Esthee H.

Copenhagen!

My virgin experience in Europe. :D

Gosh, I was really blown away by the architecture. For one that's never been to Europe, I think it's really the architecture that impresses you the most. Everything around you is just so magnificent. I felt like all the buildings were so beautiful and you could see one after another from miles away just because they are so magnificent! I was really taken away by the architecture, so my friend Zeek and I walked for like 3 or 4 hours staight, following the architecture until the sky turned dark and we started to panic. We were starting to lose our way and it doesn't help that the locals didn't really speak English as well.

So here are some pictures that I took of the architecture.

























There are just too many beautiful pictures of these to post, so I shall stop here.

But there are some photos that I JUST HAVE TO SHARE. Because Zeek is an awesome photographer and he took so many chio shots for me!!! *melts*

Call me narcissistic if you wish... I don't care. The pics are just too chio!

































So pretty right?! Thank you Zeek, for the awesome photos. :D I love having friends that take awesome photos and most of the time, these people always take such pretty shots and are always so willing to take pictures for you! He made my Copenhagen trip so much more memorable with these awesome photos to look back to.

Besides walking on foot around our hotel, we also did a river cruise around Copenhagen which brought us to most of the attraction spots in the area. We sat on a boat that looks something like this and learnt about the history of Copenhagen and its Dukes. It was an audio guided tour available in most of the languages and lasted through half the day! Not that expensive, so if you are new in the country and would like a good quick tour of the place, you can hop onto one of these boats easily.





We also visited the Little Mermaid, this famous statue that is the iconic feature of Copenhagen.

Here's a little quote I stole from Wiki!

The Little Mermaid (Danish: Den lille havfrue) is a statue of a mermaid in Langelinie, Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. Based on the fairy tale of the same name by Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing statue (with a height of 1.25 metres (4 ft)[1]) is a Copenhagen icon and a major tourist attraction.

The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in Copenhagen's Royal Theatre and asked the prima ballerina, Ellen Price, to model for the statue. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on 23 August 1913. The statue's head was modelled after Price, but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife, Eline Eriksen, was used for the body.[2]

The Copenhagen City Council decided to move the statue to Shanghai at the Danish Pavilion for the duration of the Expo 2010 (from May to October), the first time it had been moved from its perch since it was installed almost a century earlier.[3]

Don't get your expectations high though, cos all it really looks like is this.



I was extremely disappointed. We all were. haha

The next day, we visited Tivoli, the second oldest theme park in the world, opened in 1843!







It was quite expensive but we still got the unlimited ride ticket anyway, since I figured I'll probably never visit this theme park again. It practically poured for the entire day, right after we entered the theme park. I kept my camera in the locker since we were going on rides and I figured I wouldn't wanna be carrying it around. But it was good fun going on rides in the cold rain, though when you are up there, you would be cursing like I did. haha



THIS RIDE IS CRAZILY HIGH. When I went up, I almost peed in my pants.

Here's a pic of the theme park i took from wiki again. But it would have been the same if I had my camera, just a bit more professionally taken I guess.



On the last day, I went out to the street by myself and found a nice lovely spot outside of a church. I bought pastry and coffee from them since they were having some charity event for the church. And I thought it would be nice to sit in the afternoon sun and drink coffee and simply watch the world go by!


7SGD in total.

Before i could finish my coffee, it started raining cats and dogs and I sought refuge under a tree for close to 2 hours.

That was my first experience in Europe, Copenhagen! :D

My next stop turned out to be China. Having been to China for about 2 whole weeks previously, I've basically done all there is to do in Shanghai and Beijing. So this time round, I wasn't that keen on all the tourist-y stuff but I had company that was willing to do them. So I gamely followed. Afterall, how often do you get company that wants to go out in China? Almost never.

So I went out in Shanghai to The Bund and Nanjing Road.

China, being China. Is of course, filled with people. That's what really turns me off about China I guess. You can never get onto public transport without having some form of body contact with another sticky human being.

We took cab this time though, so no complains.

Traffic in Shanghai.






Crowd was madness.




