Sneak Peek

Lost in Space

2018-12-15T00:23:00.001+08:00

Moon is currently lost in space, hence, the inactivity in blogging since July 2015 but no worries, she is merely trying to find herself ... (again).

Meanwhile, please continue to follow her thoughts through her tweets and continue to walk with her. She'll be back in a jiffy .., I hope. ;-)

Quote for the day - Listen and silent are spelled with the same letters.

Cheerios!

--moon

Natural relief for headache within 5 minutes

2015-07-27T21:27:00.002+08:00

Headaches can really be unbearable when it hits you and it can ruin your mood and your day. Taking pills to relief headache every time is not advisable, but if you do not get rid of it, it will certainly turn your day into an unproductive one.

In my own opinion, headaches are usually caused by stress, anxiety and pressure at work or at home. Here are a few easy and natural tips on how to counter headaches.

1. Bite or chew something

You can bite some "really" hard or crunchy snacks, but make sure it is healthy in content and in quantity.

Picture taken from here

Or you can bite a pencil. To put it more appropriately, you can clench a pencil in the mouth, like this...

Picture taken from here

It seems that clenching a pencil or chewing something crunchy helps to relief muscles that connects your jaw to your temple, hence, it relaxes you. (Do you ever wonder why most men tend to prefer popping in nuts or Indian fried snacks like muruku when they are stressed?)

This is a proven method that is recommended in quite a number of established health sites, like here or here. Note that this method is only effective for tension headaches and not for headaches caused by other reasons.

2. Try simple acupressure

Acupressure is an ancient technique based on the application of pressure to certain crucial points in our body to relief or eliminate pain.

Find the point on the upper part of your hand, precisely the point where your thumb and your index finger is joint. Press and start a circulation motion for a minute, like this...

Picture taken from here

It is recommended here, and you will be able to obtain more detailed information on this topic too.

3. Warm Compress

Apply a hot water bag to the back of your neck.

Picture taken from here

Alternatively, you can take a HOT shower, directing the water onto the back of your neck. The invigorating experience of having the powerful rain of hot water on your neck is like having a water massage. It relaxes tense muscles, therefore, alleviating the throbbing pain.

4. A Cup of Hot Lemon Drink or Ginger Tea

Lemon is refreshing and relaxing. It also helps maintain the acid-alkaline balance in your body and helps to flush out toxins too, whereas ginger helps to expel wind/air within the body.

Picture taken from here

Cheers!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and apple mint

Guide to a sprained ankle

2015-07-19T20:56:00.002+08:00

Picture taken from here

I sprained my ankle last Monday, or so, I thought. I was going down the staircase, and in my dreamy mode early in the morning, I missed the last step. As if that is not bad enough, I SAT on my sprained ankle (yeah.. ouch..!!). I was wide awake by then, and for a moment I wondered what actually happened..!?!?

I am quite prone to falling and missing my steps, so I had hope that this was just a normal fall which does not require any attention until one hour later, when I realized that my right ankle had swollen to the size of a tennis ball.

Immediately I picked up the phone and called my team mate to identify a Chinese traditional clinic to take me to. Within 1 1/2 hour later, I was at the outlet, and given first hand treatment due to my bad limping. It was wrapped up with Chinese herbs within minutes and I was given a bottle of Chinese herbs to take to help with the swelling. Prior to leaving the place, I was advised not to drive for the next two days, because proper rest for sprained ankle (like no walking at all) for the first 2 days is crucial in the healing of swollen ankles.

Having gone through this episode of fall, I realized how little I know about what to do after a fall. Due to this, I feel the need to highlight what are the right steps to take to ensure speedy healing, and that we practice the minimum adherence to avoid long term damage (according to the Chinese, stuffs like wind in the old age, pain before the rain, blah, blah, blah..).

1. After a fall, if you are still able to hobble back to your place or home, it means no broken bones.

Picture taken from here

You fell beautifully!

2. Once you have sprained your ankle, there is nothing much anyone can do, until after approximately 4 hours later. Even if you go to a Chinese traditional physician immediately, they won't be able to touch it. All they can do is to wrap it up with herbs to help reduce the swelling.

