Ireland - March 2016

With all the planning and arrangements I’ve done for my recent trips, I begin to feel a little overwhelmed and exhausted both physically and mentally and henceforth imagine it would be a great idea to pay for some local day tour packages this round to experience something new. As most of the scenic destinations and tourist attractions are found to be in the suburbs distance away from the City of Dublin, a guided coach tour will definitely be a convenient and prudent alternative.

I would probably grade this trip as the most challenging journey and below is how the story goes:

20th March 2016 (Sunday)

As usual and not feeling surprised, the flight was somehow delayed due to the congested traffic on the runway in the Gatwick Airport. Not being overly concerned about the delay, I managed to arrive at the Dublin Airport around 3.30pm and after a long wait at the customer service kiosk, I finally found my way getting onto the Airlink Express (€6.00) which has a direct service into the city centre.

My one night’s stopover in The Kinlay Hostel was quite awful despite that this hostel has one of the best locations in town. The general layout of the building is comparable to a labyrinth because in order to get to my room, I needed to pass through at least 7 doors (3 secured and 4 none secured)) plus 4 corridors to get to the other site of the building. The surrounding was rather noisy with all sorts of noises and the furnishing in the room is obviously timeworn. Nonetheless I could not ask for more with the price of €54.00 a night hence everything is acceptable as basics.

Once I’ve completed the check-in, I immediately walked the 40 steps to the Christchurch located very close to the hostel. However it wasn’t my lucky day because the Church was closed exceptionally on that Sunday and therefore I could only admire the exterior of the building from the garden.

Having done some research prior to the trip, I am all excited to track down the famous Murphy’s Sea Salt Ice-Cream in town. My first combination was kind of weird having 3 exotic flavours in one go – Chilly Pepper, Dingle Seasalt and Butterscotch. I couldn’t help myself but to return again later that night with my colleague to enjoy 2 more scoops of the ice-cream as my supper.

I have been wondering in town not knowing what I should have for dinner because majority of the Irish dishes are serving red and white meats which would be too heavy as a meal for my appetite at that moment, I finally decided to go for the Japanese cuisine and gratefully Ukiyo serves delicious sushi in an excellent ambience.

21st March 2016 (Monday)

The breakfast provided by The Kinlay Hostel was absolutely simple having only bread, butter and cereal, and there are all kinds of hilarious sign in the kitchen warning the guests to keep their hands off some shelves and to be cautious not to accidentally consume the foodstuffs that belongs to the other guests.

Since both of us have medium and large suitcases that need to be stored after checking-out from our room, we rented a cage locker at €2.00 before we could hit the town again. While searching for the storage room in the “labyrinth”, we approaches one of the cleaner asking for direction and were told that the storeroom was located at the first floor. Spending almost all our energy dragging the baggage to the first floor, we then discovered that it is actually at the ground floor!

A visit to St. Michan’s Church has been made mandatory in my itinerary after reading some comments that there is a chance for visitors to “shake-hands” with the 800 years old mummy in the crypt and it will be lucky for the person who touches the crusader! But I ended up being very disappointed because there isn’t actually the chance for me to touch them at all! We gave up on The Book of Kells in the Trinity College due to the crowd and went on looking for some local delicacy to appease our hunger. We came to a famous Irish restaurant - The Lotts Café Bar which is highly recommended by Tripadvisor, but unfortunately some famous dishes were not available due to the early hour we arrived before lunch.

After collecting our baggage and checking-in at Hotel Clarion Liffey Valley, I took a 15 minutes’ walk to the shopping mall nearby before meeting up with the other colleagues for dinner. We had our dinner and a long chat in one of the nearby Chinese Restaurant where they serve some Malaysian and Singaporean dishes too.

I just couldn’t wait to return to my room and enjoy a relaxing hot bath before hitting the sack and getting myself ready for the meeting on the next day.


