The Atlantic was born today, and I'll tell you how.
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Thursday, May 31, 2012
Just booked my trip to Hong Kong with Joyce :-) Decided to do this after much hesitation but finally I thought, I had nothing to lose. Hopefully everything works out fine, our friendship will grow stronger from this and I'll be happy from all my shopping and eating :-) Just the thought of dim sum makes me happy. I had dim sum at Chinatown on sunday and I had dim sum for lunch today and I could eat dim sum everyday. So excited for Hong Kong all of a sudden! Fingers crossed and hoping that this trip goes well.
Turkey with the family has also been booked, I'm also really looking forward to this :-) Went down with my parents to book this trip and the whole time, the woman selling the tour to us said repeatedly how lovely Turkey is for its "culture and history" and I thought "Yes, woman, this is why I wanna go to Turkey in the first place". It was a tough search but we finally found a trip with Antalya, which I've been wanderlusting for since noticing it at the Viennese airport, where I thought "Antalya" sounded like a beautiful place before finally googling it and finding out that it was at the Mediterranean side of Turkey which sounds even more beautiful because Alexandria is at the Mediterranean side of Egypt and I really liked Alexandria. Am also looking forward to Ephesus (archaeological site!), Cappadocia (underground cities!) and Istanbul (the St Sophia sounds really amazeballs + the markets!!!) which I've been reading about in Orhan Pamuk's book lately. I am really excited about Turkey, it is a gonna be a major geek-out trip :-)
It seems like I've been traveling to cool places this year. Vienna, Turkey... The only other cool places I've been to are Egypt and India and I guess Hawaii but that was in P1 and I barely remember it. These cool places are nothing compared to the many other cool places that people I know have been to. Which makes me jealous cos I really wanna travel the world. I like seeing other cultures and histories and societies, I like getting away from the Singapore that I know so well and am kinda bored of, I like to see the world, I like escaping away from the routines of my sad life, I like exploring and adventures. I like eating other foods, I like seeing other architectural styles (I AM NOT A SCENERY PERSON), I like seeing other people, I like seeing other lifestyles. If I could, I would want very much to live in Europe. The obvious reasons being how gorgeous Europe is with its history and architecture and beauty, and of how I wanna escape from my sad boring life in Singapore. I think the only thing I could really dislike about Europe is the pigeons everywhere! Everything else seems so lovely. The slower pace of life, the lack of traffic as compared to Singapore's, the music, the clothes (I really hate Singapore weather and how it's too hot to wear anything but a sleeveless/short-sleeved shirt and shorts most times; I love all my checkered long-sleeved shirts but it's too hot to wear them + HOW COOL ARE TRENCH COATS and denim/leather jackets?!), the churches at every street, the cobble-stoned streets, the cafes at every corner, the FOOD (imagine eating gelato everyday!), the weather, the LACK OF STRESS, random vintage shops, random quirky shops, random statues and fountains and clock towers.
Back to reality and SNOW PATROL IS COMING DOWN!!!!!!!!! The band that I've loved since sec 1, the band that I feel like I've waited forever to watch live. I've loved them way before I discovered indie music, since the days of The Fray, Lifehouse, Boys Like Girls, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, The Killers etc. And slowly as I grew older, my love for these bands/singers slowly faded..... Even for Jason Mraz and John Mayer, even though I would still say that I 'like' them... I'd definitely watch John Mayer if he came down and maybe it's because I've watched Jason Mraz before but I'm not even interested in watching him again this year (or maybe it's just because his new album sucks). Only my love for The Killers and Snow Patrol still remains but hands down, Snow Patrol > The Killers, hands down Snow Patrol is one of my top 5 favourite bands. And hence my excitement for Snow Patrol coming down. I don't even care if I hafta go for their concert alone, or that their concert is at shitty Fort Canning, or that their new album isn't all that great, I DEFINITELY HAVE TO WATCH SNOW PATROL, I'VE WAITED FOR THEM LONGER THAN I'VE WAITED FOR ANYONE ELSE and nothing's gonna keep me apart from them. I think they're the band I have the most albums of.... And omg Gary Lightbody! And their songs that have kept me going throughout secondary school, throughout the O Levels, throughout JC and throughout A Levels. Even other bands I love like Death Cab and Kings of Convenience and Stars and Bon Iver can't match up to the length of my love for Snow Patrol or the emotions that I've felt listening to Snow Patrol. Passion Pit is coming too and I've gotten tickets for that as well. I feel like, my love for Passion Pit was only in sec 4 cos that's when their album was released. But their 2nd album is finally gonna be released soon and I hope that will re-ignite my love for them, although I highly doubt so. Metric concert has just been announced too and Emily Haines is a woman that I definitely wanna watch live at one point in time of my life, but UGH I've spent so bloody much this year on concerts alone. And then on holidays. So I think I'll hafta give Metric a miss :( Especially when Metric is the most expensive concert of them all.
