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.




*********************************************************************************

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.
*************************************************************************************
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!

November 2008 Hanoi

Yeah! Year end holidays...又是出游的日子…当飞机师报告即将抵达河内时，从窗外望出去, 开始会很兴奋. “Hanoi, here I come!”. 事先已安排接机人员載我們到了旅舍(Hanoi Guest House), 大约１个小时的车程， 便到了位于河内旧区(Old quarters) 的Hanoi Guest House。越南的建筑物大多都是瘦瘦长长的。其实单看外貌，位于河内旧区36条古街其中之一的Hanoi Guest House并不出色, 若不留意的话肯定会错过。到了那酒店，经理出来招待我们, 带我们去看他们的房间。进了房间， 梳洗完毕，也差不多是晚餐的时间了。我想念在胡志明市鸡丝河粉 (pho ga), 所以问经理(Ms Linh) 有什么地方可以去之类的, 也可以吃到鸡丝河粉的, 经理给我们一人一张地图 , 也很好的向我们讲解河内的地图，有什么地方可以去. 我们就沿着地图的指示来到附近的餐厅吃越南出名的鸡肉果条. 河内的鸡肉果条, 原来是有另一番风味的 .. 可以配面的辣椒, 配着吃真是刺激.. 在槟城住了那么久以为外地没什么辣的东西可以难倒自己了, 没想到这个辣椒竟然比小辣椒还要有过之而无不及！（想到它的美味都流口水了）…吃饱后，继续四处走走河内旧区. 到了Dong Xuan Market, 卖手工艺品，纪念品, 小饰品的精品样样齐全. 我们没买什么东西, 走走看看就回去酒店休息. Beside the streets, there are many stalls like this....very cute stools!
************************************************************************************
一大早, 我们点我们各自的早餐, 我选了pho ga和咖啡, 就这样的坐在大厅里享受着在越南里美味的第一餐。只见大厅里多出了６个人, 他们也是从我国过来这里游玩的. 吃饱了，坐了一下之后, 去下龙湾的司机已经来接我们了. 我们参加了当地的旅行团, 上了车后就开始前往我们今天的第一个目的地--下龙湾. 3个小时半的车程除了睡睡醒醒之外，欣赏路边的稻田风景和拍照是我唯一消磨时间的方式。途中会stop在一个手工艺中心休息半小时上厕所.
The craft centre with handicapped people working on the arts
巴士停在一个那地方有很多身体上有不便的人士在那边以精致的手工制作漂亮的图、手工艺品等，外面也有很多很漂亮的雕刻。这个下龙湾package是两天一夜的,之前也跟经理定好了-USD65罢了。这个USD65 也是包括 了船票， 入场票， 住宿， 膳食，tourguide，van， 但不包括饮料. 到了Halong Bay, 导游领我们上船, 我没想到竟然有机会踏上这样的中国式帆船, 还认识了可爱的MM who thought I was pretty and wanted to be my friend.

Halong Bay-- Me on The Imperial Junk!

船分三部分，下层是两排的房间，中间是狭窄的走廊。房内摆了一张双人床，一张梳妆枱，还有风扇和冷气，厕所则是简单的马桶和花洒，还蛮干净的。中层是餐厅，厨房。上层是露天的甲板，甲板上摆了数张沙滩椅。 Dreamy Halong Bay....A fairy land!

启航两个小时后，船长把船停在一座石灰山(Dong Thien Cung) 前， 导游示意我们参观山洞里的钟乳奇石。During the hiking, I saw my lovely pearls, dangling around the counter….Haiz, wish I had bought it. It’s so cheap and yet I didn’t buy it because I thought may be some other places have them too (with cheaper price). Stupid of me!!!!! Well, after visiting the cave, we went to seesea creatures like squid, prawn, angelfish and lobsters; they were quite cheap compare to the price those creatures worth in Malaysia. But to me, sea creatures are all my friends…I really wonder how could people be so cruel to kill all those cute little things. the back to our Imperial Junk. 在船上, 我们认识了一對法國夫妻攜女兒 who were travelling around Asian countries. They had been to Malaysia before. They told us that it was weird to them that our Orang Asli had hand phone even though they were staying in the jungle. C’mon, halo?! What’s wrong with the picture? Still think Malaysians live in the trees? Well, we had our lunch and dinner with them that day. At night, there was nothing to do in the junk, so we had an early bedtime.

