Asian Express

Happy 2012!

2012-01-29T22:49:00.000+13:00

It is always great to be back home for New Years. The suns out, jandals on and steaks on the Barbie.
We celebrated New Year's Eve at Richard Dalton's place with a BBQ. Although it is summer, it was raining cats and dogs but yet the barbie still went ahead; we do love our barbies. New Year came and went as we were kicked out of the party at 1:30am due to drunken spillage of drinks. Although funny now, the atmosphere was tense at the time.

A few days later, Mois, Gillies and Grammy went for a 80min drive to Lake Ferry to go camping and swimming. By camping, I meant sleeping in cabins, by swimming, I meant drinking.
All was not lost as we also went for a 3 hour walk to see the Putangirua Pinnacles. I really don't know too much about how they were formed but Wikipedia editors reckon no later than 125,000 years ago. 125,000 years ago! Thats some special number. Oh and scenes from Lord of the Rings were also filmed here.

I'm going skip a week as I'm too lazy to share. Its basically golfing in Taupo, dinner, golf, dinner golf,

The beauty of living in Suburbia is all the amazing walking tracks right on your doorstep. Of late, I've been going for bush walks in search of lookouts. This may all sound lame and boring but its actually very invigorating.

Through bush and around the hills with a sunset, gay yeh? Wrong, Amazing!
Top of the hill at 420m surrounded by boulders, girly eh? Wrong, Epic!
Into the wild and across a creek to see a waterfall, poof aye? Wrong, Brilliant!
Wellington NYE 2011 photos here
Lake Ferry photos here
Taupo photos here
Wellington 2012 photos here

Lower Hutt Waterfall - 8.7 MB

Bec's going wild on Wii

Under Shelter

Before spillage

Life as it is

Yes this is what the whole of NZ looks like

Awesome walk

The Pinnacles

.......

Bonfire

Different Dinner

Different Bonfire

Nakedness

Pro Golfers

Someones Backyard

Dirty Old Men

Dirty old men sitting in the corner

Sunset From The Hills

View from Boulder Hill

Ryan The English Tourist

Niagara Falls

Merry Christmas, time to relax

2011-12-28T13:28:00.003+13:00

Merry Christmas everyone and I am glad Christmas is finally over so I can start enjoying my holidays. Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas; to see the joy of kids faces when they open their presents, visiting friends & family and having a good laugh over expensive alcohol and great food. But its now time to kick back, help mum and dad out around the house, watch some tele and try to enjoy that extra 8 hours in our day. Christmas is all about giving and I even received a gift from New Zealand Police. They sent me a cheque for $120 for going 66 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. Thank you NZ Police.

My camera has been sitting dormant for the last few weeks. I just haven't gotten into the mood of taking pictures; maybe its been the stress of living at home or maybe I have not felt challenged. Either way, not many interesting shots this month.

Mike Bell and I decided to drive up to New Plymouth to visit Tristin and Kirsten. Its been 18 months since I last saw them as I was living in Toronto and they were in London.
The 4 ½ hour drive went by very quickly mainly because Mike and I spent the whole time arguing about stupid shit. We arrived to a feast of chicken tenders with roast vegetables. We chatted the night away and drank Woodstock bourbon and cola. The next day, I felt like I was poisoned by Mike; I could feel the Woodstock swishing inside my belly, I was literally sweating cola and sweetener.
We climbed Rock Paritutu as it's kind of a big deal on the New Plymouth foreshore. The rock is 200m high and somewhat challenging. I had to stop halfway to gag for a bit from Woodstock poisoning.
The 20min climb up was well worth and visit to New Plymouth.

After lunch, Mike, Tristin and I took a bromantic 10km walk across the Waiwhakaiho River and over the new Te Rewa Rewa Bridge also know as the 'Wave Bridge'. We spent the rest of the time sitting around and chillaxing.

Christmas Eve came around and my parents and I went to Buncey's place for a BBQ lunch of pork, Heineken marinated crackling, noodles and finished off with a bottle of Champagne. I gave the kids a large present all wrapped in newspaper with a piece of candy in each layer, when they got to the end, my hour of wrapping skills paid off. Video below.

So yeah, Christmas has all been about visiting people, eating and drinking heaps.
See you all in the New Year.

Sam

Christmas Present - 15.2 MB

Mike all tucked in at 1:30am

Before the Climb

GQ Man of the Year

200m up

Tristen eats like a homeless man

Wave Bridge

Was still about 26 degrees

Real Man Fruit Salad - No apples, its just a filler

Bye guys

Kwayde's new toy

Bunce working hard

Stag Do / Wedding / Sailing

2011-11-26T23:41:00.019+13:00

10 weeks back home and what’s been happening? For one, a lot of golfing, drinking and chilling.
It was Richard Dalton’s stag do on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The 16 of us set out to play 9 holes of golf; we also had a drink cart to ensure everyone was well hydrated. I’ve never really drank beers while playing golf and there’s probably a good reason not to do it. After the 3rd hole, hitting the ball straight was almost impossible. The afternoon ended with sunburnt skin and the evening session was just beginning.

Pub Golf was the game of the evening. What’s that you say? Well its very simple. Each pub we entered, we all had to have the same drink. Each drink is given a par value (for example, a pint of beer would be par 4 which meant you were allowed to have 4 drinks to finish off the pint).

Shot of Tequila – Par 1
Glass of Red Wine – Par 2
Pint of Beer – Par 4
Pint of Guinness – Par 5

Obviously because we were Neanderthals, everyone was gunning to finish their drinks in 1 go. To the untrained eye, I appear skittish and scared of the pint of Guinness but little do they all know that I was water birthed with Guinness and I pee black tar; 1 for me. The night carried on and by about 11pm, we had to send the stag away in a taxi as he was unable to walk.

The following weekend was Dick’s wedding. It was a tossup between flying 1 hour or saving money and driving 5 hours. I opted to fly and boy was I glad I didn’t have to drive home the next day.
The ceremony and reception was at Te Awa Winery in Napier. The outdoor wedding with its peaceful presence surrounded by friends and family was marvellous. The wine was brilliant and with good wine comes good food. They also had an instant photo booth to take silly pictures. At 12am, everyone got kicked out and it was back onto the bus to the hotel.........then it was straight to the pubs to do the funky chicken. 3:30am , lights come on and we get asked to leave, party back at the rooms we go. 5am, people started to drift off. 6am, I was passed out on the couch moments from getting pranked until Richard and Mois relocated me to their room as some turkey stole my bed.

The next day, we were all kicked out of the rooms as all the neighbours complained; some even left in the early hours of the morning. More drinks at the BBQ and a flight back into Wellington to attend the 30th birthday celebration of Rachel Turner, need I say more? I also learnt a new rule; Never wear Purple to a wedding. I am a big fan of purple when wearing a black suit as it offsets the darkness with light and bold colour but it appears everyone else also likes purple even Grandpa's. Never again........

As part of a team building exercise for work, Bunce organised for everyone to go sailing following by the BBQ and drinks. I cannot explain how awesome it was nor do I know the correct terms to use. Let’s say we were sailing at a 45 degree angle, the sea breeze, the clear skies, the hillside and almost collusion made Wellington the best City in New Zealand.
Dalton Wedding photos available here

Sam

Talking Thrash - 8.5 MB
The Departure - 4.6 MB
Here Comes The Bride - 11.4 MB
Here Goes The Bride - 9.4 MB
Here Dance The Bride - 6.6 MB
Sailing Storm - 10.3 MB

Let the games begin

Cameltoe

Shit shot

There always one

More disturbing than embarrassing

The boys looking tough

Scottish

Japan for the night

Pre-wedding jitters

Nah, pre-wedding fun

Waiting with anticipation

I Do

One Happy Family

And it begins

MMMmmmm

Last Call

Back at the Hotel

Gorgeous Archie; the baby not the boy

Jean shorts are back

Ready to sink

I like peace too

Now we're sailing

POW!

The All Blacks Are World Champs!

2011-10-24T21:46:00.040+13:00

As you may or may not know, The All Blacks just won the Rugby World Cup after a 24 year drought since winning the inaugural tournament in 1987; it was a glorious day, night, week, month. The branding of 'Chokers' can now be laid to rest. They beat France in the final winning by just 1 point. Final score 8 - 7. Did they play well? Yes. Did they deserve the win? Yes. Did the All Blacks win the game or did France lose it? I pick the latter.
But lets rewind a few weeks back in time.

Ever since arriving back in New Zealand, I have gone on and on about how amazing Chicago deep dish pizza's are. One Saturday, Mike and I spent 2hrs driving to different supermarkets to buy the ingredients required. The core ingredients needed were:

500gm Mozzarella Cheese
200gm Pepperoni
500gm Italian Sausages
1 x Green Pepper
1 x Red Onion
1 Can Diced Tomatoes
1 Cup Cornmeal
2 Hella awesome guys to make this feast

The end cost of the pizza was over $40NZD but it would easily feed 6 people. It was well worth the cost and time spent making this cheese and meat feast. It would also make a great dish for small dinner parties served with a side of mesclun, cucumber, red onions with pumpkin and sunflower seeds. My book titled 'Soh you like salad' will be released in Fall 2012.

My mate Richard Dalton is getting married in early November and he asked if I could give him a hand one Saturday with some gardening at his parent's place and I happily obliged. Saturday morning came and texts were sent back and forth to ensure we had the correct tools for the job. It was only going to be a small job and wouldn't take more than an hour (so he said). On my arrival, the task was explained to me and expletives were flying left, right and centre. It was impossible to complete the task in one hour and there were 5 of us. It was more landscaping than gardening; move about 20 cubic metres of green waste from the front yard to fill the swimming pool in the rear so it can be top soiled.

We played old school songs and started work. 20mins later, it started to rain and we found cover under a balcony. We were standing there for a good 5mins before Richard asked 'Want a beer?'
It would be rude not to accept the kind offering from the host. We finished our beers and were back in business again. An hour later, the rain paid another visit so off we go under the balcony to take cover and drank more beers then it was back to the grind.
2 hours later, we stumbled upon a beehive in amongst the waste and the smartest idea was to pour petrol on it, light it on fire, watch it burn.............and have beers.
After that session, I was having a hard time pushing the wheel barrow.

Sunday 23rd October, the finals of the Rugby World Cup were to commence at 9:00pm. The plan was to meet at Richard's place at 2pm to have a few beers then head on down to the pub at 5pm to get a good spot for the game. We decided on Mac's Brewery which is conveniently next to the Fan Zone.
The pub was crammed with people both inside and outside, the Fan Zone roared with excitement, the people were impatient lining up (suckers!). We came, we saw, we conquered! Well done All Blacks!
I don't remember recording the last video, although I did look coherent.

Sam

Burn Baby Burn – 14.3 MB

Post World Cup Final 1 – 14.3 MB
Post World Cup Final 2 – 14.2 MB
Post World Cup Final 3 – 14.2 MB

Meat Sweats

Pizza so good Nicole changed into her PJ's

Photo for my recipe book

Well Utilised Pool

70% Completed

Pyromaniacs

Boys admiring the fire

Job Completed

Dirty Smokers

Fan Zone 6:00pm

Fan Zone 8:00pm

Boskovic Wedding and Deportation

2011-09-24T21:39:00.008+12:00

A day after arriving back from Las Vegas, I attended the wedding of my mate Michael Boskovic (he’s Croatian) out in Vaughan about 45mins out of Toronto. Kayla accompanied me so I wouldn’t be a loner. The ceremony was joyful and the food was impressive. Ever since I have known Mike, he always had a sweet tooth. We would eat ice creams during the day or just desserts at lunch. The initial dessert was a vanilla ice cream crepe covered with chocolate sauce then an hour later, the assortment range of pastries, cakes, fruits and fondue covered the table for 10 metres; I was well stuffed.

Time flew and before I knew it, it was time to check out of the hotel (not just any hotel, a Hilton but don’t let the name fool you because it was only $120 CAD and 3 star), one night back in Toronto and fly out the next morning to windy Wellington.

I was back home in time for the start of the Rugby World Cup (Go All Blacks!). I had forgotten how beautiful Wellington is. I am surrounded by hills, coastline and the snow covered mountains are within reach. I left 30 degree Toronto for 10 degree Wellington but that did not stop me from getting out on the golf course.

In New Zealand, I am still somewhat a tourist. Since I’m a local, I tend not to engage in the local activities available to me so the next calm day, Ryan and I rented Kayaks and paddled out to sea. It wasn’t the best of timing as it was cold and windy which made it even harder to paddle but the crisp air and fresh salt water smell was enough to make good of this bad choice.

Bunce shouted me a ticket to the Australia vs. USA game at Westpac Stadium. I had forgotten how great NZ beers were; beer after beer after beer and before we knew it, it was already 6 down and we hadn’t even made it to the Stadium. The seats were great but the atmosphere was a letdown due to the New Zealand Australia Quade Cooper debacle. I am very disappointed at you New Zealand.

Boskovic Wedding photos available here but wait, theres more! New Wellington photos here

Sam

Bride & Groom – 13.2 MB
Hora / Chair Dance – 14.1 MB

Happy Couple

Midnight Fondue

Stabproof vest

It's On!

Massive Storm

Proud Aussie

Damn Head

Good Seats

Drink number 10?

Gangland Chicago and Viva Las Vegas

2011-09-02T20:46:00.047+12:00

Chicago, the land of gangsters and murderers. Johnny Depp portrays the infamous gangster John Dillinger brilliantly in the movie Public Enemies. John Dillinger was gunned down during a gunfight after leaving the Biograph Theatre on July 22, 1934; he was 31 years old.

Chicago has a population of 2.7 million people. It also has famous landmarks like the Sears Tower (now known as the Willis Tower after London-based insurance broker Willis Group Holdings) and is the fifth tallest freestanding structure in the world at 527 metres. The lookout is on the 108th floor; 442 metres above ground.

My mate Martin decided to join me in Chicago from Washington D.C. We stayed at Getaway Hostel which is one of the most modern hostel I have ever stayed in. We purchased a CityPass which gained us entry to the top 5 attractions in Chicago.

The John Hancock Tower was completed in 1970 and famous for its visible X-bracing exterior beams, it has 100 floors, 344 metres tall and the height at the antenna is 457 metres.

The Shedd Aquarium has the largest indoor marine mammal facility in the world with its main tank capacity of 11,000,000 litres. Pacific white-sided dolphin, beluga whales and other interesting mammals made it a fascinating place to visit.

The Field Museum, well it was just crap; don’t bother. It’s just a museum with collection of everything but there wasn’t anything that caught my attention. Its basically competing with the American Museum of Natural History in New York and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C.

