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Seattle updates....great trip!
- Tuesday, November 15, 2005
I'm finally free to start blogging again...so on to my trip at Seattle! Woke up late on Friday morning(11th November)..Woke up at like 7.10am when we were supposed to meet at 7.15am for breakfast..ha...literally jumped out of bed man..mad rush to pack my stuff and wash up..No time to bathe too! Luckily Totem caf did not open early that day cos of Remembrance day so the rest just waited at the commonsblock for me..
We then took a bus downtown to pick up the car-a pontiac minivan for the 7 of us!It was my first road trip with Dan the Man, Evil Maboul, Bimbo/Ah Lian Selena, Fugly Joe who pronounces 'shit' as 'sheeet', and cool dude Yanxiang! Everyone was so excited about the trip and after moving off for only less than 50m, Dan drove the car to the wrong lane and all of us screamed! Mabel recorded the whole episode down and it was so funny..ha..But he was quick to switch lanes though..so no major accidents..phew..It was his and yx's first attempt at right-hand drive so it was pretty risky sitting in their car but we totally trusted them with this great responsibility and thanks to both of them, we reached Seattle and returned to Vancouver safely! Good job guys!!
The worst part of the trip was actually at the US customs cos we waited for nearly one hour to get entry visas. The whole world was going to Seattle for the long weekend man...But after that, the trip was rather smooth with no traffic jams and stuff. We even brought sandwiches along for our lunch to save money on one hand and also we wanted more time for shopping!=)
Our pontiac minivan!
Dan at the wheel..finally feeling comfortable with driving right-hand =)
Us happily in the car..
Bye Canada!
Seattle here we come!
Me & Joe with our lunch - bread with spread, tuna and ham!
Dan and YX figuring out how to pump gas..
The first stop of our trip had to be Seattle Premium Outlets, this place where they had many shops selling stuff cheaper than usual.Heard so much about it so it was definitely a must-go place! There were brands such as Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Gap, Nike, Adidas, Levi's etc..you name it, they probably have it. I totally went crazy shopping for clothes and some other stuff..Bought like many T-shirts(most not for myself though) and wallets too.
We ageed to meet at an specific time and place originally, but me and Mabel got that information wrong so in the end we were like super late in meeting the rest. Felt so bad about it cos they were like waiting for us. In the end, we had to leave the place cos the rest got what they wanted..think only me and Mabel did not get enough of shopping in that place man..ha...I also totally overspent man...was left with only a few dollars by the end of it all..Looks like I'm still very much a shopaholic!
All prepared for my shopping spree!
Look at all the stuff I bought!
All our buys filling up the car space!
Feeling all satisfied...
We then drove down to our hotel - Best Western, Elderwood to check in and put down our stuff and it was to Pike place for dinner after that!We actually wanted to go to the Pike Place market but it closes at night so we found a rather good alternative to have dinner. It's called 'The Turf' and it was really sleazy-looking. It was an eatery at one side and a pub at the other side. The place was quite small and not the cleanest of all places and everyone looked kinda scary, many Blacks and mostly males. But it offered the cheapest food in the vicinity. So most of us ordered teriyaki chicken in french roll and fries and we each paid $4 for that including tax!Looks can be deceiving man..Surprisingly the food turned out to be really filling and tasty..The service was also awesome cos the waiter gave us a huge jug of water and excellent chilli sauce without even us asking for it. He even offered to take a photo for us..Great choice indeed!
Our delicious dinner!
All of us while waiting for the food to be served!
Dan, Joe and me!
After dinner, we just drove around Pike Place and downtown area to take photos so here are just some random shots!
The first Starbucks outlet!
Night shot of the Space Needle - a famous observatory in Seattle.
Pacific Science Center
Seattle at night
After the spin around downtown, we bought really dirt cheap red wine($6) and a packet of sun chips and headed back to our hotel. We played Uno as usual, our favourite pastime when we have nothing to do and just drank wine and ate chips..pretty relaxing...Then it was off to bed..the 3 gals shared a bed and I was the unfortunate one in the middle. It got pretty squeezy in the later part of the night but overall I had a rather good sleep..=)
Moving on to our second day in Seattle, we woke up at like 8am so that we could go for breakfast at the hotel lobby. Breakfast was not bad as well and although we only paid for one room,all of us could just go have breakfast..ha..really not a bad deal man...I ate like three slices of toasted bread, one chocolate muffin, some waffles and orange juice..too much..ha...
