We arrived back in Vancouver on Thursday afternoon. The 16 hour flight was long and I didn't get much sleep due to a whiny child that sat infront of us. The little boy didn't sleep very much and whined for about 10 hours of the 16. So brutal - many of the passengers wanted him taken off the plane. They compromised and moved the father and son to the back of the plane where the flight attendants sit. We could still hear him...oh well - some kids just can't be calmed. :-) I kept telling Chicky that they should drug the kid - it'd be good for him(as he was exhausted) and the rest of us.
Since coming home, I've enjoyed the small things that home offers. Such as a nice shower and western food. :-) First thing I ate once back was a good Club House sandwich. Mmm...so good! It's always nice to come home to familiarities after a month of living out of a suitcase.
Today we worked on sorting through the enormous amount of pictures. After finishing - we had 3GB worth of images that were ready to be sent to FutureShop to print. I'm looking forward to putting together the photo album/scrapbook.
The weekend is almost over and I'm sort of looking forward to the predictability of work on Monday. Tomorrow morning I have to attend the Social Club's Easter Egg Hunt event. :-) Even though I've been on vacation - my social club responsibilities didn't go on hiatus. Good thing that Robyn has been a wonderful organizer and my only job for the event is to take pictures. I'm happy with the Club's executive and am looking forward to the 2008 Executive Election. Hopefully we'll be able to recruit more assertive members - we need more "doers" than "talkers". I've been told that I've been nominated as president. I'm flattered but am hesitant about taking on that role - even MORE work involved. :-)
Saturday, March 31, 2007
little Joshua
Congratulations to Chris and Cindy - they are the proud parents of Joshua Cameron Lee. Born last Saturday and weighing in at 6lbs 4Oz. We wish them the very best and hope to see Joshua in person in the next few days.
For pictures - visit Chris' site at http://cindyandchrislee.blogspot.com/
For pictures - visit Chris' site at http://cindyandchrislee.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
There and back
Well the last couple of days Chicky and I had about 4 hrs of sleep each night. It all started with a planned trip to Genting Highlands. Chicky accidentilly mentioned taking a trip up there to his old uncle who doesn't speak very much english. He goes up there on a regular basis to gamble etc so he insisted on taking us up. Needless to say the ride with the uncle was pretty scary. Driving in Malaysia is hair raising on a good day. Throw in an old man who runs reds and almost takes peoples side mirrors off their cars = one heck of a scary ride.
The trip to Genting Highlands required a pickup at 7:30am and a bus to the base of the mountain and then a cable car up to the casino/theme park/hotel. It's definately no Vegas. The theme park for Genting Highland is split into an outside section and an inside section. You have to buy a ride pass for each section or buy a package that includes both. Not learning from our past experiences we bought a package that allowed us to ride on rides in both sections.
The first thing we noticed is that they made the seats for these rides to fit tiny asian people. Whenever Chicky got into a ride he dwarfed the seats and was almost to big to fit into them. There were a few rides that he couldn't go on because they had a maximum weight of 70kg and well Chicky definately is 70+kg
We didn't think we could spend all day at the theme park but with all the lineups and waiting we didn't leave the park till around 4:30pm. We decided to try to find our way back to his cousins place ourselves. In order to get from the top of Genting Highlands to where we were staying we needed to
- take a cable car down (20 min)
- Catch a bus to an LRT (Light Rail Train) station (1hrs)
- take the LRT to KL Sentral to catch a komuter train (30 min)
- Take the komuter (how the malays spell it) train to Serdang station (45min)
- Walk from the komuter train station to the apartments (15min).
Saturday, March 24, 2007
movie time
Chicky and I spent the day watching movies at Fong's place. Kenny has "connections" and therefore hundreds of DVD rips. Including stuff that hasn't been released in the theatres. So cool. It's been raining hard so we can't go anywhere.
We did go to a theatre in KL though. At Mines Plaza. Cost us $3 each to watch the movie 300. They have assigned seating here. We weren't aware of this so we came early to buy tickets for the 10:30pm show. It was sold out except for the front row seats. So we bought seats for the midnight show. This was distressing afterwards when we were wandering around the mall area at 2am (when the show was over) and there were no taxis to be found. We had to call Chicky's dad to arrange for a cousin to come pick us up.
They have arranged seating for movie theatres but not for commuter flights. The trip to Langkawi and Penang proved to be a battle of wits as we rush to get on the plane first to get the "good" seats. :-) It's a silly system - Asia Air should assign seat numbers to the tickets they sell. Would make life so much better for everyone.
We did go to a theatre in KL though. At Mines Plaza. Cost us $3 each to watch the movie 300. They have assigned seating here. We weren't aware of this so we came early to buy tickets for the 10:30pm show. It was sold out except for the front row seats. So we bought seats for the midnight show. This was distressing afterwards when we were wandering around the mall area at 2am (when the show was over) and there were no taxis to be found. We had to call Chicky's dad to arrange for a cousin to come pick us up.
They have arranged seating for movie theatres but not for commuter flights. The trip to Langkawi and Penang proved to be a battle of wits as we rush to get on the plane first to get the "good" seats. :-) It's a silly system - Asia Air should assign seat numbers to the tickets they sell. Would make life so much better for everyone.
hawker stalls
Just because a majority of my pictures are of food experiences in Malaysia. I have to write a quick note about what we've eaten so far. The most exotic would have to be sting ray. 90% of the time we eat at the hawker stalls. Which is basically street food. Reminds me of Vietnam. But a bit different because the vendors tend to hover in one building and then you walk around, point at what you want then go back to your table. The tables usually have numbers on them. When the food comes - you pay for it on the spot. We've discovered that everything is "cash only" over here. Chicky has been engorging himself in satay and char keow teo. I'm pretty easy and eat whatever is being served.
