12/24/2010:
Went and got Granite sealer, cleaner, polisher, and epoxy from Lowes. Since the thickness of the countertop is much narrower that the metal mounting brackets, I had to be creative to make it work - made make-shift supports for the cooktop - glue (with the epoxy) two small wood pieces to the side of drawer cabinets and below the countertop to make more contact area for the cooktop support brackets. Clamps were used to assure a strong bond.
12/25/2010:
Secured the wood pieces glued with long screws to the cabinets. Add several screw holes to the mounting metal brackets so that they can be attached to the wood pieces added, now I have enough surface to glue the metal mounting brackets to the countertop cutout.
Clean the countertop with DuPont Granite and Marble Cleaner, applied DuPont Granite and Marble Sealer - waited 30 minutes before wiping off the excess. DuPont Granite and Marble Polisher made the countertop slippery but not really more shining than before.
Ran into a little problem with the electrical connection; The junction box was placed too close to the cooktop, and the cooktop flexible conduit was not really flexible and thus can't reach the junction box properly. It took me a long while to figure out but finally bent the conduit more so that it can reach the junction from a different angle (bottom instead of the right hand side).
12/26/2010:
Connect the cooktop electrical wires (red, black, and green) to the junction box, switch on the breaker and boiled some hot water - voila, it worked. It turned out the control is fairly easy to use, just need some getting used to - cleaning the ceramic top maybe more challenging.
The crew (5 in 2 trucks) arrived at 8:15 in the morning, after covering the floor with paper and cloths, they moved the larger piece (which houses the sink) into the kitchen carefully. Cements are used to secure the granite to the cabinets below. The window and back splash pieces were carefullt measured and made right outside of the garage, ot tookk a while to get use to the 8-inch back splash; the window piece was made so beautiful that it blended the window and the countertop nicely. The sink was first fitted to sit on top of the cabinet (with some trimming of the cabinet top) then glued and secured underneath the countertop.
After finishing the sink piece, the crew left to get the cooktop piece and would return the afternoon but didn't say when, we later found out (John from UMG called) that the cooktop piece was broken so they had to remake it. The crew returned at about 4:00 with the cooktop piece, it was about 1/3 of the sink piece and thus easier to handle. Jose (the head crew) measured carefully (with my input) where and how much to cutout for the cooktop, it took only 5 minutes to make the cut, the rest was gluing the back splash and caulking, they were very very focused on doing a good job, their attitude and workmanship absolutely surpass that of you know who. The cooktop was tested and it fitted well. Because of the thickness of the countertop was only 3/4" but the metal supports were 1", I had to find a way to make the supports fit well. Glue and additional wood pieces were needed.
The kitchen looks nice with the new countertop even though we still have the old cabinets.
They even hauled away our old sink (after getting OK from their boss) after we inquired the possiblity, the old sink was really heavy for me to handle, now I don't have to worry about how to get rid off it.
Need to get glue/epoxy to install the induction cooktop, also need to get Granite sealer as well cleaner to make the countertop last.
Your assigned time:8am – 5pm or until the project is completed
House Address: 587 Water Witch Way, Winchester Ranch Mobile Home Park, San Jose, CA, 95117
The homeowner is 92 years old and has lived in San Jose since she was born.She has 2 children, one son and one daughter. Her son lives in San Jose, but her daughter does not; both are in their 70s. The house is about 33 years old and she moved here when her mobile home and the park were new.She was married twice.Her first husband, who was in the Air Force, passed away when he was 37 years old; her second husband passed away in his 60’s.The only source of income for this homeowner is Social Security and a small pension from her second husband. She has had a heart attack before, she also fell and broke her shoulder, and has severe arthritis in her back which causes pain in her arms and hands.She is in need of assistance in the kitchen, bathroom and some exterior repairs as well.
Parking: Parking is limited in the park.It is recommended that you park in the Century Theater parking lot on Olsen behind the Winchester Mystery House and walk into the park.This home is all the way back and to the left at the last street.
Clothing: Old clothes (may get dirt or paint on them).You will receive a t-shirt at the site to wear and take home.For the safety of our homeowners and volunteers, everyone on site must wear the Rebuilding Day t-shirt.
Recommended items to bring:
·Sunscreen, hat, sunglasses, and sensible, closed-toe shoes
·Water bottle (Water coolers will be available at every site for refills.)
