A Balancing Act

Standing Still (Jewel)

"Between fight and flight is the blind man's sight and the choice that's right"

The bottom line is that there are no right or wrong answers, just the best action to be employed under mitigating circumstances.

Ethical dilemmas.

It's something we've been preached to at uni for a good couple of lectures.

Yup I got it.

Most of the time, I was able to get behind the simulated scenarios and formulate what I think is the best way to handle the situation, so I figured ethical dilemmas are just another one of those lecturers' gimmicks to try and scare us about the real world.

Until this ethical dilemma got the better of me.

I was watching episode 2x24 of Grey's Anatomy yesterday which involved a difficult decision.

A pregnant lady (who already had 6 kids) came in for a Caesearean for the birth her 7th child. She wanted Dr Addison Shepherd to tie up her baby-carrying factories after the delivery because, as many of you would understand, her family is getting far too big for her to handle.

The only problem is that her husband was against birth control (for religious reasons), and she hadn't told him of her life-changing decision.

The doctor didn't agree to do it just like that, obviously. She made the patient aware that it was a private matter which should be talked through properly between husband and wife before any action was to be taken.

But knowing that her husband wouldn't come round to seeing it her way, she saw no point in bringing this up to him. The only way (in her opinion) was to do it behind his back without him knowing.

So after some serious consideration, Dr Shepherd obliged, because "she is our patient, and our obligation is to her, and her only".

She tied up her Fallopian tubes after delivery, and made it known to the OR staff that she did what she "had to", "due to a complication of the surgery which came from unexpected bleeding of the Fallopian tubes".

Sincerely, I thought that was smart. What a way to camouflage the whole thing without needing to break patient confidentiality.

But guess what. The patient's husband smelled something fishy about the business. He probably knew (from his experience of having 6 kids) that C-sections are relatively safe, so he was definitely not bought over by the justification of Shepherd's actions.

And he decided to sue.

Naturally, Shepherd wasn't going to let this blemish her renowned reputation. She went back to the patient and asked her to come clean as it was HER request after all, and that Shepherd only did it at her behest.

Ha. So what do you think? Do you think the patient would have been so "kind" as to tell her husband the truth and bear the brunt of his fury, and see their marriage fall apart because of that?

Of course not.

She's human after all and humans are selfish. They are only after what they want and care about nothing else. (Haha, I said they like I'm not human...)

So, the doctor went all out to help her patient and she gets punished for that. Where's the justice?

I guess it's just another reminder that this is the real world, and justice isn't part of the make up.

The way I see it, the real dilemma - at the end of the day - looks as if it's balancing the patient's best interest, and the health professionals' best interest. Because if doing what the patient wants is going to land the latter in hot soup, would anyone be so willing as to go the distance, when their ass, and job, and reputation is on the line?

Morality

Put Your Records On (Corrine Bailey Rae)

"maybe sometimes we got it wrong, but it's alright"

I was clearing my old notes today (wayyyy back to first year) and chanced upon this cute little poem in a Law handout by Dr Dai John. I wonder why it was there...

Moral Maxims
by Colin McGinn (from the book Moral Literacy)

If you want someone to do something, persuade them, don't make them
Always be kind at first, but be firm if your kindness is exploited
Trust people unless you have reason not to, but don't be surprised if your trust is betrayed
In matters of blame, think twice before you speak
Be critical but not cynical
Remember that there is a future, not just a present

Never allow the low standards of others to lower your own standards
Admire good people
Be wary of envy, in yourself and others
Don't forget that everyone has to die and everyone was once born
Don't confuse just criticism with persecution
Be truthful, but not in order to hurt others
Let the facts speak for themselves
Beware of the abuse of power

If you are not sure you are doing the right thing, ask a trusted friend
Remember that bad things have often been done in the name of virtue
First be honest with yourself, and then with other people
Never let injustice pass unchallenged
Don't make excuses for cruelty
Don't take from others what is rightfully theirs
Be kind to strangers, but not because you too may be a stranger one day
Don't allow your temper to do what reason can't
If you can't sing, be happy that someone can
Stare at yourself in the mirror once in a while
Don't insult where you can refute
Don't confuse independence with rebelliousness
Respect truth above persons
Don't despise the unfortunate

Keep your word
Don't let outward appearance determine your moral judgments
Be tolerant of difference
Be humourous, but not at the cost of seriousness
Don't think what is right is always obvious
Let other people finish their sentences
Apologise if you let someone down
Don't apologise if you have done nothing wrong.

Haha, looks like I'm not that moral after all...

Around The World To 80 Cities

The Way (Dana Glover)

"I can't expect the whole world to stop turning just to listen to me,

besides everybody thinks that they're the one that's got something to say,

it's the way it's been it's always been the way"

I have this great big map which I stick on the billboard to the right of my desk.

Every once in a while, when I'm bored, or just want to waste time, I'd spend 5-10 minutes looking at all the places I want to go.

I have once and for all decided to make a list, and I look forward to crossing them off in the near future...

