~Travelling around the World~

~ KL ~ (19th ~ 21st Feb 2010)

2010-02-21T20:52:00.000-08:00

Day 1 @ KLCC

A short 3D2N getaway to KL a week after CNY to relax, indulge in some good food.. shopping~~

*~ trying to look cool ~*

*~ the iconic twin towers @ KLCC ~*

After a bit of walking and window shopping we finally settled for an atas dinner at this persian restaurant~

*~ our kind waiter offered to take a photo for us ~*

*~ starters and healthy greens ~*

*~ persian coffee ~*

*~ persian tea ~*

*~ meat with pita bread ~*

Day 2 @ Bukit Bintang

Day 2 was again a shopping and eating day (wat else to do at KL? :P)

Took a cab down to Berjaya Times Square to try Uncle Duck - recommended by William~

*~ Roast duck ~*

*~ mapo tofu ~*

*~ healthy veg ~*

*~ indoor roller coaster ~*

was feeling excited to see an indoor roller coaster~ convinced dearie to take it with me but to my disappointment it was not in service ma ;(

walked down further in a little drizzle to dearie's favourite shopping mall in KL~

*~ Pavilion ~*

*~ outside of Pavilion ~*

After a long day of walking we went to Liang xin for a good foot and body massage after reading some good reviews about it online~ Just opposite Federal Hotel along bukit bintang. It was too good! By far the best massage i've had~ the masseuse skillful and professional!

Cabbed back to the hotel and had a good sleep that nite :)

Day 3 @ Kajang

Day 3 was a short one.. met up Edmund and his family to go for some super good satay at Kajang.

*~ our satay feast ~*

*~ Edmund & family ~*

*~ posing with our food ~*

After the sumptuous lunch, ed sent us back to the hotel~ killing time cos it was raining a bit we sat in the lobby playing with new clippies from Ed's wife. Hand made clippies~ (iheartclippies)

*~ back in the hotel playing with clippies ~*

Great trip~ nice and relaxed~ though i wun really agree KL is such a shopping paradise.. :P

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (18th -23rd Jun 2009)

2009-06-28T23:59:00.000-07:00

My first holiday this year! A very lacked-research trip cos of a last min decision to tag along with my 4th auntie's friend Jacky who was acting guide to his old friends of over 30 years. :) Met lots of nice and interesting people.. and most unexpectedly, a group of Singaporeans while doing hair and nails in a small inconspicous hair salon in a tiny shop space along an unpopulated street! And who would have thought we sat right next to each other in the plane when returning to Singapore! woohoo! This is real coindence huh!

*~ Day 1 - Ho Chi Minh City (18th Jun 2009) ~*

Excitedly getting out my faithful Samsung NV3, i started my snapping on the plane at first sight of Vietnam. From sparse settlements and agriculture to an overcrowded looking city..

Looking over Ho chi minh city from the plane...

*~ First impressions... ~*

Not sure if its good fortune or bad but it was a little drizzly when we arrived. Wet weather is always dampening on the spirits.. traffic jams and wet feet :P But the weather was cool~

*~ Bus surrounded by motorbikes ~*

*~ A lonely busstop ~*

Driving along the crowded roads with lots and lots of motorbikes, it was a real culture shock. The mini van we'd gotten on was weaving through the roads, overtaking by driving onto the oncoming lane. Hmm.. there are usually 2 lanes and since one is mostly PACKED with bikes, the cars decide to drive onto the other side..

*~ Korean fast food spotted in HCMC! ~*

Stopping near the Cho Ben Thanh market to get our money changed. So USD to Vietnam Dong appears to have a much better rate than SGD to Dong in Singapore!! Do take note~
Immediately when the van stopped by the road, lots of beggars lurked around while one was persistently standing at the door.

*~ Looking at the other side of the van ~*

Finally reaching our hotel Saigon MINI Hotel 5 (the uncles and aunties kept joking about 5*!) Actually it was no stars.. its just a mini hotel which u can hardly notice..

*~ Saigon MINI Hotel 5 ~*

Our first blackout in the day time took place just shortly after we checked in and were about to leave for dinner.

*~ hmm whats wrong ah?? ~*

Uncle Jacky brought us to a place for dinner where he was meeting his friend whom married a vietnamese-chinese lady and had moved to Vietnam.

*~ Me & Mom ~*

Noodles was good and of HUGE portions..

*~ Oldish looking coffeeshop like eating place ~*

We started our sightseeing cum shopping immediately after dinner. Walking along you'll always see many shops selling paintings.

*~ Paintings paintings on the wall ~*

Didn't get to find out what this was.. hmm wasn't really on a real tour so I never got my question answered.. :P

*~ Some parliament building? ~*

Was too dark and rainy so couldn't manage a photo of the post office from the outside :( but took one on the inside to show how well preserved this old building was and pretty big for a post office. That's Mr Ho Chi Minh on the picture above the clock.

*~ a famous post office apparently in HCMC ~*

During the same night, we had ANOTHER BLACKOUT at 3am which lasted about an hour.. crossing my fingers that it was just a bad day~ We checked with the hotel staff the next day and she assured us it was a RARE coincidence~ *phew*

*~ Day 2 ~ HCMC to Vung Tau (19th Jun 2009)~*

Getting up early in the morning was tough after the rough night in the mini hotel... :( Uncles and aunties like to joke about the hotel being called "Saigon Mini Hotel 5 Stars.. '5' was to indicate its the 5th of the chain of mini hotels..

Today we go to Vung Tau, an island about 1.5 hours boat ride from Ho Chi Minh City. Due to a little mis-communication, we left the hotel slightly later than planned. Fortunately we made it for the boat by 2 min. If we had missed it at 10.30am, we would have to wait till 12.30pm for the next!! So take note of the boat ride timings when planning your trip~

*~ Getting on the vessel ~*

Me & mom had what you would call a small "water disaster". Had put our hand carry luggage on the floor of the vessel and we realised it got soaked as we were getting off the boat. Some of our stuff got wet.. dun wanna think about where the water came from.. eeek..

*~ Vung Tau jetty ~*

We went straight to Sammy Hotel (a 3-star) to put down our luggages... and where me and mom had to start doing some laundry :P

*~ Sammy Hotel ~*

Met with the group to have lunch at a nearby food court in a shopping mall just beside the hotel.

*~ Enjoying my super sour Passion Fruit juice ~*

Wanted some proper vietnamese food and since we all decided on having rice, i got myself some vietnamese style pork ribs rice. :)

*~ Pork ribs with rice (vietnamese style) ~*

After lunch was time for some real physical activities! We were going "hiking"~ to get to the top of the hill where they had a big statue of Jesus Christ.

*~ Not sure what this says.. :P ~*

*~ Endless flights of stairs... ~*

Mom gave up halfway and i promised to take photos along the climb for her. Almost getting to the top, feeling proud, hot and sweaty, i had to take a shot of myself~

*~ Almost there! One more flight~ ~*

*~ Impressive huh! ~*

*~ A view from the top ~*

*~ Looking across at the beaches to show how much i climbed! ~*

Next stop, Bach Dinh relic area. Previously known as the Phuoc Thang fort before being pulled down to build the Bach Dinh, a resort for the French Governor Paul Doumer and other high ranking officials of later regimes. From 1906 to 1917, the patrotic King Thanh Thai was forced to reside there.

*~ Bach Dinh (Villa blanche, White Palace) ~*

Nowadays the Bach Dinh is used to display a number of local cultural artifacts.

*~ Looks really chinese right?? ~*

*~ A 2-winged fan?? ~*

The rooms looked all pretty much the same. Not much preservation work was done.. and in fact still going on when were visited.

*~ One of the rooms ~*

*~ Canons outside the palace ~*

The taxi drivers were very kind and agreed to drive us up another hill which we saw looked even higher than the hill we climbed to see Jesus.

*~ Me & Mom ~*

After a long tiring day, we headed back down the hill to have some seafood.

*~ A popular spot for locals to enjoy some seafood ~*

A little freaked out at how they handle the live seafood..

*~ hammering away.. :( ~*

*~ baby squids ~*

*~ steamed crabs! ~*

*~ oooo vietnamese packaged Bird's Nest drink ~*

After dinner we drove along the beaches to get back to the hotel. woah.. its packed with people, so this is what they do in the evenings. Kinda like East coast park?

*~ Food & drinks for the park-goers ~*

Ended the day with a nice cup of Cafe Latte at the famous Vietnamese cafe chain "Highland Coffee".

*~ Day 3 ~ Vung Tau to HCMC (20th Jun 2009)~*

Mom woke me up at like 6am to see that the sun had already risen.. the beaches were crowded with people and it was already super hot.. :P We still went out to take a walk at about 6.30am..

*~ Good morning sunshine! ~*

*~ People getting ready for a day at the beach ~*

Nothing much in the program that morning so me and mom headed back after breakfast for a nap.. *yawn* Getting back to HCMC, Uncle Jacky decided to bring us to have Singaporean Hainanese Chicken Rice. He said it is different... hmm.. but i guess he just wanted to meet some friends there.

*~ Hidden behind the cables ~*

*~ yup, the food looked familiar ~*

After a late lunch, we went shopping for dried foodstuff, coffee, snacks.. Hmm.. and it would be a common sight to see some exotic dried animals for sale too... eeek~~

*~ what is this?? pls don't tell me... ~*

*~ snakes? ~*

*~ This was good stuff, huge mushrooms!! ~*

We never get a shop selling only rice in Singapore and after watching the HK serial about rice, seeing this shop was pretty exciting for me~ heee~

*~ Nice rice ~*

*~ Day 4 - Mekong River Tour (21st Jun 2009) ~*

We signed up a One-Day MEKONG Tour [My Tho - Ben Tre (The Upper Mekong River)] for just 10 USD per person which included an English-speaking tour guide, boat ride, lunch, tea and fresh fruits. Cool!

It was almost a 2 hour bus ride from Ho Chi Minh City along the National Highway to My Tho where we got on a boat to a coconut candy mill.

*~ On the boat with life jackets ~*

*~ Family living on this river ~*

Using the coconut husk as fuel, there is really no waste to any part of the coconut!

*~ Making the coconut syrup ~*

After adding flavours and leaving the candy to cool, they cut the strips into pieces to be packed into packs of 40.

*~ Cutting the candy strips into smaller pieces ~*

We got to taste some nice warm coconut candy that were just made and also cheered with some banana wine. :) Looking around the counters and saw some different types of wines for sale..

*~ Scorpion & snake wine.. for men to *ah hem* boost their manhood ~*

Next, we got back onto the boat to get to Tortoise Island for lunch, 1 of the 4 famous islands named after the sacred animals (Dragon, Phoenix, Tortoise and Unicorn). It was a cool walk through the orchards! And excitedly snapping away seeing my favourite Pomelo on trees!

*~ Pomelo tree! ~*

*~ Longan tree! ~*

*~ Fresh Dragon Fruit! ~*

We were seated for lunch as the guide recommended some Elephant ear fish because they were huge like elephant ears obviously :D

*~ Tour guide with the elephant ear fish ~*

This guy sat beside our table knowing uncle will give him some food. hehee~ cute, i like his fringe all over his face~

*~ Doggy with an attitude ~*

They started running away when they saw me pulling out my camera and looking in their direction...

*~ More "wildlife"! ~*

After lunch we returned to the boats back onto our Mekong river cruise.

*~ Living along the river ~*

Was a little surprised when we saw all these row boats at one side of the river. Turned out it was part of the itinerary to take a relaxing rowing boat ride along a small canal in the shade of the water coconut trees~ :D

*~ Row boats ~*

*~ Me sneaking a shot of our boat man ~*

Arriving on Unicorn island..
Auntie was very friendly trying to get the little girl to say "hi" but looks like she was a little scared...

*~ Say "hello" ~*

We sat down again to enjoy some fresh fruits and tea to the accompaniment of traditional Vietnamese folk music.

