Journey From KL to Vancouver!

After 27 long hours of journey from KL, I have finally arrived safely in Vancouver, Canada. First of all, I would like to say that Vancouver is a really beautiful city. When our plane was on its descend to the airport, I can see the beautiful ocean on my left and the snowy mountains on my right. It was sunny when we arrived, with an average temperature of 22^◦C. Neither was it too cold nor was it hot. Now, let me tell you the story of my whole journey. :)

KLIA, Malaysia

I arrived at KLIA around 4.30pm. My father and my uncle accompanied me to the airport. There were quite a number of my friends who arrived earlier than me. The MAS officials then gave us bag tags to write our personal details and our university address. After tagging our bags, we queued up at the MAS counter. I was first on the line and was the first to get my passport, air ticket and luggage done for the day. Our luggage was tagged all the way to Vancouver. We will only be able to see our luggage once we arrived at our final destination. It was 5.30pm and JPA’s briefing will only be at 8.30pm. I took the time to hang out with friends and had dinner with my dad and my uncle at around 7pm.

JPA and MAS officials briefed us about our passport, our flight ticket and gave all of us a few words of advice and encouragement before we headed off to the immigration check downstairs. When the moment finally arrived where all of us had to depart from our family members, it was quite an emotional one. I took a picture with my dad and hugged him. From the immigration counter, I could see him looking at me until I disappeared into the customs check. I was sad but at the same time spirited. I knew I had to live up to my father’s expectations. When I return in another four years, I will make him proud.

After going through the customs check with ease, we all went to gate H8 where we will board the Boeing 747 to London. There, I took the time to talk to my girlfriend on the phone. She was sad and was crying because she doesn’t want me to leave. But I promised her that I will be back and make her proud as well. Although we are apart at the other side of the world, my heart will always be right beside her. :)

It was 11.00pm and we were told to board the plane. My mom called me to bid farewell and my girlfriend also called to say goodbye. My seat was somewhere between the middle and the back of the plane. That was my first time on a Boeing 747. I was so excited because there was this in-flight entertainment with movies, songs and games to spare time with.

At 11.50pm, our plane took off from KLIA.

In the plane from KL to London, I couldn’t get enough sleep. The chair was too uncomfortable and my back was aching the whole time. I looked around and saw most of my friends were sleeping. Strapped on my seat, I turned to the in-flight entertainment on board to watch movies. So, there I was watching Hangover and Rio. Both were good movies and I was quite entertained.

A 13-hour journey almost felt like 13 days. I kept looking at my clock calculating how many hours left for the journey. I knew I just had to wait and wait and wait. I have no choice. The in-flight entertainment was my only companion.

Heathrow Airport, London

We landed in London at 5.15am local time, which is around 12.15pm Malaysian time. My impression of Heathrow was that it is a huge airport but doesn’t look attractive at all. KLIA is better mainly because it is a newer airport than Heathrow and has large room space inside. The weather there was windy and the temperature was 13^◦C. It was quite cool and chilly but I still find it okay.

We took a shuttle bus to get to Terminal 3 from Terminal 4. When we arrived there, we were told that we could not get our flight ticket because our names written in the flight itinerary starts with our first name instead of our last name. The Air Canada official wanted all of us to change our names at the Malaysia Airlines counter back in Terminal 4. We all headed back to Terminal 4 only to be told that everything was ok and we may proceed with our check-in at Terminal 3. Gosh, that was hectic going back and forth from Terminal 4 to Terminal 3 and back to Terminal 4 and again to Terminal 3 for good!

Our flight to Vancouver was at 11.30am London time. I spared my buying a T-shirt and went online at one of the computers there. I couldn’t open Facebook by the way, but I did manage to open my Twitter account. I tweeted to my girlfriend that I’ve arrived safely in London and will be boarding to Vancouver in an hour.

The flight from London to Vancouver took about 9 hours. We were on board the Boeing 777-300. Again, I kept looking at the clock. I watched Rango and The Diary of a Wimpy Kid on the in-flight entertainment. I also listened to Chris Brown’s album and Avril Lavigne’s album to keep myself entertained. During the flight, I had Chicken Breast with Ginger for my meal.

Since we went through the skies of Greenland, the temperature was quite cold. I had to have my blanket on all the time. When I opened my shoes and put my feet on the floor, it was so cold! The outside temperature reached -65^◦F.

Vancouver, B.C.

Our plane landed safely at Vancouver International Airport at around 10.30am Vancouver time. We spent most of our time at the airport just to wait for the immigration checks. It was a really long line. My turn was one hour later! After we were issued our study permit, we took our luggage and stayed the night at Travelodge hotel in Richmond. I shared the room with my friends Aaron, Alex and Elijah. I was so tired that I slept for 4 hours, from 5pm till 9pm that night. I woke up and had my dinner just before 11pm. After that, I went back to my room and crashed on the bed until the next morning.

