Hong Kong 2006: Lan Tau Island

Today we planned a big trip to Lantau Island, Hong Kong's largest island and home to the largest outdoor bronze buddha statue in the world. Hong Kong Disneyland is also located in the northeasten part of the island. A friend of ours told us that the MTR train was all decked out in Disneyland decor and since I am a Disneyland fanatic, we decided to take a detour to go check it out.



Disneyland is not just a themepark. It's an experience. If you've ever experienced watching a movie at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, you know what I'm talking about. Everything Disneyland does is treated like a ride at the themepark. Boarding the MTR train to Disneyland was no exception. As soon as you board the train you really feel like you are being transported to another world; you become a kid again. I heart Disneyland.


1. Mickey Mouse handles - Genius!
2. Plush velvety covered seats and bronze statues of beloved disney characters adorn each car.

After the short detour, we went back on track to the Tung Chung stop to catch the Ngong Ping 360 Skyrail to Lantau. The ride from Tung Chung to Lantau takes about 25 minutes and covers 5.7 kilometers. The views from the cable car are incredible. It's not the best ride for people who are fearful of heights since the cars are mostly entirely made up of glass.


1. Boarding the cable car.
2. The view from the car as we are leaving the terminal.
3. View of the Hong Kong Airport - the best part of the ride. You can see the planes land and take off from the sky. A pretty spectacular sight.
4. Hong Kong apartments.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by a server with a tray of free sodas and wine. We just so happened to come on the day of the opening ceremonies. What luck! Not only did they have free drinks but they had free h'orderves also. We missed out on these the snacks since we opted to hang out on the upper level where the taiko drummers were.



We didn't stick around for long to see the entertainment. We wanted to eat! The Po Lin Monastery offers a famous vegetarian lunch which was highly recommended by a friend and was mentioned in various tourist brochures as well. The lunch costed us about $20 USD per person. We were very excited about the vegetarian meal. Unfortunately, as the food was carelessly plopped down onto our table, we knew that we were surely in for a disappointment.


1. Restaurant Interiors
2. Our pre-fixed vegetarian lunch - Roasted Mushroom Broth, Vegetable Eggrolls, Vegetable Stir-fry Plate, Tofu Plate, Mushroom with Greens.

Honestly, I don't understand the rave reviews. Maybe Rona and I are spoiled? We've been fortunate enough to experience some amazing vegetarian meals. I mean, I grew up eating vegetarian meals at my best friend's house and her mom (a vegetarian) is one of the best cooks I know. I blame her for my obsession with food.

Every dish tasted the same. This was because they were all cooked the same way. Ingredients were tossed together in a wok and covered in the same cornstarch-thickened sauce with no seasoning. We knew that the food was supposed to be modest but it was not worth the $20 we paid. The meal should've been free. Even so, I don't think I would ever go back or recommend it to anyone. Save your $20 and buy yourself some incense.


Giant sized incense sticks (about 3 feet in length). I've never seen incense burn like this before.

To see the bronze buddha up close, you have to climp up 200+ steps. The Buddha statue sits peacefully on a lotus throne on top of a three-platform altar. It is surrounded by eight smaller bronze statues representing gods or immortals. At the top, it's amazingly quiet and peaceful despite all the surrounding tourists.



Our next destination on Lantau was Tai O, a fishing village located in the northwest.



Many tourists visit the village to see the stilted houses and fishing village scenery.


1. Fishing boats at sunset.
2. House on stilts.
3. Pretty view.

The streets of Tai O are loaded with vendors trying to sell you their dried fish and handmade seashell souvenirs. This is the place to barter. I purchased most of my souvenirs here. Be careful of buying products made from seashells if you plan on bringing them back to the US. Seashells are considered to be contraband.


1. Vendors.
2. The process of drying fish.
3. Dried fish to be sold.

Down the road, we noticed a street vendor grilling up some delicious treats. We bought a bag of grilled dry squid and shrimp to share between the two of us. It was smokey and so good.


