Tet in Vietnam

I have long wanted to go back to Veitnam after an exciting trip through Saigon, Danang and Hue in 1994. This year, Kim and I spent Chinese New Year in Hanoi and Halong Bay, where the holiday celebrated is known as "Tet". Hanoi is an amazing city, full of energy and noise and especially - motorcycles. Tons of them. Its quite scary to walk the streets at first, you have to keep a steady pace as the bikes zoom all around you. Ha Long Bay is ridiculously beautiful, and despite the throngs of tourists, maintains a sense of serene calm.

I know I've been terrible at maintaining this blog this year, but I'll try to post more specific reflections in the coming days. In the meantime, here's a slideshow of Halong Bay:


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

You can see those photos, as well as the Hanoi set, and a strange and inappropriate photo series about Salt and Pepper Shakers here.

Home for the Holidays!

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I was homesick before I even got on the plane back to China! Here are some pictures from our tour with Misao and our holidays in New York and Philly. It was great to be home and its always hard to leave. My friends and family- I love you all and miss you already.

And congrats to Joe and Debbie on their new addition! Welcome Gabriella Moniaci!


*Had to throw in the picture of the "French American Vanilla Coffee. Who buys this? In Liberal Brooklyn no less!

Another Harbin Slideshow

You've seen these pictures already, I just like this little slideshow viewer that you can tweak. Snowflakes! Ha!

I'm so easily amused.

The Dawning of the Day of Aquarium

The Pudong aquarium is pretty neat. They've got giant salamanders, fish with long whiskers, and beautiful jellyfish. They also have live embryonic sharks (which you can see with the aide of a backlight), and the longest glass aquarium tunnel in the world (I think) but my camera battery died before we got there. Check out the rest here:

De All

Kim and I stumbled into one of the best restaurants in Shanghai quite by accident. We were looking for a new place to eat in Gubei, and noticed this restaurant in an enclosed bridge that joins to buildings over the street. We wandered over and had one of the best Korean meals we've ever had. The beautiful decor included a large transparent illuminated Buddah image over a black pool, small table lights that hung down 20 feet from the ceiling, tall mahogany chairs, and a view looking down on the street. The food was amazing. We had a grilled lotus root with grapefruit sauce, a delicious bibimbap, and an eggplant dish with beef and cheese (it was almost like a little fried ball of philly cheese steak).

Don't worry, we'll take you here when you come to visit.

Ginormous Pomelo

Its bigger than my head!

The Big Catch Up (Part 3): Thaliand Part 2!

Now that's a confusing title. The third part of my catch up is about our second trip to Thailand. This time we spent a few days in Bangkok and a few in Chaing Mai.

I know its going to sound very geeky, but I have to start by talking about the movie theater. Thailand has what are known as 'luxury movie theaters'. When you reach the theater (which makes the Zigfeld look like a dive), you purchase a luxury seat instead of a regular seat (which comes to about $15-$20 USD). Before the movie begins, you're taken to the VIP lounge where you are given a complimentary drink (just a soda) and can relax in luxury before the movie begins. When the film is about to start, you're led into the theater, to your huge leather recliner. The attendant then puts a fluffy little pillow behind your head and a blanket over you, and places your drink and popcorn by your seat. They then press the little button that makes the seat go back. Its all a little excessive for a screening of "Resident Evil 3!"

... and yet worth every cent.

In Chaing Mai, Kim and I got to spend an afternoon with our friend Chris and his wife Neng, who convinced us that if we don't one day retire in Thailand, we need to at least have a winter house there. What? It could happen.

Although I thought it would be a cheesy diversion, one of the high points there for us was the visit to one of the Elephant camps. You can feed the elephants, watch them bathe in the river, and then go see the elephant show. The elephant show is quite amazing. They play soccer, dance, move stuff around with their trunks... and paint. Let me say that again- the elephants paint. The trainers stick the brushes in their trunks (it doesn't look that comfortable, painting with your nose, but the elephants don't seem to mind. Theres actually a whole gallery there of elephant art, and some of its quite nice. I'll write more about that later (it will make a good post for my art ed blog- is it still art if its made by an elephant?)

Otherwise, Chaing Mai is a gorgeous town with lovely people and hundreds of temples. We only got to see a few in our short stay, but they were beautiful indeed. You can see some more of our pictures here.