Sunday, January 28, 2007
broken slipper
The slipper which I brought with me to NDU on the 1st day of enlistment has finally snapped. Being in the middle of no where, I have resorted to the desperate measure of using rafia string which I took (in copious amounts) from the ikea packaging station, to make it functional again. I shall have to wait for summer to get a new pair. Slippers, I have found, are essential for cleanliness.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
the reluctant tourist
berlin - prague - munich - bavaria - salzburg - munich - berlin - london - edinburgh - london - oxford - london
So I was sipping coffee in a McDonald's in Salzburg thinking: what the hell am I doing here? Well it only costs 1 euro for a hot drink and a warm place to sit down. It's funny how I am once again drawn back to these representations of globalization and American homogeneity, these Golden Arcs which bring both comfort and contempt, ever ready to warm one's heart with reliability and affordability. You really can't run away.
I spent winter break in Europe, Christmas in Prague and New Year's in Berlin. It was certainly quite an experience especially since my friend, Debbie, had already been in Berlin for 2 weeks and knew some of the strange nook and crannies of the city. We also met up with two of her friends in Munich who were adventurous enough to drive us about the Bavarian Alps.
Christmas in Prague really fit the image of an 'ang moh' Christmas
I've always had in my mind. We arrived on Christmas Eve night by train into Prague and had lousy Chinese food forways had in my mind, Christmas Eve dinner. (It never ceases to amaze me how the Chinese can really be found everywhere and I give a cheer inside my heart whenever I see a Chinese restaurant in the last place I expect to see one.) It was a little foggy and the orange lights of the city glowed through the fog, the light being dispersed gave the place an almost magical feel. The center of the old city was alive with people and a Christmas markets with shops selling mulled wine and strange looking pastries. At midnight, the church bells rang for the midnight mass, accompanied by an orchestra, opera singers and a throng of tourist (ourselves included) - we left 15 min later as we didn't know what the heck was going on.
In the Old City center
Strange yummy pastry
Berlin is a dirty place with lots of graffiti, art, and chairs that don't match.
After continental Europe I went over to London. London has too many people. I met my cousins in London, secondary school classmates, JC classmates, MIDs batch mates and random friends. Other than the social gatherings, London is a dreary place, I guess I'm tired of life since I'm tired of London. Maybe everything is just too damn expensive.
Dear cousins
Friends from the cesspool.
Edinburgh was beautiful for various reasons not confined to geography or architecture.
Oxford has nice nature paths to walk about.
Rachel and Deb in St. Peter's College bar (I wish I had a college bar)
The thing I like about Oxford and Edinburgh is the good mix between city and country. You can always run away to somewhere quiet if you wanted to or go down to the pub for live music and a drink if you feel like it. There is nothing in Middletown.
I have seen enough castles, museums and galleries to last me another 10 yrs. Like a dear friend of mine said, you can still do all these things when you're old and perhaps a little richer. I should live a little dangerously while I still can afford it.
Here are the pictures to prove I've been to this and that monument, here are the smiles of tourists posing. I hope for different pictures next time.
Next stop, Siberia.
So I was sipping coffee in a McDonald's in Salzburg thinking: what the hell am I doing here? Well it only costs 1 euro for a hot drink and a warm place to sit down. It's funny how I am once again drawn back to these representations of globalization and American homogeneity, these Golden Arcs which bring both comfort and contempt, ever ready to warm one's heart with reliability and affordability. You really can't run away.
I spent winter break in Europe, Christmas in Prague and New Year's in Berlin. It was certainly quite an experience especially since my friend, Debbie, had already been in Berlin for 2 weeks and knew some of the strange nook and crannies of the city. We also met up with two of her friends in Munich who were adventurous enough to drive us about the Bavarian Alps.
Christmas in Prague really fit the image of an 'ang moh' Christmas
I've always had in my mind. We arrived on Christmas Eve night by train into Prague and had lousy Chinese food forways had in my mind, Christmas Eve dinner. (It never ceases to amaze me how the Chinese can really be found everywhere and I give a cheer inside my heart whenever I see a Chinese restaurant in the last place I expect to see one.) It was a little foggy and the orange lights of the city glowed through the fog, the light being dispersed gave the place an almost magical feel. The center of the old city was alive with people and a Christmas markets with shops selling mulled wine and strange looking pastries. At midnight, the church bells rang for the midnight mass, accompanied by an orchestra, opera singers and a throng of tourist (ourselves included) - we left 15 min later as we didn't know what the heck was going on.
In the Old City center
Strange yummy pastryWe visited Cesky Krumlov on our last day in the Czech Republic. It's a small town and bloody long bus ride away from Prague but it's definitely worth the sore behind as it's damn beautiful with a bizzare castle. The castle was painted with colorful reliefs and sculptures and it almost seemed as though the king didn't have any money to get any real sculptures done and decided to paint it on instead. It also had a dry moat around it with a bear inside to eat up any poor soul that fell in.
Painted Castle
Painted Castle
Bear in moat.
Berlin is a dirty place with lots of graffiti, art, and chairs that don't match.
The oldest toaster in the world.
Where the oldest toaster in the world was found
Where the oldest toaster in the world was foundAfter continental Europe I went over to London. London has too many people. I met my cousins in London, secondary school classmates, JC classmates, MIDs batch mates and random friends. Other than the social gatherings, London is a dreary place, I guess I'm tired of life since I'm tired of London. Maybe everything is just too damn expensive.
Dear cousins
Candice has a leather couch, I wish I had one too.
Friends from the cesspool.
Oxford has nice nature paths to walk about.
Rachel and Deb in St. Peter's College bar (I wish I had a college bar)I have seen enough castles, museums and galleries to last me another 10 yrs. Like a dear friend of mine said, you can still do all these things when you're old and perhaps a little richer. I should live a little dangerously while I still can afford it.
Here are the pictures to prove I've been to this and that monument, here are the smiles of tourists posing. I hope for different pictures next time.
Next stop, Siberia.
