sweet suedes...

To my friends, especially the gang from 69: You were the ones who sent us off, now you're coming to pick us up too! At the expense of your own Xmas celebrations...wah really made us touched man. Drinks on us for Xmas dinner! Rem to turn up for the Xmas celebration at Jileng house too!

And not forgetting the entired Econs gang of course! From constant 'bugging' for updates to the blog to occasional chats through MSN, your presence has been felt very strongly here even though we're so far apart! Thanks for all the tags to the blog too! Thanks for the book too! Freakonomics was a good companion whenever I visit the toilet hee. Rem to chop seats for us next sem!


My wonderful family with its latest addition - Baby Louis! Uncle Melvin's coming home!


To my princessy dear: I can still recall you tearfully handling me the scarf and cap you knitted (which were previously marinated with tears, sweat and mucus). And not to mention the book you sewed for me, with a 101 recipes neatly cut out from magazines and pasted into the book. Dear, you've done so much for me...down to the smallest detail. The goodie bags you sent me are almost exhausted in their contents already. Now is my turn to shower you with goodies...one from each country I travelled to! We've pulled through this period! From a month-by-month countdown to a weekly one, and now, almost an hourly countdown is possible! See u at the airport darling! Hugs!

Bye bye bed! From a 56kg load to...52 now? Your burden's getting lighter! I hope the next occupant doesn't break your back.



My study cum breakfast cum lunch table. Bye bye table!



Bye bye poh chi ngee, panadol and plasters! I'm glad I never had to touch any of you during my stay here. I'm dumping all of you into the trash tomorrow. Enjoy your last night here!



Kudos to Weicheng for buying these slippers for me! But I will have no use for them in Singapore. I will decide whether to throw them away tomorrow.



I have nothing much to say about/to the toilet. But I just scrubbed it clean, so I thought I would share this beautiful piece of workmanship with everyone.



To my basin: What's clogging you up these few days?
To the next tenant: Sorry...get a plumber please.



Skype saved me a lot of money.



Washing machines which clean your clothes for free. Has anyone figured out how they determine the amount of time necessary to spin-wash your dirty laundry?



To anonymous wireless internet source: Thank you for saving me from internet bills during my last month of stay here. I can’t do the same in Singapore anymore.




To what has been keeping me warm against the bitter winter winds here: Thank you, you have all earned an air ticket back to Singapore with me.
To scarf and cap: You will follow me all my life.



To 'mysterious visitor’ who made footstep sounds in my room and gave me bloody scratch marks on my neck…thanks for letting me know that I’m not alone. Thanks for not showing up anymore also.



To Lund University: Happy 340th birthday to you!


To Shengwei's wife: Thanks for bringing us immense pleasure these few months with your ever-engaging service. The days when u had to stay awake for 3 days straight to gratify our needs will never be forgotten. (To sw: u should let your wife rest back in Singapore).


To mine: : I’m sorry but I can’t call you my wife. You've served me well nonetheless.





To Europe: I have seen a very beautiful side of you. Next time, I'll explore your less well-endowed body parts.



To my dinner 'khakis': Making meals together has never been more fun. All that mutual suaning and joking made what may sometimes turn out to be unpalatable food totally favoursome. A toast to our new found friendship!



Times have changed...the girl's never around in the kitchen.





Our international guests: You have all been excellent friends. Made me feel really sad about leaving more than anything else. Do stay in touch! Singapore's always a nice place to drop in.
To Anjali: Don't risk it if you plan to bring gum in. We have no taser guns, but we boil offenders alive here in Singapore. =>
To Junquan: Thanks for coming all the way down from Norway to visit! You were truly a blast with Anjali and Marcus!



I had one of the best meals with you guys. Not to mention the best company too. Sw and i regret travelling in pairs now. How how how? Be sure to meet up often in Singapore and stay in contact!
PS: we could do a massive cooking session again. Then we can stuff ourselves silly with excess food again.




