Kelly Purkey: asia

January 07, 2016

Asia Album Part Three: Taipei and Cambodia

Wrapping up the Asia album I started in the summer and I have to say it feels SO GOOD to be done! I felt like this was a huge project for me since I had saved so much + had so many photos, so it was really good to break it up into chunks to work on. You can see the rest of the album here on the blog and there are also corresponding videos for each parts on my YouTube channel as well.

Here's a video tour of the last part of the album that includes our trip to Cambodia, a stop back in Vietnam, and my final stop which was in Taipei. Click below to watch or you can view it on my YouTube channel:

One of my favorite things about the album is that it has a lot of memorabilia along with the photos (vs my Project Life album which is heavy on only photos.) Here's a small look at some of pages in the last part:

I used the Today Kit that went up in my shop at the end of December. This stamp is really generic but that's the best kind for me because you can use it over + over in so many places. I also used the Greenpoint alphabet stamp set that is currently in my shop. There's also new alphabet stickers (YES!) in my shop now as well and I was happy to add them into the album.

As you can see in the video, the album is really full and there's a lot stuffed in there. I absolutely love the finished book but to be 100% honest I'm not sure I'd try to tackle another huge album like this. Mainly because it stressed me out for six months to not have it complete... I'd just keep looking at it sitting on my shelf and feel bad I wasn't working on it. I like to have projects that I can tackle and wrap up quickly. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this as well!

But I hope it gives you some ideas for creating at travel album and don't forget you can also see the rest of the album in these posts. Done and done. Now what's next?!

InLinkz.com

Posted at 08:00 AM in 2015 Asia Travel Album, 2015 Travels in Asia, asia, scrapbooking | Permalink | Comments (9)

July 07, 2015

Fresh Crab Feast in Saigon

When I was sixteen, a friend and I would clip a coupon out of the newspaper each week for a buy one get one meal at an all-you-can-eat crab legs buffet. I can't tell you how much we enjoyed this luxury meal and I still have so many good memories of our weekly nights out to enjoy crab legs drowning in butter.

To this day I still love a good meal made up of crab meat (and have been known to spend hours at Las Vegas buffets eating crab legs with my bestie Sarah!) So it comes as no surprise that my favorite meal we had in Saigon was a feast of fresh crab.

And when I say fresh, I mean that right at the front doorway there's a case of crabs all lined up, with their little pinchers still dancing in the air. I'll spare you the photo of them still alive and move onto the meal. We started with crab rolls right out of the frying pan, still sizzling and incredible. Then comes the plate of crab. And you take a bite and hear angels singing.

One thing that I found endearing about the little places we ate at were at the end of the meal you get a toothpick (very helpful!) and also a wet nap with the wrapper acting as their business card. So there's the address of the place we ate at, which I highly highly recommend. It has multiple floors with different dining rooms and the shot above of the kitchen is the opening doorway to the restaurant.

We left blissfully stuffed, with the food plus two beers + a Coke only costing $12 and that's actually considered on the higher end for a meal like this. That price definitely beats my old splurge on the crab buffet and hey - no buy one get one coupon even needed!

Posted at 08:00 AM in 2015 Travels in Asia, asia, travel eats | Permalink | Comments (3)

July 02, 2015

Vietnamese Coffee + Cafes

Admittedly while in Saigon the majority of our daytime was spent inside cafes working. We took breaks for bites to eat and frequently stopped for a massage (god bless SE Asia and their incredible $10 hour long massages) first thing in the morning. But there was also a lot of work that had to get done in that time period as well. I finished up some designs for a new Hero Arts release that I get to share with you soon!

Thankfully Vietnam is rich with coffee and the cafe scene is bursting right now. I had no idea before visiting, but Vietnam is the second largest coffee producing nation in the world. Yeah, I think I'm going to like it here. My first morning there, my boyfriend introduced me to ca phe sua da (which to my ear sounds like cafe suda) that I quickly became enamored with. It's a Vietnamese coffee drink made up of filtered coffee + sweetened condensed milk poured over ice. I probably drank about thirty of these in my time in Vietnam.

We hopped around to a lot beautiful cafes in Saigon but my favorite was Workshop, which could be transported to Brooklyn and fit right in there. It's big, beautiful, and oh so very hipstery. There I got to try the sample cold brew set and was a coffee lovers dream. My favorite was the middle guy above, the fizzy cold that was carbonated. Yum.

If you brew your own coffee at home, I highly recommend trying to make your own ca phe sua da. Just add in some sweetened condensed milk to your coffee. Take a sip for me and dream about Vietnam.

Posted at 08:00 AM in 2015 Travels in Asia, asia, Coffee | Permalink | Comments (6)

June 30, 2015

Vietnamese Street Food: Pho in Saigon

After being on the road for three weeks straight, it's been a challenge to get back into the swing of a regular schedule. My stomach and internal time clock aren't quite sure what to think. I'm slowly catching up on things and have so many stories, photos, and mementos to unpack + organize. I hope to share quite a few bits from the trip on my blog, with a warning that there's going to be a heavy focus on food. Surprise!

I thought I'd start with something that is so quintessentially Vietnamese. A big steaming bowl of pho that we ate sitting on plastic stools right out on the sidewalk. The food in SE Asia is quite unbeatable and I was lucky to indulge in a handful of delicious dishes. While the place we went for pho wasn't a true street food cart, it's a quick meal that I'd consider fast food in Vietnam. You just drive your scooter up, hop off, eat a bowl, and in fifteen minutes you're back on the road.

My boyfriend is currently based in Saigon for work and has done some careful restaurant research to hunt down the gems in the city (and to also avoid sketchy places that could lead to food poisoning in a snap! Which I was not so lucky with, but that's another horrible story.) This was listed as one of the best bowls of pho and it was by far the best bowl I've ever had. You sit down, aren't offered a menu but instead a basket of greens is placed in front of you, and then in a matter of minutes your bowl appears. Help yourself and rip off which greens you'd like. Add squirt of lime. Eat up.

It's crazy how simple the dish is yet how flavorful it can be. We pay our $2 per bowl and we're hopping back on our scooter (jk, we're not that cool and had to flag down a cab) and on our way to seek out the next good bite.

Posted at 08:00 AM in 2015 Travels in Asia, asia, travel eats, Vietnam | Permalink | Comments (8)

December 04, 2013

鹿苑寺 (Rokuon-ji) in Kyoto

I was trying to recall what I ate for Thanksgiving last year and remembered that my turkey day was spent on two flights to Asia. First Hong Kong (blogged here) and then to visit my friend Chloe in Tokyo. Now one year later I dug out my photos from the trip and especially wanted to share my trip to Rokuon-ji, the golden temple in the city of Kyoto.

I only went for a day trip to Kyoto but I hope to go back someday and spend a lot more time there. The city holds tons of temples and some of the best Michelin star food in Japan. Plenty to explore.

Walking through the path up to the entrance of Rokuon-ji felt like I was in a dream. The colors were outrageous and the leaves looked like little stars. I can only imagine how breathtaking it is during cherry blossom season.

It really was one of the most beautiful places I've ever been. Spending the afternoon just walking the grounds made me one happy little Asian girl. Rokuon-ji, I hope we meet again soon.

Posted at 08:00 AM in asia, travels | Permalink | Comments (6)

Kelly Purkey