Loudwater

"Remembering today, and everyday."

2011-11-11T19:15:00.000-08:00

Every year, the Remembrance Day services all look the same; but I want to be there, because they are also different, in small ways. No matter where I stand in the crowd, close or far from the cenotaph, I felt I was there -- like in a war. I saw people holding portraits of young men/women in front of their chests, I saw big man in Army uniforms weeping, I saw veterans in wheelchairs in the cold rain -- just to be there. Today, the three men in front of me gave each other a pad on the back after the moment of silence, while fighting back emotions on their face, in their tears, and at the bottom of their hearts... Here is the poem from the Vancouver service today 11-11-2011:

THE WAY

by Hannah Naomi Williams

How dark the way is to me

I stumble, fall, grope and mutter

The sky above laughs at me

Birds peck, chirp, screech and whistle

Distant sounds to my ears

How dark my memories are to me

Of home, fire, warmth and faces

All whispering to me

Come back, come home return

But I cannot reach them where they are

How dark the land is to me

The earth is dark and cold beneath me

Frosty, unknown, foreign soil

My own country of trees and lakes

Far buried in my mind

How dark this pain is to me

It aches and overtakes my consciousness

Blood and thunder are well known

The Stench of rotting, life in death

When it’s quiet my ears still ring

How dark the fighting is to me

Courage has evaded me

I have no anger left for my enemies

I aim my gun in hope of life

But death is all that finds me

How dark the way is to me

I press on, my heart straining

I still live a miracle

Every breath is precious

So I wait and dream and pray for life

And this is the Vinyl Cafe Remembrance Day edition this year.

Crazy Ones

2011-10-23T21:59:00.000-07:00

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” -- Steve Jobs & Apple

“Sometimes they were really dopey. Sometimes they were truly dreadful. But sometimes they took the air from the room, and they left us both completely silent. Bold, crazy, magnificent ideas; or, quiet simple ones, which in their subtlety, their detail, they were utterly profound. Just as Steve loved ideas and loved making stuff, he treated the process of creativity with a rare and wonderful reverence. He, better than anyone, understood the wild ideas ultimately can be so powerful - they began as fragile, barely-formed thoughts, so easily missed, so easily compromised, so easily just squished.” -- Jony Ive, talking about ideas in his tribute to Steve Jobs.

Will This Be The Day

2011-06-13T15:01:00.000-07:00

Before Game 1 of this Final series, Ron MacLean was on ice level, one knee down. He talked about the quiet content guys choking in the corner celebrating after winning, soaking in all the emotions (like Dirk Nowitzki yesterday after winning his first NBA Championship.) He talked about how bad all of them want the ring that Glenn Healy and Craig Simpson have, not many others.

"In this life, we learn by example far better than we learn by words. And the learning by example runs deep. It's just a game. But you play it. Oh, you play it."

Best Sign from Game 5

2011-06-13T14:06:00.001-07:00

Quotes from 50-Hour Wilderness First Aid Course

2011-04-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

“Legally, you meet the standards. Ideally, you exceed the standards.”

“Pain never kills.”

“An expert is someone who made all the mistakes in the book, and learned a lesson from each of them.”

“It doesn’t matter what you know. What matters is the decision you make.”

“When something (bad) happens in the mountain, have a smoke.” -- German/Austrian

“Building an arm splint the fastest is not the best first aid. Assessment first!”

“How’s the pain, on a 1 to 10 scale, on your broken leg?”
“About 2. I’ve given birth to a couple of children.”

2011-02-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

"The difference between a democracy and a dictatorship is that in a democracy you vote first and take orders later; in a dictatorship you don't have to waste your time voting." - Charles Bukowski

Shane Goes Against Current - It's Mean To Be

2010-08-09T18:02:00.001-07:00

To celebrate the Super Natural, Best Place on Earth, Beautiful British Columbia Day, I decided to kayak around Gabriola Island in the Northern Gulf Islands area. The couple of videos, of whales playing around their boat, Eric shot on his ferry to Salt Spring Island was an extra motivation to me.

I left early on Friday afternoon, and surprisingly found a not-so-busy #257 going to Horseshoe Bay with almost no traffic on Georgia St. “It is a long weekend, right?!” I thought. Nevertheless, before boarding the ferry, I realized that I forgot to bring the fuel for my stove. What a disaster, especially with the fire ban across the province! I re-calculated what I brought and felt I could still survive with the cold food I packed, albeit starving for sure. So, I calmed myself down and the trip continued; hoping to get some fuel somewhere on the way. It was a pleasant ferry ride (without sighting of any whales...), during which I got into a conversation with a girl from France. She was visiting her boyfriend who works in Strathcona Provincial Park. She saw me studying my map and asked where I was going. She works for MEC, and told me all those benefits they have as employees. What a great place to work at! Arriving at Departure Bay in Nanaimo, I found the kayak rental place, Alberni Outpost, right by the ferry dock. I quickly finished the transaction, told them my trip plan, and loaded the boat. Since I didn’t have too much daylight left, I paddled in calm water, with the sun setting behind me, across to Newcastle Island. After setting up my tent and sighting some deers casually feeding on the lawn, I went out for a night paddle. The water was soothingly tranquil while the moon was rising. I could see the Coastal Mountains on mainland, and the industrial waterfront in Nanaimo. My trip started beautifully.

On Saturday morning, the sun shined straight into my tent and woke me up. The plan was to paddle across to Gabriola Island and visit my friend, Ranza. Before leaving, I got into a trouble with my tent: I obviously drilled one of the anchor stakes too deep when I set it up the night before and it probably stuck inside some tree roots. (Don’t ask me why I did that in a quiet no-wind night.) No matter how hard I tried, it wouldn’t come out. Eventually, when I got mad and started being manly, I snapped a tent string and broke the stake. That’s when I gave up. The short distance (~5 km) across to Gabriola wasn’t easy. The wind was strong and I was constantly hit by 3-foot swells. After an hour, I arrived at Descanso Bay. Three bald eagles circling above in the sky welcomed me when I got out of the boat. I walked into the village, saw the local arts market, and luckily, found a building supply shop to buy a bottle of Methyl Hydrate as my fuel - yay for hot food! I was trying to call Ranza at the same time but the cell phone signal was very weak around the village. So I asked a friendly guy at the shop: “Where can I get some better cell phone signal close to here?” He looked at me, seemingly saying where were you from and what do you want, and answered: “Nanaimo?!” Thanks, Island folks! I finally got through to Ranza’s home phone and she wasn’t there. It took us back and forth a couple of phone calls to set up the meeting at Descanso Bay Regional Park. After moving my kayak from the private property I invaded when I first landed on the island, I enjoyed a relaxing afternoon in the sun, reading my book before Ranza arrived. She swam in the water and we chatted for an hour. It was a short reunion but definitely worth it. In the evening, I headed out around the northeastern corner of Gabriola to my planned camping site at Sandwell Provincial Park in Lock Bay. On the way, I checked out the Malaspina Gallery, a stretch of unique sandstone formation that carved in at the bottom of the cliffs by water erosion. Many people jump from the ~15 feet high cliff above the eroded sandstones into the water. The water in the evening was flat and I made up the ground/water easily around Entrance Island into Lock Bay. It was a beautiful site for my tent right on the beach, looking east toward mainland. After having a hot meal, I sat on the beach by my boat with the wine I brought. I could see the lights up on the ski hills (probably Cypress), and I even caught the fireworks in English Bay that night. After coming back, I heard it rained in Vancouver for about 20 minutes that evening before the fireworks; it was clear sky with stars and moonrise for me on the other side of the water. I dozed into my sleep listening to the waves pounding on the shore.

Sunday morning, I embraced some light drizzle as a refreshing taste from the blazing sun. A woman walking her dog on the beach greeted me: “Not too bad a place to spend the night, eh?!” Knowing that the majority of my trip was only starting, I set out on the water before 10:00, the destination was Pirates Cove Provincial Park on De Courcy Island, more than 20 km away. As expected, I was against the current and wind going southeast along Gabriola Island. It took me more than 3 hours to reach the turn at Commodore Passage into Flat Top Islands. The reward was three seals lazily lying on the rock to welcome me at the entrance of the Passage. I found a beach and took a lunch break. Before going across Pylades Channel to reach my destination, I had to paddle through Gabriola Passage. The warning on my map said: “Max current 9 knots. Rips, turbulence.” Not until I reached that point did I realize waves might not be the biggest concern in sea kayaking. The currents were so unpredictable in the passage that no matter how hard I paddle, I was not moving forward. I was constantly being spun around in the whirlpools and pushed to different directions. Even when I thought I was out of the passage, a strong current knocked me back in and almost pushed me to a concrete navigation light. It was a hard battle. Having enough of paddling for the day, I just wanted to finish it, so I aimed straight to Pirates Cove across Pylades Channel, not 100% sure if that was where I had to go. Gladly, after another 1.5 hours, I reached the point I was aiming at, and it was Pirates Cove Provincial Park. There was already a group of kayakers, two dads and daughters, when I arrived. One of them, Tony, was originally from Manchester and had a Solskjær United jersey on. That got us into a “friendly” conversation dating back to 1999. The other father, Ken, was a seasoned kayaker and had good knowledge about ocean and currents. So, I consulted him about my route plan going back to Nanaimo the next day. It was a pleasure meeting them. Of course, that Tony guy wouldn’t let me loose without a few extra jabs replaying the 91st minute at Camp Nou in 1999 to me. I had to say the $5 remote camping site was a lot better than those $16 popular ones one can drive to. The outhouse was clean, it was quiet, and even has tent pads. Plus, to get fresh water, you need to use the hand pump -- when was the last time you used that?! The view? It’s BC view and BC wine -- You gotta be there!

Monday was my last day, but also the longest day. I had to paddle from Pirates Cove back to Nanaimo and catch the ferry back to Vancouver. The grand plan was to hit the water early in the morning and catch the current and wind with the high tide. I hit the water shortly after 8:00 as planned, but Mother Nature didn’t want to cooperate. As soon as I turned around De Courcy into Stuart Channel, the wind picked up, into my face. To make things worse, I missed the turn (I thought it was too small between the rocks when I saw it and didn’t get close) going to the other (east) side of Link Island and Mudge Island. I was planning to take the longer, but safer route through False Narrows. Reluctant to turn back, I decided to challenge the notorious Dodd Narrows. Ken told me the night before that he wouldn’t recommend me to go through there because when traffic was busy, it was like a “laundry machine.” My speed was OK against the wind and reached there around 10:00. I had to stop before going into the channel because I forgot to put on sunscreen in the morning before I left. Around 10:30, I ventured into the Narrows. I perfectly understood why the veteran didn’t want me to go through there alone when I arrived at the scene -- it was such a narrow one-way traffic with all the boats wanting to pass through. I was lucky that there were only a couple of boats crossing when I was there. So, I waited for them and had about 5 minutes for myself to crazily battle through the bloody currents. It was short distance to come out of it, but it had me giving my all. Funny there was a guy sitting on the rocks on one side of the Narrows watching me battle crazily through. I was happy to come out of that part safely because I thought the worst part of the long day was over, so I had a little snack break on the water. However, just when I restarted paddling, the wind started picking up again in Northumberland Channel. And this time, it got stronger and stronger. I was on the Gabriola side of the channel because I didn’t want to go through the industrial waterfront. When I needed to cross back to the Nanaimo side after the cliff area on Gabriola, the gale pulled out its full strength, leaving me in 3-5 feet side waves to cross the channel. Then, everything I didn’t want happened to arrive. First, a freight tow boat came into the harbour; good it saw me from distance and I made it clear that I would cross before it came in. Then, just when I had a clear view of the open sea, the Duke Point ferry arrived -- couldn’t be better timing! I paddled close to it after it docked, and had to wait for about 15 minutes in the waves when I was almost gassed. The last few miles was excruciating. The gale wouldn’t let up and gusted in from northeast, pushing giant side waves onto my boat while I was going into McKay Channel. It wasn’t even getting better after I entered Nanaimo Harbour inside Protection Island. Whenever I wanted to take a break and stopped paddling, the wind and current would start pushing me back out. I was swearing constantly and had no fun in the end. When I finally docked at Brechin Boat Ramp around 14:45 after 6.5 hours straight in the boat, I was completed exhausted and had to pump significant amount of water out of the cockpit. I returned the kayak and took a quick shower from the water hose to wash out the salt accumulated on my arms.

I caught the 16:40 ferry back to Vancouver and bumped into a friend on the ferry. The chat made the journey shorter. When I went to a real washroom for the firs time in 3 days, I saw the sever sunburn under my eyes. Looking back to the vast shorelines around Gabriola Island, I was proud of myself to achieve what I’d been through in the past 3 days. Good there is a thing called Effort & Reward. Plotting my route on Google Earth, the total distance was about 56.7 km; with the zigzagging on the water, it should be easily above 60 km.

P.S. Coming back from this trip, I watched Andrew McAuley’s tragic story Solo: Lost At Sea again. I had more respect for the guy to try what he wanted to. I cannot fathom what he had been through in those 30 days; to make it worse, defeated in sight of land after 1600 km in the roughest sea. (To give you an idea, he was separated from his kayak 35 nautical miles away from Milford Sound in New Zealand; the 2-hour ferry from Tsawwassen to Duke Point is 38 nautical miles.) Did he succeed in his mission? No. Did he cross the Tasmania Sea? Absolutely! When I get to Milford Sound one day, I will remember there’s a lost soul somewhere in that water where he loved deeply.

"I don't necessarily fear being afraid." - Andrew McAuley

That Was A Year Ago...

2010-06-21T00:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I went to HI-Vancouver on Jericho Beach and we welcomed the Israel-Palestine United Co-ed team to our VISF. We didn’t speak the same language, but we played the same game and shared the same smile. (Kudos to them for that energy just after 14 hours of flight. Plus, they were very good football players.) I met some travellers at the hostel.

Today, while I was on Main St. for the Car Free Day festivities and checking out the clock, I suddenly realized it was exactly a year ago this time I was on the plane across the Atlantic. Then, a few blocks later, I met a photographer selling her works. I randomly asked her about one photo she took that reminded me something and she told me it was taken in Naples. So we started talking about our travel experience in that spooky city for a while.

Ahh... that travel bug starts getting itchy again...

I Love My Friends!

2010-05-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

"A guy and a girl can be just friends, but at one point or another, they will fall for each other... Maybe temporarily, maybe at the wrong time, maybe too late, or maybe forever." - Dave Matthews Band

Since 10:00 Sunday May 23, 2010

2010-05-29T01:32:00.000-07:00

"I'm so hollow baby
I'm so hollow
I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow"

A Message from George Carlin

2010-04-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stock room. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or not.

Remember: spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember: say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember: to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved, but most of all mean it.

Thursday, July 2 - BASTEI (and road to Berlin)

2010-04-06T02:55:00.000-07:00

In the morning, I stored my luggage at Bahnhof Dresden-Neustadt so I didn’t need to go back to the hostel to pick it up when I went to Berlin that evening. The place we were going to hike was in a forest region on the border of Germany and Czech Republic. When I enjoyed the river, the forest, and the sandstone towers from the window on the train to Prague, I was already in love with it and said to myself I wanted to visit this place, only not knowing it was the one Caymin talked about. This region was climbers’ haven with big walls on those unique towers of distinct formations and rock features. It was where “free-climbing”, a “true” style of climbing when climbers do not use any equipment assist while scaling up, was invented by those crazy Europeans.

Mitchell and I took a regional train along River Elbe to Kurort Rathen. Then, we took a small ferry across the water to the side where the famous Bastei Bridge, a sandstone bridge connecting the top of a few pinnacles, located. We had a few trail options, and since we both had free-roamer’s spirits, we started wandering along the river hoping to find a less popular trail going up the mountain. We were so engaged in enjoying the tranquility along the river and in our conversations about the Pacific Northwest back at home that we walked a bit too far. On the way turning back, we randomly picked a trail and started heading up. While the forest felt like we were back in the trees on the west coast, the rock and earth certainly felt different. The trail of vegetations formed on top of sandstones felt a lot softer. The higher we went, the closer we were close to the rocks, the more sand we sank in. It was almost like walking on soft sand beach on some parts of the trail. Unfortunately, the trail became increasingly narrower, steeper and less distinct with almost no fresh footprints. We started being a bit worried of our route choice. After a brief discussion, it was to both of our interest and safety that we decided to head back on the main trail and find the crowd. Although reluctant to turn back, I realized where Caymin bivied for a night in a cave around this area - what a peaceful place she had! On the way down, while exploring some small side trails, I had the chance to be closer under those 500 feet sandstone walls. How could you blame the climbers for their love for this place! Back on the highway, we decided to check out a couple of main tourist destinations in that area: a waterfall and the Bastei Bridge on top. The hike was relatively easy except some parts were wet and muddy due to the recent rain fall. We walked by Amselsee (Blackbird Lake?) and reached Amselfall (Blackbird fall?) first. It was a tiny but cute waterfall with gentle flowing water-blind dripping down from hanging vines and moss. The rocks were carved by water into artistic shapes, from which one could tell the age of nature. Behind the fall, there was a house with exhibitions showing the geological background of this area. There were boxes of different kinds of stones. And they were selling some posters and calendars of photos of some of the world elite climbers spidering on those sandstone towers in that region. One interesting story of this waterfall was that the amount of water flow could be controlled by the people there. So if you paid them some donation, they would switch “on” the fall and a sudden flood of water would shoot out from behind the rocks. Mitchell and I took a break and had some sausages and fries (with Mayonnaise, European style) by the fall. Then, we headed up to the Bastei Bridge. Only by the time we reached the top did we realized that people could drive all the way up from behind the mountains to this place. Damn those cheaters. The view from the top of those towering stones was magnificent: River Elbe sneaked through the forest valley like music notes singing on green canvas. Adding more drama to the scenery, cloud thickened and a storm was forming not far away. I witnessed some of the most stunning lightnings striking from top of the sky all the way to the bottom of the valley, seemingly breaking the entire universe. I wished I had a capable camera and skills to capture those moments. As much as I wanted to stay up there enjoying those overtaking strikes, however, our safety became a concern with the storm closing in. Just after we walked across the Bastei Bridge on top, while Mitchell was chatting with her newly-met American fellows, a strike of lightning shattered the sky horizontally right above our heads, and seconds after, the most threatening rumble I had ever heard shook the sky, the ground, and all the way into my heart. It was so deafening that I felt the entire universe was going to collapse and suffocate us. Obviously, others felt the same. We only needed to give each other a stare in the eyes and we all knew it was time go get the hell out of there. We quickly descended into the forest and the thunders became wakening. As an adventurer, I was so regretted to escape those once-in-a-lifetime sceneries; but I had to be responsible for myself and the people around me. The descend through the forest was easy and pleasant. We were lucky the downpour didn’t arrive until we crossed the river and was back under the roof at the train station. When the rain came, it was like the sky just opened a hole. By that time, I was already used to the European summer thunderstorm, so it was more of an enjoyable event than a miserable encounter.