*~ A young songbird ~*

After the fruits, we walked down a little and were again sitting down to enjoy a cup of refreshing honey tea! The Japanese tour guide brought out a huge python and invited us to take photos~

I had been training to be a docent at the Singapore Zoo.. but i was still really nervous about reptiles. Still had to get my hands on this guy.. A nice caucasian woman was encouraging me to SMILE at the camera.. *sob*

*~ Hmm scaly python ~*

We returned to the boat after the honey tea got arrived back at My Tho. The rest point was very scenic, with a restaurant and some souvenir shops.

*~ Painting in the song of nature ~*

*~ Giant ATAP CHEE!! Also what they call water coconut ~*

Back in HCMC and near our hotel, we decided to look for some local roadside food to try. :) Nightlife at our hotel area is not something u can miss~

*~ Crazy Buffalo - a new "landmark" ~*

We found a small wanton noodles stall in a dark alley.. a little wet after the rain but still a popular place for dinner.

*~ wanton noodle stall ~*

*~ me & mom & our noodles ~*

After dinner we went again to Cho Ben Thanh for some more shopping..

*~ Night market Cho Ben Thanh ~*

*~ and we custom-made our shoes ~*

*~ my design! ~*

*~ Saigon Beer! ~*

We totally missed dinner.. but had some seafood noodles and beer before returning to the hotel. Not bad, saigon beer probably tastes better than Tiger.. hmm..

*~ Day 5 - Cuchi Tunnel (22nd Jun 2009) ~*

Our 5th day in Vietnam was another cool experience~ Signed up a half-day Cu Chi Tunnel tour again with TNK Travel for just 5USD (exclusive of the 80,000 VND we had to pay for admission to the tunnels)

Another scenic drive for about 2 hours, the Cu Chi area is located 60km from HCMC. It is famous for its role in the anti-American war in Vietnam during the 1960s and early 1970s, and is legendary for its complex system of tunnels that stretched for over 220km.

*~ what the vietnamese used to dig the tunnels ~*

The tunnels are narrow and the entrances small and inconspicuous, and posed a certain amount of difficulty for Americans to enter. Didn't manage to get a good photo of myself stepping in but it was too easy for me to get in.. heehee :)

*~ its just shoulder-width wide! ~*

Iron was not affordable but fortunately for the Vietnamese guerillas, they had an abundance of it when they captured American tanks.

*~ spikey traps all over the forest ~*

The distinct 2 halves of the badge with different colours represented the division of the country to Northern and Southern Vietnam.

*~ used by the Guerillas ~*

With a sophisticated system, the kitchen remained hidden from enemies. Smoke was directed to escape the kitchen from a spot about 5 to 10 meters away from the kitchen itself.

*~ the famous underground Hoang Cam kitchen ~*

I'd always been a little claustrophobic, but this was really an experience not to be missed. Just some 40m of tunnel to experience, we crawled in one after another. Got this photo from a nice Swedish tour-mate walking behind me. As u can see the height of the tunnels is about 1m? I was practically squat-walking the whole route cos i forgot to put my bag down -_-

*~ my claustrophobic experience ~*

Survival techniques...

*~ Making shoes from tyres left behind by the enemy ~*

*~ Washing up for some snacks ~*

*~ Some refreshing tapioca and pandan tea ~*

After the tour at the Cu chi tunnel, our guide managed to squeeze in some time to bring us to a Handicraft factory where the items were all made by handicapped people.
Some of the beautiful craftwork were made using eggshells..

*~ fitting in some eggshells onto the plate ~*

*~ a friendly worker posed for a photo showing his accomplishment ~*

*~ these eggshell pictures really amazed me.. ~*

*~ a real masterpiece with eggshells!! ~*

After the half-day tour, we got back to the hotel and went to a nearby vietnamese restaurant for lunch.

*~ PAO ~*

*~ Our set lunches at just 35,000 VND ~*

It was getting late in the afternoon and we rushed to Chinatown, about 25 min away by taxi. Taxi-fare probably cost us about 5 SGD??

*~ Chinatown ~*

*~ The market ~*

Always very impressed how many motorbikes were on the road. If i remember correctly, the tour guide said there are about 4 million in HCMC alone?

*~ Motorbike mob!! ~*

Shops closed at about 5.30pm.. later i learnt from David that the night market in Chinatown is the better deal which starts about 7pm.. gee.. we missed that and left for a chinese dinner.. humph~

*~ Mom was impressed by the cleanliness ~*

*~ we met up my auntie's god-daughter ~*

After dinner, the group decided to go to Cho Ben Thanh for the 3rd time.. i was a little disappointed. 3rd time at the same night market?? huh... luckily mom was understanding and we decided we were going back to the hotel and finding a place for us to satisfy our vanity~ Opposite a very classy looking hairdressing salon, mom spotted a small and inconspicuous shop near our hotel on Bui Vien Street.

*~ the small hair salon ~*

I'm still really impressed we walked in~ and the experience is pretty unforgettable.
The shop owner could speak English, later i learnt from her that her daughter was a teacher. :) For just 50,000 VND (less than 5 SGD) i got a shampoo, head and neck massage, face scrub and a hair cut! Mom did a hair dye and cut for just 150,000 VND (less than 15 SGD)

Coincidentally, a vietnamese lady brought her 2 Singaporean visitors to the same salon~ heee~ tempted by them, i also decided to do my nails~ for just 50,000 i had a full manicure plus nail art!

*~ my pretty nails~ ~*

*~ Day 6 - Going home~ (23rd Jun 2009) ~*

Breakfast in our hotel at 7.30am~ Nice place right? Still newly furnished~

*~ Me & mom ~*

*~ A vietnamese style coffee maker/filter? ~*

*~ my Vietnamese Pho with chicken ~*

*~ View from the 10th floor at the streets ~*

*~ "good morning! grrrrr" ~*

After breakfast, we made a short trip to Cho Ben Thanh to check out the day market~ Turned out to be pretty much like the night market except it was indoors. Funny cos they kept speaking Japanese to me & mom. ;) Its amazing how good people can be with languages~

*~ Cho Ben Thanh in the day ~*

We went back to the hotel and had lunch at PAO again, the restaurant near to the hotel.

*~ the group ~*

*~ spotting a genuine roadside food on the way to the airport ~*

*~ Arriving at the Tan Son Nhat International Airport ~*

*~ Tan Son Nhat International Airport ~*

... and then we head home!

~ Austria ~ (11th~21st May 2008)

2008-05-31T04:53:00.000-07:00

This trip was really special for me. It was my first work trip, and also the first visit to a European country. Also the great people that I met and got to know from work and outside of work. I have to say everything was perfect. But there's so much I do not want to forget so I hope to blog down as many details as possible. So this travel entry is a little overlapped with my usual blog cos I will also put in alot of personal though and feeling and experiences... So, look forward to a really long entry. :)

~ Austria - Day 1 ~ (12th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Linz Day 1: *~Free & Easy~*

Woke up before sunrise my first morning in Linz at about 4:30am Linz time (10:30am SG time). Caught my first sunrise outside of the room window.. I opened the window to enjoy the cold wind in my face, i'm guessing abt 16 deg celcius?

*~ my first sunrise in Linz ~*

Met Alan and Chris at 9am for our first Austrian breakfast. :) Well i'm not so sure if its typical Austrian though.. but according to Stan the next morning, its pretty decent German breakfast.

first time i had my egg in a egg dish~ It's hard on the outside, soft on the inside.. mmm~ ;D

*~ i love eggs ~*

We were off to a day tour on our own and we knew where we had to go cos the nice driver that picked us up from the airport had pointed Hauptplatz out the night before.

*~ us in front of Spitz Hotel ~*

Alan warned us about walking onto cycling tracks. Apparently in Europe, the cyclists have the right of way, so if u were to get onto the bike path.. hmm its your fault! (Fact or Fiction??)

*~ cycling track! cool! ~*

*~ .... and a complicated mix of signboards ~*

Excited to see all the public transports and trams in the middle of the road!

*~ the tram ~*

Notice that even the traffic signal is accomodating to cyclists.. comparatively, cyclists are not supposed to be on pedestrian walkways in SG, or they will be considered a nuisance..

*~ traffic signal ~*

The Trinity Column stands in the middle of Hauptplatz (Main Place) and rises some 20m high. Sculpted in white marble by Sebastian Stumpfegger to a design by Antonio Beduzzi and inaugurated in 1723. 3 inscriptions remember the dedication to the Holy Trinity to commerate the deliverance from the dangers of war(1704), fire(1712) and the plague(1713). The column is flanked by the patron saints Sebastian, Florian and Charles Borromeo. (Got all these info from the pamphlet ^^)

*~ The Trinity Column ~*

We decided to take the Linz City Express where we had a short 25 min introduction to the city and some history and of course the historical buildings. Think it was just €6. Cool! Really love doing touristy stuff~

*~ Me & the City Express ~*

This vehicle is sooo commonly seen in Europe. Why!! its so cute.. :(

*~ Me & "my" Smart car ~*

In Hauptplatz you get all sorts of food! We even saw a restaurant from Singapore. Tempted to try, but never did.. :P

*~ A Singaporean restaurant in the middle of Hauptplatz? ~*

We also took a look at Mozart-haus which in 1783 Mozart and his wife Constanze stayed for a short period and in which, he spent just 3 days to write the Linzer Symphonie Nr 36 in C major to thank his generous host of Court of Thun.

*~ Mozarthaus ~*

*~ Parking ticket machine ~*

Unknowingly, we also walked to the Schlossmuseum where we could look from higher grounds over the Danube river and to the other side of Hauptplatz.

*~ Schloss musuem ~*

There's also a children's playground where we suggested Alan to take a few pictures of himself enjoying, to make his kids jealous :P

*~ Back to childhood ~*

If you look carefully enough, right on top of the mountain on the left, is Pöstlingberg.

*~ The other side of Danube river from HauptPlatz ~*

The place is great, you have grassy lands and flowers everywhere! And you also find people just enjoying and relaxing on these hilly areas enjoying the warmth from the sun and fresh air. :)

*~ The hills are alive.. with the sound of music~ ~*

The Altes Rathaus was originally built in the late 13th century. It was then completely rebuilt after the great fire of 1509. It is the seat of the city council and the municipal administration.

*~ The Altes Rathaus (Old City Hall) ~*

Finally we got a bit hungry and it was time to find a nice place to eat. Out in the open under alot of trees, in the cool afternoon. Alan decided he had to have beer for his first lunch here, while me and chris ended up with some fruit punch after some communication breakdown. :P

*~ Wilkommen im Biergarten ~*

I forgot what i ordered for my lunch.. but it was pork with some really nice fruit sauce.

*~ my lunch ~*

The New Cathedral (aka St Mary's) was constructed from 1862 to 1924 to designs by Vinzenz Statz. The stained glass windows show scenes from the history of Linz. Thre spire (134 metres) is said to have been limited in height so as to be lower than St Stephen's in Vienna.

Really magnificent.. i think this was one of the most impressive buildings for me.. :)

*~ Neuer Dom~*

Trying to get to the Pöstlingberg church and taking shortcuts, we somehow found ourselves at the station which wasn't in service..

*~ Pöstlingberg station ~*

I remember meeting a little boy while walking up the stairs of the church. He just came over to say "Hallo". How sweet! But i think he didn't understand when I asked him "How are you?" But really cute, and his older brother got worried and started calling out to him. ;)

From Hauptplatz, I had imagined the church to be much bigger. The walls were pink and there's a simple soft touch to the interior. Nice. :)

*~ Pöstlingberg kirche ~*

*~ paintings on the roof ~*

Having been thirsty, and shops were closed on public holidays, we finally managed to get some water (non carbonated) from the souvenir shop for €1.20 which wasn't too bad. Except the owner started mocking Singapore, which upsetted me a little.. then he started blabbering in german to himself. -_-"

*~ overlooking the city of Linz ~*

Getting off the bus a few stops away from Pöstlingberg, to visit the Linzer Tiergarten which i had mistakenly thought was the zoo Didi had told me about, of the old lion. Out of curiosity, I had easily convinced Alan and Chris to check it out. Except there was no lion... :(

*~ The Linz ZOO! ~*

The animals were amazing, they KNOW when you wanna take pictures with them. They just walk up to you and look at the camera. And if you take toooooo long, they turn away. *cute*

*~ The goat and me ~*

This was one cage i could hardly bear to look at. They were feeding on mice. And I thought I heard squeaking.. i hope the mice were dead when they got put into the cage??

