Saturday, September 28, 2013

Weekend Away in Melbourne


My friends are undergoing a midlife crisis and I have to guide them to seek acceptance.

As for me, I will indulge and delve into shopping spree and bliss that melbourne can offer.

T'was my first Virgin Australia flight and it's not too bad. Seats are comfy and they gave us complimentary tasteless tea (after tasting england's finest HRH approved tea) starving though but saving my appetite for Friday's.

"The Little Prince" was terribly late thats why we cant check in our luggage. but all is well cos we had a very special honourable mention from VA as last call before gate closes.

Reality is i do like the adrenalin rush. Or maybe its just me.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

My European Highlights

technically i just left europe now. 39,000 feet altitude. right above Ashgabat. not entirely sure where it is but its part if the middle east.

i reckon the whole of euro tour 2013 was a success. there are couple of unfortunate events but contingency fund is more than enough to cover risks. missed contiki meetup. mixedup fund envelope. vatican not being on contiki itinerary. and of course a lot of times i got lost and cabs became my saving grace. scary scammers in paris. cabless rome.

i have a lot of good ones like the friends and relatives who helped me during my stay in london. friends visited me halfway in belgium. celebrating vigil with the pope. seeing stonehenge upclose and john fetching me.

heaps of breath-taking sights like tour eiffel at night, vatican city and the sistine chapel, the roman fora, munich extravagant city centre, versailles garden and its opulence, firenze duoumo and the picturesque top-view of where rennaisance began. venezia at night including music playing in st mark's square. the beautiful canas of amsterdam. belgium's luscious grand place surrounded by chocolatiers. of course london's westminister and buckingham palace.

food was exquisite. ranging from the best french dinner to my birthday bash dinner in firenze and final dinner in sea food palace in amsterdam. french onion soup, escargot, baguette, burgundy wine and edam cheese. panini, pizza, pasta. gelato (amareti and baci special mention). scones and creme. belgian frites and waffles. german pork knuckles. beer stein. wurst. mousels and kwak. fish and chips and english cider.

and if course for me one of the highlights would have to be the shopping experience. i finally can say i bought LV (limited edition belt and new collection scarves from runway) in Champs Elysees and maxed out my shopping fund (plus plus) in Burberry when i was in London (scarves, trench coat). suited up in monaco wearing zegna shirt and tie. suit and shoes by Prada.

finally i want to thank my official sponsors for the trip. without you it wouldnt be amazingly spectacular!


Emirates, British Airways, Singapore Airlines for my flights. and of course qantas for the FF miles redemption. thanks for safe and covenient travels.

Thalys, Trenitalia and of course Eurostar which has the most amazing standard premier.

Louis Vuitton and Burberry for the official apparel for EU trip.

Zegna and Prada for the Monaco dressup night.

Corona and Peroni - official drink

Jetski Safari - official EU theme song

L'occitane, Kheils and Molton Brown for my Skin care. Chanel for fragrance.

Evian official still water to keep hydrated during the trip.

Berroca boosting energy and keeping me active all throughout the trip

samsung for photos. apple for web technology and music. finally casio for time (helped esp when moving and converting timezones).

travelex and uaex for fx changes.

most importantly i am thanking vodafone italia my official carrier. it wouldnt be possible to get connected on net on the go without data servies from VF. grazie!


Monday, September 16, 2013

London: One more night please

I pretty much got lucky moving my notsopractical flight to a better one. I've been so keen in having one more night in London. I just wanted to fall in love with London but it wasn't really as charming as Paris, Venice or Munich.

Eventually when I arrived in London. It has shown its true colours. Cloudy, rainy, chaotic. For unknown reasons I find that its character and eccentricity to be appealing. It is a fusion of New York and Sydney imho. In short I likey.

Didn't matter whether British people arw arrogant but its a nice place to live in. And I think I made a good decision making it my official European HUB.

So many restaurants,  posh bar, pubs, and of course the shopping is just topnotch.

Thanks to the Mercado's and of course Julie for the warmth hospitality. Letting me be a part of your weekend life is just too fabulous. It makes me want to move in to London. I haven't even beeb to the CLUBS for crying out loud.

But yeah definitely I will consider coming back to London for another visit or who knows...

Indulge in everything Belgian

Bruxelles is well-known for few great indulgences.  Waffles, Frites and of course Belgian Chocolates.

I met with two of my friends qho now lives in Luxembourg. I have to give them credits for coming to Belgium to meet up with me. Only for two hours but still it was great to catchup with them. I must say nothing has changed and I feel like its still 2003 when we first met in SGV. Except that now they have a little boy.

Rain was pouring.  I think it started in Germany and has also chosen to take the same route. It was raining everywhere I go since then. Managed to find Leonidas and buy some chocies.