22nd March 2016 (Tuesday)

After spending a long day in the meeting room with participants from different countries and continents, we gather ourselves once more for a group dinner in town at 7.30pm. We visited the famous bar - The Auld Dubliner for some beers and this is indeed the finest pint of Guinness ever! We had our dinner at the Elephant & Castle Restaurant trying out their famous chicken wings before we splited ourselves into 2 groups where one group continues with the drinking sessions and another group heading straight back to the hotel (so which group do you think I am in? Lol…)


23rd March 2016 (Wednesday)

After bidding farewell to all the other colleagues once we’ve ended the full-day's workshop, Ms Liu and I continued our own exciting journey in Ireland. Both of us stayed in different locations and my Airbnb room was surprisingly a value for money. At the price of £166.00, I get to stay in a cosy and comfortable double room for four nights. Not being in the best of my health condition (suffering from sore throat, fever and flu), I simply grabbed some pancakes and muffins from Tesco Express and jump straight into bed praying that I will feel better on the next morning.


24th March 2016 (Thursday)

As expected, my illness is getting worse but I still have to drag my feet 2.3km to the meeting point at 7.30am. Our first stop was to visit the famous and magnificent Cliffs of Moher. The winds were extremely strong and chilly giving us a hard time walking around in the open space. There were no fences or barriers built around the cliffs and out of curiosity, I even searched on the web interested to find out how many cases of accidents were reported in the past years but surprisingly there was almost none!

Next, we make a short visit to The Burren National Park where we walked on the cracked pavement of glacial-era limestone and took some photos before heading to the Galway City. We were given some free time to walk around the Galway City and have our dinner. Being an absolute seafood lover, there is no way for me to resist the idea of having fresh oysters served on the table. While strolling along the high streets, I am so in love with all the eye-catching and adorable souvenirs relating to sheep!


25th March 2016 (Friday)

The journey today took us around 3 hours to arrive at Belfast, and this city looks and feels exactly like any other part of the United Kingdom. The iconic walk in County Antrim - Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge cost us £5.00 each where we get to cross over to the island using the 8 years old rope bridge. The queue was very long and I am quite disappointed with the experience thinking that it would be very adventurous initially. Since we were only given a very limited time before we must return to the coach, both of us were only able to cross the bridge and immediately join into the queue again to return to the main land. A short walk along the coastal footpath is almost killing me with my flu and fever.

The only UNESCO World Heritage Site in Northern Ireland - the Giant’s Causeway is definitely worth a visit. We have to watch our steps carefully on the interlocking basalt columns trying our best not to fall into the water. However the winds were extremely strong and I was literally being blown off my feet, losses balance and fell onto the rock twice. Even the coastal guards were “stuck” onto the wall of limestone struggling to stand against the gales. Being sluggish to return to the visitor centre by foot, we paid €1.00 for a short ride and saving our energy for the next stop. For those fans of the series “Game of Throne”, the last stop at the Dark Hedges will be the perfect ending to the tour (but to me it was just a normal tree tunnel? Hmmp...)

26th March 2016 (Saturday)
 

Since Ms Liu will be departing from Ireland and back to China today, hence I was left alone for this Ring of Kerry tour despite my very ill health. I’ve tried contacting the tour agency but the refund of £85.81 was not possible hence I still have to go on with the excursion. It was unfortunate that the rain wouldn’t stop throughout the journey and we were hiding from the downpour most of the time (and it was even hailing at some point). I enjoyed so much the choice of my lunch having the seafood soup and seafood salad despite that these were rather expensive at €23.00. Being the slowest eater of all time, the limited meal hours posted a great challenge for me because I have to stuff everything into my mouth and swallows them down the throat in haste. This Ring of Kerry tour with train and coach cost me almost double the price as compared to the other tours but it appears to be less convenient and time consuming after all.

27th March 2016 (Sunday)

This is the day Ireland celebrated their 100 years of independent and the roads in Dublin were shut-down completely for the parade. I have therefore experienced a hard time booking a taxi online and getting to the Airport but fortunately I could still make it on time.

There are quite some additional expenses added to this trip such as the cost of the taxi for a few days since I am not able to walk in the cold weather at night. I even break the record of consuming more than 15 paracetamol doses within 3 days trying to cure myself from the virus (knowing that I have not even taken 1 pill in the past few years). Nevertheless, I am so much in love with the sheep and would love to return again to Ireland for a road trip with the opportunity to touch and cuddle them! I do appreciate the companionship of this sweet colleague of mine throughout the journey and yes, I do love this peaceful land of the leprechauns.

Austria (Vienna) - February 2016

1st February 2016 - Monday 

My first overseas trip this year was none other than attending one of those business boosters meeting held in Vienna. I was trapped in front of my computer and on my phone before departing to the airport trying to complete as much work as I could knowing that the time will be limited once I arrived in Austria. The app’s notification concerning my flight delay worries me a little but luckily it wasn’t a long waiting interval where I get to arrive in Vienna at 5.30pm. 

The 3 Days Vienna Pass which I purchased in advance at €101.00 is to be collected at the airport nonetheless the instruction wasn’t clear and I wasted almost 20 minutes waiting at the customer service counter before being directed to the correct kiosk. 

The 4-stars Hotel Park Royal Palace Vienna was a good selection offering comfy room, luxury design and tasty food. My first dinner was undoubtedly the prominent Wiener Schnitzel (a very thin, breaded and pan fried cutlet made from veal) and I almost couldn’t believe that I’m capable of devouring everything served on the table. 

 

2nd February 2016 - Tuesday 

Congregating business users around the world, it is my pleasure to be invited to this meeting and getting to meet many people from other branches. It is as well my honour to be invited to give a short presentation and it’s been a while since I last presented formally to a large audience (excluding the routine trainings conducted for an approximate 10+ attendees). 

Other than the conference, the dinner was another great opportunity of gathering together exchanging all types of information. There was an unexpected prize giving ceremony and once again, I was awarded the first price but this time is for raising the most work tickets to the helpdesk in year 2015 (Opps..). After the dinner, 6 of us packed ourselves into one car and started our night visit to the town for some fresh air and exploration. We joked and we laughed all the way as few of us have completed our part of the presentation during the day and we are absolutely in the spirit of liberty. We spent at least an hour in Café Landtmann chit-chatting and by the time we returned to the hotel, it is nearly 12.30am keeping in mind that the meeting on the next morning is scheduled at 9.00am. 

3rd February 2016 - Wednesday 

No doubt that conference is deemed the most fattening event and usually this is how it goes [Breakfast - Seminar - Coffee Break - Seminar - Lunch - Seminar - Tea Break - Seminar - Dinner - Drinks]. After spending the long day in the conference room, 4 of us sneaked out once again to the town for a stroll before dinner. 

As I was not involved in the next day’s topic, I left Hotel Park Royal Palace and begin my solo adventure. A 1.6km walk took me to my next lodging place - Hotel Ekazent and as soon as the check-in is completed, I explore around the area looking for my dinner. I was lucky to discover this Japanese restaurant nearby and ordered a set of mix-sushi for take way since I was rather exhausted due to the late night outing the night before and I just can’t wait to return to the hotel for a good night rest. I’ve booked a double room because the promotional price was rather comparable to the price of a single room, but to my surprise, the room comes with 3 beds, a large sofa area and a changing room. Though it wasn’t new and modern, but I did enjoyed my 2 nights stay occupying the big room all by myself. 

4th February 2016 - Thursday 

The oldest zoo in the world - Tiergarten Schönbrunn is definitely worth visiting and finally I get to see the lovely Pandas!!! (But wait a second! Why is it in Vienna instead of China? Hmmp…) I have been going round the zoo but still returning to the same spot a few times just being reluctant to miss any chance of seeing the pandas. I guess the zoo keepers are keeping close eyes on me thinking that I am intending to kidnap those adorable bears…Lol 

Checking on the weather report assuming that it will be a warm sunny day, I went out with only a layer of jacket and very soon to learnt the lesson not to underestimate the winter in Europe. The weather was unexpectedly cold due to the strong wind and I was shivering under the sun. Having no other options, I turned to the entrance officer requesting to return to the zoo after getting my gloves and additional jumper since the Vienna Card is only valid for a single entry, and the officer is kind enough to approve my return. 

After spending 5.5 hours in the zoo, I paid the €5.00 to enter the Palmenhaus Schönbrunn for a tropical garden sensation. Guess I have had enough of palaces experience recently; I do not have much interest to enter the Schönbrunn Palace but just wandering in the incredibly wide garden. 

 

My previous travels often go with simple foodstuffs; however this time I decided to pamper myself with decent meals. I discovered this Restaurant Odysseus while on my way to Hotel Ekazent, and the word “Greek Cuisine” immediately caught my attention hence I decided to give it a try without realizing that this is actually one of the highly recommended restaurants in Vienna. Witnessing the crowd in this restaurant, one could easily tell how good it is whereby the ambience is brilliant and the food is excellent. To my surprise, a glass of rose wine and a plate of mix grill only cost me €17.70 which is way cheaper than I’ve thought. 

5th February 2016 - Friday 

Waking up realizing the rain outside the window, I immediately return to the bed and enjoy more dawdling moment before washing-up and get ready to move to the central of Vienna. The metro service to the town was pretty convenient and easy, it is almost similar to the London Underground where all route are clearly displayed. 

Hotel Pension Neuer Markt is located right in the heart of Vienna with just a few steps away from the well-known St. Stephen Cathedral. Even though the room wasn’t spacious, but it was clean, comfortable and exquisitely decorated. I was lucky to have my room ready at 10.30am despite the official check-in hour at 2.00pm. 

To me, Albertina is a must visit gallery because in there I found many near perfect paintings and masterpieces. In fact it was the artwork of Pablo Picasso that attracts me the most initially during the draft my itinerary even though I am not so much into art nor could I understand his magnum opus. Unlike any other museums, the only downside is that there is no coffee bar and I am almost starving to death at 1pm without having my breakfast but I will not be allowed to re-enter the museum with my pass if I decides to have my brunch at the café just a few steps away from the entrance in the same building. 

 

Having done some research prior to the trip, I make it a target to try some of the local specialties, and here I go with Apfelstrudel + Original Sachertorte + Schokolade Likör at Hotel Sacher. Nonetheless this combination doesn’t work the best because the sweetness in them is somehow overwhelming. 

Almost every famous touristic destination is conveniently reachable on foot. Although the Kaisergruft (Imperial Crypt) did cost me an additional €5.00 for the entrance, but it did not disappoint me as I was absolutely amazed by the metal sarcophagi and I could never imagine a coffin could be built in such an outstanding and extraordinary way.

 

Once again without having much interest in the Hofburg Palace, I turned immediately to the Schatzkammer (Imperial Treasury) to admire the valuable collection of treasures in the European history. The life-sized mosaic copy of Leonardo da Vinci's “The Last Supper” draws me to the Minoritenkirche (Minorite Church) even though this was not one of the top touristic spot.

 

In this city of Music and Art, you couldn’t miss the chance stopping-over at the Mozarthaus (Mozart House) and the Haus der Musik (House of Music). I might even consider returning to this city once more to sit in for a musical concert. 

The dusk came as early at 5.00pm due to the winter and most of the attractions were closed earlier than usual hence I took a leisure walk down the street looking for my dinner. There was a band of street performers with their instruments cheering the crowd with wonderful music on that Friday night. McDonald is definitely the best choice for filling an empty stomach of a drained body. The take-away meal allows me to enjoy my night in the hotel room and taking an early shower before hitting the sack. 

6th February 2016 - Saturday 

Even though there’s nothing too impressive on the breakfast counter, but the provision was sufficient for me to start my day. The best way of experiencing a city is none other than visiting their local markets. The Naschmarkt and Flohmarkt (flea market) was surprisingly big and crowded with all sort of items displayed - both organized and unorganized. I was at first concerned that the prices they would offer to a foreigner like myself would be unreasonable or ridiculously expensive, but my suspicious turned out to be false because the sellers were fair and some even have the price properly displayed. And here is where I accidentally broke a small glass souvenir for the first time, but was being consoled thereafter with the saying that this brings some good luck in return (with the €4.00 compensation… what a sotong)

  

I was attracted to the Time Travel Vienna after reading some good reviews on the Time Ride 5D Cinema experience, nonetheless it turns out to be below expectation. It is probably a great place for the kids to learn about the history of the city but might not fascinate adults very much. 

Trying to look for something special, I walked 2.4km to the Hundertwasserhaus (Hundertwasser House) and the Kunsthauswien (Art House Vienna) but unfortunately the limited hours hinder me from entering the museum as I will need to be at the airport by 4.30pm. The non-stop City Airport Train (CAT) service from Wien Mittie Station to the Vienna airport only takes 16 minutes at €12.00 and this marks the end of my trip. 

 

All I have to say is - I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH THIS CITY OF VIENNA! The surrounding is clean, the township is safe, the atmosphere is relaxing and most of the people are polite and helpful. I will absolutely recommend this place for solo travellers or someone looking for a short romantic getaway.

Year End Review - 2015

It is again that time of the year to wrap up all sentiments to conclude, to count the blessings, to review the bucket list and to plan the next step.

Blissful Moments
- Visited numerous overseas places (Brussels, Bruges, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Vatican City, San Marino, Phuket, Copenhagen and Siem Reap).
- Visited several local cities in the UK (Oxford, Bath, Salisbury and Manchester).
- Getting to know a few great friends who are always there to cheer my days.
- Surprises received during Chinese New Year, Valentine’s Day and on my Birthday.
- My pleasure to attend 2 wedding dinners in Malaysia.
- Watched 2 Musical shows at the London Theatre: Wicked and the Phantom of the Opera.
- Have had some good meals in London.
- Thanks to my colleague’s invitation for me to experience a western wedding banquet.

Achievements
- Accomplishing my goal of back-packing alone + trying the backpackers' style of staying in shared dome.
- Taken a step forward to start a small business in Penang with friends (https://www.facebook.com/housedemente)
- Received compliments from bosses and colleagues on the great job that I’ve done.
- Visited San Marino - my dreamed destination (and I should start making other destinations my dream now and plan to achieve them in the coming days).

Things Not Accomplished
- Have been lazy and failed on my workout plans (wondering when I could achieve my six-packs? Hmmp…)
- Not much of a progress as in personal development through readings.
- Had not lived my life to the fullest.
- Feel sorry to have missed and turned down some wedding invites.

Lessons Learned
- Most people will only look at what I have accomplished without giving any credit to the efforts and hardships behind the scenes.
- Not every creature in the name of human understands the art of gratitude, appreciation, consideration and responsibility hence do not expect these values from those deficient souls.
- Identifying and categorizing passer-by, friends, real friends and fake friends in my life.

Challenges
- The less preferred work destination - Keighley and Bristol has always been a nightmare for me. The far North city of Keighley is cold and remote; while the far West city of Bristol is inaccessible and often caused me hours of waiting for the public transportation to get home.
- To have survived another year in UK despite:

• Living with sandwiches (Other than sandwiches are still sandwiches...)
• Enduring an absolutely annoying housemate who is always on the phone loudly and inconsiderately.
• Tolerating the untidy people who always mess up the kitchen no matter how many times I have cleaned it.
• Dealing with colleagues who often cause me high-blood pressure and stroke.
• Traveling on public transportation with various inconveniences.

Year 2016

2016 will be a challenging year ahead with manifold turbulences to overcome and it is as well the time to refill and replenish what has been depleted overtime as the cycle of life reruns. Every decision is a challenge, and every move is a risk. Most aspects in life have been trying to bring me down repeatedly hence I will need to pick up the broken pieces and strive to move on.

Having failed the previous resolutions, maybe I should make myself a simple one this time - just to be easy going and be happier in 2016. Cheers~  :)

Cambodia (Siem Reap) - December 2015

Awarded as one of the Ten Man-Made Wonders of the World, Angkor Wat has always been listed in my must-visit target. After years of hunting for traveling mates and matching on time, I could finally check this destination off my list.

Setting off early in the morning at 4.30am, we were shocked by the crowd in KLIA 2 flooding all check-in counters and the queue took us long before we could dash to McDonalds to pack our breakfast and begin our journey to the land of the ancient temples.

*Note: This post is purely on personal experiences hence any further interests in the history of Siem Reap please refer to other online resources.

10th December 2015 - Thursday

Touching down at the Siem Reap International Airport at 7.50am (GMT+7), we were welcomed by the courteous and pretty hotel staff who was already waiting at the arrival hall. It took us approximately 30 minutes to arrive at the Khmer Mansion Boutique Hotel and the complimentary welcome drink (fruit punch) and chocolate were served once we step into the lobby. Since the official check-in hour is at 2.00pm, we therefore relaxed ourselves at the foyer while waiting for the tour representative to pick us up. Our tour guide - Mr.Sarak met us at the hotel lobby on time and here we go kicking start our 4 days 3 nights vacation.

