Today at Four Seasons, the two guys beside us were conversing in Cantonese while the two girls replied in Chinese. On our right side, three ladies were having wine with Chinese food.

Life is weird. Too weird.

And I got yelled at by some homeless guy on my way back to Baker Street. Apparently, I crossed his path, and he wasn't happy about it. I ran for my life. For real.

Of strikes in London

First it was the BA strike which cancelled my flight and almost caused a panic attack. Now my teachers in University are going on a strike as well! They are not gonna grade my papers until further notice -_-

What is with these people in London?

An epic weekend just ended. And the beauty of it was that it was so impromptu =p

Got a call from Jim Sat afternoon. Sankar couldn't make it to our well-planned out dinner, so I decided to make a trip to Surbiton for the evening for a stroll with Jim at the park. Mind you, Surbiton's not in Central London anymore, so I packed my toothbrush, clothes and contact lenses casing for emergency stayovers.

You know how weekends can turn out to be totally awesome the way you least expect it to be?? Yeap, that's how mine was. Sankar made a surprise appearance on his super bike at the train station when Jim picked me up with his bicycle. Turns out that his evening plans got cancelled, so we reverted back to our original plan with a stroll at the park, followed by Sri Lankan/South Indian food. Jim's neighbor, Sam, joined us and that's how I was introduced to a really nice and sweet guy! We had a balling time Sat night, so I decided to stayover as I wasn't up for any train rides at 12am in the morning. Watched my first ever British movie (with subtitles of course) in a British home in England. I loved it! We went kiting on Sunday in the park in my emergency clothes, new England flip-flops from Sainsbury and borrowed a pair of shades from Sam. We saw some deers, met some more awesome people, and max-ed out the sunlight by sitting in the park till 8pm when the sun set. Had kebabs with Garlic Mayo sauce for dinner at 11pm, and wore Sam's Warner Brother's t-shirt to bed. Yes, I decided to stay for another night - that's how much I love my old and new-found friends! Then Mon morning, Jim and I had French breakfast and he made lunch for the both of us. I loved every minute of it and I am so sad that I'm leaving London so soon, but I guess I have to made do with whatever time I've got left in this beautiful country.

Stroll along River Thames at Surbiton.

I didn't know London is made up of so many different pockets of areas with beautiful sceneries.

I miss you guys already :)

Poland

You know me. I like doing are-u-outta-ya-mind kind of things, so I went against everyone's advice and took the overnight train from Czech Republic to Warsaw, Poland. Eastern European trains are shady as hell, but expensive. That's the only thing that baffles me. Where did the money go?

So anyway, at the train station, I spotted a lone American backpacker and all of a sudden, my stalker instincts were activated. I proceeded to follow him to whatever carriage he was in. I plonked down my bag in my cabin, and then casually started a conversation with the boy. He was from Alaska, and he looks super young and innocent. All criteria checked right, and I asked if I could sit beside him for the whole night. Hehe. We had a really great 3-hr conversation before I told him I needed to sleep. Halfway through my sleep, the train conductor came in, and then he started to gesticulate and told me in Polish (which wasn't English at all) that I was in the wrong carriage and I had to walk towards the front, otherwise the train would be cut off and I would be on my way to Krakow. So much for following a stranger up the train eh? That's when I said goodbye to my pal, Jefferey, and went on to sit with a Veitnamese guy and a Phillipino girl. That particular carriage was even more interesting because we all spoke different languages but we still managed to carry out conversations throughout the night. So much for being a global citizen eh?

Finally I arrived at Krakow, only to find out that my hostel was overbooked and I was sent to another hostel. Man, why was the journey so arduous? All I wanted was to visit Poland, but everything seemed a little off. Plus it was raining cats and dogs. So I walked in the rain to my next hostel and my bag was soaking wet afterwards. Thank goodness Madeleine wasn't lost, so I finally met up with her at the hostel and then started our exploration together :)

At the main square at old town. Pigeons were everywhere!

Old town after the rain.

Mama had the kid on the leash, while the kid had the doggie on the leash.

A police parade. When we asked the police officer about it, he didn't know how to explain it to us -_-

Old town view from St Anne's Church.

Me and my travelling buddy, Madeilene.

The ice-cream was super tall!

Warsaw - Chopin's birth place. There was music playing from the bench while we sat on it and chilled at the park.

And of course, there was the famous Polish food - Periogi! I had a plate of those every day while I was in Poland.

