May 31st 2011 - One Piece Madness (Day 106)

   While I was in Peneng, a package arrived for me, and I knew exactly what it was when I got home. 

   Ever since I fell in love with One Piece, I've gone and looked for all kinds of collectibles. These are little tea towels with printed Wanted posters of each of the main characters on them, and hanging these up across the dining room made a interesting decoration. Luckily the wife had no objections, as I am going to try to get her into watching One Piece too.

May 30th 2011 - Delicacy (Day 105)

   Carrying on from last night, the food trip continues in Peneng with this Chinese BBQ pork bun. With a crunchy yet flavorful outside and a savory meaty inside, this goes down perfectly with some tea. This of course did not originate in Peneng but they certainly don't taste any better than this.

   The best thing about it all is the fact that it costs only 1.30 Ringgit (RM - Malaysian currency), makes these great treats for the entire crew and to take home for the wife.

May 29th 2011 - Peneng (Day 104)

   Peneng, It's been over six month since I last visited here. The city has many heritage sites and a rich history. The mixture of culture, including Chinese, Malay and Indian can all be found here. And with such a rich culture, comes with a variety of delicious and unique food all in one place.
 
   This here is an oyster omelet, somewhat different from the Taiwanese variety but just as tasty, this is one of many food that was available, pity it's one photo a day.

May 28th 2011 - No Juice (Day 103)

   What do you get when you mix an empty battery, a missing charge cable and a digital camera? NOTHING! so unfortunately I wasn't able take a photo due to the lack of charge.

    Fear not as a new charger is in the mail, the magic of 24 hour online shopping, and it's guaranteed to arrive within 24 hours!

May 27th 2011 - Lost in translation (Day 102)

   Shopping in Taiwan can be full of surprises and fun, mostly because some of the English written on packaging and in stores can sometimes be hilariously funny.

May 26th 2011 - Foreign Treats (Day 101)

   Went to Tokyo again today, and today especially we had a fairly large entourage of flight attendants.  Under normal circumstances, we only need 5 or 6 crew, but today we carried almost double that.

   Some of them were training on their first flight, and so a special treat was to be had to help celebrate that! What better than Japanese desserts, such as this one, to be honest, I'm not quite sure what it's called, except that it has a soft chewy outside with sesame filling and absolutely delicious!

May 25th 2011 - Chopper (Day 100)

   So remember my little rant about One piece earlier? The collecting continues as our favorite convenient store happens to doing a promo with bobble head collectibles.

   These guys bobble along on top of our television set, it's not till now I understand the attraction of bobble head, it put a smile on our faces whenever they nod n shakes.

May 24th 2011 - Engineering miracle (Day 99)

   Hong Kong is a pretty frequent visit for us, and tonight is no different. After arriving at the gate and the passengers are all leaving the aircraft, I peeked outside the window to observe the incredible amount of cars, planes and people that are operating here.

   I remembered watching a documentary about the airport, how islands were removed, land reclaimed, and a giant airport built on top of it all. And all of this, goes unnoticed by many of us who travel through this amazing place.

May 23rd 2011 - Poisonous? (Day 98)

   Home alone today with the dog and couldn't think of anything to make for lunch. So I went with the oldest trick in the book, fried eggs with sausages.

   Simple enough to make, but the eggs turned out very interesting so I got a little bit creative with my food...... I must be real bored!

May 22nd 2011 - Roast (Day 97)

   It's been just over a year since we found Kratos, so we named the day we found him his birthday. And today we celebrated it with a home roasted chicken.

   Wife cooked this up in my brother's rotisserie oven and served with baked sweet potatoes. Sister in law also made some side dishes to go with it all, and we left some of the meat for our birthday boy, and that, was gone within seconds.

May 21st 2011 - Nini (Day 96)

   After picking up the sister in law, we went to an Italian restaurant not too far from our place for dinner.

   There were at least 30 different pastas and risottos to choose from, and I'm not great when it comes to choosing between to many options. After some debate, I settled for beef linguine with pesto sauce. The meal was good and the atmosphere is comforting, all in all a great night out with the family.

