27 weeks: fun & sun on the Great Barrier Reef

Sunday we left Melbourne for Hamilton Island, part of the Whitsunday Islands near the Great Barrier Reef. Hamilton Island is probably best known as the islands featured in Tourism Queensland's Best Job in the World campaign.


(on Catseye Beach on Hamilton Island)

Alas, we're not being paid $110,000 to explore the islands, swim, and snorkel. Nevertheless, we did manage to enjoy our trip to Whitehaven Beach today, apparently one of the world's top beaches.



The sand is 98% pure silica - since it reflects a lot of sunlight, it's cool to walk on and it squeaks!

26 weeks: bump on a log, bump on me

We're in Oz now for a wedding. Thursday we went on the Great Ocean Road for some sightseeing and what sights did we see! We saw koalas (furry grey balls), parrots, cockatoos, and magpies. We also did some short walks around the Erskine Falls and Aireys Inlet Lighthouse.

23 weeks: company trip to Hualien & Taroko Gorge

This past weekend we went on my company trip to Hualien and Taroko Gorge. I was afraid it might be one of those Taiwanese-sit-on-the-bus-hop-out-for-photo-ops affairs, but it was actually quite fun and active. We got up at an ungodly (for us) hour to catch a 7am train to Hualien. Then we got on a tour bus and went to Rui Sui Farm 瑞穗牧場 (which was pretty but rather small and boring - you can buy stuff to feed the koi fish, cows, and ostriches and buy snacks made from their farm's milk), and then a visit to the awkwardly named Lin Tian Shan Culture Studio 林田山文物展示館. Now this was very interesting - it is a restored former paper milling company village that dates back to the Japanese colonial period.



Many of the buildings feature Japanese architectural touches, and there is a village theater that is made of aromatic wood with the original early 20th century movie projectors on display.



We bought homemade mulberry juice from a grandma that was absolutely delicious and refreshing.

Afterwards, we went to Carp Lake 鯉魚潭. Many co-workers were encouraged to participate in a company 5,000-meter race or a relay. Carp Lake is very scenic - you can rent bikes, paddle boats, and kayaks. We opted to do a short nature hike - there are many well-marked trails to choose from. I'd definitely return - it's a great recreational area for families.

On Sunday, we went to Taroko National Park 太魯閣國家公園. It was a beautiful day and we did two hikes, the 1km Swallow Grotto Trail and the 4km Baiyang Waterfall Trail. Unfortunately, my camera battery ran out and I haven't gotten photos downloaded from the hub's iPhone. I'll post them up soon!

In the meantime, here's a classic pic of Taroko from Monad (Falling Spirit)'s Flickr stream:

18 weeks: Bangkok weekend

We had a 3-day weekend due to the May 1 Labor Day holiday, and so made a last-minute decision to go to Bangkok. Despite some disappointments (my favorite French bakery was closed for renovations, I couldn't enjoy Thai massage due to the pregnancy), we had a relaxing time, had several good meals, and I was able to have two Ayurvedic massages.



Baby was pretty good - I did feel more swelling than usual during the flights, but otherwise was fine. No fatigue, no tummy trouble (just to take no chances, I didn't get fruit from street vendors this time), no gas, etc. I guess I'm easing into those second trimester good times I've been reading about.

In typical fashion

Oh my gosh, this is my first post for 2009?!? This will be unsuprising to those who know me well - on Sunday we went to pick up my stimulus check/consumption voucher.* Pick-up times were from 9:30am to 5:30pm on Sunday. Of course, we wanted to enjoy a leisurely Sunday at home, so we slept in, had breakfast, made tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch, surfed the web...until I looked at the time and realized it was almost 5pm. We hurried out of the house and Neil pulled up to the Post Office where they were distributing the vouchers and I hopped out and ran in through the door at...5:29pm. Talk about cutting it close!

In other news, I'm still not fully unpacked from our trip to the States, I still haven't posted pictures from our ski trip to Korea last year, and we got a new camera (Canon PowerShot SD790IS), which I love and am working on (slowly, of course) getting the photos downloaded to my computer and uploaded online for all to see.

Some highlights of our trip back:

Neil picking kumquats from my Uncle Ted's backyard.


Close-up of the kumquats.


AMAZING "Papa's Portobello" burger at the Veggie Grill, one of the best meals we had in the U.S. My brother Galen took us there. It is really good (and yes, I'm using omnivore standards here). Go, go! You will be so glad you did.


We ended up behind "Obama '08 / GO V3GAN" at an intersection in L.A.

More to come...I promise!

*Instead of cutting checks to the people, the Taiwan government have cleverly decided to stimulate the economy by issuing vouchers worth NT$3,600 (about a little over US$100; they come in NT$500 and NT$200 increments). These vouchers can be redeemed participating retailers around Taiwan - it's sort of like universal gift certificates. Clever, huh?

Return to the peak and beach

Went to the beach for the first time in a long time and boogie boarded. Thankfully, the water is not yet cold!



I've fully recovered from my second trek up Jade Mountain. I was definitely less fit this time around, which probably explains my small bout with altitude sickness. But, we had great weather, and the peak was so much more pleasant with windproof gear!



