel to it. There were no roped off areas, and none of that "even though you made it through the doors, you better watch your step inside" feel that plague a lot of the clubs here in Hollywood.

I guess I’m not as hip as I once was (geez, I really am getting old) but I was totally thrilled by the young woman who brought us our champagne bottle, complete with a sparkler attached. I’ve admitted before that I truly am a gay man trapped in a woman’s body because I love all things sparkly, so the sparkler champagne bottle seemed like the coolest thing EVER to me.

Most of my fellow travelers and Las Vegas hosts were like “um, sparkler, alcohol, been there done that” but I’ll never forget my first time. I’m thinking about instituting that at a future dinner party at my house.

Finally, we staggered back to our hotel at about 11 pm. I'm not sure if I was happier jumping into my Jacuzzi-brand bath tub, or the bottle of champagne waiting for me. (no sparkler though). Actually the hotel had laid out a huge snack spread in all of our rooms, including a giant tray of nuts (like 18 inches by 9 inches, people, this thing was enormous) as well as a tray of dried fruits, cookies, and other goodies. If that wasn’t enough we were also served a huge platter of chocolate covered strawberries.

Heading Back Home

2008-02-18T02:39:00.000-08:00

The weather this morning was slightly less foggy than yesterday, which is why this is the first that Naoko and I noticed that our hotel actually had a distant view of the Golden Gate bridge. (It was still a bit overcast so not many of our photos translate well, but at least we can point and say, that’s where it is.)

The plan for today was to enjoy an early breakfast in China town (Naoko’s craving for rice porridge ended up as rice porridge with a few dim sum sides), followed by a morning of shopping in Union Square.

Before we arrived Jemma had purchased a Coach purse at Macy’s and she didn’t know that Macy’s always offers out of town shoppers and 11% discount. (If you travel more than 200 miles to anywhere and shop at Macy’s be sure to pick up a visitor coupon card.) Macy’s even retroactively honored the coupon, resulting in a hefty return for Jemma.

Although I’d set a semi-strict departure schedule for the day (I didn’t want Naoko and I to get home too late), we spent a bit too much time and money in Union Square with Virgin Records taking the bulk of both.

Eventually we headed out, with Jemma hitching a ride as far as Palo Alto, where she’d be interviewing people at Stanford the following day. As we passed through Daly City (at just around 2 pm) we started to consider the idea of lunch. Learning that neither my Japanese nor my semi-Japanese friend had ever eaten at Todai, the agenda was set.

The challenge was that Todai was closing in 30 minutes, and they are very strict about their closing rule. The will let you in, will let you take as much as you want in advance, but once 2:30 rolls around, you better not need anything else. We, however, were up for the challenge. Covering two full tables with our culinary delights, we worked our way through the delicacies of several cultures, with a huge focus on Todai’s sushi.

Eventually we got Jemma to Palo Alto at around 4 pm, and after a quick peek at the Stanford campus, got her checked into her hotel. We’d had so much fun enjoying each other’s company that we were having a hard time saying goodbye. So we decided to enjoy a final Starbucks for the road, before Naoko and I headed home.

Naoko was a great traveling companion. She didn’t even complain when I started playing the CDs I’d purchased earlier at the Virgin Megastore. Unfortunately she wasn’t familiar with most of the music, but we did find one CD where she recognized five whole songs.

Eventually, I got Naoko back to her home at just past 11pm. Not that bad in the scheme of things, and I think we were both pretty sad to end our lovely adventure together.

Working the Wine Country

2008-02-17T02:10:00.000-08:00

After a quick breakfast we were heading across the Golden Gate bridge in the convertible, with the top down, of course. Poor Jemma in the back was shivering under her six layers of clothing, but Naoko and I pumped up the heat in the front and were feeling just fine.

By the time we arrived at Muir Woods, the place was PACKED. There was no parking within a mile of the park entrance, and since we still had wine country to conquer, we decided to tour Muir Woods another time. A word to the wise, if your travels bring you here, come early or come prepared to hike a bit to the entrance.

We did make a quick stop at Muir Beach, which is an off-the-leash dog beach, so we had great fun watching people play with their dogs, and occasionally tossing a ball ourselves. It was too breezy to do any swimming, but the weather was clear and fabulous, and we lamented not having a picnic with us to enjoy on the beach.

Wine Country

Our next stop was to be Sonoma. There are many wine choices in Northern California, and while Napa is the most famous, it doesn’t have the Sonoma Jack cheese factory. Luckily the giris humored my need for cheese, and soon enough we were enjoying a picnic in the plaza outside the cheese shop.

On this beautiful President’s Day Sunday afternoon, people were out in full force. Kids were playing, adults were sipping wine and there was a general "gee, it’s good to be alive" feeling in the air.

My two traveling companions had never been on an American picnic before, so they were enjoying soaking up the local culture as much as I was. After lunch we did get to stop at two wineries to do a little tasting, but time was once again getting away from us.

Sausalito

With no real plans for the evening, we made a stop in Sausalito and wandered along the waterfront, overlooking the sparkly view of San Francisco in the distance. We weren’t actually hungry enough to eat yet, although Naoko was hoping to be able to enjoy some native Clam Chowder soup somewhere.

Back in the city we were feeling strangely mellow and couldn’t quite decide what it was we wanted to do (and/or eat.) We wandered from Union Square to Chinatown and back (a fairly adventurous walk) and maybe it was because it was late, or maybe because it was Sunday night, there were surprisingly few restaurants open at that time.

We finally settled on Lefty O’Douls (a little bit by default, because there weren’t a lot of options open to us) and were totally thrilled by the VERY affordable prices here, as well as the live music. We spent some time listening to the singer and just enjoying the cameraderie before returning to Hilton.

Open Your Golden Gate

2008-02-16T01:43:00.000-08:00

I know that every time I travel I say “This is my favorite place to visit in the world.” In fact, I think I might have just said that in my previous blog post. (Because Fiji really is one of my favorite places on earth.)

Truth be told, though, San Francisco has always held a very special place in my heart. Ever since I was 12-years old and learned that San Francisco would replace chilly Ontario, Canada as our primary place of residence. Now that I live in LA, I can’t really imagine living anywhere else, but whenever I plan a trip to San Francisco, I still get the same joyful feeling I did when I was 12.

Road Trip!

This time was no different. I would be traveling up the 5 freeway with my friend Naoko (from the Japan National Tourist Organization). The drive took longer than it normally does (I think because I had company in the car, I was less prone to pushing my car to obscene over-the-limit speeds.) Rather than take the “northerly” route (as I call it) across the 580, I’d planned a trip up through Gilroy, where the drive requires more attention but the local flavor and scenery is far more interesting than the quick drive through Pleasanton could ever be. Besides, what’s a trip to San Francisco without a stop at Casa de Fruta?

Naoko was most amazed by the full wall of garlic products, and I made sure to stock up on my favorite treat, garlic-stuffed olives. After stocking up on candies, nuts and other supplies for the remaining hour or so, we were back on the road.

Hilton San Francisco

In San Francisco, we had reservations at the Hilton San Francisco in Union Square.

I’m a big Hilton loyalist (I love their double dip HHonors Points program that doesn’t make me split my loyalties between United Airlines and Hilton Hotels.) I can’t rave enough about how wonderful this property was, as well as how awesome the view was from our 20th story bedroom.

At the Hilton we met up with the third member of our party, Jemma, who is a Korean girl, living in Japan and visiting the U.S. Being an international crowd, we quickly decided on dim sum as our first meal, and were soon head to Yank Sing, one of the city’s finest places for dim sum.

After our LATE lunch, we enjoyed a leisurely, but long (this is a walking city) stroll along the waterfront, enjoying the new developments along the way.

Sunset Ferry Ride

In fact, our walk was so leisurely, we barely made it in time to catch a sunset ferry ride to Tiburon, Sausalito and back.

Those of you not familiar with San Francisco, there is a famous saying along the lines of “I never spent a winter so cold as a summer in San Francisco.”

It can get mighty bitter in the fog, and on the water, after dark, in February is certainly no exception. Although we were shivering our tails off, we just couldn’t resist staying on deck to watch the Technicolor sunset behind the Golden Gate bridge.

Upon our return we wandered through the stalls at Fisherman’s wharf tempted by the crab offerings along the way. Craving the city’s speciality, we ended up at Joe’s Crab Shack for dinner. None of us were starving, having only finished lunch a few hours earlier, but we enjoyed the specialty drinks and a host of crab-themed appetizers and entrees.

Upon returning to the Hilton, we caught our first look at the AMAZING view of the city from our 20th story hotel room, and fell in love. My camera doesn't do great night shots, but here we are overlooking the civic center, opera house area and the twinkling lights dotting the hills in the distance.

Spa Day in Fiji

2008-01-31T08:36:00.000-08:00

Although we started the day today with a fabulously sunny morning, by mid-morning we’d devolved into more rain. At this point I received an email from Air Pacific confirming my flight back home later that night. Bummer. We kept hoping those rumors were just that.

I did manage to ease some of my sadness with a fabulous one-hour massage at the Mandara Spa at the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa. This spa is one of my favorites in Denarau (admittedly, the only one I’ve really experienced here, but I just love the atmosphere.)

Set up in a landscaped, protected courtyard, the spa sits in the middle of the resort overlooking the ocean, and yet is totally cut off from the property. The spa probably has some of the most beautiful sunset views in Denarau. I've posted a photo, and am cheating a bit, because this is a press photo from the hotel, and not one I actually took on this trip.

As Janie and I arrived for our treatments, a massage therapist remembered me from my last trip to the Sofitel. According to Ili, studies have been done on the remarkable abilities the Fijians have for remembering names and faces. This ability to remember guests as valued friends is such a large part of what makes the country so welcoming.

At Mandara, I enjoyed a blissfully traditional massage. Okay, I think I enjoyed it, but I sort of fell asleep somewhere in the middle.

After the massage we managed to gather enough energy to find our way to the Westin Denarau where we enjoyed lunch on the patio and another fabulous wood-fired pizza. At lunch Ili confirmed we were indeed being sent home that evening. Did I mention, bummer?

After lunch, Ili, Janie and I went back to the Radisson where I enjoyed one last ice coffee before returning to my room to pack.

Because the Sofitel was holding a “Fijian Night” performance that night, we decided to partake in that event before Ili drove us back to the airport. First we enjoyed a traditional Kava Ceremony, which is a welcome ceremony used throughout Fiji. Next, we enjoyed more traditional music, performed by a local group. (In the picture you see visiting children and local cannibals enjoying the performance.)

After the performance, we went into the buffet to enjoy a lovo (traditional feast.) Oh dear, I seriously overindulged here, and ate far too much of everything on the buffet. Kokoda, of course, but also fresh water muscles, grilled-to-order meats, and what was seriously my favorite thing in the word, a made-to-order Caesar Salad with enough garlic to make me cry.

All too soon, Ili was driving us to the airport, and it hardly seemed possible that our trip had already come to an end. We did enjoy a very lovely upgrade to Air Pacific’s Tabua (business) class which was a fabulous way to end the trip. If you’re an amenity collector to me, Air Pacific has a wonderful in-flight bag for its Business class users, including several Pure Fiji lotion products.

I more or less slept the entire 8 hour flight home, and landed in Los Angeles with no problems. Already, though, I’m checking my calendar to see when I can go back.

Visiting Nadi

2008-01-30T08:20:00.000-08:00

Although we were scheduled to head up to the Pacific Harbor region of Viti Levu today, the inclement weather prohibited us from getting much further than downtown Nadi (and even that turned out to be a bit of an adventure drive.)

The ongoing weather situation has caused many hotel properties throughout the islands to be on limited or reduced resources. With more rain in the forecast, it is unclear what our schedule would be. At one point during the day we even heard rumors of us being sent home early, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed that we can salvage parts of our trip.

In the morning, Janie and I enjoyed another leisurely breakfast watching the rain and gale-force winds go toe to toe with Pacific Ocean. After breakfast, I took up temporary residence in the bar to utilize their free WiFi. God Bless the Radisson. Cyclones, power outages, but not one single wireless interruption.

Although I was supposed to be working, I kind of ended up just hanging out. My computer became the business center annex, as many people in our group used it to check in with loved ones back home. Meanwhile I spent my time getting to know the bartenders (Jutta, Kevin, and a number of others) and sucking down more ice coffees with vanilla ice cream. I can think of a lot worse ways to spend the day.

In the afternoon, Ili needed to drive to her office to pick up some materials, so Janie and I, and Georgette, another journalist in our group decided to join her on the drive to town.

After stopping at the office, we stopped at one of the local produce markets. Despite the weather, locals were busy catching up on commerce and gossip.

The Fijian people seemed to take the inclement weather in stride, and even as we watched the local populace wade their way through the streets, we only saw smiles and laughter all around.

Later, I re-opened the temporary business center and as the rains calmed down some I continued to hold out hope that by tomorrow we would be able to rejoin our regularly scheduled itinerary already in progress.

In the evening Janie and I headed over to the Fiji Beach Resort & Spa Managed (AKA the Hilton) to enjoy dinner there. This shot of the Hilton pool showed just how gorgeous the island looked, even in the bad weather. In the distance, though, notice the speck of a man in a blowing rain coat, which will give you an idea of just how windy it was.

Although we’d already enjoyed two fabulous dinners in Denarau, this one was probably the best one yet. I had fish steamed with coconut milk (so, so good). What made dinner especially fun is that the bartender, Seta, was the bar manager at the LikuLiku when I stayed there last year. As is the Fijian way, he remembered me from my last visit, once again demonstrating why visitors always feel so at home here.
After dinner, Janie and I decided to take our chances and walk back to the hotel because to quote Janie, “it isn’t that far away.” Three seconds after we started walking, we were soaked through, so we spent most of the “walk” running along the beach squealing like little kids as we tried to find palm leaves to protect us from the downpour.

Water, Water Everywhere

2008-01-29T08:07:00.000-08:00

The rain we never saw last night during dinner, found us sometime during the night. This morning we woke up to find ourselves smack in the middle of Tropical Cyclone Gene. Now I’ve seen Mother Nature wrathful before, but nothing like this. And the Radisson with its open lobby and restaurant areas gave us a front-row view of the effects 140 km/hour winds can have.

Janie and I enjoyed a lengthy breakfast, meditatively contemplating the wind and rain as it pounded the surf. (We watched through a screen that kept most of the wet away from our breakfast.) We were so impressed with the water’s fury, we were moved to order a second ham, cheese and tomato sandwich on croissant.

Our morning meetings were all put on hold, as most of the transportation on Denarau Island had been cancelled, making it difficult to transport our group (which was scattered throughout different hotels on the island) to the meeting venue.

So instead we spent a quiet morning at the hotel. Of course, I found the bar, where I indulged in my ice coffee addiction, complete with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (bad Weight Watcher) and took advantage of the hotel’s free wireless service.

Lunch consisted of wood-fire pizza (I know, pizza in Fiji? What can I say, it sure tasted yummy), after which our group organizers decided to forge ahead with the meetings. At this point we spent hours meeting a large number of hoteliers and suppliers from around Fiji. Overwhelming how many wonderful properties there are yet for me to explore.

Outside, it was still raining, so Janie and I joined our wonderful host Ili Matatolou, the Regional Director of the Los Angeles office of the Fiji Visitors Bureau, who invited us for a most delicious dinner, the popular seafood buffet at the Sheraton Fiji Resort. I enjoyed second helpings of Kokoda, which is a Fijian specialty (one of my favorites), and is basically ceviche prepared with coconut milk. Yum!

The Fiji Bitter beer, the wine with dinner and the general overloading on excellent seafood caused me to enter a coma pretty much the second I got back to my room, and if the winds continued to blow outside my room, there is no way I could tell for sure.

Back to Fiji

2008-01-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

A week after my birthday, and I’m heading back to one of my most favorite destinations in the world, the Fijian Islands. This trip was supposed to happen in December, but due to some scheduling issues, it got moved to January, and I feel like I’ve been waiting FOREVER to leave.
The flight (fortunately for Air Pacific) was quite full. As a member of the travel industry I always meet this news with mixed feelings. I’m delighted of course, for the airline, but selfishly hate not having an empty seat next to me.

Nadi

After our night-time departure, we arrive early in the morning at Nadi (pronounced “Nandi”) International Airport. At the airport I’m fortunate enough to meet a fellow journalist, Janie, and it pretty soon becomes obvious that Janie and I are friends who were just waiting to meet.

On my last trip, I’d toured the Radisson Resort Fiji Denarau before it had opened, so I was looking forward to staying there. After check in, we had several hours to fill before our first meeting, and so many options of things to do. Tour the hotel, get a spa treatment, go swimming in what is being promoted as the largest pool in Fiji. Unfortunately I was sidelined by option D, taking a nap. I sat on the bed for a few minutes and the next thing I knew, I was out…

Conveniently, I did make it on time to lunch, a yummy buffet at the Radisson. I tried to remember that I’m being a good “Weight Watcher,” and so chose to forgo the yummy-looking chocolate covered banana bread at lunch figuring I would see it again later in the week. (You know what they say about resisting temptation, it may never come around again. Sadly, that was the last we ever saw of those cakes.)

After an afternoon of business meetings, I did have enough free time to snap a few photos of the Radisson Hotel at dusk.

Our evening program, which was originally scheduled to be held at an outdoor venue at the Westin, was moved at the last minute to an indoor location at the Sheraton due to the threat of rain. At the Sheraton, we enjoyed a lovely buffet dinner capped off by a native Fijian performance.

The music in Fiji, is one of the reasons why I’m so in love with this country. No matter where you go, you will always find Fijians singing. If you are in a hotel or resort, and the workers are on a break, they will almost always migrate over to a common area and start singing. Visitors are always welcomed with song, and as I’ve mentioned in past posts, “Isa Lei,” is the official farewell song, which most people will hear on their final night or upon departing.

Our Final Day

2007-05-22T02:12:00.000-07:00

Oh my gosh, it is our last day in Fiji and here are the things I still haven’t done:

Fishing
Snorkeling
A relaxing meal poolside
River Rafting on the Navua River
Tour the new spa at the Shangri La

So today was all about packing in as much activity as I could in the few short hours we had left.

First, in Fijian tradition, I had to enjoy the hotel’s lovely breakfast buffet. Lata had told me the ocean-side seats fill up quickly, so I made it a point to get there early. I left my room, just after pausing to catch this gorgeous shot of the sunrise from my balcony.

Call Me Ishmael

Then, I signed myself up for an early morning fishing trip. I got to the activities center a little early, so even managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of “relaxing” time, lying on a deck chair by the lagoon.

The fishing trip was about as wonderful as I hoped it would be.

Other than the captain, I was the first to pull in a fish.

When I asked Captain Nate what kind of fish I caught, he told me “it is a goldfish that escaped from his bowl.” What was sad was little Nemo Junior died before we could throw him back in the ocean, so we had to cut him up for bait.

That was also the last fish I caught that day. (Pretty much as expected.)

One gentleman on the boat did okay, pulling in about four fish, although he wouldn’t be winning any prizes for size. His friend (who asked to be left nameless due to the shame) didn’t manage to catch anything.

