trigger | happy | tourist

2007-01-06T22:29:00.000+01:00

Barcelona (05-08 Jan 2007)

Had a great time in Barca. Travelling alone really isn't nearly as bad as some may imagine. It's a really liberating experience that everyone should attempt at least once. When you travel alone, you wake up any time you want, only visit the places that you want to go, explore further or move on as and when you like..very OTOT. Of course, you cant expect to rely on someone else when you're on your own, but you'll probably learn alot about yourself as a traveller.

Meeting Jordi, my couchsurfing host, has also been wonderful. Jordi was the best CS host i've had so far. Not only did he offer to pick me up from the airport, i got to sample so much local food with him within the first night - Churros, Tapas, Jamon, Tata Santiago and Crema Catalonia..the list goes on. Having arrived just in time for the Three Kings celebration (which falls on the night before the 12th day of christmas). Kinda like Chingay, where was a long parade of floats, surrounded by tons of people and kids perched on shoulders. Sweets were also thrown to the crowd and of course i had my fair share.

Ok continue more later..gonna go visit Camp Nou, home ground of Barcelona FC.

Jamon, Cured Pork. Eaten in thin slices, very chewy. It's pretty common here to keep the entire leg at home!

Tapas - dishes where everyone eats from. Like Zi Char without the rice. We had octopus, mussels, pork, cheese, squid, fried achovies, baguette with olive oil and tomatoes..etc. Here, Catalan wine is served in a bowl instead of a wine glass.

Ursula and Ferran(Jordi's roommate)

Maite, a flight attendant who had to be on standby the whole night, brought her trolley bag along everywhere she went.. and Jordi

Sagrada Familia, an unfinished work by Gauldi which they are still trying to complete.

The Barcelona beach which is often packed during summer.

Port Olimpic

Girl making some sorta sand castle

Welcome to Miami..hah

The boardwalk

It was rrreally good.

Heaps of old folks spontaneously dancing outside the Cathedral

Watched Man Utd vs Aston Villa in an English pub. Was pleasantly surprised to see my first favourite Man U player among one of the commentators...Schmikes!

Park Guell, a park full of Gauldi structures. This guy is amazing, all the intricacies!

More of Park Guell

2007-01-06T22:28:00.000+01:00

London - Four girls and a pack of cards (04 - 05 January 2007)

By special request, here are the pics from London. Because the buses from Paris to London were full, our trip to London was delayed by 2 whole days, so effectively we only had 1 full day in London. Nevertheless, it was a short but enjoyable trip. Finally got to see good ol' Joyce after 8 long months. Together with Cheryl(one part of Serena and Joyce's 5-girl TJ gang)who played tour guide, we travelled London by foot for the entire day until our legs ached. Put up at Joyce and Cheryl's hotel and had free breakfast cos the staff don't check their guests. Our night in London ended with rounds of Daidee, Bridge, Texas Hold'em and this French game that Serena and i learnt from our Parisian hosts. It was damn hilarious, i finally met someone who was just as bad (or possibly worse) at card games than me - Cheryl. And somehow in Bridge we kept getting paired up..so you could imagine how many times we lost. Oh we also pissed off the guests staying next door with our uncontrollable laughter, they even came over in their PJs to tell us to shut up(in a more civilised way of course)

2007-01-06T21:57:00.000+01:00

Venice (26-27 December)

2006-12-28T23:54:00.000+01:00

Roma (20 - 23 December)

Roma...

1. Where I waited for eternity by the conveyor belt for my trolley bag, only to spot it half an hour later with the lock missing and the zip broken.

2. Where the women ruled the roads in their scooters

3. Where the best way to get across the road safely and quickly was to detach ourselves from all the years road safety training we had and stick to another school of thought: Don't look. just cross.

4. Where some people try to rip tourists off by giving less change back on purpose, or by jacking up their room rates and then relent, slashing as much as 15 euros off when you pretend to leave.

5. Where I had the worst pasta, but the best cappuccino ever

2006-12-28T11:08:00.000+01:00

The trip to Italy was one hell of a trip, we basically threw our initial plans out of the window and followed wherever there was a place to stay. But the highlight of the trip was staying at Sandra's place in Sicily and spending christmas with the rest of the Castellano family. Shall elaborate more next time, perhaps with some pics and all.

But right now, just wanna drop a line to my family and friends from Paris..that im alright and have a wonderful New Year guys. Buon Anno Nuova! (in italian)

2006-12-18T21:21:00.000+01:00

Where to Find Me

20 Dec - 27 Dec: Italy
27 Dec - 02 Jan: France
02 Jan - 05 Jan: London
05 Jan - 12 Jan: Barcelona/Madrid
12 Jan - 15 Jan: Morocco
15 Jan - 16 Jan: Malaga
16 Jan - 19 Jan: Warsaw
20 Jan: Home Sweet Home

2006-12-18T00:47:00.000+01:00

Party In Sabinki
It's supposed to be the exam period, but there seemed to be more social events going on than ever. Today we had a farewell party for Rajah and Mikael in Sabinki. It was awesome. Best party in Sabinki ever. Some of us cooked a little something...we had stuff like chicken curry by Rajah, apple and banana pancakes by Mikael from Denmark, stir-fried vegetables from team Singapore, rice cooked by Bibi from Slovakia, Salad from im not sure who and scrambled eggs by John from Belgium, and a very sticky chewy tiramisu by Sandra from Italy. Alcohol-wise, there was red wine, Slovak wine, hungarian Tokai, and of course, the polish vodka -Zubrowka!

It was really mad as we were singing endless songs from Mikael's laptop which had a cool karaoke program.

Party in the kitchen

Sandra, my sicilian student.

When tallie meets shortie..John is 2.02metres tall!

Bibiana, the pretty Slovakian studying at Prague University of Economics - the school of my first choice

The scottish duo - Philippa and boyfriend.

KTV!

We taught him some chinese...