Amazing lunch I got a free one too. Mussels and Kwaks are also famous here. I enjoyed it too esp with good company from friends I havent seen for 6 years..

Saturday, September 14, 2013

my contiki story

Lets start off by thanking Katie for amazing job she did for this tour. if it wasnt for her, i wouldnt have enjoyed EU highlights. Kudos to her and Jase. Awesome team we were in safe hands.

i shall call them Reese and Charles. other contiki gang are as follows: Sherminator, Garfield, John Arbacle, Orson, Vin Diesel, Rohan (BB), Snoopy, Dorothy Cos (college batchmate lookalike), Abraham Lincoln, Mr Big (SATC), Pugsley and Wednesday and Commander Bobot (prev boss). i can go on and name names on their faces.

South African gals and Japanese contikers are welcoming. the rest are just arrogant bitches. but still i somehow manage to gel a bit but as i said i feel unwelcomed most of the time!

drinking theory is right. thats what the gang does all the time. this trip is a short one so have to squeeze all sights and must dos in that limited time. i just hate going with people who just wanted to drink all the time.

or perhaps i just like travelling alone. oh well im introvert and its such a challenge to socialise in groups for me. i did adjust and overall its not that bad!

crazy amsterdam

i probably should equate this trip to my vegas trip. but instead if getting drunk i got bit stoned. i say that space brownie should be consumed with a company. never do it alone. not catastrophic but u get paranoid when u started feeling weird. started with my hands then in my head. but the trick is mind over matter. i was able to go to sleep but it was a loooong sleep that i eventually missed the pedal biking and heiniken factory. i did go to museums though. finally we had our final dinner in a floating resto. not too bad! i loved it! i still am ranting with the crap gang. most of em are really not welcoming! in my honest opinion, i should have sticked to my group instead of going alone most of the time. but something in me says that i love adventure and doing everything by myself.

st goar is oh so quiet

i have to say that this is pretty quiet compared to the other cities we have been to. we ended up playing card game pretty much like pusoy dos. diff is that there are no ranking of suits and fives are prohibited. game starts with S something like stupid but more of a slang word..

i bought myself a deutscheland shirt and that made me happy.

at night we tried the blackforest cake but i still go for red ribbons!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Sacred Camp in Dachau

Probably this second spiritual place after Vatican of course. I totally advocate humanity and what happened 75 years ago is just appalling.

Why I find it spiritual is nothing to do with religion. Is just that I reckon the harsh condition the people had endured during that time was just unbearable.  Inhumane in all apsects. They use people for scientific experiments and also for randomly killing them in gas chambers. It was such heart-melting experience. Revolting is the word which I describe what happened. These horrific era seems to be so moving that we should be thankful for what we have and feel lucky. 

...because life is beautiful.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Beer Stein Overload in Munich

"Willkommen in Deutschland" as the rain greeted us with cold winds as its entourage. Here was a pit stop in Austria where I had a taste of schnitzel where it  originated.

Started off with Munich with an enjoyable bike ride followed by a well deserved Steins and Schweinshaxe. Had two giant steins which I think is pretty much my threshold cos I felt the tipsyness after.. drank the famous original Hofbräuhaus Stein and also a dark lagger after that.

And what is worse than tipsy feeling is the aroma of dog poo in the bus. Yeah some fool stepped on it without considering the mess he did. We have then to endure the longest 20 minute ride back to the hostel.

Venezia captivating beauty at night

Venice greeted us with unwelcoming humidity. Luckily I sat at the front and the cool breeze took away the arrogant weather. First activity was the gondola ride. It is the best way to see explore Venice many islands. We barely hav full day to see Venice. Finally I've ridden the real thing. Vegas, Singapore wnd even Philippines has one..

Then we had a walking tour of Venice, which I should have opted out. It was the longest time and it is not practical for real reason that Venice is pretty much self explanatory.  I would have been better off queueing for San Marco Cathedral.

I did break again from the gang just because they dont have the same enhusiast I have when traveling. I was so enamored with masks here that I bought heaps. Then a quick espresso and toilet break. I did go to St Marks Campanile which where I fell in love with Venezia.  The clouds skewed into perfect purple and pink sky. The crescent moon displayed beautifully on th dome. I had a date with my favourite affogato over a lovely musician playing classic romantic songs. The shops are posh and the ambiance exuded elegance.

Monday, September 9, 2013

i heart roma

one of the objectives today is to look for i love rome shirt. and honestly i didnt care much on the first day cos my heart will always belong to paris. but when we decided to move forward the trip to rome. somehow the stars aligned and we were able to see the pope. as what my aunt has said, if makes u feel closer to heaven. angelic choir. perfect musical arrangement that puts u to a different spiritual state. and of course knowing that the holy father is there to celebrate the Syria Vigil is beyond what i expected for roma.

it was also the longest night ever. train broken. met the spanish girls. talked to bradley who was really helpful in getting us home safely.

why roma is unique? although technically vatican is another state, i shall include it in roma experience. gelato, pasta, pizza, risotto, caffe, tiramisu, antipesto. seriously i think this trip will make me fat and too dark. yes, the sunniest in your europe added multiple layers of humidity.
despite all that roma is still my favourite place that i dearly fell in love.

