I thought this trip was all about sightseeing. The usual attractions that you will get in any other city... cathedrals, museums, observatory points. But instead... we went to the beach!!
The weather today was amazing!! Around 28 degrees or so. Everyone in town was excited cuz they get to go to the beach... suntan, relax and enjoy the views & company!! That was pretty much the talk of the town... "are you going to the beach tomorrow?"
I originally was looking forward to sneaking away and take a train to Amsterdam to check the city instead. But I felt bad for leaving them when the whole point of this trip was to visit little Alex!! M did tell me that i would be wasting my time travelling back and forth. And I would only be able to spend 2-3 hours exploring and then having to rush back for dinner at night. So i decided to stay and just enjoyed what the beach had to offer.
M kept on raving about the beach... it is so amazing... different from a lot of beaches and he went on and on about it yesterday. So finally we got ready and headed for the beach. We could see a lot of people heading out too... the excitement was building up!!
When we arrived, I was so surprised at how long the beach is. It's located in Scheveingen. It had a massive pier, similar to the one in Brighton. The younger crowd hangs out on the right side of the pier. The left of the pier is more quiet, relaxed and catered for families. When the summer season starts, they would build restaurants along the beach with comfortable lounges. Everyone can go into any of these restaurants, order a drink and sit out in the sun or with shelter to enjoy the beautiful sunny day.
We went to the quiet side and sat in the shade for a few drinks. I also walked around the promendade to check out the annual sand sculptures... pretty cool designs!!
The weather was quite hot today... it made us all really tired and maybe also because we had a late night too ^^... I was dying to go back to the hotel for a quick nap... but it took us a while to have lunch and more drinks so by the time we went back to the hotel, I only had time to take a quick shower!!! crap!
Even though we didn't really do much on the beach but we all really enjoyed the day... something totally unexpected for all of us. The concept of building these restaurants for the summer break was really cool!! And the beach!! It was so long!!
After the beach session, we got ready and headed for dinner at Harbour Club. The seafood was really fresh but gosh, dinner was expensive. One of M's friend joined us for dinner and also brought a long 5 friends that we all didn't know. They sat on the other side of the table and we didn't talk to them at all. They ended up paying for their meal and just left... but by the time, we started to calculate how much we owed... the numbers just didn't seem right. Bread... water... service charge... and some had wine too!! We were totally disappointed. We originally wanted a small gathering so we could all mingle but... oh well, we paid the difference but was not happy at all!!
After dinner, we headed back out to the city center for some more drinks. I had a great time hanging out with the guys!! Everyone is in the Hague was so chilled... the atmosphere was good and it wasn't packed too!! Just perfect to end our last night in the Hague!
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
Day 44 - The Hague - Where is this place??
Can't believe that I'm going on another weekend trip today... I had just arrived back from my Easter trip a few days ago and now I'm back at the airport... flying to another country for the weekend. Seriously!! I have no clue what was going on in my mind at the time I was booking these flights... make the most of all my weekends this year? cheap flights? the friends I'm going with?
Oh well, I guess it is too late to back out now. Back to the airport today but this time its to City Airport. Never been to this airport before but coming from work... gosh, it is so convenient!! It is a small airport but the location is not bad. Too bad i don't live on the east side to take advantage of it.
We are going to Netherlands but not Amsterdam. Even though we fly into Amsterdam but the friend that we are visiting, lives in The Hague.
'The Hague'... ??? Where is this city? Have never heard of it... I quickly did a search on Wikitravel to see what this city is all about. The 3rd largest city in Netherlands. 1st - Amsterdam and 2nd - Rotterdam. It's situated on the west of Netherlands. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives and works in The Hague. All foreign embassies and government ministries are located in the city. It is one of the major cities of the UN.
We arrived in The Hague in the evening. The ride from the airport to the city only took half an hour or so. M came finished work and met us at the Central station. We quickly checked in into our hotel and then headed over to M's house to visit M's wife, P and the little kid, Alex!!
After our visit, we went out for dinner at a turkish restaurant and went bar hopping for some drinks. The weather was just about right, not too hot and not too cold. We stood outside for most of the time... the streets were quite small and narrow... one particular area we walked around reminded me of London... around Bond St (heading towards Green Park) The city had a nice relaxing feel to it. Everyone was quite laid back unlike London were things can seem to be so rushed and busy.
