Monday, 9 March 2009
Winter = skiing fun
Had a lovely day at Whistler yesterday. Would love to have posted up some photos of Blackclomb Glacier...but the visibility was quite bad yesterday (in fact, everytime I go to Whistler, it is always cloudy or foggy or snowy). It was definitely worth the 5 minute walk. So, you'll just have to use your imagination!
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Home in time for Christmas - but only just!
The plan was to arrive in Melbourne on Christmas morning.
I left Vancouver at 9.30am on 23/12/08 and headed for YVR airport. Got there with plenty of time to spare. As I walked to the check-in counter, I saw the queue that started in the domestic terminal and snaked all the way to the international terminal! Virtually all flights within Canada were delayed or cancelled. I'd seen on the news that these people were stranded at airport. I couldn't help but feel sorry for them.
My first flight was delayed as the plane was coming from Chicago, where they were having violent snow storms. The lady at the check-in counter told me that I would still make my connecting flight in Los Angeles even though the plane was delayed. As I waited for my flight, I kept receiving flight notifications that my flight was even more delayed (now 6hrs 46mins delayed). There was no way I would make my connecting flight if my plane was 6 hours delayed.
With some quick thinking, I approached one of the service staff and managed to get myself on an earlier flight to Los Angeles so that I would make my connecting flight with ample time.
On the plane from Vancouver to Los Angeles, I sat next to the trendiest Chinese Grandpa ever. He was wearing a Helly Hansen hoodie, had spiky hair and funky glasses. He was going to Disneyland to see Mickey Mouse for Christmas to get away from the Vancouver winter. Pretty cool huh?
I arrived in Los Angeles with 6 hours to kill until my connecting flight home. I managed to kill the first 3 hours pretty easily. But then, I overheard an Australian say that her flight was cancelled. So I thought that I better check the departure screen for an update. True enough my flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne was CANCELLED. I thought that I had done so well to get out of snowy Vancouver without too much hassle. No!!!!! Would I make it home for Christmas?
So after queueing for a while, I was told that I had been booked onto the same flight on the following day, which would mean that I arrive home on Boxing Day! I wasn't going to have any of that. Myself and other fellow passengers exhausted all alternatives. There was no way that I would spend Christmas Eve in Los Angeles (even if the hotel and food was paid for) and Christmas day on the international date line. I HAD to get myself home in time for Christmas. So after some lengthy discussions with the airline staff, I managed to get on a flight to Sydney on the condition that I had to get myself from Sydney to Melbourne. This route meant that I would arrive home in time for Christmas! Sweet! So I booked a Qantas flight from Sydney to Melbourne and I was on my way...
The long haul flight from LA to Sydney went surprisingly fast considering there were no personal tv screens in economy class. When I got to Sydney airport I was greeted with this sign: 'G'day. Welcome Home.' Sydney is not home, but it was close enough.
The last leg of the journey went smoothly. I had Christmas lunch on the plane, which consisted of a ham and salad sandwich. Met my folks and sis at Melbourne airport which was all good. My plane touched down in Melbourne at 1.30pm which mean that I had been on the road for over 30 hours! But I was home in time for Christmas dinner with the family and that was all that mattered! It was even better that it was Sunny and (kind of) warm in Melbourne. When I left Vancouver it was -10 degrees celcius. I had traded in a white Christmas to be home sweet home. Yay!
I left Vancouver at 9.30am on 23/12/08 and headed for YVR airport. Got there with plenty of time to spare. As I walked to the check-in counter, I saw the queue that started in the domestic terminal and snaked all the way to the international terminal! Virtually all flights within Canada were delayed or cancelled. I'd seen on the news that these people were stranded at airport. I couldn't help but feel sorry for them.
My first flight was delayed as the plane was coming from Chicago, where they were having violent snow storms. The lady at the check-in counter told me that I would still make my connecting flight in Los Angeles even though the plane was delayed. As I waited for my flight, I kept receiving flight notifications that my flight was even more delayed (now 6hrs 46mins delayed). There was no way I would make my connecting flight if my plane was 6 hours delayed.
With some quick thinking, I approached one of the service staff and managed to get myself on an earlier flight to Los Angeles so that I would make my connecting flight with ample time.
On the plane from Vancouver to Los Angeles, I sat next to the trendiest Chinese Grandpa ever. He was wearing a Helly Hansen hoodie, had spiky hair and funky glasses. He was going to Disneyland to see Mickey Mouse for Christmas to get away from the Vancouver winter. Pretty cool huh?
