9th December 2011

7:15am I was woken up by my iPhone alarm of "Hello" and kept snoozing till 7:30. Got up and got ready for a buffet breakfast, at the same place I had my 'late dinner' the night before. The restaurant was almost packed, that I had to find any spot to sit for breakfast. I had a bowl of coco-pop style cereal and then had noodles, scrambled eggs, pancake drizzled with maple syrup. My second round was a banana, apricots, grapes, rumbutan (similar taste to lychee on the inside, except it's exterior is spiky) and a croissant and a drink of very sweet Grape juice. During breakfast seeing the view of the harbour it started to snow. Making it feel all 'Christmassy' was Christmas music playing….such a festive season feel :D.

Now being all so touristy, just couldn't' resist taking photos. Afterwards went up to my room to finalise my packing before checking out and waiting for the bus to Incheon Airport.

While waiting, had some time to kill with going on the internet and then went outside..um 4degrees celsius! Cold much? Didn't stay too long and ended up going back inside. 10:30am bus arrived. A 30min drive from Harbor Park Hotel to Incheon and I had 2 hours to spare before my flight. Duty Free much?

Ventured to the Alcohol & Tobacco section and brought some Camel Cigarettes for Rémy and then I went to the Chanel store. Of course it was pricey (not going to mention how much it was) but I just had to get something from there…however that store (and every other designer store) are so posh in packing your items in their respective bags…and even the receipt is packed neatly in it's 'docket envelope' It's not the stuff-it-in-a-bag no, no. Okays lets just say its just über posh!

I was feeling rather peckish had KFC for lunch. Was contemplating on traditional Korean food, however I'll be getting it in the plane so KFC won over. Tasty and then headed back downstairs for more Duty Free. One hour before my flight went to buy some O.P.I nail polish and then went to the free internet to have my quick dose of Facebook and then boarding my flight at 13:30.

Another delay because of traffic. See I told you not just bad traffic in Brisbane, but also traffic at the airport tarmac. Finally jetted off.

The usual safety protocols and lucky for me listened to it 3 times in different language - Korean, English and then French. However during the safety procedure, it seems the French version was quick while the English was long. Strange.

I am glad I have my own headphones with thanks to Dr.Dre Beatport ones :D Even the guy next to me was asking the cabin crew why he didn't have headphones and I can see the cabin crew tell him that they will hand out the head phones and that some people have their own headphones (probably in Korean, yet I just sussed out what she was saying!)

Organised 'My Music' on my entertainment system from Mariah Carey, Chris Brown, Alicia Keys, Ricky Martin to J-pop and dance. Tunes to make me dance while sitting down.

Trying to kill time I think I will either watch a movie, listen to more music and catch up on some ZZZzzzz. An eleven hour flight from Incheon - Paris, I'd probably get a pressure injury so it's time to do a pressure area care and some leg exercises and deep breathing exercise..Oo one of the perks of being a Nurse know what to do to help stop pressure injury…..XD

I find myself sitting bolt up-right and I see the cabin crew serving lunch…MMM now I wait till I get served.

Lunch time.

A bientôt.

Leaving Brisbane again....

I am sleep deprived. I have packed in the last minute..packing..unpacking, getting distracted then realise "oh shit I better keep packing…" Eventually I finally finished packing at 3am on the 8th of December. I had only 2hours sleep then it was back to Brisbane International Airport.

I felt a bit bummed because it felt rushed saying 'Goodbye' to my family, and prior to that it was a peak hour for passengers checking-in to their respective flights..and I was caught in a busy one as well. Oh well, that's the airport for you.

Never got the chance to go around at the duty free things after customs, yet managed to get an Australian flag tattoo for Australia Day. Boarded at Gate 81 KE124 Korean Air. A 9 hour and 45min flight from Brisbane to Incheon Airport. There was a 20min delay due to the plane in a 'queue..' See even airplanes are also caught in traffic!

The 9 hour flight was okay..I was aiming to sleep right through, but funnily enough I would suddenly wake up in time for food. Yup for food..no wake up due to the smell, but I think somewhere in my brain there is a little 'wake up for food' hidden in there so I wake up! First meal was chicken with vegetables and noodles and then the second meal was Korean bibimap food, which was yum. I did manage to sleep for at least 3hours and then in between watched The Lion King…ahh memories…How much the ' Lion King' is one of my favourite Disney movie and I admit I was teary. Then I watched 'Crazy.Stupid.Love' Damn! Ryan Gosling is hot in the movie.

