It's begun! HK stopover and ethnicity in Singapore

Well, the 13 hr flight to HK is really long, especially if you forget that you can't sleep on the plane and the flight was at 0200h on a Sunday night, and you didn't nap before going to the airport! I lose a day, so technically, this is day 1, 2 and 3?

Trying to sleep is impossible when someone's got a light on, or you get fed 3x during the night. I had a hard time with the meal situation, as Air Canada doesn't have special meals with multiple allergies, so I had to pick one that I thought would be the least of the 3 evils, as I am allergic to egg and dairy in a GI sort of way, and gluten, which gives me hives, rashes and lethargy. I could really only eat 2 out of the 3 meals and would've been better off with what everyone else got. Funny thing about flying to HK, you get instant noodles and congee.

I started to watch a movie at breakfast time, and didn't finish! "Law Abiding Citizen", I gotta see it when I get back! Really good police and law drama, I'm so drawn to these kinds of shows. Other than that, I didn't read any material I brought with me in the carry on (I had guides to Singapore and Cambodia). Not my usual, but I wanted to sleep. In fact, I only researched a little about Singapore as it seemed like a small place and things could get planned when I got there. I researched way more about Cambodia and HK.

The stopover in HK was 9 hrs, thank goodness my friend Winnie was happy to take me for breakie at 0600h! I hadn't had much protein in the last 1/2 day, so had chicken, sausage (that's what the menu said, but it's Chinese for wiener!) with vermicelli in soup. Ah, noodles in soup, how Chinese is that?

We took a walk around a neighbouring park, tons of fish in the pond, turtles even. Lots of people exercising, but not really Tai Chi or anything. There is such a big contrast in the landscape. Super high rises, 80 floors or more and then street level parks, etc. All the apartments look the same here, no different architecture. Maybe it'll be different in the city core. We are in Kowloon.

The malls didn't open until about 11 or noon, so we just relaxed at her downtown apartment. ~ 600 sq ft 2 bedroom and studio, way too small for me, but she fits 4 people in there, if not 6 when her parents are visiting. I think we Canadians love our space, but people in these big cities are used to the density and take it in stride. People pay millions for these flats!

Back to the airport with time to spare, but I didn't want to risk getting lost and missing my connecting flight. The MTR subway system is really efficient here, I guess they have the ridership, unlike Vancouver. They have this prepaid Octopus card that tracks when you get on and off and deducts the fare automatically, but you can also use it in convenience stores too. Great if you don't like carrying change (men, that's you!)

The flight to Singapore was only 3h 40m, short in comparison. The flight attendants are so dolled up, almost like we would be for a wedding, really dramatic hair and makeup, but I hear the guys love it. The service was good and bad, the ladies beside me got their special meal right away, but never got their plates taken away until near the end. That doesn't bode well for me in the window seat and drinking lots of water, if you get my drift...

I watched "Precious", really good movie, but a really sad story. You gotta see it, so I won't ruin it for you here by telling you all about it. I also watched the pilot episode for Glee. Not bad, quite entertaining actually. I might just have to rent the season later. I found out that my friends in Singapore have it on their PVR, but I doubt that I'll have that much spare time to watch the tele.

My friends J and M have a really large modern condo in East Singapore. It has a great view of the city and has air con! All the electrical outlets have on/off switches, I had trouble getting used to that. The power doesn't go on when you plug appliances in, you also have to push it to "on". The adapter I brought looked like it should fit, but it didn't! arggh. Good thing my friends travel a lot, as they had spare ones for me to charge my camera battery. I got a new Panasonic Lumix DMC FH20 and was trying out all the features and ran the battery quite low.

It was great to finally shower and get cleaned up. I figure I won't have jet lag, cuz I went to bed at ~ 11pm and would imagine that I would sleep my usual 10+ hours.

