Grab a cup of coffee or a glass of wine before you sit down to read this novelette =D
The taxi that took us to the airport in Shanghai was unbelievably fast! We arrived in at the airport early for our flight! I mean, yes, that is what you are supposed to do...
Anyway, we checked in and went through customs. We sat down a little cafe near our gate and ate breakfast and wrote postcards for about an hour before we needed to board the plane. Our plane was scheduled to take off at noon and land in Beijing at 2:00 PM. We were right on time. The flight was quick and easy! Once we landed we went to baggage claim, grabbed our bags, and were nicely greeted by Annelyse's uncle, Tim and his driver. They were so kind and took the time out of their day to drive us to Jimmy's apartment. Jimmy is a really great friend of mine from Lake Forest College. I have known him since the 1st day of school! We have had many great times together and this was just the start of another great time together!
It took us a while to find his apartment as it is tucked inside a bit. But have no fear, we found it! Jimmy is currently studying Chinese at Peking University. He will be finished in July and doesn't quite know what his next step is other than completing his MBA in Chicago. We finally made it and Jimmy was awaiting our arrival. We were greeted with big hugs and kisses from Jimmy (he is French after all). It was also Jimmy's birthday! We set our stuff down and then went over to a rooftop terrace cafe to enjoy a tea, Annelyse got a salad, and Jimmy got a sandwich. We stayed for a bit and then Jimmy told us he needed to study for a while before we could go out to enjoy his birthday! Annelyse and I were totally fine with this as we wanted to go take naps!
After naps, we pulled ourselves quickly together and went down to La Bamba =D It is a Mexican restaurant near Jimmy's apartment. We met there with new friends, enjoyed Mexican food, and celebrated cinco de Mayo and Jimmy's 23rd birthday! We enjoyed fajitas and margaritas! It was fantastic considering we don't have Mexican food in Japan so it was a real treat! After dinner, we went with friends to this big open courtyard of vendors and tables. We enjoyed a drink outside, learned a new Chinese hand game, and then went to a dance club. Jimmy and his friends wanted to go so there we went! We danced, laughed, and really enjoyed ourselves! Annelyse and I always have a great time no matter what we are doing as long as we are together!!
The next day started out well! We went to Lush cafe, an incredible 24/7 cafe just literally down the street from Jimmy's apartment. Annelyse and I enjoyed an hearty breakfast of veggie bagels. When I say veggie bagel that is it! It was a bagel piled high with carrots, onions, tomatoes, lettuce, mushrooms (?), cheese, the WHOLE 9 YARDS! It was incredible! I also enjoyed fruit and a small pineapple juice.
After the great breakfast we grabbed our handy Starbucks map that Jimmy had given us and we set out into the big city of Beijing on our own! We hailed a cab and were off to Jingshan Park. Jingshan Park is one of the many famous land marks in Beijing. It is at the top of the Dragon Line that runs through the city. Only famous and monumental buildings can be built upon this line. We walked around the flowers and then climbed to the top of Jingshan hill. At the top of this hill one of the emperors once hanged himself. We walked around the temple, looked at the beautiful golden buddha, and had phenomenal views of the Forbidden City. Jimmy had planned the perfect route so we would literally just walk in straight lines that day. We tried to stay straight...
...it didn't always work out...
As we discovered once we were down at the bottom on Jingshan Park, crossing the street, and wandering into the depths of the Forbidden City. Well, everything started out fantastic and actual the entire day was wonderful. We entered the massive structure. We curved around and didn't go straight so this is where we encountered a few problems (we figured that out later). We ran into a sweet guy (later found out we were maybe scammed) he told us there was a student art show going on in the building next to the one we were next to so he told us to go have a look. Well, Annelyse and I love art so we headed on over. I just recently read in a magazine that you should always buy a piece of art wherever you travel because it will bring back instant moments of happiness you had while you were in that place! I think it is a fantastic idea and so my hobby as an art collector has begun! =D
When we walked in we were warmly greeted by some university students. They told us that they were here in Beijing from Xian and were on a traveling art show in China. They were saving money/making money for a trip to Switzerland with their University art class this summer. Believable or not, I was able to buy some art! It was really fun to look through the pieces of art and we were then on our way.
We walked around in a little bit of another circle, down a few alley ways, and found ourselves back at the beginning. We took a water/Popsicle break and decided to try to get out of the Forbidden City. We were unsure at how big this place really was - clearly! We then made the plan to just follow what Jimmy said and "Just walked straight" that we did and after about an hour or so we found ourselves facing the face of Mao and at the foot of Tienanmen Square. The Forbidden City was massive and fantastic. As I sometimes say in Japan and I guess what Jimmy and his friends say in China once you have seen one temple you have seen them all. In the Forbidden City right when you thought you were finished another courtyard would open up with lots of housing to open up to another massive housing courtyard that then opened into another. It was impressively massive and historical. It was fascinating walking through, we really enjoyed it. Once past the painting and opening gate of the Forbidden City we were walking under the road via a cross way and popped up at the top of Tienanmen Square. We walked and saw Tienanmen Square for a little bit and then decided we needed a break! We hailed a cab to the area of Hou Hai. Jimmy told us to end our day here...
Hou Hai is a gorgeous area of Beijing. It is very peaceful and surrounded by a man made lake, weeping willows, brilliant hot pink flowers, an oriental Starbucks, and lovely cafes. When we first entered the area we were intrigued by this adorable boutique. We went in to see what we could find. We were both still on the search for gifts for friends and family (and ourselves!) I found two things. I found this really beautiful bookmark for Aki and this absolutely fabulous necklace! It has a gold chain (not typically me) and this oh-so-cute green camera charm with a diamond as the shutter. It is so cute! I had to have it (I am wearing it as I write!). Annelyse found a wonderful piece of Jade for her mother. After our adventure into the cute boutique, Annelyse and I were a bit hungry at that point and enjoyed a pumpkin soup and diet coke/ginger ale by the water front. It was so peaceful and of course we enjoyed talking about all the many delightful things we always end up talking about. We sat and relaxed and then decided to walk around only to stop not too much further away from the cafe we were originally at!
We had passed the Cafe Buffalo on our way to the cafe we had just been at. There were fantastic views and seats at this cafe restaurant. We decided to just take our time here because we had nothing else planned and could just enjoy talking, wine, and tapas type foods. So that we did! We ordered appetizers and drinks and sat there enjoying people watching, soaking in Hou Hai, and the atmosphere around us. We spoke for three hours about everything and just enjoyed the moment. This was probably one of my favorite evenings with Annelyse. It was a true, honest talk about life. It was fantastic. While we were at dinner (backing up) we were sitting there looking out over the water and the walkway that was next to us and low and behold a couple that had been in the check-in line in Shanghai with us walked by our cafe. They were an adorable, young couple from Canada (very beautiful couple) and we called them over and talked with them for a little while. It was just so funny because the man said well hopefully we will run into each other in Beijing - AND WE DID! Just my luck!
After dinner we went back to Jimmy's apartment and relaxed. Jimmy was in the middle of finals when we arrived so he was unable to hang out with us the first two days. However, it was nice because it gave Annelyse and I time to discover the city on our own! It was time to rest up for our big day the next day - Olympic Stadium, Summer Palace, Peking University followed with a big night out on the town!
The morning began in an interesting manner. We woke up to no water! I called Jimmy and felt bad because he was about to take an exam (we were able to call Jimmy because he lent us his extra cell phone). He came home quickly and called his land lord. Annelyse and I decided we were not thaaat dirty and could handle ourselves, enjoy the day, and then come back and shower. I took a small bird bath. Jimmy has one of those water tanks you see in offices that have both cold and hot water. so I filled up a bowl and took a bird bath :) and brushed my teeth. It wasn't long until we were out adventuring around. Our first stop on our lovely Starbucks map was the 2008 Beijing Olympic stadium and water cube. We hailed a cab and were off!
Once we arrived at the stadium we had to walk over the over pass to get to the other side. We took many pictures along the way and enjoyed the walk. We discovered the tickets were a bit difficult to obtain because of location. We started on one side and then had to walk around the entire cube to get to the other side to get tickets. Once we finally got tickets we had to walk all the way back around to enter the cube. It was a bit annoying but we did it anyway! It was cool inside, kind of like the feeling you get when you are in an aquarium. I enjoyed the peaceful lighting and going to see the inside of the Olympic swimming pool. After the pool, we walked over to the Birds Nest (Olympic stadium), bought tickets, and went in. I must admit I enjoyed the outside of the stadium much more than the inside of the stadium. The outside is so magnificent with the bent metal beams twisting in and out of one another. The inside looks like a typical American Football stadium - a little disappointed but cool nonetheless!
We stayed in the Olympic area for a few hours because it is quiet spread out! After our fill of Olympic glory we set out on our next adventure to Summer Palace which is about 20 minutes by taxi from the stadium. It was a good opportunity for Annelyse and I to rest our feet and relax from the heat. Beijing is hot but it is dry so it is a comfortable heat unlike hot and humid Japan. Once we got to Summer Palace, I was starving and we were kinda cranky (I was at least) so our first mission was to get food. The problem was that our stupid taxi driver did not drop us at the Summer Palace but rather somewhere really quite far from the palace and we had to walk for what seemed ages before we found anything that remotely resembled the entrance to the Palace. Okay, back on track, so we found a little noodle shop and enjoyed cold noodles while looking out over the beautiful Summer Palace lake. We were people watching and observed this guy writing Kanji with two long sticks that had to have been filled with water and maybe a little ink. He was writing two characters at a time and would explain what they meant to the onlookers. After we finished lunch, we went and enjoyed his demonstration.
Annelyse and I strolled around and wanted to take a boat ride out on the lake. We decided we were too tired to actually pedal a pedal boat and wanted to just be taken across the lake. We walked and enjoyed the views of the architecture and then finally reached a ticket booth for the boat! We bought tickets and boarded this crazy, yellow dragon shaped boat! We were surrounded by Chinese people and it was a bit intense, we sat very close to each other and just smiled at everyone looking at us. We enjoyed the ride and the cool breeze brushing against our skin. We got off the boat and started to find the exit. It is a huge place! Once, outside we found a MARKED taxi and got in. There were a few guys outside the palace gates trying to get us to get into their unmarked cabs (I was thinking YEAH RIGHT sucker!). We were on our way back to Jimmy's to rest up a bit before we were going to meet him at Peking University so we could have a good tour of the campus.
