....I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king.......
Damn I have the worst of both worlds. Weak and feeble like a woman. Always faint here faint there.. and heart of a king--? sure die young of heart attack... stomach? Die. All kings have protruding bellies, but not pregnant.
人善被人欺
My mum used to tell me all the time when I was little, because I was always being bullied. Unfortunately, even at this age, I still have not fully mastered the art of self-defense, or what they call "assertiveness". Even my assistant could jokingly threaten me by saying," ... if I am not happy, I will not do this for you...", as if it is not enough what I ask her to do always went to the bottom of list of things that need to be done. Well, someone else need to be sucked up, and prioritized.
That was her lucky day, so I spared her a joke..."Hmmm....by the way, who will do your performance appraisal? If I am not happy... well...." and gave her the most evil laugh....
The stupid hotel did not have my booking, and therefore had no room for me. So, I had to come back "later" for a room. Finally i got a room, a nice room- top floor... yeah!!).Alright, it is a disabled person room with no bath tub, no minibar, no drinking water. Fine. Then i realised that the ironing board did not work, one of the light bulbs was not working, and that made the room dim and difficult for me to do my work, except when I sit at the table. No reading on sofa, or bed. Nvm.. the best thing was the water began to flow out of the shower because the bloody drain hole was choked, despite the low water pressure (that was another annoyance, it took me a long time to shower!). I called the housekeeping many times, but did not even get through. the reception then asked me to call later. I did as instructed and some dim wit told me that it is too late already. Maintenance & housekeeping no longer operate, why didn't I call earlier???!!!
I then asked about my internet access, only to have them tell me that my room has no access. I can use the business centre, go to the lounge on 2nd floor(which was full) or pay for the wired broadband! I was going to scream! My boss booked this hotel because she thought that will give me free internet access, in my room! Doesn't this sounds free?
"Complimentary High Speed Internet Access
Benefit from complimentary high-speed Internet access during your stay at The Xurlington Hotel. Wired broadband access is available in every bedroom and wireless access is available to guests using public areas including the lobby and business centre "
Then the smart aleck offered me a solution, asked me to change rooms. Bloody idiot, changed me to a lousy room, and internet access worked for a while. Then, it all stopped. I feel so cheated. I feel like this was revenge for my complaints. Now I sit at the executive lounge, because they give me a "nice room" (which has many broken things, including a shaky table). I will get all my water supply from this lounge, since this stupid hotel charge so much for a bottle of distilled water from the minibar, since for some unknown reasons, I started to have diarrhoea a few hours after I boiled some water with old looking kettle and drank it... Hotels in Europe and US often irritate me. May be I am too demanding, but they really suck compared to Asian hotels. Forget about sending people here to train for hospitality management. Asian countries can start offering courses about how to give good services to these block heads.
Yesterday was the Hari Raya, so we went out to get some free food. Hmmm food always seems better when it was the Hari Raya, as opposed to CNY. No questions as to why.
I made my niang Yorkshire pudding again (hubby was hinting so much), and as there was too much left over stuffing, i stuff them into tau fu pok, just like niang dou fu. Not to bad. got to make a note that I was too heavy handed with teh Sage yesterday. The Sage from Asda is more powerful from that from Tesco, and I must use it sparingly! Pity I did not take a photo! I made so much! Oh yeah, I should not say I made it. Hubby told everyone he did it. Hahaha.. but not sure why they come to me for recipe instead. I should ask them to go to him.
Another note.. not to buy the Yorkshire pudding from Tesco value- they are so out of shape! The sainsbury and Asda versions as much better.
I will make it again in 2 weeks time when we do the steamboat thingy! I wonder how I can find teh proper fish meat for a real niang dou fu...
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The "Central"- totally colonised by Filipino maids on a Sunday!
The world's longest escalator, at central. It brings you to mid levels, and to the Tai Cheong bakery for yummy egg tarts... and loads of other good food!
This building looks really interesting, and I wonder if it is a mafia den. Hahaha too imaginative.
Apparently, the wan tan mee store next to it is really really good. Photo taken to remind myself to try the Wan tan mee. With such an eye catching neighbour, it is impossible to miss when you take the mid levels escalator.
The skyline....
Hui Lau Shan- the place for mango desserts, and bird nest too!
... I will have to bring the chocolates I bought to the office for my colleagues! {cry!!!}
Damn thief-stole my wallet and my credit cards... I could have bought a lot more chocolates! Now I only have enough to give away, and have nothing for myself :(. I only ate 1 praline. That is all. Sigh! Once i got the energy and time to download my photos, i will upload my chocolate photos. At least, i can look at them
Since I am now an old woman (birthday coming again- soon...woah!!!), I think I am entitled to post rude things on my blog. Why not? I am old enough to be your grandma soon!
of all the information about Europe which flashed in front of my eyes, this one caught my eyes in Brussels. And I am sure I am not the only one who liked it, since they sold out the post card sizes ones! Buying the big poster back just won't do! Imagine my colleagues ask me - what is it, show us! ...