Vacationing wouldn't be complete without a taste of MacDonalds! Yes - I travelled half way around the world for some rotten-ronnies. We actually had our first meal in Singapore at this posh mall. We couldn't afford the clothes so we thought we'd eat cheap. The meals are so cute over here...so small and SPICY. Mmmm....spicy McChicken meal. Unfortunately we've had McDonald's on a few more occasions since then.
KFC is really big over here. Maybe it's an asian thing. The restaurants are usually large and elaborate. The prices are horrendous though - equivalent to back home. I guess that's why it's almost like "fine dining" over here....who can afford to eat like that?! I even say a KFC glass building...thought it was a car showroom or something like that (by how nice it looked) but then the blazing red KFC letters spoiled it.
Vacationing wouldn't be complete without a taste of MacDonalds! Yes - I travelled half way around the world for some rotten-ronnies. We actually had our first meal in Singapore at this posh mall. We couldn't afford the clothes so we thought we'd eat cheap. The meals are so cute over here...so small and SPICY. Mmmm....spicy McChicken meal. Unfortunately we've had McDonald's on a few more occasions since then.
KFC is really big over here. Maybe it's an asian thing. The restaurants are usually large and elaborate. The prices are horrendous though - equivalent to back home. I guess that's why it's almost like "fine dining" over here....who can afford to eat like that?! I even say a KFC glass building...thought it was a car showroom or something like that (by how nice it looked) but then the blazing red KFC letters spoiled it.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Penang!!!
Sigh...Langkawi was a lot of fun and it was time to head to Penang. We got on this boat that was going to take us to Penang. During the voyage it rained pretty hard and I guess there was a leak somewhere because water was dripping on Chicky from the ceiling above his seat.
We made it to Penang and was assaulted by Taxi drivers when we left the terminal. We finally agreed to take up the services of this one gent who would end up being our tour guide for 8hrs on another day.
The place we stayed at is um...not worth writing about. Penang is quite a bit larger then Langkawi. We spent the next 2 nights shopping at the night market they setup on the sidewalks along the street our hotel was on. One night there was this huge thunder, lightening, rain storm and Chicky and I left our rooms to try to snap some shots of the sheets of rain that was coming down. The hallways to our rooms is open and not enclosed so the wind was howling through the corridors. Next to our rooms was a room that had a broken door that looked like someone had kicked in. It was creepy looking and held closed by some wires and a latch with a pad lock on it. The wind broke the door more and it opened on it's own as Chicky and I was standing there trying to take pictures. It was creepy with the lightening and wind and darkness that we decided it was too creepy to stand out here anymore.
We made it to Penang and was assaulted by Taxi drivers when we left the terminal. We finally agreed to take up the services of this one gent who would end up being our tour guide for 8hrs on another day.
The place we stayed at is um...not worth writing about. Penang is quite a bit larger then Langkawi. We spent the next 2 nights shopping at the night market they setup on the sidewalks along the street our hotel was on. One night there was this huge thunder, lightening, rain storm and Chicky and I left our rooms to try to snap some shots of the sheets of rain that was coming down. The hallways to our rooms is open and not enclosed so the wind was howling through the corridors. Next to our rooms was a room that had a broken door that looked like someone had kicked in. It was creepy looking and held closed by some wires and a latch with a pad lock on it. The wind broke the door more and it opened on it's own as Chicky and I was standing there trying to take pictures. It was creepy with the lightening and wind and darkness that we decided it was too creepy to stand out here anymore.
Chicky's dad is a theif
I forgot to mention that Chicky's dad is a major theif. During our stay at Langkawi he walked away with 2 coffee shop mugs. One was from Coffee Bean and another was a Starbucks mug!
Langkawi - Motorcycle (scooter) Adventure
The snorkeling adventure was not the end of our day. We got back to the hotel and after a dip in the pool decided to try to rent what they call a motorcycle but it's actually a large scooter. By the time we got the scooter and I had Chicky demonstrate that he wouldn't crash it was about 6:30pm. I jumped on with my skirt hiked up and we went bombing around. We went to ty to find a place called The Seven Wells. The Seven Wells is at the top of this really steep road and Chicky tried to get us up the hill but the motorcycle couldn't get our heavy backsides up the hill. I got off and Chicky turned the bike around to go back down the hill. I'm standing around watching these monkeys in the middle of the street with some locals watching us, when all of a sudden I hear this scary giggling and whinning of an engine. I look up in time to see Chicky with the throttle pinned roaring past me up the hill. I'm a little confused and one of the locals yelled at me..."He don't love you".
For dinner we didn't know where to eat or how to get there. So we just jumped on the motorcycle and rode around. First thing to remember is don't open your mouth you'll get a mouth full of bugs, second of all Chicky likes to ride fast. More then once I thought I was going to get thrown off the motorcycle and it's not fun when cars pass you on the street!! We finally ended up on this strip where all the tourist eat and chose an eating establishment had only tourists. There was a nice live band of 2 people.
After we ate it was time to head home. It's about 9:30pm and very dark. The motorcycle had the worst set of lights and there were round-abouts that didn't have any lights to show us the exits so we drove around and around a few round-abouts. Needless to say we got lost and there were more then a few occasions where we drove up and down the same streets. It's a good thing that Langkawi is a small island. 2hrs later we finally find our way back to the hotel. YAH us...!
For dinner we didn't know where to eat or how to get there. So we just jumped on the motorcycle and rode around. First thing to remember is don't open your mouth you'll get a mouth full of bugs, second of all Chicky likes to ride fast. More then once I thought I was going to get thrown off the motorcycle and it's not fun when cars pass you on the street!! We finally ended up on this strip where all the tourist eat and chose an eating establishment had only tourists. There was a nice live band of 2 people.
After we ate it was time to head home. It's about 9:30pm and very dark. The motorcycle had the worst set of lights and there were round-abouts that didn't have any lights to show us the exits so we drove around and around a few round-abouts. Needless to say we got lost and there were more then a few occasions where we drove up and down the same streets. It's a good thing that Langkawi is a small island. 2hrs later we finally find our way back to the hotel. YAH us...!
Pulau Langkawi
We went on a 3 day retreat to a spa resort on Langkawi island. I was so impressed with the hotel and loved the bathroom. Ah...a "normal" shower/toilet. :-) We shared a hut with Chicky's parents, aunt and cousin. The hut was in a rain forest and there were monkey's everywhere. We were warned not to keep our doors or windows open unattended as we'd get "visitors". :-) More photo opportunities!
During our stay - Chicky and I managed to get a day away from the family. This was a nice break for me as we haven't done anything by ourselves since our first day in Singapore. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy Chicky's family but wanted to just spend at least one day in 3 weeks by ourselves. So we booked a snorkeling tour. There were 2 packages available - we chose the cheaper one as the tour guide said they only differed in type of boat you get to ride on and food that you'd eat.
They took us to a marine park which is about 2hrs away from the main island. There we put on our life jackets and waited for instructions. The dive master said that there was a black tip reef shark seen the water and to not bother it. That prompted me to want to stay a shore. Chicky was delighted and wanted to take pictures. We didn't have an underwater camera. So we a paid ridiculous price for one (sold by the tour boat of course). Then the dive master announces that there's a large (1-2 meter) baracuda swimming around us as well. Great...shark AND baracuda. There were so many coral fish though! I think it was because so many people were throwing food into the water. Off the pier they would hover and wait for tourists to throw things into the water for them. Chicky was super excited about this and didn't want to wait any longer.
We headed for the beach with our snorkeling gear. There was so many fish that they were near the shore as well. I walked in with my fins and stood in knee deep water as I adjusted my snorkel and prepared myself mental to go into the same water as the shark. Then something bit my toes! I squealed in surprise. Some of the fish wanted to take a taste test out of my toes. I think it's because they are painted and probably look yummy. We went in deeper. More fish came by to take bites out of us. At first it was unnerving but then we got use to getting nipped every now and then.
Swimming out farther I was looking at the schools of LARGE rock cod when Chicky pulls on my life jackets and points to my left. I look over and nearly swallowed down a mouth full of salt water. There was a shark! Not very big..maybe 2 feet long. But very close! Naturally I reacted by trying to swim AWAY from it. Chicky went after it trying to take pictures. After a while we got out of the water for some lunch. A few minutes later the guides were pointing at the water and throwing food into it. SHARK they yelled! I don't know about you but when someone yells shark I stay away from the water, however Chicky grabbed his snorkel gear and told me to jump in. We swam into the mess of fish that was gorging on all the food. The baracuda was slinking around and came really close to Chicky as he tried to take pictures of it. All of a sudden a large dark shape swam by under our feet. It was another shark accept bigger (about 2 meters). OK...time to surface and voice my paranoia. We were already getting nibbled by the fish and then all of a sudden we feel something hitting us. The tourist were throwing food AT us with the shark and baracuda in the water. I think they wanted to see some one get eaten. Chicky swam down and grabbed a chicken leg bone and was feeding the fish. They swarmed him and I got some pictures off. He then handed me the bone and I got swarmed. In the end the day was very enjoyable. The best thing of all was the fact that Chicky was too much of a man to wear a t-shirt or put on sunblock (in his defence it was cloudy and no sun was really out). His back was so red I laughed at him for days and whenever he got out of hand I would slap him on his back.
During our stay - Chicky and I managed to get a day away from the family. This was a nice break for me as we haven't done anything by ourselves since our first day in Singapore. Don't get me wrong - I enjoy Chicky's family but wanted to just spend at least one day in 3 weeks by ourselves. So we booked a snorkeling tour. There were 2 packages available - we chose the cheaper one as the tour guide said they only differed in type of boat you get to ride on and food that you'd eat.
They took us to a marine park which is about 2hrs away from the main island. There we put on our life jackets and waited for instructions. The dive master said that there was a black tip reef shark seen the water and to not bother it. That prompted me to want to stay a shore. Chicky was delighted and wanted to take pictures. We didn't have an underwater camera. So we a paid ridiculous price for one (sold by the tour boat of course). Then the dive master announces that there's a large (1-2 meter) baracuda swimming around us as well. Great...shark AND baracuda. There were so many coral fish though! I think it was because so many people were throwing food into the water. Off the pier they would hover and wait for tourists to throw things into the water for them. Chicky was super excited about this and didn't want to wait any longer.
We headed for the beach with our snorkeling gear. There was so many fish that they were near the shore as well. I walked in with my fins and stood in knee deep water as I adjusted my snorkel and prepared myself mental to go into the same water as the shark. Then something bit my toes! I squealed in surprise. Some of the fish wanted to take a taste test out of my toes. I think it's because they are painted and probably look yummy. We went in deeper. More fish came by to take bites out of us. At first it was unnerving but then we got use to getting nipped every now and then.