We met Jimmy right at 4 and he took us around to some of his buildings and around this gorgeous area that has a lake and a pagoda. We walked, enjoyed, talked, took pictures, and then headed back to Jimmy's to take showers and rest up before our big night out with Jimmy.
Our night out was wonderful. We started at a place called "Let's Burger" it was the most gourmet burger shop I have ever witnessed/been able to enjoy in my life. Annelyse and I ordered these colossal burgers! They were meat, Foie gras, lettuce, tomato, cheese, avocado sauce, and a shrimp on top! It was delicious and I could only eat half, the other half was saved for a lunch or a snack for the next day. After dinner, Jimmy took us to this cute Mexican Catina in this same area where we enjoyed the burgers. He ordered us the biggest margaritas I have ever consumed! I enjoyed a raspberry margarita ( a real first! ). The restaurant was beautiful with candles and an open roof looking at the stars and the big moon. Annelyse was not feeling well and decided to go home early. Jimmy and I continued on our escapade!
We got Annelyse into a cab and sent her on her way! Jimmy and I went to three more places! We went to this little hole in the wall bar called Butterfly. It was very trendy but so small. He then took me to this rooftop terrace bar/restaurant where we sat outside and enjoyed a live band and caught up on times past! It was wonderful to hang out just with Jimmy. We next moved on to The China Doll. It was a neat bar with cool lighting and music. After that it was time to go home as we were both err...pretty tired! =D
The next morning we all slept in just a bit and then had Carlos (one of Jimmy's fantastically awesome good friends) meet us! We went across town in about a 40 minute taxi to an incredible restaurant called the LAN Club. This place is phenomenal. It is full of funky art and a terrific interior designer! We had lunch here and took turns walking around this museum of a restaurant/club. I am really glad Jimmy took us there - just up his alley and mine too!
After LAN Club, we split off from the boys and went to a place called The Hutongs. The Hutongs are a very ancient place in Beijing. It is the former housing of the elite class in Beijing. The homes are all inter connected and have the same design front. A wash of grey covers the exteriors of these homes to keep with the feeling of one. There is also a contrasting red liner that borders the doors and the walls. In times past, like I said, these were homes for the elite. Today they are filled with some of the 18 million people that occupy Beijing. With the population booming, housing is becoming more scarce. We paid for a tour knowing that they were big and we were short on time. Annelyse had plans to meet with her uncle for dinner and I had plans to help get Jimmy's house party ready for his party he was hosting in the evening.
We paid about $25 for an hour tour + guide of the Hutongs. We enjoyed a rickshaw ride through the narrow, pathed and unpathed alley ways, we saw the daily life of the people living in the Hutongs. We made many stops along the way. We even visited with a woman living in the Hutongs. We were invited into her home to speak with her and enjoy her home. Her husband is an artist so we were able to admire his works. Since I was holding in my mind what I had said about collecting art, I decided to buy one of his pieces. It is a simple ink drawing of a man meditating under the stars. I really just related to this and was very much at peace with this painting. I knew that if I did not buy it I would regret it. It was my favorite thing I bought in Beijing. The tour continued and we became as acquainted with the area as one can only having one hour. It was a peaceful journey and we learned a lot. We stopped and took pictures along the way as the Hutongs/Hou Hai area have many great photo ops. Our tour came to a wonderful end and it was time to hail a cab and get the heck back to Jimmy's!
Annelyse quickly got ready because it took awhile with traffic to get back to Jimmy's place. I took a nap, then took my time getting ready and then Marie (another one of Jimmy's great friends) came over to help with the preparations of the party. Marie and Carlos were my favorite of Jimmy's friends! Marie is from France and Carlos is from Chile. It is fun making such international friends! We were having a Mexican Themed Party! Then people started coming over about 8:30 - 9:00 for the party to begin. Annelyse came back about 10:30 and had had a great evening with her Uncle! They enjoyed Korean BBQ! She came back in the midst of the party, it was fun! I had told myself not to go out but I had met a very cute French guy amongst all the frenchies (Marie & Jimmy too!) and was easily convinced to go out to a dance club. We danced and had such a blast! I did not get home until the sun had come up. We were dancing, smiling, laughing, singing...it was fantastic. I began to regret it only when I had to wake up 2 hours later!
Annelyse came into my room and I was dead to the world asleep and she took a shower and came back in to wake me up. She got a phone call from her uncle tell her that he was going to be at our apartment in 15 minutes. 1-5 M-I-N-U-T-E-S!!!! AAAAA! So I had to fly out of bed take the world's fastest shower, get dressed, and go down stairs! WOOOHA! But we made it and were on our way to guess where: THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA! Annelyse and her uncle had arranged the trip the night before when they were together at his hotel/apartment. We had a personal tour guide and bus shuttle to The Great Wall. We went to a section of the wall called Mutinayu. It is about an hour and a half outside of Beijing. We all slept on the way out there and then tried to wake up just a bit once we arrived. The area was breath taking (literally - ha ha). Our tour guide helped us get tickets and on the cable car we went! We actual rode in the very car that Bill Clinton rode in 1998. Kinda cool! Better him then BUSH! hee hee.
Once we got to the top, we had a talk about how there was an easy way to walk and a difficult way to walk. Our tour guide had more faith in us than I think she should have had and said we should take the difficult route. So, we were off! Tim, Annelyse's uncle, needed to stop and he told us to carry on. We figured we had done Fuji so how hard could this be..right?! RIGHT!? So we were walking and walking for about 45 minutes when we finally got to the VERY HIGH STEEP part of the wall. We looked at each other said oh my (@&*$%&#) how are we going to do this?! We DID FUJI! So we huffed and puffed up. It wasn't until we got to the VERY VERY VERY STEEEEEP stairs that we really had a struggle. Lesson learned: NEVER, and I mean never, climb The GREAT WALL on 2 hours of sleep!! :) Looking back, it was worht the fun but good lord at that time it was insane! We made it to the top and it was victorious!! I felt we had accomplished a lot! It was fantastic! We climbed back down (that was the easy part) and met Tim and the tour guide to go back into Beijing for a lunch at the hotel.
We went to an Italian restaurant in the hotel complex and enjoyed salad and pizza. It was really tastey pizza which is a rarity now that I live in Japan! We don't get the opportunity to eat really good pizza. We took an hour break and then met our tour guide again for 3 hour tour of the HUTONGs. Annelyse and I laughed because we had just done the tour the day before. This time was three hours so it was different in some regards but the exact same in others. But the nice thing is that we ended the tour with a fabulous tea ceremony. We were able to see the art of the Chinese tea ceremony. It is very different then that of the Japanese. We were able to sample 4 different teas. I bought some Jasmine - it was wonderful. After we partook in this event it was time to say good-bye to our adorable guide, hannah (I love how they change their names).
We sat in traffic for a while getting back to Jimmy's apartment. Once we got back we were completely exhausted and decided to pop in a movie and relax. Jimmy was recovering from his birthday and we had a very chilled out evening. We met a few of Jimmy's friends for sushi right down the street. At this point, Annelyse and I were very homesick for Japan. I really enjoyed my time in China and would go again. However, it was time to go back. Eating Japanese food was just the cherry on top of me wanting to go back and have life return to normal. After dinner, we came home and packed up our bags. We went to bed early because we had a very early flight back to Narita. I said my good-byes to Jimmy and his friends and of course told him all the good, sappy stuff you tell people when you have to say good-bye. It was off to sleep for us and home sweet home Japan...
...the next day (our final day) was the straw that broke the camels back! First of all, we had to wake up really early. Since I was ready early, I decided to go get one of those veggie bagels for Annelyse and I to split because we were craving another one! One last one! When I got there, there were so many drunk people from the night before and their orders where in before mine. I waits over 30 minutes FOR A VEGGIE BAGEL! So, I was already in a mood. The night before, we tried finding our terminal online because apparently the two terminals are very far apart. Jimmy was pretty certain that the terminal he directed us to would be okay. Well, our taxi driver gets us there and its the wrong terminal. We had to go find the bus and go back to the other terminal which was about 15 minutes by bus. Once we finally reached the check-in desk it was a major check of our bags and then I didn't have a seat assignment! It just kept going and going with the bad streak...next I got to the gate and they told me the gate was CLOSED (what do you mean?!) and I was like ugh, I need a seat! So FINALLY, I got a seat. Annelyse was sweet and got us Starbucks and then they said you can't bring it on board - WHAT!? What nonsense is that!? THEN, we were ready for take off and going as fast as possible when suddenly our plane came to an earth shattering hault. I was scared out of my brains. I thought we were about to die. Apparently we did not have enough power to take off. We then circled for the next hour waiting to take off. Once in the air, it was one of the most turbulent rides I have ever experienced and then just then after about 5 hours of living hell we found ourselves back in the beautiful glory of Japan. Oh HOME SWEET HOME JAPAN! It was amazing. We laughed when we went through customs because we could speak Japanese again! And read again. It was just so nice to be back!
I had about an hour to kill before my bus back to Itako. So I went to LUSH, a beauty good smell store, and bought a body scrub so I could go home and take a very relaxing bath.
China was incredible. An unforgetable trip. I am so happy I was able to see Becky & Jimmy and spend the trip with Annelyse. I of course would love to share this trip with so many other people but it just isn't possible. It was the trip of a life time and I am looking forward to telling you about my other trips to come. I know that within this next year I am planning on making a trip to Korea and to Okinawa (southern island in Japan).
I can't believe I finally finished writing on this trip! I am sorry it has taken so long but now you can fully enjoy the incredible stories and experiences of Hong Kong, Shanghai, & Beijing. Now all I need to do is add some pictures!
I love you all! I miss you! Until next time...
Monday, June 1, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Sha-Sha-Shanghai! May 2 - 5
Annelyse and I started with a small layover just north of Hong Kong. After getting our luggage and re-checking in we found ourselves in a small cafe before our flight to Shanghai!
