3 virtues I learned from my traveling

After spending 3+ weeks traveling with a very good friend of mine, I feel like that I am a lot calmer and more patient than before. Since I was with my friend all the time, I had an opportunity to learn how to control my temper and my emotions.

Three virtues I learned from my Asia traveling in May:

1) Patience:
It helps resolve conflicts and allow each person to think carefully before carrying any irrational act. Just give yourself a little time to calm yourself down will go a long way. It does not do any good to be very angry and get too involved in a situation. Believe it or not, many things in our life have been determined by some higher spirit, depending on your religion. Things will eventually follow their own course.

2) Don't be angry at things happened:
It happened and nothing can change it. It's already in the history record and no one can turn the clock back and wish that it didn't happen. Embrace the results and the outcomes, whether they are good or not.

If money can solve the problem, it really isn't a problem because there is solution to it. Just when we feel that there is no option, there is always one, depending on whether you want to accept it or not.

3) Treasure the unpredictable:
If everything goes as planned, there will be no excitement, disappointment, job, and surprises in life. It's good to have things go as planned but the contrary doesn't necessarily mean a disaster.

Thank you my friend for giving me the opportunity to practice the above three virtues. I will remind myself from day to day.

St. James's Park, London

On my last day in London, I spent the day wandering around the St. James's Park. I got there at around 9 in the morning. I got a coffee and a hot dog (I was really hungry.) at a snack booth at its entrance. It was a sunny day and I spent my entire day strolling along the pedestrian walk in the park. The park reminds me of the Victoria Park in Hong Kong. I still remember spending time there when I was very young; running one-mile twice a year for the physical education (P.E.) exam; sitting there during my lunch time when I started working. I still have pictures at home that my parents took when I was very young. My dad used to take me and my sisters to the park on weekends.

I ended up walking all the way to the Buckingham Palace inside the Park. As usual, it was packed with tourists outside the gate trying to take a peek at the Queen, who is never in the outer countyard. On my way back to my friend's apartment, I ended up running into the St. Patrick's Day Parade near Picadilly Circus. I stopped for a while and took some pictures.

London, I am missing you already!

DANGER! Life's falling apart!

This is another warning sign I saw at Reculver. Look at the sign. I love the graphical depiction of it. Not only is the guy going to plunge to death, the rock behind him is also breaking into halves. With his head reaching the ground first, he is definitely going to die. The sign was actually post on the top of the cliff. I wonder how the guy at the bottom of the cliff can figure out that the cliff may break into pieces.

Hmmm...maybe I should bring a parachute wherever I go. Maybe I should start practicing my 50-meter short-distance run. Hope I can deft the gravity if the rock and still escape without any injuries.

Isn't that just like our life, every one wants to have certainties, wants to have insurance against the unknown. I am going to deft the norms and try everything I want in my life.

Warning Signs

I saw this sign when I was walking along the Reculver's coastal path with my teacher. I got to take a picture of it because I just love the line "Slippery rocks with deep voids". Does that make you feel that every decision you make in your life is basically the same as walking on slippery rocks with deep voids?

There is no certainty in life.

If you are lucky, you can reach the other end safely even though you are stepping on the slippery rocks.

If you are a bit unlucky, you may fall while you are walking on the slippery rocks. However, you won't be falling into the deep voids between the rocks.

If you are really unlucky, you are going to fall through the cracks of the slippery rocks and plunge into the sea.

Just take a moment to think about the philosophy of life. You can summarize it with that sign.

London Underground

I love the public transport system in London. It's so easy to get around and you can get from point A to point B by bus or underground. They also installed the new Oyster card system, which is similar to the Octopus card system in Hong Kong. Basically, you can just touch your Oyster card whenever you board the tube or bus. It is so easy to use and I have been using that in Hong Kong since 1997 or so. I think it's one of the best innovations in the world. It helps us reduce the spare change that we have to keep in our pocket.

Anyway, one of the bad things about the London underground is that it always has some signal problems that cause delays in certain lines. In addition, for some reason, they have to shut down several lines on the weekend for maintenance work. I somehow wonder why they can't do the repair work at night. After trying out various underground or subway systems in the world, I still give London Underground a positive rating!

Of course, I still think that that Japanese subway and the Hong Kong MTR are the best. Once you try it once, you just wonder why the rest of the world can't build something like that to reduce the number of cars on the road. I am a big proponent of the public transport system!

Train Stations in Europe

This is a picture that I took at the Victor Station in London. I love going to the big train stations in Europe. I still remember the Central Station in Amsterdam when I visited there 7 years ago. It's the architectural design of it makes me feel that I am in a different time period and I am really leaving somewhere to go to another place. I don't get the same feeling whenever I go to the airports.

I think it has to do with the fact that it's a lot easier and more common for people to travel around nowadays than before. Therefore, you don't see people crying at every single train station or airport. Also, the new airport just makes you feel so cold and isolated. You just don't feel the atmosphere that you are leaving a place for good to go to another place. It may also have to do with the fact that I watch way too many Hollywood movies!

Canterbury, Reculver, and Maidstone

During my second day in London, I took the SE rail to go to see my high school teacher in Maidstone. It happened that she was on a term break when I was there. So, I got to hang out with her for a day. She picked me up at the Barming train station and took me to Canterbury to see the cathedral. I have heard of Canterbury before I have never been there before. Of the 2 times I have been to England before, I only got to go to Cambridge, London, and Maidstone. It was the 1st time that I got to see other parts of England as well.

Canterbury is a nice little town in the Southeastern part of England. I won't bore you with the history of it but my teacher did give me a detailed background of the Canterbury Catherdal on our way there. You can see the rest of the pictures I took there on my online album.

