Ok, I know it took quite a bit of time but updates are finally available for my Cuba and Della Falls trip. As soon as I got back from both of my trips I’ve been so swamped with work and school that I had no time for anything else.

You can read about Cuba here: Cuba

You can read about Della Falls here: Della Falls

Enjoy!

During my time in Cuba, I’ve learned some valuable lessons that I’d like to share with you. If you’ve never been to Cuba I hope these will enlighten you and that you will not make the same mistakes that I’ve made. Enjoy.

10.  Never buy Cuban cigars off the streets no matter what kind of deal it is. I personally didn’t buy any but the moment you spark some interest in them they immediately hound you follow you until they can’t follow you no longer.

9. When eating dinner at a casa particular (budget private home B&B), don’t order any drinks like water or juice because you have to pay for it. So bring your own drinks! Sounds silly but trust me.

8. There’s no point showing up early to buy your bus ticket. Don’t worry when the ticket lady says it’s “full” because chances are there are tons of spaces. The reason they say that is because they let people who made reservations onto the bus first and then the normal people later. I think it’s pretty stupid because it’s usually a mad scramble to see who can get a seat on the bus. So I guess you show up early but not that early. Oh, and if you want to make a reservation, that too is a hassle.

7. Don’t rely on public transport to/from the international airport in Havana because it’s pretty much non-existent. This is the first I’ve seen out of all the countries I’ve been to. You must take a taxi. Lame.

6. Just when you think you are late, think again. Remember Cuban time.

5. Never have a tout help you are lead you to a place to stay no matter how friendly or nice they are. They can tell you all kinds of stories on how they are Catholic and would never cheat people. Chances are, most are wanting the commission. If it’s not money they want, it’s beer.

4. Make sure you wear something warm when taking an overnight bus (or any other bus) in Cuba. The A/C can get really cold like a meat freezer. Nobody will make fun of you if you bring your toque and gloves.

3. If you’re really big into eating lunch, think again before coming to Cuba. Lunch is almost non-existent here unless you like eating pizza and “mystery meat” off the streets. Breakfast and dinner are the main meals here.

2. You don’t have to pay for public washrooms if you don’t have change. If you need toilet paper however, you probably have to tip the washroom attendant. Also, if you end up NOT paying for the washrooms but the attendant later finds that you did have some spare change, you can kiss that dollar good-bye!

1. You don’t need to bring loads of American cash. They don’t accept them here, as well as American people.

I just got back from a 12-day trip to Cuba. I have lots to say and so little time. The reason I didn’t do any updates in Cuba is because the internet there is super expensive and slow. It wasn’t worth it. I will provide you with some stories and pictures hopefully in the next week or so. Right now, I’m going to bed, and then get ready to pack for my next adventure which is tomorrow. I will be camping with my friend Chris to Della Falls - and is argued to be the highest waterfalls in Canada and I think the 4th highest in the world. I can’t wait to conquer!

After writing my gruelling 4-hour exam (which was delayed half an hour due to technical difficulties) i quickly went home to finish my last minute packing. I was all set for Cuba. The only thing standing in the way from my flight was getting to my flight (which left at 11pm). And yes, it did stand in the way. It’s usually BC Transit that’s the fault but this time it was BC Ferries. I had planned it perfectly - by the time I took the bus, caught the 6pm ferry and another bus to the airport, i would’ve been about 2 hours ahead of schedule before my flight out of YVR. Instead, the ferry was late by half and hour and that changed everything! Because of that, everything else was delayed including the bus to take to the airport. Instead of taking the 8pm bus on the other side, I had to wait an hour and take the 9pm bus. I knew I would be cutting it close if I took the 9pm bus. My only concern was when the cut-off time was for check-in for international flights. I asked the guy next to me and he said about an hour. That gave me some comfort but I was still cutting it close. The bus finally arrived at 9pm and it was jammed packed full of angry people. Every minute seemed like an eternity. I arrived at the airport station arond 9:40pm but there was still another short bus ride to the airport. I quickly checked the time it left and it said 9:56pm! I needed to find a taxi quick! Luckily, there was a Delta hotel nearby and I asked the lobby person if there was a shuttle or taxi going to the airport. He said I was in luck as there was a shuttle coming any moment. Sure enough, the shuttle came as I stepped outside. I quickly hopped on and told him to go to the international terminal. I felt like I was on the amazing race. The guy was really nice and told me exactly where I should go. Of course, when I got there, I went in the wrong direction but quickly found the right way. When I got to the check-in, the place was ready to shut down. I asked if I was too late and the supervisor said I had less than 5 minutes left! Talk about a close call! That’s the closest I’ve ever been to almost missing my first flight. If your heart needs a workout, this is one of the best ways to do it!