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Firenze is where i celebrated my bente sais

buon compleano to me. it gets better eventually after having a slight depression and hint of homesickness. the dinner was absolute epic night for me. started with antipesto. then pasta which is bolognese, pesto and ravioli. the chicken and tiramisu for dessert.

then they started singing happy bday and i made a quick salute with italian wine. that was the first suprise greeting. then came the champagne toast with Kathie and another guy celebrating his bday. as a finale they dimmed the lights and i was scared what was happening. out of no where there was something sparkling. little did i know that it was for me and it was a gelato cake that has chocolate sauce drawing into something i couldnt surmise first. i realised it is male genitalia. that was hilarious. i ended up sharing with everybody else.

we then went to regatta later i realise it as red grater where i got kool aide as drink that kicked my singing intensity. i hired my backup and we sang the ultimate song of the karaoke world- "i will survive". capped the evening with blue cheese and wine c.o mario and luigi. epic night indeed.

The grand monte carlo casino

yes it is indeed the second smallest yet uber rich state in the world. no taxes and everyone is extremely wealthy. this country boasts the home of the f1 grand prix and of course the monte carlo casino.

i got a chance of seeing the breath taking view of monaco from the observation deck passing thru prince albert's. upn entering the casino. i was in awe just looking at how classy it was. perhaps a blessing that i lost 4 chips on roulette whoch pretty much dictated that i do not belong to the grand casino room. entrance was around 10 euros. i ended up winning on bit of pokies but eventually lost it anyway. i celebrated ny bday eve with a long island ice tea for myself.

later that night mario and luigi gave me a beer toast and a taste of blue cheese. kathie our tour guide gave me a bday hug. i am happy that at least theres someone to celebrate it with.

unlucky at french riviera

i basically skipped dinner just to wait for one hour delayed train to cannes. i find people on this area to be total snob! but what the hell at least i can flaunt my luxury and step on their foot given the chance.

the train arrived when the sun has set already so it wasnt the perfect view i was expecting. i was so disgusted with how palais du festivals look like. very ugly and not picturesque. it was even imitating walk of stars for crying out loud! theres a lot of good restaurant here and i thought that it wiuld have been good if my friends were here to do Satcy with me.

eventually i got a cheap crepe and i was happy about it. nit pricey but equally satisfying.

horrific story, train were delayed by 2 hours. i cannot fathom such thing happening on french riviera! i took a cabbie instead and was bitten by 45 euros. ouch! but the lady cabbie was really great driver. she was quick and precise. hopefully i win this money back at monacco.

avignon stopover

for some reason i wanted to be alone today. i kept distance to everyone else from the trip. perhaps i really am introvert or perhaps my age, i dont know..

i did have a great time in avignon i saw the papal palace. i also tried a very interesting baguette with goat cheese which was superb touch for the baguette. i wanted to buy something from loccitane cos i know it originated in provence. they dont gave the face wash i wanted so i bought lavander savon at the petrol station.

i saw a chapel and offered candle wishing prayers for family and friends. also seeking guidance and safety for this euro tour.

this town might be small but i just love the way it looks. i saw couple of shops including hermes. weird enough it wsnt luxurious looking. maybe it is trying to fit into the avignon vibe.

post script, i did poo on poo! eww but i really had to do it cos i really have to do it (if u know what i mean)

wine tasting and chateau in burgundy

in my intro i said how i love france and i still do. it has a lot to offer. from chic shops, french cuisine, art appreciation, fine wine and of course the french language and top sights to see. i particularly love the drive to burgundy where endless vineyard every where u look.

wine was a bit bland but i am sure the prestage is worth buying. they told me its full flavour and intensity are its award winning characteristic.

the chateau is really beautiful and has thr vibe that makes your soul rejuvenate. unfortunately there are wild uneducated blokes around. which is what i totally hate in contiki tours. luckily our group is much behaved. ironic how such beauty is filled with drunken monkeys. my two euro cents. you can still have fun in a civilised manner. its how you choose to act and disgrace yourself with your rubbish behaviour! far out!

Partey Time

this started in club in Champs Elysees and also on the second night in Paris with the great performance from cancan girls and the unforgettable drunken moments in Salut Bar.

Third night in France we stayed in a chateau in beaujolais. between dinner and 9:30pm was the most boring thing evr! i call it nothingness. was compensated with a great ambiance at cave and we did party hard . too bad i knocked marios drink. ice tropez is a must. its like lychee infused in vodka!

for some reason i had suddenly was given a youthful vibe and energy to endure the late night partey even with not enough sleep.