Finishing yard waste cleanup in the street after the pickup; Swept the leaves in the backyard; Tried to wash up in the bathroom when my heart rate jumped again; thinking it would gradually level off after a while, I stood in the bathroom and wait, minutes past but no sign of recovering, I had to sit on the toilet to rest as I felt weak and sweating. Anita came to help and added towel and cloth on me. As it wasn't going away as before, Anita called 911, 6 firefighters came to the bedroom to help, after some questions, I was put on monitor and injected with some kind of medication - to slow down my heart rate - I leaned later that the injection was to stop my heart for a few seconds (4 to be exact) and restart it, much like reseting a device when it became non-responding, my heart rate gradually slowed down from over 200 to about 85. The ambulance took me to Regional Medical Hospital for observation; changing into hospital gown and lay in bed for the doctor. The doctor saw me briefly (not in grave danger) and said he will return after my blood test, the nurse drew 4 tubes of blood from me at 12:00 and the doctor returned to let me know that test results are ok and can go home, the nurse came a little later to give me the prescription and some info relating to the medication and my condition - I have the "Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia/Paroxysmal Supraventricular Tachycardia", also means "sudden onset of fast heart beating". The prescription was to prevent this from reoccurring but it does carry a number of side effects - see Wikipedia for more info. I need to check another possibility - overactive thyroid, common symptoms are excessive sweating, high heart rate (a form of Palpitation), diarrhea, weight loss, etc.
(IV on my right arm, blood was drew from the back of my left hand, a dozen vital sign monitoring stickers were placed on my chest and legs)
At the ER, an administrator (Sam) took my info and gave some valuable info when he found out I do not have insurance, Medi-Cal as well as other possible low income assists. A nice guy indeed.
11122010: Woke before 7:00, swept up the leaves in front yard for collection - wasn'r preparing for it but did it spontaneously. Will try hard to build a peaceful mind (don't know how yet, but will search for helpful info) to be less vulnerable to outside influence (this could be anything outside my body). As peace of mind is the most challenging thing in ones life.
Had trouble falling asleep, woke up almost hourly until getting up at 7 with a painful back and waist.
7:30: Had a small breakfast at Horizon Court
10:00: Attended the "Alaska Port and Shopping Show" but left before it ended as the contents were all but sale pitches - very little about the ports; the only nice thing came out of this was the pamphlets on each of the ports.
12:00: Had lunch at Donatello - smoked turkey and vegetable for appetizer, Red Snapper for main dish, and pecan ice cream (yummy) for desert. Anita had New Zealand mussel for appetizer, Cobb salad, and fruit tartlet.Food plating was nice.
3:15: Watched "Green Zone" at Princess Theatre
5:05: Got some food from International Cafe for late afternoon snack
7:00: Stopped by Horizon Court for a bite - decks 5&6 were filled with people attending the first of two formal nights - socializing, drinking champagne, taking photos, enjoying music and dance.
8:15: Enjoyed "Stardust" - 45 minutes of singing and dancing with 50/60th oldies.
8:30: Tried but failed to buy small bottle varieties of Absolut Vodka, as the store won’t let us have it until Friday – when explained by the clerk, I felt really embarrassed.
2010 Alaska II
08/16/2010 - Juneau
6:00: Got up for whale watching – but saw nada, absolutely nothing
11:15: Golden Princess docked at Juneau - docking process was carefully slow.
All the dinning rooms were crowded with people trying to grab a bite before going on shore; the elevators were also filled and stopped at every floor.
12:20: Stepped on Juneau pier, got tickets for city and glacier tour; the city tour was not impressive, pretty much a waste except for the bonus stop - a small Salmon spawning creek where Salmon reproduction took place.
2:00: Started Mendenhall Glacier walking tour, all free unless you want to watch related movie and exhibit.This glacier has been retreating 200ft a year recently as oppose to 60ft 20 years ago.
3:40: I got back to the ship first while Anita went shopping; I had some salad at International Cafe before going back to our stateroom.
6:15: Had sit down dinner at Donatello, the King Crab Leg appetizer was delicious (generous quantity as well), vegetable soup was so so, and the seafood pasta was magnificent.
8:30: Had some fruits and one DOS EQUIS beer, Anita had a Singapore Sling - cost $2.99 each, happy hour after 8:00.
08/17/2010 - Skagway
6:00: Docked at Skagway
7:30: Had breakfast
9:00: Disembarked ship and heading toward Skagway downtown.Ten minutes walk just to clear the pier; another 10 minutes walk through a fairly scenic path to get to the town.
11:00: Joined a 50-minute guided city tour (need to obtain free tickets way before the tour starts – tickets run out fast).
12:20: Returned to the ship, finished the food prepared this morning along with hot tea and salad from Horizon Court.
2:00: Heading toward Skagway to see the town again - we were going places that required more walk, but since it was very windy and cold, we decided to stay in town instead.Skagway is better than Juneau in terms of preserving the past; even with about 10.000 tourists (from four cruise ships), the town can still accommodate (Skagway has only 862 residents as of 2000).
