Cairo

Finally had some time to update my travels.

I went to cairo (egypt) beginning of last month, the weather was just nice, cooling for a day trip on the desert.

As usual, being my first time there, I was excited to do all the touristy stuff. So a friend and I decided to take a day tour to the pyramids (sphinx) and a trip down to the local museum.

Along the way to the pyramids, we saw buildings that are half built. Apparently it is a family house, and as the need for more room increase, they will build another floor on top of the existing floors. Of course, when they have the extra cash as well. Quite an interesting way of construction, but it was a sore-eye to anyone that is trained architecturally.












The pyramids are wonderful. You can't imagine the magnificence of it unless you're standing right next to one. I always thought that the pyramids are one of those things that I can only see on national geographic or on posters. Never really given it a thought that I would be able to stand next to one. Oh, did I mention that the tour around the pyramids was done on a camel's back? Lovely experience.



The desert POLICEMAN... cool... imagine running around desert chasing criminal with a camel.


My camel and his pyramids on his head..

At the local museum, I was mesmerized by the mummies. I mean, looking at it on the tv is one thing, staring at it behind the protective glass casing is another. I was kinda spooked at the end of the trip. I mean, there is a body there. A REAL ONE. It's just like a tour to the graveyard, just that you see the coffin and the body (some of it). It's just as well that they don't allow photography.



On my second day in Cairo, we went to the flea-market. It was a colorful experience, to put it correctly. But I was very wary of the over-friendly shop keepers that seemed to be excited to see an Asian girl walking around without an escort. Apart from that, it's about the same as walking down Petaling Street in KL, minus the dirt and dust.




To end our lovely trip in Cairo, we went for a wonderful cruise along Nile River. Longest river in the world right? I'm not too sure. There was a performer who can spin and spin and spin for the entire evening without stopping. Impressed. I will try to upload the video once I figure out how to do it.

Cairo, all in all, a lovely trip. I don't mind going again just to look those magnificent pyramids.

Hong Kong

A day after I came back from Seoul, Nard and I went for a short getaway to Hong Kong. It was a fun trip, because I get to go to Disneyland! Ha ha...

=One of the streets of Hong Kong=

Oh, of course, we went to the usual tourist spots, like the Lady's Street, Wong Tai Sin Temple, and the Harbour where you get to see the light-show on the buildings from across the river.

=Wong Tai Sin Temple=

Despite the rumoured Hong Kong Disneyland to be sucky, I find that it is really not that bad after all. Of course, the mainland Chinese cut queues and spits everywhere, and that the Disneyland is very small, but I find the rides entertaining. In fact, with its small size, it is just nice to take all the rides in a day and still not rush from one to the other, unlike those huge Disneylands in Tokyo or LA where you have to rush the whole day to complete all the rides.

=Hong Kong Disneyland=

=On the Disneyland train=

=Anyone wants to get smacked?=

=Mickey=

Oh, and on the final day, paying no attention to my misgivings, Nard went ahead and bought himself three remote control planes. And we have to carry it all the way back. If I remember correctly, the box is almost as tall as me. Goodness, men and their toys.

=SMELLY TOFU!! yum-yum=

That aside, it's a fun trip and it's nice to get away from our chores at home sometimes.

Seoul

Kim Chi anyone?

I happened to be in Seoul the same time as Nard, but we only had enough time to meet for lunch before he leaves for Singapore. But we manage to take a walk nearby the hotel's day market. Fun!

London

I finally got the 'courage' to walk around London's tourists spots. I went to the Salisbury cathedral, Windsor castle, and the Stonehenge in my fourth trip to London. Lovely trip on a lovely trip, except for the part where we were herded from place to place in a rush. Never am I going to take a guided tour!

=Windsor Castle=

=Stonehenge=

=Salisbury Cathedral=

On my fifth trip to London, I went to London's Tower Bridge and Greenwich park. I also visited the Big Ben and took the ride on the world's largest ferris wheel, the London's Eye. The view from the Eye was breathtaking. It's worth its 13.50 pounds fee. Too bad I didn't have a proper camera with me. With my crappy Sony T-5, I took only limited good night shots. But great experience nonetheless! The Greenwich park is one of the main park that shows the Line that splits the east and west, the GMT.

=Tower Bridge=

=Greenwich Park, the GMT line=

=London's Eye=

=Big Ben=

Melbourne

With last minute changes, I managed to go to Melbourne with nard last week. This is our first trip together, and it was fun.

We stayed in the casino hotel, which I complained so much about because it is so far away from the city. It is such a hassle to get city, either a 20 minutes walk or by the free shuttle provided by the hotel.

I just realised that Melbourne itself has quite a few places that is nice to sight-see. The past few times that I was there, I spent all my time catching up with my relatives, cousins and friends, that I overlooked the sightseeing part.

