Eurotrip 2007 Part 2

So Monday morning, the day after visiting Oxford, I got up bright and early to take the Picadilly line from my Aunt's place (Osterley Station) down to Victoria Station to catch the Gatwick Express. I didn't really have too much problems except it was the morning peak hour so I was squeezed in the train with a bunch Brits and I think someone let one rip and totally stunk up the entire train :( After several exchanges, I got on the Gatwick Express with no problems, sat by a really hawt New Zealander Geologist, Paul Stenhouse, and we chatted up a storm making the 30 min train ride go by in a wink. I exchanged for some Czech Crowns and boarded British Airways, flight BA 2684, and arrived perfectly on time.

Something that's never happened to me before occured; my bag was the first one to come out on the conveyer line, amazing! Anyway I walked out of the airport scrambling to find a familiar face and within a minute I spotted Adrian. He hasn't changed one bit! He has maybe put on a few pounds but I'm sure that's what happens when one gets older, married and settled. I was very happy to see him as the last time I saw him was when we were both students at the Univ of Arkansas. He left after his first year in the summer of 1998. We first met outside of Brough Commons (dining hall) and became immediate friends as I offered my umbrella in the rain while walking back to our residence hall, Holcomb Hall. Sarthak, Adrian, Sharjeel and me became very close and would hang out way too much. Thinking about all this brings back bitter sweet memories. Anyway after the initial excitement of seeing one another, I suddenly thought, "what if he's changed and we no longer get along etc etc". It HAS been almost 9 years since we last seen or spoke to one another. But my worries proved me wrong as soon as we stepped into the taxi and we talked just like the old times, kidding around and laughing.

We got back to their really nice Penthouse apartment and met his wife, Salome. We wasted no time and went back out to tour the one of the most well preserved city in Europe, sheltered from much of WW1 and WW2. The buildings around the entire city was just gorgeous, doesn't matter where you were it was pretty. I bought a 3-day transportation pass which would let me take unlimited rides on the tram, subway and buses which I did! First thing we did was take the tram down to the Wenceslas Square and Adrian bought me real yummy hot dog (Czech style) which was delicious! We walked around, I was taking in all of Prague. We walked pass the famous Charles Bridge and just enjoyed the scenery and caught up. For dinner, we met Salome and her two Georgian friends whom had just arrived from Berlin (for the Berlin Film Festival) on the same day, at Cafe Louvre. Cafe Louvre was a really good place to eat and has had quite an extensive guest list. Famous people who has dined there included Albert Einstein and Kafka! One thing I must say is Czech food is definitely very delicious and affordable. At Cafe Louvre, I ordered the Roast beef on cream, cranberry target, Carlsbad dumpling...totally scrumptious! The melted liquid hot chocolate was also amazing. After dinner, we just walked around town and ended up watching The Queen.

The next day, I did more sight-seeing. The first destination was the Prague Castle, the largest ancient castle in the world. In the middle of the Castle is the massive St. Vitus Cathedral with it's gothic design making it very intriguing. After the castle we strolled down to the town center and had lunch at a Hungarian place, we both had the beef goulash which was very delicious. After the castle we went to the other famous Prague attractions; Charles Bridge, Astronomical Clock, Wenceslas Square and the Jewish quarter. It was a little colder in Prague in the high 30s, low 40s, so I ended up buying a jacket from H&M. Later that evening, we met up with everyone else and attended a party at one of Salome's coworker's flat. He was the nicest guy ever, feeding us delicious Georgian food till we were stuffed.

I had to leave for London the next day...I know it was a short trip and I should've scheduled a longer stay as I enjoyed myself very much in Prague. I got back to London on time and took the Gatwick Express back to Irene's. Had dinner there and then went back out to meet Tet at some bar. The next day I met up with Irene and Joyi and toured all of London in one day! Unfortunately the weather was cloudy and it drizzled all day long. We met at Tower Bridge, had lunch at some pizza place and walked to Tate Modern. From there we went to the London Eye where we took a ride and then made our way to the Palace of Westminster. After that we walked to Westminster Abbey where Princess Di had her wedding and then on to Trafalgar Square and then to China town to meet Pek and her fiance for dinner at a Malaysian restaurant. The next day I had Dim Sum with Uncle Seang with his whole family and then later he gave me a tour of his business and home. I had a great time connecting with family that I barely knew. After that, I went out with Pek and met with Tet and the rest. Again we went to the clubs etc and spent the night at Tet's where the next day we had dim sum with Tet and his wife and Nick. After that i met up with irene, glenn and joyi and made our way to the portabello market. The next day I just chilled and it was time to fly back to America. I was sad my trip's over and I barely got to see London. I guess I'll just have to make another trip to London :)

