First (already) new country visited in 2018 :P

“Archaeology seeks answers to the fundamental question of existence. Who are we? Where do we come from? Why is the world such as it is?” – Quote from the Finnish National Museum

Part of the unofficial goal of 2018, is to really keep tabs on my travels because in the spirit of my official goal “do my future self a favor”, I’d really hate forgetting these fond memories abroad as time passes. Since getting hooked on traveling to Europe (I blame my academic exchange back in Nice), I have managed to visit new and familiar cities in the old world once a year but never writing any of those journeys down.

But as 2018 guarantees a fresh start (that + a 5 hour flight to Portugal and countless delays), I have found myself plenty of time to write about Helsinki! Or as I used to say “godforsaken Helsinki” because compared to its neighboring countries, Finland doesn’t seem too appealing. The last 2 days however, has completely changed my mind. Despite having spent only limited time in Helsinki, I have already a taste of how authentic, pragmatic and productive the Finnish people are, all incredible virtues that are so underrated in our generation.

Before I go into any details, I would highly suggest that you visit when it is warm because when it is -8 and it snows + you do not have proper shoes (or stellar balancing skills), you’re guaranteed to pok gai (Cantonese slang for falling, but really the imagery is more like slipping and slamming your face right on the ground).

I personally slipped every 10 mins but managed to stay upright at the cost of having muscle pain all the way from my lower back, to my butt, my thighs, my calves AND my feet. The silver lining to this though, is that I was forced to focus on landing my foot on solid grounds, tracing my footsteps intently, preempting any possible mishaps that involve getting my butt wet from falling on the snow.

Because I had to pay full attention to my walking, consciously and cautiously alternating my legs, my mind had no choice but to stay focus on the present, so captivated that I had no capacity whatsoever to think about the past or the future… that my friend, is meditation right there. My brain felt so refreshed afterwards; instead of the daunting and never ending worry of tomorrow and reminiscing of the past, I gave it this one basic, kindergarten level task of “not falling”. Instead of the default auto-pilot mode to walk while multitasking, those hours on the icy road was just my footsteps and my shadow. Sorry there were no shadows because there was no sun.

First day in Helsinki was a great day because I happened to land on a day with a strike so no public transport for me and my 20kg luggage+10kg hand carry and backpack! I mean from Madrid/ Copenhagen/ Paris/ to Chicago, I always land into cities right on the day they strike. That didn’t stop me from visiting the contemporary art museum on the only day of the month that it’s free though! Then I also happened to arrive at the national museum after 4pm which is ALSO free 🙂 Second day was great too if not better because all ticketing machines broke down so I had no choice but to take the Suomenlinna ferry for free. It was as if the whole of Helsinki is working together to help me save money to cover for my taxi fare.

First free entertainment is the Kiasma art museum. My favorite installment is the eerie room of the “sick” nature with black water flowing in pipes across the giant piece of…art. It made dragon noises and it was just out of the world cool. I just love how these arts are so eeeeeerie and almost alien like.

Second free entertainment is the national museum, I recognized right away the famous “baby box” that best demonstrate just how practical and logical the Finns are. Back in the days when they had high infant mortality rate, the government thought the best way to fix this is to give pregnant women body check early on. Given how vast the country is and back in the days when most people still lived in the rural areas, it was not an easy task to encourage them to visit the doctors.

So they came up with an incentive program where pregnant women who completed the body check early into their pregnancy will be handed out a “Baby box” with everything your baby need when they’re born. It includes diapers, baby clothes, milk bottles etc. all placed in a sturdy box that can be used as a crib too for the newborn! Not only is the box worth a lot of money, it simple took away the anxiety of being a parent for the first time! Although infant mortality rate is no longer an issue, the Finnish government still kept this tradition as it also brings a sense of belonging to the people. By sharing the color of your baby box, Finnish are able to identify the year they were born in 🙂

This got me thinking, there isn’t actually parenting classes or simulations, so how do you know how to be a parent when this is possibly the biggest responsibility anyone can have: to instill the right values, make early major decisions and provide for another human being YOU bring into earth? Here I’d like to salute to all parents in the world because even if you didn’t do a good job, it is totally understandable 😛 no one should be blamed for not getting things right the first time.

Now back to Finnish culture. According to the museum, the Finnish people believe that there is an elf in every household’s sauna room. They’re supposed to keep your family safe and happy. However, they will only protect you if they are happy so you certainly do not want to piss them off by 1) farting 2) talking too loud or 3) staying too long in the sauna! This reminded of how the Icelandic also believed in trolls that guard the land so Government will ask for permission before building a highway or building. In fact, can anyone tell me what’s the difference between a troll, a gnome and an elf?

The theme of the temporary exhibition is “Finnish treasures” where the museum invite locals to send in items they find to be of personal significance that best represent Finland. To me this was the most touching part because you see real life in the form of someone’s wedding dress, christening robe that were worn by 3 generations and my personal favorite, a tool to pick berries owned by somebody’s grandfather. In a flash I imagined how my life would have been, if I grew up in the suburb of Finland.

