No travelling for this year...

Why? That's because I'm going to be a mum!!!! Yeah!!!!

Maybe next year can go travelling with my baby or the year after...

Bali~~难忘的旅程!

My colleagues and other friends had this trip planned for months. It was the hot topic before the holidays start. But unfortunately things happened. So, I was left alone with nobody to go with...sigh....

And then things at work place were piling up and had to be settled by end of December. Again, stress.....So I did the unthinkable....I just went to a tour company and booked a trip. Luckily for me, the date was just perfect. (That was after Dad's birthday and my duty day! Yeah!)
The tour is about RM 2088 per pax which includes accommodation, food and transport. The exchange rate is RM1 = Rp 2825. I have to say that this tour company is just fantastic! I guess it is the only tour company that has Bali trip in their package when no one else does. (I did do my survey before I book any trip). And so here's the start of my Eat-Pray-Love road trip:

9 December 2010

After reaching Ngurah Rai International Airport at 3.30pm, our tour leader Mr. Ng and the local tour leader Mdm Ketut took us to Uluwatu Temple. Well, if you are entering a sacred place, it is best to follow the culture there. We were asked to wear a sarong before entering the temple and the place is just full of monkeys!!! So you have to be careful of your belongings because these monkeys are well-trained to snatch your things. After they have snatched your stuff and if you want it back, you just have to pay the local people for their service (around Rph 5000). The locals will give some fruits or eggs to the monkey in exchange of your belongings. So beware of the monkeys!!

After looking at the statues in the temple and the cliff, we were ushered to the theatre to watch Kecak Dance show. The tune of 'kecak kecak' still plays in my mind until now. It's about a story of a couple where the hero went for hunting and the wife was kidnapped by a monster. And then, the hunter somehow turned into a bird(Garuda) or something (perhaps a monkey?!). I didn't actually quite understand the show but it was entertaining especially when they sang 'kecak kecak'. Sound like 'siew keong' to me in hokkien. Dinner was fabulous. It was at GWK resort and the place was quite nice. With a beautiful water feature in entry way and two statues to greet you, it really made you feel peaceful. After dinner, it was time to head back to the hotel. (Ha, we were not staying in this resort coz' the tour guide said it is way to expensive! Hmmm....She got me wondering where are we going to stay...). And ta-da! Our hotel:

It's called Best Western and it is quite beautiful. Actually most of the hotels that I surfed from the internet look exactly like this. The best part of the hotel, it is quite near to Legion street and Kuta Beach. The friendly staffs were really very nice. If you want to go somewhere, all you need to do is to ask the staffs. They are more willing to help you out by helping you to call a cab or they themselves take you there with their very own van. Well, we were greeted with a welcome drink~~Guava juice, my favourite! And the room was just so Balinese...My most memorable time was sleeping on the soft fluffy bed. (I only wish I can 'curi' that mattress home!) The comfortable bed let you spent the night in restful state and the next day you were fully energised.

10 December 2010

Well, today's itinery: Watch Barong Dance@ Sanur, Batik Craft Centre, Silver & Gold Shop, Souvenir shop near Kintamani and Mount Kintamani (a volcano, dunno dead or alive...). Mdm Ketut had actually prepared a lunch buffet at a restaurant at Mount Kintamani. So our lunch came with a volcano view. I was thinking how about eating at the mouth of the volcano?The restaurant was quite nice but the food had similar elements to every buffet we had. Outside the restaurant, there were many people selling batiks, souvenirs and T-shirts. The price was so cheap but our tour guide advised us not to buy from them. Maybe she was afraid we spent all the money on them and not in the souvenir shop she brought us to and she wouldn't get her commission. After lunch, we went to another temple. Well, to me all the temples are alike. Very Balinese! And if you come to Bali without having Balinese massage is like not coming to Bali at all! So we made a deal with the tour guide and she took us to a five-stars hotel for massage. It costs us about USD35 per pax. It was quite relaxing as they gave you a body scrub, then body mask and a floral bath after the massage!

The dinner was at Jimbaran Beach. I don't eat seafood, thus I had nothing to eat there. But luckily for me, they served boiled kangkung. So that night, I ate only plain white rice with boiled kangkung. Me~the poor thing. At night it was shopping time!! We walked to Central Shopping Complex coz' the hotel staffs said it was quite near and only 10 mins walk. (WTH, it was around half an hour only we found the shopping complex coz' we went to the wrong direction...hehe...)