My favorite part of the trip was seeing the stilted houses. They were tiny, probably no more than 600 square feet each. I was surprised to see such a streamline and modern design for such an old village. I would love to live in one of these. They're brilliant!



Before we headed back to catch the last ferry back to the city, we stopped into a little store that served the hot tofu dessert that I love so much.



The ride back to the city was a long one. We were exhausted. Still, this did not stop us from squeezing in one last meal before our day ended.



Rice is a fast food chain that serves riceballs stuffed with your own choice of ingredients. You also get to choose what kind of rice you want to use. Everything is organic and super healthy for you. I wish they had this in the states. One day.

Next up: Lamma Island

Hong Kong 2006: Yung Kee

This was the day that we decided to splurge on food so we had set aside a budget of $30 USD per person for dinner. We met up with two other friends in front of Yung Kee Restaurant, one of Hong Kong's most famous restaurants. Their clientele is odd a mix of tourists, family, and corporate professionals. Yung Kee is famous for their Chinese Roast Goose. I love Chinese BBQ and I've never had roast goose before, so I was super excited about tonight's meal.



Rona and I arrived at the restaurant a little early so we spent the time admiring all of the beautiful roasted meats hanging on display behind the front window. Yung Kee prides itself on their roast meats, so instead of putting their kitchen in the back where no one can see, they designed their restaurant so that the kitchen is in the front to tantalize all the passerbys.


Fast hands preparing roast goose for plating

Once inside we had to wait an additional 30 minutes to be seated, even though we had made reservations days before. That was kind of frustrating, considering the fact that we could smell all the tasty dishes passing by us.

finally, we were seated. Immediately, we were offered a plate of Preserved Duck Eggs with Pickled Ginger, one of my most favorite dishes. The only other person at the table who was brave enough to try the dish was Rona. She only had a bite, so I had the whole dish to myself. YUM!


1. Preserved Duck Eggs with Pickled Ginger - Definitely an acquired taste. The brown jellied part of the egg has no taste but the flavor is all in the yolk. The yolk is the color of a dark emerald green. The center of the yolk is a little runny. It looks like it's rotten but it's actually been preserved for several months in a mixture of clay, ash, salt, lime, and rice straw. The taste is a little difficult to describe. It's kind of like a very mild soft cheese with a slight metallic aftertaste that sneaks up your sinuses like wasabi does. I love it!
2. Roasted Goose - Man, this was cooked so wonderfully. The meat inside is juicy and the skin is thin and crispy. Goose tastes similar to duck, except not as gamy or fatty in flavor. Goose meat is extremely mild in flavor. Although, this dish was very good, I still prefer duck over goose. I missed the intense flavor of duck.
3. Seasonal Vegetable with Mushrooms - This season's vegetable was Baby Bok Choy with Enoki Mushrooms.
4. Sauteed Fillet of Garoupa and Vegetable.

Overall I thought the meal was good but not particularly mind-blowing. They have a separate menu that offers some of their award winning dishes but this option had to be ordered at least two days in advanced. Besides, it was way out of our price range. I will definitely try this menu the next time I visit Hong Kong when I have a little more cash.

After dinner, Rona and I had a craving for some sweets and headed over to XTC Gelato. Gelato is apparently the new dessert craze in Asia. XTC Gelato serves the best.


1. XTC Gelato Shop.
2. I had Hazelnut and Chocolate Gelato.
3. Rona had Guava and Passionfruit Gelato

A perfect way to end the evening.

Next up: Lan Tau Island.

Hong Kong 2006: Sightseeing

Art installation at the Star Ferry Pier - Hundreds of photo-copied images of the pier were hung and displayed with the image of the clock tower cut out of them.