My family makes a living by picking berries or tending to ewes. Every weekend, instead of going to the mall or dinning out, we will probably gather around the fireplace enjoying some homemade rye bread. You’re not defined by your college degree or your pay check, but how well you coexist with nature. It is not just a cozy dream because you can still raise a family like that if you so desire. To me, the purpose of traveling is to allow you to see possibilities, to see beyond your daily mundane routines and your own paradigm that there are, in fact, thousands way of living, of motivation and purpose in life that you can opt for.

May be it is the vast white snow or the freezing sea breeze, but I am overwhelmed with gratitude and content. Referring to the Art of Travel just a little, it is absurd to let ourselves be bound to where we so happened to be born and raised. In a world that is so well connected and informed, it is almost a sin to not fully explore what the world has to offer.

Now imagine sitting in an authentic bar with just the quintessential, no fancy redundant decorations like freakish fairies made of iron or nitrogen coming out from teapots or color changing ice; watching modest cars pass by the window while sipping Finnish G&T, listening to heavy metal music blasting in the background, this is Helsinki. I hope that the next time you’re planning a trip to the Nordic capitals to experience nature, artistic and design atmosphere or slippery grounds, do give Helsinki a thought, Finland has much more to offer than Santa Claus 🙂

They also say bo(n)m dia like in Barcelona though :)

Before we dive into the final 4 reasons why Portugal is the absolute best, I’d like to deviate slightly onto a more serious topic that had a massive impact on Lisbon.

There is a church in Lisbon with no roof where you can see right through the sky. It collapsed during one of most fatal earthquake ever recorded in 1755 that ruined 60% of the city. It was Nov 1st, All Saints Day when going to mass was mandatory. In the morning when every good Christian is indoor praying, the strongest earthquake of Europe history, 9 Richter scale (estimated as the system wasn’t in place back then) surprised the region and 50,000 people lost their lives.

Fire burnt for 5 days straight. Most people who survived were the “sinners” who didn’t go to church or happened to be outdoor (i.e. not at church). Since people back then were extremely religious and didn’t have our understandings of science, they must question, why would “God punish the good and spare the guilty”. It did not fit into the whole Noah’s ark bible story so this incident sparked a paradigm shift to logic and reason that perhaps god is not behind everything.

To me though, my takeaway is that if Lisbon can rise from fire and ruins and be great again, we too can certainly overcome any challenges that come in our way. Also, I still believe in the good in religion, whatever form it may be in as long as it gravitates mankind in the kind direction. Now let’s switch gear into the more lighthearted, final 4 reasons of why you should visit Portugal.

5) Literature: Even the national day of Portugal is to commemorate the death of a poet! The influence of literature runs deep in the Portuguese culture. At the very beginning, Latin is the written language and Portugese is merely a spoken dialect on the street until Camões wrote the first book in Portuguese that the people finally has a language that they can identify with!

Speaking of literature, I have grown really fond of the unique Portuguese phrase “saudade”. My local guide translated it as the presence of absence, of emptiness that is created by what is lost. There is also a high level of uncertainty involved, either never reliving the presence of what you long for, or a very slim chance of it happening. Sort of like the emotion that remains after the person or thing is gone. How beautifully melancholic is that? It is the bittersweet flip side of Love, because you can only feel saudade after you had a strong positive feeling towards that place/ person.

6) Food: OMG, from steak or other meat dishes to seafood, from tripe (which meant organs) to desserts, even the restaurants not on trip advisor that I just walked in were divine. My most fluent Portugese phrase is no doubt “pastel de nata”. I mean I have had those in Macau obviously, but here they bake the heart of the custard right between that luscious state of solid and liquid and I lost count of how many I’ve had after my 5th.

Anyways, since I’m not very good at describing food, I’ll just share two interesting stories about the local dish of Tripas and Francesinha. Being Chinese, I have no problem eating intestines or organs and what not (ok definitely not bunnies and dogs) but it is always good to see other cultures making the most out of our food source 🙂 Back in the days when Portugal sent all young men to fight the colonial war in Africa, the army called for all supplies from the village and the Porto people were so generous that they gave everything to the soldiers leaving only the intestines/ organs of the animals they slaughtered. That’s where this dish came from, a stew made of tripes and beans and now they also added ham and sausage as we’re no longer at war 🙂

Francesinha is another typical dish, where the locals would debate where they think has the best one and it is a tradition to eat one before their hometown football game. This is a crazy big portion of meat sandwich layering steak ham and sausage poured all over with a golden sauce that is the secret of every chef. It is slightly spicy and was supposed to induce the ladies to take their coats off back in the days 😉

7)Ridiculously good value of money: I am guilty of this having bought 2 pairs of made in Portugal leather shoes, 2 bags (at least I tried bargaining getting 10% discount at the end!), a scarf and a bracelet (that meant reborn 🙂 good quality stuff all for 160USD! Below is actually the street where I did most of my shopping; it is also the most expensive street on Portugal Monopoly 🙂 Rua Augusta.

Not only is shopping cheap, dining out can be as low as 8 Euros for a full course, transportation day passes are reasonable (6.5 Euros a day for all trams/ elevators, metros and buses!) and there are so much free stuff you can do such as the gorgeous viewpoints, gardens and churches. I would like to highlight churches because I have never seen that much Gold in my life. Even a random small chapel in the city is decorated with GOLD, we’re talking about 5-7 hundred kg of GOLD from Brazil in the major cathedrals. Just think about all the wealth Portugal is sitting on all these time!