Before we knew it, it was time to board our plane and head on to Shanghai. The flight was pretty short. The interesting thing in China is that you get a FULL meal regardless of how long the flight. Even our little jump of a flight from Hong Kong they gave us a huge thing of crackers and bottle water - the flight was only 30 minutes!! At this point, swine flu inspections were in full swing. We were often finding ourselves delayed because of inspection officials needing to do their job.
Once in Shanghai and through baggage claim we got in line for a taxi. We both forgot to exchange money at the airport and the taxi line was moving quickly. Since we were now on mainland China, the currency changed. We hopped in the taxi and showed him we only had credit card. He was a little upset at first and we figured out between the language barrier that we could exchange Japanese Yen for RMB at the hotel - we did just that. After about a 40 minute taxi ride we found ourselves at the ever so lush Sofitel Hyland Shanghai. The hotel is located in a terrific part of town and best of all it was only $100 a night for us to share this amazing room in a 4 star hotel!
We checked-in to the hotel, gave them our passports for copying, and were on our way up to our room! We had intentions of going out since it was Saturday night but decided we needed to take naps first! Before that we decided to go downstairs to ask a few questions and make reservations for the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe and get directions to a few Jazz clubs! Then it was time for a nap...After the first attempt of waking up we decided we did not want to go out and that we had plenty of time to party in Shanghai. I said that we should go get some food and remembered seeing a Haagen Daas downstairs on the main floor of the hotel. So we both got really excited and were cracking up out of being sleep deprived and loopy! We put on jackets and went down stairs.
It was a rainy evening but quite a beautiful view with the neon lights of Shanghai glowing through the haze of the rain. We found ourselves very comfortable and quite content sharing a banana Sunday with 3 scoops of ice cream, 2 bananas, strawberries, almonds, and a little whip cream. It was heavenly and hit the spot for two tired girlies! We then decided that we should have some actual food since we had not eaten dinner yet. We walked out on the main road of Nanjing road. We were hassled by street vendors. We figured out if you say nothing - they go away! We let them stuff themselves with their fake purses and watches. That was my only gripe about Shanghai in the area of our hotel was,"ohh, pretty lady come to my shop I give you good price on watch...purse...etc."...
It was on to "subway" for us. We were tired, it was raining, and we did not feel like figuring out where other food was. We saw it, bought a 6" sub and split that for dinner - it was fantastic. We went back to the hotel and enjoyed the movie "Shallow Hale" it was a cute movie staring Gwenth Paltrow and Jack Black it was then sleepy time for us so we could enjoy our first full day in Shanghai.
The next morning we woke up, showered, watched the news on swine flu, and were out of our hotel to go explore this new city! We first stopped at Madeline's cafe down in the bottom of our hotel to enjoy croissants and then find the subway station so we could start our day. I had found a lot of information online prior to us going to Shanghai. I read up on a street that was chalk full of sweet boutiques and fantastic restaurants. We took the subway a few stops, grabbed a taxi, and were off to this oh so (apparently) cool crossing.
When we first got there we were somewhat unsure which direction to walk in. We started heading West. The area is loaded with embassy's so the roads are sweetly lined with gorgeous trees and little courtyards. Not too long after we began our adventurous walk we came across a nail salon. Annelyse and I looked at each other, started laughing, and went in for a delightful manicure and I also indulged in a polish change on my tootsies :) There was a pair of German friends sitting across from us. We spoke with them for a little while. I also savored a diet coke! Diet coke is impossible and I mean impossible to find in Japan any more. They have added stupid orange flavoring to ever stinking bottle in this country! So, it is better for me not to drink it I know but I was able to really enjoy it in China!
Anyway, after our wonderful morning/early afternoon of being pampered in the adorable, very European salon, we continued our walk down this delightful road. We hit a dead end and decided we needed to just turn around. House after house, shop after shop, we decided to enjoy a delicious Thai lunch. The restaurant was gorgeous. We ate outside near this beautiful canopy with flowers and water surrounding us in every direction. We had our own little private abyss or so it seemed. We savored so many fantastic flavors. We shared spring rolls and two different curries. We even had Thai tea! We were going to enjoy dessert but decided we had a lot more walking to do and we should get a move on.
As we strolled down this glorious, old street, we came across various street vendors. It was nice to see fruits being sold out of a cart. Well, not too much further down the street we ran into a Chocolaterie :) That had my name written all over it!! We went in for a look and came out with a custom box just for us! The lady had prepackaged boxes or we could select various flavored chocolates. It was 10 for about $10. My favorite was the grand mariner flavor - woowha it was good! We continued on down the street for a while longer, grabbed a Starbucks, and then headed on home.
The walk was marvelous, the trees, city people, alley ways, and just having Annelyse by my side was fantastic! She makes quite the travel partner! I really adore her company. A few subway stops later we found ourselves back on Nanjing Road. We headed back to the Sofitel to refresh our feet and ourselves with a nap and some chocolate and about an hour and a half later we were off to the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe!
Annelyse and I dolled ourselves up to the 9s! We wore cute dresses and decided we were going to have a great night out on the town! The evening started in a taxi and ended in a taxi with a few taxis in between! Taxis are the best means of transportation in China. They are quick and cheap! The theater was about 25 minutes away. It was a small theater. It was beautiful with red velvet seats and thick draped curtains. We waited about 20 minutes before the crazy show began.
The show was incredible! From people being thrown around, to being stacked up on each other, to spinning dishes, to jumping through hoops, to balancing acts, it was just phenomenal! After the show we walked around for a bit trying to avoid hobos and grab a cab! It took us a while but we finally went to a hotel, stood in a taxi line, and about 15 minutes later were on our way to the world trade center for a cocktail at the Park Hyatt Hotel! The views would have been amazing had the clouds not been in the way. It was still a gorgeous bar with amazing hospitality. Our cocktails were delicious cocktails entailed something along the lines of egg whites in a silver gin fizz for Annelyse and whiskey and cherries in a Mississippi something another cocktail for me - the combination of our 2 drinks set the mood for an amazingly fun night!
After cocktails it was on to yet another adventure. We went to the ever so beautiful bathroom (seriously, Park Hyatt knows how to create bathrooms) and then went through the lobby to grab another cab to the jazz club we were then going to. Annelyse and I after a while realized that we were back over by the theater where we had just come. Well, apparently our taxi driver could not find the jazz club but fortunately we had the number! The jazz club had moved from that location all the way back over by The Bund and our hotel area. A little annoying but WELL worth the mix up! Annelyse and I are so easy going that it really doesn't matter where we are going.
We finally made it to the House of Jazz & Blues where we spent the rest of this incredible night together! We ordered a few items for dinner. We each had pumpkin soup and for our main entree we split the lasagna! We sat center stage at the Jazz club. We were both in heaven. We are both big fans of Jazz music so this was really fun for us! The artists were mostly from America and there was one guy from Japan. It was a jam band type session and different artists kept cycling in and out of sets. Well, me being me, I got up and asked one of the guys that was not playing at the time if Annelyse could get up and sing on stage. Low and behold she closed out the night with the band singing, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". It was a perfect ending to our amazing day! I have the song on video but think its too big to upload on to here. We finally made it home after some great wine and good music!! It was good night for us and on to temples in the morning.
In the morning, we started out a little slow and a little broken as we were having a little difficulty figuring out the subway system. But we finally got back on track! We started our day at a very famous temple in Shanghai called Longhua Temple. It is about 1,700 years old. We enjoyed the pagoda, the temple, all the small rooms within the temple, and saw some Buddhist monks hard at work. It was interesting for me to see people praying. This is a new experience for me to witness Buddhism and the rituals that go along with it. I also enjoy Chinese architecture with the extreme roof tops and beautiful colors.
After Longhua temple, it was on to the Jade temple for us! At the Jade Buddha temple we experienced a bit of haggling but I ignored it as best as I could. We went in and enjoyed the Buddha. I was very offended by a German at this site so I am trying to block this part of the day out of my mind as best as possible. I personally enjoyed the red lanterns against the yellow painted walls with the dark wood lining - it was striking. I also enjoyed seeing the monks in their traditional, ornate garb - it was beautiful.
After the Jade Buddha temple, it was on to Yu Garden and Bazaar. We had not had lunch yet and it was nearing 3 o'clock but I was just really in a bad mood after the Jade Buddha temple. Once we reached Yu Garden we walked around for a place to eat. We found a dim sum place and enjoyed a cheap lunch there followed by a frappacino to brighten myself up! It was then heading into the "bazaar", a fascinating market place in Shanghai. The architecture was just beautiful there. Red buildings and strong, striking rooftops surrounded by canals of water - just gorgeous.
Annelyse and I had a great time bargaining through the market place. I made out like a bandit! I bought several things for myself, my family, and of course omiagye for teachers/friends back in Japan! After we finished at the Yu Bazaar it was time to head back to the hotel for a nice little rest before another incredible night out in Shanghai!
We dressed up one more night. This time we were headed for The Bund for a dinner reservation at the New Heights restaurant out on their patio. We wore dark jeans and cute tops :) We enjoyed spectacular views of Shanghai at night - it was a breath taking view over The Bund, the harbor, and the TV tower. We enjoyed duck spring rolls (YUM) and a delicious seafood, glass noodle, curry type dish. The restaurant was very chic and we sat under tall heaters and took in what was all around us. We sat and talked for a long time as we seem to do :) We are just so excellent at keep each other company!
After dinner we went downstairs and across the street to Glamour Bar at M on The Bund! We had such a blast at this little lounge bar! We ordered wine and gin & tonics (our staples) and took in this adorable little bar. At one point we both had our boogie shoes on and felt like dancing, so we did! hee hee! We stayed and people watched and observed the "interestingness" of this bar. The bar counter and above was entirely made of mirrors. There were tons of interesting angles! After dinner and the bar we headed over to Rouge bar which was on our way home. We did not have a drink there but just admired the views. The neatest part was the walk up to the bar once inside the building. There was a spiral staircase that had a bike statue that consisted of bikes interwoven with one another - pretty cool!
