1. Ladies, don’t sling your purse behind the back of the chair. Put it on your lap if it fits, or put it down on the floor tightly between your feet, with the strap around your foot or the leg of the chair, if possible. Do bring a small bag with a long strap that you can sling over one shoulder and rest it on your lap for evenings out. Plus: it’s dance-friendly at clubs!
2. Don’t ever check in your laptop, cameras, or other expensive electronics in your check in luggage.  If you read closely in any airline’s Conditions of Carriage, you’ll find that airlines do not assume liability for loss or stolen computers and cameras stored in checked-in bags. A friend found this out the hard way when her laptop got stolen from her checked in bag somewhere between JFK and Rio de Janeiro. Do get insurance coverage that covers electronic items in case they get lost or stolen, either from your travel insurance, homeowner’s insurance, or renter’s insurance.
3. Don’t carry your expensive camera around your neck or over your shoulder in crowded places.  Actually, don’t even bring your camera case when out during the day, unless you can fit it in inside an inconspicuous looking bag. Longchamp’s Le Pliage foldable tote bags are large enough to fit a DSLR. Timbuk2 makes cool messenger bags for cameras (appropriately named The Snoop Camera Messenger) and laptops. Do find a bag that you can easily fit your camera in with easy access to the camera when you need it. Again, Timbuk2 makes great bags for cameras and laptops with easy access and great design.
4. Do hold your bag with a firm grip. Don’t let go when someone tries to tug at it. This happened to me while crossing the street in Paris – someone coming from the opposite side softly tugged at my bag. He gave up right away when he felt me tightening my grip on my bag. This was so subtle I didn’t realize he was trying to steal my purse. Use your instinct!
5. Don’t put all your valuables in one bag. Split them up. If you travel with a partner, have one carry both passports and the other your ID cards. And do make copies of your passport, travel insurance, and ID card.

Paris is famous for many things, and infamous for its bag snatchers.

One last thing, always be aware of your surroundings. And ladies, don’t be too welcoming to strangers when you are a stranger in a strange land. If someone is too generous with compliments, walk away.  If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

Here are items I always have with me when I’m on the road:

1. I separate my clothes and other personal items with Ziploc bags and Saran wraps. Spills happen, especially with products packaged in tubes.  The Ziploc and the wraps can be recycled for subsequent travels, or used to separate wet/dirty clothes from clean ones.
2. FANCL’s Cleansing Powder is my favorite facial cleanser for travel. I stock up whenever I visit Hong Kong and Singapore – where you can find many of their stores – but you can find FANCL products online. The Cleansing Powder is easy to carry, spill-proof, foams well, and cleans thoroughly.
3. I keep individual wipes for sun protection, facial cleansing, mosquito repellant, and antibacterial wipes in my bag, because you never know when you’ll need them.  Some favorites are Dr Dennis Gross Skincare EZ4U Facial Towelettes, Shady Day Daily Protection Pack SPF 30, and Herban Essentials Peppermint Towelettes. In Asian countries, you can get mosquito repellent stickers made of citronella in convenient stores. I love these stickers – I can stick them in my backpack, pillow, bed, blanket or jacket instead of putting some yucky, toxic chemicals on myself.  In the US, you can get them online or at stores that sell camping supplies.  They’re very useful when hiking, sleeping, or dining in the outdoors.
4. Lush sells two-in-one shampoo and conditioner bars that are easy to carry and make a great space/time saver. My favorite, Godiva, makes hair smell like jasmine.
5. As a scarf junkie, I think scarves and shawls make the greatest travel accessories and souvenirs. They take little space and are multi-functional.  A scarf can flatter the face, compliment an outfit, guard against chills, and doubles as a hair accessory, cover-up, or as a belt or a bag.

These shawls may look touristy but they make great travel accessories and reminders.

World Festival of Sacred Music

Honoring the Sea 2008

Inspired by a on open letter written in 1999 by the Dalai Lama calling for peace, the fifth WFSM opens on Oct 1 and continues to Oct 16. A festival filled with spirit of community, WFSM brings together 832 multi-cultural artists who send out themes of peace, tolerance, unity, and respect for nature.

Festival Director Judy Mitoma sums it up best in an LA Times article on September 29. “One thing I’ve come to understand is that at the source of art-making, there has always been a connection to nature and spirit,” says Mitoma. “At its heart is the opportunity to transcend your sense of self and your sense of community.”

If you are in LA on Saturday, Oct 1, join my friends at Swing Brazil Tribe, along with Agape, the native Tongva and other tribes in Honoring the Sea, on Santa Monica Beach at Ocean Park, starting at 3PM till sunset. Soak in the beautiful energy of the ocean and the communities that have come together for this special event. For more details, visit the WFSM website. The first video on the page, taken in 2008, is mine!

