Around the World in Two Blogs: A Guest Post With Divya from Endless Pages

Today, we have a guest poster for the Summer Blog Promo Tour. This was originally started by The Book Bratz. Check them out here. Without a further ado, here's Divya from Endless Pages.

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Hey guys! Tell me, is there anyone who's reading this post right now NOT love travelling? Going with our friends, seeing new places, and learning more about new cultures and places? That'd be so wonderful. So, even if I don't get to travel often IRL, I make up for it by reading books about travelling. So, without further ado, let me tell my favorite travelling reads, and the ones which are in my TBR!

MY FAVORITE TRAVELLING READS:

 

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is a good kid, but he can't seem to focus on his schoolwork or control his temper. And lately, being away at boarding school is only getting worse-Percy could have sworn his pre-algebra teacher turned into a monster and tried to kill him. When Percy's mom finds out, she knows it's time that he knew the truth about where he came from, and that he go to the one place he'll be safe. She sends Percy to Camp Half Blood, a summer camp for demigods (on Long Island), where he learns that the father he never knew is Poseidon, God of the Sea. Soon a mystery unfolds and together with his friends -- one a satyr and the other the demigod daughter of Athena -- Percy sets out on a quest across the United States to reach the gates of the Underworld (located in a recording studio in Hollywood) and prevent a catastrophic war between the gods.

This book goes without saying. Almost all of the books in the PJO and Heroes of Olympus series feature road-trips (or Argo-trips or Festus-trips), and all of them are awesome. Riordan is the king of mythology AND travel :D Seriously, if there's anyone who's not read this series yet, go! Read it! AND THEN COME TELL ME WHAT YOU FEEL. 

 

Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson

Gold is in my blood, in my breath, even in the flecks in my eyes. Lee Westfall has a strong, loving family. She has a home she loves and a loyal steed. She has a best friend—who might want to be something more. She also has a secret. Lee can sense gold in the world around her. Veins deep in the earth. Small nuggets in a stream. Even gold dust caught underneath a fingernail. She has kept her family safe and able to buy provisions, even through the harshest winters. But what would someone do to control a girl with that kind of power? A person might murder for it. When everything Lee holds dear is ripped away, she flees west to California—where gold has just been discovered. Perhaps this will be the one place a magical girl can be herself. If she survives the journey. The acclaimed Rae Carson begins a sweeping new trilogy set in Gold Rush-era America, about a young woman with a powerful and dangerous gift.

This book is one heck of a genre mishmash and I LOVED IT! Almost all my favorite tropes were included in it, and I was flailing throughout it. Read it, you all! 

BOOKS IN MY TBR:

 

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John

When sixteen-year-old Luke's book, Hallelujah, becomes a national bestseller, his publishing house sends him on a cross-country book tour with his older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. But when irresponsible Matt offers to drive Luke's ex–soul mate, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy. On the trip, Luke must loosen up, discover what it truly means to have faith, and do what it takes to get the girl he loves. Told with Antony John's signature wit and authenticity, and featuring smart, singular characters who jump off the page and into your heart, this story is a spiritual awakening and rockin' road trip in one.

I've read and loved Antony John's Five Flavours of Dumb (featuring a deaf girl as the manager of a band), and am very excited to read TSNRT. I hope this is as good as FFoD!)

  

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson

Amy Curry is not looking forward to her summer. Her mother decided to move across the country and now it's Amy's responsibility to get their car from California to Connecticut. The only problem is, since her father died in a car accident, she isn't ready to get behind the wheel. Enter Roger. An old family friend, he also has to make the cross-country trip - and has plenty of baggage of his own. The road home may be unfamiliar - especially with their friendship venturing into uncharted territory - but together, Amy and Roger will figure out how to map their way.

  Everyone and their dogs have read and loved this book to pieces, and I don't even know what's stopping me from reading this. I hope I'll fall in love with it too! 