Star Ferry has been providing ferry service since the 1880s across Victoria Harbor, between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. Even though there are other ways to get across the harbour (i.e. the MTR), Star Ferry still remains to be the fastest, most efficient, and cheapest way too get across. The boat is small so it's fairly rocky. If you are prone to sea-sickness, I would not recommend that you take the ferry across. The ride is about ten minutes. I started to snap photos and before I knew it, we were already on he other side. The Star Ferry has become one of the icons of Hong Kong heritage in the eyes of tourists, much like the Staten Island Ferry is to NYC.

On November 11, 2006, the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier in Central ended its mission, along with the big clock tower. The pier will be demolished to make way for reclamation but the ferries will continue to run from other locations. Luckily for us, we got to ride the ferry from the pier just in time before it closed down.


1. Star Ferry boat.
2. Seats inside the ferry have swinging backs so that you can sit facing forward or backwards. Ingenious!
3. A happy sailor in his very cute Star Ferry uniform.

Once across the harbour, we headed over to Can.teen for brunch, located in the IFC building. It was recommended by our guide book, Lonely Planet Hong Kong & Macau by Steve Fallon. Every tourist we saw had a copy of this guide book. We highly recommend it!


1. Can.teen inside the IFC mall.
2. BBQ chefs.
3. Can.teen interiors - This place is actually a lot bigger than what is pictured here. Try four times as big.

Can.teen is an upscale fast-food, cafeteria-style joint. They specialize in Chinese BBQ such as Roast Pork, Duck, and Goose. Everything else on the menu is kind of mediocre and not recommended. Stick with the BBQ and you'll get more bang for your buck.


1. I ordered Two BBQ meats (Pork and Duck) over Rice with Vegetables - Awesome and cheap!
2. Rona ordered Noodles with Shrimp in Cream Sauce - The title on the menu was very misleading. The "noodles" are actually fettucini noodles. It was a straight-up Italian dish. Kinda bland tasting.

After filling up our bellies, we exited the building and saw some amazing views of the city along these covered walkways that interconnect between major buildings in Hong Kong.



Here are some city landscapes captured from these walkways:



Afterwards, we headed to see the Central-Mid-Levels escalator system, the longest covered elevator system in the world.



The escalators were built in 1993 to ease congestion of the zigzagging roads going up and down the steep slope by car. Apart from serving as a method of transport, it is also a tourist attraction and has many trendy restaurants, bars, and shops lining its route.



Midway through our ride up the escalators, we stopped by the cutest and tiniest of restaurants, Lan Fong Yuen.


Check out the seating arrangements!

We wanted to sit up in front but the seats were obviously occupied at the time, so we headed through this tiny entranceway on the side that lead us into this tiny hobbit-hole of a restaurant filled with locals. The place is known for its BBQ pork burger and strong tea and that was exactly what we ordered.


So delicious!

Now, time for some sweets! We decided to walk all the way from Mid-Levels to Sheung Wan for a tasty treat inside Western Market, the oldest surviving market in the city.



Since the moment I arrived in Hong Kong, Rona could not stop talking about these magical desserts. The shop is called Honeymoon Dessert and they specialize in these crepe-covered, custard and fruit-type of cake. It's nothing like I have ever seen or tasted before. It sounds like it should be a heavy dessert but it's quite the opposite. These cakes are light as a floating cloud puff.


1. Crepe Cake with Mango Filling - SO AWESOME! The mango was perfectly ripe and sweet. The cream/custard filling is air-whipped and light.
2. Crepe Cake with Durian Filling - I've never tasted durian before. Durian is a very popular rancid smelling fruit in Southeast Asia. If you can get past the smell of dead rotting flesh, you can easily get addicted to it pretty fast. Unfortunately, our durian filling was not ripe. It tasted exactly like pureed raw garlic. We were burping up durian rot throughout the rest of the night. It was so foul. Next time, I will try durian when it's ripe.

At this point, we decided to head back to the Kowloon side of town to catch the daily Hong Kong building light show, A Symphony of Lights. The show showcases 33 key buildings on both sides of Victoria Harbour. The lights dance between buildings and is synchronized to wonderfully cheesy synth music. Now I understand why the Asians love Vegas so much.



