Tuesday, December 21, 2004
vacation
san francisco:
we spent three days there.
must have walked a few thousand miles there. that place is so mountainous i wonder how people there will survive without cars. couldn't see the golden gate bridge clearly coz of the weather.
our flight to SF should have left at 2:27pm. when we checked in at the airport, we were told that our flight was delayed till 4plus due to the weather at SF. after some time, they said it was delayed till 6plus. finally they said it was cancelled. CANCELLED! we had spent more than 6 hours at the airport. in the end we were rebooked on a flight to portland at 8:50pm where we would be transiting to SF from there. our captain for our flight to SF told us if we couldn't land at SF, we would land at san jose instead. thank god we managed to land at SF without further incident. by then it was almost midnight. we missed the last train so had to take a cab which cost us more than US$30. each time the meter jumped, it was an increase by 45cents. scary.
the hotel room was small, the bed was cramped, the tv reception was bad, the floor creaked. but hey, we were in chinatown area. so it wasn't so bad. it didn't feel like i was in U.S. at all. in fact, it felt like i was in hongkong.
the way we got around was by walking. most of the time we looked at the map, looked at the road, and walked. when we were hungry, we looked for food. took a ride on their famous cable car. it was packed and sometimes you can't get a firm grip on anything before it starts moving.
las vegas:
what happens in vegas, stays in vegas.
our hotel was located at one end of the strip. THE STRIP. that's where the street was lined with hotels and casinos. the first thing you see when you walk into any hotel? slot machines. you can even find them at gas stations. even the airport.
the best thing about vegas? the day trip to the grand canyon. yeah. the wind was so cold that the ears hurt. but God's creation was awesome. when the wind blew over the canyon, the sound was like gushing water. it was loud. and it was cold. but it was beautiful. we should have brought more winter wear.
people actually fall off the edge of the canyon. but accidental deaths do not occur often. in fact, most of the time, when people fall, it's because they want to, or they put themselves in danger. there's actually a book about deaths at grand canyon. it's titled "Over the Edge: Death at Grand Canyon". i bought it.
took loads of pictures.