1. New York
2. San Francisco
3. LA
4. Miami
5. Boston
6. Luxemburg
7. Tokyo
8. Amsterdam
9. Brussels
10.Brugge
11. Italy (anywhere!)
12. Zurich
13. Geneva
14. Basel
15. Monaco
16. Morocco
17. Egypt
18. Istanbul
19. Stockholm
20. Olso
21. Helsinki
22. Madrid
23. Canary Islands
24. Granada [again]
25. Malaga
26. Porto
27. Faro
28. Lisbon [again]
29. Ireland (anywhere!)
30. Glasgow
31. Edinburgh
32. Aberdeen
33. Belfast
34. Budapest
35. Seychelles
36. Shanghai
37. Beijing
38. Hong Kong [again])
39. Bangkok
40. Chiang Mai
41. Pattaya
42. Taiwan
43. Nairobi
44. Mombasa
45. Australia (anywhere!)
46. Moscow
48. Bali
49. Hamburg
50. Munich
51. Berlin [again]
52. Athens
53. Johannesburg (world cup 2010 anyone?)
54. Delhi
55. Toronto
56. Ottawa
57. Vancouver
58. Newfoundland
59. Dubai
60. Auckland
61. Singapore [again]
62. Yorkshire
63. Norwich
64. Cornwall
65. Liverpool
66. Cambridge
67. Swansea
68. Aberystwyth
69. Paris [again!]
70. Washington DC
71. Johor Baru
72. Kuala Terengganu
73. Seremban
74. Malacca
75. Isle of Wight
76. Portsmouth
77. all the beautiful islands back home
78. Shenzhen
79. Rio de Janiero
80. Hawaii

I am actively looking for travel mates and tour guides, so hook me up!

NB: Anywhere except Hawaii I'm afraid. I'm keeping that for my honeymoon so don't fight with my Mr. Whoever he will be :)

West Coast of Western Europe Pt 6 (Final)

Okay if I proscrastinate any more and delay this any longer, I might as well just forget it. Which I am (slowly)...ooh dear.

cont'd from Pt 5

27 Dec was the penultimate day of our trip.

Not sure about the girls but I know I showed signs of "wuu-huu...I don't want to go back..."

Because going back means going back to mundane old life. And although I missed my (creaking) bed in Aberdare Hall, I had somewhat gotten accustomed to the vagabond routine after 14 days of nomadic travelling. And I've had loads of fun, which makes the withdrawal symptoms even harder to bear!

The itinery for the day was rest and relax, plus covering tourist spots we left off from the day before.

Sao Jorge Castell is located on a hill, overlooking the city. We went up there at about 10am and stayed till noon admiring the view from the top, and soaking up the sun...

We descended from the hill and came down to the Praca de Comercio. It is easily the most majestic square in Lisbon - unmistakable with that breathtaking arch the erects proudly in front of Rua Augusta, the main pedestrian shopping area downtown.

Picure courtesy of Strawberry World Lisbon

From there we went to Baixa-Chaido, which is akin to Bintang Walk back home. We walked around, poked into a few shops and surprise surprise, it was nearly tea time. Due to a tummy that was on strike the day before, I didn't have the appetite for any delectable Portuguese pastries. But I was going to make amends that afternoon anyway.

Adeline said we absolutely have to catch a Fado show before we say bye-bye to dear Lisbon, so we did. But we didn't exactly buy tickets to the show because the places we identified from the guide book and maps given by Tourist Information were either unidentifiable or just weren't available. As we were walking back to our hostel, we chanced upon a guy who was standing outside of his restaurant (couldn't remember if he was having a fag or just some fresh air), but anyway, he called out to us and asked if we were interested in Fado.

We passed looks to one another, and sincerely, if you could draw balloons on top of our heads, it would have to be "is this guy psychic?"

Fado is a traditional folk music that is melancholic as it is nostalgic.

Having surrendered Malacca to the Portuguese back in 1511, we know from history that they are a bunch of people with enriching culture, so it simply wouldn't do us (or them) justice if we didn't try to catch any performance showcasing some of their fine heritage.

Apparently, it's free at the restaurant (but we would have to pay for dinner) so we thought, why not, since we needed to eat anyway so we booked a table for 3.

It wasn't any surprise that the place was expensive (by Lisbon standards). A 3-course meal for almost 40 Euros, man that has got to be the most expensive meal I've had!

The ambience was right, but too bad the waiters spoiled it for us. Stupid of them anyway.

As we entered the restaurant, they asked if we wanted them to take care of our coats. Being on the alert, we politely declined.

Guess what the chief waiter said.

"Why, are you afraid we're going to steal your stuff?"

That was stab number 1.

I think maybe being ill had something to do with me being subdued that night, because ordinarily I would have just thrown him back with a "Why, precisely! Such a mind reader you are!".

As we took our seats, he "casually" enquired after our origins.

"So are you girls from the States?"

(Me trying my best not to shake my head at YET another person who thinks we're from the US)

"Haha no sir. No, we're from Malaysia."

"Ahhhhh Malayyyyysiaaaaaa. You speak very good English for an Asian. Trust me (he rolled his eyes)."

My ears almost fell off.

Was that some kind of a compliment???

Except I DON'T THINK SO!!!

What was he trying to say huh? That Asians don't speak good English?

EXCUSE ME??!!

Good thing he left before I had a chance to pin him down on the table.

Eherm.

