Digital Camera

I may need to get a digital camera amid my Europe tour instead of initial thought of buying one until i land in Tokyo next January. Gladly, my digital camera only boycots after I have taken many photos of the Little Mermaid. It has been stucked until now due to whole day exposed in rain.

I have a good impression of my Swiss friend's model of Canon Digital IXUS 800IS.

It is sold at 3699 Dennish Krones (equivalent to 335 British Pounds) in the largest camera shop in Copenhagen.

Checked online. There is Canon WP-DC5 waterproof case as I intend to have a new digital camera that allows me to do underwater photography when i go scuba diving.

Unbelievable! Searched online. The same model was only about 440 CHF (190 British pounds) in the Switzerland.

Copenhagen, Denmark: 19 Nov - 22 Nov

Denmark is another bicycle country.




The Little Mermaid was not as small as I heard of. I found the size and location of the statue in a cozy and artistic park at seaside in Østerport was just perfect.

Every Danish sailor who ever stood on a deck knows that the Øresund used to be full of Mermaids. The legend tells us that the home of all Mermaids was the Mermaid Banks in Øresund. The banks are no more but Copenhagen's own Little Mermaid is.

The Carlsberg brewer Carl Jacobsen was inspired to donate money to a sculpture after having seen "The little Mermaid" based on a fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen. The sculptor Edward Eriksen, sculptured her in bronze and his wife Eline Eriksen modelled. The story says that she is a sea king's half-human and half-fish daughter, who must wait on her rock for 300 years before she can enter the world of humans. She's been sitting here since 1913 so she still has a few more years to go.

We can only wait and see…

Nevertheless, the head of The Little Mermaid we see today is a transplant. Her original head was decapitatated and was storen.






Further down from the statue of The Little Mermaid towards a church in the park, that is a foundation shows the ploughing scene from an old legend in Nordic goddess of ferticity, Gefion, who was promised as much as land by the Swedish king Gylfe as she was able to plough in 24 hours. Gefion then turned her four sons into oxen and ploughed Zealand out of Sweden where the lake Vanern is situated today.


Danish companies have a tradition of providing breakfast and lunch in the office. My friends invited me to join them for lunch. Thus, I have the opportunity of exposing to Danish working environment and tasting Danish dishes.

The Danish monarchy is the oldest in the world. The Tivoli Amusement Centre located across the Copenhagen Central Centre is world wellknown although I just knew about it during my visit. :p It is recommended to visit at night because those lights broadcast from its decorations. Entrance Fee is required. Tivoli is a place of lights, which makes Tivoli a very special place to visit once it gets dark.

As the religious centre of Denmark, Copenhagen has quite a few churches which are architectural master-pieces commemorating the past history of Denmark and its royal family. Among those, I like the architect design of The Church of our Saviour specifically its exterior golden staircase winding up to the top where a golden globe is crowned by a statue of the victorious Christ. It is located in Christianshavn where is named after King Christian V, the first monarch on the Danish throne with absolute power. When inside the church, look up into the ceiling, where you'll see the chains of the Order of the Elephant and the Order of the Dannebrogen. Both decorations were instigated by King Christian V. The church's exquisite organ is supported by a relief of two elephants. (The Danish name for the Church is: Vor Frelses Kirke)

Real Friends

It is good to meet friends in some of those cities along my Europe journey.

The familiarity! Warm hugs! And Trustworthiness!

They caress your incomfortability in travels and genuinely cheer you up to carry on!

When you are staying at your own old friends' house, you know that they are trustable. You don't have to keep all your valuable things such as passport and cash with you at all times as you do when you stay in a dormitory bed sharing with other backpackers or a hotel room.

My speechless heartfelt gratitude to my beloved friends who have been kindly and warmly sharing their genuine friendship with me! May all of you be blessed with Good Health and Happiness.

A warm and lovely Malaysian-Swedish Family

I visited a couple of a Malaysian lady and her Swedish husband in Alingsas, Goterborg, Sweden.

Unexpectedly, I was even granted "graduation" gifts from their eldest daughter Samatha and third son Jeremiah! Samatha and Jeremiah presented me their drawings. It was really heart touching!

Revisits Goteborg: 18-19 November 2006

When I visited Goteborg last Easter from Oslo, i reached Goterborg by bus in the morning and left in the late evening.

