What a journey! Everything went off without a hitch until an hour before departing Tokyo to Honolulu. Engine problem with the 747; the staff at the lounge said no decision had been made to cancel or not; but I noticed there were passengers switching the flight already; but the staff kept telling us to wait. BS. So, I found a more senior staff, made her did all my routing changing WHILE I WAITED. I knew I wouldn't have time to catch my Maui connecting from Honolulu but that senior staff would not change my flight. Well, I was one step closer to Hawaii, once I got there, I could try something else. So, we took off at 9pm Tokyo time; man, the supper was awesome; one of the best meal I ever had on an airplane and from NW!!!! Nah, just the Japanese efficiency and perfection. I had a Japanese lunch box. Nice. Just right, no grease, none of those heavy sit in the bottom of your stomach feeling. Even the vegetarian meal was good.
Got to Honolulu, stupid logistic process at the airport; avoid clearing immigration there. Dumb! The Wiki took only one plane load of passengers at a time; so we waited and waited.... Then waited some more in immigration. Audrey zipped thru and we Canadians waited over 30+ minutes. Got to Hawaiian Airlines, we were penalized US$25.00 per person to get on the next flight. Even though NW delayed the flight. So, we were in no man's land! I will get the US$100 back from NW!
Because of the change of flight, our boarding pass had "SSSS" on it; this means. Shit, shit, shit, shit! We had to get 2ndary security check on all our bags! Talk about stupidity! The four Shits were because the boarding pass is a changed one so the computer "thought" we only had one way ticket to Maui! Now, remember a while back I mentioned something about a security company doing a $500,000 to do technological improvement on speeding people thru the security line. Making the computer software printing the correct four Shits would be a good start! We us four practically tied up 4 staff just for us! And also, get the damn long table where you take the trays for your items to line up to the X-ray machines. You had to hand carry over a disjointed gap.
That ladies and gentlemen, was another of my flying experience under the "security" blanket.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Reporting live from Tokyo-Narita
OK, on my way to Maui - aka my wedding. I am here at Narita airport; got us Dayroom so we can sleep some before heading to Honolulu then Maui. We have 8 hours layover here. O well.... But when we wake up, we will be in sunny Hawaii away from the cold and humid Macau and Hong Kong; the deep freeze continue this week in South East Asia.
There are two lounges for NW. One by Gate 26 and one by Gate 14; both seem equally good. But take the on by Gate 14, it on the 4th floor rather than on the 3rd floor, the departure level.
You can exchange money easily; but need to fill in form first. This is the first place I see you need to fill out form on your own before making $ xchange.
One interesting thing, Japanese culture is gadget oriented; the beer pouring machine; it tiles automatically via a mechanical arm so that beer doesn't foam up. Interesting.
There are two lounges for NW. One by Gate 26 and one by Gate 14; both seem equally good. But take the on by Gate 14, it on the 4th floor rather than on the 3rd floor, the departure level.
You can exchange money easily; but need to fill in form first. This is the first place I see you need to fill out form on your own before making $ xchange.
One interesting thing, Japanese culture is gadget oriented; the beer pouring machine; it tiles automatically via a mechanical arm so that beer doesn't foam up. Interesting.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Rude behaviours...
On the road again to HK from Macau, for the last time in three days! We were delayed boarding as there was an official chinese delegation leaving on the same ferry; all the fanfare, blah, blah, blah. When I got on, one of the delegates had his finger up his nose so far I thought he was attempting to do a lobotomy to himself. Both sides of the nose not just one. I would have given him my pen for assistance but I only had one! That whole group of delegation made such a demand on the ferry staff, I would have thrown them overboard. Finally, things quiet down once their "demands" were met, including putting their boss to a private room. Yes, there was one for the occasional VIPs.
Then when I went to the toilet. I almost slipped on the floor as those guys did not know how to aim in a moving ferry! Maybe too much to drink the night before! The floor was flooded!!!!!!!!!
Then this morning, two dumb assholes were smoking in the hallway of the airport hotel. In china, they would have been shot! Maybe.
Then when I went to the toilet. I almost slipped on the floor as those guys did not know how to aim in a moving ferry! Maybe too much to drink the night before! The floor was flooded!!!!!!!!!
Then this morning, two dumb assholes were smoking in the hallway of the airport hotel. In china, they would have been shot! Maybe.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Interesting..
On the ferry this morning to HK; there were two Americans sitting behind me; it was funny; they couldn't even spell Macau. One asked the other how to. And both were business people looking for manufacturing businesses. One from NY and one from Chicago. They are making their business base in China from the hotel, the Venetians, at the Cotai Strip. Go figure! That's the most remote from all the businesses. Ummm....
Aweful sound!
It was disgusting! This morning, got on the ferry from Macau to Hong Kong; Queen of Macau got me in the Superclass seat. It was all nice and quiet until this pair of 40-ish mainland Chinese couple arrived; they broke the sound barrier with their "snorting" of something from the nose to the throat!!!! The woman was the worse of the two! The man stopped after 5 minutes; the woman - 30 minutes continuously!!!! After that, intermittently until we arrived at Hong Kong; the ferry trip was an hour; you could do the math on the "torture" the other passengers had. If I were the captain, I would have thrown them overboard.
