Toronto 3D2N

The ride there was already covered... it was freaking long... but anyway, after 13 whole hrs of bus ride, i finally reached salvation. The first person i saw when i peered out of the bus was my dearest grandmother. It has been about 2 years since i've last seen her. She's really a nice grandma. She's actually quite cute. Here's a picture of her on my last day. I treated her to ice cream.

my beloved grandma

anyway, Toronto was characterized by food and more food. I guess that's what my family's famous for. Stuffing visitors with food. haha... But i think the greatest thing is that we get to meet a really nice group of people. Frankly, i haven't seen my uncle and auntie (who are both citizens of Canada) for more than 15 years. To be able to meet up with them, has been one of the most exciting part of this trip. Not to mention, i can finally meet up with my grandfather. The last time i saw him was when i was 10 years old. Once again, another 15 years apart.

The 3 days spent in Toronto is well worth it. We went around eating. The main reason for this is because my grandfather is highly interested in eating. As an old man, he really has a great appetite. This might sound crazy but he eats MORE THAN ME! Nonetheless, he's not exactly in a very good condition. He is sometimes in a blur state of mind while sometimes in a clear state of mind.

Here's pictures of the people mentioned:

(left to right): grandma, uncle tom, grandpa, auntie mavis

my grandparents, may and I

(left to right): Auntie Mavis, Uncle Michael & Cousin Clayton

Although the most important part of Toronto is the people, here's the places we visited:

On the first day, we visited the harbour & downtown. Its really a super nice view. As it was sunday, there was a mardi gras and filipinos were dressed in their traditional costume travelling along the streets of the harbour. It was a carnival! No pictures on the carnival but i can show you the lake!

On the second day, the primary mission was to bring my grandpa around to eat. I can see that he wants to spend more time eating with me. He wants to see more of us before we left. As we'll be gone for the whole day on the 3rd day, this was his only chance. So, we brought him out for the whole day! we went around shopping but of course he just sat there just to enjoy the crowd. We saw shops which were typical of business case studies and can only be found in north america, like walmart! haha...

The third day is by far the rushest day but also one of the days we enjoyed ourselves the most. We went to niagara falls! The trip took Uncle Tom 2 hrs of drive but we finally reached there. Initially, I thought Niagara falls was just a waterfall there for you to see and maybe touch. But i was wrong! there were casinos and many shops! it was like a mini broadway! We really had fun! we took the Maiden of the Mist (a ship) to toured within the falls... Its just like it brought you into an area that was raining and back... haha but the views were great!


Yupz... next stop will be Atlantic City!!!

Good Bye my Friend...

You have been an inspiration for me back during the army days. I remember those days when i was a young a haughty officer and you guided me towards the right path. You were an important colleague but more importantly, you were a good friend. Till this day, i can still remember the days when we conducted exercises together and we went to your house to stay after conducting range. Your death came unexpected and I was apalled by your death when Mike smsed me.

You were one of the fittest guys that i ever knew. I remember we called you the alpha male and you were really athletical. You were a humble man with a a loyal heart. Your patriotism is something to be saluted while your devoted belief in god is respectable.

You are the second friend who has left me. According to your religion, let me hope that you are now with god and you can live peacefully in heaven.

Good bye Siqiu. Good bye Brother Ho.

Greyhound Stuns!

The ride to Toronto was long... freaking long... Before we even reached Toronto, I was stunned by greyhound (this should be the first in many that is coming up). The queue was long so May & I decided to make use of the automated kiosk which has no queue. Thinking that we were IT-savvy enough to skip the queue by making use of the automated kiosk, we were quite satisfied with ourselves. But ALAS! As the machine proceeded towards the printing of our ticket, the machine HUNG!!! We then asked the operator for help and all she did was to take our credit card and try it on another machine and told us that our credit card did not work! What the Hell! It worked! it was working but the machine basically just hung during the printing stage! She just told us to wait (albeit in a totally disinterested tone) and walked away. I tried to seek help by queuing in the main queue again. After 20mins of queueing, the machine suddenly dispensed our Philly to Toronto tickets! Trust me this would turn out to be a disastrous result in the end. (see behind when i talk about the trip from Atlantic City to DC.