The Adler Planetarium & Astronomy Museum is all about space and galaxies. Well it was part of the CityPass so why not........aaaand that’s all.

Chicago is also known for its famous deep dish style pizza. It looks like a quiche but instead of eggs & milk, it is filled with peppers, Italian sausages, onions, lots of cheese and topped off with a layer of tomato paste. Bon appétit.

Chicago is surrounded by a beautiful shoreline, good layers of sand and access to the lake; technically still a beach but to me, if it’s not the ocean, it’s not a beach.

There is also a very well known sculpture called Cloud Gate that you would have seen in movies like Source Code and The Break-Up. It was completed in 2006 and is said to have been inspired by liquid mercury.

Coincidently, my mate Bunce was in Las Vegas for the VMWare Conference so it made sense for me to catch a flight from Chicago to meet him for a few beers. This trip for me was more about R&R (Rest & Recreation). Sitting by the pool, working on my tan and gambling.

A new hotel has also opened up on Las Vegas Boulevard called The Cosmopolitan. The name tells all; modern and lavish to accommodate rich young professionals.

While looking for food, Bunce decides to walk through a set of unmarked doors which took us into a room, down a set of corridors, around the back of the kitchen, up the service lifts, around offices, out to a balcony on the 17th floor, back into the hotel and as he opened the doors, we were greeted with “Hi Guys, what are you looking for?”. Haha, it was brilliant! The security guard was very calm as they must have been watching us for the last 30 minutes.

We also shot machine guns and pistols at the Las Vegas Gun Range. I chose the M16 machine gun and a 9mm Glock pistol. Bunce decided to use the famous Magnum .44 pistol. The sheer power was ridiculous! Check out the videos.

Then it was off to the Pinball Hall of Fame to play machines from the 50’s, quick feed at In and Out Burger and the red eye back into Toronto via Chicago.

Chicago gallery available here. Updated Las Vegas gallery here.

Sam

Shedd Aquarium – 9.4 MB

Cloud Gate – 11.4 MB

Cosmopolitan Hotel – 14.2 MB

Gun Range – 7.4 MB

Sam M16 – 11.4 MB

Bunce M16 – 8.5 MB

Sam Glock – 15.1 MB

Bunce Magnum – 18.9 MB

Sam Magnum – 8 .6 MB

Cloudy view from Hancock Centre

Hancock X-Beam

The Life

Martin and Chicago Pizza

Theatre where John Dillinger was shot

From Sears Tower

Cloud Gate

Chicken and Chips anyone?

Nah! All for me!

After using the shrinking machine in Vegas

Balcony in Cosmopolitan

Yours for $200USD

Bunce ruining his t-shirt

M16 Left / Glock right

Blue Jays and Camping

2011-08-24T06:52:00.005+12:00

I decided to organise a pizza and baseball outing. One of my colleagues literally lives across the street from the skydome so it made sense to have a bite and a few brews at his condo before making our way to the game. Little did I know that a few brews meant 5 shots of jager at 7pm. $12 pints were purchased at the game and post drinks were consumed. Since it was a Wednesday night and Toronto is generally dead on a school night, we then made our way out to the gay village because the gays party every night of the week. It was a fun night but I ended up getting too plastered and losing my wallet and with it went my NZ ID, credit cards and most importantly, my library card. Dumb move.

Canadians love to go camping so Jade organized a trip to Bon Echo Provincial Park 4hrs North-East of Toronto. It is a drive in campsite meaning we load the car up with all our necessities, drive to the camp grounds and carry our items 300metres to the actual campsite.
The site we were allocated was large and hidden. Although you were able to hear other campers partying the night away, you still feel private as not even the camp fire of other campers can be seen in the complete darkness.
The weather was warm and comfortable; this made sleeping a little more pleasant.

Since this was car camping and not real camping, a 6 man tent was used to provide the space for a king; me. Think about it, why would you buy a 2 bedroom house if a 6 bedroom cost the same price? Initially, there were only going to be 3 of us in this massive 6 man tent but due to communication breakdown, we ended up getting cozy with 5. Over the weekend, we ate, drank, went for a trip on a canoe, ate at the beach, drank at the beach.
Only 2 more weeks before I depart the shores of Canada. I am going to miss the winter and great friends I have met during my stay here.
Bon Echo photos are located here

Sam

Blue Jays - 10.7 MB
Camp Sparklers - 10.5 MB
Bambi - 4.8 MB

I don't know these dorks

Boring...

Wrecked after the game

Our Castle

Dinner

Jade Flashing

Food for the racoons

Go Canada

Not a beach

Just water and sand

Flamed Grilled like Burger King

Japanese tourists going to bed

All Snug

Gay Pride / New York / Boston

2011-07-24T15:25:00.013+12:00

Before I start telling you about my time, I would like to rant about the recent bombing and massacre in Norway. Not actually about the event but the article published on stuff.co.nz titled "Bill English condemns attacks". Now I am no wordsmith but I think it translate to "Bill English has strong disapproval of the attacks".......really? honestly? really? The article then starts with

"Acting Prime Minister Bill English has condemned the attacks which have killed more than 80 people in Norway and has cautioned New Zealanders in the country to be safety conscious."

"New Zealand joins other countries in condemning these attacks on innocent people. Our thoughts and condolences are with the people of Norway at this time."

I don't think you can name one country that approves killing innocent people. Maybe I'm just being a dick but I read stuff.co.nz religiously because that is the only thing that connects me to home and reading a stupid article like that which should never have been published, annoyed me. I also don't think the choice of word condemn is appropriate in this situation. Rant over.

Toronto has the biggest gay community in Canada. At the end of the 1 week celebration, the streets shuts down for a parade and parties till daylight. Over 1 million people attended the parade and aftermath. This was my first pride parade so it made sense to spend the day watching the parade and go out drinking after; it was however Sunday. I was dehydrated the next day from too much sun and the hangover didn't help either.

I chose to catch a late 8:00am flight from Toronto to New York but I forgot to take travel time and security into account; I basically had to wake up at 5:00am just to catch an 8:00am flight.
New York is marvellous. It is virtually impossible to do and see everything. There are so many hidden secrets that only locals know about. My three and a half day was jammed packed with activities so by the time I return to my hostel, it was almost impossible to party the night away.
I stayed at 1291 Bed and Breakfast on 55th West and 8th Ave; the location was perfect due to its close proximity to Central Park and Times Square. Due to the fact that New York is a media gold mine, we all already know so much about this tiny island. Locations we have heard about on the radio, attractions we have seen on advertisements, places friends have talked about.
Being there is definitely indescribable. The weather was also stinking hot; you literally sweat as soon as you stepped outside.

Day 1 - Visit up to 86th floor of the Empire State Building to see New York from above. I didn't bother to go to the 102nd floor as visibility was poor and the view would not have been much better due to the summer smog and lack of wind. Spent 5 hours in the American Museum of Natural History. This is where the first Night at the Museum was filmed. Stood in Times Square for the first time in my life to bask in the American advertising propaganda.

Day 2 - Visit to the 67th floor of the Rockefeller Centre, walked down 5th avenue, tried on a watch at the flagship 5 storey Tiffany store, got told it cost $8000USD, walked out empty handed, went into SAK's 5th Avenue, used the washroom; very nice soap, took a speed boat to see the Statue of Liberty, got wet, went out to dinner with a bunch of Aussies and Poms.

Day 3 - Spent 2 hours walking around Central Park, went to the Museum of Modern Art, was only there for 20mins, walked on the Brooklyn Bridge, visited Ground Zero, walked down wall street, touched the charging bull, drank beers with my Italian friend that visited me from Washington D.C., drank more beers with Aussies, Germans, Mexicans, Russians, rode in a limo, managed to get into an R&B club, got the looks from all the gangsters, started grinding with old white lady with bad teeth and frizzy hair, got home at 5am to find Aussie girl crying outside the room; what a day of fun and dramas.

Day 4 - Hangover, went to Century 21; purchased a pair of Lacoste shoes for $40USD, took a 4hr bus to Boston, arrived in Boston, ate a giant calzone in little Italy; only finished half, went for a beer; couldn't understand their accent, went to bed at 3am.

Boston is one of those picturesque cities with a long history. I took a walking tour of the Freedom Trail which leads to 16 significant historic sites and landmarks, tour of Fenway Park; the oldest baseball stadium in America, walked around the prestigious Harvard University then a visit to the Harvard Museum of Natural Art. This museum has a large collection of embalmed birds and mammals.

The weather was also extremely hot and sticky in Boston, the next day was spent laying around in Boston commons and a visit to the Public Garden with a ride on a swan boat; kinda lame but it was a cheap and cheerful experience.
Weather in Toronto is also heating up, a few days ago temperature soared to 38 degrees and 46 on the humidex; it was even hotter than smog covered New York! Walking around was unbearable but nothing a few beers can't fix.
New York photos here
Boston photos here

Lots of love

Sam

Gay Pride - 9.5 MB
Museum of Natural History - 10.6 MB
Ghetto Hostel - 10.4 MB
Times Square Part 1 - 10.7 MB
Brooklyn Bridge - 10.4 MB
Times Square Part 2 - 10.5 MB
Fenway Park - 6.6 MB
Swan Boat - 11.4 MB

Love Pride

Packed!

If Buzz Lightyear was gay

Lez, Gay, Bi, Lez

Street Party

First New York Slice

Famous T-Rex

Don't know where this is

Empire State Building

View from ESB

Central Park from Rockerfeller Centre

The mighty ESB

Sam was here

Jet Boat Ride

KaPOW!

Retards

Retards eating

NY from Central Park

Fucken Tourists

Brooklyn Bridge

Drinks in Ghetto hostel

Love NY

Costume Party

Fenway Park

Falcon Chilling

Boston from across the river

More random people

Boat ride in public garden

Cottage and visit from Eileen

2011-06-30T12:49:00.006+12:00

My colleague justen has a cottage 3 hours North West of Toronto. Cottages to Canadians are Bach's to Kiwis. Whereas our bach is by the ocean, their cottages are by the lake. Although it is beautiful to be by the water and away from the city, lake Ontario is one of the most polluted lakes in Canada. We didn't do much that weekend; ate like pigs and drank like fishes. I also discovered a new Canadian dish; beer can chicken, it involves beer and a chicken. What you basically do is sit the chicken over a can of beer and cook it on the BBQ. You can also purchase purpose built apparatus for this cuisine flare.

My sister Eileen spent 3 weeks in Toronto for work. It was good to see her again. We spent a day on Toronto Island. Toronto Island is situated 2km off the shore. We caught a ferry to the Island, had a picnic, drank wine then hired bikes and rode around. It was actually a very busy 3 weeks since I was going out for dinner and drinks everynight.

We also made a trip 3 hours East to Kingston to attend a house warming of Kayla's mates from Uni days with visits to the prison museum and the very posh Queens University.
Between 1841 to 1844, Kingston was actually the Capital of Canada; cool eh?

June 21st also marks the offical 1st day of Summer. The month of June flew by so quickly, maybe its the better weather.
The next month is going to be even busier with trips to New York, Boston and hopefully Chicago.
Another crappy non-descriptive update. I promise next month will be better

Sam

Toronto Island Bikes - 8.4 MB

Yoko, Aaron and Justen

Polish Vodka is Awesome!

Beer Can Chicken

Kayla keeping warm

Some random night

Picnic on the Island

Life in Toronto

Washington D.C. - First Summer Holiday

2011-05-24T11:57:00.088+12:00

A few of us decided to take a drive down to Niagara one Saturday afternoon to play some poker at Fallsview casino. Niagara itself does not get good reviews from Torontonians; they all reckon it is dirty, small and boring. I on the other hand enjoyed it immensely, it was full of arcades, haunted houses, wax museums and other attractions like the hershey store, lego store and obviously the falls. Seeing the falls (for the 3rd time) on a sunny clear day was mind blowing! The clarity and thunderous sound of the water is still impressive as always. It was a fun day out and about and I could have easily spent the weekend there.

Traveling to America from Canada is very expensive due to the high airport taxes. I spent 3 days in Washington D.C. but did it on the cheap. The Megabus departed Toronto on Thursday night at 10pm and arrived in Washington D.C. at 11am (we were stuck at the border for an hour) It then departed Washington D.C. at 10pm on Sunday night and arrived back in Toronto at 11am ready for a full day of work. Transport cost: $45CAD return. I stayed 2 nights at Capitol View hostel for $90CAD. Although expensive for a hostel, it was very central, clean and the reviews had been great.

Washington is full of well known museums and landmarks. Here are the small list of activities I engaged in:

State of Congress (Capitol Hill) - The original painting of the signing of the Declaration of Independence can be found here along with statues of past presidents. The crypt was built to hold the remains of George Washington but due to his will, he wished to be buried at Mount Venon.
Supreme Court - There were no proceedings on friday so instead, I sat in the public gallery and was given an insight on what the supreme court does and the important people that attends each session.
Library of Congress - This is the largest library collection in the world. It is mainly used by court justice to conduct research before a ruling. The main attraction is the main reading room and open to the public if you are conducting research or an academia. To get into the reading room, I had to go to a different building and provide them with my passport and residential details, fill in an online form and get my photo taken. During the registration, a large sign clearly stated that the main reading is not for tours or visitors. The conversation went like this:

Me: I would like to get a reading card for the main reading room.
Lady: Are you an academia or researcher?
Me: Nope, just want to have a look around.
Lady: Only researchers or academias are allowed in the reading room.
Me: Umm, I'm researching America.
Lady: She looks at me blankly and accepts my passport as identification.

So here I am in the reading room surrounded by bronze statues and good looking extra smart girls that are required to use this library for their research needs.
I on the other hand is reading a book on the war of 1812 and admiring the dome ceiling and paintings.
I also vistied the following sites during my 3 days 30km walk of the City; I kid you not, I don't think I have ever walked so much in my life.
Air and Space Museum, Museum of Natural History, Washington Monument, World war II Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Franklin Roosevelt Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, White House and Georgetown.

I really need to put pen to paper earlier as old age is getting hold of me. Washington D.C. pics are available here.