It's beautiful up there, but I think that will be my last time to the peak - been there, done that (and my knees will thank me).

Back from Paris and London

I just got back from my holiday to London and Paris. A big thank you to Eve, Tom, Nicky, Caroline, Camil, and Candice for their hospitality - 'twas a lovely trip! Some thoughts:

• We walked a lot - we averaged about 20,000 steps a day. Note that the health professionals recommend 10,000 steps a day, so we really went above and beyond.
  
• Great weather in London, too chilly for my acclimated sub-tropical self in Paris. Gloves and a hat would've made my visit so much more pleasant.
• Favorite London museum: National Portrait Gallery (thanks Tom, for taking us there!)
• Pret a Manger is to London like 7-11 is to Taiwan. Unlike 7-11 in Taiwan, it is not open 24/7, you cannot buy everything from socks to piping hot fish balls on a stick, and you cannot pay your utility bills and send DHL packages. But they are all over the place. And they offer tasty food.
  

Wall of cheese at Neal's Yard Dairy. Borough Market was great, but incredibly crowded on Saturdays. No offense to the Brits, but I didn't take to the meat pies. I did like the cheddar's at Neal's Yard Dairy (there was a really fabulous floral one, the Isle of Mull?).

I prefer the macarons at Pierre Hermé (pictured above) to Ladureé's. If you are a filling person, go to Ladureé, but the appeal of the macaron is the texture of the cookie. We had an amazing passionfruit and chocolate macaron at Pierre Hermé.

Amazing yogurt and peach gelato at Pozetto. Neil had nocciola (hazelnut) and fior di latte (literally, milk's flower - pure fresh milk) - also very good:

Fresh figs!

We spent much more than budgeted at Denise Acabo's chocolaterie. She is a hoot - very engaging and an excellent salewoman.

More impressions later.

La Dolce Vita

It's almost February, and we leave for Sri Lanka on Friday for an early start to the Lunar New Year holiday. Meanwhile, here is a photo of Malapascua, a small island off of Cebu in the Philippines, where we spent the western New Year's.



While there, we ate at the best restaurant on the island, La Dolce Vita. We were so busy enjoying the food, I forgot to take photos. Thankfully, this blogger did.

Joshua trees, dolmas, stomach flu, oh my!

Since it's almost Halloween and I haven't posted since last month (where o where does the time go?), I thought I'd post a few photos from my last trip back to the States.

Trying to be a Joshua Tree at, where else? Joshua Tree National Park


Vegan nachos at Real Food Daily in Santa Monica:


The. best. ever. dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), made at the "My Big Fat Greek Cooking Class" at HipCooks (highly recommended!)

One night in Bangkok...

I just returned from a last-minute trip to meet the hubs, returning from a business trip to Europe, in Bangkok this past long weekend. Cashed in some miles (that were expiring soon) and flew in style. I've been working so much that it slipped my attention that we would have a 4-day weekend owing to Mid-Autumn Festival. Anyways, the trip was a welcome respite. I did my usual do yoga-eat yummy food-get massages routine.

On my flight back, I started reading the September issue of GQ. Skip the girls and the silly fashion spreads - go directly to the cover story on Barack Obama, which is one of the best written political profiles I've read. It doesn't just profile a candidate, but goes into the strategy and calculus behind the long march of a presidential campaign. Also very good: an article on early-onset Alzheimers - an article I thought I'd just skim while trying to find the continuation of the cover story in the back pages of the magazine - turned out to be an incredibly moving portrait of not just a man, but of his incredibly selfless wife as well, as well as a philosophical discussion on self and identity. Good reading, folks.

Clearly we're bullocks!

We've strung together video clips of our little adventure and added some music so that you can experience river boarding itself from the comfort of your armchair.



While in New Zealand, we went river boarding on the Kawarau River with Mad Dog River Boarding. It was fun, but not as scary as we were led to believe. Maybe it's terribly thrilling for some, but as surfers, we thought the rapids were...tame.

But, we did enjoy the scenery and the super-clear and clean water. Neil enjoyed the +20m rock jump at the end, and Berta enjoyed the hot showers (the glacier-fed river is really cold!). The staff were professional, and the activity well-run. We might some nice people doing the activity as well.

Overall, we'd recommend the activity. Of course, you must be able to swim and be comfortable in the water.

...and we're back!

We finally came back from our (slightly delayed) extended honeymoon. Yup, over the course of 25 days we traveled to New Zealand, Fiji, and Bangkok. We did things from attending New Zealand's largest wine and food festival to river surfing to visiting museums to seeing seals, penguins, and dolphins. We caught up with some old friends, and made new ones. We SCUBA-dived (and saw a few sharks!), river rafted, and lounged around. We saw the sun rise and the sun set. We read books and got mosquito bites. We ate good food and learned to cook some Thai dishes. A great vacation!

Pictures, details, and reviews to come later...

