July 06 : Canadian Rockies

Yes sleepy despite the fact that I slept alot on the bus....as I was the last one to board and the bus was full, I got the front seat next to the driver....shiok, better leg room...

Quite fun along the way, we went for short walks into waterfall and bridge trails....stopped to do grocery shopping for lunch and also for ice-cream

Weather differs as we travel further...one moment it is very cool and the other moment very hot...I am so tan now...

Tonight we are stopping at Shuswap Lake but came here only about 8 pm...thankfully there were still some sunlight so was able to go see the lake and drop by a grocery store for dinner.

Waking up real early tomorrow to depart for Banff so good night everyone.

July 07 : Vancouver

Woke up real early today to catch the flight to Vancouver...and I mean real early...perhaps not as early as the one to Cambodia but well you know...anything before 10 am is early to me haha

Arrived at Vancouver ahead of schedule but got to go into the Canada Immigration to be sort of 'interrogated'. It was so ridiculous...asked me all sorts of funny questions and even call K to verify that what I told them was the truth...ended up there like 30 mins or so...

Questions like :

- How do you know this friend?
- Where is your home, who are you staying with, do you have siblings, are you single?
- Are you seeing anyone or seeing the friend who is living here?
- Why do you only come back here after so many years?
- How much money did you bring? Do you have a credit card? What is your credit limit?
- Etc, etc...

Oh pls, it is not as if I am going to smuggle myself in here...they are stricter than even US customs...according to K, people tend to get into US via Canada, why would they suspect I want to get into Canada via US when I have no problems getting US?

Anyway left the house at 11 am to go Canada Place, apparently not a new place but I have never been there...after that we had dim sum for lunch and head to Stanley Park, Cypress Mountain and Capilano...the entrance fee there is so ex now, even though it is still just one suspension bridge, duh...

Back at home now writing this blog and probably going to shower and take a nap haha...

Oh btw, no factory outlets here sob sob...

July 06 : Sausilito & Muir Woods

Want to know why I have no energy to write yesterday? We went to Sausilito, another coastal town, beautiful...it is definitely a place you can spend a slow afternoon in, driving coffee at a cafe...however the bad news was many attractions are closed on Mondays including the visitor centre...from there we drove up to Muir Woods...a redwood forest...so crowded but we took a hike, totally unprepared, me in my sandals and E in his walking boots, well yeah at least he was in a better status than me...we took at 2.8 km hike up to the top where you can see the whole forest and then took another probably 3 km down which took us some 3.5 hours to complete...it was very rewarding...after that we ate prime ribs without guilt...and my appetite was great...

And for the first time, I slept like 1 plus in the morning instead of 3 am...unfortunately it must be some good day in Singapore because I received 2 smses and 2 phone calls in the middle of the night...anyway because of that I slept in late and woke up like 9.30 am today....grab a bagel breakfast and went shopping, where else on the 4th July - Independence Day.....poor E, has to follow me around and guess what? All in all, I was at the shops for 5 hours and yeah I definitely bought back some good buys....I do indeed need a larger luggage..remind me...

Had a huge dinner tonight and after that we stopped by a grocery shop so that I can buy some snacks for my Rockies trip..something to munch on the bus....or call me itchy mouth...after that we returned to the house so that I can pack my luggage, did it in super quick timing and even managed to sew one of the button on one of my bermudas...then we rush off to the Fisherman's Wharf to catch the fireworks..of course....roads were so crowded with cars and people and not easy to find a parking lot....but we could see the fireworks from afar and as we go closer the fireworks died down and soon there were none but we could see some coming from Oakland and in fact on the drive back, we could see some in some neighbourhoods and even now as I am typing, I can hear some around the house...gotta wake up real early tomorrow...5 something to catch a 7 plus flight to Vancouver...hopefully K got my reminder to pick me up from the airport....and I am not sure how soon I can get online again as I will be on the road soon...

So see you when I see you

July 06 : Monterey and Carmel

E drove me to Monterey and Carmel today...what can I say? The place is beautiful, long drive but truly worth it...it is about 2.5 - 3 hours drive...passing through Stanford and San Jose....where you see the big IT companies by the road, they are companies like IBM, Microsoft, Sun Micro, Intel, etc and there are many more but you won't see it if you don't drive into San Jose.

What's so beautiful about Monterey you ask me? Beyond words but I will try my best...the town itself is a beach town, with a couple of wharfs called what else but Fisherman' Wharf and also one called the Municipal Wharf...where we stopped for lunch which is seafood and clam chowder of cos...

Monterey has a row of shops and restaurants called Cannery Row...good to take a slow stroll, stop for a cuppa at Starbucks, visit the Wax Museum and catch a glimpse of the coastal line.

From there, we drove up to the 17 mile drive, why is it called a 17 mile drive? It is basically a route that is 17 mile long, covering coastal areas and also the cypress lined roads, with 4-5 world class golf courses inside and lots of expensive houses. The most famous Pebble Beach Golf Course is right in the middle of the whole drive, if you are not sure why I am raving about this golf course, you are probably not someone who follows golf...this is where the US Open is held and where Tiger Woods will show his face and compete on this course that has holes near the coast, highly challenging especially when the wind is strong.

