Wunderbar!

No time no time

2008-08-16T10:57:00.003+08:00

Sigh. School is starting again. I have a lot of things on my holiday to-do list that are unchecked, again. I always wonder why people repeat their mistakes.

I have only one pathetic photo of our BBQ on tuesday. The rest of the photos that you really want to see (the sexy ones plus the ones with half a drumstick sticking out of people's mouths etc are with alvin).

You notice that the charcoal are shaped like round soaps? New age charcoal that releases ammonia. I generally dislike BBQs because 1. its labour intensive to cook 2. i never escape unscathed....my throat is as sexy as a whole beach of sand stuck in my throat.

With the school term starting, weekends need to be nothing less than AMAZING.

Switzerland- St Gallen (27 & 28 May 2008)

2008-08-11T21:50:00.006+08:00

I had so much inertia to blog about my post-sem travelling but once i started doing the collages on picasa, i was on FIRE. haha. The pictures brought back so many fond memories...gosh, i feel like tearing!

My last few days at St Gallen were spent snapping shots of my favourite places in a frenzy...so let me show you my running route. Truth be told, i only ran for 2 weeks i think. Haha! The thing i really miss about running in St Gallen is the amazing sights and sounds along the way.

First, i had to climb this loooooooooong flight of stairs- see the picture below for an idea of the degree of incline...

Upon reaching the top, i would be greeted by this .... plain/meadow? i honestly dont know the difference (see below)

Then i would run along the footpath...there are only 2 cows in this picture but there were usually more. Its quite disturbing to be honest when you are panting away and these cows are staring at you...but after a while you get used to it. heh. Oh and not forgetting the sound of the cowbells...going ting-ting-ting...Along this stretch, i would also meet many other runners and EVERY SINGLE ONE of them would exchange greetings with me- "Gruezi" or "Guten tag"...
Next i would see many people, young and old, lying on the green suntanning or having a nice little picnic.
Then i would pass by 3 lakes- one of them is featured below. We saw this lake during winter when it was frozen. When we returned in Spring, it was unrecognizable. People were swimming and just sitting around the lake! So that concludes the running trail. Next, we are moving on to the University of St. Gallen. There were not many places worth taking in the campus really...

Ok look at the photo carefully. Now look again. Do you see the sign "Helvetia". Yes the university shares the same entrance as Helvetia. So this state-of-the-art like building you ssee here with the square glass panes belong to Helvetia (Switzerland's biggest insurance company i believe), not the university. On the first day of school...innocent mice like myself were fooled into thinking that we had such a nice campus. What lies behind....is what you get.

Next up, the town center of St Gallen. Serene and i had lunch at this place called Schutzengarten, which apparently has many other outlets all over the country. They serve the authentic stuff...authentic meaning food that you get in Switzerland = food you get in Germany/ USA...like bratwursts...rosti...fried nuggets...yea.

This is a power rosti enveloped with cheese, ham and egg:

The St Gallen Bahnoff (train station)...

Well, I wouldnt say that St Gallen was a really interesting place to live in for 4 months, but it was a good place to live in for sure!

Glorious food

2008-08-07T09:47:00.003+08:00

We had a cookout at Jeremy's place..his kitchen is so nice! i really like the whole island- kitchen concept thingey!

Wei made this: a really yummy bowl of sausages. ok i dont know what its real name is but she followed Jamie Oliver's recipe. It was so good!

The salad which was made by serene and i..!

Jeremy's pulled pork and the pulled pork bun below! basically, i have run out of adjectives to describe the food but everything was just so yummy..and we had like a 4 course meal for about 10 bucks?

This is a bread and butter pudding that serene made. She said it was painfully easy but i didnt believe her until i saw her doing it myself! the end product was amazing!

Carol we should do sthg like that with smu ppl when you come back!

Tattered, not torn

2008-08-04T10:20:00.005+08:00

Ok so i have been too lazy for too long- I will be updating my blog with pictures of my travels during the month of June...soon! haha for now...i shall just do the 'my life now' for a bit...to update my friends who are still overseas...actually its just for carol la..haha..!

Just a few weeks back, my travel kakis (ie. siewjin, kian leong, serene) and i met up at clarky quay. Val lee came too cos i kept harrassing her to do so since i hadnt seen her in ages. We went to THE PUMP ROOM. its this really nice chill place..that serves real food (meaning portions bigger than finger food) and drinks of course! Best part is their live band- Jive talkin'! They are so so so good. Serene and i love this place. They play modern RnB, oldies or rock and roll and spanish songs! Its a perfect place for a weekday chillout!

So last last sunday, my mom actually baked some stuff as well. On the left you see Lemingtons (or Lamingtons) which are actually butter cake thingeys coated with thin chocolate and coconut shavings. At first glance it looks very sweet but its not...(ok i think my mom just added less sugar la). And on the right you see Harum Manis (but i call it by the more glam name- Steamed banana muffins) haha. its really nice when they pop out of the metal baking cups like little fatties and they are so springy and light to eat...Mmmmm

Ok a friend of mine currently works here part time during her hols so ive been to this place a few times. Its so near SMU..just opposite the national library. A really nice, warm and cosy eatery with equally nice, warm staff. The food is also very reasonably priced and they serve pretty good stuff like sandwiches, salads, pastas...their desserts are yummy too. Go down and try it soon?

Well before my blog turns into a full-fledged food blog (because food is just so my passion) i should talk about some other stuff. I was talking to another good friend of mine whose mum does some community service and she told me stories about how there are actually young children who commit petty thefts like stealing toothpaste because their parents are not around and they dont have money. Now its not like as if ive never heard of stories about the less fortunate in singapore. Its just that after being away for some time, enjoying myself in europe and then coming back and getting all stressed out because everyone else in this world seems to know their career directions and goals except me...kind of made me take so many things for granted.

I know that i need to be stressed out a bit as well..to push myself to do better in life. And learn to extend my life plan beyond a booking horizon of 2 weeks. But instead of always lamenting on what i dont have and start feeling sour..to really just thank God for everything and be grateful for what i have. I am really fed up with being caught in this pre-rat race warm up crap. In addition...i should start doing some community service. not just to fulfil the SMU requirement but sthg more sustainable in the long term...we might not realise it but sometimes a little help goes a long way..think about how much a tube of toothpaste costs?

So why this title for the post? I had lunch with fangwei at kenny rogers last week and you know how you get to choose your 3 sides? so i said "ok i'm torn...i cant decide between A....B.....C....D....or....E....F" and he looks at me and says "you're not torn..you're tattered!" haha. The paradox of choice. if they had only served mac and cheese and baked rice for example, i would have been perfectly happy. But no...they give you so many choices and after you decide what you want...you keep thinking if you are missing out on the stuff you did not choose. So how does more choice give consumers more value i wonder...

ok the weather is purrrr-fect. i shouldnt be sitting at home like a granny. tata.

Spain again

2008-06-10T09:17:00.001+08:00

I could get used to life in spain, really....! You will know why after i update my blog haha!

Life is a journey that is homeward bound

2008-05-29T14:16:00.002+08:00

Time flies! I have been so busy packing up...so, thank you everyone...for all the love you guys gave me when I left for exchange- all the letters, emails etc! I'll be back to return it to you when i come back to HOT and SUNNY Singapore on 6 July! ;)

Will update my blog only after i return to Singapore because I'm going to be taking a sabbatical from my laptop..haha!

CIAO...hasta la proxima!

Luyi!

Last episode of Top Chef

2008-05-22T23:36:00.004+08:00

This was how it looked like in St Gallen last week- temperature was way above 20 degrees. This week however, the temperature dived below 10 degrees again..just as we were all about to put away all our winter clothes!

I feel this inexplicable sense of duty to take a photo of my last cooked-from-scratch dish here. (Over the next few days...i will be distributing or using up excess premixes, pastes, chicken stock cubes WHATEVER..its all systems go). So yea, we had this packet of plain flour, a tap which presents a never-ending source of fresh Swiss water and a whole lot of vegetables in the fridge....

Voila...deep-fried aubergine/ red peppers/ mushroom! the batter is really really simple. you just put any amount of flour..and gradually add in water until you get the right consistency.

And i also wanted to use up all the excess pasta which explains the mix of penne and spaghetti...after finishing our wonderful meal and starting to wash up...i realised that i had forgotten all about the poor fish i had put into the oven to bake! It was one of those you know 35-minute wonders from supermarkets..where you just put the whole thing into the oven and it comes out nice and tasty...so i dragged everybody back to the dining table just. to. eat. that. tasty. fish.

Pray for us

2008-05-16T07:28:00.005+08:00

This whole week, i have been busy wallowing in misery and self-pity. Over stupid reasons...like the lack of leafy vegetables in st gallen and exam stress, just to give you some examples of how stupid they are. And all this time i was aware of the natural disasters in myanmar and china.

Shame on me.

It only hit me today after a friend reminded me, that we should be looking at the bigger picture...and be grateful for what we have and what we dont....instead of languishing in our self-created misery which honestly, is a sheer waste of energy.

If you can and want to, lets do this together:

For all the families that have been displaced by bad weather, we pray for shelter and a new beginning for them.

For all the families that have been torn apart by death and grieving, we pray for your hand of comfort and healing to be over them.

For all the rescue workers, we pray that you grant them perseverance and all the help and resources they need to save as many lives as they can.

Dear Lord, please hear us.

I am seriously overcome by morbid thoughts...earlier during dinner while watching CNN on TV:

Bingkai: shit...Nigeria oil pipeline explosion! You know what that means?

Me (without hesitation): that the world is coming to an end...

Bingkai: NO....oil price is gonna go up tomorrow!!!

Ok i know this is not helping myself in any way, but i just logged onto straitstimes.com and i have just been overwhelmed by even more bad news. Like Mrs Lee Kuan Yew being in a serious condition after suffering a stroke...

Dearest Mummy & Yi-po

2008-05-11T07:04:00.005+08:00

Happy Mothers' Day!

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden...

Rhine Falls - the largest plain waterfalls in Europe

2008-05-07T06:32:00.005+08:00

They are located in the High Rhine upper course of the river Rhine, in the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen, near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland and close to the German border. They are 150 m (450 ft) wide and 23 m (75 ft) high. In the winter months, the average water flow is 250 m³/s, while in the summer, the average water flow is 600 m³/s. The Rhine Falls were formed in the last ice age approximately 14,000 to 17,000 years ago.-wikipedia.org

Today we went on this 'excursion' organised for the exchange students to see the Rhine Falls...

