hello!
i'm blogging from cardiff (wales)! so fun... it's like a different city each day... so far, i quite like cardiff, it looks small-townish and the people have been very helpful... this is quite different from the big city, activity-filled edinburgh where there is constant creative bustle all around...
the train ride from edinburgh took nearly the whole day (broken by a quick stopover at glasgow, and some minor train stations)... but the scenery and time alone to think was worth it...
it's a pity that i did not manage to go to the scottish highlands... no time... tried going today but the train connections did not cooperate... guess i totally underestimated the size of this country... but guess what, i'm gonna drag the family back to scotland! :-) did my research, got the brochures, etc... it'll be a free and easy but semi pre-planned tour k? haha... the highlands appear to be really nice... and i even figured out the best time to go! summer... cos the days are long... can see more... more value for money! :-)
ok, going for dinner now... starving... just only found accomidation (and this computer to blog from)... maybe will blog again later but with no pictures, cos no usb port again...
cheers,
ping
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
london, cambridge, york and edinburgh
hello!
i've finally found internet to blog from... haha... happy... didn't bring my card reader out though, so can't post photos...
well, as a quick update, i reached london on sunday afternoon, was picked up by YJ and her husband, went to their house to stay for the night... they were extremely helpful and not only settled me in very comfortably in their place, but also helped to give suggestions and check out train routes for my onward travels...
next day morning, left for cambridge, the famous university town... it was nice and all, but also somewhat familiar, so there wasn't the "wow, it's all so new and quaint" type of feeling that i had quite a lot of in germany... still, it was good to finally see the place that had set all my exam papers up to university... wanted to buy a cambridge sweater (to act intellectual) but unfortunately, there was no size...
then it was to york, that same day... reached york train station after missing a couple of trains (i was in no hurry any way, and was enjoying the lonely planet magazine i just bought)...
york is a pretty walkable town and in the course of walking to my hotel, i managed to cover most of the key sights, and to take photos... the walk took about an hour plus at least i think... will full pack... haha... even i'm impressed with myself... duly rewarded myself with a steak for dinner...
well, york proved more than just buildings and monuments, cos when i woke up the next morning, it all seemed different... the streets were bustling and there was just so much more to see and do... ended up walking around more of the city walls, visiting a shop selling richard III's stuff, visiting a roman bath, going for a viking tour, shopping at oxfam (a charity here, where i picked up a travel guide book on scotland for only £2.5!), etc... was so tired after all this that i decided to give durham a miss (thinking that i'll visit it on my way back if there is time)...
then there's edinburgh were i am now... it's a big city, very historic... took some more photos of big cathedrals and imposing buildings which make up the city landscape... this is the land of haggis (food), bagpipes, tartan cloth, famous authors, etc etc... seems like a lot to do...
oh ya, had pretty nice views on my way here from york... and this means that i'll probably take a train ride out to the highlands area just to look... it's also quite near the loch ness area (as in the loch ness monster that we read about in books) and it's a pity i will stop short of there cos i want to spend more time in the city... tell u more when i'm back from the highlands! :-)
i've finally found internet to blog from... haha... happy... didn't bring my card reader out though, so can't post photos...
well, as a quick update, i reached london on sunday afternoon, was picked up by YJ and her husband, went to their house to stay for the night... they were extremely helpful and not only settled me in very comfortably in their place, but also helped to give suggestions and check out train routes for my onward travels...
next day morning, left for cambridge, the famous university town... it was nice and all, but also somewhat familiar, so there wasn't the "wow, it's all so new and quaint" type of feeling that i had quite a lot of in germany... still, it was good to finally see the place that had set all my exam papers up to university... wanted to buy a cambridge sweater (to act intellectual) but unfortunately, there was no size...
then it was to york, that same day... reached york train station after missing a couple of trains (i was in no hurry any way, and was enjoying the lonely planet magazine i just bought)...
york is a pretty walkable town and in the course of walking to my hotel, i managed to cover most of the key sights, and to take photos... the walk took about an hour plus at least i think... will full pack... haha... even i'm impressed with myself... duly rewarded myself with a steak for dinner...
well, york proved more than just buildings and monuments, cos when i woke up the next morning, it all seemed different... the streets were bustling and there was just so much more to see and do... ended up walking around more of the city walls, visiting a shop selling richard III's stuff, visiting a roman bath, going for a viking tour, shopping at oxfam (a charity here, where i picked up a travel guide book on scotland for only £2.5!), etc... was so tired after all this that i decided to give durham a miss (thinking that i'll visit it on my way back if there is time)...
