August 2011
1 post
I HAVE MOVED
I HAVE MOVED
I HAVE MOVED
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June 2011
1 post
2 tags
Salatiga: Round 1
While globalisation has afforded us more luxuries than we can appreciate, it seems to only have given Salatiga a cursory glance: there are no malls, no cinemas, no cabs and also no nightlife whatsoever in this sleepy little town. There was no internet in my homestay. Some of us had no showers but instead had to bathe mandi-style, with a scoop and a larger tub of cold water. The ‘Orchard Road...
May 2011
9 posts
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Snowflakes
I always thought that pretty snowflakes only existed in fairytales, that snow in reality entailed evil shapeless clumps of ice that added insult to injury by striking you in the face en masse… As if freezing your butt off in the frigid cold wasn’t cruel enough. Imagine my excitement when I realised that I was wrong! Either that or no one’s let me in on the secret that fairytales...
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Along the Vltava
The sights of Prague were clustered around the Vltava River so it meant that we spent a fair bit of time around the river, looking at it, crossing it. Pictures taken with my compact camera along various bridges and from the Old Town Bridge Tower:
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Noteworthy
I took a picture of a guy peeing in a park. It was a complete and utter accident, of course.
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View from the top: Prague's Old Town Square Tower
In 4 days we ascended 3 towers: the Old Town Hall Tower, Old Town Bridge Tower and the Main Tower in the St. Vitus Cathedral. Only the first tower made the job of reaching the top easy for me by providing an elevator; for its consideration towards unfit tourists it is officially my favourite tower. Also the person at the ticket counter who allowed me to purchase a concession ticket as a...
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Still Prague: Faces, Places
Some other common sights in the city of golden spires: people waiting for trams, horse-drawn carriages in the Jewish Quarter, pets on board public transport, and matryoshka dolls shamelessly masquerading as Czech souvenirs. Go back to Russia you little weasels.
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Another slice of Bohemia
I don’t think there ever was a sunny day in Prague when we were there over Christmas, but for me this might have actually contributed to the city’s charm. Prague is very subtly colourful, and I don’t think the sun and blue skies would have contrasted very well with the refined pastel hues of the city at all. Perhaps without the grey skies and snow Prague is a completely different...
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Wenceslas Square
Named after the patron saint of Bohemia, this boulevard has been the site of pivotal political demonstrations such as the Prague Uprising and the Velvet Revolution. In 1968, student Jan Palach set himself on fire to protest the USSR’s invasion of Czechoslovakia (the second picture captures a memorial to the site where he torched himself). Today Wenceslas Square is home to some high street...
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Praha
Sorry for the lack of updates, I am currently running my last lap in a month-long essay marathon. Meanwhile, here are some teasers from one of the most beautiful cities in central Europe – I’ll be starting on Prague proper when I return, hopefully some time next week :-)
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How to score your own compartment
Once again we were too stingy to splurge, this time on a sleeper cabin on an overnight train from Krakow to Prague. We opted for seats instead, and I wasn’t very pleased to find that the train consisted of corridor coaches rather than open coaches. How awkward is it to be stuck in a compartment for 8 hours with another stranger (or if you’re really unlucky, 7 other strangers) when...
April 2011
18 posts
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Schindler's Factory
On our last day in Krakow we visited that used to be Schindler’s factory, which is today a modern museum dedicated not just to Oskar Schindler but also Krakow’s war effort in WW2. Certainly did not expect the latter, but I’m not complaining, the exhibits were engaging and I wasn’t struck with that annoying Information Overload headache that comes with...
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Wieliczka Salt Mine
The Wieliczka Salt Mine: over 7 centuries old, over 700 steps down underground, countless chapels, sculptures and chandeliers carved out of salt. Included in the ticket price: a 3-hour long guided tour and an open invitation to lick everything in sight. Not that I tried.
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Karczma Halit, Wieliczka
(I told you we had Pierogi a little too often in while in Krakow)
After Auschwitz we drove 70km east to Wieliczka, where we were dropped off at the Polish restaurant Karczma Halit for lunch. Pity I had to scoff down my duck in apple sauce (#6) in 5 minutes because we were running tight on time, good food shouldn’t be treated with such disrespect. Sad face. Easily the best meal...
