tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41273624721676158562024-03-18T21:15:17.588-07:00The Honeymoon & BeyondH&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-53115572602568618192010-07-16T15:14:00.000-07:002010-07-16T17:57:33.719-07:00We *heart* the OCAlmost a month later...here's a quick glance of our li'l getaway from our trip to the Oregon Coast in June! ( Not Orange County :) )<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfkTr8ZWuVolJKQEdbssP6J7WAq12DWWH_zce3wCQaWF8Diti4tVqjMGujLvGIEYimaTSnmrzsEWx1_pt4cEC2Xd37iVcKkFVw39qZE3unJ3rnAJNUprFgUQocLH6sRJwurNdbbNZIr78/s1600/blog-post.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 343px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMfkTr8ZWuVolJKQEdbssP6J7WAq12DWWH_zce3wCQaWF8Diti4tVqjMGujLvGIEYimaTSnmrzsEWx1_pt4cEC2Xd37iVcKkFVw39qZE3unJ3rnAJNUprFgUQocLH6sRJwurNdbbNZIr78/s400/blog-post.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494661018431486130" border="0"></a><br /><br />Any where along the coast is a great vacation spot if you ever want to get away and go somewhere quick for a few days. We stayed in Lincoln City - a quaint li'l town that's very family-oriented and just as important, doggy-friendly too! Don't worry about the lack of night life...LC is home to their gigantic 2-floor casino ;) (Yay Hanky for winning $250! Boo Lina for losing $40!)<br /><br />Here are some more highlights:<br /><br />Good eats of course! From street food to fine dining, everything was yum yum yum!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg30N6dQbzrt2OTFEesDH34kjrqtucVkfw0b_dGZfquLh1Uw-QfQjFl3avAvY8TPb94AdB6I7DTef48r9nQ3iIyhqFciZ5bJO1_OD3XhDB0iJ3TxQeybxw7YFYXEzPvX2gNLRvayjoYiIz/s1600/blog-oregon+food.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg30N6dQbzrt2OTFEesDH34kjrqtucVkfw0b_dGZfquLh1Uw-QfQjFl3avAvY8TPb94AdB6I7DTef48r9nQ3iIyhqFciZ5bJO1_OD3XhDB0iJ3TxQeybxw7YFYXEzPvX2gNLRvayjoYiIz/s400/blog-oregon+food.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494651820852182178" border="0"></a><br /><br />Hank drove another 2 hours from LC to get to Florence so we could go ATVing down the sand dunes...here's his video clip of me driving like miss daisy. I swear I was going a lot faster than the video appears. heehee :)<br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx82DIrblf0GNvOryUSh3RYtSa2O-yqz_RitI9wgCt1W1HzSgdvlVJLblWXnjTTGRKf3schXUVK1_kNHmdCVw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />The most romantic part of our anniversary was to start our own bonfire at the beach! The package came with snuggles (blankets with arms), a mat to sit on, a scary book, fire wood and all the ingredients to make s'mores with :) We skipped the horror stories and ate instead obviously :P<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJnwYeTliihPm2Lw5D2QLIMqIfgyRxmL8Uo_NRhFIaeTrcN34H56OORTRMvo6YL4-vkm-ZLfm2WT-4rQ5dl5zCfV9AxMrXHoldeSw9YTtrEkpVaglWbuAVqTQWFfVOHOfIbG3UCRMIT9z/s1600/blog-fire.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaJnwYeTliihPm2Lw5D2QLIMqIfgyRxmL8Uo_NRhFIaeTrcN34H56OORTRMvo6YL4-vkm-ZLfm2WT-4rQ5dl5zCfV9AxMrXHoldeSw9YTtrEkpVaglWbuAVqTQWFfVOHOfIbG3UCRMIT9z/s400/blog-fire.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5494662001157701554" border="0"></a><br /><br />So there was our weekend away in a nutshell. In hindsight, we should've stayed at least one more night...we forgot to account for all the driving we had to do! But a big YAY for our first successful road trip (minus the fact that I forgot the camera at 6am and forced Hank to drive back home to pick it up...oops!) Next stop...Hawaii! By plane though of course :) 'Til October!H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-46968120104941753732010-06-25T01:21:00.000-07:002010-06-25T01:45:02.087-07:00Road Trip #1<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">A whole year later after we said our </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:arial;" >"I do's"</span><span style="font-family:arial;">, we decided to celebrate our first wedding anniversary by taking a road trip down to the Oregon Coast...I can't wait! Tax-free-shopping-marathons, ATV'ing along the sand dunes and, to no surprise I'm sure, eating everything in sight (while in stretchy pants of course!) is the plan :) Stay tuned for the updates + pictures!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">On a side note, we're also very sorry for missing out on all the parties this weekend :(</span><br /></span><ul style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size:78%;">T & T's BBQ</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Pablo's PubCrawl</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Orlando's 1st Birthday Party</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Monica's Bridal Shower</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Lisa's Baby Shower </span></li></ul><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">...we'll be thinking of you guys! xox </span></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-71313184914020580182010-06-25T01:08:00.000-07:002010-06-25T01:19:26.587-07:00Wedding Photos<span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" >As some </span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">of you may have noticed, our wedding website is now our personal blog :) In case you are looking for our wedding pictures, our photographer Kim Maru from Maru Photography, has recently featured us on her <a href="http://www.maruphoto.ca/featwed3slideshow.html">website</a>. If you click on the photo below, it'll take you to her site directly as well.<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.maruphoto.ca/featwed3slideshow.html"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 204px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGOmpFS-oC3yHXvij8nsCcgO8eZ58LQOiqjsAzqBzGNt8tvyt8ESmVJvlI483MpYSYH1X0tz_G2FPizVkd7fg_z_NOo2iYZiMTpmN41JiCkUj-lR0fwut-9rHUIsMFpYN7h9xxvoPoGmPe/s320/l&h001.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5486622244711273778" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Enjoy! </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-79924876409002450482009-11-29T01:40:00.000-08:002009-11-29T02:16:15.724-08:00The End is Here<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Hong Kong was the last and final leg of our holidays :( Our three days here went by really quickly but we were able to see and catch up with good friends and family along the way. Hank's aunt from Paris was here to visit too! Not too much else to report on about HK...all we did was eat, eat and eat some more. What else is new? :)<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0jCqaiG_s5aKHz69MsETwUnozldwLdz2OaDQz92P5bAMxEDIVacPVg3KBo4oI0qPSoQVfbIZDC9noTyIEXlwHKMNOjKXucGFSgcGPmUDHpCqUP24-uw4dPfiO4_MeLRDNWXcFCuo6dJm/s1600/P1060737.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0jCqaiG_s5aKHz69MsETwUnozldwLdz2OaDQz92P5bAMxEDIVacPVg3KBo4oI0qPSoQVfbIZDC9noTyIEXlwHKMNOjKXucGFSgcGPmUDHpCqUP24-uw4dPfiO4_MeLRDNWXcFCuo6dJm/s320/P1060737.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408970584689725122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hank & big brother Ben :)</span></span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNVaw7xUia3V8qkCH7ZHRiUfCJ8HvqHQNu2qel8FJ4JP8EXIPH7MMoOMJPACUFszKfDMJ-O5w3rNeaCxh7purssxgx8ygVi2PZujllH5sBeb3-RebMUBxpFwz-RwQNIXTyUyPfyz2R7XX/s1600/P1060649.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBNVaw7xUia3V8qkCH7ZHRiUfCJ8HvqHQNu2qel8FJ4JP8EXIPH7MMoOMJPACUFszKfDMJ-O5w3rNeaCxh7purssxgx8ygVi2PZujllH5sBeb3-RebMUBxpFwz-RwQNIXTyUyPfyz2R7XX/s320/P1060649.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408970238206479986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wennnnnyyyyy!</span></span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhz6D49j7NlhoRZJZCFITYUSmVI-ONd8f1h7c6t3grKfoxCW1xSA2nuYVpm4fHK8zVzv3VQ7WRq7cEucBL_e_LQkxsMsbjYKy9fic26I-paIJFrYS4gP1IUtN5J8RYm751Skt3bwiJfaDo/s1600/P1060710.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhz6D49j7NlhoRZJZCFITYUSmVI-ONd8f1h7c6t3grKfoxCW1xSA2nuYVpm4fHK8zVzv3VQ7WRq7cEucBL_e_LQkxsMsbjYKy9fic26I-paIJFrYS4gP1IUtN5J8RYm751Skt3bwiJfaDo/s320/P1060710.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408969740992832450" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Priscillia & her new baby girl Gabrielle</span></span></span><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiamMnhY1UwwUVqVLeUYTs0y5SkzNZW806Fd4rUGOCWW_-NOVNvys1LGAE_jGb8cLYiVHbzNmwSKhhTiT1g1jQZv-FSi3IVy7hgHBa1-OeU-xjkMt3pQ5GzI04-b9EAHsmNDkyZD3PaRAnk/s1600/P1060664.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiamMnhY1UwwUVqVLeUYTs0y5SkzNZW806Fd4rUGOCWW_-NOVNvys1LGAE_jGb8cLYiVHbzNmwSKhhTiT1g1jQZv-FSi3IVy7hgHBa1-OeU-xjkMt3pQ5GzI04-b9EAHsmNDkyZD3PaRAnk/s320/P1060664.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408969515452193602" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Us with Auntie Josephine @ afternoon tea</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCwNf97TYZPuKH2ymFPl_CUZChB22e0SlgUvJSBXoRy9Z2tjq8Z-mwHVVBipji9MdB-_JniLzEqtqkQZ7EwBJH9s06onWhM_RR_DaSvTZRf8IVGlrbKGlfstyzDoyyX8jURYtefDwCwV_/s1600/P1060713.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDCwNf97TYZPuKH2ymFPl_CUZChB22e0SlgUvJSBXoRy9Z2tjq8Z-mwHVVBipji9MdB-_JniLzEqtqkQZ7EwBJH9s06onWhM_RR_DaSvTZRf8IVGlrbKGlfstyzDoyyX8jURYtefDwCwV_/s320/P1060713.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409463215152350258" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Found the hing dai BBQ house Den! BBQ goose on rice :)</span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidWKJkdbMkzkzttmKB-voY29g5djRsIbC6TeBjc5hi1f6ycvbodV6vMdowIqoSnC5Aqk8MAkxbGlxa8N4f7Nxxup9Yh4Vfk4R4TEl3LWLluqgxPOS7RyS8Lk30VDw79LzgJEu5trDI2J6/s1600/P1060657.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgidWKJkdbMkzkzttmKB-voY29g5djRsIbC6TeBjc5hi1f6ycvbodV6vMdowIqoSnC5Aqk8MAkxbGlxa8N4f7Nxxup9Yh4Vfk4R4TEl3LWLluqgxPOS7RyS8Lk30VDw79LzgJEu5trDI2J6/s320/P1060657.