I honestly think that The Bund is a beautiful place, anytime of the day. It's a reminiscence of the past Shanghai that's modern and prosperous. If I was a Shanghainese, I'd be so proud of this place. Come in the evening to catch the sunset! And stay abit longer to catch the night skyline of the place.
That's about all that we did in a night in Shanghai. Walk walk and walk along the Bund and afterwards to Nanjing Road.

Here's my darling companion for the trip. Amazing girl, this Megan is. Sadly, this friend of mine has decided that she's had enough of travelling so I guess this marks my one and only adventure with her. Fun times are short but nevertheless precious! All the best, Megan!




BEIJING

I think Beijing was more exciting though. It definitely has more of the Chinese flavour than Shanghai. Zahed and I went to Wangfujin Street, and this time, we took the train!




Squeezy, sticky, perspiring bodies pushed against you, YES.

If you are looking for Orient China, without a doubt, this is the place. What other place can be more Oriental than this?!









Zahed was on a mission to sample all the weird food you can find in this street, which includes scorpions, spiders, animal penises, starfishes, etc. Here are some of them.

Scorpions on sticks.



Bull's testicles, anyone?










On a normal day, I wouldn't be that crazy to wanna eat these stuff. But Zahed was so onz about having them that he offered me a taste of them. So I tried the starfish, and a SCORPION. :S

This is him, anxiously waiting for his fried starfish wtf.


And me, with our starry fried friend.



It tastes nothing Orangey, though that's all that it looks. It is quite horrible actually. It's all sandy inside and when you bite into it, all you taste is sand. I felt like I was eating sand and it was really quite difficult to chew or swallow anything like that. We both spat it out, like after this first bite.

And then, we had the scorpions. I wouldn't have eaten it at all, really. It was only because they sold 3 scorpions on one stick and Zahed didn't wanna eat all three. So i took one, for the sake of being game and brave and #esthertheexplorer.







What does it really taste like?

A fried teeny piece of cracker. I dunno. Tasteless, just fried. Oil and some crunchiness.
It wasn't a disgusting taste, so I ate it. So small anyway, no taste!

I tried this fried milk ball thingy too. It sounded okay to me, so I thought i'd try it. But it's just oil and butter and I don't know what. Pretty tough to eat, and totally not tasty.



Of course, none of these could fill out stomachs. We went to a steamboat place for lunch which allows you to have your own pot in front of you while you order stuff which you can share. This place is called XIABU XIABU and there are joints available all over China. So here's our mountain of meat and vegetable which really didn't have enough space on the table for all to be placed.



Yummy meal for the price of 10SGD! :D I can't tell you how much I loved it.
This is one of the reasons why I love China.

And this was at one of the roadside restaurants which a Chinese girl brought me to after we had our body scrubs done at a bathhouse.

I was scrubbed like a pig by the auntie but it felt hella good. :) I love body scrubs cos I feel so freaking squeaky clean afterwards!

Tomato-based braised beef noodle soup. SIBEI NICE WAH LAO.



For the price of like 2SGD! Yummy. I loveeeee cheap and good food.

Oh, and I just had to share this, pretty pictures taken by Zahed. :D

CHECK OUT BABY'S NAKED BUTT HERE.

















I love having friends who carry pro cameras because they're always so willing to take chio pictures for you. Hi-res pics on their own camera still so willing to email you afterwards!!! Pictures to keep for life. <3

And the friendships forged when we're overseas, even if it's just for a day, I can't even say how amazing it is. Some of them I've only seen once, and yet every memory is so deeply etched in my heart.

This is specially for Megan, Zahed and Ruisi.

I had the luxury of having Melbourne as my first stop in my little world tour. Shall not talk about virgin experience of first day at work, since it turned out to be pretty unpleasant. I was shaky and terrified and made all the mistakes a normal intelligent human being would never have made. And for some reason, once a mistake has been done, every other mistake seems amplified afterwards. It was quite a nightmare, really.

But all in one, it was a good learning experience and I swore never to make such mistakes ever again.
Thank god, I haven't. :D

But there's something else I'd like to highlight. Which is how my sweetheart stayed with me the night before and helped me as I panicked, realizing I didn't have this, didn't have that. He went around J8 buying my last minute essentials. He also willingly went to the 24-hr supermarket near my place to buy zip-lock bags at close to midnight, simply because I forgot about my LAGs. :(
He was so sweet to wake up at 6am to send me off in a cab downstairs, and stood under an umbrella in the rain to hail a cab and carry my luggage for me.