Before heading back to the hotel for the night, M wanted to take us to one last place that he highly recommends: "Crazy Pianos". They have amazing pianoists that perform live each night with the band and they can play anything from classical sing-alongs to crazy American rock and roll. People can write down any songs on a serviette and throw it up onto the stage and they will choose which songs to play. It's quite amazing cuz the pianoists are all ages and they know every song you can think of. Because it is live, they jam it up and change some of the lyrics around!! It's pretty cool. Everyone there are all different ages and the atmosphere is amazing cuz everyone is singing along, dancing and just having a good time!! We all got pretty tired by that time of the night (morning) so we headed by to our hotel... luckily it was only a 5 min walk back! Phew...
Oh well, I guess it is too late to back out now. Back to the airport today but this time its to City Airport. Never been to this airport before but coming from work... gosh, it is so convenient!! It is a small airport but the location is not bad. Too bad i don't live on the east side to take advantage of it.
We are going to Netherlands but not Amsterdam. Even though we fly into Amsterdam but the friend that we are visiting, lives in The Hague.
'The Hague'... ??? Where is this city? Have never heard of it... I quickly did a search on Wikitravel to see what this city is all about. The 3rd largest city in Netherlands. 1st - Amsterdam and 2nd - Rotterdam. It's situated on the west of Netherlands. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands lives and works in The Hague. All foreign embassies and government ministries are located in the city. It is one of the major cities of the UN.
We arrived in The Hague in the evening. The ride from the airport to the city only took half an hour or so. M came finished work and met us at the Central station. We quickly checked in into our hotel and then headed over to M's house to visit M's wife, P and the little kid, Alex!!
After our visit, we went out for dinner at a turkish restaurant and went bar hopping for some drinks. The weather was just about right, not too hot and not too cold. We stood outside for most of the time... the streets were quite small and narrow... one particular area we walked around reminded me of London... around Bond St (heading towards Green Park) The city had a nice relaxing feel to it. Everyone was quite laid back unlike London were things can seem to be so rushed and busy.
Before heading back to the hotel for the night, M wanted to take us to one last place that he highly recommends: "Crazy Pianos". They have amazing pianoists that perform live each night with the band and they can play anything from classical sing-alongs to crazy American rock and roll. People can write down any songs on a serviette and throw it up onto the stage and they will choose which songs to play. It's quite amazing cuz the pianoists are all ages and they know every song you can think of. Because it is live, they jam it up and change some of the lyrics around!! It's pretty cool. Everyone there are all different ages and the atmosphere is amazing cuz everyone is singing along, dancing and just having a good time!! We all got pretty tired by that time of the night (morning) so we headed by to our hotel... luckily it was only a 5 min walk back! Phew...
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Day 43 - Need to detox!!
Wow... now that the Easter holidays have gone... it's time to DETOX.
Man... can't believe we had like 8 consecutive days of buffet in the Canary Islands. Breakfast and dinner were included at our stay in Lanzarote and Tenerife. And pretty much every meal, i had like 2 plates of food, soup and ice cream (1 plate of meat and the other plate with just salad) each night!! So regretted eating that much each night... and all those scoops of ice cream... oh no!!
In a way, it was good to have buffet cuz a variety of fruits and salads were available... but then if you were hungry... you end up pigging out for the night!! Oops!!
Well, I'm hoping to settle back in to my normal daily routine. No more going out on week nights. Back to my favourite veggie soup with grilled salmon for dinner!! Hmmm yumm...
And time to focus back on exercise... yoga, pilates, bikram yoga, jogging & swimming... bring it on!!
Man... can't believe we had like 8 consecutive days of buffet in the Canary Islands. Breakfast and dinner were included at our stay in Lanzarote and Tenerife. And pretty much every meal, i had like 2 plates of food, soup and ice cream (1 plate of meat and the other plate with just salad) each night!! So regretted eating that much each night... and all those scoops of ice cream... oh no!!
In a way, it was good to have buffet cuz a variety of fruits and salads were available... but then if you were hungry... you end up pigging out for the night!! Oops!!
Well, I'm hoping to settle back in to my normal daily routine. No more going out on week nights. Back to my favourite veggie soup with grilled salmon for dinner!! Hmmm yumm...
