Just took a three day holiday with my fair lady to the wonderful city of Toronto in the beautiful but, often cold Country of Canada. This time around instead of flying, we took the modern and quite comfortable Neon Trailways bus. It is extremely accommodating, offering a convenient pickup and drop off location in both NYC (Penn Station) and Toronto (Downtown TO). They made two pit stops for restroom use / food and one when crossing the broader to clear customs. The wifi on board was speedy and it really allowed me to be productive while on the long and grueling 9 hour ride. The price tag for the ride wasn’t bad either, at $50USD round trip (can get fares as low as $1 if you’re flexable with the dates) it sure beats flying and the long trips to and from the airport.

I stayed at the Novotel Toronto Centre at 45 The Esplanade located in the St. Lawrence market Neighborhood / old town. The room that I was given was spacious and very comforatble. The only complaint that I had was the room was a bit cold at night and they didn’t have heat, other then that everthing was great.

While in Toronto for the second time , I quickly notice that the cost of living has increase subsatilly since I last visited (about 4 years ago). The cost of food and daily expensse of just getting around and hangging out in the city is a lot higher than what I remembered it to be. Never-the-less that did not stop me from enjoying myself. Cody and I did the toursit thing but, was really winging it since we have both seen the city once before. We came mainy for the authenic Chinese food and was quite dissapointed to find that the Chinese food here was not all that authenic compared to NYC and frenkly did not tastes all that great either.

Despite the dissapointment with TO’s food, we still found ways to enjoy ourselves. Below are some of the places we found interesting and recommend you checking out if you are ever in town.

Chinatown – this is one of the most authentic in the world. It is filled with sidewalk markets, dim sum restaurants, exotic spices, unique clothing and many kinds if knick-knacks. But don’t be surprise if you find things pricey, it is no longer dirt cheap like it use to be. To get here, take the subway to Dundas and then transfer to the 505 Dundas West Streetcar to Spadina Ave.

Queen Street West – is a neighborhood that has a vibrant art culture. Many of the top Canadian musician and comedians perform here, at local pubs and bars. It is also one of TO most popular shopping districts, filled with great shops, restaurants, patios, clubs, and local fashion designer boutiques. If you are looking for a fun atmosphere to hang out, this the district for you. To get here, take the subway to Queens then transfer to the 501 Long Branch Streetcar westbound to Spadina ave.

Downtown Yonge – is located along the largest street in the world. This is a really lively, vibrant, and exciting location in the heart of the city. It’s filled with theatres, hotels, restaurants, bars, and shops. Most notibly for the TO Eaton Centre, Yonge-Dundas Square and the newly developed TO life Square.

St. Lawrence Market – located in “Old Town Toronto”, it boost over 60 specialty vendors offering everything from gourmet foods to local art. To get here, take the subway to King and Yonge, then walk south to Front and turn eastward.

The Path – is the largest ungrounded shopping concourse, it sits under the financial district and spans numerous buildings, connecting a bunch of subway stations.

Casa Loma – TO’s majestic Edwaedian castle featuring soaring ceilings, rich wood carvings, sumotous marble and lumious stained glass. It is over 5 acres large and filled with with secret passage ways, soaring towers, and a 800-foot tunel that leads you to a luxurious stable. To get here, Take the subway to Dupont then walk north up the stairs or hill.

Taipei is amazing! Food is cheap, Fashion is very trendy, the locals are friendly, I’m starting to think why not move here?

I took a little trip with Cody to Taipei while she was here in Hong Kong and it was loads of fun. Having flown from Hong Kong, we landed at Taipei international airport, which was an hour or so from the downtown city area. Just a side note, Taipei is not very much developed outside its city area. The international airport looked like a local bus station from Binghamton (a small town in NY State where I attended UG). On the long bus ride from the airport to the city all I saw was small villages, stripper clubs, and Cops patrolling with a digital camera (that’s right a point and shoot digi cam).

The downtown city area of Taipei is however, very beautiful. With its mix of traditional (very very old) and modern architectures, you get to see a glimpse of Taipei’s history as well as their revolution with influences from the western world. It is without a doubt one of the finest cities I have ever visited. The only problem that I came across in Taipei was the language. English is not widely used there, thus if you can’t speak mandarin or Taiwanese forget about negotiating a good deal at any of the night markets (I am lucky I had my Cody with me).

