Category Archives: Travel

Pre-Trip Ramblings: January 7, 2007

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There is this song that caught my ear yesterday on Z95.3 so I had to find out what it is. It’s “Welcome to the Black Parade” by My Chemical Romance. You know, My Chemical Romance really isn’t the typical kind of band I usually listen to. Maybe it’s the intro that hooked me or maybe it’s the lyrics, but whatever it is, I love the song. It is the first song I have ever bought from iTunes. (This is probably the beginning of a very slippery slope!) If you have not heard of the song, you can check it out on their website: http://www.mychemicalromance.com/node
 
Today, I went to Richmond to get my dad to sign the rental company’s agreement. (He has to sign since his name is on the land title as he was my guarantor.) I used the opportunity to read today’s Province to get myself somewhat caught up in current events since I didn’t have a TV until recently and I still don’t have cable. I don’t get the newspaper and I only occasionally read the news online. I almost forgot what it is like to just sit and chill with a paper. I think I will be doing more of this when I’m traveling. Sitting at an outdoor café on the patio, with a buttery croissant and a hot chocolate and a paper…mmmmmmmmmm…
 
I also borrowed my dad’s car and did some errands. I’m pretty happy with my purchases. I am pretty sure that I now have everything I need for my place to be “furnished”. I bought a coffee maker, dishes and mugs, creamer & sugar bowl, iron, a lock for the flex room, extra towels, and my mom gave me a pot for soups/pastas, etc. This week, it’ll be organization, packing and photos.
 
I spent some time with my brothers and parents and had a couple of home-cooked meals. We chatted about the things they want me to bring down for safekeeping and what I am going to do with my car. My mom wants me to sell it and a part of me does agree with her. It is not good to leave a car sitting for that long. I don’t use it anymore, only in the summertime. I would save quite a bit on insurance, gas and payments. The only issue is that I love my car and I got a fantastic deal on it. If I sell it, then I will probably have to pay more for another car when I come back, if I want to get another Miata. So I will have to think about this issue a little bit more.
 
Tomorrow marks the two-week mark until I leave. It’s kind of weird because I still have quite a bit of loose ends to tie up so I don’t feel that I’m leaving yet. This is why I want to get everything done by next weekend so that I would have one week to make sure that I did not forget anything. I can do it, I can do it. J Wish me luck!

Pre-Trip Ramblings: January 6, 2007

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So remember the shoes that Carrie wore on my favourite episode of Sex and the City? Well, I found out the name, it’s Sedaraby, and they are available for sale on eBay…for over $800USD!?!?!?!?! They retailed at $485USD and now they are doubled the retail price! Oh the power of television…
 
Today, the sun was out in the morning on my way to yoga and it was nice…when I left to go for dinner, it was raining…*Sigh* This is one thing I won’t be missing about Vancouver.
 
Sally and I went to The Flying Tiger in Kits. It’s been open since August and I found out about it through SweetSpot.ca and I forwarded it to Roe and Sally, and we keep saying we want to check it out and we finally did. They were busy and we got the last reservations. Next time I go though, I want to sit at the bar and watch them cook. The Flying Tiger received some pretty rave reviews from the local publications and so the expectations were slightly higher than normal. I have to say, my dinner was great. Josh, our server, was pretty chill and chatted with us throughout the night. He used to work to work at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Restaurant in London. Sally knew all about the show, so we had a nice little chat about that.
 
I ordered a cocktail called Airi-Chan, which has boysenberry tea-infused vodka, fresh lemon, lychee juice and soda. The boysenberry tea-infused vodka intrigued me so I ordered it and it was good. I would have like a little less lemon and a little more lychee though but it is a nice refreshing cocktail.
 
I also ordered the veggie tempura to start and it was delicious. I don’t normally like peppers or other “weird” veggies, but the way they did this, I like. I couldn’t decide on the ‘Humba Style’ Braised Pork Belly or the Grilled Kalbi Korean Ribs so I asked Josh what he would recommend. He said that the Pork Belly is more of a complete meal as it comes with rice whereas the Ribs are more like a pile of meat – Albeit a very good pile of meat. Naturally I had to go with the pile of meat so I ordered the ribs. Don’t let the ribs part fool you like it fooled me. I guess I was so used to the western style of ribs that I was expecting a rack of ribs, but this was better. It was like have 5 or 6 slices of tender steak with 3 or 4 round bones in each slice. I don’t know how they do it but boy was it delicious. The 3 different kind of kimchi that came with it were a different story. I’ve never been to a Korean restaurant and never had Korean food so I’ve never had kimchi before. Apparently it is a staple is Korean diet. Well, let’s just say that kimchi is not what I would eat if I had a choice so I gave them to Sally. I ended up ordering a side of nasi goreng rice to add some starch to the pile of protein and it was yummy. The nasi goreng was one of the best I’ve had and I’m from Singapore. Not only was it yummy, it came in a little Chinese take out box to the table. How cute is that?
 