In other news, I've been growing fatter everyday. Especially since I came back from Vienna, I've been eating so much crap like carbs and chocolates. The biggest joke was when I went for IJ Fiesta with Court and we met Ms Puja and she told me that I've lost weight and Court agreed with her. I mean, what up??? If anything, I've definitely gained weight over the past few years. Anyway, IJ Fiesta was kinda awkward because all I felt was old. Don't even know anyone in IJ anymore, apart from the teachers. It didn't even feel nostalgic going back to IJ but maybe that's cos of the noisy environment that Fiesta had. It's like, my memories of IJ have been compartmentalised to some place that aren't as accessible anymore. Compared to my memories of AC, which I've known so well for the past 2-3 years. And I felt like, IJ is a place that I used to know well, but also a thing of the past where my attachments to it are slowly fading. But it was definitely cool seeing Ms Puja and Mr Chan and especially Mrs Tan Aye Leng. She's almost 70 and she's taught so many freaking batches of IJ girls and she still remembers my name, whaaaaaat. Ultimate respect. Plus she still looks so good! Wished I saw Mr Teh but I didn't, which is sad cos I don't think I'll ever see him in my life again. He's such a cute old man! I think he defined my love for cute old grandfatherly men lol. I feel like Mr Teh and Tan Aye Leng are teachers I would regard as being demigods. Because they're so old and so wise and so nice and they're really good teachers, legendary teachers who have taughts generations of IJ girls. And I think I feel proud to have been taught by these 2 people, like so many other IJ girls before me have. So much respect for these 2 old people :') I don't think any of my AC teachers even match up to the respect that I have for Mr Teh and Tan Aye Leng, no matter how amazeballs my AC teachers are too.
It's almost June and I can't believe uni is starting in about 2 months' time. I feel like I'm running out of time, what with Turkey and Hong Kong happening from end June - mid July. As much as I want uni to start so that I can learn again and be all geeky, I feel like I could also bum around forever. Time is a funny thing. Peace out.
Turkey with the family has also been booked, I'm also really looking forward to this :-) Went down with my parents to book this trip and the whole time, the woman selling the tour to us said repeatedly how lovely Turkey is for its "culture and history" and I thought "Yes, woman, this is why I wanna go to Turkey in the first place". It was a tough search but we finally found a trip with Antalya, which I've been wanderlusting for since noticing it at the Viennese airport, where I thought "Antalya" sounded like a beautiful place before finally googling it and finding out that it was at the Mediterranean side of Turkey which sounds even more beautiful because Alexandria is at the Mediterranean side of Egypt and I really liked Alexandria. Am also looking forward to Ephesus (archaeological site!), Cappadocia (underground cities!) and Istanbul (the St Sophia sounds really amazeballs + the markets!!!) which I've been reading about in Orhan Pamuk's book lately. I am really excited about Turkey, it is a gonna be a major geek-out trip :-)
It seems like I've been traveling to cool places this year. Vienna, Turkey... The only other cool places I've been to are Egypt and India and I guess Hawaii but that was in P1 and I barely remember it. These cool places are nothing compared to the many other cool places that people I know have been to. Which makes me jealous cos I really wanna travel the world. I like seeing other cultures and histories and societies, I like getting away from the Singapore that I know so well and am kinda bored of, I like to see the world, I like escaping away from the routines of my sad life, I like exploring and adventures. I like eating other foods, I like seeing other architectural styles (I AM NOT A SCENERY PERSON), I like seeing other people, I like seeing other lifestyles. If I could, I would want very much to live in Europe. The obvious reasons being how gorgeous Europe is with its history and architecture and beauty, and of how I wanna escape from my sad boring life in Singapore. I think the only thing I could really dislike about Europe is the pigeons everywhere! Everything else seems so lovely. The slower pace of life, the lack of traffic as compared to Singapore's, the music, the clothes (I really hate Singapore weather and how it's too hot to wear anything but a sleeveless/short-sleeved shirt and shorts most times; I love all my checkered long-sleeved shirts but it's too hot to wear them + HOW COOL ARE TRENCH COATS and denim/leather jackets?!), the churches at every street, the cobble-stoned streets, the cafes at every corner, the FOOD (imagine eating gelato everyday!), the weather, the LACK OF STRESS, random vintage shops, random quirky shops, random statues and fountains and clock towers.
