2010/2011 Vacation

After one and a half years of torturing, I will be departing next week for a relaxing vacation in Korea. It will be a white New Year and a very cold one (around 0 Celsius and with some rain/snow). It will also be my first time celebrating New Year overseas, first time experiencing winter and first return to Korea after five years. A lot of findings and revise on the Korean language have been done. I look forward to the food, shopping and visits. Hopefully everything will be smooth sailing and I will be back in Malaysia on January 3, 2011.

Happy Xmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Fantasy

Here it comes the fantasy season with lots of Christmas trees, toys and presents. It is also my birthday month. This year I get to meet Huwi Yin, a senior with the same birthday. As usual, you can see Christmas decorations in shopping malls. My favourite decoration will be Midvalley’s toy soldier theme. I love the huge teddy bears, snow men and weird soft toys. 1U’s one looks very much like the Venetian in Macau. KLCC uses the blue and white theme.

1U

Midvalley

KLCC

KLCC

Fahrenheit 88/ KL Plaza

Officially graduated!

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am glad to inform you that I have officially graduated for the 2nd time! Time flies. Still remember last year I was still enquiring and considering taking the course. After much hard work, endurance and sacrifice, I have finally completed the course. Indeed it is a sense of achievement. A lot of my coursemates swore that they will not take another course in the future.

After our last exam, everyone is free. Some commented that suddenly they have a lot of free time and don’t know what to do. Staying at home becomes very boring for me. It reminded of my weekends during MBA where I confine myself at home doing assignments or readings. Just going for a movie with friends will enlightened my life. I met up with some old friends as well. I will get to enjoy my birthday this year :)

Kindly let me know if you are free. We can have a tea or something to catch up on old times.

Coffee

I used to hate coffee as it tasted like cigarettes. However, ever since my MBA, I started to like this drink. Waking up at around 8am for class on a weekend is something unusual for me due to my working hours. I felt sleepy during the class in the morning and occasionally dozed off. ITD provides free coffee and it effectively kept me awake. Even though it’s not some premium coffee, I started to like it, taking it whenever I felt sleepy. Is this a sign of aging?

Freedom

It’s been almost 2 weeks since I completed my last MBA exam. I enjoy the weekends without assignments, weekdays without the need to multitask, meetings with friends and enjoying my drama series. There are times when I miss the bonds with my coursemates as we work on the individual assignments and revising for exam. Less likely I will miss the torturing days on group assignment where the non-contributors were throwing everything to their groupmates. Well, all of these are part of my MBA journey. All that’s left now is my final results. Hopefully I pass my last paper and graduate >_<

During my studies, I have plan a long list of items that I want to do or places that I want to go. Now it’s time to realize them. One of them is going home more frequently. Another one will be to meet friends whom I have ignored for a long time.

I also realize that my appetite is much better now. In fact, I think I am eating much more than usual. I have been eating a lot of non-healthy food like nana de coco, snacks etc. It's a good sign and obviously I am putting on weight! Goodbye to those sleepless nights.

Pasta Zanmai @ Midvalley

Pasta Zanmai is a nice place to go for Japanese and Western fusion food. They have a few restaurants in KL/Selangor. I have only been to the one in 1 Utama and Midvalley. Personally, I prefer the one in Midvalley due to the conducive environment and better food. The set meal is really value for money, around RM22-23 per set and with 2 dishes. For small eaters, you can order one set and share with another person. My favourite are the rolls and mini pizza.

Loke Tin @ Lucky Garden

Loke Tin is a nice place to go for dishes around Bangsar. The price is reasonable, less than RM20 per pax. Pre-booking and ordering can be made.

Below are some of the recommended dishes:

Vietnamese chicken - sweet and sour

Sweet and sour chicken

Black pepper venison

Marmite chicken

Tofu - portion rather small

Everyone's favourite - spinach soup with a little bit of cooking wine

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen is a busy and fast moving city compared to Aarhus. There are a lot of fast moving bicycles on the bicycle lane and they are not merciful. If you are on their way, they will "horn" at you. So, stay away from the bicycle lane if you are not cycling~ The weather was extremely hot and dry as we reached.

First thing that you must do as reach is go to the Central Station and get a copy of the city map. The map is free and contains useful information such recommended route and attractions, bus route, train and metro stations and tickets available

Then, get yourself a City Pass. The 24-hour City Pass is quite a good deal if you plan to stay for 1-2 days. It costs 70DKK for all transportations within zone 1-4, including the train to the airport. It can only be bought at the train station or movia ticket offices (which I have no idea where is that). 1 normal bus ticket cost around 20DKK. There are other types of tickets such as the 24 hours ticket (125DKK) which covers the Greater Copenhagen Region and Flexcard which is valid for 7 days (215DKK). The most convenient way to travel in the city is by bus.

In Copenhagen, there are plenty of churches, castles, fountains and green statues. Compared to Aarhus, there are more historical buildings here. The architecture is simply beautiful and colourful. The statues are always in green. I wonder if there are any reasons behind that.