When I re-visits Goterborg on the 18th November 2006, I arrives in the evening and have to go back to Copenhagen the next day's morning.

I was blurred the first time and had absolutely no idea about its town structure when I arrived Goterborg. But for the second visit, I have got a clearer idea about direction I should head to.

I arrived Goterborg (Sweden) fm The Hague (The Netherland) by having changed buses twice at Hamburg(Germany) and Copenhagen (Denmark).

Amsterdam

They are so many bicycles in the Netherland. Ladies dressed elegantly in nice dresses with high boots also ride bicycles.

Amsterdam is relatively a new city in Europe with 800 years of history. Dutch people in the old days were sailors or merchants. They are canals in Amsterdam.

The Dutch Government tends to be liberal. Drugs and prostitution are run legally in the Netherland.

The Netherland has many Chinese shops. I had a bowl of wan tan noodle soup that was authentic and only cost 7 euro in the China Town, Amsterdam yesterday's afternoon. I like the restaurant because it was not decorated as a luxurious restaurant but a traditional local shop.

China Town in Amsterdam is located just next to Red Light District.

I learnt that mushroom is also a type of drug.

Coffee shops don't sell coffee. Coffee shops are shops for people to smoke joints. If you want to drink coffee, don't step into "coffee shop", but "Coffee Company Shop".

I have mixed feeling towards Amsterdam.

So far, all Dutch people I have interacted with are patient, friendly and very helpful. They speak fluent English because they are many big international companies in the Netherland. For example, the headquarter of Saudi-stated-owned company which is the richest oil company in the world - Aramco is located in the Netherland because of the Netherland's tax redemption benefits.

Those canals in Amsterdam has made the city cozy and attractive whereas streets are narrow that cause traffic jam. Public transport like trams and buses are conveniently available.

The main reason I hold mixed feeling towards Amsterdam is its legally run drug activities and red light district. If i am a tourist for merely a short visit, I may be thrilled to see such activities. However, if i live in the town for a long period, I would think twice for the security of the town.

"Travelled" 4 countries in 24 hours!

Am in Amsterdam now after having been in the bus for 26 hours.

I have unexpectedly have had very good impression about Dutch people. So far, I have been meeting friendly and very helpful people upon my arrival.

Hahaha, you know what! No use of toilet in the long drive bus journey!!!!!

Thanks for the journey fm Barcelona to Amsterdam, I "travelled" 4 countries - Spain, France, Belgium and the Netherland - in 24 hours (the bus journey took 2 hours more, so 26 hours due to traffic jam in highways in Amsterdam)

When i was moved in the bus, I "dropped by" several cities, namely Lioret de Mar, Figueres, Luxembourg, Reims, Lille, Kortrijk, Gent, Brussels, Antwerpen, Utrecht, Breda, Rottermdam and then finally arrived Amsterdam. :encore:

Because of this bus journey, i re-visited Lille (France) and Brussel (Belgium). It was raining AGAIN in Belgium! Nevertheless, leaves have turned more colourful and thus atmosphere was more romantic. I wanted to take photos of those sentimental autumn leaves, however, I could only admire this nice view through window fm the bus.

Lively Barcelona

Barcelona tends to have unique architect building design. For instance, La Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Casa Calvat, Pabellones Guell, Colegio Teresianno, Casa Vicens, Park Guell, Casa Mila - La Pedrera and its wood bridge at Barcelona harbor located at Barceloneta.

The construction of La Sagrada Familia has been started since 1883 and until today, its building that has taken 130 years has yet to be completed. It is one of the major attractions of Barcelona.

Barcelona has interesting night life to offer especially those pubs, bars and discos located in Olimpica that is near to beach site. Night life in Barcelona starts from 12 midnight. Those night shops are open until 4 a.m. as understand from a local friend.

I particulary like the wood bridge architect design in Barceloneta harbour. It has helped to make the life in Barcelona more relaxing.

Ohya, Paella is offered at special price every Thursday in all restaurants in Barcelona.

Barcelona to Amsterdam

I will be in the bus for 24 hours moving fm Barcelona to Amsterdam. Thrilled ha!? ;p

When i got my bus ticket, the departure is 1745. I asked the ticket counter the arrival time.

"1745"

"What time will i be arriving Amsterdam?"

"1745"

"What i mean is time of arrival, not time of departure"

"The bus journey is exactly 24 hours, miss."