4:15: Returned to the ship
6:00: Had sit down dinner at Bernini, we were going to order two glasses of Pinot Noir, the waiter talked us into buying a bottle, we agreed because they can save unfinished wine for tomorrow - $36.5 plus 15% service fee.Dishes were all delicious - a little dizzy after the wine
My heart, for a short moment, felt like it was hammered while climbing upstairs, this happened two nights in a row, I did not experience this before, but it appeared I didn't have enough oxygen for a while.
08/18/2010 - At sea
7:00: Woke up, went grabbed a quick bite and hurried out to the upper deck as we were approaching Tracy Arm Fjord - the most exciting stop of the cruise - to see glacier and wild animals.It was cloudy and sprinkled occasionally; there were small icebergs along the fjord, it was amazing such a large ship can maneuver in such a narrow channel.We took some pictures and decided to go back to our stateroom to dress warmer.
8:20: Ship slowly edged toward the glacier, good spots on the decks were filled with people, it's hard to take photos without any fellow passengers in it :-). We were told this is the closest Golden Princess had gotten to the glacier this year.Although I took many photos but since lighting condition wasn't very good, I hope some would turn out OK.
9:50: Went to Horizon Court to get some hot drink and bites to warm up.
10:30: Went back to stateroom to rest.
12:30: Went to Princess Theatre to attend the 1:00 "Alaska Glaciers" presentation; Michael Modzelewski is the speaker, we bought his signed copy of "Inside Passage" at the theatre entrance.
2:00: Had some fruits and coffee at Horizon Court after the speech.
Since we couldn't make preferable reservation at Bernini so we decided to drop in when we feel like to.
6:15: Went down to Bernini for dinner, we waited in the atrium and enjoyed a live classical band before getting our table.
6:25: Our table was instead in Donatello (both restaurant were anytime dinning rooms, so one fills, guests may be taken to the other); we recalled our Pinot Noir and it still tasted good. I had wild mushroom cream soup, diver scallop, and pork tenderloin, Anita had the same soup, fresh salad, soufflé, and diver scallop.
2010 Alaska III
08/19/2010 - Ketchikan
6:00: Ship docked
6:10: Got up
6:30: Breakfast at the same old Horizon Court
7:20: Started Ketchikan walk tour; Ketchikan Visitor Bureau->Whale Park and Chief Kyan Totem Pole->Totem Heritage Center (Totem Poles dated over a century and related Indian culture)->Hatchery and Eagle Center (Two rescued female Eagles were kept here, they could no longer fly and hunt, so they had to be fed and protected by the center)(King and Coho Salmon were hatched here, from artificial fertilization to release them into the streams after one year when they are about two inches long)->Married Men's Trail (Not sure why it's named like that but it lead to Red Light District); the trail also runs parallel to a creek jam packed with returning Salmon - crowded is probably a better word.
Got a laser engraved Eagle crystal for $6.95.
10:45: I returned to the ship first while Anita continued shopping.
12:00: Had lunch
5:00: Went to Horizon Court for dinner, we realized that they were still serving lunch half way through, we waited until the other side of the restaurant start serving dinner then moved over there and restarted our dinner.Watched "Avatar" and "An Affair to Remember"
11:00: Tried to sleep on the floor where closet was to help relive the pain but still felt uncomfortable and the pain in my lower back persisted - went back to sleep in bed.
2:00: Time zone change back to west coast zone - 3:00 am now
08/20/2010 - At sea and Victoria, BC, Canada
8:45: Woke up by knocks on the door, we had no idea it was so late - unable to see day light might be the cause.
9:00: Breakfast
10:00: Anita went joined the lecture "Native People of the Northwest Coast" by Michael Modzelewski starting 9:30
11:30: Had lunch at Horizon Court
1:00: Attended lecture on "Victoria, British Columbia" at Wheelhouse Bar
2:00: Anita went to enjoy sauna
2:30: Watched "Dear John" on TV
5:30: There was a fixed dinning assigned for us at Donatello Dinning Room (5:30, table 101; simply show up at 5:30 and go directly to our table to be served), we were on waiting list for fixed time dinner when we booked the trip but did not notice that we actually got it, so our last dinner on board was the only time we took advantage of it - I think I over ate :-(
7:30: Got off the ship and started Victoria walk tour, the whole trip took one hour and 40 minutes, but we could only took photos in the first half of the walk, the sun set at 8:20 and we didn't have enough residual light for good photo shot after that.
08/21/2010 - Seattle
8:00: Disembark Golden Princess, took about 10 minutes to walk off the ship and pass custom.
