I'm Lovin it

London Bridge is falling down

2009-07-08T02:19:00.000-07:00

I am going to LONDON!!!

I finally got my leave approved
So I will got to start planning now!

If there is anyone with tips for me, email to me or leave a comment!!

Will update more

I am BACK!!

2007-07-29T04:40:00.000-07:00

I am finally back in sg
Sorrie for the missing blog entries..
I was busy and hav no time to blog

Well it has been a mindblowing experience
BUt I love every minute of it..
These few days I have been busy with PA report, packing, trying to rest
and soon I will be moving to halL!!
I will be staying in hall 7!!!

Ok i am tired already
Mayb i shld go sleep and it is only like 8pm SG time
haha

Germany trip- Heidelberg

2007-07-24T08:47:00.000-07:00

16th July
Today is a sunny day
Hui Ling, Jason and Dorothy went to Europa Park
It is an amusement park
and it has quite an interesting concept
The whole place is based on Europe
So there is Russia, Paris etc etc
and in the town, u can find the food and rides that is so called unique to the country
Well the reason I din go is it cost 30 Euro
Quite expensive and I am not willing to pay for it

In the end, I travelled alone to Heidelberg
Well I kind of forgot to mention my train ride from Berlin to Freiburg
What happened was the train was an overnight train
We din get sleeper so we had to sit in the cabin of 6 for like hours
AND there is a stopover where we had to change train
So in the end, I din get enuff sleep

Anw I went Heidelburg and like it there
There is nice view and it is quite small actually
I went to the castle and the old town
It gives you a very good feeling

The Old town
Very small and it gives me a feeling that everyone knows everybody
BUT behind these walls are shops and it actually feel kind of touristy

The castle
This looks nice but actually the castle are already in ruins

Here's the bridge that connects the two part of towns together

16th July

germany trip- Berlin

2007-07-20T06:12:00.001-07:00

Sorry guys I know this is a bit late but here is the update on my travelling

Will keep it simple and show more pics instead

15th July

took the flight from Oslo to Berlin and reached here at like 11pm

Super tiring

and I realised we went to the budget terminal which is soo far out

Took train to reach the main station, HBF

My bag was super duper heavy but Thank God jason helped me with it

We got to queue long to put in the locker

Water here is sooo expensive!!

I guess I got a shock!

The one I bought is like nearly 3 SGD!!! Boohoo

lunch was like 15 sg for a plate of salty noodle and fried chicken
I miss the food in sg!! Bring me back!!!

After that Jason Hui Ling and I went to walk around Berlin

We went to Charlie Checkpoint, Berlinder Dome, etc

This city is soo full of history

Will be coming back here again so looking forward to it

here's me acting like a bear

Look behind me and you can see the cleavage of a woman

well the ads here are realli ehmmm.... u noe

Brandengurg Gate.. nice place

Much history here but I will not bore you

I like this

Berlinder Dome

Very nice inside and looks great on the outside too

Last Few days..... and REGRETS

2007-07-14T04:10:00.000-07:00

Today is gg to be my last day in Oslo, Norway!!!
I feel quite sad as I am typing this
I grew to love the weather and the people here
The people are a bit shy and reserved but Once they open up to you, they are nice

I have been quite busy these few days with packing
PLUS since I am staying in BSN, i got to clean the room
They are quite strict with this and I got to scrub everything till it is clean
My roomie and I had to seperate the differnt jobs
Also today(sat 14th july) I woke up late!
Well technically I slept only at 3 since I was washing the stove etc
Then supposed to wake up at 8 to go Folkemuseum!

In the end, Hui Ling and I clean till like 3
Natalia(the person in charge) din even come!!!
My plan was to go to Folkemuseum
In the end, din even get to go!!!

Some of the regrets that I have is the lack of places to visit!
I wanted to visit Nobel Peace Centre but din manage to go
PLUS the Folkemuseum...
SIANZzzz

In the end, i stayed in hall and read comics
and play games
What a great way to end my last day in BJ!!!