*~ feeding time.. :( ~*

Being cheeky, i sneaked a shot of the guys (if u look carefully enough) sitting inside this very special enclosure. :D

*~ special enclosure for human species :P ~*

We took a walk near the hotel, i think we got off at Rudolfstrasse, where the shops were of course closed. But I think we found a really nice place for dinner. Highly recommended by me!

*~ Monte Verde ~*

*~ Chris & Alan~*

The waitress was really kind, as the menu was all in german. She had patiently described a few dishes to us. Chris and I also managed to get our first Radler (sweeten beer). Somehow I thought turkey with salad would have been Main course Turkey plus salad as a side, but look, This plate is bigger than my face. :P

*~ Me & my HUGE turkey salad ~*

Happy and feeling accomplished for the first day, we headed back to the hotel. And we nicely have a signboard outside the hotel which gives us information of the daily temperature.

*~ The first night was just 19 deg C~*

*~ my lovely bed ~*

*~ all the alcohol i cannot have ;) ~*

This was my Day 1. (it didn't turn out quite as i had hoped because of a broken promise, but it still went well don't you think?)

~ Austria - Day 2 ~(13th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

Linz Day 2: *~ work day and a socializing dinner ~*
Day 2 was a normal working day for us. So after a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we cabbed down to the office Freistaedterstrasse 400. (Thanks to flo's namecard) Some information to note, there is no extra charges for calling of cabs. Cool! But a trip from the hotel to the office, abt 10min drive costs as on avg €10.

Didi met us and showed us into the office where we had a great view to the fields outside. A green flowery field where rabbits and deers will appear once in a while. It's too good for the eyes!! And windows can actually be opened! (unlike what we have back in Singapore's office..)

*~ The fields outside ~*

*~ Our office for the rest of the work week ~*

I really hope i get the spelling right.. A little restaurant called Johann's(?) about 5 min walk from the office. The food was really nice, but my jet lag really affected my appetite for almost a week. Trust me, by the 2nd week i started to eat like a cow already. :D

*~ Lunch @ Johann's ~*

*~ My salad ~*

*~ My sausages & fries ~*

A day of meetings after meetings.. and then finally after 5.30 we are allowed to have beer which is also available in the office pantry! But only after working hours ok ;) Checked out in the supermarket, well beer costs about the same as water, so.. explains why Austrians can drink beer like drinking water? We also shared the goodies we brought from Singapore. Because we had retrospective meetings with the 3 silk teams, Alan had to "surprise" everyone with the goodies 3 times. :)

*~ After work we had some goodies from Singapore ~*

*~ And not forgetting about the beer!! ~*

I told Flo about our little trip up to Pöstlingberg and found out that we actually missed the most amazing part of it. :( The tram ride where u can enter a world of fairy tales, of dragons and hansel and gretel..

Squeezing in a bit of time before dinner, Flo kindly drove Chris & I up to Pöstlingberg again. Unfortunately, the ride was closed by the time we arrived after work. This also means I need to visit Linz once more. :) Anyways, we took a walk around the area where there are also supposed to be "wild" but tamed deers living.

*~ Another side of Pöstlingberg ~*

Another act of kindness and with just 30min to dinner, maybe to ease my disappointment a little. Our guide took us up to the highest point of Linz, GIS, on Lichtenberg. So I've been to the highest point of Linz!! *yay!*

*~ Driving up to GIS ~*

What was a little scary but also a little thrilling is sitting in a car at 80km/h along the narrow winding roads up & down the mountains!! And I will remember that Flo said "you just have to believe". *SCARY!!*

*~ The little green car ~*

*~ Flo & Me @ GIS ~*

*~ Looking from the top of Linz ~*

The socialising dinner at a nice restaurant in Hauptplatz, Promenaden Hof, as Didi & Flo said, was VERY VERY important. Reminds me, I still do not know why flo took a pic of me with my beer. According to Didi & Flo, it was to show Manfred that we took socialising very seriously. (currently, I'm amazed by my memory!)

*~ Dinner dates ~*

*~ More Dinner dates ~*

*~ Flo's dinner which was weird ~*

3 different types of dumplings that looked like fishball, and sauercraut (which is some kind of salad, kind of like sour cabbage?). It seemed to be extremely filling, but it could also be my lack of appetite due to the lack of sleep.. unfortunately... because the dumplings tasted really nice! umm~~

*~ my dinner ~*

What is a nice dinner without dessert right? Lucky for me, Gudrun was willing to share it with me. :)

*~ the best of all: DESSERT ~*

~ Austria - Day 3 ~(14th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:57:00.000-07:00

Linz Day 3: *~ the day where we eat pizza and Weißwürste~*

Many thanks to Didi who made this trip so full of experiences for me.. :) There's always something to look forward to every working day. Lunch was pizza in the office. And I got to see each guy eating 1 pizza by themselves. Me? I had 2 slices, i think that's a quarter of the pizza? I was too busy eating that I only know now, even Chris hadn't taken any pics of the pizzas. :(
So with my limited gourmet vocabulary, I have to describe it. Thin crust, and juicy toppings. The crust was so thin i had to hold it with both hands and the toppings is enough! :)

Someone in office had imported some funky chilli sauces which I got to try. Hmm taste-wise, it was just ok. Acceptable for an asian. ;) But what was funky was really the labels. hehee~

*~ HOT STUFF ~*

A special arrangement for catering of Weißwürste. :) Traditionally eaten in Austria. But according to the guys, it wasn't really good. But i loved it, so how much better will the good ones be?? And it was supposed to be taken with another sauce. Hmm i can't really remember the facts for this very well.. :P

*~ Me & my Weißwürste ~*

The Linz office has a nice terrace where we sat with beer, Weißwürste (white sausages) and HUGE pretzels. And the most memorable topic of conversation was of cos the basement. :P Didi said, he would show me his basement when we visited his place on Saturday, where his kids had all these toys and stuff. And Didi2 started making a huge joke out of it with flo. the history to the joke was the news that had been released a few weeks before my visit abt the crazy man who kidnapped his own daughter in the basement in Austria. hmm..

*~ Didi, Flo, Me, Didi2, Andreas ~*

Couldn't bear to just let one night go with nothing exciting done. So Chris and I made plans to visit Hauptplatz, Sky Garden for some drinks. Joachim also extended his friendly gesture by joining us. Michi came much much later after work and his sporty activities near some lake at the office?

*~ Me & Joachim ~*

*~ My Lumumba (hot choco with rum) ~*

We took a slow walk back to the hotel, remembering the nice cool weather... which might have been a little too windy now that i think about it... :D

~ Austria - Day 4 ~(15th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:56:00.000-07:00

Linz Day 4: Shopping Day!

The breakfast group grows bigger as we had Joachim from Germany join us as well. :)

*~ Breakfast with Joachim, Chris, Me, Alan and Stan ~*

On our way to lunch...

*~ A siemens branded traffic signal button "Bitte Warten"~*

And we met a snake.. which Stan picked up!! I'm sure he would have swung it around and maybe brought it back to office as a pet, if not because some of us were too shocked. :P

*~ wahh! snake! ~*

*~ Lunch again at Johann's ~*

Its amazing how basements are always COLD in Austria. hmm the carpark was COLD. It had to be less than 18 deg C. And these are bikes belonging to the Borland bike team on display in a cage. How cool is that!

*~ Beware, bikes might bite! ~*

Gudrun & Michi brought us to Plus City for some good time shopping! No pics taken at the shopping mall unfortunately, cos we were too busy SHOPPING!~ :D But a short description is always good. There was Interio (kind of like ikea) with nice home furnishing stuff where Gudrun got some flower pots. And Swarovski where Alan got his wife a nice pair of earrings. I remember a big toy shop..(like ToysRUs) and also a hmm.. what would u call it, where I got phia's Nina Ricci and Michi got himself some cologne. Also I mistook a video stall for a cinema because of the movie posters outside. But there's also supposed to be a cinema on another side of Plus City. There I also got some coffee powder which was highly recommended by Gudrun for its quality and taste. :)

Arriving a little too late for the release party at Waldschänke Exenschläger when the sun had already set and the kitchen was closed.

This picture was taken from Stan's collection. :)

*~ Release party at Waldschänke Exenschläger~*

Although the kitchen was closed, they still kindly prepared bread with some cheesy spread for us. I thought it was like sour cream, but Flo said its some kind of cheese? And dinner always comes with a Radler for me in Austria. Helps to keep me warm on cold nights. :) Flo said he had 5 Radlers that night, i'm still not believing him though.. Impressions are hard to change.. ;)

*~ My dinner ~*

Sadly, the weather had also started to worsen from this night. And they say its because i had not finished my food during my meals. :( There was just a slight drizzle which lasted a few min... but that marked the end of my clear blue sky.

*~ Gudrun & Me ~*

*~ Me & my beer barrel ~*

A very tiring but fulfilling night. Thanks to Gudrun & Michi. :)

~ Austria - Day 5 ~(16th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:55:00.000-07:00

Linz Day 5: End of the work week~

Finally, we've come to the end of the work week. A little sad, the week had flown past just like that. Nevertheless, accomplishing alot with all those meetings and discussions.. brown bottles and socialising activities.

Its important to start the day with a good breakfast, and this is what I usually get at Spitz hotel. :)

*~ breakfast is served ~*

After a short day at the office, it was time to say goodbye to everyone. Fridays are pretty flexi-houred as most people finish off what they had planned for the week and leave early. But luckily we still managed to get shots with some of them in the offices. Its really nice because they are such nature lovers. As you can see in the photos that some people work in they own little "jungles".

*~ Saying goodbye to the Linz colleagues~*

Flo kindly offered to bring Chris & I shopping as it was one of those rare occasions where shops were supposed to open till late! And for the first time on a weekday after work, did we see such a big crowd!

*~ Late night shopping in town! ~*

Spotted a guy on a Segway. Flo explained how it had sounded like Segue (the company name before being acquired by Borland). Cool stuff. I've never seen one of these in Singapore....

*~ A guy on a Segway ~*

Our guide had planned to bring us to a few special shops, to look at exquisite items, designer Zotter chocolates... parfume.. Nicely planned :)

Hmm the zotter chocs come with cute wrappers with different meanings and for different occasions. This one is supposed to be for hardworking people like me? :D
*curtsey*

*~ Chocolates for the hardworking ;) ~*

*~ a little shop with exquisite items ~*

*~ Parfumerie Aschauer ~*

Lily of the Valley smelled so good i had to get one too.. :) Mostly also because I love lilies.. hmm.. but i've never actually seen what Lily of the Valley is.. and its supposed to be poisonous? :P

*~ mmm~ ~*

Flo received a call from Annette that she was also in town meeting her students for dinner. So we got to meet our guide to Vienna for the first time :) They are such a cute couple!~ :D

*~ meeting Annette for the first time *blush* ~*

Finally, it was time to have dinner. The 3 of us had the usual.. but i dunno how my 0,3l turned into a 0,5l... which i obviously couldn't finish in the end.. :P But we also learnt that Flo was undergoing training as a house-pork. So.. as his friend, I offered to help with that training. :D

*~ Prost! (0,5l, my largest so far) ~*

We took a walk back to the hotel after dinner. And with Chris's very professional photography equipment, we managed some beautiful night shots of the Lentos museum and its reflection on the Danube.

*~ The Lentos museum ~*

And also the bridge we've walked on so often between the hotel and Hauptplatz.