Alternatively, if you choose not to do this, you can put up your leg on a raised pillow OR put on an ice-pack for about 15 minutes. As often as possible.

a) Once the herbs are patched on by the Chinese physician, it should not be in contact with water or wind for 3 hours. So wear socks. After 4 hours, you can remove it and shower with warm water.

b) Do not drink any cold drinks, drinks with ice and cooling drinks or fruits like coconut, "leong cha" or "leong sui", water melon, honey dew, starfruit), should be avoided until the pain or swell disappears completely.

Picture taken from here

Yeah, you heard right! Completely...

c) If your body is heaty and you must take a cooling drink - boil barley with pandan leaves, cane sugar or molasses sugar. Normal white sugar causes wind which is not good. Alternatively, you can take hot manuka honey.

Barley with pandan leaves. Picture taken from here

Lovely! You should reward yourself with this.. :)))

Note - Barley helps to reduce swelling too, so it's an ideal drink!

d) Some physician will say stay away from spicy and sour food. Some will say eat away and that you can even eat nuts and beans and seafood. I leave that to you.

It is advised that you visit them again the next day for a proper massage to further reduce the swelling or to further identify other damages that the fall might have caused or to clear up any blue black patches (caused by bleeding during the impact). Alternatively you can go to a proper clinic.

3. Once your ankle is sprained, it is advise that you stay put (without any walking) for the first two days, as the first two days are crucial in the healing process.

4. If, upon 2nd visit to the physician, you discover that you have actually torn some tendons or ligaments (in my case, that's what happened), you are advised not to walk too much unnecessarily. The healing process takes approximately 2 to 3 weeks. Use a crutch, that's the best.

No sports or yoga either. So it's basically time to put up your feet and relax.. :)))

It is advisable to put on an ankle guard, to ensure you do not sprain it again within the first 2 months. Good ankle guard emits bio-ray to stimulate constant blood circulation, prevents swelling and most importantly, it keeps your ankle in proper position during this delicate moment of injury and healing period.

At this stage, it is rather easy to sprain it second or third time.

Putting on ankle guards with bio ray means you get constant stimulation to ensure there is blood circulation. This is equivalent to going for massage at the Chinese physician.

Cheers!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and apple mint

Winds of change - I sense

2015-07-07T17:09:00.000+08:00

Picture taken from here

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Online Shopping Malaysia

2015-06-17T21:02:00.000+08:00

Picture taken from here

I hate shopping and I am an idiot where IT (information technology) is concerned. Now when I say IT, it means anything related to it, ESPECIALLY anything to do with online stuffs..... like online documentations, online forms, online transactions, you get what I mean, right?

So imagine my HORROR one day when I found out that I HAD to go online to MAKE some purchases! In this case, it was for academic books!

We needed quite a number of copies for our library, and most of them cannot be found in our book stores, of even if they can, they are priced much higher than when purchased online. The worst thing was, I had an extremely tight deadline to get the books, failing which, I will have my budget slashed. And there were so much problems that I heard with local customs, if we are indeed unlucky.

The only thing that I'd purchased online at that time (that was last year) were movie tickets, and that's only because I have a husband who is 1,000 times worse than me in anything IT. In case you would think that is good enough, did I mention that my first 2-3 initial movie ticket purchases were supervised and assisted by my colleague? And that was it..!!

Anyway, due to the tight deadline, I managed to pressure one of my team member to get the books online, and they were sent to a friend's address in Singapore. A lot of effort and time were invested in bringing the books back to Malaysia.

When the second round of purchase had to be made (after like a period of five months and yup it took me that long), I decided to take the plunge and do it myself.

Picture taken from here

Based on a friend's online shopping experience and encouragement, I gathered enough courage to start with the purchase of one book from Amazon.com just to test the water. The book was delivered to the college efficiently and smoothly. The next day after I received that book, I went online again and this time round, ordered six very expensive and good quality academic books amounting to RM 2,300. The good news is, they were all delivered to me without much hiccups or if there were, it was very well and professionally managed.

And you know what? Purchasing books on Amazon.com is like trading in forex, because the price that I have to pay today may be different from what I saw yesterday or last week, depending on the foreign exchange of Ringgit Malaysia against the US dollar.

Subsequent to that, I actually tried online shopping, just for the experience. I won't say I am an expert in this area now, but here are some info, if anyone of you care to read. Yes, from someone who hates shopping, still.

Online Shopping for Books from Amazon.com

1. If you are purchasing books, be prepared to pay shipping fee. If they are shipped to Singapore, there is no shipping fee charged when the purchase exceeds certain amount. However, this rule does not apply to Malaysia, don't ask me why.

