Pictures of BC and Alberta

Spanish Banks, BC
AquaBus mini tour around Vancouver
In front of the Resort @ Rocky Mountain Resort in Banff
Gable, Me, Loretta (Gable's Sister-in-Law), Toby (Gable's brother) @ Lake Louise

Mini Western Canada Tour

Since my exchange is over and now that I'm officially back in Canada this blog shouldn't be called Mei's Trip to the Orient... but for the safe of formalities and thinking of a cool name for this blog i'll keep it this way temporarily.

So i got to Vancouver, BC and after 2 days gable and his family took us to Banff, Alberta which was cool because i have never been there before. We went hiking, saw the infamous Lake Louise which is beautiful... the water is emerald green hence it's previous name emerald lake. We went to the Columbia Ice Fields which is a huge glacier... we went to Kelowna and spent a day relaxing in the outdoor pool and on our way back to BC we went white water rafting which was just exhilirating. No pictures of that because didn't want to get the camera wet but i'll put pictures of banff and BC.

BC has just been so fun; mainly because of the people and the amazing weather. I feel funny because while everyone is saying that it's so hot (which it is, i mean it's 30 degrees) i'm just saying to myself, well it's not THAT hot... i think i got use to the HK humidity so i guess that will be perfect when i return home to Toronto tomorrow.

Right now i'm having a whole ton of mixed feelings, i'm so happy to finally see my family and just be at home and have my mom's homecooked meals (something i missed so much on exchange) and last but not least i'm happy to finally see my friends. However, going back home means this exchange and this time of travelling with gable and seeing family whom i rarely see is officially over. That makes me so sad... just this morning as i hugged my cousins Jim and Angela good-bye i felt choked up because this good-bye reminded me of the good-byes i said in HK... and i'm wondering why aren't people emailing me back and it's just difficult to deal with the fact that ok, everyone has a life that is separate from exchange. No more slacking off and having fun, it's work time and this isn't the best picker-upper. But as James said (Friend from Singapore) we should always think of the people that are waiting for us back at home. It's funny that he says that because he was also the one that described our Exchange experience as a dream and that it won't hit us until we are in our beds sleeping at home and when we wake up in the morning it hits you that exchange really did feel like a dream and it's all over.

If anyone of my exchange friends are reading my blog i just want to tell you that you made my exchange experience completely unique and i wouldn't have had it any other way. If you feel sad or you're missing a friend then you can call me or email me anytime. I think about returning home and truly there isn't any other place like home but i know a part of me will always remember and share a place in Hong Kong as something unique and special.

Thailand - Bangkok and Phuket

After my exchange Gable met me in Hong Kong and we went on a trip to Thailand - Bangkok and Phuket (southern island of Thailand where the Tsunami hit). The trip was amazing and we really felt the lack of finances near the end... can you believe that we were lasting our last few days on about $20 Canadian dollars. My aunt in HK was right, when you are poor you really learn to enjoy yourself... you buy the things that you utmost love and you find cheap things to do. For example... we were at the Grand Palace in Bangkok and this stranger told us that if you ride a government tuk-tuk (a 3 wheel 1/2 motorcycle, 1/2 car taxi that is suppose to be one of the cheapest means of transportation) therefore a tuk tuk with a yellow stamp near it's license plate then the driver will take you around for one hour for only $20 Bhat which is equal to 70 cents canadian... isn't that crazy; the only catch is that you have to go into this jewellery store so that the driver recieves an automatic gas coupon... that is the reason why it was so cheap. The driver also took us to the pier where we got from on end of hte city to the other for only 12 bhat which is 30 cents canadian..
Overall, Bangkok wasn't the greatest place: it's known for shopping and it's not as cheap as Hong Kong because there is a VAT 7%...the night market has great and cheap food especially fruit smoothies... As well the taxi drivers cheat you and you gotta be aware of your surroundings or be like my aunt: Don't look stupid.

Phuket was an amazing place... although you can see that it's a very impoverished area, the place thrives off tourism... taxi's are more expensive there than in Bangkok and when you buy things they give you some ridiculous initial price. There are many water sports you can do there... instead we join some local tours to see the neighbouring islands such as the infamous Phi Phi Islands and James Bond Island... it was the first time i saw crystal waters and white sand.

Exchange is Officially Over but the vacation continues...

The oldest security guard at HKUST - knows every party story of each exchange/local student
The senior superintendent @ New hall (my dormitory)
The Cashier/Manager at Grab and Go - Maxium (My breakfast and Lunch place)
wow i haven't written in my blog in the longest time... well from the time of the farewell dinner it was crazy studying-in-the-library time... even for us exchange students... actually this is the most crucial time for us X students because the theory goes that we haven't been doing much except for partying and hanging out with friends so finals are the time to really make sure you don't just marginally pass... well that is the objective of some, but not my group of friends. I have to say that ECON 311 was exactly what i expected it to be... exchange students will poor micro and macroeconomic background, lax prof who "says" he won't be generous and last year and in the end no matter how badly you fail on the midterm you somehow end up with a B?? How is this possible... we all are so happy we dont' ask questions, we just celebrate.

Here are some farewell goodbye pictures... enjoy.

I'm in BC right now, tomorrow off to Alberta and in July off to Winnipeg and then to Cuba in August so even though exchange is over the travelling around Canada continues... may not be as exotic but travelling is travelling... it's who you are with and not where you are going!