Bye King County!

And we saw the last of fall in King County. We left before solstice. Save for the evergreens, all trees are bare now. Winter has arrived. Even with snow in the mountains, Washington state generally sees a mild winter. But we caught the cold front. Oh well, all the more fun. Two weeks before the trip, I giggled internally when everybody laughed at me for packing heat packs. They obviously didn't follow NatGeo or Weather Channel that already warned of an Arctic wind blowing through US and Europe end November till mid December.

I'd love to come back and explore more of WA. Each city and town has got their own unique vibes and I love checking that out. Also, I'm a wimp in winter. Skiing's not an issue, but trekking is. I refuse to trek in winter. Can't wait to return in early fall and go up to Mount Rainer and the other mountains and gorges out in Puget Sound and Spokane.

Well, it's like England's northeast is stunning, but it's the quieter northwest I totally embrace. Likewise, there seems to be something about the Pacific Northwest I'm in love with. I'm going to say it- am enjoying artsy grunge and tech King County (we were mainly in Seattle, Eastside, Bellevue, Mercer Island and Redmond) much more than brash Los Angeles or even glitzy and vibrant New York City. But hahahaha, I'm not sure if I'd choose to live here over England. Of course we're talking in relative terms, i.e. live here for a year or two. The biggest hinderance- my lack of a driving licence. That would greatly impede my wanderings. If I could use my valid motorbike licence, that would be great.

I was slightly apprehensive of the possible jetlag. But nothing much either way. Being able to sleep soundly in planes helps loads. Long flights are always tedious, but no big deal, especially if I'm flying SQ. There's something about it that makes me feel like "I'm home, in safe hands" at the moment of boarding. Plus a yummy sliced fish congee and seafood vermicelli with a ton of sliced red chilli in soy aboard SQ1 coming home totally reset the stomach. Unlike the man who enthusiastically zoomed off to Tsui Wah at the short transit in Hong Kong, I waited it out to sink my teeth into spicy sambal belado upon touchdown in Singapore. Sustenance before I went to Samsonite service centre to sort out the annoying mess that TSA made of our suitcases.