It was a great day with my new friend, only too soon that we had to separate to our ways. We said goodbye after getting back at Bahnhof Dresden-Neustadt and I picked up my luggage waiting for the train to Berlin. When I got onto the platform for the scheduled train, it was strangely empty. I only saw 2 or 3 other people waiting for this train to the capital. I was in the unfamiliar territory so I did not react to the situation. Suddenly, this German guy in a pair of sandals came onto the platform and talked to the couple of girls waiting on the same platform I was standing. Then, certainly noticed I didn’t understand German, he switched to English and hurriedly asked: “Are you going to Berlin?” “Yes,” I replied confusedly. “We had to go to Dresden main station. Come!” Already walking away, he waved me into the tunnel to go to another platform. I didn’t hesitate to follow him because the other two girls already took his advice and he obviously wanted to help. As we were running down and up the stairs to another platform, he tried to explain to me that the announcer at the train station just broadcasted that the thunderstorm had caused some damage on the power line, so the train to Berlin was to be rerouted and would no longer come to Dresden-Neustadt. They were not even sure whether that train was heading to Berlin, after all. We had to take a train to Dresden Hbf to find out. It was a panic situation for everyone as it was almost the scheduled leaving time for that train and it would take about 5 minutes from Dresden-Neustadt to Hbf. When we finally boarded a regional train, everybody looked confused, we could only kept our fingers crossed hoping for the best. Luckily, when we arrived at Dresden Hbf, that train to Berlin was still there. I ran frantically with that German guy who asked the conductor passing by to confirm the train was still going to Berlin. Seconds after we hopped on, the train left. Minutes later, the train stopped, and we realized that we were back at Neustadt. Nobody was on the platform because we were all rushed like hordes of sheep to take the train at Hbf! By that time, nevertheless, we were just glad to be on our way to Berlin and didn’t have any energy left to complain. After finally found our seats and settled down, I thanked that German guy, whose name was Stefan, for so graciously helping this non-German speaking tourist out of trouble - without his hospitality, I might still be waiting in Dresden wondering where the train was to Berlin. We chatted all the way on our ride; Unsurprisingly, Stefan was a backpacker and adventurer as well - who else would be so open and ready to help other travellers except one of his own?! He did have some crazy stories to tell, including driving a half-broken car, bought from his relative in Quebec, all the way across Canada to the West Coast, in winter! He told me how he and his buddy managed to go through the frozen Rockies with ice tubes hanging inside his car window, how they were gambling on their safety and health to sleep in the car under minus 20-30 degrees, how they climbed up a mountain (because they didn’t have enough money for the lift tickets) by a ski resort (probably Mt. Washington) to get some snowboarding fun, and how they met the beautiful west coaster who recruited them working for his fishing business on a boat - a true Canadian small town story. His stories went on, down the coast to San Francisco, across the world to Down Under (where he told me how travellers could buy and sell cars like a flee market transaction right outside the airport), and up in the Alps close to his home. Stefan was truly a living adventurer and we became friends instantly. Interesting enough, while we were on our sandals and hikers with wet dirty t-shirt under our backpacks, in the same cabin seated an English business gentleman who dressed in full suites and nice shirts with shiningly polished leather shoes. He had hotel booked and taxi ready for him in Berlin while I was going to find out a bus to my CouchSurfing host’s home. Stefan and I tried to engage him into our conversation of crazy travel adventures, but he was either confused or could not get our humor. With so many stories to share, the 3 hours train ride went fast enough not to be noticed. Since our train was delayed, Stefan had to run to his connection to Hamburg. We exchanged emails and he asked me to contact him whenever I was back in Dresden. I sent him an email later, thanked him again for saving my day, and asked him to give me a shot whenever he’d be back in Canada again. I was so happy to meet this amazing person.

Now, I was in Berlin! The day of hiking was so great, and accidentally, I met someone who made my day even better, how could it go to another level? It’s Berlin! I had heard so much about this city, nobody had told me a word of bad thing about it. Then, I was standing outside the state-of-art Berlin Hauptbahnhof. I caught a bus to Nordbahnhof, followed the instruction I was given and easily found my CS host Katja and Thomas’ place. The problem was, they didn’t give me their last name so I didn’t know which buzzer to call and let them know I was there. A friendly guy came out of the building let me in but was not sure which floor Katja was on. To make it worse, my phone died just when I turned it on and was ready to sacrifice a few dollars to Rogers to make a roaming international call. In the end, I decided to try my luck and randomly rang a bell. The odds were not on my side, the woman who opened the door with a baby in her arms (Who’s this sweaty Asian with a big backpack standing in front my door?) was not the one I was looking for. I felt so bad to randomly knock on a stranger’s door, yet continued to push my boundary. Luckily they spoke some English, so I asked if I could call Katja, a person who was supposed to live in this building. Nicely, she helped me dial the number. When Katja picked up, she was two stories up. I apologized for troubling the family and thanked them for the random help. Katja and Thomas welcomed me with open arms in their spacious one-bedroom spotlessly clean apartment, and served me a pizza after I took a shower. They were a bit worried why I hadn’t arrived till so late, so I told them the whole story with DB from Dresden to Berlin. It was getting late, so they set me up with the futon and we left our conversation to the next day.

Wednesday, July 1 - PRAGUE/DRESDEN (revisit) & Happy Canada Day!

2010-03-25T01:10:00.000-07:00

It was a better sleep on the train than the night before. The police only checked my tickets and passport once. When I woke up, it was already 7am, half an hour before the scheduled arrival time. My plan was to spend the first half of the day revisit some spots in Prague, and to take the train in the afternoon back to Dresden.

The temporary luggage storage boxes at Prague’s main train station was ridiculously expensive - it cost me 60 Koruna for a few hours, but I had no choice. After depositing my backpack, I took a subway straight to the Castle, again. My goal was to see it without the crowd, and it worked out well. The Castle in the early morning without too many tourists was quietly elegant. Every little detail in architecture design seemed to be more outstanding. I could sit down and take my time to appreciate this magnificent building more than the first time I was there. After another inside out tour around the beautiful St. Vitus Cathedral, I walked down to Charles Bridge. The historic bridge was different to me with a smaller crowd on a hazy morning - again, more interesting to see the stories behind those statues than fighting through the tourists. My third destination of the day was Petrin Tower, also known as the Little Eiffel Tower because if strong resemblance of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, only much smaller. The two English girls I met at the hostel recommended me to check it out, and it didn’t disappoint. I took the funicular up the hill and climbed the tower, then it came the best panorama view of the entire City of Prague. It gave you the view from a different, but better, angle to see the city than from the Castle. From the top of the tower, you could see the entire city to the east, the Vltava River curved across the city skyline and made a U-turn to the north, the Castle on the hill to the northeast, and on the other side, a big stadium complex. It was a view that would ink in my head for the rest of my life. I got of the funicular half way down the hill and visited the cherry orchard for the last time for some fruit refill. My plan to revisit those popular spots worked out well, it was time to go pick up my backpack and head to the other train station to catch the train going back to Germany. Of course, with no surprise, Shane cut the time too close, again. So, I had to run out of the subway all the way to the platform. The exact situation I had when sending off Sijia 3 days ago: same train, same less-than-three-minute-before-departure, only to the opposite direction. Funny enough this time, just as I was gassed when I boarded the train, thinking how lucky I was again, I found out that train was the one which was supposed to be here an hour ago: the train was almost exactly 60 minutes late! It took me a while to get back my breath and sat in a section with a few other backpackers from Vienna. I was satisfied with my short Central Europe excursion and was then on my way back west again.

A couple of hours later, I arrived back in Dresden. I wanted to walk around my beloved Eastern Germany city once more, but had to take my first shower in almost 3 days first. I checked in the same hostel I stayed in a few days ago I was there, and was given the key to the same room; again, I was the first to arrive so I had the chance to choose a bed. After the shower, I met two guys in my room from Hong Kong. Then, I headed out for a stroll in a gorgeous sunsetting evening on the Elbe. I walked across Augustusbrücke, taking in everything from the Old Town waterfront. The Brühlsche Terrasse, Frauenkirche, Hofkirche, and Semperoper under the last orange rays of that day’s sunlight was another view one always wanted to go back for. Crossing the bridge, I walked onto Augustusstraße to see the Porcelain wall. It was just after sunset, tourists were gone, there were only me and the wall of paintings. A group of artists happened to be there to play some classical music, and it could not be more fitting. Coming back across the bridge after dark, I took some night shots of the city. Not wanting to go back to the hostel in an on and off light drizzle, I treated myself with a slice of cheesecake and a beer on the patio outside a cafe by the Golden Statue of Friedrich August II. Arriving back at the hostel, I found a new roommate - Mitchell, a girl from UW in Seattle who just came off an exchange term in Vienna. Meeting a West Coaster, again, in the same room of that hostel made the stay even more special. Instantly, we dove into endless conversations about our trips, home, and others. When we were all tired into late night and the last topic came in was inevitably what we were doing the next day. She said she was going to hike in Bastei. “Are you serious?” That was why I added this extra day here! That was where Caymin told me to go. What a coincidence! So, I didn’t need to plan for the next day any longer - I was going to hike this place, which was recommended by a Cali girl, with this Seattle friend I just made!

Sunday, February 28, 2010 - Golden Day in Canada

2010-03-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

This was a day all Canadians had been waiting for ever since the Olympics were announced to Vancouver: Men’s Hockey final with Team Canada battling for the pride - “This Is Our Game.” After two weeks of magnificent display in both sports and culture, record-breaking gold medals for this country as a host, and days after nights of non-stop parties on Robson and Granville, it was only fitting to end it with a bang. However, the stake was high, and the enemy was fierce. Canada vs. U.S.A. Nobody could ask for a better matchup with the Gold on the line. Team Canada had to go through a tougher road, including a 7-3 rout against the Russian powerhouse, to get here because they were defeated by Team USA in the preliminary round. So, this is a revenge the Canadians wanted badly since last Friday - not mentioning the heart-wrenching overtime loss in the World Junior finals earlier this year: the boys’ version of this game - this is a much bigger stage with a Nation’s pride on the line, this is Luongo, not Brodeau, this is Our House. But the Americans had another plan for sure, this is their revenge as well, they had waited for 8 years for this, since Canada beat them to win the gold in Salt Lake City. As Chris Cuthbert said: “Team USA has never won gold outside its boarders. Team Canada has never won on home ice. Something’s gotta give this afternoon.”

I went out with the couple of Americans I was hosting. But obviously, nothing was early enough on this Sunday morning. Our original plan to watch it at the theatre in Edgewater Casino fell through, as people were waiting in line 6 o’clock in the morning. After walking around the vicinity, we settled down in front of the two big screens outside of Molson Canadian Hockey House, only a couple of blocks away from Canada Hockey Place where the game took place. I was glad my friends found a few American fellows to cheer together; for otherwise, it would be too overwhelming for them in the sea of red and white. After last few rounds of trash talk and anxious waiting, the moment finally arrived. “Good afternoon, Canada. Is there anywhere you’d rather be for the next 3 hours.”

The game started as a particular final: physical, tightly defensive, and well structured. As I felt, Team USA was doing a little better in a very even opening. They were playing a very good puck-possession game, as they had been doing throughout the tournament. They were doing better in small battles, especially in the face-off circle. That Kane-Kesler-Brown line caused scary trouble in the Canadian zone every time they stepped onto the ice. But it was Team Canada who opened the scoring. A defensive mistake by one of American’s best player Brain Rafalski, a shot and rebound, then Jonathan Toews sent the home crowd into elation. He also sent the Americans trailing for the first time in this tournament. First period, Canada 1-0 USA. The second period started almost the same way as the first did. Both teams were careful and both teams had chances. Seven minutes in, just after an aggressive penalty kill, Corey Perry found Ryan Getzlaf’s centering pass loose in front and buried it passed Ryan Miller. 2-0! Canada! “Is it really coming?” Every Canadian was looking ahead, but nobody would take it for granted. With the way Team USA played in the tournament, it was almost impossible for a shutout from Louie, as most Canadians might have dreamed of. As it proved, the Americans responded. And it was that most dangerous line on ice who created it. Ryan Kesler cruised down main street, played a give-and-go with Patrick Kane, tapped the ice wanting the puck as he skated toward his Canucks teammate on the other end of the goal, and tipped in a shot by Kane. Team USA was on the board and started to pressure. Gladly, the scoreboard did not change again in the second period. The third period started with a couple of “Dings” on the American goal, when both Shea Weber and Chris Pronger hit the posts. Team USA dodged a couple of bullets and they were still well alive in the game. Then came the waiting game for the Canadians. Everyone squeezed their hands and just wanted the game to be over. Team Canada started to put their defensive structure on: one man forecheck, others stayed back, not taking too many chances. With the experience and talent like the veteran captain Scott Niedermayer, who was playing an extraordinary game as a leader albeit being slow here and there, the team kept the Americans to the outside. Team USA started getting frustrated as the clock ticking down. But an ominous thought reminded me of that series-turning game Canucks vs. Blackhawks in last year’s playoffs. We played a great defensive game to preserve a 1-0 lead until inside the last 3 minutes when a minor error by Willie Mitchell cost us the game, along with the momentum of the series. This game was evilly similar to that memory. Inside 5 minutes to go, I was looking at the clock almost every 10 seconds - the time simply couldn’t go any slower in that situation. I believed most Canadians felt the same way: hands were squeezed, breaths were hard to take, any superstitious behaviours were out, the light for celebration was on the horizon, but every second became tougher to kill at the same time. 3 minutes to go... 2 minutes... 77 seconds remaining... the time was almost there. Team USA was in desperation, timeout was called, Miller was pulled for the extra attacker. It seemed, although slowly, the clock was counting down to a nationwide eruption. But just as the Canadians started chanting “We Want Gold”, it was the Americans, with their last breath, who jumped up in jubilation. A weak shot from the blue line, which Luongo probably should have frozen, dropped; then in the same sequence, Zach Parise came from behind the net and pounded on a deflected rebound to the back of the net, with 25 seconds remaining in the 3rd period. Just like many Canadians, I dropped my head, face into my hands. The entire country went into a coma. NOOOO. What happened? I was sure I wasn’t the only one that time who started to doubt. Anything could happen in overtime. What if...? We had waited for so long, and it was so close! I’d rather see a 5-0 loss than a last minute comeback. This is terrible! This is unacceptable! The bad thoughts went on and on. It was like a reality I could not face. A few Americans in the crowd started cheering wildly, not for winning anything yet, but for barely staying alive, for then. I didn’t know how many heart attacks this overtime would cost. For the fans, it was debating, hoping, and struggling. For the players, they had to regroup right away. It was a 20-minute full period 4-on-4 hockey before shootout was needed. Team Canada came back out onto the ice looking “fresher”, as Alexander Ovechkin said later in an interview after the game. The were controlling the puck better and creating more chances. But as we all knew, anything could happen, a stinger would end everything. 7:25 into the overtime, Scott Niedermayer, as consistent and reliable as he was in the entire game, gave up the puck in the Canadian zone to Joe Pavelski, who had only one man to beat to shock almost everything around to dead. An instant flash went across my head: it’s all over. Good thing was that we heard another loud chant of Luuuu. Yes, Louie bailed out the captain. How bitter a pill would it be to swallow for Scott if that happened, at the end of such a Hall-of-Famer career! Fortunately, that play wouldn’t matter when history was written, only 15 seconds later. I’m sure you all knew what happened. If not, I’m sure this country let you hear what happened.

From Robson Square to Whistler Village; from Canada Hockey House to Gretzky’s Restaurant; from Cole Harbour, NS, to Tofino, BC; the entire Canada burst out with the loudest roars that rumbled across the second largest country on this planet. I jumped off the stairs I was standing on, fists into the sky, and hollered my lungs out. YAAAAAAAAY!!!! YEAHHHHH!!!! YAAAHHH!!!! High-fives were not enough this time. We dived into each other’s chests with the biggest and warmest hugs, tears in our eyes. YES! WE DID IT! WE WON THE GOLD! This Is Our Game! For a good 3 or 5 minutes, I didn’t even know who scored the golden goal. When I saw the replay and found out the golden boy was Sid-the-Kid, I turned around trying to find that American who stood behind me, clearly didn’t know anything about hockey, couldn’t even track the puck (i.e. didn’t realize American’s last minute tying goal until 10 seconds after they scored...) and kept bitching nonsense throughout the game. You know what he said? “Crosby didn’t do anything in this tournament.” Too bad he fled the scene in the soonest he could, smartly. After settling down for a bit after the initial eruption, I started to realize how blessing I was to be in that moment, witnessing all. This is a country who take such high pride in this game that nothing except a Gold would satisfy the expectation. This is a nation who know this game so well that it’s blended in their culture and history. Hockey + Canada = GOLD - this is an equation they will never let anybody break. This was almost a relief than an accomplishment. You could see from the older generation’s eyes, it seemed they were simply happy to be able to see this moment. One might have lived a whole life, but not seeing this. When we popped up the victory drink while singing O Canada for one last time shoulder by shoulder, I felt so proud to have that golden red jersey on my back and that giant Maple Leaf at the front. As we cried the last note out and looked into each other’s eyes with happy smiley faces, we all knew the party just started...

My American friends obviously couldn’t enjoy their planned win-win situation to celebrate with the crazy Canucks, which I totally understood. So I sent them off on the escaping journey and dived into the sea of Red and White. People were on the trees, streetlight poles, and roofs. Robson and Granville were impossible to walk through. The rowdy crowd brought out cheers waves after waves. Being there was almost the best moment in my life. Although extremely tired, I didn’t want to leave the celebration. So we watched the Closing Ceremony at Robson Square, got some food, and marched on. Not until it was almost midnight when I was completely exhausted, I had to call it a day. But... What a day! What a game! What a memory that will last forever in the rest of my life! It was a Golden Day in Canada!

