Snowshoeing at Cypress

I guess Ray and I are addicted to snowshoeing now or you can call us "Snowshoe-aholics" :) During this holiday season, I intend to introduce my family and friends to snowshoeing. Snowshoeing is definitely one of the fastest growing winter sports. Ray and I went up to Cypress a couple days ago with two of my girlfriends, Monica and Shirmy. It was Monica's first time snowshoeing. We were taking it easy for her because she had two knee surgeries. Luckily, her knee was fine but instead, she was physically tired going up the hills. The hills were definitely not as brutal as the ones on Grouse Mountain. It was really nice up there especially with the fresh snow which made it easy for us to snowshoe. We did the free BC Parks trails. It was nice and quiet here although you would think it would be busy because of the holidays. We will be going to Grouse for another snowshoeing session. If you are interested, you know where to find me. ^o^

Ray's 34th Birthday Dinner

Well well well...another year has gone by for my sweetie and best friend, Ray. He's now 34 years old. A year older and a year wiser. I brought him to a nice dinner at Goldfish Pacific Kitchen in Yaletown for his birthday. It was our first time there. It was a surprise for him before we got there. As soon as I was heading to Yaletown, he figured out right away as to where I was bringing him. He thinks he is smart but he is :) We loved the food there. Service was great. It sure was a great experience. I guess you won't go wrong going to downtown for dinner. We had two appetizers: Duck spring rolls and Prawn and Chicken gyoza. As for our entree, we had Pan Seared Arctic Char and Pan Seared Ling Cod with Gai Lan as the side dish. Yummy...delicious! To top this off, we had the most interesting dessert called Chocolate Dessert Sushi. As you can see from the picture, it sure looked like sushi and it was really good and tasty!

Year-End Gathering with my friends

2007 is almost coming to an end and here we are again, celebrating the holiday season. Where did the year go? I can't believe it! It seems like I just had the last dinner gathering not long ago. A bunch of friends and I went and dined at Azia Restaurant in downtown last night. The ambiance, service and food were surprisingly good. Neither of us have ever been there. I discovered this restaurant in the Dining Guide provided by The Province paper. I was glad that everyone had a good time and dinner at this 2007 year-end dinner gathering. This holiday season I am planning to do some snowshoeing, tubing, skiing and of course, shopping. Who would want to miss that, right? If anyone is interested in coming out to do some snowshoeing or tubing, write me a note and I will get back to you. Ok...this is all for now. Until then...sayornara!

Hawaii Trip (Nov 27 to Dec 4)

What a wonderful getaway for a week before the Christmas holidays and also to escape from the cold to a nice and warm place. I think I am just spoiled from this awesome vacation. I would go back to Hawaii again for the third time if there is an opportunity in the near future. The food and shopping in the Waikiki area were pretty expensive because of the high population of tourists but if you go a couple blocks away from the main strip, everything seems to be a little cheaper. Regardless of all these, I still went for the shopping and the food. It was great.
Ray and I did a lot of activities when we were there for the week. We went hiking at Diamond Head Crater and Koko Head Crater and running a couple of times around Diamond Head and Ala Wai Canal which was beautiful. We also went snorkeling in Hanauma Bay, one of the most beautiful bay areas to do swimming, snorkeling and other water sports. The picture above were taken in Hanauma Bay. At first, I was freaking out a few times at immersing my head in the water with the snorkel gear and trying to breathe differently than normal but after a few attempts and using another snorkel gear, I finally overcame the fear and had the most fun in my life because of the gorgeous coral reefs and astounding marine wildlife. God's creation is just beyond amazing. I feel so privileged to be able to experience this other world in the water. Apart from all these, we took the time to see the historic site of Pearl Harbor. I felt overwhelmed and also sad at the same time about the background history of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese on Dec 7, 1941. We visited the memorial site of the USS Arizona where it sunk from the attack. It truly was an unforgettable historic incident.

The next fun thing from the trip was the Paradise Cove Luau. It was my first time to a Luau. Luau means an elaborate Hawaiian feast featuring traditional food and entertainment that consisted of the Imu Ceremony (roasting of the pig) followed by Hula dancing, fire dancing and singing. There were also other activities organized that night when we were there like arts and crafts, traditional activities like spear throwing and making of flower leis. The picture below was taken at Paradise Cove which was about an hour away from the Waikiki area.
As the vacation was coming to an end, I really didn't want to be going home to be back to work. I can really see myself retiring in Hawaii because of the lay-back and relaxing life. I can just picture myself walking on the beach, sipping on pina colada's and just simply lounging by the beach. What a nice life, don't you think so? I guess I am just spoiled from this vacation and am looking forward to going to Brunei next year in July. Until then, I guess I have to save up A LOT and I really mean A LOT!! :o)