Getting Down With The Dog

As many of you know, I have tried several different Yoga classes. As many of you also know, I've left several yoga classes more stressed then when I first stepped foot in the door. During a recent trip to Thailand, D convinced me to try a couples yoga class one night before dinner. I said to myself, "Yoga in Thailand couldn't be any worse than Yoga anywhere else."

I put on my Yoga attire, grabbed my mat, and made my way down to the spa. When I got there, I saw that this was the spot where the class was going to take place...

Now most people would say, "This is such a beautiful and peaceful place to practice Yoga". I, however, said to D, "We are doing Yoga outside during dusk? Do they want us all to get Dengue Fever?" For those of you who don't know what Dengue Fever is, it's an infectious tropical disease spread by mosquitoes. The disease is prevalent in many South Asian countries. The mosquitoes that carry Dengue Fever bite during the day..especially right after sunrise and right before sunset. It's bad enough getting those annoying mosquito bites that keep you up scratching all night long. Did I want to get Dengue Fever, a disease with no cure, that has the potential to kill you? Heck no!

I got up off my mat and marched straight back to the room. I covered myself from head to toe in insect repellent. I went back down to the beach where I had D spray his entire body as well.


While we were busy drowning ourselves in bug spray, everyone else was in a pretty relaxed state.

The instructor was interesting. D and I could hardly follow what he was saying, not because we couldn't do the exercises (although we had a rough time) we couldn't understand what he was saying. He kept saying "Dog, now up and down to the dog" I couldn't help but laugh during most of the session.

When I wasn't laughing, taking pictures of the other couples, or reapplying bug spray, I was busy writing the word YOGA in the sand with a stone (see first picture).

I walked out of the Yoga class with the same amount of stress (not much) and lack of flexibility with which I walked into it. I did, however, walk away without a single mosquito bite. I guess you could say the class was a success after all!

The Racing Dragons

Guess what we had last week here in Hong Kong? Another public holiday!
The Dragon Boat Festival honors a Chinese patriot by the name of Qu Yuan who threw himself into the Mi Lo River in protest of a corrupt government. People raced out in their boats to save him and others banged on drums to scare away dangerous fish. Unfortunately, the locals were unable to reach him in time. Boat races are preformed each year to symbolize the attempts to save Qu Yuan.

The Dragon Boat festival is a major Chinese holiday so I just had to be part of the action. I dragged D down to Stanley Beach despite the 98 degree weather so I could check out the boat races. I figured the beach would be filled with people by I never imagined just how crowded it would be.

Different teams (most sponsored by their companies) were dressed in colorful uniforms. I asked D why he wasn't participating this year for his company team. Apparently there are team tryouts and lots of practices. The competitors take this event very seriously!


The Fair Dinkum Club, a social club made up of young professionals, posed for a team photo. The girls were wearing black tutus around their waists!

Even though we didn't stay to watch many races we could really feel the excitement in the air. The smells of sweat, alcohol, sunblock and pollution (of course) filled our lungs. Maybe I'll form my own racing team to compete in the race next year...or better yet I'll just watch.

Beautiful Bermuda

I've always said that I wouldn't change a thing about our wedding day. Everything was exactly the way I wanted it to be. I had the perfect dress, the perfect venue, the perfect flowers, and of course the perfect husband. After attending a wedding in Bermuda last month, however, I may have found a venue that exceeds my definition of perfection...Anyone getting married soon?

Where's Your Mask?

Just what I like to read in the morning newspaper. Can anyone guess what the most visited website is on my computer? I know what I will be purchasing on my next trip to Costco.

Happy Birthday Buddha

Once again, last week was another holiday in Hong Kong. These public holidays are starting to spoil me because I'm getting used to having D around during the week. It seems like he's been working more 4 day weeks the past few months than 5 day weeks. You won't hear me complaining about this one!

What were were celebrating this time? Buddha's birthday! Buddha has become part of my every day life in Hong Kong. I see him in the store windows, at the tourist sites, in the markets, and in a few of my favorite restaurants.

Since D had the day off from work, we decided to go for a long leisurly walk along our favorite walking path (despite the weather being 87 degrees feeling like 93 with the humidity). As we strolled along the walking path we managed to spot:

Buddha #1



Buddha #2



Buddha #3

The week before, P and I planned our entire day around visiting the Buddha at his home on Lantau Island. To see him we traveled...



through the air...

over mountains...

over water...


and up hundreds of stairs!

I may not follow the teachings of Buddha, pray to the statues, or know much about the Buddhist religion, but since he seems to be everywhere, I might as well celebrate his birthday...especially if that means I get to spend more time with my hubby and friends!

Belly Laughs

When I was five, my mom enrolled me in dance school. I was never the most coordinated when it came to gracefully moving my body but that didn't seem to bother me. I went on to become a cheerleader and even preformed in show choir (where they made me the narrator due to my poor singing and dancing skills).

Throughout the years I attended schools dances, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, and even took some dancing lessons for our wedding (my husband is an amazing dancer so I had to have some training to keep up with him!)

So, when I read that they were offering a Belly Dancing class at my yoga studio (another thing, I'm not so good at) I said, "Why not give it a try!"

I showed up at class in my gym shorts and tank top. There were only two other woman there, both instructors at the studio. They were wearing what looked like sports bra/bikini top and harem pants. The instructor had a jeweled belt around her hips and sparkly blue eye shadow.

Both women looked at me and one woman said, "Is this your first time?" I wonder what gave it away! Probably the fact that I left my hip scarf at home. "Yes," I replied. "Good," she said. "We are starting a new routine today." Routine? I just wanted to tighten up my stomach muscles.

All of a sudden Indian music came on over the speaker and the instructor said "Let's begin."Thankfully two other woman entered the room so I wasn't all alone in the class. One of the women was a belly dancing professional (belly button ring and all) while the other, made my dancing skills look quite good. :)

Although I had a lot of fun, I don't see myself Belly Dancing again in the near future.
I may not be sore tomorrow morning from the actual belly dancing that took place but my stomach muscles sure got a work out... from me laughing the entire hour.

The Wonder Fish

When most people come to visit Hong Kong I take them to the typical tourist attractions:
1. The Peak
2. The Markets in Mong Kok
3. High Tea at the Peninsula or Four Seasons
4. A Trip to Stanley Market and the surrounding beaches
5. A stroll through the different neighborhoods like Central, Soho, and the Mid-levels via the worlds longest escalator.

And the list goes on......

When my friend P told me she was coming to visit me (2 weeks before she hopped on the 16 hour plane ride) I knew she would be up for deviating from the "typical" tourist activities.

P is one of my more adventurous friends. I know many of my friends would be up for a massage and a pedicure at a spa any day. P's spa day, however, was on a totally different level.

Last week we took a trip to a spa called Wonderfish. When we arrived at the spa the assistant first prepped P for her pedicure.


Now this wasn't your typical pedicure preformed by a trained technician. This pedicure....was preformed by hundreds of Garra Rufa fish.


Garra Rufa Fish, also called doctor fish, nibble fish, and little dermatologists, suck at the hard, dry skin on your feet. They leave your feet feeling soft and smooth. I was told it feels like hundreds of fish giving you a foot massage. P would beg to differ. If you happen to be ticklish on the bottoms of your feet, like P, this may not be your thing.

After a few minutes of squealing and a few tight squeezes of my hand, P looked like she was in paradise. Actually, she looked like she was ready to kill me for telling her this was a great way to spend 20 minutes.

Never the less, P stepped out of the pool with silky heels, toes, and calves. Now that was some healthy looking skin!

My next visitors are arriving later this week. The spa day is has already been added to the itinerary.