Nice to see u again Paris

i managed to arrive safely at Gurd du Nord from London and I changed to Metro. my laziness to change Metro line made me walk for 25 mins under the blistering sun.

how i find this monteparte region is exact opposite of champs elyseeswhere i stayed on my first visit to Paris. i saw heaps of scary looking thugs and a passed by a flee market. over a block just under the bridge there was a totally different market. it was damn scary. i later realised that this might have been the stolent stuff market super sale. heaps of people were there and it scared the sh!t out if me.

then i saw the contiki bus and saw a familiar face-josh. kathie paired me with him since i already knew him from fb.

we went around paris to see familiar sights and i was in a pee predicament. then eventually i had to go to the coaches' lavatory that later i was told that u can only use in exceptional cases.

we head out to a brasserie and tried snails with petit champagne. i met some guys but never get their names cos im bad at remembering. i shall call them grant, takeshi, mikimoto, mike and prekash.

my contiki buddies i will introduce. josh obviously whom i met thru fb. kinda hih spirited from delaware in the US. jocelyn from LA. she is kinda my type of travel buddy and she knows how to read french and say basic phrases. when combined we become the greatest voyagers!

saw tour eiffel for second time and still captivates my heart! and louvre at night time is inexplicably amazing! then also we went o my fave place champs elysees to dance and drink. lots of DB lookalike so i declare this as DB kingdom.

next day we were dropped off at arc de triomphe. we saw it upclose but voted unanimously not to go on top cos of the time constraint. went to laduree and i had ice mint which taste like toothpaste but still i love it. went shopping for my toiletries at l'occitane. great i bought ine in France! then we went straight to Versailles which was a bit scary. getting the ticket i mean cos there are guys whi would be willing to give direction and end up quickly swiping their card after you swiped yours. then they demand payment for their card use even if it was obvious that you had successfully paid anyway.

ended up with such a scare but still we managed to drop the issue and enjoy our voyage to the elegance that is in Versailles. It is beyond words!

french cuisine at its finest. i had the well known escargot and duck confit which was topnotch! i reckon given another chance i want to explore more of france and i see myself living on this lovely country.

post script on versailles is that it is a poo disaster county so watch out with the loo. it looks utterly disgusting.

detour Paris

i was supposed to meet Contiki gang early morning at six but i just cant be bothered with the tumultous journey to achieve that! at this stage i dont want further stress. julie then suggested i take eurostar which was a great practical solution to one of my worries. also she offered that i stay with them on my last night in Europe. i would be forever thankful!

now im on my way to Paris instead of taking the long journey from london to paris by coach. i should arrive before the gang arrives. will have a bit of patesserie tasting while i wait for them. at least that is the plan..

uk disneyland

i remember when i was nine, i get this unexplainable excitement whenever we go to amusement parks. the same excitement i once again felt when Julie and I went to Bicester Village. i know my cousin and her hubby strongly dont want me to go but i would be going against what my heart wanted.

shopping has always been a very important activity for me when i travel. it is a way to pay homage to the fashion and luxury. hence i had to go against all odds. had lunch at a sandwich place cos italiano restorante has queue and who would want to waste time eating. we came here to shop! i told Julie that only when its prada that queue is worth doing. had an amazing chicken soup and pizza slice. of course lemon cheesecake to seal the meal.

Bicester Village is like a one stop shop that has every luxury shop you wanted. and of course i am well prepared with my Europe Spending Fund. first stop is of course the host country has to offer - burberry! i TOTALLY love the shop. it has two levels and the men section is on the upper level. Trench coats were calling me to be tried on. i at least tried five to six coats before deciding to get three of them. then off i went to burberry body that i always wanted but sydney store doesnt have em. finally got a scarf that i wanted which is a modern check design that looks like the shirt i am currently wearing. overall burberry is the second best store and i am rating them 4.9 stars! ohh i ended up giving up the thick trendy coat cos i wont really need it til next year anyway.

the next stop is Prada. queue was sooo long but i managed to wait patiently and i guess it was rewarding. the best shop here of course because not only they have good selection. the staff assisted me personally like i have a personal shopping advisor and assistant. they were able to address my dress code predicament for monacco scheduled at the end of the week. the fabric was topnotch, fitting was almost perfect (minus the length of the cuffs). i immediately spotted shoes that would go with it in an instant like a zephyr of light! its safiano-nuff said. i gave this store 5 perfect stars which is because of the extremely organizsed and friendly shopping experience ever.

last note worthy shop is zegna. although i didnt get the trousers i wanted. i was able to get a clean crisp shirt to wear in Monte Carlo casino. they matched it with a smart looking tie all for less than 200 pounds! what a treat! giving them 4 stars.

the other shops were a bit of a snob! what the hell theyre cheaper brands but they have the attitude! if u make me mad there is a chance i might step on you "accidentally". just to give you a lesson that my goodness can overshadow your rudeness!

overall i love bicester shopping experience and would be one of the reasons i would come back to UK. of course the main reason is the warmth from my family and friends living here.

just a note that disneyland train ate all our time that we decided not to go for clubbing. still that doesnt mean we cant have any fun.. Julie knows exactly how to define it! Karaoke with beer and wine whilst munching south african chips and mini pasty&wedges in the side.