Anyway I will be travelling to Germany next
I will be going to Berlin, Munich, Dresden, Freiburg, Nuremburg
YAY!!
BUt also regret tt din hav more time
but i guess got to wait till I got more money
heehee

Here's some pics to share with u all

Last day of school!
Some of us took a photos together
This is at the farewell party

here's us posing after the party
from left: Adi(here's also Indonesian!), Vivien, me, HUi Ling, Bain and Wilfred

here's me taking a photo in Oslo S
it is the city
Guess what time is it now?
You got it wrong
it is 11pm!!! at NIGHT!!
It is that bright here at night

Neste Statjon, Nydalen

2007-07-11T08:07:00.000-07:00

Finally I have finished my individual assignment

Not sure what I have done is correct

BUT watever

The title for today is actually Next station, Nydalen

The subway is called T-bane here

and Nydalen is the stop name

Woke up earlier

Finally one weekday free and I went out with Qi Hui

We went to the National Gallery

There were many paintings etc

I even saw Munch "Scream"

But one thing confused me

If there is one in the Munch Museum which I didn't go, how come there is another one?

Is there like conterfeit or wat?

Oh well the whole place is very nice

However i was not allowed to take photos....

SIGH

Think time passes by really fast

Soon I got to go home

I think everything is really fast and I don't really have time to breathe

BUT I am quite missing home and the food in sg!

Looking forward to going back soon

Busy week

2007-07-10T06:50:00.000-07:00

Have been busy this week
Sorry din update my blog
Supposed to do my individual assignment now
BUT i am too lazy and in no mood to do
Have to write 5-7 pages long on Norwegian culture
Will rushed it out after this
Here's a sneak peek into this week

5th July
In the evening, my friends and I went to the Norwegian cultural evening
It is quite interesting
There are dances, stories and food

Here's a pic of the dancing
As you can see, they are wearing traditional costumes

For food, we had sour cream porridge, flatbread and some preserved meat like salami
The porridge was good...only if you put tons of cinnammon and sugar
The bread was thin and crispy.. nice
but the meat was super salty
but not bad.. got free meal.. heehee

6th 7th July
A group of us went to Bergen to see the fjord there
The place is quite nice
On the way there, we have some good view
Here's one of the pic

Isn't this nice?
Blue sky.. snow... this tells you how cold I am here
It is summer yet there is snow!!

Anyway once we reached Bergen, went to the hostel
In the end we got an apartment
It is quite nice for a hostel
Next stop is the fish market
We got to eat some prawns
Though not very fres, it satisfies our craving for seafood!!

here's the guy distributing the prawans...
the guy behind posed for me... hehe

Anyway the sky was still bright at like 10.30 at night
We walked around till like 12??
I was soo tired and just slept like a log when I reached the hostel

The next day, we went on a fjord cruise
I was quite sad coz the fjord was not as fantastic as I thought
Also, QI hui and Adi went for the Norway in a nutshell and they told me it was good
Should have went there coz you can take the Flam railway
That has one of the best view supposedly
Also they went on a hike and fjord cruise too!
I think I will come back next time
but must save more money

Anyway this is the fjord
Quite nice lah..not bad
The water is glittering under the sun and you can see the reflection and stuff

Here's me enjoying the cool breeze...

This is the view of Bergen from the top of the mountain

8th July

Today there is supposed to be a BBQ in Hovedoya

It is one of the Oslo fjord Island

but I was really disappointed

The view not nice

The beach very dirty

and it RAINED!!!

In addition I got a quiz tm to study for!!

Oh well there is smthg nice there at least

see the pic below?

There's some ruins on the island
Think quite nice

here's me posing with some wild flowers

9th July

Today there is the quiz and I realised everyone is Doing the same qn!!

Oh well watever

There is sooo many articles to read and I am just hoping to pass

Anyway after quiz, we went to Grunnerloka to celebrate

Went in to a Middle East restaurant to eat there

The food is quite good!!

Here's me looking ready to eat the food

Ok update till now

Better go do my assignment now!!

Stress

2007-07-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

I thought coming to Norway can relax
But then I realised I got quite a few things to do
Well I got my PA report firstly
Then from BI I got my hand in report and project!!
SUAY!!

Anyway these few days has been busy
Many things to do
PLUS I am going away this weekend to Bergen
Want to enjoy the Fjord

2nd July
School was over by noon and we rushed down to the city to have Chinese food
It had been so long since I had chilli!!!
Anyway the food was yummy
Look at our happy faces holding the bottle of chilli!!
Yummy!!

Vivien, me and Qi Hui holding tightly to the bottle of chilli.

3rd July
Tonight Vivien, Qi Hui and I prepared dinner for everyone
We had Ikea meatballs and potatos
Here's a pic
Look good huh??

