Tokyo

I have moved...

...and so has my blog!

http://princesshalfu.typepad.com/rondon

As Erra so correctly pointed out, "Dude - change your bloody blog address. You aint in Tokyo anymore, chum."

Note to Self: Neither roller skates nor Vodka are good for you

Thursday night was quite an experience as Sivi invited a few gals to a Roller-disco in King's Cross. You may be forgiven for thinking that roller disco's suffered extinction in the mid 90's (if they even made it that long), but around the back of King's Cross station, in an abandoned warehouse, is a weekly celebration of R&B, House and grooving on wheels. Firstly, I totally embarassed Sivi by arriving in a suit directly from the airport, and secondly, I totally embarrassed myself and Von Dutch by clinging on to the wall for dear life! It was great fun though; incredibly funky crowd, awesome music and some truly amazing skaters. Will definitely be back, but without the man until I get a little better!!! Unfortunately, due to my dubious skill on skates, I was too scared to take my camera with me onto the floor, so no piccies..

Friday night was spent in Isis. Tres Chelsea crowd, tres chi-chi and waaaaay too much booze. Drank vodka for the first time in years, was feeling damn fine, and danced the night away with Von Dutch until sunrise. Come morning, I was in a lot of pain. My head was splitting and although I blame most of it on the Vodka, perhaps some of the discomfort was because Von Dutch was due to meet the parents that night....!

Cornish Pasty, anyone?

So, last weekend was a bank holiday, and true to form, tickets anywhere remotely exciting were double the usual price, and even if you were willing to pay the extortionate sums, it seemed there were thousands of other dodos desperate to leave town, so there were no available seats on the flights. In my time of need, I suddenly remembered that an old school friend had told me that her parents had, upon retirement, set-up a Bed & Breakfast in Cornwall. CORNWALL? Yes - that rather strange looking protrusion at the far South-Westerly corner of England. I recalled many stories of my friends visiting Cornwall in the summer holidays, and that it was apparently quite beautiful. So, I booked the 4-hour train journey, and the last remaining rent-a-car in the county (a bright orange Kia!) and Von Dutch and I set off at the crack of dawn.

Both of us were pleasantly surprised by how stunning the countryside was. The tiny fishing villages were picturesque and charming, the beaches were beautiful, and we had a fantastic time bombing down the country roads in the Kia looking for remote pubs. We also spent two hours looking for a go-kart track, which we are now convinced was only put on the map to confuse and lure unsuspecting city folk into the middle of bloody nowhere! We had our Cornish pasties, we had our deliriously delicious cream teas, and we had 3 days of relaxation and time alone - a luxury in itself.

The highlight was when we decided to see in the evening from the hilltops. We brought two bottles of wine with us, hiked all the way up to the highest point we could find overlooking the coast, settled down among a herd of cows and watched the spectacular sunset. Problem was that we hadn't really thought the whole thing through. Soon we found ourselves with a vertical climb downhill, in the pitch black and we were TOTALLY smashed! Plus the cows were closing in on us....or that could have just been alcohol-induced paranoia. By the time we made it down to sea-level - mostly by sliding on my bum, all the pubs were closed and we were starving. Not so smart, we city folk...

Nebiru in town

The highlight of the weekend following the DR was not only having those magical few days before your tan starts shedding a la lizard, but also having my old house-mate from Tokyo in town with her man, Sa-chan. Along with Redhed, we congregated in the East End for some nosh, copious amounts of alcohol and a great old catch-up. Was fantastic to see them, and made me wish yet again, that the world wasn't so big....

Republica Dominicana

Let me insert the caveat first of all, that my trip to the DR was fabulous - even though it may seem initially like this post is one big moan. Let me try to justify it by explaining that although I have lived in more countries and traveled more that I deserve, the DR was possibly the most unexpected culture shock I have experienced yet.

This was my first package holiday and frankly, I couldn't believe the price. I arrived at Gatwick and made my way to the check-in counter, only to discover a concentrated assortment of genuine, bonafide chavs. Behold the fluorescent tracksuit, wet perm and tattoo brigade. I exaggerate not, I was boarding a plane with 200 of England's answer to trailer-park trash. "What a snob!", I hear you cry. Not I said the fly. I simply thought it was interesting and actually I felt very ignorant that I hadn't ever come across people who represent the vast majority of England's population. Toto, I don't think we're in South Ken anymore...The only reason I mention this is because I ended up being sat next to a man and his wife, with the man being without doubt, the crudest, most obnoxious and abhorrent creature I have ever come across. He spent the entire flight bragging to his wife at the top of his voice about how rich he was, how he could buy her "anything your f*cking heart desires" while punctuating his anecdotes with so many vigorous "f*cks" and "c*nts", I was literally shocked out of my sleep more than once. Nine hours later, I felt disgruntled, disgusted and very tired.

Upon arrival at the shack in Punta Cana that served as the airport, we were all informed that there was an immigration charge of US40, and no, they did not accept any other currency. Bugger. After and hour, 3 trips to the one ATM machine, which was broken and to the bank, which wasn't staffed, yours truly decided to do a runner through immigration and just hope that nobody noticed. They didn't and I finally arrived at my destination to reunite with Caca.