2. The delivery time for the item to be sent to Malaysia is always longer than that to Singapore.

3. Not all the items can be tracked for the purpose of monitoring the delivery status and stages. However, if the items are sent to a Singapore address, most of them can be tracked, how odd eh..? :-/

Online Shopping in Malaysia in General

For some online shopping Malaysia tips, here are 3.

1. Make sure you buy from established and well known sites or brands

There are plenty of websites that offers fake branded stuffs. And since you can't check the quality by person, chances are, if you buy from unknown or unverified sites, you may get low quality items or fake branded stuffs for a very cheap or huge discounted price.

Genuine products do not vary too much in price even if the discounts offered are

actually absorbed by the company of that website.

2. Ensure you make price comparisons all the time if it is branded items

Always ensure that you know the item price sold by the company that produces it,

through their website. This way, you will know the price difference. Items that are on huge price discounts ought to be scrutinized thoroughly. You can try by buying an item first, to check out the quality before making a big purchase.

3. Check with friends who are online shopaholic

To know if certain website offers quality or genuine items, check with your online

shopaholic friends. They will be able to advise you what can be purchased and what

should be avoided in which sites. Trust me, they are your best advisor!

So be very careful, not all best deals are good and not all sites are bad.

Cheers and happy shopping!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and apple mint

Going into a retreat

2014-09-20T22:05:00.001+08:00

Picture taken from here

Completed our 3D 2N Mass Communication Camp today and will be disconnecting for a day or two.

Follow my story and journey through my up-dates via Twitter or blog.

Blog name - carrot head and apple mint

My heartfelt thanks

2014-04-16T19:34:00.005+08:00

Picture taken from here

My blog's total page views reached 200,000 today, wooohooo....!!

For the second time, I wish to express my utmost gratitude to all netizens and cybercitizens that has made this possible, directly and indirectly.

A million thanks with love!

I remember it was not that long ago when I was waiting patiently for the total page views to hit 100,000 in June 2012 and when it did, I was truly elated.

Do keep it going... :)))

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

I spied...

2014-03-22T17:25:00.003+08:00

Picture taken from here

Yeah, this time it's Crocs craze..!

We passed by Crocs yesterday after dinner and I spotted these...!

I love them...!!

Picture taken from here

These are the Carlie Mary Jane range for women.

Picture taken from here

But I like this bottom pair the most.. :-D

Picture taken from here

Want to know why I am crazy over this one? I like the little things at the back of it, hehe...

Picture taken from here

And it can be folded all the way like this...

Cool eh..?

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

I spied...

2013-12-25T16:46:00.000+08:00

Picture taken from here

I saw this Ted Baker tote last night in Bangsar Village II and I so love it..!!!

ST was a bit shocked with my taste this time round coz he knows I usually go for simple and low profile designs. I do not remember ever telling him that I like something so fancy, so brightly colored and especially so flowery. Don't think he has known me to be a person like that, but well, I proved him wrong again this time.. :-D

Of course he was pleased coz he would usually recommend that I get something like this. It's rather expensive for the kind of material used, so... we'll just enjoy the prints for now.

And I love this too.. this is the type that I would usually go for, when I say I have always preferred the simple and elegant type of design.

Picture taken from here

Oh and I love this range of x-bags from Bric's too. It's a range of handbag that comes with simple and elegant fashion and function. It is light, can be folded and packed into our luggage easily for use later at wherever we are, for a change of handbags. It functions quite similarly like the Longchamp (le pliage range) of bags.

Yeah, I know.. This year end, I am a little bag crazee...........

Cheers!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Greetings from Bali!

2013-12-06T10:53:00.000+08:00

We didn't take any pictures of ourselves this trip, since I wanted a pure retreat.

The only pictures we took are around our own villa coz we enjoyed it so much just hanging around it. Those pictures I will post later when I get back.

For now, this will have to do. The highlight of the entire trip for ST, hehe.. and because this was my first attempt in white water rafting, we decided we have to get a copy of the picture for remembrance.

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Going into a retreat

2013-11-30T18:21:00.000+08:00

Picture taken from here

Hellooo....

I will be off for a few days. This time round we will be heading towards Bali.

