Book Notes: Lunatic Express

The Lunatic Express by Carl Hoffman

- Now I needed to do something huge, to jar myself out of life - and that was what long journeys did best. There remained so much I still wanted to know and see in the world, and I hoped that I might come home with fresh eyes.

- Books sweep you up, take you away, transport you. 

- I wanted to look into every boat, every house. I wanted to touch each person, to taste every meal, to open up and slip into each like a suit of clothes. But I couldn't. The world was too big. Too diverse. There were too many languages and not enough time; it was easy connecting with people like families in first class. We had a shared language, technology, worldview. We all loved prosciutto and Picasso and lying on the beach in the sun and sitting with friends in a cafe. But to pass the days with poor was something else. I sat up, gazed into the darkness. We slid past a boat with no lights at all, just a black shadow, it's gunwales underwater, the dim outlines of figures standing at the stern. The deeper I pushed, the harder it became to know them, the more ignorant, curious and powerless I was. Each was a world unto its own that I could glimpse but never know. 

- But it wasn't hopeless. It wasn't the end. Every moment we had the choice to forgive ourselves and try again. And suddenly I didn't to run anymore; I wanted to be those people  on trains and ferries on Buru, lying in tangled piles, holding hands  instead of running. Travel - my journey - was showing me what I wanted, craved, giving me perspective for the first time in seven years. 

- But how can you not live that life, taste that taste, after you've had it? 

- It was time to go home. Time to complete the circle. Travel was only worthwhile when your eyes are fresh, when it surprised you and amazed you and made you think about yourself in a new way. You couldn't travel forever. When you stopped seeing, when you lost your curiosity and openness to the world, it was time to return to your starting point and see where you stood. In everyone, I suspect, lay a tension between the need for otherness and home. We all want security, we all want adventure, the familiar and the new always jockeying for control. 

- To be known, to let your guard down, was scary; how ironic that so many of us fled instead, that we didn't allow ourselves the very thing we wanted in our deepest souls. The lure of foreign countries and cultures has always been escape, but also transformation, redemption, discovery. 

Biltmore House - Home of the Vanderbilts in Asheville, NC

It's been a month since our family got back from the Florida road trip and I'm only writing about it now. Shame on me! =/ Anyway, on the way home, we took a pit stop in Asheville, NC to see the home of the Vanderbilts - Biltmore House.

Hello from Biltmore!

The grand staircase facade

Lounge around here to see...

...this view from the terrace

I wish I can show actual pictures of what's IN the house but no photography was allowed. I didn't mind it so much as this allowed me to take everything in and imagine what it must have been like to live here in the early 1900s. As much as I like taking photos, it can be a distraction and you miss out seeing what should be seen. The self-guided house tour was very organized. You kind of just go with the flow of people. The pace was just right. We saw a bazillion rooms specific to what an elite family might need. Banquet halls, breakfast rooms, winter gardens, sitting rooms, a gymnasium complete with bowling alleys and an indoor pool, dressing rooms, a whole floor just for guest bedrooms, a bachelor's wing that had smoking and gun rooms, a tapestry gallery, servants' quarters, a pastry kitchen, a rotisserie kitchen, walk in refrigerators, laundry and drying rooms etc... etc... Enough rooms for ya? Read more here. 

I picked two favorites. 

1.) The Library - it was just...lovely. Is it proper to use lovely as an library adjective? To me, it is! The Biltmore guide stated that the collection ranged from American / English literature to religion, arts, philosophy, history and architecture. I read somewhere that George W. Vanderbilt was quite a reader. It was floor to ceiling, wall upon wall of books. The chess set and gaming table they used was previously owned by no less than Napoleon Bonaparte.  

This is him by the way. See, a book!

The woman of the house Mrs. Edith Vanderbilt

(photo credits: biltmore.com)

2.) Mrs. Vanderbilt's Bedroom - This too was lovely because it was just that - lovely. It was feminine and was the perfect boudoir. From that portrait of her, she looked like a lady who appreciated fashion don't you think? Love it! 

We walked the entire garden too. Gardens are soooo relaxing. Good ones that is. 

My dad and niece

towards the greenhouse

water lilies

orchid

anthurium? 

a little creepy don't you think? 

gumamela? let's make bubbles

such happy flowers!

After touring the house and gardens, we stopped by Antler Hill Village for Biltmore wine tasting. The village had small exhibits and al fresco dining. Their car was there. It is one of only 10 model C-Six that's believed to still exist today. 

click for more info!

this is the model C-Six!

And this was the typical driving outfit that time. Talk about being covered. 

The wine stash

wine tasting

I downed two glasses of different wines I think

My winner!

I can't help but compare it to the last big estate and house I've been to - Versaille is a loooot bigger and more opulent which just blew me away. Biltmore, inspite of its size, felt homey. Maybe because it was owned by self made people and not monarchs? That I like a lot. I feel like I 'saw' the house. Anyways, old money's fascinating isn't it? To know more about the Vanderbilts - click here. Anderson Cooper, you lucky, lucky man!

