so im back in singapore and here's a summery of my european trips.

Aug

Rome

Florence

Pisa

Cinque Terre

Milan

Venice

Vienna

Budapest

Sept

Krakow

Prague

Berlin

Glasgow

Munich

Oct

Edinburgh

Fort Williams

Sky Diving

Galloway National Park

Nov

Inverness

Isle of Skye

London

Amsterdam

Edinburgh

Dec

London

Barcelona

Portugal

Stockholm

Lulea

Kiruna

Riga

Sigulda

Edinburgh

Jan

Dubai

Singapore

Dubai

This whole exchange has passed by really fast. Just 6 months ago, I was at the same airport, Dubai Terminal 3, waiting for my flight to Rome, but this time round it is homebound. Well, all good things must come to an end sometime and here is where I steer my ship towards home.

Well, I don’t normally blog so promptly but this time, my flight was delayed by 2 hours due to heavy fog. Yea heavy fog in the desert, can you believe it! The flight was grounded for 2 hours and there’s nothing much to do on a plane with movies which im not really interested in. Well, don’t get me wrong, the movie selection is great, but its either I’ve watched it or it doesn’t appeal to me. The wonders of the internet nowadays eh? Can’t really take long naps too, have to try and tahan the journey back with minimal sleep so I can reset my body clock and not suffer too much jet lag back home.

the fog that grounded us for 2 hours

time to start blogging!

Dubai is really a wonderful city. 15 years ago, it consisted of a few buildings in the desert but now, it has been transformed into an oasis of the desert with 17 of the tallest skyscrapers in the world. But somehow, you do not sense the feeling of awe when standing infront of city unlike staring into the skyline of New York or hong kong because there’s just too much space. But Dubai really amplifies the power of money. Many say Dubai is Vegas, just without the Casinos and I think its true! Everything is fancy all round the city, from downtown Dubai where there’s the Burj Kalifa (tallest building in the world), the huge ass Dubai Mall where you can find almost everything and the many posh hotels around the area to the luxurious beach side area called Jumeirah where the world’s only 7 start hotel, the Burj Al Arab (the sail) is located. I’ve also never seen so many luxurious and expansive cars in such a small area my whole life. Driving down the roads or passing by car parks, you’ll  be able to spot many high end American and European cars every few meters!

The view of the Burj Kalifa from where i stayed

The aquarium in Dubai Mall

However, amidst all this glitz and glamor, it’s nice to make your way down to the Satwa and Karama area, the cheaper part of town where you can find where most of the immigrants that helped build up this lavish city. You’ll find the Indians, Pakistani, Indonesians, Filipinos and the other minority races here. But what so special about this place is that after all those posh and expansive stuff downtown, you’ll find this place rather humble and have much to offer, especially the food.

food at Ravis! all for 90 dhm

But, now, let us not forget the past. Bur Dubai offers the rich heritage of Dubai with many markets around the area, known locally as the Souks. Here we find the gold, spice and textile markets. Somehow, it doesn’t intrigue as much as it does to the Europeans but it reminded me of the origin of the similar things we have in Singapore. Kind of touristy, but I recommend a walk through this place to soak in the atmosphere as well as to appreciate the old Moorish/byzantine architecture that surrounds the whole area. Do take the abra (small ferry boat) for 1 AED across the river and visit the architectural center and Dubai museum.

taking the abra across the river

old town

18 Dec was the day I departed Glasgow and it was quite a hectic day. I spent the morning cramming for what turned out as an extremely easy exam (walked out of the examination within 20mins, true story) and spent the rest of the day doing last minute packing and getting emotional about leaving before drinking and talking cock with our flat mates and those who came to send us off. Since I hadn’t got much quality sleep for the past 2 weeks studying for the exams I thought I could get some on the plane. But nuuuu (Scottish ascent), I had to finish an assignment onboard the plane and a baby cry throughout the course of the 7hr+ flight, Leaving me exhausted by the time I arrived at my sister’s place in Dubai. It was a miracle that my baggage did not exceed too! To make things worst, customs at Dubai was highly inefficient that makes you doubt that it’s a city that thrives on foreign business where the population of expatriates outnumbers the locals.

