Obviously a McDonald's fan...

I was going over photos to blog about when I spotted this photo of me in McDonald's Hangzhou, China with my nephew Joshua clowning around (or should I say declaring me the devil?) behind me when a thought (or should I say a theory?) dawned on me... I seem to have a McDonald's photo in most if not all of my travels.

So I tested this theory and revisited my travel folders the past 5 years and here's the result of all that sleuthing..

2009 March

Hangzhou, China

2008 October

Yokohama, Japan

I remember that day Kana, my friend Satoko's youngest daughter demanded that we eat at McDonald's. Apparently she does not get to eat as often as she likes because okasan does not think it's healthy food. Smart mother..

2008 September

Shanghai, China

In the old town of Puxi (read Pusi) where nothing in the area of food is familiar, seeing this McDonald's was a blessing when we needed sustenance for a bout of shopping. I realized that the pink tote from St. Kitts and Nevis (oh somewhere in the Carribean..) does not do anything for my color..haha!

2008 June

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

I died of laughter when I saw this because all the while I thought - no I missed out in Dubai! But no, not true. Trust my brother's friend Richard to take a pic wherever we stopped that day he picked me up at 7am to ride the bus and explore Bur Dubai and the Dubai Museum with me.

2007 November

Macau

I think this is the cutest of them all!

2007 October

Taipei, Taiwan

And no, we were not posing just because it's a McDonald's. This was the McDonald's were the last scene from the famous Taiwanese drama Meteor Garden was filmed. What can I do? I'm hopelessly a fangirl..

2007 June

Bangkok, Thailand

The most unique of all that I've been to. This one I did ask my Ena, my staff who travelled with me to take a photo of me and Ronald greeting everyone "sawadeeka".

2005 December

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

No photo from the exterior of the store, but the evidence is on the table. No doubting where me, Ochie and our Malaysian friends were.

2005 August

Fukuoka, Japan

And lastly, this photo from Fukuoka. My fellow geisha Vic took this photo to remind us that we were running out of money and can only afford a McDonald's meal. We were there to see SMAP's concert but did not realize that when the Japanese says their store is on sale..they really mean sale!!

All this talk about McDonald's is making me hungry. I wonder if someone delivers at 4am?? =)

Attempting the Impossible...

I am one of those who have crossed the great fandom divide and love both SMAP and F4 or F4 and SMAP. It was unthinkable before for these two groups to share the same space and time. SMAP is from Japan, superstars, unreachable. F4 is from Taiwan, newer to the scene, phenomenal.

But after F4 guested on SMAP's long running TV show SMAPXSMAP, all thoughts of them intersecting was shot to the heavens and well I went with the shot to heaven. LOL.

F4 is having their concert run in Japan and the avid fan that I am wants to go. But my world again was turned upside down when SMAP announced that they will be having their live concert run more or less on top of F4's run dates.

A fangirl must do what a fangirl must do. Watch both. I have waited a long time for the chance to see SMAP again. A long time to have the chance to go back to Japan.

And so I am attempting something which I thought was impossible. I am in the process of twisting and turning to make things happen. And I hope that all the gods will be with me again.

Kamisama mo ichido onegai shimasu...

Icing on the Cake

Group photos with Wu Chun and Calvin Chen!!

It was a surprise. Announced at the very last part of the Meet and Greet. Everyone could not stop screaming at the thought of going up the stage and having their photos taken with Chun and Calvin. Never mind if in a group. It was still an exciting experience.

Thanks to Eve (beside me kneeling in front) for sending these previous and unforgettable photo.

How to spend money without going to the mall and shopping online...

1. Have friends who travel a lot

Japan - May and Rachel went to Tokyo weekend of March 8 to attend Ken Chu's Get Real Concert. Perfect for me who wanted to get SMAP's latest single Sonomama (http://www.smap-sonomama.com/) which was released March 5th.