The only thing I knew about Asheville was that the first family came here last April. I didn't expect much from a small town but everyone enjoyed this leg of the road trip!
Yay for Asheville, NC!!!

Off To Hogwarts

The family's off (except my shoti) on a road trip to Orlando, FL in a few hours. I can't wait to see Disney World again as an adult! But more importantly, watch this.


The Wizarding World of Harry Potter is finally open too and can I scream e-x-c-i-t-e-d loud enough?!!! Aaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!! Do I act like a muggle or as a wizard?!!?

After Orlando, we'll be heading southwest to Clearwater Beach for some fun in the sun. Hopefully, we don't get oil spilled there. *sigh* How horrible is this oil spill? Praying for good weather, goodness knows how unpredictable the weather is down South!

Got to wrap up packing my stuff now, it took me half the day. I've gotten better at my packing OC-ness!! I was tweeting and reading blogs in between.  Cheers to a safe and enjoyable trip with the family!

Lei Ho Hong Kong

This getaway post is looooong overdue. Yikes!!! My bad! After saying Ohayo Tokyo!! It was time to say Lei Ho Hong Kong. My friend is Hong Kong savvy so I turned over the navigation reins to her. Slight issue with our room that reeked of cigarette smoke at Royal Pacific Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui when we checked in, they did move us so it wasn’t a big deal. Now, instead of places, I’ll break this down by the gooood restaurants.

·      Crystal Jade at Gateway Arcade – The first and last meals in HK were eaten here. It was a bit stressful the first time because of the noise. Coming from Tokyo where it’s a lot more quiet, the chatter stressed me and my friend out. I have forgotten how loud the talking can really be here. But Xiao long bao, turnip pastries, la mien, asado siopao, shredded radish cake and the glutinous balls in ginger soup for dessert??? Take me back anytime please!!! Noise and all!!! My glee was evident. 

·      Hai Xian Rou at Times Square – We met up with friends on a business trip for lunch here. My friend and I mustered up all the Mandarin we could remember to do the ordering. Animal pictures were drawn, pictures were pointed at outside the restaurant  - just to get the right food! We did goood! Ha kaw, xiao long bao, soy chicken, asado siopao, hong ma, fried rice and desserts ordered in mulitiples. Of course, all the food was wiped out. The ha kaw and siopao rocked!! It was a hearty lunch complete with entertainment, magic and card tricks courtesy of our lunch date.

·      Sweet Dynasty at Canton Road­ – We always pass this joint on our walks to and from the hotel. Timing is key as it is always jampacked. We took a shot on an early day and the wait wasn’t bad at all. Siomai, shrimp chow fun, the donut like thing wrapped in rice noodles, shrimp/pork dumpling whose Chinese term I always, always forget and taho desserts!!! It was a sweet meal indeed.

·      Prince Restaurant at One Peking – Know Yan of Yan Can Cook? He was there for a business dinner and we happened to share elevators with him! Celebrity sighting!!! We wiped out the in house fried rice, fried eel and their yummy meat platter. This is the only restaurant we ate in that was quiet so we sat back and took our time. We watched the Symphony of Lights and the view of the Hong Kong Island skyline was pretty good from here.

When we weren’t eating, we were going in and out of stores! Muji, Staccato, Life of Circle, Fortress, Anna Sui, Shanghai Tang!!!!, Lane Crawford etc…. Oh SaSa for the kikay in you!!! We must have gone to eight branches! Starbucks is to NY as SaSa is to HK. There’s one at every corner. Speaking of kikayness, our love for Guerlain was born on the plane ride’s duty free shopping magazine to HK, my fault!!! Ha!! I enjoyed Harbour City, 1881 Heritage and Landmark a whole lot because of the stores. Did I tell you I was successful in introducing my friend into the wonderful world of Miu Miu??? We went bonkers at an ampao store and bought Chinese last name ampao envelopes. So, I only had two requests for the Hong Kong leg – to chow great Chinese food and to see a big Buddha. She took me to Ngong Ping for this. The best part was the long climb up the stairs to get to Buddha. I had to say Namaste to the dude up close of course! =) Again, prayers of thanks were said. Both missions accomplished! Yes, we were pushed, stepped on, shoved around in HK but that’s okay. Hong Kong was all about the delicious dimsum, noodles, shark’s fin soup, fried rice and desserts!!!

Ohayo Tokyo!!

April already?? Eeep! My vacation posts are sooooo late. Better late than never as always right? First up, TOKYO! Trend hungry! Trend driven! After my industry respected product development professor repeatedly spoke of the importance of Tokyo in fashion. It was a no brainer. Armed with just Frommer's Tokyo and a haphazard go to list, we explored. We stayed at Keio Plaza Hotel, a few blocks away from the world's busiest train hub, Shinjuku Station. Getting to any point of the city was easy because the Metro and JR Lines stopped there. We did goood in five days, there was Harajuku, the day trip to see Mt. Fuji-san, the tea ceremony, daiso (100 yen store), midnight Lawson’s runs, walks around Shinjuku etc… but I’m going to just bullet point my favorites!