Plus a surprise good luck card on my first day at work!

-insert big grin-


Okay, enough about the mushy things.

Now more on my first stop - Melbourne, Australia!

This was view from my hotel room. Apparently my friend had an ever better view!




Night view. I like how brightly lit the outside is. I don't know, it just gives me a sense of comfort that the city isn't dead.



Here are some pictures I took while we went out the next day. Pretty scenic pictures because Melbourne is full of interesting, beautiful architecture!

I am so in love with the architecture, really. It's a nice blend of vintage historical feel with the modernity of the city. And I love how nice the pace of the traffic is (both car and human). It's just nice, not too rushed and a tad laid-back.












I was walking around and admiring the beauty of the surroundings and then I saw this on the road.

2 horses! 2 white gorgeous horses with a carriage! On a road in broad daylight.
Now where can you find this? Certainly not on the streets in Singapore.



I looked good and hard.
No prince charming in sight. So I moved on.
keke

Oh, this is taken in front of what I believe to be, Victoria Library. I didn't get a chance to go inside but I'm sure it's a library because I looked at the sign.

What are these birds, pigeons? Pardon me for my ignorance on birds, I really have no idea.

But they certainly remind me of scenes from western films, where people just sat in the park and feeding birds like these. The birds will just come flocking around them and sitting on their shoulders.

So this was a scene in the movies that came true for me.



That's me with my perfect mentor, Krystal!


We had Risotto and I-forgot-what's-the-other-one for lunch in one of the cafes in an alley. It was such a nice place even though it was in the alley. The alley had like a stretch of cafes and every single one of it was filled with people!
On a weekday lunch?!
Kristal told me this was where the Aussies have their lunch at during the lunch break.
And I was so amazed by how un-rushed they were. Nobody was gulping down their food and had time for steaks, chops and chats over coffee.



I also had the first Churros of my life.


After that, we made our way back to the hotel for a quick nap before reporting for work.

I took this picture when Jolene and Krystal were getting their ice-creams.


So I didn't get my ice-cream because I was still suffering from cramps.
The security guard at our hotel casino surprised me why asking me where was my ice-cream when we walked by.
I was surprised by his comment because I didn't expect him to talk to me at all so I answered awkwardly that I didn't want one.

Ok, my point really is... The friendliness of the Australians! Even the cashier at the supermarket greets and talk to you when you are fishing your purse for coins to pay for your grocery.

This is something we don't have and I certainly hope we can cultivate one fine day on this sunny island.

Okay, that's all for Melbourne, my first noob stop for my world tour. :D

More to come, so stay tuned!

I hope I can be dedicated to writing though.

So I found myself a job.

My first full time job, a step into the real world upon graduation. I remember pondering over my future as I was wrote my final year paper. The more I wrote, the more it came to me that I truly detested what I was doing. It was painful because I knew I loved literature. I loved reading and appreciating fine works by talented writers but it's different when you are thrown into a system (commonly known as the SG education system) and you know the toughest survives. The rest just float in dead waters. And it's precisely the fact that the country is so wrapped up with elitism and its warped sense of what elitism comprises, that made me decide I wanted something out of this country.

I looked at teaching overseas because that will mean that I get to go away and live elsewhere, and still put my major to good use. And then I realised that the only place that's affordable and still attractive to me is Korea. And Korea doesn't recognise Singapore as a native english-speaking country. WHUTTTTTT. Which means even if they do employ me, they can only employ me as teaching assistants while the Americans and the Europeans (mostly whose english isn't even their first language) will be the main teachers.

Poof. There goes the plan.

And I'm glad because here I am, with a job that brings me around the world, a different place a week, with lovely awesome hotels and meal allowances covered for. The bargain is, I work my ass off on the way there and back. Other than that, it's all good. I'm given ample rest, more than enough actually. I don't bring work home. I bring my camera around and snap snap snap. Even if I'm alone.

