Of Airing Your Dirty (Not) Laundry
Shutters and towels - Dubrovnik, Croatia
What do you do when you feel down? I go to TasteSpotting and start ogling at those gorgeous foods. Instant mood lifter!
Of Christ and Tarts
Cristo Rei facing the city of Lisbon
Somehow the stance looks more like Christ is ready to give an inviting embrace rather than being pinned on the cross.
I can't stop traveling, I'm like a kid in candy store whenever I go somewhere new and strange. I need Herculean strength to leave this job that has given me the privilege to travel extensively.
I might not know you, but will you pray for me?
Dome long gone. An empty hole is what remains since the original dome capping the ceiling has collapsed. This is the entry vestibule into Diocletian's living quarters, overlooking the Peristyle.
Split, Croatia
Of Shedding The Old Skin
Friends often said I complain too much. Like to pick on the petty side of life. Moan and groan about the slightest thing. Wash, rinse, repeat.
And so, I'd like to take a new direction with this blog. A picture blog. Let the pictures do all the moaning and lamenting. But of course, I'm allowed to rant once in a while. You don't want me turning into a psycho now, do you?
That picture above was taken last Sept, when Joanne and I went traveling in Central Europe. I still remember that day, walking the length of the Walls of Dubrovnik under the scorching Adriatic sun. The sunlight so bright we're squinting our eyes with the same urgency like a child holding her pee. And then the Bell Tower rang. It's good to be alive isn't it, because then you get to experience moments that fill your senses to the brim.
Happy New Year. May the new year be a blessed one for all.
Of Frankfurt in October
Fall.
When the warmth of summer is all but a fleeting moment and there's a certain chill in the air.
Fall.
When the forest is ablazed with flaming reds and yellows, and some part is gleaming with silvery tips.
Fall.
When I chase away the autumn cold with a cup of coffee liqueur in the company of a warm-hearted soul and chat the blues away.
When the warmth of summer is all but a fleeting moment and there's a certain chill in the air.
Fall.
When the forest is ablazed with flaming reds and yellows, and some part is gleaming with silvery tips.
Fall.
When I chase away the autumn cold with a cup of coffee liqueur in the company of a warm-hearted soul and chat the blues away.
Of Hit and Miss
Got back the 2 rolls of film on my Holga and made the costliest mistake - the shutter switch was at Bulb position all the time. I remembered setting it to Normal, so I guess it accidentally got pushed to Bulb. I finished almost 2 rolls before I realized the mistake, hence most of the photos came out blurry! The guy at the photo lab must be chuckling when he saw the photos. And each photo costs roughly RM 4, from the cost of the film to have it developed, scanned and printed. Ouch.
The last few photos that came out OK after I realized my mistake (not colour corrected or edited by PS whatsoever).
Taken in Manhattan - I love how the flag pops out from the shot
Taken in Bleecker Street
Alice in Wonderland - Taken in Yau Ma Tei, not sure those are light leaks
or the effect of subjecting the film to too much X-ray scan
And only a noob like me could have produced something like this.
The last few photos that came out OK after I realized my mistake (not colour corrected or edited by PS whatsoever).
Taken in Manhattan - I love how the flag pops out from the shot
Taken in Bleecker Street
Alice in Wonderland - Taken in Yau Ma Tei, not sure those are light leaksor the effect of subjecting the film to too much X-ray scan
And sample of the super blurry shots (tape that switch to N position,dammit).
And only a noob like me could have produced something like this.
Of Never Forgetting
No, I will not forget about the war. And I will never forget the kindness and hospitality of the Bosnian people. The small alleyways peaking around the corners in Bascarsija. The picturesque countryside with tall columns supporting the railway. The tooth-achingly sweet Bosnian baklava.
And the climb uphill to the apartment where I was staying in Bistrik (always after a full meal, bloody hard work).
No, I won't forget.