Then it was time to wrap things up...we needed to go back to Sofitel and get our beauty rest as it was time to pack up and head out to Beijing!
Shanghai was amazing and now that I am back in Japan talking about it, I would go again. When I was in China I wasn't sure if I'd go back again. I of course have many other places I need to go first BUT I would go back to Shanghai...
Next up - Beijing!
Before we knew it, it was time to board our plane and head on to Shanghai. The flight was pretty short. The interesting thing in China is that you get a FULL meal regardless of how long the flight. Even our little jump of a flight from Hong Kong they gave us a huge thing of crackers and bottle water - the flight was only 30 minutes!! At this point, swine flu inspections were in full swing. We were often finding ourselves delayed because of inspection officials needing to do their job.
Once in Shanghai and through baggage claim we got in line for a taxi. We both forgot to exchange money at the airport and the taxi line was moving quickly. Since we were now on mainland China, the currency changed. We hopped in the taxi and showed him we only had credit card. He was a little upset at first and we figured out between the language barrier that we could exchange Japanese Yen for RMB at the hotel - we did just that. After about a 40 minute taxi ride we found ourselves at the ever so lush Sofitel Hyland Shanghai. The hotel is located in a terrific part of town and best of all it was only $100 a night for us to share this amazing room in a 4 star hotel!
We checked-in to the hotel, gave them our passports for copying, and were on our way up to our room! We had intentions of going out since it was Saturday night but decided we needed to take naps first! Before that we decided to go downstairs to ask a few questions and make reservations for the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe and get directions to a few Jazz clubs! Then it was time for a nap...After the first attempt of waking up we decided we did not want to go out and that we had plenty of time to party in Shanghai. I said that we should go get some food and remembered seeing a Haagen Daas downstairs on the main floor of the hotel. So we both got really excited and were cracking up out of being sleep deprived and loopy! We put on jackets and went down stairs.
It was a rainy evening but quite a beautiful view with the neon lights of Shanghai glowing through the haze of the rain. We found ourselves very comfortable and quite content sharing a banana Sunday with 3 scoops of ice cream, 2 bananas, strawberries, almonds, and a little whip cream. It was heavenly and hit the spot for two tired girlies! We then decided that we should have some actual food since we had not eaten dinner yet. We walked out on the main road of Nanjing road. We were hassled by street vendors. We figured out if you say nothing - they go away! We let them stuff themselves with their fake purses and watches. That was my only gripe about Shanghai in the area of our hotel was,"ohh, pretty lady come to my shop I give you good price on watch...purse...etc."...
It was on to "subway" for us. We were tired, it was raining, and we did not feel like figuring out where other food was. We saw it, bought a 6" sub and split that for dinner - it was fantastic. We went back to the hotel and enjoyed the movie "Shallow Hale" it was a cute movie staring Gwenth Paltrow and Jack Black it was then sleepy time for us so we could enjoy our first full day in Shanghai.
The next morning we woke up, showered, watched the news on swine flu, and were out of our hotel to go explore this new city! We first stopped at Madeline's cafe down in the bottom of our hotel to enjoy croissants and then find the subway station so we could start our day. I had found a lot of information online prior to us going to Shanghai. I read up on a street that was chalk full of sweet boutiques and fantastic restaurants. We took the subway a few stops, grabbed a taxi, and were off to this oh so (apparently) cool crossing.
When we first got there we were somewhat unsure which direction to walk in. We started heading West. The area is loaded with embassy's so the roads are sweetly lined with gorgeous trees and little courtyards. Not too long after we began our adventurous walk we came across a nail salon. Annelyse and I looked at each other, started laughing, and went in for a delightful manicure and I also indulged in a polish change on my tootsies :) There was a pair of German friends sitting across from us. We spoke with them for a little while. I also savored a diet coke! Diet coke is impossible and I mean impossible to find in Japan any more. They have added stupid orange flavoring to ever stinking bottle in this country! So, it is better for me not to drink it I know but I was able to really enjoy it in China!
Anyway, after our wonderful morning/early afternoon of being pampered in the adorable, very European salon, we continued our walk down this delightful road. We hit a dead end and decided we needed to just turn around. House after house, shop after shop, we decided to enjoy a delicious Thai lunch. The restaurant was gorgeous. We ate outside near this beautiful canopy with flowers and water surrounding us in every direction. We had our own little private abyss or so it seemed. We savored so many fantastic flavors. We shared spring rolls and two different curries. We even had Thai tea! We were going to enjoy dessert but decided we had a lot more walking to do and we should get a move on.
As we strolled down this glorious, old street, we came across various street vendors. It was nice to see fruits being sold out of a cart. Well, not too much further down the street we ran into a Chocolaterie :) That had my name written all over it!! We went in for a look and came out with a custom box just for us! The lady had prepackaged boxes or we could select various flavored chocolates. It was 10 for about $10. My favorite was the grand mariner flavor - woowha it was good! We continued on down the street for a while longer, grabbed a Starbucks, and then headed on home.
The walk was marvelous, the trees, city people, alley ways, and just having Annelyse by my side was fantastic! She makes quite the travel partner! I really adore her company. A few subway stops later we found ourselves back on Nanjing Road. We headed back to the Sofitel to refresh our feet and ourselves with a nap and some chocolate and about an hour and a half later we were off to the Shanghai Acrobatic Troupe!
Annelyse and I dolled ourselves up to the 9s! We wore cute dresses and decided we were going to have a great night out on the town! The evening started in a taxi and ended in a taxi with a few taxis in between! Taxis are the best means of transportation in China. They are quick and cheap! The theater was about 25 minutes away. It was a small theater. It was beautiful with red velvet seats and thick draped curtains. We waited about 20 minutes before the crazy show began.
The show was incredible! From people being thrown around, to being stacked up on each other, to spinning dishes, to jumping through hoops, to balancing acts, it was just phenomenal! After the show we walked around for a bit trying to avoid hobos and grab a cab! It took us a while but we finally went to a hotel, stood in a taxi line, and about 15 minutes later were on our way to the world trade center for a cocktail at the Park Hyatt Hotel! The views would have been amazing had the clouds not been in the way. It was still a gorgeous bar with amazing hospitality. Our cocktails were delicious cocktails entailed something along the lines of egg whites in a silver gin fizz for Annelyse and whiskey and cherries in a Mississippi something another cocktail for me - the combination of our 2 drinks set the mood for an amazingly fun night!
After cocktails it was on to yet another adventure. We went to the ever so beautiful bathroom (seriously, Park Hyatt knows how to create bathrooms) and then went through the lobby to grab another cab to the jazz club we were then going to. Annelyse and I after a while realized that we were back over by the theater where we had just come. Well, apparently our taxi driver could not find the jazz club but fortunately we had the number! The jazz club had moved from that location all the way back over by The Bund and our hotel area. A little annoying but WELL worth the mix up! Annelyse and I are so easy going that it really doesn't matter where we are going.
We finally made it to the House of Jazz & Blues where we spent the rest of this incredible night together! We ordered a few items for dinner. We each had pumpkin soup and for our main entree we split the lasagna! We sat center stage at the Jazz club. We were both in heaven. We are both big fans of Jazz music so this was really fun for us! The artists were mostly from America and there was one guy from Japan. It was a jam band type session and different artists kept cycling in and out of sets. Well, me being me, I got up and asked one of the guys that was not playing at the time if Annelyse could get up and sing on stage. Low and behold she closed out the night with the band singing, "Somewhere Over the Rainbow". It was a perfect ending to our amazing day! I have the song on video but think its too big to upload on to here. We finally made it home after some great wine and good music!! It was good night for us and on to temples in the morning.
In the morning, we started out a little slow and a little broken as we were having a little difficulty figuring out the subway system. But we finally got back on track! We started our day at a very famous temple in Shanghai called Longhua Temple. It is about 1,700 years old. We enjoyed the pagoda, the temple, all the small rooms within the temple, and saw some Buddhist monks hard at work. It was interesting for me to see people praying. This is a new experience for me to witness Buddhism and the rituals that go along with it. I also enjoy Chinese architecture with the extreme roof tops and beautiful colors.
After Longhua temple, it was on to the Jade temple for us! At the Jade Buddha temple we experienced a bit of haggling but I ignored it as best as I could. We went in and enjoyed the Buddha. I was very offended by a German at this site so I am trying to block this part of the day out of my mind as best as possible. I personally enjoyed the red lanterns against the yellow painted walls with the dark wood lining - it was striking. I also enjoyed seeing the monks in their traditional, ornate garb - it was beautiful.
After the Jade Buddha temple, it was on to Yu Garden and Bazaar. We had not had lunch yet and it was nearing 3 o'clock but I was just really in a bad mood after the Jade Buddha temple. Once we reached Yu Garden we walked around for a place to eat. We found a dim sum place and enjoyed a cheap lunch there followed by a frappacino to brighten myself up! It was then heading into the "bazaar", a fascinating market place in Shanghai. The architecture was just beautiful there. Red buildings and strong, striking rooftops surrounded by canals of water - just gorgeous.
Annelyse and I had a great time bargaining through the market place. I made out like a bandit! I bought several things for myself, my family, and of course omiagye for teachers/friends back in Japan! After we finished at the Yu Bazaar it was time to head back to the hotel for a nice little rest before another incredible night out in Shanghai!
We dressed up one more night. This time we were headed for The Bund for a dinner reservation at the New Heights restaurant out on their patio. We wore dark jeans and cute tops :) We enjoyed spectacular views of Shanghai at night - it was a breath taking view over The Bund, the harbor, and the TV tower. We enjoyed duck spring rolls (YUM) and a delicious seafood, glass noodle, curry type dish. The restaurant was very chic and we sat under tall heaters and took in what was all around us. We sat and talked for a long time as we seem to do :) We are just so excellent at keep each other company!
After dinner we went downstairs and across the street to Glamour Bar at M on The Bund! We had such a blast at this little lounge bar! We ordered wine and gin & tonics (our staples) and took in this adorable little bar. At one point we both had our boogie shoes on and felt like dancing, so we did! hee hee! We stayed and people watched and observed the "interestingness" of this bar. The bar counter and above was entirely made of mirrors. There were tons of interesting angles! After dinner and the bar we headed over to Rouge bar which was on our way home. We did not have a drink there but just admired the views. The neatest part was the walk up to the bar once inside the building. There was a spiral staircase that had a bike statue that consisted of bikes interwoven with one another - pretty cool!
