where in the world… (part 5)?

are viv + i?
“ni hao ma… (again)” this time from beijing, china!

having aready been to the southwestern part of china, we had an opportunity this time to visit the northeastern part… the capital of china:  beijing (a.k.a. “peking” or “the forbidden city“).

ni hao ma... welcome to "the great wall of china"!

to be honest, i really wasn’t looking forward to going. i was hoping we could rest/stay longer in hong kong before our next scheduled trip to japan.
but having gone, all i can say is: (besides being mind-numbingly COLD…) beijing ROCKED!
of course, vivien was responsible for this (as she has/is/will continue to be the reason all things in my life ROCK )!  it was awesome seeing her switch gears from speaking cantonese to mandarin. she navigated us through the streets as if we were locals! what an incredible skill it is to be multi-lingual!
**SIDE NOTE: upon our return, i’m gonna get miss rosetta stone and learn some mandarin (maybe i’ll also have to look into mandy and pandy)! as is evident, china will continue to develop its global presence and will be a (if not “the“) dominant presence/force in the next 10-25 years. and Lord willing, we hope to return (and hopefully i’ll be fluent in mandarin!).**

upon arrival, i really wasn’t sure what to expect. i remember being somewhat fearful of beijing/china.

where in the world… (part 3)?

are viv + i?
“bonjour mon ami…” from southern france!

using “rick steves’ provence & the french riviera guidebook“ (a.k.a. our “other” bible in southern france), vivien outlined a tour de southern france via our avis rental car: an opel. definitely a different experience for me… cause when i vacation, i tend to stay in one hotel/location for the duration of the stay and take a taxi. the long, windy and scenic roads from town to town were pretty fun to drive.

bonjour from hotel negresco in nice! le'g+v...

not knowing what to expect for the city driving/parking conditions, it was crazy and stressful! the streets were SO narrow and often-times one-way and it was shared by cars, bicyclists, scooters, cats and dogs all at the same time! in most intersections, they had these roundabouts that were a bit confusing as well… and just required you to pretty much close your eye and jump into the circle of death and drive around until you find the right road to get off to! you just had to pay attention to the many arrowed signs and pray you chose the right one!

when in doubt... always head toward "centre ville"...

total distance driven: 1234km = 766.772 miles
total spent on diesel: €106 euros = $158.73 USD
total number of swear words dropped: 11 “mutha F-bombs”

thank the Lord that there were so many things to ease my driving stress… paellas, poissons and pâtisseries, oh my! 

the places:

where in the world… (part 2)?

are viv + i?
“namaste…“
nama-stah,
ma-ma-coo-sa from nepal!

definitely a dream destination (more so for vivien + her love for outdoor adventure than i). the sights were spectacular and awe-inspiring… how could one look at it all and not acknowledge the Creator?

the places:

• kathmandu (1400m/4593ft)
• pokhara (910m/2986ft) – a short 25min flight from kathmandu.
• phedi (950m/3116ft) – starting point of our 6-day trek with a gazillion stone steps and insane incline grade!
  we were blessed to have our guide: manoj + our porter: kumar. over the journey they became more like family! while we had our hiking boots, performance gear attire, trekking poles and only carrying day packs… kumar wore nike tennis shoes, jeans, a button-up shirt, used NO poles and carried our 35lb. backpack through some sick terrain. he saved our lives (and our backs… literally).
  ** note: am thankful for international porter protection group (i.p.p.g.) and hope they continue to look out/care for the porters. and in the future, we hope trekkers will have enough porters for the gear they bring as to not overload/work and pose potential harm to them!
• tolka (1790m/5872ft) – first night’s stay. having no electricity at this teahouse, viv + i, ended up going to sleep at 7pm! one of the most restful nights of sleep i ever had! only took going to nepal to find it. who would’ve thunk it?
• ghandruk (2020m/6627ft) – imagine having this view while eating breakfast!
  

  momo having mint tea + traditional chapati bread

congrats tory + phil…

had a wonderful opportunity today to help out my dear friend, joseph jang shoot a wedding video (and not be a wedding singer for a change! ) for a fun couple, tory + phil.
though it was gloom + doom rain/poop weather saturday, God really blessed these two lovebirds and provided them with an awesome day!
they were such cool people and had such a cool story… and God’s hands upon their lives/their relationship was so evident.
being involved on their special day was so nostalgic and reminded me of my wedding day (almost a year ago already!)… and how much fun vivien + i had.
no wonder the ghkims (who shot our wedding), john + josephs (helped shoot our engagement), jane lees (who shot our engagement), leo chens + corey hages of the world love doing this! not to sound cliche, but it’s such an honor to help  a couple on their blessed day and to capture this moment so they can remember it for a lifetime!
and as a special treat to the married couple, joseph was able to compile all the video shot and provide a SDE (same day edit) video for them to enjoy during the reception. the look of surprise/shock on their face was worth it all!
so if you’re getting married (or know someone who is) and want a kick-A videographer give him a buzz!

enjoy!