To travel from Philly to Toronto, the greyhound will bring you to NYC first before going to Toronto. the 2nd stun came from the bus operator from the first leg of the trip from NYC to Toronto. We were in the queue preparing to board the bus. As we were one of the last few, I was in doubt as to whether we were to board the initial bus or the next bus. So when the bus driver took our tickets (at the bus stand), i asked him which bus he was referring to. He just growled at me and said "go!". Just in case it was my bad english, i asked again. He once again growled and me and said "go! just use some common sense and you'll know!". WTF...

Let's fast forward to the part when we wanted to leave Atlantic City for DC (that's like 5 days forward). We went to the bus terminal to collect our tickets. Guess what? The operator told us that our itinerary is disconnected and we need to call a 1800 number. Since its toll-free, we called. The operator told us that we need to cancel the booking (and get a 100% refund) and book it again (i.e. i needed cash flow of 2 x the fare). Forgetting about that, We adopted the option. When the operator asked for our credit card information, she said the credit card has to be registered in US. What kinda shit policy is that? So i decided to call it off and just cancel the ticket. At most i'll just go to the terminal to purchase a new ticket. They stun me for the 4th time this trip.

They told me that if i were to cancel the ticket without rebooking, they can only refund me 80% of the bill. Another shit policy. I had enough. I just said ok and asked her to refund me my 80% of the bill. That caused us to lose 20% x 72 bucks, about US$14.40. Sianz... Fortunately, we save some money by taking an alternative transport to DC. We took a US$13.25 NJ transit to Philly and took a China Town Bus at US$14 to DC. the total cost per pax was US$27.25 instead of US$34. As such, we saved US$6.75 per pax + US$4 will-call cost by greyhound. So in the end, we saved about a buck...

I would like to also point out that during the trip to Toronto, we were driven by different bus drivers. 1 from Canada (the route from Buffalo to Toronto or Toronto to Buffalo) and the rest from US. The Canadian Bus operators were MUCH MORE courteous than the US ones... think about this...

here's my recommendation, take the Chinatown Bus if you can...

Philadelphia 2D1N

Hi Folks! I'm really sorry for the late blog entry. I was in Philadelphia between the 17th and 18th of August. The 2 days there were really mainly for administration. When we arrived at Phily, we took a metro down towards 40th street in search of UPENN's Office of International Programmes (OIP). Just before i forget, Philadelphia's divided into many many sectors. Broadly, the place that i'll be in can be divided into 2 areas: Center City (where the office buildings + shopping malls are) and University City (needless to say, where all the universities are).

Armed with an address, i searched around for the office with LOTS of bags. It took me about 30mins and a lot of luck to finally find the place. I thought the office was within some administration building. Later did i find out that its actually inside International House (aka I-House), a building the provides OFF-CAMPUS accomodation! Bleahz...

After depositing all my stuff with January Stayton (one of the OIP ladies), there seems to be lots of stuff to be done! I need to collect my student card, create my bank account and deposit my bank draft! Hmm... Nonetheless, before we moved on to do those, we found Houston House (one of UPENN's building) and tried their famous Houston Crepes. Its really nice trust me! if you don't, here's picture to show you the size and the look.

We then proceeded to collect my PENN card only to find out that i can only collect it during orientation on the 29th of August. Nonetheless, we managed to proceed with the processing of my account and banking of the bank draft.

We then took a metro back to Center City. The timing was great for us. As we were supposed to check in to this hostel called HI-Bank Street (as mentioned in the previous entry) only before 11am or after 430pm, we arrived at 420pm and yupz... only needed to wait for 10mins before we could check in.

The rest of day was spent travelling within Center City. Nothing much was achieved except for giving us a rough feel of the place in aid of navigation during the next day. Nonetheless, here's some pics:

the original love sign

penn's landing

historical buildings at Phily

The second day was characterized by much touring. We walked around the historical district and understood a little more about America's history. If you guys din know, Philadelphia was US' first capitol. As such, the declaration of independence was signed in this city and we could also see things like the liberty bell. We also rested at this park and i tried to look gay... wahahah...

