Sunovabeach

Everyone needs a spot to retreat to mentally when life/love/work gets a little overwhelming.  Mine used to be a Greek island called Agea I visited in 2010.  Recently, I went to the Philippines and was given more material for my mental vacations.  Here are some of my favorite beach pics from the Philippines to help inspire you with your dreams of getting away.

Mui wo to Pui O. Fa Sho'.

The best thing about living in Hong Kong, is that no matter how long you've been here or how extensively you've explored- there is still more undiscovered terrain out there waiting for you to come find it.  Which is exactly what Pui O was doing.  It was waiting for me, just for me, to come and discover its near vacant beaches and crisp fresh air.

Pui O is situated at the south end of Lantau island on the complete opposite coast of Hong Kong International Airport.  It is actually best known for its camping sites (yes camping, not glamping) and fairly easy to snag sunning spots.  I think Google maps makes it seem much more intimidating to get to than it actually is.  It only took me about an hour to get from my door to Mui Wo and then about a ten minute cab ride from Mui Wo to Pui O, while Google quoted it as being a little over two hour trip.  I wish you weren't a lying liar, Google.

 Originally, I wanted to check out the Pui O scene to try out this new and talked about eatery on the beach, Mavericks, which boasts an apparently appetizing menu that includes: buffalo chicken, wagyu beef and ahi tuna sliders, gourmet hot dogs and craft beer. Nom nom nom. Plus, I was stalking their website and happened to notice a fat tat of Texas on the founder's forearm.  Beachside grub from a tatted and proud Texan in Hong Kong??  Sign me up.

Unfortunately, Mavericks is only open Friday through Sunday.  Me being the go getter that I am, decided recently that it was a good idea (shake head slowly) to consent to working six days a week (including Sundays) for an undetermined amount of time, in order to get this new company up and running. My off day being Monday, the Mavericks dining experience continues to elude and haunt me and my taste buds.

Boo. Hoo.

So that left me on Pui O utterly starving, but completely content to bask in the sun, surrounded by mountains and surf.  And oh so grateful to not be in front of a computer developing curriculum.

   

Mui O

Pui O

Werk

I've been focusing my energies on plumping up the grey matter while I work instead of just pumping it full of music.  Music is awesome too, but I need a balance.  It also depend on what kind of work I'm doing and since this week I am putting together worksheets for school, I can turn my brain off towards school work and actively listen to some interesting material.  

Here is a playlist to make your brain werk:

http://www.ted.com/playlists/77/11_must_see_ted_talks

Jeepney Journeys and Rockin Boats: Filipino Transport

Food in the Philippines

As some of you may know, I just recently took a nice little vacay over to the Philippines to reward myself for working for an entire consecutive year in one company.  Turns out I bought my plane ticket a little too early, I was offered the golden opportunity to end my contract three days early and jumped on the chance.  Close enough though right?  

So with three extra days of freedom on my hands I packed little more than a bikini and headed in the direction of white sands, electric blue waters, and super cheap rum.  I didn't really have any expectations of the Philippines gourmand wise, which was a really, really good thing because once I got there, it became rapidly apparent as to why they are know for their beaches and hospitality - not their culinary arts.   

Let's just get right to it.  Most of the food you are going to eat in the Philippines is probably going to be sold from a street vendor and chances are, it'll be meat on a stick from the BBQ pit, or a mango/pinneapple/coconut in a bag.  There was more than one occasion I felt a bit barbaric when I found myself munching on deliciously roasted small birds.

On the other hand, one can also feel so fresh and healthy drinking straight out of a coconut, or shoveling large portions of juicy mango in your tummy.

There weren't any restaurants touting fine Filipino cooking or gourmet Filipino experiences.  Instead there 

were rows of home cooked food in silver pots on counters, like being in someone's home for a large family dinner.   

There hungry eyed ladies hauling hand woven baskets packed with individual bags of popped popcorn, peanuts, banana chips, and chicharones.  All of which I ate quite more than I should have.  

I'll also just be blunt about this: if you're a coffee fiend and you CANNOT survive anywhere without a good cup of joe, you should never, ever find yourself in Philippines ever.  Other than the random bitter espresso shot I was able to acquire, I was sold a lot of instant coffee.  As in, I'd order coffee, and they'd hand me a cup, with a packet of instant grains.  You can find a variety of perforated instant coffee packets hanging next to perforated shampoo and conditioner packets hanging next to each other in the little trinket stalls that line the streets, along with all the roast chicken and mango stands.  

Buying a drink in the Philippines was crazy expensive, which is why I would order one, but then sneak a pour from the bottle of Rum I just bought at the shampoo/instant coffee stand for 40 pesos (Not even one USD).  And by crazy expensive, I mean the most expensive drink I bought was a deliciously cold and refreshing banana smoothie for 200 pesos ($4.5) ((I got a little intimidated by the high numbers admittedly)) 

There is also a huge abundance of corned meets.  Mostly corned beef, but I spotted a few corned tunas in the grocery store as well.  I tried fresh corned beef with my eggy breakfast one morning and it was oh so delicious.  Then I bought and ate it straight out of can and I wanted to punch myself in the face out of shame afterwards.  It's not worth it.  Whatever that pink sludge in the can is, stick to the fresh stuff being cooked on a grill.  

Sunday Funday: Clear Water Bay

It's Sunday in Hong Kong, and the weather is a perfect amount of hotness to wind ratio which means it's also prime beach time.  This Sunday's venue: Clear Water Bay.  It took about an hour and twenty minutes to get to but well worth it, as its physical features definitely lived up to the name.  The best part was that on a clear, sunny Sunday, there was room to breathe with space to spare. Oddly enough, it only started getting packed as the sun went down.  I think my favorite part about hanging out at CWB was also the encroaching forest to the beach.  Things got tropical real quick.

Street Eats of Xi'an

The best thing about Xi'an was Muslim Street. Packed to the max with all the yummiest street treats.  I had at least four meals of cheap, fast, but delish meals.