11 December 2010

Pulau Penyu was our first destination and there was nothing to see except for Penyus. We took a boat trip and it was the fun part, I guess. Mdm Ketut kept persuading us to go for a dive but she didn't tell us to bring extra clothes. So how to dive? We all didn't want to get wet and most of the tourists in our tour group were silver-aged people. Asking them to dive is like killing them!

Finally Mdm Ketut gave in and brought us to Bedegul for lunch. It was a two hours drive and along the way, I fell asleep. The view along the way mostly looked the same. So practically, there is nothing else to see. After lunch at Beratan Tasik, she took us to Tanah Lot
Well, I made a quick trip to the temple on the sea to take some pictures and quickly headed back to the market. Ha! It was a shopping paradise at Tanah Lot! On the way to the temple, you can see many stalls selling bags, paintings, souvenirs, T-shirts. The best part: you can bargain till you're satisfied! But the weather was not that good coz' it started to drizzle when we were looking around the shops for some souvenirs. The tour guide came to gather us coz' it was about time to have dinner. Many of the tour members complaint about the food. Every buffet was the same. So this time, she took us for a local food instead! I had forgotten the name of the restaurant but the food was just as plain as water. Nothing to talk about. (And yes, we didn't get to eat Babi guling or Dirty Duck as recommended by many bloggers. Sigh....). At night, we went to Hard Rock Hotel (this time we were clever to ask the hotel staff to take us without paying a single cent).

Although there was nothing much in the hotel except for having a drink or dance, it was a pleasure to look at the guitars on display. Some of our tour members said that the place looked exactly like Penang's Hard Rock. Well, I have never been to Penang's Hard Rock, so to me, it was quite a refreshing moment to be there.

12 December 2010

It was time to go home. After finished packing, we asked the tour guide to take us to Sukawati market, but she said no. Instead, she brought us to another souvenir shop~Ole-ole Bali....sigh....

So, we all spent our last cents here and she promised us to bring us to 'makan' local Indonesian KFC ~ Ayam Lunak Maliboro! The chicken was really really yummy!!! I love the honey sesame chicken so much that I would definitely go there again. The curry chicken was not bad at all too! After having chicken lunch, it was time to check-in. It's time to say goodbye.

ps: Bali, I will be back!!!

Penang Heritage Walk

10 July 2010
As I was quite depressed and lonely, I decided to take a trip to Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion and the Peranakan Mansion just to celebrate the Penang Heritage Day which falls on 7 July. ( I was planning to go there long long time ago, but I was afraid to go alone!)
The trip was such a funny one as I met tourists from every part of this world. Let me begin with my first stop: Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion

Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion is a very unique and Feng-shui perfect mansion built by Mr. Cheong (of course!). Dubbed as the "La Maison Bleu" , the whole building is very blue (suits my mood anyway coz' blue is the color of depression!) The mansion has won the "Most Excellent Project" Award from the UNESCO and has become the foremost tourist destination. While I was there with a group of locals and foreign visitors, the tour guide brought us around and gave an excellent presentation of the mansion. (Standing ovation for her good show!). She told the story of Mr. Cheong Fatt Tze, from a penniless boy to how he become the most powerful person of the era. It was a great story and with all the pictures hanging around to facilitate the story...(yeah, you 've got the idea.) I actually enjoyed the company of the tourists as they were so friendly and I really admired how they cooperate with each other. The tour guide did not just explained but also asked questions to see whether we understand the Chinese culture or not. (Well, that's easy coz' ah-hem...I am a Chinese, duh..) It was a lovely afternoon to sit inside the mansion and enjoyed the breeze in the open air hall. The tour lasted 1 hour and I think it's worth every penny you spent on the tour. ( I don't want to tell the story coz' it is up to you to go there and see for yourself).

Ok, my next stop: Peranakan Mansion

Well, first of all: I am a Nyonya. I do wear sarungs and I always get this kind of stare like I am very weird for wearing a sarung...hmmm...(who says only the Malays get to wear it??)

This trip is to find out my very own heritage as well as getting to know my ancestors. It was a feeling that I don't even know how to describe: a mixed feeling of thrill, sad, delight, thankful and I-don't-know-what.