The first destination in the itinerary was to visit Tonle Sap - the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. The 2 hours boat ride (USD$15 each) carried us through the river alongside fishing villages and towards the border of the lake. I miss the sun so much and had enjoyed catching some rays despite the fact that I am afraid of getting tanned! While returning to the port, the four of us have been taking turn falling asleep (and snap shooting unsightly photographs of each other) as we haven’t had enough rest at all the night before. The villages we passes-by were literally a simple and happier world without the trace of technology. The kids were running around and about barefooted and enjoying the nature happily despite the poverty they’re living in. This again reminded us of how fortunate we are holding the power of choices in most events of our day to day living.

We get the chance to try the Bamboo Rice and as well being offered the local drink – the smoky herbal tea which we find it absolutely difficult down the throat. We took our lunch in one of the local restaurant along the way and the food was surprisingly tasty but with the downside of having the dust sprinkled all over our dishes since we were sitting close to the street.

The hidden gem in the jungle - Beng Melea (Entrance Fee: USD$5.00) is a ruined temple built by king Suryavarman II during early 12th century by primary deity to Vishnu with architecture of Angkor Wat. Today, the ruin was left to be reclaimed by nature and it is not restored. 

Returning to the Khmer Mansion Boutique Hotel after a long day, we recognized that the staffs were extremely welcoming and we were being well-served during our stay. They even planned a birthday surprise by having all the staffs knocking on the door with a small colourful cake and singing the birthday song to our star of the day - Ms. J.O. junior.

Before calling it a day, we decided to go for full body and foot massage but disappointingly the service wasn’t good as we waited for almost 25 minutes despite being informed a waiting time of 5 minutes, and the surrounding wasn’t clean and hygiene.

11th December 2015 - Friday

Mr. Sarak wasn’t available on this second day hence we were being assigned another tour guide – Mr. Thom (Name: Buo Sophea (Thom) / Language: English / Tel: (855) 9297535) for the next 2 days. We were absolutely satisfy with his service because he was experienced enough to get us off the common tracks and towards the less crowded ways at the right time to observe the city and he told good stories and exciting history with his fluent English along the way.

The 3 days permit - the Angkor Pass at USD$40.00 is definitely worth obtaining as you behold the wonders of this ancient city. There were checkpoints at every entrance of the historical sites hence it is important to safe keep this pass for the frequent validation. Strict dress code is applied in Angkor Wat should you be interested to climb the third level of the tower. We queued for almost 45 minutes and here we encountered the ill-mannered westerner’s couple who tries to jump the queue and pushing others impolitely. But luckily there were nice Japanese and Chinese tourists who worked together getting rid of these uncivilized people back into the queue (what a shame).

The famous Tomb Raider and Indiana Jones temple- Ta Prohm was a site largely conquered by the great trees of the jungle. Constructed on the late 12th and early 13th centuries, Ta Prohm was a Buddhist temple dedicated to the mother of King Jayavarman VII.

Built by King Jayavarman VII at the end of the 12th century, the Terraces for Elephants that stretches out over a length of more than 300 meters were used as an audience hall and for public ceremonies.

Prasat Bayon is a well-known and richly decorated Khmer temple which is built in the late 12th or early 13th century as the official state temple of the Mahayana Buddhist King Jayavarman VII.

After taking a short break in the hotel, a tuk-tuk was arranged for us to have our buffet dinner at the Amazon Angkor Restaurant enjoying the traditional dance performance whereby this place is seemingly built for the tourists. The choices of foods were quite satisfying and some of the dishes were excellent.

We took a walk along the pub street and sat down for a drink and here comes the drama of a lizard, a cat, a cockroach and a terrified human being. (For more information, please contact one of the participant...lol)

12th December 2015 – Saturday

With the advice from Mr. Thom, we departed from the hotel early at 6.45am to visit Banteay Srei trying to avoid the crowd. This is a 10th-century miniature Cambodian temple dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva built largely of red sandstone with decorative wall carvings. While leaving the temple at 8.30am, we could see batches of tourists and tour buses flooding into the area and we were glad to have arrived before the troop. 