Tuesday, June 30 - AUSCHWITZ and KRAKOW

2010-02-05T22:29:00.000-08:00

(Things kept reminding me this place should not be forgotten: A week ago, the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the camp; A week before the Christmas, the infamous “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” sign was stolen and Poland declared state of emergency.)

Auschwitz - a name I came across so many times from history books, television, and movies; a place so dark that many people still cannot bear to go back for a visit; a symbol that will remind us forever of a page human beings try to forget. It was a destination I had to include in my itinerary. So there I went, for a special day-visit, to a place I heard so much, but knew so little...

I was woken up a couple of time by the train conductor and polices for tickets and passport, and it was a bit chilly early in the morning, so it wasn’t quite a good sleep. I arrived in Krakow at around 7 in the morning, got some information for the tourist information office, stored my luggage at the train station, and went to the bus station right by the train station to catch the bus to Auschwitz. Poland was a real Eastern Europe feeling, the prices were low on most of the merchandises, cities were less modern, rules are less obeyed on the streets. I was trying to have a small breakfast and got a cake/bread like muffin. Unfortunately, it proved to be a wrong idea to buy the things you didn’t know - I threw out right away after the first bite. The trip from Krakow to Auschwitz was about an hour and a half on the highway in a bus van. The highway was more of a two line traffic with alternating passing part and frequent slowdowns by farm vehicles. It suddenly somehow felt like back in the rural side in China. The bus dropped us tourists off at the backdoor of the concentration camp museum. From there, there was nothing to be identified differently than another normal city park with beautiful trees and lawns. But once you entered the museum, it wasn’t hard to be reminded of where you were. The solemness was deafening. Several sculptures stood in the hallway. Historical photographs hung on the walls. Notification board told you this was not a place for any lightness. Almost immediately, my emotion turned horrific, my breathing became harder, and my heart started to feel it - like a time machine switched back to 65 years ago.

I joined an English guided tour because I wanted to learn as much as possible in the only day I had there. And I was lucky to have a guide of a middle-aged woman who was a school teacher hometown of Auschwitz. The entire day, she gave us a memorable lesson in a tone of a teacher telling an emotional hometown story to her students. The story was so vivid as she constantly used first-person tone and told us: “Remember, this is my hometown, only less than 2 kilometers from here...” The tour started with a documentary film as a general guideline to tell people what had happened there, seemed that people didn’t know about it. Then, we were led into the blocks of the concentration camp. First in sight, of course, was to pass through the notorious metal gate with the sign of “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” (“Work Makes You Free”). It was a symbol of the biggest political propaganda and the biggest lie in human history. Millions of victims were led to this gate in the hope of working hard for a better life. What they didn’t know was it was the gate to hell. It was only a gate of no more than 5 meters tall and 10 meters wide, but once you stepped in, it was a different world. You were surrounded by two rows of barracks with electric barbs on top. You were under the watch from every corner of security tower. You were into a process of not only to death, but of stripping of your dignity and humanity. That was probably what genocide and holocaust was about: death was only the way, extinction was the destination.

The well-known Auschwitz concentration camp was divided into several sections because of the expansion. The mostly known Auschwitz was more about Auschwitz I. The main camp was the much larger Auschwitz II-Birkenau a few kilometers away. Comparing to others, the original Auschwitz I was more of a “luxury hotel”. When the Nazis realized the complex in Auschwitz I was soon not big enough to host the rapid-growing numbers of prisoners, they started expanding the camp to other bigger properties. In order to accommodate all the prisoners they received, they had to shovel the maximum amount of people into the minimum amount of space; and they meant that. It became worse in the later camps they built. We were led into different blocks of buildings with different stories behind them. But the theme of the stories was the same: horrific. From the chemical/medical experiment the Nazis did using prisoners, to the little washroom where hundreds of people used at the same time, to the little corner of less than a square meter where 4 or 5 people had been kept in, to the “shower rooms”, to the crematorium facilities, to the death/execution wall, to the bunker beds (if you can call those beds), to ... ... It was suffocating to listen to the stories behind. Sad, anger, unbelievable, heart-breaking, soul-pulling, nightmare, ...... I could not think of a word, or any combination of words to describe my feeling. I could only watch, listen, and take. Digest would be a miracle. How could one human being treat another like that?! HOW? We went through different blocks, saw those photos of prisoners with their birth date, checked in dates and death dates on - some of them were months, some of them were days, some of them were elderlies, some of them were only teenagers. We saw those belongs stripped off right away when they entered the camp, including shoes, clothes, bags, personal gadgets, tools, so on, and... their hair, loads of it. It was no longer a history lesson, it became a gruesome life experience, a living nightmare. We spent about two and a half hours in Auschwitz I, learned so much about it, but knowing there were still a lot to learn. If the “luxury Auschwitz I” was that, what would be the real Birkenau like? After a brief lunch break, we rode a bus to Auschwitz II-Birkenau site. The area of the site was massive. Most of the buildings where prisoners stayed were already destroyed, but not the railway that brought so many Jews, Gypsies, Poles, and others. The towers of the main gate was still there, and the office/residence building for the Nazis camp officers. The way that railway line was built was ever fitting for the story that happened there: There was only one way in, not alternative ways out. The long straight lines of two iron tracks dragged my mind from the victims’ hometowns all the way to this one destination. It must have been a long journey filled with hopes and anticipation. Who knew where the end would be. By the time they got here in that crowded train, a few of them had already lost their lives. Maybe the alive should’ve wished they were dead before stepping down into the hell awaiting ahead of them. The pre-selection happened onsite immediately when they were unloaded from the train. The unusable ones would be sent to “shower” soon. The capable ones would enter the small cleaning facilities to be recorded into the camp. The living (if you can call that “live”) was to the extremes: usually 3 levels of bunker beds with straws as cushions, the people who lived on the top level would be the lucky ones because no proper sanitation facilities still existed in Birkenau buildings, so the ones staying in the bottom would have to survive the human feces from the folks above them. We walked along the train tracks all the way into the end where the memorial was established. Sometimes, when things cannot be explained, art is a way to express them. Our guide finished her duty with the story of her fellow town people from Auschwitz came out at the end of the war and learned what happened inside those walls (Yes, the people less than 2km away didn’t know the camp for a long time), then started to help free the victims with whatever they had and could offer. That was where our tour ended. I believe it was a proper ending as hope always exists: “When it’s dark enough, you can see the stars.” As I said at the beginning, we were very grateful to have a guide who had the passion so powerful to give us an unforgettable experience. We all thanked her with our most sincere applaud. My tour in the camp didn’t end there. With the time I had, I set on a journey around Birkenau by myself, trying to see more of it. I saw the destroyed crematorium facilities. I took pictures of the memorials around. I leaned against the fences and barb wires. I tried to put myself into what it was like there. Then, I went into the small building where the cleaning process happened when the prisoners entered the camp. There, I walked through the process of how the prisoners were “cleaned”. In the end, when there was nobody else in that building, I sat down, put myself into those pictures of victims and survivors.

It was a muggy day, but as a person who cannot stand heat, I didn’t realize how thirsty and how sweaty I was until I got back to Auschwitz I museum again. With a few last surveys on those striking photographies on the walls, I stepped onto the bus going back to Krakow. Since I still had plenty of time before my train, I had the opportunity to walk around the town. It was a beautiful city with a long history and well worth a stay. The Main Market Square was the largest medieval town square in Europe. Since it was already late afternoon and most of the places were closed, I decided to have a tourist style walking tour around the town. I entered from the Barbican and Florian Gate, took the Royal Route, through the town square, all the way up to the Wawel hill, where the Royal Castle was located. Obviously, the Polish Royals still reside there and the coronation happens inside as well. The Main Market Square was indeed large. There were a lot of churches, cathedrals, sculptures, historical sites around the Town Hall. I enjoyed some artists work and birds hovering above the towers of the churches. After coming down from the Wawel hill, I went on to the University Route. Krakow is known for its history, and academics of course played a big part in that. It has one of the oldest universities in Central Europe, second only to the Charles University in Prague. The most famous story had to be that Pope John Paul II graduated from there. The academic atmosphere was tremendous along the road. Old university buildings were surrounded by trees and parks everywhere. Pubs were right next by where students gathered and shared their ideas about dreams. A long detailed exhibition of Pope John Paul II legacy was in display along the route when I was there, so I had the chance to learn more about the noble man.

It was a long day and I finally realized I was tired when I sat down at the square in front the train station. At around 22:00, I finally boarded the return train to Prague. I found exactly the same cell I stayed in the night before coming to here, settled down, and trying to digest what just happened in that day.

No Promise

2010-02-01T18:28:00.000-08:00

Guess Shane can never keep his promise, or ambitious hope, to keep writing his blog. Another long period he retrieved to his own world.

I spent an awesome Christmas in the beautiful winter wonderland: 3 days snowshoeing trip to Elfin Lakes. It was an epic trip because Mother Nature cooperated the whole way with sun shine and t-shirt temperature on the mountains. I built my first snow cave and enjoyed a sound sleeping night in it. New Years was boring as I had to fulfill the family responsibility to go to a friend's home and watch a kids movie to spent the NYE. Since it's been warm spring weather all winter long so far, I had to burn my bank account to head up to Whistler for a couple of trips so my board won't just sit beneath my bed the entire season. However, they were all worth it! The first trip, I was lucky to stay with some CSers on a luxury condo. So, day-time on the slopes and night-time in the hot tub with beers. Then, sometime in mid-January we headed up for a one-day trip, and I had no word to describe how amazing that day was. 70cm snow in 24hrs and 23cm fresh powder in a sunny cloudless day with endless views - it was only EPIC (or as I said after the day: *wordless") Of course, there were other shenanigans all around, but I don't want to know most of them. This world/society is still too complicated for Shane to understand.

One highlight in the new decade so far was meeting my American idol: Greg Mortenson, the author of Three Cups of Tea. What this man did to Shane was simply incredible. A climber, and a humanitarian - don't know what I can ask for more. He's always inspiring. It was a pleasure, more of an honour, to meet "Dr. Greg". I waited almost 3 hours after the presentation to have my books signed by him. He was such a humble man that was apologizing to everybody who waited that long in the end. But I was just so

happy to see him, finally. I was never a big autograph person, he's the

first book author I had from; the only other time was from Bayern players. In the picture I took with him, I felt he was a giant looking down at me. Hopefully, one day I'll stand on his shoulder to follow some of his legacy. Also, he wrote to me in one of the notes he signed to me: "Shane, when your heart speaks, take good notes." That was one of the reasons I remembered I was not doing anything here again. Thanks, "Dr. Greg", I'll keep that in mind.

JAAAAAAAAAAAA!

2009-12-09T10:37:00.001-08:00

A bit more than two weeks ago, Bayern’s season seemed to be going down south with no turning back. Vice captain Philipp Lahm (who I think should be the captain of the club) vented out his frustration to the media and received record club fine. The injuries to star players Arjen Robben and Frank Ribery looked devastating to blow the season away. Luca Toni (who should make his way out of the club as soon as possible) declared war with head coach Louis van Gaal. Off the pitch, “Hollywood Bayern” was a mess. On the pitch, players couldn’t deliver when it matters. A premature (too) early exit from the Champions League seemed to be only a matter of time. As a fan, I was on the edge of suicide, wondering whether my early season visit to Allianz Arena was a curse or a short-lived boost for the team.

Then, after a disappointing draw and failed to make up the ground with Bundesliga leader Leverkusen, some power started to turn the wheels around. A favour from Bordeaux and a minor win over Haifa set up a must-win showdown with another European giant Juventus in Turin. On the way to the do-or-bust match yesterday, the team managed to connect two vital wins domestically. One over the Enke-less Hannover, and the other over the then on-form Mönchengladbach. Not convincingly, but those back-to-back wins couldn’t come at a better time when the team’s confidence level was on the brink. With some luck, they pulled themselves back from the edge of the cliff. Then came yesterday, the season on the line against a gigantic task away from home, Bayern had no mercy on the Old Lady. The team dominated from start to finish. The mistake by Martin Demichelis which led to Trezeguet’s fantastic goal could easily have been the end of the tourney. But the players’ confidence was not what it was like two or three weeks ago. They kept the pressure and piling on shots and opportunities. The question was only: Were they going to waste the good chances they got again and again like a few weeks ago? The answer came from a 35 years old goalkeeper, Hans Jörg Butt, who added his interesting goal-scoring history against Juven with another penalty. The cool, the calm, the German ironman mentality told every doubter Bayern was still in there. The team went on with a dismantling performance, only withstood sporadical fights from the Italians. The aging captain Mark van Bommel was like a reborn kid, drilling crossed right into the middle of Juven’s heart. Bastian Schweinsteiger was playing like a leader, believing his every shot from long range could beat the Italian best Buffon. The height, the strength, the relentless football Bayern played caused chaos on the other end. The result said it all. If you asked me whether I believed before the match, as a diehard fan, I would certainly say yes, we had a chance. But 4-1? I would never imagine in my wildest dreams. The team came back from we-have-not-lost-anything-yet to we-now-have-a-chance-to-win-them-all. It was a best day so far in the season! Maybe the season just started...

Auf geht’s Bayern!

Monday, June 29 - PRAGUE (Old Town)

2009-12-08T16:53:00.000-08:00

It was my last day in Prague, but I felt there were still many places I hadn’t seen. I started to grow feelings with this beautiful city, increasingly realized why everyone spoke so fondly about this place. The history, the architecture, the entire Prague still had a lot for me to discover. So I decided to buy a copy of the guidebook Sijia was using. It was the only special guidebook I bought during the trip in addition to my Lonely Planet. With that, I slowed down my pace and started tasting the city from deep inside.

After saying bye to my two English roommates, I checked out from the hostel but had to temporarily store my luggage there before the night train. I didn’t feel too safe about it after all those happened there. I started the day with the Jewish Quarter. It was kind of disappointing, so I just walked around the synagogues and the Old Jewish Cemetery. I came back to the Old Town Square and had a good look around it. There was another MJ memorial under the Jan Hus Statue. I sat down there and wrote a short personal note wishing the King to “have a good moonwalk up there.” I also waited to see the famous Astronomical Clock striking the hour. Some people said it was overrated, but I was still amazed by the scientific and technical ideas on that clock from hundreds of years ago. I took several breaks that day, sitting down by the river and in front of the Wenceslas Square. to read the guidebook and write my diaries. I was glad to catch up with some background knowledge about the places I visited in Prague. It would be a shame to leave that beautiful place only seeing (but not knowing) it.

I picked up some food and supplies (including an expensive charger and a power converter since the guy stole mine when I lent them to Yujing) before leaving for the train station. The plan was to take a night train to Krakow in Poland, visit Auschwitz for a day, and come back to Prague on the same train (reverse direction) the next night. It was my first night train in Europe. On a hindsight when I told friends the story, they all said I was crazy to take a night train in Eastern Europe alone two nights in a row. I didn’t feel too much of that. The standard of the train was obviously not as luxurious as those ones I took in Germany, in fact, a bit ghetto. But guess those frequent long distance train travels in China made me feel fairly comfortable to take the risk. I took the ticket saleswoman’s advice and found Wagon 350 of that train. The wagon was divided into compartments with doors for each of them. Two long hard bunker seats inside. There were not many people taking that train, so every other compartments in my wagon was empty. There were travellers and local folks. I felt pretty good because I could occupy one compartment entirely to myself and lock the door. I could spread out my belongs whichever way I wanted and sleep comfortably on one bench. There started my short Eastern Europe adventure. A traumatic day was waiting ahead.

Today We Remember. LEST WE FORGET!

2009-11-12T01:23:00.000-08:00

Today is the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. At the 11th hour, I bowed down my head and held two minutes of silence. Today I saw a backpack stapled with badges of Normandy, Juno Beach, French-Canadian flags, Flemish flag, 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion... Today I saw a man holding a young man’s portrait in uniform in front of his chest. Today I saw a bulky man in camouflage uniform labeled U.S. Army. Today I saw big men weeping right beside me. Today I saw reflections of that day when I biked around Flanders Fields in Belgium: the cemeteries; the memorials; the words on the white marble stones that wives, parents, and children left for their loved ones who were gone too soon; The Menin Gate Memorial, then came the sound of the Last Post. Today I read In Flanders Fields again. Then, today there came another poem: One Day.

ONE DAY (by Gina Neumann, Little Flower Academy)

I dream of a day when my grandchildren come
up to me and say “Nana, what is war?”

It won’t be from ignorance
Or failing to watch the six o’clock news
or not paying attention to the movies or TV shows.

No, it will be because of my grandchild
will genuinely not know what a war is.

Because there will be no wars for
my grandchild to witness, or participate in.

Then I’ll sit my grandchild down and tell him about
my Great Uncle Frank, World War II veteran,
I would tell him that he was just seventeen when
he was conscripted into the war
And that he was sent to faraway places,
and saw terrible things
That not long ago, the world was unsafe,
and we needed people to defend our freedom.
And that brave men and women risked their lives,
for our country.

My grandchild will have questions,
many of which I cannot answer
For myself, I do not even know them

I may be an idealist
For I am only seventeen,
And yet I still believe,

One Day.

So today, when you take off that poppy from your jacket tonight, please do not forget...

This Is (not) It

2009-11-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

When I went to watch This Is It, I hoped it would be a closure for my tribute to MJ. Unexpectedly, I was in more denial afterwards. I still couldn’t believe the man had dead. I miss him more now. I wonder what his concert in London would be like if it actually came on stage. I remember I said a few years ago that I’d pay big money for his concert if it were 10 or 15 years ago, but not then; because he had well passed his heyday. After watching that documentary and a few live performance clips of him in this century on YouTube, I have to admit I was wrong. The man still had it. He still knew every bit, in details, of his music. He was still a master, a genius, an icon. He knew exactly what he wanted, from the band, from the fans, and from himself. At 50 years of age, he could still sing and dance those brilliant moves effortlessly. It was simply his. He only needed to feel it. He was the King of Pop, but he was the one who worked the hardest in rehearsals, directing everything into perfection.

A legend gone too soon. I miss you, MJ!