2006-12-16T21:30:00.000+01:00

The Holiday

Went to the movies this evening with Peishi, Christian and Gregor. No prizes for guessing what film we watched. It was kinda sweet, and im always drawn to films that evoke the christmasy feel. By the way I can't help but notice that Cameron Diaz has aged quite abit, or was it intentional for the movie? Go see it if you like feel-good films. Don't expect to be impressed, it's nothing out of the ordinary, but nevertheless pleasant enough to enjoy with good company.

Time has flown immensely. 4 more days, and i'll be out of Warsaw. Although i'm coming back again, it'd be only be for 3 more days before im homeward bound. Somehow i don't feel ready to leave, not that i don't want to, but it seems like there's some unfinished business i've yet to settle. There are still places i haven't seen, people im supposed to meet, and contacts keep..

Already, people are beginning to leave, some will return after the break, and others are gone for good. Our 'little india neighborhood' two doors down has relocated back to New Delhi yesterday. Though i don't hang out with them that much, i do kind of miss their presence. The two smokers chilling along the corridor, and the other two who's always cooking curry or something in the kitchen...haha, it's kinda funny when i think of it now.

2006-12-16T16:01:00.000+01:00

Absinthe
There was a party at Silvia's place. I told her since i was still sick, i would only drink juice, but she insisted drinking alcohol kills off the germs, and that was why her dad was hardly ill.

At 70% alcohol content, Absinthe was the drink of the party, and the highlight was learning to drink it.

Step 1: Pour Absinthe into a shot glass
Step 2: Soak a sugar cube in Absinthe, then light it
Step 3: When flame burns out, stir the sugar in
Step 4: Set the drink on fire, cover your palm over it, flip upside down and shake
Step 5: Down it at one go if you're game, or dilute and drink

Silvia, Murphy, and Mee.

Towards the end, we spent almost an hour debating on Kanapka (damn nice sandwich that you can find at food stands along streets in Poland) The question was if you had a sandwich, half of which was better than the other, which would you eat first. Most of us agreed we would save the best for the last, but Monica was adamant that it is more logical to eat the best one first. Assumptions were drawn, graphs even! It was ridiculous but super hilarious.

2006-12-15T18:21:00.000+01:00

A Class of Its Own
Recently, I've been tuning in alot to Class 95 through its online portal. Listening to the DJs in their all-too-familiar accent and then going on about the little things like some Courts sale event, local streets or simply mentioning the names of mediacorp artistes makes me feel like im already home. Not forgetting the fact that the late night songs are totally awesome.

I love Class 95.

2006-12-14T16:10:00.000+01:00

It snowed in Warsaw 2 days ago!

That's the main building of my school

2006-12-11T00:17:00.000+01:00

Im am damn sick lar. Phlegm is coming out of my throat, my nose and even from my eyes! And i've got stomach ache again. Helppp.

2006-12-09T00:35:00.000+01:00

Me and my MUFC

The trip to Manchester was like a rite of passage to test my faith and loyalty to Man Utd. The night before leaving, i was already a little feverish, but by the time i got onto the plane in the early morning from Warsaw to London, i was down with a full-fledged fever and feeling completely miserable. The whole time, i was running a temperature while feeling incredibly chilly. My hands and feet were cold but my body and forehead was the exact opposite. I was aching all over..my neck, my shoulders, my head and my throat was sore.

Man i felt like a drug addict, Panadol was my cocaine. When the 'drugs' kicked in, i was able to function more or less normally, but once the effect wore out, i started feeling horrible again. So every 5 hours or so, i needed my fix.

Fortunately, by the time i got to Old Trafford, I was feeling much better. (In case you're wondering, i am better already. Though i LSed yesterday. The fever has subsided, except that my throat is still pretty bad. But i'll be alright.)

While the atmosphere could be alot better(before Benfica scored we were too quiet, the pathetic number of Benfica fans were much louder than we were..but after Vidic equalised it got much better) the game was good overall. We won 3-1 and qualified for the next round of the Champions League at the top of our group. Ronaldo played very well at the flanks, bringing the ball up swiftly and skilfully, though his finishing sucked. Rooney was not at his best. Ferdinand did his standard im-gonna-fake-this-way-and-then-go-another-move but the best player had to be Giggs. My No. 4 came in for Evra who got injured in the second half. There was also this part in the game where the player blatantly caught the ball in his hands, and i thought only our soccer girls could pull off something like that.

Overall im happy with the game, It was a crucial match, we got the tickets at a bargain, Fergie fielded a full squad, and we won! What can i say!

Anyway i also took picture with the red devils mascot Fred the Red, it's not with me so i'll post it up when i get it. Wah lao, damn hard to take picture with this joker lah. Being the nice one as usual, I helped Sam take his picture first. Was gonna get ready to pose with him but he walked away! Why, im too short and he couldn't see me? I was so pissed..and all Sam did was laugh at me. Fortunately, Fred walked by us again and i would have practically pounced onto him if not for the barricade seperating us =P

Old Trafford, Home of the Red Devils!

Ooh I caught up with Giggsy

Volley like Rooney

Nehnanny boo boo..i got the match ticket! And the Man U cap, And the Man U scarf AND the Man U plastic bag!

Old Trafford Stadium

Doing the football fan thing.

Man Utd players warming up

Benfica players as well

Benfica player, whom Sam finds "Yan Dao"

Fred the Red

Team Lineup

That's Fergie!

Match in Progress

Ronaldo doing his thing

Rooney Attempt

Gabriel Heinze comes on!

Corner Kick

2006-12-09T00:23:00.000+01:00

Sweeeeden

Our room in Stockholm. It belongs to the room mate of Sara (our couchsurfing host), who happens to be away for the weekend.

The kitchen

Living room. See the retro tv? Our host has a penchant all things 50's.

Balcony

Central Station

A photo exbition at the Culture House titled 'Roots' in Swedish

About the exhibit.

