Last Days in Redmond

Just like that, our summer semester here in Redmond, WA is over. With OIP completed, many of the other DigiPen students have flown back home or off for their post-semester vacations. For our final days here in Washington State, Gang B207 joined up with fellow BAGD student, Yi Cong, for two days of last-minute sight-seeing and exploration.

But before that, honourable mention goes to the Root Beer Store, a quaint little place that we chanced upon by accident (thanks to Kenneth’s Hawkeye instincts), specialising in—yup, you guessed it—root beer. Of an unthinkable assortment of flavours and brands. The more outrageous ones included Buffalo Wing and Candied Bacon root beer, but other interesting flavours such as grape, choco-fizz and butterscotch were also on sale. There were so many to choose from that it was really difficult deciding what to get. Eventually each of us walked away with several bottles in hand.  

All those weird-ass flavours.

For lunch, we had some Asian fare at the Asiana Bistro Teriyaki. The menu was a mash-up of Japanese, Chinese and Korean dishes. I got a salmon teriyaki set with rice and vegetables. Prices were moderate but the food wasn't at all great. Still, it was edible for what it was.

Looks better than it tastes.

At this point, Yi Cong came by to join us after watching Marvel’s Ant-Man. Together, we took a long hike through Marymoor Park towards Lake Sammamish. The fair weather and wonderful view definitely made it worth the workout.

All the nature.

We exited the park and eventually made our way back to our apartment. Yi Cong came by and, though we had initially invited him for dinner, cooked chicken rice for us instead. We ate a hearty dinner, played some games, drank some root beer and time just flew by. The first night was over before we even knew it.

By Yi Cong, the true masterchef.

This morning, the entire apartment got up at around noon with a root beer hangover. Yi Cong came by again (he’s our guest star) and we took a bus down to Bellevue. We stopped first at Barnes & Nobles and got trapped in a little time sink there, before eventually making our way to Bellevue Square for lunch at an iconic American fast-food restaurant: MacDonald’s.

After lunch it was time to hit the arcade. It was snazzy place without the usual obnoxious loudness you hear in Singapore, though the game selections were definitely limited. We shared a 20USD play card and tried out the Star Wars Battle Pod game (designed by DigiPen’s own Andy Logan!), a 2-player 4-wheel-drive racing game, a Terminator Salvation shooting game, an ice-hockey foosball game and a 4-player Pacman arena game.  

Atas arcade is atas.

With that, our time here in Redmond has officially come to an end. Keep checking back here as the Five Guys take on Orlando, Florida next. Universal Studios, here we come. 

A Canadian Distraction

We've been a really long and excruciating hiatus but Lost in America is back! Hot on the heels of the last week of the semester, Gang B207 headed up to Vancouver along with a bunch of other BAGD students. Our group of nine set food on Canadian soil after a four-hour bus ride from Seattle.

After getting our bearings, the group promptly set off exploring. We made our way through Vancouver’s Chinatown, and got a whiff of home from the familiar smells of Chinese herbs and spices. We ended up in Gastown, where we agreed we were hungry enough to grab a bite. Turning a corner, we found a restaurant with a sign that said “All Food $4.95”. It was too good to be true, but it was true nonetheless. The entrées, appetisers and desserts were all at the stated price. After adding tax, it came up to about $6 (Canadian) per person.

Can food get any cheaper? The answer, of course, is yes.

Our next stop was Gastown's iconic steam-powered clock, which plays a tune every fifteen minutes. A huge throng of tourists surrounded the clock, waiting for the music to chime. When it finally did, though, the tune was unfinished. We hypothesized that it might complete the tune once a full hour has been completed, but we didn't have that kind of time to just wait around for closure.

Hipster clock is hipster.

Instead, we proceeded off right away. Along the way, the group (sans Gang B207) met an American couple and got into a strange photo-taking session with them. Jieqi also bought a hotdog from a street vendor, and we all wound up in a tourist trap store selling all sorts of Canadian goods, from maple salmon nuggets to bottles of maple syrup. I bought a bottle of icewine syrup and decided to wait before getting Canada’s flaunted maple syrup.

Our next stop was Waterfront and Canada Place, which gave us a lovely view of the sea. We took a couple (okay, a lot) of photos and headed through Canada Place’s Canadian Trail. The scenery was amazing, as was the cool sea breeze. We idled for a bit before heading to Richmond for the annual Richmond Night Market.

Makes you think about life and shit.

The Richmond Night Market is a yearly affair that takes place throughout the summer. Imagine a pasar malam, only five times in sheer magnitude. A daunting line snaked its way outside the main carnival, but we exercised our innate Singaporean queueing abilities and eventually got inside the bustle and hubbub. Food, music and games galore at the Night Market. Cost-wise, it was definitely tourist-trap worthy. But how could you not buy anything when there are amazing selections like mango sago, FRIED CHEESECAKE, XXL chicken and dry-ice spewing soda drinks?

So. Darn. Good.

Apart from stuffing our faces with very Asian, very unhealthy fare, Gang B207 also went about playing a variety of carnival games which we were all very bad at. Eventually I managed to win a bear, at the most effortless game possible (the world’s dumbest lucky draw). We also bumped into a few more BAGD students who were likewise spending the weekend in Canada. As the night drew to a close, we headed back to Alvin’s uncle’s house (on foot) and retired for the night.

