Holland and Germany Trip (part 1)

The Netherlands is so closely associated with windmills and it's frequently the first fact that one would recall about the country. The Dutch built windmills for many centuries. Today, only certain places in Holland which still use these traditional windmills.

A beautiful cottage next to the windmill.

Family picture in Holland. From left: Kok Foong, Lee Yan, Alice and Anantharan.

HARLEM
Harlem is a city located on the River Spaarn, about 20 km west of Amsterdam and near the coastal dunes. It has been the historical center of the tulip bulb-growing district for centuries and bears the nickname 'Bloemenstad' (flower city), for this reason.

A church in Harlem.

This picture was taken at a street in Harlem.

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth largest city after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich. It is definately one of the oldest cities in Germany, having been founded by the Romans in the year 38 BC.

Cologne Catheral which is a famous tourist spot in Cologne is also designated as the world heritage site. It is interesting to note that the residents of Cologne call the cathedral "the eternal construction site"

Another view of the Cologne Catheral.

Our room in Cologne.

hmmm, we ate all we can. what a fantastic meal :p

A display of our drinks.

Alice and I were enjoying our hot chocholates in a restaurant in Cologne.

Germany sausage is the famous cuisine for in Germany. Finger licking good. hihi!!

Some statues at the entrance of the Cologne Catheral.

Me and one of my friends travelling in a train from Cologne to Munich.

This was a lovely town ( I can't recall it's name) which we came across on the way to Munich. I really enjoyed the thick snow which covered the whole town. :)

Another paranomic view of that unknown town taken from our train.

Well, I will explore Munich and the rests of the nearby interesting places soon. Will update them next time. :-)

By the way it is still 14th of Feb so Happy valentine, people.

It is getting colder in Edinburgh. Arr, that is bad.

It is snowing in Edinburgh today. It is earnestly cold outside the hospital. Even with my thick coats, I can feel the chill penetrating deep in my bone. I guess this is the only problem that bothers me in Edinburgh. Sometimes I wonder, 'Why don’t I have more natural insulation?' Haha!
Well, I am not trying to grumble. Time spent on solving a problem is a lot more profitable and intriguing than complaining. I have tried to get more clothes to keep myself warm. My heater is turned on most of the time when I am in my room. But still, it is freezing especially during winter.
My logic mind tells me that I should never allow such minor thing from taking me aback. If the 'weather' is horrible and I don't enjoy it even after trying, it will be good to leave and search for a place that truly fits or belongs to me. :-)

Arr, enough for now. I better continue studying or else the only place that truly fits me will be the resit examination hall :)
Wrtten at 5.40 pm in the universtity library

New Year Celebration With Some Of My Bestest Friends In London

This 2009 New Year celebration is special to me for 2 reasons.
The first reason is I have not been celebrating New Year and going for countdown for perhaps the past 5 years. The last time I went for countdown was with my family in Bukit Bintang when I was doing my A-level in INTEC in 2003. Well, I missed one celebration (2004) in INTEC for a reason that I can’t recall :-P. Back in IMU, I missed 3 New Year celebrations (2005-2007) because they coincided with my major exams (sem1, sem3 and sem5 EOS). I guessed I could have gone for the celebrations but you know, exam fever la..I was a bit stress back then and friends couldn’t be bothered to celebrate either. All we did was standing in some high balconies in Vista Commanwell and witnessed the fireworks from afar. I also missed Hogmany in Edinburgh last year because the weather was horrible. I decided to turtle at home :P
The second reason which is by far a more important factor that makes my 2009 celebration more meaningful is meeting up with a bunch of my good old friends. Ah, the feeling was so freaking good lo and words simply just not enough to describe it.
This picture was taken in Glen's house. We were all watching futsul on TV. It was great fun to have so many friends around. Err, not sure what were Glen and Ah Hooi doing at the corner. Don't ask me :p (I suspect they are gays. just joking)
Thanks GLEN For hosting us in London!!!

From the left: Kok Hooi (err, hao lien face. just joking), Lee Yan, Kok Foong (yup, that's me), Glen Tan (my buddy in INTEC and IMU) and Shen-Han (my buddy in INTEC)

Similar picture as above with Glen as the photographer :)

Eh, what else i can say. Jolly good to have all my buddies and housemates around for new year in London.

Ah, this picture is taken by a professional. Who else if not me? haha

Lee Yan, what is with that hand position??? haha

Me, Shen-Han and Lee Yan

A panda, a horse and a monkey (hey Lee yan, you should join them too). These 3 dudes are some of my bestest friends and they are a bunch of jokers. One word for them,'funny.'

Oh, i am so lazy to comment.

Behind us was London Eye at the Thames river. It was freaking cold but still we waited there for 4 hours just to witness the 10 minutes 2009 countdown. Silly but worthy:)

Some random picture in the China Town:)

Thanks for the wonderful time and memories, people. Hope you have had a lot of fun too. We should celebrate new year together next year, hopefully :-> (hmm, i guess this is a wee bit unlikely as we will be doing elective around this time next year)

May this 2009 be a wonderful year for all of us. All the best, my friends.

PS: Thanks very much, Glen for the Sarawak Curry Laksa, Kolo mie, and roast duck rice. wow, fantastic wei!! Also thanks Shen-Han for your Kebab, fried chickens and chips :)

As for Poh Sen, terima kasih for footing the bill for me for the japanese cuisine in London!!

Edinburgh Zoo

Picture 1: Male rhino is seducing female rhino. 'Come, baby!!! Come'

Picture 2: Both turn on already. Kissing vigorously. Hmmm, what is going to happen next? I really wonder.

Picture 3: to view further please make a donation in www. I really love animal action.com

No money no action.

:P

The famous legendary skunk. 'hey, did anyone tell you that you smell really good just like a skunk?'

This is a picture of some animal la. I don't know. Don't ask me. =)

Tiger..I don't like it. Ultra-carnivorous.

Ah, these are my gangs, the Zebras. I love vegetarians!!

Me posing with the Zebras:)

The 'family' picture. We went to the Edinburgh Zoo on the St. Andrew's Day :)

From the left: Kok Foong (Yup, that's me again!!), Wy Keat (my di di), Ang (smart & funny), Pei Pei (she is a silly one =>), Lee Yan

SAD....no elephant. Have to look at the fake one.

And this is one of my friend, Choong Seong. He is an extinct species. Dann hilarious. Hard to find on earth.

My buddy's birthday dinner

Staring in his eyes while he was making his birthday wish. Oh, so sweet.. (why must i look so 'gay' in the photo?) =P

Singing happy birthday song while Wei Lun was thinking of an evil wish..more free pornography this year!!! Hate him lo. Dann greedy. Already had so many last year.

Our 'family' picture after the dinner. Sorry people. We were too hungry. We finished of all our food before we realised that we had not taken any photos of our wonderful dishes.
from the right;
front row: Kok Foong (that's me!!), Wei Lun (the birthday boy), Shieh Ning, Kai Lin, Ai Ling.
2nd row: Darren, Lee Yan, Poh Sen (the big panda), Wy Keat (a hardcore football fan wei)

All of these pictures were taken in Lee On's restaurant, Edinburgh. We had great fun. Lots of jokes and random chats. Just another comment before i finish with this post; the guy with an innocent smile on the right side of the last photo is Wei Lun. We were here to celebrate his birthday!
Happy Birthday, Buddy!