My gosh it was very cold..0 degrees celsius..a wake up call for me that I ain't in the southern hemisphere LOL!

Touched down in Incheon round 17:55hours, headed to immigrations then to the Korean Air hotel transit section. Got my little sticker, food vouchers and the form for my layover stay in "Harbor Park Hotel." A 30minute bus ride out of Incheon Airport.

Further than the last time I was here in Incheon. As last time it was at the Korean AIr Hyatt Hotel which was a 10min drive.

Very nice with a nice evening view of the Harbour. On the 9th floor and seeing my window is the harbour view..not that you can see much during the night, but still looked pretty. My room is nice. Two beds and the bathroom a nice heated toilet seat..I am still to chicken to try the 'wash your bum' option. When I went past the TV, it automatically turned on to "Welcome to Harbor Park Hotel." That was pretty cool.

Still felt sleepy so set my alarm on at 20:15 so not to miss out on complimentary dinner courtesy of Korean Air…….Ended up getting up at 20:52 and went up to level 15 for the buffet dinner. The staff member said to me "you're very late..you have 10mins before it closed." Phew lucky she let me stuff my mouth with food..satisfied. The view too at the restaurant was wonderful as well. Afterwards went to the lobby to print out my itinerary for my hotel in Paris..and now in my room watching Donna Hay cooking, while just hearing the Australian accent a Korean voice over is translating what she is saying…(god! Why is it that I end up watching a food show while overseas?)

Channel surfing from Korean news, to soap opera, anime from an American in a Thailand jail as he insulted the King and Queen of Thailand…tough law if you insult or do any form of offence in relation to the Royal family in Thailand…2 - 15 years in jail. Best to bite your tongue.

Time for me to have a shower, watch more korean shows before having a snooze and be ready for another long haul all the way to Paris…. And that my friends is where my adventure begins….

A bientôt.

Packing again

You would think that I would be an expert in packing, since I am always travelling almost every year, or month or week!.... Trust me I am an epic fail when it comes to packing for an overseas trip!

I have to really think thoroughly as to what to bring because I know I am able to buy some things overseas. However the other option is to pack and then mail some clothes back home, which may prove to be a bit costly (and smelly if it wasn't washed before it was packed up!)

I would pack a 'I might wear this.,' which eventually turns out to as a NEVER! and feeling like a douchebag, packing it in the first place.

I could bring an extra 'check-in bag,' as long as it abides by the weighing guidelines...the downfall too much bags! I want just the minimal one check-in and one carry-on luggage!

I am one of those people who choses a suitcase over backpack - the fact that I like a bit of a 'luxury' side of travelling. I am glad I have up-graded my suitcase a beloved Samsonite one with 360degree wheels..ooh nice nice...save my back.

I am looking across the hallway my scruffy looking suitcase..still opened with piles of clothes and bags..might as well add a cherry on top.... . Then again I have to look at it again over and over to the point I have OCD, making sure I have packed the correct things.

Time to re-do my packing again..and again...

D'oh can't get it right! RAHHHHHHHH

10

Ten is the number of years since Trevor and I have kept in contact. Through writing letters, e-mailing and social networking, we have finally met up. Back in the days when MSN Messenger had Chat, I don't remember what and how we started to chat; nevertheless we clicked and from there on we started to keep chatting and writing letters. Back when writing letters was 'cool,' I would be happy receiving a letter to Trevor and even a bonus when I got a souviner from Tennessee or wherever he travelled to, and I did the favour as well. Since social networking, e-mailing is quicker than 'snail-mail.' It was good to communicate in respects of our busy schedules.

We, of course kept saying to each other 'one day we will meet up...' And now it is the 'one day we meet up.' I am still pinching myself to this day that I have finally met up with a person I have only known through letter writing and cyberspace. It is thrilling and amazing to see someone face-to-face and not a computer screen monitor. Of course I would be one of the many other people out there who are in the same situation, but yes I'd like to share with you.

