Enough....

(The scene outside on my way to work)

Today the Hong Kong Observatory recorded a record 1346mm of rain for the month of June, breaking the previous monthly rainfall record of 1241.1mm from May 1889.

Well, point well made. Now can we move on to something else? It's been raining so much that I feel like I'm developing gills.


I mean, I'm all for pretty patterns but I'm getting tired of looking outside the window and constantly seeing the world as an Edvard Munch painting.


Doesn't help that I was in gorgeous Okinawa just 2 weeks ago...

Po Ma Shan

Woke up this morning and thought I was back in Okinawa. Blue skies and white clouds...it's been a long time since they've appeared in HK.

So my photo buddy and I decided to make our pilgrimage to Po Ma Shan. Funny, it's a very popular spot amongst photogs and yet in all the years I've been in HK I'd never been there. Not that I didn't want to, but between work and bad weather weekends, it's just been a real challenge to find the right time to go.

It's not an easy trek. It's not overly challenging, but between the branches and boulders, it's easy to get scratched up. Took me half an hour to clean up the damage I took to me hands and arms.

Took forever plucking out the slivers from my arm. Look at the size of this sucker!!!

But like they say: no pain, no gain. It was worth the trip.

My abstract for the day: The City of Lights.

Okinawa, Day 5

All good things come to an end.

Originally, I planned to go light and have a simple salad for breakfast. Then I realized the folly of that logic and went all out. After all, why would I want to miss out on that terrific tasting bittermelon and thick Japanese congee?


Spent the morning going to various temples and such. Nothing spectacular. After lunch, a final go at shopping at Naha Main Place and its surrounding area.


All these wonderful electronic goodies, but sadly all look and no buy:



3m and 10m water resistent DCs! But for sale in Japan only, i.e. no English mode for the menus...

So spending was mainly on food and DVDs.



Ooo...donuts ribbed for your pleasure...


And cupcakes with fried egg topping (yeah baby, uber carbs and cholesterol all in 1 snack)


I opted for the "simple" dark choco green tea donut


LOL! Look at the size of my eyes. I must have been on a sugar rush.


I love the names that Japanese bands come up with.


So touching, a charity box for Sichuan Earthquake victims.


Such a thoughtful design; a place to put the toddler while you're doing your business


One last calorie buster before coming home. Deep fried tonkatsu; surprisingly non-oily. And so tender!



Awesome trip. A great way to recharge myself for the rest of the working year.

Okinawa, Day 4

Aww...after days of sunshine, the rain finally came down on day 4. So much so that our glass boat outing had to be cancelled. Instead, we visited the underwater observation tower:

Check out the poor fish getting tossed back and forth.

Next stop was the Nago Pineapple Park. First a quick auto-driven ride through the park


Then the gift shop. Everything was good, but this cake was the absolute best in the shop

2nd place: the pineapple parfait sundae

Afterwards, an afternoon at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium



Awww....kawai!!!



...him, not so much


Funny little sandworms. Check 'em out moving here.





The main attraction, the huge Kuroshio Sea Aquarium, 2nd largest in the world and made of the world's largest acrylic glass panel measuring 22.5m x 8.2m x 60cm. Home of 3 large whale sharks.


Moshi moshi kame yo!

The dolphin show


But my favorite part of the show, watching this little audience member posing




For dinner, a simple yaki-style grill


...and another visit to Lawson. This time, chicken cartilage jumbo


Plus, the pioneer Nissin cup noodle + leftover crab in the fridge =

Okinawa, Day 3

Breakfast. Those 2 black things on my plate are normal sausages flavored with squid ink. Good stuff!

The beautiful beachside lawn

After breakfast, nice stroll on the beach...

...and then PLAYTIME!!!

Afterwards, a more leisurely pace snorkling (wow, I LOVE my new WP-DC17 waterproof case for my Ixy 910!)


I've uploaded a movie of the eel to my youtube page here



No wonder I'd been seeing so much sea cucumber on my plate, the sea was full of them. Couldn't go 10 paces without stepping on one!



Next, a visit to the Ashibinaa Outlet Mall for some shopping. But first, lunch!


More of the sea grapes


Tasty takoyaki (octopus balls)

Look at the size of the octopus meat!

Something I didn't expect to find: tacos!!!



After dropping some major Yen at the Outlet mall, next stop: more shopping at Kokusai Street (國際通).

Some highlights on the neat stuff I saw:


See Mr. Robot moving here.

Seriously...would anyone really want one of these? Yeah, let's hang a dead frog around our neck and go digging in its inards for some money.


Ha, ergonomical undergarments to improve your figure




And in case that's not enough, you can take a drink of BoinBoin! I love a product name that's so descriptive! LMAO!!!


"Drink Bath"? Is this what I think it is? And in 2 flavors...kinky!


I noticed a lot of women wearing these arm covers. I asked and found out that the purpose is to keep their arms nice and white. But if that's the case, why doesn't it cover the entire arm?


Cool flipflops! Of course, no one will ever know unless you take them off your feet.


Kind of inappropriate for summer, but dinner was a seafood hot pot


The main attraction was waiting back in the hotel though...


Fresh Hokkaido crab!!!


Look at the size of that sucker!




To cap it all off: