WIntEr wOndErLaNd

random ramblings on/during last euro trip

2009-06-10T14:53:00.000-07:00

this trip has realx been eventful. REALLY.
prague was a great city tho.. B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L.. words and pictures really cant do it justice.. so i wouldnt bother.
had a great time travelling with jess, esther and jiehui.. finally fellow singaporeans and im back to my crapy old self.
kinda had this thought when i was back in sweden about why everybody says im noisy and all back in sg and like in lulea im quiet as a clam. so then i realised that ITS BECAUSE IN SINGAPORE I CRAP A LOT and like i was understooded but in lulea.. that's another story altogether..
so ya.. finally.. poor esther and co. though.. had to endure my 6 months worth of craps all within the short span of 6 days lol.. really.
but was fun while it last. :)

back to ultimate experiences.. (kinda need to blog about it cus like i might forget) photos will be up when im back in sg or lulea.. lol.. subjected to my mood.. been called stuff (hopefully good *crosses fingers*) by angelic-looking italian boys
touched a statue for fertility instead of luck.. -.-
had this whole issue with the train ticket to germany - not receiving the ticket and only having a printout with booking confirmation which 2 out of 3 ppl whom i asked said was valid as a ticket till i had to ask a group of 3 conductors who then confirmed that it wasnt a ticket..
got locked in the reception room of the hostel on my way to catch the super-early morning train to germany

hmm. cant really remmeber what else though.. =X
was going on and on about brag-factor while in eastern europe.. lol.. stuff with high brag factors.. always good..

'they are determined to stink up all the old towns\cities in europe' - quoted from jiehui regarding horse carriages in old towns in eastern europe..

my ultimate europe experience

2009-06-06T10:57:00.000-07:00

slept over in the airport.
fren missed her flight.
slept in a camping tent when its raining outside.
got mistaken for food by a goat
rode a horse
fell off a horse
missed my flight
got lost in a foreign land where nobody speaks english.. not once but twice..
took a 19 hour long train ride..
touched the balls of a horse statue...
went for a bathe in budapest..
got kicked out of an opera theatre cos my attire was too short...

gee.. what's next? :P

7 countries/cities... 4 down.. 3 more to go.. and then.. BACK HOME!!!! :)))

can hardly wait.. :)

work at 5am... o.O

2009-05-29T04:34:00.001-07:00

busy busy...
yesterday rushed my part of the project work, bought plane tickets, planned the trip, went to the supermarket near school to buy groceries, cooked dinner for my corridor mates (corridor dinner), continued buying plane tickets (need to find connecting flights and all.. =x) , this fren came over to give souvenirs and we kinda had like a 2 hours long "tea" at midnight. after that.. started on my essay which is due like 12th june when im in.. hmmm germany.. so basically need to complete it before... tml.. sighh....
did my work thru till 5+ am. before succumbing to sleep. intended to take a 3 hr nap before continue.. instead it dragged on to a 4 hrs' worth of sleep making me late for project meetin in school.. printed all the stuff, arranged an inspection for the room, went to get a box so i can ship back my extra stuff first.. (have yet to pack) .. and now here i am.. intending to continue on my essay.. when i found out that.. the quality of my work at 5 in the morning aint so good.

" The secret affair between Gun and Bergt slowly intensifies until they felt a thy reach the top before entrignt"

lol.. win le rights?
i foresee a hard task in front of me..
sighs... oki back to work!

random ramblings... tying up of knots

2009-05-27T05:51:00.000-07:00

i have like tons of stuff to do.. those littlt nagging things i have in my mind.. no longer even in the BACk of my mind.. its perpetually in my mind. if u get what im trying to say..
oh wells.. have this scandinavian literature presentation to do in like an hour and half's time? didnt really prepare much for it.. have absolutely no fucking ide what im gonna say.. prolly just give a sketchy outline on the book and wing it.. oh wells.. the teacher's not demanding at all and i have no idea what is expected of me.. soo.. :S *crosses fingers.. if not for the fact that i am unsure of a passing grade if i skip this presentation there's no way in hell i will go.. but as the way things are right now.. sighhs..

on another note.. leaving lulea in.. hmmmm.. 3 days' time! woohoo.. so got bout 2-3 days worth of time.. pack my stuff.. wash them... clear the junk and most importantly get my travelling plans in order! shit.. its still rather sketchy.. but one gets really tired from all the incessant review one has to read.. amounts to calculate to see which is cheaper.. yada yada.. really tempted to just throw everything into the wind and just go with the flow.. aha.. but then again.. i not that brave YET.. oh wells.. shall see.. time's running out and me no mood now.. sooo... :S

aha.. having like a project left to finish.. one more lit essay to do.. (have yet to finisht he book tho.. :S) and hmmm... of course the presentation.. shucks.. have no idea whether i am able to SQUEEEZE all of these before take off.. first to naples.. then to budapest, vienna, bratislava and prague.. after tt a few days in limbo.. before going down to south of france to visit my flatmate.. and after.... no idea still.. ahhh.. i really suck at such stuff.. and poor esther been listening to my whining and complains bout not being in the mood.. and her overtly worrywart nature casuses her to consistently nag at me to just sit and plan and buy tix.. poor her..

last few days in lulea.. hmmm.. kinda cant wait for it .. LEAVING LULEA!! all that boredom and all.. but im gonna admit im gonna miss my flatmates REALLY REALLY much.. and of course.. a few frens here and there.. but i guess the peopel that truly really made my time in lulea really memorable.. was really my flatmates.. KUDOS to them! what's with diane trying her utmost best to get my pissed drunk all the time..
farewell dinner.. got drunk of RED WINE.. (Gee thy lousy-ness of me) and i was like goofing around with her.. dancing on the EMPTY dance floor.. going onto the stage and making a fool of myself.. stealing other's sunglasses and all...
running dinner.. having to like go RUNNING round some student apartment estates.. i was drunk too.. hilarity..
really made my days ..

kae.. should really stop here.. what's with all the nostalgia.. (blame it on rani's blog.. was reading hers before this.. =x)
guess with stuff happening these days.. haha.. no surprise.. but then again.. sigh...
commentless.. needless to say.. really miss u guys back home.. like what rani said.. effortless friendships.. in a way la..
was talking to like people some days back.. (yesterday rather).. sudden urge to want to go back.. and surround myself with frens again..
hehe.

oo cant wait.. endless travelling then back home!!! woohooo!!!

ogays.. back to preparation of presentation nows.. SHUCKS.. bleahx

bits and pieces of lulea

2009-05-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

ok last week in lulea before i go running round europe again one last time before returning back to singapore! woohoo..
soooo..
some bits and pieces of LULEA IN SPRINGTIME!

this is taken at a lake nearby.. if u look carefully u can see it looks just like a racecourse. with all the bouys lining up to form lanes an dall.. wonder what sorta sport is it for tho.. :)

one of the pond near town.. cute.. ppl actually come here to feed ducks and birds..
self-explanatory i think..

moving on to my apartment...
our fridge! its filled with drawings and notes.. :)) lovess.. tho the lulebo (company which owns the place) people came and tried to see whether the drawing can be cleaned.. so its not the complete one cus a part was cleaned away by the, :(
drawings..
notes and writings on the fridge..
beside the fridge is actually a cupboard containing all those cleaning stuff.. decorated by postcards from all over.. whenever one of us goes travelling we will (msot of the time) send a postcard back.. have to admit tho.. that most of the postcards were from me.. goes to show that i travel a lot.. :P
my swedish project mate.. its kinda hilarious.. cus since it "spring" and lulea only has like these miserly 2 months worth of sun.. when the sun comes out they just LOVES to tan themselves.. but apparently they forgot the fact that they are white and thus cant tan that easily.. so like instead they turn RED.. ie. burnt..
but he's so freaking proud of his burnt-ness la.. forever red on.. ever since.. the sun came out.. really.. and he continues "tanning" himself even when he is in this condition...
dunnoe whether is it obvious from the picture that he is burnt not.. but he is.. really funny..
he insist that he's brown.. =x
diane resting on the balcony.. after pulling an allnighter the night before for her project.. met her for tea at 4am.. lol..
xavier when he lost his keys after a night of crazy partying on the night of farewell dinner... his jacket and bag were on the sofa the whole day..
he couldnt get back into his room and the night before he spent at someone else's sofa cus he couldnt get into our flat.. lol...
him trying to look sad.. right before the lulebo guy came and open his door for 500sek.. ie.. 100sgd..

that's all folks!

narvik, norway

2009-05-25T18:36:00.000-07:00

the other weekend went on a small trip over to narvik.. apparently its this small little coastal town in norway.. but very near to the borders of sweden.. so.. ya..
went with 4 other guys.. =.=
ya gee tell me bout it...
apaprently we rented this little cabin.. 4 bunk beds and one sofa.. i initially chose to sleep on the sofa (thy sacrifice).. stupid guys then said.. "aii.. girlss..." so like i was .. "fine u guys decide where u wanna sleep and i'll take the remaining place.. ended up on one of the bunk beds.. =.=
cabin was kinda cute.. little house kinda.. equipped with kitchen - stove, sink, pots and pans and plates and such.. fridge too.. so like then everything was really cool.. cept that the toilet DOESNT HAVE A LOCK..
so like i kinda pointed that out to one of the guys.. and he went to like write this "engaged/empty" sign on a random piece of paper... engaged on one side and empty on the flip side.. so like.. then he found some strings and tied it to the door.. kinda cute.. but like.. apaprently even when the sign shows engaged.. the guys still enter the toilet.. (but nobody inside la) so a bit... unreliable..
so made a point to like use the toilet ONLY when there are people out in the "living room" and made it a point to hurry.. :S
this time round really budget travelling.. prepared food in advance.. apparently norway food is even more x than sweden.. :S and basically spend the 2 days hiking around.. =.=

the way to the seaside..
the way there.. =.= machiam like monkey.. AND THIS IS ONLY THE APPETIZERS.. seriously.. interesting experience tho.. =/

the ocean water is really clear tho.. crystal clear.. can see through kind.. apparently its the atlantic ocean.. or pacific ocean.. or something like tt.. :P
the sea creatures that the guys picked up from the seaside..

so then after we went traipsing through the town.. really small.. nothing much tho...
so then the guys decided to like discover their own way around.. machiam like trying to be.. robinson crusoe like tt.. =.=
the path we trod.. SERIOUSLY like monkeys la.. made me felt like i was in army.. =.-
the place we ventured.. well.. at least its interesting.. :P
the sea view
another seaside.. or oceanside i should say.. :P
so then we went back.. tired and hungry..
the guys made dinner.. (thy honour of being the only female) and they cleaned up..so basically i sat around and watch norwegian shows.. lol.. not bad sia.. :P

next day we set off to climb one of the ski slopes.. 650m above sea level.. or something to that extent.. doesnt sound high rite? but it is.. =.=
not very appealing to me apparently since i have this SLIGHT phobia of heights that im becoming increasingly aware of and acquainted with in these recent months.. so like bo bian.. guys wanna climb.. have to follow.. so off we went...
initial part not bad.. climb climb climb.. thenr each this part where the path are covered with ice.. slippery eh.. and i have to say i have a healthy respect towards snow and ice.. but nevermind.. continue climbing since its only PART of the path.. continue climbing.. climb climb climb.. then sacarlee.. THE WHOLE PATH FORWARD COVERED WITH SNOW.. not those little small layer of snow.. but mid calf deep worth of snow.. =.= not very appealing eh..
but still continue climbing.. but by now i was already like refusing to look anywhere.. only on the path forward.. =.= so like climb climb climb.. then one of the guys realised that instead of following the path.. if we climb up the SIDES OF THE MOUNTAIN like vertically up instead of along around the mountain GRADUALLY its easier.. holding onto those rocks and little moss looking growth.. -.- so bo bian go on all fours and climbed my way up...
650m above sea level.. one cafe and cable car station.. =.=
sat at the cafe to thaw and the guys brought out food we packed beforehand and had our lunch.. after I refuse to climb further up.. (fog coming and rain..) and one of the uys also not very interested.. so ended up two of us sat at the cafe.. thawing while the other 3 ding dongs continue their venture up to 1400m or something like tt.. =.= so happy leh they all tho at the top they couldnt see shit cus of fog.. and rain.. =.=

the sight from 650m above sea level..
if u stare at the picture carefully can see a reindeer or deer or whatever.. there.. somewhere..

oh wells.. all in alll.. interesting la..different i guess.. but just kinda hate tt high and snowy part.. =.= :P

oh btw we took the cable car down.. :P heng mans..

corridor dinner

2009-05-25T17:58:00.000-07:00

The other day.. we had like corridor dinner to celebrate one of our flatmate's birthday...

the lettuce sold at supermarket .... used it for salad.. -.- talk bout fresh.. straight from the soil..
flatmates.. xavier and diane.. fooling around..
fooling around part 2

the main course.. salad and pizza!
remi.. the birthday boy!

remi eating remi biscuit.. :)
the dessert
diane.. :)

welcoming the spring!

2009-05-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

long time no blogg...
nothing much tho.. thing's been rather quiet this month.. what's with all the rushing of assignments, projects and stuff..
tying down of summer trvelling plans (for other people)
planning when to leave etc etc etc..
nothing much really...
well for one.. i went for this bonfire thingy.. apparently its like a swedish way of welcoming the spring... :S spring indeed in may..
so like ya..
singing.. bonfire.. and lastly.. FIREWORKS! (tho we had to wait qte long for the fireworks to start seeing how the night is oh-so-bright.. :S)
pictures below! self explanatory.. actually.. hehe :P

randomness in lulea with flatmates

2009-05-07T17:54:00.001-07:00

sunny day where me and my french flatmates were out on the balcony sunbathing..
remi showing off his latest purchase.. sunblock lotion!
my pretty and favourite flatmate.. diane!
after realising that it is rather uncomfortable sitting on chairs and tanning.. the "MAN"s of the flat decided to move one of our sofas out to the balcony.. alas! door too small.. so go by window lor..

flatmates hard at work whilst i snap away!
final product.. sunbathing on the sofa on the balcony.

on another night.. me, norbert and diane were sitting around chatting before realising that we should finish all our almost empty bottles of liquor..

chocolate liqeur.. done.
homemade french orange wine. done. martini. check.
CHEERS!
sitting on the balcony drinking.

randomness in lulea with idza

2009-05-07T17:31:00.000-07:00

something's wrong with my mozilla.. im positively sure of that.. it always redirect me to pages that states "cannot load ......" and i have to click on the "back" tab.. absolutely pisses me off.. oh wells..

spring in lulea.. slowly warming up.. slowly but steadily.. but nevertheless..slowly..
in the inital few weeks after i got back from my travels.. lulea was STILL filled with snow.. nearly mid-way into april.. snow still everywhere.. kinda disappointing/sad cus was expecting like all snow to have melted.. but NOOO... still snow.. but oh wells..
went for one too many random walks around my area..
on one of my random walking trips.. actually asked idza along and we went fooling around in the nearby playground.

the swings..
the slides
after playground.. decided to walk around and find somewhere to hang
knee-deep into snow
the surrounding area
the snow-covered view of the lake
so basically we found this picnic table.. near the lake.. trudge thru snow.. sat on the picnic table.. chatted.. hanged around. went back. uneventful.. but oh well..im trying people.. :P

so like in spring slowly edging away fromw inter and into summer (spring's really short here) so like nights gets shorter.. and days get longer..
night sky at 10-ish at night.. can still see sun rays.. its sunlight peeps.. not aurora or wadever u tink it is.. S-U-N-L-I-G-H-T
sky at 4-ish in the morning.. and this is taken in april.. so like now its may (yes i noe its overdued once again...) so its kinda worse.. will post of pictures if i ever bother to get around grabbing the cam and snapping pictures from my window.. :P
4-ish in the morning..

so like on another sunny day.. (its as sunny as it can get in lulea.. 17degrees!!! woohoo.. and u see naked ppl sitting on balcony or around those laypark area in sch sunbathing themselves.. ) me and idza decided to go on a picnic..
area near sch where its sorta like a old-sch kid's playground..
surrounding area.. a mish mesh of snow and slush and mud and soil.. (on the ground la)
my "picnic" meal.. a takeaway from this cool italian restaurant near where i stay (kinda ex tho.. but oh wells indulgence once in a while's acceptable right? :P) chicken salad! just that we only realised after we reached and sat down to eat that the guy didnt put cutleries nor napkins in the bag.. =.= so i ate like a malay.. with hands!
:)

amster-damn.. or issit dam. damned. damnit.