May 20th 2011 - UMMM Mango (Day 95)

  Kalibo again, but I managed to leave my camera at home. Luckily cellphones are always on hand.

  After we arrived at the airport, the captain told everyone that they sell a killer mango smoothie here at the airport. After a short wait, just over half a dozen cups arrived on the plane.

  They're made from fresh Philippine mango with no added sugar, it was sweet, refreshing and delicious, now there's something to look forward to next time I come back.

May 19th 2011 - Reunion (Day 94)

   There's nothing like getting together with some old friends, especially one that I haven't seen in 16 years. We gathered at a Japanese restaurant in Taipei, nice food, great company, and lots of catching up.

May 18th 2011 - Chase (Day 93)

I don't remember the number of times I've used photos of Kratos chasing frisbee in the park for my blog, 

but it never gets old. The way he looks with intense concentration and energy always looks amazing.

May 17th 2011 - Bocelli (Day 92)

   Andrea Bocelli in Taiwan!

   The wife's been a fan for a long time and I randomly saw the ad on TV promoting his concert, and we weren't about to pass up the chance to see him live.

   The concert was held in Taipei arena and it was spectacular, and to our surprise  Hayley Westenra guest performed on stage as well. Great night out and we both had a fantastic night.

May 16th 2011 - Going Merry (Day 91)

   I've had some time off recently, and I made the best of those off days reading comics. One that really caught my attention was One Piece, a Japanese comic that is popular across all continents and generations, and its only till now that I've caught the fever.

   It's been awhile since I was so engrossed in any reading material. The drawing, story, characters and humor are all top notch. I'm so addicted to it I've started collecting figurines and toys relating to the comic. And this here is the ship the main characters travel on, which is happily named the "Going Merry"

May 15th 2011 - Dining out again! (Day 90)

   Its so uncommon for us to have visitors two days in a row, but this weekend was quite the unusual occurrence.

   Tonight we didn't end up going to the back kitchen, instead we went to a restaurant where they had swings for seats in part of the area. Unfortunately by the time we got there the swings were all taken, luckily though as the kids occupying them mistook them for playground swings.

   The food here is good but is the price is comparable to Taipei standards, and in Taoyuan, that's saying something. Good thing was everyone enjoyed themselves and was certainly good to catch up with old friends.

May 14th 2011 - Back kitchen (Day 89)

   On days that we don't have the energy for cooking, or when we have friends over. In an attempt to not kill our guests, we take them to our local favorite restaurant, which we now refer to as the back kitchen.

   The best thing about this place is that everything tastes like home, and is exactly why we come here whenever we have an excuse.

May 13th 2011 - The brew (Day 88)

   After the doctors visit yesterday, we began our Chinese medicine brewing immediately.

   The idea is you put in compact the herbs into this cooker, add four bowls of water, brew until there's only approximately one bowl of water left, luckily the cooker starts and stops the process for us so we don't have to keep an eye on it.

   The smell however is overpowering, our entire balcony is smelling of grassy herb-y, and the final product, is drinkable. As they say, the foulest medicine are the best for you.

May 12th 2011 - Old school (Day 87)

   I'm not one for seeing doctors, but a friend took us to a traditional Chinese doctor today.

   Walking into the room the whole place smelt of medicinal herbs, and after awhile we were called to see the man himself. The guy must've been at least 70, he talked with the energy of a 40 year old and wrote like he was in his mid 30s. And all he did was took the pulse on both hands, and began to describe what our problems were,
both the wife and I were amazed at how he pin pointed out the problems,
 and immediately wrote down the required meds.

   After the brief visit, we sat there waiting for the herbs to be packed into individual bags and was told how to make it, we are to drink it for a week and return, quite the unique experience, especially for the wife.

May 11th 2011 - Nuclear Fallout? (Day 86)

Ever since the devastating earthquake in Japan, tourist numbers have dwindled dramatically. 

People are afraid that the nuclear contamination has affected the entire area of Japan.

 Fortunately, Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan is appears unaffected and remains beautiful.