:-S

Madrid, Spain: 10-14 November 2006

I have long got good impression abt the Spanish people. Now after having been in Madrid, I have even developed better impression. In general people are warm and friendly, streets are clean, fresh vegetable, fruits and seafood are easily available. Cost of living is relatively lower than those in England and France, whereas i personally quality of life is better in Spain than England and France.

Saudi culture vs Japanese culture

I involved in an interesting project which is a 50-50 joint venture project between the Saudi and the Japanese (Aramco and Sumitomo Chemical) who are respectively from 'extreme' different cultures.

Among those, the Japanese stay back in the office until late evening; but the Saudi leave the office punctually.

The Saudi must bring the whole family when they are on a long period overseas assignment; whereas for the Japanese, they go overseas alone with their family remain in Japan.

The Japanese bow to each other when they meet. The higher degree one bows, more respect is transmitted. Whereas, the Saudi cium each other's cheek when they meet. The more cheek ciuming is, the closer brotherhood is shown.

Haha, one more: Generally, the Japanese like to drink, but officially the Saudi can't drink at all because of religious reason.

Cathedrale Saint-Denis

I visited an ancient site called Cathedrale Saint-Denis in North Paris. It is the place of burial for the kings of France since the 7th century. It houses over 70 sculpted tombs, including those of Dagobert, Francois I, Catherine de' Medici and Louise XVI. It has been considered as one of the principle masterpieces of Gothic art.

06-09 November 2006: Paris, France

I supposedly have left for Madrid yesterday's afternoon but i have extended one more day (as Musee de Louvre was closed every Tuesday when i wanted to make a visit) and will be leaving Paris this afternoon.

My left knee is decorated with the colours of pupple and red. I couldn't walk as convenient as i wished. My shoulders are in pain too. Nevertheless, miraclely they were okay when i did sightseeing but not after :)-

I bought two comprehensive books over the collections of the Musee de Louvre. Wow, these two books are really heavy.

Paris, instead of Rome, would be the "best" city i have visited if the people in general are friendlier and more polite, and the city could be cleaner.

In terms of country, the Switzerland is indisputably the best country I have been visited. The whole country is in tune with nature, people are friendly, places are clean, indeed every city carries its distinguish features.

Nevertheless, I find Paris is more interesting than London (excepts the offer of musical plays). Most attractions in Paris are respectively huge historical buildings with very fine architectural arts.

I was in the Eiffel Tower every night excepts the first night commuted fm Lille to Paris.
I am very much impressed by the architectural design of most buildings and city structure in Paris.

I like the creative architectural design of Eiffel Tower and the Musee de Louvre. Among all, the look of the Arc de Triomphe from the corridor along the "Pencil Tower/Statue" to the Musee du Louvre was marvelous. As the Arc de Triomphe becomes bigger when i move further away from it. Why?

I wish to have a day in Versailles, but it will be not in this trip as they are so many places worth to see in Paris and each place inquires long hours to admire to obtain a better understanding instead of merely a sightseeing.

I went to Basilique Royale de Saint-Denis this morning. This ancient burial for the kings of France since the 7th century is also one of my recommendations to spend a few hours there.
Among those, namely, I visited the Conciergerie, the Sainte-Chappelle, Tours de la Cathedrale Notre-Dame de Paris, Arc de Tiomphe de l'Etoille, Basilique Royale de Saint-Denis, Les Invalides, The Opera, the Montmartre Basilique du Sacre-Caeur.

In the evening after i covered main historical attractions, i walked through popular shopping streets, but sorry that i only know their names in the Chinese Language which one the street famous for branded brands and one was called ParisSpringShoppingCentre. I didn't have the time to go in (Haha fortunately) as my top priority are nature, culture, history and arts.
A Singaporean lady whom i met in the Musee De Louvre showed me three bags she bought today. One cost 200 euro and a small one cost 60 euro. She said she would go back to buy two more tomorrow that she has been regretting for not having bought today!

I joined a guided-tour in the Musee de Louvre in the beginning before i did a few hours on my own. They were people sitting in a corner sketching. Although I didn't have such talent, I could sit and admire a piece of arts for long hours. When I was in the Stonehenge, I rounded those stones three times and sat on the ground for the whole afternoon.