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408969354144698882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:arial;" >Dim Sum with Hank's relatives</span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGVxKGsHeSikqSQIA8uxY8QHiDDPxNi1hjs6PhYqTCwGAb5Oczp7N8NbudbZVDbI2Wmay8-beWcnE-Ld1T5pryXzrvtCrmbl8-cq3IL2HAQwV_vbTYXYu6vhahYj2PhcBj5qnVgINnMuP/s1600/P1060648.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtGVxKGsHeSikqSQIA8uxY8QHiDDPxNi1hjs6PhYqTCwGAb5Oczp7N8NbudbZVDbI2Wmay8-beWcnE-Ld1T5pryXzrvtCrmbl8-cq3IL2HAQwV_vbTYXYu6vhahYj2PhcBj5qnVgINnMuP/s320/P1060648.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408969150205758498" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hot Pot :) </span></span></span><br /></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCsWMPe-J4ZdnBbEsusIV3hQWRaDSfWEiolrZ49RGbCOXnb_Irq0D6t5YK23RXwuIyso8hpX-21AY5EJS5amdcQHYo78A86wB4jViRhPdtO26y5Rhyq3MxSRzucD_uf8JGnfrjIFXm4Y7/s1600/P1060761.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidCsWMPe-J4ZdnBbEsusIV3hQWRaDSfWEiolrZ49RGbCOXnb_Irq0D6t5YK23RXwuIyso8hpX-21AY5EJS5amdcQHYo78A86wB4jViRhPdtO26y5Rhyq3MxSRzucD_uf8JGnfrjIFXm4Y7/s320/P1060761.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5409461632509979970" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">The perfect way to end our honeymoon...at Honeymoon Dessert! YUMMY!<br /></span><span><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Thanks for following our Asia trip these last three weeks...see you guys back home soon :)</span></span><br /></div></div>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-76629924090719764032009-11-27T07:00:00.000-08:002009-11-27T09:06:39.235-08:00The Motherland<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">My parents were born in Hanoi so we were really excited to visit the capital city to see where they grew up & stuff. We only had one day there so we booked our hotel in the Old Quarter so we could walk to popular sites like Sword Lake, The Opera House and St. Joseph's Cathedral. </span><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsjAKp0GQWsbWUEAwlgMT7JFYd51v9Mk-rYbd7bsNGhTe5k0wwNtN0cO4FRiXQo7lDoFvH1_pyB3ZRUPUeGZutHRNgz0N7G5QTAAKtE00ZWD0WlYFGW1mUSpfeHUJslML-hEqV-ia9pK4/s1600/hanoi+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 129px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxsjAKp0GQWsbWUEAwlgMT7JFYd51v9Mk-rYbd7bsNGhTe5k0wwNtN0cO4FRiXQo7lDoFvH1_pyB3ZRUPUeGZutHRNgz0N7G5QTAAKtE00ZWD0WlYFGW1mUSpfeHUJslML-hEqV-ia9pK4/s400/hanoi+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408819420170925122" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Before we left Vancouver, mom wrote down her address on a pamphlet some where and of course, I forgot to bring it! We tried to email home prior to arriving in Hanoi but no response :( </span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">I knew they lived near the lake and the Opera House so we roamed around the neighbourhoods and tried to guess where they lived. We walked through alleys and small streets and tried to take as many photos as we could hoping that they could recognize the area...we were SO off and this was how we found out:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After walking to the cathedral, Hank wanted to walk back to the hotel because he really needed to go pee. The only problem was that we were far....like REALLY far so I suggested that we walk into another hotel down the street. He hesitated for a second and decided to go in and ask. Hotels in the Old Quarter are super small and nothing like North American hotels where you could just go in and use their facilities without staff noticing. Sure enough, they didn't have a problem so he did his thing and back we went onto the streets of Hanoi.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">As we approached a new intersection, we decided to pull out our map to figure out which route to take. We were both studying it when we heard somebody yell, "Linnnnnaaa?!?" We looked at each other for a split second then looked around to see who was calling my name. To our immediate surprise, it was my cousin from Guangzhou, China who was with her mom and my other aunt and uncle...from LA, California! What were the chances!?! To think that if Hank didn't need to pee or make that pitstop, we could've missed them all together!<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyiS3hi3SIA0QlA8lqivsq-9WBZxWBHm759S_7HiK8BQJGr2lQ9o3c8s4BQw7oBR-WjUaPgeQVOmwwwTRyPa-CL5wsFGEtqobf0GljwLgx1HhKrf_1OCSgKVMFhHIdfpFP3tsH29s3Vpe/s1600/P1060594.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHyiS3hi3SIA0QlA8lqivsq-9WBZxWBHm759S_7HiK8BQJGr2lQ9o3c8s4BQw7oBR-WjUaPgeQVOmwwwTRyPa-CL5wsFGEtqobf0GljwLgx1HhKrf_1OCSgKVMFhHIdfpFP3tsH29s3Vpe/s320/P1060594.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408824955048684706" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">After a nice dinner with all of them (our second dinner btw), my 2 aunts led the way and walked us back towards Sword Lake and showed us where they really lived! The 9 siblings and my grandparents lived in the top 3 floors of a yellow building right next door to the Water Puppet Theatre. Hank and I were on the opposite side of the lake! No where close eh?<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipW62cpg1wsNH8LaE2qFTn1KPFHQE4x5wcO2_94s0prvqyQ8y-5mhyphenhyphenORn2S66TAhbgjrQC6Ewcqe5qLyfoLRop-Kch93ZMAmnAMhUA3np2HkZ1SdYDOv5tluB0-bCwYHe_QXIgH38avYTb/s1600/moms+house+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipW62cpg1wsNH8LaE2qFTn1KPFHQE4x5wcO2_94s0prvqyQ8y-5mhyphenhyphenORn2S66TAhbgjrQC6Ewcqe5qLyfoLRop-Kch93ZMAmnAMhUA3np2HkZ1SdYDOv5tluB0-bCwYHe_QXIgH38avYTb/s400/moms+house+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408824361692281826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We split up soon after they showed us a few more iconic places like where mom and dad used to go on dates and which ice cream parlors they'd hang out at. So cute! My aunt from Cali kept saying that she wasn`t able to recognize a lot of the city but luckily, these places were still around :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">When we got back to the hotel, we rested for a bit and I remembered that dad wanted me to call his childhood friend who I've never met before. Using broken Vietnamese, we carried on a decent conversation and before we knew it, he insisted on meeting in person and mumbled something and hung up. </span><span style="font-family:arial;">Five minutes later, we received a phone call and we were told that our somebody was waiting for us downstairs in the lobby! Hank and I basically went downstairs and followed some random stranger into a cab and took off. Pretty smart huh? </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Luckily, we learned pretty quickly that the guy we followed was my dad's friend's son, Tuan. When we got out of the cab, he took us around the neighbourhood and showed us where my parents lived after they got married. Tuan then showed us the way to his home where we met the rest of his family. They are the sweetest people on earth - especially his 18 month old baby :) They shared a ton of stories about their past and showed us old pictures of their long friendship with my parents over a nice pot of Vietnamese tea. I wished mom and dad were with us so they could reminisce with them!<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZ-UJfbOftwV8H9yAFxwmv4iTZD46R0_cstEWJntoiFSTQAwbIb4x0yLE0-uKZRcqCc8XLrMJX1a5xsj9mPu0FjZwmwZpG_tWDFX1GyV7aPq5bBlOoXvRg9kLTuzBu1UXvl_m4Hq84HnW/s1600/dads+house+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 79px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrZ-UJfbOftwV8H9yAFxwmv4iTZD46R0_cstEWJntoiFSTQAwbIb4x0yLE0-uKZRcqCc8XLrMJX1a5xsj9mPu0FjZwmwZpG_tWDFX1GyV7aPq5bBlOoXvRg9kLTuzBu1UXvl_m4Hq84HnW/s400/dads+house+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408827234320980386" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">What turned out to be a really great night didn't end there...they didn't take no for an answer so the whole family took us out to eat late night dinner...it was our 3rd meal of the evening! Too bad our stay was really short in Hanoi but for sure we'll be back :)<br /><br /><br /></span></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-79190360992543442602009-11-26T08:51:00.000-08:002009-11-26T10:37:53.659-08:00Hoi An<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Hoi An is a small little town in central Vietnam where tourists typically go to hang out at Cua Dai Beach or like us, go on serious shopping sprees! Majority of the shops that line the famous marketplace were very talented tailors who wanted our business. Since supply was higher than demand, there was a lot room to bargain...then bargain some more...and some more after that!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The process was relatively easy:</span><br /></span><ol style="font-family: arial;"><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Sit down.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Decide what you want made either by bringing your own pictures or by going through their catalogues.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Pick your fabrics.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Get measured.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">The tailor provides you with an estimate.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">You say, "What?!!?"<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Tailor asks what you want to pay.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Low ball them like no tomorrow.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Tailor says, "Noooo."</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Threaten to leave.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Tailor tries to negotiate.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Low ball some more.</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Tailor says, "What?!!?"