Sunday, June 28 - PRAGUE (National Theatre)

2009-11-01T02:16:00.000-08:00

It was Yujing’s last morning in Prague and Sijia was leaving in the afternoon, so we didn’t do too much in the morning. After seeing Yujing off at the train station, Sijia and I walked to Wenceslas Square. We stopped by the Statue, where the MJ memorial had grown a lot bigger than two day ago. Fans sent in flowers and their condolences to the legendary King of Pop. Some of them dressed MJ style and simply sit by the memorial to relish the glorious moment, being it either the tunes or the dances, probably both. Photos of MJ, copies of old archive paper, even his concert tickets reflected in the candle lights. Some of the words left by were very emotional to read through. The good time long ago felt like only yesterday.

We had McFlurry at the MacDonald’s at the square. A trivia I learned, from there, was that they charge for ketchups at MacDonald’s in Czech. We somehow decided to see the Dancing House before Sijia was leaving. Running out of the subway stations and having a look at the building for 10 seconds (maybe 15, not too much exaggerating), we cut the time so close that Sijia caught her train less than 2 minutes before it left. Coming back to the city after the hasty chase, I dived into some quiet streets in the city before walking along the riverside to the National Theatre. It was a beautiful building with golden roof. It so felt like the theatre to be in so, although it was almost closing time on a Sunday evening, I decided to go in the box office to check out what kind of shows were usually played there. I chatted with one person working there and he introduced me to their websites and all different programs they were running, which ranged from Opera, to Ballet, to Orchestra, and others. They all sounded like high-quality shows. Well, after all, it’s the National Theatre. In the end of our conversation, with no serious intention at all, I asked: “I’m only here for two more nights. Is there anything going on tonight or tomorrow night?” The guy replied: “Yes. There is a Jazz Opera tonight with English subtitles. And, ......” “How much does it cost to go to the Jazz Opera?” I was still just asking for information. “If you don’t mind sitting on the top, it’s 300 Czech Koruna, ..., the cheapest is 100 Koruna.” He obviously recognized I was a budget traveller who couldn’t afford too much. “We are closing now. But if you want to go, you can still get the tickets from the box office at the theatre before the show.” 100 Koruna, 4 Euros?! For an opera show at the National Museum of Czech Republic in Prague?! I WAS trying to find a fair-priced classic concert or something like that in a church or somewhere because Prague felt like THE place to enjoy a show in that genre. But I never imagined going there because I thought I would need to pay big bucks to just have a visit inside this grand theatre. Almost without hesitation in a blink of an eye, I was 90% sure I was going to this thing, not forgetting to ask one more question: “What’s the dress code for the show?” The guy looked reluctant but didn’t want to turn me down (or make that money from an extra seat), “You should be OK if you are sitting at the top level.” I thanked him and got a plan for the evening.

With still 2 hours time to the show, I decided to walk across the river to find the cherry orchard Caymin told me to check out. I passed by an intriguing group of sculpture dedicated to the victims of communism. With Caymin’s detailed description (she even drew a picture of it), I easily found the orchard slope on the north side of the funicular. That place became as my daily fruit supply, for free. I also had another angle of view toward the Castle. I was planning to get back to the hostel and put on at least a pair of long pants, but the hostel was further than I thought from the Theatre, so I had to give up the plan for food and turn back to get into the show before it started. There I went, with a pair of shorts, a dirty t-shirt, and a backpack, I walked into the stunning National Theatre where everyone else around me was all fully dressed up like where it should be. The security guard and service personnels all stared at me and surely wondered what this bum was doing here. I wasn’t there to teach them a lesson that people should not be judged by their looking and I certainly understood I should not dress cheaply like that to go into that place. All I could think of was “What the hell, I got what I wanted and I would never know any of you again.” So I bought the ticket and quickly sneaked onto the stairs leading up to the top floor. Trust me, the time in the theatre was not easy to me at all for any second. The place was simply so elegantly decorated that my inappropriate outfit could not fit in any corner. I was embarrassed to check my backpack and even all the people around me on the top level was dressed up nicely. It was an agonizing wait for the lights to dim and the show to start. The Jazz Opera’s name was Dobře placená procházka. It was a classic beautiful story about love and money. It was funny. It was well played. And the audience provided a boisterous atmosphere. It turned out to be a big crew at the end of the encores, some of whom started rising from the seats and singing, dancing from the audience during the play. I fully enjoyed it. Although my seat at the top level was very far from the stage, it gave me an overlooking view of this splendid theatre. I felt like being in a royal palace of golden walls, sparkling chandeliers, and grand columns. If it were not the uncomfortable I was getting after the lights were back on, I would have stayed there for the longest I could. For the money I paid, I could not ask for more.

I sneaked out of the theatre with a happy smile. The first thing I did getting back to the hostel was to brag about my 4 euro experience at the National Theatre of Czech Republic in Prague to my roommates. The two girls were students from Redding, England. One of them studied business, the other archaeology. The archaeologist became curious when she learned that I was from Xi’an, where the Terra Cotta Warriors and Soldiers Museum located. She told me some of her excavating experience, vivid storytelling of brushing dirt off the ground to dig out treasures. She even excavated a piece which was displayed at a famous museum. The thing mostly amazed me about these two girls was their travel style. They were both young fellows younger than me. But they were super organized and knowledgeable. Their travel idea was obviously not going out drinking partying every night. They told me they were getting to bed early because they had been on the road for more than a month. They both kept their own travel diaries which were two thick book of photos, cards, tickets, and so on, inside more than 4 or 5 pages writings per day. They were not only sightseeing as they knew all the background stories of the places they had visited. They were kindly enough to recommend places where they had been to that I should visit, including Sainte-Chapelle in Paris and Amalfi Coast in Italy. I truly enjoyed the conversation with them. I also liked their backpacks where they stitched the patches on from all the places they visited. I could always learn a lot from my fellow travellers. Comparing to them, I was still a newbie on the road.

Saturday, June 27 - PRAGUE (Castle)

2009-10-31T16:27:00.000-07:00

I woke up early so I went to the train station to book my night train to Auschwitz. Surprisingly, I found out that my Eurail pass was not valid in Poland. Luckily, it was Eastern Europe and train tickets were cheap. I only needed to pay 14 euros for a flexible ticket to cover the Polish part of the transportation. The lady who helped me sounded very patient and explained everything to me. Since I asked for the cheapest option, she didn’t charge me for reservation fee and tole me to “go on Wagon 350, you will find space there.” I had no choice but hoping for the best; or, this could be one of those classic Euro trip stories, especially in the eastern region. I came back to the hostel and had breakfast before meeting Yujing and Sijia at the lobby. We first had to told Sijia what happened last night and go to the police station to report. The plan for the day was to go to the Prague Castle -- the Castle of all.

We bought some food from the supermarket and I grabbed a Czech newspaper with MJ covering the front page. In a way, MJ was more influential in Europe than in America; and some of his concerts there had to be ranked top live performances in the history of entertainment.

The Prague Castle is located on a hill on the west bank of River Vltava. According to Guinness Book of Records, it is the biggest ancient castle in the world. It was majestic from every view and Roman Empire was here. One thing about the beauty of Prague was that during the War, when the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia, this country did not put on a fight and surrendered right away. Thus, almost all the historical treasures sustained the brutal wartime. I appreciated the fact that the irreplaceable are in their original face and this jewelry city feels real now. However, I had to justify the notion against a country who kneed down in front of the Nazis to leave us with this beauty. We walked up the hill after getting out of the subway station Malostranská, and passed by St. Wenceslas vineyard. Already, there were a massive crowd of tourists. We entered the Castle from the east gate. We passed by a blacksmiths shop, a stage set up with white sheets hanging in air as the background, and caught an outdoor live performance. Then, we arrived at the heart of the Castle: St. George’a Basilica and St. Vitus Cathedral. We were lucky to have a comprehensive Prague guidebook from Sijia, so we had the chance to not only have a look of this magnificent place, but to learn the stories behind it. St. Vitus Cathedral was the first big cathedral I visited in Europe, and there couldn’t be a better first one than that. I learned these majestic buildings took hundreds of years and generations of architects to finish. I wowed in front of the spired buttresses, the Golden Gate, the Rose Window and the facade. I walked by the outer courtyard, the high-vaulted naves, the colourful stained glasses, and the treasury tomb of John of Nepomuk. The entire experience was all first time to me. We came outside of the Castle from the eastern gate and watched the changing of the guard. Then, we walked along the South Garden and dropped down to Lesser Town Malá Strana, heading toward the famous Charles Bridge. This bridge used to be the main connection across River Vltava between Old Town and Less Town to the Castle in old time. Nowadays, it became the center for artists, kiosks, and tourists during the day time. It is well-known with the statues on both sides of the bridge, and the bridge towers on both ends are equally impressive. I got the best view of the Castle across the river on the Old Town end of the Bridge. The timeless river, the ancient Castle, and the old bridge combined into a frame one could only dream of. We had dinner not far off the bridge when a passing shower came. After a short break back in the hostel, we went out to the center of the Old Town for the outdoor concert. Unfortunately, the concert just finished when we arrived -- it was only 22:00. Dejected, we decided to let food and beers solve our pain. We bought some yummy assorted meat potatoes from the stands at the still-busy Old Town Square, and enjoyed it in the drizzling rain along the cobbled streets. The night ended at La Casa Argentina, a lively bar next door to our hostel. I had the best beer so far on the trip: Czech Pilsner.

Friday, June 26 - DRESDEN to PRAGUE (and MJ)

2009-10-26T02:59:00.000-07:00

I was checking my Facebook after waking up and the entire homepage of my friends’ updates were almost the same one: “RIP MJ.” MJ? The only two initials I could think of that could attract that wide attention were Michael Jackson and Michael Jordan. When I read another message relating to child molesting, I knew who they were referring to. But, Michael Jackson died? REALLY? I was confirmed seconds later after checking out the news. NO WAY! CAN’T BE TRUE! WTF! I could not think of anything but denial. It was like a soldier's spouse opened the door and found two fully dressed officers standing in front. He’s gone?! It cannot be true! I could not care less about what some of the others thought of MJ. To me, he was a legend whose status in the history of music world would never be replaced. (Can you think of any other entertainer after him in recent years who could be called a legend?) He gave his all to his fans in every song he performed on stage. He was a true performer that his dance moves would be followed by generations and continue on forever. He brought the crowd down like no others could. (Remember those girls passing out in his concerts and those who cried so hard on the front row?) He was a humanitarian who brought love to many children whose lives were in danger and wrote songs for those who needed help. (Let’s leave those controversies in recent years alone for the moment.) He was not one of us. He was THE King of Pop. And because of that, like a lot other uniquely talented individuals in his league, he was doomed to be messed up. I had a theory that he would collapse during his upcoming This Is It tour. To me, the schedule was simply too cruel for a 50-year-old who even had problems breathing normally. I told Caymin the news when she came back from the washroom. “MJ died? No way!” Obviously, she understood what MJ and his legend stood for in the same way as I did. I was glad to have shared the shocking news with her. We immediately started playing his legendary tunes on YouTube. What else could we do to remember him? We had nothing to say except “unbelievable”. So “when words leave off, music begins.” Caymin’s favourite was Will You Be There. We played that one again and again. I wanted to see MJ dancing so I searched out some of his live concerts -- love the atmosphere. We were singing and dancing together in our German hostel room to celebrate a legend’s life who was half way across the globe. I wanted to stop for a day in my trip and dedicate it to MJ because all in my head was his music. I knew there would be something happening in Prague -- a beautiful artists’ place. “Have a good moonwalk up there, Michael!”

After saying bye to Caymin at the train station and wished her luck on bussing/hitchhiking to Copenhagen that day, I stored my luggage and went out for my Dresden tour before heading east to Prague in the afternoon. As I said, the city is beautiful with its magnificent baroque architectures. My first stop was the Frauenkirche, Church of Our Lady, a newly rebuilt icon just in time for the city’s 800th anniversary in 2006. A fancy restaurant in decent size located outside the church caught my eye because it had Canadians flags on everything. Its name was Ontario Canadian Steakhouse. I was curious and thought the owner must be a Canadian. To my surprise, the waiter told me it was all German owned but served Canadian cuisines. What does Canadian cuisine have? Poutine? Everything inside was fairly new and goldenly shiny. It didn’t have the feel of its history, but had the scale to make you wow. I made the trip up the stairs to the top of the church and had a great 360-view of the various gems in town. After coming down the church, I walked to Schlossplatz and Theaterplaz, where Dresden’s treasured buildings were located: The neo-Renaissance opera house Semperoper, Catholic Hofkirche, and fortress Zwinger. It was a royal feeling to stand around those structures. The last stop for me in Dresden that day was to watch a 40-minute film that told the history of the city with black-and-white footage from 1930s. From the film, I learned how closely they modelled the originals while reconstructing the city from rubbles. It also made me ask in what way Dresden deserved that brutal fate with no military importance left at the end of the war.

After having a delicious German pork steak sandwich, I got on the train to Prague. The train had no AC and was steaming hot. My experience later on told me that it was Eastern Europe -- the EC trains connecting to that direction were all a class lower than the ones in the Western part. However, the view was beautiful along the way. The train followed River Elbe and passed by valley of forest and limestone towers. A bit more than 2 hours later, I arrived in the dream city everyone talked about. At the tourist office at the train station, a couple from Vancouver recognized my Canucks shirt and said hi. I had to exchange money as Czech Republic still didn’t use Euros. I checked into the hostel Sijia’s friend Yujing was in. It looked sketchy to me in the first sight. I started off half an hour before our scheduled time to meet Sijia in front of the National Museum. Since I gave myself more than enough time to stroll there, I didn’t use the map at the beginning, which turned out to be a mistake. The streets in European cities are not as square as they are in North America. 10 minutes later, I was lost, ending up on the wrong side of the train tracks. So I had to return almost all the way and followed the map to the main train station first. Unfortunately, the last road sign I needed for National Museum was fallen from the pole by the train station, so I had no clue where to go for a destination 5 minutes south. I asked a couple of people inside the train station, they either didn’t speak English or didn’t give me clear enough direction of which side to get out of the train station. Just when I figured out 10 minutes later, the thunderstorm came and it started pouring cats and dogs. Because I was already very late of our scheduled meeting time, I had to continue running in the rain. It didn’t take long to get me all soaked. I was about half an hour late when I finally found Sijia and Yujing -- the 15 minutes walk from the hostel took me almost an hour. Good they were still waiting for me over there, as Sijia’s bus was about 20 minutes late as well. The first sight I saw under Wenceslas Statue was a growing memorial for MJ. We decided to find Sijia’s staying place first and then go out for food. Sijia was working the summer as an intern in České Budějovice (Budweis), the city where Budweiser beer was from. She would stay at a university in Prague where her professor gave her. It was a bit of work for us to locate the office she was staying in, as the instruction from her professor wasn’t clear enough and the security guard in the building didn’t speak too much English. But, in the end, we did manage to work out the doors with the keys we had to find the room. In the process, I also found the intriguing magnetic key which only need to be touched against a magnetic button to unlock the building door. It was the first time I saw it. The dinner was good, except we were charged unexpectedly with big money for the side bread -- we thought it came with the meal. Sijia said Czech food was pretty much all meat. My order, Prague Plate, proved it -- it was simply a big plate of all sorts of meat: ham, sausage, bacon. We were all tired after the late meal and decided to call it a night to get ready for touring the next day. But the day didn’t end there.

After sending Sijia home, Yujing and I came back to our hostel. I was surprised the two girls from England in my room were all asleep by 22:30 when I got back. In order not to disrupt them, I went to bed straight as well. But I was waken up by the knock on our door: “Shane!” With my sleepy eyes half open, I found Yujing outside. “I got stolen!” “What?” Obviously, when Yujing went for a shower after coming back, the guys staying in her room took off and stole her camera, some money and some other things, including the power converter I lent her. We went downstairs and talked with the guy at the front desk, he didn’t look like he wanted to help too much and only called the police upon our strong request. Yujing was devastated but we all knew small theft like this would go away unsolved 99% of the time. In order to make her feel comfortable, I decided to stay in the same room with her. The incident only made me dislike that hostel more, and I had to drag my valuables out of my room since I didn’t trust that place any more.

Thursday, June 25 - Dresden

2009-10-23T22:20:00.000-07:00

After a great start in Europe and 4 nights at Gabriele’s place, I was ready to make the first move in my trip. I couldn’t appreciate more of what my first CS host had offered to welcome me to this new continent. We set our reunion date to two and a half months later when I came back to Frankfurt. It was my first long train haul as well. The ICE train went from the modern West Germany to the historical East part, Dresden was the destination. The journey was covered by beautiful sceneries: windmills, farmlands, harvest. With the tunes accompanying from my iPod, I felt like a free soul. The world outside was full of actions and I was appreciative enough simply looking at it to enjoy the every second. 5 hours later, I arrived at Dresden Hauptbahnhof. I had to drag myself 1 km north of the train station through Prager Straße, the modern part of the city, to the nearest tourist office. It wasn’t that hard to locate my first hostel in Europe, Louise20, and it was a very clean one.

Dresden is the capital city of the State of Saxony in Eastern Germany, very close to the boarder with Czech Republic. Because the city is located on River Elbe and was the home for collections of baroque masterpieces, it is well-known as “The Florence on the Elbe”. The city was full of history, both in the ancient time and the modern Germany. (I learned more of it when I came to Berlin a few days later - Dresden played a big part in the revolution that led to the falling of the Wall.) It was also a place of artistic gems. Unfortunately, this was changed in a controversial Allied bombing shortly before the end of the WWII, which destroyed 90% of the city and left the elegant central area as rubbles. (The amount of bombs the Allied used in the three-day bombing was almost one per two Dresden population that time.) The flattened place was rebuilt after the war, in almost exactly the style, model, and location as it was like before. I usually don’t like replicas of anything, but this town attracted me in no other fake structures could. The buildings are uniqued decorated, the history was irreplaceable, and the skyline view from the River Elbe cannot be justified by words. One trivia of the place is Dresden had no subways due to its geological ground feature, so the tram systems played a big part in their public transportation. Some of the trams were the longest in record, and they ran on railways built in grass to reduce noises.

