From west (coast) to (far) east

Eva Airlines, I love you. I was a little nervous about my flight from LAX to Taipei (3 hour stopover) to Manila. First, I hadn't done the trip in 5 years. Second, it would be a total of 18 hours in transit (not counting an early arrival at LAX or waiting for bags & customs in MNL)...but you have begun the redemption of the travel and tourism industry.

My nerves were soothed when I realized that I had flown (no pun intended) through LAX check-in and security procedures in literally 7 minutes flat. My one carry-on bag (yes, I only have 1 for this entire summer) was checked in, in 2 minutes. And then I walked through the international security checkpoint to my gate in 5 minutes. Sitting at my gate were only a handful of people, so once we boarded our plane, it was only about 1/3 full. I know this wasn't the most environmentally friendly situation to be in...but our flight proceeded as scheduled. Without anyone else in my economy class 3-seater row, I got to lie down and sleep a full 8 hours; and I even got to catch up on my movies (Milk was really good, and The Reader was quite sad). Thank you Eva Air (which, by the way, is one of the cheapest ways to go from the US to the Philippines).

The Taipei airport is actually pretty cool. Terminal 3 has all kinds of "rest and relaxation" rooms and exhibits. So I got to explore while there:





My favorite were the orchids. They were real.

I'm now in Manila. It's hot and humid. I feel like I'm sticking to everything...

Catching up: West Coast - Part II

Los Angeles was definitely a weekend treat. Leaving the Arizona rain behind for some sun on the beach was absolutely lovely. Also spending time with a good friend + new friends + a few old friends was a heck of a good time :-D

My childhood memories of LA were smoldered by friends' complaints of traffic, smog, and exhausting hustle and bustle. But after 2.5 days in the city of angels, I am now considering LA to be "live-able" in a yuppie sort of way.

First, the weather is beautiful (most of the time). How can you beat 60 degrees in May, when it's still 45 on the east coast and 100 in Phoenix? Second, access to the beach is fantastic. I think I was a beach bum in another life. Third, there is more diversity (in pretty much every sense of the word) in LA than in Arizona. [Also, the Hollywood cineplex shows movies in the coolest dome theater. Star Trek was 100x more awesome here.]

Random note from this weekend: I got to meet and hang out with a singer/songwriter by the name Robert (Bob) Morris [this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_(Bob)_Morris]. He has an album coming out this June/July. Seriously, look out for it -- my favorite is the Haircut song :)