Here's how you make Köttbullar..(Swedish Meatballs). Use your hands for more flava!

Roll 'em into balls. We did those by the way.

Pan fry.

Make the gravy

Some wine and candles and you're all set!

Heart shaped Gingerbread cookie

An officer from the Royal Palace

Skansen, an open air museum. Here we got to see glass blowers and old traditional swedish cottages. We also tried folk dancing and sampled free food from the christmas market.

Another christmas market outside the Culture Huset(house)

I like this structure alot ;)

2006-12-05T18:16:00.000+01:00

Old Trafford Here I Come!
Hello! Im back from Stockholm, Sweden. Well Stockholm is a pleasant city, not exactly drop dead gorgeous like Greece but it's a place that makes you feel comfortable and at ease because it's so established and safe. I'm hooked on swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam, and i'll cook you guys some when i get back to Singapore! As for the pictures, i didn't take many but i'll post some up when i get back from Manchester. In case you are watching the Manchester United vs Benefica game tomorrow on tv, look out for me and Sam, we'll be cheering at the Home supporter stands..woohoo!

2006-11-30T01:29:00.000+01:00

Greece Part II - Greek Islands

This was the hightlight of the entire Greece trip. We blew 65 Euros to get on a cruise boat to 3 islands on a day trip - Poros, Hydra, Aegina - but it was well worth it. These were one of the closest islands to Athens but there were more beautiful ones farther out. If i'd ever go back again, i'd spend a month there island hopping..and swim in the clear blue seas during summer.

Woke up 5.30am in the morning. It was about 8 am when we got on the ship. One of the first views we had when the ship set sail. Keep scrolling, it only gets better.

Greece Flag

I know i look retarded, but the view in the background will make up for it

we have arrived on Poros!

Giorgis..you float my boat!

view from the clock tower

the water, like a piece of satin

The inclusive lunch on board the ship. There was also salad and appetiser, but i was too hungry to remember to take pictures =p

Dessert was saccharine sweet.

Island #2...Hydras.

Crystal clear waters.

We took the path less travelled

And found an amazing view

The whole time, we were just gushing over how great the place looked

Hanging loose at the ship's bow.

Last stop was Aegina, which was a bit of a letdown after seeing Hydra and Poros. Perhaps it was because we didn't pay for the optional tour further within Aegina to see the ancient structures. But we weren't keen on spending another 24 Euros to be ferried around on a bus. Still, it's a really photogenic place where i took some of the best pictures from the whole trip, all thanks to the timely sunset.

I was pleasantly surprised...to see girls playing soccer. Soccer babes i miss you!

I couldn't chose between these three pictures, so im putting all of them up. If u have a personal favourite, lemme know cos im really curious.

A little chapel.

2006-11-29T23:23:00.001+01:00

Greece Part I - Athens

I had a wonderful time in Greece. Especially during the time spent visiting the Greek Islands. True enough, Athens is full of ruins. I just wished everything were still intact, im sure it would have looked so good. Here in the mediterranean part of europe, the weather was perfect at 15-18 degree celcius. Prices in Athens really ain't so cheap. An average meal costs approximately 8 euros, and a Big Mac(which is, surprisingly small) meal at Mcdonalds was a little less than 5 euros. I really liked the pitas in Greece, and also the sweets (not candies, but kinda like desserts/pastries). There was a bakery near the place we stayed which we would patronise almost everyday to satisfy our sweet tooth.

Another thing special about this trip is that i had my first official couchsurfing experience here. My couchsurfing host was Lena, who's a single mom with the most adorable 5 year-old boy i have ever seen. His name is Aggelos and he is really one special kid. On the first day when Lena took us to her place from the metro station, Aggelos picked a flower from the grass patch along the path. Then he quickly hid it behind his back and surprised her with it. How many kids in Singapore actually do that?

Halfway up Lycabettus Hill

Thesseion

One of those indulgent self portraits

On top of the world!

Theatre of Dionysos

Pathenon of the Acropolis

The Karyatides statues of the Erechtheion on the Acropolis

See the Lycabettus Hill..we conquered that!

Temple of Nike at the Acropolis

Late lunch (cum dinner) at Thanasis, a famous restaurant patronised by many locals. Everytime a table is cleared, another bunch of new customers soon take their seat. And mind you, it was 4pm when we were there. See my dish? It's the Thanasis Kebab Pita with onions, grilled tomatoes and pieces of juicy lamb meat. 7.50 Euros.

Here's how the restaurant looks if u ever visit Athens, just a few steps away from Monastaraki Metro Station. Sit on the outside if you ever come, the atmosphere is great, except that you'd get lots of kids coming up to you and soliciting for money - either by selling stuff or playing instruments.

When you're hungry and looking for something cheap. Go to a Kebab place like this.

Pita Gyros for 1.60 Euros. Nowhere near Thanasis standard, but definitely value for money in Greece.

There, my couchsurfing hosts - Lena and Aggelos. You wouldn't believe who took this picture - Aggelos!

In fact, he's so fascinated by my rotating lcd screen, he started taking a picture of himself and his friends..

and another

AND yet another!

This guy can really pose!

2006-11-29T23:05:00.000+01:00

Look What Globalisation Has Done

Juan Carlos, a student from our mandarin class, invited us to a birthday party of a Spanish girl who was studying in poland. We had Sangria (Spanish sweet wine with fruits)which was really good. I heart Sangria! =9

During the party, a Canadian from Montreal taught me - a Singaporean - Behasa Melayu. How ironic. I spent all my life living in Singapore, yet the only Malay workd i know is "Alamak". Anyway, this guy from Canada has travelled to Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia..and he adores Thai Express, even more so than food in Thailand.

2006-11-22T22:58:00.000+01:00

Mandarin, Spanish, S----s, and a football match.