Unfortunately the poster do not turn up that well in my blog. you can see a clearer image at http://www.paulhitz.com/college/european.html
I was not feeling very well that day, but decided to go for a walk anyway. I did not have much choices- since I have already checked out of the hotel. Somehow, I felt that I better split my wallet into 2. I think that if you feel not well or look tired, thieves will spot you from a mile! These were sharks after your blood!
I think I must have lost my small wallet within 1-2 hours of leaving the hotel most-likely while taking the tube or while I went to the toilet. No one else had been in contact or near me. I was walking around in the park opposite the palace and at the Royale square. I called hubby immediately. Luckily it was a relatively small "loss". Imagine if my real wallet was taken! Just a couple of credit cards, my name cards some cash and the metro ticket. The leather wallet was probably the most expensive thing. Tried to walk around following the "politie" sign, which are obvious in all tourist areas, but the signs seemed to lead me nowhere. So, I gave up and rested in at the small park at Sablon square-wasnt feeling well again, but did not dare to let my guard down.
At last, found a police station at the Midi station- the eurostar terminal. There was a big group of Thai students. Someone lost a laptop, and a policeman was busy telling them the do's and don't in Brussels. Apparently, at least 10 laptops will be reported lost each day, on average, just in that station alone! The thieves are really efficient and employ many tactics to get hold of these things. The group of kids were going "wow", as they were told not to answer anyone who ask them questions, not to stop or look at interesting things, like people fighting, quarelling etc etc etc etc...
Then, my turn to file the report. Both the policeman and I agreed that I was quite "lucky" in that sense- could have lost more. Brussels have lots of problems with petty crimes in the past couple of years. I was asked to recall what I did between when i last use the wallet and when i found it missing. It narrowed now to two suspects- the pregnant woman with 2 kids- 1 in a pram who needed more "space" as she squeezed past me when i got out of the toilet at the metro station, and the woman sitting next to me at the metro. Those were the only two places where someone could have been near me. The police man was quite sure it was the pregnant woman! Pregnant woman with pram and kids are frequently the culprits!!! Wow!!! He reminded me to claim back from my travel insurance...
My moods were lifted.. but when I return home, and read the "schedule"... TMD... full of "excess" conditions! cash-£50, travel documents £50, purse/wallet £50... blah blah blah.. every single item has at least £50 excess. Grrrrr..... This travel insurance from the company have not given me a single compensation yet- whether it is my flight delay (it did not qualify, as this package only give you £20 for every 12 hour of delay) of lost of stuff. From the terms and condition, my biggest hope is when I am dead, where I will receive £10,000 or when I permanently lose all my limbs £20,000. I am starting to think that this insurance package is an insult to my value as an individual. Am I so worthless??? After these incidences, I think we should all go back and read about how our value to the company should we die while traveling, and then decide whether we need a separate travel insurance!
Brussels is a pleasantly small but interesting city. If you only have 1/2 hour, you just need to go to Grand Place, and take a dash to see the pissing boy. That is all you need to see to take in the city.
For a start, this is a very very multicultural city.... there is a wide variety of good food.
Food to try: Chocolates!!!! Belgian waffles, traditional belgian food, Belgian beer, French food (apparently, the standards here are really high!), seafood!
But if you have more time, then you could go to one of those touristy alleys teeming with seafood restaurants. Yes, these are tourist traps, but they make severely seafood deprived Londoners happy, especially when there is someone else to pick up the bill. Every shop essentially have the same menu. The Brusselians (is this how you call them??) tell me that there are only two good restaurants in that alley... so you have to choose your restaurant carefully, and go where the locals go!
For some authentic Belgian food, hit the In't Spinnekopke-which means spider's web at 1, Place du Jardin aux Fleurs-1000Bruxelles ( www.spinnekopke.be). You really must make a reservation for this one! There were still huge queues when we left at about 10 pm. The menu was literally huge and in French! However, the waiters speak good english, and you basically have 4 choices if you want something authentically belgian. Chicken, beef, or salmon cooked in creamy sauce, or just mussels in white wine! All are really good! Of course, you have to take these with one of those Belgian beer. They dont call brussels beer city for nothing. This is a beer city, and the stench of urine which greets you at some Metro stations will confirm that is indeed an alcoholic city.
However, my most satisfying meal was at a Chinese la mien restaurant! It was an accidental find. I just say this pregnant woman doing her la mien at a glass window, and i thought she looked really serious, although not too experienced. The la mien did not disappoint me. Really good! Yummy! The soup was really tasty, and i could taste beef stock in it. I finished every drop of it, but did not get any Chinese restaurant syndrome. That was a miracle for someone who is so sensitive to msg! I will usually start to flush and feel nauseous after just a few mouthfuls of soups when eating out. The duck meat turn out really good too, although i was disappointed that it was fried, not roasted. The name of the restaurant is Au Bon Bol, at 9 rue pau devauxstraat, at a street opposite the La Bourse. I was really impressed with these chinese women who spoke excellent French, English, and yes, you can still tell the distinct china accent in their mandarin!
Food pictures to come soon. And by the way, I actually bought souvenirs and presents- and finished spending all my money on my first day here!
