The Taj Mahal

My lucky little brother posted this photo on Facebook this morning and it made my heart hurt just a little bit. He's living the college dream, backpacking through Europe last year and now he's in India. Ahh wanderlust and jealousy, be gone!

I've seen many photos of the Taj Mahal, but for some reason the grey, cloudy fog in this backdrop really makes the little details pop. Not to mention that little child in the pink shirt (far left) - I love all the vibrant clothing sprinkled throughout! Nice work, bro (err Instagram).

I guess I will be turning up the Bollywood music today, pretending to be somewhere else...

A Little Nostalgia Never Hurt Anyone

The independent coffee shop across the street from my office prides itself in its fancy European espressos. Since it's the kind of coffee shop that doesn't offer drip coffee (!) and charges $5 a drink, the snooty atmosphere normally trumps convenience. It wasn't until last week that I discovered their awesome baguette sandwiches, reminiscent of a typical German lunch when I was studying there years ago. Prosciutto, red pepper, a little lettuce...NOM (also, no wonder I got a little pudgy that year). Normally I pile any and every ingredient in my sandwiches, but the simplicity of these ones really allow you to taste the yumminess of the baguette.

Cue nostalgia. Cue wanderlust. Didn't I just go on vacation? After studying abroad in Europe for a year, I thought that I may be "done" with that corner of the world for a while, especially since there's so much more of the globe to explore. Yet something about that baguette changed my mind...I can't stop thinking about those cobblestone streets. Jordan Ferney's recent post on the Parisian Vélib bike-rental system didn't help either. 

Since that first baguette sandwich last week, I've had it again two more times (sidenote: there are so many European-style cafes along the Santa Monica promenade. Who knew?)

Get me to Europe! I'd do so well here...

Image credits: Baguette via Pinterest // Vélib via Jordan Ferney | Oh Happy Day // Photo taken by me in Amsterdam

critical mass. august 2011

{Heidi is looking a little critical of the mass - I think she may have been the only one with handle bar tassles!}

{This guy's shirt had me giggling. Had to snap a photo of this kind stranger.}

If you live east of the 405, you may or may not have experienced heavy bouts of city-traffic due to hoards and hoards of bikers taking over the streets. Well, I was one of those annoying bikers last Friday...and it was awesome. Every last Friday of the month, about 3000 cyclists meet right by the Wiltern (Korea Town) and do a police-escorted 30-mile ride around the city. It was entertaining, exhausting and thrilling to ride in the streets and see Los Angeles' neighborhoods from my bike. We rode down Santa Monica, Hollywood Blvd, La Brea, Olympic...went through Beverly Hills, Silverlake, West Hollywood, Thaitown....30 miles is kind of far, we didn't really think that part through :) In hindsight, blocked off streets and police escorts are the ultimate way to get around LA. 

Besides feeling like a major minority (ie: I was a female, non-hispanic, adult...wearing a helmet), it was interesting and comical to notice how even bicycle styles can be regional. If you thought that my buddies with their west-side beach cruisers stuck out like a sore thumb, you're right! Most of the riders were on fixed gear street bikes with colorful rims and flashy lights. Lesson learned? In Los Angeles, your bike can be another accessory and fashion statement.

Critical mass Halloween edition could be realllllly fun....who's in?!

Finally found a home for a few things that we brought back from our trip. Hand painted batik wooden masks, a floral wood carving from the Ubud market, a wooden ring, and some shells that I collected on the beaches of Pemuteran.

Left My Heart in Bali

Cheesy title, I know - but this time, it's true. It's been over a week since we got back and every morning I still wake up thinking about our time at our last stop, Bali. Bali was the one place that Jackie hadn't already been and it was fun for us to discover it together. With a whole new language and exchange rate to get used to (it was 8,800 Rupiah to $1 -- we were RICH!), Indonesia was such an adventure.

When I think of first impressions, my mind immediately goes to the smell of the first taxi that we took from the airport to Ubud. I still don't know what I was smelling - I think it may have been the flowers in the canang sari (offerings made of small baskets with fresh flowers and rice) that the taxi driver had on his dash.