We hope to be in touch with nature again, to calm our mind and to draw in the peacefulness of our surrounding.. :-D

As usual, the blog will not be idle in my absence. I will try to keep everyone posted here.

Alternatively, you can follow my journey up-dates via Twitter.

Cheerios..!!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

I spied...

2013-11-10T20:26:00.002+08:00

Picture taken from here

I was in the mood to accompany ST for his window shopping the past few weeks, thanks to the recent long weekend, and I spotted some really great stuffs which I would like to share.

I have been looking around at backpacks; an interest that was triggered recently by the mass comm camp that was held in September. I have no specific intention to buy any, merely curious to know what kind of backpacks there are in the market.

So, I was browsing in and out of outlets such as :

Bratpack (that sells the well known Healthy Back Bags).

Picture taken from here

Tear Proof - They sell adventure gears and equipments, with their McGuyver style of knapsacks, etc, etc.

Nike, Adidas and PUMA - They have their own range of knapsack too, which is not that affordable, of course.

Today, I found the one that suited my taste the most..!!

Picture taken from here

In case you're wondering, it's Marc by Marc Jacobs. I do not even want to know the price coz this is one brand that is way beyond me. Yeah, so, just feast your eyes on them like me, and then walk away.. :-(

Then I came upon some lovely little black dress which I too would like to share it here.

Picture taken from here

Simple yet elegant.. Love them..! Don't you..?

Cheers!

--moon

Minion fever I have

2013-07-19T23:21:00.000+08:00

Picture taken from here

The day they released the first batch of minion collection of toys at McD and I was forced to have McD burger for lunch together with my staffs and students, I was mighty unhappy coz I couldn't understand what was so great about them. I've never really liked McD's burger and those toys don't even look cute..!

Well, not until I went to watch Despicable Me 2 at the cinema with ST...

Now, I am sooooooooooooooooooooo in love.........!!!!

Picture taken from here

...with these fellas...!!! Love the way they laugh and the spontaneous way they respond to anything mundane. Their little voice and odd language really tickles our funny side. And they're such party animals...!!!

Picture taken from here

Cute, lovable & mischievous little ones..!

Click here for the fabulous banana & potato song video

And I especially love this video......... Their singing is superb!! Love the ending part too, mehehehehe...

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Highlights of my London trip - P6

2013-06-30T00:38:00.002+08:00

Kensington Palace and Garden

We were supposed to have our afternoon hi-tea here but somehow never got to do it, coz we're either too full or too busy checking out other places.

Food! Glorious Food!

Kensington Place Restaurant

The fish pie that tasted heavenly..!!!

Two different types of fish in there, salmon and one more, not sure what it is.

Their creme brule....... one of the best in the world!

On the last day in London, we went back to Wholefoods for this again.

Feel free to click on any picture for a clearer view

One evening, on the way back from Harpenden, we came out from a tube station and stumbled upon a food market by the river. We got so confused with the variety of food there, we decided to get out before we ended up buying basket loads of food.

Salted Alaskan salmon

One of my favorite stall, needless to day.

Scotch egg - egg wrapped with ham or something like that

Baklava - a Greek or middle eastern favorite desserts, also my favorite!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

I've done it! I've finally completed my MBA!

2013-06-11T23:25:00.002+08:00

I was on the way back from Malacca this evening when I got a message from my classmate congratulating me for clearing my MBA research project.

I was outstation for 2 days and did not check my personal mails. When I got the message, my iPhone was in a dangerously low batt mode, so I didn't dare go online to check the mail.

I just logged-in a moment ago and saw my supervisor's notification email that our external examiners have given me the green light. I will be graduating this year, wooohooo...!!!

You cannot imagine what a relief that is for me..!!!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Highlights of my London trip - P5

2013-06-05T21:30:00.000+08:00

Shaftesbury

The Country Side

On this day, we took a subway from Kensington to Waterloo Train Station. From here we took a train to a place called Andover.

Feel free to click on any picture for a spectacular view

Look what we saw at the field...!!!

Shaftesbury

Shaftesbury, historically known as Shaston, is a town in Dorset, England.

We parked the car and started walking around, turning left and right, into small alleys, and I was beginning to wonder where Martin was taking us to, and then they disappeared from sight...

and waa laa...!