Sam

Washington Part1 - 15.2 MB
Washington Part2 - 10.6 MB
Lincoln Memorial - 11.4 MB
Jefferson Memorial - 9.6 MB
White House - 9.6 MB

Capitol Hill

Statue of Freedom

I butchered this painting

Supreme Court

Library of Congress

Air & Space Museum

Museum of Natural History

Washington Monument

Lincoln Memorial

No guns allow

The Man

Jefferson Memorial

White House North Side

White House South Side

It is Officially Spring

2011-04-25T13:27:00.015+12:00

March 26th marks the official first day of spring. Now in normal spring conditions, it would probably be 15degrees. No, not in Toronto, the temperature still ranges from 2 to 7 with the occasional days into the double digits. Summer is suppose to be the best here in Toronto; eating, drinking in beer gardens and with more activities going on. I guess it makes sense since Torontonians only get 3 months of warmth a year.

Now I never really understood the joke of cops eating donuts and drinking coffee but I finally got to the bottom of it (I think). Places like Starbucks, Tim Hortons and Second Cup actually want police officers in their shop; this gives them protection should an event occur and in return, coffee and cakes are free for the officers. Good deal eh?

Kayla, Alison and I went tapping for Sap one Saturday afternoon. This is the process when sap is extracted from maple trees, boiled and turned into Maple syrup. 40 litres of pure sap makes 1 litre of maple syrup; what a scam! We got to see the traditional and conventional method of turning sap to syrup. Pure sap has the density of water and basically taste like it too. I bet when the first person said "I'm going to boil this thing we call sap and turn it into a new product called syrup" the whole town laughed. We also went on a very informative tour.

Tour Lady: Now where can you find Maple leaf?
Me: (thinking in my head) On the floor.
Little Boy: On the flag!
Tour Lady: Yes, now where else can we find the Maple leaf?
Little Girl: On the pennie
Tour Lady: Yes!
Us: (walks away)

Canada's national sport was lacrosse before ice hockey took reign. Toronto has one of the best team in the NLL (National Lacrosse League). The average salary for a lacrosse player is around $14,000CAD; this means they are still required to retain their full-time job. Image your teacher turning up to class all bruised because he got into a fight the night before. These are your everyday accountants, builders, bankers who play this sport for the love of it.
The game is fast, high scoring and aggressive. I will be signing up for an introduction course in lacrosse for my next Canadian experience.

About 10 years ago, do you remember watching TV and seeing emo girls in tight shorts skating around in circles whilst trying to push opposing teams out of the rink?
Well, this sport does exist and it wasn't just an act to get girls wearing next to nothing and on roller skates.
Roller derby is a very female dominant sport in Canada and USA; there are currently 31 teams in the Canadian derby girl’s league. It was quite a turn on watching girls roughing it out with one another.
The unique crowd also made the whole event colourful and
entertaining. Hippy mums, bogan dads, alternative, emo, hipster and punk kids.

Everyone has been cosmic bowling. It’s basically bowling with disco lights and trance music. We went one Friday night to show off our mad skills. The night was a failure, tacky music, dive venue, under aged teens drinking; the cops even made it an effort to patrol the venue for intoxicated teens.

Working in the entertainment sector always has it perks and this time it was 4 tickets to the Toronto Marlies game. These semi-professionals work their asses off when their on the ice hoping to be one day called into the Maple Leafs. For a population of 6 million and only 1 first grade NHL team, the Marlies should technically be the B team but like all sporting fixtures, there are always chokers.

Today, we went for an hour and a half drive North to the town of St Jacobs. The St Jacobs farmers market is quite a unique attraction because the town includes the Mennonites community. Mennonites are similar to Amish and Mormons; in regards that they have their own community and a lot will still travel by horse & carriage.
The market is filled with fresh organic produce, homemade cakes, weird arts & crafts and of course fake goods; markets are grand.
We finished the afternoon off with chicken wings at the infamous Morty’s pub; although delicious, the heavy feeling of just a chicken diet is quite unpleasant.

Buncey, Meatloaf, Nicole and FiFi, sorry I couldn't be there to celebrate your oldness.

What an essay, time for a beer

Sam

Cosmic Bowling - 10.4 MB
Roller Girls - 10.5 MB

Checking for Sap

Red Riding Hood Making Syrup

Awesome

Pow!

Actually Pretty Crap

The Girls getting ready

Go Girls Go!

I need a new camera

Crap Photo

Inside St Jacobs Market

I am very Canadian eh

2011-03-27T15:53:00.022+13:00

Another weekend in the cabins with no running water with Tom, Kayla, Jade and Terry. Now this cabin belonged to Terry; he spent the last 3 years building it. The location was very secluded; we had to drive 3hrs East and hike 1 hour in the snow to get to our destination. Since the surrounding land was family owned, there were no signs of civilization. Quiet, peaceful, calm, paranoia. This is Canada and there's nothing more satisfying than clearing snow off beaver ponds and engaging in a bit of ice hockey.

I was also given the opportunity to cut down a 30ft birch tree and yelling "Timber!" as it fell; very satisfying. Great food, great company, epic location.

The AHL (American Hockey League) is one level below the NHL. A lot of players in the NHL would have work their way through the ranks in the AHL. It is still a professional league so their skills and watchability of the games are as high. I managed to score free tickets to this game so we can indulge in watered down beers.

Weekends come and go so it was time to do something scenic 1.5hr west of toronto to the scarborough bluffs. The bluffs are described as a "Geological Wonder" as it spans 14 kilometres alone the shorline of Lake Ontario. The day was a mess due to poor planning and getting lost. Then the worst thing happened; we broke down! Scarborough is so small that there is literally nothing around, the car had to be towed and we were stranded on foot. A taxi would have cost in excess of $100. Luckily we were armed with two hip flasks and started to make our way toward the Bluffs. 3 bums walking down residential streets drinking out of hip flasks and buying cakes from kids trying to fund raise for sickkids.ca. We looked very creepy. At the end of the day, we did not make it to the Bluffs and the journey home took nearly 2 hours.

Yes I have experienced curling and I now have so much respect for the sport. The rules and purpose of the game is very similar to lawn bowls. When throwing the stones down the curling sheet towards the house, you have to spin the stone slightly while trying to keep your balance when pushing off the hacks. Somehow I managed to get a spot for us at a fancy private club; we were by far the youngest and looked out of place. I on the other hand do not own a set of track pants so I opted to wear shorts, little did I know that it was about -5 degrees on the ice!

One of my partners in crime Tom have departed the shores of Canada back to his Home town. He will be dearly missed. Its hard to find people to likes to engage in random stupid activities for no absolute reason.

The next few weeks will include lacrosse, paint balling and maybe cosmic bowling

a plus

Sam

Terry's Cabin Photo Montage- 37.2 MB
Inside Cabin - 15.2 MB
Tree Swing - 8.7 MB
Chopping Tree - 6.7 MB
Goodbye Cabin - 11.5 MB
Hobo Running - 3.8 MB

Pre 1 hour hike to the cabin

Enough food to last a week

Breakfast for the hard working

Beaver pond hockey

Canadian Family

Journey home

Flying Newfie and German

Spirit's still there

Toronto Marlies and Pittsburgh

Tom with Duke

Summer is fast approaching

Mazda Fail!

Hanging out in someones front lawn

Classy Bar in Scarborough

Pro Curler

Pro Nothing

Jade and I sweeping

Winter Fun

2011-02-24T16:15:00.004+13:00

Winter in Canada is supposed to be depressing. It is cold for 6 months of the year. The only way to get out of the winter blues is to constantly keep active during the evenings. Every region would host a winter wonderland to boost the spirit of its residence. So long as you are dressed for the occasion, the cool air is refreshing and welcoming.

I spent 2 nights in a cabin 2hrs north of Toronto. It was an organized trip as part of the Toronto outdoor club. The cabin was rustic with no running water; obviously no showers with an outhouse with no doors. It was my first time cross country skiing and although I picked it up fairly quickly, I was ill prepared for the 10km 4hr route; my legs and arms were in pain. After a break for food, vodka and beers, out we went again for some tubing. The powder was so fresh that each step would bring you at least knee deep in snow.
The next day, we skied another 3km, unsuccessfully went caving since none of us brought flashlights and drove back into Toronto, followed by a nice hot shower and comfort food.

Work has still been extremely busy so the boss tried to bribe us with centre court front row seat tickets to the NBA. I took the offer because I don't think I can ever justify 240CAD if I were to buy it for myself and the fact that the raptors are having a horrible season.

I have also experienced my first public transport breakdown. When in london, tube delays are expected but when the subway in Toronto breaks down, they don't have enough buses to accommodate the people. I guess all their money was spent on snowplows, dump trucks and salt machines. The mood is dark, people are grumpy and aggressive; I on the other hand stand writing this blog with a stupid grin.

I've also been trying to go snowboarding every weekend to improve my elite skills but I walk away from every session with some kind of injury; whether it be sprained wrists, pulled groin or sore chest. The half pipe was the winner, I caught an edge and smashed myself on the hard ice. No gym for 2 more weeks.

To add to the failure list, I met a girl at a Vietnamese restaurant. We will call her 'Pho Girl'. After communicating with Pho Girl for a bit, she picked me up from my place one Saturday at midnight and we went for a drink. The night ended with me trying to steal a kiss....DENIED!
The next day, we went for a movie then chatted away over a beer. Again, the night ended with me trying again for a kiss....DENIED! A week later, Pho Girl asked if I wanted to go night boarding and I kindly accepted. We boarded from 4pm till 9pm then went for a burger and a pint guinness. She dropped me off around midnight and I figured I'll try my luck one final time and.........you guessed it, DENIED!
I think I am in the friend zone. Persistence is the key so I may consider trying again in a few weeks.
Updated Toronto photos here

Sam

Outside Cabin - 11.5 MB
Inside Cabin - 9.6 MB
Pre Ski - 8.6 MB
Post Ski - 11.5 MB
Tobogganing - 4.8 MB
Caving - 7.7 MB

Arrival at the Cabin

First Night

Fresh Powder

Tobogganing

Drinks 1

Drinks 2

Drinks 3

Drinks 4

On to the caves

Wrong Step

Awesome seats

Damn stats people

Happy 2011!

2011-01-30T16:26:00.042+13:00

It has been a month since the last update but a lot has been achieved. Eileen and Noel visited me for 2 weeks over Christmas and New Years. We hired a car and travelled 3500km in 10 days. We engaged in the following activities in each city.

Mont Tremblant - We snowboarded in east Canada's most famous mountain. It was snowing on Christmas day which made the day even more amazing. I however managed to fracture my ribs and till this day, it still hurts.
Quebec City - Another visit to this beautiful and unique city; it was freezing, about -17. That's enough to make anyone hate Canada. Whatever parts of your body that is not covered would freeze and fall off.
Montreal - Although I did live here, there was no way I was going to let them come to Toronto without visiting the most European city in Canada. Eileen kept egging me on to speak French but I kept refusing. So one morning, I decided to speak entirely in French, I walked into a cafe, greeted the waitress and asked for a table for 3. We sat down and she asked if we would like something to drink and gave us the menus, I order drinks and away she went. Eileen turns to me and says "you shouldn’t have spoken French because she gave us French menus". I then embarrassingly asked for English menus. So yeah, speaking French does not always pan out the way you want.
Toronto -We did a lot of tourist activities here; visited the 2nd highest commercial tower in the world, hockey hall of fame museum, the famous St Lawrence markets, celebrated New Years by city hall with about 30,000 people in the freezing cold.
Niagara Falls- Here we actually went behind the falls to see the millions of gallons of water rushing through. The thunderous sound gave you an idea of its strength. Imagine flushing your toilet.........now imagine 1 million toilets flushing at the same time.
Buffalo - We drove to Buffalo, New York to watch the Buffalo Sabres vs. the Boston Bruins. As a gift to Eileen and Noel, I opted for gold rink side seats. At a cost of 180USD per ticket, these are crazy prices for league NHL games and I think national games are cheaper.

Since the departure of Eileen and noel, I've been very busy with work and other activities with my Toronto crew. I watched an NBA game between the Raptors and Pistons, went rock climbing, had dinner parties, went snowboarding at Mt Saint Louis which is 1.5hrs from Toronto and I just got home from snowboarding in western New York. Next week, I will be attending yoga classes, going cross country skiing and spending 2 nights in a cabin with Mother Nature.
Niagara Falls Gallery Here

Till we meet again.

Sam

NHL Buffalo Sabres - 4.8 MB
Snowboard Fail - 3.8 MB
Niagara Falls - 9.5 MB

Noel on Christmas Day

-17 Quebec City

This is a Park

Famous Montreal Smoked Meat

Famous Montreal Poutine

Ready?

Done!

Baller Seats

Face Off

Stanley Cup

Behind the Falls

Its just water

POW!!

NBA

Boarding with Kayla

Snowy December

2010-12-23T17:06:00.006+13:00

It is only December and already snowing. I always thought snow was beautiful but it is actually quite annoying. After walking down the street for 5 minutes, your coat would be covered in snow. If you do not shake off the snow before walking indoors, your coat will be soaked as it is always heated.
Next you have your jeans which obviously aren't waterproof but absorbs water like a sponge. Shoes; they need to be waterproof, full of grip and have protection against salt. Canadians love throwing salt on the pavement to a point when you don’t even know if its snow or salt. Salt will stain and damage your shoes. Also when the snow melts, you will be walking in slush and slipping all over the place. Hair; I like to be well presented and the use of wax is a waste of time because once snow melts, your hair is drenched.
The use of a beanie (or toque here) is required to keep your ears warm as the wind chill are numbing. Some also opt to wear ear muffs but only the ones that goes behind the head because they are the 'In' fashion.

Adapting to life here takes time getting used to because of all the differences:

1) Driving on the right hand side of the road - It will take time getting used to but the hardest part is crossing the roads. Instead of checking your right then your left for traffic, you have to first check your left then your right. There has been countless near misses; especially when trying to cross the road drunk.
2) Spelling – Words like organisation, capitalisation and civilisation are spelt with a z instead of an s. Those are the only words that I can think of right now but there are always time when you spend 5 minutes thinking “Do I spell it with a z or an s?" I don’t want to ask someone because they will think I’m retarded.
3) No level 13 – Every condo you visit in Toronto, you will not find a level 13; it’ll go from 12 to 14 because Canadians are very superstitious about that number.
4) 35 hours a week – Yes people, the work week is only 35 hours! That is on-par with the French. So if you are used to working 8-7, forget about it, try sticking to 8:59am-5:01pm and you see people rushing out of the office.

Eileen and Noel arrives from London tomorrow. They will be spending Christmas and New Years with me. We have hired a car and will be travelling out East to Snowboard in Mont Tremblant then Quebec City, Montreal and back to Toronto. Christmas will be spent on the slopes and we’ll probably have a party for New Years Eve. It’s going to be very busy for the next 6 day. The journey can be viewed here

So I also attended Cineplex’s Christmas work function and the night was great. Good food and all they did was gave away about 40 prizes randomly. The major prize was an LG 60inch LED TV! That would have been awesome to win! Such ballers!
My German and Canadian mate’s got around on Sunday to have our Pre-Christmas dinner. We roasted a chicken, drank beers, ate desserts, built a gingerbread train and watched a movie. Great fun.

