HK

Greetings from Hong Kong!

It has been a long while since I last posted. Guess what? I have relocated to China for work. And of all the things, blogspot is one of the site that is blocked in China. Of course, there are options to bypass the firewall just like how you can access Facebook in China. It has been hectic and I haven't really properly settle in just yet. Currently, am in Hong Kong for my work visa application.

I may have been moaning about the depressing weather in the UK. It is probably just the same in the East. Both China and Hong Kong are having their wet monsoon season. It appeared to be raining cats and dogs everywhere I go. My first experience with bad traffic was just last week. The rain flooded the road and caused problems for cars. I was stuck in the traffic for a good 2 hrs. For a 40 min journey home, it took 2.5 hrs that day. Apparently, it is normal....oh my gosh. There are things that is just a norm in the East which I just have to get on with it!

Anyway, I am enjoying my retail therapy in HK. I don't think I have ever spent that much and return to hotel smiling even though I am left with just about HKD$8 in my wallet!

PS: Enjoy browsing the books in bookstore here. Definitely more international books than what I have seen in China so far. Two books caught my attention...but I didn't buy. If I did, I have to buy another suitcase as my initially half-filled suitcase is now nearly full.....*blush*

citizenM Amsterdam Airport

Introducing citizenM hotel at Amsterdam Airport. I arrived late night. This hotel serve as a good sleepover so I could travel to Keukenhof Garden the next day. It cost €21 combo ticket (bus + Keukenhof entrance ticket) travelling from the airport. Save yourself from the long queue to buy the entrance ticket at the garden itself. So, you have seen some of the tulip photos from previous post.

Anyway, back to introducing this funky hotel.



Self checkin...it was self explanatory but there is always someone around the checkin area to help you out in case you are stuck. You even activate the roomcard yourself.



Love the contemporary design of the lounge, especially the purple chairs. Apparently, it is obvious to many friends that I have a thing for the purple colour.



This pink chair (low seating)...ideal for short legs :p



Another low seater.



These can serve as extra seating as well as decor in the background.



This is looking into the computers area for guests. Guess what?....they provide iMac.



Another purple chair. Don't you think it looks like an ice cream cone?



The corridor outside the rooms. A clean design...almost resembling a toilet?



Taking a peek into the room......this is exactly the whole room, bedroom-shower-toilet combi. The toilet seat was not in the shoot. Bedroom and shower is separated by a curtain.



I don't understand why it thinks that I am a Mr :(

The remote control pretty much is the key to many things. It even control the roller blackout blind. After a night in this room, I knew I was spoilt by technology. I moaned that I had to manually open the blind at other hotels after this one *blush.



King size bed with wall to wall window.



Here's the fancy moodpad control. It controls the lighting in the room. You can choose by theme. Should you wish to be relax, romantic, etc. See the colour changes below....cool, eh? You should see it for yourself. My photos do not do much justice. Oh, have I mentioned that there is music too? I recalled reading somewhere that all rooms are soundproof.



Funny door tag. In case you cannot read clearly, it says 'don't come in, there's someone naked in here' LOL



It was cool, it was fun. Worth a try.

SPAM

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. In one day, I get two types of spam emails. First that say, I have US$2.6 million waiting for me to collect. Nice try but I am not thick enough to give you my passport or identity details. Instead I forward that email to the National Fraud Authority to add into their database.

This other spam is an interesting one. A year free coffee in Starbucks. I wouldn't have noticed this if it had been filtered into the junk. It looked dodgy anyway. The header indicated Starbucks UK and the content mentioned Starbucks Canada. The return email doesn't appear genuine. My guess....I would get 'bug' if I had continued pressing that magic green button.



Like I said....there ain't no such thing as a free lunch. Beware of spams.

Keukenhof Garden, Holland

It is the tulip season. Unfortunately, I may have arrived a bit late as all the tulips were in full bloom. Regardless, it was pretty colourful sight. Never did I know that there are so many types of tulips.



My favourite combination of pink and purple :)



This is not the biggest shoes I found by far.

Happy Easter 2011

I have been missing in action for a while. Just returned from my Easter break. Here are some Easter theme display in Brussels. Aren't they delicious? Yum yum....but would you have the heart to eat it?



This is my favourite one of all :)

Stress therapy

Every few years, my company has got in house health check free of charge. It involved a prick...ouch on my finger to get some blood and a little gadget evaluating my blood for non-fasting glucose and cholesterol. In return, I get to have a toy which comes in a form of an apple.



...and it's a stress ball. I took two and the other one is now in a bad shape....;)

Inactivity

Time flies. It has been more than a month since my last post. Oh dear....much has happened in between. I just came back from a trip to the tropical. A trip home to surprise family on Chinese New Year. Good times always pass too quickly. Returning to the UK suddenly feel unreal this time round. Here's a snapshot of where I have been...

NBT seasonal display, Brunei



Getting my best wishes from Mr Rabbit



Where do you reckon I am at with chips in hand ;)


At Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore



with my good old friend



The glamorous Marina Bay Sands



Night scene of Singapore



Next, I brought my parents to Kuala Lumpur. The twin towers...



Chee Cheong Kai at Jalan Petaling



Thean Hou Temple



I was making a wish :)



Food paradise by night time at Jalan Alor in Bukit Bintang