Nowadays, you see more and more mainlanders spending more $ to sit in "luxury"; but they did not know the etiquette nor care about it. They want the best and willing to pay. The RMB is more than HK $; and will continue to climb.
Nowadays, you see more and more mainlanders spending more $ to sit in "luxury"; but they did not know the etiquette nor care about it. They want the best and willing to pay. The RMB is more than HK $; and will continue to climb.
Rain, rain, rain....
Not sure what's going on; but for the last two weeks, all the places I have visited - rain! Been raining here in Macau since I arrived on Wednesday. I just check my suitcase and the rain clouds are not in there for Maui!!!!
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Staying another day
During b'fast this morning just before leaving for the airport, the weather finally changed to sunny and blue sky. I made a proposal of staying another day to enjoy the sun after almost a week of wet Sydney. We couldn't get to the China Eastern airline office; the only recording was in Mandarin! Good one in Sydney; what no non-Mandarin speaking passengers? We packed up and left for the airport; got there and request to change our flight; no problem. Just show up tomorrow. Back in the cap with our suitcases to the Four Seasons. Everyone was stunned we were back; o well.... 11:00am by then, we caught a cab to Double Bay. You have to understand, Australians do not like having shops open on Sundays. Short hours on Saturday, and during weekdays, short as well... Forget North American mentality here. After bumping around, we went back to the hotel. Decided on going for a hike from Manly Bay to The Spit; total distance, 10Km. We took a ferry from Circular Key which was just across the street from the hotel; 1/2 hour later, A$12.50 for two one-way tickets, we were off. Nice view from the top deck departing the quay. After 30 minutes, arrived at Manly.
Manly is a surfer paradise and a nice beach; well, once you have seen enough beaches around the world, it's just another beach. There were shops from the wharf all the way to the beach; 3 long blocks of mixed shops - souvenirs, 7-evelen, cafe, seafood places as well as a bizzard.
We started our 10-K hike around 4:30pm. Finished by 7:00pm. Started with paved path then gradually, turned into a real hike of beaches, bush walk, stone/rock steps. View was good. Had a chance seeing Sydney downtown got hammered by rain storm. I could see the sky opened up. The clouds, some were dark but some were ice blue layers. Very wicked. There were times we thought the storm might caught up with us; thank god, it didn't. When the sun finally began to set, the lighting again the trees, houses, cutting thru the path were spectacular. Houses, o yes, there were houses building along the path but you couldn't really see them most of the time. I believed those houses costed over Millions.
Once we finished w/ the hike, we caught a bus. Who said Australians are all friendly? This bus driver needed some customer focus and customer appreciation courses. Rude. Need some tuning in. Buses must have run late or infrequent on Sundays. We hardly see any. This bus driver dropped us off at the wrong spot; another kind one picked us up and gave us a free life to another stop - for better chance of catching a bus. At this point, anything would do as I was sweaty and overheated, I am sure Audrey had the same feeling. We just took a cab to this tiny Indian restaurant in North Sydney; just below the Harbourview Hotel we stayed earlier; it was on Lavender and Walker.
Now, we are "home"; cleaned and ready to get some work done.
Manly is a surfer paradise and a nice beach; well, once you have seen enough beaches around the world, it's just another beach. There were shops from the wharf all the way to the beach; 3 long blocks of mixed shops - souvenirs, 7-evelen, cafe, seafood places as well as a bizzard.
We started our 10-K hike around 4:30pm. Finished by 7:00pm. Started with paved path then gradually, turned into a real hike of beaches, bush walk, stone/rock steps. View was good. Had a chance seeing Sydney downtown got hammered by rain storm. I could see the sky opened up. The clouds, some were dark but some were ice blue layers. Very wicked. There were times we thought the storm might caught up with us; thank god, it didn't. When the sun finally began to set, the lighting again the trees, houses, cutting thru the path were spectacular. Houses, o yes, there were houses building along the path but you couldn't really see them most of the time. I believed those houses costed over Millions.
Once we finished w/ the hike, we caught a bus. Who said Australians are all friendly? This bus driver needed some customer focus and customer appreciation courses. Rude. Need some tuning in. Buses must have run late or infrequent on Sundays. We hardly see any. This bus driver dropped us off at the wrong spot; another kind one picked us up and gave us a free life to another stop - for better chance of catching a bus. At this point, anything would do as I was sweaty and overheated, I am sure Audrey had the same feeling. We just took a cab to this tiny Indian restaurant in North Sydney; just below the Harbourview Hotel we stayed earlier; it was on Lavender and Walker.
Now, we are "home"; cleaned and ready to get some work done.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Saturday night at Sydney
Let the parties begin. Australians have lots of pubs; and with that, consumption of "liquid" goes with it, unrestricted it seems. As the elation escalates, the louder the happy sound goes. And silliness being exhibited for all to see. One group, two of the members were so "happy" that they slid around on the ground in front of the Circular Quay. It was raining hard. Moments later, a skinny dipping ensured by the dock. Then there was a group playing an imitation of hacky sac with a beer can next to the Four Seasons. Then as we settled into our supper overlooking the Opera House, a group of boys and girls were arguing. In the end, we had a very dramatic show down of a small petite "woman" slapping a Herculious shaped "man". How fitting to see a "soap opera" showdown in front of the world famous Opera House.
