That fantastic Whistler trip!

Whistler Olympics Plaza on a sunny day in August

Following Edmonton, I flew with Uncle Johnny, Aunt Elim, Aunt Connie, gugu and gucheung to Vancouver. (Thanks to gugu, gucheung, dad and mom for the generous sponsorship - I keep going on holidays on others' expense this year! My family took pity on me the temporarily jobless one.)

The plan was to spend 4 nights at Whistler's Mountainside Lodge, then a day in Vancouver before flying home in the evening. How cool is that!

Day 1

We arrived in Vancouver in the late afternoon, stopping by Aberdeen Centre to have our dinner. The last time I came here I had 鸡蛋仔 (bubble waffle) from the food court, so this time round I tried the noodles from the same stall. I love it because it's the closest taste I have of the 茶餐厅s from HK.

I want to eat everything!

We bought loads of groceries from a nearby Chinese supermarket and went on our way before it turns dark. Two hours later, we checked in at Mountainside Lodge. Everything's been perfectly arranged by Uncle Johnny so we had a room in no time. But we slept late because we had many Indian chiefs wanting to decide on the sleeping arrangement Poor gucheung carried the mattress 3-4 times up and down the stairs after each decision was overridden. It was too hilarious! ^ ^

The trolley could barely move under the combined weight of our luggage

From the vantage point of the loft

Day 2

We had very good weather on our second day. We spent the day strolling around the village, checking out the shops and taking in the sights. The heat was a tad unbearable towards the afternoon so we stopped by Cows, apparently the best ice-cream chain in Canada, for ice cold sweetness. They also sell the cutest merchandise!

Hordes of tourist around the village

Spot the ski trails on the distant mountain?

Whistler is a world renown ski resort but what's less known is that it's a great place for summer activities too. Mountain biking is a big thing and everywhere we go, we see people young and old clad in protective gear. The ski slopes are equally, if not more, exciting for mountain biking!

A group of older bikers... we saw some as young as 4 year-olds!

One of the bikers 'flying' in the sky

In the evening, we drove to the nearby Alta Lake where families were having picnics by the shore. Dipped our feet in the freezing water for the first time.



An unspoken sense of peace



Selfie by the lake

Day 3

We meant to take a 30-min trail to Lost Lake but I followed the wrong map and led the group on a long, long way along Fitzsimmons Creek to the Green Lake 2 hours later. Oops! Luckily, we discovered Nicklaus North Golf Course at Green Lake so we had a nice lunch overlooking the lake.

Whistler Air at Green Lake. Floatplanes!
(My photo doesn't do justice to the beauty of the lake)

Lunch at Nicklaus North Golf Course

Finally back on track on Valley Trail

We finally got back on track after lunch and arrived at Lost Lake 45 minutes (and many, many slopes) later. It was drizzling on and off and the sky was gloomy when we reached.

Lost Lake is much smaller than the other nearby lakes

Had to put on a jacket because of the cold breeze


Aunt Elim must have been looking for some adventure. The mischievous adults, led by Aunt Elim, balanced themselves on two narrow, floating tree trunks to get to the small platform in the middle of the lake. I followed suit after seeing how dangerously fun that is! It started raining heavily after the four of us were cramped on the platform and we started scrabbling back on the wobbly logs.

Gucheung looks like he's walking on water!

On our way back, we noticed these tiny toads supposedly migrating from the lake to the grassy areas. We had to really look out for them lest we step on them accidentally!

Look how small the toad is compared to my shoe!

Day 4

The last day at Whistler is the most exciting day because we took the PEAK2PEAK Gondola! On Whistler Mountain we met our lovely volunteer guide who took us on the gondola ride across the peak to Blackcomb Mountain. It's quite an experience, being dangled in a gondola crossing the two giant mountains!

It's fun moving through the fog though it sometimes blocks the view

The never ending stretch of Alpine trees is lovely!

We hiked around Blackcomb Mountain with our guide enthusiastically explaining the plants and wildlife along the way. The glacier bowls look bare at this time of the year but in winter they are covered in snow!

Our guide walks faster than a 18-year-old!

It will be completely different in Winter

The hike trail is quite rocky and even though walking sticks were provided we had to use every ounce of effort to keep our balance. It was foggy so there wasn't much view but we felt like we are walking above the clouds.

It's worth the climb!

A rocky road

The highlight of the day is the Peak Express! HIGHLY recommended because it takes you all the way to the summit of Whistler Mountain! It's included in the gondola ticket so you don't have to pay anything extra. It's SO awesome sitting on the chairlifts, being taken to the skies and beyond. The view is beautiful on top!

  



Going higher and higher... yay!

Gugu and gucheung having the ride of their lives

I want to touch the sky!



The Whistler Inukshuk!

Final words...

