Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Switzerland - The mountains ....simply astounding
So a day after i came back from Holland, my friend from Thailand asked me to pack up and prepare to leave for Switzerland the next day. I was like....huh...okie i just got back u know, we were talking abt making a trip down to die Schweiz aber i didnt take it seriously. So what the heck....the next morning we were on the train with NOTHING PLANNED AT ALL. We make a stopover in Zürich first cos Air has not seen the city. Another American dude was with us but he did not join us for Luzern. I was quite bored in Zurich but Luzern is realli a pretty city to visit. Lift up our spirits cos the weather wasn't very good. And so we ask the tourist info for a hostel and *thanx the supreme being up there* we manage to get a room. And suprise surprise the view was extremely good and we got a triple for the price of a dorm. HAHAHA. I love surprises.... we walked and walked taking in the sights of Luzern like the Dying Lion, the Alt Stadt is very interesting with the buildings with colourful paintings. The only bad thing was the rain but luckily the next morning the sun was up. I bought a Swiss knife for my Dad, and apparently outside of Switzerland they sell only typical Red SwissKnives, only in Switzerland they sell other colours so i got a black one for my Dad.
We went down to Interlaken cos i like mountains and nature. And i did not make a wrong decision, cos the train ride from Luzern to Interlaken was alreadi worth the trip. Panoramic views of Lake Thun and Lake Brienx and the awe inspiring mountains surrounding as the train makes it way to Interlaken. We gasped at the scenery while eating the bread we stole from the hostle in the morning cos we are too poor to buy Sandwiches. Everything is expensive in Switzerland.
We were lucky to get a hostle again (pls do not try this in summer, cos hostels will be packed) by knocking on doors. And to our HORROR, the trip to Jung Frau costs 178 francs.... We do not have much money left honestly, so we read the Interlaken guide and decide to go hiking from Mürren and to Grimmelwald.
I love to backpack cos u simply do not know what to expect... and the hike was such a lovelz surprise for me. We took a rackßrailway to Grütschalp (old traditional Swiss trains) and hike to Mürren. The hike itself is worth a thousand pics (i took a hundred pics i think). As we walked, on our left are the ridges of mountains including the Jung Frau, Eiger and Monch ( the 3 highest peaks). The mountains felt so close to you that you can almost touched it. Though it is spring there are still patches of snow everywhere, and i laughed that i spent only 40 francs, and i could play with snow, see Jung frau and such beautiful scenery.
Then we went down to Grimmenwald, a lovely village at the slope of the valley. I have seen valleys in Australia, China, but this is the loviest valley i have ever seen. Hard to describe....Deep gorge, green pastures and huge slabs of mountains.
As we are down on finance we have to end our trip after 3 days. But i realli enjoyed such spontaneous travelling. For longer trips planning is a must but the point of backpacking is not only to travel cheap but also attempting paths that are not so popular. Popular spots and routes may be pretty but they are also pricey and touristy.
Air was a first time backpacker so she is very blur and her sense of direction is worse than me. But she was great fun and i realli enjoyed her company. And i influence her to attempt backpacking the next time. HAHAHAa. BACKPACKING & LONELY PLANET RULES !!!!!
We went down to Interlaken cos i like mountains and nature. And i did not make a wrong decision, cos the train ride from Luzern to Interlaken was alreadi worth the trip. Panoramic views of Lake Thun and Lake Brienx and the awe inspiring mountains surrounding as the train makes it way to Interlaken. We gasped at the scenery while eating the bread we stole from the hostle in the morning cos we are too poor to buy Sandwiches. Everything is expensive in Switzerland.
We were lucky to get a hostle again (pls do not try this in summer, cos hostels will be packed) by knocking on doors. And to our HORROR, the trip to Jung Frau costs 178 francs.... We do not have much money left honestly, so we read the Interlaken guide and decide to go hiking from Mürren and to Grimmelwald.
