Special update!

In a series of unexpected and rather surprising turn of events, I've actually found myself back in Amsterdam after travelling for 2 weeks straight! Just a quick update, thanks to the convenience of car rental, we've embarked on 3 driving trips, from Bratislava to Budapest, Vienna to Salzburg, and this latest and possibly the last of the driving trips from Dusseldorf! There are so many things to talk about right now, and while I'm waiting for my clothes to dry and the others tugged in bed, I'm trying to organise the happenings over the past 13 days in a coherent, step-by-step account. Since I'm probably not going to remember everything at one shot, I will just try to pen it down in point form very quickly!

• Brussels was a good place to start, not too big, not too many attractions, and expectations weren't very high. The grand place was a nice square to be in! Belgium truffles are superb.
• Bratislava, while it pales in contrast with fellow European capital cities, it is fantastic in terms of giving the consumer, that is me, a greater purchasing power. Awesome half-litre beers for 1.20 euro served in a decent pub. Beat that! The cheap hostel, cheap kabab and cheap ice-cream meant we didn't have to think twice about eating more!
• Budapest, this was a bonus, since we managed to drive from Bratislava. First driving experience in Europe made this trip all the more memorable. Budapest is actually 2 districts, Buda and Pest sorta combined into one. More on that in a detailed update to come. The parliment building is one of the most majestic structures around in this city.
• Vienna, Austria's capital and houses what's by far the grandest palace I've set foot on, the Schönbrunn Palace.
  
• Lower Austria, funny as it sounds, Lower Austria is a city in Austria made up of many districts. We covered a few of these districts such as Krems and Melk, where we got to pick strawberries off the ground for free, and saw how vineyards looked like. Wachau Valley, which is located between Krems and Melk was also quite a sight to behold.
• Linz, Austria's third largest city which we stopped by for some quick dinner and a really brief walking trip around the city. Didn't catch much of it, though its city square was nice.
• Salzburg, better known as Mozart's birthplace, but is also home to other beautiful buildings such as Palace of Mirabell, as featured in Sound of Music, and the Hohensalzburg Castle.

It is also interesting to note that the longest river in the EU, the Danube, flows some almost 3000km through the cities such as Budapest, Bratislava, Vienna, Linz and Salzburg. So you can imagine that being able to see the same river in the different cities of different countries must have been quite cool!

Moving from Eastern Europe into Western Europe, we covered Germany for a good six days. Managed to see Munich, Berlin, and just hours ago, Cologne, Bonn and Dusseldorf. Funny things including, not knowing that Koln was actually Cologne, and we only found out when we drove our rented Mercedes C-220 (we would never have imagined driving a luxury car on a budget trip like this, but then again, its Germany, Mercs comes from here!) right in front of a souvenoir shop in Cologne.
There were also not so pleasant things, such as the car rental company employee giving us a very big headache of refusing to rent us the car for us to drive from Munich to Berlin. Our initial plan was to drive 600km from Munich to Berlin, since overnight trains would have cost around 50 euros per person, driving would allow us to save some 30 euros each. Thankfully we were there on a saturday, and the German national rail company, DB had this weekend group tickets which allowed 5 of us to travel for a total of 38 euros, or 7 euro per person! However, the number of transfers on the way from Munich to Berlin was an awful 7 times, and the whole trip took 12 hours, no less!

Well there's so much to write about that if I continue doing so, I risk not having any sleep at all for my flight to Barcelona later! I shall attempt to sleep for 1 hour, and then another on the car to the airport, another on the plane, and hopefully one hour on the train from Reus to Barcelona Central station where my Barcelona friend Pere will meet us! Come to think of it, its really crazy even to think of coming back to Amsterdam just for a stopover for a few hours! But I'm not complaining! My luggage is one rearranged to hold 1 week of clothes, down from 3 weeks' worth, and I can finally bring along the sleeping bag which will be handy for the airport sleepovers.

All right, look out for more updates starting July, hopefully I will find enough time for it!

Day 132 -133

Just when I started feeling all happy about being liberated from examinations, I find myself starting to pack up all my luggage, washing whatever laundry is needed and looking for all the tourist information for the 10 cities we will set foot on in the next 20 days. Anyway a quick update on what happened for the past 2 days.