*~ Night scenery of the Danube river ~*

Isn't it amazingly beautiful? :)

~ Austria - Day 6 - Wurzeralm ~(17th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:54:00.000-07:00

Austria Day 6: Our long-awaited hiking trip @ Wurzeralm~

Thanks to Didi, we had a very special hiking trip at Wurzeralm. And a wonderful home visit to his place in Wels where we met his amazing wife and children.

Our guide had warned us, not to bring our umbrellas when we go hiking! :) (But later i think Chris told me he had accidentally left his umbrella in his bag??) :P

It was a 2 hour drive from Spitz hotel in Linz to Wurzeralm.. but along the way was just beautiful scenaries after beautiful scenaries! I had prayed hard for good weather especially for this hiking trip, not forgetting also working very hard to finish my food everyday. :) As Austrian tradition says, you will get good weather if you finish your food :P

*~ Spitz Hotel to Wurzeralm ~*

So Didi picked an easy path for us which i had eventually rated abt 1 or 2 out of 10. :P In order to be Didi-certified beginner hikers, we were to complete this hike in about 2 hours.

*~ Our beginners hiking path ~*

Anyway very lucky for us, the day we visited Wurzeralm, it was just declared the start of Summer and so it was finally safe to go hiking in the snowy mountains!

*~ Didi explaining the hike path ~*

We bought tram tickets to get to our starting point. Its €14 usually, €13 each for a group of 3 (I hope i remembered this correctly..)

*~ The Wurzeralm Tram ~*

*~ and there was Light! ~*

*~ A paranomic shot at our starting point ~*

Didi explained that water in Austria is extremely clean. In fact the ice or snow or streams are all so clean you can eat or drink from it. Thirsty for ice and being a copy cat, seeing Alan digging into the pile of snow, i had to get some too!

*~ Got a little thirsty for ice.. ~*

These markings of the Austrian flag is to mark out the hiking paths. So if you don't see any along your way, you are probably lost.. :P

*~ yup, we're still on the right path! ~*

Didi handed me a little yellow flower for good luck! :) Still praying for the good weather to hold up, so this became my lucky charm.

*~ flower for good luck! ~*

I actually like looking at people from their backs.. a little influenced by a japanese tv series or movie.. i forgot.. but it made me realise i prefer to watch people walk away then for people to watch me walk away.. does that make sense?

*~ Alan & Didi walking ahead :) ~*

In singapore, we would have to scratch our names in the mud.. but we were lucky because the mountains were still snowy! Also made the hike extremely cooling. Warmer than we had expected, and cooler so we didn't all get sweaty and tired.

*~ Didi's name in the ice, also for luck ~*

*~ i followed suit and put mine in the ice too! ~*

Although I rated the difficulty about 1.5 out of 10, there were still steep slopes which were difficult to walk through because of the deep layers of snow. I remember getting my one leg sink too deep into the snow and tripping against a tree trunk..

*~ steep snowy slopes... ~*

Finally, we reached our destination where we were to stop and have our lunch in the middle of the quiet nature. :) The feeling was amazing! The weather was cool, the place was nice and quiet. Surrounded by so much nature and sitting in the middle of snow where the sun just feels warm. Alan and Didi were talking about how nice it would be to have a book and read half the day. Me? I think I would just day dream half the day. :)

*~ we found ourselves a table in the ground! ~*

*~ our sumptious mountain food! ~*

*~ looking at the nature around us ~*

A little doggie we passed by several times during our hike. He was hiking too, with his owner. Seeing him made me miss wangwang so much at that point of time. :P

*~ a little hiking doggie ~*

Finally, Didi congratulates us on graduating from his Beginners' course. :) Yay! We conquered umm.. the mountains in Wurzeralm!! Next stop was to Didi's home in Wels. :D

*~ next stop: Didi's home! ~*

Didi's home was so great, in a nice friendly village in Wels. With a nice pool and a pool house by the side. Of course the actual house and its super cool basement which feels cool on a hot afternoon, filled with toys and lego. We didn't get to see the cat because she was too shy and hiding under the bed.

The boys were really shy in the beginning, and Didi explained that Lukas was frustrated because he couldn't speak English to us. Well.. its probably how frustrated I had felt cos i couldn't speak German. :(

*~ my new young friend, Lukas :) ~*

The wonderful family. Looking at them will make people envious seriously! I already miss the short amount of time we had spent with them.

*~ The Strasser Family, Didi, Lukas, Matthias, Dorli ~*

To break the ice, we sat down for some games and fun! Alan, being a father of 2 kids, was really at home when it came to playing with children. :D

*~ Our game of Lotti Karotte~*

*~ and a game of UNO ~*

Hurray! Dinner is ready! We were soooooooo fortunate to have tasted lasagne so perfect! I have to be honest that this is so far the best I've had!! And I finished EVERY bit of it *proud* :)

*~ YAY! Lasagne! ~*

*~ us enjoying our wonderful dinner ~*

*~ and dessert! ~*

It's supposed to be common for Austrians to make their own homemade wines/liquors every year. This nuss likor (nut liquor) is good for health and extremely good after a heavy meal! My goodness, it tasted great, and in fact also tasted very healthy! ;)

*~ homemade nuss likor (5l) ~*

Time always flies when you are enjoying yourself. But there's always so much to look forward to. :) Many thanks to our hosts for the wonderful day!

~ Austria - Day 7 - Vienna, Wachau ~(18th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

Austria Day 7: Off to Vienna & wine at Wachau~

It was an early day for us. Arranged to meet Florian and Annette at 7.30am to check out of Spitz Hotel and move our luggages to Youth Hotel then drive to Vienna. Met chris for an early breakfast at 6.30am and saw that it was already drizzling a little in Linz. :(

*~ High tech windmills along the way ~*

Schönbrunn Palace in its present form is one of Vienna's most popular tourist attractions, hosting thousands of visitors a week. This rococo Palace was finished in 1700 under Leopold I, and is a much diminished version of an incredible Imperial project first planned by Johann Fischer von Erlach. The Palace was renovated and extended under Maria Theresia, and at that time had 2,000 rooms, a chapel plus its own theatre. Like all the imperial buildings associated with Maria Theresia, the Schönbrunn complex is today painted in rich yellow. Napoleon lived here from 1805 to 1809 and Emperor Francis Joseph I, who was born here in 1830, spent the last years of his life in the palace. Usually the complex only served as a summer residence to the Habsburgs. Take at least one day for this trip through the palace and the vast surroundings.

*~ The Grand Palace - Schönbrunn ~*

*~ Main entrance of Schönbrunn ~*

*~ Some nice fountains in the courtyard ~*

*~ Me & Annette ~*

*~ Roses everywhere! Beautiful isn't it! ~*

*~ At the back of the castle ~*

*~ Statues around the royal garden ~*

*~ Queueing for tickets ~*

We did a short tour of the castle, seeing the rooms of Emperor Francis Joseph I & learnt from Annette alot about Sisi. All the wonderful stories she had did alot of reading up on. :)
I've also looked on Wikipedia for some information:
Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie, Duchess in Bavaria, Princess of Bavaria (December 24, 1837 – September 10, 1898) of the House of Wittelsbach, was the Empress consort of Austria and Queen consort of Hungary due to her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph. Her father was Maximilian Joseph, Duke in Bavaria and her mother was Ludovika, Royal Princess of Bavaria; her family home was Possenhofen Castle. From an early age, she was called "Sisi" ("Sissi" in films and novels) by family and friends.

She was born in Munich, Bavaria. Elisabeth accompanied her mother and her 18-year-old sister, Helene, on a trip to the resort of Bad Ischl, Upper Austria [1], where they hoped Helene would attract the attention of their cousin, 23-year-old Franz Joseph, then Emperor of Austria. Instead, Franz Joseph chose Elisabeth, and the couple were married in Vienna at St. Augustine's Church on April 24, 1854. Elisabeth later wrote that she regretted accepting his proposal for the rest of her life. Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_of_Bavaria

I tried as secretly as I could to get a shot of the Grand Ballroom. I had already curbed my desires in the previous rooms but this room was too impressive. But someone walked over and told me off :P

*~ The Grand Ballroom ~*

We had lunch at a nice cosy restaurant "Centimeter". Here you can get food in portions by centimeters. This is good because you can get the amount suitable for you. But hmm.. we still ordered too much food.. :P

*~ Lunch @ Centimeter ~*

*~ Our wonderful guides Annette & Florian ~*

Haha, i will always remember the discussion we had before this dish. So what is black pudding? Annette thought we might be grossed out by what it really is. But hmm chinese eat alot of weird things too. So we spent some time comparing who eats weirder food. And I know Austrians totally disapprove of Chinese eating Sharks' Fin.. :P Anyways, black pudding is just pig's blood! Its not so gross is it? We have it too but just that i don't eat it. But this was really good!

*~ Tasty Black Pudding with Potatoes ~*

*~ Centimeters of cold & warm bread ~*

*~ Me, Chris, Annette and Flo ~*

*~ University of Vienna (German: Universität Wien) ~*

*~ The Kkhofburg Theater ~*

Annette says there was a ball in Vienna the night before where lots of famous people turned up. I remember her mentioning Sharon Stone as well. Hmm a pity though because we couldn't have a good look at the building. :) (which I have conveniently forgotten what is it.. and Flo has kindly told me is the Rathaus)

*~ Clearing up after a big ball in front of the Rathaus ~*

*~ Rathausplatz ~*

*~ The Parliament ~*

*~ Even lampposts have detailed designs ~*

*~ At the entrance of Mozart's memorial ~*

*~ Remembering Mozart ~*

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German writer. George Eliot called him "Germany's greatest man of letters… and the last true polymath to walk the earth." Goethe's works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, humanism, and science. Goethe's magnum opus, lauded as one of the peaks of world literature, is the two-part drama Faust. Goethe's other well-known literary works include his numerous poems, the Bildungsroman Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and the epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther.

I took a picture of Goethe's statue to remember that I'm supposed to do some reading on his works. ;)

*~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~*

*~ The Staats Opern Museum ~*

*~ The famous Hotel Sacher ~*

A popular cake in Austria, Sacher Torte! But very very costly and apparently Flo can bake it. So i've placed my order.. when will i ever get a taste of good quality Sacher Torte??

*~ Sacher Torte!! ~*

*~ Paintings on the walls of buildings ~*

Annette told me that this was a famous painting. Before which, I had absolutely no idea about paintings. As usual, I take a picture of things i learn about. So here's is the famous painting by Gustav, "The Kiss".

*~ The Kiss by Gustav Klimt ~*

*~ Streets of Vienna ~*

*~ Street performances ~*

*~ Balloon art ~*

St. Stephen's Cathedral (German: Stephansdom) is the mother church of the Archdiocese of Vienna and the seat of the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Cardinal Schönborn, OP. Its current Romanesque and Gothic form seen today, situated at the heart of Vienna, Austria in the Stephansplatz, was largely initiated by Rudolf IV and stands on the ruins of two earlier churches, the first being a parish church consecrated in 1147. As the most important religious building in Austria's capital, the cathedral has born witness to many important events in that nation's history and has become one of the city's most recognizable symbols.

*~ St. Stephen's Cathedral (under restoration) ~*

*~ Inside St Stephen's Cathedral ~*

The stone pulpit is a masterwork of late gothic sculpture. Long attributed to Anton Pilgram, today Niclaes Gerhaert van Leyden is thought more likely to be the carver. So that the local language sermon could be better heard by the worshipers in the days before microphones and loud speakers, the pulpit stands against a pillar out in the nave, instead of in the chancel at the front of the church.

The sides of the pulpit erupt like stylized petals from the stem supporting it. On those gothic petals are relief portraits of the four original Doctors of the Church (St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Ambrose, St. Gregory the Great and St. Jerome), each of them in one of four different temperaments and in one of four different stages of life.The handrail of the stairway curving its way around the pillar from ground level to the pulpit has fantastic decorations of toads and lizards biting each other, symbolizing the fight of good against evil. At the top of the stairs, a stone puppy protects the preacher from intruders.