Gold Hill is the most famous hill here, dating back to the Saxon era, overlooking the amazing views of the Blackmore Vale. This place reminds me a lot of the medieval time.. :-D

The restaurant where we had our lunch - Salt Cellar

The spectacular view from where we were dining

Our lunch

The Park Walk

More rapeseed field as we headed off to another place

Stonehenge

The drive to our principle's office takes us past Stonehenge and we couldn't resist stopping by for some snapshots.

Stonehenge - near Salisbury

Feel free to click on any picture for a more spectacular view

Stay tuned for more up-dates on Kensington Palace & Garden, food pictures and favorite random shots of ours.

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Highlights of my London trip - P4

2013-06-01T22:47:00.004+08:00

Porto Bello market

This is a private park, on our way to Porto Bello Market

Feel free to click on any picture for a clearer view

Drinks at Paramount

Having drinks at 33rd floor of Paramount Bar in Center Point building located at New Oxford Street. It offers its patrons a 360 degree view of London

We took a subway from Kensington right up to Totenham Court Street.

Dinner at Greig's

One of the best English farmed steak at Greig's Restaurant in Mayfair. I savored every bite of this entire steak (yes, I finished it all by myself) with sips from a bottle of very good wine, and pretended like as if I enjoyed drinking the wine with it. Had to, you know.

Dessert, oh my god..!!! I almost suggested to ST that we walk back to wherever we came from.. :P

I just love this little guy!

Notting Hill Gate tube station

Highgate, one of London's most expensive suburbs to live in. We passed by this area in a car, on our way to Harpenden.

On that day, we took a subway from Kensington Highstreet to King's Cross Station, where we exited, walked over to Central Saint Martins College of Arts and Design (had my coffee at their Caravan Cafe while waiting), and was finally picked up by Paul and driven over to Harpenden.

The Country Side

Feel free to click on any picture for a clearer view

This is a llama

This was taken in Harpenden, just outside our principle's office. It is amazing..!!!

The spectacular rapeseed field all over the place

Rapeseed Field

Where we had lunch in Harpenden

The restaurant

My starter

ST's lunch. Mine was chicken and mine looked so gooood & tasted so delicious, I forgot to take a picture.. +_+

Back to work. Factory visit.

After all the visits, we were dropped off at the High Wycombe train station, for our trip back to hotel. We took the train to Marylebone train station, north west of London.

Train station reminds me so much of my university days when I was taking train up and down Penang. And I especially love old and tiny train stations like this one. Gives me a kind of nostalgic feel.. :-D

Marylebone Train Station

Random Ramble

Somewhere nearby our hotel, around Gloucester Road

That's St Mary Abby's in the background

Stay tuned for more up-dates on other beautiful parts of countryside, Stonehenge and Kensington Palace.

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Highlights of my London Trip - P3

2013-05-31T19:18:00.001+08:00

Kensington Gardens & Hyde Park

The day we were supposed to spend the entire day at the park was the happiest day of my life. See how happy I was..? And the weather was superb the entire day we were there..!!

Actually, we were at the parks 3-4 times during our stay in London. Even that also we did not manage to cover the whole of Hyde Park. I love the quiet and serene feel being in the park, appreciating the various types of beautiful and magnificent trees there, with its ornamental flower beds. Best place to go and absorb nature at its best.

Click on any picture for a clearer view

Wherever we go, we always ensure we get to know the local residences "real" well, you know what I mean?

We are not allowed to feed the squirrels in the park, there are rules posted all over the parks that says we cannot, but even then, I could do a "hand shake" with one of them. Don't believe? Click on the picture for a clearer view.. :P

After a few rounds of greetings, they can even pose for us when asked.. :P

These few superb shots were taken by ST

Serpentine Bridge that divides Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park

Random Ramble

Getting to know the local residences, told you didn't I? This poodle belongs to an Italian restaurant owner, located in Gloucester Road. The little restaurant is called Da Lisa. Friendly and good authentic Italian food.

Was having tea one evening when I took this shot. Simply love it!!

Dinner at a Chinese outlet just opposite our hotel. See the grey building on the right? That's our hotel. We had dinner here twice coz ST wanted Chinese food and his wonton soup.. +__+ But we love the view from here (refer below).

This is how it looks like at the entrance of that road, next to our hotel. This is on the left side of the guard house.

And this is on the right side of the guard house. All the foreign embassies are located in there.

The few rows of our favorite dining outlets just across the street of our hotel. The Starbucks, Crussh, Stick & Bowl (the Chinese outlet), Food Hall (the 24 hour mini market) where we always drop by late at night when ST gets hungry.