8)Safe and friendly neighborhood: somehow several people has commented “Are you sure you’re going to Portugal alone?” as if I should know that it is dangerous to do so. Quite the contrary, it wasn’t exactly like the Nordics, but it definitely felt much safer than Paris/ Rome/ Barcelona etc. you name it. There were occasionally beggars or homeless but that’s pretty much all of Europe, at least they won’t bother you. Of course I did stay alert this time, having learnt my lessons in Barcelona, but in general I felt safe walking by myself even at night. My guess is there weren’t that many tourists here so pickpockets couldn’t make a career here.

Now that’s the end of the list from the bottom of my heart. Or as the Portuguese say “I put my heart next to my mouth” basically expressing all that I loved about Portugal. In case I did a poor job and you still need more reasons to visit… well I hope you’re a Harry Potter fan because 😉 JK Rowling was teaching English in Porto when she wrote the first Harry Potter book! Majestic Cafe is where she wrote most of it. Rumors had it that the bookstore and Sirius Black’s house were all inspired here 🙂

The Sunny side of Sydney

If you’re thinking in my last post, hmm criminals, prostitutes and sailors are not quite what I had in mind when I think of Sydney, you will love this one. Because Ta-Da, here is the signature Sydney!!

Freaking Harbour Bridge and Opera House, you practically see these twins EVERYWHERE you go! I mean don’t get me wrong, they are beautiful on first glance, and may be also on second glance. I was super excited when I first saw it but it gets boring after a while and Sydney is SO much more than that.

I have had delicious burger, coffee (FLAT WHITE, is what they drink here, a stronger version of latte/ no foam version of Cappuccino) and brunch! (Although I think these same items I had in Melbourne beat that :P) I mean the crispy bacon in the roll will probably get me cancer, but it’s just heavenly delicious so who cares.

I have also been called darling/ dear by strangers more often than the entire 2017 combined. I guess this gives you a rough idea of how great the city is, and how sweet the people are but if that’s not convincing enough, here are my top Sydney spots:

Top of my list is definitely the botanical garden! I know you may think oh that’s so boring, plants are for grannies… Let me tell you, coming from a densely populated urban city (Manila/ Taipei/ Hong Kong) filled with smog, polluted air and noise, I just couldn’t have enough of this open space, the fresh air and abundant privacy you get here!

You have no trouble finding a bench, a patch of lawn or a corner at the beach all to yourself to sit for a few hours. You get to thrive in your own personal bubble without being eavesdropped because you are so removed from the crowd.

Also flowers are just my favorite. They are so rich and saturated in colors of different shapes and forms; when I look at them I could just hear them singing different yet harmonious tunes as they happily receive the warm sunshine, gentle wind and occasional rain that nature so graciously provide.

Then there are the amazing (and free!!) art galleries. I love how they transformed the art museum into lively events that everyone can drop in and enjoy. Every Wednesday night, the NSW art gallery opens until 10 pm with a variety of interesting things to do.The night I went, there was sketching workshop accompanied by a strings quartet! I am so surprised at the number of people who showed up and the quality of the art work they produced. Mine on the other hand was only worthy for the rubbish bin 😛 but I enjoyed being part of this artistic circle and there is a different kind of joy watching others do things they enjoy 🙂 Passion is contagious!

Lastly, I was very lucky to visit the Bondi Beach and walk along the coast when the weather was postcard grade. It was like any other beach except for its wide strip of sand and strong waves! It was until now that I realize water changes color depending on its temper.

You see, as perfectly illustrated above, calm water is dark blue and agitated water is white! Why is that you may ask, well 😉 of course I also know the answer to it after consulting a chemistry expert (I guess he could somehow qualifies as that…) “The way liquid H20 align themselves (oh my god molecules are adorable) allow light to pass through which makes it transparent and therefore it’s blue because that’s the wavelength of light that escapes. On the other hand, angry water (waves) has bubbles into which breaks up the smooth matrix of H20 (aww poor molecules, say bye to your buddy) and thus create an imperfect surface but without any contaminants to absorb the light, it sort of perfectly reflects light in an imperfect way. blah blah blah Ok, well I am totally lost here so if you have a better explanation, do share with me 🙂 Personally I just think water has a bit of temper that’s all, you and I both turn pink or scarlet red depending on how embarrassed or furious we are.

On a more serious note though, water has recently became my favorite in a way that I want to “live” like water. First of all, water doesn’t overreact to external factors or stimulants, yes there are ripples but it just calmly accepts it and return to it’s peaceful, still phase because that’s when it can be “reflective”. If we are always distracted by the day to day mundane chores and noises, we could hardly reflect upon what really matters in life. So I shall end this thought upon the famous Bruce Lee quote “Be like water, my friend.”

Sydney reminded me so much about London, the “rubbish bins”, the Queen statues and the right drivers’ seats. Then Martin Place reminded me of Wall Street New York as the important looking men in suits wave each other off with “flat whites” in their hands pretending they are busy going nowhere. (except the suits weren’t as nicely tailored.)

