strolling down the memories of life..

stepped into the ever-well-discussed Plymouth

2010-08-05T13:47:00.005+01:00

Dear EW & JOCN,

How are you? I hope both of you are in the pink of health. ~~*typical way to start of a letter*~~ I am dead sure the word Plymouth has been ringing in our ears since we dont know when because our dear friend, FNH is there doing his TESL course. And at last, Vic and I stepped into this 'well known' place. We took a 4 hours train from Paddington London and then took a taxi to Fong's place.
For your information, when I was in the cab, I was thinking to myself, are we entering a forest? Reason? FNH's college is in the suburban are and you need to take either a bus or a cab to get to Plymouth city. Good for him! Lots of fresh air and nice green trees around for him!

Anyway, he brought us out for lunch the next day and ta daa.. Chinese buffet! It wasnt really great but value for money! So, I would say he made a 'good' choice by bringing us there. There's 2 main attractions in Plymouth, namely; The Hoe and the Barbican.

The Hoe is what i called a small limestone cliff facing a few islands. The view here is breathtaking and Vic and I were busy jumping up and down, snapping a few shots while Fong and his friend, David were lazying around on the grass..

The next must-visit attraction is the Barbican, a harbour of Devon. Devon is one of the counties in England. I would say Barbican amazed me. I have been to the harbours and ports in Venice & Amsterdam but Barbican is a totally different story. I lost track when counting the number of yatchs and boats.

Seagulls are everywhere and you can see the fish swimming in the water..

Thats all about Plymouth! Got to pen off now and looking forward to meeting you soon.. =)

p/s: I can write letters in blogs, cant I? =)

When the 3 of us walked over London Bridge..

2010-08-05T13:09:00.010+01:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I spent 10 days in England with Fong and Vic. It was supposed to be the final week of my research but Ronan was kind enough to allow me to finish the work whenever I want since he was down in Castlebar. I flew over to London to meet up with Fong and was glad when Vic arrived safely after 14 hours of flight and from KL. And thus, our 10 days adveture started with venturing around London for the first two days;I was here last winter, taking pictures in front of Big Ben, in my Zara jacket and scarf around my neck but this time, I am back in London in tank tops and shorts. How great is God's creation! An amazing four seasons that I never get to experience back home..

We went over to the typical tourist spots in London, namely:

Big Ben

London Eye

London Parliament

St James Park

Buckingham PalaceSt Paul's Cathedral

Tower Bridge

Honestly, I enjoyed the company of the two guys up there, crapping all the way like we used to but I dont think I will be coming back to tour London again. Its fascinating and exciting the first time, amazing plus a teenny wiinny bit of boring the second time and probably TOTALLY BORED the third time?
I wouldnt want to spoil the image of London in my heart and so,

"I, Jacqueline Ting, hereby declare that I will not step into London for the coming one year except in unavoidable circumstances such as flight transfers, catching trains to other parts of UK, etc. "

Summery Update

2010-08-05T12:45:00.005+01:00

I am sure the title explains this post here; an update of my summer in the ever-rainy land of Galway.. =)

1. Have been working on a research project with Ronan in CSI (Clinical Science Institute) since early June and officially ended it end of July.

2. Hitting the gym and pool almost everyday since I paid 250 euros for the annual membership *wouldnt want my money to go down the drain*

3. Shopping around Debenhams, Born, Anthony Ryans, etc since they are clearing off their summer clothings and hey, I need them once I am back in Malaysia =) And the BIG point, they are dirt cheap!

4. Strolling around Salthill during those rare sunny days..

5. Visited Cliffs of Moher *AT LAST!* & Connemara *AGAIN!*

6. Tried to bake cookies but never find time to do so or is it because I was too busy? hmm... *chuckle*

7. Baked my first ever apple crumble successfully! *Mum will be amazed*

8. Got to know the new interns and bid the final year students Goodbye! *Aww! I miss them now*

9. Watching endless Hong Kong & Taiwan dramas. I am just making full use of my 30 MB internet speed.. XD

10. Spent a good 10 days-vacation in UK with Vic and Fong.. *look out for the next post*

My summer holidays will be coming to a BIG FULLSTOP in less than a month time and this means heading back to college for another 9 months of great fun! But aww, to think that autumn and winter will be here soon! =( Reason? More rain and again much more rain! Shorts and vests away! Out come my raincoats and hoodies..

Beauty of Art: Florence

2010-06-23T09:07:00.005+01:00

The paintings of women have changed enormously from women who show their bare skin as a symbolic of being graceful to being heavily dressed up today in dresses, gowns accompanied by extravagant jewelleries. Nudity no longer symbolizes high status in a society, unlike during the Renaissance era.

*a street painting in Florence*

The Birth of Venus, painted by Botticelli during the Renaissance years depicted Venus being born and coming from the sea by a seashell. This painting is one of the famous pieces being kept in Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Being one of the oldest art galleries in the world, Ufifizi houses quite a number of the famous pieces of Leonardo da Vinci, Van Rijn and Michaelangelo.

*the statue of Leanardo da Vinci outside the gallery*

I spent an hour queing to buy the tickets and since reduction is only available for art students ~~and I am not able to convince them that I studied art in my university,~~ I have to fork out a heavy 15 euros.

But trust me, the gallery is worth every single cent of my money. I started of by looking at the portraits of the Medicci family along the corridor but since I only know Lorenzo, the man responsible for the Golden Age of Florence, I scanned through the other portraits in less than 15 minutes and went into the main gallery.