Secondly, this place is huge! I was lost just going around the mansion. It is like a maze with so many staircases. 'Little Nyonya' was filmed here. With all the colorful decorations of embroidery, silks, jewelleries, fine porcelain and glass, it was very mesmerising. I love those porcelain bowls, cups, saucers etc...if only I could bring it back with me...

This time the tour guide was a fierce one. I guess I can understand why he must be firmed on his ground. That's because the decorations are century-old and cost a fortune. As a curious tourist, one will always unable to control oneself from touching the things just to get the feel...hehe...But one just can't blame those tourists (including me) for touching because they are REALLY beautiful to touch!!

Well, I shall not elaborate anymore. One can see for oneself and it is worth to have a trip there!

ps: The first trip in CFT was fun because of an old couple. They know how to make people laugh

by elaborating on the guide's explanation.

pps: The second trip was humorous because there were 3 elderly ladies who loved to walk around and lost their way. The fun part was the tour guide had to go after them to get them back into the group everytime we moved to another room. The eldest one when seeing cheki, she sat down and played! (Mind you again, the table and chairs are antiques and really

creaky). This time it was the Granny who taught us how to play, even the tour guide had to

sit aside and let her talk! The granny was actually looking for her grandma's picture. She is

the great-grandchild of the original house owner. When finally the tour guide brought her

there, she was so unwilling to leave the room anymore.

Thanks to them that I felt so much happier after the trip. This has taught me a lesson: Never be afraid to go on your own. Nothing would be gained if you waited for someone to take you. After all, being lonely is NOT scary, it's freedom!

Singapore trip???

Last month (17 March 2010), I went to Singapore (so called going to Singapore). I guess that was the boring-est trip I had ever made in my life. My daily routine in Singapore:
1. Woke up, brushed teeth, and waited for everybody to wake up
2. Ate breakfast/ brunch/ lunch at the cafe/ cafeteria/ hawker stalls at the ground floor of the flat. That's one thing I love about Singapore~ Everything there is so damned clean!!!! Not like Malaysia...sigh...(Calling out to all Malaysians: You all still have much to learn!!!!)
3. Then took the MRT to some shopping malls (Vivo City and Ion). I learned that every station in Singapore stops at a MEGA shopping malls. (Wah, if it only happens in Penang!)
4. After going in the mall - dinner- shopping-headed home-stopped for supper-finally back home!
Day after day...and I didn't get to see my MERLION! How sad....:(

ps: will re-visit Singapore next time BY MYSELF!

UK...here I come!

30/5/09
Dubai 8.30 am (Malaysian time)
The flight stopped at Dubai International Airport for a couple of hours. My sister and I were walking around the airport hoping to find my fridge magnet. When I saw it, my heart just skipped a beat (or it practically stopped beating!) The fridge magnet was so expensive! I was thinking about RM5 or RM6, but no, it was 18Dhs (around RM18…). Well, I donated my ‘first’ gold…(the magnet better stay still on my fridge, whoever is gonna touch it will have to pay for it!). The clock in Dubai Airport was a ROLEX! I think my father would love it. Well, I couldn’t steal it for him, so I just took a picture of it!

Birmingham 12.35pm (UK time)
This was the first time I stepped foot on the soil of the Great Britain. After 16 hours flight on the Emirates, I could barely walk when I reached Birmingham airport with sleepy eyes. My sister who was accompanying me hailed a taxi to take us to her apartment. Oh, her apartment is called “The Mailbox”…hehe….I was living in a mailbox...(sounds funny, right?).

Anyway, back to the apartment where I got everything unpacked. My sister got a snowball from LV…yeah, she was damn right happy about it. Well, that day I rested at the apartment because the next day we were to go to London.