Perfect timing that he was in Hong Kong, studying while I decided to have a short break prior to my epic break in France next month. I was contemplating to travel either in Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne or Hong Kong, yet i realised that Trevor was in Hong Kong, and thinking it would be a good opportunity to catch up before he jet sets again back to the USA or Europe. A spur of a moment and bam! Booked a return to Hong Kong for a short break. Counting down the days/shifts left and then before finishing work, I just had to be a bitch and say that I'm going to Hong Kong. *Insert evil laugh*

A mixture of excitement, joy, realising it is finally happening and just jumping in my mind.
A big hug when we met and from there just talked and talked and talked. We spent the whole of Saturday wondering the districts in Kowloon and Hong Kong Island, window shopping, photo taking and strolling along the Avenue of the Stars. It was a hilarious and fun day.

The funny thing is since I am of asian descent. No matter where I go in Asia, the locals think I can speak their tongue so they start to talk to me, until I blurt out a 'thank you' or 'how much?' But what got locals heads turning is that Trevor, blonde hair, american speaking in Cantonese and Mandarine, but it was just fun seeing their confused face. It was just amazing how Trevor fluently spoke it and the also became my tourist guide and translator at things. We ate at a Vietnamese Restaurant and the table next to us was looking rather confused. Classic.

Trevor you crack me up. It was a cracker to see all the filipinos eyes light up and smiles bigger when you mentioned to them you wanted to make Turon. Made their day I think and so did mine, seeing you asking about where to get the rice paper to make Turon..Speaking about it how was it?

Another funny thing was we went to see Mr Wong, who manages a small restaurant closer to my hotel. Mr Wong was a character, apparently he drinks on the job at times but at the same time running the restaurant with his wife/other manager. He was saying to Mr Wong that we will be returning in the evening for beers and food.

Towards the evening, we went back to Mr Wong's small restaurant,which was almost packed. He found us a table and we sat just having our coke and then he tells Trev that he gets us an 'alcholic beverage.' We share and boy it was strong, ended up putting coke in it and ice, but still was strong. While we were there, Trevor caught up with a few of his friends from university and people he met along his travels - such a small world indeed!) At the restaurant, people kept walking to and fro at the back of the restaurant getting 1 - 6 bottles of 600ml Pear River beers. What people do is open it up with a chopstick and like a champange the beer cap pops and just lands to whatever direction. 3 or so beers after we joined his Danish friends, David (who bears a resemblance to my work mate Harely), Esbern, Sarah and her friend. We took the red taxis to Hong Kong to the Ritz-Carlton hotel, where the hotel had the Skybar - Ozone...just imagine the nightclub Cloudland on the 80th floor. Uber posh and the veiw was spectacular. Since it was a nice bar, there was of course a dresscode. We weren't to sure if Esbern could go in because he was wearing shorts.
Unfortunately he wasn't able to go, and we were a bit bummed because did didn't know what to do, until the lady at the front says - "Sorry no shorts allowed...but we do have pants we can lend to you." How cool is that..Brisbane need to incorporate this! I have never been to a venue where they 'lend' you trousers for the stay in the bar. Wow!

We all enjoyed a cocktail HK$130 and Esbern treated us for the cocktail. YUM YUM! Mingling along with other people, started to get rather drunk and then we all decided to head to Lang Kwai Fong one of the main nightclubs strips.
It was an amazing night spending with a dear friend. Hong Kong sure knows how to party!

...now to get rid of the horrible hong kong hangover....

Entree Trip

Hello my friends. I am in the humid, warm but overcast Hong Kong..well technically in Kowloon. I haven't blogged for a while since my last trip, which was in June! I know how slack of me. Off the topic for a bit, I am not use to my small laptop as I am all Apple Mac now, but I know I'll get the hang of my little Samsung.

SO..I know, I am rubbing this to your face, but I have jet setted to Hong Kong for a short break...
A lovely way to end off 4, 10 hour nights.

Left the beautiful sun of Brisbane to a cold Auckland evening, flying Air New Zealand...(you may be wondering as to why not Brisbane - Hong Kong?..well guess it is just the why the airline has done).
An hour transit from Brisbane to Auckland and then a midnight flight to Hong Kng. Mind you prior to this, I only slept for at least 1hour and 30 minutes before I did a last minute pack and discard packing, before Dad took me to the Brisbane Airport.