We walked around Canterbury for an hour and stopped by the Rupert Bear Museum there. I had no idea what it was but my teacher told me that it was a popular cartoon character in England. Every British kid has heard of it. It's like Big Bird or Cookie Monster in the Sesame Street. We also stopped by to visit a very old hospital there. I was excited to see the countryside of England. It's absolutely beautiful, tranquil, and peaceful. I think I won't mind getting a place there as a vacation house.

After going to Canterbury, my teacher took me to Reculver. It was along the coastline of SE England. It has a breath-taking view along the coastal walk. You got to see the wind power generator standing in the middle of the English Channel. We walked around for about an hour before we headed home for dinner.

I was lucky enough for a second day in a row that someone did gourmet home cooking for me. My teacher was doing the cooking this time and the dinner was so tasty. I still vividly remember how good a cook she is. I love the paella that she made when we were back in Hong Kong. We also had a good chat at the dinner and we were shocked that we have known one another for 12 years. A lot happened between then and now and I am very thankful that she always stands by me when I need her. She helped me a lot when I was having a hard time in high school and when I first moved to North Carolina and then Kentucky for Pharmacy School. Without her help, I probably won't be here at this point in my life.

Thank you Sally! You are the best!

Fire Extinguisher

I took this picture outside my friend's apartment in London. I just found it interesting that they used a honk as fire alarm. I wonder what would happen in case of a real fire. Would you still have time to read the pamphlet behind it and hold the air honk? I guess when you see smoking or a fire, you would be freaking out and trying to run down the stairs as soon as possible, rather than trying to locate the honk and read the notice sheet behind it.

Bravo! I guess that's the British way of fire safety!

London, I love it!

I love London!

I really have to scream out loud how much I love the city after I have been there for 3 times. Even though everyone around me hates London, I still think that it's one of the best cities in the world. People complains about the weather there all the time. Interestingly, I have been there 3 times and everything I was there, the weather was fantastic.

This time, I got to stay with a very good friend of mine from college in London. She has been working there in the past 3 years for the US Army and she is loving it. I am so glad that I got to see her for the 1st time in 3+ years. We used to hang out a lot when I was in college. I still remember the purple Dodge Neon I drove and we went to many places with our group of friends.

I met up with my friend at the Starbucks outside the Westminster tube station shortly after I landed at Gatwick. Luckily, I still remember how to get around in London so it's not such a big hassle for me to find my way around. Finally at 9:30a.m., she came! I couldn't believe that after being in London for 3 years, she looked so posh and good! I couldn't help but complimenting how good she looked! We sat down for a little while to catch up before I walked her back to her office. We had so much fun in our conversation. We were both shocked to learn that everyone we used to hang out with is married and has kids. She and I were the old single people around. Let me put it this way. She is a bit more fortunate than I am because she is dating a great guy in London. I got to meet him when we had dinner my first night there. I am so happy for her!

I walked around the Oxford Street and the Regent Street during the day and I really had a great time. London is definitely a city that I wouldn't mind living in. I just miss the pace of living in a big city. You can tell that people in London move a lot faster than people in San Francisco. Also, gosh, the Brits know how to dress well. Everyone looks so stylish on the street. I especially like the fact that the streets don't smell like urine. That's one thing I hate about San Francisco. Every morning when you walk on the street, you smell urine. Every time after the rain, you smell urine. The Mayor should definitely do something to resolve the homeless situation in the city. It's just so unhygienic when the only thing you remember is the smell of urine in the city.

I went home that night and bought a cake from a bakery shop on Regent Street for dessert. My friend did a FANTASTIC job of cooking both two types of curry. It was the first time that I actually got to taste her REAL home cooking. Also, she got me hooked on the bread and pate thing. Now, I can't live without some good bread and pate. That's all I need for a meal.

My friend's boyfriend came by and so did some of her friends. We had a great time hanging out in her nice apartment in downtown London. I wish I could afford a place like that in San Francisco. Anyway, I wasn't jealous at all and I am very happy that she got to where she is now.

Anyway, before the dinner was ready. Her friends were trying to use EZ sniper to get a Rugby jersey off eBay. So, we got a few laughs about people frantically bidding on eBay to get what they want. Her friend did end up getting the jersey that he wanted for 30 pounds! I guess EZ sniper works for him.

Shortly after lunch, I felt so tired that I retreated back to my room. However, I didn't realize that I actually felt asleep until the next morning. When I woke up, my friend told me that her buddies dropped by to see me sleeping like a baby. I guess I was exhausted after a long flight and a fun day in London.

Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, London and I

As some of you know, I got a chance to visit London during my trip back to Hong Kong. I was not planning to go to London because of the high airfare from Hong Kong to there. However, when I found out that my friend's girlfriend is working as a flight attendant for a new discount airline called Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, I decided to take advantage of the discount program for staff and got a round trip ticket to London Gatwick for HK$ 1,000 (about US$ 130) excluding tax.

I was a bit hesitate to fly with Oasis Hong Kong Airlines since I have not flown with them or heard anything from my friends about them before. To my great surprise, I had a very pleasant trip to and from Hong Kong. The ground staff members and the flight attendants were very polite. In addition, they do have individual TV monitor for each seat. Overall, the plane is very clean. Yes, you may complain that you don't get a free drink and your midnight cup noodles. However, they do give you one drink and one meal before you land. I actually like this arrangement a lot better because the lights won't be on and off all the time inside the cabin and people won't be going back and forth for their cup noodles and hot water. I just wanted to get a good sleep once I got on the plane. Therefore, I like their services a lot and I will definitely fly with them again when I got to London next time. I can't wait for them to expand their services to Oakland, CA later this year. I heard that they are going to fly to Vancouver, Canada starting in June.

Anyway, I am happy that Hong Kong got a second International airline besides Cathay Pacific with great quality services.