Before Sunset

Beautiful sunlight. Splendid company. Truffle fries and sticky date pudding. Chilled drinks. A tiny baby that pouts and ekks.

That was my Sunday last week. Before sunset.

Adoring

My Sunday evening filled with gorgeous pictures and far more interesting words than I deal with everyday. More of such times, please.

快乐

“快乐无需特意追寻，因为它偶尔会找上门。。。”

close of Jan twenty ten

Red Brick House


Uniform Pattern


Lovely snacks


Pretty Sights


Wonderful Place


Small things


Weekend Postcards

End of Jan, twenty ten. Next chapter.

The trip and its moments (for now)

I never imagined that I would be flying alone to London, then travelling to certain lesser known quarters of Europe this year (at least not so soon), but I did in the end. Having always joked about visiting and living off JG, I couldn't turn down the prospect when it was brought up in earnest. The schedule seems to permit, and besides i was yearning for a getaway before the year end finds me consumed in work. So in a whirlwind of two months, I unexpectedly found myself paying for a long-flight plane ticket and finding out about hitherto unheard of cities. Just two days before I flew off, I hurried to the library near my office late at night - before the library closes, of course - and borrowed a guide book (de rigueur for backpacking) that turned out to be pretty helpful.

Fast forward to two days ago. My plane touched down at Changi, and before long I was nestled in the west-bound train from Tanah Merah station. Having been surrounded by Europeans and moved in lush open spaces for the better part of the two preceding weeks, I found myself curiously scanning the local train and trying to reconnect with the old reality. Only some waking hours ago, I was standing in the tube (underground) going to Heathrow. Stretch the time further back by a day, and I was on another plane before transiting into an express bus while blustery winds were sweeping outside.

My mind says I am not jet-lagged, but I think my body thinks otherwise. Except for waking up for lunch, I slept nearly the whole Saturday away before waking up for dinner. This I attribute not to jetlag, but to the fact that I probably never had a good, proper rest while I was travelling. It is not helping that as it is i sleep very late when Im in Singapore. God knows what damage my sleeping patterns are wreaking on my health.

I have been asking myself how do i respond when someone asks me how was my trip. Seriously, I don't know. The trip was good, no doubt, and I guessed we've had our fair share of excitements. Yet it's hard to describe to others an experience that is made up of many parts. There are many bits of memories that linger on still, and i thought it best that I write them here before they become dusted into the mists of memories. Hey, even memories have their age.

1. Apart from a few hours that had me slipping in and out of slumber on the plane, it was nearly 48 hours before I slept again on another continent.

2. Except for return air tickets and accomodation for first two nights, we did not book accomodation nor did reserach nor had a confirmed itinerary for the rest of the trip.

3. Had lunch in the Alps with a view of lush greenery, high-rise mountain peaks and a blue sky above.

4. Summer BBQ in London, accompanied by beer and followed by at least 5 shots of I know not what liquor. Plus good karaoke - English and German songs.

5. Had bbqued prawns that were marinated in beer. Prawns were yummy!

6. Learnt about a 'How are you today' joke.

7. Stayed in hostel, dodgy motel, people's homes, rooms in apartments for budget travellers, friend's apartment - all except a hotel.

8. Checked in late at night into what JG dubbed a 'dodgy fugitive hideout' motel that has only one non-english speaking counter staff. Sign language was duly employed by JG. On a positive note, it was a nice motherly lady who seemed to be in her fifties.

9. Boiled water in glasses heated in microwave for our instant cup noodles that we brought from London. Had to rotate the glasses for fear of them cracking, then doing this for a couple of times.

10. Swam in the Adriatic sea and a beautiful lake called Bled.

11. Followed a dodgy young girl who was drinking with an old man to her home to check out accomodation - late at night and through deserted roads, no less. We didn't take this in the end.

12. Rummaged through garbage bins - the large ones for entire residential block - in London. Had to be supported at waist by JG while my upper half body was hoisted inside the large container bin.