To Naohia aka Shengwei aka Yeo: I've seen you everyday for more than 4 months. Sian also bobian. First they tot we were gay, then they think we're twins. But our immunity to weak jokes have made us the aggressors instead. Now we suan a certain person with a beautiful house until tt person has nothing to say. Well done ah! As evaluated the other day, we've learnt a lot from each other these few months. Really glad I had you as company during this trip. Will see u a lot more in Singapore. Jiayou for your essay!

Today, a few of us Singaporeans went to Copenhagen. I felt a little funny inside because the last time I travelled to Copenhagen was when I needed to transit to Lund. The next time I travel to Copenhagen will be for my transit again, albeit in the reverse route. But today, I was not in Copenhagen for a transit. That would be Saturday. Today is Friday. No, today was Friday; because it's past midnight now. So I should say yesterday was Friday.

I am getting mixed up in my words now and I am not sure whether what I am saying is making sense. But this is exactly how I feel now. My emotions are a random mix. As I was cleaning the toilet and vacuuming the floor a while ago, I realized that no matter how hard I cleaned, there were certain dirt spots which cannot be removed. I guess it's because they've been there for months, years, maybe even centuries (or maybe not). And then, it struck me that I am merely a transient lodger in this room. In a few weeks' time, another tenant will be checking in. In around 5 months' time, yet another one will come. They can be Swedish, German, American, or Singaporean just like me. Tenants change. Corridor-mates change. Rental fees change. Even food left to preserve in the fridge does not withstand change if left uneaten for too long. In time to come, my feelings towards this place may change too. But now, while I still feel strongly towards my room, my lifestyle, my space here, I shall blog about it.

at the behest of Hapuio,my (receding hairline)friend,coupled with the fact that im damn free in switzerland now, shall upload pics and write less about the most "heavenly" place in Europe: Jungfraujoch, Switzerland


Our route up to Jungfraujoch


REAL Chalets(anybody wants coasta sands?)


Mountains


Man and Mountain


Man Mountain


Picturesque I


Picturesque II


Picturesque III


Welcome to heaven!


Did i mention its freaking cold here?


I dunno wad is he trying to do


I dunno wad is he trying to do either!


"Men weren't mean to ride,with clouds between their knees"


Le Beautiful Swiss Alps

These pics should satisfy Hapuio or "Zidane" as i tink he would like to be called.Oh btw,if u're not convinced of its heavenliness,Jungfraujoch is 3400M above sealevel, and is the tallest peak in Europe.Closest we've ever been to heaven (on two feet). Since it'd be some time before we're back,we decided to leave our mark here with


graffiti,


and rubbish


Hellooooooooo Singapore!

Ten Bad Things about Autumn:

1. You wake up, realising that the sky is still quite dark. Then you find out that its half past 9 in the morning already.

2. You wear socks everywhere you go, even in your room.

3. However, you choose to wear slippers to class since its just a 5min walk away. After class,talking to your classmates outside the building for 30mins freezes your toes off.

4. The water you boiled 4hrs ago that was kept inside your thermos is already cold. And you have to throw it away (or drink it up) because u wanna make coffee/soup.

5. Bathing never felt so good and terrible at the same time. Good because of the warm water,bad cos u're gonna freeze after its off.

6. Jogging becomes paradoxical.And stupid.

7. It rains every other day.

8. You start dropping hair.TOE HAIR.

9. You can't wear your winter gloves cos u'd look kiasu and out of place,so u'd rather brave the cold.

10. You can't turn off the aircon.


10 Good Things about Autumn





Pictures say a thousand words=)

T'was a great wk of cooking. First up,we had a corridor cooking party.It was great to finally have a chance to interact with the rest of the pple living around the area.Even more,it was even better to have a party tt cld showcase our distinct sporean flavour=)


Sumptuous spread prepared by the gang.Shall not bore with the names of the food.Just that there's serbian,swedish,spanish and german foods on display.btw the germans have interesting ways of preparing their food involving smashing pork on a table with a saucepan.



of course,not forgetting the singaporean chicken curry,which according to post-dinner reviews,was the tastiest dish on display!for those who want the recipe,email me.otherwise,just buy Asian Gourmet's Authentic Singaporean Nonya Chicken Curry Seasoning.Should be able to conjure something almost identical to wad we did.


