Blog and Syd

It's been a long, long time I blogged. Time is passing so quickly, it's officially a year I've moved to Dubai.

I'll like to write about 2 things today, and end with a quote I like from an article I found on facebook.

One.

First, I'll like to write about my blog.

Blogging used to be a one-person affair for me back in school days. I used to lock my private posts so that I could keep everything to myself.

 It came to one point when blogging became a platform, where I shared tips, shopping, travel information, pictures, reviews with everyone, and vice versa. 

Then blogging became commercial. I had advertorials, reviews that I uploaded items I like from the blogshopsphere, and I kinda enjoy that bit of attention I used to seek.

Recently, blogging became a little space for reflections, for me to write my thoughts, reclude, rethink about things. That's the best bit about living alone, you think A LOT more than you're surrounded by people. This space then became one where it didn't really matter if anyone reads.

What matters most is this place never left me, a platform for solitude.

//

Two.

I've also wanted to count the places I've been since I moved, and a new destination I've conquered quite recently is Sydney, where my good friend's living currently.

Sydney's a very vibrant and busy city, and the first day I went, I wasn't really lucky to have met a stormy Syd in Summer. Realised that the clothes I had with me wasn't adequate and Ming & I were freezing in that cold.

Sydney Opera House

The Rocks, a nice chillout place nearby the Opera House.

Bought some good Papaw (Papaya Ointment) which was well-raved everywhere. Got two because I'm still the good ol' Singaporean kinda kiasu. It's unlike me to go Sydney every other time so :)
 
Also stocked up a new fragrance by Gucci. I'm a girl who likes her fragrances girly and light.
Was in Auckland where I fell really sick so this was the only photo taken of me in my room when I was still well.

Back to Syd to meet my girl again where we had Japanese for lunch and cupcakes for dessert!
 

Brought me to the beautiful Darling Habour when the weather's really good. Not too sunny, yet breezy. Perfect for a good after-lunch stroll!

Here's a koala hanging on the tree, doing his afternoon nap.

Ming brought me around town (which happens to be George Street) and I saw a vending Havaianas! How cool is that. Basic flops for 20 Aussie :)

The oldest mall in George St.

I'll love to keep the photos coming (I do have some from Barcelona that I would kill to blog) but this sudden rush of 'feel' to blog doesnt come very often. I'm going for a holiday to Spain and Italy with JS for my birthday, and with that, I'm also glad to announce that I'm coming home soon! Well at least the strong urge to home has been bugging me.

Singapore, I've missed you so.

//

Quote.

‎"Of course, you never really forget anyone, but you certainly release them. You stop allowing their history to have any meaning for you today. You let them change their haircut, let them move, let them fall in love again. And when you see this person you have let go, you realize that there is no reason to be sad. The person you knew exists somewhere, but you are separated by too much time to reach them again." 
thoughtcatalog.com

I become.

Revamped my blog design a little since I got bored of the last. The last was a cath kidston wallpaper ( i love sweet backgrounds). The blog title was quoted from Derek Walcott's "I read, I travel, I become".

Talking about reading...

I adore reading so I am looking at getting a Kindle Paperwhite since it has the new backlit. I think it would cost USD139 for a set. Though I really wanted to get one, I faced problems with:
i) getting a set because they don't send kindles internationally, at least not for SG and DXB.
ii) you need to get a kindle account tagged onto a UK/US permanent address to download amazon ebook contents.
How troublesome, but it'll be a good tool to get. *heaves a big sigh*

Still in the midst of editing photos for Switzerland and I came across one that is worth blogging.

Swans and mallard (water) ducks!
So prettyyyyyyyy.
Every other day I pass by Lake Zurich/Lucerne, I looked forward to these beautiful white swans. Look at how the one in the center of this picture folds its wings in, looking like those napkins you see on hotel tables when you attend a wedding dinner! ;D

*  *  *

Have been doing a few work trips before I went on vacation. I hardly took pictures because I had little time to do so, so here's a few I took.

Manchester ;

In my cableknit jumper and loafers. I love jumpers 'cos there're so easy to put on.