• Meiji Dori & Omotesando Dori - because of the breadth of stores that were along these tree lined streets. It reminded me of Rodeo Drive, a better one. I liked the Oriental Bazaar for the well-priced/made souvenirs, Kiddie Land for kawaii toys and novelties and Comme Des Garcons’ Play Box. I couldn't resist, I got myself a navy/white striped tee!

• Roppongi – Where we had a yummy merienda of sweets at Patisserie Sadaharu Aoki Paris in Tokyo Midtown, hunted for Castella cake at the Precce Food Market to bring back and had our first yummy dinner at Gompachi. Tuna, foie gras, kobe beef skewers with pickled rice in a hot pot and sake! Sake!! The night time walk lead to discovering a good view of Tokyo Tower too!

• Tsukiji Fish Market – It was my fault that we didn’t get to see the fish auctions early morning because I was hammered by the foie gras. Having duck in any form really knocks me out. Uhm high cholesterol? =) We made it just in time for must try Sushi-Dai! It was a 1.5 hour wait at this teeny, tiny, cramped place but I had the best toro sushi of my life!!! The melts in your mouth kind. It wasn’t cheap but seriously, how more fresh can you get!!! The Itamaes (sushi chefs) were entertaining and engaged with us while preparing and plunking down sushi at the counter in front of us. I vow to come back to witness the trading and eat at Sushi-Dai again!!! Never mind the looong wait. It is worth it!!

• Asakusa – We caught the Sumida River Boat Cruise at Hara Mikyu Garden to get to Asakusa. This was a welcome break from the walking. The view would have been prettier had it been cherry blossom season. Another reason to return. The start of Nakamise Dori is marked by Kaminarimon Gate - right red with a giant lantern. I loved it. It was mochi, dorayaki and souvenir galore at this street. The Five Story Pagoda was a sight at night. Sensoji Temple was closed for renovation but we still said our thanks, prayers and tiu-cham’d. I got a good, good one.

• Ginza – For three things – food, fashion brands and Hello Kitty. Every luxury brand, specialty department store, mass market brand imaginable – Muji!!!! Uniqlo!!! can be found in Ginza. With the recommendation of good friends, dinner was at Ten-ichi at the Sony Building. I had the best tempura and fattest scallops of my life!!! Like Sushi-Dai, the place was small and could only seat 16 persons max. It was our most expensive meal yet but again worth every Yen. It was cool seeing the chef pick choice ingredients, prep the batter, dip and then frying away right in front of you. All done with flourish and neatness. Try sprinkling your tempura with curry powder and dipping it in lemon with a pinch of salt. Yum!!! Our second trip to Ginza was with empty stomachs. We were lucky to pick ABC Noodle Shop at random. The ramen and mini gyozas were soooo good. Sprinkled with freshly ground sesame seeds? Yum!!! Oh Sanrioworld!!! Hello Kitty’s my No. 1 but seeing Little Twin Stars was awwww just the same. I wanted to hoard elementary school supplies, stationery, stickers, utensils, plastic wallets, mirrored compacts etc… but settled for a Hello Kitty cell phone charm. Sanrio products can just take you back in the day you know

• Shibuya Crossing – We stationed ourselves at the second floor of the Starbucks café with grande macha lattes to see the action better. Said to be the busiest intersection in the world, yep, the volume of people was wow. It was a sight to see. It was here that I saw fashion subcultures everywhere. Goth, lolita, anime, prep, pink/black, floral, rock etc… etc… Thanks to a Yokohama-based college classmate for showing me. It was also here where we saw just how jam packed like sardines the trains could be. I get it though, why wait for the next train, after a long day’s work, you just want to get home so just squish yourself in!! My friend and I had a ball fighting our way off the train!!!

The Mandarin that my friend and I know was helpful but the train systems are easy to navigate, clean and quiet. We were out and about early and went home late but not once did we feel unsafe. Customer service was above average at each place we went to - at the hotel, restaurants, stores, tourist attractions. I wanted to voluntarily tip generously but couldn’t. No tipping allowed! The street fashion was street. It was a mish mash of different styles that just worked. I couldn’t stop looking and taking pictures. The quality of food, the packaging, the merchandise – oh how kawaii!!!! I have nothing but praises! I SHALL RETURN!! In my book, it’s official - I Love Tokyo. Tokyo is Love.

I Missed Reading + SUMMER!!

I've read nothing but textbooks since January. I'm not complaining though as I find the subject matter really appealing. Studying fashion topics doesn't feel like studying at all. It's different though when you read at your own pace. The bus ride to and from DC gave me time. It's detox week for me too, I've been at it with the drinks everyday since my last final Monday. I can't wait to start my internship next week. It will be short but hopefully be very sweet. Regardless of what they do with me, I will make the most of it even if it would mean reading what I'm photocopying.

I feel that the summer holidays this year will mean more to the American population. The mood the past couple of months has definitely not been the cheeriest because of the recession. I do sense it's lifting though. Cheers to the memorial weekend and the start of a new season!!