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GoBlue


90 Blog Entries
4 Trips
362 Photos

Trips:

Carl's Circuit
Joc's Journeys
J-Mac's Junket
Viv's Voyage(s)

Shorthand link:

http://blogabond.com/GoBlue




Men at Work were right...

Sydney, Australia


This place is awesome! Although it is so expensive in Sydney that my three month trip is now only two weeks, it is totally worth it. After a few days here, we’ve been to the Blue Mountains with Jocelyn's family (going again this weekend), hung out downtown by the opera house and botanical gardens and spent time in Coogee and Maroubra Beach. Last night we went to Chinatown for dinner and then went to an Irish pub for drinks. Apparently, “a land down under, where beer does flow and men chunder“ are not just a bunch of clever lyrics. They are all true—I can attest to it (although this implies I am a man, but we can debate that later).

Off to some Thai food in Coogee . . . more to come . . .

permalink written by  GoBlue on May 17, 2007 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit
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A flight that was long and our first day in Hong Kong

Hong Kong (historical), Hong Kong


Viv and I are crossing our fingers that good travel karma will last throughout the rest of our trip. We got off to a bit of a rocky start, when our United flight from Boston to Chicago was cancelled (mechanical), leading to a sprint to the American terminal to catch their flight and undergo the joy of "special security screening." When we got to ORD, we had to re-claim our bags at American, schlep across to the United terminal, and re-check-in (3rd time of the day, if anyone's counting) for our Hong Kong flight.

A wee bit of whining to United customer service got us some free food vouchers, which we put to good use as we waited out the remaining hours of the 5.5 hour delay (mechanical) of our flight to Hong Kong. We had a final brief moment of frustration when, on the runway, the pilot announced that we would have to return to the gate and get rid of some cargo since we had "accidentally and illegally exceeded our load capacity." Luckily, this turned out to be a "miscommunication," or at least a not-very-funny joke, and finally... we were off!

14:45, 3 meals, 4 movies, and two flight attendants named "Dieter" and "Stryker" later, we landed in the most modern and gleaming airport I'd ever seen. Awaiting us were Vivian's Aunt, Uncle Chris, and cousin Edward, who graciously treated us to dinner at the airport. We then left in Uncle Chris' space-age BMW, which reminds drivers with a gentle "ding" when one exceeds the speed limit and uses infrared technology to sense when the car's bumpers are nearing a collision. Pretty sweet technology!

Words that describe Hong Kong: vertical, efficient, cosmopolitan, muggy. I'm amazed by the population density -- the skyline is dotted with high rise after high rise, and there seems to be no other housing option. Viv's Uncle Chris, Aunt Peon and their children Haley (4) and Jolie (2) live on the 54th floor with a stunning view. I've enjoyed watching Viv catch up with her family, especially her Grandma (who seems to be busting Viv's chops quite a bit), and I have already learned one important word in Cantonese: "Bao" means full, and comes in extremely handy when you are being offered food every hour!

This afternoon, Viv and I took the tram up to Victoria Peak. Traveling up a mountain at a 45 degree angle gives you a pretty interesting perspective on the city! We took in the views, wandered through the lovely Hong Kong park, and then spent the rest of the afternoon shopping. After checking out the price tags, I'm getting good at dividing large numbers by 7 (a good approximation of the exchange rate).

Will try to post some pictures soon!



permalink written by  GoBlue on May 17, 2007 from Hong Kong (historical), Hong Kong
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
tagged HongKong and VictoriaPeak

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Sydney!!!

Sydney, Australia



Sydney is awesome - what a start to the trip! We successfully made it here on Tuesday morning (after 32 hours of travel!), catching up with my family at their hotel by 10am. We spent the day catching up with each other while jaunting out to the Blue Mountains, a national park north of the city. Beautiful forest walks and frequent meals worked relatively well staving off the jetlag, and Chris' water polo game was a fine end to the day.

Yesterday we took a walk through the Botanical Gardens - gorgeous, but also with some pretty spectacular flora and fauna, including trees with hundreds of fruit bats in them and giant spiders. We also wandered along the Harborfront to the opera house - officially one of my favorite buildings.