As
Austria-Vienna (including Vienna Woods), Wachau Valley, Melk
Belgium-Brussels Oct 2007
Denmark-Copenhagen
Hong Kong
Ireland-Dublin
Japan- Kyoto, Nara, Kobe, Osaka
Malaysia-Only
Netherlands-Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Einhoven
Singapore
Thailand-Bangkok, Ayuthya
UK-except Ireland
US- Washington DC, New York City, Philadelphia
Going soon....
Rome?
Switzerland
France
Italy
Greece
UK Hit List
England-London, Oxford, Bath, Bristol
Wales- Cardiff, Breacon Beacons, Rossili Bay
Scotland-Glasgow, Edinburgh, Isles
I only realised that it was mooncake festival yesterday when i called my sis to tell her not to use my credit card. It nearly hit the limit with my latest shopping, and i still need some for my travels next month. Oah, i miss home. Ma & pa celebrated them with the three beauties, our dogs have replaced us as we grow up and left home.
:( This is the second year i "celebrate" moon cake festival- my fav festival, without even a tiny slice of moon cake in my mouth. Those were the times I stuff my moon face with moon cakes, nvm if they are worth a nice 900-1200 calorie per cake. That is why i don't just eat any moon cake- I am a snob. I have been extremely picky about my moon cakes. I only eat good quality ones- those my mum makes, or those that are "up to standard"! My mum make decent lower fat and less sweet versions, and my aunt would feed me with shangrila, tung lok....whichever is the best for that year. But these two years- I have nothing. Nothing! Not even those S$5/tube horrible looking & tasting black black "tau sa" ones!
I supposed i should not complain too much. I went shopping, and bought a car. Now i have no money for anything!!!! 2nd year without moon cakes!!!!! Now that I have a car again, I hope that my 5-6 hour daily commute is totally history, and I have time to update my blog again. I have tonnes of things to add, especially the Scotland photos.
So many things in 2 days!
Why on earth do we need to suffer because some people's income is not guaranteed?? No sympathy for the tube workers who are on strike!
One of the best "festivals" in London- described as "Architecture in the Flesh" is the Open House London (www.openhouse.org.uk) event. I think they had something similar last year, but this year's sounds really exciting as many buildings are opening their doors for the public to visit- FREE!!! I don't think i want to miss out on the good fun of snooping around "private" buildings. Some of the places are those which you will normally have to "pay" eg kensington palace. However, you may need to email and reserve a place- info could be found on the website.
Time flies. Tomorrow I will fly to Vienna. I glorious week.
What a shame I am going unprepared.
I just hope to
I burnt the chicken for dinner. This is the first time my standard had dropped since I moved to this place- with a proper oven. When you have bad luck, everything just happens.
Some tube burst on Monday, and I had to call the roadside repair thing. Yesterday, we went to the garage o get it repaired, but more problems came up. Now the car in on assisted survival. Maybe will last a couple more days until i get a new car, or a new job.
I missed the appointment with the GP. I had wanted to walk to the GP, but hubby was at the garage and I had to go alone. I was walking on a main road towards the estate, and I chickened out halfway after seeing who walked from the other directions. The further I walk, the less pedestrians were on the road. I felt like walking towards another civilisation---every person who walked towards me was really dodgy looking, and bl***. The GP is located within a council estate where everything is barb-wired, is "war zone".
More than 2 months have passed since I went to the Big Apple. Since then, I have asked another friend to get the Benefit Dandelion powder for me, and I have done a hundred and one things that NYC seemed so far behind. Washington? Netherlands? Did I go there????
Got to jot things down before they get blurred by time.
I only had a measly pathetic evening out by myself. :( So, I happily went to hit Macy and the times square. Without time to prepare, I basically pop on to a train, and when a friendly local chatted with me, I asked him where I should to to see some NYC character. He told me to drop by the "village", and try to get a meal there. I could not believe that I actually love New Yorkers. Must be because I spent too much time in stuck up and snobbish London. I actually love the Americans cause they are so friendly (comparatively!) and looked totally genuine compared to a Londoner!!
Well, i did. Excitedly, I popped into one of the first diners I saw. The shopped was nearly full, and i thought I would be safe- both physically and in terms of my taste buds.
Turned out the food is not to my liking :( .Anyway, I had fun guessing which ethnicity the workers belonged to. Answers? some Mexicans (who looked positively east Asian), 1 Greek woman and an Italian man. People watching in NY would be a total fun.
The soup from a "diner set meal". 
The photos were taken in Keukenhof Gardens.
That place is a MUST go in spring. The entrance fees is about 13Euro. If you can cycle, you might want to get a package of bicycle rental + entrance ticket for about 20 Euro. That will allow you to visit the tulip fields around the garden. That was my BIGGEST regret. I will do it again one of these springs :). That was my best holiday since I came to London. Totally breath taking, and I finally understood why everyone wanted to visit Europe in April. Timing is everything. A few days make a lot of difference to the state of the blooms.
Here were the photos in our quest for the tulip blooms-2007 Easter weekend.
The "perfect tulip".... (according to hubby)
The flower beds...