Day 132

Spent the afternoon studying in the library. After dinner, I met up with Vivien's friend, Dionne who happened to visit Amsterdam for 2 days. Decided that I should attend the final borrel, despite having to sit for an exam the next day, rationale being that there will be resits, but if I were to miss the borrel and see some friends for the last time, there won't be a second chance. Reached home at 3am, went to bed immediately so I could wake up early for some last minute revision.

Day 133

Didn't really manage to squeeze much more after I got out of bed. Frankly speaking, I was really treating the exam like a formality, like 'just get it over and done with'. The paper wasn't that difficult, given that I still went out partying and only doing some last minute revision hours before, I am not expecting anything too fantastic. I'll worry about re-sits should there be any when I get back.

While the rest went for their last exam, I spent the evening cooking dinner, and experimenting with a new dish, as well as trying to finish up the supplies of misc. food stuffs like red bean, ginger, onions and the like. Apparently their paper wasn't that easy, and they ended up only coming back at half past ten.

Finally, after dinner, we trashed out the grand plan for this upcoming 20 days. Seriously, it is massive, alot of planning needs to be done, and I don't expect to be sleeping tonight. Then again, as with previous planned trips and the fun we've enjoyed, this seems to dwarf all earlier adventures in all aspects! The rough plan CAA 11/06/09:

• 12/6: Brussels
• 13/6: Bratislava
• 14-16/6: Vienna/Budapest
• 17/6: Salzburg
• 18/6: Munich
• 20/6: Berlin
• 24/6: Dusseldorf
• 25/6: Barcelona
• 28/6: Edinburgh
• 30/6: Dublin
• 1/7: Cambridge

Its going to crazy and I don't think I will be updating much till I come back to Amsterdam on 2nd July. Till then, continue to have fun and enjoy yourselves as well!

Day 132

Suddenly, time seems to have picked up pace and pass doubly quickly. In no more than 40 hours, I shall be freed from the studying, spend some time to pack my luggage, say some goodbyes and then be on my way to utopia. (or so I hope)

The rest had to sit for an exam today, while I spent my time trying to study for the last paper. Since they had the paper in the evening and was scheduled to end only at 9pm, I did all the shopping and cooking alone in the house. Not trying to show off or anything, but it comes as an accomplishment to be able to shop, prepare and cook dinner in 1 hour all by myself. I never had to do everything myself back at home, given the fact that I've got 2 top class maids at home. So in that sense, it was never always something I did by myself, it was a team-effort. Over here, even if I hated chopping onions, even if I found peeling garlic tedious, even if I thought cooking rice without a rice cooker was impossible, I did them all.

Tom-yum soup without the looks (yea the stove is in bad shape too), but it still packed a punch. In the process of cooking, I realised I was missing out a key ingredient, but thanks to some quick thinking, I may have just found a perfect substitute unknowingly! It shall be a secret for now! Muahaha.

After almost 5 months of hesitation and personal discrimination towards cauliflower and its sibling the brocoli, I gave in today and tried cooking the former. Of course this was just boiling the vegetable, a subsequent process of stir-frying it with garlic, mushrooms and finishing off with starch was still to be done. Yeah I think the rest liked it. Well I'll just say that its good to have a change in dishes every now and then. Haha.


Efficiency in cooking. Time-saving production of dinner using multiple inputs at minimum costs.

Yea its the fourth last home cooked dinner before it will be twenty days of Mcdonalds, kebabs, chips, beer, chocolate and the like.

Somehow, towards the end of this exchange, everything just seems to get better, so much to look forward to, I think I just found the song of the moment to describe this too!