AMAZING is inadequate to describe the greatness of the art pieces in the gallery. Besides The Birth of Venus, I got to see Leonardo's The Annunciation and The Adoration of Magi. And to those who do not have a single idea of these masterpieces, fear not. There's English explanation of each art piece which helps visitors to understand better.

Photo taking is not allowed in the gallery and its fair enough since I paid 15 euros to get into the gallery just to catch a glimpse of the pictures and how unfair it is if you can see tha paintings here on my blog for free.. =)

*the famous sculpture of the death od Medusa outside the gallery*

Thus, do make a trip to Uffizi if you are planning to go to Florence anytime in the future.

Michaelangelo's David

2010-06-21T18:26:00.007+01:00

Biggest joke of my trip to Florence:

J: Dad, we are going to Florence to see David!! *shouting happily with arms waving in the air*
Dad: Oh, ok.. Is David your friend? What is he doing in Florence?

And yes! David is everyone's friend in Florence because I would say that's the reason why thousands of tourists flocked to Florence every year, just to catch a glimpse of David, ~~the naked boy,~~ the most graceful man in history!

And to all of you who are still wondering who David is, here lies the history of Michaelangelo and David. David is a biblical figure who fought Goliath and the batlle is a representative of the battle between the Church against Satan. Michaelangelo started his project on sculpting David in year 1501 and it took him 3 years to complete the 5.17 metres scuplture.

David is said to be the most graceful man in history because of his posture. He looks tense and ready to fight, clearly shown from his bulging veins on his right hand. Besides, when viewed on the right side, David has a boyish expression but when one walk to the other side, you can see the furious David, full of courage, ready to knock down Goliath.

*David's bulging vein*

Like any other heroes, David, eventhough he is only a sculpture, had experienced lots of trials and tribulations. He was struck down by lightning and damaged in a riot in 1527 but he manged to survive until now, for more than 500 years. Bravo!

David is now housed in the Accademia in Florence where one needs to pay 6.50 euros for the entrance fee and the most painful part, you might have to queue at least an hour because there are just too many David's admirers waiting to see him..

And yes, The real David lives in Accademia but there are many copies of David in Florence, like this one! David from Piazzala della Signoria and the best part, its free and no queing! But do get into the Accademia because you definitely will not regret it. David is just A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

of Galileo and the Leaning Tower

2010-06-15T17:07:00.009+01:00

I remembered 4 years back, when I was still a secondary school student struglling with Physics, I came across a story in the textbook regarding Galileo and his famous experiment: Galileo and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. From the top of the tower, he dropped a ten pound object and a one pound object just to prove that they will fall down to the ground at the same time..

Anyway, I am neither a physicist nor an engineering student, so of course, I would not go further into details on why both items reached the ground at the same time.. XD I am only interested in visiting this tower since it is one of the wonders of the Medieval World..

*the typical tourist pose for the Leaning Tower*

I dont really understand why do most people who visit the Pisa square would spend almost 2 hours ~~including me,~~ taking pictures in front of the Leaning Tower and would not pay 2 euros to enter the Duomo besides it. ~~Yes, that includes me!~~ The Leaning Tower was actually a bell tower built to complement the Duomo next to it.. In other words, the Duomo should be the main attraction not the leaning tower. But I dont think anyone should be blamed for ignorance towards the Duomo since no one can resist striking a pose in front of a tower which leans 3.39 degrees towards southwest and due to its poor construction, does not have a proper function except acting as a tourist attraction.

*Duomo and the Leaning Tower*

Jewels of Rome

2010-06-11T16:01:00.008+01:00

And now for the next top 5 destinations that one must visit in Rome..

HOLD ON! Before I forget, many including me thought that Vatican City is part of Rome but Vatican is a state on its own not under the influence of Rome and Italy. Odd indeed since Vatican is just another city surrounded by Rome and you do not need a passport to cross the border between Rome and Vatican City. Anyway, I will just include Vatican City in this post as well..

Number 5

San Giovanni in Laterano
This church was dedicated to John the Baptist and John the Evangelist and is one of the four main basilicas in Rome. The most important part, it is the first church to be built in Rome! I would say that this cathedral is different from the other cathedrals that I have been to in UK and Ireland. The reason?? I dont know why but everything about this church from the huge statues of Christ and the 12 apostles to the marble paved ceiling and floor attracted me. =)

*Note the bronze plated ceiling*

Number 4

Palatine Hill & Circus Maximus
Located just next to each other, they are part of the Ancient Rome and according to Myth, there is a cave on Palatine Hill where Romulus and Remus (Rome's twin founders) were found by the she-wolf that saved them.

As for Circus Maximus, it was said to be the world's first entertainment venue where shows were held for the Romans.

Number 3

Forum Romanum
This is part of the Ancient Rome where all the old and important structures are located including Rome's oldest shrines and temples, the ancient Senate House where the High Court met, etc.. I would say those of you who enjoy history will love this place or else you will be suffering because Romans are so good at preserving the historical sites that the pathways are so rocky and as the wind blows, I felt like I was in Sahara Desert with all the dust around me..

*and here lies Julius Caesar*

Number 2

Vatican City
Headed by the Pope, Vatican it the world's smallest sovereign state but it manages to get into my list of one of my favourite holiday destinations. I would recommend one to stay full day in Vatican because every single corner and every street in Vatican is worth exploring besides the three main sites; St.Peter's Basilica, Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. I wouldnt elaborate too much on Vatican because I am sure most fo you would like to see the greatness of Vatican yourself. Note: I had my confession in St.Peter's Basilica. =)

*the beautified remains of one of the Popes*

*Michaelangelo's masterpiece in Sistine Chapel*

Number 1

Colosseum
Of course, synonym to the Rome, a visit to Rome is not complete without a visit to themagnificent Colossuem.. Considered as Rome's greatest architecture, it was once used for gladiatorial events and now, it has become a popular concert venue!!

For those who are planning a trip to Rome soon, dont be lazy but do read the history of Rorm ahead or else you wont appreciate all the dusty and ancient buildings. =)

Rome was not built in one day..

2010-06-10T17:30:00.012+01:00

Indeed, Rome was not built in one day and I did not manage to finish visiting all the important historical sites in Rome despite walking non-stop for 3 days under the scorching hot sun and torturing my poor feet. There are just too many for one to see and venture in Rome but I would say if you really want to experience the mighty Rome, along the Caesar feel, there are 10 top places that one must visit in Rome.

Number 10

Pantheon
Pantheon means 'every God' in Greek and was built as a temple to all the god in Ancient Rome but after the French Revolution, it has been used until today as a Catholic Church and also a tourist attraction..

Number 9

Piazza Navona
One of the famous squares in the world, indeed it is! This is the place where all the artists sell their pieces and you get to see people pulling out different stunts to attract customers.

*Put a coin into the box on the ground and she will dance for you!*

Famous for its fountains as well, my favourite is the Neptune Fountain. =)

Number 8

Spanish Steps
Also known as Piazza di Spagna in Italian, it is the longest and widest staircase in Europe and was built between 1723-1725. The reason I like this staircase is because I got to sit and rest my poor feet for as long as I want to. =) And also, you get to see artists giving their paintings final touch and I even bumped into a music composer carrying his guitar and song book.

At the base of the steps is where the famous Barcaccia Fountain lies. Here, you can see lots of young couples taking pictures in front of the fountain and of course, some 'unwelcomed' people will take the opportunity to 'con' the men into buying roses for the ladies..

Number 7

Scala Santa
Also known as the Holy Stairs and according to historical records, it was the stairs that Jesus climbed during his passion to meet Pontius Pilate. It was brought from Jerusalem to Rome by Saint Helena and every year, many Christians will climb the stairs of 28 steps but I can tell you that its absolutely NOT an easy feat because I gave up after 5 steps.. *sad*

Number 6

Fontana di Trevi
I would say this is quite similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris where love birds will definitely like having their pictures taken here. Why? I am sure the picture tells you everything. the architecture of the fountain itself is just O-U-T-S-T-A-N-D-I-N-G!

There is a myth that goes like this, throw a coin into the fountain and make a wish, a second coin you will come back to Rome again and of course, I would definitely want to come back to Rome again..

Note: I will continue on with the next 5 must visit places in the next post..

According to Enid Blyton..

2010-06-09T19:09:00.005+01:00

I am pretty sure most of you who are about my age (20+) or probably older must have experienced this craze when you were younger.. The Enid Blyton craze! Borrowing all her books from the library, ~~hiding some of the books in your~~ ~~secret place in libraries so that you can borrow them next time~~ or probably buying one or two from the bookshops because they are damn expensive.

Aha, I remembered reading my first Enid Blyton's Fairytale when I was 8 and I grew to love those pixies, gnomes, fairies and toadstools which I am ~~dead~~ sure kids nowadays have no idea what I am talking about. I finished her set of Famous Five and my favourite will always be the Wishing Chair! I still have that book at home.. =)

Well, as I entered secondary school, I no longer read her books but I still recall all the play houses mentioned in her books. And just when I thought that play houses only exist in her books or probably in the eighties when there were no Playstations and Barbie dolls..

Ta daa.. I found a real playhouse when I was in Volendam, Netherlands!

and they have their own boat too..

And just like George from the Famous Five, they have a dog as well!

Oh my, how I wish to have my own playhouse too but I guess I am too old for it now. And I am sure my collection of Enid Blyton's books are still ~~collecting dust~~ well kept in my store room.

The Dutch owed the windmills..

2010-06-08T21:36:00.005+01:00

And as I climbed up one of the remaining 1150 windmills in Netherlands, I quietly ~~pray that I will be safe because the ladder looked so unreliable,~~ admire the beauty of the windmills and nod my head as the Dutch man in front of me explained about the windmills.

"..... and now there are only about 1150 windmills left all over Netherlands...bla bla bla..."

And as he went on telling the curious tourists about the windmills, I was busy snapping pictures but hold on a second! I heard him talking about Amsterdam was developed around a dam??

Thats a BIG WOW from me! Well, windmills were once upon a time used in agriculture and now, used to generate electricity but it had never crossed my mind that without the windmills, Amsterdam will not exist. Because, in the early days, the Dutch used the windmills to remove excess water from the low lying districts, making the land fit for human habitation.

And this shows how much the Dutch owed the windmills because without the windmills, Amsterdam might not exist and they can forget calling themselves Dutch.

YES, Dutch out there, you know you owed the windmills! Do take good care of the remaining 1150!

Perfect Love

2010-06-07T19:25:00.005+01:00

Rings and roses have always been linked to perfect love but do imagine how amazed and dumbfounded I was when my tour guide in Amsterdam told me that tulips signify PERFECT LOVE!

Aha, I was there on my 21st birthday in April with few friends of mine and I purposely chose Amsterdam because I wanted to see their famous tulips badly. Nevertheless, we did stop by the infamous Red Light District.. *chuckle* Don't you dare tell me you didn't when you were in Amsterdam because we all know you are lying..

Keuhenkof Garden is the highlight of my trip to Amsterdam and by looking at the pictures below, I am sure these pictures painted more than a thousand word. The beauty of these flowers are just INDESCRIBABLE!

