Travelin Geek

[travelingeek]

Canada & USA Trip 2014

Vancouver:

Heard about it before, but surprised to experience myself that Vancouver was a lot like Melbourne.

Found a great ramen place across the hotel.

Went to Vancouver Aquarium, way smaller than Osaka Aquarium, but they have a pair of cool Beluga whales.

Vancouver downtown was nice, Gastown was pretty cool.

West End neighbourhood was very relaxing.

Lake Louise:

The bus ride to Lake Louise was full of beautiful scenery, really fitted the idea I got from cowboy comics about North America.

The Rocky Mountains were splendid, gave chills when I looked at them. The trees, the ice/snow at the top.

Lake Louise was beautiful with unique turquoise colour.

Had a delicious pork for dinner at Deer Lodge.

Hiked up to the historical Lake Agnes Tea House. The view was amazing from up there. The hike up took hours, was memorable, tiring, lots of slippery ice, but I had the most delicious scones and tea up there. The hike down was even more memorable because we took the wrong track meant for horses, not humans.

Ate dozen wings at Fairmont Hotel while watching England vs Uruguay, half Frank’s Red Hot, half honey garlic.

Banff:

I love Banff! A nice relaxing small town to walk around.

Lots of Japanese tourists. And Japanese-run souvenir shops.

The wife ran a half marathon for Banff Marathon 2014. They changed the route last minute due to intense wildlife activities, bears and moose.

Encountered a 3-year-old wild grizzly during our walk back from Lake Vermillion path to the town.

Rode up the Sulphur Mountain with Banff Gondola.

Nice Starbucks hang out on the main road.

Toronto:

Toronto felt like a busy, messy finance center.

Air Canada Stadium was closed, didn’t see many signs of Toronto Raptors on the streets.

On the other hand, tons of Blue Jays fans.

Niagara Falls was overrated, it wasn’t anything like the pictures. Not as big, not as blue.

The train ride to Niagara Falls was nice, had a great sleep.

Montreal:

Stayed near Chinatown, lots of nice Hong Kong food there.

Went to Montreal Jazz Festival 2014, very crowded, nice vibe though.

Watched a Cirque du Soleil show, Kurios. My favourite part was the session with chairs piling and the mirror action from top to bottom.

French speaking city, felt like Europe in a way. A tiny version of Europe.

New York:

Very different to what I see on TV or movies.

Central Park Zoo was tiny, dirty, and there’s no lion, zebra, giraffe, or hippo.

Central Park itself was average. Nothing like Alexandra, Korakuen, or Luxembourg gardens.

Shocked to see garbage bags being piled on street corners at night.

Lots of homeless people.

Wall St wasn’t as exciting like in the movies.

Walked through the Brooklyn bridge from Manhattan to Brooklyn. Took nice pictures of Manhattan at night.

Went to see Macy’s 4th of July fireworks from Brooklyn's side.

Subway train was fast, but subway station was dirty and hot.

Couldn’t find nice coffee or nice cafe.

Wired magazine was so cheap.

Times Square wasn’t as expected. Broadway show was nice (The Realistic Joneses), and saw George Takei after the show.

Liberty Island was meh. Security screening prior to boarding the ferry was airport-like.

New Yorkers were mostly rude. Some really nice people though. Some elderly people talked to us.

West Village was very nice, very much like Fitzroy in a way.

[travelingeek]

Shepparton Getaway 2014, a set on Flickr.

Went to Shepparton for a short Easter break getaway. Unlike other country towns Victoria that we visited in the past, this one was not as empty as we expected for an Easter break, we were hoping most people would’ve visited Melbourne instead.

The Fryers Street Food Store was a nice relaxing place for a breakfast, loved it! Also had a nice lunch at The Connection.

[travelingeek]

Japan Trip 2013

Last September I went to Japan for my 3rd visit. Unlike the first two, this time I didn't pick any home base, and instead moved around between cities every 2-3 days, starting from Tokyo, then I took 2 train rides to Lake Kawaguchi, a bus ride to Mount Fuji, 3 train rides to Kamakura, 2 train rides to Nagoya, 1 train ride and 1 bus ride to Kiso Valley, 1 train ride and 1 bus ride to Shirakawa-go, another bus ride to Takayama before returning to Tokyo for the flight home.

