tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-108713802024-03-07T17:15:15.009+08:00One day at a timeGetting through life one day at a timejohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.comBlogger1273125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-41232561486791403772015-02-13T12:18:00.001+08:002015-02-13T19:35:58.606+08:00Marked Mine<div dir="ltr">
For about 10 years now, I've developed the habit of marking my office stationery with my name, in hope that they will not go missing. It does help, I think, since I don't lose that many pens and folders anymore. <br />
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However, when I leave the organisation, I don't remove my labels and leave the item for the next person to use. <br />
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And being in the banking line, where you colleagues will rotate from one bank to another, I've had ex-colleagues showing me my old stationery as they come across it. <br />
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The first was a clear folder (they're hot commodity and hardly get returned after it's circulated for contents to be approved). I use the back of my old name cards and write "For Approvals" and stick them on the folder so people know it belongs to me. It was discovered 2 years after I resigned from that bank and it's still circulating with my name card stuck to it!</div>
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The second incident was my old box of name cards, discovered still sitting in my old drawer, almost 4 years after I left! Ok, so this isn't marking my stationery but it was funny when my ex-colleague politely asked me permission to use my old drawer. </div>
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And recently, my pen was discovered in my old office building, being used by another department. I've left that building a year ago and it just recently surfaced.</div>
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Can't wait to see what else will pop up! </div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, I was going through a list of these nursery rhymes with my colleagues and they looked at me, bewildered of the extent of cruel rhymes I know. Grabbing these off the internet, here are some of my favourites:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1. Sing a song of sixpence</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,<br />Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie.<br />When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,<br />Oh wasn't that a dainty dish to set before the king?</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>The king was in his counting house counting out his money,<br />The queen was in the parlour eating bread and honey<br />The maid was in the garden hanging out the clothes,<br />When down came a blackbird and pecked off her nose!</i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The poor maid!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">2. Jack and Jill</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Jack and Jill went up the hill,<br />To fetch a pail of water.<br />Jack fell down,<br />And broke his crown;<br />And Jill came tumbling after. </i></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;">Apparently this is in reference to </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;">King Louis XVI and </span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;">Marie Antoinette? I always wondered what crown Jack broke. Someone explained to me as a child that "broke his crown" meant Jack had a headache. Never quite made sense though.</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 19.6000003814697px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3. Three Blind Mice</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>Three blind mice. Three blind mice.<br />See how they run. See how they run.<br />They all ran after the farmer's wife,<br />Who cut off their tails with a carving knife,<br />Did you ever see such a sight in your life,<br />As three blind mice</i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Kesian these mice. They were just minding their own business! And they were already disabled, now even more so!</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4. Oranges and Lemons</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Oranges and lemons,</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Say the bells of St. Clement's.</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">You owe me five </span>farthings<span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">,</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Say the bells of St. Martin's.</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">When will you pay me?</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Say the bells of </span>Old Bailey<span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">.</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">When I grow rich,</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Say the bells of </span>Shoreditch<span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">.</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">When will that be?</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Say the bells of Stepney.</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">I do not know,</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Says the great </span>bell of Bow<span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">.</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Here comes a candle to light you to bed,</span><br style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!</span></i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The delightful cassette we owned with this nursery rhyme even had sound effects of an axe chopping and a hollow plonk once the head dropped off.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; border: 0px; line-height: 19.6000003814697px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5. Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">She had so many children, she didn't know what to do;</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">She gave them some broth without any bread;</span><br style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;" /><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Poor kids. Why she so <i>hiao </i>have so many kids until don't know what to do?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Anyway, there is a long list of nursery rhymes which I don't want to list otherwise this post will be too long.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Apart from rhymes, I</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"> was also exposed to some lovely fairy tales such as:</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">1. The Little Mermaid</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Nope, not the Disney version. The one where she ends up casting herself into the sea and turning into foam. My cassette had <a href="http://youtu.be/a3MiETaBSnc">Fingal's Cave</a> accompany the narration of the story. Yes, I still remember this vividly and the book had a picture of her melting into the waves.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">2. Tom Thumb</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">Who tricked a wolf and got his parents to kill the wolf so that he could be rescued. My book had illustrations of the dead wolf lying on the kitchen floor, forever seared in my memory. Never liked Tom for this.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">3. Goldilocks</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">A spoilt girl who destroys the bears home and escapes without consequences. Humph. In line with the other stories, there should have been a gory ending for this one.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;"><br /></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">4. Hansel and Gretel</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">I couldn't feel complete joy when I read Enid Blyton's Faraway Tree/Wishing Chair when the kids encountered the land where everything was made of food, especially the house as it reminded me of Hansel and Gretel. Also, whenever my parents took us for walks, it crossed my mind to fill my pockets with something more permanent than breadcrumbs. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 22.3999996185303px;">My colleagues concluded that this is the reason why they consider me rather violent hahaha. I wonder what kids are exposed to these days...</span></span>johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-34552140843458216322014-12-30T23:55:00.000+08:002014-12-30T23:55:07.540+08:00Burying 2014<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><i>It's been a great year!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So goes Facebook's compilation of your photos and postings for the year 2014. I sort of cringe whenever I read that. This has been a year I've been rather glad that it's coming to an end, with the inane hope that things would get better in 2015, </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">as though replacing 2014 with 2015 would somehow miraculously bring better days.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I started off the year with a fractured ankle and a month long MC just after transferring into my new department. What a way to start new beginnings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For the first few months of 2014, I had an acquaintance (I'm still finding it strange for being affected by his passing), seeing my friend in agony and helplessness as she watched his life ebb away, a grandaunt and a granduncle pass away. A close friend went through a divorce and battles depressing emotion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Right after that was the disappearance of MH370, with an ex-colleague's wife, mother-in-law and sister-in-law, Jan's friend's dad and two church members on that flight. The shock, the confusion, the frustration of witnessing how the whole investigation unfolded to no avail. Suddenly, the world felt like a very big place, with unknown depths of the sea swallowing an entire plane to oblivion apparently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As the nation tried to grapple with the agony, MH17 happened. This time, the conclusion was swift, no one survived. At least there was closure and the nation mourned as the bodies were returned to <i>tanahair</i>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">At this point, when I flew to Perth in September, I couldn't help but to take a good look around at the other passengers, wondering if our names and lives would forever be linked together.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then there was the sudden passing of a Malaysian giant, Karpal Singh. The testimonies that flowed for weeks thereafter were evidence of what an incredible person he was. Malaysia truly lost a great man that fateful night.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In between, disturbing developments in this country were allowed to rear it's ugly head. Extremists were given free reign to say, threaten and do whatever they wanted without consequences, many were even defended by ministers! On the other hand, other people were slapped with sedition for the slightest things that "offended" those in the corridors of power.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In terms of weather, we've had a dry spell which had the capital city on water rationing for months, we recorded a fierce twister in the northern state of Kedah, we've had landslides on Cameron Highlands, and topping off the year, we had 8 out of 12 states on Peninsular Malaysia suffer from floods.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On a global scale, we had Ebola, ISIS, kidnapping of the Nigerian school girls, Sydney Seige, Talibans slaughtering school kids...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As 31 December approached, an AirAsia plane crashes into the sea in the midst of bad weather. AirAsia is my preferred airline and each time the plane goes through turbulence, I comfort and remind myself this is normal, nothing to worry about. I now know that whatever turbulence I will experience next time will be filled with fear.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My family and friends who are flying over the next month or so are having jitters for sure. It doesn't help when another AirAsia flight three days after the crash overshot the runway in Philippines, thankfully with no casualties.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the midst of all this sorrow, pain and uncertainty to usher in a new year, I can only try and take hope in Prov 3:5 </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.</i><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">To end this post with a little flashback, at the end of 2013, an ad agency came up with this funny video on averting bad luck associated with the number 4 in the year. If only...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TjBrFE6s5Hw" width="480"></iframe>johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-2350122268079420612014-12-05T23:35:00.000+08:002014-12-05T23:35:15.496+08:00Perth Tours<div class="MsoNormal">
So we were in Perth again, this time in September. This time, we decided to make it
a more relaxing trip in the sense that we didn't really have much plans.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, looking back, we still managed to squeeze in
several tours within that few days!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ok, here are the tours we did:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tour 1: <a href="http://www.perth.wa.gov.au/our-city/things-see-and-do/icity-tours">Free Walking Tour</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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We arrived on an early Friday morning, which meant we could
make it for the Boom or Bust tour which began at 2pm. All we had to do was be at
the iCity Information Kiosk at Murray Street. It was being renovated at the
moment so it took us a few minutes to locate the temporary kiosk along the same
street.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-Ggxt_AkX15bsy7xcSwu-axGBuwHXQ4VE-9sIqW_hvQztf_3pilc-FktXcYaimqCvvwhqTtXtHJZkNbcTNdqG6mwXHvZNIoOOSglzhZHLNf1sj_aJPe1ypUrkdg48sDDdUJDXA/s1600/Janice+with+Millenium+Man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV-Ggxt_AkX15bsy7xcSwu-axGBuwHXQ4VE-9sIqW_hvQztf_3pilc-FktXcYaimqCvvwhqTtXtHJZkNbcTNdqG6mwXHvZNIoOOSglzhZHLNf1sj_aJPe1ypUrkdg48sDDdUJDXA/s1600/Janice+with+Millenium+Man.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Millennial Man </td></tr>
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It was an interesting tour. We learned a lot about the history
of the buildings around the city, how the city was built because of the mining boom. Later when I told my sis-in-law, Yen, who's been living there for more than 10 years about about what we learned, she was surprised and confessed she wasn't aware of the history of the buildings and city either.<br />
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This tour is highly recommended!</div>
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Tour 2: <a href="http://foodi.com.au/cupcake-dessert-walking-tour-perth/">Cupcake Dessert Walking Tour</a></div>
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What's there not to love about dessert tours, amirite? We stopped over at seven outlets, from San Churros, Ben & Jerry's to Darrell Lea to name a few. </div>
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And we ended with pancakes, by that time we were so stuffed and could hardly take a decent bite out of the many flavours we selected. Being in a like minded group was fun!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAoAS3y4Yh3qzTqJRXXvvS0f4wTqJNxLhzjiT0u7H7-VMTE84mIXDC2zCkvrw9EDD7d_EdUUNpe2oCNWssrGRMgqdPQhSJ7Csp9hbnrzi8qvSaP4aDUS9gYjuZDFeS-Zyee-A-A/s1600/Dessert+Walking+Tour.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQAoAS3y4Yh3qzTqJRXXvvS0f4wTqJNxLhzjiT0u7H7-VMTE84mIXDC2zCkvrw9EDD7d_EdUUNpe2oCNWssrGRMgqdPQhSJ7Csp9hbnrzi8qvSaP4aDUS9gYjuZDFeS-Zyee-A-A/s1600/Dessert+Walking+Tour.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selecting our cupcakes</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWh8Y_ufmDRWQWoyN52ntrzPfjb4OJS78qyLx52QBO1mjBKAXqt64D7zgKxa4RjIe_yPr1GzihtvFzRcUB_M3Wp4TeD_1asDn3TJ32NpX9ibAwACsI__7VYxfxIetTgqNaf2g5g/s1600/Macarons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWh8Y_ufmDRWQWoyN52ntrzPfjb4OJS78qyLx52QBO1mjBKAXqt64D7zgKxa4RjIe_yPr1GzihtvFzRcUB_M3Wp4TeD_1asDn3TJ32NpX9ibAwACsI__7VYxfxIetTgqNaf2g5g/s1600/Macarons.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Macarons, served by a French guy, of course!</td></tr>
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However, I felt slightly disappointment as I've already tried San Churros on my own, and Ben & Jerry's were just tasting two ice cream flavours dug with sticks, like tasting the flavours at Baskin Robbins. Considering this is a paid tour, I was expecting just a tiny bit more from the ice cream, not what any normal walk in customer would be able to get on their own.<br />
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Tour 3: <a href="http://www.rottnestfastferries.com.au/packages/whale-watching/">Whale Watching</a><br />
This tour departed from Hillary's Wharf with transport provided to and fro the city. The 2-hour tour excludes the ride from the city and because the first place we stopped had little activity, the captain decided to take us to another spot where we saw a little bit more action.<br />
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The ride wasn't very choppy that day, thankfully. Or maybe because we took sea sick pills. A poor lady threw up while the boat was stationary for a long period at the first stop while we were trying to watch out for more whales.<br />
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It was great to see these huge creatures in their habitats. One tidbit of information, this is also the time when the sharks are most active as they try to snatch the baby whales travelling with their mothers on their way down south.<br />
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Anyway, another activity ticked off my to-do list!<br />
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Other things we did was to visit King's Park since Jan didn't have the chance to go the last time.<br />
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It was also tulip season at Araluen Gardens so we headed there early Sunday morning and were so glad we took the effort to go early! By the time we left at about noon, the cars lining up to get in stretched for miles!<br />
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Other things to note for this trip was trying out raw food in Freemantle! Raw Kitchen serves vegetarian, non-dairy and gluten free food where nothing is cooked over 50 degrees Celcius. If you know me well, I hardly take veggies but til this day, that meal was the most memorable!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6ZndUXwXhrat5lWjn4pwZ83MN37aJOjdqWrxkYE7j3LuLOugOZozpyWAsQkULaVmOIbZL-75oPWb_G1buq8uNh1fwHK3tdMxtOAQatym5ZJ2ERU0b-2aiRq_RGPhXKRt9WiptA/s1600/Raw+nachos+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY6ZndUXwXhrat5lWjn4pwZ83MN37aJOjdqWrxkYE7j3LuLOugOZozpyWAsQkULaVmOIbZL-75oPWb_G1buq8uNh1fwHK3tdMxtOAQatym5ZJ2ERU0b-2aiRq_RGPhXKRt9WiptA/s1600/Raw+nachos+2.jpg" height="398" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dehydrated nachos!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfpvBVTfkFG8Lgd7wwFDkMHpPBerKw3-6bo2tcTIy__699a_yH1YP1DAdIKiAtuOXTHGbvyU8gLESGnzVvdIpgDhMURnLhKFlwfXe2I4qz-p0PUpJcYoHHS_md2eW3NNBFR67pw/s1600/Raw+pizza.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbfpvBVTfkFG8Lgd7wwFDkMHpPBerKw3-6bo2tcTIy__699a_yH1YP1DAdIKiAtuOXTHGbvyU8gLESGnzVvdIpgDhMURnLhKFlwfXe2I4qz-p0PUpJcYoHHS_md2eW3NNBFR67pw/s1600/Raw+pizza.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pizza with a dehydrated base and powdered cashew nuts as cheese. The combination of raw ingredients made this my favourite dish.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixC2oItHBg31x1nxHzFdWCdeM2fUhRN8E3Vt7kB2KDCbOfgf84lM3fBg_y5zuWZwzgMCz1xMkr1wxlI5X4-iEKb85nQCv7OFDxJ8Fk53MQ4ddksH0UAlfthPC4t7HPuODCyC8R5Q/s1600/Raw+spaghetti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixC2oItHBg31x1nxHzFdWCdeM2fUhRN8E3Vt7kB2KDCbOfgf84lM3fBg_y5zuWZwzgMCz1xMkr1wxlI5X4-iEKb85nQCv7OFDxJ8Fk53MQ4ddksH0UAlfthPC4t7HPuODCyC8R5Q/s1600/Raw+spaghetti.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spaghetti made from raw zucchini.</td></tr>
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And of course, we were there to say hi to the furry residents of my Yen's home. Meet Cooper and Ah Ngiau!<br />
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And it was Red, my dragon's first time to Perth!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYkBgcKzh2NENrBB5TwA8JUYISEoJyFcPiR4-uCE5Dl-FM2MtKIBVOK2bAcXqQI9Hp5zfMwMb3zINqztjd798yiIseP7VleMBmCa3liZ8f_8K3pTF-Tk9c42IP4H6tw63yJ-dVA/s1600/Sunbathing+with+locals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNYkBgcKzh2NENrBB5TwA8JUYISEoJyFcPiR4-uCE5Dl-FM2MtKIBVOK2bAcXqQI9Hp5zfMwMb3zINqztjd798yiIseP7VleMBmCa3liZ8f_8K3pTF-Tk9c42IP4H6tw63yJ-dVA/s1600/Sunbathing+with+locals.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to be friendly and do what locals do, sunning your wings...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EjDYQU0KQDavH60UxUrglOxWt_x3Y76CMrvd8UdMlKJnlPMpMbPyHjIGrAxgYsBeCnXJB5D4UrXfa_FMzhGLjlDijxq8DJP9OvcmR8RruXDIgv_fn869ZgsqUmXgau3LaQhvhg/s1600/Hello+Perth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3EjDYQU0KQDavH60UxUrglOxWt_x3Y76CMrvd8UdMlKJnlPMpMbPyHjIGrAxgYsBeCnXJB5D4UrXfa_FMzhGLjlDijxq8DJP9OvcmR8RruXDIgv_fn869ZgsqUmXgau3LaQhvhg/s1600/Hello+Perth.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello Perth!</td></tr>
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It was also cherry blossom season and the tree at Yen's home was still in full bloom.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QvEwMS2YbAKPGQIV99JmTEF8RUMMOvEHt2ZBCLe_ym2mN0z9SNwrZM7DamosrLAqbxAXtlPuk4s5SI5IwdjYo2Xgsl1K8vjTwAzvFbepJTiGU0f3TebRvKZbwnYflwwmP6cP2g/s1600/Cherry+Blossoms.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1QvEwMS2YbAKPGQIV99JmTEF8RUMMOvEHt2ZBCLe_ym2mN0z9SNwrZM7DamosrLAqbxAXtlPuk4s5SI5IwdjYo2Xgsl1K8vjTwAzvFbepJTiGU0f3TebRvKZbwnYflwwmP6cP2g/s1600/Cherry+Blossoms.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGGh5dYkiZ7T1JEOIfI1ES-byGb4RHA_iHCNYPwXMYqhA9peuE37q0PYNvefQmcPNGqj6YTkh_Fcf_a_9J49mdV4z2epRLYQ3tntHWNGibvcZO7udXYikUpHK7Ogz6394lyqmAg/s1600/Cherry+Blossoms+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKGGh5dYkiZ7T1JEOIfI1ES-byGb4RHA_iHCNYPwXMYqhA9peuE37q0PYNvefQmcPNGqj6YTkh_Fcf_a_9J49mdV4z2epRLYQ3tntHWNGibvcZO7udXYikUpHK7Ogz6394lyqmAg/s1600/Cherry+Blossoms+2.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've seen so many plastic cherry blossoms it was hard to believe these were real!</td></tr>
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Thanks to the hospitality of Yen and Jason, we had a great time again in Perth. Looking forward to our bi-annual visit in 2 years!</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-38065921969011480902014-07-28T21:58:00.001+08:002014-08-14T15:31:39.326+08:00My New DSLR JourneyA few years ago, I asked myself this question, if the world were coming to an end tomorrow, what would I have regretted not buying when I have the means to get it? (Yes, I do ask morbid questions). So I’m eliminating stuff like a ticket around the world, visiting the moon etc and the answer hit me immediately: a DSLR.<br>
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I’ve been going through this internal debate for years (it’s worse than me trying to buy a phone since a DSLR is not a necessity). If I start on this DSLR journey, I’ll need to then add on stuff, I’ll need to be able to keep it in a dry box to prevent mould and goodness, it’s darn heavy to carry it while I’m travelling!<br>
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Last year, an acquaintance found out he had stage 4 pancreatic cancer. The chances of survival were very slim and he had less than a year. So what did he do? He went ahead and bought a new expensive car, tried to travel as much as he could and still purchased properties. He passed away earlier this year but I must hand it to him, he really lived life to the fullest. He once said of me, "Analysis paralysis!" when I was sharing with him my struggle to own a DSLR.<br>
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This got me thinking, what am I so fearful about getting it anyway? My problem is that I regret something before getting it but know that after I get it, I will have no regrets.<br>
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So when there was a promotion to get the one I’ve been eyeing on, I took the plunge and now am very happy to announce that I have purchased my very first DSLR – the Canon EOS 700D!<br>
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KS suffered through the whole process with double intensity, “Should I REALLY get it? Should I get the zoom lens or not? What, you mean Nikon has better reviews for the same price range camera?” until I finally took half a day off to ensure I went to buy it on the last day of the promotion.<br>
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Poor Angku has been the main subject of my testing out my camera. After taking the first few shots, I was quite happy with the bokeh. Until I downloaded it and viewed it on my computer. The picture was blurry! Even on Auto mode! Oh the horror!<br>
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Seriously, these were the only two shots out of like 30 which were closest to being clear.<br>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDiMfIzAVTGyHQ-ACec3L4U4UMsq1N9LzsgJyFRNX2TBUATAQcdxUR263TgpROdAWfob2SIGnXcSxPvEoSUUr8uGJogaIyUb4mUrsru0ZRHNsq_dmo0RPzIldUR7bbt_7ne8PTw/s1600/Angku+Camera+Test+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaDiMfIzAVTGyHQ-ACec3L4U4UMsq1N9LzsgJyFRNX2TBUATAQcdxUR263TgpROdAWfob2SIGnXcSxPvEoSUUr8uGJogaIyUb4mUrsru0ZRHNsq_dmo0RPzIldUR7bbt_7ne8PTw/s1600/Angku+Camera+Test+1.JPG" height="400" width="266"></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlwnx48Z1Z8IAOyhjWwSx9sDlj7lATX55wCVD4FrdlI9Mfa3ekKr3HxnPj2kKVWO4o1_mDqxbAP4H29JEahBNLYbOi9JcaepLXnxXegjNzYP-pC6AgLdIIgrdT79Hj61VBJ8fxlw/s1600/Angku+Camera+Test+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlwnx48Z1Z8IAOyhjWwSx9sDlj7lATX55wCVD4FrdlI9Mfa3ekKr3HxnPj2kKVWO4o1_mDqxbAP4H29JEahBNLYbOi9JcaepLXnxXegjNzYP-pC6AgLdIIgrdT79Hj61VBJ8fxlw/s1600/Angku+Camera+Test+2.JPG" height="400" width="266"></a></div>
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These were taken at night so of course it was trickier. My other daytime shots fared better but I don't intend to just use my new camera for outdoors now, do I?<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOQBs86PEz1lPjfkK7Hq_M5yG3GrgchBi84GHFVtL6piF0pDxc5ilsYtqK-tzqxok1IxpdEZ1xLybdf_c6vwLkX5uC1silQ5SjUg264os5yuMF14lEyLj4zzXUYeZ2PKepZBIeA/s1600/Camera+Test+Red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaOQBs86PEz1lPjfkK7Hq_M5yG3GrgchBi84GHFVtL6piF0pDxc5ilsYtqK-tzqxok1IxpdEZ1xLybdf_c6vwLkX5uC1silQ5SjUg264os5yuMF14lEyLj4zzXUYeZ2PKepZBIeA/s1600/Camera+Test+Red.JPG" height="400" width="266"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearer shot in the day.</td></tr>