4th July
Today all of us went for the company visit
The company is called Wilhelmsen
It is quite big and the company is located near the sea
The presentation was quite boring but I was impressed with the company's policy
They are very employee-oriented
Plus environmentally friendly
and they even offer courses for their employees
Quite good

Here's a pic of us from Singapore
The wooden thing is supposed to be an anchor

Good Weekend

2007-07-01T15:18:00.000-07:00

30th June

Today is a free day for us
So we set off on train to Tornsberg
The whole journey there is about 1 and a half hour

The thing is when we reached, it rained!!

Anyway the place is quite nice

It is a quaint, little town

It is quite peaceful there, very different from Oslo

We walked to the harbour and it was quite nice

After that, we proceed to go to the Slottsfjellet

It is supposedly a castle but then was destroyed

Here's a pic of the tower that still stands

Anyway the view from the top was quite nice

Here's a pic of almost the whole of Tornsberg

Othe way down, we saw one of the traditional Norway house

Here's the pic
The grasses above is supposed to be a good insulator
It will keep the house warm in winter and cool in summer

Quite cool huh?

wouldn't you like a grass house?

Anyway after that we walked around finding the whale museum

I realised we walked the whole town alr

it is quite small

ANd after waking around for like 30 mins, we realised the museum is...

The one near the castle

and we actually were there before that

Anyway the museum is called Vestfold Fylkesmuseum

There are viking ships, shipping, Norwegian history etc

But my fav must be the whaling part.

There is a collection of whale skeletons and one of them of a 23m long blue whale

After that, we walked back for the train

it was home for all the tired bodies...
I stupidly went for Hamsun

About this author in Norway who received the Nobel price before

Then the show is about him during WWII

It was a nice show if it is a bit faster

In the end, I reached home at like 11pm

sianz..

1st July
Today was supposed to be a hike at Nordmaka

However was too tired and decided to skip it

Heard the view was quite nice... sobz

Next time will try to go there

Anyway in the end, me and vivien went to church

On the way to church, saw this and took a pic... hehe

The church we went is called St Edmund

It is quite a small church and I think total attendance was like 20?
Well I guess due to the service in English

But although Norway is a christian state, only about 3% go to church

After church, had free tea and chocholate cake

Yummy

Then we went to Aker Brygge to have lunch

it was nice sitting there people watching and having ur meal

Anyway, we except Dot went to the Holocaust Museum

We took a ferry there and we had to walk quite a distance

This is the place we went

It is called Villa Grande

The villa was really nice

Anyway the museum was not really that fantastic

Coz din see much things

and everything was in Norwegian

sianz..

but I guess it was quite ok

One thing u must know before you come to Norway

Everything here is in Norwegian

Many things here have no english translation

But the people can speak good english

After that we had pizza

I guess it was allright

Better than having no food to eat!!

God Sommer

2007-06-29T08:36:00.000-07:00

For those who know Norwegian, that means good summer!!
It has been fulfilling and fun here
Though the occasional rain and cold wind, the weather here is still good
It is cooling and yet the sun is shining
I still miss the prices I get in Beijing
and I constantly compare prices
But I guess I am getting used to Norway now
Here's what happened over the few days

Before that, here's a pic of my school

27th June
Today is quite a free day
We only had class till 12+ and we had time to go to the city
Class was fine.. It was smthg like marketing in a different culture
There was a special guest today and she worked in a marketing firm
We were given Microsoft case study
Also we were shown some interesting Absolut vodka ads and some other ads

Here's one of my favourite ad
Not bottle is shown but it shows the unique thing in Bangkok.. nice

After that, We went to check the train ticket to Tornsberg
and we end up in Rimi buying grocery which happened quite often
I think I became very auntie here

Anw, dinner was nice
Had fried rice, calamari and tom yum soup!!
It is only when you are in a more expensive place that you treasure the nice Asian food

Anyway supposed to go for a film programme at night
However we went late and there were no place for us to sit
In the end, we left
Heard the show is quite good
BUT I went to Aker Brygge
It is the habour and it was nice just walking there
The view is fantastic and it was actually 10.30 and yet the sun is still shining
The sky is still bright and people are enjoying their meals

Here's Aker Brygge at 9.30 at NIGHT!

28th June
Today 's class is super long
It was almost 6 hrs long
The first part was on case study of Mastercard
We were shown so many nice ads done in Europe
Wonder why SG ads not as nice

After school, Vivien, Qi hui and I went back to the hall to rest
The rest went to Ikea first and we were supposed to meet there
The thing is .... there are 2 Ikea and we went to different ones!!!
it was soo funny
The shuttle bus stop is apparently the same
Both groups waited for each other and it was in vain
We had a drink over chips and laughed about it
How stupid man can be sometimes!

