epic vacation, part two: Phuket

To say that our vacation was ambitious is a bit of an understatement: Not only did we fly halfway across the world, but we also incorporated a seven-hour flight from Japan to Phuket. We booked on China Southern, connecting through Guang Zhou, to save a couple hundred bucks each. Oh, man! The flight was straight-up Chinese style, with packed seats, yelling people, and loud Mandarin pop music. It made me nostalgic about studying abroad. It made Erik nauseous and miserable. We were both relieved when we made it to our lovely hotel (Kantary Bay) in Phuket.

We spent the next day erasing our grumpiness by dipping into the crystal-blue ocean, basking in the golden sun, and lounging beneath palm trees. After a delicious lunch of satay, green papaya salad, and shrimp curry, we got Thai massages. It's like doing yoga without actually using your muscles. Ahhh. I felt relaxed and happy; so this was paradise! In the evening, we headed to the main city of Patpong. As soon as the bus dropped us off, I was so thankful that we didn't stay there. Erik said it reminded him of Tijuana. There were hordes of people, plenty of go-go bars, and loud music blasting everywhere. Eek.

The next morning, we woke to a torrential downpour. Uh-oh. Our only plans were a tour of Phi Phi and the surrounding islands. Fortunately, the skies opened up as our boat skipped across the ocean to our first snorkeling spot. The water felt silky smooth, and neon fish darted around the coral. For the rest of the day, we were ferried from one ridiculously gorgeous beach to the next. I mean...come on!

Hands down, the islands were the most gorgeous place I've ever been. Our boat drifted through craggy limestone mountains and past mysterious caves. We passed an azure-blue swimming hole from a James Bond movie and lounged on the actual white-sand beach from the movie The Beach. I couldn't stop saying, "I can't believe I'm here!" One stop was at a monkey-filled beach, although our guide kept repeating "rabies!" so I stayed a safe distance away.

After lunch and a few more beaches, everyone on our boat was considerably tanner or redder and sleepily blissed out. What an incredible, amazing, will-never-forget-it day. To top it all off, the sun began to sink as we headed towards shore, lighting up the sky in streaks of orange and pink.

It was one of the moments that made me feel grateful down to the very tips of my toes, and awed at the beauty in the world. Final thoughts? If you ever get the chance, dear reader, jump at the opportunity to go to Phuket. You won't ever regret it!

epic vacation, part one: Tokyo

...and we're back from our epic vacation adventure. Maybe it's our go-go-go New Yorker nature, but we managed to pack so much into our trip. I don't think I've even fully processed everything that we did and saw!

As I mentioned before, we barely did any planning. In fact, both of us stayed up late meeting deadlines before rushing to the airport. That worked to our advantage, because I slept for much of the 14-hour flight and one-hour train into the city. Stepping out into the heart of Shibuya was surreal: Immediately, I was overwhelmed by the bustling crowds and bright lights. It felt like Times Square on steroids! Our hotel was only a block away. We stayed at the Shibuya Excel, which had an incredible view of the famously hectic crossing. From our birds-eye view, the crowds resembled tiny ants.

We spent most of our time in Tokyo soaking up the city. Since it's the epicenter of streetwear fashion (it's where Erik started his company), he went nuts in all of the stores for research. I mostly people-watched. My verdict: Japanese people are ridiculously stylish and attractive. Between stores, we ate our fill of sushi, ramen, chicken wings, and more. Yum!

It was fun to experience Erik's version of Tokyo, since he lived there on-and-off for months at a time back in 2004. I cracked up at his "Japanese," which was basically pronouncing English words in their cadence. I have to admit, though, everyone understood him, while they blinked at me in puzzlement. We also met up with some of Erik's friends, who were so sweet.

Randomly, our friend Glenna was also in Tokyo at the same time. She wound up coming out with us that night to see Erik's friend DJ Hazime spin at a hip-hop club. Tokyo nightlife is so lovely! Everyone was so polite, and there are even lockers in the clubs so you don't have to lug around your bag. Genius.

All in all, it was an incredible experience! I tend to be more of a beachy-backpacker vacationer, but Tokyo is such a unique city. I can't wait to go back.