************************************************************************************
一早起来, 我们 上甲板拍照去了 and enjoy the sunrise view. Then after having breakfast, we returned to Hanoi. Before departing to Hanoi, we had lunch at a restaurant where we saw the preserved reptiles. It is said that when male drinks the ‘juice’, it will make them strong….yeah right… 回到Hanoi, 我们去逛在附近的还剑湖. 还剑湖（Hoan Kiam Lake） 也称为小湖，位于河内旧城的中心区， 被称为河内第一风景区，这里四周树木苍翠，湖水清澈如镜。湖内岛建有龟塔（ThapRua），塔身小巧玲珑，顶端有一颗星。关于还剑湖的传奇都不脱李太祖获得神剑的经过及他使用这把神剑抵抗明朝的侵略的过程, 当李太祖终于推翻明朝的统治后，便驾着小舟来到还剑湖的湖心，将神剑还给神龟， 据说这只神龟从李太祖手中收回神剑后，就马上潜入湖中，从此消失无踪，“还剑湖”之名便由此来。We walked around the streets of Old Quarters and there were many hawker stalls along the streets. After looking around, we finally bought a packet of glutinous rice wrapped in a leaf and it tasted heavenly. After tasting such yummy thing, we couldn’t help but wonder how many great food out there for us to explore. So, along the way, we had tasted the most moist, soft chicken porriage (chao ga) and yummy fried corn which you can never find in Malaysia. The dinner was perfect. After walking to and fro along the streets of night market, I finally bought my scarf. Late at night, we finally decided to go back to the hotel and rest.

************************************************************************************
My breakfast started with pho ga again…don’t blame me, it was the best thing I ever tasted. We had booked the Hanoi City Tour with Hanoi Guest House. So, after eating, the van came to pick us up. Our tour guide was a very young man (the only Vietnamese who spoke English that I can totally understand). In our tour group, we were glad that there were Malaysians too. They came as a family—a father and 4 kids. First stop of the tour started with zhen国古寺. The temple was a pretty place. After that, we went to Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to visit Uncle Ho (that’s what the Vietnamese called him). I thought it looked like a wax because it didn’t look real to me. We were not allowed to bring in camera, so there won’t be any photo of Uncle Ho. We also were ushered to Ho Chi Minh’s working quarter and visited his house. One Pillar Pagoda(独柱庙)was very near to that place and the temple had many visitors (most of them were childless couples) who came to pray for a child. After having ice-cream (kem) near the One Pillar Pagoda, we went to Museum of Ethnology to gain knowledge about their Orang Asli. (Haiz…this one I can say it was totally boring!). But we did get to see many couples taking their wedding photo there because the scenery was beautiful. Next stop—lunch time. We ate at the Ladybird Restaurant where the food was awesome! (I know, I know, by eating all the rice a.k.a carbohydrate would fatten me, but what could I possibly do to stop myself from eating that oh-so-delicious-and-pearly-white fragrant rice?) We even planned to have lunch here the next day too…hehe…After lunch, we headed to Temple of Literature (文庙). Temple of Literature is Vietnam first university. The weird thing in this so called university was that there wasn’t any classroom around….hmmm, really make me wonder how they studied? Finally our last stop—Ngoc Son Temple (玉山祠). 我们绕着湖边走向玉山祠。很中国式的庙，还有一只镶在透明柜里的巨龟标本。听说这就是还剑湖传说中的那只借剑给李太祖的神龟。
After going back to the guest house, we took our bath and then walk towards the Hoan Kiam Lake because we wanted to watch the water puppet show. While waiting for the show to start, we had KFC for our dinner because I really didn’t know what to eat anymore…and the KFC restaurant was so near to the water puppet theaters. After watching that ‘so-boring-punya’ show, we walked around the lake and went to a nearby shopping complex to buy souvenirs. When we went back to the hotel, it was already very late.

************************************************************************************* We rented a motorbike to go around Hanoi City for adventure. Hehe…it was exciting because they were so many bikes and yet, we could sway around the town like nobody’s business…We actually went to the other districts to have a look-see. When we reached the book district, we made a stop, that’s because we wanted to buy some cheap books. Well, most of the books were in Vietnamese and it was difficult to find English books. So I couldn’t buy anything. This place is not like Popular Bookstore. After searching high and low for books, we went to the Ladybird Restaurant to have lunch as planned. Then, we went to the biggest Catholic Church in town. The church is beautiful and it really has this calming effect on you. Ahhh….such bliss!
After travelling in bike for more than 7 hours, we felt tired and headed back to the hotel to pack. We had our dinner in the same restaurant (the first day one).