Today my room mate and i taught Mandarin to some European students. We didn't think many would turn up, especially since the Italian class before ours had only 3 students. BUT surprise surprise, there were at least ten. We weren't very prepared but it turned out quite well...although our students spotted some minor errors at times!(ie. the hanyu pinyin pitch for the exact words were written differently)...damn malu. But of course, i would simply pretend that i was just testing them. Besides teaching Mandarin, Im also learning Spanish, which i can probably put to use in Spain.

Will most likely be catching the Man Utd vs Benefica match at Old Trafford on December 6. It'd probably cost a bomb though, having to shuttle back and forth between manchester and warsaw(which, by the way, has no direct flight connection..) just to catch ONE match. Still it's worth it lar, I waited 7 long years for this!

Ok time to dive into my individual presentation work on European business cultures. The six letter word that begins and ends with S has begun to catch up with the loafing oaf. Though i have barely started on the presentation, I am supposed to hand in the content to my prof by Friday for review, yet tomorrow at 5 am im heading for the airport to Greece *gasp*!

Once again, welcome to the life of an exchange student ;)

2006-11-19T09:28:00.000+01:00

Czech It Out!
After touring Liptovsky Mikulas, Vienna and Budapest, our final leg of the trip was Prague. Prague was strategically placed right at the last stretch because we wanted to end off our tour with a bang. Surely, we weren't disappointed. But as expected, Prague was indeed very touristy, it is inevitable rubbing shoulders with the throngs of trigger-hpppy tourists almost everywhere you go. Prices here varied greatly. On one hand, restaurants and shops situated at the tourist hotspots could be exorbitantly priced while others situated at the peripheral can be surprisingly affordable. To get a good deal, you'll need to look harder, or perhaps consult the locals. Prices in most supermarkets are also value money, in many cases they are even cheaper than in Warsaw.

Dinner on our first night in Prague was at Restaurant Musketyr. It was recommended to us by Bibliana, an exchange student at Warsaw who's a Slovakian studying in Prague (confusing huh!)and boy were we deeply satisfied with the place. Once again, a stoke of serendipity fell upon us. We e bumped into Eileen and Jing En the next morning on Charles Bridge, who later moved out of their hostel that night to join us at our dirt cheap one!

Garlic Soup. See the cheese? It has croutons, potatoes and meat in it too. (Only 2.50 SGD!)

My dish in the foreground, Czech dumplings with smoked meat filling. (6.50 SGD)
The entrance of the restaurant
Night view of the old town square
That;s Charles bridge to the left and the view of the other side where the Prague castle sits

Still guards standing by the castle gates
Due to some important ocassion, some elite guards were specially deployed for today

The million and one steps we ran up just in time to catch the guards' changeover ceremony
Lucky dude. He has the best view in the house - every single day.

Petrin Tower at Mala Strana
We followed some obscure path and chanced upon the Strahov Monastery, which houses the best view of Prague.

The famous Charles Bridge
The astronomical clock
The "extra"
Wonder what this is?
Freshly made rolls with sugar, toffee, nuts. Smoking hot! Doesn't this make a lovely ad?

Grandma's Potato Soup with cream and bread. 2 SGD. You'll never get bored with soup in Europe, it's not simply cream of mushroom or chicken. There's so much variety..from Spinach, Onion, Garlic, Potatoes, Goulash to Zucchini with lemon. I had soup every day in Prague.

To wrap up my 12 days touring Central Europe, it's been almost too unbelievable. The whole trip costed me 610 bucks, all inclusive of transport(which took up half of the total expenses), food, accomodation, everything. My mom would be proud of me. Of course this feat would not have been possible if Silvia, Michael and Serena hadn't offered us their place to stay. My heartfelt thanks goes out to all three of them!

Next up, we're heading to Mediteranean Europe, to the land of Athens and the Greek islands!

2006-11-19T09:15:00.000+01:00

Liptovsky Mikulas
There was an error in my CF card, Most of my photos in Slovakia and all my pictures from Vienna and Hungary were wiped out. These pictures were part of the pathetic few i managed to salvage. If you know how i can recover my pictures, please let me know. I am still very upset over it, especially over the ones taken in Budapest.

The trip to Liptovsky Mikulas was unlike any other trip i had in Europe so far. It is what i would call an ultimate retreat, where all you basically do is to immerse yourself in all the nature surrounding you. You get ample sleep, almost everything you consume is homemade or grown from the gardens. You'll drink hot tea in the mornings while admiring the snow outdoors. Time is spent taking leisure hikes or visiting the thermal bath. Then at night, you'd sit together with the whole Bacurova family by the fireplace to chat (despite the language barrier), snack on homemade cakes or sandwiches and drink wine(yes there were homemade ones too) before finally heading to bed. This is the kind of life i've only dreamt about.

Of course the Bacurovas don't get to do this everyday either, they live in an apartment in Kosice which is alot smaller. But as often as they can, they would return to this lovely summer house that was given to them by Silvia's grandfather. According to Silvia, her dad spends whatever extra money he has on refurbishing or expanding house. Indeed, it has grown from one small cottage to a big and spacious home! It is amazing to also learn that almost all the new installations were mostly self-designed, many of which were thought out by Silvia. Wished i had my pictures to show you though =[

Silvia has the coolest family ever. Her witty and funny dad who impresses us with his antics and unexpected use of english. Mommy Emilia who prepares all the great food and even prepared us lunch the night before for us to take on board our train to Vienna. Mark, Silvia's soft spoken animal-loving brother who makes his own wine, collects tea leaves and yet plays in a trash metal band. And of course Renatta, Silvia's beautiful 12 year old sister, who told Silvia that she wished we wouldn't leave so soon.

I miss Liptovsky!

2006-11-14T16:30:00.000+01:00

Received an email from JZ the Lobang King. He was clearing out his picture folders when he found this....

my goodness....you mean that was me? hahaha. those were the days man.