Beneath the stairs is one of the most beloved symbols of the cathedral: a stone self-portrait of the unknown sculptor gawking (German: gucken) out of a window (German: fenster) and thus famously known as the Fenstergucker. The chisel in the subject's hand, and the stonemason's signature mark on the shield above the window let to the speculation that it could be a self-portrait of the sculptor.

*~ The stone pulpit & the Fenstergucker ~*

The composer Ludwig van Beethoven discovered the totality of his deafness when he saw birds flying out of the bell tower as a result of the bells' tolling but could not hear the bells. St. Stephen's Cathedral has 23 bells in total. The largest is officially named for St. Mary, but usually called Pummerin ("Boomer") and hangs in the north tower. At 20,130 kilograms (44,380 pounds), it is the largest in Austria and the second largest swinging bell in Europe (after the 23,500-kilogram (51,800-pound) Peter in Cologne Cathedral). Originally cast in 1711 from cannons captured from the Muslim invaders, it was recast (partly from its original metal) in 1951 after crashing onto the floor when its wooden cradle burned during the 1945 fire. The new bell has a diameter of 3.14 metres (9.6 ft)]] and was a gift from the province of Upper Austria. It sounds on only a few special occasions each year, including the arrival of the new year. There are three other bells hanging in this tower, but they are older and no longer used.

*~ Pummerin ("Boomer") ~*

*~ Looking over the city ~*

A glory of St. Stephen's Cathedral is its ornately patterned, richly coloured roof, 111 meters (361 ft) long, and covered by 230,000 glazed tiles. Above the choir on the south side of the building the tiles form a mosaic of the double-headed eagle that is symbolic of the empire ruled from Vienna by the Habsburg dynasty. On the north side the coats of arms of the City of Vienna and of the Republic of Austria are depicted. In 1945, fire caused by World War II damage to nearby buildings leapt to the north tower of the cathedral and went on to destroy the wooden framework of the roof. Replicating the original bracing for so large a roof (it rises 38 meters above the floor) would have required an entire square kilometre of forest, so over 600 metric tons of steel bracing were used instead. The roof is so steep that it is sufficiently cleaned by the rain alone and is seldom covered by snow.

*~ The roof ~*

*~ The Trinity Column (Vienna) ~*

Having been told by Alan that when he visited Vienna during his post grad tour, he remembered how the pastries he had in Vienna simply melted in his mouth. And the taste is unforgettable for him till today. We had to try some of these good pastries ourselves! Finally Flo & Annette brought us to DEMEL ;)

*~ DEMEL - also famous for pastries ~*

Hofburg Imperial Palace is a palace in Vienna, Austria, which has housed some of the most powerful people in Austrian history, including the Habsburg dynasty, rulers of the Austro-Hungarian empire. It currently serves as the official residence of the President of Austria. It was the Habsburg's principal winter residence, while Schönbrunn Palace was their preferred summer residence.

*~ Hofburg Imperial Palace ~*

*~ Hofburg Imperial Palace ~*

*~ More segways ~*

At this point, we were starting to run back to the car as the drizzle turned into a heavy downpour. :(

*~ Bye bye Vienna :( ~*

Next up on the plan was to go to Wachau which is famous for its wine.

*~ To Wachau we go! ~*

*~ Wineyards along the way ~*

*~ Dürnstein (Wachau/Austria) ~*

*~ Streets of Wachau ~*

Finally it was time to eat again. We found a small homely restaurant and got some wine and traditional Austrian food. :)

*~ Dinner Time! ~*

What's dinner without dessert? More commonly known as "sweets" in Austria.

*~ Sweets! ~*

After dinner, Flo drove us back to Linz. I fell asleep for a short while after the wine got to my head.. but just a short while.. :) Still very thankful to this couple for being such great hosts. :) And I will always remember Annette to be a big fan of Sisi, and thanks for all the wonderful stories. I've never had so much fun visiting a Castle-museum before. :D

~ Austria - Day 8 - Salzkammergut ~(19th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:52:00.000-07:00

Austria Day 8: To Salzkammergut ~ Listen to the music of nature~

Chris and I spent the morning using up our internet credit which we bought at the Youth Hotel for €8 per hour! Freakingly expensive.. :( And waited for Michael to pick us up after he finished his work at 12.30pm.

Another adventure begins! I had done some research on Austria before going there and came across the name Salzkammergut which is famous for its beautiful nature. It was also where The Sound of Music was filmed. Apparently, this movie isn't very popular
with Austrians because it twisted alot of facts to spice up the actual story..

Fortunately for me & Chris, Michael grew up at Salzkammergut, so we had the best guide. :)

First stop was to Gmunden which is at one end of Salzkammergut. The plan was to go from this end then to Bad Ischl for Zauner pastries at the end. :)

It was a 45min drive from Linz to Gmunden.. i thought longer but my guide has corrected my bad sense of time.. :P During the drive, Michi told me that Gudrun had picked up some 4-leaf clovers for me in her garden!! I was so happy i started to tear secretly, with JOY of cos! :P

*~ Heading towards Gmunden ~*

We got out of the car and it was freezing!! Maybe about 16 deg C? It had been rainy in Austria for about 3 days now since our work week ended. Very unfortunate because we didn't really get to enjoy the good weather. :(

*~ Yay! Arriving at the first destination ~*

It was a short walk to the Seeschloß Ort, a small castle at the lake. (See = Lake, schloß = castle) so it means "a castle by the lake" i think? :P

*~ We're off to see the Seeschloß Ort ~*

*~ Can u find where we are? ~*

It started to rain as we walked across the bridge..
The castle is pretty small, with a small church inside and some souvenir shops.

*~ Seeschloß Ort ~*

After checking out the small church in the castle, we took a walk down the lake to find a nice place for lunch. Stopping occasionally for some photos despite the light rain, and Chris managed to get a shot where this swan was just taking flight behind me.

*~ Taking a walk by the see (lake) where swans roam freely ~*

While waiting for the food, i walked out to the terrace to look over at the lake.. its so nice and cold :P

*~ Took a shot from the restaurant where we had lunch ~*

Lunch was great! Maybe I was really hungry, but Michi said the food is really unhealthy because its fried in lard. But mmmm~~~ unhealthy food tastes the best! I was shocked by the size of the knödels (dumplings). Much much bigger than what I had at Promenaden Hof. And when I exclaimed, the funny waiter went, "no, it isn't too much!" But.. i really couldn't finish my 2nd knödel :P

*~ Our sumptious lunch ~*

*~ The restaurant is at the "bridge" connecting these 2 buildings ~*

Still making good time, we caught our 50 min boat ride along the beautiful Traunsee. :) It should have been blue skies and green waters if the weather had been better. But it was still nice, freezing my face in the cold wind! But you can see how low the clouds come. :)

*~ Reminding me of Japan :) ~*

*~ The clouds are sooooo within reach! ~*

*~ A school in the middle of all that nature! ~*

*~ A different perspective of the Seeschloß Ort ~*

The lake is so beautiful, i would have decided to let myself freeze on the boat to enjoy it some more. But next time if i should get a chance, i wanna do it on a day where the skies are blue!!

I'm always looking for good luck charms like the 4-leaf clover. And since I learnt that the Edelweiss flower also brings good luck, I had been wanting to pick up one myself. But I had been told they can only be found high up in the mountains so i gave up the thought of finding one.

Surprisingly for me though, I did manage to find one on our way back to the car, at a souvenir shop! heehee~ Bought one for myself and one for my older sister. :)

This is a display of the famous Gmunden Keramik. An established brand over the years which explains why it's really costly.

*~ The famous & expensive Gmunden Keramik ~*

Next stop: Bad Ischl :) Michi explained that places named with 'Bad' in front are where you can find spas, hot springs, saunas, basically, baths. :)

*~ Streets of Bad Ischl~*

Saw a statue with the word 'Ischl' inscripted at the bottom. I forgot if it was because the place was named after the man, or he had done some charity work or something.. :P

*~ The guy I suspect this place is named after ~*

Not that there are very few cinemas in Austria, but just that this was the first I saw and stopped to look at. There was one at Plus City but we didn't go and see it..

*~ The first cinema I saw in Austria! ~*

I asked Michael what was the significance of such tall posts because i've been seeing them everywhere, decorated like it was for Christmas. It actually is only there during the month of May in all villages if i remember correctly.

*~ A May Post ~*

* The Opera House in Bad Ischl ~*

Finally, what we had been looking forward to. Famous Zauner pastries!! Unfortunately, they were already closing. I think it was about half past 6? Really early. So we went in to look around at the cute pastries. :)

*~ The legendary Zauner cafe ~*

*~ All the sweets! ~*

*~ A friendly staff smiling from behind the counter ~*

Luckily there's supposed to be another Zauner outlet some hundreds of metres away. On the way we saw this horse carriage, which i had to get on. In Vienna, a trip on a horse carriage costs €100 per hour!! This was free, and springy! hehee~

*~ Me & Michi riding on the carriage! ~*

*~ The other Zauner outlet ~*

It was nice having hot coffee indoors on a cold day. We also picked some cakes to go with. I had a Wien Melange i think?

*~ mmmm~~ ~*

*~ Yes, the one where i become a rabbit ~*

Over coffee, Michi suggested that it could be possible for us to have a small trek up the mountain to see a small waterfall! You cannot imagine how happy and excited i was. The lucky thing was, the sun doesn't set till about 9pm so we still had enough daylight to do a short hike. :)

*~ We LOVE hiking!! ~*

*~ Still on the right track towards the waterfall ~*

Not being able to find any 4 leaf clovers or Edelweiss, Michi gave me a small white flower to replace the Edelweiss :)

*~ The flower to replace the Edelweiss I couldn't find ~*

Seems all hiking paths will be marked with some signs to show trekkers they are still on the right track. But this one is a little different from what we saw on Wurzeralm, it is of the Japanese flag?? O_O

*~ Hmm.. we're still on the right track! ~*

We finally arrived at our Rindbach waterfall! Small but beautiful~ A place near to Michi's home which he often jogs to. :)

*~ Hurray! The Rindbach Wasserfall ~*

Continuing along the path uphill, we came to a point probably mid-way up the mountain and overlooked the river and mountains.

*~ Overlooking the mountains ~*

I would have wanted to continue but it was already getting late and the sun was setting. It was time to get back to Linz.

By the time we got back, it was about 10:30pm? It wasn't gonna be easy to find a place for dinner so we went to Mc Donald's! A restaurant i will always visit if i have a chance in the countries i visit. I like to know if they are any different from what we get in Singapore. Btw, there is no KFC in Austria!!!

*~ "how many languages do u know? ~*

This was my special meal, not found in SG. Tastes like mc chicken except maybe twice the size!! O_O its also twice the price if u convert Euros back to Sing dollars.

*~ My special mc's meal! ~*

A funny shot i had with the guys. They aren't so good with the fries which made them look more like walruses than vamps. :P

*~ 2 walruses and a vampire ;) ~*

Another eventful day. Very happy~ because we also saw more than we had expected except i wished time didn't pass by so quickly.. It was also a day where i didn't have any beer unfortunately. We checked out the bar at the Youth Hotel but that was already closed when we got back. Many thanks to Michi for such a wonderful trip. :)

~ Austria - Day 9 - Salzburg ~ (20th May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:51:00.000-07:00

Austria Day 9: To Salzburg~ Mozart's City~

Once again we were on our own to explore a City about 1.5 hours away from Linz by the OBB train. Unfortunately it was also colder and "rain-ier" than the day before in Salzkammergut.

So as usual we had our hearty breakfast at the youth hotel. Hmm well its rather unique because all the meats and ham and leber were all in the forms of spreads. Kinda reminded me of tuna and luncheon meat but tasted nothing like that.. heh~ And there's still a wide variety of breads as well as tea, coffee, milk and juices. Not too bad for a budget stay. :)

*~ The interesting range of meaty spreads ~*

After breakie we took a short 5 min walk in the drizzle to the nearest tram station, WiFi.