We were exhausted from the day's events and headed back to our hostel but before we could say goodnight, we went around the street for a quick late night snack, fishball street vendor food.



I was disappointed to see the lack of street vendors in Hong Kong. My best friend's mom (a Hong Kong native) suggested that I should try all of the street vendor foods because they were the best. Then again, she hasn't been back in Hong Kong in 30 years! This corner stand was the only one that we found near us. The fishballs were good but everything else was mediocre.


1. Fishballs, shrimpballs, bacon-wrapped hot dogs... Oh, my!
2. Curried fishballs, crabballs, crab roe dumplings, etc.
3. Our balls were fried before our eyes and presented to us in a paper bag.
4. They also sold Takoyaki, Japanese style octopus balls which I was very excited about since it is one of my all-time favorite foods. Unfortunately, these SUCKED!!!! Note to self: only buy Takoyaki made by the Japanese.

Next up: A visit to one of the best restaurants in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong 2006: Shopping

Today was the dedicated shopping day. We wanted to get the shopping done early so that we wouldn't have to worry about it last minute. As I have mentioned in my previous posts, Hong Kong is a shopaholic's dream. Every brand name retail store in the world can be found here in this city. Prices aren't as cheap as they used to be since the value of the US dollar has declined. Bargainhunters should take note that the sale season is around June and October.

First things first, we had to purchase an Octopus card to save on public transportation. The transit system in Hong Kong is called the MTR. The cost of your fare is calculated based on the distance of your journey. The MTR is very similar in design and structure to the London Underground. It's amazingly clean for a city that's so dense in population.


We immediately headed over to one of our favorite stores, MUJI, a Japanese retail company that specializes in household goods. I first discovered this store while I was studying abroad in London in 1999. At the time, MUJI's product line included stationery supplies and a small clothing line. Now, they sell food items, kitchenware, household goods, and furniture in addition to their expansive line of office supplies and clothing for men and women.

We spent about three hours in the store, making sure to inspect every square inch so that we would not miss a single item. We stay so long that the security guard was getting suspicious so I decided not to take any pictures. Finally, we checked out at around 4pm and headed over to the other stores.

At one point of the evening we ended up at some high-end supermarket and found this:

Japanese square watermelon. Amazing!

All this amazing gourmet food was making us hungry. We headed over to an organic vegetarian restaurant in Causeway Bay, Kung Tak Lam Shanghai Vegetarian Cuisine.


The dishes here are served dim sum style. Unfortunately, it was just the two of us at dinner today so we were not able to sample a lot of the food that had to offer. Here are the dishes that we ordered.


1. Shredded "Chicken" with Green Bean Sheet - This didn't taste very much like chicken but it was still very good. It's very much like a cold noodle salad.
2. Broiled Eggplant Rolls - These rolls were more deep-fried than broiled. It was a little greasy for a vegetarian dish, especially when accompanied by the chunky tomato-based sauce.
3. Vegetarian "Ham" Rolls wlth Bok Choy - This dish was unforgettable. I love mock meat and this dish did not disappoint. Root vegetables are wrapped with mock ham in a sheet of seaweed and smothered in a sweet sauce. Delicious!

After dinner, we headed over to Mong Kok where all the young hipsters hang out at night.

A familiar sight: Mr Softee, HK style

Apparently, Mong Kok is the place to shop for their rock-bottom prices. We ended up at a shopping arcade. I think it might've been called the Argyle Centre. There must've been at least 100 mini-stores or stalls inside the mall. It was great! We stayed there until the shops closed at 2am.


1. Mong Kok streets at 2am on a Tuesday morning.
2. A large crowd gathering around a storefront to catch a glimpse of the newly released DVD of Slither

New York is known as the city that never sleeps. I beg to differ. Hong Kong is just like New York but five times as intense. The streets are packed at all times. Retails stores are opened until 2am, some till 4am. A lot of the best local restaurants are open 24 hrs. It's awesome!