29th June
Today is a good day
The sun is shining brightly and we had a day trip to Hadeland
The whole journey there took about an hr
I enjoyed the journey there as the views were magnificent

The first stop is Hadeland Glass factory
It was amazing how glasses are made
The whole process is so painstaking but the result is so good!
I like the glasses but sooo ex!
Din buy in the end coz troublesome to bring back

We walked around and came to the honey house
The place there give free sample of the honey-coated nuts
Yummy
I bought 2 packs in the end
It was not very cheap but it was very nice...

Anyway lunch was provided and it was fantastic
Had salmon which was not a common thing
Plus bread, lemon mousse for dessert
Hmmm lurve it
and apparently it should cost about 150NOK which is 30+SGd
Totally enjoyed it

Had a good time too after that taking photos at the jetty nearby
The Fjord was very beautiful
But it was not realli a "complete" fjord since it does not go out to the sea

However the water is sooo clear and it made me want to swim

After that, the bus brought us up to the top of the Mountain

There we had a complete view of the whole place

Words cannot describe how beautiful the things are

God is really such a great creator and it was just magnificent

Here's a pic taken from the top of the mountain

Looks better than the pic

After that it was back to hall for us

Vivien, Hui Ling and I prepared dinner and it was fried noodles today

had chicken, fishball, vege and mushroom in it
Makes me missed home and Singapore food

boohooo
Soon I will be home!!

Two Happy Days!

2007-06-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

These 2 days, the sun came out from its hiding place and greeted me!
well trying to be poetic here but failing miserably
haha
Anyway, read on for more...

25th June
Today is the 1st day of school!!
I think I regret coming!
So many things to do!! and got quiz, exams and presentations
Plus I got to read so many readings
boohoo

Oh well, anw had an intro into culture and stuff
Can be quite boring sometimes but learning about Norwegian culture is interesting
The ppl here are a bit more private and they keep to themselves
Well they are friendly but only if you start talking to them

Anyway the rest of the day was allright and we went to University of Oslo
Look around and had an orientation
The part I loved come after this
We walked around the city of OSLO!!!
I lurve it
So many old buildings and nice stuff to see!!

There were many clothes shop and I had to restraint myself
I promised not to shop so much after Beijing
Also we saw like nice quaint old building
I am in lurve with the whole place but Norway is really just too expensive

Anyway we did our monthly transport pass and it cost like 430NOK
Plus we got to pay 60NOK to get our pictures (for 4)
Total I pay like 490 NOK which is like 125SGD!!
I am sooo going to be broke after this trip

Anyway we cooked dinner tonight (me, vivien and Hui ling)
Had rice(finally) and some dishes
Had vege soup, brocolli, chicken, eggs and it came up to about 6SGD..
quite cheap for a meal here

26th June
Today had class and it was quite fun!
The lecturer was called Derek Matthews and we had smthg on culture
It was quite interesting to find out about ppl's culture
It was very interactive and we managed to get to know other ppl
We did stuff mostly in groups and I guess I enjoyed it

After that, there is a company who did an intro
It is called Vinmonopolet
It is actually the only wine shop in Norway
A monopoly
Taxes is very high here and apparently,
they are the only shop that sells spirits, wine and beer if the alcohol content is above 4.7%

We also went to visit the shop at Storo City which is a shopping mall near BSN
It is just 10 mins walk away from the place I live
Yahoooo
Anyway the shops really had many products(the presenter said 16,000)
Well I wanted to get some but I guess too ex
sianz

After that, went to look around the shopping centre
The place is quite small but I guess got things to buy
I bought groceries too and the straberries were good!!
hahaha

Anyway went for dinner and it was fantastic
Had chicken fillet and rice
Had chilli too!! The first time since I reached Norway
We nearly finished half the bottle of Chilli!!