us infront of the Burj Kalifa at the Palace Hotel

So 2 hours after touching down, we finally got our asses out of the airport and by the time I reached my sister’s place, we were all drained. It was good to meet my parents there though, but was too tired to go out in the afternoon thanks to the lack of sleep on the flight. But the day was not lost, had dinner with my parents at Al Messa, a Lebanese restaurant in downtown Dubai before heading out to the mall and watching the new year water fountain show in front of the Burj Kalifa.  Dubai mall is super giantgantic mall. If you thought vivocity was big, this would swallow that as an appetizer. It has every store you can think of, from the posh brands to the normal street brands. It has an ice ring, an indoor sega theme park and even a big aquarium which houses many species of fishes, rays and sharks! The water show was not too bad, but if you do go, remember to go to the view point on the bridge 10-15min earlier to ensure that you get a unrestricted view of the show.

new year fountain show

The next day, we explored the older part of Dubai and searched from some good food. Ravis located at Satwa Road is a must try. I recommend their special biryani, chicken jalfreezi, dahl and ginger mutton curry. To get there, just hail a cab and tell them Ravis at Satwa and they’ll definitely know the place. Oh and, cabs here are pretty cheap. If you’re in a group of 3-4, it makes travelling in a cab even cheaper and more convenient. We practically cabbed everywhere. If you’re looking for more food, you can try Erics restaurant at Karama, ask for recommendations on their menu.

I think catching an Arabian sunset is a must here in the Middle East and what better way to do it is at 360 degree bar. Take a cab to Jumeirah Beach Hotel and walk down towards to beach and to the end of the pier where the bar is located. It offers a great view of the sunset over the palm island in the horizon backed against the Burj Al Arab.  Happy hour deals apply during that time and why not relax on the comfy lounge chairs with a passion fruit mojito, a perfect way to enjoy the sunset in style.

Sunset over the horizon at 360 Bar

 360 Bar

Before leaving the desert city, we had to do 1 last touristy thing. And when I say that, it is really touristy and it is to go on a desert Safari. I opted for an quad bike safari instead of the usual dune bashing with sand trax tours. While researching, I was rather worried that the driver would not turn up based on the trip advisor ratings for many companies but to my pleasant surprise that did not happen and the driver actually texted me before his arrival! It was rather fun, but the camp part was rather touristy with the camel rides, bbq and dance performances. Paid 550 AED for that. Haha but for our journey back, we took the hummer with an impressive 6.1l engine!

out in the desert with our Quad bikes and our guide Ticku

cheap thrills with the camel rides

The setting sun

 Falcon

Traditional Dance performance

But all good things must come to an end yea. Really enjoyed the food here. I think 2-3 days is a comfortable stopover for Dubai, and if I were to come back here, I’ll probably come back for diving.

Cheers

wow

Wow. Exams here are really quite a joke. I’m gonna miss such times when I start school back in NTU. I really miss the education style here. You get to discover so much more things with those extra time not spent studying. Its funny how we over studied for every exam and as the days went by, the amount of f*** that we give about the exam decreases exponentially. We even had time to go out for some expansive angus steak during the weekend, get stoned, rock climb, retail therapy and even play games when we had a paper the following day, something that we’ll never dare to do back home where things are harder and the competition stiffer.

like what my friend said, you really want to just pass, but the papers here do not allow you to!

Curve fever! CURVE FEVER? CURVE FEVERRRR!

what you need while studying here.

2012 going on to 2013

diving the great barrier reef

well its 3rd january and while everyone else is studying and things picking up where they were left off before christmas, i couldn't help but reflect upon the year that just passed. well you know these kind of things happen while you're studying.. always finding something to distract you whilst studying. 

To sum things up, 2012 was the year I began to discover myself. 2011 was the year of new experiences and i couldnt help but think back that i didnt really do much that year because of the transition from a hierarchy structure in the army to a civilian student life. 

