bye bye switzerland

in the next 12 hours i will be flying home. tat ends my 4 weeks - 27 days of adventure here in switzerland. there is lots of mixed feelings, one part of me felt really sad leaving this beautiful place, the other part of me wanted so much to get back to my friends, family and my rabbit ha!

over the last 4 weeks, i have gotten used to getting my own dinner, dinning alone outside, washing my laundry in the washing basin. i have also gotten used to getting early to class every morning on weekdays, having tea and lunches with my best pal here in zurich - michaela and planning my excursion every weekends. by the time i get back to singapore, reckoned i will have to get used to working and of cos the weather. then again, no matther how different, human always have the ability to adapt. the speed of it sometimes surprises me ha ... take for example the rail city architecture, i still recall the first day when i saw it, i looked at it for a long time cos i think it is so pretty. but after 4 weeks here and walking to the station everyday, it jus become part of the daily routine and i no longer stopped to admire its beauty these days. we jus adapt and forgot to appreciate the beauty of stuff around us anymore cos they are so near to us...

no matter how different, how beautiful this place here is, i think it will never felt like home cos all my friends are so faraway. and i really miss those dinners and movies tat i used to have with frens after work. i also missed speaking in mandarin haha i missed my rabbit - mao mao ... so actually, i am glad that i will be home soon.

yey ... 1st part of exam is finally over

yey, i passed my theory exam 823 out of 1000 ... hope i can get more marks during evaluation hahaha to get the award :-p

but it's not over yet, i still have to keep fighting for round 2 - my practical exam ... i need to stay calm (it's been so long since i felt so stressed-up, fingers are trembling and my stomach felt horrible) ... two and a half more hours to freedom !!!

exam is tomorrow (-_-!)

times certainly flies, this week has been crazy ... everyone in class now is revising wateva they could for the exam tomorrow. very very tense ah, it is very hard!!!
i still have 2 more weeks of stuff to revise until tomorrow morning - 9am.
wish me loads of luck and singapore, i will be home soon.

i had burger king *yummy*

on my 22th day here in zurich, i decided to try their burger king !!!
i ordered a 6 pcs nuggets with fries take-away. it was so different from those i had in singapore and it's delicious. the potato here always taste better, i wonder why. cow dun make potatoes rite? guess how much it cost me - 10.90 francs !!! fast food is definitely not cheap here.
(despite the price - 3x singapore price, i think i will have to try macdonalds before i leave though ... or should i?)

so tat's how a castle looks inside

after all the walking i have done on sat, i must said i felt kinda lazy on sunday. fortunately, i still manage to pull myself out to explore switzerland (though set out kinda late at about 10am or so). i first went to spiez and spent my morning in the castle spiez - i climbed all the way up the tower and from there i could see the entire village of spiez !!! imagine those troops standing guards in the castle back in those days looking out at the sea and monitoring for any invasion from the sea. at certain point of my exploration, i must say it felt kinda eerie walking alone in a castle. i even bumped into some bear skin (the bear head is attached and it mus be real) tat they hang on the wall as decoration, it really scared me then. however, sad to say most of the explanatory notes in the castle is not in english, so i cant really understand the history behind it (reckon i can read more about it on internet when i am done with exam). shortly after the castle tour, i sat down for coffee and biscuit at the castle courtyard hee. u bet it's felt very relaxing sitting there enjoying the view and imagining the life of a royal there and then ...

after spiez, i continue to take a cruise across lake thun that ended at thun. probably after too much travelling for the past weekends, i actually felt kinda sea-sick on the cruise *yuck, lukily i din puke*. at thun i did a lot of walking, i found another amazingly beautiful castle which housed a restaurant - Arts, it reminded me of the disneyland tower. however being alone, i did not venture in for a meal - it looked expensive.

before i call it a day, i dropped by my last stop bern - the capital of switzerland. there are lots of shops here, but unfortunately they are all closed cos it's sunday. it must have been very alive on weekdays with shoppers and the usual buzz of city. then again, its a rare experience to walk along the beautiful streets of the old town without the crowd. i even passed by the einstein house !!! picture this - i actually walked on the street that einstein used to live !!! bern is a beautiful city that offered me something different after my previous adventures with the lakes and mountains. here in bern, i saw nicely done up buildings, clock towers and churches.

