sequins
October 30, 2010 Comments Off
Playboy: just another brand
October 26, 2010 Comments Off
American brands are huge in China. People love Nike, Ralph Lauren, Hugo Boss….but one brand that I saw everywhere that really got my attention was Playboy! Playboy shirts, shoes, bags, jackets. I know they make clothes for sale here too, but it’s not nearly as ubiquitous as in China. Since I don’t think Playboy publishes their magazine in China, people don’t associate the brand with nude photos so it’s just like all the other fashion brands. I wonder what they would think if they all found out the magazine behind the brand.
Jilin, China
October 24, 2010 Comments Off
I’ve had these photos up on my flickr account for a few days now, but haven’t had the chance to actually write it up on the blog. I want to show everyone how beautiful the city of my birth is. It is buffeted to the north by a series of mountains, and through the middle runs a beautiful river. I grew up playing in the mountain and along the riverfront. Over the years, the city has spruced up both. Now there is a wonderful square in front of the mountain where people can exercise, fly kites, dance, and enjoy the outdoors. The city has also installed sidewalks along the riverfront as well as places to exercise. Everytime I go back, I see more high rises and unlike Irvine, these buildings are inspired by architecture around the world. There are buildings that look distinctly european as well as ones that are more middle eastern. I wish I had taken more photos just along the streets.
Loved seeing those fall colors. That’s something I miss living in Irvine.
When I was born, everyone lived in one or two level buildings with no central heat and limited running water. When I was almost 1 year old, we moved to an 8 story building with central heating and running water and no elevator. Imagine walking up 8 flights of stairs every day. That was similar to the shorter buildings you see in the photo below. Now, developers are building high rises more than 20 stories tall (with elevators). These are what you see behind the old buildings. The pace of development in 20 years have been incredible.
China Trip: Hong Kong – Part III
October 20, 2010 Comments Off
This is my third time in Hong Kong so I’ve been to most of the popular tourist spots already. This time, I wanted to get out of the city a little bit so we headed to Lantau Island where we rode a long tram to see the giant Buddha. Although more crowded than I had anticipated, it was still really cool and I definitely recommend it as a place to visit when in HK.
Also on the Island….Hong Kong Disneyland!! I really really like Disneyland :) I’m not obsessed with Disney, I just have really good memories there and I always enjoy the fireworks. Although this Disney is quite a bit smaller than the original, it was still quite fun and we managed to do the most popular rides several times. We also caught a showing of the Lion King show, which was really well done. Also, although I don’t have photos, i thought the snack selection at this Disney was actually quite good, and didn’t seem as expensive. Up next…..JiLin, China!