Pictures!

So...we were at this...place where we had a really good view of the falls...and i wanted to take a nice video. I did manage to take a video but there was some well...interference...

Schaffhausen...a really nice small town

This week in some pictures and words

2008-05-04T18:09:00.003+08:00

On tuesday, it was Bingky's birthday so we had a birthday party! It was real fun and his birthday cake...was an apple crumble baked by a friend of ours, Samuel and his candle was this huge-ass lavander one bought from IKEA! haha.

Today, Bingky treated us both to Sunday brunch...how lovely! It was at this place called 'Stars and Stripes'- best chicken wings and bircher muesli ever!

Spring weather is fantastic!

And yesterday we were at our Thai friends' place for dinner...Maccann managed to take a photo of both of us in our classic/ evergreen poses...

Our friend, Samuel made these pork springrolls from scratch...remarkable!

On Friday and Saturday, we had school from 8 to 4pm! It was a small class of about 13 people...? Oh dear...it was so boring. I hardly say that classes are boring you know seriously. But this class was really....mind-blowingly boring.

So anyway part of this course is about writing...and below is something from one of the readings..i found it quite humorous: (Yes i was that bored!)

Keep it short

Keep the paper as short as possible. Every word must count. As you edit the paper ask yourself constantly, “can I make the same point in less space?” and “Do I really have to say this?” Final papers should be no more than 40 pages. Drafts should be shorter. (Do as I say, not as I do!) Shorter is better.

Don't repeat things. In other words, if you’ve said it once, you don’t have to say it again. Most of all, it uses up extra space and reader’s patience to have to see the same point made over and over again. So, once again, repetition is really a bad idea. (Get the picture?!) “In other words” is a sign of trouble. Go back and say it once, right.

This is the start of the walk back home from school... pretty nice eh? (To walk down not up)

Other funny conversations

2008-04-26T21:07:00.004+08:00

One of the days this week, i think it was wednesday, Bingkai's buddy- Kristine, brought us out for dinner at this mexican place...it was really nice! i dont think Singapore has a mexican restaurant thats equally good!

I can't remember if i have mentioned this before, but Kristine is EXTREMELY GENTLE. She speaks very softly, mildly and slowly. Its like, everytime we talk to her, we have to speak very gently as well...because she might just evaporate into thin air if we spoke any louder. Its quite hilarious really...when i see Bingkai and Mac talk to her. For myself its really an effort, shes so nice but i have to like keep my hands to myself and not wave around animatedly like how i always do.

Ok so coming back to the main point, can you see the rattan basket below? Yea it contains this roti-prata like thingey that we use to wrap the meat and vegetables (Fajitas) so Bingkai just jokingly said that the rattan basket looked like those that kept snakes. Oh my, Kristine was visibly shocked and she was like "oh no...please dont scare me with that" or something along that line. She was quite serious you know...so cute. haha.

This is actually my bed's headrest..dont you think it looks like a waffle! and my pillow case looks like the honey droplets on the waffle...i was changing my bedsheet when i suddenly noticed it! haha and i called the guys over to see 'something important' and they trooped over only to see my bed's headrest...oh and everytime they ask me about something or ask me if i can do something and my reply is a yes, ill say "yes sir yes sir three bags full", i dont know why!!!

And yes, this is the melted plastic chopping board i was talking about. This never ever happened to me before ok. But well, yea when i was cooking with wei, i got so engrossed that i didnt realise that part of it was touching the heated electric plate ...so yea...

and again some random msn coversations:

1. mac and i -- this happened when i was talking to my mother on the phone..haha!

is back in St Gallen! says:
(1) I've transferred the washings to the dryer le. Inside got one of my shirts
(2) the whole world can hear you talk
(3) thanks for advertising me, but I'm really only interested if the girl (assuming thats a girl u're talking to) is my taste

(actually i have to be honest and tell you guys that bingkai also msged me the same thing about being able to hear me talk from their rooms...oh well..the perils of living with me)

2. bingkai and i -- this was pretty long ago...i still remember my similies! haha. (im the black words)

oh and if you have time, please click on the link below and watch this video regarding the Mas Selamat saga. its not trashy ok, its from straitstimes.com. i just found the comments of one interviewee especially funny...

http://www.straitstimes.com/Video%2BNews/Singapore/STIVodcast_4058.html?playid=4058&type=Singapore

last but not least, i suddenly remembered this funny incident. When i was in spain, i exchanged some books at the hostel for spanish books. So i got hold of this book of Chinese myths, but in spanish! How cool is that! So Mac was leafing through the book and when he saw this title "Nu Wa Crea Al Hombre y Restaura La Boveda Celeste", instead of making an educated guess...he said, "Oh! i know Nu Wa created man and a restaurant in heaven!!!"

(it really means Nu Wa creates man and recovers the celestial vault, literally at least)

Stocks, Notts and more

2008-04-26T05:35:00.007+08:00

This post is so named because this post is going to be about Dee and Wei who visited me from Nottingham and Stockholm respectively. I was really really really really happy to see them...so Dee and Wei..thanks for spicing up my life for those 2 days, literally! Dee- with your sweetness and Wei- erm with your acidic comments! haha.

Dee and Wei. Somehow i don't know why, when i saw this picture above right, it looked as though Wei was holding onto some weapon on Dee's shoulder...which in turn made me think of the picture below...

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/clip/ridinhod.html

HAHA! OK i'm so sure that Wei is so going to like..flame my blog and like start some verbal war with me, which i will ultimately lose because she is a lawyer and she is very good at tricking and confusing people...ok...erm...i think this last paragraph just made things worse...

So anyway Dee only stayed for 1 night so i was alone with Wei for another day...oh my goodness oh my goodness...haha seriously we abuse each other verbally like nobody's business and shout at each other (even when we are not quarrelling..so you can imagine how loud we are when we are). Tough love ok...trained up from St Nicks hockey days.

But really, it was nice albeit nostalgic when Dee and I recalled RJ hockey days and when Wei and I recalled SN hockey days...hmmm....haiyayayaya. It was really funny because 3 of us got really excited talking in the living room..and after a while, Bingkai and Mac just suddenly said that now they knew why I was like that...because my friends are the same! Haha.

Ok so this is an MSN conversation that took place between Bingkai (Brown words) and Wei (Black words); ok Bingkai thought he was talking to me until somebody came and took over my side of the laptop...haha

Ok look i don't starve my room mates ok, i was just feeling lazy and Wei deduced that i was trying to starve all of them...heh but when i was looking through my MSN history, i found this (below)..which doesnt help to vindicate Wei's claim in any way:

The first line and the grey small words are from Bingkai; the bigger black words are from me.

... ...

So finally i start cooking and due to some miscommunication, i ended up destroying Wei's vegetable recipe (or so she says) because i preboiled her vegetables when she wanted to slow cook them. And i finally got the chance to make use of Carol's chicken rendang prima premix! It turned out more like curry though but anyway both dishes were super yummy!

When i was grocery shopping with wei, it was really funny. I took one packet of chicken parts (6 huge parts) and she kept saying it wasn't enough for 4 people...so she bought another packet of chicken parts! You see, in stockholm she gets to eat really good food everyday- she told me that she and her friends each eat 1 cup of rice each time and they always have a lot of food! Apparently theres this girl, Crystal, who can cook really good, elaborate stuff.

OK i have to admit that her vegetables look much nicer than mine...

And the yummy rendang-turned-curry! haha..ok it doesnt look THAT nice because of the photo quality and the ladle right in the middle but yea it was really thick and nice!

You have ABSOLUTELY NO idea how much pain weiling and i both went through to whip up these 2 dishes i tell you. The kitchen was like world war II or something. I think the guys were quite scared of the commotion and decided to like stay far far away. To give you a hint of the gravity of the situation then, I shall just tell you that like 1/10 of my plastic chopboard melted away, and Weiling and i BOTH got burnt cos of splattering hot oil! HAHA.

Me encanta espana! - not in order...(edited)

2008-04-15T04:31:00.015+08:00

I liked Spain because I found everyone very friendly and willing to help. The weather was fantastic as well! Like 20 plus degrees! Its really like a teenager's country because almost everybody wakes up late...11am onwards. And you have your afternoon siesta...you have dinner at like 11pm and you go out and have fun until 4am then you go home. Even if you take pride in being an early bird blah blah just like me, seriously theres no point cos you'll just be wandering along the streets by yourself...with birds as your only company. Plus, nobody really seems to eat proper meals here...you just snack the whole day on tapas...churros...chips....

But it was a very cool experience for me in general because I finally got to see all the places that i used to see only as pictures in my Spanish coursebooks!

Barcelona- has so many things to do, but we didnt have enough time to do all!

Barceloneta- a really nice beachy area

Gaudi...(Just in case: Gaudi is the name of the person behind the art...its NOT a case of misspelling for 'gaudy')

Las Ramblas- the most happening street in Barcelona with buskers and many many shops. (The pair of twins are not buskers, dear)

Parc Guell- more of Gaudi's work

Really good paella!

La Sagrada Familia.

Actually, i should have more photos of Barcelona but because we met Jingyi, Alvin and Chianlin...it was only right that we handed power over to the 2 SLRS owned by chianlin and Alvin. The quality of photos are almost perfect i tell you. I doubt you can really see the difference here though...the following 3 photos were taken by chian's SLR i think!

Chian was using her SLR to take multi shots..im not sure if thats what you call it...but basically the camera snaps for like many many times at one go...so we were supposed to do different expressions every time. OBVIOUSLY i was the weakest link because i was trying to do things with my hands. Didnt occur to me that i could simple just do stuff with my face! haha.

Valencia- the hometown of my spanish teacher and where ili billy is studying now!!!

Madrid
Despite the superiority of the earlier 2 cities in terms of attractions, i would say i enjoyed Madrid the most. And thats because we got to know Zing, Wollymei, Pris and Liz! It was such a coincidence that 3 of us were in the same dorm as Wollymei and Zing at the hostel. Its very easy to spot Singaporens. Usually the singlish gives it away. Maccann and I are able to tell the subtle differences between Singaporeans and Malaysians...dont ask how...