 

How to Repair a Mechanical Heart by J C Lillis

Eighteen-year-old Castaway Planet fans Brandon and Abel hate bad fan fiction—especially when it pairs their number-one TV crushes of all time, dashing space captain Cadmus and dapper android Sim. As co-runners of the Internet’s third most popular Castaway Planet vlog, they love to spar with the “Cadsim” fangirls who think Cadmus will melt Sim’s mechanical heart by the Season 5 finale. This summer, Brandon and Abel have a mission: hit the road in an RV to follow the traveling Castaway Planet convention, interview the actors and showrunner, and uncover proof that a legit Cadsim romance will NEVER, EVER HAPPEN. A Brandon and Abel romance: also not happening. Brandon’s sick of his struggle to make “gay and Catholic” compute, so it’s safer to love a TV android. Plus Abel’s got a hot new boyfriend with a phoenix tattoo, and how can Brandon compete with that? But when mysterious messages about them start popping up in the fan community, they make a shocking discovery that slowly forces their real feelings to the surface. Before they get to the last Castaway Planet convention, Brandon’s going to find out the truth: can a mechanical heart be reprogrammed, or will his first shot at love be a full system failure?

Doesn't this book sound like the most wonderfulest thing of ever? I'm in love with the cover and the blurb and I know I'll love the story too when I finally get around to reading it. Also, almost everyone who read this loved it, and that only just makes me get even more excited for it! 

That's all I have for you! Thank you, Wren, for having me here today!   

About: 

Hello everyone! I’m Divya, a fifteen-year-old bookworm from India. When I’m not reading, I can usually be found listening to music, or procrastinating on my homework ;) I’m a fan of all things Marvel and superheroes. Connect with me on my blog Endless Pages, or find me on Twitter: @literary_dragon

Culture Shock: Cat Cafes in HK (June 20)

Yesterday, I went to a cat cafe in Causeway Bay and a trampoline park in Quarry Bay.

Man. I had fun. 

The cat cafe was great. The cats were adorable. You really had to look for them, though. They were all over the place. It was a two flat cat cafe. One half was the cafe part. The other was a workshop for an antique cameras place, a bakery, and a frame shop or something like that. (I can't remember what the third one was...)
You had to get a membership, which my aunt did. (Someone reviewed it and said she wasn't pushed on the subject. My aunt was fine with getting it because we knew we would come back sooner or later.) You could get cat-themed drinks and snacks. I didn't end up getting something to drink or eat. My aunt got tea, though. (If that counts.)

And this is the teacup. It's a cat. Adorable. 

I wandered the shop, looking at the baked goods. Almost everything I saw was cat related. The decor. The snacks and drinks. Even the bathroom had a cat-theme to it. The mirror had been drawn upon and had cat ear and whiskers on it. (So you could look like a cat.) 

And, ultimately, looking for kitties. 

And I found them. 

Mr. Bowtie dude. (I never found out their names. And I'm assuming this is a guy.)

Orange Stripes. (He's/she's sitting on a printer. I know. It's the antique camera side of the workshop. And he/she didn't come down the entire time I was there.)

Sleepyhead. (He/she slept the entire time I was there. But look at him/her! So cute! And with a cat toy next to him/her!)

Fluffy White Cat. (She/he was so cute. She/he hid for a bit until someone coaxed her/him out. I'm not sure how exactly... And then she/he went into a basket to chill.)

Other Orange-y Cat. (This one was hiding as well. She/he came out with the Fluffy White Cat. So cute.)

The Two Babies. (They stayed in their house. And they were mostly asleep until one of them woke up. See?)

The cafe did have some adorable sweets. And a bakery that made cakes with cat faces. Cookies too. They also made cakes for cats. It was interesting...

Some of the sweets are cheesecake and  chocolate and tarts. All cat-related, though.

You can visit the cat cafe as well. 

The location:

Flat D-E, 3/F Po Ming Building, Fu Ming Street, Causeway Bay.

And then the trampoline park. 

We went to Ryze Hong Kong. It was located in Quarry Bay. 

We first arrived at 10 am to get out at noon. They were booked to noon. We decided to get tickets to go later at 4. (I suggest you book ahead of time. Saves you some hassle. It did say that reservations were encouraged. Now, I see why.)