After dinner, we went for class at University of Oslo
Took a class on the emergence of Modern Norway and it was boring
I nearly slept in class
I had to force myself to copy down notes
AND I can't even talk
There were many old ppl taking the class and they were so serious
In the end, Vivien, Qi hui and me ended up talking on papers
haha

Tour around Oslo

2007-06-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

Today we went on a tour around Oslo
Oslo is really a beautiful place

Although not as beautiful as Bergen, it is a nice place...
It is actually quite small with a population of around 540,000 ppl(dunno accurate or not)

Anyway the first stop we went to the mountain top to see the ski jump
It is called Holmenkollen
It is going to be torn down next year
The place is used for competition for ski jump in winter
We saw the traditional Norwegian house(where there are grasses on the roof)
The grasses is supposed to be good ..
During summer, it will keep the house cooling
while winter, it will keep the house warm
The guide also told us about trolls and stuff

Here's the Holmenkollen

Next, We went to Vigelandsparken(the Vigeland park)
It is the sculpture park with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and cast iron
Many of the statutes have meaning behind them
The most important theme I think is the Circle of Life

Here's one of the many sculptures

According to the guide, Gustav Vigeland will sculp the things in clay
There will be teams in charged to sculp this into granite
This particular one took 14 yrs to sculp
A houe was build over the stone and sculptors were staying in the house to complete it

Next stop is the Viking Ship Museum
I think the Vikings were really quite impressive
The ships was made 1000 years ago and they are still in a good condition
According to the guide, they made a replica and it managed to sail to US in 5 weeks
I was like WOW

Here's one of the very well preserved Ship

The ship is actually made from very thin planks
I really wonder how they made it and travel so far
AND an interesting fact
What do you associate the Vikings with?
The horn headwear?
WRONG...
From the ships unearthed and stuff, there are no headwear with any horns AT ALL
It actually looks like helmet!!!
That is something to keep in mind
The horn headwear is actually smthg they came up with for a play!

After the museum, we went back to the bus and we pass by many museums
There was folk museum, and we also the traditional state church
AND we saw the royal summer house
Too bad it is under renovation so we didn't get to see the royal family
haha
Also we saw the summer palace but now it is a museum

The city was our next destination
It was nothing like I imagined
I think after Beijing, an empty quiet street is not what I expected
Many shops were not opened on a Sunday here
The whole atmosphere is very relaxed...
In the end, we end up eating MacDonalds and I pay like 72 NOK!!!
That is like 18SGD!!! The things here are really expensive

Anyway we managed to walk around the city until it started RAINING!!
Well it has been raining here but we actually had good weather today for the tour!!
In the end, we went back home
sianz....

Back to School

2007-06-23T06:44:00.000-07:00

Today there was school and we woke up quite early
It is still raining!! Quite depressing as there are no sun....
The weather is cold and I am not really in such a good mood

Anyway we walked to school
Had to take photos for the ID
After that we hanged around and had free coffee and tea!!
Well the stuff here are expensive so we realli treasure any free stuff available
So Singaporean right?
hahaha

We had a briefing today and just an introduction
had Tradiotional Norwegian Lunch and I forgot to take a pic
Well it is actually nothing much
There is bread, ham/salami and cheese
There is also fruits and yoghurt
Except the cheese is made with caramel??
Anyhow I was hungry after a while

We had a tour of the school and I must say the school is really really nice
The windows allowed the light to stream in and it was nice
Very modern school and it is called a designer school

Dinner was fantastic
Had buffalo wings and fries and salad
We also had tea after that and talked till 12 am

Anw since I reached here, I am always in a sleepy mood
Might be the nice cooling weather here
zzzz

Cold...

2007-06-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

Finally I reached Norway...
have flown from Singapore to Qatar for about 8 hrs
Then transit at Doha for 2 hrs
then fly to Berlin about 5 hrs
and waited for like 3 hrs before flying to Oslo
I guess total was like 18 hrs

It is cold here
Raining cats and dogs
Brrrr
and I guess my clothes was not enough
But I will make do

Anyway the things here are expensive!!!
I am sharing stuff with friends for meals
and I am sooo not going to buy lots of stuff
After all the shopping in beijing
HAHAHA
Water is really cheaper than beer though I don't want to get beer belly
Also Vege and fruits are not really that cheap too! so I can't realli detox

School is nice
I went to school and my school is Super HUGE!!!
The whole place is made of glass and it is a very modern building
Apparently it is designed by one of the top Architect in Norway

My hostel is nice too
It is called BSN and it is just 5 mins walk to school
It is like an apartment
There are 2 rooms and I am sharing an apartment with a Norwegian
I am sharing the room with another girl from Singapore
She's called Hui Ling
Although this place is located out of the city, it is quite convenient
the other apartment called Anker is located in the city centre
But we got to travel to and fro which is quite expensive

Anyway had pasta for dinner today
Shared it with the NTU ppl
Quite good I guess
and it is definitely cheaper than eating out
(I already ate out once and it cost like 12 SGD for a simple meal)

Will update more on the Norway trip
Signing out....
Will put up some photo soon