Still, I love New York.

Next up: Sightseeing

Hong Kong 2006: First 24 Hours

A lot of people who travel to Hong Kong come to shop. I came to do one thing only - eat massive amounts of really good food.

For breakfast, we headed around the corner from our hostel to Happy Garden Noodle & Congee Kitchen. This restaurant quickly became one of our favorite spots. It's fast, friendly, clean, and cheap!

Hong Kong has a population of nearly 7 million people. When you're in a city where the population is so dense, you learn to share the same space. In a busy restaurant like Happy Garden Noodle & Congee Kitchen, you are expected to share a table or booth with other strangers. For most travelers, this might seem uncomfortable at first. There are a few Chinese restaurants in NYC that seat their customers this way. I grew up eating in these restaurants so I am completely used to it.

Restaurant etiquette: When you are ready to order, don't expect a waiter to come over to you. You have to be aggressive and call for their attention.

Here are a few samples of some of the dishes we had during our entire stay in Hong Kong.


1. Egg Noodles in Broth with Shrimp Wontons - Less than $3 USD. Holy moly, what a bargain! They didn't skimp on the shrimp either. Most shrimp wontons have a minced shrimp filling inside but these wontons were stuffed with three whole pieces of shrimp.
2 & 3. Beef with Ginger and Scallions over Dry Noodles, Soup on the side - The ginger and scallions were amazingly fresh. This dish is a good alternative when you don't want soup. Oyster Sauce and Chinese Broccoli are on the side. I like to mix everything together so that the flavors are well incorporated before diving in.
4. Congee - This is a classic Chinese breakfast dish. It's white rice cooked over a very long period of time. Salt pork and ginger is used to add flavor to the dish while cooking. When served, it's garnished with shredded scallions and roasted peanuts.
5. Rice Rolls with Shrimp - A classic Dim Sum dish. Three large pieces of shrimp are encased in steamed rice rolls, drizzled with soy sauce. I used to eat this everyday for breakfast in NYC Chinatown. Memories, at the corner of my mind...
6. Braised Pork over Rice - We walked in one afternoon and noticed that more than half of their customers were eating this dish. It was a packed house! When we asked a waitress what the name of the dish was, she told us that it was a house specialty and that it was not listed on their menu. To make matters more complicated, this dish was also available only during lunch hours or until supplies run out. I'm a big fan of braised meat dishes. This one was no exception. The pork was tender, juicy, and super flavorful. If you don't mind picking out the bones while eating this dish, it's well worth the trouble.

After breakfast, we immediately headed over to a mall across the street to meet up with our friends Judy and Vivian for dim sum. I wasn't kidding when I said that this trip was all about food.



We had dim sum at Super Star Seafood Restaurant. Many people consider it to be one of Hong Kong's top Cantonese restaurants. I was hoping to get my mind blown but I though that their dim sum was just slightly above average. Because they didn't have an English menu or dim sum carts, we had to order by memory. Luckily for all of us, we were all pretty familiar with a typical dim sum menu. I had a feeling that we might have ordered the wrong dishes. They had a line of cooks on the side in the front section of the restaurant, throwing fresh ingredients together right before your eyes. Since we were seated in the back, we missed out on a lot of great dishes. Here is a sample of some of the dishes we ordered.


1. Steamed Rice Noodles smothered in Brown Sauce with Chili Dipping Sauce.
2. Steamed Shrimp Dumplings (Three Varieties) - This is probably the best presentation I've ever seen for shrimp dumplings.
3. Crispy Roast Pork - One of my all time favorites.
4. Fried Turnip Cake and Crispy Shrimp Rice Roll - The Turnip Cake was cold and didn't include Oyster Sauce that is usually served on the side. Maybe this is a Chinese-American thing? On the other hand, the Crispy Shrimp Rice Roll was friggin' outstanding! Minced shrimp is stuffed in a crispy dough and wrapped in a steamed rice sheet. It was awesome.
5. Classic Steamed Shrimp Dumplings.
6. Shumai
7. Hot Soft Tofu Dessert with Ginger and Simple Syrup - My all-time favorite dessert.
8. Mango Custard Dessert

But, wait! The eating does not stop here. We headed over to Hui Lau Shan, a local dessert chain for more dessert!