For me, 2012 started off with me trying to forget 2011 and the stuff i put myself through when i entered the university in 2011. It was hard, but the distractions of travelling and the travel buddies liberated me. I returned to school ready to face it with upgraded armor, mana and stamina. The pace quicken drastically with the inter-hall games that made lag behind in studies. Many a time, I participated in 3 trainings a day after a long day in school and ended the day around 2-3am finishing tutorials. Although the body was tired, the mind was strong and i enjoyed those times tremendously. It allowed me to see what kind of bonds i've formed and distract me from certain stuff. 

School remained as challenging as ever but me being an Asian and not a Bsian [lol lame joke], hall remained a big part of my life then and couldn't help but thank the new friends i made there for making my life awesome. people who were 'dao' and cold became warm and friendly. I guess first impressions aren't always applicable eh!

Well, with my surprising first semester results (yea i never expected to even get half of what i got), i qualified for the university's exchange program and i was super excited! I managed to qualify for a british university and was thrilled! 

If you've been reading this blog, I'm a great fan of travelling and im a true believer that travelling opens up many opportunities of self exploration. I once heard a quote. The world is a book, if you don't travel, you're just reading 1 page. During the summer break, i travelled quite abit. when i thought things couldn't get any better, it turned around and dipped for the worst.

Summer was the worst time for me. my grandma was diagnosed with multiple organ failure from what we thought initially as a bad fall, she was started to lose weight and only admitted her to the hospital when blood started discharging where it shouldn't. It was a difficult time for my family, especially my mum. to make matters worst, i was due for a reservist high key course. not matter what i tried, i couldn't defer no matter how many times i tried and people i tried to go through. also, with the upcoming exchange where many things then, remained unsettled and the freshmen orientation camps which had to be neglected due to reservist, it made me rather frustrated too. 

I thought back onto my army days and asked myself why did i put in so much effort then when a little slack was requested by me after my service. i was an officer, an award holder who strived for excellence in whatever i did then. the army was was a people army and more attention should be payed to its servicemen. one trait that i learnt from the army then was the need to have compassion as a leader, then men under you will appreciate it and admire you for it. i tried to live by that when i was given the sword but i guess not every everybody thinks alike. i wasn't happy. i was angry. but i knew nothing could be done so i just sucked it up and gave minimum effort to scrape through the course. this was an eye opener for me and i doubt i'll give anything in for my unit anymore. My inner conscience screams to be the better man but i don't think i'm capable of doing that for them. sorry.

The pre-exchange time in Singapore was the hardest time for me. It really made me treasure my grandmother more. She had been there since i was born. Although both of us  weren't fluent in each other's language (she spoke teochew and i spoke english), i knew that she loved me. Whenever i popped by after my reservist to the hospital at night,i felt horrible whenever i saw the state she was in. There were times where she couldn't recognize the family. There were many needles and tubes in her because she couldn't eat nor go to the loo. It was a pitiful condition. My family decided not to opt for life support equipment or surgery because it was the end of the road for her and decided to let her go naturally. She pulled on till i left for exchange and her last words was that she loved me since i was a kid and if she were to pass while im overseas, do not come back and study hard. She passed 1.5 months later and i got the news while climbing a mountain at lake tegernsee, munich.

On a lighter note, as much as i wanted to stay on for camp...

to be continued after ive cleared some studying.....3jan2013, 1648hrs

Lisboa

I think the word that best describes this trip is YOLO aka You Only Lean Once. It has been a culinary journey from spain to portugal. 

It was a tiring journey to Lisboa with a 7am flight from Barcelona. Had to wake up at 4am with only 2 hrs of sleep and lug ourselves to the airport just because of our check in baggage. Vernon really went crazy with the shopping there.

Arrived in Lisbon half dead, fully concussed on the plane. The metro services the airport and i recommend buying a day pass for 5 euros since you'll be taking tram 28 or one of those elevators up the hills anyway.