The weather and the hobos on the other hand reminded me a lot of Market street in San Francisco. But then Sydney has this more relaxed, safe and comfortable vibe that makes it unique. I think it applies to every city you go. You are reminded of other places by the little things here and there, but this mix of familiarity conjures up a completely different feeling that makes this specific place special.

What was extra special is that Australians recently voted Yes because love is Love. Love in itself is extremely hard to come by and to keep, so wherever or whoever we find love with, it is precious and equally worthy. Simple as that. I have realized in my trip to Germany last year that you can fall in love with a person, an idea, or even a city. I hope you have found love somewhere in this isolated and vast world that we live in because love is all you need 🙂

Last random fact about this statue of the Queen: it was moved from Scotland all the way to right in front of the QVB because, who wouldn’t choose Sydney over godforsaken Scotland right?

The Dark Side of Sunny Sydney

G’day mate! I hope you’ve missed me 🙂 It’s been a while since I’ve written about my travels but I have not stopped traveling! I still can’t believe I was able to squeeze in a personal trip right between 3 other business trips but I’ve made it! Dozens of flights and repeated destinations later, I finally visited a new country this year!

Last year I did Germany and UK which were both very nice but it’s nothing compared to this time because I’m stepping foot into a whole new continent too! It’s been a pretty short trip for 2 amazing cities but I think I made a good call to focus on the city and save the outskirt day trips for another time. I got to see everything I wanted to see, and everyone I wanted to meet 🙂

9 hours later, I landed into Sydney with a clear blue sky and big fluffy white clouds. I have probably taken 500 more photos than I need but I simply couldn’t get enough of these gorgeous cities. Yes! It’s just starting to get warm down south and the weather just couldn’t get any lovelier.

Everything seemed pretty central so I ended up walking 30 mins to places without realizing all these short walks add up to 6-8 hours of walking daily. My legs are still sore as I write this but it’s just hard to resist when the sun is being so welcoming and the wind so gentle (the expensive transportation costs is a big push factor too of course).

1788, prisons were starting to get crowded in London so basically this city started off as London’s offshore jail! Even until the early 1800s, 75% of the population are convicts! They also relied on food coming from London every few months so life was very tough. The prisoners who got exiled weren’t even deadly villains, but rather guys who stole horses and girls who shoplifted hair brushes who get sent off all the way to Australia on a 6 months journey by the sea.

Over 1000 convicts would get shipped off at a time but since the businessmen get paid up front, the money always get spent on prostitutes (for themselves of course) instead of basic supplies for the convicts. By the time these ships get to New South Wales, only 10% of the prisoners would still be in heathy conditions. I think my 10 hour flight wasn’t so bad given that 200 years ago people had to travel 6 months with no clean water and food crammed in a ship with half of your buddies dead on the way there.

Lucky for the ones that actually gets here, they can roam around the city freely! Because a) it’s an isolated island so you can’t escape to anywhere b) you either get killed by poisonous snakes, crocodiles, weird beasts, gets drowned or all of the above if you’re unlucky c) everyone’s a criminal so locking everyone up won’t even make a difference anyway. So these convicts were mostly building a life around this hilly area called the Rocks.

Back then the gender ratio between convicts was about 4 guys : 1 girl. I mean heck if I was a Londoner back then single at mid 30s, I’d steal a few breads just to get shipped off here considering how cute the guys are 😉 😉 And just imagine, an entire city run by convicts, with alcohol and rum especially as the unofficial currency. Life must have been pretty fun back then. What’s most interesting of course were the crimes committed on this convict island!

After a few decades, Sydney also became a port where sailors would stop by. If you’ve seen Pirates of the Caribbean you’ll probably know sailors are good business! You can sell them food, drinks, shelter, clothes and of course, prostitutes! But you know what is most profitable? Don’t tell that I told you this, but stealing is a pretty decent business with no overheads and costs 😉 You can also sell these sailors! What happens is they go to bars and they were told the drinks are free!

Drink as much as you want. The next thing you know, you woke up in a dark room, found yourself chained or shackled on a rocking ship heading to god knows where or enslaved on the ship for eternity! Apparently, the bar owners would just place these drunkards in wheel barrels, roll them downhill and then directly load them onto ships. Oh what a easy and good business sailors were.

As the society developed, banks and courts were also established as part of the system. And when there are banks, there are robberies 😉 On a normal weekday, the bank opened up its vault for the usual check ups and saw a big hole on the wall while 20M AUD (in today’s value) was gone. The police (yes, there were police) snooped around to no avail. It wasn’t until a few years later, when the court sentenced a random William Blackstone to hanging did they get a tip on the case in exchange for lighter punishment. Turns out William and a few friends discovered the direct wall to the bank’s vault and simply dug for 3 Saturdays in a row to break through and got all the money! The police went out and arrested all these people BUT they were unable to convict them because the tip came from Willian who was a criminal. Back then, if you’re a convict, your words do not count in court! So they never recovered the money and these bank robbers just went free as a bird.

Speaking of birds, do you know that it is only in Sydney that you see these silly birds with long beaks (Ibis) roaming around, fighting for food with pigeons and sparrows? Imagine you’re a tiny sparrow from Sydney, sigh, your life is even tougher than if you were living in say Hong Kong. How do you get any food from the bin (British 😉 when your competitors get this unfair advantage of freakish long beaks!

