Not As Planned...

Well today didn't happen quite as planned. But I still went out for a wander around. Didn't see anything in particular, just a random stroll. I will have to say that having a 7-digit PIN number doesn't work so well. Time to research to see how I can use my Bank of America card here. :( Until I figure it out I guess I am not using my cash advance located on my BofA account.

I took a couple pictures to remind everyone of the real Penang. Note the tall KOMTAR building, it is helpful since it is the tallest building on the island, and right beside my hotel. :) Makes it hard to get lost.

Plans

Well I'm actually going to do something tomorrow. Planning on going to see the Botanic Gardens with Sham & her family. So look forward to some pictures.

I think that I'll be going to bed soon. Yes it is late, 4:45 AM and I just finished working about 1 and a quarter hours ago. Well at least there will be some good overtime. :)

Planes and Plans

Well according to the flight tracking, Joy and her mother have landed safely in Holland. I hope that they both enjoy their trip thoroughly. They will be there for about two weeks, and should be back in Ontario a day before me, on the 7th of December. I'll probably post some of the picture that find their way to me.

And for the next couple weeks, well probably the remainder of my time, I'll be working shifted hours, 4PM - 1AM local time (3AM-Noon EST). So, I get to sleep in every day now. So far it is going alright, but I've only had one day of it. :)

A Little Less Red

So, still been very little excitement here. What is everyone else been up?

Some of you will be happy to know that there is a little less red under my chin. Joel, now only has to worry about the length of the hair on top of my head.

News from Malaysia

Well I know you are all hoping for some exciting news from the exotic Malaysia. However, I'll have o disappoint you with pretty much no news what-so-ever. My time has been spent doing one of a few things: working, eating, sleeping, or reading. Finished off The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and now I am back to the never-ending Otherland.

So that is about it. Have a good day, night, or whatever time of day it is for you.

So Sleepy

I imagine a few of you are curious as to what is going on here. To put it simple, nothing exciting. My time has been spent working, and not much else. Have a good work week behind me with two days left in the week. That is never a good thing. So basically I'm exhausted.

The Tale of the Lost Luggage

Well one day in Malaysia is over, only a few left. :P I spent a lot of my day chatting with folks back home, and watching Asian TV (which mostly consisted of Western movies). But onto the point of this post. So now, just around 24 hours later, there is some news regarding my luggage. No, I do not yet have them. But according to the WorldTracer Services both pieces of have been located, and the airline (Cathay Pacific) is confirming. I suppose by confirming they mean that the airline currently in possession of them is confirming that they indeed have them. So hopefully more good news will be following.

Ryan In Malaysia

Well I have made it to my hotel in Malaysia, safe and mostly sound. More details in a little bit.

Malaysia v2.2

Well I finally made it to my hotel. And it worked out to only 44 hours door-to-door. Most of my flight from Hong Kong to Malaysia was spent sleeping. And I learnt a good lesson during my sleep. Don't sleep during final approach. If you do, the touchdown can be quite a startle.

I am here safe, and mostly sound. I after standing around the baggage carousel for a good while, they conveyor stopped. This is not a good thing. So, I have finally run into the whole lost baggage thing. The Penang airport is to forward my baggage to my hotel once they get it. Which hopefully won't be too terribly long since I am without any sort of extra clothes. They did tell me that if I didn't have the luggage at my hotel by 9:00 AM that I should call to inquire. So that sounds promising.

I really hope that it gets rounded up soon, other than the fact it has my clothes, tripod, mail for the last few months, and my degree from UW; my Vonage adapter is in there which means I'm not just a phone call to Kitchener away. :( And to top that off I cannot get this Primus calling card to work from here (or Hong Kong for that matter). Also, (yes again) SkypeOut doesn't seem to work very well to call places such as Port Colborne.

I'll let you know how this all turns out tomorrow. For now if you want to get in voice contact with me Skype or Google Talk seem to be the only way.

Malaysia v2.1

Well I am nicely in Hong Kong now. I've had a chance to wander around the airport a little. So far seems pretty much the same as last time I was here.