31/5/09 6am
Early in the morning, my sister and I had a walk behind her apartment. She had to show me the Tesco market so that I would not starve myself to death. The walk was nice and the weather was so cool. The sun was smiling at me and the flowers on the street seemed to welcome me there. (I was actually thinking next week I would jog at the place every morning to keep me fit…hmm, good thought but incapable of doing so!) After going back to the apartment and packed everything, we headed to London. It was two hour’s drive from Birmingham to London.
On the way to London, we stopped by Bicester Village. Bicester Village Shopping Centre is an outlet centre in Bicester in Oxfordshire, It is famous for several high-end brands, including Ted Baker, Ralph Lauren, Jimmy Choo, Burberry and Clarks, as well as housing a small number of restaurants and cafés. Being the UK’s leading designer outlet village, the centre's stores generally stock end-of-line ranges at discounted prices.The shopping centre is located just off the main roundabout which brings the A41 into Bicester, and is next to a large Tesco store and public house. The leek soup I had for lunch in Eat-in was the best thing I had ever tasted. (Actually, ever since that day, it was all soup pour moi. Wild mushroom soup, potato soup, chicken soup—mind you, the chicken soup here is totally different from our Chinese chicken soup!). I bought myself a good book by Jill Mansell to read while on the way to London. We also stopped by Oxford University! (Mummy, I made it! I stepped foot on the soil of the university that you wanted us to get in…hehe…but not studying there!) The whole town of Oxford is actually the whole university or should I say the other way round…hmm…blur…ok, here goes: Oxford is a city, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. The University of Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. Buildings in Oxford reflect every British architectural period since the arrival of the Saxons, including the iconic, mid-18th century Radcliffe Camera.

Oxford is known as the "city of dreaming spires" in reference to the harmonious architecture of Oxford's university buildings. After visiting the Trinity College and Botanic Garden, we started our journey to London. London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. London's history goes back to its founding by the Romans. London is one of the world's foremost global cities alongside New York and Tokyo. It is a major tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors. London is going to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.

1/6/09
From Barrett to the tube station in South Ealing was about 20 minutes walk. We went down to Westminster and the first thing that came to sight was the Big Ben! Well, the Big Ben was so London and with the double decker everywhere, you know that you are in London. Behind the Big Ben was the House of Parliament. We walked along the street to Westminster Abbey. St. Margaret’s Church was just opposite of the building. After taking some photos, we took the tube to St. James’s Park to see the Changing of the Guard in Buckingham Palace. The Changing of the Guard took place at11.30am and the place was so crowded because there were so many visitors that day! Some had to climb up the walk to get a good look. I was lucky though to have found myself in front of the palace. After watching the changing of the guard, we took a stroll along the River Thames where you can see London Eye across the river. Another tube ride from the Westminster to Baker Street took us to Madam Tussaud’s—the famous wax museum! Just name the stars, you can find it in Madam Tussaud’s…and even Shah Rukh Khan was there (the fake one, of course!) Baker Street is famous for the filming of Sherlock Holmes. I wanted to go to the Sherlock Holmes Museum but my sister was not interested in all these stuffs. Sigh…I so wanted to go there to see my idol! Going to Madam Tussaud’s is a must. This one in London housed all the Mat Salleh, I couldn’t wait to see the one in Hong Kong. We walked to the London Eye because we had the ticket when we bought the ticket to Madam Tussaud’s. It is advisable that you buy the whole package. That way you can save a lot. Really! Up in the capsule of London Eye, you could actually see the whole London city. It felt like the city was under your feet! When I was in the capsule, I overheard a mother telling stuffs to her cute little daughter. Well, I was not eavesdropping; it was no harm to listen to things about the building. That little girl pointed at a direction and asked her mum “Is that Eiffel Tower?” When her mum said yes in a funny tune, I kind of believed it and told my sister. My sister was laughing her head off when she heard that! Yeah, yeah, I know, stupid enough to believe that but that tower REALLY looked like Eiffel Tower! How was I supposed to know? A walk along the River Thames could take you to the Tower of London where Lady Jane was hanged. The Tower Bridge (many of us thought that was the London Bridge!) was just next to Tower of London.

2/6/09
It was a shopping day. My sister, the shopaholic, could really spend all her time in a mall. We of course went to Harrods. To get there, you just have to get down at Knightsbridge. Everything in Harrods is very expensive. You ought to have enough $$ to shop in that place. Nobody could go London without going in Harrods. After that, we went to Covent Market, another shopping heaven with cheaper stuffs. We had our lunch at Chinatown because I missed Chinese food. The food was tasteless and the way the Chinese were treating us, made me think twice before I need to enter that town again! Walking around Leichester Square just to see the oldest cinema was a little bit of time wasted (because it didn’t look old enough to me!). To end our shopping day, my sister took me to St. Paul’s Cathedral because she knew how much I love the buildings, especially the old and ancient ones.

