With his good looks and irresistible charm, we all knew that Wes would end up in showbiz one day. Well, at least the back of his head. Look for him in this commercial throwing a ball in the air...
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Tokyo
Annette took these photos last week while she was in Japan on a business trip. After returning from Tokyo, she had to get back on a plane and go to Shanghai.
The weather in Tokyo is beautiful this time of year - it was sunny and about 70 degrees almost everyday during the week. Unfortunately, the one day it was rainy and cold happened to be Saturday, the only day Annette had free time.
Tokyo - View from the hotel room
Shabu Shabu - A Japanese dish, similar to Chinese "hot pot", where you cook raw beef in boiling water. Shabu Shabu roughly translates to swish-swish because you are only supposed to put the meat in for a short amount of time before taking it out to eat with sesame or soy sauce.
Beef "sushi" - served before shabu shabu and actually very tasty. Just the right amount of wasabe.
Annette cooking her Shabu Shabu. The bibs were provided for everyone and not just the messy eaters.
The next night was Teppanyaki, which is the Japanese cooking style that Benihana is based on. We had several courses, including this one with beef, lotus, and garlic chips with 2 dipping sauces. Before this came shrimp and scallops. The shrimp was particularly fresh - they were alive when they arrived on the grill. It was a little hard to watch but tasted great.
Group Photo - Annette and her coworkers/client (from New York, Indianapolis and Shanghai respectively). Again, bibs were provided for everyone.
General Nogi's residence, park and shrine were next door to the office. This is the only sightseeing that was not a bit rainy.
Nogi's Place
Shrine near General Nogi's residence.
Hello Kitty Tree - I asked, but unfortunately the separate Hello Kitty angels were not for sale. They offered to let me buy the whole tree but I decided against.
Kiddy Land - a toy store in the shopping district with 6 floors of fun.
Fresh Wasabi
Tokyo Tower - reflecting Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics.
Only in Japan - Toilet Control Panel. This one is from the hotel lobby, but such controls were also available in the hotel rooms and the office building where I was working.
Toilet - you can't tell from here but the seat is heated.
View from Tokyo Tower - into the rain and clouds. You are supposed to be able to see Mount Fuji from here. No such luck this day.
Shrine at the top of Tokyo Tower
View from Tokyo Tower
View from Tokyo Tower
View up Tokyo Tower. The Tower is actually taller than the Eiffel Tower (if I understood the guide correctly). I am not sure if it looks smaller because it is orange or because it is standing among buildings.
Street Scene
Sake Drums
Gate to enter Japanese shrine. Passing through here supposedly purifies the mind. For a hangover, the tour guide recommended passing through three times before going on to the shrine.
Physical purification before entering the shrine. You were supposed to wash your hand and mouth at the fountain, but I figured just the hands was good enough.
Shrine
Meiji Shrine
In November, all of the 3 and 7 year old girls and all of the 5 year old boys are supposed to go pray for a long life. The ritual is known as Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3). It was clearly an important event for families, although it seemed that only the older girls were really happy wearing a kimono for the day.
Boy in a kimono (older brother in a suit).
Entrance to the Imperial Palace Gardens. Visitors are only allowed in the outer gardens, except two days a year. This was not one of those days.
Garden
Garden
Garden
Wall outside of the imperial palace.
The weather in Tokyo is beautiful this time of year - it was sunny and about 70 degrees almost everyday during the week. Unfortunately, the one day it was rainy and cold happened to be Saturday, the only day Annette had free time.
Tokyo - View from the hotel room
Shabu Shabu - A Japanese dish, similar to Chinese "hot pot", where you cook raw beef in boiling water. Shabu Shabu roughly translates to swish-swish because you are only supposed to put the meat in for a short amount of time before taking it out to eat with sesame or soy sauce.
Beef "sushi" - served before shabu shabu and actually very tasty. Just the right amount of wasabe.
Annette cooking her Shabu Shabu. The bibs were provided for everyone and not just the messy eaters.
The next night was Teppanyaki, which is the Japanese cooking style that Benihana is based on. We had several courses, including this one with beef, lotus, and garlic chips with 2 dipping sauces. Before this came shrimp and scallops. The shrimp was particularly fresh - they were alive when they arrived on the grill. It was a little hard to watch but tasted great.
Group Photo - Annette and her coworkers/client (from New York, Indianapolis and Shanghai respectively). Again, bibs were provided for everyone.
General Nogi's residence, park and shrine were next door to the office. This is the only sightseeing that was not a bit rainy.
Nogi's Place
Shrine near General Nogi's residence.
Hello Kitty Tree - I asked, but unfortunately the separate Hello Kitty angels were not for sale. They offered to let me buy the whole tree but I decided against.
Kiddy Land - a toy store in the shopping district with 6 floors of fun.
Fresh Wasabi
Tokyo Tower - reflecting Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics.
Only in Japan - Toilet Control Panel. This one is from the hotel lobby, but such controls were also available in the hotel rooms and the office building where I was working.
Toilet - you can't tell from here but the seat is heated.
View from Tokyo Tower - into the rain and clouds. You are supposed to be able to see Mount Fuji from here. No such luck this day.
Shrine at the top of Tokyo Tower
View from Tokyo Tower
View from Tokyo Tower
View up Tokyo Tower. The Tower is actually taller than the Eiffel Tower (if I understood the guide correctly). I am not sure if it looks smaller because it is orange or because it is standing among buildings.
