moNSTer romping the blogosphere

I cannot live without the internet!

Although it's been internet-less for less than 24 hours, it has been hell for me. No, I don't have very important emails waiting to be replied nor do I have a very popular blog where readers will go crazy when I do not blog for one day. But, it just feels strange without it. Thus, the motivation to send in an entry once I have the connection back! :p

Anyway, it's an overdue entry. Most of the bloggers would have known by now about Monsterblog, but for those of you who do not know yet, drop by and have a look. Afterall, it's the first of its kind in Malaysia, following Singapore's Stomp. Brought to you by NST, penned by the popular bunch of Malaysian bloggers (Jeff Ooi not inside though, I wonder why?).

There you go, my overdued entry. Now, back to my books. Finals. *arghhhh*

A little visitor

I had a little green visitor today. Unlike centipedes, this handsome thing was warmly welcomed by my camera :)

Mouse Potato?!

Read it at dotKoyi's today that 'google' is finally declared a verb. Finally made official by Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. A perfect branding tool for Google is what we may think, but the search engine company thinks otherwise. Fearing that the name might lose its built up value, public use of the newly-declared verb has to be followed on by a little note stating that it's trademarked.

Linking on to a few more links, I found out about another new word. Mouse Potato, anyone?

Backpacking Belgium II - Mussels and Beer!

mussels!

Belgian fruit beer

Belgian mussels and beer. What else can you ask for after a long day of travelling? *grin*

Almost 70% of the trip, we survived on bread, sandwiches, paninis, baked potatoes, mcDs (yes we had McDs at all the citys. hehe. jz for the sake of it.). But once in a while, we still gave ourselves little treats along the 1month journey. And reaching Belgium, we could not possibly skip the famous mussels and beer, can we? :)

The food were nice, atmosphere cozy, waiters friendly. However take note that it can be quite an headache choosing which one to dine in when everyone tells you they give you free cocktail and beer to go along with the dinner, and that they have a built in fireplace (very tempting if it's still winter!), that they have the best mussels in town.

My advice? choose a place with the most local-like people dining in it. The locals can't be wrong ;) oh ya! and for those not very beer-ly people like me, the fruit beers are nice! Do give it a try! :)

Backpacking Belgium - Brussels' Grand Place

Town Hall

The King's house, Het Broodhuis

Grand Place

'One of the most beautiful town squares in Europe, if not in the world' is how Brussels' Grand Place is often described as.

I have no idea how true it is since I still have many places yet to visit in Europe but listed as a world heritage site since 1998, Grand Place is certainly worth the visit. Although not as grand as the name suggests, its ornate baroque and gothic guild houses are rather impressive. Walking through cobbled streets of Brussels, you would stumble upon this place without knowing it. And, there! in a blink of eye, you get transported back into the olden Europe.

One of the architectural gems of Europe, Grand Place is beautiful in the day, and fascinating when lit up in the evening. Even though I was not in time for the annual Ommegang nor the bennial flower carpet, I thanked the artist whose stall set up a perfect, artistic picture for my dear camera. dank u.

In touch with the web of life

Found this interesting article at Oon Yeoh's blog -

It is the malady of modernity. We have gone from the Iron Age to the Industrial Age to the Information Age to the Age of Interruption. All we do now is interrupt each other or ourselves with instant messages, e-mail, spam or cellphone rings. Who can think or write or innovate under such conditions? One wonders whether the Age of Interruption will lead to a decline in civilization — as ideas and attention spans shrink and we all get diagnosed with some version of Attention Deficit Disorder.

NYT columnist Thomas Friedman goes on to talk about his Amazon tour guide's (who carried no mobile phone) ability to be completely mindful and heard every chirp, whistle, howl or crackle in the rain forest. In short, he was totally disconnected from the Web, but totally in touch with the incredible web of life around him.

So, how long has it been since you just laid around, staring into the stars, doing nothing? or sat by the window, listening to the raindrops? Think about it.

Time to disconnect maybe? ;)

Izakayas in Japan

Kanpaiーー

Izakayas or in kanji, 居酒屋 are Japan's own unique bar. Found all around Japan, very popular place for after work drinking. No music nor dim lights, there's only rounds after rounds of Kanpais.

In Japan, unless you are allergic to alcohol, there's really no reason that you cannot drink. Drinking starts right after university for everyone. Club orientations, class parties, welcome parties, graduation parties, year-end parties, beginning of a new year parties. Everything resolves to Izakayas.

Not to say that I don't like Izakayas, coz I really really like them. With really yummy food and my favourite umeshus, how can I not like Izakayas? *grin* Besides, it's fun to see people get drunk and do stupid things too. haha. :p

It's Official!

It's official! I'm going to Australia this summer!

