Day 4: Temple Tour (Part Two)

Destinations: Angkor Wat, Banteay Srei, Neak Pean, Preah Khan

[drumroll please]

Ladies and Germs...

... now, comes what we've all been waiting for

the wonderful,

the magnificent,

the spectacular,

the one and only...

Angkor Wat.

:)

Our tour guide picked us up at 5:30 in the morning so we could catch the sunrise over Angkor Wat. I think we managed to clock in just 4 hours of sleep that night, but I practically jumped right out of bed pumped with adrenaline (but that wore off in like half an hour, haha). Watching the sunrise over Angkor Wat is one of the most popular things to do. Like a beeping conga line of fireflies winding through the same dusty road, we were joined by hundreds of equally eager tourists riding on buses, vans, cars, tuk-tuks, and even on bikes all headed towards the temple. We found a nice spot along the wall and nestled together to watch the scene unfold.

Khmer "Starry Night"

Angkor Wat means "the city which is a temple". It is the representation of Mt. Meru where the gods live with its 5 top sanctuaries and the moats symbolizing the cosmic ocean. This Hindu "Mt. Olympus" is believed to be situated near real-life Mt. Everest. So this is what I meant when I said that these temples are figuratively, Heaven on Earth.

I know this may sound crazy, but it was incredibly moving to walk through these temples knowing that these structures were man's attempt to bring heaven down to earth. Can you imagine being a pilgrim in those days visiting Angkor Wat in its original state of glory, both beckoning and intimidating as it represents the entire universe as you believed it to be? It's as if a Christian were able to go to a church where you felt like you were actually going through the Pearly Gates and then worshiping while being surrounded by everything you believed Heaven would be. From what I know, there is no where else in the world like Angkor Wat. It is a superstructure, larger than I could have ever imagined. The amount of genius, conviction, and passion required to build Angkor Wat can only be driven a beautiful mission such as human faith.

... um, and a lot of gold from King Suryavarman II, of course. :p

Mt. Meru on top of the cosmic ocean.

Angkor Wat and its moat.

Lining the walls of Angkor Wat were these INCREDIBLE bas relief galleries depicting everything from legendary battles, royal processions, heavens and hells (you see all these nasty punishments for various sins, just like Dante), and churning of ocean of milk. I have to admit I was a bad girl and would sometimes forget the "no touching" rule. :( Boo.

The Battle of Lanka -- whereby an army of monkeys defeated the demons to save Sita, wife of Rama.

Haha I liked how the monkeys were biting the demons. Good monkey.

Devatas, guardian spirits that guard the temples (seen everywhere!).

They're purty -- big boobs and fancy bling.

This is it -- the central tower of Angkor Wat at the very top level.

I felt like I missed a lot of important details, so I actually went back to Angkor Wat twice after this particular tour -- once for another sunrise before school, and again for a round of closer investigation.

Next, we headed towards Banteay Srei, the most exquisite temple of them all. :)

Banteay Srei is actually not in the Angkor temple area, but about 45 minutes away by car (or 1.5 hrs by tuk-tuk). It was commissioned not by a Khmer king, but a Brahmin, a very powerful royal adviser and religious figure. The carvings in Banteay Srei are simply unparalleled compared to any of the other temples, and is considered to be representative of the height of ancient Khmer art.

The demon Ravana (who seems like the main antagonist in a majority of Hindu mythologies) shaking a mountain because he's angry that he cannot enter a holy area. Shiva calmly crushes Ravana effortlessly under the mountain with just his toe, even with his wife sitting on his lap.

What a baller.

There are many children running around the temples selling trinkets.

Tourists are strongly advised NOT to buy any souvenirs from children because it encourages them to spend time selling cheap goods vs. going to school. The money goes to their handler anyway, and the children pocket a paltry sum. In the long term, these children will grow up uneducated and lacking a bright future. This situation has improved greatly from years past due to continuous efforts from NGOs such as the Ponheary Ly Foundation.

Door jambs with ancient Sanskrit.

You can stare at these carvings for days at end... just look at this detail!!!! O_O

A frieze depicting Indra riding his mount, Airavata the three-headed elephant.

We took a spin around Neak Pean, which is a complex of 5 large water basins believed to have magical healing powers for the faithful. Unfortunately the area was closed off and we couldn't see the water fountains up close, but what is interesting is that you pick which water basin to "bless and cleanse" yourself with based off your natural element (fire, wood, air, earth). These water basins can also be found in large temples such as Angkor Wat... but they're now empty of course. I don't have any really good pictures of Neak Pean.