</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">And repeat from point number 10 until both parties come to a realization that there's no more budging involved.</span></li></ol><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzndZDWLway20gUdo7zVVYWXtUBPYCc_dQdLFiURBMA963_xDChI8X4fQx_xppE57qp36ItlcfpQWJoQ-Y8v2NZ4hYzReSgLMIzPF7_zqEcWrfUm91EEtRrpJyerh58vPQuzYZSE-u5PgQ/s1600/clothing+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 163px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzndZDWLway20gUdo7zVVYWXtUBPYCc_dQdLFiURBMA963_xDChI8X4fQx_xppE57qp36ItlcfpQWJoQ-Y8v2NZ4hYzReSgLMIzPF7_zqEcWrfUm91EEtRrpJyerh58vPQuzYZSE-u5PgQ/s400/clothing+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408473969547349618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">We got quite a bit made between the two of us...let's just say we had to buy another suitcase to bring everything home!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Hoi An amazingly enough hasn't converted into another touristy city yet despite the fact that it attracts tons of Australian and European tourists all year round. (We only crossed paths with one other Canadian couple from Calgary by the way!) It's a nice change to visit a small town that's truly authentic and not Americanized...yet! In about five years or so, we're sure a McDonald's or KFC will appear on a corner some where.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtP20KvU6S8_vbW7BCvlkjyGQ2Oh62cPHW6J5WChO6etTWYXvS5CeiT06ph74KSA0ef358r0z53tkfnFVzOBUWg31syz-Fz1u0LDsjUDt39OiW4pcmQtNwROqmPkfYbW7gOoQ2mH4i42tH/s1600/hoi-an+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtP20KvU6S8_vbW7BCvlkjyGQ2Oh62cPHW6J5WChO6etTWYXvS5CeiT06ph74KSA0ef358r0z53tkfnFVzOBUWg31syz-Fz1u0LDsjUDt39OiW4pcmQtNwROqmPkfYbW7gOoQ2mH4i42tH/s400/hoi-an+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408474736311236450" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Speaking of restaurants, the cuisine here was just as authentic as the town was! Every meal was like a feast...it's really inexpensive to eat in Hoi An. Our meals that included 3-4 dishes of food and beer & fresh fruit shakes ranged any where between $6-$10CAD all together.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5sDOIQqBEdlXBEO_ameY2tlQ72nnTCSoOx7HliqgyUqWkD_KMnqeKnbPFVCPpxUeIWhN2sXM3_XxhFDbvuZAUVG12sGdtW03H6OcBFQkcI_uDn_831I9E4WUwHYfY7je4y_1XNKFdGD8z/s1600/food+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 364px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5sDOIQqBEdlXBEO_ameY2tlQ72nnTCSoOx7HliqgyUqWkD_KMnqeKnbPFVCPpxUeIWhN2sXM3_XxhFDbvuZAUVG12sGdtW03H6OcBFQkcI_uDn_831I9E4WUwHYfY7je4y_1XNKFdGD8z/s400/food+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408474387304642594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Our most memorable dinner was when we dined at a restaurant across the street from our hotel. Lots of storefronts in Hoi An are basically the first floor of the residents' homes...so basically, it's very common that the locals are running a restaurant with their own kitchen! It's quite amazing to witness the whole operation.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">It just so happened that this one restaurant we went to became super busy so of course, the food took a really long time to prepare. The owner was so cute. Like so so cute. She felt super bad that everybody was starving so the first thing she did was she walked out of her kitchen with a tray full of shot glasses that were filled with homemade rice wine. Everybody cheered and clapped and she told everybody that she was really grateful that we were all dining in her home. As much as we appreciated the kind gesture, I took a quick whiff at it and it smelled like </span><span style="font-family: arial;">isopropyl </span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"> rubbing alcohol...clearly, the most logical thing to do was to pass!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCECJnQmfbsazREvITplEIZPwJFAgczyydy95_3yBBYCxABT6kLpAwm_CDafDWcskFGWEPDQx4vuWRso-ojJSQ4r796ShJX0WVajebUg3JMnwL1tdeZbstIv-Ufm3ts1LxhE5f0pwc5MqW/s1600/P1050513.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 336px; height: 253px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCECJnQmfbsazREvITplEIZPwJFAgczyydy95_3yBBYCxABT6kLpAwm_CDafDWcskFGWEPDQx4vuWRso-ojJSQ4r796ShJX0WVajebUg3JMnwL1tdeZbstIv-Ufm3ts1LxhE5f0pwc5MqW/s400/P1050513.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5408476253071513842" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">Then, the owner went from table to table explaining to us that she was going to sing for us! Again, in appreciation of our patience, she wanted to provide us with free entertainment. Seriously, North American restaurant owners should adapt to some of these gestures! hehe. First, she sang (in English) a verse from the theme song of her favourite movie Titanic. Next, she explained to us that she never went to school to learn any English and she sang that song based on pure memory. Impressive! Then, she sang a popular Vietnamese love song about a guy who cut some other guy`s grass and at the end, the girl chose the new guy. For a second there, I thought it was kinda weird that we were on our honeymoon!</span><br /></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-76631112483376010422009-11-23T06:58:00.000-08:002009-11-23T09:50:20.401-08:00Vinpearl Land<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Flying into Nha Trang seemed to be one of the best experiences yet. The flight was less than an hour from Saigon and we were greeted by some hotel staff who presented us with a flower bouquet, cold refreshing towels and bottled water! The transfer itself was about 40 minutes and as we were approaching what we thought was our hotel, it turned out to be the "mainland" office.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">Apparently, this was the hub where all their speedboats, ferries and cable cars existed to take their guests across a very big body of water (clearly, we don't know what it's called) to the actual hotel!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">We opted to take the cable cars across the sea despite Hank's phobia of heights. How could we not?! According to our pamphlet, it stretches 3320 metres, has a total of 9 Eiffel-Tower-like pillars that light up at night, is on average 40 metres above sea level (60m is the highest point), it can function normally & withstand typhoon level 7 and it only takes 12 minutes to get across :)</span><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDZVDT4n71VIFVhW2MIHwIt8oPXExC5hVAkwc-DkFcb7F48V7Zc4HxqIAvJgzIl5feqDOB5ipcyi-5W9wvdUi6pD7_DcKwxh9iinqcWFJcbggraW2WNjHNoLzzuQ8BuGXc6Dv6mjkZ9pJ/s1600/cable+car+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 161px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQDZVDT4n71VIFVhW2MIHwIt8oPXExC5hVAkwc-DkFcb7F48V7Zc4HxqIAvJgzIl5feqDOB5ipcyi-5W9wvdUi6pD7_DcKwxh9iinqcWFJcbggraW2WNjHNoLzzuQ8BuGXc6Dv6mjkZ9pJ/s400/cable+car+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407338275799068306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Ok...it was a bit frightening at times as we were faced with major overcast, strong winds and some rain while riding the damn thing but what mattered was that we made it in one piece!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Once we checked in, we were told that we had to carry our room keys every where we went...we understood why quite quickly. To sum it up, this resort was more or less a combination of PNE, Splashdown Park, Oakridge Mall and the Vancouver Aquarium. On top of all that, it's lined with a long Mayan-Riviera-like-beach from Mexico!<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yjCmDpwyUlJwAohh23jzk4VLtXwRMepLQ5ZTeAw22qrz10mry-6d4gA-rc94gN6e1YlnRoC8HDiCM8wgtpVijmhqQnWkL5DzNAneSD4oeoixzbaGFt9hOLzpv8RBJzDhPtk2IZvfLRb5/s1600/vinpearl+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0yjCmDpwyUlJwAohh23jzk4VLtXwRMepLQ5ZTeAw22qrz10mry-6d4gA-rc94gN6e1YlnRoC8HDiCM8wgtpVijmhqQnWkL5DzNAneSD4oeoixzbaGFt9hOLzpv8RBJzDhPtk2IZvfLRb5/s400/vinpearl+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407357525121233746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The system they have in place was quite sophisticated...you'd have to wait for their "tuk tuk" or shuttle bus to take you to each attraction. Once you arrive at the gates, you insert your room key into the machine at the turnstile thingy and your picture appears on their screen. (We were wondering why they borrowed our passports!) There's no cheating here! It's easy though as there are no additional costs to go on rides, play arcade games, enter the aquarium etc. - it's all included in your room rates :)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />What was also included was all of our meals. Seeing that you're in a VERY remote destination, you have to eat at this hotel! Breakfast, lunch and dinner was AYCE...sigh...there's no way of describing the experience but to mention that we are running low on tums :( Food was fab as expected - lots of Vietnamese, Asian and international cuisines to suit everybody's preferences!<br /><br /></span> </span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1WQ7PfFvFuLJ2_BJWRhJJnhYkLDM-mdy0pS9yRdl4ALlqzB-vobsKRWuJ-FDdLXWw7dCIwVajBYgfUFUy6eXhd3FziKFsJf159Bkv5BVo19n-NI13xgsysPREIkAsXeFqKLPdeROzEiF/s1600/food+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEia1WQ7PfFvFuLJ2_BJWRhJJnhYkLDM-mdy0pS9yRdl4ALlqzB-vobsKRWuJ-FDdLXWw7dCIwVajBYgfUFUy6eXhd3FziKFsJf159Bkv5BVo19n-NI13xgsysPREIkAsXeFqKLPdeROzEiF/s400/food+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407349258328646482" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The package we found for this hotel also included 2 foot massages, private fine dining experience at the beachfront restaurant and a photography tour around the resort. Wish we stayed here for an extra day - we had no idea the extent of how big this place really was and didn't have that much time to enjoy everything!