Travelling Reborn: First Day at Bozeman (in English)

I was asked to type in proper English. So, I'm making good of my promise to do that. Below is the England version of my last post.

29 July 2008; 0545hrs Bozeman, Montana (USA)

I’ve been awake since 0200hrs! It must be jet lag. I don't feel tired at all now. But I usually fall asleep towards the middle of the day.

The first day I arrived at Bozeman was a real cultural shock. Public transportation in this little town is virtually non-existent. There’s a Bozeman bus that doesn't cause anything to board, but nothing else goes anywhere. And the bus services only ply routes within town. When I took a taxi from the airport to get to town, the driver told me that there is only one taxi in the entire town! How can that be true?

Given the miserable public transportation situation here, how am I going to get to Gardiner for my Yellowstone tour? The only viable option is by taxi. But it costs US$200 each way! If I request for a return trip, from Bozeman to Gardiner and back, the cost is much higher. I was quoted US$550 for that! Oh goodness! How am I going to pay for that? It's really amazing.

It's really lucky that the people I met at the workshop are extremely nice! One of them actually offered to drive me to Gardiner the day before my tour, and I have to find a hotel and stay there for a night. And another offered to drive me back to Bozeman after my tour at Yellowstone National Park. Thank God I met them. I'm not going to break my bank for this trip to Bozeman!

Now, I have to figure out how to get to the other scenic place - Lewis and Clark Caverns. It's about 100 km away from Bozeman. Looks like I have to get another taxi ride.

One will die here without a car. I really wonder how people with no cars survive America.

The workshop, itself, was great. I learnt a lot and hope to be learning more about the software that I'm using for my research. They even gave us a textbook! But right now, I'm wondering how I'll be able to transport the textbook and all the printed powerpoint slides they gave us.

I bought some souvenirs at Salt Lake City International Airport. It's really amazing! On top of my plate that I always get, I bought a salt snowflake. It was naturally cultivated from the lake there!

I had lunch while at the airport. It was a cinnamon bun called Cinnabon Classic. It's from a world famous bakery! At least that's what they claimed on their box and signboard. I just had to try it. Naturally. It's a very rich, high calorie lunch. All the frosting on top of the bun made it so sweet. Surprisingly for such a 'world famous' thing, it was amazingly ordinary. In any case, the bun was also so huge that I couldn't finish it. But I was left wondering why it is world famous. I hadn't heard of it before I saw the stall at the airport.

I have to figure out where to stay at Gardiner. I can't possibly sleep on the streets in the mountains, can I?

Montana Hall, MSU