Then it was time to wrap things up...we needed to go back to Sofitel and get our beauty rest as it was time to pack up and head out to Beijing!
Shanghai was amazing and now that I am back in Japan talking about it, I would go again. When I was in China I wasn't sure if I'd go back again. I of course have many other places I need to go first BUT I would go back to Shanghai...
Next up - Beijing!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Here We Go! Golden Week 2009 ~ Hong Kong: April 29 - May 2nd =D
Bare with me as this will take me some time to fully explain the entire trip. I will update then update again and then probably update again. I have been extremely busy these past two weeks since being back in Japan. We have now started the beginning of the Ayame (Iris) festival and I am very busy with that along with school, Japanese class, and Ikebana.
Okay now that that is finished I can begin =D
Annelyse and I met at the airport around 4:30 on Wednesday April 29th. We had been excitedly awaiting this trip for so long and the day was finally here and ours! We killed a bit of time at the airport by exchanging Japanese Yen to Hong Kong Dollars. We also went to the book store and indulged in some Starbucks! Starbucks is a delicacy for us as it is a treat because we don't have it at our finger tips like we do back in the states. I like that because it saves me money and calories! After doing a few things at Narita it was time to sit at the gate and get ready to board! We were disappointed as we were not sitting next to each other on the plane :( Because of the swine flu they had to put the flight to a halt for an hour - ugh. After an hour we finally took off around 7:30. The flight was four hours long and we were able to enjoy our special meals as we had checked the box on the Internet check-out page for our reservation that we wanted low salt meals :). I watched the movie "Doubt". My dad had told me what a great flick it was. So, I decided to check it out - it was fantastic! Having gone to an all girls Catholic school it brought back memories but also brought about the issue of priests and the speculations of little boys. It was very well done and Meryl Strep was good as always.
*Four hours later* Annelyse and I found ourselves in Hong Kong! Becky, a good friend from Lake Forest, met us at the airport. However, she was not there when we immediately got off the plane. Luckily, the couple that was sitting next to me on the plane saw us and asked if we needed to borrow their cell phone. Fortunately, we were able to get a hold of Becky and she was about 5 minutes away! We bought tickets to go into the Wanchai area of Hong Kong. It took about half an hour I'd say to get to her area of town. We then took a really cheap taxi cab to her apartment. It is unbelievable to see how cheap taxis are and all transportation for that matter!
After arriving at Becky's apartment, we waited a few minutes before going upstairs because we needed to give them our passport to copy so they knew we were with Becky. Becky's flat, I should say, is incredible. It is paid for by her law firm :) Since Hong Kong was once a territory of England her apartment has very much the feel of a flat in London. It is a fully furnished apartment with the works! I was expecting a so so apartment but was sure wrong! :) After setting our bags down, Becky gave us a tour of the complex and took us upstairs to the outdoor terrace to give us a great view of Hong Kong at night. She pointed out some good restaurants, the train station, Victoria Peak, and gave us good directions and advice to get around the city.
We went back downstairs and chatted until about 3:30 in the morning. Keep in mind that we did not even land until about 11:00 -11:30.
On Thursday, Becky had work and Annelyse and I slept in until about 9:00, I think (this is now about a month ago and I am recalling what I can!). We took showers and made ourselves cute as we were venturing into a new city! We left around 11 and went to The Flying Pan, a restaurant that Becky recommended for good western style food. Annelyse and I walked over, about 5 minutes from Becky's apartment, and enjoyed this delicious restaurant. We split an eggs Benedict, juices, fruit, and coffee. It was a fantastic way to jump start our day and our trip. I must say that Annelyse really is the ultimate travel buddy. She is so even tempered and just goes with the flow of things. We work really well together. I am going to miss her because it is so hard to find people that you FULLY click with.
After an hour or so we were on the road again, walking :) We headed towards the harbor so we could cross over into Kowloon via the ferry. We, of course, had our Starbucks fix. We each tried an steamed almond soy milk latte. It was interesting :). We arrived at the ferry after walking for a bit and bought tickets. So cheap! It was only 2.30 Hong Kong Dollars which is not even 50 cents to travel across the way.
Once we arrived we asked for directions to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. On our way, we were distracted...We walked into this little mall and found all sorts of ivory! It was really interesting to see the intricate detail of the ivory from the carving to the detail of ivory painting. We stayed in there for a while because it was like a mini museum of ivory. After that lovely distraction we were off to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery via the train. Once again so cheap! :) After about 30 minutes we were at the Monastery. It is to be found on top of one of the beautiful hills surrounding Hong Kong. Annelyse took a cab to the Monastery because the station master said it was a 15 minute walk, we did not know where we were going, taxis are cheap, and we were some what short on time!
...30 seconds later we were at the Monastery. Okay like a minute, literally! It was so funny. The cab driver gave us the funniest look like you stupid foreigners its right there! But we didn't know and the cab only cost us $2! We took pictures all the way up to the top of the hill. Buddha was certainly happy! It was really neat to see all the different faces of Buddha :) We definitely had some fun with them. We were naming them all the way up and down. We even took our picture with a few of them! We stayed about an hour before we needed to head back down and take a train back to the Kowloon stop to go back over to Wanchai to meet Becky!
We took a cab from the harbor over to Becky's work. Hong Kong by taxi is fun! It is a great way to see the city for a great price! Hong Kong is chalk full of designer duds, lush accommodations, and gorgeous high rises! Traffic was pretty bad over to Becky's office. Here is when I want to tell you about Becky and her job. Becky and I had mutual friend at LFC and became friends when I was a freshman and she was a junior :) We were both really good friends with the Delta Chi boys at LFC. After she graduated from LFC she began working with Meyer Brown Law Firm in Chicago. Last year she was offered the same position in HK for 6 months and so she took it! She has been in Hong Kong since January and has really loved the change! She has the opportunity to extend her contract but I am not sure whether she will do that or not. SOOO....
We finally reached her building and met her co-workers! We went out for a fantastic 8 course + extra meal at the Peking Garden restaurant. It was by far our most expensive meal the entire trip and rightly so! We enjoyed all sorts of traditional Chinese food and even Peking Duck and Beggar's chicken! Beggar's chicken is a old tradition dating way back to...who knows when :) ANYWAY, it is wrapped in lotus leaves, dipped in mud and then baked! It is the most delicious chicken I think I have ever eaten. It was so tender and savory! :) It was fantastic!
After our very long, delicious dinner it was time to take the trolley up to an adorable lounge called Sparks! :) Hong Kong is very hilly :) The are we went to was built up on a hill. It was like stairs. There would be an opening then a road then go up further then an opening with another road. It was so quaint! We enjoyed delicious champagne cocktails, talked for a few hours, and enjoyed great company! It was another really late night but fortunately we slept in just a bit and Friday was a holiday for Hong Kong so Becky was luckily able to hang out with us all day long!! :)
Friday was quite the adventure again! We started the morning with showers and egg tarts! Egg tarts are officially my new savory/sweet treat! It is a pastry shell with a custard egg filling - amazing! Thank goodness we were walking all over the place! After the little savory treat it was on to The Flying Pan once more! :) I enjoyed eggs rancheros :) Something I definitely can not get in Japan! or well not as easily as I was able to get in Hong Kong!
It was time for our adventure up Victoria Peak! We stood in line and bought tickets to take the train up to the top of Victoria Peak. WOW! What a fantastic time we had! We started the day at Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. Becky had never been and Annelyse went last summer in D.C. I had made my way to a the wax museum in New York when I was a senior in high school! We had an absolutely blast taking pictures with the stars and playing dress up! We came to this one dancer and there was a room to put on tutus. I decided to wear the bright pink tutu through the entire exhibit! We took pictures with people like Brad and Angelina, Sumo Wrestlers, Tiger Woods, Obama, The Royal Family, Hitler, Picasso, Rembrandt, and my personal favorite, me punching George Bush in the face :) It was a nice feeling! We spent so much time in there just joking around and having fun! We even went through the SCREAM haunted house. It was really scary! We had to hold on to each other's shoulders because people and objects would jump out at us and they didn't want us grabbing at the people that jumped out at us! We were laughing and screaming the entire time! When we exited, David Beckham was standing there (in his sexy wax self) and I went in for a hug! hee hee. We finished the museum and bought a few pictures for fun!
It was then up to the observation deck! The day could not have been more beautiful! The wind was fantastic and the sun was out and bright! We had such a fun time with Becky! THANK YOU BECKY for showing us such a great time on Friday (this was only the afternoon and I am not even done!) After the museum and the peak we enjoyed ice cream in waffle cones, bought drinks, and were headed back down the mountain! I am really glad we were able to see the mountain! Once we were down off the mountain Becky took us to this really beautiful part of Hong Kong. It was probably my favorite part of Hong Kong because the views reminded me of Greece.
We took a bus over to Stanley Market area. The bus winded in and out and around the hills. There were mansions and gorgeous views of the water below. The sun was kissing the waves as the sun was beginning to set over the island of Hong Kong. Stanley has a really fantastic market and great restaurants! Once we arrived we started walking through the market place :) I made my first attempts at bargaining at this cute little silk shop where Annelyse decided to try on a traditional, silk dress :) which she ended up buying and I am so glad she did! I had been seeing silk robes around the day before and earlier in the day on Friday. I decided I wanted one and therefore looked in this little shop! I saw it and it was mine! It is a royal blue silk with gorgeous flowers and a peacock - pictures to come! I bargained down just a little bit. I felt a little strange doing it but it worked! :) Since I asked they just gave the price to Annelyse. So I ended up buying a gorgeous silk robe for $25!!! I am sure I still got ripped off but in America that robe would cost a ton! along with Annelye's dress!!