2006-11-04T10:46:00.000+01:00

My central Europe trip so far has been wonderful, with a couple of interesting episodes along the way. Right now im sitting in Serena's homely pad in Budapest, Hungary. There's so many things to talk about, but im not sure if i can put it all down in words. Now lets first start with our trip to Slovakia..

We left for Slovakia the before All Saints holiday. This was an occasion where many would return to their hometown to spend time with their family. We were fortunate to be able to tag along with my international marketing project mate, Silvia, and stay with the rest of the Buracova family at their summer house in Liptovsky Mikulas.

Liptovsky Mikulas was about 8 hours of train ride away from Warsaw. It lies in the Liptov region near the low and high tatra mountains. Situated in the valley, Silvia's house was literally surrounded by the mountains. Because we arrived at about 5 am in the morning, i managed to catch my first glimpse the mountains as the day broke just before heading to bed. As cliched as it may sound, it seriously took my breath away.

The next afternoon, we went for a hike and at dusk, we visited the cemetary with the family to pay respects to their ancestors. On contrary to what one might imagine of a cemetary at night, it was a beautiful sight as the entire place was littered(and litted..see the pun? haha) with candles in colorful containers.

I also got my first taste of hot spring baths in Slovakia. It was mad. Sitting in a 38 degree celcius pool in the open at sub-zero temperatures. Snow is falling on your head but all you feel is the therapeutic warmth of the spring water.

2006-10-31T16:44:00.000+01:00

Off to rest of Central Europe

Ok im all packed and ready for my trip. For the next 12 days, i'd be heading to Slovakia, Austria, Hungary and Czech Republic. Train leaves in a little more than 2 hours. See you guys when i get back, hopefully with lots of pretty pictures ;)

2006-10-29T13:15:00.000+01:00

Life as an Exchange Student
Being an exchange student is really no joke. You have to juggle school work, social activities and travels altogether. It's like being a student back at SMU with all my extra curricular commitments..only that the priorities are reshuffled.

Traveling, from research through internet or natives, sourcing of tickets and accomodation, coordinating with friends, planning of schedules to the actual trip itself takes up 50%, socialising 25%, classes 10%(technically, it should require more attention than that), cooking and other household chores 10%.

That pretty sums up my exchange life. Unless you do not intend to travel much, life is bound to be pretty hectic. Nevertheless, it's a very liberating and rewarding one.

2006-10-27T21:55:00.000+02:00

Serena in Poland Part II - Krakow Day 1

It felt like i didn't sleep for long. Went to bed and next thing i knew it was 6.30 and time to get up and head to the train station. After arriving in Krakow Station, we met up with Chris, a friend of Sam's who was hosting us at his place. Chris not only offered us a place to stay, he always made sure our stomach were filled everytime we got home. He'd make tea, bring out cakes, and toss out whatever Polish food he could find in his refrigerator to let us sample. Chris loves to talk, he even warned us about it. He told us we could stop him anytime if he got carried away, but it was actually interesting listening to him go on about life in Poland. Basically this young man specialising in Energy and Fuel wants to get out of Poland when he graduates to work in Germany, where the prospects as of now are significantly more promising. After a tour around Krakow with Chris, whom we felt was qualified enough to be a professional guide, we were left to venture around on our own for the night. visited the Galleria Krakowska, a brand new shopping centre outside the railway station. On the tram home, Serena realised she stepped on some poop. Little did we know that it was going to be our source of luck when the next day came along...

2006-10-27T12:05:00.000+02:00

Serena in Poland Part I - Warsaw
It was a jam packed day in Warsaw. After taking Ser to sample some Polish food, we walked down Nowy Swiat street towards Old Town. Along the way, we bumped into my buddy Agata. You see, Agata is studying at 2 universities at the same time and she was making her way from Warsaw University to SGH(Warsaw School of Econs). Since there was still time, she decided to show us the brand new library of Warsaw University. Compared to SGH, this school is so much larger and newly restored. Kinda has the old SMU feel except with more intricate colonial buildings. Anyway the library was way cool, there was a beautiful garden tucked away at the top of the library and boy the view was so pretty. It's now officially my favourite place in Warsaw. Without Agata, Ser or my roomie and i wouldn't have found our way here, it was the ultimate place to sit and read a book or just simply admire the view.

After that, Agata left us to explore Old Town on our own, which wasn't much of a problem since i have been there before. In the evening, we stopped by this place that Agata recommended for cakes. This cosy place was called "To Lubie", and the staff were so friendly. Already before we even stepped in, they were posing for us as we were trying to take pictures from the outside.

After Old Town, we walked to Warsawa Centralna to get our train tickets for the next day to Krakow. Decided to drop by Jincai and Jasmine's place since we were in the vicinity, it was a great opportunity to show Serena their nice apartment with the million-dollar view of the Palace of Culture and Science. Also met up once again with Agata and her boyfriend, who invited us to a house party at Regina's(Agata's best friend) pad in Praga.

Praga is located on the other side of the Wisla River. It was apparently known as a rather dangerous district but still we made it there and back in one piece. The party was really fun, there were about 9 of us and as we toasted to drinks, we taught them our style of toasting..YAMMMM SENG! I think they were very amused to learn how long we could actually hold our breath. Also taught them the Animal game and it was so hilarious, even Ser said she hasn't laughed so hard since she left Singapore. As a forfeit, Adam had to call his room mate and sing "I believe i can fly" to the tune of the Polish anthem and that was really funny too.

It was 2.30am when we got home and 3.30am by the time i had showered and packed for the trip. Bedtime was at Jin's room (which had a spare bed) while Serena slept on my bed.

View from the garden on top of the Warsaw University Library

Great place for dates too

Behind some alley in Old Town

Mermaid of Warsaw!

Act Cute

Act Cool (Esther, for you again)

The Barbican. "My Heart Will Go On" was playing in the background..i wondered where that came from

So all this time it was this fiddler playing all those classic songs.