Back to reality and SNOW PATROL IS COMING DOWN!!!!!!!!! The band that I've loved since sec 1, the band that I feel like I've waited forever to watch live. I've loved them way before I discovered indie music, since the days of The Fray, Lifehouse, Boys Like Girls, Jason Mraz, John Mayer, The Killers etc. And slowly as I grew older, my love for these bands/singers slowly faded..... Even for Jason Mraz and John Mayer, even though I would still say that I 'like' them... I'd definitely watch John Mayer if he came down and maybe it's because I've watched Jason Mraz before but I'm not even interested in watching him again this year (or maybe it's just because his new album sucks). Only my love for The Killers and Snow Patrol still remains but hands down, Snow Patrol > The Killers, hands down Snow Patrol is one of my top 5 favourite bands. And hence my excitement for Snow Patrol coming down. I don't even care if I hafta go for their concert alone, or that their concert is at shitty Fort Canning, or that their new album isn't all that great, I DEFINITELY HAVE TO WATCH SNOW PATROL, I'VE WAITED FOR THEM LONGER THAN I'VE WAITED FOR ANYONE ELSE and nothing's gonna keep me apart from them. I think they're the band I have the most albums of.... And omg Gary Lightbody! And their songs that have kept me going throughout secondary school, throughout the O Levels, throughout JC and throughout A Levels. Even other bands I love like Death Cab and Kings of Convenience and Stars and Bon Iver can't match up to the length of my love for Snow Patrol or the emotions that I've felt listening to Snow Patrol. Passion Pit is coming too and I've gotten tickets for that as well. I feel like, my love for Passion Pit was only in sec 4 cos that's when their album was released. But their 2nd album is finally gonna be released soon and I hope that will re-ignite my love for them, although I highly doubt so. Metric concert has just been announced too and Emily Haines is a woman that I definitely wanna watch live at one point in time of my life, but UGH I've spent so bloody much this year on concerts alone. And then on holidays. So I think I'll hafta give Metric a miss :( Especially when Metric is the most expensive concert of them all.
In other news, I've been growing fatter everyday. Especially since I came back from Vienna, I've been eating so much crap like carbs and chocolates. The biggest joke was when I went for IJ Fiesta with Court and we met Ms Puja and she told me that I've lost weight and Court agreed with her. I mean, what up??? If anything, I've definitely gained weight over the past few years. Anyway, IJ Fiesta was kinda awkward because all I felt was old. Don't even know anyone in IJ anymore, apart from the teachers. It didn't even feel nostalgic going back to IJ but maybe that's cos of the noisy environment that Fiesta had. It's like, my memories of IJ have been compartmentalised to some place that aren't as accessible anymore. Compared to my memories of AC, which I've known so well for the past 2-3 years. And I felt like, IJ is a place that I used to know well, but also a thing of the past where my attachments to it are slowly fading. But it was definitely cool seeing Ms Puja and Mr Chan and especially Mrs Tan Aye Leng. She's almost 70 and she's taught so many freaking batches of IJ girls and she still remembers my name, whaaaaaat. Ultimate respect. Plus she still looks so good! Wished I saw Mr Teh but I didn't, which is sad cos I don't think I'll ever see him in my life again. He's such a cute old man! I think he defined my love for cute old grandfatherly men lol. I feel like Mr Teh and Tan Aye Leng are teachers I would regard as being demigods. Because they're so old and so wise and so nice and they're really good teachers, legendary teachers who have taughts generations of IJ girls. And I think I feel proud to have been taught by these 2 people, like so many other IJ girls before me have. So much respect for these 2 old people :') I don't think any of my AC teachers even match up to the respect that I have for Mr Teh and Tan Aye Leng, no matter how amazeballs my AC teachers are too.
It's almost June and I can't believe uni is starting in about 2 months' time. I feel like I'm running out of time, what with Turkey and Hong Kong happening from end June - mid July. As much as I want uni to start so that I can learn again and be all geeky, I feel like I could also bum around forever. Time is a funny thing. Peace out.
12:53 AM;
Thursday, May 10, 2012
These days, when I log in to Blogger I get confused as to what I'm supposed to click eg. to write a new post, to change my template. Technology and social media keep changing, people and relationships keep changing, the world keeps changing, everybody's changing and I don't feel the same. I've said this many times before, that I'm like this little girl stuck in my own world while everybody else is growing up. I guess I'm feeling this more now that everyone's working and realising the importance of money. Whereas I'm still living on my allowance and counting on various family members to fund and support me. Yes I know that this can't go on forever, but I'm acting as though it will. I'll always be a lazy bum who doesn't want to change my lifestyle or actually go out to work. I'll always be a lazy bum who says things like these but doesn't actually bother to change the way things are. And I honestly have no idea what I need to get this wake-up call or to get this motivation to actually achieve things. I say things, I whine about things, but if there's one thing I really suck at, it's acting on things.