Funny thing, I woke up at 745 and I felt rested. I didn't turn the fan on all night and was quite sweaty from sleeping with my long hair down my back all night. I didn't want to risk catching a cold, since I had that problem in Thailand before where the AC was on all night and I would put on a sweatshirt halfway through the night because I was so cold, but my (then) boyfriend would be too hot without it on.

After taking some time to go through the brochures my friends picked up for me, I decided to head out on one of those hop-on hop-off bus tours. I never recommend them for people, but figured it would be the easiest way to work my way around the sights here.

The HIPPO tour bus has 2 routes, and other add ons. My $33 ticket was good for 2 days, both routes, a river cruise and other tours. My first stop was Little India. Just like in Vancouver, there were lots of sari shops, jewelry stores and eateries. I actually had a masala thosai for lunch from a place recommended in the Lonely Planet guide. I was so happy to have actually found it. The lady from the kitchen knew right away that I was a visitor since I had my map out with my post it note with the restaurant's address on it. I really like them (I've recently started eating dosas at home since I love crepes and they are made from chickpea flour not wheat).

I perused the shops and saw beautiful sari fabric; I just wish I had a reason to buy a sari, because they are so gorgeous, elegant and I'm sure I would look great in one :) I then went to Malay village and saw more lovely ethnic wares, I bought a table runner with the Singapore merlion on it for $2 SGD (here, the current exchange rate is ~$1.30 Singapore dollar = ~ $1 CDN). I'm mainly looking for table linens as souvenirs since I just bought my new kitchen table. I should try to give my condo more personality, I've been told it's not homey enough. I just don't like clutter, but I guess I could show some personality.

I went by the city and saw tons of great looking buildings, everything looks different and interesting. The Court of Appeal is a space ship-shaped building made of glass, to show how transparent the justice system is. The War Memorial is 4 chopsticks standing on their bases, representing the 4 different ethnic groups, and connected at the base to show unity. Its 75% Chinese here, but more Hakka or Hokkein, vs Cantonese or Mandarin speaking. Even in HK I had trouble with my Chinese, how embarrassing! There's lots of immigrants here, and mostly Muslims and Buddhist.

It's already been 4 hours and I feel exhausted. It must be the heat and the sun, no break at all, except going to some shops which have AC. The city buses stop at ~ 6pm, so I had to figure out what else I could fit in (as I'd only done 2 out of 16 stops on this Heritage city tour bus) before going home.

I stopped at the waterfront to see the Merlion fountain and passed the Singapore flyer (similar to the London Eye, but you can actually eat in the cars, lots of room for a table of 8); the construction of a huge casino out on the water, 3 towers side by side; the Esplanade theatre by the sea (which looks like a durian to me) and the Clifford pier. Lots of fancy restaurants on the boardwalk, and then a Starbucks, they really are everywhere.

I took the tour bus to an MRT station to go partway home and then hailed a cab. I was trying to save a bit money, but ended up losing a lot of time. The lady cab driver didn't recognize the street name I gave her (for the main road), but her GPS system had the small side street where my friends live. She started to drive, but I knew there was a problem when she phoned a friend and spelled it out for her. I figure I'll wait and see if the GPS takes me home like Dorothy and the yellow brick road...and it didn't ! I ended up at the outdoor stadium, close but no cigar. Houston, we have a problem; it's not good when the arrow on the GPS is off the road into the blackness.

She said I could get out and get into another cab, just pay the fair from when the road ran out. Well, there was no other taxi in sight, we were in a parking lot, so she drove me back towards the city. I didn't want to go all the way back and pay for a long trip, I was close I'm sure. She said there were no taxis on this side...what does that mean!? A few streets later, she let me out and said she wouldn't take my money, hell I was going to argue for something, as I kept saying that she didn't know where she was going, but she just kept denying it. There was a cab behind me, and he also didn't know where I needed to go. I must be doing something wrong, because M said that this road is well known.