2009-05-07T16:16:00.000-07:00

i really got to say this is wayyy long overdued.. due to my long spats of procrastinating periods.. finally gotten myself down to blog bout amsterdam
so like amsterdam.. basically tried most of the vices there.. smoking weed.. drinking... and eating space cakes (cakes with an additional of something special in it.. ).. yups.. basically all that is there to do in amsterdam.. while other than getting a hooker.. but.. i'll pass on that.. :P

so well.. like in brussels.. urinals.. are like BIG thing over here too.. as could be seen from the picture below..

the view from one of the many many brdiges in amsterdam.. since afterall.. amsterdam.. kinda like sg in a way or two.. started out as a port.. so like.. surrounded by water and sorts.. and apparently amsterdam is like below sea level.. and is maintained by like all those dams and stuff.. engineering gibberish.. so only provide bare essential information.. :P

so.. quaint.. couldnt resist..
gay flag!
sado-masochism flag
the only (pathetic) picture that i took of the red light district.. obviously u can see many red light here..
fun fact 1: one fo the reason as to why they use red light is because it kinda hides ur flaws and shows u in the best possible light.. so like guys who wanna like get a girl here or something.. u are advised to open the window to "inspect" the good before purchasing.. :P

monument dedicated for prostitutes.. basically that of a woman in a window..
my main source of food in amsterdam.. CHINESE FOOD IN A BOX! fucking ex tho.. =.=
hehe irish pubs.. couldnt resist taking it.. tho i didnt go in.. :(
went to this like little small town that is like near amsterdam.. couldnt for the life of me remember tho.. zaan something dik or something..
pretty place.. cute animals.. nice pretty cottages.. windmills!!

aint it looks like something that comes out of a fairytale?
went to this wooden shoe factory.. was cool.. apparently according to the writeup.. it stated that for marriages.. the groom need to carve a pair of clogs by hand and then carve in motifs with meanings or even the names of the brides andd wedding dates and stuff.. as a true expression of love!
cute la.. thy power of love.. tskk..
examples of wooden clogs that were carved for wedding purposes..
this nice lady was kinda like the "dutch lady" u noe those u see on milk bottles and all.. all decked out in their customary outfits and all.. and i love the feeling of hugging her.. its like u can just sink into her kidna feeling.. ITS REALLY GREAT!! loves..
obligatory picture of windmills..
another fairytale-comes-to-life picture
at this little town we saw 2 couples getting hitched.. pretty cool.. especially the bridesmaid.. they were wearing like their native outfits or something.. really pretty really sweet...

evidence of the box containing those weed cigarettes..
horrible tho.. didnt get high.. damn but ya.. horrible kinda wasted the first 2 sticks smoking.. THE WRONG WAY! gee.. ya so like after the shop owner had to come and tell us that we were doing it wrongly we finally corrected our mistake and inhaled a big puff.. sucks la..
im so not cut out to be a smoker.. urghh.. yucks
space cakes.. we kinda bout like 1 each and brought it back to the hostel to eat it jsut in case we both get totally high or something.. in the end.. NOTHING.. no effect whatsoever.. stupid.

buildings in amsterdam.. notice the hooks at the top.. its kinda for them to move furniture into the house via a pulley system cus the door is too small and like the windows are bigger so like move in thru the windows.. another reason is cus the steps in amsterdam are FUCKING steep.. (as would be shown in picture later) so like it poses as a serious problem for the movers.. soo... windows it is!
gaps between the buildings.. cus of the grounds in amsterdam.. something bout the soil being soft and the buildings sinking into it or something of that sort.. kinda tilted too.. btw..
ok.. notice the seperators sorta looking thingy at the left side of the wall/mirror.. it acts as a deterrent to peeing on the doorsteps.. cus like if u attempt to even try peeing there be it a drunken or sober state.. it will kinda backfire and u get piss all voer ur shoes and stuff.. soo... not a really great idea.. but on the other hand.. when u are pissed.. u tend to not consider so much? u noe? but oh wells.. i have no idea tho whether it really works or not..
in the past.. they kinda have such stuff outside their homes to identify their residence.. usually with pictures of what they dofor occupation.. i have no diea bout this family tho.. got me totally stumped there..
so like europeans really have a very interesting way of charging taxes in those olden days.. in amsterdam.. or rather netherlands.. its judged by the width of ur house.. so like as u can see.. there is like this SMALLEST house in amsterdam.. (its the one painted reddish maroonish colour fyi)
this cool guy doing caricutures of others in a shopping mall..
apparently we were in amsterdam on world pillopw fight day.. but apaprently i didnt know of such an event till i got back to lulea and talked to my frens..so like.. din get to join in the fun..
remnants of the cotton and feathers or whatever else u put in the pillow were still floating around the area in the late evening.. (at this was down in around early afternoon? around 2 ish prolly?! )
chinese food in a box!
the mandatory river cruise in amsterdam.. not bad.. but as budget travellers splurging only on vice and food.. we took the cheapest river cruisesso like ti was recorded commentary which was kinda a disappointment.. but.. oh wells..
the dams..
steep steep stairs of amsterdam
last meal in amsterdam.. pizza and coffee.. another one of my main form of meals there AFTER i realised chinese food in a box is blowing my budget to shreds.. :P

so there people. finally.. all settled and done.. bout my travels around uk and bit more.. hehe

one of the major misconception of amsterdam is that it is really dangerous.. however.. surprisingly or simply because almsot everything is legalised here.. they tend to come down even harder on rule breakers.. like the hookers arent suppose to like "do business" on the streets.. so if they even step out of their windows.. that's it.. cus there are like aplenty of policemen patrolling around.. as in REALLY alot.. and like no pimping allowed...

apparently like due to the many public urinals in the streets of amsterdam.. the females in amsterdam actually staged like a mass peeing session on one of their bridges in their attempt to demand for free peeing places for females too.. so like tons of women march up onto the bridge, lift their skirts and peed all over the bridge.. their attempt was successful initially.. and like those made shift toilets (like in sg) are like build all over the places for females.. but like cus its enclosed and all so it became a popular place for ppl to like do drugs and stuff there so in the end all those lone cubicles were closed down/locked down.. and so now guys can pee for free in amsterdam but girls have to pay to pee.. :(

oh oh and there was this kindergarden in the middle of the red light district.. so one day a tc crew actually went to the kindergarden and ask the children like whether they know what the women in those windows are doing.. and apparently this little girl raised her hand and said that their teacher told them that the women are selling kisses.. cute rite..

prostitution is seen as a legitimate form of work in amsterdam not looked upon with tainted glasses.. earlier on it was even seen as a sacrifice for other women.. to satisfy to wants of those sailors that docked on their ports.. to prevent married women or like young eligible ladies to be raped.. these prostitutes sacrifice themselves..

cant remember much liaos.. but that's bout most of the interesting fun facts bout amsterdam.. oh and before this ends.. 1/3 of the red light district has already closed down and is slowly and steadily disappearing cus the govt wanna promote netherlands for its other features : cheese, wooden clogs, windmills.. rather than have visitors to jsut come amsterdam for its vices and then leave..s oo... woes to all.. so come soon if u wanna come at all! :)

brussels, belgium

2009-04-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

woohoo.. brussels brussels.. brussels in belgium. capital of belgium.. when it used to be antwerp.. but now antwerp has changed and become the fashion capital of belgium instead. brussels is where all the museums and international corporations are at. ie. UN or EU.. cant remember which.
brussels is boasted as the interesting mix of moderna nd old whereby its beauty lies in the char-charred mixture and pretty and ugly side by side without any logical sense.. and apparently such looks will grow on u..

street in brussel

buildings..
love this picture most of all.. yes and i will miss u too.. :)))

streets.. with its charcharred bald trees and flowering bushes...
the (as we know it) hdbs of brussels.. kinda like those we see in movies depicting the "other" side of the town.. where all the ruffians and bad people hangs and stays.. =x
the flea market that we went.. really REALLY flea market mans.. u've got to see it to believe it people..
stuff that are sold.
apparently there's this guy who was selling old OLD postcards that apparently never got to their intended recipients. kinda cool. and i was like frantically looking tru trying to find a postcard from ireland.. apaprently i couldnt find.. too many le.. =x but got loads from like switzerland, germany, spain.. france.. kinda cool.. and kinda sad? oh wells..
this lady we read from the guidemap that we got.. who apparently sells oysters.. but by the time we got there she was closed.. so like :(( but managed to take a picture with her.. BIG COMFORT..

this park that we hanged out at.. after walking randomly around.. and we got like BELGIUM FRIES (which is like recommended i have no idea why ) and sat there and ate..

this shopping mall apparently is depicts how brussels was like many many years ago.. =S
this whole street sells seafood..
apparently according to the map.. this place is free.. and we get like 360 degree unobstructed sight of brussels..
its the top floor of a parking building. =.=
urinator behind a church..
peeing dog..
brussels have like walls with comics drawn on it.. kinda cool.. in a way.. :)
the famous statue of brussel! the peeing boy..
belgium waffles..
another park that we spent our time at.. :P

basically brussels was like just looking at monuments and statues.. and eating belgium food.. and sitting at parks.. interesting europian style of wasting time.. sitting at parks.. SERIOUSLY...
kinda cool in an old town way...
realised brussels.. and also amsterdam (later) are qte pro peeing.. at least in the case of men peeing..

oh wells.. ONWARDS TO AMSTERDAM!!! woots!!!

p.s. and no. i did not try any belgium chocolate..

dublin, ireland.. what's there not to love?

2009-04-23T11:30:00.001-07:00

dublin dublin.. moi favourite place of all.. hehe :))
irish songs, irish food, irish accent.. u name it i love it.. :P
only regret, i din managed to truly explore the whole of ireland as much as i would love to. soo.. more's the pity..

okie this is like taken on my way to the train station. for the first day me and rani stayed at some hotel. (yes! hotel.. utas one summore) but it was like not at the center centre.. (hehe word play) so had to take a train to the town so as to speak.. so on my way to the train station,
just lvoe the way that random plants of all sorts are randomly planted and they jsut turn out to be such pretty mess.. :)
thy irish power.. hehe

so.. city centre..
the street. pretty aint it?
not forgetting irish flag

most of their signs have both english and gaelic on it..
so like first day me and rani just wandered around the town.. and like we went to their market.. some food fair.. which is really cool cus like its all homemade and like real huge (the prices also very pretty la)
see the pastries they have?
chocolates..
was really nice.. had our lunch there.. lovely :)

random statue on the bridge kinda reminds me of our merlion.. hehe
this is taken at the train station near our hotel.. so u can see its kinda countryside-ish.. pretty huh?
even the cement's irish!

so like second day, we moved out of the hotel to some hostel that is located near town.... we spent it walking around again.. hehe.. went to the garden.. damn pretty la!

loads more pictures.. in facebook.. go see urself.. was kinda nice and it was like by chance cus we were intending to go to the museum but the musuem was closed for lunch and all.. so went to the garden for a while and .. WOOHOOO.. PRWEEETTYYYY.. :))
sorry. couldnt resist.

so after, me and rani went to the guiness factory.. but only to found out that need to pay entrance.. and i a bit cheapo la.. so in the end never go in.. :P
this is some interesting posters bout irish and soccer.. kinda cute if u guys bother squinting and figuring out the prints.. :P

so then me and rani was like walking around and i saw like the graffiti sign "the heartbreak hotel" and was like "wth.. who would wanna book such a hotel right?" so i took a picture of it.. then this man came up and was like.. u wanna take me? and i was like okie why not? so he posed and i snapped a picture of him.. :P cute eh? irish.. hee

then after walking and wandering.. me and rani went back to the hostel. then in the dorm, we met this two hungarian people on a trip and we striked up a conversation. so like we were like talking and stuff then we (me and rani) realised that we spent our entire 2nd day 1 hr behind actual time.. cus apparently there's this sun time thingy or something like tt that day and people are suppose to like change their watches and clocks an hour faster... and we didnt noe.. so like.. :S
so anyway after, the hungarians and us decided to find some like authentic local pubs with irish live music to drink.. but then like couldnt find la.. =.= so like ok walked around.. before deciding to head back and like buy some liquor at some store and go back hostel to drink.

so we were like sitting around drinking and chatting and eating.. then after around like midnight, me and rani went off to some nearby busstop to pick up idza..

3rd day.. spent with idza.. rani left to go back london.. went for the walking tour.. qte fun..
so like this statue is like at some entrance of some buildings or something. apparently its like some lady of justice.. but the thing is her back is facing the town.. and thus like symbolizes like not looking at what is going on in the town kinda stuff? and like cus the weighing scale is like real weighing scale so like after rain and all.. it kinda gotten a bit unbalanced.. so like not a very good omen to the people of dublin.. esp since like nearby (dunnoe whether issit behind her or in the building is where like justice is taken place or something? some court or some sort)
okie.. the multi-coloured buildings.. apparently had like no significance.. just that the designers liked those colours and decided that they add colours to dublin so.... and the main thing is that the colour buildings is not just any coloured buildings.. but is like a renovated castle or something like tt.. so... haha..
a tribute to some musicians..
okie apparently this guy is the first owner of the temple bar.. and the thing is that it used to be situated on a barr.. (like some geographic term for like some island that is linked partly to the main island sorta thing? barr) so like.. the name.. temple bar (word play.. haha)
this is like the fake plaque that the people of dublin had made.. apparently like "father pat noise" is this saintly man who is always looking out for the poor and unfortunate and stuff like tt... and one night when he was riding his carriage.. he got flung clear off the widest bridge in dublin, into the river.. and died..
but then the town council found out that like oh this is fake.. there is not father pat noise.. u noe? when they were doing their stock checking of all the monuments and statues in dublin.. so like they wanna take it down.. but like then, when people hear that they were gonna take out this plague they started to like come and put flowers and stuff at the plague.. so then the town council changed their mind.. haha
apparently.. the building used to be some tax collection building or something.. and during that time... like the amt of tax one pays is dependent on the no. of windows they have in their houses... (weird i know) so like in order to like escape taxes.. (a tax collecting organization escaping the payment of taxes.. thy irony!) so like their building has zilch windows.. -.-
so like the tall thin giant needle looking thingy is actually a monument build to commemorate the coming of the millenium.. and it was completed like after the millenium.. 2002 or something like tt.. go figure.. so like the people of dublin hated this monument and gave it loads of nicknames.. one of which is "the erection by the intersection" harhar

okie.. picture of idza, me and our tour guide.. conor.. cute hor? he's irish.. dubliner.. studying maths at trinity college.. cute rite? but i have no idea why he tilt his head so high up so that he looks weird here.. sighs.
the little cafe we went for lunch..
our, or rather, my lunch.. some spring something tea.. which is like a infusion of many many stuff.. nice~~ and some irish stew.. hehe.. fantastico.. :P
some wall murals mocking at the last supper..
my last meal in dublin... at the airport.. breakfast.. at butley's chocolate cafe (or soemthing like tt..) damn nice.. hehe

that's it for dublin.. fantastic place.. loving it.. :)

london oh london..

2009-04-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

oo.. have no idea how much i wanna get these post over and done with.. sighh..
anyways london.
took a night bus from edinburgh to london..
technically speaking ti should be a rather smooth ride just sleep on the bus and stuff.. AND IM REALLY REALLY good at sleeping anywhere..
but apparently on the bus which i was on, directly sitting behind me was this bunch of uni kids who just for the life of them couldnt keep their trap shut. seriously. the whole freaking ride that lasted bout 10 hrs? thereabout?
my goodness.. needless to say. wasnt a pleasant ride afterall...

reached london. went to the main train station and attempted to find my way to rani's place.
apparently british accent was so thick i cant catch shit. so when i was buying the tix the guy was like asking me qns and i was like "har?" "har?" and he was so fucking pissed and like slowly repeated it for countless no. of times.. basically asking me whether i want a return tix. =.=
so after i bot a single trip tix, he gave me some instructions as to where to take the train or something like tt.. needless to say AGAIN, i couldnt for the life of me catch what he was saying. so like.. i went to like the information counter and ask for help. and the guy also speaking in their thick british accent got so pissed with me he started talking to me in a speed that resembles that of what he would use to a retard. basically me.
wells, anyways that's not the pt. successfully gt to rani's place. met her and her frens and we head off to legoland.

ok, before legoland.. my first picture that i snapped in london... goes to show a lot.. to me at least.. :P
so anyways.. in legoland, basically everything is like build with lego. haha no surprise there.. so like woohoo.. exciting~~~
can totally see that bob the builder is of the same height, or even taller, than the kids.. cute si le la..
and they have like this miniworld series in legoland (just that their world, as far as i can see, only consist of europe and us.. no asia no africa.. too backwards for them liaos i guess) soo.. kind cool cus its has like the famous stuff of each country la..
the cyclists and stuff. (for more photos, please refer to facebook)
so then we were queuing up for the rides and stuff.. (yes rides. they have like a miniature version of like theme park rides and games and stuff... and when i said miniature i meant the kids-version.. =.= ) and there was like this area for the kids to play lego whiles the poor parents had to stand for hours so that they could squeeze into some small seats with their kids for some rides with thrill factor of.. hmmm.. nil? -.= kids.
so then there was like this kid who was like building this tower.. kinda cute.. cus he keeps building and building and like the tower is taller than him la.. like i said cute.

so then after all the queuing for the rides and stuff.. we were bashed and went back.

spent like next few days at rani's place which is guildford, this quaint little town which is really pretty but i didnt really get a chance to explore which is kinda sad.. but nevertheless i was like r&r over at rani's place.. sleep, eat, read book, facebook, eat, sleep, eat, sleep. u get the point.
:P
after i went over to like central london, checked myself into some hostel and went explore.
well.. disclaimer.. im not really a "woohoo! london!" person.. so ... wells.. dun get ur expectations too high. london's not my cuppa tea with all its shopping and shopping and shopping.. :S

so like first day was wondering around.. walked to some faraway place.. and found this laid back area...
this sign that i find so amazing.. i realised it was being brought up in the oliver twist book!! woohoo...
the traffic lights for equestrians.. cool or what.. apparently its location somewhere above my head.
buckingham palace.. apparently it was like some duke's or someone else's home. but then some king at one time or another came along saw this grand place and bought it over from its original owner... added a few more wings to it.. and tadah! the new home for the crowned family.. =.= (the crowned family's original palace wasnt really much of a looker and smaller to boot.. so see nicer and bigger houses.. OF COURSE TAKE LA.. )
apparently when this flag is being flied /flew/flown (?!) it meant that the crowned personnel of that particular palace is in. and the same rules apply to all the palaces that exist in london (at least).
some grand bridge.. tower hill bridge or something.. go figure.
inside-out building.. apparently it is to maximise interior space.. no idea how THAT is achieved tho..

so like basically time in london was spent like touring around, walking around, and of course wandering into shops and all.. cus i was suppose to buy stuff for my sis.. (didnt get much tho just got me into helluva attitude.. aint made for shopping me.. i tell u.. shopping just doesnt click with me)
last day in london, wandered around as usual.. and chanced upon this area full of buskers.. kinda cool.. and nice.. apparently this group of musicians are really good/cool.. they actually could dance whilst playing their instruments and the girl actually carries her cello while playing and jumping around.. coolios la..

so like, that bout rounds up my time in london.*whew*

edinburgh, scotland

2009-04-17T08:55:00.000-07:00

okie finally at long last.. i managed to settle myself long enough to start typing away and start this entry.. sigh
anyway, once again. long over-dued.. :S its always hard to get the ball rolling.. after isnt so bad.. i hope..
anyways so ya.. went off to tour around uk area this time round together with brussels and amsterdam. this time round only managed to visit the capitals of the countries.. kidna wasted especially for ireland and scotland.. but oh wells.. :S

so then tuesday evening.. set off to the train station where i took a night train to stockholm and then change train to nykoping and then a bus to skavsta airport.

the bunk beds in each cabins in the night train.. kinda cool that they managed to squeeze 6 beds into a single canbin (3 on each side.. top, middle and bottom) lucky me got the top.. teehee...
met this guy studying music at pitea (this town not very far from lulea) so kinda started talking and all.. and he was the one who was like "experienced" in night trains tho its his second time taking it.. cus like the remaining 5 of us (a family of 3: mom with 2 kids and this swedish girl) were like LOST.. and he was the one who set up the beds and all.. chim? i noe.. but dunnoe how to explain.. but ya..
so then rite.. kinda cool cus the family of 3 board the train at a later stop.. so like when they board.. the husband was like standing outside the window.. and he SANG for the wife.. so sweet rite? tho for the life of me i couldnt figure out wad song issit? but sounds like some ballad of sorts.. with his deep alto/tenor voice.. *swoons* (note: he's like african american and like 40-ish..) cool la..
so then after, the train ride passed rather uneventfully...

reached edinburgh bout 8-ish at night and so i went to the hostel.
met this canadian girl named amber in the dorm and we started talking.
so after we went downstairs to the in-house bar and had a drink.
so like cus amber came like a day before me and had made frens with the people in the hostel cus they had some sort of party the day before so like this guy who worked as a chef there came over and joined us.. he's called jeremy from canada also.
so like after, we went off to jeremy's cousin's pub and had another drink. then he was telling us bout his travelling experience and all.
after tt we popped by yet another pub and had another drink.
so then like by the time we got back to the hostel, i was kinda like drunk cus they drink REALLY FAST and i had to drink fast to catch up too.. so. like.. drunk.
so went back to the hostel. went to the toilet and puked.. -.-
first night in edinburgh. how eventful -.-

next day went for this walking tour thingy.. not bad kinda fun.. so like this canadian girl called patsya came over and talked to me.. then we kinda cliqued so like hanged out during the whole tour. :)

so then this monument above used to be located in the middle of the marketplace.. so like it is where thieves were being punished via nailing their ears to the walls of of monument and the thieves were made to stay nailed to the monument for i dunnoe how long. both as a warning to others and also to like embarrass the thieves la. so like the thieves were easily recognised after by the scar on the ear.
okie.. this thingy above is actually a statue ordered by king charles the second for himself. he is like as disliked by the people as his father king charles I. so then the problem with this statue is that cus he wanna look majestic and all so the builders kinda made him bigger.. but its kinda backfired cus it only managed to make the horse look like a donkey instead. and then like cus his outfit was that of a greek. and his time was that of in the 1600s (i tink) so like a bit off and look like he's off to a fancy dress party. and also there is not saddle nor stirrups on the horse so look kinda stupid.
so then during that time the people would go around and say "look that's out king in a fancy dress riding a donkey". so like of course kind charles the second doesnt like it and ordered this crowning ceremony every year whereby a young boy would be chosen to go crown the statue. but then thing is that the crown is made of something heavy whilst the statue is made of iron (or soemthing that is soft) so like over time, it created holes in the statue resulting in the statue being lopsided. so like then ppl would go round saying "look that's our king wearing a fancy dress riding a drunk donkey" so then the king of course not happy, so like he ordered the statue to be drained. but then thing is that the ppl went to drill holes on the UNDERSIDE of the horse. so then it looks like peeing. so ppl goes round saying "look that's our king wearing a fancy dress riding a drunk donkey which is peeing"
lol
okie above is like the dirtiest cobblestone in the whole of edinburgh. it is located outside a building which used to be the place where ppl goes to pay tax.. so like in that old old long-gone building, there is like a heart at the entrance and soo ppl will spit on the heart when queuing to pay their taxes.
so then the building's gone, but ppl still continues the tradition of spiting at the heart. for good luck apparently.

also, in scotland there's like this football team called hearts. heart of midlothian. (dunnoe whether u guys noe not cus i dont) so like everytime before the match, supporters of the opposing team will spit on the heart.
AND the climax. there ws once when like one of the tour guide was like giving a tour, he saw this guy kneeling in the heart and proposing to his gf.. lol.. reomantic...
so like scots will walk around the heart instead of walking on the heart.. :)

okie.. spot the trick step.
apparently it used to be an old scottish burglar alarm. cus like at night, if burglars come into the house they wouldnt know about the trick step and hence will trip and fall, hopefully to their death or if not make big enough a noise to wake the whole household up. so like if guests are invited to the house, the owners will go "watch out for the (insert no.) step" and ppl will count will climbing up the stairs and know..
smart hor?
but then thing is that there is not longer any trick step in scotland liaos cus apparently there's this law that allows anybody to sue the homeowners if they were injured in their homes. even burglars. so like the burglars, if fall and hurt himself whilst stealing stuff at ur place, he can sue u.. so like ya.. no more trick steps.
the ingenuity of the ancestors...

maggie dickson.
apparently her husband left her so like she had to go and find a job. so then she went into the town (or whatever it was called back in those days) and like she found this job at an inn and she had an affair with the innkeeper's son, had his child. so since she is like this lone woman, she had to hide her pregnancy, which she managed to and gave birth to a child. but then cus the child was premature, it died somehow and like she had to hide the body. so she threw it away (i guess) but like the baby was found and it was finally traced back to her. so then she was charged, not with adultery nor hiding the death of the baby or whatever, but of concealment of pregnancy. so like she was found guilty blah blah and sentenced to death by hanging.
so like so was hung and pronounced dead.
so like on the way to the cemetery to get buried, there was knocking heard from the coffin. so like they open up the coffin and tadah! maggie dickson was alive.
and since she WAS sentenced to death and pronounced death and thus leagally dead, she cannot be charged with the same crime. also, since marriage vows are "till death do us part", technically she's dead, so like now she is free and single.
so then maggie dickson married the innkeeper's son and like he bought her the pub and they lived happily in there after.
so like apparently there are two reasoning as to why she was alive, first was like the rope was too long and like she suffocated and fainted after she jumped. then cus like at that time they didnt know how to check pulse so she APPEARED to be dead. so like they pronounced her dead before she really died la.
then the second reasoning which was kinda senseless was that the bumpng and knocking whilst transporting the coffin acted like CPR and resicated her =.= oh wells.. :S (shrugs)

Ok the statue of the dog above is that of bobby greyfriars. apparently this dog was bought by the caretaker of the cemetery called grey i think. but like about 2 years after he got the dog grey died of some illness.. TB or something. so like abnyways bobby went to grey's funeral and like after that, for his next 14 years of life, bobby sat by grey's grave and didnt leave at all.. apparently waiting for grey to come back to life. so like when bobby died, the ppl buried him near grey and like erected a statue to commemorate his loyalty. and like even now ppl still leave stuff at bobby's grave :) cool hor.

oke this place is where tt jk rowling first started writing harry potter. its a cafe where jk rowlings used to hang out when she was poor and jobless..

famous words of writers engraved on the cement near the writer's museum. :)
this is the arthur's seat. so like me, patsya and amber went to climb it.. :)

self service checkout counter at marks and spencer. cool hor.. first time seeing such stuff.. talk bout trust.
entrance of edinburgh castle.
this is some monument found at calton's hill.. looks like in greece or something.. :P
the authentic scottish pub i visited with patsya for our last meal before leaving edinburgh.

edinburgh was nice. pretty as u can see.. urmm.. capital of scotland. aha din know till i was there..
stories above were retold tales from the tour i had. cool rite.. real interesting.

onward to london.. :)))

normal day.. but great! thanks to all..

2009-04-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

okok i know.. i need to blog bout my long long absence - travelling all over uk and some. but.. BUTT... just wanna blog bout tis.. cus its really... *insert some really bombastic words which is beyond my vocabulary* (dont know how to put it.. )
anyways.. other than this little problem that i've received this morning from some one.. (long story) which was part of a conversation that had started the previous night.. so kinda pisses me off.. and i woke up tinking.. "damnit.. such a bad day" in addition to that.. today was SNOWIG.. not exactly the nice soft snow that you'ld imagine.. but rather like little soft blocks of ice.. not really very pleasant... so like.. urghhh.. feeling of dread..
so then drag myself out of the bed.. (long day) and like force myself into the shower and all.. yada yada yada.. went off to downtown to willy's to get groceries for the dinner later on today.. *sidetrack abit.. tonight was suppose to be a belated birthday celebration for one of my flatmate- stefan- cus i was away on his birthday and the rest of my flatmates were nice enough to wait for my return to celebrate his birthday.. so then.. we kinda (actually was me) wrote a message and pasted on the fridge saying tonight is flat dinner. and that stefan is not allowed to cook cus he cooked for us on differnt occasions before.. so like we kinda told him it was to repay him for the dinners previously.. instead of celebrating his birthday...
so then i dragged myself thru the snow to downtown.. took a bus.. and just happen that the bus i took (there was two buses i could take from my place to downtown) passes by the thai supermarket.. (only store that sells asian shit!) so like i dropped off there and pop by the thai supermarket...
WONDERS OF WONDERS.. they have.... DURIANS!!! so like i fucking spent about freaking 10 sg dollars to buy like one box (not really that big) of durians... sighhh.. extravagent ... i know..
so then after, trudged to willy's (lulea's version of ntuc fairprice) and bought stuff...
then like went to the bus stop to wait for the bus.. but apparently.. like i kinda underestimated myself.. and like was running late...
see the thing is that i have a class at 1pm (yes! a class i know!! lecture summore to boot!) but like i was at the willy's bus stop at like 1225? and like i need to take a bus which comes at 1236 to go back to my place, put the groceries and go to sch (bout 15 minutes by bike?) so like obviously will be late la.. so like.. hehe.. pon la.. (what are classes for? if not to pon? :P) so like ya.. self-proclaimed holiday yet again.. (out of the 3 classes for this course.. so far i've only attended one.. =x)
so then went back to my place.. heat up this pallini thingy for lunch.
okie.. fastforward thru all the mundane stuff.. i went to ice (a supermarket near sch) to get the package that my sisters sent me.. :)) *luvluv* trudge thru the snowstorm for it..
then after called idza over to eat the durian (cus apparently my flatmates all hated it.. they tried and spat it out.. o.O) so then after idza came over.. then like we ate the durians tog.. the norbert came over.. then we chatted awhile.. and i had to like prepare like the "asian meat" dish for dinner.. so like was preparing and norbert was like there talking and all.. and diane was also there making muffins for desserts..
so then.. after when i took a little break and pop by my room to check my comp.. i realised my sis were talking to me.. so like YAY!! chatted abit with the, :))
after dinner.. made sweet and sour chicken.. turned out not bad.. hehe they liked it!! and we had like a great dinner- all of us sitting around the table chatting.. eating and taking pictures..
after like came back saw the chuse's emails... :)))
then chatted with this swede guy i met on the train to stockholm a few weeks back.. and like he's a musician!! so like he gave me links to hear his music.. great!! :)) nice music.. :))

okie now that i've typed it all out.. it seems boring and all.. but.. oh wells.. warm nd fuzzy feeling inside!!! :)) love love all of u guys.. really really.. :)))
great day today.. :)))

woots!