13. Lost my IC (suspected thrown away), favourite sweater, 8GB thumbdrive, and mayber other as yet unrecalled items.

14. Incurred elbow injury and suspected hip injury (hopefully not or nothing serious).

15. Stupidly left my battery charger at home and ended up wasting pounds to pay for expensive batteries which i did not exhaust in the end because my obstinate camera decided it needed its own vacation, too.

16. Seen and eaten the most enormous, gigantic pizza in all our lives combined.

17. Had numerous take-away breakfast consisting of sandwiches that inevitably became our lunch.

18. Ate Squid-ink Risotto and scampi (lobster).

19. Saw Geroge Orwell's famous novel 1984 on film in a TV in a hostel in a territory that was formerly part of the communist federation. Somewhat ironic.

20. Paid money to visit a historical palace which is unhistorical and crappy. Totally kena 'Kah'.

21. Met an intelligent guy who came up with his own language - with grammar and syntax and what not - at the age of 13 (if i recall correctly) and who told us that he was featured/mentioned in the local papers in two back-to-back pages recently - a rarity. His mum was a linguistic professor and his dad an artist, we learnt.

22. Can't remember the amount, but paid ridiculous sums for two bottles of coke.

23. Planned for a journey for Day 4 only the night before. Then the plan changed completely on the following morning by a twist of fate, happily.

24. Carried backpack and walked in increasingly heavy rain to bus stop that was said to be 200m away but which turned out to be some 800m away (i reckoned).

25. Bought rocher flavoured gelato that tasted like vanilla. Kena Kah again.

26. Tasted home-made tiramisu and tiramisu from cafe. Both were deliciously good.

27. Found out that French butter bread (1 pound from Tesco) is atas-ly called brioche.

28. Learnt that Greenwich is not prounced as Green-Wich but Gree-Nwich.

29. Slept on a bed which is probably unclean coz i suffered irritating itchy bites the following day which are probably the works of bed bugs. Yeww.

30. Ate grapes that are washed in icy-cold river and they were, well, icy cold.

31. Was told that beer is ang moh (caucasian) liang teh (herbal tea) and is probably the reason why i didn't fall ill in this trip. Have never had so much beer in the same period ever in my life.

32. Assumed the role of pseudo DeeJay trying to catch English songs on available radio channels while on the road.

33. Am officially known to disappear out of the blue. Otherwise known as getting caught up with photo-taking.

34. Had wine at a cafe in an old castle and witnessed a Russian wedding taking place with some supposedly medieval rituals incorporated into the ceremony.

35. Danced (by that, meaning i shook my body and hands while on the same spot) at an open-stage music festival and had other europeans smile at us. The atmoshpere and music was great, and one's body just naturally grooved to the beat.

36. Had absolutely tasty grilled squid that we all loved and JG can now die without regrets.

37. Found out what FKK stands for. No, we didn't do a FKK.

38. Caught a West End Musical, at long last.

39. Stayed in a hostel for the second night only to find it crappy coz we couldn't turn on the lights and had to move in stealth at night so as not to wake our half-asleep room-mate who muttered from his bed 'i have an early train to catch'.

40. On day 8, we dined at America's most famous restaurant, which JG and Jean gleefully told me before dinner.

41. Later, realised that to use the toilet at said most famous restaurant, one has to use the code number given in the receipt to unlock the toilet. Thankfully, we had retained ours.

42. Stayed in a really nice apartment on the last leg of our trip and even caught America's Top Model from the comfort of our room. It was good to embrace Television again.

43. Had nice breakfast the following morning prepared by host which consisted of bread, marmalade, sliced ham and cheese, butter, tea, honey syrup. Except eggs which our neighbours had but we didn't, and JG was upset because he really loved eggs and would have killed for them. It was a very good breakfast nevertheless.