We left Whistler the next day and went back to Vancouver, stopping by Shannon Falls, the Twin Falls at Lynn Canyon Suspension Bridge, English Bay and the University of British Columbia before boarding our flights home.

Compared to Whistler, Vancouver's day trip is very toned-down. I had so much fun that I almost didn't want to go home. The only regret is not trying Ziptrek Ecotours at Whistler! We didn't have enough time.
 

Finally a group photo at Shannon Falls



The suspension bridge is not that high but it sways a lot when too many people try to cross!



Looking down at the Twin Falls

At English Bay

Vancouver School of Theology at UBC

I want to say thank you to everyone who has made this trip so memorable. I hadn't expect to have so much fun but I did! My aunts and uncles are so young-at-heart and fun loving... they made me realise it's OK to just be silly and fool around whatever age you are at! Thank you, for generating so much laughter in the trip!

Yay! We are flying (off the railing)!

Photo higlights of our short Edmonton trip

Panda's tired but happy that we finally reached Edmonton



So after all that ding-doing with United Airlines, we finally got our butts in Edmonton and attended the wedding dinner. Panda only spent slightly more than 48 hours there before flying back home. So here are the highlights of our short Edmonton trip!

Uncle Johnny and Auntie Elim promoted to 老爷、奶奶 at the tea ceremony



With gucheung and gugu at the wedding banquet at Delta Edmonton South

Bride and groom at the head table - the first time we attended such a cute banquet arrangement

Daniel was only one when I last saw him... how time flies!



The Kenneth Cole dress that earned quite some compliments at dinner... thank you!

South Edmonton Common - blocks and blocks of shops

Introduced Tim Hortons to the gang. Coffee was ok but they loved the panini.

Bought ketchup chips, available only in Canada. They're so yummy!

World Waterpark within West Edmonton Mall. I want to play when I come back next time!

Family dinner the day after at 喜万年 ... the poor tired wedding couple.



A pretty park behind Uncle Johnny's. Thanks gugu for the photo!

A nice winding river within walking distance from Uncle Johnny's 

Next up... that super amazing Whistler trip!

We are still not in Edmonton.. what?!



Maybe I should write 'totally MARRIED' instead! They will be by the time we reach!



Panda's snoring away in the living room. I'm still waiting for my hair to dry before trying to catch some sleep.

We should have reached Edmonton by now, but we are not! We are still stuck at home, no thanks to United Airlines which cancelled our flight 4 hours before we were scheduled to fly.

Mind you, it came in an email which cheerfully states that the flight is cancelled and we are confirmed on another flight reaching on Sunday night. When the wedding is long, long over!

And there's no explanation whatsoever.

It's the first time I had a flight cancelled on me at such a last minute. When Panda gasped, "our flight is CANCELLED?!" just when we were about to get ready for airport, I was stunned for a good 15 minutes before moving into action and frantically calling the airlines.

Believe me, we were literally on the phone with them for 3 hours, getting put on hold, arguing with them that there are seats available on other airlines before we finally settled the tickets. Panda's resourcefulness on the internet and persistence paid off, and United Airlines agreed to rebook us on the earliest Air Canada flight out tomorrow to Edmonton, transiting at Vancouver.

We are gonna miss the church wedding, but will be in time for the traditional dinner.

Boy was I looking forward to the church wedding and the tea ceremony. Gugu said I could help decorate the house and I was still doing some letters this afternoon. I guess we won't be using these now. Bummer.





Celebrating a nation's birthday

It's Christmas already? No, it's the Singapore National Day!

I'm so glad that Wendy came up with the idea for a red and white dinner. It's good to get together and celebrate Singapore's birthday.

I nearly forgot about this big day. I'm definitely more patriotic when I was working in the ministry.

Back in those days, it's our job to do ground sensing, analyse media reports, give heads up on issues which we think are brewing, facilitate media queries, staff events, and deal with public through the QSM line.

Naturally, we need to keep ourselves up to speed on national issues. So when national day rolls around, we diligently tune in to PM's national day message and his National Day Rally speech.

This year, being an Overseas Singaporean for the first time, we don't feel the hype of the nation's birthday. I nearly forgot about it, until I saw photos and status updates from my friends on Facebook.

I searched online for PM's national day message. I personally love our PM because I think he's earnest and he works very hard for the country. But in this message, I only saw exhaustion. He had giant eye bags and he was slouching. 

One thing I've learnt in US is, stop being so uptight, be yourself. Speak to humans like a human.

The message I'm watching seemed too scripted. Like a civil servant writing papers, it's a great summary of what the government has done. But where's the human voice? PM looks pretty awkward reading it off the teleprompter.

I have a sudden urge to send him an email to say, "How are you, PM? I watched your message. You look pretty tired. Don't be so hard on yourself or get too focused on doing things the 'proper' way. Be yourself. And most importantly, rest well!"