Anyway, we were seated very near to the stage so I guess 40 Euros was worth it. The performance started after we had our starters, so I'd say they timed it well. It was roughly a one-hour segment, which consisted of interesting cultural dances interspersed with solo singing (of Fado music) in between.

Sorry to sound brat-like but the food sucked. My dish anyway. I guess I still wasn't feeling too well from the cold and it probably affected my appetite. I was fine the whole time until I consumed the fruit dessert.

For reasons unknown to me, I felt queasy after just having 2 bites of peach.

The gag reflex was too strong to withhold so lo and behold, I puked.

Yes, right there on the table.

I shall spare you the details but let's just say I was thankful for the following:

a) my napkin (which camouflaged the contents quite well, thank you)

and b) there wasn't any pretty boy in sight to see my embarrassing act so all is good :)

I felt bad for the waiter who was going to clean our table though...

But on second thought, maybe not.

Let this be a lesson to him not to insult Asians who speak good English!

So there. That concludes my enormously enjoyable trip around the West Coast of Western Europe (OMG 36 days ago).

Huge huge gratitude to Adeline and Joyce for being such great travel partners, for doing all the booking and reservations and planning and researching and correspondence etc, and for putting up with (ALL) my bad throughout the whole trip.

You guys are wonderful. Thank you. Muah!

The fantastic four - Adeline, Joyce, Me and San San

Freaky Friday

The FREAKIEST thing happened today.

As in FREAKY FREAKY FREAKY.

Have I said FREAKY, already?

I was telling Michelle about it yesterday after Enchanted. I had a dream about it last night and today I happened to come face to face with it.

The shocking quirkiness of kismet.

Enchanted

Ever Ever After (Carrie Underwood)
"Start a new fashion, wear your heart on your sleeve"

I don't know what the other cinema-goers were laughing at, but I know I was laughing - hard and out loud - at the cheesiness of the movie.

Enchanted is Disney's latest fairy tale (the title sure gives it away doesn't it?).

Not exactly boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love and live happily after...but you're 99% right anyway.

Giselle was supposed to marry Edward, the prince of Andalasia Kingdom. His evil stepmother (honestly, why are all stepmothers evil? Surely there are some kind loving ones around...) wasn't ready to give up her throne when Edward marries, so she sent away Giselle, this young lady who naively believed in ever after.

Where to?

Planet earth - a place where happily ever after doesn't exist.

So there she was in New York city, all alone and lost. But her lucky stars didn't let her despair for long, for a handsome man's daughter noticed her from the window of a taxi, and with her daddy's help, took home the damsel in distress.

6 year old Morgan was fascinated by Giselle, what with her over-enthusiastic mannerisms and speech, and of course, her pong-pong fairy tale dress, but Robert wasn't so impressed. I think he thinks what I would think too if I met Giselle on the streets.

A-huh. Psycho.

Talking about how she was cast away from her kingdom, and her fervent belief that her true heart's desire would come and save her. Come on young lady. Wake up.

The movie progressed and true enough, Edward did come to planet Earth to save her, but by then, she had already fallen for Robert, who (disgustingly) reciprocated.

Who did she end up with?

Let's just say had the ending been better, I might have contemplated bestowing more than 6 stars out of 10...

Sigh, it's Disney after all. They already bought me over with the "happily ever after" idea ever since my mother read me Cinderella, so why should this time be any different?

Except that I am now no longer a hopeful girl of 5 but a sceptical woman of 22...
Ok, on 2nd thought, I'll give it 7 out of 10. 1 extra star for the cute little girl who played Morgan, Carrie Underwood for lending her vocals to the uplifting soundtrack and that magically dreamy person who made "ever after" seemed believable, even if it was only for 1 hour and 46 mins.

Yup Carrie, storybook endings, fairy tales coming true. Deep down inside we want to believe they still do....

West Coast of Western Europe Pt 5

cont'd from West Coast of Western Europe Pt4

Ok. This is what the Lonely Planet has to say...

Portugal is a quiter, calmer place than its exuberant neighbour, Spain. But it's far from dull. Thanks to the country's relative geographic isolation, Portugal has retained a strong and fascinating sense of identity and culture....

The economic base is still very traditional, relying largely on fish, wine and textiles. The flip side is that although EU funding has vastly improved the infrastructure, Portugal is still relatively a poor country.

And that was where I stopped reading.

Yes, this city girl isn't that easily impressed by less wealthy nations, she admits very sheepishly. But then again it's not to say Malaysia is VERY wealthy either...but that's different :)

I had very low expectations of Lisbon thanks to the excerpt from the book. Little did I imagine I would fall so much in love with the place...

We arrived very early in the morning following the night bus from Sevilla. The thing is we were to suppose to fly in to Lisbon, but our flights got cancelled 2 weeks before our trip, so the 7 hour bus was the only option we had. Can't really complain because come to think of it, we were lucky to get transportation out of Sevilla on Christmas Day...

We were there so early the metro guys weren't even ready to serve us yet. But I bet we amused them very much with our half-awake "ok-we-got-to-figure-out-where-the-hell-are-we" looks. Haha.