Preah Khan, also known as "Sacred Sword", is a Buddhist temple dedicated to King Jayavarman VII's father (Ta Prohm is dedicated to his mother). Now I will say that I really really really enjoyed Preah Khan. When we arrived in the afternoon, there were very few visitors. We were able to enjoy the structure in peace and quiet, and the roofed enclosures provided pockets of cool air during the hot day. It also had the crazy trees and rubble like Ta Prohm, and its more complete state gave me a better idea of what these temples may have looked like (and functioned) in the past.

There are not many temples with their galleries and ceilings intact like Preah Khan.

Khmer architects never managed to figure out flying buttresses, so temple roofs were also very angular and narrow.

 I really need to replace my camera lens... those scratches are unforgivable! :(

Err, Korwin... how did you end up on the roof? HAHA. Seriously, only you...

We were then told that the fine for each shifted/collapsed block would be $10,000 USD. Yikes!

And thus concludes the temple tours with NKJ. :)

I had a great time exploring Siem Reap with Natalie and Korwin, and really do hope that we get the chance to travel again together sometime very soon. Thanks for the company and unforgettable experiences.

(to be continued... volunteering and more scallywagging!)

Day 3: Temple Tour (Part One)

Destinations: Angkor South Gate, Bayon, Baphuon, Royal Terraces, Ta Phrom, Kampong Phluk Floating Village

It's Saturday 6pm and I've essentially wasted the entire day nursing a headache. Horrible! A good reminder that even the mightiest can be toppled by too much gin and soda. Hahaha....

Day 3 in Siem Reap, and finally time to head into the Angkor Temples. Like I mentioned earlier, I had no time prior to this vacation to sit down and read up on the history and significance of this place. This is highly irresponsible for an adventurer!!! :( Knowledge preparation is totally key to maximizing your appreciation for a new environment, otherwise it's just another quick loop through Disneyland's "It's a Small World". Tour guides are kind of like geriatric nurse aides holding Spark Notes -- they bring you around in white vans, help you when you're disoriented, and know exactly where all the bathrooms are. They really are quite useful when you don't know the language and don't have much time to spend on that area. A crappy tour guide, however, is really just a seeing eye dog. Out all the amazing people that I've met in Cambodia, I can't believe that we got lucky and rolled a HORNY seeing-eye dog. :( I don't want to delve into the details, but all I can say is thank god I had 10 days in Siem Reap to redo the temples myself again.

At the same time, perhaps it wasn't a bad thing that I came to Angkor as an ignorant blank slate, with no expectations on how it would look and how I would feel. I remember the excitement building up as we pulled up to Angkor South Gate, and then seeing more-than-lifesize devas and asuras (gods and demons) lining the path depicting a celestial tug-of-war... whoaaaa!!! Words cannot describe how AMAZING (here the word is used to the fullest degree) these temples are, even in their weathered and crumbling state. Pictures really cannot capture the feeling of standing in a time capsule created by the collective efforts, thoughts, and beliefs of millions of people... even after thousands of generation cycles. The Angkor temples are proud evidence of man's ancient triumph, materializing imagination into reality, celebrating their faith in the most grand scale possible. Here, in the Khmer Empire, man created Heaven on Earth.

Bayon Temple was Natalie's favorite. It is a intricate religious complex composed of beautiful bas reliefs that narrate historic and religious stories on the lower levels, and towers of 4-sided Buddha faces staring serenely (yet intimidatingly?) down at you on the top level. Built in the late 12th century under the Buddhist King Jayavarman VII, Bayon actually incorporates both Buddhism and Hinduism as an attempt to peacefully meld the King's religion with the people's dominant belief system. Both major Buddhist and Hindu figures are shown in this temple, and although Buddhism lost ground in the short-run (pictorial example further below), modern Cambodia officially considers itself  a Buddhist country with considerable Hindu influences.

At Bayon Temple, one of the few Buddhist temples in Angkor.

Receiving a blessing in the form of a red string bracelet.

Third time a charm? Noooooo.... ok fine, how about the fourth?

If you can imagine this -- the crowd growing and growing as we continued to monopolize the backdrop for each successive failed jump. TOO MUCH PRESSURE!!! Not that a jumping picture is EVER as epic as we think...

From far away Bayon looks like a pile of rubble, but these stones are all intricately carved and once brightly lacquered and gilded with gold.