Swimming out farther I was looking at the schools of LARGE rock cod when Chicky pulls on my life jackets and points to my left. I look over and nearly swallowed down a mouth full of salt water. There was a shark! Not very big..maybe 2 feet long. But very close! Naturally I reacted by trying to swim AWAY from it. Chicky went after it trying to take pictures. After a while we got out of the water for some lunch. A few minutes later the guides were pointing at the water and throwing food into it. SHARK they yelled! I don't know about you but when someone yells shark I stay away from the water, however Chicky grabbed his snorkel gear and told me to jump in. We swam into the mess of fish that was gorging on all the food. The baracuda was slinking around and came really close to Chicky as he tried to take pictures of it. All of a sudden a large dark shape swam by under our feet. It was another shark accept bigger (about 2 meters). OK...time to surface and voice my paranoia. We were already getting nibbled by the fish and then all of a sudden we feel something hitting us. The tourist were throwing food AT us with the shark and baracuda in the water. I think they wanted to see some one get eaten. Chicky swam down and grabbed a chicken leg bone and was feeding the fish. They swarmed him and I got some pictures off. He then handed me the bone and I got swarmed. In the end the day was very enjoyable. The best thing of all was the fact that Chicky was too much of a man to wear a t-shirt or put on sunblock (in his defence it was cloudy and no sun was really out). His back was so red I laughed at him for days and whenever he got out of hand I would slap him on his back.
reflexology
Day 2 in KL - Chicky's mom suggested that we go get massaged because it would relax us. So off we went to the massage parlour near the apartment. They do reflexology. His mom said it would hurt at first but then feel good. So I let Chicky be the guinea pig. He was wincing in pain the whole time. I took some funny pictures. I passed on the reflexology but got a head/neck/back massage instead. Asian massages are similar. A lot of banging against your back, hair pulling and slapping. Not "relaxing" either. After both of us got tortured - we had to pay for our pain. :-) Good thing that it didn't cost too much.
arriving in KL
Greetings from Kuala Lumpur! Sorry I haven't been able to post lately. We're staying with Chicky's family in KL. There's a dial up connection but that means that the phone will be out of commission if I'm surfing the net.
I know all of you have been looking forward to the pictures - haven't been able to load them as they are too large (remember...my camera shoots in 10MB). We've taken over 1000 pics so far and still counting. There's going to be a lot of sorting to do when we get home. We miss everyone though!
As of the last post - we left Singapore bound for KL via train. The idea was novel at first but I don't recommend it unless you've never travelled by train before. The train was delayed by an hour. The duration was 7 hours. The country side view blurred together after awhile. The bathrooms aren't as scary anymore - getting use to the squat toilets. The train was old and part of it was coming apart (such as the sections that linked the individual cars to each other). Chicky was thrown around while attempting to move between cars. We read our books and took pictures to pass time. Chicky totally scared me at one point as we had stopped off at another station to pick up/drop off passengers. There was a sign that was funny and I wanted him to take a picture it from the platform. So off he went...then the train started moving and he wasn't back yet. I stood up and frantically looked around and didn't see him. I thought I was going to head to KL on my own and he would be left in the middle of nowhere with just a camera.
The interesting thing about train travel is that you go through Malaysia immigration at the train station - get your "welcome to KL" stamp. After a hour or so on the train - you get off and go through Singapore immigration and get your "departure" stamp. So backwards...
KL is just as hot as Singapore. The drivers are pretty scary too. Unlike Singapore - we're traveling with Chicky's family everywhere via car. Met a lot of Chicky's relatives. Good thing is some of them speak english. But most of the time everyone speaks chinese and I just sit around and wait for someone to tell me what's going on.
We're staying with Fong's family. The 5 of us share the apartment. Chicky and I have been sharing a single bed - it's interesting as we're both big people. Everyday the relatives come over early to the apartment and eat breakfast, talk, do chores, etc. Chicky discovered that one of his cousin is into movies (he's got so many binders with burned movies) - so he's latched onto the TV now.
I know all of you have been looking forward to the pictures - haven't been able to load them as they are too large (remember...my camera shoots in 10MB). We've taken over 1000 pics so far and still counting. There's going to be a lot of sorting to do when we get home. We miss everyone though!
As of the last post - we left Singapore bound for KL via train. The idea was novel at first but I don't recommend it unless you've never travelled by train before. The train was delayed by an hour. The duration was 7 hours. The country side view blurred together after awhile. The bathrooms aren't as scary anymore - getting use to the squat toilets. The train was old and part of it was coming apart (such as the sections that linked the individual cars to each other). Chicky was thrown around while attempting to move between cars. We read our books and took pictures to pass time. Chicky totally scared me at one point as we had stopped off at another station to pick up/drop off passengers. There was a sign that was funny and I wanted him to take a picture it from the platform. So off he went...then the train started moving and he wasn't back yet. I stood up and frantically looked around and didn't see him. I thought I was going to head to KL on my own and he would be left in the middle of nowhere with just a camera.
The interesting thing about train travel is that you go through Malaysia immigration at the train station - get your "welcome to KL" stamp. After a hour or so on the train - you get off and go through Singapore immigration and get your "departure" stamp. So backwards...
KL is just as hot as Singapore. The drivers are pretty scary too. Unlike Singapore - we're traveling with Chicky's family everywhere via car. Met a lot of Chicky's relatives. Good thing is some of them speak english. But most of the time everyone speaks chinese and I just sit around and wait for someone to tell me what's going on.
We're staying with Fong's family. The 5 of us share the apartment. Chicky and I have been sharing a single bed - it's interesting as we're both big people. Everyday the relatives come over early to the apartment and eat breakfast, talk, do chores, etc. Chicky discovered that one of his cousin is into movies (he's got so many binders with burned movies) - so he's latched onto the TV now.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Singapore - Day 3
Got up this morning. Euston has already left for work. Chicky and I looked at the washer and dryer and figure we should do some laundry while the opportunity presents itself. We try to decipher the symbols. My clothes turned out bad - mixed colors and whites. Now my shorts are tainted blue. Chicky is watching anime as I write this. We have to walk to the grocery store, buy some food for lunch and the trip on the train. Train leaves at noon so we have to be out of the apartment by then. I think we'll cab it - too much luggage for the MRT.