I settled down in the hostel and met my only roommate that night (in a 5-person room): Caymin, a very cool gal from Californian. She’s a climber, a surfer; oh well, let’s just say a West Coaster. And she just came from hiking around the Bastei area, where she stayed in a cave in the rain the night before -- what a trooper! She told me that area was where the crazy Europeans first started “free climbing”. That instantly brought me back to the film I saw at the Mountain Film festivals in Vancouver earlier this year - yeah, those outrageous “suicides”. Caymin and I decided to have some drinks together after she used the internet. I took the time to have a short stroll to the river bank. I passed by the two fountains at Abertplatz, and walked through the tree-covered pedestrian Hauptstraße. On Augustusbrücke, I had my first taste of the skyline of Dresden over River Elbe. After meeting Caymin back in the hostel, we went to a pub called Katy’s Garage. It turned out to be a pretty cool place. We had a couple of drinks under the tent outside before going in. The music was nice and we even played a couple of fusball games - I’d rather play real soccer, as it proved again that I sucked at this game. After coming out of the pub, we went on looking for more drinks but end up exploring the Neustadt at night. The more we walked into it, the more we found Dresden was such a diverse place with unique pubs, art galleries, and shops. We went back earlier than we wanted and went to sleep without knowing a shocking news would strike us the first thing the next morning.

Wednesday, June 24 - MARBURG

2009-10-15T23:04:00.000-07:00

In Germany, some local regional trains split at a station in the middle of the trip and head toward different directions. Thanks to Alina who warned me of this, I paid extra caution and got on the correct wagon of the train going to Marburg. Alina was very busy that day so she didn’t how much time she would have with me. When I texted her after getting on the train, she told me she was coming to pick me up. She biked to the train station and we walked back into town. On the way, she gave me the directions to tour around the town and told me some stories behind this place.

Marburg is build on the hill by the River Lahn. It is divided into the Upper Town and Lower Town, with the Castle on top of the Upper Town and center in the middle of the Lower Town. It looked like a smaller version of Heidelberg but had fewer tourists. The city preserved its original looking better because it escaped most of the bombings during the war being as an unimportant military target, as well as a hospital city. Marburg is also famous as a university town. According to Wikipedia, the University of Marburg is the oldest Protestant university in the world. According to Alina, it is the most left-wing university in Germany. Whenever there was a protest or demonstration, the students from Marburg were always on the frontline. To prove that, the Political Science Building in the university had been a lockdown by the students for two weeks by the time I was there. They were protesting against the change in the education system: Before, German university use a “degree” system from which students would come out with a similar level of certificate; recently, the government was to adopt a new system which classified the levels of degrees more distinctively, like the Bachelor, Master, and PhD in different levels we use. I cannot remember exactly how they classified the different levels of university of education before (they did have a legitimate one). They argued that the new system discriminated against certain groups of students as inferiors. Everyone graduated from a university degree should have equal chance. Furthermore, the students who graduated from the old degree from the previous system would have more difficulties now looking for employment due to the change. Oh yeah, I love these socialists in Germany. Remember, they don’t need to pay for their university (They were complaining paying very small fees for textbooks as those were free before!) and have numerous benefits such as taking trains for free 100 km around the region. Comparing to them, Canadian students (let’s not talk about the poor Americans) are paying a lot for their educations which I considered nothing comparing to my astronomical international students fee figures. Talking about education should be available for everyone...

We walked passed by St. Elizabeth’s Church, where, as Alina said, “the person who elected Hitler as the President of Germany was buried.” The man’s name was Paul von Hindenburg, the President of Germany who preceded Adolf Hitler and played a big role in Nazi’s rise to power. After dropping me off at the tourist office, which was closed that day (thankfully I had Alina), Alina had to go to her meeting so I was left to discover the town by myself. Although I had no problem with that, she felt very bad and said she would try her best to come out again. The plan was if Alina had time during a break, she would call me and I didn’t pick up to save money, then we would meet at the elevator (the town was built on the slope, so there were several elevators connecting the upper and lower levels) by the tourist office within the next 15 minutes. I liked the feeling of exploring a place without a map. I walked back to Elisabethkirche, and turned up the road to the Castle and Upper Town. Hiking up through the forest at the back of the Castle and passing by several beautiful gardens, I found the Schloss. As usual, it was build on top of the hill and had an overlooking view of the city. I walked around the Castle and even used its washroom, kind of a chilling experience since it was in the dark lower level with spiral stone stairs leading down. You know, this old stone castle with a single door entering the darkness and nobody around, not hard for me to relate to some Halloween stories. After enjoying the view of the city at the fortress balcony, I went down the road and found St.-Marienkirche. It stood on a terraced plateau and had some benches at the front, so some students came up to have a break, reading books or just relaxing with the view. It was like the Rose Garden in UBC for me. Of course, I didn’t miss the chance to sit down and relax with my book for half an hour. Then, I walked down to the busy central part of Marburg. This town was beautiful to me. Narrow cobbled streets winding up and down sneaking between the old medieval houses, some of them were so original that they tilted vertically to an angle from aging. Fountains, sculptures, cafes, bars all had their own characters. I was at the Marktplatz thinking about lunch when Alina called. We met ten minutes later at the agreed meeting point and she said she would brought me to a little characteristic cafe for lunch.

The place’s name was Roter Stern, a little cafe that had a back patio by the River Lahn. We went outside and was lucky to have a table in the sun. The tranquility could easily inspire a master work with willow trees bending over the green water. The backdrop was the beautifully decorated medieval houses. Wooden boats and canoes passed by occasionally. Students sat by with a couple of coffees, having discussions about the ongoings, studying their big binders of notes, and reading the thick texts or small handbook where they would discover their next genuine ideas. Alina brought me to here for one more reason, the philosophy of the cafe, which I learned at the cashier counter while ordering the food: the cafe’s menu had a price on each item, but it was only symbolic, the customers were encouraged to pay whatever amount of money they felt comfortable. The idea was to have the rich pay a bit more and the poor afford whatever they could. What a lovely place! Isn’t that what human beings’ actions should be based on, not money but heart! We had pasta for food and talked more about other things, mainly learning the differences between the society, system, ideas we were used to. I didn’t want the conversation to end, but Alina had to go to deal with her professor about her thesis. In the end, she asked me whether I liked the place. Looking at that tranquil ambience again while drinking down my last sip of water, I told her: “I can stay here for the whole day.” On the way out, Alina showed me the university student magazine she was involved in, as a marketing director. If I remember correctly, the name of the monthly publication was War and Peace (Krieg und Frieden?). It collected articles from all channels of resource. Students who did not have opportunity to publish their opinions on big name papers would have a chance to show them in that magazine. Again, the goal was to promote equality. Do I have to say it again how much I loved the Socialism atmosphere in Deutschland?! We finally said goodbye for the day and agreed to meet again when I came back to Frankfurt before flying back to Canada.

I turned left at the Alte Universität and walked up Universitätsstraße before hiking up to the right diving into the busy city again. I went to the center of the Rathaus because Alina told me a paper shop nearby. This tiny shop was opened by a 80+ years old woman. The place was completely jammed with paper works that it was hard to find a square to put your feet in. The collections ranged from postcards to posters, artistic paper folds, paper cuttings, newspaper archives; the list goes on forever, basically any sort of piece you could imagine made from paper. With the translation help from her staff, she told me she had been collecting those for more than 60 years. Some of those items did not worth anything to most people, but with the effort she put in and the history behind them, they were certainly not worthless. I bought an old University of Marburg paper badge from her. I went out of Altstadt to Neustadt via Wettergasse and Steinweg, and kept enjoying the elegant medieval houses on both sides. On the third time I passed by St. Elizabeth’s Church that day, I stopped by the archaeological excavating site. It seemed that there were underground paths built in the area of tens of kilometers long. The site of working archaeologists brushing off dirt reminded me of the Terra Cotta Warriors and Soldiers at home. The time was still early, so I decided to walk along the river side. The lawns by the river was occupied by students playing and chilling. When I reached the New University area, I felt the exciting students’ vibe again. They seemed so happy. I walked across a couple of bridges back and forth around the area, had a gorgeous view of the Castle from its foot, and caught a few protesting signs on the Old University building for equal education. I also came across a graffiti in the old town earlier that day of a barcode with the bottom labelled “Education”. Guess it was truly a university town.

It was hard to say farewell to Marburg with all I learned and saw in those few hours. And because of the friend I had there, I felt special connection to the city. I came back to Frankfurt and finalized my plans for the next few days: Dresden in East Germany, and then Prague to meet Sijia. When I arrived at Gabri’s apartment, he happened to be on the phone with Alina. I thanked her again for coming out and showing me so much of Marburg despite her busy schedule and told her where I was up to after we parted. It was a day to remember!

P.S. I almost forgot: Marburg was the first city to enforce solar panels on new buildings in Germany. Isn’t that another reason I have to fall in love with this place!

Tuesday, June 23 - HEIDELBERG

2009-10-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

After my morning internet debrief at Coffee Fellows, I went to the Hauptbahnhof. I had to activate my Eurail pass first before getting on my first train in Europe. The DB Service line was longer than I expected, so I thought I was going to miss the train in my first plan. The Germans worked in great efficiency, my number was called 3 minutes before that train scheduled to leave. The lady stamped my pass and got it ready for me in a minute. I was even surprised it was that easy and asked “That’s it?” “Ja!” My watch told me there were about a minute and a half left, so I decided to make a try, without too much hope. I checked the platform information on the big screen quickly and fortunately the train I needed was on the platform in the middle of the terminal. I ran to the beautiful ICE train and jumped onto it not even 100% sure if that was the one I was supposed to take. 30 seconds later, the door shut. What a start for my running-for-the-train fun in the following two months! I loved the ICE train. Its motor head was like a bullet and the interior was luxurious. The 2nd class was better than the 1st class on a plane. It took me a second to figure out how the doors operated, how the seats were adjusted, and of course, how to make the best of the clean toilet. I was like a kid who jumped into a wonderland. The train was fairly empty so I found a four-seat table square for myself, made myself comfortable, and started enjoying the first ride. “Welcome to board Deutsche Bahn!” I’ve already so many good things about DB and my first ride proved that easily. The German trains are on schedule 90% of the time, and when I said “on schedule,” I meant by the minute. Even that, the Germans still complained, they wanted to be on the seconds. People could plan short 2-3 minutes transfers because the punctuality. They usually announce the information (i.e. time and platform) for the transfer trains on frequent-travelling routes before reaching the station, a lot of the times, they are on the other side of the same platform or within one or two. After about an hour including my own short transfer, I arrived at Heidelberg.

Heidelberg is a small medieval city in Baden-Württemberg State. It strides over River Neckar and was surrounded by mountains on both sides. It had a long history highlighted with the ruins of the Castle, the oldest university in the country, and the jawbone of the 600,000-year-old Heidelberg Man. I grabbed a tourist map from the tourist information building outside the Hauptbahnhof and started walking toward the main sites area. I didn’t use the map at the beginning so I easily dived into some quiet residential neighbourhood. That was the first time I came across with the real old European style houses. The streets were quiet, the houses were elegant, and the churches were huge. It seemed like every house was a work of art. People put their effort into decorating the houses, instead of building them only for the sake of shelter. Not before long did I walk into the busy tourist district. The Bismarckplatz was busy. People, buses, trams all swarmed into this square. I followed the pedestrian Hauptstrasse eastward, not without diverting into some small side roads or the river side once in a while. The University of Heidelberg was my favourite site. It was not hard to feel the student vibe soon after reaching the university square. Students were hanging out on the square during classes breaks, having lunch in the busy cafeteria which reminded of the SUB at UBC. Hundreds of bikes were parked all around the university buildings. Being a student myself, I couldn’t resist the urge to go into some of the buildings and have a feel of their student life. Of course, those students were looking at me with a strange face: “What is this tourist doing in our university classrooms?” I completely understood their notion because I resented those tourists taking photos in front of our Koerner Library or Rose Garden. This is OUR territory. The holy student world was never meant to be intruded. I particularly liked their old library. It had a beautiful courtyard and the exhibitions by the passages and staircase were historically interesting. Our university didn’t have that long history inheritance; even that, they torn down the second oldest building (The Main Library at UBC) and put an ugly modern disaster on the site. I felt like an intruder in their buildings, so I decided to back out to my tourist duties. On the way out, I passed by the Studentenkarzer (student jail), where misbehaved students were prisoned for punishment. I spent 2.49 euros on a Subway sub-of-the-day for lunch. Then, I headed to the center Marktplatz. Couldn’t wait to go up the hill on the other side of the river to have a view of the city, I crossed the pedestrian bridge Karl-Theodor-Brücke. The gate of the bridge on the south side was beautiful, and had a bronze monkey on the side to bring good luck. On the north side of the river, I hiked up the steep zigzagging Schlangenweg, a path with high walls on both sides. From the middle of the hill, I could get a good look at the entire Heidelberg City on the other side of the river, with the gigantic Castle dominating the hillside and the church spires from the old town. Still not satisfied with my view, I decided to walk a bit more along the Philosophenweg, the Philosophers Walk, which name came from the various famous thinkers who attended the University of Heidelberg. Soon, the path led me into the woods. Yes, it was a place for some thinking. I couldn’t believe I was already in a hike the second day into my trip. The way up was not that easy because I had my laptop in my backpack. But the smell of the woods and fresh air had me no complaint at all. It was a longer hike than I expected to reach the tower lookout point on the map. Upon reaching to the destination, I realized there was a road to drive up there. The site was the Ruine Stephanskloster, a 11th-century monastery ruin with a tower by the side. I couldn’t understand the information board because it was all in German. Two friendly German hikers passing by explained to me what it was there. They were at least 60 years old and they told me they were doing a 20km hike around that mountain that day. No surprise to me, the Germans are famous for their mountaineers/climbers craziness. After climbing up to the tower and enjoyed more of the view over Heidelberg, I visited a spooky stone house with a big hole in the middle. I didn’t understand completely what it was, but I believe it was a well that went down more than 100 meters as the water supply for the monastery. Coming down the hill, I went back to the town side and walked up to the Castle. The red sandstone was still standing tall despite its half-ruined state. I didn’t mind the ruin because it gave me an ancient appealing. I didn’t go into the Castle because it was late and they asked for 2 euros. Since I was on a time constraint, I had to return. Trying to catch the train on schedule, I jumped onto my first tram in Europe and it just made on time for my train.

I was very tired coming back to Frankfurt and was debating if I still wanted to go to the birthday party for Gabri’s friends as we planned to. He persuaded me when we met at the Eurotower and I sticked to our plan. It turned out to be a good decision. I went back to take a shower before coming out to this French restaurant where the party was held. Gabri’s friends were from all over the Europe and were all very friendly to me. They were very interested in my trip plan, and since I didn’t have any, they started pouring out ideas, mainly promoting their own hometowns and areas for me to visit. Spain, Italy, France, Holland... even the ones that were not in my original plan came out: Slovenia, Slovakia - 80 days were certainly not enough then. I struggled to keep track and jog down the list of places I had to go, food and drinks I had to taste. The girl from Greece, Melina, even helped me plan my Greek trip in one sentence: “Athens for two days, and then go Islands hopping around Cyclades.” She might even have a CS friend in Athens for me. (Yes, I was planning to go to Greece that time.) One guy from Cyprus got so curious about the Chinese language that he kept bugging me question after question on how the Chinese character formed, pronounced and written. Of course, I had no problem at all with that. I was so happy and excited to explain with my best to him: The characters were formed by symbol like signs; The pronunciations were followed by the Pinyin system; Cantonese was not one of two official languages in China, we only have one, Mandarin, it’s only a dialect just like the many of the others; we don’t have alphabet, there are no fixed number of characters, such as the 26 letters, to form the entire language; and so on. He was so bewildered by the differences and even started asking me to write, rather draw, Chinese on his iPhone. He didn’t wanted the conversation to end, so in the end when we all finished the dinner, he asked me for a translation of his Cyprus name (it was really hard for me) into Chinese and write it down on a piece of napkin. Oh, what a hilarious guy! The difference between the languages even continued to dominate the topics on our way back home. I forgot to mention the gifts they gave the two birthday persons. One was a big poster of all the pictures they have together with the girl since they started working together - they already started pointing to the photos and talking about memories when the poster was presented. The other was a diary book for the guy, who they asked to continue writing their good time together and maybe as an internal publishing in the future. None of the items was expensive money-wise, but both were priceless from their hearts. What a night, again!

Monday, June 22 - FRANKFURT-AM-MAIN

2009-10-12T17:34:00.000-07:00

My first full day in Europe! I left with Gabri when he went to work in the morning, only to realize that I forgot my camera when I came out of the subway and wanted to start my tourist style snap-shooting on Eschenheimer Turm. Guess I was too excited. So I had to go back to Gabri’s place. Good that Frankfurt was not that big, so were most of the European cities. I picked up some food from a small grocery store on the way back: one chocolate bread, two bananas, a bowl of instant noodle, a small bag of sliced bread, and some salami. It surprisingly only cost me a bit more than 5 euros. Guess it was not that hard if I wanted to eat cheap. I had all the time I needed as a tourist so I took my time to have some more breakfast and got out again. This time, for real. My first mission was to find the Consulates for Czech Republic and Switzerland. For some reason, I was checking an old Schengen website, from which I thought these two countries were not included in my visa. I walked to Eschersheimer Landstraße 20-22, the address I got from a website for the Czech Consulate but it was a bakery shop and a hotel. I was very frustrated because I needed it immediately as I was discussing the possibility of meeting my UBC friend Sijia in Prague that weekend. But there was nothing I could do, so I decided to go to the Swiss one first. Walking on the main shopping street Zeil, I saw a tourist information booth, so I decided to ask them if they know where the Czech Consulate was. The two gentlemen who was working there made their best effort for me with their broken English. They couldn’t find it from the map or their computer system. But they were able to retrieve a phone number and called it for me. The answer was the address was Eschersheimer Landstraße 25-27, instead of 20-22; but the consulate was closed on Monday. I was very disappointed but still decided to go there and make sure that was the place since it was not too far away. Not until I reached the destination did I realize how stupid I was the first time I was there. The address was only 3 numbers apart, the building for the consulate was on the other side of the street from the bakery and the hotel, and there was a huge Czech Republic flag standing in front the building. How could I missed that the first time around? How could those people around this building never notice that big flag? I was very frustrated when I saw the information board in front of the building said only their Berlin Embassy issue visa. The trip afterward to Swiss Consulate was much easier. I found it right away and the reception told me my Schengen visa was valid for Switzerland. The first morning in Europe didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted so I decided to take a break. I stopped by a Chinese restaurant to have my lunch and then went to Coffee Fellows, my daily internet spots in Frankfurt, to check my emails. Sijia told me in her Facebook message that she heard other people used Schengen visa to go to Czech Republic. That finally pushed me to check again on the countries I could visit with that visa. It was a big surprise: a lot more countries had been included in the Schengen zone than I knew; of course, Czech Republic and Switzerland were the two new ones included. I was equally angry with me as I was excited. I wasted a frustrating morning looking for something I already had, but the good news was my travel zone just got expanded. I needed more than 80 days!