8:20: Check in Shuttle Express
8:30: Board shuttle
9:10: Arrived at Sea-Tac Airport, self-checked in, got boarding pass
10:00: Cleared security, got to Gate N8 (after 2 rides of the airport shuttle)
12:15: Boarded the plane, nearly full - isle seat was ideal
Got up at 4:00 am, got everything ready by 4:40, left the house at 4:50 am when Jack (our shuttle driver) came 10 minutes earlier.Picked up Elly at her house, crossed bridge 92 (toll free between 5 and 10 am) and got to SFO at 5:55 am.
SA (South African Airways) flights in the US are operated by UA (United Airlines).We got to Washington D.C. Dulles airport in about 5 hour and 20 minutes, took shuttle to Gate A14 for our SA connecting flight (SA208); Surprisingly, there was no further security check as anticipated.
- Departure was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes due to bad weather or certain unknown situation near north side of Dulles airport.
Flight SA208 from Dulles to Johannesburg stops at DKR (a small airport in Senegal) for one hour to drop off/pick up passengers. Despite our late taking off at Dulles airport (although compensated by strong tail wind), additional delay at DKR, plus yet another delay at JNB (due to aerial thunderstorm - we were close to being diverted to Durban if the weather condition didn't improve), we were actually only late by 35 minutes.
- We experienced the longest (15~20 minutes) continuous turbulence ever, it was not very severe but enough to make us dizzy.
Our Gate1 tour guide (John) met us at JNB airport exit lobby.There were a total of 40 people in the group, some had already arrived, some were waiting at JNB (like us), and some were on their way.On the shuttle to Protea Hotel Wanderers, we saw several accident scenes on the freeway contributed by the severe storm.
Protea Hotel was a 4-star (see photos on Picasa) accommodation that both Anita and I like very much.
Went to bed at 11, woke up at 2 - long wait for breakfast (starts at 6:30).
04/24/2010
The Big Apple Restaurant had one of the best breakfast buffets we ever enjoyed.
Got on our bus at 8:30 to begin Soweto tour.Hector Peterson Memorial Museum and Mandela House were the main focuses.Three quarter of the group got off at a large shopping mall while Anita, myself and the rest of the group went back to the hotel. We ended up sleeping through the afternoon; we simply could not keep our eyes open.
Buffet dinner was ok, fish & chicken turned out to be the best.
04/25/2010
Heading toward Kruger National Park.
- Failed to relieve myself after nearly 30 minutes trial.
- Our bus left the Protea Hotel at 7:45
- Pit stop at 10:50
- Belfast Township
- Tram alley (forgot which city)
- Pilgrim’s Rest Township
- Kolkgate (Bourke's Luck) Potholes: Junction of rivers Sorrow and Happiness, spectacular view.
- Arrived Protea Hotel Hazyview at 6:00 pm, bigger room, older construction, no central air conditioning, no bathroom mat, and the safe does not work (fixed
by hotel personnel after several tries).
2010 South Africa II
04/26/2010
<Safari Ride in Kruger National Park>
- 10 Persons per car (3x3 rows in the back, plus one next to the driver)
- We were late getting to the parking lot and had to sit in separate cars, Anita sits in the back and I got the front seat, on the same car though.
- Took 30 minutes to reach Park entrance, another 30 minutes for permit
- It was wet and humid, we did not see much in the first 2 hours (2 small deers, several Impalas, some buffalos in the distance, a few zebras, and one elephant behind trees)
- The experience after breakfast was guite different (may be helped by improved weather and better visibility), we saw
-A couple of zebras
-Three adult elephants eating, two actually crossed the road only a few feet from our game drive vehicle, our driver had to maneuver the car to avoid their possible sudden charge.This may be considered the best experience of this morning.
-Four giraffes grazing
- Taking the afternoon easy, explored the hotel garden a bit, a nice garden with great view.
04/27/2010
- Woke up at 2:15, 3:30; 6:00 -->got up
- 6:45 -->Breakfast
- African Flame (a beautiful local flower)
- 9:00 -->Heading toward Kruger National Park Malelane Gate to meet those attending optional morning game drive.
- 11:30-->Stopped over at a shopping mall in Malelane for supplies.
- 12:15-->Heading toward Swaziland
- 1:20-->Left SA, entered Swaziland
- 2:25-->Stopped at roadside stone carving stands
- 3:30->Visit Glass Factory
- 5:06-->Checked in Lugogo Sun Hotel, a 3-star hotel with: no adapter to borrow, no central air, no hair dryer, no convenient restaurant (also it costs ~$20 for dinner buffet), with only one small and old elevator.
- Dinner was taken care with left over and donation from Elly/Jenny.