44. Tried to rent a car in early days but either it was too exorbitant or none was available.

45. Finally rented one on Day 9 from Budget, and that resulted in our budget bursting through the roof. But it was necessary, for that's the only way to see the alps and enjoy the beautiful countryside. With the occasional company of U2, Roxette, and Hotel California on the radio, our road journey was blissfully scenic. Did i mention the 50 hairpin turns that JG had to manoevure?

46. Each day ended with us doing accounts and recording our expenses. We have accumulated a heap of receipts.

47. Despite having had enough of pizzas, we had it again on Day 7 because our Japanese friend whom we met on the trip told us that the restaurant served the best pizza she had ever eaten in her life. It's questionable, but let's just say I've had better pizzas.

48. Got absolutely sick of bus rides which we have to pay additional money for putting out backpacks in the luggage compartment of the bus because we are not allowed to bring them up the bus. (Kah again!) Managed to beat the system for two bus journeys though.

49. Had good beef steak and spaghetti at a restaurant in an alleyway that has a nice two-man (pretty old men if i may add) band playing wonderful music. Found out when we were paying that there's a 10% charge to total bill for having dined when there's a live band playing. Always read the fine lines.

50. Bought a 200ml tube of sunblock and a shampoo only to have them thrown away at the end of the trip because we only had hand-carry luggage.

51. We are nuah creatures and wanted to nuah but the trip was anything but.

52. Walked into a hotel in a rather decrepit town which the guidebook says 'Avoid (this town) if you can'. Checked the rates out of curiosity, and because we were really tired of walking. Turned out that the staff was most wonderfully helpful and tirelessly assisted us with checking available accomodation elsewhere even though we didn't stay at the hotel. To repay her kindness, we gave our most pleasant smile and sincere thanks and - what else - took a picture with her.

53. Saw two Japanese female tourists running in our direction and JG joked that they were running into the Gucci shop. Turned out that this was no joke and indeed the case.

54. Had Japanese curry chicken rice from Wasabi for dinner when we got back to London. Weather was cold and we were hungry and it was late. Oblivious to our surrounds, we tucked into our hot curry rice while taking the Jubilee line back to JG's home.

55. Missed fireworks and Paul Young's open-stage concert because of unexpected stormy weather which JG theorized as due to some change in air pressure, whatever.

56. Thankfully, we did not have any unpleasant meals. Almost all were good, not counting those that we ate on the go. The last dinner at Bled was memorable for the wrong reason though: we had to fan off irritating houseflies, and JG and I unleashed our combat power and exterminated quite a few of these pesky scums, besides resorting to decoy by placing used plates on other tables. Oh, we were the only ones in the restaurant; the rest were dinning al fresco.

57. Legend has it that Xiao Long Bao in its ang moh manifestation is known as Xiao Long Tequila. I had a really good laugh over this.

58. Where we travelled to, few Singaporeans have set forth because immigration officers were always surprised to see a Singaporean passport and ended up having to scrutinize it.

59. On top of that, quite a few locals who talked with us invariably assumed we are Japanese. 'Sushi?' 'Konichiwah?' We can only guess that the Japanese are well-travelled, and I'm sure it's not I who was mistaken as Japanese. :)

60. Came across a guy called Mario (at least in his fifties) who is apparently the general manager and Chief de Tour Guide on a cruise. He's an immaculate salesman and a crowd pleaser who sang songs in a wide specturm of foreign tongues, and he jokingly introuduced himself as Mario Pavarotti. At the precise moment of sunset, he wished everyone the best and invited all to enjoy the sunset with a glass of the cruise's cocktail/champange that is pronounced as 'Boom Ba la Boom Boom'. That didn't come free, of course, and you bet there were tourists who went for it. Hats off to Mario Pavarotti.

That's all the exciting, or not so exciting, stuff I could recall for now.

The Philosophy of Feeling Goood

Relish

The finer side of life is about having time to wander around like a free spirit, to relish the sights that excite our senses, to delight in jokes and laugh in the company of friends, to feel contentment doing the things we love, and to find meaning in life and make peace with ourselves.


