ciao

CIAO. Off to Kuching tomorrow and laptop is tutti kaputti, so this will be my last post before the weekend (and until my laptop is fixed, handed it in for fixing today, hopefully done and fixed for good on Monday). Have a nice weekeeeeend! :)

nostalgia: antwerpen

NOSTALGIA: ANTWERPEN. Oldies, but goldies. Just thought I'd share my favorite pictures from Antwerpen, a little getaway trip done with le boyfriend before zipping off to Singapore. So technically, the photos aren't even that old. Nevertheless, pure gold. :)

hong kong: day 6

HONG KONG: DAY 6. Last day in Hong Kong, woke up at 8 to pack, check-out, exchange a bit of money to be able to buy a ticket for the airport express, could not resist spending some of it on a delicious banana, honey, granola yoghurt and pesto pasta salad at Pret, got on the airport express, got to the airport, gobbled up my food, checked in and left. Very exciting and eventful day, therefore, only 1 picture taken.  

Back in Singapore, I am currently in the midst of battling a extremely annoying cold, killing about a million trees in the form of tissue paper in the process. Also cramming Vietnamese vocabulary into my head (seriously, what is the point of giving a word multiple diacritics? An acute, a dot underneath, a swurvy line on top, a little Chinese hat, honestly, one diacritic would have done the trick) and working on a presentation for Thursday. And getting very, very excited for well-deserved and desperately needed weekend trip to Kuching on Friday!

hong kong: day 5

HONG KONG: DAY 5. Woke up early to head to Macau (more stamps in my passport, yay!). I didn't really know what I wanted to see, hadn't prepared a plan, so first I headed to the Venetian for my first casino visit ever. I got caught up at the blackjack table (watching, not playing :)) watching in pure childish amazement for about an hour... Damn you blackjack, because I then didn't have time to see the ruins of St. Pauls... Instead I walked around the Fisherman's Wharf, because it's so close to the ferry terminal. It's suppose to be an amusement park, but as you can see in the pictures, it was dead. 

So then rushed home to meet with Gueven, who showed me around the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and then Caroline and Viktor joined and we went out for sushi and drinks in SoHo, fuuuuun (and again, amazing view of Hong Kong).

hong kong: day 4

HONG KONG: DAY 4. Daddy and Ba Noi left Hong Kong on day 4, so after they left I made my way to my new accommodation on Hong Kong Island (had previously been staying in Tsim Sha Tsui in the Kowloon area). I was surprised to find it very nice (next 2 pictures), although a little remote (Chai Wai area, 20-30 minutes to main attractions) and suuuuuuper pricey (poor bank account, poor me, but then again accommodation in Hong Kong is apparently always pricey). 

In the afternoon, I then decided to go to Causeway Bay to look at Times Square (most unexciting experience in my whole life), walk around Fashion Walk, and after that I went back to the goldfish and flower market. All of this was done using the MTR underground system, I was very proud of myself for managing so well. :) 

hong kong: day 3

HONG KONG: DAY 3. On the third day in Hong Kong, after a delicious dim sum breakfast, we decided to explore Hong Kong Island (had only spent time on the Kowloon side up to then) with the hop on hop off Big Bus Tours. The highlight was definitely going up to the Peak with the Peak Tram for an amazing view of Hong Kong.

Comparing HK Island and Kowloon, I definitely enjoyed both areas, but prefer HK Island more. Although the Kowloon area is more local and thus very interesting and exciting to explore, the cleanliness-and-modernity-loving Western girl (zero Western blood running through my vains?) in me absolutely loved HK Island. Plus (or most importantly :)) there was also less drip, drip going on there. 

hong kong: day 2

HONG KONG: DAY 2. Avenue of the stars, cable car, big Buddha.
Note: I finally owned up to my way too over the top obsession with this top (some prefer to call it as the table cloth), so I've had Dad take it with to Vietnam. The separation is unbearable, but I think it's for the best... :)

hong kong: day 1

HONG KONG: DAY 1. Finally back in my apartment in Singapore. Either caught the worse cold ever, or my allergy is absolutely insane in the membrane today. Since when was it ok for Asia to have temperatures without a 3 as the first digit? I'm layering cardigans, me no likey (so not looking forward to European weather). Anywho, here are the photos from day uno in Hong Kong!

extraterrestrial

EXTRATERRESTRIAL. One and only underwater photo on the face of the planet and we look extremely mutated. Regardless, matching belt and flippers, in pink, call me fashion guru. 

laksa

LAKSA. Sadly, the hotel WIFI is not free, so I can't post pictures of Hong Kong yet, so here are some older pictures of a food outing. :) laksa is the only Singaporean noodle dish to be eaten with a spoon. It's little chopped noodles in a curry gravy sauce with fish ball and little shrimp pieces. Plus otah, a fish cake cooked in leaves. Plus iced Milo and iced milk tea. Followed by Kaya Toast. Happily died and went to heaven.

