Sunday Roast!!

1:43 AM

Hannah and Lucy treated me to traditional English pub roast today.. it was oh so MEGA and lovely!! =)

Hannah drove us to a country pub - The Hare, just off Tunbridge Wells..

Cappuccino & shortbread

My Roast Beef + roast potatoes + roast veges + mega yorkshire pudding!! ~i'm not a beef fan but that is the best thing ever.. soft and succulent =)

Hannah & Lucy..

my massive dessert.. Sticky toffee pudding + clotted cream. yummy!

went for a lil country walk ard Lamberhurst.. all in all a lazy, fatty, lovely sunday =)

~gone in a moment..

Tromso - northern lights!

5:30 AM

here are photos of the northern lights taken by keejun... they appear green in the pictures, but reli - they're grey when u see them. wish i've got more powerful eyes!




~gone in a moment..

Tromso northern lights trip

5:16 AM

Visited Tromso, Norway, last wkend with a few of the stevenage gals. The week before, it was -20degC there.. but when we arrived, it was 4degC and raining! argh. reli strange how quickly the weather changes!

on the first nite we went straight for the Northern lights tour - paid loads for a reli good guide. it was extremely cloudy (and rainy), so he had to drive us past the Finland border in search of clear skies (and the Northern lights). so we found a patch of clear skies and waited.. and we believe we saw the Northern lights! haha. the activity was low that night.. so u can only see a greyish band of light. it'll appear green when photographed though - the camera catches loads more than the eyes can see! but only the guide's got the professional camera.. so... u can look at his photos here http://www.kskogli.no/aurora/?page_id=25

Tromso itself is a reli small city.. (with extremely nice and helpful, not to mention very gd looking people!)
Tromso city and its surrounding fjords..


view from atop

one of the largest remaining wooden cathedrals..

Jing and I visited the Polaria to see this =>
super duper fat whiskered seal! - it's sooooo round.

the seals kissing!

we then attempted x-country skiing.. it's less fun than down-hill skiing..plus the rain's washed away most of the snow as well.. so it was very slippery and much more difficult to control where u're gg.. (more like slipping on ice instead of skiing reli)

we went on a track ard the pretty lake..


x-country skiing was a nice experience.. but the highlight of the trip was the dog-sledding at night! it was quite scary at first, coz the dogs get all excited when they see you arriving and they all begin howling like mad.. it was a major challenge guiding the sled yourself - the dogs are extremely strong and they dun run.. they CHARGE! it's very dark at night as well, so u can't exactly see where u're going.. u just cling on real tight for dear life and stomp on the brakes everytime u're flying downhill. ooh! and u gotta watch out for overhead tree branches as well! - the huskies run reli close to the trees.. they dun care if u get whacked in the face by a branch or not!

there were 5 huskies pulling each sled with 2 passengers - one in the sled and one standing behind guiding it..apparently, the huskies are grouped according to their running ability (and intelligence!)
the 2 rear white huskies - supposedly the weaker and sillier ones in the group. they'll run and pee and shit at the same time!! hehe. reli cute and adorable though. =)

and the front 2 skinny black huskies that are the strongest and fastest!

after the heart-racing husky-sledding in the snow blizzard, we're "snow-mobiled" to the traditional sami camps - the lavvu tent for a hot sami meal!
in the tent..

we were served hot creamy fish stew + norwegian bread - it was extremely delicious =)

yup.. that's about it! made it back safely to more snow in the uk..

~gone in a moment..

Europe Xmas Trip (Warsaw)

6:39 AM

Warsaw is just a mega city... reli reli mega especially when u've exhausted all your polish zloty on food and gotta walk the entire city due to lack of funds for the bus tour! (and it was snowing the entire time we were walking=P)

THE museum. it's a physics/ science museum i think.. strange how the museums look more magnificent than the castles..

Old town square.. pretty pretty!

love the buildings..


who's that climbing thru my window??

the barbican..

apple crumble thingy..