And neither were we ready to converse with the locals too, given we know absolutely no Portuguese! I remembered thinking at that time that if we had to resort to so much sign language in a moderately advanced and tourist-friendly country like Spain, then one does wonder what magic we had to perform to get people in Lisbon to understand us...

But all that worry was unnecessary, for people in Portugal spoke GOOD English! Well, in Lisbon at least. That really put their Spanish counterparts to shame!

Lisbon is a port city by the sea. We first went to Balem to see the famous Torre and Museu do Design. Had lunch at a Chinese Restaurant which - in OUR opinion (this is not just me) - served the BEST Chinese food we've tasted in the 3 chinky restaurants we've customed on this trip. The roast duck was oh-so-saliva-inducing, and the seafood noodles! Never have I seen such fresh prawns in years!

A-huh. I can see you going..."Chinese food? When on a Europe Trip? Hello???"

Well, you would too if you're sick of paella (like I was), and literally, sick (which I was).

I fell ill when in Sevilla (was down with a cold) and I craved for soup like no other. I felt instantly energised after downing that bowl of chowder! No kidding!

After the Balem, we went over to the other side of Lisbon which is the Oceania, home to the Europe 98 Expo. It's a newly developed area, boasting cable car rides, a casino, an aquarium and high class apartments around that area. Walking around Oceania on that beautiful afternoon gave my nerves a lot of serenity and tranquility, of which they have been deprived since starting uni in September. How therapeutic.

It actually reminded me of the same relaxed feeling I had as we strolled along the harbour in Copenhagen 2 years ago. Both are capitals of the country, both are by the sea, both were blessed with enormous sunshine when I was there, and both were the last stops of my Europe trip. Hmm, how uncanny...

The current background on my desktop :) - Oceania

Days are much longer in this part of Europe, which means we got to do more during the day. As the evening approached, we went up to Largo das Portas do Sol (which is the terrace the guidebook recommended for getting snapshot souvenirs of the city). Overlooking the Lisbon skyline during sunset was indeed very picturesque, but moi unfortunately haven't got the photos on her so she couldn't them show off...

To be continued.

Prison Break

Was doing my research on healthcare provision in this country (and the issues surrounding it) for my PH4105 exam when I stumbled upon this illuminating feature on UK prisons.

Go check it out.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/guides/456900/456953/html/nn2page1.stm

It's a real eye-opener.

I just can't believe the inmates have access to more mod cons than I do!

Simple Things

I love receiving emails from friends. Especially those from whom I haven't heard in some time.

It just adds a bit of life to well, you know, life.

Good to hear from you again AL, Nan and KL!

So, what has Munny been up to? She spent the last few days doing (or claiming to be doing) revision. Has not seen the sun in a while. The only time she went out was to buy groceries and post some letters off and returned a couple of un-read library books (which is very sad. She quietly promised herself that that will be the last time she's taking out The Alchemist and it'd better be, after 3 attempts of borrowing it and not a page was flipped!).

Sincere apologies Senor Coelho. It's not your fault, it's mine.

As of now, she's just finished watching The Devil Wears Prada (check it out at 66stage.com), sincerely dreaming she could wear those pretty clothes and have half of Andie's determination to hang in there and not be a quitter.

I LOVE ANNE HATHAWAY!!!

Ok, procrastination time's up. Before I go, let me leave you with an interesting little quote that I've been philosophising lately...

"The world is no longer a romantic place. But some of its people still are, however. And therein lies hope. Do not let the world win." - John Cage

p/s: Congratulations to E An for you know what...*insert coy emoticon*

West Coast of Western Europe Pt 4

cont'd from West Coast of Western Europe Pt 3

Sevilla is well known for the Flamenco dance and bull-fighting amongst other things. But winter is too cold for the bulls to come out and fight, so we could only go for the Flamenco show.

The one we went to was a modest little theatre 2 streets from our hotel. The show featured a guy on guitar, a lady on vocals plus a male and female dancer. Not being sexist or bias, but the guy dancer gave a better performance than his female counterpart. You could see the fire and passion, so much so his red shirt flung out from its tucked position to set this girl swooning!


Ok folks, there is no need for rolling eyes...

That was Christmas Eve.

As our bus to Lisbon wasn't till 11 on Christmas night, and we didn't want to pay rent for a room we were only going to stay for half the night, we decided to check out around noon time.

Things went a bit out of hand as there were some discrepancies in payment. We thought we were due to pay 18 Euros per night (as listed on our booking sheet), but when we got round to paying the bill, the receptionist charged us 22 Euros.

"That's not right", we echoed.

A-huh. But what's that in Spanish???

Great. The receptionist spoke not a word of English, and we spoke not a word of Spanish. And we're supposed to settle this rather complicated matter.

HOW???

Jus then a guy walked past us.

For no rhyme or reason, my instincts said I should call him.

“Hi, sorry. Do you speak English?”

“Yup”.

I nearly wanted to shout "Oh great", when I remembered that's only half of what we were looking for.

"Erm, sorry again. But do you speak Spanish too?"

"Yeah, I speak Spanish as well".

Now I can say "great".

"Right, could you help us out for a moment?"

"Sure".

We told him the situation and he translated everything we said to the receptionist. And he did the same with his reply to us.