May 10th 2011 - Kalibo (Day 85)

Kalibo, the capital of one of Philippines provinces, and it's only the second time flying here.

The area is famous for it's white sandy beaches and balmy weather, perfect for tourists but the not so much for us. The runway is short and facilities aren't the greatest, which makes a challenging approach and a real learning experience. Have another flight coming here later this month, so will be seeing this sight again soon.

May 9th 2011 - Unusual (Day 84)

   Finished a simulator session today, and soon as I walked through the door, wife called on the phone and said "Go up to the roof and check out the sunset".

   I hadn't paid any attention to how clear the sky was on my way home, as the sun beamed from behind the buildings while it descends into the horizon.

   It's funny how much we take for granted in life, how we not see the beautiful things around us, and all it takes is just a little reminder to see how wonderful things are.

May 8th 2011 - Smell of the night (Day 83)

 In the park at night, a strong fragrance lingers in the air. Pleasant, refreshing and make the walk even more enjoyable.

   I'm not sure exactly what kind of flower this is, but its a shame a photo cannot express how the scent brings a smile to my face.

May 7th 2011 - Exercise (Day 82)

   Flew to Tokyo Narita international airport for the first time today, and we had a 3 hour break before heading back home.

   So while on the ground, I noticed a bunch of Japanese ground crew gathering together doing exercises on their breaks, which reminded me an article I read some time ago about how many Japanese companies provide exercise periods for all employees during work hour, in an effort to reduce stress and suicide rates, with positive results.

  So, to all of us who spend most of our working time sitting down, get up and stretch your legs once in a while,  work isn't everything, in the end, what good is a wealth if we don't have our health to use it.

 

May 6th 2011 - Glow (Day 81)

   The weather has been interesting lately, it's suppose to be summer but the temperature has been slow to rise. It's especially pleasant at night on our walks with Kratos, with a light breeze and clear air, which is very unusual.

   The clear nights and the glow of the lights in the park seemed fairly dramatic through the camera lens. The orange and the reflection from the leaves gave it a almost autumn-esque feel in the park.

May 5th 2011 - Hello Taipei (Day 80)

It's been a while since I last visited Taipei. I had forgotten about the amount of traffic, both motorized and human, that is Taipei. Although only a 40 minute drive away, I still felt like a total tourist here. Even though I was born in this city, everything seemed so unfamiliar and distant. 

A few hours later however, I was right at home and enjoying the sights and tastes of delicious Taipei.

May 4th 2011 - Battle of bedroom (Day 79)

   Summer is approaching in Taiwan, and with it comes the dreaded army of mosquitoes from hell. It's a real battle trying to sleep with the heat and the constant fear of mosquitoes making you their next meal.

   Not to mention mosquitoes in Taiwan has evolved into something of a stealthy assassin. They make little noise unless they are right up to your ear, they blend in with the surrounding and they fly in the most obscure flight path, which means tracking them is extremely difficult.

   We tried the electric bug swatters, the electric insect trappers and of course the bare palm technique, yet these are still not a guarantee in stopping the invasion at night.

May 3rd 2011 - Good morning sunrise (Day 78)

Yet another sunrise over the Philippine mainland, the sky was more amber due to the heavier cloud cover. 

Although working at hours like this isn't the most pleasant, looking at scenes like this makes it all worth while.

May 2nd 2011 - Two thumbs up (Day 77)

   Bali at this time of year is very nice, it's approaching winter but the temperature as far as I know hardly drops below 28 degrees.

   There are lots to see here, I'm not just talking about the sights and tourist spots, but more of the local flavor. There are plenty of sculpture, buildings that are unique to this place, mixed in with locals constantly ask you if you want a massage or hiring a motorcycle, Bali is a great place for a culture experience.

May 1st 2011 - Fried rice (Day 76)

   I was in Bali grabbing a bite to eat at the local mall. Browsing through the fried rice section of the menu and this caught my attention: "Modern Fried Rice".

   It took me a while to resist ordering it out of curiosity, and I just ended up ordering a seafood fried noodle with fish cake with a glass of avocado juice. But till now, I'm still wondering how modern that fried rice could have been.