Saturday, August 31, 2013

arts and the royalty

today was not too crazy compared to my previous schedule. all i needed to do was see buckingham palace. but me thinking i already know london i was proven wrong. i shouldve swallowed my pride and opened a map. instead i wasted 20-30 mins of figuring out where the heck i am. luckily the guard still let me in the queens gallery. and that was the start of the royal day out tour.

in between royal day i manage to witness changing of the guards.

didnt manage to get a bite but did it on the way back. had the most amazibg cornish pasty i ever tasted.

the rest are just exhausting journey from PAD-RDG and back to think its rush hour. twas horrific experience. plus "the attitude" makes me want to swear directly on their fugly faces. my theory is that they tend to be so egoistical and think that they're the royalty supreme of the world.

then i met with Julie and was so in loved with their flat. fantastic glimpse view of tower bridge. we went to queen s theatre in westend to watch les miserables. top notch! great staging, perfect musical arrangement and noteworthy performances from Javert and Jean Valjean. promise i am capable of crying esp with this kind of performance. my alibi is that i was exhausted really. but still i put it as my top 2 musical of all time.

The Core of London

i call this the core and i reserved it on my last tour itinerary. core because it is the centre of UK and its commonwealth countries governance through HR EiiR.

it was indeed magnificent but i still prefer Windsor Castle over the Buckingham Palace. started with the Queens Gallary full of paintings and brief history centred on Royal Fashion so to speak.

next stop are the royal mews. my favourite was the Grand Britain mews which was used multiple times as i saw it before on the tellie.

i went out after that to witness changing of the guards which was awesome. heaps and heaps if people crowded the palace gates so i cant really see. but on the other part of the street there was a random exiting of the guards which i was able to witness upclose.

i then went to the state rooms and rished through the paintings. anyway as i said earlier windsor is much grand. what is worth viewing here though is the queens coronation. the robe and coronation etc where also displayed.

stonehenge and its unexplainable vibe

the most worry-some part of the trip. travelled an hour from bath by train. i got to salisbury 1835H. no time to lose. i quickly looked for cabbie who can take me to stonehenge. bit of a cabbie hunt cos i was expecting cabs to be queueing somewhere.

extremely poor today cos i forgot my wallet at home. i reckon i just have my day's worth of budget. i managed to squeeze little resources i have to get into a cab. costs 23 pounds but of course it was all worth it.

the stones were just magnificent. i got a a guide book but i will read them after the tour. i was at awe when i went close to the stones. of course we cant touch them but i feel a different aura when i put both my palms in the stones. there's something unexplainavle within these stones.

luckily my cousins hubby fetched me and i was so thankful for this generosity. words cant explain my appreciation.

Friday, August 30, 2013

half-day at bathspa

day two in uk another fast forward tour and if yesterday was london now its bathspa. its a nice town west of reading where cousins live. another late start for me good thing the voucher i had doesnt have specific time. although i like bathspa and quoting my instagram as the best town so far. i hated jane austen tour. it was mostly boring stuff. dont get me wrong i like her as an author but the tour was boring. i like the tea with mr darcy only because i was famished. had it not for mr darcy i wouldnt have eaten at all. quarter of the day was spent on thermae bath where it is an absolute must to indulge in..

roman spa was historic yes but rather not go to the museum. parts of it were good and interesting but most of em are really not my cup of tea really.

then there was the rush to go to rail station to catch the last train prior to stonehenge access commencing.

lets see this time if i can still snap and go to see the town. i just have to see the cathedral and old sarum and probably get a cab from old sarum..

England At Its Primest

blame it on the jet lag i was then late for my Thames Cruise. i thought about it and i was ready to pay more just to be on this cruise. twas topnotch and fully recommend that this is the first thing u do in london. that is if u werent early enough to get a reasonable queue to london eye.

it was my first time to get on the first great western and i was standing for half an hour. then i got on the tube. was a bit confusing at first but again it was more off the pressure i had cos its 20 past 10 and i have to be jn the cruise half an hour before quarter to 11. which is plain impossible. had to make a call and decided to get a cab. far out it was an old fart who is just racist! well if u treat me like that then i had to cut em off and decided to just call the tour company and luckily they rescheduled for another hour. had time to walk around and be amazed! i had a glimpse of big ben and i know im actually in london.

after thames i had a chance to kill time and walk around. i started taking photos of this gorgeous architecture on a building that looks like westminister abbey and later realising after my snack that it actually is WA. i had the best hotdog ever tasted and it is the hotdog chain at the back of WA.