************************************************************************************* After having Banh Mi (French bread) for breakfast, we asked Ms Linh to call taxi for us to take to the airport. It’s time to say goodbye to Hanoi. At the airport, I was cheated on the tea that they sold. It was supposed to cost only USD2 (equivalent to 32000 dong at that time). But when I gave them 50,000 dong, they never gave me back the change. When I asked them, they just ignored me. So I took the picture of the store and well, just to remind you all: Beware of this cheating shop (No*ba* A*r Trading Enterprise)! And so my trip ended with not-so-happy ending. Sigh…

June 2008 Ho Chi Minh City and Buon Ma Thout

The first time ever to be in Vietnam and I was travelling alone. Kinda scary when you think you can’t cope with all the departure gates and the flight. Well, I was flying with MAS airline and the food in the plane was horrible. Cold and yucky…其实马航也没有什么特别, 食物还很差…Haiz..There was a Malay guy sitting beside me who thought I was a Vietnamese. But when I asked him for a pen to write the entry form, he was surprised and we started talking. Well, at least the talk let me forgot about the 3 hours flight I had to bear. When the plane reached Ho Chi Minh City, I was so happy to get out of the plane. Took a taxi to the hotel. 越南的士普遍上都是新车,而且是豪华车, 像TOYOTO VIOS, INOVA 等, 当初看了有点不敢去问价钱怕贵.. 但其实价钱还算公道...but vina taxi was the best. 这德士收费算便宜.
The journey from the airport to the hotel was really terrifying. The street of HCM was full of cars, motorcycles and people. Can you imagine what is like to be in the busy streets and so near (you can almost knock them down) to motorcycles or cars, and yet the taxi driver was able to sway his way to the hotel without getting banged. (or without me getting into any accident—For that, I really thanked God!). There is only one phrase to describe the city streets: “人山人海”。电单车在越南可能比它的人口还多, 一大群的电单车队看了让人心惊。
Back at the Thanh Binh hotel, after resting for a while, it was dinner time and I had the greatest pho ga (越南河粉) at the roadside hawker stall. It was better than our kuey tiau soup in Malaysia. But later on, you had to drink a lot of water because they put a lot of ajinomoto . At night, the busy streets were still very busy with lots of honking of the lorry, buses, cars and motorbikes. Well, I couldn’t sleep well that night with the noises going on.

The next morning, woke up with panda eyes but at least still able to walk around. 先是走到市集中央的美食区寻找越南美食。这里真的好多档口，但每一档卖的食物都离不开出名的越南河粉和越南咖啡. 随意选了一档，就在档子前面凸出来位置当餐桌，坐下来, 点了越南河粉 (pho ga again coz’ I can’t eat pho bo)和越南咖啡(café se da).

*pho ga is chicken noodle soup; pho bo is beef noodle soup. 吃饱后，就开始逛胡志明市的城市.