Proud chefs!

The cooking bug realli bit us hard this wk,so much so tt ROTI PRATA became next on our list.I have a newfound respect for the prata guy outside my house.For starters,it wasnt easy kneading the dough into balls.Secondly,flipping the prata ain't juz about twisting n turning.Some of us looked like we were "hitting small people(da xiao ren)" with the dough.Instead of looking like sheets of plastic ready for folding,it looked more like torn underwear.Needless to say,the end product wasn't all that ideal.At least I was eating thick but platable pratas.Mel's resembled and probably tasted like rubber insoles of shoes.

"take that,u suffering piece of prata"


From rags....


To riches!Actually looks alrite hor?The wonders of photography!

Of course,cooking ain't just about the final products.Definitely had alot of fun and laughter during the process,as well as a sense of satisfaction.I'm pretty sure not many pple have made pratas from scratch,since they're so cheap,and not as asthetically pleasing as cakes.Aniwae,its another feather in our burgeoning cooking hat!

come this dec, i will be following the NUS team up again to chiangmai for the chiangmai open again. everytime we go up,some pple wld have to make sacrifices, like being unable to spend new yr's eve w girlfriends & classmates,stomach upsets from too much food,spending too much money and bidding for modules in cybercafes. This yr, we're also going to run for prime minister elections and pose with tanks. nevertheless, chiangmai trips are always a blast when the company is right. to the uninitiated, here's why...


the people who made it possible.our nanny is on the left.


our mode of transport: tuktuks. ok these are not REAL tuktuks,slightly larger,but they drive just as badly,are just as uncomfortable,and leave ur face damn dirty.


waiting 2hrs for our first meal in CM.judging from the smiles,we were probably only 15min into the wait.we probably won't eat there again this year.got a good insight into G's appetite too.


on the field.looks like its either black inners or no inners.red sleeves look like shit.


innovative warmup by COACH han.obviously some of us react slower to commands


Agent Smith.


Neo the Chosen One.


Trinity.


The Massacre of Trinity. The umbrella he was holding entered a place where the sun don't shine.


Winner of the "4 Million Smiles" Campaign. With the sacred umbrella.Which is now probably sitting pretty on the nanny's desk.


Playing with fireworks!


Magic goggles!More to come this year,confirm...

In all,we all gained more than we lost by going to CM.glad tt we'll be going again this yr with most of the same bunch and more.of course,not forgetting HW who gained 2 gals out of the trip!


Some pple have all the luck.

Well done again NUS softball team. Couldn't have done it without getting rid of the dead wood eh?Am looking fwd to becoming the top scorer in CM this yr!

Football fans, this entry is for you all. Although its the last event of our Europe trip, it was undoubtedly the highlight of London.Whilst it was entertaining, it was also a real eye-opener to the english way of life...


hidden amongst those pple is a tout." Do you want tickets?" Paid a bomb for 2 tickets. Budden Chelsea vs Liverpool leh...worth it lah!


trusts the brits to come up with everything. They have shin pads and helmet for themselves and their horses. Wonder wad gd are horses in an angry mob?

anyway,got in a full hour ahead of schedule to soak in the atmosphere of an empty stadium. And also to convince ourselves tt english pple are not cheats.Not like some stupid black pple in venice (to be told later)

the empty stamford bridge.As u can see,we're actually very close to the pitch.Actually contemplated being a streaker and getting recognised by you guys in SG.But since i ain't no Long Dong Silver (go google this fella!),no point...

a full house.

poor reina.Was asked to pose for a pic by a fan, then got scolded "you are shit" by the very same person during the match.Also,many pple told pennant to go back to jail too.Never realised the kind of abuse the footballers endure during away games. No wonder betting odds fluctuate so much b/w home n away...