Preah Khan is built as a monastery and a center for learning by King Jayavarman VII.

Due to the constantly high weather temperature and heat, our energy was drained rapidly to the extent that we were too exhausted to hold up our camera or phone for photography. 

Neak Pean is a unique feature of an artificial island with a Buddhist temple on a circular island in Preah Khan Baray built during the reign of King Jayavarman VII. The central pond is a replica of Lake Anavatapta in the Himalayas, situated at the top of the universe.

Last but not least, Pre Rup consists of a pyramid-shaped temple-mountain with the uppermost of the three tiers carrying five lotus towers. Pre Rup means ‘Turning the Body’ and refers to a traditional method of cremation in which a corpse’s outline is traced in the cinders: this suggests that the temple may have served as an early royal crematorium. Coming closer to an end of the trip, we dragged ourselves to the top of the terrace to have the final view of the wonderful architectures. 

After a simple lunch, we returned to the hotel for a shower to feel our skin on us once again. While gathering together and surfing online for dinner suggestion, we desired to try-out the award winning Damnak Lounge Fine Dining which is highly rated and recommended in the web but unfortunately this famous dining place was fully booked hence we opted for another well-known Khmer restaurant - Marum for a feast. On the menu, our eyes were captured by few of the exotic dishes featuring Red Tree Ants, Creamy Silk Worms and Duck Embryo but none of us have the courage or appetite to take on this challenge.

Never would I forget the ice-cream even when I am in a foreign land. Other than enjoying the fruit ice-cream sticks on the second night, we as well try-out the Blue Pumpkin dessert (4 spices, Khmer Fruit and I fail to remember the 3rd one!)

While strolling along the streets, we passed by the Fish Spa and were being offered an attractive package at USD$1 to enjoy the unlimited experience! Overcoming the tickling discomfort, I enjoyed very much my time with the fishes (but just hoping that they will still survive afterwards…)



13th December 2015 - Sunday

Crawling up early once again, we had our breakfast at 6.00am before departing to the airport. Cheers to the wonderful traveling mates making this trip a success and enjoyable + memorable one.

Some tips and advices:

• Never consider Cambodia as an inexpensive travelling destination.
• Be ready with small notes because almost everything and everywhere requires a minimum tips of USD$1.
• Most of the restaurants and massage centers comes with free wifi, hence it might not be necessary to purchase a local sim package unless if you are an extreme netizen. (The sim data package we bought at $5.00 for 5.5GB at the airport lasted only for one day and we felt cheated as we’ve seen the package promoting a 30 days validity period during the purchase)
• Do not expect anything luxury there as their highly rated 5 stars might turn out to be slighter than what you might have imagined.
• Think twice before you accept the task of becoming the treasurer in a group as it is not fun having the kids running after you during when you pulled out your wallet or purse to make any form of payment.
• Get yourself some salt & lemon candy as it helps you through the scorching days :)

Wonders of the World

Taking them into my bucket list... :)

Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
1. Pyramids of Egypt
2. Colossus of Rhodes
3. Hanging Gardens of Babylon
4. Mauseoleum at Halicanassus
5. Pharos Lighthouse of Alexandria
6. Statue of Zeus at Olympia
7. Temple of Artemis at Ephesus

Seven Wonders of the Natural World
1. Mount Everest
2. Victoria Falls
3. Grand Canyon
4. Great Barrier Reef
5. Prehistoric Caves in France and Spain
6. Paricutin Volcano, Mexico
7. Harbor at Rio de Janeiro

Seven Wonders of the Medieval World
1. Colosseum of Rome
2. Catacombs of Alexandria
3. Great Wall of China
4. Stonehenge
5. Leaning Tower of Pisa
6. Porcelain Tower of Nanking
7. Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (sometimes called the Church of Saint Sophia)

Seven Wonders of the Modern World
1. Eiffel Tower
2. Empire State Building
3. Suez Canal
4. Golden Gate Bridge
5. Dneproges Dam on the Dnepr River in Russia
6. Atomic Energy Research Establishment at Harwell, England
7. Alaska (Alcan) Highway

Ultimate Ten Man-Made Wonders of the World
1. Great Wall of China
2. Pyramids
3. Angkor Wat
4. Panama Canal
5. Sydney Opera House
6. Taj Mahal
7. Mount Rushmore
8. Trans-Siberian Railroad
9. Machu Picchu
10. Golden Gate Bridge

Nowhere I Belong

Years after years, I have tried and I have strived, but still I’m yet to be any closer to the coast of my simplest dream.