Chinese food buffet for 4.90pounds.
There have tons of dishes so that made us really happy!
Mini's from HK and Xiaojun's from China so chinese people who saw chinese food = delighted!

We went shopping after and of course, we did Primark. Primark's amazinggggggg for basic tees ( you could get one for 3pounds or so) and if they have sale, 5 pounds for off-season dresses! Shoes are 6 pounds and up for flats and I saw fluffy winter boots for 5 pounds. They're pretty decent quality so don't judge the item for its price :p

Looking forward to head to London tomorrow to do some more primark-ing!

I tried to do a Paris work trip before my actual vacation so that I can have a feel of what it is like.

A local friend told Krist and I that we have to go to Montmartre's Sacre Coeur so we went there before catching the Eiffel. It was my first time in Paris but I've heard so much about it (to be really careful) so I was holding onto my bag and Krist so much!

We went into Sacre Coeur and it was a beautiful basilica, no pictures were allowed in its interior but both of us spent some minutes sitting in silence, enjoying that very moment of peace before we headed out again.

On its beautiful green patch of grass ;)

We took a lot of pictures mainly because Krist's a huge fan of taking pictures (ie. camwhore) and he adores Paris. He knows I'm not quite a big fan of its environment but I loved its ancient sights, such as this one:

Arc de Triomphe near Champs Elysees. We took this picture while in the middle of the traffic. X_X


We didn't really have time for Champs Elysees and since I knew I was coming back, we gave it a miss and went to Eiffel instead.

Indeed Eiffel is a bronze figure during the day.
 
A horse carriage!

More pictures at 7pm;

 

and as dusk falls, the eiffel lit up ;)

and the most exciting part of it is when it starts "glistering", if I could put it this way. Here's a short video on it for your viewing pleasure:

byebye for now!

A summary on my 11D Swiss/Paris

Hello all! 

I have taken a long break from blogging because I had been busy planning my Swiss-Paris trip (which I already have taken flight to do and it was a really awesome experience). Being me, I'm really bad with directions but I was glad my parents were spontaneous to go free n easy with me. 

Doing a free n easy trip is great because you get to spend a lot of time to do what you needed to do and I guess I was also led to believe that I've saved a bit on travel expenses by taking chance on my discounted tickets (which is quite a bummer to use).

Switzerland has been more than amazing - my first snow experience and the beautiful views that I couldn't have brought home with me by pictures, but these pictures I've captured could bring me some good memories in future when I look at them.

I had one too many sausages in Switzerland really, oh yes, and Snitzels.
We visited 2 beautiful mountain/alps - Mt Pilatus and Jungfraujoch top of Europe which the latter was a pity because we met with very bad weather and a -4 degrees when we were up there so we couldn't walk out since it was snowing heavily.  People were reallyyyyy nice n helpful, like seriously, they spoke perfect English I couldn't help but be impressed, and Swiss is beautiful and well-maintained (ie. clean) so it's like a european Japan for me. No tourists scamming stuff, but of course, I would say there's a good price to pay - Swiss is a VERY expensive city to visit and stay in. My hotels cost a good SGD400-500 a night for a 3-4 star but it's all good for what we saw.

Paris is more of an adventure. I couldn't register the whole paris metro mapping thing so going everything was me bringing up the map and looking at it though I only stayed 8 mins from Eiffel. 
Met many nice people in France who helped us with our luggages, sometimes with directions. Paris is one place with really beautiful and old sights but a real pity - I'm afraid I still do not like Paris as much as a city - and I'm not sure why they kept targeting dad (or they might think Chinese looking Dads carry more cash but truth is cash is with mom & me :p)
 I would like to write these down if you wanna visit Paris:

- Rode on the metro going from sacre couer (line 2- Anvers) and it was crowded as usual. 2 female teens were trying to pickpocket from mom and dad. Unzipped my mom's backpack for the easier to reach compartment (of course she had nothing in the front pocket since her wallet's deeply buried in the main compartment), and one of the girls had her hand reached into my dad's jeans (pocket). Dad was alert so nothing was pickpocketed. Shame on these girls.
Be very careful on the way to Sacre Couer and back. Montmartre has these people trying to tie a friendship band around your wrist and ask euros from you. Just be very careful around that area.

