Wrapping Up

Back in Singapore for a long while now, the journey home was relatively uneventful, consisting of a 100 dkk taxi ride to the train station, 4.5 hour journey by train sitting next to someone with a severe case of OCD/paranoia/some psychiatric condition, dropping off my load of 3 bags weighing about 45 kg total at the airport without paying extra, having the plane to London delayed by more time than the transit window, getting my flight switched to Lufthansa instead, making the journey home via Frankfurt. Piece of cake.

As you may already know, the purpose of this blog was my exchange. And now that its done, the show's over so to speak.

Thanks for being a great audience.

How do you measure a year

D-day, H-hour.

In just a few hours I'll be having my room inspection and then its all systems go out of Aarhus.

Not really in the mood to reflect right now cos I'm exhausted from all the packing and cleaning. Oh yeah, and the amount of waste I generate is astonishing.

So a year has gone by. And some people measure it by the skills attained, relationships formed, job promotion.. the tangible stuff. As for me, I honestly do not know what I have to show for the past year, probably nothing significant to the outside world. Yet I know deep inside me that this entire exchange experience has probably transform my life for good.

It all sounds like hogwash, I know. And I shall end on that note.

See you people in Singapore soon. And to all my fellow friends from exchange, thanks so much, it was a very excellent ride :)

Breaking Up

Breaking up with her is that much harder when she looks this good.

I always imagined that I could be perfectly chill, calm and at most slightly wistful in the last few days of our relationship. Instead I seek to distance myself from her, to harden my heart, and to focus on her miserable points. How unbecoming.

Obviously I knew this time would come. But still, I ought to pause and reflect on this for a while, since our fates were after all, intertwined for over ten months. Admittedly I was often unfaithful, choosing to have flings with other exotic places. Yet I always felt safe when I returned, and she always welcomed me back.

Of course there are negative aspects to her - frequently cold, high maintenance, sometimes emotionally unavailable. But in that way she helped me to grow stronger and more independent. I shall not blame her for being an alcoholic, that I shall attribute to my lack of willpower.

And so it is, Aarhus, or in your language Århus, that we must move on, without each other. I shall forever remember you, but for my sake and sanity, please do not call or write to me, and I in turn will reciprocate this kindness.

Perhaps, as a fitting closure, the burning of notes:



All good things come to an end!

The Final Trip

And so the final trip on exchange was to be Marrakech, Morocco. It was just a total different feel - the houses made of clay, sahara desert, tiny windy streets, cuisine of tajines and couscous comprising a lot of vegetables, stew, grilled meat.

Jemaa el Fna square, orange juice at 3 dirham a pop, dozens of stalls selling identical cuisine and produce. Its too bad I didnt get to try the goat's head.




Bulk of the time was spent on a 3D2N tour to the Sahara Desert with really fun travellers. Oh and there was a cameraman on board too, cos his boss Hassan wants to make a promotional video of the desert tour. Haha if only I could see the final product. Let me know if any of you stay in one of Hassan's Riads and get to see the video.




LJ holding a Highland Rose.




House where they filmed a scene in Gladiator. There was also a poster of Drogba in there somewhere which is quite retarded and seem all the more touristed.




One of the many "panoramic" views of the Atlas mountains we got en route. The guide kept using the word to describe every view until we started to mimic him.



Viewpoint from an outlook. Think it was at the top of the Casbah after climbing past the gladiator house.



Valley of Human Bodies along the Dades gorge.



And our painful bumpy ride on the dromedary. We were so excited when we first saw the camel but the next day when we had to ride it back, everyone was kind of dreading it and wishing we had a jeep or something more comfy.



Night in the desert with music and campfire. Felt like being in a field camp all over again, but with sand getting in my face throughout the night.


I'm actually a lot more excited than I seem to be about the trip. Just that right now I'm in the final few days of my time on exchange and the waves of sadness is seeping in. Not that I do not want to return to Singapore, but the magic of travelling and being on exchange is something else, something I will miss dearly.

Updates and whatnot

3 weeks of exams over, happy to report that I passed everything, although not getting mad grades like Khelvin (spoil market!).

