wini in winnipeg...

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Time in Winnipeg

Monday, January 5

for one more day 9:22 PM

As many of you might already have known, I'm currently stuck in North America for one more day, and it really feels like one of the longest days in my life. Really, it is the result of travel fatigue coupled with a 16 hours time difference with Singapore. Well well.. it was all a mad rush this morning, and we had to clear Canada and US customs twice within half an hour, and were just being pushed around from airline agent to agent who refused to render proper assistance in re-booking our flights back home.

Still, being stranded in Portland for an additional night has allowed me to keep up with all my blogposts, although I'm really quite sick (literally fever and flu) and drained out. We're now waiting for our next flight which is in 18 hours' time, without anything to shower nor to brush our teeth (the customs officer threw the remaining 5g of my toothpaste away) and we'll probably end up in Singapore all smelly and stinky. Haha. :(

So well, just for an update, I'll be touching down in Changi on Thursday, 8 January, at 12.35am instead - effectively 1 whole day later than the previous scheduled itinerary. Undeniably I'm still quite upset over missing out on the LTM workshop and having my plans disrupted for my first 2 days in Singapore, but at least our delay ain't that bad and we don't have to spend that much time stuck in this other part of the world. Heh.. see you all soon.

Life is a journey that's homeward-bounddddddd.

the last of snow.. 9:11 PM

Vancouver doesn't usually snow during winter due to insufficiently low temperatures, but this year the weather all across Canada has been bizarre and unpredictable that nothing's impossible. Vancouver apparently surprised us with a very beautiful blanket of fresh soft snow, although sometimes it was so wet that lots of slosh was created instead, making roads slippery and dangerous just like in Toronto.

But for most part it was really beautiful; flurries were moderate (not too light nor heavy and irritable) and the snow was moist enough to be pressed into snowballs and other shapes, heh. We were quite excited to feast our eyes on such a pretty sight during our last stop, and I guess we do realize how much we'll miss snow when we leave. :(

These are what we saw along Vancouver's waterfront and in Stanley Park.. even though we were totally drenched and caught terrible chills later, it was all worth the while especially in our final moments of our trip. :)

See how deep the snow is..!

Someone built this snow-man which looked very much like a huge monkey, haha

I kinda heart snow, I think. Haha.. even though it's quite irritating at times. In fact, instead of exclaiming "Wahhh it's snowing!" we are more accustomed to grumbling "Eeyer it's snowing.. bleah." Haha.

a belated happy new year from new york 5:53 PM

It's already 5 Jan now that I'm writing this - haven't had internet access till at the Vancouver airport, hours before embarking on the long restless trans-Pacific flight(s) back home. I'm hoping to do up a brief recollection of the past few days right now cos I know I'll be quite bogged down by work the moment I touch down; I even did LTM work for Prof on New Year's Day for TA workshop! So yep.. these will prolly be the very last of "Wini in Winnipeg" I guess, since I don't usually blog in Singapore and had only set this up for exchange. Haha.. I'm kinda relieved actually, cos maintaining a blog with utmost perfectionism is admittedly tiring at times. :S

New Year's Eve
Looking back now I'd say I didn't know quite how to feel visiting New York City for the 2nd time in 2 years; it felt strangely familiar yet weirdly different. I felt as though I'd visited most of the significant must-sees in the city already, and that reliving them didn't feel too real nor excitable as it would be for my friends. Still, it was great that I managed to see the Statue of Liberty for real this time round, meaning not just seeing a 10cm figurine from afar in Battery Park. Haha.. the last time we came it was getting dark and the ferries weren't in operation anymore so we could only make out the Statue in the distance. I'm really glad we went to Liberty Island on this trip! :)

DSCN0844

The lines were crazy that day, I think everyone wanted to make their New Year resolutions in front of the Statue or something, haha. We actually had to queue for about an hour in the cold - New York's winter is unusually cold this year too. But we did make a silly mistake in underestimating the weather, cos we forgot that America uses degF instead of degC, so we'd thought "0 deg" was definitely bearable but it turned out to be rather chilly! Roar.

I really loved the Statue of Liberty somehow, especially after learning about its history. Everything on the Statue is significant - her torch resembling truth and light, her crown revealing her divine status, her broken shackles on the ankles a sign of freedom, and her stride to symbolize her striving forward towards greater things. We were greatly in awe and respect of this beautiful and melancholic National Monument.

Wall Street and Ground Zero, the crash site has had "improvements" since the last time I visited! Oh yes, we even "prayed" in Wall Street and tolong-ed that the market will turn for the better for us to-be graduates. Haha. Regrettably though I didn't find Wall Street as nice as the last time; the streets were crowded and many constructions and roadblocks present, prolly in light of the holiday peak period. So it just felt really squeezy and we weren't able to take nice pics without interference, bleah.

