New York Adventure

The reason why I decided to visit my friend Hannah in New York was because the flight from Ottawa to New York was only one hour. And I was moving back to Taiwan in April. So if I hadn't gone there, it would have been even much more efforts for me to go from Asia. On top of that, Hannah offered me free accommodation, so I would have made a huge mistake if I had just passed it.

Being an experienced traveler, I didn't need too much of their attention. So every day the couple just went to work, and I had my own schedule for the city adventure. And the first stop? Times Square, of course.

Wow! The moment I came out of the underground, dazzling neons and TV walls jumped in front of me. How striking!!! Even though I had seen so much New York on TV in sitcoms or movies therefore I knew how it was supposed to be like, it was still astounding while I was standing there in person. Despite that I had been to about twenty different countries, at this point all I could say was “wow, wow, wow” to praise and congratulate the beauty of tech. I was just like an ordinary rube walking into a huge city. My mouth was so widely open so I didn't get any chance to meet attractive guys.

Anyway, I wanted to find brochures of any kind to see what I could do in this city. However, there were about one hundred policemen on duty in the street all over, giving a serious atmosphere here. (It was April of 2003.) I walked over, admiring their looks of being professional and skilled, which gave us an impression that they are capable of catching any bad buys. (Sorry about saying this. I mean, they now looked seriously skillful than some other time or their kinds in some other countries.) And I cleared my throat and asked, “Excuse me. I am a tourist here. Is there a tourism office near by?”

The police seemed to be carrying out some kind of red alarming work. Although the two policemen I asked looked serious, they were actually quite funny. They teased, “You are a terrorist? And you are looking for a terrorism office in thei neighbourhood?”

Haha. Very funny!! I laughed and answered, “Do I look like a terrorist? I don't think I am capable of doing anything close.”

So, basically I have had a great memory due to these New York police. Since I had a cheerful beginning, I bought the city pass and did what tourists should do:

Went through the scrupulous security and board the observatory of Empire State Building……..

and overlooked the New York City


















Visited Guggenheim Museum

Had a great time in Metropolitan Museum.

Oh, and see the splendid Grand Central Station. (Just as later on Marty the zebra in the movie Madagascar said, it's grand, and it's central. That made me laugh.)














And I paid a visit to the headquarter of the United Nations. Here's the outside.


Anyways. Even little corners of the city were so distinctive that I could smell the artistic spirit everywhere. Usually I don't like big cities. But I did enjoy New York a lot!

Then I realized that I was making myself too happy too early. As if I hadn't had enough in Ottawa, an alarm of a huge blizzard was broadcast. The weather report said that it was the biggest for the past seven years.


You must be kidding me! What blizzard? The car outside Hannah's house was just like this. Come on! It wasn't that bad!

So basically the last two days, I was watching outside the window and listening to the news telling us that the John F. Kennedy International Airport was closed due to the storm. I disagreed. It would be just a normal day in Ottawa. I couldn't see why they have to close the airport.

Luckily my flight was in the afternoon, and that morning the airport reopened again. I went back to Ottawa, full of wonderful memories. Thinking about experiencing the biggest blizzard in the past seven years, I thought it was cool. So I was showing off in front of my dear classmates. Somehow, I seemed to have chosen wrong people. My Canadian classmates and professors did not take it. They sniffed, “Oh, come on. It would have been just a normal snowy day in Ottawa. Don't be such a wuss!”

Me: ...............................
...............................

Alas!

Gorgeous Northern Lights

Just came back from Mexico, I called Charles, trying to visit him in Montreal. He told me that they had a group of friends going to a lake house owned by Phil's parents. And I could go, too.

"May I? But I don't know this Phil guy. You have to ask him first."I said.

Unexpectedly, later on Phil and I became friends. Years later he came to visit me in Taiwan. But that's another story.

The lake house was great!!! Five of us arrived first, spent a beautiful quiet Saturday afternoon, and waited for the other five friends to join us in the evening. We fished, boated, chatted, and, of course, had coffee.

Saturdy night, the others showed up like a storm. We started to set up for a barbecu and it became busy. Our ages ranged from the youngest, 22, to the oldest, 42. I was the only one who didn't speak French. The others were either Quebecuas, or like Wei-fun, who has learned some French. But good thing they knew that with me, they could only speak English.


That night, lucky us that we didn't set up a campfire. All suddenly there was a hailing coming from outside. I didn't understand French, but still I could tell that it was calling for us to come out.

We rushed out. The whole sky was blue, red, green, and yellow, like ocean waves changing and flashing. The beauty was out of the reach of any language. Ten of us were under the mirage sky, speechlessly, quietly and peacefully enjoying the feast that Mother Nature was giving us, thinking that how lucky we were. Montreal is in such a low latitude so the chance to see Northern lights here should be very slim. And particularly I, living in Ottawa, was even luckier to see it happen at a lake house owned by a friend's friend, which was one and a half of driving from Montreal downtown.

It lasted only about 20 minutes. But for us, it lasts forever. Everybody looked so heavy on the way back to the house, probabely thinking about if there is a next time to see it again.(Esepecailly me. I would be going back to Taiwan. At least they have gotten chances for most of them live in Quebec City, or in Montreal.)

Years later in Taiwan, I was driving Phil in my car and brought it up. We got all excited. "Thank you for letting me to join you in your cottage, although you didn't know me back then. You've got a great lake house. But what made it even more unforgettable was the Northern Lights, although it lasted only 20 mins."

He said, "You wouldn't believe it. That was my third time of seeing Northern Lights. And the first time in Montreal, such a low latitude. The first two times I saw them was in Quebec City, where I grew up."

So, now you know how lucky I was?

Walking in India

Streets of New Delhi. Uncountable scents, mixing with the smells of urine, spices, sweat, and something unidentifiable, were floating in the air.

When I was walking in the street, my nose was attacked by various scents. Under the scorching heat, my head was steaming. And the crowds were so overwhelming. But it seemed that I was not bearing enough. Watch out!!! Here came an elephant!!!

Escaping away from almost being stamped by an elephant, I came to the holly ancient city Varanasi. Although the city was thousands of miles away, a horse-dawn carriage still tried to run me over. (Hey! Be careful! This is not funny at all!!! I yelled.)

Then the next corner, another ox-drawn carriage dashed over. I jumped aside, barely able to keep my balance. This time I smiled and told myself: "Well, welcome to India!!!"






So if you think there must be tension between human and animals for we shared such little room together. Not necessary. We had a peaceful moment in Leh, a town deep in the Himalayas.

Another proof is this little donkey. I caught him taking a relaxing stroll in the small village Alchi. And I wondered if his host was waiting for him to have dinner together.