i also had my best ever meal in switzerland *thumb up*. i had a proper meal - soup and rosti (yup i know it sounds familiar, i dun wanna give up until i tried the authentic rosti). and i guess i did, the rosti i ordered got swiss sausage, tomato, vegetables and cheese !!! yummy !!! but alas, the portion was too big and i felt so bad wasting a quarter of it. their service is great - very touristy hee with english menu. it was not a cheap meal though 30 francs, but it's been a while since i last pampered my stomach. so remember the name if u ever come to bern - restaurant le mazot, their specialty is cheese fondue.

after dinner, i entertained the thought of staying up later in bern until the lights up at the parliament house ... but i gave up the thought immediately once i stepped out of the restaurant into the cold. so i contented myself with the stuff i had packed in today's agenda and made my way back.

and here goes my last sunday in switzerland *smile*

paris no more... switzerland more more...

my initial plan over the weekend was to go over to paris to take a glimpse at arc de triomphe and the infamous eiffel tower. however due to cheap tickets promotion, all the weekend tickets to paris were fully booked from 2 months ago. i was glad that my colleague here pre-warned me in advance, which is probably why i dun felt so disappointed when i heard the news from the ticket counter. taking it positively, with paris out of the plan, i will be saving 75 eur on the lodgings and ticket reservation. also, i get to go at a slower pace this weekend so that i can be all geared up for exam this friday!!! (yea it's this friday) however, in the end, i still did quite alot in switzerland and ended up coming back only when it's dark.

on saturday, i went to zermatt - matterhorn, a 4hr train ride away from zurich. according to wat i read on internet, the small village zermatt was made famous by a dramatic event that happened in 1865. on tat day, four of seven young men - lead by Englishman Edward Whymper - attempting the ascent of matterhorn lost their lives. zermatt, today is a town built for tourism, there are souvenir shops everywhere. the matterhorn is the key attraction for zermat, a mountain that has inspired the swiss chocolater master for the creation of the toblerone. this mountain made by nature reminded me of a pyramid.

very frankly after being up jungfraujoch, the idea of snow-capped mountain only strike me as cold ... *shiver* nonetheless i still decided to pay this mountain a visit, since it was strongly recommended as a must-see by my colleage. arriving at the highest view point of matterhorn by cable ... i dun jus see snow (like at jungfraujoch). in fact, i can see all the alps around matterhorn and i really felt "high". unfortunately due to the altitude, i felt abit light-headed after a while, so i din really stay at the view point for long (another reason was because my hands were getting numb with the cold). thereafter i went to the glacier palace that turned out kinda disappointing cos it was partially under renovation. i only managed to capture a few snaps and with the lighting, it's not an easy task.

at the peak of matterhorn, there wasnt really much to do especially since i dun know how to ski. so i descended shortly after 30 minutes or so and went to the self-service restaurant (unlike jungfaujouch, matterhorn is not as commercialised so the restaurant was kinda empty). i managed to grab a seat that gave me a perfect view of the beautiful mountain and enjoyed my "meal" - free ovaltine chocolate giveaways with every cable car ticket. after resting my feet for about 10 mins , i decided to move on. the sun at that altitude felt warm and comfy, alot of people were there "sun-bathing". but being me, the consistent paranoid, i worried about the about of damage done on my skin ha!

here comes the highlight of my trip, i had a short hike starting from the mountain cable station - furi as recommended by some internet postings on virtualtourist. the supposedly 30 mins hike, took me one hour at least (probably cos i have shorter legs). when i finally reached zermatt i really felt "leg-soft" (translate to chinese please hee). however, it was a great walk - quiet and beautiful, occasionally i will stop and enjoy the scenery of the surrounding alps. i even walked past gushing mini-waterfall ... hmmm reminded me of my last encounter with waterfall ... once in a while, i will be overtaken by another hiker who will always greet me harlo. people here are really warm yea, so uncommon in asia.

so finally i got back to zermatt town. i decided to visit the matterhorn museum that carry the torn rope of the moutain first ascent. here, i also watched a documentary covering on the life of air zermatt pilots, who fly everyday sending deliveries up the mountain and saving mountaineer stranded up the mountain due to unexpected snow. it's amazing to witness so many climbers attempting to conquer this mountain despite the danger they are putting their lifes in. the news jus reported a climber fell to death off the mountain last weekend O_O. this is common news in zermatt though, there is even a cemetry - home to many graves of unlucky mountaineers who died during their attempts to climb the various mountains.