To cut the long story short, the receptionist said for as long as he has been working there, the rent had always been 22 Euros per night, and he blamed the booking website for giving us the wrong quote. We sensed he wasn't going to budge, so we had no choice but to pay the amount he asked for.

I suppose you could say getting the guy to be our translator wasn't of much use since we paid 22 Euros eventually, but I beg to differ. At least with his help, we reasoned (a little) with the receptionist and the money didn't go into the hotel's accounts without a fight.

A note to Rodrigo...

Firstly, muchas gracias.

I know you gave me your name card and all, but I think I've lost it!

You have no idea how many (crocodile) tears I shed as I overturned my entire room to look for your precious name card, but worry not, I remembered your name, Senor Rodrigo Hernandez erm something (I like your middle name by the way, am gonna add it to my fav name list after this). I remembered the way you looked, the knitted brown top you wore, and the (brief but interesting) exchange we had, so not all is bad...I guess it's just yao yun mo fun...

Eherm. The last bit is a private joke between me and the girls =P

“Tall, dark and handsome?” I hear you ask.

That is if he wears an 8-inch platform shoe and shed some pounds…

:)

We went to Plaza de Espana and Parque de Maria Luisa for a walk after that. The latter was a nice little park where many families came out and spent quality time with loved ones on Christmas day. It was quite surprising that many people were out on the streets actually. I had always thought it was going to be soulless like in the UK, with most shops closed and only 3 cars on the road every hour, but no, I was proven wrong. Amusingly wrong!

Day then turned into night and it was time for us to board the long night bus to Lisbon, scheduling to reach the Portuguese capital at 7 in the morning.

Waiting at the bus station was quite a harrowing experience, as people looked rather dodgy over there. I apologise if I offended anyone with that remark but personally, that was how I felt. People stared at us everywhere we went, like they've never seen PYTs before. Sure, getting that kind of head-turning attention is (or would have been) flattering any other time but not when it's late at night, at a dim, quiet bus station...

Thank God we got on the bus safely and reached Lisbon before dusk as planned.

To be continued...

LOL!

If You Could Read My Mind (Amber)
"if you could read my mind love, what a tale my thoughts would tell"

 

I came across these 2 groups on Facebook and it had me on the floor.

As in I fell off my chair laughing.

The "All men are created equal: They are all inferior to Michael Vaughn" group, and the " I Want A Man like Leo Wyatt" group.

Did I join them??? What do you think???!!!

West Coast of Western Europe Pt 3

cont'd from West Coast of Western Europe Pt 2

4th stop: Cordoba

We arrived at Cordoba by bus and spent a day in this town south of Granada.

The first impression was good as the tourist information guy was friendly and helpful. But it started to go downhill when we reached the hostel, as we were told there wasn’t a 3 bedded-room for us. The receptionist said the only option was to move us to a 6 bedded-room.

Of course we rioted! Because a) that’s not what we wanted and b) we made this booking months ago, so why could they not have told us before hand so that we could make prior arrangements before it’s too late? It was clear that they knew about the unavailable 3 bedded-room because she (foolishly, I’d say), showed us what her colleagues wrote on their copy of the booking confirmation sheet.

We didn’t settle for the 6 bedded-room, obviously. At one point she even said to us, “Look, I’m trying to solve a problem for you, ok? So take it easy.” which I thought was classic. A) You never tell a customer what to do and b) the customer is always right!

After some negotiations, she said the only other option left was to let us have a 3 bedded-room of which the lock was faulty. We didn’t have much of a choice then but to grudgingly take the room. We consoled ourselves that it was just for una noche, so (we tried to) chill.

We went to the Mezquitta in the afternoon, which is a unique piece of architecture that reflects the fusion of Islamic and Christian influences, attributed to the fact that it was a mosque - once used as a church - from the 12th-16th century.



A visit to the Alvazar de los Reyes Cristianos overwhelmed us with its lush gardens and impressive fountains, not forgetting the lebat clementine trees too!


Not very keen on tapas and paella (after 4 days in Spain), I was eager to try local Cordoban food. Unlike the Alpujarran cuisine, it is less meat-based. And soups form a big part of their cuisine too. But cold ones though, to my dismay. We were lucky to find one shopkeeper who spoke modest English, and it was he who introduced us to salmorejo, flamenquin and gazpacho, which is a mish-mash of stuff in soup. I think the best was calamares fritos - yummy fried squid!

5th stop: Sevilla

As I mentioned before, not many speak English in Spain (or at least those we encountered). The exception being the people in Barcelona (for obvious reasons). Because of that, we relied heavily on sign language and I’m sure the girls wouldn’t forget the incident at the bus station where we bought our tickets to Sevilla, our next stop.

We were trying to buy tickets for tres (our most-used Spanish word) when he asked us for the departure time. The furthest I could count in Spanish was to 5, and when I put 10 fingers up to signify 10 o’clock, he pointed to 10pm. Not wanting to travel that late, we asked if there were tickets for earlier buses. But not being able to convey that in Spanish resulted in me doing my “hand sweeping up” movement, which had all of us in stitches!

Oh, so you think it was fun eh, using sign language. Well, a little, but not when things get lost in translation.