The 3hour flight from Brisbane to Auckland was good. Had a nice snack of salmon with mashed potatoes, corn and peas (although I am not a big fan of peas) and a nice drink of ice coke. The safety announcement in Air New Zealand
was pretty funny (just YouTube) and some of the New Zealand All Black players participating in the demonstrations of air safety on the plane. I had to chuckle with that.

While up in the air, I finally got to watch the final installment of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows..my gosh I (and yes lame to say this) was a bit teary because I know that its the end of the Harry Potter series.
That is a good thing to do while on the plane..you get to watch the movies you missed out while it was still at the cinemas. It was a good one, make me think, that Harry Potter should have been called (well along the lines) like
Star Wars.... minus the light sabers but wands and then I imagined Lord Voldermort saying - Harry..I'm your father....
XD....

Landed in Auckland then just before midnight, another flight from Auckland to Hong Kong..an 11 hour flight. I managed to watch 2 movies one while having a late dinner - Horrible Bosses..hilarious! and then Friends with
Benefits during breakfast..in between that, despite the crazy time changes..I managed to sleep for at least 7 hours.
Waking up thinking "what the foook" is the time and what day is it? Yea my Glasgow Coma Scale is down to a 10/15.

Touchdown in Hong Kong International Airport at 6am..(off a tangent..ahh the suns out!)..went to the Hotel-transfer desk re: my transfer from airport to my hotel - The CityView in Kowloon. Saw some double deckerbuses along the way and red taxis. Different and nice..if only Brisbane had double decker buses...:D. The weather at the start was gloomy, overcast and for the 50% mark for humidity..as we speak now the sun is already up..yay.

Considering that the check-in time is 1000hr, I had to wait for a while, so while waiting..I ventured out to the streets of Kowloon on to Nathan Road. I realised I am close to A) a metro station and B) Nathan Road..one of the main streets here in Kowloon. Even though not all stores were open .. with the exception of 7-eleven and other conivient stores went to get a drink and then had won tons with noodle soup for breakfast HK$25 which worked out to be AU$3.35..YUMMMMMMMMM. Yes peeps, food photos to come your way soon :P.

Hong Kong is 2 hours behind Brisbane (current time now is 10:01am)..although I have a small amount of time here,I cannot wait to venture this big CHINATOWN and food!!!

More to come.

A bientot

Duty Free Shopping

We all have done it while waiting 30mins or 5hours till your flight to your destination or back home - Duty free shopping. I am not sure about you, but for me, (and I am sure most woman would agree) that shopping is one of our forte.
When it come to stores in the airports, there is duty free shopping. Yes tax free shopping how great! You get some great discounts (and not to mention some free tasting/drinking before purchasing). I absoloutely love duty free shopping.
Whether its just to get a bar of chocolate beause I am peckish or if I feel like a rich bitch I'll buy something with a fashionable brand engraved on an item (of course I make a limit!). Stylished displays, Tiger Woods convincing body language, mesmorising me to buy a Tagheuer watch...or is it something else?

White tiled floors, and hypnotising colourful signs, drawing me in to gawk of what the store is offering. The range of fragrances, electronics, foods, drinks, cigarrettes, designer brands, bags and local souviners.

Not necessary to buy things (on impluse and if your bank account allows you to), its fascinating to go into duty free stores. Its amusing to shop there as you know you most likely find an item in your destination or when you touch down at home.

I am a sucker for duty free things. Then, on top of what I've already brought at the airport, theres Sky Duty Free Shopping in the plane. Eversince I have travelled whether with family/friends or my own I always look through the
flight shopping magazines to see what I could get on my way back home. I have a small collection of "duty free" items at home. Some in use or still in it's box, because "its just so nice to look at...." Yes I will use them... I will.

Sometimes you just need to be considerate in what you do buy at duty free. We all have read in-flight magazines of the limit of liquids/cigarrettes etc and aiming to stick to the limit of 'put into the cabin space storage.' It can be convinient and nice to buy items that are compact and small i.e. travel perfumes/lotions. That way you can bring it next time on your travels and so forth.
Sometimes good for 'emergency' because you packed your item in your checked-in bag and you just 'can't live without it.'