I noticed there was a huge amount of little kids. (Elementary school age and younger.) 

We left there, going to the cat cafe.

We went back to the trampoline place and got there at 3. We had time to spare, so we watched people bounce. We saw these two guys doing cool wall tricks. They seemed very professional. (Which was odd since the majority of the 'fliers' were kids from toddlers to high school kids.)

Well...long story short, we became odd creepers. (For a while.)

Then we go let in.

It was fun. I liked the feeling of bouncing. I hadn't gone on many trampolines before. It was a new experience. 

I guess I ended up bouncing for forty minutes out of my sixty? Something like that. It was a good amount of time. 

I also went to their foam pit. I tried to tightrope walk. Easy peasy. (My aunt fell on her first try. And then I explained the mechanics to her, and she got it easy.) 

My verdict? Good facilities. It was a bit crowded. And a bit loud. When your time ended, instead of stopping the music, they used whistles to scream in your ear. It reminded me so much of high school. 

It was good for all ages. I didn't do flips or splits, but I still became stinky and sweaty at the end. Anyone could do this. You don't need experience. I mean...I had none. 

If you want to jump jump jump, here's the address:

321 Java Road 3/F, Quarry Bay, Hong Kong.

Now. Why is this a culture shock?

It's more like the combination of many cultures in Hong Kong. It shows how multi-cultural Hong Kong is. We have the Japanese-style cat cafe and the very-Western trampoline park. It's just fascinating to see how other cultures mix together. 

Konnichiwa (June 5)

Japan was awesome. What did I do?

I arrived early in the morning/late at night. I stayed at a capsule hotel.

And pretended to about to be frozen in a 'cryogenic chamber'.

After staying in my capsule, we went to Akhibara to see a cat cafe, rabbit cafe, and Mandarake. 

Hopefully...

We went to the subway system. And guffawed over the options for tickets.

The large-headed kids. Oh my gosh...

And we found this as well. I think it's depicting what to do when someone/something falls onto the tracks. (Don't freak out!)

We got off at Akhibara. We ended up at wandering. A lot. We got lost. Seriously lost.

We ended up at a nine-story manga/anime store.

I got a cute Konoha keychain whatnot. It's so cute.

I wandered the store and found different manga covers with cool-looking characters.

And the English section wasn't too shabby. It took up a whole shelving unit. Nice, right?

We left the book tower and tried to find food and Mandarake.

We found food. But the manga/anime store? And the cafes? So much harder than we thought. 

We had tempura and cold soba. I loved my tempura. It tasted good. My dad enjoyed his soba. I've never had soba before, so I tried it. It didn't taste too bad. It was okay. I don't see why it's so hyped, though. 

We found the cat cafe. And the rabbit cafe. 

And then...

We found Mandarake!

I went up the stairs and explored. 

 

                                 US                                                       Japan

I wandered the stories. The levels of manga. 

And the hentai. (I accidentally stepped inside. My eyes burned. DO NOT LOOK UP HENTAI.)

Two levels devoted to hentai and yaoi. It was crazy. 

And I found fanservice. 

LeviXEren. What. WHAT. -screams- 

Then I went to the level with the dolls. It freaked me out a bit. The heads... Some didn't have eyes. It freaked me out. But. I found this one doll that looked like a girl from Steins Gate. (I loved Steins Gate. Such a good anime.)

We decided to just go to the rabbit cafe. (I adore bunnies more.)

Candy Fruit Review:

I have never played with rabbits before. I have never gone to an animal cafe at all.

So this was all new for me.

It was good, though. Fun. 

There wasn't really anyone there. I got one-on-one time with the bunnies. Which was amazing. 

I had fun with the bunnies. The first bunny (named Rin, I think) was playful and cute. 

Then I got another bunny. One that I fed apples. 

And then I got another bunny. One that kept running away from me. (WHY?!?!) 

Don't judge me. The bunny just didn't like me...

Then...my last bunny. 

WAS HUGE.