Slowly, the people I once dreamt about UK with are more or less set to leave for UK in the next few months. Yet here I am in Singapore, still dreaming about the day that I finally get to go to UK to study. And yes, the biggest thing that stopped me from going to UK to study is money. But what if I'm blaming the wrong thing? What if I actually don't have the will to actually get my ass to UK? Okay, probably not, money's probably still the biggest issue here. But... I'm wondering if I actually have the will to achieve anything in my life. The future is bleak and scary :/ I wanna be a hippie and travel around Europe and live in my own little girl world with just my music and books forever. I guess it will get lonely. But being alone is so easy cos you're not accountable to anyone or anything. You just do your own thing, whatever makes you happy without worrying about being judged or worrying about troubling anyone. It's thoughts like these that make me thing I'm a loner. But I also realised that without any form of human interaction, I get crabby. Maybe this is why the stereotype of crabby hermits or crabby old widows exist. No one is a loner by nature, everyone needs some form of human interaction to function and feel happy. Okay, maybe there are some loners by nature... But I don't think I'm a loner by nature even though I do need my alone time. My incoherent words/thoughts make me feel like Antoinette in Wide Sargasso Sea. I want uni to start now so that I can meet new people and experience new forms of human interaction. I want uni to start now so that I can finally learn things and feel smart and geeky and happy. Most of all, I want uni to start now so that I have a purpose in my life again and not feel so useless.
I was talking to my classmates the other day, about how I can't wait for uni to start so that I can finally study again. The only person who felt the same way as me is this smart geeky guy who got straight As. Everyone else felt neutral about uni, or don't even want uni to start because they don't want to have to study again. And I thought, how lucky I am to actually be happy with the next step in life. I thought, how lucky I am that I'm actually about to do what I love. But once uni ends and I hafta graduate, I won't be happy with the next steps in life whereas these people who don't want uni to start would actually be happy for the steps in life after uni. These, I think, are the practical people who would grow up to be okay in life. I, on the other hand, want to study forever which is impossible. I said that I could study forever, and above-mentioned smart geeky guy agreed. But the difference between us is that he's smart and has straight-As so I think he'll make it big in life. I, on the other hand, will achieve nothing.
Hong Kong with the classmates doesn't seem to be working out anymore. Eastern Europe with the parents seems to be in the works though, and I don't know what to feel about this because I still feel strongly that one needs to go exploring Europe alone and for days. Without the rush of a group tour. I feel like group tours are a motherfreaking waste of time but who am I to decide these things? Forever I will escape from reality and instead, dream about other things in life like traveling and being a hippie and attending concerts and finding my soulmate....
With my feet on the dash, the world doesn't matter.
Slowly, the people I once dreamt about UK with are more or less set to leave for UK in the next few months. Yet here I am in Singapore, still dreaming about the day that I finally get to go to UK to study. And yes, the biggest thing that stopped me from going to UK to study is money. But what if I'm blaming the wrong thing? What if I actually don't have the will to actually get my ass to UK? Okay, probably not, money's probably still the biggest issue here. But... I'm wondering if I actually have the will to achieve anything in my life. The future is bleak and scary :/ I wanna be a hippie and travel around Europe and live in my own little girl world with just my music and books forever. I guess it will get lonely. But being alone is so easy cos you're not accountable to anyone or anything. You just do your own thing, whatever makes you happy without worrying about being judged or worrying about troubling anyone. It's thoughts like these that make me thing I'm a loner. But I also realised that without any form of human interaction, I get crabby. Maybe this is why the stereotype of crabby hermits or crabby old widows exist. No one is a loner by nature, everyone needs some form of human interaction to function and feel happy. Okay, maybe there are some loners by nature... But I don't think I'm a loner by nature even though I do need my alone time. My incoherent words/thoughts make me feel like Antoinette in Wide Sargasso Sea. I want uni to start now so that I can meet new people and experience new forms of human interaction. I want uni to start now so that I can finally learn things and feel smart and geeky and happy. Most of all, I want uni to start now so that I have a purpose in my life again and not feel so useless.
I was talking to my classmates the other day, about how I can't wait for uni to start so that I can finally study again. The only person who felt the same way as me is this smart geeky guy who got straight As. Everyone else felt neutral about uni, or don't even want uni to start because they don't want to have to study again. And I thought, how lucky I am to actually be happy with the next step in life. I thought, how lucky I am that I'm actually about to do what I love. But once uni ends and I hafta graduate, I won't be happy with the next steps in life whereas these people who don't want uni to start would actually be happy for the steps in life after uni. These, I think, are the practical people who would grow up to be okay in life. I, on the other hand, want to study forever which is impossible. I said that I could study forever, and above-mentioned smart geeky guy agreed. But the difference between us is that he's smart and has straight-As so I think he'll make it big in life. I, on the other hand, will achieve nothing.
Hong Kong with the classmates doesn't seem to be working out anymore. Eastern Europe with the parents seems to be in the works though, and I don't know what to feel about this because I still feel strongly that one needs to go exploring Europe alone and for days. Without the rush of a group tour. I feel like group tours are a motherfreaking waste of time but who am I to decide these things? Forever I will escape from reality and instead, dream about other things in life like traveling and being a hippie and attending concerts and finding my soulmate....
With my feet on the dash, the world doesn't matter.
12:33 AM;
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Came back from Vienna yesterday afternoon. I don't know what to say except that 5 days is never enough for exploring a city. Maybe I should try doing a day-by-day post.