跌倒王didier drogba. No kidding, he almost falls at every touch of an opponent.But he scored a gd goal...


look at the amt of security after the match at the buses for liverpool fans.Its more than just a sport here,it's a culture and way of life, as seen by the next pic below:

even the road signs conform to football.I suppose when u have >40000 pple coming to this area every 2 weeks,that's the way things have to be done...

we also went to visit the emirates stadium after tt.Pity we got there late,so the stadium was closed, and we could only take pictures from outside.



some afterthought: It was a great experience to be able to watch tt match live.It was kinda weird watching football without commentary. The way the fans broke out into well rehearsed songs and chants would put even the NDP GOH to shame.While there were no racist chants,the insults offered to the opponents were of the highest quality.No wonder Eric Cantona had to kick tt crystal palace fan.Pple in england really take their football seriously. We were taking pics of emirates stadium when an arsenal fan walked up to us and extolled the virtues of Arsenal FC and how intelligent we were to be photographing it. Pple were singing in the tube after the match: "F*** off stevie G, JT's got the captaincy,etc etc".U'd never find this kind of passion in the S-League.Perhaps tt's why we'll prob never qualify for the world cup in my lifetime.But along with such unbridled passion comes a price of potential hooliganism and fighting,not to mention the inconvenience caused to non-football fans.Although i like to watch EPL,I suppose i'd be content to remain an armchair fan in SG,watch it from a kopitiam and berate the any team i hate whilst sipping my teh peng, and yet be able to walk home safely without horses and policemen.

"All animals are equal but some animals are more equal than others."

We stayed on a farm in Lövestad with dogs, sheep, horses, cats and ducks (no cows for us to milk unfortunately) and the quote from Animal Farm could not be more apt for the animals residing in Åsargården.



That cute little sheep sniffing curiously at Shengwei's jeans is Stuharh (no idea how it's spelt). In less than a week's time, it will be sent to the slaughterhouse to have its throat slit for its meat.



Rottweilers on the farm like Bicky and Eiffy here enjoy the best treatment from the farm owners. They go for walks more than 3 times a day and are groomed and trained to participate in showsmanship competitions.



These cats do basically nothing on the farm. They follow the farmer and his wife (Erik and Eva - our exceptionally nice hosts) everywhere whenever they bring the dogs for walks. They are well-fed and as a result, are sometimes eaten up by the dogs.



That's me and Shengwei. We came and we ate...



We slept...



We destroyed..




But he caused more destruction...



We pissed the horses off...


We pissed the farmer off...


And we even managed to piss the cats off...

Haha ok most of that is untrue. In fact, we seeked permission for everything we did, and were good guests like Erik and Eva were good hosts. That was actually a picture of Erik trying to explain to us how the well on the farm functions. It was definitely a memorable experience for two suagu Singaporeans like us. I highly recommend Erik and Eva's Åsargården for anyone interested in seeking a farm stay in Sweden!

Being in Sweden for 9 days, i already have developed a love-hate relationship with this place. For starters, i do love the 24/7 aircon provided by someone up there. I do wonder absentmindedly at times whether i forgot to switch off the aircon when i step into my room.

However,interacting with angmohs is a kind of chore for me. Firstly, i can never find the answer to "hey,how's it going" or "what's up?". Reply too much and u sound over zealous to talk towards a casual greeting. Too little and u sound dao and AS. Talking to them juz feels like oral exam. For now at least.
Talking about oral exam,i am exasperated. While i do not profess to be the most fluent of english speakers, i do believe i speak proper and grammatically sound english. And 101% coherent. Thus u cannot imagine how DL i am when each time i ask a question,and the reply goes "sorry","pardon me","excuse me","come again","i din catch u","could u repeat". Somehow it always happens to me. Gives melvin much pleasure in seeing the puzzled faces of the angmohs like i juz spoke hokkien to them.

Oh,did i mention that car-makers in sweden are sexist?they even divide the cars they make into male and female. Here are a couple.



So subtle aren't they? But i like the female cars better =)

Swedes have an amazing affinity with dogs too. I've never seen a swede (male or female) jump at the sight of a dog. Even when its a huge black one who might be as tall as me when on 2 legs.

Wonder why singaporean dogs are so ferocious. Cos the dog above was trying to cuddle up and act cute to its owner the whole train ride. Completely oblivious to us 2 holding back our vomits in our mouths. Now I can see why pple throw stuff at big pple who try to act cute. Just for the record,i don't act cute. I just had an enjoyable childhood.

