Monday. Start of week three here in Asuncion. The weather is still on the nippy side. I buckled and bought a fleece jacket over the weekend. My other light fleece hoody was being laundered and only came back today. At least I have something to alternate with. I had been wearing the pink hoody for most of the past 2 weeks!
I think the time passes more quickly during the week. All I do is get up, have some breakfast and then head off to the customer site. We spend 10 hrs there before heading back. By the time we're back at the hotel it's almost 7:30. A bit too late to really do much else. Plus, after being cooped up in an enclosed, air-conditioned environment, it just makes you that much more tired.
Yeah, I know. This is one REALLY exciting blog entry. But hey, it's something, right?
I am really hoping I can fly home Saturday and not have to stay the 4th week. We'll see. So far, most of the testing we're doing is going along pretty well. But, you never know...
Maybe I shouldn't blog about my work-related trips here. Vacation trips are more interesting.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Friday, June 20, 2008
Sweetness
Something I noticed at breakfast. And this goes for both of the hotels I've stayed or am staying at. There's an awful lot of sweet items. There are croissants filled with fruit preserves or dulce de leche. There are other pastries that are sugary sweet. There are cookies and other small sweet items. Aside from the sweet stuff there is also some fruit, breads and ham and cheese.
At the Andares del Agua, you can ask them to prepare something specific. A few times I've asked for fried eggs. Gotta have something warm sometimes.
At the Andares del Agua, you can ask them to prepare something specific. A few times I've asked for fried eggs. Gotta have something warm sometimes.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thursday, Asuncion, Paraguay
It's a national holiday here in Paraguay: Dia de la Paz del Chaco. However, being that we are on Canadian work week, my colleague and I went to the customer site. We were hoping to get this one last group of test cases done for this particular interface test. Alas, our being here would be for nought. Let's just say, nothing worked.
Some observations...
I read somewhere that there are still people who drive horse-drawn wagons. I've seen a few for sure on the ride from the hotel to the customer site. I have yet to successfully take a photo of one.
The roads here are not the smoothest I've seen. The main roadways seem to be the smoothest since they're paved in asphalt. However, I don't think they use the same methods as in North America. A lot of the streets I've seen so far are cobbled red brick. It makes for a very rough ride in the car. This would also explain why our driver always slows down on these roads. Of course, the car is not the newest thing either, but it runs!
The streets are not all level. It's almost as if some streets were added on at different times. There are intersections where there are significant dips and/or inclines. Again, gotta slow down for these. Sometimes there are these "gutters" that run right across the street. Then there are some streets that have speed bumps all along the entire length of the street. It's kinda like no two streets were built the same way.
Street lights are few and far between. I think they only put them up at the very busy intersections. Otherwise, you just go when you have an opening. Surprisingly, traffic just seems to flow like this. Since it's the norm, drivers expect it. There may have been some close calls, but I haven't seen any accidents yet.
The part of town my hotel is in is one of the nicer areas. The much swankier Sheraton is about a 5 minute (or 3 dollar) taxi ride away. There's a decent but small (by N. Am. standards) shopping center across the way. Not too far in Villa Morra is another nice shopping area with some nice bars, clubs and restaurants.
Last night, one of the guys down here on another project said he'd swing by to pick me up to go out for some dinner. I thought he'd grab a cab. Before he came by, he called and said something about meeting up with Sergio (this is another story) but will be by shortly. So I'm waiting in the hotel lobby, when I eventually see this car pull up. I saw a familiar hand wave at me. Huh? That's a friggin Mercedes. Apparently, this Sergio guy is some prosecutor in the ministry of justice. Yeah. Just HOW do these guys meet up with these people??
Anyway... We went over to the Sky Restaurant & Lounge. It's a really nice place. It's expensive by Paraguayan standards, I guess. Unfortunately, Sergio was not able to stay and have dinner with us as he had other things to attend to. So, we had some wine, some starters and dinner. By the time we finished it was a bit after 11PM. Yes, dinner starts pretty late here, no earlier than 8PM. Gotta splurge on the nice dinner once in a while.
Not sure what's happening tonight. Gotta see what the boys are up to. I don't think they're having as easy of a day as I have had so far.
Some observations...
I read somewhere that there are still people who drive horse-drawn wagons. I've seen a few for sure on the ride from the hotel to the customer site. I have yet to successfully take a photo of one.
The roads here are not the smoothest I've seen. The main roadways seem to be the smoothest since they're paved in asphalt. However, I don't think they use the same methods as in North America. A lot of the streets I've seen so far are cobbled red brick. It makes for a very rough ride in the car. This would also explain why our driver always slows down on these roads. Of course, the car is not the newest thing either, but it runs!
The streets are not all level. It's almost as if some streets were added on at different times. There are intersections where there are significant dips and/or inclines. Again, gotta slow down for these. Sometimes there are these "gutters" that run right across the street. Then there are some streets that have speed bumps all along the entire length of the street. It's kinda like no two streets were built the same way.
Street lights are few and far between. I think they only put them up at the very busy intersections. Otherwise, you just go when you have an opening. Surprisingly, traffic just seems to flow like this. Since it's the norm, drivers expect it. There may have been some close calls, but I haven't seen any accidents yet.
The part of town my hotel is in is one of the nicer areas. The much swankier Sheraton is about a 5 minute (or 3 dollar) taxi ride away. There's a decent but small (by N. Am. standards) shopping center across the way. Not too far in Villa Morra is another nice shopping area with some nice bars, clubs and restaurants.
Last night, one of the guys down here on another project said he'd swing by to pick me up to go out for some dinner. I thought he'd grab a cab. Before he came by, he called and said something about meeting up with Sergio (this is another story) but will be by shortly. So I'm waiting in the hotel lobby, when I eventually see this car pull up. I saw a familiar hand wave at me. Huh? That's a friggin Mercedes. Apparently, this Sergio guy is some prosecutor in the ministry of justice. Yeah. Just HOW do these guys meet up with these people??