Tokyo snapshots

We're having so much fun on vacation! Tokyo is amazing. It's such a modern, stylish city, full of beautiful people and bright lights. Our hotel was in the heart of Shibuya; the view was spectacular. We shopped until we dropped. Well, actually, Erik went crazy with work research while I people-watched. My favorite part of the trip was eating delicious food (sushi, ramen, yaktori) with fun friends. And, of course, laughing so hard with Erik over the silliest things. He's the best travel buddy. <3

crunch time

We're headed off on our anniversary-birthday-holiday trip to Japan and Thailand in two days. I am beyond excited...and slammed. Per usual, I'm writing lists like whoa. Please note that "vacation research" is not ticked off yet. Sigh.

6 things...

...I did this week.

1. Volunteered in the Rockaways with my friend Amanda, who I love for many reasons, but also because she is one of the doing-est people that I know. Even though she was swamped with work deadlines, she made helping a priority. So Friday was spent delivering water, hot meals, and other supplies to a powerless building in the Rockaways. There were so many elderly people trapped on the top floors; without elevators and companions, they have essentially been stranded without power, heat, communication, and running water for the past two weeks. The elevators didn't work and the halls were pitch-black and frightening (and often dreadful-smelling). I pray that power is restored swiftly.
2. Celebrated Obama's victory! Erik has been working overtime campaigning, even turning his office into a call center. So in addition to our country's future, my partner's mental health rode on this election. :) I truly believe in Obama as a leader, and I have faith that he is going to accomplish amazing things over the next four years.
3. Felt exhausted! Even though I logged plenty of shut-eye, I was wiped this week. As my wise friend Sarah pointed out, it's been a stressful week, with all the Sandy disruption. All that worry and distraction finally caught up with me.
4. Worked like bananas. I've fallen behind, thanks to the chaotic week (see previous), and we're headed on vacation this week. As Cathy from the comics would say, ACK!
5. Cashed in a gym pass. I know I've said it before, but, man! I am no longer a gym person. It is quite possibly the most boring thing ever. I'd much rather be running, hiking, or surfing outside. Only lasted half an hour on the elliptical before I had to call it quits.
6. Went to Fake Thanksgiving. It was delicious and fun, and I feel more thankful for all of my blessings than ever.

my new york city marathon story

They say that participating in the NYC marathon is emotional, and that was certainly true for me, although I didn't actually run. It all started on Sunday, when Sandy hit. My neighborhood was barely touched; it was strange watching all the devastation a few miles away on the television and look out my window to only see a light drizzle. I felt so lucky!

Over the next few days, I remained glued to the television and computer. The reports and images from places like the Rockaways and Staten Island were heartbreaking. I couldn't believe it when the mayor announced that the marathon would go on. My wish was that he would postpone it.

As marathon day grew closer, I grew more conflicted. I agreed that the race shouldn't be run, but since it was going on, should I still do it? Even heading to the expo, my emotions were all over the place. (Thank you Kristin and Aphrodite for putting up with my excited-one-minute-anguished-the-next mood swings.) I was stricken by the news reports of devastation; angry at the personal attacks towards us runners; and excited about finally running the NYCM after three years of applying, a long summer of training, and committing to the effort in memory of my dad. Once we got there, my confusion turned to hope as I saw so many charity runners and even a man from the gutted Breezy Point picking up their numbers.

Since the trains were down, Kristin and I wound up walking home from Queens with a sweet French couple stranded in the city. Right after spotting the blue marathon line on the Pulaski bridge, the texts came in: Marathon cancelled! A wave of relief and also disappointment washed over me; tears sprung into my eyes.

After feeling a little lost and depressed that evening, the next day something clicked into place: It was time to act. I decided to join my friends Jenna and Amanda and a group of marathon runners headed to Staten Island to help clean up. After biking to the ferry terminal, I was awed by what I saw: a sea of 1,300 orange bodies, each one carrying a huge bag of supplies. Like the marathon, the course was tough. We ran straight uphill (no joke) for 10 miles with 20 to 30 pounds strapped to our backs. Even though we got a little lost, the cheers and thumbs-up from Staten Islanders replaced my discouragement with with hope.

After dropping off our supplies, we wound up helping a family clear out all of its worldly possessions from their devastated home; the father nearly drowned in the surge. When we were finally done, these tough, gruff men's eyes filled with tears as we said good-bye. Heading back, we finally found to the words to chat with our fellow runner-helpers and heard so many amazing stories, like Tanya from England. She had spent all summer training and fundraising for Haiti to run NYC, and spent so much of her own money to get here. With only one day left in the city, this was how she chose to spend it.

Before Sunday, I never really considered myself a runner; it was just something I did now and then. Now, I'm beyond proud to call myself a runner. You better believe that I'll rock my neon lycra, fanny pack, and giant Garmin with pride.