Last but not least, given the large amt of time we spent together, mel n i certainly inflicted some positive externalities on each other. Which is good,we should all learn skills from those who excel in them.


What a beautiful stance.


From the Melvin Academy of Acting Cute


Founder of the above-mentioned Academy

I love/hate Sweden.

Yes, that picture up there was taken during our first visit to a Swedish pub; one which also sold kebab (their version of popiah) and resembled what we assumed to be a poor man's pub, and there we were, 2 poor Chinese men enjoying a drink on our first night out at one of the most beautiful cities in Sweden -the city of Gotherburg!



Being the inexperienced backpacking travellers that we are, we arrived at Gothenburg without knowing what attractions the city offers or even where to go. Lucky for the two stranded travellers, the lighthouse was just a short distance away. We proceeded towards the inviting green glow of the tourist information counter, and within 30 mins, we already had our hotel accomodation (@ a lokcok Robinson's Hotel) and a Göteborg City Pass which would allow us to tour the city's popular tourist attractions for free!




Nordstan was the first shopping mall we saw in Sweden, and from Nordstan, we took a tram to Botaniska Trädgård, which was Gothenburg's botanical gardens.



The 100 yr old tram carriage!



Cute little lamb





Now watch this yang2 try to act cute.





Following the first visit was a series of water rides, including a Paddan Boat ride which brought us through the old moat on canals that existed centuries ago. We went under > 10 bridges, of which the extremely low Osthyveln (cheese tearer) bridge had all of us crouching down almost of fours.

In the boat ride brochures, it was proclaimed that "In the event of rain we can provide you with cheerful yellow ponchos". And sure it did. And our tour guide cheerfully sold us ponchos at rates of 20 kronors per piece.



The Cheese Tearer bridge



Another highlight of the trip was a boat tour to the Elfsborgs Fortress at the mouth of the Göta River. The dramatized tour was made extremely entertaining by 3 contemporary characters, Commendant Kook, Clergyman Engström's wife and Prisoner Stina Greta Pettersson, who told tales of dungeons in the fortress as well as epic battles that once took place with the Danes around the fortress.





Rishi once told me, "even blind men can take splendid pictures in Sweden". How true he was...here're just some of the sights a color-blind man and a.... not-so-blind- man managed to capture:









Time to kiss goodbye!

Been travelling alot around these few days. Sweden really is a beautiful place. Went to Skane to see the Stonehedge of Sweden. Which is actually an arrangement of rocks in a ship formation. Obviously we couldn't see the formation,just a bunch of rocks tt weren't washed away yet.


but what was really breathtaking was tt we were on top of a slope,overlooking the coast. Makes east coast realli pale in comparison.




makes u don't wanna go home.

Arniwae,after descending the cliff,got to a sort of fishing village where we realli had a good meal of smoked stuff. Warning: not for the faint hearted

From left:smoked bull's testicles,smoked fillet,smoked swordfish

yeps u read tt rite,bull balls. As u can see from the pics on top,the cows/cattle on top of the cliff have other purposes too.

I am so gonna be a man now.

after some tasty food,time for a grisly sight. Apparently,flies are not in season over here,so they have bees(i think) that like to mistake food for pollen. Here's a modified bee trap:


in all,it was a good day by the sea. Also went to a boring fortress after tt. Onli pics worth posting are the first swedes to take pictures with us in sweden..haha

of cos,like all exchange students,we must learn how to cook. for a start,like to present y'all w some cookings that 2 of us,paul n andrew cooked as an experiment a few wks b4 we left.




presenting,sambal kangkong,black pepper chicken,herbal chicken soup and fried rice.
now...for the swedish fare....(drum roll)


fried noodles with sausage and chicken balls


dark soy sauce fried rice with sausage and chicken balls and cabbages and heh bee



chilli fried noodles (again!) with sausage and heh bee and cabbages and egg PLUS ABC (potatoes + onions + carrot: don't ask me why it sums up to ABC) soup.