Before we  left, we had planned out a mini-itinerary for our stay in Bali. We read about Ubud, the artisan center of the island and knew that we had to spend at least a few days there. Pemuteran was our second stop. It's a secluded spot that is not quite on your typical tourist map...the north western coast of Bali with access to Menjangan Island, which is known for its popularity with divers and snorkelers. 

The whole thing was everything I expected and more. The weather couldn't have been better, the people nicer, or the culture rich. Looking back on the whole trip, what I appreciated most from our stay in Bali was the exposure to an entire new culture...in Bali, people still give offerings three times a day to the Gods out of gratitude and not fear. Men and women wear the traditional saris and they can fit a family of four on a motorbike with out worrying about dropping the 10 month old baby. The people just seemed more gentle...

I could go on forever about our time wandering through the rice paddies, eating like royalty, private snorkel trips in warm beautiful oceanic waters (private resort stay, actually!), monkey spotting, Balinese massages and facials and looting up in the Ubud market (I walked away with Cost Plus World Market in my arms)...but I won't. All I can say is that I highly recommend a trip to Bali. Just get up and go already!!

This world is far too interesting not to explore. Already planning our next overseas adventure...

Fancy Schmancy Singapore

I will admit, I didn't want to leave Bangkok. Our arrival to Singapore represented our trip's halfway mark and I wasn't happy about it! A few weeks before we left, I had been emailing with Cordoba's Singaporean distributor -- he offered to pick us up from the airport and show us around town. Terry was a true Singaporean. He was bursting with hospitality and pride for his city.

Especially when compared to Bangkok, Singapore was SO clean. As clean as you would expect it to be. The roads were heavily regulated, the tolls and parking lots were all electronic and all the architecture seemed new. There were no homeless people and I felt like I had found preppy Asian paradise! In my opinion, all this was much less "interesting"...we weren't going to run into any kathoey's here, that was for sure! We stayed at the Rendezvous Hotel - it was the cheapest one that we could find in the middle of town. Because of the good rate, we weren't expecting much, but we were blown away with all of the accommodations. This was much different than our European backpacking days. Two words: Toto and Waterfall. I was stoked to find the Toto Washlet in our room - ever since someone showed me the website (it has changed since I last saw it...darn!), I have been nervous/excited to try one. Not to go on a major tangent but this toilet has a heated seat, a butt spray and a blow dryer!!!! Bah!! Secondly, there was a waterfall shower. Ahh yes.  Mmhmm.

Throughout the entire trip, this was the only place where we had access to a TV...good timing too. A couple days before getting to Singapore, the major Japan earthquake/tsunami happened. We kept a close eye on the news and couldn't believe the footage that we were seeing. Luckily there was no threat to Indonesia and Singapore...but we wanted to be sure.

Highlights from the trip (other than our awesome hotel) included catching up with Jackie's friend Chris *he took us to a place that had fresh handmade noodles...had I died and gone to heaven?*, Indian food on a banana leaf with Terry, the botanical gardens, wandering around the harbor looking for dessert, trying the chicken & rice dish, and last but not least, finding the "best laksa in town". For those of you who haven't tried laksa, it's awesome. It's a spicy local curry noodle dish that is traditionally served up with cockles. YUM. Yum yum yum.

Enjoy these photos and click any of them to see more!

Last stop...Bali.

Bangkok: I Wanted Heat & I Got Heat.

I have to start this post off with a thousand thank-yous to Akiko for hooking us up with a wonderfully air-conditioned place to stay. Jackie and I have been talking about going to Bangkok since my freshman year at Pepperdine. She was born in Thailand and returned to BKK for the latter half of her highschool years. One of my favorite memories from Freshman year was hearing her crazy Bangkok stories late one night in the cafeteria and I have been inspired to visit ever since. Now that I have been myself, there's no doubt that I will be going back sooner than later.

First BKK impressions? Humidity and heat. Both things are hard to ignore the second you step out of the plane. Bangkok also has so many malls. I guess in that heat, all you would crave is AC (or as they would say over there "air-con" - watch out for those rogue drips!). The third thing that stood out was the traffic. Everyone makes fun of Asian drivers, but those Thai taxi drivers are probably the best around. With people driving in the shoulder, non-existent lane lines and only speed "suggestions", I kept expecting accidents, but didn't see one! Incredible. Fourth, it's hard to ignore all the billboards with the King and Queen. King Bhumibol Adulyadej was everywhere...in the water taxis on the Chao Phraya river, statues & billboards. He is also the longest reigning monarch in Thai history.