Stay tuned for more up-dates on Porto Bello market, night view of London, and the awesome countryside!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Highlights of my London trip - P2

2013-05-29T16:21:00.000+08:00

The parliament building and Big Ben (BB is the big clock tower)

We took the Hop On and Hop Off Bus Tour, which has a stop right in front of our hotel, and my goodness, what a great way to see London!

The open top bus tour takes us to all of London's famous landmarks, best way to see London's colorful 2,000 year history.

You get to hop on and off anytime, anywhere, any frequently for 2 full days, it is really worth it, for London is simply too BIG to cover on foot or to be missed while taking the tube! And trust us, on the surface, London has got so much to see, what I am able to highlight here does not really do any justice to what we saw. We opted for a package that includes a day time River Thames Cruise plus entrance to a castle - The Tower of London.

The Tower Bridge

The Tower Bridge

Nope, this is not the London Bridge. The actual London Bridge looks extremely simple and boring. The actual London Bridge is located not too far away and can be spotted easily. This Tower Bridge is newer and because it is beautiful and people can walk across it, it becomes more well known.

Tower of London (a pre-historic castle and fortress)

My first experience going into a real castle. The steps and old narrow plus winding staircase made of stones felt chilling cold to our fingertips. With it lies layers upon layers of history that begs to be unfolded.

The Tower of London dominated the city for nearly 1,000 years and has been a symbol of power and subjugation. In its history, The Tower has served many functions, it has been a place of imprisonment, home to royalty, the Royal Mint (the body permitted to manufacture coins in the UK) and an armoury.

Picture of the Tower Bridge taken from inside the castle

I remember that I used to own a little London toy soldier looking exactly this when I was very young. I cannot imagine that I will one day be standing here looking at a real one.. :)))

The London Eye

Picture taken from our river cruise ferry. It is humongous and awesome!

We did not get on the London Eye because the queue was like a mile long. It looked impressive and majestic enough from far, we weren't sure if we will be able to survive the view from the top. Anyway, there were just too many things to see & before we knew it, our attention were drawn to the site in the next sub topic of mine.

The Parliament Building and Big Ben

The parliament building, also known as the Palace of Westminster, is one massive and truly amazing building, built in neo Gothic style. You can stare at it whole day and still be overawed by the details and intricacies of the architecture.

Feel free to click on any picture for a clearer view

Royal Albert Hall

At this stage, the sun was blinding bright, hence, the over exposed picture

This is a music and entertainment venue. Each year it hosts over 360 events which includes classical music, jazz, world music, circus, rock, pop, opera, dance, comedy, tennis, dinners, award ceremonies and The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance.

Night scene. The Royal Albert Hall is located just about 10 - 15 minutes walk from our hotel, past the Kensington Garden side, so we could walk there again at night for these night shots.

Les Miserables
We went to watch Les Mis, in London, something that I've always wanted to do.. :-D

My belated birthday present for this year.. :)))

Random Ramble

Love this few pictures below, as they are so English.. :-D

Stay tuned for my next up-dates on Kensington Garden and Hyde Park.

Oh, in case you wonder, this IS the actual London Bridge...

Note
1) For more spectacular pictures of Big Ben, please click here.
Fine Art America
2) For more spectacular pictures of The Royal Albert Hall, click here.
BBC

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Highlights of my London trip - P1

2013-05-25T00:29:00.002+08:00

Feel free to click on any picture for a clearer view

London's Taxis

My favorite London taxis. Don't think you'll find them anywhere else on earth.

Taken at Trafalgar Square

Taken from the lobby of our hotel. See the Starbucks & Crussh outlet in the background across the road? That's where we usually take our breakfast, if it's not at Wholefoods.

Our Hotel

Royal Garden Hotel on Kensington High Street

View from our room window on a rainy evening

This is the right side of the hotel (assuming I am standing in front of the hotel with my back towards it). This side is where you will find St Mary Abby's, Wholefoods Market (it's a supermarket), Zara, Marks & Spencer, H&M, Gaps, Uniqlo, antique shops, Kensington Highstreet tube station, high end boutiques some of which are Kate Middleton's favorite outlets (according to a "reliable source" of mine by the name of Christine Ong Li Fong - BBC news reporter from KL, bleck!), etc.. all within 5-8 minutes walking distance.