2010 South Africa III
04/28/2010
- 8:00 -->Left Lugogo Sun Hotel
- 8:30 -->Visited Candle Factory
- 9:20 -->Heading toward Swaziland/SA boarder
- 12:05 -->Arriving Swaziland/SA boarder
- 12:30 -->Entering South Africa
- 12:45 -->Lunch break at 1stop, got a couple of scones for dinner
- 2:40 -->Arrive Hluhluwe Game Reserve
- 2:50 -->Began our second game drive; this is a better experience than the one in Kruger, better weather, better visibility, and better sitting.
- Need a better camera (higher zoom capability, better low light sensitivity)
- 6:00 -->End of game drive
- 7:30 -->Check in Elephant Lake Hotel, recently renovated, much of the detail is either missing or poorly crafted, most likely due to poor workmanship, low budget, and/or miss management.
04/29/2010
- 6:45 -->Breakfast, not too many selections
- 8:45 -->Departing Elephant Lake Hotel
- 9:00 -->River cruise (Crocodile, Hippo)
- 10:45 -->Visit local market
- 11:00 -->Heading toward Durban, coastal route
- 1:20 -->Lunch break at Ballito Bay, a resort town.Bought a small bottle red wine and 2 croissants.Had sandwich for lunch.
- 2:40 -->Leaving for DurbanInternational Airport.
- 3:50 -->Arriving Durban International Airport, this airport would be replaced by the new Shaka International Airport and closed permanently in two days (05/01/2010).We had a group check in - John took all passports and took care of everything.
-6:00 -->British Airways flight 6303 taking off.
- 7:55 -->Arriving Cape Town International Airport.
- 9:15 -->Check-in Protea Hotel Victoria Junction, possibly the best for the trip - hairdryer, alarm clock, usable power receptacle, LCD TV, chocolate, very comfortable beds, safe, carpet floor,
04/30/2010
- 5:30 -->Got up, a much better rest
- 8:25 -->Leaving for city tour
- 8:40 -->First stop-Table Mountain
- 10:15 -->Finishing Table Mountain tour, start city tour
- 1:00 -->Back to Protea Hotel, had scone and croissant for lunch.
- 2:30 -->Use hotel Internet (50 RAND for 60 minutes)
- 3:30 -->Explore hotel neighborhood, found KFC and a grocery store.We bought a bottle of Pinotage ($R28), some pastries, and 4 chicken legs from the grocery store (dinner is ready).
- 5:30 -->Nice dinner (inexpensive AND tasty)
2010 South Africa IV
05/01/2010
- 8:30 -->Start Cape Peninsula tour
- 9:10 -->Maiden's Cove
- 10:10 -->Hout (wood timber) Bay
- 11:00 -->Leaving for Cape Point.
- 12:00 -->Entering Cape Point.
- 12:20 -->Start hiking to the lighthouse.
- 2:40 -->Lunch at Seaforth Restaurant, next to the Indian Ocean.
{Large quantity of fish filet and delicious Milba Pudding)
- 3:55 -->Visited Boulder (Penguin habitat and protection center) beach
- 5:30 -->Visit Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
- 6:30 -->Return to Protea Hotel
- 6:45 -->Got chicken and pizza roll from the "SPAR" grocery.Got coleslaw from KFC, we were going to get another bottle of Pinostage but couldn't because SA law prohibit sale of alcoholic beverage after 5pm during weekends.
05/02/2010
- 8:00 -->Late breakfast, took it easy this morning.
- 11:00 -->Took hotel green shuttle (Hybrid-gasoline and liquid hydrogen)
to Waterfront, the famous pier shopping mall.
1:00 -->Ride ferry to Robben Island.
3:45 -->Ride ferry back to Waterfront, call hotel for green shuttle to take us back to the hotel.
-7:00 -->Farewell dinner.
05/03/2010
- 7:45 -->Breakfast (did not pack any food -:)), same type of food but tastes better, possibly because this is the last meal here.
- 10:00 -->Left the luggages outside the room
- 11:00 -->Leaving for Cape Town International Airport.
- 11:15 -->Process tax refund (R76); had to check-in the luggages as they were both overweight (~10 kg, 8 being the max).
- 1:20 -->Got to boarding gate.
- 1:50-->Flight delayed
- 2:20-->Flight took off (30 minutes delay)
- 4:15 -->Landed at JNB in heavy rain, spent 45 or so minutes trying to get our tax back AND get to the correct gate-> only got R50 after R25 fee.Security check was extremely tight, may have something to do with upcoming 2010 World Soccer Event.We rushed through the airport after the inefficient tax refund process and got to gate A15->boarding pass/passport verification->body search->carry-on bag check->another boarding pass/passport verification->board the plane.