2009-03-17T08:32:00.000-07:00

finally my blog is up-to-date... only to have me going to go off on my uk trip.. shit!!!
I dun even wanna think about the blog entries that would be waiting for me when i get back.. :((((
would be MIA for a while peeps! dun worry :)))

now im doing my customary pre-trip jitters... i totally repacked my room so that it looks clean and decent just to make sure i dun have any essentials lying underneath all my junks and now im stillsitting here fretting bout forgetting stuff and missing my ride and all...
hurrr.. the OCD-ness in me... (all thanks to idza o.O)

and just in case i wouldnt have any access to internet while im gone...
GOOD LUCK PHOENIX FOR MR500!!! JIAYOUU!!!!
take many many pictures and videos and tag me!!!!! I want updates!!!!! :DDDDDD
ALL THE BEST! I HAVE FAITH IN YOU!!!!!!!

kiruna! LKAB mine and icehotel

2009-03-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

ok this entry is about kiruna where we went to the LKAB mine and ice hotel.
so like ya.. on monday, had to wake up freaking early (3.30am) to get ready to go to kiruna.. cus the bus is like departing at like 4.45am.
took the bus in the morning had a 4-5 hrs bus ride to the LKAB mine.
apparently this mine produces like some type of iron called pellets i tink or something like tt.. which apparently consist of a very high percentage of iron thus very expensive which allows them to invest a lot in technology. so like their mining is like all done by machines/robots where the engineers control the machines from another room qte far off so as not to damage their ears from the noise and all... cool rite?
so then the mine is like at one of the mountain whereby the town kiruna resides on (apparently kiruna town was founded due to the mining thingy) but like cus the mining of the iron ore consist of digging/drilling a hole into the mountain at a certain angle it resulted in like the collapsing of the overhanging cliff.. (chim stuff i know.. should draw a diagram but..... oh wells) so then like in apparently dunnoe how many years' time kiruna town will have to be relocated due to the mining as kiruna is located at the overhanging cliff... ya..
then like urm... basically qte cool.. walked around saw all the old machineries that they used...

a dummy miner near the entrance of the tourist centre which is located like dunnoe how many hundreds/thousands metres into the mountain.
the train that was used to ferry the iron ores and random rocks out of the mountain.
so after the trip to LKAB mine.. we went to a nearby church to see see look see see and basically waste time..
ok la not bad.. (seen too many churches liao i tink and this one is more of a small town kind so just have like drawing and nothing much.. ) pretty in its simplicity i guess..
so after we went to the restaurant opposite the ice hotel to have lunch.. buffet!!! was like a fish galore... smoked salmon, herring in like lemon juice, herring in like tomato, herring in cream... ya u get the point... not bad tho the food..
after we each had to get like this sticker to show that we are visitors and whats not...
the 2 korean guys and their "ice hotel" stickers.
so basically ice hotel is built yearly around november.. and the work lasted thro to march. whereby it is finally done.
each year there is a recruitment for the sculpturers from all over the world and hence the different designs each year..
it started off with just an igloo.. whereby the founder of ice hotel invited some lost visitors to stay at his igloo. apparently the visitors, after a night's stay praised it and said it was qte interesting experience and it wasnt cold.. and hence the idea of icehotel is formed.. (something to that extent)
so then like.. each year the ice hotel just grew bigger and bigger.. and guests are alowed to stay in the ice hotel since dec thru to apr where the ice hotel will then slowly melts away...
there's a big lake nearby where the ice used to make ice hotel is being taken from.. a year in advance.. and put into storage...
the clear transparent nature of the ice is due to the speed of the river flow when it starts to freeze.. and apparently the rate of the flow in the river is optimal la..
guests who stayed in the icehotel in dec have the opportunity of seeing the making of the icehotel slowly and meet the designers and sculpturers in person... so like ther are pros and cons la...
so like in dec the main reception area would be done and like certain rooms are like finished so its like rented out.. and the creation of ice hotel is like room to room.. corridor to corridor...
toilet wise.. it was tried out one year but the maintenance of it was like a torture for the staff (cleaning up frozen shit and pee is not joke mans) and so toilets are as per normal in a seperate building nearby. so like in the middle of the night if u have to pee, u need to walk out of the hotel to the adjacent toilet building to use the facilites...
a plague made from ice for the sculpturers of this year's ice hotel
in the icehotel, there is this ice bar which is in conjection with absolut.. and hence is called absolut icebar.. so whatever drinks u order, there will be some variety of absolut in the drink.
the chairs, tables, bartop are all made of ice... even the glass itself..
so like u will need to have a change of glass after like 6-7 drinks cus the bottom of the glass would have melted away by then...
the highest record od drinks in a single glass is 22 but apparently the guy had to be carried out by his mates...
there are also ice bars around other than in kiruna.. there's one in stockholm and tokyo.. i tink.. and the concept is basically the same.. same kinda glasses.. so these glassesd have to be made and stored...
the guide holding an ice glass
the entrance of the hotel. which (electronic- sensor) glass doors... cool or what?
the beds... basically its a normal bed, bed frame, mattress (all non ice) with like some fur of some poor animals and pillows.. but the room in itself is all made of ice.. the design of the room, the entire room - the walls, the ceiling etc...
so then there are like 1 kinds of rooms.. one is the normal kind (as shown above) where it is jsut a bed in a normal room... another kind is the suite whereby there is a different theme for each room... each designer is given a room to design themselves.. so ya..
and the guests are allowed to do ice sculpturing.. there are like lessons being held for ice sculpturing.. so ya...
the ice sculptures done by the guests..
this is like the design in one of the room.. apparently this room is about like factory work or something and it shows like the manufacturing line of the ice glasses...
outside each suite.. there is a description of the room and who is it done by etc..
(this has no connection to the description above) this is basically one of the many many designs around...
another theme is like shoes or something.. basically the "pillars" are all feets in heels... ya u get the point.
this is about adam and eve and the apple...

so then outside the ice otel.. there is actually an ice church.. and people from all over actually travel here to get married... and the best thing is that the bride normally jsut wear the traditional weddign gown. DUP COLD LA... so that's why the ceremony never last more than like 20 minutes.. cool shit..
this is apparently a guy dressed in the traditional saami outfit with a reindeer pulling a seat which is for the bride... so he is like waiting for the bride to come out of the church.. sadly.. i didnt managed to catch sight of the bride but then i saw pictures taken by others who saw the bride..
apparently the bride not very pretty... the bridesmaid prettier.. =x
yup so then after tt took another 4-5 hours bus ride back to lulea... and that bout rounds up a day... :))))

randomness 101

2009-03-14T10:45:00.000-07:00

its like times like these when u guys out there reading my blog gets really happy cus i am adamant bout not starting to read another manga and getting rather sick and bored of facebook.. so basically i have nothing to do but to blog. and so blog i shall...
first week of march.. nothing much had no sch once again.. and so basically the whole week was spent like popping over to ppl's place and eat. aha.. then urm.. slowly trudged my way through my final 2 assignments for my two courses.. and of course planning for my uk trip.. aha..
me going over to uk.. edinburgh (scotland) for two days, followed by london for a week and then over to dublin (ireland) for another 2 days.. hehe.. not bad sia.. whilst everybody is studying for their exams and alll (those in sweden la) im off exploring lands unknown.. aha but the drawback is once again.. i'll be going alone.. seriously ar.. i really cannot make it.. but at least 1/2 of my trip i will be with rani so not bad not bad i tink.. :x

some random pictures taken...

some place near where i stay when i decided to be adventurous and go off exploring.. kinda nice the roads.. machiam like in those korean dramas.. :))
view from my flat's balcony at night.. dunnoe why got lights.. MAYBE its aurora.. aha.. i wish la
view from balcony again.. the weird lights in the middle of the night.. (its taken like around 1-ish am?!)
sunset at the omberget..
sunset again

yups.. kinda like the skyviews over here.., with its splatter of colourful lights all over the horizon.. pretty.. :))

on another note.. kinda stopped going to clubs every friday and saturday night (for me la) its like their routine.. but somehow just like still didnt like the feeling i get when i go clubs? aiii.. im just not a clubbing person man.. had like this pseudo pubbing night over at my place one night.. with idza and me only.. was fun... blasting music from my laptop.. and just drinking eating finger food that we make.. pubbing's wayy better man! :))))
was talking to like rani the other day and she was saying how she enjoys the clubbing culture over in london.. and like looking at how rani is immersing herself into the london way of life.. whilst me.. im not exactly living the swedes' way of living here.. like the clubbing and all.. hais.. kinda felt qte chui about myself.. but then she was saying how like she felt safe being with like her group of frens and like they just stay tog the whole time having fun in their own world and like... hmmm.. MAYBE that's why ar.. the other day idza and diane was over at my place and like talking.. and then diane was saying how like i should go with idza to club and that as frens i should like be there to take care of her and all.. but then. 2 girls together doesnt really constitute as a clique noe? and oh wells... hmmm.. *ponders*

okie i really should stop with all these deep thoughts and like.. enjoy life here.. hmmm....
*wanders off to find food*

updates 101

2009-03-14T07:20:00.000-07:00

okie.. to continue from the previous post.. i came back from swiss.. took me one whole freaking day with all the waiting and all.. so in the end reached lulea at like 11pm.. then cus it was so late there wasnt any bus, so i had to take a cab back.. :((( expensive sia.. then apparently that night there was some party at my place.. so after like hiding in my room for a while i went out and basically talked to people la.. hurhur.
then after i came back.. was busying chionging assignments and all..
apparently i chionged like this assignment.. took me two days.. and when im done and all ready to send to the teacher i realised the assignment due date was postponed one week!! so like i did my work one week in advance.. doesnt sound so bad ya? but the catch is that i have another assignment due in like 2 days.. so like i wasted 2 days chionging an assignment that wasnt due.. o.O winns..
ok then like once week after i was back on tuesday night.. had this running dinner thingy.. qte cool.. basically its like many many people split into 2 groups.. then within the groups there are like teams.. so basically.. like its being carried out over 2 days.. whereby like the first day people in the first group cook and the people in the second group eat and the 2nd day vice versa. so then each team has to cook a full meal consisting of appetizers, starts, main course and dessert and digestives.. (the no. of dishes is determined by the no. of teams..) so then like for every dish, the hsot team receives a different group. and its like the eating teams just move from place to place to eat la.. qte cool.. so like cus the first time round i was at swiss so i joined like for the second night whereby i was attached to a hosting team.. (the ones to cook).. qte cool i learnt how to make sangria! (something like sangria.. hehe.. so cool.. shall attempt to make it back in sg.. hehe :P)
then the next day i went grocery shopping with idza and we found this asian (thai rather) supermarket.. and like i literally went crazy buying tom yum paste and chilli padi.. =x and POCKY! a freaking pocky cost like 2 freaking bucks here.. diao.. -.- POCKY LE.. 2 bucks!! hurrr...
on thurs, my flatmate was gonna go watch like icehockey match and she jioed me along.. then like we cycled to downtown where the match was held... but apparently cus it was like the last icehockey match in lulea.. all the tickets were sold out.. so in the end we went to a bar and watch icehockey.. live on the screen.. lol.. but qte cool ar.. then the people were like cheering and all.. but in the end lulea lost. dang.
friday, went to the small ski slope nearby and watch sunset.. hehe.. cus i was too bored then my fren jio me go watch sunset.. qte cool le.. its like u really REALLY see the sun set before ur eyes.. like within a span of 15 minutes... and poof the sun is gone.. :))) pictures. on facebook.. go see urself.. =x
saw like uranus (is that how u spell it?) and the moon AND the sun tog.. damn cool.. but then like too far cant take a picture of it.. apparently.. uranus looks like this star.. just that it is always shifting in its position with relation to the moon... lol
then i went back.. and my flatmate cooked dinner.. lol then cus he cooked too much he jio me go eat.. :))) so he cook like chicken simmer in some sauce that is made my peanut butter, cream, orange and orange juice and whats not.. not bad leh.. qte cool.. then he cooked like mini lettuce balls (apparently its like a european vege kinda thing) DAMN NICE.. then also baked potatoes.. :)) and he let me drink wheat beer.. :)) niceee~~ not bitter at all..
saturday i went iceskating at the nearby rink... ok la not bad but cold qte fast so like.. hurrr.. then summore my skating skills qte chui so.. :S but not bad.. first time skating in lulea.. =x

so that bout rounds up like my first two week in lulea AFTER i came back from swiss.. :)))

last but not least.. GENEVA!

2009-03-08T14:43:00.000-07:00

ok finally..!!! oh my god.. i never knew it was so tedious to like blog about travels.. god.. *rolls eyes* the endless uploading of photos.. wait wait wait.. sian diaos.. anyway.. last part of my swiss travel - geneva!
ok so then.. hmm.. tues.. slept in.. after like packing up and stuff i went over to esther's sch to pass her her keys and say bye before setting off to geneva.. so then took a train to geneva, went to this city hostel geneva (not bad!) so then after tt checked in, put my stuff then off i went trotting about geneva.

so i was like walking around aimlessly (the hostel provided me with a map with a few like attractions.. so like i kinda tailor made my own journey about geneva.. hehe)
the streets of geneva..
then like whilst i was wandering about.. i kinda chanced upon this church which is supposedly like the tallest building or something.. went in. hehe..

so then was like climbing up the north tower.. (the steps were like damn steep and it was like circular.. so kinda like freaky.. kinda.. and the width was like just enough for one person.. ) so then i climbed all the way up...
this is like the view halfway up.. o.O

so like this is the view from all the way at the top...

so then after having to pain-stakingly slowly climb down, i went to look look see see the church.
ok la the church nothing much to boast about.. got much nicer churches around.. :X
so then continued walking around...
the streets..

this is like the flower clock.. and if u look closely enough u can actually see that they had planted the numbers there too.. just that its scattered around.. apparently they have to replant this every year or something.. really cool
this is like this place that's near the flower clock.. so gonna get married there.. like the vow-giving ceremony or something.. aha dreaming dreaming..
the fountain..
another little resting spot...
then apparently its like the flower clock is like the entrance to this mini park thing.. which then further leds to this boat place...
this is apparently where the fireman resides.. aha.
my favourite car!!!
couldnt help myself when i see this swan doing an obscene pose.. aha.. apparently its feeding la.. then the butt sticks out.. =x
this is like this jetty to the famous jet d'eau which is like some natural water-thingy which sprouts water every hour (until 4pm) every day. i reached too late.. sadly..
anyways that's not the point.. the point is that this jetty is like FILLED with birds of all kinds... seriously, the swiss really loves their birds.. all kinds of birds everywhere mans...

saw this swan sleeping..
a duck doing some obscene stuff.. lol...
like this is like a temple of some sorts.. (dunnoe wad religion la.. ) in the middle of a junction..
one of the many sculpture..

this is like my favourite.. cus of what it represents..

"in memory of elisabeth imperatrice d autriche reine de hongrie 1898 - 10 septembre -1998" (if i didnt see wrongly la..) cool rite.. i die also wan like tt.. :)))

the streets of geneva again..
so then after i went to like the supermarket.. grab some food.. and went back hostel..
that's bout it for that day.. ohh watched shrek 2.. lol.. cus the hsotel was screening it.. lol..
so then the next day.. checked out.. then cus i had a few hours to kill ebfore i had to go to the airport and all.. and cus i stayed in the hsotel, they actually gave me this free transport card for going around in geneva.. so like.. the singaporean-ness in me showed her true colours.. so i randomly boarded a bus and just went sight seeing..
the buskers on the bus..
flea market..

police car!!! lol.. hard not to notice man..
then after i took like a round on the bus.. i dropped off at the central.. then saw like this church.. notre dame church or something like tt.. lol..
went to check it out.
the altar
some weird stuff.
the exterior of the church..
geneva

and yups.. that's bout it peeps!
FINALLY THE END OF MY ENDLESS TEDIOUS BLOGGING OF SWISS TRIP.
real fun though.. kinda cool..
first time ever had to travel alone.. sorta first time.. but oh wells.. training.. good training.. so yups...

swiss italianos!