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Auschwitz and Birkenau
Laurence Rees, 2005:
[Auschwitz] was a collective enterprise owned by thousands of people, who made the decision themselves not just to take part but to contribute initiatives in order to solve the problem of how to kill human beings and dispose of their bodies on a scale never attempted before.
During its short functional lifetime, Auschwitz evolved from a concentration camp...
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'Polish' fare
The meals that we had in Krakow were always simple but heartily delicious – a Godsend when served piping hot on a cold winter’s day. I couldn’t stop raving about Polish fare and how much I missed it long after we left Poland. That was, until I realised that my favourite ‘Polish’ dishes weren’t even Polish to begin with… whoopsies.
Z and I found ourselves...
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Krakow's Old Town: Stare Miasto
The central location of Stare Miasto relative to other tourist attractions meant that we graced this beautiful UNESCO World Heritage Site with our presence almost every day over the 5 days we spent in Krakow. Walking through the ancient fortifications of the Old Town, this was the sight that lay before us…
At the centre of the Old Town Square stands the Sukiennice, or the Cloth...
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I don't mean to perv but
POLISH BABIES ARE WAY TOO ADORABLE. Especially in their teenyweenymonosnowsuits…!
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Wawel
Situated on top of a hill next the the Vistula River, the Wawel complex houses a the royal castle and cathedral from the ancient days of the Polish Kingdom, and the site was the centre of Polish political and religious activity up until the 17th century before the capital was shifted to Warsaw. Its long history—circa the early medieval period—accounts for the architectural...
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The Paris Blitz
Apparently a flight from London to Krakow cost more than taking a train from London to Paris, then taking a bus from Paris to Beauvais Airport and a flight from Beauvais Airport to Krakow put together. Being college students on a budget, we chose the second option – what’s a bit of a detour if it means saving a tidy amount of £££?
Famous last words.
Leg 1: From London to Paris via...
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Bits of Berlin
One of the advantages of having a German-speaking friend in Germany – she takes care of the headache that is figuring out which is the most suitable train tickets for our itineraries. (In any case she chose the unlimited day pass which was about €6, I guess we could have done that ourselves…)
NXX’s hood, smothered in a thick layer of snow. We had fun ungraciously hurling...
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Land of the Currywurst
One of the national dishes of Germany, the Currywurst is made up of a mix of ketchup (usually blended with curry and other spices) poured over sliced pork sausages and topped with a generous shake of curry powder. According to NXX, Curry 36 serves the best Currywurst in Berlin, so we trooped down to Mehringdamm for a taste of this curious post-war creation.
(We took the U-Bahn to...
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My kind of heaven
The Ritter Sport Colorful ChocoWorld (I kid you not, that is its name) in Berlin incorporates a shop, a cafe, a museum and a little factory of sorts where you can customise your very own Ritter Sport chocolate square for €3.50. NXX, Z and I created a couple of squares for our friends, bought more for our other friends, traipsed through the museum and let ourselves loose in the cafe. What is there...
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Berlin: Christmas Market
We made a trip down to the Christmas Market at Alexanderplatz in spite of the heavy snow for some mulled wine (Glühwein) funtimes. Pictures from my compact camera, which lens I didn’t bother to clean…
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Walking around Berlin
NXX couldn’t spend the first afternoon with us because of school, so she sent us on a free walking tour of Berlin. Our guide was really interesting, full of amusing stories and anecdotes, but unfortunately our energy wasn’t focused as much on him as trying to not drop dead in the cold. It was -6ºC for those who’re interested – very harsh conditions for the average Singaporean...
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Berlin: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Berlin was a 36-hour whirlwind trip, squeezed into our itineraries at the very last minute after much guilt-tripping by NXX. Cheap flights from London and free accommodation never hurt anyone anyway.
The Good:
Catching up with one of my favourite people in the world… Even if I did initially choose Krakow and Prague over visiting her in Berlin. :$
Actually, what was made Berlin even...
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Bits of London
Random pictures which Z & I took around London that didn’t quite make it into my previous entries. Next up: Berlin!
Can’t wait to be back :)
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Lunch at GBK
I love my burgers and I love my beef. The Gourmet Burger Kitchen hit the spot with its Avocado Bacon burger (£8.45) starring a juicy slab of Aberdeen Angus beef grilled to medium-rare perfection.