Tokyo was still a beautiful chaos.

Here are some of my favourite pictures.

The crowd at Shibuya crossings...

Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi...

Shirakawa-go from up the hill...

Small river in Takayama, reminds me of the mangas I used to read when I was young...

Check out my Japan Trip 2013 Flickr set for more pictures.

[travelingeek]

Passage 53

As our wedding gift, my wife's office made a lunch reservation for us at a restaurant called Passage 53 in Paris during our Europe trip in 2012.

Initially I didn't know anything about this French restaurant other than that it was one of the company founder's favourites. Googled it when I arrived in Paris, and whoa, Passage 53 had 2 Michelin stars! The head chef was Shinichi Sato, the first Japanese to earn 2 stars in France, with an all-Japanese kitchen staff (there were 2 French service staff).

The restaurant itself was very small and simple, grey wooden sign board, all curtains down, you couldn't possibly tell that the place was one of French' finest restaurants from the outside. The interior design was very minimalistic, only about 7 tables and a small spiral staircase to where the kitchen was upstairs.

The food was amazing. I never tasted anything like it before (mind you, I was a food noob, still am). Those chefs were very much like programming gods, they produced the finest food and they wanted to keep improving. If you read this interview, you'll learn how hard Sato sensei worked, at one point sleeping just 1-2 hours every day for a month.

While we were there, the strangers at the next table started a conversation with us while waiting between the meals. They were a Singaporean architect, an American designer, and a European model. It was a part of traveling that I've always enjoyed, conversation with strangers.

Someday I'll write about conversations with a Chinese video game concept artist with British accent, a Korean space mission scientist living in Tokyo, a Belgian bone transplant expert who spoke at least four languages, an Iranian steel company executive who remembered Iran beating Australia for the final spot in 1998 World Cup football.

But that's for later, for now, enjoy these pictures from Passage 53's degustation menu. Thanks for the gift, awesome company A!

[travelingeek]

Partita

If you're visiting Kawaguchiko (~2 hours away from Tokyo) and looking for a place to relax, how about a lunch with this view?

We enjoyed some Italian-Japanese fusion meals at Partita, a small cafe by the side of Lake Kawaguchiko. Partita was operated by Hajme Ihara, a friendly middle-aged man who not only cooked the meals but also decorated the place with an interesting European touch.

We hung out at the cafe's backyard for an hour, just relaxing and enjoying the view. We also had a chat with Ihara-san who told us that he played some violin, and showed some pictures of the cafe during various seasons in Japan. Check out his Facebook page for more pictures, what a life!

You can get there by taking local sightseeing bus at stop 54 Fuji Omuro Sengen Jinja.

Partita, a set on Flickr.

[travelingeek]

Sydney Workcapade 2013

I attended CITCON 2013 in Sydney last February.

p.s.: I took some pictures of Sydney on my way to and from the venue (Atlassian office):

Sydney Workcapade 2013, a set on Flickr.

[travelingeek]

Colac Getaway 2013

I went to Colac last month, a small town about a couple of hours away from Melbourne by train. Trail walk along Barongarook Creek, great meals at Oddfellows and Farmer's Wife. A much needed relaxing long weekend.

Colac Getaway 2013, a set on Flickr.

Barongarook Creek Trail Walk, a set on Flickr.

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[travelingeek]

Europe Trip 2012

Back in September-October 2012, I went for a 3-week trip in Europe, visited several countries, experienced interesting cultures, and returned home with a ton of unforgettable memories.

It was quite ambitious to squeeze these many cities in one go, specially when we stayed in Rome for a third of the trip, but hey, we eventually made it through our first European trip via Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Venice, Innsbruck, Mittenwald, Munich, Zurich, Amsterdam, Bruges, Luxembourg, Paris.

Some of my favourite places and moments during the trip...

We stayed in the old part of Rome, near the Tiber river/isle. This place felt very much like home, I enjoyed walking around the neighbourhood in the morning and evening, strolling through Via di San Teodoro and Via dei Cerchi. This building was right next to San Giorgio in Velabro, a small basilica where we had our wedding (I married Latte Girl btw).

This was right on Ponte Vecchio in Florence. We were walking around one night and noticed a large crowd listening to a group of street musicians, one of them had a great great voice. The night was warm, everyone was so relaxed, all around happiness.