My first stop是那多年历史的法式邮政局。

这里的建筑和邮政服务还保留着很古老的味道，里面还有旧式电话厅，好不特别。我还在这里买了几张Postcard to give to friends和邮票for my own keeping. ( Hehe, forgot to say that I was riding motorbike with a Vietnamese tour guide and he was the one who planned where to go for sight-seeing). Opposite of the post office was the Notre Dame Church(圣母大教堂). It was beautiful and I couldn’t get in because it was closed for the day. Sighhhhhhh…..
After taking a few pictures of the church, 我們去参观观音庙. Then, after that, we went for lunch in a market (Cho)点一杯杂果冰-- avocadro drink and Bun were what I had for my lunch. 吃饱后, 我們就繼續去高台教圣地.高台教圣地是越南特有的宗教。 它是结合了佛教、基督教、回教、道教等宗教於一体的宗教。高臺教圣地就是全越南最大間的高臺教教堂了！圣地頂上有各種各樣的神像。神奇的宗教, 融合了世上的主流宗教。看看大殿盡頭的這些神像， （以下八個應該是高臺教最崇高的神祗）正中央最高層是釋迦摩尼，第二層中間分別是老子、玉皇大帝和孔子，而第三層的是观世音菩萨、耶穌和關公，第四層則是太上老君。除此之外，旁邊還有許多大大小小東西方的神話人物, 在這一切之上的是一只`大眼睛’, 被視為是人間的主宰… 逛完后, 我们就去越南战争博物馆. 基本上，这里的展示品都是以前越南战争时代的一些资料. After the tour of the museum, I felt so sorry for those people who suffered all because of the war that happened. 在那边发现很多工作的残疾人士都是以前橙色剂（orange agent）的受害者。 橙色剂是能够抑制植物生长的化学物品。当年越战时期，橙色剂大量被用在越南的树林以对付以树林为遮蔽的游击队。橙色剂就这样大量污染了好好的一片土地，导致了许多畸形婴孩的产生。But one thing overwhelmed me was that the friendship that President Deng and President Ho built, helped the Vietnamese to overcome the hardship and the suffering of the people.
After an hour of the tour in War Museum, the tour guide proceed to take us to Benh Thanh Market. 著名的Benh Tanh Market. 吃的穿的用的，手工艺品，纪念品样样齐全. 我们就开始找些越南的纪念品。我们看了好多档，最后看中了一档买小饰品的精品档，我们全部都在这档选了好多越南陶瓷公仔和锁匙圈，就开始跟那女人杀价。在那边可以以便宜的价钱买到很多品质良好的名牌东西, 有nike、adidas、puma等等的牌子…我买了几个便宜的名牌衣服后, 这里的衣服都很美，素质都一级棒又超便宜的, 太开心了. 在这里逛了蛮久的, 买个够本后，我们就去統一宮. 統一宮是胡志明市其中一個最有名的參觀景點。統一宮的佈局設計與周圍風景相映成輝。其中房間有總統辦公室、內閣會議室、外交大廳、總統夫人室和電影室等等。出来統一宮时, 外面下着雨. 我这真的要回去hotel冲凉了。冲完凉了, 我繼續去走走. 原来越南也有百盛的, 去逛逛走走百盛, 觉得百盛的东西不便宜, 还是大马便宜得多. 逛完后, 吃晚餐就回hotel睡觉了.

The next day, after breakfast at the same restaurant, we went shopping at the morning market near to the hotel. I bought a hat and a mask because with all the motorbikes, the pollution in the city was quite bad. After walking around the market, I had to get ready for my flight to Buon Ma Thout. The internal flight was a total sucker. Vietnam Airline should have upgraded its internal planes. The seats were uncomfortable and dirty. When reached Buon Ma Thout, I was already exhausted. Yet, I still got my Che Thai (杂果冰), it was something like our ais kacang with cempedak. During my stay in Buon Ma Thout, not only I got to eat my pho ga (鸡丝河粉), the rest of the local delicacies like Banh Mi (法国面包), Banh Xiao, 米春卷 and com ga (Chicken rice) were so delicious, that I had put on weight when I went back to Malaysia. The only place I get to visit was called Buon Dung. It’s where I got to ride elephant. I was so shocked when the guide had to hit the poor Jumbo because it wanted to eat the sugar cane beside the road. The way the guide poked its head until it was bleeding made me realized that I should not be sitting on the elephant. They have the right to roam around the jungle and not being used by tourist like me. I felt awful that day. My lunch for that day: Bamboo rice (just like our lemang except it was without the rendang. ). In Buon Ma Thout, I had attended some Vietnamese Language class for 6 times and my Vietnamese teacher is Chi Linh. (Chi means older sister, Linh is her name). She brought me around for sight-seeing and I saw the most beautiful white house somewhere around the town when she was trying to take me to buy some noodles and bread. Vietnamese houses are long and narrow. But the bungalows in the town were so European and that they make you think you were in Europe. And everywhere you turn, you will always see those statues about soldiers. I had bought myself 5 aodais (Vietnamese costume) for my graduation. I wanted to look different for my convocation. After spending two weeks there, I just couldn’t wait to go home. For me, the stay in Vietnam is totally eye-opening and boring. The lifestyle is so simple that the people have nothing to do but drink coffee every day. (Did I mention that Buon Ma Thout is famous for its coffee product?) And yes, I drank café day time and night time too during my stay there because like them, I had nothing to do too! It was a relaxing vacation that I really hope for.

The rest is really still unwritten...hehe...