That was basically the whole journey from KL to Vancouver. Hope that you enjoyed the blogs so far. I am in my residence in UBC right now. I will definitely update stuffs from UBC in the future. But as far as the journey from KL is concern, this is where I will end my blog for now. Don't forget to check out my photos from Vancouver in my Facebook. Goodbye! See ya.. :)

Photo Links:

Vancouver Day 1 - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1943299187776.2097380.1401366575

Vancouver Day 2 - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1944947868992.2097463.1401366575

Vancouver Day 3 - http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1946923678386.2097563.1401366575

(All photos above are Bryan Rundi's property and were taken using a Sony DSC-W320)

A Day In The Life

7.00 am

Woke up and took my bath. It was cold so I took the hot shower. After that, me and my friends had our breakfast at the hotel restaurant downstairs. I had fried rice and chicken porridge for breakfast while my other friends had porridge and American-style breakfast (the one with pancakes, potatoes and meat sausage). After breakfast, we waited for the bus at the other side of the road, in front of the hotel.

8.30am

We finally got on the bus. As usual, the traffic during the mornings is always a busy one. We were stuck in the traffic jam for quite some time and reached KL Sentral at around 9.15am. From there, we took the RapidKL LRT to KLCC.

9.40am

There was very few people in KLCC and most of the shops were not yet opened. It is still early anyway and the rain has started to pour down outside. Since we had no idea where Menara Tan & Tan (where the Canadian embassy is located) was, we took a cab there. We reached the Canadian embassy at around 10am and saw one of our friends was already there.

10.30am

We handed in our passport and was told to collect them at around 2.30pm. Not knowing what to do, and since it was raining, we chilled ourselves near the entrance while waiting for the rain to stop. We managed to hop on into two cabs and made our way back to Suria KLCC.

11.00am

Had our lunch at "the signatures" food court and I got myself a GCB from McD. We chilled there for a couple of hours just to kill time. We had the view of the Symphony Park, which is one of the landmarks of KLCC.

2.00pm

We walked back to the Canadian embassy. I took the opportunity to take a few pictures of the beautiful scenery along Symphony Park.

Since we arrived early at the embassy, we had to wait for more than half an hour. I took the time to take a nap at the waiting lounge. We finally got our passport back with our visa at 2.30pm sharp. Since we still had ample time to spare, we decided to send our passport straight to JPA in Putrajaya.

4.00pm

We arrived at the JPA Headquaters in Putrajaya right before 4pm. All of us were unsure where the building was. I called Nizhan for help and we finally managed to get to the building where we were supposed to go to. After meeting with the JPA officials, we head back home.

5.00pm

I slept in the taxi throughout the whole journey. We reached our hotel at around 5pm. I slept right away until 7pm when Roy woke me up.

7.00pm

We had our dinner at the Old Seremban Kopitiam. It was a tiring day, but we got all our important stuffs done. Even my UBC room assignment and early arrivals were settled on the same day. Thank God that I had everything settled before flying to Vancouver. Now, I am just looking forward to fly in another two days. :)

That's all for now. Thanks for reading and coming to my blog! Bye.

Sagittarius (The Archer)

Hey guys, let's talk a bit about astrology or should I say, horoscope! Some of you believe it while some of you don't. Well, in my opinion, horoscope gives me a better view of who I am, and why I behave like this and like that, much different from others who were born with a different horoscope. However, there is no harm knowing your own horoscope to learn a bit about yourself, your life and perhaps your future!

Today, I would like to share with you my horoscope, the Sagittarius. Let me share with you this article I read about my zodiac star. Maybe you will learn one or two about me and my personality from this article. :)

Sagittarius  Your element: Fire Your ruling planets: Jupiter Symbol: The Archer Your stone: Turquoise Life Pursuit: To live the good life Vibration: Overly expressive - frequent burnouts Sagittarian's Secret Desire: To make a difference in the world