The picturesque view from up the hills of Riomaggiore, the first village in Cinque Terre. We had a delightful lunch there before walking north to Manarola. Too bad it was only a day trip, I would love to return and stay in Riomaggiore for several days, and explore the rest of Cinque Terre region.

There was a huge storm in the evening before we left Venice, you can see the water rose almost up to the street level. The best part of Venice was exploring the labyrinth alleyways in the less touristy areas, we got lost several times. Breakfast at the small coffee shops at the less popular piazzas was a truly relaxing experience.

Innsbruck town centre from Staddturm. It was extremely windy up there, almost dropped the camera several times. Innsbruck's vibe was very much like Melbourne, only with more European architecture, and more pastel buildings, lots more.

I took this picture from the train on the way from Innsbruck to Zurich. Check out the snow at the top of the mountain, the foggy area, the woods, and the farm field. The view along the way was magnificent, lakes, mountains, hills, cows, barns, rivers, you name it.

I was sick for the 4 days we were in Amsterdam, I pretty much slept through the first 3 days at the dodgy basement hotel to rest and recover. On the last day, I walked out for a short bit and found a small cafe / cookie shop. The picture above was the view from the cafe's window seat.

The owner of this cafe in Bruges was a perfectionist, he carefully positioned the plates and utensils, the furnitures, everything was properly aligned. The food was top notch, easily the best soup I've ever tasted, and quality tea too. There was a comic book shop nearby with a large poster of Herge, one of my life heroes!

Saint Marcel!!! We stayed at a small rooftop apartment while we were in Paris, and this was the view from its tiny balcony. Paris was awesome, I really enjoyed the bookshops, the antique shops, the architecture. And to those who think that Parisians are rude, the secret is to start with Bonjour Madame/Monsieur along with a smile, it will all be ok.

Check out more pictures from my Flickr photosets: Rome, Vatican City, Florence, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Venice, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France.

[travelingeek]

Dandenong Creek Trail Walk

Went for a walk along a section of Dandenong Creek Trail sometime in November 2012. Dandenong Creek Trail was around 49km in length so it's impossible to complete the trail in one day of leisure walk. We walked from Dandenong train station up to Wellington Rd when it was getting dark and we decided to cut it short (the initial plan was to finish at Bayswater station).

RunKeeper stopped working twice, hence the missing broken paths in the map further below. The first was between Monash Freeway and Dandenong Valley Hwy, and the second was between Police Rd and Wellington Rd. Not sure what happened there with RunKeeper.

Dandenong Creek Trail Walk, a set on Flickr.

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[travelingeek]

Gangnam Style Paris + Pisa

Following the previous dance hit Crank That in Beijing, I present you... Gangnam Style in Paris, and Pisa.

These photos didn't do justice to my street dance cred effort. I wish I had an iPhone camera app with burst mode back then.

On the way to Arc de Triomphe from Louvre.

In front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

For reference, check out the original Gangnam Style, the HOWTO, Ai Wei Wei style, Klingon style, Dwight Howard style, MIT style, Filipino Prison style, more stuffs on YouTube.

[travelingeek]

Indonesia Trip 2012

I went to Indonesia in March this year, mostly to visit my relatives and also Latte Girl's in Jakarta, Medan, and Bandung, following a short stop in Singapore.

There were two things I learned about my family during this trip, stuffs I thought I should've probably known a long while ago.

The first one: I learned that my grandfather was somewhat a painter (among his other gazillion talents). I saw for the first time awesome portraits of Gandhi, Einstein, and several other world luminaries that he painted. He also received a letter from F.D. Roosevelt's wife after sending a painting of the then president of U-S-A, pretty cool.

And the second one: my parents had boxes of mineral water bottles in their house, lots of them, it turned out that my dad had been winning those games at the family entertainment centers, and exchanged the prize tickets for boxes of mineral water. One day we were at a shopping mall and about to go home, we passed one center and my dad was checking the score on the machines. There was this one game where you have to press a button at the right micro second to drop a ball to a set of rotating pipes, one of those pipes is the jackpot pipe. If you failed, then the amount of score (jackpot tickets) is increased.