I’m also looking forward to Japanese butoh and celebration of the harvest moon in “Mare Vaporum” at JACC on Oct 16.  Other highlights include Groundswell at the Ballona Freshwater Marsh on Oct 8 (yes, Los Angeles has a marsh and it is a lovely sanctuary); Balinese gamelan on Oct 8; and “Water is Rising”, by artists from the Pacific Atolls of Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu, who will be sharing their art outside of their native home for the first time.

Pacific Standard Time

With 60 museums and galleries participating in “the largest cultural collaboration ever undertaken in the region”, Pacific Standard Time gets going this October with what looks like a phenomenal exhibit of the period at the Getty Center. Crosscurrents in L.A. Painting and Sculpture, 1950 – 1970 covers artistic innovation in LA post-World War II.

As exciting as Crosscurrents is California Design, 1930 – 1965 at LACMA, also opening on Oct 1 and billed as the first major study of modern California design. Architecture lovers will love this exhibit, which starts with California modernism in the 1930s, featuring works by Richard Neutra, Rudolph Schindler, the Eames brothers, and many others.

Replica of Eames living room. Image is from lacma.wordpress.com.

A highlight is a full-scale replica of the Eames living room.  Visiting the Eames House in Pacific Palisades has been on my list of things to do for quite some time. Now I’ll get to see the transported living room installed at LACMA.

As part of PST, some participating museums are offering free admission this Sunday, Oct 2, including LACMA. Go and check it out!

“The final story, the final chapter of western man, I believe, lies in Los Angeles.” ~ Phil Ochs.

If you’ve never driven across the US, do! And stop whenever, wherever you feel like stopping. It’s fun and enriching.

Starting point: Columbus, Ohio

A view of downtown Columbus. In the foreground is a replica of Christopher Columbus' ship, the Santa Maria.

After a ten-hour drive from Columbus through pounding storms, junk food, Philadelphia, and a detour to Voorhees, NJ for a late night meeting, we finally reached NYC.

The High Line is a mile and a half long elevated park on the West Side that stretches from Gansevoort St to W. 30th.

Looking out into Chelsea from the High Line.

The 9/11 Memorial in NYC opened to the public on September 12^th.  It’s a touching, powerful tribute to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the attacks.  Going over the names inscribed into the bronze panels surrounding the reflecting pools is a solemn ritual.  The vastly moving waterfalls are magnificent and symbolic – water is a powerful healing element.  I felt so much spirit in the Survivor Tree when I touched its leaves.  Visiting the memorial requires a visitor pass. Reserve it in advance at their website.

Waterfalls rushing through one of the pools at 9/11 Memorial.

Of the many flowers left by loved ones at 9/11 Memorial.

A visit to New York is never complete without having a NY style pizza. Pizza Suprema has one of the best pizzas in town, with ingredients made fresh daily. I have a thing for square, Sicilian-style pizzas – in San Francisco, it’s Golden Boy’s. At Pizza Suprema, it’s their Marinara pizza – square and perfectly garlicky.

I was pretending (very hard) not to like my Marinara pizza at Suprema.

We left for the Hudson on the 13^th – the day that Missoni for Target launched in Target stores. I had previously tried to go to the pop-out Target at Bryant Park in the city but found it a madhouse.  I arrived at noon at the Target in White Plains to find every Missoni item sold out.  Then one lady handed me a black/white Missoni dress in XS, a size too small for her but just perfect on me. What a gift! Another lady handed me a black sweater in XS. Score!

Walking through Prison Alley in Hudson, where lots of prostitution took place a century ago.

In Hudson, we had a few beers while browsing the books at Spotty Dog, a pub/book store/art supply store, and performance space.

This is Jean-Michel BASQUIAT’s chair! I sat on it!!!!

Looking out into the Hudson River from the fairy-tale like Olana, home of famed Hudson River School painter Frederic Church.

On the way back to Columbus, we decided to break the drive and stay the night in Niagara Falls.  Does anyone make a trip to Niagara Falls just to see the falls? The falls are a fabulous force of nature and the rainbows are mesmerizing, but it’s such an out of the way destination, and Niagara Falls, the city in the US side, is so run down.

Catching a rainbow in Niagara Falls.

Passing through Cleveland, we stopped by Great Lakes Brewing Co. for happy hour beers, pizza and ribs. My favorite is the Eliot Ness Amber Lager. My partner loves the Burning River.

Great Lakes in Cleveland is for sure one of America's best breweries.