Taiwan - Girlie and Zainee went to Taipei the same weekend of March 8 to attend Vic "Zaizai" Chou's Fan Meeting at Taipei Formosa Hotel. Perfect for me who wanted to get F4's cd with the mini-concert dvd at Danshui last January 19th and the official soundtrack of the drama Wish To See You Again (http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/did-3591/code-c/section-index/pid-1010666986/).

Hongkong - Ophie went to Hongkong the same weekend of March 8 on a personal vacation. But Sino center is very near her hotel. Perfect for me who wanted to get Vic Chou's movie dvd Linger (http://us.yesasia.com/en/PrdDept.aspx/code-c/section-index/pid-1010096930/) which was released March 8th. I had to get it from Hongkong because their version has English subtitles.

2. Have friends who sell/giveaway their collection

Hongkong - MJ has to move back to London and she has the complete set of Mars manga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mars_(manga). With plenty of SMAP X SMAP tv show cds thrown in for free, it was perfect for her to just Fedex everything to me in Manila.

3. Have colleagues who travel overseas for a much needed break

Singapore - Scarlette, one of our IT personnel went in early March. Perfect for me who needed to get my Anan magazines (http://anan.magazine.co.jp/) with Takuya Kimura on the cover from my Singaporean friend Joyce.

Malaysia - Leo, who works with me is in Malaysia this weekend. Perfect for me who wanted to get the Taiwan drama dvds of Sweet Relationship (http://us.yesasia.com/en//PrdDept.aspx/code-c/section-vidoes/pid-1005156159), Devil Beside You ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil_Beside_You)and Why, Why Love (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Why_Why_Love). Why Malaysia? Because the dramas when released locally are sure to have English subtitles. You won't find subbed original dvd dramas in Taiwan and rare/more expensive in Hongkong.

And here I am sitting at home astounded by the realization that this month alone, I was working my usual long hours and just had enough energy to drive to and from work and yet I spent about USD 500 from 5 countries. Amazing!

East vs. West

I just came from the company sponsored movie date. It is a 4x a year event where the company asks employees to vote for what movie to watch and then we rent a whole theater just for employees.
As I was excitedly watching the latest blockbuster Vantage Point, I realized that I only see western movies when we have these movie dates.

Check out these numbers:

* In 2007, I watch a grand total of 3 hollywood movies (Music and Lyrics, Spiderman and Rush Hour 3). I missed Enchanted last November because I was in Hongkong on vacation. Oh, make that 4! I forgot Bourne Ultimatum.

* Since 2004, I have seen about 94 japanese dramas, 15 Taiwanese dramas and 15 Korean dramas. That's an average of 31 dramas per year! Which is roughly 2-3 dramas a month!

Note that each drama has about 11 episodes (Taiwan and Korean dramas are about 1 hour each episode) of about 45 minutes each. It loosely translates that i was glued to any of my tri-nation addiction for about 255 hours each year. This does not include the asian movies and tv programs that I also watch.

Wow! Oh my God! Holy Cow! Tsk, tsk! No wonder i am hopelessly not updated..... okay back to my dorama. Hahaha!

Movie links:

Vantage Point - http://www.vantagepoint-movie.com/index.php
Music and Lyrics - http://musicandlyrics.warnerbros.com/
Spiderman 4 - http://spiderman.sonypictures.com/
Rush Hour 3 - http://www.rushhourmovie.com/sitemap.html
Enchanted - http://adisney.go.com/disneyvideos/liveaction/enchanted/
Bourne Ultimatum - http://www.bourne-ultimatum.net/

CDs and more cds...

I will probably need a bigger birdcage someday...if I keep buying cds and dvds.

Despite the quickie trip to Taipei last month (time flies when you're drowning in work!), my friends and I stumbled into a store just next block to Ximending Red Square.

Aside from the F4 album that I was specifically there for, I also bought the new version of Zaizai's album because the dvd of the October 2007 mini concert event was released with this album..and I was there! The photo booklet inside this album is what Zaizai was kind enough to stamp during the 20 Jan event. Sono otoko wa honto yasashii desu ne. Sigh...