- We stayed on Rue Cler (i love that area - bustling with good restaurants and pubs at night), on the mainstreet but there were always some punks trying to ask for cigarettes. Well, Dad got tired one day and refused to give him anymore of those sticks, and he tried to act punk. Went away after he saw us going back into the hotel.

- While we were at Tuileries' Rue Saint Honore shopping for mom's bag, a woman picked up a gold ring and asked dad if he dropped it. Dad said no so the woman asked if he wanted it. He grew suspicious so he tried saying why not, and woman asked him for euros (well we all know the story). So Dad refused and she then asked him for a bottle of coke which Dad also refused. Dad walked away to look for us to tell us what had happened. I would believe if Dad brought out his wallet to buy her the coke she wanted, she would have snatched and ran. The gold ring could be just an item she picked up from somewhere, or stolen from.

- At Paris airport waiting for our flight, we sat down to have lunch at Mac's which is the only restaurant I could find open on a Sunday at Terminal 2C. Dad got approached to buy a guy a meal at Macdonld's but that man only spoke french, so Dad couldn't understand him and shook his head to tell them he didn't know what he was saying. Dad only knew what happened when another man in suit bought that guy a meal in Mac's. Dad later saw that same guy (who asked for the meal) when dad went out to smoke because that guy was smoking too. Hmmm..

Other tips to Paris:
If you can, avoid taking the line from CDG airport to town especially in the night. If you're 2 or more people, just take a taxi though I know it cost a lot (my cab from rue cler to airport cost 55 euros for 3). I've heard a lot of people whom I've met in Paris/heard gone to Paris got robbed/pickpocketed on RER B train. The train and train stations are not luggage or wheelchair friendly anyway, lots of stairs that annoyed me much.

For bags- I highly recommend Galleries Lafayette (most brands are there but i doubt they're very well stocked for the amount of tourists you see in there) and Rue Saint Honore (Mulberry, Balenciaga, Miumiu are there). I don't do LV but if you like it - I think the 4 levels store in Champs Elysees will be the highlight because they have really good customer service.

Up to here, when I think about Balenciaga, I wished I had bought the classic city but I stopped myself. Oh well, might get it next time!

Other than that, I'll prepare a pictorial entry next, and hope you enjoyed this wordy one! Ending with one of my sentimental notes I posted on FB:
因为去了巴黎，没有太多的自动扶梯，所以我们走了很多的路和梯，才发现父母老了。。
走楼梯也慢了。。我曾经很依赖的父母渐渐因时间而老了。。眼花了，脚和手也不再那么灵活了。
而急性子和坏脾气的我能为他们做些什么？这是我现在应该想的、不要等到像奶奶那时一样，太迟了、后悔了、 没有第二次机会了。daddy mummy 我爱你！❤

No regrets about this trip - because I managed to let my parents see Europe with my own efforts :)

JS is in TW doing his solo trip - and I'm left to sleep alone in my room in Dubai. Boo :-(

我只是一个。。爱单人旅行的人。。

This used to be a space where I share my daily outfits, what I do in my home country on a daily basis - a very simple lifestyle blog. I enjoyed being in the limelight of dressing well, having a wardrobe full of clothes and accessories, and also having a platform to know people who love dressing up like I do.

Even since I started on this new job, I've become a quieter person. I still love my usual gatherings with a clique of friends I formed here, and yet I've become one who slowed down my pace to better enjoy life.

I could go out without my phone alone, seated in a coffee house, reading a lifestyle magazine or a book and people watching. 

In some big cities people watching could surprise me - the huge gap between the rich, the working class and the poor. I never felt my heart ache this much before, as I reach out for a few dollars to buy this person a cold drink during that hot summer, or just a small donation to allow him/her to buy a meal.

In my past travels, I usually dislike the scenery part of it and much preferred the shopping itinerary of each tour - and now I chuckle at the thought of sightseeing I do in each place. Since every city has ever changing landscapes due to their own developments - I realised that capturing these natural moments of each city far exceeds my desire to shop for my material wants.

The best things come in the simplest form.