Bayon is a fan favorite for its towers, which is probably a huge inspiration Hollywood set designers, haha.

Ta Prohm Temple is also the usual must-see on any Angkor loop, a rather "romantic" temple dominated by trees that wove their roots in the temple's stone structures. It's location is convenient and accessible enough for every 2-3 day traveler to make a pit stop, so you will absolutely get your zergling Asian visitor swarms that mercilessly creep into every photo frame you may take. I recommend Bang Melea (to be covered) if you're looking for your Indiana Jones experience.

One of my favorite photos of the trip, if I may say. ;)

Lara Croft... redux? HAHA.

Ta Prohm was also a Buddhist temple constructed by the same king who built Bayon, but this one was dedicated to his mother. Back in the day, kings dedicated temples not only to the gods themselves, but also to their parents, their honored advisers, and of course... to the kings themselves as devarajas (god-kings). Like many ancient civilizations, the Khmer Empire system was one that combined religious and political power. As we know, this is a very effective way to control the people, address their problems, and maintain absolute authority.

The picture below is very interesting -- after King Jayavarman VII passed away, the kings after him may not have prescribed to Buddhism, and there was a massive Hindu movement against Buddhism in the 13th century. This led to the destruction of many Buddhist images in the temples, which ranged from removing Buddhist figures out of stone walls, to defacing Buddha faces, to beheading Buddha statutes, to attempting to "remodel" existing carvings through rather poor etching skills... -_-;;;

Almost all of the Buddhist meditation carvings were defaced to reflect Hindu meditation. The main differences are:

1) Hindu crown (hair) is round, whereas Buddhist is conical.

2) Hindu has beard (possibly for Shiva) whereas Buddhist is shaved.

3) Hindu meditation with palms of hands pressed together in a prayer, Buddhist hands relaxed on the knees in a lotus position.

4) Hindu legs crossed higher, Buddhist legs crossed on the ground.

13th century graffiti.

Dude, you could have done a better job at least. :(

Had to fit a touristy picture in, heh. :)

"Kimchi...."

After a morning of temple tours, we headed to Kampong Phluk Floating Village to see how the locals lived near Tonle Sap Lake, the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia. The people around this area generally either fish or grow rice, depending on the season. The lake expands and shrinks dramatically every year when the rainfall gets so heavy that the Mekong River actually flows backward up into the lake and floods ~NINE METERS high, growing the lake at least 100km wide. That. Is. Nuts. JUST HOW MUCH WATER IS THAT?! So the people live on houses with stilts to accommodate the yearly phenomenon, a necessary adaptive lifestyle. Boats are their main mode of transportation, but Venice it is not.

This flooding cycle is why Tonle Sap Lake has one of the most biodiverse environments in SE Asia. The balance of this environment is highly dependent on the state of the Mekong River, so any major waterway construction efforts (i.e. dams) or seepage (i.e. fertilizer, pesticide, human waste) by neighboring countries such as Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and CHINA will disrupt this delicate balance. Everything is linked together, who knows what the ultimate collective price will be? Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to this resource development dilemma, a classic public goods puzzle... I would only expect that it will be more and more difficult for these floating villages to depend on their traditional way of life. Thank goodness for tourism, I guess.

"I'm on a boat!"

... and my flippy-floppies! HAHAHA

The villages aren't "floating" during dry season, but I think it's more interesting being able to see what's underneath the houses.

Webs and webs of fishing nets. Bathrooms directly into the water. Baskets to trap food.

Love the colors here, virtually Ps untouched.

On the way to and from Tonle Sap Lake, Nat and I stopped by the road to walk around a nearby rice field. This was the only area around Siem Reap that was growing rice, the other fields were yellow and dusty (probably waiting for the rainy season, whereas here water was still plentiful). We encountered a beautiful sunset, a perfect way to end the day. :)

This picture is so funny/stupid, had to put it in here because I really don't know what the hell we're doing.

Reminds me of those local Chinese officials surveying road constructions, ha....

Oh maybe we were pointing at dog tracks....?

I've never seen the sun so big in my life before, except in those National Geographic covers!

(to be continued...)

Day 2: Up, Up, and Away (and SPLAT!!!)

