Dog Sledding in Norway

I really love dogs, so when I was told about this "Dog Sledding" activity I was really looking forward to it. But believe it or not, I think this is the cruelest thing I have done in my life!

I was the driver of the sledge. Before we started, all the dogs were like crying, my eyes watered. I didn't think I could make it. I was later told that huskies have to run, if they don't run they suffer. (So they woo because they want to race/run). See video below.

But I really wonder whether this was in their nature or it was human-work? Did people actually train them to become like that? They actually run (when they sledge) and poo at the same time!! It was kind of funny to see it when that happened, but to think deeply, what kind of life they lead to poo and work hard at the same time??!!

As there were a number of sledges running one after another, so I had to step on the brake from time to time so that the dogs didn't go over the front ones (my dogs ran relatively fast), and I felt heartache. Because they were running hard and fast, but I was pressing the brake!! (but actually I don't quite have a choice, coz we were told if they run side by side they would all tangle together). When I did that to them, they would even turn back and look at me...

I'm not sure if those were the holes they live in. It looks so cold and they look so unloved.

This was really an experience. But I would discourage anyone from join any activities like this. I simply hope when there is no demand, the huskies live the kind of life they deserve, run/race only when they want to. I still feel so sorry to have done that.

 Just before the dog sledging begins, what made my eyes watered.

During the dog sledging. This is what you're going to experience, but it really isn't much. 

Netherlands Trip

01.04.2012 - 04.04.2012

Can't be bothered to write, pictures say it all!

World of Heineken. Recommended. There are a lot to "play" inside. plus you get 2-3 drinks!! XD

This is example of "what to play". We took this picture and had it sent to our mailbox. (Though it went into my Spam folder..)

Chips from this shop is VERY nice. A lot different types of sauce too. The source of me having sore throat then fell sick during the trip! Recommended still!

Keukenhof. It's a must go. Lots of tulips. It's a bit too early for the season, so most of those in the garden are not fully blossomed. But those indoor ones are very beautiful too!

This is from outdoor (obviously). Very beautiful!

Windmill in Keukenhof. Get to go up and take a round. Very "cute". hahaha.

We went for Thomascook Canal Cruise. Be warned that you aren't allowed to bring food up as we bought chips thinking we can have it on the cruise ended up have to finish them by the river. =.= The journey was quite long, not very informative. We went simply because it's included in the "package". Wouldn't recommend if you have to pay for it.

This is the Old Church. Picture is taken during the Canal Cruise. Very nice picture isn't it? Credits to the photographer - myself! xD

Red light district. Quite an interesting experience.

You-know-what-it-is! Otherwise the answer is also in the picture.

Wooden shoes. Cute. Haha. But not nice to wear.

Windmills at Zaanse Schans. Unexplainable excitement to see the windmills. Maybe being brought up knowing windmill is something "from Hollands" and is famous there thus it becomes a must to see their windmills!

Cheeses! They look funny. Some taste nice but some don't! This is also in Zaanse Schans. (Don't ask me how to pronounce it..)

Her name is Miffy. If I'm not mistaken there's a story or comic based on her written by a Dutch half a century ago. She's very very cute!

Many many Miffy(s). Some are her family maybe. Haha. This is also in Zaanse Schans.

Not 100% sure about the link between Netherlands and Indonesia but apparently Indonesian food there is quite good. This one is Restaurant Bojo. The picture might not look so, but it's very very yummy (and big portion!) (And not so pricey)

During the last day of my trip I was pretty much sick despite pm and fel lending me their jacket I was still feeling really cold. Be warned that early April can still be quite cold!

Overall it's a great trip. Amsterdam is a must go! Although I still don't know why people like to say "sell you to Hollands ah" or "got cheated to Hollands"? xD

What you need to know to travel to Barcelona

The Barcelona Card is worth getting. It saved us a hell lot of money on travelling (especially on Metro). And of course, some entrance fees too, though most are just 2-3 euros discount.

