Sheffield, UK

Prior to my study camp in Denmark, I spent 3 days in UK – 2 days in Sheffield and 1 day in London. My experience with Heathrow airport is not pleasant. The plane took an hour to land after arriving at the airport. Queues at the immigration were extremely long. The officers there asked a lot of questions and it took approximately 20 minutes. No wonder people estimated 2 hours just to get out of the airport.

After collecting my luggage, I headed to Victoria Coach Station via tube. In the train, spaces between the seats are very narrow and the ceilings are low. There were no air-conditioned and the windows are slightly opened. There were free newspapers (Metro) on the seats for reading. As it was busy hours, the train was packed. The lights went off at times and it seems to be a norm. I was rather surprised to see a lot of Punjabis, Indians and Africans in the train as I have the impression that a lot of British are pure English.

As I go out of the train and headed towards the tube exit, my first impression was “oh my god!”. There are so many staircases! I was lucky to have met some helpful young chap. They offered to carry my 16kg luggage up the staircases and I was really grateful.

Please note that the Victoria Station is different from Victoria Coach Station. Victoria Coach Station is for express bus and some airport concept applies. There is an information center for enquiries. Depending on your bus schedule, you will need to take the bus from the respective gate. The difference is, there are plenty of gates and they are allocated near to each other. The station is crowded most of the time. Instead of people going around shouting as the bus arrives, there is a flat panel television at each gate, displaying the bus arrival time, bus company, destinations and status (e.g. boarding). Details of the next few buses will be shown as well. If you are hungry and looking for something to eat - no worries! There are plenty of small shops in the station selling sandwiches, snacks, drinks and newspapers.


The bus that I took is Megabus, heading to Meadowhall Station in Sheffield. The express bus there is not as comfortable as the one in Malaysia. There are 4 seats in a row and the seat is hardly moveable. I was very tired as I got there but happy to see Jimmy, my long lost friend. Jimmy will be my tour guide for my 3 days stay in UK and he did a very good job. I would like to compliment him for his helpfulness, flexibility and map reading skills. In addition, I have met a number of nice people in Sheffield and they made my stay in Sheffield memorable.

Unlike London which is very busy, Sheffield is less crowded and more relax. Finding a Malaysian and kebab shop there is very easy. According to Jimmy, Sheffield is an industrial city and land of origin for stainless steel.

What’s nice in Sheffield? The people, the food and the place. There are many churches around the city and many of them are abandoned. Yet, they look marvelous to me from the outside. Many old buildings here have been converted to pubs, restaurants and even lecture halls! It will be hard to imagine having classes in a church.


Shopping in Morrison is a good experience. There are so many varieties for juices, desserts, cookies, fruits etc and the price is reasonable and comparatively cheap for certain items. My favourite would be the strawberries, blueberries and raspberry cheese cakes. We got it at around 1-2 GBP per item. According to Jimmy, the older people in Sheffield like to address people by “love”. But, I did not manage to catch that word in their conversations as they talk very fast.

Peak District is a place not to be missed if you are visiting Sheffield. Well, it’s not exactly in Sheffield but nearby. It is the first national park in the British Isles and covered quite a huge area, including counties of Lancashire, Great Manchester, Cheshire, Staffordshire, South and West Yorkshire. The place that I visited in Peak District is Castleton. It’s a beautiful, clean and quiet small town with lots of greeneries. The air is very fresh and the water is crystal clear. People there are very nice. They would smile and greet at you even though they don’t know you. I was excited to see the sheeps/lambs. They are so cute and fluffy.

P/s: Please check my FB for more pics.

Aarhus, Denmark

As some of you know, I was in Aarhus, Denmark for approximately 2 weeks (June 27-July 9) for my study camp, which is part of my MBA. I had extended some days for travelling prior and after the camp. Below is my “little experience” in Aarhus:

Aarhus weather:
1st week – Humid, Cold (around 17-20 Celsius) and getting warm (up to 29 Celsius); At night, 16-24 Celsius
2nd week - Humid, Cold (around 19-20 Celsius during day time, around 11-17 Celsius at night)

The weather is pleasant when I arrived in Aarhus (it is pronounced as “Oo-hus”), approximately 17-20 Celsius during day time and around 16-24 Celsius at night. Sunset is at around 10pm and the weather varies greatly after that. Sunrise is at around 4am during summer. According to the locals, this is one of the hottest summer in Denmark. I am rather disappointed as most of my clothes are thick and it can be rather hot at times in the afternoon.