so there goes my saturday and by the time i got back zurich, it's already close to 11pm.

i love rome !

despite the initial hoo-haa with the cancelled train ride, i managed to visit rome over the last weekend. the journey was a long and tiring one - 10hrs by train and interchange at milano station, but i did not regret a single bit. at the end of the day, the cancelled train ride did turn out to be a blessing in disguise. if not for it, i reckon i will not be able to cover so much in rome with a one day itinerary.

wat i did in rome mainly toggle between 2 activities --> stop & stare O_O. and of cos, everytime after i regained from awe, i will then start snapping pictures. it was at that moment when i really like to have one of those pro-looking camera and can go around taking pictures like some national geographic photographers haha ... but then again given one, i doubt i know how to use it.

the beauty of rome is undefinable by words, as quoted from their mayor 'un vaggio che non finira mai di stupire' - translated to english 'it is a journey that will never cease to amaze you'. i got so much to tell, but so little i can write ... anyway, i will try.

the trip din start on a happy note, in fact a rather stressful one. first, my fri nite was wasted at the train station, waiting for my sleeper train and later getting to know that it was cancelled due to a strike in italy. after knowing that i can still get a morning train to rome next morning, i went back to my hotel and started amending my plans. tat nite, i din sleep well as half of the time i was anxious to wake up early next morning to be on time for my 7am train. i did wake up early and the sky was still dark, it was a very chilly morning due to a drizzle. after previous nite and experiences with zurich train station, it was not difficult locating the track to board the train. but guess wat, i almost board the wrong train to lugano instead of milano !!! luckily at the eleventh hour, i decided to alight and confirm my ticket with the train attendant (dun ask me wat made me decided to re-confirm, there must have been a guardian angel by my side all this while and i am very thankful). after happily settling in the correct train, i thought i can finally catch some peaceful sleep. but i was wrong again, instead there was lot of anxiety as i have learnt from the train conductor that they are not sure if there will be train from milano to rome later in the afternoon due to the strike experience from yesterday ... wat if i get stranded at milano (-_-!)

at 1130 am, i reached milano interchange. there was a terrible crowd at the station and everyone was looking at the departure/arrival board. i joined in and waited anxiously for the board to display the track number for my train to rome. it was the longest 15 mins in my life and wala ... finally the train came ...*relief* i am going to rome !

Places tat i have left my footsteps:

Colosseum is one of the must-see sites if one ever goes to rome. standing at one of the most important archeological monument, i tried hard to imagine wat it was before. of cos with my limited imagination, i can only traced my thoughts to the movie "Gladiator" (i later learnt about its bloody history of being built by Jewish prisoners and being the primary site of carnage - both human and animal, through Roman gladiator games). with my rome pass, i managed to skip the long queue and took a walk around the site with an audioguide. it felt so strange standing on a ground that has such ancient history and looking at wat is still standing after centuries. i was so intrigued by its history, i even got a guidebook *grin* at the bookshop and i passed by colosseum twice jus to catch it during the day and night.

close to Colosseum stands the Arch of Constantine - the largest triumphal arch preserved in rome. i have only one word to describe it "tall".

within a 5 min walking distance from colosseum, there is also the Palentino and Foro Romano (heart of ancient rome). the best thing to do here is to walk around, look in all directions and sniff the air of the antic rome. it was strange to see wat remains from a place tat used to be overflowed with administrative, legal, commercial and religious buildings. if i ever set foot here again, i promise myself to get a guidebook. it will be definitely interesting to find out what corresponds to each section of wall, columns or ruin that still stand.

other than ruins, another trademark of rome have to be "fontana" - english equivalent fountains. for every piazza i visited, i will find a beautiful fountain located nearby. at piazza navona, i saw fontana del nettuno and fontana del moro. it's a pity that the large central fontana dei fiumi is under restoration and i can only saw bits and pieces of the fountain through some glazed openings.

and of cos when it comes to fountain, how can i possibly not mention Trevi Fountain. this fountain is really one of the super hot favourites, there are tourist around it 24x7 every day every week. looking at it, i can understand why it is such a popular site. the fountain is jus so beautiful and one could jus sit there and look at it all day long (at least i could hee). i had gelato at one of the cafes nearby ... yummy !!! singapore's gelato is nothing compared to those i had here, even those i had in gold coast were no where near. i am already starting to miss it ha ...