3/6/09
A day at Kew Garden was the theme for this day. We actually started off the wrong direction. Luckily that someone showed us the right direction. I thought the garden was the usual botanic garden that we used to frequent. Little did I know that Royal Kew Garden was so ‘hugh’ that one day walk would not be sufficient? While my sister and I were looking for her blue bells and Azalea Garden, we got lost in the forest of pine trees. We kept spinning around the Queen Charlotte’s cottage like the story of Hansel and Gretel. Finally, we managed to get out the forest by following the trails. But we missed the tree top walk, the water lily house, Winter Garden etc…sigh…This lesson taught us that next time check out the place from the internet first, so that we won’t miss out anything anymore! The ticket to Kew Garden was £13 but it was worth it. It is recommended to pay a visit to Kew Garden. It was there I first touched lavender. The smell of the flowers was heaven! It’s such a beautiful place that I wished I could stay there or somewhere the Garden. The housing area at Kew is so peaceful and the houses are just like what I would want it to be. (ok, I’m an architecture freak. When it comes to buildings, my knees would go weak because it is hard to walk away from such beautiful sight.)

4/6/09
We booked a tour with Evan Evans Tour to go to Windsor Castle, Queen Elizabeth’s weekend residence, Bath and Stonehenge. The tour guide told us that there were 9 castles built around England during the time of William the Conqueror. One of them was Windsor Castle. Audio tour was available and every detail in the castle was well explained. The first station that we stopped by just had to be the Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House. Oh! It was just fascinating to look at but I couldn’t get a picture of it because it was NOT allowed! (Could anyone please build me a doll house for my Barbie dolls?). Inside the castle, pictures, paintings and china were everywhere. There was a painting of a Chinese who definitely look like 马浚伟, the Hong Kong movie actor. Maybe he was the Emperor in his previous life? After walking around the castle, we visited the St George’s Chapel. It was said that Prince Charles married his mistress, Camelia Parker Bowles here. After Windsor Castle, we headed to Bath. Along the way, the country side was so beautiful and decorated with daisies. I like daisies. They are so friendly. Like what Meg Ryan said in : ‘Daisies are the friendliest flower in the world’. She had a point there. The daisies were everywhere to greet me. How I wished I could bring them home. Sigh…my heart just melted when I saw them. Bath was just a place where the Romans had come and built the temple because there was a hot spring somewhere around the place. It was the Romans’ bathing place. That’s why the place is called Bath. Nothing more to say about the place except for the ruined building had been equipped with modern facilities. I had a chance to talk to the so called “priest”. He was worried that I might get sunburn without a hat. Duh! After spending around one and half hour around Bath, we finally got ourselves going to see another monument that was made of stone called the Stonehenge. At first, the tour guide told us that it could be built by aliens or the Saxon. Later on, when after finishing the tour, she told us that it was built by the British and they made up the stories of Stonehenge just to attract tourists. Haha! I guessed this day was a day to see batu only…sigh…

5/6/09
Another shopping day again! This time we went to Westfield Mall where things were at their normal price. In Westfield Mall, my sister was just crazy about bags. Sigh, wasted an hour in just one shop--London Luggage Company. Well, lucky for me to have Boots there. I actually did buy a pair of boots too!

6/6/09
Jon took us to Seven Sisters. The place was near the sea. While walking along the path to the seaside, we saw a herd of sheep. They were busy chewing the greenest grass and the path was decorated with their very own faeces. Yewww…this place was downright smelly! When we reached the cliff, (this place is called Seven Sisters because it is made up of 7 cliffs.) One of the cliffs had all the countries’ names. ‘Malaysia’ was not included, so we decided to put the name there. At the top of cliff, we sang to the Sound of Music because this place really looked like the place that was in the movie where Julie Andrew sang. All the beaches in England were stone beaches. So it was kind of hard to walk without your shoes. Imagine that the kind of stones sell about RM8 per kg in Malaysia. Wah, if only I could take them home with me…I would be rich by then!! After that, we went to Brighton Pier where there was a fun fair on the sea…The Royal Pavilion was a gift from a Maharaja of Patiala of India to the Queen. It looked like a mosque that made us wonder if the Maharaja was a muslim…hmm…

7/6/09
My sister insisted to go to Knightsbridge because she wanted to buy a bag. After choosing her bag for what looked like eternity to me, we finally got to move on to Oxford Street, another shopping heaven. What I needed was a bookstore to occupy my time while my sister was busy doing her shopping. Then, with all our purchases, we left London by Virgin train to Birmingham.

