The Best Summer Ever, Part II

Part II of the summer did not disappoint. And is it actually over? What a shame, because it's been a great break. It's hard to imagine that this life of leisure will be over soon, and the last eight weeks will only be a memory. So, Part II...
ALASKA. Say it like you just discovered it, because that's how it feels when you're there. The Lokhorst family celebrated my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary on an Alaskan cruise, and what a celebration it was. It was wonderful to spend so much time with family that I don't see very often. The main highlight was family. Other highlights include:
- Touring the Tracy Arm on our cruise ship -

- Hiking in Skagway with Beth, Dan, Jon and Dave -

- Glacier Viewing -

-Visiting the smallest desert in the world in the Yukon-

-Repelling in Ketchikan-

-Walking on deck for Cancer-

-Dining-

-Seeing orcas - finally!- but no photographic proof so you will have to take my word for it-

-Sing alongs at the Ocean Bar-

An Alaskan cruise is a bit of a teaser, and I'd really like to return and spend more time camping and hiking, especially around Ketchikan, my favorite port. It was cold, but I was prepared and the weather was not an issue. It can also be quite foggy on this cruise, but I'm happy to report that the fog lifted when it mattered the most, in terms of scenery.

When the cruise was over I had one day in Vancouver, spent mostly with family, and the following day I was on my way to Hong Kong. Why? To visit the amazing Laura Sirtonski! Who lives there teaching English! To children! With drama! Teaching drama and English to children! My dear friend was in between contracts and had time to show me around the city and surrounding areas she has grown to love.
She made sure that I experienced Cantonese cuisine, and as soon as I got there we went for dinner. The following day we went for dim sum, where I tried duck feet for the first and last time in my life. In fact, it may have been the last time I eat Cantonese food. Hong Kong has a lot to offer - great Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese and Korean food, as well as American - so for the rest of the week I generally opted for this instead.

She worked in the afternoon so I hit up the Hong Kong Museum of History, a great place to go at the start of my trip. Were you aware that after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour, they moved on to Hong Kong and blitzed the place? Me neither. I realized very quickly that it would seem that the West is fairly unconcerned with Asia. I felt rather ignorant at times of geography, culture, and history. Is it fair to blame my Western education? Sorry, back to the itinerary. We met up and went for Mexican food around the corner from her house. Laura lives in the hip happenin' neighborhood of Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island, and I adore her urban lifestyle. Actually, I covet it. That night Laura's friend arranged for us to go squid fishing on a fishing boat. When we were done, the fisherman's wife cooked up our catchings for us to eat. This was a very local, non-touristy thing to do and we had a blast sitting in the dark, trying to snag little squid for a snack. Which I didn't eat, still nauseous from the memory of duck feet.

On Sunday we went to Laura's English congregation for church, in the church building only minutes walking distance from her house. The LDS church building is over 10 stories high and includes three chapels, a gym and houses a bunch of branches and wards. It does not include the temple, contrary to popular belief. In the afternoon I accompanied Laura and Alex while they sang a song in the Filipino branch. The membership of that branch is made up almost entirely, if not completely, of female live-in caregivers who have moved to Hong Kong to generate income for their families still living in the Philippines.
In the evening we rode the funicular up the mountain to Victoria Peak, where we had spectacular views of the city, and a great view of the less than illustrious laser show.

On Monday we made an excursion to Lantau Island, which is conveniently accessible by the metro. A great escape from the hub bub of the big city, this peaceful island is home to Big Buddha, the biggest in the world, a monastery and a fantastic beach with no people. One of the best moments of the day was meeting our male travel twins - see photo below. They loved it as much as we did. Our day ended with dinner at California Pizza Kitchen in Times Square and meeting up with friends for dessert.

Laura still had the day off on Tuesday, so we made a trip to Macau, the new Vegas of Asia. After a series of unfortunate events, we arrived in late afternoon on the Turbo Jet ferry and met up with friend Adam who gave us a guided tour of the city. Macau was formerly a Portuguese colony, so all signs have chinese and portuguese on them, and much of the architecture is reminiscent of Europe. In the same area we had gelato that is not to be forgotten soon.


Adam had recently been working as a performer at The Venetian (a replica of The Venetian in Vegas and the largest casino in the world) and got us discount tickets to see Cirque du Soleil in the evening. Adam introduced us to his friends who are in the show and it was very interesting to learn a bit about the "behind the scenes" of Cirque. "Cirque" is what you call Cirque du Soleil when you know people in the biz. I'll be calling it Cirque from now on.
The Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday in Hong Kong are a bit of a blur now. Laura was starting her new job, so I had the days to myself to tour around. I visited a variety of sites and did some shopping. I made Laura dinner and we kicked it like the old days. I went to Central, saw the longest escalator in the world, and ate the best Thai food I've ever had. We went to the Temple Street market one night, where I bought a "purple" "jade" bracelet which turned out to be a "blue" "not jade" bracelet. On our last day together she had the afternoon off so we took a ferry to Cheung Chau, a great little island with a fishing village and a beach. We laid in the shade and swam and ate McDonald's ice cream. I cut my foot up on a rock that I couldn't see in the water, which is so typical of me. I can't remember the last time I made it through a summer without injuring myself. I went to the First Aid shack, and a lifeguard who didn't speak English motioned for me to sit in a chair and put my foot up. He then proceeded to pour mystery fluid from a tupperware container onto my foot, which I was hoping was rubbing alcohol but I guess I'll never know.



