Travel The World

Cave Of The Winds

2008-04-03T04:32:00.000-07:00

After getting off the Maid of the Mist we proceed to the Cave of the Winds.

Ever wonder why is it called Cave of the Winds? Coz the winds keeps blowing messing up nearly everyones hair that goes through the cave. After the water ride.. it's cold when the wind picks up. Girls starts to cuddle close to each other and guys starts to shiver a bit and rubbing their hands to warm themselves. This includes me as well as I'm one of the weakest there.. haha

Check out our shoes, Those are the shoes given to us for the trip. Wear them, it's a must. Like the star we made while waiting? haha.. we were getting bored thus the star came out. Guess which one is my hand (*hint : i'm a life guard at that time)

Alright, after somemore giggling, joking and pranking around the shaft we walked into the open air. 1st thing we see are seagulls ! millions of them, big ones, small ones... and the cute ones are the chicks, yea..! cute chicks !! i mean those that are just born from a shell.. what were you thinking about.... We assume that mating season is over as crack eggshells are everywhere, feathers flying and the small gray chicks all around the place. Be careful not to step on them as they are protected.. kill one and you'll find yourself in court.

Out on the shaft.. a few more pictures. You won't belive how noisy the seagulls are. Oh, becareful where you walk, the chicks are everywhere including the middle of the footpath where you would be walking. We slowly inch our way to the front to get a glimpse of where we are going and spotted the Maid of the Mist ship in the torrents of the falls. To think we were on board the boat not too long ago. Alright, Full speed ahead to the next picture.

Maid Of The Mist

2008-03-12T20:40:00.000-07:00

Following up with the past post, We are now going aboard the Maid of the Mist.

The boat itself can accomodate up to 200 people and the destination is towards the center of the Niagara Falls - The HorseShoe Falls. Niagara Falls is the worlds biggest waterfall yet the water that is coming down the falls itself is only about 25% - 45% of water from river, where did all the rest go? It goes towards the Water Powered Electric Generator to generate electricity for the residence there and some for Canada as well.

Lets ignore those facts and get down to some real fun on the boat, first we have to queue up and get our blue pancho to prevent ourselves from getting soaked by the waterfall mist. After taking a quick snapshot of our tickets before handing them to the ticketing person we hurried up the deck of the boat ( we need a nice spot for some nice pictures before anyone gets any ) The sun was shining brightly, the wind was a bit chilly and the mist was freezing cold ! We manage to squeeze to a small corner near the side of the boat and waiting for the boat to leave port.

Snapshots of us in our blue panchos really makes you think it's going to rain, the tour guide told us that we can choose to wear them or take them off. But after seeing someone walked out the boat drenched we all decided it's a must to put on the panchos. We don't want to be caught soaking wet in the freezing wind.

3, 2, 1 and off we go towards the horseshoe falls. Along the ride the boat was rocking to and fro, right to left while we move steadily forward towards the falls. Currently on our left is the American falls, the waterfall looks just like a white curtain covering the slopes. The roaring sound of the water hitting the rocks below sounded like the end was near. Slowly we paced towards the main attraction, the water vapor is starting to wet our camera and afraid that the camera might get damaged we kept it and enjoyed the falls.

Upon reaching the inner circle of the horseshoe falls, the boat rocked harder then expected. We thought we would fall off the boat and drop into the swirling water of unimagined horror thus we cling onto each other and those on the outside cling onto the railings of the boat. Our faces are soaked with water, hands are shaking with the winds and our shoes are completely soaked. Luckily for us they provide us slippers to wear, you would be dumb if you don't put them on.

It's just way too much exictment to describe by words.. how about more pictures? hehe

The Greatest WATERFALL !

2008-03-03T19:25:00.001-08:00

The one stop you won't want to miss is the Niagara falls in Buffalo USA. 5 hours bus ride away from Cedar Point, Ohio. Waking up early in the morning at 5am, we rushed to the designated waiting area for the bus to come hence starting the trip to one of the World Wonders.