Well, by the time you read this, I will be lying on a beach in Cuba drinking a fruit shake and getting the perfect tan that I’ve been waiting all summer. This past week was a study week preparing for my 5-hour exam for school. It will be nice to get away from it all for 2 weeks and taking a break from school and work. I have not read anything at all on Cuba and will wait and see what adventure lies ahead. I will try to keep you posted.

I had wings the other night at Smuggler’s Cove Pub and it brought back some memories. Flashback to 2001 - my university days at Uvic where I was living in a house with 5 other guys. Every Monday night we would head over to Smuggler’s as it was $0.25 cents per chicken wing! They had all kinds of delicious flavours to choose from including teriyaki, bbq, honey garlic, hot, ragin cajan, lemon pepper, and more. Anyways, it came down to the end of the school year and everyone was going to part ways. We decided to have a “wing-off” one Monday evening and see who could eat the most wings! You would think this would be one fun event but it really turned out to be some serious competition. We even phoned the pub a few days ahead of time so that they could order more wings! Yes, we were that prepared!

The day finally came and all six of us guys crowded around the table for some serious wing-eating. We also brought along a few of our friends/spectactors to witness the event. I was a big nervous to start. Everyone was counting on me to win since I was your sterotypical skinny asian - who are known to ‘pack it all in’. The basic rule is that you must completely remove all the meat out from the bone, including the sauce. Nothing gets left behind. If you go to the washroom, you must be accompanied by someone else so that they don’t catch you…well…you know what. In the past my limit for eating wings is usually about 30-40. I had never pushed myself to the limit until that night. By about 50 wings I was feeling it. At about 60 you start to finally think how many chickens sacrified their lives just for this night. It was about this point that I slowed down and took my time eating 1 wing at a time. My stomach started feeling the protein overload and that’s when you start feeling the churning and groaning. I got up to 67.5 wings and then I finished. I could not go any longer. My hollow legs were filled to the brim. Anyways, the guy that won the whole thing - he had over 100 HOT wings. Nobody expected him to win as he was skinny and small like me. I’m not sure if he got a free meal out of it or had has picture up on the wall but he was sure proud.

So coming back from Abbotsford to Victoria I had the opportunity to fly a plane! Oh yah! Here’s the story in a nutshell. My supervisor and I were the only ones on the flight as the pilot guy (who also owns the company) wanted to leave a bit earlier as he had multiple flights that day and was going to be busy. He asked if either of us wanted to fly in the passenger seat with him. Of course I jumped on the opportunity. It was cool riding in the cockpit as I got to see everything “behind the scenes”. I even put on a headset and listened in on the calls back to the base. Midway through the flight the pilot asked me if I wanted to fly the plane for a little while. I was like, “sure” (with a big gulp inside me). He quickly gave me a crash course and told me to just be steady. He said he almost got in trouble the last time as the previous guy he showed it to wasn’t that good and jerked the plane too much. It was pretty neat holding the sterring wheel and controlling the plane. I was bit bumpy at first but after awhile I got the hang of it. I was looking at my supervisor at the back but his face hadn’t turned green yet so I guess he was fine. I was flying for a good 5-7 minutes but it felt like seconds. It was so much fun!