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One day, I walked past this camera shop looking for silica gel when I noticed one wall displaying gorgeous black and white photography. Thinking they belonged to the owner, I was surprised to read the different names of the winners. Upon asking, the shop said they hold lessons and these are their students international award winning work. And oh, a new beginners class just started in English which is very rare since the teacher usually teaches in Mandarin, would I like to join?<br>
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I debated for about 10 minutes. Compared to my other decision making durations, I'd pretty much say this was an instant decision. SOLD.<br>
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Okay, sure I'd love to be able to have one of my photos published one fine day but for now, I think I'm just happy to be learning the basics of how to handle my camera.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uVWhvzYj2u9SAXTMzxjmJ_VDAE0KN4LUiQMBUUiI5XIhoWGzq2AwUSVFxWylmuwwXBc6CzCWOAMYPfqEkAXqgEylmviiw1DwKtDAAsoWaUASu2k9v8snr4_4XZqGZgFs4XSodA/s1600/Angku+Camera+Test+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_uVWhvzYj2u9SAXTMzxjmJ_VDAE0KN4LUiQMBUUiI5XIhoWGzq2AwUSVFxWylmuwwXBc6CzCWOAMYPfqEkAXqgEylmviiw1DwKtDAAsoWaUASu2k9v8snr4_4XZqGZgFs4XSodA/s1600/Angku+Camera+Test+3.JPG" height="266" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharper focus on her annoyed face. She looks like she's saying, "Again?!"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4uyHy7_OA0v4VJfqGROMrlikVyyt9Ru30jmhwwIFCQr6lQ9rfyC5lKsJ-6RV0JdSTTU1n6emanTp1voelyOqT8Qy6uDV4cTdHSMhqGYfh7eflCV7y_I-QuOszqMz1bsQP1FZKOA/s1600/Camera+Test+Ulu+Yam.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4uyHy7_OA0v4VJfqGROMrlikVyyt9Ru30jmhwwIFCQr6lQ9rfyC5lKsJ-6RV0JdSTTU1n6emanTp1voelyOqT8Qy6uDV4cTdHSMhqGYfh7eflCV7y_I-QuOszqMz1bsQP1FZKOA/s1600/Camera+Test+Ulu+Yam.JPG" height="266" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning how to use f.22 to make the water "smooth"</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUeWGVHrMfxVjHQFSkitYQL_REy2VWghTSvHQnb-k4XR5E0ydWIUOAQ-0POVoFv6i9mDOFlFLKm-p_AHWip3tJNQ23rYChuKLFb69LY2sZtHko3L3ARxr35EhbYcG-N82y3z_TXA/s1600/Camera+Test+Ulu+Yam+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUeWGVHrMfxVjHQFSkitYQL_REy2VWghTSvHQnb-k4XR5E0ydWIUOAQ-0POVoFv6i9mDOFlFLKm-p_AHWip3tJNQ23rYChuKLFb69LY2sZtHko3L3ARxr35EhbYcG-N82y3z_TXA/s1600/Camera+Test+Ulu+Yam+2.JPG" height="400" width="266"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning about lighting</td></tr>
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Pretty excited about my new journey! And of course, the gear suggestions pour in every lesson. 50mm lens, various filters, solid tripod, dry box... I'm going to see how long I can resist not getting new stuff!</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-35078363173343071692014-07-03T23:51:00.001+08:002014-07-03T23:51:34.956+08:00Overnight in Halong BayFor our trip to Halong Bay, we took the Royal Heritage Cruises arranged by the Hanoi hotel we stayed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPfIAPzvk12LDQo7LS3rPYtQw2SH-MDz6bJY8x6GrnjSa1nORSa_Bh3iXlFiO0K6IJ2BoLGnPoDQxSR3zdAvpAR6dGZrmv3GhmQrOWrstuIT7q1GdBcC1h9xtFCxJFtzKvzGCaQ/s1600/Heritage+Cruise+bus+with+Red.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzPfIAPzvk12LDQo7LS3rPYtQw2SH-MDz6bJY8x6GrnjSa1nORSa_Bh3iXlFiO0K6IJ2BoLGnPoDQxSR3zdAvpAR6dGZrmv3GhmQrOWrstuIT7q1GdBcC1h9xtFCxJFtzKvzGCaQ/s1600/Heritage+Cruise+bus+with+Red.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red in the van on the way to Halong Bay</td></tr>
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It was a two day one night trip, with 4 hours travelling one way from Hanoi in a van. Our tour guide told us interesting Vietnamese stories and facts along the way such as why are the houses in Vietnam tall but thin? Something to do with the space that is allowed per family so they build at least 4 stories high for that narrow space given, ground floor for business, second to fourth floors for three generations staying together.<br />
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We left at about 9 a.m. and made a pit stop at this place built for tourists, a centre showcasing beautiful pictures made from sewing colourful threads onto the canvas, lacquered wooden items, food stuff, huge sculptures and heavy wooden furniture.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJ3JhYUxqJomP6IXd5f8_PJ6tSslXfQQWg4X0F-UU4ZEtgrsMHl78NxTNKYOAca1WYq-xI1EF76tJUME4YICPg7V2ceXLrEV-xO324q7hNiNZyTI-uZNZxV52MZ0_fUwuGj_y1A/s1600/Sewn+picture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBJ3JhYUxqJomP6IXd5f8_PJ6tSslXfQQWg4X0F-UU4ZEtgrsMHl78NxTNKYOAca1WYq-xI1EF76tJUME4YICPg7V2ceXLrEV-xO324q7hNiNZyTI-uZNZxV52MZ0_fUwuGj_y1A/s1600/Sewn+picture.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a picture sewed with thread. Very stunning.</td></tr>
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When we reached Halong Bay’s ferry terminal, there were hundreds of people milling about waiting for their boats to arrive. We were escorted to a tender who then brought us to our boat for lunch after checking in. There were 13 (+2 who joined us the next day) of us for that night from far flung corners of the world, Brazil, Canada, Melbourne, France, Russia and another family from Malaysia (who were sitting beside us in the plane when we flew from KL, how about that?).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfL4Mf0dE3tU3QXtI2gXkDGhJB2gdovAZflcaRwvzHCwVqIlZTUYKTh8_ibOOujz6QL-aw91AL8yHhVILLk6oZNvWfTfEn7sGHkRaXnGapMh4d_v1EQgNzsW4rxSoIy6jSTuDYQ/s1600/Boats+at+Halong+pier.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSfL4Mf0dE3tU3QXtI2gXkDGhJB2gdovAZflcaRwvzHCwVqIlZTUYKTh8_ibOOujz6QL-aw91AL8yHhVILLk6oZNvWfTfEn7sGHkRaXnGapMh4d_v1EQgNzsW4rxSoIy6jSTuDYQ/s1600/Boats+at+Halong+pier.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the ferry terminal with all the boats lined up.</td></tr>
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Activities included in our trip was a visit to the Surprise Cave, going to a beach, swimming, making Vietnamese rolls, karaoke, squid fishing, taichi in the morning, kayaking and passing by the floating villages.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA8fGZkENl-Z9xFnyRfDJIn9ui7X69chrJCCduJXTai76gFx0QXPcIeyIhCIQ4NNHltdRtx8S1-AsQFsg_coHi4uaHsQnIdzTD3fw_gPYCoo1N4WhKDCyky2f6_rhogjfvl68UQ/s1600/At+the+Surprise+Cave.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikA8fGZkENl-Z9xFnyRfDJIn9ui7X69chrJCCduJXTai76gFx0QXPcIeyIhCIQ4NNHltdRtx8S1-AsQFsg_coHi4uaHsQnIdzTD3fw_gPYCoo1N4WhKDCyky2f6_rhogjfvl68UQ/s1600/At+the+Surprise+Cave.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lookout point before entering the Surprise Cave</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKnFcS2ZNW8iUagRtybM9fy89FCEC6wSXMbi_offFS4VZ4xr2FcltSkIGIOMr0IVTPzn0WLdooZuvZru7STKbmxMSWnp9CejWENU3_oblviBTipxZLBznEUNTVCG4wxkl3lUD3w/s1600/Boat+shop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXKnFcS2ZNW8iUagRtybM9fy89FCEC6wSXMbi_offFS4VZ4xr2FcltSkIGIOMr0IVTPzn0WLdooZuvZru7STKbmxMSWnp9CejWENU3_oblviBTipxZLBznEUNTVCG4wxkl3lUD3w/s1600/Boat+shop.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Villager selling her wares</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvjWzH5d3WOPebdRyRf2WStmrjLNa8HZ_uyFReO8V7UqbvUtS512_BwtRAsTHSeUpPDlQsrJySvXpQ5MWCOtXXfxfHOWzTN3HukbnOD1XZx6V1rgJ2rFzMAImRr13fnlvi3Gl2g/s1600/Boat+Village.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfvjWzH5d3WOPebdRyRf2WStmrjLNa8HZ_uyFReO8V7UqbvUtS512_BwtRAsTHSeUpPDlQsrJySvXpQ5MWCOtXXfxfHOWzTN3HukbnOD1XZx6V1rgJ2rFzMAImRr13fnlvi3Gl2g/s1600/Boat+Village.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Floating village</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjNgzUqzGtyfhCuf3p9qfspYET-JggmBubaCC-lGcVnGFTwXhlDKbvS9Xf671-oqlpK6DIaPr17lVS8-mI46hRX2DFjs4wqlQvafpTxeJTTS_uBGVs-UtQxYsK_uZRv3D_34-0g/s1600/Cavern+in+Surprise+Cave.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyjNgzUqzGtyfhCuf3p9qfspYET-JggmBubaCC-lGcVnGFTwXhlDKbvS9Xf671-oqlpK6DIaPr17lVS8-mI46hRX2DFjs4wqlQvafpTxeJTTS_uBGVs-UtQxYsK_uZRv3D_34-0g/s1600/Cavern+in+Surprise+Cave.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Surprise Cave</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7sQnIllBX24GlI2v9ONZc4miUuE9btB-d3pvNw9lo1rj7_h9UmNY5LIAKBmqFVE4fl4xILfhviphYL14JOT5SZOTd3d6rg6YVw_RbQ1DUsvwf7vPmdm70oPo5WypLLjjmn2yow/s1600/Inside+the+Surprise+Cave.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO7sQnIllBX24GlI2v9ONZc4miUuE9btB-d3pvNw9lo1rj7_h9UmNY5LIAKBmqFVE4fl4xILfhviphYL14JOT5SZOTd3d6rg6YVw_RbQ1DUsvwf7vPmdm70oPo5WypLLjjmn2yow/s1600/Inside+the+Surprise+Cave.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still inside the Surprise Cave</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkq2DvMhqpmIIXeM9RRCjCGJ6blNsiDuMnw4JPJzHJfxLW4piXSqxCLzWtuQw54V3nVrvCiey4MpUdYmG39wtShNiedtoFGkYTNx2GNMKJ8RPreYtKfih8n6hytbpd6oTA-V5Eg/s1600/Kayak.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxkq2DvMhqpmIIXeM9RRCjCGJ6blNsiDuMnw4JPJzHJfxLW4piXSqxCLzWtuQw54V3nVrvCiey4MpUdYmG39wtShNiedtoFGkYTNx2GNMKJ8RPreYtKfih8n6hytbpd6oTA-V5Eg/s1600/Kayak.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kayaking</td></tr>
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Is Halong Bay a must see? I found it crowded, everywhere you looked was another boat, the cave was packed with people, there was rubbish in the waters and the mist was almost always present so I couldn’t really take clear shots of the limestones.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4Tw0N_83Or2y3dF6BIuiiC3xckaUEPUcH1LTjrbPuK2kPB5liOAd0L5xK_kg0y6KCLvVT0gB4VgkYAW1u_kvNelTSfLWV7tpEajH6MyHmFT9klm7zXAH75pI2jAxj6PIkKGKvg/s1600/Boats+in+Halong+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY4Tw0N_83Or2y3dF6BIuiiC3xckaUEPUcH1LTjrbPuK2kPB5liOAd0L5xK_kg0y6KCLvVT0gB4VgkYAW1u_kvNelTSfLWV7tpEajH6MyHmFT9klm7zXAH75pI2jAxj6PIkKGKvg/s1600/Boats+in+Halong+2.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boats everywhere</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEB4S1icVaeYzz6QgDQmZ1lsIpUITo9uJyYGTHmCMkgAhFanLRYMWq595mqrWE21R__00WAUk2BnCTajkE9gc-JbQvCtPnGEtbVJmFfjAuBnxXz6f9em0dJGFxRg-EHy_8-p6bg/s1600/Halong+panaroma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJEB4S1icVaeYzz6QgDQmZ1lsIpUITo9uJyYGTHmCMkgAhFanLRYMWq595mqrWE21R__00WAUk2BnCTajkE9gc-JbQvCtPnGEtbVJmFfjAuBnxXz6f9em0dJGFxRg-EHy_8-p6bg/s1600/Halong+panaroma.jpg" height="132" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The mist adds a mysterious calm to the place </td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDg-YSD2Tu5LsmBge0_pFX_PQuQSWKwjjuQ4WQ5lNdV-N5_gM-4QmNNw9WNVvdgLTr3SkDuHijInwXpOPi_Hdcu-Pl2kSj01Ni98GhyphenhyphenCs9Pd56sxWXgd6IbY9d6oPUYJqsFQCtfA/s1600/Boats+in+Halong.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDg-YSD2Tu5LsmBge0_pFX_PQuQSWKwjjuQ4WQ5lNdV-N5_gM-4QmNNw9WNVvdgLTr3SkDuHijInwXpOPi_Hdcu-Pl2kSj01Ni98GhyphenhyphenCs9Pd56sxWXgd6IbY9d6oPUYJqsFQCtfA/s1600/Boats+in+Halong.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More boats!</td></tr>
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To me, I grew up with Langkawi at my backyard somewhat, so this experience was rather similar. The food was also close to home. For many, it would be a new experience so it would be worth it.<br />
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Of course the limestones were beautiful, I loved how they all had this parallel diagonal lines running around it, the calmness of the water where we stopped for the night, the peaceful hours just gazing at the stars from the top deck.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukAnHiRk1AzVRYPN_BrlNabAhlHXC8gkgVrUV8O680i0O6m-tLv1cXFSRG88DkaFm5V0fScLgAW87_ov_nobAu1WXIBF8JIa0hC4LQxByW6pdfqhRrnY3Tc9dZtxEr9gLN8mSrw/s1600/Halong+Bay+limestone.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukAnHiRk1AzVRYPN_BrlNabAhlHXC8gkgVrUV8O680i0O6m-tLv1cXFSRG88DkaFm5V0fScLgAW87_ov_nobAu1WXIBF8JIa0hC4LQxByW6pdfqhRrnY3Tc9dZtxEr9gLN8mSrw/s1600/Halong+Bay+limestone.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Can you see the diagonal lines on the top right? Most of the stones had it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWcR9vly3TepIH7XYOvkASDg2PSi76xCZfKVU96zbdEVxATEiXW2uMWnhOuY2T7EEKl1nCdmI13dVQT8AVDmKBbQti_us_PFHKLZ8NCsWPOsaRgoiqFBDYavIt_1mAxB0QUgPNQ/s1600/Cabin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWcR9vly3TepIH7XYOvkASDg2PSi76xCZfKVU96zbdEVxATEiXW2uMWnhOuY2T7EEKl1nCdmI13dVQT8AVDmKBbQti_us_PFHKLZ8NCsWPOsaRgoiqFBDYavIt_1mAxB0QUgPNQ/s1600/Cabin.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NGeNL0uZjoM26mxF7aJcNu_5aB4AfTlFE0oFarqKRGNPeVB0dvph9w7J1H1VB5ixj2zQSwt2wK9OCfAxgu3UqWGF2Da3ikjBb1GCqu9MpGq3FHdc3jCIla2s31NnYT5J3YYtlA/s1600/Boat%2527s+dining+room.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5NGeNL0uZjoM26mxF7aJcNu_5aB4AfTlFE0oFarqKRGNPeVB0dvph9w7J1H1VB5ixj2zQSwt2wK9OCfAxgu3UqWGF2Da3ikjBb1GCqu9MpGq3FHdc3jCIla2s31NnYT5J3YYtlA/s1600/Boat%2527s+dining+room.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dining room</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZcOGXv03tJueor5-PI660xVEUp3Vm_LCn6Og2EzF9aFy_vyTLcnO7biNUXC97MNglmHUAgVEIaB7KYIUMIF85kLG9vaAdUx30HYdovVCMVnG0N02CAJM5bBzk_q6SSVRcyzYSA/s1600/Selfie+at+Halong+Bay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZcOGXv03tJueor5-PI660xVEUp3Vm_LCn6Og2EzF9aFy_vyTLcnO7biNUXC97MNglmHUAgVEIaB7KYIUMIF85kLG9vaAdUx30HYdovVCMVnG0N02CAJM5bBzk_q6SSVRcyzYSA/s1600/Selfie+at+Halong+Bay.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Selfie at Halong Bay!</td></tr>
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We also got the biggest and most expensive room which was lovely (I think we were fleeced because the amount we paid was exorbitant – but anyway...). And I also got to know the Russian guest, Orga, since I didn't join in the kayaking. She’s lovely and a little scary as she asked me very direct questions such as, “Why don’t you know Russian language? Is it because Malaysians don’t like Russians?” lol<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9owq6JTvdbyvaXkJtkHY3zoo9pY0G8aTGwxnPpMG8jogeV5UIoGofOmZky0j_djzGioOtjOjhiULPEYdit5msZEW9SWOzI7vSrS9v0RCisMCB2Q9d_AUhcedw9ddHZW698v48g/s1600/With+a+Russian+lady.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt9owq6JTvdbyvaXkJtkHY3zoo9pY0G8aTGwxnPpMG8jogeV5UIoGofOmZky0j_djzGioOtjOjhiULPEYdit5msZEW9SWOzI7vSrS9v0RCisMCB2Q9d_AUhcedw9ddHZW698v48g/s1600/With+a+Russian+lady.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meet Orga!</td></tr>
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The first thing she asked me was whether I heard some of them singing the night before at the dining room while I was star gazing, "Did we sing good?". Thankfully I didn't have to wait hours for the right answer to pop up, "You all sounded like you were having loads of fun!" and she laughed out loud. She also <i>tried </i>to teach me some Russian words (she's a Russian language teacher) but I did warn her I couldn't even speak my own mother tongue.<br />
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We disembarked right after an early lunch so effectively, we were on the boat for 24 hours.johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-36789643199496420662014-06-08T17:45:00.000+08:002014-06-12T23:16:38.005+08:00Hanoi in 3 Days<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="text-align: center;">Actually, we were there for about 6 days but we take away 2 days for Halong Bay and another one for the flight home.</span><br />
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Anyway, to introduce you to Hanoi, Vietnam, since I've always been confused with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi is the one up north. It's the older city, the one with Old Quarters, the one nearer to Halong Bay and has Ho Chi Minh's (the person) body lying in state.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZEhMGpSUVBrKej7vdg0FTaI1GJ9KRgkY80BEnlOD6E1_f7S6HiDAtsQbWTFvtD48olRZT7amGL_46CnFfJqvkiPBw6jUjm0hlZD8AyLDfJe0APqLT_BvrL7YgQUGPc1OGSZs4g/s1600/Hanoi+location.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ZEhMGpSUVBrKej7vdg0FTaI1GJ9KRgkY80BEnlOD6E1_f7S6HiDAtsQbWTFvtD48olRZT7amGL_46CnFfJqvkiPBw6jUjm0hlZD8AyLDfJe0APqLT_BvrL7YgQUGPc1OGSZs4g/s1600/Hanoi+location.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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We stayed in a hotel called Rising Dragon Hotel (Hanoi means Rising Dragon by the way) who were very initiative and contacted us the minute we booked by offering us a tour to Halong Bay and Sapa. The staff were very friendly and helpful, with great recommendations on where to eat and where to go, would really recommend it! It's located in the Old Quarters and was a great base to explore Old Quarters. We got everywhere by foot easily. But of course, we walked like crazy (8.5km on our last day).</div>
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The first thing I noticed was that it is a right hand drive. I can't remember if this is my first time sitting in vehicles with right hand drive. And to look out the screen at the onslaught of motorbikes and crazy traffic and honking for just about anything. The noise level is so great that when we got back to KL, we looked at each other and said, "Wah! KL so quiet!".</div>
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We organized three tours from the <a href="http://www.hanoifreewalkingtours.com/">Hanoi Free Walking Tour</a> but only did two. Our first guide, Thuy, poor girl, arrived almost breathless as she was informed an hour or so ago about our booking even though we booked 3 weeks in advance. She was very nice and the first thing she taught us, unintentionally, was to cross a busy road by not paying attention and continuously talking to us while cutting <i>across </i>a busy roundabout!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJs0Iaol3QxotB-DvsxAZyTFK0AY7aq71-Qm6WUb88raHld2Bhkac4hcEeHfLWHwJQJrXs6C_jgLuGWJOFMewQPZs41QSzScZ2zUXrLZpIFYe6QrHtKHDr6F_RTxlKnSWQ4XK_Q/s1600/Buying+from+street+vendor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifJs0Iaol3QxotB-DvsxAZyTFK0AY7aq71-Qm6WUb88raHld2Bhkac4hcEeHfLWHwJQJrXs6C_jgLuGWJOFMewQPZs41QSzScZ2zUXrLZpIFYe6QrHtKHDr6F_RTxlKnSWQ4XK_Q/s1600/Buying+from+street+vendor.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thuy helping KS buy some food from a street vendor.</td></tr>
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Thuy took us around Old Quarters and covered as much as she could within the 3 hours (it's a really huge area) and showed us stuff we'd never have noticed on our own. For example, the streets were named after the product the shops used to sell, like silver, peaches and silk. She also pointed out narrow lanes in between the shops which actually lead to small tiny rooms which house families.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6ecEZIhFM57m7mk78mS0gKdl_dthpIMN7QcodjOWcdody7lnH_nAvY-dIg2YZ5UcRphtrquXREDlFsS4UnqIAZOhXqq02xm1TG5N6t9b9r29S0E87erIIOQ2mu6MaZngmjh7dw/s1600/Narrow+corridor.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB6ecEZIhFM57m7mk78mS0gKdl_dthpIMN7QcodjOWcdody7lnH_nAvY-dIg2YZ5UcRphtrquXREDlFsS4UnqIAZOhXqq02xm1TG5N6t9b9r29S0E87erIIOQ2mu6MaZngmjh7dw/s1600/Narrow+corridor.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Families live inside these corridors in windowless rooms.</td></tr>
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At the end of our tour, she took us into one of these dim corridors, up some narrow steps and entered what appeared to be a home converted into a shop. If we were on our own, we would have backed out there and then. Young folks sitting on tiny stools, <i>kuaci</i> shells coating the floor, a veil of smoke enveloping the generally dazed crowd.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TPCUQqgngdzgwkBLDnw1by4F5ZXCwQHnkMrbHYFlgeIg7EkBzpWkUF3iSzGXqFejU1hgn6tI1PlbuhtfrMpfFGZcrkxGMpWubJ5kC4cZpwjmsMIfW_bsUq0gZiZ9eLS6dlW0fQ/s1600/Egg+coffee+place.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0TPCUQqgngdzgwkBLDnw1by4F5ZXCwQHnkMrbHYFlgeIg7EkBzpWkUF3iSzGXqFejU1hgn6tI1PlbuhtfrMpfFGZcrkxGMpWubJ5kC4cZpwjmsMIfW_bsUq0gZiZ9eLS6dlW0fQ/s1600/Egg+coffee+place.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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This was where they serve egg in coffee, an original recipe made by this guy (who's family home is this place) who worked in the swanky Metropole Hotel as a barman. He concocted it while he was there and serves it only in this place. There are no signboards, so only those who know this place get to find it.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpiagy3-JyccQaJ4VxJSoNI0SJnT9c6QUGF5fzqJgusPv7RQIX1QkFIpimqF4mDcrlXbqOk_f8uNrBXPwYNsiV3BrCFZvGb0Uml1wbZ5iTs8EYZeaG1pyH_yXz1NJU7e4ARJ3dQ/s1600/Coffee+with+egg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqpiagy3-JyccQaJ4VxJSoNI0SJnT9c6QUGF5fzqJgusPv7RQIX1QkFIpimqF4mDcrlXbqOk_f8uNrBXPwYNsiV3BrCFZvGb0Uml1wbZ5iTs8EYZeaG1pyH_yXz1NJU7e4ARJ3dQ/s1600/Coffee+with+egg.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The froth arrived 3D, thick with the egg.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Squatting by a tiny table, we somehow squeezed into place and were promptly served with the famous egg coffee. I can't take coffee but had two tiny sips and immediately had a sore throat! Truly a must for coffee drinkers!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusrAMKQfgxs_S0i3-KyRsBB3l-zQIgiAMTq8-nYd_PNTwQMcQerJJqTzl-0rwPXnxu1h70LyLZ-0TLqwG7CnrOhzMPgjlwFaylMyMVPELfrx-vQGe0yqTXwqrVYfA0Blpei38zQ/s1600/Hanoi+church.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgusrAMKQfgxs_S0i3-KyRsBB3l-zQIgiAMTq8-nYd_PNTwQMcQerJJqTzl-0rwPXnxu1h70LyLZ-0TLqwG7CnrOhzMPgjlwFaylMyMVPELfrx-vQGe0yqTXwqrVYfA0Blpei38zQ/s1600/Hanoi+church.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Notre Dame-ish looking church in Hanoi, St Joseph's Cathedral</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguek0O6MAC7qbPH73mkHYAzuPDnNMwSxhGNMeP57JWY3zp9FXeT2JBc667yWJUxXm7yhHjaT7CG7o0fPRuGpF9edXtGpTk1zzXSVzI1D_rHccdt9QgrW63bq_HFm9VITJ7n83bNg/s1600/Preserved+fruits.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguek0O6MAC7qbPH73mkHYAzuPDnNMwSxhGNMeP57JWY3zp9FXeT2JBc667yWJUxXm7yhHjaT7CG7o0fPRuGpF9edXtGpTk1zzXSVzI1D_rHccdt9QgrW63bq_HFm9VITJ7n83bNg/s1600/Preserved+fruits.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The locals call these sweets but they are actually preserved fruits, sweetish sourish stuff.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4j_r_Dkwndc8jF4q5tGAuktAYaFZ1FMcYyLGilyQNPEG7Vejx1XIAk32GqpMHLDvDUZ3AkboAK2PRmY0vl4D6sbosGclY8n_Crxtmw4kSFbhoKOhvavCjAMkiB4e1EpUQW_5jA/s1600/Finger+looking+fruits.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt4j_r_Dkwndc8jF4q5tGAuktAYaFZ1FMcYyLGilyQNPEG7Vejx1XIAk32GqpMHLDvDUZ3AkboAK2PRmY0vl4D6sbosGclY8n_Crxtmw4kSFbhoKOhvavCjAMkiB4e1EpUQW_5jA/s1600/Finger+looking+fruits.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A fruit usually used for prayers because it looks like upturned fingers </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiTY3H2xbeOJZIR2rUQx90g4jhWgFrYC0NMtfNVxKEsRJ5w_3E9-KIY5uS1syR_JZbyRYVjXs5cJVDonMJqLlRMbiKxo0fkWZwyhUfDBns9SPL9Y9xr9KShJ2Rz4h65DwDNYKqQ/s1600/Flags+along+a+narrow+street.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioiTY3H2xbeOJZIR2rUQx90g4jhWgFrYC0NMtfNVxKEsRJ5w_3E9-KIY5uS1syR_JZbyRYVjXs5cJVDonMJqLlRMbiKxo0fkWZwyhUfDBns9SPL9Y9xr9KShJ2Rz4h65DwDNYKqQ/s1600/Flags+along+a+narrow+street.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Every shop had the Vietnam flag hanging from their shop for Reunification Day on 30 April.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWSJ-Ext9YprkgwjRJstUhuHHFvDeaPXL8BqnP7PDPtowZ-f6XzNlWntjXKJNMgqpk8olYCNq4JqpRxRnAQgyAw5OWxCrFwijYeGr7mei1gdCtCEm7MJbXlYzWRHzI56L6yIL2w/s1600/Thuy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWSJ-Ext9YprkgwjRJstUhuHHFvDeaPXL8BqnP7PDPtowZ-f6XzNlWntjXKJNMgqpk8olYCNq4JqpRxRnAQgyAw5OWxCrFwijYeGr7mei1gdCtCEm7MJbXlYzWRHzI56L6yIL2w/s1600/Thuy.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thuy, our wonderful guide for the day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On our second Free Walking Tour, we combined the French Quarters Tour and Food Tour since the Food Tour was cancelled at the last minute since there wasn't an available guide.<br />
<br />
Mai really opened our eyes to food which we didn't dare to try or didn't even know existed! She first brought us to eat cut fruits with yoghurt (or condensed milk if you prefer).<br />
<br />
When we stepped into the shop, there were these tiny plastic stools which we use for kids in kindergarten in Malaysia. Scattered amongst them were a few normal height plastic stools. Both Mai and I took a small stool, I thought of leaving KS with the higher stool to sit on but it turned out that stool was the table!<br />
<br />
Throughout the next few places we were taken to eat, we sat on these small stools. It's definitely not easy if you're not used to it. I had to fold in my fat to tuck myself in lol!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZM-Z8K23S9DJXg15lEmT_3Hi-mJx6GwZEa35eoUkN8pgNLbMt150TFnMsFVfWcm-rLvesuyX1fMFg28z0JGXHJXqH4fVhg-5EVmSoRnFOnOMqDyeCzNse10QIgXBScq6QvfizA/s1600/Cut+fruits+with+yoghurt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZM-Z8K23S9DJXg15lEmT_3Hi-mJx6GwZEa35eoUkN8pgNLbMt150TFnMsFVfWcm-rLvesuyX1fMFg28z0JGXHJXqH4fVhg-5EVmSoRnFOnOMqDyeCzNse10QIgXBScq6QvfizA/s1600/Cut+fruits+with+yoghurt.jpg" height="400" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cut fruits in yoghurt</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Cebt9X0QSmP5p1M5eZb-qzGz1BDQPB0_Ep9y_toM1loAEtIgj7Q_kUjx4yGnTzPTYX76a9A_OkPkhqxAj3_CM5q7zTL2FH0trDJ6yZnWJKkyK3BqakXdQGh740RZwnPbqKWb4Q/s1600/Beef.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Cebt9X0QSmP5p1M5eZb-qzGz1BDQPB0_Ep9y_toM1loAEtIgj7Q_kUjx4yGnTzPTYX76a9A_OkPkhqxAj3_CM5q7zTL2FH0trDJ6yZnWJKkyK3BqakXdQGh740RZwnPbqKWb4Q/s1600/Beef.jpg" height="400" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beef strips mixed with nuts and loads of veggie. Very yummy!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosQl8ZYZ5fcX3No4kkSZ7nG05rOyndO4DQ6cj4MN54dLIvaSNMqj_DeVJTocVq888S9jpb0bllMdpAauIWmVJ7uz8f3_DfjPuLa4DmttIsjiEl4EtdsF-gHBmA-GN0TRO8gQyWg/s1600/Vietnamese+spring+roll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgosQl8ZYZ5fcX3No4kkSZ7nG05rOyndO4DQ6cj4MN54dLIvaSNMqj_DeVJTocVq888S9jpb0bllMdpAauIWmVJ7uz8f3_DfjPuLa4DmttIsjiEl4EtdsF-gHBmA-GN0TRO8gQyWg/s1600/Vietnamese+spring+roll.jpg" height="400" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh Vietnamese spring rolls. The combination of each veggie was just right to give the perfect flavour.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeZq0e6h1thf5vaXidlIPccn5c2sXoGnvBpJEU_rOG92t0mq9iJP-IM5l-hqyHc_w35fNfi7CikQMoiIYYFfGsifk7VpoMS3zCn-9LGomy1O4mmCCXRrWbNqO8WxZgYVnv9Cz9w/s1600/Pork+wrapped+in+rice+paper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAeZq0e6h1thf5vaXidlIPccn5c2sXoGnvBpJEU_rOG92t0mq9iJP-IM5l-hqyHc_w35fNfi7CikQMoiIYYFfGsifk7VpoMS3zCn-9LGomy1O4mmCCXRrWbNqO8WxZgYVnv9Cz9w/s1600/Pork+wrapped+in+rice+paper.jpg" height="398" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bits of pork mixed with wood ear mushroom wrapped in a thick gooey rice paper sort of thing.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Since we had already stuffed ourselves, we headed to the French Quarters.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4b0jtiHfJSM6Lza-foMNAyJOFdijK-kNrEDA-X9HHm0F2QTW2YlWxhW11t8F-Ot8t4cHzXUgNIQHsM5tj607cQ749ruj0Lmnynra-bGzLdAG0dSraGf1w7hyphenhyphenBCdEL-buHMrK7CA/s1600/Hanoi+Opera+House.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4b0jtiHfJSM6Lza-foMNAyJOFdijK-kNrEDA-X9HHm0F2QTW2YlWxhW11t8F-Ot8t4cHzXUgNIQHsM5tj607cQ749ruj0Lmnynra-bGzLdAG0dSraGf1w7hyphenhyphenBCdEL-buHMrK7CA/s1600/Hanoi+Opera+House.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Opera House</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9q7cCK9BAkIJkQttGOKs-dZOTlxCJd_mTp_HZR_ywdtcy9i6gJktFYhZb5mOgqTjldb2qHCPJmRouM0AoRtfJ0YFEVCFCuvnT3_T3Dtd8hgsXr1fZkRRslO8bu4ZHAobCTZyZw/s1600/Panning+Metropole+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9q7cCK9BAkIJkQttGOKs-dZOTlxCJd_mTp_HZR_ywdtcy9i6gJktFYhZb5mOgqTjldb2qHCPJmRouM0AoRtfJ0YFEVCFCuvnT3_T3Dtd8hgsXr1fZkRRslO8bu4ZHAobCTZyZw/s1600/Panning+Metropole+2.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">THE most luxurious hotel in Hanoi, Hotel Metropole Hanoi. We walked inside in all sweaty shorts and slippers :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