Ok, so our next destination after Warsaw was Krakow. Now, when you buy your tickets for any train rides in the Eastern European countries, they do not assign you a seat. So we had an open ticket. We thought, alright, that's cool, so long as we board the train and reach our destination. Little did we expect it to be full to the brim. Look at that picture. Even the hallway was crowded and I had to stand outside the bathroom for the entire time. three hours man! Two poor dudes who were standing in the bathroom itself had to move whenever people had to use the loo.

Enuf said about the trains, now on to Krakow! University students were graduating while we were there. Yeay to graduation! Mine is a year away. haha.

Me and the cut-off head. Don't know whose head though.

We spotted pianos all over Krakow because it was the anniversary celebration of Chopin, I think.

We also made a day trip to Auschwitcz, the most controversial concentration camp during the World War where millions of Polish Jews were killed. It was such a depressing day trip, but I'm glad I went there. Sometimes it's good to know about history so we don't make the same mistake again.

Concentration Camp grounds

And then the next day, I decided to make a day trip to Zakopane, a beautiful winter skiing town that was supposed to have great sceneries. However, like I said, the weather was really sucky coz it rained the whole day and while we were there, it snowed as well!! The extremely cold weather caused some tempers to flare in our tour group and I am thankful that I do not understand Italian because the Italian couple was screaming at the tour guide at one point in time. Funnily enough, I was the only youngster there, so I ended up hanging out with some pretty cool old people from Britain :) They fed me more Periogis! hehe.

Polish mountain cheese. I bought one tiny piece to try out but ended up throwing it away because it was too strong.

Vendors selling little doggies and cats.

I wanna say that Krakow would have been a nicer place to visit if it weren't raining that much. My shoes were wet the whole time, so that really put me off. So on the third and last day in Krakow, I opted for the Salt Mine, which was indoors. That (in the picture), ladies and gents, is an underground church carved out of salt. Entirely. It was a pretty amazing sight!

Plus it is on the UNESCO world heritage list :)

Czech Republic

I get excited whenever I see different cellphone companies on  my phone. That simply means that I am in a new country!

Czech's beautiful architecture...

My mummy freaked me out a little about the trains in Eastern Europe, especially for a lonely traveller like me. I wanted to stay safe throughout my trip, so I took the day train from Berlin to Czech Republic. Man, it was expensive. Unlike those Europe backpackers travelling around with their Europass that cost a little over 400 euros for a month or so, I opted to travel the local way. So, I bought the ticket for 61 Euros (yes, I cried a little while paying for it) and proceeded to board my train. Czech, here I come!

The moment I arrived at the hostel in Czech, I threw down my bag and headed towards Petrin Hill to climb the tower for an epic view of the city.

War Memorial at Petrin Park.

This reminds me a little of Dubrovnik, Croatia. Ahhhhhhh, how I miss Semester at Sea and my crazy travels!

And this would be the Astronomical Clock at the Old Town. The clock-maker was blinded after he made this because the king didn't want him to make any other clocks for anyone else. The clock, with the 12 dancing apostles,chimes every hour and it is huge. If you take an upclose view of the clock on the right (i don't think u can see it anyway), it has 365 names on it. In the past, there were only 365 names to be used, and you're supposed to name you child after the day he was born on. Contrary to popular belief, if it's ur bday, u have to buy beer for everyone else! So people would always bluff their way through by changing their names.

Some Saint (can't remember who) on Charles' Bridge. It's supposed to bring me good luck if i touch it. Hahaha, I was tiptoe-ing, yet I could  barely reach it. People have to start building stuff for shorties like me!

Public toilet, just for Angelina Jolie?? I had to pay for toilets in most of the Eastern countries I've been to so far.

Mac D, non-stop. That's how they say 24 hrs in Czech.

At the Jewish Quarter, I had an insightful tour of the area. The Jews led a tough life. For example, land was scarce for them, so they burried their coffins one of top another, and the tombstones had to be stacked against each other as well.

The story of St James church. And the chopped off arm is still chilling in the church right now...

Sausages. Yum yum.

And this would be my tour guide for the day! He's from Ireland btw.

That night, I made friends with two hong kong guys at the hostel. Since I was alone on this trip and they were friendly enough to invite me to join them, we made a day trip to Karlovy Vary together. That is where Casino Royale, one of the 007 series, was filmed. Well, at least part of it was filmed there.