That night when Natalie and Korwin arrived in Siem Reap, I don't know whether it was the "happy pizza" or the fact that both of them were OD'd on cold meds, but our tour operator did some voodoo magic and made it sound like a great idea to sign up for a "sunset" hot air balloon ride. I had no opinion on this matter, after all I had never flown on a hot air balloon before... we all had ZERO idea what this would entail, but boy were we in for a surprise...................................... o_o

We arrived at the launch field at around 4pm the next day (not a launch pad, I guess, though a rocket ship would have been much cooler haha). It turned out that no, it was not a "sunset" ride since the most ideal time slots for hot air balloon flying is at sunrise and right BEFORE sunset. Doh! The reason being that hot air balloons require very stable air conditions, which is determined by a change in temperature between the earth and the sky. What does this mean? Basically the earth is a huge heat sink during the daytime, and obviously the sun is... a hot ball of flaming gas. The earth is constantly spitting up blobs of heat (the correct term is "pockets", but I like the visual concept of "blobs" better), in which creates no-good turbulence for our corpulent floating friend. During sunrise, it is bright enough to fly a hot air balloon but the sun has not risen up enough to heat up the earth yet. During the 1-2 hours before sunset, it is also bright enough to fly a HAB but the earth has chilled out some to not spit heat blobs at us.

RAWR FEEEEEED MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE........

Now as it turned out, the three of us were the ONLY passengers on this HAB ride! I guess this was a relatively new operation (umm as we found out later on when we "landed") headed out by a Chinese guy. I should have been surprised to find him speaking 北京話, Chinese people are so enterprising (and invasive). Haha.

So this Beijing HAB operator's name is Liu Xiang, the same Liu Xiang (劉翔) as that famous hot Olympic hurdler. I was a little disappointed at the vast dissimilarity, even after Mr. Liu had proudly told us that if we Googled "Liu Xiang Chinese Hot Air Balloon" he'd pop up everywhere. Apparently he was one of the very first HAB flyers in China, and that most of the HAB pilots (are they pilots?) are his disciples. Welps, all I can say is... DON'T FLY IN A HOT AIR BALLOON IN CHINA. 

You can skip straight to 4:50 when I start freaking out, hahahahahahahahahaha

I'm too lazy to translate his Chinese, sorries! But it's mostly him trying to reassure us and me/Nat squealing. And Korwin being reticent. 

The HAB was HAF [hot as fuck]. Man, it all sounds really romantic and classy, but when you're underneath a fire spitting machine and your upper lip can't stop sweating, it ain't so sexy no mo. You believe it when they say that heat comes in waves, because you can really feel it lapping at your face.

And off we go, scaring villagers and domesticated animals alike.

It's difficult to tell the difference between screams of joy and fear when you're that high up. ;)

We were real popular with the kids, you can see them standing on top of the wall waving at us. That was fun. :)

Ah, so THIS is how it feels to be Prom Queen...!

My camera was hanging out of the basket for this shot, 300m above the ground. O_O

So we learned that it's actually very difficult to navigate a balloon. Because it's kind of like an elevator, all you can directly control is the up/down button (i.e. fire on/off), and catch the right "level" of wind direction. This was very cool, learning that the sky is composed of different air streams levels, and that you have to adjust your altitude to get on the right air stream. I imagine it being a Neapolitan Sky Cake of Automatic Walkways!

Welps, we kind of got on the wrong walkway, missing our first landing attempt and then a rough n' tumble touchdown in the middle of an abandoned field. HAHAHA. I remember as we were landing we swept past a house, and I made eyecontact with the family (they screamed). Then we rolled around a bit like a hamster ball. And all these people mysteriously appeared to investigate. I really don't know where they came from, because I swear there weren't that many people even as we were sweeping the countryside. Well, I had lots of fun. Can't say the same for Nat though. ;) 

WHAT, so you're saying I'm NOT a HAB Jedi Master?

[Me: No. Hellooooo, we come in peace!!!]

[Nat: My face...]

[Korwin: Churr.]

The kids were super excited seeing a HAB so up close and personal. Many of them wanted to hop in for a ride and were pulling at the gas tank tubes. That's when I started getting nervous... o_o

We waited at least 30 minutes for assistance to arrive since we landed in such an isolated location. 

You can see the Wicked Witch's feet if you look very very closely.... ;)

Being a sideshow and listening to Mr. Xiang spit out angry Beijingese at his crew for that long grew old quickly, but overall this was a pretty fun trip since it was a new experience. I wouldn't have liked it so much if we had to share this ride with strangers. Given all the manpower and trappings for $125 USD/pp I think that it was a decent deal. My advise? Hot air ballooning is fun! You don't need to do it in Cambodia though, there is not much to see from the landscape. And think twice if your pilot is Chinese. Haha.