An unplanned rest stop took us to the Shawshank Redemption oak tree, near the historic Malabar Farm State Park in Monroe Township, OH, where Humphrey Bogart married Lauren Bacall.  The oak tree was recently damaged during a heavy storm in July ’11, its trunk split by straight-line winds.

The famous oak tree featured in Shawshank Redemption.

Back in Columbus, I visited the same restaurant I dined at the day I first arrived.  Milestone 229, a riverfront restaurant at the Bicentennial Park, is managed by the Columbus Brewing Company and has great beers (of course) and food. Try the Indian Pale Ale. The Three Little Pigs – a sandwich with pulled pork, bacon and caramelized pork belly, is insanely delicious! The patio seating facing the fountain is a great people-watching spot, especially during warm days and nights, when children and adults play with the water fountains, jets and bubbles.

Playtime at the fountain at Scioto Mile, a new riverfront development in downtown Columbus.

Great beers and food at Milestone 229 on the Scioto Mile.

A highlight of a visit to Peru’s Machu Picchu is hiking up Huayna Picchu (Young Mountain), the mountain in the shape of a crouching puma that is in the background of every photograph of Machu Picchu (Old Mountain). Those who take the Inca Trail usually miss the hike, as the trail takes them to the sacred site after the morning’s quota for hiking Huayna Picchu is filled.  From the peak, you can take a bird eye’s view of Machu Picchu’s flying condor shape.  It is peaceful at the top. I found a perfect nook on a rock to sit and lingered till late morning, enjoying being on top of a sacred world, one with the mountain.  In the afternoon we wandered around the lost city below, deserted as most tour groups usually left by mid-afternoon to catch the train back to Cusco. We stayed till closing before heading back to Aguas Calientes.

One of my absolute favorite places in the Los Angeles area, Descanso Gardens is an enchanting wonderland of shaded woods and fragrant flowers. Entering the gardens instantly takes me to a different world, where time stands still in the Camellia forests.  If nature inspires and beauty opens the heart, then Descanso is my muse.  Only a fifteen minute drive from downtown, visiting the gardens is a highlight if you are in LA.

“Look deep into nature, and you will understand everything better.“ ~ Einstein

]]> http://www.vickygoes.com/2011/06/photo-of-the-day-japanese-garden-at-descanso/feed/ 0 http://www.vickygoes.com/2011/05/photo-of-the-day/ http://www.vickygoes.com/2011/05/photo-of-the-day/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 22:15:33 +0000 admin http://www.vickygoes.com/?p=744

A Perfect Rose, Huntington Gardens, California

“The fairest thing in nature, a flower, still has its roots in earth and manure.”
~ D.H. Lawrence

]]> http://www.vickygoes.com/2011/05/photo-of-the-day/feed/ 0 http://www.vickygoes.com/2011/05/top-ten-best-gourmet-finds-for-your-buck-in-venice-santa-monica/ http://www.vickygoes.com/2011/05/top-ten-best-gourmet-finds-for-your-buck-in-venice-santa-monica/#comments Mon, 09 May 2011 21:26:53 +0000 admin http://www.vickygoes.com/?p=738 I recently did another guest blog for Got Saga on the best gourmet finds for your money in Venice & Santa Monica. Here it is. Enjoy!

I’ve been pondering the meaning of sacred sites recently.  Doing a google search for “sacred sites” results in pages and pages on religious sites such as churches, temples, pilgrimages, etc.  In this context, I’ve been to many sacred sites myself, including Lourdes, Fatima, Machu Picchu, Angkor Wat, Aya Sofia, Temple of Heaven, Borobudur, etc. But a trip to Brazil’s Iguazu Falls and Salvador, and Peru’s Colca Canyon, Lake Titicaca and the Amazon made me realize that the most sacred sites in the world are those created by nature.

When nature inspires and induces profound awe with its beauty, it is sacred. In this context, any beautiful beach is sacred, and so are forests and mountains. When we see and appreciate the beauty and awe of sites that only nature can create, they are sacred.

Most of us live in modern societies where the sacredness of nature is mostly lost. Yet there are many places in Africa, Asia, and South America where the residents have prayed for generations to aspects of nature and see the divine reflections of deities in the forces of nature. In Brazil and Cuba, for examples, rivers and waterfalls represent Oxum, the Goddess of love and beauty; whereas the ocean is the domain of Yemaya / Iemanja, the mother of all the deities; and the forest the domain of Oxossi /Ochossi, the God of the hunt.

How can you feel the energy of a sacred place? When it produces such a profound richness of feelings, awe and wonder, and you feel the work and presence of the divine (or, something so out of this world).  Maybe you’re filled with joy from all the beauty.  Or even cry. For example, Iguazu Falls brings the feeling of awe and catches the wonder of those who visit with the majestic scenes of the falls, the rainbows, and the mist. In Iguazu Falls, the Goddess Oxum’s presence can be felt at her strongest.