Just made my payment for the airticket yesterday. 1 more month to go, and I shall be back in Malaysia. Thinking of all the food, ooooooohhhhh.... can't wait! Patience girl, just another dreadful month of finals, and you shall be gone! *evil laugh*

2 weeks Malaysia, 2 weeks Australia, another 1 month in Malaysia. it's gonna be one long, relaxing, homely (and hot?) holiday*happy sigh*

Tips on not to be missed spots in Brisbane and Sydney, anyone?

Chocolate Rum Balls

I guess this must be quite a popular recipe in the western countries, normally prepared for Christmas dinner. Not quite sure how it would turn out to be, but looking at the simple recipe, I just gave it a try. :)

As the name suggests, it is really very rum-my. Should turn out to be a favourite for rum people (like my housemate, yurika.. hehe) , but not very much for me. Gonna try it with Baileys or Kahlua next time. Should be quite a hit for Baileys or Kahlua lovers like me. Coz trust me, 1/2 cup of liquer does bring out the taste in it. ;)

Backpacking Paris II - romantic?

My 2nd and final post about Paris. This shows how much (little?) I liked Paris. :p

It had always been a dream, visiting Paris. The well-knowned-to-be romantic city. Photos, movies, magazines, novels. Romantic stuff happened only in Paris. Even the air is filled with romance. Or at least that was how I've been brainwashed since young.

Visiting it has only proved that it was all only a myth. Yes, a myth.

No doubt, the architectures were beautiful. The art galleries had been amusing in all ways. Met Da Vincci's Monalisa too. Smaller than expected. And I guess the staffs were so sick of people asking where Monalisa was, arrows showing the way to her was ALL AROUND the Louvre. haha. The pastries were fantastic. Of course, never forgetting to promote my daily servings of toasted (grilled? waffled?) paninis, too. *yummy!* hehe.

oh. Moulin Rouge and the sex shops were fun too (if you don't compare it to Amsterdam, of course). BUT.... (There's always a but)

It might have stayed a beautiful fairy tale for most of the tourists who were there on tour. Staying in lavish 5 star hotels, chauffeured around, dining at the high end resarurants, they would never find out the ugly facts of Paris. Never knowing how muddy the road was when walking to Chateau de Versaille. Or how dirty the neighbourhood was at Mont Matre. Or how strange-smellng the undergrounds were. Or how unfriendly and rude the ticketing lady was at the bus stations. Oh and how scary the 'hand tying' people were at Sacre Coeur, too. I assume they know more languages than anyone else in the world, changing from Japanese to Korean to Chinese when seeing aseans like us.

And so, there goes my 'romantic' Paris. Down into the drain. BUT, of course, if you haven't been there before, by all means, GO! Just have your eye sticked to all the beautiful and tasty stuff, and Paris can still be beautiful afterall. In a way, romantic too. Maybe. :)

For me? I still want to go there again. To seek out the romantic bits of Paris.

Backpacking Paris

Eiffel tower, of course

Sacre Coeur

Behind the cross, Notre Dame

Candles and stained glass in Notre Dame

at the very main river, where all the tourist spots gather

Chateau de Versailles' garden

Arc de Triomphe

The Pyramid, at night

Les Invalides, from Louvre

Happy Birthday CY!!

Happy Birthday to CY!!! :) *HUGS*

Hope you are spending the best day of the year today dear! (why on earth did alms go back so early?! (0 0)) Anyway, sending you all the sunshine and love you need :) Know you still have to bake your buns and breads today, but don't work too hard ya! It's suppose to be your day! :)

love, sue

Cheesy Lasagne

in the oven u go

baking..baking..baking

Ready!

I was on sick leave today. Thanks to the extra time, I made lasagne! Unbelievably, I've only ate lasagne twice since I was born. Once in Pizza hut, once in Netherlands. But, I really really lurrrvvee the dish. With cheese and cheese and cheese.. it's a cheese lover's dish!

Thanks to A Self-Proclaimed Foodaholic's recipe, it was quite a success for a beginner like me! (even though I forgot about the top layer of pasta :p) Burnt my finger a little while excitingly tasting the white sauce, but it was certainly worth the while! :D

time flies

It's been almost 3 months now since my trip to Europe. And I've just copied the 'Paris' folder from the dvd into my comp to reorganise the pictures! I suddenly realised that, time does fly, doesn't it?

It took me 1 second to decide going to Europe, 1 minute to persuade my friend, 1 hour to book the ticket, 1 day to finish with the ticketing procedure, 1 week to plan it, 1 month to travel. Wonder whether it's going to take me 1 year to finish blogging on it? *grin*

Hope not.

Backpacking London IV

I miss Bird!!

It's been almost 3 months now since my stay at Flat 9, Holborn, London. But no doubt, memories are still fresh in mind.