I would have to say that the flight from Toronto to Hong Kong has gone better than the previous flights. I think that can probably be attributed to the fact I have a lot more air-time under by belt, and I knew what to expect from the flight. And since I didn't get much sleep last night (well whatever you call the night before I left Arizona), and refused to sleep on the flight from Arizona to Toronto.

Also, I am feeling a lot less apprehensive about this whole trip than last time. I could almost say I'm completely relaxed about it. I guess I can say that all this traveling over the last year has had its benefits.

My flight was a mix of a few activities: reading, playing games, watching movies, eating, and sleeping. With sleeping and reading taking the majority of the time. The movie selection was a lot better than on the America West flight (I don't even recall what they were showing now). During my flight I ended up watching The Island, and most of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both over food. Note that there were many more and all them were an closes loops, so I could have watched many more during my flight, but I did not.

Ah, food! It is great when the airline actually feeds you. The Toronto-Alaska leg had supper, steamed chicken, rice, and mushrooms; it was decent, but maybe it was the couple glasses of wine that made that decision. And the Alaska-Hong Kong leg provided us with a mid-night snack (fruit-cup, sandwich, sushi, cookies, and a Kit-Kat), and breakfast (Udon noodles with shrimp, fruit, and banana bread).

George, I would have to say that The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger, was a superb book! It is one that I think almost anyone would enjoy. So, all you other readers out there, I suggest you give this book a read. With that done, I'll move onto The Curious Incident (another book George lent me...even if they aren't his books).

And now back to the present, what shall I do for the next few hours? Sushi at 11? It will be my 25^th birth anniversary.

Primary Leg of Trip Done

Well I have safely arrived in Hong Kong. The large leg of my journey is now complete (around 11 hours from Alaska to HK). This will be short, since it is from a public terminal. I'll be writing real blog entries on my laptop, which I will then post once I'm settled in Malaysia.

Now, I just have to find something to do for 7 or so hours. I think I'll have some food.

P.S. Happy birthday Joel (I am unable to get the pay-phones here to work with my calling card).

Malaysia v2.0

Well the first segment of my journey home from the desert is over. I am currently sitting in Person Intl. Airport in Toronto. I just nicely found my way through Canadian Customs, checked-in with Cathay Pacific, and to my gate, terminal 3 gate C27 in case you were interested. My flight does not board for about another hour, so I thought I would start to document my second Malaysian trip.

Just as predicted, I was up extremely late last night ensuring I had everything in order. So, what that really means is that I procrastinated my packing all the way until about 4:30 AM. But unfortunately that wasn't the only thing I had to do. Well, more accurately “should do”. After all those hours of packing I then felt I should actually get some US cash to take with me to Malaysia, since it is easily changed to Malaysian Ringgit (RM). So after all was said and done I didn't get to sleep until about 5:30 AM.

A short 3 hours later I was awake again, showering and packing all the random electronics I was charging on good old 110 volts power. Alison and John (a pair of co-works that were down for a short trip) came by the Ranch and after a quick breakfast we were on our way from Phoenix to Toronto. Oh, I forgot to mention the individual on our rental car bus (from the rental location to the airport). Just after the 3 of us got seated on the bus a man escorted by two others was brought on the bus, he had the fancy chains on his ankles and wrists. Sure is good to leave such things behind.

So, now back in the present, I am fighting off the land of dreams. I didn't actually sleep on the Phoenix-Toronto segment due to pre-occupation with The Time Traveler's Wife, and Metroid: Zero. That is all for now, I'll supply an update once in Hong Kong.

Note, this entry is likely to arrive well after the actual time in which I wrote it. This is due to the fact I wrote it off-line, to be posted when I have an internet connection again.

Bye-Bye Desert

Well as anyone would guess I'm still up packing. The good news is that this will be the last post before I head home, via Malaysia. Back to the packing thing...I won't be getting a lot of sleep tonight, but I think I will make up for it on the planes over the next couple days.