Anyway... We went over to the Sky Restaurant & Lounge. It's a really nice place. It's expensive by Paraguayan standards, I guess. Unfortunately, Sergio was not able to stay and have dinner with us as he had other things to attend to. So, we had some wine, some starters and dinner. By the time we finished it was a bit after 11PM. Yes, dinner starts pretty late here, no earlier than 8PM. Gotta splurge on the nice dinner once in a while.
Not sure what's happening tonight. Gotta see what the boys are up to. I don't think they're having as easy of a day as I have had so far.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Asuncion, Paraguay
Well, I made it here. After traveling for nearly 24 hours, I made it to Asuncion.
My flight left Saturday evening from Montreal to Toronto. From Toronto, it was about 10.5 hours to Santiago, Chile. After hanging around the Santiago airport for a few hours it was another 4.5 hours to Asuncion, with a short stop in Ciudad de le Este.
So it was Sunday a bit after 6PM when I finally got into my hotel room.
Monday, went to the local office and met briefly with the project manager. Met my colleague who was already here a week. We headed off to the customer site. We worked until 7PM. Afterwards, I met up with one of the other guys from work who's here with another guy for another project. They're here for another 2 weeks.
I'd update more, but with the hours I've been keeping so far, it's hard to find the time to write up a proper entry. I did manage to take a few pics on the car ride to the customer site this morning. I haven't uploaded them to the laptop yet to see how they came out. So be forewarned.
In the meantime, I'm just gonna chill a bit before heading out for some dinner tonight.
My flight left Saturday evening from Montreal to Toronto. From Toronto, it was about 10.5 hours to Santiago, Chile. After hanging around the Santiago airport for a few hours it was another 4.5 hours to Asuncion, with a short stop in Ciudad de le Este.
So it was Sunday a bit after 6PM when I finally got into my hotel room.
Monday, went to the local office and met briefly with the project manager. Met my colleague who was already here a week. We headed off to the customer site. We worked until 7PM. Afterwards, I met up with one of the other guys from work who's here with another guy for another project. They're here for another 2 weeks.
I'd update more, but with the hours I've been keeping so far, it's hard to find the time to write up a proper entry. I did manage to take a few pics on the car ride to the customer site this morning. I haven't uploaded them to the laptop yet to see how they came out. So be forewarned.
In the meantime, I'm just gonna chill a bit before heading out for some dinner tonight.
Monday, December 17, 2007
Photos are up!
Okay boys and girls! I've finally uploaded the pics to Flickr. I've also managed to clean them up of duplicates and multiple shots.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Follow-up...
Okay. Trip is over. Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
I am still working at getting the pics uploaded to Flickr. I will try to get this done before Christmas. I promise!
Some thoughts:
Hong Kong: It's an interesting place to visit. I think we only got to see some of the main attractions of HK. I'm sure there were other things and places we could have checked out. I wish I had brought along the Lonely Planet. Oh well. Perhaps another time.
Shanghai: First thing I noticed about this city: the smog. I think the sky was gray everyday. It might have been sort of clear in the evening. I'm pretty sure I saw a star out in that smoggy, night sky. Next thing I noticed was the people. They're rude and push a lot. It's every person for themselves. Plus, they cut lines. They just push and shove. I don't know if I could deal with that on a long term basis. I'd probably go postal or bash someone's head in.
Tokyo: What can I say? It's not the first time I've been here. However, it was a definite welcome respite from that chaos that is Shanghai. Back to some semblance of civility and order. A place where people apologized for having to rush past you. A world where people queue up in an orderly fashion. In some ways, it's a little surreal as well.
Anyway... Until my next trip, it's back to some everyday babbling elsewhere. ;)
I am still working at getting the pics uploaded to Flickr. I will try to get this done before Christmas. I promise!
Some thoughts:
Hong Kong: It's an interesting place to visit. I think we only got to see some of the main attractions of HK. I'm sure there were other things and places we could have checked out. I wish I had brought along the Lonely Planet. Oh well. Perhaps another time.
Shanghai: First thing I noticed about this city: the smog. I think the sky was gray everyday. It might have been sort of clear in the evening. I'm pretty sure I saw a star out in that smoggy, night sky. Next thing I noticed was the people. They're rude and push a lot. It's every person for themselves. Plus, they cut lines. They just push and shove. I don't know if I could deal with that on a long term basis. I'd probably go postal or bash someone's head in.
Tokyo: What can I say? It's not the first time I've been here. However, it was a definite welcome respite from that chaos that is Shanghai. Back to some semblance of civility and order. A place where people apologized for having to rush past you. A world where people queue up in an orderly fashion. In some ways, it's a little surreal as well.
Anyway... Until my next trip, it's back to some everyday babbling elsewhere. ;)
Sunday, December 09, 2007
Rockabilly in Yoyogi Park
Get a big amp, some rockin' tunes, some beer and you have a Sunday afternoon at Yoyogi Park!
Outdoor Karaoke, sort of
This guy was REALLY into singing along with whatever was plying. I think it was some David Bowie. Too bad there was too much ambient noise in the way.
Bus ride on Lantau Island to see the bronze Bhudda
According to my Mom, some improvements were made to widen the road since she and bro visited 7 years ago.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Missing baggage and some parting shots
Well, something got left behind in Chicago. :p
I remember picking up BOTH bags in bagage claim and bringing them over to get checked back in for the connecting flight. One made it, the other one didn't. I filed a misplaced baggage report with Air Canada. I guess it didn't make it on the evening flight from Chicago. Let's see if they can find it and bring it home tomorrow. *Fingers crossed*
*UPDATE*
I just checked and it looks like the bag made it here. They just need to contact me for delivery. Yay!
Meanwhile, I got around to uploading the movies and remaining pics from both cameras.