Niece and Nephews

L: Baby KuanYen and sis-in-law's Mom R: Grandma, baby KuanYen, 2nd bro (knowles) and Dad :)

I cannot believe that I'm now an uncle - to THREE kids! Sure sign of one getting older :) I am so happy for my brothers as they slowly but surely pop out these little bundles of joy but I do wish that I could be closer to all of them. I don't want to just be referred to as the Uncle in USA but would actually want Naomi, Tatsuya and KuanYen to actually know who I am. I guess these are some of the drawbacks of living so far away from my family. Anyway Ean sent me these pictures quite a while back but I just kept putting them off, I'm finally posting them today. Enjoy....baby pictures always make me smile anyway :)


L: Naomi, Oldest bro, Baby Tatsuya, Masako & Grandma R: My nephew SOOO cute (nicknamed potato jr.)

L: My sis-in-law & Potato Jr R: Oldest bro with baby Tatsuya

All these pictures really makes me feel homesick. I wish I could just hop on the plane and go home for a couple of weeks. Most people probably cannot see this but it's amazing to me how much of a resemblance these kids have of their fathers. KuanYen looks very much like Ean when he was a kid and so does Tatsuya. I'm sure they will grow up and be pretty close since they're both born on the same year -- 2006. Next time I go home they will loooove Uncle Nick as he'll be showering them with lots and lots of gifts.

Eurotrip 2007 Part 1

So I'm back from my nine day trip to two European countries; United Kingdom and Czech Republic. It was definitely hectic but it's my first time in Europe so it's to be expected. Well let's see if I'm able to recapture my entire trip on this little blog entry, here goes the journey:

Day after arrival. Partying at Club Punk after surreal experience at Mag party and Marc Jacobs show. L: Tet, Ro and me & R: Lily, Chris, Tristan (Yum) and me ;)

My journey really started on Wednesday since I left for StL right after work. I got in, met up with Dave and later had dinner with Dwan. The next day, I had to get up by 3:45am to go get Dave by 4 and made it into Lambert at 4:30am! I thought the airport would be dead at that time but it was actually very busy. I barely had enough time to make it to my gate. I checked in my bag and I got charged $25 (damn AA, I got charged going but not coming back, doesn't make no sense!). Anyway my flight to Heathrow went very smoothly. I got in on time at 10:35pm and met up with my Aunt. It's been almost 8 years since I saw her and she looks very much the same! That night I stayed up just chatting with my cousin about everything under the sun. It was good bonding time but unfortunately he was involved in a play so we didn't get to spend much time together except for the late night chatting.

CNY dinner with my Aunt and Family! My first CNY "reunion" dinner in 10 years!!

The next day, Friday, I got up went out for lunch with my Aunt at the Malaysian place where I had some roti canai and chap fan and later took the tube down to South Kensington to meet up with Tet. He picked me up in his Mercedes SUV and had apparently just had lunch with a designer whose special guest so happen to be Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. Right from that moment, things got a little surreal. We picked up this Swiss photographer, Frederick, and we all went to a magazine party at some swanky hotel. It was all very impressive; free flowing champagne, snacks, fancy water, designers and photographers were all at this party. It was all about fashion and being the only engineer, I felt a little out of place. After the party we headed for the Marc Jacobs show for the closing of London Fashion Week. Tet waltz right in, while Frederick and me tried to get in using photographer passes but we got denied so we just hung around outside checking out the line of journalists and paparazzi. It was like straight out of channel E! After about 15 mins, the show ended and people started coming out and I saw Naomi Campbell and Sofia Coppola, like I said, totally surreal. After the show, we went to this bar, Punk, where Tet's tesco disco had an event. Had a pretty good time and met Lily, Chris and this total hottie Tristan. Later had supper at HK diner and crashed at Tet's.