I'm going to be very poor next month. Just did GVA-EWR for the whole freaking month. Recurrent lar, illegal for FRA lar, changed my 3 days unplanned leave and effectively disrupted the roster for the first half of next month. Worse part is, have to stay in The Sandpit for one week. One week!
Eat sand lor, since there's unlimited supply of it.
Some pics of NYC during my recent trip there. Specifically, of Times Square in Manhattan. It is located at Broadway and Seventh Avenue and extends from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. You will never ever get lost in Manhattan due to it's grid layout. Avenues run south to north and streets run east to west. At night, the whole area is lighted up with neon supersigns and generally buzzing with people. Like they say, the city never sleeps.
A good view of NYC is before entering the Lincoln Tunnel
connecting Manhattan and New Jersey
The day before Memorial Day
The Princess chiong-ed to the shops on the second day as it was Memorial Day and there's sale everywhere. In the end, didn't buy much as I just couldn't be bothered jostling with other people for space. And the queue was another major turn off. But managed to sapu a lot of lotions from Victoria's Secret nevertheless.
And of course, I had, what else, but McDonald's, in the land where the golden arches first came about. No wonder Americans are obese. No small, medium, large meal for your picking, everything comes in standard size, which is extra large. Ordered the Angus Third Pounder - Angus Mushroom and Swiss. And guess what? It's nice. Maybe it's because of the Angus beef or just my mind playing with my taste buds, but the patty is juicier and tastes more meat-like. The McDonald's folk probably forgot to throw in the sawdust while processing the patties.
Shit. I still cannot get over the fact that my Rome is taken away next month. So that I could attend some interview that shortlisted every Tom, Dick and Harry that bothered to apply. Talk about quality control.
Eat sand lor, since there's unlimited supply of it.
Some pics of NYC during my recent trip there. Specifically, of Times Square in Manhattan. It is located at Broadway and Seventh Avenue and extends from West 42nd to West 47th Streets. You will never ever get lost in Manhattan due to it's grid layout. Avenues run south to north and streets run east to west. At night, the whole area is lighted up with neon supersigns and generally buzzing with people. Like they say, the city never sleeps.
A good view of NYC is before entering the Lincoln Tunnelconnecting Manhattan and New Jersey
The day before Memorial Day
The Princess chiong-ed to the shops on the second day as it was Memorial Day and there's sale everywhere. In the end, didn't buy much as I just couldn't be bothered jostling with other people for space. And the queue was another major turn off. But managed to sapu a lot of lotions from Victoria's Secret nevertheless.
And of course, I had, what else, but McDonald's, in the land where the golden arches first came about. No wonder Americans are obese. No small, medium, large meal for your picking, everything comes in standard size, which is extra large. Ordered the Angus Third Pounder - Angus Mushroom and Swiss. And guess what? It's nice. Maybe it's because of the Angus beef or just my mind playing with my taste buds, but the patty is juicier and tastes more meat-like. The McDonald's folk probably forgot to throw in the sawdust while processing the patties.
Shit. I still cannot get over the fact that my Rome is taken away next month. So that I could attend some interview that shortlisted every Tom, Dick and Harry that bothered to apply. Talk about quality control.
Of Dandelion Dance
I haven't seen dandelions for a long time. Maybe I did, but I could not be bothered to stop and smell the grass.
I saw fields of dandelions in Munich. Bright yellow rosettes dancing in the wind. White puffy heads swaying gaily in the bright sunshine. They stopped me in my track. Suddenly I remembered the dandelions of my past.
Have you ever made a dandelion wish? I used to do that whenever I stumbled across dandelions. You hold a dandelion in your hand, close your eyes, wish upon it and blow all the spores away. Hoping your wish will come true wherever the wind carries it. Only to find out your innocence is lost along the way.
That day, I blew wishie after wishie of dandelions (yes, the dandelion clock is also known as wishie). White furry seeds floated blithely across the field. For that short moment, I regained my innocence.
I saw fields of dandelions in Munich. Bright yellow rosettes dancing in the wind. White puffy heads swaying gaily in the bright sunshine. They stopped me in my track. Suddenly I remembered the dandelions of my past.