My dad and I called it 'The Blob.'

And I played with The Blob for a bit. So fluffy.

What did I think? 

It was fun. And I liked it. It was a good first trip to a rabbit cafe. Or any animal cafe. 

Awesome.

After that, we left. That's simply it. We had a flight to catch to Singapore. 

Guess Where I Am: Two

I am in the land of cat cafes. Of nekos and usagis. 

The land of capsule hotels.

Arigatos and a tower that looks vaguely like the Eiffel Tower.

Guessed it? 

It's Japan! 

Good Morning and Welcome to Business Class (June 3)

It is currently 6:08 in San Francisco time. What am I doing? Chilling in a lounge. Cool, right? 

It's awesome.

Eating this weird brownie crisp. Which actually tastes magnificent. And checking email and whatnots. (You can contact me here: My email) That email is linked to this blog. 

Here's how my wild day started.

Waking up at 2:45 am. (New York time.) I made my way to the subway and hopped onto the train.

It was around 3 am or so. So there was almost no one there. Only drunks and the homeless people. 

See? You don't see anyone until you scan the distance. 

Once I got the airport, we went to the lounge in NYC. And sat there and sat. (Love the breakfast. I had some nice hot chocolate. From Ghirardelli, in fact. Which was hilarious because I went to San Francisco later in the day.) 

What is this? The NYC AirTrain signs. One says 'Closed'. The other says 'Please board on the other side'. Which says 'Closed'. The train ended up being on the 'Closed' side. Funny, though. 

My breakfast. (I had pastries after. More pastries actually... And hot chocolate. Thanks. Uncle D, for the business class and lounge access.)

Then we boarded the plane. 

And got breakfast again.

French toast. The white sauce in the metal container was great. Delicious. So sweet and vanilla-y. 

And a delicious warmed cookie. (I don't have a picture. My dad does, though.) Too bad. It looked great.

A picture of the world underneath the plane's wings. Beautiful, isn't it? 

We arrived in San Francisco. With a problem with the BART, we headed for Stanford. 

The double-decker CALTrain. I sat on the upper level. I adore the upper level of the double-decker buses in HK. So I loved the upper level of this one.

And the view from above. Look! My shoes with the duct tape. Ooh... (My shoes started falling apart. Thankfully, we had duct tape on hand. Woohoo.) 

We were supposed to go on a tour, but we ended up just wandering. We had food at some small cafe. (A nice panini for me.) It wasn't bad food. (No pictures, though. I grow weary of taking pictures of food. And it's totally not awkward.)

And I found out the mascot for Stanford. 

A tree.

This is not my picture. Sadly... I wish I  could have seen the mascot in real life. He/she looks so cute. And hilarious. (Heh heh.)

Yes. A tree. I cracked up so hard when the lady told my dad and I. Laughing so bad. 

So we went to the bookstore. (It was like a mini Barnes and Nobles.) I perused the shelves. The manga section was much bigger than the Strand's. (Which shocked me.) And the YA section wasn't too bad. Nice and all. Some paperbacks were cheap. $9.99 USD or so. Or maybe, if you're lucky, $8.99 USD. Sure, the hardcovers were more than that. What did you expect? At least they didn't hit $20 USD! (That's how B&N works really. Expensive. I'm lucky I have gift cards. That's reminds me...)

And my dad found this gem. Precious. 

Yes. I fear the tree. -guffaws- 

And I'm waiting for my plane to depart from San Francisco. I'll arrive in Tokyo really early. (Crazy early in Japan time. Like...1 am. Early, right?) 

I'll write about it. Later. When I'm mildly over my jetlag. (16 hours ahead of San Francisco time. UGH. And I'm recovering from San Francisco time. I can't wait to get to HK to sleep all this off.)

Until next time...

(I got to name you guys, readers. Help me out. Traveler? Followers? Birds? I mean...my name IS Wren after all. Well...it's technically a nickname...but still! Comment below. I feel odd calling you readers. Since I know my family is following my travels via this blog. Awkward, right?

Love you guys too.)