I love to backpack cos u simply do not know what to expect... and the hike was such a lovelz surprise for me. We took a rackßrailway to Grütschalp (old traditional Swiss trains) and hike to Mürren. The hike itself is worth a thousand pics (i took a hundred pics i think). As we walked, on our left are the ridges of mountains including the Jung Frau, Eiger and Monch ( the 3 highest peaks). The mountains felt so close to you that you can almost touched it. Though it is spring there are still patches of snow everywhere, and i laughed that i spent only 40 francs, and i could play with snow, see Jung frau and such beautiful scenery.
Then we went down to Grimmenwald, a lovely village at the slope of the valley. I have seen valleys in Australia, China, but this is the loviest valley i have ever seen. Hard to describe....Deep gorge, green pastures and huge slabs of mountains.
As we are down on finance we have to end our trip after 3 days. But i realli enjoyed such spontaneous travelling. For longer trips planning is a must but the point of backpacking is not only to travel cheap but also attempting paths that are not so popular. Popular spots and routes may be pretty but they are also pricey and touristy.
Air was a first time backpacker so she is very blur and her sense of direction is worse than me. But she was great fun and i realli enjoyed her company. And i influence her to attempt backpacking the next time. HAHAHAa. BACKPACKING & LONELY PLANET RULES !!!!!
Monday, May 09, 2005
Sunday, May 08, 2005
HOLLAND - Where the sky and the earth meets
I haven't got the time to write abt my Holland trip as i travelled to Switzerland one day after my trip to Holland. So now i have a lot of updating to do. I haven done justice to Holland as the pics i have taken have not shown the true beauty of the country.
Firstly i have to say million thanx to Wei Liat who has been extremely kind to host me in his very cosy room (got tv !!!!!), and showing me around despite his busy schedule (ie trying to get inspiration for his docorate thesis.....)
The first thing that struck me abt Holland the moment the train enters was the flatness of the land. I could really see miles of pastures without any mountains obstructing the view(Switzerland is the entire opposite). Then i saw rows and rows of tulips, different colours lining up neatly as the train zooms past.
I stayed at Delft where the Dutch painter (Vermeer - Girl with the pearl ear ring) stayed. From there we made day trips to tulip garden (i still have many pics on the lovely flowers) on Saturday. In the evening we went to Amsterdam as 30 April is the Queen's Day (also my mummy's bday !!!). Okie so basically Queen's Day is when the entire Holland celebrates and party LONG LIVE THE QUEEN !!!!! There were tons of pple in Amsterdam and many are wearing orange and the cute orange jingle hats and orange stockings. Amsterdam centre is i think 10 times larger than Orchard Road and there are people dancing on the streets and the DJs spinning dance mucic at every corners. Food stalls and Road side stalls everywhere. Beer counters everwhere....it is a huge party zone, i have NEVER SEEN SUCH A PARTY OF SUCH SCALE ANYWHERE !!!! And of course the party boats !!!! Really innovative i shld rent such a boat and party down the Bodensee.
Of course everyone knows abt the Red Light District... It is more happening than the one in Reeperbahn (Hamburg). Girls parading in their glass cubicles. For more details can ask me ....hee
And i have posted the pics on Kinderdijk and the North Sea at Scheveningen. I really loved the windmills and it is so amazing to know how the Dutch came up with cool inventions to conquer the sea. Wei Liat told me 99% of Holland is under sea level, amazing huh !!!Kinderdijk is really deserving of the UNESCO world heritage title, we were lucky to get tons of sunshine and beautiful weather. The windmills lining up along the river, long grasses swaying in the wind...Kinderdijk has to be my favourite spot in Holland.
