Category Archives: Uncategorized

MINI: LED Adaptive Headlights

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So, MINI doesn’t always do a good job of explaining options and one is the Adaptive Headlight Functionality. An example is here, although using Xenon rather than LED:

The lights follow the curve of the road based on your steering which is cool.

Here is what you’ll find on BMWs:

Theirs will actually re-angle the lights if there’s oncoming traffic, if you’re driving up behind someone. Very cool!

MINI’s are definitely more limited. Here is what they provide from the website:

Dark, winding roads have nothing on a MINI. Our optional LED headlamps feature an auto-levelling system that adjusts their angle based on your MINI’s speed and weight. And with the cornering lights upgrade, your MINI’s Adaptive Headlights react to your steering and “turn with you”, thereby illuminating what’s coming around the bend.

Fair enough. 🙂

MINI: Since we can’t go to the UK…

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While Plant Oxford does tours of the assembly of MINI vehicles, you can’t take photos during the trip, and unfortunately I don’t have the time to head to the UK to do the tour of where our car is being assembled.

I can, however bring a bunch of videos to you from YouTube courtesy of various shows and MINI/BMW themselves:

Stamping:

Production 1 of 3:

Production 2 of 3:

Production 3 of 3:

Another production video:

Timelapse of the Assembly – Includes the train ride to the ship and loading onto the ship:

MINI: KUMAKART

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We ordered our vanity plates for the MINI today.  What we chose is kind of funny given the car is not Japanese but British/German

  • Kuma – Kanji: 熊, Hiragana: くま, Katakana: クマ – for Bear, perfectly representing Scott and me.
  • Kart – For, well, that go-kart feel you get with the MINI Cooper

Other contenders that made the list:

  • MINIBEAR – English
  • MINIBAER – German
  • KUMACART – Bear Cart
  • KUMAKART – Bear, Go Kart
  • MINIKUMA – Bears in a MINI
  • 3XTRM1N8 – Exterminate – Yes we got very Whovian
  • D4LEK – Dalek
  • ASIMIL8 – Assimilate
  • SL8Z – See you later in L337 speak
  • IBKUMASB – Our initials
  • IBKARTSB  – Our initials
  • P1NTS1Z3 – Pintsize
  • TUR580 – Turbo
  • TUR58O – Turbo
  • DIETSUV – Joking about size
  • FILLMEUP
  • H4LFP1NT – Half pint
  • H4LFPINT – Half pint

Sadly variants on TARDIS were all taken.

The dealer thought it took about 6 to 8 weeks to get our plates.  Hopefully they’ll arrive within the month.

MINI: VIN Code Factory

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Here are the factory codes for BMW & MINI VINS

A: München
B: Dingolfing
C: Dingolfing
D: Dingolfing
E: Regensburg
F: München
G: Dingolfing
H: Rosslyn
J: Regensburg
K: München
L: Spartanburg
M: Spartanburg
N: Rosslyn
P: Regensburg
R: Toluka (Mexico)
S: Shenyang
T: Oxford
U: Goodwood
V: Leipzig
W: Graz
X: Berlin
Y: Berlin
Z: Berlin

Hyperstalking our MINI

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When you order a MINI based on a specific configuration that you want, you can follow along at BMW’s website which allows you to track the building of both BMW and MINI cars when they are ordered.  You can also, if you know what you’re doing, track the ship that is carrying your car as well. Thanks to Jalopnik, there is a great article on how to do this.  I promise not to freak out to my sales rep.

Here are status codes that dealers my use with you. Looking forward to each stage.

0000 Cancelled
0037 Model or Feature Unavailable
0077 No Quota Available
0097qq No Current Event Allocated
0500 Cannot be Scheduled

1100 Scheduled
1200 Scheduled for Production
5000 Confirmed for Production
5050 Chassis Number Allocated
5055 Confirmed by Production Control

5100 Bodyshop Start
5190 Bodyshop Complete
5200 Paintshop Start
5270 Paintshop Complete
5300 Pre-Assembly Start
5400 Assembly Start
5500 Assembly Complete

6000 Transfer to Distribution
8200 Released to Carrier
9000 Departed Plant
9615/35/45 In Storage
9610/20/30/40/50/60 In Transit
9800 Arrived Dealer

It’s been a month…

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It’s actually over a month since Scott and I were in Japan and Hong Kong, and we’ve both been reflecting on the trip as we’ve done photo reviews with friends and family.

There were a few things I wanted to write about but didn’t get a chance to, or I missed them in my blog entries.

2015 is actually shaping up to be the year of Asia.  I knew prior to going to Japan and Hong Kong that I may be headed to the Philippines and/or India for a work project.  We’ll see if it happens.