Polish dumplings!! reli yummy - served with bacon oily sauce, which they call the gravy

various fillings on the inside.. turkey + carrot, spinach + cheese, mushroom + cabbage.. all LOVELY!

in the massive royal garden.. we've got the ducks-on-ice parade!

snowy paths!

frozen lake..

the royal palace (very tiny behind.. too trecherous + lazy to hike up there!)

pretty sight.. a million birds in the evening sky =)

yup..and that's the end of our europe trip! then it's back to UK for the New Year.. (and MORE snow...)
Happy New Year everybody!!

~gone in a moment..

Europe Xmas Trip (Krakow)

5:52 AM

took the overnite train to Krakow after Prague..

Poland's reli different.. much colder, and the place that we visited was reli depressing as well.

There are 3 Auschwitz concentration camps altogether, we visited 2..


the exeution wall..

the HUGE extent of the other concentration camp

death railway..where the weak(woman and children) were marched from the trains straight to the gas chambers..

sleeping conditions.. more than 20 ppl were crammed on each layer!

their "loo" for more than 20, 000 prisoners..

we had a guide whose uncle was one of those executed for helping one of the prisoners who escaped... sigh.. depressing tour, but learnt so so much.

on a lighter note.. Krakow's the only city in Poland that wasn't destroyed/ damaged by bombing during WWII, so most buildings are still intact!

at the old town square..

Church with the statues of the 12 Apostles..

Castle..

Traditional Polish cuisine..
stewed cabbage + minced meat + mushroom sauce

Clockwise: mushroom soup in bread bowl, fisherman soup (it's SWEET?!), Barley soup (it's SALTY!!) - they taste reli... peculiar.. haha. but quite tasty after the initial shock.

cheesey cake + sweet plum/ rum/ fruit base - another strange thingy.

mega chocolte wafer

Jewish market..check out the signature green shop windows! (known locally as hole-in-the-wall)

snow snow everywhere..

Royal road to the "Royal Gate"


lonely statue in the cold..


rite.. that's Krakow! cold and snowy.. 3.5hrs train ride to Warsaw next..

~gone in a moment..

Europe Xmas Trip (Prague)

11:04 PM

Prague is simply the loveliest European country! I love the architecture, the cheeeeeaaaapp food and simply the place!

Museum..

beautiful old town hall..



Tyn Church

the famous archaeological clock


Church in castle town


view of prague city centre from atop the castle

cruise down Prague river..(the river flows from the Alps all the way to Hamburg!)

famous charles bridge behind..

walking across Charles bridge..(it's 500m across!)

amongst the busy crowd..

and then, there's more foood.....
another fat and juicy hot dog!

Tridelnik.. my favourite!!!!!!

Langos! - deep fried dough with loads of cheese and tomato

my piggy gingerbread cookie!

banana and choc crepe

fabulous lunch at a kinky pub!

czech cuisine! - alot alot of MEAT! beef goulash with bavarian dumplings, duck leg, pork NECK, pork KNEE and some other funny dumpling..


yeh i know what u're thinking.. the poor piggy! even it's neck wasn't spared.. tsktsk. if u're a pig, dun be caught in Prague!

~gone in a moment..

Europe Xmas Trip (Vienna)

10:33 PM

yet another repeat visit to Vienna...

so juz a brief blog abt the special things! hehe

massive kaiserkrainer.. my favourite!! the cheese spurts out with each bite!!

3 scoops of ice cream each!! ~ ice cream in winter!! hoho

pretty Rathaus at nite..

lighted presents on trees!

outside the palace..


we went to watch another mozart concert..(with ballet and opera performance)
ballet and orchestra were brilliant.. the same can't be said about the opera though.. hehe

lastly..huskies at the train station.. notice sth? (hehe.. i wonder why.)


~gone in a moment..

Europe Xmas Trip (Salzburg)

9:54 PM

next stop after Munich was Salzburg..

Salzburg's gorgeous! pretty city amongst beautiful landscape..
(castle's behind on top of the hill)

massive fortress at the back..

view from atop the fortress..



our lovely B&B...

the breakfast room..


the owner's 8yr old dog - Nino!! =)

Traditional Austrian cuisine.. the brown ball's liver dumping! and the other's pancake soup. so extremely salty!

my massive turkey escalope! wooohoo!