For those of you who are planning to visit Amsterdam next spring, do not miss this eye-catching garden and it is only open to visitors 3 months in a year..

Note: Now, lads out there.. Do consider giving your girlfriends/wives tulips instead of roses. Tulips are equally pretty and of course, it signifies PERFECT LOVE!

I AM BACK!

2010-06-07T18:56:00.005+01:00

After leaving my blog for more than 4 months due to my busy-hectic-gruelling-medical student life, I am now officially back to my blog! And YES, its summer now and this means I can forget about my Nike jacket for the next 3 months and start wearing T shirts and jeans.. *wink* This signifies more shopping too! XD

Tiger Year 2010

2010-02-16T18:48:00.002Z

I hope it isn't too late for me to wish everyone "Happy Chinese New Year"! Its my first chinese new year away from home and I miss home badly.. Miss the noisy fireworks that will light up the sky in Sibu when the clock strikes 12. Miss the lively atmosphere back home where bro and sis will be back for CNY.. Miss the mouth watering food Mum will never fail to prepare every Chinese New Year Eve.. Miss mum's cakes and cookies.. Miss the ang pows and of course, the contents.. Miss going visiting with my gang which is now all around the world.. Miss.. I just miss everything that I miss back home..

"Home is where my heart belongs to.. "

Trip to Prague

2010-01-08T23:26:00.005Z

~7th to 10th January 2010
Thats my first trip for the year 2010 and my last before my 2nd semester starts.. For your information, I'm typing this in Prague and I couldnt wait to go back to Ireland after only 2 days. Prague is a city with nice views but I'm sorry to say that this is not a place which I will come back for a 2nd time..

Firstly, the people here are NOT a friendly lot.. When we hopped on to the bus, the bus driver instructed us to sit down instead of paying first.. Hmm.. When we reached our destination, he shouted at us and asked us to get down the bus because we were supposed to buy the tickets in advance but we thought we could do that on board.. GEEZZ! Another really good example is that when you buy something at a shop, DONT expect a thank you or a smile.. *Grr*

Furthermore, the people here speak really limited English but its still fine but the problem is they expect you to speak Czech as well.. *shaking head* I went to a smoothie shop and wanted a juice which is a mixture of celery, beetroot, strawberry and banana.. The girl didn't understand me and asked me to tell her in Czech language.. and oh ya, how will I be able to do that?? And I walked off!

Anyway, enough for the bad part, Czech is quite nice in terms of views and the SNOW! The snow was fluffy like cotton candy and the best part, they are not slippery like frost.. I built a snowman as well! =) The food here is really nice! I love Gyros which is kind of a blend of kebab and chicken wrap. The chicken were really tasty with a ting of saltiness garnished with fresh cabbage wrapped by pita. Goulas was not bad too if you get them in the right restaurant. Mine was perfectly alright except that it has only 5 small pieces of beef in it.

p/s: I wouldnt recommend anyone to Prague UNLESS you love to have an *unique* experience.. XD oh ya, things arent cheap here either..

2nd Christmas Stop 2009: Birmingham

2010-01-01T14:07:00.004Z

~ 21st to 23rd December 2009
Birmingham was the second stop of my Christmas holidays 2009 and I can proudly state that Birmingham is one of the best places for Christmas holidays minus the slippery frost and cold weather.. =)

~21st December 2009

We arrived at Birmingham International Airport at aroubd 4pm and by the time we checked into the hotel, it was about 6pm. After leaving our bags in our room, we went out for dinner at Arcadia. Initially, we thought of dining in a proper Chinese restaurant but we couldnt find one which is proper and offer cheap prices. Hence, we ended up dining in a pub where they offered 2 sets of Fish N Chips for 5 pounds. After dinner, we went to Bullring Shopping Centre and I rushed to Debenhams to buy a new pair of shoes because the boots that I wore caused me to slip almost 5 times. Thinking that the shop will close at 8 pm, i grabbed a boots which cost me 35 pounds *heartache* and later to find out that the shoppign complex close at 10pm and I can get other better quality shoes at a cheaper price.. *double heartache*

~22nd December 2009
First stop of the day was Bullring Rag Market and as usual, every market fascinated me and I was surprised because they are selling a 8GB pendrive for 10 pounds which is almost the same price as back in Malaysia.. We then visited Birmingham Cathedral which is the largest cathedral in Birmingham. The cathedral was beautiful but taking pictures had never been so difficult with my hands shivering all the way. We visited St.Philip's Cathedral and St. Chad's Church as well.. The Christmas Carnival in Birmingham was much bigger in comparison with the one in Dublin and not forgetting, much merrier. I tried a German frankfurter and it was AWESOME! =)

German frankfurter

We stopped by Birmingham National Indoor Arena and there's a HUGE POSTER which caught my eyes and guess what.. The 100th All England Badminton Championships is going to be held in Birmingham between 9-14 March 2010! Yoohoo! *I'm so going to come*
I ended the night by hanging around Bullring Shopping Centre while the guys went for Avatar at the cinema.

St. Philip's Cathedral

~23rd December 2009
Took the bus from Birmingham to London and officially bid Birmingham farewell..