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Upon our 5am departure (via the speedboat this time), they gave us two breakfast boxes so we wouldn't starve and presented us with a farewell gift! We totally thought they would just show us the digital proofs from the photo tour we did, but they actually printed them up, placed them in a really nice album and gave us a CD of all the shots. We love this place! Definitely two thumbs up and would recommend it to anybody visiting Nha Trang. (Don't worry, they didn't pay us to say that!) </span> </span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-81674941356590477242009-11-21T22:42:00.001-08:002009-11-21T23:25:53.823-08:00Good Morning Vietnam!<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We stopped by Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) before catching a flight to Nha Trang the following day. Even though our time here was short, we can tell you that this city is INSANELY busy! 10 million people, 6 million scooters. The traffic is chaos every second of the day and to add to it, we don't think there are any rules as to how folks drive around here! Amazingly enough, drivers are pretty good at dodging scooters, bicycles, motorcycles, trucks, pedestrians and other cars when driving across 4-5 lanes of traffic!<br /><br /></span> </span><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6lLmZKMsNHP7KsteXI2QDQs2-B-Oy654c4jP_1prFcfzPtAFghyphenhyphenTX-8Xi2zunWXZJA_5YktbnMVNhl4JqoL_NhrgVe3oH5nGfoIjrJnxVU8UDdVxBV8ev0g7PfhveD3EmtbAzHvTq8f96/s1600/P1050495.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6lLmZKMsNHP7KsteXI2QDQs2-B-Oy654c4jP_1prFcfzPtAFghyphenhyphenTX-8Xi2zunWXZJA_5YktbnMVNhl4JqoL_NhrgVe3oH5nGfoIjrJnxVU8UDdVxBV8ev0g7PfhveD3EmtbAzHvTq8f96/s320/P1050495.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406816983738789186" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">Early morning traffic that wasn't bad at all; night before, completely saturated with 10x the number of vehicles (would've taken a picture but didn't want to get run over!)<br /><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span><div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRO2bhezuJCo-S6-jNGxJzIOAncPQILkNHlpMWpKGpVkleWc9SOEyr_z_I9QF4wTucy4Ol0f_2bXeBo3o3-YbNI8ArEdnK7O8WHV0UaWD71ywZOxABpm3Hr0kHXJrSe8eVK75aH8osL9Hu/s1600/P1050499.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRO2bhezuJCo-S6-jNGxJzIOAncPQILkNHlpMWpKGpVkleWc9SOEyr_z_I9QF4wTucy4Ol0f_2bXeBo3o3-YbNI8ArEdnK7O8WHV0UaWD71ywZOxABpm3Hr0kHXJrSe8eVK75aH8osL9Hu/s320/P1050499.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5406817494777896002" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;">The neighbourhood we hung out in for the day<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Food was good in Saigon too of course...and the price was even better! We found a Vietnamese rice noodle chain restaurant called<span style="font-style: italic;"> Pho 24...</span>Hank got a decent sized bowl of chicken pho, springrolls and a coke for $4! We went back the next morning for some more before we left for the airport :)</span><br /></div></div>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-50987374381544084092009-11-18T17:33:00.000-08:002009-11-18T17:56:16.274-08:00Dinner at The Barge<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">We walked down the street the other night to check out another resort's restaurant called </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" >The Barge</span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">. It was such a beautiful setting - our table was right on the beach!</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZNSeiYgUIfS4MlLaaUalz-KOfqKG8Vze0D3HZC9XC_BDvJrLc2zCUtugKulimMcfMOxOh_Lf29cy2Oxa5BoP-szA43AeUtCBff_v5hilYyxQOeG3C1HY6HL8J08JPFI2RDzSvfht0Ts2/s1600/P1050464.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZNSeiYgUIfS4MlLaaUalz-KOfqKG8Vze0D3HZC9XC_BDvJrLc2zCUtugKulimMcfMOxOh_Lf29cy2Oxa5BoP-szA43AeUtCBff_v5hilYyxQOeG3C1HY6HL8J08JPFI2RDzSvfht0Ts2/s320/P1050464.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405624114166494818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">vegetables in crispy flower cups<br /></span></span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDtsMHU4HKB6zTyArmOi898MG2-p0E9S39O5Ad4yb6f0pVG7KbjQB8hytAepK9eHIj9fYVNHIeTGnEoFGj6ot6wvsx1ohrfd3Q04XmFpg4E_1evcLV0F41-nRQTJt9GIId9TYQCY2ZoEr/s1600/P1050468.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyDtsMHU4HKB6zTyArmOi898MG2-p0E9S39O5Ad4yb6f0pVG7KbjQB8hytAepK9eHIj9fYVNHIeTGnEoFGj6ot6wvsx1ohrfd3Q04XmFpg4E_1evcLV0F41-nRQTJt9GIId9TYQCY2ZoEr/s320/P1050468.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405624334542323426" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">duck & lychee curry, pad thai noodles stuffed in egg omlette, honey chicken in banana leaves<br /></span></span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYW4hb3kgsiM-8HJWnbmxWUb8kkzHZnwpFG64Q1f67GN0g7Se_HuYmH6_FaFzEKDIpXsueUSVO3sYVH50d5cknGJUUo02gPbZTwLmMO-6ytd2hqxbj7E3orwCf6gY4NSi1YuiuR8zCmMHK/s1600/P1050471.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYW4hb3kgsiM-8HJWnbmxWUb8kkzHZnwpFG64Q1f67GN0g7Se_HuYmH6_FaFzEKDIpXsueUSVO3sYVH50d5cknGJUUo02gPbZTwLmMO-6ytd2hqxbj7E3orwCf6gY4NSi1YuiuR8zCmMHK/s320/P1050471.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405624607469691266" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">us getting ready to stuff our faces :)<br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">You know you're too full when you have to pop some tums in the middle of the night! Post again soon, on route to Vietnam :)</span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;"></span></span></span></div></div>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-58763726369277037902009-11-18T07:35:00.000-08:002009-11-18T09:09:14.716-08:00Island Safari Day<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We ventured off one day and signed up for an island safari tour. The jeep arrived promptly at our hotel lobby at 9am and we climbed our way onto the back seats and hung on for dear life due to the lack of seatbelts! The tourist destination was about a 35 minute drive through the city and a few turns later, we entered a jungle...a very green one that was lined with LOTS of coconut trees and filled with animals we wanted to see!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-zpYnE30POCscJnJX6ADPha63km3U1H1pINhDw_OKPKUTKy9lS096pB0_EJeqt5z8lANltFYSzBhI4NXsaE7oC8tmKmp81O0Jsy_M1RQsjG-R5tJN3NJde9ZJYm09oAxhrs8EgrBmxIY/s1600/P1050424.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-zpYnE30POCscJnJX6ADPha63km3U1H1pINhDw_OKPKUTKy9lS096pB0_EJeqt5z8lANltFYSzBhI4NXsaE7oC8tmKmp81O0Jsy_M1RQsjG-R5tJN3NJde9ZJYm09oAxhrs8EgrBmxIY/s320/P1050424.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405476107105620482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Our first stop was to visit the baby elephants...they're so adorable. I paid 50 bahts (just over $1 CAD) for a basketful of bananas and got a chance to feed them! I laid the banana on the palm of my hand and they'd use their trunks to sniff it out...kind of a weird feeling at first! They're skin isn't exactly the softest in the world and they'd wrap their li'l wet snouty trunks around the yellow fruit and would just toss it in their mouths like how we'd pop tic tacs. They're also quite greedy...and tricky! If you're trying to feed another elephant, the other one will just non-chalantly try to reach over and grab more bananas from your basket with its trunk! Bad elephant!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKsOY8ysrWIjyFtl1OVAhfCq8wx0YMWn4vTstJvXzT9ojFZnDSm6I_B_RNLwcn3ZUT2hOl6cFkqywE3lp5Y7DoImYkLmqcy0UAsESBf5ETm9pZZL16F0AiXPwskF8_gAU9clPirKIcc6C/s1600/elephants+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGKsOY8ysrWIjyFtl1OVAhfCq8wx0YMWn4vTstJvXzT9ojFZnDSm6I_B_RNLwcn3ZUT2hOl6cFkqywE3lp5Y7DoImYkLmqcy0UAsESBf5ETm9pZZL16F0AiXPwskF8_gAU9clPirKIcc6C/s400/elephants+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405477556823992866" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">During the monkey show, we learned that aside from playing, eating and sleeping, they also climb coconut trees every day to help the locals collect coconuts. Thanks to their help, Samui exports an average of 3 million coconuts to the rest of Thailand on a monthly basis!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5PajEbcMxpx6ougLOnBlJlifdiQmrKsatdQ773vD7j8u-BmnjEwD4H9e2nK2vaD6KQ3qmww61CnN-Fduo5PxEqx3lsvm3wpYBpY4xWA5GTxUGRYuu0SDGmA6ZSu_t0z9-2NRd0z91ts7/s1600/monkeys+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj5PajEbcMxpx6ougLOnBlJlifdiQmrKsatdQ773vD7j8u-BmnjEwD4H9e2nK2vaD6KQ3qmww61CnN-Fduo5PxEqx3lsvm3wpYBpY4xWA5GTxUGRYuu0SDGmA6ZSu_t0z9-2NRd0z91ts7/s400/monkeys+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405478660111448626" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">After watching a Thai boxing match, it was our turn to go elephant trekking. Back in the day, this was how their kings and royalty travelled around town! During the ride, our driver presented us with some jewelery he made as he was steering the elephant. He weaved two rings and a bracelet out of one long green leaf. Impressive...but even more so was how the rings fit our fingers perfectly!