Pantheon is another preserved ancient roman building (*yey* free entry) and its architecture is simply amazing. standing in the centre, i looked up into the top of the dome and wondered how they built such a building.

once one got to piazza di spagna, it wont take long to locate the Spanish Steps. you will jus see lots and lots of people ... (pic - below: find jo)

my last stop at rome was the Vatican City Museum ... in order to skip the queue (known to be at least 2 hours wait to get in), i opted for a more expensive alternative. i joined a half day tour that cost 75 usd and i m glad that every dollar was well-spent. other then skipping the long lines, i get to learn so much about the famous paintings, sculptures and artwork pieces in the musuem from our guide, michelle. i will never be able to appreciate Sistine Chapel if not for the elaborate illustration provided by the guide. though it was a mad rush later getting from the vatican to train station (i have to catch a cab in order to be in time for my return train), i am glad i visited the Vatican. and i will definitely go again the nex time i go rome. i was so fascinated by the artists michelangelo and raphael, i wanna read all about pope and all the paintings in vatican (though i probably cant appreciate them as well as an artist)!!!

People tat i have acquainted with

after staying by myself for close to 2 weeks, i mus say i felt kinda restrained living in a dorm. nonetheless the experience was memorable, sharing a common room with girls from other parts of the world (australia, madrid, china, england). whether if they are alone or with frens, they are always friendly to share their travel experiences and advise on good places to find food. in fact, i even paired up with one of my dorm-mates (who was also alone in rome) on my sunday day out. it's great having someone to walk along with ... though she is kinda sotong haha imagine someone who is worse in direction/orientation than me hee.

it has definitely been an incredible journey this weekend. after all the walking and the long hour train rides, i mus say i am glad to be back in zurich ... to be reconciled with my tv and be back to familiar grounds - "home sweet home"

strike in italy ... my sleeper train is cancelled :'(

"there is a strike in Italy and there will not be any train going there today" i was totally shocked hearing this from the station attendant ... this simply means that my booked sleeper train ride got cancelled and i will not wake up next morning in Rome !!! ... sigh how did this happen ... i just came back to hotel after a long wait at the train station, there was still quite a crowd there when i left. i was so disappointed and almost wanna cry while waiting for my turn at the information counter. but i felt so much better knowing that the train service will resume tomorrow. this means i can still visit Rome this weekend.

so i have been rather busy since i got back to my hotel ... re-organising my agenda for tomorrow and changing my hotel arrangement. in the end, i will be staying longer in rome but it's a pity that i have to skip venice from the agenda (my sis will be so disappointed to hear that i cant go venice, it was one of hers highly recommended)

on a positive note, after having such a stressful day in school as well as in the train station, i suppose things can only get better now :) so rome wait for me, i am coming !!!

dinner out - rossti at marchie

i have to do something different for dinner today, so i decided to dine out :)

i went to the marchie at the train station and had a rosti and soup. it was alrite, i actually thought the rosti i had at marchie singapore were better ha !!! the potato slices here are thicker though less oily ... the sour cream also taste different. and with these, dinner cost 13.40 francs.
nonetheless, it feels good to dine out once in a while over here ...

training was interesting today though the stuff we learnt were kinda overwhelming (in fact every lesson was) ... and most importantly the trainer today is a cutie *wink*, an IBM consultant !!! hahaha well cute guys are quite a rare sight for trainers over here. so i can only wish for more of such pleasant surprises for the rest of training hee.

i am at the top of europe !!!

07-Sep-08 was a splendid sunday, on this day i was at the top of europe - Jungfraujoch (english equivalent means "the virgin saddle"). also for the first time in my life i saw snow, not only tat i also got to feel it, touch it and throw it.

the day started early, the tour group gathered at 820am around Sihlquai bus station and the tour bus set off at 830am sharp. i woke up kinda late tat morning and almost cant make it cos i had a hard time looking for the bus station to assemble. when i got there just in time, the tour guide was like asking me "are u lee?". i found out about this day tour (199 chf) on the zurich tourism website before i came here and made a reservation via email. i was quite impressed that they actually remembered my booking even though i had not made any payment online yet.

we first set off to Interlaken by bus which already took us 2 hours or so. thereafter at Interlaken, we had a short 20 min break to walk around, get some sourvenirs & postcards and we also got to eat free chocolate (very fine and yummy) heee. during the break, i realised tat there were 2 other asian chinese in our group, but i cant tell if they are from singapore until i hear them speak subsequently. they were kinda "dao" intially and kept very much to themselves ... looking at them then, really set me wondering if i also behave as such when i travelled in group.

after the break, the bus sent us to the train station and we board the train tat will bring us up the mountain. the ride got colder as we get higher up the mountain and after a while we were travelling in a tunnel. the asian girls still din spoke much. in fact, they only started to open when they heard that i am also from singapore as i was chatting with our guide. our tour guide, kid, is a thai who came here to switzerland since 1995. he is a very humorous and caring guide, always giving us directions on where to take the best pictures, helping us to take quick snaps and during lunch, he even "chop" windows seats for us. everyone in the tour group enjoyed his company and enjoyed talking with him... though he is kinda "gay" hahaha

oh ya, there was a very special tour member in our group. she is an old swiss lady whom the guide told us that tat was her fifth time up the mountain. the old lady enjoyed his tour so much that she will only join his tour group up jungfraujoch. an accident happened back in her 3rd excursion up the mountain, she slipped and fell down in the ice palace. the fall was so bad that a helicopter was sent up the mountain to fetch her down!!! wat surprises me was tat after such a bad experience, she is now here again. she must be very rich looking at her cartier rings and rolex watch, but according to the guide she is staying alone by herself which is why she like joining such tour to enjoy the company of others. hmm penny for thought - money certainly cant buy happiness and company.


the train made a couple of stops in between the ride. during these breaks, we could go to the restroom, take some pictures and have a look of the view outside. when we reached to top of europe, *gasp* the view took my breath away - right in front of me were snow-capped alps against blue blue sky. i always thought tat i can only see such stuff on pictures, waha "never says never".

main highlights up the mountain:
Sphinx at 11,760 ft above sea level - snow, snow and snow, it's freezing cold and most importantly i need my shades !!!

Ice Palace - walking very carefully on ice (especially after hearing the helicopter story) and again it's cold. the ice sculptures here are so pretty, however it's a pity we cant get good pictures of them.

Plateau - open area for us to walk on snow and to take pictures, again shade is a must-have.


it was already 2+ then, everyone were starving and started making their way to the cafeteria. i took a quick bite - some fries and hot chocolate. seeing that i was alone, the guide offered to share with me his window seat. our nex meeting time was 320pm and after tat we will be making our way back to zurich (yea imagine the travelling alone already took up one-third of the day). so after lunch, i quickly took off to another highlight - the Snow Disk Run that i very much wanted to see. i was glad that i made it there, the view was exhilarating and we can see people ski-ing, taking snow disk run ... if i only could stay longer i will definitely wanna try those !!!

on the return journey, most people dozed off on the ride. it was such a contrasting sight compared to this morning when everyone was so eagerly taking pictures on the way up the mountain, but now ... (there is an exception though there was one caucasian woman who keep snaping picture when everyone around her are already taking their naps. it was quite interesting to see this from the back of the bus heh heh). maybe tats human nature, we only provide our attention for stuff that goes up, but not vice versa.

the day ended with a dinner with jas and may yee, the 2 other singaporean who coincidentally were staying in the same hotel as me ... we shared a kebab pizza and for the price, i mus say the food is relatively good (the kebab was abit too salty). after dinner, we then bid farewell as they will be going for more day tours in the nex few days and i will be back to school :)

well who knows, i might run into them again in singapore haha.

first saturday in switzerland

on my first sat in switzerland, i decided to take a trip out to Luzern, a popular tourist spot about 1.5 hr away from zurich by train. i got my eurail ticket validated and my first day of use started on 06-Sep-08 !!! so the day started early at about 835am as i set off to Luzern by train all by myself. i reached my destination at about 10am, the train ride was comfortable and there were a few nice sights to see (switzerland pride - lake and mountain).