4. This is Elbow Street- aptly named because the alley is shaped like one!

Zhiying (aka Zing), Lea (aka wollymei), me, Mac and Bingkai

(Picture above) Clockwise from top left:

1 and 2: This really famous tapas bar where they sell 1 small beer for 1.80 euros and they give you a free plate of tapas. The free tapas are usually a lot of bread and potatoes. If you want to eat the nicer ones, you have to order them!

ok on the first day when i arrived in madrid, i really found it terribly boring because we had not slept all night and the weather was so gloomy! So at this tapas bar right, we bumped into this old Spanish couple who said "Oh Madrid is so beautiful, ____, _____ (insert good adjectives)!" .

And i just instinctively muttered "yea like real" and Lea was next to me and heard it. She cracked up like mad...! But i really couldnt take it...the couple kept raving on and on about Madrid when all i had seen that day was probably some apparently famous park where the trees were shaped into brocollis and this statue of a bear picking some fruit!

3 & 4: This Jazz Bar which made all of us get into the mood for sleep seriously...

The Ham museum above

CHURROS with HOT CHOCOLATE. oh man, do you know, i saw this exact place being featured on samantha brown's 'passport to europe' on ch 16? when i arrived in spain, i kept going on and on about finding this particular place where the chocolate was so thick that even a spoon wouldnt sink when put on its surface. So i tried 2 different places i think before i found this real place where spoons dont sink. The churros are just like the murukus...

Lefties is a store that sells clothes from the ZARA label. All the leftovers from ZARA go to lefties...thats why they are much cheaper!

Oh I forgot to tell you...

2008-04-14T05:06:00.002+08:00

When the Copenhagen people were around...Jianfeng cut Bingkai's and Mac's hair...it wasnt too bad!

Ready...

Get set...

Go!

Easter break: Kilts and much more under that...

2008-04-13T18:54:00.006+08:00

Scotland was SUPER fun! DSL stands for Deep Scottish Love and currently Maccann is experiencing that...like he goes around with this scottish accent "Its not a loch, its a freaking pond" (loch is pronounced lorhhhhhhhhhhh with a lot of air expelled at the end, and pond is pronounced porrrrrrrrrrnd). For the uninitiated, a loch is a lake.

So we went for a tour organised by Haggis Adventures for 3 days. It was extremely extremely fun...! www.haggisadventures.com We started from Edinburgh...went a whole loop on the Scottish highlands and then returned to Edinburgh.

Clockwise from top left:

1. The agency along the Royal Mile

2. In the coach: can you see the map and the sword thingey? Its Greg's GPS: Global Positioning of the Sword! haha

3. The cute coach

4. Greg, our driver cum tour guide. His classic lines are, "If you have any questions about today, tomorrow or life in general, please feel free to ask me" and "U-G-L-Y, you aint got no alibi!" haha

The views were AMAZING! In the last picture of the collage above...Greg was trying to recreate some scene...heh

The special thing about the lake in the photo above is that it resembles the map of scotland! Do you think so? ;p

Loch Ness!

I like this particular picture very much!

And this too...a deer's eye view...haha

See the picture on the left....Its called the Kilt mountains because of its pattern! cool eh...

So this is Greg telling everyone about the story of this lake...and according to legend...if you wash your face in the water for 7seconds, you will be beautiful forever...so ya thats me in the other photo...i mean..no harm trying right...except that the water was icy cold...

Disclaimer*: The whole busload of people did it as well ok....not only me...

In the whole kilt get-up...

And now for Edinburgh itself...

We went for another free tour...the girl in the picture above was our guide..really nice, bubbly and animated...Ruth.

Oh by the way, The Elephant House was a cafe thats so called the birthplace of Harry Potter because J K Rowling was sitting in this cafe...sipping her tea and looking out at the Edinburgh castle when she got the inspiration for Hogwarts and the whole omnibus...

The first picture on the left is actually a kebab....the cheapest thing alive in Europe...eaten mostly by poor folks...its just some vege with thin shreds of meat on pita bread...haha... i must say though that VALENCIA has the best kebab ever!

I was very very very amused by this poster i saw at this fish & chips shop in edinburgh...If you can see the logo at the bottom right corner..its reads "British Potato Council". I always knew that kantang was meant for greater things in life...

Easter break: Mainly London

2008-04-13T16:38:00.007+08:00

In London, Bingkai and I stayed with Hanyan, my lovely RJ hockey teammate while Mac & Jr stayed in a hostel just right down the street at YHA hostel...its so nice to have friends around..not so that we can save on accomm but its just really nice to meet up with friends overseas! I also met up with Wingyee- she cooked a nice lunch for me...but i couldnt make it to meet up with Whui Whui!

London was simply. Amazing. We were really lucky...we had very good weather!

We went for a free tour...you just have to give decent tips! And the tour guides are usually very good! The main guy in the third picture of the collage above is Alex, our guide for the Old city of London free tour. He looks like the agent in the matrix, dont you think?

www.neweuropetours.eu for info on their tours!

Jinrui, Bingkai and myself...with the Tower Bridge in the background

See the teabag in the collage above..i find it so cute..i couldnt bear to throw it away! Its just like a little apron..haha. It is the Tetley brand of tea..which is really good.

We also went to Stratford-Upon-Avon to see Shakespeare's birthplace...I thought it was really nice. I mean, it was a very small and quiet town but there was so much to read and see inside the houses and museums! Went to the Royal Shakespeare Company theatre as well, which was unfortunately...under quite some renovation. I bought this DVD, which im very excited to start watching when i have the time:

Shakespeare- the animated tales. (12 x 30min plays on 3 discs)

Featuring the voice talents of Zoe Wanamaker, Timothy West, Felicity Kendal, Brian Cox, Hugh Grant & Martin Jarvis.

It has: Macbeth, Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, Othello, Twelfth night, As you like it, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The taming of the Shrew, The Winter's tale, Richard III, Julius Caesar, The Tempest...!

In the collage above, the middle picture actually shows a penny-mangling machine. Basically you can choose what design you want and put in a penny (to be mangled) and a pound (for the service) and turn the wheel......hola! you get an oblong-shaped penny with some motif...i was very intrigued by it...cheap thrill (literally!)

Another reason why i love London so is because they have so many quaint little book stores selling new/old books...i bought 4 books for 80pence each! The books are really good..not the trashy ones you see in modern stores and there are always so MANY people in these stores browsing. Fantastic.

So anyway these are some of the titles ive acquired from 2nd hand bookshops or some hostel in some country along the way..

1. Village People - Paula Yates

Review: Jilly Cooper said it was 'marvellously funny', John Mortimer said it was 'enormously entertaining', Fong Lu Yi thinks its 'marvellously entertaining & enormously funny'...

...Bathed in summer sunshine and stamped with Paula Yate's original brand of humour, Village people presents a refreshingly witty view of the eccentrics and eccentricities of English country life.

I absolutely enjoyed this book...it was so funny...it made many of my bus journeys much more enjoyable!

2. Atonement - Ian McEwan

Still reading...

3. The Whitbread Stories- the first collection of stories chosen from the entries for the Whitbread prize for the best short story by a writer aged between 16 and 25 displays a remarkable range of talent and theme...

Yet to start...

4. Our mutual friend- Charles Dickens

This is book is about money money money and what money can make out of life...

***

I also went to watch Les Miserables! Oh man, the last time i watched it was with my mother when i was 6 or 7 i think! It was so so good! It was a saturday so when i went in the evening to buy tickets, they were all sold out except for standing places at 10 pounds each..SO yes maccann and i stood for 3 hours but it felt less than that cos we were so absorbed in the show! In the beginning, there was a whole line of people standing to watch the show...at the end we looked around and saw only 2 other people other than ourselves..haha!

You can get your tickets at http://www.londontheatrebookings.com/ but apparently if you go directly to the box office right before the show on a weekday, you may just get a huge student discount or even get a ticket for free!!

If i lived in london, i would never go the cinema! Watch 'wicked' too if you can!

On the first night, we met up with Hanyan and she brought to this really cool place near Leicester square for dinner...they served very funny ice creams! Like the one you see above is actually some Spaghetti ice cream...its entirely made of ice cream just that its shaped into spaghetti and all! Then we went to All Bar One, this really nice chill out bar with many different types of beer...which were huge and relatively cheaper than in Singapore...nice.

UK in general defines food in a whole new way i tell you...the serving size, how and what is prepared...SCARY >>> BIG + $$$$$$$$ + DRIPPING WITH OIL + WORRYINGLY TASTY. The trick is just to forget about converting the GBP to SGD, promise yourself that you will cut down on the next meal, aim to finish 75%, just enjoy it and not think about what goes into it...

Benjys' restaurant serves the English Big breakfast all day and it was near where we stayed..so one morning we were outside the shop checking out the prices...we must have contemplated for the longest time because when this lady came out, she said "you should just try it, its really good". So after that affirmation, we went in and ordered the standard big breakfast. As you can see, its basically unfinishable. Although i was with the 3 warriors, they couldnt conquer it too cos they just weren't prepared...haha. Actually, no...i think Mac finished it..but he didnt eat lunch & dinner after that?

And how can we forget about the buttery yummy scones and the best english breakfast tea ever? There are so many tea houses like the 'tea room' that serve afternoon high tea- you HAVE to try it in London!

Marks & Spencer's 'Simply Food' is also all over UK- Weixuan, Meiyi, WINIFRED, evita...you can set up your tents inside one of them! HAHA

Not really the soccer buff BUT since we went to Manchester (where i met Mag too!), we had to go to Old Trafford!

Barcelona

2008-04-11T05:07:00.001+08:00

Hi everyone...I´m in Spain now! Will update soon...!
Hasta luego!

Boyling point

2008-04-06T04:48:00.003+08:00

Its one of those days when i feel like tearing all my hair out...or sticking my tongue out at some random nice old granny on the streets...or pounding my chest with my fist like a gorilla...

ARRRGGHHH

Mum, please help me pray that God will grant me more grace, wisdom, love, patience and charity...

Also i have been brainstorming on what i would like to eat when i come back...Mum pls take note and write on the fridge-magnet-notepad so you wont forget ok...there are 2 options...

Menu 1:
Brown melon soup
Hot steaming rice
Steamed egg
Any leafy vegetables like xiao bai cai/ cai xin (NO BROCCOLLI, CAULIFLOWER, CARROTS, POTATOES)
Steamed fish with ginger slices and spring onions

Menu 2:
Porridge
Century egg/ salted egg
Ikan bilis
Cai bo omelette
Preserved pickles...

*Sausages and bread are strictly banned

Thanks mum..i love ya!