After the 17 mile drive, we drove by Carmel to get onto the Highway back to San Franscisco, which is actually a row of shops and some quaint cottages.

Had dinner back in the city and went to see the Golden Gate Bridge up close and personal, right at the foot of the bridge in fact. Then we made our way to Twin Peaks to see a 180 degree night view of the city, it is the highest point in San Franscisco and truth of the matter is, pls come fully prepared for the strong winds and therefore cold at this observation peak.

Going Sausilito tomorrow by ferry...first taste for ferry ride in San Francisco, if I can take it, I probably has no problem with my ferry ride to Alcatraz in a couple weeks time....

July 06 : Napa Valley

My 2nd trip to San Francisco...and I am not sick of it...in fact, in September 08 I went there again and now 4 months later, I still have the urge to go again. Just so you know, some links in this entry may not work.

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Halo, wassup with everyone back home? Seems like I have a feeling that I haven't been writing much these few days but boy oh boy, it has been a activities packed 48 hours for me...

Travelling over 4 different countries from Cambodia - Singapore - Hong Kong - United States..putting up with crazy passenger sitting next to me on plane, thank goodness she alighted at Hong Kong which gives me peace and space to sleep on the plane and guess what? First time ever that I managed to sleep long and well on the plane...

Arrived in SF and was picked up by E, we drove to see his new place in Oakland...work in progress....then drove to meet his fren for a drink...went to bed like 2 am and toss and turn and doesn't know what time I finally fell asleep but only know I woke up when my alarm rang.

Drove to Napa Valley this morning...super duper hot weather up there if you ask me...2 extremes in SF and in Napa...one cold and windy, the other dry and hot. Winery hopped 6-8 of them and drank so much wines, again first time ever in my whole life that I had so many drinks in one day...

Wineries are interesting, some are very classy, some very commercialised, some very hi-tech...each has their own differences and uniqueness. There is one with cable car access and another one is own by the director Fancis Coppola...some of those staff working in the winery are very friendly and approachable, bought a bottle of Gamay and it taste fruity and like fruit punch...yummy...

On the way to Napa, E played a song in his car, great song..good for long road trips, simple lyrics but meaningful and good melody. Found the video for the song on Yahoo Music so I am going to share it with all of you. The song is Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol, click here for the video or here for the other version (my preferred version). Hope it works and you guys like it too. Surprisingly there was once when I clicked the fast forward button after the end of the video, it replayed with clips from Grey's Anatomy...double happiness for GA fans...umm yep I mean myself...I have never seen some of the scenes that were in the video clip though so it was good catch up..

Booked my Alcatraz and Angel Island tour as well and checked on the flight schedules from SF to Atlanta...to visit M and harrass him for a week...so bro, don't say I don't visit you, this may be the one in a lifetime opportunity for both of us

So while you guys are looking forward to another work week tomorrow, I am going to get myself ready for bed ...another long day tomorrow...going to Monterey and Carmel...will get to see the fabulous Pebble Beach Golf Course.

Cheerios

June 2006 : Siem Reap

The first trip I took after walking out of my job in H.

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If I were to say Angkor Wat is fantastic, fabulous, wonderful, will I sound like someone you know?

Frankly, it was an eye opener...the place is huge and in my mind, I always thought it was a ruin but surprise surprise...it stands perfectly well, maintained well though I won't say in pristine condition...but most of the carvings on the walls are still in good condition...

You will also notice that there are some chunks taken out of the walls...apparently some foreign tourists cut it out and pilifer the gems inside...who's to know, this is like Taj Mahal??

I had a good tour guide, can speak relatively good English and was able to tell me stories about the carvings on the walls, helpful and good mannered, a friendly tuk tuk driver who wanted to give me some cute pictures and ringtones that was in his handphone (yeah don't be surprised, most people here do have handphones) and perfect weather (at least it didn't start to rain until I finished the whole tour) so I count myself truly blessed...

By cramming everything in one day, saves one some $$$$. USD 15 for the driver, US 20 for the 1 day temple pass and USD 25 for the tour guide (Tipping excluded of cos). Temple pass grant you access to all temples from opening till the closing of the temples...remember though if you want to save the pass as a souvenir, you might want to snap a photo of it first as the guards at each temple may snip a corner off here, tear it away there, punch a hole somewhere, you don't end up with a complete pass by the end of the day.

If you are thinking whether cramming all the main temples visit into one day is too rush, my advise to you is no, unless you are travelling in a big group where the rest may hold up the group but I finished everything by about 2 pm and that included taking time out for lunch.

Food's not cheap in case everyone is wondering...a Coke can set you back USD 1 and in some restaurants USD 2, a bowl of noodle soup cost you USD 3 and a packet of potato chips USD 1.50 cheapest...so if you are thinking of spending little here, you can try eating at the road side stall which my friend mentioned can set you back only USD 1 but hey I wouldn't want to risk getting stomach upset...besides the food served in my hotel are simply delicious, fresh and satisfying so why take the risk?

Worth a visit definitely but I don't think one needs to stay beyond 4 days for Siem Reap!!

Moving my butt

Going to start the migration now, but bear in mind these are my old posts from MSN and therefore timewise, they are oldddddd.