BEEEEG pretzels of all kinds!! ( i tried 3!)

special apple with a heart embelm - i wonder how they do it?

we went for the sound of music tour on xmas day..
the Von traap house & the lake behind it!

"I am 16 gg on 17..."

the pretty mirabell gardens..

beautiful lake enroute..


gotta watch the sound of music again and relieve those moments!

~gone in a moment..

Europe Xmas Trip (Munich)

9:33 PM

it's my 2nd time to Munich this time round, and we're there for the xmas market and of coz, Hofbrauhaus once again! hoho. uploaded the scenery pics before.. so juz the glorious food photos this time round!

how can any trip to Germany be complete without the fat juicy bratwurst/ currywurst/ __wurst!!

massive pork knuckles!!

BEEEG gingerbread(S)!!!

German nudle

Bismarck burger!

massive donut-like thing

some fried potato patty with apple sauce (basically, we didnt reli know what we're eating - we just ate!)

pumpkin seed PRETZEL!!

this is sth like pizza.. but with gorgeous creamy cheese/ mayo and bacon bits on top. simply divine!

yup! that about sums it up.. Germany's the land of pork and flour!=)

and since our snowman-building attempt was unsuccessful back in UK, we made another attempt in Munich..
and here's our lil snowgirl! so pretty =)


~gone in a moment..

UK snow blizzard ~ 18th Dec 09

5:27 AM

on the day where it snowed like mad...
and we got stranded in Tonbridge coz Eurostar trains got suspended..
we decided to look on the brighter side and make do with what we have..
Snow, snow AND MORE snow!!

THICK snow mattress in the front garden!

pretty snow cloaked tree..

snow on the streets..

in the backyard.. (look at that thick layer of snow cake on the trampoline!)

snow fight!!

defeated by ms zihui's underhand means.. hah


after the taxing snow fight.. it's time for our MEGA xmas roast dinner!! =)
we polished off the entire chicken.. (Spike and I did the most damage!)


what can i say.. AWESOME fatty filling dinner!

~gone in a moment..

my 24th!

4:57 AM

Phil says that i'm almost a quarter of a century old! haha. that sounds reli old eh.. time passes so quick!

Hannah baked me a reli dense rich flourless chocolate cake!!

and packed me a bday goodie bag =)

Thanks everybody for the lovely cards and pressies! =)

had sooo much cakes and chocolates the last few days that i'm seriously gg to burst out of all my clothes!

oh well..one life, take your tummy to its limits! hehe =)

~gone in a moment..

Lapland & Helsinki ~ 28th/ 29th Nov 09

3:53 AM

Visited Santa at his home all the way in the Arctic Circle last wkend.. we took a 3hrs flight to Helsinki, then immediately hopped on the overnight train to Rovaneimi.. it was a 10hrs train ride.. good thing we paid more for the sleeper train though.. Jing and I had a cabin to ourselves... it was so very comfy!!

Sleeper train from Helsinki to Rovaneimi.. our cabin + our own lil sink..

and then we arried at Santa Claus Village ~ Santa House!

BEEEG Snowman!! look how tiny we are next to him =)

Reindeer Sleigh.. poor reindeer.. it looked reli annoyed and tired!

we then queued up to meet Santa himself =)

at Santa's Main Post Office.. everybody's busy writing postcards and mailing them out for xmas..

pretty xmas tree + presents that're not meant for us..

look! Singapore is 9334km away from Lapland!! haha.. Singapore's actually well-known and important enough for them to have a special sign post dedicated to us!! =)

see the blue line above? cross over and Voila!! u've crossed the Arctic Circle!! =)

the wkend that we're in Lapland happened to be he opening ceremony of the xmas season in Lapland as well.. so there was this performance about the elves in search of the missing key.. and Father Xmas (Santa) himself of coz.. it's quite crappy reli.. but nobody's complaining!

