Vacation Part II - Hanoi, Vietnam

After the great start to our trip in Taipei our trip kept getting better and better.  When we first got to the airport there was a problem with our tickets and I had that sinking feeling that we weren't getting on our flight, but no, the airline agent informed us "so sorry, economy is full, so we have to upgrade you."  I'm like "um, not something to be sorry about! We'll take it!"  So we got upgraded to the fancy-shmancy seats for free and got totally pampered with awesome food and German wine.  After the best airplane food ever I got to completely recline and lay down flat (in an airplane!) and had the best sleep on an airplane ever.  I could really get used to flying like that!  Best flight ever.

Once we landed we were met by our own private guide and driver (who we had the whole time we were in Vietnam!) who drove us an hour away into the city to our lovely 5-star hotel, the Morvenpick in Hanoi.  I had authentic Vietnamese Pho for my first meal in Vietnam (and ate it many times while we were there!). 

We went and got spa treatments - a facial and massage for me and full body massage for Brad. 

That night we enjoyed a bottle of red with the perfect dinner of bread, cheeses, grapes and nuts. 

The next morning we were whisked off to Halong Bay, but I'll save the best for last.  I'll do this part in my next post.

Our guide and driver were so awesome!  My least favorite part of traveling to a new place is figuring out how to get around, where things are, using maps, buying tickets, standing in lines, making reservations, wondering what places are good, which aren't, what to eat, what not to eat... and Nancy, our guide did all of this for us!  She was super nice and a lot of fun too.  We didn't have to worry about a thing on this trip and that was perfect for us so we could just relax. 

Hanoi was a really interesting place.  It was like these beautiful old French building skeletons that were run down and surrounded in poverty, but you could tell that the old bones of the city were just so beautiful.  You can tell Hanoi was the capital of French Indochina from the French architecture and French boulevards to French influence in the food.

We toured around Hanoi and got to see so many must-see sights:

St. Joseph's Cathedral-

Ba Dinh Square 

Ho Chi Minh's Houses - one million degrees and what seemed like one million people.  Beautiful gardens and lake. 

One-Pillared Pagoda - our guide said that people go here to pray for a baby boy.  (Which I may-or-may-not have given a try.) We saw a bunch of Buddhist monks and even got to take a picture with some. 

Temple of Literature

Rickshaw ride in 36 Street Old Quarters - This was quite an experience.  This ride was an hour long.  It was a million degrees outside.  I felt SO BAD for my driver, but he seemed happy and flirted with me shamelessly.  He referred to Brad as "my husband" he would say "take a picture of my husband" it cracked me up.  He'd say "my husband married how long" and "how old my husband?"  It was adorable.  At the end he got less adorable when he propositioned me by saying "you, me, later, later!"  Um, no.  He would point at things and insist I take a picture before he continued on, even if I didn't really want a picture of whatever he was pointing to.  Riding on a bike on the crazy Hanoi streets was scary at times!  The drivers and motor bikes are everywhere and would come within inches of my bike, but my driver knew what he was doing I guess.  I got a ton of amazing street shots of the local people. 

Ngoc Son Temple

Hoan Kiem Lake - this lake has really old turtles living in it and I wanted to see one, but our guide says they are hardly ever seen. 

Walking from place to place was always interesting!  These ladies practically threw the hat and baskets on Brad and I and then demanded a dollar. 

Water Puppet Show - local music and singing with water puppets.  Funny! 

We got to try local dishes at Quan An Ngon restaurant.  Apparently the Vietnamese eat shrimp whole, as in shell, head, eyes, legs, tail, the WHOLE thing.  I couldn't do it.  Bleh.  I enjoyed fresh fruit and yogurt and some pho - I am NOT an adventurous eater.  

Our last night in Vietnam we went and got "foot" massages at a place recommended by our guide.  I never would have done this otherwise.  We had sore feet from all our sightseeing and when our guide suggested hour long foot massages for $15 we agreed.  I think Brad's massage lady was seriously trying to get him to marry her asking if he was American, how much money he makes - even though he explained I was his wife, she continuously called me his "friend" and at the end she unabashedly said "ok you tip me now!" Just adding to the list of interesting and awkward massage experiences in other countries.  We did give them big tips on my instance, I felt kind of bad for them.  My girl was pretty much totally silent, yay for me.  It was a $15 well spent, I enjoyed that massage more than the more expensive one at our 5-star hotel.  The salon had a great view of the city and lake.