I remember picking up BOTH bags in bagage claim and bringing them over to get checked back in for the connecting flight. One made it, the other one didn't. I filed a misplaced baggage report with Air Canada. I guess it didn't make it on the evening flight from Chicago. Let's see if they can find it and bring it home tomorrow. *Fingers crossed*
*UPDATE*
I just checked and it looks like the bag made it here. They just need to contact me for delivery. Yay!
Meanwhile, I got around to uploading the movies and remaining pics from both cameras.
Tokyo/Chicago: Friday/Saturday
I was a bit too lazy to post an update last night. I slept in and left my room around 11AM. I decided to hit Tokyo station and the Ginza again. I needed to have my watch fixed. I asked the concierge if she knew where I can get my watch battery replaced. She suggested a department store. After I grabbed a couple of onigiri and ate them by the fountain near the Imperial Palace, I walked over to the Ginza.
First, I checked out HMV to see if I can find the Kubrick Edition of a Daft Punk album. No dice. I kept walking. I saw the Seibu department store and went in there. I asked at the information desk about watch repair. The girl directed me to Bic Camera which was a short walk away. I went in and managed to figure out that watches was on the 6th floor. After I got up there, I asked and found the watch repair section. I tried to explain that the battery needed to be replaced. He gave me an estimate of Y1575. That's cool. And it's a 1 hour service. Okay. That should be me time to wander around some more.
I made my way to Yamano Music. There, I found the limited edition Kubrick Daft Punk. They had 3 copies. I bought 2. One for me and one for Frankie. After that I wandered over to the Itoya store. After going up a few floors, I found it to be a tad too crowded and warm. Back down I go. I checked the clock on the mobile. Ooh! It looks like it's time to head back to Bic Camera.
I made my way back to Bic. I got my watch. The final cost was Y1230. Cool. After wandering around Bic a little while I decided that I have had enough and headed back to the hotel. It was still early, so I decided to grab a nap. Later, I sent an email to my friend Wayne. He was still at work. Eventually, I got a call from him. We'll meet by Meguro station and get some dinner. We went to Laxmi for some Indian. afterwards, we said our goodbyes, I gave him back the mobile, gave each other a hug and parted ways.
After I got back, I was busy trying to fit every last thing into my luggage. It was a bit tight, but I manged. Of course, i had to take into account what I needed in the morning.
Saturday:
Got up, showered, finished packing. I went down tow ait for the airport limousine bus. Got to the airport, checked in, got through security, then waited at least a half hour in line to go through customs. Oy. I had wanted to buy some sake. However, because I am transiting in Chicago, I would not be allowed to carry that through security. Well, that just blows. :p
Roughly 10 hours later, I am in Chicago. I guess we got some good tail wind. Now I sit in Terminal 2, Gate E2 waiting for my flight home.
First, I checked out HMV to see if I can find the Kubrick Edition of a Daft Punk album. No dice. I kept walking. I saw the Seibu department store and went in there. I asked at the information desk about watch repair. The girl directed me to Bic Camera which was a short walk away. I went in and managed to figure out that watches was on the 6th floor. After I got up there, I asked and found the watch repair section. I tried to explain that the battery needed to be replaced. He gave me an estimate of Y1575. That's cool. And it's a 1 hour service. Okay. That should be me time to wander around some more.
I made my way to Yamano Music. There, I found the limited edition Kubrick Daft Punk. They had 3 copies. I bought 2. One for me and one for Frankie. After that I wandered over to the Itoya store. After going up a few floors, I found it to be a tad too crowded and warm. Back down I go. I checked the clock on the mobile. Ooh! It looks like it's time to head back to Bic Camera.
I made my way back to Bic. I got my watch. The final cost was Y1230. Cool. After wandering around Bic a little while I decided that I have had enough and headed back to the hotel. It was still early, so I decided to grab a nap. Later, I sent an email to my friend Wayne. He was still at work. Eventually, I got a call from him. We'll meet by Meguro station and get some dinner. We went to Laxmi for some Indian. afterwards, we said our goodbyes, I gave him back the mobile, gave each other a hug and parted ways.
After I got back, I was busy trying to fit every last thing into my luggage. It was a bit tight, but I manged. Of course, i had to take into account what I needed in the morning.
Saturday:
Got up, showered, finished packing. I went down tow ait for the airport limousine bus. Got to the airport, checked in, got through security, then waited at least a half hour in line to go through customs. Oy. I had wanted to buy some sake. However, because I am transiting in Chicago, I would not be allowed to carry that through security. Well, that just blows. :p
Roughly 10 hours later, I am in Chicago. I guess we got some good tail wind. Now I sit in Terminal 2, Gate E2 waiting for my flight home.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Tokyo: Thursday
I tried to sleep in, but I was afraid of missing breakfast. But I did hang around my room until about 11:00 or so. I figure I'd check out Odaiba.
Odaiba. It's an area created from reclaimed land. There are a number of complexes on this piece of land. I visited two of the large shopping malls there. I nearly got lost in one of them by going around in circles (but that was partially my fault). There's a huge, free Toyota car exhibit. Fuji-TV has a building there with a huge sphere that has an observation deck.
One of the shopping malls, called Venus Fort, made my jaw drop when I saw the interior of the place. I had read a description of the place online before I went. It was suppose to evoke an image or feel of Venice. In any case, the main shopping floor was easy enough to navigate. There were a lot of boutiques and designer shops. In one "courtyard" there's this fountain with these statues in it. There were colorful lights making the whole fountain glow. It was actually rather nice. There was a store that sold cute little sweaters and t-shirts for small dogs. Anyway, it looks like there was something for everyone.
Getting to Odaiba is kind of interesting. There's a monorail that runs from Shinbashi to Odaiba. It's a private company so you had to buy tickets separate from JR for it. I opted for the all-day pass for Y800. Afterwards, when I checked out the cost from going from one station to another like I did (to get from one mall to another and back) it was worth it.
