lean jeans

i was telling Larry yesterday how i only own one pair of fitted jeans that's flattering on me no matter what i wear with it. every single one of my other jeans are 1-2 sizes too big and thus too loose, which i had bought that way because they were more comfortable, but i admit are quite unflattering. Larry hates it when i wear my loose jeans, he cringes at the sight of their bagginess. yet i continue to wear them everyday because, well, they're all sitting in my closet and they're comfortable, and i don't want to wear out my one favorite pair by wearing it everyday! instead, i save it for going out with friends, nice dinners, or partying... not for a trip to the grocery store or a daily walk around the city.

yes, the obvious solution is to buy new jeans, and in multiple pairs. but i HATE shopping for jeans! it's difficult to find a pair that fits well because the standard length is too damn long for me (i'm barely 5'1") and nowadays they're all low-rise, hip-huggers (which I don't like to wear). maybe i'm just lazy about it. i hate the thought of trying on 50 different pairs before finding one that's a decent fit.

Larry: go buy more of the flattering jeans. i like you in those.
me: they don't sell it here. i bought it in New York.
Larry: well, go find another pair here.
me: do you know how hard it is for me to find jeans that fit? they're always too long for me! i'm too short!
Larry: we're in Hong Kong! the land of short people!

i didn't know we were living in Munchkin Land! that's great, dear, way to go on perpetuating the stereotype that all Chinese people are short... =P

fine... i'll get off my lazy, oversized-jeans-butt and start looking for some nicer, better-fitted jeans. can anyone recommend a good brand?

little devils with wings

we went hiking with friends on Sunday, and i wore shorts. i knew that i may have made a mistake in choice of outfit when i saw that in our group of 34 people, i was the only girl wearing shorts while all 25 of the other girls were wearing pants.

within the first 15 minutes, i got 3 mosquito bites on my left leg. i had already applied lotion containing citronella oil (a natural oil that's supposed to repel mosquitos), but apparently that wasn't enough to deter the little blood-sucking devils from helping themselves to a juicy bite of my leg. evil little s%#@&s!

i know, everyone falls victim to mosquitoes every so often, but i swear i'm allergic to mosquito bites because i have the worst reactions nearly every time. after the initial bite, the area surrounding the bite would usually swell up to the size of a giant avocado and the entire area would become painfully itchy. it gets so swollen that when i press down on it, it feels hard. and it hurts. when i stand or walk, the blood rushes down to my legs and the swollen area surrounding the bites actually starts throbbing. did i mention that it hurts like hell? it gets so incredibly itchy that when i try to scratch it, i only succeed in making it even more itchy and all the more painful. (sorry if i grossed anyone out! just thought i'd share my pain.)

so over the last three days, i've been in perpetual pain with two large avocado sized swells on the back of my left thigh. it's been so itchy and painful that it woke me up in the middle of the night and has prevented me from leaving the apartment on the 2nd day. i've tried everything-- i've put an ice pack against it, taken a Benadryl allergy pill, used 2 different kinds of itch creams and 1 hydrocortisone cream with an unnerving "Poison" warning sticker on the box-- all to little effect.

two very painful lessons learned:
1. Hong Kong is infested with mosquitoes, especially along hiking trails.
2. wear long pants to go hiking, no matter how freakin' hot it might be outside!

take my breath away

i LOVE the Hong Kong skyline, with all the skyscrapers of the financial district, Central. the view of the skyline is one of my favorite things about HK.

in the daytime, the view is impressive.
but at night, it's simply stunning!

there are two locations to best view this.
1) from the top of Victoria Peak on HK Island overlooking Central and Tsim Tsa Tsui (TST) waterfront.
2) from the TST waterfront looking across the Victoria Harbor for a 180 degree panoramic view of the HK Island.

this second view is my absolute favorite, particularly at night when the buildings across the water are all lit up in colorful lights and stretches on and on along the island, and ferry boats cruise by (see the last picture, and imagine a panoramic shot of 10 pictures side by side). i love it! during my first visit to HK in 2002, Larry took me to the TST waterfront on our first night in town. i remember the moment i first looked across the harbor, i had thought the view was purely breathtaking. four years later, the same nightview still takes my breath away. every time.

