More Mo'orea....

Behind our famous monkey pose is a view of the valley from Belvedere's peak. The highest point on Mo'orea.

This is the other famous bay, Opunohu Bay. Between June to October, the humpback whales frequent this area. We went scuba diving in the area a couple of times but no luck.

Of course, no trip with my two travel buddies would be complete without our famous monkey pose!

I am looking down the glass bottom floor of my overwater bungalow. At night, the fish are attracted to the bright lights that are lit up at the bottom of the ocean, so you can watch the fish frolick.

This was your view from the top....The Sofitel Ia Ora Hotel and Resort. Sigh.

These houses on hills are for sale, but only if you were of Tahitian citizenship. They were only about $300K a piece. Not bad for such a prime location.

Fish feeding off the balcony was fun. And we also discovered how much they loved shrimp chips.

I still cannot get over how calm and beautiful the waters were! Photos are so wonderful that way. They take you back in time to that special place and allow you to relive those moments. I could almost smell the salty breeze against my skin again. This was my private oceanview every morning, as I sipped my coffee and just relaxed. My husband and I made a promise that in 10 years, we will come back and renew our vows. Right here.

Cook's Bay, Moorea

Black Pearls

My husband bought me a set of black pearl necklace and earrings. I really only wanted the earrings, but he insisted I also get a nice pendant in peacock. I must tell you though that Tahitian pearls are of really good quality, and every pearl purchased in a boutique like this one, comes with a certificate of authenticity. So you are sure to be purchasing a very high grade pearl. This set cost about $1000.00 CAD. Not too expensive. There were some that ran up to the six figures!!!

Some of you may not know this, but Tahiti is one of the major exporters of cultured South Sea pearls. Their speciality is of course, black pearls, which is really a misnomer, as they come in an array of colours, not just black. Some have a green tinge, while others display an aubergine colour, and many more come in peacock shades or multi-coloured.

Tiki Village on Saturday Night

The ceremonial opening of the ground oven before the big dinner and tiki show. Tahitians would cook their meals together in an underground "stove" lined with coals for an entire day. The food was absolutely delicious and worth the wait.


The fire-dancers, demonstrating their skills with blazing torches.

The dancing girls answer to the call of love.

The male dancers in a re-enactment of a Tahitian courtship ritual.

Indulging in a rare Polynesian sunset.

Mo'orea By Night

A cacophony of fish are attracted to the bright lights, swirling about in a trance-like dance just beneath the water's surface. I could watch them play for hours. The most magical thing is when you switch off one set of lights, and turn on another, the dense cloud immediately migrates to the other light source, and continue their dance.

By day, Mo'orea is a scenic island paradise, lush with vegetation and soaring mountains. But by the moonlight, she has an eerie but beautiful tranquility about her.

Mo'orea Pearl Resort, French Polynesia

My husband and I stayed in a deluxe overwater bungalow during our sojourn in Mo'orea. The accommodations at the Moorea Pearl Resort were impeccable and the oceanview, priceless. Every morning we would wake up and dive from our balcony into the blue for a relaxing swim. These images are just teasers. More to come in the next few days or so.

Holiday Soiree Venue

The theater is to be our dancefloor, but this is still subject to debate, I think.

The bar....

The atrium will be the dining area, ideal for schmoozing and rubbing elbows with the higher-uppers.

I volunteered to help plan the company holiday party this year and today we visited the Living Arts Center in Mississauga to check out the venue. Very nice. I think HR did a great job. I took some photos to get an idea of layout and where to set up the dancefloor, the bar, the Christmas tree and all the other holiday stuff.

No Go

Wednesday was the only day I could attend Fashion Week. 8 P.M. was Andy The-Ahn's show and I was really looking forward to it. I was guaranteed good seats and no line-ups. At 5 P.M. wednesday I was bombarded with work: urgent and had to be taken care of asap, no exceptions. By the time I left the office, Andy's fashion show was over. Sigh. I sometimes feel that I've chosen the wrong occupation, but when I returned to the office today, I realized how much I love science and hence, my job. Fashion is fleeting and I am simply a spectator. Science, on the other hand is forever moving forward, and I consider myself a major player. There is always the spring Fashion Week.