The canal tour is a must-go. The cheapest tour costs only 30DKK for an hour trip. There is a tour guide explaining in Danish and English. Due to her slang, the explanation was not clear. If you are in a rush and want to get an overview of Copenhagen, this is something money for value.
If you are a student, then good news for you – in Denmark, students get a very good rate for the entrance fees, which is approximately 50% cheaper than the original fees. In order to be eligible for the student rate, you need to have a student card. In this card, it must contain your name, university, expiry date and a photo of yourself. To be on the safe side, you can apply for the International Student Card. In UK, the discounts is not so significant – around 1-2 GBP.

Attractions:

Stroget is a very long shopping street. Along the street, you can see a lot of street performers. Some dressed up in odd costumes like vikings or Charlie Chapin. There are some music performers and they are very good. There are a lot of coffee Charlie Chapin shops, boutiques and souvenir shops along the street. You can also find a lot of souvenir shops along this street.


Tivoli is one of the world’s amusement parks. I heard that the roller coaster is made of wood.

Radhuspladsen (City Hall Square) is near Tivoli and Stroget. You can get many buses around the city hall.


The King's Garden is a very beautiful garden with statues, flowers and trees trimmed in various shapes. It is located in the city, near to Nyhavn. It is the most well maintained public garden I have never being to and it reminded me of Alice and the Wonderland. Rosenborg Palace is an old castle located in the garden. This castle was the residence of the royal family until around 1710.


The famous Little Mermaid was moved to the World Expo in Shanghai. Therefore, we only got to see a huge signboard near the actual location of the statue.

Christianhavn is the land of the outcasts. Compared to the city center, there is more quiet and relaxing. Some of the scenery there looks like Amsterdam. There are people who stay in the boats and it is known as home boats.

Some notable churches are such as Our Saviour’s Church and the German Church. The architecture is very unique.

Amalienborg Palace is the current residence of the royal family. It consists of 4 buildings, forming up a circle with a statue in the middle. It does not have the usual designs of a castle. In addition, it was not surrounded by high walls or gates. It is open to the public and guarded only by 2 guards. Near the palace is a small garden facing the sea with a huge garden. In Denmark, there is also changing of the guards departing from Rosenborg Palace at 11.30am and end at Amalienborg Palace at 12pm.


Christianborg Palace is another amazing palace. Unfortunately I did not have enough time to visit it. I only manage to catch a glimpse of it on the bus and it is really beautiful.

Nyhavn is the waterfront where you can take the canal tour. It is lovely place with colourful buildings, plenty of ships and pubs. Heard from Wei Chung that during the viking days, there's a lot of prostitutes there. Coincidently, it was the season of the jazz festival. The whole area was crowded. People were enjoying themselves with the performance and beer.

P/s: Please refer to my FB for more pics.

London, UK

London is a busy city. There are buses, cars and people everywhere. Things that attract my attention in UK include the grayish stone buildings, red double-decker buses and tube stations. The weather was around 22 Celsius on my first week there and cooler on my last day there. I spent a total of 2 days there.

There are plenty of churches, castles and museums around London. The entrance of many museums is free of charge, which is something good. If you are on a tight budget, you can always hang around in London without paying any entrance fees.

Tesco Express is something like a mini mart and can be easily found around London. The meal deals are quite good. You can get a small bottle of concentrated juice, some cut fruits and sandwiches at 2 GBP.

Attractions:

Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are located at the bank of River Thames. There is a bridge near Big Ben called Westminster Birdge. Walk to the middle of that bridge and you will be able to get a nice shoot of the building.


Westminster Abbey is a Gothic church that is the traditional place of coronation for English monarchs and owned by the royal family (UK Attractions.com 2010). The architecture of the church looks a lot like the Houses of Parliament, which is located nearby.

London Eye is a huge ferris wheel located near Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. It was once the world’s tallest ferris wheel.

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the British monarch, the home of the Queen. The changing guard ceremony is scheduled daily at 11.30am and finished at 12pm. It is recommended to go there early to get a nice spot as it will be crowded.


Trafalgar Square is a square in Central London and one of the most famous squares in the world. From afar, I saw the stunning statues, sculptures and fountains. The breeze around the area was nice.

British Museum is a comprehensive museum with collections from all over the world. It is one of the largest museums in the world. Most of the exhibition halls are free. I was fascinated to see some familiar artifacts which were found in my high school textbooks.

London Bridge is an ordinary bridge connecting City of London and Southwark. There is nothing much to see there.

Tower Bridge is a stunning suspension bridge in London. To me, it looks more like a castle. It was built to address the need of river crossing due to the increasing commercial development in the East End of London. A traditional fixed bridge could not be built because it would cut off access to the port facilities in the Pool of London, between London Bridge and the Tower of London (Wikipedia 2010).


Tower of London is a castle located near the Tower Bridge. Prior to my visit, I have heard a lot of negative feedback regarding this attraction. In addition, admission is not free. Therefore, I did not visit this castle.

St Paul’s Catheral is a very grand church located near Tata Modern.


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

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.