We ended our tour with a visit to the most popular ice cream shop in Hanoi, Kem Trang Tien. This place is amazing.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLwex15ktBG8k_7iGdNWpQHZfLoi12_Ri2o4rxJC0UK-zauILg-emYAc7RenZ90zYA9jsUK2yrTrAZIweQ3dH5XLAGtElhRLdGU8bNXM_RNFS2gIHAUJsAY7Y5TEQJDzr_rskYA/s1600/Ice+cream.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOLwex15ktBG8k_7iGdNWpQHZfLoi12_Ri2o4rxJC0UK-zauILg-emYAc7RenZ90zYA9jsUK2yrTrAZIweQ3dH5XLAGtElhRLdGU8bNXM_RNFS2gIHAUJsAY7Y5TEQJDzr_rskYA/s1600/Ice+cream.JPG" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The entrance. See the motorbikes being pushed in? </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ww9OYJB5ZLVos3DCQDFDzwFjhBUgT1UaE2EauOG7bamEidB1fwQLDWACGGdNyyQvOPG_pLuSI5OKxNIyR4hwUhmyMRakm9Lmo5FjM6medmKzAThPHu0N0nsRTn0lARrVQk6NMA/s1600/Ice+cream+shop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ww9OYJB5ZLVos3DCQDFDzwFjhBUgT1UaE2EauOG7bamEidB1fwQLDWACGGdNyyQvOPG_pLuSI5OKxNIyR4hwUhmyMRakm9Lmo5FjM6medmKzAThPHu0N0nsRTn0lARrVQk6NMA/s1600/Ice+cream+shop.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The customers drive in, park and make their orders. There was a constant stream of customers while we were there polishing off a cone each.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAEd6zBsppou5d0pckl0N78GFgJ4qCZ0uRxbDrwiHzYhy8chcKRJiSogTO8ZOkdyaGip8Uc13XIbjisRUFeHSfMImelAs6vE3aScC-0tNr_0JCZHrwF585ldrupoN5UhXZM3RBg/s1600/Mai+our+tour+guide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZAEd6zBsppou5d0pckl0N78GFgJ4qCZ0uRxbDrwiHzYhy8chcKRJiSogTO8ZOkdyaGip8Uc13XIbjisRUFeHSfMImelAs6vE3aScC-0tNr_0JCZHrwF585ldrupoN5UhXZM3RBg/s1600/Mai+our+tour+guide.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time to say goodbye to Mai</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<u>Food in general:</u><br />
<br />
We had:<br />
<div>
- Pork noodles</div>
<div>
- Pho</div>
<div>
- French baguette</div>
<div>
- Egg coffee</div>
<div>
- Beef noodles</div>
<div>
- Grilled fish</div>
<div>
and more...<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Our first meal was this pork noodle place, Bun Cha. Oh-em-gee... it was so good. And such a large portion. We wished we could have gone back a second time but so much food, so little stomach! Don't speak Vietnamese? It's ok, just sit and they will serve you. "Eat whatever they place in front of you" was our motto.<br />
<br />
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisS7pPjWeFlNY_Zp2z8qgyFNNCaPnx2J3g23kWsOu4eOeE92wdrxQTibEOnbw53KxGNpr1S3Iq-DvAttDS9_jeZzkgPknqoYUf3U9lLcYN6u7L284SnWFIltwnT0hny72jfI_b4Q/s1600/Bun+cha+-+pork+noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisS7pPjWeFlNY_Zp2z8qgyFNNCaPnx2J3g23kWsOu4eOeE92wdrxQTibEOnbw53KxGNpr1S3Iq-DvAttDS9_jeZzkgPknqoYUf3U9lLcYN6u7L284SnWFIltwnT0hny72jfI_b4Q/s1600/Bun+cha+-+pork+noodles.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bun Cha (pork noodles) was our very first meal. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: start;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYQq0DJ7t36u-504bw5rcV78lO5no8APUXVJjEL-mGCdeASH0B4he6muWW7zwza8F7l7-xysgGIe2XPBRNZ4Td-7QVRVuC8iXow_ugFzOd9R02N3hdDpma_qHQ6jJmLnmBtbKgA/s1600/French+bread+cart.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBYQq0DJ7t36u-504bw5rcV78lO5no8APUXVJjEL-mGCdeASH0B4he6muWW7zwza8F7l7-xysgGIe2XPBRNZ4Td-7QVRVuC8iXow_ugFzOd9R02N3hdDpma_qHQ6jJmLnmBtbKgA/s1600/French+bread+cart.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first baguette from a roadside stall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcL-M5xkcPi0oHB9zdlnPxnU9im-n9wfBEjiNhOVWJLABFbB_rIOx8Kp0r0vZ3DXZVKTxqtQzvQvRtmldQ3SrcswdXyQi1sKZ77oex59PMFia9Htf67mXpAxkS4MG8NGXOvu8-Gw/s1600/French+loaf+stall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcL-M5xkcPi0oHB9zdlnPxnU9im-n9wfBEjiNhOVWJLABFbB_rIOx8Kp0r0vZ3DXZVKTxqtQzvQvRtmldQ3SrcswdXyQi1sKZ77oex59PMFia9Htf67mXpAxkS4MG8NGXOvu8-Gw/s1600/French+loaf+stall.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our second baguette, operated by this lady who had very basic equipment to run her business at the side walk. This is something I noticed, the women did business with the least things they had. Just do it.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
We were also recommended to try this grilled fish along Hoan Kiem road with the basic instructions of "Cha Ca La Vong". When we got there, a guy rushed out and implored us to go into his shop with the magic words "Cha Ca La Vong? Here! Here!". We were a little taken aback and I sensed something wasn't quite right especially when he said something along the lines of "You're looking for number 14? This is 14!" so we sort of guessed the right place was addressed 14.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
Looking around the street, we noticed <i>everyone</i> had their business signage as 14! So we stepped into the one with the address as 14 instead.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCiLiYPrG7cdogN5dklD4JwRrwGOFaAgRRAMOQRO21rww-ODp6kAbvoBbHx_CkEA2FFHajCV4IMhbjK2AAJ8YRfA8Neb_-rD4TehhLDbNgEP1QNYNkwLU0iM1IGoXoktXg4_xPQ/s1600/14+or+16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXCiLiYPrG7cdogN5dklD4JwRrwGOFaAgRRAMOQRO21rww-ODp6kAbvoBbHx_CkEA2FFHajCV4IMhbjK2AAJ8YRfA8Neb_-rD4TehhLDbNgEP1QNYNkwLU0iM1IGoXoktXg4_xPQ/s1600/14+or+16.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the signboard which says 14 but the address is 16? So we stepped into the shop next to it.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGt0MEwt67-Pa3-u_JckldRO2kBlHbiSLkl7IgUSUq0nbuH2PPfJg8LNDmCyaBvHWYxT2t1Fx9kwdh0g63hoMKbrV15D1SB9oTz1B557j6DlkDEmFE7vKqh_Ug95DcgvS_Kpbgfw/s1600/Grilled+fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGt0MEwt67-Pa3-u_JckldRO2kBlHbiSLkl7IgUSUq0nbuH2PPfJg8LNDmCyaBvHWYxT2t1Fx9kwdh0g63hoMKbrV15D1SB9oTz1B557j6DlkDEmFE7vKqh_Ug95DcgvS_Kpbgfw/s1600/Grilled+fish.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was fish pieces being pan cooked in oil with loads of veggie. You eat it with noodles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Pricey, delicious but honestly, nothing really to shout about but I guess it was for experience.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEN5Np99nHIKiIoy3ZhVDzxvOlisTS6lOpPN763CJyS8FM1SZCh89MQAh3s9v8sHVXzZ5im3BUh146AiiUcFePI717eIChxm8h8QOsPLh3FBJWUjJ9hpOCUoYm-1O1apheTJncnQ/s1600/Beef+noodles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEN5Np99nHIKiIoy3ZhVDzxvOlisTS6lOpPN763CJyS8FM1SZCh89MQAh3s9v8sHVXzZ5im3BUh146AiiUcFePI717eIChxm8h8QOsPLh3FBJWUjJ9hpOCUoYm-1O1apheTJncnQ/s1600/Beef+noodles.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our last night's dinner, beef noodles. It was SO good...</td></tr>
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<u>Places of interest and things to do in Hanoi:</u><br />
<br />
Besides what we covered in the tours, we did:<br />
- Hoan Kiem Lake<br />
- Water Puppet Show<br />
- Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum<br />
- Hanoi Temple of Literature<br />
- Pagoda in West Lake<br />
- The bridge designed by Eiffel<br />
- Longest tiled mural in the world<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7R9JQX4UmHIwvD4ek6logVMKcymW5NbUKzcL6tH-kLUQzGF-9eq6_CFBQ3DPfigyoUXfUQ0KvubNYaOwDaz-YA2w1HoPdRPT9I3cyqVeWzH8k_8P1sbcXc_T1sj9Ob3IRw-wmg/s1600/Ngoc+Son+Temple.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX7R9JQX4UmHIwvD4ek6logVMKcymW5NbUKzcL6tH-kLUQzGF-9eq6_CFBQ3DPfigyoUXfUQ0KvubNYaOwDaz-YA2w1HoPdRPT9I3cyqVeWzH8k_8P1sbcXc_T1sj9Ob3IRw-wmg/s1600/Ngoc+Son+Temple.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Ngoc Son Temple at Hoan Kiem Lake</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8urakEvgsVJY0H3cuJf5zhchbJ54ISlCcU6nAX_9tNIx3k8W_CY0f2UBMu09KwmUR_PAkkhrHy8Cxx3P2covo0KUpZEyN9KpdbyF72sK3hyphenhyphenl4bIEsADvT-fGD8hkamf94DutLg/s1600/Red+bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe8urakEvgsVJY0H3cuJf5zhchbJ54ISlCcU6nAX_9tNIx3k8W_CY0f2UBMu09KwmUR_PAkkhrHy8Cxx3P2covo0KUpZEyN9KpdbyF72sK3hyphenhyphenl4bIEsADvT-fGD8hkamf94DutLg/s1600/Red+bridge.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The red bridge at the lake which connects to the pagoda</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lHa_qt_KDTJM0Kn-L4_bWYlpSqXN-9zGWFcHWZT40F2I0bxx-QjrXA86ud0Z1GbExEBHR-e877yXlisY5HeCw1nlokFPlQpzQMXUhizqdfmtHvb43Yv-qaLGV2lIZr4Zl3DAtA/s1600/Water+Puppet+Show+dragons.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6lHa_qt_KDTJM0Kn-L4_bWYlpSqXN-9zGWFcHWZT40F2I0bxx-QjrXA86ud0Z1GbExEBHR-e877yXlisY5HeCw1nlokFPlQpzQMXUhizqdfmtHvb43Yv-qaLGV2lIZr4Zl3DAtA/s1600/Water+Puppet+Show+dragons.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A 45 minute Water Puppet Show</td></tr>
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<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcImAs-i1xlANA8YmSvt6j39AjzUrxYdKbCfVEBd5KhLGlKIbQOO-HSsrx_Z3bIU2O0n4r1epddav757ilDUGQll7Tm6Zpf9Tu6ZsyPd8_TdRta9nNWbCojkR674q8QdGEu1xDg/s1600/Changing+of+guards+at+HCM+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmcImAs-i1xlANA8YmSvt6j39AjzUrxYdKbCfVEBd5KhLGlKIbQOO-HSsrx_Z3bIU2O0n4r1epddav757ilDUGQll7Tm6Zpf9Tu6ZsyPd8_TdRta9nNWbCojkR674q8QdGEu1xDg/s1600/Changing+of+guards+at+HCM+2.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Changing of guards at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R2Ld333BKeXgNKHxFj52IWnImDuhjmLCyW93jB7R9CaOrt09C2mnw5RJ0nS1R16jplQzoEzozX93taEBnjl2N4-d6rkLRlgFes0rXXFGJeU2jqaaItXo2D22q_sLJLtqPJdg9Q/s1600/Pagoda+in+West+Lake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-R2Ld333BKeXgNKHxFj52IWnImDuhjmLCyW93jB7R9CaOrt09C2mnw5RJ0nS1R16jplQzoEzozX93taEBnjl2N4-d6rkLRlgFes0rXXFGJeU2jqaaItXo2D22q_sLJLtqPJdg9Q/s1600/Pagoda+in+West+Lake.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pagoda at the West Lake</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghC-24T_c4DYz1WOYSTujrL6dgsX9H2PA-Ukht5xpdCEaoISyecLhErVgMTbNhsfniuwGC9zwXo6NdyhRxLCmjIebyYHAgz_zmvqf3Vk8plpWwHOzcQann1kdnR2prybMUX5N_4A/s1600/Longest+tiled+mural.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghC-24T_c4DYz1WOYSTujrL6dgsX9H2PA-Ukht5xpdCEaoISyecLhErVgMTbNhsfniuwGC9zwXo6NdyhRxLCmjIebyYHAgz_zmvqf3Vk8plpWwHOzcQann1kdnR2prybMUX5N_4A/s1600/Longest+tiled+mural.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Longest tiled mural in the world</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLSyhiUKR_qwqgkno9yOU6C3ZTQ4C9cAPcUw_yoGtueUTR3MlEBar9wx9jH9xptZSqMy0k4rMXdUYA_h_qSGtaQMmrtZwOqv2IBCdb2F7BmCNWHT3LoJGNtbhGAWJHDO-XJD1Bg/s1600/Long+Bien+Bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwLSyhiUKR_qwqgkno9yOU6C3ZTQ4C9cAPcUw_yoGtueUTR3MlEBar9wx9jH9xptZSqMy0k4rMXdUYA_h_qSGtaQMmrtZwOqv2IBCdb2F7BmCNWHT3LoJGNtbhGAWJHDO-XJD1Bg/s1600/Long+Bien+Bridge.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bridge designed by Eiffel. Notice the similarities in it's structure to the tower?</td></tr>
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<u>The people of Hanoi:</u></div>
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The folks of Hanoi are business people. Just like the French baguette place mentioned above, with what little equipment they had, they'd just open a stall anywhere to sell anything. These hard working people made the place really come alive.</div>
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The highlight for us was getting to know our two tour guides. Passionate with a cause, Vietnam has a good future with these young sharp minds.</div>
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We saw quite a few people modelling and taking photos all over. I love the traditional costume for ladies, it really makes them so stunning and graceful.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnxS5DdC8oaXdi3AJTsAJeuqWiUG0kumx9eZe9kNN575qFhRWCIxfyIDGzmK8Tk7byDshupIaZ6fpVyiT0fGEGm8D5ge4z7RFs1-wtuyGU2-tn2JNZPP17vs9kz0t3kcyM_hfcA/s1600/Modelling.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDnxS5DdC8oaXdi3AJTsAJeuqWiUG0kumx9eZe9kNN575qFhRWCIxfyIDGzmK8Tk7byDshupIaZ6fpVyiT0fGEGm8D5ge4z7RFs1-wtuyGU2-tn2JNZPP17vs9kz0t3kcyM_hfcA/s1600/Modelling.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJakz421Hk3Iv8V7mRbgzwymRXUnpCgPDS60xJ1vU210XnR2ltozVXJQMMGt-wV6_PGIkhyphenhyphenPJsWPZa_-nIddraUGRkEE2afNvp1aIt6PxibdGsQf1fas-3Qvq6GQn-SMgKzrqKQ/s1600/Posing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJakz421Hk3Iv8V7mRbgzwymRXUnpCgPDS60xJ1vU210XnR2ltozVXJQMMGt-wV6_PGIkhyphenhyphenPJsWPZa_-nIddraUGRkEE2afNvp1aIt6PxibdGsQf1fas-3Qvq6GQn-SMgKzrqKQ/s1600/Posing.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leave throwing for effect</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSm7VtOop08pMAjK97a0Dl_G15Dd12T5zMHOR98JbjHn0J0gQuvLRVmMzXvUW4_YQFZb9Uf2OyyoFPf4ajH_JxytBwK1-nd-kqyPAWA7q0kgu1K7chsO7qad4akflyVpLI4fVdw/s1600/Railway+tracks.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipSm7VtOop08pMAjK97a0Dl_G15Dd12T5zMHOR98JbjHn0J0gQuvLRVmMzXvUW4_YQFZb9Uf2OyyoFPf4ajH_JxytBwK1-nd-kqyPAWA7q0kgu1K7chsO7qad4akflyVpLI4fVdw/s1600/Railway+tracks.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Spotted this railway which people use as their backyards. They clear off as soon as they hear the train. I even saw a man set up a table right in the middle of the track to sit and read his paper.</td></tr>
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And here's a photo of us being silly:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mX8Hk44RyX-NjXgMSQh5hWPWDSJYI4lAz4AhOobrAOPdk41pTVSqIc_MAkKzjBk2tzVLCOBAcNxmnxjL39kVWMileXCZR2R7NPLMm3iDJMfIis-s-9kVrxIT0KescT5qZkkKzw/s1600/Being+silly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9mX8Hk44RyX-NjXgMSQh5hWPWDSJYI4lAz4AhOobrAOPdk41pTVSqIc_MAkKzjBk2tzVLCOBAcNxmnxjL39kVWMileXCZR2R7NPLMm3iDJMfIis-s-9kVrxIT0KescT5qZkkKzw/s1600/Being+silly.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Us goofing while waiting for our dinner one night</td></tr>
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<div>
Halong Bay blogpost coming up.</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-83510644919584300042014-03-16T18:30:00.000+08:002014-03-16T18:30:04.099+08:00Singapore Jazz Festival 2014: Jamie Cullum<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When KS found out Jamie Cullum had come and gone after performing in Singapore in 2010, he was so disappointed that he missed it. So when I saw on social media that he was making his way here again, I texted KS to tell him we were going to Singapore. Before he could ask why, I sent him a snapshot of the details and the approval to head down to the Lion City was instant.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-hxEn1S4FkTT1URWE-0eSG7HbJKI3neTbPAuNQaHUV3rS7zo7TJhX9h5MqVmTJNqgf0a9OsVknYuwRvNiuwWjm_dhpMm8KcLWopUg29Q3IGuRUGt6vUjp328XW7Mh4WVA09PVw/s1600/Signage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji-hxEn1S4FkTT1URWE-0eSG7HbJKI3neTbPAuNQaHUV3rS7zo7TJhX9h5MqVmTJNqgf0a9OsVknYuwRvNiuwWjm_dhpMm8KcLWopUg29Q3IGuRUGt6vUjp328XW7Mh4WVA09PVw/s1600/Signage.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first time KS introduced me to his music was some time back in 2005, from his Twenty Something album. We loved it so much that we played some of the tracks at our wedding during our lunch reception.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvhQ4zxyQUKWtJQQzepWOnn_P5T3wGkQvITrVQtmsQavg0XtXUi6TEZRhYS1Rjrf9IbXvQLatSnNtHbIYi6G6R1spSYOp-sLDygjILgQREFWEuReLpmbrn5uJFtVwjnwiaX9dZA/s1600/Selfies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqvhQ4zxyQUKWtJQQzepWOnn_P5T3wGkQvITrVQtmsQavg0XtXUi6TEZRhYS1Rjrf9IbXvQLatSnNtHbIYi6G6R1spSYOp-sLDygjILgQREFWEuReLpmbrn5uJFtVwjnwiaX9dZA/s1600/Selfies.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were so kiasu, one of the earliest in the hall so we took a selfie while waiting</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While KS has seen recordings of his concerts, I was completely unaware of what to expect. He was the first to perform for the Singapore Jazz Festival 2014 (with James Morrison as his opening act). From my experience of the last Jazz Festival (which I accidentally attended in KL from extra tickets) more than 10 years ago, for the most part, I was lulled into a dreamy subconscious until Diana Krall came on.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIlMtXqMdXTCdG1cGv5IuXaT_0Ven-6d625aige2x4pH8UYntRnH6WnX_UB3286oZ4-KohYlqGPTAxflvdrnCYyK1UhZGW3VLoupsEnatwhdZCJVQejCgINH9RhmCq8w-3hbE-Q/s1600/James+Morrison.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZIlMtXqMdXTCdG1cGv5IuXaT_0Ven-6d625aige2x4pH8UYntRnH6WnX_UB3286oZ4-KohYlqGPTAxflvdrnCYyK1UhZGW3VLoupsEnatwhdZCJVQejCgINH9RhmCq8w-3hbE-Q/s1600/James+Morrison.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">James Morrison</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So it was a pleasant surprise when James Morrison performed and was very relaxed and funny while connecting with the audience in between his pieces. I think I will go look for some of his pieces now, especially Rain, perfect for a rainy day accompaniment. And b</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ecause the hall was way smaller than the Bukit Jalil stadium, it immediately felt more intimate and we could see expressions more clearly.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was definitely more interesting than my previous experience so it just had to get even better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was electric the second Jamie finally appeared on stage. He was like an electron, as though he was going to explode from energy as he ran, jumped, whacked instruments and the amazing thing was, he was hardly out of breath (even though I was, just watching him!) and delivered his songs beautifully. He performed songs from his old albums and also covered pop songs like Lorde's "Royal".</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His signature jump off the piano, yet his voice remained flawless.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A guy had to come fix the piano throughout the show but the performance was hardly interrupted.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One unimportant observation was that Marina Bay Sands has two halls, and both halls performed "I could have danced all night" since the other hall was showing My Fair Lady!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Now I know not all jazz performances are relaxing, I was sitting on the edge of my seat almost the entire time! Would I go to another of his concerts? Absolutely! And this time I'd pay for pricier front seats knowing he'd come down to the audience and interact with them.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopping in mid song to photobomb.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And are most jazz singers witty? He shared about some aspects of his personal life too apart from the jokes. Either that or I haven't been to enough concerts to know how performers interact with their audience. U2 was more serious with their humanitarian messages even though it was also energetic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps it's time for me to go for more concerts. Now, if only George Michael would do another concert or Josh Groban drop by this region.</span></div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-44775589326354469872014-03-15T19:03:00.000+08:002014-04-01T16:18:25.100+08:00A Missing Plane<p dir="ltr">That night, as I sent KS off to the train station for him to grab his Boeing 777 MAS flight to Japan en route to Chicago, little did I know it would be a historical night for another Boeing 777 MAS flight which was meant to head to Beijing a few hours later.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The news started circulating in the early hours of the next morning and I only found out because my sister was supposed to meet her friend at 10am that morning. And her meeting was cancelled because her friend's father was missing on the flight to Beijing.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Missing? What does that mean? How can a huge plane vanish into thin air? We scoured the net for more information and the information which was trickling in became more and more confusing. All possible theories surfaced. The weekend was basically being glued to Twitter, Facebook, CNN, BBC, Bloomberg on my phone since I don't have tv.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Within that day itself, I found out two of the passengers are from my church (one of whom is a crew member) and my ex colleague's wife, her sister and mother were also on that plane. Later on that week, I found out one of them is my friend's colleague in IBM. His office desk is filled with paper cranes of hope.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Even though there were 50 Malaysians on that plane, suddenly the nation became smaller as people started identifying them with their friend's friend, relative etc. Wave upon wave of prayers and hope flooded the social media (and it still is) as we all waited for developments. Of course, with it you get idiots saying the stupidest things, a <i>bomoh</i> (shaman) with his coconuts causing embarrassment to the nation, a fumbling investigation of statements and retracting of statements which created confusion to the world.</p>
<p dir="ltr">Now, a week after, we have only managed to narrow it down to the most possible conclusion, which is that of a hijacked plane. And still no trace of the plane. This, of course, is alarming to the world. What do they want to do with the plane, the hostages if they're still alive? Who is being targeted? If this is a hijack, why haven't they said anything, demanded ransom, anything?? Did they land the plane or did it crash eventually?</p>
<p dir="ltr">But hopes are still lingering that despite 7 days have passed, the crew and passengers are still alive somewhere out there.</p>
<p dir="ltr">The waiting is terrible for the nation but must be excruciatingly agonizing for the family members. This is another weekend of being glued to the internet for developments and fervently praying for the safety of the 239 people on board.</p>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-52233900403654775102014-01-20T13:00:00.001+08:002014-04-01T16:28:55.266+08:00Fractured Ankle<div dir="ltr">
On the 30th of December 2013 on the way home via train, I missed the last step at the train station and landed awkwardly on my right ankle. The excruciating pain lasted for about 5 minutes as I leaned weakly against a nearby pillar and then tested to see if I could still walk.</div>
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I could, so I continued my journey home and my dad insisted I put a bag of frozen edamame on my bulbous ankle. It was scary to see the size of a large onion on my ankle but I brushed it off and hoped it was just a sprain.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErMACYICU2W3yO4dW_uXMNllWhrxP1v5vICQqogMdXni6RBx4epKM01ratnpI5dMFr-pCLpxqFW5KnykNUR3h6Plq22fryQRsEU6WCSG3XtYlhBXhYJywhhGywwKX3qAoXplqDQ/s1600/Bulbous+ankle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErMACYICU2W3yO4dW_uXMNllWhrxP1v5vICQqogMdXni6RBx4epKM01ratnpI5dMFr-pCLpxqFW5KnykNUR3h6Plq22fryQRsEU6WCSG3XtYlhBXhYJywhhGywwKX3qAoXplqDQ/s1600/Bulbous+ankle.jpg" height="400" width="266"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bulbous right ankle, much reduced after application of iced edamame.</td></tr>
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The next day I went to see a doctor, who bandaged my foot and told me to come back if it was still swollen in three days. It was, and I went back to take an x-ray which didn't show any fractures. However, since the pain was increasing day by day and my toes were slowly becoming black, I knew something was wrong.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still swollen and toes starting to get black.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuElkluVFr-XCPw4nNS0yiExUYhDJYEFPGjbvH5VEGh-fFfVF1qzTEz1IDhJQ5XjZvhFFMPfXqztizxP13q3GzMlXA8YISV70UIuHmG5YCbSDAMqkbxUTn8DuBTcUTpitnRPvFLQ/s1600/PhotoGrid_1389019283242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuElkluVFr-XCPw4nNS0yiExUYhDJYEFPGjbvH5VEGh-fFfVF1qzTEz1IDhJQ5XjZvhFFMPfXqztizxP13q3GzMlXA8YISV70UIuHmG5YCbSDAMqkbxUTn8DuBTcUTpitnRPvFLQ/s1600/PhotoGrid_1389019283242.jpg" height="400" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My ankle started to get black too and the bottom of my toes were starting to become black too.</td></tr>
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So yeah, I finally went to a specialist. The scary part was when he looked at me in the eye and said, "If you have a fracture, you have no choice but to have an operation". Honestly, I panicked there and then, imagining him cutting up my ankle and screwing in metal pieces into my bone.<br>
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As quickly as I could, I went to get an x-ray done. When the doctor called me in, he started by saying, "Good news! You have a fracture! But you don't need surgery.". My mind went into shock after I heard "You have a fracture!" so I can't remember what advise he gave me thereafter. My fracture is at the bottom tip of the lateral malleolus which is at the bottom of my fibula. Apparently, I may have had cracked it and my further walking for a week thereafter caused my ligament to rip it off. Nice.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjHY3IgTIm4o9zj9kUM1nITjcYYZAhx_kBw2b_-0eqimBK94f_1NK1UJmBIvuw8RchXKMgq_ep-3X5AFghMCQtsdmV1rhXXcgzzZdQKlnnm4Y73Bf0fpoQX2hZlz9mENoeZsIeg/s1600/Bones.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjjHY3IgTIm4o9zj9kUM1nITjcYYZAhx_kBw2b_-0eqimBK94f_1NK1UJmBIvuw8RchXKMgq_ep-3X5AFghMCQtsdmV1rhXXcgzzZdQKlnnm4Y73Bf0fpoQX2hZlz9mENoeZsIeg/s1600/Bones.jpg" height="400" width="250"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from Britannica.com</td></tr>