Circular Quay's restaurants can go extreme; from fancy to your normal Denny's type establishments. We finally settled for the view in front of the Opera House. The food was acceptable but the service sucked. My Rock Oysters were good as well as the Sword fish; the fish tender and not overcooked.
Circular Quay's restaurants can go extreme; from fancy to your normal Denny's type establishments. We finally settled for the view in front of the Opera House. The food was acceptable but the service sucked. My Rock Oysters were good as well as the Sword fish; the fish tender and not overcooked.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Very windy climb
One of the main attractions when visiting Sydney is to do the bridge climb. It was awesome! But only if the weather would have corporate. This week is the wettest week in Sydney. Since we arrive, the city has been receiving much needed rain. Tuesday morning was so nice; since then, rain, rain, rain...
Yesterday's climb was wet, windy and cold. The weather God did turn off the tap for about 3 and half hours during our accent and decent from the bridge. The wind God did not provide any leeway. Good thing I was accustomed golfing in Regina! The average wind speed was 30Km/hour. Average. On top on the bridge, I believed it was more than doubled. Funny though, we didn't feel we were about being blown off the top. We climbed all the way to the top where the flags were. What a view!
The gears we had to carry, the Bridgeclimb company did really think things through; we got everything for the climb - fleece, rain gear, radio receiver, our own jump suits. We had a static line; it was used to hold you in place during the entire tour. No jumping off from the top of the bridge - 134m from the surface of water.
We got a complimentary group photo. I will scan and post here when I get back to Shanghai.
Yesterday's climb was wet, windy and cold. The weather God did turn off the tap for about 3 and half hours during our accent and decent from the bridge. The wind God did not provide any leeway. Good thing I was accustomed golfing in Regina! The average wind speed was 30Km/hour. Average. On top on the bridge, I believed it was more than doubled. Funny though, we didn't feel we were about being blown off the top. We climbed all the way to the top where the flags were. What a view!
The gears we had to carry, the Bridgeclimb company did really think things through; we got everything for the climb - fleece, rain gear, radio receiver, our own jump suits. We had a static line; it was used to hold you in place during the entire tour. No jumping off from the top of the bridge - 134m from the surface of water.
We got a complimentary group photo. I will scan and post here when I get back to Shanghai.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A fountain tap and then some
What a hotel we are staying at! View is excellent as I am overlooking at the Harbour bridge day and night. But the room itself, after spending time intimately with it, don't look inside; keep looking out to the bridge! Aside from the spare furnishing, the entire valve/regulator to make the water going into the tub or to the shower head came undone! The entire unit! After a run this morning, we had discovered we had no shower but a Roman fountain lookalike to do my bathing! Hey, down here water does flow upward! ;-)
This aft, I saw more ugly thick dust congregating on the ceiling in the bathroom. I think I have seen enough; maybe, that's one of the reason I cough as soon as I get back into the hotel room. All morning, when I walked from the hotel thru the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House and back, I never coughed! Granted I do have a cold but this is funny that I only cough as soon as I get into this room. Let see if my theory holds as I am relocating my entire "unit" to Four Seasons ready for a day of Bride's shopping on Saturday.
By the way, I do see lots of dust resting everywhere; the way the cleaning crew did the cleaning the last two days, I am surprise not seeing more dust piling up.
This aft, I saw more ugly thick dust congregating on the ceiling in the bathroom. I think I have seen enough; maybe, that's one of the reason I cough as soon as I get back into the hotel room. All morning, when I walked from the hotel thru the Harbour Bridge to the Opera House and back, I never coughed! Granted I do have a cold but this is funny that I only cough as soon as I get into this room. Let see if my theory holds as I am relocating my entire "unit" to Four Seasons ready for a day of Bride's shopping on Saturday.
By the way, I do see lots of dust resting everywhere; the way the cleaning crew did the cleaning the last two days, I am surprise not seeing more dust piling up.
Sydney taxi
Man, talking about expensive! Just shy of 11 KM of distance had cost me A$40.00. That included GST, the actual fare and the toll crossing the famous Harbour bridge! Seems everything costs money here. A little bit here and a little bit there. That A$40.00 was to a friend's place; by train during off peak would have cost us A$4.60 per person! But we were pressed for time as we were already an hour late. Then on the way back, the taxi had cost $32.60. No toll charge, but there was booking fee. Now, the taxi was just sitting around somewhere; at this late of time (10:15pm at a suburb), how many customers do you think the taxi driver had to pass by in order to pick us up? In total, I had just spent close to A$80.00 for a round trip taxi ride that took about 15 minutes each way!
Everything is expensive in the city. The buffet b'fast at the hotel costs A$27.00 for a full b'fast, A$20.00 for a continental. Yikes. If I weren't pressing for time, I would have just went across the street to some shop. Tomorrow!
Everything is expensive in the city. The buffet b'fast at the hotel costs A$27.00 for a full b'fast, A$20.00 for a continental. Yikes. If I weren't pressing for time, I would have just went across the street to some shop. Tomorrow!