Another downside is that it's a job with an unpredictable schedule, which makes it hard for you to hang out with friends or arrange something. It's mostly private time, one room to yourself while overseas, or home alone on a lazy weekday. It can be good or bad I guess. For me, it's good and bad. It depends.


But one thing is,
I hate reporting for work at unearthly hours.

Okay, that's all I have.
Watch this space for my travel updates!

I am thankful for each and every friend that makes the effort to care and show their concern for me. These two weeks has been a really good time for me to catch up with friends and happenings in their lives since I've learnt that I would be starting work really soon. As time goes by and everyone moves on to different paths in life, it really takes the extra effort for people to maintain relationships.

Often, time passes by and things or people change. Sometimes you look back at some memory and reminisce the good times once shared. Sometimes, you smile, sometimes you feel sorry for the way things turned out. I don't quite know how to deal with this because it pains me when a relationship goes wrong but maybe, just maybe, it might be better to drop it and leave it the way it is. Afterall, the damage's done. How much are we willing to retract and face the broken pieces? Much less pick them up?

I am. I really am. But I can't do this by myself.

I don't know if it's a weakness or a strength, that I am so attached to relationships and emotions. It is hard for me to practise PR when it's only human to judge and value things and people differently. I wonder at people who have such great PR skills that everything and everyone seems to be of equal importance to them. It is an amazing ability and I do envy them for that. But sometimes I can't help but wonder if they really are sincere. But then again, I guess sincerity can't be faked and is most definitely easily felt.

These days, I try to be thankful for what I have and try to view things in my life as blessings. As the saying goes, Is your cup half full or half empty?, I try to take on a positive mindset with each brand new day. It's easy to feel sorry for yourself, but you could make it even easier by not doing so.

I'm thankful for a great deal of things in my life right now. :)

I remember browsing through the lit section in the school bookshop for a book on my final paper and I went through shelf after shelf of books, finding the title of each book so familiar. I then realise the extent of books I've read over the course of my 4 year course... Strange how I've always tried to recollect a good read but my mind goes to a blank and all I can think of is Harry Potter, but as I walked down the aisle looking at the lit texts, each one of them comes flashing back to my mind rather vividly. I feel a certain nostalgia for these texts, a sense of familiarity... but at the same time, a sense of pity for I really enjoyed reading these texts but I wished I read them for the sake of reading and not for the sake of examinations.

This is the love-hate relationship of being a student I guess. I'm thankful for the oppurtunity to study my area of interest more deeply, and I wouldn't have changed a different subject if I were to make my choice again. But the nature of Singapore's educational system has greatly murdered my passion for studies. I feel as I'm being forced to read and do my assignments in the way that would help me score the best, as opposed to genuinely studying and learning things. I know it's probably the same everywhere else, but this elitist state of thinking is not doing everyone good. There are other ways to excel for a person besides academics, and sadly, none of this can be appreciated in this state.. One can look up to you if you're rich, sure enough. But it isn't the same as being looked up to if you are smart.
But what really defines intelligence?

Pardon the deep thoughts about academic qualifications. I'm at a point when I've graduated and find myself at the crossroad, wondering which path to take. Failure at a couple of interviews is really nothing for a fresh grad right? Afterall, one's life can't always be smooth-sailing right? 

If you fall, you stand up and try again. If you fall again, stand up and try again. Yes, that's the way Miss Han! :) 

 

 

Celebrating 2 years of love with Mexican Food at Holland Village and a cake which proved we had no talents for artistic creation.








Mexican food was really delicious though! :D

Another birthday celebration, this time from the two best friends - Doris and potatoying!
It's funny how we all met each other at different stages in life but ended up as 3 good friends. I guess I'm really lucky to be have my 2 best friends meet each other randomly and still be able to come together to all become great buddies.

Thank you girls for everything. Everything that you've done for me. For all the years that we've been friends, you girls were always there. For tears, joy or laughter, you've always been there. I can't say more how much I appreciate the both of your presence in my life.

And as trying as life can be, I hope we will still remain this way for the rest of our lives. 

I may not have been the best friend for you guys, but I promise to be there anytime, anywhere for you girls, as long as you need me.