The score was 1000+, my dad sat down, inserted a coin, waited patiently... then he suddenly hit the button, jackpot! 1000+ tickets! my jaw dropped. I asked my mom why didn't she look surprised, and she said she's used to it, apparently he had done it many times before, hence the boxes at home. I was like, when did this start happening?! why did no one ever tell me about this?? I used to play the basketball shooting game at the center when I was a teenager, and I could only win 60 tickets at most after breaking the high score on the machine, and there it was, my dad easily won 1000 tickets. Talking about pwnage!

He repeated the feat several days later, and I also learned that he would only play the game if the score was high enough to maximise the profit, and that there were two other people who were as good as him at hustling those prize tickets. I guess we really learn something new every day.

Note: A trip to Jakarta always involves a visit to Bakmi GM for the glorious nasi goreng and pangsit goreng. Bakmi GM, I'm still waiting for your first Melbourne franchisee.

Indonesia Trip 2012, a set on Flickr.

[travelingeek]

Bairnsdale Getaway 2012

About a month ago I went to Bairnsdale, East Gippsland. Did a trail walk at Mitchell River Loop, enjoyed a nice dinner at The Bistro, and experienced the friendliness of a laid back country town Victoria.

It's nice to take a break from daily Melbourne life every now and then. It's now my mission to visit all farthest country towns VLine trains can take me.

Bairnsdale Getaway 2012, a set on Flickr.

[travelingeek]

Mitchell River Trail Walk

Took a relaxing short walk along parts of Mitchell River in Bairnsdale last weekend. First countryside walk without snake warning sign!

It was a bit cloudy and drizzly during the walk. Nice scenery on the eastern side of the walk specially when you get a bit of sunlight after the rain.

Mitchell River Trail Walk, a set on Flickr.

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[travelingeek]

Japan Trip 2011

This is one my fashionably late blog posts, as usual.

I went to to Japan in March last year, and it turned out to be the most unforgettable trip so far in my life. Why? As a start, I arrived in Narita less than 24 hours after the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. I then had to take the train to Kyoto via Tokyo only hours after they restored public transport at reduced capacity, and experienced a lower magnitude earthquake while in Kyoto.

The greatest concern of them all was the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. I was in constant contact with family and friends via email and Twitter, trying my best to convince them that the situation wasn't as apocalyptic as how the media portrayed it. The incidents at Sendai and Fukushima were beyond devastating by any scale, but at the same time, other parts of Japan lived on with their daily life and did their best to help via donations and lots of other means. To witness the great Japanese spirit and sense of community in person was a humbling experience.

I ended up visiting Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Kanazawa, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Okayama, Himeji, Tokyo, and Ise. My favourites were Okayama for its chillaxing vibe, and Kanazawa for its snow-covered town. Here are some pictures from the last three days of the trip, I lost the rest of them because my laptop was stolen during transit in Kuala Lumpur (here's the person who now has my stolen MacBook).

Japan Trip 2011, a set on Flickr.

Best food? Ramen at Kyoto Station, extra eggs, a must.

I also loved this Yamazaki Pan chocolate bread I bought every day at Lawson.

Definitely going back there!

[travelingeek]

Warrnambool Getaway 2011

I went to Warrnambool for four days as part of my Xmas - New Year break.

Warrnambool was a nice place with super friendly locals (apart from some idiotic hoons), it's about 3 hours away from Melbourne by train. The town is slightly larger and more crowded than Albury.

Had several great meals at Bojangles on Liebig St, had a nice light exercise with yet-another-I-don't-know-how-I-end-up-with-this-on-every-supposedly-relaxing-holiday trail walks, and checked out a glimpse of historical maritime life at Flagstaff Hill.

Warrnambool Getaway 2011, a set on Flickr.

[travelingeek]

Breakwater & Hopkins Mouth Trail Walks

Nice 15km walk in Warrnambool around Lake Pertobe and along the beach, resulting in one badly sun burnt face. Like any of the trails I've walked on so far in Australia, this one also had several snake warning signs, I'm beginning to get used to it.

Breakwater & Hopkins Mouth Trail Walks, a set on Flickr.

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[travelingeek]

Canberra Workcapade 2011

I went to Canberra this week to attend Open Source Developers Conference 2011 and also to give a talk titled Continuous Delivery Using Jenkins.

Canberra was still as quiet as ever...

Canberra Workcapade 2011, a set on Flickr.