Here are the planes that I flew on:

I must admit there are not that many exciting moments in my life right now unless you consider working and studing exciting. If that’s the case then I’m really living life right now! I was working in Abbotsford last week and will be there again for a few days this week. I am helping out on a govenment audit which has been keeping me busy. I did though have the chance to go out one night and hang out with my old friend John A. Macdonald. Yah, I know. You must be confused as I am. Who has the same name as the first prime minister of Canada? Well, to make a long story short, his real name is Alexander and he actually changed is name to Xan. Yup, that’s right, Xan. I guess it’s short for Alexander or something. Oh, and his last name? He changed it to DeWinter. I’m not making this up. From now on, people will know him as Xan DeWinter. That’s quite the change from John A. Macdonald;)

Anyways, he gave me the grand tour of Abbotsford and showed me some parts of Mission as well. Abbotsford, as you know, is known as the “bible belt”. Well, if that’s the case, then the area we were at we must’ve been in the “buckle” of the belt. There were so many churches, left, right, and centre. I later learned that Abbotsford is the berry capital of Canada, has one the highest crime rates in B.C., and has the highest Sikh concentration in Canada. They shouldn’t call it the “bible belt” but instead the “utility belt”.

My four months of freedom has just ended. Starting May 5th, I officially start my next set of modules as part of the CA program. It will be 10 weeks of fun in the sun, except I won’t be enjoying the sun this summer but stuck indoors studying my brains out. From what I hear from other people, it won’t be that bad. Besides missing out on camping trips, and long weekends, I am basically sacrificing one summer of my life for my future. I do have a 2 week break at the end of July before I begin my next 10 week module starting in August. I’ll have to go somewhere fun.
I’ll be in Abbotsford for the week of May 5th to 9th for work. It’s all good though. I’m kind of glad there’s nothing to do in Abbotsford since it gives me a chance to stay in the hotel and just focus on my studies.

This past weekend Phebe and I had the opportunity to take a weekend off and head over to Hongcouver…err, I mean Vancouver. For many of you who don’t know, it was Phebe’s birthday. We decided to celebrate it by having some good eats and doing some shopping and spending time together. The night we arrived to my grandma’s place on Friday it was snowing! It was quite the treat consider how often it snows in April and in particular on Phebe’s birthday! We didn’t have the opportunity to head out for dinner since we arrived around 9:30pm. But thanks to my grandma, she had made us some good old home cooked meals for us to enjoy. What’s nice about our visit to my grandma’s is not only her food but her cable subscription to the Chinese channels. Phebe was absolutely glued to the T.V.! I think both nights that we had stayed there, both Phebe and my grandma had stayed up late past midnight to finish watching their dramas!

The next day, after 5 hours of hard core shopping, we decided it was time for dinner. We decided to walk down Robson Street and choose one from there. We stumbled upon this Korean restaurant that we thought looked good. Everything was fine about the restaurant: the food was great, the atmosphere was good, and the bathrooms were clean. The only thing missing was their customer service. I later learned from Phebe that Koreans have the reputation of having one of the worst customer service compared to all the other Asian groups. The greeter lady didn’t even great us at the front. We had to wait a long time to even get our table even though I saw so many tables empty. When we finally sat down, our regular waitress who took our order didn’t even come back to our table until we were done eating, which was about 20 minutes after the fact. We had to wave down other waitresses to fill our teas, and get refills for starter dishes. What’s worse was that during our dinner, we felt this sudden gust of wind coming from the ventilation ducts above onto our table. It got so cold that I had to put on my fleece. It didn’t happen once but twice. And when it did happen again, the table next to us said some words that I don’t even think I can even write on this blog. Nobody came by to explain what it was. When it was time to pay our bill, I could’ve went to the front counter to pay but that would’ve been too easy. Instead, I wanted to see how long it took them to want my money. After waiting about 10 or so minutes, I decided to waive the bill like a flag to see if they notice. Surprisingly, it took them almost a whole minute for them to come by. It was unbelievable. I’ve never seen this so bad.

The next day we went to a Chinese restaurant called Hon’s Noodle House. If you’ve never been here before, you definately have to try. Compared to last night, the service was a lot better. First, they seated you promptly even though it was busy, took your order right away and refilled your drinks when it was low. They even gave us the bill mid-way through so didn’t have to ask! On top of that, the portions were huge and the price was affordable. Surprisingly we didn’t have room to finish everything we ordered and had to take some home!

Pictures from our Korean dinner: