Days of Museum hopping

Have been taking some time to visit the lovely museums & exhibitions in Singapore since I recently found that I got some time on my hands :)

It's actually quite amazing that we have so much interesting stuff going on......

1st stop was naturally the National Museum with the Quest for Immortality (Egyptian mummies) exhibition coupled with the guided tour. It was AWESOME! Definitely worth the $ spent as got education and an afternoon of bliss.....

Next, I took another day to drop by Jurong (yep, took a train down all the way down to the other end of the world) to catch the Bodyworlds exhibition at Science Centre. Can't say that it was enjoyable but it will definitely make me think back whenever I don't want to wake up for my morning walks :) Did a slight detour to Omni Theatre to catch "Under the Sea" movie. Another wonderful "me" day spent......

Next museum stop was the Peranakan Museum. This time round with my Friends of the Museum (FOM) card, I got free entry into the place. Decided to walk around on my own for that day & after seeing the amazing beading being done by predecessors by young women who stayed at home doing all the beading in preparation for their wedding day...hmmm..........tried doing some beading myself (the authentic way using potong beads) & managed to complete 3 pairs of beaded shoes. My problem after the beading (which resulted in my eyes doing double shifts) was that I just couldn't find a reasonably priced person who could do them into proper shoes :)

In short, I had an enjoyable "me" time before dropping by Philatelic (Stamp) Museum round the corner along that same road. It was ok considering it was quite a nice quaint place. Managed to get some nice stamps for the sponsored kids in Vietnam & Bangladesh though at $2.50 for a set :) Pity that my FOM card didn't get me free admission though....

The last museum I dropped by was Asian Civilisation Museum to catch the "Treasury of the World: Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals". That's the plan at least but I didn't manage to go much around there after taking the guided tour so I will going back there on Fri.

Eighteen Random Rules of Life 656.2

Lovely reminders from Michael Josephson:

"I love maxims, those concise capsules of worldly wisdom. I collect them and write them and, of course, love to share them. Here are 18 random rules of life worth posting on your mirror or, better yet, using as dinner-time discussion starters.

1. Find the lesson in every failure and you’ll never fail.
2. The likelihood that you’re right is not increased by the intensity of your conviction.
3. Real friends help you feel worthy and make you want to be better.
4. When you’re in a hole, stop digging.
5. Don’t confuse fun with fulfillment or pleasure with happiness.
6. Refusing to let go of a grudge is refusing to use the key that will set you free.
7. Hating hurts you more than the person you hate.
8. Counting on luck is counting on random chance. Your odds are much better when you plan and work.
9. Being kind is better than being clever.
10. Don’t underestimate the power of persistence.
11. The easy way is rarely the best way.
12. It’s much easier to burst someone else’s bubble than to blow up your own.
13. You can’t avoid pain, but you can avoid suffering.
14. Self-pity is a losing strategy. It repels others and weakens you.
15. Shortcuts usually produce short success.
16. Control your attitude or it will control you.
17. It’s more important to be significant than successful.
18. The world is waiting for you to heal it.
    

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts."

thanks for your well wishes!

Nice words from Cheryl Richardson's "Uncertainty....Finding Peace Within a Storm"

I wish that all who are going through uncertainty (just like me at this moment) to be reminded of the following words that I extracted from a newsletter Cheryl Richardson (life coach) (newsletter@cherylrichardson.com).

 

 

"............I don't know about you, but it's challenging for me to be patient, to live with uncertainty, or to sit still in a storm. I'm restless, impatient, and far more interested in getting answers than being with questions.  But, therein lies the beauty of transition and change.  It forces us to grow, to strengthen our spiritual maturity, and to fall out of the comfortably numb rut that eventually leads to regret and unbearable pain. 

 

Our conversation reminded me of the well-known passage from Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. 

 

If you're experiencing a difficult time, do yourself a favor and use this quote to help stabilize the rough waters of your busy mind.  Take your time and read it with your heart, not your head.  It's a message that gently reminds us that life is about staying with and living the journey, not waiting to arrive at a destination.

 

Have patience with everything
unresolved in your heart and try to
love the questions themselves, as if they
were locked rooms, or books
written in a very foreign language.
Don't search for the answers,
which could not be given to you
now, because you would not be
able to live them. And the point
is to live everything. Live the
questions now. Perhaps then, someday
far in the future, you will gradually,
without even noticing it, live
your way into the answer.
 
~Rainer Maria Rilke"

A quote from Motivational Quotes

The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting
otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.

- Theodore Rubin

Sent by Motivational and Inspirational Quotes
http://www.noocon.com/quote-motiv.php

Magdalene

Recent trip down to my FAV place....