Dirty, Messy, Smelly and Impolite Paris

I arrived Paris on the night of 5th November (Sunday). Those staff or specifically black French at metro station have given me a very bad impression on Paris.

I wonder why Black French are such impolite (I don't mean to be a racist). I feel that those Black French they simply want to get a target to vent their frustration.

Later on, i even felt down fm escalator at the Portede Clichy Station as i carried two luggages. My left knee is wounded. Nevertheless, I have learnt to be fine and move on.

Why Some People Have All The Luck

By Professor Richard Wiseman, University of Hertfordshire-

Why do some people get all the luck while others never get the breaks they deserve?

A psychologist says he has discovered the answer:

Ten years ago, I set out to examine luck. I wanted to know why some people are always in the right place at the right time, while others consistently experience ill fortune. I placed advertisements in national newspapers asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me.

Hundreds of extraordinary men and women volunteered for my research and over the years, I have interviewed them, monitored their lives and had them take part in experiments. The results reveal that although these people have almost no insight into the causes of their luck, their thoughts and behavior are responsible for much of their good and bad fortune. Take the case of seemingly chance opportunities. Lucky people consistently encounter such opportunities, whereas unlucky people do not.

I carried out a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities. I gave both lucky and unlucky people a newspaper, and asked them to look through it and tell me how many photographs were inside. I had secretly placed a large message halfway through the newspaper saying: "Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win $50."

This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than two inches high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.

Unlucky people are generally more tense than lucky people, and this anxiety disrupts their ability to notice the unexpected.

As a result, they miss opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain types of job advertisements and miss other types of jobs.

Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for. My research eventually revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four principles. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

Towards the end of the work, I wondered whether these principles could be used to create good luck. I asked a group of volunteers to spend a month carrying out exercises designed to help them think and behave like a lucky person.

Dramatic results! These exercises helped them spot chance opportunities, listen to their intuition, expect to be lucky, and be more resilient to bad luck.

One month later, the volunteers returned and described what had happened. The results were dramatic: 80% of people were now happier, more satisfied with their lives and, perhaps most important of all, luckier.

The lucky people had become even luckier and the unlucky had become lucky.

Finally, I had found the elusive "luck factor".

Here are Professor Wiseman's four top tips for becoming lucky:
1) Listen to your gut instincts - they are normally right
2) Be open to new experiences and breaking your normal routine
3) Spend a few moments each day remembering things that went well
4) Visualize yourself being lucky before an important meeting or telephone call. Luck is very often a self- fulfilling prophecy

Have a Lucky day and work for it.

Some thoughts on Totoro

From: R. J. Dalton http://www.nausicaa.net/miyazaki

It's been a long time since I actually sat down and watched a movie, but, after class, job, school work and the requiste two hours a day of reading, I found I had some spare time (where it came from, I haven't the slightest clue). I decided to watch Totoro, which I've had in my collection for months, but haven't found the time to really sit down and enjoy.

I could go on about the general beauty of Miyazaki's work, but I've done that more than enough times. This time, I'd like to talk about the small moments; for, as all good Miyazaki accolytes understand, it's the little details that make the master's work not just good, but excellent.

So, where to begin?

If ever you get the chance to really analyze Totoro, take a look at the expressions of the characters. I think in Totoro, more than any other film, Miyazaki has captured the expressions of his characters so profoundly, especially so in the case of the children and the creatures.

All of the characters have very simple expressions that are easy to overlook, yet they express so much with their gestures that even when the characters never say a word, volumes of ideas are communicated between them.

For one example, let's look at Kanta, the quiet, shy, but extremely expressive little boy. Kanta is at that age when it's still "wrong" for boys to like girls, and he behaves exactly as would be expected of such an individual. He looks away when he first sees Mei and Satsuki, with a look that says "Oh no, girls!" Later, when he's sent to deliver a package to Ba-chan, he is forced into a conversation with Satsuki. Being shy, he can't seem to form a coherent sentence and simply hands her the bag and runs off, then with his boyhood pride at stake, he runs back and shouts, "Hey, that house is haunted!" as an explanation of his behavior. This kind of subtlety in his relationship with the other characters is continued throughout the film, but, at the same time he does grow more accustomed to their presence.