Unfortunately, I carried a stowaway in the shape of bad luck. No less than an hour after reaching the hotel, the clouds gathered, the heavens opened, and it did not stop raining for 5 days. We're not talking measly drizzle here people, we are talking full-on tropical storm. The pool flooded and filled with soil, the restaurant ceilings caved in, and Caca and I furiously stuffed towels under the door in a vain attempt to stop the water seeping into our room.

Needless to say that although a little disappointed at the meteorological turn of events, we decided to make the best of it. Namely with our "if we can't be brown, at least we can be skinny" mantra. Runs along the beach, at least an hour in the gym every day, galloping down the beach on horseback through the storm (which was SO much fun!), and sit-ups, sit-ups, sit-ups. Plus plenty of sleep, devouring books and loads of girlie talk. The staff did their best to keep everyone entertained and this was a continuation of the culture shock theme. Americans, bless them, are so gun-ho and ever so keen. The resort was populated by 90% mid-westerners, mostly couples and for many, this was the most exotic place that they had been to. So it was with plenty of curiosity and a little bit of envy that Erica and I watched them partake in the organised activities every day. It was the equivalent of adults reverting to children as they played, were scolded for not playing fair, and were encouraged and applauded for doing a "great job". VERY weird. Below are pics of the organised dancing sessions. Toooo funny!

Culture shockerama. I could never live in the US.

Other tit-bits (as this is getting to be a dissertation) were:
- The male staff were unbelievably lecherous. Not only did they insist on coming over and talking to us despite our best efforts at 'leave-me-alone" vibes, but they asked us for dinner, for drinks, for dancing, called us at night in our rooms, and one guy even turned up uninvited at our horse-riding excursion!!
- The spa ripped off the skin on my eyebrow when they were attempting to wax me and so I got my other spa treatments free
- All-inclusive drinks and food is SO the way forward
- Caca and I had to gyrate to the mambo on stage
- Caca and I were also finalists in the limbo competition!! (As you can tell, we soon joined in the organised fun!)
- I have never known sun that strong. Even through the cloud and rain, Caca and I got fried
- The resort was beautiful
- If you are looking for a dirt cheap holiday, I would totally recommend it - but go in the dry season!
- Only a few pics, and they are here

Caribbean Quickie

Just to say 'hi' and haven't forgotten about blogging - just costs me a fortune in the hotel internet cafe. Having great time although haven't seen the sun yet! We have arrived into some freak weather, where it has rained constantly for 4 days.....could it be that I come back without a tan??? My greatest fear, but time will tell. See you back in London x

Eurotrash

Spent one day in business in Frankfurt on Friday....nothing of interest to report other than quite a cool view from the office:

12 hours later, and via a night in London, I found myself at midday on a canal in Amsterdam - stinking drunk and surrounded by over a million people in Orange and a haze of sweet-smelling smoke. Welcome to Queen's Day! What a party. We spent the morning having brunch at a friend's place, drinking home-made vodka shakes at 10am with 20 strangers, who soon became good friends...as ya do.

Things carried on until late in the evening when a combination of riots, blisters on my feet and utter exhaustion drove me home to bed. Thankfully so, as the next day was packed full of sight-seeing. I hadn't quite appreciated how many of the great masters were Dutch, so was amazed when I went around the museums there. Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Vermeer (at the Rijksmuseum), of course, but so many other masterpieces were in one place and were utterly fantastic to see. My personal favourite was the Delft earthenware, which I had never seen other than in pictures. Up close, they are mesmerising.

After that, my tour-guide Von Dutch took me "Von Dutch" on the back of a bicycle along the canals, to the palace, to the parks, to the markets and to the red light district. I never realised that the "ladies" just sit behind glass, filing their nails, texting their mates or reading a magazine while they wait for their next customer. Very different to the red light districts that I'm used to (!). And to answer PK - no persian rugs at all for this Princess. Amsterdam was beautiful and crazy enough without hallucinogens!

Next stop in 2 weeks - the Dominican Republic!

 

Back from the Abyss

Hello strangers, it has certainly been too long...Last you heard, I had part of my trip cancelled due to two peeps leaving the team. Hence the following 2 weeks of silence as it was all I could do to stay alive and try to plug the holes that they left. I also found myself starting a definitive rebound relationship - but more about that another time.

Then came Tokyo. As Erra so observantly noticed, I uploaded some photos of my trip. In words, the work part can be described as 6.30am starts, back-to-back meetings until 6pm, followed by nightly dinners and drinking sessions until 2am, then up at 5am, etc etc ad infinitum for 14 days.

The 'personal' side is a lot more fun to write about. I saw numerous friends, including Glitter Girl and Kimbo. It was so wonderful to see them and I miss them both terribly. It was the typical situation amongst girlies whereby the second martini, you had spilled your guts about men, life, fears and concerns, and just getting it out in the open makes you feel as though a weight has been lifted off your shoulders.