Shakespeare's Insults

2008-03-30T08:53:00.004+08:00

London is a place that has something for everyone...I love this place man. As of now, Paris and London are tied for the spot of my #1 favourite city...Still on the road so i can't upload pictures but when Im back home...be prepared for a bao4 zha4 post i tell you! (reminds me of wing yee's bao4 zha4 posts haha)

For now i just want to share some of Shakespeare's insults...they are SO funny...i kept laughing to myself on the bus while reading them!

"Shakespeare's lively pen gives us a substantial collection of robust options for every insulting need...May it prove a useful tool for education and the improvement of the quality of family row or partner irritation."

The tartness of his face sours ripe grapes - Coriolanus

Thou crusty batch of nature - Troilus and Cressida

Could I come near your beauty with my nails - Henry VI, Part II

...I'd set my ten commandments in your face - Henry VI, Part II

Thou smell of mountain goat - Henry V

She is spherical, like a globe. I could find out countries in her - The Comedy of errors

Scratching could not make it worse....such a face as yours - Much ado about nothing

I was searching for a fool when i found you - As you like it

***

Anyway today the guys went to Borough market (where they ate a lot) while i went over to visit Wingyee at her apartment near Russell Square. So Mac very kindly bought me a chocolate fondant since i missed the feasting with them. I just ate it though, like about 8h after the time of purchase. It still tasted heavenly! However, Im staying at Hanyan's apartment now and i was too lazy to search for a spoon, so i used my fingers to eat it.

While eating...

Me: Shit...i'm so going to get a sore throat tomorrow (fingers continuing to dig the fondant)

BK: (Looks at me and half sniggers...) Sigh...

After finishing the fondant...

Me: (To myself aloud) Hmmm...i wonder if i should wash my hands

BK: YAAAA?!

Me: Was thinking of just licking my fingers clean...

BK: (Remains silent- MAYBE he was thinking 'oh my goodness....')

So anyway i thanked Mac for the fondant and he said, "for you there's nothing chocolate can't fix, for the rest, mac can!" haha...which IS true.

BK is snoring really loudly now. He told me to throw a pillow at him when he snores loudly so that he will change his sleeping position and the snoring will cease..but i dont really dare to do that...plus after throwing the pillow at him i will have to go and retrieve it..chezzzz....forget it.

Man this is such a crappy post...save for the bit on Shakespeare's insults. Ok fine...that was kinda crappy as well.

Evil

2008-03-26T19:06:00.004+08:00

Carol, David and Jianfeng were here the past few days and Switzerland was very bad to them. I hope she redeems herself in the form of a good ski trip for Jianfeng today. Sigh. I will miss having our hallway crowded with people talking rubbish...(oops haha) and i will miss them for them too of course...heh. Carol and david left this morning...and Jianfeng is leaving tomorrow morning...

Carol looking like a hooligan and Jianfeng admiring his cannabis tea which he got from a vending machine here!

***

BERN

It had a cool fountain...

Heavy heavy snow and some bears that only eat certain fruits (apples, oranges). They don't eat bananas you know. I fed it some banana and the bears were totally above it- they didnt even give it a sniff. Maybe its because the first time i misaimed and the banana hit the bear's head...but usually the bears look up and catch the food in its mouth midair. When i threw the banana however, the bear just looked at it drop like 5 stones.

Bern is one capital that doesn't look like a capital...honestly have nothing much to say about it except that people associate Bern with bears. Not very sure why and im not really motivated to find out why either...

***

So just why am i so sian??? Its because our apartment nearly got broken into yesterday. It was a blessing in disguise that Bingkai stayed at home yesterday, if not our losses would be terrible.

Our landlord has been really irritating...wanting to change the toilet window and paint the rooms (??!?!?!). So yesterday BK had to stay at home to wait for this uncle A to fix the window while the rest of us went out. So he's relaxing after clearing up the royal mess that uncle A created in our toilet when the doorbell starts ringing like as though someone at the door needs to use the toilet really urgently. But Bk ignores it thinking its some pesky salesman....and then shortly he hears someone trying to break our door down...break meaning using brute force like destroying the lock etc. At that point of time BK doesnt know what exactly is happening except that its really noisy so he opens the peephole...the three guys get a shock and scoot. The peephole is pretty big and people can look in from outside. It was so scary- BK said they looked like Swiss guys and they were wearing black trench coats. Goodness...fortunately they didnt persevere and endanger our one and only Bingkai. So Bingkai quickly called 2 SMU guys who live down the street from us to come over..in case there was a reprisal of some sort.

So after many phonecalls to the school's housing admin person, a police report and several nonchalant replies later...its settled that someone is going to repair the lock today. We suspect strongly that it has something to do with Uncle A ...(i hope so...and not like some trio who has been observing us for some time already..that would be very freaky).

I feel so uneasy about this and I really dont like this feeling of evil entering our house.

So the plan is ...that this is not going to happen again and thus...i have to get ready to go to school soon with BK. Got to get ready for some verbal sparring with the housing lady who says that break-ins are quite common in Switzerland and that we dont need to be at home when some strangers come to paint our house...armed with my german-english dictionary and some pen and paper for some drawing. Her english is pretty bad sersiously...like when we asked her last time what the floor area of the apartment was, she replied "2nd floor" and when we asked if there was internet connection, she said "clear". so yea...wont be leaving her office until we get what we want..hopefully everything gets settled amiably...sighhhhhhhhhh.

And days of staying at home alone or coming home alone are pretty much history...for now at least...sighhhhhhhhh

Other than that...Mac gave me a crash course on self defense:
1. Use your thumb to jab their eyes. In serious cases, aim to gorge the eyes out. (Don't be wishy washy about this since they are out to harm you anyway)
2. Use your knuckle to hit their throat.
3. Kick their groin.
4. Stamp on their feet.

Monaco

2008-03-23T19:43:00.005+08:00

Monaco is the world's most densely populated country and second-smallest independent nation; with a population of just 32,410 and an area of 1.96 square kilometres (485 acres), Monaco is the world's smallest French-speaking country.

Actually the little i know about Monaco comes from channel 16 on cabletv..where Monaco is described as the playground for the rich and famous. This place is really dripping with opulence i tell you! I'm so pathetic Im just going to give keywords here haha:

- Princess Grace Kelly & Princess Charlotte

- Monaco Grand Prix

- Monte Carlo Casino

Paris & Nice, France

2008-03-23T16:47:00.010+08:00

PARIS

Oui...I love Paris like crazy! Definitely going back there one day! Victor Hugo, Napoleon, the Hunchback of Notre Dame, King Henry IV, King Louis XIV...the place is just brimming with so much interesting history, BEAUTIFUL people, wonderful attractions, super buttery croissants, crispy-outside-but-soft-inside baguettes & crepes-with-banana & nutella! Oh how i miss Paris so...

On a more serious note, I would really like to come back to Europe with more money in the future! I know Maccann and BK feel the same too, given that we are always talking about staying in one of our imaginery hotels...and taking one of our imaginery private jets....eating at one of our imaginery restaurants- haha. The cost of oblivious daydreaming is always the moment of return to reality, the realignment with what had been ..back in the world that made us...not the world we made...haha...SIGH. Our plans once rich in plausible details become a passing silliness....not! It will happen one day!!!

This is Luke, our guide for the free walking tour around Paris. He's really really good...as you can see from his animated expressions- he delivered nuggets of interesting history one after another, I learnt so much! Sometimes his stories seemed a bit ludicrous though...and i couldnt help but wonder if he was bullshitting us about some stuff...but even if he did, he did it damn well...so yea he still deserved our generous tips at the end! Go for a free tour in Paris!

Notre Dame de Paris ("Our Lady of Paris" in French): One of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture

This monument is actually St Michael the archangel banishing Lucifer to hell...somehow i really like these sort of statues/paintings...the violent ones with angels quashing demons are even better..heh

Palais Royal, Musee du Louvre- the most visited museum in the world

Inside...photography is not allowed but there are so many visitors who do so anyway...the curators/guards can't be bothered anymore! haha

Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa. Just look at the sheer number of people edging forward to see her! I couldn't believe i was in front of the real thing...

I regret not buying some of the replicas...argghh...Following are some of my personal favourites:

If Maccann, Bingkai and I were characters in this picture...guess which figure each of us would be? ;)

I know this ia bit off...but this sculpture reminded me of my 2 sisters and myself..haha! So i really like it...

Clockwise from top left:

2 & 4: The Champs-Élysées -- is the most prestigious and broadest avenue in Paris. Its full name is "Avenue des Champs-Élysées". With its cinemas, cafés, and luxury specialty shops, the Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets in the world, and with rents as high as $1.25 million a year for 1,000 square feet (100 m²) of space, it remains the 2nd most expensive strip of real estate in the world (the first in Europe) after New York City's Fifth Avenue.The name refers to the Elysian Fields, the place of the blessed in Greek mythology. -wikipedia.org

3: The Arc de Triomph -- is a historical treasure in Paris, France that stands in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle, also known as the Place de l'Étoile (Star Square). It is at the western end of the Champs-Élysées. The arch honours those who fought for France, particularly during the Napoleonic Wars, and today also includes the tomb of the unknown soldier.- wikipedia.org

The Eiffel Tower...after sunset, it glitters for 10 minutes after each full hour!

In the picture grid above, the top right photo shows 2 baguettes and a plastic bag right? Those were the stuff we brought for the trip back to Switzerland on the train...The shorter baguette is Sam and the longer one is Lucy. We finished Sam first, half of Lucy is still in our kitchen. They are really nice! I didnt intend to buy a baguette at first but after i stepped into the bakery, this very pretty lady said 'Bonjour' so chirpily that i felt obliged to get something..and the cheapo in me zoomed in on the 0.80 euro- baguette (Sam)...it turned out to be the best investment! hha. I was really happy also because i felt quite french-y...holding a baguette on the streets proudly! I didn't have an eclair during my time there though! Inside the plastic bag was 2 kebabs for the guys...

Kebabs! Jieming...stop drooling...! haha
***

NICE [nis]

This place would be purrr-fect during Spring and Summer! More peek-tures...!

Prague, Czech Republic

2008-03-18T08:56:00.006+08:00

Prague is way too touristy for its good...but but, i must say that its skyline is awesome and Charles bridge at night is a MUST SEE. We did not change much money, thinking that things would be much more affordable given that it is an Eastern european country...but we were wrong. It was a real challenge to look for cheap food!