Family left for the airport around noon, and Carl and I indulged in a nice workout at the hotel facilities, then left the paradise of the Intercontinental and settled into backpacker mode, schlepping across the city to our hostel, which is ... not the Intercontinental. Shared bathroom, double bed with a single bed adjacent (literally, one full sleeping space - weird) and then about a foot of walk space on two sides with a little sink in the corner. An adjustment; however, we can stay here for 1 week for the same price as 1 night at the intercontinental - tradeoffs...


Last night we had dinner with my brother and his friends in China Town - good fun, ok food. The Irish pub afterwards did us all in though, and we're a little sluggish today. Agenda for the next few days: surfing, Manly beach national park, another trip to the Blue Mountains, wine country tour and more city wanderings.


permalink written by  GoBlue on May 16, 2007 from Sydney, Australia
from the travel blog: Joc's Journeys
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T-Minus 4 Hours

Quincy, United States


Despite being packed up and ready to go, Jennie and I are in a holding pattern for another couple of hours this morning. I received a phone call from United at 4:30am letting me know that our flight out of Chicago is delayed for 4.5 hours this afternoon (things that make you go "hmmmmm...") and that they've moved our Boston to Chicago flight back to noon. Good times. I think I'll go take a powernap now...

permalink written by  GoBlue on May 15, 2007 from Quincy, United States
from the travel blog: Viv's Voyage(s)
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T-Minus 10 hours...

Boston, United States


After a full day of errands and sightseeing, Vivian and I are hitting the sack. Our bags are packed and ready for our 9:55 am flight to Chicago and the ensuing flight to Hong Kong.

Our day began with the exciting task of spraying Permethrin mosquito repellent all over the outfits we plan to wear when we'll be at most risk of bites. Easier said than done -- this stuff is nasty. Apparently if it touched our skin, we were to "immediately rinse area thoroughly and call poison control." Eew. (Note from the picture that I made Vivian do the honors!) Nonetheless, when they dried, our clothes seemed as odorless as promised.

Next we took the T into Cambridge to do some shopping around Harvard Square (complete with a yummy pizza lunch at Pinochio's).

We then bussed over to the South End to do some more trip planning from Viv's brother Bill and sister-in-law Jung's place. Finally, we walked up to downtown through Back Bay, enjoying the sights as we crossed the Boston Common before heading back to Quincy.

For dinner, I was spoiled by another delicious meal cooked by Vivian's dad -- the last one I'll get for a few days, unless something drastic has happened in the world of airline cuisine. Wish us good travel luck, and I'll post again when we reach Hong Kong!



permalink written by  GoBlue on May 14, 2007 from Boston, United States
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
tagged Cambridge, Harvard, Boston and Errands

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East Cost Tour 2007

Quincy, United States


Hello, family and friends! Thanks for checking out the blog. Our goal is to make this into our living travel journal, so you can keep up with us as we explore Southeast Asia and Australia. Be sure to check out everyone's versions of the events!

With that said, here's my report on the past couple days, which I feel I could describe with a concert-like t-shirt saying "J-Mac East Coast 2007" on the back. It would look like this:

Naperville, IL - May 8
Brooklyn, NY - May 9-10
Jersey City, NJ - May 11
Cape Cod, MA - May 12-13
Quincy, MA - May 14
US Air 6461 - May 15

It's been a fun, whirlwind tour of the Eastern Seaboard. On Wednesday and Thursday, Alison Leff and I hit the streets of Brooklyn, scoping out potential digs there and enjoying an outdoor meal at Pacifico with Ross '05 grads Kate Mescal and Raquel Almeida. The original mission was to narrow down our target neighborhood list, but we only succeeded in finding more parts of B-town we liked. (Thanks again to Kate and Stella for letting us crash!)

I also had a great time with Steve Small in Jersey City, enjoying dinner in Hamilton Park and viewing the Manhattan skyline view from the roofdeck of his new condo. Steve even treated me to "Jersey City's best coffee." Who knew such world-class coffee could be found in the Jers?

Friday began with a visit to TEAM Academy Charter School in Newark, where I saw CFO Steve double as "lunch line lady." We then left for Cape Cod, which turned out to be an 8-hour long odyssey but undeniably one of the most fun car trips I've ever had. Our "guess how old the next town is" game kept us entertained for a solid hour along MA Rte 3A, even if Steve did win the last Combo. (I hadn't had so much fun on a road trip since New Orleans Minivan 2004!)