Day after CNY we went to Oxford. L: In front of Ashmolean Museum with Aunt&Uncle R: Atop the Church of St Mary the Virgin, see below for the view from atop the church

View from the top of the Church of St Mary the Virgin.

The next day, Saturday, we had dim sum on Baker St with Tet and his wife, Ro, and his photographer, Nick. Dim sum was very good and I later took the train back in time for the pre-CNY dinner with Aunt+family. Got back around 6pm and met my cousin's bf, Jake. He was a nice and polite guy. Dinner was fun, since I haven't done a CNY dinner like this in almost 10 years! Dinner conversations were the usual, politics and the economy. Doesn't matter which continent one's on but the dinner conversation's always the same ;) Dinner lasted till almost 11:30pm and later just chilled out with my cousin and Jake where we talked and played some Wii.

More pics at Oxford. L: Lunch at one of the oldest pubs R: Inside the courtyard of one of the many colleges in Oxford.

Sunday, Feb 18, was Chinese New Year! GONG XI FA CAI! I got an ang pau from my aunt, totally unexpected, again I have not celebrated CNY in almost 10 years! We didn't waste any time and headed out to Oxford, the oldest university in the english-speaking world. It was about a 40 minute drive from London. The strange thing I learned about Oxford was how it was made up of 39 separate colleges. Cambridge is apparently the same way, but most other Unis followed the traditional one campus style. We also toured the biggest book store, pitt rivers museum, ashmolean museum and we also climbed the spiralling stairs of the Church of St Mary the Virgin. We came home pretty late on Sunday after spending all day in Oxford. Uncle Glenn unfortunately got a ticket as we were illegally parked in Oxford (all day! so it made up for parking fees ;)

Prague here I come.......!!!!

Tomorrow I head out to Prague....I'll write about that in Part 2....to be cont'd :)

Brisku

Photo taken at cafe slavia in Prague

Gold's Gym

So I went back to my old gym and reactivated my account. For the past year, I have been working out at the University's brand new recreation center but that ran out at the end of February and without H2, I was unable to renew. Oh well I was getting a little tired of the University Rec Center anyway as it was always crowded and just too many people. I was paying $29/month before at Gold's and also at the University Rec Center but yesterday I got in for alittle less. I ended up paying a $29 sign up fee, 1st month free and $25/month. Not too bad...

Pics from my Cell

Here are some teaser pics I've uploaded from my cell phone :) Enjoy. I'm almost done with a blog entry for my trip to London and Prague. I just have to upload pics from my camera :) Sorry it's taken me forever to publish anything new but I've just been so busy since I got back, not to mention having to deal with the jet lag. The lag is not too bad, nothing like Malaysia but I could still definitely feel it.

View of River Thames (House of Parliament and Big Ben on the left) from inside the London Eye

The Radcliffe Camery (center) in Oxford from the top of the Church of St Mary the Virgin.

Night time view of the city of Prague from across river Vltava

View of Prague from the top (behind me is where the Prague Castle is situated)

OK I hope you enjoyed these few pictures. There will be more to come, just be patient!

Superbowl/James' visit Weekend

So this past weekend was a blast. James drove into town Thursday for his dentist's appointment Friday and we all went out to town. We started off having dinner at Trattoria, then drinks at Teller's and finally brought down the house at Soco. It's been a while since I partied and danced and I definitely felt my thighs burning a little while trying to boogy to the music ;) Friday night we just hung out at the Berg. Saturday, I had to go to work for a little bit and then later joined James and Carrie for a movie, we watched "Because I said so" with Dianne Keaton and Mandy Moore. It was a chick flick but it was entertaining. After the movie, we had dinner at Shakespeare and then went back to Carrie's and watched some DVDs and chilled.