Random thoughts on in flight meals

During one of my 10 flights in the first quarter of 2016 (3 times to Taiwan, round trip to Moscow, and to and from Berlin & Munich), the idea of writing about how I cope with meals on plane sparked. So here it is, Tips for getting through that dreading in-flight meal experience. (Obviously this excludes that juicy steak they serve on china and metal cutlery on business/first class)

(^ China Airlines upgrade business class meals with local taiwan XinYe欣葉 restaurant menu)

First tip may not be applicable to everyone but try to order tomato juice instead of soda or other beverages. Downing that thick salty sour liquid before eating opens up your stomach and stimulates your tongue to better prepare you for the undesirable in-flight meal ahead. I also always ask for extra water because you have NO idea how dehydrating the atmosphere is 40 thousand miles above ground.

（^super tiny Aeroflot in-flight meal)

Next common observation: their portions are always extremely small even for a petite girl like me (though arguably, I have a big appetite). So how to make your meal last when you are only given 2 meals in a 16 hours flight? I always eat SLOW. Drink plenty of water throughout; I cannot stress the importance of keeping yourself hydrated enough. Ration your food like mixing the sauces well with your rice and save up the best parts for last like the seared chicken pieces. For the little snack they place along the tray as dessert (mars bar, crackers…) I usually save it for an hour later to deceive your brain and prolong the feeling of a full stomach.

Third, in long haul flights, you often get a bread roll + butter. You notice since the bread is rock hard, the ice cold butter is barely spreadable. Since it’s not possible to toast your bread; warm the butter. What I always do is let it sit on top of my hot meal for a minute. Then when you open it, you can see that the yellow cube has transformed into this beautifully viscous, golden liquid, which you can then easily apply to your bread. I always eat up the butter even if my bread’s finished because nobody likes to waste food, especially not something as yummy as butter.

(^ Breakfast meal from BKK to HKG in CX. Notice it’s tomato juice again!)

Next, notice how they always give you pepper and/ or salt. Use it. Your taste buds are 30% less sensitive up in the air as they would on the ground. These black and white pixie dusts are guaranteed to make your meal more tasteful (not more delicious, but at least it no longer tastes like tissue paper. Well, it’s a taste you can imagine though I am not to say I haven’t tried it as a kid 😉

Last tip, savor the one thing that still taste as good as it would anywhere else you consume it: HOT COFFEE. It helps you feel reenergized through not only its caffeine in your blood stream and hot liquid down your throat, but also the unmistakable aroma that you can inhale like some kind of drug. Flights tire people anyways so it’s always good to get some energy boost.

How do you feel towards in-flight meals? Any personal tips you got? To conclude, picking out a good film (if you are lucky enough to have entertainment in flight) always distract you from the horrid food 😛 My all time favorite is Gone with the Wind which occupies a solid 4 hours and lately the Martian and Ex-Machina is pretty intriguing too.

Until next time,
Rach

written on Mar 27th.

to date travel:

7 times round trip Taiwan (I know… tiring)
Open Jaw HK to Berlin and Munich (stopping in Moscow, it was snowing and I had to walk from the plane to terminal so yes I have stepped foot in Russia 😉
Round trip Bangkok (yay relaxing for once)
Okinawa (again, but was so fun nonetheless!)
second half of the year will get more exciting I promise 😉

What I remember of Paris

I couldn’t possibly delay this any longer; despite how occupied my days were, there was a teeny part of me that kept reminding myself I have got to finish this. Of course it cannot be that I couldn’t squeeze an hour out to write this piece, perhaps a bigger, more emotional part of me did not want this to end.

It is like if this whole documentary never ended, my memories in Europe would linger forever. In 3 weeks time, another new chapter will begin but nothing can overwrite what happened in Europe.

I could never forget the beautiful evening on the top of Arc de Triomphe. As I moved along the rectangular roof, my eyes were drawn towards different streets and views, Avenue de Champ Elysees, Montmartre, Eiffel, La Defense etc. The wind was blowing and the sunset shadowing on us.

Of course this gorgeous view came with a price : climbing 284 stairs was not a joke.

I could never forget Versailles. It was so posh and huge. (Or perhaps chic is more suitable 😉

I could never forget the confusing and overcrowded Hall of Mirrors.

Or One of the few cleared sky rain free day in Paris

Or the perfectly symmetrical french garden.

Or the wide and long hallways with gigantic paintings hung up proudly on both sides.

Oh and that Delicious lunch (oh so small portion) and the sauce! The sauce was the heart and soul of the dish.

As I was queuing to get in, I turned around and stared at the far end of the palace. I tried to imagine what is must be like 300 years ago when there was nothing BUT this gigantic, lavish palace.

Where the King purposely took the imperial power away from the people (Paris); where only the selected few nobles can “watch the king rise from bed”. Where horses and carriages were used instead of automobiles. What the world must be like back then! (Almost forgot there was no flush either!)

I could never forget the concentrated faces in Musee de Orsay, sketching famous sculptures. I mean will you ever see that in Hong Kong? I doubt it.

The very last time I walked these symmetrical gardens. Trimmed trees and no grass.