Time to go to find some food. I don't know if our next destination will have internet. So adieu to till. Miss you guys tons!
Time to go to find some food. I don't know if our next destination will have internet. So adieu to till. Miss you guys tons!
Singapore - Day 2
Got up later today. Wasn't as gung ho about having breakfast. Today's menu was baked beans, fried rice, white sausages, spam and scrambled eggs. The eggs were grey in color - not light grey....dark grey...worthy of a picture. We only booked 2 days at the hotel so we had to check out at noon. I went back to bed after breakfast as my pounding headache and stuffy nose was killing me. I got up, packed and headed out. Today's agenda included a tour of Sentosa Island. But first we had to visit Orchard Road to get more money.
Thus begins our afternoon of misadventures. It took us a few wrong turns to find the cable cars that would take us to the island. We didn't want to take the train over - wanted an adventure. Upon arriving - we bought a packaged tour as there was enough time to see Underwater World, Butterfly and Insect World, the Jewel Box, etc. Paid $48/person for this tour. We got in the wrong line up for the cable cars. No problem there - the engineer had us hop between moving cars, slip through then engineering rooms and out the other side, past some more moving cars and into the right line. Chicky laughed as this kind of running around wouldn't be "ok" with the WCB folks in Vancouver. We went up to the Jewel Box on Faber Mountain - turned out to be a lookout point with a big trinket store. The cable car ride was similar to the one at Grouse Mountain. Not impressed. Back to the main cable station.
We went on a cable car over water. I was a bit freaked so I sat in the middle and didn't look down. :-) Chicky took pictures. In his excitement - he left his sunglasses in the cable car as we left. Duh - he just bought them prior to leaving for our vacation -he was sad.
Underwater World was great. Got to pet creatures of the sea. Chicky pretended to feed some sting rays by putting his hand near the surface of the water. He jumped when they swam towards him and tried to give him a friendly lick. I took some pictures of that - but not of his expression - it was priceless. He was scared - so he did it again. Always pulling away when a big ray would come out of the water and see if there's anything in his hand as he's pulling away. :-) I think the Vancouver Aquarium should have a sting ray petting pool. The starfish one is a bit boring. Though I can see the fear from some kids if this was allowed. Lots of big fish, sharks, crustasians, etc. Lots of picture taking as well.
From UnderWater World we only had an hour left before having to meet with Euston - Chicky's cousin. We lined up but the line was so long - what was going on? Luckily for me - there were 2 vietnamese tour groups infront of us. I listened to the kafuffle and translated it back to Chicky. There was a car accident on the main road to the attractions. So the buses couldn't get through. The island is fairly large so each attraction is accessible by bus.
Disappointed we didn't know what to do. We've already wasted half our money by not being able to see 3 of the 5 exhibits. Chicky decides we'll walk it back to the main entrance as it's easier than waiting for them to clear the roads. We follow the beach. Chicky wants to walk barefeet through the sand. How romantic - even when it started to sprinkle. We had fun splashing around and taking pictures. Then I hear thunder. The rain comes down a bit harder. We think this is funny and take more pictures. Then a tropical storm! I was like OMG! The camera!! Hahahaaa...who cares if we get hit by lightening...as long as the camera doens't get wet. As we sprint towards a palm tree for cover, I hear my photography teachers' comment about always be prepared for weather when traveling going through my mind. Duh!
Wet and tired we hiked it back to the main entrance. We're already 1/2 hour late to meet Euston. On the way to the cable car we stop by the butterfly exhibit to see if we can run through it and sort of get our money's worth from the tour package. It was closed. Disappointed we hop onto the cable car and went to Vivo City. Vivo City is a very spacey-looking mall. New and fresh. Reminds me of Metrotown with all the people walking through it. Much different from the mall we went to in the morning. We went to a posh mall on Orchard Road in the morning. Had MacDonalds there. Yes - I travelled half way around the world for some McDonalds. :-) Had a McSpicy...mmmm....loving it!
Euston is a really nice cousin. The great thing about Singapore is every speaks english! So easier on us. We went to buy our train tickets. Euston thought we were nuts as it's faster and more convenient to travel by bus. Oh well - we're still on the whole novelty kick. After the train station we went to have dinner near the beach. It was like Richmond Night Market...food vendors lining the edges and tables in the middle. Minh and Michael would have loved this - strange food for cheap prices. :-) Chicky and I laughed as we paid nearly double when we went out for dinner on our own. That's the benefits of knowing a "local" - can always take you to the good eating spots for cheap. We had sting ray - tasted like fish. Even the sugar cane drinks were this pretty bright green color - much different from Vietnam where it was murky brown. :-)
Euston's apartment is great. Really big, new and modern (Ikea motif) - we were impressed. I regretted not staying with him from the start of our journey. Chicky was mesmerized by the remote control air conditioner in our room. He turned our room into a freezer. I wore my sweat pants, long sleeved shirt, his blanket and mine to keep warm. He thought I was crazy - I told him I'm sick and he's freezing me over. I've discovered that I'm pretty comfortable in the heat - reminds me of hot yoga. Chicky doesn't cope well. I think he'll want to stay in the apartment near the tv, anime and computers - Euston's place is the perfect bachelor pad. I must agree...it's hard getting motivated to go out in the heat when the apartment is so comfy.