May and the liberty bell

gay yujian

Within the Center City, apart from historical areas, there are also other areas such as the Convention Center District, the Washington Square District, Parkway / Museum District and Rittenhouse Square District. Nothing interesting seriously. We just walked around aimlessly just to see the life style there. People are truly very relaxed. We then proceeded to eat the ever famous PAT's philly cheesesteak. The queue is freaking long but trust me, the service speed is the fastest i've EVER seen. Each transaction takes less than 5secs. The chokepoint is you! Right after you finish ordering, the item will be in your face! Here's a pic!

all right... that's about it from Philadelphia. Next Stop, Toronto!

First Destination... New York

Harlow everyone!!!

sorry for not updating my blog for almost a week! Anyway, i wasn't able to get FREE internet connection in New York and that's why i couldn't update my blog to show you guys some pics! Before i continue, i want to thank everyone for sending me off! really appreciate the effort!

Anyway, I've already arrived at Philadelphia and settled some banking and administrative matters with UPENN... I'm currently staying at this place called Hostelling International - Bank Street @ Philadelphia. The place is really great compared to my previous accomodation at Chealsea International House.

Here's what i did from Monday to Thursday @ New York:

Monday

I arrived at New York JFK @ around 1030hrs. We only got to check in at around 1430hrs. We then spent the rest of the day exploring New York City, in specific Mid Manhattan. We went to Times Square and walked around. We also tried to go up Empire State Building. But guess what? The wait was around 90 to 120mins... siao bo... we decided to give it a miss. I guess we were both tired from the 19-hr plane ride and we went back to sleep at around 8pm. Nonetheless, here's some pics!

Empire State Building

Times Square

Tuesday

Tuesday was much more eventful! We travelled to Woodbury - The Premium Factory Outlet. Basically, we had to take a US$39 return-trip bus ride that is about an hour long to this place called Woodbury. The stuff is damn CHEAP and we really spent more than 6 hours shopping there! May bought stuff from GAP, LEVI's, Nike, etc. For me, the only thing that attracted my attention was... The North Face Factory Outlet!!! All you guys!! Imagine that!! I spent like US$140 at the factory outlet place. I bought a 40L North Face Day Pack @ US$70+, 1 North Face Short Sleeve Quick Dry Shirt @ US$20, 1 Pair of Levi's Jeans @ US$25, 1 Levi's T-shirt @ US$10, 1 Aeropostale Polo T-shirt @ US$15.

We then spent the rest of the day travelling around Time Square to recce for Broadway Shows to watch on Wednesday.

Tuesday Breakfast

Woodbury

Wednesday

Wednesday is Lower Manhattan Day. We took the Metro to Wall Street and walked around. We saw the NYSE building, the Financial District, Ground Zero (what the WTC is called after 911, since it has 0 floors left) and of course... the famous Bull. We then took the circle line to visit the Statue of Libery Island. As one of those who reserved our tickets, we got tickets to go up the inside of the Statue of Liberty! The inside is really damn coolz and nice. There is a musuem that tells us all about the Statue.

After we finished touring that part of Manhattan, we then went to watch a show on Broadway! Yay!!! really a Broadway Broadway SHOW!!! We watched the Drowsey Chaperone at the Marquis Theatre. Its really damn nice and you can read more about the show @ http://www.drowsychaperone.com/. (paisehz, no pics on the broadway show)

time to ride the BULL market

New York Stock Exchange

cute boys with the Statue of Liberty

Thursday
On Thursday, we headed to the Museum of Natural History. This place is damn damn damn BIG and COOLZ... i really liked the place. The Museum has everything from African Animals to Dinosaurs to the Solar System, etc. Trust me, this place is really really damn damn nice!!! We were able to purchase student tickets and we watched an IMAX Dinosaure Film, A cosmic collision OMNI Theatre Film, and explored the place for the WHOLE DAY... we walked from 1030hrs to around 1600hrs. Let the pictures do the talking man...

entrance to the museum

the bears!

the dinosaurs!

central park

ok... this is a long entry... for more pics... check out my facebook!!! seeya guys!