When entering the ticket into the machine at the Metro station, sometimes it's on your left, other time on your right. Weird!

Check their sales period before going! They don't have boxing day in December like most other countries. :(

The weather in December is not as warm as you imagine. The temperature up the hill is not as cold as you think.

In general they have all their meals 1-2 hours later than us. You might think this doesn't matter, but we went to a restaurant at 12pm and they were trying to serve us breakfast..

The Txapela restaurant is the only restaurant that I'd like to recommend. It's very close to one of the Zaras in the town. Though, I suppose people go there to eat "for fun" rather than treating it as a proper meal, otherwise you'd end up having a bill like ours.

Zara is not really "everywhere" like the guide book says. Though the price is also not as low as what most people say (well, at least compared to those in the UK, blame the pounds sterling!).

The only name I came to know after my trip is Antoni Gaudi. And Barcelona is the city of Gaudi. He honestly did very brilliant art work in this city. He's Gaudi!

Bring someone who reads maps brilliantly, if you can't do it yourself. We spent most of the time walking the complete opposite direction while we're looking for places!

Don't sleep with someone who likes to put his/her arm on his/her head. The elbow will be waking you up all night. (note: I wasn't the victim).

Overall it's a beautiful city (thanks to Gaudi). Most of the entrance fees are a bit costly. The food in general is good, and is usually reflected through the price. It's many people's favourite European city, though not mine!

Note: Can't find a proper picture of us 4..

Journey to the East

In Dubai International airport now. Another 10 hours of wait =.=

So far everything has been great, apart from the fact that I didn’t manage to get some sleep during my first flight, instead I watched 3 movies – Salt, 127 Hours and Love in Disguise (Mandarin).

And also my head was hit by a baggage from an old man sitting in front of me. I didn’t know how that happened, as I wasn’t facing him, just got hit, heard sorrys. I didn’t say “it’s ok” this time, because it wasn’t ok at all! I know that isn’t intentional, I know he apologized, but I didn’t smile and show my friendly face at all =/. It really hurts =S. Hopefully it’s not going to show any symptoms that are going to cost my holidays =S.

Very thankful though, for all the guys that had offered a hand to carry my big luggage. As I put my laptop backpack in it (until before I checked the luggage in), so I guess it was at least 25-6kgs. Whenever I see stairs my face turns green, and whenever guys see me by the stairs they offered help! But I can see that their faces turn green when they’re carrying it. Ha ha ha. I’m sure next time they would forget the heroic act xD.

OK let’s talk about the movies. I have heard about Salt being a great movie, I’d say it’s quite good, but just.. hmm, ok, it made me feel like those Jackie Chan’s action movies, which I’m already quite bored watching them, but then Jackie Chan’s are still way better, because they always make you laugh, and I do think the “actions” are more presentable, compared to Salt. But still, it’s good.

127 hours. I heard extreme views about it. Some said it was good, I read from paper saying it’s a must watch. Whereas there are also friends who class it as one of the worst movies they’ve ever watched. I’d say it’s just OK. Although I expected something better, especially having known that its director was the one of Slumdog Millionaire. At some points it was a bit boring. And, I don’t normally enjoy movies with known storyline and/or endings. The 127 Hours, apparently based on true story, and the whole storyline (i.e. he cut his hand off etc) could be read anywhere on news or reviews when it first came out. Still, recommended.

Love in Disguise. what can I say? I know it isn’t good. I watched simply because I want to show sign of support to LeeHom, although, hahaha, I’m not watching in cinema anyway. It’s OK. The funny thing is, it’s trying to be funny, the normal-serious-me wouldn’t laugh at all, yet it managed to get me laugh quite a few times (which could be a bit embarrassing, but I don’t care =p). And also it was landing, so I handed back my earphone, I missed the last part song, which I guess is very important and central to the movie. (well, the whole movie is about music, isn’t it!)

