N. L. Road Trip (2): St. John's

St. John's was our first stop in N. L. It was a very long flight and we were tired but the rental car had been booked and the hotel reservation was complete; considering the size of the city which is fairly small we found ourselves in the hotel shorty after the airport. It would not have been possible to reach there and go anywhere else if we I had not purchased a G. P. S. but that was not free from issues which I will either have a separate post for it or describe when necessary.

There is a lots of history to the city and N. L. in general and that is because it has been one of the first settlements of the Europeans with ties to the UK. Newfoudnlanders also were volunteers for both the first and second World Wars. I did not have time to read all that in such a short time but we first visited Signal Hill which is a national historic site of the country. 

One thing I realized a little later and it was late was that the trip should have been done much earlier, as early as May or June! N. L. is an island and close to the north. September is when most of the festivals are wrapped up, Icebergs are melted, Whales and Puffins are gone away and most importantly it's mostly cloudy and rainy and a bit cold although we only got one really rainy day. 

Anyways Signal Hill has been a defense place for the city since early 1900s. If you want to walk up and down the trails of this place and see everywhere, take photos and read all the information you probably need at least 4 hours! We spent a bit more than half of it and got tired. Also do not forget to check sunrise at this place. That is the start of the day in Canada! Surprisingly there is no admission for the site. There is a little gift shop and museum as well as other exhibits. Overall it is a place to spend time in. 

Then after hours of walking and exploring we decided to check the downtown. We stopped at a local restaurant recommended by people called Oliver's. It's a fairly small restaurant but very clean and nice. We ordered Cod which is the main fish in Newforndland and that was good. I had it with salad which was nice. The food for two cost around $45 and we do not drink wine with our food and we did not have an appetizer or any dessert. The food was a small portion like many restaurants in Canada I would say and that is because their eating habits are different form ours. We had lot's of side items that we get ourselves full with them and they are mostly full of carbohydrates and I gave them up(!) while Canadians start with appetizer and drink wine with their food which help them to feel full after they meal although the main course is small. We walked for a few minutes in downtown area. People were spending their time in bars and restaurants like any other countries. It's a nice place for eating, shopping and observing.

(Photo: St. John's harbour from Signal Hill. It was mostly a cloudy day with scatter showers)

N. L. Road Trip Short Post

I will write about the different days of the N. L. trip but just wanted to mention this here that it's almost 00:30 hours on Wed. and I am in the northern town of Twillingate writing this using high speed wireless on my old laptop. It was a crazy night but we are here now, Safe and sound. Will write all the detail later.

N. L. Road Trip (1): The Only Foreigners

The first day of the trip which is about to end, because I'm going to the bed soon, was a complete waste and the only thing we accomplish was getting here! We were so tired as a result of steepness that I fell sleep in the afternoon. I guess flying all the night not only has the affect of losing sleep but the time difference or jet-lag causes a huge problem. There is a 3.5 hours difference between Mountain Time and N. L. Time and that itself is a big issue.

We had a good start in Calgary Airport by easily finding an economy parking but changing 3 flights to St. John's and then getting a damn heavy useless Edge make thing sour. We found the hotel easily using out newly purchased G. P. S. but then the damn S. U. V. has lots of complicated features which someone like me who always has driven basic vehicles is an issue. The hotel is only OK, a 3 or maybe a 2.5 star but I will write about Capital Hotel after I stay all the booked nights. The driving system seems a bit different here. In addition to that there are not many foreigners here. When we were in Halifax Airport we were the only non-Caucasian passengers and I believe there was only an Indian worker in there. When we landed in St. John's Airport we were the only non-Caucasian among all the passengers and airport staff and everyone was looking at us like what there creatures are! Then we went to a local mall, not that we wanted to do a major shopping, because the mall compare to the ones we had seen is considered an average one and everyone was looking at us like we are aliens from Mars. All the employees that we have seen so far in the fast food, other businesses, hotels and even Wal-Mart are 99.99% Caucasian while in Alberta and British Columbia you see mostly Filipino, Punjabi, Chinese and other Asian people as well of Africans. It's not very late here but I better go get some sleep!
(Photo: The Ford S. U. V. Edge we rented. This was taken shortly before we reach Placentia after passing the junction where the other road goes to Nova Scotia ferry)

In the Airport, Heading East

I just got a chance to turn the old laptop on and get connected to the YYC free Wi Fi. Heading East we are going first to Toronto and then to Halifax and finally St. John's, NL. It's a few minutes left so I'm goin' 

Flashback (25): Orientals on a Bus

You hear so many different languages spoken in the public place every day in this country. A few of them are so annoying. The sound of it is to the ears resembles a dual saw on a piece of oxidised metal! Or even worse than that. If I wanted to name a few, I would start with the languages which are spoken in China, Mandarin and Cantonese, not sure which one is more disturbing because I have no criteria to distinguish this from that. Generally the Orientals' language are all fucked up and so disturbing: Languages spoken in Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Korea and so on. I do not know why European languages and Spanish which is widely spoken in South America do not sound bad. Arabic just simply causes hatred, disgust and dislike. There so no doubt about. 

So I was on the bus a few years ago and annoyed and exhausted from I don't know what.  There were three fucking Orientals in the last long seat, most likely Chinese, talking and laughing loudly. I put up with them for I don't remember how many stops and I was about to go crazy. The bus was not crowed but everyone else was quiet and seemed not to bothered. I thought I should do something so just about the time that the bus was going to pull over for my stop I stormed toward them cursing and yelling, ordering them to shut the fuck up. They all simply went quiet and said nothing. Obviously were not able to speak English to the level be able to response back. I knew many of the new buses, oven few of the old ones had been equipped with camera so if something stupid happens to the driver or passengers, there is a record of it but I just couldn't help it. I guess the driver gave me a look from his or her rear-view mirror and said nothing. I got off shortly after that. 

Today I think I should not have done that. There were three simple Chinese guys who had been lucky to get out and step on Canadian soil. Their fun was taking the bus to an apartment and possibly drink and talk for the night. Their only sin was that they had started their party early on the bus and were a bit loud. 

Messed Up a Bad Interview

I've had recently an interview which I should not probably taken it easy in this situation and I did. I think that I messed it up. This one as well was with a major Client company and their building was as clean and nice as the previous one, if not more. There were these two fellas in their mid thirties I would say and someone else joined us a bit later, in the same age. 

I very soon realised that I not going to get this but sat to the last moment. There was this one who mostly was just sitting still and gazing at me. I thought he was just watching me and my reactions. He barely asked any questions and did not even present a card. I cannot tell what he was doing. They asked a bunch of unrelated questions that I did not have good answers for. As well asked a few questions that I was not prepared for! In the meantime the questions that I had myself prepared for were not asked! So the overall result was bad. When I looked at one of the guy's card later, I realised that he was educated in an unrelated field, a non-technical subject which gives him no ability to take any role but administration in a company like that. I'm not surprised because I know many people and also in the old country that they just their jobs through network. This guy must have a close friend or relative in the company or somewhere in top provincial or municipal authorities to get a job like this. Otherwise I would not even give him a broom to sweep the floor!