I can see why they picked this location. It's famous for its thermal spring, and has gorgeous scenery.

The water was hot!

With my two new friends from Hong Kong, Jack and Jonathan.

See the steam coming out from the river. That's hot. Real hot.

We also tried the famous Czech wafer that was as huge as my face. I'm not even kidding about it, but it was so cheap!

Postcard with a magnifying glass.

Typical Karlovy Vary building.

Do you see us? I'm not alone... I have friends!

View from the observatory tower.

And that would conclude my trip in Czech Republic. So far, I have a pretty good impression of the Czechs. At least the people there spoke enough english, unlike in Poland where the locals still stuggle a lot. Not gonna lie,  my trip got more and more exciting as the days went by yo!

Berlin

Berlin. Germany. Last leg of my europe tour with Chris.

I am overwhelmed with feelings right now as this is possibly my last European trip for the year. I love Europe. I love the weather. I love the people and most importantly, I love travelling. How am I ever gonna cope when I go back to the States this coming Friday? Time will only tell. Really. Seriously.

Picture along the river outside the DDR museum, which was also my favorite museum in Berlin. It's small and tiny, but it taught me so much about the lives of the people in East Berlin in the past.

East and West Berlin were separated by the Berlin Wall that completely enclosed the city of West Berlin.

With the closing of the East-West sector boundary in Berlin, the vast majority of East Germans could no longer travel or emigrate to West Germany. Many families were split, while East Berliners employed in the West were cut off from their jobs.

Clever play of words to depict the lives of the housewives in the past.

Bricks on the road show where the Berlin Wall used to stand.

The controversial Jewish Memorial that's so abstract. What exactly does it mean though? That's up to you and your imagination to come up with an explanation for it. Some say it represents the tombstones, some say the upwards-slanting blocks represent the increasing death rate of the Jews during the war, some say... something else.

Trabbi cars used to be the normal form of transportation for East Berliners. Now, you can rent them and drive around the city for your sightseeing tour!

Mascot of Berlin. Note: I come from London, hence the British flag!

Checkpoint Charlie.

Checkpoint Charlie "Checkpoint C" was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Germany and West Germany during the Cold War.

Everything was destroyed during the war, but they rebuilt the entire checkpoint at the exact same location for tourists like you and me to snap pictures.

Chris getting his stamps for his passport at Checkpoint Charlie. They were selling it for a few Euros per passport stamp. The Germans do know how to rip us of our money eh? 

 Beer Bike. You drink while peddling, which powers the engine of the Beer bike, and you sightsee with this form of transportation.

They even have a museum for hotdogs. Interesting!

Book-burning Memorial. Hitler burned all the books so that intellectuals can't have anymore access to powerful knowledge.

While we were on our tour, there was a protest going on - Legalise marijuana in Germany!!  For the whole time, they were playing a really funky music and I was dancing away to it until some security guy saw me and made a funny face at me. That's when I decided to stop rocking =p

Chris and I. This is probably our only group picture together for the entire trip.

After consulting with our receptionist at the hostel, we headed out to a mom-and-pop kind of restaurant for authentic German food. I had a pint of German beer to go with my fried dumplings. The Germans eat in massive portions btw!

Then we continued our day in the city after dinner. The Parliament looked really nice in the dark, especially since the lights were all up.

Section of the Berlin Wall that remains till today.

Next day, I went off exploring Berlin by myself since Chris left for the airport. I climbed up the Parliament dome, and was in awe with the entire structure. As you peer downwards the dome through the transparent glass panes, you can actually see the parliament members hard at work at their tables. If you are lucky, you can catch a live debate in action.

Then I headed back to the Gate and realised that a marathon was going on. There were live bands playing music all the time to welcome the runners.

Notice how the first few runners who made it to the front were all Kenyans? Lol.

And then a few minutes later, the first non-Kenyan was spotted!

Hotel Anon where Micheal Jackson dangled his kid from the balcony. Remember that scene that made headlines on all major newspapers?

Third day - I made my way to Potsdam which was about 40 minutes away from Berlin. I was palaced-out and gardened-out after my Potsdam trip, since there were at least 4 different palaces in the massive park.

See the long, never-ending path? That leads everyone to the main palace. My hike from the entrance of the park to the palace took a grand total of 1 hr. My oh my, what a walk!

 

But this wonderful palace is totally worth the hike =p