*~ ticket machine ~*

There are 3 available types of tickets, if i remember well with my "amazing memory", hmm i think for €0.80 - 1 to 3 stations, €1.70 - 1 trip (no limit of stations), and €3.40 - unlimited rides for a day.

*~ a unlimited day tram pass ~*

We were to take a tram from WiFi to Hauptbahnof where we can get the OBB from Linz-Wels-Salzburg.

*~ Hauptbahnof station, Linz ~*

Decided to take a closer shot at the door of the trams. In Linz, the doors to not automatically open or close at every station. If u wanted to get on or off, you will have to press the button on the door.

*~ open sesame! ~*

Before going to Linz, we had already heard so many stories about "Do not use the public toilets, its really expensive!" Hmm well in Singapore if you have to pay at a public toilet, it is usually 10cts or maximum 20cts, but that one public toilet i had to pay at was €0.50. That's about SGD 1.10? Took a photo when i was leaving the toilet because I got really confused by this gate. Almost didn't know how to get out. *embarassed*

*~ confusing toilet gate ~*

Finally Chris got the OBB tickets and we went to wait for our train at the platform on this cold Tuesday morning.

*~ Freezing on Platform 5 ~*

Noticed these little "fish tanks" along the platform. They were obviously not smoking boxes like what you will see in Japan. So i figured it was to shelter people from the cold! Cleverly, i also went in to take cover! :D

*~ my "Keep-me-warm" tank ~*

The trains also have a special cabin where people keep their bikes in. Cool stuff, something again not so convenient in Singapore which is why we now have foldable & portable bikes which people can bring on MRTs.

*~ Bike cabin ~*

Happily took a window seat because we didn't pre-book a seat. Suddenly felt like i was a character in Harry Potter!

*~ My train ticket to Salzburg (2-way) - €41.40 ~*

This was the coolest bit, when the lady came to sell some hot drinks and snacks. Hmm maybe they would have had some chocolate frogs?

*~ Coffee for you? ~*

*~ The beautiful countryside along the way ~*

Not really sure how we were going to get around Salzburg, we went to the tourist information center to ask for help. Got ourselves a Salzburg Card for €21 per adult. This entitles us to free admission and discounts to lots of attractions and stuff. Definitely a must-buy if u wanted to see as much as you can.

*~ Finally arriving at the Salzburg Hauptbahnof ~*

We were still praying for good weather, but looked like it wasn't any different from the weather in Linz. Perhaps it was even colder in Salzburg. I had on 1 long sleeve, 1 thick woolen cardigan and a windbreaker, and i was still freezing especially as the wind blew in my face.

*~ First impression of the city center ~*

After checking out again at another tourist information center in the city, we found out which bus we had to take to get to Untersberg. Along the way we also passed by Hellbrunn, but because of the limited amount of time, we had decided to give that a miss. Hellbrunn is another palace from the late Renaissance which i later learnt from Florian that it has these trick fountains for tourists.. :( Looks like Salzburg is another place i have to visit...

*~ Untersberg ~*

From our little guidebook, it looked like Untersberg was the highest point we could get to by cable car to enjjoy a magnificient view of Salzburg from the summit at 1853m!! I was super excited!!

*~ Cable car going into the clouds!! ~*

And then we realised we went into clouds and more clouds and we could only see clouds, because of the not too good weather :( Well, at least i got to freeze myself totally unprepared! Taking photos really killed my fingers up there... and sadly there was no magnificient view.. (another reason to go to Salzburg once more..)

*~ Me freezing at -1°C ~*

We skipped Hellbrunn and made our way back to the city center again. The day trip was a little rushed because we had intended to make it back to Linz to meet Michael for dinner, and a beer we didn't have the day before.

I got a shock seeing a guy standing on top of that round globe. From far he looked really real don't you think? I still have no idea what that was supposed to mean though. Maybe just a nice feeling of "I'm on top of the world!"?

*~ The thing that gave me a shock ~*

Next we went to the Hohensalzburg Fortress. Apparently the largest, completely preserved fortress in Central Europe dating from the 11th century.

*~ The entrance ~*

*~ Inside the Fortress ~*

Thankful that we made a trip up to the fortress cos we finally had a truly amazing view over the city center.

*~ Looking down from the fortress ~*

*~ A magnificient view of Salzburg ~*

On our way back into the city center to do some sight seeing of the town, I also took a photo of Mozart. :) The area is also known as Mozartplatz.

*~ Mozart ~*

*~ Shops along the streets ~*

*~ I loved looking at the windows of the shops, nicely decorated ~*

*~ Easter eggs!!! ~*

Since Salzburg is well known as Mozart's city, we had to visit Mozart's Birthplace! Unfortunately, photos are not allowed in the museum. There were cool displays of his pianos from the very antique kinds to those with more keys. And funny displays of his hair, and photos and paintings blah blah..

*~ Mozart's Birthplace ~*

Weather was still cold and a little rainy.. and after all the walking and sightseeing, my hands were still feeling frozen. :( As it was already dinner time and we would take another ~1.5 hrs to get back to Linz so we took a bus back to the Salzburg Hauptbahnof.

Back in Linz, our dinner date was too tired to meet us in the end so Chris and I walked around a little in Hauptplatz to find a good place for one last dinner in Linz.

*~ Goldener Anker ~*

Highly recommended by me now! Located in the smaller street branching from the main street near to the souvenir shop. The food we had was great!! And the waiter was really friendly and i loved the cosy atmostphere.

*~ Our table beside the window with my Radler :D ~*

Dinner was really great! I loved my order i just can't describe! Maybe i was too cold and hungry too? but hmm definitely something i will have again!

*~ My Schweinskotelette vom Grill ~*

*~ Chris's Schweinslendchen ~*

They didn't serve any Sacher Torte and Linzer Torte looked like it may have been a traditional dessert so we decided to have a go at it! :) Another great choice!

*~ Linzer Torte ~*

Finally saying bye to the night view of Hauptplatz, a place i'd grown so familiar with already. And with my primitive digital Samsung camera, I took a shot which turned out pretty satisfying too~

*~ The Trinity Column at night ~*

Although there were some glitches here and there, but the day was still great despite feeling a little too cold and hence really tired. :) This was a quick touch and go trip for me but if ever there is another chance, Salzburg will be on my list and 2 days might be a good idea to also try some activities there. *HAPPY*

~ Austria - Day 10 - Byebye to Linz ~ (21st May 2008)

2008-05-30T08:50:00.000-07:00

Austria Day 10: Leaving Linz~

Finally it was the day where we leave Linz. Was pretty emotional for me since I got to know some people here on a much friendlier basis.. I had pre-arranged to have a "farewell" lunch with some of the people from office at the nearby Chinese restaurant. This was also because I had wanted to try what Chinese food in a European country was going to be like! hahaha!! :D

Chris and I left our hotel a little earlier so that there was some time to get some "gifts" for my lunch dates. After a little shopping there was still some time so we took a walk around the office building.

*~ Linz Office ~*

Behind the office, you can see beautiful green fields and bright red and yellow flowers. It's really nice to have such view right outside of your window at work. *filled with envy*

*~ Behind the office ~*

My most amazing discovery though, was to find a CLOVER field right at the left side of the office building!! My goodness, the leaves are so green with a nice ring of white aura and the best part is, they are also so large! I'm sure the guys in office have never realised what LUCK they have!!

*~ the Lucky Clover Field ~*

Wanting to share a little good luck, I managed to find my very first 4 leaf clover and of cos took it home with me!! (on top of 5 others that Gudrun had already found for me from her garden! All 6 of them have been nicely laminated now ^^ )

*~ First 4-leaf clover i found on my own ~*

We took a short 5 to 10 min walk from office to Goldener Hof (a Chinese restaurant just down the road) which Didi had already told me about, especially also of the wonderful plum wine they serve at the end of the meal.

*~ my lovely lunch dates ~*

Like a typical western meal, everything was "personal". I ordered Jasmine tea, and I had my own personal little teapot, as compared to the typical chinese bigger tea pot which the whole table shares.

*~ my teapot, almost the size of of teacup ~*

I do not know what soup this was, it tasted like our kind of sour and spicy seafood soup, but it wasn't as spicy probably also catered to Austrian taste. But it still tasted really good!

*~ Chinese Soup for starters ~*

This is really funny, it looks like an apple pie! But in actual fact, its a springroll in "disguise"!! Not sure about the taste but i wanted to remember how an Austrian spring roll looked like :)

*~ i'm a spring roll! no.. spring pie! no.. roll? pie?? ~*

Next up was of cos the main course. Also served in a typical western style. A plate of main course with rice. How strange because that's like a plate of food i can have with my whole family, except we will have 3 or 4 different dishes. Food was nice, and tasted like proper chinese food. But they all looked the same, and until today, i still do not know what chop suay is! However, the owners are from China.. so it explains why the food still tastes right :)

*~ the sweet and sour dishes ~*

*~ chop suay something (maybe chicken or pork) ~*

*~ fried noodles ~*

Finally! The long awaited for, warm plum wine! mmmmmmm~~~~ *YUMMY!*

*~ Yummy warm plum wine! ~*

Got a kiddy gift for everyone. Kiddy but with a lot of thought into it. How else do you get a surprise, chocolates and a toy in 1 right? I didn't want to be too typical to just buy chocolates. And it was funny to see everyone get their toys :) *satisfied* I always believe deep inside, there's always a child in every person, and i'm just one big kid!

*~ kinder surprise! ~*

I love this photo of Lukas which Didi had sent to me later :) I had grown very fond of Didi's family when we were invited over for a meal. Fun games and a great dinner.

*~ Lukas, my young friend ~*

After lunch, Chris and I took the tram once again to Hauptplatz. Not for more eating but to do some serious last minute shopping for the guys back in Singapore.
Saw 2 men playing chess on the floor tiles! How cool is that!!

*~ Giant Chessboard ~*

Not forgetting also to grab some food from the highly recommended by michi's Leberkas Pepi.

*~ Leberkas Pepi ~*

Yet again, we rushed back to the Youth Hotel to pack all our shopping again into the luggages and left for the airport.

*~ Byebye to the Youth Hotel ~*

*~ Flughafen Linz~*

Having time to spare and feeling emotional, i sat there with my lappy, chatting, surfing, blogging.. and eating my leberkas.. :'( Tasted a little like sausages/luncheon meat/ham? I can't really explain it well again. :P

*~ leberkas ~*

Reaching Frankfurt, we managed to get a train from the airport to near where our hotel was. But getting a little lost in the underground train station. And the funny thing is when I stop people to ask for directions, they were all tourists!! Hmm that is how touristy Frankfurt is. But finally we found a girl whose boyfriend was from Frankfurt and he finally pointed us in the right direction.

By the time we settled in, it was already almost 10?? Feeling a little hungry and thirsty, we rushed back again to the Hauptbahnof to grab a nice sandwich and some mineral water. *phew*

*~ my first dinner in Frankfurt ~*

It was one long... tiring ... day...

Bangkok (18th ~ 23rd Jan 2008)

2008-01-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

18th Jan 2008
the 2nd shopping trip for me and sophia, and a first with cindy who joined us for the first time~

*~ Cindy, Sophia, ME ~*

Tiger is the only airline that operates at the budget terminal, but i always find it so cool to board the plane in this manner~ feels like it could be your own private plane.. :P

*~ Getting on the Tiger from budget terminal ~*
19th Jan 2008
city with one of the worst traffics.. they can fit 4 or 5 cars on 3 lanes.. and yet traffic is usually bad. But its still a pretty sight cos of the colorful taxis.

*~ oooo colorful! ~*

after some good amount of shopping, we decided to replenish energy by trying the KFC in bangkok, just as a comparison to SG. As you can see, the portion looks pretty small...