Romantic Wedding Chapel

Later Barbara and I caught up with Lata for an insider tour of the new “Chi” spa that is scheduled to be opened in July. These are deluxe little mini-villas that will serve as both massage bungalows and private accommodations. They are still in the early building stages, but the place is already looking pretty impressive.

We also stopped at the Shangri-La’s oceanfront Chapel, and if I ever accidentally get married, this would be the place I want to do it. A small patio out back

At Last, Snorkeling

I enjoyed a lovely lunch with Lata before I finally went off to engage in some snorkeling. The activities directors recommended I stay inside the roped off swim area. At first I was disappointed because the coral was beyond the rope. Not having much time, and not knowing exactly how much time I would need, I elected not to swim to the coral, which I kind of wish I would have. However, once I started paying attention, and stopped my self pity party I was amazed by the volume of sea life hanging out in the busy swim area.

I can feel my sister the marine biologist shaking her head at me as she reads this, because of course I have no idea what the names of most of the fish were, but I do know that I was being chased by some tuna (small by tuna standards, but still about two feet long, which is big enough for me.)

I also did see a sea snake, which I thought might be something else, but later ran into Captain Nate who confirmed the black and white and yellow thing that looked like a snack was indeed . . . a snake. I saw a rock fish, countless Sweet Lips, and numerous other fish that I have NO idea what the heck they were but made up my own cute little names for. Here’s the part where my sister wonders how such a hopeless science retard made it into her family.

The End

Time was pulling to a close, and since I stayed in the water thirty minutes longer than what I'd intended, I was rushing a bit to get my act together before leaving.

After check out, Barbara, Lata and I enjoyed a final farewell drink at the beachside Bilo Bar. You can see my nose is a bit rosy from this morning’s fishing excursion. Behind is you can just barely make out the very end of a most fabulous sunset.

During happy hour, the resort hosts a nightly singing contest among the staff members. This is hugely popular with resort guests who all come down to root for their favorites.

As we were leaving the resort, Lata gave us a bag of press kit information and inside we found our very own collection of fabulous Pure Fiji products. How lovely of her to help me with my substance collection problem. The bag will sit somewhere at home in a place of honor. Until I decide to actually have my mini spa day.

What a perfect way to close out our magical Fiji adventure.

The Shangri-La Fijian Resort

2007-05-21T01:10:00.000-07:00

This morning we enjoyed a second “go” at the fabulous breakfast buffet (custom made beignets, and I’m not even that embarrassed to say I ate three of them).

In the lobby of the Outrigger we were serenaded with the traditional farewell song "Isa Lei" (again this is an abbreviated clip, but I promise next time I’m bringing a bigger memory stick.) As always, I got teary eyed listening to people that I really started to think of as friends wishing me well.

Here, Barbara and I are wearing our fancy new tye dye shirts, as we made our farewells to the staff. By the way, if you want to know which of the handsome men in the picture are available, Fijian custom states that single people wear the flower in their left ear and married people wear it in their right. Good information to know.

The Shangri-La Fijian Resort

Our final property was the Shangri-La Fijian Resort. To be totally honest, and I know I shouldn’t admit this, I was not looking forward to this property as much as the others.

It is Fiji’s largest resort, and even in Fiji people kept saying to me “The Fijian? They have a lot of kids there.” I’m not so much a fan of kids (or even adults) in large groups, so I was totally worried this would be what I call “meet market tourism” at its worst.

Of course a bad day in Fiji is still a pretty good day. But I needn’t have worried, because I just loved the place.

Options on Two Sides

See if you can picture this. The resort lies on the tip of a small peninsula and so has an ocean side and a lagoon side. The ocean side (which tends to cater more to adults only) has the fabulous views we’d come to expect of Fiji. Because there were less formalized activities on this side, it had a more remote, romantic feeling to it.

This the section is where the hotel placed its private gazebo, where couples can book a romantic dinner for two overlooking the ocean.

The lagoon side, which is more protected from tidal influences, is set up for families, with a dedicated swimming area, activities center, hair braiding, beach cafes and a host of other things to add to the to do list.

We ended up in rooms overlooking the adults-only pool, and naturally my first thought was “thank goodness.” But I’m so contrary, I ended up spending most of my time in the more crowded section of the resort.

On the "family" side is where we ultimately decided to have lunch. Really, there were too many dining choices for us to experience them all, but we liked the informal feel of this restaurant. As had become our tradition, we enjoyed tropical drinks for two, with a fabulous lagoon view in the background.

A Relaxing Afternoon by the Adults-Only Pool

In the afternoon Barbara visited more jewelry ladies but I’d already blown my shopping budget and decided to have a nice massage in one of the pool-side bures. At first I was a bit stressed about having to disrobe in what was very much an open environment, but the massage therapist was very professional and it wasn’t a problem. When I first lay down I worried about who might be looking in at me in my semi-nude position, but soon after she started, I stopped caring.

After the massage we had enough time for tropical drinks. Can you call a blended ice mocha tropical? With the cute little umbrella in it, how could it be anything but? We drank them poolside as we watched the sun start set.

Eventually we meandered along the tide pools to commune with the sea life. I even saw something that looked suspiciously like a sea snake, but later I learned they were sea cucumbers. With my love of snakes and all, I just wasn't thrilled to see any three-foot-long, tube-y thing, and there were plenty of them.

It’s the Fijian People

It is quite easy to become fast friends with most of the people you meet in Fiji. I truly believe the people are what set the country apart. You feel like you’re visiting family when you come here. You’ve heard me mention numerous people by name in this blog, and I left the country feeling like they were all my new best friends.

At the Shangri-La, the sales & marketing director, Lata was no different. By the time we had dinner, at Kalevu, the resort’s fine dining establishment, we were laughing like old friends. In a country where two-hour meals are common, we found ourselves dining well into the third hour.

I even felt comfortable enough to admit my substance abuse problem to Lata. You see, I can't stop collecting the fabulous shampoos and soaps they have here. Every resort has given us high-end products like "Pure Fiji," "L'Occitane," and other deluxe and designer names. Rather than using the product I'm collecting them all to use them at home when I need a little mini Fiji vacation. By now, I need a small bag to contain my whole collection.

After dinner, Barbara and I checked out the 80s night disco, but as always found ourselves nearly comatose from all the food we consumed, so soon headed back to our rooms to catch some well-needed rest.

Outrigger on the Lagoon

2007-05-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

So finally, finally this morning I’m going snorkeling.

I've already been in Fiji for five days and haven’t yet seen any reef fish. I had it all worked out, a resort-sponsored kayak snorkel trip at 8:30 am, (preceded by another fabulous buffet and I wasn’t even too embarrassed to be all American and enjoy the custom-made waffles.)

So while Barbara went off to luxuriate with a facial, I packed gear, swimsuit and went off for my marine adventure. Too bad the weather was a tad too rainy and windy to comply with my needs, and the trip didn’t happen.

It was all right though, I hadn’t even checked emails in four days, so I spent the morning in my room, gazing at the ocean and getting caught up on work. Had a nice ice mocha (because it was just a little too early to enjoy the lovely bottle of Shiraz the hotel left for me.)

Kula Eco Park

Barbara and I met up around 11 am and after enjoying a few minutes (or so) of more jewelry shopping, we headed across the road to the Kula Eco Park. Fijians, apparently aren’t so big yet on animal preservation habitats, so this is kind of a one-of-a-kind attraction in Fiji.

With an unofficial partnership with the San Diego Zoo, this place was pretty impressive. Everyone told us we'd need about 45 minutes, but we stayed there nearly three hours.

After we fed the sea turtles (so adorable, and they made me think of Raoul and El Mariachi, my red eared sliders back at home), we wandered around chatting with the birds and playing with the lizards.

Here you see me playing with my new friends. Later I even served as a snake charmer with a baby boa constrictor, but since snakes basically freak me out AND since I could feel that sucker squeezing my fingers, I didn’t hold onto him that long.

Back at the hotel, and by the way, since the eco park is a good 30 minute walk across the road, the resort will drive you over there with their golf cart service, we felt the need to nourish ourselves. It wasn’t really hunger so much, since we’ve been eating a ton of food since we arrived, but we’d been hearing RAVE reviews about the pizza, so we had to sample it.

I’m not sure I can actually think of anything better than actual wood fired pizza in a little restaurant overlooking the sea. I mean really, the pizza was so heavenly (mine was Ribeye with Asparagus Spears and Barb’s was Smoked Salmon with pickles and crème fraiche). I'm running out of superlatives to mention just how great the food was. Every meal we think we've had the best, and it just keeps getting better.

Fiji Time

Wed been planning to take the hotel’s tye dye course at 2:30, but since we were still eating at 3:15, we pretty much had given up that idea by the end of lunch.

However God bless Fiji time, as they call it. I found this island mindset totally endearing once I got over my anal everything must be as it was planned feeling.

At any rate the activities staff had known we were planning to do the tye dye, so they actually waited for us to show up. Nearly an hour late and they still had all the paints out on the grass waiting for us.

Here you see a photo of William (the son of two of the hotel's sales, marketing and management staff) who was enjoying a leisurely Sunday off from school and generally helping make our stay so fabulous all day long. He's got a big smile because earlier that day he won the chocolate ice cream eating contest.

After tye dye, I just had barely enough time to get up to the spa to enjoy my own massage, which was probably perfect. I zenned out (even snored) for most of it, just enjoying the lovely, relaxing long strokes. And since we were so high above it all, this was probably a smidge closer to heaven than anything else I could have been doing.

Valet Service Followed By Dinner

Now I had to race back to the hotel, so I didn't miss today's butler service and again Barb and I enjoyed sipping champagne while overlooking the ocean and watching the sunset. By the way, all that racing to the hotel was just me being anal. If guests missed the Talei service, in true Fiji fashion, you could later and say I missed my service can you bring me my champagne now?

Dinner tonight was at the hotels IVI Restaurant, their fine dining establishment. In a place with food that is already a cut above, this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And may I add, if the alarming quantities of food we'd already been consuming were making your eyebrows raise, tonight we outdid ourselves.

For starters I had the traditional Fijian dish Kokoda (the coconut milk ceviche which has quickly become one of my favorite dishes here) and Barb enjoyed a potato leek soup. We shared the seafood lovers dish (for two) in our near-romantic little night. Lobster fried rice, tempura oysters and course sizzling prawns in black bean sauce. For dessert we enjoyed a chocolate fondue (also for two) and may be the only people on the planet who didn’t finish the fabulous banana bread dipper. The fresh cut fruit was too good, so we focused on that.

Flaming coffee drinks capped the evening, and we were barely able to stagger back to bed before passing out in a food coma. Here, the handsome and single (check the flower in the left ear) Apisai blazes up some fabulous post dinner coffee.

Post Conference Site Inspections

2007-05-19T22:35:00.000-07:00

I know that yesterday I mentioned, in passing, how great the breakfast buffet is here at the Sofitel Denarau, but I just wanted to make sure that I emphasize it again.

This morning I was definitely NOT of sound mind or body (not so much from too much alcohol last night, but more from too little sleep), and the lavish buffet was incredibly rejuvenating. Deciding between the made-to-order breakfast steaks (yep, on the buffet) and all the many, many other delicacies was a tough decision. Fresh fruit of course, pancakes and bacon. And oh, what the heck, hand me one of those steaks while you're at it.

And you know how they say that after a night of carousing, grease is the best thing to get you back on your feet. So it really was in my best interest to try everything there. Barbara was quite pleased with her vegemite sandwich (not the only thing on her plate either), but thanks to her, I had Men at Work lyrics running through my head all day.

Outrigger on the Lagoon

With the closing of the BFTE conference, we headed out early this morning to enjoy the rest of the “site inspection” part of the trip. Today we were transferring to the Outrigger on the Lagoon Resort on Fiji's Coral Coast. Truth be told, this was the property I was most excited to see before my trip.

Not to belabor the power of the internet, but of all the properties we stayed at, the Outrigger had the website that offered the best information on their activities, so I already showed up with a laundry list of things I wanted to do. Deep sea fishing, how cool. With my love of all things nautical, fishing is an incredibly fun way for me to spend the day. And with my terrible track record in actually catching fish, I don’t even have to worry about being a fish murderer.

The resort totally lived up to my expectations, but I didn’t nearly get to spend enough time doing everything I wanted. Spa, fishing, or eco park. Decisions, decisions.

Award-Winning Cuisine

The staff at the Outrigger is quite pleased to tell everyone that they were Fiji's first five-star resort. The next thing you'll learn quite quickly is that their Executive Sous Chef, Shailesh Naidu has won numerous awards, including the global "One World Culinary Competition." And oh yum the food here sure reflects that. Now we haven’t been eating slop this week, so for the food here to stand out really says something.

For lunch I had Mongolian Barbecue (old school, actually cooked up on a large, round griddle) and Barbara was delighted by the lamb curry. Unlike her Vegemite breakfast, I did sneak a taste of her lunch. Heaven.

After lunch we supported the local ladies with the purchase of numerous pieces of jewelry. Navy blue pearls, need I say more? A quick stop at the hotel’s “Art Cart” also cost me a few hard-earned dollars. okay more than a few, but how could I resist the local art?

Bebe Spa

In the afternoon, we enjoyed a pre-opening tour of the brand new Bebe (pronounced Benbe) spa, which will be opening in two days.

Perched high a top a hill overlooking the resort, the views were out of this world. I think this is always how I thought Valhalla would like. The spa has its own glass-enclosed meeting room, which will surely become a favorite wedding site in Fiji, and the views from the treatment rooms are so beautiful its almost a shame to spend the time lying down looking at the floor. Almost.

Talei Service

After our hotel tour, Barbara and I had to rush back to our rooms by 5:00 pm, to make sure that we didn't miss the Talei butler service. Think champagne and snacks delivered to your room by the hotel's most handsome valet staff. Seriously, champagne and an ocean view, what’s not to love?

We enjoyed the hotel's torch lighting ceremony from our balcony and just took in the Fiji vibe, with the sound of the ocean waves in the background.

Now with a glass of champagne to warm me up, you’d think I didn’t have enough room left for dinner, but oh yes I did.

The hotel offered a fancy little performing group at the bar adjacent to the restaurant, but with our day of excess, we were once again too tired to enjoy much nightlife.

Fiji’s Coral Coast & Pacific Harbor

2007-05-18T00:30:00.000-07:00

Today Barbara and I along with Sarah, a journalist from New Zealand were taken on a tour along Fiji’s lovely Coral Coast up to the Pacific Harbor area. This was a new adventure for me, so I was thrilled with the chance to see new attractions

Fiji Arts Village

Our first stop was at the Fiji Arts Village, which is approximately a two-hour drive outside of Nadi.

Hard to describe accurately, this is kind of an all-in-one attraction. To be sure it had lots of little shops and restaurants (curry peanuts and ice mocha, oh my) but it went well beyond that. The coolest event was a fire walking ceremony and traditional performance which was fun and educational. The firewalkers actually strolled across hot stones that had been heated for four hours and did it without a whimper. Better them than me.

Afterwards we had lunch in a cute little poolside beach area inside the village. Day visitors to the village can pay a nominal fee to use the beach and pool, and guests at the adjacent Tsulu Beach Bunkhouse and Apartments had free access to the Beach. Shown here is a picture from Tsulu’s “Ocean” apartment, with its funky sea life wall paintings.

Tsulu is basically a dormitory/back packer property but each room is individually decorated and each one has a unique, funky, themed décor. Travelers on a budget should definitely check out this property.

After lunch and the hotel tour, we enjoyed a boat ride on the river running through the arts village. Our boat made numerous stops at bures and our guide walked us through the many aspects of traditional Fijian life, from boat making to mat weaving. We didn’t have nearly enough time to enjoy the village, and visitors should plan to spend at least four hours here.

Hotel Site Inspections

Back to serious work, we then toured several properties in the Pacific Harbor area, including the Hot Stones Villas. These two river-front villas were so totally adorable, I wanted to move in. One was a three bedroom property (up to six people) and the smaller villa next door housed up to four people. Both villas come with a private chef, housekeeper and nanny service if required. They both over look the river and the golf course beyond, and are both walking distance from the beach. Visitors seeking a private, intimate experience in Fiji, should take a second look at these properties.

Next we toured The Pearl South Pacific Fiji Islands.

First let me just admit that my affections can totally be bought, and that any hotel that welcomes me with an Ice Mocha is only going to get rave reviews from me. Having said that, I was pretty much won over by the lobby with its dramatic, eye-catching glass wall water fountain (a backdrop to the lobby bar), so it was pretty obvious this place was going to be special.

It is a snazzy, ultra-modern, totally cool property. It seems a bit of a Standard-esque, but feels more cozy and more welcoming than some of the similarly glitzy American properties. There’s a championship 18-hole golf course out back, and shark diving adventures just outside its doors.

Back at the Sofitel, Barbara and I enjoyed a lovely foot massage in the Mandara Day Spa, and it’s a toss up to me whether the hotel’s abundant breakfast buffet or the view from the spa is their best feature. Having a foot massage while watching the sun set over the Pacific Ocean was a pretty good way to cap off the afternoon though.

BFTE Carnival

The trade show came to a close with a huge carnival set up on the Denarau Golf Course. Alcohol was flowing freely with the Fiji Malt House Brewery playing a starring role in my evening. The amount of food on the buffets was staggering, but the lighting was odd, so it was a little hard to tell exactly what I was eating.

Pretty much all the delegates asked the same question of the carnival rides. “Do you think the safety certificates are up to date?” We didn’t care though and even though my foot broke a hole through the bottom of the “spinny” ride upon boarding, I still wasn't to be deterred. Maybe I was feeling extra daring, or maybe the Fiji beer gave me an extra shot of courage, but I was totally up for “spew fest” as my new pals called it.

Speaking of new pals, here’s a photo of Allan and Terri of the Paradise Taveuni. Allan got his hands on a blinky ice cube and had great fun smiling a neon grin at unsuspecting passers by.

By the way, If you get a chance, check out the Paradise Taveuni website, which was a runner up in the Air Pacific Tourism Awards program.

Blatant Plug

Okay, I know this is supposed to be a blog of MY travels, but I just was over at the Paradise in Fiji blog and saw this fabulous photo of the whales near the Paradise resort. I know I'm blatantly ripping this image off, but how cool is it. Wish I could have been there....

Bula Fiji Tourism Exchange

2007-05-17T23:29:00.000-07:00

More networking today, involving lots and lots of meetings. There are so many new hotels and developments in Fiji, it’s impossible to mention them all here.

The high point of my day today (I think) was getting to meet the interim Tourism Minister for Fiji, Bernadette Rounds-Ganilau. She also heads Labour, Industrial Relations and Environment, but she says the tourism people always forget that part of her title. She is a fabulous, dynamic woman, and I’m so thrilled to have been able to make her acquaintance.

By the way, did I mention the trade show is being held outdoors, and that it’s hot out here? Fiji is less fun when you have to wear business clothes. Of course getting back to a hotel with tropical drinks and a beach front view is pretty darn nice.

During the trade show “coffee break,” we were treated to a traditional “Meke” performance by a group from SavuSavu, which was so lovely.