I arrived in Los Angeles with 6 hours to kill until my connecting flight home. I managed to kill the first 3 hours pretty easily. But then, I overheard an Australian say that her flight was cancelled. So I thought that I better check the departure screen for an update. True enough my flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne was CANCELLED. I thought that I had done so well to get out of snowy Vancouver without too much hassle. No!!!!! Would I make it home for Christmas?
So after queueing for a while, I was told that I had been booked onto the same flight on the following day, which would mean that I arrive home on Boxing Day! I wasn't going to have any of that. Myself and other fellow passengers exhausted all alternatives. There was no way that I would spend Christmas Eve in Los Angeles (even if the hotel and food was paid for) and Christmas day on the international date line. I HAD to get myself home in time for Christmas. So after some lengthy discussions with the airline staff, I managed to get on a flight to Sydney on the condition that I had to get myself from Sydney to Melbourne. This route meant that I would arrive home in time for Christmas! Sweet! So I booked a Qantas flight from Sydney to Melbourne and I was on my way...
The long haul flight from LA to Sydney went surprisingly fast considering there were no personal tv screens in economy class. When I got to Sydney airport I was greeted with this sign: 'G'day. Welcome Home.' Sydney is not home, but it was close enough.
The last leg of the journey went smoothly. I had Christmas lunch on the plane, which consisted of a ham and salad sandwich. Met my folks and sis at Melbourne airport which was all good. My plane touched down in Melbourne at 1.30pm which mean that I had been on the road for over 30 hours! But I was home in time for Christmas dinner with the family and that was all that mattered! It was even better that it was Sunny and (kind of) warm in Melbourne. When I left Vancouver it was -10 degrees celcius. I had traded in a white Christmas to be home sweet home. Yay!
Sunday, 26 October 2008
Highlights from South Korea & Japan
18 Sep - 12 Oct 2008
Ok, so better late than never. Here were some of the highlights & interesting points of the trip...
South Korea
Japan
Ok, so better late than never. Here were some of the highlights & interesting points of the trip...
South Korea
- DMZ tour
- Drinking Soju - at least I can say I have tried it. It is a sweet potato Vodka which you drink by the shot. It wasn't very pleasant to drink.
- Hiking / walking in the mountains - I now know that Koreans love to hike. Even the middle aged ladies are fully kitted out with the latest gear and walking sticks.
- Kimchi & Korean BBQ = yum!
- free Krispy Kreme donut for every customer
- Korean billiards - how do you play the game on a table with no pockets and only 4 balls?
- Korean men only wear black...how boring.
- not learning a single word of Korean during the whole trip.
Japan
- sushi
- sushi
- did I mention sushi? It's the best in the world! So fresh and tasty!
- Sushi train restaurants rock
- listening to the Japanese slurp their noodles
- Teppanyaki does not exist in Japan. It is made up for foreigners, hence why we got so many blank faces when we asked for teppanyaki
- Shinkansen - Japanese high speed bullet trains which were very punctual
- staying in a Capsule hotel
- seeing big tuna at the Tsukiji fish market
- Disneyland Tokyo
- Onsen (Japanese spa)
- Rollercoaster at Dome City
- Watching the Hawks win the AFL grand final at an Irish pub in Osaka
- Watching little kids being traumatised by wild deer at Nara and Himeji Island.
- Karaoke - very fun
- trying 1 piece of whale sushi - not particularly tasty.
- answering the phone by saying 'moshi moshi' instead of 'hello'
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
Clips from Japan
Video clip at the sushi train restaurant in Kyoto. See the sushi chef rocking as he made the sushi. The sushi was delicious!
An upcoming band performing in the park in Harajuku. The clips & photos of Harajuku just don't do it justice!
Another band playing in harajuku.
Yet another band in Harajuku. The guy in the pink shirt with cute bunny ears is so funny.
Some traditional Japanese music and dance in Shinjuku that I found randomly.
Head banging fans in Harajuku
And last but not least...the humping dog gadget at Tokyo airport (powered by USB)!
Monday, 8 September 2008
East Coast Junket
23 Aug - 1 Sep 2008
First Stop - Toron'o
Well....this week I learned that Toronto is considered central Canada, and not east coast! But to me, anything 5 hours east of Vancouver (by plane) is east coast in my books! Toronto was a nice city and the trams reminded of home in Melbourne. The buskers festival was on that weekend. There was an Aussie street entertainer from Sydney. He was able to fit is whole body through a squash racquet - what a freak!
Aussie street entertainer 'Alikazam' fitting through a squash racquet, tennis racquent and toilet seat!
Second Stop - Niagara on the Lake
The main purpose of the trip was to attend a training course. It was a soft skills course where we learnt how to lead a team. It was a national training course where colleagues flew in from all parts of the country. The course was taught in both English and French. There was a very distinct divide between the english speakers and the french speakers. One of our tasks was to make a video. 3 groups did the video in english and 1 group did the video in french. All the english speakers had no idea what they were saying in the French video.