Anyway, I managed to kill the entire afternoon in Odaiba. I wonder what I will do Friday, my last full day.
BTW, I won't mentioned what purchases I've made in Odaiba. However, I think a couple of you already know. :p
(Pictures to be posted later.)
Odaiba. It's an area created from reclaimed land. There are a number of complexes on this piece of land. I visited two of the large shopping malls there. I nearly got lost in one of them by going around in circles (but that was partially my fault). There's a huge, free Toyota car exhibit. Fuji-TV has a building there with a huge sphere that has an observation deck.
One of the shopping malls, called Venus Fort, made my jaw drop when I saw the interior of the place. I had read a description of the place online before I went. It was suppose to evoke an image or feel of Venice. In any case, the main shopping floor was easy enough to navigate. There were a lot of boutiques and designer shops. In one "courtyard" there's this fountain with these statues in it. There were colorful lights making the whole fountain glow. It was actually rather nice. There was a store that sold cute little sweaters and t-shirts for small dogs. Anyway, it looks like there was something for everyone.
Getting to Odaiba is kind of interesting. There's a monorail that runs from Shinbashi to Odaiba. It's a private company so you had to buy tickets separate from JR for it. I opted for the all-day pass for Y800. Afterwards, when I checked out the cost from going from one station to another like I did (to get from one mall to another and back) it was worth it.
Anyway, I managed to kill the entire afternoon in Odaiba. I wonder what I will do Friday, my last full day.
BTW, I won't mentioned what purchases I've made in Odaiba. However, I think a couple of you already know. :p
(Pictures to be posted later.)
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Tokyo/Nikko: Wednesday
So I dragged myself out of bed early today. Got some breakfast here at the hotel, then hauled my sleepy ass to the train station. Gotta love taking the bullet train around here. It's quiet and super fast!
So I got to Nikko around 11:30. First off, it was cold. At least I had thought to bring my scarf and gloves just in case. On top of that, at some point, it started to flurry! So needless to say, at times I felt a little cold. :p
I found the bus that would would drop you off by Shinkyo Bridge. From there it was all uphill. I think I climbed up a lot of stairs in Nikko today. First, I needed to go up to where the ticket booth was where you can get a combined ticket to see all of the shrines. However, admission to see the "Sleeping Cat" and Tokugawa Ieyasu's tomb was separate.
Some of the shrines that were part of this combined ticket:
- Rinnō-ji Temple
- Futarasan Shrine
- Taiyuin-byō
- Yakushi-dō Hall
Since this was the first time I was visiting Nikko, I took my time to wander around the shrines and temples and where ever else I could go. All the while, I was snapping pictures left, right and center. Yeah, I took an awful lot of photos. I don't think I will strain my iBook too much by trying to upload all of them. I've got extra memory cards in case I need them.
I think I only realized it later on that the Nikko National park "closes" at about 4PM around this time of year.I think by the time I had my fill of all that I could see, it was around 3:00PM. I started to make my way back. Along the way, I stopped by this little souvenir shop that also served some food. So I ordered myself a bowl of yuba soba. Well, that certainly warmed me up! Long enough to make the trek back to the train station.
Since my connectiong train in Utsunomiya was only at 18:32, I decided to just walk it. Now, mind you, it's only about 3:30PM. However, it seems that a lot of shops and businesses were already closed for the day. I know I was visiting Nikko in the off-season, but I didn't think there'd be so few people that the shops wouldn't be open. But then again, I didn't see too many people on the streets either. :p
So I got to the train station. The next train to Utsunomiya was at 16:43. That would get me in at around 17:30. So I'd still have to wait about an hour for the Shinkansen. :p Oh, on top of the that, the station was kinda cold. I ended up buying a bottle of warm tea and a rice ball (onigiri). I found a semi-heated waiting room on the platform and hunkered down to wait for the train.
While waiting for my train, a few Shinkansen passed through the station at full-speed. There are separate tracks for trains that just pass through. It's just amazing to see them fly by like that at such high speeds. I think they hit speeds in excess of 275 kph in any case, they're damn fast! Ohh! something of note. All Shinkansen cars are now non-smoking! :)
Just 2 more full days left in Tokyo. What to do?
So I got to Nikko around 11:30. First off, it was cold. At least I had thought to bring my scarf and gloves just in case. On top of that, at some point, it started to flurry! So needless to say, at times I felt a little cold. :p
I found the bus that would would drop you off by Shinkyo Bridge. From there it was all uphill. I think I climbed up a lot of stairs in Nikko today. First, I needed to go up to where the ticket booth was where you can get a combined ticket to see all of the shrines. However, admission to see the "Sleeping Cat" and Tokugawa Ieyasu's tomb was separate.
Some of the shrines that were part of this combined ticket:
- Rinnō-ji Temple
- Futarasan Shrine
- Taiyuin-byō
- Yakushi-dō Hall
Since this was the first time I was visiting Nikko, I took my time to wander around the shrines and temples and where ever else I could go. All the while, I was snapping pictures left, right and center. Yeah, I took an awful lot of photos. I don't think I will strain my iBook too much by trying to upload all of them. I've got extra memory cards in case I need them.
I think I only realized it later on that the Nikko National park "closes" at about 4PM around this time of year.I think by the time I had my fill of all that I could see, it was around 3:00PM. I started to make my way back. Along the way, I stopped by this little souvenir shop that also served some food. So I ordered myself a bowl of yuba soba. Well, that certainly warmed me up! Long enough to make the trek back to the train station.
Since my connectiong train in Utsunomiya was only at 18:32, I decided to just walk it. Now, mind you, it's only about 3:30PM. However, it seems that a lot of shops and businesses were already closed for the day. I know I was visiting Nikko in the off-season, but I didn't think there'd be so few people that the shops wouldn't be open. But then again, I didn't see too many people on the streets either. :p
So I got to the train station. The next train to Utsunomiya was at 16:43. That would get me in at around 17:30. So I'd still have to wait about an hour for the Shinkansen. :p Oh, on top of the that, the station was kinda cold. I ended up buying a bottle of warm tea and a rice ball (onigiri). I found a semi-heated waiting room on the platform and hunkered down to wait for the train.