Denmark is a land of blondes. I see more blondes here than anywhere else in the world and my coursemates agree to this. Aarhus is a lovely and quiet city with a lot of greeneries. People here are friendly and they speak good English. I have no problems asking for directions.

Shops here close around 5pm for Monday to Saturday and for the whole day on Sunday. Restaurants and grocery shops generally has longer opening hours. After most of the shops are close, the street is almost empty. The atmosphere is totally different from Malaysia, where the happening hours are after work and weekends.

The common transportation here is bicycle. There are lots of bicycles everywhere and public bicycles (in blue) are available for free. I got very excited when I knew about this. Unfortunately, the bicycle’s seat is too high for me and I did not manage to get a ride around the city. The common public transportation here is the city bus (yellow colour). Each bus ticket costs 19 DKK (around RM7.20) and valid for two hours. If you will be travelling a lot by bus, you can get a “klipperkort” (10 tickets) for 120 DKK. There is no expiry date for the 10 tickets and you can use it whenever you want. There is no bus conductor. Tickets can be bought at the machine in the train station or in the bus. In the bus, there are two CCTVs.

In general, the Danish food is quite nice – creamy, cheesy, cold (for seafood) and raw (for seafood and vegetables). Danish is famous for its pastry. For breakfast, I normally have fresh bread, strawberry/raspberry jam, bacon, cheese and milk. I have almost the same breakfast throughout my study camp and it can be rather boring. Occasionally, they have the fruit yoghurt which is thick and creamy. Danish people seem to like salty and sweet food. Some of the food such as the herring is really salty and some desserts are too sweet. My favourite is the salmon dishes. It is fresh and they have numerous ways of cooking nice salmon dishes.

Attractions:

Den Gamle By (The Old Town) is one of the main attractions in Aarhus. It is a living image of life in a market town at the time of Hans Christian Andersen. Buildings in the Old Town have been rebuilt based on materials of the original building. In the town, you will be able to see people dressing up in 1800s costumes. It is as if the town has been “revived”. My favourite building is the mintmaster’s house. It is also one of the major projects of Old Town. Even though the architecture of the building is not fascinating, its internal design is splendid. Surprisingly, they changed the colour of the building according to the latest trend. From the mini models, I can see the changes across different eras.

Legoland is a theme park in Billund. Inside of Legoland, there are plenty of models or statues made of Lego. Some of these models such as aeroplanes, ships, boats and mindmill are moveable. The designer of this park is so detailed that almost every single thing in the park is made of Lego. For example, snakes in the bushes and monkey on the roof. Games in Legoland are very interactive and built based on the Lego series. For some games such as the pirates, both people inside the ship and right outside of the boundary are able to shot water “bullets”. A lot of parents are engaged in the games with their children. I am really amazed on how the layout the theme park and design the games. Lego has definitely put in a lot of effort and thoughts into this.

Mindeparken is a park near the sea. It is very nice and pleasant park with lots of greeneries. Beside the park is the royal summer palace. In the afternoon, you will be able to see a lot of people sunbathing, barbequeing or playing games with their family. Some ladies even dress in bikini or only bra.

ARoS is an art museum. Near the art museum are the court house (which seems to be very quiet) and the old barracks. The concept behind the art museum building is very special. It is designed in a way that it blends well with the city. At the lower ground, there is a bookshop and people are allowed to walk around freely. Therefore, the museum is lively at all times when it is opened. There are many levels in the museum and different arts are located at different levels. My favourite is the modern art section and 9 spaces. The oil paintings are refined, beautiful and alive. The 9 spaces is a gallery of light art, video art and installations. It is very interesting way of presenting “art”. My favourite will be the 2nd space. It is a room with a living room and a “window” (it is not a real window but perceived to be one). At different times of the day, the sky colour changes and so as the lighting in the room. At night, there are “stars” on the ceiling and floor. They have exhibitions of special themes for a period of time. The theme when I went was “love”. Well, their definition of “love” is much different from what I expected. It is really an eye opener. There was a short video with the “bisexual” theme and the way they filmed it is very artistic.