22/4-23/4: Long-ass flight journey to Emirates with failed attempts to fall asleep. My inability to sleep anywhere except on my bed is a curse. Wanderlusted and people-watched at the Dubai airport because they have so many different destinations. Also, Emirates has amazing onboard entertainment to compete with that of Qatar. Managed to watch Hugo and The Help, listened to Oasis, Florence + the Machine and an indie channel.
Sunday 23/4: Arrived at Vienna in the afternoon, arrived at Europe for the first time in my life. Quietly took in all the sights during the taxi ride even though it wasn't interesting. Arrived at a hotel only to be told that ours was at some other block and had to lug our luggage up 2 flights of steps. Washed up and took a subway out to have dinner. Had a schnitzel, then took the subway back to the hotel instead of starting on my Viennese adventure because it was freezing.
Monday 24/4: Explored and got lost around the hotel and Stephansplatz, the main square in the city centre that contains the St Stephan's Cathedral. Started out roaming around the hotel area when I stumbled upon the Jesuit church. Made friends with a woman who brought me into the sacristy. Left the church and stumbled into more churches - St Peter's Church, St Michael's Church, a really nice Greek Orthodox Church (which I couldn't get the name of cos it was so small and obscure and everything was in Greek). Churches in Europe are so old and grand, it felt amazing to be in them. Also saw old-school confessional pews (Y) St Stephan's Cathedral was a letdown even though it was the star tourist attraction. Maybe it's so touristy that it lost its charm. Also had to pay to go into the main altar area but I accidentally went in anyway even though I didn't pay. Maybe it was the Gothic style that turned me off - I didn't feel comfort in the church. Instead, it felt cold and distant and creepy and that's not how churches are supposed to feel to me. Had lunch at an old typical Viennese cafe - Cafe Hawelka, which didn't serve proper lunch. So I had the most amazing apple strudel ever as well as 2 sausages and bread - which they made me eat with hands because that's how "typical Viennese people eat it". Stumbled around some more, found some archaeological ruins between St Michael's and the back of the Hofburg. Day 1 of my solo Viennese adventure was good because I was really exploring Vienna with all its random (cobblestoned) streets and going into churches. This is what I've always dreamt of doing, and what I'll always dream of doing in every part of Europe. Met the sissy for pizza dinner which was kinda awesome cos they're huge and greasy :-) Also gelato!
Tuesday 25/4: One of the worst days of my life. I shan't elaborate much except to say that I joined a day tour to Salzburg. Salzburg was a pretty place but there wasn't time to see much and it was freezing and raining so I couldn't walk around much anyway. The journey to/from Salzburg as well as the shuttle back to the hotel was the worst experience ever, which was what made the day so bad. Definitely hafta go back to Salzburg some time in my life. Also had Chinese food out of those take-out boxes you see on American tv for the first time in my life.
Wednesday 26/4: Followed the sis to the UN building in the morning and went for a guided tour. The little IH geekiness I had came out in me. Went to a shopping mall nearby for lunch and spent hours there not shopping but getting lost and finding my way back to the subway station. Also went to the Art History museum where I geeked out not over the art pieces but the Egyptian exhibits they had (which really made me miss Egypt cos it's definitely the best place I've ever visited). Met the sissy for some opera thing at night, which sucked mainly because it was held at some small place and not the grand Opera House that I wanted to visit. Also had dinner at the same pizza place, but ate pasta instead. Tried the Twix Mcflurry which doesn't do justice to either Twix or Mcflurry.
Thursday 27/4: Visited the Roman Museum near the hotel. Found a fake Shakespeare & Co. bookstore near the hotel, which was quite amazing because all the books were in English and was the type of bookstore that I always dreamt of going to - small/cramped with bookshelves piled up all the way to the high ceilings with thousands of books. It even had a tiny Anthropology section!!! Wanted to buy the new edition of the Anthro book I am currently reading (which belongs to the NUS library) but I figured that until I become an actual Anthro student, the book would actually make me sad. Stumbled upon a small church - St Rupert's Church - which was scarier than St Stephan's. Then I went back to St Michael's for a crypt tour! The guide was really nice because he charged me at a 'child' rate and spoke in English specially for me after he spoke in German to the rest of the group (I think it was meant to be a German tour but anyway everyone else in the group only spoke German). Saw mummies like those of Egypt, apparently some bodies mummified due to the weather? Went to the huge-ass Hofburg after that which was mostly made up of museums. Visited the treasury and the Ephesos Museum and St Augustine's Church, all of which were a waste of time mehhh. But then! I visited the Museum of Ethnology and it was major geekin' out session even though most of the exhibitions were closed for renovation (:() Still, the Asian exhibition itself was amazeballs and I spent the longest time there even though barely anyone visited that museum lmao. Had lunch at some modern cafe (kinda like a typical Singaporean indie cafe) which also sold music and books. Walked a bit through Mariahilferstrasse, the main shopping stretch in Vienna. Had dinner at Figlmuller with the sissy, where I had more schnitzel. Walked around the city a bit before going back to the hotel.