</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_WJfjkpqquQ5Ti4efnDBWt4vTCxSsOjym4nX8r7rmEQSXRm1c91HdHl9Y77RcT245VOmcG5KOywfWNeynp4Cv3nyZeVeZnqTBILb98idmmS9U-TzbTMm4Q3A6Vnt0wHit8h-eS1AVcKl/s1600/trekking+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr_WJfjkpqquQ5Ti4efnDBWt4vTCxSsOjym4nX8r7rmEQSXRm1c91HdHl9Y77RcT245VOmcG5KOywfWNeynp4Cv3nyZeVeZnqTBILb98idmmS9U-TzbTMm4Q3A6Vnt0wHit8h-eS1AVcKl/s400/trekking+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405483156866921506" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Our day trip ended with a long drive to their famous waterfall. We were expecting something spectacular but instead, it appeared to be similar to the falls we can find hiking through Lynn Valley and unfortunately, nothing like the Niagra! We also took part in a canoe ride down a private river....which in fact was really just a hot pink blow-up rafty thing - nothing near an actual canoe at all but was still fun :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Overall, our day was really eventful but we did question the reality of how our animal friends were being treated at this tourist attraction. After all the shows were performed, it made us very sad to see them chained or tied up to trees or their cages. We even witnessed some trainers whacking them on the head & tugging on their ears to obey their commands. We left feeling really bad and hope that the animals behind these gates are better off than we think...tourist's remorse is what we're calling it for now! xoxo safari friends!</span><br /><br /></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-26584605408391650022009-11-16T21:30:00.000-08:002009-11-17T07:45:27.399-08:00Our day-to-day<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Some more pictures of where we're spending a lot of our time in Samui:</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR67N9fSRAkrKIL3EoCjXw59QsjWUvA_wtv9dLFFt-qcpu4L_qQzG4Diu5WDtOpAYCp2IvGMl8UdV5YmVds9RHswH33zdfMXyFCnXXfW6CykQLFAAH9S6z4TSEbWYmEtl6uk-KLm74VgUS/s1600/P1050446.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR67N9fSRAkrKIL3EoCjXw59QsjWUvA_wtv9dLFFt-qcpu4L_qQzG4Diu5WDtOpAYCp2IvGMl8UdV5YmVds9RHswH33zdfMXyFCnXXfW6CykQLFAAH9S6z4TSEbWYmEtl6uk-KLm74VgUS/s400/P1050446.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404943654395412402" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">Bhundari's entrance</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVMuczaviKqtr2bVMmK_kyqubyP07l4wVhIKIkkV94HDCCox3Rse0qDWgDCwyU-PioT8EKfFiFssaGVuTAsz8t0I7BLUWGmqUPCsuF0cTiuILnehhvVApm-uqzAQ7sFwmYMSnivvCjXJi/s1600/P1050451.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFVMuczaviKqtr2bVMmK_kyqubyP07l4wVhIKIkkV94HDCCox3Rse0qDWgDCwyU-PioT8EKfFiFssaGVuTAsz8t0I7BLUWGmqUPCsuF0cTiuILnehhvVApm-uqzAQ7sFwmYMSnivvCjXJi/s400/P1050451.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404944940051428194" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">another view of the lobby</span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZu1BfuiarAkrADxRj4dwkHy6m9W7nKB9HB6b0wB48UZDJ2AKRWbdJxEBXVZ9mizmPx5UWd9HsRgjqYIKq2-xjkcwgmQ9V5YDF_hoI3PCI8P_iBdRlXPwDxvL3tLyINtBtVPhAnNLN8LZO/s1600/P1050443.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZu1BfuiarAkrADxRj4dwkHy6m9W7nKB9HB6b0wB48UZDJ2AKRWbdJxEBXVZ9mizmPx5UWd9HsRgjqYIKq2-xjkcwgmQ9V5YDF_hoI3PCI8P_iBdRlXPwDxvL3tLyINtBtVPhAnNLN8LZO/s400/P1050443.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404948073555987810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">swimming pools #3 & 4 </span></span><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDyybMmQzhvPp6ZHg3qNGhM47AjR038U5PKbG_md8WZ_24VGXFU1MzJOR0klFzat_7hyZ-64jGz9D8Y71iBpVHA4r1GewukaUt9HN4DKG9TdMfi0a8e3Rp7_mhuiTLAjO0g9KidABxBmP/s1600/P1050444.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDyybMmQzhvPp6ZHg3qNGhM47AjR038U5PKbG_md8WZ_24VGXFU1MzJOR0klFzat_7hyZ-64jGz9D8Y71iBpVHA4r1GewukaUt9HN4DKG9TdMfi0a8e3Rp7_mhuiTLAjO0g9KidABxBmP/s400/P1050444.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404949884702020242" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">swimming pool #5 with a bar</span></span><br /></div><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Our days here have been pretty routine now. We wake up early, enjoy a breakfast buffet, go out and find our tanning chairs, go for a swim, tan, play in the water again, grab lunch & snacks, tan a bit more then end our day in the jacuzzi before eating & drinking again :)</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTYQgxAnWjZ97RfzYFZ47bfICWUYm5DnpVx7l7hi2YO01oYcLMpFsKLchTBbvKEfgeCcCc15XArXwoyXC_b518J2KJ6VLw_0uz6z_U-ykYEB8grVmNjSW7FoS5bTbQUnOxq-fk1CYUw1M/s1600/food+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFTYQgxAnWjZ97RfzYFZ47bfICWUYm5DnpVx7l7hi2YO01oYcLMpFsKLchTBbvKEfgeCcCc15XArXwoyXC_b518J2KJ6VLw_0uz6z_U-ykYEB8grVmNjSW7FoS5bTbQUnOxq-fk1CYUw1M/s400/food+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404960045929094034" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">drinks, breakfast, canapes, thai fried rice, pad thai (it is brown here!), mango & banana spring rolls with ice cream<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">One day, we decided to indulge ourselves and enjoy a day at the resort's spa. We chose the couple's package which took up 4 whole hours!</span> </span><ul><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">steam therapy</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">detoxifying scrub/sea champagne body wrap</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">orange blossom milk bath</span></li><li style="font-family: arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;">deep tissue/aromatherapy massage</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">facial treatments </span></span><br /></li></ul><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpwOVaQWKhfZpbeRlUQRpvThfGybVpvrdGl6VcXrsggY5AvlPncbFunRDZL29s18Htms2xqTEwoxbK43t8LofEBs1jdx5cfVEU-IXMciHqtgieaSWHHkSG0R3B8QSX3KFyYAKfSOulSFU/s1600/P1060097.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjpwOVaQWKhfZpbeRlUQRpvThfGybVpvrdGl6VcXrsggY5AvlPncbFunRDZL29s18Htms2xqTEwoxbK43t8LofEBs1jdx5cfVEU-IXMciHqtgieaSWHHkSG0R3B8QSX3KFyYAKfSOulSFU/s400/P1060097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5405098008002417170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Yup...one of the best 4 hours ever! </span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></span></div></div>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-48172407650520849262009-11-15T17:50:00.000-08:002009-11-15T20:02:18.551-08:002nd Leg: Koh Samui, Thailand<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">After a five hour plane ride to Hong Kong and then another 3 hour flight to Koh Samui...we finally made it to Thailand! Our resort was less than 10 minutes away from the airport (thank goodness!) and it appeared even nicer than what we saw on the Internet when we were booking our holidays :)</span> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Here is where we're hanging out:<br /><br /></span> </span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT1PAx7mYUNBfyO-lsH8n6t8w9XumiiRD6rE4T0-WbXYVYAGgSlSsSkcHPdqgirNNf5K9n9eei0vC-FGzfAiQIs1Us-LqT5_b8gh80JL5-zP1POg2db_04i74CPRENQ98MDRs8iIO3sHq/s1600/bhundari-room.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 160px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihT1PAx7mYUNBfyO-lsH8n6t8w9XumiiRD6rE4T0-WbXYVYAGgSlSsSkcHPdqgirNNf5K9n9eei0vC-FGzfAiQIs1Us-LqT5_b8gh80JL5-zP1POg2db_04i74CPRENQ98MDRs8iIO3sHq/s400/bhundari-room.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404514394301706514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">Bhundari Spa Resort, our bedroom, our balcony, our bathroom</span><br /><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFUcuCV3OVr3w7R5ppF4Nel8Dk-A5A6U2pI7hyphenhyphentEc3ltt91wuJbs0GzrFrEIGenE9dTYZ8JVbeSat0AbrfmLboEiiWbBlDRo4G8mCEkDmFirEmjMiD5sEU59FvbXw9ro2jejuUSoTjSxl/s1600/P1060036.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlFUcuCV3OVr3w7R5ppF4Nel8Dk-A5A6U2pI7hyphenhyphentEc3ltt91wuJbs0GzrFrEIGenE9dTYZ8JVbeSat0AbrfmLboEiiWbBlDRo4G8mCEkDmFirEmjMiD5sEU59FvbXw9ro2jejuUSoTjSxl/s400/P1060036.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404515558663794690" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">our view from the balcony</span><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdGcqC_9AMelWgJuJbxkSCcvGWul3oSuVRmS8xzYFJpzhgqi2PaahCCx1vy8PwjWq5dYtqvBRKtLQXC10XEbTRpqBHiBAhlokABTLakNIXXFfgEuN0japX2c4NLuwn1StMYCarBC17-YB/s1600/P1060102.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdGcqC_9AMelWgJuJbxkSCcvGWul3oSuVRmS8xzYFJpzhgqi2PaahCCx1vy8PwjWq5dYtqvBRKtLQXC10XEbTRpqBHiBAhlokABTLakNIXXFfgEuN0japX2c4NLuwn1StMYCarBC17-YB/s400/P1060102.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404538647555771522" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">our lobby</span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52bt3mqL2Q4dTlWVJrZ5ntwqeEDWp2G2uNxq4Q8AiD28NXkZGf_Kt-dH4GCKSPWBnZALItwKTosYHNMXesTOWqjUenhyphenhyphenApg5HkkmsWzNAkTyD1e-g9VhNDGaGRhBDgG1MhcNTdvmnJ9s3/s1600/P1060082.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52bt3mqL2Q4dTlWVJrZ5ntwqeEDWp2G2uNxq4Q8AiD28NXkZGf_Kt-dH4GCKSPWBnZALItwKTosYHNMXesTOWqjUenhyphenhyphenApg5HkkmsWzNAkTyD1e-g9VhNDGaGRhBDgG1MhcNTdvmnJ9s3/s400/P1060082.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404533318404188594" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-family: arial;">one of our favourite swimming pools</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs62bkL1t250uzi8dyHAbYIu0_woX2txVJ6ok-VF9VGMW3TuEG02-OceehrQjUAfYj5XcIhTE6f9-U1R5EcmNmeBHM1oMg_IT-VWdzK5nqB-0XPev0sBBAJiXdbj95k_qhQ12e4FfFeA6P/s1600/P1050347.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs62bkL1t250uzi8dyHAbYIu0_woX2txVJ6ok-VF9VGMW3TuEG02-OceehrQjUAfYj5XcIhTE6f9-U1R5EcmNmeBHM1oMg_IT-VWdzK5nqB-0XPev0sBBAJiXdbj95k_qhQ12e4FfFeA6P/s400/P1050347.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404535740924011618" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family: arial;">another pool & jacuzzi underneath our favourite swimming pool</span><br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" >Time to go tan on the other side of the resort now so we'll post again later! </span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br /></span></div><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-44093663294210881012009-11-14T16:28:00.002-08:002009-11-15T04:30:28.376-08:00Two-seventy...Again!