And so concluded a great few days when I sluggishly got back to work today.
Fantastic Weekend of January started when my two former housemates headed eastbound to visit us poor souls still stranded in Terengganu. Arriving on a Thursday morning, these dudes spent the day visiting old colleagues around the hospital. It was great that we all got to meet up at our favourite restaurant for lunch, it was just like the old days. It has been some time since we ever had more than five people seated at a restaurant, so that was cool.

Later that night, we decided to have dinner in this local hotel that had a sushi/Japanese menu. We got to meet Alvin’s new (female) housemate, which was cool. And she brought her sister along, which was also cool. And they were cool people, which only made things, erm, cooler.

It was a pity though, that my present housemate J had to leave for KL that night to help with spring cleaning.Spring cleaning my ass la, J. So we took the photo below for remembrance…which was not that cool.

To retain our ‘professional’ image (to save face la), I have decided to do a bit of editing to the aforementioned photo.

So the next day in our favourite breakfast spot, Paung & Co., I was complaining about how after breakfast we would routinely go back to our respective houses to sleep off the heavy breakfast, then wake up in time for afternoon tea at a keropok lekor stall. To all those who have not lived in Kuala Terengganu who’s reading this: Yes, we know we live utterly boring lives here. That’s like our ONLY activity on weekends. I kept pestering for us to actually DO something, so my proposal to hop over to Pulau Kapas was approved, albeit not on a unanimous vote. Ms Utt was objecting to us engaging in any activity that involved ‘crossing water’, saying that it was bad feng shui for someone of her horoscope sign to do so. Her objections also got a few of us wavering towards cancelling the trip.
Fortunately, there was no stopping the majority, and ultimately all were coaxed into getting on that speedboat to Pulau Kapas….which was cool.

The weather was hot and sunny even though the monsoon season was still at its final legs. The sea was calm, which was cool. When we got there, some of us were astounded by the fact that even though we were at the jetty (assumed to be filthy), the water was so clear that we could see the fishies swimming in the area. THAT was cool.
Then it struck us how unprepared for the trip all of us were. If we knew better, we’d have gone there early equipped with snorkelling gear, bathing suits and packed lunches; all of which we lacked. It’s cool, we’ll come again another time, someone said.

Anyway the island was way cool because we were practically the only tourists on the island (save for four Korean businessmen in formalwear)! It was great that we didn’t have to fight for space with anyone, we could take the craziest photos without worrying about having some stranger walk in front of the camera.

Hel-lo…. Pulau Kapas!

Some fler got so excited seeing the place that he started doing cartwheels. Blimey!
He wasn’t the only one who went ecstatic…

Our official photographer, he even looks the part. Check out the calm, azure blue sea behind him. On the count of three, everybody say, “Whoa…” (at the sea, not at him, you pervert)

The planned album cover for the debut album of our band, The Farmer’s Cysts. Cool, eh?

Enough of my BS. Here’s some pics of how the place really looks like.

Best place to be for some solitude, provided you’re there at the right time.

And the sea was glittering man…

Soon it was time for the boat back to Marang and back to Kuala Terengganu just in time for our scheduled Keropok Lekor tea time.

Thanks guys and girls for being great company, it’s been a while since we had so much fun with so many of us together. Thanks to you two from up north for getting on a 9-hour bus ride to see us. Thanks to the two lengluis for driving us there with their new cars.
For the last time now, everybody say, “Cooool-ness!”

This picture wasn’t taken in Netherlands but in Belgium albeit the former country’s association with windmills ,legal marijuana, prostitution and gay marriage. Nevertheless, Belgium is just nextdoor to Holland, so it’s not surprising if they have similar culture and economic activities, which might explain this windmill, one of a few to dot the periphery of the charming little town on Brugges. Brugges is a well preserved old town that is a couple of hours train ride from Brussels, the admittedly dull capital city of Belgium. It’s a compact little township with rows of quaint shops, houses and churches, with the quintessential town hall at its centre. We spent an afternoon on our rented bikes cycling all around this town, taking photos. The peace and calm of this town (before and after the busloads of daytripping grey tourists arrive) left quite an impression on me. Staying in this town really felt like being in the old-fashioned village which I assumed it was before the arrival of mass tourism- our hostel was located in a street where there was also a little minimart, a deli manned by a friendly butcher (yay sausages and pate!), a bakery and a vege grocer.

The photo above is simply a random one taken while waiting for the train to arrive in the Franklin Roosevelt metro(underground) station in Paris. Unlike KL, where there is a generic design to all train stations under the same line, in Paris a few stations are more nicely decorated compared the mostly shabby others. This metro station, named after the former U.S President, is one of them. The underlying reason is unmistakably governed by common sense, ie this station is located nearby one of Paris’ biggest attractions, the Champs Elysees and Grand and Petit Palais.

Unlike the KL rail systems, the metro lines in Paris are much older. This gives the opportunity to see rather quirky characters in them; drunken beggars extorting spare change from whoever is unfortunate enough to hop on to the same carriage as them, the considerably filthy homeless person sprawled on the seats of the metro. Filthy hobos notwithstanding, there are bound to be many rather talented musicians busking away as you make your way in or out, making the metro line a bit more cheerful. But remember to pretend to be asleep if any of these buskers join you into the carriage and expect a penny or two from you for their uncalled for entertainment.

Last year, the point of this blog was to document all happenings, no matter how minute, of my 1 year in Glasgow. As can be seen, that didn’t work out too well. Instead, this blog became a testament to my dependency on youtube.com for my whole year’s day-to-day entertainment. To make up for it, I’d be randomly posting up pictures of the travels that I did throughout my 1+ year over there. Besides, I am frickin’ free right now, and there’s nothing interesting to blog about while I wait to start work.

I thought I’d start with Isle of Skye, as a commemoration of my 1 year in Scotland. The Isle of Skye is an island, probably the size of Penang, off the northwestern coast of Scotland. It’s located among the Scottish Highlands, justifiably the most beautiful parts of Scotland, if not the whole of Britain.

I took the picture above at the southern region of the Isle called Sleat. The area is nicknamed the “Garden of Skye”, and unsurprisingly so, what with the rich foliage amply displayed in the photo. Look at the photo carefully and you’ll notice the amazing explosion of green shades in different plants.

I visited the Isle of Skye three times, and this photo was taken on my second trip there after my finals in late spring. It was undoubtedly the best trip among all three, as the timing was the most ideal. It was the time when the leaves had just started budding and thus were still in a light green shade, the fields were a profusion of lilac and yellow from the wild flowers, the sun was out but the weather was still mild with a slightly damp feel to the air. Fresh.