Weight-wise I maintained my weight over the trip.  However, it seems that after my weight went up 6lbs to 253lbs, mostly water weight!  11lbs up since my low of 242lbs.  I’m back focused on the diet and also back swimming three times a week.  This feels good and I can already see the results of the loss.

Hong Kong

For our first dinner in Hong Kong, Scott and I had asked the concierge at the hotel, “We want something that is definitely local, and good to eat, where should we go” and he point us to this place that had a bit of a diner feel and the food seemed mostly western but with some Chinese and pan-Asian dishes.

The restaurant was Tsui Wah.  Tsui Wah is actually quite the institution in Hong Kong and is probably one of *the* places one can go to for something truly from Hong Kong.  As some people say, this is *the* place for original fusion food.  What do I mean?

Bring a bunch of cultures together, mash their food together and you get fusion.  You see it a lot in Canada with all the various ethnicities that exist here in Canada.  Case in point: Chicken Balls.  Nowhere in China, in Hong Kong or anywhere other than Canada and maybe the US will you see Chicken Balls.  They’re standard fare here in Canada.  The merging of two cultures.

As the linked article states: “…With a menu that was broader than your average cha chaan teng, Tsui Wah could offer everything from condensed milk buns to fried noodles to Swiss-style chicken wings or an admittedly superb Malaysian chicken curry…”

And it does! This is a Hong Kong icon, and we really didn’t know it.  I’d like to go back and give other items on the menu a try.

That is how we feel about Hong Kong.  We kind of got one feel for it, but I’m not sure it’s the right impression.  We really want to go back and experience the “real” Hong Kong, away from the gold, expensive watches, etc…  And that would have taken probably another two days.

Diet Pop in Japan and Hong Kong

I do drink a lot of diet pop, it’s how I’ve been able to maintain my svelte figure over the years.  Seriously though, I don’t drink sugared pop, so what do you drink in Asia where they don’t drink a lot of diet pop?

Firstly, unsweetened green tea is found everywhere, in pop machines, as is bottled water.  So there’s one answer.

It seems Coke Zero is readily available in both Japan and Hong Kong.  Coke Light was the diet variant available in Korea.  Also, Pepsi does have Pepsi Strong Zero available in Japan, and I think in Hong Kong.

Coke Zero in Japan is pretty tasteless relative to the variants in Canada and Hong Kong.  Hong Kong’s seemed to taste light yet still tasty versus Canada’s.

Once again, I preferred the Pepsi offering – Pepsi Strong Zero.  It had a much better flavour – better than Coke Zero and Diet Pepsi in Canada.  It’s new as of June 2015 and it does have more caffeine.

So there are offerings, but keep in mind the tea will probably be more healthier than the diet pop.  It’s nice seeing these options.

Crosswalks in Japan

It’s true.  Nobody walks against the lights, although there were a few times where I did see a rogue Japanese person do so.  May they hang their head in shame.

 

Day 14: 24 hours

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It should be illegal for Mickey Mouse to call you at 4:50am with such  a happy disposition to say it’s time to get up and at-em because we’ve got amazing things to see and do.

If anything, it should be Grumpy calling us. LOL

FVVX3342So we got up at 4:50am to finish packing and showering, for a 5:30am pick up by taxi to take us to the airport for what was supposed to be an 8:05am flight on Air India.

Funny thing is, checking Air India’s website, it showed that AI310 does not fly on September 9th, flying between HKG and ICN.  Checking Hong Kong Airport’s website, it shows it was flying at 10:30am.  Interestingly, Flight Aware’s website shows it arriving at HKG but not flying on to ICN.

Hong Kong’s airport reminds me of a British Airport, a massive and better version of Stanstead, in particular with the way the check-in gates and security are arranged.

The airport continues the Hong Kong experience with high-end shopping everywhere and certainly better choices in the actual Duty Free shops found at Incheon.

I had said to Scott that I didn’t want to spend hours upon hours at Incheon waiting around.  Hong Kong is definitely a nicer airport with the views, and open concept, and simply better lounges.  And I got my wish with our Air India flight being late.

This also gave Scott and I the chance to try a few lounges:

  • Singapore Silverkris was our first stop. I’ve always wanted to visit this lounge, and they nearly stopped us from entering given we were probably flying Air India, but having my Air Canada status card helped.  It’s a nice lounge with some great food options!
  • United – We reluctantly stopped here because Air India were unable to print our Air Canada boarding passes which we had not printed previously and mobile boarding passes were not available for our flight.  After some fun trying to get everything printed, we got our boarding passes printed.
  • Thai Royal Orchid was our last stop.  I think this was our favourite lounge for a few reasons.  Mainly it’s open concept, and the furniture was brightly colourful, a very nice change from the whites, greys  and browns.  They also have a gaming area with an XBox 360, and two Wiis.