Its late and I have just spent 4 hours cleaning up the place to prepare for Eileen’s arrival.

Entrance Camera Tom - 5.7 MB

Ciao
Sam

City Hall from the roof with mulled wine

Snap 1

Snap 2

Snap 3

Snnp 4

Snap 5

Nathan Phillips Square Ice Rink

Lucky Number 13

Meat

Gingerbread Train

FAIL

So good Meat

Meat Meat Meat

Success

Man I am Fat

Halloween and Ottawa

2010-11-22T16:30:00.026+13:00

How is it possible for someone living on the other side of the world but yet have no time whatsoever? Well it goes something like this.
Midweek drinks, movies, pub quiz, comedy shows, shopping, dinners, weekend travels, parties, shows, shopping for winter clothes, planning for Eileens arrival over Christmas, visiting other sites of Toronto, more movies, more drinking.

It was my first Canadian Halloween so I had to get a good costume. Initially I wanted to get a squirrel costume as there are squirrels everywhere in Toronto. Unfortunately it was sold out and I had to opt for my second choice; a skunk. Yes a bit lame but also very warm if we ended up going out. In fact, it was so warm in my costume, I had to take the head gear off every 30mins; was definitely a bad choice. The good thing about it is that I actually bought this costume! Never know I may get freaky and do some role playing......

On Sunday, I was relieved to have a peaceful day mainly because the 6 days leading up to Halloween, we had been out for 4 of those.

Monday night came around and it was my German mate Tom Orrow’s birthday and we went for Korean BBQ. BBQ food and beers go hand in hand. Got home at 1am stumbling through the house while passing out fully clothed. This is starting to become a routine.

Weekend of Nov 12, Tom, Kayla and I drove 6 hours to the Capital City of Ottawa. We decided it stay at Hi-Hostel which was an active jail until 1972. The rooms were actual cells so it was a bit creepy. We arrived at 12am and decided to go out for a few beers and make the most of our time in Ottawa. The province of Ontario is very strict when it comes to liquor licenses, all bars and pubs have to stop selling liquor at 2am but most places will remain open until 3am. For some reason, we managed to get absolutely maggoted in the 2 hours we were out, stumbled around the city then ended up eating Poutine at 3am. Poutine is the dish of Quebec but it is also very popular after a night out on the booze.

The next day was spent sightseeing; Parliament Hill, House of Commons, Canadian War Museum, Samuel de Champlain statue, Rideau Canal (which was disappointing since it was drained due to construction work). We even walked around the University of Ottawa for the hell of it.
Then it was back to the hostel for a tour of the jail where we got to see artefacts, death row. It was also the site of Canada’s last public hanging. Airey eh?

Sunday night and it is good to stay in. This is a pretty boring update as I have forgotten all the funny things that have happened.
Although I did buy a pair of winter boots to prepare myself for the snow blizzards. At $160CAD, it has got to be one of the most unsatisfying purchases of all times! Next on the shopping list are long johns and possibly a pair of ice skates.....?

Halloween photos here
Ottawa photos here

Sam

Welcome Weirdos

Jersey Shore Crew

On the prowl

Meat Galore

Normal Monday Night Boozing

Our Cell

Canal Locks

Parliament

Hitler's Mercedes Limousine

Hanging Chamber

I've lost 2inchs?

Parliament Hill and Canal Locks

Week 3 in Toronto

2010-10-25T10:16:00.003+13:00

Alright all, I have been in Toronto for 3 weeks now and I love it! The people are friendly and polite. It is very multicultural; if you were blindfolded and brought to Toronto, you would not be able to guess where you are. I’m talking black, white, yellow, brown; all the different colours of the racial rainbow.
Diversity goes hand in hand with food, American steaks, Vietnamese beef noodles, Hong Kong duck, Italian pasta, Greek gyros, Indian curries, Irish Nachos. Although the one thing I truly miss (other than KK Malaysia) is baked beans. The Heinz beans here just taste funny and weird.

I have started work at Cineplex, they are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the perks of the job is that I get to watch all movies I want for free! Yes indeed, IMAX, 3D, VIP all the different flavours and I also get to invite a friend but there is a limit. The conversation with my manager went like this.

Manager: You can watch all new releases in VIP leather chairs, 3D movies or at the IMAX theatres all around Canada.
Me: That is awesome, can I bring a friend?
Manager: Yes, your card is valid for you + 1 but there is a limit on the amount of movies you can watch
Me: Oh really, I know it was too good to be true
Manager: You are only allowed to watch 4 movies a day
Me: bahahahahahahahahahaha................
Manager: hehe
Me: bahahahahahahahahahaha................

So yeah, I will make sure I do not exceed my quota of 4 movies a day.

I really can’t remember what I’ve been doing for the past 3 weeks, all I do is go into downtown, take photos and find new places each time. Oh I went to a bar called Panama and it was on the 51st floor with a rooftop terrace. Although not as nice as Las Vegas but definitely was good to have a glass of wine overlooking the city.

Yesterday was the 8th annual zombie walk which I contemplated partaking in but I’m glad I didn’t as it was freezing! The streets were filled with brain eating zombies and hunters. You could definitely see the effort that some people put in whereas others were piss poor. Is it wrong to be turned on by emo looking zombies? I stopped a zombie girl and said “You’re beautiful, let’s go for a beer” she looked at me and thought I was making fun of her and gave me the zombie growl “rraaarrrggghhh”. Emo girls are great.

Weather in Toronto is getting colder every day. Someone said to me last week “You lived through the Wellington winter, skipped the summer and coming to Canada for another winter. What are you doing?”
I never actually thought about that but it made a lot of sense, I’m basically skipping summers! Blah who cares!
Toronto pics available here but I will post the good ones along with zombie videos.

Sam

Dundas Square - 9.5 MB
Zombie Walk 1 - 10.5 MB
Zombie Walk 2 - 2.8 MB
Zombie Walk 3 - 1.7 MB

Dundas Square

Germans and Ontarian

Famous people that did not interest me

Dundas Square at night

Check out the colours

Hot, too bad shes married

One of the best

Wizard of Oz

Not a costume

Quebec City - 402 years young

2010-09-28T14:28:00.035+13:00

Quebec City is the first city to be established in Canada. I made the 2hr journey from Montreal > Quebec using the carpool system. It was unbelievably cheap. The cost was only $19CAD compared to $45CAD on a bus or train.

The drop off location from the carpool was 10km out from old Quebec (Centre-ville), the excitement now begins; trying to find the correct bus into downtown but instead, I just hopped on the first bus. Correct change is required in Quebec Province when using the bus system but I guess the driver knew that I was a tourist when he heard my French so he let me on for free. After 10 mins, I had a hunch that the bus was not going directly into the city. A beautiful Quebecois helped me with directions and even offered to walk me to the old city; what a gem. I asked if she wanted to join me for the drink in the evening and her response was 'I’m having a quiet night with my dog and my husband' Ownage!

For such a small city, there are a lot to see and do because of the historic civilisation and battles that took place. My first meal of the day was at 6:00pm with 2 pints of beer; I was pretty pissed when I left. After 30mins of more strolling, it started raining heavily. I ran into a restaurant to take cover and decided to drink some wine until the weather settled. It was there I meet an old local lady and ended up chatting; 3 glasses of wine later, she offered to show me small local bar with live music. The place was unique, low roof because Frenchman’s were quite short 400 years ago and slightly underground. The great thing about this place was that there were no tourists in sight; all local Quebecois, I felt very privileged. Anyway, ended up leaving after a bottle of wine and stumbling back to the hostel while waking everyone else in the room up.

Day 2 started with a hangover and a visit to the Citadelle, it is a fortress built by the French but was re-enforced with start-shaped walls by the British after they took over in 1745. When the external walls were built, canons were added to point toward the city just in case the French decided to revolt.
Chateau Frontenac is the most photographed hotel in the world. Yeah it was nice but I decided to go the extra step. As the sun was setting, I caught a boat across the river to Levis Island and viewed the bright lights Quebec City from afar. There was also a micro brewery where I drank a pint of local brew and admired the view. More sight-seeing then it was back to the hostel for an organised pub crawl. I pulled a phantom at 3am because I was too hammered to carry on.
Back in Montreal now and only 3 more days before I depart for Toronto. I’m excited and kinda annoyed that I didn’t get the opportunity to live in Montreal. C'est la vie

Sam

Chateau Frontenac

Check out the detailing

View from the sea

Rue de Petit Champlain

Montreal still manages to amaze me

2010-09-17T08:44:00.005+12:00

2 weeks in Montreal now and this city does not get boring: there is always something happening. Although it does get a bit annoying when you have missed out on something because you forgot to research or remind yourself. It is comparable to a small London but more peaceful and calm.
The metro and bus network are very convenient, they also have bikes that you use to ride between each metro.

So one day last week, I armed myself with a metro day pass, a map of the city, my attitude of 'I don't know what's there but I'll take a look' and away I went. My journey can be seen here on google maps.
First destination was Stade olympique (Olympic Stadium) where the 1976 Summer Olympics were held. The stadium is rarely used now due to small structural problems and I would say the ability to fill it with 66,000 people. What makes the stade olympique unique is the inclined tower which measures 175m height and the tallest of its kind in the world. Although it looks pretty cool, it's main purpose is to retract an attach the roof over the stadium.

Next stop was the Montreal Biosphere which is an environmental museum to teach us about environment and what pollution is doing to us blah blah blah. I was only there for 20mins before they closed but I was getting intrigued. Within my proximity was the Montreal Casino, it would be rude of me not to take a walk around and compare it with Las Vegas. Anyway, walked out 30mins later with the wallet $200CAD lighter.
While in the casino, I kept hearing people say 'La Ronde' so onto my trusty map I look to find the place. Ah its very close, only about 3cm on the map and I can walk. Wrong! It was 2km away and the worst part of it was that it closed at 7:00pm; I was there at 7:30pm. La Ronde was an amusement park, it seemed pretty cool from the distance but when I got there, empty, everyone has gone home, not even the cleaners were there.

By this time, I had been walking around for roughly 7hours, I am the man! The night is not over. Travelled to station Mont-Royal as this is the location for hip and groovy restaurants. The neighbourhood was amazing, its like the place you would live and never leave since everything is available for you. The bars and restaurants stretch about 15 blocks. Next was Place des Arts; the performing arts centre. I came to watch the fountain and lights spectacular. Think water shooting from the ground with lights, music, holograms. I briefly recorded a video below. The fountain show was not as good as the one at Bellagio casino but the holography took the cake. The final stop of the night was around station peel in downtown Montreal. This is also where the famous bars are. It is a small section but once you step foot inside this area, you feel the party pumping. I have been dying for a Guiness so went in to a trendy Irish bar and ordered my drink. When in downtown (West) everyone speaks English, you don't even need to say a word of French as this is where all the
foreigners hang out. In the East (where I live), people would speak in French and change when required.

12am, time to catch the last metro. The Gay Village is suppose to be a good place to party, since it was on the way home, I had to stop at Station Beaudry which is bang in the centre and walk home from there.
There were people everywhere and loud music playing but then it got weird. Doormens were wearing bondage gear, seedy old men sitting on park benches, people looking at me like a piece of steak.
By this time, I was about 5 mins from my place, a car pulls up, the driver looks at me and gives me the action with his head for me to follow him. We all know the gesture, its the 'Hey lets go' or 'Hey want me to fuck you in the ass?' It was tempting but I denied the offer. Not more than 2mins later, a differnt car pulls up and gives me the same offer! I mean really?!?! Is it really that easy? The next time I have a shitty old Corolla, I am going to cruise around town, stop beside some girls, not say a word and give the head nod motion.
What a way to end the night!

So I am still unemployed, its good and bad. I am however spending my spare time studying for my microsoft exams so atleast my downtime is not going to waste.
Oh I have also decided to move to Toronto on October 1st as the job market is bigger there. So time is nearly up for me in Montreal but I will still try to make a trip to Quebec City before my departure.
How about those earthquakes and storms back home!?!

Sam

Fountain Show 1 - 10.0 MB
Fountain Show 2 - 8.9 MB

Stade Olympique

Biosphere

Old Montreal

Montreal Summer is sticky

2010-09-04T19:01:00.011+12:00

2 weeks of travelling really takes a toll on your body. Since my arrival in Montreal, I have been sleeping alot. Maybe its the 30°C days or maybe the 25°C nights. I am also feeling a little homesick but I know its just a phase that I'll overcome.

Anyway, I flew premium economy from Wellington to Los Angeles and this is probably the only way people should be flying. The flight was peaceful, relaxing and also spacious. The food also did not taste like cardboard. Los Angeles was cool, VIP experience at Universal Studios was fully worth it. We also got to walk onto the set of the TV comedy "Parenthood". I was in Los Angeles with Chris and Cher and I think we did pretty well covering all the attractions in LA. Stayed on Sunset Strip, visited Hollywood Boulevard Walk of Fame, Santa Monica Pier, Staples Center, Venice Beach, eating burgers at Johhny Rockets, eating burgers at Mels Diner, eating shrimps at Bubba Gump, hired a mustang, visited Muholland Drive, saw the Hollywood sign, stalked a few celebrity houses, lunch at The Beverly Hills Hotel, pee at The Beverly Hills Hotel, drove to Las Vegas through Mojave desert.

The drive through the Mojave desert was brilliant, temperature shot to 48°C. Vegas was slightly lower at 43°C but I think we had a few nice days at 35°C. I was in Las Vegas for Eileen's 30th Birthday Party but arrived 2 days earlier. As a surprise, I decided to pick her and her friends up from the airport in a limo. Although cheesy, it put a smile on their face. The Las Vegas strip is over 5 miles long, it is very deceiving due to large surrounding hotels. We also visited the famous club "Ghostbar" on the 55th floor of the Palms hotel then it was to "Rain" to dance the night out. Circus du Soleil "O" was awesome as well. The whole stage was constantly revolving and elevating within the pool. Too bad everyone was too hungover from the night before; the sight of bobbing heads were hillarious.
The helicopter ride over Grand Canyon was breathtaking. Landing at the bottom for lunch gives you a sense of sanity; life is too short to tuck money under your matress.