*Please check my FB for more pics.

2nd Last Semester

Now I am in the 2nd last semester of my MBA. Some weeks ago I called up a senior who have completed her course. Surprisingly, she told me that she missed MBA.

This week I have class and it is good to see my coursemates again after more than a month. Some of them are currently doing their last semester and graduating soon. Next semester, there will be less people.

I still remember more than a year ago, I enrolled in University of South Australia’s MBA together with another 40+ people. There were so many unfamiliar faces. They came from all sorts of background. We joined the Orientation, have lunch, exchange name cards, rush for classes after work and assignments, and done many other interesting things together. I also have unpleasant memories with social loafers or times where I felt that I have been pushed to the edge. Nevertheless, they are all precious memories.

The experience of doing a part-time MBA, is definitely different from doing a full-time degree. Other than classes and assignments, everyone has something else to take care of, whether it’s work, family or something else. Time and stress management is very important. I am really glad that my coursemates and friends supported me along the way and given me the strength to move on. Thank you! Let us "cross the line" together and see you in the convocation!

This is my busiest semester, with 2 subjects and 1 summer camp in 3 months, 6 assignments to be completed within a month. I have to acknowledge that it is stressful. But, it is just another challenge in life. Regardless of the results, one day when I look back in the future, I want to tell myself that “I have done my best!”.

Ko Hyang

Recently I visited this place called Ko Hyang in Lower Ground, Midvalley. As the name indicates, they serve Korean food. I tried out the Kim Chi soup there. It is surprisingly very sour and not spicy. The rice drink (Sik Hye) on the other hand is too sweet. Perhaps I should try the Bibimbab instead.

p/s: This is just a stall in Midvalley and not a proper Korean restaurant. Heard my friend that when they just started, there was a Korean chef. A 5% service charge is applicable.

Kim Chi soup (RM14.90)

Sik Hye (RM3.60)

Chiang Rai Thai Restaurant

YS recommended this Thai restaurant in Selayang several weeks ago. According to him, this shop is operated by Thai people. The food is not spicy because it is from the Northern region. The price is surprisingly cheap. We ordered green curry, tomyam soup (with crab inside) and pandan chicken. It only cost us around RM15 per pax.

Portuguese Grill

Today I would like to introduce the Portuguese Grill in Oasis Foodcourt, Midvalley. This place was introduced by Shum and the food is really nice. They have all sorts of combination for the grill and it’s just around RM7.90 each (including one rice). Not recommended for those who don’t like spicy food.

Kajang Satay @ Restoran Malaysia

A few weeks ago, the DSU gang had a gathering in Restoran Malaysia, Kajang. It was our first road trip. Originally, we planned for a hiking trip to Broga Hill, Semenyih. Unfortunately, things didn’t seem to go our way and we ended up in Kajang for dinner.

Restoran Malaysia is a Chinese restaurant, serving Kajang satay, barbeque chicken wings and “otak-otak”. It is non halal and they serve a variety of satay, such as beef, lamb and fish. I liked the fish and lamb. The “otak-otak” was nice too. Too bad I couldn’t take the chicken wings due to cough. The others commented that it was nice though.

Din Tai Fung

Din Tai Fung is a Chinese restaurant originated from Taipei. Their specialty is the 18 folds “siew long bao”. I have always wanted to visit this restaurant after hearing many good comments from my friends.

A few weeks ago, I made my first visit to this restaurant at the Gardens. Unlike many restaurants, they have more varieties in terms of the filling for the “siew long bao”. The skin of the “siew long bao” is just nice, not too thick or thin. I don’t have to worry too much that the soup inside will be spilled. They have some combo packages and it is cheaper if you plan to order more than 1 bucket (each bucket has 6 pieces).

