Escalated

Walk towards the light.
Tomorrrow I leave for 21 days of adventure in Egypt, so no regular posting for the next 3 weeks.
However, you should know by now that this blog is all about dreams. My Dreams. Dreams about reality, dreams about surreality, dreams about things that have yet to be, are about to be, or will never be.
Even though I won't be near a computer the next few days, I will still be dreaming. Therefore, those of you who wish to see my dreams for the next 21 days, can do so here. 21 dreams for each day, not night. I belong to the rare subspecies of highly evolved man that are able to dream even during the day, homosapiensomnium.
So as I walk towards the light, albeit sunlight, I hope to follow the paths of the Pharoahs of old, as they walk towards their bright light, across the river and into paradise.
It saddens me to think that this could be my last long trip for the semester. I fear that after this, I might be reduced to one of those capital collecting tourist, who boast that they have been to a country when they've only been to its capital or another main city at most. To me, capitals are the most unauthentic bits of a country. In my humble opinion, you get the most "feel" of a country only after you have broken out of the tourist bubble, which is no mean feat these days, and to live for a split second, the life of a local. To explore the countryside at a leisurely pace, relaxing and bumming around in a foreign country is more than just laziness. It is called cultural immersion. Or else why bother travelling? I love it when a place feels familiar enough for me to navigate without a map and yet is still able to stimulate and excite my sense. Do I sound like an apologist for my travelling style?
Is there a need for me to sound like one.

Slow Motion

Nothing is more surreal than an expresion of reality.
Nothing beats the large chunky grains of B&W film.
I am retrogressive.

Bus Ticket

The bus has really been an integral part of my life on exchange.
Perhaps its time to pay homage to it.
Drawing inspiration from Brassaï.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

The Good: Wonderful lobster dinner at Nyhavn.
The Bad: Saying goodbye at Kobenhavn Airport.
The Ugly: Ugly long face after saying goodbye.

More Photos

Chorleywood

My home away from home, where I spent the happiest years of my life.
Christmas eve 2005, the sun sets on the river Chess.

More photos

JING+JEM+BLT

Taking a break from the Boxing Day sale in Hyde Park. Shopping always makes me hungry. Well, actually almost any activity makes me hungry. My only defence is that the cold makes me hungry. But it was sunny and a good 6 degrees on that day. Oh well... Unlike sleep, you can't eat when you're dead rite...
London is filled to the brim with brilliant museums and even though we had 9 days in London we didn't get a chance to visit all the museums that we wanted to. It was really quite rushed and apologies to those we promised to meet but couldn't. I have to admit that it was bad planning on my part and the fact that we stayed 35mins by unreliable tube away from London central. But I wouldn't change our accomodation for anything in the world. Opportunity costs. The next best alternative foregone. You are all still the amongst the best. Thanks for being so understanding. Like I said in the previous posts, meeting again will always be certain for those who are friends.
More photos from London.

Last but not Least

Tonight was the last time that I would cook for them. I think it was the best Asian meal I have made thus far, perhaps fuelled by emotions.
This week has been full of dinners and Karoke. Fantastic French Fare at Stephane's which included escargot, heavenly camembert cheese and of course good champagne. It was funny how the dinner progressed into a karoke session which resulted in Karl, Steffen and I carrying two gigantic speakers, a mixer board and a laptop down into the common room. The laughs from the Karoke made the effort worthwhile and so did playing PGR3 on Karl's new xbox 360.
Last night it was WienSchnitzel at Steffens which turned out pretty well considering that he had to experiment quite a few times the day before.
I will miss them all... but I am reminded of a phrase by Richard Bach,

"Don't be dismayed by goodbyes. A farewell is necessary before you can meet again. And meeting again after moments or lifetimes is certain for those who are friends"

I really dig Richard Bach's life philosophy but I guess that is another story for another post.

Here is a video of Stephane & Steffen, who have called themselves the Stevens, doing a duet and here's me trying my best to sing. I think you should turn down the volume cos the feedback from the mobile phone camera is pretty shitty.

Stockholm

After a while, you get this feeling that all the Scandinavian Capitals are the same. On the surface that is. Dig deeper and you will find a subculture, a buzz that is unique to each city. Diversity within a uniformed pattern of Town Hall, Old Church, Town Square, Art Museum and Shopping street.
More photos here

Kiruna

Frozen in the Ice Hotel.
Finally managed to upload the pictures that we took in Kiruna.
The lower half of my body is totally sore and in pain. The aftermath of once-every-3mths squash.
This afternoon, I was catching the bus downtown and I saw it at the bus stop which was just 20m away. I tried to run but the moment I moved my left foot forward, my body violently protested and I just decided to catch the next bus. So I had 20 minutes to kill and it was cold, wet and disgusting. Guess what I did? I popped into the Skejby Centre for a nice fat juicy frankfurter sausage. So much for exercise eh. Its a vicious cycle.
So here are the photos

Dog Sledding
I swear I'll never buy a Husky in Singapore. These dogs work best at -30 to -50 degrees and can run or rather need to run 200Km a day. Imagine what a husky would feel like in +30 degrees Singapore confined to such a small place. Anyway, the dogs were so cute and friendly! Like giant stuffed toys. Always eager to run, barking and yelping when we stop and efficiently silent when running. All you can hear are the panting of the dogs and the rush of the wind. A really fantastic experience.