Decided to host a dinner party together with Nunthiya, partly as a reciprocal obligation of our clandestine group known as The Food Club (Madklubben?!). Yea it involves forcing down strange concoctions of food down other people's mouth and seeing when they'll give up and cry for help. Ok no seriously, I am thankful for this Food Club group cos of all the great people in it, and as a born-and-bred Singaporean, the best way of cultural exchange is of course food. Although sadly I was not around often enough to attend every dinner.

So off we went to do grocery shopping for our meal that evening... Prior to that I had to lug my huge sack of stuff (rice cooker, sauce, meat, more sauce, mixes) over to her place. Great success!




Bazaar Vest! Came here to grab fruits and vegetables, ended up buying some junk like nuts as well. I think I would honestly come here a lot more often if it wasn't that inconvenient. The prices are way better, the stuff is fresh, and the atmosphere of the market is just great.



Haha the selection of water pipes were great too.



Nunthiya posing with... i dunno, something. Note her attire - thats how warm it is around here. im wearing more because at night it gets cold again.

All right there is a lack of photos regarding the food so I'll just say what it is we cooked up:

Dumpling soup with seaweed, vegetables, mushrooms
Chicken rice with cucumber, eggs, tomatoes
Stir fried vegetables

And finally, chocolate fondue provided by Pieter!



End result - EVERYTHING got eaten. I am quite pleased that it turned out so well, but a bit angry for not churning out more rice / chicken / vegetables. We were just quite worried that everybody would give up eating ala fear factor.

It was crazy tiring bustling about in the kitchen but in the end its just worth it. This has been our market research and now that it seems a success, I guess its time to start thinking about opening a restaurant in Europe, eh. And not those crappy chinese nonsense with sweet sour sauce either.

Oh yea some of us ended up watching Borat after the meal with a shot of Absinthe. To anyone who cares, I think I found a minor contradiction within the show. I've actually watched it quite a few times :|

Ho well. Tomorrow I leave for Morocco.. just Marrakesh. To all the folks back home, see ya real soon. To all the folks right here, hope to see you all again before I leave!

The Cravings

Things to do when I'm back:

1) Eat all that is tasty

2) Lose weight

... that can't be right


Just as an additional footnote to anyone who cares, my sg number has been suspended/not used from August last year. So if I did not reply your sms it is not because I dont love you. But I'll be back to reclaim my number so dont delete it just yet

Student House - Where It All Began

Going to the Student House on your own is both a joy and a dread. Its a joy when you see lots of familiar faces and people you can catch up with; its pure crap when no one you know is around. And the sheer anticipation of not knowing what you'll get.. priceless. I dare say I'm not the only one with such a state of mind (cant remember the word i was looking for) which explains why people start going there later and later as the semester goes by.

So anyway I was there last night for the Farewell Party, lured by promises of free food. Food in the cultural context means hot dogs and potatoes, in many ways Denmark is not too far off from Germany. And while thankfully there were a few people I knew, more than half of the people there were unfamiliars. Or, Semester 2 people. It's a bit like JC days where the people who were together for the "first three months" did not readily integrate the "2nd intakers". In this case, said Semester 2 people (hereafter S2P) had formed their own groups, cliques, bunch and were quite settled. Me on the other hand, most of those I knew from the previous semester were either home, or had outgrown the childish idea of meeting in the student bar on Tuesdays.

Sure enough Student House was where the socialising began, since there was an (almost) infinite amount of beer to satisfy everyone. At the beginning when groups had not formed, and people were all cheery and excited at this magical realm of exchange, it was wonderful. And I'm happy for the S2P who had it too.

And as much as it would be great to know more people from all over the world with the simple step of saying hi, I guess it seemed sort of meaningless to say Pleased to meet you and farewell in the same evening (one night stands excluded).

So there. Thanks for the memories Student House, you were a great place with the right company.

Meaning

Dreaded exams are here.

In some way I guess the meaning of exchange would be lost if I did not have to study or have to pass any exams. Yes I know some people who have to do neither, either cos they're here just to write a thesis (i.e. do it at your own pace), or they have no credit transfer whatsoever.

But yes the end of exams would seriously mark the end of exchange for me for my actual work here would be done. Right now I'm just seriously feeling the pressure of reading a ton of backlog and memorising chunks and chunks.

Help!

