Life out of Luggage

10 flights
50000 KM
6 different currencies
6 old friends visited, many new friends met

Epic trip, but I’m finally home

• Melbourne in winter is slightly chilly
• Someone told me “Sydney is like Melbourne with no soul”.  I agree
• Chocolate shops, coffee shops, and cafe’s in small alleyways in Melbourne are delicious
• Things are cheaper in Melbourne than Sydney
• Graffiti always looks amazing
• Gelato and crepes in one night isn’t too much
• One pint of Ben & Jerry’s however, is too much

In conclusion

MEL > BNE > SYD

As continued from before

• Aussie ‘bacon’ is closer to back bacon than ‘normal bacon’
• The supermarket will always be the cheapest place to get food and drinks
• If hungry, 6 donuts for $1 will fill you up
• Looks like there are many Chinese tourists.  I’ve been asked stuff in Mandarin 3 times now
• Where there are people, there are Chinese people selling cheap stuff
• Ocean water is very salty
• I have a very strong Canadian accent
• Spanish food = food drenched in olive oil
• Surfing is much harder than snowboarding

Off to Melbourne tomorrow for the third and final leg of the Aussie trip!

Since my brain works at 140 characters at a time after Twitter, I’ve complied a list of thoughts.  Instead of spamming twitter, I decided to put it all on one post in tumblr

• Australia is absolutely beautiful
• Everything is REALLY expensive
• Coffee is particularly expensive.  When Australians say ‘coffee’ they don’t mean normal drip coffee, but espresso based drinks ONLY
• Water + Lights = Amazing
• Australian winter = Canadian fall temperatures (hoodie + jeans).  That being said, it is a bit strange feeling chilly during July…
• Aussie Rules Football has a hockey-like following.  I was around for the big deciding game (State of Origin).  Think Stanley Cup game 7 big
• Seafood is super fresh, super delicious
• Kangaroo is like beef, but slightly chewier.  Would eat again.
• Aussie accents are cool.  Scottish accents are uncomprehensible

I love it here, might have to consider moving over here :P.  Anyways, off to Brisbane tomorrow from Sydney, can’t wait!

24 hours of round trip flying time

3 brand new cities

2 hour difference in time zones from HK, 14 hours from home

1 Aussie foreign exchange student

Off to Australia!  So excited!

On the way to Hong Kong, I got stuck in Beijing illegally for 48 hours.  First of all, my plane out of Toronto got delayed due to mechanical problems.  After Air Canada scrambled another flight from Paris to take us to Beijing, I departed Toronto 3 hours late and missed my original connection to Hong Kong.

Originally, my flight was to land in Beijing around 2:30 PM that day.  Of course, since the flight was delayed, it was expected to land at 5:30 PM.  The same day, Beijing experienced heavy rains between 3-9 PM and we were not allowed to land.  In the end, we had to sit on the runway of an airport 1 hour southwest of Beijing called Taiyuan for 5 hours.  At this point, the crew had been on the plane for over 18 hours, which is strictly prohibited by Canadian air travel regulations.  In the end, the pilot got an exemption from the regulatory body and we land in Beijing at around midnight.

By arriving in Beijing at midnight, I miss any chance of catching a connecting flight to HK that day, so Air Canada sets me up with a hotel and a ticket for a flight the next afternoon.  The next morning, I head to the airport expecting to catch my flight with no problems.  Unfortunately, life isn’t that boring.  First of all, since I purchased my tickets on Aeroplan points, Air China is unable to change my connecting flight since they can’t touch my Canadian Aeroplan points.  In order to get on the flight, I use my credit card and purchase a new ticket at the full fare rate.  Once I get to the boarding gate, the flight gets cancelled at the last minute, leaving me stranded trying to get a new ticket for yet another connecting flight.  There were about 20 Air China flights cancelled that day for various reasons, so the ticketing booths are completely chaos with everyone trying to get a new ticket.  The earliest I end up getting my ticket is next afternoon, or 2 days after my original flight.  After much prodding, Air China agrees to put me up in a hotel for the second night.

Throughout this whole ordeal, I actually had no visa to visit China since I was there to transfer flights.  This means I can only stay for under 24 hours and not leave the airport, both rules which is completely violated.  Of course, I also packed my Bible and other Christian books, which is completely illegal in China, so not only was I visiting illegally, but I also had banned material on me.

In the end, I spent 2 days in the Beijing airport and random hotels trying to get a flight out of Beijing and hoping I wouldn’t get arrested/detained/questioned/deported.  48 hours after my expected arrival time, I arrive in HK in one piece.  :D

Sitting in the airport since my plane got delayed, I started just watching people as they passed my gate.  I’ve come to realized, that most people walking through the airport looks weird to me, although I bet they think that this Chinese guy who can’t speak English sitting on his Mac in a hoodie and shorts looks weird too.

Reminds me of a discussion I had last week visiting Waterloo how about many of our common friend are weird.  Come to think of it, everyone is weird in our own way, and its the quirks that makes life exciting.

Lets just stop hating on the weirdness and accept it.  Keeps life more interesting.

Yes I’m still alive… I seem busier than at school, of course this time its work that I actually want to do :D

The last month in point form

• Moved back home, reconnected with people back home
• VERY busy volunteering with my church helping the youth and english speakers
• Learned to drive manual in my new car :D
• Planning my summer vacation
• GMAT studying (still a slacker, that hasn’t changed :P)
• Enjoying this beautiful weather!
• Working out, lifting heavy, losing weight… oh yeah!