Chapel Bridge is jus a 3 min walk away from Luzern train station, it is a wooden bridge that dates back to the year 1333. The bridge is covered by a wooden roof under which 111 paintings were added in the 17th century. Unfortunately a fire destroyed 86 of these paintings in 1993,and they had to be replaced by replicas. Although i cant really see the picture clearly, i enjoyed the walk (i walked across it twice). The view around the bridge is awesome with swans and flowers and at the end of the bridge, there is flea market selling cheese and lotsa fruits.

from the bridge, i moved on to my most anticipated destination - the Lion Monument. the Lion Monument, also named the Sleeping Lion, is a landmark of the city and was built in honour to all Swiss Guards who had died on a battle in Paris, defending the French Royal family when Paris revolutionaries stormed the Tuleries Palace. i started my search and it did not take me long given the helpful tourist information stand around Luzern center. when i found it, i was totally amazed by the sculpture. i stood there and just looked at it for at least half an hour i think ... it is so different seeing it in real in contrast to seeing its pictures on website. in fact, i think no picture will be able to capture the pain of the lion that the sculpture displays in life. the lion monument also turns out to be bigger than wat i expected to see, all in all just seeing the lion makes the trip to Luzern worthwhile for me personally.

next, i decided to sit down by the Lake Luzern and jus admire the view and the beauty of Switzerland. it was very relaxing jus sitting there, looking into the blue blue sky and blue blue lake...
in the later part of the day, i went for a roundtrip up to Mount Pilatus and it was quite an adventure. it first started with a lake cruise (tat set off at 1pm) that brings me to alpnachstad from luzern. there was still a bit of sun then, the entire ride took about 1.5 hr and was really beautiful (though after a while, everything looked the same). on the cruise, i met up with a bunch of canada students doing schoolwork here in switzerland. they were quite a noisy and nosey bunch i must say.

after the cruise, i went on to take the cogwheel railway up mount pilatus (known to be the world steepest cogwheel railway). the ride reminded me of the peak tram that i took in hong kong, but it is much much steeper. it was quite a pity because the weather was cloudy and rainy, so after a while up the mountain, i cant see anything else other than fog. i can hear the sound of cowbells from all directions, but i cant see a single cow! when i reached the top of mountain pilatus, the fog get worst. everywhere was covered with a cloud of mist and it was freezing cold, even my hot chocolate din stayed hot for long... during then, i was still very eager to make the trip worthwhile, so i decided to take a few scenic walks as suggested despite the fog.
1st walk was a 500m long stroll through the mountain - rock gallery, but i barely made it to the entrance. it simply looked too dark and claustrophobic to venture on my own, so i chicken out hee.

2nd walk is an easy-difficulty level walk up to Oberhaupt which supposedly should provide a spectacular 360 degree panorama: alphine range and lakes. of cos i cant see anything except fog, but i still felt a sense of accomplishment when i got to the peak.

3rd walk is a medium-difficulty level walk up to Esel which is another peak much higher then Oberhaupt. unlike the previous, this walk is quite difficult cos the steps are quite uneven and the stones are wet due to the mist. going up was tiring and since i was the only one who taken the walk, it really felt like a ghost town up there with no one there and having fog everywhere. coming down was even tougher, i was glad for once that it was foggy otherwise i supposed i would have fainted on the way down with the heights. it was like a winding route up, with one side covered with rocks and the other side is jus some wooden stands tat i could hold for support ... when i think about it now, it still scares me and i will always wonder wat gave me the courage then to conquer the walk. nonetheless i did it !!!

after taking the scenic walks, i somehow felt tat my trip was not so wasted. from there, i decided to head back down to mainland by cable car. i couldnt see much on the ride down as usual, but i met with a bunch of old german folks who muttered a series of german exclaimation whenever the cable made a sharp descent. it was really funny cos i cant made out what they were saying, but it sounded something like "oh my god, i dun wanna die". at the end of the ride, the cable car operator is really kind, he even offered to help me take a picture seeing that i was all alone.

after the cable car ride, the roundtrip then ended with a bus ride back to Luzern city. it has started to rain then and though i did attempt to find a recommended place to dine in Old Town, it was to no avail (instead, i found the rolex house - a five storeys gallery selling rolex watches *gasps*). so for the second time, i walked across the Chapel bridge and head back home to Zurich.