Once I get back to Singapore, I'll post the Hong Kong pictures. So far there are quite a few. The first day we just walked around (Hong Kong looks exactly like the picture I posted), and yesterday we visited the big Buddha and shopped around town (FCUK sale splurge, big yay to new shorts that don't sag). This morning we had dim sum for breakfast (yuuuum) and now are just going to stroll around Harbor City, well-deserved lazy day. :)

up in the air

UP IN THE AIR. Googled Hong Kong and this is what came up, so maybe this is not even what Hong Kong looks like and Google got it all wrong, maybe it is. I'll find out in a couple of hours, leaving for Changi Airport in a few minutes. Wishing everyone a happy, happy weekend, I've extended mine until next Thursday, be jealous! :)

selamat hari raya

SELAMAT HARI RAYA. This pictures are being posted way to late, but in an attempt to catch up on all the pictures I have to post, here are pictures of a Hari Raya celebration we went to at Nurul's house (one of Sabrina's local buddies). It was such a nice feeling to be in someone's home and the food... All cooked by Nurul's mom, I can't even find words to describe. It was a true feast, including the home made cookies and other sweets. Without a doubt on the best meals I've had in Singapore so far.

mid-autumn festival

finding nemo: part II

FINDING NEMO: PART II. Sabrina's photos from the trip. There will be even more photos to come eventually, but I suspect a long pause between part II and further parts. But no worries, lah, got many posts for you coming up, lah, can! :)

finding nemo: part I

open water scuba diving? can, lah!

OPEN WATER SCUBA DIVING? CAN, LAH! The trip was amazing, diving was amazing, the island, the clear water, the fishies, to die for. Desperately need to restore my inner ear balance and catch up on a lot of sleep though, then I'll post more pictures. I didn't take that many, so I'll try to get some more from other people from the trip and post those as well, might take a while though... Until then, I'll just post the few pictures I have. This first one is of Sabrina and me (is it just me or is my hair growing back at the speed of light?) before boarding the ferry back to Mersing, from where we headed back by bus to Singapore. Such a bummer that we couldn't stay longer, but motion sickness, you will not be missed!

off we go!

OFF WE GO! Just had a Vietnamese test and am now cramming the last of my stuff into my backpack (thank you Michael :)) before I get on the bus on Pulau Danyang! 

Sounds simple, but the bus is just taking us to Mersing, before Mersing we have to stop at Johor Bahru to go through Malaysian immigration, which will most likely be characterized by extreme inefficiency. All of this will take about 5 hours. Once in Mersing we get on a ferry to Pulau Danyang, which will take about 3 hours. That means we will arrive in the very early morning hours. The bus will probably be cooled down to European winter temperatures (still don't understand why 20 degrees instead of 15 just won't do), so there will be little sleeping, but instead loooots of diving upon arrival. Three dive trips are planned for Saturday and another one on Sunday before we get on the bus back to Singapore. I'm so excited! There better be some serious Nemo flocks out there. :) 

I'm not taking my cell phone with, since I won't have any reception anyways and no laptop either. I'm not sure whether we will have internet access, so technological isolation will be the most likely scenario, but I think I would have been too busy swimming with the fishies anyways. I hope to get my hands on an underwater one-way camera, since I couldn't find an underwater case for my digital camera and it would have been way too muuuchos expensive to get one anyways. Either way, I will post out of the water shots as soon as I get back (and have caught up on sleep :)).

Wishing you all a great weekend.

Love,

Svenja

singapura

SINGAPURA. Not the most flattering picture of me, but big yay to becoming a temporary Singaporean resident! I can now travel in and out without having to fill in/hand in that silly little white immigration sheet. Can I get a majulah singapura?

