roots

sharing some photos from my asia trip....

one of the first things i noticed in HK was that scaffolding on buildings consisted of bamboos being held together by twisty ties..... no metal. just bamboo and twisty ties....









despite the smile on my face, i'm not proud of the fact that i'm holding a starbucks beverage. for some reason, i must have coffee while on vacation. i don't usually drink it, but the moment i go into vacation mode, i need coffee.... every single day. go figure.








got to see my favorites babies in hong kong. they're such cuties.








actual shanghai dumplings in shanghai! these are much smaller than the ones i'm used to at shanghai cafe in ny... but they pack a whole lotta flavor. best part is that this bamboo steamer of 16 dumplings cost me about $1.20. that rocks.





absolutely amazing....








so i decided to leave my mark on this wonder of the world.... yes, i defaced the great wall.... shhhhh!










and becky found a way to keep her one gloveless hand warm. hey, it was below zero outside!!!










ummm, ok..... i won't.








it was so cold that day in beijing. these old folks wrote chinese characters on the concrete with large brushes and the water immediately turned into ice within seconds.






money well spent in china.








tokyo. near harajuku. these old guys dressed up as greasers and were dancing with each other before we stopped them to take a picture with us. young at heart. or trapped in the past?






tsukiji fish market. check out the size of the tuna?!!?








two hours outside of tokyo.... we chilled at a hot spring while it snowed on us.... heavenly.










another angle of the hot springs.











this is a logo for a convenient store in japan. looks a bit fallic to me.







ugh, toilets in the floor... all over asia (not in tokyo though). i think i held my business rather than use these too often. only if i really HAD TO GO!