Have you ever made a dandelion wish? I used to do that whenever I stumbled across dandelions. You hold a dandelion in your hand, close your eyes, wish upon it and blow all the spores away. Hoping your wish will come true wherever the wind carries it. Only to find out your innocence is lost along the way.
That day, I blew wishie after wishie of dandelions (yes, the dandelion clock is also known as wishie). White furry seeds floated blithely across the field. For that short moment, I regained my innocence.
Of Dentist's Best Patients
Another reason not to get pissed drunk in public (apart from not being able to haul your ass back home) - You risk having embarrassing photos of you plastered all over the Net.
To these two guys sleeping in Ostbahnhof station 2 days ago, no, I will not take these down. But I could send you the full resolution photos if you want. *wink*
Of Lucky I Found Dessert
My absolute favourite dessert shop in Hong Kong - Lucky Dessert.
Because they serve ass-kicking durian soup. With two ulas of durian in thick, creamy durian paste top with pomelo sacs.
Durian soup
While you're there, do try the Mango Pastry Roll. Sweet, juicy mango flesh rolled in a layer of sponge cake and flaky filo skin (they do durian and banana as well, but the banana one is the best).
Mango pastry roll
Alex, you've been told.
Because they serve ass-kicking durian soup. With two ulas of durian in thick, creamy durian paste top with pomelo sacs.
Durian soup
Mango pastry rollAlex, you've been told.
Of Not Quite Swiss Miss
According to a survey conducted, Zurich is the best city to live in as far as quality of live is concerned. It's hardly surprising as Zurich excelled in all the quality of living criterias such as personal safety and health, education, economic and environmental factors, transport and public services and political (one can vote for everything under the sun and Swiss generally go voting once a month!). Which is super for people living there, but for visitors like The Princess, it will burn a big hole in the wallet.
Expensive or not, The Princess went exploring nevertheless. She and Thembe, her South African colleague, went touring up to the highest mountain in Switzerland, Mt. Titlis. They passed by Zurich and Lucern before reaching Engelberg. One thing she noticed, roads in Zurich are all quite narrow. And Swiss like holes. How else do you explain the numerous numbers of tunnel found?
Yeah, saw sakura in Switzerland (tee hee!)
Toast with creamy mushroom sauce -
Expensive ballz, cost about CHF 5
Toast with ham and cheese -
Ohmigod, the cheese is to-die-for
Sugar pack in pink karer
Thembe and I camwhoring in the bus
Typical scenery in Switzerland
Swiss Alps covered in powder white snow
A beautiful lake on the way to Mt. Titlis
Mt. Titlis beckons
We then boarded a cable car to half-way of the mountain, before switching to a revolving cable car Rotair. Rotair is able to hold 60 people at one time (skiing gears and all). There's a revolving platform in the middle, presumably for hooking up with girls/guys (Nah, just to give a 360° view of the scenery unfolding down there). Cool concept, though.
The view from the cable car
We finally reached the highest point the cable car could carry us at 10,000 ft. And it was so cold I could have kicked myself for forgetting to bring gloves along. But not as so hai (stupid) as one girl she saw lar. See, she went up to snowy mountain wearing only tights and dress-top and high-heeled boots. This is what you call "oi leng mm oi meng".
Brrrr....
Swiss come out to play -
Don't know lar how that girl handle the coldness
Skis, skis everywhere
Thembe was worried my hand would get glued to the
cold pole (I was not using my tongue, dear)
My butt was frozen and raw afterwards
Another attraction of Mt. Titlis is the Glacier Grotto. Visitors could walk into this cave and through the 150m long tunnel down to 20m under the glacier's surface. The glittering ice walls, bathed by changing colourful lights are amazing. There's even a jukebox near the entrance should you have the sudden urge to listen to Bach or Negaraku (yes, Malaysia anthem) while admiring the ice walls.