Scenic Ireland

This trip was by far the best I've had in terms of coastal scenery, mostly the Glens of Antrim in the North (near Belfast), and Glendalough / Wicklow Mountains in the East. If I ever do go back, please remind me to rent a car and go crazy.





Spanning a chasm some eighty feet deep is the famous Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, it's construction once consisted of a single rope hand rail and widely spaced slats which the fishermen would traverse across with salmon caught off the island... The area is exceptional in is natural beauty, to the left as you come down the steep hill is Larrybane headland which once stretched out towards Sheep Island and had a promontory fort on the top dating to 800AD, underneath large caves once served as home to boat builders and a safe resting place from winter storms.

- http://www.northantrim.com/carrick_a_rede.htm




At the Giant's Causeway

The coastal scenery adjacent to the causeway is some of the most beautiful and awe inspiring that you are likely to find anywhere. The majestic cliffs and inaccessible bays combine with myth and legend to inspire, but look carefully amongst this breathtaking landscape and you will find echoes of another reality, isolated ruins, kelp walls and shoreline fields bear testament to the harder life of subsistence farming and fishing endured by past generations.

- http://www.northantrim.com/causeway.htm





Behind me was a location which was used in the filming of Braveheart. Our tour guide (cheeky Irish man) entrusted a bottle of Jameson's Whiskey to Liz to pour for the rest of us weary travellers. Needless to say, it served as a nice social lubricant. Very beautiful scenery.

Glen-da-lough, Irish for Glen of two lakes.

Round Tower, standing 110 feet, standing strong and erect since the 7th century. Apparently many people come here to be inspired by it.







Only thing I knew about Glendalough before this was because of the Viking Ship Sea Stallion of Glendalough, which made the journey from Roskilde (in Denmark, one of my super early posts) to Dublin, where it is exhibited at the National Museum of Dublin currently. I do think it would be an experience of a lifetime to have been part of the historical voyage.

Ireland is truly a wonderful place to visit for its sheer amount of natural beauty. I just can't really put it down in words, the whole experience being magnificent, and knowing that this would forever be embedded in me.

Days of Sunshine

Plenty of daylight and sunshine these few days in Aarhus, essentially a rare occurance. And its not the super humid, omg get me into an air con room type of heat ala Singapore. Seems like everyone decided to move their activities outdoors - lay down a sleeping bag, take their top off, read a book, take a nap etc.

Unfortunately, Aarhus seems colder than ever to me.

Maybe its the super long romantic holiday with a loved one that lifted my spirits up high, and now that she's gone, my mood has dived to a new low.

Maybe its the fact that after nearly 9 months away from home, I just want to get my exams over and done with and be on the plane home but my last exam had to be as late as 27th June.

And finally just maybe, that despite being in Aarhus for some time now, I still feel like a foreigner in a foreign land, unable to appreciate that sunshine means prancing about outdoors.

For now, the flickers of sunshine in my heart is kept there by memories and photos.

A Sad Moment

Kyle Lee Wei Chiat

Departed: 19th April 2008, 1435 hrs

Age: 22

Will be missed by the brothers in Europe

SAFE TRIP DUDE!!!

Memory Lane

I think I was supposed to have seen this thing before many many years ago but I'M SORRY MOM AND DAD I don't remember it. All I remember from that Europe tour was sitting in a coach all day, eating in chinese restaurants every night, popping out once a while to take a photo and go to the gift shop. But of course I'm eternally grateful that you chose to bring little ol me along on the family vacation and put up with my whining and restlessness, and the fact that many years later I'll return to the same spot and not remember anything :D



The flagship LV store is soooooooo nice. It's like walking in some posh palace / throne room inside. Can't take any photos otherwise security would have manhandled me.

Contrary to popular belief, the French people I met were not particularly snobbish or unhelpful just because I could not speak French. But still, a part of me wished I knew the language.

Time Extension...

It's crazy how time passes so quickly on exchange, and in less than 3 months I will be back in Singapore.

In between now and then I still need to pass some exams, book the plane ticket home and see some places with some people.

But first it is time to enjoy Barcelona :)))

Band of Brothers

Present this photo and get a 50% discount on Tris' service. Which works out to about 10 baht. Hur hur.

Felt really nice chillin in Amsterdam with the guys and gals from Utrecht. The surrealness of it can just, sadly, never be replicated in Singapore.