And time to focus back on exercise... yoga, pilates, bikram yoga, jogging & swimming... bring it on!!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Day 42 - 1 Year Anniversary
4th May 2010. Cold. Gloomy weather.
I still remember very clearly the day I arrived in London. 2 suitcases, 1 Country Road Bag and one backpack. The minicab came to pick me up early in the morning and drove me directly to my house... ringing the No.10 doorbell... waking everyone up... everyone giving me their quick introduction and by 8am, everyone disappeared to go to work.
At that moment in my bedroom... so big and empty... I suddenly felt so scared and lost. What am I doing here? What did I get myself into? I'm finally in London!! Are you serious? What do I need to do next?
Wow... those were clearly my thoughts on the first day I arrived. And now, 1 year has passed. It's been an amazing journey so far. I've done so much... travelling, clubbing, watch free movies, watch musicals, high tea, fine dining, yatching... and more.
I'm feel very blessed to have this opportunity to come over. I've met so many new friends. I've now experienced what its like to live by myself and to be more independent. I know these opportunities don't come often so I'm gonna try to make the most out of this time in London.
There's still so much I need to do... so the Superwoman in me will continue to stay strong and active. Fighting!! Summer holidays here I come!!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Day 41 - Malaga
Finally the last day in Malaga. Just me and JLai.
Once again... we didn't feel like doing too much sightseeing... D&M suggested that we check out the Moorish castles. So we slept in a bit and headed out for breakfast.
- Castillo de Gibralfaro
It was a killer trying to hike the mountain to get to this castle. We didn't imagine the day to be so hot. I wore so many layers thinking that the day was gonna be cold and also the fact that my luggage was gonna be full... the hike took a while for me cuz i couldn't stop sweating but it was worth it. The views from the top was amazing... the weather was just perfect... so glad we decided to come!!
To end our time in Malaga, we did some shopping and then headed to the airport by bus...
Overall, this Easter trip has been awesome... the views, the food, the company... it was great that we got a chance to do a bit of everything. Some sightseeing, sleeping in, suntanning, swimming, road trip, island hopping, playing Big 2, the consecutive days of half board, a game of Bingo, Dat's amazing performance and all the fresh seafood is available!! Definitely a trip worth remembering!!
Canary Islands - COMPLETE!!
Once again... we didn't feel like doing too much sightseeing... D&M suggested that we check out the Moorish castles. So we slept in a bit and headed out for breakfast.
- Castillo de Gibralfaro
It was a killer trying to hike the mountain to get to this castle. We didn't imagine the day to be so hot. I wore so many layers thinking that the day was gonna be cold and also the fact that my luggage was gonna be full... the hike took a while for me cuz i couldn't stop sweating but it was worth it. The views from the top was amazing... the weather was just perfect... so glad we decided to come!!
To end our time in Malaga, we did some shopping and then headed to the airport by bus...
Overall, this Easter trip has been awesome... the views, the food, the company... it was great that we got a chance to do a bit of everything. Some sightseeing, sleeping in, suntanning, swimming, road trip, island hopping, playing Big 2, the consecutive days of half board, a game of Bingo, Dat's amazing performance and all the fresh seafood is available!! Definitely a trip worth remembering!!
Canary Islands - COMPLETE!!
Monday, May 2, 2011
Day 40 - Ronda
The next town: Ronda
Didn't do a lot... I think we all were kinda over travelling around but we still tried to cover the main attractions. Plus weather wasn't looking too good...
- Took some photos of the scenery & the bull
Headed over to the Bull Ring - Plaza de toros de Ronda (the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain) and took some photos from the lookout point... the views were just amazing!!
- Lunch
We went back to the same restaurant for lunch... hehe... food was so so.
- Puente Nuevo
Is the newest and largest of three bridges that span the 120-metre (390 ft)-deep chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides Ronda. We walked down a pathway to lead us to a viewpoint so we could take a full length photo of the gorge. While we were standing there, we saw people jumping off the edge into the river below... looks so scary man!!
As we were walking back to the main street... it started to rain again!! This time around, everyone except for me was prepared with their waterproof jacket. My jacket got wet again... gotta make sure i bring a raincoat for all further trips!!
We drove back to Malaga as JLai and I were staying in town for another night and D&M were gonna drive the car back to the airport to fly back in London...
Wow... Can't believe the trip is coming to an end... 13 day holiday... it's been a long time!!