It takes a crane to build a crane
It takes two floors to make a storey
It takes an egg to make a hen
It takes a hen to make an egg
There is no end to what I'm saying

It takes a thought to make a word
And it takes some words to make an action
And it takes some work to make it work
It takes some good to make it hurt
It takes some bad for satisfaction

Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
Ah la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la

It takes a night to make it dawn
And it takes a day to make you yawn brother
And it takes some old to make you young
It takes some cold to know the sun
It takes the one to have the other

And it takes no time to fall in love
But it takes you years to know what love is
And it takes some fears before I trust
It takes those tears to make it rust
It takes the rust to have it polished

Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la la life goes full circle
Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la

It takes some silence to make sound
And it takes a loss before you found it
And it takes a road to go nowhere
It takes a toll to show you care
It takes a hole to make a mountain

Ah la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la life goes full circle
Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la life is meaningful
Ah la la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la life is meaningful
Ah la la la la la la life is full of
Ah la la la la la life is so full of love
Ah la la la la la life is wonderful
Ah la la la la la la life is meaningful
Ah la la la la la life is full of
Ah la la la la la life is so full of love

The end of the 3 week European Expedition is topped off by this concert. How can it not be wonderful?

I have been fairly efficient today, studied another 2 lectures, which is about 40% of what had been taught, though its really just studying (I liken it to reading a storybook). Another 2 lectures and I hope it'll be enough to pass!

More evidence to support the hypothesis that gh is homesick... he spent another 2-3 hours reading aquarium forums, looking at all the newly scaped tanks that people have been doing, and he called home to ask his sister to snap some photos of his tank. (which has been since un-manned except having the maid top up the water once every week, since January)

Well before you see how my tank is today, this was how it looked like some 10 months ago, when I started keeping this tank in my hall.

I rescaped it since I was really into the 'moss-on-a-tree' look.

It was like that since I moved the tank back home, and the tree has really turned into a forest!

It still didn't look that bad with the light all dim, but on closer inspection...

One word, HORRIFIC.

The overgrowth has certainly wiped out the hair grass in the foreground, and according to my sister, what started as 50 cardinal tetras have been sharply reduced to numbers countable with 2 hands, a real nightmare for any fish hobbist. Well, looks like my green fingers will have alot of work to do when I reach home! I've already got some new ideas of how I want my tank to look like next! And if my dad's 4 feet tank is going to be empty, I might have better ideas for it. Hurhur.

All right, back to work!

Day 131

Perhaps I haven't been studying so hard for that last paper, perhaps its because I have only 6 more nights to spend in the space that's home for the past 130 days, perhaps its the thought of a new term back in NTU, or perhaps its just letting my thoughts getting the better of me. I've spent the last five hours looking through my past entries on this blog and laughing at them, still shaking my head in disbelief that it had been 105 days ago when I was in Manchester, celebrating what I think had been the best birthday so far.

At the same time, I was also blog-surfing to see how friends and ex-students back in BP are doing. From one perspective I reminisced the good days that have passed me; on the other end, I got an insight of how job-hunting, stress at the work place, and pressures to settle down could be so real.

Apart from the enriching experience this exchange has brought, it has also given me the opportunity to enjoy life like one should, without having to worry about all the other things in life, like the many I've read on the blogs of others.

This chapter of my life is coming to an end soon. To have been able to do, see, feel, experience the many new things(plenty which I've never even dared dream of), I am thankful. To think it was only a week or so ago that I was telling my mum I didn't really miss home or wanted to go back. Looking back, that sounded rather irresponsible. I was here on a holiday (I never doubted the fact that 'student-exchange' was just a smokescreen), I didn't have to worry about not having money, I didn't have to worry about any problems back home (numerous computer breakdowns included), I didn't need to go through a fourth time of endless 'mug-your-ass-off' sessions in N2 (though I will go back to it). Of course, given the above, who wouldn't want to stay on forever?

Strange but real, while packing my luggage over the afternoon, there was this readiness to return back to Singapore. I was actually looking forward to it! I'd like to believe I'm thinking responsibly, that I will be motivated to work hard, do well, and repay mama for all she's given me. I know I'll probably start missing all the good times in Europe, and whining to go back the moment I touch down in Singapore, but hopefully I will not! Somehow, something in the brain just snapped, and its telling me to look forward to the new challenges that await upon my return. Now the only problem is how long this eagerness/motivation can be self-sustained.

Its good to spend some time doing some self-reflection. I've lived a most enjoyable 131 days, another smashing 38 days that I strive to make the most of! Time to sleep, it shall be another great day ahead. Have a great sunday for those back home, cheers.

