asian whirlwind tour

yesterday ken and i booked our tickets to asia - it's official!
we are both very excited as the feeling sinks in and the anxiety mounds. planning trips are always a lot of fun and the anticipation is half the excitement.
our itinerary takes us on a very lengthy, round about tour of 3 asian hot spots - hong kong, tokyo and thailand where there will be several destinations.
i've pretty much started the mental preparation that will be required before boarding cathay pacific for the 19 hour flight to hong kong with a 1 hour stopover in the hk airport and a subsequent 4 hour flight to tokyo. it's gonna be madness and because of the time difference, we board on a wednesday night and land on a friday afternoon. not to mention we're landing in one of the biggest cities in the world where we do not speak the language nor understand their urban sprawl (their streets don't necessarily have names and there are several districts within tokyo - similar to NYC i guess?). let's hope we encounter some friendly, helpful english speaking locals to help keep us sane! ken and i have both acknowledged that we're probably going to be big crust bags by the time we land so hopefully we'll also have patience for each other and the city. the rest of that day after finding our accomodations will more or less be a write off.
but i'm excited to explore the districts - shinjuku (they have a LAMB outlet - my heaven on earth!), harajuku - as well as the gardens and temples. we will be there at the beginning of cherry blossom season so hopefully ken's allergies will hold up and we'll be able to enjoy the scenery and scents. i have a feeling we're in for one hell of a culture shock! good thing the japanese have a reputation for being friendly and accomodating to tourists - let's hope that stereotype holds true during our visit!
from there, we're beach bound in thailand. actually, we fly into bangkok first and take the overnight train to chiang mai which is the unofficial northern capital where we hope to experience some hill tribe trekking, elephant rides, rafting and yoga. the serenity will hopefully do the trick to calm our shattered nerves after a few days of tokyo madness!
from there, we're headed to the andaman coast for some sun, snorkelling and swimming. should be awesome.
we round out the trip with a few days in hong kong and then ...sigh... back to the real world. i can't believe i'm dreading the return already.
now if only i could find a job that could accomodate my travel itch.....

remember the truth...it's all that matters

so i've just watched the third full hour episode of oprah devoted to the book "a million little pieces" and its' author, james frey.
i should add the disclaimer that i'm not a loyal viewer so to catch all three episodes was pure fluke.
the first 2 i caught last fall and were praising his talent and story and today, oprah did a complete 180 and verbally lashed him and posed some tough, humiliating questions and thoughts.
this episode came in the wake of controversy and questions raised regarding the authors memoir of his time spent in rehab. the smoking gun website initiated the investigation and that opened the floodgates for dozens of reputable journalists' and critics' complaints and shame for the author.
at first i dismissed the situations in question - these weren't pivotal elements to the story and whether htey we were exaggerated or embellished, didn't affect the overall essence of his message.
however, after watching oprah and hearing just exactly the extent of his fabrications (his time spent in jail, the dentist visit) it was hard to still support and stand by james and his book. a part of me felt bad for him as i think oprah was acting more out of her "embarassment and disappointment" desperately trying ot wipe the egg off her face and put it on his. he graciously accepted all of her harsh criticisms and held himself together with great composure. i'm not denying the fact that he lied or that his memoir is somewhat forged, but the person he portrays as himself in the book is one who you cheer for and cry for and hope for. what's disappointing after hearing the lies, is whether or not to believe that his character was a true portrayal of himself.
nevertheless, it was hard for anyone with a heart to not feel an ounce of compassion for him as he was grilled repeatedly on the oprah show.
note to self: never piss off oprah winfrey!
i don't think the controversy will hurt the sales of his book - in fact, publicity, be it good or bad, is publicity and after seeing/reading the accusations i'm certain it will spark curiosity in readers' who will go out and purchase his book.
i on the other hand, will continue reading. ironic that it's a book about addiction and it is, truly that - addictive.