Hanoi 16-19 Aug

Played cards while waiting at the budget terminal. Our flight was delayed so we had about an hour of bridge / dai di. Elaine commented that we don't even have to go overseas to have fun. We create our own fun.

Our first meal in Hanoi. Some street side food stall.

Our first proper dinner, which we ate at 10 plus at night, thanks to the plane delay. Had pho. Our order was probably the last order. We were lucky they were still open, if not, no dinner.

1st floor of our hostel. This was where we played mahjong. haha.

Our hostel. HI Hanoi. Not too bad but air con for the big rooms aren't cold.

On our way to the mini bus to Ha Long Bay. We look so tourisy...

Gina, acting cute.

Us at the, um, jetty before boarding our, um, cruise ferry.

In the dining room of the cruise ship.

Pretty bad pic taken of us looking into the sun. To the right is the "cockpit" of the ferry.

And we're off! To cruise around Ha Long Bay.

Same picture, different perspective.

Sui, with our guide. I forgot his name. Anyone?

Yes Debs, we're in Vietnam!

Me, petting the turtle's head, supposedly for luck.

Tired, sweaty and oily at the end of our caving experience. The interior of the cave was cool but extremely humid.

Act cool.

And this, is our cruise ship.

Swimming. Around the ferry.

Observing the fishes, and other weird sea creatures, in the fish farm. And extremely engrossed by them.

Elaine and I in our room. The air con leaks!!

Canoe Series 1: Jac and Debs

Canoe Series 2: The Es. Elaine and Eunice

Canoe Series 3: Suyi and PJ

Canoe Series 4: Me and Cheryl. We were the best team. hahaha...

Back in Hanoi, life goes on. I like this picture cos it captures the fast pace of life that moves around this fruit lady. Thanks Debs for the pic.

Debbie and I sharing a mixed fruit thingy.

The mixed fruit thingy. I don't quite know how to describe it. Hmm, mixed fruits in a glass?

Painting clay figurines at a night market. This was what Elaine and I ended up doing when we went to the night market cos both of us didn't really feel like shopping and we had 1 1/2hours to burn.

St. Joseph Cathedral, Hanoi. First opened on Christmas Day in 1886.

Um, Jac? We're in a police station... So funny, we look like we're in a school principle's office or something. Oh and they don't have a photocopier, don't even have carbon paper, Cheryl had to write out her report twice.

Jac takes a shot while the rest of us looks on. Thanks PJ for the pic.

Navigating through the streets of Hanoi.

Most of us were suffering from heat exhaustion and possibly dehydration. The fish dish wasn't as nice as it was supposed to be.

Debbie and Cheryl look like they are being crushed under my weight. They were so scared of the cyclo ride, they kept giggling.

So unglam. Sitting on the floor in the middle of the Hanoi airport. And that concludes the Hanoi trip. Too short I think. So, where to next??

Gina

Week 10 Stress

And I was browsing through my last few posts again. Oh how I miss exchange times. I feel sad looking back at those last few weeks of my exchange. I still wish I had more time away on exchange. I feel sad especially after reading that last post I made before flying back to Singapore. It carried such sense of finality, like that's the end of it and I can never go back, can never have that back. Sigh.

Anyway, it might seem strange to some that I posting now (though I seriously doubt anyone still bothers reading this blog), but lately I've been having serious withdrawal symptoms. Kinda late I know, but I'm guess it's the weeks 10-15 stress that's making me miss the more laid back and well paced exchange lifestyle. I miss the no stress to do well school life of exchange. And to think I could get on the Dean's List there. Oh well, it's too bad. It's time for me to buck up now.

Gina

Batam 3-4 Aug

Since I'm back from exchange, I figured I should just convert this blog into a travel blog cum exchange reminisence blog. But I'll see how it goes, my laziness and all. hehe.

Anyway, my family and I took a short weekend trip to Batam last weekend. Since both my dad and I were still working then, a weekend trip provided for a short getaway without having to take any leave. We departed at about 9 am Saturday morning and got back around 7pm Sunday evening. But it was enough for us to try everything we wanted to do there.