And of course, it has become a habit (a very expensive one) to buy something of SMAP to add to my collection. This time I got the overseas vcd version of Live Amigos. What I love about this concert is the acoustic segment especially the duet of Kimura Takuya and Katori Shingo "Hito Eki Aruko". That was absolutely fantastic! On hindsight, I also should have gotten the Su Live vcd. Next time, next time!!

And finally, Soler. Ah...Soler. Their X2 album is also on constant play in my Ipod. I just fell in love with their music. And more so because the album has an English and Chinese set. I love the vocal harmony of the twins. I was just wishing to hear them play live when I realized that I did! At the MTV Concert in Taichung last October 2007. I remembered that I was very impressed although I did not catch their group name then. It was only that one time I was channel surfing when I stumbled on them featured on Channel V that I found out about them and a bit more.

So now the question is what's next? Definitely I know that I won't stop. Not yet anyway. :-D I am now itching to start collecting Wax's album (the perils of tri-nation fandom!!!). Well, time to start thinking of getting a bigger birdcage then..hahahaha!

21 Hours in Ximending Red Square

This was my view. For 21 hours. From 12am of January 20 up to 9pm. I was only in Taipei for 48 hours and spent almost half of it on this square...sleeping, sitting, eating, chatting and chatting some more.

This stage was at Ximending Red Square where the F4 Album Stamping session was held. Right after the mini concert in Tamshui Fisherman's Wharf, we all trooped to this square to start vigil for another event.

And if I felt like a rolling pin during the mini concert, I now knew how it felt to be a homeless person sleeping on the pavement with newspapers and plastic mats for mattresses.

We had a perfectly good and comfortable hotel room but in our quest to get tickets to the album stamping, this is what he had to do. The objective is very simple - keep the spot and the distance from the stage in sight!!! We cannot allow anyone to come between our spot and the coveted stage. We already imagined how we were going up the stage, speak to each boy, practiced what we were going to say and NOTHING is going to stop us from that objective. Never mind if we were all asked to stay awake in the middle of the night to wait for the stamp from a very rude Sony BMG staff that confirms we will get a number to get up on stage. Never mind if some of the girls had to run from the hotel to the square in their pajamas and sleep wear just to get the stamp. Never mind if some of the girls hasn't slept a wink since they've been queuing since Friday. Like I said NOTHING is going to get in the way of the girls to the boys that has dominated their lives for the past 5 years.

The tenacity and determination paid off though. Everyone had their special moment with each member of F4. They were just seconds. But I still relished the words exchanged, the smiles, the handshakes (next time I'm gonna get me hugs!).

Jerry - you were oh so careful in stamping that it does not smear the edges. When I said we miss him in Manila, he stopped for a second, looked at me and asked "Oh so you're from the Philippines?".

Zaizai - you were great. you even stamped the new version of your solo album even if the buzzards around you were saying no. Your eye contact encouraged me to get the booklet stamped.

Vanness - dude, you were too fast with them stamps! But I won't miss you for the world so even if you were done, I had to tell you that next time you should try purple. I loved it when you said "I've always wanted to do that". That's the best thing to say to someone who lives the color.

Ken - I was speechless with you. It was my first time to come face to face and eye to eye with you and Vanness. I was only able to say finally I've met you.

So to you godfathers of Taiwanese boybands (credit: Vanness Wu), Xie, xie nimen for making it all worth it.

Rolling Pin in Taipei

If I were to be reincarnated as a rolling pin - you know, that long rounded thing that a baker uses to flatten dough - I already know exactly how it feels!

I was in Taipei over the weekend to indulge once more in my fandom addiction. It was F4's Mini Concert to promote their 3rd album "Waiting for You". The event was held at the Fisherman's Wharf (http://www.fisherman.com.tw/#) in Danshui, a picturesque town in Northern Taipei.