Thus begins our afternoon of misadventures. It took us a few wrong turns to find the cable cars that would take us to the island. We didn't want to take the train over - wanted an adventure. Upon arriving - we bought a packaged tour as there was enough time to see Underwater World, Butterfly and Insect World, the Jewel Box, etc. Paid $48/person for this tour. We got in the wrong line up for the cable cars. No problem there - the engineer had us hop between moving cars, slip through then engineering rooms and out the other side, past some more moving cars and into the right line. Chicky laughed as this kind of running around wouldn't be "ok" with the WCB folks in Vancouver. We went up to the Jewel Box on Faber Mountain - turned out to be a lookout point with a big trinket store. The cable car ride was similar to the one at Grouse Mountain. Not impressed. Back to the main cable station.
We went on a cable car over water. I was a bit freaked so I sat in the middle and didn't look down. :-) Chicky took pictures. In his excitement - he left his sunglasses in the cable car as we left. Duh - he just bought them prior to leaving for our vacation -he was sad.
Underwater World was great. Got to pet creatures of the sea. Chicky pretended to feed some sting rays by putting his hand near the surface of the water. He jumped when they swam towards him and tried to give him a friendly lick. I took some pictures of that - but not of his expression - it was priceless. He was scared - so he did it again. Always pulling away when a big ray would come out of the water and see if there's anything in his hand as he's pulling away. :-) I think the Vancouver Aquarium should have a sting ray petting pool. The starfish one is a bit boring. Though I can see the fear from some kids if this was allowed. Lots of big fish, sharks, crustasians, etc. Lots of picture taking as well.
From UnderWater World we only had an hour left before having to meet with Euston - Chicky's cousin. We lined up but the line was so long - what was going on? Luckily for me - there were 2 vietnamese tour groups infront of us. I listened to the kafuffle and translated it back to Chicky. There was a car accident on the main road to the attractions. So the buses couldn't get through. The island is fairly large so each attraction is accessible by bus.
Disappointed we didn't know what to do. We've already wasted half our money by not being able to see 3 of the 5 exhibits. Chicky decides we'll walk it back to the main entrance as it's easier than waiting for them to clear the roads. We follow the beach. Chicky wants to walk barefeet through the sand. How romantic - even when it started to sprinkle. We had fun splashing around and taking pictures. Then I hear thunder. The rain comes down a bit harder. We think this is funny and take more pictures. Then a tropical storm! I was like OMG! The camera!! Hahahaaa...who cares if we get hit by lightening...as long as the camera doens't get wet. As we sprint towards a palm tree for cover, I hear my photography teachers' comment about always be prepared for weather when traveling going through my mind. Duh!
Wet and tired we hiked it back to the main entrance. We're already 1/2 hour late to meet Euston. On the way to the cable car we stop by the butterfly exhibit to see if we can run through it and sort of get our money's worth from the tour package. It was closed. Disappointed we hop onto the cable car and went to Vivo City. Vivo City is a very spacey-looking mall. New and fresh. Reminds me of Metrotown with all the people walking through it. Much different from the mall we went to in the morning. We went to a posh mall on Orchard Road in the morning. Had MacDonalds there. Yes - I travelled half way around the world for some McDonalds. :-) Had a McSpicy...mmmm....loving it!
Euston is a really nice cousin. The great thing about Singapore is every speaks english! So easier on us. We went to buy our train tickets. Euston thought we were nuts as it's faster and more convenient to travel by bus. Oh well - we're still on the whole novelty kick. After the train station we went to have dinner near the beach. It was like Richmond Night Market...food vendors lining the edges and tables in the middle. Minh and Michael would have loved this - strange food for cheap prices. :-) Chicky and I laughed as we paid nearly double when we went out for dinner on our own. That's the benefits of knowing a "local" - can always take you to the good eating spots for cheap. We had sting ray - tasted like fish. Even the sugar cane drinks were this pretty bright green color - much different from Vietnam where it was murky brown. :-)
Euston's apartment is great. Really big, new and modern (Ikea motif) - we were impressed. I regretted not staying with him from the start of our journey. Chicky was mesmerized by the remote control air conditioner in our room. He turned our room into a freezer. I wore my sweat pants, long sleeved shirt, his blanket and mine to keep warm. He thought I was crazy - I told him I'm sick and he's freezing me over. I've discovered that I'm pretty comfortable in the heat - reminds me of hot yoga. Chicky doesn't cope well. I think he'll want to stay in the apartment near the tv, anime and computers - Euston's place is the perfect bachelor pad. I must agree...it's hard getting motivated to go out in the heat when the apartment is so comfy.
Singapore - Day 1
We slept for about 5 hours. Woke up excited about our complimentary breakfast. Went down to the buffet room. The breakfast buffet consisted of baked beans, white sausages (which didn't look good), some kind of chinese dish (today it was fried noodles), toast, croissant and bland cereal. Thank goodness there's coffee. Chicky and I weren't impressed. But by this time we've learned to LOWER our expectations for this hotel.
Excited about exploring the city - we got ready and were overwhelmed by heat. Chicky was literally melting before my eyes. I wanted to ride the MRT (subway system). So we did. This was easier said then done. We did our research though. We found the subway, watched the locals use the gates, bought some tickets (which was a bit of a learning curve as everything is touch screens), and tried it out ourselves. Didn't work - we forgot to notice that you can only enter through some of the gates.
In Singapore - their version of Robson Street is Orchard Road. We will frequent this street as that's where we change our money and use the MRT.
We went to one end of town to see Little India, ate some Indian food and visited the big markets. When asked if you want something spicy in Little India - the correct response would have been "no thank you". I learned the hard way. I thought I was breathing fire.