From Victoria Peak - Day (taken Oct. 2002), Night (Apr. 2006)



From TST Waterfront - Day (Apr. 2002), Night (Dec. 2005)

good afternoon, Vietnam!

I didn't quite know what to expect on my first trip to Vietnam. The few friends and relatives who've visited or lived there mainly warned about rampant purse-snatchings (and "street cowboys" on motorbikes speeding off with your bags), dishonest people, dirty streets and toilets, and the irritating persistence of people hitting you up for money or your business. "Keep your guard up, don't bring a purse, be really careful!", they warned me. Oh great, I thought.

Luckily, we had a very safe trip, and didn't encounter too many unpleasant experiences other than some dishonest hotel staff and taxi drivers who tried to rip us off by giving us back the wrong change. It was also annoying when street vendors and drivers kept bugging us ("Where are you from?") and tried to solicit their businesses by stalking us down the street for blocks. And apparently in Vietnam, I look Vietnamese. That was sometimes an advantage because I had fewer solicitors approaching me than some of the other girls. Or maybe it was because I wore a "don't bug me" look on my face, so I may have scared them off. :P

Aside from all that and the crazy 100 degrees heat and humidity, my experience has been fairly good. For me, it was all about the delicious food, the amazingly sweet fresh fruit drinks, and of course, the beautiful scenery. I tried my best to capture the unique sights and people on my camera. Local women wearing the signature conical hats balancing baskets of goods. Motorbikes speeding by with as many as 4 people (some babies) aboard. Young local women riding around covered up from head to toe to avoid getting a tan (porcelain white skin is apparently the Vietnamese definition of beauty). Throughout Vietnam, the old French-colonial feeling was evident in many hotel's architecture and decor, exuding an air of grandness and historic charm.


Jackie, Grace, Sangita, and I began our journey in the South (Saigon), then headed up to Central Vietnam (Hue, Hoi An) and the North (Hanoi, Halong Bay).

* HUE (1 day)
Home to the old Citadel (UNESCO World Heritage Site), site of some of the bloodiest action of the Vietnam War. A small community still exists within the moated Citadel city, which we got to see on a 1-hour ride on cyclos (bicycle taxis).
-We briefly visited the Thien Mu Pagoda with a great view of the Perfume River.
-We rode a boat along the scenic Perfume River in the rain and got concerned when they began scooping out buckets of water flooding the lower deck. Apparently this was routine, nothing that a few minutes of bailing out water couldn't fix.
-Lunch: Y Thao Garden (3 Thach Han Street, within the Citadel) - A tasty 7-course set lunch in a charming private house. The mini fried spring rolls were delicious.
-Dinner: Pho 24 (on Le Loi Street) - While their beef pho was alright, what I loved most there was their fresh, sweet pineapple and guava juices. It was as though they had stuck a straw into a fresh, ripe pineapple and guava.

-During our 3-hour bus ride to Hoi An the next morning, we stopped at Marble Mountain near Danang. There we explored the Huyen Khong Cave, a cathedral-like cave with water dripping from the cave top. In a moment of hysteria, I mistook a wet drop of cave water on my arm as bat crap.
Me (screaming): Aaaaaa!!! Napkin! Can I have a napkin! Something fell on my arm!!!
Jackie (cautiously looking at my arm): It's just water.
Me: Are you SURE??!!!
Jackie: It's water!

* HOI AN (1 day)

Undoubtedly my favorite Vietnam city so far, Hoi An is a small, quaint riverside town. It's a very picturesque town where the narrow streets are lined with charming, faded-yellow houses converted into tailor shops and local shops selling a colorful array of artwork, handbags, and souveniers. More pedestrian-friendly, it felt easier and safer to stroll along the streets.
-Lunch: Cafe Can (74 Bach Dang St.) - A casual lunch on the sundeck.
-Dinner: Hong Phuc (86 Bach Dang St.) - Famous for its fish wrapped in banana leaf seasoned with garlic, lemongrass, and pepper. Though a bit too bony, it was tasty!