2006-10-24T21:59:00.001+02:00

Part IV - Bye bye Gdansk

The long overdue photos from the final leg of my Gdansk trip!
Farewell Baltic Hostel, we will miss your comfy beds but not your unisex-shower-rooms-with-no-doors

The Shipyard Monument.

This set of towering steel crosses was built to commemorate the workers killed during the 1970 shipyard riot in Gdansk.

*Pant pant*

What a view!

Almost there..

This cross atop the hill that we spotted from a distance was the reason for our hike up the hill. We had no clue how to get up there...but finally we made it!

I "heart" Gdansk..

But i can never resist food

Read between the lines!

2006-10-23T16:50:00.000+02:00

Serena was here for the weekend since Friday and i showed her around Warsaw and Krakow. It was amazing because everywhere we went, we would meet new and familiar people by sheer chance, and sometimes it led us to some unplanned and spontaneous encounters..how serendipitous, makes you realise the world is truly a small one. I'll elaborate more another day, very tired now. Slept in 3 different places for the past 3 nights!

2006-10-20T11:47:00.000+02:00

Something's wrong with me. I keep falling down these days. So Paisay!
First i slipped while climbing up to my bunk in the dark. Later in the afternoon I 'skipped' a few flights of stairs cos Hae Ran was teaching me how to irritate Kim in Korean. The next day, we were late for class and running to school like idiots. We passed this baby who had a smug smile on his face. I tried to be funny by asking "what you smiling at" in hokkien. I turned around and next thing i knew, i was on the floor.

2006-10-20T09:07:00.000+02:00

Part III - Gdynia

2006-10-20T08:29:00.000+02:00

Part II - Sopot

2006-10-19T11:44:00.000+02:00

Part I - Gdansk

Warsawa Centralna Train station

View from the train

Songwriter at work. Haha.

Our hostel. Nice room, free breakfast. But the shower rooms had no doors, only curtains. And it was for both guys and girls!

This way.

...yeahhhh

Fountain

2006-10-18T10:05:00.000+02:00

Gdansk Trip (Oct 13-15)

Gdansk, Sopot and Gdynia are collectively known as the Trojmiasto (Tri-City). Together, they dominate the coastal vantage point of northern Poland along the Baltic Sea. Man this trip has almost everything. From cobblestone-paved towns, churches, monuments to sandy beaches and nice long boardwalks, we even had the chance to take a short hike up the hill to catch an aerial view of Gdansk.

2006-10-10T01:58:00.000+02:00

Brrr
The weather is slowly, but surely getting colder. Now I can't wear my flip flops out as often as i used to.

2006-10-08T20:14:00.000+02:00

Trip to Krakow(Oct 5 - 7)

Krakow - the ancient capital of Poland, where the kings lived and the only major city here to come through World war II mostly unscathed...

1st Stop: Salt mine at Wieliczka.

Inside the mine, we entered various chambers filled with chapels and statues carved by the miners during their free time, and underground lakes as well.

Descending 380 steps down the wooden stairways into the depths of the mine felt like eternity. Heres what i see whenever i look down.

Chandelier made entirely of salt crystals

This grand "Blessed Kinga's Chapel" was carved entirely from salt. The acoustic properties here are apparently very good. Mass, concerts and even weddings are being held here.

8 people squished in a small shaky lift. "Open the f*cking door!" I heard this guy repeatedly saying as we ascended to ground level. He's more than 2 metres tall, and probably feeling claustrophobic.

Old Town

Square at old town. Bigger and better than the old town in Warsaw.

Candy floss

The Rynek Glowny looks lovely at night.

Inside lies a marketplace that houses several stalls selling accessories and souvenirs.

Kosciol Mariacki

See the window on the taller tower partially covered by the shadows?

Legend has it that the early Tartar raids, a watchman positioned there saw invaders approaching and used his trumpet to alarm the rest. His warning was, however, cut short by a Tartar arrow that pierced through his throat. This legend therefore lives on, where every hour, a lone trumpeter plays the bugle call and halts abruptly at the precise point where the watchman was supposed to have been hit

Mother and child seated at the church entrance

Church interior

Wawel Castle

View of Krakow from bell tower of the church

Hae Ran, Jesus, and me.

Fire performers

Lody time again! 2 zloty for a huge scoop!

Jewish District

Decided to explore the jewish district after we checking out of the hostel.

Fresh food stalls

True blue flea market. Selling vintage cameras, old passports and other neat stuff.

Unscramble this.

Dream car!

Auschwitz Concentration Camp
This was the place where many Jews all over Europe were transported too. Many were deceived by Nazi propaganda thinking that they were on their way to seek work in German factories or farms. After a torturous journey in sealed goods or cattle trucks, the dazed survivors were inspected and divided into two categories. The "fit" and "unfit". Those placed in the latter category (up to 75 percent of them) were told that they had to take a bath. They were then ordered to undress and then herded into the "shower room", and gassed with the deadly "Cyclon B", through the ceiling attachments. Valuables like earrings, gold tooth fillings and even hair were stripped from the dead bodies before they were thrown into the furnaces and cremated.

Yes I saw the gas chamber for myself, and the crematorium as well. It was horrible to imagine anyone put in this gruesome fate.

German saying of "Work makes one free". What a tragic irony.

Some prisoners were tied to the post and left to die

Others were shot at this wall

Death sentence was a slow painful process where most died from exhaustion and hunger.

Dinner at Mcdonalds. Check out my Big and Tasty Bekon Burger sizing up the fillet-o-fish.

Burger under siege!

I think Krakow is pretty. And after the trip I feel better exposed to and more informed on various forms of architecture like Renaissance, Gothic, and Baroque. Still, I look forward to Prague.