Snowfall

Been snowing in dribs and drabs here lately, and its quite hard to feel warm and fuzzy like they seem to do in movies when I'm actually shivering inside with no desire to leave the warm shelter my room.

Maybe I'll take some nice pictures of the University Lake tomorrow when I'm actually forced to go out for class.

Edit: View from the outside. Open door straight up is my room/apartment/lejlighed.

Hamburg = Reeperbahn?!

Reeperbahn being the Red Light District of Hamburg, one nice S-train stop away from our hostel.

From my German friend Dirk: You can have a whopper at Burger King and at the same time take a look out of the window and see hookers at work contacting every passerby. How cool is that?

More on that later. I made a short trip to Hamburg to join up with Longjin, Khelvin and Weihan for a few days. After checking out the hostel and not finding them, I went out to sightsee on my own. It's straight out of Lonely Planet, but hey, I have PHOTOS!

St Pauli Fischmarkt. But no real fish market since I was there on a weekday. According to Dirk, they fence off their lousier grade fish to drunks who were out all night and on their way home. I guess they deserve to wake up to a crappy fish to remind them that drinking is bad (yes this is hypocritical).

Rathus (Town Hall)



St Michael's Church

Kiao ka tua lam pa

Me and Dirk. I look damn gross in the photo - thanks to a whole day of junk food (KFC CRISPY CHICKEN), beer and cola.

We checked out the DOM Fun Fair on our first night after an uneventful walk down Reeperbahn. Left our cameras behind because we probably thought we were gonna get mugged or something. Food tents, roller coasters, games tents - we combed the whole area and ate all sorts of stuff like curry wurst, candy apples and steak. Amusement parks are just great fun.

THOSE UNDER 18 PLEASE DO NOT READ FURTHER.

Righto.. What to expect at Reeperbahn? Pimp daddies along Reeperbahn luring you to enter the live sex shows, hookers grabbing your jacket if you're a single male walking along their territory looking remotely interested. On the 2nd night Dirk showed us a small alley which had more high class hookers wearing lingerie sitting behind windows. Feel free to knock on the windows and have a nice chat with them. We agreed that the girls did look quite fine and could speak decent English, plus they had a certain level of class and charm (what I would call X-factor) about them. I guess this Window thing operates on a much larger scale in Amsterdam, but people told me the quality control in Amsterdam just isn't there :P

Estonia! Okay Just Tallinn

This post is dedicated to Larry Leong Bingxun

After getting back to Stockholm from Uppsala, slack for a bit, we packed for our trip to ESTONIA! On board a Tax-Free Cruise Ship no less, not unlike Superstar Virgo/Gemini/whatever of Star Cruise Singapore.

Khel's friend came to pick us up and we basically crashed at his place for the few days we were there. He goes by the name of Wayne in some circles...

We got to enjoy a traditional estonian sauna at his place while we were there, after watching Arsenal thump AC Milan.

Step 1: Get naked

Step 2: Proceed into sauna room with cold beer and towel

Step 3: Start pouring water onto hot coals to get on with it

Step 4: Sit tight, talk shit, chug beer

Step 5: When sitting tight is no longer an option, dash out of sauna room with your new best friends, burst through the front door and start rolling about in the snow outside

Step 6: Get back in for more pain and pleasure



I told Larry that the girls in Estonia were more beautiful than the ones in Sweden, to which he replied that he knew not of any Estonian supermodel.

So here's a lovely photo of Carmen Kass, recommended by Lonely Planet, courtesy of whichever website I 'borrowed' it off.



Raekoja Plats (Town Hall Square). As you wander around, you can't help but notice that the old historic buildings are being converted into swanky restaurants, designer shops, cafes .. and it's all quite jarring sometimes, especially when taking a photo. But I suppose it breathes new life into the buildings, giving them a purpose, fueling the economy.

Let's play Tower Defense!

Good view from Toompea. I just love such areas where you can have a good view below. We also tried throwing snowballs down at passer-bys but we kept missing :(



Kyle and the Great Coast Gate. Contrast, I say.

It was a very great trip, although I fell a little ill at the end of it (could definitely be the hazardous sauna experience). Have to thank my two great friends for persuading me to stay longer, which I was very hesitant to. And of course they made the trip really enjoyable.