The cherry blossoms + tulips = BEAUTIFUL
The windmill, where I climbed up (and refused to come down) to check out the tulip fields outside the garden.....
The tulip fields....
The last two months have been busy-business trips and also my holidays.
The Doha transit was a "first" for me :) and the experience was like...hmmm hard to describe. The plane had good leg room, but the food sucks. Well can't complain much when it is so cheap.
The London Doha leg wasn't that bad, not that many "locals".The terrorist attacks started the day we left. So, security was very tight, and the queue was snaking so long that I could not see the end. We were oblivious to what happened, until we got on the plane. I was joking my hubby whether there would be terrorists escaping in our flight. If there were, that would have been difficult to tell if someone is hijacking the plane or not. It was just plain weird that these people all stood up, took open overhead cabins, and take off their things when the plane was still moving pretty fast on the ground. The air stewardess tried to get them to sit and tie their seat belt, but it wouldnt work! hahah... they just ignored her and get on with getting their luggages out etc... faint. Not only that, they people would also happily chat loudly. I have never been in a plane that is so "pasar".
The HK-Doha leg was terrible. We queued so long just to check in. It was funny what these people try to check in or carry as cabin baggage and how they can argue with the ground staff. Salute!!!- one guy tried to bring in a rubbish bag containing some toys. I managed to watch a few movies this time, and then snozed happily from Doha to London. oh yes, Doha airport had very cheap cosmetics! Better than Changi! However, they only have a few brands like Clarins, Clinique, Lancome, Esteee Lauder etc.
The song is cool- the coolest version I know. never know that it can sound so hip. And the lyrics made my laugh my head off the first time I heard it.
The reward.....
On my way back from Newark, the mad German woman beside me stood up when the plane was taking off and grabbed her digital camera from the overhead compartment. Apparently, the night view of Manhattan was beautiful enough to risk her life and ours!!
She turned on her huge SLR digital camera to take photos! I was rather horrified, the captain had just announce the usual safety things just minutes ago. I was like, "hey, i don't think you can use a digital equipment when the flight is ascending". She still insisted, pushed me aside (since I had the window seat), and still snapped!!! The idiot used the flash, and of course, she could not capture anything, because of the reflections! She looked at me angrily, screamed "too late", cursed, and said "Bitch!".
Bitch!??? What a bitch!! She should be grounded! How can we have people like that happily flying here and there, and risk the lives of other people? The Americans were so angry with the TB guy, who still flew despite being told that that is a significant risk to others. How about this woman? Who happily did what she wanted, even when it is told that it could interfere with the flight safety?? Is there a fine for a bitch like her?
I am home, after an "exciting" flight. Manhattan night view was beautiful enough to have someone risk the lives of a plane full of people! That selfish woman used a digital equipment when she should not! Ban her from flying!
Photo: Manhattan view from my hotel
I really hope that people like her will be banned from flying!!
That was the exciting part. Other than that, I was so tired, and drugged with dyphenyramine, that I slept soundly until breakfast was served. As I always take low fat meal on flights, I was only given a banana and juice by BA.
If you take a night flight and hope to sleep as soon as you get on board, take any "special meal". That means you get your food first, and then you can go to sleep. Naughty trick, but useful when you really need to sleep. But beware, if you have a b*tch sitting next to you, she may grumble and grumble because you get your food first.
I stayed in 4 different US hotels in about 15 days??
There was a Marriot, a super expensive Sheraton, and a posh posh Hyatt.But finally, it is this "airport hotel" that I LOVE! Sheraton 4 Points at NEwark Airport!
for USD 110, I got a nice room, free internet access, and i just bought a nice supper for 5.35USD!!! I must say it is the most satisfying meal so far (and the cheapest!). Arghhh.. soup with rice and vege! it is so so so good! And I am told that the soup was made by the restaurant, but sell it in the "cafe"- not your canned soup, ok! That was only USD3! They also sell lots of really yummy food-ranging from NY cheesecake to HUGE cookies which are the size of my big face, to salads, sandwiches and oatmeal porridge. Woah.... Staff super nice too!
And the best thing? YOu need anything? Slippers? razors? Needles? shoe mitt?? No prob. Give us a call and we will give to you. Compared that to 4 days of walking around in my work shoes in the room when the stupid hotels told me to get slippers from the souvenir shops (>10 USD for some ugly cheapo things). Compare that to the hotels which tell you to buy the toothpaste -- 3or 4 usd for a small tube when you dont have toothpaste!
My complain of those hotels have been
I will have a weird shopping list later, upon the "discovery" of a couple of things
I came back from the Sg trip with a few huge pimples, despite a Dr Hauchka facial which was a treat from my sister. (That is why you must have sisters, brothers will never get you this!). The lastest trip to DC made a few more HUGE ones, right under my nostrils and in the center of my chin!
So, I got the perfect excuse to try the Decleor Facial which I found some time ago. Yesterday, I blew away 40 quid to get the Aromaplasty facial done. Not bad, but I think Elemis facials smell better. However, the Decleor one seems pretty good! The session started off with a 5 minute back massage (to gentle for my liking- give me the bone crushing, meat mincing chinese Tui Na anytime!), and then cleansing, exfoliating etc. A purifying mask was applied, and I think I fell asleep there because I was so so so tired. My only complain would be all these ang moh facials dont do extractions, and today I still see black heads! However, it is pretty good in clearing the red angry pimples!!I think the 40 quid is pretty well spent. At least I don't have to dab the yucky blood and pus oozing out near my nose!
