miss jalan jalan

I love basking under winter sun. It’s like hanging out under bright sun but with air conditioner. Very different experience vs trying to sunbathe in tropical climate – you’ll swim in your own sweat. I’m in Siena now – and loving it more than I thought I would. Siena is sooo pretty with its medieval charm. It’s so small that you can just walk everywhere. People lounging at the shell-shaped-slanted Piazza del Duomo as at the beach but the main attraction here is not the sea, rather the Palazzo Pubblico – Siena’s city hall for over 800 years. If you happened to come in the summer, the famous horse race Il Palio is held here twice a year. Of course, do not miss the Siena Duomo. People said it’s the prettiest cathedral in Italy. Well, perhaps ... read more

If there’s any famous place that I don’t really look forward to visit – that’ll be Venice. Being the practical couple – both my husband & I think it’s just… bunch of sewers. When you’re taking gondola, meaning you’re streaming along together with… waste? Anyway, I just didn’t get the point. Nevertheless, while tracking from Munich to Florence – it seems like a sin if I didn’t stop over in Venice and spend few nights. Arriving in Venice on Christmas after sunset, I was worried whether there’s any mass transportation & afraid of getting lost (plus I was alone!) so I chose to stay at url=http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g187870-d2307401-r189552012-Ca_dei_Polo-Venice_Veneto.htmlCa dei Polo Venice, near the train station. I browsed around and noticed that you can get 8% discount by using code “offsite”. It was a nice single clean single ensuite ... read more

“So, do you have any kids?” Ah, that question again. Well, what do you expect when chit chatting with an Asian grandma on the plane. Not being racist, I’m Asian too. I must’ve gotten that question hundred times trough out my life. But this time, it hits hard. You see, I just lost the love of my life. She may be smaller than my fist, but she stole our hearts away. It feels just yesterday, when we saw her lively kicking, bouncing and tumbling; before the doctor said something was very wrong with her. They murmured something about chromosome issue, Edward syndrome or maybe Trisomy 18. They said it’s 1 in 6000 probability and somehow I won the jackpot. There was no pill, medication or operation that can help. The third doctor confirmed and they offered ... read more

Out of all the countries in Europe that I have visited, Switzerland was the one that I was really looking forward for. Not only because it always look so picturesque in books & online, but also because my road going there is not smooth at all. It took 4 years, literally, but I’m here now. And that’s all that matters. The question now though – where should I go exactly in Switzerland? I’ve always dreamed about staying in mountain village with killer panorama drenched in sunshine and blue sky. But again, which mountain? I can’t decide between Zermatt vs Berner Oberland – so I decided to do both; even though I only have 4 days in Switzerland. It will be fast paced, but based on my calculation & experience – I believe it’s still doable. I ... read more

Travel 101: make sure you’re in the right train station. That’s a basic rule of thumb – but I almost made that fatal mistake. Mind you, Paris has 6 train stations. I almost went to the wrong station. ALMOST. At the last minute I decided to actually read the ticket and gasp – that was a close call! When planning for this trip – I thought last day in France would be all about relaxing in Paris – so it’s ok to take 6.40 am train to Frankfurt. Then last minute I added Mont St Michel – which is a full 12-13 hours day trip. With packing and stuff, that leaves me with 3.5 hours of sleep. I was (trying to) run with full backpack on. I must’ve look like a penguin. But apparently, I didn’t ... read more