We continued to walk around the market and then walked along the water front. The sun had almost fully set when we walked out of the market place. We decided we needed to figure out dinner because it was almost 7:00 and we needed to back up time, etc. in terms of going back and going out with Becky to Felix Bar at the Peninsula Hotel. We found an adorable Western/Asian Fusion restaurant on the water front. I along with Becky enjoyed an incredible curry meal. Annelyse ordered the set menu with all sorts of goodies! The windows were open, a cool air creeped its way in, we had fantastic conversation, and a great time all together. Stanley market is a must go if you ever go to Hong Kong! I am glad that we had Becky because we would have definitely not gone to this keep sake because we would have not know about it!
After dinner we worked our way back up to the bus. After our very windy trip back to Wanchai it was time to get ready to go out and wake Annelyse up! It took a tiny bit of convincing but not much because I am really over getting people to go out. If you want to go you will go, if not you won't! It's that simple and not worth my energy of getting you to come or not! We'd love to have you but its your choice in the end of it all! In the end, after hardly any convincing we went out to the Felix Bar. Now, John had told me this bar was a must go! The bar was nice but not the best. He said the bathrooms were incredible. However, they are different from the girls. He didn't know that but based on his description and what I experienced they are most definitely different! It was still fun to go to the #1 bar in Hong Kong! After we enjoyed our cocktails we went back to Wanchai and walked around in "college" central. It seemed like a row of bars you'd find in a college town. We each had one more drink and then called it a day! Back to Becky's place we went to then sleep and wake up to a new experience!
On Saturday morning, we packed and took our stuff to this really neat check in service. It is a service in the center of town that takes your luggage for you to the airport. It is a real check-in counter just doesn't have the plane there. It is so you do not have to lug your baggage everywhere. Once we had our luggage squared away it was off to a breakfast/brunch/lunch of dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Chinese way of eating. Dim sum consists of different entrees that are served on carts that come around the restaurant. The ladies offer different things from rice, to soup, to chicken, to pork, and little dough stuffed pastries filled with meat! It was a really fun experience and so China! It was my first time with anything like this. Annelyse had experineced this before back in the states. It was an fantastic way to finish our time in Hong Kong with Becky.
I'd definitely go back to Hong Kong especially since you do not need a visa! :) It was then off to the airport via the train and on our way to our next CRAZY adventure in Shanghai! Shanghai we were on our own :) I have another university friend in Shanghai but things did not work out to see him.
Stay tuned, Shanghai is up next!!
Okay now that that is finished I can begin =D
Annelyse and I met at the airport around 4:30 on Wednesday April 29th. We had been excitedly awaiting this trip for so long and the day was finally here and ours! We killed a bit of time at the airport by exchanging Japanese Yen to Hong Kong Dollars. We also went to the book store and indulged in some Starbucks! Starbucks is a delicacy for us as it is a treat because we don't have it at our finger tips like we do back in the states. I like that because it saves me money and calories! After doing a few things at Narita it was time to sit at the gate and get ready to board! We were disappointed as we were not sitting next to each other on the plane :( Because of the swine flu they had to put the flight to a halt for an hour - ugh. After an hour we finally took off around 7:30. The flight was four hours long and we were able to enjoy our special meals as we had checked the box on the Internet check-out page for our reservation that we wanted low salt meals :). I watched the movie "Doubt". My dad had told me what a great flick it was. So, I decided to check it out - it was fantastic! Having gone to an all girls Catholic school it brought back memories but also brought about the issue of priests and the speculations of little boys. It was very well done and Meryl Strep was good as always.
*Four hours later* Annelyse and I found ourselves in Hong Kong! Becky, a good friend from Lake Forest, met us at the airport. However, she was not there when we immediately got off the plane. Luckily, the couple that was sitting next to me on the plane saw us and asked if we needed to borrow their cell phone. Fortunately, we were able to get a hold of Becky and she was about 5 minutes away! We bought tickets to go into the Wanchai area of Hong Kong. It took about half an hour I'd say to get to her area of town. We then took a really cheap taxi cab to her apartment. It is unbelievable to see how cheap taxis are and all transportation for that matter!
After arriving at Becky's apartment, we waited a few minutes before going upstairs because we needed to give them our passport to copy so they knew we were with Becky. Becky's flat, I should say, is incredible. It is paid for by her law firm :) Since Hong Kong was once a territory of England her apartment has very much the feel of a flat in London. It is a fully furnished apartment with the works! I was expecting a so so apartment but was sure wrong! :) After setting our bags down, Becky gave us a tour of the complex and took us upstairs to the outdoor terrace to give us a great view of Hong Kong at night. She pointed out some good restaurants, the train station, Victoria Peak, and gave us good directions and advice to get around the city.
We went back downstairs and chatted until about 3:30 in the morning. Keep in mind that we did not even land until about 11:00 -11:30.
On Thursday, Becky had work and Annelyse and I slept in until about 9:00, I think (this is now about a month ago and I am recalling what I can!). We took showers and made ourselves cute as we were venturing into a new city! We left around 11 and went to The Flying Pan, a restaurant that Becky recommended for good western style food. Annelyse and I walked over, about 5 minutes from Becky's apartment, and enjoyed this delicious restaurant. We split an eggs Benedict, juices, fruit, and coffee. It was a fantastic way to jump start our day and our trip. I must say that Annelyse really is the ultimate travel buddy. She is so even tempered and just goes with the flow of things. We work really well together. I am going to miss her because it is so hard to find people that you FULLY click with.
After an hour or so we were on the road again, walking :) We headed towards the harbor so we could cross over into Kowloon via the ferry. We, of course, had our Starbucks fix. We each tried an steamed almond soy milk latte. It was interesting :). We arrived at the ferry after walking for a bit and bought tickets. So cheap! It was only 2.30 Hong Kong Dollars which is not even 50 cents to travel across the way.
Once we arrived we asked for directions to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery. On our way, we were distracted...We walked into this little mall and found all sorts of ivory! It was really interesting to see the intricate detail of the ivory from the carving to the detail of ivory painting. We stayed in there for a while because it was like a mini museum of ivory. After that lovely distraction we were off to the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery via the train. Once again so cheap! :) After about 30 minutes we were at the Monastery. It is to be found on top of one of the beautiful hills surrounding Hong Kong. Annelyse took a cab to the Monastery because the station master said it was a 15 minute walk, we did not know where we were going, taxis are cheap, and we were some what short on time!
...30 seconds later we were at the Monastery. Okay like a minute, literally! It was so funny. The cab driver gave us the funniest look like you stupid foreigners its right there! But we didn't know and the cab only cost us $2! We took pictures all the way up to the top of the hill. Buddha was certainly happy! It was really neat to see all the different faces of Buddha :) We definitely had some fun with them. We were naming them all the way up and down. We even took our picture with a few of them! We stayed about an hour before we needed to head back down and take a train back to the Kowloon stop to go back over to Wanchai to meet Becky!
We took a cab from the harbor over to Becky's work. Hong Kong by taxi is fun! It is a great way to see the city for a great price! Hong Kong is chalk full of designer duds, lush accommodations, and gorgeous high rises! Traffic was pretty bad over to Becky's office. Here is when I want to tell you about Becky and her job. Becky and I had mutual friend at LFC and became friends when I was a freshman and she was a junior :) We were both really good friends with the Delta Chi boys at LFC. After she graduated from LFC she began working with Meyer Brown Law Firm in Chicago. Last year she was offered the same position in HK for 6 months and so she took it! She has been in Hong Kong since January and has really loved the change! She has the opportunity to extend her contract but I am not sure whether she will do that or not. SOOO....
We finally reached her building and met her co-workers! We went out for a fantastic 8 course + extra meal at the Peking Garden restaurant. It was by far our most expensive meal the entire trip and rightly so! We enjoyed all sorts of traditional Chinese food and even Peking Duck and Beggar's chicken! Beggar's chicken is a old tradition dating way back to...who knows when :) ANYWAY, it is wrapped in lotus leaves, dipped in mud and then baked! It is the most delicious chicken I think I have ever eaten. It was so tender and savory! :) It was fantastic!
After our very long, delicious dinner it was time to take the trolley up to an adorable lounge called Sparks! :) Hong Kong is very hilly :) The are we went to was built up on a hill. It was like stairs. There would be an opening then a road then go up further then an opening with another road. It was so quaint! We enjoyed delicious champagne cocktails, talked for a few hours, and enjoyed great company! It was another really late night but fortunately we slept in just a bit and Friday was a holiday for Hong Kong so Becky was luckily able to hang out with us all day long!! :)
Friday was quite the adventure again! We started the morning with showers and egg tarts! Egg tarts are officially my new savory/sweet treat! It is a pastry shell with a custard egg filling - amazing! Thank goodness we were walking all over the place! After the little savory treat it was on to The Flying Pan once more! :) I enjoyed eggs rancheros :) Something I definitely can not get in Japan! or well not as easily as I was able to get in Hong Kong!
It was time for our adventure up Victoria Peak! We stood in line and bought tickets to take the train up to the top of Victoria Peak. WOW! What a fantastic time we had! We started the day at Madame Tussuad's Wax Museum. Becky had never been and Annelyse went last summer in D.C. I had made my way to a the wax museum in New York when I was a senior in high school! We had an absolutely blast taking pictures with the stars and playing dress up! We came to this one dancer and there was a room to put on tutus. I decided to wear the bright pink tutu through the entire exhibit! We took pictures with people like Brad and Angelina, Sumo Wrestlers, Tiger Woods, Obama, The Royal Family, Hitler, Picasso, Rembrandt, and my personal favorite, me punching George Bush in the face :) It was a nice feeling! We spent so much time in there just joking around and having fun! We even went through the SCREAM haunted house. It was really scary! We had to hold on to each other's shoulders because people and objects would jump out at us and they didn't want us grabbing at the people that jumped out at us! We were laughing and screaming the entire time! When we exited, David Beckham was standing there (in his sexy wax self) and I went in for a hug! hee hee. We finished the museum and bought a few pictures for fun!
It was then up to the observation deck! The day could not have been more beautiful! The wind was fantastic and the sun was out and bright! We had such a fun time with Becky! THANK YOU BECKY for showing us such a great time on Friday (this was only the afternoon and I am not even done!) After the museum and the peak we enjoyed ice cream in waffle cones, bought drinks, and were headed back down the mountain! I am really glad we were able to see the mountain! Once we were down off the mountain Becky took us to this really beautiful part of Hong Kong. It was probably my favorite part of Hong Kong because the views reminded me of Greece.