2009-03-06T18:49:00.000-08:00

For the last day of my swiss pass, i decided to venture into the italiano part of swiss.. TICINO!
so then i took the train early early that monday morning

i THINk is lake geneva la.. hehe..
*inserts many more pictures of sceneries and (of course!) the supposedly lake geneva

so then after i reached sion where i was suppose to hange to another train through domodossola (a part in yes! freaking ITALY!) to lucarno
the pit stop at sion whilst waiting for my train.

at sion.

so then after, took the train. apaprently the train goes into the mountaineous region of swiss/italy borders.. freaking cool or what?!

the many pictures taken whilst travelling through italy.. hehe..
FINALLY! i reached my destination! lucarno.
so then from lucarno. i decided to go to bellinzona. where it is like apparently the place renowned for the many castles that were there.
a testimony to the efficiency of the swiss transport system! :)))

so then i was like walking around relying on esther's lonely planet guidebook once again..
so then i chanced upoon a castle!! so just went in to check it out..
apparently along the like walkway or whatever you call it.. there are like stuff on the walls.. and most of the depicting stuff that aint really pleasant to look at...
an example... =.=:

the top of the castle with its (?!) garden o.O

the nice nice damn nice sun...
castle walls!
so i was like walking around that castle thens aw like two SUPER DUPER HOT SWISS ITALIAN guys just hanging around there.. so like i walked past them like twice? so like then the second time they actually talked to me so we chatted a bit but like cus i tink i was like leaving bellizona in like an hour's time? like nothing much we could do.. didnt manage to take a picture with them tho.. cus i HUMJI!!! sobs.. wasted~ oh wells.. also a bit scared from yest la.. heehe...
so then i heng ehng found my way out of the castle.. walked around the town area for a while

aww the damn damn nice sun!! it was actually warm! so much so that i was able to walk along this stretch of street without my coat on.. hehe.. coolios.. damn nice.. so long since ive walked in the open without any coat on.. thy bliss~
damn nice house that resembles a mini castle in bellinzona.. i tink its just bellinzona? with its reputed many dam nice castles.. even the people of bellinzona are like trying to replicate the municiple's famed object.. hehe.
so then left bellinzona for my one true destination LUGANO! (piang eh the lucarno and lugano gave me such a big headache i had to constantly check the map to ensure that i didnt accidentally mixed them up and going to the wrong destination.. )
streets of lugano
this really cool fanciful groceries stall i saw.. couldnt resist..
public area to play giant chess.. isnt something that is found in sg but yet is a relatively common sight in swiss.. :P
so then after went to the tourist info centre in lugano and gotten a map...
intended to go to the chocolate factory but was told that it was going to close soon..
rushed and took a train ride.

in my random hurried way, i managed to catch the right train and alighted at he right stop.
thy street.
A SIGN of the chocolate factory!
managed to reach before the closing time.. haha.. so happy.

at likle near the entrance, they actually had this fountain of chocolate where free chocolate sampling is give.. basically the picture shows the lady dipping a biscuit into the chocolate fountain.. WILLY WONKA OR WHAT?!
so then walked around the place where they show boards and stuff telling bout the history of chocolate of cocoa.. different types of cocoa yada yada yada...
and i actually was able to see the chocolate factory. but sadly i was qte late so the no. of ppl working there was to the minimal and like only certain machines were on. but nevertheless.. coolness!! aha.. its like this walkway that is above the factory so we can look down and see the machines and the people at work.. hehe...

the "family tree" of chocolate-making?
then after walking around the chocolate factory, i went to the nearby museum where all the antiques with regards to chocolates were there.. old advertisements/posters.. vending machines..

they even had like this display of the different ingredients present in white/milk and dark chocolate..

chocolate moulds and the resultant chocolate.

so after the chocolate museum, i went to their chocolate shop! (of course mans.. hehe)
they offered free sampling! damn nice.. hurhur..
so then bought some chocolates after much much many contemplation.. hehe..
the entrance of the chocolate factory with its COW!
the cow..
wayy back to the train station..

the extent that they had to protect the vending machine from vandalism and abuse..
thy sky..
the train that i took.. TOTALLY EMPTY..

night scene of lugano..
night scene of lugano 2.

so then after i took a train to zurich and from there change a train back to lausanne.. by the time i reached lausanne was like 1+ am? and like i missed the last tram.. so like had to cab.. :((( poor me.. but ok la the guy was really helpful and nice despite the fact that i know nuts bout french. and like the first cab guy i approached he didnt know english and he was like helping me find another guy who knows english just so the other guy could send me back.. nice people mans..
hehe..

yups.. tt's bout round up my short and flighty trip into ticino! but despite the short time span in ticino.. the guys i saw.. *smirks lips* aha..
rightyyyy... :))))

st. gallen-allen-allen-a-a-a..

2009-03-06T17:47:00.000-08:00

ok after a few days of procrastination (well NOT really cus ive been *coughs* studying too.. but that's not really the point), i realised i DESPERATELY need to finish blogging the swiss trip (been nearly a month!) so i can just get on with it and continue bloggin bout my mundane life here in lulea and bore the shit out of u guys.. hehe.. so ya..
fifth day in swiss..
so see since (like i've said in previous post) i have paid freakingg 260 good sgd on the swiss pass i must make full use of it.. (the singaporean-ness in me is acting up) and fyi, in swiss, the train tickets.. how much it cost doesnt really only depends ur destination but also by what route u take. so then for the past few days.. we have been travelling (te shortest route) cutting through the center of swiss to get to where we wanna go.. (fyi again, lausanne - where i stayed is at the south western end of swiss) so like ya.. so then cus fifth day.. sunday.. then esther and jess had to do some admin stuff in preparation for sch the next day. AND also after 2 days of hanging out with me and my insane travelling ways, they are dead tired and need rest. so like ya.. and since i bought swiss pass (really, highly recommended despite the high cost cus it FORCES you to go out and make full use of it.. aha) so then i went off to the other end of swiss -st. gallen!
and since for the past few days ive been travelling the shortest possible route, i decided to be adventurous and have a change of scenery and took one of the longest route to st. gallen. along the french borders of swiss.

the change in scenry. green green and more greenery!!

so then.. obviously it wasnt really THAT worth the long ride since i think i took a few naps here and there in between and hence missed out some sights.. but oh wells.. hehe..
saw this little thingy on the wall.. feels (unbased here people) that its a very apt reflection of st. gallen.
ok so then i reached st. gallen. kind esther actually loaned me her treasured lonely planet guide to switzerland which really saved my life cus i went st. gallen on sunday.. and note this people: in most of europe.. sunday is like an off day to them.. and by off day it really meant off day in the sense that even the shops and stores are closed. no shopping centres, no nothing cept for a few eateries here and there.. NOT MUCH THO.. so then st. gallen was like a dead town. -.- wasted i know but oh wells..
so then cus its SUNDAY and the tourist information centre is CLOSED -.-||| then i had to like rely on the lonely planet guide book and also my fantastic sense of direction. -.- so ya.
the ghost town

people -less streeets...
this street name.. i totally love it.. pic-o-pello-platz.. machiam like nursery rhymes..
so then i was like walking upslope.. then the thing with st.gallen is that you always think you're like at the top already only to find out that there's higher places.. aha.. so then i was climbing up the slopes and like wow.. im so high up..
i mean looking down and i see this. HOW HIGH IS THAT?!
see then this is like a park where like there is a fountain in the centre. (if u can see it the water sprouting out from it) so cus i was walking uphill and kinda like following the stream, i tot i had reached the top when i see this lake with a fountain.. I WAS WRONG.
in swiss i realised they like like LOVE murals (is that what you call them?) on the walls of buildings..
so then i was like walking and saw this big area of abundant snow.. and like i've stated before, i have no idea why i would fly all the way to swiss to do silly stuff like making snow angels when i am able to make perfectly nice snow angels in lulea.. o.O thy stupidity of me.. seriously

my successful attempt at making a snow angel!!! luvluv~~

so then higher and higher up i trudged... and finally reaching the top.
then there was like this thingy which allows u to see like the town of st. gallen up close. but apparently.. when i tried lookin through the telescope.. i can only see the sky.. cus my eyelevel is at the level of the eyehole of the telescope when it is at rest (as shown in the photo) so like i cant see the town cus then the level where which one place their eye is higher and sadly.. i couldnt reach.. so oh wells.. a picture of the telescope is better than nothing.. =s
view of st. gallen

view of st. gallen from the top.. but kinda pathetic tho..

ok then cus when one goes up, they must come down. one way or another..
my way down.. took me eons to climb down cans.. scared shitless.. (okay MAYBE not to such extreme.. but i really took me time going down.. hee)
the teeny mini glacier i saw near the (equally) mini waterfall
so then after i got down.. i decided to check out the oh-so-famous library in st. gallen.
so this library is located in some boys' sch which also doubles up as a church.
you gotta love the artistic talents of the swiss.. all their murals (on the ceiling).. fantastic.. amazing.. lol..

and not forgetting their stained glass windows..

so then apparently this sch-that-doubles-up-as-a-church actually has some like exhibit museum of the ancient relics/remains of the old building.
so i went in and like took pictures like a maniac.. (i mean PEOPLE pay good money to go these palces and see.. so i might as well snap piuctures and show u guys.. aha.. so u guys can save money.. ) only to realised that its REALLY not that interesting and like nobody would really want to see the pictures and i also wouldnt be bothered to upload all of them either here or facebook.. so.. :S silly me
the stones found long long time ago...
some of their carving works..

the building

so then after i went into the library where there are like exhibits of the old works and stuff of the people that were there long long time ago.. hmm.. not really THAT interesting cus like even though there is like a writeup of what the exhibits were, the actual labelling is in german or whatever language it is in and i couldnt understand.. so like.. exhibit 2 there is like 7 articles in the case and i wouldnt know which is which just that one of them is like a textbook, another is like a certificate etc.. kinda shit.. but qte cool la.. and the handwriting all damn nice.. drawings too...
aha so thena fter tt left the place to like walk summore.. :S

the streets of st. gallen.
the little statues that's so damn cute
so then that bout ends my fifth day.. went back took a train to zurich.. wanted to hang around zurich before catching my train but ended up chatting with the hotdog seller instead.
o.O apparently i went to get hotdog.. (its like a hole is drilled into a bun and like the hotdog is place inside... cool or wad) then like the guy selling the hotdog asked me where i was from.. and i was like "hmm this guy so friendly" so ended up chatting with him...
but like the more we chat the more i find something is wrong cus he was like asking me whether i was free the next day so he could show me around zurich and i was like nono.. im with frens.. and they have plans for me while im here.. and he was like why dont u come back someday so i could show u around? (i told him im from singapore but left out the part that i was in exchange in sweden) so i was like o.O fly all the way from singapore to swiss just so u can show me around.. funny ar.. so like i was like nono.. expensive.. and he was like offering to buy me plane tix or soemthing.. -.- and i was like oh the tix 's real expensive like 4000-5000 francs.. then he was asking me whether i have any bf in swiss and i was like no.. then he was like so do u have any bf back home.. and i was like ya.. and he was like oh so u have bf in sg but u dun have a bf here in swiss la.. (wtf?!?!) faints.. then he was like saying how he married a swiss (he's actually from africa) and now he's a swiss citizen but he's divorced and so he's lonely and wants to make frens.. =.= like errr ur definition of frens and my definition of frens ABITT diff ar.. then i made some silly excuse about have to do some stuff before catching my train and i left him.. -.-
OH and he offered to let me stay over at his place. after some drinks and dancing.. o.O and thank goodness he gave me his no. but like i didnt gave him mine.. so whew.. close call.. -.-

so yups.. tt bout ends my trip to st. gallen.. sunday... not much people around but went like hiking sooo.. coolios all around! and i got back just in time for the dinner that jess and esther made.. hehe.. luvluv~~

2009-03-02T11:44:00.000-08:00

so then valentine's day.
it was snowing early in the morning of vday at lausanne. the snowflakes being big and fluffy.

at the train station at mouline (near esther's place)

so then after took the train from lausanne to luzern. after we got away from lausanne, it kinda stopped snowing.. so some of the sights from the window of the train.

so then when we reached luzern, we went (from our previous day's experience) straight to the tourist centre to get the map of luzern and (of course) follow the walking tour that they had recommend.
at the tourist centre itself. there was like old guy all decked up in suit and armed with roses. he was like dressed as st. valentine and giving all the females (both young and old) roses. COOL OR WHAT?! aha..
he's like the love of my life already.. a rose on valentine.. awww *swoons*

so then after that before we set off.. we stopped by at a chocolate shop near the train station. and there we found MACARONS!! in baileys and champagne flavor! so like obviously we bought some.. (afterall its valentine's day and what's valentine's day without some chocolate of some sorts right?)
even the public buses at luzern is all ready for valentine's day. don't you just LOVEEE luzern already?!

so then we were like happily obediently following the recommended route when we were distracted by the sight of this.

so then after a slight discussion, we decided to be adventurous and forego the recommended route and just go with our instinct (ok more of mine and they followed.. hehe)
so we went to join the carnival.. and apparently LOADS of people were all like decked up in all sorts of outfits.. kinda cool. and like each different groups had their own theme/uniform.. and there were also like stalls selling food and drinks.
so we mingled among the crowd till we finally managed to pluck up our courage and like go approach the locals to ask them to take pictures with us...
so then these guys.. we approached them cus of (obviously) the tall guy's cool outfit..then after we took pictures with them.. the guy with the blue cap actually asked us to like stick out of fingers and he like put some powder on it and asked us to sniff it..
we were like kinda apprehensive initially.. and jess told the guy to demonstrate first before we would try it.. so the guy was like "its not drugs.. its tobacco" (dun ask me whether tobacco is drug or not.. i have no idea) so then we decided to do it together. then the guys they did some kinda like a cheer of some sorts and the they put their fingers to their nose and snioff it..
its like the feeling you get when u eat mint sweets? just that the feeling is in ur nose...
took a video of it.. lols..

so after that.. we kinda left the carnival and started wandering aimlessly about the streets..

painting on the building.

so then it kinda started snowing.. and managed to take a picture of a perfect snowflake.. aha.. the snow is kidna different from the snow that was snowing at lausanne.. ya.. go figure.. apparently different temperature results in different snowflakes.. ya..

so then we kinda found our way to like the "great wall of luzern" hehe.. its kinda like the great wall of china.. just not as great.. and so we walked along the castle walls.. kinda cool.. hehe..

the way to the castle walls...

its so silly how when im at sweden with the abundant of snow.. i refuse to do such stuff.. but i did them when im at switzerland ike making a snow angel.. o.O apparently it failed tho.. cus the snow wasnt deep enough.. so it didnt turn out well.. aha.. =.=||

way down...

so after walking along the castle walls.. we went walking along the streets aimlessly.. ok maybe not aimlessly la.. but ya.. then after tt we went to have coffee and thaw at this coffee place in some bookstore and decided to go check out the musuems..
so then we went to this musuem without really knowing what it is about.. apparently its about french revolution.

the cool thing bout this museum is that rite.. the display are like half figurines and half painting.. so like from the picture above.. u can kinda see where the life-like models ends and where the paintings starts.. so apparently its like circular.. and like there's this narration going on.. so ya.. din really get what they were talking about tho.. in the end jess enlightened me.. =\

so then after we wanted to go to the glacier museum or something.. this is like the entrance.. but by the time we reached there it was like 15minutes before closing? and the ticketing lady refused us entry.. :S
so in our pathetic attempt to catch a glimpse of what was inside.. we found this little playground. actually its just like a sldie la.. but oh wells.. then being the childish people we are.. we went to have a go on the slide..

spotted this cute little snowman a little way off from the slide.. kinda cute..
so then after that we just kept walking about lor..

basically kept going upwards.. dunnoe why but ya.. hehe

view from the top.

route down.then like on our way down we passed this place.. and not knowing any better we just entered.. and we found a CEMETERY!!! in a church summore. and i have no idea how can people pay their respects to the deceased without like stepping on the coffins/tombs of other deceased.. creepyyy~~

the grand grand church with the weird cemetery.

so then we were walking then we saw the above two guys attempting to do jumping shots. then apparently they cant do it la.. keep failing.. then jess and esther saw then a few metres away from them.. esther and jess ALSO did jumping shots.. lol.. then they saw.. so like ya.. then after debating with ourselved we went up to them to take pictures with them.. (after all we ARE tourists and we'll nv see them again so no need paiseh and its VALENTINE'S DAY afterall.. yada yada yada)
so then after we wanted to go have dinner and go back but on our way back we heard like brass band + percussions playing.. so we went to have a look.. apparently those ppl dressed up in the same theme are from the same band and they were like playing songs and stuff. so we stayed back to hear them..
ok so the thing is.. the carnival is like to chase away the winter/welcome the spring kinda thing..
ya then apparently there's this one team that had already done their gig and were like packing up their stuff and all.. so the 3 of us borrowed their mask and took a picture.. hehe.. love this picture best.
so then, we decided to pop by the train station there to grab some food for dinner and we saw this sign..
PIANG EH.. damn smart la the government or whatever.. such a great deterrent to buying lotto.. see liao still got who will wanna buy.. toto lotto LOSE.. faints.
so then we went back.. listen to the great music till it was like and we were like running back to catch the train.. hehe.. crazy but was worth it.. damn fun..
loves carnival.
ohoh.. and at the carnival we saw people holding cups of hot drinks so me and jess decided to be adventurous and get some. initially we thought was like liquor of some sorts.. so when we got there the guy was like "coffee or tea" then we were like "shit kenna cheated.. nevermind la jsut get" then we got tea. but apparently its like tea WITH liquor.. hehehe.. so yups.. kinda cool..
that bout ends my valentine's day at luzern. love 'em.