while the swedish and singapore fare cannot be compared,obviously we're growing into gourmet chefs.in case anybody hasn't noticed, everything is FRIED.so pple,if u all got any HEALTHIER recipies (except bread and pasta),pls do email us or leave in the comment box.So that we dun come back rotund and triple-chinned. Of cos,pple who want the recipies to our feasts are welcome to drop us a mail as well.

now about sweden.beautiful country it is,altho mabbe not as many fairytale buildings as denmark,but at least the prices look friendlier to our eyes.


enjoying a comfy train ride from copenhagen airport to lund.it actually travels over the sea.beautiful!



perhaps sweden is juz tt little bit less efficient than SG.then again,cld be due to the fact tt nobody rushes for time here except us.so,after waiting 45 min for 3 kangoos that cld only fetch 4 pple at a time(got abt 50 pple waiting),we decided to walk "only 400m to the reception hall".BAD IDEA.400m with luggage upslope,across stones,and just when u think u're reaching,SAND.who said aniting about growing fat on exchange?


yupz this is our admin building.makes YIH look like crap.waited there again for 2-3hrs before we finally got to our rooms.Each rm is the size of a double rm in NUS with personal toilet attached.I am a king.

mr koh typing away furiously once we managed to tap some wireless internet access.no prizes for guessing who he's sending mail to.




jus some of the sights around our immediate vicinity(half hour's walk). Just love the chimney.yeps tt's a real apple tree,first time in our lives we saw it too,just tt it was kinda obvious for us to pluck it.don't ask wad's the last one,we don't noe wad it is either.just tot it'd look nice on the blog =P

melvin pretenting to read a book in the concentration camp


fellow refugees


more fairytales


guiliver's travels


what i hope the circle line mrt will look like

finally got the lan access up and running.gotta pay SGD25 p/mth for it,but hey,when you're downloading at 1MB+ per second for almost everything,its worth it i guess...so eat ur heart out slow singapore...


ok pple,skip if u got things to do,this is gonna be one long entry...

day 1: things didn't start out too well.reach airport then the lady said flight fr london to copenhagen cancelled.thanks.i tot these kinda things onli happen in movies and to other pple.aniwae,LL, even if the plane going to be bombed also muz take. See how long we go london and sit onli...but also muz say thanks to the guys who came to see us off. YES to xq as well.Without transport at that!touch my heart...

day 2: had a rather ok flight to london. sans the shitty food of cos.first time i sat BA,didn't noe tt angmoh aeroplane food could taste this bad. mr koh got no appetite..lovesick boy..in fact he got no digestive system as well,din go to toilet at all during the 13hr flight. i tot he wld at least to to toilet and cry awhile =P.

once we arrived,stupid BA personnel had to book us back on the CANCELLED flight.made me happy awhile,i tot can set off as per normal. end up gotta wait until abt 6hrs later..we ended up sitting in white tents outside the airport tt look like they're for bird flu pple. btw, its called MARQUEE, tt's queen's english for TENT m'lads...


LL again,finished freakanomics while waiting for the flight.learnt tt abortion lowers crime rates.no wonder singapore so safe.NB: before and after we entered the check in area, mr koh was desperately trying to find public phone to call home.surin ave, that is.thank god for autoroam.

reached copenhagen,took the "mrt" from airport to central station.their mrt station is v nice and rustic.nothing like our buangkok or city hall.

looking at the map,our hostel in denmark looked quite near.my foot.lugging 30kg of luggage across stones is no joke.good thing there were some realli nice fairytale sights along the way to alleviate our misery.







got to the hostel,actually the hostel is quite nice,but had to share a room w 4 italians.wld be nice if nex time frens going abroad cld share one rm together.its a gd alternative to hotel.but denmark is so DAMN expensive.we ate burger king there(onli viable option), and it cost like 15-20 bucks per person.for a normal meal.i miss singapore and the $1.90 nasi lemak.

realized that we left some residue in denmark.i left my entire bag of toiletries, and mr koh some valuable stuff. somewhere,a few italians are going to be alot cleaner.
okies..will continue about days 3 n 4 later...time for a siesta..