Since I no longer needed to worry about the paper work stuff, I officially started tourist sightseeing. Frankfurt didn’t have too much to see. The old town part was rebuilt recently so it doesn’t have too much of the old Europe feeling. The city had become a European financial center with skyscrapers of big banks. I first walked to the old town. The Kaiserdom was the first church I visited in Europe but it was under major construction so it looked very ugly from the outside. I walked to the river side coming out of the Dom and stepped onto the pedestrian bridge Eiserner Steg, where I had a beautiful view of the River Main and the Frankfurt city skyline. Coming back to the old town, I walked past by Römerberg, where the Rathaus (City Hall) was located. That was where I got my first feeling of the good old Europe. Because I didn’t have any plans to go into any place, it was a quick walking tour along different tourist attractions. I was back in the financial center in no time. This time, the cyclists got my attention. It was very cool to see all those bankers in suits and well-made dress cruising around on those 80’s style old bikes, so were the chic ladies on 3-inch high heels. The bike lanes were everywhere. It might be quite a scene to me but couldn’t be any more normal for them. I was still not out of the discussion in Vancouver about adding a biking lane on Burrard Bridge. Should it even be a question at all? Hell, we do need more bike lanes here in North America! After passing by the gorgeous Theatre and Eurotower again, I walked into the long green belt sneaking between those skyscrapers. It felt refreshing to have these easily accessible parks in the middle of a metropolitan. It was like its own small state inside this big busy world. I ended up at the beautifully decorated Alte Oper (Old Opera). After a short break by the fountain, I walked toward the Hauptbahnhof, not without passing by the red-light district. The main station was a magnificent structure, both from the inside and outside. I was so amazed to see the trains coming in to park at the train tracks before heading out again for another journey. We don’t have too many trains in North America; and back in China, the trains pass railway stations from one side to the other in open style. It was the first time I saw 20 trains together on the same end under one dome. It also felt exciting to check out all those different kinds of trains I already heard so much of: ICE, IC, Regional, S-Bahn, etc. I couldn’t wait for my first ride!

I was feeling a bit tired by around 18:00, probably because of the jet lag. So I decided to call it a day. Gabri was meeting his girlfriend Alina that evening, so I had some quick food for myself. I read a bit of my book and watched some TV until they came back home. Alina was a very nice German girl and was well-travelled as well. She even went to Montreal before. We got to know each other and then started chatting about my plans. They recommended me to go to Heidelberg, and Alina said she could show me Marburg - where she was doing her university - if I wanted to. I took both of the suggestions, so my next two days: Heidelberg and Marburg.

Saturday, June 20/21: VANCOUVER -> FRANKFURT

2009-10-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

I had waited for this day for so long. But when it finally came, I was not ready. My parents left only 3 days ago. In their first visit to Canada during the past month, I was so occupied that the only thing I did for my trip was pretty much booking the flight ticket, the Eurail pass, and getting the Schengen visa. I had no detailed plan, at all, even for where to 4 days later. Yes, I was nervous. But it didn’t matter, because excitement in those hours prevailed over any other emotion in my head. In the last six hours before heading to the airport, I packed my bags, dealt with miscellaneous errands, talked to my aunt for more than an hour (not as I wanted to), and made one last phone call - to my cousin in Seattle - the only family, at that time, knew I was jetting away for the next 3 months.

I still remember the conversation: “Hey, Leo. ...... You are an adult now, right?! You know, when you grow up, you have to take certain responsibilities for your families. Now, I’m telling you that you are the only family member who knows I’m in Europe in the next 3 months. So ...” It was all of a joke. But I had to do that for my own safety in case of emergencies. (All of you asked me why not telling my parents/families. The long answer could take forever to explain. The short answer would be that I felt it was easier for me to hide this adventure from them than having to face their questions with my decision if I did tell them. Our ideas were simply too different now to have a discussion about life. Unfortunately, my plan of hiding didn’t work out as well as I wanted. You’ll learn what happened later.)

Frank gave me a ride to YVR less than two hours before my continental flight. I believed I was the last one to check in. Since the flight was delayed for 20 minutes, I had the chance to make a phone call to Kelly, who was going on this trip with me but got a job. Everyone knew their priority better than I did. I felt good for her after all the effort she put in to get this job. But of course, I’m also sad to lose a travel companion. The final boarding call came, I had to hang up. The 80 days I had dreamed of officially started with two backpacks, one train pass, a guidebook, and no plan. The second the plane took off from the runway, a pleasant smile came onto my face, which would last for the next 80 days.

The 12 hours flight went easier than I expected. The girl sitting beside me was from Germany. She was going back from a road trip to Alaska by herself. We talked about the wild Last Frontier. She gave me lots of advice on what to see and what to eat/drink in different parts of Germany. It was super cool to meet a fellow traveller already in the first minute of my trip. The rest of the time on the plane, I spent mostly on reading my Lonely Planet, trying to plan as much as possible, at least for the next couple of weeks. I was also successful to take one or two naps. The flight stopped by Calgary, and then made up its delayed time in the air to be 15 minutes ahead of scheduled time landing in FRA.

17:12 June 21 2009 - HALLO EUROPA!

I cleared the customs smoothly and followed my CouchSurfing host’s instruction to get on the bus toward Frankfurt Südbahnhof. That also marked the beginning of my tourist annoying to the bus drivers of not knowing what to do on the bus (i.e. where to stand or not to stand, how to pay the fare, how to operate the doors, etc.) I was so relieved to hear back from Gabriele to have a place to stay at in my first few days in Europe. It meant a lot for me to be not panic and get the trip started with some plans. Thanks CS! It was perfect timing that we arrived at the meeting point at almost the same time. I had a bit trouble understanding Gabri’s Italian accent but that was no obstacle between CSers as we soon started chatting along. Gabri was working for the European bank as a junior economist/analyst. He temporarily lived at an apartment style hotel provided by the company. I was going to share his all-equipped hotel room for the first four nights in Europe. We walked to his place and settled down. He cooked a quick pasta for me and we went out as we planned through emails to watch the Confederation Cup football match between Italy and Brazil in a bar. I was certainly not prepared for the Frankfurt weather, as a thunderstorm downpour welcomed me minutes after we were out. It was blue sunny sky an hour ago at the airport. I was half wet, but WTH, I was in Europe! The first thing we did before heading to the bar only made me more excited. Gabri brought me up to the EuroTower - the headquarters of the European Bank. They required me to deposit my passport to get into the highly secured building. The huge Euro signs in front of the building was the symbol of the European financial market, and you could see the signs everywhere inside the building: on the floor, in the elevator, on the glass doors. Not only did I go to Gabri’s office and signed into Euro bank’s computer to check my emails, Gabri even brought me up to the top floor of the skyscraper, where all those big names have meetings and make decisions on the rates and so on. I had a panorama view of Frankfurt and “stole” an apple from the meeting floor before getting out of the building. Then we went to meet Gabri’s friends in an Australian bar to watch the game together. I like neither of the teams, so for me, it was more of enjoying the moment with my dark German stout, while learning some Italian swears and whining. Watching football game in Europe certainly felt different. Doing it with my first German beer only made the experience better. After that, most of the demoralized Italians wanted to go home, but Gabri wanted to show me more of Frankfurt. So he persuaded two of his friends to come along with us to a very unique pub in the neighbourhood. This bar was opened by a black American woman and her husband. She was a musician and toured around the world for many years. When she settled down in Frankfurt a few years ago, she opened this pub. This place had an old piano, a guitar, and some other instruments. The guests were welcomed to play whatever they wanted to while having a drink or chilling out there. The owner sometimes came out to play for the audience when they felt like to. The philosophy was awesome and the ambience was lovable. We were lucky that the lady and her husband came out a few minutes after we arrived. The lady was very friendly and asked where we were from and what we were up to. (Gabri told me she asked him who he is at least a few times already.) When I was introduced as the guest, the lady certainly started being curious of my background and of my trip. After a while of chatting and knowing each other, she picked up the guitar. It was absolutely amazing and an honour to listen to her playing. Jazz was her favourite, and she played the songs from her heart. Words could not explain the feeling I was in, sitting in this dark corner in this new place to me and savoring those soul-searching tunes. It was something special. It only got better when the lady ran out of songs, temporarily, so she started asking something from us. Caught off guard, I couldn’t come up with anything at the moment. The Italians came to my rescue, as they started singing Italian folk songs together. The beat of the songs and the happiness in the air made me so want to start dancing on the chair. We were clapping, singing and laughing together. It made the lady feeling it - she started playing more and even got her husband in. It was an amazing scene that I so wanted to show you the video I took, on my camera. The night was capped off by some amazing songs by the lady. We only had to go home because my friends had to work the next morning. But I couldn’t complain. My first few hours in Europe could not start any better!

Another Reboot

2009-09-28T15:25:00.001-07:00

It’s been (another) long time since my last entry. There were a lot to write about, a lot happened, a lot went through my head. But I was being lazy again. In the past three quarters of a year, my grandpa passed away, I graduated, I got my first driver’s license, my parents came to Canada for the first time, and I backpacked in Europe for almost 3 months. Of course, there were countless other interesting things came and left in my life. I will restart writing in this blog by turning the clock back to 100 days ago.

This was the my diary on Friday, Sept 4, in Munich:

Three days before heading back to Vancouver, I’m starting to get a bit depressed. The rain outside in Munich may be a sign of homecoming soon. Thinking of going back to the routines, waking up to the same sight every morning, starting applying for jobs, ... basically, going back to reality. I forget about the tiredness from the trip, about the stressful process of planning and worrying where to be tomorrow, about living on bread and lean sandwich every day... I want this trip to continue. I don’t want it to end. It’s funny that only a few days ago, I was caught in a dilemma of wanting to go back home (to have the comfort of sleeping on my own bed) and, at the same time, not wanting this wonderful journey to end. And a few weeks ago, I was so tired that I simply wanted to go home. Guess life changes all the time, every year, every month, every week, every day, even every hour.

......

I am going to miss running for the trains. Hearing “Thank you for taking Deutsche Bahn.” I will miss meeting all types of people on the road, making friends with likeminded travellers (seems we always do), having a day trip or even a few days together with someone I met only a few hours ago. I will miss the cobbled streets, the churches, the castles, the museums, the rivers, the lakes, the mountains, the architectures, the languages, ...... I WILL MISS EVERYTHING.

Now, I will recount this wonderful 80-day adventure in every possible detail I can remember, because I don’t want to forget about it.

2009-01-31T18:49:00.000-08:00

"When I was 5 years old, my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down 'happy.' They told me I didn’t understand the assignment and I told them they didn’t understand life." - Author Unknown

Quotes

2008-11-25T23:52:00.000-08:00

“You cannot stay on the summit forever. You have to come down again. So why bother in the first place? Just this: What is above knows what is below, but what is below does not know what is above. One climbs, one sees. One descends, one sees no longer, but one has seen. There is an art of conducting oneself in the lower regions by the memory of what one saw higher up. When one can no longer see, one can at least still know.”
Rene Daumel

"Leave everything. Leave Dada. Leave your wife. Leave your mistress. Leave your hopes and fears. Leave your children in the woods. Leave the substance for the shadow. Leave your easy life, leave what you are given for the future. Set off on the roads."
- Andre Breton

YES WE CAN!

2008-11-05T18:35:00.000-08:00

That's the slogan the new president of the United States of America gave us. I didn’t feel THAT excited as a lot of people did when the election result came out last night. Actually, I was a bit surprised of the big sweep by Obama, I expected a much closer race. Obviously, John McCain was victimized by the Bush administration of his own party, and his campaign partner Sarah Palin was over-unfairly treated by the propaganda. Even so, McCain showed tremendous class in his conceding speech. As a person who fought for his country throughout his life with heart and soul, he deserves all the respect. I personally think his best moment in this failed campaign was this quote he said in the last presidential debate: “Sen. Obama, I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush, you should have run four years ago." -- His best moment in his campaign.” On the other hand, Barack Obama’s victory was certainly historical. What he demonstrated in his acceptance speech was a humble man who does not promise as most politicians do but has the determination to do whatever he can to make a change. Change is never easy, especially when the role model on the top of the pyramid need to influence the mass foundation of the society -- the PEOPLE. But I look forward to that, because a better America means a better part of the world.

Umm...

2008-10-24T01:02:00.000-07:00

I found a photo I took in New York City last year, did a simple calculation, and found out the U.S. National Debt increased by more than $3 Billion per day in the past year. Guess $700B is not that a big number as I thought...

Celine Dion Concert

2008-10-21T20:58:00.000-07:00

I was never the biggest fan of Celine Dion’s garments or dancing. However, that’s not what’s about her. The powerful vocals, the extravaganza of stage effect, that My Heart Will Go On -- that’s why I was at her concert last night. It was certainly a megastar performance. Amazing! Enjoy my own short redux...

Money! Money! Money!

2008-10-18T01:50:00.000-07:00

Even you are agnostic, sometimes you have to think whether there is some sort of superpower up there that makes things happen, because when they come, they don’t occur with pure coincident.

In early September, I attended a CANW meeting in White Rock. One of the presenters was a professor from UIUC. His presentation was on the contemporary issues in our economic and financial world. It was an interesting conversation between him and the audience, the crowd really got involved with his talk. He made a strong point against the current Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson. He said there was strong controversy between the academic world and the current leaders of American’s monetary system. He was convinced that Bernanke’s way simply wouldn’t work in the long run mostly because it created too much of potential moral hazard. Big dollars bailout plans would always give firms a feeling of forever haven of refuge. He even traced this notion back to the last few years of Alan Greenspan’s days. It partly was this renowned gentleman’s idea and Bernanke was only a supporter back in the days.

Soon after that meeting, the financial world stumbled, in a catastrophic way. Liquidity in the banking system clogged. Credit market crumbled. Stock market plummeted with historic marks. Suddenly, the world seemed to come to an end because one street in Manhattan was bleeding. Should people be surprised? No. Volcanoes don’t erupt without amassing powers for centuries. This was just a burst-out after so many years of accumulation, of what? Greed. Then, there came the astronomical number of dollars of injection from the American government to this so-called free market, to save big corporations only in the name of saving the system/world. When it was not enough, actually far short of saving anything, there came the $700 billion bailout plan from a president who thought he had not left enough notorious pages on American history. On hearing that, I laughed: “This is disgusting. Fed, please save some trees.” I had no idea what $700 billion means, I only know the printing machine for the Fed would be busy. Although it was rejected by the House the first time, we all knew it was going to be passed as legislation with the way the government was pushing it. There seemed no way of solving this problem if the plan didn’t get implemented. People are not dumb, that money cannot save the world, neither the Americans, nor New York City or Manhattan, it was only for a street hidden in the shadow beneath some skyscrapers. Let’s relax, lay back and watch the roller coaster on the tickers for the next little while, if not for too long. Isn’t it funny to watch those people dressed so nicely but look so confused by making this world more complicated themselves!? Wall Street has been that magic place for so long in the American Dreams, and it will continue being it. The only thing I wonder? We have the law to throw criminals into prisons, but why it also bails out greedy snobs who burn other people’s hard earned money?!

Revenge on Golden Ears

2008-10-17T23:34:00.000-07:00

Shakily leaning on the steep slope on the snow, 10 feet below the rim I needed to scramble onto, I was caught on a bad spot where it was all rock icy and I couldn’t kick in any steps to balance my body. Exhausted, I was on the verge of surrender. I tried to backdown the slope a bit to find a way around that vicinity, but I slipped. Gravity picked up the speed instantaneously, and I wasn’t able to stop at the rock I planned to. Instead, I hit the rock too fast and it threw me out for another 30-50 feet slide, leaving a nasty bruise on my back. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt. Unfortunately, I had to give up my first summit assault on Golden Ears, and the weather turned ugly the next morning, so no second attempt was made before retreating down from the mountain.

That was more than two months ago. The feeling of a “loser” haunted me ever since: I was defeated by the mountain and there was a better route to lead up to the top which I didn’t use. It bugged me every day. I couldn’t get over the bug and wait until next year. I needed a closure. The past weekend, I set my feet on that trail again, with a lingering cough from the cold. Only one goal in my mind this time: the top. After setting up my tent on the Panorama Ridge beside the Emergency Shelter, I realized I would have the mountain for myself the entire night. Then, I began my second summit assault on this beautiful creature. With much less snow and almost none as obstacle, it was much easier; until I reached to a point where I realized there could be better route again: I was literally rock climbing and it got steeper and steeper. Without ropes and anyone close to me, I started feeling scared. Last time I fell, I had the snow as a cushion; this time if I did, I would be flying down to hard rocks -- no lucky break could save me from a bad injury, if not worse. I had to conquer my fear, but by no means of risking my life. Understanding the situation to the fullest with clear judgement was pivotal at that split second: I did not want to give up, but that was not the trail to continue following because with another two or three steps gambling, I would have no way back. I found a spot to relax my body and regroup, then back down a few feet to find the right path. About 20 minutes later, I was on top of Golden Ears, enjoying the view, the relief, and more importantly, the bittersweet revenge. It was the best reward to have nobody but the mountains with me that night. You say “Hello”, they reply with “Hello”; you say “Good morning”, they reply with “Good morning”; you say “I love this”, they say “I love this”. Listening to your singing echoing endlessly around the mountains far and far away was an amazing feeling. Waking up into the sunrise behind the Cascade was incredible.

Now, I no longer have the “failed” marked on my head and I can enjoy that beautiful memory forever. What’s more, I understood why people say in most critical moments for us human beings, it is more psychological than physical that cause negative outcomes. I learned more about that line between conquering fears and losing mind. THANKS NATURE!

Quote

2008-10-16T23:55:00.000-07:00

“Conserving the natural world is not a process which can be imposed from outside by an external authority at the last minute, as it currently operates in the quota system. In other words, conservation is not an on/off switch for destructive behaviour. Rather, conservation issues have to be in the perspectives of participants who have collectively recognized they are part of both human and nature communities, at all times.”
-- Raymond A. Rogers, Nature and the Crisis of Modernity

In Memory of Luc Bourdon

2008-10-09T23:50:00.000-07:00

6-0 blowout over the Flames; a free team cap; new stereo and graphic projection system at GM Place; the Canucks season opener could not be better with fans dissing the cowboys sitting in front of us. However, when it came back to reality, this night was only about one person - the fallen teammate who’s no longer with us - Luc Bourdon.