In addition to “siew long bao”, I also ordered drunken chicken and fried rice. The drunken chicken is so-so as the taste is not strong. The fried rice is nice and they put in a number of huge and fresh prawns. Yummy~

Poa Xiang Bak Kuh Teh

A few weeks ago, YS and I tried out Poa Xiang Bak Kuh Teh in Taman Berkeley, Klang. The environment of the shop is nice as they have just renovated. It is also more spacious as they are utilising 2 shop lots. Unlike other Bak Kuh Teh shops that I have visited, they have a proper menu and price list.

The taste of the Bak Kuh Teh of this shop is okay, neither too strong nor mild. However, I still prefer the one in Mo Sang Kor as the taste is slightly stronger and the food serving is faster.

Note: There is a bit of product differentiation for different shops in Bak Kuh Teh.

Claypot Chicken Rice @ Brickfields

A few weeks ago, Shum recommended this claypot chicken rice stall in Brickfields, within walking distance from KL Sentral. The stall is surprisingly neat. The rice is cooked upon ordering, a plus point. The portion is huge, the chicken is rice but the “lak cheong” is not so nice though. We ordered a separate dish of vege and it’s very salty due to an overdose of oyster sauce. The chicken rice cost RM6 per pax and RM0.50 extra for egg. Overall, I would say that we enjoyed the meal.

Macau-HK Trip: Day 4

Weather: 14-18 Celcius

March 8 was the last day of our trip. We managed to have some nice dim sum at Tao Heung, a restaurant near our hostel. The restaurant may look a bit classy, but the price is ok. As we arrived, the restaurant was filled with people, mainly senior citizens and their family members. We ordered 6 dishes and a pot of tea, it cost around 92 HKD. The “siu long pao” is really worth the price. It’s only around RM7 for 4 pieces. It’s huge and juicy, though the skin maybe a bit thick. The “char siu pau” there was my favourite~ The size is medium (just nice), the “pau” is very soft and fine and the “char siu” is fantastic. The best I ever have in my life! After dim sum, we did some last minute shopping before departing to the ferry terminal to catch the ferry back to Macau.

Our last destination before going back to Malaysia is Venetian. Venetian is a luxury Casino and Resort. It is one of the hotels near the airport (only a few minutes ride by car). The building is very spacious. The interior design of this hotel is very grand. Its shopping area is modeled according to Venice in Italy. Sometimes you may feel that the clouds at the ceilings are moving due to optical illusion.

Venetian offer free luggage service on the same day. So, we took the hotel shuttle bas from Macau Ferry Terminal and then deposited our luggage at the hotel lobby. Please note that the hotel offer free shuttle bas between the airport and ferry terminal. The place to take these shuttle buses is different. When we deposited our luggage, we informed the staff that we will be collecting the luggage at the other end of the hotel as we will be taking the shuttle bas to airport.

Venetian is a nice hotel to hang around for shopping even though you are not interested in gambling. The area is not crowded and you can really relax yourself. There are a number of restaurants in the hotel, including McDonald’s. You can also do some last minute shopping here. In addition, they offer free shows. Be sure to check the show time when you arrive at the hotel.

p/s: Many people may not have notice, outside the hotel is a nice area to hang out as well.

Overall, my trip to Macau and Hong Kong is not too bad. It would have been great if we manage to see the giant Buddha in Lantau Island. I will keep that in my “to-go list” for my next trip to Hong Kong.

Macau-HK Trip: Day 3

Weather: 15-19 Celcius

The temperature suddenly dropped. It was cold and occasionally drizzling. We took some noodles near our hostel and it was rather cheap – 10 HKD for my wanton noodle and 13 HKD for Jess’s beef noodle.

Our highlight for today is Ngong Ping 360 and Wax Museum. Ngong Ping 360 is one of the attractions in Lantau Island (it is known as “Tai Yu San” in Cantonese). Lantau Island is very different from HK Island and Kowloon. It has lots of greenies in its surroundings. The MTR from Mong Kong to Tung Chung station took around 30 minutes. Unlike the stations in Mongkok, this station is very spacious and less crowd.

Connecting to the Tung Chung station is the Citygate Outlets, a shopping complex with lots of factory outlets for brands such as Nike, Adidas and Coach. Comparatively, the price is cheaper than Malaysia but more expensive than in Taiwan.