We took a bus over to Stanley Market area. The bus winded in and out and around the hills. There were mansions and gorgeous views of the water below. The sun was kissing the waves as the sun was beginning to set over the island of Hong Kong. Stanley has a really fantastic market and great restaurants! Once we arrived we started walking through the market place :) I made my first attempts at bargaining at this cute little silk shop where Annelyse decided to try on a traditional, silk dress :) which she ended up buying and I am so glad she did! I had been seeing silk robes around the day before and earlier in the day on Friday. I decided I wanted one and therefore looked in this little shop! I saw it and it was mine! It is a royal blue silk with gorgeous flowers and a peacock - pictures to come! I bargained down just a little bit. I felt a little strange doing it but it worked! :) Since I asked they just gave the price to Annelyse. So I ended up buying a gorgeous silk robe for $25!!! I am sure I still got ripped off but in America that robe would cost a ton! along with Annelye's dress!!
We continued to walk around the market and then walked along the water front. The sun had almost fully set when we walked out of the market place. We decided we needed to figure out dinner because it was almost 7:00 and we needed to back up time, etc. in terms of going back and going out with Becky to Felix Bar at the Peninsula Hotel. We found an adorable Western/Asian Fusion restaurant on the water front. I along with Becky enjoyed an incredible curry meal. Annelyse ordered the set menu with all sorts of goodies! The windows were open, a cool air creeped its way in, we had fantastic conversation, and a great time all together. Stanley market is a must go if you ever go to Hong Kong! I am glad that we had Becky because we would have definitely not gone to this keep sake because we would have not know about it!
After dinner we worked our way back up to the bus. After our very windy trip back to Wanchai it was time to get ready to go out and wake Annelyse up! It took a tiny bit of convincing but not much because I am really over getting people to go out. If you want to go you will go, if not you won't! It's that simple and not worth my energy of getting you to come or not! We'd love to have you but its your choice in the end of it all! In the end, after hardly any convincing we went out to the Felix Bar. Now, John had told me this bar was a must go! The bar was nice but not the best. He said the bathrooms were incredible. However, they are different from the girls. He didn't know that but based on his description and what I experienced they are most definitely different! It was still fun to go to the #1 bar in Hong Kong! After we enjoyed our cocktails we went back to Wanchai and walked around in "college" central. It seemed like a row of bars you'd find in a college town. We each had one more drink and then called it a day! Back to Becky's place we went to then sleep and wake up to a new experience!
On Saturday morning, we packed and took our stuff to this really neat check in service. It is a service in the center of town that takes your luggage for you to the airport. It is a real check-in counter just doesn't have the plane there. It is so you do not have to lug your baggage everywhere. Once we had our luggage squared away it was off to a breakfast/brunch/lunch of dim sum. Dim sum is a traditional Chinese way of eating. Dim sum consists of different entrees that are served on carts that come around the restaurant. The ladies offer different things from rice, to soup, to chicken, to pork, and little dough stuffed pastries filled with meat! It was a really fun experience and so China! It was my first time with anything like this. Annelyse had experineced this before back in the states. It was an fantastic way to finish our time in Hong Kong with Becky.
I'd definitely go back to Hong Kong especially since you do not need a visa! :) It was then off to the airport via the train and on our way to our next CRAZY adventure in Shanghai! Shanghai we were on our own :) I have another university friend in Shanghai but things did not work out to see him.
Stay tuned, Shanghai is up next!!
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Tokyo: 3 weeks in a row! Now, its time to say "good-bye" and say "Hello, CHINA!"
Last week was a nice week :)
I will start with last Thursday. After school, I enjoyed going to Art Club with the four students that makeup art club! We were goofing around in the hallway and also in the art room! My "stained glass" was ready and we played with it (pictures below). I stayed until 4:30 and then went to the pool for a swim. Below are Ayano, Yoshie, Kenta, Tsukasa, & me!
...above
down low...
Hinode Art Room!
Playing with my stained glass. Ayano about to eat it as Yoshie and Tsukasa look on in amusement! Ha Ha!
Kenta calling someone because I'm about to eat the cupcake on my nose!
After my swim, I ended up with a bit of a party at my house! I had John, Andrew, Erin, Zac, and Hitomi over to my home. Zac and Hitomi are new characters in my blog in this story of my life. Zac lives up north in Hitachi and Hitomi lives in Choshi which is an hour south of me! So, they are far apart but everyone came to my house, we went to the grocery store, and then cooked a huge feast! 
Hitomi and I from Zac's perspective - WOW we are short! or rather WOW he is tall!!!
I offered Zac my pink apron :) lookin' good. Ha ha.
Angelic - I think not!
Chow time!!!
Zac made two different pasta sauces and pasta. We enjoyed funfetti cake too! I had bought a box when I went home and we had that for dessert. Hitomi and Andrew helped Erin and I finish the last of our JET Japanese tests. Test # 6 is finished for the most part and I will send it in this afternoon!!! I will now have a completion of beginning Japanese and receive a certificate that I can slap on my resume - nice!
The enkai was with my Board of Education. There were over 50 people there. Speeches were made and awards were awarded (John & I = clueless). We just smiled and then the kampai came! Kampai = cheers in Japanese. After the kampai, we began eating. Many people came around and poured us drinks and chatted with us. This is customary of enkais. We were sitting on the ground with delicious food in front of us. We talked and laughed for a good 3 hours...
all the food lined up ready to eat...but first we must have several speeches, awards, and a kampai!
Our new supervisor! Mr. Ikeda :)
Our old supervisor - Mr. Yamada
Itako Buds!!
Shin & John. Shin's English is quite good!
...it was then off to the 2nd party. I had not yet been to a "2nd" party after an enkai. I joined several Japanese people connected to the Board of Education and we went to karaoke. I had a blast! We were singing and drinking red wine. It was the most Japanese I have spoken since living here. I love John but it was nice not having him there because I had to really speak Japanese - or try anyway. I was there until about 12:00 and then I got a taxi with my supervisor back to my apartment and then he went on to his home. It was such a fun experience other than I had to wake up at 7:00 for school...ugh. 
Haruko, Me, & Shin!! Karaoke!
my cute cocktail :)
Annelyse and I!!! Can't wait for CHINA!
Chika and her cute hummingbird drink!
adorable!
Polynesian Dance
The bathroom :) This place was great!
Opening
bar
After dinner, we walked around Shinjuku for a long while before I said good-bye to them and met up with other friends in Ebisu to party at UNIT in Nakameguro/Ebisu area. While I was waiting for the other crowd to meet me in Ebisu, I found this cute, chic, little bar/restaurant called Medusa across from Ebisu Sta. 
Champagne
I went in to enjoy a drink before the others joined me :) I met the others about midnight and we were off to UNIT to see Hash and others DJ. I was able to get everyone in for 2500 yen as opposed to the 3500 yen. I signed us up on the guest list prior to us going.
Hash DJing the night away!
Cat and I!
Dawn has broken but we aren't done yet!! Red Bar then Breakfast!
Rene at Red Bar
Wow, we were up all night! Crazy kids we are!!! Enjoying a small breakfast at dare I say McDonalds - I actually dispise the place!
Being in Tokyo is really fun for me. I am really beginning to sort things out above ground as well as underground. I enjoy being able to walk place to place as opposed to taking the train. Taking cabs is good because I can see how to get place to place above ground. I am still loving Tokyo more and more.
The karaoke bar I went to on Friday night with the BoE members!
My delicious Indian lunch!
Beaches of Kashima 
Starting to get cloudy. I really wanted to take the drift wood but it was too far into the ground and I couldn't lift it :(
The American style restaurant that I found! Their menu looks great!
The gorgeous sunset yesterday. The sky looked like it was on fire!! :)
I will be away from email and definitely this blog for the next two weeks. Be looking forward to updates on May 10th! I will post stories and pictures that day assuming I have Internet when I get home (you all know my Internet is sometimes screwy). I am really looking forward to this experience as I would have never really thought to visit China before moving to Japan. I will miss you all. Feel free to comment when and where you can! Looking forward to sharing my stories and pictures with you!
...above
down low...
Hinode Art Room!
Playing with my stained glass. Ayano about to eat it as Yoshie and Tsukasa look on in amusement! Ha Ha!
Kenta calling someone because I'm about to eat the cupcake on my nose!
After my swim, I ended up with a bit of a party at my house! I had John, Andrew, Erin, Zac, and Hitomi over to my home. Zac and Hitomi are new characters in my blog in this story of my life. Zac lives up north in Hitachi and Hitomi lives in Choshi which is an hour south of me! So, they are far apart but everyone came to my house, we went to the grocery store, and then cooked a huge feast! Meat balls that Hitomi and Erin mixed together!
Hitomi and I from Zac's perspective - WOW we are short! or rather WOW he is tall!!!
I offered Zac my pink apron :) lookin' good. Ha ha.
Angelic - I think not!
Chow time!!!
Zac made two different pasta sauces and pasta. We enjoyed funfetti cake too! I had bought a box when I went home and we had that for dessert. Hitomi and Andrew helped Erin and I finish the last of our JET Japanese tests. Test # 6 is finished for the most part and I will send it in this afternoon!!! I will now have a completion of beginning Japanese and receive a certificate that I can slap on my resume - nice!I had company until about midnight and then went to sleep!
Friday, was a decent day had four classes and then the afternoon free. I had ikebana in the afternoon and had to rush my lesson just a bit because I had an enkai.
My 7th Ikebana lesson!
The enkai was with my Board of Education. There were over 50 people there. Speeches were made and awards were awarded (John & I = clueless). We just smiled and then the kampai came! Kampai = cheers in Japanese. After the kampai, we began eating. Many people came around and poured us drinks and chatted with us. This is customary of enkais. We were sitting on the ground with delicious food in front of us. We talked and laughed for a good 3 hours...
all the food lined up ready to eat...but first we must have several speeches, awards, and a kampai!