There is also the last minute duty free, after you have landed in the airport before reaching customs.... Now that too is tempting, considering
I don't have 8 arms to hold my hand carry and 7 bags of duty free...(okay I exaggerated the 7 bags). Duty free shopping is like a buffet. You get to hoover over things you want, eat (for this instance, buy) and once you feel 'full' well in other words all duty free shopped-out..,.you don't want to look at another item to buy and get sick of duty free... for a while.

Asides from 'some' impluse buying, I normally have a look at what I want and then buy it later. If I like something from the inflight magazine, I plan
on getting it and then on my last leg of my journey..if I still want it, unless I got something else better then I won't.

Whoever invented duty free shopping you are awesome! I don't know what Airports will be like if duty free did not exist???..Wait...bored shitless. Without
duty free stores....airports will look mundane to visit/wait/transit in. Boring.

Thank gosh for Duty Free Shops.
Oh...there's a lovely Dior bag......

Viv Navorski...the other Navorski

If you haven't seen the movie "the Terminal," then you probably won't know what I mean. But for the others, you know what I mean :P. I have arrived at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport early. I will be catching up with Remy and catching the train to Lille. Before I booked my train from Paris - Lille Europe, for some reason I thought Remy was arriving to Paris in the morning as me from his flight from Frankfurt, but when chatting to him, to help me book it, it is actually in the evening he will be arriving. So I have about 9 hours left to chill before meeting up with him. YAY. So happy, I just wanna scream for joy.

I could have the possibility from the airport and go to Paris but not with my luggage with me! There probably is a place at the airport where I can safely leave my luggage and then venture around the place, but best not. I will head over to Paris any other day while I am here. I decided just to stay at the airport and lounge around (not that I really needed to sit on my ass for another 9
hours). I have had my 'petit dejuner' of 'chocolat chaud et pan au chocolat,' without hesistating to the cafe staff of what I wanted to order :P.

Firstly Monday morning 23rd I have made my family envious, yet again that I am departing to France...AGAIN. Dad admitted he was jealous while mums just so sad for me to be leaving her side for 2 whole weeks..missing me like mad..and only just got out of the car at the Brisbane International Airport. She misses me already??? :P Saying our good byes and 'have a fantastic trip' went inside the airport, organising my things before having my big luggage all glad-wrapped up and then heading over to the 'Singapore Airline' Desk to check-in...I was suprised
that my luggage was less than I had thought...meaning MORE SHOPPING!
Felt peckish so had hot chips and bottle of coca cola from Red Rooster before looking around the duty free...I had about 1hour and 30mins left to spare before boarding my flight.

Once in the plane..I got the window seat just looking over the wings of the plane. I somehow always get a seat where I see the wings of the plane all the time. Before or after. I must be magnetised to always sit where I can see the wings
of the plane. An 8hour flight from Brisbane - Singapore. Ate, watched tv series and had a short nap before landing in Singapore. Arrived at about 840pm Singapore time (1040pm Brisbane time) through to transit and then more shops at Changi
airport. I haven't been to this airport since 1988 so it has indeed changed a lot! It was nice, just like Hong Kong and Seoul Incheon.

Boarded my flight for a long haul of 13hours Singapore - Paris. Most of the time tried to sleep as much as I could in an comfortable and uncomfortable way in either a corpse pose, fetal to the normal sitting on chair sleep. There was
space than the regular economy seats, but still a tad small.

However the flight was good. I got to have the good ol' Singapore Sling cocktail. Yum, and then just switching back to coke, water and tea/ coffee. I have to say I had a rather educational flight because I was watching several documentaries from Samurai: The Making of a Legend, Chamapagne (despite not finishing it), Carla Bruni: France's First Lady, Ice Cream and artsy shows like "Food Sculptors" and more food shows.
I feel rather knowledgable now of somewhat random things. For example with ice cream, back in the 19th century, it was very rude for women to eat ice cream on the cone (figure it out) so what they had to do is to bring it home, tip it up-side down and discard the cone and eat it in a bowl and use a spoon. Random fact..and that ice cream..it's history is still unsure - whether the Chinese found it, italians..well I guess you can just wikipedia it up. Carla the French President's wife a singer, model and also had several afflilations with charities esp. with AIDS. I shouldn't compare her to Princess Diana, but she is out there to make a change and to take part with something, which I find is amazing. I could go on and on of what I learnt but it'd just bore you lol. You could also learn the basic
of languages via the small TV which I did for abit :P.