BERN! capital of swiss

2009-03-02T06:08:00.000-08:00

*inserts many scenic pictures of the train ride from fribourg to bern*
aha.. yupyup.. so then took the train to bern from fribourg.
apparently bern is the capital of switzerland.

the first sign of BERN
so then we went to the tourist information place and asked for a map of the city.
so then on the map they actually included a recommended walking tour around the city which encompassed most of the main sights. so then we checked out this eatery which sells like cooked food on the go kind? so people can just grab a (relatively cheap) meal and eat it on the way or something. saw bbq chicken. couldnt resist. so i got 'em. after letting jess and esther try the chicken. THEY couldnt resist and they also got themselves some chicken. aha..
so then after like eating the chicken. we set off on our walking tour.
sights of bern with its many antiquated-looking buildings, majestically tall churches and (of course!) fountains. many many fountains in fact. aha..

they had this iceskating rink in the middle of some city square centre thingy. cool shit.scenery from one of the many higher points in bern...
cool ancient looking buildings...
and of course.. fountains..
streets bordered by tall imposing buildings..
cool little trapdoor-looking entrance to some underground shops..
munster!! church.. apaprently its like a tourist attraction to go climb the tower of munster and that its freaking high and not many people can boast about reaching the top. so then i was like DYING to go try.. but apparently by the time i got there the entrance to the tower was closed o.O :( and so din managed to climb it (shit!) was kinda sad over that for the rest of the day.. buttt.. oh wells.. went into the church tho..
stained glass in a church..

another few of those top-down view in bern...
this playground-ish park behind the munster church..
fountains..
the famous clock tower!
another fountain...
sttreets in bern with all the atypical streetlights in switzerland (crisscrossed wires dotted with lamps resembling that of a spider web that constitute as one of the distinctive features of swiss' sky)
fountains again.
so basically.. as you guys can see from the PATHETICALLY few pictures of bern.. its really basically a city of fountains, fountains and more fountains.. and im not even kidding or exaggerating over here.. SERIOUSLY. and i saw these.. amongst many other fountains just by walking on the walking tour which isnt even THAT long.. imagine that.. hehe..
so that was like bout 6-ish? when we left bern and set back to lausanne..
on the train ride back.. all was shagged out and slept on the way back.. =x

fribourg, broc, chocolate factory and ALPS

2009-03-02T04:31:00.000-08:00

okiee.. third day in switzerland.
after one night of planning... we decided to go fribourg (broc and bull) to visit the chocolate factory and then head over the bern.. and check out the munster tower.
so early next day we woke up early and set off. went to the main train station at lausanne-gare, i bought a 4-day swiss pass. (cost me a whopping 260 sgd?) but i guess in the end it more of less evens out and turns out to be a good motivator to be up and going too.. so i guess. worth it ba..
took the train to fribourg. where we changed to another train to get to bulle.
so then the train ride to bulle..
that day, the sun was up and shining and on a big field of snow.. its kinda blinding

village of bulle..
so then bulle is like located in one of those valleys.. so its like at the foot of the alps.. kinda cool. like when bu wake up in the morning then u see the alps outside ur window.. aha
so we see this silly sign and we thought we reached.. so we got off the train.. apparently was the wrong stop.. :S then cus the next train s like in an hour's time.. we decided to walk around broc and attempt to find our way to the chocolate factory.
so ya was like walking around broc village.. asked a few people on how to get there. and just basically wandered off.
kinda interesting i guess.. such an expedition. like unplanned and impromptu..
got to see how those little villages looks like.. PRETTY. and like countryside=style of living i guess.
so we kinda found our way after getting lost once. hehe.. then like climbed down this super steep slope.. (kinda bad for a minor acrophobia like me..) so i kinda took damn long to get down.. aha..
i guess the pictures just speaks for itself ba.. hehe..
so then when we reached the bottom.. we walked along the (only) pathway and we say this cute little snowgirl at the edge of this big field of snow..

spotted this really really cool mill (is that what you call it?) in one of the houses.. so we just trespassed into it and took pictures with it.. hehe

went to the chocolate factory to find out that it was closed in winter.. -.- so then off we trooped to the nearby chocolate shop to get chocolates..
the display at the entrance
went crazy a bit in the shop. then after that cus jess saw like theres haagen daz icecream and its cheaper than singapore.. she couldnt resist.. and me being me.. also bought them.. aha.. eating icecream in the snow.. BEAT THAT.. hehe

well shortly after taking this picture we rushed to catch the train back to fribourg where we then take the train to bern. no time to take a picture of me touching the foot of the alps.. (it was like just around 25 meters away from this spot :( sad. but oh wells.. yupyup.. so next entry.. BERN!

second day in swiss

2009-03-02T02:53:00.000-08:00

been rather lazy of late. like procrastinating and all.. i know i have to blog but just to sian to get myself started.. so haha.. okie..
hmm switzerland second day.. apparently the next day morning it was snowing.. but then after it stopped snowing a while.. all the snow melted. =.=
so like the the view from the window of esther's apartment.
can still see ABIT of snow la.. but the rest melted.. o.O

so then, cus esther gotta run some errands for her residence permit and stuff, we stayed in at her place for lunch then after lunch we headed over to the police post to do the stuff..
so like was just walking and taking photos of scenery and all.. really qte pretty.. like so antiquated with all the little cottages and all.. then i was like saying it looks like an utas version of malaysia.. lol.. cus with all the landed properties and the big big garden that comes along with it.. i mena vast land area.. malaysia mans.. hehe.. but much much more utas la of course..
ya more photos in facebook.. i think.. yup.. so like was just having a leisurely stroll along ave de la gare (the street names all damn utas one.. avenue de la *** as compared to singapore's jln *** and lorong *** -.-)
so then went to the police post.. they did their stuff.. then like OH.. the people there damn courteous and friendly one.. like they see you (total strangers) they will just go "bonjour!" then like there this one guy.. he was walking behind me in a rush.. so he was like " pardon missus" (or something to that extent.. like pardon something-that-sounds-like-missus) then i like move to one side for him to pass and he said "merci" lol.. SWOON can.. like so polite la.. then summore in that french accent and that deep deep voice.. coolios!!! imagine in singapore.. the person will like "tsktsk" and cough cough cough.. you know? so like ya lor. so nice la the ppl there...
so then we were just walking leisurely.. then esther was like just singing at the top of her lungs.. then jess was like singing along.. damn cute la the scene..
so then after they did their stuff we walked back.. then saw this bunch og guys.. i tink they are like exchange students or something but they speak french and doesnt know englishh.. o.O so then there's this china guy in that group and the other guys were like trying to introduce the china guys to us but then like the china guy was OBVIOUSLY not interested.. he only asked like "are you from china?" then we were like "no. from singapore" in chinese la obviously.. and then like he totally not interested liaos.. then his fren was like trying so hard. so then after a while.. due to the lack of communicating ability, we parted our ways..
so then after tt.. we met up with jess' exchange buddy. (come to think of it. i have yet to meet my exchange buddy nor attempted to contact him ever since ive reached.. but that's not the point) so then.. she's called emeline.. DAMN PRETTY LA.. and she's like younger than me can? but then she look so mature and sweet.. so nice.. so she brought us to the sch.. unil. i tink. so then like the uni is like RIGHT IN FRONT OF LAKE GENEVA. like how cool is that?! and like across the "lake" is like france. or something like tt.. damn cool la.. so then cus emeline had to do stuff.. (pay her fees) so we went to thrie sports centre and stuff.. piang eh.. their sports activities all free one lo.. so angry.. unlike silly lulea.. have to pay.. hurrr...

so its like at their sch.. the roads ar.. so pretty rite? machiam like those in those korean movie like tt.. aha
the view at the shore of lake geneva.. apparently its like rays of the sun.. rayons du soleil.
so then me and emeline.. very pretty la.. even prettier in real life.. and she got bf. so she's like rushing off to catch her ride to go to her bf's place to celebrate vday.. how sweet.. and she still managed to spare time to bring us around the sch and to town.. hehe..
so after she left. we wandered around lausanne-gare (the town area) then went supermarket to shop for groceries for dinner.. then i chanced upon this weird looking vege..
still have no idea what's that tho.. romanesco.. :S
so after shopping on the way back to esther's place for dinner.. saw this view at night.. couldnt resist..
and that rounds up my second day in switzerland.
(sorry for the lengthy post once again =x)

first day in switzerland

2009-02-21T09:40:00.000-08:00

ok.. switzerland.

basicaly.. (refer to previous post) couldnt sleep.. left slightly earlier than intended (which was like lucky) us on my way cycing there i kinda made a wrong turn and had to turn back.. so whew~ reached the busstop in time.. yada yada yada.. took the plane to stockholm, changed plane to geneve.. no problems.. sat beside like these two french-speaking guys on my flight to geneve. so funny.. think was one of the guy's first time on plane.. he was so excited it was so cute.. so ya..

reached geneve. called esther.. hanged around the airport waiting for her to come.. then we took train to lausanne.

thy view

all these greenery are like a 180 degrees change from lulea.. so nice.. and THE SUN!

yups so like reached lausanne.. went to do groceries shopping before going back to her place to put down the bags and stuff.. then went to meet her fellow singaporean exchange student and this other australian guy for dinner.. went to a chinese restaurant.. not bad the food.. (better than what was sold in the uni) and they had like actual china people working there.. was cool. and apparently in swiss they can bring their dogs into the restaurants so like this dog was like barking and stuff..

after tt wanted to go to the welcome party at some bar.. but we kinda couldnt find the place.. so basically waked around lausanne before heading back.

in total took like 1611 photos (and videos la) maximum.. 300 pictures with faces/people. the rest is all scenic.. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!!??! oh my..

selectively uploaded them onto facebook. so can check them out if u guys wan. ^^

just because...

2009-02-21T08:08:00.000-08:00

just because its having a freaking snow storm outside..(ok not REALLY a snow storm but more of like a super dup windy day resulting in snow being blown around like crazy) and thus i refuse, absolutely refuse to go town to get my bike back.
just because i just manage to complete (hap hazardly.. what other way mans?) one of my assignment and i refuse to do the next one.. (due in 3 days' time)
just because im bored stiff sitting in front of the comp nearly (once again) the entire day and have ran out of interesting things to do...
IM GONNA BLOG.
haha..

okiee.. hmm yokkmokk...
ok had to wake up early early to walk to sch to take the bus to yokkmokk..
basicalyl yokkmokk winter market is like an annual thing. and its at even further up north in sweden from lulea.. so its like GAN COLD!
first stop we went to the artic circle.

there's like this little hut there for people to go in.. though its not like warm or something so i have no idea why is it there..MAYBE it helps a bit la.. maybe...
POLAR CIRCLE!

abuot jokkmokk

this guy all decked out in fur at yokkmokk.. and of course.. me ALL WRAPPED UP.. told you guys i'll look like an eskimo..

their stalls..

machiam like pasar malam.. just that its in snow.. o.O

CROCS WITH FUR!!! bet that people..

selling fur.. from animals.. its like they wear such stuff ON THEIR HEAD! gosh.. some even with the head there.. so like totally creepy..

this cool little haven i found somewhere off the adventure camp area.. hidden.. its all craved in ice.. coolios.. but have no idea what is it for though.. =\

a horse wearing fur coat.. aha.. and the horses there are like super hairy!

saami women dressed in their traditional saami clothings,

this guy from kiruna that sat beside us in the cafe and started talking to us.. ^^ nice guy

dog-sledding!!

this fireplace that's nearby to warm our hands with ^^

reindeer race!

yupp.. so that bout round up yokkmokk.. qte cool place.. like pasar malam.. selling (some) rather interesting stuff..

temperature then was like wayy into minus 20s.. crazy shit..

like ive said had like frostbite on my ears walking to sch.. shit..

after that had a healthy fear of the cold liaos..

bot loads of food to try tho.. hot chocolate, elk meat (that's for free.. sample), their hamburger.. reindeer meat burger(not me but idza) and i got like their syrup drink and like a tart.. nice.. ^^

and they have this area where they distribute FREE HOT syrup drink. damn nice.. if only singapore's like that.. but then again singapore too giam liaos.. aha.

went dogsledding. damn fun la.. was over damn soon tho.. and the poor dogs.. all so skinny and stuff.. poor stuff.. but enjoyed myself!! ^^

i guess.. this is it! au revoir swiss and hotties :((

2009-02-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

last night in switzerland.
im currently staying in a hostel cus i culculated and realised that its cheaper to stay in hostel then to travel back and forth from lausanne (esther's place) to geneve airport.. so yup. here i am in the internet stations in the hostel and blogging.. (yes blogging cus im too bored in my room) and smply cus i paid to use the internet and have like 23 minutes left? aha..
anyways.. so funny.. was just like chatting on facebook with idza the other day.. and i heard about the whole hooha over my previously angsty blog entry. hilarity i tell you...
couldnt believe the whole uproar that arised due to it.. i mean HEY PEOPLE, MY BLOG MY COMMENTS ABOUT MY FEELINGS AND THOUGHTS.. you dont agree just bug off.. i mean its a free world out there man and everybody's entitled to the own different thinking.. even if it doesnt jive along with yours.. so ya.. hey.. that was how i feel la.. (note.. was past tense)
aha.. no longer angsty and all liaos.. a trip to swiss.. land of eye-candies.. that's all it takes to bring my mood wayyy up people.. hehe...
seriously for the past few days been traipsing around swiss its not even funny.. travelling in groups.. travelling alone.. been there done that.. details and pictures post up later.. ^^
in the meantime, just some comments and thoughts bout my one week trip.
switzerland basically is the land of alps, time-tellers, fountains and chocolates.. and ofcourse, who can forget, hot guys.. seriously, what do the people EAT here mans.. they are all so good-looking its unbelievable.
got hit-on (is that the correct phrase for it?) by this old african-turned-swiss guy. who was selling hot dogs.. my god.. scary.
i love ticino area of swiss.. after this week.. italian swiss are the BEST. the creme de la creme.. the epitome of cuteness.. hot stuff..really.. of course.. that's followed up by both swiss germans and swiss french.. they are no less hotter but just a teeny weeny behind italians.. *smirks lips* italianos.. ma favourito *grins*
carnivals are like the best of the best in switzerland. its fantastico.. is there albums out there featuring swiss carnival songs? love 'em.
someday somehow, one way or another, im gonna move to switzerland. IM SERIOUS. im either gonna marry one, work in ikea (i saw ikea in switzerland and i have yet to see ikea in sweden.. thy irony), work in some swiss bank or something or maybe even work in one of the many chocolate factories here.. its FANTASTICO down there...
luvin' it.
alrighties.. till thy next many posts filled with details.. and of course scenic photos.. :))))
ciao babes~~~
and ciao to thy lovely land of alps.. :(((((

and off i go..