When I flew in, several of my girlfriends have been queuing since Friday noon so that our group has a good chance of getting good tickets to the show.

We were fortunate to get VIP tickets but unfortunately there was chaos and confusion when the gates were suddenly opened and thousands of women rushed in carrying me and my friends forward. We found ourselves inside the "pit" of the concert arena. How I got there is a miracle...

Because we had to climb under a metal fence with only a couple of feet opening at the bottom. When I saw the girls doing a reverse limbo rock snaking their way under, I was so gung-ho to follow but when I was face flat on the ground I could not move my body across! I don't know if it was just quick thinking or extreme state of panic that I will be crushed by the stampede but I held my folded mini director's chair tight to my chest and simply rolled over! Yes, like a spring roll, a lumpia, a burrito! :-)

When I was standing just a few feet away from the stage and staring at the gorgeous boys who started fandom for me, I thought to myself - how in hell did I do that?!!! And how will my body pay for this madness.

But it was all worth it. So worth the pain from the tip of my hair to the tip of my toes. Tsukaretta dayo demo ne ureshii na.

.....I'm tired but I'm happy....

Notebooks, Purple, Notebooks!!

I was rushing to finish my report this evening so I can go away for a long weekend when I complained that my desk does not have enough space. Well, my fault actually. Because it is not enough that I horde purple stuff on my desk but I have this growing collection of notebooks that I picked up during travels. I should start thinking about putting a shelf to display these gorgeous paper products.

I do have my journal but these should last me for years. Of course I would probably continue to buy if a nice one catches my eye. I just can't help it. :-)

I am again off to Taipei for my fandom fix but I pray that I don't see a bookstore. This is one of those days that I am thankful that there are no Kinokuniya (http://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/english/index.html) bookstores in Taipei because I would have been a goner if there were. The Eslite bookstore ( http://www.eslitebooks.com/) which is what one will find dotted around metro Taipei does not stock much stationery so I am not hopeful that I will spot a nice notebook.

Here's keeping my fingers crossed. + :-)

Life Goes On...Back to my Taipei Video Blogs

This video sounded better than the first ones I've uploaded. The adage that one does get better as long as you keep at it seem to be true for me. Hahaha!

It's a clip of our hotel in Ximending and the empty streets of the area in the quiet of the morning. I love both day and night of Ximending. In the morning, you get to see other details you usually don't see like facades of stores and displays while at night you get to see the people and the items on sale.

Right next to our hotel is a shop that sells clothes ranging from NT$ 100 (that's right, Php 140 pesos only..) up to NT$ 390. Suddenly I was thankful that I was my size because had I been smaller I would have owed Ochie a ton of money and would be paying up until my retirement! :-D

More Taiwan Video Blog: Ximending and Rose Music Store

Remember the video about our first Taipei food? Well here is the sequel of that video. Right after eating, we decided to walk around Ximending and check out the place especially Rose Music Store where we will be buying Vic Chou cds the next day. That is why we are primarily here anyway - to be in time for Zaizai's album launching and promotion events.

Ximending at night during the early evening is full of life. It is filled with young people hanging out, shopping or having dinner. You can see for yourself that the weather is already unpredictable...I will find out later that it CAN be cold! Brrrr...

Now here is something unique...Taipei's hit charts look mainly at purchases from this store, the Rose Music Store. I was so used to seeing HMVs, Tower Records or other music stores in other countries except here. So this is usually a first stop for any fangirl attending events such as album launches or autograph signing.

More video blogs later...I am starting to like this video bloggin' thing. Be forwarned my friends! hahahaha!

Taipei in Videos - Street Food

I did not have my own camera on this trip. I know, unforgiveable! But my camera did not get out of the hospital in time for the trip. So my intent was really to filch from the girls. But I also realized that my mobile phone has a video function. So for the very first time, I did a video log of what I saw of Taipei.