Tokyo itself was just as I left it. But yet, it felt different. I realised after a while that although I love Tokyo and it will always have a place in my heart that no other city can; perhaps because it is half my blood, perhaps because that is where I felt I partially found myself and partially lost myself, and perhaps because Tokyo is synonymous with B, there are also facets of life there that I am glad I left behind. My first night there I was taken to a strip-club and knew 2 of the dancers, the second night a married colleague went home with a random Roppongi Girl, and so it went on. I no longer want to view that as acceptable. I think its a relief to be in London where people date within their generation, and fidelity is to be admired rather than scorned. I could go on, but you all know the drill. London, for all its many faults, seems more 'real' and even though I work the way I do, I feel happier and more relaxed that I was in Japan.

Off the back of Tokyo, I went out for two all-nighters last weekend and Saturday night was to find me in a RAVE. Princess in a RAVE!! There I was, surrounded by a crowd of trendy trainers and mini evian bottles, in 4-inch heels until 8am. TOO funny.

The weekend after was G's birthday and a whole gang congregated in a club called Cargo, in Shoreditch. It was my first foray into the East End's night scene. Needless to say, I was once again outrageously overdressed in near black-tie while the rest of the crowd were uber-hip and wouldn't be out of place in Harajuku. Oooooooh the shame!

Rather amusingly, Sivi-man used the occassion to try and set me up with her boyf's boss. Ithica is good-looking, loaded, funny and doesn't put up with any bullshit. Me likey. However, all plans were spoiled when my rebound relationship decided to pitch up uninvited. Lots of dirty looks and post Ithica trying to grab a snog on the dance-floor, I decided it was time to head home. Watch this space to see how the story unfolds....

Anyway, next stop for this weekend is Amsterdam for Queen's day :-)

Um...

....I'm still in London!

It has been a quite extraordinary two weeks Ladies & Gents. To start with last weekend, B came over from France and the sneaky bugger organised a surprise birthday dinner for me on Saturday night at the Bluebird on the King's road. I saw friends I hadn't seen for a very long time and it was wonderful to have them congregated in one place. The entire weekend was very emotional for reasons that are as yet too sensitive to go into, but let's just say that it was a very depressed Princess who stumbled into work on Monday with an enormous suitcase ready to embark on her month-long tour of Asia.

Until...my desk were called into an emergency meeting. That morning, about two hours before I was to head to the airport, two members of the team resigned (they're a bit of a double act as you can see). This left two others on holiday, one already in Asia awaiting my arrival, one person in the office, and me. So, as you've guessed, I cancelled the Asia leg of my trip, and sat back down at the desk! I will still be going to Japan but Hong Kong, Taiwan, Shangers and Korea will have to wait until later in the year.

On the same day, I also found out that I PASSED ALL MY EXAMS!!!! NOOOO MOOOORE!!!!!!!!! My weekends are mine again and I am SO happy! I also got promoted on the same day -WOOHOO.

No time to celebrate however as due to the lack of hands, mine were supremely busy until this blessed four-day weekend.

I have to say that yesterday was one of the nicest and most relaxing days I have spent in London thus far. The weather was beautiful, I was with GG and we hit the shops for the entire day, followed by a well-deserved pedicure. There is something inherently luxurious about shopping on a weekday afternoon. Oh, to be a full-time leady of leisure!

Let's Reflecting

In 6 days, I will turn 25 years old. Every birthday nowadays seems to resonate with meaning; with opportunities missed, lessons learnt and a new wrinkle! Seeing as I have client dinners every night this week and will be heading off to Asia for a month, I thought I should write down a few things that I wish I knew/want to know/want to remember now that I have lived a quarter of a century.

1. Mentally, you are the same person as you were when you were 16. The only difference is that you learn restraint and when to keep your mouth shut.

2. Your friends are so much more important than you ever gave or will give them credit for

3. You don't get any more confident as you get older, you just get better at pretending

4. There will always be things that you regret doing or not doing, so stop thinking about it and move on

5. Sunbathing with baby oil will come back to haunt you

6. Women are at their most beautiful when they are in their 30's

7. Men are at their best in their 40's

8. When people hurt you, its most often because you put yourself in a situation where they can

9. Waxing regularly almost eliminates the pain-factor

10. The men who you run away from are the usually the ones that will make you happy in the end. The men you turn into a giggling mess around are the ones that you should avoid like the plague

11. Having curves is sexier than being very skinny

12. At the risk of sounding like a cliche, you CAN do whatever you set your mind to. Seriously.

13. Don't start smoking

14. Don't drink on an empty stomach

15. If you ever quit your job, take 3 months off and go travelling. You never know when you will next have the chance.

16. Love shouldn't hurt and relationships should be easy at least 75% of the time

17. Never buy uncomfortable shoes, even if you love them. No matter how sexy they are, you won't be if you can't walk.

18. It is possible to have wrinkles and pimples at the same time - unfortunately

19. Writing down what happens in your life is something you will never regret. It can (sometimes) prevent you from repeating the same mistakes

20. Never believe that you have the upper hand in your job/relationship/friendship. Life is guaranteed to come and bite you in the ass. But sometimes it can feel goooood!!