Almost missed Narita cos of suspect food poisoning. Was still in a huge dilemma even 2 hours b4 reporting whether to go and see a doc. But in the end i went to work.

The driving force? Not wanting to jeopardise my probation anymore. Haiz...

Thank god, it wasn't that serious, except that it's uncomfortable to work with this washing-machine effect in your stomach. =/

What's worse, i caught a cold again!!!! Hate the dusty cabin air.

Despite the cold, decided to join Jo to chiong to Shinjuku, instead of staying in Narita, what even the japanese crew call it a 'kampong' LOL...
Once again, i give anything to sight see, what's more when there are people who knows the way around. =9

The market street @ Ueno. My dad would have love this place for all the seafood, esp that big crab hehehe...


Hit Harajuku and Shinjuku, yet i did not take much pictures! *slap my forehead*

Partly becos Jo has so much agenda and was rushing from 1 place to another, doing his shopping, i didn't have much freedom to do so... And partly, i guess being unwell just kills half the enthusiasm. *Haiz*

So don't expect much.

And if not for Jo, i didn't know men can be such shoppaholics!!! *Gasps* As if it's anything new, just that those i know aint those types?? =)

And the reason why Jo's so onz to travel all the way to Tokyo city?
Bathing Ape and Nintendo Df.

This guy's mad about the Japanese DJ-turn-designer NiGo's brand: Bathing Ape. And he literally brought me to check out all the BAPE outlets at Harajuku, the fashion district.
Even the BAPE cafe below.


The dessert we had in the cafe before we hit more BAPE stores.
A lot of walking to be done >.<" cos the boutiques aren't situated in prominent places, as the designer prefers it low profile. Not anymore, cos one more person just got to know: that's me =9



APEE ~ BAPE for ladies.


Yet another BAPE boutique. I like the display of shoes on the second storey. They are only for display and not for sale... NiGo's very much a collector himself.


BAPE's funky but aint my style, plus the stuff aren't cheap at all. In fact, it's almost up-market. But it nice visiting the boutiques cos they are all so hip and trendy.

Wished i had more time to look around in Harajuku. Wanted to shop for some nice winter wear. Oh well~ Just take it as another orientation trip again =) ...

Honestly, i'm more comfortable with travelling on the trains in Japan now, cos the train system looks intimidating to me. There's like different category of trains: from the slowest one that stops at every stop, to slow, to fast, and to speed ones that only stop once or twice. Take the wrong one and land myself miles away from my destination can mean, i'll miss my flight ! Which explains why i'm damn afraid of getting lost. But thanks to Jo, roughly learn how it works now.

And till the next time i dare to venture out myself ;)

*****************
Heh~ My first french twist.
It's ugly i know haha... Need to practise more =9

Learn from a senior girl onboard from NRT-BKK, cos the load was sooo light we had loads of time. She took out her french twist to re-tie it and that's the first time i ever see anyone do it. Visualization is the best way to learn =)
Even Jo was teaching me cos he watches his gf do it all the time
LOL...

Something funny... An Irish flat screen TV



Poor Neighbour *ROFL*

************

Virgin Narita tonight. Yeah ~

So excited !! But moving around and getting back to the hotel safely in Japan is quite a challenge to me...

Can't wait to hit the 100 Yens and pharmacies. =9

Though the Japan craze is long over, i'm still very much in love with their films.

Perhaps it was due to Yiwen's influence back in TJ whereby we will discuss at length about Japanese productions, or we're just simply 2 of a kind who adores them, that spark off my interest ever since.

Unlike the Korean films, the choice of background music/music is often those soft and soothing type, their themes less heart-wrenching and rather slow paced. To others, the slowpace-ness bores them out; yet to me, every detail and every move seemed to have an intricate meaning. Besides that, I like the fact that the directors bring out the realistic side of life- that life can be that mono-tone at times and prince falling for the commoner girl are just way too dramatic. The stage should also belong to the ordinary people, this way, it feels closer to the heart.

I just love the way they enlarge the simple things in life and make it meaningful. =)

Am munching on Knoppers and Hanutas now b4 i crash soon... My so-called dinner. Nowadays i dunno what's breakfast, lunch or dinner when i go to work. Just eat whenever there's a chance at all to keep me going...

Back from a full load up & down HKG turn.
~SHAG~

Unlike the last chaotic BKK turn i did last week, this one is so disorganized... I guess with 7 people in the galley, it takes a while for the chemistry to flow in... Haiz... Forget about it, hope the next one will be better.


Despite being so worn out, excitement for the release of the new Dec/Jan roster was the only reason why i still drag myself to control...