and then the best thing happened.. it started snowing heavily!!!! woohooo!! the snow made everything seemed even more magical! we were so very very happy =)

snow snow snow...


and then we left Santa Village and took a bus back to Rovaneimi for dinner.. at the Northern most Mc Donalds! (havent had a meal at Mac's in like 5yrs!! but we were kind of desperate for food and it's the Northern most.. so.. )

after a reli boring Mac dinner it was time for yet another overnite train ride back to Helsinki.. (yes.. Lapland's so very far away!) but this train back was even better! we booked the cabin with ensuite shower!! haha. it's reli cool actually.. we had a cabin on the upper deck!
this is the setting for the sink + toilet..

when u pull the entire movable wall forward.. secure it over the toilet bowl.. and u use the newly created compartment for showering! ahhh.. intelligent design & engineering.. everything in the small tiny space!

btw.. the beds are reli comfortable! a million times better than the rubbish hostels (+ bed bugs) and my own creaky bed + sunken spring in tonbridge!

arrived in Helsinki early on SUnday morn and we were greeted with rain.. and more rain.. it was quite warm though.. 4degC!
Helsinki looks kinda like Singapore.. buildings + departmental stores everywhere.. (just that everything costs a million times more..)
the main railway station..

the Town hall (i think)

at the Helsinki bay..

view from above..

the main shopping street

and coz everything in the shops were in the range of hundreds of euros (plus it's raining).. we started feasting instead.. =) wat better stuff to spend ur money on than food! hehe

we wanted to try finnish food.. so we had my bday lunch at this (relatively more affordable) restaurant..
smoked reindeer + venison on rye bread

white fish + carrot puree + an entire heap of buttery potato mash!!

the food was oh-so-divine =)

afer that it was shopping for finnish chocolates! =)

and that about sums up our Finland trip.. it wasnt as cold as expected.. we had like 5 layers beneath our coat and the temperature never did fall below 0degC! and so we survived =) Helsinki's not a place for the budget or average traveller to be honest.. nothing there for u unless u're filthy rich!

end of magical Santa fantasy.. back to rainy, flooded tonbridge..

~gone in a moment..

lost in translation..

6:11 AM

I learnt some new (more classy) phrases today!

Singapore lingo: Eye shit (yan^2 shi^3)
British lingo: Sleepy dust (awwwww.. sounds so nice doesnt it!)

Singapore lingo: Nose shit/ mucous/ pi^3 sai^4
British lingo: Bogies (dunno how to spell it)/ Snort

.... a world of difference eh? & then u wonder wat's with Singaporeans and our obsession with the word 'shit'? time for us to refine our language!

sleepy dust... haha. lalala...

~gone in a moment..

London - Broadway Market

5:51 AM

visited Broadway Market on Saturday with the Stev gals.. It's a lil east-London Market..

Quite small reli, but lots of glorious, artery clogging cakes & food =)

we were eating constantly throughout the entire day! reli amazing.. (yeh i know.. wat's new?)
but the weather was absolutely horrendous.. apparently it was the worst storm in UK for the entire yr! (and we chose such a great day to go explore an outdoor market - how wise!)

anyway, too busy feasting & hiding from the storm.. so just a few pics..
many different kinds of fat round scotch eggs

THE mushroom stall!! woohoo.. our favourite!! everything tastes soooo divine

and THIS is the special mushroom risotto that we waited for over an hr braving the storm! how glutton can we get.. it was worth the wait though. =)

ventured to Japan centre next..look at the pwretty doraemon bun =)

yep.. broke again but ever so well-fed and happy =)

~gone in a moment..

start of a new wk =)

5:20 AM

i hereby declare my undying love for my armadillo tyres.. =) reli reli hope that they stay strong and pumped up (at least for the next 4 to 5mths!)

here's the cute lil armadillo!!


