2 posts tagged “travel”

chicago from high above

NYC weekend: first 24hrs (part 1)

Each year, I like to make a yearly refuge to NYC. this year i almost missed it. then airfare war came. i booked, bought  and flew. i made my rounds and now i'm back.

Friday, 4:35pm
First on the agenda was to catch the moma’s target free fridays. when we showed up, there was already a snake line along the building. they let people in fairly quick which of course funneled into a big crowd inside. okay by me, i'd rather use the $20 for food, anyway.


I’d love to have that giant lamp.

Then my camera died. sorry, no pics of the first evenings meal.

For dinner, we meet up with a bunch of friends for japanese bbq @ Yakuniku. ten of us grilled & drank for 3.5hrs! Not a bad way to end our first night in town.

Next morning, i saw a glimpse of the NY marathon runners on the N train on my way to chinatown.

instead of the usual dim sum, i opted for soupy buns, noodles & green onion pancakes @ shanghai cafe

look at those yummy wrapped packages!

walked through the crowded Chinatown streets. Visited the MoCA (Museum of Chinese in the Americas).

It was a 2-room exhibit, but it still interesting to check out at least once.

Walked up broadway and shopped. actually my travel partner shopped till shop I almost dropped. She hadn't been here since 9/11. In and out a few dozen stores, can make anyone tired & dizzy. So we stopped into miro café for a quick caffeine boost.

I like the woody walls & ceiling at miro café.

Saturday, 4:30pm
Isn't it amazing what you can do in 24hrs?

i've been taking part in the breast cancer awareness deals. its been a great way to pamper oneself without breaking the bank. $31 dollars for 31 days of October. i've got something booked in the next couple of days. i don't do this often & when i get a change i'll try it out.

yesterday, a 40-min massage. today, a haircut. i especially liked that the masseuse uses a heating pad. nice not to shiver under a dinky lil' sheet.

some of my past pampering sessions:

manila, spa in the mall (everything is at the mall there)
i don't recall what the particular massage was called but all i could remember was the big dark air-conditioned room and probably 4 or 5 other patrons thumped & pounded in the same room. it was bbrrr chilly. the worst part was when she flipped me over with my bare ass in the air. not fun. its probably better to spend your pesos on the other services. my favorite was the head & shoulder massage and/or the aromatherapy foot massage.

bangkok in some hospital run massage clinic
this place is pretty much unknown to the foreign public. it cost close to nothing and its about a 2hr massage.  they give you smock-like pajamas to change into. mostly the local geriatrics take advantage of this great deal. the room is big w/ approx 15-20 platform beds. you get twist & turned. rolled & bent. i don't know if i necessarily came out limber but you do get quite a muscle beating.

ho chi mihn city, vietnam airport
i think this is only offered in the layover part of the airport in vietnam. anyways, they have a nice foot massage place. if i remember correctly they also do hands. though it gets pretty busy in there especially when everyone needs to kill 5hrs+ of delayed flight. its a room full of bamboo or teak lounge chairs. as soon as they lead you to a chair, they soak your feet first until the next masseuse is available. so like i said, if it gets busy your feet might get all prune-y before they even get to you. for the price its okay. but its a good reason to kill some time and pamper your feet.

sonoma, california
stayed at some sleek resort once. thankfully it was taken care of my gf's company. it was nice. lots of couples. i imagine the cost of the resort keeps the place uncrowded but then again what do i know. it so fancy i kinda feel out of place. lots of nice pools but too bad i can't swim. there was mineral pool and a warm watusi pool. i do like the big fat white robes and sweet toiletries.

phnom pehn, cambodia
we found a cutesy lil' spa place just a few doors down from our hotel. i picked a spa package that involves only neck & shoulder massage & a cumin salt scrub. the massage wasn't anything memorable but the scrub....oh god, that was hella painful. i understand the idea of scrubbing the dead skin away but this girl was scrubbing my skin away. the worst is the tender area between your boobs. i finished my session in time to walk back to the hotel in the darkness. the entire city had a black out which is supposedly very common.

in-house masseuse at my old job
as a way to reward us at my old job, our boss booked a masseuse to work on all our tired backs & shoulders in the meeting room. one by one we all took turn for our session. the idea was nice. the massage was okay, but i guess what makes me uneasy is the fact that your only a wall away from all your co-workers & boss, while laying topless on a table.

siem reap, cambodia
though we were taunted to go into "seeing hands" (blind masseuse) while walking around town. i just can't do it. it kinda creeps me out. we ended up doing a foot massage some other place. they added in a great should rub and my feet & leg came out all soft and supple. its actually a great thing to do after walking and climbing the ruins of angkor all day long.

sonya's b&b in tagaytay, philippines
in a beautiful setting by the lil volcano that could. the sessions are done in dreamy drapey white rooms. i think we came out of it like drunks. thank god they have nice lil' canopy beds scattered all around the premises. it was definitely a good hour session in the warm tropical weather.

i probably have a few more to add but i'll stop here for now. i've got a long day tomorrow and i'm fitting in a facial after one of my meetings. anyways, if you get a chance treat yourself if you like that kind of thing. :)