One thing that’s clear, all of the lounges at Hong Kong are run by Plaza Premium and they pretty much serve the same foods at breakfast with the exception of things like ice cream, i.e. Hangen Danz at Singapore, Nestle at Thai.

The Air India flight was surprisingly good.  The food was amazing, probably the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had on a plane, and presentation was better than some flights I’ve had on Air Canada.

We actually got an amenity kit of slippers and socks, which was nice and not expected.  The menus were leather bound and included western and vegetarian indian options.

I do have to say, the Air India Executive Class seats were awesome.  Very comfortable, and way more comfortable than the air mattresses on Air Canada these days, which don’t help my lower back.  Kudos to Air India!

Service-wise, Air India were alright.  As Scott said to me, the difference between Asiana and Air India was stark.  As I said to Scott, you don’t fly Air India for the service, but because they’re cheap.  After the initial service, you won’t see staff offering water on a  regular basis during the flight, but there were other things that Air India staff were great about.

Would I fly Air India again?  I would consider it, but I would not go out of my way to specifically choose them.  I knew what to expect, and I know what to expect from them.  I was pleasantly surprised.  On the other hand, I do question how well maintained their jets are.

With that, we arrived at Incheon, checked in at the Business Class lounge and picked up a few gifts for family at home.

I think I have figured out what drives me nuts about Incheon as an airport.

  • When we were in Japan, we get accustomed to organized chaos.  It works beautifully, people stand on the left of an elevator and walk on the right.  Line ups work efficiently.
  • When you switch from the culture in Japan to a busy airport like Incheon with the melange of cultures that go through that airport, you get people cutting each other off and you have chaos chaos rather than the organized chaos we go used to.
  • On top of that I realized that Incheon in the main terminal with all of the shops doesn’t have many windows that look outside, with natural light coming in.  We realized that in the satellite terminal there is more natural light and also slightly better shopping if that’s you’re thing.

Despite all the talk of shopping, we actually did more window shopping rather than actual shopping.  I like looking at stores because you see different facets of a culture, especially in food halls and grocery stores.  As evidenced in Hong Kong and even to a degree in Japan, you do see the evidence of globalization in that you see the same crap in the same shops everywhere.

We boarded our flight to Vancouver from the satellite terminal.  For the flight from Seoul, Air Canada offers a Korean meal of Galbijjim which is tasty!  I also recommend Air Canada’s World film selection having watched a film from Hong Kong and Chile.

CATSA failed us at Vancouver.  When connecting you have to go through security (I am used to this as I go through this checkpoint all the time).  The problem is, Scott was selected for a second inspection after being selected to go through the millimetre wave scanner.  Of course, if you’re sweaty, and it was very warm at YVR, that detector won’t work.  There were no men available to do the private search.  As a result of CATSA’s ineptness, we ended up missing our flight to Toronto by five minutes.

Thankfully there was another flight in 30 minutes.

We got home to Toronto at 9:30pm.  29 hours after getting up in Hong Kong.

What an amazing journey, and I’m very fortunate to have had the air miles and hotel points to be able to make this holiday happen. Definitely a trip of a lifetime for Scott and me.

Day 13: Hong Kong Disneyland

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Hong Kong Disneyland is 10 years old and has a daily capacity of 34,000 visitors — the fewest of all Disneyland parks.  The park was also constructed very quickly, taking 2 years and opened early, with additional lands such as Mystic Point, Grizzly Gulch and Toy Story Land opening later.

It’s funny looking at the reactions of people who asked if we were going to Hong Kong Disneyland.  Ranging from “Oh cool” to “Don’t go there, only Mainlanders go!”  Funny, given most of the people who visited the day we were there, were mainly people from Hong Kong. I think Hong Kongers are afraid to admit that they actually like something as kawaii as Disney, maintaining the British-influenced stiff upper lip.

To get there, you can easily get to Hong Kong Disneyland via MTR from Sunny Bay.  There is s dedicated line featuring a subway with Mickey Ear windows.  Inside the train has statues of Disney characters.  Seating is very similar to the monorail at Tokyo Disneyland.

Hong Kong Disneyworld is a small park, and it can be done in half a day, especially if the park attendance is lower, which it was.  Scott and I had no problems getting on rides within 5 minutes of joining the queue.

One question we get asked is, “Are the rides big enough for big people?”  We can say, without a doubt, yes.  It’s not like Canada’s Wonderland where Scott and I have problems getting on rides.  Both Hong Kong and Tokyo Disneylands fit big people.