Montreal is beautiful and everyone is so polite. I'm staying by the Papineau Metro Station. While walking around this area, I notice an influx of sausage, "Thats fine" I say to myself, its probably just an area with tradies since they are all wearing singlets. "Why are people looking at me funny?" thats fine, I'm just good looking with my oversized pecs and calfs. "Why does that guy have his tounge down another guys throat?" thats fine, he was checking his teeth. But then I saw it! How could I have been so blind. It was a male Spa! That totally gave it away, I was in a gay village. In fact, the place is actually called Le Village and it is the 2nd largest gay community in North America.
So I guess this is some of the exciting things to experience if no research has been done before your travels.
Its late and I am still unemployed.
Los Angeles photos here
Las Vegas photos here

Sam

This is what everyone came to see?

Tom Hanks and Zoltar

War of the Worlds Set

Bunce on Jackass prop

Expensive pee

Bunce at 2am

Me at 4am

The arrival

Had to have a cigar on the 55th floor

Daily Pool Party

Hoover Dam

Why is everyone crouching?

Award for Best No Look Shot

Pow Pow

Mister Ed in Vegas?

Trip to Auckland

2010-08-02T22:34:00.075+12:00

What a fun and tiring weekend. 5 of us flew up to Auckland to indulge in food, wine and drink copious amount of alcohol. You can’t put a price on travel and inappropriate fun.

Due to the late flight, we didn’t arrive into Auckland until 9:00pm and because Fiona and Nicole decided to get all pretty so they could go out on the ‘pull’, we didn’t leave the apartment till 10:30pm.
The bar of choice a little Mexican place where we drank different flavour of margaritas. So good.....
Onto the casino next for about an hour until the girlfriends got annoyed.

Saturday morning was brilliant, eating from the farmers market and shopping in the city. By 2pm, it was time to have a sit down and talk about life; yeah right! Warm 2nd floor balcony, bottles of Craggy Range later, we were stumbling back to the apartment; ok maybe just me.
Bottle-o, Kentucky bourbon & coke, supermarket, wine, apartment, drink, drink, drink.

6pm, dinner at Bellota which is a famous tapas bar owned by Peter Gordon. He’s kind of a big deal. The night slowly went downhill as the 3 bottle of wine was brought out. Mike fell off his seat then Ham decided throw a glass of water all over Mike, people in the booth next to us got up and left. As the night went on, others sitting around us slowly got up and left as well. Ah well, it was our night and we will be loud if we want to. Finished the night off with a show at the Comedy club then 8 cheeseburgers from Wendys.

Sunday morning, hangovers, mind blanks, angry Fiona, sorry Ham, rough flight, sleep.

Awesome weekend, less than 3 weeks before I depart New Zealand
Auckland pics Here

Sam

Kids - 9.5 MB
Naked Handstands - 2.8 MB
Taebo? - 7.7 MB

Grrrroooaar

Cool Kids

Mike trying to tell a story

Looking interested

Ham keeping warm

3rd bottle of wine

Is that water all over the wall and your shirt?

Morning after

Fiona very excited

All Blacks vs Ireland in New Plymouth

2010-06-16T06:38:00.032+12:00

Last weekend, The boys and I took a 5 hour drive up to New Plymouth to visit Tristin & Kirsten and to attend the rugby match between The All Blacks and Ireland. Since we were up in farm country, we stopped in at bottle-o to get a 12 pack of 440ml 8% Kentucky Bourbon & Cola. The first can was good but every can after tasted like diesel. It was great to see Tristin and Kirten again before they head off to London for their OE. They prepared us a huge leg of ham for dinner which we demolished throughout the night. A quick overview of the binge drinking night goes as follow; drinks > ham (dinner) > drinks > ham (post match) > drinks > ham (post clubbing).

The game was average we had had crap standing tickets but the most entertaining part of the night was walking home at 3:30am. We all had been drinking for the last 8 hours but meatloaf decided to chase after Ham (This is my mate's name, not a coincident that he had also been eating ham all night). It was raining, cold and very wet; basically a disaster waiting to happen and it did. Meatloaf's leg fell into drain as it was missing the grill, he almost broke his leg. Anyway, he managed to get a great big nugget on his shin and was in pain all weekend. Gutted!

Only 9 weeks before I depart off the shores of New Zealand again.

a bientot

Sam

Pregame - 4.9 MB

At the game1 - 6.7 MB

At the game2 - 7.6 MB

Postgame - 11.5 MB

The boys admiring the guttering

Game Time

Idiot

Sleepover

au revoir mon ami, au revoir

Home Sweet Home

2010-06-09T21:23:00.016+12:00

Settling back in NZ lifestyle has been somewhat good and bad. The good being a job; working with a great group of friends makes the whole 9-5 days so much more enjoyable, visiting friends and family that I has neglected for 2 years and living in this beautiful city. The bad side of it is that I am getting way too comfortable in my surrounding. Everything is just too familiar here; I know where to go for a drink or a meal and where to keep away from. It’s a pretty good life.

I have also recently spent a week in Brisbane visiting friends, relaxing, wining and dining while engaging in minimal activities. What an amazing week it has been. This trip has given me more determination to move back overseas to continue my travels.

Currently, my plan is to move to Montreal, Canada in August 2010. My 12 month working holiday visa has been approved and I am counting down the days before I depart.

So far, my itinerary looks something like this:

August 17, Fly from Wellington to San Francisco
August 20-22, Drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles
August 26, Fly from Los Angeles to Las Vegas
August 31, Fly from Las Vegas to Montreal

The last 5 months have obviously flown by fast. I managed to enrol in night classes for French which I probably only attended 50% of the time, spent a day at the races (horses), watched the semi-finals of the A-league football match between Wellington Phoenix & Perth Glory from the corporate box, had dinner at my bosses whilst getting very hammered on Canadian Club, went to another race day, watched another football match involving Wellington Phoenix, celebrated my dad's 55th birthday and that’s all I can remember as I have the memory of a goldfish.

12 weeks to go!

Sam

Waikanae Bach

Wellington Phoenix

Meatloaf at the Races

Go No. 4

Happy New Year!

2010-01-13T23:31:00.027+13:00

Why is my life so busy? I really don't have a clue. I don't even have time to write this stupid blog that only 2 people read (Mum & Dad). Mais en fait, I recently received a message from an anonymous reader and he/she writes:
'Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!'

That warm message made my day, so I guess its now time to get a book publishing deal. I will call it something lame like all autobiography. Maybe something like 'A boy and his laptop' or even 'The Soh: Born in Singapore, grew up in New Zealand and wants to speak French. A story of someone that probably wants to be a dog'.Back to the story, I arrived back in Wellington on Sunday evening, Monday was spent doing the rounds and meeting people for coffees, lunch and dinners. Tuesday, I was back at work at First NZ Capital. They have always been good to me and I am grateful to be back at work after a 5 month holiday. 2 weeks flew by since it was the Christmas and New Years period. Dinners, drinking and catching up everynight.

Now the schedule gets even more busy. 4 days in Napier for New Years, 6 days in Fiji for a wedding, 4 days in Auckland to see people. Lets briefly talk about New Years.
New Years, beach house in Waimarama, Napier with 28 degree weather. Sipping Gin & Tonic on the 2nd floor balcony a stone throw to the beach and a spit to the swimming pool. This was the good life! Then came New Years Eve, hhhhmmmmm 5 naked males making a whirlpool at 1am under the influence of alcohol. My mate Mike is a tall lanky guy so he decided to surprise Grant with a leap frog. For those that are over 8 years old, a leap frog is when one person infront leans over and another person runs from behind and jumps over the leaned over person while stabilising with their palms on the back of the person. So there goes Mike trying to leap frog Grant with no warning and butt naked. Where this equation goes wrong is that this was a frontal leap frog in the dark. So poor ole Grant managed to get teabagged in the face. Again for those that don't know this, a teabag is when the scrotum of Person 1 slaps the face of Person 2 with enough force to make a nice sounding clap. Beers, beers, beers!

Saturday morning 5am, wake up, drive 30mins to Napier airport, fly 1 hour to Auckland, wait 3 hours, fly another 3 hours to Nadi (Fiji), spent 2 hours catching bus and boat. 6pm, at long last I am finally at the resort on Mana Island. I was in Fiji for the wedding of Chris and Cher. I was surrounded by coconut trees, the sound of the ocean and vodka pineapple slushys. It was a daily routine for the 11am Vodka Slushy followed by a swim, sun, snorkling, sun, swim, sun and dinner. The wedding ceremony was beautiful; soft sand, clear sea and a sunset to tie the knot. What a fantastic place to be. Weddings instantly make you a happier person to see the joy on everyone's face. Bula!

Auckland, lots of catching up, lots of drinking so lets just skip this.

Tonight, I went to get Petrol in my mums 1.5 litre Honda Jazz Sport, it was late and I was just minding my own business and suddenly the Asian guy next me starts talking.

Guy: Honda Jazz, very nice cars.
Me: Thanks, its my mums and its nice.
Guy: What is the Sport version like to drive? We have the 1.3 litre version and we like it a lot.
Me: (I look over at his car and it is a Brand New Merecedes CL55 AMG! My Honda cost $24,000NZD, his Mercedes cost $200,000NZD) That is not a Honda Jazz.
Guy: (Laughs) I actually just bought 5 of these for my company and they are really good for deliveries, the seats fold down and it can fit 18 boxes (uses his fingers to draw imaginary boxes in the air)
Me: Really? I might have to look into it one day
Guy: (Opens my back door and starts showing me how to fold the seats down) See, it folds down flat.
Me: (Puzzled and surprised) Oh right, cheers, well I have to pay now, have a good night.
Very funny night, a bit weird but I guess Wellington is full of Weirdos anyway.
Below are a lot of dumb videos, its amazing how much shit dribbles out of my mouth.
Vid - 5.2 MB

Naked Chefs

Naked Chefs Golfing

Family Dinner

Why do I hang out with retards?

Brilliant!

Beautiful Wedding

Fiji Sunset

Tick Tock Tick Tock

2009-12-01T06:49:00.009+13:00

The last 4 week has been hectic. My last 2 weeks in France involved a lot of partying and travelling to say my goodbyes. We visited the historic village of Larzac where sheeps are bred to make the famous Roquefort blue cheese. We also made time to visit Marseille, Lyon and Barcelona. The people of Barcelona really do know how to party. Even though they start late, they are still going strong at 6am in the morning. The clubs were also amazing; some even compare the club scence to Ibiza. After arriving back in London, we made a boys trip to Prague. Those that have been to Prague will know how cheap everything is and how beautiful the girls are. After Prague, I spent 4 days up in Guisborough to visit McLaren and Walker. I first meet them in Brisbane for New Years 07, then I joined them in Newcastle for New Years 08.

Back home in London now and trying to pack before I depart the shores of England on 8th December. This experience has been amazing. Living in France has given me a first hand view of how the French enjoy life. Living in London gives you thick skin since you have to put up with havoc lifestyle.

The job market in NZ is still pretty slow so I'm still trying to decide whether to move to Australia or try to find a job in NZ. Either way, I'm just going to play it by ear. Not much to say, missing everyone lots and see you all very soon.

Sam

Montpellier Friends

I love Shisha

Larzac

Ice Bar Barcelona

Pouring our own pints

Church of Bones

Time to Face Reality

2009-10-31T07:48:00.000+13:00

Salut! Time is nearly up in this beautiful Country. I have meet some great people and lived life like the French. It is going to be hard stepping back into the lifestyle of working 9-5's.

The language is still very difficult. There is so much to learn and you have to be saying the same word over and over again until your pronunciation is perfect. Unlike English, if you were to miss out a simple two letter word in French, you will be saying something completely different. Studying is hard for me not because I'm useless but mainly because it's not a criteria. We get given homework but if it does not get done, the teachers are not going to mind because we are the ones paying for this. Maybe I need to look into studying French at a University on my return.

Dans 2 semaine, je vais retourne a Londres et apres je depart a Nouvelle Zelande. Je manque Nouvelle Zelande beaucoup.
In 2 weeks, I will be returning to London and after, I will leave for New Zealand, I miss New Zealand a lot.

Last week, we went out for dinner with my Norwegian classmate and his family, bowling, ice-skating and I also visited the aquarium. Activites are unlimited here in Montpellier. It's a shame the weather is too cold for kayaking. I have yet to play golf either but there are about 4 golf courses within 20mins of the city. Still drinking way too much and sitting at a cafe for way too long; ce la vie.
This week saw the release of Michael Jackson's 'This is it!' movie. As a result, 3000 people gathered in place de la comedie to watch dancers pay hommage to MJ with the dance from Thriller. I was unable to squeeze in anywhere so all I could do is take a picture of the crowd.

Alors, ce week-end je ne sais pas quoi faire, peut-etre je vais aller a marseille pour visitie mon ami Stephane mais le train est tres cher.
So, this weekend I don't know what to do, maybe I will go to Marseille to visit my friend Stephane but the trains are very expensive.

Anyway, I'm tired from the French overload and drinking.

See you all soon

Bowling - 5.2 MB
Iceskating 1 - 4.2 MB
Iceskating 2 - 1.9 MB
Iceskating 3 - 3.7 MB
Storm - 4.1 MB
Aquarium 1 - 3.4 MB
Aquarium 2 - 4.2 MB
Aquarium 3 - 2.4 MB

Sam

Bowling with friends and family

American, French, Dutch. They all speak brilliant French

Jellyfish, this was awesome

In Antarctica

Penguins Chilling

Normal Monday Night

Naked Friend

3000 People

Random Trip to Avignon

2009-10-12T09:05:00.008+13:00

coucou! As I stated in my last post, I was going to the train station and buying a ticket somewhere in France. The toss up was between Avignon and Perpignan. Due to all the hype about Avignon, we decided to go there. To our surprise, the journey by train was only 1hr. Avignon is known to be one of most historical places in the world. The Palais des Papes (Palace of the Popes) is one of the many UNESCO World Heritage Site. You will learn a lot of interesting information by simply googling. Another main attraction is Pont Saint-Benezet which is also known as Bridge of Avignon, it was built around 1185. The thing that is unique about this bridge is that it is only half a brige. Due to the constant flooding, the bridge would collapse and get rebuilt over and over again until someone said 'Thats is, no more'.

So while I was checking my email tonight, someone added me to their MSN so I thought 'maybe it could be my long lost brother'. But ofcourse it was someone trying to sell me XXX websites. So as I started saying random stuff, a lightbulb went off in my head. It was an autobot; not a real person. I thought I was wasting their time but infact, they took away 3 minutes of my life. I got school'd. My only excuse is that I just had 6 beers and was about to head out. Ah well, maybe someone will scam me on faecesbook.
Weekend is coming up so I need to find another city to visit. Back to studying.

tchao!