<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">We decided our last dinner in Japan should be back at the 270 yen restaurant. They had a wide range of variety and there was so much more we wanted to try! Funnily enough, we had a different host seat us that night...he tried to explain to us that their menus weren't in English. Hank steps in and was all, "Don't worry! We know!" As he hesitantly sat us down, we quickly worked the touch-screen system pretty well and must've blown him away :)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Our dinner consisted of:<br /><br /></span> </span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoF6xlDnsUtsCFGtToTzBrf4xxOgAARlVObjA9MOCNNaBhDCIvR2mswkgEHdGjgvEMGcoOA5BXdpg1frFQXRQD9JMygQRH6zQHV2qVV_UHPSx__Pnsq3c_6ALqp_xcfQBNe2CRs32nNie/s1600-h/270-2+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 105px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLoF6xlDnsUtsCFGtToTzBrf4xxOgAARlVObjA9MOCNNaBhDCIvR2mswkgEHdGjgvEMGcoOA5BXdpg1frFQXRQD9JMygQRH6zQHV2qVV_UHPSx__Pnsq3c_6ALqp_xcfQBNe2CRs32nNie/s400/270-2+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404122701234811986" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Slices of toast baked in cream cheese, tobiko & mayo on a hot plate of grilled cheese, calamari, more tako balls, deep fried octopus & tuna tartare with quail's egg</span><br /><br /></span></span></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWkpI0lTymb7TDizNqT8sxldNxSZz1UImpv0H4IMkipqwqE9wSLjanUQEGt3f8S13c8duA_g08_RwjO5eS2Rpf9LzJIZY_8Jze2gQpGkAI5KCydP5HtR1jkffdIdCtjQyZESdlloEK8U7/s1600-h/270-2b+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 113px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnWkpI0lTymb7TDizNqT8sxldNxSZz1UImpv0H4IMkipqwqE9wSLjanUQEGt3f8S13c8duA_g08_RwjO5eS2Rpf9LzJIZY_8Jze2gQpGkAI5KCydP5HtR1jkffdIdCtjQyZESdlloEK8U7/s400/270-2b+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404123572783025746" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Potato salad with tobiko & toast, unknown fish sushi, and at the time & a very questionable dessert!<br /><br /></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />This was what we ordered for my sweet tooth:</span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNFWpYLu0mWge7jl2PlMnCaQCOrAx0GQ6V3ayiKikaffb0bIZuW994igkf7LWN3PnoFDi8VQrJ-Xqn2fNnov8YCPAegSKUHTWcIZ1Mpv5MD4iLlVE_lZIoH2TX83WTDHn3yzQIykCTf1U/s1600-h/P1060014.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfNFWpYLu0mWge7jl2PlMnCaQCOrAx0GQ6V3ayiKikaffb0bIZuW994igkf7LWN3PnoFDi8VQrJ-Xqn2fNnov8YCPAegSKUHTWcIZ1Mpv5MD4iLlVE_lZIoH2TX83WTDHn3yzQIykCTf1U/s400/P1060014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404125696217479202" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" ><br />Doesn't it look nice and fluffy? Maybe coconut-like or perhaps ice cream? I slowly unwrapped what looked like two sheets of wet Bounty paper towels and tried it anyways!</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdNFYD6Ocr3a4JzDY32J1ro7KTz9HQQvfPPT4_KLkIaNBBVKnNKl18Uq8KUv4xHUFfqfJzZVnycB-HpIljIvX1mgGE2Mm4fO9mUJ2aDlD57BXGln8zUmcpWGJ7KnZlqgwF34ZQXWEZYm_/s1600-h/dessert+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 168px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcdNFYD6Ocr3a4JzDY32J1ro7KTz9HQQvfPPT4_KLkIaNBBVKnNKl18Uq8KUv4xHUFfqfJzZVnycB-HpIljIvX1mgGE2Mm4fO9mUJ2aDlD57BXGln8zUmcpWGJ7KnZlqgwF34ZQXWEZYm_/s400/dessert+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5404126769227167298" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >......it was good! I thought it was cold whipped cream cheese that was sweetened! (Hank just thought it was whipped cream!) The li'l dish of red sauce was still a mystery though. It definitely looked like chili sauce but was thinner in consistency...and it didn't taste like anything! Oh well, at least we tried it and had another fab experience at 270 :)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"></span></span></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></span></div></div>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-35018424157914525052009-11-14T04:52:00.000-08:002009-11-14T05:00:14.514-08:00We 'Heart' Crepes<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Crepes are EVERYWHERE in Tokyo. Small mom & pop shops, big chain shops, even small little stalls at the end of a street exist. It's too yummy not to write about! The variety seems endless and lots of food vendors tend to make plastic versions of their dishes and display it by their front doors to make your mouth water. How does one decide?!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">You can order cold ones, hot ones, sweet ones, salty ones, spicy ones...whatever! They make it all :) I had one once a day. Wait. Let me rephrase...I stuffed my face with one once a day. Flavour of choice: fresh bananas, custard and hot caramel. YUM! In the photo below, Hank had one with lettuce, tuna, a hot dog weiner and corn! (Sounds a bit odd we know, but it was really good!)<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySFUYNMMcsZfK6P1i_G-1uOG4FZLFxuGk25dcwhSo3BLjWSuYX7GcdMYPpdmG9om1p9BhvEZFsjRFQG_PmUzbyqsRYJOyd3IMDNNWCMRCQEVPjPGx5KPlbpjlG-bO7IAr7J5DG4U7oTr2/s1600-h/crepes+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhySFUYNMMcsZfK6P1i_G-1uOG4FZLFxuGk25dcwhSo3BLjWSuYX7GcdMYPpdmG9om1p9BhvEZFsjRFQG_PmUzbyqsRYJOyd3IMDNNWCMRCQEVPjPGx5KPlbpjlG-bO7IAr7J5DG4U7oTr2/s400/crepes+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403942170232608834" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />So seriously, how do you go wrong with them? It's made in front of your eyes, it's fast, inexpensive and super duper yummmmy! </span> </span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-73221266826436682282009-11-14T02:44:00.000-08:002009-11-14T03:06:55.924-08:00Hellllllo Kitty!<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">I should start this blog off with...Hank's the bestest husband ever! Somewhere along the way he agreed to go to Sanrio Puroland with me. Think Disneyland but smaller scale and with Sanrio characters like Hello Kitty, Pekkle, My Melody, Little Twin Stars, Keroppi, etc. How excited was I?!? Poor Hank was more...'oh dear, what did I get myself into'! Not to worry, he made the best out of it and survived!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">When we got off the train station, it was literally Hello Kitty town. Check out the maps and signage in the middle of the streets!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsqxWniZc-ZCTOHI286p-Y0WaPGDNe4uThvxEB0ypC0Bo9NpmoG28O_UoklIGmGDLmklTFIgdDFmi5XyWEcJrY_k4BDCT32KLpnH8C5uWykwU7Z0AMPWjQr0GnugOvL5WZMWXNx90eOnm/s1600-h/sign+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 127px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQsqxWniZc-ZCTOHI286p-Y0WaPGDNe4uThvxEB0ypC0Bo9NpmoG28O_UoklIGmGDLmklTFIgdDFmi5XyWEcJrY_k4BDCT32KLpnH8C5uWykwU7Z0AMPWjQr0GnugOvL5WZMWXNx90eOnm/s400/sign+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403910094404986610" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">As expected, it was uber cute when we stepped foot into Puroland. First stop was what I thought was the most adorable boat ride ever - kinda romantic too! Hank's thoughts: "This is creepy!" So there were moving life-sized toys talking to us...I thought it was so cute! I wish my coworker Kiran was with us, she would've agreed that it was the best attraction yet!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlGw8KhyEvfHEJGJ-Fvr36ZkCpIs18JE3z0Zwshmsur3M3d1LAn43AjddRvrDBc-gMy11jFAdErY-WQ4Wdz0B4_GVcPT3S78UEJDgzHognrkB_8SBR2QzXVAgrj7-ArAq5XQ-0FJx_mfG/s1600-h/boatride+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPlGw8KhyEvfHEJGJ-Fvr36ZkCpIs18JE3z0Zwshmsur3M3d1LAn43AjddRvrDBc-gMy11jFAdErY-WQ4Wdz0B4_GVcPT3S78UEJDgzHognrkB_8SBR2QzXVAgrj7-ArAq5XQ-0FJx_mfG/s400/boatride+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403910450034109490" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">We also got to walk through Hello Kitty's house. Yup, that's right! She had her own house in there that we toured! In case you're wondering, Hank was bowing to what appeared to be either Grampa Kitty, or Papa Kitty who picked up the real video phone!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9_egtyizbQdF7jvSJloySHc3AJxVged9AYGYAoLv_WDvqG10PVyn4h7KmSDP9FY6exCiNvNvvdWCHzn_4IrUA0WJcG_oiVlXkUk9EZulAlr-vwEsbUXEvfl0N1uJt9rMjvuVYY0jor88/s1600-h/kitty-house+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 250px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN9_egtyizbQdF7jvSJloySHc3AJxVged9AYGYAoLv_WDvqG10PVyn4h7KmSDP9FY6exCiNvNvvdWCHzn_4IrUA0WJcG_oiVlXkUk9EZulAlr-vwEsbUXEvfl0N1uJt9rMjvuVYY0jor88/s400/kitty-house+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403910751747732258" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">The rest of our trip there consisted of watching a cool 3D movie, meeting little (like literally) Sanrio characters, checking out the other attractions, mini factories, shopped the largest Sanrio shop ever and took pictures with Kitty!</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFXduuiu4GvKeWF7oiyT3HXpiBhR7cYAawzc4hBXNiF0Y-l9W3rrcA5elaZa71tIRMKmZEmEUrWs1tVYiuM_32GigV6Cb6fSG3euyOwHzI-uamG4Ygi5VKY6cNkJV970-hP5NNjyKtC8k/s1600-h/puroland+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrFXduuiu4GvKeWF7oiyT3HXpiBhR7cYAawzc4hBXNiF0Y-l9W3rrcA5elaZa71tIRMKmZEmEUrWs1tVYiuM_32GigV6Cb6fSG3euyOwHzI-uamG4Ygi5VKY6cNkJV970-hP5NNjyKtC8k/s400/puroland+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403911139190939666" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Clearly, this tourist attraction is highly recommended by me...and probably not so much by Hank! :)</span><br /></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-20071380496217278392009-11-12T15:52:00.000-08:002009-11-12T17:19:54.650-08:00Efficiency 101<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">The Japanese are all about efficiency - we love it! Here's a very common way to order breakfast, lunch or dinner:<br /></span><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqikgzfpWEhdAS9ipHY1x7adrGUNIihp28vPpwxzDnARMALNgrv8751dUeOYSD8gmLUKdld0GxFeRuugjBCc_JCJTHYo_3oXA0jj7kcnGjXMdGQ151tc1GnmeEeKshmaXZHG7z45qX86nE/s1600-h/P1050799.