Clockwise from top left:

1. St. Nicholas Church- Can you spot St. Peter holding the key?

2. Just one of the many lovely alleys

3. Street buskers at night- they were playing Johann Pachelbel's Canon in D minor...very touching.

4. Me having a sip of Bingkai's Black beer

Actually Prague is known for its goulash- a beef stew with bread dumplings... I tried it...nothing out of this world but nice nonetheless...didn't take a picture!

The weather was really bad on the day we went for the free Prague walking tour...raining raining raining grr. Nerudova is a street in memory of Jan Nepomuk Neruda- a Czech journalist, writer and poet, from whom Pablo Neruda derived his pen name!

Kava Kava is the most famous coffee house and according to the hostelworld guide: "Thanks to delightfully friendly staff, and mugs of tea/coffee big enough to (nearly) swim in, there is no better place to start the day than in here."

The mugs were huge indeed! I ordered a mug of hot chocolate...just look how big it is!!!

Charles Bridge. This bridge is the most famous of all the bridges which cross the River Vltava. I think its much nicer at night and I'm sure all those who have been to Prague would agree with me without hesitation. Unfortunately...I don't have a good shot of it at night...

In the middle photo...was our guide for the free tour (the girl on the left); In the 3rd photo, I was holding on to a painting which i bought of the Charles Bridge. (Just trying to explain my look...although i admit i have a knack for appearing aunty-ish haha)

Ok now i have to talk about the 14 hour bus trip back to St gallen from Prague (it was supposed to take 9h). Barely half an hour into the journey, one of the bus' tyres went flat and we stopped on the highway...We were actually stationary at the same spot for 5 full hours!!! GOODNESS!!! The driver and his assistant went down to check it out and attempted to change it i think...and when they realised they couldnt ..they sat outside and smoked while contemplating their next course of action...after which they finally decided that they should get help. Man I can't describe the shittiness sitting in the bus..those long night hours spent curled in the seat with pins and needles up our legs and butt!

Moonlighters at Langgasse 37

2008-03-18T08:14:00.007+08:00

Seriously I'm doing this at risk of being boycotted big time...but i don't care! haha.

Just wanted to show you guys what we do at home...beginning with the toilet picture, one can see Mac (who has OCD) cleaning the toilet happily. I was watching him clean the toilet for a while..that was when i told him that in 60 years time if we both were still single we should get married. Quite sweet of me right...i mean...Mac can clean...he can also...clean......and....clean....wunderbar! To which he snorted and really nearly fell into the bathtub...cos he lost his grip on the slimy sides...ok Whatever Man Mac!!!

Our next contestant is Bingky! Cannot blame him for hunching and looking very serious and stressed. It is indeed a stressful thing booking flights...and taking charge of all the logistics. Very grateful for him...after hearing stories about other people having to stay overnight one more day somewhere else because they missed the last train or sthg. Btw, the desk he is using is the one we all have and its terribly small and irritating. You should see me at my desk. i look even worse..like my whole head is sucked into the square where the laptop is...and my peripheral vision is blocked by the wooden sides...sometimes i only realise that someone else is in my room after they make some noise!

The last picture of the kitchen (without me of course) represents what i moonlight as-Maria! haha...nice kitchen we have over here huh! ;) ok maria go sleep now...tomorrow wake up 6am to make breakfirst for sir maccann and sir bingkai, or else no off day, cannot go orchard mrt to meet my friends and picnic!

Vienna, Austria (edited)

2008-03-17T02:47:00.008+08:00

Vienna was really enjoyable. Its like this huge lollipop with many different flavours- history, culture, food, nightlife, shopping, scenery, people- there was so much to experience! Speaking to friends who had been there before and could tell me exactly where to go was definitely helpful, and of course having the company of Phuong & Elizabeth while we were there made it nothing less than fun! Having said that, Vienna is indeed a place where one needs to sit down and bask in the atmosphere...instead of running around doing stuff.

So these are some of the things I did when I was there...

- Explored the first district (Innere stadt)

- Stephansplatz (the city square) & St. Stephan's Cathedral

- Walked the main shopping street- Mariahilferstrasse

- Visited the Schonbrunn Palace

- Hofburg (Imperial Palace)

- Ate at some of the old school cafes

- Had our hair blown all over at the Steinhof

Many of the cathedrals and famous sights were under restoration though...so I don't have many photos of those...here are some...

St. Stephan's Cathedral (above) defines the city centre and has been the heart of Vienna for centuries. It is one of the most famous Viennese sights and was built in 1147 AD. (Honestly it looks a bit shabby from the photo...but its different in reality..haha)

My top favourite is below>>>This is but one section of the Schonnbrunn Palace, which is one of the UNESCO's world cultural heritage sites. The view from the top of the hill is breathtaking- its one of those times when you feel on top of the world yet very insignificant as compared to the surroundings...you know what i mean?

Elizabeth with 3 of us...

Aha...Aida Cafe. Alvin told me to go to this cafe...I did and I took their menu as a souvenir. They serve delectable cakes and good cocoa! yum...can you spot the waitress in pink? In case you think this is just some old school cafe...read on...

Aida is a chain of 26 espresso bar and pastry shops (Café-Konditorei) in Vienna, Austria. They have a devoted clientele, for whom Aida has achieved near-cult status. Business hours are from early in the morning until the early evening; the shops are open every day of the year with the exception of Christmas Day.

Ten Aida shops had been established before the Second World War, but they were all destroyed during the air raids on Vienna. After the war, Felix Prousek (1918-2003) took over the management and started rebuilding and expanding. His innovative approach to coffeehouse culture resulted in an alternative to the sheer Gemütlichkeit of the traditional Viennese café. Prousek was also one of the first to introduce Italian-style espresso machines in Austria.

However, for decades now, Aida has been resistant to change of any kind. This is first and foremost true of their interior design, very similar for all shops and reminiscent of the 1950s-1970s. Their trademark colours are pink and dark brown. Most of the furniture is made of plastic, and there is mostly seating without upholstery.- wikipedia

Moving on to the next point of interest...Centimeter! This place rocks my socks and floats my boat! It seems like i get much more passionate when i start talking about food...i cant help it la...haha! If YOU are heading to Vienna, please please go to this place for a meal. The food is good, reasonable prices, atmosphere is cool and the portions are huge! If you order this set meal thingey for 4 or 6, they serve you the food in wheelbarrows! We went there twice- the first time we ordered 2 mains to share among the 3 of us (BK, mac and I) and we were SO stuffed. The second time, we went with Qihan, Phuong and Liz so we ordered the wheelbarrow as well as a 2m long wurst (sausage)! The beers are rather cheap as well...and you could try the spritzer too (Its white wine with mineral water or apple juice).

http://www.centimeter.at/

Austria is also the birthplace of many famous musicians such as Mozart and Johann Strauss...shops selling Mozart souvenirs are all over...Mozart chocolates, stationery, wine, books...you name it, they have it!

Vienna was relatively uneventful as compared to Prague...an update on that will be coming soon!

Neither an orange nor a grapefruit!

2008-03-07T07:20:00.003+08:00

The blood orange is a variety of orange (Citrus sinensis) with crimson, blood-colored flesh. The fruit is smaller than an average orange; its skin is usually pitted, but can be smooth. The juice is sweet but somewhat bitter and less acidic than that of regular table oranges.The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of anthocyanin, a pigment common to many flowers and fruit, but uncommon in citrus fruits. Sometimes there is dark coloring on the exterior of the rind as well, depending on the variety of blood orange. The degree of coloration depends on light, temperature and variety.The blood orange is a hybrid of ancient origin, possibly between the pomelo and the tangerine. It probably originated in Sicily. - wikipedia.org

-7 degrees

2008-03-05T21:55:00.002+08:00

Check out my dead potted plants! They are so crispy...I'm going to dump them today.

Warren Buffett says US economy in recession

2008-03-04T04:12:00.002+08:00

Even if it wasn't, it will now be simply because he said so...well other than the fact that we feel a sharp pain every time we withdraw cash from the atms...everybody here in general seems rather happy- the swiss still consume 12kg of chocolate per year per person on average...yuppy doo...

This is actually my view from my room's window: cool right?

This place called Metzingen in Germany

2008-03-02T21:28:00.010+08:00

As described at www.metzingen.de :
Note: Text highlighted in red = applicable

***

"A bargain hunter’s paradise" – “Capital of the stingy” – “No distance is too far for the hunter” – “The Japanese take over Metzingen” – “When a city turns outlet center…” – “Factory outlet boom in Metzingen” – “Outlets with new storefronts“. These are only some of the comments made by the media in describing the character of the shopping city Metzingen.

But how does the city itself comment on this issue? Factory outlet stores have developed along with the history of Metzingen with a very own special ambiance. There are significant differences in comparison with giant factory outlet centers. Our outlets stores are located in the attractive and lively inner city, which has a lot to offer – and they are absolutely top when it comes to price, value, and quality!

Germany has the “bargain fever“. When you go shopping, you compare prices. That is why we place great emphasis on what already is commonplace in America, France, and England: Factory sales. Factory outlet stores will tempt you with large discounts on high quality brand name articles. Metzingen, the capitol of German factory outlet stores (“we are very proud of this title“), is located in the beautiful, scenic Erms Valley about 30 km south of Stuttgart.

***This place is every girl's paradise..even mine! I say 'even mine' because I am not an 'every girl' haha..see those who know me well would know that i don't like shopping. I am a targeted shopper- i hit the shops when i need something and i go straight and get it. I don't like to shop aimlessly and i don't like crowds.

The bona fide goods were irresistable- although i wouldnt say they were cheap, they were definitely cheaper than retail prices and very worth it for their quality, design and brand! I bought a dress from Hugo Boss, 2 shirts from Polo Ralph Lauren & some bags for the lovely ladies at home. -Rubs hands together and smiles gleefully- The price of the Hugo Boss dress for example, was slashed from 299 euros to 64 euros!!! Don't forget we can get the tax returns as well! [Mummy don't worry! Finances still under control! haha]

The plan was originally to shop from 11am to 8pm, but by 5pm we had made all our purchases and to prevent collateral damage to our pockets, we decided to leave for Stuttgart (30km away, might as well go and see see)-it was fantastic. So far, all the places within Germany that we've been to have all been really happening...