I am very lucky as i got the chance to exp Queen's Day, tulip garden (opens only from March to May), and the ICJ was closed for a month and we were among the first to enter. The Peace Palace houses the ICJ (u noe where Spore and Msia settle the land reclamation dispute). The interior of the Peace Palace is very beautiful with intricate designs, statues, and floorings, plus many donations from the heads of states like Japanese tapestry. It feels inspiring (to me at least) to seat inside the ICJ where many inter states disputes have been resolved. Many have criticised the inability of the UN to resolve conflicts around the world, but till now the UN is the only supranational institution which can provide a platform to resolve inter states conflicts, the ICJ is one of the many institutions under the UN. Without the UN, small states like Spore will not be heard on the world stage and we may see more conflicts in this anarchial system.
So my 5 days in Holland ended on a rainy Tues, and i was pretty reluctant to leave cos i had SO MUCH FUN !!!! But one thing i don like abt Holland is the language Dutch which sounds too uncouth to me. All the KKKKKK, GRRRR, KIIIII, man........ and i thot german was bad enuff....haha
Okie next up update on SWITZERLAND !!!!!!
Firstly i have to say million thanx to Wei Liat who has been extremely kind to host me in his very cosy room (got tv !!!!!), and showing me around despite his busy schedule (ie trying to get inspiration for his docorate thesis.....)
The first thing that struck me abt Holland the moment the train enters was the flatness of the land. I could really see miles of pastures without any mountains obstructing the view(Switzerland is the entire opposite). Then i saw rows and rows of tulips, different colours lining up neatly as the train zooms past.
I stayed at Delft where the Dutch painter (Vermeer - Girl with the pearl ear ring) stayed. From there we made day trips to tulip garden (i still have many pics on the lovely flowers) on Saturday. In the evening we went to Amsterdam as 30 April is the Queen's Day (also my mummy's bday !!!). Okie so basically Queen's Day is when the entire Holland celebrates and party LONG LIVE THE QUEEN !!!!! There were tons of pple in Amsterdam and many are wearing orange and the cute orange jingle hats and orange stockings. Amsterdam centre is i think 10 times larger than Orchard Road and there are people dancing on the streets and the DJs spinning dance mucic at every corners. Food stalls and Road side stalls everywhere. Beer counters everwhere....it is a huge party zone, i have NEVER SEEN SUCH A PARTY OF SUCH SCALE ANYWHERE !!!! And of course the party boats !!!! Really innovative i shld rent such a boat and party down the Bodensee.
Of course everyone knows abt the Red Light District... It is more happening than the one in Reeperbahn (Hamburg). Girls parading in their glass cubicles. For more details can ask me ....hee
And i have posted the pics on Kinderdijk and the North Sea at Scheveningen. I really loved the windmills and it is so amazing to know how the Dutch came up with cool inventions to conquer the sea. Wei Liat told me 99% of Holland is under sea level, amazing huh !!!Kinderdijk is really deserving of the UNESCO world heritage title, we were lucky to get tons of sunshine and beautiful weather. The windmills lining up along the river, long grasses swaying in the wind...Kinderdijk has to be my favourite spot in Holland.
I am very lucky as i got the chance to exp Queen's Day, tulip garden (opens only from March to May), and the ICJ was closed for a month and we were among the first to enter. The Peace Palace houses the ICJ (u noe where Spore and Msia settle the land reclamation dispute). The interior of the Peace Palace is very beautiful with intricate designs, statues, and floorings, plus many donations from the heads of states like Japanese tapestry. It feels inspiring (to me at least) to seat inside the ICJ where many inter states disputes have been resolved. Many have criticised the inability of the UN to resolve conflicts around the world, but till now the UN is the only supranational institution which can provide a platform to resolve inter states conflicts, the ICJ is one of the many institutions under the UN. Without the UN, small states like Spore will not be heard on the world stage and we may see more conflicts in this anarchial system.
So my 5 days in Holland ended on a rainy Tues, and i was pretty reluctant to leave cos i had SO MUCH FUN !!!! But one thing i don like abt Holland is the language Dutch which sounds too uncouth to me. All the KKKKKK, GRRRR, KIIIII, man........ and i thot german was bad enuff....haha
Okie next up update on SWITZERLAND !!!!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)