then there's edinburgh were i am now... it's a big city, very historic... took some more photos of big cathedrals and imposing buildings which make up the city landscape... this is the land of haggis (food), bagpipes, tartan cloth, famous authors, etc etc... seems like a lot to do...
oh ya, had pretty nice views on my way here from york... and this means that i'll probably take a train ride out to the highlands area just to look... it's also quite near the loch ness area (as in the loch ness monster that we read about in books) and it's a pity i will stop short of there cos i want to spend more time in the city... tell u more when i'm back from the highlands! :-)
Sunday, August 2, 2009
frankfurt on my own
Main River in Frankfurt... there was a fun fair here, so it was especially crowded and festive...
a hen's party (this is a tradition that the frankfurt people observe - about a week before a wedding, the bride's friends get together and throw a party for the bride... the bride is paraded in the streets, with the entire party wearing pointy hats... and the bride has to sell stuff to strangers to raise money to pay for the entire group's night out! this is a v friendly bunch of pp as u can see... :-)
my attempt at art and museums... just thought this looked quite cool...
took this picture at the goethe museum... not sure i understand even a tenth of what the museum was trying to say... the explanations were mostly in german and very brief...
spotted this outside the musuem... a donald duck spoof of the original... was very amused by this...
my lunch... cheap and good fish and chips... by cheap, i mean 4euros... which is like the cheapest meal i probably had in a week... happy... :-)
ok, gonna head to london now... likely to be heading to edinburgh tomorrow morning...
cheers!
Saturday, August 1, 2009
frankfurt city + chinatown
delicious chinese soup! this is like headline news for this blog... (see below for more details)
bustling city centre, the Römer area...
the band in full gear...
me sipping applewine...
went back to the city centre to roam around for the afternoon... sat around in the city square sipping applewine (which frankfurt is supposed to be famous for -- it must be my tastebuds but i didn't think it was anything that special) and watching a delightful band performing familiar tunes i learnt on the piano when i was young... quite cool...
also accidentally roamed into frankfurt chinatown which i nearly forgot to visit... just had dinner there with a china lady from france whom i met at my hotel lobby (she's born of PRC parents who worked in paris, she married a frenchman and settled in the south of france)... the staff there was v v nice, gave free soup and free desert... free chinese soup!! wow!! in a land where water (esp hot water) is either scarce or expensive... cool man... turns out the waitress was from malaysia (she married into germany) and the restaurant is staffed by mainly malaysians and hongkongers...
now gonna to head back to my hotel and see sights along the way... have a good sunday back home! :-)
p.s: mum now has 3 t-shirts! the frankfurt one was v cute and in mum's favourite bright red... think i'll just buy one last t-shirt from london for her and that's all the presents she's getting... if not, i'll end up v broke and with overweight luggage! (i am carrying around 2 thick sweaters, 1 which i used once and the other which i didn't even get the chance to use! -- who told me it was cold here?! :-) )
also accidentally roamed into frankfurt chinatown which i nearly forgot to visit... just had dinner there with a china lady from france whom i met at my hotel lobby (she's born of PRC parents who worked in paris, she married a frenchman and settled in the south of france)... the staff there was v v nice, gave free soup and free desert... free chinese soup!! wow!! in a land where water (esp hot water) is either scarce or expensive... cool man... turns out the waitress was from malaysia (she married into germany) and the restaurant is staffed by mainly malaysians and hongkongers...
now gonna to head back to my hotel and see sights along the way... have a good sunday back home! :-)
p.s: mum now has 3 t-shirts! the frankfurt one was v cute and in mum's favourite bright red... think i'll just buy one last t-shirt from london for her and that's all the presents she's getting... if not, i'll end up v broke and with overweight luggage! (i am carrying around 2 thick sweaters, 1 which i used once and the other which i didn't even get the chance to use! -- who told me it was cold here?! :-) )
new horizons and opportunities
in frankfurt... guess how old she is?