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I was given almost 3 weeks off until Chinese New Year and am told to put my foot up as much as possible. It does start to throb when I am sitting after half an hour (like right now at the computer).<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIyk48xyQ2L9oczYvuTkZqNQ581tmLLjREvzDBHilXyOj2uHhE9NmnjfOvq_C54V-c4aHzsKol2sjTAJfzG2GrEenTylotNArqqOvhaMM5YILFNRnb2N1cld9_3_wV1pAeoOiFQ/s1600/Black+toes+and+heel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKIyk48xyQ2L9oczYvuTkZqNQ581tmLLjREvzDBHilXyOj2uHhE9NmnjfOvq_C54V-c4aHzsKol2sjTAJfzG2GrEenTylotNArqqOvhaMM5YILFNRnb2N1cld9_3_wV1pAeoOiFQ/s1600/Black+toes+and+heel.jpg" height="400" width="266"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toes are now black</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7yLKG08_vbR3k4rIf_U5pr0znWTdNyefCdhHFuZkPWuNHcq84xwJUue-_peL7HtEFUpDN91EovRFOyREgqNkGOdE17OePMzub_d8IhyD-jBGxrWcurFMCZJD7hXrANgguUjMRA/s1600/Compression+socks+and+air+cast.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH7yLKG08_vbR3k4rIf_U5pr0znWTdNyefCdhHFuZkPWuNHcq84xwJUue-_peL7HtEFUpDN91EovRFOyREgqNkGOdE17OePMzub_d8IhyD-jBGxrWcurFMCZJD7hXrANgguUjMRA/s1600/Compression+socks+and+air+cast.jpg" height="400" width="266"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Given compression socks and bought an air cast to support my ankle while I move about with one crutch.</td></tr>
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Speaking of crutches, I was surprised to be instructed to use my crutch with my left arm instead of my right for my right ankle. Everyone has been asking me if I'm doing this right but the doctor gave me an explanation which I can't remember why now.<br>
<br>
My worry now is whether I'll be able to walk from sunrise to sunset as I normally do for my travels. I hear of testimonies from those who have had their ankles broken (but mine isn't as serious) that they need to rest after a couple of hours of walking. :(<br>
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Anyway, through it all, Angku my cat has been keeping me good company especially when KS had to go overseas for 5 days.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDJeK60unhbeA_9LVUjpArDT8AG8RxgOz2552hqGz2rv7PFTGZedYxZ-EFVujg2IRfHUy0FJDf3-d4f08wmoxTTuVbRMQrJKvB4LH_1hDvIGMgFZzD7CtVFRcueUlhlYok0MO4Q/s1600/PhotoGrid_1390191919513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioDJeK60unhbeA_9LVUjpArDT8AG8RxgOz2552hqGz2rv7PFTGZedYxZ-EFVujg2IRfHUy0FJDf3-d4f08wmoxTTuVbRMQrJKvB4LH_1hDvIGMgFZzD7CtVFRcueUlhlYok0MO4Q/s1600/PhotoGrid_1390191919513.jpg" height="400" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's so sweet :)</td></tr>
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</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-39856177261099540892013-12-30T01:03:00.000+08:002013-12-30T01:03:14.098+08:005 Days 4 Nights in Yogyakarta, Indonesia<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
When we were trying to come up with a list of potential places we could go as a family, Yogyakarta wasn't on my list. Our criteria was this: affordable, not experiencing winter, something with a mix of shopping and sightseeing.</div>
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I happened to meet up with someone from Holiday Tours and she suggested Yogyakarta. All I knew about Yogyakarta was Borobudur. So I embarked on a short research (this <a href="http://www.yogyes.com/">YogYes</a> site was extremely helpful) and it became more and more interesting as a place to visit. Mum was like, "what's Bodobodoh?" (Bodoh means stupid in Malay).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJWsAeUwtUQtdzXkU3H0cw3KN0_XniJwWX3WtMAjbIArg9TyXelJiNFLe6kDezEdBCEcGb_UHqy5pdRPufbA9ncW6vwhH0400uQ2FXZc-F1DTFPlGLbGwrlNKX1PsV7sfFe2JPg/s1600/Map.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidJWsAeUwtUQtdzXkU3H0cw3KN0_XniJwWX3WtMAjbIArg9TyXelJiNFLe6kDezEdBCEcGb_UHqy5pdRPufbA9ncW6vwhH0400uQ2FXZc-F1DTFPlGLbGwrlNKX1PsV7sfFe2JPg/s400/Map.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yogyakarta (or Jogjakarta) is in the middle of Java Island, Indonesia, Jakarta and Bandung on the west and Bali Island on the east. Hmm... 4 of the 5 Indonesian cities I've visited is on this map. </td></tr>
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Nevertheless, I pressed on and got a consensus somewhat from the entire family and proceeded to make the bookings.<br />
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So now that we're all back from Yogyakarta, I must say it was one of my most favourite Indonesian city to visit, discounting Lampung because we were well taken care of by my relatives. I believe what really makes or breaks a trip is also the guide and I'm glad that we had Mr Budi from <a href="http://www.yogyes.com/en/yogyakarta-car-rental/keisha-luxury-transport/">Keisha Luxury Transport</a> who was extremely professional, brought us to good places to eat.<br />
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Three things which stood out for me:<br />
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The Food:<br />
In terms of touring on our own, we found the food in Yogyakarta so good, we were still having cravings after we came back. Sure it was chicken with rice most of the time but almost every meal was memorable. You've got to try the Warung Spesial Sambal, which is a chain restaurant originating from Yogyakarta. They boast of having 18 types of <i>sambal</i> and we tried three of them, named Bull Shit, Teroris and P3K (I don't know what that means). As you can imagine, Teroris (or was it P3K) was pretty spicy. So affordable and good that my dad wanted to eat it again before we flew off on our last day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYc73lJ04PlmEU_rjEfoNq9vJpcJP3ksGuGb6Atr4qpoPs9hHrbz58od7eS0gtud5vXA-YpJfziEqFVKifNCfcntGbSimiortMOazvd-eTiSAgu_VLDFT4V8WQ4_srFWSbzcDLQ/s1600/Warung+SS+sambal+menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZYc73lJ04PlmEU_rjEfoNq9vJpcJP3ksGuGb6Atr4qpoPs9hHrbz58od7eS0gtud5vXA-YpJfziEqFVKifNCfcntGbSimiortMOazvd-eTiSAgu_VLDFT4V8WQ4_srFWSbzcDLQ/s400/Warung+SS+sambal+menu.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sambal menu from Warung SS.</td></tr>
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The People:<br />
The people are friendly, relaxed and trusting and it was such a pleasant surprise to notice that the streets were very clean! No spitting, no throwing of cigarette butts all over the place. Horse carriages are equipped with a simple sheet behind the horse to collect dung instead of having it strewn all over the streets. We also witnessed a quick cleaning of horse pee using half a bucket of water mixed with some salts and chemicals.<br />
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The Heritage:<br />
Despite the many earthquakes and volcano eruptions, the folks preserve as much as they can with the historical structures. Borobudur was rebuilt a couple of times when all the pieces fell from earthquakes, each block pieced together like a jigsaw. And even though Borobudur is a Buddhist temple and Prambanan a Hindu temple, the structures were preserved with respect despite most of them being Muslims.<br />
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So, what was our itinerary? The car rental company owner actually did the most work. I gave her the dates, what I wanted to cover (which was just Borobodur and a bit of shopping) and she filled up the blanks for me with a very good understanding of what I wanted. That's what made her stand out from the rest of the car rentals I asked for a quote.<br />
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We touched down in the late afternoon and headed straight to Manohara hotel, which is on the grounds of Borobudur. Sunset was about 6 p.m. so we reached when it was already dark. The hotel room was good but the gardens and the distant view of Borobudur was what made this hotel stand out. We took the sunrise tour which had us up at 4 a.m. and really think we made the right choice as there was only about a hundred people, almost half of them with their professional cameras and tripods perched facing east, waiting for the sun to rise. Unfortunately, the sun was partially hidden behind the clouds but it was still splendid.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyWatNPy2F9EY03DsLMRf_0tID9uNgTnNpU5o-f-aZo8ho69_96eagnlqeG1JQSQhyphenhyphenhEi4NniYHCPbt7xYjE_9k-_qD-uJLpOzEH3jpwbvLijI6SI9ukTZJIHdtZUFosRVOCNyQ/s1600/Borobudur+stupa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyWatNPy2F9EY03DsLMRf_0tID9uNgTnNpU5o-f-aZo8ho69_96eagnlqeG1JQSQhyphenhyphenhEi4NniYHCPbt7xYjE_9k-_qD-uJLpOzEH3jpwbvLijI6SI9ukTZJIHdtZUFosRVOCNyQ/s400/Borobudur+stupa.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qDu72o_UuP8b2V11yMhvm5ku-ukPJnCdtsNhKaQmgG2YQcM_8Y0PX71E8-Ec-HOl_dpXq7KWeqMI8SHVZiyVMQkfwNrjQnTuLnxcP2iLnc4iZRYJ_Gl2CSL4-HsISoIV5VjfKw/s1600/Borobudur+family+pix+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0qDu72o_UuP8b2V11yMhvm5ku-ukPJnCdtsNhKaQmgG2YQcM_8Y0PX71E8-Ec-HOl_dpXq7KWeqMI8SHVZiyVMQkfwNrjQnTuLnxcP2iLnc4iZRYJ_Gl2CSL4-HsISoIV5VjfKw/s400/Borobudur+family+pix+3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were given sarongs to wear to differentiate the sunrise tour from the rest of the crowd that came in later.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7jHt8jOXej3b_4NcJFQS7UlWhXrhnY894OPAttiAILuO4ypfJfY-sOSa-IVqYk1MqnkQ2M1e3rxJocFuOeJ3h1oOG4kSAIdaQpPlCrQBfFdiN3C1g2BECHGIeLHnKj87WdJ_lQ/s1600/Borobudur+stupa+panaroma.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP7jHt8jOXej3b_4NcJFQS7UlWhXrhnY894OPAttiAILuO4ypfJfY-sOSa-IVqYk1MqnkQ2M1e3rxJocFuOeJ3h1oOG4kSAIdaQpPlCrQBfFdiN3C1g2BECHGIeLHnKj87WdJ_lQ/s640/Borobudur+stupa+panaroma.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGPkKnXCUs4n-T1j2PM_ShmWJJgyOFiUe0udXWhQFcUU1ZPATBoJiDrZT2lYz_4N4JnOpRW4W6oGokgNoCU15KC82nGnr27ScyDwZSzUQ0BU6wBtYHv57u0AEgN5wRGbMVWsiyA/s1600/Buddha+looking+at+Merapi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmGPkKnXCUs4n-T1j2PM_ShmWJJgyOFiUe0udXWhQFcUU1ZPATBoJiDrZT2lYz_4N4JnOpRW4W6oGokgNoCU15KC82nGnr27ScyDwZSzUQ0BU6wBtYHv57u0AEgN5wRGbMVWsiyA/s400/Buddha+looking+at+Merapi.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwbtQJrElvFOCmGxbI894pXdS4iMI4WnIGjPqXG9Jl2iBJK0sULJdEav9Axc_JBmrCBuf-OP1jSO4TEhpPo3MO6JaJfQxNaW1vQxoQ4JojH-W5v6SSlnQSDoAn85EvzEhGz1wnQ/s1600/Borobudur+family+pix+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwbtQJrElvFOCmGxbI894pXdS4iMI4WnIGjPqXG9Jl2iBJK0sULJdEav9Axc_JBmrCBuf-OP1jSO4TEhpPo3MO6JaJfQxNaW1vQxoQ4JojH-W5v6SSlnQSDoAn85EvzEhGz1wnQ/s400/Borobudur+family+pix+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Add caption</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzg2HkJvKUfQLB69xbI4jbdmeDg9uqDmO0I2bZvysdU1WYQNYaOB4fQELLiESlnI50WSdVqOHq5oogAtWkyyLhRhD7E5IXnqQRpa3BDQlNXU9T3d3jsEPcZSAdwBkVJ98MMI6pw/s1600/Borobudur+stupa+panaroma+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggzg2HkJvKUfQLB69xbI4jbdmeDg9uqDmO0I2bZvysdU1WYQNYaOB4fQELLiESlnI50WSdVqOHq5oogAtWkyyLhRhD7E5IXnqQRpa3BDQlNXU9T3d3jsEPcZSAdwBkVJ98MMI6pw/s640/Borobudur+stupa+panaroma+2.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I really like this panaroma, minus the warped human who invaded the photo on the left</td></tr>
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What was missing from this sunrise tour was, well, a tour. We were just led to the temple and left on our own. Luckily, we watched a half hour documentary in the hotel room the night before to get a gist of what this temple was about.<br />
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After Borobudur, we rested for a while before Budi took us to Merapi Volcano.<br />
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Along the way and also thanks to the documentary, we also stopped by this small temple which had a lot of Aesop-like stories carved on the sides. It was used by pilgrims who stopped by to rest and focus after their long trek to reach Borobudur.<br />
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Merapi last exploded in 2010 so it's still an active volcano. The roads leading up the mountain was cracked and the only way to get up there was via a 4-wheel drive. Since it was already almost lunch time and the tour would have taken 2 hours, we decided to skip this and just gaze at it from the foot.<br />
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Prambanan temple was really beautiful. This time, we got a guide who entertained us with jokes and gave so much explanation that the whole place was made so interesting for us. Gods are carved with their feet together to symbolize a state of rest. Feet apart means you're always working, striving. And the shape of the pieces that fit together to form the temple, the Z, the I and the L blocks, each with a male and female (one bulges out, the other has a concave bottom to fit the bulge... aah, when I find a better explanation I'll revise this) version so that it fits over each other like Lego.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvRuYp2c-DYMPRFWvYRv5HxNUbXVnbu6hcJWczZtGdHf7mDGWQtD5MXUP27_6SAt0MGqJeROk9JKzybqt6ee0tAHMtr8-TG1Fe87xid_EJh4M_fOXtk5-QqzafdaKKRLmgnp40Q/s1600/Prambanan+family+pix.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSvRuYp2c-DYMPRFWvYRv5HxNUbXVnbu6hcJWczZtGdHf7mDGWQtD5MXUP27_6SAt0MGqJeROk9JKzybqt6ee0tAHMtr8-TG1Fe87xid_EJh4M_fOXtk5-QqzafdaKKRLmgnp40Q/s400/Prambanan+family+pix.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Maybe sarongs are just worn as a sign of respect for these temples.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfecWinFWsZZjvtqvcfa5-yBRkG__RZnRedOd1MDduOSv-BmYL3MPQQnyH7AgKrSK4aTKuI7QIjDuQPYXCJtkC3UaEaKvpGE697wWnMk89SA2CD3bpz7Dm7ryWj-PNKFVP_sBCA/s1600/Prambanan+jump.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnfecWinFWsZZjvtqvcfa5-yBRkG__RZnRedOd1MDduOSv-BmYL3MPQQnyH7AgKrSK4aTKuI7QIjDuQPYXCJtkC3UaEaKvpGE697wWnMk89SA2CD3bpz7Dm7ryWj-PNKFVP_sBCA/s400/Prambanan+jump.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbM64EqSvkofcZbBhjCJv_F3EOecBp4dkr7m-icdLjyqJZqvtRGXHGkkMkKDFj0hcgQPcbyi_I0UztnezHeKihvkKd6S4Pg6nIKCrrRfHLc9qA_4urDG3xpa4F7LX81TH48JBBg/s1600/Prambanan+Temple.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvbM64EqSvkofcZbBhjCJv_F3EOecBp4dkr7m-icdLjyqJZqvtRGXHGkkMkKDFj0hcgQPcbyi_I0UztnezHeKihvkKd6S4Pg6nIKCrrRfHLc9qA_4urDG3xpa4F7LX81TH48JBBg/s400/Prambanan+Temple.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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And on the way back to Yogyakarta, we had a flat tire. We sat in a shop selling tyres to motorbikes and had a chat with the owner who was most hospitable. At one point, he got us to look after his shop while he took Budi to a nearby shop to see if they could assist us! His customers just patiently waited for him to return and a supplier who helped out another customer didn't simply pocket the cash but really handed it back to the owner when he returned.<br />
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In Yogyakarta, we visited the Sultan's Palace, a much better palace compared to the one in Medan, and with a tour guide. We also visited Tamansari, which was a Water Castle.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSS315yGXCsyWFp7LKC2DEy5IKYeuJSfhvGHRRzj9pfkDCVg_nFvLzsqo1lHObqOHUI3FFk-VIIfpTeRUTyb_XQiHZ5dGIaeetdfTW7_mZeVcUJJb7n9Yr-u3tn9PkkyDHsI-a0w/s1600/Taman+Sari+bathing+pools.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSS315yGXCsyWFp7LKC2DEy5IKYeuJSfhvGHRRzj9pfkDCVg_nFvLzsqo1lHObqOHUI3FFk-VIIfpTeRUTyb_XQiHZ5dGIaeetdfTW7_mZeVcUJJb7n9Yr-u3tn9PkkyDHsI-a0w/s400/Taman+Sari+bathing+pools.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the bathing pools where the Sultan would watch his 27 wives bathe in the pool in the foreground and his kids in the pool in the background.</td></tr>
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We were told the Sultan would throw a flower from this balcony to the wife he'd want to spend a private bath with that evening. Once the lucky lady caught the flower, the rest of the wives and children would file out of the place and the lucky wife would join the Sultan in the private pool behind. I had loads of questions, like what if the flower fell to the unintended wife because of a puff of wind? What if the wife he wanted was bathing at the far corner of the pool? What if the flower fell onto the roof beneath this balcony? Was a flower heavy enough to be hurled at such a distance? Alas, the guide couldn't answer my questions.<br />
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Anyway, after that, we headed to the street which sells leather goods but found the quality wanting. After that we visited the street which sells pottery which also wasn't much. We also went to the beach, Parangitis and I think that was the biggest waves I've ever seen.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJs1mn3nvVcefA_q0Wf2fKBc1vLlVd165GWTmTXlYsiN8b_jAKZfVB3IL-kRKOfSKV1zPXnLGs_uy1SB-fGgZdubiTjLopAY5REs7Q8ic10FcFrtYjCOv1PUq8yWLZXVe65sav8Q/s1600/Parangtritis+Beach.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJs1mn3nvVcefA_q0Wf2fKBc1vLlVd165GWTmTXlYsiN8b_jAKZfVB3IL-kRKOfSKV1zPXnLGs_uy1SB-fGgZdubiTjLopAY5REs7Q8ic10FcFrtYjCOv1PUq8yWLZXVe65sav8Q/s400/Parangtritis+Beach.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parangtritis beach was packed with activities from football to surfing, businesses such as horse cart rides to buggy rides.</td></tr>
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And ended off the day at Malioboro Mall along Malioboro Street. Unfortunately, we didn't find Malioboro shopping interesting as the shops were selling repeated touristy stuff the entire stretch.<br />
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The next day, we went to the two factory outlets for shopping, de Kosmo Factory Outlet (which had more quality clothes) and Omah Mode Factory Outlet. They were quite similar to the ones in Bandung.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwVdRjfVSTtAlv2RnVE9EFw-ZTfI5_bbdrNmKC653IiZDPqaBX1_LZP9fWYq1VWPxtEAm9UcNv-9gl_q6NZ9zz13pH2Myf3nVggV2uJVOg5NvrXc-HQMHhJpc-O3Bhri9Nm8R5w/s1600/de+Kosmo+Factory+Outlet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZwVdRjfVSTtAlv2RnVE9EFw-ZTfI5_bbdrNmKC653IiZDPqaBX1_LZP9fWYq1VWPxtEAm9UcNv-9gl_q6NZ9zz13pH2Myf3nVggV2uJVOg5NvrXc-HQMHhJpc-O3Bhri9Nm8R5w/s400/de+Kosmo+Factory+Outlet.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHUD5CgbUL5aAPL9ciCI0rQMGxWYONmAgY98ikhA3ZRnWYrzSSeJj3udUs7aMjq8ul6z8UrZxEG_D_E75ZrdLg8Qa1rmMaY9UlUvOCC34IsBoyrCpaXqYDApBDwqKckjPSTFHnA/s1600/Omah+Mode+Factory+Outlet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHUD5CgbUL5aAPL9ciCI0rQMGxWYONmAgY98ikhA3ZRnWYrzSSeJj3udUs7aMjq8ul6z8UrZxEG_D_E75ZrdLg8Qa1rmMaY9UlUvOCC34IsBoyrCpaXqYDApBDwqKckjPSTFHnA/s400/Omah+Mode+Factory+Outlet.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We also visited a biscuit factory where we bought their famous green bean cookie. And based on a recommendation from a friend on Facebook, we visited Kotagede with it's silver factory and excellent food in a beautiful Dutch building.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQRzxjYCko-0V5zmQ_abfo5VjL1mh8a5R40azncBgz2xQgf1G4n7Q3Gb-4tPFOSb2Jfe-pgdgY6jFQKsZhvqS0TLGifCNWpUKfePZyJr5IzbcdgYc_xeDLi816Qwc7nQClZQaaQ/s1600/Sekar+Kedhaton.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYQRzxjYCko-0V5zmQ_abfo5VjL1mh8a5R40azncBgz2xQgf1G4n7Q3Gb-4tPFOSb2Jfe-pgdgY6jFQKsZhvqS0TLGifCNWpUKfePZyJr5IzbcdgYc_xeDLi816Qwc7nQClZQaaQ/s400/Sekar+Kedhaton.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sekar Kedhaton is the name of the restaurant in Kotagede. We really enjoyed our meal here.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTzDGT-yL1CBwvuxavj6w9GWiH2gLp6E2nbEdBSqB3cU5ZgiGta0wgQe9sTSWDb-vfRqyqihbePm1mUYc14ylrF086l0l9qGUn41lFIxCCVIMEnfWgqRFcpn1l-3LfMSrGqBwaQ/s1600/Sekar+Kedhaton+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJTzDGT-yL1CBwvuxavj6w9GWiH2gLp6E2nbEdBSqB3cU5ZgiGta0wgQe9sTSWDb-vfRqyqihbePm1mUYc14ylrF086l0l9qGUn41lFIxCCVIMEnfWgqRFcpn1l-3LfMSrGqBwaQ/s400/Sekar+Kedhaton+food.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our food at Sekar Kedhaton</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9o9QD5EgXpaGRwP_f_7D83Trz2_wf8yxNOV9pip6tec6VJ_N0Qac7lcFpEFDRbWrvvnoGQPivm4tiQoI2FGLxOoQ3Iry1-2pdLeGuoXTiOPGyJZYkU09diDo7k8ZtUglhQ_zjg/s1600/Kotagede.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD9o9QD5EgXpaGRwP_f_7D83Trz2_wf8yxNOV9pip6tec6VJ_N0Qac7lcFpEFDRbWrvvnoGQPivm4tiQoI2FGLxOoQ3Iry1-2pdLeGuoXTiOPGyJZYkU09diDo7k8ZtUglhQ_zjg/s400/Kotagede.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the Kotagede building</td></tr>
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And here's just some random photos:<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85Xj0iAzF66jmeJT0T3f_eu6r7SmN6RtO2otlM1XCZRr8CL0T7g3MbxNdt_sCrkQtQXfVWeih_Sr37_FB2JTJK7EAIRM9ENt1rqbtM4-UFQibGDXxyW2Vtxb4kDXRv4nV4Po1hA/s1600/Phoenix+Hotel,+Yogyakarta.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg85Xj0iAzF66jmeJT0T3f_eu6r7SmN6RtO2otlM1XCZRr8CL0T7g3MbxNdt_sCrkQtQXfVWeih_Sr37_FB2JTJK7EAIRM9ENt1rqbtM4-UFQibGDXxyW2Vtxb4kDXRv4nV4Po1hA/s400/Phoenix+Hotel,+Yogyakarta.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stayed in Phoenix Hotel in Yogyakarta, our rare splurge on such a beautiful hotel.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnz5C2cZz-HrIpiHeUC_XlER5ogeVKYwDf-s4SsnmENrMY3Tk1NiF35ma_IvixKZfw-Fe5cykAj-x7wYN9qWYGxIEBDW5PJ0Hbw-mDWYSfIBr093-iMzkVIEgKW0pUFoqwzWFtOQ/s1600/Gudeg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnz5C2cZz-HrIpiHeUC_XlER5ogeVKYwDf-s4SsnmENrMY3Tk1NiF35ma_IvixKZfw-Fe5cykAj-x7wYN9qWYGxIEBDW5PJ0Hbw-mDWYSfIBr093-iMzkVIEgKW0pUFoqwzWFtOQ/s400/Gudeg.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gudeg (goo-dak) is made from jackfruit cooked in gula Melaka, a traditional breakfast for the Javanese.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR_LpP_dgVuVeMydYqQsjmbY-y0uALisE30Z6_eKWWUMXbqQ5yQUUgJsZKRgHgxvd1jalDhBJtUkgANwsP7xz_Lef90s0v7iMA0Y8rO1k5Hxajf-aLehTAu-7D6R0yMhXMT2IPA/s1600/Yogyakarta+monument.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLR_LpP_dgVuVeMydYqQsjmbY-y0uALisE30Z6_eKWWUMXbqQ5yQUUgJsZKRgHgxvd1jalDhBJtUkgANwsP7xz_Lef90s0v7iMA0Y8rO1k5Hxajf-aLehTAu-7D6R0yMhXMT2IPA/s400/Yogyakarta+monument.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Yogyakarta Monument which serves as a roundabout.</td></tr>
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</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-51767350314578495942013-12-01T11:43:00.000+08:002013-12-01T11:43:00.272+08:00My Experience at Australia Dairy Co, Hong Kong<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I was blogging about my Hong Kong trip and spent a considerable number of paragraphs talking about my experience at the Australia Dairy Co. Looks like the content warranted an entire blogpost!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTFh1APVgf-D_yYleWETXjWXy7oCiR2yg09t6R5_D7u3EBYvDdkSkKz1QTIYmURCyDE3qWHkL1_IQ9xjO0D-V2zxGw5rY_uzqKrsqBwNQUeBr0814K6gnBHGZHTmqiATF_QIRPg/s1600/Australia+Dairy+Co.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeTFh1APVgf-D_yYleWETXjWXy7oCiR2yg09t6R5_D7u3EBYvDdkSkKz1QTIYmURCyDE3qWHkL1_IQ9xjO0D-V2zxGw5rY_uzqKrsqBwNQUeBr0814K6gnBHGZHTmqiATF_QIRPg/s400/Australia+Dairy+Co.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The queue outside was at least 20 people long! But it moved very quickly so we waited not more than 10 minutes, I think.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYFBDJsvZSnX2tVlnT-VkMfz3HxEyb9ddx6i4Cy3Kry8_4o5xkeEvfWumVKPtwYZCJ2SVLRDppYuJCn9TYxwsLkkXxoxTP0WZGJTObxphFq-PbL3eWmyE_GmDt14j3Jbfpd__xg/s1600/Australia+Dairy+Co+inside.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYYFBDJsvZSnX2tVlnT-VkMfz3HxEyb9ddx6i4Cy3Kry8_4o5xkeEvfWumVKPtwYZCJ2SVLRDppYuJCn9TYxwsLkkXxoxTP0WZGJTObxphFq-PbL3eWmyE_GmDt14j3Jbfpd__xg/s400/Australia+Dairy+Co+inside.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sharing tables in a cramped environment is common here</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Australia Dairy Co is famous for it's scrambled eggs. And it's called Australia Dairy Co because they used to use Australian milk. But now they use Kowloon milk but don't think they'd be changing their name very soon. Everyone and anyone we spoke to highly recommended us to go try their scrambled eggs. And so we made it for their breakfast on our last morning in Hong Kong.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Just before leaving the house, KS read up on reviews on it and he became quite nervous. "The waiters are very rude!" he said. So we tried to prepare ourselves by deciding to order Set A of their breakfast menu.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bIxAq7btujcy_HVdUWku83j2diDYHXQNttXC4NQDr8t_NLEvAsz07zxepPRIcpCHTkDRTJhf4ZneC49x2XwzmWoxrz2krAw20YfXhxgTXc9gvpetpNboIH3BldRUFi-MmBb2Gw/s1600/Australia+Dairy+Co+menu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-bIxAq7btujcy_HVdUWku83j2diDYHXQNttXC4NQDr8t_NLEvAsz07zxepPRIcpCHTkDRTJhf4ZneC49x2XwzmWoxrz2krAw20YfXhxgTXc9gvpetpNboIH3BldRUFi-MmBb2Gw/s400/Australia+Dairy+Co+menu.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The breakfast menu. I think the top one is Set A.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since everything was written in Chinese and we don’t read or speak Mandarin, we got Nic’s wife to order for us. Even as she was going through all our orders, the waiter was already walking away. She had to call him back to complete her order. Then, because we were sitting at the next table due to lack of space, we asked them to deliver our food to Nic’s table so that we could take it from there. When the food arrived and we started transferring the bowls, we also got scolded for not telling them which orders were ours so that they could have served us the correct bowls. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXq5OLetOk5TQfecyN-ZI-qUgBD9VLWfGRp6LmJDq1noKgMvCz6v4a98WcT95YkgzpllzsbwjxeQ_VmmXg0K3KE1cCx0qczR2_orcTovpFsOjRLVitdZ9-zKkRM0wr167C1M1Jrg/s1600/Australia+Dairy+Co+breakfast+set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXq5OLetOk5TQfecyN-ZI-qUgBD9VLWfGRp6LmJDq1noKgMvCz6v4a98WcT95YkgzpllzsbwjxeQ_VmmXg0K3KE1cCx0qczR2_orcTovpFsOjRLVitdZ9-zKkRM0wr167C1M1Jrg/s400/Australia+Dairy+Co+breakfast+set.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Set A comes with macaroni in soup with sliced ham, toasted bread, THE scrambled eggs and a cup of tea.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Needless to say, KS and I inhaled our food because the table was so narrow that the person we were sharing the table with couldn't put her plate properly with our dishes on the table. Upon finishing, we told Nic we’d wait outside in case they scold us for sitting there since we finished. We even tried to stack the plates and saucers so that collecting them would make it easier for the waiter but the waiter pointedly only removed the saucers from the plates to show we had stacked them incorrectly. We just couldn't win! :)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-1x63X2G3hGttu-8cyqgRy-OsCvp-ihj04zYkmTWk2Om2u4rS9jfkHxG0OPE4-GxbIKbE63_MdaEzcvLV7kPRU39iJdpFZlaYLnxtwwPRXuijvIlAVRGH5Y69HU6C3pxl0A7FQ/s1600/Australia+Dairy+Co+booth+table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq-1x63X2G3hGttu-8cyqgRy-OsCvp-ihj04zYkmTWk2Om2u4rS9jfkHxG0OPE4-GxbIKbE63_MdaEzcvLV7kPRU39iJdpFZlaYLnxtwwPRXuijvIlAVRGH5Y69HU6C3pxl0A7FQ/s400/Australia+Dairy+Co+booth+table.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how our plates were jutting out of the table? By this time I had already slurped down my soupy macaroni to make way for the other person to put her plate.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Very stressful! Still, it’s definitely an experience. It's hard to explain but apparently this is their culture, they are just like that and you'll be okay if you don't take it personally. Very subjective but do put on the thickest skin on your face if you ever go. And just tell them Set A. Don't attempt to order wrongly as we watched three tourists from China being chased out ("Get up! Get up!" from the waiter's gestures) for ordering something they didn't have. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And oh, how was the scrambled eggs? It WAS different, in a good way. I'd rather say, go for the experience. :)</span>johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-54205391933099236832013-11-30T14:41:00.000+08:002013-11-30T14:41:16.244+08:004 Days 3 Nights in Hong Kong<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So our surprise second trip to Hong Kong really happened. This time, we were hosted by KS’s friend Nic and his family, which helped us save so much on our accommodation! I was very touched that he actually gave up his master room for us while he slept on the couch and his wife and baby slept in the spare room. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvPj-KhbSB8s15UoiGJbacOGDsJPh5yRr1B3FRPt22Y7Q_A_xID-glfAa6j6SoVNwnJwxYuxs2TESbFNFSKL7pTg6NbwY6zhDnye73GCyq2y1JfUhnmXU-MPl1bawBou6RH5xeQ/s1600/The+Chhans+at+Tai+O.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzvPj-KhbSB8s15UoiGJbacOGDsJPh5yRr1B3FRPt22Y7Q_A_xID-glfAa6j6SoVNwnJwxYuxs2TESbFNFSKL7pTg6NbwY6zhDnye73GCyq2y1JfUhnmXU-MPl1bawBou6RH5xeQ/s400/The+Chhans+at+Tai+O.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our gracious hosts!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It was truly an experience to stay like a local. The apartments/condos are skyscrapers, over 60 stories high! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Since we’ve already been to HK and visited Disneyland, Victoria’s Peak, Avenue of Stars, Stanley Market, we decided to cover even more touristy stuff. We covered the fishing villages Sai Kung and Tai O, took the cable car up to the huge Buddha, visited the famous Australian Dairy Co and Abercrombie & Fitch outlet (complete with the bare chested six packed man) and took a ride up the longest elevator from the city to Mid Levels. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Nud_c3iWfj6l7NIo5daalZRenmv6Wjy8tuVNsbe6yLycYfccRrt0MgmJAcoM37g4zaVA9uqQPf1E6hy_DVrZWit2zb1gA_9Wcc_YI27E-UOKQbWOXs5yz1Ilj4M7gH93LnB9kA/s1600/Sai+Kung+fishermen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0Nud_c3iWfj6l7NIo5daalZRenmv6Wjy8tuVNsbe6yLycYfccRrt0MgmJAcoM37g4zaVA9uqQPf1E6hy_DVrZWit2zb1gA_9Wcc_YI27E-UOKQbWOXs5yz1Ilj4M7gH93LnB9kA/s400/Sai+Kung+fishermen.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fishing boats along the pier at Sai Kung</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In Sai Kung, the fishermen bring their catch in their wooden sampans and park along the pier. Customers peer from above and place their orders. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uH9OJ4hyphenhyphenrgxmtlhAPnUTSu3tGpCHHjr6oI0MouJWDAWgpHFjsHHTI6ZQNSIft34XnEMAn4KLsahK00550iM0RTBHS75gmoK9ka-NOI1a7-zStXQD1tcrM2c3nltMgVj_awi7gg/s1600/More+sea+creatures+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uH9OJ4hyphenhyphenrgxmtlhAPnUTSu3tGpCHHjr6oI0MouJWDAWgpHFjsHHTI6ZQNSIft34XnEMAn4KLsahK00550iM0RTBHS75gmoK9ka-NOI1a7-zStXQD1tcrM2c3nltMgVj_awi7gg/s400/More+sea+creatures+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Each boat had somewhat different product offerings. Noticed this huge flat shell which I've never seen before</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrHmavSmEFEXDB0ZUWfx06tcHjyAI8hmITeayPnmzTj1sH4taU8HVFImhhQCMR8Xe6sxOQLjES3D0HHJkxekH0WgoQWtpY1vvqCbpUxyD7aCpDg-csJ52xH5OcZ1qz3ZGfe0d_A/s1600/Various+sea+creatures+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIrHmavSmEFEXDB0ZUWfx06tcHjyAI8hmITeayPnmzTj1sH4taU8HVFImhhQCMR8Xe6sxOQLjES3D0HHJkxekH0WgoQWtpY1vvqCbpUxyD7aCpDg-csJ52xH5OcZ1qz3ZGfe0d_A/s400/Various+sea+creatures+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzw7AqdPULrJeGGmCZ8GGMsVNYUUDEb4GiH51Cb_w6xDkqhfn3AO1tOrzyUah3sQpLGzVxAMRB2kkVLWDDNZIS6ds4knGeDNTXsTUxKE4gTuQVZWpaS1lgAk0WAifsCDrJ2iiZQ/s1600/Eel+fish.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzw7AqdPULrJeGGmCZ8GGMsVNYUUDEb4GiH51Cb_w6xDkqhfn3AO1tOrzyUah3sQpLGzVxAMRB2kkVLWDDNZIS6ds4knGeDNTXsTUxKE4gTuQVZWpaS1lgAk0WAifsCDrJ2iiZQ/s400/Eel+fish.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I even saw the eel which I saw floating dead in the sea at Monterosso al Mare, Italy!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LeAkqibQ4WNiM23Wz63KoxxTv7EGbmrfSCVdqYhWE7GPnxnaIvFIzrtCD43FnNzKgIby90Sagf7c42VmosBRK1TvursfaQREuCaH-hoeBhwPqA10ltpZb8uE3jWn2Eay-IJFjw/s1600/Dead+eel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1LeAkqibQ4WNiM23Wz63KoxxTv7EGbmrfSCVdqYhWE7GPnxnaIvFIzrtCD43FnNzKgIby90Sagf7c42VmosBRK1TvursfaQREuCaH-hoeBhwPqA10ltpZb8uE3jWn2Eay-IJFjw/s400/Dead+eel.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side track picture: Dead eel (I think) in Monterosso! It had such a beautiful pattern and I didn't know what it was.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, I watched one transaction which went like this:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A customer purchased about 20 fairly small fish, about the size of a Samsung Note 3 (sorry, can't think of anything else to compare it with). The lady in the boat drained the water by throwing the fish into a large basket. She waited for about 30 seconds as the fish jumped inside the basket. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6Sbf-hfHE3S3Y2OkN7wfq8HVUoYPd7lM-F1iNxe65mnkXaxQhYN9BdWieiCAi5Oy77k3HzkL91CXf_g_bh1KRVCYIGIe5z9XqSG-GTVkX4gMIZwPdoPIJlaD-P282P80nsxsQg/s1600/Selling+fish+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6Sbf-hfHE3S3Y2OkN7wfq8HVUoYPd7lM-F1iNxe65mnkXaxQhYN9BdWieiCAi5Oy77k3HzkL91CXf_g_bh1KRVCYIGIe5z9XqSG-GTVkX4gMIZwPdoPIJlaD-P282P80nsxsQg/s400/Selling+fish+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the jumping fish.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Not wanting to waste time, she took the wooden block at her left foot and proceeded to pound the fish. After a few good whacks, she took them out and started to clean them, snipping off the fins, then cutting off the head and gutting them. The body was still floundering when she was done.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hXG8knx_09rb0P4-lvarY9XpWkPP4J91hsP-ZdGN1dQrE5ZvFCu7-ShB8I4Adwbdn7pn8s4LmiGtiG6ei1W4SMWGxdcKTG5kQpgeIP4zRBrgFTohBO4KqoNQMLA3Qx_Iu5qq6A/s1600/Never+mind+if+you%2527re+not+dead+yet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9hXG8knx_09rb0P4-lvarY9XpWkPP4J91hsP-ZdGN1dQrE5ZvFCu7-ShB8I4Adwbdn7pn8s4LmiGtiG6ei1W4SMWGxdcKTG5kQpgeIP4zRBrgFTohBO4KqoNQMLA3Qx_Iu5qq6A/s400/Never+mind+if+you%2527re+not+dead+yet.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cleaning the fish</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">She then packed them up into a plastic bag, hoisted it using a net to the customer. Customer then placed the cash in the net after retrieving her purchased seafood.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For food, we had hot pot and roast goose and the usual HK dessert, wan tan mee and dim sum. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfQHQO8-dFxQhYKs53jFRqX41G0SBckZI7n-Gj_I0m2i1UiBkFQrp9FnxJTKIyQu-A_peRr0CeLMn-nGiL9X2J4LjkQ2v0VBm0JWH_Sp-DdHtXbs_s1HoF-zciy6nIWbThbGKvA/s1600/Special+noodles+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUfQHQO8-dFxQhYKs53jFRqX41G0SBckZI7n-Gj_I0m2i1UiBkFQrp9FnxJTKIyQu-A_peRr0CeLMn-nGiL9X2J4LjkQ2v0VBm0JWH_Sp-DdHtXbs_s1HoF-zciy6nIWbThbGKvA/s400/Special+noodles+at+Sai+Kung.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cha chow mien at Sai Kung. You put together your own noodles, very similar to economy rice but with noodles.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWaISxO83v6aRBs1s3jPvRB0TIakzkEQXOhvRRRyyCVpDw5iV2H1SsYcMhyHnVTMp8Msq8-U5Fe8P6K-AtGhsOjAIZyANRh3Zq9sbr_oiKx7ztoFsC43NI6SieL1J8xebZfVz6A/s1600/Special+noodles+at+Sai+Kung+menu.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyWaISxO83v6aRBs1s3jPvRB0TIakzkEQXOhvRRRyyCVpDw5iV2H1SsYcMhyHnVTMp8Msq8-U5Fe8P6K-AtGhsOjAIZyANRh3Zq9sbr_oiKx7ztoFsC43NI6SieL1J8xebZfVz6A/s400/Special+noodles+at+Sai+Kung+menu.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The various ingredients you can add to your noodles.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVaKYNfOVXW4VTbbGjAJlgBrtaVbK8VHwAmFUWGwDLiAleV7qaLnllREqdgte_kmiDFrNaJ1mgPHdfAe4GRD_8XfS42TRmnvE9flZbOQInlmxCGuxVgXkfr1RN5eIiUzdgb7cGw/s1600/Over+Hot+Pot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicVaKYNfOVXW4VTbbGjAJlgBrtaVbK8VHwAmFUWGwDLiAleV7qaLnllREqdgte_kmiDFrNaJ1mgPHdfAe4GRD_8XfS42TRmnvE9flZbOQInlmxCGuxVgXkfr1RN5eIiUzdgb7cGw/s400/Over+Hot+Pot.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a meal of hot pot with friends</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQxlGt3YRa1gPWN8xOfo3DgEh-AHpYtLZe8VxJv1n5zAwsgLag56A27wFohxr9nT_orck4pcBr0PMfixLCt-G3KqlPOnveakcVfTlOO9R-5dIWZmvMh5EYuTlpv0IlbX401ihlQ/s1600/Mango+ice+with+sago.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQxlGt3YRa1gPWN8xOfo3DgEh-AHpYtLZe8VxJv1n5zAwsgLag56A27wFohxr9nT_orck4pcBr0PMfixLCt-G3KqlPOnveakcVfTlOO9R-5dIWZmvMh5EYuTlpv0IlbX401ihlQ/s400/Mango+ice+with+sago.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A visit to Hong Kong isn't complete without their local desserts!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvT0rgzscrgUEGlnOnamBnj_94tj-Ng0vv7gUxb1Cp-nNMwQ9v8Oxo1uBrcWCBvfF0no24H31m0Fo379yOCK_IbMbXgEOxyWTI_hdx9RVyJN8Y7yRXJr9zm0SANu83vTWM8wjfQ/s1600/Tau+Foo+Fah.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbvT0rgzscrgUEGlnOnamBnj_94tj-Ng0vv7gUxb1Cp-nNMwQ9v8Oxo1uBrcWCBvfF0no24H31m0Fo379yOCK_IbMbXgEOxyWTI_hdx9RVyJN8Y7yRXJr9zm0SANu83vTWM8wjfQ/s400/Tau+Foo+Fah.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ate tau foo fah with 3 options for sugar. I added a pinch of brown sugar since we don't serve it like that in Malaysia.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3IfC2IoGg0FTZiaYuFnHgqBRKfaEundBxP7tsK_zHIqIyMCyEp1GJrCz2U0noziTV-JcS5wmoBscunl0Y40LNyYGjzz_rQ583tZTqWMN5qTTJp86nTEYARPB3AHF_M77WUSjwA/s1600/Tau+Foo+Fah+condiments.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN3IfC2IoGg0FTZiaYuFnHgqBRKfaEundBxP7tsK_zHIqIyMCyEp1GJrCz2U0noziTV-JcS5wmoBscunl0Y40LNyYGjzz_rQ583tZTqWMN5qTTJp86nTEYARPB3AHF_M77WUSjwA/s400/Tau+Foo+Fah+condiments.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From left: Ginger sugar, white sugar and brown (more like orange) granulated sugar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What was different about this trip was that we gained insight about living in HK. For example, cars are very much cheaper there than in Malaysia. However, the car park rentals (both to park at home and at your office) are astronomical. Petrol is also very steep. But since they have very good public transport, most people drive their cars on weekends when they go out with their family. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnG1VsEFUqno0LmKlLjTO0_bmV2FQB2jkIxbiYCjEjvoH8MBkLBm4HQUgeG7IfaxjbLEAcZVYhOZ9ltyUuu2ogLJdQGDXTM61y6sQ-CroKMYiAcgQD4g_O_mhGGLUBS-0tr6eQA/s1600/Car+park.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcnG1VsEFUqno0LmKlLjTO0_bmV2FQB2jkIxbiYCjEjvoH8MBkLBm4HQUgeG7IfaxjbLEAcZVYhOZ9ltyUuu2ogLJdQGDXTM61y6sQ-CroKMYiAcgQD4g_O_mhGGLUBS-0tr6eQA/s400/Car+park.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Car park rates at HKD3000 (RM1,300!) is considered cheap</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Then there’s the mad rush of registering your kid for a pre-school. Nic’s son was only 18 months at that time and he had to go for interviews to see if he was suitable to be accepted into that school. And because there are so many people clamouring to get into those schools, it would be best to register for about 15-20 schools just in case. The process of registering for these schools is also very stressful, plus there’s a complicated points system whereby if you get into this particular school from System A, that system may not have the school that you want for your kid to go for primary/secondary school, which could be in System C. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The craziness of it all just astounds me. I don’t know if Malaysia has come to that stage yet where people queue for days to sign up their kid for school but I’m sure HK isn’t the only one. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Everything is also fast and furious there. The escalators are much faster than in Singapore, the long queues in 7-Elevens are served within seconds, placing your order for food takes less than 3 minutes despite having about 10 people in front of you. Everyone is sure of what they want, no hesitation at the counter or table while ordering because if you do, the servers will scold you. I wrote a separate blog post on my experience at the Australia Dairy Co.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, here are more photos from my trip:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRgbAJnrIDLjwmS_tsUA7nMVQyC2OiGiEHy8OsuJDQQr7phpFtw44pgMoEqMfoKPXu1S1nBr13z_eYllGpjCICFwZuHJhphTERRRHzwtofGjElhrMZH98s7DnmQMaAcSyP8MwFTQ/s1600/Big+Buddha+area.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRgbAJnrIDLjwmS_tsUA7nMVQyC2OiGiEHy8OsuJDQQr7phpFtw44pgMoEqMfoKPXu1S1nBr13z_eYllGpjCICFwZuHJhphTERRRHzwtofGjElhrMZH98s7DnmQMaAcSyP8MwFTQ/s400/Big+Buddha+area.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">On the way to the Big Buddha</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iPPdr5eGiY8Of47wq12A0wY6qMSdluFRil0lxSyh2qCuiZpIkIkBulNWS8RlQeXRZLXUWuYaM99Jbut04zmGIfuWp4AwCvIkUYb_MPBPS2M2NKy9Xb3AB4TQQz-SqePlpHA7fA/s1600/Statues+around+the+Big+Buddha.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2iPPdr5eGiY8Of47wq12A0wY6qMSdluFRil0lxSyh2qCuiZpIkIkBulNWS8RlQeXRZLXUWuYaM99Jbut04zmGIfuWp4AwCvIkUYb_MPBPS2M2NKy9Xb3AB4TQQz-SqePlpHA7fA/s400/Statues+around+the+Big+Buddha.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">People kept throwing coins to see if their coin would and on the outstretched palms despite the "Do Not Throw Coins" signage in several languages</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YXGwjZRYTIRcJ9wdZR4qYw9NU0bP372iKkyTjx027HVgr7ApgVKIvKR04jKS4ExxB3bZn0k85Z8sPrrezGqOdi2i5iJGvvS7Ul-ZAyJqLcnWRQoddCP1RxCxdC_nlWxccMltiw/s1600/Big+Buddha.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7YXGwjZRYTIRcJ9wdZR4qYw9NU0bP372iKkyTjx027HVgr7ApgVKIvKR04jKS4ExxB3bZn0k85Z8sPrrezGqOdi2i5iJGvvS7Ul-ZAyJqLcnWRQoddCP1RxCxdC_nlWxccMltiw/s400/Big+Buddha.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Big Buddha </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXz76Eieo5s44jzGgqBpH-T5VHiVbMD67CZLRfSxcw83D-PEVzg_l7FIjCbED0aTyGs_6YTs53ogjomxdig1o8_E5iLuTu3CPl6J8wco1NO5vbdc59OedgPnHafMgbDR1Zxk55vA/s1600/Dog+toilet.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXz76Eieo5s44jzGgqBpH-T5VHiVbMD67CZLRfSxcw83D-PEVzg_l7FIjCbED0aTyGs_6YTs53ogjomxdig1o8_E5iLuTu3CPl6J8wco1NO5vbdc59OedgPnHafMgbDR1Zxk55vA/s400/Dog+toilet.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pet toilet at Tai O fishing village! So cute! And smelly!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoefO58OeieIfn_TYxuks0TjeuZvQ7eGhj8tgY-awm9XUdhgIBdPnaXomI757qchRF09n-wqGT15o5-XQkuOJQGQtSaJ0SwQ7l_GzsyDOoNgXpPA3BO-dVQt1iTaSGCyka4S09Eg/s1600/Dried+sea+creatures+at+Tai+O.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoefO58OeieIfn_TYxuks0TjeuZvQ7eGhj8tgY-awm9XUdhgIBdPnaXomI757qchRF09n-wqGT15o5-XQkuOJQGQtSaJ0SwQ7l_GzsyDOoNgXpPA3BO-dVQt1iTaSGCyka4S09Eg/s400/Dried+sea+creatures+at+Tai+O.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dried seafood at Tai O.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzA-BI_nPNxOlnLK1v8agUjDR-LK3FVD47Cg89Q67Sdd19w48GWfXc_kRcC5sQ1uGLK9DHeWKk5qBvudyl6eCNUggLzn-dnHNdI29ztJAWeAYsE_fJBRz1vLt6s6mvwPJdLpoG-A/s1600/Dried+shark+skin.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzA-BI_nPNxOlnLK1v8agUjDR-LK3FVD47Cg89Q67Sdd19w48GWfXc_kRcC5sQ1uGLK9DHeWKk5qBvudyl6eCNUggLzn-dnHNdI29ztJAWeAYsE_fJBRz1vLt6s6mvwPJdLpoG-A/s400/Dried+shark+skin.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dried shark's skin in Tai O</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-_LJ1Z5QWZ8_9Gw2hFt1FNAQoZ490J1pA2hiFxbyfrPLrlK9XcRJJNd5-1FRRnrDw6gV3sUUrINpA0bqVEgF3-S9aC-iWFimGZXuOmFIT-zOqWSZUvKS-pgg8deka-zcJiqYZg/s1600/Tai+O+small+river.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV-_LJ1Z5QWZ8_9Gw2hFt1FNAQoZ490J1pA2hiFxbyfrPLrlK9XcRJJNd5-1FRRnrDw6gV3sUUrINpA0bqVEgF3-S9aC-iWFimGZXuOmFIT-zOqWSZUvKS-pgg8deka-zcJiqYZg/s400/Tai+O+small+river.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.666666984558105px;">Somewhere in Tai O on the way to the pier.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kxZnMgnoGkma6cLPcbhFI2RZVFqv0hmRArYIOUJjm4m_6c8KBQmsTq5SrheaHmvUV2tSnE9me9QYbzlMTSuJn3S0iRm86IevqLMdfnTg8voJ9RIdM-WuWHjBM4KPfd6HslJl1Q/s1600/Ethan+at+the+Tai+O+pier.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2kxZnMgnoGkma6cLPcbhFI2RZVFqv0hmRArYIOUJjm4m_6c8KBQmsTq5SrheaHmvUV2tSnE9me9QYbzlMTSuJn3S0iRm86IevqLMdfnTg8voJ9RIdM-WuWHjBM4KPfd6HslJl1Q/s400/Ethan+at+the+Tai+O+pier.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking towards the pier in Tai O</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">P/S: Just a note, there are many transport alternatives other than the airport express train which costs quite a fair bit. There's the bus which will take you to various parts of HK, then there's another bus which will take you to Tung Chung train station which will pretty much connect you to everywhere else.</span>johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-58860587989702554872013-10-20T23:31:00.000+08:002013-10-20T23:31:30.477+08:00Upcoming Trips!Usually at the end of the year, I try to organize a family trip to somewhere nearby. This year, our trip would be to Yogyakarta to see Borobudur. This is happening in mid December. Air tickets are booked, hotels secured and now slowly planning for the entire trip with some requests thrown in - like Ron asking for some time to rest rather than my usual style of Go Go Go!<br />
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However, there could be some hiccups to this trip, which we will only know in about a month. Cross fingers, everything will be okay and we'd be able to go as a whole family as planned.<br />
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Then, throwing in a surprise break during the Deepavali weekend, KS and I are going to Hong Kong. Yup. How this all happened was because I spoke to my colleague who has gone to several places like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam and even London during an extended weekend with a public holiday. He simply said, "If you plan in advance, like a year ahead, you'd be able to get really cheap flights and just go to a different country over these long weekends".<br />
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It did make sense so I started scouting for cheap flights from KL to the nearby cities and found really cheap flights to Jakarta during that Deepavali weekend. When KS picked me up from work that day, I shared with him excitedly about this new concept. He just went, "Okaaay...".<br />
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By the next morning, he decided we should go HK because his friend who's working there has offered to take us around and also graciously extended a room for us to stay with him. Bless him! So next thing I knew, I had my flights booked and we're going very soon!<br />
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Now to remember the details of our last trip to HK.johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-86151827423629830252013-08-09T23:32:00.000+08:002013-08-09T23:32:00.995+08:00Switching From Apple to SamsungIt's been more than 3 years now since I got my first smartphone, my <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2010/04/im-lovin-it.html">iPhone</a> 3GS. Despite the many launches thereafter, I held on to my old faithful. Yes, I needed to charge it twice a day but since I am usually in the office, that's not a problem.<br />
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<br /></div>
<div>
Then recently, iOS upgraded to a version which wasn't made available to my 3GS. The time would eventually come when my apps won't be able to be upgraded because it would need the new OS to do so. Preparing myself for that inevitability, I started looking for a replacement.</div>
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<div>
The search took some time, as usual, and I settled for the Samsung S4 LTE. Even though my new service provider doesn't have LTE yet, it's apparently more powerful than the S4.</div>
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So, what are the major differences so far?</div>
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<i>When I first got my iPhone, I played with it so much that I had to keep charging the battery.</i></div>
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Now with this Samsung, is only to read email, whatsapp, twitter, sometimes check FB...</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>With my iPhone, I tried means and ways to change my ringtone to set my calls apart from everyone else's iPhone ringtone.</i></div>
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After 3 years, now that my Samsung allows me to personalize my ringtone, I find I have been dumbed down to accept the default.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
<i>iPhone has it's one and only keyboard.</i></div>
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Android? I've so far downloaded 3 keyboards to test. So confusing! Kii seems to be the one closest to the iPhone version so it's the most comfortable one for me so far.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<i>iPhone has one main screen, with essential apps fixed at the bottom which I never bothered to change (I'm not sure if it can either).</i></div>
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Android has TWO screens, one for your frequently used apps, one for all your apps and even the fixed apps at the bottom can be changed! *headache*</div>
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<br /></div>
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I'm still struggling with the functions/settings after a week but I think I'm slowly getting there. So far, I'm loving the camera and response (of course, the latest iPhone would have a much better camera and response than my old one).</div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
KS just said, "if you don't like it in 6 months, sell it off and buy the iPhone". I'm not giving up so soon -.- </div>
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To Android users out there, do share with my your favourite apps to this newbie.</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-10553615512488610112013-08-08T23:03:00.000+08:002013-08-09T08:52:22.307+08:00Minion Cupcakes!I enjoy baking but have hardly ventured into cake decorating as I'm not really a creative person in terms of designing cake icing patterns. It's just baking and then eating for me, unless it's a carrot cake which begs for cream cheese frosting (and that's just frosting, no decorating).<br />
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But when my friend Eunice started offering classes to create Minion cupcakes, I thought, why not? Perhaps it would spur me into decorating cupcakes the "proper" way. While I'm not so much a Minion fan, it's a fairly easy character to mould/follow. Plus, they ARE cute. :)<br />
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Armed with only a palette knife, a wooden rolling pin (which I discovered is absolutely the wrong type for fondant as it stuck to my rolling pin), I attended the class last Sunday. Eunice had equipment which we all could share. So we set out to learn how to make 2D and 3D minions for our cupcakes in 3 hours.<br />
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Here are the pictures of all our hard work that afternoon from 4 of the 5 students:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweWvBtqcMOQ-VVeoNYQPIMBkxFnmxBVDkjRyeRw5R8M0swJJhAyVq5ukMMsvBQ1CudRIotf3MfGoa38GIf079rVh89ZQwI71UbwVWwsmEczhP0WUb7AHbJoYF6btSBUG0fTU7Mg/s1600/20130804_184116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiweWvBtqcMOQ-VVeoNYQPIMBkxFnmxBVDkjRyeRw5R8M0swJJhAyVq5ukMMsvBQ1CudRIotf3MfGoa38GIf079rVh89ZQwI71UbwVWwsmEczhP0WUb7AHbJoYF6btSBUG0fTU7Mg/s400/20130804_184116.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cupcakes and minion are the ones on the right. Yeah, my 3D minion had "nerdy" hair hehehe..</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhGzIsIwipwrIFAfbdXiKf1Q-JC7J1HdgVdH7Rc6WWq9TLyVKspP7aWxdi-iLj2-7KXWjwAJGqOeXFgs1YIGIXqalkOr_AKxadkNvQWo7rnLuPZrTGaC5Z4tKSkKiwCOhD1NAJQ/s1600/20130804_184122.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEhGzIsIwipwrIFAfbdXiKf1Q-JC7J1HdgVdH7Rc6WWq9TLyVKspP7aWxdi-iLj2-7KXWjwAJGqOeXFgs1YIGIXqalkOr_AKxadkNvQWo7rnLuPZrTGaC5Z4tKSkKiwCOhD1NAJQ/s400/20130804_184122.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Two sets from the other two students.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsv3QCPe3nMm6CojHGG6G9Pc35ev2PWK6STTAfG_62XZCVYi9TW26iRodJBOWuOXiYmNiWCPgM_YxPghQXbQeMJzw8QFmx6bFBcqgpo_48WvXg5YrFDvVsoe8g3vSjpCbh81Usvw/s400/20130804_195745.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="225" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best of my 2D designs.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsv3QCPe3nMm6CojHGG6G9Pc35ev2PWK6STTAfG_62XZCVYi9TW26iRodJBOWuOXiYmNiWCPgM_YxPghQXbQeMJzw8QFmx6bFBcqgpo_48WvXg5YrFDvVsoe8g3vSjpCbh81Usvw/s1600/20130804_195745.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
We really had a lot of fun and were squealing with the absolute cuteness of our creations. Here are more close up photos of my 3D Minion.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9s5B63TMTah0FhtvgPZe40IUQAw2lO_0eU44VskfWF3NQ4FlWnxeJucxEi0auK91jdW0fLt5hL8XjIV34ViDrtOGeIQuJIIyGC2SaO3fOkvMK7TUCxFciUoWBniq0fN4I7_OlIg/s1600/20130804_184337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9s5B63TMTah0FhtvgPZe40IUQAw2lO_0eU44VskfWF3NQ4FlWnxeJucxEi0auK91jdW0fLt5hL8XjIV34ViDrtOGeIQuJIIyGC2SaO3fOkvMK7TUCxFciUoWBniq0fN4I7_OlIg/s400/20130804_184337.jpg" width="225" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDg9qiWuh5ZY875BkhTVsK8a4wpQ4Xsnms3MB31TunF9JRBVp0XWyo8cMj6F6XRilqF5NJk4CY6sPWJ-BNHrGRwEt6qYp78hYVSqd9OmCBvJV9Sh9g618snfhCQ2A2r94-jz_D0w/s1600/20130804_184249.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDg9qiWuh5ZY875BkhTVsK8a4wpQ4Xsnms3MB31TunF9JRBVp0XWyo8cMj6F6XRilqF5NJk4CY6sPWJ-BNHrGRwEt6qYp78hYVSqd9OmCBvJV9Sh9g618snfhCQ2A2r94-jz_D0w/s400/20130804_184249.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Was in a bit of a rush so he has a scar on his forehead and Eunice helped with his arms otherwise we'd be there forever!</td></tr>
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Eunice is an extremely creative person and excellent with her cake decorations. She done so many amazing 3D work, see her work at her <a href="http://dolce.swaymyway.com/">blog</a>.<br />
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She gave us many tips and used creative tools meant for other things for the decorating! And her patient step by step to help us through every way even allowed a beginner like me to produce something which looked somewhat decent!<br />
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Her classes are every Sunday this month. If you'd like to find out more about the classes, go to her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/DolceCupcakes">Facebook</a> page.johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-692791616604950062013-08-04T10:25:00.002+08:002013-08-04T10:25:34.200+08:00Who's Kiasu Now?I recently went to Singapore for an extended weekend with my family for my cousin's wedding. I found a place to stay from Airbnb and stayed with a Singaporean girl who hosted us, let me just call her May.<br />