Friday 28/4: Visited the Schonbrunn Palace, which is like the main attraction of Vienna but didn't attract me at all. Travelled to St Peter's Church cos it's supposed to the most beautiful Baroque church in Vienna, but I couldn't go in without paying 6 euros so I went off in indignation because churches aren't meant to be tourist attractions which you have to pay to go into :( Went into the Vienna Museum next door which was yet another waste of time but I can't complain cos the woman let me in for free. Visited the Naschmarkt, a nearby market. Had kebab for lunch and I wished I walked through more of the market but it was too big and there was no time. Walked a long way to an antique bookstore to find it closed :( Then walked another long way to Cafe Sperl, another old established Viennese cafe. Had an amazing sachertorte there before going back to Mariahilferstrasse. Found the most amazing indie record store in a little street next to Mariahilferstrasse. Spent the longest time there ever looking through cds. Bought Arcade Fire's Funeral and KoC's Riot On An Empty Street which were relatively cheap. Everything else was expensive but the store is still super amazing and was the type of indie music store I always dreamt of going into - small and indie with nice people and selling LPs and band shirts and other merchandise. The people there were really really nice, I think they were surprised to see a young Asian girl cos everyone else was old and loyal customers HAHA. They offered me drinks and also told me to stay for a band which was gonna perform at the shop, both of which I politely declined because I was running out of time. Rushed back to the hotel to meet the sissy, had lunch at some atas restaurant which sold normal European food eg pasta. Went for a nice horse carriage ride around St Stephan's.
Saturday 29/4: Went to the supermarket to buy chocolates, packed up, lazed around in the hotel room watching tv (AUSTRIA IS SHOWING OC SEASON 2!!!!! All German-dubbed, which makes Julie Cooper sound like a mega-bitch) before leaving for the airport :(
29/4-30/4: Long-ass journey back to Singapore. Dubai airport was almost dead so I couldn't people-watch and wanderlust. Besides, I was too tired and bummed about going back to Singapore so I just stoned with my ipod. Managed to watch Sherlock Holmes 2 and Wizard of Oz on the plane, listened to more of the indie channel as well as Oasis.
Started out this post with nothing to write about but now that I wrote a day-by-day summary I have so much more to say. The trip, like I've said before, is what I've dreamt of doing for forever - exploring and getting lost in random cobble-stoned streets surrounded by old architecture and history, visiting churches and museums, visiting cafes and people-watching, getting used to a new culture. Didn't have enough time, really. I could explore forever. And there were so many places left to visit. I felt like the tourist attractions were a waste of time and it's the places you chance upon randomly which were most rewarding. The tourist attractions seriously took up so much of my time, siannnnnnn. I could have explored much more if I didn't go to these tourist attractions. Still, I can't exactly complain because I got to go to Vienna. Exploring Vienna on my own felt good because I wasn't accountable to anyone. It felt like there were so many possibilities, and I was on an adventure. The foreignness of being alone in a foreign land surrounded by a foreign language didn't faze me much, the only times I felt uncomfortable were at tourist places where I was alone and the only Asian. Also, the only time I really hated not understanding German was at museums, where everything was labelled in German and hence I could only stare at artefacts to geek out :( Being surrounded by the German language 24/7 made me realise how ugly the German language is. With that said, the music scene in Vienna is quite amazing, because they listen to English music even though everything else is in German. H&M was playing Beach House's Myth???? And Forever 21 was playing A Fine Frenzy and Feist remixes! Also, some random ice cream truck was playing Kings of Leon (Y)(Y) Oh yes I also saw a real-life hippie!!!! Who had dreadlocks and carried an Indian cloth bag and walked around barefoot and wore ripped jeans showing off his underwear :O Didn't get to shop much, which was a real pity but things in Vienna aren't that cheap anyway, contrary to what I thought.... Really wished I shopped more and ate more and visited more cafes and churches and museums and walked around/explored more :( I swear I belong in Europe with all its churches and museums and history and old buildings and cobblestoned streets and cafes and music. Need to find money and travel to Europe more, somehow.
Now that I'm back in Singapore, I'm really hating this weather. Also my bodyclock is majorly screwed up because of jetlag and also because I cannot sleep on planes. Slept for 17 hours last night, it's 2 am now and I don't think I could fall asleep anytime soon... Hong Kong with my classmates seems to be happening, I could seriously travel and explore forever :) Maybe traveling and exploring (and wanderlusting) is my way of escaping from the drudgeries of life. Seriously starting to hate my life in Singapore. People are starting to get accepted into unis overseas, which makes me sad and jealous. Anthro and UK have always been a dream but of course, reality is a major bitch. Maybe I don't have the willpower to achieve things either, unlike the way other people are so set on achieving things. This is why I don't think I could ever achieve much in life. I like the life of a hippie. I wanna travel and explore and listen to music forever.