Then again, this trip to Melbourne, we didn't do much either. Just took lots of pictures by the river near the hotel. And there's this lovely red colored block of concrete somewhere. Lovely lovely. The next time I'm in Melbourne, I definitely going to explore more of the intimate parts of this subtle yet imposing city.

Jungfraujoch

Jungfraujoch (yung-fr-au-york)

Jungfraujoch to Zurich, via Kleine Scheidegg, Lauterbrunnen, Interlaken Ost.

17July2006 5:20PM Local Time (Zurich)

Jungfraujoch is The Highest Point in Europe. 3454m / 13642ft

To get to Jungfraujoch, it is better to purchase a One-Day Swiss Pass, which costs roughly about CHF.95. With this pass, the public transport in Switzerland is free to use for a day. There are certain routes that might need a purchase of tickt, but with the Swiss day pass, there's a 50% discount on most railways. (A guided tour to Jungfraujoch will cost roughly aboug CHF.200)

In the case of getting to Jungfraujoch, there is a 50% discount on the ticket from Wengen to Jungfraujoch, which costs about CHF.71. after discount. This purchase is necessary because from Wengen station onwards the Swiss Pass is no longer usable. But to get to Jungfraujoch, there is little need to stop by the Wengen station. The purchase of the ticket is just a formality. In the Swiss Pass map that is given, we can just bypass Wengen station and head straight up to the top of Europe.

From Zurich, the minimum times we have to change trains are three times. Not much stress about that because all the trains are mostly punctual, and the people in the tran station are always willing to help a lost traveler. Just make sure that it is the correct train before boarding and everything will be just fine.


The trip from Zurich to Jungfraujoch is an estimated 5 hours, give and take. So set out early and be prepared to come back to Zurich late. In my care, I left my hotel at 5am, to catch the 6am train in Bahnhofstrasse, arrived in Jungfraujoch about 10.40am, spent a few good hours there, catch the 1.50pm train down and now i'm halfway across the country on the way back to Zurich. Roughly we'll arrive about 7pm (in the hopes of having cheese fondue for dinner before leaving for Singapore tomorrow morning).

Jungfraujoch is always covered in snow, so it is advisable to bring a really thick jumper, wear wool socks, and if possible, wear a pair of good hiking shoes, plus a pair of sunglasses. Of course, not to forget is the camera. Even in the middle of summer, it is cold up there, no kidding. One point to take note if you're bringing your ipod with you, keep it in a warm place, be it underneath your shirt or in a thermal flask. My ipod (at this very moment) is screwed up by the cold temperature. At first it was heating itself up when I turn it on, then when it finally cool down, now I couldn't turn it on. So take good care of your electronics if you're bringing it up to any snow mountains. Oh, and not to forget to bring some snacks in case you're hungry during the train ride. Plus, the food up there is a little bit overpriced (as usual).

On the trip up to Jungfraujoch from Kleine Scheidegg, it is good to stop by Eismeer and the two stations before it (the train will actually stop at the stations for 5 minutes so that tourists and travelers alike can hop down to take some panoramic photos of Jungfraujoch). It has to be done on the way up because on the way back, the train will not stop at those stations. Don't worry about losing your seat if you hop down (the train is always crowded), what is that 10-20 minutes of standing in the train if you can get postcard photos?

When I reach Jungfraujoch, the first thing I did was use the toilet. Let's leave part of me on the tallest peak in Europe. Haha.

Getting down to business, I went to the Ice Palace (Eis Palais). Here, a good pair of hiking shoes comes in handy. My sneakers keep slipping on the ice floor. Everything is so cold, so cold. There are cute sculptures in the Ice Palace. I took a lot of pictures there. Although it is all ice, but what the heck.


Coming out from Ice Palace, we headed to a place called the Plateau. There, we walked outdoors to take pictures of the snow mountain and the surrounding area. Such breathtaking view, I can't believe I'm actually standing on a snow mountain. Even the photos looks too good to be true. I felt as though I juxtaposed a picture of myself on a postcard. Words can't describe the overwhelming sense contentment in my heart as I tell myself I'm on the highest peak in Europe. The snow are pure white, so white and bright that it pains the eye if you look at it for too long. That is why you need a pair of sunglasses.

Satisfied with the amount of photos I have taken, we went to the restaurant for lunch. After a slow lunch, relaxed our muscles and warmed up our toes, we went to the souvenir shop downstairs to get our all time favourtie souvenir, fridge magnets.


Walking away from the souvenir shop with a lighter purse, we went to the Sphinx Terrace. That is the observatory deck that is always shown on the tour brochures. The huge building on the top of the snow mountain, with a dome in the center. Over there, be it indoors or out, there are lots of angles to take pictures of this magnificent mountain. I just couldn't stop myself, running from point to point, just to bring home as much photographs of Jungfraujoch. Beautiful, splendid, simply breathtaking.