Day 130

One exam done and dusted. Wasn't too difficult and it should be apass! In other news, I'm hoping for good news from the exchange office, and I might not need to take the last exam, which will be deemed as excess and I'd have wasted my time sitting for it! Even if they tell me I'll have to do it, I will just go for the resit when I come back from my trip. So for now I'm only going to sit for one more examination next wednesday and I will start my travelling with the rest on Friday! This also means one more city that is Brussels, and one more day of fun!!

Managed to meet my tutor at Dam Square as well! They were in a bit of a rush for time, so didn't have time to enjoy a dinner. Nevertheless still managed to spend some time with them before they took the bus back to the hotel, and bound for Paris tomorrow! Went over to Seb's place for dinner and spent a fair amount of time slacking and crapping afterwards! Although exams haven't officially ended, we're like really treating it as if its over!

Peter and the other friends who had a presentation today did well and they were also celebrating in the room! A good exam or a good presentation really raises spirits by alot!

Will spend the day after I sleep my fill by trying to study, and at the same time start packing. 7 more nights in PHK.

Day 129

I woke up this morning from the vibration of my handphone. No I haven't set alarm clocks ever since 9am lessons ended. It was a missed call from a Singapore number, which looked kind of familiar, and yet I could not remember whose number it was. Thus, I returned the call via Skype, and to my pleasant surprise it was my maths tutor (the best tutor you'd probably find)! She's in Amsterdam with her husband for 2 days, and I'll try to meet her for dinner tomorrow!

Oh man, I have an exam in another 13 hours, and yet I have that holiday mood, that yearning to embark on my extremely exciting 20 day trip! But then that does not mean I didn't prepare for the exam! Ample proof!



You'd never be able to see me blogging or even touching the computer when I slog my ass off back in exam periods in NTU. Look at me now! I'm so going to miss exams here in UvA.

I'd like to think that what I have done is enough for the pass! Well there's been this small moral hazard problem, where in the back of the mind there's this constant voice 'you have a second chance' that keeps ringing non-stop! Garf.

Okay I'm going to sleep soon! More things to look forward to over the weekend, and I'm not referring to the start of the revision for the last examination. Cheers guys.

Day 128

Hahaha, somehow its weird that I find the time to really blog about everyday happenings when examinations are around the corner.

Truth be told, I have never had the luxury of studying for examinations as if I were reading a copy of the newspaper or TIME. To make things worse, at the back of my mind, there is this safety net telling me that if I do not make it the first time round, there's still a resit to redeem myself the second time round. If only we had such policies back in NTU, wouldn't it be nice?

I am kinda done with studying for the first exam, so this afternoon I gave myself some time off to get another haircut. Yes, I have concluded that human hair grows faster in spring/summer than it does in winter. For the months of February to end-April, my hair grew pretty much the same amount as from the period starting early-May till today. Yes not the cheapest haircut around, but it didn't burn a hole in the wallet either. Went to buy another huge bag as I am looking to stuff all my things into that bag. By huge I really mean HUGE. Bev or Meiyee will probably fit inside I reckon, and I am not joking. But that also means I'll have to start packing soon, my days in PHK are numbered.

Another random thought, seeing all those dogs outside Albert Heijn while they sit there by themselves (really they are worthy of the 'most obedient dogs' award) staring through the glass doors, awaiting their masters to bring them home, always makes me think of my dog Harry. Not the most obedient one, but still special in its own right.

The dutch also like to bring their dogs are for swims in the hot summer weather. Saw this rocker dude(with a beer belly no less) bringing his 3 mightily fine dogs into the canal we jumped into only 2 days before.

I dared not ask him to pose with his dogs, or to pose with his beloved four-legged friends, for fear that I might incur his wrath, resulting in him unleashing 3 sets of unthinkable canine muscles onto me. As you can see from the photos, he looked emotional or something. Haha.