Made a trip down BKK again in Dec - this time down to Kanchanaburi (about 2 hrs from central BKK). Had some pretty interesting experiences during this trip so here goes....

Went down to Bridge Over River Kwai - walked along the rail & tried to imagine how things could have been done during WWII. Amazing humbling experience.


Experienced staying along the river banks at this quaint (aka quiet) Thai style resort called "Ban Mai Chaiklung Resort". Kids had a wonderful time just lazing around, taking a dip in the "working" river.

Here's a clip of an unexpected dip in by my boy.....

At night, we visited this lovely floating market called "Amphawa" where we had our fill of seafood & shopping (for me, the stalls had more authenticity to it as you don't actually see many tourists & of course, lovely Thai handiwork)...

Made a trip down to the market on the railway tracks in Samut Songkram province, commonly known as “Mae Klong”. View the clip to see what's the big deal with this market....

This happens EVERY SINGLE DAY & tourists come by just to see this unusual spectacle. For the local folks, it's BAU (Business as Usual). BTW the pic on the left is how the market looks like before the train passes through....wonder how the stallholders know when the train's coming exactly every single time??

Also managed to take a trip down Erawan National Park with (as usual) breath-taking waterfalls....the waterfalls are lovely & (as usual) kids couldn't resist taking the usual dip into the extremely inviting water :)

All in all another lovely vacation to my fav haunt for many many years to come!

happy new year!!

you say it best when you say nothing at all

you say it best when you say nothing at all

what does it mean? to some, it's best when their partner says nothing
at all times. for others, it describes the beauty of the unspoken word
that only their loved one can give; the connection that allows each
other to complete the sentences.

what's your take?

Magdalene

lovely settings to wake up to :)

best sticky rice with mango ever!!

this is heaven!! green river hill resort - Thailand

Michael Josephson "The Box Full of Love"

Lovely story of the beauty of being human:
"Todd was a sadly quiet 11-year-old struggling to adjust to the death of his mother. His father had left long ago, and Todd was living with an aunt who made it known she resented the responsibility.
On several occasions, his teacher Sheryl heard his aunt tell him, “If it weren’t for my generosity, you’d be a homeless orphan.”
Sheryl took extra pains to make Todd feel valued in class and encouraged his interest in making things. Just before Christmas break, Todd shyly presented her with a small decorated box he’d made.
“It’s beautiful,” Sheryl gushed.
Todd replied, “There’s something special inside that my mom gave me before she died. She said it’s the one thing I can give and still have plenty left over. It helps you feel better when you’re sad and safe when you’re scared."
As Sheryl started to open the box, Todd warned her, “Oh, you can’t see it.”
Sure enough, the box was empty.
“Well, what is it?” Sheryl asked kindly.
“It’s love. You’re the first person since my mom whom I love.”
Sheryl hugged Todd tightly. “I’ll treasure this forever," she said. "It’s the best gift I ever got.”
She kept it on her desk until she retired and touched it whenever she was sad or scared. It never failed to make her heart smile.
Years later, Todd sent her the tassel he wore during his graduation from medical school. It’s been in the box ever since.
In truth, love – not diamonds – is the gift that keeps on giving. What’s more, love generates itself. The more you give away, the more you have left."

4 sep:

4 sep:
took the GoldenPassLine -Paroramic train from Interlarken through
Zweisimmen onto Montreaux. the train ride started at 908hrs from
Interlarken. I reserved seating for an extra chf10 but turned out to
be unnecessary as not quite high season.

anyway, I must admit that I was a tad disappointed cos I expected an
extremely scenic route with a special train. turned out to be quite
normal route - maybe a little more scenic than the route I took the
day before with the bus-train-boat excursion. the panoramic part is
the all enclosed trains that you switch midway at Zweisimmen. the bad
thing is that it kills the photo shots cos reflection. with the normal
trains, you can lower down the windows in some sections so in that
sense, the paroramic trains aren't too fabulous.

if given another chance, will stay at Interlarken another day to take
the old trains up the other mountains, caves visit or cruise down lake
thun. especially considering what's going to happen to me at Montreux,
my next stop.

reached Montreux at 1413hrs. weather was horrid when I reached-
rained. the hotel I booked was Best Western supposedly a 4* but trust
me, the Backpackers lodge I stayed at Interlarken is 10X better in
terms of price, quality & cleanliness. the booking sheet also didn't
have the good instructions on how to get to that place-just said 5mins
away from station. yah right!!! 5 mins down a staircase that only one
who is familiar with the area knows. imagine me braving the rain,
pulling luggage & with nothing except my wits to bring me to an less
than satisfactory hotel that smelled damp, unwashed and right next to
the road.