My plan for next journey is sleep. I wouldn't even mind skipping the meals, and get only drinks. But I wonder if I would be able to sleep. Otherwise I'm going to watch Eat Pray Love. Haha, planned! I saw Conviction in the list as well, but I have it in my laptop, so would rather not watch on that little screen where you see your own reflection when you watch =.=

No plan for now! I honestly don't know what time it is in Dubai now. I only know I've got so long to wait. And I don't feel tired and secure to sleep, just like that. Before sitting down I've already walked from middle to west end of the whole airport, then walked to east end (where I'm sitting now). The airport is such a "class" that I couldn't even find a place to get a bottle of water, till I'm wondering whether I should get a Smirnoff or some branded perfume and drink them like water!

There was a frozen yoghurt shop (pinkberry?) that I feel like visiting. And also I could get a meal in Emirates Lounge (for passengers who transit for more than 4 hours), but I'm quite sure I'm not very interested in their food, ALTHOUGH their airlines (i.e. Emirates) served great meals. I had lamb curry just now, just feel like eating rice. Other than that I'd just wonder around, and try to spend some of my USD if I can find them in my bag =X. (they use AED/DHS, I only have GBP, RM and USD with me). And also they have got awful lots of places where you can use for charging your mobiles/notebooks + wireless - which should keep me entertained. (their plug same with UK's)

OK. Off to find water!

P.S. sad! why am I a fast typist? This long wordy post could have taken more time!

Accommodation During Greece Trip

All About Greece 4: Where to stay?

I think I had never really stayed in an apartment while travelling with friends and this was probably my first experience. And guess what, I'd strongly recommend it if you have got enough number of people to share it (an apartment) with. As its facilities and services were far better than 2-3 stars hotels in general.

The apartment that we stayed in Rethymno, Crete was Aloe Apartments. The location is good, very close to the beach and mini markets. The facilities were superb. The only thing which isn't that good was probably their reception isn't 24 hours, so the help is not there all day long. And also the hot water seems to be limited and I showered in cold water on the first night. However, these did not really affect. On the last day when we checked out, the receptionist even offered to give us a lift to the bus station, how nice was that! And during the journey, he wished that we would write a review of the apartment in Mandarin. Hahaha. (Prices were 96 euro for 2 nights, 4 persons/apartment, breakfast not included)

Two single bed in the living room. - Aloe Apartments.

Room. - Aloe Apartments.

The kitchen and the dining area. - Aloe Apartments.

We stayed in Irini Hotel in Heraklion. To be honest, I can't really think of anything good about this hotel. It isn't that bad, just that, it wouldn't be what I will recommend (Prices were 132 euro for 2 nights, 4 persons/room, breakfast not included).

We spent three nights at Lion Apartments, Athens. We got into quite some troubles finding this apartment, asking pedestrian, police, ambulance until we finally found it. Its service and facilities were really good though. We get there before 9am, and the room service lady get the room ready and let us check in at early morning without putting any extra charges. She was really friendly and helpful, explaining every single things in the apartment, helped us with our luggages, and worked really efficiently, without hoping for tips (we planned to give her but didn't see her again after that first day). (Prices were 270 euro for 3 nights, 4 persons/apartment, breakfast not included, free wireless). I'd recommend it if you don't mind that the location was a bit far from metro stations.

View from our room.

Also, if you're travelling between islands and mainlands, I'd say taking a night ferry would save you some money and time, the only disadvantage is that you would hardly sleep comfortably on the ferry unless you get a room (but then it'd be costly). We bought "deck" tickets which cost us less than 30 euros per person (Anek Lines). Although we did not get the chance to try, I think they served good food as well.

The ferry we took.

More:

All About Greece 1: Airport Taxe/Cab in Crete

All About Greece 2: Athens or Islands?

All About Greece 3: Restaurants "Customering" and Culture

Restaurant "Customering" in Greece

All About Greece 3: Restaurant "Customering" and Culture

When we were walking in Greece, one thing we found is that there would always be someone standing in front or at the door side of the restaurant, and trying to get some customers into their restaurant, or at least look at their menus.