After all the excitement has died down, we decided it is time to head back to Zurich. Four hours thereoff, here I am, sitting in the train, writing all of these down, with the hopes of transfering it to my blog (which I did!).

It is 6.25pm now, another half hour to my cheese fondue dinner.

Note: This time round, it is actually the first time that I did not feel rushed to go to a place to sight-see. Everything seemed so effortless, I just go with the flow. I didn't feel that I have to go to all the places, take all the pictures till my camera's memory runs out. It is a totally different feeling. It is more of contentment, rather than achievement. I felt happy, and in fact, lucky to be able to go to Jungfraujoch just to soak in the beauty, instead of feeling proud that I've been there, done that, another item ticked off my list. I guess I'm finally feeling like a real traveler. Haha...

Roma @ Italia

I came back from Rome about 24hours ago, and I still am not able to shake off that feeling of awe that I have been to Rome. I mean, it's my dream destination (apart from Spain), and I was there!

***

Rome, when it's mentioned, a romantic city, filled with wonders in architecture and art will come to mind. It need not be explained further. Walking through narrow passages with three to four stories tall building built closely together, taking in the smell of freshly brewed coffee, or just licking away to heart's content a huge cone of gelato, it is Italy we are talking about.

On a lazy summer day, with pigeons everywhere in the square, people enjoying the fine weather sipping coffee outdoors, street-musicians filling the air with sweet music, artists showing off their skills in paintings, sketches, waters sprung out from fountains under the sun that makes it look like gleaming crystals in the air, what more could you ask for from this beautiful city?

***


Pantheon, an architecture marvel, such huge dome built almost 2000 years ago (although the hole in the centre still makes me wonder about what happens on rainy days), it is a marvelous experience to be in such significant symbol of Roman architecture. I tried taking pictures of the hole and the dome, but the huge scale just does not permit the whole building to be captured into one single shot on my camera. I felt honored to be there, to touch and experience something that is so old, so solid, so prominent in history.

***

Trevi Fountain. The place where it is famous for making a wish and throwing a coin into it. I made a wish and threw a coin. I do hope that wish comes true. What that wish is? I'm keeping it a secret.

The day that I arrived in Rome, it was a Easter Sunday. Imagine the crowd in the whole city. Although Trevi Fountain is famous for being crowded everyday for the whole year, but I was just seeing humans and humans everywhere. It was so packed, we have to seize the split second opportunity to just stand next to the fountain to make a quick wish and throw a coin. Funny sight it has been.

***

Spanish steps. Although I am not too sure what is so special about this, but I went there anyway. Apparently it was a beautiful steps especially if viewed during sunset. I felt sorry that I could not appreciate the beauty, one because I know nothing about the history, two because it was so bloody crowded with people and three, because I was not there during sunset.

***

Vatican city. Need I say more? It's Easter. It's holiday. It's crowded. I mean, there's not much space to offer, being the smallest independent state in the world. Took photos from outside of the building and had a splendid dinner around that area. I wanted to enter to be blessed by Pope and join in the communion, but the queue was just way too long, I gave up (don't have much time to spare anyway, have to rush off to Coleseum).

***

Coleseum. Picture Gladiator and it's glorious entry into the place.
Picture Coleseum again. There you have it. Despite it being in ruins, it is still standing proud. I can just feel the strong vibe that it is giving as I walked around it. A very proud Roman building indeed. I passed by the Coleseum on my second night on the way back to the hotel, the whole place was lighted up, and it was simply breath-taking. Forget about the bits and parts that has fallen down, it is telling a story of its own, fighting against time, against modernization.

***

The Leaning Tower of Pisa. The most important building on my must-see list. It took me 3 hours to get there by train and the train fare is sky high. But it was worth the pains of waking up 6am in the morning, sitting on an uncomfortable seat for 3 hours and almost emptying my bank account for the train ticket.

When I was there, all things were forgotten, it was just Pisa and I. Despite it being a bell tower, not a huge one, but it just gives off this feeling of awe, of wonder, of marvel. You just feel like sitting down on the grass, looking at it. Simply beautiful. It is funny how some things has the ability to move your heart, to shake your senses. Just like looking at a beautiful painting, this small petite tower will make your eyes glued to it, never leaving sight of it.

A friend of mine jokingly said that we are just wondering at human errors. The building is not meant to be leaning sideways anyway. If it was a normal bell tower, not leaning whatsoever, I doubt it will be as famous as it is today. Nevertheless, I spent the whole day there, just drinking in the wonderful Pisa Tower.

***

Food is good as well. I don't remember eating and drinking so much for the past few months as I did in Rome. Brioche (crossiants), cappucinos, wines, latte, pastas, pizzas, gelatos, you name it, I tasted it. Even the McToast in McDonalds for breakfast is fantastic. Well, I was just plain stuffing myself silly.

***

Loved every moment in Rome, I don't mind going back there again, just to enrich my experience in one of the world's richest city in history and architecture.