In addition to all my meetings today, I also toured the new Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa, which is about two years old, and the new Radisson Resort Fiji Denarau Island, which is set to open in July. Did I mention there are so many new things happening in Fiji?

Night Time Events

For happy hour, the Taveuni Tourist Association hosted a fabulous reception so that their top tour operators and journalists could learn more about the island.

Taveuni is Fiji’s third-largest island and is famous for its eco-tourism, beautiful (even for Fiji) island scenery and fabulous coral dive spots. They also are quite famous for their shark diving adventures.

Later that night, the town of Nadi closed down its main street to create a street fair for delegates of the conference. All the major shops stayed open for shopping (fun!) and many of the local restaurants were out there with samples of food and alcohol.

After the street festival, the delegates congregated back at the Sofitel Hotel (where I was staying) for a very cool post party. The Sofitel converted one of its meeting rooms into a hip NY-style bar, complete with furniture, movies, go go dancers, and lots and lots of alcohol.

The party was still going strong when I left at 2 am. To create the party the Sofitel had literally taken every single piece of furniture from their lobby to create the atmosphere in the party.

When I wandered into the lobby, on my way back to my room, there was nothing in the lobby. It looked like one of those movies where the house gets robbed, with just the house telephone lying on the floor. Very surreal, but then again, that could just be the alcohol speaking.

Heading Back to Nadi

2007-05-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

This morning, knowing that we were heading back to Nadi to attend the Bula Fiji Tourism Exchange (the official reason for my trip to Fiji) I knew that I had to maximize my final hours at the resort.

A few macadamia nut cookies, and I was fortified for an early morning snorkel off the reef. Sadly my equipment leaked, badly, and I wasn’t really able to see too much, so I splashed around the pier playing with the many fish that reside there. I was a little nervous about this, as we’d seen a little reef shark swimming around the pier the night before, but today only the Sweet Lips came to play with me.

These fishies were clearly looking for a food handout and surrounded me like puppies at a pet adoption.

A quick shower, a few macadamia cookies more, and I was ready for breakfast. Tempted as I was by the pineapple pancakes and the crostini bread baked with cheese on a bed of mushrooms, I decide to stick with my old favorite--the mud crab omelet.

A Song In My Heart

Before I forget, let me just say that the number one reason that I love Fiji so much is the music. People are always, always singing here. At most of the resorts they have musicians strolling the lobby, and most of the smaller places, like the Likuliku, are required to welcome guests with singing. Whenever guests leave a place , the Fijians sing “Isa Lei” a traditional good bye song. Meals, recreation, events are all accompanied by music. And all the staff, whether they are massage thereapists, activities directors, wait staff, housekeeping will join in the music at any chance they have.

This morning we hung out on the jetty waiting for the Catamaran to pick us up and had the chance to enjoy the lovely serenading of the staff. The video attached is abbreviated, since I ran out of memory on my camera.

Back to Nadi

The boat ride back to Nadi was about the hottest thing I’ve ever felt. Seriously, I wasn’t completely sure that I would make it back without melting into a big pool of human wax.

The afternoon was spent networking and making new friends at the Bula Fiji Tourism Exchange (hereafter known as the BFTE). While this was a fabulous event, workwise, it probably doesn’t merit a lot of description on these pages, so I’ll spare you the descriptions of the countless meetings I held while broasting under the the hot Fiji sun.

Thank God, though, for Fiji Water.

LikuLiku Lagoon Resort

2007-05-15T22:26:00.000-07:00

I haven’t slept this well in I don’t know how long.

Fully rested, I woke ready to face a full day of adventure activities, although I did linger over my fabulous breakfast (mud crab omelet with spicy papaya relish), and the high-speed internet access (oops, didn’t get all my work done before I left home.)

As if catching up on emails on my own private island in Fiji wasn’t decadent enough, I capped off the morning with a totally fabulous Fijian massage performed by MeMe (that may not be the correct spelling of her name.) This particular massage was not so much about kneading sore muscles, but rather lightly massaging me into a blissful state of nirvana. By the end, I was barely able to remember my own name.

Shell Village

Lunch, as expected was too fabulous, and shortly thereafter the island’s activities directors had planned a visit to a local village known as Shell Village. We enjoyed a tour of the area, learned quite a bit of the island’s history, and enjoyed a local handicraft market. So much jewelry, so little Fijian currency.

Kava Ceremony

Of course in Fiji guests are unable to enter a village without first being welcomed by a traditional Kava ceremony. Kava is the national drink, not alcohol, but rather an anesthetic of sorts. Drink a few cups of this and your tongue will become numb.

Kava is hugely popular in Fiji, and most of the Fijian people drink it pretty regularly. The Kava is mixed up in a huge wooden bowl and is always served in a traditional ceremony, where all the participants share a communal drinking cup. Unlike the U.S. where we’ve learned to shorthand many of our rituals, the Fijians always follow the Kava rituals, no matter how informal the setting.

Back at the resort, I had just enough time for a dip in the ocean and a cool down in my plunge pool before cleaning off in my outdoor shower stall. Unsatisfied with my cleanliness, I then headed to my inside rain-shower for a final splash, before dressing for dinner.

Before heading out, I simply had to sample one or two (or was it three) of the freshly baked white-chocolate macadamia nut cookies the housekeeping staff had left in my room.

Viva the “Wash Down”

The evening slowed down with a gorgeous view of the sunset from the beachfront bar, where we also enjoyed the traditional lighting of the torches program. Following the torch lighting, the resort held their own Kava ceremony, and not wanting offend anyone, I had to drink four or five (ahem, or was it six) cups of Kava.

Here we learned the delightful Fijian tradition of the “wash down.” Simply put when a long night of Kava drinking leaves you feeling slightly groggy, an early morning visit to a bar and a sample of Fiji Bitter beer, or any other alcohol, will help you wash down the Kava and leave you feeling like a new person.

Dinner tonight was a barbecue buffet. The buffet part featured numerous fabulous salads, including the Fijian Kokoda, a type of ceviche served with coconut milk. I, of course, was distracted by the all-you-can-eat shellfish platter and chomped down my share of oysters, crab and shrimp. I almost didn’t make it to the barbecue where you could order from a variety of meats (steak, lamb, chicken, prawns, fish) but am really glad that I found room for the grilled prawns!

Over Water Bures

Having a little more energy tonight than last night, Janna and I walked Barbara back to her over water bure so we could see how the sea life looked at night. The low tide was dramatic, but so perfect for viewing the many, many animals below.

It was mesmerizing, like being in our own private aquarium, and we witnessed reef sharks, sting rays, shrimp, squid and many, many fish at play. Before we knew it, we’d spent two hours just watching the fish below. Just incredible.

Magical, Musical Fiji

2007-05-14T22:26:00.000-07:00

I’m so very delighted to be back in Fiji. This is my second visit here, and based on how much I absolutely adored it the last time I visited, I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to return.

The flight was uneventful (no turbulence) but for me 11 hours is still a painful process, no matter how gentle the ride. Customs and immigrations were fairly speedy and soon enough we were headed for Port Denarau, the trendy resort area of Nadi (pronounced Nandi). We enjoyed a quick breakfast at Cardo's, a popular location with early-morning visitors waiting to catch their ferries.

South Sea Cruises

After breakfast we boarded the lovely Tiger IV, a catamaran service around the Mamanuca Islands. This lovely ferry service is operated by South Sea Cruises and is a great option for visitors who only have one day in Nadi. They can head to South Seas Island, popular with the backpackers set, and enjoy swimming and snorkeling. There’s even a massage station on the island.

Our entire ride took two hours, including stops at several resort islands in the group, and we eve passed the island where Tom Hank's Castaway was filmed. Eventually, we arrived at the fabulous Likuliku Lagoon Resort.

Likuliku Lagoon Resort

The Likuliku Lagoon Resort is a magical place, a newly opened resort that was just celebrating its one-month anniversary as we arrived. I’d been looking forward to seeing this property for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is Fiji's first over water bungalows.

In person, the resort was eve better than expected, and we pretty much fell in love with the place during our tour. The romance was solidified during our fabulous first lunch, where I dined on cod tempura. Oh yum.

I could gush for days about the place, and have to my friends and family. It is a small resort (just 46 bures), beautiful, private, romantic with the friendly staff that Fiji is so famous for.

Private Plunge Pool

After lunch my traveling companion Barbara (another freelance journalist) and I checked into our rooms. She had one of the ultra deluxe over water bures while I was assigned one of the lovely beach front bures featuring their own private plunge pools. Not too shabby.

The afternoon was a tough one, as I had to try to decide which activities I wanted to participate in. Eventually I took a leisurely swim in the ocean, then cooled off with a dip in my private pool. Soon thereafter my jet lag got the better of me, so I was forced to nap on my private day bed overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

I woke just in time to catch the gorgeous sunset, before heading over to island’s waterfront bar for a before-dinner tropical drink. Here I met Janna, the PR representative for the property (lucky duck) wh9 is based in Huntington Beach of all places.

Together, she, Barbara and I enjoyed a marvelous dinner. Potato soup with oyster beignets (a genius--the person who came up with the idea of mixing oysters and tempura batter) followed by a Yagata beef on miso butter and mushrooms. I can’t stress enough how fantastic the food is here (and it’s included in the price of accommodations.)

Miyajima Island/Himeji City

2007-03-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

Miyajima Island at High Tide

This morning we had the option to enjoy a walking tour (departure time 7:00 am sharp) of the island, or we could “sleep in” to the late hour of 7:30 am. Since this would be my only opportunity to see the semi-submerged version of the Tori Gate by daylight I chose option A. (Although, I do admit that I did grumble a bit at 6:30 am when I had to get up, get ready and be packed.)

I promised my male colleagues I wouldn’t publish this fact, so clearly I’m a liar, but I did find it cool that the ladies in our group all made the morning walk, while the men chose to not to join us. Only poor Mr. Hori-san, our organizer and handler was required (as a host) to join us, so wasn’t able to sleep late.

During high-tide the Itukushima Shrine takes on a whole new, nearly pristine personality. Today, in particular, the morning air was clear and gorgeous and it was well worth getting up to catch this view. (In truth, I didn’t really begrudge the missed sleep, as I had planned to get up early anyway. I was hoping to take a quick tour of the Miyajima Aquarium, but unfortunately, that was one thing I just didn’t have time for.)

Here you see Cindy-san, me, and Arline-san enjoying the morning air in front of the Tori Gate at high-tide. During our walk, we also wandered further up the hill, checking out some of the other Ryokan on the island, including the Iwaso, where the royal family stays when they come visit the island.

By the way, here’s a tip for those of you who do decide to spend the night, here. As much as the island relies on tourism for its economy, it is a day tripper kind of place, and at night this bedroom community shuts up pretty tight. If you plan to stay on the island, be prepared for deep quiet and an early night. Also, be sure to buy a meal package from the inn you’ll be staying at, because you’ll have a hard time finding anyone to serve you a meal after dark.

Here’s our first group photo. Look how well rested the men look after their extra hour of sleep.

Hiroshima

On our way back to the train station we did get another opportunity to snap more photo of Hiroshima Peace Park from “the other side.” More window hanging allowed me to capture this excellent photo.

The bullet train ride to Himeji provided a welcome nap time for our whole group.

Himeji

Once in Himeji, we checked into the Hotel Nikko Himeji, which has a fabulous location just across from the train station. For people on a whirlwind tour of Japan, Himeji’s premiere attraction is the Himeji Castle, which is an architectural feat, and really well worth seeing. It can been seen in a few hours, and with careful planning JR Pass users can arrive by bullet train in the morning, tour the castle for a couple of hours, and then return to the train station by late afternoon. For those with more time, however, the Hotel Nikko is a great central location, and allows you bit more time relax. (Okay, the relaxing is theoretical as we haven’t really had time to do that yet.)

Once we hauled our luggage across the street from the train station, we checked in and were immediately hosted by Himeji city personnel to a lovely Teppan Yaki lunch at the hotel. If you’re not familiar with Teppan Yaki, think Benihana without the theatrics.

After lunch, we were whisked away to the Kookoen Garden, which is located just outside the Himeji Castle. Here we enjoyed a traditional Japanese-style tea and then had some time to wander through some of the most gorgeous Zen gardens.

Eventually we were escorted to Himeji Castle which lived up to all the hype I’d ever heard about it.

Cherry Blossoms, Cherry Blossoms, Wherefore Art Thou, Cherry Blossoms?

The gorgeous gardens of Kookoen and Himeji Castle reminded us all that we were in search of blooming Cherry Blossom trees. Just outside the castle the air was too chilly, and no way were the Sakura trees going to bloom. Inside though, imagine our wonder when we found a warm, protected patch that had actually confused one of the trees into thinking it was spring.

Our whole group was pretty overjoyed by the blossoms, so we stood around for about five minutes snapping photos and generally congratulating ourselves. We’d already learned that a Japanese tradition is to set up a picnic (complete with Sake, of course) under the blooming trees to celebrate the start of spring. Sadly we had no sake with us.

The coolest moment, however, was when a group of Japanese people wandered around the corner to see just WHY the Americans were making so much noise. We excitedly pointed to the cherry blossoms, fully expecting to be mocked for our enthusiasm. Instead the Japanese group started chattering excitedly, pulling out their own cameras and snapping the tree from every angle. Cherry blossom season is a BIG deal in Japan.

Himeji Castle

Again, inside the Himeji Castle, I learned enough Japanese history to write a thesis, with no possible way to recount everything on this blog.

The main point being that this castle is best known for having the most modern and elaborate defensive system of its time. Also, it is the one wooden structure in Japan that has never been burned due to war, lighting or other adverse circumstances.

Again the views alone are worth the trip, but as with all historical things that end in a great view, a steep uphill climb must first be accomplished.

Not a fan of heights in the best of circumstances, I was a little, um, petrified to climb up the steep, uber polished wooden stairs built for five-feet tall, slender Japanese men in my sock feet. Totally a white-knuckle ride the whole way up. No elevators, you see, in these historical buildings. However, once at the top, there was no way I would have traded the experience for anything in the world.

Restaurant Mille

Again that evening we were hosted by the city personnel of Himeji, and even the mayor joined us for dinner. Here we learned that the people of Miyajima were wrong. You see, the best Sake in all of Japan is actually brewed in Himeji.

Not being a rude person, I felt obligated to try ALL the cups of sake that landed before me.

After dinner, we participated in an ancient Japanese custom known as Karaoke. At this point my memory becomes a little fuzzy, or maybe I intentionally lost track of just how much alcohol I ingested before returning to the hotel. In the photo, our wonderful, wonderful Hori-san gets to let down his hair a bit and perform some traditional songs for us. And Cindy san and Takahara-san perform a complicated dance number to “One Way or Another, I’m Gonna Getcha, Getcha, Getcha."

Osaka City/Miyajima Island

2007-03-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

This morning, my premonition radar still hadn’t adjusted to the new time zone, so I still had no idea that this morning’s tight schedule (eat breakfast, check out by 8:30 and be ready to leave by 9:00 am) was in fact a pattern we’d follow the whole week. Getting out of bed at 7:00 am shouldn’t be that hard, but somehow the general lack of down time, and the sake evenings made getting up at 7 am harder and harder each day.

Osaka Castle

Our first stop today was the Osaka Castle. This is a famous location for cherry blossom viewing in Japan, but in the photo, you’ll notice the branches are bare. Although we knew we were about two weeks too early for Sakura (Cherry Blossom) season, we’d been told off a warm front in Japan, which might mean the early arrival of blossoms. Naturally, our mission for the week would be to seek out actual blooming trees.

The castle’s 8-story Main Tower is a museum today, providing numerous artifacts, drawings and facts about the history of Western Japan and the Tokugawa Shogunate. The tower is absolutely worth visiting for its grand views of Osaka.

APTEC Group

Before I forget, our hosts are a group of government officials from an organization known as APTEC (Asia Pacific Tourism Exchange Committee), which is a consortium of representatives of local cities that don’t necessarily have the same international recognition as do the big-name cities like Tokyo or Kyoto. The group invited several journalists for the purpose of visiting some of Japan’s oldest and most famous wooden structures, many of which have been listed on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

Hiroshima

After our morning in Osaka, we were (hurriedly) escorted to the Shinkansen bullet train for our ride to Hiroshima Station. Our departure time was 11:29 and I believe we hit the station at 11:22. Yikes seven minutes to get upstairs, while hauling our luggage. My tension level was escalating, but the Japanese are masters at getting people where they need to be, on time. I shouldn’t have worried, the seven minutes was plenty. (Of course there was no time for shopping. And the train stations in Japan have such lovely shopping arcades. Good for my budget, though.)

Upon arrival in Hiroshima, we were met by a bus that would carry us directly to the Miyajima Ferry terminal. The bus took us right by Hiroshima Peace Park, the site where the infamous A-bomb was dropped during World War II, but since Hiroshima wasn’t a part of our official itinerary, a stop wasn’t scheduled for us. So imagine if you will, five journalists fighting for window space, and hanging out the bus trying to snap quick photos before the light turned green.

Miyajima Island

Although Miyajima isn’t necessarily one of Japan’s top-tier destinations (or at least not for international visitors), visually it is extremely famous for the red Tori Gate that rises out of its coastal waters. This gate is often referred to as “the symbol of Japan.”

Our ferry ride to Miyajima Island gave us a great early view of this famous icon, and I was most surprised to learn that the base of the gate is not in fact completely submerged. The tidal levels in Miyajima can change up to ten feet, meaning that half the time, visitors can actually walk to the base of the gate.

It was a little daunting, upon our arrival in Miyajima, to learn that we would be followed by local media (from Hiroshima) for the day. So we were photographed, filmed and interviewed about our impressions of the island. Our first stop was a local Momiji Manju bakery. These are a type of waffle cake stuffed with red bean paste. Somewhere in Japan there is footage of me (looking like a prison matron as my group affectionately called me) baking Manju.

After the bakery we wandered (if the term “hurry up, we’re behind schedule” can possibly be synonymous with wandering) over to the island’s famous Itukushima Shrine. Along the way we were accosted by the wild deer that populate the island. They tried to eat everything in our hands, and apparently are quite partial to paper products.

We also were fortunate enough to witness a Shinto wedding procession and here you see an image of the happy bride and groom.

Itukushima Shrine

We were fortunate enough to be given a comprehensive tour of the Shrine by its head priest. He gave us a fascinating overview of much of the ecological problems facing Miyajima and Japan in general. The fact that the Shrine exists, in spite of hurricanes and floods, is a huge testament to the facility’s original architects, as well as the commitment of the locals who always come out to help in times of trouble.

In this picture you can (sort of) see how the floorboards are not tightly interconnected with spaces left deliberately between each board. The construction is intentional, in order to allow flooding waters to flow over and around the floorboards. This might not be great for the wood, but better than the alternative, which would be to have the whole floor sweep away with the pressure of the rising water.

Truthfully, we learned pages and pages of historical, geological and ecological information. I almost feel like I could write a Masters Thesis just on this shrine alone. However, there isn’t enough space on this blog to include everything, so suffice it to say that Miyajima and the Itukushima Shrine are definitely a must-see addition on any itinerary that includes Hiroshima or even southwester Japan.