Remember on the first night at Rethymno, when there was a man trying to convince us to try their Greek dishes, we were just being polite and said we have eaten, at the end we picked another one. The next day we passed by it again, the same guy, recognizing us, saying that we should really visit him this day, as we sort of lied the day before, and he saw us dining in another restaurant etc etc.

What do you think about this? For me, we were just trying to reject him in a polite way (as our apartment receptionist recommended us some restaurants already), and he was being very rude to say that to us. We're the ones paying, shouldn't we get to choose what we want? =S

Just be aware of this, and if you're not going to eat anything, just try not to walk pass one whole row of restaurants.. you'd probably get tired saying no!

The other thing is about tips. On our first night in Athens, after finished dining, we asked for the bills and paid the total. One first man came by our table and "reminded" us that service charge wasn't included. When we were still discussing whether to pay tips and how much to pay, a second man came and collected the money on the table, counting, before leaving our table, he said "put the tips on the table! put the tips on the table" Imagine our expressions. =.= I was a bit pissed off and said we shouldn't be paying tips to people like this! How can he ORDERED us to pay him tips?! And guess what, at the end we left €0.10 on the table!

Just remember this restaurant.. it's close to Athens Monastiraki metro station..

More:

All about Greece 1: Airport taxi/cab in Crete

All about Greece 2: Athens or Islands?

Athens VS Greece Islands

All About Greece 2: Athens or Islands?

We went to an island called Crete in Greece, spent 4 nights over there (2 nights in Rethynmo, 2 nights in Heraklion), and then took a night ferry to Athens, spent another 3 nights in Athens.

For me, before I had been there, Athens is a place that I must go, for the history that we have learnt about it since young, for the name "雅典"! It simply sounds like a "must go" to me. While Greece at the same time, is famous with its islands and beaches.

Whether you want Athens or an island, it really depends what kind of trip you're up to. Rethymno is such a relaxing place, very blue sea and sky, nice hot weather, long beach (we even play monopoly card games on the beach xD), great Greek food with very reasonable prices.. There are also some historical places if all day beach time is too much for you.

While Athens.. to be honest, what you see is stones and pillars.. We can spend whole day at and around Acropolis and Museum of Acropolis. Are you interested to learn about their history, their Gods, the wars etc?

I'd say depending on your holiday mood and state, go to either one (but pure Athens visit sounds quite dry for me =X). But if you want to be like us, visiting both, go to Athens first and then the islands! You'd have the Greek specialist food and seafood crazily when you arrive the island, and enjoy the weather to the fullest!

Also, if you're not so into great sunshine and sun bathing, I would say September and early October is a good time to visit Greece.

More:

All About Greece 1: Airport taxi/cab in Crete

Airport Taxi/Cab in Greece (Crete)

All About Greece 1: Airport Taxi/Cab in Crete

The first ever lesson we learnt from Greece when we arrived in the airport in Crete, is the money faces of the taxi drivers surrounding the airport. They approached us and asked where we were up to (Rethymno). And then I asked him whether he could provide me with information about getting there, with the cheapest way, he said yes. He first analysed about taking bus-

*€2 to Heraklion town centre

*€12 to Rethymno

*€10-20 to your hotel

*Took you 4 hours

However, if you use a taxi, we could get there in an hour with about €80 (€100 at first), which is a huge saving for the four of us. He was right - four persons is the perfect number to take a cab.

We decided to consider and said that we would come back to him. I was thinking, he must be right to say that it costs €2 to go to Heraklion, since it's 2mins away from bus stop, I can ask for the price how easily. But that isn't the case! We asked the bus ticket to Heraklion and it costs only €0.90! and the truth is

*€0.90 to Heraklion

*€6.90 to Rethymno

*€1.25 to accommodation by cab (€5 for 4 persons). We walked towards the wrong direction (due to an google map error) and decided to take a cab from the old town to our apartment (Aloe Apartment). Or we could have saved this money.

