((little fat notebook)) » travel tales http://maryqin.com when inspiration won't wait Tue, 22 May 2012 07:06:33 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Awesome aquatic pets http://maryqin.com/2011/05/awesome-aquatic-pets/ http://maryqin.com/2011/05/awesome-aquatic-pets/#comments Tue, 24 May 2011 06:55:52 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5932 If I could have a huge saltwater tank, I’d want a pet ray. Remove the stinger and these guys are amazing – so soft, so graceful, and quite friendly too!

This guy was so eager to be petted he was coming out of the water!

bobbing ray from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

They’re not just soft, they kind of feel… fluffy.

petting spotted ray from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

I quite like the cownose ones, probably because this one was super friendly.

pet cownose ray from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

Their little mouths are so cute! They look like a face themselves, but the eyes of course are actually on top. I believe those are the nostrils?

ray face from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/05/awesome-aquatic-pets/feed/ 0 Tourist village http://maryqin.com/2011/05/tourist-village/ http://maryqin.com/2011/05/tourist-village/#comments Wed, 04 May 2011 05:46:51 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5870 Ngong Ping is a nice little (fake) village up in the mountains of Hong Kong. The town center is a tourist’s dream, with shops, food, and even a tea house. As far as I can see it’s kind of like Disneyland though – completely constructed for tourists and not actually lived in. However, if you go outside this main area, you’ll find some real people along the way to the temple and the Buddha way up high.

ngong ping village from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/05/tourist-village/feed/ 0 Meet Sasha http://maryqin.com/2011/05/meet-sasha/ http://maryqin.com/2011/05/meet-sasha/#comments Tue, 03 May 2011 05:44:03 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5859 In D.C. on Sunday, Panda and I came across this adorable squirrel! She was hardly scared of people and after feeding her I decided to name her Sasha.

brown or red squirrel eating

We spotted her so close to the sidewalk, munching away at something yummy.

brown or red squirrel looking alert after noticing movement

She ignored us for a long time as she scavenged, but then the crinkling of the bag caught her attention.

brown or red squirrel looking inquisitively at camera

She stared right at us when we pulled out a gummy bear from the bag.

brown or red squirrel creeping along ledge to get closer

She hopped up on the ledge and began to sneak over.

brown or red squirrel stretching out to sniff at gummy bear

She came right up to the edge to see this wonderful piece of food.

brown or red squirrel munching on red gummy bear candy

She took the gummy bear straight from my fingers and began nibbling at it furiously.

brown or red squirrel looking over shoulder at gummy bears

I offered her some more tempting candy as she finished gobbling up the first.

brown or red squirrel stands on back legs to look at candy

She was really eager for these! What a hungry squirrel.

brown or red squirrel smells gummy bear

She put her paws on me to grab the red one, which fell. When she didn't notice where it landed, she went for the yellow one instead.

Her paws were so soft and slightly scratchy where the nails were. I want a pet squirrel!

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/05/meet-sasha/feed/ 0 Dolphins, the ultimate entertainers http://maryqin.com/2011/04/dolphins-the-ultimate-entertainers/ http://maryqin.com/2011/04/dolphins-the-ultimate-entertainers/#comments Sun, 17 Apr 2011 06:59:07 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5791 They’ve got skill and personality!  Check out some more videos here and here.

dolphins balancing balls from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

dolphin feeding from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

dolphin hula skills from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/04/dolphins-the-ultimate-entertainers/feed/ 1 Floating at sea http://maryqin.com/2011/02/floating-at-sea/ http://maryqin.com/2011/02/floating-at-sea/#comments Sat, 05 Feb 2011 05:44:04 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5493 Our second day in the Bahamas was supposed to be on those islands you can see way in the distance, but with weather like this, we couldn’t dock and spent the day at sea instead.

choppy seas from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/02/floating-at-sea/feed/ 0 Riding up the HK mountains http://maryqin.com/2011/01/riding-up-the-hk-mountains/ http://maryqin.com/2011/01/riding-up-the-hk-mountains/#comments Sun, 30 Jan 2011 07:59:13 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5474 Taking a cable car up to Ngong Ping village, with others whizzing by, the air flowing through, planes taking off in the distance, and finally, a view of the Buddha. Check out other videos from my Ngong Ping visit.

cabin whizzing by from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

crystal cabin ride from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

ngong ping buddha from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/01/riding-up-the-hk-mountains/feed/ 0 Touching pool http://maryqin.com/2011/01/touching-pool/ http://maryqin.com/2011/01/touching-pool/#comments Wed, 26 Jan 2011 07:51:50 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5454 At Sentosa Island, you can go to the Underwater World and find this touching pool, which is super fun. Hold your hand still and the fish will come up to you with a quick swipe against your skin. The guy narrating thought there was a close call, but that’s what it looks like when they swipe you. So fast it doesn’t look like it happened!

fish swiping from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/01/touching-pool/feed/ 0 Inclement weather http://maryqin.com/2011/01/inclement-weather/ http://maryqin.com/2011/01/inclement-weather/#comments Thu, 13 Jan 2011 07:48:45 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5385 December 29th, 10 PM. My dad and have been waiting at JFK for two hours, wondering if we can get on the last flight to LA that night. The recent blizzard that swept through the area left many passengers stuck in the airport for days. Thankfully, we were lucky enough to get seats so I wouldn’t have to spend my birthday in the airport!

stations in jfk airport equipped with ipads to play games on

JFK has a lounge sort of area with lots of iPads for people to play games on. Pretty nifty.

cot sits on ground in jfk for travelers who need a place to sleep

With tons of people stranded in the airport, there were some cots laid out for people to use.

a huge snow bank at jfk airport after a huge blizzard

The snow was piling a good 10 feet high as they cleared the runways!

snow piling up outside window at jfk airport

It snowed at least two feet right there. I sort of miss this weather.

]]> http://maryqin.com/2011/01/inclement-weather/feed/ 0 Aboard the Norwegian Sky http://maryqin.com/2010/12/aboard-the-norwegian-sky/ http://maryqin.com/2010/12/aboard-the-norwegian-sky/#comments Tue, 28 Dec 2010 03:48:10 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/2010/12/aboard-the-norwegian-sky/ Woo, I’m back from my cruise and here are some pics of when we first got on 4 days ago.






]]> http://maryqin.com/2010/12/aboard-the-norwegian-sky/feed/ 0 Bumpy squeaky bus ride http://maryqin.com/2010/12/bumpy-squeaky-bus-ride/ http://maryqin.com/2010/12/bumpy-squeaky-bus-ride/#comments Thu, 09 Dec 2010 07:59:08 +0000 laelene http://maryqin.com/?p=5224 Coming down from a visit to Ngong Ping Village, I wasn’t sure the bus would make it at times.

the bumpy bus ride down from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

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