Today, my colleague exclaimed that I desperately need a manicure! I cant fly off to that meeting with my nails "like that". So, I did one- for the first time in my life. Blew away another 10 quid. However, I dont know how to take care of it. Try to do this do that, and chipped my nails!!! ARGHHHHH...... I chipped my varnish!!!
Wow.. that chipping my varnish is the highlight. FInally feel the anguish of all the bimbos in the world, and feel I am a step nearer to bimbo world.
I need to learn a thing or two about Feng Shui.
I think I am moving to the "best Feng Shui" in town location, so good that i will never let my mum know what is in front of us, and what is behind us. Can imagine her indulging in worrying about it.
Based on common sense, the area will be terribly "Yin", and would have an aura of "hatred" in the air. So, how can I make it a cheerful and bright place? Will my personality (ahem!!!) be a good Feng Shui cure?
Let me tell you what is in my area: a hospital, a railway track for the tube, a prison, and a spooky overhead bridge which had wire mesh almost totally covering it. What else? To prevent people from jumping from the bridge into the track. That is not a bridge I would use, thank goodness. I felt not right the moment I went there, even before I had time to "process" what the wire meshes means.
But bright side? The apartment looks really decent, and i like the previous occupant, and best of all, no "funny feeling". I think it should be alright. I like the space and the location, and NO more carpets!!!!
Speaking about "funny" feeling, I made a note to avoid the 5th floor of the hotel I stay in my recent trip. Thank goodness I was on the 10th floor. The lift would open on the 5th floor often, even in day time, and almost every time at night! When it opens, no one would be there, and best thing is the chamber maids look away!!! It also takes sometime to close, when you press the close door button? Mechanical problems?? I felt that it did not seem "right", and confirmed my suspicion when one of the chamber maid whispered to the other that thank goodness, she has not "seen anything" yet!!
If I am not uselessly jet lagged, I will have 1/2 day in NYC.
Where should I go/what should I do?
Should I "see" or should I "shop" ?
It was really really cold this morning.
7C in summer!! There goes the bank holiday for most people. I am wickedly happy because I got to hole up and do some work, and don't feel that bad since the world suffers with me. I am not alone.
Got to postpone the strawberry pluckings till I come back from NYC. :)
I am wishing & hoping that the flight is full when I come back hahahahahah
My theory is proven.
There is this perverse "arrangement" which "test & tease" me all the time!
After days of holing up in my hotel room, doing my writings and working in a perfect weather Washington DC, I made my way to the airport. Cursing beneath my breath, "So, this is Washington DC, well at least i know how the famous Arlington Cemetery look like!"
Oh yeah, thanks to my friend's friend getting lost on the way to find "rice", I saw the National Monument and the park, and a glimpse of the Capitol Building roof from the car. That is all!!
Bye bye washington DC!
As the grumpy me walked to the counter to get my boarding pass, a guy gave me a chesire cat grin, and asked me whether I "wish to fly off tomorrow".
I was like, so you read my mind?? Of course??? I haven't seen anything!
My wish was granted.
He explained to me my flight was overbooked, and if I were to be kind enough to give up my seat, I will get a free hotel stay and a pair of free return air tickets for my next flight to Washington DC or another similar US location!!!!
WOooooo hooooooooooooo...I have taken countless flights! This is my moment! The "bump off" deal!
Errr.......no thanks. I got to work tomorrow.
No? Sure? We will give you a free return flight, you choose your US destination, and we will put you in a nice hotel tonight. You can spend another day here. Weather is beautiful.
Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. NO thanks. Not this time. :((
Really? You can think about it.
Bloody hell. Is he tempting me to quit my job???? That is a good reason!!! Especially when I was coming back to clean up shit. .... but i got to pay rental and the deposit for the new rental flat, and pay for lots and lots of things :(
Sigh........not this time. I have to give a lecture tomorrow. :(
Perverse. Perverse!!! Why does life have to treat me this way????? I had this almost out of body experience: watching myself walking away sadly with my boarding pass, "someone up there" was having a good laugh at me.
sighhh...................sigh.....................sigh.......................
In a 5 star hotel room now. So what? sigh sigh sigh.
When you are not around, idiots come out & do all the sabotages. When I come back, it will be a mess & may be another battle.
When a job makes you feel edgy whenever you are away, it is time to move on.
I came back to a pleasant surprise: Hubby booked a holiday for my birthday in October. However, it is a let down cos it clashes with the most important meeting of the year, so I cant go!!! :( So, Hamburg is out!
The good thing is we still get to go to a few other places!
Brussels, Glassglow & Milan :)
Long live 1 pence tickets!!