After we bought our tickets, we asked the counter guy - in the poorest Spanish you can ever imagine - “Arrivio estacion de autobus como *and then did a little hand shaking motion coz we didn’t know how to say hour in Spanish*". We wanted that to mean (literally translated into Enlgish) "arriving at bus station what time?”

And the guy responded with a 2.

Ah, 2 o’clock, we thought.

We went on the bus expecting a 4-hour bus ride. The three of us dozed off at some point and it wasn’t until I heard Torn on the radio that I woke up.

Finally, an English song :)

I opened my eyes and checked the time. Oh, 11.45. Right, another 2 hours. I was prepared to go back to sleep again when the words “Hotel Sevilla” caught my eye.

Sevilla?

Am I dreaming?

I alerted the girls.

“But we’re not due to reach till 2, right?” I asked.

“Yeah, that’s what he motioned”, the girls reassured me.

"But I really saw the word Sevilla lar, so what’s going on?"

It wasn’t until later that we realized the 2 he motioned was meant to signify two hours, and not REACHING the bus station at 2pm.

See what I mean?

It was a good thing Sevilla was the final stop anyway, so it didn’t make a difference. Otherwise we would have been transported elsewhere and the problem then would be “we missed our stop senor, please get us back there!”

It was overcast when we reached Sevilla that afternoon. Hmm, this fussy pot wasn’t liking it already. And then we had a problem finding the hotel because the only instructions given were “200m from the bus station”. And like J said, “do they expect us to walk in a circumference of 200m and see if we spot anywhere that says Hotel Loudres?”

And it really didn’t help that Sevilla has 2 bus stations.

As serendipity would have it, we arrived at the other bus station, not the one that was 200m away. So you can imagine the walking we did prior to locating our hostel. No point turning to TI for help too because it was a Sunday and none of them were open.

Eventually we found the place, thanks to some bar owner who had a comprehensive A-Z of Sevilla. We checked in to what was the best accommodation of our trip so far.

Later in the afternoon, we checked out the Cathedral, which was absolutely magnificent and walked along the river bank to the other side of town. The weather picked up tremendously the following day, so much so we stripped off our winter jackets by mid afternoon! And this was supposed to be the winter season. I take back all the bad stuff I said about Sevilla earlier!


We then walked around the Alcazar (couldn’t go in coz it was closed) and the Old Jewish Quarter. We went into some souvenir shops and like a déjà vu in movies, there was a desperado, in cool shades, brown hat, lank black hair, strumming his guitar, itching to lavish his attention on us 3 guapos. He even blew Adeline a kiss!

Unfortunately it was that Adeline, not this one. I was so very jealous!

To be continued...

West Coast of Western Europe Pt 2

cont'd from West Coast of Western Europe Pt 1

Orly airport was quite far from where we stayed (Jaurez). We had to change 2 metro lines and take a 40-minute bus ride to reach the airport. The train bit was fine, but when we got to Porte de Choisy, we were a bit confused as to where to take the bus because everything was in French!

But worry not, a (cute) Frenchy metro-counter guy came to our rescue and pointed us in the right direction.

Ok fine. He didn’t literally come to us, we had to go to him. Still. He had the cutest smile I’ve seen in the last couple of days.

So there, we were ready to bid Paris adieu.

I have no doubts I will be back to this lovely city in the future.

Next time, with more cash and a man.

:)

2nd Stop: Barcelona

We got into the Catalanion capital past 2 in the afternoon.

I made a mental note to change my habitual “Excusez moi, parlez vous anglais” to “Hola, habla Ingles?”, but when I came face to face with the locals, I got so tongue tied it took me a lot of “erm”s to get back on track. And I tell people I actually speak 3 languages. How useless.

Good thing Barcelona wasn’t a freezer. It has exactly the kind of weather you expect Spain to have. Palm trees, warm breeze, lots of sun.

After checking into our hostel, we headed off to the Picasso museum and the Barri Gothic Cathedral (which was under construction so basically we saw nothing). The next morning we went to witness Gaudi’s brilliant architecture at La Sagrada Familia and a visit to Nou Camp!

I was the only one excited about this as none of the girls were interested in football. But before you get excited yourself, let me just say we merely hovered outside and did not go in for any tours as time was pressing. So don’t ask me if I saw Ronaldinho or Messi :)

We went from there to Montjuic, home to Barcelona’s 1992 Olympic village. The trek uphill was worth it as we got to go inside the stadium and around the area.

Having walked so much in the last 4 days, my legs were ready to cave in. I think J’s ones were in similar state too. We were thinking of whether to walk up to the Castell or take a cab ride up.

The other Adeline, the semangat one, didn’t have to ask us really. The answer was obvious.

And it was a good thing we didn’t pretend to be brave and say “oh don’t worry we’ll be fine” because we would have died on the way up! It was quite a steep ascend to the top, and given our state at that point in time, we would have been stuck in a rut if we had chosen to walk!

You should have seen how we ooh-ed and ahh-ed, and how the cam-frenzy came alive. It was a view to remember. Absolutely beautiful, especially since we were there around sunset.

We got back to town and did a bit of shopping.

Yeah I heard you, a trip to Spain wouldn't be complete without a visit to ZARA! Luckily for me I was on a (very kiamsiap) budget, so I had no problem not splashing.

