Hakuba & Tokyo, Japan

Hey All! So I'm only about a month late...but I wanted to share pics from the Duvall men's trip to Japan last month. Michael and I have been to the Tokyo airport en route back to the States more times then we'd like to remember, but unfortunately haven't had the opportunity to venture into the city. Well, the guys cleared their schedules about a year in advance and made the trip to Japan finally happen. 

They spent the week splitting their time between skiing in Nagano and eating their way around Tokyo. I was bummed to miss out, but they had a brilliant time on their guys-only holiday. 

Michael's been slammed at work so I'm going to take the reigns on the recap here. A sweet and simple summary below... 

Happy face! Since the guys were in town for spring skiing, the weather was a little hit and miss. The first day was absolutely horrendous with thick fog and heavy snow making it nearly impossible to see, but they still had a good time - on and off the slopes. They had much, much better skiing conditions the second day. 

Posing in front of the ski jump from the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. 

Johnny ready to hit the slopes. 

Off the slopes there was a lot of ramen, sake and onsens (hot spring spa - not photoed ;)) to warm their bones. 

An apres-ski cafe with the biggest goldens you've ever seen roaming around? Sobbing on my keyboard. 

Cheers

The guys stayed in a chalet that was part of the Phoenix Hotel in Hakuba. 

Off to Tokyo... 

Getting to and from Hakuba from Singapore was quite the adventure of planes, trains and automobiles. 

"Enjoy Japanese Vending Machine Culture" 

Waiting for the famed bullet train (Shinkansen) back to Tokyo. 

Tokyo! The view from the Shangri-La. 

What's a night out in Tokyo without a show at the Robot Restaurant (as seen in Anthony Bourdain, Parts Unknown). 

No one's really sure what's going on... but I'm told it was a good time. 

The other main highlight of their time in Tokyo was a food tour around the city via Culture Bites Food Tours. The company was started by a friend of a friend of ours here in Singapore. 

Now THAT is some fresh fish. You need to check out this video below... (sorry, for some reason I can only see it from my computer and not my iPhone)

I'm told plenty of noodles, fish, sake and good times were had during the tour :)

The boys all agreed the trip was a great time and life-long memories were made along the way. The men were thrilled this trip came together and everyone had such a wonderful time. The Duvall women on the other hand were ecstatic no one was mortally injured while skiing ;)

It's always a brilliant time when our families come all the way out to Asia to visit us. Lots of love... 

XO,

CD on behalf of MD

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Michael Down Under: Sydney, Australia + Auckland, New Zealand

G'day all you loyal LGE followers! It's been quite some time since my first and only foray into the world of blogging, and I'm glad to be back in action with a recap of my recent trip down under. 

It's been a hectic six months to say the least, beginning in June when Cassidy and I made the long trip back to the States to get hitched. Since then, between personal and business travel, I've been to Phuket, Bangkok, Bali, Hong Kong (thrice!), New York, Georgia, Kansas City, Connecticut, Mumbai and, most recently, Sydney and Aukland (off to India again next week...). The miles definitely take a toll, but the toughest part about the grueling schedule is being away from Cassidy for sometimes weeks at a time! Despite these negatives, however, I must admit that I've been incredibly lucky to get to see so much of this part of the world.

My most recent business trip to Australia (Sydney) and New Zealand (Auckland) was one of my most eagerly anticipated jaunts to date. It's also a trip that I can't wait to repeat in a more leisurely fashion with my wife by my side! Business travel is great in that it has little impact on my bottom line, and most often I get to travel in relative style (Singapore Airlines biz class is as ballin' as it gets), but I'm usually so busy that I barely have time to look around. Lucky for me, my colleague, Javad, who I was traveling with is pretty much in love with Sydney (he's been many times) and had never been to Auckland. He was really cool about encouraging me to get out and about - and even played tourist with me on Saturday in Auckland before we headed back to SNG. 

The above photo was obviously compulsory. I was lucky enough to stay right up the street from the Sydney Opera House -- literally a 2 minute walk downhill to the harbor from the Intercontinental. It sounds a bit funny, but I was actually rather unimpressed with the building from up close and in broad daylight...picture a white car that never gets put in the garage...