Still remember borough market, which I still recommend the most in London!! foooooodd! Loved the scones, chorizzos, apple juice...... Which by the way, someone just told me I'm too indulged in food yesterday... (_ _ ;)

And the museums and galleries, it feels so typically London. But I can't deny it is nice, as long as you have the time to spend a day strolling though halls after halls. And also, unless you are in a clear state of mind. Or else, it's going to be just another boring day at the museum. I was mentally exhausted after finishing only half of the National museum. Will finish the next half when I'm there again. :)

One of my little discoveries during my journey - the cool education systems adapted in Europe. All the museums and art galleries I visited, I always bumped up with kids from school trips. Some of them had papers to do sketches of things that attracted them, some ran around finding answers to their quiz books. So different from the education system most asian kids grew up in, with only boring fact-based history textbooks, and exams after exams, I grew up hating history!

Another thing about London is of course the places listed in Monopoly, places that you haven't been to before but have heard of it hundreds of times. :) Trafalgar squares is one of them. Take note of the 4 very handsome lions. Be a kid, and climb climb climb! Everyone climbs up there just for a photo shot with it
:)

oooohhh.. and theaters! musicals! I was in luck to be able to catch up with the classical phantom of the opera. It was -- FASCINATING! I'm so in love with theathers.

All in all, London can be a great place to visit, if you have the time to go to the musem one day, the gallery another, and the theathers another. And if you can't live without Chinese food, go to London. Never visit Japan. *grin*


*special thanks to flat 9 roomies for letting me be parasite for a week. Really great getting to know u guys. Caryn and No. 1, the crazy ones, and yet sooo sweet.. :) And bird, just like before. Just like before. *hugzzz*

Backpacking London III - More pictures!

blue blue skies

30 St Mary Axe @ informally, The Erotic Gherkin

Some monument somewhere :p

North entrance of Westminster Abbey

demonstrations in front of the parliament houses

Tower Bridge

St. Paul's Cathedral

National gallery at Trafalgar Square

Backpacking London II - pictures pictures!

hmm.. where to go?

The Marble Arch

another angle

Behind the Marble Arch, in Hyde Park

At the park leading up to Buckingham Palace

Posing away

Guards at work

At the allegorical fountain of Victoria Memorial

London Eye

Big Ben and the houses of parliament,

at the other end of Westminster Bridge

Backpacking London - Borough Market!

veg

cheese!

brownies!

french loaves!

dried fruits and nuts

this place has got very yummy scones

chorizo man at work

chorizos at high temperature

beef burger in the process

So, who said London is dull and boring? This place was one of the coolest place throughout my whole Backpaking Europe! trip. (especially for food lovers, please take note!)

I was just starting to go through my London trip photos again to post it on here, and suddenly realised that only photos from Borough's Market was enough to make a single entry. Won't be typing much here though, since pictures speak louder than words, I think. :)


*pointer: Never miss the fresh hot apple juice, especially when it's one of the bitterly cold winter days. It can really warm your heart up!

Bhutan and Seychelles

I want to go to Bhutan and Seychelles!

I know it has not even been 2 months since the Europe trip, and that I haven't even really settled down, photo-sorting wise and emotionally wise. But, I want to go to Bhutan and Seychelles!

The fact that Bhutan relies on GNH (Gross National Happiness), instead of the usual GNP to measure the country's progress amuses me. And that it is tobacco-less! haha. I think the whole world should really take Bhutan as an example. Yes, in terms of GNP, Bhutan can be rated as a poor country. But from a totally different point of view, beggars and homeless are non-existent. Japan IS rich, but take a walk in any of the parks, you can still see homeless camping here and there.

Of course, this is not the only reason bringing me to a country where only it's own airline monopolises all the flights into the country the and allows no individual travellers. For those who love architecture, all buildings in Bhutan is conform to Bhutanese traditional design. And for those who travels to experience, and thus understanding cultural differences, Bhutan is often described as the last surviving refuge preserving it's traditional Himalayan Bhuddist culture.

As for Seychelles, it can't compare to Bhutan in government policy nor architecture nor the culture. However, for people who loves the beach, who loves snorkelling or diving, who just loves being under water, Seychelles should be listed in one of the must-go lists.

The idea of going didn't really hit me, until when I came upon a small article about Aldabra in Seychelles yesterday in the Time magazine. And after google-ing it, the idea has planted it's roots in me. Taken from the Lonely Planet page:

Aldabra is the original habitat of the giant land tortoise.There are about 200,000 of the tortoises on the atoll, as well as thousands of seabirds, including the white-throated rail, the sole remaining species of flightless bird in the Indian Ocean. The only people who live on Aldabra are scientists, and they're only here three months of the year.

Aldabra is like paradise. The extent of how much I really want to go? I dreamt of the tortoises last night. I was swimming with them. :)


*Just thought I should put this down here as a record, to make sure I do get to Bhutan one day. and Seychelles, probably this year or next. *fingers crossed*

In Between Dreams

I love working on holidays to Jack's music.

Feels like I'm in Hawaii, under a tree, feeling the see breeze, and hearing the ryhthm of the waves.

Reminds me of London. Bird, No. 1 & Caryn. Flat 9. Oh. And not forgetting, Jack the Onion. :)