The plan was to go to the waterfront in the evening, but an untoward incident occurred (theft). It definitely tarnished the favourable impression I had of Barcelona. And the police! They could have a) referred us to the right place and b) be more sympathetic! We spent the entire night making a police report. Over what, a stolen bag? Have some efficiency!

If there is one thing about me that I've learnt while on this trip, it is that I could actually survive on 2 hours of sleep and still be up the next morning.

Yeah, loads of people can too, but you don’t understand. My body is not accustomed to staying up late and waking up early, which means this is a surprising revelation for me!

Having spent so much time at the policia the night before, we retreated back to our hostel for 10 winks before leaving for the airport at 5am in the morning to catch a plane to Granada, our next stop.

I must apologise to the girls for not speaking much to them the night before (after making the police report) as I was really tired. And when I’m tired I’m grouchy. As it’s not nice to have a grouchy travel mate, I kept my mouth shut the whole time after the incident. J and A, if you’re reading this, it’s nothing to do with you guys or anything. It’s me alright.

And as if my need for a quick pick-me-up was obvious to serendipity, a curly haired, smiley, hostel assistant was on duty that night. You don’t know what kind of wonders that did to my moods!

Argh, why did we have to leave so early in the morning? I didn’t even get to ask for his name....

Not that I know how to in Spanish anyway…

No wait, he spoke very good English!!!

Sob sob…

3rd stop: Granada

Granada had better be good, I thought to myself, after all that in Barca.

And it was supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!

As I wrote to my parents on the postcard I sent them, Granada has to be my fav spot on Earth at the mo. Well, home too (before they get offended haha).

What can I say? It’s simply beautiful beyond words!

Before I left for this trip, I asked my Gibraltarian friend about Andalucia (the southern region of Spain), a place she claimed is where I can see the “proper” Spain. The moment I mentioned I was going to Granada, her eyes lit up. She said she hasn’t been there before but that I made a fine choice by deciding to go.

Er, truth be told Tanya, I didn’t plan this trip. Joyce and Adeline did, so girls, good choice.

Granada is a smaller town/city compared to Barca, so there are less shops and buzz around town, but despite that, I loved it. That coming from a city girl means it means more!

If I thought 9 Euros for the Louvre in Paris was expensive, than 10 Euros for the Alhambra must be throat-slitting. It was, I wouldn’t deny that, but it was worth every cent. The palace within the Alhambra was so majestic I almost wished I could pack my bags and start settling down there!

I’ve done a fair bit of palace-hopping on my last European trip and this, but I’ve seen nothing like the one in Granada, which is a shining beacon of Moorish architecture. If I already went goo-goo-ga-ga over this palace, then I can’t imagine how I’d feel when I visit the Taj Mahal in the future. (I’d probably be so breathless I need an oxygen mask haha).

The next day we went outside of Granada, to a place called La Alpujarra, which is a conglomerate of little villages at the foothills of Sierra Nevada.

We took the bus up to Pampaneira, and then walked UPHILL, for 1.5km to Bubion, the second highest village. UPHILL hokay! 1.5km leh! Rocky, steep footpath some more. Don’t play play man!

This has got to be my personal best so far!

And I almost died when I reached Bubion. How to climb Mount Kinabalu I ask you? *head shaking*

Picture paints a thousand words. So here you go. Enough said.

And one more thing.

I WANT MY CRYSTAL FLOWER!!!!

Advice of the day: if you see something you like, then by ALL MEANS buy it. Don’t be like me and think the whole day. At a store in Pampaneira, I saw this crystal ornament I really liked and I thought to myself, "you know what, let's go eat first, and then come back and browse to my heart's content". I went back to the shop after lunch, but it was closed coz it was siesta time and I ended up not buying the one thing I fell in love with at first sight!

See? I'm still regretting to this today!

Muaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!

To be continued...

West Coast of Western Europe Pt 1

Ha. People laugh at my collecting receipts, entrance tickets, boarding passes etc. Things they call JUNK.

But at times like this when you struggle to recollect the things you did on a trip or where you've gone to visit, they do come in handy!

I won't dwell too much on what I did, where I went and bombard you with too many pictures (because I know the pictures won't mean anything to anyone but the people in it, so I shall spare you that).

I'll just throw in some of my observations, thoughts sparked off by quirky little things that happened, and (haha I know you're waiting for this) how many leng chais I've met along the way...

Aherm.

1st Stop: Paris

2 words.

FREEZING COLD!

As beautiful as the city is, winter there is unbearable. I was in 4 layers and still, was close to being hypothermic. That's bad.

But let not the cold take anything away from gay Paris, the fashion capital, a title it truly deserves! Man, the ladies here are so well dressed. I mean chic, classy, elegant you get the picture. Not tracksuits or sweat pants with tacky bling-bling. You see this quite a lot you-know-where...

We reached Paris rather early in the morning, a crisp morning with the sun out not too long after we arrived at Beauvais Airport. An expensive bus ride to Palace de Maillot and we were in town. Till today, I still chide myself for not learning an extra few French words because it was hard communicating in English over there. *eyes rolling* You know, the whole French pride thing. Some people just refuse to speak to you in English even though they could. I know they can because even my grandparents know how to count in English and say "left", "right", "walk straight", "5 minutes", "oh bus? You take here" etc, so don't tell me the guai los can't?