2006-10-02T13:56:00.000+02:00

Summer House

Hello, I was supposed to post this earlier but the internet connect in my dorm was down for the past 2 days due to heavy rain on Sunday. Anyway, the trip to the Summer House was grrreat! How often in Warsaw does a foreigner get a chance to join the locals at their house party in the countryside? It was a golden opportunity we knew we had to jump at. At about 6pm, we were picked up by Chris and Aga near our place. By Chris's F1 driving standards, it was a 40-minute drive from the city. After a roller coaster ride, including a sharp 90 degree turn from the railway tracks into the driveway, we finally arrived at the house. It was abit of a grand entrance. Chris pumped up the volume of his car stereo as he approached, and we were shortly welcomed by Rafael and the rest of the guys standing at the patio.

Candles lined the steps leading to the inside of the house, which turned out to be a small but extremely cosy place. For the rest of the night, it was food, drinks, and endless music. Drinking was a Polish culture we Singaporeans could not escape from. Our welcome drink was Polish wine, then every now and then, shot glasses would be filled with Slovakian vodka, and everybody would gather for a toast.

Rafael also took us for a walk outside the house all the way to the railway tracks. Because the outdoors were so dark, you could almost see the entire constellation in the sky. Rafael pointed out the "Big Bear" to us, which really didn't look like one to me. But it really didn't matter because the view was totally breathtaking. We would have stayed out longer if it wasn't so cold and all we had was one thin sweater on.

The next morning, we woke up to find that there was no water supply in the house because the pump was broken. Nevertheless, we managed to get by with mineral water to clean and wash. After a homemade breakfast of scrambled eggs with sausages and some time spent hanging out by the gardens outside the house to take in the fresh air, we said our goodbyes and headed back to civilisation.

Apple tree outside the house. Picked one right off the tree in the morning to try, and it was sweet and juicy.

Getting the grill ready for the barbeque. We had grilled zucchini, meat patties and sausages. Excellent stuff!

That's Aga, I think she's really pretty.

The guys with their props

The girls and one guy, no props.

Reheating sausages by the fireplace

Like the cottage?

The bedroom upstairs

And the view when you wake up in the morning.

Welcome to the garden. See the Christmas trees?

Hangover

Bad Hangover

Gangster wannabes, but actually they're really nice folks

Hope you like the pics. Im heading off to school for my International Marketing case presentation on ...Manchester United!

2006-09-30T13:31:00.000+02:00

Spoke to Sam and Serena on Skype 2 nights ago, they are packing for Munich to see the Oktoberfest, i was supposed to join them but didn't, prices were too steep to book last minute and it's mainly booze and sausages. Theres always a chance, maybe we could see Italy or Greece together. It was really nice to see them after so long, since May! But the moment the webcam came on, they started laughing at my new "disastrous"(quote Sam) hair. How nice. Friends...*sigh*

Ok this weekend, roomie and i are packing off, we heading out of town to a summer house that Rafael(a student who went to SMU for exchange last term) and friends invited us to. We're having wine from grapes at the vineyard as we bid farewell to the summer, who will quietly take her leave, making way for the fall to come.

2006-09-27T21:53:00.000+02:00

Polish Your Polish

I learnt a Polish word in class. Lampa.

It means lamp.

What were you thinking?

2006-09-27T08:20:00.000+02:00

One of my "fans" asked me why i haven't updated the blog, so here i am. Lemme recall what i did for the past few days.

On Sunday afternoon i doodled.

Then in the evening, Peishi and I went to the movies with our Austrian friends, Christian, Michael and Gregor. The show was Ja, Ty i On which was what we know as You, me and Dupree except that Ja, Ty i On literally meant "I, You and Him" in polish. Anyway, the American films here are screened its original language with polish subtitles. A ticket on Sunday with student discount (or "bilet" in polish) costs 16 zlotys. The Austrians told us that an average movie ticket in Vienna cost 19 Euros! That’s 38 SGD for one ticket! Imagine if the movie turned out to be lousy.

Monday was my first day of school. It was alright, although the first lesson at 8am (which i had to drag myself out of bed for) was cancelled when i got there. It will only start next week, so everyone could leave. Thank god my dorm was only 3 mins away! As for Financial engineering, i dozed off even though i was sitting in the front row! I really can't help it man, the conditions in class were way too conducive for sleeping. It seems the profs here don't really have a habit of turning on the lights in the day or even evening until it really gets dark. Just when i tried to psych myself up for the next consecutive finance, thinking it can't possibly get any worse, only to realise the same archaic prof was taking the class too.

We also cooked in the afternoon. See my masterpiece in the foreground!

After TWO unbearable classes, i had to EAT. Went to meet Peishi, Jin and the Americans for dinner. It was a pretty cool restaurant where the waitering staff wear traditional clothes, and mondays are when you'd get food and beer at discounted prices. We had Sznycel, their house specialty, it's basically breaded pork chop; but its huge! probably the size of a face towel or bigger, and will put the Shihlin XXXL Ji1 Pa2 to shame. If you try this, you have to share it with someone else. Jin almost died trying to eat the whole thing, plus they served him the largest slab.

Sznycel. Not a very justifiable pic of it's. But heres what it looks like.

Jin, me, Peishi, Katrina, Elizabeth (Jipo and Kang, her appetite is wayyy bigger than you two - combined)

Yesterday, we did a typical homecooked Singaporean meal for Jin, and he cooked his Korean ramen for us. It's DAMN nice. It's basically just korean instant noodles, but he added egg and those really spicy green chilli in and it was so shiok. During dinner, Jin told us about his army days in Korea, like how they were given only one roll of toilet paper to use for 4 months. So everytime when they need to go use the toilet, they can only tear two pieces. And one piece after meals to wipe the mouth. Whatttt, like that where got enough?

Stay tuned for pictures of the homecooked meal..

2006-09-24T00:30:00.000+02:00

A Nice Slow Saturday

Didn't do too much today. Just hung out with the buddy, buddy's boyfriend and roomie in the evening. Patronised this little coffee place for drinks. Tried the tea with traditional Polish marmalade. Then zucchini and lemon soup with croutons at an Italian restaurant nearby.

