Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sunkissed

Current view:
It's a fairly warm day and I just woke up from a nap on the beach...at La Jolla Shores. These past 3 days, I've gotten a nice pre-summer glow. Lots of playtime at the pool and naps on the beach! This is what vacation truly is...doing nothing and eating everything! Sleep, brunch, play in the sun, snack time, nap time, dinner, and out for a drink....just 1 drink...and then 4th meal. Relaxing, wholesome time with the gfs.


Last night, we went to this cool place called Shout House. It was my first Dueling Piano experience. The pianists were so fun and played just about everything from snoop dog to old school Nintendo music. Lots of dancing on piano tops and comedy accompanying the compositions. On top of that, the crowd was CRAZYYY. The place had numerous bachellorette and birthday parties going on and it seemed like everyone was wasted. Good times =)

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Happenings @ Target

Good ol' Target never disappoints. I go there when I need a little pick me up. Whether it'd be a stroll down the card aisle or scrounging around the dollar section to find cute things...God Bless you, Target. I always come in with 1 thing to buy, but end up leaving with 10 items. With that in mind, I take it back...I hate you, Target.

So last night, we went in to buy a board game because it was one of those nights when we wanted to have fun and didn't want to resort to boozing. So walking down the toy section, I found this: BRACE YOUSRELF!

Is this what Babrie has come to? I was outraged! Miss Thang here is a part of the "Barbie Basics" collection. There is nothing BASIC to these dolls. Her and the other hoochie mama Barbies were on the shelves so that little girls can have! At first, I thought, "Oh this Barbie must be a manufactor's defect because she's missing her tank top underneath." But NOPE!!! I looked at the other Barbies behind her and they all were missing an undershirt! My goodness! What is Mattel marketing to little girls? To slut it up? To show one's breastesses? Inappropriate. At least have an advisory note that says, if you're gonna be a whore, wait until after age 21. Protect your youth! I am outraged. Sooo outraged that I looked it up online to see if anyone has made complaints about it. Much to my surprise, they toned down the sex appeal of these Barbies on ads.

The Barbie I found in the store...Her boobs are busting out.


Barbie I found online...barely there boobs.


*Hmph*

On a lighter note, I have a new project at work, thanks to the dollar aisle at Target. I will attempt to grow and harvest strawberries out of my cubical. Amazing these lille thigns are! And only for $1. What a steal.



Sunday, April 11, 2010

Sunday Night Blues


Sunday night and I'm not looking forward to the work week ahead. Once again, the weekend went by too fast. Friday was such a beautiful day. What a teaser! It was so warm outside that I spent the entire afternoon soaking up the sun and tanning poolside. It was great to feel the warm sun against my skin and to breathe in fresh clean air. It was invigorating compared to the air in China. Saturday was spent catching up with my girls. Mani/pedis and a night out in the City! We celebrated a young one becoming a woman. Which made me think about the days when I was so excited for a birthday. Now I dread it. Anyhoo...the bff pulled out a small sized Henny and it was nostalgic. Tell me how me and her would drive up to the City when we were 18 and kill one of those in the car before going inside a club? Just the 2 of us! It's as if age has taken a toll on my tolerance as well. It's all going downhill =( But we accomplished our goal and showed the bday girl a grrrreat time. *SIGH* Did I mention I'm really dreading work? I think it's time for another change. I'm also thinking...Tuesday is GLEEEEEE night. AND Is it Friday yet? Because that means weekend getaway to SD!


Friday, April 9, 2010

Until next time...

The worse part about going on vacation is coming home. Of course, it always nice to see my family, friends, familiar food, and the comfort of my own bed. But once I stepped off the plane in SFO, I knew that my adventures in a foreign country would come to a halt until next year. I'll have to limit myself to 1 international trip or else, I'll get hooked and become a nomad!

We covered all of Shanghai and Beijing in such a short time! The many historic sites, modern landscapes, markets, and late night social scenes all conquered until our feet ached and curiosity for all things foreign were satisfied. At first, I thought Shanghai was just like another city from the U.S. I was expecting it to be less developed. Once we got into Beijing, I appreciated Shanghai for what it was. It was a great way to view China in a modern light and to see how it's flourishing. Even though it had many restaurants, shops, and clubs very similar to those in the States, it had personality =) Seeing that Beijing had that old, historic, dirty crowded feeling, it had charm. Between the two, I'm not sure which I city to like best! They were both different in their own ways. I'm just grateful to have experienced old China and new China in one trip. I feel so complete from this trip that I don't feel the need to return. Although, there are 2 things left that I want to see that might change my mind. One, the Terracotta warriors in the Xian Shaanxi province and perhaps Hong Kong to complete my tour of the world's Disneyland parks =) I was so fortunate to have traveled to China with my gfs. I've known these girls since I was 5 years old. We've grown up together and now we're exploring the world together. I couldn't have asked for a more fun, safe, and smooth trip. Now...back to reality!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Summer Palace and Peking Duck






The Summer Palace was a must see. It spreads over 715 acres, 3/4 of which is water. It's truly a masterpiece of Chinese architecture and design. We only covered a miniscule part of the palace. Once we reached the water, we just looked for as far as we could to see the boats and bridges floating. Ohhh the Emperor's life was a good life indeed. Our feet were aching so bad from all of the walking and climbing of steps that we rode a rickshaw back to the subway! It was only a quarter mile walk, but we were being lazy butts. Besides, the rickshaw was part of the China experience.


Finally, the other meal that we had been waiting for since the trip began: traditional Peking Duck. Jen chose this beautiful restaurant called DaDong Roast Duck. The ambiance of the restaurant was unlike anything I had seen before. It was modern, abstract, and sleek. It was the perfect way to end a trip.


Upon entry, there is an open area with hot fire ovens where chefs would prepare the infamous duck, like a performance. They looked so professional and prepped the duck quite carefully. We had the duck of course, a veggie plate, and the most adorable dish I had ever seen!! It was sweet and sour duck in a yam basket with lil duckling pastries. It was sooo precious I wanted to take it back to the States with me =)


The Peking Duck was absolutely DIVINE!! First off, the chef came out to carve it in front of us. He did it with precision and only cut the best parts. The rest of it? Who knows...they took it back to the kitchen and probably used it for other things. But we didn't mind because 1 duck was more than enough for alll of us. We were cultured. Our server came out and showed us how to enjoy the peking duck. It was completely different from what it is back home. They don't eat those flour buns but rather, these paper thing crepes. I think this was better because the flour didn't take a way from the duck. The skin...oooooo it literally melted in my mouth like cotton candy. It was perfect. After our main course, they brought out desserts. I was so happy to see the plate of fresh fruit as it is hard to come by here in China. How fancy! They put it on dry ice too. I'd come back to Beijing just for their Peking Duck!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Dong Hua Men NIGHT MARKET






This is what I was anticipating the whole trip...a night market! It's one of those markets that you see on the travel channel. You know, the ones that are open on the street and sell all sorts of gut wrenching items like starfish on a stick, bugs and critters, kidneys and snake... AND animal genitals. Blehhh. With every country I visit, I made it a personal goal to try something that would scare me. This China trip: Scorpion. The look of it makes me want to scream. We strolled down the 2 blocks of street food and I was so intrigued by all of the items they had. All sorts of sweets and meats, bugs and animal parts. It was probably the craziest thing I had seen on this trip! Although I was most curious to what starfish would taste like...I couldn't get myself to try it. It was so big! And didn't look like it was cooked at all, but rather, dried. So my sweet Jen was a trooper and agreed to eat the lil scorpions with me.

1 stick- 3 scorpions = 15 yuan or $2.




The verdict: It wasn't bad at all! I wanted seconds. The scorpion was deep fried and sprinkled with some salt. Fried crunchy chicken skin is the best description I have for it. Really! After that, we wanted more! It was such a rush eating it.So we tried some of these beetles? I'm not too sure what they were, but they were really dry and flakey. I didn't like it because it lacked flavor. I'm proud of the rest of the girls for joining in on the beetle. The bad thing about eating these bugs is that their legs or whatever get stuck in your teeth. Be sure to have some water to chase it down.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

The Greatest







We hired a town car for the day and the driver only took 1 hr. and 20 mins to get to The Great Wall. We took a cable car up to the Mutianyu section (Mid level) of the Wall. It was a gorgeous sunny day, but the wind was piercing cold. We started at the 8th tower and hiked for about 1.5 hours. We were lucky that this section was going downward because the steps at times, were really big! Halfway through, we sat down on a concrete slab and had lunch. What more could I have asked for? Picnic on one of the world’s greatest wonders, on a beautiful sunny day above Beijing with my gal pals.

Many people don’t know this, but the Mutianyu section has a crazy slide (Toboggan) that you can take to get back down from the Wall. I have to say that there is no better way to fully experience the Great Wall than to complete your journey on a toboggan. A huge metal slide intertwines its way down to the parking lot, from the Wall. It’s about a 3 minute ride, depending on how fast you go. You sit on a sled with wheels and there’s a lever that for you to control the speed. It’s was such a thrill! We zoomed down the slide, taking in views of the mountain side and valleys below. Sharp turns were scary, but it’s a pretty safe ride. It beats a roller coaster any day =) The Great Wall extended beyond what the eye can see. It was such an incredible monument in history and I’m so lucky to have experienced it. I can only imagine how beautiful it must be in the summer, with green foliage around the Wall, making it stand out more. During this time, the plants are still dried out and dead from the cold winter. The Great Wall, in my opinion was the best part of Beijing. We were away from the bustling city center and the air was much cleaner up there. It was an exhilarating day.

Could we have flown off the slide on a sharp turn? DEFINITELY! I was surprised they didn't have any waiver forms in case of injuries or even death!

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Tourist to the max


Last night, we raided a few clubs and lounges. We started off at Centro. This place was classy and you really feel spoiled by just sitting in there. It was my favorite of the whole night! Live music and a seductive ambiance! We sipped on drinks and got acquainted with a new friend of a friend who lived in China. As the night moved on, he took us to more and more clubs: Suzie Wong's, Bling, Vics, Mics, and next thing you know, it's 4am. I came back to the hotel exasperated and sticky with spilled drinks, and smelling like smoke! Classic. The thing about China is that people smoke everywhere and they smoke a lot! The stench of it seeps through your clothes...ugh.





We slept for 5 hours and woke up to take on The Forbidden City, Bei Hai Park, and Tiananmen Square, which were Beijing's most popular tourist attractions, next to the Great Wall. I was amazed by the magnificent size of The Forbidden City and all of its gorgeous accents and detailing on the architecture. Tinanamen Square? Not so much. It laid across from the Forbidden City and was very anticlimactic. The only shocker about the square was seeing a little baby girl opening a velcro patch on her pants and popping a squat. She tinkled on Tinanmen Square!! Apparently, it's common for babies to use this method for disposing bodily wastes. Too many babies = too many diappers = too much trash. So of course! Let's not use them at all.

By night time, we powered through to the Olympic Park. It's truly on a level of its own. The brilliance of the light and architecture was so much better in person! I'm not too sure what it's used for now, but it sure attracts a lot of tourists!


We were so tired after all the walking and sight seeing that we called it an early night and ordered McDonalds! They deliver FOR FREE too! 3 meals = $7 USD. Sweeeet.


I'd say it was an eventful day =)