House of parliament is exhausting tour. nonetheless it was highly informative esp for someone from a commonwealth country. so many things interesting but and 75 mins standing althroughout. anyway blooper for me is when i went to french group and later realising i cant understand it. guide said bonjour and i said bonjour back and smiled. didnt realise that they were groupih us based on the greeting. my heart is still in France thats why. got a guide book which really i should have opted to be delivered so i can do my homework beforehand. felt that i dont know much history and politics in UK.

next one is a bit of a journey but all worth it i tell you. windsor castle has the finest royal jewels and treasure collection. from state rooms to rotalty bedrooms we saw everything up close. which is free to touch by the way and you can even sit on royalty chairs unlike house of parliament where u cant. anyway i like this tour cos Madam Toussad was really good. very uptight but eliquent. after the tour we got ourselves some souvenir guide book and toast of champagne. overally i totally like this tour. now i cant wait for my royal buckingham palace tour.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Jet Lagged

is it possible to get a clawback from jet lag? didnt get much sleep reckon its 3.5 hours sleep then i just couldnt sleep at all. its been more than 24 hours since i arrived in europe..

this day would be so tiring but i need the energy. i hope i can endure today. maybe get some energy drinks and coffee...

Immigration Hiccup

after BA flight delay and the physical challenge in Paris lifting my luggages - i face the strictest immigration officer i have ever met. i dont understand his problem. i planned my travel so well and piut everything together in my executive summary of europe plan. why is he making a big fuss on my five day stay in uk. i just dont get it.

i reckon this guy is abusive of his authority. he has indian background and bit old school too. ahould i have put 17 days stay in london? i dong get his logic. yes i am coming back on my last leg but i honestly believe that technically speaking that one night on 14th is not counted cos its another entry for me. plus i can stay longer than 17 freakin days. last i heard i have 90 days limit on my aussie passport. if he's going to be friggin racist then heck i should too. i reckon something is just plain wrong with this immigrationt officer. perhaps he had too much spicy food for supper thats why it clouded his judgement.. oh well, what a wat to spoil my first time in london. thats a minus 10 points for uk.

so far immigration in europe doesnt impress me.

CDG-LHR

here's another blooper and probably the most serious scary one that i almost had a heart attack.. i was taking my time enjoying my starbucks espresso frap and the scrumptious louisiana toast while eyeing the departure board. i swear i never seen the status of my flight ever change to boarding. suddenly it changed to "expected 9:31" which honestly doesnt make clear sense. is it expected to what? board, fly, depart or arrive. i was confident it was more of the third one so i took my time in having the most decent meal i had for today.

then when i arrive at gate 47. i was shocked that the couple were in deep trouble saying that they missed their flight. and realising that it is the same flight as i have. started thinking of worse case scenario. thinking of how to take eurostar.. then late the lady cane back saying that flight was delayed. i was right all along. what i learned is never trust hearsays and just go with your instinct. corroborate before even defining the problem.

BA is better than emirates in terms of leg room. the aircraft is not too big but managed to breathe naturally.

met this lovely couple who lives in england. hope they are right in saying that it would be a good weather in london for my week's worth of stay in UK..

Superman in Paris

thats me. lol

i had to endure going to various sights and enjoy the rest of the afternoon shopping.

i had a very extraordinary brekkie compliments from the hotel. in case u wanted to know it is le pavilion des lettres and i recommend 9.9/10. the 0.1 is because there was no tooth paste available.

brekkie was freshly made croissant, youghurt, and the rest i cant remember cos its too hard to read.

after that i only have 1.5 hours to explore champs elysees before checking out from the hotel. i bought one jacket from zara and familiarise myself with my route back to hotel. i saw le bristol which is now my dream hotel vacay spot.

after checkout i went straight to louvre. too bad it was closed (tuesday is their sunday). then i went to notre dame cathedral. then to pantheon. i love the architecture of both. detail of design is just breathtaking.

then off to shopping. i bought some limited edition belt and new collection scarf which is perfect for spring when i come back to sydney. alex was so friendly and even showed me the exclusive to champs elysees room full of pins (on the ceiling -1800). then i webt straight to laudree were i had the biggest (fatsest)french fries and my fave melange and of course their macaroons (where they are famous for). i totally recommend having it inside though. eating it outside will have risk of thievery (?) and inside is really really good. parfait ambiance.

i went back to the hotel and repacked my things. receptionist is from brasil and she was lovely. helped me get a cab but it was my fault i had to go to chatelete instead of nord de gord. rush hour carrying a 21kg luggage in stairs. its like NY all over again.

amazing time. good times. i heart paris. i will see u again next week.

