Round 19: Kayo, mouchoto mate kudaisai...

It's a windy Saturday morning and after brunch and a hot honey tea, I've decided to just let it out. It's killing to keep it inside of me.

It started out like this...

A few weeks ago, while chatting with the gf, it dawned on me how much she was missing me, despite having spent our summer here in Mannheim together. On that note, I spoke with my boss and after some discussion, it turned out I could merge my intern leave(which isn't much - just a mere ten days) with the christmas and new year's holidays, making a nice slot of 3 weeks.

Yes, you got it folks - 3 weeks in Japan is what I'm talking about here.

If I do fly, it's definitely going to be one of my turning points in my life - my first time visiting the land of my favourite animes, the opportunity to introduce myself to the gf's parents and family, the unique japanese culture and I suppose I could go on and on...

And so these past few days have seen extra hours spent after work looking for flight connections from Frankfurt to Osaka. The prices I found so far were just too high, mostly in the 850€ - 1000€ range. There was even a flight from Air Italia that reached the 700€ range -but offered no meals during the 11 hour flight! What the heck is that?!

So yesterday I searched again - and managed to find a decent connection with Finnair. Damage with taxes : 770€ I can't say it's a totally real bargain, but considering that I actually will be spending 3 hours in Helsinki Vantaa Airport, and Helsinki Airport being it what it is(the taxes were over 200€), I can't really complain either. Oh well.

So I called up the travel agency to enquire and double check the connections. Time and dates were all fine, i was told by the agent, who is a also malaysian and more or less a good acquaintance of mine, me after being their customer for 3 years. But, she added, there's a catch.

"Which is?" I probed.

"This is one of Finnair's cheapest flights and you know lah, companies are also smart. There are only 4 more seats left for this flight and the booking must be done today, so the ticket must be issued in 24 hours."

Stan: "....!!!!"

Now that was something I definitely did not calculate in. To fork out a whooping 770€ (USD1096/SGD1628/RM3731) in one day after getting my paycheck....sounded like a road to disaster. And I could immediately foresee days of bread and water for the next 3 weeks.

"I'll send the money later today before 6pm if I can really confirm. Thanks again..."

And so there I was, sitting in the office at 4pm with no one to consult. That really put me in a tight spot. The gf and I had previously discussed the options of me flying to her and for her to fly again to Germany and, the latter was 100€( USD142/SGD211/RM485) cheaper and more economical.

"It's ok, daijobu..." the gf spoke over the phone, in tears obviously.

In desperation I dialed up my ex-neighbour in Berlin, who is one of my closest friends in Germany. We spoke and debatted a good ten minutes before I made my decision.

Fast forward to present Saturday morning. I'm watching cartoons dubbed in german on the Cartoon Network when the handphone rings, to the OST of Bleach the anime.

"Leong, I just issued the ticket, I got your transaction last evening. You should receive the ticket on Monday."

I thanked her and hung up, feeling a strange sensation of exhilaration and apprehension...

Nihon, Kayo - here I come! :P

Round 18: Fillers! :D

Holy smokin' Aces! Only after 2 weeks at John Deere & Company did I just realise that I'm earning less than 5€ per hour. That'll be less than USD7/SGD10,60/RM24 per hour. Huumphhh!!!!


*grumbles mumbles: "Gonna make sure I get paid at least 8,50€ per hour for the bachelor-thesis before I sign anything...."*




PS: I know i know, tiny me is just an intern...me be thankful for even getting paid and all that jazz. So if you'll excuse me, I'll be at Pokerstars.com giving my chips away. For Free. Ok???:D

Round 17: A Summer in Paris Part 1

It's Sunday afternoon and the sun has decided to come out for a while, which is, I gotta say, really nice after a cold windy gray week. Looking at the pile of dishes in the sink waiting to be washed after my Udon lunch, I decided I'll rather get down with the next post....

Bonjour Paris!

Although it's been almost a month since the trip to Paris with the gf, the memories are fortunately still vivid. We spent 4 days and 3 nights staying at Gare de Lyon. Tja, because there was so much we did, the post turned out longer than expected. So this shall be the first of three parts.



It wasn't the first time for us both to be travelling to Paris, but a first for us together. From past experience the cheapest way to get there and back was to travel by coach - at 65 euros(RM311/USD90) per student or adults under 25.

After checking into Blue Planet Hostel waaay past lunchtime, which was just right in front of the Gare de Lyon metro station, we scouted the area for a decent place to grab a bite. A few rows behind our hostel we found a turkish restaurant after being turned away from an italian one because they were closing for the midday break lol!

It's only in Paris will you find PAIN at such a price!



Kidding - that's french for bread:)

The rest of the day wasn't much, save for buying Mobilis tickets at 8.50 euros per day per person(RM41/USD12) for the metro trains and buses...



The Metro system, like most underground train grids in London and Singapore, are tourist/user-friendly and easy to orientate around. The different rail lines are colour coded, so unless you are colour-blind like my German neighbour and can't tell the difference between red and green, travelling with the french Metro is cake.

More walking around, getting a little lost...



mindless shooting...



and planning for the coming days ahead.

Well, I guess it's be kinda abrupt, but that's it for Part 1.

Next up: Disneyland in Paris! Now, if you'll excuse, the dirty dishes are calling....*grumbles*

Photo Quiz of the Day

Dear readers, take a good look. You finish your business in the washroom and then you see this old-fashioned tap, with no sensors. Now how exactly are you gonna wash your hands??