Also, it's ironic that the only French words I know aren't appropriate to be used, at all!

Hint: Lady Marmalade :)

According to the (messy) travel log I kept, the Arc de Triumph was followed by Champs Elysees, Grand Palace, Petit Palace, Concorde, The Louvre Museum and Eiffel Tower at night. Speaking of the Eiffel Tower, it was certainly a historic venue because: a) that was where the Ultimate Eiffel Tower Sucker Group was formed and b) I survived the extreme cold temperatures to which I've never been exposed before!!!

UETSG was a joke among the 4 of us (Jesse, KC, Kwang Chear and moi) for being, as the name implies, suckers for the Eiffel Tower. First we bought cheaplak souvenirs at the Louvre, and then kiddy little glowing Eiffel Towers that captured our gullible imagination. And when at the entrance, we decided we were going to go all the way up to the top even if it meant we would have been set back by almost 12 Euros.

All for being so in love with a tower. Gawd.

Nonetheless, the view up there was amazing . It's hard to see from pictures, but do take my word for it!

The Louvre Museum was oh so huge. Though not one to appreciate art, I paid 9 Euros through my nose for entrance fee solely to see Leonardo's muse, amongst other things. The things that I do to be "cultured" eh...

Mona Lisa was a little disappointing if you ask me, coz there was no way you could get a close up view. Security was tight around the museum's prized possession and the painting was so small (at least smaller than what I pictured it to be) that some people even suggested it was the fake one!

After that, we walked along the Seine river, mentally taking in the romantic view from the embankment and wishing that a special someone was here...

Ok Munny, speak yourself and no one else!

We walked passed Hotel De Ville (haha, as much as I appreciate your humour, it's not where Cruella stayed), the Pantheon and Luxembourg Garden and went into Notre Dame Cathedral.

Apparently duck dishes are famous in France, so that's what we had on our second night. Foie grais, magret, confit de canard. Not forgetting creme brulee too! I would happily eat escargot for every meal but erm, these stuff are too pricey for a snail! Then there's also french crepes and pattiserie to satisfy all the sweet tooths around...

On our last and final day, we went to Sacre Couer and later posed at the entrance of Moulin Rouge.

Naked?

You wish!

A trip to La Fayette (the Harrods/Selfridge of Paris) completed the city for the 4 from Glasgow, while Joyce, Adeline and I (there were 2 Adelines on the trip) stayed on another night before flying out to Barcelona the next morn.

To be continued...

GROSS

I am the one in the sex DVD, says Chua
sourced from The Star

LABIS: Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek admitted he is the politician in the sex DVDs circulating in Johor.

In a press conference here Tuesday, Dr Chua said the girl is his “personal friend”.

He apologised to the Malaysian public, his supporters and colleagues.

He said he did not make the tape himself.

Dr Chua said he will not resign over the sex DVDs. He will leave that up to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to decide.

“I have seen the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting and I have personally apologised to them,” he said while reading from a one-page statement during a press conference here Tuesday.

Dr Chua, who was clad in a yellow batik shirt, added that he had met up with Abdullah on Monday.

Asked about the reactions from Abdullah, Najib and Ong, he said that it was better to get a reaction from them as he cannot comment on their behalf.

Dr Chua vowed to continue carrying out his duties as a minister, MP and party leader.

Asked about his political future, Dr Chua said: “I leave it to my party members, leaders and the Malaysian public to be the judges. It's not for me to speculate.”

The sex DVDs, on two discs, show Dr Chua and a woman engaging in various sexual antics. The two DVDs had been circulating in Muar, Tangkak and Batu Pahat over the past few days.

The existence of the DVDs was first reported in the Chinese dailies on Sunday while a Bahasa Malaysia daily reported about it on Monday.

In one of Ally McBeal's early episodes, a senior at her firm justified his illiciting a prostitute as having too much respect for women to get on with them under the pretext of a relationship when all he is asking for is just the three letter word.

She threw up.

I think reading this makes me want to throw up too.

Urgh.

2008

At the beginning (Donna Lewis & Richard Marx)

"life is a road now and forever a wonderful journey"

I welcomed the new year in my room at midnight. Far from the crowd, far from the noise, far from the smoke. Just exactly what I was surrounded with in Covent Garden a year ago.

I spent New Year's Eve in London last year fine dining with some friends. Although we were (physically) very close to seeing the fireworks along the Thames, we didn't manage to at the end due to mis-timing.

Having experienced the hoo-ha and chaos that accompanied the ushering of the new year in central London, I thought enough is enough and decided I'm not gonna bother this year. With anything.

And what do ya know.


I saw what I missed 365 days ago, with clarity, in peace and serenity. To think that I actually saw the fireworks display without leaving my room...the whole thing does make my enthusiastic plans last year a little ironic, don't you think?

Photo taken from Aberdare Hall, Queen Anne Square

 

Steve Allen - "Nothing is quite as funny as the unintended humour of reality".

I have no clue who he is but he is damn right.

Not trying so hard may just be the unintended resolution for 2008...