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I believe this is the first time I'm actually staying with a true blue Singaporean and the experience was interesting enough that I would like to blog about it.<br />
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Interesting because I always thought Singaporeans were not very different from Malaysians. Of course, there are obvious cultural nuances which set us apart, which I won't focus on in this post. To cut to the chase, it was the attitude towards safety in the country.<br />
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Upon arriving at her HDB, I removed my shoes and took them into the room instead of leaving them outside along the public corridor. Heck, in Malaysia, if you leave your shoes in the porch, even with the gates locked, they WILL get stolen. I didn't dwell on the strange look May gave me until after I came back and reflected.<br />
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Shortly after, my parents wanted a single seater removed from their room to make way for an extra mattress for Jan to sleep on. May simply pushed the chair outside onto the common corridor. I asked, "Aren't you worried someone would steal it?" to which she merely replied, "Steal ma steal lah, it's so old anyway". This was shocking to me. Again, anything placed in a common area in Malaysia WILL be stolen.<br />
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Then, as and when we came back to the apartment over the next few days, we realized May hardly locked her door, even if it were late in the evening. Jan, who's renting with a Singaporean family, explains this is normal in Singapore. In Malaysia, you get robbers rushing through your gates in that few seconds as you try to close your gates after driving into your porch. Or the case whereby the robbers jumped over the fences while you're relaxing on your porch and rob you.<br />
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I have not realized how I have been moulded in so much fear from living in Malaysia. It's a sad fact indeed.johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-69181998314184433642013-07-20T15:15:00.001+08:002013-07-20T15:15:32.524+08:00Venice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Aaah, Venice. What is there not to love about Venice? I loved the tiny and sometimes confusing alleys, the vehicle-less paths, the gondolas passing by filled with awe struck tourists and couples. In fact, I found Venice to be more romantic than <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2009/09/tale-of-two-cities-2nd-city.html">Paris</a> but I figured it was because of the hot season that made Paris a little smelly. Apparently Venice can be smelly too.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JJ-mD5FOw40YjS-tjRSJwc8tgyoccI-PB13XqpUs0IBaZQyBlq8lxpENe6qGeBNt1arhR7Fmthva7xrmVD4B5fSohMUm5rj2wPT-vwjLO-o8ywL2Vr6Ko4h5EJJ3oEtpvAyLhA/s1600/Venice.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1JJ-mD5FOw40YjS-tjRSJwc8tgyoccI-PB13XqpUs0IBaZQyBlq8lxpENe6qGeBNt1arhR7Fmthva7xrmVD4B5fSohMUm5rj2wPT-vwjLO-o8ywL2Vr6Ko4h5EJJ3oEtpvAyLhA/s400/Venice.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical view of Venice.</td></tr>
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<br />We arrived in the late morning from <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/07/florence-in-2-days.html">Florence</a> so we had plenty of time that first day to explore around Venice. We ended up walking almost all over the main islands, from the Jewish ghetto to the Rialto Bridge to St Mark's Square and back to where we were staying in the midst of getting lost along the way. Initially, we sporadically used the map but it's confusing with so many tiny lanes that you don't quite know if you're on the right track. As it became increasingly dark, I had to rely on my compass on my phone and look at the setting sun to lead us back. So yes, the compass on your phone is very useful when it comes to times like these!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9GxcapX56Tt5cyvNtUb17DgCmgLSx_Xsp7EVqRfVu5RP8MD7BbZfDaTgc0U9A0HPErh3c09ukE-kBhD5BLAhr_bVM3FfBdrGl5AgZoLuSjvonq00Hh3Sg1FmUL42CplSV6p-yQ/s1600/Rialto+Bridge+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr9GxcapX56Tt5cyvNtUb17DgCmgLSx_Xsp7EVqRfVu5RP8MD7BbZfDaTgc0U9A0HPErh3c09ukE-kBhD5BLAhr_bVM3FfBdrGl5AgZoLuSjvonq00Hh3Sg1FmUL42CplSV6p-yQ/s400/Rialto+Bridge+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Rialto Bridge</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtXkEA_BQBvUYCXxF-r1jfnnVvi12eZtDrUtAl0cd5HhZv7ffsGuTGHP3R5_XAce9gF5pBDv7uR2hLGYB9OvZ63gkx5OgdJQpevmhRLXX-qRWw1pQLEVX0420zg9nepvWvlFrmA/s1600/St+Mark's+Campanile.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvtXkEA_BQBvUYCXxF-r1jfnnVvi12eZtDrUtAl0cd5HhZv7ffsGuTGHP3R5_XAce9gF5pBDv7uR2hLGYB9OvZ63gkx5OgdJQpevmhRLXX-qRWw1pQLEVX0420zg9nepvWvlFrmA/s400/St+Mark's+Campanile.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Mark's Square</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZzlB5q6OVx9MKxqB_jEPK2Ze0XHC3CynGa88ANmdfj2ojRQr_db-jFBkChCtOLTER9OKmaEq7aXmLwn_L1-sROpt2lAheqQ27s-YUGvMueGK2_o_UOlHdg-vH69_olEiJUKv5Q/s1600/Heads+and+robes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3ZzlB5q6OVx9MKxqB_jEPK2Ze0XHC3CynGa88ANmdfj2ojRQr_db-jFBkChCtOLTER9OKmaEq7aXmLwn_L1-sROpt2lAheqQ27s-YUGvMueGK2_o_UOlHdg-vH69_olEiJUKv5Q/s400/Heads+and+robes.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Saw these at St Mark's Square, drapes that made these looked like men in robes</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGI_shd9g-NQCM0_pt7ZASViurpm-Ao76o5SqGjKfQC6uhgzcHyIFSk7qslN60DCCFX6wQbh7S_Eip_Hi00PVBd7q0H7fX567rO_-CaFekuwqcilnmBMaKRSFwdk7JcQakdTwyQ/s1600/Pigeons+at+St+Mark's+Square.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnGI_shd9g-NQCM0_pt7ZASViurpm-Ao76o5SqGjKfQC6uhgzcHyIFSk7qslN60DCCFX6wQbh7S_Eip_Hi00PVBd7q0H7fX567rO_-CaFekuwqcilnmBMaKRSFwdk7JcQakdTwyQ/s400/Pigeons+at+St+Mark's+Square.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happiness in feeding the pigeons</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A3galpSNq9z4jKWCB4ABC8qkzP7i8ga8NKuWgrf8r6TtL3IxNrut_XeuysgpoInILrnQJ2neKjRb276LUIkL6BYbsLBTnrG7eFNKhRgWLdlHbeG8KW3YZ560Daws3d9io2F5hw/s1600/Doge's+Palace.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A3galpSNq9z4jKWCB4ABC8qkzP7i8ga8NKuWgrf8r6TtL3IxNrut_XeuysgpoInILrnQJ2neKjRb276LUIkL6BYbsLBTnrG7eFNKhRgWLdlHbeG8KW3YZ560Daws3d9io2F5hw/s400/Doge's+Palace.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dodge's Palace. Love the arches!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQj2xgiNvyKIfrrhph4qtHzRc-jUeEiMEBf9opYUeibX8A-tIU-kiGvp66pyyJeDxz9B598sodefPL0o2JB4gR-iLxeEiaLgvpWBi-WLB19Pp50aYZipphC3UIYL3A9KFdMBvWUg/s1600/St+Mark's+Basilica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQj2xgiNvyKIfrrhph4qtHzRc-jUeEiMEBf9opYUeibX8A-tIU-kiGvp66pyyJeDxz9B598sodefPL0o2JB4gR-iLxeEiaLgvpWBi-WLB19Pp50aYZipphC3UIYL3A9KFdMBvWUg/s400/St+Mark's+Basilica.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St Mark's Cathedral's façade was being restored so I took only half the building. Pity we didn't manage to go in.</td></tr>
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<div style="text-align: start;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2i9CHRAcTMhfATMqrQ7dzY6tQzzs3Mo2ToJkhWVoYL3g8KPXxm8E2PbFoAjlqPAXR6SpzfaxxCISoWHTygmZ2pkGSwmrXOhukm8TopzzAARZQivEmWycOKpdqtUWBJg42_FZQrA/s1600/Bridge+of+Sighs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2i9CHRAcTMhfATMqrQ7dzY6tQzzs3Mo2ToJkhWVoYL3g8KPXxm8E2PbFoAjlqPAXR6SpzfaxxCISoWHTygmZ2pkGSwmrXOhukm8TopzzAARZQivEmWycOKpdqtUWBJg42_FZQrA/s400/Bridge+of+Sighs.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bridge of Sighs</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcXtHlfX204wO7PfkCfzZ1uH0QuzdgPxFwBauhQO1q646C9_K5An1dZU-XhLfuFbsXKZBJIm07kj08SuG_YzXhlJxhqvzCj9P-6tx_bpIbJZJf0QiTJk9OVctDVXH7gn1a8x-Uw/s1600/Santa+Maria+della+Salute.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGcXtHlfX204wO7PfkCfzZ1uH0QuzdgPxFwBauhQO1q646C9_K5An1dZU-XhLfuFbsXKZBJIm07kj08SuG_YzXhlJxhqvzCj9P-6tx_bpIbJZJf0QiTJk9OVctDVXH7gn1a8x-Uw/s400/Santa+Maria+della+Salute.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Maria della Salute from afar.</td></tr>
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The next day, we woke up late and bought a day pass for the <i>vaporetto </i>(water bus) and headed to Murano. First thing we did was to visit a glass factory who gave us a glass-blowing demonstration on how they made a tumbler. Thereafter, it was shopping for me as I went about searching for little trinkets for souvenirs.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0a3pQ9Vc_qIB7uOaGjthMgp-iU_NXiPZpH9UZA1sISOk1eJjgMUjNPnQKrpkvQMsYHMWM3uj5Z3t-2lRdp53fvmG8OhDyuM2QMWsOvXEf1Yold-DnppNyzX3jHPQ1Pcb-EHfBA/s1600/Murano.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR0a3pQ9Vc_qIB7uOaGjthMgp-iU_NXiPZpH9UZA1sISOk1eJjgMUjNPnQKrpkvQMsYHMWM3uj5Z3t-2lRdp53fvmG8OhDyuM2QMWsOvXEf1Yold-DnppNyzX3jHPQ1Pcb-EHfBA/s400/Murano.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murano. Amazingly the shops weren't selling many duplicates so if you like something, just get it. </td></tr>
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At one point, we accidentally walked into the housing area in Murano and felt like we had walked into some Zombie land. The only folks we saw were this two old ladies chatting with each other but other than that, it was silently empty.</div>
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After munching a quick packed lunch, we headed to Burano. Initially I was asking KS if we really needed to go Burano because all he said was, "It's famous for it's colourful homes!". I'm so glad that we went! The colours are so bright and cheerful, you can't help feeling happy too! Highly recommended to make a pit stop!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ53x9u66SAF4g7r-DRrgBtY0zYvmPI8S1m0FtpwWLw6nx0gM1R3J5WaSn7l1-IOhtalrMEg82vKyX5uV_2GFLaTzAhugvC6fkI5_TfaOvh4_RQiORJCOKvNJ_-7aQU5wCHZlgA/s1600/Burano+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGJ53x9u66SAF4g7r-DRrgBtY0zYvmPI8S1m0FtpwWLw6nx0gM1R3J5WaSn7l1-IOhtalrMEg82vKyX5uV_2GFLaTzAhugvC6fkI5_TfaOvh4_RQiORJCOKvNJ_-7aQU5wCHZlgA/s400/Burano+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5SgOkr0GZNzTti_J4MH6V5pkswjsmGwm_nHBflxvVY3eZ0mKph8W8dOF4PSpMTtCZ2wK6pBDGXLYA0sgENYON26nimpv_srALjbLbiwFNtvz32PBUKKB38rvMK8XVdlc8RMCDIA/s1600/Burano.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5SgOkr0GZNzTti_J4MH6V5pkswjsmGwm_nHBflxvVY3eZ0mKph8W8dOF4PSpMTtCZ2wK6pBDGXLYA0sgENYON26nimpv_srALjbLbiwFNtvz32PBUKKB38rvMK8XVdlc8RMCDIA/s400/Burano.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Isn't this such a cheerful sight?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih81XemktrzTiG9fVlqhASkm2yDG6Ss3-PBmdfrhsKfaXwiFhs5jw9lR4wd1BtL0t71GIC53Df1oFZ_ONhDtuafgeGhkue-JzelcZiAsb3g-63bKb8_CG5irzbfwU4SlPhrhHlgg/s1600/Cute+dog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih81XemktrzTiG9fVlqhASkm2yDG6Ss3-PBmdfrhsKfaXwiFhs5jw9lR4wd1BtL0t71GIC53Df1oFZ_ONhDtuafgeGhkue-JzelcZiAsb3g-63bKb8_CG5irzbfwU4SlPhrhHlgg/s400/Cute+dog.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was this cute dog in Burano who cuddled up to us for some time. It was only later we realized he was lost as he ran up and down the streets looking for his owners. </td></tr>
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Since our daily ticket is valid for 12 hours, we simply hopped into any vaporetto attempting to make our way to St Mark's Cathedral but ended up in Lido. We didn't explore Lido as we were trying to make it to the cathedral before it closed. Alas, we didn't make it on time so we ended up just walking back.<br />
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We had planned to eat at this Jewish restaurant at the Jewish Ghetto. We've never had Jewish food before (don't think there will be a Jewish restaurant in Malaysia anytime soon) so we were excited about our little food adventure. Alas, the restaurant was closed for a private function and from the limited communication with the wait staff, it was as if the restaurant won't be open at all for whatever times we asked.<br />
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We thought it was just miscommunication so we tried our luck on our last day for lunch. Again, we were turned away for a reason we couldn't understand. Too bad. Maybe we should try in Singapore if there's one.<br />
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Anyway, on our last day, it rained and rained as we went about buying more souvenirs and tried to buy my Longchamp bag (that's a separate story altogether) and attempted to visit St Mark again. Unfortunately, St Mark's Square was like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-kyLYS3-7Vhnkwnq_nXYfMlljC5JgEd6kqCZcJSBAK5hdAb_cndyUbSZKkb8XFH17k8WIWw5h7Hrb_PovOhaqclysweNGcTuwSKWCYJ74W6iBUU2D_3k3kixsPK-jv6WNQqQ_Q/s1600/St+Mark+Square+Flood.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-kyLYS3-7Vhnkwnq_nXYfMlljC5JgEd6kqCZcJSBAK5hdAb_cndyUbSZKkb8XFH17k8WIWw5h7Hrb_PovOhaqclysweNGcTuwSKWCYJ74W6iBUU2D_3k3kixsPK-jv6WNQqQ_Q/s320/St+Mark+Square+Flood.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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So we didn't manage to go into the cathedral at our third attempt. Sadly, floods are now increasingly common in Venice.<br />
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Plastered on the walls around Venice was this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PmpF1T_AjhtALJWUThMaIwd8YIz7aNZtZ0_VfCFjjkGd3Vm3uwxnJ-Wrm44JZ-b3fyXGAwROdYloEcBSNisfaQkSvN4aZ-O1lVD7hWJP7eR_KeV4D1NuWCFcrFGmXyIjd3FQSQ/s1600/Terakaft.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7PmpF1T_AjhtALJWUThMaIwd8YIz7aNZtZ0_VfCFjjkGd3Vm3uwxnJ-Wrm44JZ-b3fyXGAwROdYloEcBSNisfaQkSvN4aZ-O1lVD7hWJP7eR_KeV4D1NuWCFcrFGmXyIjd3FQSQ/s400/Terakaft.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This would have been an interesting concert to attend...</td></tr>
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<div>
Venice is definitely the most expensive place in terms of food. For our dinners, we paid an average of €30-€40 in Rome, €40-€50 in Florence while Venice can come up to over €70. We also encountered rather rude servers (bus ticket station, waiter, retail outlet) but it didn't mar my Venice experience.</div>
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So, this draws my Italy trip to its end. Definitely worth it to allocate one trip just for Italy.</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-80745966694105647642013-07-05T22:14:00.000+08:002013-07-20T15:28:42.491+08:00Florence in 2 DaysA trip to Italy isn't complete without a visit to Florence, the birthplace of the Renaissance. We left <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/06/pisa-in-day.html">Pisa</a> at about 4pm and arrived at about 6pm plus. However, since I'm not much of an art fan, most of the activities we did was merely to check off the bucket list. But I did take a lot of photos in Florence so bear with this post.<br />
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We visited 3 museums, the Bargello, the Accedemia (just to see David) and Uffizi in one day. There were two free walking tours which we wanted to do but ended up not doing since we wanted to just walk around on our own. On hindsight, I guess we could have learnt a lot more from a walking tour but we overdid it at the Uffizi by renting the audio guide and trying to listen to almost every numbered artifact.<br />
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The Uffizi had a great collection though. The painting I remembered most was The Birth of Venus and Primavera by Botticelli. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take photos inside so I don't have any.<br />
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Florence is packed with tourists and the old city is a rather small area. We covered the most of old city by foot by the first day including visits to the 3 museums, Duomo, Piazza della Signoria, crossing the river to see the Palazzo Pitti and walking on the Ponte Vecchio. The second day was spent shopping (requests from family and friends), climbing the Duomo, passing by Santa Croche and lazing at Piazza Michaelangelo.<br />
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So here's what we covered, in pictures. We went to see David (3 of him, in fact) but were not allowed to take photos of the original one in the Accedemia. At the Accedemia, we went straight to see David and sat for a good 5-10 minutes each on his left, back, right and front while trying to absorb this Renaissance icon. He was the main reason why I insisted we visited Florence because one does not simply go to Italy and not see David, amirite?<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEYLyl3ial3G_ir1J_qZXmFmtozChXjXcMCcNoHT6G2RUfkX-itvSvfowQi6fhP_BOxdN7XmHtb_ZBnBxfihSGDE2OC5hya-GvD_4Yr0saEvoVLeQHlWi-qHhkkagqsrF7_JPHQ/s1024/David+at+Piazza+della+Signoria.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDEYLyl3ial3G_ir1J_qZXmFmtozChXjXcMCcNoHT6G2RUfkX-itvSvfowQi6fhP_BOxdN7XmHtb_ZBnBxfihSGDE2OC5hya-GvD_4Yr0saEvoVLeQHlWi-qHhkkagqsrF7_JPHQ/s400/David+at+Piazza+della+Signoria.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of the Palazzo Vecchio</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7hL_7hbilZeBSMaNRmTgVaxEa1tvEmZYrPGlKIJSOjG66DEBhPgBzb2k2MsMoiousnbX6vHzoc5nohP4KrD261dc_iXk7VI91ExjORl8Pz67KMeM3B1OJPGdQgEebE-jneEu7Q/s1024/David+at+Piazza+Michealangelo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid7hL_7hbilZeBSMaNRmTgVaxEa1tvEmZYrPGlKIJSOjG66DEBhPgBzb2k2MsMoiousnbX6vHzoc5nohP4KrD261dc_iXk7VI91ExjORl8Pz67KMeM3B1OJPGdQgEebE-jneEu7Q/s400/David+at+Piazza+Michealangelo.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here he is again at the Piazza Michaelangelo</td></tr>
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While we were at the Piazza Michaelangelo, I spotted this at the base of the statue:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvD5RT36M7g-cNm5o9HdxyKm0gKvbK8fkbU66zm3wrS1DYXAhaIBx70Ky9nOMp2ulzOadk59jmm72Fwy6KHkYPTRU_3fT24ZwkU2Y8hopcLo83UvTRuxlWaMYqj7iS9P7uBjQKA/s1024/Cockroach+fest.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBvD5RT36M7g-cNm5o9HdxyKm0gKvbK8fkbU66zm3wrS1DYXAhaIBx70Ky9nOMp2ulzOadk59jmm72Fwy6KHkYPTRU_3fT24ZwkU2Y8hopcLo83UvTRuxlWaMYqj7iS9P7uBjQKA/s400/Cockroach+fest.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An intrusion of cockroaches trying to squeeze a bit of biscuit into the cracks. I didn't stay long enough to watch them succeed.</td></tr>
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We walked around the leather markets and also visited the food market:</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5sCSrAl6qLJDIsg0ONCHolK9RrdhDPD0d3wITVsxsihdeuuTkbksf4jmdx1j-h5G_dDu6fQXaJHeBsg2tNhUqw0-cZRYgehYqD4Scxg-sTHL5d4LfmUMawsJn6evGzdre8T6-A/s1024/Antipasti+stall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk5sCSrAl6qLJDIsg0ONCHolK9RrdhDPD0d3wITVsxsihdeuuTkbksf4jmdx1j-h5G_dDu6fQXaJHeBsg2tNhUqw0-cZRYgehYqD4Scxg-sTHL5d4LfmUMawsJn6evGzdre8T6-A/s400/Antipasti+stall.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was very tempted to bring back a whole leg of ham but didn't think the Malaysia Airport Customs would appreciate scanning it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrMTGO_ya_5Nf5Zp-nrM6UQy4RUk_QaNjTG5-pWEu8zaTpFX67Q-ldsT1Sm-bL2VTyto7_jLjrh9j9QOBXKWWPNve6f5UCNOUa2-oAS4bu5pLMcBHf8zUAHsou8iMOnmLzxbnJw/s1024/Bread+stall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlrMTGO_ya_5Nf5Zp-nrM6UQy4RUk_QaNjTG5-pWEu8zaTpFX67Q-ldsT1Sm-bL2VTyto7_jLjrh9j9QOBXKWWPNve6f5UCNOUa2-oAS4bu5pLMcBHf8zUAHsou8iMOnmLzxbnJw/s400/Bread+stall.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All sorts of bread </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzinyk6WYgKabctfZkjhzDMa-RxPmGsOmndaLsi37cVcr4efZFxJcdw30kAlDBIXFmlPIskwlED6AHIsS1dDRpuWotFLfoECjVCeIm5Exwhf2DP92PQHq_Sab_7jYsq5ZCg1WPQ/s1024/Cheese.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLzinyk6WYgKabctfZkjhzDMa-RxPmGsOmndaLsi37cVcr4efZFxJcdw30kAlDBIXFmlPIskwlED6AHIsS1dDRpuWotFLfoECjVCeIm5Exwhf2DP92PQHq_Sab_7jYsq5ZCg1WPQ/s400/Cheese.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cheeeeese, Gromit!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcx2QKKxeXSsAlBBuqYoT2MuJ7ZhnJMeiAnZp7KJuBP6vQTnd4UpDXQD5LE7cjJvEZwDHyAopzyU49cI11faELfz5H2uacprzwBmWMrAdeO3gprziL8hTrTLxo6eefz4DcdF_kCg/s1024/Dry+food+stall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcx2QKKxeXSsAlBBuqYoT2MuJ7ZhnJMeiAnZp7KJuBP6vQTnd4UpDXQD5LE7cjJvEZwDHyAopzyU49cI11faELfz5H2uacprzwBmWMrAdeO3gprziL8hTrTLxo6eefz4DcdF_kCg/s400/Dry+food+stall.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dry goods</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjp9F_Iup8o1odhoU4EFGek27rPxMeVCTnYTMkhyphenhyphenM1Kq8dSlopETQ-85P7PUV1FcY8xRTyi_ihLd-mNQBMIzRPUJKzlKW-mPmorVuTGZQC6IjJTFRdPp7pR8qnlEUsjE1I4zx8w/s895/Straw+pig.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSjp9F_Iup8o1odhoU4EFGek27rPxMeVCTnYTMkhyphenhyphenM1Kq8dSlopETQ-85P7PUV1FcY8xRTyi_ihLd-mNQBMIzRPUJKzlKW-mPmorVuTGZQC6IjJTFRdPp7pR8qnlEUsjE1I4zx8w/s400/Straw+pig.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute pig deco</td></tr>
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Of course we visited the Duomo which took me some time to appreciate it. I initially found it a bit gaudy, too busy in design but it's uniqueness eventually won me over. We decided to climb the Duomo instead of the bell tower. If you're claustrophobic, I'd advice against it as the stairs were narrow plus there were people trying to come down the same way we were coming up.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuA8WVjbhb8UZ6HHnCMc1s5OCGby63f-OltB_nLTOnIma7-4nuazzrh-xXli8GBI2PGfc_LAw5osfTqkzmWf2FFqq9PwwPV4B1HeeuTiJEAFOBgcLY3rqZRsYM6f_26vHQM_1lWA/s1024/Duomo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuA8WVjbhb8UZ6HHnCMc1s5OCGby63f-OltB_nLTOnIma7-4nuazzrh-xXli8GBI2PGfc_LAw5osfTqkzmWf2FFqq9PwwPV4B1HeeuTiJEAFOBgcLY3rqZRsYM6f_26vHQM_1lWA/s400/Duomo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZ94vYaX6Z2VlhClyRsQEEOXsXqQvtj8k0qxYkfG1sIA-QH9CVHK1XLH7CEUcjIdR03wKKck2z60iogiqcc8DXXbAQ8CG0ReB4uhHrC1ybJz2IOjCZWBCg-KFzX7VuEM4KnnUNw/s1024/Florence+Duomo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZ94vYaX6Z2VlhClyRsQEEOXsXqQvtj8k0qxYkfG1sIA-QH9CVHK1XLH7CEUcjIdR03wKKck2z60iogiqcc8DXXbAQ8CG0ReB4uhHrC1ybJz2IOjCZWBCg-KFzX7VuEM4KnnUNw/s400/Florence+Duomo.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoze5i1Y-94atgSU03t4zC12B_IbA_EKR_Z1n348EsX8zGz41gWEsFYuqU7feRipRqQcRxxGIAz5_alMTyCdyVhbh_AIKBiVwo0-Ibcl9FHRnbvkYegE2N56b7lwzAI1eIAWEMA/s1024/Duomo+At+the+top.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnoze5i1Y-94atgSU03t4zC12B_IbA_EKR_Z1n348EsX8zGz41gWEsFYuqU7feRipRqQcRxxGIAz5_alMTyCdyVhbh_AIKBiVwo0-Ibcl9FHRnbvkYegE2N56b7lwzAI1eIAWEMA/s400/Duomo+At+the+top.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fins at the top of the Duomo</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UiSfP6loMcyschraGbaxGMOrgEgZ2-h8ULC-mzgVqmnqVhWIZzNCGTXC-sw74vI3LKxc2N627tMGrj2MkGU7vJkjuqEoEd7HHpnKXR-kSJi4g4L_XK7HCZ_BiTeV0o0KsI8oPw/s1024/Climbing+up+the+Duomo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6UiSfP6loMcyschraGbaxGMOrgEgZ2-h8ULC-mzgVqmnqVhWIZzNCGTXC-sw74vI3LKxc2N627tMGrj2MkGU7vJkjuqEoEd7HHpnKXR-kSJi4g4L_XK7HCZ_BiTeV0o0KsI8oPw/s400/Climbing+up+the+Duomo.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing up the Duomo via narrow and steep paths</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeTgykwYCFCYTCQhymSRdh6rQm-w_ZAtYniUcMOYXsVYbYbj119VIvGm1dO2iSWZJP-qt4zzNFLFMPIbEnflpHrYmosTt3NQfbGTz40fe3OCPQv52OAI6nwPqbW8ozIFzPUzoWA/s1024/Panning+shot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbeTgykwYCFCYTCQhymSRdh6rQm-w_ZAtYniUcMOYXsVYbYbj119VIvGm1dO2iSWZJP-qt4zzNFLFMPIbEnflpHrYmosTt3NQfbGTz40fe3OCPQv52OAI6nwPqbW8ozIFzPUzoWA/s400/Panning+shot.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cyclists everywhere in Florence. My first attempt at a panning shot!</td></tr>
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Of course we crossed the Ponte Vecchio but took these shots from Ponte Santa Trinita. The Arno River was so still that day. Loved the view that day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ipcQgPl6YUSgufR_7npfZVcteZv191RRkgsItWcxGBTvLB0ZFE8FEsS0L0YoLIaUfWpK95tJlddoxNfiIkaLhUHF-TbvPiua735Imy4EpVR5k5X-qNnadu1utoMu76hrnRgmlA/s1024/Arno+River.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8ipcQgPl6YUSgufR_7npfZVcteZv191RRkgsItWcxGBTvLB0ZFE8FEsS0L0YoLIaUfWpK95tJlddoxNfiIkaLhUHF-TbvPiua735Imy4EpVR5k5X-qNnadu1utoMu76hrnRgmlA/s400/Arno+River.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ponte A. Vespucci and the buildings alongside the Arno</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6f6B7IYYGk4A9kRLleoMjtHjsdu8XBx1hbDdqzwv2l7gT1Grobi74f4zs1yHEKaTvkOJ6h9XpNEi2K1BRGiRoKwdb89Ex3BIMnBThgfYg3YPCdpKcRHcwUoA1hFzM2-YDT_5Kg/s1024/Ponte+Vecchio.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX6f6B7IYYGk4A9kRLleoMjtHjsdu8XBx1hbDdqzwv2l7gT1Grobi74f4zs1yHEKaTvkOJ6h9XpNEi2K1BRGiRoKwdb89Ex3BIMnBThgfYg3YPCdpKcRHcwUoA1hFzM2-YDT_5Kg/s400/Ponte+Vecchio.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ponte Vecchio</td></tr>
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As mentioned, we visited the Uffizi where we listened to almost everything on the audio guide.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-t4G8mV5gDcElq3JxL6vpqe8hmeL47CwfEKydoTeHspwTaIFYqXYFiPI-W52ytHaO_HP2Kz4HBPy2_O2Z8ywnkSGpsT_f5OAbmISQwVmkYaXM7wzMq7I4wyt29dVaVKUqXSb2Q/s1024/Uffizi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW-t4G8mV5gDcElq3JxL6vpqe8hmeL47CwfEKydoTeHspwTaIFYqXYFiPI-W52ytHaO_HP2Kz4HBPy2_O2Z8ywnkSGpsT_f5OAbmISQwVmkYaXM7wzMq7I4wyt29dVaVKUqXSb2Q/s400/Uffizi.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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We also visited the Palazzo Vecchio and took shade from rain but we didn't explore within. Didn't know Dante's death mask was placed here.<br />
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We were told not to miss the sunset at the Piazza Michaelangelo. So we waited along with a whole bunch of tourists. They came equipped with high end camera gears.<br />
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I was expecting the setting sun to cast its warm glow onto the entire Florence rooftops but instead, the sun dipped between some mountains.</div>
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The Church of Santa Croche was so bright and outstanding from the top of the Duomo that we had to make our way there to see its façade.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stopped by Church of Santa Croche where Michaelangelo was buried but we didn't go in.</td></tr>
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What else is famous in Florence? My colleague recommended to try the bistecca fiorentina and I was shocked when the restaurant wanted to serve me 1kg of it! I managed to get them to halve it so here's my 500g. I now truly appreciate rare steak because it simply melts in the mouth! This one that I had only had a tiny bit which was rare while the rest was a bit too well done for me.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My 500g T-bone steak!</td></tr>
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Okay, enough of the touristy stuff of Florence, I actually was very amused at reading the road signs in Florence. These add-ons are stickers and they're so cute! I wish I could buy the stickers and start sticking them back here in Malaysia!<br />