In such a busy and noisy world, I have learnt to hear my own thoughts in the only quiet manner, that is the pleasure of having to do solo trips. This is when all my senses are further enhanced - the beauty of seeing how each city is different, the amazing feeling of being able to listen, the freedom of being able to plan my own time to do what I want to do, to feel how I need to feel.

With no map and no itinerary in hand, when will my next breaking point be?

Korea II - Myeong-Dong

So I've been skype-calling mom and we've decided the best way to do Swiss is to get a 7Day package from an established tour agency. I doubt dad will really wanna do a Italy/France shopping trip. With my leave in October, I could do a lot with it - so it's either I go to the Swiss 7D with them (with lucerne and interlaken as our priority must-go in consideration) or I do a solo Europe/Asia. Well, we'll see where I end up in during my leave.

*  *  *

I'm back for Korea Part II! I try to post timely updates as much as I can.

Lotte - largest korean conglomerate which owns over 60 businesses, including food, hotels, retail, publishing, etc. One of my favorite of their products includes Lotte World in Seoul :)

Walking down the streets of Myeong-dong, the main shopping area in Seoul.

one of the departmental stores, Moon Square.

The long-time-no-see Missha store which gradually 'disappeared' in Singapore is still quite the hot favorite in Korea.

Certainly - the very much raved BB creams that skinfood makes, is commonly seen in Seoul.


Jill by Jill Stuart apparels.

the lovely cosmetics lane include the very princess-y etude house, holika-holika which was once seen in Wisma Atria, and the ever popular faceshop.

I've seen at least 3 tonymolys in Myeong-dong and there's another one coming up *stabs*


Us soaking up in the atmosphere of shopping.
We came to town early so not much crowds were seen.

Every korean cosmetic store there has really pretty furbishments - take holika holika as a good example. 

In need for a coffee and coffee houses are easily seen - we went into one which looks quiet from the outside so that we can fill it with our chats and laughters.

Meet Terence (from China) and Charlotte (from HongKong)

also seen with my buddy, Curry.


Roaming the streets of MyeongDong with me buying random things like tons of handcreams (as usual), cosmetic items like eyeliners and stuff.

Brands to items I prefer, I have to say I'm attracted to their packaging too:
Faceshop - Facial Masks
Holika holika - Pencil eyeliner
Innisfree - Handcream (grapefruit scented)
Skinfood - Mushroom BB cream
Tony Moly - Lip items (lipstick, lipbalm), tomato mask
Not a big fan of etude house :p



Cutest kitty hand moisturisers, aren't they cute!!!

and Innisfree Spiderman and Batman facial masks for men - how creative! Bought one for JS to try :)


Yet to explore Nature Republic as a brand because there are just too many of them!


Waiting for a friend of Terence's to bring us around for lunch.


After meeting up, Yixin then brought us to have Seolleongtang, which is pretty well-known in Myeongdong.

It's a broth made of ox bones. It may seem tasteless to some, because seasoning is added according to personal taste. So salt, garlic, and red pepper is on the side for customers to add accordingly.

While waiting for our soup, we had our free flow kimchi and radish. The kimchi is the best I've tasted- I had just forgotten to bring some back to DXB. Grrrr...

I like how light it tasted (after adding half a tablespoon of salt) and the beef is tender - goes very well with rice and a bit of kimchi :) All of us ended drinking all the soup and after reading about it on wiki, it seemed that this soup had quite a bit of history >>> click here!

We went to do some street shopping along the roads of Gangnam and we took the metro as an experience. It seemed that Seoul's metro is pretty well-connected!


Heading onto Sinsadong Garuso-gil (part Gangnam area) where lots of pretty concept stores/bars are.
The Mango Six coffee where "A gentleman's dignity" is filmed (my recent favorite korea drama up to date!)

Heh, I'm pretty sure I'll go in for a coffee some time soon!

And we went into a really pretty hair accessories store. My goodness - these hair accessories ain't cheap but they're such gorgeous pieces XD

and an underground handmade accessories store.

Can't wait to go to Korea again - and I'm hoping that I will get to go again in October.
*fingers crossed*
:)