When i saw DXB, i was apprehensive cos all i remember was being wheeled out and having funny paxs wave me goodbye in the holding room. LOL ...

Then i scroll further down and i saw DME...

Agape, I turned and asked Sil next to me, as if for confirmation, if it's Moscow?!?!?!


Moscow in December... Bitter cold in winter... >.<"

That's not it. Dubai-Cairo follows about 2 weeks later!!!

Yay! Something new at last, though i am not sure if it's the best time to be in Moscow...

kk, my mind is not working liao... crash time.

The 'last' few hours with the babe b4 she leaves the next day...
Had so much Sushi Tei these few months that i think i wanna take a break from it already... =9

Had so much fun laughing off about our secondary days yet again... If we could turn back time, we both agree it will be back to the year 1996 and restart... To hear Yun lead the pledge again =9

And i forgot to check the year book for the faces i wanna remember ! Aiks~

Dessert-dinner @ Bakerinz b4 we have ta head home to pack for our respective trip...

Till the next time....

***********

Perth's short and sweet but tiring this time cos i met Ah Tam as CTS... Seems like we aint the only ones who find him weird.

His bad habit: Sneaking up to you from behind and ask you a question while you were busy with duties... LOL...

And i gave up trying to find any Crabtree & Evelyn boutique in Australia. *Buay Ta Han*
Finally found La Source in a small corner in MYER and it's not alot cheaper.... Zzzzz.... Waste my effort always walking up n down the streets of different cities looking for it, esp in a zonked state...

My La Source over looking Swan River...

Like i was telling a few others, i'm gonna miss Frankfurt =)

Top on the list,
(1) The ultra cosy Marriot room, especially the bed.


Didn't do much on the first day... Was down with flu due to the bunk again, the second time since Amsterdam... Slept till it was time to drag myself out b4 it's too late...

Yeah~ My F21 boots 'opening ceremony'.

(2) Chocolate shopping @ Penny's.
Look @ the madness...

I was just happily adding on to the pile, refusing to do any mental calculation b4 i proceed to the cashier; some was meant for Christmas pressie afterall... Until the bill came up to a WHOPPING 61 euro
>.<"

(3) The Pizza and Spaghetti crew joint.

Love the spinach, the thin-crust pizza, the spaghetti, the salad etc etc...



Though this set of crew aint the gel type, i still manage to find company for Heidelberg! =)

What's new, fellow P-plates lor... We kinda agree that seniors aren't really interested to sight see even though they've not been to the place... I guess we all have our own agenda.

Frankfurt's Hauptbahnhof. I guess Hauptbahnhof means main train station, with trains that can take you across cities?


The trip's a little ex...
After footing 34 euro for a round trip train tickets and an hour ride south, we arrived in the small town of Heidelberg.


A building that belongs to an engineering firm... The structure outside the building is actually powered to move.


There!
The oldest castle in Germany, the Heidelberg castle.

Another view with Virgin Mary statue on ground.

We didn't so happen to stumble across these places with such a good view. It was this nice, retired elderly man whom we met on the bus, showed us to these spots.

Of course we were suspicious why this man is so friendly... My vigilance level tripled... Yet we gave him the benefit of the doubt... 3 girls versus 1 old man should be okie right? LOL...

However, he made it clear to us that he's intention is not to haress us, he just love to share. Plus he is also on his way to visit a friend, who lives near the castle. Along the way, as we get to know him, we realised that he does this pretty often, volunteering as a guide to tourists, especially Asians like us, cos he can speak some handy Mandarin and Korean!

Being a retiree, he has loads of time to spare. How enriching it is to share his wealth of knowlegde of the country and do cultural exchange with people from the far east, as he has yet to travel there. I guess it is a good time for him to pick up some useful words and learn a little about the Asians before going to places like China.

Talk about being an active senior citizen =)



View of the town from the castle.








The King's wine barrel.

This one is considered small, only 4000+ litres. "only"
The big one is HUMONGOUS! 22,000 litres!!!
Didn't manage to capture it cos it was too dark.

The winding stairway to the top of the humongous wine barrel.




Some parts of the castle destroyed by the French troops in the ancient times, not by WW2. In fact, Heidelberg was untouched during WW2, according to Ernest.




This gate was a birthday present to a 19 year-old princess.
LOL... Compare the lavish gifts of the ancient and present time. What can i do with the gate??? Hmmmm....


The garden outside the castle...

Autumn is sooo beautiful...


This one is like Korea's Qiu Tien de Tong Hua.






Haha~ And that's Ernest, our guide.

He left us for his friend, after spending about 1 hour + bringing us around and sharing with us whatever he knows about the history of the place, as well as to every point he knows, will make a good photo.