* HANOI (2 days)
The largest city in Northern Vietnam, Hanoi has an interesting juxtaposition of farmland and rice paddies alongside apartment buildings, which I saw just outside of the city's central area. Unfortunately, Monday was our only free day in Hanoi , which was the one day when all the city's museums are closed, including Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. There goes our chance to see his body. Or maybe that's not such a bad thing.
-Took a one-hour cyclo ride around Hanoi's Old Quarter. Seated at the front of a bicycle, we whizzed through busy traffic while hundreds of motorbikes and bicycles flew past us. Definitely an exciting experience!
-Watched a water puppet show that told the story of an old Vietnamese folktale.
-Took a boat ride to Halong Bay to see the breathtaking sight of thousands of limestone islands dotting the water. The sight of the islands from the top deck was majestic and calming. We also explored a few caves which were covered with stalactites (icicle-shaped mineral deposits hanging from the roof of a cavern, formed from the dripping of mineral-rich water) and stalagmites (on the floor) everywhere. Creepy, yet impressive.
-We made two new local friends in Hanoi. We met a nice guy who worked at the travel agency where we booked our flights and tour. Grace invited him to join us for dinner the next night, and he brought along his friend's sister. Both were super friendly and nice, and we all enjoyed dinner and coffee together.
-Dinner: Quan An Ngon (18 Phan Boi Chau) - delicious bun rieu (vermicelli noodle soup with crabmeat and tomatoes).

* SAIGON (HO CHI MINH CITY) (2 days)
Two words: Bikes everywhere!
That includes bicycles, motorbikes, and cyclos of all sizes. It was scary crossing the bike-filled streets of Saigon. Hanoi was intimidating as well, but the Saigon streets seemed wider, which meant having a longer distance to cross. Some sidewalks (especially in the backpacker's district) were incredibly dirty and littered with garbage. Without a public garbage collection/disposal system, people burn trash or find their own way to dispose of them.
-Walked through the Ben Thanh indoor market. We bought coffee, fresh fruit juice, and the best baguette I've eaten since in Paris. For only 1,000 dong (7 cents USD), we got a freshly baked 9-inch long baguette that was warm and soft on the inside, and crispy on the outside. Pure heaven!
-On our last night in Vietnam, the girls took me out to celebrate my birthday, which was so sweet of them! Dinner at the restaurant, Lemon Grass (4 Nguyen Thiep St.), was delicious! I loved the fried catfish with lemongrass and garlic, and the fried spring rolls. Afterwards, they took me out for French-Vietnamese ice cream at Fanny (29 Ton That Thiep St.).
Good food and ice cream... what a perfect way to end our trip!

first bday in HK

i just returned from my Vietnam trip (more on that later), unpacked my bags, and spent my first birthday in Hong Kong... it was especially nice having my close high school friend, Julie, visiting us for several days.

on Friday, i went out to dinner and clubbing with some friends for an early celebration. we went clubbing near Lan Kwai Fong at Hei Hei Club, which is currently one of HK's hottest clubs. i love that they play some pretty hot hip hop music, but i hate how it always gets too crowded to dance or stand without being bumped into. after defending our dance space as long as we could, it got to be too much, and we all called it an early night.

total drink count for the night: two Malibu Pineapples (my favorite mixed drink), resulting in only a slight buzz. this was one of the few birthdays where I partied but didn't get wasted. this must be a sign that i'm really getting old. hmm.

but i wasn't about to accept that so easily... so i joined my friend Wendy and her friends on a hike on the Dragon Back trail leading to Shek O beach on Monday. it was a 2.5 hour hike up and down a series of small hills (like the spikes on a dragon's back, hence the name) overlooking a scenic ocean view. not too difficult of a hike, but it had its share of steep, rocky paths to cross. i made it through with relative ease, so i feel good. we rewarded ourselves with food and drinks at a nearby beach bar... our little jackpot at the end of the rainbow. or something like that.

what better way to feel young and alive than to conquer the great outdoors? Dragon Back was no Mt. Everest, but it was good enough for me. :)

a birthday shout out

...to one of my best friends who i've known since forever.
happy birthday, jenn! :)
(sorry it's 1 or 2 days belated. not sure which one with the time difference here.)
hope you had a wonderful day! miss ya lots!