22/4-23/4: Long-ass flight journey to Emirates with failed attempts to fall asleep. My inability to sleep anywhere except on my bed is a curse. Wanderlusted and people-watched at the Dubai airport because they have so many different destinations. Also, Emirates has amazing onboard entertainment to compete with that of Qatar. Managed to watch Hugo and The Help, listened to Oasis, Florence + the Machine and an indie channel.
Sunday 23/4: Arrived at Vienna in the afternoon, arrived at Europe for the first time in my life. Quietly took in all the sights during the taxi ride even though it wasn't interesting. Arrived at a hotel only to be told that ours was at some other block and had to lug our luggage up 2 flights of steps. Washed up and took a subway out to have dinner. Had a schnitzel, then took the subway back to the hotel instead of starting on my Viennese adventure because it was freezing.
Monday 24/4: Explored and got lost around the hotel and Stephansplatz, the main square in the city centre that contains the St Stephan's Cathedral. Started out roaming around the hotel area when I stumbled upon the Jesuit church. Made friends with a woman who brought me into the sacristy. Left the church and stumbled into more churches - St Peter's Church, St Michael's Church, a really nice Greek Orthodox Church (which I couldn't get the name of cos it was so small and obscure and everything was in Greek). Churches in Europe are so old and grand, it felt amazing to be in them. Also saw old-school confessional pews (Y) St Stephan's Cathedral was a letdown even though it was the star tourist attraction. Maybe it's so touristy that it lost its charm. Also had to pay to go into the main altar area but I accidentally went in anyway even though I didn't pay. Maybe it was the Gothic style that turned me off - I didn't feel comfort in the church. Instead, it felt cold and distant and creepy and that's not how churches are supposed to feel to me. Had lunch at an old typical Viennese cafe - Cafe Hawelka, which didn't serve proper lunch. So I had the most amazing apple strudel ever as well as 2 sausages and bread - which they made me eat with hands because that's how "typical Viennese people eat it". Stumbled around some more, found some archaeological ruins between St Michael's and the back of the Hofburg. Day 1 of my solo Viennese adventure was good because I was really exploring Vienna with all its random (cobblestoned) streets and going into churches. This is what I've always dreamt of doing, and what I'll always dream of doing in every part of Europe. Met the sissy for pizza dinner which was kinda awesome cos they're huge and greasy :-) Also gelato!
Tuesday 25/4: One of the worst days of my life. I shan't elaborate much except to say that I joined a day tour to Salzburg. Salzburg was a pretty place but there wasn't time to see much and it was freezing and raining so I couldn't walk around much anyway. The journey to/from Salzburg as well as the shuttle back to the hotel was the worst experience ever, which was what made the day so bad. Definitely hafta go back to Salzburg some time in my life. Also had Chinese food out of those take-out boxes you see on American tv for the first time in my life.
Wednesday 26/4: Followed the sis to the UN building in the morning and went for a guided tour. The little IH geekiness I had came out in me. Went to a shopping mall nearby for lunch and spent hours there not shopping but getting lost and finding my way back to the subway station. Also went to the Art History museum where I geeked out not over the art pieces but the Egyptian exhibits they had (which really made me miss Egypt cos it's definitely the best place I've ever visited). Met the sissy for some opera thing at night, which sucked mainly because it was held at some small place and not the grand Opera House that I wanted to visit. Also had dinner at the same pizza place, but ate pasta instead. Tried the Twix Mcflurry which doesn't do justice to either Twix or Mcflurry.
Thursday 27/4: Visited the Roman Museum near the hotel. Found a fake Shakespeare & Co. bookstore near the hotel, which was quite amazing because all the books were in English and was the type of bookstore that I always dreamt of going to - small/cramped with bookshelves piled up all the way to the high ceilings with thousands of books. It even had a tiny Anthropology section!!! Wanted to buy the new edition of the Anthro book I am currently reading (which belongs to the NUS library) but I figured that until I become an actual Anthro student, the book would actually make me sad. Stumbled upon a small church - St Rupert's Church - which was scarier than St Stephan's. Then I went back to St Michael's for a crypt tour! The guide was really nice because he charged me at a 'child' rate and spoke in English specially for me after he spoke in German to the rest of the group (I think it was meant to be a German tour but anyway everyone else in the group only spoke German). Saw mummies like those of Egypt, apparently some bodies mummified due to the weather? Went to the huge-ass Hofburg after that which was mostly made up of museums. Visited the treasury and the Ephesos Museum and St Augustine's Church, all of which were a waste of time mehhh. But then! I visited the Museum of Ethnology and it was major geekin' out session even though most of the exhibitions were closed for renovation (:() Still, the Asian exhibition itself was amazeballs and I spent the longest time there even though barely anyone visited that museum lmao. Had lunch at some modern cafe (kinda like a typical Singaporean indie cafe) which also sold music and books. Walked a bit through Mariahilferstrasse, the main shopping stretch in Vienna. Had dinner at Figlmuller with the sissy, where I had more schnitzel. Walked around the city a bit before going back to the hotel.