I am unwritten,
Can't read my mind
I'm undefined
I'm just beginning
The pen's in my hand
Ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitionsFeel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten...

I break tradition
Sometimes my tries
Are outside the lines,
We've been conditioned
To not make mistakes
But I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words
That you could not find
Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
the rest still unwritten.......

~by Natasha Bedingfield

旅遊了 29 國才知道的...体验!

1.到了中國，才知道只生一個孩子好。
2.到了臺灣，才知道罵祖宗還可以面帶微笑。
3.到了香港，才知道明星都戴著口罩。
4.到了日本，才知道死不認帳的人有時候還會很有禮貌。
5.到了韓國，才知道亞洲足球使上帝都差點瘋掉。
6.到了泰國，才知道看見漂亮妹妹先別慌著擁抱。
7.到了新加坡，才知道為什麼四面都是水，還向別人要。
8.到了印度，才知道多貴重的人都得給牛讓道。
9.到了印尼，才知道為什麼華人夜裏睡不著覺。
10.到了阿拉伯，才知道做男人是多麼的驕傲。
11.到了法國，才知道被人調戲還會很有情調。
12.到了西班牙，才知道被牛拱到天上還可以哈哈大笑。
13.到了南斯拉夫，才知道為什麼有人不願回到祖國的懷抱。
14.到了奧地利，才知道是個乞丐都能彈上一支小調。
15.到了瑞士，才知道開個銀行帳戶沒有十萬會被人恥笑。
16.到了丹麥，才知道寫個童話其實可以不打草稿。
17.到了義大利，才知道天天吃比薩臉上都可以不長膿包。
18.到了希臘，才知道迷人的地方其實都是破廟。
19.到了梵蒂岡，才知道在其境內任何地方開槍都可以打著羅馬的鳥。
20.到了美國，才知道不管是誰，亂嚷嚷都會中炮。
21.到了加拿大，才知道面積比中國還大的地方，人比北京還少。
22.到了巴拿馬，才知道一條河也代表了主權的重要。
23.到了巴西，才知道衣服穿得很少也用不著害臊。
24.到了智利，才知道火車在境內拐個彎也很難辦到。
25.到了阿根廷，才知道不懂足球會讓人暈倒。
26.到了南非，才知道隨時會被愛滋吻到。
27.到了撒哈拉，才知道節約用水的重要。
28.走遍非洲，才知道人吃人有時候也是一種需要...。

29. 到了马来西亚，才知道牵手也会接传票！

我看完这个贴, 就抱着肚子哈哈的大笑..! 人生本来就是要带点幽默不是吗?

一生人最想去的地方

I have forgotten to add in these places:

阿马逊森林 – to feed the mosquitoes
耶路撒冷 - hoping to see Jesus Christ, hehe…
撒哈拉大沙漠 – to eat sand
美国大峡谷 - ahhhh, paradise!
西藏 - to chant and meditate
羅馬 - to feel what Audrey Hepburn had felt in her Roman Holidays
希腊 - to get a glimpse of the myth about Hercules and Zeus
布拉格 - What can I say? It’s romantic
阿拉斯加 - to watch aurora
蒙古的大草原 - `天苍苍,地茫茫,风吹草地,见牛羊
梵蒂冈西施教堂 – to see the pope of course!
巴比伦空中花园 – Is it still there?
阿爾卑斯少女峰 - Do I really have to be there?
迪拜 - 找一名高大帥氣的老公…. 开玩笑得啦! 我不是在找碴啦!

我の上海游记!

21/11/07
Reached Shanghai around 6pm. The Shanghai tour guide Xiao Yuen took us to a restaurant to have dinner. After that, we took磁浮列车 to go back to our hotel for the night. The weather was very cold but acceptable.

22/11/07
The next morning, after having breakfast, we were taken to Da Xiong Ba Dien Temple for prayers. After that, we went to 宋庆龄陵园 (again, tomb visiting). 宋庆龄陵园里,有一座风水算命专家..也是赚游客钱的..专门找那些打扮高尚的团友看相然后买水晶,买媲貅等…Luckily, I was not in that category. After visiting the tomb, we went to上海滩拍照. And I thought上海滩 was somewhere near the sea. Obviously, I was wrong. It was just a place where you can see黄蒲江景色 and all the tall buildings, especially 明珠塔 ( telecommunication tower). My sister used to work somewhere there and I thought that we could meet up. Again, I was wrong. Timing was a big factor. After taking photo, I had the best time shopping at 上海老街.