I also got the HK hotel rooms booked. I actually booked YMCA through Expedia! It comes up to £34 per night, which is really cheap! The trick of hunting cheap accomodation is try a few websites! yeah, it is hard work, but you could save load. For example, my sister found Standford at 63 USD at www.hoteltravel.com. That is about 30% off the prices of other websites which asks for USD 90+ to even USD 110+!!! However, YMCA is much cheaper in Expedia compared to this website, which asks for USD 77! That is about USD 10 more expensive per night. Asiarooms, my fav for BKK rooms is even much more hopelessly expensive!
Hopefully I can get another 5% cashback through Quidco, and that makes it even a better deal. All travel bugs/shopping queens based in UK should really consider registering at www.quidco.com to get % money back off their shopping and travel expenses.
Haha. This is the first time I try YMCA. I hope that it is as good as the reviews say about it. If not, die!This is the first time I bring my parents on a holiday and I put them up in YMCA- feel like a bum already. Was really tempted to do Nathan/Prudential or even Holiday Inn. However , after calculating and see that the sum differs by 400-500 SGD easily, sis & I decided that the money will be better spent eating, since we will be only sleeping in the rooms. Besides, doing 2 trans Atlantic flights, & 2 flights back to Sg within 2 months means my credit card is beeping & turning AMBER. At the rate I am going, I will hit the max this month! My boss better give me back my conference fee money soon!
Viewed the allocated apartment this morning. Not that bad!
Thank goodness. Not facing the hospital directly, facing the college instead. Train tracks still a problem, but it is something which we will have to live with.
Space is huge, compared to what we have at the moment. Finally, we will have a proper living room. We have been living without a living room for more than 1 year now.
I hope that we can stay in this place for a couple of years. Hate to move anymore.
Good news- special fireworks display on 1st July to celebrate handover. Woo hoo!!! What a great co-incidence.
Bad news. The hotel of our choice-Stanford Hotel is fully booked! %^&^+?
Got to find another hotel that is:
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We missed the "prime time", but the blooms were still impressive. According to SH, it would be much more impressive if we came 1 or 2 weeks earlier.
We went to Rectory Farm in Oxford to "pluck" asparagus yesterday morning. May is the British asparagus season, and I wouldnt want to miss the experience. If I did not go yesterday, I would have to wait till next year because all my weekends are gone until mid June (which will be the strawberry season!).
[list of PYO farms in Oxford]
The day started off grey, and MS was somehow delighted, I guess. He hated the sunlight, but I was wondering why are you so worried when you are in a farm? There should be some cover! Wrong!
When we entered the farm and SH pointed out the asparagus plots, my eyes strained to see where the asparagus were! Those looked like bare plots! Nothing there! Rows and rows of brown-greyish land. Where is the asparagus? I finally understood when we got off the car (and given plastic bags to PYO-pick your own).
Asparagus are some kind of sprout- we need to pluck- ie bend it, break it, tear it off and pop it into the plastic bags! The asparagus we saw were nothing like those in the supermarket. Firstly, the colour is purplish, not green. I know why it is green in supermarket- By this morning, some of mine turned greenish. Therefore, green= not so fresh anymore. We pluck those thick juicy looking ones- thicker than the size of most fingers! I even tried one on the spot. I found it edible& crunchy. The rest found them horrible.
I plucked quite a bit and was expecting to pay at least £10. Just 5-6 sticks in the supermarket comes up to £1.99. Guess what we paid? About £3 for just less than a kg. WOW!
Yesterday night we had asparagus-juicy, crunchy, sweet. Much better than the usual stuff! We had it again during lunch, and will have enough to last use till Tues, at least. :) Thank goodness it is the bank holidays, and I can afford to let our urine stink. Asparagus gives you urine that smells like heaven.
After plucking the aspragus we went to the town centre to have lunch, before hitting Wytham woods(Woods of Hazel) for blue bells! We missed the "season", but found a patch in the valley which was still blooming. It was as if we were in a fairy woods. I will post photos when I am done with my mugging.
Related sites:
www.asparagus.org
http://www.asparagus-in-kent.co.uk/growyourown.htm
Today I am "left behind" - hubby and gang are going to White Cliff! haiz... that is a place i have always wanted to go, but can't go when the opportunity comes.
I am staying at home. Mugging, working, and yes, this bit of blogging.
Look forward and yet dread going back in 2 weeks time. Argh! May got to be a record month, Washington, NYC, Singapore. 3 consecutive trips. I calculated that I will spend 40++ hours flying this month.
I have been having diarrhoea for a few days, when I barely recovered from the "Amsterdam cold".
All 3 of us came back sick.
I am dead tired, and dead busy. What a bad time to be tired!
Yesterday I did something which is hehehe.... very typically me, when I am tired.
After work, I went to shop for groceries and refilled the petrol-left the petrol cap of the car on the roof, and drove off. Hubby saw me coming back happily with my groceries and me proudly telling him I pumped petrol.
However, my "milestone" moment quickly turned to embarrassment.
Hubby: You got put the cap back or not? I bet you didnt?
Me: Har? cap? What cap? Shit!!!! I heard a thud when i drove off!!!