Billion Dollar Brows

So I've spent the past week in L.A. visiting my parents and attending my high school's 10-year reunion (gasp!). Before the trip, I thought to myself that I would have plenty of time to get to all those items on my to-do list, including ones for the wedding, because I'm on vacation. Not! Between jet lag and driving all over L.A. finding things to meeting friends and family, I haven't gotten much sleep at all. At least I've managed to catch up on listening to a bunch of podcasts while driving—can you believe over 8 hours of driving programming over the course of 2 days?

Anyways, I digress. I was so lucky to find in my inbox Tuesday morning a Daily Candy feature on Billion Dollar Brows. I find it helpful to go to a professional once in awhile, since sometimes one loses perspective when going the DIY route...and you end up with no brows.

It just so happens that the salon is within walking distance of Rodeo Drive, where my good friends Kuo and Melissa took me to so that I could gawk in appropriately touristy fashion. I was a bit disconcerted to hear BDB was in their first full day of business (could I have been their only customer?), but the service was great. After some waxing and tweezing action, I had defined, natural-looking eyebrows. They say your eyes are the windows to your soul, and now I have great window treatments to go with them.

For all the ladies in L.A. (and guys with unibrows, for that matter), you can now have browsy goodness.

Billion Dollar Brows, 9453 Charleville Boulevard, South Beverly Hills (310-270-4650). $35 for the first visit; $30 thereafter.

to Hong Kong Sevens and back

These last few weeks have been a cyclone:

Got sick.

Got better just in time to go to the Hong Kong Sevens for a weekend of craziness:





Came back to crazy work deadlines and got sick again.

The worst of the deadlines have passed and now feeling better after two relaxing weekends at the beach house:

Grey socks

I think I will forever be able to distinguish the socks I brought to India: the grey ones versus the white ones.

Taj Mahal & the City of Lakes

Our fourth day of India. We've now seen the Taj Mahal, the ancient city of Fatehpur Sikri, ate at a dhaba (traditional roadside restaurant) in New Delhi, and today arrived in Udaipur, the city of lakes.

It's been fun imagining oneself living as royalty back in the glamour days of Fatehpur Sikri (Neil and I agreed that being the king there was probably more fun than being the emperor of China and stuck in the Forbidden City) or as a queen in the Garden of the Maidens in Udaipur. The garden was built for just the queen and her ladies-in-waiting back in the 19th century, but of course the king and his buddies would sneak in. Men.

We also hiked to a Hindi temple to the goddess of the mountain perched on top of a hill for a fantastic view of Udaipur. Lakes with white homes nestled in the plain, ringed by brown hills and mountains. We had a delicious vegetarian thali (Indian set meal) on the rooftop of a 180+ year-old haveli (royal residential home), enjoying the view of the Lake Palace and other structures along the shores of Lake Pichola.

to Turtle Island and back

The waters around Daxi have been flat, flat, flat this weekend. So yesterday Neil decided it was perfect weather to take the jet ski out to show me Turtle Island. Turtle Island is a few miles off the coast of I-lan County that is off-limits to regular folk as there is a military installation there. The cool thing about Turtle Island, besides just getting to see it up close instead of from afar, is that it was formed by sulfurous vents in the ocean. So many of the rocks are mustard yellow, and part of the ocean that surrounds it is a Peptol-Bismol aquamarine. Apparently there are large sea snakes that live below, but we just went around and back.

Around the Pacific and back

These past three weeks have been busy, indeed. After L.A. my brother and I went to Hawai'i to attend my friends' wedding. The day we arrived, we went surfing on the North Shore and then admired the Hawai'ian Green turtles lolling about near shore. The following three days, my brother got his PADI SCUBA Open Water certification while I went for my advanced certification. The diving is amazing: I was thrilled to see more sea turtles with nearly every dive, a few eagle rays, and a pillow starfish. Saturday morning, Galen and I got up at 5:30 for a swim with dolphins—out in the wild.



Later that afternoon, we went to the wedding at the Mandarin Oriental. The wedding was beautiful, of course, the warmth of the bride and groom extending to the guests.



Galen came back with me to Taiwan, where we had a whirlwind week catching up with relatives. In the midst of this was Bonnie, Ray, and baby Michael's farewell dinner. Sunday morning I was finally able to treat my brother to a traditional Taiwanese breakfast, complete with fan tuan (rice ball).

This past weekend a few of us celebrated Abi's birthday with another dive at Longdong (??). Diving in Taiwan is definitely not as pampering, but I did get to see some electric blue fish. Sunday started a major cleaning and organization day, which continues...

Cupcakes!

Yesterday I took a cooking class on cupcakes and mini bundt cakes. We made chocolate "peanut butter cup" cupcakes, sunflower decorated cupcakes, vanilla bean cakes with vanilla rum glaze, and banana caramel mini cakes. The teacher said I was a natural with a pastry bag!



Unfortunately, I've lost my sense of L.A. magnitude and when signing up for the class, I didn't realize that the drive from my home to the cooking school in Westlake Village would be such a trek!

V-day, Green Island, errand girl

Oh my. I may be taking a break, but my days are filled with running errands. More notable events: Taiwan's first ever production of the Vagina Monologues and a trip to Green Island for more scuba diving. I'm off to Hong Kong and Shanghai for a little weekend fun.