Street Scene
Sake Drums
Gate to enter Japanese shrine. Passing through here supposedly purifies the mind. For a hangover, the tour guide recommended passing through three times before going on to the shrine.
Physical purification before entering the shrine. You were supposed to wash your hand and mouth at the fountain, but I figured just the hands was good enough.
Shrine
Meiji Shrine
In November, all of the 3 and 7 year old girls and all of the 5 year old boys are supposed to go pray for a long life. The ritual is known as Shichi-Go-San (7-5-3). It was clearly an important event for families, although it seemed that only the older girls were really happy wearing a kimono for the day.
Boy in a kimono (older brother in a suit).
Entrance to the Imperial Palace Gardens. Visitors are only allowed in the outer gardens, except two days a year. This was not one of those days.
Garden
Garden
Garden
Wall outside of the imperial palace.
Bangkok III
Two of our dear friends from Houston, Jared and Hope, came to visit us in Hong Kong. After a few days in Hong Kong they became bored with the city and demanded that we take them somewhere more interesting, so we decided to take them to Bangkok. (Ok, so they didn't demand it... actually Annette just wanted to do some shopping and get a good foot massage. Also, Wes wanted to see if he could actually go to Bangkok without getting ill at some point).
On the first day in Bangkok, we visited the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Palace, and Wat Po.
Tuk-Tuk Ridin'. These are good for a quick ride, but you have to know exactly where you are going and be willing to fiercely negotiate with a driver bent on ripping you off or taking you on an unscheduled shopping trip where they will get a commission.
Tuk-Tuk
River Ferry
Jared on the lookout for pirates
Wat Arun from River Ferry
River Traffic
River Ferry
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Grand Palace
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Po
Wat Po
Wat Po
Principal Buddha at Wat Po
After touring all day, we decided to grab some dinner at a Thai restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. As often happens when we go somewhere in the Lonely Planet book, we found ourselves surrounded with people with copies of the book (surprise, surprise). But, the recommendation was a good one since the food was very tasty, especially the red curry.
Following dinner, we decided to check out the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, a huge nighttime market with a huge selection of clothes, furniture, souvenirs, etc. This area also had funny little booths were two or three people could pay 5 baht to sing karaoke. After shopping for a while our feet were tired to we enjoyed an hour long foot massage.
On day two we hired a longtail boat to go on a short tour of Bangkok's canals. Along the canals we got to see lots more temples where the water churned with fish - people would throw whole bread slices into the water and they would be devoured in seconds. We also got to see how people in Bangkok live. Some of the houses seemed very run down. However, others were brand new and had satellite dishes.
Longtail Boat Cruisin'
Longtail Boat
Canal Locks
Canal Scene
Canal Scene
Canal Scene
Canal Scene
House on Canal
On the River
After our river tour, we visited the house of Jim Thompson, an American who moved to Bangkok after serving in the US intelligence department in the 40's. He is known for helping to revive the Thai silk industry. In 1967, he mysteriously disappeared while on a trip to Malaysia; some think he was kidnapped by the US or Thai government... others think he was simply eaten by a tiger. After his disappearance, the Thai government turned his house into a museum.
Jim Thompson House
Jim Thompson Garden
Haven't seen enough? Want more? Click here.
On the first day in Bangkok, we visited the Emerald Buddha, the Grand Palace, and Wat Po.
Tuk-Tuk Ridin'. These are good for a quick ride, but you have to know exactly where you are going and be willing to fiercely negotiate with a driver bent on ripping you off or taking you on an unscheduled shopping trip where they will get a commission.
Tuk-Tuk
River Ferry
Jared on the lookout for pirates
Wat Arun from River Ferry
River Traffic
River Ferry
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Grand Palace
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Phra Kaew
Wat Po
Wat Po
Wat Po
Principal Buddha at Wat Po
After touring all day, we decided to grab some dinner at a Thai restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. As often happens when we go somewhere in the Lonely Planet book, we found ourselves surrounded with people with copies of the book (surprise, surprise). But, the recommendation was a good one since the food was very tasty, especially the red curry.
Following dinner, we decided to check out the Suan Lum Night Bazaar, a huge nighttime market with a huge selection of clothes, furniture, souvenirs, etc. This area also had funny little booths were two or three people could pay 5 baht to sing karaoke. After shopping for a while our feet were tired to we enjoyed an hour long foot massage.
On day two we hired a longtail boat to go on a short tour of Bangkok's canals. Along the canals we got to see lots more temples where the water churned with fish - people would throw whole bread slices into the water and they would be devoured in seconds. We also got to see how people in Bangkok live. Some of the houses seemed very run down. However, others were brand new and had satellite dishes.
Longtail Boat Cruisin'
Longtail Boat
Canal Locks
Canal Scene
Canal Scene
Canal Scene
Canal Scene
House on Canal
On the River
After our river tour, we visited the house of Jim Thompson, an American who moved to Bangkok after serving in the US intelligence department in the 40's. He is known for helping to revive the Thai silk industry. In 1967, he mysteriously disappeared while on a trip to Malaysia; some think he was kidnapped by the US or Thai government... others think he was simply eaten by a tiger. After his disappearance, the Thai government turned his house into a museum.
Jim Thompson House
Jim Thompson Garden
Haven't seen enough? Want more? Click here.
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