So today I left the United States for a sojourn into Canada and have arrived in Vancouver. I decided to catch a train from Seattle into Vancouver and it has got to be one of most relaxing ways to travel. For $49 I got a business class ticket and the carriage only had about 20 seats and it was very spaced out with plenty of room for people and baggage. The best thing about traveling by rail is that you avoid all the TSA queues at the airport. The Amtrak service I was on also had free wi-fi for the duration of the trip which is a good added bonus. Like I mentioned earlier, it was definitely a relaxing transit and the 4 hour duration didn't feel long at all and before I knew it we ... read more

Said goodbye to L.A this morning in what turned out to be a rather painful process. I gave myself 3 hours for a domestic flight which is ridiculous amount of time. Got to T3 and the queue for all Alaskan domestic flights was out the door and went for about 100 metres along the sidewalk. After what seemed like an eternity I was able to get my boarding pass and check my bag in. Then had to line up all over again to go past the TSA security check point. This actually moved faster than I remember from my trip last year. So by the time I got through all that I only had an hour to wait which isn't long at all. Flight was extremely smooth and I was able to get a little shut ... read more

Pretty relaxing day in a slightly cooler Los Angeles today. My initial plan was to go check out the Griffith Observatory but I probably should have done that a few days ago when the skies were clear. L.A was covered in fog today and will remain so for next few days. As I was heading north from LAX, I decided to have brunch at the L.A farmer's market which is next to the Grove shopping mall. I know this farmers market is rather commercialised and very popular with tourists but I couldn't help myself. It was pretty early so parking and getting a table wasn't a problem so I was able to have a smokey beef brisket roll and coleslaw in a relaxed manner. Last time I came here it was in the middle of the ... read more

Today was spent down in Orange County and started with brunch at a bowl of decent Pho noodles in Little Saigon at Pho 79. I found this joint on yelp.com and it had the highest number of positive reviews. It wasn't the best I had but it was certainly decent and would keep me going until dinner. Next I cruised around Little Saigon checking out some of the malls and massive supermarkets. They are on a monster scaled compared with anything we do have in Australia. Next I visited my old high school friend Mimi who moved to the States during year 10. She is now a dentist with her own modern practice at a prime location. I have to say that I do feel pride to see her success. After bidding her farewell until dinner, ... read more

Well on the eve of my great America and Canada adventure - the most talked about thing across the world right now is the death of Osama Bin Laden. US President Barrack Obama did a televised press release describing the events that had transpired the past few months which led to the attack on Osama and his subsequent death. The press release was probably broad casted live right around the world. There have been big celebrations in the States especially in New York City at the site of the former World Trade Centre. Hopefully with these developments US Customs won't be any more painful than useful to transit! Well my bags are packed and hopefully I have enough room to bring back plenty of goodies! A lot of the clothes I have packed can be worned, ... read more