Presenting the 'I'm craving chinese food like nobody's business' side of me...

the picture of all the sushi on the poster won me over...i think the 'eat all you can' & 'buffet' words won Bk and Mac over? Not very sure...hehe

This was not some half-past-six pseudo restaurant trying to serve up oriental dishes ok. Its the real stuff. Just like the goods we bought from Metzingen. Can you see the black fungus, steamed fish with ginger slices, tofu, lotus roots, prawns, sotongs, spare ribs, liver, ma2 la4 huo3 guo1 tang1, red dates swimming in the soup...??!!

The dimsum really got me. The guys immediately called me over to where these precious oily beings were sitting in this tray waiting to be picked up..by me of course. It was indeed an.....emotional sighting. I nearly concussed when i tasted the chilli...like...it wasn't sweet for once!!! haha!

I think the owners were really annoyed by us- think we brought down their profit margin by quite a bit that night...I faintly remember seeing the ears of the lady owner suddenly twitch when the restaurant's otherwise peaceful atmosphere was pierced by some hokkien: "mai4 tu2 liao4" (from Bk to Mac), which literally means "don't dilly dally anymore". Do you know that when this lady staff was clearing our plates when we were done, she actually said "gou4 le3 mei2 you3?" which means "HAVE YOU HAD ENOUGH?" (yes with capslock).

Bk reckons that the standard of Chinese service is the same everywhere...and since we paid 15 euros for the chinese food...it wouldn't be complete without such service...you know...its part of the whole Chinese experience we're talking about here right...haha

Ok so now I should talk about our main mode of transport to Metzingen and back. Bk's 2 friends in Zurich- Li Hao & Lydia rented a car so the 5 of us shared the cost to drive to Germany. It was much cheaper than taking public transport! The Autobahn (expressway) in Germany has no speed limit. Really! The 'recommended' speed is 130 kph! And contrary to popular belief, its not a picture of speed anarchy when you are on the autobahn because the roads are well maintained and the signage is clear...everybody's just living their lives on the fast lane...literally..

Never grow old

2008-02-27T02:12:00.008+08:00

I had a dream
Strange it may seem
It was my perfect day

I opened my eyes
I realized
This is my perfect day

Birds in the sky
They look so high
This is my perfect day

I feel the breeze
I feel at ease
It is my perfect day

Forever young
I hope you'll stay
Forever young
- Cranberries

These pictures were taken en route to the Wildlife Park Peter and Paul near our school. Lessons ended at 12pm so we decided to go for a little excursion with Vee and Nadda.

At a beautiful location on the rich panorama hilltop above the city centre is the Wildlife Park Peter and Paul, which is well known for its ibex breeding. You'll also meet red deer, sikahirsch, fallow deer, chamois, ibex, marmots, wild boars, lynxes and wild cats.

Like real! I only remember seeing 3 boars, many deers and 1 obese chicken! The 'wild' animals (they were in cages...) were so sluggish, I think its the weather. Spring is here...flowers have started to bloom and the temperature has been rising- on sunday it was 17 degrees celcius!

(There are 2 boars in the left picture)

After resting at home for a while, we went out for dinner with Bingkai's buddy, Christine and her 2 friends, Philip and Julia. They brought us to this place famous for fondues and man was it good! The ambience was traditionally Swiss, the food was exceptional, the service was really good and last but not least the company was nice! Although it cost us quite a bit, we thought that it was really worth it! We had meat fondue (otherwise known as steamboat in Singapore)!

I feel like I have been very sociable this week already. Tomorrow I am going to stay at home and rest...zzzzz....

Not that different

2008-02-26T02:07:00.010+08:00

It just occurred to me that I have yet to post anything about the University of St. Gallen- I shall do that soon when I have collected enough good shots! Here are some photos:

(Clockwise from top left):

1. The entrance to the school bookshop (Its in a different house outside the school)

2. Inside the bookshop

3 & 4: The canteen (also known as the Mensa)

I had a good day at school today. Had a project meeting after the morning class- our professor for this module made it mandatory for every group to have one asian so we were all split up last week. I was quite worried at first because I couldnt really remember the faces and names of my group members (they all look...the same...unless they have some distinctive feature), but that was put to rest when everybody huddled in their groups and it was easier to spot the only group with no asian....yea thats gotta be me...

My group turned out to be really nice! Within 5 minutes and much fast german later, our group had split into 2: each to tackle 1 project out of the 2 we were supposed to hand up. This is such a typical SMU thing to do...think of marketing 101...right? (Ok i shouldn't have pulled that memory out because thinking of MY marketing project makes me cringe)

My sub-group is made up of a Swiss guy (Philip) and a Colombian girl (Laura)! Cultural and language differences aside, students will always be students and the things we joke about...are really predictable. Heh. Had some fun laughing about Philip with Laura: No es guapo! Es muy tonto!

What are the chances of opening a handbag and finding a packet of shredded cheese, a packet of cheese slices, a packet of rice vermicelli (mee fen) among a file and pencil case? Simply had to take a photo of these in my handbag. Actually this happens quite often because we tend to forget to bring our shopping bags out. The last time i think i had 4 sausages in my bag.

I found the 'Heidi' brand of yoghurt really cute...I didn't know she was from Switzerland! Last but not least- Chestnut yoghurt! Its a winter special apparently. I'm going to wake up my idea and stop thinking about wanton mee. Dairy products here are great! (Mummy I know what you are thinking haha) In fact, I should embrace everything here while I can!

For the next few months- My family, My country, My friends.

But before I wake up my idea, I have to show you this really tasty thing i made on Saturday- noodles (mi fen) with chicken-sausages-potatoes-carrots-onions-tomatoes-corn soup. It was the first time I felt I had a satifying meal here!

My housemates have been very good...Mac cleaned the oven (YESSSS my prayers have been answered- no more smoke!) and washed the toilet; Bingkai has been very busy planning our trips and coordinating with many people scattered over Europe...What have i done?

Providing moral support and cooking. Okay fine...i destroyed Bingkai's chicken wings and the remaining half packet of frozen fries because I refused to submerge them in oil...By the way, do oranges turn red when they are bad? Today when i first poked the knife into an orange, red juice flowed out...okay..not good...but after consulting the guys we decided that food should not be wasted and I ate 1/3 of the semi red-fleshed orange...it smelt ok. I hope my 2 loyal warriors each ate 1/3 too...

Other news

2008-02-23T17:27:00.008+08:00

What made yesterday's trip to Basel even better is below:

On our way back to the railway station to catch the train back to St. Gallen, we chanced upon Ah Chau Trading AG- its the biggest Asian grocery shop we have seen so far in Switzerland. They sold frozen DIM SUM, a wide variety of instant noodles, kuehs, you tiao, hum jing bang and sweet chilli sauce! Yahoo! We bought a BIG bottle of thai sweet chilli sauce and the guys bought a whole semester's worth of instant noodles...

We also stopped by a C&A outlet in Basel (Its a retail outlet that has sales perpetually). On the left you can see Maccann glowing with utmost happiness (He looks like he has reached the accounting heaven). That's because he managed to buy 2 pairs of cargo pants at @ 9 CHF each. By the way it was HIS suggestion to take a photo of the 18 CHF shown on the cash register, not mine...the things i'm willing to do for my friends...sigh

I have to explain a little about this. When we first arrived, BK had been in Europe for 2 weeks already and had lost weight. So BK managed to get a pair of jeans at 9 CHF from C&A since the size he wears is not common among Europeans. (Read: His size used to be common among Europeans but not anymore) So coming back to Maccann, the main point I'm driving at is that we were all really happy that he lost weight until he said....

"Luyi just continue to cook the way you cook and I will be slim when I get back to Singapore...!!! YAY!"

......what the hell.....luckily BK was smart enough to keep quiet (not sure if he was there) if not I would have burnt those pants man!!!

Maccann was kidding of course haha. DID YOU SEE what i cooked for dinner on 21 feb? The roasted chicken was great! I mean I have days when I'm off-form but most of the time it turns out pretty good...i think?! Haha...

Anyway this is how my room looks like after the clean up that day- pushed my desk nearer to the window to be nearer to the power socket and i moved my clothes rack as well! Even better news- I managed to find suitable flowers!

P.s. I just realised that we have an English channel at home- CNN! Good stuff...

Basel- The cultural capital of Switzerland

2008-02-23T06:45:00.009+08:00

On friday, we went to Basel- a 2hr train ride from St Gallen.

Situated on the banks of the Rhine at the point where the Swiss, French and German borders converge, Basel is a unique and fascinating city full of charm. A city where everything runs to clockwork- yet with a multicultural character to which it owes its emphatically cosmopolitan and innovative reputation.

We were lucky enough to get our own cabin on this train!

The Rhine is one of the longest and most important rivers in Europe. The Rhine and the Danube formed most of the northern inland frontier of the Roman Empire, and since those days the Rhine has been a vital navigable waterway, carrying trade and goods deep inland. It has also served as a defensive feature, and been the basis for regional and international borders. The many castles and prehistoric fortifications along the Rhine testify to its importance as a waterway. River traffic could be stopped at these locations, usually for the purpose of collecting tolls, by the state controlling that portion of the river. - Wikipedia.org

I've got to say that Basel is my favourite canton in Switzerland so far- ranking even higher than Zurich and Luzern! The tagline used for all the brochures was "culture unlimited" and very rightly so! Every single building is an architectural masterpiece- those within the city's Old Town were especially stunning. Coupled with the countless fountains and open air art, it was really a treat for the senses (BK also commented that the air here was fresher, I second that).

Basel is also a paradise for museum buffs- we did not enter any of them though. Firstly because we are not museum buffs plus the current exhibitions were not very appealing, and the entrance fees are exorbitant for poor students like us! Furthermore, what we could see outside the museums was more than enough!

Clockwise from top left:

2. The City Hall in the centre of town: a striking red sandstone building with a prominent tower and colourful murals.

3. Munster: the cathedral that dominates the Basel skyline with its red sandstone facade, colourful roof and twin spires. This former episcopal seat was built in the Romanesque and Gothic styles between 1019 and 1500. (its the same as the twin buildings you see in the distance in picture #1)

Lots of sausages, bread, cheese and preserved vegetables in the marketplace!

Clockwise from top left:

2. Burghers of Calais: Rodin welcomes you at the entrance to Switzerland's most important art collection (Kunstmuseum) with his sculpture.

4. Hammering Man: the 13.5m tall giant standing on Aeschenplatz is Basel's hardest working resident, made by American artist Borofsky.