My favorite example, however, has got to be the big Totoro. At first glance, many of his expressions seem vacant and dull, or over-simplified, but this only seems so to those who are expecting more human-like expressions. Totoro's expressions are a perfect mix between human and animal expressions. It tells that the creature is possessed of human intelligence, but on a simpler scale. From his wide-eyed curiosity, to his big, goofy grin, Totoro expresses the whole range of human emotions with but the smallest change in facial gestures.

These same gestures fill in for all the words the creature never says and then some. In watching each scene with him, you can construct entire wordless conversations. Go ahead and give it a try; imagine for yourself what the creature would be saying if it had the words.

Another brilliant aspect fo the film is the settings. The first image that strikes you is a beautiful pastoral community. Rice feilds around a dusty, country road and in the background, mountains and forests. The location of this town is firmly established, by the little transiant moments that usually wouldn't think about. The long walks it takes to get to any given location, the several hour bike ride to get to the hospital, and many other moments give you a sense of location for a town that's as close to the middle of nowhere you can get without actually being there. Other small moments, such as when we're allowed to watch a toad walk across the street in the rain, or a snail crawl up a reed by the river, give you a sense of the general attitude of the setting; laid-back, easy-going, but determined.

And with it's hidden shrines expressing the many secrets the area holds (note the Kitsune statues hidden by the bus stop) the setting has a personality that makes all the more appealing.

The way that all the people come together when Mei gets lost toward the end of the film also gives the community of people a personallity. A hard-working, caring group that centers it's life around serving each other.

There's something invigorating about watching little children. Rold Dahl once said, "There's nothing more dangerous than the adult mind." While he meant it to mean that adults are not really very creative people, I think that the idea behind the quote still applies strongly to this movie. The adult mind is like a dark hallway full of closed doors. Years of exposure to meaningless social protocol has turned their world is a place of can'ts and won'ts. But children, anything is possible to them. An adult may look in a dark forest and see lions and tigers and bears (oh my!), but to a child, that forest may be full of friendly ghosts and creatures willing to help you with your problems. Little children are the most imaginative creatures on the earth and with this film, Miyazaki has perfectly captured the bright-eyed wonder of the young mind. He has also captured the energy, the fearless curiosity and the emotional power of children. To see Mei running around the yard, picking flowers and exploring is a scene so brimming with childish excitement, that you become infected by its energy and emotion. Mei's statement of "You're the flower shop, dad!" is simple, yet so profound in its own way that you can't help but smile.

Another thing that I've always loved about Miyazaki's work is the influence of classic literature. Miyazaki is clearly a literary-minded individual, something which is sadly uncommon in the film world today. It's clear that he not only reads, but enjoys classic novels from all over the world, from Guliver's Travels to The Princess who Loved Insects. The scene with Mei chasing the little white Totoro through the feild, then falling into it's den is evocative of a certain young girl chasing a white rabbit and falling through the rabbit hole into a place beyond imagination. There are so many sublte moments that evoke the power of classic literature that you feel like your reading a good book rather than watching a movie.

All of these elements combine in Totoro to make a statement of the utmost profoundness; sometimes, we need to let go of our foolish adult world and see the beauty of it through the eyes of a child. Christ's commandment to be as little children may not have been on the master's mind when he wrote this story, but it's nonetheless the perfect expression of the sentiment.

Thai's Deposed PM arrives London as a political refugee

I hope Thai military returns power to the people after having pulled down a corrupted Thai political leader as its military General promised.

Thailand is an interesting country. It is the only country in Asia has never been officially politically colonized by any foreign power in history.

Thai's coming investigations of the corruption in the ousted government reminds me Peru's ex-PM Alberto Fujimori who resigned during his visit in Japan after a bribery scandal.

Also, The Thai military coup reminds me the sarcastic pain of Myanmar that is ruled by a military regime despite the fact that the political party of The National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi won a decisively victory in the general election in 1990.

Relationship

Relationship is for us to learn interactively from others and to know ourselves more.

高尚的品德与坚韧的毅力

以其高尚的品德与坚韧的毅力赢得人生的胜利。

Musical Plays

The Producer: 5 October 2006
The Phantom of the Opera: 28 September 2006
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers: 27 September 2006
The Lion King: 9 August 2006
Evita: 8 June 2006
Les Miserable: 24 April 2006
Mamma Mia: 13 March 2006
The Woman in White: January 2006
Fame: November 2005
Saturday Night Fever: March 2005