Tickets booked. Q****Airways- the airways that my friend told me dun pray pray, insider news say safety is heck. I thought hard hard hard, and decided what the heck! It it takes me to HK on less than 400 quid, and the savings from taking QA to HK, and then take budget airlines to Sg makes this HK stopover arrangement even cheaper than direct flights to Sg. That means, I will get to "do" HK again. woah hahahaa.
Things i must eat
*******Egg Tarts*******
Roasted Goose
Hui Lau Shan --- all those bird nest, mango, steam milk etc etc. This time I must plan such that I eat once during day time, eat again for supper hiak hiak hiak.
Won Ton Mee
Congee + yau cha kuay + soya bean milk breakfast
Nai cha
Lau po peng
ok , back to work. Yes, work! I cannot believe how busy I am this month, that I look forward to June!
We finished the Bak Kua, in 4 days. 8 precious pieces between us.
My friends have been angels- they bring me Bak Kua whenever they come! Haha... I think everyone knows that I love to eat.
ET brought almost 1kg of the thing near CNY, and worried about being caught. Hers was a normal packaging. The first time smuggler just hoped that no one would suspect a gal in business class smuggling.
EC is probably a much more experience smuggler, and brought a vacuum packed box. Gosh, that is a very costly version of Bak Kua, each slice preciously packed. She also lugged here two boxes of laksa and curry mix. That got my cravings settled till I go home :)
I will cook the laksa in an authentic manner, having discovered Hoo Hing C&C at Park Royal. That is a HUGE chinese supermarket!! Being a distributor, their stuff are really fresh! The bean sprout were so crunchy, and the tofu and to fu pok were fresh :)
Argh, the gals know me well. I am so touched. Hmm.. I wonder if I will get durian one of these days. Ok, I know that is too greedy, but I can start wishing :)
This is all we could catch- Cardiff Castle was closed by the time we reach. Cardiff is an interesting city and a place where I would come back and chill out. The atmosphere in Cardiff Bay is just cool!
But if I want to live, I might want to live in Swansea. Small city with most houses built prettily on the hills.
The cliff are stiff, and one slip means bye bye. Perhaps that is why is it such an exciting place to make out. I saw a couple having a picnic at the edge, and start necking passionately. Regreted not taking the photos. That is a perfect example of loving dangerously.
Sheep actually graze on these cliffs- you can see the evidence: lots of sheep shit on the green green grass.
Hubby was wondering how many sheep went down.
The Worm Head. You can walk over there during the low tides.
Rhossili Bay
Rhossli Bay is breathtaking, and it would have been wonderful if we caught the low tide period, and walk across to the Worm Head part
Here are the photos of the beach hopping day at Gower Peninsula. It is a pity that some photos taken at earlier parts of the day were "greyish" because it was cloudy and misty.
Meet up with EC on Thursday, and we attacked La Tasca for dinner. To our pleasant surprise, there was an eat all you could promotions for a tenner per person.
We were rather "weak", and therefore could only polish about 9 tapas dishes- most of it vege based like salads and aubergine. Hmmm... Hope to go there another day, more prepared, and break the "record". Hubby said that the highest number he ever heard was 52 plates for 4 blokes! Wow...
I like the Ealing branch of La Tasca because the food is yummy, the atmosphere is great, and the sangria is fantastic. All the waiters are Spanish! This is a place where reservation is a wise idea, especially if you have a party of 4 or more.
I was sick when we visited Wales. Hubby was unwell too. MS joked that we caught the Amsterdam virus, which is very potent.
I was so tired, after a few days of massive political maneuvers in the office when I left for Wales. It was practically Tai Chi vs bullets and arrows. I probably did not sleep well, or too "konk out" because of the cold. I could barely keep my eyes open, sleeping through most part of the car trip. I need SH to shake me and hubby to yell before I would open my eyes to look at something. It didnt help that Wales was totally grey!!!! It was misty/foggy and grey. We could tell that the landscape was beautiful, but nothing would look nice in photos if they are grey.
Thankfully, we went with MS & SH, who I think are really nice people, and very accommodating to the fact that we are both unwell. We spent a lot of time in the car, doing a very "tour group" like tour... most of the time sitting in a car, get down at spots to sight see, and off we go again.
There goes my adventurous Brecon Beacon trip. Only 1 morning was spent trekking, but that was probably one of the biggest adventure in my life. The last day was unforgettable. I had a narrow brush with death.
We felt better that morning, and did the waterfall trek. We decided to do a challenging route. I had no worries, apart from the fact that we were not well equipped.
Probably because I had slipped and fell hard before, and probably because I was very tired that morning and my running shoes was slippery, I had panic attack at a narrow, slippery part of the cliff after a few slips. In the middle of nowhere, where one wrong footing would send me down a cliff at least 7-8 stories high, my legs turned jelly. It is not funny when you are at a very dangerous part of a cliff where sure, strong footing is required and your legs turn wobbly. That affects your balance, and you could easily say sayonara to your life. I was hanging on to dear life by holding onto the roots of trees, and after resting at the "widest part" of the section. At the widest section, it at most 1 metre between a hard wall and a cliff. While sitting there and talking myself out of my panic attack, I knew that if my bum slip off the sloppy and slippery ground I was sitting on, I could spend a 2-3seconds as superwoman. Then, I will claim my fame.