Farewell 2009, Welcome 2010

2010-01-01T13:48:00.006Z

In just a difference of 1 second, from 1159pm to 1200am, we bid 2009 farewell and welcome the year 2010.. Year 2009 had indeed left lots of memorable moments in my life and listing out the TOP 10 points:

1. CNY visiting was still as fun as previous years, where gathering
and hanging out with friends took place.
2. Celebrated my 20th birthday and bidding my tennage life goodbye.
3.Finished the devastating life in the hellish Kolej MARA Banting.
4. Scored 43 in IB exams and got placement in NUIG.
5. Spent 3 months fully at home before leaving my beloved country.
6. Officially left for Ireland to pursue my dreams.
7. Had my first salsa class in NUIG.
8. Started my first tour around Ireland by visiting Cork.
9. Officially ended my first semester exam as a medicine student.
10. Visited Uncle Dorian, Aunty Lily, Eleanor and Alicia after not
meeting them for so many years.

Happy New Year 2010!

Christmas Holidays 2009: Dublin

2009-12-24T14:03:00.006Z

Thats it! The title of the blog told you this post is about my Christmas holidays after the hectic exams..
First stop: Dublin (18th to 21st December 2009)

~18th Dec 2009
It took me 2 and half hours of journey from Galway to Dublin and I arrived at the right time because it as snowing.. My first snow!! =) Hosanna met me at the city centre and after leaving my luggage at her place, we went for Chinese lumch buffet (9.90 euros eat-all-you-can*). After lunch, we decided to go to the Christmas Carnival bt I stopped at a salon because it was offering haircut for 9 euros which was really cheap. I popped in and trimmed my fringes for Christmas. We then walked towards the Christmas Carnival where there were lots of Chirstmas goodies and kiddies' rides. We spent almost one hour at the carnival when Jed texted me that he and Alvin had arrived. Hosanna went back first while I went to Avalon Hostel to meet both the guys. We then went for dinner together at McDonalds since its the cheapest fast food available.. =) The night was spent roaming around Grafton Street and St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre with Alvin snapping pictures all along the way.

night view of Dublin

~19th December 2009
The day started of with Jed, Alvin and I strolling along St. Stephen's Green. We were lucky to be able to see swans swimming in the lake despite the cold winter weather.. Then, we headed off to Chirst Church Cathedral, which is the oldest church in Ireland, dated back to 1030. The church looks nice and really old but it wasnt as nice as St. Finbarr's Cathedral in Cork. They have a mini museum where all the church treasures are well kept underground and that was the most fascinating part of the church. Next stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral but we didn't enter the church because the entrance fee was a bit pricey.. But we did take lots of beautiful pictures at St. Patrick's Square. We then met up with Gladys and Nigel for lunch at Supermac's. After lunch, Gladys brought us to Trinity College Dublin (TCD) which was my dream college once upon a time.. The college wasn't big compared to other universities but the Harry Potter ambience is enough to keep everyone feel like they are part of TCD..=) TCD also houses the Book of Kells, the oldest manuscripts in the world.. Last stop of the day was Dublin Castle, which houses the government offices at the moment. We each paid 2 euros for the guided tour around the castle and I was quite shocked because Blarney Castle charged 8 euros. However, the castle is not really a castle since the original one was burnt down and the one we see today is the restored castle.. Dinner was at Hosanna's house where Nigel prepared a splendid meal for all of us..

St Stephen's Green

Trinity College Dublin (TCD)

~20th December 2009
Nigel and I went to the Carmelite Church while Jed and Alvin went to Chirst Chruch for services. We the meet up for lunch and later to Guinness Storehouse at St. James Gate. The tour around the storehouse was nice and I got to pour my own pint of Guinness but i couldnt' finish even half of it.. 3 hours were spent at the storehouse and since its a Sunday, most shops closed early. Nigel went for a movie with his friends while Jed, Alvin and I hanged around in Hosanna's place since its our last night in Dublin..

I poured my own pint of Guinness

with the Magical Irish Leprechaun

p/s: full album can be viewed on Facebook..

Connemara..

2009-12-16T08:51:00.008Z

15th December 2009.. the official date of freedom after 2 gruellling weeks of battle against exams and I was glad that it ended with a not-so-tough Anatomy paper.. Swee San was in Galway since Sunday but I couldnt meet her earlier.. Hence, I decided to make up for it by bringing her to NUIG and also Connemara which is part of county Galway... After a host tour around NUIG, I brought Swee San and her friends to my house for a short visit while I called up the tourist agency to pick us up from my house.. *the best way to save taxi fares* At around 1030am, we were on our way to Connemara, where I met the other Malaysian girls as well.. It then became kind of a Malaysian trip because there are 13 Malaysians including us on the bus!!

view of Salthill

The view along the way was describable only in ONE word - MAGICAL.. It was really awesome and the tour guide told us that the views will be different every season, green in summer, brown in winter, orange in autumn and probably yellow in spring.. We made a few stops in Maam Valley where the most scenic landscapes of Connemara are situated, Scriob Waterfall, Ros a'Mhil and the famous Kylemore Abbey.. By the way, if anyone fo you have read about the Irish Potato Famine, I have seen ruins of these villages along the way to Connemara and it saddened me how they have nothing to eat during the famine..

ruins of the famine villages

Kylemora Abbey was once known as Kylemore Castle and it dated back to 1800 and it has a beautiful love story behind it.. Ta daa.. Story telling time ^ ^ Mitchell Henry built the castle in the 19th century for his wife, Margaret and their kids. However, Margaret passed away due to fever two years later and Mitchell never remarried. Years later, Mitchell moved out of the castle since he felt that it was incomplete without his belove wife.. *how romantic*

Kylemore Castle

After 2 hours of tour around Kylemore Castle and the Gothic Cathedral, we hopped on the bus and went back to Galway.. On our way, we saw lots of sheep painted with multi colours on their wool.. According to the bus driver, the owners let their sheep roam all over the valley and foe identification purposes, they paint their sheep with different colour.. Sheep are cute but they arent friendly, unlike the Connemara ponies.. The ponies are so friendly that they dont mind me stroking their soft fur.. =)

sheep around the valleys

Exams..