The park is gorgeous, and the lands around the park just add to the stunning scenery – the green hills and mountains.  Local foliage used.

When you arrive at the park, check out the fountain at the entrance, especially the Mickey riding on top of the Whale’s blow spout.

Main Street is uncovered, different from Tokyo and Paris, and refreshingly does not feature a Starbucks! You will notice that Sleeping Beauty’s castle is even smaller than the one at Disneyland.  Funny thing is, the first time I went to any Disney park, which was Disneyland in Anaheim, I thought Sleeping Beauty’s castle was really quite small and I was disappointed.  For the record, Shanghai Disneyland’s castle will be the biggest in the system, bigger than the one at Magic Kingdom at WDW.

We started out in Tomorrowland which seems more futuristic than than it’s retro-futuristic brother at WDW.  Not a criticism, just different and they both have their charms.

Definitely check out Space Mountain and Autotopia.  Space Mountain is definitely different and has some very cool visual effects.  Autotopia features electric vehicles!

I really would love to return for the Iron Man Experience which opens in 2016.  Beyond Stitch, Iron Man is my next favourite Disney, uh, Marvel character.  Yeah, that’s it.

The parades at Hong Kong Disneyland are fantastic- Flights of Fantasy is the 3pm parade, and Paint The Night is the night parade.  During both of the parades, the people actually in the parade REALLY ham it up, getting into their character and interacting with the crowds in a big way.

For Flights of Fantasy, they pull people into the parade to dance at one point.  With Paint the Night, if you have the Hong Kong Disneyland Magic Brush or one of the colour wants from WDW, you can change colours of some of the dancers and a massive electronic wall that’s part of the parade.  It’s quite something. Also if you have the Made with Magic Mickey Glove, Glow Ears or Glow Headband with bow, those will change colour with the parade too.

I’m torn between Tokyo’s or Hong Kong’s night parade being my favourite.  Both have amazing night time photography opportunities, but I think Hong Kong’s wins out for the interactive nature.  If you can’t get to Hong Kong, you can see the Paint the Night Parade at Disneyland in California, so be sure to check it out.

If you don’t have a glow brush to interact with the shows, you can get a package of a glow brush and a glow hand or a glow band for CAD$25.  That’s cheap and a great deal!

It’s fun to have colour change duels with staff selling the brushes at the park. *GRIN*

Admittedly, I’m not one for parades.  The thought of standing in the heat of the sun drives me nuts.  I will say, for both Tokyo and Hong Kong, I’m glad we stuck around for the parades.  They blew me away.

It’s a Small World, always a classic to go on, features characters singing in their native language as well Canada has a significantly bigger presence in the ride than it does in other Small Worlds I’ve been to.  It’s refreshing to see.

Toy Story Land is fantastic!  I am a huge fan of Pixar films and I’ve always wanted to visit Toy Story Land.  Be sure to go on the RC Racer coaster.

Mystic Point is where you’ll find the Mystic Manor which features Disney’s new GPS ride system.  It is AMAZING and a must-do ride!

Big Grizzly Mountain Runaway Mine Cars in Grizzly Gulch is an awesome rollercoaster and almost a combination of Expedition Everest and Big Thunder Mountain. That’s all I will say as I don’t want to ruin any surprises.

Food-wise, Hong Kong Disneyland caters to local tastes.  We found restaurants that offered Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, and Singaporean, in addition to some North American favourites.  We didn’t actually eat at the park due to the huge lunch we had at Crystal Lotus, but did have a snack of curried fish balls which were tasty!

In Tomorrowland you can even get a Mickey lunch box with your meal!

We stayed at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which is almost a mini version of Grand Floridian.  Such  gorgeous hotel with a great view of Discovery Bay.  If you stay at the hotel, it includes entrance to the park.  Not a bad deal.

Crystal Lotus?  I’ll let the pictures below speak for themselves.

All in all, a nice ending to the holiday.  Tomorrow  we get up at 4:50am to start our 24 hour journey back to Toronto.

Health, wellness & safety in Hong Kong

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To some of us, it’s easy to chuckle at the graphic nature of some of the health and safety posters seen around Hong Kong, but putting yourself in the shoes of someone who has never experienced a big city before, these posters are quite vital to those who simply don’t know better due to life experiences.

When you’re dealing with multiple cultures and different ways of living, and also remembering that Hong Kong dealt with SARS (as did Toronto), and also knowing that there was a recent outbreak of MERS in South Korea, it’s not surprising the Hong Kong and other countries in Asia take health, wellness and safety importantly.