29 Aug Journey of Faith
i've no idea whatsoever where i am now. hahha.. nah, just kidding. am in the train (Amtrak) heading to Newark International Airport, New Jersey from Kingston, Rhode Island. i'll be cutting across the states of Connecticut & New York. i think.. not too sure also. i'm seeing lots of houses & boats occassionally when the tracks run over lakes & other water bodies (pardon my igorance because i cant really tell what is what).. heh.
ok, the sign says i'm at Mystic Railroad Station. does look mystical for that matter. hahha.. *grinz* it's almost a 4-hr ride from where i was (now 30mins into the ride nia..bleah). it was alittle stressing because i reached the train station like 10mins before the train was due to leave & bought tickets. i kept looking at my watch & the car clock, wondering what would happen if i missed the train. but then, i decided that God would have His plans if that happened & i wouldnt really needed to worry too much. now, this is the first time i'm travelling that i didnt pre-book my tickets. ok, second. considering the trip i took up to Boston last week had me arrive at the bus station 25min before. bade farewell to my hosts & keng. perhaps it was a good thing that we were there for just a short while because i saw that Judy (grammy) had tears swelling up in her eyes. i shifted myself out of emotions so i wouldnt be crying, whispered 'take care' & turned to Roy (grampy). did the same then took my stuff (which was alot for skinny me.. ok, fat me =p whatever) & boarded the train. struggled alot walking down the aisle but i pushed on since i wanted 2 seats to myself. finally found one but by that time, the train had already moved off & i didnt manage to wave goodbye.. =(
oh well, the world is small. what goes round will come round. ?? huh?? hahha.. i duno what i'm talking about. anyway, the best thing that came out of camp was Sung Hye. no doubt about that. i love her.. we said our goodbyes last night in the dark & though she cried (which made Judy cried too), i hanged on, promising that i’ll visit her. probably this coming winter (yes, yes, i'm getting accustomed to the 4 seasons already) when sch's over.. she wanted me to promise her that i'll start saving up the moment i get home. hahha.. well, praying that God will provide at least a good-paying & useful (for further education) part-time job. i'm really going to miss my time in US. strangely, not so much in camp. yes, i think i served the Lord in many areas there, focusing on my kids & giving the best i had. also, whenever i could bless anyone. camp pastor, fellow counselors, leadership staff.. it was indeed an experience. i'll miss Sung Hye.. i'll miss grampy & grammy.. i'll miss their grandchildren Lora, Brian & Alex. oo.. i felt so bad to see Alex crying when we left. i'm going to try to visit them some time soon. though i dunno if that can come to pass since an air ticket is so expensive!
3 more hours in the train. wondering if i should sleep. thinking of how i can help myself counter jet lag. i still have another 16 hours to spend on the plane. sianz. hahah.. but hopefully all will be fine so i can enjoy myself in Taipei & not suffer from jet lag. not sure if short naps are the way to go but guess i'll be trying that..
Old Saybrook station. an hour into the journey.. more movements because apparently, this train station's platform's short so everyone need to go to the centre coach – which is the one behind mine & i’m sitting by the end where the door is. *sianz* the window to the platform showed people hugging each other: someone had returned from somewhere.. i wonder how it would be like when i reach taipei. i miss mummy.. =p
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i slept. for a good hour or less. hahah. didnt bother to look out of the train window anymore since it was dark. but from where i positioned myself, i could see the gradual change from houses to apartments as we neared cities like New York & New Jersey. i'm bored. reaching 2 hours in advance of my flight does have its downfall. checked in my stuff. not sure if both my luggage weighed 15kg together or the bigger one only. =p hahha. oh well. anyway, it says wi-fi connection @ all terminals in the airport. but apparently, it's not free. hahah. there're free websites to surf.. airport departures & arrivals.. how to get to & from airport.. weather.. hahha.. you get my point. =p that's about all i can do. so i just plugged in my laptop to charge it.. hee. make use of free electricity while awaiting boarding..
Newark International Airport. pretty small. the pple arriving on the same plane are now streaming out from the same place i'll be boarding. i.e. entry & exit same. & most of the shops are closed. i know it's approaching midnight but hmm, i guess i cant compare much either. been only to a few other airports which probably were bigger & better.. strangely, even the duty-free shop closes. haha.. maybe working @ Changi caused me to assume that all, if not most, international ariports hold the same standards. hahaha.. let me see. i think i did like the fact that it was connected via Airtrain from the Amtrak train station directly. that certainly felt good to just walk a short distance & get to where you needed to be. JFK (New York) seemed busier. Tacoma (Seattle) had a lot more terminals..but somehow, both cant beat Singapore's. hahha. oh well, i think the airport in Chicago & LA are more popular anyway. not like i’ve been there before.. hahha..
another 20min before a 6-hour flight to Tacoma. too bad they didnt allow me to exit there. i'd have visited the friends i made when i first got to US. someday, i guess. who knows? i may choose to further my studies in UW (university of washington), Seattle. =) looking into maybe Rhode Island's & Boston's colleges too.. =)
going to the bathroom (stopped using the word 'toilet' since my kids didnt understand that) before boarding. hope that there'll be nice meals on my flights as well as nice movies to watch. shall attempt to not sleep for at least the next 4 hours (6 if possible) to try to adjust back to Singapore's timing.. hee. wish me luck! =)
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almost the 11th hour into my flight. total flight time including that of the first flight from Newark to Tacoma & the present one.. not as bad as i thought. am excited to meet mummy & jie after such a long while. made friends (kind of) with the girl sitting a seat away -- they kept the one in the centre empty. she's by the window while i got the aisle seat. cambodian. but i would say her english's pretty good, though we converse mainly in chinese. hahha.. alrite, perhaps both of us got tired of speaking in english day in, day out in US. hahah.. but well, she's way ahead of me, a year younger with only secondary school education. but who cares about education? she already has a green card & is now going back to Cambodia to visit her parents.. i think her sister has a restuarant in Philidelphia (pardon my spelling.. =p) geeh.. i suppose my trip this time round was more of an experience (hands-on) & perhaps, a way to find my way around & 'build establishments'.. =) everything is in God's plans..
