Jim's In the Air!

We will see Tripp's cousin Jim in three hours at the HK Airport! He will kick off our month and a half of visitors! What? You didn't know we were having a month and a half of visitors?? Well, neither did we until we finalized some plans this week!

I am sure you are now hoping I'll give you the rundown on who all is getting the pleasure of experiencing life in flat 17/H of Block Four in Tai Kok Tsui.

So a penciled in calendar looks like...
Jim here this weekend
Amelia (my sister) here May 19-27. Emily (Liza's friend) comes the day before Amelia leaves and Emily departs the day before Liza's mom (Sissy)arrives! A week later on the 10th of June, Ryan, Matt, Megan (friends from Clemson) will join the fray, and leave the 24th, 25th, and 26th, respectively. (Hopefully Rebecca Reed will arrive the next day and Reese Blackwell will hop on the bandwagon and book their flights as well! Fingers crossed!)
Tripp's immediate family comes late July and heads to Beijing in August.
What a crazy, amazing time of visiting friends and family! We are so blessed and excited to end this adventure (only three months left!)by sharing it with those we love from home!!

We have planned an insanely PACKED 48 hours for Jim, so look forward to great photos early next week.

photo of the day

what an awesome shot

Go Bazaar!

Had the greatest mid-week treat yesterday when I darted from school to make to the YWCA's Spring Bazaar in Central, which closed at six. I made it there with twenty minutes till closing and a major budget in mind.

This event was right up my alley! After years of being the vendor at countless festivals and local fairs hawking Sassy Mel's wares, it was a fun change of pace to be the customer on the other side. There were fifty booths of local vendors selling their wares. I knew the feeling of dread packing up all the leftover merchandise all too well, and took full advantage of the discounts people were offering to not have to lug it back with them. I picked up Schindler's List and another DVD with Ben Affleck, as well as two paperbacks super, super cheap. I got a bottle of Bordeaux half price from a gourmet wine and food booth.

They had run out of treats from the bake sale (sad day!) and I skipped the Fair Trade coffee table and foot massage area to spend my precious few minutes in the White Elephant Room. It's a great concept-- members of the YWCA and local businesses with excess stock donated all kinds of new merchandise.

I wish I could share pictures of my FANTASTIC finds, but then that would ruin the surprise of you getting the gifts I bought, right?

Get excited.

Until next time, SB

Photo of the Day 4-28

This a shot from a Rice Plantation. At the time I took it, I really didn't realize what a beautiful photo it was. Sara Beth and I stumbled on this place, and walked about with no problems. Normally we have a minimum of 2-3 Chinese men hobbling along behind us, fussing about the mess we're causing. Oh well, theres always next time .... enjoy

Couple ah great ones. Thats SB on Damah Indah.

photo of the day

Takin it back to Malaysia. I took this one afternoon, and came across it today. Think it fits the bill for the photo of the day. Picnic anybody....

Well, it's no secret that Sara Beth and I think that the only way to see a place to... umm... EAT! Whenever we get something, I usually snap a photo, and today I found I have a lot of good photos. Some look delicious, and some look terrifying. Either way, they each tell a good story. Bon appetit!

photo of the day

Took this shot in Kamakura in Japan.

Today Sara Beth and I headed off to Tai Mo San, with our friends Camay and Benjamin. They were kind enough to save Sara Beth and I from the MTR, as they drove us to our destination. So just riding in a car was a much enjoyed change from the norm. We first stopped off at a local dining joint, and sampled a variety of new foods. Its all made up in a traditional manner, and it provided a unique experience for Sara Beth and I. Following our lunch we headed for the Mountain. Sara Beth couldnt make it and had to be carried. What a great day!

Above you'll find... Tripp, Sara Beth, and Camay as we hiked to the Tai Mo San peak.

Here's a few of the traditional Cantonese Dim Sum dishes we sampled today. Camay and Benjamin, our great friends, were kind enough to share Camay's birthday lunch with us. We tried new dishes (see above) and hiked the highest peak in HK. What a treat !!

all the photos

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/Kamakura#

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/Nara# Nara and Japan

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/Kyoto# Kyoto

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/Tokyo#

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/DamahIndah# Damah Indah in Langkawi

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/MalaysiaLangkawiPeak# The Peak of Langkawi

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/PulauPayar# Payar Island in Langkawi

http://picasaweb.google.com/cyrilrush/Thailand# Thailand (bangkok)

New Format Coming Tonight!

We finally figured out how to put "pages" on the blog! We know this site is an absolute mess of our streams of consciousness. Hopefully the "pages" feature will add some organization to the layout. I am thinking our travel adventures will be catgeorized in separate pages on the right hand side, while the landing page you see when you go to our blog will still be our random posts!

Japan is up for your viewing pleasure!! Click "Easter in Japan" to see the greatest vacation ever with Pop and Julia!

I am thinking sushi for dinner and watching"Kingdom of Heaven", which I rented from UNRIVALLED FILM CLUB (I'm a card carrying member, and yes, that's how they spell 'unrivalled'), along with some intense blog upkeep. So stay posted and come back often! Love yall.

POP IN JAPAN !

Well, it was better than i could have dreamed. Japan with Pop and Ms. Julia, was perfect. Ill never forget what an awesome experience we shared. Before i put up anything, lets get to the ones we want to see... POP IN JAPAN

a few more.