It is US time tue 1127pm now...after 3 planes 2 buses 2 taxis..im finally in Gand Canyon!!!
Hard to believe still..0.0
Departed from Spore on sun 11 may, flew to taipei at 130pm and reached 6pm...followed by transiting and flying off again at 630 pm..reached Los Angeles at spore time 530am, which is US time 230pm..time difference of abt 15 hours..
It was quit funny coz after the dinner onboard soon after it departed from taipei, breakfast was served at spore time 430am, but outside it was already afternoon!! So it's like eating breakfast at lunch time..hahas =p
The LA Airport was totally out of my expectations, coz the ceilings had wires and pipes exposed and hanging right above you in the passage leading to the arrival hall, customs had no airconditioning, and and everywhere was so dilapitated that it looked like an desserted airport..=X It took quite a long time to pass through the customs coz there were just soo many people and the officers were very strict about it..After collecting our luggage, we went out of the airport and walked for an approx 20 min in the cold and dry wind (about 12 degrees) before we entered terminal 3 for our next flight..
The next plane departs at 730pm and hence we had ard 4 hrs to slack..had hot chocolate in Starbucks in terminal 3, which was the 1st Us dollar that i spent. =) the customs were super strict not only abt bags, but also u need to take off your shoes and jackets and have the laptops removed from the cases and suitcases..It was very funny coz everyone was busy removing clothes and shoes and the luguagge just keep coming out of the survelliance machine..hahas
Another 1 hr domestic flight to phoenix by us airways..pretty fast though..an unfortunate event happened, such that the bus that was supposed to take us to the flagstaff greyhound bus terminal left at ard 7 plus, and we were really left stranded at 9 plus..=( In the end the 5 of us took a cab, which cost ard 16 US dollars, while the rest followed 2 vans..there were a total of 27 of us.
When we reached abt 2 hours later, it was already 2am plus, and we had to walk in the freezing wind (less than 10 degrees) with our luggage for about 30mins..coz we were not v sure of the directions..there was this point that a police car drove past us and we went to ask for directions, and they just left without helping us much =X
When we actually checked into our hostel, it was past 3 am, and we had to assemble at ard 9am the next morning to apply for our social security pass..we stayed in 6- bed rooms..quite cozy except for the wind..
The next morning we went for a walk at ard 8 plus, for abt an hour. Flagstaff was a very small town in arizona, with very broad roads and hardly any tall buildings..very few people as well..after that went back to the hostel to check out our luggage into another room, before setting off to do our social security pass..it took us a total of about 1 hour to reached there, and there were almost no public transportation so we had to walk there..some people gave wrong informations and we walked a long way before finallyt arrving at the correct place..had carls junior as lunch..and think either i ordered wrongly or the service crew gave me the wrong burger, such that i actually received the spicy chicken burger on discount, which cost merely 99 cents!!!
Following which we went to walmart to buy our non-slip black shoes and took a taxi back to our hostel to transport the luggage to antrax station to take the bus to grand canyon...along the way we saw alot alot and alot of tall temperate trees and even farms..and the sky was so blue it seems to be swallowing you up..hahas
Reached at around 530pm , and we checked into our dorm, the Colters..it was really really nice and cozy, on the outside it looked like a house built with brown bricks and with a wooden top..just like small cottages..we were assigned to room 18, with 2 double decker and a single bed..There were two wooden cupboards , sink and two storage rooms for hanging clothes..all with the natural colour of wood =) But there were no toilets inside and we had to use the public ones..surprisingly, there were even bathtubs in the shower rooms!! And the water is very nice and warm..hahas..
Went for dinner with the rest of our group at the employer's canteen, with discount cards..most of us had fried rice for dinner, which was essentially half-uncooked rice with ham..and they used soy sauce, BLACK PEPPER and CHILLI POWDER to fry the rice..interesting flavour..and convinced myself that i was eating risotto..hahahas =)
It was super super cold at night, and the chilly wind just send shivers down ur spine as we went back..although it was already close to summer time..heard from the people there that in daytime it was extremely hot and freezing cold at night..just heard from a lady that it was snowing outside!!! No wonder it was soo cold..hahas..but i only brought a resonably thick piece of clothing so it was quite cold for me..=( Hopefully the weather gets better in the days to come.. it has been very very dry here and some of my friends already strated to nose bleed..=X And the lips seem to crack no metter how much lip balm u use..=X
So far the people had been pretty nice to us and very helpful..some helped to book taxis for us and some kindly showed us the directions to places..Met a really friendly South African and an Australian..=)
Starting orientation tmr...work starts on thur US time..