Friday 28/4: Visited the Schonbrunn Palace, which is like the main attraction of Vienna but didn't attract me at all. Travelled to St Peter's Church cos it's supposed to the most beautiful Baroque church in Vienna, but I couldn't go in without paying 6 euros so I went off in indignation because churches aren't meant to be tourist attractions which you have to pay to go into :( Went into the Vienna Museum next door which was yet another waste of time but I can't complain cos the woman let me in for free. Visited the Naschmarkt, a nearby market. Had kebab for lunch and I wished I walked through more of the market but it was too big and there was no time. Walked a long way to an antique bookstore to find it closed :( Then walked another long way to Cafe Sperl, another old established Viennese cafe. Had an amazing sachertorte there before going back to Mariahilferstrasse. Found the most amazing indie record store in a little street next to Mariahilferstrasse. Spent the longest time there ever looking through cds. Bought Arcade Fire's Funeral and KoC's Riot On An Empty Street which were relatively cheap. Everything else was expensive but the store is still super amazing and was the type of indie music store I always dreamt of going into - small and indie with nice people and selling LPs and band shirts and other merchandise. The people there were really really nice, I think they were surprised to see a young Asian girl cos everyone else was old and loyal customers HAHA. They offered me drinks and also told me to stay for a band which was gonna perform at the shop, both of which I politely declined because I was running out of time. Rushed back to the hotel to meet the sissy, had lunch at some atas restaurant which sold normal European food eg pasta. Went for a nice horse carriage ride around St Stephan's.
Saturday 29/4: Went to the supermarket to buy chocolates, packed up, lazed around in the hotel room watching tv (AUSTRIA IS SHOWING OC SEASON 2!!!!! All German-dubbed, which makes Julie Cooper sound like a mega-bitch) before leaving for the airport :(
29/4-30/4: Long-ass journey back to Singapore. Dubai airport was almost dead so I couldn't people-watch and wanderlust. Besides, I was too tired and bummed about going back to Singapore so I just stoned with my ipod. Managed to watch Sherlock Holmes 2 and Wizard of Oz on the plane, listened to more of the indie channel as well as Oasis.
Started out this post with nothing to write about but now that I wrote a day-by-day summary I have so much more to say. The trip, like I've said before, is what I've dreamt of doing for forever - exploring and getting lost in random cobble-stoned streets surrounded by old architecture and history, visiting churches and museums, visiting cafes and people-watching, getting used to a new culture. Didn't have enough time, really. I could explore forever. And there were so many places left to visit. I felt like the tourist attractions were a waste of time and it's the places you chance upon randomly which were most rewarding. The tourist attractions seriously took up so much of my time, siannnnnnn. I could have explored much more if I didn't go to these tourist attractions. Still, I can't exactly complain because I got to go to Vienna. Exploring Vienna on my own felt good because I wasn't accountable to anyone. It felt like there were so many possibilities, and I was on an adventure. The foreignness of being alone in a foreign land surrounded by a foreign language didn't faze me much, the only times I felt uncomfortable were at tourist places where I was alone and the only Asian. Also, the only time I really hated not understanding German was at museums, where everything was labelled in German and hence I could only stare at artefacts to geek out :( Being surrounded by the German language 24/7 made me realise how ugly the German language is. With that said, the music scene in Vienna is quite amazing, because they listen to English music even though everything else is in German. H&M was playing Beach House's Myth???? And Forever 21 was playing A Fine Frenzy and Feist remixes! Also, some random ice cream truck was playing Kings of Leon (Y)(Y) Oh yes I also saw a real-life hippie!!!! Who had dreadlocks and carried an Indian cloth bag and walked around barefoot and wore ripped jeans showing off his underwear :O Didn't get to shop much, which was a real pity but things in Vienna aren't that cheap anyway, contrary to what I thought.... Really wished I shopped more and ate more and visited more cafes and churches and museums and walked around/explored more :( I swear I belong in Europe with all its churches and museums and history and old buildings and cobblestoned streets and cafes and music. Need to find money and travel to Europe more, somehow.
Now that I'm back in Singapore, I'm really hating this weather. Also my bodyclock is majorly screwed up because of jetlag and also because I cannot sleep on planes. Slept for 17 hours last night, it's 2 am now and I don't think I could fall asleep anytime soon... Hong Kong with my classmates seems to be happening, I could seriously travel and explore forever :) Maybe traveling and exploring (and wanderlusting) is my way of escaping from the drudgeries of life. Seriously starting to hate my life in Singapore. People are starting to get accepted into unis overseas, which makes me sad and jealous. Anthro and UK have always been a dream but of course, reality is a major bitch. Maybe I don't have the willpower to achieve things either, unlike the way other people are so set on achieving things. This is why I don't think I could ever achieve much in life. I like the life of a hippie. I wanna travel and explore and listen to music forever.
2:18 AM;