When we arrived in East Orleans, the party for Brian Levy and Maggie Sullivan was in full swing. We celebrated Bachelor Brian and Bachelorette Maggie all weekend long, clad in personalized party t-shirts. Field Day, spearheaded by Maggie, saw the Sullivan side (Irish - "Maggie go bragh!") battle the Levy side (Jewish - "Shalom and Mazel Tov!") in such intense competitions as bocce ball, relay race, obstacle course, and lawn bowling. In the end, Team Levy won by a nose, but there was more time for competition in the afternoon with a double-elimination beer die tournament. I'm certainly disappointed to miss the June 9th wedding of this fantastic couple, although our Ross crew will be amply represented.


Now Vivian and I are back in Quincy, making final preparations for our flight to Hong Kong on Tuesday morning. How many pairs of socks do you need for a 6-week trip, anyway?!? Wish us packing luck...



permalink written by  GoBlue on May 13, 2007 from Quincy, United States
from the travel blog: J-Mac's Junket
tagged Brooklyn and CapeCod

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Final Preparations...

Quincy, United States


Just wrapped up a fun weekend in Cape Cod celebrating the upcoming wedding of our friends Brian and Maggie. Carl, Joc, and I were greeted upon arrival by a full cooler of beverages and an array of grilled food items - yum! Split into Team Brian (my team) and Team Maggie, we started off the weekend with rounds of "flip cup." Despite our two years of b-school training that should have put all of us in prime form, Team Brian fell repeatedly to the "bad guys." Not ones to despair, Team Brian pulled it together for Saturday's Field day of elementary school yore. We battled out grueling matches of lawn bowling, bocce, obstacle course, etc. on a sunny and beautiful day. Team Brian narrowly won the day by taking three events to Team Maggie's two events. After a great meal of Cape Cod's "best fried clams", we mixed up the sides and duked it out in a beer die tournament. Although Maggie and I were quickly eliminated...we had issues catching the die :(...Joc stuck it out to be a member of the "great hands" duo to win it all...and by "all" I mean two great looking lobster goblets. Good times!

As I write from my Dad's place in Quincy, MA, Carl and Joc are are about one hour in on their 20 hour flight to Sydney. Jennie and I are making final preparations as we're leaving first thing in the morning for Hong Kong on Tuesday (15th), before meeting up with Carl and Joc, and our other friends Dave and Maddy in Melbourne in another week or so. 'Til then...wheeeee!

permalink written by  GoBlue on May 13, 2007 from Quincy, United States
from the travel blog: Viv's Voyage(s)
tagged CapeCod, Viv, Vivian, Carl, Joc, Jennie, Brian and Maggie

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On our way!

Los Angeles, United States


After a fantastic weekend celebrating the upcoming Levy/Sullivan union, we are now on the way to Sydney! Although slightly tired, we are still basking in the memories of an excellent 48 hours spent reuniting with already-missed business school friends and getting to know other cool people in Brian and Maggie's lives. Field day games were a blast (Go Jews!), my partner Carolyn and I won the beer die tournament, and it was an all-in-all grand time. All the best to the bride and groom!!!!

Next stop: Sydney!

permalink written by  GoBlue on May 13, 2007 from Los Angeles, United States
from the travel blog: Joc's Journeys
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Jews vs. Irish

Orleans, United States


After a great weekend in the Cape at the Levy-Sullivan bachelor/ette party, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Brian and Maggie would actually make a great couple. There is pretty much only one thing I would bet Brian is incapable of, but Maggie presses ham well enough for both of them, so I think they really do make a perfect couple. In all seriousness, thank you guys for the invite to the Jew versus Irish Battle royale—it was a fantastic time. I wish you two the best!


permalink written by  GoBlue on May 13, 2007 from Orleans, United States
from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit
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Wisconsin Family

Fall Creek, United States


After a nostalgic, almost teary-eyed, departure from AA, we are on the road! We first traveled through Chicago for a night at Jocelyn's uncle's place and then headed up to WI to see my family. Although the transition out of AA is hard, as soon as I crossed the WI border and saw a sign for Beefaroo and then one for Naughty but Nice adult bookstore, I realized that everything would be OK...ahhhh, it's good to be home.


permalink written by  GoBlue on May 10, 2007 from Fall Creek, United States
from the travel blog: Carl's Circuit
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