You, me and my buddy.

That's the tea...

And here's how you stir the marmalade in

2006-09-23T17:12:00.000+02:00

Wah I can't believe I'm blogging every day. But well it probably won't be like this once school starts. Day 3 was supermarketing day. We went to this hypermart called Tesco, pretty much like Carrefour over here. Had to stock up on food supplies and kitchenware as Sabinki(the dorm) had absolutely no utensils, pots, cups, etc provided.

We met up with Sylwia, Peishi's (my roomie) buddy and headed for Tesco via the metro. At Tesco, we were probably the most kiasu folks there. Whatever we threw in the cart were had to be cheap and good. We thought we bought quite abit, but Sylwia says it's nothing compared to her folks. Cos whenever they go grocery shopping, they look like they are preparing for war.

The dis-illusioned girl who thinks she's a princess

Our shopping cart

That's Sylwia, and that's me!

At night, there was a boat party by the Wisla river. Basically the party was held in the open air deck inside the boat by the dock. Kind of refreshing compared to going to a typical club. The students here really have all sorts of ideas, I heard they are organising a tram party too. On the boat, it was beer for most people, conversation here and there and super classic music like YMCA. Everybody did the Macarena, which was quite hilarious. When it came to limbo rock, this korean bloke, Kim (or "old man", he's 29) just shoved me across to the other side, implying with my height I didn't need to bend backward at all to get through.

There was a foosball table on the boat too, and I couldn't resist a game. Peishi and I had a showdown with two guys at foosball. Guess who won? The team with the "star defender" or course! Peishi ain't too shabby either, except she resorted to the underhanded “bbq chicken wing” method, like SOME of my juniors. Haha. Did I mention it was one Italian, one French we were up against, what an irony ;)

Meanwhile, Im amazed by how many European people are picking up Mandarin, and they are doing really well at it. That night alone, two polish natives managed to carry a decent conversation with me in mandarin. Both have travelled to China and one is going back again, while I have to sheepishly admit I haven't even laid a foot there before. All the Singaporean Chinese beware, these guys are gonna kick our ass anytime in the future at our mother tongue.

Didn’t stay there too long, when it's late, people get sloshed and things sometimes get out of hand. To save money instead of taking the cab, we tried to locate the night bus back to our dorm because we already bought the student concession for 3 month’s worth of public transport, be it via metro, tram or bus at 83 PLN. I think Kim was a little drunk, apparently he only had one glass, yet already he was slurring in a overly chirpy manner. Very amusing. I must also mention that we met this drunk Australian outside the boat, he asked Kim if he was from Korea and how he was getting home. Then he claimed it was a good idea for Kim to take the bus because "you Koreans are cheap". His racist remark didn’t really bother me though. For every bastard like him, there's at least ten others who had more sense to embrace diversity and people of varied ethnicity. The walk to the central bus terminal was a long one, but it was well worth it. We met a couple of Polish people who were going back from the party, so they mostly led the way. The night was cool and the city was serene. Plus we were within the vicinity of Old Town - my favourite place in Warsaw so far, so I got a chance to pass by it and observed how the place appeared at night.

Showering in the wee hours of the morning was really no joke. Was freezing my ass off walking along the corridors back to my room after the bath. Maybe I can forget about bathing when winter comes.

Finally, to end off this post, I’d like to mention that with new found friends, places and perspectives, I must say i still do fondly think of my good ol' pals and my family back home. Miss you all folks!

2006-09-23T16:41:00.000+02:00

Day 2
This morning, we had an information session at Warsaw School of Economics or SGH in short (pronounced as As-Geh-Har). Instead of staying on after the break for some lecture, my Singaporean friend and I joined the Koreans for lunch at Oriental Bar, a Vietnamese eatery just around the corner from the school. Had curry chicken rice, cost 10 PLN (around 5 SGD), not exactly that cheap, but check out the serving portion and you’ll see it’s well worth it.

That was my lunch and dinner

After that, we headed back to school for an organised tour around Warsaw. Although it lasted merely 3 hours, it was pretty good as it gave us a glimpse of Warsaw, and a glimmer of hope that this seemingly dreary looking place can be quite a gem.

The moment we walked past the row of tall bushes, we found ourselves right at the entrance of Park Lazienkowski, staring at the ponderous Sculpture of Frederic Chopin. It was a marvellous sight since it caught most of us by surprise.

Exactly what plants do they grow in the park, it got us all high.

Me and those green headed mallard ducks you see in story books.

Saw this along the way on the bus, it's quite a mouthful.

Stare Miasto, also known as Old Town, my favourite part of the tour

Notice how the person can make the picture look even better

Sir Stamford Raffles in Old Town? Or Statue of Liberty in Esther's case.

Ice cream. 1.50 zloty for one scoop, that’s only 75cents SGD!

2006-09-22T02:08:00.000+02:00

Taste of Poland. Literally.

Wow wow wow, I have my own blog now. Just one of the many blogs floating around on the www, nothing special. But at least now I can take you along with me on my exchange journey. No need to spend a grand sum on a plane ticket, only to be assigned a seat right next to the lavatory =p I hope to update this as much as I can, not sure how consistent I can be though. I am going to try my best, but on your part can you also motivate me, ie. tell me how much you like my posts, that my photos are awesome and how cool I look in them. Haha enough crap, lets bring on the pictures for day 1.

My groovy buddy Agata and her other half. Don’t you think her hair looks like mine, only nicer

Beet soup with small dumplings. Don’t worry, tastes better than it looks.

My buddy’s dish. Dumplings with assorted fillings - Cabbage, meat or mushroom.

My dish. Veal with mushrooms and young potatoes. Tis the season for mushrooms, hence guaranteed to be fresh and good, which was indeed the case.

As for my take on Polish food after this gastronomic affair? Very promising so far.