We were sleeping throughout the journey because all of us were happily talking the night before and end up sleeping late + waking up early in the morning. When we finally open our eyes, we are already 4/5 way there.. another 30 minutes and we would have arrived at the Niagara Falls information center.

After chatting a bit on the bus making our plans we arrived at the information center and our cameras will not stay still in our bags anymore. Although I'm the one taking the pictures, I don't think guys would mind looking at a few more pretty girls on this page. Well.. The girls are all from Malaysia. To think we met all the way in USA makes me feel the world is just a very small round globe after all.

After a few more moments at the info zone, we manage to secure a small van and a day's trip around Niagara Falls with a guide, a map, information and all the tickets for the rides and attractions. Here we go... I'll devide my day trip in Niagara Falls to 3 post, 1 for the Falls, 1 for the Boat ride (Maid of the Mist) and 1 more for the Cave of the Winds.

Lets start with the falls...

This is the picture that all of you have been waiting for. The Niagara Falls. What you are seeing here is the American falls on the America Soil. Further down you can see white mist which is the Horse Shoe Falls. It's named the Horse Shoe because the shape is like a Horse Shoe. The falls itself is majestic... the spray of the water and the sound of crushing thunder all around you, talking volume increased close to the point of shouting and even then you might not even hear yourself speak.... *rooaarrring waters* "what? what? the falls are cruel? yea i know.. if you fall in thats it..." [ i said : the falls are cool and i heard : if you call in bats it ] Well you can imagine the conversation we had close to the falls.

Thats me, behind me is a connecting bridge from USA to Canada. Yes on the left side of the picture is Canada already... shucks.. you need a canadian visa to get over to the other side.... and the visa is expensive. Well.. got to do with what we have... the right side is America where u can still see the flag.. This is the part where we wait for our ride for the Maid of the Mist which will be on the next coming post.. happy waiting ^^

A Freezing Day Out

2008-02-20T20:56:00.000-08:00

The weather in Ohio is unpredictable and we choose a wrong day for a trip out. Fully clothed, armed with mittens, long sleve clothes, long pants and jackets we are still shivering when the wind decides to huff and puff.

Looking at the girls in the picture, I guess you all would understand how the weather is at that moment. Trust me, we've already put on double layered clothings, the girl in the middle decided to put on mittens and yet they are still cuddling up for warmth.

Guys on the other hand, are able to cope a little with the cold.. but we are just acting cool.. haha.. We are actually frozen down to the core but we are still jumping and walking around (it's keeping us warm that way by creating body heat) I'm wearing a long sleve t-shirt inside, on the outside i'm wearing a hooded t-shirt to help shield the wind a little bit. The big guy on the right just just wearing a long sleve t-shirt.. ( yes he is cold.. hehehe..) but the strongest of all.. is the person right in the middle.. don't think he's wearing long sleve and all... he has short pants on..We manage to get a glimpse of his hair standing on end.

This trip is acutally another trip to the park for a ride on the coasters. It's after work and we are ready to lock and load but the weather is really cold. After a few more pics we decided to cuddle up and wait for the bus. I'll post a couple more pics below.... The trip to the park, I'll leave it for a next time.

Tour of a Night !!

2008-02-18T05:12:00.000-08:00

Alright... after getting to know friends and a day at Soak City...

It's time to hit the Main Park - Cedar Point !!!! Park Load of ROLLER COASTERSSSS

but to waste a whole day at the park while we can explore USA is just a NO so we end up hitting the park after work one day.. The very first ride was the Millenium Force...

The ride... is out of this world.. You won't be able to find this ride in disneyland. If you manage to conquere all rides in Cedar Point.. the rides in disneyland are just nothing more then a kiddy ride..

The millenium force.. You'll be going up.. really high.. I forgot how high as I'm pretty scared of heights.. but it took us about 20 seconds to reach the peak........ the moment it drops, you won't feel your butt on the chair. You'll be floating in the air for about 6 seconds and the coaster hits the bottom and shoots back up, the Gravity force you feel is heavy... very heavy for a second or two. Then you reach the 2nd peak and drop again.. this time the air time is reduced by 1 - 1.5 seconds. A few more ups and downs and a turn and you'll be right back where you started.

