TRAVELLING, PART 4

Another year went by since my last blog entry. Time to update where I have travelled this past year:

2015/09 (P) - Austria
2015/06 (B) - Stuttgart, Germany
2015/05 (P) - Northern Kyushu, Japan
2015/04 (B) - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2014/11 (B) - Singapore
2014/09 (P) - Greece

Just have to share two photos from the trips to Greece and Austria. I don't mind visiting those two countries again in the future.

I love the "Blue" in Greece!

Paradise on Earth in Hallstatt, Austria

 

P.S. Very excited about the upcoming trip in February 2016 to Israel + Jordan.

TRAVELLING, PART 3

Can't believe my blog entry for "TRAVELLING, PART 2" was posted in December 2010. Maybe it's about time to think back where I have visited during the past three and half years:

2014/07 (B) - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
2013/11 (B) - Ho Chi Ming City, Vietnam
2013/09 (P) - England + Scotland, UK
2013/06 (B) - Stuttgart, Germany
2013/05 (P) - Hokkaido, Japan
2012/06 (P) - Kyoto + Osaka + Kobe, Japan
2012/03 (B) - Beijing, China (that time I actually landed)
2011/12 (B) - Beijing, China (didn't land but flew back in the same plane!)
2011/09 (B) - Singapore

A photo taken from the boat ride at the Lake District in UK. During the ride, "C" and I met two very interesting and energetic ladies (already in their 80s) from San Diego, USA. We had such a blast just chatting about anything. It makes you think how everything works in a mysterious way.

Less than one month away from my next trip~

GREECE  - here I come!!!

A DAY OUT - GAUGUIN & OTHERS

Paul Gauguin, "Conversation in the Pasture, Pont Aven"

Cecilia and I bought the tickets for the "Gauguin - Elsewhere" exhibition (11.27.2010 - 02.20-2011) back in November 2010, but only managed to go, finally, on Feb. 7, 2011 (yup, two weeks before it ends). It was the last day of the Chinese New Year holidays, and we decided to take the MRT because we know it would be extremely difficult to find parking spaces. To be honest, I don't remember much about the exhibition, so that's when postcards/cards come in handy, haha!

Paul Gauguin, "Landscapes from Arles"

Claude Monet, "Woman in the Garden. Sainte-Adresse"

The highlight of this exhibition is that we bought a bottle of red wine. Well, big deal...It is, actually. One side of the bottle is carved with Vincent Van Gogh's "Cafe Terrace at Night", limited to 1,000 bottles, and we bought bottle No. 1!



Left Taipie Fine Art Museum around 3:30pm, happy with our trophies, we did another "crazy" thing that afternoon - we waited in line for 90 mins to take a sweet bite of waffles which came highly recommended on the internet at Melange Cafe. When we arrived at 4pm, the number counter was at 351, and the ticket we got was 439! At the end, because it was just two of us and we were willing to sit outdoors, we got the seat quicker than expected and were not charged 10% service fee. Well, as nice the waffles were, I will probably not do this again! BUT...it was a fun day - a perfect note to end the holidays!

CAME AND GONE - CHRISTMAS 2010

Can't believe it's already 2011.

X'mas 2010 was just here, and I have evidence to show for... Cecilia and I totally redo the X'mas display this year (okay okay, she did the renovation) - with some we bought ourselves and some given to us by friends:

• the Nativity set is from Alessi
• the paper church is actually a X'mas card
• the cup set is from Rudi and Dave
• the Starbucks cookie jar is from Juliana

Our new favorite is Wallace and Gromit - Gromit is forever loyal to his master/friend Wallace and helping him throughout the year! Just look at the mugs, so cute! And we ordered them directly from the UK Royal Mail - it's part of their 2010 X'mas stamp collection.

We also tried something different this time - we grew our own X'mas tree. Yes! The X'mas tree leaves grow from paper tree trunk with help from magic potion. I documented the process with the camera... Isn't it amazing?

Yes, it came and gone, but there is always the next X'mas to look forward to. Before it comes again, wish you all a great 2011!

TRAVELLING, PART 2

In my very first blog entry in June 2008 (gosh, that's two and half years ago!), I mentioned that I love to travel, and I have the good fortune to continue doing so when my schedule allowed.

Update on places I have been during the past 2+ years -

2010/11 - Beijing, China
2009/09 - Northern France
2008/11 - Beijing, China
2008/10 - Southern Germany

One of my favorite photos from the Northern France trip - that of Mont St. Michel. Simply breathtaking!


Looking very much forward to the next trip, to wherever it may be...

WHEN EAST MEETS WEST

Travelled to Beijing for the 2nd time in late November - both times for business. While I didn't get to do any sightseeing during my first visit two years ago, I managed to do a little this time around. I had the good fortune of travelling with a colleague who had lived in Beijing for two years - he became our "tour guide" for half a day.

So we visited the Palace Museum and was surprised to see Hall of Supreme Harmony (Taihe dian), the biggest building in the Forbidden City, not under renovation. Our "tour guide" said he has been there four times and this is the first time he gets to see the building in its entirety.

What I want to mention, however, is the clash of eastern and western cultures in Beijing. Once a Communist society, China has gradually been influenced by capitalism. The Swatch and Starbucks stores located in a very Chinese looking commercial area is definitely a sight to see.

Also got to taste some good food. Have to thank our "tour guide" again for that. Nothing fancy, but food which I usually ate in Taiwan but prepared differently gave me a pleasant experience.



However, despite what nice things I might have said about Beijing, I won't want to pay another visit any time soon because it is just too damn cold...

FINALLY...A NEW TELEVISION

It has been forever since Cecilia and I talked about getting a new TV, and we told ourselves that we will as soon as the old one breaks down. So we waited, waited, and waited... Friends around us all said, "how could you keep staring at that tiny 21" television when you like watching TV so much?" We often wonder too...But we thought, why the need to buy a new one if the old one is working fine - except I almost have to lean forward every time I sat on the sofa watching TV.

But still we persisted...then the remote control started to fail us, but still we managed to "survive" by using my obsolete PDA (creative thinking on my part!) as an alternative to the remote control - except we have to recharge it every two days! This lasted for another few months...

Until one day, we finally said, "enough is enough!" After enduring 10 years of that tiny TV in our "huge" living room, we bought a 40" LCD TV about two months ago. To document this historical event, I posted the before and after photos.

Watching TV is never the same again...