~gone in a moment..

survival of the fittest

4:08 AM

been such a crappy week that i reli have no idea how it can get any worse.

but there's nothing to complain about really.. it's a fair world.
everyone's dealt certain cards, it just depends on how u deal with them.
cope well and you survive for the next challenge,
else, u just gotta butt out to make room for someone more worthy.

anyway, just glad that the wk's ending. next wk's always a new start, no?

on a happier note, here's home cooked british-style Singapore chow mein! =)

with pad thai noodles..

tastes awesome! =) both cooked with tender loving care. haha. of coz, u won't be able to find these in Singapore.. there's only our good ol' hokkien mee or char kway teow!

P/s: Defintion of Singapore Chow Mein (in UK): any kind of noodles stir-fried with beansprouts (& other veg) with chilli (& some prawns if u're lucky!)

~gone in a moment..

when enough is enough

4:04 AM

sometimes i wonder juz how much crap a person can take in a day. or make that 2 days.

so sick of bike problems. or rather, so sick of punctures that erupt out of no where!

i've decided that i reli dislike autumn.. in the UK at least. thorns and brambles litter the ground.. twigs with enormous OMINOUS looking thorns strewn across the path, threatening to puncture any supposedly puncture-proof slimed tube that comes its way..

and oh, how can i forget to mention the oh-so-lovely gloomy dark clouds and incessant rain! the whipped cream on top is the muddy fields of coz. mud's my best friend!

was so frustrated i actually thought i was going to explode on Monday. If frustration could kill, i would probably have died a thousand times over.

anyway, i've finally got armadillo tyres!! yeh, u didnt read wrong.. i've got Armadillo tyres!! wooohoo =) they're supposed to be REALLY REALLY puncture proof. (and they cost a bomb!) they're named after the armadillo for some reason you know. (strong BUT expensive)..

Thanks heaps to my very special colleagues for EVERYTHING =)

guess when everything's gg wrong.. your only consolation is that there're at least people around who care enough to listen to you moan about it..
and even better still, people around who help u solve it..
THAT, itself, is a blessing =)

for now.. i just gotta pray real hard that my armadillo does wat it's supposed to do - stay hardy and brave the evil thorns, brambles, mud & rain with me!

~gone in a moment..

Special Farm Visit! =)

1:26 AM

wheeeee.. visited Wobin's farm yest! =) it was so so fun!!

russett apple trees..

his pet goats! i like the grey one.. he's called tinker. and the white & brown one is his twin.. called bell =)


i helped to clear out their smelly lil shed..

and filled it with new hay!

see how neat and clean it is now =)

and i got to drive the tractor!!!! (it's manual by the way.. i stalled the thing. haha

and this is the ramp. THE ramp. (there's only one ramp but quite a few ewes. that lucky thing.) watch out for his horns.. they'll bore a hole into you!

the hens that lay eggs 5 days a wk...reli reproductive..

and here's his pretty house.. it's reli lovely inside =)

yup! was so happy he allowed me to visit! hmm i wanna earn enough to buy a farm for retirement next time..

sidenote: THIS is my long-waited butternut squash! hehe. been dying to buy one and try it.

it weighs 1.5kg! ate it up for dinner. =) so sweet & yummy!

~gone in a moment..

GSK Sailing Regatta 2009

2:43 AM

I took part in the GSK Sailing Regatta 2009 last wkend. it was so so fun!! =)

there were 13 boats all together, 8 sailors per boat. The regatta was a GSK UK-wide thing.. whereby all the GSK UK sites could take part.. Tonbridge sent out 3 boats! but i weren't on a Tonbridge boat coz we had too many sailing enthusiasts to fit nicely into 3 boats. so i was put on a GSK Ware boat instead..

it turned out to be much better than i expected though. ALL my team mates had at least 3 years of sailing experience! haha. I was the only novice. and 4 of the guys were skippers (i.e. they were qualified to sail their own boats). how impressive is that =)

all the sunsail boats at the dock..

it was a 2-day race event, and we had to sleep overnite on the boat itself. here's my own lil cabin! it's supposed to sleep 2, but as we had 5 guys and 3 gals on board, i was given my own room and the guys had to squeeze. =P

after a full english breakfast cooked on board ( i was the chef coz everybody were busy doin other more impt things!), we set off to the start line..
unrolling the main sail on the way out..