I clawed and crawled my way back to safer ground. All the time, I asked hubby to get away from me, because I was much more panicky with him around. I thought if I slip and he tries to hold on to me, we would both slip. I am no featherweight material.
Haiz, despite my panic, I was still able to sigh to myself that it is clear that I am that kind that wont pull people down when I fall-loser. Like that how to survive in life? I think I am only suited for 1 job: Rich Tai Tai. hahaha. I know my brother will read this and sigh "useless", but there is a saying which is once bitten twice shy. I still have a nice scar on my left knee, courtesy of slipping off a very hilly part of the campus.
heading off to walked-Breacon Beacon first thing tomorrow morning, with a runny nose and sore throat. I hope that I will survive this walking trip. I am just going to follow the leaders again. I start to think that my lack of planning for trips is getting unbelievable. Sigh. No time!!!
I am not sure whether it is Netherlands, the gym or the fact that I am not well and probably dehydrated; the scales showed that I have lost 2 mighty kilograms compared to almost 1 month a go when i first joined the gym.
I am back, after a very good time in "Holland". haha. we made so many silly jokes about "Holland", thanks to watching too many Cantonese movies. All I wanted to do today was to come home early, blog & show off my perfect tulip bloom photos. However, my plans are dashed, and my day is ruined!
Last Wed afternoon, I was told that I have to go to US for a business trip. I was like, what?? Why no one told me earlier? Then, it was a mad rush to arrange for the visa interview blah blah blah. From the sly looks and the remarks, i knew that this was not an accidental miscommunication. It would be convenient to leave me out because "I cannot go", isn't it? To my great luck, my friend has just applied for a visa, and could tell me all the procedures, strategies and saved me lots of mess.
After some hiccups here and there, spending more than £100, and almost 2 hours standing by the roadside in a queue looking like a beggar wanting a bowl of free soup, I "passed", and got my visa! I looked like a panda, after sleeping at 2am to prepare for the interview, and waking up at 6 am.
Happily, I went back to work with the good news. Then, B told me there is a "change of plan". TMD!!! Despite all my obvious hints about the cost of a visa, there was no offer to pay for it. So, afterall, I might not get to go. Keeping my fingers crossed. Bloody hell! Are they playing me? I sometimes feel like I am taking a kindergarten level office politics here, the tactics are so crude and cheap.
Have you heard of the Chagos Islands? The Diego Garcia?
Stealing of a nation: an example of brutal power abuse. Little people like me could only put a link on their blogs, with the hope that more people will watch the video.
Towards the end of the video, it is laughable to see a foreign secretary consider spending £5 million relocating people back to their homeland as not a good "choice" in spending tax payer's money. It is a duty, not a choice! You don't have a choice of whether to pay the fines when you are booked for speeding, do you?
I am afraid, this have to be tagged: CRIME. A dog lover like me just felt so nauseated that more than 1000 dogs(the pets!) were killed as a warning to the people.
More details of the CRIME:
Diego Garcia: Remembering paradise lost
The Chagos Islands: A sordid tale
48 hours before my flight, and I was still feeling quite indifferent that I am going to visit another new country, and country which I had always wanted to visit. However, a bit of Googling sent me to this site (thedude.com) , which has fabulous travel photos! Gosh. I hate those people who travel and blog(show off!) about it, and make me so itchy again. The tulips photos made me so excited!
I just went arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh when I saw the sea of tulips. 
I love tulips.
Got to test hubby: eh, what was the flower for our ROM huh? Answer correctly or you sleep on the corridor.
Post trip: This is supposed to be the "perfect" flower- captured in Keukenhof
Windsor is the perfect day trip from London. We went to Windsor to celebrate hubby's birthday.
Lunch at a pub called Three Tuns, just at the foot of the castle. The food was good. I think this was the first pub i came across which served really authentic mashed potatoes! Most, if not almost all pubs serve reconstituted mash: those powder which you get from the supermarket, and add hot milk+ butter.
The pub is in a narrow lane, near an "attraction" called the The Crooked House.
Just look at the "scandalous" history. I wonder if it had to be closed because the other Charles also used it to meet "his flower".
"In 1687, because of an acrimonious land dispute, the council ordered this first Market Cross House to be demolished. The building that survives now is what was rebuilt soon after. It acquired its famous tilt after being restructured in 1718 with unseasoned green oak. There is a secret passage to Windsor Castle, now blocked, from its basement. This is reputed to have been used both for the illicit meetings between King Charles & his mistress, Nell Gwyn & for taking provisions to the castle kitchens."The entrance where you part with your money:
After lunch, we went to Virginia Waters and the Valley Gardens of the Windsor Great Park. That was rather disappointing as the some of the spring flowers are not in bloom yet, while the calendulas are already past their prime! This has been as strange year, as some cherry trees have lost all their blooms, while the others are just starting to bloom. We went to Hammersmith yesterday and was shocked to see rows of cheery trees in full bloom. Isnt that part supposed to be warmer than places that are not in central London?
