15th May 2008 - Pictures of Switzerland & Italy

It is 2 days to the commencement of my examinations! I’ve decided to write this short post before starting on my daily routine of revision. Well, the pictures of Zurich, Lugano, Schaffhausen, Lucerne & Venice are up! Hope you guys would enjoy them while I study away~

14th May 2008 - Birthday Mom =)

Today is a day of utmost importance for without it, I wouldn’t exist in this world so… happy birthday mummy! Hope your celebration later would be lovely and unique. Remember that it’s just a prelude to your main celebration in Europe in 2-3 weeks time! Your dearest second son would bring you on an extravaganza shopping trip in some of the most famous cities in the world i.e. London, Paris and so forth! I’m really looking forward to seeing you soon. It has been 246 days since I last saw you haha. Are you touched that I actually counted the days?

Well, here’s a little gift for you… pictures of Geneva, Bern, Fribourg and Interlaken! It’s nothing much, just a small gesture but I do hope you find them pretty. See you later then!

11th May 2008 - Summer Holidays

Goodness, examinations are commencing in 6 days! I haven’t updated my blog for about a month, so I thought this would be a good time to do so since I’m done with revision for the day. Oh yes, happy mother’s day, mom! I’m highly anticipating the day I conclude my examinations as my mom and brother would be flying over to Europe. I’ll be acting as their tour guide in both London and Paris and thereafter, we’ll explore a couple of places in Spain together, namely Madrid, Barcelona, Toledo and perhaps Salamanca. I am so totally looking forward to it. It’s a shame that my Dad wouldn’t be joining us as he’s really busy with work. Right now, I’m also trying to finalise my trip to Portugal. Hopefully I can get it done and out of the way soon. Planning for trips is such a hassle unless you’re willing to fork out cold hard cash to the travel agent to do all the planning for you.

During Easter break, I went to a number of places which was absolutely lovely. I can’t even count all of the places I’ve been to with my fingers alone. Amsterdam was alright, the tulips there are so pretty but you can get killed by the stupid trams and bicycles there! Switzerland is so picturesque, nothing short of being fabulous! Imagine the snow capped mountains, the clear blue lakes, the beautiful cities… The cuisine in Venice was delightful, nothing less than expected of Italian cuisine! Well, I will definitely upload all the pictures once I finish sorting them out which would be after my exams. It takes a heck of time to do so as I’ve been to so many places then.

After returning from my Easter holidays, I worked under an interior designer for about 2 weeks as part of my curriculum. It was certainly challenging but I learnt that engineering methodologies can also be applied to areas which are so non-engineering! It was overall a good experience although I was so tied up with work during those 2 weeks. After my short stint at the interior design company, it was time to hit the books as the exams were 2 weeks away which explains why I couldn’t upload any pictures. Furthermore, my mom informed me, at such a non-idealized timing, about her wanting to come to Europe. However, being a filial son, I shuffled between studies and planning for her trip and in doing so, I managed to finish planning the 16 days trip in about 3 or 4 days. Guess she should bequeath me with some nice gifts as a reward for my hard work. Haha, I’ve decided to bring lesser clothing for my trip so I would be left with no choice but to shop! Well, I’m really looking forward to seeing my family in London. It will be really lovely… till then, it’s back to studying!

21st Apr 2008 - Gatecrashing

Here I am doing something sinful while typing this blog entry. I’m drinking, and nearly finishing, a bottle (1 litre!) of Belgium chocolate flavoured milk that I bought today at the supermarket. Goodness, it has been so long since I drank such a thick and flavourful bottle of milk. Since arriving in the UK, I have only been drinking skimmed or semi-skimmed milk which is nearly the equivalent of water! Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only sinful thing I did.

Upon returning to the UK, I’ve been acting a little queerly, doing things which I’ve never done in the past. I jogged twice in the rain but at least this is excusable for it keeps me healthy and fit! However, my jogs were compromised as I’d finished 2 tubs of Ben & Jerrys ice cream in 4 days and ended up buying another tub on the 5th day. To add on, I’ve never been a fan of sausage rolls but I’ve eaten 7 sausage rolls in a week! My random and peculiar behaviour is rather worrisome… even to myself.

Last Friday, I cooked mussels for my friends. I guessed I bought them on impulse as I happened to be at the supermarket when the price of the mussels was reduced. After buying them, I decided to prepare them for my friends as a form of gratitude for the lovely “birthday” surprise they sprung on me. Thankfully I didn’t screw up while cooking as it would be utterly embarrassing!

What we did after dinner was even more fabulous. We had decided to gatecrash a joint birthday party and we didn’t even know the 2 birthday celebrants haha. It was my first time doing something like this and it turned out to be good fun. The trick is to pretend you know everybody at the party, if not majority of them at least, and then to introduce yourself to the host(s). For the wicked party, good music, free food and drinks, being unabashed and shameless was certainly worthwhile! It was a party that one would be familiar with as it was akin to those portrayed in American film, pretty awesome I would have to admit =P

Alright, my bed is beckoning me over. It’s time to enter my sweet (hopefully) state of slumber as I would have to arise at half six tomorrow and don on a suit as I would be going to an interior design company. Sigh, from dawn to dust, I would be away from the comfort of my room. Needless to say, the sad life of an engineer-to-be tsk tsk.

19th Apr 2008 - "Birthday" Surprise

It has been a week since I returned to Durham. These 7 days that passed don’t feel like 7 days as the week neither felt long nor short. It seems like I’m fleeting somewhere in between space and time. Wonder if it’s any good to do so or is it detrimental?

4 nights ago, my crazy European friends did something really out of the blue, yet special, for me. They declared 15th of April to be my birthday which obviously isn’t my birthday. They were clueless as to when my birthday is, so they just decided to make that day my birthday! When I met up with my clique that night, the girls suddenly just hugged me and wished me “Happy Birthday Denis!” Goodness, I was dumbfounded and was perpetually rooted to the ground after their antics. Furthermore, they prepared some small gifts for me which I thought was very sweet of them. Haha, my other friends even got conned by them into thinking it was my birthday that night. Of course, I vehemently sounded out that it was just a prank, albeit a very pleasant one, but no one seemed to have paid attention to what I was saying then -.- The situation was really hilarious and we all had a good laugh about it. It was quite a memorable night!

I found out that most of my friends’ parents are coming over to visit them in Europe bar mine. But I guess it’s alright since they can save more money that way… more cash for me to spend abroad =) My mom only knows how to send me list after list of items to buy for her in the UK. Haha, I’m exaggerating a little but yes, she did send me a list of “help-mom-to-buy” items. Oh well, not that I’m complaining. Gee, since I returned to Durham, I’ve been very much anticipating the day that I would set foot in Singapore again. I wouldn’t say it is purely homesickness but there’re several other reasons as well.

Anyway, this song that’s currently being played on my blog was recommended by a friend. She told me to listen to it only just before I retire for the night, and while listening to it, I’m not supposed to do anything else. Haha, it seems that she is rather demanding, don’t you think so? Well, being a nice person, I heeded her words. While listening to it, my emotions stirred, setting me into a thoughtful mood of reflection. It was definitely a lovely piece of music. So, Ms Demanding, I’ve placed this song for you on my blog. Hopefully, together with little splashes of raindrops outside your windowsill, this emotion provoking piece of music would enthrall your senses and feelings, thrusting you into a surreal state of fantasy…

13th Apr 2008 - Incoherent Thoughts

Goodness, I’m actually at a loss now, thinking of how I should start typing this post. I’ve just returned from my travels a couple of days ago. However, most of my pictures are with another friend who is still currently travelling, so I would talk about the places I’ve been to another time after I receive the photographs from her.

Returning to Durham from overseas has always been a chore. The budget flight timings back to UK are never ideal, which is an understatement since they’re budget flights, and they usually fly from and to airports which are not close to the city. Coupled with the long train rides back to Durham, it really is a hassle flying out of UK and this time round, much more of a pain flying back into UK. So far, I’ve been to 2 airports in London and on both occasions, the service (especially the immigration control) is wanting. I am unable to comprehend why the service in major airports in London can be so utterly inefficient till it’s shocking. The queue to clear the border control is as long as the Great Wall of China and BAA can just have 2 counters open. In my opinion, I think it’s quite retarded and the level of service in airports leaves much to be desired. Efficiency is something that most Singaporeans take for granted till one has seen how frustrating it can be when efficiency is nowhere to be seen. Due to their incompetence, I nearly missed my train, which was rather costly, back to Durham. I reckoned it took me about an hour and a half to clear the immigration control although it was already half eleven in the evening.

After reaching London Liverpool Street, I had to while my time away in MacDonald’s for a couple of hours before the train to Durham departed. It was there that I met an interesting gentleman, Dr. Antonio, who is from Italy. He was of British nationality but had lived in Italy since he was young. The only reason, according to him, that he is back in the UK is for the financial benefits i.e. a much higher salary. It was quite comical to hear an Orthopedist lambasting just about everything in the UK. Paraphrasing him, he said that nobody comes to the UK for food, which is rubbish, or for the weather, which is lousy. Also, he told me that he was working for the largest government hospital in London which was under the ward of the National Health Service (NHS). The NHS has a very high budget allocation from the government but the management of funds is horrific. I found out that even the cleaners in the hospital aren’t paid on time. Furthermore, I met a group of British travelers in Switzerland and they were complaining about the NHS as well. It seems like not only are the airports lacking in efficient but so are the hospitals.

On the way to Treviso airport, which is near Venice, I began to miss my family, friends and Singapore quite a fair bit. I kept thinking of the day I would return to Singapore and how I would spend my first week back in Singapore. Strangely enough, when I returned to Durham, a few of my friends messaged me via msn and asked me when I would return, that we should meet up etc. and they were quite emotional. I’m glad I’m not the only person feeling emotionally disjointed. This trip has no doubt been very enjoyable but it has also left me feeling emotionally breathless and suffocated…

23rd Mar 2008 - Florence & Pisa

I’m finally blogging again after finishing my revision for the day. Italy seems so distant even though I was there till a couple of days ago. This time round, I went to Florence and Pisa, both of which were lovely but charming in different ways.

I met up with one of my closer friends in Florence. I would have to admit that I was excited and anxious to do so since the last time I caught up with him would probably be more than 7 months ago. Furthermore, our meeting point is in Florence, how awesome can that be? And it certainly was… imagine meeting someone in your freshmen year in varsity and suddenly, 30 months later, both of you sitting at a café in Florence, enjoying the cool weather while sipping wine and slowly savouring Parma ham. Absolutely wicked! Fantastic company and great food, what more can one expect (bar a girlfriend!)? One thing’s for sure, food in Italy is so much nicer than in UK and also substantially cheaper. Everything about UK is nice except the food and weather, I’m sure I have said this several times in my other blog entries haha.

Florence didn’t exactly appeal to my senses when I first arrived. It was only through more thorough exploration and a comparison with Pisa that I grew to appreciate Florence as a city. It may not be as enchanting as Paris but it definitely has its own character. To add on, after my friend left Florence, I ended up mixing with the people in my hostel. Goodness gracious, it was such a wonderful experience that I’m contemplating travelling alone during summer for a while. I met 2 Americans, 2 Koreans, 2 Japanese, 1 German, 1 New Zealander and even 1 Kenyan. I think I might have missed out on some of them, since there were so many of them. Speaking to people, from such diverse cultures and backgrounds, is amazing. We ended up touring the city and having dinner together. Unfortunately, I had to leave for Pisa the following day and it was such a shame to not be able to spend more time with them. Oh well, it was a good end to my stay in Florence, I shan’t complain any further…

The journey to Pisa took an hour by train and I was all alone again. Pisa is very different from Florence and it is much smaller as well. But, lo and behold, nothing can prepare you for the sight of the “Square of Miracles” in Pisa. It is extremely captivating and seeing the leaning tower of Pisa and the Duomo with your very own eyes is just dazzling! All my weariness left me and I scurried along to purchase my tickets for all the attractions at the Square of Miracles. My first task was to climb the leaning tower of Pisa. Haha, it was quite tiring, albeit not for me, but for the older folks as they had to stop several times along the way up. Never would I imagine myself to be climbing up one of the Seven Wonders of the Medieval World! I slowly while my time away while exploring just about every inch of the Square of Miracles since I had nothing to do after that except to spend the night at the airport. Even so, I managed to finish my tour of the Square way beforehand, hence I took to the streets of Pisa. Gosh, there really is just nothing to shop for in Pisa. In fact, I found out from a boutique manager that most shops close from about 1 till 3.30pm in Pisa for lunch. As it was a small town, people make their way home for lunch, wow, what a life! Good for the locals but despairing for tourists like myself haha. Besides the Square of Miracles, I doubt there is anything else noteworthy. Furthermore, I felt that the people in Florence were friendlier and more polite as compared to those in Pisa despite both being touristy and Pisa being the smaller town. Perhaps, the shopping industry in Florence is much more dependent on tourists, which may be a reason for their attitude towards tourists. Anyway, shopping is far better in Florence than Pisa which is quite pathetic with respect to shopping. Therefore, with nothing to do, I commenced my way to the airport to spend my final night in Italy.

My last night in Italy was devastatingly horrendous! It all began with my atrocious dinner. Can u imagine eating pasta that seems to be cooked in a microwave? The final pasta that I had was hard and dry, prompting me to suspect that the café just reheated it in a microwave. It was such a letdown especially since I was in Italy. But the tales of horror didn’t end there and then. At about 11.30pm at Pisa airport, I heard the announcement that the airport would be closing at midnight. I immediately knew I was in trouble… I was caught in a dilemma, unsure to brave the cold weather like a man or to act like a pampered kid and hail a taxi to a hotel to spend the night. So, being the tough person that I am, I stupidly chose the former option. You guys have to know that the weather in Italy is just so perfect, but only during the day! I reckon the temperature dipped to below 5 degrees at night and I didn’t have my winter coat with me. Please note that I didn’t expect to spend a night out, in a literal manner, thanks to the airport closing. I could say, on hindsight, that I should have checked such a minute detail before I left for Italy, but I suppose most of us wouldn’t expect a closed airport. As such, from 12 till 2am, I was sitting outside in the freezing cold and there has to be a slight breeze to add to my torturous night. It was a very horrid feeling till I ended up walking about and stationing myself in a staircase of the airport car park. It was only slightly warmer but the place was so dirty that I remained standing from 2 till 4am. I recalled that I was checking my watch every 5 minutes or so, only to see time trickling away. I was despondent… very…

At the magical hour of 4am, the airport reopened and I was thus saved! The rest of my journey back to Durham was just a hazy affair as I spent most of my time catching up on sleep. It was a long journey though as it took 3 hours to fly to Glasgow, another 4 hours by train back to Durham and about 3 hours of waiting time in between. Boy was I wasted at the end of the entire ordeal. What a trip to Italy and BACK!

To end off, a very happy and meaningful Easter to all!