And even though beef burgers are their specialty, GBK offers chicken, lamb, vegetarian options and even buffalo (!) for those with special diets. I forgot what Z had (and I can’t...
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Covent Garden
Covent Garden was lovely. We had lunch at Cafe Chutney, watched a couple of street performances, indulged in a sinfully delicious afternoon snack at Ben’s Cookies, and had a little chat with Scandinavian fashion blogger The Northern Light when she caught me ogling at her Mulberry Bayswater. No shopping done though, such is the life of a poor college student. Oh...
March 2011
11 posts
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Buckingham Palace and the Royal Mews
Changing the guard at the Buckingham Palace takes place at 11am every other day in winter. We had gotten pretty used to sleeping in, so coffee and breakfast at Green Park was essential that morning. (I must mention, best panini ever. I demolished it, even the greens!)
I only managed to catch a few glimpses of what I’m sure was a very impressive ceremony because I wasn’t tall...
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City of Westminster
One afternoon we took a stroll around Trafalgar Square, down Whitehall and ended up in Westminster Abbey. The archetypal tourist route, but with good reason…
(I really wish that I’d managed to take a better photo of the scene above, everytime I look at it I still think it’s hilarious.)
Westminster Abbey was gorgeous and so worth the £16 entry charge. It...
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Camden Market
If I had known that the Camden Market draws an average of 100,000 visitors every weekend, I would have avoided the place at all costs. Unfortunately for me I stumbled into Camden on a Sunday afternoon after a looong trek across what seemed to be eternity, so it was either brave the freakin’ crowds! or trek home with tail between legs for me. Sophie’s choice, story of my life.
...
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The British Museum
I found the British Museum a bit of a misnomer. Walking in, I was fully expecting British history and culture to be showcased, but I came across everything but. Probably just me being ignorant again, oops.
I would like to think of myself as being all cultured and appreciative and museumy, but sadly I’m neither inquisitive nor patient enough to go through all exhibits in the...
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Signs
From the chalked masterpieces to the slips of paper hastily scribbled upon, the traders’ signs at the indicate that fresh produce isn’t the only attraction at the Borough Market.
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Borough Market
If you’re ever in London over the weekend, you should swing by the Borough Market - and prepare to have your senses assaulted by grilled ostriches (surprisingly delicious), parma ham, chai, freshly baked bread, fish and chips, mulled wine, meat pies, Southeast Asian curries, cheese from all over Europe… also interesting signs and interesting people. Perhaps it was the...
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Doha
Sorry for wasting 36 seconds of your life on that video (more if you had to wait for it to load) but I couldn’t resist making a reference to rocking the casbahs in this entry even if it’s not wholly appropriate. Not going to lie, I’m of those people that shamelessly conflates the Middle East with Central Asia and North Africa. :P
So anyway flying from Singapore to London...
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Bits of Penang
More bits and pieces of my time in Penang:
Along Gurney Drive, outside our hotel
The view from my hotel room
The Kek Lok Si Temple, largest Buddhist temple in Southeast Asia
A random beach along Batu Ferringhi
A monument erected at a roundabout which significance escapes me :$
Playing with the double exposure function I found on my camera
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Clan jetties
In many ways I am very much the quintessential city girl - I appreciate the modern conveniences and luxuries that Singapore has afforded me. Which was why, growing up, I was never a huge fan of visiting my paternal grandparents who reside in the Clan Jetties of Georgetown, Penang. Because being there means, among other inconveniences, sharing a room with the rest of my family, literally taking a...
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Balloon Spectacular
As great as my summer was, actually getting down to chronicling it is a pain in the ass. This entry is thus a thinly-veiled attempt to assuage my guilt for procrastinating… I kid, I don’t feel guilt, it’s more of a filler while I valiantly attempt to get my act together and start writing about Summer Part I.
The (Annual) Canberra Festival Balloon Spectacular...
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Sneak preview
14 flights, 14 cities, 10 countries, and a supermassive 21st - my summer break 2010/11 has been nothing short of amazing, and I think that it’s only fair that I share the experiences that I have been afforded. Here’s a preview of my summer itinerary before I embark on this little project of chronicling my exploits proper:
16/11/2010: Sydney, AU to Singapore
17/11/2010...