The journey back was not so smooth though, it was so crowded that the 3 of us had to split up to get seats. We had to transit at Zurich but the train was delayed so we missed the immediate connecting train back to St Gallen and had to wait for the next one. We reached home at 10 plus pm! Luckily we had some toblerone - fruit and nut (BET YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THIS KIND YET...haha) to keep us alive till we got home because we didn't have dinner!

Basel is a really lovely city-i think the people who live and work here are so lucky!

Luyi at home

2008-02-22T05:05:00.009+08:00

School started proper this week- its quite similar to SMU. Everyone is really on the ball, fretting over project mates, which group assignment to do...the list goes on.

I felt really down on tuesday: the weather was shitty and I refused to get out of bed, because I knew that once i got up the whole routine would begin...looking into the fridge and eating the same thing again..ie..my yoghurt..I have already tried all the different flavours by the way. For some reason I was craving the chee cheong fun with tonnes of chilli near Holy Family at Katong and Wanton mee with tonnes of chilli!!!

At about 11am, Mac and BK barged into my room and demanded that I get up if not I would not be allowed to sleep that night...SO i decided to make some changes. I figured that i was mired in such malaise because i had been eating unsatisfactory food and living in a room with a silly configuration (For example, the table was too far from the ONLY socket in my BIG room, so the charging of my laptop was always getting interrupted when i accidentally touched the wires and my clothes rack was blocking a really nice framed picture)

1. Cleaned my room inside out and moved the furniture around- including stripping the bedsheets
2. Cleaned the kitchen
3. Washed the toilet

I felt so much better after that! So after resting that day, the next day I went out hoping to get some good food and a nice potted plant to beautify my room and cheer myself up. I could only find potted fresh plants..but its no good here. The 2 stalks of roses that I had put in the living room had completely dried up despite the fact that they were in a vase, with water! So I didnt buy any...I did buy some food though. More yogurt and different bread.

Clockwise from top left:

1. Canned ravioli: to be honest i haven't eaten a lot of this- I find it..quite revolting. Revolting Ravioli. However the guys have bought a lot of this to stock up for their 'rainy days' (rainy days = days when I don't cook)

2. This so called english toast is really bad as well. On the 1st day its ok, but it becomes hard as a rock subsequently, so much so that we seriously think it can be used as a weapon if its thrown at someone.

3. The new bread which i bought for myself. Its way better, its multi-grained and softer. Although its more expensive and the guys are not sharing this with me, I think its necessary expenditure. I think all these little things add up and make me easily irritable.

4. French toast. The only thing that the 'english toast' is good for. Why? Because french toast is best made with stale bread...

Today's dinner
I was a bit disappointed because it was rainy and I was really looking forward to some chicken-potatoes-carrot soup...alas the 'chicken parts' bought back by the guys was 4 big chicken thighs (?) that couldnt even fit into the soup pot. So the only way was to roast them using some black pepper paste as the marinate sauce.

Clockwise from top left:

1. The oven. I really don't like the oven. Its as loud as a generator and its SO smoky, I don't why! Sometimes I get so worried thinking what in the world is happening to the food that I squat in front of the oven trying to see what's going on. I rather do that than to open the oven because when i do so, the whole kitchen is engulfed in smoke and all my clothes smell of whatever is inside the oven. Then I'll have to open the kitchen window to let the smoke get out and i have to cook in the cold until the silly oven has done its job with the food.

2. So anyway I roasted the 4 huge chicken pieces and did what Jamie Oliver would do..put some carrots, potatoes and onions in as well...

3. The final product was really good and yummy! All that smoke-fighting was worth it I guess! It would have cost us a bomb if we had ordered this outside!

4. Olive rice- Mum your olives are running out! (They are very precious to me because it makes the rice so tasty naturally!)

Konstanz, Germany

2008-02-18T03:54:00.003+08:00

Konstanz is situated on Lake Constance (Der Bodensee in German). The Rhine river, which starts in the Swiss Alps, passes through Lake Constance and leaves it again, considerably larger, by flowing under a bridge connecting the two parts of the city. North of the river lies the larger part of the city with residential areas, industrial estates, and the University of Konstanz; while south of the river is the old town which houses the administrative centre and shopping facilities in addition to the Hochschule or the University of Applied Sciences. To the south, the old town borders onto the Swiss town of Kreuzlingen. - Wikipedia.org

So on Saturday, 10 of us took the train to Konstanz. What was supposed to be a 1 hour plus journey took longer than that due to a few glitches like getting off at the wrong stations and miscommunication or rather the lack of it...but anyway...it was nice. Konstanz is so alive compared to St Gallen.

This dog is HUGE.

Lake Constance. The photos don't really do it justice...Its a really big lake, almost like a sea.

F4? Hmmm....

Snowboarding @ Lenzerheide

2008-02-18T02:53:00.005+08:00

Returned home at about 6 plus in the evening..it was a great day! Everybody at home ie BK, Mac and I are like half limping/rolling around the house like retirees/lumps of rice because our bodies are all whacked up....100x how we felt after the toboggan thing at Mount Pilatus. Plus its getting really cold in St Gallen....;(

This is the city/town of Chur. We went to Lenzerheide which is in Chur, a popular place for snowboarding. Maccann's buddy- Ben, fetched us at about 830am in the morning and drove us there....about a 1.25h journey by car...

BK and I were seriously squashed at the backseat because Ben's snowboard took up almost 1/2 of the space. I sat between BK and the snowboard the trip there- unknown to everyone else I was actually thinking of a few things...for one, I was actually preparing my speech to Ben to pull up because I really needed to get out of the car to stretch my leg...and thoughts about Ben having to switch his direction and send me to the hospital because I had deep vein thrombosis or something...yup you get the picture...on the return trip I refused to sit in the middle...BUT I am not complaining ok, it was really really nice of Mac's buddy to bring us snowboarding today and I am really grateful for the lift there and for his help. If you had been there to see all that he did...

Ben is the coolest guy I have ever met in my life so far...all 1.93m of him...

1. He is really handsome and tall

2. He is very very amiable, helpful and sincere

3. He is a pro at snowboarding

4. He can drive up to 140kph with 6 gears....(actually everyone here can and does la...)

I can't really explain how cool he is, you have to meet him to understand why I say he's so cool. Unfortunately for me...he's only 20 years old, I am barely above his shoulder and I don't think I share half of his passion for snowboarding...HAHA. Crap I hope he doesn't read this, he's going to think I'm a psycho Asian girl.

Maccann: Shit, Ben is so handsome. He is like the man I always wanted to be...he's so damn nice and he has everything- brains, physique...

(Not everyday that you hear a confession like this from a Singaporea* guy....good things must share! [Quoting Carol here])

Well ok, actually most of the Swiss people we have met here are really nice...but Ben is still the best so far...haha

Ben's car and me. Totally acting like it's mine...

Its amazing. Children here as young as 3 years old or even younger can ski SO WELL. Some of them can only say "Da Da" but they CAN ski.

Us looking energetic at the beginning...

Clockwise from top left:

1. Me, I think this is the spot where BK and I both reckoned was where beginners just cannot make it anymore. You're just stuck there. Once you stand up your snowboard just moves such that you either crash into the 'elevator' on the right or into this sitting area where friendly families with young children hang out on the left. So what do you do then? Just sit and wait for Ben to come and drag you back to the center of course...(that's #1 of the 54724894318467364 things that Ben had to do...)

2. See, this is the area where friendly families with young children sit on the left and BK has just crashed into it. Look harder, see the person kneeling next to BK? Yup thats Ben...(that's #2 of the 54724894318467364 things that Ben had to do...)

3. Still #2 of the 54724894318467364 things that Ben had to do...

4. Mac and Ben...#3 of the 54724894318467364 things that Ben had to do...Mac actually 'chased' this lady down the slope...not on purpose of course. He found himself tailgating this lady so he said 'ENTSCHULDIGUNG!' (which means sorry/excuse me) a few times and the lady moved out of his path...but somehow he kept following her path and had to sacrifice himself and fall to save her day...haha

I was taking the photos since my olympus was the last soldier standing...heh..therefore there are no photos of me grabbing onto Ben for support just like Mac above and falling over like BK above..but trust me...it happened a lot! We felt quite bad for Ben really...but its ok because Ben is strong and mighty and cool...Took some videos as well but to protect our reputations they have not been uploaded...

You know I find this photo above really really funny. At first glance it looks really nice with the brown backdrop and a sprinkling of snow on them. (Reminds me of the icing sugar on Mummy's chocolate cake). In addition, the people captured add a lot of colour to the picture. Then you start to notice this mound with 2 holes- terrible! Its like some monster emerging from the ground to eat the children around...

Ok so school starts proper tomorrow at 815am till evening. Gotta go!

Valentine's Day

2008-02-16T03:05:00.004+08:00

Maccann: Yesterday (Valentine's day) was my gf and my 45th month together...
Bingkai: Yesterday was my gf and my ____ anniversary...
Me: Oh....yesterday....was just another day for me...haha....;)

So this was how we spent Vday...My really nice thai girlfriends invited me over to their place for a singles night....with chocolate and cheese fondue! And an extremely extremely wonderful thai dinner before that of course! We relented in the end and allowed maccann and bingkai to come along haha. I think the food we had at their place is the closest we will ever have to our mothers' cooking. There was so much Thai flavour and they put so much effort into preparing the food, we were so touched! Presentation, taste and everything was superb. Period.

Clockwise from top left:

1. A rose each from BK and mac- taken from the Alhambra bar we were at the night before. A stalk of rose here costs 4.80 CHF.

2. At Vee & Puay's home

3. Puay diligently stirring the cheese while Vee was happily dipping her bread into the never ending cheese

4. Melted chocolate from Ikea. 0.40 CHF a bar. Good stuff.

The above was the thai food we had at Vee & Puay's house. Sorry Mac and BK- this is food nirvana, never gonna attain that level...heh

The top 2 photos were taken at Alhambra. The place where the get together for exchange students was held and drinks were sponsored by the school. Don't know about the rest but I had a good time. Too bad for you if you can't use your 5 senses and limbs to take care of yourself.

*I don't know why JR likes to stick his tongue out when he takes pictures. I should ask him.

The bottom 2 photos of the collage above were taken at the fondue night organised by the school also. The 2 ladies are Puay & Vee from Thailand- they are great babes and provide much needed yin balance.