The remainder of the afternoon we wandered around the island enjoying, the Daigangji (100 Tatami Mat) Temple, the Tahoto (Treasure) Tower and the Daisoin Temple. We were even allowed 45 WHOLE minutes for shopping. Heaven. Of course with camera crews following us around, the shop owners all wanted to know if we were famous, and we spent much of our time using broken English and hand gestures to explain just how famous we were not.

Kinsuikan Ryokan

We would spend the night at one of the local Ryokan (Japanese Style Inn), the Kinsuikan Ryokan. We enjoyed traditional accommodations, sleeping on a rolled out Tatami mattress. The floors in the rooms were super polished (clean enough to literally eat off of), and needless to say, shoes are strictly forbidden inside.

Kinsuikan was also the site our evening feast, and oh yum, what a feast it was. Sushi, shabu shabu in soy milk, grilled meats and tempura, finished off with cherry blossom wine and more beer than the human mind can imagine. We did learn, from the Miyajima City government officials, that Miyajima does produce the best Sake in all of Japan.

After dinner, when the tide had risen to its highest level, we were treated to a night cruise around the Tori gate. Upon our return I was feeling quite mellow, but did sneak upstairs to enjoy the (indoor) hot springs bath, which had a fabulous view overlooking the shrine.

On My Way Back to Japan

2007-03-15T11:52:00.000-07:00

Now I know that when I travel, I ALWAYS say <> is my favorite place to travel, but Japan is truly one of my favorite places. The people are so gracious, and I always feel like I’m being welcomed home when I visit here.

At 10 hours, the flight isn’t too horrible and since we were lucky enough to fly United Airline’s Business Class, the flight was actually pretty darn great. Plus we arrived in the late afternoon, which means that our only immediate obligation was an informal (or at least as informal as the Japanese can get) welcome dinner, after which, we were pretty much able to get some sleep right away.

Our entire group would eventually be comprised of five journalists and three local hosts (babysitters, as we called them.) Three of us flew together from Los Angeles, and upon our arrival, enjoyed personalized motor coach transportation (yes, a whole 48-seat bus just for the three of us) directly to the Hotel Nikko Osaka.

The hotel was as deluxe as you’d expected a Nikko property to be, but truthfully we weren’t given a lot of time to enjoy it. Upon check in, we had a whole thirty! minutes time to freshen up for dinner. How quickly my fantasies of a short nap were dashed. This probably should have been foreshadowing of exactly how packed our week would be, but high on little sleep and sake anticipation, I had not yet tuned into my psychic “oh my gosh this is going to be a crazy week” premonition vibe.

For dinner, we feasted on Shabu Shabu, sushi, beer and sake. It was like being on the Star Ship Enterprise. If we wanted something, all we had to do was ask for it, and whatever we wanted appeared before our very eyes. Somehow my desire always ended up being some version of sake or another.

Japan’s Sake Culture

In fact, it was here at this restaurant that I learned that most Japanese tend to look down on warm sake. Imagine my surprise! The logic behind this is that most sake that used to be imported out of Japan was of a lower quality. So people would warm the inferior sake up, in order to improve the flavor. Thus, in Japan, warm sake is nearly synonymous with cheap sake. Dandy, with me, I have no problem drinking my high-quality sake cold.

Shinsaibashi Street

After dinner, we did a little walking through Shinsaibashi, an entertainment promenade through the center of Osaka. Look out 99 Cent Store, Japan has the equivalent in its 100 Yen store. I however, have vowed to behave myself, shopping wise this year, as I have no desire to repeat the shopping mania that made up my trip last year. So, I was pretty good on my first day of watching my Yen. No random acts of shopping for me. Or at least not yet.

Free Time in Hong Kong

2006-03-29T23:49:00.000-08:00

Sigh, it's already the last day of my trip, I just can't believe it. Where did the time go. (Probably it went to the same place all my pocket money went.)

I had so much I wanted to accomplish today in Hong Kong, and just not enough time to get it all done.

Cultural Kaleidoscope

The first thing I knew I wanted to do today, was take a free class in Tai Chi, which is organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. The bummer is that the class was at 8:00 in the morning, meaning another early wake up call. For about 10 minutes I lay in bed, smacking the snooze button, but eventually did get up all motivated to make the most of my day.

The class was quite fun, in a lovely location by the Hong Kong Museum of Art, overlooking the Hong Kong Harbor. (Here, quite foggy, but still a lovely view.)

After an hour of light exercise, and learning about the history of Tai Chi, I caffeine loaded with a quick stop at Starbucks and then head out to my favorite part of Hong Kong, taking a ferry across to Hong Kong island.

I headed out to test out the Hong Kong mid-levels escalator, a half-mile system of escalators and moving walkways that is reportedly the second-largest escalator system in the world. The system takes you through some cool and funky areas in Hong Kong, eventually dropping you in a mostly residential district, a 20-minute walk from the Zoo & Botanical gardens. Despite walking nearly 35 minutes, I'd gotten so turned around that I never found the zoo, so eventually I headed back for my down hill trek back to the harbor. (The walkway only goes one direction.)

I walked through some very cool neighborhoods, and only wish I had more time to explore. My one emergency bathroom stop, ended in a public restroom, which I was concerned about. But, Western bathrooms in this building were plentiful, and the place was clean to boot.

Running short on time, I took the ferry back across to Kowloon, knowing the afternoon would be spent in pursuit of higher arts education. Wednesday's are free admission days to all of Hong Kong's museums.

First I stopped at the Science Museum. With the whole math major thing, I just can't pass up a science museum. It was pretty well geared to children, but I still found myself spending more time here than expected. Of particular fun were the numerous brain teaser puzzles. I spent nearly an hour trying to figure them all out, much to the delight of one Chinese docent, who followed me around to see which puzzles I could complete. She was quite thrilled, and actually applauded me when I got some on the first try. (If only she knew that many of those puzzles were standard fare in my math classes.)

The photo, here, is of a Chinese sailing ship, which is used at the museum to demonstrate the principals of wind force on sail boats. Quite a cool demonstration.

Hong Kong History Museum

At the suggestion of Lilly, the guide we had on yesterday's city tour, I then went to the Hong Kong History Museum. I'm not so much a museum person, I find many of them tiring after about the first hour, but not so for this museum.

I would go so far as to say that this should be a MUST SEE part of everyone's Hong Kong itinerary. I spent hours here, and could have easily stayed longer. Every room had life-size recreations of true life situations in Hong Kong's past. From the pre-historic age, to modern day Hong Kong, the recreations included life on a Sampan, a recreation of a 1950s tea house, an herbal medicine shop, just to name a very few. Here you see a recreation of a Chinese wedding.

This museum took you step by step through Hong Kong's colorful history, and truly made learning fun. (I know I sound like a spoiled kid, but the place was amazing.)

Now approaching 5 pm, I decided to head back to the hotel for a short rest. I'd been on my feet since nearly 8 this morning, and was starting to feel the burn. At the hotel, I just couldn't resist having an ice mocha and a chocolate truffle cake from the hotel lobby and carrying it to my room. The cake was so very yummy.

The weather had cleared a little bit, and I was able to snap this lovely view shot from my hotel room, while inhaling the chocolate cake.

Despite all that sugar and caffeine, I took a nice long nap, and really only woke up around 8 pm. I'd been toying with the idea of taking a harbor cruise, as I'd wanted to see the Hong Kong night time light show, but my concierge had recommended against it, telling me that the fog might preclude having a great view. At any rate, my nap kind of took care of that.

My plan was to go to Temple Street that night, to enjoy the night market and the open-air food market, but at 8:00 pm I no longer had the energy or the desire to set out on a new adventure. Instead I wandered around my neighborhood, stopping at a chain restaurant known as Maxim's.

Here I enjoyed a delicious final dinner, which included a BBQ platter (roast crispy pork, and roast goose) followed by a steamed crab stuffed with glutinous rice. (No that isn't gluttonous, although with as much as I ate, it probably should have been.)

Despite my desire to extend my final night, I pretty much crashed out right away.

The following morning I woke up raring to go, but with a 9:50 pick up time, there wasn't much for me to do, but try to fit all my Disney merchandise in my luggage and head over to the airport.

The trip has been an amazing one, and I just can't believe it is already time to go back. I'm already counting the days until I can return to Asia and do it all again.

(Of course I'm also looking forward to coming home and getting started on my Sake research.)

Hong Kong City Tour & Hong Kong Disneyland

2006-03-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, today I woke up feeling wholly rejuvenated. My view from my fancy-schmancy 15th-floor hotel room is quite lovely, although the blanket of fog precluded me from seeing a whole lot of Hong Kong early in the a.m.

This morning's buffet breakfast (here at the Harbor Plaza Whampoa) was fabulous. Lovely dim sums and congee broth made up the majority of my meal, but I did weaken and couldn't resist the chocolate croissant.

Hong Kong City Tour

After breakfast we departed for our half-day city tour. The first stop was at Victoria Peak, normally the place to ooh and aah over the fabulous Hong Kong skyline. Due to the fog today, my photos look pretty similar to the ones I took at Mt. Fuji last week, but still the photos around the peak gave us a pretty good idea of what we were missing.

Our next stop was at the bustling (okay I do realize that I am resorting to using cliche's here) Aberdeen Harbor. As I've enthused repeatedly, my childhood upbringing at an Eastern Canadian seaport has caused me to have a permanent love affair with all harbors.

I just love seeing the fishing boats, mixed in with the Sampans, mixed in with the mega-complexes along the coast. We took a thoroughly enjoyable Sampan ride through the harbor, where I took nearly as many pictures as I did in Guilin a few days prior.

Following the harbor cruise we headed over to Stanley market, where I resisted most temptation and only spent about $10 on some Hong Kong paintings for my mom. (I was feeling so proud of my restraint, but the whole Hong Kong Disneyland trip blew that right out of the water.)

We returned to the hotel at around 2 pm, and despite the fact that I was SOO craving dim sum (you know the kind I like with hundreds of people and carts and ratty decor). However, I didn't have a lot of time as I had to get to Disneyland and I knew it was closing about 8 pm. So I asked the hotel for their suggestion, and got the standard, you should enjoy dim sum in our hotel. Not having the time or energy to go looking for a place, I did stop for a snack in the hotel. It was quite lovely, and I especially enjoyed the soft shell crab dish.

Hong Kong Disneyland

After that, I was off to Disneyland park. The park is surprisingly easy to get to. A short (less than 30 minute subway ride) and I was at the main gate. The final transfer is from the main subway line, to the Disney only line, serviced by special Disneyland rail cars, complete with Mickey windows.

As rumored, the park is fairly small, with only four lands--Main Street, Adventure Land, Fantasy Land, and my favorite, Tomorrow Land.

Of course the very first thing I did was get on my most favorite of all times ride, the one, the only, the incomparable Space Mountain. A mere 10 minute wait for the ride, which was a dream come true.

I realize I went to the park during the day (arrived at 3:30 pm), on a week day, during a light sprinkle, but I was quite ecstatic with less than gigantic crowds. Lines here were quite minimal, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. In fact I thought I'd just stay for a couple hours, but found myself leaving the park at 9 pm that night. (Among the last of the people to leave.)

In addition to Space Mountain (which I rode twice), I also went on Buzz Lightyear (and made it to level 6, which I NEVER do in Anaheim), Winnie the Pooh (cute), the Jungle Cruise (which had some fabulous fire effects not found in Anaheim.) I also saw the stage show "The Golden Mickies" which felt a little like I'd taken some hallucogenic drugs (Mickey, Minnie and Goofy talking in Chinese.) Plus all the chorus singers singing in English with Chinese accents. (UNDA DA SEA). They had a token buff Western Boy who had some severly quick costume changes, as he transformed from Tarzan to the Surf Dude in Lilo and Stitch and then on to Aladdin.

Also, I went to see a fabulous 3-D show called Mickey's Philharmagic, which we don't have in Anaheim, but I think is in Florida. LOVED IT. The musical instruments take over when Donald puts on Mickey's magic conductor hat and the audience gets an overview of some of the best of the best Disney music, with accompanying moview footage.

Oh by the way, since so much of my blog has been about the culinary wonders of Asia, I must say that I loved the food inside. I was worried it would be a lot of hamburgers and fried chicken, but I don't think I ever saw any American food. I ate a whole dim sum platter, but there were plenty of sushi, noodle, BBQ and other Asian specialties. Inside the Plaza Cafe, the entire decor was in a Mulan theme, and it was so lovely, that I recommend anyone visiting the park make sure they have time for a meal here.

I stuck around for the fireworks, which was a kind of combo of Anaheim's Fantasmic and the Fireworks show. I think it was a little shorter and not quite as stunning, but still quite enjoyable. What was totally fun was that almost every single person in the park held up their cell phones to try to capture pictures of the fireworks. It looked kind of like that commercial where everyone in the stadium uses their cell phone to light the stadium.

Then I headed to Main Street to do a little shopping. This is also where I realized that I need a serious 12-step shopping program when I get home. Intervention time here people. I bought shirts, and souvenirs and collectibles. On the subway home, I'd slung three big bags full of Disney stuff across my back. I took comfort in the fact that I wasn't the only person hauling home serious merchandise. (Nearly everyone in the park had done their fair share of shopping.)

Back at the hotel, feeling a little hungry, I ventured to a local restaurant, where I enjoyed a lovely won ton soup, and a side of stewed duck. Again, far too much food, but boy did it taste good.

In my hotel room, I didn't even bother trying to fit everything I'd just bought in my suit case. All that shopping had just worn me out.

Tomorrow, my last day, and I have no specific plans yet, other than to take an early morning Tai Chi class.

Guangzhou/Canton & Hong Kong

2006-03-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

Guangzhou/Canton

EARLY wake up call today (5:30 am) to make my flight from Guilin to Guangzhou (still known to many Westerners as Canton.) I'm feeling weary today, a little cranky, and ready to go home.

Despite the rain and humidity, I quite enjoyed Guangzhou.

We stopped at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Hall, where there was a rehearsal going on for a Oriental Medicine Show. (That’s what my guide told me, although it could have been a faith healing show too.) The dance number we saw being rehearsed was about a girl with a crutch who limps through an East Indian dance routine, only to find her leg miraculously cured, and herself the star of the show.

After that we visited the Chen Clan Temple, a place built with money raised from donations from members of the Chen family (Irene, have you been here). The location served both as a private temple for the Chen family, as well as a place where members of the family could go to study for the civil examinations.

Here’s a statue of a female lion, playing with her cub. This is where the guide explained to me his version of life and how gender roles are supposed to work. I don't think we quite had the same opinion about that.

In fairness, he did give me a ton of great information about Guangzhou too. It is still known to many in the west as Canton. And despite the fact that it is home of many things Cantonese, including the language, the Chinese government only recognizes Mandarin as the official language, so now people in Guangzhou are trying to convert over to the national language.

Also, Guangzhou is the one place in China where Americans adopting babies can go to get the proper Visas for the babies to leave the country. So all over the city you see group tours of Westerners carrying around their newly adopted Chinese babies. It was kind of sweet to watch, even for a tired-out grouch like me.

Next was the dim sum lunch. Quite good, but I was also spoiled by the excellent food in Xian and Guilin. After lunch we headed over to the train station, arriving somewhat early, and no coffee shop in sight. Sigh, I’m seriously jonesing for an Ice Mocha right about now.

Once I passed immigration (which you still need to do to travel from China to Hong Kong), I found (YAY!) a coffee shop. Ice Mocha was on the menu, and they made this delightful drink with coffee ice cream instead of ice cubes. Perked me right up.

On the train ride I met a woman who lives in Hong Kong but was born in Spain. We chatted for the hour and a half ride into Hong Kong.

Before I left Guangzhou, I was seriously ready for this trip to be over.

Hong Kong

The second I hit Hong Kong, I felt wholly rejuvenated. I just love this city. Can’t get enough of it. And my hotel is just so awesome. I’m staying at the Harbor Plaza Hotel Whampoa, facing the harbor. Right now, as I type, I’m watching ferries cross between Kowloon and the pier right next to our hotel.

This evening I took a walk along the waterfront, washing away the last of my cobwebs. There is just nothing (okay, almost nothing) like sea air to cure what ails me. Must be the Eastern Canada upbringing, but give me salt spray and a windy day, and I feel right at home.

Was going to get something to eat in the room, so I could enjoy my view, but then found a funky restaurant and couldn’t resist trying it instead. Ordered a cream of seafood soup with a puff pastry topping (yum), escargots with melted cheese served on a bed of mashed potatoes (double yum) and finished off with Shanghai noodles.

On my walk back to the hotel, I bought an Egg Tart, which I’m polishing off as I finish today’s blog. It’s past midnight now, so I’m off to bed.

Tomorrow, a city tour, and then Hong Kong Disneyland. MIC KEY MouSE!

Li River Cruise -- Guilin City

2006-03-20T09:18:00.000-08:00

Today shall forever be known as the day I took 263 pictures. Did my dad proud today, and I know had he been here, he would have out photo-ed me in a heartbeat.

Guilin City

My guide tells me that Guilin is known for four things, mountains, water, caves and rock terraces. She promised we would see all of them today, and we did. We were working on a shortened schedule (due to the change in flight time, I now only have one day in Guilin instead of the day and a half scheduled.)

At any rate, for those of you who have never heard of Guilin, it is the area in China that serves as the inspiration for most of nation's most beautiful, scenic mountain, river, and mist watercolors.

(Oh by the way, before I forget, remember what I said about the Sheraton Xian having the best breakfast in China? Forget it, the Guilin Sheraton wins hands down. I wheeled and dealed my way into the Chinese breakfast buffet, and boy oh boy, was I in dumpling, sparerib and various other dim sum delicacy heaven. My guide had suggested I eat a big breakfast as the lunch served on the boat would come at the most scenic time, so I may want to eat late. Being ordered to eat a big breakfast was NO problem for me, so I had seconds of the spareribs with black bean sauce.)

Li Jiang River Cruise

The cruise itself was a leisurely four hours. It wasn't completely a meditative experience, as there were always about 50 people on the sun deck jockeying for the three best photo spots.

Furthermore, there were about six boats just like ours caravaning down the river, making it difficult to get a great photo of the river itself without tons of boats in the picture. Obviously, despite the boat caravan, I still managed to do okay in the picture taking area.

However, the scenery was unbelievably amazing. Great poets and presidents have used better words than I could come up with to describe it's beauty, so I settled for eating up digital camera battery time.

Life along the river was also fun to watch. Because we traveled on a Sunday, the banks were particularly active. In many of the villages, the farmers wandered down to the river with their children, just to watch the boats go by. Children waving, and we delighted tourists waving back.

Speaking of waving, the weirdest and coolest and just all around fun experience were the boat loads of Chinese tourists traveling in the opposite direction. They would all stand on the deck of the boat waving at us, and as soon as one of us would wave back they would all jump up and down and cheer and just go crazy. We soon started to wait for the Chinese tourist boats to go by, just so we could hear them cheering.