8/6/09
I did not go anywhere because I was down with flu and reddish eyes. People might be afraid of me and I thought I was having H1N1. The newspaper said that Hay fever was everywhere then. So I decided to stay home, took vitamin C and finished reading all my books. Still, I did not get well. Sigh…wasted my time here…

9/6/09
I went to Bullring today because my sister wanted to have lunch with me. I insisted to go to Eat-in coz’ I love the soup there so much! Yummy! After shopping a while in Bull Ring, I decided to go back because I was still very sick. Dinner (Malaysian food) was with my sister’s colleagues because that night we booked the ticket to watch the musical ‘Chicago’. It was so nice that I regretted for not watching “The Phantom of the Opera” when I was in London. Sigh….regrets, regrets, regrets…

10/6/09
Had to stay home again. This time it was not because of me feeling sick, but it was about to rain. I could not afford to get wet or else I would be sicker. This was the time for me to explore the TV channel of England…hehe…and how I loved watching ‘Britain got talent’.

11/6/09
This day was the bravest day of my life! I traveled alone in a foreign country and still could get back in one piece…hehehe…Ok, here goes: I went out to the train station, hoping to find a map to get elsewhere. (I actually needed to go to Birmingham University because I had promised Pn. Chen to search information about the universities in UK.) Instead of going to the university, I got a map of Birmingham City of which I had not explored. So this very day, I followed the map and found out the city’s most interesting buildings. This city actually boasts a strong collection of Victorian buildings, much to my satisfaction. (I love Victorian buildings, mind you…).

Starting from the Bullring, St. Martin’s Church was just right beside the hideous building. Then walking along Hill Street, I came across the Former Head Post Office at Victoria Square. Surrounding the square were the Council House, Town Hall (which looked like the Pantheon) and Museum And Art Gallery.

Then, heading to west, there was Baskerville House and Hall of Memory (where I met my handsome statue. It was love at first sight).

The Repertory Theatre was just in front of me but I took the wrong turn. Anyway, I took the shortcut to the Argent Centre (gold pen and pencil manufacturer). Then I headed straight along Graham Street to St Paul’s Church. This church was very gloomy. When I took a picture of the tomb, the picture was very, very blur. The pictures taken elsewhere were okay except for the tomb. I felt so tired of walking, so I just went to St. Chads Circus to take picture of St. Chad’s Cathedral and walked back to the Bullring. While heading back, I passed the The Exchange (or formerly known as the Bell-Edison Telephone Building.) The reddish-brown building had a riot of decoration of balconies and highly decorated gables. The Jacobean-style of chimneys enhanced the beauty of the building. To go back to the Bullring, you would have passed by the Bennetts, formerly a banking building that was built in 1869. I love the statues at the corner entrance. It is now a popular pub and wine bar. My tour of the Birmingham City ended at the Bullring, because there was the only way I knew how to get back to the apartment…hehe…

12/6/09
I finally decided to pay a visit to the Birmingham University. I took the train to university. Well, I was actually lost in the university because the first building I saw was the hospital. After walking around the university, I was feeling lost. I had to find the administrative office but I just couldn’t find it. I had to sum up the courage to ask around. But nobody could give me the answer. I saw the Law School that Pn. Chen’s daughter wanted to enter. The person whom I approached was friendly enough to tell me that everyone can apply online. Talk about wasting time, so I decided to get out of the university. When I finally saw an Asian guy (didn’t know which country he was from), I approached him to ask about the direction to get out of the university. So unlucky for me, he was new in town too! The people around me thought I was a student and kept asking me for directions when I myself needed the direction too! Sigh…Finally, the guy came back with an answer pour moi. Talk about luck. The gate was actually right behind me! Well, I could not have known that it was the gate because it looked like going to a housing area which I thought was the hostels. Then I asked the guard for I needed to go to Selly Oak to get to Selly Manor and Cadbury World. When I told the guard that I was going to walk there, he looked at me like I was insane because Selly Oak was about an hour walking distance. Well, I did not care that much because walking did me good for curing my flu! I went out through south gate and started to walk towards Selly Oak town. The town had a history dated back to Tudor’s time. Due to the proximity of the University of Birmingham, there were a large number of students in the area. You could always see posters sticking on the wall for students’ references of renting a house. I found Selly Manor, paid £3.50 and went in to have a look. Selly Manor is the oldest timber-framed building in Birmingham. The Tudor manor house sat in beautiful period garden. The garden had been recreated as a Tudor garden. Selly Manor housed a superb collection of furniture dating from 1500 to 1750. While I was there, a group of primary school students was playing around the garden. When they went in with their teachers, I followed them and listened with them to the guide as he spoke about the history of Selly Manor and how the Tudor lived in their time. I spent about two hours in the manor house and the children were waving goodbyes as I took leave. I had to get back to the apartment because at night we were going to have barbeques with my sister’s colleagues.