Later I watched "How to Train Your Dragon" and liked it. It was cool.. and I think I will buy it on DVD...I love my cartoons.
I'm such a kid a heart.

...so now its Tuesday and I have and still kicking myself that I am back here in France. Wow! Well I guess I should brush up on my language part..yea I am a tad slack I haven't learnt for a while. Whoops! My bad. Cannot wait to explore this beautiful place with more photos and more memories.

Until then

A bientot.

Eurovison!

It's that time again for the Annual Eurovision Song contest. This time its held in Düsseldorf, Germany. To sum it up, there are 20 or so contestants from Europe (hence the EURO-vision) and they sing either in their language or in English, after the respective countries vote who they enjoyed and the most votes of a country wins and the winning country will host the following year.

The first time I watched it was in 1999. I think it was held in Jerusalem that year..just flicking channels and came across the Eurovision. Glued watching the show, because it was funny and catchy cheesy songs in not-so-perfect English TEHEHE.

I don't know how many Australians watch Eurovision, but it seems to be a fan base to Eurovision and thanks to SBS and commentary from Sam Pang and Julie Zemiro, it makes it hilarious with their funny commentary for each contestants.

No matter how bad, cheesy, funny, weird, crazy choreography and bad fashion tastes (some) its still good entertainment. Lots of Pinks, Lady Gagas, Britney Spears, Shakiras, Enriques, Bon Jovi, Bieber, Aguleria, Blue, Aqua and other boy bands..well you name it!

Its the Factor X of Europe..I bet you Simon Cowell is sitting on his sofa with whoever and gasbagging how bad or extremely bad the artists were HAHAHA.

Tomorrow (Sunday 15th is the finals and will see who wins this years Eurovision). Cannot wait.

I'm getting my Eurovision On!

In the Fruity Cult now :P

I have definitely joined the fruity cult now - technologically speaking. APPLE! The iPod, an iPhone and now have finally brought myself an Apple MacBook Pro. I originally planned on buying the MacBook after my vacation, but hence it was eating my mind away that I decided to buy it, after all the reasonings, the pros and cons of having it now (or having it later) etc... . I brought it and justified to myself (and partial blame that Myer's had a sale), as well as that my Dell Laptop has 'cancer' I just wanted a new laptop. Funny, because my Dell still works..only just... yet the smell of something new is so nice...well you know what I mean.

Absolutely love my new laptop....

....then there is the iPad..hrm...well I guess I could...*insert voice-over from Happy Meal MacDonald Commerical* "Collect all Apples."

To loose weight and 2million other New Year Resolutions.

Firstly, Happy New Year everyone. 2011, hrm what will it hold for me, for all of us?

Resolutions usually the norm for the coming new year. Resolutions are goals and I quote from my brother Ray "actions to be taken, to become a better person, so one can enjoy a greater and higher quality of life!" Thanks Ray. I sit here, pondering... "Do I really need to do a resolution for 2011?" I've come to realise that whenever I try to make my resolution, it ends up being a continuation to the next year. The obvious things like too busy, will do it later etc... . Then when it is towards the end of the year, you start to panic, because you never got to finish the 'resolution' and feel as if you have failed for the year.

Okay I use to be like that, nevertheless, I never was much of a resolutionist (not sure if that is a word), I am one of the person that goes with the flow (and still do). To me it seems its just small goals throughout the year, just like everyone else making goals for new projects etc... . The obvious resolutions that normally come up are:

A) Exercise more/ loose weight
B) Save more money or house/travel/car
C) Quit smoking/ alcohol
D) Pay up credit card bills etc...

I know a few resolutions I have thought of and I have completed or still continuing i.e. learn a language, travelling to the Americas and Europe, new car.

Sometimes I guess its just nice to be creative with your resolutions. But my mind does not go to extreme with resolutions, because I'd be in 'the thinker position' to come up with a 'brilliant out-of-this-world resolution,' for hours.

Just like I said, just make small goals and a deadline throughout the year and by the time you would have completed your 'resolution.'

... If not you will eventually achieve your goals one way or another...

Happy Resolution to all of you..... :P.