Then of course there was Disneyland. I thought I would be ecstatic but I wasn’t. Is it because I am old now? I mean after all it is special, the 20th anniversary of Disneyland Paris (what a coincident there).

I had fun of course, the Hollywood Tower Hotel ride was such a huge surprise. I could still see how freaked out my friend and I were in the “haunted elevator”.

But honestly, it was not that great. I remembered Hong Kong Disneyland and Florida to be so much more fun. Or was it because I was younger?

Well, at least I learnt something new: This is Duffy, I first met him in Florida. He is a special bear Minnie made for Mickey to bring along to his sailing journeys. Mickey’s very own travel buddy. So “he would never be lonely.”

“ne se sente jamais seul”

Secret Wallet.

Gums and Ricola. Think again.

Good idea to outsmart thieves I think 😉

Final Chapter – Paris, Part 1.

The final trip of my first exchange to Europe. Paris. In all honesty, I loved the French Riviera more. But how can I skip Paris while visiting Europe? It just cannot be. So this is me and Paris in a week.

1) Montmartre

Looks familiar? The carousel must remind you of Amelie, fascinating movie. We went to the Cafe where she worked in and had tea there.

The girl who loves the sound of tapping spoon on creme brulee crust. Super touristy I know, but I just couldn’t resist 😉

After climbing what seemed like never ending stairs, we arrived the gigantic Basilica. It was filled with people on a warm Sunday afternoon. It felt so local to be lying on the grass slope sunbathing and sitting on the staircase watching impossible performances.

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Within this green district, time paused. No one cared how long they have spent doing nothing . Everything else was secondary and we were all there for one glorious purpose – chill.

This performer climbed up the lamp post with his football, spinning and flying like he was spiderman or something. His performance was so good that I actually gave him money at the end. Coming from a poor student, this must mean something.

Montmartre is also famous for its artists. We saw numerous painters in the square and I was so close to actually getting a portrait of myself, but then I thought, what if it turned out to be really ugly? Or what if it turned out to be so pretty that isn’t like me? Or perhaps, I was just too stingy after all 😛

Over 100 euros for a show in Moulin Rouge. Sigh. I will definitely watch it when I start earning my own money.

2) La Defense

This slick architecture is the icon of La Defense. Central Business District with Shopping malls and everything. You can actually see it from the Arc de Triomphe at the end of Champs Elysees. I watched Iron Man 3 here!

3) The Louvre

Speaking of this world-renowned museum, we were kind of ashamed because after merely an hour, we fell asleep while resting on the indoor bench. I blame the heating. But seriously, Mona Lisa was just so small with so many people pushing to get closer (which is still like a meter away). The most fun part was taking photos of ourselves 😛

The sign on the pyramid is the Trinity sign. Kind of like two infinity signs blended together.

Even after a few months in France, I still couldn’t locate my love for Western Arts. I am just so not an Art-museum lover after all. These interactive exhibitions, however, were much more entertaining.

4) Avenue des Champs Elysees

They say it’s the most beautiful avenue on earth. Well may be it is. Even the A&F store there was super glamourous.

Who knew Benz produces perfume?! While we were strolling along the street after dinner, I commented that people who live on this street must be extremely wealthy.

Then my friend added, “either that or they are hobos.” Haha. Very true. We did see homeless people sitting outside of branded stores that were already closed. What a striking contrast.

5) Eiffel Tower

Unfortunately we didn’t see it light up at night because everyday the sun set at 10pm and we live an hour away from city, which means we have to go home by 9pm latest 😦

During our free tour, the guide told us a touching story about the Eiffel Tower. Before Hitler arrived Paris, the French cut down the elevator chord to the top of Eiffel Tower. Thus, Hitler could only look up from the ground during the 4 years occupation and never actually stepped foot the tower. Even when the world was crumbling down, falling into the wrong hands and covered with blood stains, Eiffel Tower was always free. I hope it will always remain free.

The famous Notre Dame de Paris where the “Hunchback” lived. It was the last Cathedral I visited in Europe. Coincidentally, it reminded me a lot of the church I first saw in Monaco. Where have the time gone?

6) Seine River

Along the banks, I saw so many stalls selling paintings and mini Eiffel Towers. Highly recommend buying from these stores instead of hawkers on the street. (Because we saw a hawker pissed on the street and touched his merchandize without washing his hands.)

From afar, I thought the bridge had golden fences. On a closer look, however, all the golden were locks! Love locks, where lovers throw the key into the river after securing it on the bridge. So that their love/promise whatever will stay forever.

I wonder who started it. The whole thing doesn’t make much sense. I guess it’s supposed to be romantic. My dad suggested that I should sell these locks and copy a million keys so every time after the couples left, I can unlock it and resell it again 😉

7) Place de la Concorde and Tuileries Garden

This pointy thing is an Obelisk (yes I wiki-ed it). Turns out the French not only robbed artifacts from around the world, claimed ownership over them and placed them in the Louvre; they actually helped decrypt the Ancient Egyptian language! That’s why their Government thanked them with this “stairway to heaven.”