Lions and tigers and runners, oh my!

This was a really fun 10K run held at the Toronto zoo on saturday morning. I organized this little team building exercise for my company. While we had a couple of dropouts, the rest of the team pulled together and finished the race, some of them running a 10K for the very first time. The course was hilly and a little challenging but the distraction of the elephants and giraffes looking on made it all worth the effort!

Election!!!

I almost did not make it in time before the polls closed. I did my usual tuesday 6K run after work, but then decided to check my e-mails in the office just before heading home. Big mistake. There was a trail of emergency e-mails on my outlook (you know, the ones with all the big red exclamation points) that required immediate attention. Got stuck at work managing the "emergency", then came home. Fought through the highway traffic, got home, ate dinner then made a mad dash to the community center to cast my vote. I did not want to miss the opportunity to exercise my rights as a citizen. Especially after my work colleague told me about "voting" in Iraq during the time Saddam Hussein was in power. Apparently they were all required to "vote" but there would only be one candidate. It was such a farce. I'm lucky to be in a country where I do have a choice and know that my vote will count.

Autumn Palettes

I love the rich and earthy tones of fall. These images were taken with my new D60 Nikon on our way to Tews Falls. Monet would be proud.

Indian Summer

This may be the last year that I get to enjoy an indian summer with my beautiful German Shepherd, Roxxi. She is 13 and a half years old and has cancer. So we packed up a nice picnic lunch and set out on the Bruce Trail to enjoy the outdoors. It is officially fall, but I am glad for the summer-like conditions we had for the whole Thanksgiving weekend. I do have a lot to be thankful for, and one of them is that I get to spend some downtime with my most faithful and bestest friend.

Sick Day

I am in my housecoat and PJs today, nursing a hot cup of mandarin orange & honey tea. My one eye is swollen shut from a nasty allergic reaction last night. I was out for a short run after work with some fellow running enthusiasts when a bug flew right into my left eye. It got stuck there for awhile until I finally grabbed a hold of it and took it out. Anyway, by the time I got home, both eyes had become irritated and when I woke up this morning, I couldn't open my left eye! I did think about wearing an eye patch to work, I always thought Daryl Hannah looked really cool with it in Kill Bill. But driving would have been more challenging. So here I am.

Fabulous Images of Nuit Blanche 2008

Here are some of the phenomenal art installations from Nuit Blanche this year. There were over 190+ locations scattered all over downtown Toronto. Interactive, participatory and even some impromptu displays keep this event exciting and fresh year after year. My friend Ben was kind enough to let me upload some of my favourite scenes from his collection. Merci beaucoup, Ben!

For more Nuit Blanche 2008, visit his site: http://blog.benjaminwong.ca/?p=99.

Photo Credits: Sir Benjamin Wong

Triple Booked

I missed Nuit Blanche (again!) this year because of previous committments. I had to attend a DB party on saturday night at one end of the city, while Nuit Blanche was happening at the other end. I did consider going afterwards, but that would mean no sleep before the Run for the Cure event on sunday morning. I promise never to miss another Nuit Blanche event, EVER!! I bet it was really, really awesome. I'll see if I can bum off some photos from my photographer friend (who recently published his Nuit Blanche photos last year in Toronto Life!) so I will truly appreciate what I've missed....

All Creatures Great and Small...

Over 30,000 runners/walkers participated in the Run for the Cure, even pets showed their support.... I was waiting for my friend Mary to show up for the run. This was the sight at Nathan Phillips Square just when the race got started.
Thank goodness this was only a 5K course, and no time chips! I was able to do a leisurely run, take photos while catching up on the latest news with Mary.

Postcards from Santorini

I plan to retire in the Mediterranean somewhere. I have narrowed my choices down to three: Nice, The Algarves and Santorini. I don't ever recall seeing any clouds or rain the entire two weeks I was in Greece. And the seafood....drool, drool, drool!

Photo Credits: Alex T.