One night after dinner we went to see Niagara Falls. The view from the Canadian side is definitely much more spectacular than the US side.
American falls at night
Last Stop - New Jersey & New York
My last stop was New Jersey to visit the 'relos'. A solid 8 hours was spent shopping at the Woodbury Common outlet in New York State. The credit card got a good bashing that day. We witnessed the 'Coach' phenomena where you had to queue to go into the store and not a soul came out empty handed!
We also spent a day in Manhattan, NYC. Being a Sunday on a long weekend, NYC was a ghost town with only tourists wandering the streets. We went to ground zero and I was surprised to see that it was still a construction site! No visit to NYC is complete with a visit to Chinatown. We went to the BIG WONG restaurant (which has not changed one bit since my last visit 5 years ago!) for a cheap but good feed. Then washed it all down by eating dou fu fa in a nearby park while JJ played in the playground.
Mel & Cousin JJ in New Jersey
First Stop - Toron'o
Well....this week I learned that Toronto is considered central Canada, and not east coast! But to me, anything 5 hours east of Vancouver (by plane) is east coast in my books! Toronto was a nice city and the trams reminded of home in Melbourne. The buskers festival was on that weekend. There was an Aussie street entertainer from Sydney. He was able to fit is whole body through a squash racquet - what a freak!
Aussie street entertainer 'Alikazam' fitting through a squash racquet, tennis racquent and toilet seat!
Mel outside the (Ice) Hockey hall of Fame in Toronto.
Second Stop - Niagara on the Lake
The main purpose of the trip was to attend a training course. It was a soft skills course where we learnt how to lead a team. It was a national training course where colleagues flew in from all parts of the country. The course was taught in both English and French. There was a very distinct divide between the english speakers and the french speakers. One of our tasks was to make a video. 3 groups did the video in english and 1 group did the video in french. All the english speakers had no idea what they were saying in the French video.
One night after dinner we went to see Niagara Falls. The view from the Canadian side is definitely much more spectacular than the US side.
American falls at nightLast Stop - New Jersey & New York
My last stop was New Jersey to visit the 'relos'. A solid 8 hours was spent shopping at the Woodbury Common outlet in New York State. The credit card got a good bashing that day. We witnessed the 'Coach' phenomena where you had to queue to go into the store and not a soul came out empty handed!
We also spent a day in Manhattan, NYC. Being a Sunday on a long weekend, NYC was a ghost town with only tourists wandering the streets. We went to ground zero and I was surprised to see that it was still a construction site! No visit to NYC is complete with a visit to Chinatown. We went to the BIG WONG restaurant (which has not changed one bit since my last visit 5 years ago!) for a cheap but good feed. Then washed it all down by eating dou fu fa in a nearby park while JJ played in the playground.
Mel & Cousin JJ in New Jersey
Tuesday, 12 August 2008
A taste of Home @ Mooses
Thurs 7 Aug 2007
Shazza, Jo & I went for some pub grub at Mooses Down Under. It's an Aussie pub that serves some traditional Aussie tucker and occasionally shows the footy.
It has been 9 months since my last Chicken Parma, so I had to order it. It was pretty good, but don't know how well it would rate on superparma.com. I washed it down with a Coopers Pale Ale. The strange thing was the Parma was served on a bed of Spaghetti Napolitana...very strange indeed!
Shazza, Jo & I went for some pub grub at Mooses Down Under. It's an Aussie pub that serves some traditional Aussie tucker and occasionally shows the footy.
It has been 9 months since my last Chicken Parma, so I had to order it. It was pretty good, but don't know how well it would rate on superparma.com. I washed it down with a Coopers Pale Ale. The strange thing was the Parma was served on a bed of Spaghetti Napolitana...very strange indeed!
Tuesday, 22 July 2008
Square Watermelons
We all know the Japanese are crazy...however the Canadians are even crazier! Why?
On the weekend, I saw some square watermelons being sold at Urban Fare (supermarket). Yes, they are real watermelons which have been grown into a cubic shape. The catch is that each watermelon sells for CDN$100! Clearly, there are some crazy Japs out there to grow these things, and then there are crazy Canadians out there who are willing to buy a square watermelon! haha...
On the weekend, I saw some square watermelons being sold at Urban Fare (supermarket). Yes, they are real watermelons which have been grown into a cubic shape. The catch is that each watermelon sells for CDN$100! Clearly, there are some crazy Japs out there to grow these things, and then there are crazy Canadians out there who are willing to buy a square watermelon! haha...
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