Avignon Garden - 4.5 MB
Frigo - 7.2 MB

Sam

Pont d'Avignon

Palais des Papes

I Love my Life

Can't remember the name

Owned!

Seulement six semaine à aller

2009-10-09T11:53:00.008+13:00

Salut! Well I have been here for 4 weeks now. Life in the slow lane is still amazing but the French language is still hard. I have not made many trips as I am letting the stress from school get to me. So right now, my weekend bag is packed and after class tomorrow (Friday) at approxmiately 1pm, I will be going to the train station, buying a ticket and travelling somewhere in France. Dramas will unfold!

Anyway, I can't quite remember what I have done for the last 4 weeks other than going out everynight. Infact, We go to the same cafe everyday and everynight and they all know us now. Special treatment goes hand in hand and free drinks are a bonus. I even asked for a
t-shirt and they have arranged one for me; I feel special. I also attended another rugby game last weekend because it Was Montpellier vs Toulouse. Ex-All Blacks Byron Kelleher plays for Toulouse and he had a brilliant game. Unfortunately Montpellier got spanked! The score was 0 - 24 within the first 15 mins. Final score Montpellier 12 - Toulouse 30.

I have also met a lot of frenchies in my residence and they all get up to no good. There is also a rugby nut here (whom I went to the last rugby game with) that hangs an All Blacks flag out his window. He is fully french and when we partied in his room, it was just posters of obviously All Blacks! It is actually quite hard to study in this residence as the courtyard is in the centre and all the rooms look down on it so they are constantly talking to me or bringing down beers. The funny thing is when I do need help with my French, I would shout out 'aide, aide, aide' which in english means 'help, help, help'. Someone or even a group would sit with me and explain further. I was sitting in the study room tonight and the security guard sat with me for 2 hours and helped me out with my French homework. He didn't speak English and my French is poor but it must be improving since he managed to get his point across. What I have noticed is that if you are genuinely wanting to improve your French, help comes from all directions.

Its late and it rained today for the first time in 30 days. No just light rain but monsoon style with thunder and constant power cuts. Rain so heavy that we were making paper boats and setting them free on the roads. Fun times. No interesting photos yet but they will come.

Salut!
Sam

Peaceful town Sete

Montpellier est une belle ville

2009-09-15T08:15:00.014+12:00

I have finally made it to France. Not just anywhere; the South! I am studying and living in Montpellier which is in the languedoc-roussillon region. My day consist of 3 hours of French lessons, 5 hours sitting in a cafe and the rest wining, dining and letting loose. Due to the fact that my peers and I have so much free time, we basically do anything we want; go for bike rides, beaches, shopping. Anything and everything under the sun. Even when we don't feel like going out, we would still meet every night, sit outside at bars and people watch all throughout the evening.

Taking a break from work and living in France has probably been the best thing I have done in my life. I experienced an epiphany, things slowed down and allowed me to enjoy the life the way it should be. Yes, I should be saving for a house at my age but when I owned one 3 years ago, I was sad and miserable. Do I really want to jump back on that bandwagon?

Anyway, the French course is hard, it is taught completely in French. Although my French is slowly improving, I am not progressing as fast as I initially thought. Maybe I need to spend less time in cafes and more time at home studying. The first week has been very eventful with 32 degree heat. A group of us went on a 6 hour bike tour and laid at the beach. On Sunday, I went to watch might Montpellier vs Toulon in the French Top 14 (It's Frances version of our Super 14). Rugby fans should know by now that the coach of Toulon is the one and only Tana Umaga who recently signed Jonny Wilkinson. Unfortunaly Sonny Bill Williams did not turn out for Toulon due to surgery on his leg but Jonny Wilkinson played a brilliant game. The match was intense with Toulon leading with a 15 point margin but Montpellier came back fighting and scored a try at 79:53sec. Final score Montpellier 21 - Toulon 20. Montpellier did not win the game, Toulon lost the game. Montpellier missed 5 penalties; they need to invest in someone that can kick an oval ball.

I also made a mistake of getting a haircut here. Trying to explain that I wanted the sides faded short and textured on top is like telling your dog to pour you a pint. Check out the epic fail video. It is uncommon to find someone that actually spoke a bit of English. Retailers would help you out as much as possible but will not know a single word; it's great. For all those that have this idea that living in France will allow you to immerse and pick up the language quicker, WRONG! They don't even want to speak to you. What is the point of having a conversation with someone when all you can say is 'I am from New Zealand, when I get up 8 o'clock, I shower and brush my teeth' or 'I am going for lunch, do you want to join me?' When you do meet a local, all they wants to do is speak English. So what I have been doing instead is hanging out with students that are learning French and we would try to speak completely in French. If someone doesn’t know a word, someone in the group will be able to correct them. Shopping and eating out are also great ways to learn. You tend to move away from text book French and converse using shorthand. Well its 9pm and time for coffee number 7

a bientôt mes amis

Room in Montpellier - 11.1 MB
Bad Haircut - 5.3 MB

Sam

One of many la plage

Montpellier vs Toulon

Italy Excursion

2009-09-03T04:32:00.011+12:00

After an early morning flight from Edinburgh, we were greeted by Eileen and Noel in Pisa. The plans for the next 7 days in Italy were Pisa > Cinque Terre > Venice > Rome. Pisa is small and there is really not much happening in the city. The only attraction is obviously the leaning tower of Pisa. When we got there, all you could see were tourist doing stupid poses as if they were pushing it over. It was funny because EVERYONE was doing it so I decide to unbutton my shirt and started posing like Zoolander making sure there’s a little Asian guy in the background of other peoples photo. But it came to our time to look like dorks and away we went to devise a plan to make it look good; it wasn't. 3hrs later, we were back on the train heading to Cinque Terre.

Cinque Terre translates to 'The 5 Terraces'. 5 terraces, 5 towns, 5 locations. Each town had their own unique touch; some are known for their restaurants others for the beach. We stayed in Vernazza which was known for its nightlife and partying we did. You can access each town by catching a train which cost €1.40 else you could take nice mountain treks around and through the hills. We only managed to hike between 3 terraces as Cinque Terre was all about leisure.
The walk still took us 3 hrs. Diet of fresh seafood, pizza, pasta washed down with Italian beers and wine. The 3 nights flew by without notice. Cinque Terre is very well known to the Italians and it has yet to be discovered by tourist. You can have fun without hearing loud geezers. Next stop, Venice.

Now what more can I say about Venice. The word 'Venice' is amazing on its own. It is beautiful and romantic but with not much to offer. Don't get me wrong, it's a great place but theres really not much there. All the shops are the same; they all sell venetian masks and silly glass things. Venice is not complete with a ride on the gondola's. I was sceptical at first but after seeing Venice from sea level really gave you a sense of freedom and pleasure. It was 8pm and there were 7 of us in the group, everyone was fluffing around not knowing where to eat or what to buy. While Noel and I dragged our feet, we came across a stall that sold cocktail. While we were watching the cocktail getting made, I started to give the bartender a bit of crap saying stuff like 'It better not be water, I'm watching you', all the regulars started to give him shit as well and the drinking began. Drinks were on the house because the bartenders were all hammered; no one cared, it was as if only friends drank at this little 3m x 2m stall. When the cocktail stall closed, we walked 5mins to the next stall (it was a chain) and kept drinking. The night was blurry and the next morning was even worst. What a night to remember (or not). 2 nights down and off we went to Rome.

Everyone knows Rome, even if you haven't been there, you know that the Sistine Chapel is there along with St Peter's Basilica, Colosseum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain. There was a lot to cover in 2 days. I don't think I need to go into the details but every landmark was astonishing. A picture tells a thousand words. After 5 nights of pizza and pasta, I ate kebabs for lunch and dinner for 2 days. It was good to get some meat in me. The weather in Italy was around 35 degrees; a bit too hot for my liking. The Sistine Chapel has a no talking, keep moving, no photos policy but on this occasion they allowed it. It was madness; Flashes going off everywhere! Back home in London now where I will spend 1 weeks packing and relaxing before I fly out to Montpellier to start my French lessons. Let's hope I can cope.

Cinque Terre - 5.7 MB
Drunk Venice - 5.5 MB
St Peters - 3.3 MB

Sam

Stupid Pose

Vernazza Beach

During our Trek

Venice

Rialto Bridge at night

Calm.......

The Party Beings

Spanish Steps

Trevi Fountain

Pantheon

Creation of Adam

Outside St Peters Basilica

Mighty Colosseum

Scotland Road Trip

2009-08-24T07:23:00.012+12:00

Friday 14th August was my last day at work. The next day, I flew into Edinburgh to embark on my journey. There were 5 of us on this trip and I was again the 5th wheel. The 6 day journey took us from Edinburgh > Dumbarton > Glasgow > Fort Williams > Isle of Skye > Loch Ness > Inverness > Dufftown > Aberdeen > Stirling > Edinburgh. Google journey can be viewed here

The landscape is beautiful like New Zealand but on a much bigger scale. We visited so many castles that I am actually having trouble with their names. I learned a new acronym from a local in Scotland also known as 'ABC'

Another
Bloody
Castle

That can also be translated into Another Bloody Cathedral.

We also visited 3 Whisky Distilleries; Glenfarclas, Macallan and Glenfiddich. Basically drank alot of whisky on this trip mainly because most do not get exported to other parts of the world. The tour of Glenfiddich was full of interesting information. Glenfiddich whiskey is distilled using only a single source of spring water from the Robbie Dhu spring. This process is so important to them that they purchased 1200 acres of land surrounding its nearby hills to ensure the spring water stays pure.

Stirling Castle is also a historic milestone of Scotland. Many important events are associated to Stirling Castle in some form of way. In 1297, William Wallace defeated the English for The Battle of Stirling Bridge. The castle was well built with numerous external walls. The displays by the castle curator gave you a sense of all of previous kings and made you feel as if you were living in the 12th/13th century.

While in Edinburgh, we were blessed with the presence of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The city was full of joy and excitment. The Architecture and vibrant city lead my eyes into a trance. There were so much to see but yet so little time. Early lights out as we flew off to Pisa the next morning.

Sam

Chilling at Isle of Skye

Loch Ness

Glenfiddich Distillery

Dunnottar Castle

Awesome Edinburgh

Portugal Road Trip

2009-07-30T02:59:00.015+12:00

Winter is slowly approaching and it was time for another holiday. Eileen, Noel, Juno (Eileen's mate) and I set off on a mini road trip from Faro > Albufeira > Lagos > Lisbon. Google journey can be viewed here

Flying with Eileen always involves some kind of airport drama. When we were going through Passport Control at London Gatwick (returning from Krakow), the lady asked Eileen if she have had any trouble with her Work Visa, Eileen said 'No'. eeeegghhhh wrong answer, her visa actually got declined as she did not provide correct bank statements. So the Passport Control lady told her that it is an offence to lie, blah blah blah and Eileen told her she did not classify it as 'trouble'. But anyway, we had to wait an hour for her supervisor. What dramas!

We were all queueing up to go through the security gates when she noticed she had picked up Noel's NZ passport. He has dual citizenship (British and NZ) but he travelled into the UK with his British passport. That means, when we return to London, Passport Control will ask if he has an entry visa as there are no traces of a holidaying visa or entry visa on his NZ passport. Infact his NZ passport was blank! What a mess! Off they went to talk to immigration officers about their options. They were given the green light and 2hrs 40mins later, we were in Faro.

It was 1am by the time we got to the hotel but the night was still young so out we went to roam the streets. Alcohol was dirt cheap in Portugal, although not as cheap as Krakow but cheap enough to live like a king.The next morning we drove through the coastal beach town of Albufeira. The beach was beautiful but the town was flooded with tourist and mainly English tourist. It just makes the place feel dirty. You want to walk around the peaceful but all you hear are loud geezers. Meh, back on the road to our resort in Lagos. It was around 35 degrees with a few hours of 40’s. The golden beach with clear water was impressive. After 2 hours in the sun, it became unbearable. We then hired a boat around and within the coves. Portugal is very well known for its seafood. Every night, we would be eating some sort of fish and crustacean.

Lisbon also has a lively night life. The main city is built on the flats and everything else is elevated. If you feel fit, you can walk but locals generally take the trams or the Santa Justa Elevator. We decided to party at Bairro Alto; very well known for its bars, restaurants and fado music. This trip was all about drinking, eating, drinking and more eating.What an awesome country!

Colourful Albufeira - 5.3 MB
Lagos Cove - 3.7 MB

Sam

3am Pizza

Colourful marine in Albufeira

Lagos Coves

Partying in Bairro Alto

Morish Castle in Centro

Krakow, Poland

2009-06-29T03:05:00.019+12:00

I have always wanted to visit Poland. There was never a particular City I wanted to visit but going to Poland was always a ‘must do’ on my list. I’m not sure why? I don’t speak Polish, know the history nor know what Pol’s eat but Poland has always been on my mind. Maybe it’s the ‘what ifs’. What if I enjoy the City? What if I like the Polish language? What if the people appeal to me so much that I would want to live there one day?

It was only Eileen and I on this trip. First trip was out to the Auschwitz Concentration Camps; the largest of Nazi Germany's camps. The place was Airy, soulless and with a feeling of enmity.
The number of deaths at this camp is known to be around 1.3 million and of that, 1.1 million were Jews. We were unable to take any photos inside mainly as a sign of respect. But obviously you will always have disrespectful tourist snapping away so they can show it off to their friends as a sense of achivement......

The gas chamber was gloomy, we learnt about how people were tricked into going into the gas chamber at their own will. The firing line, different torture methods were also explained.
It is hard to list everything, it is the kind of place that you really have to visit to understand the affliction.

Next stop was the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It was only in 1996 that mining was discontinued. The mine has a depth of 327 metres with paths exceeding 300km. We were only able to get as far as 135 metres though. Miners would live down there for years at a time and eating nothing but salt. They weren't allow to bring any kind of food down there as it may attract vermins. Numerous sculptures were also created by these miners. Their talent would make todays artist look like little school kids.

Deep inside the mines, an aura shines toward you as you approach St. Kinga's Chapel. Yes a chapel sculpted by miners! It is 18 metres wide, 10 metres high and stretches for 54 metres.
The surrounding walls are covered with historical and biblical carvings. Being in that room really makes you wonder 'What have I done with my life?'
There was so much to see. Check out this link for more information.