After the ride, we decided that the ride is enough for us..... so we end up touring the park snapping a few pictures here and there.

There is a cafe called the Coasters with 2 hot rods outside the cafe. The yellow one in the picture is one of them... yea.. as u know... the night is cold.. hence the long sleave + jacket... seriously.. it's spring and when the wind picks up.. it's bloody cold..

Splish Splash

2008-02-14T19:16:00.000-08:00

Backpacking in USA needs money.. and well.. I did what everyone does... I work..
I worked as a life guard in a wetpark of a themepark.. Soak City in Cedar Point..

Working there means fun is included during your day off.. So it's off to another bright sunny day me and my friends decided to pay a visit to the water park Soak City.

The day started of with a bang and off we go... Weather was a bit chilly but who cares.. the water is heated anyway and the first stop we have.. is right outside the gates.. where we got a group photo. *snap *snap and into the park we go.. stopping by to say hi to some of my friends who are working at the admissions and life guarding positions... (*note.. you shouldn't be talking to the lifeguards on duty, they will not look you in the eye for conversation coz they will be looking at their waters where they are guarding) The yellow, purple slides + the big bucket behind us is the splash zone.. water guns, huge torrents of water from the bucket every couple minutes, 4 big slides for teens and above, 2 small slides for kids, dozens of beach chairs for sunbathing and a freeze your butt of water temperature. ( remember i said the water is heated? the water is heated cept the water turns cold the moment it hits the surface making the water at splash zone cold)

Alright.. lets hit the waters.. we started with a slow ride around the renegade river.. it's just a normal river with waves and currents, dipping buckets, small artificial waterfalls, water umbrella(the water is freezing for the umbrella), water curtains and a bit of something else... like bird's feathers... a dead rabbit once in awhile (the dead rabbit will be fished out by the lifeguards in the morning before the park opens.. i know. coz i work inside)

NEXT >>> Adventure Cove - slides, lily pads, log/snake floats and warm water.. at last.. after a freezing moment on land we dive into the warm water of the cove.. The girls can't wait to get onto the log for another codac moment on the floating log. Took us guys some time to stablize the log for the girls to get on.. The pics shall explain to you what i meant.

Time to head of to the beach.. Soft warm sand, pebbles, seagulls sanbathing on the beach, a empty coca-cola tin and dead fish corpses...Everywhere... In the sand, in the lake and even on the roof of the locker rentals....yuck.. We decided to walk on the beach and not go into the water.. Lake Erie is not a place to swim with so many fishes rotting away on the sand and lake... A few more pictures and it's time to head out for dinner..

Dinner time ! FAMOUS DAVE HERE WE COME !!! yummy... I will not write anything on this.. but you'll understand why... There are absolutely no words to describe what we had for dinner...mmmmm.... fingerlickingmouthwateringdelicious....

The Armish Country

2008-02-13T21:56:00.000-08:00

Ever dream of going to a quiet, peaceful country road? There is such a place close by to every state in USA. This place is called the armish country. Big Cities, non-stop traffic, stressful workload, auto-mobiles and tall rise buildings are NOT found here.

A meadow with cows in the distance, slowly grazing on the grass. Taking a peek at the cars and horse-carraiges passing by the lonely lane beside the meadow.. A fence about half my height is build all along the road to prevent the cows from becoming mince beef.

Far away there is a barn just like the smallville series. A medium size house is not far away from the barn. "I wonder what is inside there... does it have hay or heavy machinery inside?"

After sitting in the car for nearly 2 hours we reached the center of town. Lo and Behold we saw... HORSE POOPINGS everywhere !! my god.. by the road side, on our car wheels, in the parking lot, outside hotels... eeewwwwww.... the entire place smells like a farm..!! cept the 2 kinds of animals you see around here are either cows or horses... So walk carefully if you don't wish to step on dung.. yea.. lots of dung.. big ones.. small ones.. mushy ones.. dried up ones.. flatten ones.. ones with a shoe print on it... ones with wheel tracks over it.. ones with a hand print in it... I'm assuming a kid who has no idea what it is stick his/her hand in it....