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqikgzfpWEhdAS9ipHY1x7adrGUNIihp28vPpwxzDnARMALNgrv8751dUeOYSD8gmLUKdld0GxFeRuugjBCc_JCJTHYo_3oXA0jj7kcnGjXMdGQ151tc1GnmeEeKshmaXZHG7z45qX86nE/s400/P1050799.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403378889025469330" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 1. View menu on the restaurant's vending machine.</span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznBd5obVRqftVQkLwOShrUROZkTonNp3U0pU8Yl169JPWOwNMXtuhiv-j8KxUmBRu1YPqbRwOfL4ifsjaE_soPkMmUbbb97augGbCd5Vr7uaVt4vjYX6bd-Qe8NZB3jJi21xuuUZqgpyI/s1600-h/P1050797.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjznBd5obVRqftVQkLwOShrUROZkTonNp3U0pU8Yl169JPWOwNMXtuhiv-j8KxUmBRu1YPqbRwOfL4ifsjaE_soPkMmUbbb97augGbCd5Vr7uaVt4vjYX6bd-Qe8NZB3jJi21xuuUZqgpyI/s400/P1050797.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403381829697940738" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 2. Insert money and select your meal.</span></span></span><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfTf_11QJhNDK9a_adGW2Xohv9r6fmNl8jZf6xHbxLMA19aI5Dzf7XfvNCCDD8IaUc6sHYCBuDRKviKgDz-KZVrf4wYdgBZwwHZvMS137elrGrsZdTRmtI5UoxQ54UEFM_VVPSQbQXerp/s1600-h/P1050800.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihfTf_11QJhNDK9a_adGW2Xohv9r6fmNl8jZf6xHbxLMA19aI5Dzf7XfvNCCDD8IaUc6sHYCBuDRKviKgDz-KZVrf4wYdgBZwwHZvMS137elrGrsZdTRmtI5UoxQ54UEFM_VVPSQbQXerp/s400/P1050800.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403385850014348898" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 3. Get your change and bring the dispensed vouchers to the worker who's collecting them.</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLFJSgouCB_uVgKP0slrEsZOIsM4hc2Im4RjLvJBr88uAvNBWuMrdP4LCFtIIsJutuuvOqtG7WI4tPSBcl9MTI1BBsPsjHMy8MDvReSumK7gjUWYnhyphenhyphenUcddQ7iQW8qu8IIENiA__3Ywqs/s1600-h/P1050801.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuLFJSgouCB_uVgKP0slrEsZOIsM4hc2Im4RjLvJBr88uAvNBWuMrdP4LCFtIIsJutuuvOqtG7WI4tPSBcl9MTI1BBsPsjHMy8MDvReSumK7gjUWYnhyphenhyphenUcddQ7iQW8qu8IIENiA__3Ywqs/s400/P1050801.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403388355169231666" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 4. Pick up your food from a window or sit down and your food will arrive.</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">[silver fish & egg on rice with miso soup]</span></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqUCkJGa3teX9gLfryPXKpIMojIBEDIc-zvGkzMMiDlSmTDlWx5Youq0KddSWLNahLR7UxK1_bYb2YnYyb-ij4DEt7tNArd3fa8NBkDcjN4M1N3uhIuyBj9vHghA_uZytpYzIKkyfx6Lz/s1600-h/P1050802.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioqUCkJGa3teX9gLfryPXKpIMojIBEDIc-zvGkzMMiDlSmTDlWx5Youq0KddSWLNahLR7UxK1_bYb2YnYyb-ij4DEt7tNArd3fa8NBkDcjN4M1N3uhIuyBj9vHghA_uZytpYzIKkyfx6Lz/s400/P1050802.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403390459884433234" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Step 5. Enjoy!</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">[curry on rice with coleslaw and vegetable soup]</span></span></span><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br />Timing: less than 5 minutes!<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></span></div><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> </span></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-21985303496060558602009-11-12T06:00:00.000-08:002009-11-12T06:43:49.164-08:00Good Finds<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Finding ourselves very tired after our long but full day, we went back to our hotel for a quick nap...which lasted 3 hours! We decided to travel to Akihabara to see the popular electronics district but when we arrived, all the stores were closed...booo! Luckily, neither of us had to buy anything but it would've been cool to see floor after floor of fun technology!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;">We ended up going back to our own neighbourhood where we stumbled upon this restaurant that we both fell in love with. Everything in the restaurant is equivalent to $2.70 each. And by everything...I mean everything! Beer, wine and other alcohol are included too :) The challenge: the menu was a touch-screen computer...written in Japanese. THANK GOODNESS for pictures!<br /><br /></span></span><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkK2zfQ0a-epGmDhAK9fR4im2uF6Oc4Vc-xls-B2uAOhRHYuTgllbzHnI4wlOwvoCWA6WBZjri0wMOoz8NJ6zexk1SaUarQKuce5OdWY_M3830CBXbyKcoPY65K5yqTLHwhFqifCy6hF5S/s1600-h/P1050304.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkK2zfQ0a-epGmDhAK9fR4im2uF6Oc4Vc-xls-B2uAOhRHYuTgllbzHnI4wlOwvoCWA6WBZjri0wMOoz8NJ6zexk1SaUarQKuce5OdWY_M3830CBXbyKcoPY65K5yqTLHwhFqifCy6hF5S/s400/P1050304.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403218163614206658" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">egg-omlette with a salad underneath, marinated Japanese cucumbers, deep fried lotus root chips</span></span><br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLvMiNVeSm5cOQy51Eqm5wrevcoefjaUVMreioo6GCw7iB0rfyHFkOCKdQ9jxOGqwYjwx3tvD03CVI_O-FxrWgRNTbVF0HZ7upZNpbs88rMP5EJaeMnWWJDiMrFnQTroJhOpLOq2l5AJe/s1600-h/P1050305.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLvMiNVeSm5cOQy51Eqm5wrevcoefjaUVMreioo6GCw7iB0rfyHFkOCKdQ9jxOGqwYjwx3tvD03CVI_O-FxrWgRNTbVF0HZ7upZNpbs88rMP5EJaeMnWWJDiMrFnQTroJhOpLOq2l5AJe/s400/P1050305.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403221066901685810" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">tako balls (with real pieces of octopus!), egg thingy, corn & butter on a hot sizzling plate</span><br /></span></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekQumR2-udc4x-L4Z7SEw5R61zOdQC7okDDU3nKBxB0Dpwd0T_iFUKutJNt_U0YI45oLmd8ejC3BPHtpARDYBd0Yynw9LLxGxylXsoj_17WjRjd0iZHe2P2KoAKSgPQctLtHkWd5ZZmwB/s1600-h/3dishes+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 125px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiekQumR2-udc4x-L4Z7SEw5R61zOdQC7okDDU3nKBxB0Dpwd0T_iFUKutJNt_U0YI45oLmd8ejC3BPHtpARDYBd0Yynw9LLxGxylXsoj_17WjRjd0iZHe2P2KoAKSgPQctLtHkWd5ZZmwB/s400/3dishes+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403224182215357634" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:78%;" ><span style="font-family: arial;">tofu & shrimp, udon with cheese, mochi balls with french vanilla ice cream, strawberry coulis & red bean paste</span></span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">The verdict? Everything was soooo good! Hank thinks our friends Chris (the food critic) and Janice (the cheese & mochi ball lover) would really like this place too...the alcohol is just a bonus!</span></span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Too bad we weren't dining together but I made note of the address for you guys!</span></span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">;)</span></span><br /></div></div>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-77111787071394825962009-11-12T05:21:00.000-08:002009-11-12T05:54:40.650-08:00Harajuku Lovers Indeed<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">When we got to Harajuku, we made our way to Yoyogi Park and walked thru the gravel road towards one of the most popular temples in Tokyo, Meiji-Jingu. We saw lots of kiddies and some mom's who were dressed in traditional Japanese attire - such an intricate and beautiful outfit for the girls! We later learned that they were part of a traditional wedding ceremony :)</span><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh67jOIq5uNsO396c6q_l_VRD3uUbpOT7VhWnGKghw8jLI7p1QOV0FfKL1qUyfWXN7-MkomJE6d6Wgzz8IpGyqLwl3Ij9zlXEkv_bateOVWE46vkQ9ipeVKBBHKYVRnU63mnwz0XpU1en/s1600-h/meiji-jingu+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvh67jOIq5uNsO396c6q_l_VRD3uUbpOT7VhWnGKghw8jLI7p1QOV0FfKL1qUyfWXN7-MkomJE6d6Wgzz8IpGyqLwl3Ij9zlXEkv_bateOVWE46vkQ9ipeVKBBHKYVRnU63mnwz0XpU1en/s400/meiji-jingu+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403213544950346850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />After visiting the temple, we walked back towards the city centre where we could see how Gwen Stanfani was influenced to start her other clothing line - <span style="font-style: italic;">Harajuku Lovers</span>. The teens and young adults who hang out here dress in very funky and unique styles that we could not help but notice...it was like a cross between pop, retro, goth and bohemian styles that were paired with all sorts of accesories and every kind of shoe imaginable!</span> <span style="font-family:arial;">We even saw this older man sporting a mini denim skirt walking down Jungumae street! It was so mesmerizing that we forgot to take out our camera!<br /></span></span><span style="font-size:78%;"> <span style="font-family:arial;"><br />The shopping itself is like heaven for a girl. Everything from special boutique clothing stores to ones we commonly see back home are all here...except they're all built on a grander scale. Forever 21 is 5 floors here which even includes a floor for their new men's line. Dior, Bulgari, Prada and whatever brands you find in Holt Renfrew are in ridiculous buildings themselves. Even Audi (yes, the German car company) is in the middle of the shopping district in its own glass building! A very tall one too we should mention - see below!<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPYDGPLCFS99oBhoej6TD1fTpDZk5gRDmHhSgbSvqcYXiwDcBg2OgwoHz4A0gQ65tQCsnmKP3QKdBGavvgTRWWLs2daqEpJ3xn2nlf5FNagVUVPsL9RZNeqC02zp4n9FUbrrOKk6V3gjy/s1600-h/harajuku+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUPYDGPLCFS99oBhoej6TD1fTpDZk5gRDmHhSgbSvqcYXiwDcBg2OgwoHz4A0gQ65tQCsnmKP3QKdBGavvgTRWWLs2daqEpJ3xn2nlf5FNagVUVPsL9RZNeqC02zp4n9FUbrrOKk6V3gjy/s400/harajuku+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403211054713457042" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Our next stop was Shibuya Crossing - the famous streets where people flood across the intersection when they see the walk symbol light up. It's so insane witnessing it in real life! What you see on TV and in movies is real and in no way exaggerated :P<br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje22txmg_Ls1uZITwWGtU4v4QdMHCzPoNsWZLRq5oIp9qLig6MfHF5rMGXBCKjbxkiupIKt9V3X4OiBsPBETlzIxHiVglLGcevrF1sc15Ob7SWxWUpvF-tKgWidbd6LjsfA5KYfAxQlooc/s1600-h/shibuya+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje22txmg_Ls1uZITwWGtU4v4QdMHCzPoNsWZLRq5oIp9qLig6MfHF5rMGXBCKjbxkiupIKt9V3X4OiBsPBETlzIxHiVglLGcevrF1sc15Ob7SWxWUpvF-tKgWidbd6LjsfA5KYfAxQlooc/s400/shibuya+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403212162548699666" border="0" /></a>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-22458008767203117942009-11-11T00:10:00.000-08:002009-11-11T17:00:56.661-08:00Kampai to Roppongi!