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Wow, world's thinnest laptop
Ok, Apple has unveiled the thinnest laptop the world has ever seen - Macbook Air. But it is not the lightest. So, this is not ultra portable; maybe another 1 lb less; then we can call it that. With this thinness comes sacrifices. And indeed sacrifices. First, you don't have a DVD drive; you have to pay extra for an external. Granted, you can use the Apple's accompanying software to do a remote drive access; that is, after installing this software on either a networked Mac or PC, the Macbook Air can use that computer's DVD drive remotely for installations. But if you are traveling, you cannot really take your entire network and all the computers with you just to use the DVD drive. Also, the Macbook Air does not come with a Ethernet card; this means, you can only use wireless access. If you are business person traveling, not all hotels have wireless access from rooms. So..... Also, the heat from the cheap must be extremely hot too. It will not be a laptop I don't think. Unless, you have a huge heat tolerant and don't care having the bottom of a Macbook Air imprinted on your thighs. This computer does not offer an upgrade path for memory or harddrive - 80G standard. What you see is what you get. One good thing is you can have a solid state harddrive; this means, less moving part. The solid state drive is like a glorified memory stick.
In short, this new laptop is not for everyone; but if you are an executive only care about taking notes, surfing the web, replying emails and not doing anything funky, you may have a chance using it. Show off.
In short, this new laptop is not for everyone; but if you are an executive only care about taking notes, surfing the web, replying emails and not doing anything funky, you may have a chance using it. Show off.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
What a rip off.... HSBC again
I cannot believe it! Since when you have to pay a handling fee to withdraw your own hard earned cash? Well HSBC apparent seems to! If you withdraw too much, you are subject to a US$10 handling fee at the bank!!! What? They don't have machine to count and that's the manual counting charge for a teller to count out the notes to customer? I think I will go in twice the same day and withdraw. That's silly.
The bank got such complains about a month ago that, it stopped another "silly" policy. For the sake of "eliminate line-ups" at ATM machine, the bank had forced people to withdraw a minimum of HK$300.00 at anyone time. This, so the theory goes, will eliminate line-ups at ATM machines. If that is true, wouldn't the machines ran out of money faster? After two days or so of this new policy, the bank backed down due to unexpected large volume of complains from customers and from the legislators.
Wonder who's running the bank up there? Air heads?
The bank got such complains about a month ago that, it stopped another "silly" policy. For the sake of "eliminate line-ups" at ATM machine, the bank had forced people to withdraw a minimum of HK$300.00 at anyone time. This, so the theory goes, will eliminate line-ups at ATM machines. If that is true, wouldn't the machines ran out of money faster? After two days or so of this new policy, the bank backed down due to unexpected large volume of complains from customers and from the legislators.
Wonder who's running the bank up there? Air heads?
Monday, January 14, 2008
Our SYD hotel
It's on the North side of Sydney overlooking the harbour; the hotel is old, room is sparely decorated, old 80's carpet, bathroom tiny with a thick crust of dust jammed on one corner of a mirror. And that costs CAD$169+taxes per night! The hallway was rundown. Must have spent too much money at the lobby and the "neo-modernized" bar and restaurant. The train passes right underneath our hotel from the Harbour Bridge. Wonder who design this? Good thing we accustomed to the noise from outside of our Shanghai apartment, we don't notice much.
Maybe some sight seeing tomorrow; or just get out of hotel room. The Air Con, only high , off or low; cannot adjust the temperature. Me, having a cold brought back from the States, not happen with this! 3 weeks to wedding, I better get over it!
What a flight to Sydney
*Due to lack of sleep, this blog may be a bit "challenging to read".
Finally made it! But what a journey!!!! Got to the China Eastern check-in counter at Pudong, we were told there were no seats for us. The staff offered us flying to Hong Kong then hooked up to Cathay Pacific to Sydney. For that, they offered RMB$2,400 (CAD$337) refund per ticket. And we got to fly the same class as were on China Eastern - J class. We were to arrive Sydney 2 hours later - 12:00pm. What the heck. We needed to be in Sydney with no time to spare. So China Eastern switched our tickets over. We flew to Hong Kong first; because we got time to spare (for once), we got to use the China Eastern lounge; nothing special and food sucked (some take out in tin foil containers and packaged snacks). Drinks were plentiful though. When it was time to board, the agents called us and guided us to a special bus! No need heading to the gate!!! The special bus took us right up to the plane! Cool! So we went - 2 hours and 30 minutes later, arrived in HK, with too many RMB$ in our pockets.
Check in at Cathay Pacific's Transfer Desk was a breeze; that late at night, no one. We were informed we could not seat together as the cabin configuration has changed. Umm.... When we boarded the flight, wow... Spaceship like seats. Side way. Take at look at this link: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/whatonboard/newbusinessclass. And this was how we sat; will post a real life model later.
The seat was nice; but narrow! With my "wide" butt, I had about 1/2 inch space in width on the seat. The seat size was the same as the AC Business Class seat going to Toronto on the Regional Jet. The TV screen was huge, thought it was a 19" LCD panel. Too hightech as the system crashed on me couple times. When rebooting, I notice it was not using a Windows XP or Vista; that was good! But some proprietary system from Panasonic. I managed crashing the system just by selecting some in-flight options other than movies. QA testing needed! The seat could lie flat, but my feet kinda stuck out at the end. A bit short in length. Service in-flight was good. Food was good. Movies were good; no complain. But I didn't sleep much during the 8 hours and 50 minutes flight; I slept for maybe 2 hours - in 36 hours or so. Thank god for those years of SlackTel training days.