Of course there were the requisite vendors selling numerous products along the river as well. All of these guys would paddle by on these super narrow rafts (usually just five bamboo poles wide) that didn't seem very stable. Water would slosh through the poles, wetting their feet, which were bare anyway. However, bare feet and all, most of the guys also wore some kind of suit jacket. The haggling from upper sun deck to raft was a hoot to watch, and became almost as fun as searching for Chinese tourist boats.

So my guide was correct in telling us that some of the best scenery did happen during the lunch period. In fact, ultimately I ended up skipping lunch, as during this time, there were only two or three people on the sun deck.

If you ever find yourself taking this cruise, I highly recommend you pack a lunch box, or bring along some snacks as the best time really is when everyone else is downstairs fighting over the buffet line.

Drive Through the Countryside

After we landed, the guide and driver escorted me to a local jade museum (bad news, I’m now two pieces of jade richer, but of course I really needed the good luck stone for my business) followed by a lovely drive through the country.

The first peach blossoms were blooming, and in addition the rape seed flowers were blooming in the fallow rice fields. My guide, worried that I might starve (if only she knew my eating schedule, but luckily she can’t see this blog, as it is blocked in China), stopped at several roadside farm stands to buy me some fresh oranges and pomelos. Oh gosh, such sweet fruit off the vine.

Reed Flute Cave

Next we got to explore one of Guilin’s largest caves, the Reed Flute Cave. This place was huge underneath, so large in fact, that my guide told me that they often hold special events and dinners inside. There were so many carvings and shapes, but my favorite scene was this one shot outside of the reflecting pool. Kind of resembles a miniature cityscape, no?

After the cave, it was on to Fu Bo Hill (sigh, more steps) which offered a really delightful view of Guilin City. At the top, I made a new friend, who’s entire English knowledge consisted of “Los Angeles, Very Good” and “You Very Beautiful.” I’m such a sucker for flattery. By the way, too bad my thumbs up in this picture, as it is hiding my newly acquired jade pendant.

University Art Gallery

Our final stop, on this adventure-packed day was a stop at the Guilin University Art Gallery. The University is the home of most of the most famous watercolor, oil painting and waterink masters in China. Many of them are professors at the university, and many of their works are on display at the art gallery. (Can you just hear my wallet crying out.)

At any rate, we took a brief overview course about Chinese watercolors, and you can kind of see my masterpiece behind me to the left. I wanted to buy this teacher’s art work, but he was a little TOO experienced (in the price range area) for my tastes. Didn’t stop me from buying some other watercolors (did you notice the use of the plural “some” as opposed to the singular “one” here) from some of the University’s more gifted students. Bad, bad, bad. BAD.

My official driving tour had ended, and with a warning to be ready tomorrow morning at 6:45 am sharp, my guide headed out.

Not being in the mood for more hotel food, today I wandered over to the Guilinese Good Luck restaurant. Their fabulous menu had the weirdest and coolest stuff on it, and I just couldn’t decide for the life of me what I wanted. I ended up with a beef soup with cilantro, a plate of noodles, another Guilin specialty of deep fried pork ribs. Sounds gross, should have been gross, but tasted SO good. My final dish was a barbecued pigeon (served head and all.) Also a new favorite for me, although I’m probably going to leave the pigeon hunting to the professionals.

With a 5:30 am wake up call, I didn’t even care that I was in bed by 8:30 pm and asleep by 8:31.

Shaanxi Museum--Xian

2006-03-20T06:15:00.000-08:00

As promised, today was a very light day.

My wake up call came at 8 am, and I was only required to meet my guide at 11 am. So instead of getting up and blogging or whatever else I thought I was going to do, I rolled right back over and went back to sleep.

Then when I woke up a second time, I read a book. Oh so nice to be able to take it easy. Of course, by this time, I'd hardly left myself enough time to have breakfast and finish my packing and check out.

By the way, breakfast in Xian (yes, a one-track, food-obsessed mind, I know) was the best breakfast yet in Asia. In addition to yesterday's yummy noodles, Xian is also known as a dumpling city. You know the kind of fun dim sum dumplings I can NEVER get enough of. So fabulous breakfast had a couple types of dumplings, and I was in heaven.

Shaanxi Provincial Museum

Our first stop today was at the Shaanxi Museum. I think I've ODed on China history today. I finally had to buy a book (notice the emphasis on HAD TO) covering China's history and civilizations. No way I was keeping all the details straight otherwise.

Oh by the way, I'm traveling here in Asia in what is known as the off-season. It is not even spring yet (even saw some snow in Japan, boy does that feel like years ago) and as such the tourists are not out in full force. Because of that, I've had a great opportunity to take advantage of many "off season" discounts. Another thing to consider if you come to this part of the world.

Anyway, the book was priced (printed on the cover) at 360 yuan, but I was offered the amazing price of 250. Fun, I love a discount.

Didn't take too many pictures of the Museum, but just had to share this wine jug. The alcohol gets poured through the animal's little mouth, and replenished through a trap door on his back. Gotta get me one of these at home. (I swear the spending is out of control.)

Amazing Dumplings

After the Museum, we enjoyed lunch at the most amazing dumpling restaurant in the world. They kept bringing steamer basked after steamer basket to my table, each one featuring four or five different types of dumplings.

Of the ones I can remember, there was a walnut shaped dumpling stuffed with, what else but walnuts, there were fish dumplings, chicken dumplings, spicy dumplings, scrambled egg dumplings and candied dumplings. I also enjoyed a spicy squid dish to die for. I really pigged out at this place, and I think this is the first restaurant where I pretty much ate everything they gave me. (But how was I going to discrimate one dumpling against the other? I didn't want to hurt their feelings.)

After that it was on to the airport for my flight to Guilin. Here's another tip on travling to and through China. Domestically, they are very strict about your luggage only weighing 20 kilos total. (Not per bag). Fortunately they were quite lenient about carry ons (as I had two and a half plus a jacket), but my bags just made it through at 23 kilos (the guy gave me a 3 kilo bonus.) Gotta remember to drink the beers I packed tonight to lighten up my bags.

This makes it quite difficult in traveling the long journeys, so make sure to pack accordingly. The flight was uneventful, but bouncy. It was if they sling shot the plane into the air and then bounced it off the Qin Mountains. I don't believe the seatbelt sign was ever turned off for the whole flight. Even still the flight gave us a lovely snack of what else but Xian noodles. (Afraid I couldn't eat that much, as I was still replete with my lunchtime dumplings.)

Guilin City

Guilin seemed lovely upon site, although it was already dark upon our arrival. The airport had a lovely little light display welcoming guests.

It was immediately obvious that this is a considerably smaller city than either Xian or Beijing and the pace seemed much more mellow here.

Despite my late morning, I'm still feeling sluggish tonight, so have decided to forgo Guilin's culinary calendar in lieu of a quick dinner in the restaurant and an early night. Did drink one of the beers in my suitcase (gotta watch that overweight limit) but didn't accomplish much more than that.

Xian Terracotta Warriors

2006-03-20T05:15:00.000-08:00

With all the big adventures I've had so far, in China, it hardly seems possible that there can still be more to awe and amaze me, but today was another such day.

Terracotta Warriors

This morning was completely dedicated to visiting the world-famous Terracotta Warriors of Xian. Here I've shown a picture of part of the entire arena (which is large enough to house three soccer fields), just to give you an idea of the immensity of this place.

Okay my ears are about to blow off my head, I've learned so much about Chinese history today, but in a nutshell, the first emperor of the Qin (pronounced Chin) Dynasty did many great things for China. He was the first emperor to unify the separate states into one country. He also standardized the Chinese language, weights, measurements and currency. Furthermore he ordered all the walls of the original six states making up China, linked to form the Great Wall.

However, he was a bit of a megalomaniac, and among using and abusing his manpower (on building the wall, forming his armies, and having them search for the source of eternal life), he spent much of his national income building his "underground palace" which is the Chinese-ism for tomb.

In addition to the actual tomb he built many surrounding memorials, etc., including a great memorial battlefield, which is now the Terracotta Warriors pit. It is now said now that you can basically walk anywhere in Xian, and likely find historical items lying on the ground.

Anyway, shortly after his death, the peasants formed a giant uprising against the out of control harshess of his rule (and his son's rule) and staged a giant revolt. They found the underground pit of the terracotta warriors and smashed every single statue, stealing the weapons the figures carried for their own uprising. Here you can still see some of the warriors that have not yet been righted.

Every single statue you see in the pit (standing or lying down) has been refurbished by seasoned archaeologists, using the original clay of the period to cover the breaks and holes. None of the warriors were found whole. Plus in parts of the pit, you can see the original burn marks of where the peasants burned parts of the pit.

Anyway, this pit was only rediscovered in the mid-seventies by farmers digging a well. They found a piece of a statue and turned it over to the government. That piece was just one head of what is now this internationally famous dig site.

By the way, the farmers were each given 6 yuan (less than $1) for finding the pit. Now, though, the one farmer works at the museum signing autographs in the official Museum Catalog. A little cheesy, no? However, I guess it's better than farming, even if he is the whole reason the catalog sells. By the way, yes I did buy one of the catalogs and had to pay extra to have my picture taken with the guy. But heck, I look at it this way, I paid him more for my photo, than the Chinese government paid him for finding the pit. :)

Xian Noodles

By the way, did I mention that one of the specialties of the area is home-made noodles? Lunch today, was in the Xian Terracotta Museum area.

In addition to having two made-to-order dishes, completed by active noodle chefs, the restaurant placed a ton of other great dishes in front of me, including a dried bean curd and garlic dish that was simply fabulous.

But other than the bean curd (which I finished) I hardly touched the rest of my lunch, as I spent most of my eating energy consuming the home made noodles and pork sauce and the homemade noodles in beef soup. Here you can see one of the noodle chefs hard at work. The noodles (as well as a salad bar and a dessert bar, neither of which I even tried) were all you can eat, so I'm not even sure why the restaurant bothered putting down five other dishes.

Xian City

Originally my schedule called for an early departure tomorrow morning to Guilin, but since I'm traveling off season, there are no early morning flights to be had, which means an extra half-day in Xian. As a result we spent the afternoon visiting some more of the historic aspects of Xian, including the city wall. This was a lovely area, surrounded by red lanterns, and very peaceful. It was a gorgeous day to watch people flying kites in the plaza below.

After the city wall, we visited the Goose Pagoda, which includes a type of "Art Park" surrounding the Pagoda. In each of the historic buildings there is a different kind of artist, with displays ranging from papercuttings, to waterpaintings to wood carvings. I managed to resist spending any money here, except for the 5 yuan (50 cents) I needed to ring this bell and make a wish. I figured 50 cents was a healty investment into my wish for a rich husband.

After the tour of the city, I actually had time to rest (joy!) at the hotel, before the commencement of our evening activities. I slept the whole time, and didn't even bother to check my emails. (Emails didn't matter so much anyway, as my outgoing emails weren't working here anyway. China has these very strong internet censors and heaven knows what will and won't be readable. None of my blog entries are readable to me, so I'm just hoping everything comes across okay.)

Tang Dynasty Performance

Tonight we enjoyed a VERY delightful dinner show which included an hour-long traditional Tang Dynasty show. The Tang Dynasty in China was one of the most prosperous (and might I saw one of my favorites, as the larger size person was looked upon favorably. This is the time that Buddhism was introduced into China, which is why most of the Chinese Buddhas are the plus size beauties they are.)

Anyway, the show had such beautiful costumes, dances. One segment featured "plucked string instruments" and before seeing this part of the show, my only thought was "just kill me now." With my most due respect to the Japanese Koto and the Korean Gayageum, this is not my most favorite form of Asian music.

However the music was delightfully light and lively, I belive it was called something like "Eternal Spring," and included pan pipe music played by a most androgynous male, who of course stole the show.

Late Evening Massage

We returned back to the hotel around 11:00 pm, and after a brief time trying to get my email to work, I ventured out into the mean streets of Xian in search of a foot massage. For $20 I enjoyed a two-hour accupressure massage with one-hour dedicated to my feet and another hour dedicated to the whole rest of me. Heaven!

I was ensconced in my own little private room, got to watch Chinese soap operas the whole time (had no idea what the heck was going on, but when the woman was shot in the back on the bridge, I was fully engrossed), sipped my dollar beer and let massage boy take over.

Is anyone else sensing a theme to my Asia trip? Massages, beer, food and stair climbing. Nearly in that order.

Got home after 1:30, sipped a little more beer, and dozed off soon thereafter. Not too worried about the time, as tomorrow's going to be an easy day.

Old Beijing

2006-03-18T05:51:00.000-08:00

My last day in Beijing. While I'm loving the complete north Asian overview of this trip, it also feels like I just barely get to scratch the surface of a city, before it is time to move on.

Hutong Pedicabs

For my final morning in Beijing, we were able to enjoy a pedicab tour of Hutong, considered the old city. Hutong is this charming part of Beijing with narrow streets, and all the buildings are in the old style—one story with grey tile roofs.

We’d driven through this part of town briefly the night before, so I was glad to be able to take a closer look. It is kind of an eclectic mix of old and new, sort of like the rest of Beijing. Along the river, there is an area known as “Bar Street” which in the summer months is packed to overflowing with locals spilling out of the doors of their favorite watering holes, all with river front views.

Our first stop on the tour was to meet a local family, pictured here. Mr. Wu and Mrs. Wang. I was able to take a peek around their house and courtyard, which nosy me really enjoyed. They live in one house on a courtyard, while the other two houses in the same area are occupied by their sons, daughters-in-law and grandchildren. Their entire courtyard area would originally have just made up the (rear) daughter’s courtyard of the original nobleman’s house.

Although Mr. Wu spoke no English, we did get to chat through an interpreter. Now retired, he was originally an archaeologist for the Chinese government, with a specialty of porcelain and metalware. When they would unearth a new dig site, the pieces found would be sent to Mr. Wu for dating. Very cool stuff

After our chat with the Wu Family, our next stop was at a kindergarten school. While it was fun to see the children, I actually found this place kind of sad. Many of the children (aged 2-5) stay at this school all week long, only going home on weekends. Some of the kids are even long-term boarders and don’t go home for a month a time.

I just kept 4emembering my days at summer camp and how depressed my seven year olds would get when they were separated from their parents for just three or four days, Anyway, I’m sure the children get used to it, but I couldn’t imagine being separated from a two year old.

The children here were quite cute, and very mischievous, so it was fun to watch them in high-energy action. May, my tour guide, had bought me a candied fruit stick, and stupidly we carried the candy into the kindergarten. So the whole time we were there, the kids plotted ways to steal the candy from us. When we did finally turn over one stick, there was a near war over how they were going to share the candy.

The final stop on the tour was a visit to the Huton Bell Tower. I think my Hutong guide was hoping I’d want to skip the climb to the top, but no way, I’m not missing a thing. So up we went, on what turned out to be a steep, but not difficult climb. The view was quite nice from the top, and here you see a photo of the roofs of Hutong in the foreground and New Beijing in the background.

Hutong is directly on the main Meridian lines I was talking about a few days ago, so we were in direct line, immediately between Tiananmen Square and the Ming Tombs. The Hutong Bell Tower was the original end of the Meridian Line, before the Ming Tombs were built. (As an interesting note, the Beijing Olympics Village is also being built on this Meridian Line, somewhere between Tiananmen Square and the Hutong Bell Tower.)

After the Hutong Tour, we stopped for lunch at a Sichuan (Szechuan) restaurant. The food here was quite good, and I enjoyed a Kung Pao Chicken (among many other dishes) that had some kind of very fragrant peppercorn attached.

After lunch it was time for me to head to the airport. May (pictured here) and my driver, Mr. Su, knowing how much I enjoyed the Chinese 56% rice wine had bought me some loose tea and some rice wine as a present for being such a nice guest. I really enjoyed traveling with them, and wish they were heading on with me to my next destination.

At the airport May and I even had time to enjoy a nice Starbucks (total Mocha withdrawls here), before I boarded my plane.

Xian City

Xian is considerably larger than I expected it to be. In total the city is about 7 million people, with about 5 inside the city borders and another 2 outside. I guess I expected it to be more of a country village, but I was very wrong.

Because I arrived at Xian rather late, my dinner tonight was to be in-hotel dining, at the Sheraton hotel, which is quite well known for it’s cuisine throughout the area. However, as soon as I learned it was Mediterranean food, I rebelled against the system.

I knew that Xian is very famous for a type of lamb stew with dumplings, so I found out (from the gift shop lady) a place that serves this famous dish. She wrote everything I needed in Chinese, so all I had to do was show the taxi driver and off I went.

My 20 minute taxi ride into downtown was only $1.50 and the dinner, which included a huge bowl of the most delicious lamb stew, as well as a bowl of Hot & Sour Soup (giant-sized) and two large sized bottles of beer, only cost me $6. I was living like a queen.

Tomorrow morning, we’re off to see the Terra Cotta Warriors, Just can’t wait.

The Great Wall

2006-03-17T17:57:00.001-08:00

Today I climbed the Great Wall of China. It almost feels like I don't need to say anything else, that one feat seems so incredibly huge to me. The wall is as impressive and breathtaking as anything you could possibly come up with in your minds.

I'm still in "I can't really believe I'm here mode" and this experience has left me oddly at a loss for words.
What I did not know (expect) was how cold it would be up there. Of course common sense should have told me that we were mountain trekking, but at the summit (888 meters, or nearly 2,700 feet about sea level) it was dang high, dang cold, and dang windy. I also did not expect the climb to be as steep as it was. I was huffing and puffing along the way.

Here's an image of one of favorite (not) staircases, a steep difficult climb to the next guard tower. I was bound and determined to make it to the highest point, even though my guide kept pointing out that no one back home would ask if I'd made it to the top part, only if I'd been to the Wall.

What was also surprising is that even though it is a little bit off season for visitors, there weren't nearly as many Western visitors as I thought there would be, and the higher I climbed the less of them made it that far along. It made me even more bound and determined to make it to the top. (At one point in the home stretch when I saw the final staircase ahead of me, I almost gave up.)

The Wall is about a historical site as you can imagine, but it has these odd, eclectic modern touches thrown in. Directly next to the wall is a huge construction site, that May told me was likely going to be a super-sized advertising billboard. Sad. Also there are cable cars going to the summit, but with the winds up there the cars were nearly tilted on their sides. (Not a chance in heck you'd get me on one of those babiles.) And for the semi-intrepid trekkers, the ones who've made it high enough and have no desire to climb back, the wall also offers this roller coaster ride back to the base.

Ultimately I did make it to the highest point, amid cheers of good will from the others that had made it before me. It felt remarkable. At the top was this banner, with a saying from Mao Tse Tsung that basically translates to "No one can be a Great Hero until they've made it to the Great Wall."

I'm so lame, I even bought a laminated, and "offically" stamped certificate letting people I'd made it to the highest point. From this point on, you could continue to walk along the wall a ways further, but you'd have to climb way down and the only way out was to climb way back up to the summit and then back down again, so I figured I'd gone about as far as I could go.

And for your viewing pleasure, I'm enclosing a picture of the walk I've just completed. About two-thirds of the way down on the left side of the picture, you can see a little white-green downward sloping line. That's the roller coaster ride, which is located about half way up the climb, to give you a frame of reference.