fell asleep while watching Madagascar! man.. can imagine how tired i was. i mean, c'mon, it's a comedy.. & i seriously wanted to watch it again.. but.. hahha.. but playing chess took the better of me (means: sleep). =p am now trying to follow Singapore's time. 11pm. so gonna try to stay up until 12mn & sleep for the next 7 hrs? hahha.. which means, waking up when the plane's about to land. hee. watched A Lot like Love. was ok. not sth i would choose to pay for @ the movies. heard the increase in prices for movie ticket back home. this scholar (think MOE - Ministry of Education - scholar.. bleah, all the MIT folks too smart liaoz. cant remember who is on what scholarship) just returned to Boston from Singapore so kind of the 'most' updated guy around. there were 2 other freshmen whom i made friends with. Serene & Christopher Moh. apparently, brother should know Chris's brother. same year in RJ. will ask. anywayz, nothing beats the price in US. the cheapest i've seen is USD$6.75; that translates to SGD$11.48 according to the rate of 1:1.7! opps, another movie has just started. shall watch & type then decide if i wanna watch it or sleep.
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy proved to be too long & boring. i really tried hard to keep awake but man, each time i wake up in between, it was still on that show. hahah.. it's now the 11th hour into my second flight. which means that i've been in a train/plane for close to 20hours! gee, a day lost. spent on travelling half the world. i guess it's way better now than it was in the past.. but still..
managed to tuned my biological clock somewhat to that of Singapore's time. =) slept most of the morning except some parts either watching movie or eating. yeah.. sleep, eat & watch tv. fattening life huh? *rolls eyes*
marks 14 weeks of being away from home today. does sound scary. & i've yet to really start full-gear on studying. there's just so much i wanna do. clean my room for good, keep up with business, study & graduate. then there's the 'keep-in-contact' with folks i got to know through summer..
k, plane seems to be heading down. another hour or less before i see mummy. yay! hee..
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31 Aug Taipei, Taiwan
touch down. first time i used my hp to call in 3 months! hahha. well, didnt see mum or jie so turned on my hp, to see a missed call from jie. called her back & told her my whereabouts. sat down to try out internet but again, no free wireless.. why cant the airports just provide free for their passengers? like Changi.. =p hahha.. oh well, shallnt complain. gotta log off soon because i think my laptop battery will only last another hour. dont want it to run dry. shall go to the hotel to charge it up.. yay! holidays! =)
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1 Sept Typhoon!!
no jet lag. =) yay! but so much for holidays.. there's a typhoon in the region & all schools and many offices (& shops. bleah) are closed. not sure if it's only for today but looks bad. hahha.. everyone's encouraged to stay indoors. bleah. no shopping. sobz. =( looking into going southwards for night market shopping instead since the typhoon’s affecting mainly the northern parts.. shall seek for advice..
access to internet costs about SGD$15 for a day. still wondering if we wanna pay for it. we'll be attempting to walk to the nearby tea house to chat with the lady there & perhaps find out what are the other things we can do. dad sms-d me last night & mum decided we call home just to ensure him we're all ok.
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3 September Home Sweet Home..
i’m 5 hours away from home. don’t feel anything special.. feels like it was just yesterday when i left home. hahha.. oh well, maybe it’s me. =p kinda pretty accustomed to flying around.. obviously the longest & furthest i’ve travel.. man, the duty free here in chang kai shek international airport is expensive sia.. like this fossil watch that I like? I saw it fro USD$75@Tacoma (translates to about SDG$125) but it’s NT$3120 here (translates to about SGD$165). rough estimates lah.. lazy to actually calculate.. will check it out in Singapore.. if more expensive, i shall bug people to help me buy from US liaoz.. =)
let’s see.. a travel review of Taipei.. let’s start with the common & rare sights. what’s common: scooters (80-90% scooters, 10-20% motorbikes!), 7-eleven stores. down almost every street, or alley for that matter, there’s one just round the corner.. what’s rare: money changers (all currencies-exchange done in banks), rubbish bins (trash cans for US folks reading this =p). we couldn’t find any in most public places.. well, the food’s very nice & relatively cheap here.. good to walk down the street to check out other stores first before committing to buy because we were ‘cheated’ couple of times.. most clothes, shoes & accessories are generally pretty cheap. endless streets of stores & cart-stores.. apparently, they’re open 24 hours (not sure if it’s only weekends though). jie said that the night markets still cant beat the size of that in Thailand’s.. maybe. but i think the quality & material of the goods here’s better.. moreover, they speak Mandarin, a plus for Singaporeans who cant speak Thai in Thailand or Cantonese in Hong Kong.. =) not that it’s very important when you shop because everyone understands numbers & what the calculators show.. =p
about to board the plane liaoz.. need to let first-class, business-class, the elderly & families with young children board first.. meanwhile, can still type alittle.. heh. took a cab to the airport this morning. no choice. my flight @ 740am.. if i check-in, i’ll need to be at least 2 hours in advance (better not to rush & miss the plane). cost SDG$60! argh.. hahha. it was lesser than expected.. but good also lah, better be more prepared than end up with not enough money. hahha.. can always keep for another trip.. =p
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home. =) proud to have travelled so much. k, need rest. blog soon.. sorry for the long entry.. (as if i am.. =p)
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