Sightseeing Saturday

Cape Zanpa, Okinawa Runs for 3Seams

Sightseeing Saturday

The Mist Beyond

View north from Tian Tan Buddha, Lantau Island. Hong Kong, April 2015.

Sightseeing Saturday

Little Seaweed Man

Onna Village, Okinawa. March 2015.

To Market to Market...

Hong Kong style.

From Mong Kok to Wan Chai to Causeway Bay, Hong Kong is full of markets and street vendors! Fish markets, fruit markets, and meat markets. Vendors selling anything from Chinese souvenirs to electronics to sex toys! It was amazing and terrifying and hilarious and fun all at once!

Hong Kong is for Lovers

Last month, the man and I were lucky enough to FINALLY, after fifteen years of wedded bliss, go on a vacation together...alone...no kids...the entire time! And. It. Was. Fabulous!

Peach Airlines was having a great deal on airfare, so this trip was unplanned from the get go. We bought tickets for 2,000 yen each way. Yep! 2,000 yen! That's about $17 U.S. dollars. How could you beat that and how could you pass it up? We sure didn't!

It was a short trip but honestly, we didn't need a lot of time there and our friends back on Okinawa were watching our kids and pups. We saw the sights, we walked for miles, and we ate the bizarre and delicious food. Satisfaction guaranteed and Hong Kong delivered!

Day 1

On Friday, we got in late afternoon. We had planned to try to make it to Tian Tan Buddha on Lantau Island since it is situated right next to the airport, but after arriving and waiting to go through customs, it became clear that if we went we sure had no room for error in travel and we had to hustle to the Big Buddha before the park closed. Luckily, all those things happened and we made it. And what a sight!

The gondola ride up the mountain was massive and spectacular.

Sightseeing Saturday

Festival

Sensoji Shrine. Tokyo, Japan. Christmas, 2014.

Sightseeing Saturday

Glowing Lanterns

Hong Kong. April, 2015. Man Mo Temple.

Sightseeing Saturday

Grumpy Gus at Shuri Castle

Shuri Castle, Okinawa. March 2015.

Sightseeing Saturday

Red Bridge Guardian

Hamahiga Island, Okinawa. March 2015.

Sightseeing Saturday

Lady with the Umbrella

Christmas in Tokyo. December 2014 at Meiji-jingu.

Sightseeing Saturday

I Love Okinawa

Hamahiga Island, Okinawa. March 2015.

Sightseeing Saturday

Tokyo Sky Tree, Christmas in Tokyo. December 2014.

Sightseeing Saturday

Glaciers Beauty

Jordan Lake, British Columbia, Canada. July 2013.

Sightseeing Saturday

Sakura Festival at Nakijin Castle.

Nakijin Castle, Okinawa. February 2015.

Sightseeing Saturday

Innocence

Vero Beach, April 2012.

Sightseeing Saturday

Happiness

Sunflower Festival, Okinawa. January 2014.

Sightseeing Saturday

Room with a View

Orchid Country Club, Singapore. July 2014.

Sightseeing Saturday

The Cool Kids

Table Mountain. Oroville, California. June 2014.

My Southeast Asia "Bucket List"

Remember, I want to see everything twice and Southeast Asia is a good place to start!

Taiwan

1. Taipei 101.
2. Taroko Gorge.
3. Night Market.

Vietnam

1. Ha Long Bay.
2. Sailboat Ha Long Bay.
3. Take the train over night.
4. Ho Chi Minh City.
5. Day Go Cave.
6. Bai Tu Long Bay.
7. Cao Dai Temple.
8. Bui Vien Street.
9. Hanoi.
10. Hanoi Hilton.
11. Eat Pho
12. Mekong Delta.
13. Cu Chi Tunnels.
14. Drink snake wine.
15. Bike the mountains of Sapa.
16. Opera House in Saigon.

Cambodia

1. Siem Reap and the temples of Angkor Wat.
2. Phnom Penh and the silver pagoda.
3. Battambang.
4. Angkor Thom. The Bayon.
5. Tonle Sap Lake
6. Apsaras dance performance.
7. Eat at New Hope Restaurant in Siem Reap.
8. Take a tuk tuk.
9. Night Market.
10. Eat a tarantula - a delicacy in Cambodia.
11. Stay at The Plantation in Phnom Penh.
12. Visit and pay respect to the killing fields.

Thailand

1. Bathe and ride an elephant.
2. Chiang Mai.
3. Bangkok.

Singapore

1. Little India.
2. Little China.
3. Singapore Zoo.
4. Sentosa.
5. Haji Lane.
6. Singapore Flyer.
7. The White Rabbit.

Hong Kong

1. Kowloon Bay.
2. Avenue of the Stars.
3. Tian Tan Buddha.
4. Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery.
5. Victoria Harbour.
6. Victoria Peak.
7. Central.

My Okinawa "Bucket List"

Traveling the world is awesome, but exploring your own back yard is pretty amazing, too...especially when your backyard is a sub-tropical paradise. My list grows daily. Here are the things I must see and do before I leave this beautiful island.

Okinawa

1. Snorkel/dive with the whale sharks.
2. Whale watching.
3. Zakimi Castle at night.
4. Nago cherry blossoms.
5. Naha cherry blossoms.
6. Bios on the Hill.
7. Naha Tug-o-War.
8. Traditional Okinawa dance show.
9. Drink habu sake.
10. Okinawa World.
11. Maeda flats and snorkel Maeda Point.
12. Dragons Baseball game.
13. Yomitan Pottery Village.
14. Fukushen Gardens
15. Botanical Gardens.
16. Hedo Point.
17. Tadake Falls.
18. Mt. Katsudake.
19. Okinawa Aquarium.
20. Butterfly Park.
21. Christmas lights at the zoo.
22. Itoman lights.
23. Peace Prayer Park.
24. Shuri Castle.
25. New Year Festival at a castle.
26. Higashi Village Azalea Festival.
27. Bull fighting in Ishikawa.
28. Murasaki Mura.
29. Make sushi.
30. Make soba.
31. Camping on the beach.
32. SUP around the island.
33. Watch a sunrise and a sunset on the beach in one day.
34. Photograph a sunrise.
35. Photograph a sunset. 
36. Tulip Fair at Ocean Expo Park.
37. Sunflowers in Kitanakagusuku.
38. Okinawa Santa Run.
39. Yomitan Festival.
40. Okinawa Food Flea.
41. Chinese New Year Bull Fighting Tournament.
42. Orion Beer Fest.
43. Orion Beer Factory.
44. Nago Castle.
45. Visit and abandoned hotel.
46. Kitanakagusuku castle.
47. Nakijin castle ruins.
48. Buddha.
49. Aha Falls and rope swinging.
50. Take a class to learn Japanese.
51. Release baby sea turtles.
52. Aka Island.
53. Henoko Festival.