- Played for the last time Big 2 with Mary & Dat before flying back to London
Didn't do a lot... I think we all were kinda over travelling around but we still tried to cover the main attractions. Plus weather wasn't looking too good...
- Took some photos of the scenery & the bull
Headed over to the Bull Ring - Plaza de toros de Ronda (the oldest bullfighting ring in Spain) and took some photos from the lookout point... the views were just amazing!!
- Lunch
We went back to the same restaurant for lunch... hehe... food was so so.
- Puente Nuevo
Is the newest and largest of three bridges that span the 120-metre (390 ft)-deep chasm that carries the Guadalevín River and divides Ronda. We walked down a pathway to lead us to a viewpoint so we could take a full length photo of the gorge. While we were standing there, we saw people jumping off the edge into the river below... looks so scary man!!
As we were walking back to the main street... it started to rain again!! This time around, everyone except for me was prepared with their waterproof jacket. My jacket got wet again... gotta make sure i bring a raincoat for all further trips!!
We drove back to Malaga as JLai and I were staying in town for another night and D&M were gonna drive the car back to the airport to fly back in London...
Wow... Can't believe the trip is coming to an end... 13 day holiday... it's been a long time!!
- Played for the last time Big 2 with Mary & Dat before flying back to London
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Day 39 - Amazing Race in Granada
Today, we checked out of our hotel and headed towards Granada to visit Alhambra. We had to pre-order the tickets to see the Nasrid Palaces. Because we were visting the palace during the long weekend, all the tickets were sold out. The only way we could possibly get tickets is to buy a 3-day city pass. I ordered the city passes online but we had to go to one of the branches to pick it up. I didn't realise that the audio kiosk was one of the options... if i had known then we wouldn't have to waste our time going to the Science Park. We got to the Science Park and found it really strange that there were no one there. The security guard then told us that today is a public holiday... damm. I was gonna give up but luckily we decided to check it out and see what we could do when we go there, if not we would have wasted our city pass which was 27 euros!!
We ended up rushing from the car park to the city center information center to the audio kiosk to Alhambra to the ticket office (which was located on the opposite side of park) and then back to the other side of the park to enter into the palace. I didn't drink any water that morning so having to run all the way up the slope in Alhambra was so tiring!! Plus i was busting to go to the toilet!! Ahh!! It felt like we were on Amazing Race!! So crazy but I'm glad we made it!!
It was amazing to see the exquisite design of the arabesques but I wasn't wowed about the palaces cuz the building is really old. Very different to walking in the Buckingham Palace. And so while we were browsing around... it started pouring!!
JLai was the clever one that brought her raincoat. Everyone else including me got totally soaked wet... luckily i brought an extra scarf so i could cover my camera up... but seriously things got really wet. D & M's pants had so much mud at the back of her pants... hilarious!!
We all couldn't wait to get back to the car and change... such a relief!!
We then left Granada and headed towards Rhonda. We arrived in the evening and successfully checked in to our hotel. It's been such a long day, we just wanted to chill out and relax. We went to Casa Ortega suggested by our hotel ppl and went for a mixed tapas dish and sangria... such a nice way to end of the day!!
We ended up rushing from the car park to the city center information center to the audio kiosk to Alhambra to the ticket office (which was located on the opposite side of park) and then back to the other side of the park to enter into the palace. I didn't drink any water that morning so having to run all the way up the slope in Alhambra was so tiring!! Plus i was busting to go to the toilet!! Ahh!! It felt like we were on Amazing Race!! So crazy but I'm glad we made it!!
It was amazing to see the exquisite design of the arabesques but I wasn't wowed about the palaces cuz the building is really old. Very different to walking in the Buckingham Palace. And so while we were browsing around... it started pouring!!
JLai was the clever one that brought her raincoat. Everyone else including me got totally soaked wet... luckily i brought an extra scarf so i could cover my camera up... but seriously things got really wet. D & M's pants had so much mud at the back of her pants... hilarious!!
We all couldn't wait to get back to the car and change... such a relief!!
We then left Granada and headed towards Rhonda. We arrived in the evening and successfully checked in to our hotel. It's been such a long day, we just wanted to chill out and relax. We went to Casa Ortega suggested by our hotel ppl and went for a mixed tapas dish and sangria... such a nice way to end of the day!!
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