Lisboa is a little quaint town different from the other cities i've been to. Its a beach side town filled with hills which can be tiring to walk. So one day, a lazy fella thought... why not build tram like elevators up the slopes! So tada, Lisbon became known for their iconic old school trams and elevator systems. 

the elevator up Rua Gloria

The Portuguese love their cod fish. It can be found in almost all the menus serving traditional Portuguese dishes. Cod fish with potatoes, grilled cod fish, baked cod fish, cod fish lasagna, etc. The place we had lunch at on the first day was a restaurant frequent by the locals. You can tell that the food is really good when the place is filled with locals and few or no tourists. A Licorista E O Bacalhoeiro (Rua Dos Sapateiros 218-224) served very home cooked meals. Love the hospitality of the Portuguese as well! They gave us free Ginja (their local cherry liquor) shots after the meal! 

Good portugese lunch at Bacalhoeiro

Spent the rest of the first day walking around the shops and didnt do much sight seeing till the evening cos of the rain. Alfama is a really nice area to walk around and get lost on the narrow cobblestoned streets. I tram surfing is quite cool! too bad i didnt manage to attempt it successfully.

How tram surfing is done

another tram surfer

Lisbon church. Apparently the graduating students of the university have their ceremony here. How cool is that!

Take a road trip out of the city and you'll enter another dimension. The city seems to be a mix of different cities. At Belem, there's a bridge that looks like the golden gate bridge and across, there's a statue that looks similar to Christ the Redeemer in Rio De Janeiro. But whats out there is the real treasure, wait for it.... THE MOST AWESOME PORTUGESE EGG TART which can be found at Pasteis De Belem (pronounced belei) at Rua de belem 84 -92. Driving along the Portugese costal road was nice, with the view of the beach and the waves ideal for surfers. It really reminded me as if i was in South America. Drove by Cascai on the way to Cabo Da Roca, the most western tip of Europe and were greeted with awesome views. Finally ended up our trip in Sintra where we arrived too late with most of the attractions starting to close. Had nice Portuguese pastries at Piriquita 1 (Rua das Padarias 1)

For those planning of doing the same itinerary, i suggest driving up the Sintra first and explore the moorish castle and the quinta da regaleira before heading down to cabo da roca and belem for some egg tarts. If i had the time, i'll definitely do a road trip from Lisbon to Porto! there're so many nice sights on the way north! Just that we didnt have time to fully explore em. 

Heavenly Portugese egg tarts!

At the most western edge of Europe!

Exiting the cave at Quinta Da Regaleira

Queijada and Travesseiro at Piriquita 1 in Sintra

Met up with our Portugese friends that we met in Krakow. Had more good food! Always love meeting up with the locals and exploring their local hunts! Food portions aren't that big (similar to tapas) but had a great variety of portugese food! Petiscaria Ideal (Rua da Esperanca 112-114) Had a really great time with them. They even brought us to an gelato place which served the best chocolate cake in the world! and no im not kidding, its name is the best chocolate cake in the world! ahha its actually quite nice too! one of the better choc cakes that i've eaten in europe!

Our awesome Portugese Hosts, Catarina and Jorge  

viva la barcelona

Recently, i've been having huge a huge inertia to blog about my travel experiences but i know i have to in order to remember my experiences years down the road and of course the food recommendations. hahaha 

Welcome to Spain. Most people relate to it as the place with the cheap shopping and good weather. But to me, its the place of good food! yes food again! haha i think that Mediterranean food beats continental european food hands down.

Unfortunately, I only had 2 pathetic days in the city of Barcelona. Kind of rush actually. Dont really like such trips. too tiring. especially after having little sleep the past few days, touring london in the day and rushing assignments till the wee hours of the morning in london. 

The hostel we stayed in was absolutely fantastic! Barcelona Central Garden Hostel. I'll definitely recommend it to anyone who comes to Barcelona. Place was cosy, rooms were clean and toilets were nice and spacious. It even looked like ones from hotels. Staff were friendly and very receptive to our questions. There was even a 10min run through of all the attractions in Barcelona!

Arriving late on Fri evening, we set out for our Spanish Conquest early on Sat morning, exploiting the good food at Mercat Boqueria along La Rambla. Dated back to 1826, it still houses what it used to sell then. Fresh meat, fresh seafood, chocolate, fruits and GOOD FOOD! 