23/11/07 -
Another day for shopping at the 城隍庙.After shopping, we were taken to登東方明珠塔 (that’s for sure!). At the top of 明珠塔, you could see the whole Shanghai and it was a breathtaking view. Night time, we went for a boat ride. 我们乘坐了一架3层的轮船, 最顶部观赏黄浦江夜景...

24/11/07
Before leaving Shanghai, our cute tour guide took us for a foot massage. It was so nice. After the foot massage, we left Shanghai and took a bus ride to苏州. The first place we visited was寒山寺. In the temple, the famous tower was called听钟楼. It had its own stories but I don’t remember it. In the evening, we were taken to 虎丘/試劍石/劍池/斜塔and another place called留園. All I could say about the place was: Paradise! The place was so beautiful that you would not want to leave. When the night comes, (well, another shopping time pour moi) we strolled along观前街夜市. 在观前街能四处看见冰糖葫芦,章鱼烧等.

25/11/07
A trip to the famous silk factory was a must. The丝绸 was very expensive. And yet I bought a pillow which cost RMB 240. Sigh…After all the shopping in the silk factory, we left for 南京. When reached南京, 我们在玄武湖旁用午餐 (鹽水鴨). Then, 遊長江大橋/參觀水晶內畫.
At night, 逛夫子廟 was impossible to miss.

26/11/07
After visiting 中山陵, we were ushered to 玉石店 and 寶樹堂中藥店. As usual, these were the places you were told to buy jade and medicine. I didn’t dare to buy the medicine, but I did buy a small fish jade. It was love at first sight. After the shopping, we were driven to 无锡. 到达这里已是下午4点多了, we went to this Ling San Temple to see the Bathing of Little Buddha show. After that, we went round太湖. 湖上一直刮寒风..真的很冷…After dinner, there wasn’t any place to go because our tour guide had planned to take us to无锡珍珠厂 tomorrow.(Which I love so much, because I love pearls more than gold or other metals).

27/11/07
As promised, 无锡珍珠厂 here we went. But I couldn’t buy anything of the pearls because the one I like was soooooooo expensive! (ok, to me, that was not worth it!). After ‘looking’ at those pearls, we went to 三國城. This place, as named, was the film-shooting place of the "Tales of Three Kingdoms". After taking photos everywhere ( the fake palace of Liu Bei, the boat of Chao Zao etc), 我们遊烏鎮水鄉. Here, the tour guide带领我们乘船, 一条河上观赏土风人情..看见两旁的店屋后有个小楼梯直接到河的...It was very peaceful. After the boat ride, teapot factory visit was a must. There, we bought teapots for both dads. That’s how $$$ flies!!
上有天堂，下有苏杭 was not just a phrase. It was so true that our next destination was 杭州. When we reached杭州, we were entertained with shows called 宋城千古情 in 宋城. 宋城是宋国时代仿造的建筑物. Their motto was “给我一天,还你千年”

28/11/07
Morning walk at 西湖, 遥望烟雾中的雷峰塔, 吸一吸清爽的空气，烦恼就烟消云散了。我们船遊西湖了, 然后去岳王庙朝拜民族英雄－岳飞, 去向他老人家敬个礼。After all the history about岳飞, we went to梅家茶园 for tea-tasting. Yummy! There, we bought 西湖龙井茶 as we already bought the teapots. Furthermore, we were told that the tea can actually help us to lose weight. Believe it or not, buy first, decide later. In the evening, we were brought to Ling Yin Temple, the place to meditate and have a peaceful day! The hill was so beautifully decorated with plants and it was just…..serene….Dinner in 杭州 was great ‘coz we were served 西湖醋鱼 and 东坡肉. Though I didn’t eat, I got to taste the sauce. And it was delicious!

29/11/07
We were supposed to go back to Malaysia, but we missed the flight. So another day spent in 杭州…yippee! After a long wait at the airport, the tour guide FINALLY decided to take us to 清河坊— a place where you can buy lots of souvenirs. OK, after all the shopping had been done, we had to fly to ShenZhen for the night. The internal flight was so horrible that I thought the plane might crash and that would be the end of my traveling life.

30/11/07
The end of my 上海 ->苏州-> 南京-> 无锡-> 烏鎮-> 杭州 trip.