TRAVELLING, PART 2

In my very first blog entry in June 2008 (gosh, that's two and half years ago!), I mentioned that I love to travel, and I have the good fortune to continue doing so when my schedule allowed.

Update on places I have been during the past 2+ years -

2010/11 - Beijing, China
2009/09 - Northern France
2008/11 - Beijing, China
2008/10 - Southern Germany

One of my favorite photos from the Northern France trip - that of Mont St. Michel. Simply breathtaking!


Looking very much forward to the next trip, to wherever it may be...

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST

Travelled to Beijing for the 2nd time in late November - both times for business. While I didn't get to do any sightseeing during my first visit two years ago, I managed to do a little this time around. I had the good fortune of travelling with a colleague who had lived in Beijing for two years - he became our "tour guide" for half a day.

So we visited the Palace Museum and was surprised to see Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe dian), the biggest building in the Forbidden City, not under renovation. Our "tour guide" said he has been there four times and this is the first time he gets to see the building in its entirety.

What I want to mention, however, is the clash of eastern and western cultures in Beijing. Once a Communist society, China has gradually been influenced by capitalism. The Swatch and Starbucks stores located in a very Chinese looking commercial area is definitely a sight to see.

Also got to taste some good food. Have to thank our "tour guide" again for that. Nothing fancy, but food which I usually ate in Taiwan but prepared differently gave me a pleasant experience.



However, despite what nice things I might have said about Beijing, I won't want to pay another visit any time soon because it is just too damn cold...

FINALLY...A NEW TELEVISION

It has been forever since Cecilia and I talked about getting a new TV, and we told ourselves that we will as soon as the old one breaks down. So we waited, waited, and waited... Friends around us all said, "how could you keep staring at that tiny 21" television when you like watching TV so much?" We often wonder too...But we thought, why the need to buy a new one if the old one is working fine - except I almost have to lean forward every time I sat on the sofa watching TV.

But still we persisted...then the remote control started to fail us, but still we managed to "survive" by using my obsolete PDA (creative thinking on my part!) as an alternative to the remote control - except we have to recharge it every two days! This lasted for another few months...

Until one day, we finally said, "enough is enough!" After enduring 10 years of that tiny TV in our "huge" living room, we bought a 40" LCD TV about two months ago. To document this historical event, I posted the before and after photos.

Watching TV is never the same again...

FINALLY...BE@RBRICK

Ten years after it all started, Beabrick Series 20 was released end of June 2010. As my close friends know, I have only collected SCI-FI ones from Series 1-19 (with only 2 exceptions so far) and never bought any "secret" version. However, S20 has blown me away and I bought quite a few more than I intended to.

Specifically, the S20 ANIMAL is the adorable Gizmo from the 1984 movie "Gremlins", and the "secret" version is the scary Stripe. In the movie, Gizmo's new owner Billy broke the all three rules: 1) No water - it multiples; 2) No food after midnight - it turns evil; and 3) No bright light - it would die (but guess it was necessary at the end to kill all the bad gremlins). It's funny and scary at the same time, and plus Phoebe Cates plays Billy's girlfriend. I must have seen it at least 5 times.

Looking at the photo, you know why I just HAVE TO get them...

YOU ARE GOING WHERE?

My very close friend "C" has been making annual business trip every May with a group of about ten colleagues for the past five years to various places around the world. She always agonizes herself with the thought of travelling not for pleasure. Who can blame her - always the most junior person in the group (meaning she has to "take care" of her boss) and the only person to fly economy no matter how long the flight is.

Places "C" had travelled to for the previous four years:

2006 - Bariloche, Argentina
50-hour door-to-door travel for her return trip to Taiwan, ouch!

2007 - Kyoto, Japan
Got sick staying up really late to write business report

2008 - Madrid, Spain
Got many chances to practice her Spanish with the taxi drivers - "El recibo, por favor!"

2009 - Bali, Indonisia
Had her very first full-body massage, and very cheap too - 2 hours for US$18, tips included!

I myself have been to Kyoto and Madrid; never been to Bali yet (by choice) or Argentina, which might be "exotic" enough but at least I know someones (else) who have been there. HOWEVER... Are you ready???

Anyone who has been to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, please raise your hand!

For this trip, lots of money already spent before "C" left Taiwan - the single-entry visa to costs NT$9,900 (about US$300), and the economy round-trip plane ticket fare is NT$130K (or US$4,000). Ouch, feels like the Uzbekistan government is trying to discourage visitors... Of course, "C" did not return empty-handed. She brought back some very beautiful artworks:

Until her next trip, Uzbekistan will remain as No. 1 on the list of "You are going WHERE?".

WHO'S THAT GIRL, PART 2

You know whom I am talking about... and, this is not really a follow-up of my previous blog, but an effort to comfort any Madonna fan that might have been "annoyed". Ha!

Ever since her self-titled debut album in 1983, Madonna has certainly made a name for herself, not only as a singer, but also as a writer, an actress (well...) and a business woman, among other roles. I have to admit that I wasn't that into her music or performance style at the start. In fact, I didn't become interested in her music until her third album "True Blue" (1985). I liked more than half the songs in that album, and I wasn't even a fan then.

Over the past 25+ years, Madonna has displayed her talents as a singer and as an entertainer. She is bold, not afraid to express herself and is always full of surprises. Change is the only constant in her. You might not like what you see, but you are never bored by Madonna.

This week I just bought her latest 2-CD album "Celebration" (36 songs) as well as the DVD set (38 videos). Although I did own quite a few of her album CDs, I have never bought her music DVDs. So it's a big treat for me. I thoroughly enjoy both, and it's really not that expensive (NT$999 before discount, or about US$30), considering all the great songs and videos you are getting. I highly recommend them!

Oh, by the way, did I mention that Madonna is a Leo, just like me!?!

P.S. I thought Madonna gives good to outstanding performance in most of her music videos. How come she sucked in most of her movies???

WHO'S THAT GIRL

No. I am not going to talk about that 1987 movie starting Madonna.

No. I am talking about the deja vu feeling I often gets nowadays (due to old age) when I see a movie/TV actor or actress on the big/small screen but just can't recall his/her name. Don't you just hate that?

That's when this website comes in handy. It's the "Internet Movie Database" - http://www.imdb.com/. It provides all the details of any movie/TV-series that you don't even want to know. BUT, if you are having trouble remembering someone's name you see on TV or the big screen, this is the right place for you.

It also lets the users of this website to vote for the movies/TV programs they have seen - from the scale of 1 (worst) to 10 (best). As of today, the No. 1 movie in IMDB, with a score of 9.1, is "The Shawshank Redemption". By the way, "Who's That Girl" only scored 4.0. Guess the charm of music queen does not extend to the big screen.