It was that early summer afternoon, I was going out for some grocery after work when my roommate told me the news. I asked him again to confirm because I wasn’t sure who he was talking about with his French accent. “Luc Bourdon, the Canucks player, is dead.” “Oh yeah, of course I know Luc Bourdon,” I replied. Hold on... Who??? Then, I’m not sure if I was too stunned to react or what, I went out of the house without saying a thing. What could I say at that moment?! On the short walk to the grocery store, my stomach started to upset, my feeling started to get eerie: “Luc Bourdon is dead???” That upcoming star this entire city put on? That strong and skillful player who brought Team Canada the World Junior in Vancouver two years ago? That happy kid who had the best rookie dance and gave the camera that cute wink with Gold Medal around his neck? That #28 who went up and down in our system fighting for the big league and made me so excited to yell his name when he scored his first NHL goal with that slapper? ...... NO WAY! I couldn’t wait for long to come back home and check the internet; and by that time, news already flooded the entire hockey world. The unthinkable did happen. For the next few days, I was haunted by this tragedy. I couldn’t go to sleep easily without thinking about it. I wore my jersey out and put Luc’s name on the back. I watched his funeral and tribute on the internet time after time. A group of gracious Canucks fans self-started a memorial in front of GM Place, I was glad to be one of them and put down my flowers and message. I didn’t know him personally but I know him as a Canucks family: WE ARE ALL CANUCKS! I had no idea why I did those things, maybe I needed something to have this reality sink in and move on. It wasn’t quite successful. Even with all those incredible Canucks fans supporting each other, it wasn’t that easy. This was supposed to be the year he would finally step up as our top-6 defence. The entire city was waiting for this moment. It will never happen.

As soon as the organization announced the tribute before the first game, I knew I needed to be there. Tonight, I saw his mother and girlfriend fighting back tears and acknowledging the fans applauding for the life of Luc; I relived those great moments Luc’s short life brought to us in Tom Cochrane’s singing of Big League; I cried out Luc’s name in the stadium. I knew he was there with us, because “Once A Canuck, Forever A Canuck.”

CATS

2008-10-08T00:50:00.000-07:00

I saw CATS when Broadway Across Canada came to Vancouver tonight. No wonder why it used to hold the longest running show record in both London and NYC, it was extravagant! I particularly loved the costumes and the stage design. We all know the story was a result of genius creativity. The audience obviously loved the wild boy Rum Tum Tugger (Danny Beiruti). And with a few leading casts’ dictating performance, such as when Grizabella (Anastasia Lange) relived and erupted with that “Touch Me” line -- simply breathtaking, the show was absolutely an amazing Memory.

Getting to Know the Community

2008-10-06T01:01:00.000-07:00

We met Bernie and Doug at the UBC Learning Exchange Trek Program volunteer orientation today. They both lived in the Downtown Eastside Strathcona Community for a long time. It is always sad and sometimes scary to be around that notorious part of town. So it was something special to talk with them, hear the real stories, and know the people there. I didn’t know DTES was the oldest neighbourhood in Vancouver. I didn’t know the ongoing condominium construction and gentrification of this area, which poses potential threat to push low income class to further east of Vancouver and continuing destroying the neighbourhood. Three quotes from Bernie and Doug may sum up what we learned from the discussion:

“We should stop treating poverty as criminals.”
“Downtown Eastside used to be called ‘skid road’. They chanced the name to DTES, but it’s still a skid road.”
“You don’t see criminals in those rich communities, such as Kitsilano or Kerrisdale, because they have enough money to cover it.”

Bernie also talked about he personally believes legalizing of drugs with limited amount of doses will reduce the health and safety problems. He used InSite as an example, saying although drug addicts can inject safely at InSite, they still need to go to hidden places to purchase the drugs.

After the session, Bernie came back to me and tapped my shoulder: “If you want to hear what people here are talking about, feel free to go to Carnegie Centre, just go inside, you’ll see some people sitting around and having discussions. You don’t need to talk to them, just sit there and listen. Well, those people use that F word a lot and swear all the time, f*ck this, f*** that. But you’ll be surprised by the topic they are discussing about. Right now, I believe they are talking about the GST.” I was so grateful that he recognize the fact that we were there wanting to help. Bernie, don’t worry, we all use that word and f*** this f*** that all the time. I look forward to a chance to be there and listen to them. I can’t wait to get to know this community more and prove that it’s not the government who solve problems, it’s the people in the community who help each other through times of ups and downs in life.

I Got My Bike Back!

2008-10-01T00:12:00.000-07:00

Someone entered our house through the unlocked back door and stole my bike from the garage more than a month ago. I got it back the past weekend, thanks to this amazing person. He started a program named Bike Rescue (www.bikerescure.org) when he was looking for bikes to rehab his broken back. He found so many suspiciously cheap bikes in the underground market so he decided to do something while his disability forced him out of the previous job. He used his commonsense to judge the seller and bought good bikes at “surprisingly” low prices. He set up a website and put in effort to search for the bike theft victims (i.e. He found me through a post I put on Craigslist declaring my lost bike.) For the ones he couldn’t find the original owner, he sell them at reasonable prices. He made about 60 cents per hour in the past few years by this program. He is now back from disability making ends meet with a couple of other jobs. Nevertheless, he didn’t give up this less than a dollar per hour business and is growing it into a bigger cause. I could not believe when I received his email saying he might have recovered my bike. When I did see it in his storage, I was wordless, just like some of the other victims like me checking out their lost bikes at the same time. I offered all the cash in my wallet ($75) to him but he only took the $50 he paid to get my bike back. Maybe I shouldn’t make that offer at all, because it could be an insult to some gracious person like him. What he did is priceless. It people like him who make this world more beautiful.

So Long, The House That Ruth Built

2008-09-21T22:17:00.000-07:00

This was how excited I looked like last year in my first and only visit to Yankee Stadium. I witnessed history that night: Roger Clemens pitched his 350th career win with Mo finishing it off. Today, reliving all the historical moments and sweet memories on the final game at this baseball Cathedral, I felt so grateful I was there for the once-in-a-lifetime experience. My emotions are mixed and overwhelmed. My heart was there with the fans, the Pinstripes, and of course, the Stadium. It's still hard for me to accept this place is going, going, gone. Those thundering chants will be echoing forever. Lights out for the last time...

Photo courtesy of MLB.com

Loved The Island

2008-09-15T01:21:00.000-07:00

Okanagan was beautiful, Vancouver Island was only better. After the short trip, where I had organic food from the backyard and sipped fresh wine from the basement, to the Lake last week, I got on the ferry and crossed Georgia Straight for the first time since I came here; only left me wondering 3 days later why I waited for 4 years to touch this gorgeous place. Victoria had more perks than I expected. I thought Vancouver had trees - until I arrived in Victoria - it certainly has more. I was grateful to have Kelly and Courtney as local hosts and toured us around the town. Then it came the highlight: going across the Island to Ucluelet and Tofino. Ucluelet was such a peaceful small town, if not seeing those new real estate development. I camped on their Big Beach for the night: sleeping in the sound of ocean waves pounding on the rocks and under the bright full moon shining its pale light on the water, I could not ask for more. The only thing I missed was a moon set on the next morning. My favourite part of Long Beach was Wickaninnish Beach. The water was freezing cold but the fun of playing in it with the waves obviously beat it. In the end, when we arrived at our original destination Tofino, it was the time to head back. You can spend weeks there to discover the beauty. If the rainbow was the theme in Hawaii last time, the Mid-Autumn moon was with us throughout the trip this time on the Island. We captured an amazing view of this full moon climbing out behind the mountain right after sunset when we drove passed by Port Alberni, the colour could only made by nature. Then, on the ferry back to Vancouver, the silky moon light spreading on the water only seemed to help save my memory from the past three days.

A Genius Idea

2008-09-03T16:00:00.001-07:00

I bought a new printer today at BestBuy. At the checkout, the cashier told me there was an $8 “Environmental Handling Fee” from the government. I couldn’t say no to that, as I did to the extended warranty charge, because it was government regulation. BUT... WTH! It was more than 11% of my printer’s price. 8 bucks plus tax for what? Cartridge disposal? What or whom do we pay for with that? It is modern technology (which somehow we all paid for) that invented this machine and now we need to pay extra to use it because there is something wrong with using it? I don’t think we can save the environment through this, as long as people don’t bother taking the cartridge to the disposal box, or they keep ferociously clicking the printing button on one-sided paper without a second thought... What a brilliant idea by the politicians -- I just graciously paid $8 ENVIRONMENTAL HANDLING FEE!

Danke Olli!

2008-09-03T02:01:00.001-07:00

My First Time Hosting CouchSurfers

2008-08-27T00:54:00.000-07:00

After joining CouchSurfing, I always wanted an opportunity to show foreigners around my hometown Xi’an. I wanted to do this because this city is an amazing city with ancient history and the Chinese culture which westerners are always interested to know. It is also an chance to have them know more about the real China and its people. At least I, as someone who was brought up here and lived in the western world for long enough, can let them know my opinions on the foreign sentiment of this country and try to clear some misunderstandings they have on my motherland. Therefore, I opened my door on the website, though I was only going to be at home for two weeks. With a bit of a surprise, I did receive a surfing request from a Belgian girl (Leen) who was travelling with her boyfriend (Koen) in China for two months.

Leen was very well travelled and had very open opinions on different issues. Koen had a very similar desire as I do: go off road. They even had some common language with my parents on career paths. It was fairly incredible to hear all their stories travelling around China -- they barely spoke any Chinese but went to many of those rural places I had never been to. We had great time together in Xi’an. I felt extremely enjoyable showing them around and chatting about things from wine to politics. I was extra happy to see them mouth-watering at those delicious Chinese food -- they went to the Muslim Quarter 3 times on their 3-day visit in Xi’an! Touring them to the historical places made me feel ashamed again for how little I know about my own history.

One funny fact in our trip was that the famous Dr. Henry Kissinger was with us for 2 days in 3 different occasions: from Terra Cotta Army Museum, to Shaanxi History Museum to Big Goose Pagoda... It was so annoying the Chinese security still enclosed “safe zone” and kicked regular visitors away for these celebrities. But guess we didn’t make a too bad travel plan.

The Olympics Opening Ceremony

2008-08-16T23:53:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony was absolutely a stunning performance. It was like an incredible movie (i.e. Dark Knight) I need to watch multiple times to get the real taste of it. Some parts were even surreal to me. I just WOW-ed all the way throughout this flashback of this great part of human history. Personally, I like the 60-second countdown by the 2008 drummers: INSANE.

Truly a celebration for the Chinese. Hope my country will build on it after the Games to make that part of the world even better, not only have it as a show!

My Cousin's Wedding

2008-08-16T23:48:00.002-07:00

I had a lot more fun than I expected at my cousin’s wedding today. It was also my aunt’s (his mother’s) birthday, which made the wedding extra eventful. The groom and the bride got really emotional a few times during the process at the wedding ceremony. They kissed in tears when the MC announced them husband and wife. It was truly a moving moment to be part of, especially for me as a person who sometimes struggles with the opinions on marriage. Maybe that is the moment I realize it: the holy grail of LOVE with your special one.

Arriving Home

2008-08-16T23:48:00.001-07:00

The first day at home was not too fun at all. Weather was outrageously hot, 30 degrees Celsius inside home all day and it’s very muggy. I had mosquitos bites all over my body. I couldn’t sleep too well because of jet lag. The air outside wasn’t too decent, either. On the way to visit grandparents in law, the smelly street filled with garbage and people who were out for some “cool” air. I couldn’t have any deep breath. I’m not sure why but last time when I was back in the winter, it wasn’t this bad. Maybe I should not come back home in the summer again. Maybe it’s just Vancouver further spoiled me.

Arriving in Beijing

2008-08-16T23:44:00.000-07:00

Just arrived at PEK, had 3 hours to kill before my connection flight to Xi’an, so I wandered around the terminal when I met a customer assistant and told her my waiting ordeal. She said: “If you want to do something, you can chat with me here.” I asked about her work at the airport, she said her main responsibility is to answer any questions from travelers. It sounded like a boring job, but she did it to another level -- she was the role model for the entire terminal. She told me a lot about the new terminal we were at: Terminal 3. It’s a big one. We needed to take a train from the gate to the main area to pick up luggage. The architecture of the terminal is a dragon-like design. The long body of the building serves as the spine of the dragon. The windows decorated the roof are like the scales on the skin of the dragon. A lot of sculptures and arts designs resembling many great Chinese history stories are located inside the building. I suggested it could be better if we make some exhibition plates to show and tell people this valuable piece of engineering product. Foreigners are always interested in these things about China and they can start learning about them the first step they put onto our soil. Even for Chinese traveling within the country, I’m sure a good number of them don’t know the background of this terminal as this customer service staff. It can help them kill time while waiting for the planes, at the same time learning more about their own country. My brief chat with this staff demonstrated again it does not matter what you do for your job, it’s how you do it that matters.

Couldn't Ask for More from The House that Ruth Built

2008-07-19T00:05:00.000-07:00

I had waited for this All Star game since it was announced. But what happened in the last couple of days at The (baseball) Cathedra was way beyond my expectation. History was written another page, again, at The House That Ruth Built. For me, and many others, this Midsummer Classic was not about those shining stars, it was about The Stadium. People wanted to be there because it was Yankee Stadium. I could not be more delighted whenever I was reliving my moment there last year this time. Every time I watch a game on TV, I feel like I’m back there again. The last two nights were even more special…

What Josh Hamilton did in the home run derby was beyond imagination. Every one of his shot seemed to be going out of the ballpark, and there were plenty of them, more than enough to make him on the record book. He put on a show that made the 55,000 fans at Yankee Stadium chanting for his name, a player not from the Yankees. Was it only an honour to names like Babe, Reggie, Derek, and alike? What made the story even more impressive is the life of this young man in the last few years. From a top prospect, to a drug addict who was on the verge of ending his own life, to showing the dedication of pulling himself back by cleaning up body tattoos (or at least trying), to now – embracing one of the biggest ovation in this special place at this special occasion. It was this game of sports which made it happen.

That was Monday night, and we all knew it was only the start…

On Tuesday, the party reached its summit. The streets in Big Apple were covered by red carpet, for the baseball’s celebrity parade. The best of the best, Hall of Famers, gathered in the Stadium. The New Yorkers chanting their captain’s name during players introduction, while booing everything related to Boston. The fly-over at the end of The Star Spangled Banner was such a reflection of the place under it: that B2 Stealth Bomber looked so solitary from far away in the pale light after sunset across the beautiful NYC skyline, yet it was so loud and powerful within. The big surprise came when the Boss rode out on a cart and delivered the balls for ceremonial pitch. Then, what could have been more fitting than Derek Jeter having the first hit of the game. The game itself didn’t want to miss the spotlight either. So it almost had everything that a baseball game could offer: great pitching; comebacks; all-star errors; teaching the kid (Jonathan Papelbon) what it took to become a Hall of Famer (Mariao Rivera). Then, it needed more -- extra innings -- to decide, or almost didn’t decide, the winner. It even got better in the extra frames: leadoff runners were stranded again and again; bases loaded with nobody out couldn’t score the winning run; back-to-back errors by the same player, accompanied with 3 strikeout and rally-killing double play. In the end, it came to the fun (or not) part: “Is it going to end when the new Yankee Stadium opens?” Managers were facing the dilemma of using 2 pitchers who just threw 100+ pitches two days ago, not saying one is from the division rivals competing for the pennant. After two 7th inning stretch, 15 innings, and 4 hours 50 minutes, probably the longest box score ever, it finally ended, with a very close play which, if went the other way...

There was nothing more I could ask from this celebration. With more to come in its last days, History and the Stadium belong to each other.

I Accidentally Bused to White Rock

2008-07-05T00:10:00.000-07:00

I jumped onto #351 in downtown this afternoon, hoping the express bus will catch the #10 right in front of it to take me home. It didn’t. Then I felt guilty for taking a seat on the suburban bus. On a sudden impulse, I decided to stay on the bus to wherever it led me to: Crescent Beach. I had no idea where that was and originally guessed it was somewhere in Richmond. An hour later, I realized that I was going to White Rock and South Surrey. I was a bit nervous on the bus at times because I wasn’t really sure if I would have a bus back to Vancouver - these buses could only run in peak hours for daily commuters. I felt really bad for taking a seat from others who needed the ride more than I did at rush hours. To make it worth, I took it to the very end, and it was here:

Guess I can't really complain about this short adventure.

Could Be My Favourite Dance of the Season

2008-07-02T23:50:00.000-07:00

Tiger Did the Unbelievable, Again

2008-06-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

The 2008 US Open will go on record as one of the most amazing stories in sports history, because of Tiger Woods, again. Almost slipping away from the contenders on Saturday afternoon, he came up with some magic: two eagles and one birdie on the back nine instantly led him on top of the scoreboard into the final round. Giving up a lead into Sunday had never been part of Tiger’s major history, so when he was trailing one shot on the 72nd hole, he answered with a birdie and forced a Monday playoffs with Rocco Mediate, who, with great personality, put up an equally amazing fight to round up the story. Then again, with the same scenario on the 90th hole, Tiger did it again. The pressure, the background, the time was made for him. I don’t think many people were expecting anything else. Everyone was saying: “You knew it was going to happen.” Now, we know a bit more. Tiger doesn’t quit. Tiger doesn’t whine. The grimace he had on his left knee throughout the tournament was not a baby crying for sympathy. His caddie and coach were not sure whether he was able to walk through four days of 18 holes. He came up with the 14th major trophy. After that, he told us his season was over, because he battled through with a torn ACL and double stress fractured left tibia, which requires reconstructive surgery. The world’s golf icon won’t play again until 2009. Everything so incredible he did seemed so normal only because he is Tiger Woods. Thinking back, as a hardcore Tiger’s fan, I was even wondering at times if Tiger was exaggerating his pain. He proved to everyone, again, what he did and will do is beyond remarkable.

Get well soon, Tiger!