(left) Luzern Old Town - they like to paintings on their wall, dun ask me why











(right) rolex gallery house - imagine 5 floors selling all rolex watches !!!

and of cos the minute i got back to my room, i crashed ... zzz ....

i have a blog @_@

wow just by a couple of clicks ... i now have a blog.

i can never imagine myself starting a blog like this. i am not really the kind who is good at putting my thoughts in words. in fact, some years back i did attempt to create one (during those days, everyone goes around asking "so u have a blog?") . my attempt then was fruitless, i sat for almost 30 minutes in front of my laptop and ... i cant even think of a title for my blog.

so wat has changed? well, it might be because i am now all alone in zurich with nothing betta to do. but most of it, i think it is rare experience to be "thrown" into this foreign land and to be living here for a month with no actual connections (other then in the virtual world) with friends, families, colleagues. so to keep as much as every memories of this experience, i decided to jot it down.

it´s day number 5 since i set foot on europe-switzerland-zurich, so i have quite alot to cover:

31-aug-08 (sun) 630pm
getting all ready to fly on business class swiss air in the next 2 hours. super excited cos i have never been on a business flight before and of cos never been to the airline lounge (din even know there is such a place in the airport).

lq and jt came all the way to send me off and i have to admit that i felt kinda "emotional" when i start waving goodbye after the check-in point. it suddenly occurs to me then tat i will be leaving folks that i m familiar with, frens whom i can talk and complain freely about anything under the sun without feeling self conscious. luckily i will only be away for a month ha.

flight was good with plenty of leg space to have a good sleep. this longhaul flight is so much more bearable compared to my previous flight to seattle. screen for video is super-big and guess wat, i dun even know where it is located initially (so i was reading for the first 1 hour or so of my flight)

1-Sep-08 (mon) 1st day in switzerland and 1st day at academy
hmmmm how should i get to the hotel? luckily i manage to locate the hotelbus 'Ben Bus' (with the help of information counter and abit of maze-walking), the driver (wonder if his name is ben) is a bald guy who look kinda fierce, but is actually very helpful with my luggage. so for 25 francs, i found Hotel Rex!

hotel room is good, seems like it is meant for 2pax. i did not take long to settle in and was all ready for the next big challenge which is to reach the academy for class at 130pm (bear in mind that my flight arrived onli at 615am). unfortunately, this time round, the maze walking brings me to no-where. i first had a warm up round walking up and down the street along my hotel, after feeling completely clueless i decided to go back to hotel and check with the hotel receptionist. she is very friendly, speaks ok english and start giving me tram guides to the train station that i wanted to go. so after listening to her direction, i venture out again feeling erh 50% sure of where i should head. and ... walah, i found the tram stop but which side of the road should i board?

here i like to pay tributes to these strangers who have made great effort to offer me help:

1. a middle aged lady in 40s who point to me the side of road that i should be boarding the tram. though she next tried very hard to tell me which stop i should be getting off, the attempt was fruitless cos wat came out of her mouth was just a series of german words that i cant understand. she struggled hard with english, but after a while she reckoned i cant make sense of wat she is saying. we ended the conversation with she laughing it off and giving me a soft tap on my arm and me waving goodbye to her.

2. an "ah-lian" sitting and smoking at the tram stop looking kinda solemn and glum. i din intend to ask her initially, but was left with no choice as she was the only one there after the tram left. she turn out to be very friendly and helpful, giving me directions on which stop to alight and how to purchase the ticket from the vending machine (as usual everything is in german). though her english is no better, but in the end we managed with sign language like pointing on the tram schedule map, showing me her half price privilege card (which of cos i dun have). after i board the tram, she even waved goodbye.

3. a plump businessman who speaks good english and provides good direction for me to get to the academy from silhcity. he even reminded me to be careful which train gate i should be going to and to be mindful of the direction i should be heading.

so kudos to the above helpful folks, if not for u guys, i will not have made it!!!

2-Sep-08 to 5-Sep-08 (tue - fri)

getting around zurich becomes easier for the rest of the week. however the training get tougher and as i met more people in the company, i get more overwhelmed with the people i am getting to know and the materials i m expected to deliver. some key events:

on wednesday, i manage to walk down the lake zurich and along the main tourist sights like st. peter kirche, fraumunster, grossmunster. it get so windy and imagine this, i could actually felt myself been blown away ... all in all, its a good day cos i found spaghetti factory and ate my first pasta here (fireball - aglio olio style with red chillli, yummy)



(left) view along lake zurich - church and clock towers are very common landmarks










(right) zurich main train station

on friday, i shifted to a new hotel - Hotel Leoneck. the new hotel is jus down the hill nearer to the central tram stop. this means i am closer to town *grin*. the new room is for single, but it is definitely bigger and more comfy then the previous.

this hotel has more character, with cow decorations everywhere, even the room keychain is a big wooden plank in the shape of a cow! ... and there is a free toberone chocolate chip provided everyday heehee