Its really foggy today....grr

My classmates from my German language course. My teacher Frau Franziska Schumann is the lady standing really straight with her hand on her right thigh. She's a really good teacher! I was taking the photo...

*Goodbyetorussiawithlovehugsandkisses

Clockwise from top left:

1 & 2: A very stocked up small kitchen. Gosh looking at chocolates just makes me want to puke now. Cheese and chocolates are spilling out of my ears..

3. Bk and mac are really into wrestling. For me back in SG, when i watch TV at odd times and wrestling is showing, its like an immediate signal to flip channels. But both of them are so fascinated by it that over here i just had to check it out...its...interesting...girls fighting...

4. These are the slippers that i potter around the house in. So red and yummy right? haha. 5 CHF.

Luzern- the gateway to Central Switzerland

2008-02-10T18:24:00.000+08:00

On Saturday, we went to Luzern- approx. 2h away from Zurich by train. We enjoyed ourselves so very much! It's by far one of the best 'excursions' I have ever had...I wish all my family and friends could come here and experience it too!

The highlight of the trip definitely has to be going to Mount Pilatus or Pilatus Kulm- "A uniquely impressive panaroma of 73 Alpine summits and countless lakes awaits you, some 2132 metres or ~7000 ft above sea level". So, first we took the aerial cableway up to about 1416m/4649 ft (Frakmuntegg)...

At Frakmuntegg is Switzerland's longest Toboggan run apparently, so we HAD to try it! The Toboggan is the wooden thing you see below. You just sit on it with the curved surface on the ground and it picks up speed really really fast! We were really under-dressed compared to everyone else but we went for it anyway!

The areas with steep slopes and iced surfaces were the best needless to say! While going down, you really dont know what is hitting you man, ice or snow or water or whatever..its just so fast! There were some sections where we had funny 'incidents'. The first round, Bingkai didn't join us. Maccann was all the way in front. I was in the middle and Jr at the back.

So at the beginning, we went down this pretty steep slope and Mac banged into the pole holding the sign 'Langsam' (which means 'Slow' in German) so I came along a while later and I started laughing at him until I realised that I was going to slam into the pole as well. I managed to avoid the collision by going under the flag haha but I wasn't so lucky later because I had my own accident when I slammed into another pole really hard. The blue black is MASSIVE. (Mummy don't be worried everything is under control, but I can assure you its the biggest blueblack you have ever seen..bigger than anything any of us ever had..but you know i like blueblacks..haha). After that Jr overtook me and caught up with Mac and at one point both of them were side by side...it was so funny but luckily they gradually managed to get some distance between them!

After that, we continued our journey on the cable car up to the summit of Mount Pilatus. Its stunning really. There are actually many myths and legends associated with the mountain, some got to with dragons and what not. But the gist is that in the middle ages, the bleak crevices were believed to be the haunt of a well-meaning dragon and spirits. It was said that the restless ghost of the Roman governor Pontius Pilate had found its final resting place in former Lake Pilatus.

Anyone who comes to Switzerland should make Luzern one of his/her stop! Its definitely worth it! In fact, we could have done so much more on the mountain but we did not have enough time.

The city area is also really interesting, with many quaint old buildings and lovely architecture. However, we were just too cold to really appreciate the castles and all. So we just took a short walk, had dinner and took the train back!

Anyway. MUMMY look what I found! I bought a pair for you- it cost 13 CHF. They have it in like 4 sizes. This is the second smallest.

Today we are all staying home after all the work we put our bodies through yesterday. We were supposed to go to Jr's place for lunch but I told the guys to go ahead and we all ended up staying at home. I think Mac and Bingkai are really amazed at my laziness. Ok back to German homework for now! Tata!

My CNY week

2008-02-08T03:31:00.000+08:00

The first week has gone by quickly. These are some photos of the university...it's pretty empty since its still the holidays. Exchange students have started school though because we have 7 days of intensive German classes: 830-10 am; 1030-12 noon; 130-330pm. The campus looks really old from the outside, but its actually really nice inside..(to me at least!). It reminds me a bit of the old RJ campus at Mount Sinai..i think its the staircase!

This row of nice houses are actually offices of the faculty!

This is my classroom where I have my German language course. My teacher's name is Frau Franziska Schumann. (Sie heisst Franciska Schumann). I really like her, she's probably in her late 30s but she's really chic and a really good teacher. She absolutely refuses to speak in English at all (ok, until it came to the point when she needed to collect money for our German textbooks haha). Sometimes its quite hilarious because she will just ramble on and on, and then question marks start appearing all over our faces...and we all sit in silence for quite a while. But then, Frau Schumann perseveres and repeats herself, this time with exaggerated hand actions until we get it. In a way its good, because we are forced to listen closely and look at her all the time. I don't have a picture of her yet, but I'll definitely get one at the end. I would liken to audrey hepburn actually...

The German language course is seriously quite intense. Back in SMU when I took Spanish, we had 2 days x 1.5h of class max, here its 1.5h x 3 per day! And the thing about learning languages is the need to listen really attentively to get the pronunciation and meaning right, to jot down notes and in my case- my own 'spelling' for each word to make sure that I can remember the right way to pronounce the word. On top of that, one has to be really conscientious to revise after every lesson...Having said that, I really like learning languages..I find it fun!

Its only the 2nd lesson and already we are swamped with many many worksheets. Homework is 'Hausefgabe' (House-earth-gar-ber) in Deutsch. The first time Franziska said that, I was desperately trying to guess what that meant..."House of garden?...what on earth is that...come on!"

If I were to compare German vis-a-vis Spanish, I would choose the latter anytime. Learning German somehow makes me want to learn Spanish even more! I'm definitely going back to Las Lilas when I go back to SG. I really miss my Spanish class and Aida! Made friends with another student Jorge Garcia from Mexico and I was really excited because I could practise my Spanish...haha! I knew he could speak spanish because his name is just classically spanish- its those kind of names that appear on Spanish textbooks..!

We have been packing sandwiches to school, simply because the food at the school cafeteria really isnt nice and its expensive! Our sandwiches are much better!

I made this snow angel!

Postcard worthy, yes? There was also a frozen swimming pool nearby!

My house mates! Couldn't ask for better ones! Haha!

This week we also signed our housing contract. The lady in charge (Antje) gave us an inventory list of all the things in our house and we were supposed to check that they existed and were in working condition...but when we saw the list of items listed under the kitchen...(see below)

KITCHEN:
Ceiling yes
Window yes
Floor yes
Wall yes

...hmmm don't think we need to walk to the kitchen to check if those items are there or not. Plus there was nothing like '6 plates/ 4 cups' or something like that...so queer!

This is one of the shopping streets at Marktplatz...many things to see! ;)

Last but not least, this is one of the dinners I cooked! Curry!

Zurich

2008-02-07T06:07:00.000+08:00

So today we made our way on the SBB train to Zurich at 1148am to be exact. The plan was to stay in Zurich till past 7 so that we could get back to St Gallen for free. Saw many more Asians there...

Bingkai's theory is that usually people who cook for a living are not highly educated therefore they can't really spell properly...

This photo looks like as though I was holding onto Bing Kai's arm...but look again...I'm not hehe...

This is proof of JR's photo taking prowess because of his long arm...

I really like this photo!

This was some park where there were many many seagulls. If you have food, they become quite aggressive and swarm to you. Just like when the lady below was feeding them...

Ok so now I have to share the story about Yoko & Billy. See at first, I was just minding my own business until JR started playing with some random dog (see below). So I decided to be nice and help him take a photo. Then the owner tells us that the dog's name is Yoko (after Yoko Ono).

Later, she suggests that JR carry Yoko...so he does...

The owner further suggests that I sit on the bench and call 'Yoko' and 'Billy'. (Billy is the white dog named after Billy Holiday!) So after calling their names, both jump on the bench on either side of me and obediently wait until I've got a photo taken! How lovely! Canines over here in general are really well behaved which is why they are allowed to go into shopping centers and hop onto public transport with their owners. We had quite a surprise that day when we were in Migros buying groceries and this big dog suddenly crossed our paths..haha! They don't bark in a crazed manner like how many dogs in Singapore do...

So this year, Mac, Bing Kai & JR are my 'family' so we had our dinner at this restaurant selling Singaporean food. We think its run by Hongkongers.

The three of them shared 2 plates of sweet and sour pork with rice + a plate of fried wantons.

I didn't feel like sharing, so I ordered dim sum..there was only 4 small pieces! I also ordered a vegetable soup with glass noodles. The bowl was so small it was almost negligible- hence there isn't a photo. Hmmm not very satisfying. Although my 'cuisine' mode on my camera makes the food look pretty tantalizing...truth be told...it really cannot compare to all our moms' cooking at home. Not that we expect to eat chinese food of high standard over here...its just a comment. I THINK I can cook better. I think. Not very sure.

Ok, now everybody please pay attention. THIS is what my family had for dinner in Singapore. I could almost taste the food just by looking. Mushrooms with xiao bai cai and scallops (instead of black moss this year), steamed prawns & sharks fin soup!

Fried tempura (lady's fingers, fish & aubergine) & steamed chicken; look at the bowl of chilli! that must be for me..!!!

Mummy I miss your food! Its not really fun eating what I cook...not that its bad or anything...its just that somehow its hard to eat whatever you spent a few hours labouring over in the kitchen for some reason...

Alright, I shall post the photos for the previous few days soon. For now, here's wishing my family, friends and all those born in the year of the rat especially a very good year ahead! (Its imperative for 'rats' to have a good year since I'm hanging out with 3 here! haha)..ok bye!

Why people do the things they do

2008-02-06T03:59:00.000+08:00

In St Gallen, I wake up thinking of what to do with myself for the rest of the day and I find myself making a conscious effort to walk slower cos everyone else is behind...Im not used to it. Im a wild child haha. No no its not that, its just a bit too slow...today we stayed home from 2pm onwards as we had to get our laundry done. The silence was quite loud since we were all holed up in our own rooms doing our own stuff.

This cannot go on. Tomorrow we are going to Zurich and probably have dinner at some chinese restaurant since its CNY eve. Day after, school starts. Hurray!

Left to Right beginning from the top row:

1. Our apartment block

2. The entrance

3. A very small kitchen

4. Fully equipped with utensils and crockery

5. Living room 1

6. Living room 2

7. My room 1

8. My room 2

9. Bing kai's room

10. Maccann in his room

11. Common toilet

12. Hallway leading to the door