to think I was telling myself in interlarken that I will enjoy a nice
cheese fondue dinner when I stay at this place!! decided to spend my
cash at a concert instead (part of the Festival De Musique Classique
Montreau-Vevey that runs from Aug-Sep). had to take bus down to Vevey
-20 mins from Montreu.

personally, the nice thing about this area compared to the other
places in Switzerland is the fact that they speak in French instead of
Swiss-German or German. "bonjour" just sounds nicer as a "hello" in
German/Swiss-German. the servers/ shop owners also seem more
friendlier than in main Switzerland to me.

after booking ticket for CelloTango (cheapest was chf35), walked down
the shopping area & got some souvenirs like lace hankies, Freddy
mercury tshirt for dan, musical box for kids & some jewellery. trotted
down to see Freddy mercury's statute next to the waterfront- by then
weather was even more horrid with the waves swelling & hitting the
water banks. am so glad I didnt take another lake cruise.

went down to local grocer to pick up tomorrow's bfast (croissant with
salad & apple juice) before heading back hotel for quick washup before
making my way down to Vevey theatre. I very much liked the Vevey area
better than Montreux. the ambience & shops are more unique - reminds
me of like Kensington area in London. montreux station was dark &
gloomy whereas Vevey station was nicer with a big open square area.

did a nice walk around that Vevey area as I was there by 6 - just
wanted to make sure I find the theatre before it gets dark at around
730pm. bummer is that there is not much food options after 6 - many
drinks but food's limited to Indian or pizza before 8. so ended up at
macs again - lucky that there was a shopping centre at the Vevey area.

concert started at 8pm - maybe too tired but I didn't like the fact
that the cellist had to go his speeches after EVERY single piece he
played. in 1hr, only 3 pieces cos his in-between speeches in french
took just as long as each piece!!

the concert was packed though - guess concerts are as big as they say
in switzerland after all. I left during the intermission as it was 9pm
by then as I needed to get up by 6am tomorrow for the connecting
trains to zurich airport.

tomorrow morning is my train to Zurich airport via Laussane. it was
the 1st time I had a train cancelled on me the whole week I am in
switzerland. panicked a bit cos again all announcements in French & no
info on alternative trains at the station...anyways, managed to make
my way down to airport in good time cos did Internet check-in earlier.

Magdalene

Castles in the sand

Playing tour guide @ merlion

Shot of F1 circuit

day 1 Zurich

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day 1 Zurich
reached Zurich ard 730am-company booked Ascot hotel as 5 mins away
from office & 15mins from airport. Ascot Hotel is just in front of
train station "Bahnhof Enge". the hotel reminded me of London's hotel-
a bit old, a bit quaint)

After unpacking & a shower, I took a 20 walk down to waterfront of
Zurich lake - partly cos unfamiliar with the roads. a bit confusing
which is pedestrian & which is for cars & trams. whilst walking,
stumbled across this little garden in between building in the middle
of the courtyard. it was a nice breathing space from all the
architecture around - found out later that the location is
"Paradeplatz" (heart of Bahnofstrasse (main shopping street that's
comparable to London's Bond Street) . I managed to make my way down to
Fraubmunster (originally Benedictine abbey church now Reformist/
Protestant). Couldn't go in cos Sunday mass was underway. Took some
photos before walking across to Grossmunster/Great church whose twin
towers are the most recognized landmark in Zurich. Nearby is a
touristy shop where you can get souvenirs starting from chf 2 (bath
soap on offer) to as much as chf 400-500 for hand crafted coo-coo
clocks.

I backtracked down to see some parts of the Old Town/oberdorf where
cobbled streets line from 16th century onwards.

tip- don't expect to see any of the shops open on Sunday. they close
the entire day so it's best for window shopping at best. I Like this
idea cos you see kids out cycling, boating, swimming, sightseeing with
their parents instead of hitting the shops all weekend. the shops that
are open are the restaurants & eateries so you see many people just
doing people watching or listening to the band while taking in the
Sunday. as it was a lovely day out today, girls in bikinis lined the
shores as well as part of their recreational activity.

after some shopping walked down to the main bridge called
Quaibru~cke. from there, you can feed the swans, ducks & fish while
taking in the sights. the weather was excellent -25c without the
humidity. that means you can actually escape from the heat of the sun
by simply going to the shade. had a hot dog chf5 & bratwurst chf7 for
a bite. get from the stall next to the Bellevueplatz & you get a hard
bread as part of the meal. As the bread was too hard for me I fed it
to the birds instead :) talk about killing 2 birds with 1 stone!