Drinks at tellers after din din at Trattoria L: KK, me & Justin R: Steph, James and me

On Sunday, we had lunch at Moe's and then later went to Steph's for the Superbowl party. It was fun, we all brought food so we pigged out. I had a bet with James and I won!! :) Nothing too great with the commercials, non really caught our attention. Later that night we all played Taboo which was fun and it got heated as usual since we're all so competitive ;)



Clockwise: Me, james and Carrie at Tellers; James and me at Soco-I'm slowly gettin drunk; Justin, me and James w/ scary lookin faces; Japanese style pics with Byron me and James


As of now here are my plans for my Europe trip (I'll be leaving in exactly 1 week from today!):

Feb 14 - Drive to StL after work, dinner w/ Dwane, hang with Dave
Feb 15 - Early morning AA flight 6:10am out of Lambert, connect at Chicago, arrive Heathrow @ 10:35pm
Feb 16 - Maybe attend fashion week with Tet, go out clubbing that night???
Feb 17 - Day b4 CNY, dinner with Family, clubbing later that night???
Feb 18 - Happy CNY!!! Chill with family
Feb 19 - BA Flight out of Gatwick @ 11:40am, arrive Prague @ 2:20pm
Feb 20 - See Prague/hang out with Brisku
Feb 21 - BA flight out of Prague @ 3:15pm, arrive Gatwick @ 4:15pm
Feb 22 to 25 - Tour London; Courtesy from Kenny - St. Paul Cathedral (picturing Princess Di's Wedding here), Westminster Abbey (picturing Elton playing the piano for her funeral), Hyde Park, Piccadilly Circus (Time Square of UK), Trafalgar Square, Hampton Court, Greenwich (charming old town, great for Sunday flea market), Old Compton St (the gay ghetto block close to China Town), Heaven (by the Embankment), Tower Bridge (commonly mistaken as London Bridge), Tower of London (if you like to see the Crown Jewels) and finally Harrods.
Of course more clubbing and partying with Tet on Feb 23 & 24th. Try to meet up with Pek San too somewhere in there. Would like to see her parents and brother as well.
Feb 25 - AA flight out of Heathrow at 12:15pm, connect @ Chicago again and arrive Lambert 5:50pm. Vaca over, time to CRY!!!!

Last Minute Trip

OK I have to admit, I'm not usually the type that just makes a spur of the moment decision, pack my bags and leave for vacation. My vacations usually start with months of researching and shopping for bargain prices on flights, hotels, rental cars etc, etc BUT all that went out the window with this coming trip. I knew I wanted to make a trip to Europe sometime in 2007 but the initial plan was to leave sometime in August. I even called the travel agent, looked online but the best price I could get on flights came in at around $1100! So I called my Aunt a few days ago and she suggested I go visit them for Chinese New Year. I thought about it and didn't think it was a bad idea myself especially since I have not been around family during CNY in almost 10 years (pretty much since I've been in the States). I just casually looked online for ticket prices and I was shocked to see they were between $500 to $600. I got super excited, called the travel agent to verify and looked a couple more websites before I decided within a A FEW DAYS to purchase through travelocity.com for $550! They aren't bad tickets, I leave StL at approx 6am Feb 15 and get into Heathrow, London at 10:30pm on the same day connecting in Chicago. Return also pretty good as I leave at around noon and get into StL at around 6pm. I know it's the off peak season but the tickets are half what I would have paid if I went in August!


London and Prague, here I come!!!

So anyway in the last few days, I have tried to contact quite a few people I know in Europe. I contacted a cousin from a side of family I have never met, they are related to my Dad's side. I emailed them so hopefully I'll get to see them as well for CNY. I also contacted my friend Tet and my old college buddy Adrian who lives in Prague, Czech Republic. I am planning a separate 3 day, 2 night trip to Prague as well. I made this decision so quickly mainly because of several reasons. Of course the cheap ticket price was a big one. Another is because my Aunt and my friend Tet will not be working the week I'll be there. My friend Tet will also be covering the London Fashion Week and will be able to take me in to see the event! How awesome! And last but not least the reason why it's off peak is because it's Winter but the coldest London ever gets is like 40 F which is NOTHING compared to Missouri winters :) So I have purchased my tickets and have started the hectic but fun process of planning for my first trip to Europe. I'm so excited. Wish me luck! I can't believe I'll be leaving in 2 WEEKS!!!