Colour schemes maketh what's hot and cool


Indulge savoury pleasures


Take a seat inside


Nice grocery, lots of things to see


Find that little corner to lounge and chill


The wandering cat is a symbol of silent stoicism


Man's best friend


Spot the roses among the thorns; the shimmering pretty in the wild


Pictures, inspire.


Laugh like a cow, no matter how moronic you look

Take me away

Take me away from home
Take me on the road to
the House of Chill
Where a river lies at its doorstep
And the sky above, Bue and Vast,
Changes its cloud formation
Like destiny changing every second.
The wind scurries and the rain cometh
But Im inside the House of Chill
Feeling warm comfy and happy.

i like. magazines.

Somewhere i read: 'No modern abode is complete without some casually stacked books on your coffee table to reflect your taste.'

The 'books' could have been replaced by 'magazines', and it would still come off perfectly fine. And why, that line came from a magazine i'd read, of course.

I like magazines. I like the travel sections: the picture spread and interesting stories that tell of little known facts, curious information, amazing discoveries. I like the feel of their sleek covers, the glossy pages, the captivating fonts. And i happen to think that a magazine is not good enough unless it has lots of pictures. Gorgeous pictures, no less.

I like to read magazines, to be sure. From the serious type, to the lifestyle kind. The latter, i especially like the casual mood, stylish pages and easy texts. And if it comes with well-written, intelligent articles, all the more better. Words and pictures - they can hardly go wrong with me (the nice ones, i mean).

I like flipping through magazines and letting my eyes (perhaps more than my mind) guide me through the pages till they linger, unconsciously, on a particular text or picture. So frivolous, I know. But frivolity is as much a fact and need in life as are solemnity and propriety.

And i say again, I like magazines. Oh well.

that perfect brew

It's nice to see (that's important) and it's nice to drink (that's also important, if not more). Ay, I'm such a sucker for aesthetics, i think it would be a good idea if i could get to know how my tea and coffee is served before i decide on what to get.

Which my polite friends would point out, you'll never get to drinking your tea/coffee. Oh well.

I love pancakes!

Living my not-so-secret unambitious ambition of chilling out in a nice cafe, imbibing the langurous mood, forgetting the inexorable march of time.

sinful photos

I love food and colours!

The Quintessential taste of New Orleans

So said my atas (bourgeoisie) friend, who recommended the drink Mint Julep to me when i was going through the cocktail menu.

Being the absolutely ignorant peasant that I am - my esteemed friend has taken upon himself to elevate me from existing to living - I asked in earnest what the 'quintessential taste of New Orleans' is and how the recommended drink gives off that 'quintessential taste'. Whereupon my friend begain a slight introduction on the history of New Orleans (slaves, plantations etc). I was not the least bit tipsy, but I promptly forgot his entire explanation. After all, could i seriously be blamed if the atmoshere of the luxury bar was intoxicating my senses?

We had just finished our glass of Yamazaki Whisky. Earlier, my esteemed friend patiently explained to me the difference between a fine whisky and a lousy one (you could feel the latter which runs down your throat and leaves an irritating sensation). He even commented on the single, solid ice cube that accompanied the Whisky; it must surely be something about how it complemented the whisky.

I held the glass in my hand and took the first sip gingerly, like an excited but clueless proletariat who is tasting epicurean cuisine for the first time.

'Gulp.' I took a small amount, swirled it a little, felt and tasted it, then finally letting it run down my throat, believing that the sensation was, well, superior. I was trying my best to look the wise and appreciative, which must surely be de riguer for the atmosphere.

A fine evening it was, and I had been shown how to live, not just exist. In case you are mistaken, my esteemed friend was good company, and I had a relaxing night in a totally chill-out place.

Now, I just need to taste lousy whisky to appreciate a good whisky next.