ZippyTurtle

Boracay, Philippines - Escape to Laziness

Last week was a trip to Boracay in Philippines - Another mental vacation I desperately needed after a month of biz trips and not being home.  This was my perfect vacation of absolutely doing NADA NADA.  Just a bikini and sipping anything that sniffed of Rummy-goodness. I even abandoned my buds to hang out solo with a bunch of Shangri-La ground workers on their day off - at beautiful Puka Beach.

 

Not the prettiest cabana boys -- but they hauled ass and were damn helpful with their royal treatment mentality with - plenty of icy bottled mineral water, grilled fish BBQ on the beach, and a proper toast of homemade liquor served in Dixie cups.  The  Boracay police and militia were on full alert, with mean- poking rifles came to check if this little Japanese girl was OK every five minutes or so. 

Blogging Blockhead

The blogger block is rather infectious and pervasive; but I wanted to beam up some highlights up here, before they get buried in the recess of my files, which is not properly backed up. 

During CNY (now two months ago) I had a quick trip to Ho Chin Minh - Vietnam with my dearest and best friend from US. Not the Jane March's version of "the Lover" I had hoped it to be -- but HK was crappy cold, so it was nice to get down 1.5 hours to beachy warmth and soak up the sunniness, if not the exhaust fumes.  When we weren't whirled by crazy mopeds all around us in Saigon, we took a day trip to Mekong Delta for a lazy boatride... and basically caught up on our friendship - now 17 years strong!!  Thanks Jeanne :)  I love you tons.

Breakfast Sushi @ Tsukiji

It was a struggle, but I woke up at 4:45am and headed in a taxi toward Tsukiji fish market. The place was bustling with tuna dealers - and I found Lot 6 to stand in line at Daiwa Sushi.  For some reason, there was no queue, so I moved over three stores to Sushidai where it was 4 lines deep (I am a lemming - I follow the crowd), and nearly frostbit my toes off in 0 celsius (yes, I'm metric now) waiting waiting waiting for 40 minutes or so.  I had to go and buy some fisherman socks -- and paid another JPY1000.  So, OK  - pictures are murky from my cellphone- but I am 'smiling' at this crazy sushi hour, if that is any indication how excited I was to join the queuers. 

The 'Omakase' (Chef Rules) course is JPY3670; equivalent price of any hoitytoity breakfast price of the business hotels in Tky - but my goodness, this was the 'true value' - because the sushi was kickass awesome.  The 'oniichan' (big bro) chef was almost trilingual - Japanese, a little English and Korean - and was very accomodating as he wheeled and dealed more fresh fish inventory on his cellphone, while slicing us beautiful pieces of the sea.

Omakase course JPY 3670 is whatever the Chef thinks are the fresh fish of the day: Feb 18 menu

Flounder

Oo-toro

Kinmedai

Uni

Tsuke

Clam

Sawara

Shrimp

Aji

Anago

+ a bonus (I asked for another Toro)

More pics to come !

Weekend in Sai Kong

As I've blogged before, there are many facets to Hong Kong that most people (including myself) did not know exists out here.  When I'm not coughing yuckiness from the pollution - I get to enjoy scenery like this:

Sorry, so small - but these are borrowed shots (I will fix the sizing soon).

Except I was doing this: 

For all 13.1 miles of the China Coast Semi-Marathon - through steep, rolling hills after hills.  Clocked at 1hr and 51 minutes (unofficial), I am mighty pleased, even though I look otherwise, to start 2008 officially in Hong Kong.

Happy New Year !

I went home for the holidays. I do love christmas season in NY, outside of the malls and the din of tinny christmas songs.

Anyway, I'm running late for work but wanted to post my beautiful niece, M. I thought I knitted a wee hat for her, but the hat is wearing her... She's a cutie anyway.  Miss you, baby girl.

The pattern is from a Japanese knitting book; the yarn was my left over Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran from a wristlet I made in the same pattern for myself. Cheers !

Mini Christmas in Tokyo

Well, that was not very nice of me displaying my battered foot on screen - so here's a mobile-camera update.  In Tokyo / Osaka this week, where I managed to sneak to Mitsukoshi dept store and Maruzen megabookstores... for a little browsing.  It's Christmas in Tky too. 

 

Here's an Amigurumi favorite:

   

Which inspired me to squirrel away some stash (colors and pictures are not great, oops) - so I can start a little somethin' somethin' on the Shinkansen bullet train tomorrow.  It'd be a basic sock or a wrist warmer - I'm so out of practice ! 

   

A little magic on my bum toe

It's autumn in HK - where it's still 70 degrees everyday.  Not quite the brisk fall season I love and am accustomed to in NY; I sighed when I saw Central Park's dazzling foliage in the NYT Styles section this past wknd.  But even in HK, fall means racing season is starting; my wish while in Asia is to enter road races in different locales - Vietnam, Cambodia..etc.  But we will see. For my racing debut in Asia, I signed up a flat Unicef 10K race for around Disneyland HK this Sunday.   

Except - my right toes are not cooperating.  Namely my second toe, which is 1/4" taller than my big toe; in some countries this alignment heralds good fortunes and success, but in my case, it has been an achy nuisance. 

