Tuesday 9 November 2010

Who Was That Masked Man?

It's not every day that I see a news headline that I feel applies to the average traveler, but I couldn't help feeling like this latest piece of news just might apply to us all.  On October 29th a young man was taken into custody in Vancouver after arriving there on an Air Canada flight from Hong Kong.  The reason that this young Asian man was arrested was that he boarded the plane as an elderly Caucasian man.  Frankly, I'm just incredibly impressed with the quality of his mask!  He really put some serious effort into this!  I wouldn't dream of re-posting a news agency's photos, but I will link you to today's CBC article which has a couple great shots of this mask:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/11/08/masked-man-immigration-panel.html?ref=rss

So, what does this mean for the rest of us a travelers?  Probably nothing.  Hopefully nothing.  But...

Do you remember that case a few years back where a guy tried to blow up a plane by sneaking explosives on board in the soles of his shoes?  Anyone who has flown recently remembers that story very well as they march barefoot through the metal detectors so that their shoes can be subjected to a more thorough examination.  It's this "well we'd better be careful about this one specific thing" sort of a reaction that I'm the most afraid of right now.  As soon as I read the first article about this fellow that everyone is calling "The Masked Man" my immediate reaction was a mental image of a security guard pulling on some poor elderly man's jowls screaming "I know you're a Chinese kid!  Why won't this mask come off?"  Hopefully that's just a side effect of having watched Austin Powers a few too many times.

In other news, the plans are still taking shape for Vegas.  Mom, who sadly seems to have difficulties posting on this blog (I really need to get my own site that I have more control over) has made a suggestion about a spectacular light show.  I believe that was called the Fremont Street Experience.  Looks to be well worth checking out.  I've managed to procure some really excellent seats to see Penn & Teller's magic show while we're there, so I'm very happy about that.

One of the sights that I am particularly keen to visit is Red Rock Canyon.  It's just on the outskirts of Vegas, and a great place to go for a desert hike.  My quest to find transportation out there has lead me to a really interesting option:  http://www.dreamcarrentals.com/  These guys rent out luxury cars, but you don't have to break the bank for a 1-day rental.  Yes, it's true the Lamborghini Gallardo would cost me $1,350 for the day, which is slightly out of my price range, but a much more reasonable $189 would get me behind the wheel of a BMW Z4, which I think would be a lovely way to get out to the canyon.  If I'm feeling really adventurous I could even drop $159 and get on the back of a Honda CBR600... essentially the big brother of my little motorcycle.  Oh decisions, decisions.

Speaking of my esteemed little CBR125, Yoshi has sadly had to go into hibernation for the winter.  I put him in storage on Saturday... the same day I went and purchased winter tires for my truck... blah.  Winter is nearly upon us my friends.  Time to start thinking a lot more about trips to the desert.

That's all from me this week.  Tune in next week for more exciting tales from the trip-planning department.  Have a great week everyone.

6 comments:

Unknown said...

You named your motorcycle Yoshi?!
That's awesome.

Corey Blosser said...

I thought your Vegas adventure was all about enjoying the 'city', so I held off on my recommendation - if you've got the top down on your Z4 and gas in the tank, I would highly recommend heading over to Utah to see Zion National Park - a very cool spot with pretty much the most epic tunnel through the side of a mountain I've ever seen. If you're still feeling like wandering, Bryce Canyon is also very cool, and as the farmer who found it said, "It's one hell of a place to lose a cow"..

..just careful with the police cruisers, I think I've sorted it out now, but there was a time when there was a warrant out for my arrest in Utah.. :)

Aunt J. said...

Ditto on the Zion and Bryce recommendation. It's a bit of a drive but the landscape is awesome. I was at both places this past summer.

Colin Young said...

Actually Gray, I believe it was Jay who named my bike Yoshi. He suggested the name in a comment on an post a few months back.

Jabbles said...

Canyon carving in a BMW roadster sounds like lots of fun.

Corey Blosser said...

Exhibit A

Street View around that area is cool too..