Midnight in Paris

like the movie it was the most beautiful place ive been so far. it would have been really romantic if youre with someone. i was almost late to go to my tour de eiffel. good thing the cab waited for me to drop my bags at the hotel and brought me straight to the heart of Paris - Eiffel tower. its magnificent. at 12mn i enjoyed the display of diamonds across the tower and finally i met two filos lets call them kathy1 and kathy2 from milan. they took my eiffel photos. then i had the most amazing crepe with tomato and cheese (maybe cos i eas so famished). i then took cabbie to hotel and had a complimentary wine to welcome me to europe officially.

by the way clearing immigration was horrific. esp if you travel to paris at night. only one dedicated immi officer. my plane seatmates are both from france and i shall call them tim and laurence. they briefed me with what to expect in paris esp watching out for romanian girls on the streets.

splendid night and i slept with the opera orchestra.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

DXB-CDG

was i expecting too much or is SQ still the leader in my flight preferences. remind me to change my amplify settings to link with Krisflyer.

firstly its a380 and the legroom was just horrible. the man in front of me inclined his seat and the monitor is right up my face. secondly i miss the time when you can just freely have a choice to go to upperdesk where seating is better and window seats has an extra compartment.

this is another long flight and now i am regretting that i picked window seat. my bladder is not cooperating!

this is the last flight before i sleep properly in a hotel bed. i am hoping that i am fully functional tonight when i carry my overwhelming luggage and walking through the alleged scary streets of paris. i still dont believe the stories i hear from my sources. reckon i should get a cab instead?

lets see how this flight goes then. all depends on the mood i guess.

postscript: celebrity on board. in fact they are both flight attendants - johnny cage and lady gaga.

BKK-DXB

my flight to dxb i met two interesting people. one is kiwi middle aged woman who's on a work assignment to huangzhou but would "shop shop shop" whilst in bangkok. she's so neurotic and crazy but i like talking to her cos she's so hyper. ive bever seen such high spirits before.

and there is this guy that looks like adam levine but is rather small. he's french. he's exactly the opposite of ms kiwi. he's quiet but somewhat resembles my messy attidude. but mines more controlable i reckon.

few bloopers in dubai. cant seem to find the entrance to dubai mall or burj khalifa. spent a gallon of sweat still ended up with nothing. not even coffee i deserve after two longhaul flights.

then there was the time i lost my favourite zara black jacket. i pretty much exhausted my aed thru multiple cab fare going every where and them cabbies becoming my personal tourist guide. and there was this unfortunate expectations lost. no burj al arab nor burj khalifa. but my heart jumped when i saw a section in dubai mall where it is too familiar. i was undecided if i want to indulge in a french brekkie then all of a sudden ryan came to the rescue. i went on another cabbie to burjaman 15 minutes from where i was and went straight to dome. can u imagine everyone working in resto/cafe are all filo. anyway ive got to thank ryan for showing me around. most fave part is when we went to atlantis. also he gave me a nice token wc is burj al arab. definitely my dubai appetite wasnt quenched to my expectation and um thirsting for more. hence i will be back sometime in january when the weather is right and when the discounts are on (hint from francine).








Monday, August 26, 2013

SYD-BKK

i started off browsing through ek magazine, which featured a glimpse of dubai. got me interested in visiting burj khalifa - one of the tallest tower in the world. dont quote me though..

then continued with the book i was reading. the thing is the book is not like most books i read. it has lengthy chapter. u get tired finishing one chapter or maybe i got used to murakami style. dont get me wrong the book is interesting. tickles you a bit like a journey back to high school when you first felt butterflies in your tummy.

anyway i remember my boss saying that what they mormally do in a long-haul flight is to watch as many movies you can. their record to date is like 7 movies for a nonstop flight to uk. i reckon i can easily beat that though i browsed the movie list and i cant even find a single nice new movies.

first one is oblivion. spent more than an hour and you get drawn into nothingness simply because the movie is pointless and utterly despicable. a movie that literally tortures u.

next one is oh boy which is a foreign film from germany. loved it and its black and white which is a treat. amazing performance by the lead actor. the story revolves around a guy without direction in life. he's perspective of life can ve depicted as eccentric but ironically full of zeal. at the end he learns a very important lesson that will chanfe his life forever.

the last one that made me doze off is The company you keep. first half hour was promising. its thriller for crying out loud. it has robert redford and susan sorandon (where is auto correct when u need it). but still the plot becomes uninteresting and too complicated that disconnected my consciousness and sent me straight to subconscious portal.

4 hours to go maybe i can catch a quick nap.