After a long hilly practice run around Blacklink’s yesterday; I woke up this morning in hobbling pain.  I could not put any weight on my right foot, and my second toe refused to wiggle.  Attempted in vain to locate western doctors for my toe to visit as I am leaving for a biz trip starting tmrw; but alas, no luck.  Feeling my plight, my local HK assistant* suggested I try her 'bone doctor' - and off she took me to a corner store in Sheung Wang. 

The ‘Doctor’ was in a stained tshirt and rumpled khakis; an old karate master.  He pointed at a rickety bench, and I sat and put my ailed foot on the little children’s stool.  With an ointment that smelled vaguely of Tiger Balm- he massaged and twist-adjusted my toes this way and that way – and I could feel the sensation coming back.  My toe, my darling toe!  It was magical; as it wiggled in delight.

Finally, he ‘fish-netted’ a hot herbal compress* around my foot. The compress is to be kept overnight; it is very soothing, vascillating between warm and cold; I can feet my foot breathing in relief.

Before I left, the Doctor  tapped me on my forehead: 

  “Young lady.  No tomatoes, no mushrooms, and no scotch/whiskey for two weeks.”

OK, Doctor.  I will try to abide, especially hard liquor  – because I look like a hopeless lush.  But I still want to run around Disneyland.

*the assistant culture is amazing; they’re so damn helpful – and really consider it a honor to help.  I am always touched  

* a.k.a. liniments, which is a gauze bandage filled with a cupful of a secret vat mixture combining alcohol and pulverized herb powders (mainly Chinese roots and camphor)  that has been cooked all day.

Dream

I've been vacant here for awhile; but I wanted to share out loud my dream I had last night, because I couldn't let it go. 

I dreamt that I was back in NYC and was a nanny; my remaining task for the day was to take my owner's beautiful butterfly for its daily sauntering.  The winged beast was ginormous - at least 6' span in carribean blue wings.  I walked it tethered to a satin ribbon, like a birthday ballooon - strolling up 5th Avenue (I suspect late '60s or early '70 Streets).  Turned left, entered Central Park into an atrium where I met with other butterfly nannies, much akin to Thompkins Square doggie park.  Now, someone had left the door open - and because I was fully ensconced in reading a novel, I did not notice my butterfly had fled. I was exasperated and exhilarated in knowing this; but in the state of panic and excitement, I woke up.  Boo.

Does anyone have a Book of Dreams??

from the dream dictionary via google:

Butterfly

A dream of a butterfly could be telling you to settle down and not to flit from person to person or it could have to do with social situations.. The bigger and more beautiful the butterfly, the more of an impression you will make on society, or at a special function that you must attend. Use the other symbols in your dream to get you on the right track.

Escape

This is an omen of good luck for many, as it is a statement that you are making good. To dream that you escape confinement from a jail, or prison, foretells that you will experience a rapid rise in your profession in the business world that surrounds you, a breaking out of the mold sort of progress. If your dream is that of escaping from a wild animal then you may have been dealing with a false friend and you need to keep alert. To escape a disaster means you will escape damage from a rumor, or a lie, that throws your character in a false light. If you do not escape, then you must accept the worst and prepare for an uphill battle, be sure you do not become your own worst enemy.

Weird.  I think I will just enjoy it - and not fret.

An old soul in Seoul

At least that's how I felt.  I didn't like it here - not the last time, or the four times before that...  It's not the prettiest city by any means; the traffic congestion terrible, and the alphabet perplexing.  But now that I have spent a few Saturdays here and there, forced to extend my visit after long business meeting Fridays (I can never seem to catch the 8pm flight backi to HK) - a part of me, albeit a slightly tired-from-talking-to-clients-all-day soul, has bloomed and blossomed, as I criss-walked the city all day.

Roundabout near City Hall:

   

Love Korean kimonos; they're poofy and colorful.

All looks healthy at the local wet market Gwangjang - except for the piggy snout (even I had to squeal ! )

After washing lunch down with a hearty bowl of handmade somen noodles at the Gwangjang market; I took a stroll around Jongmyo park, the royal ancestral shrine of the Joseon dynasty:

The game of the park is 'go'; not 'chess'; I think I still prefer Othello.

 

Outback HK

Wonderful addendum to living in HK is that hiking trails are a mere 20 minutes away from the urban craziness.  The cityscape recedes, the greenery welcomes you to breathe a little deeper, and my eyes soften at the sight of the sea.  A colleague asked me to join his wife and friends, and a beautiful lab Maggie, and tag along for a breakfast hike - with promises of a Thai bbq by the sea and a few bottles of Carlsberg (Ok, I was the only who had the cold ones - but it was almost noon, I swear!)

This was my first hike ever - since I'm a runner, not a walker!  - but I was converted instantly. Strenuous and contemplative; it propelled me to reach inward and outward at the same time.  The hike trail, Dragon's Back (it feels like a hilly backside of Puff the Dragon, and thus the name) is a popular stretch.

Synopsis from DiscoverHK:

The Dragon's Back in Shek O Country Park is a ridge with small peaks along the length of the D'Aguilar Peninsula on the southeast corner of Hong Kong Island. From the ridge there are spectacular views eastwards to Clear Water Bay Peninsula and islands in the eastern sea approaches to Hong Kong. To the west there are views of Stanley Peninsula and the South China Sea. At the foot of the Dragon's Back is the popular village Shek O with its sandy beaches and alfresco restaurants.

Pictues to share with you: