i am finally back home
i flew 12000km alone back to singapore with a 3 hours transit at Dubai
but that was after a 3hour train ride from Maastricht to Schipol airport with my 35kg luggages and changing of train once
i was lucky that a lady helped me with my luggage on the train or i would have missed my stop
so nice!
then a very friendly dutch talked to me when i was on another train to airport
friendly dutch ppl
i quite like netherlands
i was rather scared that after 5 months away from home i would feel weird and won't be able to fit back into my life before exchange but so far so good
seems quite normal
rh is like so big now! huge eyes, super active and likes to bite everything that he sees haha including yl's watch
so cute! i think he takes after me!:)
i gave him miffy (dutch rabbit) but he seems to be not interested in miffy:(
my luggage was super heavy because of all the stroopwaffle that i brought back! 17 packets in total, that's like more than 5kg!
and i realised that i bought alot of clothes from the time that i was in maastricht
they practically filled a new wardrobe so now i have like 2 wardrobes worth of clothes and i have to throw away some
but i was telling yl how i have very little clothes and he laughed at me:x
i am so proud of myself after this exchange
i think i have become much more independent
i will be able to survive by myself i think, not overly reliant on my parents
then i travelled alone in portugal for 2 days and survived taking airplanes and buses alone since jh takes train
i think next time i can go backpacking alone ( if yl doesn't want to go with me or nobody wishes to go with me)
i really love portugal (porto and lisbon)! for it's yellow and pink and colourful old houses
and narrow and steep cobbled stairs
and the way they hang their laundry on laundry lines out to dry
and basking on the streets
so full of character!
i was disappointed with madrid. it lacks character so in the end jh and me spent most of our time shopping there thus spending alot of money there=x
i love barcelona too! lovely old town. lovely la ramblas!
london is gloomy but harry potter studio is funnnnn=DD
then paris was nice as expected but this time i went to momarte and i love the place! even though it's a little like red light district
then marseille is so beautiful, the port has a really good view
me and jh were super careful and cautious and we used our (impt) money belts
hence we didn't get pick-pocketed nor did we get ambush by the blacks
when i have more money i will go to Turkey and other eastern europe countries like Estonia, Greece, Lithuania, Malta
and i will go back to France, Spain and Portugal to backpack=)
the beauty exposed ;
Sunday, May 13, 2012
i am so tired now
my body aching
i didn't know that you were so sad and unhappy here
i thought it was just momentarily unhappiness
i should have known earlier and do something about it
the beauty exposed ;
Monday, April 23, 2012
diet plan: eat fruits whenever i am hungry and before and after dinner go jogging once every 2 days
the beauty exposed ;
Saturday, April 21, 2012
i made a mistake.. i should have paid for my hostel fees using cash instead of card now i got too much euros on hand going to loose alot of money because of exchange rates and charges=( i though i was ingenious for taking advantage of the current low exchange rate to charge to card but then i was stupid because i didn't do my finances properly first before paying=( haiz.. mummy also chastised me=xx
understanding society module was super mind blowing today i was the discussion leader and am in charge of one article. it was a dating experiment. supposedly to learn about how males and females value different attributes. i thought like the important thing is theory and those fluff thingy but in the end the tutor find the regression very important and he cut me and took over the discussion=( so sian... that means he would grade me badly for this discussion.. have to do better for the other discussions then.. understanding society is too shiong for a general education arts module. here they take it as econs electives because it really is more of social economics, whats with all the statistics and economic theory. there was even coarse theory mention in marriage market! like seriously
i also need to really keep a proper accounts for my finance. my current cash on hand doesn't tally with my recorded expenditure. in fact the weird thing is i should have lesser cash on hand. unless maybe i double counted some expenditure? aiya such a headache.. and i still need to get my card bill to tally my total expenditure and i need to do budgeting for munich trip and switzerland trip and also the summer trip
i love reading book and finally get to read a book after 2 months!=) must thank cousin for lending me hunger games. ebook isn't the same, only hardcopy book gives that satisfactory and relax kind of feelings.
the beauty exposed ;
Monday, April 16, 2012
i had a great couch surfing experience. my host was really nice, easy to talk to and he had alot of travel experience. prague, vienna and budapest are so prettyy
Prague charle's bridge in prague offers a very beautiful scenary-across the river towards the prague castle area. the buildings are all of unique architectural styles and because it was easter, there were market in the town square thus affordable local food=) the interior of spanish synagogue is very beautiful but no photography allowed and they are very strict about it=x visited the jewish museums and i think i know more about the jewish cultures and the oppression they suffered in the past the famous astronomical clock was initially a let down but after the guide explained about its significance, it left quite a deep impression. the trip would have been more enjoyable had the weather been better, instead it was raining and super cold for the first day that we reached. their beer is very nice as it is quite light and refreshing. their dumpling wasn't what i expected because it turned out to be something like steamed bread haha went to the biggest club in europe. entrance fee was rather expensive and the cocktails and hard liquors are expensive so i didn't drink at all. there were 5 levels and the best music is at the lowest level where there are radio hits. there was also an oldies dance floor. it was very fun in there, danced macarena!=)
Vienna i love vienna so much! the architectures styles such as roman style, baroque, art nouveau are amazingly stunning. the whole city centre is preserved under UNESCO heritage. st peter's church was a gem. it was ordinary looking outside and we even had difficulty finding the entrance but the paintings inside the church is simply too beautiful that i did something very asian haha i took a photo of every painting=P we went to the schonbrunn palace. the imperial hall is very beautiful especially the ball room and japanese and chinese inspired rooms. the gardens were huge and would be beautiful had it not been raining.it was depressing that the weather was cold and it was raining and i didn't really take alot of photos. my fingers were freezing the only thing about vienna that i am not satisfied with was its high standard of living which translates to high food prices!=( oh and the opera which i watched. it was weird and a little r rated=x
Budapest i didn't know where budapest was before i came to exchange. i had high expectation for this city but it didn't meet my expectation so i was a little disappointed with budapest the scenary from gillert hill was beautiful because we climbed it in the evening so we can see the sun set and the different colours of the sky. went to the public bath which was like hot springs in japan but with 18 different pools and sauna. there was even a sauna with 100 degrees celsius! scary! hs and i were observing all the tummy of the european girls. i think they drank too much beer, even the skinny ones had beer belly=xx went to a bar call szimple. it was really cool. the deco was like mixed of everything. music was unique and not too loud but slightly rock? then there was an area that is outdoor under tent. the outside look normal but inside is a gem i left budapest alone because i didn't want to skip monday lesson thought i was going to miss my flight because they were paging final call for passenger onboard my flight but then ended up still have to wait=x ryanair is super budget-squeezy- but then it's cheap so i shall endure it. i think i can try travelling alone next time=)
this whole trip is below my budget (500euros)=) my friend said that a Mac meal in switzerland is 14CHF! i think i will bring loaves of bread for my switzerland trip to save money=( air fares for june are rising and i am super gan jiong now, must book soon already or i don't need to go london already=x
the beauty exposed ;
Saturday, April 07, 2012
i was emoing because i thought yl won't be giving me a present but i was wrong;P technically speaking he didn't give me a present haha cos my present is in singapore but i rather my present stay safe in singapore than got lost in delivery
i am going to leave for Eindhoven soon then hs, her bf and I are going to couchsurf i am quite excited. it'll be my first couchsurf experience! couchsurf is a community of ppl who offer extra spaces in their houses for other ppl in the community to stay for free. suppose to promote cultural exchange and reciprocity. tomorrow i will be flying off to Prague excited!=D
yesterday i spent a long time booking accommodation for munich! will be flying there from 27-30april. accommodation and travel shld be below 100euros. don't know how to tell my parents! haha scared they scold me for spending so much money esp since the switzerland trip is may is going to cost alot more than i budgeted for!=((
the beauty exposed ;
Friday, April 06, 2012
happy 21st to myself presents for myself(so far): a dress, a wallet hs and daniel so sweet, wanted to give me a surprise at 12midnight but then i spoilt it by making them wait=x wl and ys so sweet also haha made "singapore mochi" for me i am really happy to receive the birthday cards and wishes=) but then yl nvr wish me... at least not yet..