*~ our KFC meal! *starved* ~*
20th Jan 2008
back on the road again.. mostly walking.. we girls were amazing.. we walked so much i can't even express how much. when we were unwilling to pay unreasonable amounts for tuktuks, we walked. when we didnt get a good bargain on the price, we walked too..
got a pick of some electronic board about the road but didn't know what it meant.

*~ bangkok looks more hi-tech than sg... ~*

*~ traditional phone booths that no one uses anymore ~*

Bangkok is a shopping paradise! The usual places we visit.. Platinum - if you wanna get multiple pieces of the same design, u can pay at wholesale price!

*~ Platinum Fashion Mall ~*

Hmm a more atas choice but u find a big Naraya outlet here.

*~ Central World ~*

MBK is always good for 199 baht items and other mid-range shopping~

*~ MBK ~*

After all that shopping we were of course hungry again.. and settled dinner in MBK.

*~ finally found a dinner place.. ~*

*~ yay japanese food ~*

*~ followed by dessert! ~*
21st Jan 2008
Next day we visited Rachavongse (bangkok's chinatown).. can't really recall how that was..
just had photos about the river taxi we took~

*~ our river taxi tix from Rachavongse ~*

*~ waiting for the river taxi to Sathon Bridge Pier ~*

*~ there it is! ~*

*~ view from the boat ~*

BTW is the bangkok train system~ A nice cheap and air conditioned way to travel, also to avoid getting stuck in the traffic jams.

*~ our BTS passes ~*

Chester's grill is all over the place in bangkok, we had to try...

*~ yet another fast food meal from Chester's Grill ~*

On our walk to Suan-lum night market we came a cross a nice memorial area. After a bit of googling, i learnt that it was the Rama VI statue.

*~ Rama VI Statue ~*

This statue stands at the south-western entrance to Lumphini Park and is of Rama VI (1881-1925). His reign was characterized by Siam's movement further towards democracy and minimal participation in World War I. King Rama VI instigated the building of Lumphini Park.

Read more: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Asia/Thailand/Central_Eastern_Thailand/Bangkok-1445238/Things_To_Do-Bangkok-Statues-BR-1.html#ixzz1axQzBqe2

*~ big clock ~*

*~ sunset ~*

Finally we got to the night bazaar~

*~ suan-lum night bazaar ~*

Just in time to take a photo with a tuk tuk driver who was taking a break..

*~ im to tuktuk driver!! ~*

before the 6pm National anthem went off, and u will see everyone standing very still in respect to the country.

*~ National anthem playing ~*

And we shopped till it turned dark.. before heading back to the hotel again.

*~ this is why u will still find suan lum in the dark ~*

The next day we made it a point to get some A&W, our 3rd fast food in BKK.. but this is only because there is no longer any A&W outlets in singapore. :P

*~ cos we have no more A&W in sg.. ~*
22nd Jan 2008
Finally, we did have some good thai food for lunch~ (Took the photo from MBK only in the night..)
*~ Yum Saap opposite MBK~*

*~ lunch feast ~*

Went over to MBK again, and decided to catch a movie.. which made me very very ill from motion sickness, and i had to puke all my dinner out when the movie ended.

*~ our movie tix to Cloverville ~*

On our way back, the roadside prata looked too good.. we had it with bananas if my memory has not failed me.. :)

*~ roadside prata, nice! ~*

Plus some supermarket food for supper~
*~ our bedtime drinks ~*

*~ and bedtime snacks ~*
23rd Jan 2008 On our way to the airport the next morning...

*~ sunrise ~*

Treats from me and cindy for our colleagues back in office..

*~ treats for the colleagues ~*

Shenzhen (11th ~ 14th Jan 2008)

2008-01-15T04:49:00.000-08:00

My first trip to China, together with my little sister who had friends in Shenzhen, and our distant cousin was also to bring us around for a day~

Planned a rather budgeted trip so that we could do more shopping, we booked tix with Tiger Airways and headed to the Budget Terminal.

*~ SG Budget Terminal ~*

Before checking in, we had some lunch at Hans, there isn't too many choices at this terminal. But there's nothing to grumble about cos there's still McD, Han's, and a few other local food restaurants after checking in.

*~ Lunch @ Han's ~*

Arriving in Shenzhen, we cabbed to Springwood Harbour Hotel. Recommended by my sis since she stayed there the last time she was in Shenzhen on a biz trip.

*~ Springwood Harbour Hotel ~*

*~ 2 SUPER single beds! ~*

*~ view of the city by the window ~*

Next day we met phia's friend for lunch at 上岛咖啡, a cafe opposite the hotel~

*~ phia and her friend ~*

*~ super GOOD ice milk tea ~*

*~ chicken soup ~*

*~ some rice set ~*

*~ bamboo rice ~*

Did some shopping before meeting phia's friends again for a popular steambot dinner! Exceptionally perfect cos of the cold weather in winter~

*~ steamboat @ 锅神~*

*~ very hightech, the knob is on the table itself ~*

*~ our feast ~*

*~ me and phia ~*

*~ my first 鲁肉饭 ~*

The trip was almost all about food and shopping. Unfortunately our hands were usually too full on the shopping trips for any photos. Shoes and bags were really cheap! mmm.. lots of imitation goods too so be more wary~

At one point we were just curious looking through a catalog and the owner suggested to bring us to their store room where there were more designs.. hmm really eerie experience cos we followed him to a deserted building.. i had the urge to run but my daring lil sister thought it would be ok. Anyone that's a one-time only experience!! too scary!!

Running around Shenzhen on our own.. and stopping by a nice looking restaurant.

*~ fortune telling toy ~*

*~ got ourselves a swing ~*

*~ my lunch ~*

*~ phia's lunch ~*

*~ first time i tried phia's pudding milk tea (on left) ~*

*~ ooo lots of effort into the fruits ~*

Finally met our distant cousin for yet another steamboat dinner!

*~ Steamboat @ 小肥羊 ~*

*~ looks like an yinyang symbol ~*

*~ cousin, phia and me ~*

Every country i visit, i like to try the McD. :) for a different flavour. In China, they have pork burgers and teriyaki chicken burgers~

*~ my chicken sandwich ~*

*~ we even went to view houses with our cousin ~*

*~ tried the KFC as well :) ~*

*~ china getting ready for chinese new year! ~*

*~ and the 2008 olympics ~*

*~ shopping street ~*

Our cousin helped us check into another hotel which turned out to be eerie the first nite.. both phia and I could barely sleep. There were kids running up and down the corridor all night and loud talking abt luggages being dragged... the room looked really old and ermm.. dirty/eerie too...

Determined to change hotels the next morning... we went down to the reception.. but found that the rooms on the higher floors were newly renovated, we changed rooms instead. And to our HUGE relief!!

*~ the bed ~*

*~ nice lcd tv mounted on the wall ~*

*~ even a see through bathroom :P ~*

*~ Our single trip tokens ~*

*~ Lunch @ Luo hu ~*

*~ Pizza Hut ~*

*~ Dumpling Noodles soup ~*

*~ Home sweet home ~*

Hokkaido - Taipei (23rd Dec - 31st Dec 2006)

2007-01-01T05:59:00.000-08:00

Many thanks to ah-siang for buying the gloves, scarves, socks, woolen caps from shanghai. Many thanks to YYBL for the white coat that kept me warm. Lastly, many thanks to my xiaoyi for the 4-wheel luggage and gloves and coats and sweaters. All the above made my trip possible and I finally saw falling snow!! :D It wasn't alot of snow.. but seeing vehicles covered in snow... making snowballs for the first time and of cos having snowball fights with the other kids in the group! wahaha ;D

Day 1, 23rd Dec Singapore - Taipei (CI662 1455/1935)

So much excitement building up.. wen & i had been lookin forward to the trip for SUPER DUPER long!

Taiwan's temperature was nice and cool like an aircon room.. reckon it was about 19~20 C

Day 2, 24th Dec Taipei - Chitose (CI130 0910/1400)
ChristmasEve !!!

Leavin from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport

First sunset at Sapporo after landing... it was around 4pm.. the vehicles covered in snow just after a big snow storm.

Heard that our plane was circling above sapporo for a while due to the snow storm and we almost were landing at Hakodate airport cos fuel was running out. Lucky for us the delay wasn't too long.. we made our way to New Chitose Airport as planned!

Anyway this was our tour guide Anson-san~

First stop! Odori Park!~ Train station and the underground shopping mall was called Aurora Town. Not very sure how that works.. hehe but the temperature was -1.0 C !! Scary! Hands were freezing even with gloves on. woah!~ But just couldn't resist taking photos at all.. big sacrifice.. worst case, mi fingers will break off.. hahhaa ^^

Our first meal.. Tempura! Yosh!~

Checked into Sapporo Apa Hotel & Resort for the nite. Not wanting to waste anytime, some of us on the tour went out walking around the hotel.. did some shopping at the nearby supermarket. I tried my japanese on the salesgirls wanting to buy the "snow shoe spikes" but failed terribly.. :'(

View from inside the hotel. hehee~

This is the view from outside... gorgeous isn't it~

Day 3, 25th Dec Sapporo - Furano - Biei - Sounkyo
Christmas Day !!!

@ Sapporo

First thing in the morning (after brekkie of cos! hee), we went to pay our respects at Hokkaido Jingu. Kirei ne! Snow is so pretty! By then, i've already gotten used to the cold~ ^^

At Tokyo I could only buy the biscuits, but at Hokkaido I visited the actual Shiroi koibito factory! woah!~ its HUGE!~

My photo with a Japanese Santa~ hehe

Nijo Fresh Seafood market - where all the fresh seafood is! And cos my cuteness and hungry look mostly, one of the shopowners offered some boiled crab. Nothing added, just boiled! I took a bite and exclaimed "Wahhh.. ooooiiisshiii!!!" it was THAT good!

@ Sounkyo

Checked into Sounkyo Choyotei Hotel for the nite.
Our futon laid out nicely while we were out taking a nice dip in the all natural onsen~

The food was gooooooooood.
This is me nice and fresh after the onsen dip~ hee and happily having mi buffet dinner! :D

New snow spikes for the shoes! Had to test mi japanese at the shop buying these. Got the wrong size at first too! haha.. So that's double practice. Buying and exchanging. ^^ With these, we can RUN ON SNOW! woohoo!~

Day 4, 26th Dec Sounkyo - Asahikawa
Boxing Day !!!

@ Sounkyo

No kidding, as the snowman tells u, it was -15 C at Sounkyo Gorge! *fainted*
The Silver Falls was frozen! And mi ears were falling off i tell ya!

Mt Daisetsu-zan
Another amazing sight.. mountains covered in snow. so nice...

We did some sliding... I made some snowballs... And left my footprints in the snow.. ;)

@ Asahikawa

Asahiyama Zoo

Even the tickets have animals printed on it. hee~ I liked the vending machine. Its like the spine of those comic books where it makes a full picture together.~

Well its a cold country.. their penguins and polar bears are so comfy as compared to those in SG.. :( In SG zoo, they are kept in "fridges".. poor thing..

Lavender Hills

Didn't look too impressive from the outside. There was a shop selling Lavendar products too. But we went during winter, there's no Lavender blooming in winter okie? :P

Lunch was WOW! What a spread! I had to eat everything up~ hehee~ There was fresh scallop and dried scallop.. hmm and ramen and rice.. :P Well that's ALOT of food!

Santas Present Park

Din do much at Santas Present Park except tobogganning again on those plastic sledges~ We took one from a kid.. and his mom came running after us! oops :P
No time to ski.. just watched pple ski~ hee~ I suppose its popular during Christmas? Anson-san din say much though.. just played with us~ haha!