Simplicity is never simple and sometimes it is not even a choice.

There’s no room for perfect decision in this imperfect world.

A Long Way For A Long Day

A 2.5 hours journey to Bristol isn’t far but having the office located distant from town, the inconveniences are sometimes worse than the distance itself.

After a long 7 hours’ workshop for the new project launching, I thought I could finally be on my way home. However the taxi did not turn up at 5.15pm as booked hence I’ve got to make another reservation. There was no direct taxi service in this remote zone and therefore the booking has to be done through a company in another town whereby the next available service was 1.5 hours away and I ended up waiting in the cold while shivering in hunger. I have even decided for the worst case that if the next taxi did not turn up eventually, I would rather walk that 8.3km than to linger around the business buldings area, but thankfully the taxi arrived on time.

Reaching at the Bristol Temple Mead station and grabbing a pack of Chicken Wrap in haste, I board on the South West train towards Reading. As beers are sold openly and legally in the train, this resulted in 2 drunken kids nearby my seat who were shouting and laughing inconsiderately and have been walking to and fro many times in the coaches trying to get more beers from the counter.

Finally surviving the boisterous moments, I thought the next service in Reading will be a smoother one. After passing the Ascot station where I am in a pleasant mood getting closer to home, we heard a sudden long honk signal and followed by a loud “bang”. Instantly almost everyone could guess what has happened but this was further confirmed after witnessing the depressed expression of the guard returning from the control room – it is confirmed that the train has hit someone. Sitting in the first coach of the train, we could clearly hear the sound when that person was knocked down.

We were stuck on the same spot for 2 hours waiting for the police and medical personnel to arrive because we were unfortunate to be on that part of the railway surrounded by bushes while heading to Sunningdale. Having notice many times these incidences, but never did I expect to experience this by myself. Everyone in the coach waited patiently for the instruction and looks like this happens really often as no one is over-surprised or over-reacting to the situation. While waiting in the train, I was eavesdropping on the sharing of some spooky experiences by two passengers sitting in front of me. Listening to the European version vs the Asian version of ghost stories is truly a different feeling and this could probably be ascribed to the movies production which has successfully embedded the stereotype in our mind.

Finally, it was decided that the train has to travel back to the Ascot station and many police officers were already waiting at the exit. Some of them were distributing mineral waters to all the passengers and the Railway Coordinator is arranging shared taxi services to bring each and every one of us to our possible destination.

11th November 2015 was indeed a long day where I started my journey at 5.30am boarding on the first train service but only managed to get home after 12.30am. The next day is as well a tough one having a meeting starting at 9.00am…zzzzz

Another Birthday to Remember - 2015

I’m so blessed to be surrounded by a bunch of wonderful people who tried their best to cheer me up on my Birthday:

1. Thanks for the bouquet of beautiful Carnations delivered to my doorstep!
2. Thanks for the card and the surprising photo booklet all the way from US!
3. Thanks to the one who called and sang me a birthday song!
4. Thanks for the Mooncakes, Icelandic Chocolate Souvenir and Spicy Steamboat Dinner Treat!
5. Thanks for the pending decorative gift in Malaysia!
6. Thanks for all the birthday wishes through WhatsApp and Facebook!
7. Thanks for the card flying 9000 miles from Malaysia!

For the birthday weekend, I pampered myself with a lunch treat in the Four Season Chinese Restaurant and the luxury gift to watch the famous Phantom of the Opera Musical in Her Majesty's Theatre even though I’m enjoying these alone. Appreciatively a friend was there to join the second half of the day trying out the Indian cuisine together and participating in the spooky night walk – the Jack the Ripper Tour. I visited London once more on the next day and had spent the second afternoon shopping and strolling in the Wellcome Collection Museum. This birthday was wonderfully spent knowing that I am not alone here as there are so many people who do actually care. ^^