Then we travelled to the other part of town to Chinatown. By this time we've mastered the switching of trains and reading the various maps. In Chinatown Chicky bought pork jerky that cost $5 for one piece. I blinked a couple of times. Singapore money is equivalent to Canadian dollars. We walked around Chinatown and bought food/snacks. Walking is going to be our primary mode of transportation.
After Chinatown we head back to the hotel. By this time I'm so tired and pass out after a cooling shower. Chicky feels the same way. We fall asleep - 3 hours later we wake up and decide that there's still time for Night Safari. We rushed out to the zoo. Night Safari is pretty freaky. :-) Nothing like walking around when the creatures are let loose. There was one area that had huge cages that you had to open a series of doors and go through. Chicky and I stood infront of the first wire gate and looked at each other. We weren't apprehensive of what was on the other side. I pushed Chicky in and told him that I would wait for him to get to the second gate before I walk in. :-) That was pretty much the same attitude for the rest of the walk. :-) I jumped out of my skin when a zoo worker came out of the bushes. He was wearing all black and feeding something on the other side. Lol...low fences and dark pathways give way to paranoia.
After Night Safari we had dinner at 1am along the river. Very nice but I was tired - I've got a cold and the heat doesn't make it better. We finally made our way back to the hotel at 3am.
Excited about exploring the city - we got ready and were overwhelmed by heat. Chicky was literally melting before my eyes. I wanted to ride the MRT (subway system). So we did. This was easier said then done. We did our research though. We found the subway, watched the locals use the gates, bought some tickets (which was a bit of a learning curve as everything is touch screens), and tried it out ourselves. Didn't work - we forgot to notice that you can only enter through some of the gates.
In Singapore - their version of Robson Street is Orchard Road. We will frequent this street as that's where we change our money and use the MRT.
We went to one end of town to see Little India, ate some Indian food and visited the big markets. When asked if you want something spicy in Little India - the correct response would have been "no thank you". I learned the hard way. I thought I was breathing fire.
Then we travelled to the other part of town to Chinatown. By this time we've mastered the switching of trains and reading the various maps. In Chinatown Chicky bought pork jerky that cost $5 for one piece. I blinked a couple of times. Singapore money is equivalent to Canadian dollars. We walked around Chinatown and bought food/snacks. Walking is going to be our primary mode of transportation.
After Chinatown we head back to the hotel. By this time I'm so tired and pass out after a cooling shower. Chicky feels the same way. We fall asleep - 3 hours later we wake up and decide that there's still time for Night Safari. We rushed out to the zoo. Night Safari is pretty freaky. :-) Nothing like walking around when the creatures are let loose. There was one area that had huge cages that you had to open a series of doors and go through. Chicky and I stood infront of the first wire gate and looked at each other. We weren't apprehensive of what was on the other side. I pushed Chicky in and told him that I would wait for him to get to the second gate before I walk in. :-) That was pretty much the same attitude for the rest of the walk. :-) I jumped out of my skin when a zoo worker came out of the bushes. He was wearing all black and feeding something on the other side. Lol...low fences and dark pathways give way to paranoia.
After Night Safari we had dinner at 1am along the river. Very nice but I was tired - I've got a cold and the heat doesn't make it better. We finally made our way back to the hotel at 3am.
getting there
After a 16 hour flight and very little sleep due to an all night family poker game - I was able to manage a few winks whereas Chicky didn't even sleep. Friday night we celebrated my mom's birthday as well as KA's (as we'd be away when their real b-day's happen). Hanif, Betty and Nyah came over for dinner as well. Nyah is such a cutie - growing up so fast!
We had a long flight. Made friends with a contractor from Calgary who was on his way back to India. I can't remember his name right now but I took a picture with him. :-) Figured he has to sit beside me for the whole flight so we might as well be buddies. I got the middle seat in a 3 seat row. Chicky managed to get an aisle seat.
Hightlights of the flight included:
We had a long flight. Made friends with a contractor from Calgary who was on his way back to India. I can't remember his name right now but I took a picture with him. :-) Figured he has to sit beside me for the whole flight so we might as well be buddies. I got the middle seat in a 3 seat row. Chicky managed to get an aisle seat.
Hightlights of the flight included:
- frequent meals (which were pretty good)
- a transfer in Korea - which was to get off the plane, go up some stairs, through customs again and then back into the plane. During this useless excersize, Chicky lost his water bottle which he paid $4 for. He was heartbroken.
- Chicky breaking pieces of the seat upon sitting down. I shook my head and hoped that the flight attendant didn't see.
We lost a day on board the plane which made the flight seem even longer. We left Vancouver at 12 noon Saturday. Arrived in Korea at 5pm Sunday and got into Singapore at 12 midnight. From there we took a taxi to the Garden hotel. The hotel left a lot to be desired. We discovered that the toilet and shower required special instructions on how to operate them (due to the fact that they were broken!). We were too tired to complain so we lived with it. Chicky and I were more concerned with the condition of the rug and possibilities of bed bugs. We inspected the mattress. Then wore sandals in the room the whole time. Time to have a few hours of sleep before our continental breakfast!
Thursday, March 08, 2007
all done
My last photography class was Wednesday nigth. I was a bit sadden that there's no more opportunities to for field trips and discussions about picture taking. The class overall was great. For the last assignment we had to compile our images into a photo slide show. This was a good opportunity to see various types of software available (not only PowerPoint). One of my classmates brought in a presentation that he created for a friend who had taken pictures of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. :-) That was a hard act to follow. The good thing was that we weren't restricted to using the pictures we took in class. We could use any pics - the point of that night was to feature photo editing software. My favorite! I enjoy Photoshop Elements 5.0. It's much simpler to use then the full blown version of Adobe Photoshop but is more advance then the software that came with the camera (Canon ZoomBrowser). Having done this course - I'm interested in taking another one in the summer when the weather is much nicer for shooting pics.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
rolling along
Hey guys - sorry for not posting this week. It's been hectic at work and home. Just one more week till my vacation - YAH!! Here's a brief summary of what I've been up to this week.