Even though Krakow is part of the European Union, they are still using their own currency. £1 = 5 polish zloty. Beer is 4 zloty, steak is 16 zloty. We ate and drank like Kings! The city is lively during the day with plenty of entertainment during the evenings. Yes, Krakow does have a past that we would like to forget but the city still radiates with joy. I will be back, oh yes........I will be back.

Sam

Eros Bendato Head

St. Mary's church from afar

Auschwitz

Auschwitz II/Birkenau

St. Kinga's Chapel

Windsor Castle

2009-06-17T02:56:00.008+12:00

A beautiful day in the heatwave of London to make a trip out to Windsor Castle.
The castle is known to be the oldest and largest occupied castle in the world. The Queen even lives here; check that out. Within the castle, stands Queen Mary's Doll House. This monstrous building is hardly for kids to play with. It stands over 2 metres high and with fully working electricity and plumbing; Imagine that!! Being able to flush the toilet and wash your hands!

The rest of Windsor was also very relaxing with restaurants, cafes, boutique shops topped off with a river running past the city. This is a place for the rich & famous.

There’s not much more I can say about Windsor. It is so close to London but not London; now that is a bonus. Off to Krakow in a few weeks so hopefully I will have more to share.

Castle Guards - 5.9 MB

Sam

Secured Area

Walls

More Walls

Crooked House

City of Lights – Paris

2009-06-03T10:21:00.010+12:00

The beautiful Jacqui arrived at my work on Friday morning at 10am. After flying in from Cyprus and only having 1 hour sleep, she was pretty knackered. I took the rest of the day off work so she could rest up before we caught the Eurostar train to Paris.
11:30pm - we have finally arrived in the City of Lights. Not just in Paris but at the Eiffel Tower (pronounced e-fil) where we watched it glow and sparkle. After taking about 100 photos, it was time to get a late snack and hit the hay as the next few days were all go, we purchase a 2 day museum pass and 3 day hop on/off bus tour with river cruise. Clock out time 3am.

8am Saturday morning, all I could hear was a broken record playing ‘Get up, get up’ with the occasional ‘Get up Soh’; I guess it was time to get up. The weather was beautiful all weekend, a bit chilly in the morning but once the sun was at its peak, it was a beaut.
The first sight was Place de la Bastille where the July Column stands. Next was Museum Rodin to view the famous sculpture of The Thinker and The Kiss. Then it was off for an English tour at Museum d'Orsay which was originally a railway station/gallery and was fully converted into a museum in 1986 with paintings by Claude Monet, Édouard Manet and Alexandre Cabanel’s oil canvas of ‘The Birth of Venus’
Next stop; the gothic cathedral of Notre Dame. The 300 man queue was too long so Jacqui wanders to the empty exit, totally oblivious and walks in. Voila, no queues.
A quick stop for delicious ice-cream and it was off to the shopping and restaurant district of Champs-Élysées with a quick photo stop at Pont de la Concorde and Hittorff’s Fountain. Quick stop for dinner then it was down the Avenue des Champs-Élysées where the Arc de Triomphe emerges as the powerhouse. We climbed up 284 steps in the triumphal arch to view Paris from above including an astonishing view of the Eiffel. By the time we got back to the hotel and showered, it was 12:30am! What a day it has been, off we went to the bar for a quick drink and clocking out at 2am.

8am Sunday morning, the same broken record was again playing ‘Get up, get up……….Get up Soh’, day 2 here we come. The Louvre Museum was the first stop. The large glass and metal pyramids cannot be missed. Obviously the main attraction was Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa but it also included full range of paintings, sculptures, artefacts. One of my favourite was a sculpture titled 'Hermaphrodite Endormi'. I know what you are thinking 'What a sicko' you say. No, the sculpture was peaceful with fine detailing of her hair, sheets and cushion. For those that have never been to the Louvre, to give you an idea of how big it is, we spent 4 hours in there and we were actually rushing through most of it.

Quick break for Lunch, people watching, back to the hotel to get changed then it was back out to the Sacre Coeur Basilica. Unfortunately, we were unable to enter due to a service so we decided to climb it. Again Jacqui goes wandering off and finds the exit so off we went up the exit. Climbing the spiral stairs 83 metres up nearly made me throw up as it was very narrow. Since it was the exit, people were also coming down and basically telling us off as it was the only exit.
We tried to attend a show at Moulin Rouge but the next show was too late and we were already running out of time in Paris. Off for some fine dining and bottle of wine. Jacqui + wine + extra large crème brulee = 5 year old about to vomit. Dinner was going well until Jacqui decides to order the largest single serving of crème brulee I have ever seen. No human can finish this and not throw up, no no no not Jacqui, she was determined to finish the whole lot. On the way home, she was prancing around then “I feel sick” more prancing and more “I feel bad”. None the less, it was very entertaining for me. Another 2am clock out with Jacqui trying to throw up in the middle of the night.

8:30am Monday morning, ‘Get up, get up ……….Get up Soh’, aarrrgghhh Déjà vu all over again. Check out and race to the top of the Eiffel Tower. We climbed 695 steps to the second level, lift to the third level and another 15 steps to the observatory deck. This weekend is really making us fit. The view from 276 metres will never be the same after viewing Paris from the Eiffel. Standing in the cool breeze toasting our glass of €15 Rose Champagne. There is a moment and time for everything; I took Jacqui’s hand and got on one knee…………….she laughed, ah well moving along.
Lunch at Laduree which is the birth place of macaron. These tiny cakes with explosive flavours are to die for.
Eurostar back into London and passing out at 3:30am then getting up at 7am for work. I am spent.
Paris gallery can be viewed here

Eiffel at night - 3.1 MB
Museum d'Orsay - 4.6 MB
Notre Dame queue - 5.3 MB
Arc de Triomphe 1 - 4.8 MB
Arc de Triomphe 2 - 6.9 MB
Paris High Quality - 24.9 MB
Paris Low Quality - 9.6MB

Sam

Eiffel at night

Notre Dame Jax

The Kiss

Triumphal Arch

Pose

Trocadero from Eiffel

Dunny’s Birthday – Bristol

2009-05-27T09:12:00.007+12:00

Another trip West, this time it was to celebrate the birthday of Chris Dunstan. The sun was out, steaks on the Barbie, chilled beers in hand; what a day! Then it was off to enjoy the night life of Bristol. First stop was a bar overlooking the Clifton suspension bridge. I had a moment here………………yes very gay but it was amazing just being there drinking Guinness. Second stop was a magic bar where you can enjoy a free magic show. After more beers, we went to a night club called Oceania. This place was huge and divided into 4 sections. R&B, Pop, Lounge and space cake music. The vibe was not there so off we went for a late night curry at 1am with slurred speech and everyone looking like a train wreck.
Next day was spent laying around at a park; playing Frisbee, football and throwing around a Nerf . We also managed to watch Middleborough vs West Ham at a pub. Middleborough lost and got relegated into the Champions league for next year. It was quite a funny sight watching grown men cry.
Back home in London now and relaxing before I’m off to Paris in 3 days. Jacqui from Brisbane is in Europe visiting family. So I couldn’t say no when she wanted to make a trip to Paris. Besides, I’m moving there in 3 months, yet in the 10 months I have been in London, I still have not made a trip there. Should be an amazing trip to the City of Lights.
Extended Bristol gallery can be viewed here

Rock Band Idol - 3.6 MB

Sam

Boys will be boys

6 pints and going strong

Wrecked!

Lake District

2009-05-06T08:32:00.001+12:00

So for the long weekend break, we drove 5 hours North-West to the Lake District. The Lake District is kind of a big deal in England. It’s like the Lake Taupo of England. On the first day, we visited Wast Water; the water was calm & clear with rugged hills. The next day, we went on a cruise from Windermere to Ambleside. Ambleside is a small town known for its seafood. The Lake District is best known for its range of outdoor activities, due to the bad weather, we were unable to experience it fully. All and all, it was a peaceful weekend away from London with fresh air and extravagant surroundings.
Lake District gallery can be viewed here

Sam

Wast Water

Random town

Arsenal vs Chelsea – Wembley

2009-04-22T10:09:00.009+12:00

If you haven’t been to a premiership football game, you haven’t lived. Eileen won tickets from a charity auction to the sold out FA Cup semi-finals between Arsenal Gunners and Chelsea Blues at Wembley Stadium. Being soaked in the ambience of 88,103 die hard fans is undiluted madness. Even the tube journey to the stadium was enjoyable. Fan’s chanting and singing to represent their colours. Words cannot describe this glorious occasion.
Chelsea 2 - Arsenal 1

FA Cup 1 – 3.8 MB
FA Cup 2 – 2.9 MB

Sam

The Crowd

The Gunners

The Blues

The Lineup

The Biznezz

Cornwall Easter

2009-04-16T08:28:00.020+12:00

Greetings from London where we finally have sun!
Eileen, Noel and I spent Easter in Cornwall District. It is 5hrs drive South-West of London. We stayed in the City of Newquay where the locals are chilled out and laid back. The West coast probably has one of the best beaches in England. The first tourist attraction was the Holywell fun park where we raced karts and played mini-putt. The rental vehicle was probably the ugliest car I have ever seen in my life. It’s like a station wagon but not, like a mini-van but not, it also had uneven windows that didn’t flow. UGLY! Next was St Michael’s Mount which is a tiny, rocky Island with a medieval castle then it was onto Land’s End. This is the most Western part of England with beautiful rocky views. Every year, numerous people travel the 874 miles from Land’s End to John O'Groat; which is the most Northern tip of UK. Whether it is run, bike, drive or even unicycle. I’m a bit lazy to tell more about the trip as we covered so much; pics will be posted instead.
Oh the fish and chips in this region were brilliant. A famous seafood chef by the name of Rick Stein lives in Padstow which we also visited. Everything was fresh and pure. Over the long weekend, we drove about 800 miles.
I’m off to watch Arsenal vs Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley this weekend. Will be an experience of a lifetime.
I have again been denied access to upload videos to google, this has now been transferred to Microsoft SkyDrive.
Cornwall Gallery can be viewed here

Land’s End - 6.1 MB

Sam

Newquay Beach

Sunday Drive

Crappy Skoda

St Michael's Mount

Land's End

Bedruthan Steps - Too close for comfort

Minack Theatre

Padstow

Bruges x 2 and still loving it

2009-04-02T09:38:00.004+13:00

Interconnector sent me to Bruges again for another week. This time it was wet and cold. I decided to stay on over the weekend and Noel made his way over from London. He arrived at 11:30pm and off we went club hopping. I think we managed to visit 6 clubs throughout the 3 hour session. The music was….how do you say it….’Eurotrash’. Trance, dance, happy hardcore playing over cheesy 1980’s pop songs. We also noticed that not many people drink in clubs. Picture 200 partygoers jammed in a small room and we would get served without waiting. Everyone was also drinking coke and fanta. I’m not sure if it’s because we are dealing with a global recession but it was just weird to see a room full of people and only a small handful drinking.

The next day was painful. We managed to get a lot of sights done over the weekend. We hiked up 366 steps in Belfry tower to view Bruges from above, went on the city bus tour, took a canal cruise, visited the basilica of the holy blood and walked everywhere and anyway in the city.

The smoking ban laws do not apply to small restaurants and bars in Belgium. It is actually quite revolting sitting in a small boutique bar and all of a sudden, someone decides to light up a cigarette. Since the bars are not very well ventilated, the smoke just lingers and drifts around the room. Yuck!
Updated photos from Bruges can be viewed here

Belfry Tower – 3.9 MB

Sam

View from above

Burg Square and Belfry

Canal cruise

Green Bristol

2009-03-18T04:12:00.008+13:00

4 weeks has flown by and Eileen wanted to visit Bristol since we didn't get a chance during our last trip. Bristol is a very artistic and modern city. We walked on the Clifton suspension bridge. This bridge was completed in 1864 but took 35 years to complete; from design to construction. Bristol is also one of the greenest cities in England; the view from above is somewhat breathtaking.

What I have also noticed about Bristol is that the girls here are relatively short and attractive. Now when I say short, I don’t mean 4ft tubby and with double chins. Was actually quite funny as I am not used to seeing eye to eye with another female.

I am up in Norwich again this week for work. It is always good to get away from the hustle and bustle of London. My boss is a Bristish-Nigerian who enjoys a lot of Banter so this definitely makes my trip more enjoyable. We have been staying in North Walsham which is about 45mins out from Norwich central. Picture a ghost town with hoodlums and girls with no front teeth. I have also been told that this region is still quite racist. Okay, maybe racist is not very PC, let’s say they are more culturally oblivious. I thought the weird looks were because I was in a suit in farmland but I guess it’s a mixture of both. I get back to London on Friday night then I’m off to Bruges, Belgium for a week.

Eileen got her visa extension declined due to an error in the bank statements; for that reason, we have postponed Portugal and Poland. In a way, I kinda preferred this as living out of hotels for 2 weeks makes you appreciate your home (bed, crap shower, homemade food). Eileen’s partner Noel will be joining me for a weekend in Bruges; I can see a messy weekend ahead.

Its late and the hotel smells of cats (I’m allergic to cats!)

Sam

Typical Saturday night

Suspension Bridge

Famous Banksy graffiti

Roman Bath

2009-02-17T12:58:00.009+13:00

Eileen, Jen and I spent last weekend in Bath. It is a small town 15mins by train out of Bristol and known for its thermal spas, stonehenge and history of Romans and Georgians. Although we did not get to check out the Stonehenge, we did spend a lot of time taking tours around the town.
Since it was Valentines Day, the town was busier than usual with guys treating their partners for a romantic weekend.

The Roman Baths were spectacular! Obviously it is no longer operational but the museum did their best to preserve what’s left and provided models & computer graphics to better describe the ancient grounds.
If the baths are around today, it would only be to accommodate to the rich and famous. The range of different pampering approaches really gave you a better understanding of how the Romans unwind.

We also took a dip in the thermal spas which was overrated. The steam rooms were very relaxing; 4 rooms each with a different scent. I got an ear infection from the baths which left me deaf for 2 weeks. I’m off to Krakow, Poland in 4 weeks and probably Bruges again in 3 weeks. Yes it is a hard life when work sends you to Europe. Only about 6 more months before I move to Paris.
Bath gallery can be viewed here

Bath - 4.5 MB

au revoir

Sam

Bath Abbey

Main Bath

Wishing Well (Spa)

Royal Crescent

Quiet January and Waitangi Day Pub Crawl

2009-02-10T10:56:00.008+13:00

Sorry to the 3 people that actually read this blog; I’m fat and lazy to give updates. January has been very low key, I managed to detox for 22 days without drinking a single drop of alcohol. It was probably the hardest time in my life.
It snowed in London last week. It was the biggest snowfall in 18 years. London is so dependant on its public transport system that the whole city came to a halt. Buses were not running, tubes were down and even the overland was having difficulties. No one was able to get to work and for the few that actually got to work, they had to leave or they wouldn’t have been able to make it home.

