Weddings bells ringing in Houston...

Day 6

The day of the wedding. The whole reason for this trip. And it was such a perfect day. The weather was fine, even slightly cooler as if to accommodate to those forced to wear suits. Speaking of which, I looked good in my new suit. Definitely a good investment.

As with the Chinese weddings, the morning began with the traditional tea ceremonies. For those unaware, this involves the bride and groom paying their respects to their elders by offering them tea in exchange for their well wishes (and often money and gifts). Call me old-fashioned but I like these little traditions. It’s a nice homage to my Chinese heritage, and honestly, a nice way to pay respects to our elders. I look forward to the day when I get to do this at my wedding, and then further down the track, when I am the one being offered the tea.

Viva Las Vegas and howdy Houston...

Day 3

After conking out the previous night, I found myself woken by my alarm at 9am. I tried to get up, but I knew it wasn't gonna happen. I ended up getting out of bed, going to the door, putting up the "Do Not Distub" sign and climbing back into my bed. Next thing I knew, it was 12:30pm. I had already lost the morning, but in the city that never sleeps, this was hardly an issue.

This day was quite relaxed as I explored the various hotels, casinos and shopping complexes along the strip. Lunch was a buffet at Wynn which did not even compare to the Bellagio one, but it was still good. I eventually found myself at the new retail outlet mall near the end of the strip called Fashion Show, where I ended up buying myself a navy blue Tommy Hilfiger suit for only $280USD. Everything was on sale (65% off) because of the July 4th sales, and I scored a further $25 discount from the salesman because I'm awesome! New suit in hand, I trekked it back to the hotel, trying as hard as possible to avoid venturing outdoors to the blistering heat. Word of advice: many hotels have trams/monorails that connect to each other, as well as side entrances which are relatively close to side entrances of neighbouring hotels. Use these and you should be able to minimise your time in the heat.

Over, on and in the Grand Canyon...

Day 2

When I previously left off, I was getting ready for my Grand Canyon tour. I had managed to find this tour online and it happened to also be partnered by Qantas so I could claim frequent flyer points - win! It was $350 though, but hey, you gotta splurge when you're on holiday. Anyways, I had a quick nap and was up at 5:30am, ready to be picked up by the tour company (breakfast was some good ol' Cruskits that I had brought from Oz).

After some paperwork and reshuffling of people onto coaches at the tour office, we were on our way! First stop was Hoover Dam, a magnificent architectural feat on the border of Arizona and California - too bad that it wasn't full, but when you're in a desert, you're glad for whatever amount of water you have. Annoying thing happened there, a woman refused to take a photo for me. Who does that?! And it's not like she didn't know how to because she was using her own phone to take photos. After fuming and raging silently at her, I found a much nicer (and more normal) person who helped me out. After a few quick photos, we were back on the road.

Hayden does the USA...

So it's been a while since I last posted. About three and a half years since I returned from my amazing three month stint backpacking across Europe. I thought I should continue documenting my travels, once again for those interested and for myself to read when I'm old and reminiscing about my worldly adventures. I realise now that I should have documented my awesome road trip from Adelaide to Melbourne in Australia earlier this year, but I just completely forgot about this blog. I will really endeavour to update this whenever I have a worthy adventure anywhere.

Anyways, onto this current chapter of travel. The catalyst for all this was my cousin Ginny's wedding in Houston, Texas. It had been a while since I had seen a lot of the family overseas so I took this trip as an opportunity to see everyone as well as travel the US a bit more having never ventured outside of California. Long story short, I booked my tickets, and as usual, left most things to the last minute, and would wing the rest as I went.

Hayden did Europe...

I've been back home for a few days now. So good to be home. Finding it difficult to cope with the heat right now, but I'll soon adjust hopefully. My suitcase remains unpacked and in the living room. I'm just too lazy lol. It's still hard to believe that I did Europe. I can't believe three months has gone by. It seems like only yesterday I was trying to get everything ready for my Eurotrip, whilst doing my thesis. And now, I've travelled Europe. Amazing. Will definitely be heading back to Europe when I have money and time. Three months is not enough, and I didn't even see half of Europe. So much more to see!!

Eurotrip schedule/budget: planned vs. actual...

Well it's not long now before I hop on a plane and head home. I have four days left in Switzerland, and I don't really know what I'm gonna do with my time left. I've spent the last week or so here already, and I've hardly left the house lol. I've been spending most of my time online, which isn't the best use of my time, but I'm just tired of travelling. I did go to a really good restaurant which was famous for its chicken. So good. But aside from that, I haven't left the house for anything touristy.

Thought I'd just do a post to take up some time, since I'm waiting for an episode of HIMYM to stream. I'm just gonna compare my planned schedule of my Eurotrip with what I actually did, and also calculate my finances and see how that stacked up to my overall budget.

Welcome to 2011...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! 

It's now 2pm Swiss time on Janauary 1st, which would be the end of the first day in Sydney. Only just got up an hour ago, after quite a late night. Ended up spending NYE as a bartender at my uncle's and aunt's restaurant last night. It was so fast-paced. I've never worked in such an environment. I'll certainly have a bit more patience next time I eat at a busy restaurant lol. I did however have easy access to the alcohol, plus a certain alcoholic holiday punch that we had made for our guests. It was made with lychee juice, orange juice, Campari and Cointreu and tasted absolutely amazing. And since it was right there in front of me, I ended drinking around two litres of that throughout the night lol. I also learnt how to pour beer from a tap (and also how to drink from the tap lol). As midnight approached, we simply put on the radio since we were still in the process of closing up the restaurant. Countdown in German!! Once midnight struck, champagne was flowing, and it was just a more relaxed atmosphere than the hectic pace earlier on in the night when the restaurant was packed. Fireworks were going off outside, but they were nowhere near as good as the ones in Sydney lol. Here's a short clip of the fireworks and my thoughts at the start of the new year on Facebook. After I could drink no more champagne, I ended up heading out for more drinks at a nearby bar with some of the people from the restaurant. I guess that this year's start was a bit quieter than what I would have liked (plus their fireworks are nothing compared to Sydney's), but I guess the fact that I'm in Europe has to count for something lol.