After our massages, we had a wonderful, fancy dinner at the Wild Rice Restaurant.  They accommodated my high maintenance eating requests (through our fab guide, Nancy!) and served my shrimp American style (pealed, headless and de-veined) and made me special dishes (no beef/pork) so I could eat.  I think I ate watermelon with every single meal in Vietnam!  And coffee in Vietnam is super good.  They put condensed milk in it I think and it's really thick.  Because I'm a coffee addict we also had great coffee at the famous Highlands Coffee.  Because you can't drink the water in Vietnam we drank a lot of wine and local Hanoi beers!

We finished of the night at a super cool rooftop bar.  We savored a bottle of wine and hung out with the young and beautiful Vietnamese until it was time to call it a night. 

Saved the best for last, Part III - Halong Bay! 

Vacation Part I - Taipei, Taiwan

I have been so super bad about blogging simply because I know I have to blog about my amazing trip to Taiwan and Vietnam, but it was such a huge, incredible trip and I want to tell you everything we did, of course it's going to take me a while.

I'll start at the beginning of our trip.  Taipei, Taiwan.  Taipei rocks.  Even in the pouring down rain, Taipei rocks.

We got to Taiwan and took a cab ride into the city to our fantastic hotel, The Landis Hotel Taipei.  Loved it.

Of course it was pouring down rain, but we didn't let that stop us.  We warmed ourselves with some yummy local Taipei beer and then grabbed umbrellas from the hotel to explore.

We figured out yet another subway system in a snap and headed over to the famous Taipei 101.  This city skyscraper is a major landmark and it's 101 floors made the tallest building in the world (until Dubai beat it in 2010).  This building is also home to a mind blowingly nice mall.  For the merchandise deprived living in Okinawa it was like sensory overload.  I forced myself to only window shop!

We used the subway to get across the city so we could go see the Longshan Temple and street markets.

Next we made a stop at the National Museum of History.  I love museums and miss them a lot in Okinawa, and while Brad isn't a fan, it gave him a break from the rain and plus they let us in for free since it was late in the day and close to closing time.  They had beautiful paintings and a photography exhibit of the Taiwanese that I particularly enjoyed.  The museum was in a lovely Botanical Garden.

Our last stop was at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, National Theater and National Concert Hall area.  We went down this incredible Wedding Shop Street with these gorgeous gowns in every window and I thought I could seriously easily go broke in this city! 

We walked around and looked at the pretty buildings.  Brad (being a huge music enthusiast) wanted to see inside the Concert Hall.  We decided to see if anything happened to be playing that night and it just so happened they still had a couple of seats available for that nights symphony performance!  We got great seats and got to see/hear the National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and famous pianist from Ireland, Barry Douglas perform All and None about Love.  Shopping, Buddhist temple, art museum and symphony all in the same afternoon/evening!  Bliss.  

Next stop and part II of vacation - Hanoi, Vietnam!

Earth Day Beach Clean Up

Happy Earth Day!

I really wanted to do something for Earth Day this year and decided to try and clean up the beach where we take the horses.  Every time I do a beach ride I am shocked at the trash and crap all over this beach.  Totally trashed.  I'm not sure why this beach is more filthy than others, if its an area where things just naturally wash up, or what.  But, the trash is overwhelming.  You would really think that the Japanese would take better care of their coast, but unlike in the states the Japanese don't really seem to capitalize on beach front property.  In the states you'd find prime time homes, land and resorts.  Here sure there are some resorts, but for the most part the coast is commercial and used for factories and fishing.  Also, the Japanese are for the most part totally sun-phobic, completely covering themselves up in full body garb for doing anything outside from driving, exercising and even beach going. 

So, for Earth Day we asked the Mihara members to come on out and participate in lending a hand to make the beach better and safer for our horses, and at the same time making it better for the environment.

We picked up bag after bag of trash.  It was amazing and shocking the things we found and picked up.  So sad that people here have such total disregard of the negative impact of being a litter bug. 

