Exotic Fruit

Breakfast

Watch the Progression

Why pay for booze, when beer comes free? I originally thought my 11 hour flight to Bejing might be excruciating, but it’s four hours in already. I surprised myself by thinking it was at around the 2 hour mark.


We just flew over Ankorage Alaska. The flight path is pretty cool. We don’t actually fly over the Pacific much at at all. We fly north, up through Alaska, and into the Bering Sea where eventually we’ll fly over Siberia. We’re cruising at over 350,000 feet on a huge air bus. I’m content with my flight so far. I recommend the Yan Jing Beer, free of charge.

All the seats have individual TV screens, so we’re not destined to watch whichever corny comedy, or 3 star Disney movie they provide. I’ve had the pleasure of watching Iron Man 2, and the latest Shrek, which I highly recommend, and How to Tame Your Dragon. Turns out I’d watch both the Disney, and the corny on my own accord anyways… at least I have choice I suppose.

Now at the 7 hour mark, flying just over Siberia now… which looks like a frozen wasteland to be honest. There isn’t a single sign of life below, just frozen tundra. I haven’t slept a wink, but the food was half decent, I had a choice of pork (obviously) and fish. I’m also getting my first dose of language issues. This is the third time in 10 minutes I’ve put on the ‘I need service’ light to ask for a new refreshment, but the message clearly isn’t getting through. Ah, I asked for tea and received green instead of black. Yup, it’s official, I’m not in Kansas anymore.


Yep, the first 6 hours were fine. But we’re now going on 9, with another 2 to go. Oh ya, not to mention the two hour layover in Bejing, followed by another 4.5 hours to Bangkok. The beer is making me burp, and I’m now over that to… It’s almost 10:30 at night back home, but since we’ve been following the light this whole way, it still looks like it might be about 3pm wherever I am in the world. My plan is to sleep slightly on the next flight, but not too much I can’t sleep this evening, when I arrive at 11:45.

 Flying into Bejing is like flying into any other city. While you descend through the haze, one tries to determine whether it’s pollution or light cloud. The surroundings are brown, and the industrial parts of town look like the inside of a computer. The buildings are systematically made to look similar. City blocks are planned to have the same size height and width buildings, making it appear so methodical it almost looks mechanic. There are 4 classic, “Simpson’s” nuclear plant cylinders, a huge super highway that disappears into the ‘haze’, and agriculture. At this point, I can hardly tell what’s what on the ground because of the incredible amount of well, who’s kidding, it’s pollution. The sun’s reflection on what little water I can see is a sickening orange. It’s easily as thick as dispersed fog. I was truly hoping to get a glimpse of the Great Wall from the air, but I can’t see into the distance at all. Next time.


Finally landed in Bangkok. I broke my rule of sleeping the entire way on that next plane, not mention snoozing in Bejing. Now I’m wired, but not quite prepared to venture into the nightlife of Sukhumvit. So, here I stay in the common area of the hostel, loathing having to wake up the other ladies in the room, listening to foreign club music out one window, and barking dogs out the other. Ah, just like any other foreign city. The highway on the way here was very well kept. I counted the amount of broken down cars, trucks or buses. Six total in an $8 cab ride. The electrical work is truly astonishing. I thought I had seen the worst, but I really don’t know how it works. Giant bundles of live wire accumulate at every post, some drooping to head level or lower. The skytrain is truly what us Vancouverites would call a SkyTrain, it looks exactly the same. I’ll take it tomorrow for shits and giggles.


Signing off, from Bangkok.

Quick Trip to The Island

As you may have guessed, I took Bikini with me, and so follows a few dog portraits.

While on our ferry trip over, we discovered that dogs arn't allowed on the passanger deck. That's fine I suppose, although the loading on and off with the car traffic could and should be avoided. 

We sat for the full hour and a half in a small, unlit dungeon quaintly designated the "pet area". Lucky for me, it was positioned against what I considered to be some sort of engine room. The constant clanking, and turning of machinery was somewhat hypnotic, but the real bonus was that it kept the far wall oddly warm. I huddled up to that thing like a lizard on a rock. With my good buddy to my right, my guidebook to Asia, and her comfy dog bed... things weren't all that bad. I didn't have to talk to anyone. Didn't spend money on a burger. Just sat peacefully, drinking a beer with my dog. 

Gargoyle

We took a walk through some trails full of garbage and obvious human disgrace. There were arbutus trees though, and damn, I love those arbutus trees. In between shots of beautiful mossy rocks, and ferns there'd be litter, or a broken bottle or three.

Bikini can be seen here, putting up with mom taking pictures. She looks like a gargoyle, or troll or something....

She loves music

And napping

Before and After

Granted the canvases on the before were easy to transform, but with a little help from Mandy (at the OC Spa) we had a chance to transform their hair, do their makeup, and light their pretty faces into the afters. 

The Before

Julie came in saying "do what you want". She was pretty open to Mandy doing anything.

Krista's hair was long, uncolored and needed a cut

Katie's hair was a little processed, but she needed a cut, and a color. Mandy went a little darker, but kept the cut pretty similar. 

The After

Julie

Julie

Krista

Krista

Katie

 

Katie

Mandy does hair and makeup services through the OC spa. They can be reached at http://www.theocspa.ca 

Services are listed, along with any prices, contact info and address.

Tingo Talango Live @ Malones

Tingo Talango Live @ Malones

 An eclectic band, Tingo Talango was a definite crowd pleaser at Malone's pub on Seymour Street. Drawing a larger crowd than the head liner, they play for fun and to raise awareness for the deportation of immigrants from France.
Check them out Sunday, the 10th at the Anza Club on Broadway.

 

The Importance of Journal

Today I took it upon myself to reflect upon some of my writings. I've always written, although sometimes poetically, throughout my life. I came across one that I wrote before the age of seventeen that was talking about perception. Even then I realized how important it was to write in the now, in order to reflect upon it later. It came to me that our personal history is often so skewed by perceptions of who we thought we were, or who we like to think we were. Reflecting upon realities, rather than relying on memory alone really defines who you are, were and could become.

Just a thought. Keep it real, keep a journal.

It's Funny

It's funny how the main complaint of the Tea Partiers is that related to taxes. The Obama administration has actually made tax cuts that relate to 95% of working Americans... It's funny how brain washing certain news stations can be, being as most of them are funded by the other 5% who are being hit harder than the last eight years with taxes... ha.ha. . . that's funny.
Just a thought.