With all that food, I just couldn’t finish it so I now have a very good lunch for tomorrow. Josh told us about the dessert and while the chocolate-filled deep fried bananas sounded tempting, we decided to leave it for another time and go to Dairy Queen instead.
 
Now I’m tired. I guess spending most of the day in front of a computer can tire you out. Tomorrow, I am planning on a little shopping, packing and going to Richmond to see my family. Packing is the #1 priority right now, so this coming week, I’m striving to do a little packing each day and be completely done by my parties on the weekend. Two weeks left, so nearly crunch time; time to put things into a higher gear.

Pre-Trip Ramblings: January 5, 2007

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Things have been unsettling lately at work. Rumours are flying around and it seems like everyone is on pins-and-needles and have things to hide. Not exactly the best environment to be in, but times like this do happen and life does go on and things still have to be done. I will focus on me and not pay attention to what other people are saying. I will do the best job I can and not take anything personally. A job, no matter how important is it or how enjoyable it is, is still just a job and at the end of the day, there is more to life than work. It is all a matter of priorities and how you set them.
 
It is at times like this that I am reminded how powerful words can be. It is so easy to forget that and wonder why we feel the way we feel after a conversation. We can choose to say good things or we can choose to say bad things. The things we say have a profound effect on the person we say it to and vice versa. Something I forget that and allow their words to affect my actions, my emotions and my thoughts. Usually something about the person or the issue hits a nerve and that is when I fall back into the emotional trap. There is something that just bugs me and sends my thoughts off which means that I am focusing attention and energy on something that I do not like which in turns make that something more prevalent in my life. I am getting better in the sense that I am catching myself more often when I allow my emotions to be manipulated. I then have to forcibly stop my thoughts and ask myself, “What are you doing and why are you doing it and what is it about the issue that bugs you so much?”
 
Instead, I am learning to not think and focus on negative thoughts or thoughts that make me feel negative. I am learning to analyze my thoughts and learning to think positive and focus on the positive aspects of the issues or situation. I am learning to not take things personally and to realize that there are times where I just do not have the power or the control to change the issue or situation and therefore I have to just let it go and move on. I have come a long way in a year and I feel better emotionally and mentally because of it. I have been encouraged to do meditation but I am not ready for that yet. I’m starting with yoga and we will see where I go from here.
 
I am really looking forward to my trip. It will allow me to focus on some issues that I want to work on that I know I cannot work on if I stay here. I am looking forward to being on my own, which I know will help me grow as a person. As much as I love my family and friends, I feel as if I am stuck in my life and I need new challenges to stimulate me. I feel as if I need a clean slate to begin the next chapter of my life and this trip will provide me with a totally blank canvas for me to work on. I know that this trip will be a trip of a lifetime and that it will be phenomenal in so many different ways. I cannot wait to begin. 

Pre-Trip Ramblings: January 4, 2007

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I had a very thought-provoking conversation with Bliss tonight about life and love. Love. What is it about love that strikes a cord in everyone?
 
For those of you who know me, you will know that I can be kind of cynical and critical when it comes to notions of love. Now, I have nothing against love, I think it’s a wonderful thing. What I am skeptical about is the whole live-happily-ever-after, knight-in-shiny-armor, and finding one’s soul mate/other half etc, etc. I don’t believe in the over-commercialized aspect of “love”. I do not like how traditions and society seem to place an emphasis on couples. I especially do not like how we single people can be made to feel inadequate for being single, that we are not “complete” until we find “the One”. As we get older, one common anxious question my girlfriends have is whether they can find the right guy and whether they will ever get married. Ok, that was actually two questions, but they do go hand-in-hand. These are fabulous, smart, beautiful women who are questioning their self-worth because they are not married yet. Now you see why I’m critical?
 
I am also quite distain of some of the things that people go through and do in the name of love. If love if such a wonderful thing, why on earth would it cause so much pain and make people do horrible things? If you truly love someone and they love you back in the same way and the relationship is meant to be, I firmly believe that it will feel good and have no drama. The relationship should be easy and stress-free. There should be no questioning, no second-guessing, and no yelling matches. We are adults and we should be able to settle our issues in a civilized manner, no matter how emotional we get. I’m not saying that there will be no disagreements. But I believe that all disagreements can be resolved calmly and rationally.
 
But what about passion? Sometimes, one claims, people do things they regretted in a heat of passion. Well, that is a bunch of BS. I am a big supporter of passion. We all need passion in our lives, especially in your relationship. If you do not have passion in your relationship, then the relationship is not worth having. But passion and anger are two very different things, and most times, it is anger that leads into shouting matches and name-calling. We should all be able to feel passionate about our opinions and present them in a clear and coherent argument and defend them in the same way. If you have to resort to yelling and name-calling, then you need to examine your emotions.
 
