Johannesburg, Again...

In the span of two months, this is my third time to Joburg. Considering the lack of excitement predicted, I am not too excited. When I touch down, the headline reads "Snowburg", where Joburg has her first snowfall since 10 September 1981. And that's 26 years ago!

I begin to sense that my presence here, with the extremely cold weather is rather interesting. With some really good company, we have dinner at Cape Town Fish Market, where I ordered Sole and Grilled Calamari. Of course, to be accompanied by a semi-sweet local wine!

Oh yeah, I watched March of the Penguins which I've always been waiting for. Something about emperor penguins that I admire...very humane and full of togetherness.

It is also a day when Tony Blair officially stepped out of 10 Downing Street while his successor greeted the press for the first time as the new British Prime Minister. And not forgetting the crack down on a potential terror attack near Heathrow.

A 30-minute Walk in London

I am now in London, the city of public surveillance. I still can't believe it that I managed to walk from High Street Kensington to Marble Arch without a map in hand! After this walk I realised that London is not as big as it sound.

I started my journey with a pair of comfortable flat shoes as usual, and an intent to take the tube to meet a friend in Oxford Street. When I reached the station, I realised that I was just one stop away from Notting Hill, somewhere I must go after reading how Victoria Beckham got her many inspirations from there. I decided to walk to Notthing Hill where I did asked some friendly locals the correct direction. As I walked, I saw many antique shops, art galleries, and not to mention the food and wine stores. My eyes are feasted by the sight of many Victorian-era china, Indian contemporary artworks and miniature figures of the aristocratic society of olden days England. My walk was afterall, quite interesting.

As I saw Waterstone, I knew I was in Notting Hill. I headed towards the tube station after taking a while to imagine how this place will be when the Notting Hill Carnival arrives. I remember that I always spend some time in a corner shop bookstore and yes, I found it! I am always in awe of the titles that it carries and you don't really find any mainstream books except some Dan Browns or probably Lonely Planet guides (which I think, needed for its sales and survival-bility). The many titles I remembered are the ones that are quite critical. And the ones that made an impression are, a book teaching witch-crafting, a photography book on the fashion runway and film stars of Hollywood. Out of these three books, I only browsed through the last two.

As I wanted to take the tube, I read the map at the station and realised that, if I follow Bayswater Road, I'll reach Marble Arch. I decided to give it a try as the fear of London tube massacre still lingers on my mind occasionally. I walked along Bayswater Road and after about 20 mins with Hyde Park on my right, I saw the famous arch. We met and we shopped. We also ended up having Cantonese Roasted Duck Rice, fried spinach with garlic and the complementary soup of the day, which is lotus root in one of the Chinese restaurant in Bayswater.

Royal Plaze on Scotts, Orchard

A commemoration of a 5-year friendship, fostered over the same passion for service and travel (the real incentive besides satisfied smiles).

The very beautiful people who sparkle the skies besides living their lives to the fullest. The ones who are so caring and thoughful that some are real best friends.

This, will be remembered for a long long time for we have laughed, shared, shed tears of happiness and bonded like the very first time we met.

I truly treasure this special friendship and hope all of us will remain true to our passion for another long long time to come...

Edinburgh, Scotland

Three hours and 45 minutes going North from Manchester, stopping in a few towns like Preston, Carlisle, etc, will bring you to a magnificent city of Edinburgh, all done in a fun ride by Virgin Train. The moment I set foot and getting ready for my Scottish encounter, I almost forgot that I didn’t do my homework. Not knowing exactly where to go, I just followed my steps to a faint distant recall of a famous castle, the Edinburgh Castle. Along the street leading to the palace, we detoured for some souvenirs. Scottish kilts, Walkers biscuits, Nessie monster (Loch Ness, the mystic creature) are the staples you’ll see everywhere.

Inside the castle, we saw dungeons, cannons, chambers and a church for the castle occupants then and countless museums. Not to mention, you can see a really breath-taking view of city because of its elevated land. My trip was really a memorable one but I can’t recall the exact words to use to describe how incredible this trip means to me.

Another memorable encounter is the Jacob’s Ladder (a stairway) where we climbed to reach Princes Street. We went uphill for a good look of the city grandeur. We passed by a few monuments which I believe worth a lot of history-telling and as I said, I did not attempt any research prior to this trip. What an excuse, I know…

You Tube

You Tube is so addictive! I will watch it for some new visuals of my favourite, AJ and lately Faye Wong (after a long-timed Faye-natic sent me some links!). And yes, you can end up sitting the whole day watching trails after trails and finally realise that, you've done nothing productive except feeling contented with the wealth of pics and sound bites of your idol. Gosh, doesn't it remind you of your younger teenage years yearning for someone to idolise?

Embarrassing...

I am utterly embarrassed looking at the month of May with only a posting. Last month, I was actually in Manchester where I took the opportunity to visit Edinburgh, Scotland. I will write on that shortly.

Also, I had two trips to Johannesburg, which I stayed at the same room at the same hotel on the same days of the week. I remembered very well that I checked-in on a Saturday and the following Saturday, I was allocated to the same room. What a deja-vu! Or serendipity, should I say... It was like going home away from home!

I was also in Sydney and was shuttling between Singapore and KL for three times, two of which were short stays and one with a full week! What a fortune indeed. I spent it with my favourite people (you know who you are) and contributed my fair bit to the Malaysian retail industry. It's the least I could do for my country given my situation currently and not to mention, I feel better spending there. Well, with the exchange rate getting quite unfavourable now, I might just switch back to having my retail therapy here in Singapore instead. Well, it's all about economics at the end of the day and human does react to incentive.

Stay patient with me and I shall regain my time and readiness to fill the pages...