breathe.

Hawaiian Christmas 2011

2012-02-17T19:35:00.001-08:00

Bend, Oregon

2011-07-06T13:08:00.000-07:00

4 days on the Rogue River

2011-05-28T14:53:00.001-07:00

A quick trip to NYC

2011-05-28T14:50:00.001-07:00

A hike to Arch Rock, California

2010-12-25T23:38:00.000-08:00

Victoria, Canada

2010-12-25T23:21:00.000-08:00

Goodbye China

2010-12-25T22:23:00.000-08:00

Qingdao

2010-12-13T22:21:00.001-08:00

We went on one last buddy weekend to Qingdao, the beer capital of China. German settlers way back when had a large influence on this part of China, and a large Brewery was built. To this day there is still a lot of German influence in the architecture and city layout.

First stop, some delicious Korean food. (There is also a lot Korean influence as Qingdao is very near the border)

Next stop, a clubby bar thing.

The next morning, we visit an old miniature castle built by a wealthy German.

Next, a military museum.

Then, the Tsingtao Brewery!

At night, we wandered.

Then, we left.

NYC -> Montreal -> NYC

2010-10-11T00:08:00.001-07:00

Thailand in June

2010-07-04T02:39:00.000-07:00

The trip began with a lovely night spent sleeping at the gate in Bangkok. We stayed in Koh Samui for 2 nights, then took a boat to Koh Tao where we stayed another 2 nights. From Koh Tao we took an overnight boat to Chumphon, landed in the morning and then made our way to the west coast to Khao Sok National Park.

This was only 8 hours into the trip...

During our 2 hour journey from Koh Samui north to Koh Tao.

In Koh Tao we hired a guy to take us around the island for the day, dropping us off in the best diving spots for some snorkeling.

Making our way around Koh Tao, the weather got very dark for a moment, threatening to storm, and then cleared up as quickly as it came.

The "Night Boat." We knew it was not going to be a cruise, but we weren't quite ready for just how 'budget' it was... the stranger next to me kicked, hit, and rolled over me while asleep all night long. I never got one minute of sleep the entire time, as our boat rolled over waves, and I counted the minutes.

After a night and a day of traveling, we arrive at Khao Sok, and are picked up by our hotel "Morning Mist" from the highway.

The moment we arrived at Morning Mist we signed up for "tubing down the river" that afternoon, the "Night Safari" that night, and the "1 day lake tour" the following day. Each of these were amazing. I would recommend to anyone to stay at Morning Mist in Khao Sok National Park.
During the Night Safari we saw lots of creatures included a flying lizard (below, which glided from the treetops and crashed right into our guide), bats, tarantulas, spiders, snakes.

A bat snacking on dinner from a branch overhead.

A tarantula that our guide was poking at with a stick.
A sider that was about 5-6 inches long.
A snake that didn't seem happy to woken up.

The next day we did the lake tour. The government dammed up the river in Khao Sok a while back, and the result is a stunning lake that reminds me of Guilin, except you can swim in the water, and it's filled with exotic wildlife.

Our last night in Khao Sok... tomorrow we fly to Bangkok, then fly back to Shanghai in the morning... just in time to punch in to the office.

Morning. I walked around a bit, quick to understand why this place is called "Morning Mist."
I noticed a few monkeys in the trees. I walked to a certain vantage point to get these shots of them framed by the morning sun.

In Bangkok there was still some evidence of the riots that happened a few weeks prior.

Luxun Park in Hongkou

2010-06-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

a cherry stem tying race...

A curious early june

2010-06-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

"Big Ears" Du (pictured top-center), was the most ruthless and infamous gangster in recent Chinese history. This photo is taken of an old photo in 'the Mansion,' which is now an old hotel in Shanghai... once a mafia hangout ...

Rollin the streets @ night

2010-06-06T19:07:00.000-07:00

Boracay, Phillipines

2010-05-24T04:26:00.000-07:00

For a quick 1 week break we hustled over to the Phillipines. Both of us were incredibly busy before the trip, and had little time to plan. (Debi did all the planning) It wasn't until we were waiting in line at the airport that we actually looked at a weather report for where we were going...

An excellent place to catch some sleep between our Manila - Caticlan flight.

The following are a series of shots taken early in the morning aboard a small duo-prop airplane on our way to Boracay.

Our first meal in Boracay at our resort (more like a pleasant hostel).

Rum, Kahlua, chocolate, banana. Mmmmmmmm.

I highly recommend staying here!

The same gecko was in this same spot every night. Every time I tried to get a photo, the flash would scare him and he'd split. I finally got 'em.

This was my perspective for 90% of the trip.

The return trip was a nightmare. We were put on the wrong van on our way to the airport. The van instead took us to another airport, an hour and a half away. As a result we missed our flight, and the next one, and our trip to Hong Kong, and the hotel we had booked...

We spent a whole day waiting for flights to Manila, sitting next to this ridiculous ad.

Finally on board an airplane, the A/C gave the illusion that the plane was catching on fire.

Because we missed our flight out of Manila, we had to stay in an awful airport hotel. This was a 'Suite.' Outside the window was a freeway.

Our ride to the Manila airport.

All over Manila are these eccentric little buses, each completely unique in its decoration and oddness.

We finally found ourselves in Hong Kong. Just one more flight left to Shanghai, and then back to work.. the same day.