Arrived at Sydney right on time! The Customs was quite serious about bringing food into the country. Got a bit of problem for me at immigration with a Canadian passport living in China without a chinese visa. Not sure what the problem was ;-)
Now I am sitting in the hotel room typing this up...
Finally made it! But what a journey!!!! Got to the China Eastern check-in counter at Pudong, we were told there were no seats for us. The staff offered us flying to Hong Kong then hooked up to Cathay Pacific to Sydney. For that, they offered RMB$2,400 (CAD$337) refund per ticket. And we got to fly the same class as were on China Eastern - J class. We were to arrive Sydney 2 hours later - 12:00pm. What the heck. We needed to be in Sydney with no time to spare. So China Eastern switched our tickets over. We flew to Hong Kong first; because we got time to spare (for once), we got to use the China Eastern lounge; nothing special and food sucked (some take out in tin foil containers and packaged snacks). Drinks were plentiful though. When it was time to board, the agents called us and guided us to a special bus! No need heading to the gate!!! The special bus took us right up to the plane! Cool! So we went - 2 hours and 30 minutes later, arrived in HK, with too many RMB$ in our pockets.
Check in at Cathay Pacific's Transfer Desk was a breeze; that late at night, no one. We were informed we could not seat together as the cabin configuration has changed. Umm.... When we boarded the flight, wow... Spaceship like seats. Side way. Take at look at this link: http://www.cathaypacific.com/cpa/en_INTL/whatonboard/newbusinessclass. And this was how we sat; will post a real life model later.
The seat was nice; but narrow! With my "wide" butt, I had about 1/2 inch space in width on the seat. The seat size was the same as the AC Business Class seat going to Toronto on the Regional Jet. The TV screen was huge, thought it was a 19" LCD panel. Too hightech as the system crashed on me couple times. When rebooting, I notice it was not using a Windows XP or Vista; that was good! But some proprietary system from Panasonic. I managed crashing the system just by selecting some in-flight options other than movies. QA testing needed! The seat could lie flat, but my feet kinda stuck out at the end. A bit short in length. Service in-flight was good. Food was good. Movies were good; no complain. But I didn't sleep much during the 8 hours and 50 minutes flight; I slept for maybe 2 hours - in 36 hours or so. Thank god for those years of SlackTel training days.
Arrived at Sydney right on time! The Customs was quite serious about bringing food into the country. Got a bit of problem for me at immigration with a Canadian passport living in China without a chinese visa. Not sure what the problem was ;-)
Now I am sitting in the hotel room typing this up...
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Brrrr........
It's cold cold cold here! Raining and windy. Surprisingly, normally hustling and bustling Shanghai has become quiet with no one on the streets. People just stay home and keep warm. Sunday usually has lots of people on the street with vehicles gridlock every major intersections. But no, it is not true. This reminded me of the Summer time when the Typhoon was close to Shanghai. Deserted street. One good thing is no snow!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Very Foggy Shanghai
Finally home after a 12 hours and 34 minutes flight direct from Chicago to Shanghai. Looonnnggg..... Good thing we had 3 seats to ourselves. I have to say, after flying United, I won't complain about Air Canada's in-flight and customer services anymore! We flew a 747-400. The interior was not kept up to date; old, tired and dark! Reminded me of a highway cheap motel with the 60's decors. At least, there was no smell from the carpet like the flight from Raleigh to Chicago.
Food service was inconsistent! We ordered vegetarian meals. The lunch, the flight attendant only brought out for Audrey and not mine. When I checked in, I clearly saw both of our records with vegetarian meals. The snack half way thru, "no record of any vegetarian meal". Then the meal before landing, I had to tell them to give Audrey her meal! They went looking and there it was with her name printed! Go figure! Good thing I stocked pile bags of walnuts, raisins, almonds, water, bananas and apples! Wow, a 12-hour plus picnic. Hee hee.... Movies were bad; in order to save cost, I believe, United actually played the same movies going and coming to Asia. I had seen the movie Stardust about 4 times now.
I did visit Canada briefly as well as the contentious Artic territory when flying back to Shanghai. The flight cut up north thru Thunder Bay and arced back down via Siberia. The flight was smooth. To make the flight easier, I did bought a novel and couple glasses of scotch and wine. And of course, about 2 litres of water.
When we were ready to land, we had to circle around the Pudong airport in Shanghai due to heavy fog. The entire city was shrouded. The highway we normally took from the Airport to home was closed. It has been like this for a couple days. No, not because of smog or haze but the weather pattern. Lots of cancellations. Just read from the Shanghai Daily - a cold front may even bring snow to the city this weekend!!! Yikes! I thought I have escaped the white stuff! Visibility yesterday was down to about 400m at places. Wow, 340 flights could not land or take off!!!! FedEx and UPS were hurt due to the foggy condition. Let's hope Monday's weather will improve as our flight is to leave for Sydney at 6:15pm. So far, we have escaped all the bad weathers in the States. Let see if the trend continues.
Reporting live from foggy Shanghai....
Food service was inconsistent! We ordered vegetarian meals. The lunch, the flight attendant only brought out for Audrey and not mine. When I checked in, I clearly saw both of our records with vegetarian meals. The snack half way thru, "no record of any vegetarian meal". Then the meal before landing, I had to tell them to give Audrey her meal! They went looking and there it was with her name printed! Go figure! Good thing I stocked pile bags of walnuts, raisins, almonds, water, bananas and apples! Wow, a 12-hour plus picnic. Hee hee.... Movies were bad; in order to save cost, I believe, United actually played the same movies going and coming to Asia. I had seen the movie Stardust about 4 times now.