With everyone full from breakfast, we headed down to Seattle Center and the Space Needle area to take day shots of the place. Here are some of them...
Some weird bamboo structure...
A beautiful tree with Experience Music Project(EMP)buiding in the background
More of EMP
Day shot of the Space Needle
The Ferris Wheel at Fun Forest(really small compared to the one at Navy Pier)
My first photo lying on the grass..always been wanting to do that!
A pretty good candid shot taken by Joe..heh..
Our next stop was the Seattle Underground Tour but it was nothing fantastic so shall not talk about it..the only highlight of the tour was there was this good-looking Swedish guy in our group who me, Selena and Mabel were oogling at..Actually I think it was mainly only Selena la..when our car drove past him and probably his dad after the tour, we were like paparazzi taking shots of him..ha..but he's really not bad la i guess..=)
Lunch was at Macs which was totally disappointing. We were really hungry by lunch time and so I and Mabel shared a super-sized meal but the portions were so small! The burgers are tiny man..I think the ones in Singapore are comparable or even bigger le..and so awfully expensive somemore..Not enough to totally fill me up..But at least we now know that Macs is definitely not a good choice for meals..Bad choice!
We also went to this place called Ye Olde Curiosity Shop which was recommended in Selena's book. The shop had some pretty strange exhibits but other than that it was just an ordinary souvenir shop..another disappointment..
Next stop was Queen Anne's Avenue(Kerry Viewpoint) of which we sort of got lost while trying to get there. Dan and YX also started talking louder to each other because of that...but in the end, we managed to get to our destination and it was there that we were supposed to wait from 4-5 to see the sunset and the scenery. 4-5pm is usually the time where the sun sets so we wanted to see the buildings as it lighted up when it got darker. Pretty neat actually cos the scenary was not bad but we were literally freezing our butts off man..haha..
Me and Mabel, with the city of Seattle behind us..notice the Space Needle as well..
Group shots..
As the sun sets and the skies become progressively darker...
All of us I think were for the idea of going back to Seattle Premium Outlets for more shopping so yeah..we did go back..haha...and we spent the next few hours there. It was also on the way back to Vancouver so why not right? I had to control my spending cos I had no more cash on me so I just bought a CK purse for my mum, and I was just about to pay with my credit card when I realised that I lost my wallet!!Goodness!What's wrong with me!!
I totally freaked out man...it was the worst thing that could ever happen!I am really careless I know since I always lose things in Singapore also, but now that I'm in a foreign country and I lose my wallet, it's just gonna be more complicated. I immediately went to find the rest and then YX accompanied me to the car to search for my wallet but to no avail. So I rushed to call my parents to tell them to cancel my credit card...by this time, I was totally in tears already..
I was really hating myself for being so careless and while I was trying to think thru where my wallet could be left at, the realization that the last time I took out my wallet was at Macs which was so far away!Dan and the rest were already prepared to drive back to Macs to search for my wallet...but as Joe was not around, we had to wait for him. So while waiting, Mabel and I went back to the shops that I entered before this and the next thing I knew, when I went back to Aeropostle(the first shop I stepped into when I reached the Premium Outlets), I saw my wallet in front of me on the shelf!
Unbelivable!!We both screamed for joy man...usually such things do not happen to me..when I lose something it means it will be gone forever like my dream handphone which I lost a few months back. I then recalled that I did take out my wallet cos I was contemplating whether to buy something..so yeah...super absent-minded but God was around for me I guess..I am really thankful that I managed to find my wallet...could be because the shelf was really messy with clothes that no one noticed my wallet...phew...saved me alot of trouble and heartache..
Super bad experience at the last part but overall it was a really enjoyable trip for me..especially the shopping part and the hanging out with the gang...=) Now back to school and the coming exams..Boo!The next trip to look forward to will be the Whistler trip in Dec..till then...
raeanchiq penned her thoughts @ 9:10 PM
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