Trips planned up to now:
Pulau Dayang 9-11 September
Hong Kong 17-22 September
Kuching 30 September - 2 October

practice makes perfect

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. Diving trip commencing this coming Friday. Pure excitement, although I cannot imagine ever mastering the art of diving without being completely panicked and absolutely clueless. The pool practice session was ages ago, but I never posted the pictures, because there aren't that many and because the only photo of me in an actual wet suit is in one that was so ill-fitting (see last picture) that everyone insisted on photographing it. I was not amused... :)

surroundings: resource education center

SURROUNDINGS: RESOURCE EDUCATION CENTER. I've already posted some pictures of university town (UTown), where I am currently residing, "from the outside". Now I present a building "from the inside" - the Resource Education Center (ERC). It's located to the right of my residence and is where all the UTowners get their study on (only been there twice, shun me). 

The ERC is the craziest thing I've ever seen. The fact that construction cost more than $50 million Singapore dollars (= 20 million Euros) speaks for itself. I failed to take a picture of the Mac room (yes, a room filled with a gazillion Apple PCs), I blame it on the utter discomfort I felt of being amazed by the Mac room, while everyone else was just getting along with their life, typing and clicking away. Maybe if I'm ever there super early and it's empty-ish, bravery might just win me over. But then again, it's pretty much impossible to be the first person in any kind of study area at an Asian university, so don't hold your breath.

kite festival

KITE FESTIVAL. Rainy, lazy Sunday morning followed by sunshine and my first kiting experience ever. Sadly, my free kite was no good, as were my kiting skills (correction: lack of), but it was a good time nonetheless. :) 

On a different note, I honestly have no idea where all the money spent on the free goodie bags you receive here for every single itty bitty event or occasion comes from. So far, I've managed to bag a NUS Business T-Shirt, a NUS sports bag, glow sticks, NUS water bottle, 2 totes, NUS thundersticks, a rain coat, an umbrella, a lot of free food, the list goes on and on.... Oh dearest Singapore, you spoil me, but I'm sure not complaining.

inter-faculty games 2011

INTER-FACULTY GAMES 2011. Yesterday, I went to cheer on Sabrina and the Business faculty (Bizad, red shirts) at the NUS Inter-Faculty Games. I was basically a personal photographer all day, ending up with a lot of cool ones of super sporty people (hence, almost zero photos of myself included :)). Sabrina won bronze in 50m and silver in 100m backstroke. I was one proud, way too excited Mommy, yelling at Sabrina to swim faster, also yelling at random bystanders, can you say emotional wreck? :)

Sabrina also went on to play volleyball for Business - win win win! And we also went to watch some of our Swedish friends play Floorball (most aggressive sport ever?), which I did not understand at all. I never saw a single goal, I never even really ever saw the ball zipping around, but they won all the matches we watched, so again, I was hyper-ecstatic. Bizad ftw!

supernova

SUPERNOVA. Yesterday was fun, fun, fun (although some of the bands were kind of a fail, no offense).  There were a lot of people and it was nice to just sit in the open on a blanket with friends, and also to meet a lot of new people. Everyone got free 4 inch sub and a beer each (so daring). Although someone did end up jumping on stage and ripping off his shirt, it was very weird.

I wanted to rock-ify my outfit, but failed miserably. My blanket was pink, my dress white with flowers (so no mosh pitting or stage diving for me -all the photos I am posting are stolen from Sabrina), and I didn't know we were getting free Subway, so I had packed my own whole-grain cucumber sandwiches... Fail.

let's rock...?

LET'S ROCK...? Outdoor rock concert in front of my doorstep tonight, oh yes, oh yes! It sounds wild and very rock 'n' roll, with "free booze", but the sound check has given me headaches (sing, don't scream, please) and "rock" is equal to Pink - Raise Your Class and Journey - Don't Stop Believing, which was kind of rock 'n' roll, until it simply became to embody Glee, although, who am I kidding? I love Glee, bring on the fake rock 'n' roll!!! :) but seriously... First of all, we all know "free booze" here means 1 beer per person at 6, 8 and 9pm. Must.....not....get.....rowdy. :) and second of all, whoever even uses the word "booze" should be kicked in the shin... Concert commences in T -1, will update tomorrow!

out and about: cavenagh bridge

OUT AND ABOUT: CAVENAGH BRIDGE. Singapore has the most interesting way of mix and matching old and new. Hello cutest little bridge ever, hello high-rise.