Oh and yes, despite having used Blogger for the past four and a half years, I have not realised that I could upload a video onto my own blog. Thus, there is no better way than to share this discovery by posting the most memorable video of yours sincerely in Amsterdam, doing the heroic act of jumping into a canal in Amsterdam. Watch a quardruplet hailing from Singapore, Uruguay and Bolivia attempt a synchronized dive into Plantage Muidergracht, captured in full glory spanning 20 seconds. No ducks or geese or dogs were harmed in the process, neither were Olympic medals awarded. However, we did walk away, as proud recipients of an 'Amsterdam Canal Dive Certificate' (though it could have been easily mistaken as rough paper for the regrettable choice of ink and colours)

I swear I could watch the video 100 times over and not get sick of it. Definitive.

Okay I am off to bed now, I promise to wake up and confine myself in the library again, devoid of the evils that call themselves 'facebook', 'soccernet', 'wikipedia', 'blogger' and the like. Good night all.

Day 127 - 128

Hahaha, I think I have been quite efficient today, spent 8 hours studying the examination on Friday proper, doing the notes, etc. Also found some time to learn a brazilian desert Bridgadeiros and Beijinhos from our Brazilian friend Juliana! Haha yet another fine addition to my cookbook, since the 'deserts' section is quite lacking!



They also came over to try today's curry. Frankly speaking, I think the new curry powder I bought today tasted.. different, bordering on weird. Unusually spicy, somehow mixed between numbing-spicy and the spicy-spicy that I'm very used to. I don't remember the last time I actually felt this sensation that you call spicness, but this curry powder did it. Didn't really like it, and I'll try to modify it with other stuff the next time round (not that there are many chances to cook it here =/)

Really enjoy the talks with people from largely different cultures, backgrounds. Its amazing to hear so many things you were previously oblivious to.

Well, back to work! Till next time!

Day 126

Strangely, I couldn't sleep that much last night. Guess I just have to wake up earlier and do what I'm supposed to do.. haha.

Anyway opened my mail to find something unexpected, but nevetheless pleasant!

Kinda hits home the message 'GH your exchange days are ending!'. On the other hand, all the gatherings, makan and mahjong sessions that are verbally agreed over MSN or fb, the HSS FOC, the dog, the fish tank, the computer, the family (especially mummy) all make me look forward to going back at the same time!

Went for the canal jump organised by the Plantage Muidergracht student residence n the afternoon. Totally awesome. Its one of the crazy things, apart from drinking booze or taking weed that makes the Amsterdam experience unique too!

The weather for a start was superb, I felt like I was back in Singapore, where the rays from the sun were really getting onto your skin! The clothes on everyone would not differ from what we wear back home.. t-shirt, berms, surfshorts, spag tops, flip flops, you name it!

We made our way to where the peeps have been jumping into the canal, and it was the same one I'll usually walk past after S&O classes, or when I'll walk the girls home at night (when the sun would set by 8. The sky does not get dark now at anytime before 1030!) Apparently we missed the first round already, so we just did it own time own target.

First jump with Federik and Seb. It may not look that high, but the first time round it felt like ages before I landed in the water! The colour of the canal water was comparable to the Singapore river, and if you ignore the floating particles that are around you (okay there were ducks and geese and some dogs moving in and out of the water, go figure) It felt pretty much like swimming in the swimming pool! Hahaha.

Then Mauricio decided that he will jump as well, so we did it for a second time! Actually, its more fun jumping together! Hahaha.

After the jump, we were rewarded with some hotdog buns and beer, and this funny 'Amsterdam Canal Dive Certificate'. Hahah.

So after some food and beer, what other better way to dry ourselves than just sitting under the sun?!

Its really total relaxation just to sit on the pipes and watch the numerous boats sail past you. The campus and its surroundings just looked so much more beautiful too!

It was a thoroughly enjoyable day, so much so that I have been totally inefficient with the work that I was supposed to do. Thus, I shall redeem myself by not touching the computer tomorrow, let's see if its going to work. There are still interesting parts of this jump which I will share about real soon! Hahaha take care meanwhile!

Day 122 - 125

Time flies, this weekend marks the 17th week I've been here, and the highlight must be the final party organised by the dutch student group for international students (ISN). I swear it felt like yesterday when we just attended the very first party only in January!

Other things that we did during these few days..

• Attending the last few lessons and wrapping up all those presentations.
• Went for the red light district tour organised by PHK which was also tour-guided by a resident from PHK who's a masters student. Alot of interesting stuff about the red light district I never knew before! Explicit details not too suitable for children. Hahaha.
  