McLaren and Walker were down in London last weekend and it was perfectly timed as the 2009 Waitangi Day Pub Crawl was about to kick off. We arrived in Notting Hill Gate at 11:00am and cracked open uor first beer. Due to the sheer madness, it was virtually impossible to get into any pubs. There were people everywhere causing havoc to London; traffic came to a standstill!
People were dressed up and having a good time. There were people dressed as the iconic bumble bee, sheep’s, cricket and rugby teams. Streets were getting blocked off to play a bit of cricket and rugby balls were getting kicked around without care of their surroundings. Tumeke!

I did not get to see the haka as it was totally packed at Westminster Square. That’s all for now. I’m off to Bath/Bristol this weekend so will hopefully be able to take some nice photos.
Google won't allow me to upload video's to my web album so I had to upload to their version of youtube.
Waitangi Day gallery can be viewed here

Snow in London – 4.8 MB
Waitangi Day Part 1 – 4.9 MB
Waitangi Day Part 2 – 4.5 MB
Waitangi Day Part 3 – 4.8 MB

Sam

Rubbish Snowman

Weirdos

McLaren and Walker

Quiet space

Newcastle NYE 2008

2009-01-08T13:21:00.011+13:00

The first time I met Matt McLaren and Sam Walker was at Lynchy’s party on New Years Eve 2007. They have since moved back to Guisborough, England and invited me to join them in Newcastle for a New Years Eve party. On the way to Newcastle, we stopped by the Angel of the North; this angel like steel statue was 20 metres tall with wingspan of 54 metres! It was monstrous!
During our visit in Newcastle, we checked out an exhibition by Yoko Ono, Gateshead Millennium Bridge and a few pubs before arriving at the party. It was quite a good turnout with around 50 party goers. Half of us slept there so there were bodies everywhere; kitchen, floors and wardrobe. Good times.

During my stay in Guisborough, we travelled to Whitby; the town that drew inspiration to Bram Stoker for Dracula. It is also where Captain James Cook’s began training as a seaman. Whitby is also famous for its Fish & Chips; some say it’s the best in the Country. People were queuing in freezing temperatures (-3 °C) just to taste England’s finest. We also went into the Dracula haunted house, played pirate mini golf, purchased a Lucky Luck and climbed 199 steps to see Whitby Abbey; founded in 657 AD. On the way back to Guisborough, we stopped in at the Lion Inn; sitting 1325 feet above sea level with spectacular views and the closet store was 20 miles away. The earthy, warm feeling of this place was remarkable. What a day it has been.

The next day, I got to visit what’s left of the Guisborough Priory then went to Riverside Stadium to watch Middlesbrough F.C vs. Barrow A.F.C. The atmosphere and game was exciting with 2 players basically being carried off in body bags; score 2-1 to boro. That night, we decided to paint the town red and absord as much of Middlesbrough as I can. We arrived at a night club called ‘The Arena’. After paying for entrance and coat checks, Walker decided to call the bouncer a ‘Nob Head’. So of course she got thrown out, McLaren then tried to intervene and he too got thrown out. Me, well I was still checking in my coat and didn’t even get to see what the club looked like as I sympathetically left with them. We drank the night away at a Walkabout and ate a Parmo at 2am. Parmo is a Northern dish; it is basically crumbed chicken, covered with bechamel sauce then topped with cheddar cheese. These are capable to give anyone a chronic heart attack, but I loved it!

My 5th and final day was spent sleeping in till 12pm, having another lunch feast at Walker’s parents place and meeting their extended family. I also got to meet Sam’s sister Andrea, McLaren told me that she used to be a page 3 model, but oh boy does she have huge hands. Guisborough is a great place to visit with scenery and heritage. It is also close to other towns in the North-East region that is a must to visit if you are in this area. Although is can be passive at times, you will appreciate the serenity.
Newcastle gallery here
Guisborough gallery here
Whitby gallery here

Guisborough Priory - 4.5 MB
X Factor Contestants - 5.1 MB

Sam

Jumping Jacks

Pre-drinks

Walker & McLaren

Pass the parcel

New Years Feast

Guisborough Priory

Riverside Stadium

199 steps

Cod & Chips

Built specially for me

Beers at Lion Inn

Parmo aka Heart Attack

Christmas in Grenoble, France

2008-12-29T11:30:00.004+13:00

The trip started off on the wrong foot. Out flight was delayed for 7 hours, the airport was hot & stuffy and the smell of body odour was atrocious. The flight time from London to Grenoble was 1hr 10mins and the transfer to Les 2 Alpes was 2hrs!
Anyway, we arrived at 2am on Sunday morning and decided to go for a walk to check out the sites.

Les 2 Alpes is a ski resort in the French Isère County. The village sits at 1650m with lifts running to 3600m. My first day snowboarding was absolutely rubbish. The amount of face plants was uncountable. The next morning, I had never felt so much pain in my life. Every muscle and bone was aching, sprained wrists, whiplash, hamstring crams and more. My sister Eileen even managed to crack a rib and had to spend €400 on medical expenses.

My daily timetable would consist of 3 hours of snowboarding school, 5 hours charging down the mountain freeriding and then 8 hours of drinking to sooth the pain. After the 3rd day, I was engaging in blue runs that take 25 mins from top to bottom. I now have high regards for snowboarders; their sheer physical strength and stamina. Flying back to London was also a nightmare. Out flight was again delayed but this time only for 3 hours. France totally kicks ass, although Grenoble technically isn’t France since everyone spoke English. It gave me a taste of the Language and atmosphere; I am definitely looking forward to moving there in 2009.
Grenoble gallery can be viewed here

Smell the Cheese – 8.2 MB

Sam

Glimpse of the Village

mmm Cheese

Christmas Lunch

escargot

3200m booyah

Race of Champions, Wembly Stadium

2008-12-16T02:34:00.007+13:00

I attended the Race of Champions with Noel and Gillies on Sunday. All the big names like Michael Schumacher, Jenson Button and Sebastien Loeb were competing. Lewis Hamilton also gave the audience a show in his McLaren F1. It was all show and no go since it was unable to get any traction. There was also stunts performed in a TVR, Evo 10, BMW Road Bike and motorcross bikes.
Sebastien Loeb ended up winning the overall competition, defeating David Coulthard in the finals. It was also the coldest night ever in London. All I was wearing were jeans and a hoddie; definitely experienced some shrinkage.
This last few days has been painful, coughing and sneezing.

On the good side, I have purchased all my snowboarding clothing for France and even a set of walkie talkies to communicate to others when I am carving up the powder. But seriously, I’m crap so have signed up for snowboarding lessons. I figured, since I’m going to be there for 6 days; may as well try to get good at it.
Race of Champions gallery can be viewed here

Race + Stall - 6.8 MB
McLaren F1 doing burnouts – 1.8 MB
Flying Motorbikes - 4.8 MB

Sam

Ford Focus WRC

KTM X-bow

Dune Buggy

McLaren F1

2 Wheel Evo 10

Interconnector Christmas Party

2008-12-10T02:29:00.009+13:00

When the invites came around, the theme for the Christmas Party was 'Black and White'. It even stated 'wear anything as long as it is black or white'. So I went out and bought a nice black shirt along with a white fashion tie. I walked into the restaurant full of confidence. Little did I know that their interpretation of 'Black and White' actually meant black tie!

There I was, standing there, sleeves rolled up, unbuttoned collar with a flimsy tie. I felt like the Mona Lisa:

a) I looked good
b) Everyone was staring at me.

Every guy in the room was in a dinner suit and there I was, casual Joe sipping champange while trying not to make eye contact with the big bosses. The night ended at 1am as I was completely hammered, this is mainly due to the fact that I was mixing champagne, gin & tonic, beers, red wine, white wine and of course tequila.

2 more weeks before I'm off to France, woohoo

Funny Dancing - 3.4 MB

Sam

Pissed

Even more pissed

Icy Reykjavik

2008-11-21T11:21:00.007+13:00

We arrived at the cabin hotel; Reykjavik, Iceland at 2am Saturday morning. It was -3 degrees and gustily like Wellington. The crisp air was refreshing and at the same time, ear numbing.
Icelandic water is known to be the best in the world as it does not contain additives such as chlorine and is free of contaminants and heavy metals.

We spent Saturday on the Golden Circle Tour. It is a journey around the outer region of Reykjavik. You can also purchase a CD with audio commentary of each location. During the tour, we visited waterfalls, geysirs, a crater and a historic village that has been excavated to uncover its political history. On Saturday night, we went on a Northern Lights Tour but unfortunately the sighting was very faint and impossible to take a photo of.

We indulged in a relaxation session at the blue lagoon. The sulphuric milky is a great treatment for the skin. After 4 hours, it was time to head back to the cabin. Although we did visit the Hallgrimur’s Church, it was covered with scaffolding around the front exterior but inside was amazing as expected. Above the entrance was a pipe organ with 5275 pipes. By now, time was running out but we managed to see the Perlan and Government House.

Reykjavik is an amazing City with so much history. For all that are planning on visiting, I recommend you stay for at least 4 days.
Photos from Reykjavik can be viewed here

Sam

Kerio Crater

Look, waterfall

There she blows

Sunset

Blue Lagooon

Top Gear Live = Lame

2008-11-04T10:28:00.006+13:00

I attended the MPH Motor show last weekend mainly because the crew from Top Gear were performing a live show. The cars at the show were no where near as cool as the cars from the British Motor Show. A lot of Audi R8’s were on display, it’s not very appealing when you see 20 bog standard R8’s in one room. There was however a Koenigsegg that was full carbon fibre which I thought was pretty mint. The live performance was so crap that the wiggles would have been better to watch. Yes, of course they would have had to rehearse it a few times so they don’t stand there with nothing to say but during the 4 day event, they performed 4 sessions a day; that’s 16 sessions of the same crap. How can they possibly class this as live if they are doing the same act each time? Just for icing on the cake, this show is also performed in other parts of the world! Shocking init? They should have called it ‘Top Gear in Theatre’
MPH Motor Show gallery can be viewed here

Anywho, after the show we went to a pretentious club that screams ‘I am a wanker’. If it wasn’t for the birthday party, it would definitely have been a ‘My phone died and couldn’t get hold of you’. More alcohol abuse to end the night.

Top Gear Stunts - 5.9 MB

Sam

Carbon Koenigsegg

RX7 off FnF Toyko Drift

Car Football

Ancient Brugge

2008-10-17T01:25:00.011+13:00

My 4 nights in Brugge has been great. Since it was a business trip, I didn't get too much time during the day to see the sights but did try to take as many photos as possible (it gets dark early). Brugge is a laid back city with extraordinarily architecture and delectable cuisine. The people are friendly, releaxed and love their bier's. The trip was tranquil; dining at exquisite restaurants, drinking full-bodied 12% biers. The serving size of meals are greater in proportion and in no way does it compromise it's taste. If you are a vegetarian, you will not fit in. The belfry tower is a medieval bell tower right in the centre of Brugge, it is a very well known symbol. I only managed to take a photo of The Chapel of the Holy Blood. The chapel holds a sacred vial said to contain a cloth with blood of jesus christ. There were so many places to see and with so much history, Brugge is must for all.
Photos from Brugge can be viewed here

It's Wednesday night and I am at home blogging. Blogs are meant to be quick thinking of opinions but my blogs generally take about 90mins to write. Although this is mainly a diary to remind myself of my travels. So I'm off to Iceland in 3 weeks and Norway in 4 weeks, better start saving instead of drinking it away.

Sam

Big Market Square

Belfry Tower

Feel the serenity

Real bier

Colleague Jeff

B-Boys and Interconnector rocks

2008-10-14T09:53:00.002+13:00

My sisters mate Jen rung me on Sunday with a spare ticket to the 2008 UK B-Boy World Finals. To the amateurs, it is just break dancing. But the fact is, there are different classes of competition. It is much more than just twirls and spins. Competitors battle it out with different dance genre along with single, pair and team events. Countries include Japan, Korea, China, Russia, USA, Jamaica and of course UK. The event was ‘Fresh’

I got my contract renewed at Interconnector till the end of the year. Since I will be with them for another few months, they decided to send me to Brugge, Belgium to meet the team. 3 things come to mind when I think of Belgium, I can practise my poor French, drink great Belgium bier and indulge in magnificent chocolate.

For those that know me, my eating habits are generally pretty good. But ever since arriving in London, it has deteriorated. The Heathrow injection is worsening and I feel more and more run down throughout the day. On that note, I purchased some mass gainer and fat burner supplements to help me speed up the process to get my body back into shape. I will not state what I am taking in the meantime as these supplements are potent and I do not want to preach it until it has been experimented on my body. No it is not steroids, not quite anyway.

Sorry no new photos this week as Eileen borrowed my camera for Budapest.
But here are some good time oldies.

Sam

Beachcomber, Fiji 2005

Wellington, New Zealand 2006

Melbourne, Australia 2007

Brisbane, Australia 2008

No smoking!

2008-10-08T13:31:00.015+13:00

I have given up smoking, it has been 2 weeks now. I am coughing heavily, feeling sick and eating a lot. Not my idea of fun but I'll see how long it will last.
On Thursday, I got an email from my ex-boss Chris Bunce (Buncy) at First NZ Capital insisting that I have dinner at a place called 'New Culture Revolution'. Ofcourse it is an asian restaurant; who in their right mind would call a restaurant that name. Whats wrong with 'China Inn' or even 'Wangs House'? Since Buncy gave that place so much hype, I decided to fulfil his dreams on Friday evening. The place was actually pretty good and reasonably priced. Everything was made fresh and still had a chinese zing. Good work Buncy. If anyone has any recommendations, please feel free to share it as I will try my best to give it my compliments and criticisms.

On Friday and Saturday night, I got leathered. Whats new?

Now tonight was something different. My flatmate was doing research on Cat food and happen to have a spare can of Jelly meat. After negotiating the terms of £10 for half a can, Cale was ready to hoover it down. The smell was revolting and the sight of him chewing was repulsive. None the less, he completed the task.

Sandbar? - 3.8 MB
New Culture Revolution - 6.4 MB
Yummy Cat Food - 5.7 MB

Sam

Feed

Cale about to vomit

Would you feed that to your cat?