What is my point in all this? My point is that because of my beliefs and high standards, I have not been in any “long-term” relationships, and you can even make a case that I have not been in any sort of a “real” relationship, period. Well, a lot of people have mentioned that they think I will meet the “man-of-my-dreams” on my trip. I think this is kind of funny given my dating history, but I am open to it. Like I said, I am not adverse to love; I just have not met the right person yet. And if I do meet the guy that I am willing to share my life with and to spend the rest of my life with, that would be cool. But if I do not, that’s cool too because I know that I will meet the right person when I am ready and that the time is right. I would still be happy because I would have followed my dreams and lived my life the way I wanted to. I followed my passion and went on this trip and I would gain invaluable experiences and capture priceless memories. And these, I’m willing to keep for the rest of my life.

Pre-Trip Ramblings: January 3, 2007

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I’m not sleeping well. Even though I was exhausted from all the yoga yesterday, I did not get a good sleep. I think it’s stress. I’m not admitting it and not acting it, but I think I’m stressed from the fact that I have about 2 weeks to do all the things that I have to do before I leave. I’m in the denial mood where I don’t want to face the fact that I have a lot of little things and loose ends to tie up before I leave.
 
But I am taking action. I am going to write down a list of things that I need/want to do before I leave. Tomorrow, Linda and Michelle from Advant Real Estates Services are coming to view my apartment to see if they want to take it on as a client. I’m going to start packing the clothes that I don’t need into storage. I’m going to find out and start the process about getting visas. I am going to plan my New Zealand and Australia part of the trip. I just have to take one thing at a time and go from there. Everything will be fine.
  

Pre-Trip Ramblings: January 2, 2007

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You know, there is such a thing as being too ambitious… I decided to go for yoga twice today and even though they were the more mellow forms of yoga, Anusara and Yin, I was done. Hence, the result why this entry is late.
 
First day back at work after the holidays was interesting. Everything was sort of quiet, you know, after the chaos of Christmas. Almost surreal. For me though, there was a lot to do. A new year means new flyers, new membership campaign, new events calendar. We are already starting to work on the fall and Christmas flyers! But of course, the most pressing stuff would be the Spring Flyer and the AGM. Not to mention all the travel stuff.
 
Speaking of travel stuff, my rail passes came in. I can only buy the passes that I will be using before June, because the passes are only valid for six months. I will have to buy the other passes either in Australia or in Singapore.
 
Roeina gave me some pretty cool and useful stuff for Xmas. She gave me a waterproof pouch to hold stuff in when I go to the beach so that I don’t have to leave anything behind when I go in the water. That will be used quite a bit. She also gave me a Canadian flag luggage tag, eye shades and an inflatable neck pillow and back cushion, all pretty cool items. So these combined with the angel wings necklace that Sally gave me, I’m all good. Thank you ladies! J

Pre-Trip Ramblings: January 1, 2007

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January 1, 2007. Exactly 3 weeks until I leave. Can you believe it’s 2007? We celebrated the end of 2006 in style. Dinner at Ocean 617 was great. It was cool to see Sean again, and yes, he is as good a chef as everyone says he is. I had the Foie Gras Parfait and it was delicious. The Chocolate Molten Cake with white chocolate ice cream was so rich and tasty and it was different than other molten cake I’ve tried because the centre is filled with peanut butter instead of chocolate Yummy!
 
The party at Vibes was fun with good music and a good hor d’oeuvres station and a white chocolate fountain. We then headed over to Au Bar where we hung out until hunger hit and we decided to go for food. Unfortunately at 4am our options were limited so we decided on Denny’s. But trying to catch a cab at this time is about as difficult as trying to find a pair of Manolos in your size at a sample sale. We ended up walking which is a painful experience in our heels. To top it off, it was raining. What a way to end a night huh? But it was definitely a story to tell though. We made it to Denny’s and I thoroughly enjoyed my country fried steak and eggs. Something about the grease after you’ve been drinking. J So Roeina and I ended our night with a cab ride back to my place and into bed at 6am.
 
I woke up at 1pm because I wanted to go to Hot Yoga at Yaletown Yoga. I have a complimentary week there and I wanted to try all the different style of yoga. Hot Yoga was great but it is definitely a workout. I could feel my heart pounding at times and I had sweat dripping off me. It was a great experience and I’m looking forward to this upcoming week of yoga.
 
I spent the rest of New Year’s Day just chilling. I did some laundry and read about the tours I’m taking and trying to figure out what visas I would need. The next three weeks will all be about getting ready for my trip. So get ready for some chaos ahead.