2009-12-04T19:45:00.005Z

Its my first exam as a medical student in NUIG! And what more can I say except that exams are infinitely torturing.. Enough with memorising every single detail about muscles and drugs nerves but I just couldnt identify them during Spot Test.. =( Anyway, I passed and just cross my fingers that I will do better in my final which is next week.. I'm so gonna work on Biochem and Anatomy!!

International Students' Dinner

2009-11-06T19:56:00.011Z

Its the annual International Students' Dinner with the Dean of School of Medicine and since it was my first time attending it, I was quite excited. I got dressed up by 7pm and at about 730 pm, LZ, Adrian and I walked to Westwood Hotel. We were quite late but luckily, some students were late too.. Dinner was served and I chose baked salmon as my main course. It was good but I couldn't take much since I'm not really hungry. Rest of the time was spent talking to friends, taking pictures and meeting new people. It was also a nice approach to get to know my lecturers better and my Professionalism lecturer, Gloria was really outstanding since she wore a Punjabi suit... It was really a fantastic night, minus the fact that I was having flu that nite.. ^ ^

Esther and I posing for a pciture.. *especially for dear Hossie*

pretty Malaysian girls... =)

With Fabio and Peter Dockery, two excellent Anatomy lecturers...

with Michelle..

Siaw Jing & I *Sibu peeps*

p/s: I really enjoyed myself a lot~

Holidays in Cork

2009-10-31T09:02:00.017Z

Date: 23rd October 2009 to 26th October 2009

Venue: Cork, Ireland
Event: My first holiday outside Galway =)

23rd October 2009
~ Anatomy Spot Test ended at 5.30pm and the bus to Cork was at 6.30pm!! I met Bryan and since he's from Cork, I followed him to his house where he got his bag and we called a cab.. Phew! We got to get there on time.. The journey to Cork took 3 hours 40 mins which I don't enjoy any second of it! Coz I'm hungry, hot and feel like vomitting all the time! Anyway, Bryan texted me when we were about to reach Cork City and it was like heaven when we walked down the bus and arrived in St.Patrick's Quay.. My first impression of Cork: It's really pretty!! Bryan then took a cab back home while I waited for Emmanuel and Vinitha at the Quay. Thats when I met these two drunk men along the Quay and thinking that I couldnt speak English, they started to speak foul languages to me. Ta daa.... Vinitha called me and I spoke English perfectly and they were startled! I felt like laughing that time. They then walked away while I walked over to Merchants' Quay to meet Vini and Emm.. We walked back to Castlewhite which is their apartment.. After dinner, I slept like a pig because I was too tired after the gruelling journey!

24th October 2009
~ woke up at 9am but I didn't wake Vini up since she's still sleeping soundly.

My first stop: St.Finbarr's Cathedral. I followed the direction given in the map and managed to find this breathtaking cathedral. Everything in there is totally magnificent! And here's where all the great things happened! I met a lady from Texas and she helped me to take some pictures. Before she left, she gave me a souvenir from Texas =) I got myself a replica of the cathedral at the souvenirs shop.

St. Finbarr's Cathedral

2nd stop: Cork English Market. I met two NUIG girls along the way and we went to the market together. It's not that big, comparing to Sibu Central Market. XD But I'm fascinated by the stuffs they sold there. The berries, their 'unique' dragon fruit, cakes, cookies, pies, etc. I saw a stall selling some hot and nice pies and I couldnt resist myself from getting a mushroom and cheese pie for 2.50 euro.. *its delicious*

The mushroom pie that I had..

3rd stop: St.Patrick's Street. Walked along the street and I was really lucky enough to stumble upon Jazz bands which were performing in conjunction with the Jazz Festival. They were really superb! Bought some souvenirs from Failte Ireland shop too and it cost me 10 euro!! I then went to Crawford Art Gallery for a tour.

Jazz band along the street

It was dinner at Gaya's house at night. There, I met lots of new friends and after dinner, we decided to go out to town and settle ourselves in a pub for the Jazz Festival..

25th October 2009
~ Vini and I set off for the famous Blarney Castle. It took us only 20 minutes to reach the castle by bus.. We paid 8 euros each at the entrance and acted like kids, squealing here and there, fascinated by the awesome scenery. We are clicking our cameras all along the way to the castle. 20 minutes were used ofr us to reach the top of the Castle. *believe me, it was not an easy feat for those who have weak hearts* By the way, I kept on telling Vini that the castle is discriminating people who are horizontally challenged since there's a guy in front of me, who kept on knocked his butt onto the walls of the castle.. Anyway, back to the top of the castle. The view from the top is nothing but just amazing, really amazing and seriously amazing. BREATHTAKING! And the wind is blowing extremely strong that my camera pouch was blown off.. =( After coming down from the Catsle, we strolled along the Rock Close and came across the Fairy Glade, which is the only tree with red leaves among the greenies. Rest of the time was spent in Rock Close, capturing the precious moments.. We went back to the city at around 3pm and surprisingly, Vini still had the energy to follow me around the city. We went looking for the famous Shandon Bells at St.Anne's Church. It was said that whoever rings the bell will have their wishes came true. Dinner was at Silk Thai Restaurant where we had tom yam, and both of us slept like babies that night...

Blarney Castle behind me..

View from the top of Blarney Castle.. *breathtaking*

We felt like we were on top of the world.. ^ ^

Fairy Glade...

