A Quiet Morning on HaLong Bay

I stir awake drifting out of a dream. My eyelids feels heavy as I attempt to bounce them open. I see a streak of light pouring into the room. It must be morning. I reach out to the night stand blindly searching for my phone - 6:30am. It was morning and much earlier than I thought. I put my phone down and return under the warm sheets. As I lie in bed listening to the silence, memories of the previous day starting flowing: the four hour drive from Hanoi to HaLong Bay, checking into our room, visiting the floating village, the delicious five course dinner and squid fishing in the dark. I remember seeing other cruise ships anchored around us and asked our guide about it. She mentioned in the evenings all the cruise ships are required to anchor in this specific location. Remembering this, I slid out of bed to find out if we’ve moved.

I quickly freshen up, collected my photography gear and tiptoed to our balcony. I was greeted with scattered limestone islands, cruise ships and fishing boats. In the distance, the limestone islands were covered in fog but it was surprisingly warm and so quiet. All I could hear was the humming of the engine. I discovered we were no longer anchored and cruising at a very slow speed. I sat there appreciating the moment, the silence, the view and all that was passing by before picking up my camera.

Here are my photos taken on my Hasselblad on that very first morning I woke up on HaLong Bay.

Afternoon Tea at Brasserie Les Saveurs

It’s been quiet around here. I’ve completely lost momentum on sharing my photographs. Since my last post in August, I started a new job, took a three week trip around Asia and grieved the election. Considering there’s some catching up to do, it’s only appropriate to start off by sharing photographs of our time at Brassierie Les Saveurs during afternoon tea.

If you follow me on Instagram you would’ve seen I was in Singapore, Bali, Seoul, Tokyo and Kyoto. I am still in awe about our ability to get on a plane, granted for countless hours, and travel half way across the world. I am always so thankful each and every time I am given the ability to travel, see and experience a piece of our world. From a young age, I've had an adventurous spirit. I knew I found something true to who I was when I took my very first trip as a self sufficient adult at the age of 22. I was just getting my feet wet. There's so much more to go.




The first stop on our trip was Singapore. We took a red eye flight out of Seattle on a Thursday night after work. After 24 hours of traveling we stepped outside of the airport and instantly learned how unbearably hot and humid it was (for Seattleites in October). Starving we rushed to our hotel, checked in, freshen up and shared our first meal swallowing delicious mouth burning dumplings at Din Tai Fung. Of course that wasn’t enough food for my beau. I was quick to his rescue and found a hawker center less than a mile away that promised chicken rice. Unfortunately Google maps didn’t have a bus or train route available. We put on our brave (and drenched in sweat) faces and went for it. During our walk we were baffled by the lack of people we encountered given we were by Orchid Street, a very busy area filled with hotels and shopping centers. Later on, with full stomachs and in complete drench of our own (and maybe each other’s) sweat, we discover a train station nearby and learn about the underground world filled with people, levels of food court, clothing stores, and most importantly AC!

Those first few hours in Singapore are still clear in my mind however the following days are like a fainted dream. Maybe moments are more memorable when I am new to an environment because all my senses are heighten to adapt to the changes. My eyes are wide open with curiosity, my mind is a little scattered trying to quickly observe my surroundings and connect any commonality I can find. Honestly, I am not tired of this feeling yet. With the way we travel and our usual itinerary of switching it up every 5 to 7 days means we can’t ever get too comfortable with our surroundings. That’s one of the many lessons with traveling.

Afternoon tea is one of my favorite past time activities when traveling. It’s not about the adorable bite size food or the champagne, although that is all lovely. Working in the corporate world throughout all of my career, I find having an afternoon free to do whatever it is that I want -being with my beau halfway across the world enjoying ourselves- is the ultimate sense of freedom. It is my definition of luxury and it is such a treat to be able to do this.

Macau

Back to my Asia trip, while we were in Hong Kong my beau and I decided to make a day trip out of a visit to Macau. Also known as the Vegas in Asia I didn't mind finding out what that actually meant or looked. An hour and 1/2 turbo boat ride across the South Sea of China later you'll find yourself in Macau. Being that I hardly ever do any research prior to any of our trips, I really didn't know what to expect... OK, maybe I was expecting tacky flashy 'gamble here' signs. Instead I found a convention center that was built like an old ruin right outside of the ferry terminal. Of course I started snapping a ton of pictures and then quickly realized it would actually be a fun place to play tag with my beau... so I did a little bit of that (hey, it's my vacation). As I made my way towards the main city, I could tell why it was known as the Vegas of Asia. The hotels seem bigger than the ones in Vegas and as we made our way inside of one (which I can't remember the name of), it definitely sounded and smelt like Vegas: slot machines going off, the instant punch to your nostrils of the odor of smoke, and AC so cold you experience instant brain freeze! We tried our luck with Roulette but obviously had none given we walked out empty handed. 

As we continued to explore the city we made our way to the real ruins - Ruins of St. Paul's. I actually loved the old Macau so much more than the new commercialized modern Macau. While there, I learned that  Macau was formerly a Portuguese colony until about 15 years ago when it was given back to China. I was amused by how one block can make you feel like you're in China and the next make you feel like you're in Portugal.I walked around in utter amusement of it's beauty. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Day In Hong Kong

One of the things I love about photography is its ability to help me remember (I have the worst memory ever). As I look through these photos I remember how I felt walking around Hong Kong, what I felt the moment I pressed the shutter button, and what I did and saw that particular day. When in a new city I spend at least one day capturing my surroundings throughout my day. On this particular day, my beau and I were headed to the Peak to get a full view of the city. We started our day in Mongkok where we stayed, made our way to the waterfront and eventually to the Peak. There's so much old and new in Hong Kong. This is something I noticed while there and you can see some of that throughout these photos as we walking around... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hong Kong | November 2013

Hong Kong

After a week of recovering from jet lag I am finally ready to share my adventures in Asia. The first stop on the list was Hong Kong. To my surprise I suffered the worst jet lag ever. Sadly it helped me waste away a whole day to sleep and the first few nights were non-existent as I crawled into bed at 6pm. Waking up at 4am was also sad because most places opened at 11am (I learned the hard way) and as time went by I quickly learned how to live like what Wikipedia calls a 'Hong Konger'. 

 

For an early morning snack we found a bakery kitty corner to our hotel that made delicious pineapple buns and sold canned coffee which we happily indulged in the mornings before beginning our adventures for the day. For breakfast, I ate the best dumplings and dimsum I've ever had and learned I had to waive down my server every time I needed something.  To get around we learned how to use the MTR and power walk through the stations like locals. I never thought I'd say this but there is so much shopping in Hong Kong it's overwhelming. To get a real feel for how big this city really is we took a tram up Victoria Peak to get a full view. The scenery is so beautiful it feels like a dream. We spent many afternoons celebrating and drinking bubbles. During the evenings we'd take a walk and stumble through the night market or we'd walk around the harbor and watch the laser show from the IFC building. Prior to leaving Hong Kong we spent an afternoon getting our sore feet massaged. It was the perfect way to end our stay in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong | November 2013