The First Day of Spring
“The first day of Spring:D” , one of the chair lift operators had written this on a whiteboard. We could tell Spring had arrived, there were a few dead giveaways: we no longer required several layers of clothing, brown muddy patches started appearing in the snow, and of course, the classic indicator...
Chinese New Year
"Fine. Bye!” I slam my laptop closed in such a rage. I have never been so angry with Ruiyu. I sit, in my bedroom in a strange emotional state, somewhere between anger and overwhelming sadness. The emotions battle each other, and seem to cancel, leaving my mind foggy and lost. I sit on the edge of my...
The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksman
We stand in a queue to get the early morning priority chairlift up the mountain. Getting out of bed on time has not gotten any easier, and we are bleary-eyed and muttering fuck-word after fuck-word. Whistler runs a first track chairlift service so you can beat the crowds to the slopes including an a...
Vancouver Birthday Bash
I groan as my alarm goes off at 7:30 am, I text Ruiyu, asking if she is still good for a Skype call but secretly hoping for some extra hours of sleep. Vvvvttt…vvvttt… I snatch my phone “Yesh Please” she replies along with two ridiculously happy emojis, how can I say no to her. I get up, my joints cr...
The Season Starts Here
I am woken from my blissful slumber by a sudden jerk of the brakes. We had come to a complete stop under a partly constructed bus terminal. I look out of the windows. The snow is falling heavily making a shiver run down my spine as I anticipate a cold walk. I need a few attempts at convincing my arm...
Vancouver
My alarm goes off. I am sitting upright in bed catching my second wind due to the renewed Internet availability. I switch off the alarm we had used to wake us up for the start of the previous day's travel; it was now heading for 12pm here. We had just arrived at the Deluxe Hotel, in name only, based...
FBI Agent in Toronto
Given our run of bad luck, we were due some good. Our lucky break came in the form of a smooth flight to Toronto including complimentary snowboard carriage (the kilts are working their charm). Upon arriving in Toronto, we face a barrage of automatic systems demanding various mugshots and screenings...
London Hotel Fiasco
TThe lights of London twinkle below growing larger in size upon my descent towards Gatwick. The plane bounces like a poorly thrown basketball off the tarmac, followed by a violent screech of the breaks and a quick declarative lunge. Once entirely at rest, there is a massive scramble from people to u...
Edinburgh Airport Fiasco
My eyes open and close spasmodically and eventually focus on the suspect at hand. I furiously grab my phone, which is blaring the most irritating alarm tone known to man. Quickly I silence the demon! I crack a yawn, suddenly realising the extent of my pounding headache. Throwing back the covers I le...
Setting Forth
The three of us loiter outside Collinson's Restaurant in the Ferry while my mum revs the Alpha up the road to a "legal" parking spot. The cold starts to get to us until the Richardson survival instinct takes hold and we scurry inside towards the warmth. The restaurant was a ghost town with a few old...