26th October 2009

~Last day in Cork was terrible! It was raining the whole morning and it was the Bank Holiday, which means that shops are only open at 12pm. Anyway, I did get to visit University College Cork (UCC) and had lunch at Istanbul Burgers.. I took the bus back to Galway at 2pm and this time, I remembered to take pills to prevent car sickness.. ~.~

St.Patrick's Quay

p/s: Cork, I will be back !!

Mid Autumn Festival in Galway

2009-10-12T17:34:00.006+01:00

I know, I really know that it's a bit late to post this up now since the Mid Autmun Festival had already past 1 weeks plus.. But I still want to write about it here.. Here we go.. It was four days before the Mid Autumn Festival when Siaw Jing text-ed me and invited me for dinner at his house to celebrate Mid Autmun Festival.. I was really thrilled since I thought that I'll be celebrating it alone this year..

On the exact day, there's Raya open house at Corrib Park and I promised I will go at about 3pm but I didn't. Hey, I didn't mean to break my words but Lim Zhi told me about the Mid Autumn Party at the College Bar and it really attracted me. Hence, in the windy afternoon, the two of us walked to the College Bar and found out that it was a PRIVATE party.. But we did get into the party and realised that it was organised by the China Society. There were lots of China people there, both old and young, eating mooncakes and chatting. Anywhere, Lim Zhi and I left after having a slice of mooncake each since we don't really know anyone there..

Anywhere, the main point of this post is about the dinner at Siaw Jing's house in Chantella. Lim Zhi and I went over with Yuen Yiing and Mei Ching. I got to know Siaw Jing's housemates; Chen Rong and Depti from Singapore. Expect the unexpected, the dinner was popiah and we wrapped them ourselves. Hey, its really a cool idea for dinner and I had two popiahs!

The highlight of the dinner was playing lanterns. We had 4 /5 lanterns and we lighted them outside the road. However, its was to chilly that we decided to get into the house after taking pictures.. XD

My frens and I with our lanterns..

It was karaoke session after that.. Cheers to Chen Rong and Siaw Jing for having a massive collection of Chinese songs which are all my favourite.. They can really sing too and I mean really good.. Tea session and mooncake sampling was on like any usual mooncake festival gathering..

Mooncakes all the way from Singapore..

Everything ended at 12am and the hosts walked us back to Corrib Park..

P/s: The moon was extremely round this year...

Fun Stuffs in NUIG

2009-10-03T11:37:00.007+01:00

My life in NUIG is not all about eating medicine text books everyday.. My days here can still be counted using my fingers but it has already start to spell out the word FUN! First week is orientation week, 2nd week is the week where classes start and 3rd week is Socs Week with lots of fun stuffs..*anticipating the Halloween Night this end of oct* hehe..

First time trying rock climbing

up, Up UP, I go!

I tried lots of new cool stuffs here but the best part is I get to join the Art Soc. Hey, I can still paint after leaving my art classes for more than 2 years.. *clap clap* They have lots of cool activities such as Chalk Walk and Face Painting. Chalk Walk is a fund raising activity where everyone gets to scribble and destroy the clean pathway outside the James Hardiman Library! I missed the Face Painting since I'm in Anatomy Lab.. *sad* I heard that it was so much fun and everyone have their faces painted as Spidey, Hello Kitty and Superman..

Painting the wall of Art Soc *spot me in black shirt*

My group painted it for Alive! *i painted the flowers*

And unbelivable, but do believe it.. I'm joining the DanSoc which is the dance society in NUIG. I'm enrolling for Intermediate Hip Hop class. Hehe.. It's all about joining in the fun and who cares whether your movements ressemble a robot.. I'm thinking of learning the Traditonal Irish Dance if its not clashing with my timetable..

DanceSoc

I signed up for quite a lot of Socs but I'm still waiting for their emails.. Marine Soc promised dolphin trip in October but there's no emails yet.. I'm still considering wheter I should go for Kayaking Club since I can sense the fun in it.. Hopefully its not clashing with my timetable..

The Kayaking Club having their trainings in Corrib River

Anyway, hopefully this is just the beginning of my FUN in NUIG and it will goes on for the rest of my 5 years here.. *cheers*

First few days in Galway, Ireland

2009-09-14T18:05:00.001+01:00

Finally.. after 13 hours of flight to Amsterdam, 6 hours of waiting at the Schipold Airport, 1 and a half hours of flight to Dublin, 3 hours of train ride to Galway.. I have finally arrived in Galway!! *clap clap*

At first I thought that Galway is a super duper rural town but I have to eat my words. Galway is indeed a beautiful medieval city... I can see birds and doggies every corner.. All kinds of flowers, roses, lavenders. etc stand beautifully in almost everyone's garden.. The people here are really super duper truper friendly. Everywhere I go, people will smile and greet you. Opposite of my house there's a small patch of green grass and an elderly man came there every evening to feed the stray cats. Note that he fed them with real kitty food not just any scrap of food. This is so far the best point of Ireland as compared to Holland. Well, when I was in Amsterdam, the people at the airport including the air stewardess are not really friendly which was so frustrating.. *grr grr*

One of the magnificent views of Galway

Irish love plants on their houses

Anyway, National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG) is not that big as comparing it to other big universities but its enough to get me lost on my first week. We have Subway, Smokey's Cafe, Rush Cafe and College Bar in the uni.. XD

Orientation was fun. I tried lots of new stuffs.. I did rock climbing, surfing, archery, snowboarding which were totally fun.. The Students' Union organised a speed dating which I thought of going but I was too shy.. Hahahahahaha.. *innoncent face* Anyway, they have it twice a year.. I might be joining the Freshers' Disco Nite next week at the College Bar. I think I'll meet new friends there..