While waiting for my train, a few Shinkansen passed through the station at full-speed. There are separate tracks for trains that just pass through. It's just amazing to see them fly by like that at such high speeds. I think they hit speeds in excess of 275 kph in any case, they're damn fast! Ohh! something of note. All Shinkansen cars are now non-smoking! :)
Just 2 more full days left in Tokyo. What to do?
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Tokyo: Tuesday
Okay, I didn't really sleep in too much today, but I did have to do some packing and repacking this morning. My friend has booked me into a hotel for the rest of my stay. His treat. Essentially, with all the ensuing last minute preparations and such for their trip to Hawaii and getting their marriage papers signed and filed, there will be a certain amount of chaos. So, here I am. I am staying at the Prince Park Tower Hotel. I have a view of the Tokyo Tower which is right next door.
Before checking into the hotel this evening, I headed down to Tokyo station to get reserved seat tickets on the shinkansen for tomorrow. The trip to Nikko is in two legs. I take the Shinkansen out to Utsunomiya. I change over to the Nikko line for the rest of the trip. It takes roughly 2 hours.
While I was in the area, I strolled around the Ginza area. I swung by the Sanrio store and picked up a few things. Then I went to the Sony building to see what they had to offer as the latest in something neat. Apparently it's something called the Rolly. I didn't take any pictures of it, but if you Googled it, I'm sure you'll find something. It's a rather amusing piece of entertainment hardware. I guess that's the best way to describe it. After that I continued on to the Apple Store. Along the way, I came across this Christmas Tree display in front of Mikimoto. It's rather nice.
Anyway, that's it for now. :-)
Monday, December 03, 2007
Tokyo: Monday
Sunday (continued)
So after wandering around the flea market, I managed to get through the throng of people on Takeshita Street back to the main drag in front of Harajuku station. I decided to swing by the Meiji-jingu shrine to check things out. Along the long wide path to the shrine there is an entrance to a garden. Granted that this time of year it might not be very floral, but since they charge Y500 to get in, it's probably a nice tranquil respite from the crowds. And it was. There's a nice big pond with koi swimming around. I found myself a bench and just sat and relaxed for a bit. It was quite nice.
Afterwards, I made my way over to the shrine. There seemed to be a few weddings happening that afternoon. I hung around a bit and managed to take a few pictures. It was interesting to watch the processions. Also, when they wedding party was having their photos done, the fixer was busy making sure the kimonos were all neat and straight. I guess they wanted to have the perfect photo.
Next to the Shrine is Yoyogi Park. Yoyogi Park is known for some festive activities on Sundays. Today was no exception. There were at least 4 groups of rockabilly dancers going at it with their music blaring. One of the groups was actually all female. It was amusing to see the pompadours on some of the guys. I think there was one guy who's pompadour was quite tall! At some point, some of the guys joined the girls and they did a number to Greased Lightning. It was quite entertaining. I captured it as a movie on the small camera.
After all of that, we (Wayne had met up with me in Yoyogi) headed down Omotesando. I found a Body Shop and picked up a few things because I was having hair issues. Further down the street, we found Kiddy Land. Ooooh, this was a dangerous place! There were about 6 floors of stuff! Needless to say, I did pick up a few things. I found the Disney Little Taps. They're quite amusing! I also found a couple other interesting items.
Finally, time for dinner. We wanted to go to this Mexican place, but it seems that it was no longer around (not sure what the staying power of restaurants are around Tokyo), so we wandered around a bit. I forget how long we wandered for. Eventually, realizing how hungry we were and not having much luck finding anything along the street we were on, we decided Jamaican jerk sounded good, hailed a cab and went off to Aalaawi in Ebisu. it was good to get some food in the tummy!
Monday (Today)
Today, I felt the after effects of the Jamaican jerk. I really shouldn't have added the extra hot sauce, but it was GOOD! Anyway, it was also a bit of a cloudy and rainy day. Rainy, dreary days just zap the energy out of me. I also didn't know what I wanted to do. So I just chilled in the apartment. I did go out to grab a sandwich to eat. I caught up on some email and took a nice nap in the afternoon.
Later, I met up with Wayne and his friend Keith. We went to this Korean barbecue place. It was interesting to have this thing on the table with hot coals to cook your food. It was all quite good and filling! :-)
Yeah, Monday was a slow day.
So after wandering around the flea market, I managed to get through the throng of people on Takeshita Street back to the main drag in front of Harajuku station. I decided to swing by the Meiji-jingu shrine to check things out. Along the long wide path to the shrine there is an entrance to a garden. Granted that this time of year it might not be very floral, but since they charge Y500 to get in, it's probably a nice tranquil respite from the crowds. And it was. There's a nice big pond with koi swimming around. I found myself a bench and just sat and relaxed for a bit. It was quite nice.
Afterwards, I made my way over to the shrine. There seemed to be a few weddings happening that afternoon. I hung around a bit and managed to take a few pictures. It was interesting to watch the processions. Also, when they wedding party was having their photos done, the fixer was busy making sure the kimonos were all neat and straight. I guess they wanted to have the perfect photo.
Next to the Shrine is Yoyogi Park. Yoyogi Park is known for some festive activities on Sundays. Today was no exception. There were at least 4 groups of rockabilly dancers going at it with their music blaring. One of the groups was actually all female. It was amusing to see the pompadours on some of the guys. I think there was one guy who's pompadour was quite tall! At some point, some of the guys joined the girls and they did a number to Greased Lightning. It was quite entertaining. I captured it as a movie on the small camera.
