Category: Travel

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BOOKED – Grand Canyon tour!

My family is planning to go for a Grand Canyon day tour in late July… after many many considerations and looking at the different agencies – we had decided to go for grand-adventures: Grand Canyon Sunset Tours! ;p well.. it’s rated No. 1 on tripadvisor!!

Initially, we wanted to join the cheapest Grand Canyon tour like greyline or viator.. but i realised tt for a top-up for US$50, we cld have a better experience and see MORE!

so.. after a massive dunno how many hours discussion with my sis and many emails shooting here and there… we have decided to join this

wah.. i got sooooooo excited after reading thru’ the testimonials and reviews from tripadvisor!

Grand Canyon!! Here I come!!

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Oregon day trip

BH and I decided to make a trip to Oregon, the tax free state on 16 may 2009! You bet how excited we were.. to think abt the shopping we can do! wahaha… how we love shopping! so… we woke up at abt 7am ( shld have been 6 but we overslept), ate breakfast and set off by 8am.

the weather was nice and sunny and it was a easy drive… we drove by Tacoma Dome , the place where new year’s party was held… reminds me of the dome in thailand though.. haha

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we were happily on I-5 when all the cars started to slow down… and dunno y BH’s speed was kinda fast… and suddenly.. there’s a white car with flashing lights tailgating us! ” is he asking me to stop?” BH asked me… well.. i saw the car signalling right and i was like ” yes!” shit… we were caught for speeding! man… BH was driving at 79miles/hr according to the police… really scared and turned jelly man… sianz… so.. no choice – we accepted the fine of US$93!!! heart pain man…. after the policeman gave us the ticket, we continued with our journey and realised tt along tt same stretch of I-5, about4 more cars were caught speeding as well!!! argh… btw, the police cars DO NOT HAVE ANY POLICE LOGOS ON IT – they look just like any ordinary cars!!! i think it’s juz our luck, the police came  all at one go and caught every single car who were driving behind us… you get the picture??? geeez…. so.. next time… don’t ever go over the speed limit of 60miles/hr… unless.. u have a radar detector to tell u tt police is near ..

anyhow.. our mood was not dampened.. we continue with the journey… after 2.5 hrs… we entered oregon! *phew* super long drive…

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*the words are too small to be seen*

so.. we travelled somemore to the Big Big factory outlet at Woodburn (even bigger than seattle premium outlets)! we reached Woodburn Company Store at 11.35am.. so it tooks us 3.5hrs to reach here from seattle

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The sun in oregon was extremely scorching.. cant even open my eyes… i think summer will be worst man…

well.. we had lunch and walked ard… and you know what! we didn’t buy much… bought something at Gap, went to buy a electric mixer and a wok at the Kitchen store, BH bought a bag at Quiksilver, I bought a roxy belt.. oh man… tt’s all!! there’s nothing i really really want to buy at Coach or Guess or Tommy or Aeropostale so decided to save the $$ to pay for the speeding fine.

At about 3pm, we went to our next destination , about 20mins drive from Woodburn… Washington Square – why wld they name this mall Washington Square when it’s not even in Washington? haha… anyhow… there’s ample parking space and parking is free at this mall…

This mall is HUGE and the price tag >> “what u see is what u get!” it’s tax free!!! keke…so

1st stop: Coach

Took a bag I bought last week to exchange for another bag and the salesgirl gave me a 25% discount ( even though the VIP event was over last weekend!) wah… i’m so shocked and happy… and we’ve decided to use this chance to get more coach items. Bought wristlets and Bh bought a coach wallet for himself! nice… they even give wrap it nicely! very impressed with this Coach Boutique’s service ( better than the one I went at seattle!) Special thanks to the super kind and helpful Chlesea and Erica! I was a happy girl! hehe.. Bh was a happy boy too!

2nd stop: Forever 21 ( XXI)

Bought a new dress and black leggings! yeah!! happy!! i tried paying with my CC and it was rejected!!!! *bang head* 🙁 we reached our credit limit… man… Bh isn’t with me! luckily, i have cash… else so malu

3rd stop: Abercrombie

Bh bought a fleece hoodie here… nice!

4th stop:Bath&Body works

The hand soup was only $3! ( no tax!) so we juz bought 2 bottles! Sea Island Cotton smells really good! and it’s anti-bacteria! can’t stop washing my hands! haha…

5th stop: Claire’s

Bought hairbands… coz mine kept breaking!

6th stop: Food court

Had indian food for dinner

7th stop: Nordstrom

Bought clinque pimple gel for Bh and gt the SA to give BH some free samples to improve his complexion.. heh… i also got a free sample to even out my complexion ;p

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Left Oregon at about 7pm .. had a hard time looking for a petrol kiosk.. dunno y also… anyhow… we reached home at 10.30pm and we were dead tired… I think BH shld be even more tired… coz he drove so much!!! Thanks BH for the wonderful trip…

And you know what??? the amt of tax we saved on our shopping was returned to the state > coz of the fine… oh well.. it’s indeed a fruitful trip..and our next trip, we hope to go to downtown portland, which we missed out on this trip..