See, I no bluff one, Malaysia anthem is really here
The glittering ice walls
At first I was standing and posing....
Then I fell down the slippery ice but
managed to control kiutness
America's Next Top Model
Some info about the Ice Grotto
Stopped for a cuppa to warm the tummy
Santarina lives here
I actually suffered from altitude sickness as the
cable car climbed higher and higher (ironic, I know)
For some inexplicable reason, I attract Indian guys. Like this over-friendly uncle, kept asking me to take picture with him. We took like 3 shots together lor. Uncle, don't cut out my face and paste on some naked woman's torso hor. Princess here can curse pretty darn well. Nanti mati pun tak tau kenapa.
My tour guide is a jolly old man
Zurich downtown
And then we took the train back to hotel. Totally devoid of passengers except for the two of us.
Scary....
Expensive or not, The Princess went exploring nevertheless. She and Thembe, her South African colleague, went touring up to the highest mountain in Switzerland, Mt. Titlis. They passed by Zurich and Lucern before reaching Engelberg. One thing she noticed, roads in Zurich are all quite narrow. And Swiss like holes. How else do you explain the numerous numbers of tunnel found?
Yeah, saw sakura in Switzerland (tee hee!)
Toast with creamy mushroom sauce -Expensive ballz, cost about CHF 5
Toast with ham and cheese -Ohmigod, the cheese is to-die-for
Sugar pack in pink karer
Thembe and I camwhoring in the bus
Typical scenery in Switzerland
Swiss Alps covered in powder white snow
A beautiful lake on the way to Mt. Titlis
Mt. Titlis beckons
We then boarded a cable car to half-way of the mountain, before switching to a revolving cable car Rotair. Rotair is able to hold 60 people at one time (skiing gears and all). There's a revolving platform in the middle, presumably for hooking up with girls/guys (Nah, just to give a 360° view of the scenery unfolding down there). Cool concept, though.
The view from the cable car
We finally reached the highest point the cable car could carry us at 10,000 ft. And it was so cold I could have kicked myself for forgetting to bring gloves along. But not as so hai (stupid) as one girl she saw lar. See, she went up to snowy mountain wearing only tights and dress-top and high-heeled boots. This is what you call "oi leng mm oi meng".
Brrrr....
Swiss come out to play -Don't know lar how that girl handle the coldness
Skis, skis everywhere
Thembe was worried my hand would get glued to thecold pole (I was not using my tongue, dear)
My butt was frozen and raw afterwardsAnother attraction of Mt. Titlis is the Glacier Grotto. Visitors could walk into this cave and through the 150m long tunnel down to 20m under the glacier's surface. The glittering ice walls, bathed by changing colourful lights are amazing. There's even a jukebox near the entrance should you have the sudden urge to listen to Bach or Negaraku (yes, Malaysia anthem) while admiring the ice walls.
See, I no bluff one, Malaysia anthem is really here
The glittering ice walls
At first I was standing and posing....
Then I fell down the slippery ice butmanaged to control kiutness
America's Next Top Model
Some info about the Ice Grotto
Stopped for a cuppa to warm the tummy
Santarina lives here
I actually suffered from altitude sickness as thecable car climbed higher and higher (ironic, I know)
For some inexplicable reason, I attract Indian guys. Like this over-friendly uncle, kept asking me to take picture with him. We took like 3 shots together lor. Uncle, don't cut out my face and paste on some naked woman's torso hor. Princess here can curse pretty darn well. Nanti mati pun tak tau kenapa.
My tour guide is a jolly old manWe then made our way down the mountain and back to Zurich. Didn't manage to try any cheese/chocolate fondue, but went to Marché Restaurant (yes, the Swiss chain restaurant with the cow mascot that can be found in The Curve). But it's much more cool here lar, cos they have smoking section here (an important criteria for The Princess). Besides that, nothing much to shout about.
Zurich downtownAnd then we took the train back to hotel. Totally devoid of passengers except for the two of us.
Scary....