The emperor wears no clothes....

After the first wave of anger, I never have enough fuel in me to actually etch these kinds of sentiment down in stone. What's the point anyway? If I really felt the need to say something, then I should have said it to your faces.

I was brushing my teeth tonight and suddenly memories of all your bullshit came rushing back. I thought about what I had written earlier, and realized even a well-intended reprimand from me would be considered generous. Liars are the worst type of fools, because they are the cause of their own demise.

Day 1: Khmer Recalibration

Once Upon a Time, there was a girl who traveled the world searching for treasure. This is her Cambodia story arc.

I spent a magical 10 days in Siem Reap, Cambodia... In sum, it was the best holiday of my life (at least so far ^_~), I learned something EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.... whether it was about the rich political history of the region, social and cultural dynamics, ancient architectural planning, religious beliefs and values... but most importantly I learned a lot about me myself and I. 

This was the first time where I spent time in a foreign country by myself. It was also the first time where I spent a major holiday alone. I wanted to do this to see how I'd feel about being put in a potentially difficult and lonely situation, and how I would deal with it. Would I embrace it? Would I totally freak out? Then I would understand more about my preferences and limitations. I'm weird, I know... but I think it's important to discover these things about yourself. If not now, then when??? :p

I took precautions to make this experience as safe as possible by staying in a family-run hostel Seven Candles where someone would keep tabs on me everyday. The owner of Seven Candles, Ponheary Ly, was named as a CNN Hero in 2010 for her work in promoting education for young children in Cambodia. I had the honor of both meeting Ponheary (and her terrific family), as well as volunteering in the Ponheary Ly Foundation (PLF) teaching 4th and 5th graders art and crafts classes in Knar Primary School. 

My first day at PLF was spent tagging along with the Lauter Family, whom I was taking over at Knar Primary School. It was a good idea to figure out the ropes because when I officially started teaching it was basically just me and my tuk-tuk driver as translator!!! 

The Lauter Family were a tough act to follow, you can see how much the kids loved interacting with them. :)

The video below perfectly encapsulates my experience with PLF... you can see exactly where I taught, and some of these faces were ones that I became very familiar with during this time. I highly highly highly encourage everyone to consider donating resources (whether it be your time, experience, or some money) to PLF's cause. These are beautiful children, and you would feel deeply fulfilled just watching their faces light up when you bring something new into their lives. They are easy to please, and very grateful. 

I will write more about teaching in later posts. :)

======================

So, I think the best way to go about recounting this trip is by chronological order. 

I left Shanghai for Siem Reap on December 19th, during the tail-end of a work situation that required several days of close follow-up even though I was technically on vacation. I don't even want to know how high my cell phone bills are, muahahaha! :p But it was fine, since the stuff I had to help out were actually important in many ways. And I don't have to pay for the phone bills. :)

People often ask whether I get annoyed or pissed off when I'm obliged to work on "days off" (what does that mean to an entrepreneur anyway?), especially because since I've never gotten full radio silence since working in Shanghai. My answer is No, I honestly do not mind, all things considered. "All things considered" being that the task is so critical and time-urgent that it requires me to reprioritize. I do give a fair assessment of the situation, because there is no way that I will drop the ball. However, I am a practicioner of the "work smart, not work hard" school of thought... there's just so many things that I want to with my life that I get genuinely angry when my schedule is monopolized by ineffective tasks may not be added-value. I really do try to live my life to the fullest, from the moment I wake up to the moment I sleep. Sometimes it's micro steps, sometimes leaps and bounds, but never ceasing to move forward in some way... I know I must sound crazy or even neurotic. That's probably why I'm not really a creature of habit, there's just too much to experience and not enough time to do it all. ;)

[edit: Just came back from a work meeting on a Saturday afternoon, but I was more than happy to do so because I learned something important and we made progress on a project. See! Hahaha.]