Unfortunately we had an awful rainy day, so not the best turn out of volunteers, but even so we made a dramatic difference on that beach.  I made Dirt Cups (pudding, oreos, cool whip with a gummy worm on top) for our Earth Day snack.  Brad even came out and picked up trash with me, which was a pleasant shock.  It was a good thing he came too because I needed him to drive the farm truck for our trash pick up! 

The beach looks so much better and now we can feel better about bringing our horses down and not worry so much about what they may be stepping on... well, for a few days until people litter again!

Also, the barn owner decided to get a bunch of baby chicks!  They are tiny and adorable.  Not sure what his plans are for these little guys, but I love them and hope they don't turn into chicken dinner anytime soon.  Wouldn't mind some nice, fresh farm eggs.  Brad was so mean and wouldn't let me take one home, even for a night, even after I begged!  He said Jade would want to eat it, which is probably true. 

So then he brought me home my favorite flowers.  Ha.  He is so awesome. 

Beach Horseback Riding Photo Shoot

On Easter this year my instructor friends and I decided to get together and do a photo shoot with our favorite horses on the beach.  Alexis wanted to trash her wedding dress and so Madie and I decided to join in on the fun.  The night before felt a little like prepping for a show, getting Makoto all polished up and beautiful.  A makeup artist came out to the barn and transformed our early morning faces into masterpieces (thank you, Summer!) and Chris Wilson of Travel 67 Photography was so fun to work with.  I've worked with Chris before, providing horses for his model shoots, and it was great to be in front of the camera this time, especially on Makoto.  At this point I feel so incredibly comfortable on Makoto and even his occasional antics don't worry me too much anymore.  I feel like we've come to a sort of agreement and he has just decided to let me smother him with love and be ok with it.  So, even barefoot, with no helmet, and in a skirt, I felt totally comfortable galloping down the beach. He and Sky were such good boys! 

I had so much fun doing this with a photographer I felt comfortable with, a horse I totally love, and my good girlfriends laughing and making funny remarks the whole time.  Since Alexis was trashing her wedding dress her husband came out in his uniform and they got some really cute shots together.  Sky even allowed them to ride double for a bit.  Seeing that, Madie and I decided to get a couple shots together on Makoto.  Alexis moved to back to the states yesterday, so it is so great to have taken these pictures before she left. 

We had a blast and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Maybe I'll have Chris out again to take some pictures of Makoto doing dressage!

I popped Makoto over some jumps last week.  It is so fun to get to work with such a talented dressage AND jumping horse.  And one that I can gallop down the beach.  Love him!

I love you, Sparkle Pup

Tomorrow it will have been a week and I still can't write this post. I can't face it and I can't stop crying when I think about what happened. That my little angel is gone. Stolen from me. Taken suddenly and violently. I am shaking typing this. I can't stop the sobs. It is all too much still.



My pup was attacked and murdered by another dog. Sparky is gone. I had no idea how physically painful loss can be. How completely devastating this feeling is.

Sparky was 13 and lived a long, happy life surrounded by people who loved him. I begged and pleaded for a dog growing up and by some small miracle I was allowed to get Sparky. I remember holding him when he was a few days old, a tiny little thing with his eyes still closed, and I remember bringing him home for the first time, a fluffy bundle of energy. I remember everything and will always treasure what I had with him. He brought so much laughter, joy, and happiness into our family.

Some day I'm sure it will get easier, I will be able to get through the day with out heart wrenching meltdowns, but until then I believe Sparky deserves to be mourned. I loved him deeply. He was a wonderful, good dog and I will miss him.

My talented writer sister wrote a lovely blog on Sparky and says the things I want to say so well: http://sakartvelogirl.blogspot.jp/2012/04/saying-goodbye.html

Oh man, my heart hurts.

Happy Easter from Jade

It couldn't be baby kittens first Easter without a photo shoot! She is pretty much the cutest, sweetest kitty ever. She must really love me lots to put up with me!

Mommy's little Easter bunny:






My key to photography? Lots and lots of photos. I figure that way I'll get one or two good ones.

See, this is really how she felt about the whole thing. If looks could kill. Too funny! I love her.