after a satisfying leisurely lunch, I made my way down to get a ride
up the ferris wheel nearby. I know it's touristy but it really gives
one a birds eye view of the place - quite reasonable for chf8 (4
rounds of spinning).

tip: get coins ready if you want to use the public toilets (near main
bus station at Bellevue) cos it costs chf1 & they only take chf1 or 2
chf50c. the toilets are clean & well stocked with essentials so no
complaints spending around s$1.40 to use it.

after swan feeding, I bought the daily ticket that covers the bus,
tram & see-thru boats that runs down Zu lake. quite a good deal for
boat trip cos u can hop on & off as many times & wherever you want (as
long as it's within that 24hr period stated in the ticket) this is
definitely a good way to see the city. you can either get it at the
main bus/tram station or from the conductor when you board the boat).
they also have a 1hr ticket for chf3 I think but I would get the daily
ticket if you intend to travel around Zurich for the day).

the boat ride was fantabulous! it goes down all the way to
schiffla~nde Casino before coming back all the way to Schweiz
Landesmuseum (Swiss national museum). so I dropped off at one of the
in-between stops to take a breather of 30mins before hopping back on
to continue my day trip to see the museum. the museum was fairly
interesting -it has quite some items dedicated to religious artefacts
& also showcased the skill of Swiss (clock making, glass blowing,
religious stained art etc). oh! another tip-Sunday is free museum so
do take advantage of that!!

I took a slow walk down the lake side & found myself in quaint little
streets with lovely shop displays. there was this lovely chocolate
shop called "teascher confise" near main shopping area. I got the most
excellent tiramisu ice cream for chf5.50.

ended the walking day by walking along Bahnhofstrass before taking a
tram back to the hotel.

decided to get Macs which was next to hotel before a final hot choc
from Starbucks. I know I should be taking Swiss food but I was too
tired to find / walk around. think the jet lag is finally hitting.

Macs here suits me fine as they got cheeseburger with salad &
instead of usual fries & coke. wonder why they don't have similar
options back home. costs a bomb though - chf 11 for a meal.

the sun just set down at 8pm. hitting the sack now cos hopefully will
be able to wake up fresh tomorrow.

Magdalene

day 2 (mon), 3 (tues) & 4 (wed) in Zurich

day 2 (mon), 3 (tues) & 4 (wed)
after work, Susann was kind enough to take me on an excursion to
"Uetliberg", a mountain about 20mins by train from Zurich town centre.
it offered a spectacular view of town, lake , mountains & region. not
exactly easy to go but should be ok if you depart from the main
station at Bahnhofstrass.

at the end of the 2nd day, the legal team went down to the river to
have a drink. it's an interesting scene as we are the ones in suits &
the others already there are in their bathing suits. it's actually
open during lunchtime for people to have a swim or bath. women area
are separated from men but the men's area are now mixed. took some
salad for dinner before hitting back to the hotel.

on the afternonn of the 3rd day , went down to Schann office
(Liechtenstein) before meeting the authorities. the place was a drive
by at best but understand that it was pretty rural in any event. it
took about 1.5-2hrs from Zurich to Schann.

was at the majnstation early so had time to purchase some dinner at
the market (right inside the station). reminded me so much of London
markets which I so dearly missed).

had a bit of difficulty finding the place at the Bahnhofstras (main
station) to stamp my Swiss pass. but actually on reflection, just
follow the tourist "I" sign & it's done. the Swiss pass is a very
important document as it can make the difference between ypu staying
ob the train, bus or cruise & you bejng kicked out as it covers mainly
every mode of public transport throughout Switzerland. recommend 1st
class as less crowded & more seat choices (proved useful when you
want to be touristy & take pictures)

took the 6pm train to Interlarken - reached there around 730pm. the
backpackers hotel at interlarken was a pleasent surprise. clean,
modern & extremely friendly. all for around chf200 for 2 nights (paid
for 2pax even though stayed by myself). I chickened out of the 6
bedded room & opted to stay by myself instead with shower included.
thankfully they had rooms available as I couldn't get the room booked
over Internet. they gave out clean sheets & towel & 2 tokens/day (each
chf 3.50) for hot drinks. the bus stopped just outside the hostel & as
usual worked like clockwork according to the schedule displayed at
each bus stop. one thing I will surely miss is the efficiency of the
public transport. basically all the timings are displayed & when it
states 0832 departure, the bus or train will depart from that station
at that exact same time!!! amazing! definately addictive cos I found
myself checking my watch whenever i need to take public transport -
which I will be doing for the next few days of self-travel.

Magdalene

On way to Montreal from interlarken

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View from hostel at interlarken switzerland

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