- 5:45-->Taking off on time (flight duration was 8 hours)
- 12:00 (Senegal time)-->Landed at DKR airport->on-board security check to make sure passengers disembarking the plane did not leave anything harmful behind.
-1:30 -->Flight taking off for IAD
- 6:00 -->Arriving IAD.Since instead of SFO, we used IAD as the final destination for our luggages, we had to go through longer (30 minutes more than Elly) and more complicated route:
-Different shuttle-ours was 10 minutes late leaving air walkway,
-Different luggage handling->SFO's were handled with priority.
-Security check - not sure if different procedures were applied but it took us 25 minutes just to clear custom.
Health Insurance resumption and Halt can be submitted at the same time. In order to be sure your application for "halt" takes effect, it is recommended that you call the District Administration corresponding department to confirm the paper work had gone through before leaving Taiwan.
It is not necessary to fill out the application forms before going to the District Administration Office, they will do it for you - although it may speed up their work process. Remember to bring the following items with you:
- ROC passport (中華民國護照)(they will check the entry/exit dates to make sure you have been out more than 6 months) - Stamp(印章) (unless you already filled out the forms and stamped them). - Citizen ID (身分證) and/or copy household record (戶口名簿 或 戶籍謄本影印本) - Resumption/halt application forms if desirable - The exact of entry and planned departure (入出境日期)
Note that Insurance IC card is not needed and it(全民健保卡) becomes effective one hour after the submission of the Resumption application.
Be sure to tell the hospital/clinic registration(掛號) that you have Health Insurance Resumed (更新掛號) when going to the doctor the first time after RESUMPTION(復保)
2009-Egypt I 12/1/2009(SFO-Paris) Once again, Yolly gave us a ride to SFO. The flights we booked through Delta but operated by Air France(we could not check-in because of this) so we had to go to aisle 7 to check-in, it was a snap. We chowed down most of the food we brought before entering the security check point. Security check is more strict than the last time we traveled. We were t Gate A5 when we board UA for the Baltic Cruise trip, today we are at Gate A7 - same location but difference wall postings. As expected, all announcements were made in French - English - Spanish. It appears that all European carriers serves better meal, this was no exception - all kinds of drinks before meal including wine, soft drink, liquor, and juice, a separate round of drink was severed with the meal, we each had a small bottle of 2008 Red wine (LA BAUME), fairly good and goes well with the beef I ordered. Watched Ice Age 3 - interesting and entertaining. Our seats were on the last row of the section which were also right next to the toilet, popular area but also convenient for us. We landed at Charles Degroot airport at 11:25, this airport is one of the old airports that do not have enough land to expand and have run out of space - virtually all passengers must take shuttle to get to the terminal, and take another shuttle to get to different terminal for connecting flight. It took us 35 minutes to get to gate 44 F for Cairo connection flight. It was cloudy and rained slightly in Paris. We waited a while at the boarding gate due to unknown delay. There was a long stair ramp which took us to the shuttle waiting. The carrier was a relative new Airbus 330 about 70% full. Air France provides meal menu on both flights (SFO-PARIS, PARIS-CAIRO) and serves free drinks of many varieties, the food was also splendid, quantity served was generous, we were able to save some for snacks. 12/2/2009 Cairo Airport is relatively small compared to its neighboring countries, visa fee is $15 paid at special counter, getting through custom wasn't difficult, just need time :-) Gate1 representative picked up all 6 from the same flight, two other couples are John/Cathrin from New port Beach and Eric/Sandra from ??? It took one hour to get to The Oasis Hotel, our guide Mamal kept pressing their excursions but we decided to take taxi on our own. The hotel wasn't what we were used to, our room 3013 wasn't on the third floor, it's way back at the end of the hotel complex, amenities were not bad, possibly 3 star when it was built. 12/3/2009 - Cairo All other Gate1 members took excursion, so we are all alone today. Woke up at 4:00 am,fooled around a bit until it's breakfast time. The free buffet was edible, the only thing deserved praise was their hash-brown. Left hotel in "limo" heading toward The Pyramid of Giza at 7:45. I was very disappointed seeing the Pyramids in person may be because seeing too many nice pictures taken professionally, it could be because that Egypt is a not too rich country, their people do not appear proud of the treasure have. Most countries with this type of world class treasure would spend a lot and make their people proud. [Observations] - The place looks like a dump - There was no signs/descriptions of the place (expecting people to find out for themselves) - No instruction on where to buy different kinds of tickets. - Ticket purchasing is done manually, one people outside taking money and write down what was purchased in a notebook(the old paper based), people inside the ticket booth hands out your ticket. - Although the pyramid ground area was relative clean, there are many locals with camel waiting to get tips from tourists - take your photo, take their photo, buy something from you - You get nothing but the tickets, no description of the pyramids, their history, preservation efforts, etc. as you could from all established facilities of the sort. - There are police everywhere you go, for security reason of course, but most of them simply sit/talk/wandering around.
