Vancouver - Touring around ......

After a good night's sleep, we were all well rested and ready to tour around Vancouver. Arrangements were made for about twenty of us visitors (from all around the world) who were at Vancouver just to attend my cousin's wedding, and this was our mode of transportation ......

As the tour guide was the groom's friend, we were very well entertained. Unfortunately, it was a dark and gloomy day as the rain started to pour just as we were about to venture around. Due to my reluctance to subject my camera to the acidic rain water, I only captured a few pictures at some of the spots we visited, whilst bumming in the "mini bus" for the rest of the journey and just contentedly looked out of the window ......

Obviously, Stanley Park ......

Oh so dark n gloomy ...... *pulks*

Nothing better than a hot cuppa coffee for the cold weather ... oh it was freeezingggg ..... brRRrrrR .......

Obviously again .. Propect Point Lookout ......

We were also brought to a marketplace, where we oogled at the yummy sandwiches, bagels, sweets, fruits etc and of course, eventually purchased some heathy n uber fresh fruits ......

and a not-so-healthy but awfully sinfully delicious snack ......

And that .. concludes the tour ......  :)

Vancouver - Hen's Night

After taking a much-needed two hour nap, my cousin and I woke up to prepare ourselves for a girls night out ...... and were gobsmacked when we were informed that a limousine was coming to pick us up.

It was PINK!

My cousin and yours truly

We were first chauffeured to our dining place, and unfortunately, I don't recall the name of the restaurant. Nevertheless, thumbs up for the restaurant's ambience, food and service!

Our dining area ......

And we ordered four platters of the following ...... very very yummy ......

Cocktails

Our berlepak area after finishing our dinner ......

And at eleven, we finally left our dinner place and adjourned to a club nearby. As it turns out, the guys (who were celebrating the groom's bachelor night) had attempted to make a reservation at the same club us girls were headed to but for obvious reasons, we got the spots instead. *grin*

No pictures were taken at the club. But a "memory" worth (or maybe not) mentioning was the fact that all of us were totally put off by this silly old cheena-man who had apparently booked the whole area us girls were in. One who sticks out his tongue non stop, touches all the girls non stop, licked my cousin's hand and (o.m.g. please just kill me) licked / bit my ear ! *shudders*

Found out later that he was some filthy rich pig who thought he could do anything he wanted just cause he had plentiful of moooolah... *ptuiiiiii !!!*   >.<

So anyway, ending this post with a picture of the "happening street" where all the clubs were ......

Vancouver - Accommodation

This will be my first blog post on my two week holiday to Vancouver - New York - Toronto. Apologies in advance for the lousy photos cause I wasn't exactly given the priviledge of taking my own sweet time to snap away as much as I'd like to. 

So Friday (06.08.2010) it was, that my holiday began. Woke up uber early to catch a cab with my aunt, her twin brother (i.e. my uncle) and her daughter (i.e. my cousin) to KLIA, and met up with six others at the airport. Together, we checked in and thats when the first "incident" happened. My cousin's bf's passport expiration date was less than six months away!! But thankfully, after all the fussing, he was eventually allowed to catch the flight to Vancouver with the condition that my uncle signed off on a "letter of guarantee" that he will return to Malaysia.

After all the hoo-haa ... we adjourned to Eden for "dim sum" ... and oh-my-gawd not only was it a waste of my tummy space, it was superbly expensive. For anyone who ever intends to give it a shot, don't bother!

After a 3.5 hour flight, we arrived at Hong Kong, and had 2.5 hours to kill before catching another flight to Vancouver. And my, did we spend it wisely. Not only did we eat yummilicious congee, wantan noodles, roasted duck n' roasted goose, we spent an hour walking around looking at branded goods too (which were supposedly much cheaper than Malaysia). Took a mental note of the prices of items we liked to ensure that it was gonna be cheaper in New York! If otherwise, we'd purchase the items from HK on our way back to Malaysia instead. Tee hee .... yeps, I am not shy to admit that I am THAT cheapo.  :p

Upon boarding the plane to Vancouver, I cursed the moment I sat down. The seats felt like a piece of cloth wrapped around the metal seats. It had no cushion whatsoever!! And it was gonna be a 12 hour flight! Felt an instant sense of impending doom and dreaded the flight immediately, which proved to be rightfully so. I only managed a two hour nap during the whole journey!!  >.<

After the horrible flight, we arrived at the airport to be picked up by my cousin, her future hubby n' his family members. Three cars were required to haul all our luggages and we were brought to dine at Wang's Beef Noodle House immediately. No kidding when I say that it was the best beef noodles I'd ever tasted in my life! The beef was soooo tender despite it being served in huge chunks. No pictures cause I was too tired n' hungry.  =_=''

And finally, we were chauffeured to our accommodation for the upcoming four nights to rest before a loonggggg night out.

Outside the apartment ......

The lobby of the apartment ......

The waiting area we bummed at every morning before pick up ......

And taaa-daaaaaaaaaa .... the lovely apartment ......

The kitchen ......