After all of that, we (Wayne had met up with me in Yoyogi) headed down Omotesando. I found a Body Shop and picked up a few things because I was having hair issues. Further down the street, we found Kiddy Land. Ooooh, this was a dangerous place! There were about 6 floors of stuff! Needless to say, I did pick up a few things. I found the Disney Little Taps. They're quite amusing! I also found a couple other interesting items.
Finally, time for dinner. We wanted to go to this Mexican place, but it seems that it was no longer around (not sure what the staying power of restaurants are around Tokyo), so we wandered around a bit. I forget how long we wandered for. Eventually, realizing how hungry we were and not having much luck finding anything along the street we were on, we decided Jamaican jerk sounded good, hailed a cab and went off to Aalaawi in Ebisu. it was good to get some food in the tummy!
Monday (Today)
Today, I felt the after effects of the Jamaican jerk. I really shouldn't have added the extra hot sauce, but it was GOOD! Anyway, it was also a bit of a cloudy and rainy day. Rainy, dreary days just zap the energy out of me. I also didn't know what I wanted to do. So I just chilled in the apartment. I did go out to grab a sandwich to eat. I caught up on some email and took a nice nap in the afternoon.
Later, I met up with Wayne and his friend Keith. We went to this Korean barbecue place. It was interesting to have this thing on the table with hot coals to cook your food. It was all quite good and filling! :-)
Yeah, Monday was a slow day.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Tokyo: Sunday
Xmas tree @ Tokyo Tower
Okay, before I start with today's adventures, I'll do a quick recap of Friday and Saturday. Also, I will hold off until another time to upload pics. My hard drive has been making more noise than usual, so I don't want to overburden it until after I get home (i.e., try not to make it crash).
Friday
I really didn't do too much on Friday. It was a case of, well, if I went out again I might end up with another 1000RMB mistake due to my poor bargaining and haggling abilities. I can be a hard ass in the office, but when it comes to this sort of thing, well.. I just plain suck at it. So I just chilled.
That evening, we went out with another person (she worked in Montreal before coming to Shanghai and works with Abe). We went to this hot pot place that was across the way from Abe's place. It was quite good, despite the fact we had to wait until about 8:30 for a table and Abe got a number for our reservation around 6PM! Yeesh! Anyway, we each got our own little hot pot with the broth we selected. We got a selection of meats and veggies and other things we can dunk into the simmering water. We were all quite full by the end of it all.
Saturday
We got up early to hail a cab for the airport. My flight was at 9AM. The trip to the airport was an adventure in itself. I really wonder how these people learn to drive. I think lane markers are only a suggestion. These guys just weave in and out of traffic all the time. It's a wonder there aren't more accidents here in Shanghai.
Anyway, we made it to the airport in one piece. Abe helped me with my luggage. I checked in. I gave Abe a hug goodbye. He'll be back in Montreal in a few weeks, so we'll probably get together at some point. I make my way to the gate. Got on the plane and off I go to Tokyo.
After I landed in Tokyo, passed Customs/Immigration and got my bags, I waited for my friend. He was only a few minutes late, but I did get a chance to exchange whatever RMB I had left for some Yen. When my friend did finally arrive, we headed down to the JR office to get my JR Pass and tickets for the Narita Express into town. However, before we got to the JR office, a couple of police officers stopped us and asked for our passports/IDs. We showed them our papers. They took down our information and asked a couple of basic questions like what do we do for a living. Since Wayne spoke Japanese he helped answer their questions.
So, after getting to his place, I threw in a load of wash. Then we headed out to look for some dinner. We walked it over to Ebisu and wandered around a bit before settling on this sushi place. It was quite good. Then, we still had time and grabbed a taxi for Tokyo Tower. It was quite busy there, but since it was a Saturday night, it was to be expected. We went up to the main observation deck then bought the ticket to go to the upper observation deck at 250 meters. I tried to take some shots of Tokyo at night. I think a few of the shots actually came out clear.
Ginza @ Night
Today
Well, I guess I slepted in a bit. Granted, I did go to sleep a bit late. Despite my late start, I did make my way to the antiques flea market at Togo Shrine in Harajuku. I wandered around there for a little while. This little ceramic thing with a dragon on the lid caught my eye. I didn't buy it right away. I wandered around some more. I checked out some obis and kimonos. I just have a hard time parting with my money. Anyway, noticing that some of the vendors were starting to pack up, I went back to look for where I saw the dragon thing. I found it and bought it. Thankfully, it came in a small wooden box.
**Okay, it's 12:45AM and I'm beat. I'll continue in the morning.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Shanghai: Thursday
I suck at bargaining. I really do.
I went over to this market place. One of the big places for fakes. It's literally right at the subway station Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. It's like a maze of small shops selling everything from clothing to jewelry to bags. You name it and they probably sell it.
I was approached by individuals asking if I wanted to see their watches or bags. I said no or ignored them and continued walking. I eventually wandered around and came across one place that seemed to have some decent looking bags. I went in. I looked. And I came away with 3 bags: one was a D&G bag and the other 2 were Prada. Of course, they were fakes. When I mentioned watches to the sales girl she led me through the maze of hallways to another shop that sold scarves and watches. I came away with a Rolex (for my brother) and a pink LV watch that will be a gift for a friend's fiancee.
Something interesting to note when I was in the bag shop. After I initially bought the D&G bag, the sales girl wanted to show me some better stuff. So she opens up one of the shelves to reveal a small stockroom. It barely had room for 2 people but she told me to go in there with her and closed the door. Inside, there were some better looking Coach, LV, Prada and a few other designer label bags. She showed me 2 Prada bags that looked nice. I tried to haggle a bit. I got her down to 560RMB for the 2 Prada bags. The D&G I bought in the shop I paid 175RMB for.
Oh! And how much did I pay for the watches? Too much. I paid 1000RMB for the 2. Abe said I'm allowed at least one such mistake when it comes to bargaining. I guess I just don't have the stomach for it.