2009-02-10T19:45:00.000-08:00

i realsed my previous post was angst-filled. im embarrassed. filled with remorse. what had intentionally set out as a travel blog turned out to be one of those bitchy blogs where people just rant and grumble at the rest of the world sinmply cus i gave in to me anger.. hais.. not good not good.
im really tempted to delete the previous post. but then... hmm.. shall consider..

on the other hand. its 4.47am. im up, alert and ready. heart's athumping. filled with trepidation. i cant wait to set off, only being deterred by the idea of standing in the dark all alone for more than 10 minutes waiting for the bus (in case im too early). sooo.. here i am.. just minutes before setting off.. blogging once again.
i decided i shall leave early.. instead of the intended 5, i shall depart at 450. aha.. cant wait. kinda excited and all.. but keep having this thought that i forget to bring something.. (of course since i only took like less than 1/2 hour to pack?) sheesh.
passport, check. readind, check. flight confirmation paper, check. money, check. card, check. clothes, check. camera, check. phone, check.
hmmm.. i guess this is it ppl!
off i go into the land of swiss alps, watch-makers and(slightly) warmer climate (like 5 above? o.O).
ciaoooo~~

WARNING: RANTINGS AHEAD, PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK

2009-02-10T15:24:00.000-08:00

you know the thing about blogs? is that you'll never know who's peeping into ur blog. and if u go like add a password or something, some intended readers may not have access to the password and hence was denied of the chance of reading about my oh-so-wonderful life. so ya...
troublesome troublesome.
but i aint gonna care no shit niemore. its like WHAT THE FUCK LA.. my fucking blog.. i wanna bitch i bitch all i want. big big loud loud in my blog. and if u dun like what you see go ahead and gossip bout me behind my back cus i aint gonna give no shit bout it.. (like i ever did) so ya. HA.
im not even gonna like give face and go bout corners hinting bout this person yada yada. so silly. not like you dunnoe i dun like you and not like i dunnoe you dun like me.. so be it. fuck care mans.

yes and this is how bad life has become of me here in lulea. im estranged from my "fellow singaporeans" (like i give a shit bout it) so ya.

anyways gonna go away and incontactable for this one week. flying off to switzerland. to the land of hot guys and eyecandies. to the nearest (cheapest rather) piece of solace i can find. to esther!! aha..
since idza's gonna abandon me and go rendezvous with her hot angmoh guy. i shall go in search of my eyecandy. SAMUEL!!
ok im uttering rubbish now its not even funny.
hurrr.. annyway serious serious. decided to go for a trip to geneva switzerland and bunk over at esther's place (cus that's what ppl do in europe. go for random trips like this *as quoted from idza). so ya.. gonna be spending a week there.. (got like fucking cheap tickets from stockholm to switzerland) but the catch was that in order for me to get from lulea to stockholm, the tix cost just as much as what i paid to get from stockholm to switzerland. but hey! aint complaining here.. bloody cheap tickets for me anyday please.
so then since i got this iffy new bike (i got this new bike.. mountain bike summore.. hehe) and my bloody flight is at fucking 7am in the silly morning, im gonna cycle ALL ALONE in the dark all the way to the city centre. and then catch the bus from there to the airport. ya.
so then cus i'll be cycling (on the snow sumore) i wanted to be safe and borrow a backpack see.. instead of using what i had on hand.. the shoulder nike bag which then MIGHT be slightly more dangerous (im cycling on snow summore lehs) and what better to do then ask from ppl you believe you could rely on best? fellow singaporeans. and the thing is that these two girls denise and wanteng.. actually had like big humongous backpacks cus their luggage was like overweight and stuff and like need big bags to like use as cabin baggage? kinda shit? anyway that's not the point. the point is. i bloody know that they have big backpack lying around collecting dust so wanted to borrow from them. HA. but surprise surprise.. cus they are going on a trip (good riddance) like 2 fucking weeks from now.. (i'll be back in one) they couldnt lend me their fucking bloody bags.
liew.. i mean ok.. granted i could go fucking borrow from nice foreign ppl... (who are most willing to lend me even their trolley cabin lagguage WHICH sad to say i couldnt take cus im cycling.. :((( ) but ya.. and msot ppl here being practical dun really have like bags lying around unused you know. so ya.. fuck man. i'll probably like lose my balance somewhere and fall to my death or something on my way to the city centre cus im being unstabalised by a shoulder bag. dang.
but nevermind.. training. undergoing this sorta training will make me a better cyclist and probably NEXT TIME I WOULDNT NEED TO SEE YOUR FACE TRYING (IN VAIN) TO GET A BLOODY BACKPACK FROM YOU. fucking hell..
ya so that;s all out there in the open now.. and i aint caring no shit. HA.

anyways kinda couldnt wait to get to switzerland.. esp after sec3 social studies.. hehe.. switzerland is like the utopia country you know? hehe..
i have now like a sling bag.. (which contains like all the essential documents) and my nike shoulder bag.. and both aint even full.. hurrrr... cant think of what else to put in them tho.. :(((

ohoh.. yokkmokk.. have yet to blog bout it.. hurrr.. shall do it.. next time.. hehe.. the most lasting thing that happened to me. on the way to sch to take the bus to jokkmokk, my ears kidna froze up.. it was a fucking scary experience.. cus like it was really cold.. i dont really know how to describe it but ya.. basically like frostbite on my ears or something. (it was like minus 20 in the morning) so then. when we board the bus i tried to warm up my ears by putting my hands to my ears.. FUCKING HELL the pain ar.. seriously unbearable.. like you just wanna like kick and shout and scream and stuff. really it was horrible.
kinda got them thawed. then for the rest of the day i had my hoodie on. thought that was the last of it. but NOOO...
that night when i went to bed. i lie on my side and PIANG EH.. pain sia.. cus my ears were like pressed against the pillow.. -.- sians.. so like had a hard time sleeping..
so then after the first night, my right ear kinda healed. but my poor left ear still aching till now. like hmm.. 3 days liaos? like when you touched/pressed it, it will hurt? hais.. but at least its getting better..
scary mans.. totally scared the shit out of me..
gosh..
ok its like 15 minutes to one. and i need to wake up at like 4 am cus im leaving at 5 am to cycle. hurrr.. wish me luck and may i not forget to bring anything!

ohoh and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO YOU BABES OUT THERE!!! :)))

abbey's birthday celebration

2009-02-08T04:42:00.000-08:00

after making the crepes, i went over next door to pearl (this hk girl)'s place for abbey's (another hk girl) birthday dinner.
they made chinese food!!! yumyum.

and as they have no rice, they substitued rice with pata! lols.
me and the birthday girl abbey!yup. so then sat around just me, abbey, pearl and helen (this other hk girl) and then ate dinner.. :))) many thanks to them for inviting me tho.. hehe.. was plesantly surprised ^^
so after the dinner, we went over to my corridor and had crepes for dessert. so then hanged around my place for a while while the rest (some korean girls and the other 2 singapore chinese girls) get ready in pearl's place to give abbey a surprise.
then we just went over to abbey's place using the silly excuse of wanting to know what korean drama they were watching the previous night (how lame is that) but oh well. it worked!
so ya went over.. then the others came into the room. surprise surprise. sing song. cut cake. take pictures. and stuff.. lol..
after eating the cake, i went back to me corridor, hanged out a while more then cleaned up the place when everybody left cus they went to another party.
but by then i was too bashed to even moved. (the previous day had like two coffee in the evening and couldnt sleep till like 4++ am and my sleep was rather fitful and woke up rather early that morning too.. :S)
so yups.. that ends my thursday!

crepe making session

2009-02-08T03:52:00.000-08:00

ok im gonna do this like even by even cus later too much photos and all that crap.. so ya..
anyways on thurs had crepe party. apparently this period of time, in france, ppl there actually have like this crepe season whereby all the meals are crepes. so like yup my two french flatmates decided to have this crepe party.

my flatemate diane
another flatmate of mine - remi.
so then apparently to make crepe, you have to grease the pan with oil using a potato. (i have no idea why potato but ya, potato it is!)
them in action. initially they started off using 2 pans.
the little entertainment that we had during the crepe making session.

after that they kinda upgraded to a total of 3 pans cus time was running out and the party's gonna start soon and they are not done yet. :)) cool shit.
yup. so that took few vids of them in action but aint gonna post it up cus like a bit big and like dunnoe whether even you guys interested in seeing it not. so ya..
made a total of like 50 crepes? lol..
so basically the party was like with people coming over and like having crepes with jam or nutella or even cheese and ham. not bad not bad..
sat around chatted..
oh ya.. so then they (diane and remi) actually had like their specialised job to do.. diane was in charge of pouring the batter onto the pan and taking them out when its done. and remi was just incharge of unsticking the crepe from the pan and flipping them. qte interesting watching them.. and apparently i was in charge of counting the no. of crepes they've made.. lol.. ya
and taking photos of course.. :))))

monkeys and hunters *scoffs

2009-02-06T14:19:00.000-08:00

i just bought a bike.. second hand mountain bike without the stand (0.O) for like 60 sing dollars? diaos.. dunnoe whether good bargain or not but HOPEFULLY it will spur me to do more exercise rather than just bumming around in my room/apartment all day long.
on the other hand.. im seriously considering a trip down to switzerland sometime next week. -.- ridiculous i know.. but what's with idza going off to london and next week having some winter festival that i have no fucking frens to hang with its kinda depressing. tho they have some activities that im rather interested in.. hmmm.. what should i do?

ok i desperately need to sleep early tonight (its nearly 1130pm here now) cus tml there's a trip down to yokkmokk winter market.. where they sell reindeer thingamobobs. you name it they'll probably have it.. so ya.. excited.. but at the same time dreading it cus the weather's gonna be fucking -20 and below over there.. :((( its even higher up in the north than where i am.. (i cant believe that's even possible but oh wells)

had "reunion dinner" with meiyan just now.. aha.. ok more of like a late lunch/dup heavy tea for me and like supper for her.. and we aint even eating the same shit!!! she was munching on chips and i was eating like real meal.. aha.. but oh wells.. fun fun~~ not bad not bad.. kinda miss you people back at home now tho...

chiam saw pictures posted up by idza and said that the ppl here looks like hunters and monkeys.. lols cans.. hilarity..

ok gotta go.. wish me luck.. pray that i dun freeze and die there! ciao babes~~~ will update soon with pictures.. i hope.. hehe.. luv luv~~~

me swed composition bout me self

2009-02-04T15:09:00.000-08:00

ok so this entry is like long overdued.. but im really etting qte lazy to post photos and type ands tuff.. aha.. wad to do its the air here mans.. its making ppl (mainly me actually) lethargic and all.. aha.. okie doks.. updates like i promised..
this time round didnt take much photos with all the parties and all.. i mean the place is dark everybody's crowding everybody its kinda hard to take decent photos under such conditions u noe? so anyway.. for the past week. many many sliding.. after the first slidding.. i had bruises on my inner thighs.. and like i said. i look like ive been raped.

ya.. doesnt seem so bad now.. looking at the photos.. but ya.. u get the point. so then anyway.. after tt first slidding, i went slidding again.. like twice within the span of 3 days.. so ended up my inner thighs got even more bruised.

ya.. u get the point.. so now ims wearing off slidding until like at least the bruises heal or something. -.-

oh and just a side note.. i really think that like ginger tea works.. cus like when i go slidding i tend to have like snow in my ass and and like in my face.. so like at the bottom of the hill half of my face is covered with snow and stuff.. (ya sorry din take any vids cus its rather stupid to say like "hey can u help me take a vid of me slidding down?" when others also wanna slid.. and its rather unglam looking hehe) so like ya.. then i go back to me room.. take a hot shower and like make ginger tea from those lil packets my dad insisted on me to bring along. and i feel better.. think without the ginger tea i'ld be bedridden like within the first week of arriving here.. so ya.. thank god for dads.. aha.. naggy dads that's it.

so anyway the weather's been rather ok these days.. minus 5 thereabout.. with occassional dips into like the tens and stuff but its fine.. more or less.. at least these days there's sun about so like yayness anus..

so then had like a swedish test (like i stated before) and then we kinda prepared in advance like one part of the tet.. the composition part where we had to write a short introduction about ourselves. so like ya.. the results of my "back-to-primary-school-way-of-learning" mugging.

ya.. the repeatedly copying of the same shit. what to do im kiasu.. like a typical singaporean. hehe..
so basically since im so free and i refused to do my readings tho i have an assignment due on sunday and for the next few days im gonna be rather busy, im gonna demonstrate thy power of primary-sch-learning-style and im gonna type out the bloody composition. so feel free to like click the little "x" on the top right hand corner if u guys are too busy studying and couldnt be bother to read swedish. :)

Jag heter Nicole. Jag är ifrån Singapore. Jag är tjugo äns och jag är kines. Jag studerar Sociologi i NTU. Jag är utbytesstuderar i Luleå Tekniska Universitet för sex månads därfär jag är mycket intressant i Sverige. Jag talar lite svenska och engelska. Jag bör i Väderladen 9. Jag går till universitet därfär jag inte få cykel. I Luleå, gå jag på fest veska helgen. Jag älska festa. Min mamma heter Lily. Jag dotter till Richard. Mina systrar heter Jessica och Ivy. Min mamma och pappa är femtiosex äns. Mina systrar är tjugoett och sjutton äns. Jag älska min familj.

literal translation: i am nicole. i am from singapore. i am twenty years old and i am chinese. i study sociology in ntu. i am (an) exchangestudent in lulea technology university for six months because i am much interested in sweden. i speak little swedish and english. i live in vadeladen 9. i walk to university because i no have bicycle. in lulea, go i for party every weekend. i love partying. my mum is lily. i am daughter of richard. my sisters are jessica and ivy. my mum and dad are 56 years old. y sisters are 21 and 17 years old. i love my family.

ya.. sounds very primary-school-ish. but what to do.
aha.. at least its over.. hiak hiak. aint gonna take any more swedish classes.. totally killed me.. :P
alrighty.. back to readings.. ciao babes~ till next time.. :))))

fiunally!!! reprieve

2009-02-03T03:48:00.000-08:00

im deliriously happy cus i finally got my reprieve after a week-long abstinence from the wonders that my laptop has given me..
thy solution. bought an external keyboard with is suitable for laptop usage.
see i actually bought another keyboard. but it was for DESKTOP.. and yada yada.. shop closed and stuff so din managed to get my laptop in working order till yesterday night..
so ya..
last week.. was basically filled with parties parties and more parties.. went slidding again.. twice.
i really should stop going for slidding since slidding gave me bruises that quote looks like ive been raped unquote. so ya.
the people here seriously will grab hold of any opportunities to throw a party.
just had a party yesterday. a "end-of-first-exam-in-lulea" party. -.- point proven.
had like a swedish exam yesterday. basically the teacher said "there will be a part where u have to write a short essay bout ursef" and me being a typical singaporean prepared it. so like.. just regurgitate everything out.. then for the rest just hantum like i always to during language exams.. so oh wells.. anyways just a matter of pass/fail wad.. so who cares.. hehe...
left after half an hour.. a record i tell u.. AND i waited till some people left then i leave ok.. so i not THAT jiatlat.. just a bit nia.. :)))))
anyways photos.. urm.. on their way.. too lazy to upload la.. hehe.. shall post them up some other days...
till then.. toodles~~~

going mia for the time being

2009-01-27T06:46:00.000-08:00

i am like currently uncontactable cus i spilled milk on my freaking laptop and now the keyboard doesnt work. so basically i can go online and see stuff but not type.. hurrr..
probably gonna get like a new keyboard or something.. shall see how.. prolly next week. but in the meantime.. im basically incontactable cus even if u talked to me on msn i have no ways of replying other than using smileys and nudging.
so ya oh wells..
:(
me and my bad luck year with comps.. just like less than 4 months ago.. my motherboard died.. now this thing happens.. hurrr... :(

my orientation and HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR TO YOU!