Big Apple X'mas 2006

So as most of you know, I spent my Christmas and New Years in New York City for a total of 10 days. I flew in on Midwest Airlines for the first time (very reasonable only $180 roundtrip!) and was quite impressed. Not much waiting at the airports and the seats were a little wider with a 2x2 formation instead of the usual 2x3 AND they served freshly baked cookies..Yum! Anyway Flew from KC to Laguardia on Sat 12/23 and return trip was on 1/1. The weather was absolutely amazing the whole time I was there, around mid to high 40's. I barely needed my heavy jacket.


At our fav asian dessert place enjoying a mango custard. The pics were used to taunt KK who LOOOOVES this stuff ;) Enjoy KK...

Main reason for the trip was to get my passport renewed at the M'sian Consulate. That almost didn't happen when the massive earthquake off the coast of Taiwan disrupted telecomunications/internet to most of Asia, therefore preventing my passport from being "activated". In the end, the very kind officer told me he'll just give it to me and try to do an offline update. I was definitely glad since that would save me a ton of headache. Other than that, Linli and I hung out a bunch, did some shopping and ate our hearts out. As usual, I skipped out on most of the touristy things.


L: The compulsory subway pic and R: Diesel jeans on SALE!! But this is not the pair I bought ;)

Took a little break from shopping and chilled at this GREAT new chocolate place; Max Brenner (Chocolate by the bald man) It was fantastic with 10 different kinds of hot chocolates and dishes with added cocoa. We both shared a Hazelnut praline crepe, totally delish!


I managed to hang out with YeeBien for a day. She took the train down from Conneticut for she also had renewed her passport and need to pick it up. It was good seeing her, and she looks great!

While in NYC, I hung out with alot of Andreas' friends which was very interesting. I got to eat some Greek food (At Xmas party and Yanni's Bday) and even got to go to a Greek night club! I felt a little out of place and the music was definitely unique ;) I met alot of Cypriots and I'm not usually good with names but the few I did remember were Yanni, Andreas, Tim the dentist who cheats at Taboo and his wife Isabella, George aka GG and Philip the dancer! Also met Andro's personal trainer friend, Marcos, from Czech who is absolutely dreamy whom we ended up going to watch Night at the Museum (which is not a very good movie) with and also played Taboo and spent a night of intoxicated karaoke.


L: Drunks at karaoke, Fang and me R: Faye, me and Marco


L: LMAO, Linli and I laughed so hard when Andro just randomly ripped off his tshirt in the middle of a poker game, LOL R: In the Wall Street district, beautiful day and not too many people

On the final weekend which was the New Year's weekend, we managed to squeeze in a Broadway performance. We ended up watching Spelling Bee which was funny and entertaining. Andro, Linli and me also went to a Family bar which was alot like Freddies except a little more sophisticated. The drinks were pretty pricey though. Linli and Andro also threw a NYE party at their house where we drank champagne and played Taboo and Catchphrase.

Pics of NYE party at Andro&Lin's. We were taking japanese style pics...retarded =)


It's almost 2007! Popped champagne and we made a toast...

All in all, my trip to nyc was amazing. I managed to renew my passport, shopped a little (new diesel jeans and tons of underwear from H&M), pigged out on all kinds of cuisine, met up with Alex (friend from Fridae) and hang out with my most awesomest friend Linli ;)
Here's the perfect picture to sum up my trip....the t-shirt says it all...

Happy Holidays

Hey guys, blogging from NYC :)
Just wanted to throw in a quick note
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! For those travelling, be safe.
I will post more photos when I get back to good ol COMO. So far my at my trip I've managed to:

• Ate Czech, Thai, Malaysian, Chinese and Greek food
• Attended Greek Xmas party
• Watched movie "Night at the Museum"; blaaah....wait for the DVD
• Shopped till I drop; Diesel jeans ON SALE! H&M underwear frenzy
• Dropped passport off to be renewed. Terribly inefficient!

More to come soon!!! Oh no my vacation's half over, I don't it to end...