It's Not That Far Away

2008-05-26T23:39:00.000-07:00

Dad told me grandpa donated 1000 Yuan to the earthquake victims. That’s about half of his monthly retirement fund. So I decided to call him and tell him that his grandson is proud of him. His reply touched me even more: “I’ve been so blessed with all the helps this country gave me. I just feel the country and those people need help now. So it was time for me to give back a little bit.” Usually when I read lines like this on the newspaper, I’d consider it as part of the political propaganda. This time, it was real to me. I could feel when my grandpa said that, he was talking from the bottom of his heart, as an 80+ years old communist party member.

The big aftershock earthquake happened again during my call with dad. I hung up the phone and let him run. I thought I heard the trembling of furniture at home. I felt if I was there in my room. It was scary. One more person died in the epicentre, but they were all OK in Xi’an. Hope this all will end soon. They all need the rebuild to start, not only physically shelters, but also mentally support.

The Stories About 龙的传人

2008-05-20T23:19:00.000-07:00

My tears are dropping. My heart is bleeding. These stories just keep coming, about human, about us, CHINESE.

When the troops asked Premier Wen for suggestions on the phone that the road was completely damaged and they couldn't march on to the destination for the rescue work, he paused and replied: "It's those people who raised you, you figure it out by yourself. (人民养育了你们子弟兵，你们看着办。)" Then, he put down the phone. Guess there is nothing cannot do when it comes to saving people.

Never thought we would have another Premier to be compared with Zhou (周总理，人民的总理)... maybe there is one today!

因为救援的直升机很难降落在废墟上，非常危险，所有的伞兵都在参加任务前写了遗嘱。The helicopters could not land to the deadliest region so rescue workers could not get in. It came to the airforce. Paratroopers had to fly in with signed petitions of possible sacrificing their lives. Then they parachuted down from 4000 metres high, everyone was safe.

一个救援人员听到了废墟的底下有一个小孩儿喊救命。他告诉记者：“虽然救她的过程几乎不可能，但是如果我放弃了，那个救命声音的阴影会笼罩我一辈子。” From CBC news, a rescuer told the journalist he heard a child's voice for help deep in the debris. He could not see her. And they had no idea how to get her out because of the sophisticated situations. But they started trying. Why? "If I failed to get her out alive, that voice will taunt me for the rest of my life."

5月16日下午6点半，离地震发生整整100小时。虚弱得已近昏迷的刘德云被救援官兵抬出来时，看到了自己的女儿。随即，他的目光指向自己的左手腕。女儿扑上去，发现父亲左手腕上，歪歪扭扭写着一句话：“我欠王老大3000元。”经过324医院野战医疗队紧急抢救，刘德云第二天就清醒过来。他告诉女儿：“如果出不来，手腕上那句话就是留给你的遗嘱。”刘德云是什邡市汉旺镇人，工厂职工。地震发生时，他和一起玩牌的另3人都被埋在了废墟下。不知道过了多久，刘德云有些绝望了。此时，他用还能活动的右手，掏出随身携带的圆珠笔，在左手腕上写下了“遗嘱”——他不想欠着账离开。刘德云说，写下这句话后，他安心了许多。黑暗中，时间慢慢流逝，刘德云实在是太困了，好几次险些睡去。于是，他拼命地去想3岁外孙的笑脸，又狠命打自己的耳光。在脸被自己打肿后，刘德云终于等来了曙光。但让刘德云遗憾的是，就在他被救出来之前几小时，坚持了90多个小时的同伴对他说了最后一句话：“刘哥，我撑不下去了，我先走了，你好好活下去。”说到这里，刘德云泪流满面：“你个瓜娃子！这么久都坚持过来了，这会咋就不行了？
A man who was rescued 100 hours after the earthquake was found on his left hand written: "I owe 3000 Yuan(RMB currency)." While being asked what that meant, he said: "Just to tell my daughter to pay it back if I could not get out alive. I don't want to leave with debt."

前日东莞石龙联步行街本是某品牌可乐的选秀现场，当地团委和青年志愿者组织联合商家把它变成了义卖和募捐的现场。当天下午，一名乞丐老伯沿路乞讨经过时，被志愿者的叫卖声吸引。“他开始就是看了看，我们不断说捐献一点爱心，让他口渴了买点可乐。”志愿者回忆说，老伯先是愣了下，后来要掏钱买可乐，听了几句灾情介绍后又看了看海报。“没想到他居然把口袋里面所有的钱都翻了出来，皱巴巴的。”随后，老伯拿了瓶可乐快步消失在人群中。“我们追着他，他也不理，他不说自己叫什么。”一名负责宣传的青年志愿者赶紧用相机拍下了这一幕，志愿者们只记得老伯说了一句，向社会讨了这么多年，也该向国家捐点了。

The beggars and disabled people on the streets donated all they have.

They keep coming. My tears keep dropping. My heart keeps bleeding.

But with this, life is only stronger!

Don't Understand Western Media

2008-05-20T22:56:00.000-07:00

(Or, I should say I should understand it by now after four years here.) With all the effort being put on rescuing people after the deadly earthquake which would probably take more than 50,000 people’s lives, western media started reporting news and articles like “Earthquake reveals poor building quality and corruption in China” and “‘One child policy’ takes toll after earthquake in China.” I wouldn’t deny the accusing of corrupted projects in construction in China during the current economic boom. But this is not supposed to be the time to talk about it. Plus, where else doesn’t have problems in construction contracts between government and companies. The western media simply don't want to miss any opportunity to report negative things in China; guess it’s because there are too many positive ones for them to choose from. It’s funny that I used to reach to outside sources for news and opinions when I was in China, now I have to access Chinese websites for reports of true stories when I am in the “freedom kingdom”. Keep using the words "authoritarian", "state media censors", "political nationalism", blah blah blah whatever you want to use to scrutinize Chinese media reports. Keeping writing about Taiwan, Tibet, and our human rights problems (I understand you won't keep the job with other stories). You know what?! We can't care less about it because with the time to argue with you about the fact, we can save another child from the rubbles!

I'll end this vent with a quoted poem from a comment board on CBC website:

A Poem Dedicated to the last 150 years of this planet.
By a Silent, Silent Chinese.

===
When We were called Sick man of Asia, We were called The Peril.
When We are billed to be the next Superpower, We are called The threat.

When We were closed our doors, You smuggled Drugs to Open Markets.
When We Embrace Freed Trade, You blame us for Taking away your jobs.

When We were falling apart, You marched in your troops and wanted your "fair share".
When We were putting the broken pieces together again, "Free Tibet" you screamed, "it was an invasion!"

( When Woodrow Wilson Couldn’t give back Birth Place of Confucius back to Us,
But He did bought a ticket for the Famine Relief Ball for us.)

So, We Tried Communism, You hated us for being Communists
When We embrace Capitalism, You hate us for being Capitalist.

When We have a Billion People, you said we were destroying the planet.
When We are tried limited our numbers, you said It was human rights abuse.

When We were Poor, You think we are dogs.
When We Loan you cash, You blame us for your debts.

When We build our industries, You called us Polluters.
When we sell you goods, You blame us for global warming.

When We buy oil, You called that exploitation and Genocide.
When You fight for oil, You called that Liberation.

When We were lost in Chaos and rampage, You wanted Rules of Law for us.
When We uphold law and order against Violence, You called that Violating Human Rights.

When We were silent, You said you want us to have Free Speech.
When We were silent no more, You say we were Brainwashed-Xenophoics.

Why do you hate us so much? We asked.
"No," You Answered, "We don’t hate You."

We don’t Hate You either,
But Do you understand us?

"Of course We do," You said,
"We have AFP, CNN and BBCs..."

What do you really want from us?
Think Hard first, then Answer...

Because you only get so many chances,
Enough is Enough, Enough Hypocrisy for this one world.

We want One World, One Dream, And Peace On Earth.
This Big Blue Earth is Big Enough for all of Us.

Stay Strong, Friends - We Are with You!

2008-05-20T22:01:00.000-07:00

Talked to my parents on the weekend about what's happening at home and started paying more attention on the disaster. Can't believe I've actually been to the epicentre of this earthquake Wenchuan (汶川) on my trip to Jiuzhaigou (九寨沟) with Tong many years ago. That beautiful place is ruined now. However, that's not what matters at this moment. People are losing lives. I know people are in vulnerable condition over there, both physically and mentally -- the aftershocks won't give them a full night of sound sleep, not even hundreds of miles away at home in Xi'an. But I can feel they are strong within. "Tragedies bring us together." My eyes couldn't stay dry while reading all those incredible rescuing stories. My heart is unrest. I can't stay here doing nothing while my families, friends and fellow countrymen are in grave danger. I want to go back, to help. There must be something, something I can do because so many people are needing assistant, desperately. Maybe bringing some clothes and blankets to them because they must had no time to bring out any belongings from the collapsed home. Maybe carrying some bricks and building some temporary shelters because there are 5 million people homeless. Maybe some foreigners need translation because they might not understand my government is trying their best to help them. Maybe just sitting down with those children and tell them a happy story to make them smile because they must still be crying for their parents. Maybe ... ... I don't know what, but I do know help is much needed. I felt ashamed to have the idea of donating only $10 or $20 to the relief fund several days ago; now I know if I can't make it back to help, I can save at least $900 airfare. I also donated blood today, which made me feel a bit better -- if I can't help my country at this moment, at least I am helping someone. But I couldn't be proud of that, especially in front of those regular donors, because it was a trip meant to make many years ago, so I silently hide away my "1st Time Donor" sticker. Hope my money to Canadian Red Cross will be on the way to where it's mostly needed soon, Burma and China are awaiting helps. I will go to another bank tomorrow to contribute a little more. Hope that will make me feel better, at least I am helping in a way. Still... I don't know how I can hand to the victims my sleeping bag, my used clothes, shoes, ... ... I just don't want them to feel cold at night. STAY STRONG FRIENDS, WE ARE WITH YOU!

CHINA EARTHQUAKE - 14:28 Monday, May 12

2008-05-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

The Canucks Season End

2008-05-19T22:01:00.001-07:00

Two years ago when the Canucks missed the playoffs, Jim Hughson concluded the season in their last game with this line: “Tonight’s goal-scorers: Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund, and Brendan Morrison -- once the best line in the league, will they ever be together again?” No, it didn’t happen. The team rebuilding started. Big Bert went away and Captain #19 was never the same without his best buddy. We thought we got our “savior” Luongo.

Last year, with a bit of luck and a certainly overachieved team, we won the division and made to the second round of the playoffs. The entire city saw a fruitful future on the horizon. However, most people didn’t realize the problem; or, they didn’t recognize it with enough attention: offense. So with an almost the same team, the expectation was high for this season.
The unbelievable finally arrived. Late in the third period when they blew a 2-0 lead (again) and were trailing the Avalanche 2-4, John Garrett said to one of the best play-by-play announcer, if not THE best, in the league who was leaving us after this season: “Jim, I know you are moving on. It’s been a great pleasure working with you ... You’ll be in the playoffs but we will not.” This happened at a perfect time when the team’s playoffs hope was slipping away, just as they both wanted to say a goodbye to the team’s season. They had their fate back on their own hands two nights later, but they blew it again. John Shorthouse let us know: “For the second time in three years, the Canucks will miss the playoffs.” In their last game at home on Fans Appreciation Night, the team embarrassed themselves in a no worse way: losing 7-1 to the Flames (YES, I said Calgary Flames), giving their captain his 50th goal of the season, having OUR boy(s) (you know whom I meant) empty-handed to walk away. It was the best fans in the world who saved the last party: “#16 on the back, #1 in our heart.” They were prepared to blow up that place but the moment they wanted never came in the game. But the 18,000 Nuckleheads knew why or whom they were there for. On their feet, they gave their loudest and longest standing ovation to the face of the franchise because it was probably his last skate on that uniform at the Garage. Not once, not twice, it never stopped, they just didn’t want to leave -- not for a pathetic team, but for a heart and soul that attached to this city for the past 19 years. “ONE MORE YEAR! ONE MORE YEAR!” I saw this so many times for a sports hero, but never seemed to be this close. Everyone was so chocked up. Even the arch-rival showed their highest respect. No one wanted to believe it was their last time to see Trev on the Blue.

Looking back to the season, the injuries definitely took our toll. A team that was built on goaltender and defence never had their back 6 full strength. Nonetheless, the collapse at the end had no excuse. Trevor Linden may not be a Canucks next year. Jim Hughson, my favourite broadcaster, is going to CBC. Not saying the unpredictable future for the captain Nazzy, and local boy Mo. The only thing we all know is it’s another long summer and changes need to come. Canucks hockey will not be the same again in October. Vancouverites have to reluctantly say it again: “Next year ...”

Yankees Visit VT in Shooting Anniversary

2008-05-19T21:59:00.001-07:00

“She asked me to take a picture with her fiancé's memorial stone. I told her she smiled.” -- Derek Jeter said during the Yankees visit to VT today. Marcy Crevonis, a Virginia Tech student and lifelong Yankee fan, placed a Jeter’s T-shirt near the stone monument of her fiancé Mike Pohle and made the request.

Muhammad Yunus's Visit to UBC

2008-05-19T21:55:00.000-07:00

As part of the UBC 100 Years centenary celebration, we invited 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus to deliver the first annual Michael Smith memorial Nobel Lecture. Dr. Yunus is such a humble gentleman and his speech was truly inspiring. He talked about the background of creating Grameen Bank -- the idea started with a loan lending a total of $27 to women producing bamboo artwork at an entire village in his home country Bangladesh. Then, how the bank grew bigger and helped more poor people in his country. He made some points I couldn’t agree more. He talked about “the world is a strange place” now: financial institutions only lend big money to people who already have big money. Those who are really in need of money rarely get helped. Also, he mentioned the fact that no one was born to be poor, it’s the system that makes poor people poor. He gave an example of comparing a mother who was helped by his bank with her daughter who was supported by her to become a PhD student. It’s like a giant tree seed being placed at a small flower garden -- it cannot grow tall not because its nature but where its growing environment was restrained. Furthermore, he talked about the story when he went to sit down with the beggars to try to figure out what went wrong with their life and how he made them to become small merchants. Dr. Yunus closed out his lecture by declaring his ultimate goal: creating poverty museums for Bangladesh, for the world -- let poverty become a history! The amazing legacy Professor Muhammad Yunus did was to use his expertise to do little things to help those who were in need of help.

PowerWithin Round 2

2008-05-19T21:54:00.000-07:00

This year’s PowerWithin was a much smaller size crowd than two years ago, but it was still a worthy experience. Lorreta LaRoche was still my favourite: I just could not stop laughing so hard with her performance on the stage. It almost brought me to tears to see those business people who paid big bucks coming to this event hands-in-hands singing and dancing in waves with her in the stadium -- how wonderful life could be when people’s mind is free. Why not talking to the person beside you?! Why not be able to laugh at yourself sometimes?! Why not reply with “I’m feeling juicy” while being asked “how are you”?! Christopher Gardner’s opening speech about “Pursuit of Happyness” was inspiring. His story of being thrown in jail for parking tickets and realizing the importance of life with his son reminded me of the movie American History X. Frank Abagnale, the man behind the movie Catch Me If You Can, was also a speaker. Martha Stewart and Andre Agassi were supposed to be the two big names but both failed the expectation. I’ve never been a big fan of Martha Stewart so I didn’t even bother continuing listening to her story after the mumbling boring start. The organizers tried to make Andre Agassi’s part for those business audience, so I guess he couldn’t shine too much over there. I was only disappointed he didn’t bring Steffi Graf. The legendary Quincy Jones had a long story to tell us which bored me (partly because I couldn’t hear what he was saying with his low volume mumbling). However, legend is a legend. The end of his speech didn’t only wake up the audience but also emotionally brought the event to another level. When the music started showing tenor Andrea Bocelli singing with a Columbia girl at We Are The Future charity around-the-world charity concert organized by Quincy Jones, he chocked up and his eyes were wet. What an incredible story!
I think legendary people are brought to their best when they are at their own business.

Another highlight of the day was to go up to the broadcasting booths on top level of GM Place!

Chinese New Year - The Year of Rat

2008-02-09T00:08:00.000-08:00

It's the Year of Rat in Chinese New Year. This is my year! On Chinese New Year's Day, highlight was the lunch potluck at OHSAH. Very delicious food. Although I was aware that Vancouver has big Chinese population, I was still surprised by the scale of celebration even in a medium size organization like OHSAH. It was great to see those white folks being so excited and celebrated the festival with us. Someone even cooked a Chinese dish for the first time. My supervisor, who usually doesn't care about dresses, wore red to work and was so happy to tell me she dressed her two kids with red hats in the morning! See the Chinese influence?! =)

Too Easy to Forget

2008-02-08T23:33:00.000-08:00

Bathurst, NB is a small town with about 18,000 population. Last week, it was struck by a tragic car accident which killed seven high school basketball players. On Friday, CBC National had a special session that asked the question:“How will Bathurst get over this tragedy?” Out of less than 20,000 population, about 10,000 people came out and attended the funeral memorial. In this little town, everyone knows each other, everyone seems to have some sort of connection with those seven kids -- they are like their own children. The community coped with the ordeal by setting up memorials along the highway where the accident happened, by consoling others whenever they met, by appreciating the cards and flowers sent from all over the country. In the question “How would you help people in this town shift the focus to other things of normal life” during the CBC interview, the mayor of the town said: “No. We simply don’t. If people want to talk about it, we talk about it. If they want to remember the boys, we try to help them in all ways we can offer.” What a truthful answer that is! I think people nowadays tend to forget things too fast. Yes, many of us have “more important” things to take care of, so when things like this happen, the way we deal with them is to forget. Soldiers were forgotten on the battle field; homeless and poor people were forgotten behind the back alley; even sometimes families were quickly forgotten because one has his/her “own business” to cater for. Those “more important” things can be all different kinds, but I do not understand what is more important than your life and the life around you. I’m sure Bathurst will leave this nightmare behind someday in the near future. But for now, take your time now to remember it...

Start New Blog Here

2008-01-26T19:00:00.001-08:00

I've had enough of the characteristic Microsoft non-user-friendly interface and functionality, especially on my Mac. And maybe because I like to try out new things constantly as well. I decided to move my blog from my old Windows Live Blog to here. Hopefully, I'll share my life and thoughts here continuously for a while. I'll upload most of my photos to my Picasa Web Albums and link some of the most recent ones on this page. Please feel free to check out and I will be very happy to see your comments.

I think the first task here is to blog my Hawaii trip a month ago -- it's been too long... Enjoy!