and before the race started, i got to helm! (navigate according to the wind direction..) it felt sooo good! and no, i didn't crash the boat.

i was positioned on the starboard side.. meaning i had to do all the tacking (for the change of boat direction) which involved alot of rope pulling and wingeing! hard work reli, but so much fun =)
the guys putting up the spinacle, in preparation for the change of direction of sail..

during one of the calmer stretches of the race course.. i had the luxury to turn around and snap a picture of the (reli encouraging) and spectacular view behind...
look at all the other boats lagging behind!!

ahhh.. satisfaction =)

overtaking a Tonbridge boat (Phil's boat!)

our skipper - Steve, concentrating hard at the helm..

and finally..after a 2hr intensive race & lots of chaos later.. a victory pose by our skipper! we finished 3rd in 2 races and 4th in the other race! =)

it earned us a 4th position overall, out of 13 boats.. missed the medal and trophy by 2 points =(

on Sat nite, we had a 3 course dinner (included in the cost) and disco at the Royal Yatch Club. ALl the guys had to be in suits else they won't be allowed entry, tt's why everyone's dressed so smartly!
here's the team =)

and finally..a group picture before we embark on the long journey back home to feast & snooze..

didn't take many pictures as I was too busy tacking and holding on to the rails to avoid being blown off for most part of the race..
so glad I went for it! certainly a reli great and worthwhile sailing experience. maybe GSK Jurong should send a team over next yr to compete too =)

~gone in a moment..

Marseille, Aix-en-Provence trip!

3:25 AM

Visited haoz's sis - Peiqi @ Aix-en-Provence (southern France) last wkend.

Aix is a lil lovely town! reli different from Paris.. Aix's old, but has got that rustic charm to it =) I reli reli like Aix actually.


Aix main street..

the Cathedral.. (look at the lovely CLEAR blue skies!! - if only the weather in UK's this good. it rained whole day today, and the rain seems to be staying =( arghhh)

ooh.. i stayed over at her place that night. nice lil apartment!

and she's got her own lil garden..

the next day, we visited Marseille..(reli big and busy seaport.. i preferred Aix much more.. Marseille's a lil too 'rough' and messy)

of coz, it's still pretty nonetheless..



and then, there's the awesome hearty food..
canard dish with red fruits sauce + barley ~ i'm not a big fan of duck but this is so soft and lovely!!

pork & duck casserole, stewed with butter & kidney beans i think (another meaty artery clogging yet oh-so-good dish!)

my favourite ~atas cookie gourmet shop!! their specialty's almond cookies - they fall apart in your mouth! and these stuff's called navettes - almond based as well i think.

BEEEEEEEEGG fat macarons!! - i bought 2! the pistachio & choco one. sweet and chewy!

potato omelette - it's spanish i think. but we juz bought it anyway. it looked too good to resist!

ooh and this is the best!! we went supermarket shopping on Friday nite, bought loads of cheese & ham and had a raclette dinner!! =)
you heat up the cheese on the lil raclette pan to melt it..

then pour the molten cheese over baked potatoes, all sorts of ham, or eat it with bread!

and this is how the real French enjoy their cheese..
make a hole in the middle of Mont d'or (special kind of cheese), pour white wine into it, then bake it in the oven till it melts within!

then u pour it over potatoes & bread as well. ~ simply the best cheese ever!!=)
at the Aix Saturday market..

madalienes! so rich & heavenly..

fresh seafood!

my marron (chestnut) crepe ~ i finally got to eat a french crepe. =)

un croque monsieur - cheese & ham sandiwch laden with soft melted gruyere ALL OVER.. sinfully yummilicious!

and last but not least.. here's my host who stuffed me round and pudgy~ (yeh ok.. i was the one who stuffed myself=)

yet another fun-filled (& fat-filled) trip! =)
gotta break for winter now..time to get back to reality and brave the wind & rain.

~gone in a moment..