The first thing that we did after checking in at our hotel was eat. There are street food available just a few steps from our hotel. This is very amateurish but meet the girls and our not so inviting food. Our palate just wasn't used to the "chinese" taste. We all loved the fried rice but the pork...mmmmm...no comment.

Without further ado, meet the my travel partners and our first taste of Taiwan food.

Before Any Fangirling Happens....Shopping!!!

I never thought that Taipei would be a shopping haven. And since the exchange rate with the peso is about NT$ 1.4 to Php 1, the itch to whip out my phone calculator whenever I shop overseas did not happen.

The Ximending (http://www.sinotour.com/scenic/102612.html) area alone holds many treasures for shoppers. I could not control myself when I bought all these cds! Too bad I don't know the name of the cd shop (but its in the 2nd floor of the shops fronting the main road) but everything that I asked for they have - SMAP, Kokia and Masaharu Fukuyama. I even got the Original Sound Track of Princess Hours, one of my favorite korean drama.

Aside from cds from Japan and Korea, another happy discovery is that Taiwan is a mecca for purple lovers like me. Sweaters, bags and shoes are all available in purple. And the prices! If only I have smaller feet (I am probably the only geisha incarnate that has size 9 feet! Hahaha!) I would have come home broke. There are a lot of stores that sell cute flat shoes for NT$ 190 or around Php 250 pesos. The more expensive ones are at NT$ 390 or Php 550 - yeah right! I could not even get shoes that cheap in the Jatujak market in Bangkok.

Presenting the hoodie sweater and flat shoes that I got. Wore them on my trip to Yilan, Vic Chou's hometown. Aren't they adorable?

Sweater = NT$ 390 (Php 550)

Flat shoes = NT$ 190 (Php 250)

Ochie bought me a couple of underwear and my happiest buy of all is this bag from Baleno (http://store.pchome.com.tw/baleno/). Just in time since the bag I use everyday already died on me. Not sure if I will still see this same bag in Hongkong this month end so I grabbed it.

So shopping done, me and the girls went about what we originally came here for - sightseeing of Meteor Garden locations, Album launching events of Vic "Zaizai" Chou and of course, the F4 Party Part 2!

Taipei 101: Tallest in the world with the Fastest Elevator!

One of the non-negotiable places that I wanted to see in Taipei is the current world's tallest building - Taipei 101. I told the girls that I am not leaving Taiwan without seeing it. So before we did any fangirl activities, we had a short debate whether to go during the day or night. I guess the pictures tell which opinion won.

From Taipei Main Station, the building is about 10 mins away on foot. I must admit that at first sight, the Petronas Tower in Malaysia looked more impressive especially with the lights on. But this building stands above the rest in Taipei that when you go around the city, it serves as a beacon and guide to all.

The experience I had at the 86th floor viewing area was one of the most awesome I have ever had. There is a free audio tour that guides you where to look and tells you what you are looking at. Not for the acrophobic (fear of heights), the sight of Taipei in lights was surprisingly beautiful.

To get to the 86th floor, one must take a 30 second elevator ride from the 6th floor of the building. 80 floors in 30 seconds!!! And that is courtesy of what the Taiwanese claim as the fastest elevator in the world. Going down is a bit slow - yeah 37 seconds! But if they go any faster my eardrums would probably blow up into pieces so thank God for that extra 7 seconds of slowness. Hahaha!

Visitors must not miss the souvenir shop. Though the T-shirts are a bit pricey at NT$ 650 (approx. Php 910), they are of good quality and design. Plus, for some reason you won't find much t-shirts in the night markets and Ximending area. Puzzling...

And the coolest thing for me is that they have a mailing station right there where you buy a postcard and a stamp for about NT$ 6, write on your card and drop in a mailbox. There are even stamp pads that you can use that says "family", "friend", etc. So Ochie and I decided to exchange postcards and mail each other from 101.

I walked away, looking back and saying in the words of my nephew Spade - awesome, awesome!

Wish to see you, Taiwan!