Snowmobiling
Before we went for our snowmobile trip, we visited the LKAB mine which is supposedly the most advanced mine in the world. It actually did feel like it was the most advanced. Lotsa high tech machinery and equipment operated remotely by operators in offices above ground. Really cool.
Snowmobile was definately fun, considering that I have not driven anything remotely motorised for the past 5 months. All that power between your legs and a hot chick holding on to you tightly, what more can a man ask for?

Ice Hotel
Really cool joint, no pun intended. Outside it may be -20 as it was on the day we visited but inside the temperatuer is a "nice" -5 degrees. They keep juice in the fridge so that it stays warm. No regrets about not staying in the ice hotel. The thought of having to dress up (think -20 degrees), lace up my boots and run in 30cm high snow to the nearest toilet in the middle of the night should I feel the urge doesn't really sound like a nice experience to me. Besides its not as if its cheap(2500 kronnors). And for that kinda money, you sleep on a block of ice and in a sleeping bag. Did somebody say "rip off"? Nevertheless it was most definately worth the visit and checking out the ice sculptures and of course the ice bar with the Ice cool cups.

Kiruna Central
Kiruna Central felt a bit like Kovan City. Really has a small town vibe. The bad thing about Kiruna in December is that the sun never rises above the horizon. You get a tiny winy bit of "daylight" for a couple of hours and then darkness the rest of the time. But it was really fun fooling around in the snow(in a kiddy sense, not Adult sense, it was too cold for that) and walking around the place. I am most definately sure its the good company that I had. Apparently it was warm for the time of month when we were there. It was supposed to be -25 to -30 with 1m high snow but when we were there the coldest it reached was -20.

Round is a Shape too

Boys trying to get in shape. This time round we manage to break the squash booking system jinx but only by sheer luck and with Sanja's feminine touch. The booking system is a nightmare and the last time Steffen and I played, we had to come down and go home without hitting a squash ball 3 f**king times before we manged to successfully book a court. Bureaucracy.
Anyway, squash was really great and I'm going to miss horsing around with these jokers. Karl is always dressed for the wrong occassion. When we squash, he's dressed like for golf and when we golfed he dressed like he was going to the pub.
On the topic of shedding some weight, my mom says that I should have 5 small meals a day instead of 3 meals. But as WJ can testify, my meals are already "light". Moreover, if I do have 5 small meals a day, it means that I have to bloody cook and clean up 2 extra times a day. Of course I could have 5 "light" Shawarma kebabs.

Sunny Day

The Sun was out in full force today and the clouds stayed at bay.
Even though the temperature hovered around -2 to 0 degrees, I'm sure it would have been a good day to go for a walk.
But what did I do? I snoozed the entire afternoon away.... Disappointing.

On a more serious note, Singapore just had its "first mass civil emergency drill" today. Seems like it when smoothly. I wonder why its called NorthStar V(five, not Vee) if its the first ever mass civil emergency drill.

Pizza Please

Walked past the tiny pizza and kebab store downtown today and was reminded of this photo.
I swear the people around me must be wandering why I was smiling at a kebab/pazza place.

To those who have left comments, Thanks!
To those who sent me greeting cards, a Belated Thanks!

我的心开始想你了

窗外阴天了
音乐低声了
我的心开始想你了
灯光也暗了
音乐低声了
口中的棉花糖也融化了
窗外阴天了
人是无聊了
我的心开始想你了

My room feels colder. Like I've said, my room will never be the same again.

The Long Road "Home"

I got back to Aarhus 2 days ago. Been pretty busy tidying up my place and settling some bills and such
Finally, a picture after so many days of boring words. This was taken on the train ride from Kobenhavn airport to Aarhus. It was by far the longest and most painful ride ever.
Saying goodbye is always difficult but if you think that only that one moment is bad, you are so wrong.
It is the aftermath that sucks like a $2 whore.
It is when you are truly alone, that the sorrow sinks in.
It really didn't help that it was pitch black outside and all I could see were the street lamps flashing by. So much for indulging in some mindless scenary gazing to alleviate the misery.
I read my ID magazine from cover to cover and cursed myself for going through it so quickly. Realising that I still had about 2.5 hours till my destination I tried to get some sleep. The sleep was hardly restful and punctuated by the clanking of the foodcart lady that seem to come by the aisle more often than normal on a night service. Every once in a while I would wake up and hope to see that familiar face sitting in the seat across me. But of course, fools' dreams never become reality. The hope that I harboured only made the reality harder to accept, maybe even bordering on anguish. Every waking seem to push the clock backwards and the train ride became longer and longer.
After a while, I gave up on sleep and just sat in my seat hoping that my mind would freeze and my heart would detach itself from my body. The mind refused to freeze this time round even though it has demonstrated its ability to do so before in many an exam. The wretched muscle kept flashing back to the smiles, the warmth, the laughter and the love that was shared over the past weeks.
Cruelly, all that eventually led,by natural progression or twisted fate, to the final embrace at the departure gate. The tears that were shed, the simple yet meaningful words that were whispered. How the whole terminal went silent and still as she ascended the escalator towards the immigration counter. How I told myself I wouldn't look back as I walked away but did, repeatedly. I wondered whose side my mind was on. Clearly not mine.
Somehow or rather, the train ride did eventually come to an end. And here I sit, alone in my room.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone!!
The fireworks along the Victoria Embankment was pretty good last night.
I love how the fireworks shot out from the London Eye.
Photos coming in a couple of days.