Bangkok III and Ayutthaya, Thailand (03/11/2010-03/16/2010)

My Taiwanese study visa was going to run out just two weeks before my return to Canada - so I had to leave the country and come back on a visitor visa for only 14 days! Was it an annoyance or a blessing, I don't know. So, if I had to leave the country I might as well go somewhere affordable, beautiful and relaxing - Thailand was the easy choice. Little did I know that a revolution was about to start. Not to get ahead of myself - it wasn't bad yet. However it was disconcerting to hear about it for the first time while waiting in the boarding lounge. 

I went there wanting to relax and not do anything, but couldn't help myself - visited temples, hiked during the day, and stayed out late :).  I didn't have too much time, so I only went close by - Ayutthaya, the old capital of Siam which was sacked by the Burmese in the mid 18th century. All in all, glad to have had a small break!

Shenzhen II, China (01/20/2010-01/23/2010)

This is the second time I'm in Shenzhen, and the second time I'm in China for business, and sometimes I wonder whether I should be describing these sorts of trips. As long as there are a few interesting photos to post, perhaps I will.  The purpose I'll leave it up to your imaginations, but what I will say is that I never expected Shenzhen to have such nice parks, seashore, and scenic mountains, having seen only the parts close to the border with Hong Kong on my first trip.  I had originally feared that Shenzhen would be an overly industrial city with not much to do, and I'm so very happy to have been mistaken (given that I may one day live here).

Yokohama/Tokyo III, Japan (12/16/2009-12/20/2009)

Ah Yokohama, the third largest city in Japan, yet its proximity to Tokyo meant that I've overlooked it in my past two trips. This time I would get to see it in its full glory thanks to my attending SIGGRAPH Asia 2009. This also marks my first time in Japan for business purposes. Having my company's fledgling budget in mind, I decided to stay at one of Yokohama's "famous" business hotels - before and after pictures attached :).

These 4 brief nights were quite action packed both within the conference and outside.  At SIGGRAPH I was exposed to a great number of new 3D technologies, graphics techniques, and yes, even robots. I suppose part of this was due to 'augmented reality' being the buzz-word of the year. I met people from companies we all know and love, made some good in and out-licensing contacts, snatched a few neat pieces of swag, and got to meet both an android and a JPop star & actress in the process. Not surprisingly a few of my old demoscene friends attended as well, and we got a chance to catch up after [for some] 15 years.

Aside from the conference, Yokohama is famous for its port, parks, museums and scenic Chinatown - so I had to see all four. I finally managed to catch one of these elusive cosplay events that we all hear about, and the concept still baffles me, but it made for some good pictures.

I also had a quick chance to sneak away to Tokyo for one evening where I met up with a few old friends from school and other parts. Encountered my first 'theme' restaurant, held on a 'lunar penal colony' in 2999 with alien zombies. Great fun!

Can't wait to come back soon (but I still love Taipei more).