For our last night Laura and friend Daniel got their friends together to go to KTV - also known as karaoke!! They rented a little room just for us with a tv, a washroom and food and drink so we would never have to leave. There was a buffet down the hall that we could eat from, and we got free drinks all night. Going to KTV with asians who do it all the time is a treat, because they are so good at it! It was the perfect ending to a great trip in Hong Kong.
My flight from HK to San Francisco was 12 hours, and in San Francisco I had a six hour layover, so I decided to take the train into downtown. I saw more eccentric people during my 3 hours in downtown San Fran than I did the entire time I was in Hong Kong, where the people are generally trying to fit the same mold and individuality seems minimal. But that's just my observation, and I was only there for a week, so what do I know?
Laura was an amazing host, who loves Hong Kong and has embraced all it has to offer, and I consider myself lucky to have a such a great friend. And even luckier that my great friend lives in Hong Kong!


For more photos, check out my picasa album: http://picasaweb.google.ca/jantastic.photos

The Best Summer Ever, Part I

As most of you know, I decided to quit my job at the university to give myself a few months off before school begins (did I tell you I'm going back to school?). July 3rd was my last day of work, and the fun began immediately with a road trip to Calgary with Neha to crash an Indian wedding. But first, let me mention City Chase: Calgary Edition.

In June, Neha and I took on Calgary in our third city chase. We wanted a challenge and we definitely got what we wished for. Our goal was just to finish the race, but unfortunately we were only finishing our 8th checkpoint (out of 10) at the time the course ended. Considering that we were unfamiliar with the city, we still feel like we did well, especially since there were many repeat local competitors that also didn't finish. Highlights of the course included creating a synchronized hip hop dance for judges, wheel chair basketball, shooting guns and riding the c-train. This last photo is of us crossing our own finish line that we made after our three-legged race.




Okay, so back to July, the official start of my official summer. We went back to Calgary again. We went hiking at Mount Norquay to the Cascade Amphitheatre in Banff, and then we went to Neha's friend's engagement party and had a blast.

Next a week was spent in Fort McMurray, and much time was spent eating home-grown strawberries and basking in my parent's glorious backyard. My Uncle Curtis and his family came up for the weekend and we played with his kids, and then we celebrated my dad's birthday on July 13th.

And on July 15th, Karyn and I embarked on a great road trip across the prairie provinces to her cottage at Victoria Beach, Manitoba. Some people scoffed when I told them I was holidaying in Manitoba - scoff away, I had a fantastic trip in a beautiful place and I hope to return someday. First, the road trip. I defy anyone who tells me Saskatchewan is flat - I didn't notice. Only beautiful yellow canola fields and a lot of sky. Shortly after crossing the border into Manitoba, we were mooned by an adolescent in the cab of a truck at 120 km an hour on the transcanada highway. A special welcome to a special province. We camped the night in Brandon, almost froze to death and hit the road early the next morning. The next five days were spent reading, sleeping, kayaking, biking and suntanning on the beautiful beaches of Lake Winnipeg.

I flew back to Edmonton, where I have been since enjoying the new pace of life. It's amazing how busy one can still manage to be even when unemployed. I've really enjoyed being a part of the daytime crowd. I have observed that people drive much slower during the day, and that there seems to be an abudance of senior citizens and very pregnant women.

One last thing - Neha's Sangeet! A party for the bride and the wedding guests from her side of the family. Lots of singing, dancing and eating - my kind of party!

Stay tuned for Part II of this summer...

My Best Friend's Wedding

And this is just the beginning! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you Neha and Sumit, a newly engaged couple embarking on the beginning of their life together. Last weekend I attended their engagement party in Calgary, where they participated in a ceremony and ring exchange. The families exchanged gifts, and this was followed by a buffet dinner, entertainment and a dance. Camellia - my friend from church, and Neha's friend from university - came with me and we dressed up in Indian clothes that Neha lent to us. People almost thought I was Indian, but my snow-like complexion seemed to give me away. Neha looked gorgeous too, and played the part of the bride-to-be very well. It was really fun to be a part of the first of several wedding celebrations to come. But she's not married yet - and we have a few adventures ahead of us still before the wedding in August, so stay tuned! Our third City Chase: Calgary Edition, is on it's way June 6.