Pre-Trip Ramblings: December 31, 2006

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New Year’s Eve…As 2006 winded down, I got into a bit of a philosophical mood. 2006 was a very, very good year. It was a year of self care and self discovery where I discovered Yoga Therapy which was exactly what I needed. I found out that yoga is as good as people claimed, if you do the right type of yoga. I realized the power of words when I went and got my Style Statement. I discovered Indian Head Massage which I highly recommend to everyone. I found the beauty in a French manicure and the pampering in a spa pedicure. It was also the year that triggered my traveling bug with trips to Singapore, Bali, Las Vegas, Seattle, San Francisco, and New York, which lead me to the decision to take off for an entire to travel to places that I’ve always wanted to experience. Vancouver is a wonderful city and it will always be home, but I want to see the world, see what’s out there.
 
So, now that the philosophical bit is out of the way, let’s celebrate 2006 and see it out with a bang and usher in 2007.

Pre-Trip Ramblings: December 30, 2006

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It’s amazing the things you get done when you have a deadline. I had my Post-Xmas/Pre-New-Year/Housewarming & Going-Away-Version-1 Party tonight and boy did I get my place cleaned up good. It is a very good feeling when your place is cleaned and organized. I feel as if a weight has been lifted, which I guess it has since I’ve been procrastinating for a while now. I just have one more shelf and one more room to go through and I am done. I also want to go through my clothes and either have a clothing sale or just donate to the Salvation Army. I also have a few things that I don’t need and so by giving them to the Salvation Army, I’ll gain more room and space.
 
The party was fun and chill, just what I wanted. I wanted to just hang out with my friends. Now you may wonder the reason for the long title for a small party, but I have this thing for combining occasions. This is a going-away-version-1 because I knew that there would friends who couldn’t make it due to the holiday season, so I am planning a going-away-version-2 in January. This way I have a better chance of seeing all my friends before I leave.
 
Chatting with my friends about my trip somehow makes it more real. Everyone had ideas and tips for me, but I told them to email me because there is no way I would remember everything anyone tells me! I will be posting my tentative itinerary here soon, so you can have a rough idea of where I will be on a particular day. Feel free to let me know any tips or notes that you think I should know. Now that I have my place pretty much organized, my next major task is packing. I already have an issue, and that is footwear. I went from taking maybe 3 pairs of shoes to now wanting to take about 6 pairs of shoes! I definitely will have to work on eliminating.
 
Tomorrow is New Year’s Eve. New Year’s has always been my celebratory thing. I don’t really celebrate any holidays besides Chinese New Year since my family isn’t religious. The two occasions that I do celebrate are birthday and New Year’s. This year, I am going to dinner at Ocean 617 and then to Vibes with a big group of friends. I am looking forward to dinner as I have not been to Ocean yet and I looking forward to trying Sean’s cooking. Sean used to work at the Vancouver Club and he was always pretty cool, so it would be nice to see him again. The New Year’s party saga ended well as I got the tickets tonight. It should be a fun party with 2 rooms, hors d’oeuvres, chocolate fountain and one free drink and champagne toast at midnight.
 
I can’t believe we are at the end of 2006. This year has simply gone by so quickly, yet it has been such an incredible year. It felt like it was only yesterday that it was the end of 2005 when I decided that I was going to make 2006 a fantastic year. I am very happy to say that it has indeed been a fantastic year and that I accomplished my mission. I aim to continue on this wonderful journey that I started this year and make 2007 even more fabulous than 2006.
 
Have a fantastic 2007, everyone!

Pre-Trip Ramblings: December 29, 2006

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So I got to thinking…I leave in 3 weeks and 2 days. Am I excited or am I nervous or am I scared? I think it’s all of the above. You know, I didn’t really sit down and thought to myself: I’m leaving all my friends and family and everything that I know and that I am familiar with for an entire year. I am going to go to places that I’ve never been before and be on my own for an entire year. This is a scary thought. Ok, it’s actually 2 separate thoughts but they are both pretty darn scary. I’ve pretty much planned this trip on the fly over the last six months so I’ve never really thought about the fact that I’m leaving for an entire year. It’s always just been that I’m going traveling for an entire year. I guess you could say that I’m looking forward and not looking back. I guess this is why people don’t like to think. J
 
Seriously though, I will admit that I am nervous about being on my own, a little scared even. But I refused to let these two emotions dictate my trip and my life. I have acknowledged these emotions and now I am letting them go. This trip will be fantastic, fabulous and fun. I am strong and I am ready and I can do it. Not only can I do; I will do it well. I am ready to explore the world and see what different places have to offer. I am ready to experience different cultures and different lifestyles. I am ready to tackle obstacles and challenges that life will throw in my way. I am ready to find out who I am and what I want to do and what I want in life. I am ready.
 
This will be one heck of a trip.