This is just me resting (second thing I did most in Paris, after tea-ing) next to the big fountain in the Tuileries Garden. Interestingly, all gardens in France are highly symmetrical. This is because they think symmetry is the most beautiful form. The tour guide also told us that’s why you don’t see much grass in French gardens… grass were very difficult to maintain back in the days, so you see a lot of sand instead. They are more “manipulatable” (Control Freaks!)

8) Food. Along this road with purple trees, we had a “reunion dinner” sort of.

Yes, Laduree is in Hong Kong now ! But they don’t have the ice cream with half a macaron on top… I handled some bank issues at BNP while eating the Coffee flavored ice cream. I almost left my bank card on the table but most certainly remembered my cup of ice cream.

9) Glass ceiling of Galeries Lafayette

This is where we saw high tech and extremely chic kitchen tools. This is also where we fantasized being future housewives/great cooks/ mothers. Brunch on Sundays and our kids playing together! Oh, I hope that day will come soon when I get that auto pepper grinder with light as housewarming gift 😉

End of Part 1

Netherlands – part 2 (Maastricht, Eindhoven)

Definitely the longest time I have put my blog on hold as I have finally returned to reality; back to GMT +8. Now finally, a break from meeting family and friends, time for some self indulgent me-time.

I know I know, a Church in Europe, no big deal. But hey, guess what’s actually inside?

Wait a minute, doesn’t that look kind of like a bookstore? Well because it IS a bookstore! For once, 9gag posts aren’t myths! Of course there is big Miffy at child section 🙂

On a side note, highly recommend this funny and enlightening book from Sweden “The hundred- year -old man who climbed out of the window and disappeared.” It made me laughed a few times on my flight back.

Haven’t had any good waffles after my visit to Belgium in late Feb…until I met this pink store! They actually put chocolate sticks INTO hot waffles so by the time you bite till the middle, it melts in your mouth. hmm delicious.

I have seen many tourist trains, but solar paneled ones? Definitely the first time!

Somehow everyday was bright sun white cloud blue sky in Netherlands. Chilling by the river under the swaying shadows of slender trees; resting alongside people smoking weed, ahem, I mean enjoying themselves under the sun; watching mean black ducks chasing kinder ones on the water surface… I can picture myself doing this for another few months.

Perks of being young: seemingly infinite time we’ve got. Seconds, minutes, hours that make up lives. Yet, the last 5 months flew by so quickly and before I can fully process it, I am into my last year in college. Time is so precious, do what you want to do and meet who you want to meet. Tomorrow might sound like a big promise but it really is no guarantee.

I was told the Treaty that created a common currency – Euro was signed right here at Maastricht 😉 To be honest, politicians should be more creative than naming their treaties after where they signed it…

Young adults playing saxophone next to the river, and I assume that’s what they do every weekend!

Then a nice long reading break with…unknown drink, well we ordered lemonade but as long as it’s cold I am happy.

Roads are paved completely in old tiles making it extremely difficult to ride a bike.

It felt like Spring, everything blooming and you never know what to expect around the next corner 🙂 So many things are just waiting to happen.

Banks in Eindhoven somehow looked like big mansions…

And that’s a store inside an egg. Why is every building so unexpected?

Lastly, the first time I live in a room all by myself. The door number was not the luckiest but it was such a lovely single room. I actually had to buy an old school clock as my phone was lost thank god I did not miss my flight. NOT even once. 😉

Rotterdam, where every police I met was a woman~

First off, why on earth have I met 4 police woman in the politie station? Well, just a few weeks before going back to Hong Kong, I have accidentally (?) dropped my phone 😦 in somewhere that I wasn’t 100% sure. But well that matter had been settled, what was REALLY strange was every police I encountered was a middle aged woman :O. Completely opposite to the stereotypical masculine police figure. Anyway they have been so nice to me and based on my “rather” limited encounter with police, I think they are all really kind people who tend to swear a lot.

Now back to Rotterdam, it seemed like a decent city, but there really was just one touristic place: Kinderdijk. There are 19 windmills that have been there forever; long enough to be listed a UNESCO. Most importantly, it was completely free!

We rented a bike (haha, another funny story) for a few euros and got to enjoy the postcard views along the rivers of those tall old windmills.

That above is obviously too big to be my bike. I am not good at cycling at all given that this is merely my third time riding one, but turned out I was not the worst! I managed the entire journey back and worth without falling.

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Indeed there were some occasional sudden breaks, brushing against pedestrians, screaming and shouting. But but but, I still managed. Once when I stopped suddenly, a man walked by and said to me “I am Dutch, do you need me to teach you some lessons?” hahaha embarrassing.

Of course biking is no big deal, but for me it is. I figured out that it wasn’t the balancing that really frightens me. It was the being out of control. Instead of trusting my legs, I have to rely on 2 wheels that don’t even attach directly on me!

But I was still able to enjoy the view flying by me on both sides (yes, flying because I know the faster I go, the more steady it would be) of the bike despite my constant murmur to myself that I will not fall.

What made it even harder was the pedestrians who always move out of my way too slow, and the rather “narrow” road surrounded by water, another fear of mine. At the end I bruised my little right finger perhaps from brushing against the pedestrians too often 😛

I stopped occasionally when there were more things to see. I ran into 2 duckling families running some errands together. It was definitely one of the CUTEST scenes I have EVER seen in my exchange so far!

