Canada & Alaska REPOST part1

Around this time last year, me and my sister were whisked away for a 3weeks holiday trip to Vancouver, Canada and go sailing on a luxury cruise to Alaska. My repost on Vancouver will be just a brief one as i'm just doing my best to recall back my memory there because i didn't keep a journal on that. Alaska will be a complete detail one.

Me and my sister went a week earlier over to Vancouver and stayed at my aunt's house while waiting for the rest of the tour group from my dad's company to come down. During this week time, besides following my aunt out for shopping spree, we also managed to take a little of our time and join the local tour there to sight some tourist spots in Vancouver.

The journey itself to Vancouver was butt-soreful as we flew 8hours to Taipei Airport from KLIA just to transfer to another flight which took us another 18hours to reach Vancouver. Altogether we had sat for almost a whole day inside the plane. Luckily it was China Airlines, and the seats were pretty comfortable. Imagine sitting for 24hrs in AirAsia - i would rather not go, seriously.

We met up with my aunt and the whole family and spent alot of bonding time together as the last time we saw them was probably when i was 11? Staying in a relative's house is so much better than staying in a hotel. Save cost, and much more cosier. We were given an allowance of $5000 to spend there, and we hardly need to fork out on food and accommodation. Pure raw hard cash to spend only on shopping - sweet!! The weather was still pretty cold although it's slowly turning to summer. I prefer hot than cold, i can't freaking stand cold!! There's actually something good about staying in a 4 season country - you get to change your wardrobe according to the season. Four different wardrobe for each season. COOL!!~ *Shit! I just drooled on my laptop!*

Canada is the first western country i ever travel to. I was pretty excited and nervous about this journey. "How's the culture there like?" "Are the people there friendly?" "Will i have any hard time communicating with them?" The most crucial question was "Will i have enough time to shop?!" Before i flew, i did alot of research on it; where are the tourist spots, which shopping malls has what kind of shops, the weather, etc. I wanted to be self prepared and not going there with an empty brain. Upon reaching there, it took me a few days to adjust myself accordingly to their culture and lifestyle. Buckle up even though you're at the back seat, and i always ended up walking to the driver's side (still thought i'm in Malaysia), always leave tips if you eat in restaurants, have to say 'Pop' instead of 'Soft drinks', if not they won't understand you, then you actually have to bring your own plastic bags or recycle bags when you go for your grocery shopping in the supermarket, and many many more.

Overall, after spending 2weeks time there, i seem to have fallen in love with Canada. The country is so peaceful, so relaxing, so clean, the air is fresh, the people are so friendly, so polite, and so self-disciplined. Did you know that there's NO barrier or anything for you to slot your train card into before you walk into the terminal and wait for your train? NO guard to check your ticket or your seasonal card if it's still valid, or IF you even have a ticket with you. They just put a machine there where you can buy the ticket and that's it. You're free to go and board any train you want. BUT the people there will still buy their tickets, or renew their pass if it's expired because they're well-educated. Imagine if they apply it here; there'll be ZERO transaction in the ticket machine and every train will be pack with people. Because why must they bother to buy a ticket when there's nobody to check and they can just walk through like that??!! Cases of robberies will be more than ticket sales. Trust me. I will pick Vancouver as my number 1 country to migrate to one day.

So, part 1 of this repost will be a brief introduction on my relatives, there will be more sight seeing pictures in part 2. Enjoy~~

Taipei Airport - will never miss a chance to starbucks wherever i go.

Me and my sis, inside China Airlines

Don't know why but there were alot of Indian nationalities on board that night. 90% of the passengers. And the whole plane smells like.. i don't know... curry??

VANCOUVER!!!! WE ARE FINALLY HERE!! MY ASS REALLY NEED A BREAK!

Say hie to my aunt Yen and her daughter Ming Chee. Honestly i found it slightly hard to hear her speak the first 2 days. Maybe it goes the same to her too.

My sister's nanny, we call her 'suk po'

This is what her house looked like from outside. It's a 2 storey high with a basement and a car park @ garage. It's a pretty huge place for just a family of 4. There are 6 rooms, 1 dining hall, 2 living rooms, 1 kitchen, 1 garden, and there's another 3rooms and a living room in the basement. Can play hide-and-seek the whole day and nobody will be able to find me. Really.

The guests living room.. Oh yea, do you know what's the best part of this house? Majority of the furnitures come together with the house and it's all built in!! I SO want to migrate to Vancouver


This is the family room where family members will hang out here after dinner or whatever it is to chill out and enjoy some family time together watching TV or do whatever they want to do.

I like the fireplace. So warm and cosy. The only place you want to be when it's freezing outside. Make a cup of hot chocolate and read a nice book or watch a nice show on your favourite couch and go "Ahh.. this is life"

The more high tech fireplace doesn't need a chimney because it's electronic!!

Kitchen baybeh..

Most houses in western countries has this thing called the dry storage room. It's where you keep all the dry food because they normally buy it in large quantity because they doesn't need to go to the supermarket so frequently.

Our "hotel" room. Hahaaha! Looks sad but it has the family feel to it.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is my aunt Linda. She and aunt Yen migrated over to Vancouver when i just a small kid.

The cousins - I've already introduced Ming Chee, the girl and the boy standing behind are aunt Linda's children. I hardly talk to them because, erm.. I just don't. And i've even forgotten their name. Sorry. Ming Chee is a very bubbly and talkative person whereas aunt Linda's daughter is the opposite. She's like the very emo type of person and she's a CHINESE who hates CHINESE and wished she was born an angmoh.. wtf!?

Ming Chee, the silly cousin sister

They had a house party to celebrate our arrival~~ All the dishes were cooked by themselves and no take-away was required.

A small part of the Loh family.


Look what i found!!! An original black and white photo of MY DAD in his early twenties! Pure antique. My dad will surely kill me if he finds out i put his picture up in the net. God bless me!

Next stop, we will be visiting China Town and Stanley Park - the largest park in Vancouver. Stay tune for the next update. =)