Friendship Store

For lunch we stopped in one location of a government-sponsored chain of handicraft stores known as the Friendship Store. In the lunch area were tons of tour groups, amounting to hundreds of Western people, presumably all on their way to/from the Great Wall, although I actually saw very few of them while there.

As I sat down at my little table for one (regulations prohibit your guide and driver from eating with you), at this noisy restaurant, I thought to myself, I'm really going to hate this mass-produced, Caucasian-oriented food, but as usually, it was so delicious. They offered me sweet and sour pork as my main dish, and I though "uh oh" but it was quite tasty. And the side dish, a chinese greens with salted Shitake mushrooms was so good, I ordered seconds, leaving many of the other dishes barely touched. (I hate wasting food, but there's just too much to even try to clean your plates.)

After lunch came the big challenge. Me with my commitmen not to spend more money, and a store full of handicrafts! I look at embroidery, cloissone, water colors, silks. Sigh. And of course bought a gorgeous scenic mountain (in Autumn) watercolor. Plus I bought some Chinese Watercolor paintsticks. Cost: $150 Value of the Memories: Priceless (or at least that's what I keep telling myself.)

Ming Tombs

This afternoon, we stopped at the Ming Tombs, a gigantic area housing the tombs of 14 of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty. Many tombs have not been excavated due to concerns of grave robbers, as well as other logistical issues, but the area was huge and impressive.

Can't find my notes now, but I think this area was called Serenity Walkway, a gorgeous and meditative area, housed with many varying types of statues. Here I'm standing in front of a general, garnering support for when I take over as Empress Dowager.

A little more climbing, to the top of the Emperor Chang's memorial tower, but as May said "After the Great Wall, this staircase is a piece of cake!" I enjoyed the Ming tombs area, but I think anything would have been anticlimactic after the Great Wall.

Peking Duck

Finally, my whole reason for being in China, an evening of Peking Duck. Tonight I was invited to a lovely dinner by the Manager of the China arm of Pacific Delight Tours. We went to an outstanding restaurant, known as Quanjude, one of the oldest restaurants in Beijing, and the home of Peking Duck.

Without a doubt, this place is a must-see attraction in Beijing. Manager Wang kept ordering all kinds of really tasty dishes (duck breast sauteed with cashews, lemon duck, similar to orange chicken, but with duck fried in lemon and pineapple sauce and sesame-crusted duck breast) as a side to the main course. Oh my goodness, it was all so good I didn't know where to start.

But as good as everything was, the Peking Duck was simply the best. Just heavenly. While I said earlier that anything would be anticlimatic after the Great Wall, this certainly was the perfect cap to an awesome day. (Oh by the way we also got to enjoy a lot more of that lovely 56% alcohol rice wine, a special brand bottled just for the restaurant.)

Tonight, another massage, and then tomorrow, historic Beijing and then on to Xi'an to the Terracotta Warriors.

More later.

The Forbidden City

2006-03-15T17:12:00.000-08:00

I’m in China, in Beijing. This, as with Cuba, has always seemed one of the impossible, fantasy destinations. And now I’m here.

Tiananmen Square

It didn’t really hit me, how exciting this was, until I was standing directly under Mao Tse-Tung’s picture, hanging on the entrance gate to the Forbidden City. Then all the books I’d read, the images I remember, suddenly accumulated in a meeting place in my brain, and that’s when I truly realized, “I’m actually here.”

Today, the first stop was Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. I can’t even begin to start typing all the new knowledge I’ve acquired about China today. May (my tour guide) has jammed my brain full of information, and still it keeps coming.

Tinanmen Square is impressive in it’s hugeness and the concept behind it’s layout. The square, the Forbidden City, and even the Ming Tombs, some 36 miles away are all laid out in a straight line the Beijingers call the “Meridian Line.” Everything else is basically measured in reference to these main meridian points.

Tiananmen Square is one of the largest (if not the largest) city squares in the world. Today was particularly impressive, as it was the end of the National People’s Congress, a meeting of the officials from around the country. Because of the meeting, security was really stepped up in the area, making it an impressive visual. Across from the People’s Hall there’s a huge sign (sponsored by Omega Watches) is a giant billboard counting down the days and minutes until the start of the Olympics.

The city is definitely caught up in Olympic Fever, and everywhere you go you can signs, promotions and general reminders that the Olympics are coming. Many buildings and structures are being newly built or refurbished just in tie to open for 2008.

The Forbidden City

After Tianananmen Square, we entered the Forbidden City. So cool. What I learned is that Mao Tse-Tsung never entered the Forbidden City. He was the first leader to declare China a People’s Republic, and among the establishment to help do away with the Feudal System (and the Emperor system.) He wanted nothing to do with the Feudal System, didn’t want the old ideas tainting the new way of life, so did not ever visit the Emperor’s residence.

Of course, at the Forbidden City, I was most interested in the way of life of a concubine. Even made May take me to see their quarters. (Pictured here is May with another colleague from Pacific Delight Tours. Working very hard at their jobs.) I could talk for hours alone about the things I learned about their lifestyle. But by the end of the tour, I realized, I really wanted the life of Empress Dowager Cixi, an infamous “ruler” here in China, who is generally known as “The Voice Behind the Throne.”

Her life is legendary, and among some of her exploits, she would enjoy 120 courses for her meal. The cost of one of her meals alone could have employed 5,000 people for one day.

By the way, no problems with the toilets in China. Most of them have at least one Western Style seat. And, some of them are even highly rated.

The Summer Palace

Our next stop was the Summer Palace, where the Emporer’s family would spend the summer months. Here, is where I really wanted to become Empress Dowager, as I certainly could see myself living here.

Despite the general sadness of the place, this is where Empress Cixi would keep her nephew the Emperor under constant house arrest (we saw his living quarters, which she would lock up every night) it was a gorgeous location with a lovely view of lake Kunming.

After spending time coveting the Summer Palace, we stopped at a pearl shop, where we got to look at pearls that were actually grown in Lake Kunming. This was some of the Empress’ favorite type of jewelry, so naturally I had to own some too. (So much for not spending money in China.) I’m now several strands of pearls closer to becoming Empress Dowager.

Chinese Acrobats

So wearing my fancy new pearls, I then had the opportunity to catch the world famous Chinese Acrobats in action. This picture shows my favorite act, the lions, each of which was made up of two guys doing acrobatics in complete unison. Here you see four of them balancing on the ball.

At night, I enjoyed dinner in a delightful restaurant called Merry Lin. My favorite dish was a dried bean curd in a sweetened soy sauce with mushrooms and a type of lily flower. Yummy. Here the wait staff would congregate near me, practice saying a sentence in English to each other, and then come over as a group to say the sentence. So cute.

By the way, I’ve learned in China that I’m a big fan of their local beer, known as YanJing Beer. It’s a flavorful beer, maybe like a Sam Adams back home.

And tonight, finally, finally I got my in-room massage. While I thought the hotel massage prices were pretty good, May arranged an outside woman to come in for just $20 for a 90-minute massage. A combination of reflexology, oil, and pressure, with 45-minutes dedicated just to my tired feet.

Tomorrow it’s off to the great wall, and the Ming Tombs.

My Last Day in Tokyo

2006-03-15T15:07:00.000-08:00

This morning there was a certain reluctance in waking up. Although this isn’t the end of my trip, just the end of the Japan portion, I’m not yet ready to leave the city. I haven’t seen so many things, haven’t even been to the Ginza yet, and feel as if I’ve barely scratched the surface.

However, I was very much looking forward to my trip to the Tsukiji Fish Market. (Unfortunately my camera misfired today and none of my photos of the market were saved, which is unfortunate as I took some great ones. I guess this means it might be time to buy a new camera.  Anyway, I’ve posted a picture here from the JNTO library, just to give you an idea of what the market looks like.)

The market was everything I expected it to be. Outside there were hundreds of small shops selling seafood, kitchenwares, produce and other products. Inside the main hall there was a giant warehouse, auction area, and wholesale fish market. Such fun, although the market does close to tourists during peak tuna sales times, as tourists just get in the way.

Being in the way was easy to do, because no matter where we walked we were in jeopardy of being run over by bicycles or small carrier trucks. At the market, I indulged my need for raw fish, and bought some large, red egg caviar (so yummy) and some grilled eel on a skewer. Also yummy.

After returning from the market, the remaining couple of hours I had left before my bus left for the airport, I spent more time investigating the little district by my hotel. Last night, being Sunday night, many stores and restaurants weren’t open, so during Monday noontime there was a lot more to see. I wanted to stop at the Ginza (kind of on the way back from the fish market, but I was worried a little about timing, plus Caren and Will’s bus left two hours earlier than mine, and so I stayed with them on our way back to the hotel.)

In Akasaka, I ate lunch at a rotating sushi restaurant. So Good! I had piles and piles of plates, and was starting to feel a little guilty about how much I was eating, until I saw the business man next to me was eating about the same amount.

On my walk back to the hotel, I walked through the Hire Shinto Shrine, located directly adjacent to the hotel, snapping as many photos as I could. (Only half way through had I figured out my camera problems, so all my photos of lunch and some of the Shrine had also been lost.)

Although I tried hard not to spend too much time here, I realized that I had dawdled a bit, just taking in the peace of the area, and by the time I got back to the room, I was feeling a bit of pressure to get packed and ready. Things were thrown haphazardly in the suitcase, but due to all the giving away of tequila, I had plenty of space to pack everything, with room to spare. (Although I’m NOT spending more money in China.)

The flight to China was uneventful. We flew in a 767 (not my favorite plane, as a) they are very noisy, and b) my one plane crash was in a 767.) Even with the strong head winds (we were nearly 30 minutes late), the flight was not that turbulent. I had a row of three seats all to myself, joy, and spent the time napping, playing computer games, and catching up on my notes.

What was really interesting to me about the China entrance policies is that they have a reputation for being very strict, very difficult, but I didn’t find that to be true in any way. Getting the Visa took just a few days, and getting into China was a snap. We had to fill out a health card (for Avian flu purposes) and I obsessed over whether I should answer honestly about having “shortness of breath” or not. In the end, we tossed our health card on a big pile, and no one ever even looked at it.

Immigration was equally easy. They asked if I’d been to China before, and that was it. Stamp. You Pass. At customs, they waved me through, and I was officially a visitor to China.

Outside of customs, I was met by my guide, May and my driver Mr. Su. I just love May. She is so sweet, and so funny, and just adorable. If you ever find yourself taking a Pacific Delight Tours program in Beijing, be sure you request her, if you can.

For about 15 seconds upon my arrival at the hotel, I considered going out for a snack, but ended up having noodles delivered by room service instead. Heaven. I didn’t even have enough time to unpack my bags before I fell asleep.

The Shy Mountain

2006-03-15T14:53:00.000-08:00

Local legend has it that Fuji is a shy mountain, only revealing herself some 100 days out of the year. For my trip to see this elusive lady, I’d been toying back and forth with the idea of taking my own transportation to Hakone (an excellent location for Mt. Fuji viewing) or enjoying an organized city tour to the same place.

Both had advantages, the escorted city tour would actually take us part way up the mountain, but by setting my own schedule I might be able to fit in a quick stop at a Japanese Onsen hot spring. It NEVER occurred to me that no matter my decision, I might not be able to see one of Japan’s most famous icons.

I’m woman enough to admit that I don’t really enjoy a lot of group travel situations. I far prefer making my own decisions, and being the star of my own show. However, because the article I’m writing about Mt. Fuji is for a trade magazine, I ultimately figured it would be better to take a guided tour which would be of more interest to the demographic I’m writing for.

The program was well developed, and my kudos to JTB. Had it been a lovely spring day, the type normally serving as the setting for the Mt. Fuji pictures you’ve seen, this probably would have been the ultimate photo-taking opportunity. For our group, it ended up more as a “Let’s see what the weather is doing this hour” kind of day.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

The fickle weather, which ranged anywhere from a light rain sprinkle, to snow flurries to gale force winds, caused our itinerary to be a fluid one. I think this picture of a man trying to keep his hot dog stand from blowing to kingdom come pretty much best describes the weather on the mountain.

The weather kept our poor group leader constantly on his toes. It probably should have been a sign of things to come, when he raced us out of the visitor center, so that we could get inside the mountain gate before they closed it due to bad weather.

“Once we’re inside,” he explained, “there’s no way to turn around till you hit the fourth station.” Hmm. Because of course you want to be trapped on an uphill climb in snow storm conditions. However, none of us yet realized how dramatically the weather actually could change. By the time we’d hit the fourth station, Mother Nature was having a total hissy fit.

For the four minutes I was actually able to brave the Siberian (not an exaggeration) winds, I took this photo of Mt. Fuji. (For your benefit, I’ve drawn a line where I think the peak should be.) I quickly retired to my comfy, WARM, seat on the coach and found that I was one of the last people to seek shelter back on the bus.

It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane

The remainder of the day was also spent battling various schedule changes. The strong winds in Hakone didn’t make for safe cable car conditions, so we went up the cable car at Lake Kawaguchi instead.

Now, those of you that know me, know how much I DO NOT like heights. A cable car ride is terrifying, and while of course I’ll do it, I won’t like it. So to know we’re going up a cable car in weather that can whip up instantaneous winds of up to 40 meters per second did not necessarily inspire confidence in the alternate cable car. In the end the ride up was only at it’s normal vomit level, and I even managed to open my eyes for most of the ride up. (I've included a nice picture from the cable car station, of the slope of Mt. Fuji.)

Anyway, I won’t write too much more about Mt. Fuji here, except to say that when we finally did get to see little bit of it (just the bottom, but still) it was tremendous. Everyone on the bus started ripping open the bus windows (even at what probably was something like 110 degrees below zero weather) to take photos.

For the rest of my Mt. Fuji wrap up, you’ll just have to read about it in TravelAge West when the article comes out.

We took another Shinkansen (bullet train) back to Tokyo, arriving at Tokyo Station around 7 pm (on a Sunday night, just the time that EVERYONE in Japan comes back to Tokyo.) The station was pandemonium, and to get from one place to another you literally had to jump in between two bodies and let the motion carry you where you needed to go. I even saw some “push people” – actual employees hired just to push people along. Phew.

Having said that, I made it home with just one mishap. (I couldn’t get my body out of my herd over to the right track, so I took the wrong train one stop, just so I could get off and turn myself around again.),

Korean Food, Really?

Back at the hotel, Caren and Will were waiting for me, as we’d planned to have our final dinner in Japan together. On a previous day I’d told them I’d worked for the Korean government, and that night they’d decided that since they had an expert n Korean food with them, they wanted to try it.

The area around our hotel, Akasaka was ripe with Korean restaurants, so it was no problem to find one. We ended up having SamGyeopSeol, a type of Korean BBQ, grilling pork on a stone plate. Really tasty. I introduced Caren (and young Will, bad me) to Korean soju.

After dinner we decided we really needed to end the evening with a farewell Sake, (of course mostly to further my research), which ended up as two farewell Sakes. (More corruption for Will.)

Our plans for tomorrow include us visiting the Tsukiji Fish Market early in the morning, before we fly out, so we decided to end the evening fairly early. Happy with Sake in our hearts and Korean BBQ in our belly we headed back to the hotel.

Saturday in Tokyo

2006-03-14T04:59:00.000-08:00

Tokyo Tower

The rain cleared up today, which was perfect for our Tokyo city tour. I met up with Caren and Will and really enjoyed spending the day with them. Our first tour stop was at the Tokyo Tower. Caren and I shut our eyes and gripped the side of the elevator all the way to the top, while young Will laughed at us all the way up.

Will’s about to graduate from high school and being a big fan of video games and anime, picked Japan as his graduation/Spring Break trip. Nice guy, but when he told me that he was in seventh grade during 9/11, I kind of wanted to do violence to him.

Anyway, the Tokyo Tower was all you could imagine it to be. The view was a little hazy, but very lovely. At one part they even had a glass floor so you could look through to the bottom. Will did a lovely job of taking the picture for me, as there was NO way I was stepping on that death-defying structure.

The Japanese, for those of you that aren’t familiar, are great fans of all things animated. Everything in Japan has some kind of animated representation. So it wasn’t really a big surprise to find the Tokyo Tower had its own character. However, in designing a long “tower like” figure, the Japanese decided to make him pink. A great big phallic symbol with a buzzing TV receptor at the end. Naturally, I couldn’t keep my opinion to myself, and Caren bought me a little phallic guy as a reminder of my trip up the tower.

Our next stop was an outer watch tower of the Imperial Palace. The inside of the Palace is actually open to the public only two times a year, and today was not one of them.

We then drove on to the Asakusa area, to visit the Sensoji Temple. Our drive took us through some of Tokyo’s more interesting neighborhoods, reminding me just how little time I have to explore this great city.

At the temple I paid 100 Yen (one dollar) to pull out my fortune stick, and thank goodness, my fortune was pretty good. Apparently, I’ll find that which is lost, and my health and employment are good.

The surrounding shopping area was too tempting to pass up, so off we went. At this point our tour guide told us that we could depart the group and stay in the Asakusa area, or we could continue on to the Pearl Factory, where we had a chance to win a real pearl. That pearl factory never stood a chance.

We stayed in the area, enjoying lunch (a sashimi combo plate for me), and lots of shopping. I did end up buying a beautiful Kawata (like a Kimono without the big bumper) and various sets of rice crackers in the neighborhood. Finally, the time approached for me to return to the hotel to meet my other good friend Daisuke Tonai. Our attempts to find a subway station were not that successful, so we opted to take a taxi back to the hotel.

The taxi ride took forever (okay, just 40 minutes), and I kept wondering why the hotel was only one subway stop from where we were, the taxi ride was so long. Finally in my fluent Japanese hand gesture, I asked him. He explained very clearly we were in Asakusa and not the Akasaka located next to the hotel.

Ooopsie

So, bad Japanese me, I was late getting back to the hotel.

Tonai-san was very kind, and didn’t event comment on my lateness. He was so kind in fact, that he didn't even complain one time after he carried my bag all over Tokyo. The big bag containing yet another bottle of tequila (which of course he didn’t know), but it wasn't a light thing.

Anyway, we first we went to the Shinjuku area in Tokyo. A massively huge feat of humanity. The term bodies in motion may likely have been invented in this part of Tokyo. The train station alone handles more than 3 million people a day. He took me to the basement of one of the fancy department stores, to the food court area, which has a lovely array of free samples. Kind of the Costco of Japan.

John Lennon Museum (Who Knew?)

After Shinjuku, we headed on to the John Lennon Museum, which truly probably should be called the Yoko Ono Museum. Still I was kind of expecting a bunch of pictures and posters in a one-room building, and that was not at all what the museum was like. It was quite impressive. Yoko Ono has spent a good deal of time, money and energy showcasing her husband’s life (using of course artworks created by herself.)

No pictures were allowed inside, but to give you an idea, the memorial room to John Lennon was a stark all white room, with white towers, engraved with white words to John’s poetry. All the chairs in the room were clear plastic, so I assume this was an interpretation of heaven. What was odd was the very strong smell of chlorine in the room. Not sure from where or why that was part of the display.