After having enough of the smell we went to a Cheese Factory... big or small, round or square, whole or slice, expensive or cheap..... everything you can imagine is right here..! Big round cheese with holes in it, Slices of Triangular cheese with blue polka dots on it, Pieces of small pencil shape cheese just for a snack.Everything..Cheese Dip, Onion Cheese Dip.. lots and lots and lots of different cheeses... A word of advice.. don't try everything.. you'll get so sick of it.. like me.. now when i see cheese.. i'm scared of it...

After a couple of hours at the cheese house... we set of for Lunch ! The pictures explains more then my words... the food is delicious.. yummy and very very expensive...

After Lunch.. we went touring around the countryside.. let the pictures do it's magic once again..

Thats all for now.. See you in another post.

unbelievable 36 Hours

2008-02-13T19:54:00.000-08:00

"Alright, USA HERE I COME !!!" Hence my dream to travel the world became a reality when i board the plane to Singapore for my transfer flight to Japan. What started off to be a fantastic journey became a horrible nightmare...
*The time I wrote down is an estimated time..
*Cant really remember what time I touch down

**First day
My first stop - Singapore (MAS) - 11:55pm
Arrived close to midnight and my plane doesn't take off until 0700hours. Dragging my laptop and carryon with me I started wondering the busy airport of Changi. To my surprise there airport is not empty like I expected.. It’s busy, bustling with people walking around, sleeping on sofas, drinking coca-cola from McDonalds or kids running around the place.. I paced around until I found a spot where I can go online and waited till morning...

My Second stop - Japan (United Airlines) - 11:15am
7am, I boarded my flight directed to Tokyo, Narita Airport. The trip took 7 hours maybe a bit if you count the checking in and out part.. waiting for the boarding.. waiting to land... and there was the 2 hour wait for the transit too..I did a brief walkthrough the airport and found out that the Japanese can't really speak English very well.. BUT they are very very polite people... As I cant speak Japanese yet.. I settle down and wait for my flight...

**Second day
My Third stop - Chicago (United Airlines) - 3:15pm
Missed my transit flight to Cleveland Ohio and got stuck in the airport for another antagonizing 2 hours.. Run all the way from my arrival station and arrived at my departure lane just to see my plane taking off the runway... The reason why... Because I was stuck at the green lane... We had to check out our bags and check them in again... stupid airline..

My Forth stop - Cleveland (United Airlines) - 7:45pm
Finally arrived at Cleveland airport.. after asking my way around.. I realise that the bus that goes to Sandusky is another 1 hour away.. plus there is no midnight busses going there. "Crap, Another night in the airport... thats more then 2 days without taking a bath." and so.. I doze off on the metal uncomfortable chair..

>>> 36 Hours of Nightmare ended to start another 12 hours of pain..

**Third day
Woke up early in the morning.. around 5:00am and took the train down to Cleveland downtown. Walked another 25minutes to the Greyhound Bus Station.. The weather is freezing cold.. the manholes are steaming.. like what you see in New York on TV... manage to get to the bus station and my bus leaves at 10am in the morning..

Reached Sandusky, Ohio close to 1pm.. got picked up by a nice old lady from Cedar Point(The place I'm working to get a budget to travel) and got processed in, checked in to my apartment and finally got to bath.. *SPLASH.. HOLY **** the water is even colder then the air outside..!!! where on earth is the water heater.... unable to find out how the shower works.. I went to the kitchen to get hot water to warm the cold cold bath.. BBBrrrrrr.... After bathing.. It's nap time at 3pm.. and I slept like a baby till the next morning....

*** JET LAG
Time difference in Ohio and Malaysia is 12 hours.. When we are suppose to be sleeping I'm awake.. The horror, The Pain... can't even keep my eyes open for my job… I cant fall asleep at night..! Painful 2 weeks till i got used to it..