Hours before flying...

The time now is 1755... it is about 5 hrs and 55 minutes away from the flight departure time. The excitement is slowly building up and I am really excited about the trip to the states. I got a few sms (and a call) this morning telling me bon voyage and to take care of myself. I thank you for your nice gesture and i assure you that it really really meant something (although my departure time is 1150PM and not AM).

At this moment of time, leaving home for 4 months do not seem to be too big of a problem for me. After all, I am rather comfortable with my parents alone in Singapore. As much as I'm an only child (yes I am an only child, for people who still don't know), my family has always been operating independently. each of us takes charge of our own lifes and that made me more or less a more independent man. Nonetheless, I'm sure I'll miss my parents (like during my 1 month trek in Nepal). I just hope that they can take good care of themselves.

To my friends,
For all those friends out there who have access to this blog, I assure you that I'll miss you guys. I am really sure that during my stay in the states, there must be some moment in time that I'll think of you guys. In any event that you miss me, please do drop me a mail or give me a call. If you don't miss me, but want me to buy stuff back for you, just email me the stuff you need. (but no guarantees for those who don't miss me... haha ;p)

To the Xtremists (the past, the present, the future),
I know most of you are involved in the organization of SMUX Camp. I wish you all the best! I'm sure you guys would be able to impress the freshies and let them feel that SMUX is the best place for them! Shortly after SMUX Camp would be night bike. I heard that the recce ended last night. I hope you guys enjoyed the recce and make sure you let the freshies exprience the SMUX culture!

In the mean time, I'll like to leave you guys with some impt contact numbers if you really wanna contact me:

Contact Numbers
Singapore Mobile Number: (65) 9108 7435
US Mobile Number: TBC
Hostel Room direct line: (65) 6492 7455
Hostel Room US line: 1-215-417-4210

Addresses
Hostel Mailing Address:
3650 Chestnut Street, Box 24, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6107

Emails:
yujian.yam.2004@smu.edu.sg
yamyujian@hotmail.com
yam@sas.upenn.edu

that's it! take care everyone!

Happy Birthday to my Dad

10th of August is my Dad's birthday. Frankly, it was only in the recent years that we started to celebrate my parents birthday. Previously, we were all busy working or studying that we usually do not spend time to celebrate our birthdays. I guess one of the push factors is May. It was ever since we got together that we started celebrating birthdays. I guess my family wasn't really bothered to celebrate birthdays previously. Nonetheless, I think celebrating birthdays are really kinda enjoyable. It helps to liven up the family members and let everyone relax.

Yesterday, my parents, may and I went to OASIS near Kallang Indoor Stadium for dinner. The restaurant served teochew porridge and my parents really enjoyed themselves. It has almost been 20 years since my parents stepped into the restaurant and it really brought back many memories for them. My father recalled that he had his first Singapore meal in this restaurant about 25 years back and the restaurant hasn't change much since.

Yesterday's meal has some significance to it. It was one of the very few times that i treated the family to a meal. It was also a sense of nolstagia for my parents. I'm glad that my parents enjoyed themselves. Happy Birthday Dad!

my parents at the entrance of the teochew porridge restaurant

my parents cutting cake

my parents & i

my whole family

may and I (may says she's pretty today, I agree)

Packing for the trip

Finally, i got down to packing for the US trip... with the packing list in hand, packing isn't really that difficult. The biggest difficulty is getting the stuff that i wear all the time into the luggage. As I have been wearing these clothes all the time, being able to get them washed and dried b4 i pack them seems like a feat. But no worries, most of them are more or less dry and ready to be packed.