Memorial room aside, there were tons of floor to ceiling pictures of Yoko Ono and John Lennon, and they even recreated Lennon’s childhood bedroom, and had you walk through a semi-replica of the street he lived on in Liverpool. Each window was filled with a television set playing images or telling stories from his childhood. This place was really very cool.

Dinner

By the time we finished with the museum, Tonai-san’s wife had called us to tell us dinner was ready, so we headed over to his house for a total FEAST. The food was awesome. Tonai san’s wife had prepared a huge sushi platter that kept refilling itself. And she made Sukiyaki, which is one of my favorites. I just kept eating and eating and eating.

And of course, I even got to do some more beer and Sake research.

It had been a while since I saw Kento (named after Ken Griffey Jr., and born on 9/11) and I can’t believe how big he’s become. He’s such a little model. Every time I took his picture, he posed in a perfect little pose.

It was so great catching up with Tonai and his family, and I would really like to see him get gets reassigned to the United States. I told him I’m planning on starting an email campaign asking JNTO to let him come back. He didn’t seem to think that would help much.

My last stop was another train ride back to the main part of Tokyo. I made it without any mishaps. Of course Tonai-san hired a taxi to take me to a special train station (not the one near his home), so that I wouldn’t have to do any transfers. I’m really feeling quite the transportation expert.

In the hotel room, I was again too tired to even think about a massage. Tomorrow I’m off to Mt. Fuji and then Caren and Will and I are planning on having dinner together after I get back.

Tokyo Bound

2006-03-14T04:34:00.000-08:00

I’m Back

Sorry I haven’t been posting the last couple of days. My hotel in Tokyo didn’t have any high-speed Internet access from the room (can you believe it in this day and age) and to use the business center, the charge was $3 for every 10 minutes. So I opted to save the cash. (I’ve been on a bit of a spending spree, so $20 for an hour of internet didn’t seem like a good investment. I’d much rather spend it on Sushi and Sake.)

Friday morning the rains came, just in time for our departure to Tokyo.

One is Silver and the Other’s Gold

Yes, I’ve made yet more friends on my journey.

Irene Chen of Pacific Delight Tours, who organized all my travel arrangements, had asked me to keep an eye out for Caren and William, the other two people sharing my Japan trip. I’d chatted with them briefly on the Kyoto City Tour, but didn’t officially meet them that morning, as I was a) was too busy illegally downloading Brazilian music, and b) not going to ask every American on the tour if they were my PDT Japan compatriots.

Anyway, as we departed for Kyoto station, it became clear that the mother and son I’d met earlier were the same two people I was to keep a look out for. Boy were they surprised when I told them I was psychic and proceeded to “guess” their names.

So off we headed for the Kyoto Station. Despite the fact that I felt I was now a great expert on the Kyoto rail system, I had yet to see the main part of the station. What a fantastic architectural structure. (Picture enclosed.) There were about 15 stories of open space, with a steep uphill escalator. Quite vomit-inducing for those of us afraid of heights. Truly a remarkable building.

My first experience on the bullet train was great. The rain probably dampened the view somewhat, but no problem, I spent a lot of the 2 ½ hour ride sleeping anyway.

Those bullet trains sure are fast. Every time we passed another train, or ran through a tunnel, we shuddered so hard it felt as if the sides of our train were coming off. (Made it difficult to catch up on my postcard writing.)

On the ride north, I also had an opportunity to get better acquainted with my new friends. And, despite the fact that I didn’t share with them any of the tequila I was carrying as gifts for friends in Tokyo, we still ended up bonding. I did ply them with Butterfingers and Peanut Butter cups, so that may have been what did the trick.

In Tokyo, I parted company with then, as I was supposed to meet some colleagues from the Tokyo office of the Los Angeles Convention & Visitors Bureau. A miscue on timing, and the fact that there are about 29 billion people at Tokyo station caused my first meeting not to happen quite as smoothly as I’d hoped.

Totally lost, and not having the correct phone numbers with me, I walked through rainy Tokyo, over the Japan National Tourist Organization “Tourist Information Center.” Wet and lost, I was thrilled to find how wonderful the staff and volunteers over there were. They had me mapped up and headed in the right direction in no time.

One subway stop away (and thanks to Misako-san for coming out to pick me up) I had the opportunity to meet all the staff of the LA Inc. Tokyo office. (And may I say, what an impressive view from there, overlooking the moat of the Imperial Palace.) There I gave away my first bottle of tequila and three boxes of Girl Scout cookies, opening up much-needed souvenir space in my luggage.

And the Oscar Goes To. . .

Before I headed out to brave the Tokyo Subway solo for the first time, LA INC. encouraged me to visit the neighboring Maronouchi building, which had a display of Academy Award winning costumes. The display, organized by LA INC. and Wowow Television in Japan, was quite cool. Here you see an overview of the exhibit from the third floor. (I wasn’t allowed to take close up photos.) I saw Austin Powers’ costume, a Terminator, Nicole Kidman’s costume from Cold Mountain, and Tom Cruise’s costume from the Last Samurai, just to name a few.

Having missed lunch, I wandered through the basement of the building, home of their international food courts. Despite being tempted by German cold cuts, French chocolates, and a variety of other foods from around the world, I decided to finally have my first sushi in Japan (some kind of triangular sushi pockets.) I did succumb to the “Tokyo Clam Chowder, featured at a neighboring stand. Yummy.

Fueled with lunch and a tall Starbucks Ice Mocha (Tall in Japan being about 8 ounces), I made my way to the subway, and frankly was almost disappointed to not have had any mishaps.

At the fabulous Tokyu Capital Hotel (lack of in-room high-speed internet notwithstanding), I spent my first hours unpacking, and ultimately taking a short nap.

SPECIAL Kyushu Black Pork

Dinner that night was with my very good friend, Alex (Yukio) Kato, currently a senior mucky muck in the Prime Ministers’ office and a former director of the Japan National Tourist Office in Los Angeles. Kato-san is SO NOT the stereotype of an Asian government official. (Perhaps him telling me how much he misses dancing the chicken dance at Alpine Village’s Oktoberfest, and then proceeding to give me a small demonstration, should give you an idea of what this guy is like.)

Anyway, I haven’t seen him in three years, and it was great to catch up. He hasn’t chaged a bit. He asked me about my cats (especially Alex, his favorite, as they share the same name), and showed me a picture of his pet bunny, Lucky.

He’d had one request from Los Angeles--chocolate covered pletzels, so I brought three types. And of course some tequila. (Look out souvenir shops tomorrow.)

We had dinner at a fancy, fancy traditional Nagasaki style restaurant close to the hotel. Boy, I stopped trying to keep track of everything we ate (and drank) that night. (Sashimi, pressed fish cakes, yakitori, a marinated pork dish, SPECIAL Kyu Shu Black Pork Shabu Shabu, a Shabu Shabu rice porridge, and Castilla cake.) It was awesome.

Needless to say our drinking list was also quite long, however we ended the evening drinking a few Poisoned Blow Fish Sake drinks. Phew. I made him try it first, just in case he keeled over, but both of us have survived, so I think I’m immune to the poison.

The food, the alcohol and the GREAT company wore me out and despite my intentions to end the evening with an in-room massage, I pretty much fell asleep immediately, too tired even, to dial the phone to make an appointment.

Kyoto--Handicrafts & Sake

2006-03-09T11:23:00.000-08:00

In Pursuit of Arts & Crafts

Yesterday, in speaking to the concierge at my hotel, the Righa Royal (pronounced--of course--Liga Loyal), she was kind enough to show me two pages in a visitor guide that had information about hands-on handicrafts in Kyoto.

I poured over that document like I would find enlightenment within. Hemming and hawing over WHAT activities I wanted to do most. In the end, she picked the activities for me, based upon geography, but oh gosh how can you not love a city that is such an active promoter of arts & crafts.

My first stop was a fabric dyeing course. This is sort of the Japanese version of COLOR ME MINE. Pick the item you want to color, pick the pattern, and off you go. I dyed a purse, painting some fish on one side, and a crab on the other. (Then I made my mom a birthday present, a table runner with a bird on a bamboo.)

My next stop was on to a papermaking course. I entered the store and immediately felt like I'd come HOME. Home-made paper everywhere. (You should see the stuff I bought here, sigh, I've blown my food budget for three months, but it was totally worth it.) The class here only cost $4, which is a tremendous bargain. It was a little simplistic, and at first I was a little disappointed, but later I figured out the guys were nervous about their English. Once I started bugging them with every kind of question, "how do you do this technique," "how do you get this color" I started making some cooler pieces of paper.

SAKE, SAKE, SAKE

Having finished with the handicrafts portion of my day, I was now in pursuit of my Sake Research. My first stop was the Horino Memorial Museum, a traditional Japanese house, from the Edo Period, which housed a former Sake Brewery, and is still home to an active beer brewery.

At first the tour was dicey, the guide spoke no English at all, and mostly pointed out the placards which were all in English and Japanese. Then however, poor Yoshino Kaori, an unsuspecting student from the University of Kyoto, wandered in the museum and was suddenly billeted into service as my interpreter.

The building was so cool, and we got to wander around downstairs and up. I learned a bit about the Sake making process, as well as getting a good overview about some of the cultural and historical aspects of Japan. (Upstairs for example were two bedrooms for the maids . The main room, was directly off the hallway, and the side room, which could only be accessed through the main room, and which was built one-step lower than the main room. The step symbolizes the status of the maid, and the lower the step, the lower the status of the maid.

At the end of the tour, we got a chance to sample some Sake. (Had to buy some Sake to take home, so bought the brand with actual gold flakes inside.)

By the time the tour was over, it was nearly 2:30 pm, and I STILL hadn't had lunch, so Yoshino and her friend and I had lunch together. We went to this cool place called Yoshinoya (possibly related to the US chain). We ordered our meals by pushing buttons on an automated vending machine and then had the waitress bring the food to us. (I had pork cutlet over rice). Yum. And a fast-food bargain (already trying to make up for my excessive spending habits today.)

Transportation Confusion

After lunch, my new friends escorted me to the train station and wished me well. I was now about to head to Fushimi, a suburb in the southern part of Kyoto, and a region well-known for it's Sake making.

At this point the transportation gods had a good laugh at my expense. (Let me see if I can explain the transportation system here. There are multiple light rail and subway lines, and although they are interconnected, each is owned and operated by a different company.

So, for example, if you want to ride the Kintetsu rail all the way to Kyoto Station, thereby paying a cheaper fare, you must change trains at the transfer station. If, however, you don't mind paying the more expensive fare, you transfer from the Kintetsu Rail to the Subway rail, at the transfer station. This is accomplished, naturally, by staying on the train you already were on.) Confused? Add a lot of Japanese in the mix, and you feel my pain.

Because I am not as fluent in hand-speak and pointing as I thought I was, I rode on the Kintetsu rail, instead of the Keihan rail. Didn't realize the difference until my station didn't appear when it should have, and suddenly I found myself enjoying a VERY scenic tour of the countryside. Quite lovely, and I'm glad I got to see it.

However, by the time I figured out my problem, and turned myself around, I arrived at the second Sake Museum too late. In true amusement park fashion, the shop did remain open later than the actual museum.

Fushimi

So not getting to see the museum, I had to console myself by having more delicious Japanese coffee. The place I went also served waffles with ice cream. So tempting, especially with waffle smell coming from the kitchen, but really how much can one girl eat? Plus, I was low on cash and hadn't found an ATM yet. I was keeping my 400 Yen for the train ride back to the city in a separate pocket, and just didn't have enough money for the waffles.

After coffee, I spent some time wandering the back streets of Fushimi, which I really loved. The people were SO nice here. I passed a woman who was selling traditional Japanese tatami (hand woven) products. With my cash flow issues, I tried to explain that I couldn't buy any of her products.

Still feeling a lack of confidence from my early attempts to speak Japanese sign language with the train station people, I was reluctant to believe what I thought she was telling me. She kept handing me three tatami coasters, and making a big X sign with her arms. Finally, I put them in my bag, and she nodded her head vigorously. Yes indeed, she just gave me three coasters for free.

In a country that is already incredibly hospitable, it is hard to describe how extra-friendly the people in this community were. Although it was just a ten minute train ride (when done correctly) outside downtown Kyoto, I'd literally left the big city behind.

Anyway, fueled with my free coaster success, I decided to take advantage of Fushimi's huge shopping arcade. The entire arcade is covered by a "solar dome" that stretches over about six blocks, and the shops are made up of 100 Yen ($1) stores, Sake shops, produce stores, home furnishings, sigh, truly a shoppers paradise. I never did find an ATM machine (probably too distracted with all the shops, so I clung to the 400 Yen I had in my pocket, and generally preserved my budget).

My Cup Runneth Over

After a day of standing and walking, my legs were starting to feel the pain, and I was sure that a cup of Sake would be just what I needed to restore my energy. I stopped in at Torisei, the restaurant my hotel recommended for Sake tasting (right next to the Museum I couldn't get into.) Bad news or good, I'm not sure, but they were more than happy to take my Visa card.

My first cup (pictured) was literaly overflowing, with a coaster to catch the extra Sake. Happiness!

Seated at the Yakitori (grilled meat on skewers) bar, I found that I couldn't resist ordering just a few items off the menu. Which eventually turned into me trying MANY items off the menu. My favorites--Chicken Skin on a skewer (I know, sounds gross, but oh gosh, so good) and cheese wrapped in bacon on a skewer (this was so delicious, I was moved to try to write Haiku about it. Of course at this point I was also well into my second cup of Sake, and had entered a state of extreme happiness). I'll post the poetry later, maybe.

With 400 yen left to my name, a complete understanding of the Kyoto rail system, and a courage built from two cups of Sake, I made it back to Downtown with no further mishaps. The Sake cheer lasted about as long as it took me to fling myself into bed (at 8:30 pm) and it was lights out, almost immediately.

I slept so well, I only woke up one time, giving me another opportunity to take advantage of the strangely comforting heated toilet seats the hotel provides.

Today, I'm off to Tokyo, where more adventures with Sake await.

More tomorrow.

Monica

Kyoto--Ancient Capital of Japan

2006-03-08T13:39:00.000-08:00

Just a quick note from Kyoto, on the first day of my whirlwind tour of Asia. I'm having so much fun, and can already feel time passing by too quickly, even though I've only just finished my first day.

My first stop, Kyoto, is such a wonderful place. It may just be my new favorite city (although you might be hearing me say that a lot on this trip.) However, how can you resist a place where handicrafts stores line every street. I'm afraid my usual Michael's budget has been spent on Japanese papers. (So many choices.)

Morning Tour

Yesterday morning I joined a lovely city tour, where we visited some of the top attractions in this city chock full of history and art.

We stopped at the Nijo Castle, the Golden Temple (pictured) and the Imperial Palace. And for the first time in my life I because one of the people following around a little Japanese flag. :)

During the tour, I made some new friends (of course), Erico, Marcio and Eduardo of Brazil, all the way from Sao Paulo, Brazil. They were probably too lively for Japanese tastes (certainly the police at the Imperial Palace kept their eye on us), but it was quite fun meeting them.

Lunch

I ended up joining them for lunch at the Kyoto Handicraft Center, a lovely buffet, and the price was right too! They taught me a few great Portuguese sayings, some of which I probably shouldn't repeat in cyberspace, and then downloaded for me eight hours of Brazilian music. (Good thing I had my thumb drive with me.)

After lunch the boys and I took some handicraft classes at the center. They made cloissone pins and I got to try my hand at Japanese print making. Here my instructor is holding my final print.

Downtown Kyoto

Parting company, I headed over to visit more of downtown Kyoto. Thanks to my pals at JNTO and their handy Kyoto & Vicinity Walking Guide, I've become quite the expert on Downtown. I even took the Subway with no difficulty.

My next stop was the Nishiki Food Market. I probably arrived here a little too late, as many vendors were closing down, but it was nice, and I was tempted by all the great food. My ultimate destination was Gion Corner to see a performance of traditional Japanese arts (some blocks away) so I kept telling myself not to get distracted by all the shops between where I was and where I wanted to be, but how could I resist the shops and shops of homemade little stuffed animals, and best of all Japanese papers!

I took a detour into the Ponto-cho area (pictured), a lovely historical street, where many Maiko (Geisha) can be found. This was truly a quaint neighborhood, in what you would expect Japan to look like. So many restaurants, pubs and places to spend time, and all of them overlooking the Kamo river.

Gion Corner

I crossed the river, still bound and determined to make it to Gion Corner (By now I'd missed the 7:00 show and was hoping to make it in time for the 8:00 performance, so had even more reason not to be distracted). Got a little turned around, but generally followed the beautiful river to get my bearings.

A good Japanese/English map, some very kind Japanese, including three visitors to Kyoto, who used my two English/Japanese maps and their three all-Japanese maps to get me exactly where I wanted to be.

Made it to the performance with three minutes to spare. The hour-long show featured traditional Japanese arts, including the tea ceremony, flower arranging, Koto playing, court music, a Geisha dance, and a puppet show. I got to volunteer at the tea ceremony, where I was served Japanese cookies and tea. (Good thing too, because I still hadn't eaten and was now getting quite hungry.)

Shijo-dori

After the show, walked home along the main Shijo-dori street. This is definitely where Kyoto's beautiful people hang out. By now (9:15 pm), I was feeling quite hungry, and hadn't even started any research for my article on Sake, either, so food was a priority.

Walked into one restaurant but it was Korean. (I did recognize the weirdness of being in Japan, with the requisite understanding none of the language, and feeling a certain homecoming by walking into a Korean restaurant and feeling comforted by actually understanding the characters and customs.) However, Korean food was not what I wanted. Next stopped at a Shabu Shabu restaurant overlooking the river, but they were closing for the night. Started to get frustrated, when a young kid on the street handed me his 10% off coupon. I saw the Sake bottle pictured on his flyer and I was sold.

Only when I sat down, did I notice the Thai art work and the Singha beer. Oh well, too late, and I was no longer interested in trying to find something Japanese. The food was great here at my little Thai "Asiatic Cafe", and I even started my Sake research. Plus I learned my Japanese waitress had been in Thailand last November during the Loy Krathong festival, the same time I was there. (Amazing how much conversation you can have just using Thai words and hand gestures.)

Had a coffee on the way back to the Subway station (and boy do the Japanese know their coffee!) and finally got home around 11pm.

Tomorrow is all about arts & crafs research (I'm taking a fabric dyeing course and a paper making course) and then in the afternoon it is Sake all the time. Two sake museums and a brewery. (Plus the brewery actually has a Yakitori restaurant attached, so I know I'll be enjoying a nice Japanese meal.)

And You May Ask Yourself, How Did I Get Here?

2006-02-21T22:20:00.000-08:00

Certainly I do. What cosmic piece of luck happened that is allowing me to live my dream. To travel, to work from home, to make money, to run a successful website. Not to mix (song) metaphors, but my future's so bright, I have to wear shades.

Things are going so well, I've been reluctant to blog. Who wants to listen to a bragger after all?

So in spite of all the wonderful things that have been happening lately (rubbing my hands gleefully), I have decided to post the things I hope to work on in the next two months, with a scheduled completion deadline.