Sunday, August 25, 2013

SYD Departure

the reason that i plan thoroughly and turn into an obsessive compulsive traveller is that i am too forgetful. if i dont plan i will forget.

thinking i packed perfectly, i realised when i was preparing my travel cash for Dubai that i actually switched the money i would be spending in the checked in luggage. the damage is not massive cos i can always use GBP anyway but still..

anyway something random is that the immigration office said that im part of the top percentile of the smart aussies cos u know which country dubai is. how random, i could have a flag or capital city test and im sure i can name them all.

another random thing is that i was chosen again to do the random swab test. never fails. do i look like a druggie? lol hope not..

pre euro planning

havent posted in a very long time but let me guve my blog some bump post!

it has been more than 3 months preparation for this big trip. yes i am excited but im more scared than excited really.

i feel like travelling to asia or america is much easier. europe is a bit intimidating. i just hope all will be fine. will let you know more when im at kingsford airport and blog more

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Transient Days Fade Quickly

Weeks pass by really quick these days. I wonder what I can possibly do to make it slower. I haven't even been to the beach much and summer is about to end. Maybe I am too preoccupied with work. So much responsibilities have been shifted to me. I like it... but I am struggling to keep the balance. If only I am a seasoned gymnast and can walk straight without falling on a balanced beam or something.

Sunday's are really quick too especially when the clock hits 10. It's like you tend to put everything that you needed to do until you find yourself tired and asleep at one-past. Come Monday morning, it would again be a struggle to wake up and drag yourself out of bed.

Maybe I need something to look forward to. 

Thursday, February 14, 2013

V'day!

This time around its not V for Valentines but V for Vicious Busy Times! I feel so stressed all throughout the week and even the prior weeks. Work seems to pile up.

Reverse the V and you get A, which stands for the Academy.

Hmm, I can't wait for the Academy Awards night. I watched couple of Oscar-nominated film including the front-runners for Best Picture. I haven't completed watching but soon enough I will do my movie critique. I remember back in uni I used to watch heaps of films and might watch the ones I liked twice or even thrice. I put up a review blog much like rottentomatoes although back then I just review the main aspects of the film including its setting, screenplay, cinematography and of course acting. Too bad I lost track of the website now. I don't even know the URL for that.

Anyway few days before the Oscars, probably on 24th - I will publish my review and who I think will grab the coveted golden statue! Last  year I got 70-80% accuracy on my predictions, so pretty much you can say that I have a controlling interest with the panel.

Well that's something to look forward too beside the Vicious Busy Times day ahead of me.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Great Hope for Dogs


Today is a brand new year in reference to the Chinese Calendar. It marks the 'Year of the Snake'. I've been googling around and there were so many hopeful things to look forward to for someone like me ~ born on the 'Year of the Dog'.

Curiosity crept in on how my horoscope would look like... and based on my simple research here are some good things that might happen this year:

the Year of the Dog person gets some extra money in 2013;
I am hoping this is the money that I've been waiting all my life. If it is, then the next hopeful thing would make sense then.

2013 can be a good year for business and careers... By the way, are you looking for new opportunities to make some money and do something you like at the same time?
If it does? Then my ultimate HRHRM business model would definitely crystallise.

Well that's for most of it, which is extremely giving me a positive vibe right now. However, lets have a close look at my personality. Maybe rediscover something...

Dogs are helpful, trustworthy, caring and reliable individuals. Usually possessing good listening skills Dogs are willing to stand up for the rights of others. Dogs make loyal and perceptive friends due to their intelligence and insightful natures.
Given to mood swings, sensitive and emotional Dogs would benefit from being more assertive and rational. Dogs can appear stubborn or obstinate, at times. as they prefer direct action to polite socialised activities.
That being said please be polite to me at all occasions this year. Remember, I bring good luck. I have heaps of money dashing towards me. Don't bite me in the @$$ or else...

On a different note, I haven't updated this blog in a pretty long period of time. I guess I was busy when I came back to Sydney. Life got a bit more interesting. I love my new job as FinAc Mgr. It gets interesting as my company did venture into Philippine business and I am keeping my fingers crossed - who knows they might send me to Manila operations if opportunity arises.

I moved to Rhodes pretty much because of the promising location and of course it literally is just steps away. The place I am staying is branded as luxurious living. Rent is not too bad compared with what I was paying for back in Pyrmont. Less working capital this time around cos I walk to work, which I found excellent at first. But after a month of doing so, I feel that working and living in the same place gets a bit upsetting. Maybe huge factor would be - its not the City I got used to. They even dubbed it as Asian Territory. Hence, no pub and just hot chocolate at night. The apartment is brand newwith good view! It greatly compensates for those blabbering I just did. Visit me here so you know what I mean..

Anyway, as for the Great Hope for the Dogs! I feel that it's really getting closer. I guess I would have to wait and see. I've done couple of strategic planning early this year with Royal Assent granted just last week. I just got to stick with the plan and hope for the best!

Happy CNY everyone!

恭禧發財