I did visit Canada briefly as well as the contentious Artic territory when flying back to Shanghai. The flight cut up north thru Thunder Bay and arced back down via Siberia. The flight was smooth. To make the flight easier, I did bought a novel and couple glasses of scotch and wine. And of course, about 2 litres of water.
When we were ready to land, we had to circle around the Pudong airport in Shanghai due to heavy fog. The entire city was shrouded. The highway we normally took from the Airport to home was closed. It has been like this for a couple days. No, not because of smog or haze but the weather pattern. Lots of cancellations. Just read from the Shanghai Daily - a cold front may even bring snow to the city this weekend!!! Yikes! I thought I have escaped the white stuff! Visibility yesterday was down to about 400m at places. Wow, 340 flights could not land or take off!!!! FedEx and UPS were hurt due to the foggy condition. Let's hope Monday's weather will improve as our flight is to leave for Sydney at 6:15pm. So far, we have escaped all the bad weathers in the States. Let see if the trend continues.
Reporting live from foggy Shanghai....
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Pretty interesting chats
On the flight from Raleigh/Durham to Chicago, passengers could listening in on the chat between the pilot and the traffic controllers along the way; pretty cool. I could hear our flight was being passed from one control to another control. Because the channels are shared, I could hear conversations and directions from other flights. After a while you could recognize the other pilot's voices.
I have to say, flying is the easy part; but listening in on the traffic control require attentions. I can see why a pilot should not be flying for an extended period of time without rest.
As we were approaching O'Hare, I could hear the chatter gotten busier. When we were approaching, it got really busy. The traffic controller became a 'soup nazi'!!!! One plane got behind and the pilot got scolded at; the pilot apologized - open channel! Wow....
Once we landed, the chatter even got busier! Didn't know before but the ground controller actually told the pilots to hurry up or slow down getting to the gates. Some pilots had to do double-back because of congested gates. Very interesting. I listened during the two-hour flight - basically all the way! There was a specific way the instructions were given and confirmations replied by the pilots.
One thing though, the United plane stink! It was from the carpet. Flying in the US may get worse.... Fly more SouthWest I guess.
I have to say, flying is the easy part; but listening in on the traffic control require attentions. I can see why a pilot should not be flying for an extended period of time without rest.
As we were approaching O'Hare, I could hear the chatter gotten busier. When we were approaching, it got really busy. The traffic controller became a 'soup nazi'!!!! One plane got behind and the pilot got scolded at; the pilot apologized - open channel! Wow....
Once we landed, the chatter even got busier! Didn't know before but the ground controller actually told the pilots to hurry up or slow down getting to the gates. Some pilots had to do double-back because of congested gates. Very interesting. I listened during the two-hour flight - basically all the way! There was a specific way the instructions were given and confirmations replied by the pilots.
One thing though, the United plane stink! It was from the carpet. Flying in the US may get worse.... Fly more SouthWest I guess.
Read in USA Today
1) Clear - The company that manages the fast track security at some US airports is doing a competition. Winner gets US$500,000. The company wants to shorten the time through security check at airports; it is looking for new technologies and/or adapting existing technologies for the speed improvement. Umm.... what about less technology and better processes? A line for business people with laptops, a line for family w/kids, a line for people that never get themselves ready until right at the X-ray machines, a line for people wearing sports clothing with no belts, no metal piecing? Or a change of the gate entrance at airports that are not designed to handle the security requirement? Have you been to SMF? Ridiculous. You check in at the airline counters, then you have to haul your check-in bags back out the line-up, cutting off people who are lining up for the check-in, to a designated X-ray machine to be screened. You leave your bags for some handlers. And that handlers put all the "screened" bags on a trolley and haul them around the airport. The bags, not covered or secured, fight their way along with all the travelers that are not screened pass security yet. O yeah, the Clear's website not exactly working properly. Based on that.......
2) Boeing's Dreamliner - the FAA is enacting new rules mandating Boeing to "secure" the passenger Internet access on the new Dreamliner. FAA worries that hackers may be able to tab into the flight systems. This is true. If the flight systems are sharing any components with the passenger network, there are risks. Doesn't matter how big your firewall is; so, now we not only have to maintain the plane mechanically but need "software" mechanics doing firewall patches? How often do you think the firewall will be updated on each Dreamliner? As long as there are Internet access, you know hackers will be tempted. Maybe we should avoid flying this model. According to Boeing, the Internet enabled aircrafts will not be available until 2009 or 20012. Still .... Not getting that warm and fuzzy feelings.