1. Take out counter.
2. Interiors
3. Kitchen.

This dessert chain specializes in mango desserts. My friend Rona kept on raving about it. I thought, "I like mango but how good can it be?" Holy moly. I wish they had this in the states. I'd choose this over Jamba Juice any day.


Glutinous Rice Balls in Mango Juice with Extra Mango

I was about ready to explode. We decided to head on over to the new IFC building to meet up with one of Vivian's friends, Jimmy, who worked on the 42nd floor. He told us that there was a spectacular 360 degree view from up there, even better than Victoria Peak.


The weather was amazingly clear this day. The air quality in Hong Kong is usually bad and smoggy but on this day it was absolutely perfect. What luck!


To the left is the famous Bank of China building. At night, the building lights up with animated geometric patterns.

One of the things that stood out to me about Hong Kong was all the bamboo scaffolding on construction sites.


The scaffolding is entirely made up of bamboo sticks and plastic ties. They cover entire buildings of this stuff. It blows my mind!



In the evening, we met up with one of Rona's best friends, Jone. We drove up to Victoria Peak to see the view while he ate a McDonald's dinner. Ha! Ha! The view from the decks were crowded with tourists, so Jone took us through a hidden hiking trail to experience the view in peace.



For dinner, we went to another friend's apartment for a hot pot dinner. They had purchased all the ingredients from a local supermarket. I had totally forgotten to take pictures of our meal because I was completely overwhelmed by the freshness of the ingredients. We had whole shrimp, fish balls, crab roe balls, sliced beef and a ton of veggies (which everyone forgot about). The crab roe balls were so awesome. They were so rich in flavor. I could cry just thinking about it. I'll never find this in the states.

To cap off the evening, Jone took us to a tiny local dessert shop. I was about ready to burst from all of the day's eating. Still, I could not help myself. I had to try everything.


1. Jung and Rona in front of the dessert shop.
2. Mango with Tapioca pearls (left) and Hot Papaya Soup (right) - The Papaya Soup was nothing like I've ever tasted before. It didn't taste like papaya at all but more like a winter melon. I'm not a big fan of papaya but I really loved this soup.

It was 11am when we got back to our hostel. I couldn't believe that we experienced all of this on our first day. If only I could live like this everyday. I'd do it in a second, if I had the money.

Next up: Shopping in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong 2006: The Arrival

I know it's been a while since I've posted a blog. As you can see, I've been a little distracted by Hong Kong.

I've been broke and jobless for a very long time. So how did I end up spending ten days in Asia with less than $300 in my bank account? Thanks to a very generous friend and understanding mom, I was able to make this trip happen.

Of course, none of this would've happened if we hadn't found airfare for dirt cheap. I scored round trip tickets to Hong Kong for only $350 by booking tickets through www.courier.org. When you sign up as a courier, there are a few limitations. Often you will have to fly alone. Rarely do they ever have two couriers on a given flight. Travel dates are on specific dates so you will have to be flexible. When courier companies are short of couriers for particular runs, the price usually starts dropping the closer it gets to the day or hour of takeoff. This is how I was able to get such a low price on tickets. I actually purchased my tickets two weeks before my travel date. When serving as a courier, you are limited to only one carry-on bag and one check-in bag instead of two. Sometimes you are only allowed one carry-on. The air travel courier is responsible for carrying shipping documents on international flights for a courier company. In exchange, you get a discounted, and sometimes free, air ticket.