Mercat Boqueria (along La Rambla)

Seafood so fresh that it is still moving!

I would recommend Breakfast at El Quim inside Mercat Boqueria. Try their house speciality, Huevos Chipirones. It's basically an omelette with baby octopus. (yes they love their baby octopus! it can be found everywhere). To eat it, burst the yolk and mix it around before eating. Eat with the bread provided. However, it comes with a heft price tag of 19 Euros, but its worth it. Share it. Also, try their sandwiches El Bocaquim stuffed with their local spanish ham and cubed potatoes with their special sause (Bravas Boqueria). 

Here's a crash course of Spanish eating etiquette, wine is usually drank first before your main meal (yes, even for breakfast) and coffee like most other cultures is drank for desert.

After such a hearty breakfast, have a walk around the market for more snacking and clearing your platter with fresh fruit juices for 1 euro!

Enjoying our delicious breakfast at the market

Huevos Chipirones (Baby octopus with omelette)

Besides eating, the next best thing to do is to shop till you drop. Okay shopping here is actually quite exaggerated. Its more for girls. The only cheaper stuff here are from brands like Zara, Mango, Pull & Bear and Bershka. 

Zara outlets here are huge!

The next thing that must be checked off your Spanish Checklist is to have Tapas. Tapas is basically something we chinese call as Dim Sum. It basically consists of very small dishes and you'll have to order a variety of them to fill your stomach. It'll cost about 20 euros to be full from it. At some places, sitting at the bar would be cheaper than sitting at a table or outside.

trying tapas at Tapas Tapas

 The variety of Tapas

With our stomachs half full, we set out to do some sight seeing of Gaudi's work. As you walk around the city and if you see weird buildings, there's a high chance that it's Gaudi's work. His most famous one being the Sagrada Familia, a must visit when touring Barcelona.

The Nativity Facade of Sagrada Familia

Walking back to the hostel, we came across another demonstration  Dont know what it was about because everything was in Spanish. 

Ended off the day with dinner at a local hunt which served imo the best paella in Barcelona. Restaurante Bosque Palermo (C/ Valencia 163) call ahead to ensure that you've a table to avoid disappointment.

 Racion Paella

The last day of Barcelona was spent touring the old town with the walking tour by travel bound. The Catalan people sure have a weird tradition for christmas and they sure love their shit. yes feces. On top of having a model crib of the night jesus was born, they have another model of someone taking a crap in the picture. if you want a authentic souvenir that represented barcelona, this would be the perfect gift. Also, where most countries have santa, the catalans have the shit log. a log which gifts out presents after you beat it with a stick. 

shop selling the shitting figurines from the typical Catalan boy to celebrities like the queen taking a shit.

stall selling the shit logs.

Barcelona is indeed a unique city of its own in Spain. In the center, we have the old town and the works of Gaudi littered around the city, but further south we have the beach which brings in a different feel to city. Exiting the old town and entering the Barceloneta area makes you feel as if you're stepping into a different city. Houses look different, seafood are aplenty, lots of space and the sunshine! 

 Barcelona Beach

However, when searching for food, do avoid the very southern tip of Barceloneta as their food are pretty much expansive.

While the 2 boys went to watch their Barcelona match, the rest continued in search for food and to our disappointment the seafood places were closed for siesta! Oh yah an i forgot to mention, siesta is from 1-3 and can extend to longer periods during weekends.

Met my friend Serene who was doing an exchange there. Went to watch the Spanish Flemenco dance and headed out for good tapas!

 The Spanish Flemenco Dance (basically super lightning speed tap dancing and coordination)

I guess the highlight of the day was food again with Serene leading the way to Cerveseria (Mallorca 236), a local tapas joint. I guess we were considered lucky to have a table. Try their veal tapas and the Huevos Cabreaos (below)

The 2 days in barcelona was just too short. Didnt manage to cover most of the sights nor siesta at the sun filled beach. Really enjoyed the cool weather but most of all, the awesome spanish food! Although most people claim that spain is cheap, it was my most expansive trip to date. to satisfy a platter for good food be prepared to spend beyond 20 euros.