2) Boeing's Dreamliner - the FAA is enacting new rules mandating Boeing to "secure" the passenger Internet access on the new Dreamliner. FAA worries that hackers may be able to tab into the flight systems. This is true. If the flight systems are sharing any components with the passenger network, there are risks. Doesn't matter how big your firewall is; so, now we not only have to maintain the plane mechanically but need "software" mechanics doing firewall patches? How often do you think the firewall will be updated on each Dreamliner? As long as there are Internet access, you know hackers will be tempted. Maybe we should avoid flying this model. According to Boeing, the Internet enabled aircrafts will not be available until 2009 or 20012. Still .... Not getting that warm and fuzzy feelings.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Better having a GPS
Traveling in the mid-West and the East coast, better get a GPS. Maps..... Ummm.... though would be nice maintaining a "life skill", with such convoluted signs and assume you are a local, you just cannot get anywhere without a navigator sitting next to you that (1) you need to trust explicitly with the orientation skill, (2) you need 100% concentration to your driving as there are lots of dumb asses driving out there and (3) quick map reading with all the ever expanding roadways and suburbs. So, yes, get a GPS! Street signs with names can be very hard to read or locate in a "hide and seek" fashion as if we have not played enough when we were little kids.
If you are traveling to Chicago area, make sure you have change with you! Not change of clothes but change in coins! Most highways are tolled. Some are stationed with human and some just have a catch basin counting your donations. Exact change please! Here is the kicker, you do not know that until you are almost there with no way to back out or no way to stop to ask for change!!!! Very dumb! Signs were afterthoughts. Good thing I had donated every coin I got back from cashiers in supermarket to Audrey's purse; otherwise, we would have stuck going to the airport from Naperville. We encountered three tolls with only one Manned in the second one! We had enough for the first toll. manned on the second so we had enough change for the 3rd toll. On the way to Naperville from Chicago, every toll was manned. Audrey had a theory how it worked; but I am not sure as all the tolls used to be just coins with no human interaction.
If you were returning a rental car to O'Hare, stop at the O'Hare Oasis (yes, a very huge sign 2 miles before you head in) to fill up! There is no gas station right at the airport; it's about 2 miles the other way after you pass the rental car returns.
If you are traveling to Chicago area, make sure you have change with you! Not change of clothes but change in coins! Most highways are tolled. Some are stationed with human and some just have a catch basin counting your donations. Exact change please! Here is the kicker, you do not know that until you are almost there with no way to back out or no way to stop to ask for change!!!! Very dumb! Signs were afterthoughts. Good thing I had donated every coin I got back from cashiers in supermarket to Audrey's purse; otherwise, we would have stuck going to the airport from Naperville. We encountered three tolls with only one Manned in the second one! We had enough for the first toll. manned on the second so we had enough change for the 3rd toll. On the way to Naperville from Chicago, every toll was manned. Audrey had a theory how it worked; but I am not sure as all the tolls used to be just coins with no human interaction.
If you were returning a rental car to O'Hare, stop at the O'Hare Oasis (yes, a very huge sign 2 miles before you head in) to fill up! There is no gas station right at the airport; it's about 2 miles the other way after you pass the rental car returns.
Huh, learned a new term
Since I am in North Carolina, I figure I'll try the local sweet tea. I must have traveled too much outside the intercontinental US. Assuming that I would have gotten some interesting brewed tea with special spices. It has turned out "Sweet Tea" is "Ice tea" but with brewed tea bags. Thank god not the powder stuff (at least at the hotel here).
I have to say though, the staff is extremely friendly here at the Marriott.
I have to say though, the staff is extremely friendly here at the Marriott.
Wicked
Went and saw a musical in Chicago on the night we arrived (Jan 4); the show was called Wicked; it's a story about Wizard of Oz. Prior to the little girl's story. Saw it at the Ford Center for the Performance Art, the Oriental Theater. A very nice place; old and very decorative.
The musical itself was excellent. Don't take kids there; it might frighten them. During intermission, the speed and efficiency for guests using the washroom was like a military drill; long line up? No problem. It took less then 3 minutes and you gained access. There was even staff directing traffic in the washroom.
Parking cost, yikes! Good thing I didn't have to pay. It costed us US$28.00 for the evening.
The musical itself was excellent. Don't take kids there; it might frighten them. During intermission, the speed and efficiency for guests using the washroom was like a military drill; long line up? No problem. It took less then 3 minutes and you gained access. There was even staff directing traffic in the washroom.
Parking cost, yikes! Good thing I didn't have to pay. It costed us US$28.00 for the evening.
My United experience
Wow, I thought Air Canada was bad; no wonder, Air Canada was voted the best airline in North America! The service was just bad! The staff didn't really know what the heck they were doing! Confused! And the reservation system all electronic so you couldn't really contact a person!!!!! And they assumed you are US citizen!!!! With US address!!!! How stupid was that! When I finally got to 1-800 line that could talk to someone, I believed I was talking to India!!!!! All heavy accent. If you want to talk to someone right away, but in India, use: 1-800-589-5582. Took me close to 2 hours just to do a pair of tickets from RDU to ORD!!! It was suppose to be simple! Audrey was on hold the other day for over 35 minutes with a domestic line with no luck! We finally just hung up. But this one I put here, worked good! The website for purchasing sucked! Not working at all for purchasing!
BTW, the Red Carpet lounge in Chicago, did not offer free Internet access; you pick up the airport one and had to pay.
BTW, the Red Carpet lounge in Chicago, did not offer free Internet access; you pick up the airport one and had to pay.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Adapters
Yes, forgot mentioning this when I was in Bali. Trying to get my electronic equipment to work! Take a look at this. A three-layer approach in order to have my cellphone charger worked with the Indonesia plug.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Jo Bar @ Portland
I had never spent that much time for lunch! 2 and a half hours; even the weather outside changed twice! From heavy rain to sleet to blue sky back to rain, to blue sky again! Apparently, the kitchen mixed up. Even couple tables came and left! Food was another so so; it was busy just because the location was 23rd street, at a Yuppy part of town.