A significant upgrade in the way I see the world

2010-04-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

I've decided to treat myself to a new toy. Picked up a Lumix GF1 from the Shanghai camera market. I love everything about it.

Wuzhen, a water town

2010-04-06T00:00:00.001-07:00

For Tomb Sweeping day (same day as Easter) we took a bus two hours away from Shanghai to a water town called Wuzhen (pronounced like 'woochin').

This town is known for its early history of fabric dyeing. The workshops still exist, as a display, as do samples of the fabric that are hung out to dry on large wooden racks. Walking through the racks of flowing fabrics immediately makes one think of 'crouching tiger, hidden dragon.'

A quick weekend in Hong Kong

2010-03-22T00:26:00.001-07:00

Our first day we took a ferry from Hong Kong island to Lamma Island, a 14 square km island that is mostly natural, with only two small villages on both side of the island. We landed at one end, and walked 2.2 km to the other end.

Aptly named "power station beach."

The peak shot from below, on our way up. The walk was much further than we thought. Tired and defeated we took a cab the rest of the way.

Shots from the peak:

A small section of the mid-levels escalator... the longest network of escalators in the world. Along this network are many delicious restaurants. The one we chose to eat at however was a pretentious British shithole.

Some shots from the harbor, looking towards Hong Kong island:

A group of 'activitst' had collected thousands of discarded plastic bags and stretched them along the entire length of the harbor. Kids stood several meters apart holding up signs of how many bags long of the strand their position marked.

A mad dash through India

2010-03-07T18:10:00.001-08:00

For Chinese New Year, some friends and I went to India. We flew to Delhi, took a van to Agra, took a train to Varanasi, then took a plane back to Delhi... before returning to Shanghai.

There is no painted surface in the Taj Mahal. Every bit of design is created from in-laid precious stones. When you realize this, and take in the scale of the Taj, you realize why many call it the most beautiful man-made structure in existence. It took 21 years to build.

These designs weren't inlaid into marble, they were etched out of larger slabs of marble.

Dominic jumping in front of the Taj.

Me jumping in front of Taj.

Risking our lives in one of the many harrowing tuk tuk rides.

Conan being harassed by a vendor selling cool etched stone ornaments.

Our first night we stayed in a SMALL hotel in a TINY village about an hour outside of Agra.

Some shots of the village surrounding our tiny hotel, taken from the roof...

The load of bricks was too heavy for this tractor, which kept took wheelies and dropping bricks behind it.

Cows are sacred. And they're well-fed by the caring Indians. This man in the stripes was just feeding this cow.

We were passed by a traditional wedding. One of many that day.

Conan's birthday! The cake was alright, the beer was better.

Monkeys huddled at the train station in Agra... heading for Varanasi.

The train was a 12 hour ride. I took these shots through the green-tinted windows the following morning...

It seems there are as many stray dogs in India as there are Indians.

The Ganges, in Varanasi. One side of the river is the most bustling, crazy, dirty, crowded place I've ever been. The other side is completely desolate dryland.

This stray dog was sitting inside a small religous cove to catch a few moments of warmth from the dying fire. He ran off moments after this shot was taken as an attendant showed up broom in hand.

Two young goats playing on the steps at the edge of the river. The one of the left about to deliver an ineffectual headbutt to the one on the right.

A visit to a Hindu temple featuring many Kama Sutra wood carvings...

This stray dog is literally giving birth while this shot is being taken. 3 pups were out, another on the way. It had found a somewhat comfortable nook along the side of an alleyway.

At Bukara restaurant, the best Indian restaurant in all of India. I was not able to eat anything however because I was recovering from last nights food poisoning. (Never eat sushi in Delhi).

This wonderful man wouldn't let Dom and I into this Hindu temple. He says it was because of the time, even though many Indians were still entering. I think it was because of Dom's "mustache."

I end on one last stray dog. This one was the smallest pup I'd seen on his own. He was wandering around this small work area looking for food. India's a tough place for dogs.

a badder asser guitar

2010-01-17T20:42:00.000-08:00

This Sunday I took a marker to my guitar. Actually several markers. I guess it's supposed to be a cyclops. I just hope the ink doesn't come off on my shirt.

prezzies for friendzies

2010-01-17T19:57:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I wanted to make my buddies something that both looked like I spent a lot of time (thus proving how much I love them), and was 'asiany,' so there's some relevance to where I've been all these months.

For Lori, a poodle aficionado, I made a creepy poodle Munny. I debated re-drawing it because it kind of creeped me out, but then I didn't because I thought she might like the creep factor.
For Lacey, I made a hipster guy Munny because she lives in New York, and well, there's lots of hipsters there. Plus, she's Jewish, and I made him stereo-typically 'Jewy' looking. Is that racist? I'll let Lacey be the judge of that.
For my sister Lauren, I made a Panda wearing a leopard print bikini Munny. Panda because if she were a bear it would be a Panda. Leopard print because if she was a Panda wearing a bikini, she would chose leopard print.
For Keven, an eye covered munny. I actually tweaked it a bit more (cleaned up the lines, varied the stroke widths) but I didn't take a photo again. I don't why it's covered in eyes. Deal with it Keven.

2010 New Years @ Home

2010-01-10T17:31:00.001-08:00

A Shanghai Saturday

2009-12-13T19:10:00.000-08:00