Countdown 2014 - Nagoya

I joined Nuch on her flight to Japan over the New Year holiday.  It was a short trip - we arrived at 6 am, slept until noon had lunch, then dinner, watched the countdown in our hotel room and then woke at 6 am to head back home.  Basically, we had enough time to walk around Nagoya, take a few dozen photos of ourselves, and eat some sushi.

Thank you Nuch for strategically cropping off my receding hairline.

It's true what they say - Asahi just tastes better in Japan. 

Actually, that's a joke.  Nobody says that.

It looks disgusting now (a bit too tongue-like), but that Sushi was good. 

Face - The Restaurant

Face is a Thai/ Indian/ Japanese restaurant that has been around for years, but it was only recently that I finally tried it out.  My boss took me there the first time along with a customer.  I liked it so much, I took Nuch there a few days later.

The food is pricey, but great.  However, it's the atmosphere/ architecture that makes it all worthwhile.  I took several pictures, but none of them do Face justice, so I've stolen the pics below from their website.

Bad Traffic Level 10

The traffic was so bad the other day that the lady in the car behind me was reading a book.

Italian/ Brazilian Christmas Party

Our factory's production manager and senior technicians are all from Italy and Brazil.  Along with the regular office Christmas party, they had their own Italian/ South American party.  

They go to extreme efforts to get the proper imported meats, wines, and cheeses - many from their hometowns or regions.  They've tried to educate me on the intricacies among the regional styles and flavors, but it's all just variations of good to me.

Minimalist Christmas Decorations

After taking the last few years off, we decided to get into the Christmas spirit and decorate the house.  Set up and later cleaned up in just under 1 minute.

The Spirit of Christmas

It's no secret that Christmas is a commercial holiday, but Thailand's Credit Card tree is a bit much,

This one is a Life Insurance tree - the irony is too thick

After replacing the star with a Visa Card on last year's Christmas tree, IKEA decided to take the more traditional route this year.

China Santa

This is in the lobby of my hotel in Shenzhen.

Anniversary #7

I still can't believe Nuch was able to convince me to wear that shiny gold jacket.

Cool Cat

More Turkey Day Pics

Happy Birthday To The King

Nuch and I took her mother out to dinner to celebrate the King's birthday and the restaurant had a candle lighting ceremony. 

The picture below is the King's birth certificate.  He was born in Massachusetts while his father was studying medicine at Harvard.   He would have been a long shot,  but technically,  he could have been the President of the US and the King of Thailand.

Playing Water Real Tears

It shouldn't be funny,  but you can draw some real comparisons between the Songkran Festival water fights and the tear gas wars from the recent protests.