I had a small budget of $500 for my entire trip. This allowed me only $50 per day. This budget includes lodging, food, and transportation expenses. The biggest priority for me on this trip was to experience Hong Kong's culinary delights. I wanted most of my budget to go towards food expenses, so we opted to stay at a hostel to save money. We booked a private room that included two twin beds and a private bathroom for less than $11 a night per person at the Traveler's Friendship Hostel in Kowloon, also known as "USA Hostel" and "New Garden Hostel". We figured that they do this to purposely try to confuse traveler's so that they all go to the same place.

I went to meet my traveling buddy Rona as soon as my plane landed. We didn't get to our hostel until midnight. Our hostel is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, which is at the central part of Hong Kong. It's like the equivalent of staying on Canal Street in NYC. And like Canal Street at midnight, it can get kind of shady. Our building, Mirador Mansions, was the shabbiest looking one on the block.

Immediately, I noticed a lot of shiesty looking men hanging around outside our building. I could feel their hungry eyes burning through the back of my head as we entered our building. Fortunately, our building was staffed with several security guards. Everyone is required to sign in with a passport or ID number after 10pm. We realized later that the men outside were shopping for prostitutes, most of whom are from India and mainland China. Sometimes these prostitutes would bring these men into our building to "conduct their business". It's kind of scary at first because we ride the same tiny 4 x 4 square foot elevator but you get used to it after a few days. What can I say? You get what you pay for.


1. The inside courtyard of our building, Mirador Mansion, most of which is residential. This is old-school apartment-style living.
2. A glimpse of our private bathroom. It includes a western-style toilet, a tiny sink with a shower hose attached to the faucet. The entire bathroom itself is a shower. There is a big drain on the floor.
3. Rona's bed was an actual full sized bed. It took up about 50% of the room. Our room was 6 x 6 square feet in size with no windows. The room included an air-conditioning unit and a ceiling fan to compensate for the lack of ventilation in the room. We had to store all of our things under our beds because we had very little walking room.
4. My bed, a twin. Our room included a small TV that had little reception and a telephone (includes free local calls). Pretty good for $11 a night!

More to come soon.

Thank Goodness For the Good Souls

A few weeks ago, my concert-going soulmate flew to LA from NYC to see Starsailor perform at the Troubadour two nights in a row. Hanging out with her reminded me of how much I miss going to shows with a fellow girlfriend. Fortunately for me, T and I share the same music interests, but it's not the same because it's no fun gushing over the boys on stage with your live-in boyfriend. Plus, I am hardcore when it comes to getting hard-to-find tickets, arriving hours early to claim the best spot at a general admission show, and sneaking in digital cameras to videotape performances. Not a lot of people have the patience or determination to do all of this but I do this for almost every single show/concert/performance I go to. It's an addiction and my concert-going soulmate understands because she's an addict, too.

It's hard to believe that it has been two years since I went to a show/concert with her. Starsailor at the Troubadour was the perfect show for us to reunite again since she was the one who had introduced me to their music when they debuted their album Love Is Here in 2001. James, the lead singer, was only 20 years old when we first saw them perform at Irving Plaza in NYC. Now, he is married with a 4 year-old baby girl! Amazing how some people grow up so fast.

Their set list for both nights included the following songs:

In My Blood
Counterfeit
Poor Misguided Fool
Alcoholic
This Time
Fever
Get Out While You Can
Love Is Here
In the Crossfire
4 to the Floor
4 to the Floor (Remix)
Tie Up My Hands
Keep Us Together
Good Souls
Silence Is Easy (Encore)
Walk the Line Cover (Encore for 2nd night with special guest vocals by Ed Harcourt)

Needless to say, the band's performance was stronger than ever. James really knows how to work the crowd... And the camera.

Starsailor at the Troubadour - September 29, 2006 (taken with my friend's point-and-shoot digital camera):


Starsailor at the Troubadour - September 30, 2006 (taken with my Nikon D50):





Now, if only I could find a way to get paid to do this crap.