Such a nice man.
Left us his address for us to post him any photos if we want to. A simple and great way to show my gratitute for him for making our trip such a worthwhile one, rather than the usual see see, look look, take pictures and leave.

Luck like this don't come everyday.

More pics of the town...






An interesting cabinet of display from a tourist gift shop. I like the one below, like a fellowship of something.


After the castle, we had to rush back to town, to collect Birkens for Mel and Aunty, and for them, H&M. Wished i had more time in Heidelberg... Train tickets are 34 euro lei !!! *Heart pain pain*

And i'm gonna miss the
(4) The crispy duck rice with bean sprouts from the village which i had for dinner.


And lastly, the
(5) Yogurt!
Darn~ I forgot to take a pic.
Eh....I'll just describe: A tub of yogurt with fresh grapes, orange and cut banana with museli toppings...
~Super niceeeeee~

That's it for my 'last' Frankfurt. Hehe =P
Till the next time... (Dad's hinting about getting 1 Birken too >.<""")

And............
A peek into my fridge.

The result of my chocolate shopping spree... =X
I think the chocolate corner is gonna be permanent... =9

Sun Burnt

Yeah~

Back for a recharge.

And i'm thankful for it, cos come one day this exotic paradise may vanish, due to the destruction from global warming.
Sobz~

However, the first experience is always the best. Didn't really enjoy myself to the max this time round. Perhaps it was the gloomy start to the day... Rained a little in the early morning....

Highlight of this trip? We saw an octopus.
O.C.T.O.P.U.S !!!!!!!!!!
It was dull red, which was a perfect camoflague, took the rest sometime to spot it, as it attached itself to a rock. It has a head that looks like a mini, heavy lopsided gunny sack bag, just like Davy Jones in Pirates Haha... With large fiery orange cat-like eyes, it definitely freak me out ! Eeeeeks!

Pity that i din have an underwater camera with me to capture such a rare sighting... Hopefully there's a next time...

And somehting new i discover this trip from the senior, to entertain ourselves.....

Hermit crabs!!! One here.

More coming...

And there! Almost like an army!!!
To think that i used to collect those shells when i was younger.... Eeeks~





More Male to come pls.... =)

Eh.... on second thought, not so fast ba... Wait til i've shed the tan... =9
Hiak....

Brisbane

Back from Brisbane-pax-back.

So shiok, the entire trip's like a holiday, no worries about not enough sleep for work on the way back.

There's a reason why I love the Hilton hotels in Australia.
Crabtree & Evelyn ! Wowwww~


The parking lot 'pay-chine'. Something new, at least to me =P


According to Pin's theory, this picture is a tradition for everyone who have visited Gold Coast, and they'll put it up on Friendster. Whereas for me, i've retired from Friendster, so i'll put it on blogger instead =P LOL...

The weather there now is perfect. Cool sea breeze coupled with sun that doesn't burn and one that won't cause us to sweat profusely. Niceeeeeeeee~


Being a non-surfer and without beach wear, Gold Coast came and went in about 10 mins. Pin and myself was standing there watching enviously at people who could soak and swim in the sea. Hiak...

Knowing it's my first time to Gold Coast, Pin volunteer to help me capture as much candid pictures for me to filter out the nicer ones =P Haa~

Anyway~ I'm still more in love with Maldives.





Check out Kev's GPRS system in his car. I wonder if any cars in SG's has this cool technology in place already.


Pin look so much like Yen now. I got a shock when i first saw her at the lobby, mistaking her for Yen.


Did some light shopping at Harbour town. This shopping place feels completely different from any i've ever experience b4. The entire place is only 1 storey, pretty huge, without being enclosed in a building and has a large carpark encircling it. Perhaps Singapore is too small to afford a place like this.


Since it's too early for dinner, they brought me to 2 places with nice scenery for photo taking....
Kangeroon point, over looking South Bank.

We reached at the right time. Sunset!





The Story Bridge.


Told them i wanted to get this Nescafe Vanilla Latte that's only available in Australia, from a supermarket, and they brought me to this posh supermart for the well-off people in the suburbs. Ceiling to floor windows... Wow~

But as expected, it's nice to look at but not much 'substances'. Didn't have what i wanted. Went to Woolsworth instead =9

Japanese Dinner.
So pic must be japanese style too =9

Here, we discovered Yen's shocking appetite, even her sister Pin didn't know! =P
Yum Yum! The food is goooooooood~



Australia has never been more fun, with trusted, good old company. Thanks Pin, Kev and also Yen (though you're not there) for your hospitality and for everything. =)
It means alot to me.

Love you guys =)