*3+ hours (because we spent time walking towards the wrong direction)

See the difference?? (4 of us spent €36.20, compared to €80) They simply doubled up the prices and exaggerated the duration and convinced you to take taxi. They know you're carrying your heavy luggage(s) and just want to get to your hotel/apartment and check in asap. So, beware of those taxi drivers at airport, whether or not they are licensed, whether or not they look/act professional, whether or not they sound reasonable.

全球十大旅行禁忌

大多數去國外旅遊的人總是會對當地的風俗有所顧忌，擔心自己會出錯，引起誤會，下面蒐集的是常見的旅行禁忌，以方便你更好地出行。

1.筷子
關於筷子有很多說法。在日本，不管任何原因，都不能把筷子插入飯碗裡離開，因為這是不祥的徵兆。因為飯碗裡直立的筷子會讓日本人想起墓碑。而且，如果你用入口那端的筷子去夾菜也是一種不禮貌的行為，應該用另一端去夾菜。在中國和很多其他的國家，用筷子指別人也是不禮貌的。

2.參觀清真寺
所有人，不管是穆斯林還是非穆斯林，在踏入清真寺前都要脫鞋。遊客也應該遵循穆斯林的穿衣風格：男士應該穿長褲和長袖襯衫；女士應該遮住所有裸露在外的皮膚，雖然各國對此的嚴格性會有所不同。女士必須圍頭巾，如果你沒有，在很多大的清真市入口處你可以借一條。

3.送花
在烏克蘭，如果你打算送花，一定要確保花束是奇數，因為偶數的花束是送在葬禮上的。如果你要給女主人送花，或為慶祝生日或其他特殊節日，不要送黃花或復活節百合，因為這些花也只是為葬禮準備的。

4.接吻
在英國的柴郡，火車乘客不允許在站台逗留、親昵話別，也不允許接吻。如果你真的有很多離別的話要說或想要接吻，你可以去接吻區域。

5.鹽
雖然埃及人非常好客，但是他們的烹飪卻有些溫柔的自我。在埃及旅行的時候，不要在你的碗里加鹽，因為這被看作是對廚師的侮辱。幸運的是，由於埃及人烹飪時經常使用大蒜、洋蔥和其他芳香劑，埃及的食物還是很可口的。

6.參觀教堂
如果你打算在溫暖的氣候去意大利的教堂，出發的時候不要僅僅帶短褲和無袖上衣。去意大利教堂天主教大教堂的遊客穿著必須謹慎，無論是男士還是女士，都不允許穿短褲和無袖上衣。在教堂門口會有警衛或教民檢查，所以在出發的時候記得帶上一件長袖衫或其他套頭衫。

7.代表成功的V手勢
在大不列顛做“V”手勢的時候掌心不要向內，因為這被認為是挑釁或侮辱。據說，2個手指的致意是起源於英法百年戰爭。法國揚言要砍掉所有英國人射箭的手指頭，結果最後英國大勝，因此擺出手指來炫耀自己是完好無損的。

8.侮辱國王
泰國人將其80歲的國王普密蓬‧阿杜德（Bhumibol Adulyadej）視為神靈，將其畫像作為護身符希望給自己帶來好運。因此對他的侮辱會被認為是犯罪，會被判處15年的監禁。

9.碰杯
匈牙利人敬酒的時候不會碰杯，因為奧地利人曾經在殺害13個匈牙利烈士後用碰杯而慶祝。之後的150年之內，沒有任何一個匈牙利人在敬酒的時候碰杯。現在雖然過去很長時間了，但是這個傳統還一直保留。對於遊人來說，記住這個傳統比記住匈牙利語的乾杯容易多了。

10.吃光碟子內的所有食物
在柬埔寨，如果你吃光碟子內所有的食物，這表明主人沒有招待好你，因為你沒有吃飽還想要。

Source was SinChew paper, not sure how true they are but I think they could be very useful. E.g. the 6th, I think when we were in Italy we didnt come across this problem, but I was requested to get a scarf when I wore sleeveless top and visited a church in Vatican City..