<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">Our first day in Tokyo started super early as we were still running on Vancouver time. We woke up at 6am and figured we should visit the Tsukiji Fish Market. This is where all the restaurants, supermarkets and what nots go to bid and purchase fresh fish and seafood for their businesses.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">Intersections were full of trucks of all sizes and what was really neat was seeing the workers drive li'l cylinder-like tonka trucks moving the heavy boxes around. Surely, they would run one over if they were in their way so there was even a big fat sign up that told visitors to watch where they were going! Not to worry, we mastered walking through Shinjuku station, so walking thru this market that stretched about 6 blocks was easy-peasy!</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWQn6LDASpl2YNUKJcJebT0_WdHQneHahxxqvOIehH-RQSFhJ_jZykzRyJvCwyjcUVqXPS7GvESXWuLZWGrI71rMRc4JEaA5OAN3apIMHLxMUMZIX7chfF1-Foz2XWUEzwV_g_YFZOahs/s1600-h/fish-market+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTWQn6LDASpl2YNUKJcJebT0_WdHQneHahxxqvOIehH-RQSFhJ_jZykzRyJvCwyjcUVqXPS7GvESXWuLZWGrI71rMRc4JEaA5OAN3apIMHLxMUMZIX7chfF1-Foz2XWUEzwV_g_YFZOahs/s400/fish-market+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403010235480500818" border="0" /></a></span><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-family: arial;font-size:78%;" ><br /></span><span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">After our quick observation at the fish market, we roamed around the Chinatown-like neighbourhood and had breakfast at one of the many sushi restaurants available. It's a first for both of us to eat raw fish and seafood at 9am in the morning...but it was well worth it and so so good! Hank also had a beer with his meal...who orders beer so early in the morning?! (Well, the table beside us had a group of middle-aged men who were already tanked...but still!)</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxtKUJwJJvIqSbBDEaRqca4Qmrlt31gGCI6AuSYLSKszpQANz5FyFQlwsEY2cbnRRtR8k7gJs5M36mDRCOVqxrFunmLXA9JW37w7ks2tiAXfUZ5wlG5-mk-3Q5Up-ysJCKAGDDzcU4ruy/s1600-h/film-sushi+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 120px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxtKUJwJJvIqSbBDEaRqca4Qmrlt31gGCI6AuSYLSKszpQANz5FyFQlwsEY2cbnRRtR8k7gJs5M36mDRCOVqxrFunmLXA9JW37w7ks2tiAXfUZ5wlG5-mk-3Q5Up-ysJCKAGDDzcU4ruy/s400/film-sushi+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403009152938978546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: arial;">We later walked across town and found our way to Tokyo Towers. Paid the $8 to go to the observation deck but noticed while we were purchasing our tickets that the cost only included an elevator ride up to the 150m mark. They make you pay an extra $6 to go all the way to the top! How tricky :P While seeing all of Tokyo was pretty cool from just the main deck, the best part about the towers was to check out all the glass look-down windows scattered throughout the floor. (Made Hank nervous but I was brave and walked right across it!)</span><br /><br /><br /><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnGZCplItzr4Y0Y5fWNQlB7SsoeMQduUv2QFGxNgEBII97XzyrGCxYYOKRX67RIXQhSK8UVZgnIlqD8J9isWpnu7qI-w7J3LpumSv0AEONevNS2oU_j_C5shM5nGdzY7Xh77VtKvEYSZ1/s1600-h/tokyo-towers+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNnGZCplItzr4Y0Y5fWNQlB7SsoeMQduUv2QFGxNgEBII97XzyrGCxYYOKRX67RIXQhSK8UVZgnIlqD8J9isWpnu7qI-w7J3LpumSv0AEONevNS2oU_j_C5shM5nGdzY7Xh77VtKvEYSZ1/s400/tokyo-towers+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5403009692545530866" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">We decided to go from Roppongi to Harajuku at this point in time so we made our way back to another train line. While crossing the busy street, Hank noticed a silver sedan with cameras mounted on the roof and excitedly screamed out, "It's the Google-maps car!" and waved to it like he knew the guy driving it. Ha, talk about a computer geek :)</span><br /></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-55696304833472617722009-11-10T03:08:00.000-08:002009-11-11T17:08:12.933-08:00First Impressions...<span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">After a 10 hour flight, an hour wait for our train ride and the actual 1.5-hour train ride itself into the city (and not to mention a 17-hour time difference), we finally made it to Tokyo last Sunday! Hank's been to Japan before so he's not as mesmerized by the number of people who saturate this crazy city...but for me on the other hand - I'm completely floored!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">We're staying at this beautiful hotel right beside Shinjuku station which is one of the busiest stations ever known to man-kind. Like literally, it seems like every transit line that could pass thru this part of the city does and somehow makes it's way to do so.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">The number of people passing through here is astounding. Imagine playing a live game of Frogger from Atari and instead of dodging cars and rivers, you are trying your best to not get run over by people walking at ridiculous speeds of what I think is at least 20km/hour. Ha! I swear I will never complain about the Canada Line EVER again!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So speaking of our hotel, when we arrived, we were greeted by the first available bell boy. He took our luggage while we were checking in and was going to help us bring our 26" suitcase and a carry-on to our room. One of the bestest parts about traveling on our honeymoon is to mention that we are actually on it! The kind front-desk dude was like, "oh you're on your honeymoon? I'll upgrade your room!" We're all..."Ok, that's awesome! Thank you!!"</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">And so, the following events just happened oh so quickly:</span><br /></span><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:78%;">We crossed paths with our bell boy as we were approaching our room while he was leaving. Of course, out of common courtesy I reached into my pocket and gave him a few bucks and wished him a good night....or so I thought. As we were entering our room, Hank & I were discussing the Japanese yen and coins that we had in our possession. I was so mortified to learn that I didn't give the poor guy a few bucks...I gave him a few cents! 20 to be exact. I really wished at that moment that I didn't give him anything at all! SO embarassing!! As we were digesting all of this and while Hank was laughing his *** off...</span></li></ul><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:78%;">We turned on our room light and was impressed by the size of our room...until we turned the corner and saw the beds! Yes, that's right...plural. 2 twins. I guess honeymoon in Japan means we want to sleep separately...<br /></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:78%;"><a style="font-family: arial;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizk91GlPyKETxRFR2WEcR6_XEcwC8kFXsS3dPLlEjUl3b2paKvVu6Vi5lxTmYHE6nPnkwFnnA_ueXscBU9zEfIF8g0c9tTbbcN3vbD6VyBEu2oHe-SMb7x4BFhidpa7IVNEaf4kNLg9lRM/s1600-h/P1050793.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizk91GlPyKETxRFR2WEcR6_XEcwC8kFXsS3dPLlEjUl3b2paKvVu6Vi5lxTmYHE6nPnkwFnnA_ueXscBU9zEfIF8g0c9tTbbcN3vbD6VyBEu2oHe-SMb7x4BFhidpa7IVNEaf4kNLg9lRM/s320/P1050793.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5402444997908571586" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">I was so embarrassed from the tipping incident, that I didn't even want to go back to the front desk to switch rooms from an already "upgraded" one!That's ok... It was still a nice room, and way cozier too :)</span></span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">So talk about 1st impressions eh?</span><br /><br /><br /><br /></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4127362472167615856.post-60972690958867150462009-11-05T21:28:00.000-08:002009-11-05T21:47:20.270-08:00Carebear Countdown!<span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >5 months later...we finally get to go on our honeymoon :) Here's the plan!<br /></span><ul style="font-family:arial;"><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Tokyo, Japan</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Koh Samui, Thailand</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Nha Trang, Vietnam</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Danang/Hoi An, Vietnam</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Hanoi, Vietnam</span></li><li><span style="font-size:78%;">Hong Kong</span></li></ul><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" >Thanks to costco's fab</span><span style=";font-family:arial;font-size:78%;" > 90 day return policy on electronics, we picked up a baby netbook to bring with us to stay in touch! we're so thoughtful to keep you guys posted with pictures and blog posts throughout the next 3 weeks aren't we? :) not to worry...before you know it, we'll be back in town...waiting in the refund/exchange lineup at costco!</span> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family: arial;">kehe...</span></span>H&Lhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16743013846678811367noreply@blogger.com0