The Cappuccino though, is very nice; one of the nicest I had. Perfect. Also the spicy cider, good; but the alcohol was at the bottom of the cup. Yikes.
Jo Bar
The Cappuccino though, is very nice; one of the nicest I had. Perfect. Also the spicy cider, good; but the alcohol was at the bottom of the cup. Yikes.
Jo Bar
Taste restaurant, Plymouth CA
Now, this was a nice restaurant compared to the Claremont treatment! Or could not compared to. Taste at Plymouth CA. This restaurant nestled at the bottom of the Foot Hill connected to Sacramento via a small narrow winding single lane road.
The food and service were exceptional. The Zinfandel Spice Cake was to die for. And worth the 10-minute wait for the preparation. What the restaurant offered in the entree list, not necessary what you can order; you can use your imagination and do some other combinations. The chef liked a challenge.
The road going up to the restaurant was quite windy. NOT WINDY. Like a typical British country side single lane. We survived with some luck on our side; Me was not the driver ;-) Got my drift? Hence I sampled a bottle of local California wine, to steady my nerve. The wine, was another high point. Flavour, wow... No need to see Napa Valley.
The food and service were exceptional. The Zinfandel Spice Cake was to die for. And worth the 10-minute wait for the preparation. What the restaurant offered in the entree list, not necessary what you can order; you can use your imagination and do some other combinations. The chef liked a challenge.
The road going up to the restaurant was quite windy. NOT WINDY. Like a typical British country side single lane. We survived with some luck on our side; Me was not the driver ;-) Got my drift? Hence I sampled a bottle of local California wine, to steady my nerve. The wine, was another high point. Flavour, wow... No need to see Napa Valley.
Claremont Resort @ Berkerley
Been a long time since the last blog. Today, just catching up and finally have time to sit and do the Internet thing.
When we arrived at SFO on the 25th, I called the Claremont to confirm my reservation made via Expedia.ca; strangely enough, there was no reservation found within the Claremont Resort system. The front desk staff was so accommodating and helpful; even though we waited for about 30 minutes, we got our room! The view from the hotel out to the bay was spectacular! We overlooked the Oakland bridge, the Golden Gate bridge, the water.
When we walked into the room, I was surprised how small and old the room was. The TV cabinet made loud clinking noises everytime you walk passed in front of it. Finally, I had to open up the panels in order to make the annoying clinking noise to go away! The bathroom was small! I thought I was back in Hong Kong apartment. The towel rack, yikes, had about couple centimeters of dust!!!! This hotel was suppose to be a top rated resort and spa! A renounced place. When Audrey told everyone where we stayed, people just ooo... and ahhh..... Well, to tell u the truth, not worth a dim I spent! Here are my "evals":
1) "snooty" atmosphere as the British would say.
2) You pay for the name and the view on the deck and the restaurants; nothing special about the food; on a rating of 1 to 5, 5 being the best, a 3.
3) Services at restaurants (on site) crap! Crap, crap! We stood and stood and waited. We had to ask even when most workers just stood there and stared. In one restaurant, the hostess was fixing her button and didn't even bother looking up to say anything.
4) Everything was old; old; old; only a fresh coat of paint covering up the old wall, old chair, old everything.
5) you still need to pay US$24 per night for parking!
6) the spa, not flexible with time or courteous. Rush you thru like some fast food join.
7) Expensive; for the amount and the room environment, I could have stayed at some hotels like the Court Yard Marriott or the Double Trees for four days rather than 2 nights.
When we arrived at SFO on the 25th, I called the Claremont to confirm my reservation made via Expedia.ca; strangely enough, there was no reservation found within the Claremont Resort system. The front desk staff was so accommodating and helpful; even though we waited for about 30 minutes, we got our room! The view from the hotel out to the bay was spectacular! We overlooked the Oakland bridge, the Golden Gate bridge, the water.
When we walked into the room, I was surprised how small and old the room was. The TV cabinet made loud clinking noises everytime you walk passed in front of it. Finally, I had to open up the panels in order to make the annoying clinking noise to go away! The bathroom was small! I thought I was back in Hong Kong apartment. The towel rack, yikes, had about couple centimeters of dust!!!! This hotel was suppose to be a top rated resort and spa! A renounced place. When Audrey told everyone where we stayed, people just ooo... and ahhh..... Well, to tell u the truth, not worth a dim I spent! Here are my "evals":
1) "snooty" atmosphere as the British would say.
2) You pay for the name and the view on the deck and the restaurants; nothing special about the food; on a rating of 1 to 5, 5 being the best, a 3.
3) Services at restaurants (on site) crap! Crap, crap! We stood and stood and waited. We had to ask even when most workers just stood there and stared. In one restaurant, the hostess was fixing her button and didn't even bother looking up to say anything.
4) Everything was old; old; old; only a fresh coat of paint covering up the old wall, old chair, old everything.
5) you still need to pay US$24 per night for parking!
6) the spa, not flexible with time or courteous. Rush you thru like some fast food join.
7) Expensive; for the amount and the room environment, I could have stayed at some hotels like the Court Yard Marriott or the Double Trees for four days rather than 2 nights.
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