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Review of Marriott Pinnacle Vancouver

Hotel rating: 4 stars
Price we paid: 65usd/night via priceline.com
OUR rating: 3 stars

we booked this hotel with HIGH hopes! well, it has a wonderful view – facing the water and the mountain and we also heard that the rooms ending with -19 are spectacular! furthermore, it’s Rank 6 in tripadvisors Vancouver hotel list! however, i was kinda disapted with some aspects of the hotel.. i mean.. it’s not justified to be a 4 star hotel!!

we arrived at the hotel at 10.45am on 21 march (sat morning). we parked our car with ease ( though the underground parking was narrow and NOT GATED).. so we parked at P4, one of the lowest level, near the lift, we figured out that the car thief wld not venture so low in the carpark? haha… anyhow.. it’s Marriot, so shld be quite safe… paid for the day parking at quite a high price of 26CAD for a day’s parking

went up to the lobby to check in.. offical check-in time is 4pm BUT we are able to get a room.. however, we requested for a room ending with -19 i read tt these rooms have super duper good views.. the guy at the counter told us that there were none of these room avaliable yet and checked tt there will be one avaliable later in the day… HE DID NOT TAKE THE INITIATIVE TO RESERVE THE ROOM FOR US – he juz told us to return later… well.. nvm… we went out and took a walk.. enjoying the nice views

at 12noon, we returned and requested for the room again.. he told us tt the room is still not avaliable yet and ‘intro’ us other rooms which have good views as well… geez… CITY VIEWS… BUT i was very disapted… the pt of staying at this hotel is for the views! city view.. singapore also have what! what for! so… i asked him if it’s possible to find another room for us with good views and he was “you cld get a rm with gd view if u top-up 20usd per night?” i was like… then why u said tt you have a -19 room juz 1 hr ago and then decided to change your statement and say we got to to-up for the room!!!

BH is hopelessly passive with such things… he have no opinions which mks things quite frustating… geez.. so in the end we got a room with a odd shape and BAD city view.. yes.. when we look out of the window we see another office building! i was sooooooo tempted to change room .. i even thought of a valid reason ” i’m claustrophobic.. tt room mks me feel sick”

talking abt tolietries – there’s no toothbrush set and shower cap… we got to request for it… the good thing is their shampoo/conditioner/body lotion are from Bath and Body works.. nice smelling and i loved it!! however, they are super stingy with their shampoo/conditioner/body lotion, they do not put a new set of them when they clean up the room the next day!!!! i mean.. it was alr 1/2 used!!!! nvm.. so we called to request for them and they gave us evey single damn thing ( mouthwash, cotton balls, shower cap, deodorant, wet tissue) except their precious Bath and Body works shampoo/conditioner/body lotion!!! nah… we didn’t call again coz BH was super passive – “iyah.. nvm la..”

Location of the hotel is also not v gd… gt to walk quite far to downtown – Robson street area.. BUT the hotel is near a bus-stop which brings u to Stanley Park in one direction and Chinatown in the other direction..

i guess.. the only good thing abt the hotel is the lady at the concierge who was super friendly and patient to answer our qns.. other than that… this hotel is not recommended!

1 phrase to sum the hotel up – ” You pay oysters, you get peanuts “

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Merrrrrry Kiss-Moooseeeeee!

BH and I took a short trip to vegas on the 20Dec-23Dec.. Prior to our departure date, there were many reports on snow storms and cancellation of flights… I left for the trip with an extremely heavy heart… coz.. i knew that we would be ‘staying’ in the airport for sometime… oh well, BH thought that i was being paranoid again..haha..but it turned out that i was right!

so.. Bh’s friend, Julius drove us to the airport.. even on his 4-wheels drive car, we could feel a ‘skid’ on the road.. super dangerous to drive… it was very sweet of him to risk his life for us! haha …anyway, we reached the airport way b4 time… it was kinda crowded.. coz there were ‘stranded’ passengers from other flights which was cancelled… anyhow, we got to our gate and the flight was badly delayed..with at least 5 gate changes in a span of 2hours? the weather was very bad… the wind was strong… snow was heavy… runway was covered with snow and melted to ice… BUT we still boarded the plane… set down comfortably… then the pilot announced… “Flight Cancelled” We alighted the plane and became one of those ‘stranded’ passengers…

hmmm… we couldnt change our flight as we bought the package (include hotel) at a cheap rate.. changing would incur more cost… we couldn’t go home as the weather was so bad that it’s nt safe to drive… soooooooo…. we tried to ‘rebook’ ourselves on another flight BUT all flights were fully booked… we can only get seats on the 22Dec! we had no choice but to take the risk… so… we put ourselves on standby for the next day 6am flight… we were no. 23-24 on the list of abt 40 pple… i was feeling quite hopeless already..

