2011 Travel Monologue
Happy New Year! I’m still here! This post was written at the end of 2011 so I’m re-writing some parts of it to reflect the present. I’m grateful to God for his provisions and blessings in making these trips possible. I hope that the New Year will bring more blessing and opportunities to experience God’s workmanship.
Harbin, Heilongjiang, China
In January, my dream of going to the far north of China to experience the Ice & Snow Festival became a reality. Together with some friends from the US Embassy, we headed up north for the weekend to freeze ourselves and have a look at the magnificent ice sculptures. We went to the Ice & Snow festival, Sophia’s Cathedral, Harbin Polarland, Sun Island and the Tiger Park.
I thought I was prepared for the freezing temperatures but a couple of minutes outside made me want to go back to Beijing and tell them that the weather there is warm. It was an awesome experience that I want to repeat and hopefully I would be able to do so before I say goodbye to China.
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My Bet for America’s Next Top Model: All-Stars Winner
We are down to three finalist on cycle 17 of America’s Next Top Model and the finale is one day away. The remaining contestants are Lisa D’ Amato, Angelea Preston and Allison Harvard. Who do you think will win and be named the All-Stars winner?
Since the start of the season, I was quite happy to see Allison and Laura back in the competition. You might say, I’m hoping that both of them will be the two finalists for this season. However, since Laura was booted off last week, I’m rooting for Allison. My reasons?
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Movie Review: Real Steel
If you’re one of those boxing fans who watched the Pacquiao vs Marquez fight today, then you would also probably enjoy this movie. Instead of real life fight between two men, this fight is between two robots programmed to give it all without anybody getting hurt, except probably the losing robot’s handler’s pride.
Real Steel is based on the short story “Steel” written by Richard Matheson in 1956. The story was staged in the year 2020, where human boxing is obsolete and were replaced by robots. Charlie Kenton (Hugh Jackman) is a former boxer who travels around the robotic boxing circuit with his robot, Ambush. At a rural fair, Ambush was set to fight against Black Thunder, who happens to be a bull. After making a bet of $20,000 against the promoter, Ricky, Ambush was ambushed by Black Thunder and ultimately destroyed after a moment of cockiness by its handler. Charlie ran away but not before he was informed that his ex-girlfriend passed away and left him with his eleven year old son, Max (Dakota Goyo).
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Hostel Review: Kyoto Hana Hostel
After staying in a hotel in Tokyo for 3 nights, my sister decided that we must experience sleeping in a tatami mat. Since she was in charge of our itinerary, I went along with her choice at Kyoto Hana Hostel.
Location
Kyoto Hana Hostel is located at 229 Azeku-dori St., Kogawa-cho, Shimogyo-ku, Kyoto. A quick 10 minutes walk from the JR Kyoto train station. Once you exit the train station on the Kyoto Tower side, head towards the street (Karasuma-dori) on the right of the Kyoto Tower hotel. Head straight till you reach the first major intersection (Shichijo-dori) with a Lawson supermarket in the corner. Turn right on Shichijo-dori and walk straight till you reach the first alley with an “AU” mobile phone store in the corner. Turn left at the “AU” corner and you’ll see the Kyoto Hana Hostel sign.
In the vicinity, Isetan and Porta at the train station, Starbucks & McDonalds at Kyoto Tower, Higashi Hoganji Temple, Lawson Convenience store and several vending machines.
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Gadget Review: Omron Pedometer HJ-113
Since I can’t decide if I should get a gym membership or not, I searched the web for other ways to lose weight without breaking my bank account. One of the articles which attracted me the most is the “10,000 steps to health” program. The 10,000 steps to health program is literally moving your butt out and aim to get 10,000 steps a day. If you manage to get 10,000 steps a day, you are roughly burning 500 calories a day. In order to track the number of steps I take in a day, I need either a pedometer or a strong memory to count the number of steps I take. Since counting the steps by myself doesn’t give me an accurate reading, I opted to purchase a pedometer. The pedometer I purchased is the Chinese model of Omron Pedometer HJ-113.
The “Look”
The Omron Pedometer HJ-113 is a step-up from the HJ-112 model. They removed the system reset button in the front and placed it in the back with the only option to reset it is by using a pin. In any case, the pedometer itself comes in red/silver color (China) or black/blue color (US). It is 1.3 cm thick, 4.5 cm width and 6.4 cm height. The front of the pedometer includes the screen, setting button (left), mode button (middle) and memory button (right). At the back is the system reset button, battery and the strap connector.
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Airline Review: ANA Wings
From Nagoya, my friend who worked in Japan for 10 years suggested that I take the train. However, since the price difference if I stopped at Nagoya and if I proceed to Tokyo is minimal, I opted to fly all the way to Tokyo. The airlines that was bundled with the ticket I bought is ANA Wings, the regional airline formed on 1 October 2010 by All Nippon Airways.
Fleet and Seating Arrangement
The ANA Wings fleet is composed of Bombardier Dash 8 Q300, Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 and Boeing 737-500. For my Nagoya to Tokyo leg, our aircraft was a Bombardier Dash 8 Q300. It was like stepping back into the early years of flying where the aircraft propeller is exposed in the open in the wings of the aircraft. It makes me wonder if I’m in Japan or not when I saw it. The seats are 2-2.
For my Tokyo to Nagoya leg, the aircraft I flew with was a Boeing 737-500. I can’t recall the seating arrangement but I think it was a 2-3-2. Now this plane is more normal.