March 1, 2006
Give up my dreadful addiction to Cadbury Easter Eggs. (Bawk, bawk, bawk, BAWK!)

Find myself a good tax professional. No more doing it myself. This year I'm turning it all over to the pros. ULP.

March 4, 2006
Become a much BETTER BLOGGER.

March 31, 2006
Complete 100% of the redesign of OnceWritten.com. (Mostly done, but still there are some pages in the old yellow and pink colors.)

April 5, 2006
Once and for ALL, clean out my file cabinet.

April 15, 2006
Launch my first Asia Travel Enthusiast newsletter. (Getting there, working on it, really.) You can click here to Pre-sign up for the Asia Travel Newsletter

April 15, 2006
Fully launch the Travel Glitter website. You can view the Thailand page template at www.travelglitter.com/Asia.php?ID=Thailand, but Korea, Japan, China, and Malaysia are coming soon.

Okay, I know I promised, no bragging, but my two Thailand articles have been posted. You can see them at:

www.travelagewest.com/articles.aspx?article=4715
www.travelagewest.com/articles.aspx?article=4891

Some of you know, I'm off to Asia for three week with an assignment in pocket. At least two (if not more) articles will be published from that trip too. I'll try to blog from the road, but no promises, you see how crummy my history is.

Just a small view of the useless stuff in my head.

Same as it ever was.

Thailand Photos As Promised

2005-12-13T22:17:00.000-08:00

In my last blog, I promised photos of lovely Thailand, so I'm about to make good on my promise here and now. I submitted a travel article for the trip, and when it goes live, I'll send you all the link, so you can see more in depth.

Here you see several Krathong floats, which are made of banana leaves and floated down the rivers in Thailand. They are made every November to celebrate the Loy Krathong festival, which honors the Goddess of Water and thanks her for allowing us to tread in her domain.

Sukothai

Our first stop was in the Sukothai Province (home of Thailand's first capital). The festival here was so fun, very regional. Kind of like the U.S. equivalent of a state fair. We a regional parade (clearly I was quite taken by the fire blower), a picnic, a light and sound show and an outdoor street market.

I even tried the fried silkworms--yummy--taste just like french fries. Okay, I did pass on the bigger bugs and the fried frog skin. As adveturous as I am, it was all a little much at the moment.

Anyway, I think this may have been my favorite stop, as the festival was so *authentic* for lack of a better word. The locals were just having so much fun, you couldn't help but get caught up in the moment.

The light and sound show was fabulous, giving us a complete overview of Sukothai history. The show had floating lanterns and fireworks, in a UNESCO heritage temple in Sukothai Historic Park. They put lights,and candles and lanterns throughout the temple which made for quite a spectacle.

Ayuthaya

Our next stop was in a city called Ayuthaya, Thailand's second capital. We had a great time exploring ancient temples and palaces here, which was amazing. I even got to see an elephant here, although I was told that this ISN'T where they come from. They're brought in just for the tourists, I guess, but whatever, I was sold.

That night the festival was a little more contained, it was held as a private buffet, just for our group. Yummy! All you can eat Thai food, it was a dream come true. They had performances on stage, and then we got to float our krathongs, but in all, we were removed from the general public, and I really missed getting out and mingling with the locals.

Here Lizard, Lizard
(What the heck is that thing?)

So many wonderful memories of Ayuthaya, Thai Coffee at the freeway rest stop, temples, palaces, gardens, marketplaces. So what are my two most vivid memories? Soldiers march-running through the palace grounds, and the giganto-lizard in the same place. The lizard's probably why they have the soldiers there, don't ya think?

Bangkok

The last festival, of course, was held in Bangkok. This was the elegant of the elegant. We all had to dress up (I found a Thai outfit, in my size even, in one of the Thai marketplaces, so I was quite in fashion). Our party was held at the Naval Institute, normally off limits to civilians, and it was overlooking the Grand Palace on the other side of the Chao Praya River. Here you see one of the river boats, designed up special for the festival. In the back left, you can see the Grand Palace, all lit up. Spectacular.

Okay, sorry for the VERY short overview, but with a travel article coming out on the same subject, I'm not sure how much of this I'm even allowed to post. If you find this post getting removed in the coming days, it's cause my editor was NOT amused. :)

I Was Lost, But Now Am Found

2005-12-05T10:44:00.000-08:00

What does it mean, when people start asking what's going on with you in online forums? Google told me that this post had recently popped up about my website: http://www.writewords.org.uk/forum/48_53103.asp.

Not sure if it's horrible that I've been such a slacker lately, or if it's graat that I'm known enough to warrant a mention.

Those of you that haven't heard from me, take heart. I've taken a mental health vacation of sorts in the recent past. I kind of dropped out of circulation, only working on projects from my paying clients, and shoving everything else to the back.

OnceWritten.com, in particular, requires so much nurturing and my to do list for the site is extremely high, and so I just kind of abandoned it recently.

Many of you know that I went to Thailand in early November, and before leaving I was so busy I was working around the clock. When I got back, my mom came for a two week visit, so I didn't have much time then either. It was a fabulous, wonderful, teriffic trip, but I got into vacation mode, and have had a hard time coming out of it.

These days, I'm spending a lot of my time questioning whether I should abandon the website or not. I love it, I love the people that write me, but it is so much work and effort, and I have so many other things I wish to accomplish.

And now that I work from home, I need to be careful to allocate my time resources appropriately.

Wow, this blog suddenly went to a whine, whine, whine status. Anyway, I'll keep you all updated on the progress of me and the site. Next blog will contain pictures from Thailand, promise.

Identity Crisis

2005-10-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

What do I want to be when I grow up? And when do I have to give an answer to that question? I'm 38 years old and just last week I decided to become an stronaut or a fairy princess. This week I changed my mind and am considering mountain climbing and travel marketing promotions. Next week it's another story, and I'm already investigating the idea of becoming a tropy wife to a VERY rich, VERY old man.

The thing is I have no idea what I want to be. A writer? Maybe, sometimes. A webstress, extraordinaire? More times than not. Pretty much what I want to be is a rich, superhero. I know, it's not much of a definition, nor very realistic, but at least it gives me a framework.

The superhero part indicates some kind of charity work, but the rich part kind of precludes most 501C3 work. So then what?

I do know that I think the following things SUCK:

Stuffing envelopes
Washing windows
Any type of housework
Being ordered around by a ridiculous boss
Fetching coffee (unless it is a Starbuck's run and someone else is paying.)

Anyway, most of you know that a year ago I declared work independence. I gave six week's notice at my job and basically walked away from the 9-5 world without a second glance. I had some money (not enough) saved, and I had many, many, many professional contacts. No actual projects or clients had been lined up.

Now I've kind of spent the past year dinking around "finding myself" or whatever the p/c term is these days.

So after some brainstorming and talking with friends I made one big realization. I'm spending so much time being good at EVERYTHING, I haven't left myself enough time to be GREAT at anything. Now, how am I going to be a super hero without having at least one Super Power?

So I did the career planning thing this week, catalogued my strengths, weaknesses, what do I like, what am I good at, blah, blah, blah. I made the decision. I'm going to focus on my marketing agency. I'm going to specialize in promotion in Latin America. All stuff I do well, and with a little bit of work these things could be Super Power.

Then, pow, I secure a new tourism client, and the focus for them is online marketing, so now I'm changing my focus (if you can even call it that) again. Spent some time the past few days stressing over my lack of commitment to my own future.

But then I hit the pay off. I realized

I DON'T CARE.

I'm having the time of my life. I'm poorer than I've ever been. I'm mismanaging credit. My wardrobe has degenerated from cool business suits to ripped jeans and raggedy sweats.

But I'm having a blast. If it's a rainy day, I take a nap at lunch time. If I'm infused with creativity, I will stay up all night long to get my work done.

I'm incredibly busy, maybe even more busy than when I was gainfully employed. Time seems to be hurtling along at not-yet-defined scientific term that makes light speed look like a turtle's crawl.

The thing is that maybe when I grow up I want to be exactly who I am today.

The Google Print Controversy -- Why the Fuss?

2005-10-20T23:42:00.000-07:00

Just a quick catch up, Google Print has a controversial new program where they plan to scan nearly every book ever written. The point, according to Google, is so that when people do a Google search, if published books contain the searched words, relevant pages will also show up in the search results.

Two groups have filed suits against Google for Copyright infringement. Now I certainly can see how the major publishers are a bit worried about their bottom line. Certainly a clever enough person could use Google Print in a way that would allow them to find each and every page in their favorite James Patterson novel.

But my God that would take a lot of work. Maybe publishers will lose a few dollars to the most enterprising of the copyright stealers, but let's face it these people have other methods (photocopying books at the library, for instance. Or perhaps buying a book at a major retailer, then copying it, and then returning it) for violating copyright laws.

And searching a book page by page on Google is going to take a hell of a lot more work than it would take even to photo copy a book page by page. (And who in their right mind would even want to do that??)

Absolutely there will always be the person trying to beat the system, just because they can.

However...

Here's the key issue I think the major publishers have completely overlooked. We bookies won't use Google to steal books, because we're addicted to BOOKS themselves. Sure the words inside are great, but it just isn't the same unless we are reading an actual book. A 500-page photo copy just doesn't have the same effect for us.

We're going to buy books because we like the way they feel, the way they smell. We like having them next to us, in piles, while we curl up in bed. Searching the internet for a page-by-page copy of the book is going to be about as popular as the pretty much failed downloadable book movement of the past few years.

What Google Print will do is help sell books. Hey, if I'm doing a search for "outlaw pirate with a heart of gold", (oopsie, I mean "great philosophical texts of the 1800s") and I come across a book that has that text inside, a book I've never heard of. Am I going to spend DAYS reading that book online? Heck no, I'm too busy playing video games, doing chat rooms, and keeping my fantasy football league in the playoffs. However, I might just be so excited to dig up a new find in a field I like, that I'm gonna buy me that book to see if I like it.

Love to hear everyone else's thoughts.

I'm a Travel Writer

2005-10-18T08:49:00.000-07:00

I can now officially call myself a travel writer. My first story is posted at TravelAge West, a magazine for Travel Agents in the Western United States. I attended a trade show, known as La Cumbre, in Houston Texas. Here's the result of that show:

Trading Spaces at La Cumbre

Hope you all enjoy it.

Betty Sullivan La Pierre Defines Good Hair Day

2005-09-05T16:26:00.000-07:00

For author Betty Sullivan La Pierre, a good hair day means a day with hair. Recently having undergone an aggressive form of chemotherapy, she's now coming out the other side. Her lymphoma is in recession, and she's concentrating on getting her health back.

And she's celebrating her good hair day, and inviting others to celebrate with her. She's giving away free copies of her book, so if you want to enter to win, just visit http://www.geocities.com/e_pub_2000/

Messages From Beyond

2005-09-04T23:15:00.000-07:00

Career questions are the order of the day. I enjoy the freelance life, and believe I can eventually make a good living doing a combo of my website work and the freelance consulting gig. Now, however money's thin, and while I love the freedom to do what I want, I do miss the nice, regular paychecks I was drawing as a cog in the employment wheel.

During a particularly dark moment a few months back, I saw a job posting and sent a resume off "just to see." Months later, I've had an interview, and I know I presented well. So the question is should I or shouldn't I (if the offer comes through).

So many threads are involved here, and it is a far more complex situation than paycheck vs. not.

So I did what any self-respecting confused person should do. I consulted the Tarot cards. It was a spur of the moments decision, based on being in the right place at the right time kind of situation.

The reading did not go well. I have so many neurons bouncing around in my little brain that I'm sure it was hard for her to pick up on just one energy strain, but pretty much nothing she said matched my reality. The "Death" card showed up, which as we all know means "Change" and not actual "Death" but still what change?

It is interesting though, what energies she did think she was getting from me. "There's a man in my life, I'm ignorning." God, would that were true.

Ah well, I'm sure the voices from beyond are trying guide me, and I'm just not paying enough attention. I know the decision I ultimately make will be the right one, I just wish it weren't so nerve wracking to get to the decision.

Culture-Loving Monica

2005-08-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

Had a super-duper cultural couple of days.

Sunday, I went to the Walt Disney Concert Hall for the first time ever. Bizarre as the place may seem on the outside, the inside is marvelous. It is designed to feel intimate (indeed some classrooms at my University felt larger than the hall), but still seats nearly 2,500 people. Tremendous, really.

Inside sources tell me that the wood used to construct the theatre is the same wood that cellos are made of.

Personally, I give the concert itself mixed reviews. It had kind of a funky program, ranging from very popular music (think "Singing in the Rain") to more obscure works by Strauss and Dvorak. I don't mind either, but found it odd that they would share a playbill.

I did particulary enjoy the piece by Leonard Bernstein called "A Young Person's Guide to Television" which featured a medley of works from many favorite TV shows and commercials, including such favs as Pink Panther, Plop Plop Fizz Fizz, The Brady Bunch, NBC Nightly News, and many, many others. What wasn't so fun was the dipstick guy sitting beside me, who insisted on saying the name of each piece he recognized at more than just a whisper.

After the concert, I walked across the street to see the Basquiat Exhibit at the Museum of Contemporary Art. That is one weird exhibition. I know it is very popular, and people are lining up to get in, but maybe that work was just a little too contemporary for my taste.

Monday morning, my art-filled life continued, and I went with some friends to go see the King Tut exhibit at LACMA. Now this display is quite a spectacle. A lot of time and money went into the creation of this exhibit. If you are a fan of the legends of Tut, I recommend you go, but don't be too disappointed when you learn that the main coffin, sarcophagus and other big pieces from the tomb didn't leave Egypt.

By the way, there is TYPO on one of the historical exhibits in the display, which I find very upsetting, especially considering how much money went into producing this show. However, since this may be one of the last time this show gets to L.A., if you are interested, you probably should take a look. I recommend you go early in the morning to avoid the larger crowds. Our reservation was at 10 am, and while there were a lot of people there, it was manageable.

Monica The Tech Geek

2005-08-08T20:13:00.000-07:00

Most of you know, I run a website for writers. But what surprises most of my readers is that I actually have a techno-geek background. Many a person has lost a bet, when it has come to guessing my major in college. (Mathematics, and I'm not lying.)

After college, most of my marketing successes came on the shoulders of understanding data, how to store it, how to access it, how to manipulate it. I'm a crackpot programmer in database languages, and I challenge you to find a database software I can't manage.

So, how come, I was asked the other day, I'm not using a database to manage the very data-heavy content on my website, OnceWritten.com? The question came from a super techo-nerd friend of mine, who felt, I think, that I'd lost the way. I'd abandoned the data crowd in favor of my cool new literary crowd.

The thing is, that he was right. I'd developed a data-reliant website, and was hand coding each page. Egads, you can imagine how long that took me every week.

So now my new challenge is this. I'm already converting the site, but now all of a sudden all my web pages are going from a .htm ending to a .php ending to keep up with the new code. Doesn't sound like too much of a problem, does it? And really it isn't. But oh my gosh, I'm losing my very cool Google Page Rank left and right. I'm being dumped from a 5 (and even in some very cool cases a 6) to a zero for the same content. Frustrating to be sure.

However, I guess its better to do it now, rather than save it for later. I only wish, my techno geek pal had challenged me to do this much, much sooner.

There is a lesson to be learned in this tale, which is, if you are considering creating a website, and have a general "marketing" plan, or at least an idea of what you'd like to have that website do in a few years, think twice before you plop down a bunch of code, that may become obsolete in a year's time. When you have over 300 pages, as I do, you will not be ecstatic about re-coding every page.

And for those of you checking in at the website periodically, be patient with the changes. They are happening slowly, but surely, and I'm trying to cover my tracks. If you happen to catch a link to nowhere, do let me know, so I can get those loose ends taken care of.

Best Buy's PSP and Selling Your Soul

2005-07-24T01:15:00.000-07:00

For those of you that have been following my technology woes, I own an HP laptop, which I bought at Best Buy about a year and a half ago.

I bought the PSP (Performance Service Plan), and was glad to have the protection the first time I had to take said laptop in for repairs. (The power cable wasn't connecting to the battery, so the computer couldn't keep the charge.) Ten days later, works fine. Still feeling okay about the PSP the second time I had to take the computer in for the same problem, some nine months later. Another ten days without, but this time its okay, because I'm heading on vacation. The third time, though, I'm not so thrilled to be bringing in the computer for the SAME problem, some six months later.

Don't worry, I was told, on your fourth service call, you get a brand new computer for free. Well gosh, now I'm praying for my computer to break down.

But I digress.

This third time, they keep the computer five weeks for repairs, with no word of why or even when I'll get it back. I bring in my receipt, and say, "Look this is the day I've been promised my computer. Where is it?" Answer: "That's just a suggested date." I take another look at the form, which does NOT say "Suggested Date" but am told that it was meant to say suggested.

Okay, so finally, five weeks, I get the computer back. Oh, happy day. I turn it on, thrilled. Now I'm checking emails, I'm gonna go back to being Internet queen. But oopsie, the whole thing turns off and no amount of praying, clicking or cursing gets it working again. As I'm shaking the thing, and trying to find a magical way to bring it back to life, I notice the service guys removed my battery and never put it back in before shipping the unit back to me.

Now I know I've got to buy a back up, because I can't go another three weeks without being able to do any work. So being mentally challenged, I return to the scene of the crime, and buy another laptop at Best Buy. Get that baby home, and no kidding, I mean, really no kidding the new lap top doesn't turn on.

So, come Monday morning I'm hauling two computers to Best Buy for repairs. How retarded is that? I did get the new one back in about an hour, thankfully, or I wouldn't be able to rant to you all right now.

The other one they keep for a week, and after not hearing from them, I call them to enquire (not so politely) of the status. The hard drive is dead they tell me. And by the way, data back up is not included in the service plan. "But since I didn't originally bring in the computer for a data problem, but a hardware problem, and since my battery was dead, and I couldn't charge the computer due to said hardware problem, there was no way for me to back up my data." Not their problem.

So the data backup process takes a good week. Won't bore you with those details but I did have to go in person to Best Buy eight times in two days.

Now, though, it's the fourth time, technically that I've brought in the computer, so I'm expecting a shiny new one. Not so, apparently it's only after the fourth time the samething has to be replaced NOT the fourth time you bring it in for service.

So I get the computer back, just yesterday. I'm sort of thrilled, but sort of skeptical. Check out the computer at Best Buy, and oh dear, STILL the service guys forgot to replace the battery. Incredible. But okay, at least I have it back. So I'm testing the thing out, because why leave the store if there's going to be a problem. And the double click on the keypad isn't working. I'm not jesting here, this is all true stuff.

So exactly 23 minutes after I turn on my new hard drive, the laptop is back in its box, being shipped back to the service center. Hard to believe, but here it is two months! later and I'm still waiting for Best Buy to figure out how to repair a computer. I'm beyond irritation now and in a zen, oh well, someday it will make a good story kind of place.

So, some of the data I have, some has been losst forever. The backup is working fine, the original laptop believes I've abandoned it completely.

I'll keep you updated on the next step.

Monica