Jozankei Sankeien Hotel

Dinner was like food at a traditional ryokan.. so nice~~ But the crab was nothing like wat I had at Nijo Fresh Seafood market.. :'(

As usual, after dinner we take our walk outside of the hotel.. exploring.. hoping to do some shopping and find smth exciting! We went out in Yukatas, gloves, socks and slippers! hahaha!~ I told u we were used to the below 0 degrees celcius! Even I am impressed my myself today~
There is actually NATURAL hot spring water around the area. Was trying to get a good shot of the steam coming out of the stream.. but thats the best i could do with mi samsung~ :)
Asked some Japanese taking a stroll to help us take the photo on the right. Those are the kids that kept me and wen busy throughout the trip oh!

Day 5, 27th Dec Asahikawa - Otaru - Noboribetsu

@ Otaru

Otaru Music Box Museum

The much awaited for visit to the music box musuem! They had HUGE music discs! Well the best part was making our own! But there was limited time.. so had a simple one with my favourite song "First Love" and put a little angel holding a wand with a heart on it. (can see it under my Achievements~)

Otaru Canal

Another well known romantic place to be. Too bad it was raining that afternoon. On my right, miss LingLing, happily attached just before coming to hokkaido and missing her bf very much on the trip. hehee~

@ Noboribetsu

Shiraoi Ainu Village

Like a museum of what was of the village then.. Kinda like 'Alishan' feel? The rhythm of their music and costumes..

Noboribetsu-Jigokudani (Hell Valley)

Strong sulphur smell.. this is all natural.. Cool eh? Was near the hotel we were staying for the night. Not sure why its called hell valley. Think Anson-san just brought us there to smell the place and take photos.. hehee~

Noboribetsu Sekisuite Hotel

So that nite we had our last Sulphur Onsen!~
All nice and refreshed, we had our buffet dinner AGAIN! Plus.. SAKE! heee~ yes.. we let the 14 yr old girl try some. Think she can hold her liquor better than mi lor.. :P

Day 6, 28th Dec Noboribetsu - Sapporo

Back @ Sapporo

Tanuki Koji Shopping Arcade

It was back to Sapporo for the last day in Hokkaido. Had a free and easy lunch so Anson-san recommended this Ramen shop. Of cos i tested my Japanese again! And look what I got us! HUGE bowls of ramen for about 750 yen! Its SUPER DUPER TASTY okie! With fried rice and gyoza for sides~ *yummy!* Even their toilets are cutesy-ly decorated. Hmm the cook or boss of the place was so polite. Obviously knowing we're a bunch of 10 tourists, he came to check if we were pleased with the food. hehee~ gave me a chance to practise mi japanese again. But he really sweet, i took 10 lollipops from him when paying at the counter :P~

Salmon Aquarium

After alot of changes with our itinery, we finally made it to the Salmon Aquarium. On the left is the Albino Salmon. I have a thing for albino animals somehow.. like rabbits? :P And on the right, are terapins! Cute rite??

Time for some Snow Mobile ride! cool! It cost me more than 100 SGD! But since i needed snow, its probably something i cant do in singapore.. haha

Teppanyaki Dinner

Our last dinner in Hokkaido.. and were still hoping to see some FALLING SNOW. Anson-san had promised us that we will get to see some by the end of the trip. It was already the last nite! During dinner there was like a SMALL TINY drizzle of snow.. and everyone was sooooo excited. I missed it cos was busy eating.. hehee~ but.. dun tell mi that was it?? *cry*

Went shopping in the vicinity known as Tanuki Koji Shopping Arcade which we had dropped by earlier in the afternoon for lunch.

Walked through Susukino Ramen Alley just to take a look at an alley lined with Ramen shops!

Our last nite in Hokkaido was spent at Sapporo Green Hotel 2

Was feelin down cos i had missed the snow during dinner. Were just chatting and eating supper in LingLing and ZaiWei's room when suddenly xiaodidi said "Its snowing!" Gee! Thot he was lying but when i looked out of the window, i almost cried le! Grabbed wen, put on our coats and gloves and rushed out of the hotel.. hehee~

Got scolded by the lobby guy.. cos we wore the yukata out of the hotel. Hmm guess we aren't supposed to do that in the City.. :P

But was soooo soooooo happy. My first snow.. in Hokkaido~ :)

Day 7, 29th Dec Hokkaido - Taipei (CI131 1500/1805)

A Giant Classic cHeRRiKo Sapporo Beer @ Sapporo Beer Factory

Leavin Hokkaido.. our meal on the plane.. looks good huh!!

Now u see it..

Now u dun.. :'( Byebye Hokkaido~ bb Japan for the 2nd time..

It was nite at Taiwan when we arrived...

No time to lose at all.. we are really crazy tourists! Checked into the hotel and out we went for supper! Shilin Night Market is where all the food is!~ woohoo!~ And of cos we had to do some shopping too~ Walked around till abt 2am i think.. we were really tired...

Day 8, 30th Dec Taipei

@ Taiwan 101

Love this shot! I think i am damn pro~ :P

And I got a pic with Yan Chen Xu ~

@ Xi Men Ding

Taiwanese are always so prepared! I was crossing the road, raised mi arm to get a shot of Xi Men Ding, and there, i have this cute couple smiling into the camera almost like it was intended!

And there I met Zhou Jie Lun!~ :P

The famous Ah Zhong Mian Xian~~

Rushed to the Taiwan Memorial Hall to watch the famous changing of shift parade. It's damn formal and it happens everyday! Just have to get the timing right cos might get stuck in a jam to see thse good lookin men.

Our last nite in Taipei.. gotta take cool pics!~ of a public phone....

and of more food!~
This is some strange kidney mian xian, and a local favourite: hao jian mian xian~

Day 9, 31 Dec Taipei - Singapore (CI661 0925/1355)
New Year Eve !!!

Heading back to Singapore early in the morning. The Santos Hotel people were so nice.. packed our breakfast for us.. hehe :D

Finally... My achievements!~

Always end up with a luggage full of food from japan.. hehe~

And little bits of everything else from both Hokkaido and Taipei! What I'm most proud of is my music box.. which isnt a box.. its like a musix box paper weight thingie that plays First Love :D

~ Japan ~ ( 10th-17th April 2006 )

2006-04-18T05:32:00.000-07:00

finally selected 300 out of 548 photos which i took on the japan trip. just so that i could upload 150 for April and 150 in May.. (mi multiply mthly limit)
Sis is consolidating all the photos from the 3 cameras.. which will prob add up to at least 900? so that's all just going into a dvd or smth..
Japan was great.. i needa go there again sometime when im not sick to properly enjoy the weather.. and the food.. was eating very little cos of my pesky cough..
anyways.. the tour package wasnt that great either.. cos its a bit too "touch-and-go".. din have enuff time to explore.. so gotta do Free&Easy the nxt time.. :)

the weather was very cold.. abt 10 to 14 deg C while i was there.. except for Mt Fuji which was at 2.5 deg C. Rainy most days.. but the rain isn't as wet as back here in singapore...

Tokyo Disneyland.. got a picture with my favourite sleepy dwarf who isn't too dwarfy.. :P

Sakuras!~ waahh.. was so lucky.. they were blooming everywhere :D

Toilets were amazing.. clean.. with either disposable seat covers, antiseptic sprays to wipe the seats or just clean. The sinks were auto.. and in working condition.. always manage to detect ur movement.. (if you know wat im trying to say.. some dun work very well here .. )
People were amazing.. polite! and very considerate! Escalator courtesy was funny too.. they will really stand at one side of the escalators.. ^^

Finally got a try at the hotspring.. hehe misheard my cuz saying "you gotta get in quickly" and i jumped in.. luckily just the lower body.. it was DARN HOT! she was saying "don't get in too quickly.." -_- But photos aren't allowed.. haha cos we get in naked ;P~

Authentic Japanese food is sooooo sooooo mouth watering :D~ and there's just food everywhere! i mean EVERYWHERE!~ And all the nice nice food with nicenice pretty packaging.. :P~

Dressed in Yukatas for dinner that nite.

This was the best meal we had throughout the whole trip.. the night we stayed at the hotspring place.. haha..

And waking up to see the perfect view of Mt Fuji the next morning.. :)

Osaka Castle.. very nice rite.. :)

Fast as a bullet! Dunno if the photo shows the effect.. but sitting in it didn't make it seem that fast.. but based on feeling.. its abt thrice that of the mrt?

Shinsaibashi by day.. very happening.. :)

Shinsaibashi by night~ Nice rite? All the Japanese bilboards.. just so.. bright!

There's so much.. too much~ :)
hehee.. more photos will be on my multiply photo album.

http://cherriko.multiply.com/photos/album/21

Missin the days in Japan~~ Cherriko

Bangkok 10th-12th February 2006

2006-02-13T05:31:00.000-08:00

10th Feb

waahh rushed trip~ our plane was delayed an hour on 10th feb.. so we finally reached bangkok at 1+ am(bkk time)?

"chillin" before gettin on the plane at Changi Airport.. actually we were forced to drink.. -_-

that's us very tired of waitin for our delayed plane.. and very tired from beer...

then got 2 cabs and made our way to the red light district. xiang booked our room at Palazzo Hotel.

quite nice.. different from the review i read online.. *thank goodness* and the breakfast was good!
after settling down, we slept at 3+ am (bkk time) and woke up at 6am okie!

11th Feb
headed down for brekkie at 645..

and left for JJ Market(chatuchak) at abt 730? hoped on the MRT which was still pretty empty in the early morning.. ^^

this yr's different from 1.5 yrs ago.. wen also say, that time i went, i practically swept the goods till both arms were full.. this yr, hmm quite boring.. cos everything's selling in singapore le and price difference is very slight ne~

oh oh.. finally got to see the pets section! wonder how we missed it the last time we went.. there are pet shops EVERYWHERE in JJ.. -_-"

day seemed to pass quite slowly.. then we headed to MBK where major tailored 5 shirts and 3 pants.. (supposed to be quite cheap.. 1100B for shirt and 1300/1400B for pants) and Siam Square.. and walked all the way down to Indra Square where feng and major managed to get very good quality Jerseys.. at less than 400B! shen rite?
after all tat shopping, we headed back to the hotel before meeting xiang for dinner.. hehe..

had a lot of difficulty gettin a cab.. none willing to take us cos of the bad traffic towards our hotel.. wat to do? but this kind tuktuk driver decided it was okie to take 4 of us with all our barang barang.. hehee.. so squashed! but fun! had to point out on the map where our hotel was too.. bet if i could say red light district in Thai, he would have figured where we stayed.. :P

2nd meal of the day okie! dinner was at this seafood restaurant.. near Suan Lom nite market. exp.. but very tasty~ :P~

mi and wen realised we've actually alredi been to suan lom before.. to watch soccer 1.5 yrs ago.. haha! :) after shoppin at suan lom, finally went back to hotel to rest. ^^

12th Feb

got up at 8am for brekkie.. went to pray at the temple near Chit Lom station.

the dancers.. feng said they actually dance to help people pray? very elaborate..

us getting our jossticks out of the plastic wrapping..

then we went for the traditional Thai Massage near Surasek station.. (jason's parents brought us there the previous time too) wahh.. 1 hour was 450B. the masseuse was tellin us how they get paid only 50B for that hour.. so we ended up "tipping" them 200B each.. but overall still cheaper than sg.. and they were very pro! they managed to even straighten our postures for the nxt few hours.. haha~
all in all was very fun.. but started to get diarrhea for the rest of the day.. :( till today had to go on mc cos feeling very very sick.. *sob*

13th Feb

... on mc.. still feeling nauseous.. gotta skip jap class too.. :(

*~Travelling around the World~*

*~ KL ~* (19th ~ 21st Feb 2010)

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City (18th -23rd Jun 2009)

*~ Austria ~* (11th~21st May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 1 ~* (12th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 2 ~*(13th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 3 ~*(14th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 4 ~*(15th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 5 ~*(16th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 6 - Wurzeralm ~*(17th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 7 - Vienna, Wachau ~*(18th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 8 - Salzkammergut ~*(19th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 9 - Salzburg ~* (20th May 2008)

*~ Austria - Day 10 - Byebye to Linz ~* (21st May 2008)