I had to call the house, and J picked up. I was saying "Kam-pan A-rang" when I was supposed to say "Kam-pong A-long" Geez, you try it and see if you get home! Well, I eventually made it and had to relay the story.

What's wrong with saying the truth? i.e. I don't know where that is, but we'll get you there, or, get another cabbie. Aiya! as they say in Chinese.

Good night, it's almost 1am! Another full day tomorrow. I still have quite a bit to see, so I better get up early. I just like to write stuff down before I forget and fall behind. I have written journal, but this is the first vacation on my blog so you guys can follow along.

finally, vacation!

I can't wait for this trip. I've been wanting to go to Cambodia for a long time, maybe more than 8 years! The beauty of Angkor Wat captured me once in a travel show and I have yet to experience the majesty of the biggest ruins in Asia until...soon!
I was in Thailand in 2008 about this time of year, but unfortunately did not make it over to the neighbouring country. Instead we went all over Thailand, beaches, Bangkok and Chiang Mai over 17 days.

This time, since I'm heading over to Asia, I wanted to visit some friends in Singapore and Hong Kong and make my trip a little longer (17 days again). I researched quite a bit, but I think it'll mostly be the major sightseeing, eating and shopping. I can't wait to eat foods like laksa, satay, hainanese chicken and rice noodle dishes. Too bad for my food allergies, it's really going to put a snag in my possible eating choices, because I love roti canai. It seems that even vegans can eat more than me, since I can't eat egg, dairy and gluten. Even for food in Hong Kong, no buns, milk teas, dumplings, etc. Ah, I really miss egg tarts, coconut buns, pineapple buns, etc, the list goes on. It's the most Chinese part of me :)

Well, red eye flight out tonight/Mon morning 0200h and arriving in HK for a 9 hr layover. Geez, I guess I'll get out for some fresh(?) air? Meet my friend for breakie in some neighbourhood and get through security again to go to Singapore. It's 25C+ over there!

Olympic withdrawal

Although I didn't get much sleep during the Olympics due to my work and volunteer schedule; although some volunteer shifts in the rain were not my favourite, nor the early 5 am starts, I have to say that I'm a bit depressed now that the games are over.

The radio stations are saying that lots of people feel that way. Perhaps it's the idea that nothing is on tv except meaningless reality tv or fiction. Perhaps it's nowhere to go, nothing to do on a weeknight, or weekend, for that matter. Perhaps it's no visitors to strike up conversations with, or no athletes to cheer for.

Whatever it is, bring the feeling back! I hope Vancouver sorts itself out and our entertainment industry finds ways to bring people closer together, to party, enjoy the city, become more friendly. Maybe all those foreign investors will come and buy businesses, and make us an international destination. Not that it's not right now, but in contrast to world cities, we don't have the large gathering places, like plazas to hang out, the public washrooms, the clubs that open til the wee hours of the morning. After all, we are only ~ 2 million large for Metro Vancouver and you consider other cities with way more than that.: London England > 7 million, NYC > 8 million, Paris 14 million, etc.

Well, the only thing I found interesting to do this weekend, was a 3-day international salsa festival, and spray painting for strata on my condo building (get that graffiti artist out of me).

last day - Royal Canadian Mint, Closing Ceremonies and German Fan Fest

The last day, and most people are supposed to be watching the men's gold medal hockey game, Canada vs. USA. So, how come I got to the line at the Royal Canadian Mint and was told it would be a 5 hour wait?! What are you all doing here? I guess they were all thinking the same as me, that it would be slow...

Well, I waited 3.5 hours from lining up, to touching the medals. It was a long line, where you got a stamp and a white glove to get access to the medal room for 10 minutes with about 20 other people. Somehow, we all got photos. The Olympic medals are circular, and the paralympic ones are more square. I met Dan, the Project Manager, who has been working on these for over 2 years! But what a gig! I almost want to apply!

People lined the streets, pouring out from the pubs to celebrate our win, 14th gold medal, the most ever, against USA!!!!