First day, went to Nagoya. New mall there. Lunch sucked. Got my haircut for less than S$3. 16,000 Rupiah. Considering getting my hair permed there. Real cheap. Went back to hotel to slack around a bit. Then go-karting. And swimming. And for some strange reason, I over-exerted my back such that I had backache after that. Which totally sucks cos I couldn't go cable-skiing the Sunday cos my back was hurting so badly. Sigh. Back to Saturday night, we had a family night out bowling. I won the first round and Mama trashed all of us in the second round. Haha.

Second day, like I said, Jimmy went cable skiing in the morning. We then went for a jungle warfare thingy, with BB (ball-bearing) guns. Pretty fun, but it was kinda short. Of course with us decked out in the whole get up, jumper, vest, mask, goggles and gloves, it didn't feel too short. Temperatures were getting high in there. Haha. And that pretty much sums up all our activities. Had lunch, played a little foosball and prepared to head back to Singapore.

Family holidays are a fun time. Will miss the times we get to travel together as a family. Hopefully, all goes well and we get a chance to go next year.

Gina

My Summer in the U.S.

Yes, I've been back for 2 weeks as of this minute. I haven't updated my blog as I had no inclination to do so. I've just been too lazy. Tonight, I decided that I should just do it and get it over with once and for all. (I say it as if it were a chore and I don't have any choice about it.)

Traveling was fun. As always. But with 8 individuals with 8 different views on things and 8 photographers, sorting out photos is a chore. Uploading those pictures here is an even worse pain in the *toot*. So I have decided that I shall just post one photo for every city or attraction I visited.

Las Vegas 13-15 May

Doing the SMU jump in front of the Las Vegas sign. Vegas was exciting, especially for those who hasn't been there before, basically everyone except me. The bright lights and the ka-chings. Unfortunately, we didn't have the time to actually gamble. Haha. But we did catch the World's Greatest Magic Show.

Lake Mead (en route to Grand Canyon)

In the background you'll see Lake Mead, the man-made lake resulting from the damming of the Colorado River by Hoover Dam. Sure it looks nice as a lake but I don't like the idea that so many wildlife died through damming, hence, I don't quite like the lake. Anyway this picture was taken by a Singaporean couple who happen to be driving behind us. It was also taken near where Meibin almost lost our tire rim. It just rolled off the car when she mounted a curb. Quite funny if you think about it. Hehe.

Hoover Dam (still en route to Grand Canyon)

Hoover dam. It's huge. It's also the border between the state of Nevada and Arizona. This is the Nevada side.

Grand Canyon 16-17 May

Grand as it may be, I still find that the view get monotonous and boring. It's a great big canyon filled with orange (and some say purple) rocks and cliffs. I think that maybe trekking inside the canyon would make me appreciate it more. Too bad for time constraints.

Los Angeles 18-19 May

Didn't do much in LA. Not much to do anyway. We went to Universal Studios on the first day there. And on the second, we drove around. Hollywood, Rodeo Drive, Sunset Boulevard, Beverly Hills (zip code: 90210), Santa Monica beach. Well, LA is famous for its beaches, so it might seem a pity that we only went to one of them. But I should say the weather wasn't beach-going weather. Cold and windy. Far from ideal tanning weather I'd say.

Silicon Valley 20-21 May

Unless you're a totally computer freak and want to see what all those computer companies' buildings look like, there isn't much to do in Silicon Valley. So why did we go there? Isn't it obvious? I gave it away in the first line. Haha. We had a computer freak around. Anyway, this is apparently the office of some giant venture capitalist.

Yosemite 22-23 May

Half dome in Yosemite National Park. I just loved Yosemite. I liked the peace I felt in the park, surrounded completely by nature (and the few other visitors).

I know I said I'll post one photo for every place I went, but since I really like Yosemite, I'm going to make one exception. Picture of Yosemite Valley. To the right you'll see Bridal Veil Falls. The picture doesn't quite do the view justice. You need to be there to really appreciate it.

