Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Busy busy busy

too busy to really update but I'll try to soon. I don't even have internet at my apartment yet, so I'm kind of cut off from the world. Call if ya miss me!
Going to Vegas this weekend for Rubber...okay that's about all the time I have. Back to comparative corporate law.

Thursday, August 19, 2004

Taiwan

Three hours before I was to fly to Taiwan to stay at Tim’s parents’ house, I freaked out and dyed my hair brown. I mean, I didn’t want to be greeted by gasps and stares, or drowned in a huge basket, or whatever it is they do over there to people with scandalously colored hair. Thus ended my purple hair days.

We stared out in the southern Taiwan countryside. I LOVED the people we hung out with, they were so goofy and adorable and amazingly gracious hosts.

Then we went to Taipei, which was nice, just a big city....but I liked the countryside better. We went clubbing and it was exactly as if we were in an asian club in LA--not too fun and full of drunk ugly guys and skimpily clad 18 year old girls. Yay.

And there is the matter of Taiwanese food. I never really said it out loud but I’ve always thought that Sherry and Tim were a little….obsessively overenthusiastic about their love for hot-pot. While they waxed poetic and wiped drool from their chins, I’d think “for chrissakes, it’s just meat in a pot of soup, control yourself!” but I held silent. Now, I am a convert. Hot Pot is clearly one of the most magnificent inventions of humankind. Spicy broth on one side, clear broth on the other, bbq grill where you make your own Korean bbq ribs and pork, egg yolk with satay dipping sauce…*drool*
They even had the tiny fish full of eggs that you could grill yourself! And oysters! And swallow’s eggs! And sashimi! And create-your-own shaved ice! Did I mention it’s all-you-can-eat?
Forgive me, guys, for secretly thinking you were freaks. I knew not my folly.


Friday, August 13, 2004

Thailand Again!

We arrived in Patong Beach for the first night and hit the town to drink, spending most of the night paying "spot-the-ladyboy"... which is a LOT harder than I thought it would be! Some of them look exactly like girls, and dance better and have better bodies than most girls.

Spent the next two nights on Phi-Phi Island, a beautiful place with crystal clear waters, awesome snorkeling, no roads....and a 7-eleven and a Holiday Inn. Yes, it's overrun with tourists, but it is still one of the most beautiful places in the world.

The hotel I stayed at was called the Phi Phi Princess, and each room is a separate bungalow with its own porch, our own pregnant black cat that lived underneath our room, and a stone footbath at the entrance. In heaven, we will all have private bunglows with footbaths at the entrance.

We got massages every single day, drank astounding amounts of papaya lassi (papaya yogurt shakes) and ate like, well, Americans. Our second night on the Island, there was a half-moon party on the beach. We drank alcohol from buckets and watched firedancers and met some really cool young travelers.

There's one main road in the island that we kept walking in and out of, and a fruit-shake place we visited every day where the owner's little daughter would drag her tricycle around in front of the stand and eye us warily while we were waiting for our order. Two doors down was an art gallery where the painters were always hard at work out front, and their huge cat was always fast asleep in one of two positions, head on the paws or curled up in a ball. I never saw it move even once, and when I walked up to scratch it behind the ears, it would only deign to open one eye--ah, island life.

I'm in Taipei right now, and will return home on two short days.

Tuesday, August 03, 2004

Travel update

I’m leaving Hong Kong bound for Thailand (again) in a few days. I’ll be staying 2 nights on Patong Beach in Phuket, then 2 nights on Ko Phi Phi (of The Beach fame). Then I’m off to Taiwan for five days, then it’s back to sunny California.

Here are some random pix of my trip, including the much-requested short purple hair pic!

Me and Didi in Phuket Posted by Hello

I'll be here in 3 days. Posted by Hello

Whee! (Phuket) Posted by Hello

Phuket  Posted by Hello

View from Victoria Peak Posted by Hello

Bike parking lot on Lantau Island Posted by Hello

My hotel room. I'll miss this place dearly! Posted by Hello

The best damn custom-made shoesaleswoman in HK. I LOVE her! Posted by Hello

Me, Sherry, and baby-to-be! Posted by Hello

Close-up of the purple short hair! Posted by Hello

Lan Kwai Fong nightlife Posted by Hello

Fruit stand on Lamma Island Posted by Hello