Here’s a list of some of the places that I visited and recommend:

• Shi-Ling Market (aka the night market) – cheap food and cloths
• Xei Men – a very young environment, a hip & trendy hang spot, full of trendy shops
• Taipei 101 – the tallest building in the world (as of 2007), home to the world’s coolest lift and shopping centre
• Chiang Kai-Shek memorial Hall – an extremely large monument, you have to see it to believe it
• Long Shan Temple – a very old temple in Taipei that is still being used
• Wufenpu – fashion district with a large wholesale market
• Dan Shui River Cycle Path – a very romantic river side path

Here’s a list of some of the places that I ate and recommend:

• Din Tai Feng – (Zhong Xiao)- Famous Shang Hi buns
• Mister Donut – (Fusing S. Rd / throughout the city) – very famous Japanese donut shop
• Shi-Ling Market – hundreds of street vendor with food carts (ground pork meat bun, oyster omelet, deep fried spicy chicken cutlet, frog egg bubble drink)

More pics from my trips can be found here

This weekend, I took a trip to Macau with Leo and Ian to see Lebron James and the Cavs take on the Orlando Magics. It was awesome to see how pumped-up Asians are for the NBA, did I mention it was a pre-season game too.

This trip was a bit of an adventure. We were late getting out to Macau because all tickets for the 10 am boat ride over from HK was sold out. When we finally got over, there were thousands of people waiting for buses and taxis. We eventually walked half a mile down the highway just to catch a taxi. When we finally showed up to the game, the second quarter was under way and we missed a whole lot, but never the less it was a very fun experience. After the game we visited random site in Macau and check out the occasional casinos. Now on our journey back we were force to take a ship to Shen Zhen rather then HK because tickets were sold out. This made our journey more than an hour longer, but it all worked out well because we were able to get dinner Shen Zhen.

More pics from my trip to Macau can be found HERE

You would think that after hearing how dangerous Shen Zhen is, I wouldn’t step foot in that city, but you are mistaken. Today with the accompaniment of Anthony, Ivy, Seven, and XX we made our way into Shen Zhen via the KCR rail service.

Having now been to Shen Zhen, I can say it’s not as dangerous as people make it out to be. It’s not at all safe, but if you’re careful enough you should have no problem visiting this emerging city.

Shen Zhen is one of China’s more developed cities. It is home to a financial center and hundreds of high rises. For an American, goods are fairly cheap, except for branded electronics that is. You also have to cautious of the goods your are buying, they might just be really good knock offs.

The movie “The Holiday” is a perfect depiction of my adventure this holiday season.

I recently vacationed abroad in the United Kingdom and France. It was a lot of fun, I hung out with Jams and enjoyed a lovely dinner with his friends and family. We also went out for a entertaining night at very interesting wine bar, thank you Jams for all your hospitality. It was a shame I wasn’t able to meet up with Dev, Steve or the ghetto boys; I’ll have catch with you guys next time when I’m in town.

The last time I was in Europe was back when I was in Uni, I was poor and all I could afford for accommodation was either dorms or hostels. During my recent visit, Cody booked us a classy hotel (four stars) in the financial district of London. It was very clean, had amazing room service, was convenient to get from and to.

While in London I continued my quest as a foodie, to try all that London had to offer. I ate at many restaurants, my favorite was Hong Kong Diner in Chinatown. It’s cheap, the food tasty, and the atmosphere is very hip and lively; just the way I like. I also went up scale by paying a visit to the renowned La Poule au Pot. A very romantic French classic bistro. I wouldn’t say the food at La Poule au Pot was amazing but, it was well worth the money.

En-route to Paris was a wild adventure. We originally booked a flight, but it was canceled due to a heavy fog overcast. We were then forced to take a coach service, which turned out to be a lot of fun. We road in a Benz bus with a very hilarious Frenchmen that worked for British Air (I have the video to prove it). It took about 12 hours including a 2 hour ferry ride to get to Paris, but surprisingly time went by extremely fast (maybe because I had Cody with me). We reached Central Paris around 2 am and partied all the way to our awesome Hotel, which can not describable in words. There were French doors that opened to a balcony inside our bedroom, Win!

Paris was yet an another city of randomness activities. We ate food, did the tourist thing, ate more food, had some laughs, and ate some more food. I really had a lot of fun and really enjoyed the hospitality the French has shown us (most notable: our clerk at the front desk of the hotel and the bartender at the cafe across from our hotel.)

For Christmas, I went to see “The Holiday” with a very awesome lady that I fancy very much. We both loved the movie so it was very fitting that we were able to squeeze it in our very busy schedule for Christmas eve. Dinner wasn’t bad either because we both had a craving for Congee Village, which was satisfied with a 30 min speed dinner right before it closed at 2am. Overall a very merry Christmas this year even though it wasn’t spent much with family.

New Years was a bit different from previous years. The day before New Years Eve I had a BYOB dinner with some friends at a low key Chinese restaurant (Phenix Garden – midtown east) and then headed to “PM lounge” for some more partying with Eric and his friends. For New Years eve I had lunch with my Korean buddy in Korean-Town New Jersey, and for the rest of the day I was able to spend time with a very special lady. We didn’t do much, just hung around my corporate apartment, but sometimes it doesn’t take much to have fun.

On New Years day and I got invited to a hot pot event and it was absolutely amazing. I got to meet a whole lot of new people and had a lot of fun eating. We watch movies, ate till we couldn’t walk and played UNO.