79 years old and so independent... wow! :-)
enthusiastically biting into his fish burger at the frankfurt city centre...
friendly germans who helped me translate for my fish and chips order...
turkish woman at rothenburg...
it really makes my day when the elderly people literally light up when they realise that someone is interested in taking their photo...
germany is an advanced country... on my berlin tour, the walkabout guide took us through a train station that hitler designed... hilter?! that's in 1930+... and singapore was still debating whether we really need a train station in the 1980s... that really stretched my mind: are we like 50+ years behind germany??
think there's so much we can learn from the advanced countries in europe... their poor people and their elderly seem more mobile and have more spending power than asians too... their trains run very efficiently and on time across almost all european countries... and the lives of their middle classes appear more leisurely than the hectic singaporean lifestyle... and their heritage and culture is so rich! plus there is real diversity and seeming acceptance in germany at least (the cities are pretty cosmopolitan, with many ethnic groups working there)... how did they do this?
of course, there are flaws in the system, etc, etc... but still pretty much worth learning...
btw, i thought of a cool and meaningful retirement career for dad and mum... tell u when i'm back! :-)
think there's so much we can learn from the advanced countries in europe... their poor people and their elderly seem more mobile and have more spending power than asians too... their trains run very efficiently and on time across almost all european countries... and the lives of their middle classes appear more leisurely than the hectic singaporean lifestyle... and their heritage and culture is so rich! plus there is real diversity and seeming acceptance in germany at least (the cities are pretty cosmopolitan, with many ethnic groups working there)... how did they do this?
of course, there are flaws in the system, etc, etc... but still pretty much worth learning...
btw, i thought of a cool and meaningful retirement career for dad and mum... tell u when i'm back! :-)
frankfurt
yep, my colleague just left on the train to catch her plane back and i'm sitting at an internet cafe typing this... feels quite free, with nearly 2 days to explore a new city on my own... 1st stop after this will be to find a decently priced and safe hotel to stay in for the night (which shouldn't be a problem, so no worries)... then i'll go explore the city later (already did a quick round of the city centre romer area main sights earlier this morning: the cathedral was really big and inspiring!)
oh ya, and i had a really expensive breakfast at the hotel i was staying in this morning: s$30! can eat buffet dinner back home already lor... so the cheapskate me packed lunch from the buffet too... haha... 2 pieces of bread thingy... and ketchup...
dunno what's with internet cafes here, they lock up the CPU so i can't access the usb ports and so therefore can't upload pictures... the pictures are nice! think i took more than 1000+ photos so far on the trip... had a minor scare yesterday cos all 4 batteries went dead at the same time even tho i certainly did charge them... but the batteries seem ok today... oh well... hope they remain ok...
anw, i'll be in london by tomorrow evening, YJ will pick me up at paddington train station so should be quite safe too...
dad, mum and wen, if u want any thing in particular from here, do sms me... mum, i tried to get a souviner from each city/town that i travelled to but it's getting a bit repetitious... they are all starting to look quite the same (eg. 2 t-shirts, 2-magnets, some postcards, etc), especially in the tourist areas... so i'll probably only buy the more distinctive stuff from now)... wen, i heard from huifang that longchamp bags here are cheaper than in singapore, will try to get u 1 if i see... what colour u want?
ok, update again when i manage to find a computer that can post pictures... cheers! :-)
oh ya, and i had a really expensive breakfast at the hotel i was staying in this morning: s$30! can eat buffet dinner back home already lor... so the cheapskate me packed lunch from the buffet too... haha... 2 pieces of bread thingy... and ketchup...
dunno what's with internet cafes here, they lock up the CPU so i can't access the usb ports and so therefore can't upload pictures... the pictures are nice! think i took more than 1000+ photos so far on the trip... had a minor scare yesterday cos all 4 batteries went dead at the same time even tho i certainly did charge them... but the batteries seem ok today... oh well... hope they remain ok...
anw, i'll be in london by tomorrow evening, YJ will pick me up at paddington train station so should be quite safe too...
dad, mum and wen, if u want any thing in particular from here, do sms me... mum, i tried to get a souviner from each city/town that i travelled to but it's getting a bit repetitious... they are all starting to look quite the same (eg. 2 t-shirts, 2-magnets, some postcards, etc), especially in the tourist areas... so i'll probably only buy the more distinctive stuff from now)... wen, i heard from huifang that longchamp bags here are cheaper than in singapore, will try to get u 1 if i see... what colour u want?
ok, update again when i manage to find a computer that can post pictures... cheers! :-)
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