It was a bit cloudy as we reached the bus station/ cable car terminal for Ngong Ping 360. We bought the cable car + unlimited bus ride around Lantau Island ticket at 104 HKD. The cable car ride was nice. However, it was not so nice when it was left hanging in the middle of nowhere and you can’t even see anything outside due to the mist (zero visibility).

The weather got worse as we arrived at the top of the mountain. We can’t see anything within a close distance. The vegetarian restaurant in Po Lin Monastry was packed of people and the buffet cost 60 HKD! The Giant Buddha was nowhere to be seen, covered up by the thick mist.

Feeling hungry due to the cold weather, we had lunch in a Japanese restaurant in Ngong Ping Village. I ordered an Udon noodle and it was nice. But, the soup tasted like the fish head noodle soup in Malaysia. Perhaps it is due to the local influence? After lunch, we moved to the shop next door, Honeymoon/Moon Kee for dessert. The desserts were nice! My favorite would be the Zhi Ma Wu with Tau Fu Fa.


Not many buses were operating. So, we took a bus down to Tai O and then from Tai O to Tung Chung. The waiting was very long and we had no idea when the bus will be coming. After a long wait, finally the bus arrived. There were 5 small seats per row and there were lots of passengers. We could barely move our bodies. The journey to Tai O was not too long. However, the journey from Tai O to Tung Chung was a very long one. The three of us fell asleep along the way and a lot of passengers came onboard along the way. These people were juggle trekking and they were all senior citizens. We also saw some village houses, something very different from HK Island and Kowloon.

Citygate Outlets was very crowded as we arrived. Compared to Taiwan, things here were not cheap. However, it is still cheaper than in Malaysia. We visited several shops before departing to Taste, a supermarket in the shopping complex.

There were many imported goods in Taste. I was very excited with the selections of seafood from Japan. The vegetarian abalone (free sample) was nice, though PJ finds it a bit salty. The fruits, e.g. the blue berry were cheap too (if I remember correctly, around RM5 for a small box). We bought some food from Taste as our dinner. Jess’s Durian dessert (take away from Honeymoon/Moon Kee) was delicious~ The taste of durian was just nice.

After dinner, we took the MTR to Hong Kong station and then took a bus to the Peak Road. Some of you may not know, Madame Tussauds Wax Museum is located in the same building as the Peak Tower. The night view as we were heading up to the Peak Road was very nice. Unfortunately, we were not able to take any photos as the bus was moving.

As we reached there, it was around 7pm. It was drizzling and the wind was strong. We had to walk in the open air for a short distance before reaching the Peak Tower. It reminded me of my typhoon experience in Busan many years ago.

In the Peak Tower, there are many shops selling cheap souvenirs. There is Disneyland ticketing counter in the building as well with a few statues of the cartoon characters. Madame Tussauds Wax Museum was one of the few places in the building which were packed with people. The entrance fee was 160 HKD per pax for adult.


We got very excited as we entered the museum. We saw many wax figures of familiar celebrities like Nicole Kidman, Andy Lau and Brad Pitt. As the entrance fee is so expensive, we decided to make full use of it by snapping each and every wax figures. However, we soon realized that it was a tiring process. The wax museum took up several floors in the tower. There were much more wax figures in the museum than we thought! There were many unfamiliar figures as well, which we just randomly snapped a few to make our money more worth while. We spent around 2 hours in the museum and we were exhausted. I would strongly recommend the visit to be done in the morning, when you are high, energetic and fresh.

p/s: The entrance fee for The Peak is 25 HKD.

For our journey back to Kowloon, we decided to take a ferry for a change. The ferry from Hong Kong Island to Tsim Tsa Tsui cost 2.40 HKD for one way. It was a worthy ride as you will be able to get a very nice night view of Hong Kong and the journey is only 5 minutes. Instead of purchasing the ticket at the counter, you will need to purchase the ferry ticket at the ticketing machine or scan with your Octopus card. For purchase via the ticketing machine, you will receive a small chip coin which will be used later to go through the barrier (sorry, you can’t keep it as a souvenir).

On our way back, we took the wrong bus and ended up in Wong Tai Sin, a huge housing area with many blocks of apartments. Prior to this, I have been wondering, where are all those apartments that I normally seen in HK drama series. Finally, we got a chance to see it, though not intentionally.