13/6/09
This was my last day in UK. I had to go back because the school starts on Monday. However my flight was not until 9.20pm, so we decided to go to Blenheim Palace. Blenheim Palace, home to the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill, set in 2100 acres of beautiful landscape, surrounded by sweeping lawns, formal gardens and the magnificent Lake. Inside, the scale of the Palace is beautifully balanced by the intricate detail and delicacy of the carvings, the hand painted ceilings and the amazing porcelain collections, tapestries and paintings displayed in each room. We had an audio tour, so when we reached Churchill’s birth room, we were well-informed of the things in the room. Outside, the sun was shining brightly and we had our lunch at the terrace. After that, we walked to the rose garden and tried to find the secret garden. We thought we had reached the ‘secret garden’ where it was surrounded by trees; we were disappointed because it was not as appealing as a secret garden should be. However, the real secret garden was actually hiding right in front of the fake ‘secret garden’. Imagine how delighted we were just to be in the garden. Not wasting any more time, we took the train to Pleasure Garden where there hold a giant symbolic maze and Butterfly house.
At 5pm, we headed back to Birmingham Airport where I had to fly back to Malaysia…sob, sob…Goodbye England!

Affirmation....by Savage Garden

I like the song and the meaning of the song....so like our lives!

I believe the sun should never set upon an argument
I believe we place our happiness in other people's hands
I believe that junk food tastes so good because it's bad for you
I believe your parents did the best job they knew how to do
I believe that beauty magazines promote low self esteem
I believe I'm loved when I'm completely by myself alone

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe you can't control or choose your sexuality
I believe that trust is more important than monogamy
I believe your most attractive features are your heart and soul
I believe that family is worth more than money or gold
I believe the struggle for financial freedom is unfair
I believe the only ones who disagree are millionaires

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

I believe forgiveness is the key to your own happiness
I believe that wedded bliss negates the need to be undressed
I believe that God does not endorse TV evangelists
I believe in love surviving death into eternity

I believe in Karma what you give is what you get returned
I believe you can't appreciate real love until you've been burned
I believe the grass is no more greener on the other side
I believe you don't know what you've got until you say goodbye

Selena...My Idol...

Selena is NOT my nickname or my name... This blog is created and dedicated to Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Below is her biography that I extract from wikipedia.




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Selena Quintanilla-Pérez (April 16, 1971 – March 31, 1995), best known as Selena, was an American singer who has been called "The Queen of Tejano music". The youngest child of a Mexican couple, Selena released her first album at the age of twelve. She won Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1987 Tejano Music Awards and landed a recording contract with EMI a few years later. Her fame grew throughout the early 1990s, especially in Spanish-speaking countries. She was married to Chris Perez.
Selena attained further notability in North America after she was murdered at the age of 23 by Yolanda Saldívar, the president of her fan club. On April 12, 1995, two weeks after her death, George W. Bush, governor of Texas at the time, declared her birthday "Selena Day" in Texas. Warner Brothers made a film based on her life starring Jennifer Lopez in 1997. As of June 2006, Selena was commemorated with a museum and a bronze life-sized statue which are visited by hundreds of fans each week.
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Dreaming of you---Selena
Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I'd stay up and think of you
And I'd wish on a star
That somewhere you are thinking of me too...

Coz I'm dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Then here in my room,
Dreaming about you and me...

Wonder if you even see me
And I wonder if you know I'm there
If you looked in my eyes
Would you see what's inside?
Would you even care?
I just wanna hold you close
But so far, all I have are dreams of you
So, I wait for the day
and the courage to say
How much I love you(Yes, I do)

I'll be dreaming of you tonight
Till tomorrow, I'll be holding you tight
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Then here in my room,
Dreaming about you and me...

Late at night when all the world is sleeping
I'd stay up and think of you
And I still can't believe
that you came up to me
And said, "I love you";
I love you too...

Now I'm dreaming with you tonight
Till tomorrow, and for all of my life
And there's nowhere in the world I'd rather be
Then here in my room,
Dreaming with you endlessly...


Selena Forever!