• Got to play pool for the first time in 5 months! Really fun, almost thrice as expensive as compared to Singapore, but the tables were good and the company was great!
  
• Going to Spui and checking if there were sales. There was one indeed, and I bought an orange pair of Nike sneakers! Finally I found my orange piar of shoes, overdue but still made my day!
• We finally got to enjoy an outdoor barbeque, but also kinda sad in the sense that it will be the last time we'll see many of the friends we met here. :(

Anyway some pictures.













Really enjoyed an outdoor barbeque in the really sunny, windy, without that sticky sweaty feeling you get from barbeques back home. Thanks to the bunch of friends we've made from Diemen, all the best and keep in touch!

As much as we had like to stay longer than the 2 hours we did at the bbq, we had to go for the party pre-drinks session at Boom and co's place. Not too many people, but once again good drinks and fun.






Friends from Barcelona!


Apparently when you're having fun, time passes so damn quickly. We reached the club at almost 1am, shortly before the time for entry cut-off.





















The amount of liquor that one consumes before partying seems to have a highly positive effect on how much fun he will derive from the party!

Also took the chance to take some photos with friends who we are probably going to see for the last time. =/



















Reached home at 5am and just went to bed straight. Woke up feeling a little sad probably due to the fact that its a final chance where you get to meet most of those you made friends with here. Well looks like there's still facebook, and to any friends who are thinking of visiting Singapore in the future, you are always welcomed to stay at my place!


Day 125

Apparently there's some public holiday tomorrow, which was the reason why the supermarkets weren't opened. I tried to return my crate of empty bottles, and since I wasn't watching where I was going when I cycled and trying to figure out why the supermarket was closed, and yea crashed straight onto the ground. Luckily I chose to carry the bottles in my crumpler, and only one was smashed into bits, the remaining 14 bottles remained unbroken. The first time I fell in Amsterdam, I got a deep cut in the finger, and this time was a slightly bloody abrasion on the elbow. I'm really hoping it will be the last too!

Beside the point, I am extremely touched by the gestures of kindness shown by the Dutch, as well as a group of Chinese tourists who lent this poor fellow a helping hand. Right after I fell, this bespectacled gentleman who cycled past me stopped and helped me get up while holding on to my bike. Another dutch lady who was behind came up and offered me some wet tissue to clean my wound. I don't know why but it seems that all Dutch people always try to communicate with me in Dutch first (despite the fact that I do not resemble a Dutch a single bit), before switching to perfectly fluent English when I respond to them.

I thanked the two of them for their kind act, and while I was still using the tissue to clean my wound, this Chinese granny (okay lady in her 50s) who was standing on the opposite side of the road came up to me and immediately offered two plasters. I was quick to refuse her, but she insisted that I protect my wound. Then while she was helping me apply the plasters (yes the wound wasn't very small), her friends came along, and one of them fished out this oilment from her bag, saying it will help kill any germs and insisted to apply some on my wound. My first reaction was 'Siao liao, disinfectants are never known to make you feel too comfortable when applied.' Try to think of rubbing salt on the wound. Then again, at that instance, given their pure well-intentions, I found it impossible to say no. So they apllied some of it and turns out it wasn't so bad afterall! I stopped to chit chat with them for a while, and found out they were on a tour and they will return to China tomorrow. Really, their motherly instincts and outright affection for this 小孩子(as they called me) made me thought of my mummy suddenly.

Once again, my heartfelt thanks to these 6 strangers who lent a hand when they could have chosen to just mind their own business. I kept telling myself 'They wouldn't have to do it', and' In Singapore nobody would probably take a second look at you if you fell', but these people thought otherwise. I certainly hope I will become more helpful or display more acts of kindness in the future should a chance presents itself. You have no idea how much appreciation people will have for you.

Anyway, I'm really quite looking forward to tomorrow, while it may be the start of the exam week, I've still got 5 days before my first paper, and the bigger thing that's to jump into an Amsterdam canal! Or to be more specific, the canal that's just around the corner in Plantage! Sounds like real fun! All right, I hope I can do more studying before that! Will update again soon!