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Prior to reading Dan Brown's Inferno, I never really read much about the Medici family or Florence history. Now that I know just a surface of it, I would definitely do the walking tours if I were to do Florence again. Like I would have taken notice of the secret passage on top of the Ponte Vecchio. Can't believe I missed that! Or stepped into the Duomo's Baptistry. Ah, the list could go on.<br />
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Our final stop was Venice. Coming up next.johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-16734610586636968952013-06-30T18:16:00.000+08:002013-07-20T15:29:53.466+08:00Pisa in a Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span id="goog_841579802"></span><span id="goog_841579803"></span>We left <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/06/cinque-terre.html">Manarola</a> at about 9 plus in the morning and made our way to Pisa by train. We were told that a day trip to Pisa would be sufficient and found it to be true if you're just visiting the Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles).</div>
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We stopped at the Pisa S.Rossore Station, which is a short 5 minute walk to the Square of Miracles. However, we didn't realize this is a small station which does not have the facility of storing luggage. So we walked all the way with our backpacks (and embarrassed myself by stopping by the University of Pisa to ask if they had storage facility along the way) but it really wasn't far. If you want to leave your luggage at the train station, then the Pisa Centrale station is the one you should alight from.</div>
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Once we reached our destination, we noticed a place where you could leave your luggage (thank goodness!). We booked our tickets to climb the Leaning Tower of Pisa in advance through this website called <a href="http://www.tickitaly.com/tickets/leaning-tower-pisa-tickets.php">tickitaly.com</a>. As only a certain number of people are allowed in every half an hour, I booked our tickets way beforehand. We had to be at the location 15 mins before our scheduled climb to leave our bags at the counter before lining up to get in. No bags are allowed because of the unnecessary weight.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92Hp2lDCCgKsD-43u-50DCgsiqqKsKcF6oGb8cgmL3waa3VIOt1aVm2y5g_jwqosw8G6MiV_tghEkEUkY0FkLtPeUMDc76rInKqIGZg5uKki8cWNH02T8fO6Gu4zz5mph0NVTYA/s1600/Square+of+Miracles.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92Hp2lDCCgKsD-43u-50DCgsiqqKsKcF6oGb8cgmL3waa3VIOt1aVm2y5g_jwqosw8G6MiV_tghEkEUkY0FkLtPeUMDc76rInKqIGZg5uKki8cWNH02T8fO6Gu4zz5mph0NVTYA/s400/Square+of+Miracles.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buildings at the Square of Miracles</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMl1ZaN1G5dfmXtj6lEKqUn94ve_Zh500byU-q7XmTDDFvx5CmdPA_jT7UK_BiG_ZqAmwBCh-WVlbprCIPDgqIUj6C5xfek5vW7YzDMY8s0KIhIcFp1X9FncWQh-7rcPQy4Nr2A/s1600/Leaning+Tower+base.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMl1ZaN1G5dfmXtj6lEKqUn94ve_Zh500byU-q7XmTDDFvx5CmdPA_jT7UK_BiG_ZqAmwBCh-WVlbprCIPDgqIUj6C5xfek5vW7YzDMY8s0KIhIcFp1X9FncWQh-7rcPQy4Nr2A/s400/Leaning+Tower+base.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The base of the Leaning Tower</td></tr>
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I always thought the tower was built before it began sinking but the tower had a strange banana shape. During the tour, we found out that the first 3 stories were built before the foundation began sinking on one side. The architect left it uncompleted. The second architect then built more levels above these 3 stories, trying to counter tilt it hence the strange banana shape. The third architect then added the top and bells.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5COqi2U6b4Kb_1cSrGwn0EFcXCDSv4S4jnH7Yr0e03uACDtG0PnCcNeuZipzzyMXpjpTRhOomeUCVqLzUmQtdB6pHbzhD4VLtEYr9lA8YpW2OcXi0kJ9LJYZITiyGV-b1yH5aXQ/s1600/View+from+top+of+the+Leaning+Tower+of+Pisa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5COqi2U6b4Kb_1cSrGwn0EFcXCDSv4S4jnH7Yr0e03uACDtG0PnCcNeuZipzzyMXpjpTRhOomeUCVqLzUmQtdB6pHbzhD4VLtEYr9lA8YpW2OcXi0kJ9LJYZITiyGV-b1yH5aXQ/s400/View+from+top+of+the+Leaning+Tower+of+Pisa.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the top of the Leaning Tower</td></tr>
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I actually felt a little dizzy climbing the Leaning Tower and was glad to come down on level ground. The marble steps were very worn down from the sheer number of people who have climbed the tower.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPcSLxmbA6r68lIuaKd0IUOyofKvdu9F-d916135T24WN-8i0rdLi5cCssNsXGVUGuVDg4z0OqH3FwZ0a_IOeia60pFgmy61FD4QVi1Lz3z3O3cYANBu9wKE_XKldc9Otod6nDA/s1600/Leaning+Tower.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMPcSLxmbA6r68lIuaKd0IUOyofKvdu9F-d916135T24WN-8i0rdLi5cCssNsXGVUGuVDg4z0OqH3FwZ0a_IOeia60pFgmy61FD4QVi1Lz3z3O3cYANBu9wKE_XKldc9Otod6nDA/s400/Leaning+Tower.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tip of the Leaning Tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPzD1pvOompzUGtHefRIspgK9CBoVQVMX_4BvaOtS3AQsoN_MD1AxJurHA-LFr499Mk-c4pu7cHaH50yT9Kf6mnJGlCcMOzgS3V_0OowWPHNg8mhmDwu8t4tG28C-ApBRGNT6xw/s1600/People+posing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYPzD1pvOompzUGtHefRIspgK9CBoVQVMX_4BvaOtS3AQsoN_MD1AxJurHA-LFr499Mk-c4pu7cHaH50yT9Kf6mnJGlCcMOzgS3V_0OowWPHNg8mhmDwu8t4tG28C-ApBRGNT6xw/s400/People+posing.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Of course there were heaps of folks taking shots like these for the Leaning Tower. They were quite funny to watch actually.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LOcDSVi1bg6syidXfgDlJbejEV7DzEupilKZc5iUnQ23GJdzlFv0FvJM_QGntqAGawDjreDnEt38URRlC0-wNDQBAMgFSnNHj9jhUzfpFYMugZQLegM8JjiABqYMFuOb48G9Tw/s1600/Not+the+Leaning+Tower.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4LOcDSVi1bg6syidXfgDlJbejEV7DzEupilKZc5iUnQ23GJdzlFv0FvJM_QGntqAGawDjreDnEt38URRlC0-wNDQBAMgFSnNHj9jhUzfpFYMugZQLegM8JjiABqYMFuOb48G9Tw/s400/Not+the+Leaning+Tower.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So we decided to do the same for the Baptistry as we felt it was sorely neglected despite being such a beautiful building too. And no, it is not leaning just in case you were wondering</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawP-r7PFQhLaqMUZuZSaNc3_fJEL0LwC95dSLRFlQRPYV4_H0EEWHCA2yqB8ERPuFtgF4LWXMQpkc7NkUxE-A5f5YFTCoBM9hbkq5DIK5qmu7KCamsZVYw1UZzvBRu_t7xDLs5A/s1600/Square+of+Miracles+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjawP-r7PFQhLaqMUZuZSaNc3_fJEL0LwC95dSLRFlQRPYV4_H0EEWHCA2yqB8ERPuFtgF4LWXMQpkc7NkUxE-A5f5YFTCoBM9hbkq5DIK5qmu7KCamsZVYw1UZzvBRu_t7xDLs5A/s400/Square+of+Miracles+2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We walked around the Square, went into the cathedral for a few peaceful moments before heading back to collect our backpacks and walk to the train station with a lot of time to spare. Our next stop was to <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/07/florence-in-2-days.html">Florence</a>.</div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-10879587821555545672013-06-22T22:41:00.002+08:002014-01-22T01:15:40.391+08:00Cinque Terre<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Most people I speak to here in Malaysia have never heard of Cinque Terre. We too only found out about this beautiful cluster of five villages in the north east of Italy when I received advice from my colleague who visited this place a couple of years ago. After a bit of researching and viewing the many beautiful photos of Cinque Terre, we decided to add two nights of Cinque Terre into our itinerary. And we were so glad we did!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We took an early train from <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/06/rome-in-2-days.html">Rome</a>, arriving late morning and stayed for two nights.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizounCT2iwGt_0OGjexvuWjYvmw3ARuOdlONalAJkgYzpI7gZzzMWTqJ1263wHLbuHgw_7_MlnSAOox-VaMj35hLvt_R8ktSn36C2nZyG5c7R-iKmzcnk7vD4ZHEl8ZKZtAdleCw/s1600/Cinque+Terre+map.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizounCT2iwGt_0OGjexvuWjYvmw3ARuOdlONalAJkgYzpI7gZzzMWTqJ1263wHLbuHgw_7_MlnSAOox-VaMj35hLvt_R8ktSn36C2nZyG5c7R-iKmzcnk7vD4ZHEl8ZKZtAdleCw/s400/Cinque+Terre+map.JPG" height="345" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cinque Terre marked as "A" above</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cinque Terre ("cinque" means "five" and "terre" means "land" in Italian) consists of five villages, all having the similar features such as colourful buildings hugging cliffs, vineyards and fishing as a main source of income. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgO2pJiF14kR1khH0YF0tCOIe59X6CXnLjd1cmhmGAGfzPE8gIchZOV4pdNKMflF86KkCwq3Q0Tz8fs8w3gaxSn3TB0zTiIRNZ4v_QAc_cFIWV0Ym10pIBADMdlWY-_ESCGH__WA/s1600/Manarola+buildings.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgO2pJiF14kR1khH0YF0tCOIe59X6CXnLjd1cmhmGAGfzPE8gIchZOV4pdNKMflF86KkCwq3Q0Tz8fs8w3gaxSn3TB0zTiIRNZ4v_QAc_cFIWV0Ym10pIBADMdlWY-_ESCGH__WA/s400/Manarola+buildings.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Had I not immediately named this picture, I would have forgotten where I took this! This is Manarola.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, I think nowadays tourism contributes a large part of their income too since it was difficult to find a place to stay despite trying to book 1.5 months in advance. Each village was also packed with tourists when we got there. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwdvd1k5wXCaFympJqueWRvHSyi4QGr8lpNfg2sMdAo5nHdaW4vGeqlPSKAPo2VF_hXRyKSqWag8NMSzmmszo4Ayu9C8GsdwAOrY2C0IkxFx6GDOelH4Pc6GHspepORI04OvhsA/s1600/Cinque+Terre+tourists.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvwdvd1k5wXCaFympJqueWRvHSyi4QGr8lpNfg2sMdAo5nHdaW4vGeqlPSKAPo2VF_hXRyKSqWag8NMSzmmszo4Ayu9C8GsdwAOrY2C0IkxFx6GDOelH4Pc6GHspepORI04OvhsA/s400/Cinque+Terre+tourists.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Streets packed with tourists</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Another similarity is the narrow steep paths that coil around each village. Sometimes you never know where you'll end up, which was quite exciting!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52l9qz3rsxsCxPOEkdR5qXhNmj4ORAWlqRtObJqEa1LU70g3qwrWGtC_w8J0X03NNYuUSF7PqJ-HnnhwQ5tyzKe23tA88O-LCbRK8MBssvNSsRISpuJGu7djUBr2BJ5w1TKZRWg/s1600/Narrow+and+steep+pathways+Corniglia.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52l9qz3rsxsCxPOEkdR5qXhNmj4ORAWlqRtObJqEa1LU70g3qwrWGtC_w8J0X03NNYuUSF7PqJ-HnnhwQ5tyzKe23tA88O-LCbRK8MBssvNSsRISpuJGu7djUBr2BJ5w1TKZRWg/s400/Narrow+and+steep+pathways+Corniglia.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Each village has a church that looks almost similar.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVdLDw0XE__KuJz0kBet-BcrMZ3hHcGaFaYG8jLVAxzF2Y72jvzfCerjK0eCrXWcOgnr02LEd3UPwiWaty2LNd8rKiK4fcYLS6lcSE10vOYY498n1trBuvQeqo96-6-JQWfqfBQ/s1600/Corniglia+church.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikVdLDw0XE__KuJz0kBet-BcrMZ3hHcGaFaYG8jLVAxzF2Y72jvzfCerjK0eCrXWcOgnr02LEd3UPwiWaty2LNd8rKiK4fcYLS6lcSE10vOYY498n1trBuvQeqo96-6-JQWfqfBQ/s400/Corniglia+church.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Usually at the front of the church, there is a little square for the congregation to gather, I suppose.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most of the train stations in Cinque Terre are beside the sea so as you step off the trains, you're greeted with a gorgeous view of the sea.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpqAtYG7HBHDXRNQkI5br3AwaHQkSIWjqHgh62i7VoHnkSQOCsObKl2PToE08usfFxFiSoB6myBQVzCBCYLJSd0CN4GZOedPnYi_9GRP5-6tr24ug4JLBmsk5kqK4zXm0iy-CrA/s1600/Manarola+Train+Station.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpqAtYG7HBHDXRNQkI5br3AwaHQkSIWjqHgh62i7VoHnkSQOCsObKl2PToE08usfFxFiSoB6myBQVzCBCYLJSd0CN4GZOedPnYi_9GRP5-6tr24ug4JLBmsk5kqK4zXm0iy-CrA/s400/Manarola+Train+Station.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Train station at Manarola</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After visiting each village, we discovered each of them had their own charms, one has a beach, another is located on top of a hill so you have to climb many flights of steps to reach the town etc.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We stayed in Manarola, the second village from the main station La Spezia. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We splurged on our accommodation but it was worth every Euro!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vlNPM9poE2SHKCd_qf8NR51xq-Mak3U5fe4cPrIvV9i6t7czPNd3xKtiUTQ2WxdMMujYfAlPL5Xh7O3AbwpaAX1pqWXuQmwmFvc9bYFcYWiRMVrbkAhUw_Dl-OGieL4NP_rKmA/s1600/Manarola+Vandiris+Balcony+View+with+KS.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1vlNPM9poE2SHKCd_qf8NR51xq-Mak3U5fe4cPrIvV9i6t7czPNd3xKtiUTQ2WxdMMujYfAlPL5Xh7O3AbwpaAX1pqWXuQmwmFvc9bYFcYWiRMVrbkAhUw_Dl-OGieL4NP_rKmA/s400/Manarola+Vandiris+Balcony+View+with+KS.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our own private balcony with two deck chairs facing the sea</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picnic table where we had our meals overlooking the sea. KS enjoying the sea breeze.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg06HYVjhBZzwaJCdwEaHey_19S-oUB_Z7HMA3hLRCd315RbntosPVWS4CuGW3m8gnEESpchPg1EkbOOwMOpYXOar9AjzHiXbbKC_LRe1jIQUgbLYLWA26bnC1SZEyCzAp7a6ShIg/s400/Manarola+Vandiris+Balcony+View+2.JPG" height="300" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sea view from where you can see the other town Corniglia from here</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDEPwGeN0xIeKcd7xXV25_0kSvmPOaN-fzqw1W8YP9vyiJ1XHdTLqwbVsGpHnvg3JaWkGs7dHeRjReSgCa0VQuPKXeE6cUpFT1vL-m5UylHtuMXaKkEC9UmAOQ_BsUNIZ5XqWwwQ/s1600/Manarola+Vandiris+Balcony+View.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDEPwGeN0xIeKcd7xXV25_0kSvmPOaN-fzqw1W8YP9vyiJ1XHdTLqwbVsGpHnvg3JaWkGs7dHeRjReSgCa0VQuPKXeE6cUpFT1vL-m5UylHtuMXaKkEC9UmAOQ_BsUNIZ5XqWwwQ/s400/Manarola+Vandiris+Balcony+View.JPG" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rocks are purposely placed there to calm the waters before it hits the cove where all the fishing boats are launched from. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-X7DcBvc-YWmHIC5sLwqgQaJ5OLv9CHj4WK89INWFIepTmIHwb5d-QHcrUMEvosvSX2IqLrW9svsPKMCsEk5W-_qZOEX8eCGaeeM9vXgOWfiEJ4P37s8_5zx_ne90KQoJhDlPw/s400/Manarola+Vandiris+Room+Window+View.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our window</td></tr>
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So where is this place we stayed? It's called <a href="http://www.vandiris.com/en/">Vandiris</a> Room #3. The view was so beautiful that I didn't want to leave to explore the village!<br />
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Here's the famous postcard shot Manarola is famous for:</div>
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If you stay in Manarola, it is recommended you eat at this place:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnw5SX9VFO9rQ9ukVYhpRsojv9jFf4uKssPPZPOpLqSApAE_H7W1_1m4yZ99602_TGQ6N1mFG_j-lue4Ux5MDMHIAa8Anpm1qvSj3eQQVq16uhUtxnqMYAqjwJI394tIeBnZhyphenhyphenw/s1600/Restaurant+in+Manarola.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQnw5SX9VFO9rQ9ukVYhpRsojv9jFf4uKssPPZPOpLqSApAE_H7W1_1m4yZ99602_TGQ6N1mFG_j-lue4Ux5MDMHIAa8Anpm1qvSj3eQQVq16uhUtxnqMYAqjwJI394tIeBnZhyphenhyphenw/s400/Restaurant+in+Manarola.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">Recommended by my colleague, we made reservations on our second night (as they were closed on our first night). The place was packed when we got there at 8pm. However, the owner made sure we got one of the best seats outside, gave us two glasses of white wine while we waited for our table to be ready and the seafood was fresh. KS declared this restaurant made him decide Manarola is the best of all the villages!</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">The first day we arrived, we hung around Manarola, walking up the hills of vineyards and exploring the tiny paths. I also napped that afternoon, enjoying the cool sea breeze on a hot afternoon. Actually, it was the perfect weather to go visiting the other villages but we didn't know the next day was going to be cloudy and rainy. Oh well. </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">So the next day, we took the train to the furthest village, Monterosso al Mare, the only village with a beach (two beaches, actually). This village was the flattest, with the least climbing required.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeGKFm596r0bgzByQYEKcYLuvOl52vwSJmpubScwrkcqc2IbMIevxHyepjDGGtqVsRWnv0pVs429euPcwvISj4rqrusdinBeuav7je-a0cdJMZxFjsJDB_tSIsXKbiEvHbxTUOA/s1600/Monterosso+al+Mare%E2%80%8E.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFeGKFm596r0bgzByQYEKcYLuvOl52vwSJmpubScwrkcqc2IbMIevxHyepjDGGtqVsRWnv0pVs429euPcwvISj4rqrusdinBeuav7je-a0cdJMZxFjsJDB_tSIsXKbiEvHbxTUOA/s400/Monterosso+al+Mare%E2%80%8E.JPG" height="300" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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We made our way down south to the next town, Vernazza. We sat by the fishing boats and had our lunch here. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Colourful fishing boats at Vernazza</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of Vernazza from the top</td></tr>
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The next town was Corniglia. Sorry, because of your many many steps, I didn't quite like you, Corniglia. Still, it was a charming village.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjwgQZA8chJeCalSqW9bHPNamkfgjm7eNf1xIcn-Zq-8ti6lt8-P4ydZ7zeABejPp3-tCL62QvBwFfjTMbFMohmRlXDtXVvSogiGBKHJQPuU_H3hQa4EXnezZSjztt3Y87V4KPsQ/s400/Corniglia+steps.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="268" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the zig zagging stairs? :(</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Corniglia buildings facing the sea</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Manarola was the fourth village from the north and the last village was Riomaggiore.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A dramatic "V" shaped cove with tall buildings on both sides.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If I were to do this again, I would spread my visit to the other villages on both days so that I spend a bit more time in each rather than a quick visit each. Since w</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">e visited the other four villages on a single day, my legs were aching </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">by the end of the day</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">!</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The morning we left, a storm had hit Cinque Terre. Waves below our balcony pounded on the rocks. It was quite amazingly scary. So do take note of the weather if you are to visit otherwise you'll be limited in your activities such as hiking (the trails were closed when we visited the other villages) or swimming.</span></span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Would I recommend anyone to visit Cinque Terre? Definitely! Be prepared for a lot of climbing and hiking but it would all be worth it for the magnificent views. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">It certainly is a different part of Italy, giving you a short break from ruins, large basilicas, churches or ancient history. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; text-align: center;">I liked Manarola, Vernazza and Riomaggiore but if you asked me to name them in order, I can't. This is more of by elimination (Corniglia is too steep, Monterosso is not steep enough - I'm hard to please, huh?).</span><br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We bade a sad goodbye and left for a day trip to <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/06/pisa-in-day.html">Pisa</a> before heading to <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/07/florence-in-2-days.html">Florence</a>. </span></span>
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<span style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For more information, visit KS <a href="http://kausern.blogspot.com/2013/06/10-days-in-italy-day-4-5-cinque-terre.html">blogpost</a> on Cinque Terre.</span></span></div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-17917895060944411252013-06-15T15:47:00.000+08:002013-07-06T11:35:55.162+08:00Rome in 2 Days<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Incredibly, KS and I squeezed quite a lot in two days in Rome. We did five (yes, 5) tours in those two days and would have gone for more if we had our third day.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So here's what we covered:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 1:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We took a Skip the Line Tour covering Museum, Raphael's Rooms, Sistine Chapel, St Peter's Basilica from </span><a href="http://www.viator.com/tours/Rome/Skip-the-Line-Vatican-Museums-Walking-Tour-including-Sistine-Chapel-Raphaels-Rooms-and-St-Peters/d511-3731VATICAN" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Viator</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. It was packed with people and we had to ask twice before we could see where our tour group was gathering. There were hundreds of people lining up to get in so we were very glad we got to skip the line!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_IKTV5hoKzD1n649k478QmTAujS4RCJhw0_eXDfU2nqsNUe5KWzGyYgLQF0_G_pGmmLW7zMPdOM1mRXKovapn55-keygZUWiBOBPXmUb07XtXrCivT_4i1qz7VFZT2_Zen73Ew/s1600/Flat+ceiling+in+Vatican.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_IKTV5hoKzD1n649k478QmTAujS4RCJhw0_eXDfU2nqsNUe5KWzGyYgLQF0_G_pGmmLW7zMPdOM1mRXKovapn55-keygZUWiBOBPXmUb07XtXrCivT_4i1qz7VFZT2_Zen73Ew/s400/Flat+ceiling+in+Vatican.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Flat ceiling painted to look like it was sculpted</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CDYjWi16snGTyCTXw0pfjk8XEGO_F7NSrH6uTIzsuK4tnE7OUg5oAoq_BZrYAtF0NbHZjZ8M0RhlDBwOLSDMg2zC2JKq83sYpXXpCWv6TGRDKZKvQh0nDZj2Oe1ZMWh_GIvBNw/s1600/Raphael%2527s+famous+painting.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8CDYjWi16snGTyCTXw0pfjk8XEGO_F7NSrH6uTIzsuK4tnE7OUg5oAoq_BZrYAtF0NbHZjZ8M0RhlDBwOLSDMg2zC2JKq83sYpXXpCWv6TGRDKZKvQh0nDZj2Oe1ZMWh_GIvBNw/s400/Raphael%2527s+famous+painting.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Raphael's famous painting (what is it called?)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjH-3XrfARWC-mRRT2vVG1CQ9abTHUToLlKlMpRdm6usfrbT_HoxykySkM9HEuyfcpbmGE__khoc-O9bISyWFgCFsqOU0lLDd7CcNV64GNiJeXb7zR_tfnyt5cUHqp85yfwbCvg/s1600/Tapestry.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrjH-3XrfARWC-mRRT2vVG1CQ9abTHUToLlKlMpRdm6usfrbT_HoxykySkM9HEuyfcpbmGE__khoc-O9bISyWFgCFsqOU0lLDd7CcNV64GNiJeXb7zR_tfnyt5cUHqp85yfwbCvg/s400/Tapestry.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Tapestry along the corridor</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rvSBkHX8T5RTMUqVuzK67biTkTgakvkyYlKrdJTHouEK6JOKVCfGWxb1D9DD6x5ktbZN9JCFNCDgp5RXaxN4J5RclLH7H2X8BIjUbI7jO5FsSAptQr0vYRKFx_-SszFvCi9jDA/s1600/St+Peters+Basilica+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5rvSBkHX8T5RTMUqVuzK67biTkTgakvkyYlKrdJTHouEK6JOKVCfGWxb1D9DD6x5ktbZN9JCFNCDgp5RXaxN4J5RclLH7H2X8BIjUbI7jO5FsSAptQr0vYRKFx_-SszFvCi9jDA/s400/St+Peters+Basilica+2.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDn154Ev_zLaVu_Jz2Ep8LRnbDeuEoCDfH4gFtqkStD802ywkOJNYNu18jCWHGGYUhz2ILnilafXJqnhZQyZnF4Vk-E3kxQiPNzabedDptXLj1S-E4bGYjInjibVDxHmHbCTsRQ/s1600/St+Peters+Basilica.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDn154Ev_zLaVu_Jz2Ep8LRnbDeuEoCDfH4gFtqkStD802ywkOJNYNu18jCWHGGYUhz2ILnilafXJqnhZQyZnF4Vk-E3kxQiPNzabedDptXLj1S-E4bGYjInjibVDxHmHbCTsRQ/s400/St+Peters+Basilica.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our tour ended at noon and we made our way to the Appian Way for the Catacombs.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We took a tour into the catacombs and the tour conducted by a Phillipino brother was very interesting! He kept us very engaged, asking us where each one of us was from (he even asked us if Malaysia had a new President!), urging us to rush from one secret place to another as though we were on a secret mission or going into places he wasn't allowed to show. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMpzt6X72bUeYU0ShjcLuFx8R00YrbTE60ghDhqxg1uGtjZT6GFw6AYGockfwgkPIqhskxuemxJg1cB9h8JjvyyHpJOAg12KYyG1wu5hVYEjypmQO277CS3MqI3zXDijIabhW8Q/s1600/On+the+way+to+catacombs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglMpzt6X72bUeYU0ShjcLuFx8R00YrbTE60ghDhqxg1uGtjZT6GFw6AYGockfwgkPIqhskxuemxJg1cB9h8JjvyyHpJOAg12KYyG1wu5hVYEjypmQO277CS3MqI3zXDijIabhW8Q/s400/On+the+way+to+catacombs.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On the way to the catacombs</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIqVyk135tG_LWk7llRI4vvspFtD9D20hz8t_avWfJDh0-oyJ9h8FTaGEnclXH6trjGfTWfRuUedwZVpQHaNIJuqvnqthkCpmEwKgphmiT5At8sCAm57m8JrYuoE9EJK1uJMSsA/s1600/St+Callixtus+Catacombs.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIqVyk135tG_LWk7llRI4vvspFtD9D20hz8t_avWfJDh0-oyJ9h8FTaGEnclXH6trjGfTWfRuUedwZVpQHaNIJuqvnqthkCpmEwKgphmiT5At8sCAm57m8JrYuoE9EJK1uJMSsA/s400/St+Callixtus+Catacombs.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Catacomb entrance</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After that, we walked along the Appian Way to see one of the oldest highways in the world. The large stones were pulled out from the ground where the catacombs were and I think they're volcanic rocks. These roads are straight and usually 8 feet wide to comfortably fit 6 Roman soldiers marching abreast to conquer the lands.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_D4KfwvzkKE2ebaBEWqygg4Z2dfKBhh-qXVJQpEoBzOQGGmXvtfvgapqPzvf5vKGv5gT6RemfZOLu36myt4J8Mgf2ZKgi1lWS1_o6b_SML32-d6q82pLh60l4qyXli4m5q3wUw/s1600/Appian+Way.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT_D4KfwvzkKE2ebaBEWqygg4Z2dfKBhh-qXVJQpEoBzOQGGmXvtfvgapqPzvf5vKGv5gT6RemfZOLu36myt4J8Mgf2ZKgi1lWS1_o6b_SML32-d6q82pLh60l4qyXli4m5q3wUw/s400/Appian+Way.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We saw some drivers who ignored the no entry sign and punished their car suspensions by going over this road.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw-H8CnczCaaGjZQG1h5o_bRf6YW-UuEcDwduDR8IHJaipCQiEyE4twyAZw7aVyIAFA7HqhbcXpRDw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Since we still had daylight, we took the train back and stopped by the Colosseum. My goodness! It's colossal! I never imagined it to be so huge! I made KS hang around until it became a bit dark and took like 80 shots. But I couldn't find a decent one out of that whole stack, there were humans everywhere.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3THdjqsmwlIyjsdGe3VQYnM6pdsIXyLm6TkhmFqaGCo6qLXwJh_SllmhzH3Yps7hfwv4Ux1uk7I_Y4GJvcGJJJXyqurBTdr37dTZj2I5ZRRiYoGNrrxKt80vifo5NVEpgP1bRhA/s1600/Colosseum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3THdjqsmwlIyjsdGe3VQYnM6pdsIXyLm6TkhmFqaGCo6qLXwJh_SllmhzH3Yps7hfwv4Ux1uk7I_Y4GJvcGJJJXyqurBTdr37dTZj2I5ZRRiYoGNrrxKt80vifo5NVEpgP1bRhA/s400/Colosseum.