2009-Egypt II 12/3/2009(continued) Note1: Almost everyone you might or might not need help from expect some "reward", ask someone for direction, go to the restroom, or being offered to take your picture, etc. Note 2: There is no speed limit in Egypt (at least in Cairo and Giza), people drive as fast as one can imagine, so there are road bumps in the streets everywhere except freeway, but since freeways cross over many streets, the overpasses themselves serve similar purpose.
12/4/2009 3:45-wake up call (we ended up checking the time every 30 minutes beginning at 11:00) 4:00-luggage out at door 4:30-check luggage 4:45-leave hotel 7:00-flight to Aswan
There hot coffee and lunch boxes waiting at the lobby cafe, the cucumber inside was fresh and delicious, the first vegetable we have in two days. The coffee was really good even without sugar. We arrived at the airport at 5:45, went through 3 security check points-the airport building entrance, concourse pathway entrance, and boarding gate entrance. Note: the group was actually 40 something in size and we were the only people not in the excursion yesterday. We decided to join the excursion the next 3 days to save some energy and hassle - had to pay $60 more than if paid in the US. Since we don't have the same last name, Anita and I were assigned different seats, it turned out mine 08A was the first one in business class-too bad it's only an one hour flight. s, not sure if it's only available or business class seats but I actually got hot swipe+juice right after seating, plus s light breakfast after taking off-unusual for an one-hour flight. Took one small coffee spoon as souvenir (not sure if they were included for different food items or packaging error, but there were two coffee spoons in the bag). Note that they are real silverware instead of the usual plastic ones - again not sure if it was special for business class only. Found out I am being envied and hated because of my sitting in business class, oh well, tough luck. We were taken to Aswan High Dam, built by the Soviet union in the 70th - not much to see (we would not come on our own but no choice since it is part of the package), stopped at "unfinished Obelisk", the site where granite blocks were erected and served as construction material here. We finally boarded the "Escape" cruise,an old but remodeled river cruiser, probably holds about 100 passengers-don't even try to compare this with Princess cruise ships. The food on board is edible at best, no fruits were served so far. The evening tour of temple "Tom ???" was interesting but it's very chilly and Anita got sick afterward. I had a quick dinner (same staff with the exceptions of chicken and a cooked vegetables) and managed to get some food delivered to our cabin for Anita.
2009-Egypt III 12/5/2009 There is a tea&coffee at 6:15 before our morning tour, so we visited the bar at 6:00 before the crowd-there were only some small slices of cake, I took 4 slices of them - enough to go through the short morning tour. Edfu temple is only 5 minutes away from the port, it was excavated in ???? - need more detail of the temple. We stayed on board the whole day to sail for Luxor after the Edfu temple tour - caught up with some well deserved sleep. There was a costume party(formal name?) before and after dinner when guests get to put on local (Egyptian) dresses, we had our usual dresses and simply watched-interesting, we were(especially me) never the party/social type. Dinner was little better than yesterday but,,,. 12/6/2009 This is going to be a fully scheduled day. Got up really early - as usual - had a quick breakfast as we'll be rifing and seeing temples and tombs all day. Valley of Kings tour is more like Disney Land which you have choice seeing 3 tombs(general admission) or selected tombs. Most of them are similar, but the tomb of the son of Ramesses III- Khaem Wast is considered the best as colors on most of the reliefs are still well preserved, thanks to year round hot and dry weather. The only Egyptian Queen that has her own private tomb was Hatshepsut, who...
Valley of Queens simply wasn't worth visiting (except perhaps the one that's closed for maintenance). as the only two tombs open didn't have much to see or admire.
Note: The Luxor city has a better impression as the streets and tour sites (temple, museums, tombs) are well designed to attract foreign tourists - a much better experience than when visited the Pyramids of Giza and the Egyptian Museum. Although tip-for-forced-service is still wide spread. The only places that we did not get harassed were for-tour guide-commission-stores and Luxor airport (verify).
A couple of short stops later, our guide took the group to another store to see(and BUY) stone based products. This store appears to be one of the popular ones as the tour buses come in and go every minute, this directly translate into their attitude, we did not buy any thing(but we did take advantage of their free of charge restroom), there were, however, quite a few customers from our group, so the wait for everyone else was long and we had to rush back to the boat to get lunch and harry on to the next tour - they put their profit before their clients' interest, not an acceptable behavior even for this "affordable" travel. The "Luxor Temple" tour in the afternoon was most memorable, its pillar formation was spectacular and there were tons of them still intact.