Our new supervisor! Mr. Ikeda :)
Our old supervisor - Mr. Yamada
Itako Buds!!
Shin & John. Shin's English is quite good!
...it was then off to the 2nd party. I had not yet been to a "2nd" party after an enkai. I joined several Japanese people connected to the Board of Education and we went to karaoke. I had a blast! We were singing and drinking red wine. It was the most Japanese I have spoken since living here. I love John but it was nice not having him there because I had to really speak Japanese - or try anyway. I was there until about 12:00 and then I got a taxi with my supervisor back to my apartment and then he went on to his home. It was such a fun experience other than I had to wake up at 7:00 for school...ugh.Board of Education members!
Haruko, Me, & Shin!! Karaoke! On Saturday, we had PTA here at school. I had to come in after a night of mayhem (ha ha ha) and teach four classes - it was rough. Then in the afternoon I had to sit in a meeting for an hour and a half not understanding a single thing that was being discussed. So, needless to say Saturday was a rough day at school.
Saturday after school, I went home quickly, changed clothes, and was off to Tokyo for the evening. I had found this really cute restaurant online and wanted to know if Annelyse and Chika wanted to join me! So we met at Tiki Tiki in Shinjuku at 6:00. I was running late from school and didn't make it until about 6:45. We stayed until 8:30 and enjoyed many tapas like meals along with really cute, tropical cocktails! A must go to if anyone visits me! We were also able to enjoy two different Hawaiian/Polynesian dances.
rainy day in Tokyo
Hawaiian dancers
my cute cocktail :)
Annelyse and I!!! Can't wait for CHINA!
Chika and her cute hummingbird drink!
adorable!
Polynesian Dance
The bathroom :) This place was great!
Opening
bar
After dinner, we walked around Shinjuku for a long while before I said good-bye to them and met up with other friends in Ebisu to party at UNIT in Nakameguro/Ebisu area. While I was waiting for the other crowd to meet me in Ebisu, I found this cute, chic, little bar/restaurant called Medusa across from Ebisu Sta. Medusa - real jellyfish! How cool!!!!
Champagne
I went in to enjoy a drink before the others joined me :) I met the others about midnight and we were off to UNIT to see Hash and others DJ. I was able to get everyone in for 2500 yen as opposed to the 3500 yen. I signed us up on the guest list prior to us going.I personally had a great time hearing various DJs. Tokyo is definitely a different type of place in terms of clubbing. It is way different then the western world. It is a nice difference, just different. I enjoyed watching Hash DJ and seeing the others too. Half of our group wasn't too happy and decided to leave which was totally fine. I respect that others like different things and to be honest it was just fine. I had a blast with Cat, Adam, and Rene. They are fellow Ibaraki JETs. We danced until day break and had breakfast before heading off in our various directions.
Cat and I!
Dawn has broken but we aren't done yet!! Red Bar then Breakfast!
Rene at Red Bar
Wow, we were up all night! Crazy kids we are!!! Enjoying a small breakfast at dare I say McDonalds - I actually dispise the place!
Being in Tokyo is really fun for me. I am really beginning to sort things out above ground as well as underground. I enjoy being able to walk place to place as opposed to taking the train. Taking cabs is good because I can see how to get place to place above ground. I am still loving Tokyo more and more.I am glad to be making friends in Tokyo because it gives me more options for hanging out. With JET its about half and half with who all goes to Tokyo and who doesn't. I am trying to be more open with meeting people and accepting of others - honestly, its just really hard. I am very happy with the few very good friends I have made.
With that said, I am getting sad about Annelyse leaving (sorry Annelyse, I know your reading thing). I absolutely love this girl and know we will be friends forever. She really gets me and I really get her. We make great travel buddies and are great companions. I hope that in 10 or 15 years time once we have families and what not that we can make plans to travel somewhere again. She is fantastic and I am really going to miss her next year. I haven't clicked with anyone quite like Annelyse here. It is a shame so I am currently on the search for her replacement :) hee hee.
So, Sunday was very nice. I made it home by about 9 AM and had a nice shower and went to sleep for about 7 hours. I enjoyed the evening by running a few errands, a bubble bath, and watching Sex and the City. I went to sleep about 1 because I actually didn't have school yesterday since I had to work on Saturday.
Right before sunset out running errands.
The karaoke bar I went to on Friday night with the BoE members!
Yesterday was quite nice. I woke up at 10:30 :) I spoke with dad and mom for a bit. They were watching Mona Lisa's smile. We spoke for about an hour - it was nice as always. Dad filled me in on this Swine Flu - interesting to say the least. Hope we are not effected, as always we will just see. After speaking with dad and mom, I got ready for the day and was off in the search of Geeta, an Indian Restaurant in Kashima. With luck and a bit of searching, I finally found it. It is truly run by Indian people and I had a nice lunch special of 3 different curries, rice, salad, and naan. It was nice to have a different type of food for a change :) After lunch, I went in search of a nice spot of beach. I found a nice spot and laid in the sun for a bit and read and listened to music for a bit. I then went driving again as when I was in search of the Indian Restaurant I found an American style restaurant. I stopped in for a shake to see what this place was all about. It is a really fun diner style restaurant. The owner was really cool. He speaks some English so it was nice to have an English/Japanese conversation. I stayed about 45 minutes and then went home for a nap and to prepare for a motorcycle ride with Andrew. Andrew and I went for a ride along the coast to Hasaki and then turned around and went for sushi at genki!!
Beaches of Kashima 
Starting to get cloudy. I really wanted to take the drift wood but it was too far into the ground and I couldn't lift it :(
The American style restaurant that I found! Their menu looks great!
The gorgeous sunset yesterday. The sky looked like it was on fire!! :)
Today has been an okay day. I was awoken this morning at 6:40 AM to a pretty big earthquake. I had a few things fall but nothing major. I am still getting used to them! I was looking forward to having a majority of the day free to prepare for my vacation to China tomorrow. However, I ended up having 2 extra classes today which has given me hardly any prep time :(
I am really looking forward to the next two weeks. I will be traveling with Annelyse to China. We are first starting out in Hong Kong and staying with Becky, one of my good friends from LFC. We will have so much fun there enjoying the modern day city. We will be there April 29 - May 2nd. We will then fly from Hong Kong to Shanghai and stay from May 2nd to May 5th. I am really looking forward to Shanghai. Shanghai has many places that seem like they scream "Lauren Parker" so I am really looking forward to the French Concession and The Bund. We do not have friends in Shanghai so we will be staying at the Sofitel on Nanjing Road. We will then fly to Beijing May 5th and return to Japan on the 10th. We will be staying with my really good friend Jimmy, another LFC friend and also be visiting with Annelyse's uncle who is also living in Beijing. Jimmy's birthday is on the 5th so we will be able to help him celebrate which is really exciting!
I will be away from email and definitely this blog for the next two weeks. Be looking forward to updates on May 10th! I will post stories and pictures that day assuming I have Internet when I get home (you all know my Internet is sometimes screwy). I am really looking forward to this experience as I would have never really thought to visit China before moving to Japan. I will miss you all. Feel free to comment when and where you can! Looking forward to sharing my stories and pictures with you!
Until next time...I will love and miss you all! Hugs!!!
Monday, April 20, 2009
"Advice To My 21 [23]- YEAR-OLD SELF..."
I was reading an article in the March 2009 issue of ELLE...
I liked what this woman had to say about herself now that she is 38 years old and looking back at herself when she was 21 and the advice she would have given herself...
Raffaell Barker, novelist:
'In no particular order, here are some things I wish I'd known when I was you: you will forget brilliant ideas, so write them down; you don't have to try so hard, you can take a day off sometimes and just have fun - it's allowed; Michael Van Clarke does the best haircuts in London; saying 'I'm sorry' matters; saying 'I love you' matters more; a homemade cake is a gift of love; walk tall; speak low and wear good underwear.'
Louise Wener, novelist and ex-rock star:
'Stop worrying so much. Embrace the risks. Have the courage to celebrate your mistakes. It will hardly matter which road you take, as long as you roar along it with passion and at full speed. Listen to more David Bowie: 'Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years'.
Jane Fallon, novelist and TV writer/producer:
'I wish i'd realised my life wasn't going to be over when I turned 30; that there'd still be time to achieve what I wanted; that it wasn't too late to start learning the piano or anything else. I could be proficient in just about everything now.'
Susan Ward Davies, ELLE travel editor:
'Never go to one party when you can go to three. And if you love someone, tell them. It's better to risk a moment's embarrassment than live a life of regret.'
As I sit here or stand here I am glad to gain advice and knowledge from people looking back on their lives and what they had wished they had done. Gives me the confidence to keep going forth and reaching for my dreams.
I.LOVE.MY.LIFE.
I liked what this woman had to say about herself now that she is 38 years old and looking back at herself when she was 21 and the advice she would have given herself...
Raffaell Barker, novelist:
'In no particular order, here are some things I wish I'd known when I was you: you will forget brilliant ideas, so write them down; you don't have to try so hard, you can take a day off sometimes and just have fun - it's allowed; Michael Van Clarke does the best haircuts in London; saying 'I'm sorry' matters; saying 'I love you' matters more; a homemade cake is a gift of love; walk tall; speak low and wear good underwear.'
Louise Wener, novelist and ex-rock star:
'Stop worrying so much. Embrace the risks. Have the courage to celebrate your mistakes. It will hardly matter which road you take, as long as you roar along it with passion and at full speed. Listen to more David Bowie: 'Nothing's gonna touch you in these golden years'.
Jane Fallon, novelist and TV writer/producer:
'I wish i'd realised my life wasn't going to be over when I turned 30; that there'd still be time to achieve what I wanted; that it wasn't too late to start learning the piano or anything else. I could be proficient in just about everything now.'
Susan Ward Davies, ELLE travel editor:
'Never go to one party when you can go to three. And if you love someone, tell them. It's better to risk a moment's embarrassment than live a life of regret.'
As I sit here or stand here I am glad to gain advice and knowledge from people looking back on their lives and what they had wished they had done. Gives me the confidence to keep going forth and reaching for my dreams.
I.LOVE.MY.LIFE.
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