Kensington Garden on the immediate left of our hotel, where Kensington Palace is located (the late Princess Diana's residence & future residence of Prince William and Kate Middleton) and Hyde Park is adjacent to it.

Royal Garden Hotel on the left (grey building) and Kensington Palace on the right (brown building). *wink, wink*, get it? get it?

Same as above, except that in here, the pointy building in the center that looks like a pencil tip, that is St Mary Abby's.

St Mary Abby's

Behind the church there is a little beautiful garden! Quiet & peaceful.

And we love the flowers that were in full bloom around it..!!

Picture taken from the front, at the main road

We were most fortunate to encounter 2-3 days of bright sunshine and mild temperature, out of the 9 days we were there. For those remaining days, it was usually bright sunshine in the morning (though it's still freezing cold), by 11 am, the cloud will start to gather, but the strong wind will blow it away before the next group of cloud gathers again. So you can have cloudy and grey afternoon one minute and bright sunshine the next minute.

Whole Foods Market

This is Whole Foods Market

See the grey building on the left? That's our hotel! And once you step into Whole Foods, oh my gawd..!!!!!! You will go crazy with the variety of food selections they have, whether it is for eat-in or for their groceries. Their food variety covers cheeses, hand-made chocolates, meat & fish, etc. I believe ST must have taken hundreds of pictures of all the food he saw in there. We drop by this place everyday, without fail.

The reason why this outlet plays such a crucial and important role in our stay here is because, it doesn't matter where we went everyday, we must stop by Whole Foods to touch base, for the great view (see below pic), the free WiFi, the soup (ST's favorite) and bread (my favorite), the glorious FOOD, and whatever.

This is how it looks like upstairs where customers dine. And we always sit at the same place (around this section). And there is also a food court on the other side.

The hot soup that ST begs to have everyday (6-8 different types) while I beg for coffee every afternoon.. :-D

Needless to say, the bread that drives me crazee...!!

Random Ramble

It is supposed to be spring in London. Hence the sun is up, sunny and BRIGHT by 5 am (and I mean blinding bright if you do not have a sun glass on) and sets only around 8.30 - 9 pm. So we have lots of opportunity to explore London the whole day, get back to our strategically located hotel around 5 pm to take a short nap (by then we will be so dead tired..!!), and still get to go out to continue walking in broad day light at around 7.30 pm.. :-D

Due to the cold weather, everyday I was drinking 2 cups of steaming hot tea (1 cup of English Breakfast tea in the morning immediately after we wake up, to keep warm & 1 cup of Earl Gray tea in the evening after our nap) and a cup of hot chocolate as a treat at night just before bed, all complimentary from Royal Garden Hotel. Thanks to London, I have now acquired the passion for tea drinking.. :)))

That's it for today, folks! Stay tuned for my next postings on The Tower of London (a historic castle), parliament building and Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster area and Royal Albert Hall!

Cheerios!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Just two more steps..!!

2013-05-22T20:24:00.001+08:00

Picture taken from here

Yup! Just two more steps from completion, yet these are the hardest two steps..!!!

Just two steps, that's all..!!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

London here we come!

2013-05-03T17:53:00.000+08:00

Picture taken from here

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

Off for work and vacation!

2013-05-03T10:23:00.000+08:00

I will be away for a few days for work and holiday starting from tonight.

Feel free to follow my journey in my blog and on Twitter.

Cheers!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

I can see the lights at the end of the tunnel..!!!

2013-05-02T01:55:00.000+08:00

I can see it! I can finally see the lights at the end of the tunnel...!!!

I've finally completed my research project (the last 2 chapters being first drafts), and will be sending it out to my supervisors tomorrow.

Yaabaa daabaa dooo....!!! This is it!

Thereafter, I will be focusing 200% on my packing. Time to chill out!

Oh yeah!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint

The last league

2013-04-25T18:17:00.000+08:00

I can't believe it! I am now officially on the last league of my MBA journey.

I have just concluded the interview and survey, and tabulated the figures, now going into the last chapter, the presentation and interpretation. After which it will be the analysis, conclusion and recommendations.

Unbelievable! Truly unbelievable!

Add oil, Moon! Add oil..!! You can do it..!!!!

Picture taken from here

Go, go, go..!!!!

--moon

Blog name - carrot head and applemint