Exploring Hong Kong!

Hi Friends and Family! Just wanted to post some pictures of Lio and I's most recent trip! :-)
Since Lio had last Thursday off, we decided to make it into a 4 day weekend and go to Hong Kong! We had a great time! (I still have yet to get Lio's photos from his camera... so I might add some more later this week!) Cheers!

Marie-Claire Visits KL!

These pictures are from earlier this year when Lio's mom, Marie-Claire came to visit in July! :-) (I know, I know... these are super late!) These are just the one's from KL... I'll post the Cambodia ones soon! We loved having her here! Enjoy!

Northbound to Georgetown (Penang that is...)

Here is a slideshow of our latest vacation... Lio and I took a long weekend and drove north to the island of Georgetown about 3.5 hours away from KL. We had a great time! Enjoy! ;-)

Redshirts, Temples and Cabbages - A Weekend in Bangkok

A little over a month ago Lio and I headed to Bangkok, Thailand to celebrate our 1st year wedding anniversary. Lio is such a wonderful husband and surprised me a week before with flowers, plane tickets and hotel reservations! (shameless plug...) ;-)

You might say... hmmmm, Bangkok? Isn't that where those people wearing red have been protesting? Yes, the first confrontation and deaths between the red shirts and the army happened the weekend right after Lio bought the tickets (the weekend before we were going to be there)... so we took a chance going, but judging from CNN and their constant coverage, the tensions had seemed to ease a bit during the week after the chaos. So off we went!

We stayed in the heart of the shopping district that was unfortunately shut down due to the protesters. We actually had a really hard time getting a taxi from the airport to even take us near the hotel... the street it was on was within in area that the protesters had closed off. S o we finally convinced a cabbie to take us (after he commandeered my phone and talked to the hotel staff for 10 mins) and one of the hotel staff picked us up on a non-closed down street and walked us through a little alleyway to the hotel.

Alley between the hotel and non-closed street.




Overall the tensions weren't too high... here are a couple of pictures from the taxi ride and the skytrain above the roadblock:


Note all the cars parked on the left side of the road... they all have a bit of red on them. The protesters were using them to block traffic.


The protesters were waving and cheesing for the camera -- Only in Thailand!! I can't imagine any other country's protesters smiling and waving as foreigners snap pictures of them!

I really hope they resolve all of their political issues soon... it's a great place to visit. I wish we had another couple of days to explore the city!

Have I mentioned that the food there is incredible?!?! One of the fun (and albeit touristy) restaurants that we went to was Cabbages and Condoms. It was set up by a Thai philanthroper focusing on sex education. So the whole place is covered in condom paraphernalia and they even have mannequins 'dressed' in condoms. And the food was actually really good!!





Lio's favorite... the sign says 'Just do it Tiger'


Lio being a good Lafarge employee. (Notice the inappropriate stick figures on the sign...)

We also stopped by the Night Bazaar... you wouldn't believe how big this market was! We were actually quite excited to see that along with the blocks and blocks of shops they also had 50 different food stalls in a beer garden like area with a retractable roof.



I have to confess my love for Thai green papaya salad... it is my new obsession... fresh, spicy and crunchy - YUM!

Here are a few more pictures of our trip... including taking a ferry on the river, visiting the Grand Palace and Wat Pho, swinging by Chinatown for lunch and making our way over to the Weekend Market (Jatujuk or JJ Market).

Best Sisters Ever!

Happy 20th Birthday to Cari and Christi -- the best sisters ever! ;-)
I know this is a little belated (ok, in Jan!)... but since I put up a post for Doug's birthday -- I wanted to make sure that you got your beautiful faces on the blog!! Love you and Miss you!!

Best Brother Ever!

Happy 21st Birthday to Douglas, my favorite and only brother!! I hope you had a great day!! Love you & Miss you!! Wish Lio and I could be there to celebrate! Your sister, Rachael & Your brother-in-law, Lionel ;-) haha

New Favorite Magazine!

So I just wanted to say that my new favorite magazine is Lonny! (ok, my fav home/lifestyle mag, I can't leave out Real Simple, Martha, Bon Appetit, Elle, W, and all the others!)

I mourned the loss of Domino (thanks you Em for turning me on to it!) and now have just found this one thanks to a blog called Nola West and In(side) the Loop! PS --They are wonderful blogs... you have to check them out!

So Lonny is a mag that is part interior design, lifestyle and overall wonderful!! Though it is an online mag -- which requires reading it online -- but means you don't have to pay for it! (though I would if they were printed!) Enjoy!