Description: Ruled by the benefic planet Jupiter, Sagittarians possess a natural exuberance, sense of adventure and love of life that makes them one of the most optimistic zodiac signs of all. Like their astrological symbol - the Archer - Sagittarians are renowned for aiming their sights towards whatever it is they find alluring - a love partner, dream job, vacation - and making it their own. They believe that anything is possible - and because of this belief system, Sagittarians are adept at seeking out their very own pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.  But sometimes trying to tie down these free-spirited individuals is frustrating for those around them. Sagittarians are happiest on the move - exploring new cultures and ideas and many are attracted to occupations related to travel, the media, outdoor work and philosophical pursuits. In love, their catch-cry is "don't fence me in". But once they find a partner who understands their need to retain their own sense of self and identity, Sagittarians can be the most big-hearted, generous and fun-loving companions of all.  Freedom loving, optimistic and honest, Sagittarians are ruled by Jupiter, the planet of abundance and higher learning. The wisdom of Jupiter imbibes Sagittarians with an inherent need to develop their own unique philosophy of life. The Centaur is their astrological symbol, and it gives many insights into the Sagittarian personality. The higher-evolved Sagittarian learns to integrate the two ends of the Centaur (half-human, half-beast) in order for their arrow (another Sagittarian symbol) of higher aspirations to be more on the mark. Although they are intellectually and spiritually advanced, Sagittarians are notorious for their lack of tact. In relationships they demand independence, but when in love, it can't be denied that they are one of the most big-hearted signs of the zodiac.

If you were born on the first or last day of a Sun sign, in astrological terms you were born on a cusp. If that's the case, you will probably benefit from reading your own Sun sign and the Sun sign that ends or begins right before or after your date of birth. For example, if your birth date is 22 December, your Sun sign is Capricorn, but you probably have some Sagittarian traits as well By Athena Starwoman

So, there you have it. Hope you like this article as much as I do. If you want to learn more about your zodiac sign/horoscope, you can go to this website: 
http://www.psychicguild.com/horoscopes_explained.php

That's all for now. Bye!! ^^

(Article Source: Starwoman, Athena. "Astrology & Horoscopes - About the Zodiac Signs". Universal Psychic Guild. PhysicGuild.com, n.d. Web. August 14, 2011.)

Youtube - A New Form of Television!

I love Youtube! And I know you do too! There are lots of videos posted there from animal videos, gadget review videos, instructional videos, music videos, daily vlogs and even news updates! But, how many of you realize that there is a community on Youtube that really make a living from their videos?

Ever heard of Shane Dawson? Shaycarl? Ray William Johnson? The Fine Bros? CTFXC? DeStorm? or maybe Nigahiga? For some of you, those names might be familiar. Yes, they make a living out of Youtube! Now, how cool is that? To actually be a partner of Youtube and get money from every video you upload!

Youtube is like a new form of entertainment that replaces the television. To be honest, I can spend the whole entire day just by watching Youtube videos! I can go on watching music videos and song covers, then open up daily vlogs by Shaycarl and entertain  myself to some humor from Shane Dawson or Ray William Johnson.

Most of the time, I would normally listen to song covers by Youtube singers such as Tyler Ward, Alex Goot, Sam Tsui, Maddi Jane, Jake Coco, Tiffany Alvord, David Choi and Connor Maynard to name a few. These bunch of people are my favorite Youtube singers! I love listening to their songs! And if you love drum covers, I would recommend you check out Cobus Potgieter! He's one of the best drummers on Youtube so far.

And I love Shaycarl's daily vlog! Their family is simply adorable and funny. They call themselves the ShayTards and they make daily vlogs about their daily life and post them on Youtube. Sounds fun eyh? Yet it takes a lot of gut to talk to the camera in public and a lot of editing too!

Youtube never fails me with humor! Smosh, Shane Dawson, Timothy De La Ghetto, Fred and Nigahiga are just some of them who loves making funny videos. I'm impressed with the amount of effort these people actually put into making the video. From filming, directing, acting and editing, all of these are not easy. It is time-consuming and requires a lot of patience!

Normally, this is what I do when I'm bored. Youtube is my new television! I bet most of you are not familiar with some of the names I mentioned. Haha. So, I suggest you check these guys out and watch their videos. Hopefully you like them too!

It will be worth your pastime, honestly! Hahaha. Till I blog again. See ya! :)

An Evening - So Much For The Drama

So much for going out of the house, I was involved in a self-accident today. Yeah. I was trying to park my car near Maybank when all of the sudden my left back door hit the back of the car parked beside me. Luckily the owner was not there. I reversed my car and looked for another parking spot. Fortunately, my car was not that badly damaged at all. There is a minor scratch and a small dent on the door. Haha. So much drama!

I went to the bank and one of the two cash deposit machines was broken, which resulted in a long queue at the machine. I decided to use the counter instead. I don't know why those people were willing to wait at that long queue. Haha. I opted for the counter since there was no one there. I paid off some stuffs and headed to SK Hardware.

There, I was looking for a universal travel adapter. Those plugs in Canada ain't the same as those in Malaysia. I certainly need one or two of those to plug my appliances there. I bought two adapters and an ethernet cable which I think might also be useful during my time in Canada. Who knows right?

That's basically how my evening went so far today. Was unlucky with the car, but at least I got a few stuffs on my checklist done.

See you in my next blog post. Till then, take care!