Napa Valley (en route to San Francisco)

Beringer Vineyard in Napa Valley. The only vineyard to continue operations since it was first established. Second oldest vineyard in Napa. I liked their Leaning Oak white wine.

San Francisco 24-27 May

There were lots of things to see and do in San Francisco. Since I'm only choosing one picture, it would have to be the famous Golden Gate Bridge. Of course I still like the Bay Bridge but each have its own traits. We went to Alcatraz, clinged onto a cable car, ate sundae at Ghirardelli, visited Chinatown, the works.

Seattle 27-30 May

If you ask me my favorite city, I'd say San Francisco. However, I'd say that Seattle is the best city to live it. The weather while we were ther was perfect. Bright and sunny and cooling and clear, such that we could always see Mt. Rainier in the background. It's a pretty sight. This is Seattle's famous Space Needle. View from the top is pretty, especially on a clear day when you can see the mountain in a distance behind the downtown.

Denver 30-31 May

Mile high city of Denver. Here on the steps of the State Capitol is where the one mile above sea level mark is. We were late in going into downtown Denver as we went to Coors Brewery in Golden in the morning, so we couldn't go into the US Mint nor go on the state capital tour. But we did go sight seeing in downtown. It's very much like Minneapolis, it's main shopping district like Nicollet Mall in downtown Minneapolis. There's this interesting building in Denver, though, shaped like an old cash-register.

Grand Tetons National Park 1-2 June

The Grand Teton in the back. And the glaring sun in front. It's a manificent sight, except that it isn't quite so majestic compared to Yellowstone or Olympic National Park.

Yellowstone National Park 2-4 June

The very famous Old Faithful Geyser of Yellowstone, taken during its eruption. Okay, I know I said I'll make one exception. Well, I lied. I'm posting three pictures of Yellowstone just 'cause there's so many things to see there. It's a great place to visit. Spending more time there wouldn't hurt.

The Elk meadow, where we saw 3 male elks, and where we lost our car keys. We spent close to 2 hours there looking for our lost keys and mainly waiting for the elks to move off so that we can find our keys. Can you imagine how I felt when I finally found the keys? I was squealing and jumping with joy. Christine ran over and hugged me. (She happened to be the driver then and was responsible for the keys when they went missing. Of course, I don't blame her. Accidents happen. And besides, a little more excitement won't kill.)

Artist Point. This is one of the prettiest scenery I've seen in a while. Words can't quite describe how pretty it looks. Or maybe I'm just not that good with words. You have to be there to appreciate the beauty in its entirety. It's the kind of place you'd want to go when you're down or doubtful or lost and appreciate God's gifts and wonderful creations. Enjoy the peace and tranquility of the surroundings.

Devil's Tower (en route to Rapid City)

The Devil's Tower you learn in your Geography textbook upclose and personal. Well not quite. We took a detour but reached a little late. We were lucky enough to get to see it silhouette since we were driving east and away from the sun, the sun set earlier than we had expected. But 'cause it was late, the park was actually closed. We snuck past the park rangers and drove to the bottom of the monument (first monument in the US). It was too dark to trek to the tower itself so we took a few shots and left.

Rapid City 5-6 June

The 4 presidents' face carvings. From left: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Besides the faces, we also visited Big Thunder Goldmine, Crazy Horse Monument (the most ambitious stone carving ever), and Four Miles ghost town.

Sioux Falls 6-7 June

Nothing much at Sioux Falls, just the falls. It is a pretty waterfall. More of a cascade actually, which, in my opinion, is what makes it so pretty. Lots of Sioux Quartzite found around here. Supposedly the hardest rock next to diamond.

So that's the end of the traveling. Then it was back to Minneapolis and then to Chicago and finally back to sweltering hot Singapore. I had lots of fun for the trip. I thank all my travel buddies for making my travel experience such an enjoyable journey. You are the reason why traveling was so fun. The long road trips were bearable because of all of you. Thank you.

Gina