A big and a small family 🙂 With mommy and daddy protecting them from back and front!

Couples with the same pace in life.

Then of course we should never forget about the tea part!

And yet another day of TEAAaaaa. Now I am starting to have a rough idea where my extra weight might have came from 😉

There was then these strangely tilted dices they made into a HOUSE. It was cheap to go in, but it made us all very dizzy. I guess we human are too used to the normal straight line boxes.

AND of course the pancake boat. It wasn’t that special really, what was SUPER surprising…was the playroom they have under the boat!

One last special thing, THE largest “vending machine” I HAVE EVER SEEN in my life 🙂

Roadtrip with Dad at a glance (Evian les Bains, Thonon les Bains, Interlaken and Montreux)

Here is the town where the so-called best water, Evian, came from! We stayed in a cozy and small hotel. This was a really good lunch for 18 euros only before we checked in.

The beautiful weather followed us from Geneva and as I entered the room, I was overwhelmed by just how sweet everything was!

There were small sofas with stuffed bears at the corridor. They also used my favorite keys to lock the wardrobe.

Our room opened out to a gorgeous balcony overlooking Lake Geneva and Lausanne, on the other side of the “lake” that actually looked more like an ocean 😛 And guess what came complimentary with the room? Evian brand water. OF COURSE.

The weather stayed picturesque long enough for us to roam around this rather empty town with nothing much to see. Then it showered heavily and we went into a Casino. Strangely, in all those little towns we went to, there would always be a Casino nearby.

There was almost nobody there which is good, I was quite tired of tourists pushing around by then (although I am a tourist too :P) Along the way we saw fountains that basically offers drinkable water (I know because I drank it and I am still perfectly healthy by now). That water is probably “Evian” water. Research has shown that Evian kept the location to where they bottle their water undisclosed to prevent people from polluting their “products”.

Since there was nothing much to do, we decided to drive to a Chinese restaurant we found on the GPS when the sky started raining hard. And to our surprise, we found ourselves at a different town – Thonon.

There’s me and my beloved dad 🙂 And after my first decent 3 courses 1 soup and rice Chinese meal in 4 months, the rain stopped and lovely puddles formed.

Although the sky was hardly dark, it was “too late” for shops to be opened. And when one’s bored, one does strange and retarded things. Well, that “one” was just me.

Next morning we headed for Interlaken and stopped by Montreux. Seriously a picture says a thousand words. I don’t know what else I can talk about these places because there really was nothing much to do. Nonetheless, simply breathing the fresh air and indulging our eyes with the gorgeous snowy mountains was worth it already.

Again, loving old couples under the postcard view. They have this look that says “wow, we’re both old, but it doesn’t matter because we still have each other”.

Interlaken was again back in the Swiss border. People were paragliding in the warm afternoon and there was a gigantic carpet of grass right between the snow-topped mountains. Again, nothing much for me to say, see it for yourself.

After crossing the lawn, we saw this really interesting “competition” between 2 churches.

The one above is Protestant and the one below Catholic. Well, they were perhaps fighting for believers because at 5pm both churches started ringing their bells really loudly and it was so chaotic! Really my first time to see this and I actually found it funny.

Cheese fondue again along with local beer that tasted mighty fine.

Finally our last stop, the OpenAir Museum that showcased the lives of Swiss back in the days. I LOVE open air museums, you get to play around with things and touch all kinds of displays that are forbidden to touch in a typical museum!

This cute little kid ignored her parents when they were walking away from her. Brave little girl.

Then me and dad tried to halved that piece of wood like people do in the old days. It was NOT easy at all.

Then the local ladies were so eager to teach me how to knit…I kept failing but they simply wouldn’t give up showing me so eventually I sort of was able to do a few stitches hahaha.

That was our lunch, mushroom risotto and sausages, it didn’t look appealing, but trust me, it tasted really good 🙂

We saw chickens and cows and goats and it was all just so much fun, going up and down their houses, climbing the stairs and playing with their kitchen and playrooms aaaah definitely worth bringing your kids there. It was my favorite place.

We could spend all day there just but no we stopped after visiting 1/3 of it because we had a schedule to catch! Zurich was our last stop.

This has got to be the best trip ever. No I’m not saying this just because dad pays for everything. Or that we get to have Japanese food, Hot pot etc… No. It was just so nice to have someone absolutely reliable, to have someone to talk to non-stop, who gives advices and encouragements occasionally. Just like all dads would to their child.

A big part of why I am who I am today is because of my Dad. Always supportive and caring even when I make mistakes. One thing I hate the most is letting him down. Despite of all the lessons I have learnt, overcoming my fear of the dark, of strangers, of carrying heavy stuff etc. I will always be the small girl I was.

Lessons my dad taught me (ones that I still remember)

1) Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. As long as the holes are not detrimental, I will let you fall into it and you will crawl out by yourself.

2) You don’t have to be the smartest person out there. The world needs a lot of smart people and you will do just fine.

3) Be nice to people, it’s a privilege that you can offer more.

Me: When can you accept that I get married?

Dad: Well you do know that after 21 years old, you don’t need my signature anymore to be legally married, right?

Miss Tofu

My journey in life

Tag: Travel