...what a different story at night! This photo was taken from the other side of Sydney Harbor (also known as Port Jackson). 

I feel like you can see the difference in weather (from Singapore) by the color of the sky in these photos. It was much cooler and less humid than what I've now become accustomed to - I think you can see the crispness in the air here.

    Sydney Harbor Bridge

On my second night in Sydney I finished meetings in time to enjoy the last couple hours of sunlight. I took advantage of the free time and caught a ferry out to Manly Beach. The above were taken from the top deck of the ferry, which departed from Circular Quay and arrived at Manly Wharf about 30 minutes later. 

If you ask me, it was way too cold for surfing (~65 degrees F), but there were tons of bros out in the water, even at dusk. 

On the other hand, I needed to find a hole in the wall somewhere to warm my bones...and this was just the place. It was a great place to enjoy a local brew (or two...and maybe also a specialty gin drink...) after the sun went down and the weather turned cold...middle of the day in the summer might require a slightly different setting, though.

Manly Beach faces pretty much due east, so the sun was setting behind me over the rest of the Australian continent.

I'm not much of a photographer, but I tried my best to capture this moment on the ferry ride home. 

......

Mid-week I was off to Auckland! I had a couple days of meetings, and managed to push my Singapore return flight off until late Saturday night (1:00am to be precise!) in order to have a day to explore the city and surrounding area. 

The most striking thing about New Zealand, to me, is how lush and green everything is. I took the above photo on my iPhone as we approached Auckland from the west. We've descended quite a ways by the time I snap this picture. 

So this was kinda funny. I'm walking along after my first work meeting on Friday morning...desperately seeking a flat white (which is the only coffee drink to order down under)...and all of a sudden I hear someone in the street shouting my name: Duvall!!!! 

I turned around just in time to brace myself for a bear hug from one of my closest college friends, Chris (DB)! WHAT!?!? Chris and Kate just so happened to be on the second leg of their honeymoon (which, by the way is a year long trip around the world --> you can follow the O'Dennys travels here). I was was a groomsman in their wedding no less than 6 weeks earlier! How crazy. I scurried off to my next meeting and we met later that night for drinks and made plans for the next day. 

Here we are on the ferry to Waiheke Island on Saturday morning (shouts to my dude - er, boss - Javad for taking this pic). 

Scenes from the top deck ^

Three people I never expected to be in the same place at the same time (Kate, DB and Javad) -- it's such a great thing when worlds collide unexpectedly. I believe that if one chooses to associate oneself with genuine, honest and interesting people, mixing circles can be one of the must enriching experiences around! 

A 20 minute hike through a neighborhood of vineyards...

...and we arrived at this little gem.

And what a gem it was. Here's DB looking smug, as usual, with one hell of a horizon behind him. A person could soak up this view for hours (ahem, out of the way DB...) and that's just what we did. 

To the right, a chopper that was shuttling folks back and forth from the city to the vineyard and landing about 50 yards away from where we lounged. Now that is LUXE.

Spent the second half of the day with good friends, a bottle of local Sauvignon Blanc and a nice beach view. That sounds kinda queer but it felt so natural at the time.  

(not pictured: me getting horrifically suburned.  Apparently there is an ozone problem down under)

Did I mention the Rolling Stones were playing in Auckland that night? Apparently Auckland was the last stop on the Stones' "14 on Fire" tour. We couldn't pass up the opportunity, and somehow managed to snag some great tickets at the last minute.

Here's one of the newlyweds jamming to "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Just below that, some Kiwi friends that we met outside stadium before the concert. Apparently these ladies were told they were "too drunk" at the gate and that they needed to wait 10 minutes to sober up before they were allowed in (haha). Provided some unexpected but good humored conversation to get the night warmed up. 

Below: Keef working his magic on the six string.

What a whirlwind of a trip - full of surprises around every corner! Nothing to do but roll with the crazy twists and turns that life throws at you. 

I boarded an 11 hour flight back to Singapore roughly 2 hours after this last photo was taken, by then ready to be home to my wife, but at the same time incredibly thankful for adventure I'd just been taken on. 