Similar to going on trekking trips, I have packed my clothings according to categories into ziplock bags. This time, i've invested some money into "Lock N Lock" ziplock bags which have 1 way valves in them. There are 2 types. One with valves for vacuum cleaners and another which removes air by squeezing. I opted for the squeezing one as it is more practical when i'm on the move. 3 of such bags costs about S$12.90. That means more than S$4 per bag... Trust me, i don't really think they're great investments.

Before i actually packed these clothings into the ziplocks, the most impt task is to divide them into 2 piles. One pile for my luggage which will not be opened till the 26th of August, and another pile is for my trek bag which will follow me during the 2-week tour. My trek bag is kinda light although it looks kinda full. I've included my thermal mat to aid in my travelling and that took up quite a bit of space. Apart from that, the rest are just small items mainly clothes or electronics.

Here's some pictures of the packed luggage and unpacked trek bag:

my packed luggage

zoom in on my luggage

my unpacked trek bag with my jungle hat on top

I think it is getting increasingly exciting. All i look forward to now is Sunday. I will be engaging in many firsts this time in the states. So just to name a few:

1) First time taking long haul flight
2) First time going to US
3) First time staying away from home more than 3 months

etc...

So let's hope everything goes well! wish me good luck!

A Flurry of Gatherings

Wow... its now a countdown to my takeoff! 10 more days and I'll be on a 21hr flight to the United States of America! Hmm... For those who still do not know what is happening, I will be leaving for USA for my student exchange between the 12th of August and the 28th of December. Officially, my exchange program is with the School of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania. Nonetheless, I will be taking courses all over the place! The modules that I have already secured are actually in the polls on the right column. They are: Derivatives, Venture Capital and Entrepreneurial Management, Spanish and Real Estate Economics.

Anyway, I am really thankful that there are many people who wants to meet up with me before I fly off. I am really grateful that at least these people would miss me (I hope!). Even if they don't miss me, I am thankful that these people at least make the effort to meet me before I leave. Thanks guys!

So far, I have already met up with the following people:

• AY2006/07 (term 1) LTB TAs @ Hardrock Cafe
• My very own LTB mates - At least Kimberly, Sherina, Eileen and Jon

I am looking forward to next week as my internship ends and I'll be catching up with some of my dearest friends before I finally fly off. In the mean time, I want to tell everyone that I'll miss you guys!

On the side note, just to demonstrate how much i'll miss you guys, I want to tell you guys that I actually took a slow walk around school one of the evenings this week. I walked from LKCSOB to the GYM and also into the CCA Room, peered into the eXplore Room (now known as the box) and also the various places which i've spent the last 2 years of my school life. The place which gave me the deepest impression is none other than the CCA room which i spent a large part of my time in.

I've finally decided to start packing and i'll start packing this coming weekend... so to end off this post, let me show you what I'll be bringing... advice is appreciated!

Packing List

• 4 x T-shirts
• 2 x Polo Tees
• 4 x Shirts + 2 x Ties
• 2 x Pants
• 2 x Jeans
• 1 x Suit Jacket
• 5 x Shorts
• 2 x Running Attire (top & bottoms included)
• 1 x Swimming Trunk
• 10 x Underwear
• 2 x Sleeping Attire
• 3 x White Socks + 5 x Black Socks + 4 x Trekking Socks
• 1 x Asics Running Shoes
• 1 x Slippers
• 1 x Formal Shoes
• 1 x Semi-Formal Shoes
• 1 x Trekking Boots
• 1 x Sleeping Mat + 1 x Silk Liner
• 1 x Marmot Fleece & 1 x Marmot Shell & 1 x Marmot Gloves & 1 x Thermals
• 1 x Small Towel + 1 x Big Towel
• 1 x Sunglasses
• Toileteries
• Mobile Phone, Laptop and respective Chargers
• Namecards
• 1 x Electronic Pot
• 1 x Crumpler Bag + 1 x Trek Bag + 1 x Luggage
• 1 x First Aid Kit
• 2 x Belt
• 1 x Washing Powder
• Stationary
• Gifts for US friends
• International power adapter
• 1 x 5-socket Power Extension

I wonder whether it can all fit?