And the little dining area attached to the kitchen where the view overlooks the streets ... loved sitting here in the mornings sipping my cuppa coffee .......

The lil' laundry n' ironing area ......

The bedroom I shared with my cousin sister ...... n' with windows by the bed overlooking the streets, it was pure bliss bumming in bed whilst looking out the window in the mornings......

The other bedroom which was occupied by my uncle ......

And lastly, a lil' study area which obviously, was left untouched ......

Oh, I was indeed spoilt and happy to have such a nice accommodation ...... a great start it was to a long holiday ......

The Hunting Scene - An Ideal Quartet?

Hunts are fun.

No really i mean it, despite the hot sun, the sweat, the mental and physical drain. The sense of satisfaction of getting an answer right, the bond built between team members after all the bickering in the car, the sense of accomplishment at the end of a day's long journey - those are things to relish.

The overall 1 year journey, the build up of hunts till the climax - the Sun Hunt, to measure your progress - and the team's progress is one to really look forward to.

Yet - as in all things in life, nothing is perfect. Is there really an ideal quartet in treasure hunting - a fixed 4 people that will stick together, with a special bond - through good times and bad? People change, time moves on, and interests - fade. What seemed like a happy hunting team, could so easily change overnight, whether the loss of the member is under enforced circumstances or not. Isn't that life?

If something were to be measured in days or weeks then yes, progress could easily be measured, but as life goes on you find that even a year is a long long time in regards to human friendship. Many other things are more important - such as that all important Career, Money, Fame - no matter how much your family or teachers tried to tell you back then that nothing is more important than family and friends. Why go one way when everyone else is going the other?

I guess this rant is probably a short term emotional trigger, i'm sure the feeling will go away when another "interest" pops up to distract me, oh yes - oh so fickle human mind. Where oh where will we be able to find the piece to complete the Quartet, if not for long term, at least during the short term interest of Treasure Hunting? Or for the GIF Hunt at least, for that matter?

Congratulations!

Perseverence and hard work is the key to success! 

Congratulations Corrie Lee !!  (^_^)

Back from Hannover .. and off I go again ~~

So on my very last day at Hannover, I decided to just bum in the apartment, watch my Korean series and had a very simple lunch of sausages and apple juice ~

Everyone who knows me would know by now that I don't drink plain water ... like ... 99% of the time ... so yes, this was my standard "liquid intake" in Germany. Better yet, I love mixing this lil' bottle of juice with a portion of "water with gas", and the eventual result is a not-so-sweet version of Zapple! In Germany, you're offered "normal water" or "water with gas" (mild, medium and very gassy) in restaurants. Don't ask me why ... they just do ...... and its sold in bottles in hypermarkets too !!

And a few hours later, I packed my bags (yes, I am THAT last minute) and headed to the airport ......

Evidently from the ticket above, I had to transit in Frankfurt again ... and I was actually REALLY REALLY looking forward to it !!! Why ?!! Cause I wanted to eat at Beyond cafe again !!! Yummeh sandwiches ...!!

Disappointed I was .. cause I didn't see any on the way to my transit lounge ... and hence I was "stuck" trying out this lil' mini bar-like place (cause it was the only food shop in existence!) at the boarding gate ...

The very brightly coloured layout ......

Chicken wrap

Latte Macchiato

The food was rather average and given a choice, it would not be a place I'd frequent again (not to say many opportunities to frequent the airport again anyway la ~ ). LoL ......

So anyway, will be flying off again in a few hours time to Vancouver, New York and Toronto! Will be back in two weeks time ... Toodles ~~

A day out in Hannover ......

Upon purchasing the oh-so-expensive bus ticket (yes, its the only German sentence I know apart from "danke"), I hopped off at Hauptbahnhof (also known as the Hannover Central Station), and started wandering around aimlessly......

Hauptbahnhof

(the train station)

Decided to have a light brekkie, and this cafe caught my attention ......

The weather was absolutely beautiful! Ordered my meal and bummed outside for more than an hour reading my book ... wished we could do this all the time here in Malaysia!! If only ....... *wishful thinking* ....

The old lady looks scary .. prob wondering if I was snapping her picture

*eeeps...*

Loved the simple deco! And my light brekkie consisted of ......

Caffe latte and sandwich (salami + mozzarella cheese) - 5 Euro

Looks miserable ... but amazingly simple and yummilicious !!!!

Just some random shots of the surrounding ......

Most of the hotels were "decorated" with beautiful flowers ......

...... and rounded shaped "plants" ......

Many many of these around ... all with cute hunks in skin tight outfit ...

(yes, bicycle handles obstructing my view just cuz I am that short)

Strawberries sold in a strawberry hut !

...... and it decided to start raining cats n' dogs, hence ending my amateurish photo taking journey.

This is the way all sandwiches are sold !

And the main reason for my outing ...... jeng jeng jenggggg ~~~

Chocolates, chips n' coffee !!

*feels the fatty guilt*

And that pretty much sums up the one day I had in Hannover to berlepak ......