Amongst all of the mall-hopping and eating, we fit in a few touristy things such as the reclining Buddha, the Temple of Dawn, a Thai monastery and a long sweaty walk around the Grand Palace. We didn't end up actually going into the Grand Palace...but we walked around the entire place! That counts, right? Another highlight of the trip was finding all of the Elizabeth Gilbert wannabe's -- there were so many women on their own "Eat Pray Love" trips. Our favorite was a blonde woman who was spotted on Khao Sarn road. She was getting her long blonde hair dreaded, her arms were lined with bangles, her nose was pierced with a hoop, and she was reading an English version of EPL...I wish I had taken a picture.

Other trip highlights included meeting all of Jackie's friends from ISB, eating moo bing and sticky rice from a street vendor (LIFE CHANGING!), learning a few Thai words, soi puppies on the beaches of Koh Samet, dinner in the dark at the Pullman hotel, digging through MBK, finally trying Food Loft and loving every moment of it, many many watermelon shakes, and a great meal on the river with new friends (2 grilled whole fish, wing-bean salad, tofu panang curry, the list goes on...we feasted).

Enjoy these pics and click on any of them to see more!

 

I Love Asia P.1: Hong Kong

Hello from Hong Kong!

I'm resting my poor feet from a long day of wandering around this gem of a city. Thanks to the suggested itinerary of a HK expert (JT!) jackie and i had a pretty good idea of all the hot spots. With only two days in the city, I think we did fairly well. We managed to fit in many buns, dan tats, dim sum, spicy crab seafood, fish broth noodles, special Bee jerky (YUMS x 100). Mochi creams, boba...oh and of course we hit up the Tian Yin Buddah/monestary, the Tiao O fishing village, the jade market, ladies market, Temple Street night market, many MTR trips and even a ferry ride over to the central district.

I discovered I can speak a LITTLE Chinese when needed. Aka...in food related situations. At dim sum, I was able to order everything and managed to thank the lady in Chinese. I think she got a kick out of me at least trying!

We are staying in the Kowloon area...by far my most favorite district because it is much less pretentious than Central or Causeway Bay. If I wanted to go shopping for Gucci and Armani, I'd go to Beverly Hills! Give me street vendors and stinky fish...that's the HK I want to see! Mong kok was also fun, but once you see one street market, you have kind of seen them all. I bargained up a few deals...enough to make my father proud but I think I'm ready for some good 'ol SE Asian heat.

Headed to Bangkok tomorrow and I'm beyond excited.

*sorry no pics...I've been hiding my iPhone throughout the day! Even though everyone here seems to have the iphone 4 anyway!

Here I Come!

I'm ready! So, so, so ready. 

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

(Nats' fortune from tonight's feast...talk about pressure!)

Happy Chinese New Year everyone! It's my year...and I already have a feeling it's going to be a good one. I'm headed on my Asian adventure in 27 days and meeting someone from Singapore tonight really got me excited to hop on the plane and get there. Supposedly Singapore is all about the food and frankly, that's all I really need! He said that three days should be enough to cover all the good spots...if you have two breakfasts, two lunches and two dinners each day. I think I'm up to the challenge. 

Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Bali. Here I come!

Weekend Vacation

 

What a whirlwind weekend. My dad had a big birthday celebration in Palm Springs complete with a surprise visit from my brother, a mustang convertible, a comical community theater version of The Producers, boulder climbing in Joshua Tree, a massive lunch at a Jewish deli {Sherman's}, and QT with family. I'm so thankful that even though we're not in the same state, it's still feasible to pull off a weekend trip together. As much as I love my family, when Monday morning rolled around, I definitely felt that I needed a weekend vacation from my weekend vacation.

Only a few hours away from LA, this is perfect weekend camping trip destination. I'd like to do some more intense hikes (I hear there are water falls?) and climbing around. I also think it would be an awesome photoshoot location for the guitar company I work for. Hmm wonder if I could make that happen. Les, if you're reading this - you have to teach me how to rock climb so that we can do these boulders!! It'll give me some motivation to get back to push ups again. Yikes.