So off I went to Taiwan...6 days and 5 nights. As a first time visitor, I wondered how I would like Taiwan. Pre-exposed to this country because of the dramas and music videos that I watched over the last few years, I wanted to know if I will like the country in the flesh as they say.

During the 2-hour flight, I listened to Vic Chou's album Remember I Love You (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remember,_I_Love_You) to familiarize my ears to the sound of the Mandarin language again. It has been a while since I listened to Mandarin songs (more about why later..) and the short flight is just about right for one album.

On arrival at the Taoyuan International Airport, I thought it looked like Fukuoka's airport. Very simple. Not as breathtaking as Suvarnabhumi in my humble opinion. What will make the airport unforgettable to a fangirl tourist like me is this:

Naturally, everyone on the Cebu Pacific flight who is a fan of F4 stopped and took pictures to the amusement or snickers of non-believers. To heck with getting out of immigration - photo op muna!

While I was lining up to get my passport stamped, I suddenly felt an old excitement which I had not had in quite a while...anticipation of seeing not only Taiwan but the 4 boys who greeted me and the places where they were seen, walked and filmed.

The only cog in the wheel of this nice welcome was the sight of about 50 Filipino workers being literally horded out of the airport by this nasty Filipino-Chinese coordinator who shouts and gives horrible sounding instructions in Tagalog. I felt offended by his harsh instruction of a very simple thing such as taking their jackets off (I wonder why this was such a big thing for him?). I can only wish them good luck and say a quick prayer for their success.

......taking deep breathes......

The girls and I rode the airport shuttle that took us to Cosmos hotel where one can take a short cab ride to the Ximending area where we stayed. Now, Ximending..that's another story.

Note: This purple blogger will never compare her own country's pauper looking NAIA airport. Ever. Period.

Fandom Tourism

I was sitting at my desk eating a late lunch when the phrase hit me. Tomorrow I'll be flying to Taipei with 8 other girls of all ages, shapes and sizes to go on a kind of trip that I now call Fandom Tourism. Finally, a word to describe this crazy thing that I do!!!

For the past 4 years, I could not put a name to this hobby that I have gotten into - that of travelling to a destination not only because of the sights but also because of the events that feature my favorite asian artist.

In May 2004, I went to Hongkong to mainly attend the F4 Pepsi Event at the Hongkong Convention Center. For those who does not live in this side of the planet, F4 is a group of Taiwanese guys who gained popularity all over Asia via a drama called Meteor Garden. The group is composed of Jerry Yan, Vic Zhou, Ken Chu and Vanness Wu. If you're asking for more check out (http://onlyf4.proboards48.com/).

So with 17 other girls from the Philippines, we waited for F4 to arrive at the airport coming from various engagements in China. We chased after F4's van on their way to rehearsals. Imagine me running around the streets of Hongkong!!! I experienced all modes of transport from subways and taxis, to double deckers buses to the wooden ferry boat and the tram just because of the itinerary fandom brings.



A year after in August 2005, a friend and I went on a journey to the Land of the Rising Sun - Japan. No we, were not there for the cherry blossoms (it was the height of summer!) or for the sights of Fukuoka, Japan. We were there to watch the concerts of SMAP. A pop group composed of Masahiro Nakai, Kimura Takuya, Katori Shingo, Inagaki Goro and Kusanagi Tsuyoshi. After F4, I became crazy about SMAP who as a group has released many albums and singles and individually acts in movies and dramas. Again for those of you who do not know anything besides American entertainment, here is a preview of who SMAP is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hHo0BHxlio

And so we walked, and walked and walked some more. From our hotel to the subway station, from the subway to the Yahoo Fukuoka Dome and back. I can still remember screaming in the streets of Fukuoka how I miss my car!

And so tomorrow is another Fandom Tourism kind of trip. I will probably see Taipei 101 as it is the tallest building in the world for the moment. But I am so very sure that I would walk many kilometres, sweat and stalk the cd stores of Ximending. I will tell the tale when I come back.