As for my class, there are 140++ of us. So far, talked to some of them. My first Irish fren is a guy, Craig who is very friendly and chatty. *Pau didn't believe me his name is Craig*

National University of Ireland, Galway (NUIG)

As for the food here, I haven't really have proper meals. Rushing here and there for orientation and buying stuffs, I just eat whatever I can grab on, be it an energy bar or a green apple..

Galway Cathedral

Another church along the riverbank

food.. food.. gluttony food

2009-08-23T06:05:00.001+01:00

It was a nice Sunday night when John suggested for a dinner to celebrate my graduation. Eventually, TGI Friday's was lingering on my mind. We then came up with the idea of going to a Japanese restaurant in SS15, Subang Jaya. There are 3 popular Japanese restaurants there, namely Razuken and Ryu Men Tei and Tomoe. As I have been to the later twos, we decided to give Razuken a shot.

We arrived there at around 7.30 pm and there's no vacant seat for us! ( This shows how popular Razuken is) Jane and I browsed through the menu, deciding on what to order first for starters.. The pics in the menu look rather appetizing and mesmerizing to my eyes.. We then settled for a table for 3 on the 1st floor..

We ordered sushi for starter, two Bento sets and a set of Garlic rice. The starter was Spider Maki which I think was awesome. It comes with four slices of normal sized sushis with soft shell crabs stuffed in it. The crabs give a certain crunchiness to the sushis and I dare say it's one of the best sushis I have ever tried... (The taste is still lingering on my taste buds) XD

The tasty Spider Maki

Next on the course are our main menu..
My set was sort of roasted eel placed on a bowl of nice Japanese traditional rice.. It was a huge portion as the set comes with the normal seafood tofu, a bowl of soup with crabs and a plate of fresh frutis. The soup taste nice but it will be better if they served it steaming hot.. The crab in the soup is so tenderly soft that I can just bite them into half without much difficulty..

My main course of roasted eel

John's set was similar to mine but his main course was chicken teppayanki topped on Japanese rice. The chicken was blended with seaweed and fried egg which I think was a wonderful combination. ( at least it doesnt taste like any other fried chicken)

Chicken teppayanki set

The total bill comes to RM 108 which I think was reasonable as our tummies were perfectly filled.. *wink*

p/s: for those who want to give it a try, do make your reservations as I believe you don't want to end up waiting like me..

Rakuzen Japanese Restaurant
13, Jalan SS 15/5A
47500 Subang Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan.
Tel: (+603) 5880 4717

Graduation

2009-08-20T04:44:00.000+01:00

My sister in law and I..
My bro, sis in law and I
Graduation flowers and presents
My graduation teddy
A bouquet of flowers from bro..

Finally.. After two gruelling years of battle in IB.. I finally graduated with 43 points..=) Graduation ceremony was held in Dewan Datin Seri' Endon, Putrajaya. The ceremony was quite grand , I would rate 7 out of 10 ( Thanz to the hardwork of the organising committee).

For more pics, go to facebook.. i'm too lazy to upload all in my blog

Heart Attacking Afternoon

2009-08-09T13:00:00.000+01:00

It was a hot and hazy Friday afternoon when my mum decided to go to Sanyan for a haircut but the hairstylist wasnt there. Disappointed, we went to take our car but unfortunately, it was 1 pm, meaning that students from SJK (C) Chung Hua and SJK Methodist were getting ready to go back and parents were flooding the road and parking here and there like little ants. We couldn't move more than an inch for about 20 minutes under the glaring hot Sun which was totally frustrating. I bet some parents have to curse each other almost everyday. A guy in a Kancil had his blood boiled up and had the nerves to ask some of the parents to move their cars aside. Bravo! Clap clap for him..

While waiting for my Mum at Hair Magic, I browsed through some magazines, looking for the latest hairstyle when one of the hairstylists asked me whether I'm doing my Masters which I think is amusing.

We then went to SK to buy some groceries and I met Mrs. Pau. After paying for the goods, we went to get our car and my Mum started to get angry because she couldn't find her key. I got so shocked when she pointed her finger into the car and Omigosh! The car key was locked in the car. I started to figure out what can I do since there's no one free to bring over the spare key to us. Thats when Mr. Chris struck my mind (since he's always free)! I called him and he said he'll be there within 10 minutes. My Mum and I went back to SK again to prevent being cooked under the Sun. Thats when Hosanna sms-ed me and asked me to call IUMC. I did and the news broke my heart.. =( I was being placed to National University of Ireland (NUIG) when I was hoping for Trinity College Dublin. (Someone might whack me now for being ungrateful to get NUIG)

Mr. Chris came minutes later and I went back home to get the spare key and back again to SK to get the car.. I promised him McD as a treat..

The Gadget

2009-08-02T07:11:00.000+01:00

What's the gadget that I won't go anywhere without it? Hmmm.. Mobile phone @ handphone.. I just bought a new phone which I like it super duper truper much.. Samsung Soul U900.. With its unique specifications of 5MP cam and 7.2 HSDPA, I cant resist myself from buying it..

First Entry

2009-07-28T05:57:00.000+01:00

Hmm.. starting a blog? It never strike my mind that I will start a blog.. Anyway, since I created it now, I guess I have to update it frequently or else it will be a cyber waste.. Well, question 1: Why do I create this blog?? Because I want to share my journey of pursuing my dreams with everyone back in Malaysia.. Hehe.. Hopefully I can keep my promise and update my life in Ireland soon..