the next day came slowly.. and we were very tired.. with no proper sleep… however, the weather in seattle was still quite bad… so… many pple didnt turn up for the 6am flight! hahaha…. we got on the flight but seats were separated (nvm.. we juz took it) .. and we finally flew to our destination! (pls get a window seat when flying to vegas.. the view is spectacular! i didnt have a window seat But i sat beside a very nice lady who shared the window with me)

it was only a 2hr flight to vegas.. but this trip took us 17hrs! man… finally reached vegas, took a cab, which was quite cheap (paid 16USD, including tips) ,checked into hotel, washed up and went for a so called ‘pretty good buffet’ at Bellogio ( the Q was super long… nearly died of hunger!) .. buffet was so-so only.. dunno y reviews were soooooooo good…

after we replenished our energy, went for photo-taking around the hotels and casinos.. watched abit of the bellogio musical fountain then went to try our luck at Wynn… which ate up most of our money… oh well…

the next day, we went for the Las Vegas factory outlets… alot of things to buy… spent more money… haha… pple were shopping like it’s free esp. at Coach… but.. i don’t really like anything… hmmm… the only thing i really want was a pair of UGG boots (everyone is wearing them!!!)

well.. UGG boots are really costly too , 130USD a pair… so.. i gt to settle for imitation 🙁 went to Aldo and bought a similar looking one… haha… you can see it on the Vegas picture gallery below..

after the tiring shopping at the factory outlet ( actually, seattle also have factory outlet what!) we went back to the hotel.. put down our stuff.. and head to Mandalay Bay for MamaMia! wow… we bought the tickets cheap at this booth known as ‘Tix4tonight’ .. better to buy at this booth than online coz you will nv know what will happen to ur flight and it’s cheaper! the seats we got were very good.. the musical was nice as i could sing along with the songs! very glad that i watched the movie 3X and i managed to watch the real musical! however, i must comment that the vocals are nt as gd as i expect 🙁 would definitely wanna watch MamaMia at New York Broadway!

actually, BH and I toyed with the thought of forgoing out flight back to seattle on the 23dec.. and buy another flight back on the 27dec.. however, we realised that it’s better to spend the money on shopping than to extend the trip… haha..

we would most likely go to Vegas again.. the next time, we hope to go in summer so that we could see the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dams! ;p

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Merry Christmas!

Hi guys, we just had a short trip to Vegas as a sort of celebration for christmas. 🙂

We were stuck at the airport for a night actually due to some blizzard… 🙁 But we still had a very tiring and enjoyable 2.5 days at Vegas where the weather is so much better than in Seattle…

Check out the gallery!

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Before the day came…

As you guys know, I was going to work for the evil very nice MS and I have to relocate to Seattle for work. It was sort of a weird feeling for me; on one hand I was really excited about starting a new job at a new whole place, on the other hand I was scare. In any case, a lot went on before I flow off. This is like a back-dated post and I will try my best to recall all that occurred.

At Work

[singlepic=98,300,320,,right]EA Singapore was such a fun place to be working in, never once did I dread going to work (maybe once or twice back not a lot of the time) I have made so much friends there and it was kind of sad for me to go. But I think they understand. They made this very nice mat for me and I was quite touched by their gesture. 🙂

At Home

[singlepic=30,300,300][singlepic=31,300,300]I had around 2 weeks of rest at home and prepare for the relocation. MS will provide free relocation which was great. The movers will come by the house and you just have to tell them which items or furnitures are going over.

They were really professional and dismantled the queen size bed frame and all the furnitures. The guys that will move the furnitures to my home at Seattle will assemble the furniture for me again. *thumbs up*

Before I left

The days just before I left, I went back to office to see the guys one last time and settle some admin stuff. I also met YX, WT and YY for dinner and games. Please go over to my wife’s facebook to see the photos, lazy to upload to another place. :p

And we got really lucky and got 2 tickets to Lee Hom concert the night before I fly off! It was from Starhub which Amanda’s family got after signing up for their services. It was quite a surprise cos Amanda always wanted to go watch. Although the seats are like really far, the atmosphere and his singing was really something. I was especially impressed when he started playing the violin, maybe my son will pick that up next time too.

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The next morning, I was going to sit on the crappy plane for 14+ hours to Seattle. Special thanks to my in law’s family and my own family for seeing me off. My family actually got this big London cab to send us there, thanks to my sister. WT and YY also made the morning trip to see me off and even got us this digital photo frame. I believe that is from the ZHSS gang? 🙂 thanks guys. I will use that in my new home next time.

So that’s about it! Stay tune for my next post on my arrival and Seattle stuff!!! In the mean time, you all can go over here to see the photos I have taken so far.