2009-Egypt IV 12/6/2009 (continued) Eight from Manal's group had to leave for Luxor Airport early morning, Anita, Patrick, Wendy Lum (Sacramento), Jef Lum (Stockton), Sandra Horn (Kentucky), Eric Horn (Kentucky), Catherine Ward (New York), and John Ward (New York). 4:30-Wake up call 4:30-5:30-Breakfast 5:30-Leave boat 7:10-Luxor Airport It was a short one hour flight but drinks were still served - nothing alcoholic though. Checked-in Inberotel Hotel at 8:45. A likely 4-star hotel-no robes, room 1103 was clean and on the ground floor (we thought it was on the 11th floor until we saw the elevator only goes to 4th floor). We rested for a while (it wasn't difficult o fall asleep as we were both exhausted), we did wake up and watched two movies, one was "Water Horse", an interesting but fictional film kind of linked the Lake Niss monster to it. Another was "August Rush" about a music prodigy. Had lunch at hotel Italian restaurant "Il Giardino", nice pasta and draft beer-~148 Egyptian pounds(~$30). Rested most of the afternoon, got a sandwich and a pastry for dinner. Got to the airport at 9:45, went through a series of security check points (guess they treat US bound flights more seriously). Our return flight was, unfortunately, operated by Delta, the plane was not old but also ill maintained - no per seat screen, only the old over-the-top CRTs, air-conditioning leaked water at several occasions, one air outlet was completely gone so the flight attendant had to use something to cover it up. There were at least a dozen wheelchair passenger never seen before. There also were a number of small kids, two were behind us (ages 5 and 8),another across the isle, possibly 4 years old. The four-year old screamed non-stop from the moment he boarded the plane, this lasted several hours until he felled asleep. Comparing meals served on Delta, the ones we had on Air France was 2 scales better. After 12 hours and 30 minutes we finally landed at NYC-JFK airport, since this is an early morning flight plus we do not have to wait for baggage, we got through custom in 10 minutes - would have been 20,30 minutes during the day. We had some leftover food from the flights plus Starbuck coffee for breakfast. Flight from NYC-JFK to SFO was also operated by Delta, the gate change was discovered early otherwise we may have to run to the new gate at the last minutes. It turned out the flight (757-200) was very empty, possibly 60% of he seats were unoccupied, virtually everybody got one row(3 seats) and there were still quite a few empty rows, never had I experienced such luxry, even better than business class as far as seating goes. No meal except nuts/pretzel were served on board and only non-alcoholic drinks were free of charge-a sharp contrast to what we had on board Air France.
Avatar 3D: Watched at CineArts@Santana Row, one of the best semi-animation movie with interesting and complicated plots.
Sherlock Holmes: Watched at CineArts@Santana Row (4:05 pm, $7.50), an action packed film, appears heading for sequels.
Alice in Wonderland: Also a 3D recreation
********** 9: An animation about dolls fighting evil machines in human-less earth
Love Happens: Jeniffer Aniston falls in love with a best seller writer
The Informant: Story of a Corporate executive (Mat Damon) lives on lies
Surrogates: A police (Bruce Willis) investigate the death of surrogates
This is it: Watched again on Eva Airways SFO->TPE flight - still impressive **********
Toy Story 3 (3D): A better story
Restrepo: A soldier Afghanistan deployment journal Inception: A deep level dream fantasy - 8/9/2010 ($6)
The kids are all right: A lesbian family story - 8/9/2010
Shutter Island: Leonardo DiCaprio in a Psychological thriller (Alaska cruise on Golden Princess) Green Zone: Matt Damon searching for WMD in Iraq(Alaska cruise on Golden Princess)
Social Network: The story of the birth of Facebook (September - CineArts@Santana Row)
The Town: Ben Affleck mastermind bank robberies (October - CineArts@Santana Row) Red: Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, John Malkovich fight/investigate their assassination attempt (10242010 - Campbell Camera 7)
Waiting for Superman: Documentary about the problem with American education system (10242010 - Campbell Camera 7) Harry Potter - The Final Book, Part 1: First part of two for the final Harry Potter book (December - CineArts@Santana Row) The King's Speech: British King George VI overcoming public speech problem(CineArts @Palo Alto)
Mr. Chao - Kung' senior school mate at NTU Mr. Jiang - Not sure but possibly Kung's colleague at E-Tek Mr. Wang - Editor of Shih Foundation quarterly magazine Lily - Life Insurance agent