Anyways, even on vacation I find myself always thinking several steps ahead to make the best arrangements. I'm flexible, but rarely unprepared... meaning if something doesn't work out I'm usually fine with it, but I'll know what the alternatives are already, haha. However, this time I was so busy leading up to Cambodia that I literally shoved a bunch of crumpled clothes into the luggage just an hour before leaving for the airport. It was a good thing that Natalie did some prep work, otherwise we would have scrambled for a temple tour during peak season... and that would have been awfully stressful. Thanks Nat! :)

To get to Siem Reap, I had to fly north to Korea and then down to Cambodia. Flying Korean Air was the cheapest and the fastest way from Shanghai, around $650 USD round trip. When I got to Siem Reap, it was already 1am December 20th... and I felt like a xiaolongbao (小籠包) in my puffy down jacket. O_O I remember being super excited stepping off the plane... YAY FINALLY A REAL HOLIDAYYY~~~~!!! The trip kicked off smoothly, with someone from Seven Candles picking me up (poor guy had to stay up so late), and I checked in with no trouble. For $20 USD a night, I had my own room with a queen-sized bed, and free wi-fi. It checked off all my boxes, I am a simple gal.

The first day was spent familiarizing myself with my new environment (like reading the info pamphlet that said DO NOT BRUSH YOUR TEETH WITH TAP WATER after I had already thoroughly gargled... instantly visualizing protozoa with cilia and flagella partying it up in my mouth, yechhh). I reported to Travis, PLF's Volunteer Coordinator, and he gave me the lowdown on how the teaching program would work. It was daunting that PLF would be giving me plenty of freedom on how to figure out what to do with the children 2 hours each day, and that I would be wholly responsible for the content and curriculum during that time. But I kinda kicked ass in Art when I was 9 years old, so that gave me the confidence that I could totally nail this. Okay no I was very nervous. O_O And I wanted to do a good job.

Natalie and Korwin would be arriving in Siem Reap afternoon of Dec 20th, so I had about half a day of free time. I really did not know what to do with myself at first, or where to start. Unsure of myself, I paced around the room to "organize" and then berated myself for procrastinating. Then I scoured the map and points of interest for an hour to plan out a detailed route -- OKAY NOW WE CAN GIVE IT A GO. Hahaha. :p

First I went next door to get a scalp-tingling hairwash for $2 USD, then ventured over across the creek to try "the best iced coffee in town", also stopping by a convenience store for travel-sized toiletries. Before meeting with my friends at their hotel though, I pampered myself with a well-deserved oil massage. :)

At the spa.

They fold lotus flowers like gift bows here, so beautiful! :)

While walking around I noticed that I was getting a lot of really obvious stares, like guys on scooters performing Exorcist Great Horned Owl head-turns... it was actually quite uncomfortable (like really, you're looking at ME?!??), and rather unsafe for traffic. :( I was wearing a loose tank top and shorts that were not very short, but I guess even with plenty of skin-baring tourists in Siem Reap, I don't get the White Person Pass. After that afternoon, I did not venture out alone in town in a tank top or shorts anymore.

Natalie and Korwin lived at La Residence Hotel, just a stone's throw away from Seven Candles but veryyyyy nice. Now, even though none of us had done much planning prior to our trip, there was ONE THING that was on Korwin's "must-do" list (no, not even Angkor Wat took precedence). This, my friends, is something called "happy pizza".

Just look at how giddy Korwin is. You're totally shameless!

Did we get happy off this pizza? I don't know how many pies you gotta eat to get happy...

Then we got some REAL FOOD at Touiche Restaurant, which was down a dark alley along "boom-boom road". It was a rough and dusty tuk-tuk ride, but man I will never forget that red snapper dish.... diiiivine!!!

Concluded by many late-night rounds of Monopoly Deal, where our padawan Natalie learned how to outmaneuver the Jedi Masters! Doh.

(to be continued...)

Fancy Seeing You, 2013!

WOOT~ FIRST POST OF 2013! :D

The Peninsula Hotel // Jetset NYE Party // Black-tie // Shanghai, China

Tried to make these photos look like they were developed ol skool style. Kind of like High School prom photos... because those were real classy, hehe. :)

Woke up this morning at the hotel still incredibly drunk but feeling like a total champ. No hangover. #WINNING!!!

Ringing in the New Year with my girls Julez, Viv, Flora.

Yea, there were LOTS of (and all sorts of) love going around that night. ;)

Ty characteristically raging hard (above), but apparently not everyone is a fan (below). HAHA.

xo!

Lots of bromance, bet you couldn't tell that this was supposed to be a fancy affair, did you? Hahahaha.

Stumbling back to the Fairmont Peace Hotel (to pass out) in terrific spirits. :D

4am, January 1st 2013.

Special shout-out to Maybelline 24 Hour Lip Color -- thank you for not making me look like a hot sloppy mess at the end of the night. You make it easy to love rocking red lips!