New York Stock Exchange and St Patrick's Cathedral

Empire State Building, the one where King Kong climbed atop and wreaked havoc, haha

Times Square Countdown
Many contend New York to be the place to spend New Year's Eve/Day for its iconic and highly-anticipated countdown at Times Square. And yes, I'd say it was quite an experience, but it wasn't all that easy nor fun either. For one, people usually head to the area about 10-12 hours before midnight (!!!) itself, just to chope their places and ensure they get to see the heart of the action. But of course we weren't prepared to stand in the cold and wait for so long (you can't even leave the area to pee or anything else your spot'll be gone), so we tried my friend's strategy - to wait around the area by hanging out at some random cafe/restaurant, then run in when the barricades are released near midnight.

Yet things weren't so simple (the policemen got smarter). The "ball-drop" - typical of New York's annual countdown - was rumoured to be on 42nd Street, and the police'd sealed off the whole Times Square area and limited it only to VIPs or people with reservations. They kept dissing us and told us to move on to further-away streets in the cold, streets that were a whole 15 blocks away! We had to jostle with hordes of people and were consecutively refused entry into every single barricade.. rah. So yea, it really wasn't that enjoyable at all. But that night we persisted, and after a prolonged period of defrosting in a cafe we finally sought to brave the cold, eventually wedging past a barricade at 59th Street (yes thats damn far away); there was so much pushing we really didn't know where we were going. Haha.. but at least we got into Times Square and did our countdown somewhere in the area, though we never saw the ball itself la, heh.

The policemen were really excited to have their pictures taken with us too.. haha,

The huge mob of people pushing their way through! To the right is the iconic ball on-screen.

We love our funky specs..! Happy New Year everyone!

Of simple blessings
Earlier I'd mentioned not knowing how to feel about visiting New York yet again, so I'd sought to venture out on my own on New Year's Day. I figured it might be nice to see places I didn't see last time, or to re-explore and relearn what I've previously experienced, roaming the streets of a "dream city" on the first day of the New Year itself.

And really, on hindsight I must say it was a really enjoyable day revisiting Broadway and Times Square (despite the area being superbly crowded and pushy) more thoroughly and carefully. It was undeniably a day to myself amidst the travel fatigue; a day where everything was set to my own pace and I achieved whatever I wanted. Yet more importantly it was also a period of self-reflection and revelation, where I thought about things and issues and took a step back to appreciate a slower pace of life, rethinking over my goals and wishes for 2009. I must say I have many ambitions for myself in this coming year; no doubt it'll be a tough term ahead but I do perceive it a challenge, yep.

And I guess I really ought to be thankful for what I've got; many people literally dream of visiting New York but have never done so in their lives, and who am I to comment about boredom when I'm accorded such a privilege! So yep, I dispelled my reservations, maximized my time in the city and counted my blessings. Along the way I also talked to some New Yorkers and Taiwanese, and even got my favourite Fossil watch strap fixed at a store! Haha. The only thing I prolly regret is that I never got to watch a Broadway musical the 2 times I visited - tried getting seats to Mamma Mia but they were fully booked. :(

Wednesday, December 31

28-29 dec - niagara falls 1:38 AM

It is true that life is full of unexpected moments. I almost had the opportunity to visit the Falls in summer 2006, but had not eventually due to car-pooling problems. I remembered being quite disappointed about it, knowing I was already halfway across the globe yet unable to experience one of the most miraculous wonders of nature in the world. Yet perhaps things really do or do not happen for a reason - I'd told myself I'd be back here again in the future, but little did I know the future would just be 2 years down the road.

Many contend summer to be the best time to visit the Niagara Falls, due to its vibrant horticulture and mass display of festivals and events. Yet there are some who prefer the quiet winter, which, despite the cold, exudes a form of melancholy and solitude which allows one to connect to nature and appreciate its sights and sounds better. The white snow blanket also adds to the beauty of it all, of course.

The weather wasn't good at all when we arrived at the Niagara region on the Ontario side. Windchill warnings were on full alert that day; the area had also experienced some rather treacherous gales that'd destroyed a couple of houses and vehicles. Despite the very strong winds, temperatures were still insufficiently low for snow to fall. I guess it was indeed a weird first-time combination for a Winnipegger (very low temperatures with strong but not-so-strong winds), haha.

A trunk had fallen and crushed the top of a car, and that's me swaying in the wind with the plants. Haha.. but really, sometimes the wind was so strong we felt like we were going to be blown away any minute! :(

Niagara Falls from afar - the 2 waterfalls that make up the Niagara are the American Falls (left of the left pic), and the Horseshoe Falls (right of the left pic, which allegedly "belongs" to Canada).

Niagara Falls at dusk. Notably we are on the Canadian side of the Falls; it's also well-reputed that Niagara is prettier when admired from Canada as compared to from the US side. Better than what I'd have experienced 2 years ago if I'd come then! Haha.