Crazy work schedule - with a launch of a new product for the corporation and the untimely absences of staff, my schedule this week was changed numerous times. On the most part I worked a lot of over time and am here at work right now (on a Saturday!). I'm burning out fast and am in dire need of a vacation.
Chicky was sent to Toronto this week to do some course training. He went by himself so he was a bit lonely. The weather over there was windy and with the time difference we didn't really talk either. No biggie as I usually don't talk to him during the week.
On Wednesday night I had my usual photography class. I can't believe it's gone by so fast. Next week is our last week. We did show-and-tell for the pictures that we took last week (Burnaby Mountain field trip) and did some macro and micro photography. :-) Basically fine tuning the art of taking pictures of pictures. This will come in handy when I'm not creative and can just buy a pack of post cards from Singapore or Malaysia and pretend that I was "there".
Thursday night I had dinner with Kininsky. He's having his 30th birthday dinner party tonight and since I'm having the dinner for Chicky - I can't come to his. We ate at Joeys Meditteranean Grill. The food was great. Got to catch up on what's going on in his life. Talk about photography, tech stuff and his friends.
Friday - had dinner with Chicky's family as his parents are off to Malaysia today. They went a week earlier than us. Got to see Logan and Brandon. Logan is growing nicely. He's such a deep sleeper for a newborn. Can sleep through anything! After dinner I went home to get my stuff as I figured there's no point in driving out to Richmond to pick up Chicky, going back to Coquitlam then going to work the next day. Might as well just sleep over and sea bus across in the morning.
Saturday - at work right now. Dinner tonight with Chicky.
Crazy work schedule - with a launch of a new product for the corporation and the untimely absences of staff, my schedule this week was changed numerous times. On the most part I worked a lot of over time and am here at work right now (on a Saturday!). I'm burning out fast and am in dire need of a vacation.
Chicky was sent to Toronto this week to do some course training. He went by himself so he was a bit lonely. The weather over there was windy and with the time difference we didn't really talk either. No biggie as I usually don't talk to him during the week.
On Wednesday night I had my usual photography class. I can't believe it's gone by so fast. Next week is our last week. We did show-and-tell for the pictures that we took last week (Burnaby Mountain field trip) and did some macro and micro photography. :-) Basically fine tuning the art of taking pictures of pictures. This will come in handy when I'm not creative and can just buy a pack of post cards from Singapore or Malaysia and pretend that I was "there".
Thursday night I had dinner with Kininsky. He's having his 30th birthday dinner party tonight and since I'm having the dinner for Chicky - I can't come to his. We ate at Joeys Meditteranean Grill. The food was great. Got to catch up on what's going on in his life. Talk about photography, tech stuff and his friends.
Friday - had dinner with Chicky's family as his parents are off to Malaysia today. They went a week earlier than us. Got to see Logan and Brandon. Logan is growing nicely. He's such a deep sleeper for a newborn. Can sleep through anything! After dinner I went home to get my stuff as I figured there's no point in driving out to Richmond to pick up Chicky, going back to Coquitlam then going to work the next day. Might as well just sleep over and sea bus across in the morning.
Saturday - at work right now. Dinner tonight with Chicky.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
shower of happiness
On Sunday I attended Charlene's bridal shower. Her great aunt hosted it in North Vancouver. The party was very sweet. Even the folks from the Island were able to come over for the day. We chatted about the wedding, plans for the future, opened some presents and ate some great food. Kate was a cutie and helped her Auntie Charlene with gift opening. I took a few pictures for Charlene as keepsakes. I can't believe she'll be a married woman in a couple of weeks! How time flies. :-) Then it's off to Paris for the 2 of them. I'm looking forward to hearing about the wedding and honeymoon in a month or so!
Sunday, February 25, 2007
cool down
On Saturday I slept in till 1pm. It was much needed sleep as this week has been so hectic and I haven't been home at all! Crawling out of bed still groggy and feeling like I could use another 10-12 hours of sleep (that's what you get for having just 6 hours of sleep during weekdays) - I managed to gather my clothes and do some laundry. There were a lot of chores that had to be tackled as they were left over from the weekend before (when I didn't do them). By the time it was 5pm - I had gotten a good handle on the chores and was on my way to pick up my mom from work. Chicky came over, we cooked dinner and ate it. After that we headed over to Chris' place for a visit. He's moving this week so his home is full of boxes. Cindy's excited about the move and hopes her baby won't come during this week as she wants to just concentrate on moving. :-) We'll all keep our fingers crossed for her. I didn't get home till late though - as Cindy and I were chatting about motherhood, parenting, family, in-laws, etc for a few hours. I think I drank too much tea. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to sleep and miss out on Charlene's bridal shower the next morning.
La Rocco
On Friday night Tanya, Tracey, Shannon, Nicole and I went to La Rocco on Commercial Drive to celebrate Tracey's engagement. We all had a stressful week at work so were glad that we could vent to each other about it over some good wine. It took some time to settle on a restaurant and for everyone to get there (we had a few obstacles in our search for food). It's been awhile since the girls have sat down for dinner. It was nice to hear how everyone was doing, talk about the engagement and other girly stuff. :-) Hopefully we can do it again soon! I'll have to start up the dim sum thing after I get back from Malaysia.
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