We headed to the (Australian) Moose Bar to watch the closing ceremonies. It was the only pub not over capacity and still had tables. We were right by the tv, but it was so loud at times, that it was hard to hear. What great talent they showcased: William Shatner, Michael J Fox, Micheal Buble, K-Os. It was definitely more upbeat than the opening.

We then went to German Fan Fest. My elementary school friend was in town. He lives in Germany now, and when he bought Olympic tickets, he got VIP. We got in, although there wasn't much of a line. However, we didn't have to pay the $20 cover and got a free bratwurst and beer.

Acoustica was the in house band, what a gig! They were dressed in red and white.

We noticed that there was a VIP tent, but it wasn't us, but meant for the athletes, VVIP. We saw some athletes in ski suits, yellow, with pink vests (for the girls) and blue vests. Neither one of us knew who any of them were, but my friend went over to speak to 1 of 2 ladies. He recapped his German conversation with me:
Hi, are you an athlete?
Yes
What sport do you do?
Luge
Did you win a medal?
Yes, gold
GOLD?! (at this point, I knew the conversation was not going well)
Hey, take my picture (as he hands me his camera)
She did not look impressed. She pointed towards her friend and said, she won silver for bobsleigh.

He still didn't know her name. We didn't have an iphone to check. How embarrassing is that!
She is Tatjana Huefner, luge gold medalist.

There was also a group of men, but I just couldn't embarrass myself. Especially since he told Tatjana that he's not German, but his wife is (and I'm not his wife), and I'm wearing his German coloured scarf. If I had my Canadian red on, I would feel a little better for being so ignorant.

He said that it's so hard to keep up. Germany won 30 medals, Canada won 26, totalling about 56 ahtletes, and include all the non medalists! Germany has 152 ahtletes, Canada has 205, and there were 2622 in total. Congratulations to them all!

My friend ended up asking a non ski suit wearing guy, who his athlete friends were. We were told luge silver medalist. I found one: David Mueller. I still gotta find the other 2...perhaps Torsten Wustlich, luge, and luge gold medalist Felix Loch? Hard to tell when they're not smiling in the Olympic photo and I've got one guy here with his eyes closed. I hope I got it right, and congratulations!!!

We headed out about 1230am and walked up Granville. Tons of people on the street, doing nothing but wandering around and not wanting to go home. I had to work on Monday, so I wanted to go home to sleep. I didn't want the Olympic party to end either, but I needed sleep. We got to Robson and Granville and there was still a sea of people. There was tons of trash on the streets, the smell of urine as many guys had to find a place to pee after all the beer drunk this afternoon, and lots of graffiti on the cutout pose statues.

It's like Vancouver was given the opportunity to really party like we've never done before. I felt emotional each time a medal was won by a Canadian. I felt friendly as an Olympic volunteer. I felt like an ambassador for Vancouver to all who came and wanted to enjoy the city and the Olympic fever. I felt that I could really go out with friends and see what happens, be spontaneous, adventurous, but patient at the same time. I really got a chance to enjoy my city in a way that I've never had.

I think being a volunteer gave me the opportunity to do things, and see people I would never get the chance to (Tyson Heung, Apolo Ohno, Patrick Chan, Joannie Rochette). I think volunteering allowed me to see how all the prep comes together; it makes me appreciate how this massive event was coordinated, and with many hiccups. I don't think I will volunteer again, I would rather get paid ;! Hmm, London 2012?

In so many ways, I'm so proud to be Canadian, a Vancouverite, but at the same time, I feel that the world will take me somewhere else where I can really be myself, and happier than ever, to be able to let loose, hang out, enjoy the city. Unless of course, Vancouver loses its "no-fun city" logo...

I think my volunteer life may be coming to an end, and perhaps even Vancouver as a home. I will wait and see how this moment in time has altered my life journey. I feel that something will happen for me soon, I just don't know what. I feel detached and this will allow my destiny to come to be.