aww crap!!!

i just looked up the weather for Vietnam on AccuWeather.com. the day that we'll be in Hanoi, the high temperature will be 95 degrees. but get this... the RealFeel temp (what it'll REALLY feel like with humidity) is supposed to be 119 degrees!

one hundred freakin' nineteen degrees farenheit!!!

can you fry an egg on the sidewalk at 119 degrees? will my rubber Old Navy flip flops melt when i walk in them? i've been through some steamy, humid New York summer days at RealFeel temps of 103 degrees, and i thought THAT was bad!

i'm scared. i'm very, very scared.

Vietnam, here we come!

tomorrow, I'm heading out to Vietnam with three of my girl friends, Jackie, Grace, and Sangita. we're going to hit Saigon, Hue, Hoi An, Hanoi, and Halong Bay - that's five cities in one week. what can I say? we're ambitious!

the only things on my to-do list so far: explore caves in Halong Bay, eat, take pictures, and eat some more!
anyone with recommendations for cool things to see or do there? let me know!

hiking and biking

Karen (Larry's sister) visited us for the past week. it was really nice to have family visiting us, even if just for a short week. we'll take what we can get.

her first day here, we took her on an attempted-hike in Sai Kung with with some friends. our friend Garrick organizes group hiking trips practically every Sunday, so we try to go if we're available because the hiking trails are usually nice and scenic, the exercise is good for us, and we've met many really nice people on these hikes. Sai Kung is known for it's beautiful scenery, so we were looking forward to the hike. as luck would have it, it started pouring rain while our group was riding the bus up to the trail. instead, we all ended up taking a brief tour around the campus of UST and having afternoon tea in the campus canteen.

then Larry took a day off from work and we brought Karen to Shatin in the New Territories to go bike-riding. we rented bikes and biked for about 2 hours all the way up to Tai Po and back. we've gone hiking quite a bit in the last few months, but we should really go biking more often too. the biking trail is only a 30-minute train ride away, the bike rental costs under $4 USD, the scenery is pleasant, the ride itself is leisurely, it's good exercise... and it's good fun!

ok, we'll go biking more. no more excuses...
except when it's hot and humid.

one good show

i went to see my first concert in Hong Kong last weekend. we bought a new tv, and they gave us 2 free concert tickets to see Justin, a new HK singer. Larry's sister, Karen, was in town for the week, so i took her to see it. even with nosebleed seats, it was a good show. tickets were free, so no complaints here... except there were light fixtures obstructing the jumbotron so we couldn't see his face on the overhead screens during the entire show... but who's complaining? ;)

this guy, Justin, can really sing! in a land where the talent of many young, new, "pretty" singers and actors is highly questionable, it's a breath of fresh air to discover a new HK singer who can actually sing well! so i gotta give him props...

Justin (full name Justin Lo) is currently one of the fastest rising HK singers. he released his first album last November, and in just half a year, he held this concert at the famous HK Coliseum. born in New York, he grew up in HK until his early teens. he worked for Yahoo! in Santa Clara, CA (anybody in the Bay Area recognize him?) until a few years ago, and moved back to HK to persue songwriting. he went on to write songs for some popular HK singers, including Leon Lai, Andy Hui, Kelly Chen, and Miriam Yeung. then he was discovered for his own voice, and his singing career began. not bad, huh?

anyway, his concert had songs from his first album (pictured) and his newly released, second album. luckily i had bought his first cd a week before so i was familiar with half of the songs that he performed. his musical style is mostly ballads. i normally prefer music with more groove, more R&B-ish (like a lot of Korean pop music, and Jay Chou, a cutie Taiwanese singer who's widely popular in HK), but i can appreciate a good ballad if it's sung well and has a nice melody. Justin has a great voice that sounds natural and soothing, so i enjoyed his songs. during the night, he even brought out three famous HK singers for some duets-- Miriam Yeung, Leo Koo, and "ah Lam", so it was cool to see them perform.

okay, now when is Jay Chou having a concert in Hong Kong? =)