Table Rock, known to be the best place to admire the Horseshoe Falls. We'd walked quite a distance in the cold just to get here, but the view was so incredibly spectacular it was all worth the effort. See the Falls up-close - we could even see the top of the rapids leading to the drop-off point!

Winter Festival of Lights, Niagara's primary attraction during the season. The Maid of the Mist (a boat ride that brings you very close to the bottom of the falls so you're "under"-looking them) and other tours had closed by October, so we weren't able to venture out in the waters.

Niagara's tourist attractions, including the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cinema, Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not Museum, and Guinness World Records Hall of Fame amongst others. Frankly the whole area'd felt too over-commercialized like LA's Hollywood so it didn't feel too novel to me, heh.

I had my first "official" time in the casinos though - earlier in the day I'd randomly walked past a Dream-Catcher machine which dropped me a lolly for no reason, so I was feeling lucky. Haha.. I did win some money at first but eventually lost it all, bleah. :(

Day 2 was mostly spent outlet-store shopping and visiting the IMAX theatre, which featured a movie titled "Niagara Falls - Myths, Miracles and Magic". It featured several legendary stories about people who were inspired by/drawn to the Falls, as well as some weird fanatical daredevils who'd challenged Nature by attempting to go over the Falls in reinforced beer barrels and/or other devices. All to prove courage and might, or to gain fame and riches. And of the 15 who'd ever tried, 10 had survived. All of them were miracles indeed, if you'd read about the strength and velocity of the Niagara like me at the gallery..!

The right pic above shows Pat, the very amiable and friendly lady at Simon's Diner where we'd patronized on 2 consecutive mornings for breakfast. Around for 125 years now, Simon's is a nice family-style diner which brings back lotsa fond memories for the many people who've lived and grown up here - all the other customers were middle-aged and elderly men! Haha. Pat is a really grandmotherly figure and we'd enjoyed her service so much that I'm put in-charge of emailing her our picture (yes, she uses email for her age!) and keeping in touch after this, heh. :)

chapalang update 12:55 AM

I'm on the go right now, aboard the AmTrak Rail from Niagara Falls (US side) to New York City. It's going to be a rocky 9-hr ride, and I figured I should get back in touch with my diligent blogging. Haha.. I've been seriously lacking sleep the past 10 days, making sure photos are uploaded and people are updated. So much so that my friends've affectionately referred to me as the Tamagotchi - I can sleep anytime anywhere I want - bus stops, restaurants, any random chair while waiting for people, even for just 5 min! Heh.

Still, I'm kinda glad I'd kept to the "discipline" of doing these things; the inertia to start would be even greater after I return home (just look at Luyi, haha). But really, on top of that I do also believe in a better appreciation of my travel experiences when I relive them in fresh memory, logging my adventures while simultaneously embarking on my journeys. And I'm still meticulously keeping track of my daily expenditures k, even after 4 months! *beams* Fortunately I can survive on little sleep and am quite good at remembering things la, haha.

So well, I stopped at Boxing Day in Toronto, but there really isn't much to talk about our last day in the city. We'd visited a few random places, so here's a log of the chapalang things we'd seen and done. I guess this is more of a recovery and disclaimer post; haha, as well as a pit-stop to re-adjust my thoughts (instead of mere reporting what I've done) before I set foot on the really-final few days of my exchange journey.

27 Dec - Last day in Toronto

St Lawrence Market, one of Toronto's oldest and most historic places to visit

Yet another historic site of interest - the Distillery District featuring the city's finest breweries

SOMA chocolate maker, a must-visit for chocoholics! Said to be one of the best choc makers in the world, SOMA features both gourmet and "normal" chocs at their best (and atas prices), heh. :)

One of Toronto's best attractions..! To the right is the very delicious hot choc I've gotten for Vicki - so glad to have come to SOMA and not settled for some random Christmasey hot choc mix for my best friend, heh.

Interesting stuff - a German Schnauzer with winter boots, and a duh pedestrian-crossing sign. Check out the last part - "If flashing, do not start. Finish crossing if already started." (!?)

We re-visited Chinatown in the evening, I finally had my first bubble tea in 4 months! Couldn't resist la, the shop played Chinese songs and even screened some Taiwanese variety show, heh. And then I couldn't help but take a pic of the bittergourds I saw at some market, I miss bittergourd-egg so much! Bleah. :(

Dinner that day was the best thus far in Toronto, we headed to a Lonely Planet-recommended Rice Bar, where we created customized rice bowls by selecting our grain type, protein, sauce and garnish of choice. Quite an infusion cuisine I guess, though we selected ingredients that'd seemed more Asian than Western, heh. Beats me why I didn't take a photo of the rice bowls, but of the yummy desserts instead! :)