After all, PM is still a human who appreciates ground feedback and a word of concern, right?

I'm ready for the wedding!

Loving the simplicity of the new nail colour

  

We will be heading to Edmonton, Canada tomorrow to attend a wedding. Panda will be flying back almost immediately for work and I will be staying on to have a few days of vacation with my aunt in Whistler, Vancouver. Life is great!

SensatioNail was having a promotion on their gelish polish at Target so I got the taupe colour (confession: I have no idea what taupe is before this). I must say this nudish colour is rather pretty, just nice for weddings.

Dad and Mom gave us some money for the traditional Chinese red packet for the wedding couple. Panda and I also decided to get something for the hosts (the parents), my aunt (who sponsored our tickets) and the wedding couple.

We got something from Coach for the older folks earlier at Gilroy. As for the younger couple, we decided to go with a photo frame. Not very original but I thought it's always good to have nice photo frames at home to remind us of memorable moments.

Added a little personal touch to the frame to celebrate the start of a new family. What do you think? :)

  

Sprawled on the living room floor in my PJs doing a little craft



Their name in pearl beads and a felt flower for the wedding couple.

At least I did as I believe

Simple chic with sandstone felt. Work involved lopping the wire within, and sewing the centre to secure it.

Ever since I set up SGUS on Etsy, I've gone back to my working mode. I can't stop thinking about new creations; there's always something to look forward to everyday!

I think Panda is half-amused, half-worried about my little project. He has always wanted me to start something since I have all the time in the world. He suggested writing children ministry programmes, writing story books, or setting up a personal shopper business like one of my friends.

But he knew I had an interest in doing crafts, so he allowed me to indulge a little in materials and tools. I go to him for advice on designs, pricing and everything else.

It's wonderful to have a husband that supports you. It may seem like a small thing to him, but it means a lot to me.

It's fun monitoring the shop stats and even though I haven't have any real business yet, I'm happy to have taken the courage to do it.

That's the Silicon Valley spirit, isn't it? Have an idea, do it. If it works, great job. If it flops, learn your lessons and keep trying.

Don't be afraid of success or failure.

加油！

P/S: I just occurred to me that I went to Joann and Michaels the other day with (Joann)a and (Michael)Angel(o). Heeheehee. I think it's quite funny! 

Let's go for a movie!

Panda's ecstatic about our movie marathon

We had a movie date at downtown San Mateo today! We've bought vouchers from Red Robin and with it came free tickets for... Wolverine!

Unlike back home, what's interesting about watching movies in US is that there's no pre-selected seats. It's free seating as long as you have a ticket.

That also means you can sneak into other theatres to continue watching after your movie ended. We learnt that it's what the locals do. Just make sure there are plenty of seats and you don't get caught.

So we tried it today. It was pretty funny trying to check what's the next movie on the list nonchalantly. We wanted to watch Despicable Me 2 but the timing wasn't right. In the end, we caught Wolverine and Pacific Rim.

Both were great action packed films but it's probably not a great idea to watch them back to back. By the time we came out of the theatres, our minds were boggled with too much flashy images and loud sound effects.

It also didn't help that both had similar story lines - Asian city backdrop, American heroes working with Japanese female sidekicks, America saves the world or the girl. Hollywood productions are predictable, huh?

That said, we still enjoyed our movie experience. I love the fact that people are encouraged not to call and text in the cinemas here. It's a joy to be able to finish a movie without ringtones, Hellos and bright phone screens.

Wish we had a similar movie culture back home.



Continuing the Japanese theme, my miniscule palm-sized 50ml Choya at dinner.

Photo of the day: big guy, small guy

Little Zane decided that he wants to hide his face in Panda's bum.

 

We shopped at Gilroy today with the Low family (Thanks for driving us!) Found great presents for our family friends who will be hosting us at the upcoming Canadian trips.

 

We also snatched up some fabulous buys. My best purchase has got to be the flowy Kenneth Cole Tanya dress. It's such a comfy fit that I bought two colours of the same design (lime and black). Then I instigated Wendy to buy one too. We must share good stuff, right?

 

The highlight of the day has got to be little Zane. We highly suspect there might be some super chemical in his baby food. His energy bar was fully charged the entire day.

 

He also made Panda very happy, because "Uncle" (and all parts related, bum included) is apparently his best friend today. It's such an amusement to watch the both of them. The big guy and the tiny guy.

 

We managed to complete our shopping and dinner just in time for little Zane to go home to sleep. All four adults were also ready to hit the sack. We were exhausted from a day of shopping but satisfied with a stomach full of yummy crabs!

The Boiling Crab, San Jose, at 9.45pm.
The best time to go is really after 9pm, cos the queues will be gone!