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The holes in the pillars used to support an exterior layer that has been pulled out.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOp6HMz2qYBy10YP9LDgpidCxDlcG8SF1PcfUonmpAPuA55wUAcy8JgR0qVDl3Oyb2a1UfB1miygiI-3rAWi2E6A4bV9GAJdtnLcRTSkmZcpFRscza5VMVVZjBwmYD5TxhNSVXg/s1600/Colosseum+5.JPG" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXOp6HMz2qYBy10YP9LDgpidCxDlcG8SF1PcfUonmpAPuA55wUAcy8JgR0qVDl3Oyb2a1UfB1miygiI-3rAWi2E6A4bV9GAJdtnLcRTSkmZcpFRscza5VMVVZjBwmYD5TxhNSVXg/s400/Colosseum+5.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuO9FBmGDkL6hhOLnrbR4Nrvwm9yBYUEAUxzAmvDfdIZKmoyWuieCXWfOtNkBqTnLgFlO9GmrPYPQ1anoFvFj8zTTCPDfb8EKWn7r0cCR8c4VYwv2UwB5ABA6bixcz9qDu9XVAkw/s1600/Colosseum+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuO9FBmGDkL6hhOLnrbR4Nrvwm9yBYUEAUxzAmvDfdIZKmoyWuieCXWfOtNkBqTnLgFlO9GmrPYPQ1anoFvFj8zTTCPDfb8EKWn7r0cCR8c4VYwv2UwB5ABA6bixcz9qDu9XVAkw/s400/Colosseum+4.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We ended up having a very late dinner before calling it a night.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Day 2:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The next day, we headed to the Spanish Steps to join the <a href="http://www.romefreewalkingtour.com/?gclid=CPGvg9TdxbcCFSUl4god1n4Ahg">Free Walking Tour</a>. The walking tour through the city past the Parliament, Pantheon, Piazza Navona, Bridge of Angels and ended in the Vatican. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidodQTz7cbT8ZczHeewAK75wUuTZX4AQ3cvPfZwVoeydNDI9jtMZ8h8cIPqbhD_BSJH7pau0WBu533dTRVbFmsV7hQwV1qHzdP1zyC0VfFesSpwjLhaXWIK5qUMU3dLVehdUxp9w/s1600/Pantheon.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidodQTz7cbT8ZczHeewAK75wUuTZX4AQ3cvPfZwVoeydNDI9jtMZ8h8cIPqbhD_BSJH7pau0WBu533dTRVbFmsV7hQwV1qHzdP1zyC0VfFesSpwjLhaXWIK5qUMU3dLVehdUxp9w/s400/Pantheon.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The Pantheon was packed! Too bad we couldn't go back when it was quieter.</span></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysJXrG8zoIdAWORjusYsrC3Mi5hmXOZMTxEXohBRKqzzs103R1kpQZPUpLYwxiMIPoxVJtihBjTzLKrS7w-5bQWrvbNOlaCQEIT8Ld9iIZMs1j1Mc8OVGHvxsOoasivcNLI5R8w/s1600/Piazza+Navona.JPG" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhysJXrG8zoIdAWORjusYsrC3Mi5hmXOZMTxEXohBRKqzzs103R1kpQZPUpLYwxiMIPoxVJtihBjTzLKrS7w-5bQWrvbNOlaCQEIT8Ld9iIZMs1j1Mc8OVGHvxsOoasivcNLI5R8w/s400/Piazza+Navona.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It was an excellent way to get a feel of the city on foot, just to give you a flavour of where you'd like to visit later. We would have liked to go back to the Pantheon but we had other plans lined up for the day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After the tour, we took a train to St Paul's Basilica Outside the Walls.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUEsGtTum3gtsHl1iLaxV5uWabUvYbTT0KtRLUnBmAsJAj-2P8QK3pS5N6Qdz7G8zuO0BNNc7T8HmIJL3JE_PdiDTmo6joX0ige6ZpFJQ81dgj_8xRXqEpOVJBx27-Jw7iuaKmQ/s1600/St+Paul+Outside+the+Walls.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlUEsGtTum3gtsHl1iLaxV5uWabUvYbTT0KtRLUnBmAsJAj-2P8QK3pS5N6Qdz7G8zuO0BNNc7T8HmIJL3JE_PdiDTmo6joX0ige6ZpFJQ81dgj_8xRXqEpOVJBx27-Jw7iuaKmQ/s400/St+Paul+Outside+the+Walls.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Unfortunately I don't know why Paul is holding a sword since he's not a fighter.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOKAmkuKeakoEBSSj1qtnAYOXcCGv4ZsQo7n73TLhKhzAckkdDxQuaolB6BTCf-1gOpmyDFBzrZW5ibnJXOxTX11B5pTmxXvI0aY1R2HTwtR8se9W7clx6Ih6cVELESHMKhmnng/s1600/St+Paul+Outside+the+Walls+Main+Sanctuary.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsOKAmkuKeakoEBSSj1qtnAYOXcCGv4ZsQo7n73TLhKhzAckkdDxQuaolB6BTCf-1gOpmyDFBzrZW5ibnJXOxTX11B5pTmxXvI0aY1R2HTwtR8se9W7clx6Ih6cVELESHMKhmnng/s400/St+Paul+Outside+the+Walls+Main+Sanctuary.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I loved this church mostly because there was hardly anyone in it and it was so peaceful.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After visiting St Paul's, we headed back to the city and planned to go for the <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 16px;">Colosseum</span> our. As mentioned before, we wound up asking the wrong person where we should be lining up for the tour and was ushered to one of those unofficial tours.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We did learn a few things in the tour though, like how the <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 16px;">Colosseum </span>as built to allow 100,000 people to enter and exit within 15 minutes. Why this is different from our current stadiums is because these people were allowed to view the shows for free. Free because the emperor wanted to make the people happy with his rule and divert their attention away from the other things they weren't happy about.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">After this tour, we were told the tour offers a free tour of the Roman Forum just next door. At this point, KS and I were weighing whether to go to the Capuchin Crypt to see how human bones are used as part of the decoration or to go for the Roman Forum tour. We ended up with the Roman Forum tour which turned out to be the most informative tour of our trip!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The guide, Stan, whom they refer to as their George Clooney (but he looked more like a Russell Crowe), gave nuggets of useless information which I totally dig! Hahaha! For example, he informed us that we could drink the water from the flowing taps all over the city. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglACNEnzHbIr1dA0JdAMPr8dCnYt0xyohG0sGpGjQ_rUv2CHP0fXOJS4loorN4G0DUnb9pfr7gFoKNWmq4MyVyiddw9qPZZTJzbLa42MEX5msTtEolaBXNKTFIOp_LEV7USFqbmA/s1600/Water+fountain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglACNEnzHbIr1dA0JdAMPr8dCnYt0xyohG0sGpGjQ_rUv2CHP0fXOJS4loorN4G0DUnb9pfr7gFoKNWmq4MyVyiddw9qPZZTJzbLa42MEX5msTtEolaBXNKTFIOp_LEV7USFqbmA/s400/Water+fountain.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The first water fountain we came across had a dustbin next to it. I certainly didn't think the water was drinkable! We bought quite a lot of bottled water before we knew we could drink from the taps.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Plus, most of these taps have holes at the top. Notice how low these taps are? To drink, instead of cupping your hands, you can block the flow of the water and the water will eventually spout through the top hole! Smart eh? I managed to try this later in Burano, Venice and was so excited when it worked!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Anyway, back to Roman Forum, the guide made us imagine being right there at the start of the 1st century, how this place would be the downtown, the happening place. The sophistication of the Roman engineering of the Aquaducts, the huge and high ceilings of the buildings they created and how they've endured over the centuries really made me so amazed.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxGcVR_erM7OsSOWvxzyWUtO7yWNaI-BMJ43lT-_9LeOjjyTVlRVQYApL_gNJu7gZl_qqNdIRaoQUOe9X4r-NDyWn_WhROsacizDp6OfLttAf3ZHJP18dNx6g3XD0ssHrk1xnDQ/s1600/Roman+Forum+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUxGcVR_erM7OsSOWvxzyWUtO7yWNaI-BMJ43lT-_9LeOjjyTVlRVQYApL_gNJu7gZl_qqNdIRaoQUOe9X4r-NDyWn_WhROsacizDp6OfLttAf3ZHJP18dNx6g3XD0ssHrk1xnDQ/s400/Roman+Forum+3.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another one of those structures that you HAVE to be there to appreciate how huge it is. This was a warehouse back then.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />Over the centuries, a lot of these structures and material were recycled to build new buildings. Like the bronze sheets plastering the <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.199999809265137px; line-height: 16px;">Colosseum were removed to be melted down to make other things, pillars too were ripped down and used elsewhere. See this structure below?</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEZ5AYYihBVIeI6_iYCx3aUxCuh4tpYuEIX2WWzRz-GPtz8IxU4PfjkClSLCBz48T5N8UoJuorXK4dgvYCpGkQ-h45k_mX-KYc8QkxJ9M_MEfdRgYiKjdz_BYIW0yHxlCQ8aC6g/s1600/Roman+Forum+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvEZ5AYYihBVIeI6_iYCx3aUxCuh4tpYuEIX2WWzRz-GPtz8IxU4PfjkClSLCBz48T5N8UoJuorXK4dgvYCpGkQ-h45k_mX-KYc8QkxJ9M_MEfdRgYiKjdz_BYIW0yHxlCQ8aC6g/s400/Roman+Forum+2.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Have a closer look at the pillars. The stripes near the top were created when ropes ate through the pillar surface when they were yanked by horses, in an attempt to tear them down. The pillars held fast and remain there as it is now. Imagine the force! Imagine the workers urging the horses on as they strained against the might of the pillars!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-NqcKhIgNMLKhNx2zQYzCeP_tBbtV2r82PO8e8Q0rqPYr_kGLmCliajBfmkKG1zown_vTH6BP1mcL1W7CWpqi8N4OrrgjCFo5P2lZxc1ptb-HPnSmWSuAuVRLeIVb0IqOzE_JQ/s1600/Roman+Forum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1-NqcKhIgNMLKhNx2zQYzCeP_tBbtV2r82PO8e8Q0rqPYr_kGLmCliajBfmkKG1zown_vTH6BP1mcL1W7CWpqi8N4OrrgjCFo5P2lZxc1ptb-HPnSmWSuAuVRLeIVb0IqOzE_JQ/s400/Roman+Forum.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Thereafter, I walked those roads, imagining the hordes of Romans back then hurrying along their daily business on these roads I now tread. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ei0TEqcCTpKgfAukTZ7zC8Moygi0Fpevh5WgjWQ8sWxLs7ZIySB5tWSAFLYiRnqgLL6x097ZDQUWrljh18Ayst4P5CJ2IeLn18bLVzeqN1nmZo8JODsn-ciMtNJpvADh3OERRA/s1600/Roads+in+Roman+Forum.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Ei0TEqcCTpKgfAukTZ7zC8Moygi0Fpevh5WgjWQ8sWxLs7ZIySB5tWSAFLYiRnqgLL6x097ZDQUWrljh18Ayst4P5CJ2IeLn18bLVzeqN1nmZo8JODsn-ciMtNJpvADh3OERRA/s400/Roads+in+Roman+Forum.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the parallel grooves? These roads were used for horse carriages, I think. How many wheels had carved these grooves? </td></tr>
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Yes, I was mesmerized at the Roman Forum and brought back to the past. Something which I totally did not expect.<br />
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From there, we walked all the way to Trevi Fountain. How can we visit Rome without visiting this fountain, right?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsnY0oQL8HcdDfSY1SvDYuNirGj0hjT68kuh9OfCUKW_OxRUaSJSCkw4N3M8Vh0uSfxOrU4gEHCboyqxIxgois_xghK_XJBX6V013_pOLO0WZtqhSZwCP1eFntRCTG0rPx5BiGQ/s1600/Trevi+Fountain.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtsnY0oQL8HcdDfSY1SvDYuNirGj0hjT68kuh9OfCUKW_OxRUaSJSCkw4N3M8Vh0uSfxOrU4gEHCboyqxIxgois_xghK_XJBX6V013_pOLO0WZtqhSZwCP1eFntRCTG0rPx5BiGQ/s400/Trevi+Fountain.JPG" width="300" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As expected, the Trevi Fountain was teeming with tourists. Many of whom were just sitting and enjoying the view, others were throwing coins, some with their right hand over their left shoulder.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We stayed for a short while and then headed back to Roma Termini for dinner before we went back to sleep. Our early morning train would take us to our next adventure, <a href="http://jnlk.blogspot.com/2013/06/cinque-terre.html">Cinque Terre</a>.</span></div>
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-33488573173887187842013-05-31T00:10:00.000+08:002013-05-31T00:10:00.505+08:00Italy In GeneralWe’ve been planning for our Italy trip for months now and yes, while it was a tough one to plan for, it was a very rewarding trip! We flew by Emirates which was such a change from budget airlines we've been travelling on for some time.<br />
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In our short 10 full days in Italy, we covered Rome, Cinque Terre, Pisa, Florence and Venice. And as mentioned before, we had to cut one day from Rome and extended one day in Venice due to the General Elections. Otherwise, three days in Rome would have been better and 2 days in Venice sufficient. Still, we managed to pack in quite a fair bit into Rome and took a relaxing time in Venice to wander around.
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Let me start off with the general things in Italy.<br />
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<u>Food</u><br />
Food was generally good as we enjoyed the Nutella croissants, pasta, pizza, focaccia breads and antipasti with melon. And the gelato every day of course! We budgeted about €15 per person per meal so while breakfast could be as cheap as €3, we could then splurge a little for dinner that day.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaN0F9TgRU20auiBqy4c_4rmD4mVzu6TtG8cOJilckLiXcm0L1eHAmlHKEeScd8wMpATxto_NlhEd2Gwuc0qpRHKO9-8u4RJnui0aBThC4YW4Ljv4shVm4r-9kpLPBG-_0Bqx5w/s1600/Photo+23-05-13+0+13+21.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaN0F9TgRU20auiBqy4c_4rmD4mVzu6TtG8cOJilckLiXcm0L1eHAmlHKEeScd8wMpATxto_NlhEd2Gwuc0qpRHKO9-8u4RJnui0aBThC4YW4Ljv4shVm4r-9kpLPBG-_0Bqx5w/s400/Photo+23-05-13+0+13+21.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All sorts of pasta: spaghetti, ravioli, lasagne, gnocchi (I didn't take a photo of our risotto)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzoE9IoCskCU682dn0Zy8FJNqN6Sfsavn6EN0pk7RvsWUQN7UKi6z2O-RpbjAoie4-NbRlAGnC10g7okLhJ4MTTDZsD6dVnuWfFVA-WyJQ-5WFJFaGKyNa1TfJJ-xWd2f8ZIpcQ/s1600/Photo+23-05-13+0+15+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGzoE9IoCskCU682dn0Zy8FJNqN6Sfsavn6EN0pk7RvsWUQN7UKi6z2O-RpbjAoie4-NbRlAGnC10g7okLhJ4MTTDZsD6dVnuWfFVA-WyJQ-5WFJFaGKyNa1TfJJ-xWd2f8ZIpcQ/s400/Photo+23-05-13+0+15+02.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Melon with parma ham (our favourite!), anchovies (a little weird but still okay), focaccia with some ham and rocket and osso bucco. I absolutely love their tomatoes!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkM0KR_8aHeElhowpTcfYpk-jekj8IS8SKdZmmTbZxZV4c5gpFfcGHq4NK7F_ehufXrUDoizExr8yd2uXEUUAFDUWOqo3QSK9x-vGUIOCGPk4IymoqlYMxtyVDdJIBnhbkSjc3tQ/s1600/Photo+23-05-13+0+16+27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkM0KR_8aHeElhowpTcfYpk-jekj8IS8SKdZmmTbZxZV4c5gpFfcGHq4NK7F_ehufXrUDoizExr8yd2uXEUUAFDUWOqo3QSK9x-vGUIOCGPk4IymoqlYMxtyVDdJIBnhbkSjc3tQ/s400/Photo+23-05-13+0+16+27.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sweet stuff : chocolate/Nutella croissant, tiramisu and gelato. I had the choc croissant and gelato almost every day.</td></tr>
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<u>Weather in May</u><br />
The days took turns from sunny hot to nagging rain the next day. This also means I wasn’t very happy with my photos from this trip with the grey skies. Thankfully I brought my umbrella, a rain-proof coat and sun block. Temperatures were beautiful between 17 – 20s. As we moved north, the nights were slightly chillier. Dawn was at about 6am and sun set was around 8pm so we had good long days to move about.<br />
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<u>People</u><br />
There were tourists EVERYWHERE! They were mainly Americans and groups of Japanese. I could hardly take photos without having people in it. Aside from the tourists, the Italians are generally warm and friendly. We encountered two unfriendly people in Venice on our first day there though. And I used to hear friends saying Italian men were very good looking, I can now say I have seen them with my own eyes! A lot of them looked like George Michael with a stubble and sunglasses. Swoon!<br />
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We were also told to watch out for gypsies but we found many Bangladeshis who were peddling their wares at every point of interest. They didn't really come up to us though (maybe they knew we were cheapo tourists who won't buy their goods!).<br />
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<u>Italian trains</u><br />
Since I bought my tickets online earlier, getting around Italy was a breeze. I must say one of our initial achievements of our trip was to get to the train station at the Rome Airport, use the machines to print our ticket, time stamp it and get into the train within a few minutes. Only when the train shut its doors and started moving did I ask the person beside me if the train was headed to Roma Termini! LOL<br />
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Another achievement for us was our train trip to Manarola from Rome. We had to switch trains in La Spezia with a 10 minute gap. We needed to print our ticket, time stamp it and find the correct train all within that 10 minutes. Worse, our train from Rome was slightly delayed by 3-5 minutes. Thankfully, I pre-printed our tickets at Roma Termini, rushed down from the train at La Spezia to time stamp it, followed the general crowd into the train and hoped it was right train before it moved (as there were two trains on the same platform).<br />
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One thing to note though, when we got to Roma Termini to take this trip to Manarola, this guy came up to me (rather forcefully) and brought me to the correct platform and then demanded for money for his help and scolded us for giving him too little. It was rather frightening and KS was worried he would grab my bag. On hindsight, this guy did help me understand how to read the Italian train schedule, as it would have taken me some time as I was looking for the train to La Spezia on the screen when the displayed name would be the last station the train would stop.<br />
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For example:<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXNQ5KY39TPU936RGuY-roP7LZW8BYgZ8bzzYaX3h2lpUmC_lbwxqxMAo0Egcw4EtOLfg-5HNsgRXAw5Pxkmyvjnmuj7stf0Xf0PK886BAQmN1jB6-YrjYdNqGzkfSMy-C-0Zcg/s1600/Train+Schedule.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUXNQ5KY39TPU936RGuY-roP7LZW8BYgZ8bzzYaX3h2lpUmC_lbwxqxMAo0Egcw4EtOLfg-5HNsgRXAw5Pxkmyvjnmuj7stf0Xf0PK886BAQmN1jB6-YrjYdNqGzkfSMy-C-0Zcg/s400/Train+Schedule.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><div style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">
Train Schedule: Our train name on the screen follows the name of the last station it would stop at. So ours was called Pisa Centrale even though we were getting out at Pisa S.Rossore. This schedule shows the stops this train makes.</div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprmsfLhMZ8KUUf3foZON6Di77jUVeCZduZQjOn1ptgGlXYWSYS8v-1dZ7CDQnnEGBKEgEDO3g63fHkfcI2YaUTaT-nmNFG4t4bzT6ktEV_KM1pgob_7jg_nlGRRKaff8Z1y8J9Q/s1600/Train+Schedule+Screen.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjprmsfLhMZ8KUUf3foZON6Di77jUVeCZduZQjOn1ptgGlXYWSYS8v-1dZ7CDQnnEGBKEgEDO3g63fHkfcI2YaUTaT-nmNFG4t4bzT6ktEV_KM1pgob_7jg_nlGRRKaff8Z1y8J9Q/s400/Train+Schedule+Screen.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">So on the screens, you would need to refer to the train for Pisa Centrale for the correct platform. I learnt this from the guy at Roma Termini. My train from Roma Termini to La Spezia was Genova P.P. and I would have taken some time to figure that out if it weren't for him.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2EQnILmnfUyZqucwiNzr3kHa7u-N7frOFf9OCjPPwX-dRjeryYD7uDABniJNYpqXc9UXGlbuKle2sfydxW9bnKJj7pFA04guWzakZs7svHa4xwZR24Zl6LqYXEwjm8g9GCZPqQ/s1600/Validation+Machine.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_2EQnILmnfUyZqucwiNzr3kHa7u-N7frOFf9OCjPPwX-dRjeryYD7uDABniJNYpqXc9UXGlbuKle2sfydxW9bnKJj7pFA04guWzakZs7svHa4xwZR24Zl6LqYXEwjm8g9GCZPqQ/s400/Validation+Machine.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.800000190734863px;">Validation Machine. Insert your ticket in the middle slot to have it time stamped before boarding. </td></tr>
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<u>Touristy Stuff</u><br />
I used to think people normally backpack in Europe but KS and I were the rare ones carrying backpacks. Still, it was quite helpful when we had to climb stairs, steep slopes in Manarola or bridges in Venice.
We bought a Skip the Line Tour of Vatican from Viator and were glad we did as there were hordes of people lining up to go in! Plus there were so many touts trying to get you to sign up for a Skip the Line Vatican Tour right outside the gates.<br />
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Unfortunately, we weren’t careful when we got to Colosseum and was made to pay for a tour at €13 per pax (the official tour inside was only €5) after we asked someone outside who looked like he was wearing an official tag where to queue for the tour.<br />
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Still, there was a silver lining to this because it led us to the most interesting tour thereafter which made Rome my favourite place of all! I'll explain this in a location by location blogpost later.
johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-74917688412500345582013-05-27T00:15:00.001+08:002013-05-27T00:16:20.472+08:00Planning for ItalyAfter many months of putting off visiting Italy, we finally bought our flight tickets in mid March to travel in early May. I didn't think it would be a problem getting rooms since we have 1.5 months before we travelled. But boy was I wrong!<br />
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We spent many weekends and weekday nights trying to secure rooms all over Rome, Cinque Terre, Florence and Venice with a budget and some pre-requisites such as an attached bathroom but was quite challenging. Many places have about 3-4 rooms and they're all pretty snapped up especially if we wanted to stay somewhere for like 4 nights.<br />
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My usual favourite sites like <a href="http://hotels.com/">hotels.com</a> or <a href="http://bookings.com/">bookings.com</a> don't quite have the choices I was looking for. I found <a href="http://tripadvisor.com/">TripAdvisor</a> to be quite a help and there are quite a lot of B&B that have their own sites so it's quite hard to find them in a collective site.<br />
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Here are, so far, the most useful sites other than TripAdvisor for finding the perfect rooms:<br />
<a href="http://airbnb.com/">airbnb.com</a><br />
<a href="http://cross-pollinate.com/">cross-pollinate.com</a><br />
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We've spoilt ourselves with renting a whole loft in Rome, a room overlooking the gorgeous sea in Cinque Terre which left my budget of RM400 per night in tatters. So it had to be cheaper accommodation for Florence and Venice.<br />
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One thing I've discovered is that some rooms may have just a shower tucked in the corner of the room, no toilet, just the shower. Very strange! And the toilets mainly would have bidets! This is going to be interesting as I've never tried using one before. Also, most places accept only cash so I need to start looking for my body pouches to avoid pick pockets.<br />
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So that was just the room bookings. I then spent another two weekends figuring out the trains and buying them online. Thanks to this site called <a href="http://www.italylogue.com/">italylogue</a>, I found <a href="http://www.italiarail.com/">italiarail.com</a> where I could buy my tickets with ease.<br />
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There are two types of tickets which I bought, one is a ticket with reservation (time and seats allocated) and the other is an open ticket whereby it is valid 2 months from the date of purchase.<br />
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Thankfully (somewhat), most of my tickets are open tickets so when we had to change our flights to enable us to vote in the next Malaysian General Elections, I only forfeit one day of Rome from my schedule and not my train tickets too.<br />
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Anyway, this holiday was one of the most researched of all our trips. So much information on the net! So many decisions to make! Yes it has been stressful but I'm enjoying the process (I can't say the same for KS who has to plan what to do, which tour to take, if we need to get a phone card etc).<br />
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Blog posts coming up on our trip.johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10871380.post-64787588222635598042013-04-19T19:23:00.000+08:002013-04-19T19:23:00.335+08:00Malaysia's 13th General ElectionMalaysians have been heaving speculating when the next General Election (GE) would be held since November last year. The 5 year mark from the last GE (8 March) came and went, the only other time this has happened was in 1969.<br />
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KS and I had planned to go for our Italy holiday in either April or May. We waited for the news but there were no forthcoming announcements. We couldn't wait so we booked our air tickets on 5th May, avoiding as many Saturdays as we could since previous GEs were held on Saturdays.<br />
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Finally, when the Prime Minister announced the dissolution of Parliament on 3 April, I eagerly waited for the announcement of the GE date. People speculated it would be at the end of April so I felt somewhat assured I wouldn't miss it. Then the Election Commission took their own sweet time and only announced it a week later. And the date they selected? 5th of May. Our flight is at 1030am, we have to be at the airport by 0830 latest. Polling stations open at 0800. KS votes in Melaka.<br />
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Different permutations came into mind:<br />
1. We check in the day before. KS goes back to Melaka to vote as soon as the doors open while I vote in PJ. We both then speed our way separately to the airport to make it for our flight.<br />
2. I vote and grab the ERL which takes 28 minutes to reach the airport while KS checks in earlier.<br />
3. KS votes while I check in earlier.<br />
4. We just don't vote.<br />
5. We shift our flight one day and pay the forfeit of RM860. Thankfully this is Emirates so we only need to pay the fine for changing our details and fare increase.<br />
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I checked with the travel agent and neither one of the first three options were viable. Then I thought, what's our votes worth anyway? But I've been advocating and encouraging everyone else to vote and here I am, not even voting. I cannot imagine not voting when I've been so passionate for the last many years.<br />
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Then I remembered that there are potential phantom voters waiting to vote on your behalf. That's when I called my travel agent and made the change. So what if I have only 2 days instead of 3 in Rome if I am going to regret for the rest of my life of not being a part of a historical event in my own country?<br />
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There are stories out there of many Malaysians coming back to vote. I heard someone flying back all the way from Finland. Jan says most of her Malaysian colleagues in Singapore are coming back to vote. Those who can't are few due to fully booked tickets. Maybe they should ask around to hop on with those who are driving back.<br />
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Ini kalilah.johttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16287331593642517407noreply@blogger.com0