The next morning, we had breakfast at a nearby A&W, much to the delight of Kenneth, who apparently loves the fast food chain immensely. It was a rainy day, but instead of allowing us to get stumped by the weather, our generous host drove us down to the train station. From there we headed to Waterfront and got on a shuttle bus to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. The park costs $30+ per pax to enter, depending on whether you’re a student, senior, child or adult.

Capilano? Capilayes.

Our first order of business was to cross the suspension bridge after which the park is named. The 140-meter-long bridge was filled with visitors looking to take the perfect picture. The view was amazing, and the swaying of the bridge made the walk pretty exciting.

All that green. From my wallet.

After the suspension bridge came a series of tree-top walks and a narrow cliff walk which would put acrophobes to the test. We found ourselves surrounded by Douglas firs and other impressive trees, as well as other man-made, eco-friendly structures which really added a mystical touch to the park.

Breathtaking stuff.

We eventually completed our tour of the park and headed back to Waterfront Station for lunch. The foodcourt close by held a variety of stores, including a Fatburger which Gang B207 had been wanting to try. I ordered a Hawaiian cheeseburger, a delightful stack of beef patty, cheese, pineapple slices and bacon strips slathered with mayonnaise and teriyaki sauce. It was a delicious way to end our Canadian adventure.

Are you hungry yet?

Gang B207 then bade our companion adventurers goodbye and headed back to the Greyhound station for the bus ride back to Redmond. It was an enjoyable and memorable trip. Canada reminded us so much of Singapore, and perhaps that nostalgia also added value to the journey.

Only a few days remain before we bid Redmond farewell. We will attempt to update more regularly on our adventures for these final days, before our trip to Orlando, San Francisco and Los Angeles kicks in. Till then, have a wonderful summer y'all.

OIP Week 9 - Light the Skies

As we head further into our OIP and closer to our final weeks here in Redmond, three-quarters of Gang B207 decided we’d start the week right—with half-priced burgers at a local dive bar known Palmer’s. Friendly service plus delicious, decent-priced burgers (and oversized onion rings) made for a memorable lunch experience and nice balm to soothe the packed and challenging Week 9.

Everything's bigger in America.

The rest of the week was spent rushing up our assignments, in particular filming bits of our group project—a short film entitled A Haunted Pillow. If any Singaporean DigiPen BAGD freshmen or sophomores are reading this, DO NOT TAKE FLM151 IN REDMOND. Consider yourselves warned.

This weekend being the 4^th of July weekend (i.e. Independence Day; watch the historically-accurate, eponymous 1996 film for more information), we rushed most of the work we could for the week so we could free ourselves up on Saturday night, for an evening of fireworks and music.

Jieqi, Shaun and myself met up with Kok (from that Portland trip!) and took a lengthy bus ride to the Bellevue Transit Center. Since I’d promised Kok we’d have dinner, we walked around Bellevue trying to find somewhere to eat. We went past bustling Bellevue Square, past the wide stretch of green known as Bellevue’s Downtown Park, and finally decided to eat at Coco Ramen Curry Bar, a Korean-owned Japanese restaurant (I know, it’s confusing).

Classy.

At Coco, the waitress spilled water on us, forcing us to vacate our seats and move over to another table. She was cute, so we pressed no charges (just kidding; we’d have sued if we were rich enough to afford lawyers). Once the whole debacle had been settled, we ordered two plates of crisp, juicy gyoza to share. Kok and Shaun each ordered a large plate of curry rice and Jieqi got some avocado salmon salad. I bought a plate of cold dipping ramen.

That looks nothing like ramen.

Sadly, we received no compensation or phone numbers for the spilled water. Nonetheless, the food quality was good, so we left rubbing our bellies. We headed to the Downtown Park for the 4^th of July festivities. Several food stalls were setup carnival-style, with long lines that stretched from the stall to the edges of the park. Since we all loved carnivals, we took about an hour to explore and get ourselves some sweet treats. Kok and I shared a bowl of shaved ice while Jieqi queued an extravagantly long time for a plate of decadent funnel cake.

 Funfairs & carnivals are inherently awesome.

The sun eventually set and the lights around the park went out. Finally, it was the time for the main event. We found a semi-decent spot in the crowded park and huddled together as the sky was painted green, purple, red, blue and gold. Showers of light and flame lit up the night as the large throng of people watched, photographed, videotaped and cheered.

Ji-ba-boom!

The fireworks display lasted a full 20 minutes, against the backdrop of the breezy night and the enthralling music of the Bellevue Youth Symphony Orchestra. The final bursts of sparkling trails marked the end of the pyrotechnic show, and the crowd began to file out of the park. We bumped into some of the other BAGD folks and made our way back to the Bellevue Transit Center. An extremely-crowded B-Line bus—which made rush hour on Singapore's MRT feel like getting lost in an empty mall—brought us back to Redmond at around midnight, marking the literal close of the 4^th of July 2015.

Mass today was celebrated by a visiting, retired priest who told good jokes and had a great knack for saying seemingly-inappropriate things in an acceptable, funny way. Right after communion he attempted to sell an old boat he owned. It was the funniest thing I’d ever seen during a mass.

After church, Moses and I went to BJ's Brewhouse & Restaurant for a very filling—and highly satisfying—meal. We made it just in time for the weekend brunch special, and I ate a whole plate of buttermilk pancakes, bacon, eggs (sunny side up) and toast. A mug of Irish root beer (root beer with Baileys and some other stuff) completed the meal, and the remainder of the weekend.

  

Photos courtesy of Moses Koh.

Three more weeks till the next and final chapter of our adventure here in the Land of the Free begins. Hope everyone’s enjoyed their weekend. Till next time!