The Bucket List

One of the greatest speech I have ever listened to was Steve Jobs’ commencement speech at Stanford University in 2005. In the speech there were three messages: “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards”, “Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work… Don’t settle.” and finally “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish” that Steve wanted to deliver. As a result I created my bucket list of things to do before I leave this Earth.

  1. Driven a Tesla Roadster (2010)
  2. Driven a Tesla Model S (2015)
  3. Visit a volcano (dormant or live)
  4. Ride an Indian Scout in California
  5. Skydive
  6. Visit Great Barrier Reef, Australia
  7. Visit Santorini, Greece
  8. Visit Galápagos Islands, Ecuador
  9. Visit Venice, Italy
  10. Surf in California
  11. Visit space some how
  12. Driving tour in New Zealand

2014 Trip to Sydney

 View from Sydney Tower
View from Sydney Tower

Did not get to many of the things I had planned: Bondi Beach, Segway Tour and Blue Mountain, but still had a great relaxing, cool (away from the heat in Hong Kong) vacation.

 St. Mary Cathedral... no photograph inside.
St. Mary Cathedral… no photograph inside.
 Art Gallery of New South Wales
Art Gallery of New South Wales
 View of Sydney Opera House & Sydney Bridge from Mrs. Macquaries Point
View of Sydney Opera House & Sydney Bridge from Mrs. Macquaries Point
 Another v iew of Sydney Opera House & Sydney Bridge from Mrs. Macquaries Point
Another v iew of Sydney Opera House & Sydney Bridge from Mrs. Macquaries Point
 Jamie's Italian, Sydney, Australia
Jamie’s Italian, Sydney, Australia

While I’m in Sydney I gave Jamie’s Italian a try. The price is medium for Sydney, the taste is different, atmosphere is a bit rustic modern, but the table we had was a bit tight. If you have the choice don’t choose tables upstairs or on the ground floor below the balcony. The upstairs has a very low ceiling so it makes the space feel cramp and noisy when the it is filled. The tables by the wall below the balcony (the ones on the left of the photo) are so close to the isle that sometimes the waiters may bump you when they speed by with dishes.

I hope the space at Jamie’s Italian Hong Kong will be much better organised. The food is fresh, simple and natural, just the way you expect from Jamie Oliver.

Capilano Suspension Bridge

 Capilano is one of the must see attractions when visiting Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. 

It was built in 1888 and improved and transformed to the attraction we see today over the past decade. With the adult entrance fee of CND31.95, this includes the Suspension Bridge (main attraction), Treetops Adventure, Nature Edge Walk and Cliffwalk.

Visiting the park should not be done during Fall during the area’s rainy season.

Dress warmly is necessary during the Winter months as this is the rain forest. 

 Parking is CND5.00 for the whole day across the street from the entrance to the Capilano Park.

Review: Hong Kong 720º on iPhone

Hong Kong 720º LogoToday Thomas B. (@thomashk) introduced me to an iPhone application, Hong Kong 720º, released by the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). It is designed to promote Hong Kong attractions while assisting visitors with locating famous tourist spots, and getting a virtual tour of the attractions before they arrive to help plan their visits to Hong Kong. Best of all this application is available in the iTunes App Store for free.

The application contains QuickTime VR tours of all the major tourist locations, including Google Map of the location, English and Chinese phrase for the tourist to show taxi drivers or others when they are lost, recommended travel directions, and photo gallery of the tourist attraction.

Continue reading “Review: Hong Kong 720º on iPhone”

10 Top Vacation Travel Destinations

Rank Country International Visitors
1. France 79,100,000
2. Spain 58,500,000
3. USA 51,100,000
4. China 49,600,000
5. Italy 41,100,000
6. UK 30,700,000
7. Germany 23,600,000
8. Mexico 21,400,000
9. Austria 20,300,000
10. Russia 20,200,000
  World Total 846,000,000

Number of visitors as of 2006.

You may want to use this list to decide where not to go if you want to avoid crowds.

Source: World Tourism Organization