And that sums up my holiday, a pretty good one.

I’m currently on holiday in Japan (Tokyo) and Korea (Seoul). Just got done with round one in Japan and now, I’m in Korea Staying at Park’s place until next Wednesday when I return to Japan for 3 more days of fun before I head back to the States.

Tokyo has been a bit overwhelming, especially Shinjuku, which has flashing light at every corner your turn. Roppongi Hills and Shibuya on the other hand are more style, it’s hip and trendy and filled with very chilled clubs. In terms of food, my favorite place to eat is at non-other then Tsukiji Sushi, a 24 hour sushi bar in Asakusa. I love going here late at night, you come across some of the most interesting locals.

Thanks to Jinsoo and Kathy for picking me up from the airport or I might have really gotten lost trying to find my way around.

On the first night, Kathy, J, Park, and I had dinner at an awesome traditional Korean restaurant and then we headed off to the middle of the city for some World Cup action. Since the World Cup was in Europe this year, the time difference ment that the Koreans had to watch their match at 4 am in the morning. I was amazing to see the support of thousands of locals setting up camp on the street just to watch the game together. I got to meet a lot of new people and we had a great time.

Updated: Pictures At http://tomcworld.com/photo

Living in downtown TO is awesome is almost like living in Manhattan, the only difference is the the real estate is slightly cheaper. TO’s Chinatowns are amazing, they have plenty of cheap and quality food.

During my stay I made a trip out to Pacific Mall, the most Asian mall you can find in North America. The whole complex consisted of asian food vendors, asian markets, and bootleg DVD shops. It was like Flushing Mall in New York times ten.

Queen Street is one of my favorite areas to hangout. It’s filled with trendy shops and social individuals. Simple Plan was on Queen Street performing at the Much Music Studios on Thursday Night and I got to check that out from a far.

taken from the top of the CNN Tower

I got into Toronto last night and it’s freezing! If I want to make it out of here alive, I’d better get me a warmer coat. I had my  first day of the Interviews for a marketing company that goes by the name of BASE.

On the first day, my job was to tour the city and do research. How awesome is that they gave me 100 bucks and told me to sell them the idea of tourism in Toronto. I had massive fun running around the city and taking in its culture. To be honest its not so different from NY city, except that it’s not crowed and dirty.

Everywhere is within walking distance! I can really see myself living our here.

I think I did well on the interview today considering I’m not native to this area….

Planning on go apartment hunting tomorrow afternoon and look at some real estate just in case I really do decide to work here.

Ok, time to go hang out with some buddies and relax a bit before another stressful activity tomorrow.

Peace from Toronto

In Boston for 4th of July weekend with some Buddies! We decided to check out the Samuel Adams Brewery….Its free admissions, free Glass to keep, Plus free beer…What gets better then that!!!

Boston Red Sox Vs. Toronto Blue Jays! My first game in Fen Way and its awesome! Sat outside the stadium for 2 hours to get tickets! It was worth it! For 20 bucks it was loads of Fun!

We Visted MIT (My Dream School), Harvard, the Boston Stock Eexchange, Quincy Market for some street performances, and of course the place where everybody knows your name, Cheers!

The Independence day celebration here is very grand. Everyone in the city comes out to show there support for the home of the brave. Happy 4th Of July!

Alone at last.

Traveling alone can be scary. I thought about the many complications that could have arise and tried to prepare myself for them as best as possible, that meant two copies of my passport and credit cards stored in different locations.

Other then that, traveling alone can be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. For me I wanted to break away from the group and try to be n my own. When your alone traveling is a bit different. You are more prone to socialize with new people and that’s exactly what I did.

My first stop was Venice, a breath taking city. Everywhere you looked it was just absolutely beautiful. Here, I meet a couple of cool locals that was able to take me around in there uncle’s boat. Whatgreat fun that was.

Next, I headed down to Rome. I think I booked too long of a stay in Rome. I constantly found myself with nothing to do. I mean it’s an amazing city, far different from all the other European cities, but it didn’t do anything for Me. I walked at least 40 Km during my stay there. I went to the the Vatican city almost everyday. I also meet a bunch of locals in Rome, one by the name of Kate. I spent a lot of time with Kate and here friend, who were nice enough to let me use their internet connection. There were some awesome people at my hostel as well, Americans of course. We did a day of sight seeing and random chatting. Sarah, one of the Americans was nice enough to hook me up with an extra rail ticket she had so I went to see Pisa for a day.

I also meet up with Maio, Kathy, Bomi, and G, for dinner on my last day in Rome!

My final destination was Manchester before I meet up with Holi to celebrate my birthday. Manchester was your typical UK city with of course the most massive, extravagant mall ever: Old Trafford Mall.

I learnt a lot from these last couple of day of traveling alone. It has taught me to be more independent and more responsible. “What doesn’t kill me only makes me stronger.”