Until next time,

MRD 

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Guest Contributor: Mumbai + Delhi, India

I must say it's a pleasure to finally join the blogosphere (is that what "this" is called?) and I suppose a long time coming. I've avoided the limelight for too long, and after a long week of Cassidy's not-so-gentle "encouragement", I'm pleased to submit to you all this Let's Go East guest edition -- India.

I'll confess that I had North Indian food for the first time three years ago. At the time, Cassidy and I lived three kitty-corner blocks away from the heart of Curry Hill in New York. One night we went out on the limb together. Thirty dollars and two very full bellies later a new tradition, "Indian Lovers Night", was born. Since then India has been on my bucket list.

I got the nod several weeks ago to attend the annual meeting for one my firm's clients in Delhi. Actually, I was the only one that raised my hand. It's a six hour flight even from Singapore, and the food / water poisoning stories can be a bit frightening...as it turns out they may be unavoidable.

In any case, we set a 3 day schedule which put me in Mumbai for 24 hours and Delhi for 48 hours (+ a full Saturday to roam Delhi on my own). I arrived in Mumai after midnight on a Tuesday and the next day was packed full of meetings...but I was able to catch a couple gems out the window of our car:

Immediately outside the armed guarded gates of the Grand Hyatt Bombay -- a sacred cow. These guys literally roam the streets unhindered by the local population that worships them.

A church, I suppose

The local barber

After a whirlwind tour I arrived in Delhi on Wednesday night and was ravenous.

A proper Indian meal -- room service at the Oberoi. Look at that fresh naan..

(Unfortunately) Not pictured: the incredible buffet style meal that my client served the following night. It was outside at athe Delhi Country Club and consisted of a spread 50 metres long with every North India dish I could ever imagine trying. Complete with Indian bread baked in an open faced clay oven. To die for. Apologies for forgetting my camera.

Goooooood morning Delhi!!!! (this early Friday morning nugget is old news to my 7 followers on Instagram)

After a packed Thur / Fri schedule, I finally had a full Saturday to myself to poke around in Delhi. Actually, I had planned to visit the Taj Mahal, a three hour journey by car, on this hot and sunny Delhi morning. Unfortunately I got a bit reckless on Friday night and brushed my teeth with tap water (not bottled water). I awoke at 3am on Saturday morning to a wave of less-than-subtle stomach pangs. At 4am I decided to pull the plug on my impending road trip for fear of what a roadside Indian toilet might look like...

By noon on Saturday I was feeling almost chipper and ventured out to explore Old Delhi. This Rickshaw driver turned out to be the perfect tour guide. 

(mine was of the man-powered variety on the right sight of this photo -- over-sized American not pictured here)

...rickshaw diaries...

picture perfect

spice shopping

a heavy load

this is not for show - wholesale chili market

retail chili

baked goods sun-drying

the view from the roof

This poor rickshaw driver must've had the longest 3 hours in recent memory pulling my weight around

I kid you not, these are eagles. And they are literally everywhere in Old Delhi

Clothing shopping

Found the winner! She was a good sport...

Purchased some stationary for Cassidy. These are actually wedding invitations...found them a little to late I guess. Ours have already gone out!

A very sizable mosque!

The next Indian Lovers Night will have an air of authenticity. Confession: I got caught up in the moment and spent WAY too much money on a real Saree for Cassidy. Anyone know any Indian gals looking for a bridesmaid? Oh well, this Saree couldn't have found a more perfect match...

I'll leave you all with one final observation which can't be captured in living color like the scenes above. I'm on my way to the Delhi airport late on Saturday night, making small talk with the lively gentleman driver, who asks me:

"Sir, are you married"

"Not yet, but I'm engaged," I inform him.

"Oh, I see. Is it an arranged marriage or a love marriage?" he asks, as serious as can be.

His was an arranged marriage, but you'll be glad to know that he and his wife are now in love.

At that moment I couldn't have been more excited to see Cassidy on the other end of the red-eye I was about to catch on my way back to Singapore.

Until next time,

MRD

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