It's getting late, but I'll take some pics of the goods and post them later. In the meantime, I think I am done with the shopping for now. At least here in Shanghai. :p
I went over to this market place. One of the big places for fakes. It's literally right at the subway station Shanghai Science & Technology Museum. It's like a maze of small shops selling everything from clothing to jewelry to bags. You name it and they probably sell it.
I was approached by individuals asking if I wanted to see their watches or bags. I said no or ignored them and continued walking. I eventually wandered around and came across one place that seemed to have some decent looking bags. I went in. I looked. And I came away with 3 bags: one was a D&G bag and the other 2 were Prada. Of course, they were fakes. When I mentioned watches to the sales girl she led me through the maze of hallways to another shop that sold scarves and watches. I came away with a Rolex (for my brother) and a pink LV watch that will be a gift for a friend's fiancee.
Something interesting to note when I was in the bag shop. After I initially bought the D&G bag, the sales girl wanted to show me some better stuff. So she opens up one of the shelves to reveal a small stockroom. It barely had room for 2 people but she told me to go in there with her and closed the door. Inside, there were some better looking Coach, LV, Prada and a few other designer label bags. She showed me 2 Prada bags that looked nice. I tried to haggle a bit. I got her down to 560RMB for the 2 Prada bags. The D&G I bought in the shop I paid 175RMB for.
Oh! And how much did I pay for the watches? Too much. I paid 1000RMB for the 2. Abe said I'm allowed at least one such mistake when it comes to bargaining. I guess I just don't have the stomach for it.
It's getting late, but I'll take some pics of the goods and post them later. In the meantime, I think I am done with the shopping for now. At least here in Shanghai. :p
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Shanghai, Wednesday Pt.2
Okay, so after I had my fill of the tower, it was already a little after 5PM and I figure I'd head back.
The subway ride back was a bit of an experience. I hit rush hour. I managed to make my way onto the train. It was pretty packed. People basically push and shove their way on and off the subway cars. It's like an every man (or woman) for himself mentality here. I really don't know if I can deal with this on a long term basis. But, when in Rome...
After I got back to my friend's place, I uploaded the shots I took. Eventually, my friend got back from work. He decided to take me down to the Bund to check out the sights and sounds of Shanghai in the evening.
Near People's Square
The night shots I took with the P5000 as I really didn't not feel like lugging around the D80. I suppose that did limit my control of some of the shots, but since the camera has some manual control, it wasn't too bad. I did try out the night landscape setting on the camera. Not sure how hight the ISO was, but the pics came out better than if I left it on Auto. A bit grainy though. :p
View across from the Bund
View of the Bund
Unfortunately, they had decided to turn off a lot of the lights early last night for some reason. The Pearl Tower should have been lit up more than what you see in the picture. In any case, after that we headed over to this bar/lounge that my friend frequents. It's not a pick-up joint. It's more for folks (mostly foreigners) to relax and have a drink. It's more mature. Anyway, we had a drink and shot the shit. We then grabbed a cab back (the subway closes down early here).
Today, I think I will head over to this "flea market" for knockoffs. I'm not sure if I will find something I like, but maybe I will find something to bring back to friends. I guess we'll have to see what they have. Wish me luck, because I really don't know how good I am at haggling. :p
The subway ride back was a bit of an experience. I hit rush hour. I managed to make my way onto the train. It was pretty packed. People basically push and shove their way on and off the subway cars. It's like an every man (or woman) for himself mentality here. I really don't know if I can deal with this on a long term basis. But, when in Rome...
After I got back to my friend's place, I uploaded the shots I took. Eventually, my friend got back from work. He decided to take me down to the Bund to check out the sights and sounds of Shanghai in the evening.
Near People's Square
The night shots I took with the P5000 as I really didn't not feel like lugging around the D80. I suppose that did limit my control of some of the shots, but since the camera has some manual control, it wasn't too bad. I did try out the night landscape setting on the camera. Not sure how hight the ISO was, but the pics came out better than if I left it on Auto. A bit grainy though. :p
View across from the Bund
View of the Bund
Unfortunately, they had decided to turn off a lot of the lights early last night for some reason. The Pearl Tower should have been lit up more than what you see in the picture. In any case, after that we headed over to this bar/lounge that my friend frequents. It's not a pick-up joint. It's more for folks (mostly foreigners) to relax and have a drink. It's more mature. Anyway, we had a drink and shot the shit. We then grabbed a cab back (the subway closes down early here).
Today, I think I will head over to this "flea market" for knockoffs. I'm not sure if I will find something I like, but maybe I will find something to bring back to friends. I guess we'll have to see what they have. Wish me luck, because I really don't know how good I am at haggling. :p
Shanghai: Wednesday Pt. 1
So, after getting to bed late last night I kinda slept until about 9:30 or so. I still felt tired, but that might have been because I slept too much. My friend had already gone off to work so I figure I'd just take my time during the morning and then head out in the afternoon. I figure I'd hit the Oriental Pearl Tower.
For 135RMB you can visit all the observation decks including the one at 350 meters up. That's pretty high up.
From the main observation deck (about 263 meters):
The Bund
He and a couple other guys were actually outside doing some sort of maintenance.
They canme back in through this access hole in the ceiling of the observation deck.
The building in front is the Jin Mei building. It's one of the tallest. Behind it under construction is going to be the tallest building. According to my friend, there was nothing there 2 years ago. The rate of construction of this thing is a bit scary.
Okay, it's about 1:30AM and I am pooped. I think I wrote enough here to satisfy some of you for now. ;-) I'll post part 2 tomorrow in the morning, whenever I get up. :-)
For 135RMB you can visit all the observation decks including the one at 350 meters up. That's pretty high up.
From the main observation deck (about 263 meters):
The Bund
He and a couple other guys were actually outside doing some sort of maintenance.