I remember when I was on the isle of Capri, the sight of the shimmering turquoise sea and the Faraglioni rocks as seen from the Gardens of Augustus brought a few visitors to call their love ones back home to cry out in joy and disbelief at the magnificent beauty surrounding them.

In Colca Canyon, Peru, a shaman said to me, “Feel the energy of the mountain. Let it in through you, flow with it.” How do you “tune in”? Just breathe deeply with the canyon in mind, feel the breath enter every cell of your body. It works. Breathing connects you to the mountain! And the mountain will love you back!

Nature not only soothes and makes us feel at peace, it also generates the feeling of reverence to the unseen divine forces that created it. That reverence is sacred.

“There are unknown forces in nature; when we give ourselves wholly to her, without reserve, she lends them to us; she shows us these forms, which our watching eyes do not see, which our intelligence does not understand or suspect.” ~ Auguste Rodin

Los Angeles may be best known for Hollywood and Disneyland but you won’t get to see the real LA in these places.  In fact, the real LA is not easy to define, as the city is vast and composed of multi-cultural pockets of neighborhoods.  As a westsider, a “Venician”, my LA is artistic, eclectic, and organic with plenty of sunshine, great food and beach time.

Spend a few days in Venice and its neighboring city Santa Monica and you may just never leave this side of LA, with easy access to the freeways, close proximity to the airport and some of LA’s best beaches, as well as great restaurants and shops.

Here are the top ten things to do in Venice and Santa Monica.

1. Venice Beach.
   Always entertaining and whimsical, Venice can make you feel out of this world.  Take a walk on the Boardwalk and you’ll see various street performers juggling, dancing, singing or haggling.   Step away to the beach for some peace and quiet.  You may even spot a few dolphins swimming very close to the shore.
2. Browse the eclectic shops on Abbot Kinney Blvd.
   You can spend hours on the stretch of Abbot Kinney between Venice Blvd and Main St.  I wrote a blog entry about where to shop/eat a while back. Abbot Kinney is most lively every first Friday of the month, when stores and art galleries stay open till 10pm for First Fridays.
3. Eat from food trucks.
   We love food trucks in LA, ever since Kogi BBQ started the food truck craze with their Korean fusion tacos. There are now hundreds, from Vietnamese sandwiches (Nom Nom) and Dim Sum Truck to Ludo Fried Chicken and Coolhaus for ice cream.  You can usually find some of these trucks at the Brig on Abbot Kinney at First Fridays and Saturday afternoons.  The locals’ favorite, however, is La Isla Bonita taco truck at Rose Avenue and Fourth St.  Its popular ceviche tostadas are a must eat and a Venice best buy at only $2.
4. Santa Monica Pier.Known as the Western Point of Route 66 – the historic roadway that starts in Chicago, Santa Monica Pier bustles with activities and thrilling rides.   Come here for a ride on the Ferris Wheel, a free summer night concert, or to simply enjoy the view of the Pacific.
5. Farmer’s Markets.
   Going to a Farmer’s Market is a weekly ritual to many Los Angelenos.  No wonder, since one of the best things about California is its fresh local produce.  Catch or assemble your own lunch at one of Santa Monica’s Farmer’s Markets, on Wednesdays and Saturdays at Third St Promenade, or Sundays on Main St.
6. Watch sunset at Venice Beach or Santa Monica Beach.
   Like many locals, I never get tired of watching the sun set over the pastel blue color of the Pacific.  Venice or Santa Monica Beach is the perfect location for this ultimate, eternal grand show of nature.
7. BP Oysterette.
   Come to this cute, low-key oyster parlor on Ocean Avenue for fresh raw oysters or a hearty mussel curry.  The patio’s also a great location to watch the sunset.
8. Yoga.
   Los Angeles is a mecca for yoga.  One of the most revered yoga studios in the nation, Exhale Center for Sacred Movement, is right here in Venice.  Take a class with well-known teachers such as Shiva Rea, Saul David Raye, Seane Corn and Annie Carpenter.
9. Chinois On Main.
   Wolfgang Puck’s irreverent take on Chinese food remains a local favorite after more than 27 years.  Try the famous Chinois Chicken Salad.  The barbecued baby back ribs and the sizzling catfish burst with flavors.

10. The Getty Center.
The Getty is the one place any visitor to Los Angeles should not miss.  Only a short drive away from Santa Monica on the 405 Freeway, the Getty offers superb panoramic views of Los Angeles, the mountains and the ocean.  Go to the Getty for its lovely gardens, open spaces, Richard Meier-designed modernist architecture, and free concerts in the summer.