2009-01-25T14:27:00.000-08:00

you know how it is.. when the lack of exposure to sunlight will result in the lightening of skin colour? with 3 sems behind me, i have about 3 times worth of experience of de-tanning due to the stepping down of training during exam period. so ya..basically detanning just happens in such a way that u will SLOWLY lose ur colour due to it fading away. SLOWLY.
so then i travelled (insert random no.)km away with expectations that i will turn a few (ok finemore than a few) shades lighter. but i expect it in such a way that i was used to previously.
but NO... all of a sudden. when i was bathing, i noticed how detanning works in such a cold wintry country for lazy bums like yours truly.
IT JUST PEELED OFF CUS THE BLOODY AIR'S TOO FUCKING DRY TO EVEN SURVIVE.
freaking hell.. so then as i was lazy. (yes fine itsmy fault) i only moisturize myself at areas where it is often directly exposed to air i.e. face and when im feeling like it my legs and hands.
so then there are spots on the body, many many spots to be exact, that is being left out.
and yes. bloody hell.. peeling starts.
and now, my arm has like pseudo white spots. *flashback to one year ago* but ya.. this time round its pseudo. it aint real white spots, just pseudo.

ok so ya narcissism time's over.
so then, on thursday/ friday, the temp kinda rised to above 0. about 1/2 degrees? thereabout? 5 max. so then snow on the ground starts melting yada yada yada.
and this is what became of my white wonderland .... :( DIRTY LAND!

this aint so bad.. just that the snow aint no longer covering the gravel road.

the sides of the road where the snow is dotted with bits and pieces of little stones from the road.

so then, when temp is like 1/2 above? ppl goes sledding. or probbly they go sledding when they feel like it. who knows? who cares?
so then saw this pair of adults bringing their kids out to sled. irresistably cute.
so small, all geared up in helmet and jacket,pulling his sled along.
ok so then went for orientation. brought us to the top of the city tower where its like the highest point (if i didnt remember wrongly) of lulea or something like tt. so from there saw the whole town of lulea.

then we also went walking on some sea (i really REALLY think its the baltic sea.. but im not THAT sure) so then apparently the layer of ice is like so bloody thick they could like drive vehicles on it.
ppl goes skiing and iceskating there.
and when we were walking the snow was qte thick (thick is how you decribe the level of snow rite) so then when you walked its kinda hard cus ur feet really sink into the snow and all.but it was cool and good fun.
the free lunch buffet we had at the famous kulture centre.

then that night we had like a welcome dinner (which was alsogood) had reindeer meat for starters. not bad tho due to my lack of ability to distinguish between the various meat, i cant really describe it. but apparently (according to others) its like smoked turkey meat/venison. ya. the theme was rock and thus the dressing (go see facebook) ya.
so then after the dinner, kinda had this party-thingy going on. and there was thisguy who was from the student service centre kinda thingy who goes around, pulling condoms from his cap to give to random ppl. and no.sadly i didnt remember to snap a picture of him so ya. apparently his job scope was just to make sure ppl have safe sex. :S weird.
and then there was this live band going on for a while and ppl were dancing to the songs. so then the kind of dances they danced to was like couple dances.. real cool.

so then on the last day of orientation, we went to this nearby slope where we did slidding/sledding. so apparently u get this plastic piece of slip or even better this thicker and bigger disc made of plastic and then u sit on it and just slide down the slope.
was damn fun but then you kinda keep getting snow in ur face and all when you are going down the slope.
so then after tt we tried all types of combination i.e. in a row-one behind another, or in a circle, or stacking up etc.
ya the french ppl were really adventurous. me? i just did the row/tube thingy with me hungarian friends (go see facebook)
after sledding. they had a bbq for us. but cus it was qte budget-tish, they had like buns and hotdogs, with mustard, ketchup and fried onions to go along with it.

the bbq pit.

me hot dot bun with all the works

after the bbq, we headed over to this place where they had suanas and stuff.
AS i was having my thing, i didnt go to the suana,instead i sat at the fireplace and attempted to dry myself (tumbled in the snow a gazillions times due to sledding- kinda like you just happen to flip over when u stop so ya) while waiting for (yes) my hungarian frens.

me feet at the fireplace with me cup of (free) coffee beside :)

yups. so that ends the orientation for the past few days.
more photos available in facebook. and one sledding vid. (i tried my best)
due to the darkness, was unable to capture the slopes and stuff cus with flash u see the falling snow (it was snowing) and without flash it simply was too dark so... ya.. :) oh wells..make do ba ppl.

btw, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR and happy eating steamboat and love letters, and sambal-filled little spring roll-looking puffs and pineapple tarts and god knows what else. :(
anyways. HAPPY COLLECTING ANGBAOS and may u guys get many many money.
happy ban-lucking and mahjong-ing.

random photos 101

2009-01-25T14:01:00.000-08:00

just some random photos that i took on my route to sch.

what used to be a kid's playground

its apparently a river

so then on wednesday. went to check out this chinese restaurant in my sch for lunch.
its buffet style. and they have SUSHI!! (tho the salmon is OBVIOUSLY not fresh.. but wells.. ORIENTAL FOOD!!)

2009-01-25T11:38:00.001-08:00

i have a problem.
the old tagboard seems to have some problem cus i cant seem to see it.. and i have no idea how to add in a tagboard. DAMN IT!
anyways.. updates again.

ok.. this time round no pictures cus i didnt take any.
anyways here goes.
tuesday went to sch again.. temp around minus 5? thereabout? had my first class - political science D: institutional analysis and societal change.
kae apparently i managed to match 2 core mods over here so im taking them (yayness anus!) even though they are not exactly the topics that im interested in but.. hey, core mods le why not mans? pass/fail nia anyways..
so went to my class.. kinda got lost so like was late for class about 15 minutes.. TURNS OUT THAT I WAS THE ONLY FREAKING STUDENT IN THE WHOLE BLOODY CLASS!
yay yay.
like in ntu. i always maintain a low-key status cus i dun really do my work and stuff so like better be low profile and just pray that the teacher doesnt notice me throughout the lessons?basically tt's more or less my mantra for schs in general. but now... here... NOOOO... im the ONLY freaking student.-.- dang.
so that reached the class at like 1030 when it starts at 1015? then like the lecturer kinda concluded i was the only student and then he just briefly told me the course outline and like end the class... AT 1045!!! lol la... so basically my class was like 15 minutes. and apparently from the next lesson onwards im suppose to do the readings and discuss them with him in his room. dang. -.- but ok la..pass/fail nia.. core summore so.. oh wells..
so then had another class at like 1? so went to hang around at the library and get books for the institutional analysis class cus i'll HAVE to do my readings..
after tt went for my other core mod class- political science D: democracy and sustainability.
so then this class (yes another one of the boring political science class) had like (including me) a total of 5 students. one of themis this swedish girl,2 french and *drums rolling* ONE RETIRED
TEACHER!!! wins.
so like ya.

wednesday. hmmm.. lessons as usual the 5 students political sci class and swedish. then after that went back. cooked dinner for this sg girl cus it was her birthday.
so then after dinner we went to play with the snow. they built a snowman and apparently they were looking for eyes for the snowman and this girl unknowingly picked up like frozen dog shit and just break it into half and put it as the eyes for the snowman. so ya. (can just go check out like link from me to my frens photo album and stuff) lol. so ya.

1st day of ... SCHOOL? what school?

2009-01-21T13:30:00.000-08:00

so 3rd entry.
first dayof school was ok. had 1.5 hours of class only. swedish for beginners. apparently they have like a customary 5-10 minutes break in between for smoking/eating/toilet break.
after tt went to town with idza to get stuff. (yes again).
went into sub & co. for lunch cus we were famished.
finally managed to get me hot chocolate. tho it was like amazing.. it was rather normal, somewhat like what we could have gotten in sg. but then again prolly cus im not really that.. observant when it comes to food so ya... both this salami and brie sandwich. the cheese slab was like THICK.. nice.. but was like 57 kronos? (together with the drink) about 12 sg dollars?

idza, on the other hand, got this big sub which cost like 69 kronors (14 bucks) and it was like one freaking foot long. hers was curry chicken tho.. hehe.. managed to last her for 2 meals.

so then cus the day was at an acceptable temperature of minus 7 degrees i managed to dig out the camera for like a few rare shots of the town.

apparently the shining tiny yellow spots is like the snow la.. which can only be seen when the flash is reflected off them. and yes in the middle of town area, there's this queer little building which i have no idea is for what.

so like the streets.

we went to willy's (sweden's version of sg's giants/ fairprice) ya.. so then like i said before, swedes LOVE their sweets!! (it rhymes!) aha.. so like near the entrance of the supermarket, there's this huge candy selection there.

this constitutes like 1/4 of the entire freaking display?

one of their not-so-common selections that i have no guts to try.. hehe.

the way they display their crackers that were on sale.

the only kind of alcohol i can find in the entire supermarket. super mini.

(left to right): dry gin essence, whiskey essence, turkish peppar shot, vodka essence and rom essence (i tink)

yups one freaking bottle cost like 2++ bucks? and i cant even see their alcohol content. -.- sacarlee its mixers. -.- so i din buy =x

apparently sweden govt has a very strict rule bout their alcohol. so like in the entire freaking town there's only one store that sells liquor and its like qte troublesome cus have to show id and all that stuff..

so then our groceries from willy's.

so then wanted to take a picture of me and the willy's signboard. apparently only either one of us will show up but not both. go figure. =.=

took bus back to the apartment.

thy snow that was from me shoes in my room. cus apparently i didnt managed to stomp them away before i enter. =.=

the block of snow.

yup. so that concludes my monday. :)

next stop: LULEA!

2009-01-20T06:08:00.001-08:00

aha okie.. next entry..
at lulea.
took flight to lulea. nothing interesting on the flight. just that inside the silly plane it was also cold to the extent that i was all bundled up. ie. i didnt take off my jacket in the plane. how silly.
so then slept on the plane.. boring. yes i know.
so then landing. right. it was like white. it wasnt snowing. but snow was aplenty. so then there's actually two exits on the plane where u can either choose to go the sheltered (normal) passageway or you could like get off the plane and walk on the icy snowy ground to the baggage claim area. me. being the boring old me.. took the normal (boring) way.. aha.. no la.. its just the other girls were like having a debate on whether or not to walk in the snow or walk the normal way an didza and me couldnt be bothered so just then took the easy (uncongested) way out. aha.
so then after claiming the baggage, met with the some guy who's (i tink) the overall in charge of the exchange student or something like tt.. ya he's a student too.. so then he like brought us (4 singaporean GIRLS + 2 korean GIRLS) to his van. ya. its the normal small typical van u see where there's seats behind for ppl to seat kind so YOU probably can imagine how small the silly van is to fetch 6 freaking GIRLS.. like.. HELLO we are girls lehs.. u noe? so ya.
so then when we stepped out of the airport.. seriously, i swear to god,the first thingthat came to my mind was "what the fuck did i tink i was doing - choosing to come for exchange and come all the way here.. would be better off at bedok rowing" like SERIOUSLY.. tt's how bad/cold it was..
but then so he drove us to sch.. like told us stuff yada yada yada.. and all...
then we moved into our room.
so like this is how my room looks like when i first stepped in.

its really qte spacious actually so ya.

then the view out of me window:

so then we unpacked and we set off for the town area to buy some necessities and also surveyed the area.

cus it was really too damn cold i din take out my cam even though i brought it out. chui i know. but oh wells.. cold lehs. so we ate like max(yes maX not MACS.. ) for dinner. the portion was so bloody big we had to pack it up and bring back for like supper.

then comes friday. set off for school cus there was like a gazillion things to do. got lost one the way to sch and the freaking temperature was like minus 22?!?!?! like WTF?!!??!?! FREAKING COLD. so then managed to get to sch after like asking so many bloody people. took us a freaking 1 hr PLUS to get to sch. so then enter the building and we sat to thaw. like really thaw.. totally like numb.. the fingers and toes.. TOES were like the worst. cus u cant see them (under two freaking pairs of socks and boots) and they really REALLY felt like they woulddrop off the instance ueven try to move them..so was like qte torturous..and u guys could probably imagine the look on the people's faces when they pass by us. like ya.. ultimate chui-ness.

so then went to meet with the exchange coordinator, made some silly cards and stuff.. then cause apparently it was a freaking friday so like the course coordinators "probably wouldnt be in" and stuff so like went (once again) to town to go groceries shopping AND of course to pay bills and stuff..

ate MAX again for lunch.. was really starving so went to eat late lunch at max.

cus for like past dunnoe how long keep eating burger.. so wanna be healthy a bit.. so bout their chicken salad! DAMN NICE.. like super nice.. haha my best meal here so far lorhs..

oh ya and their sauces.. they actually have like thai chilli sauce here.. like cool or what? but i didnt buy. (really dying for chilli that time then say) so like they sauce. they have like so many weird names one.. the other time i went max, i tried their max original sauce (taste like thousand islands) then after tt this time round, i tried another type of their sauce but for the life of me i cant remember it.. crap.. oh wells..so ya.. all tasted like thousand island tho. -.-

yup.. so the next day which was sat.. woke up rather early... saw the sunrise.. really pretty so couldnt resist to take a snap of it.

pretty rite? aha..told cha! so then sat.. hurrr.. once again din do much.. stayed in.. shiver shiver.. bundled up in blankets and clothes. went for a party at night..me nice roomie -diane - brought me there.. basically their preparty here consists of many ppl squeezed into one small room and then baiscally stand around chat and drink. so then when they get high enough they'll start to make their way to the party place with the STUK this nightclub in my school. then they start to club or alternatively can like hang around in this big area beside the clubbing area to like chat and drink o.O

and the girls here! seriously.its freaking cold and they wear stockings.. like the stocking we wear in sg? they wear it here.. and they pair it with a like mini skirt or something.. leather jacket and like strap top.. something like that.. basically, clubbing wear.. LIKE WTF? fucking cold wear till like tt?!?!?! insanity i tell u..

so ya.. hanged around with me roomie.. chatted with a few new ppl.. there's this really cute (not looks wise but ya) guy, he saw me and he was like ni hao! lol..apparently he went like shanghai for exchange last sem..so then he was trying to make me understand his chinese.. really cute. and then after he saw me chatting with his girlfren (pretty) and he came over with this really excited look on his face and said "zhe shi wo de nan peng you". lols cans.. then like iwas like giving him this look and he was like"no? no?" and had this really brief panic attack before saying "ah... nu peng you" lol.. so cute la.... yups.

then there's this another guy.. christian or something..apparently he's like swedish. first year. and they have this thing whereby each university have their own outfit (Cant remember whats that called at the moment) so then apparently they can like cut strips out of the pants to exchange with like frens from other uni (Who will be having the same outfit of diff colour) so then if u exchange pockets, it meant that the two of you are attached/in a relationship with each other; then if u exchange collar meant that the two are engaged.. so like real cool. then they have all sorts of like badges to like add to their outfit. like the guy christian? he had like badges which showed that he managed to down 1 beer in 1 minute and another that meant he downed 3 beers in 3 minutes.. kinda stuff.. cool la..

so then after that went back with me flatmate cus she was tired. ya.

so then sun. ha.. once again.. nothing much.. went to the nearby pizzeria for dinner cus i heard that it was qte cheap.

so like the portion was HUGE..and we din know so like we ordered like a 12 inch pizza which consists of 8 slices but we were all full after 1 slice? and then we bot like 2 plates of fries.o.O couldnt finish them.. but was real good.. so felt real bad to the chefs.. aha..italians summore aha..

yup.. so then after dinner went back to room and me flatmate invited me to join her and her frens for a game of wii.. played golf.. qte fun.. but then after one game they had to leave cus it was getting late and they had an early class the next day..

so ya.. ^^