They canme back in through this access hole in the ceiling of the observation deck.
The building in front is the Jin Mei building. It's one of the tallest. Behind it under construction is going to be the tallest building. According to my friend, there was nothing there 2 years ago. The rate of construction of this thing is a bit scary.
Okay, it's about 1:30AM and I am pooped. I think I wrote enough here to satisfy some of you for now. ;-) I'll post part 2 tomorrow in the morning, whenever I get up. :-)
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Hong Kong/Shanghai: Tuesday
Well, I set the alarm on my mobile for 5AM. Damn! That's early. :p We packed up whatever was left that needed to be packed. We went down to check out. Luckily a taxi just pulled up in front of the hotel. Traffic was a breeze to the airport. My flight was a Cathay Pacific codeshare with Dragonair so I had to check in with Dragonair instead.
Not really meaning to ditch the folks (their flight is at around 11AM versus my 8AM flight), so I bade them adieu and bon voyage as I proceeded to go through security. Security and customs was a breeze. I found a Travelex where I exchanged most of my HK$ for Yuan. I gotta have cab fare for when I get there. I found the gate but there wasn't much in the way of seats close to the gate, so I just found a spot on the floor and sat. Time to board came around. Seat 41G. An aisle seat. some days I just don't feel like being trapped in a window seat. Just behind my row was a huge tour group. Not exactly sure if they're all from Hong Kong, although it seems that most of them spoke Cantonese. Amusing moment: While waiting for the washroom, someone didn't lock the door but when he was done ended up locking himself in. He struggled for a bit there before he managed to get out.
The flight was overall rather uneventful. I listened to my iPod for a while. They served us breakfast. We had a choice of some western fare or noodles. I opted for the noodles. There was some turbulence along the way but it wasn't too bad. The flight was pretty quick lasting just under 2 hours. I just wished the cab ride went as quickly!
After clearing customs (no problems), and retrieving my bag, I figure the best way to get to where I was going was the cab it. I really did not want to lug my baggage on the Maglev and the subway system. I found the taxi stand no problem. With the address my friend FAX'd me the other day, the taxi driver knew where I wanted to go. It was relatively smooth sailing until we hit some traffic at some point. It was stop and go primarily because there was a traffic light at this part of the road. I thinka bout about 30-45 minutes we reached our destination. The taxi ride cost just 170RMB. After I got out and another fare got into the cab, I showed the suited and name-tagged guy at the door my friend's address. He acknowledged the address, offered to carry my bag and led me to the building. There, another suited man showed me a note and an envelope with my name on it. I guess he left his key for me. After some smiling and nodding, I took the key and my bag and made my way to his apartment.
After thinking the apartment was 603 and not 608, I managed to find myself inside his place. It's a small 2 bedroom apartment. I guess it's the right size for a bachelor. His fridge reeks of bachlordom too! ;-) 2 cans of coffee, a bottle of pepsi, a bottle of Absolut. There were some leftover KFC spicy wings, which I eventually nuked and ate. He had some McD's fries sitting in the microwave as well. there was an assortment of instant noodle packs. Hmm.. I suspect he eats out a lot. But then again, I think it's relatively cheap to eat out here anyway.
In any case, I feel like a shower, but the cleaning lady is here. I'll wait until she's gone. I think my friend is suppose to be back around 6:30PM. We have a lot of catching up to do. Maybe over some food and drink.
Not really meaning to ditch the folks (their flight is at around 11AM versus my 8AM flight), so I bade them adieu and bon voyage as I proceeded to go through security. Security and customs was a breeze. I found a Travelex where I exchanged most of my HK$ for Yuan. I gotta have cab fare for when I get there. I found the gate but there wasn't much in the way of seats close to the gate, so I just found a spot on the floor and sat. Time to board came around. Seat 41G. An aisle seat. some days I just don't feel like being trapped in a window seat. Just behind my row was a huge tour group. Not exactly sure if they're all from Hong Kong, although it seems that most of them spoke Cantonese. Amusing moment: While waiting for the washroom, someone didn't lock the door but when he was done ended up locking himself in. He struggled for a bit there before he managed to get out.
The flight was overall rather uneventful. I listened to my iPod for a while. They served us breakfast. We had a choice of some western fare or noodles. I opted for the noodles. There was some turbulence along the way but it wasn't too bad. The flight was pretty quick lasting just under 2 hours. I just wished the cab ride went as quickly!
After clearing customs (no problems), and retrieving my bag, I figure the best way to get to where I was going was the cab it. I really did not want to lug my baggage on the Maglev and the subway system. I found the taxi stand no problem. With the address my friend FAX'd me the other day, the taxi driver knew where I wanted to go. It was relatively smooth sailing until we hit some traffic at some point. It was stop and go primarily because there was a traffic light at this part of the road. I thinka bout about 30-45 minutes we reached our destination. The taxi ride cost just 170RMB. After I got out and another fare got into the cab, I showed the suited and name-tagged guy at the door my friend's address. He acknowledged the address, offered to carry my bag and led me to the building. There, another suited man showed me a note and an envelope with my name on it. I guess he left his key for me. After some smiling and nodding, I took the key and my bag and made my way to his apartment.
After thinking the apartment was 603 and not 608, I managed to find myself inside his place. It's a small 2 bedroom apartment. I guess it's the right size for a bachelor. His fridge reeks of bachlordom too! ;-) 2 cans of coffee, a bottle of pepsi, a bottle of Absolut. There were some leftover KFC spicy wings, which I eventually nuked and ate. He had some McD's fries sitting in the microwave as well. there was an assortment of instant noodle packs. Hmm.. I suspect he eats out a lot. But then again, I think it's relatively cheap to eat out here anyway.
In any case, I feel like a shower, but the cleaning lady is here. I'll wait until she's gone. I think my friend is suppose to be back around 6:30PM. We have a lot of catching up to do. Maybe over some food and drink.
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